Codrington , Sir , Edward , 1770-1851 , Knight , Admiral Codrington , Sir , Henry John , 1808-1877 , Knight , Admiral Of The Fleet

Codrington , Sir , Edward , 1770-1851 , Knight , Admiral Codrington , Sir , Henry John , 1808-1877 , Knight , Admiral Of The Fleet

Sir Edward Codrington entered the Navy in 1783 and served in the LEANDER, AMBUSCADE and FORMIDABLE in North America and the Mediterranean until 1791. In 1794 he was Earl Howe's (q.v.) Flag Lieutenant in the QUEEN CHARLOTTE and subsequently commanded the fireship COMET and the sloop LA BABET in home waters. In 1796 he was appointed captain of the DRUID, again in home waters, but was unemployed from 1797 until 1805. In this year he commissioned the ORION and was present at Trafalgar. From 1807 he commanded the BLAKE for six years in the Mediterranean, during the Walcheren expedition, 1809, and off the coast of Spain. He was then appointed to the TONNANT, going to the North American Station where he organized the supplies of the army at the capture of Washington. He was promoted to rear-admiral in 1814, remaining on the station until 1815. It was not until 1826 that he again saw active service when he was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean, flying his flag aboard the ASIA, and during this command he undertook operations against the pirates in the Levant. He subsequently took a leading part in the interpretation of allied policy in the Greek War of Independence. These operations culminated in the Battle of Navarino, 1827; this secured Codrington's fame while it also ensured his recall in 1828. After a short period of unemployment, he was appointed to command the Channel Squadron in 1831. He then became Member of Parliament for Devonport, 1832 to 1839, when he was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth, a post he held until 1842. The papers have been used by Lady Bourchier, Codrington's daughter, in Memoir of the life of Admiral Sir Edward Codrington (London, 1873, 2 vols) and in C.G. Pitcairn Jones, ed. , Piracy in the Levant (Navy Records Society, 1934).

Sir Henry John Codrington, third son of Sir Edward Codrington (q.v.), joined the Navy in 1823 and spent the early years of his service in the Mediterranean, being Signal Midshipman in his father's flagship, ASIA, at the battle of Navarino, 1827, where he was severely wounded. He was made a lieutenant in 1829 and commander in 1831. His first command was the ORESTES, Mediterranean Station, 1834 to 1836. As Captain of the TALBOT he took a leading part in the operations culminating in the siege of Acre, in 1840. In 1846 he was again sent to the Mediterranean in the THETIS where the circumstances leading to the revolutions of 1848 involved him in various diplomatic missions. At the outbreak of the Crimean War, 1854, Codrington was in the Baltic in the Royal George, moving to the Algiers after the war. He became a rear-admiral in 1857 and was Admiral Superintendent of Malta Dockyard, 1858 to 1863. He was Commander-in-Chief at Plymouth, 1869 to 1872, but never hoisted his flag afloat. He was made Admiral of the Fleet in the year of his death. The papers have been used by Lady Bourchier, Codrington's sister, in Selections from the letters, private end professional, of Sir Henry Codrington Admiral of the Fleet (London, 1880).