Philip Broke
Sir Philip Broke Rear-Admiral | |
---|---|
Wars |
|
Awards | Naval Gold Medal |
Spouse(s) | Sarah Louisa Middleton |
Children | George Broke-Middleton |
Sir Philip Bowes Vere Broke, 1st Baronet
Early life
Broke was born at Broke Hall, Nacton, near Ipswich, the eldest son of Philip Bowes Broke, grandson of Philip Broke and descendant of Sir Richard Broke, who served as Chief Baron of the Exchequer. He was educated at Ipswich School, where a house was later named in his honour.
Broke joined the
On 25 November 1802, Broke married Sarah Louisa Middleton, daughter of Sir William Fowle Middleton 1st Baronet of Crowfield, Suffolk. They had 11 children, including Philip Broke, 2nd Baronet, George Broke-Middleton, and Charles Acton Broke.[2]
Capture of USS Chesapeake
His most notable accomplishment was his victory while commanding HMS Shannon, over the USS Chesapeake on 1 June 1813, during the War of 1812. Broke took command of the Shannon, a 38-gun frigate, on 31 August 1806. Broke was ordered to Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1811 as the diplomatic position between America and Britain deteriorated. The United States Congress declared war on 18 June 1812.
There were half a dozen naval battles between Royal Navy and United States Navy frigates in 1812 and the early months 1813. The Americans won every one of those six encounters, which came as a surprise to the Royal Navy. The British and American ships were of the same rate, yet they were not of the same size or power. In each case the American ships were larger than the British vessels, had larger crews and had a heavier broadside. The Americans had a main battery of 24-pounder long guns compared with the smaller 18-pounders mounted on the British ships; the weight refers to the size of the cannonballs.[3]
Matters changed when Shannon met Chesapeake off
At the time the official rating of a ship did not accurately reflect the number of cannon mounted. Thus HMS Shannon (1065 tons burthen) was classed as a 38 gun ship but mounted 48 guns in total. USS Chesapeake (1135 tons burthen) was variously rated a 36 or 38 gun ship but mounted 49 guns in total. Broke mounted a number of very small carronades in order that ships' boys and younger midshipmen could have cannon light enough for them to practise on. The force of a ship was usually calculated as "weight of metal." This was the aggregate of the weight of all the cannonballs capable of being fired in one broadside (i.e., when half of the cannon, all the guns on the same side, were fired). The British weight of metal was 547 pounds, the American weight of metal was 581 pounds. The two ships were very well matched with no preponderance of force on either side.[4][5]
Chesapeake was disabled by gunfire, boarded and captured within 15 minutes of opening fire. Fifty-six sailors on Chesapeake were killed and eighty-five wounded including her captain James Lawrence, who died of his wounds on 4 June. Lawrence's last command was reported to be, "Don't give up the ship". On the Shannon, 24 were killed and 59 wounded, including Broke who sustained a serious head wound while leading the boarding party. The head wound from a cutlass blow, which had exposed the brain, had been very severe accompanied by great blood loss. Therapeutic bleeding, routinely employed at the time, was not performed by Shannon's surgeon Mr Alexander Jack, which was to Broke's advantage. The report of the surgeon described the wound as "a deep cut on the parietal bone, extending from the top of the head ... towards the left ear, [the bone] penetrated for at least three inches in length."[6]
Lieutenant
Shannon's victory created a sensation in both the United States and the United Kingdom, especially in the newspapers of the era. In recognition, Broke was created a
His younger brother, Charles Broke, later
Sir Philip Broke Bt. died on 2 January 1841 and is buried in Nacton in Suffolk with a monument sculpted by Thomas Denman.[11]
References
- ^ The Navy List, 1831
- ^ Walford Dakin Selby, ed., The Genealogist, vol. 23 (1907), p. 143
- ^ Lambert, Andrew (2012) The Challenge: Britain Against America in the Naval War of 1812, Faber and Faber. p. 1
- ISBN 1-86176-135-X.
- ^ Padfield, P (1968). Broke and the Shannon. London: Hodder and Stoughton. p. 140.
- ISBN 1473831326, 9781473831322, pp. 152–153
- ^ "No. 16779". The London Gazette. 21 September 1813. p. 1890.
- ^ "No. 16852". The London Gazette. 5 February 1814. p. 280.
- ^ "No. 16972". The London Gazette. 4 January 1815. p. 19.
- ^ "No. 17032". The London Gazette. 1 July 1815. p. 1277.
- ^ Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660-1851 by Rupert Gunnis p.127
External links
- Media related to Philip Broke at Wikimedia Commons