Edward O ' Bryen Rear - Admiral Edward O ' Bryen ( sometimes O ' Brien ) ( " c . " 1753 – 18 December 1808 ) was a British Royal Navy officer prominent in the late nineteenth century , who is best known for his participation at the Nore Mutiny and the Battle of Camperdown , both in 1797 during the French Revolutionary Wars . At the Nore , O ' Bryen had recently been given command of the ship of the line when the mutiny broke out . Although he was not the cause and the crew expressed their affection for him , O ' Bryen had to be prevented from throwing himself overboard when his men refused to obey his orders . Just five months later , now in command of Vice - Admiral Richard Onslow ' s flagship , O ' Bryen led the southern division of the British attack at the Battle of Camperdown , in which a Dutch fleet was destroyed and British supremacy in the North Sea confirmed . Although he was praised for his exertions in the battle , O ' Bryen ' s health was deteriorating and he retired from the Navy in 1803 , dying at the rank of rear - admiral five years later . Life . Nothing is known of Edward O ' Bryen ' s parents or childhood , and he first appears as a junior officer aboard the frigate during the early 1770s . He later moved to in the East Indies and then in 1775 became a lieutenant , at which time he was at least 21 years old . He then served on a number of ships , including the galley HMS " Ferret " that fought under Lord Howe in Narragansett Bay in August 1778 and later and in the Channel Fleet . In 1781 he sailed for the Caribbean in and two years later took over the sloop . In 1784 he was promoted to post captain and returned to Europe in . He was then immediately placed on the reserve list on half - pay , not serving at sea again until 1795 . As O ' Bryen lacked any influence at the Admiralty , he was forced to wait more than ten years for another commission , finally being given command of in April 1795 . In June of that year he transferred to , the flagship of Rear - Admiral Robert Mann . He was still in post in July 1796 when Man abandoned Gibraltar and returned to Britain without orders , inviting severe censure from the Admiralty , government and Admiral Sir John Jervis . Mann was dismissed from the service and O ' Bryen had to wait until February 1797 for another ship , when he was given at Yarmouth , flagship of Vice - Admiral Richard Onslow . " Nassau " was a disaffected ship , its men had been unpaid for the previous 19 months service , and when the Nore Mutiny broke out in May 1797 , O ' Bryen ' s authority was challenged and resisted by his crew . When the crew attempted to hang two men who would not join them , O ' Bryen insisted that if anyone should die he would be the first and threatened to throw himself overboard . This checked the actions of the mutineers , but reportedly O ' Bryen was left close to suicide . He left the ship shortly afterwards , and although the crew , who expressed their affection for him , invited him to return , he refused until the mutiny was over . In July , Onslow and O ' Bryen moved to and on 11 October 1797 served with Admiral Adam Duncan ' s fleet at the Battle of Camperdown . " Monarch " lead the larboard division into action against the Dutch rear . O ' Bryen ' s ship was heavily engaged , and fought successfully against the Dutch ships " Jupiter " , " Haarlem " and " Monnikendam " , all of which were eventually captured . " Monarch " suffered 136 casualties and O ' Bryen was praised by King George III for his role in the battle . " Monarch " remained active in the North Sea during the remainder of 1797 , but in 1798 O ' Bryen was struck by the first of recurring bouts of ill - health and briefly retired ashore , returning briefly to service in 1801 to command in the Mediterranean . O ' bryen retired permanently from the Navy in 1803 . O ' Bryen subsequently lived with his wife Mary Alsop and their daughter , also named Mary , at Catisfield in Hampshire until his wife ' s death in 1807 , shortly after which he was married to Martha Charlotte Bradbury . O ' Bryen was promoted to rear - admiral in 1805 , but ill - health prevented any return to the sea and he died in December 1808 , acknowledging an illegitimate son named James Cavendish in his will .