Henry Prescott
| Sir Henry Prescott | |
|---|---|
| Born |
4 May 1783 Kew Green, London |
| Died | 18 November 1874 (aged 91) Bayswater, London |
| Buried | Kensal Green Cemetery, London |
| Allegiance |
Great Britain United Kingdom |
| Service/branch | Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1796–1860 |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Commands held | |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | |
| Other work | Governor of Newfoundland (1834–1841) |
Admiral Sir Henry Prescott GCB (4 May 1783 – 18 November 1874) was an officer of the British Royal Navy who served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and was later the Governor of the Newfoundland Colony.
Prescott was born at Kew Green, Surrey, the son of Admiral Isaac Prescott and a daughter of the Reverend Richard Walter, who served as chaplain aboard the Centurion during Commodore George Anson's expedition to the Pacific, and was the author of A Voyage Round the World, in the Years 1740–44 (1748). Prescott's only brother, an infantry officer in the East India Company's service, was drowned during a voyage home in 1806.
Prescott entered the Navy on 16 February 1796 as first-class volunteer on board the 98-gun ship of the line Formidable, serving under Captains the Honourable George Cranfield Berkeley and John Irwin, stationed in the Channel. He was rated as a midshipman in April 1797, and in early 1798 followed Admiral Sir Charles Thompson (whose flag had been flying on board Formidable) into the 100-gun Queen Charlotte.
In 1799 he sailed to the Mediterranean aboard the frigate Penelope, Captain the Honourable Henry Blackwood, where on 31 March 1800 he took part in the capture of the French ship Guillaume Tell of 84 guns and 1,000 men. He afterwards took part in the Egyptian Campaign of 1801; and on 17 February 1802, while serving under Lord Keith in the 80-gun ship Foudroyant, was appointed acting-lieutenant of the brig Vincejo, Captain James Prevost, and his commission was confirmed on 28 April 1802. He then served on the frigate Unicorn, Captain Lucius Ferdinand Hardyman, in the North Sea from 26 April 1803. On 14 December 1804 he moved to the frigate Aeolus, Captain Lord William FitzRoy, seeing action in the Battle of Cape Ortegal on 4 November 1805, when a squadron under Sir Richard Strachan fought four ships escaped from Trafalgar. He subsequently served aboard Lord Eldon, Captain George B. Whinyates; the 74-gun Ajax, Captain Henry Blackwood; and the 98-gun Ocean, flagship of Lord Collingwood, all in the Mediterranean.
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