Henry Ashworth (1785–1811) was a British

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in the Royal Navy. Ashworth was born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in December 1785. In November 1799, he entered on board the 38-gun frigate , under the immediate patronage of the

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

, and four years later was serving as

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

on board the same ship when she was lost on

Île de Sein The Île de Sein is a Breton island in the Atlantic Ocean, off Finistère, eight kilometres from the Pointe du Raz (''raz'' meaning "water current"), from which it is separated by the Raz de Sein. Its Breton name is ''Enez-Sun''. The islan ...

, near Brest, on 8 February 1804. Whilst a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

, Ashworth made several remarkable attempts to recover his freedom, and at last, having escaped from

Bitche Bitche (English pronunciation: , ; German and Lorraine Franconian: ) is a commune in Moselle department, in the region of Grand Est in northeastern France. It is the Pays de Bitche's capital city, and the seat of the Canton of Bitche and the ...

in December 1808, he succeeded in passing through Germany to

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

, where he went on board the English frigate ''L'Unité''. In the following October, he was promoted to

, and was serving in that rank in of 74 guns, on the coast of Spain, when the French took

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in Catalonia (Spain). It is the capital and largest town of Tarragonès county, the Camp de Tarragona region and the province of Tarragona. Geographically, it is located on the Costa Daurada ar ...

, on 28 June 1811, and drove a number of the panic-stricken inhabitants, literally, into the sea. Ashworth had command of one of the boats sent to rescue these drowning wretches, and, whilst so employed, received a wound, of which he died a month later on 25 July 1811, at

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from , later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Mallorca. Its capital is Maó, situated on the isl ...

.J. K. Laughton
"Ashworth, Henry (1785–1811)"
rev. Andrew Lambert, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2005. Accessed 3 December 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashworth, Henry 1785 births 1811 deaths Military personnel from London 19th-century English people Royal Navy officers Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Escapees from French detention British military personnel killed in action in the Napoleonic Wars