Rochfort Maguire (18 June 1815 – 29 June 1867) was an Irish

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

officer who served as captain of from 1852 to 1853 during the Franklin search expedition.

Career

Royal Navy

Maguire joined the

in 1830.William Loney RN
/ref> He came to notice when he was wounded in action in 1840 at

Sidon Sidon ( ; he, צִידוֹן, ''Ṣīḏōn'') known locally as Sayda or Saida ( ar, صيدا ''Ṣaydā''), is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate, of which it is the capital, on the Mediterranean coast. ...

whilst serving on HMS ''Wasp'' under Sir Charles Napier.Rochfort Maguire
Spink.com. accessed August 2009 He was mentioned in despatches and as a result he was promoted to lieutenant on in the Mediterranean.

Search for Franklin

Maguire was assigned to the Franklin search expedition in 1848. They sailed out of

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to ...

on a mission to find the lost remains of

John Franklin Sir John Franklin (16 April 1786 – 11 June 1847) was a British Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer. After serving in wars against Napoleonic France and the United States, he led two expeditions into the Canadian Arctic and through t ...

's ill-fated

Northwest Passage expedition Franklin's lost expedition was a failed British voyage of Arctic exploration led by Captain Sir John Franklin that departed England in 1845 aboard two ships, and , and was assigned to traverse the last unnavigated sections of the Northwest ...

of 1845. Maguire was made captain of HMS ''Plover'' from 1852 to 1854.

Later life

Promoted to captain in 1855, he was given command of , , , and then . He became commander-in-chief of

Australian Station The Australia Station was the British, and later Australian, naval command responsible for the waters around the Australian continent.Dennis et al. 2008, p.53. Australia Station was under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, Australia Station, ...

on 23 May 1866, before he was invalidated out on 28 May 1867. He died a month later, on 29 June, at

Royal Hospital Haslar The Royal Hospital Haslar in Gosport, Hampshire, was one of several hospitals serving the local area. It was converted into retirement flats between 2018 and 2020. The hospital itself is a Grade II listed building. History Formation and ope ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maguire, Rochfort 1867 deaths 1815 births Explorers of the Arctic Irish Arctic explorers Irish explorers of North America People from County Westmeath Royal Navy officers