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Description area
Dates of existence
History
Gower entered the Navy in 1755. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1762 and took part in two voyages of circumnavigation early in his career. He was promoted to captain in 1780 and served on the East Indies and Newfoundland stations. In 1792 he was appointed to command the LION in which he took the embassy of Earl Macartney (1737-1806) to China In November 1794, he was appointed to command the TRIUMPH and was with Admiral Sir William Cornwallis (q.v.) during the 'Cornwallis retreat' in 1795. He was involved in the mutiny at the Nore when he commanded the NEPTUNE, one of the ships commissioned for the defence of the Thames, and continued to serve in her, in the Channel Fleet, until his promotion to rear-admiral in 1799. In 1804 Gower became a vice-admiral and in 1809 an admiral.