Thomas Herbert ( 1793 – 1861 ) Vice - Admiral Sir Thomas Herbert , KCB ( February 1793 – 4 August 1861 ) , was British officer in the Royal Navy . He served in the Napoleonic Wars , War of 1812 , and First Anglo - Chinese War . From 1852 to 1857 , he was Member of Parliament for Dartmouth as a Conservative . Early career . Herbert was born in County Kerry , Ireland , in February 1793 as the second son of Richard Thomas Herbert , esquire of Cahirnane , County Kerry ( where the Herbert family had been seated since the reign of King Charles II ) , and his wife Jane , daughter of Anthony Stoughton , esquire of Ballyhorgan . Among his ancestors was Sir Richard Herbert of Coldbrook , who was beheaded with his brother William , Earl of Pembroke at Banbury the day after the Battle of Edgecote Moor on 26 July 1469 . Herbert joined the Royal Navy on 23 July 1803 as a first - class volunteer on board HMS " Excellent " under Captain Frank Sotheron . In that ship , he went to the Mediterranean and was invested with the rating of midshipman on 1 January 1804 . After assisting in the defence of Gaeta and the capture of Capri in 1806 , he moved to HMS " Blonde " under Captain Volant Vashon Ballard , whom he accompanied to the West Indies Station , where he witnessed the reduction of the Danish West Indies and contributed to the capture of five privateer s carrying 58 guns and 515 men . On 1 August 1809 , as a reward for his conduct as prize - master of " L ' Alert " , containing 20 guns and 149 men , Herbert was nominated by Sir Alexander Cochrane to Lieutenant in his flagship HMS " Neptune " on the recommendation of Ballard . He was officially promoted on 10 October . War of 1812 . From March 1810 to June 1814 , Herbert served as Lieutenant on board HMS " Pompée " under Captain James Athol Wood in the West Indies , Home , and Mediterranean stations . In 1814 , he became First Lieutenant under Captain Charles John Napier of the frigate HMS " Euryalus " , in which he served in the War of 1812 against the United States . He obtained the official mention of Sir James Gordon for his ability and exertions displayed throughout the operations on the Potomac River , including the capture of Fort Washington and Raid on Alexandria . After serving in over 20 engagements and being wounded three times , he was promoted to Commander on 19 October 1814 . He did not take up his commission until February 1815 , and he remained on half - pay until 6 September 1821 . West Indies and South America . In September 1821 , Herbert commissioned HMS " Icarus " for the Jamaica station in the West Indies , where he transferred to HMS " Carnation " , and was posted to HMS " Tamar " on 25 November . In that ship , he destroyed three piratical vessels on the coasts of Cuba and Yucatán . He served in the " Tamar " until he brought her back home , and she was paid off in August 1823 . In 1829 , he was High Sheriff for County Kerry . He had no further military service until 10 November 1837 , when he was appointed to HMS " Calliope " and sent to Brazil . Until the arrival of Commodore Thomas Ball Sulivan , Herbert conducted the duties of Senior Officer . Herbert was directed to assume command of the naval force in the Río de la Plata to protect British interests at Buenos Aires during a blockade by a French squadron , and at Monte Video . While carrying out his duties , he was twice officially assured of the approbation of the Admiralty . In January 1840 , he went round Cape Horn , and joined Rear - Admiral Charles Ross at Valparaiso , where he began his expedition to China . China . In June 1840 , Herbert sailed from Valparaiso to China in the " Callope " via St . Bernardin ' s Passage . While en route in the Philippine Islands , the crew encountered a typhoon , which the ship survived through their efforts . After arriving in the Canton River , China , on 10 October , he assumed command of the blockading force until the arrival of Rear - Admiral George Elliot on 20 November . In the Second Battle of Chuenpee on 7 January 1841 , Herbert , who was in the " Calliope " , also had the " Hyacinth " and " Larne " under his command . The ships fired on the island ' s lower fort of 16 guns facing the sea , and silenced the Chinese batteries in less than an hour . On 23 – 26 February 1841 , he participated in the Battle of the Bogue to prevent the Chinese making further defensive preparations in the Bocca Tigris . On 23 February , he sailed to the back passage of Anunghoy Island on board the " Nemesis " , with the " Calliope " , " Samarang " , " Herald " , and " Alligator " under his command . After unexpectedly reaching a masked battery of 20 guns that opened fire , the British ships rapidly returned fire and landed the troops , who soon captured the fort . Herbert reported 80 guns captured ( 20 mounted and 60 unmounted ) , and 20 to 30 Chinese dead . In the Battle of First Bar on 27 February , Herbert , while in the " Calliope " , also had the " Herald " , " Alligator " , " Sulphur " , " Modeste " , and the steamers " Madagascar " and " Nemesis " under his command . The ships cannonaded the Chinese war junks and batteries , which protected their strongly entrenched camp . In an hour , when the Chinese artillery was nearly silenced , he landed with the seamen and marines , and stormed the works , driving before them over 2 , 000 Chinese troops and killing nearly 300 . The forts were under British possession about half an hour later . He participated in further campaigns in capturing the forts leading towards Canton . In June and July , he was senior officer in the Canton River , and on the arrival of Sir William Parker , Herbert was moved to HMS " Blenheim " , in which he took part in the capture of Amoy and Chusan , and commanded the naval brigade at the capture of Chinhai . He was appointed a Companion of the Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath on 29 June 1841 , and a Knight Commander of the Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath on 14 October 1841 . Later career . Herbert returned to England by the Cape of Good Hope , thus completing a circumnavigation of the globe , and paid off the " Blenheim " in March 1843 . From February to December 1852 , he was Third Naval Lord under Algernon Percy , 4th Duke of Northumberland . He became a Rear Admiral on 26 October 1852 . On 11 January 1847 , he was employed as Commodore in the southeast coast of America , with a broad pennant on HMS " Raleigh " . He was promoted to Vice Admiral on 8 December 1857 . He received a good service pension in 1849 . From July 1852 to April 1857 , Herbert was Member of Parliament for Dartmouth . A Conservative , he opposed " further concessions to the Roman Catholics " , and was against re - imposing an import duty on corn . He unsuccessfully contested that borough in 1859 . After a protracted illness , he died on 4 August 1861 in Cadogan Place , Chelsea , London .