Salusbury Pryce Humphreys Sir Salusbury Pryce Humphreys , CB , KCH ( 24 November 1778 – 17 November 1845 ) was an officer of the Royal Navy who saw service during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812 , rising to the rank of rear - admiral . He entered the navy during the Spanish armament in 1790 and served aboard a number of ships , starting at the level of able seaman and rising through the ranks , having reached midshipman on the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars . A lieutenancy followed while serving in the Caribbean , where he acted in support of army operations against enemy colonies and islands , before his return to Britain . He was afterwards employed in the English Channel and North Sea , where he distinguished himself on a cutting out expedition off the Dutch island of Schiermonnikoog , narrowly escaping death when a ship he tried and failed to board suddenly exploded . After again supporting land operations , this time in Holland , he was promoted to commander though he had to then wait two years for a command . Promotion to post captain soon followed , and he went to North America to command the flagship of the admiral in command there . Desertion from Royal Navy ships had become a pressing issue and Humphreys , by then in command of the 50 - gun , was ordered to intercept the , which was suspected to have several deserters as part of her crew . Humphreys did so , and requested permission to search her . " Chesapeake " s captain refused , so Humphreys fired upon her , the poorly prepared American ship surrendered and Humphreys took off several British deserters . The backlash from the " Chesapeake - Leopard " Affair , as it became known as , was severe . A political crisis was precipitated between the governments of Britain and the United States , and to mollify the Americans , Humphreys was given no further commands . He was already wealthy , having married an heiress , and settling at the estates of Bramall Hall . He was promoted to rear - admiral , and then restored on the active lists , having changed his surname to Davenport in 1838 on the occasion of his wife ' s inheritance . He died in 1845 . Family and early life . Salusbury Pryce Humphreys was born at Clungunford Rectory , on 24 November 1778 , the third son of Reverend Evan Humphreys and his wife Mary . He entered the navy on 1 July 1790 , during the Spanish armament , serving as a volunteer aboard the 64 - gun , which was then under the command of Captain James Vashon . He was next aboard the 50 - gun , the flagship of Rear - Admiral Sir John Laforey in the Leeward Islands , followed by a posting to the 32 - gun , commanded by Captain Matthew Squire . He was rated as able seaman during this last posting , after which he was moved to the 14 - gun , commanded by Captain Francis Laforey . His next ship was the 50 - gun , under Captain Paul Minchin , where he was rated as midshipman some time before the outbreak of war with Revolutionary France in February 1793 . " Severn " conveyed the Governor General of Canada , Lord Dorchester , and his family and suite , to Quebec , returning to Britain in 1794 . Humphreys followed Minchin to his next command , the 38 - gun , and went out to the West Indies . While serving there , Humphreys was ordered to act as lieutenant of the 14 - gun under Captain Henry Evans in April 1796 . Humphreys was next in action supporting the army under Sir Ralph Abercromby at the siege of Saint Lucia , and afterwards convoyed the despatch es concerning the attack on Porto Rico back to Britain . His promotion to lieutenant came on 17 January 1797 , together with an appointment to the armed ship " Sally " , serving in the North Sea under Captain George Wolfe . In 1798 he received a posting to the 32 - gun , also in the North Sea , under the command of Captain George Dundas . Cutting out expedition . In August 1798 Humphreys was sent with some of " Juno " s men to support a cutting out expedition led by Captain Adam Mackenzie of off the island of Schiermonnikoog . In an action on 11 August British boats succeeded in attacking and capturing the gunboat " Crash " , and preparing an operation to capture a large Dutch schooner , named " Vengeance " , anchored under the protection of a battery on the island , Mackenzie sent Humphreys and another lieutenant to capture some schuyts on 12 August . They captured two , burning one and sailing the other back to the British flotilla . Mackenzie armed the captured schuyt with 12 - pdr carronade s and named her " Undaunted " , placing Humphreys in command . Mackenzie launched his attack on the Dutch schooner and battery the following day , 13 August . " Crash " was supposed to have covered Humphreys in " Undaunted " , but she ran aground . Undaunted , Humphreys pushed on , coming alongside the Dutch schooner just as she was abandoned by her crew . The strong tide meant that he could not maintain his station alongside the Dutch vessel , and the roundness of her sides prevented him from leaping aboard . Instead he took a rope and jumped into the sea , hoping to be able to swim to the ship , board her and attach a rope . Once in the water he found that he could make little headway against the tide , and had to be hauled back on board . He had just regained the deck of " Undaunted " when " Vengeance " exploded , her crew having set a fuse to the ship ' s magazine before they abandoned her . Meanwhile the rest of the flotilla successfully stormed the Dutch battery and spiked its guns . None of the attacking force was killed or wounded in the operation . After the Anglo - Russian landings in Holland in August 1799 Humphreys left " Juno " and moved to the 50 - gun , which was then the flagship of Vice - Admiral Sir Andrew Mitchell with the Channel Fleet . He followed Mitchell to , serving on the Zuiderzee during the operations in Holland , and was then aboard , assigned to a squadron under Captain Henry Inman of , which carried out an attack on 7 July 1800 against four French frigates anchored at Dunkirk . Humphreys moved again with Mitchell to the 90 - gun in 1800 , and while serving aboard her , received a promotion to commander , on 29 April 1802 . Command . Despite his promotion , Humphreys had to wait nearly two years before receiving his own command , until finally appointed to the bomb vessel at Portsmouth in January 1804 . His time in command was short , as on 8 May he was promoted to post captain . He married Jane Elizabeth Morin in March 1805 , the couple having one son together . Humphreys went out to Halifax the following year to take command of the 50 - gun , the flagship of the station commander Vice - Admiral George Berkeley . He assumed command on his arrival in May , but it was then decided to send " Leander " back to Britain , and Humphreys was instead transferred to the 50 - gun in October . Berkeley preferred to live onshore , meaning that for much of the time " Leopard " acted as a private ship . The " Cheasapeake " - " Leopard " affair . The Royal Navy had been having significant problems with men deserting their ships whilst in American ports , and then joining ships of the US Navy . Berkeley had been made aware of deserters from several ships who had joined the crew of the heavy frigate , and on 1 June 1807 he issued an order that " Chesapeake " be stopped at sea and searched for deserters . Apprehending them in town proved impossible as the men were under the protection of the magistrates . Berkeley directed that in return , the American captain was permitted to search British vessels for American deserters . Sent to enforce Berkeley ' s order , Humphreys located " Chesapeake " off Norfolk , Virginia on 22 June and sent a lieutenant across to request permission to search her . " Chesapeake " s commander , Commodore James Barron , refused to allow this and ordered his men to prepare for an action . Faced with Barron ' s refusal , Humphreys bore up and opened fire on her , hitting her with several broadsides . The unprepared " Chesapeake " fired a single shot in reply , and then struck her colours . Humphreys sent a party across to search the ship , and found four deserters , Daniel Martin , John Strachan , and William Ware , run from ; and Jenkin Ratford , run from . They were taken aboard " Leopard " , which then departed , Humphreys having refused to accept Barron ' s offer to consider " Chesapeake " a prize . " Chesapeake " had three men killed , eight men badly wounded , and ten slightly wounded . Though his conduct was approved of by Berkeley , it caused outrage amongst the Americans and became a major political incident . Anxious to appease the Americans , an Order in Council was issued , banning the use of force against foreign warships , Berkeley was recalled and Humphreys too found himself a victim of political movements . He returned to Britain in 1808 and was not offered any further commands . Life ashore . Humphreys spent the remainder of the war ashore on half - pay , finding occupation in civil duties , serving as a Justice of the Peace for Buckingham , Chester and Lancaster . His wife Jane died in September 1808 , and Humphreys remarried on 31 May 1810 , to Maria Davenport , of Bramall Hall . The couple had five sons and two daughters together . After the wars had ended he was put on the list of superannuated captains , but achieved some recompense when he was made a Companion of the Bath on 26 September 1831 . He received a further honour when he was nominated a Knight Commander of the Guelphic Order of Hanover in February 1834 , and was promoted to rear - admiral on 10 January 1837 . He assumed the surname of Davenport when his wife inherited the Davenport estates at Bramall in 1838 , and was restored to the active list on 17 August 1840 . He settled at Bramall and had become widely respected in the Stockport area prior to his wife ' s inheritance , but following his succession to the estate there were disputes from other members of the Davenport family who claimed a right to the property . He moved with Maria to Cheltenham in 1841 , most likely because living at Bramall had become expensive or because of health concerns . He died there on 17 November 1845 at the age of sixty - six and was buried in Leckhampton . Notes . a . was a former British ship , which had run aground off Vlieland on 26 August 1797 and been captured by the Dutch . b . Among the ships Berkeley reported that men had run from were the 74 - gun ships , and , the store - ship , the sloop and the cutter . c . Ratford , the only British citizen of the four , was executed . The remaining three were American citizens and were sentenced to 500 lashes each , though this was later commuted .