Josias Rowley

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Admiral Sir Josias Rowley about 1830

Sir Josias Rowley, 1st Baronet GCB , GCMG (* 1765 , † January 10, 1842 ) was a British admiral who became known through the so-called Mauritius campaign .

Early years

He was the second son of the Irish lawyer and politician Clotworthy Rowley and Letitia Campbell. His paternal grandfather was the Admiral Sir William Rowley . Vice-Admiral Sir Joshua Rowley, 1st Baronet (1734-1790), was his uncle, Vice-Admiral Bartholomew Rowley (1764-1811) and Admiral Sir Charles Rowley, 1st Baronet (1770-1845) were his cousins . Rear Admiral Samuel Campbell Rowley (1774–1846) was his youngest brother.

Born in 1765, he joined the Royal Navy in 1777 and, according to the ship's books, sailed from November 1777 to December 1778 under his uncle on the liner HMS Monarch . From December 1778 he served under his uncle on the ship of the line HMS Suffolk . Appointed midshipman in 1780 , he became a lieutenant on December 24, 1783 . After the outbreak of the coalition wars between Great Britain and France , he became commander in 1793 and received his first own command of the sloop HMS Lark . April 6, 1795 he was promoted to captain . From 1797 he commanded the HMS Braave at the Cape of Good Hope , from 1799 to 1802 the frigate HMS Imperieuse in India .

In 1805 he took command of the old 64-gun ship of the line HMS Raisonable , with which he participated in the battle of Cape Finisterre in 1805 and in the operations against Buenos Aires and Montevideo .

Mauritius campaign

In 1808 he became commander in chief of the British fleet at the Cape of Good Hope. In September 1809, Rowley was given command of a small squadron of frigates and sloops. With these ships and a few soldiers he attacked Réunion and occupied the largest port on the island for a week. In March 1810, Rowley took over the HMS Boadicea , a frigate of 38 guns. With reinforcements of ships and soldiers, Réunion was conquered in July 1810. The British expedition was hit hard by the defeat of his deputy and the loss of four frigates off Mauritius . Rowley was able to prevent the permanent loss of two more frigates in September 1810. Reinforced by Admiral Albemarle Bertie from the Cape of Good Hope and with a total of 10,000 soldiers under General John Abercrombie , Mauritius could still be conquered in December 1810, whereby Rowley had constantly blocked the island since October.

Patrick O'Brian addresses the Mauritius campaign in his novel “Secret Mission Mauritius”.

Next life

After Rowley had sailed with the Victory message home, he took over the 74-gun battleship HMS America and October 1814. In 1812 he inherited after the death of his childless elder brother William Rowley († 1811) the possessions of the family to the estate Mount Campbell in Drumsna in County Leitrim, Ireland . In 1813 he received the rank of Colonel in the Royal Marines . On November 2, 1813 he was raised to hereditary baronet , of the Navy, in 1814 he was promoted to Rear Admiral . In addition, he was made Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in January 1815 . After the war he was from 1818 to 1821 in the British fleet in the coastal waters around Ireland. From 1821 to 1826 he was a member of the British House of Commons as an MP for the Kinsale in County Cork . In 1825 he became Vice-Admiral , from 1833 to 1837 he was Commander-in-Chief of the British Mediterranean Fleet . In 1834 he was made the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George , in 1837 promoted to Admiral and in 1840 raised to the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath.

Admiral Sir Josias Rowley died unmarried and childless on January 10, 1842, so that his title of nobility expired.

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predecessor title successor
New title created Baronet, of the Navy
1813-1842 		Title expired
personal data
SURNAME Rowley, Josias
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rowley, Sir Josias, 1st Baronet
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British admiral
DATE OF BIRTH 1765
DATE OF DEATH January 10, 1842