# Royal Naval Biography/Saumarez, Richard

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RICHARD SAUMAREZ, Esq. Knight of the Imperial Order of Leopold of Austria. [Post-Captain of 1824.]
Nephew to Admiral Sir James Saumarez, Bart., G.C.B., Vice-Admiral of Great Britain, &c. &c.
This officer entered the navy in 1806; and was a midshipman on board the Spartan frigate. Captain (now Rear-Admiral Sir Jahleel) Brenton, at the destruction of the castles of Pesaro and Cesenatico; at the reduction of Lusin, an island on the coast of Croatia; at the capture of Zante, Cephalonia, and Cerigo; and at the discomfiture of a French squadron in the bay of Naples, on which latter occasion the Sparviere brig, of 8 guns and 98 men, was captured.
On his return home from the Mediterranean, Mr. Saumarez joined the Daphne 20, in which ship he served on the Baltic station, under the orders of his highly distinguished uncle, for nearly two years. On quitting the Daphne, he received the following handsome testimonial:–
“This is to certify, that Mr. Richard Saumarez served as master’s-mate on board H.M.S. Daphne, under my command, from the 15th day of October, 1810, to the 26th September, 1812, during which time he had constantly charge of a watch, and conducted himself with so much care and ability, displaying such knowledge in his profession, both as a sailor and a navigator, that I beg leave to recommend him as a young officer of great promise, and highly deserving of promotion. Given under my hand, in Hano Bay, this 26th day of September, 1812.
(Signed)“P. Pipon, Captain.”
During the above period, Mr. Saumarez was present at an attack made by the enemy upon Dantzic; and he afterwards conveyed to the commander-in-chief the official despatches relative to the battle of Borodino. He obtained the rank of ​lieutenant Dec. 5th, 1812; and was appointed to the Bacchante frigate, on the Mediterranean station, Feb. 2d, 1813. His subsequent services in the Adriatic are detailed in another official document, of which the following is a copy:–
“H.M.S. Milford, Trieste, Feb. 14th, 1814.
“This is to certify, that Mr. Richard Saumarez, second lieutenant of H.M.S. Bacchante, commanded by Captain William Hoste, conducted a considerable body of Croatian troops from the Bocca di Cattaro to Fiume, where he arrived at a period when such a force was most urgently required, not only for the protection of the town, but also to co-operate with the array of General Nugent at the siege of Trieste.
“Lieutenant Saumarez having offered his services at the said siege, was present at the surrender, and sent by me to the Prince Maximilian, with the terms of the capitulation. He then had orders to proceed with despatches for Captain Hoste. Finding, from the contrary winds and strong currents, the transport-vessel in which he was embarked could not proceed to the place of rendezvous, he quitted it for an open boat, and by pulling along the coast, from Lissa to the anchorage off Melida, he arrived in Nov. 1813, not without considerable risk, he having been forced by the violent gales then prevailing to take refuge for three days upon a barren and uninhabited island, between Lissa and Curzola. Through these means the despatches were delivered which led to the immediate attack, and ultimate surrender, of the fortress of Cattaro.
“During the latter siege, Lieutenant Saumarez was the senior officer of the Bacchante employed on shore in the direction of the batteries, and, under the instructions of Captain Hoste, carried on the capitulation with General Gauthier, which led to its surrender to the allied forces.
(Signed)“Thomas F. Fremantle, Rear-Admiral.”
Lieutenant Saumarez also assisted at the reduction of Ragusa, in Jan. 1814; and subsequently proceeded in the Bacchante, under the command of Captain Francis Stanfell, to Bermuda and North America. the services in which he participated whilst on the latter station, have been mentioned at p. 72 et seq. of Suppl. Part II. He returned home first lieutenant of that frigate, and was paid off at Portsmouth, in July, 1815. The following is an extract of the minutes of the Royal Humane Society, dated Aug. 15th in the same year:
​“The committee having taken into consideration the very meritorious and highly laudable conduct of Lieutenant Richard Saumarez, of H.M.S. Bacchante, in voluntarily risking his own life under circumstances of the greatest peril, to save that of Robert Taylor, a seaman on board the same ship, who had fallen overboard when between Malta and Sicily, on the 10th day of May. 1814:
“Resolved, that this committee particularly recommend to the general court to award the honorary medallion of the society to Lieutenant Richard Saumarez, as a testimony of their unfeigned admiration of his noble and gallant conduct.
(Signed)“T. J. Pettigrew, Reg’, and Sec’.”
On the 10th of April, 1818, Lieutenant Saumarez, then at Vienna, received a letter from Prince Metternich, announcing that the Emperor of Austria, “in consideration of the signal services which he had rendered in the campaign of 1813,” and which had been borne testimony to by the Duke of Modena, had deigned to confer on him the Cross of a Knight of the Order of Leopold, In Dec. following, he was appointed to the Sybille 44, bearing the flag of Sir Home Popham, on the Jamaica station, where he received his commission as commander, appointing him to the Beaver sloop, May 19th, 1819.
On his return from the West Indies, Captain Saumarez submitted to the Admiralty some observations on the yellow fever, of which he had experienced three attacks in the course of one year, and was informed by the secretary, that “their Lordships were pleased with the attention he had given to this highly important subject. In April, 1821, he received the thanks of the Committee of West India Merchants, “for the interesting information conveyed in his letter of the 16th” of that month, as to the most eligible track to be pursued by their homeward bound shipping.
Captain Saumarez was advanced to post rank on the 17th of April, 1824. His brother, acting Commander Thomas Saumarez, died at the island of Ascension, May 19th, 1823, only seven days after his appointment to the Bann of 20 guns.
Agent.– J. Hinxman, Esq.
* ↑ See Vol. II. Part I. pp 267–269.
* ↑ Part of the late garrison of Fort Espagnol, see Vol. II. Part I. p. 478.
* ↑ See id. p. 480.