Robert Stopford (naval officer)
Encyclopedia
Admiral
The Honourable
Sir Robert Stopford GCB
, GCMG
(5 February 1768 – 25 June 1847), was a distinguished officer in the Royal Navy
whose career spanned over 60 years, from the French Revolutionary Wars
to the Syrian War
.
, and his wife Mary (née Powys). He joined the Royal Navy
in 1780 and became a Lieutenant
in 1785. In 1790 he was promoted to captain at the age of 22 and was briefly captain of HMS Lowestoffe
.
Stopford fought at the Battle of the Glorious First of June
in 1794, commanding the frigate (32). During the battle Aquilon had the task of standing off and repeating the signals from the flagship. Aquilon also towed the Marlborough
out of the line of fire when she was dismasted, for which Lord Howe
thanked him personally. One of Stopford's officers on Aquilon was Francis Beaufort
, the inventor of the Beaufort Wind-Scale
.
On 10 March 1796, Stopford was captain of the fifth rate frigate HMS Phaeton, of 38 guns, when she engaged and captured the 20-gun French corvette
Bonne Citoyenne of Cape Finisterre
. Stopford took her back to England as his prize. The Royal Navy then bought her in as HMS Bonne Citoyenn
, a sixth rate sloop of war. During his service in the Channel
, Phaeton captured in all some 13 privateers and three vessels of war, as well as recovering numerous vessels that the French had taken.
In 1799, Stopford was appointed captain of the 74-gun third rate HMS Excellent
in the Channel Fleet. He sailed Excellent to the West Indies where he hoisted a commodore's pennant and served for eight months as the Commander-in-Chief of that station.
In 1803, Stopford became captain of the ship of the line
(74), in Horatio Nelson's
fleet.
He became a Colonel of Marines in November 1805 and received a gold medal
for his conduct at the Battle of San Domingo
in 1806, while still in command of Spencer. Stopford was wounded during the battle; he recovered, but the wound would plague him for the rest of his life.
He took part in the British invasions of the Río de la Plata
and Battle of Copenhagen
of 1806-07, and attacked Rochefort
in 1808. Stopford played an important part in the Battle of the Basque Roads
. He was appointed to command HMS Caesar (80), with a squadron of two ships of the line and five frigates. On 23 February 1809 he fell in the four French frigates under the batteries of Sable d'Olonne, an action which left them disabled. Stopford continued his blockade until Lord Gambier chased a fleet of ten French sail of the line into the Basque Roads and assumed command. After the battle Stopford was called on to give evidence at Gambier's trial in which he was exonerated.
In 1810, he sailed to Cape of Good Hope
to become Commander-in-Chief of that station. He directed the operations that resulted in the capture of Java when on 8 August 1811, the Dutch settlement of Batavia capitulated to the British under Stopford and Lieutenant-General Sir Samuel Auchmuty. The British fleet consisted of some 100 vessels, including eight cruisers belonging to the East India Company
. He was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth
in 1827.
Stopford became a Rear Admiral
in 1830. His last active post, in his early seventies, was as commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean fleet during the Syrian War
against the forces of Mehemet Ali. As Vice Admiral on board (100) and subsequently , he was in command of the combined British, Turkish, and Austrian fleet during the bombardment of Acre
on 3 November 1840. For his services in the Syrian War, Stopford was given the Freedom of the City of the City of London
. The ornate silver and oak box is part of the collection of the National Maritime Museum
, Greenwich
. The following year he became Governor of the Royal Naval Hospital at Greenwich
, with the rank of Admiral.
(1811–1891), also rose to the rank of Admiral, and their second son, James John Stopford (1817–1868), became a Vice Admiral. Stopford died in June 1847, aged 79. His wife survived him by almost twenty years and died in June 1866.
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
The Honourable
The Honourable
The prefix The Honourable or The Honorable is a style used before the names of certain classes of persons. It is considered an honorific styling.-International diplomacy:...
Sir Robert Stopford GCB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, GCMG
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
(5 February 1768 – 25 June 1847), was a distinguished officer in the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
whose career spanned over 60 years, from the French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
to the Syrian War
Syrian War
The Syrian War is the name generally given to the war of 1839-40 fought in the Middle East, also known as the Second Syrian War, mainly on territory that is now Lebanon, between the Allied Powers of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Austrian Empire, the Russian Empire and the...
.
Naval career
Stopford was the third son of James Stopford, 2nd Earl of CourtownJames Stopford, 2nd Earl of Courtown
James Stopford, 2nd Earl of Courtown KP, PC , known as Viscount Stopford from 1762 to 1770, was an Anglo-Irish peer and Tory politician....
, and his wife Mary (née Powys). He joined the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
in 1780 and became a Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
in 1785. In 1790 he was promoted to captain at the age of 22 and was briefly captain of HMS Lowestoffe
HMS Lowestoffe (1761)
HMS Lowestoffe was a 32-gun fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. Built during the latter part of the Seven Years' War, she went on to see action in the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary War, and served often in the Caribbean...
.
Stopford fought at the Battle of the Glorious First of June
Glorious First of June
The Glorious First of June [Note A] of 1794 was the first and largest fleet action of the naval conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the First French Republic during the French Revolutionary Wars...
in 1794, commanding the frigate (32). During the battle Aquilon had the task of standing off and repeating the signals from the flagship. Aquilon also towed the Marlborough
HMS Marlborough (1767)
HMS Marlborough was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 26 August 1767 at Deptford. She was one of the Ramillies class built to update the Navy and replace ships lost following the Seven Years' War. She was first commissioned in 1771 under Captain Richard Bickerton...
out of the line of fire when she was dismasted, for which Lord Howe
Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe
Admiral of the Fleet Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe KG was a British naval officer, notable in particular for his service during the American War of Independence and French Revolutionary Wars. He was the brother of William Howe and George Howe.Howe joined the navy at the age of thirteen and served...
thanked him personally. One of Stopford's officers on Aquilon was Francis Beaufort
Francis Beaufort
Rear-Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort, FRS, FRGS was an Irish hydrographer and officer in Britain's Royal Navy...
, the inventor of the Beaufort Wind-Scale
Beaufort scale
The Beaufort Scale is an empirical measure that relates wind speed to observed conditions at sea or on land. Its full name is the Beaufort Wind Force Scale.-History:...
.
On 10 March 1796, Stopford was captain of the fifth rate frigate HMS Phaeton, of 38 guns, when she engaged and captured the 20-gun French corvette
Corvette
A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or fast attack craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role...
Bonne Citoyenne of Cape Finisterre
Cape Finisterre
right|thumb|300px|Position of Cape Finisterre on the [[Iberian Peninsula]]Cape Finisterre is a rock-bound peninsula on the west coast of Galicia, Spain....
. Stopford took her back to England as his prize. The Royal Navy then bought her in as HMS Bonne Citoyenn
HMS Bonne Citoyenne (1796)
Bonne Citoyenne was a 20-gun corvette of the French Navy, which the Royal Navy captured and recommissioned as the sloop-of-war HMS Bonne Citoyenne. Her most famous action was her capture of the French frigate Furieuse on 6 July 1809 for which her crew would earn the Naval General Service Medal. Her...
, a sixth rate sloop of war. During his service in the Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
, Phaeton captured in all some 13 privateers and three vessels of war, as well as recovering numerous vessels that the French had taken.
In 1799, Stopford was appointed captain of the 74-gun third rate HMS Excellent
HMS Excellent (1787)
HMS Excellent was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Harwich on 27 November 1787. She was the captaincy of John Gell before he was appointed an Admiral.Excellent took part in the Battle of Cape St Vincent in 1797....
in the Channel Fleet. He sailed Excellent to the West Indies where he hoisted a commodore's pennant and served for eight months as the Commander-in-Chief of that station.
In 1803, Stopford became captain of the ship of the line
Ship of the line
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...
(74), in Horatio Nelson's
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté, KB was a flag officer famous for his service in the Royal Navy, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. He was noted for his inspirational leadership and superb grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics, which resulted in a number of...
fleet.
He became a Colonel of Marines in November 1805 and received a gold medal
Naval Gold Medal
The Naval Gold Medal was a medal awarded between 1793 and 1840 to senior officers of the Royal Navy in specified actions.Two different sizes were struck. 22 large-size medals were awarded to flag officers , commodores and captains of the fleet...
for his conduct at the Battle of San Domingo
Battle of San Domingo
The Battle of San Domingo, in 1806, was a naval battle of the Napoleonic Wars. French and British squadrons of ships of the line met off the southern coast of the French-occupied Spanish Colony of Santo Domingo in the Caribbean...
in 1806, while still in command of Spencer. Stopford was wounded during the battle; he recovered, but the wound would plague him for the rest of his life.
He took part in the British invasions of the Río de la Plata
British invasions of the Río de la Plata
The British invasions of the Río de la Plata were a series of unsuccessful British attempts to seize control of the Spanish colonies located around the La Plata Basin in South America . The invasions took place between 1806 and 1807, as part of the Napoleonic Wars, when Spain was an ally of...
and Battle of Copenhagen
Battle of Copenhagen (1807)
The Second Battle of Copenhagen was a British preemptive attack on Copenhagen, targeting the civilian population in order to seize the Dano-Norwegian fleet and in turn originate the term to Copenhagenize.-Background:Despite the defeat and loss of many ships in the first Battle of Copenhagen in...
of 1806-07, and attacked Rochefort
Rochefort, Charente-Maritime
Rochefort is a commune in southwestern France, a port on the Charente estuary. It is a sub-prefecture of the Charente-Maritime department.-History:...
in 1808. Stopford played an important part in the Battle of the Basque Roads
Battle of the Basque Roads
The Battle of the Basque Roads, also Battle of Aix Roads was a naval battle during the Napoleonic Wars off the Island of Aix...
. He was appointed to command HMS Caesar (80), with a squadron of two ships of the line and five frigates. On 23 February 1809 he fell in the four French frigates under the batteries of Sable d'Olonne, an action which left them disabled. Stopford continued his blockade until Lord Gambier chased a fleet of ten French sail of the line into the Basque Roads and assumed command. After the battle Stopford was called on to give evidence at Gambier's trial in which he was exonerated.
In 1810, he sailed to Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
to become Commander-in-Chief of that station. He directed the operations that resulted in the capture of Java when on 8 August 1811, the Dutch settlement of Batavia capitulated to the British under Stopford and Lieutenant-General Sir Samuel Auchmuty. The British fleet consisted of some 100 vessels, including eight cruisers belonging to the East India Company
East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
. He was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth
Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth
The Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth was a senior commander of the Royal Navy for hundreds of years. Portsmouth Command was a name given to the units, establishments, and staff operating under the post.-History:...
in 1827.
Stopford became a Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
in 1830. His last active post, in his early seventies, was as commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean fleet during the Syrian War
Syrian War
The Syrian War is the name generally given to the war of 1839-40 fought in the Middle East, also known as the Second Syrian War, mainly on territory that is now Lebanon, between the Allied Powers of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Austrian Empire, the Russian Empire and the...
against the forces of Mehemet Ali. As Vice Admiral on board (100) and subsequently , he was in command of the combined British, Turkish, and Austrian fleet during the bombardment of Acre
Acre, Israel
Acre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....
on 3 November 1840. For his services in the Syrian War, Stopford was given the Freedom of the City of the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
. The ornate silver and oak box is part of the collection of the National Maritime Museum
National Maritime Museum
The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England is the leading maritime museum of the United Kingdom and may be the largest museum of its kind in the world. The historic buildings forming part of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site, it also incorporates the Royal Observatory, Greenwich,...
, Greenwich
Greenwich
Greenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...
. The following year he became Governor of the Royal Naval Hospital at Greenwich
Greenwich
Greenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...
, with the rank of Admiral.
Family
Stopford married Mary, daughter of Robert Fanshawe, in 1809. Their eldest son, Robert Fanshawe StopfordRobert Fanshawe Stopford
Admiral Robert Fanshawe Stopford was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Channel Squadron.-Naval career:...
(1811–1891), also rose to the rank of Admiral, and their second son, James John Stopford (1817–1868), became a Vice Admiral. Stopford died in June 1847, aged 79. His wife survived him by almost twenty years and died in June 1866.