Edward Riou
Edward Riou | |
---|---|
Born | 20 November 1762 Mount Ephraim, near Faversham, Kent |
Died | 2 April 1801 Aboard HMS Amazon, Copenhagen Harbour | (aged 38)
Allegiance | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland |
Service/ | Royal Navy |
Years of service | 1774–1801 |
Rank | Captain (Post-captain) |
Commands held | HMS Guardian HMS Rose HMS Beaulieu HMS Princess Augusta HMS Amazon |
Battles/wars |
|
Edward Riou FRS (20 November 1762 – 2 April 1801) was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the French Revolutionary Wars under several of the most distinguished naval officers of his age and won fame and honour for two incidents in particular.
Riou entered the navy at 12 years of age, and after a period spent in British and North American waters, served as a midshipman on Captain James Cook's third and final voyage of discovery. Prior to this voyage he had his portrait painted by popular artist Daniel Gardner.[2] Rising through the ranks, he saw service on a number of the navy's stations, but also endured periods of unemployment. He received his first command in 1789, the former fifth-rate HMS Guardian, which was being used to transport stores and convicts to Australia. He had the misfortune to run his ship onto an iceberg, which nearly caused his ship to sink outright. After several attempts to stop the flooding into the damaged hull, most of the crew abandoned ship. Despite fully anticipating his death, Riou refused to leave his ship, and he and a few others were left to attempt the nearly impossible task of navigating the sinking ship several hundred leagues to land. After nine weeks at sea, and with continued labour and endurance, Riou successfully navigated his half-sunk ship back to port, saving the lives of those who had elected to remain with him.
His feat earned him promotions and finally commands, but a period of ill-health forced his temporary retirement from active service. Recovering quickly, he was given command of the new 38-gun
Family and early career
Riou was born at Mount Ephraim, near
Riou took and passed his lieutenant's examination on 19 October 1780, shortly after the expedition's return to Britain, and received his promotion on 28 October.
Command of the Guardian
The Guardian was a former two-decked 44-gun fifth-rate, but had been armed en flûte and loaded with stores to be taken to the British colony at Botany Bay.[6][8][9] In addition to these stores, consisting of seeds, plants, farm machinery and livestock with a total value of some £70,000, the Guardian was also to transport a number of convicts and their overseers.[8] Aboard the Guardian was a young midshipman named Thomas Pitt, the son of politician Thomas Pitt, and nephew of Prime Minister William Pitt.[6][8]
With over 300 people aboard his ship, Riou left
Riou and the iceberg
Riou positioned himself near the iceberg, and despatched boats to collect the ice. By the time the last boats had been recovered, night had fallen and a sudden fogbank descended, hiding the iceberg from view.[8] Riou found himself in a dangerous situation. Somewhere to leeward lay a large mass of ice, concealed in the darkness and fog.[11] He posted lookouts in the bows and rigging, and began to edge slowly forward. After sometime the danger seemed to be past, and the iceberg left behind, when at 9 o'clock a strange pale glow was reported by the lookout in the bows.[11] Riou ordered the helm to turn hard a starboard, turning into the wind as a wall of ice higher than the ship's masts slid by along the side.[11] It briefly appeared that the danger had been avoided, but as she passed by, the Guardian struck an underwater projection with a crash.[11] Caught in a sudden gust of wind, the ship reared up and swung about, driving the stern into the ice, smashing away the rudder, shattering her stern frame and tearing a large gash in the hull.[11] Despite the seriousness of the situation, Riou remained calm, using the sails to pull clear of the ice, and then taking stock of the damage.[11]
Now clear of the immediate danger of the ice, Riou found himself in a desperate situation. There was two feet of water in the hold and more was rushing in, while the sea was rising and a gale had sprung up.
'I have determined to remain in the ship'
While the boats were prepared, Riou wrote a letter to the
Sir,
If any part of the officers or crew of the Guardian should ever survive to get home, I have only to say their conduct after the fatal stroke against an island of ice was admirable and wonderful in everything that related to their duties considered either as private men or on his Majesty's Service.
As there seems no possibility of my remaining many hours in this world, I beg leave to recommend to the consideration of the Admiralty a sister who if my conduct or service should be found deserving any memory their favour might be shown to her together with a widowed mother.
I am Sir remaining with great respect
Your ever Obedt & humble servt,
E. Riou[12]
Riou gave the note to Mr Clements, the master of the Guardian, who was given command of the launch. A total of 259 people chose to join the five boats, leaving Riou with sixty-two people; himself, three midshipmen, including Thomas Pitt, the surgeon's mate, the boatswain, carpenter, three superintendents of convicts, a daughter of one of the superintendents, thirty seamen and boys and twenty-one convicts.[13] The Guardian was nearly awash by now with 16 feet of water in the hold, but a bumping noise on the deck attracted attention, and on investigation was found to be a number of casks that had broken free and were floating in the hold, trapped under the lower gundeck.[13] Realising that this was providing extra buoyancy, Riou had the gun deck hatches sealed and caulked, while another sail was sent under the hull to control the flooding. Having now created a substitute hull out of his deck, Riou raised what little sail he could and began the long journey back to land, with the pumps being continuously manned.[13]
For nine weeks Riou and his small crew navigated the Guardian, by now little more than a raft, across the 400
Promotion and early service in the French Revolutionary Wars
Riou returned to Britain and was met with popular acclaim for his feat. Acquitted of any blame for the loss of his ship, he was promoted to master and commander on 21 September 1790, and advanced to
In May 1796 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society[17]
Battle of Copenhagen
After the British force had surveyed the Danish positions around Copenhagen, a council of war was held between Parker, his second in command Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, and the other British captains. Riou was among those present.[6][9] Riou had worked closely with Nelson and Captain Thomas Foley in the lead up to the attack, and Nelson duly appointed him commander of the frigates and smaller vessels, with the instruction to deploy his ships to support the main fleet.[6][9] As the battle began, several of Nelson's ships ran aground on shoals in the harbour, and a new plan of attack had to be improvised. As Nelson's ships of the line engaged their Danish counterparts, Riou took his frigates in to harass the Tre Kroner forts and blockships.[6][9] Despite being heavily outmatched and dangerously exposed, they exchanged fire for several hours.[6][9] The ships suffered heavy casualties; Riou was hit on the head by a splinter.[6]
Death
At 1:15 pm, Parker, waiting outside the harbour with the reserve, raised a signal ordering Nelson to withdraw. Nelson acknowledged the signal but ignored it, while Nelson's second in command, Rear-Admiral Thomas Graves repeated the signal but did not obey it.[18] Riou now found himself in a difficult position. Too junior an officer to risk disobeying a direct order, he reluctantly gave the order for his small squadron to withdraw. In doing so his ships were forced to turn their sterns to the Danish guns, leaving themselves open to heavy fire on their most vulnerable area.[6] The withdrawal of HMS Alcmene and then HMS Blanche reduced the thick cloud of gun smoke that was helping to obscure the British ships, leaving the Amazon exposed to the full force of the Danish guns. Riou remained in action for a further half an hour before reluctantly giving the order to withdraw.[19][20] Lieutenant-Colonel William Stuart, commanding the soldiers of the 48th Regiment recorded that Riou:
...was sitting on a gun, was encouraging his men, and had been wounded in the head by a splinter. He had expressed himself grieved at being thus obliged to retreat, and nobly observed, 'What will Nelson think of us?' His clerk was killed by his side; and by another shot, several marines, while hauling on the main-brace, shared the same fate. Riou then exclaimed, 'Come, then, my boys, let us all die together!' The words were scarcely uttered, when the fatal shot severed him in two.[6]
Command of the Amazon devolved to her first lieutenant, Lieutenant John Quilliam, who completed the withdrawal.[6]
Memorials
Nelson, who had not known him before this expedition, had conceived a great affection for Riou, and wrote 'In poor dear Riou the country has sustained an irreparable loss.'[9] The naval historian Sir Jahleel Brenton declared that he had all the qualities of a perfect officer.[9]
Parliament commemorated his memory with a joint memorial (shared with Cpt. James Robert Mosse) in the crypt of St Paul's Cathedral.[9][21][22] The poet Thomas Campbell wrote The Battle of the Baltic, with the lines
Brave hearts! To Britain's pride,
Once so faithful and so true,
On the deck of fame that died
With the gallant, good Riou— Thomas Campbell, The Battle of the Baltic[19]
Notes
- ^ "No. 15354". The London Gazette. 15 April 1801. p. 3.
- ^ Louise, Anemaat (Summer 2015). "Portrait of a Young Midshipman" (PDF). S L Magazine. Vol. 8, no. 4. p. 23.
- ^ a b c d Tracy. Who's who in Nelson's Navy. p. 305.
- ^ a b c Crealock. The Frontier War journal of Major John Crealock, 1878. p. XVI.
- ^ a b c d John Knox Laughton, . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900. P. 315.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Tracy. Who's who in Nelson's Navy. p. 306.
- ^ a b Coleman. The Royal Navy in Polar Exploration. p. 107.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Coleman. The Royal Navy in Polar Exploration. p. 109.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u John Knox Laughton, . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900. P. 316.
- ^ a b c Winfield. British Warships of the Age of Sail: 1714–1792. p. 175.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Coleman. The Royal Navy in Polar Exploration. p. 110.
- ^ a b Coleman. The Royal Navy in Polar Exploration. p. 111.
- ^ a b c d e f Coleman. The Royal Navy in Polar Exploration. p. 112.
- ^ Winfield. British Warships of the Age of Sail: 1714–1792. p. 231.
- ^ Winfield. British Warships of the Age of Sail: 1714–1792. p. 205.
- ^ a b Winfield. British Warships of the Age of Sail: 1793–1817. p. 141.
- ^ "Library and Archive Catalogue". The Royal Society. Retrieved 6 October 2010.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Adkin. The Trafalgar Companion. p. 468.
- ^ a b Coleman. The Royal Navy in Polar Exploration. p. 113.
- ^ Palmer. Command at Sea. p. 191.
- ^ The Visitor's Guide to the Sights of London. p. 64.
- ^ Cummings. The Companion to St. Paul's Cathedral. p. 11.
References
- The Visitor's Guide to the Sights of London: Including the National Exhibitions of Greenwich Hospital,Woolwich Arsenal,etc. London: W. Strange, Paternoster Row. 1844. OCLC 794348341.
- Adkin, Mark (2007). The Trafalgar Companion: A Guide to History's Most Famous Sea Battle and the Life of Admiral Lord Nelson. London: Aurum Press. ISBN 978-1-84513-018-3.
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 23 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 363.
- Coleman, Ernest (2006). The Royal Navy in Polar Exploration: From Frobisher to Ross. Tempus. ISBN 0-7524-3660-0.
- Crealocke, John (1989). The Frontier War journal of Major John Crealock, 1878: a narrative of the ninth Frontier War by the assistant military secretary to Lieutenant General Thesiger. The Van Riebeeck Society. ISBN 0-620-14455-6.
- Cummings, E. M. (1840). The Companion to St. Paul's Cathedral: Containing a Description of the Various Objects Worthy Attention, and Its History: to which is Added, a Brief Historical Sketch of the Ancient Church. London: Stewart and Murray. OL 25529733M.
- Ditchfield, P. H. (1913). "The family of Riou". Proceedings of the Huguenot Society of London. 10 (2): 236-248 (240-246).
- John Knox Laughton, . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
- Palmer, Michael A. (2005). Command at sea: naval command and control since the sixteenth century. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-01681-5.
- Tracy, Nicholas (2006). Who's who in Nelson's Navy: 200 Naval Heroes. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 1-86176-244-5.
- Winfield, Rif (2007). British Warships of the Age of Sail 1714–1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-86176-295-5.
- Winfield, Rif (2007). British Warships of the Age of Sail 1794–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-86176-246-7.