# Henry Edward Napier > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Henry_Edward_Napier > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Henry_Edward_Napier.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Edward_Napier > Source revision: 1352942756 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) British naval officer and historian For the British Army officer, see [Henry Edward Napier (British Army officer, died 1915)](/source/Henry_Edward_Napier_(British_Army_officer%2C_died_1915)). Captain Henry Edward Napier FRS Henry Edward Napier Born (1789-03-05)5 March 1789 Died 13 October 1853(1853-10-13) (aged 64) London, England Allegiance United Kingdom Branch Royal Navy Service years 1803–1830 Rank Captain Commands HMS Goree HMS Rifleman HMS Jaseur HMS Pelorus Conflicts Napoleonic Wars **Henry Edward Napier** (5 March 1789 – 13 October 1853) was a British naval officer and historian. ## Family background He was the fifth son of Colonel the Honourable [George Napier](/source/George_Napier), and his second wife, [Lady Sarah Lennox](/source/Lady_Sarah_Lennox), seventh daughter of the [2nd Duke of Richmond](/source/Charles_Lennox%2C_2nd_Duke_of_Richmond), and one of the famed [Lennox sisters](/source/Lennox_sisters). His brothers included General Sir [Charles James Napier](/source/Charles_James_Napier), [Commander-in-Chief, India](/source/Commander-in-Chief%2C_India) and conqueror of [Sindh](/source/Sindh); Lieutenant-General Sir [George Thomas Napier](/source/George_Thomas_Napier), Governor and Commander of the [Cape of Good Hope](/source/British_Cape_Colony); and General Sir [William Francis Patrick Napier](/source/William_Francis_Patrick_Napier), [Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey](/source/Lieutenant_Governor_of_Guernsey), and author of the *History of the Peninsular War*.[1] ## Naval career Napier entered the [Royal Naval Academy](/source/Royal_Naval_Academy) at [Portsmouth Dockyard](/source/Portsmouth_Dockyard) on 5 May 1803, and on 20 September 1806 joined the [74-gun](/source/74-gun) [*Spencer*](/source/HMS_Spencer_(1800)), as a first-class volunteer. In her under the Captains the Honourable [Robert Stopford](/source/Robert_Stopford_(Royal_Navy_officer)) and [John Quilliam](/source/John_Quilliam), he visited the Cape of Good Hope, and as a midshipman took part in the [Bombardment of Copenhagen](/source/Battle_of_Copenhagen_(1807)), also assisting in the destruction of Fleckeroe Castle, on the coast of Norway. From December 1808 until September 1811 he served in the [East Indies](/source/East_Indies) aboard the frigate [*Clorinde*](/source/French_frigate_Clorinde_(1800)) under Captain [Thomas Briggs](/source/Thomas_Briggs_(Royal_Navy_officer)); the [74-gun](/source/74-gun) [*Russell*](/source/HMS_Russell_(1764)), flagship of Vice-Admiral [William O'Bryen Drury](/source/William_O'Bryen_Drury), and the frigate [*Diomede*](/source/HMS_Diomede_(1798)), Captain Hugh Cook. He was appointed acting-lieutenant of the *Diomede* on 31 October 1809, receiving his commission on 4 May 1810.[1] In 1812–13 he served aboard the 74-gun [*Chatham*](/source/HMS_Chatham_(1812)), Captain [Graham Moore](/source/Graham_Moore_(Royal_Navy_officer)), and the frigates [*Minerva*](/source/HMS_Minerva_(1805)), Captain Richard Hawkins, and [*Nymphe*](/source/HMS_Nymphe_(1812)), Captain Farmery Predam Epworth, on the North Sea and North American stations. On 7 June 1814, he was promoted to commander aboard the 18-gun sloop [*Goree*](/source/HMS_Favourite_(1794)) at Bermuda; and soon after appointed to the brig-sloop [*Rifleman*](/source/HMS_Rifleman_(1809)), employed in protecting merchant vessels in the [Bay of Fundy](/source/Bay_of_Fundy). In August 1815 Napier went on [half-pay](/source/Half-pay), having declined accepting a piece of plate that had been voted to him for his care in the conduct of convoys between the port of [Saint John, New Brunswick](/source/Saint_John%2C_New_Brunswick) and [Castine, Maine](/source/Castine%2C_Maine). His last appointments were to the [*Jaseur*](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=HMS_Jaseur_(1813)&action=edit&redlink=1) at [Halifax](/source/Halifax_(former_city)) from January 1821 to July 1823, and to the [*Pelorus*](/source/HMS_Pelorus_(1808)) at Plymouth, for a brief period in 1826. He was promoted to captain on 31 December 1830.[1] ## Writing career Napier was elected a fellow of the [Royal Society](/source/Royal_Society) on 18 May 1820. His chief work was the *Florentine History from the earliest Authentic Records to the Accession of Ferdinand the Third, Grandduke of Tuscany,* in six volumes, published in 1846–47.[2] ## Personal life On 17 November 1823 Napier married his first cousin, Caroline Bennet (died 5 September 1836), in [Florence](/source/Florence)). She was the illegitimate daughter of his uncle [Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond](/source/Charles_Lennox%2C_3rd_Duke_of_Richmond). They had five children: - Augusta Sarah (born 1826) married Frederick Williams-Freeman, grandson of [Adm. William Peere Williams-Freeman](/source/William_Peere_Williams-Freeman). - Charles George (20 July 1829 – 2 September 1882) married Susanna Juliana Ricarda Carolin, daughter of Samuel Carolin, on 13 December 1860. They had one son, and two daughters. - Adelaide Harriet Sophia (1831–1832) - Arthur Lennox (1833–1839) - Vice-Adm. Richard Henry (11 March 1836 – 1 March 1903) married twice. Firstly, Mary Dyer in 1861. Secondly, Mary Teresa Priest in 1883. No known issue. Napier died at 62 [Cadogan Place](/source/Cadogan_Place), London, on 13 October 1853.[2] ## References 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-obyrne_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-obyrne_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-obyrne_1-2) O'Byrne, William Richard (1849). ["Napier, Henry Edward"](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/A_Naval_Biographical_Dictionary/Napier,_Henry_Edward). [*A Naval Biographical Dictionary*](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/A_Naval_Biographical_Dictionary). [John Murray](/source/John_Murray_(publishing_house)) – via [Wikisource](/source/Wikisource). 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-DNB_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-DNB_2-1) [Boase, George Clement](/source/George_Clement_Boase) (1894). ["Napier, Henry Edward"](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Dictionary_of_National_Biography,_1885-1900/Napier,_Henry_Edward). In [Lee, Sidney](/source/Sidney_Lee) (ed.). *[Dictionary of National Biography](/source/Dictionary_of_National_Biography)*. Vol. 40. London: [Smith, Elder & Co](/source/Smith%2C_Elder_%26_Co). - Whitehill, Walter Muir, ed. (1939). *New England blockaded in 1814 : the journal of Henry Edward Napier, Lieutenant in HMS Nymphe*. Salem, Massachusetts: Peabody Museum. [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [861242124](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/861242124). Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND FAST WorldCat National United States Spain Vatican Israel People Deutsche Biographie DDB Other Open Library 2 SNAC --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Henry Edward Napier](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Edward_Napier) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Edward_Napier?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.