Edward O'Bryen
| Edward O'Bryen | |
|---|---|
| Born |
c. 1753 Unknown |
| Died | 18 December 1808 Catisfield, Hampshire |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom |
| Service/branch |
 Royal Navy
|
| Years of service | 1770s–1803 |
| Rank | Rear-Admiral |
| Battles/wars |
American Revolutionary War French Revolutionary Wars • Nore Mutiny • Battle of Camperdown |
Rear-Admiral Edward O'Bryen (sometimes O'Brien) (c. 1753 – 18 December 1808) was a British Royal Navy officer prominent in the late eighteenth century, who is best known for his participation at the Nore Mutiny and the Battle of Camperdown, both in 1797 during the French Revolutionary Wars. At the Nore, O'Bryen had recently been given command of the ship of the line HMS Nassau when the mutiny broke out. Although he was not the cause and the crew expressed their affection for him, O'Bryen had to be prevented from throwing himself overboard when his men refused to obey his orders. Just five months later, now in command of Vice-Admiral Richard Onslow's flagship HMS Monarch, O'Bryen led the southern division of the British attack at the Battle of Camperdown, in which a Dutch fleet was destroyed and British supremacy in the North Sea confirmed. Although he was praised for his exertions in the battle, O'Bryen's health was deteriorating and he retired from the Navy in 1803, dying at the rank of rear-admiral five years later.
Nothing is known of Edward O'Bryen's parents or childhood, and he first appears as a junior officer aboard the frigate HMS Aeolus during the early 1770s. He later moved to HMS Prudent in the East Indies and then in 1775 became a lieutenant, at which time he was at least 21 years old. He then served on a number of ships, including the galley HMS Ferret that fought under Lord Howe in Narragansett Bay in August 1778 and later HMS Ostrich and HMS Ambuscade in the Channel Fleet. In 1781 he sailed for the Caribbean in HMS Actaeon and two years later took over the sloop HMS Jamaica. In 1784 he was promoted to post captain and returned to Europe in HMS Resistance. He was then immediately placed on the reserve list on half-pay, not serving at sea again until 1795.
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