Hovenden Walker
| Sir Hovenden Walker | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1656 or 1666 |
| Died | 1725 or 1728 |
| Allegiance |
 Kingdom of Great Britain
|
| Service/branch |
 Royal Navy
|
| Rank | Rear Admiral |
| Commands held |
HMS Foresight Jamaica Station |
| Battles/wars | Queen Anne's War |
Rear-Admiral Sir Hovenden Walker (1656 or 1666 – 1725 or 1728) was a British naval officer noted for, during Queen Anne's War, having led an abortive 1711 expedition against Quebec City, then the capital of New France.
Walker entered Trinity College, Dublin, in 1678 but did not take a degree and subsequently joined the Royal Navy. He probably visited North America in 1686, reaching Boston aboard the frigate HMS Dartmouth.
Walker was promoted to captain about 1692 and saw action near the Lizard while in command of the fourth-rate HMS Foresight in around 1696. In 1701 he joined the fleet under Sir George Rooke at Cadiz, and shortly afterwards, as commodore, took command of a detachment charged with cooperating in an attack on Guadeloupe and Martinique, which was unsuccessful. This failure did not damage his career, though; in 1706 he assisted in the relief of Barcelona, and two years later was appointed to command the squadron before Dunkirk. In March 1711 he was promoted to rear-admiral and was also given a knighthood.
On 3 April 1711, the new rear-admiral of the white squadron was made commander-in-chief of a secret naval expedition aimed at the conquest of New France. His expedition was to attack Quebec in combination with a land expedition led by Colonel Francis Nicholson.
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