Henry Prescott Admiral Sir Henry Prescott ( 4 May 1783 – 18 November 1874 ) was an officer of the British Royal Navy who served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , and was later the Governor of the Newfoundland Colony . Biography . Family background . Prescott was born at Kew Green , Surrey , the son of Admiral Isaac Prescott and a daughter of the Reverend Richard Walter , who served as chaplain aboard the during Commodore George Anson ' s expedition to the Pacific , and was the author of " A Voyage Round the World , in the Years 1740 – 44 " ( 1748 ) . Prescott ' s only brother , an infantry officer in the East India Company ' s service , was drowned during a voyage home in 1806 . Junior officer . Prescott entered the Navy on 16 February 1796 as first - class volunteer on board the 98 - gun ship of the line , serving under Captains the Honourable George Cranfield Berkeley and John Irwin , stationed in the Channel . He was rated as a midshipman in April 1797 , and in early 1798 followed Admiral Sir Charles Thompson ( whose flag had been flying on board " Formidable " ) into the 100 - gun . In 1799 he sailed to the Mediterranean aboard the frigate , Captain the Honourable Henry Blackwood , where on 31 March 1800 he took part in the capture of the of 84 guns and 1 , 000 men . He afterwards took part in the Egyptian Campaign of 1801 ; and on 17 February 1802 , while serving under Lord Keith in the 80 - gun ship , was appointed acting - lieutenant of the brig , Captain James Prevost , and his commission was confirmed on 28 April 1802 . He then served on the frigate , Captain Lucius Ferdinand Hardyman , in the North Sea from 26 April 1803 . On 14 December 1804 he moved to the frigate , Captain Lord William FitzRoy , seeing action in the Battle of Cape Ortegal on 4 November 1805 , when a squadron under Sir Richard Strachan fought four ships escaped from Trafalgar . He subsequently served aboard " Lord Eldon " , Captain George B . Whinyates ; the 74 - gun , Captain Henry Blackwood ; and the 98 - gun , flagship of Lord Collingwood , all in the Mediterranean . Commander . On 4 February 1808 he was promoted to commander in the 18 - gun brig . On 1 April off Sardinia , he fell in with a French fleet of ten ships of the line , three frigates , a brig , and a store - ship , and after making a reconnaissance on the next day , sailed to report their position to Collingwood , who was cruising with a more powerful force near Sicily . Unfortunately adverse winds prevented Collingwood from intercepting the French before they reached the safety of Toulon . While employed on the coast of Naples , Prescott was employed in attacking coastal traffic . He first drove a French 20 - gun brig to seek refuge under shore batteries . He attempted to entice her out , and although she was supported by 11 Neapolitan gun - boats , she refused . On 8 September 1808 he contributed to the capture of four large gunboats and 34 coasting vessels assembled at Diamante near the Gulf of Policastro , which he blockaded until the arrival from Sicily of a force sufficient to capture them . On 27 October 1809 he captured the French letter of marque " Veloce " , of 4 guns and 83 men ; and on 25 December , after a chase of nine hours and an action lasting one and a half hours , the polacre rigged privateer " Eole " of 14 guns and 140 men , five of whom were killed and nine wounded , with a loss of only one man killed and one wounded . Between then and June 1810 , " Weazel " was employed off Sardinia , where she took and re - captured 17 vessels , including the French privateer schooner " Ippolite " , of 5 guns and 78 men . She next took part in the defence of Sicily , coming into frequent contact with the flotilla equipped by Joachim Murat for his attempted invasion of the island . On 25 July 1810 " Weazel " , the frigate , and the 18 - gun brig - sloop , forced a convoy of 31 vessels , protected by seven large gunboats and five scampavias , to seek refuge at Amantea , under the protection of two shore batteries . Prescott led in the boats of the three British ships , and despite heavy enemy fire , captured or destroyed all the vessels . Two days later Prescott returned to Amantea with a detachment of marines from , destroyed several vessels , and captured a gun under a heavy fire of musketry , and having only three men wounded . The following month he twice engaged convoys , and captured six vessels , although he was obliged to abandon two — an armed xebec and a gunboat — as a sudden shift of wind direction , and the " Weazle " s mainyard being shot away , it became impossible for her to tow them out from under a shore battery . In 1847 a clasp to the Naval General Service Medal " Amanthea 25 July 1810 " was awarded to any surviving claimants from the action of that day . Post - captain and Governor . He was rewarded for his actions at Amantea by receiving promotion to post - captain with seniority backdated to 25 July 1810 , but did not leave " Weazle " until February 1811 . He was appointed to command of the 20 - gun sloop on 7 August 1811 off the Channel Islands . On 3 June 1813 he took command of the frigate and was employed in the Bay of Biscay until April 1815 . He was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath on 4 June 1815 . He returned to sea duty on 6 April 1821 in command of the 46 - gun frigate as senior officer on the coast of Brazil , and also spent 18 months in the Pacific protecting British interests during the Spanish American wars of independence . In 1822 the Congress of Peru demanded a contribution from the merchants of Lima , the British proportion amounting to nearly 200 , 000 dollars . Prescott not only protested , but took measures such that the Congress abandoned the idea . As a mark of their respect and gratitude the British merchants at Lima voted the sum of 1 , 500 dollars to buy him a testimonial . In February 1825 he returned to England . On 24 September 1834 Prescott was appointed Governor and Commander - in - Chief of Newfoundland and its dependencies , He arrived in St John ' s in November , into a turbulent situation riven by political and religious acrimony . Prescott attempted to mediate between the opposing factions , but could make few decisions without angering one or the other . He attempted to resign in January 1839 , but this was not accepted . Prescott finally resigned in May 1841 . Despite the difficulties he made several improvements ; passing an education act , which created the first non - denominational elementary schools , appointing road commissioners to improve transport , and encouraging agriculture . Prescott was not a trained administrator , but made several suggestions to improve the governance of the colony . Prescott Street in St . John ' s is named for Henry Prescott . Admiral . Prescott was awarded the Captain ' s Good Service Pension on 1 April 1844 , and was promoted to rear admiral on 24 April 1847 , serving on the Board of Admiralty as Second Naval Lord from 20 July before being appointed Admiral - Superintendent at Portsmouth Naval Dockyard on 15 December and serving there until 1852 . He was promoted to vice - admiral on 1 May 1854 , made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath on 5 February 1856 , promoted to admiral on 11 May 1860 , officially retiring from the Navy on 9 June 1860 . He was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath on 2 June 1869 , and for a time was Justice of the Peace for Surrey . He died at his home No . 7 Leinster Gardens , Bayswater , London , on 18 November 1874 , and is buried at Kensal Green Cemetery . Personal life . On 5 July 1815 he married Mary Anne Charlotte , the eldest daughter of Vice - Admiral Philippe d ' Auvergne , and had several children . His son , the Reverend Isaac Philip Prescott ( d . 1898 ) married Caroline Mary Parke , daughter of Captain Edward Parke , RN , in 1842 , and served as rector of Kelly , Devon . His daughter Henrietta ( d . 1875 ) , married Admiral Sir Stephen Lushington , and was the author of " Poems , written in Newfoundland " ( 1839 ) and " The Sea Spirit and Other Poems " ( 1850 ) .