William Hoste

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Captain Sir William Hoste, 1st Baronet, KCB (26 August 1780Template:Snd6 December 1828) was a Royal Navy officer who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. A protégé of Lord Nelson, he was one of the most talented frigate captains of the Napoleonic Wars, taking part in six major engagements, including the capture of the heavily fortified port of Kotor during the Adriatic campaign of 1807–1814. Hoste was, however, absent from the Battle of Trafalgar, having been sent with gifts to the Dey of Algiers.

Childhood and educationEdit

He was the second of eight children of Reverend Dixon Hoste (1750–1805) and Margaret Stanforth.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> At the time of his birth his father was rector of Godwick and Tittleshall in Norfolk.<ref name="White 2002 p153">Template:Cite book</ref> He was born at Ingoldisthorpe, and the family later moved to Godwick Hall, east of Tittleshall, which was leased from Thomas Coke, who later became the 1st Earl of Leicester, of Holkham Hall. His next brother, George Charles Hoste, became an officer in the Royal Engineers.

Hoste was educated for a time at King's Lynn and later at the Paston School in North Walsham, where Horatio Nelson himself had been to school some years previously. Dixon Hoste had arranged for Hoste's name to be entered in the books of Template:HMS as a Captain's servant when he was just 5 years old, although he would not actually go to sea until he reached the age of 12 or 13.

That time coincided with the outbreak of war with France in February 1793. Lacking any influence or naval contacts himself, Dixon Hoste asked his landlord, Thomas Coke, for assistance and was introduced to Nelson, then living nearby in Burnham Thorpe and who had recently been appointed as Captain of Template:HMS a 64-gun third-rate, which was being fitted out at Chatham Dockyard.<ref name="White 2002 p153"/>

Early careerEdit

HMS AgamemnonEdit

Nelson accepted Hoste to join him as a captain's servant on Template:HMS, which he boarded at Portsmouth at the end of April 1793. The ship joined the Mediterranean Fleet under Lord Hood, and it was in the Mediterranean and Adriatic that Hoste saw most of his naval service. Extracts from Nelson's letters to his wife mention Hoste frequently; for example: 'without exception one of the finest boys I ever met with' and 'his gallantry never can be exceeded, and each day rivets him stronger to my heart'. Another captain's servant on Agamemnon was Josiah Nisbet, Nelson's stepson, but the letters suggest that Hoste quickly became a favourite and that Josiah compared badly with him in many respects. Hoste was promoted to midshipman by Nelson on 1 February 1794 and served with him during the blockade of and subsequent assault on Corsica on 7 February.<ref name="White 2002 p153"/>

HMS Captain and the battle of Cape St VincentEdit

Hoste moved with Nelson to Template:HMS in 1796 and was with him at the Battle of Cape St Vincent, When a British fleet under Admiral Sir John Jervis defeated a Spanish fleet almost twice its size. Captain was heavily involved in the fighting and captured the larger Template:HMS and Template:HMS of 112 and 80 guns, respectively.<ref name="Coleman 2001 128">Coleman 2001, p. 128</ref>

Captain started the battle towards the rear of the British line.<ref name="Coleman 2001 126">Coleman 2001, p. 126</ref> Instead of continuing to follow the line, Nelson disobeyed orders and wore ship, and made for the Spanish van, which consisted of the 112-gun San Josef, the 80-gun San Nicolas and the 130-gun Santísima Trinidad. Captain engaged all three, assisted by Template:HMS which had come to her aid. After an hour of exchanging broadsides which left both Captain and Culloden heavily damaged, Nelson found himself alongside the San Nicolas which he boarded and forced her surrender.<ref name="Coleman 2001 128"/> San Josef attempted to come to the San Nicolas's aid, but became entangled with her compatriot and was left immobile. Nelson led his party from the deck of the San Nicolas onto the San Josef and captured her as well.<ref name="Coleman 2001 126"/>

HMS TheseusEdit

In June 1797, he transferred to Template:HMS a 74-gun third-rate. Theseus was a 'troubled' ship, and Nelson and a few handpicked officers, including Hoste, Captain Ralph Willett Miller and Lieutenant John Weatherhead, were sent aboard to restore order. The tactic was successful and Nelson received a letter from the would-be mutineers which stated, "We thank the Admiral (Nelson) for the Officers he has placed over us".<ref name="White 2005 p15">Template:Cite book</ref>

In July, Theseus was present at the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, although Hoste remained aboard and took no part in the assault.<ref name="White 2002 p153"/> Following the death of a Lieutenant Weatherhead in the battle, Nelson promoted Hoste to lieutenant to fill the vacancy, his position being confirmed, thanks to his 'book time' in Europa, in February 1798.

File:The Battle of the Nile.jpg

The destruction of L'Orient at the Battle of the Nile by George Arnald

The battle of the NileEdit

Later that year, Hoste, still aboard HMS Theseus, was at the Battle of the Nile. The Royal Navy fleet was outnumbered, at least in firepower, by the French fleet, which boasted the 118-gun ship-of-the-line L'Orient, three 80-gun warships and nine of the popular 74-gun ships. The Royal Navy fleet in comparison had just thirteen 74-gun ships and one 50-gun fourth-rate.<ref name="Mostert p266">Template:Cite book</ref> Nevertheless, the battle was a decisive victory for the British.<ref name="White 2005 p36">Template:Cite book</ref>

Following the battle, Nelson sent his report to London, taking the precaution of sending a duplicate in the brig Template:HMS, commanded by Lieutenant Thomas Capel. At Naples, Capel was to carry on with the dispatch, handing command of Mutine to Hoste. Upon taking command, Hoste became an acting-captain at the age of 18. Hoste, carrying news of the victory, first sailed to Gibraltar, before rejoining the fleet, under St Vincent, off Cadiz.<ref name="White 2002 p153"/> His promotion was confirmed in December 1798.

CommandEdit

Hoste continued in command of the Mutine for the next three years, campaigning in Italy under Nelson, where in the autumn of 1799, he took part in the capture of Rome. He later served under Lord Keith, who knew little of him and his career appeared to have stalled until, possibly at Nelson's prompting, he was promoted post-captain by Lord St Vincent, First Lord of the Admiralty, in January 1802.<ref name="White 2002 p153"/>

At this time, Hoste was in Alexandria, where he contracted malaria and then a lung infection, which were to have a lasting effect on his health. He convalesced with Lord and Lady Elgin in Athens, where he began an education in classical antiquity, completed following his appointment to the frigate Template:HMS in Florence, when his ship was cruising on the Italian coast.

Hoste served almost continuously throughout the Peace of Amiens, returning to England briefly in April 1803 before being given command of Template:HMS in October.<ref name="White 2002 p153"/>

Notable actionsEdit

Nelson summoned him to Cadiz in September 1805 and gave him command of the 32-gun frigate Template:HMS. Sent on a diplomatic mission to Algiers, he missed the Battle of Trafalgar by a matter of days, and only learned of Nelson's death on his return in November.<ref name="White 2002 p154">Template:Cite book</ref> He wrote to his father – "Not to have been in it is enough to make one mad, but to have lost such a friend besides is really sufficient to almost overwhelm me" (Hoste's letters).

A number of successes while engaged on active service in the Mediterranean over the following 18 months brought Hoste to the attention of Lord Collingwood, who sent him into the Adriatic Sea. Here he single-handedly conducted an aggressive campaign against the ships and coastal installations of the French and their allies, bringing much of the coastal trade in the region to a halt.<ref name="White 2002 p154"/> By the end of 1809, Hoste and his crew had captured or sunk over 200 ships.Template:Citation needed

His endeavours were rewarded with command, as commodore, of a small detachment of frigates, comprising HMS Amphion, Template:HMS (36 guns), Template:HMS (22 guns) and Template:HMS (32 guns), operations continued and by establishing a base at Lissa, now known as Vis, Hoste was able to dominate the Adriatic with just four ships. In March and April 1810 alone, they took or destroyed 46 vessels.<ref name="White 2002 p154"/>

The French and their allies became so frustrated by the disruption to their shipping that a Franco-Italian squadron, under the command of an aggressive frigate commander named Bernard Dubourdieu, was dispatched and on 13 March 1811 they attacked Hoste's small force in what became known as the Battle of Lissa.<ref name="White 2002 p154"/>

Battle of LissaEdit

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File:Khalili Collection Enamels of the World ENG753.jpg

Portrait of Hoste

Dubourdieu's squadron of seven frigates and four smaller warships possessing a total of 276 guns and nearly 2,000 men significantly outnumbered Hoste with his 4 frigates mounting only 124 guns and manned by less than 900 men. The French officer imitated Nelson's attack at Trafalgar by sailing down on the British line from windward with his ships in two lines. However, signalling 'Remember Nelson' to rally his men, Hoste used his superior seamanship and gunnery to overcome the larger Franco-Italian squadron, with the loss of 50 men killed and 132 wounded. Dubourdieu was killed, one of the French frigates was driven on shore and two of the Italian ships were taken.<ref name="White 2002 p154"/>

Hoste's signal had a profound effect on his men. It was universally greeted with loud cheers and Captain Phipps Hornby of Volage wrote of it later: "Never again so long as I live shall I see so interesting or so glorious moment".<ref name="White 2002 p154"/>

Kotor, Split and Ragusa (Dubrovnik)Edit

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Amphion was so badly damaged that she was obliged to return to England, where Hoste was given the command of Template:HMS (38 guns), although he did not return to the Adriatic in her until 1812. Hoste continued to demonstrate the same kind of initiative and aggression as before. He helped capture Spalato (Split) in November 1813 with the assistance from the 35th regiment of foot. Then working with Montenegrin forces, he attacked the mountain fortress of Cattaro, hauling ships' cannon and mortars to positions above the fort using block and tackle. The French garrison had no alternative but to surrender, which it did on 5 January 1814. Hoste immediately repeated these tactics at Ragusa (now Dubrovnik), which also surrendered later on the 27th.<ref name="White 2002 p154"/>

Later lifeEdit

File:Sir William Hoste statue, St Paul's Cathedral 02.jpg

Statue of William Hoste by Thomas Campbell, St Paul's Cathedral

Hoste's health, compromised by his malaria and earlier lung infection, worsened and he was forced to return to England. In 1814, he was made a baronet, and in 1815 he was knighted KCB.<ref name="White 2002 p154"/> In 1825, he was appointed to the royal yacht Royal Sovereign.

In January 1828, he developed a cold which affected his already weakened lungs, and he died of tuberculosis in London on 6 December 1828. He was buried in St John's Chapel, London. There is a memorial to him at St Paul's Cathedral in London.<ref>"Memorials of St Paul's Cathedral" Sinclair, W. p. 455: London; Chapman & Hall, Ltd; 1909.</ref>

Personal lifeEdit

He married Lady Harriet Walpole (1 March 1792Template:Snd18 April 1875) on 17 April 1817.<ref name=walpole>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She was the daughter of Horatio Walpole, 2nd Earl of Orford and Sophia Churchill.<ref name=walpole/> They had the following children:

Caroline Harriet Clementina Hoste.<ref name=walpole/>
Priscilla Anne Hoste (UnknownTemplate:Snd21 October 1854).<ref name=walpole/>
Admiral Sir William Legge George Hoste (19 March 1818Template:Snd10 Sept 1868).<ref name=walpole/>
Theodore Oxford Raphael Hoste (31 July 1819Template:Snd1835).<ref name=walpole/>
Psyche Rose Elizabeth Hoste (4 April 1822Template:Snd8 July 1904).<ref name=walpole/>
Wyndham Horatio Nelson Hoste (2 Feb 1825Template:Snd).<ref name=walpole/>

LegacyEdit

Hoste's actions at Cattaro and Ragusa were later immortalised in fiction, where they are attributed to Captain Jack Aubrey, the principal character in Patrick O'Brian's 20 novels of the Aubrey–Maturin series. His actions at Lissa were also immortalised in the Kydd series, where they are attributed to Captain Thomas Kydd, the protagonist of the Kydd series written by Julian Stockwin.

One of the southernmost islands of Chile is named Hoste Island after him. A small islet in the entrance to the bay of Vis town is named Template:Interlanguage link after him, while the Template:Interlanguage link in Vis was founded by the Croatian islanders after learning that he had organised the game there during the British occupation of the island.

The Hoste Hotel in Burnham Market, Norfolk, is such named after William Hoste and features a Lord Nelson museum tribute.<ref name="White 2002 p153"/>

Once, while in conversation with Hoste's father, Nelson remarked: Template:Cquote

Lord Radstock once wrote:Template:Cquote