Temple Hardy Captain Temple Hardy ( 14 January 1765 – 29 March 1814 ) was an English naval officer active during the French Revolutionary Wars , perhaps most notable for his role in the capture of the Cape Colony in 1795 . He was born on 14 January 1765 , and christened " Charles Temple Hardy " on 11 February , at Westminister . He was a son of Admiral Charles Hardy , from whom he inherited a house at Rawlins , in Oxfordshire , and £3 , 000 , on his father ' s death in 1780 . Like his father , he entered the Royal Navy ; he was appointed to the rank of Lieutenant on 4 November 1790 , and to Commander on 1 June 1794 . He commissioned the 16 - gun floating battery , staying with her only until September . In 1795 , he commanded the sloop HMS " Echo " in the expedition to capture Cape Town . He commanded a battalion of sailors from the fleet at the Battle of Muizenberg , with " Echo " being commanded by a lieutenant from " Monarch " . He was mentioned in both the Army and Navy despatches : A Dutch Indiaman , the " Willemstadt en Boetzlaar " , which was captured in Table Bay after the engagement was taken into British service as HMS " Princess " , and as mentioned above briefly commanded by Hardy . He was promoted to Captain on 24 November 1795 ; this was the day before the despatches were in the London press , with the Admiralty presumably confirming Elphinstone ' s appointment on receipt . In April 1797 he was in command of HMS " Squirrel " , which convoyed a party of British commissioners to the United States of America to settle claims arising from the Treaty of London . On 12 May 1799 he was given command of the " Thunderer " , a 74 - gun third - rate , at Jamaica , and left the ship on 28 July 1800 . He married Elizabeth Lucy Warre on 9 December 1800 , in the parish of Westminster St James . In 1801 , when his mother died , he was still resident at Rawlins and her only surviving son . By 1804 he and his wife were resident in Eastley End House in Thorpe , Surrey . In May 1805 he was not assigned any command , and in April 1806 was in command of the third - rate " Ruby " , where he took three Prussian merchantmen as prizes . He commanded the " Euryalus " for parts of 1806 , in an acting capacity . In November 1806 , he had to turn down command of the third - rate " Defence " through illness . In February 1810 he was appointed to command of the third - rate " Resolution " , which saw service escorting convoys in the Danish straits . He remained in command when the " Resolution " was put in ordinary at Portsmouth in 1811 . He was given command of " Swiftsure " on 20 August 1811 , but in May 1812 , in the Mediterranean , he was taken ill . He was removed from command , and discharged into Port Mahon hospital on 17 June . He died on 29 March 1814 , at Exeter , and his will was proven in London on 9 June 1814 . The will , dated 11 September 1811 , left his possessions to his wife and to his two unmarried sisters , Clare and Rachael Emilia ; minor valuables , and any outstanding prize money were left to his family , his executors , and Captains Blackwood and Otway . The executors , along with his wife , were the Rev . Francis Annesley , of Eydon in Northamptonshire ; Captain John William Spranger ; and William Groom of Lincoln ' s Inn Fields . Elizabeth outlived him by twenty years , dying on 2 April 1835 , aged 71 . The naval officers in his will all became Rear - Admirals through seniority on 4 June 1814 , shortly after his death ; if he had survived a few months longer , he would likely have attained this rank before his death . References . Note that it is difficult to trace Hardy ' s career in the Navy . He was serving at the same time as his far more renowned compatriot Sir Thomas Hardy , and contemporary records usually mentioned no more than " Captain Hardy " or " Captain T . Hardy " , making it possible that many references to the one may have been confused with the other ; see , for example , the entry in the " Victoria County History " .