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Captain Henry Inman (1762 – 15 July 1809) was a British Royal Navy officer during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, serving in the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. Inman's service in the American war was punctuated by three shipwrecks: the burning of HMS ''Lark'' off Rhode Island in the face of a superior French squadron, the grounding of HMS ''Santa Monica'' on Tortola and the foundering of ''Hector'' following an engagement with two French ships in the Mid-Atlantic. After the war he was placed in reserve until the Spanish Armament of 1790, when he was given command of the 14-gun cutter HMS ''Pygmy'' stationed off the Isle of Man. Inman's subsequent service career was principally in frigates: he was engaged at the Siege of Toulon in HMS ''Aurore'', in a raid at Dunkirk in HMS ''Andromeda'' and participated in the Battle of Copenhagen as captain of HMS ''Désirée''. He later served on the ship of the line HMS ''Triumph'' at the Battle of Cape Finisterre and was subsequently called to give evidence at the court martial of Sir Robert Calder. After the battle off Finisterre, Inman suffered from ill-health and remained on shore duty until 1809 when he was appointed as Admiralty commissioner for Madras. The lengthy sea journey to India exacerbated his existing health problems and he died just ten days after his arrival. ==Early life== Henry Inman was born in 1762, the son of the vicar of the Somerset village of Burrington, Reverend George Inman. Educated by his father until the age of 14, Inman was sent to join the Royal Navy in 1776, posted aboard the 90-gun second rate HMS ''Barfleur''.〔Tracy, p. 205〕 ''Barfleur'' Inman had lost all his personal possessions in the destruction of ''Lark'' and was forced to replace his uniform from his own wages when the Navy refused to provide compensation. Returning to Britain in the frigate HMS ''Pearl'', Inman was promoted to lieutenant in 1780 and returned to the Americas in HMS ''Camel'', transferred soon afterwards into HMS ''Santa Monica'' in the West Indies.〔 Shortly after his arrival however, Inman was once again shipwrecked when ''Santa Monica'' grounded off Tortola. Although the crew reached the shore in small boats, the ship broke up rapidly and once again Inman lost all of his possessions.〔Campbell, p. 294〕 Remaining on shore service in the West Indies for the next two years, Inman was again employed in the aftermath of the Battle of the Saintes, appointed to the prize crew of the captured French vessel ''Hector'' for the journey to Britain.〔Tracy, p. 206〕 ''Hector''s masts and hull had been seriously damaged in the battle, requiring lighter spars to be fitted and 22 of her 74 guns removed to make her more seaworthy. As the fleet could not spare men to man her, the 223-strong prize crew was made up of men pressed in the Caribbean, principally invalids unfit for frontline service.〔 On 14 August 1782, ''Hector'' separated from the rest of the prize ships in heavy weather and on 22 August encountered two large French frigates, ''Aigle'' of 40 guns and ''Gloire'' of 32 guns. Together these vessels significantly outclassed the leaky ship of the line in weight of shot, but Captain John Bourchier determined to resist the French attack, preparing ''Hector'' as the French approached.〔 The French ships surrounded ''Hector'' at 02:00 and the engagement was furiously contested, with Bourchier wounded early on and many of his officers following him below with serious injuries.〔Campbell, p. 295〕 Within a short period, Inman was the only officer remaining on deck, but he was able to successfully drive the French away following a failed attempt to board, although ''Hector'' was left in a severely damaged state with 75 men killed or wounded.〔Clowes, p. 87〕 A hurricane that followed the battle inflicted further damage and the ship was badly flooded, seawater ruining the food supplies and threatening to sink the ship completely. Some of the crew were so ill and exhausted that they collapsed and died while manning the pumps. Inman only managed to prevent the remaining sailors from fleeing below decks by carrying loaded pistols and threatening men who refused his orders. Once the storm had abated it was clear that ''Hector'' was foundering; her rudder and masts had been torn away and the pumps were unable to keep pace with the water leaking through the battered hull.〔 For two weeks Inman made desperate efforts to keep the ship afloat, as food and water supplies ran low and the hull began to collapse in on itself. Fortunately for the men aboard ''Hector'', the tiny snow ''Hawke'' appeared and approached the ship of the line to render assistance. Throwing his cargo overboard, Captain John Hill worked with Inman to supervise the transfer of all of ''Hector''s remaining men, many of whom were wounded or sick, into ''Hawke'' as ''Hector'' rapidly sank.〔 No men were lost in the operation and Inman was the last to leave, ''Hector'' disappearing ten minutes after the boat carrying him reached ''Hawke''. The snow set sail for St John's in Newfoundland, its crew and passengers subsisting on short rations; they arrived off the port on the same day they consumed the last water supplies.〔Campbell, p. 297〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Henry Inman (Royal Navy officer)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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