Henry Hope (Captain)

Sir Henry Hope
Captain Henry Hope (Henry Raeburn, ca. 1815)
Born	1787
Died	23 September 1863
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Rank	Admiral
Commands held	HMS Espoir HMS Glatton HMS Leonidas HMS Topaze HMS Salsette HMS  Endymion
Battles/wars	Napoleonic Wars War of 1812
Awards	Companion of the Bath (1815) Knight Commander of the Bath (1860)

Sir Henry Hope KCB (1787 – 23 September 1863), was an officer of the Royal Navy whose distinguished service in the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812 earned him acclaim. As captain of HMS Endymion, he was involved in the action on 14 January 1815 which ended in the capture of the American warship USS President.

Hope was the eldest son of Charles Hope, RN, the grandson of Charles Hope-Vere, and the nephew of the army officer Henry Hope who became lieutenant-governor of the Province of Quebec. On 2 April 1798 he joined the yacht Princess Augusta on the River Thames as a 3rd Class volunteer. In May 1800 he transferred as a midshipman to the 74-gun third rate ship of the line Kent, which was under the command of his cousin, Captain William Johnstone Hope.

Kent took Lieutenant-General Sir Ralph Abercrombie to Egypt where he commanded the British campaign to dislodge the French invasion of Egypt. She then served in blockade of Alexandria. Hope transferred to Swiftsure, another 74-gun third rate.

Whilst Swiftsure was at sea, her captain, Benjamin Hallowell, learnt that a French squadron under Admiral Ganteaume had put to sea. Hallowell decided to return to reinforce Sir John Warren's squadron, but on 24 June 1801 Swiftsure encountered Ganteaume's force, which quickly overtook the damaged, slow, and undermanned Swiftsure. The French force consisted of four ships of the line and a frigate. The Indivisible and Dix-Août succeeded in shooting away Swiftsure's yards and masts, forcing her to surrender. Two men were killed, two were mortally wounded, and another six were wounded aboard Swiftsure, whilst the French lost 33 killed and wounded. Hope was taken prisoner. (The French Navy took Swiftsure into service under her existing name.)