Vice-Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of vic ...

Sir Samuel Hood, 1st Baronet, (27 November 1762 – 24 December 1814) was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

officer and politician who served as a Member of Parliament for

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

in 1806. He is not to be confused with his father's first cousin Admiral

Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood Admiral (Royal Navy), Admiral Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood (12 December 1724 – 27 January 1816) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. As a junior officer he saw action during the War of the Austrian Succession. While in temporary command ...

(1724–1816) who sponsored both him and his elder brother Captain Alexander Hood (1758–1798) into the Royal Navy.

Origins

He was born on 27 November 1762, the 3rd son of Samuel Hood (1715–1805), a

purser A purser is the person on a ship principally responsible for the handling of money on board. On modern merchant ships, the purser is the officer responsible for all administration (including the ship's cargo and passenger manifests) and supply. ...

in the Royal Navy, of Kingsland in the parish of Netherbury in Dorset, by his wife Anne Bere, a daughter of James Bere of Westbury in Wiltshire. His father's first cousins were the famous brothers Admiral

(1724–1816) and Admiral Alexander Hood, 1st Viscount Bridport (1726–1814), sons of Rev. Samuel Hood (1691/2-1777), Vicar of Butleigh and

prebend A prebendary is a member of the Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the choir ...

ary of

Wells Cathedral Wells Cathedral, formally the , is a Church of England cathedral in Wells, Somerset, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Bath and Wells and the mother church of the diocese of Bath and Wells. There are daily Church of England services in ...

both in Somerset and Vicar of Thorncombe in

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

. The 1st Baronet's two elder brothers were also naval officers, like Samuel all "gallant Dorset sailors" (as the latter's 1914 monument in Netherbury Church records), namely Captain Arthur Hood (1755–1775) (drowned while serving in the West Indies on board ) and Captain Alexander Hood (1758–1798) (killed in the hour of victory while commanding in her famous duel with the French ship 'Hercule'). The mural monument in Butleigh Church to the 1st Baronet and his brothers is inscribed with verse by the poet

Robert Southey Robert Southey (; 12 August 1774 – 21 March 1843) was an English poet of the Romantic poetry, Romantic school, and Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate from 1813 until his death. Like the other Lake Poets, William Wordsworth an ...

, including the lines referring to their early lives and kinsmen: :''Divided far by death were they whose names'' :''In honour here united as in birth'' :''This monumental verse records they drew'' :''Among the western hills their natal breath'' :''And from those shores beheld the ocean first'' :''Whereon in early youth with one accord'' :''They chose their way of fortune; to that course'' :''By HOOD and BRIDPORT's bright example drawn'' :''Their kinsmen, children of this place, and sons'' :''Of one who in his faithful ministry'' :''Inculcated within these hallowed walls'' :''The truths of mercy to mankind reveal'd ''

Naval career

He entered the Royal Navy in 1776 at the start of the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

.Sir Samuel Hood, 1st Baronet at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
/ref> His first engagement was the First Battle of Ushant on 27 July 1778, and, soon afterwards transferred to the West Indies, he was present, under the command of his cousin, at all the actions which culminated in Admiral

George Rodney Admiral (Royal Navy), Admiral George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, Order of the Bath, KB (baptism, bap. 13 February 1718 – 24 May 1792), was a Royal Navy officer, politician and colonial administrator. He is best known for his commands ...

's victory of 12 April 1782 in the

Battle of the Saintes The Battle of the Saintes (known to the French as the Bataille de la Dominique), also known as the Battle of Dominica, was an important naval battle in the Caribbean between the British and the French that took place 9–12 April 1782. The Brit ...

. After the peace, like many other British naval officers, Hood spent some time in France, and on his return to England was given the command of a sloop, from which he proceeded in succession to various frigates. In the 32-gun fifth-rate

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

''Juno'' his gallant rescue of some shipwrecked seamen won him a vote of thanks and a sword of honour from the

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

assembly.

French Revolutionary Wars

Early in 1793, after the outbreak of the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

, Hood went to the Mediterranean in ''Juno'' under his cousin Lord Hood, and distinguished himself by an audacious feat of coolness and seamanship in extricating his vessel from the harbour of

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

, which he had entered in ignorance of Lord Hood's withdrawal. In 1795, in ''Aigle'', he was put in command of a squadron for the protection of

Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

ine commerce, and in early 1797 he was given command of the 74-gun

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactics in the Age of Sail, naval tactic known as the line of battl ...

''Zealous'', in which he was present at Admiral

Horatio Nelson Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...

's unsuccessful attack on

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Santa Cruz de Tenerife (; locally ), commonly abbreviated as Santa Cruz, is a city, the capital of the island of Tenerife, Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and one of the capitals of the Canary Islands, along with Las Palmas. Santa Cruz has a ...

. Captain Hood conducted the negotiations which relieved the squadron from the consequences of its failure.

Napoleonic Wars

''Zealous'' played an important part at the

Battle of the Nile The Battle of the Nile (also known as the Battle of Aboukir Bay; ) was fought between the Royal Navy and the French Navy at Abu Qir Bay, Aboukir Bay in Ottoman Egypt, Egypt between 1–3 August 1798. It was the climax of the Mediterranean ca ...

. Her first opponent was put out of action in twelve minutes. Hood immediately engaged other ships, the ''Guerriere'' being left powerless to fire a shot. When Nelson left the coast of

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, Hood commanded the blockading force off

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

and

Rosetta Rosetta ( ) or Rashid (, ; ) is a port city of the Nile Delta, east of Alexandria, in Egypt's Beheira governorate. The Rosetta Stone was discovered there in 1799. Founded around the 9th century on the site of the ancient town of Bolbitine, R ...

. Later he rejoined Nelson on the coast of the

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies () was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1861 under the control of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, Bourbons. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by popula ...

, receiving for his services the order of St Ferdinand. In the 74-gun third-rate ''Venerable'' Hood was present at the Battle of Algeciras on 8 July 1801 and the action in the

Straits of Gibraltar The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Europe from Africa. The two continents are separated by 7.7 nautical miles (14.2 kilometers, 8.9 miles) at its narrowest point. Fe ...

that followed. In the Straits his ship suffered heavily, losing 130 officers and men. In 1802, Hood was employed in

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

as a commissioner, and, upon the death of the flag officer commanding the Leeward Islands Station, he succeeded him as commodore. Island after island fell to him, and soon, outside

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

, the French had scarcely a foothold in the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

. Amongst other measures Hood took one may mention the garrisoning of

Diamond Rock Diamond Rock () is a Tour Of The Caribbean – No Flint Grey ...

, which he commissioned as a sloop-of-war to blockade the approaches of Martinique. For these successes he was, amongst other rewards, appointed a Knight Companion of the Order of the Bath (KB). In command next of the squadron blockading Rochefort, Sir Samuel Hood lost an arm during the action of 25 September 1806 against a French frigate squadron. Promoted to

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

a few days after this action, Hood was in 1807 entrusted with the operations against

Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...

, which he brought to a successful conclusion. In 1808 Hood sailed to the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

, with his flag in the 74-gun ''Centaur'', to take part in the Russo-Swedish war. In one of the actions of this war ''Centaur'' and ''Implacable'', while unsupported by the Swedish ships (which lay to leeward), cut out the Russian 50-gun ship ''Sevolod'' from the enemy's line and, after a desperate fight, forced her to strike. King

Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden Gustav IV Adolf or Gustav IV Adolph (1 November 1778 – 7 February 1837) was List of Swedish monarchs, King of Sweden from 1792 until he Coup of 1809, was deposed in a coup in 1809. He was also the last Swedish monarch to be the ruler of Fin ...

rewarded Admiral Hood with the Grand Cross of the

Order of the Sword The Royal Order of the Sword (officially: ''Royal Order of the Sword''; Swedish: ''Kungliga Svärdsorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry and military decoration created by King Frederick I of Sweden on 23 February 1748, together with the Or ...

. He became a baronet on 1 April 1809.

Later career

Having been present in the roads of

A Coruña A Coruña (; ; also informally called just Coruña; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality in Galicia, Spain. It is Galicia's second largest city, behind Vigo. The city is the provincial capital of the province ...

at the re-embarkation of the army of Sir John Moore after the Battle of A Coruña, Hood thence returned to the Mediterranean, where for two years he commanded a division of the British fleet. On 1 August 1811 he was promoted to

vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

. He departed Portsmouth at the end of September with his family and Captain Webley aboard HMS '' Owen Glendower'' 36 under Captain Bryan Hodgson. They were put back into Lymington within days due to bad weather. He departed again at the end of October. After a very rough voyage, Hood eventually arrived at Madras in 1812 where he took HMS '' Illustrious'' 74 as his flagship in his last command, that of Commander in Chief of the

East Indies Station The East Indies Station was a formation and command of the British Royal Navy. Created in 1744 by the Admiralty, it was under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies. Even in official documents, the term ''East Indies Station'' wa ...

. He moved with Captain Webley to HMS ''

Minden Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the largest town in population between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district () of Minden-Lübbecke, situated in the cultural region ...

'' 74 once she was brought out from Portsmouth by Captain Alexander Skene in January 1813. ''Minden'' remained as his flagship through December 1814 with his friend Captain George Henderson taking command in April 1814. "In the summer of 1814 dmiral Hoodmade a voyage, in his majesty’s ship ''Minden'', to the eastern parts of his station.” He eventually arrived at Semarang, Java on 29 June 1814. Hood then "sailed on the ''Minden'' from Batavia on 1 August 1814 for Madras. While serving in the

- "His command was uneventful, the war n that areahaving been brought to an end with the reduction of Java and Mauritius: and the time was mainly occupied in regulating and reforming points of organization or discipline and the methods of victualling, in which he introduced some substantial reforms, effecting a saving to the government of something like thirty per cent.”

Marriage

He married Mary Elizabeth Frederica Mackenzie, eldest daughter and heiress of

Francis Mackenzie, 1st Baron Seaforth Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom), Lieutenant-General Francis Humberston Mackenzie, 1st Baron Seaforth, (9 June 1754 – 11 January 1815) was a British politician, soldier, and botanist. He was Chief of the Scottish Highlands, Highland Clan ...

, but left no issue.

Death, burial and succession

Hood was about to retire and return to England. Rear-Admiral Sir George Burlton had been appointed to succeed him, but before the exchange could take place Hood died at Madras on 24 December 1814 after a three-day fever following a visit to Tippoo Sahib's former palace at

Srirangapatna Srirangapatna or Srirangapattana is a town and headquarters of one of the seven Taluks of Mandya district, in the Indian State of Karnataka. It gets its name from the Ranganthaswamy temple consecrated around 984 CE. Later, under the Britis ...

. "In him it may truly be said, that the British nation lost one of its most experienced and gallant defenders, a long-tried friend and companion of the Immortal Nelson." He was buried at St. Mary's Church, Madras, where survives his mural monument. The heir to his baronetcy, under special remainder, was his nephew Sir Alexander Hood, 2nd Baronet (1793–1851), son of his elder brother Captain Alexander Hood (1758–1798) by his wife Elizabeth Periam, daughter and sole heiress of John Periam (1714–1788) of Wootton House (alias "Butleigh Wootton") in the parish of Butleigh, Somerset.

Monuments

A lofty column, the Admiral Hood Monument, was raised to his memory on a hill on the Wootton House estate, to the south-west of Wootton House, Butleigh, Somerset, inherited by his nephew and heir Sir Alexander Hood, 2nd Baronet (1793–1851) from his mother Elizabeth Periam. The Butleigh connection started with Sir Samuel Hood's great uncle (and the father of his two famous Admiral cousins) Rev. Samuel Hood (1689–1777) who was Vicar of Butleigh and of Thorncombe in

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

and was a

Prebend A prebendary is a member of the Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the choir ...

ary of

. The south face of its base is inscribed:
:''This monument is dedicated to the late Commander by the attachment and reverence of British officers of whom many were his admiring followers in these awful scenes of war; in which, while they call forth the grandest qualities of human nature, in his likewise gave occasion for the exercise of its most amiable virtues. He died at Madras, December 24th 1814''. Other monuments survive in Butleigh Church (with an inscription written by the poet

) and in St. Mary's Church, Madras. The

Hoods Tower Museum The Hoods Tower Museum (; ''Trikuṇāmalaya Nāvika Kautukāgāraya'') is a naval museum of the Sri Lanka Navy in Trincomalee. It is located at Ostenburg, in the Trincomalee peninsula on a high ridge overlooking the entrance to the inner harbo ...

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; , ; , ), historically known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee District and major resort port city of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. Located on the east coast o ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

, gains its name from the

fire control tower A fire control tower is a structure located near the coastline, used to detect and locate enemy vessels offshore, direct fire upon them from coastal battery, coastal batteries, or adjust the aim of guns by spotting shell splashes. Fire control to ...

named after him at Fort Ostenburg.

References

* * *

External links

Parliamentary biography
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hood, Samuel 1762 births 1814 deaths Military personnel from Somerset Royal Navy vice admirals Knights Companion of the Order of the Bath Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Bridport UK MPs 1806–1807 UK MPs 1807–1812

Samuel Samuel is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the biblical judges to the United Kingdom of Israel under Saul, and again in the monarchy's transition from Saul to David. He is venera ...

Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Royal Navy personnel of the American Revolutionary War Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Governors of British Trinidad