A Life of Duty and Service: Post-war political and social activism of Napoleonic era naval officers by Lorna M. Campbell and Heather Noel-Smith Port Towns and Urban Cultures Conference, Portsmouth July 2013

1. A Life of Duty and Service
Post-war political and social activism of
Napoleonic era naval officers
By
Lorna M. Campbell
and
Heather Noel-Smith
Port Towns and Urban Cultures Conference, Portsmouth, 25th - 27th July 2013

2. Introduction
HMS Indefatigable Joining the Western Squadron by J.T. Serres, 1800, www.christies.com.
Sir Henry Hart
(1781 – 1756)
George, 3rd Earl Cadogan
(1783 – 1864)
Thomas Groube
(1774 – 1850)

3. Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and
the expansion of the press

4. Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and
the expansion of the press

5. Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
and the expansion of the press
Sailors on a Cruise, George Cruikshank, 1825, © Royal Museums Greenwich

6. Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
and the expansion of the press
Commanders Engaged at Sea, Thomas Rowlandson, 1802, © British Museum

7. Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
and the expansion of the press
John Bull offering Little Boney fair play, James Gillray, 1803, © British Museum

8. Changing Status of Naval Officers
Things as they were, 1783. Things as they are 1823, F.W. Ommanney, © Royal Museums Greenwich.

9. Postwar campaigns: Bombardment of
Algiers
The Bombardment of Algiers, George Chambers, 1836, © Royal Museums Greenwich.

10. Naval officers as political figures
Houses of Parliament Westminster, Thomas Rowlandson, 1808, public domain image.

11. Captain Sir Edward Pellew
Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth, by James Northcote, © National Portrait Gallery.

12. Research methods
HMS Indefatigable Muster, 1797, © National Archives.

13. Research methods

14. Sir Henry Hart
• Born Wilmington, Sussex, 1781.
• Joined the Royal Navy as a
Volunteer in 1796.
• Rose to the rank of Rear Admiral
in retirement.

15. The Droits de L’Homme Engagement
Destruction of the Droits de L’Homme by Ebenezer Colls, © National Maritime Museum.

16. Sir Henry Hart: Diplomatic Service
Muskat Harbour from the Fisher-mens Rock, by Lt R. Temple, 1813 , © Royal Museums
Greenwich.

17. Sir Henry Hart: Greenwich Hospital
Greenwich Hospital, English School, c. 1830 - 1840, © Royal Museums Greenwich.

18. Sir Henry Hart: Naval Charities
Marine Society Trading Card, 1818, © British Museum.

19. Sir Henry Hart: Irish Election Petitions
Maynooth College in 1850, in A. C. Ewald The Life and Times of William Ewart Gladstone.

20. Sir Henry Hart: Anti-Slavery Prosecution
Am I Not a Man and a Brother, public domain image.
Abolition of the Slave Trade in The Gentleman’s Magazine, July to December 1819.

21. Sir Henry Hart: Fund for Promoting
Female Emigration
The Needlewoman at Home and Abroad, unattributed, Punch, 1850, © The Illustrated News Ltd
at Mary Evans Picture Library.

22. Sir Henry Hart: London Females
Mission
Yard of Probationary House of the London Female Mission, © NMRC, English Heritage

23. Sir Henry Hart: Technical Inventions
The Repertory of Patent Inventions, Vol XIII, January – June 1849. London.

24. George, 3rd Earl Cadogan
• Born Westminster, 1783.
• Joined the Royal Navy as a Boy,
First Class in 1795.
• Rose to the the rank of Admiral
in retirement.
• Naval Aide de Camp to King
William IV and Queen Victoria.

25. George, 3rd Earl Cadogan: Political
Activities
Admiral Cadogan by Camille Silvy, © National Portrait Gallery.

26. George, 3rd Earl Cadogan:
Protectionist Party
The Fallen Minister (after Delaroche), 1846, © The British Museum.

27. George, 3rd Earl Cadogan: Naval
Charities
Shipwrecked Fishermen & Mariners Royal Benevolent Society Medal, 1858, © Grosvenor Prints.

28. George, 3rd Earl Cadogan: Cultural
Activities
The Antiquarian Society by George Cruikshank, 1812, © The British Museum.

29. George, 3rd Earl Cadogan: Walter
Scott and Abbotsford Subscription
George, 3rd Earl Cadogan by Sir Francis Grant, © Haggerston Press.

30. George, 3rd Earl Cadogan: Walter
Scott and Abbotsford Subscription
Abbotsford from Morris’ Country Seats, public domain image.

31. George, 3rd Earl Cadogan: Nelson
Memorial Committee
Nelson’s Column under construction by W.H.F. Talbot, © National Media Museum

32. George, Third Earl Cadogan: “the
Beau Ideal of a son of the sea”
La Sylphide, Literature, Beaux-Arts, Modes, II Serie, Tome V, 1847

33. George, Third Earl Cadogan: “the
Beau Ideal of a son of the sea”
Margaret, Countess of Blessington, by Sir Thomas Lawrence, 1822, © Wallace Collection

34. Thomas Groube
• Born Falmouth, 1774.
• Joined the Royal Navy in 1794.
• Governor of Naval Hospital,
Madras
• Rose to the rank of Rear Admiral
in retirement.
• Alderman of Borough of
Honiton.

35. Thomas Groube: Civilian Activities
Woolmer’s Exeter and Plymouth Gazette, Saturday September 23, 1848.

36. Thomas Groube: Income Tax Protests
The Penny Satirist, Saturday April 9, 1842, © The British Museum.
“Robert Peel as an oriental despot ordering his satraps to exact a
3 percent income tax.”

37. Thomas Groube: Income Tax Protests
The Western Times
“A memorial to the queen numerously and
most respectably signed is this day forwarded
form Honiton and one also from Ottery
against the income tax. That true friend of
the poor man, Captain Groube RN, has most
perseveringly accomplished it amidst clerical
scorn and Tory sneers. His efforts to promote
the best interests of this country are beyond
all praise.”

38. Thomas Groube: Income Tax Protests
Plymouth and Exeter Gazette
“At twelve o’clock the hour fixed for the meeting,
the Whig radicals headed by Mr Isaac John Cox, the
“kind hearted” Captain Groube, and Mr Gustavus
Smith assembled in the room when to their great
surprise (for they had calculated on having it all their
own way) they were soon followed by a numerous
body of the conservatives and in a few minutes the
looks of Mr Gustavus Smith unwittingly indicated
and foreshadowed the defeat of his party.”

39. Thomas Groube: Anti-Corn Law Bazaar
The Anti-Corn-Law Bazaar, Theatre Royal Manchester, 1842, © West Sussex County Council.

40. Thomas Groube: Shore Scandal
Henry Philpotts, Bishop of Exeter, by John Prescott Knight, © Magdalen College, Oxford.

41. Conclusion: A life of duty and service
Midshipman, by Thomas Rowlandson, 1799, © National Maritime Museum.

42. Conclusion: A life of duty and service
Lieutenant, by Thomas Rowlandson, 1799, © National Maritime Museum.

43. Conclusion: A life of duty and service
Captain, by Thomas Rowlandson, 1799, © National Maritime Museum.

44. Conclusion: A life of duty and service
Admiral, by Thomas Rowlandson, 1799, © National Maritime Museum.

45. Further Information
• Indefatigable1797.wordpress.com
– http://indefatigable1797.wordpress.com
• Heather Noel-Smith
– Heather.noel-smith@sky.com
• Lorna M. Campbell
– Lorna.m.campbell@icloud.com