Henry Bruce (Royal Navy officer, born 1792)

Admiral

Sir Henry Bruce

KCB
Henry William Bruce, Portsmouth, Britain, c. 1860.
Born2 February 1792 (1792-02-02)
Died14 December 1863 (1863-12-15) (aged 71)
Liverpool, United Kingdom
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service / branchRoyal Navy
Years of service1803–1863
RankAdmiral
CommandsHMS Britannia
HMS Imogene
HMS Agincourt
HMS Queen
Pacific Station
Portsmouth Command
Battles / wars
AwardsKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath
RelationsSir James Bruce, 2nd Baronet (brother)
Memorial to Admiral Henry Bruce, North Berwick Churchyard

Admiral Sir Henry William Bruce, KCB (2 February 1792 – 14 December 1863) was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth.

Early life

Born the second son of Sir Henry Hervey Aston Bruce, 1st Baronet and the former Letitia Barnard (a daughter of Rev. Dr. Henry Barnard and Mary Canning). His elder brother was Sir James Bruce, 2nd Baronet. His maternal uncle was Gen. Sir Andrew Barnard.[1]

Career

Bruce joined the Royal Navy in 1803.[2] He took part in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.[2] He also took part in the War of 1812.[2] He became Captain of HMS Britannia in 1823, of HMS Imogene in 1836, of HMS Agincourt in 1842 and of HMS Queen in 1847.[3]

In 1851 he was appointed Commodore of the West Africa Squadron.[2] He negotiated and signed the Treaty Between Great Britain and Lagos of 1 January 1852.[4] Then in 1854, as Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Station, he founded a military hospital at Esquimalt.[2] He was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth in 1860.[5]

Personal life

In 1822 he married Jane Cochrane, daughter of Adm. Hon. Sir Alexander Cochrane (a son of the 8th Earl of Dundonald). Before her death in 1830, they were the parents of:[1]

  • Alexander Hervey Bruce (d. 1874), a Lt.-Col. in the Bengal Staff Corps who married Elizabeth Julia Mackinnon.[1]
  • Henry Stewart Beresford Bruce (1824–1908), a Lt.-Col. in the 2nd Lancashire Militia who married Marriette Hill, daughter of John Hill of Bellaghy Castle, County Londonderry, in 1846. After her death in 1886, he married her sister, Frances Jane Augusta (née Hill) Moran, widow of Edward Moran, in 1894.[1]

In 1832, following the death of his first wife, he married Louisa Mary Minchin Dalrymple, a daughter of Col. George Dalrymple.[3] Together, they were the parents of:[1]

  • James Minchin Bruce (1833–1901), a Rear-Admiral who married Elizabeth Lucas Hill, daughter of John Hill, in 1856.[1]

He lived at Ballyscullion in Northern Ireland. He died in Liverpool on 14 December 1863 while still serving as a naval officer and was interred in the family vault at Downhill in Northern Ireland.[1]

Legacy

Sir Henry William Bruce silver plate and sword in Bruce Neuk at the Britannia Yacht Club in Ottawa, Ontario

He is memorialised on the family gravestone in the south-east corner of North Berwick parish churchyard.[6]

"This piece of silver plate was presented to Sir Henry William Bruce by his Captains, Commanders, and Lieutenants in 1854 as a token of their grateful sense of his uniform, kindness and consideration to themselves, the officers and ship's companies under their command, during the period they had the pleasure of serving under him on the West Coast of Africa".[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 1, page 508.
  2. ^ a b c d e Admiral Sir Henry William Bruce Archived 9 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine Naval & Military Museum
  3. ^ a b "Henry William Bruce R.N." William Loney RN. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  4. ^ Smith, Robert (January 1979). The Lagos Consulate 1851-1861. Macmillan. pp. 135–137. ISBN 9780520037465.
  5. ^ History in Portsmouth Archived 27 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ See picture
  7. ^ Sir Henry W Bruce silver plate and sword in the Bruce Neuk at the Britannia Yacht Club, Ottawa, Ontario

See also

Military offices
Preceded by Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Station
1854–1857 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth
1860–1863 		Succeeded by