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Sir Henry Heathcote (20 January 1777 – 16 August 1851) was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Heathcote was born into a gentry family in 1777, the son of a baronet. He entered the navy several years before the start of the French Revolutionary Wars, and after seeing action in the Mediterranean, was advanced to lieutenant in 1795. After several acting commands he became a post-captain but saw no further service until the outbreak of the Napoleonic Wars. He took a frigate out to the West Indies, and achieved some successes against privateers. An attempt to cut out a moored privateer in 1804 ended in failure and heavy casualties after the French defenders were forewarned. Heathcote then went out to the East Indies commanding a ship of the line. After service transporting the ambassadors to Persia, he was based on the Indian coast. While there he took a bold decision to open despatches and then quit his post to deliver them to the station commanders, who were at the time involved in the Java Expedition. He was court-martialed for this, but though several charges were proved, he was judged to have acted in the service's best interests, and was acquitted. He went out to the Mediterranean late in the Napoleonic Wars, and commanded the inshore squadron during the blockade of Toulon. He led one of the last attacks on the French Mediterranean Fleet at the Action of 5 November 1813, and retired ashore after the end of the wars. He developed a new technique for hoisting staysails, received further promotions, and a knighthood, while in retirement, before his death in 1851 at the rank of admiral. ==Family and early life== Henry Heathcote was born on 20 January 1777, the fourth son of Sir William Heathcote, 3rd Baronet and his wife, Frances. William Heathcote was Member of Parliament for Hampshire between 1790 and 1806, and had his seat, Hursley House, in that county. Henry's younger brother, Gilbert, would also have a naval career, dying a post-captain in 1831. Henry Heathcote entered the navy in 1790, serving aboard the 74-gun under Captain Archibald Dickson in the English Channel.〔 He served on several other ships during the last years of peace and the start of the French Revolutionary Wars, and was successively aboard the 74-gun , the 28-gun in the West Indies, the 74-gun and the 36-gun .〔〔 By 1794 he was serving aboard the 74-gun at the capture of Corsica, though he later moved to serve as a midshipman aboard the 98-gun . While with ''Princess Royal'' he saw action at the first of engagements fought under Vice-Admiral, and later Admiral, Sir William Hotham.〔 The first was the Battle of Genoa on 14 March 1795, in which ''Princess Royal'' flew the flag of Vice-Admiral Samuel Goodall and sustained casualties of four killed and eight wounded. For the second action, the Battle of Hyères Islands on 13 July 1795, Heathcote was a master's mate aboard the 28-gun , commanded by Admiral Hotham's nephew, William Hotham.〔 Heathcote was finally confirmed as a lieutenant on 19 September 1795, and appointed to the 100-gun . In June 1797 he was appointed as acting-commander of the 20-gun storeship , still in the Mediterranean.〔〔 He was given a further acting command on 7 November 1797, that of the 36-gun , with orders to take her back to Britain for paying off.〔〔 He arrived back in Britain in early 1798, and was promoted to post-captain on 5 February 1798.〔 His promotion apparently brought about a break in his service, as he is not recorded commanding another ship until 1803, after the resumption of the wars with France.〔 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「Henry Heathcote」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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