James Hope (Royal Navy officer)
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Admiral of the Fleet Sir James Hope, GCB (3 March 1808 – 9 June 1881) was a Royal Navy officer. As a captain he was present at the Battle of Vuelta de Obligado during the Uruguayan Civil War and then in the Baltic Sea during the Crimean War.
Hope became Commander-in-Chief, East Indies and China Station and, when the Chinese authorities refused to allow British and French ministers to travel to Peking, he was instructed to force the Hai River. He assembled a squadron of eleven gunboats and other vessels and, at the Second Battle of the Taku Forts, he led an assault on the forts at the mouth of the river in a resumption of the Second Opium War. However the forts had been strengthened and the squadron encountered firm resistance from the Chinese defenders: Hope was forced to retreat.
Two years later the Russians attempted to establish a year-round anchorage on the coast of the
Early career
Born the son of Rear-Admiral Sir George Johnstone Hope and Lady Jemima Hope Johnstone (daughter of James Hope-Johnstone, 3rd Earl of Hopetoun), Hope entered the Royal Naval College, Portsmouth as a cadet in August 1820.[1] He was appointed to the fifth-rate HMS Forte on the North America and West Indies Station and then transferred to the fourth-rate HMS Cambrian in the Mediterranean Fleet.[2] Promoted to lieutenant on 9 March 1827, he joined the fifth-rate HMS Maidstone on the East Indies Station in September 1827.[2] He became flag lieutenant to the Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth in August 1829 and, having been promoted to commander on 26 February 1830, he became commanding officer of the sloop HMS Racer on the North America and West Indies Station in July 1833.[2]
Promoted to captain on 28 June 1838, Hope became commanding officer of the paddle steamer HMS Firebrand on the South America Station in December 1844 and was present at the Battle of Vuelta de Obligado in November 1845 during the Uruguayan Civil War.[2] At Punta Obligado, under heavy fire, he supervised the cutting of the chain that defended the Paraná River.[2] He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath on 3 April 1846.[3]
Hope went on to be commanding officer of the steam frigate HMS Terrible in the Mediterranean Fleet in November 1849 and then commanding officer of the second-rate HMS Majestic at Sheerness in February 1854.[2] In HMS Majestic he saw action in the Baltic Sea during the Crimean War.[2]
Senior command
Promoted to rear admiral on 19 November 1857,[4] Hope became Commander-in-Chief, East Indies and China Station, with his flag in the frigate HMS Chesapeake in March 1859.[2] When the Chinese authorities refused to allow British and French ministers to travel to Peking, Hope was instructed to force the Hai River.[2] He assembled a squadron of eleven gunboats and other vessels and, at the Second Battle of the Taku Forts, he led an assault on the forts at the mouth of the river in June 1859 in a resumption of the Second Opium War.[5] However the forts had been strengthened and the squadron encountered firm resistance from the Chinese defenders: Hope was forced to retreat.[5] In addition to the loss of three British gunboats and some British prestige, a total of 89 British officers and men were killed and 345 were wounded.[5] During the engagement Commodore Josiah Tattnall III, commanding the steamer Toey-Wan of the United States Navy, a neutral party in the war, provided assistance with the evacuation of the dead and wounded, justifying his involvement with the comment "blood is thicker than water".[5] Hope himself was severely wounded in the engagement.[6]
The dispute with the Chinese authorities was only resolved when the British Government sent an army, under Lieutenant General
In March 1861 the Russians attempted to establish a year-round anchorage on the coast of the
Hope became Commander-in-Chief,
Family
On 16 August 1838 Hope married Frederica Kinnaird, daughter of
See also
- O'Byrne, William Richard (1849). John Murray – via Wikisource. . .
References
- ^ required.)
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Heathcote, p. 116
- ^ "No. 20592". The London Gazette. 7 April 1846. p. 1279.
- ^ "No. 22067". The London Gazette. 27 November 1857. p. 4131.
- ^ a b c d "Second Anglo-Chinese War ("Opium war") of 1856 – 1860 (part 2)". William Loney. Archived from the original on 3 May 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
- ^ "No. 22307". The London Gazette. 16 September 1859. p. 3426.
- ^ "No. 22445". The London Gazette. 9 November 1860. p. 4125.
- ^ "No. 22560". The London Gazette. 29 October 1861. p. 4303.
- ^ Auslin, p. 81
- ^ "Second Anglo-Chinese War ("Opium war") of 1856 – 1860 (part 3)". William Loney. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
- ^ a b Heathcote, p. 117
- ^ "No. 22895". The London Gazette. 20 September 1864. p. 4510.
- ^ "No. 22952". The London Gazette. 28 March 1865. p. 1730.
- ^ "No. 23582". The London Gazette. 1 February 1870. p. 598.
- ^ "No. 23952". The London Gazette. 25 February 1873. p. 783.
- ^ "No. 24563". The London Gazette. 15 March 1878. p. 2010.
- ^ "No. 24734". The London Gazette. 17 June 1879. p. 3967.
- ^ Debrett's Baronetage with Knightage 1876, Dean & Son, London, 1876
Sources
- Auslin, Michael (2006). Negotiating with Imperialism: The Unequal Treaties and the Culture of Japanese Diplomacy. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0674022270.
- Heathcote, Tony (2002). The British Admirals of the Fleet 1734 – 1995. Pen & Sword. ISBN 0-85052-835-6.
External links
- William Loney Career History