|
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. 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 frigate , 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 , and was assigned in 1801 to Sir Hyde Parker's expedition to the Baltic. Riou worked closely with Rear-Admiral Horatio Nelson during the approach to the Battle of Copenhagen, earning Nelson's trust and admiration. Nelson appointed Riou to command his frigate squadron during the battle, but when the engagement began badly for the British, Riou used his initiative to attack the Danish forts, despite being heavily outgunned. When Parker sent the signal to withdraw, Nelson ignored it and Riou felt he had no choice but to obey his commanding officer, despite his despair at what Nelson would think of retreat. As the ''Amazon'' swung away, she exposed her vulnerable stern to the Danish batteries. Riou was encouraging his men to the end when he was cut down by a round shot. Nelson, on learning of Riou's death, called the loss 'irreparable'. A monument was erected to his memory in St Paul's Cathedral, while a poem commemorated the loss of the 'gallant, good Riou'. ==Family and early life== Riou was born at Mount Ephraim, near Faversham, Kent, on 20 November 1762, the second son of Captain Stephen Riou of the Grenadier Guards, and his wife Dorothy. He embarked on a naval career at the age of 12, joining Sir Thomas Pye's flagship, the 90-gun at Portsmouth.〔〔John Knox Laughton, P. 315.〕 His next ship was the 50-gun , flagship of Vice-Admiral John Montagu on the Newfoundland station.〔〔〔 Riou was rated midshipman by 1776 and joined Captain Charles Clerke's for a voyage to the Pacific under Captain James Cook aboard .〔〔 The expedition was Cook's third voyage of discovery, and after his death at Hawaii Clerke took command, transferring to ''Resolution'' and bringing Midshipman Riou with him.〔 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.〔〔 His first appointment as lieutenant was to the 14-gun brig-sloop , which was sent to serve in the West Indies.〔〔John Knox Laughton, P. 316.〕 Here Riou appears to have become ill, a common experience for naval officers serving in the tropics, but he survived to return to Britain and was discharged from his ship on 3 February 1782 and went into the Royal Naval Hospital at Haslar.〔 He recovered his health and by April 1783 was back on active service, joining the Portsmouth guardship .〔〔 Discharging from the ''Ganges'' in June 1784, he went on to half-pay, which lasted for two years until he received another appointment, this time to the 50-gun in March 1786.〔 The ''Salisbury'' was the flagship of Rear-Admiral John Elliot, who sailed to Newfoundland take up his post as Commodore-Governor there.〔 During this period in his life, Riou was described by a seaman aboard the ''Ganges'' as 'a strict disciplinarian with a fanatical regard for cleanliness'.〔 He was also noted to be a religious man, and an affectionate son and brother.〔 A further period on half-pay followed his discharge from the ''Salisbury'' in November 1788, but meanwhile he had succeeded in attracting the attention of the Townsend family, and was able to use their patronage to secure an appointment to command , in April 1789.〔〔〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Edward Riou」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|