Pearl 20. He attained his present rank 24 March, 1845. Agents – Messrs. Stilwell.
STOPFORD, G.C.B., G.C.M.G., K.R.E. (Admiral of the Red, 1825. f-p. 38; h-p., 29.)
The Honourable Sir Robert Stopford was born 5 Feb. 1768, and died 25 June, 1847, at Richmond, co. Surrey. He was third son of James, second Earl of Courtown, by Mary, daughter and co-heir of Rich. Powys, Esq., of Hintlesham Hall, co. Suffolk, and niece of George, Duke of Montagu; brother (with James George, third Earl of Courtown) of Lieut.-General Hon. Sir Edw. Stopford, G.C.B., K.T.S., who died in 1837; and uncle of Capts. Hon. Montagu and Rich. Henry Stopford, R.N.
This officer entered the Navy, 31 May, 1780, on board the Prince George 98, Capts. Fox and Williams, in which ship, bearing the flag of Rear-Admiral Digby, he assisted at the capture of a convoy homeward-bound from Martinique, was with Admiral Darby, in 1781, at the relief of Gibraltar, and, besides participating in other services, was warmly engaged in Rodney’s action 12 April, 1782, on which occasion the Prince George had her foremast and maintopmast shot away, and sustained a loss of 38 killed and wounded. In Dec. 1782 Mr. Stopford removed as Midshipman to L’Aigle frigate, Capt. Wm. Fowkes, stationed on the coast of North America and in the West Indies, where he continued employed as Acting-Lieutenant and Lieutenant in the Atalanta sloop, Capt. Thos. Foley, and Hermione 32, Capts. John Stone and Wm. Bentinck, until his return to England about Oct. 1785. He served next, from March, 1786, until promoted to the rank of Commander 2 June, 1789, in the Salisbury 50, Commodore Elliot, Centurion 50, Capt. Herbert Sawyer, and Aquilon 32, Capt. Robt. Montagu, at Newfoundland, at Chatham, and in the Mediterranean; he was then appointed to the Ferret 14, on the station last named; and on 5 Dec. 1789 he was nominated Acting-Captain of the Ambuscade frigate. He returned, however, to the Ferret in the ensuing May; and in that vessel, during the dispute with Spain relative to Nootka Sound, he was ordered off Cadiz to watch the equipment of the Spanish fleet. Having taken an accurate view of their proceedings, he made a report of them to Admiral Peyton, who immediately sent him to England, with directions to lay his observations before the Board of Admiralty. He was shortly afterwards, 12 Aug. 1790, advanced to Post-rank. His next appointments were – 16 Aug. 1790, to the Fame 74, fitting for the flag of Admiral Cosby at Cork – 3 Nov. following, for about three weeks, to the Lowestoffe 32, in the Channel – 29 April, 1791, to the Aquilon 32 – 16 July, 1794, to the Phaeton 38 – 16 July, 1799, to the Excellent 74 – 28 May, 1802, to the Castor frigate – and, 1 Jan. 1804, after 10 months of half-pay, to the Spencer 74. In the Aquilon it was Capt. Stopford’s good fortune to settle a dispute with the Emperor of Morocco, which had induced the latter to withhold the supplies usually furnished by the Barbary States to the garrison at Gibraltar. He afterwards, in the same frigate, conveyed H.R.H. Prince Augustus (the late Duke of Sussex) from Leghorn to England and back; and in the actions of 28 and 29 May and 1 June, 1794, he was employed in repeating the signals of Lord Howe. On the latter occasion he had the gratification of eliciting the praise of his veteran chief by the manner in which he bore down to the assistance of the Marlborough 74, took that ship in tow, and rescued her at a time when she was lying dismasted and exposed to a galling fire from the surrounding enemy. Subsequently to the arrival of the fleet at Spithead, Capt. Stopford had twice the honour of embarking His Majesty, with whom he proceeded, the first time to Cowes, and the second to Southampton. In the Phaeton, after watching some frigates at Dunkerque and Ostend, he cruized with Lord Howe in the Channel and off the const of Ireland, and in the early part of 1795 assisted in escorting the Princess Caroline of Brunswick from Cuxhaven to England. On 7 June following he contributed to the capture of eight vessels laden with wine and naval stores from Bordeaux; in effecting which service, and in endeavouring to bring out a corvette that had sought refuge under a battery on the south end of Belleisle, he had 1 man killed, 7 others wounded, and 2 guns dismounted.[1] On 16 and 17 of the same month the Phaeton was present in Cornwallis’ celebrated retreat;[2] and so greatly did she distinguish herself on that occasion, as well as during a cruize which had preceded it, that on their return to port the Admiral declared she had done the duty of three frigates. Besides sharing in a vast deal of active service, Capt. Stopford afterwards drove on shore, on Ile de Ré, and destroyed, L’Echoue of 28 guns. He made prize also of La Bonne Citoyenne corvette of 20 guns and 145 men;[3] was in company with the Ambuscade and Stag at the surrender of L’Hirondelle 20, and with the Anson at the re-capture of the Daphne of 30[4] and La Flore of 36 guns;[5] and either took, or aided in taking, among other vessels, the privateers L’Actif of 18 guns and 120 men, La Petite Chérie of 4 guns and 22 men, Le Chasseur of 6 guns and 47 men, the Indian of 16 guns, La Déecouverte, L’Hasard of 14 guns, L’Aventure, La Légère of 18 guns and 130 men, Le Mercure of 18 guns (pierced for 20) and 132 men, Le Levrier of 16 guns and 70 men, La Résolue of 18 guns and 70 men, and La Ressource of 10 guns and 66 men. In 1797 he was present at Spithead during the mutiny; but, to his credit, the crew of the Phaeton did not manifest the least symptoms of disaffection. On the night of 22 March, 1798, he brought a French frigate to action, and drove her on the Olive Rocks, near the Cordovan lighthouse;[6] and towards the close of the latter year, or the commencement of 1799, he conveyed to Admiral Colpoys, at Cork, intelligence of a French fleet having sailed for the coast of Ireland. During his command of the Phaeton Capt. Stopford occasionally cruized with a squadron of frigates under his orders.[7] On removing, in July, 1799, to the Excellent 74, he sailed with a convoy for Lisbon, on his passage whence he succeeded, 10 Oct. following, in capturing, off L’Orient, L’Aréthuse corvette of 18 guns and 153 men.[8] He then joined the fleet under Lord Gardner off Brest, and continued employed on Home service, detached occasionally on separate cruizes, until ordered, in 1802, with six sail of the line to the West Indies, where he united in suppressing a mutiny of one of the black regiments at Dominica, and where, on hoisting a broad pendant as senior officer, on the departure of Rear-Admiral Totty, he was charged, agreeably to the stipulations of the treaty of Amiens, with the duty of delivering up Martinique to the French, and Surinam to the Dutch. Having reduced the naval force on the station to the peace establishment, as well as the dockyard at Antigua, he applied to the Admiralty for leave to return home, on account of ill health, and at the beginning of 1803 he was superseded by Commodore Sir Sam. Hood. He sailed for England in the Castor, to which ship, as above stated, he had removed in May, 1802. Early in 1804 Capt. Stopford, then in the Spencer, joined the Channel fleet; and in Aug. of that year, after he had been detached off Ferrol under the orders of Sir Edw. Pellew, he proceeded to the Mediterranean. He subsequently accompanied Lord Nelson to the West Indies and back in pursuit of the combined fleets of France and Spain. On his return he was employed in succession in the Channel under Admiral Cornwallis, off Vigo under
- ↑ Vide Gaz. 1795, p. 655.
- ↑ Vide Gaz. 1795, p. 656.
- ↑ Vide Gaz. 1796, p. 267.
- ↑ Vide Gaz. 1798, p. 61.
- ↑ Vide Gaz. 1798, p. 879.
- ↑ Vide Gaz. 1798, p. 273.
- ↑ After the action with La Seine (see the Memoir of Sir David Milne) the Phaeton and some other ships who were in the offing were called in, and proved of infinite assistance to those that had been engaged, particularly in inducing a French force, which was approaching, to retire – Vide Gaz 1798, p. 651.
- ↑ Vide Gaz. 1793, p. 1066.
