Samuel Campbell Rowley was a politician and Royal Navy officer who was born in Ireland in 1774. Rowley attended the Royal Naval Academy at Portsmouth in 1785 and joined his first ship in March 1789, serving in the West Indies. He passed the lieutenant's examination in 1792 but was not promoted until January 1794, when he joined . In her, Rowley took part in the West Indies campaign under Sir John Jervis and Sir Charles Grey, and was present at the capture of Martinique, St Lucia and Guadeloupe. Rowley returned to England at the beginning of 1795 and shortly after, was appointed to the 32-gun , serving in the English Channel, where, on 10 April 1795, he assisted in the taking of the French 42-gun frigate, Gloire.
Rowley was promoted to Master and Commander of the bomb vessel in 1799 and fought in her at the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801. He made post-captain on 29 April 1802 and on 14 February 1811, commissioned for service in the English Channel. While entering Quiberon Bay on 12 January 1812, Laurel hit the rocks and was wrecked. A subsequent court martial absolved Rowley of blame.
Rowley represented the constituency of Kinsale in the last Irish Parliament before the union with Great Britain and was after, elected to the Westminster Parliament, where he served until 1806. Rowley's first wife, whom he married on 16 September 1805, died in 1821. He remarried on 4 November 1830 but neither union resulted in children. Rowley was promoted to Rear Admiral on 10 January 1837 and died on 28 January 1846
Early life and career
Samuel Campbell Rowley was born on 19 January 1774 in Drumsna, County Leitrim, Ireland. He was the third son of Clotworthy Rowley, a barrister and Member of Parliament, and his wife, Letitia. The Rowley's were a naval family, Samuel's paternal grandfather was Admiral of the Fleet Sir William Rowley. His older brother, Josias Rowley, and his first cousin, Charles Rowley would also become Admirals in the Royal Navy.
In 1785, Rowley attended the Royal Naval Academy at Portsmouth. On 10 March 1789, he joined the 32-gun on the West Indies Station and remained aboard her for the next three and a half years. Rowley passed his lieutenant's examination in 1792 but was not immediately promoted. From 1793, he served in succession, aboard , and , before his appointment as lieutenant aboard the 74-gun , on 30 January 1794.
West Indies campaign
Rowley took part in the West Indies campaign under Sir John Jervis and Sir Charles Grey, helping to secure the islands of Martinique, St Lucia and Guadeloupe. The expedition, comprising 19 vessels, including Vengeance, and 7,000 men, left Barbados on 2 February and arrived off Martinique four days later. Troops were put ashore at the Bay of Galion, Case de Navire and Sainte Luce, and by 16 March had all the island, save two forts, under control. Following a naval bombardment and an assault, the last French troops capitulated on 22 March.
On 31 March, Rowley was part of a force sent to capture St Lucia. Casualties of battle, sickness and the need to maintain a garrison on Martinique, meant only 4800 troops could be spared but St Lucia was poorly defended. Following his previous strategy, Grey had his troops disembarked at multiple places around the island. The landings were unopposed and with little to do, Jervis' ships anchored in Cul de Sac Bay. The island was secured with the capture of Morne Fortune fort on 4 April.
A small squadron was dispatched to capture the Saintes but Vengeance sailed with Jervis' main fleet to Guadeloupe, arriving in Gosier Bay on 10 April. Troops landed over the next two days, quickly gained control of the island of Grande-Terre. Leaving a regiment to garrison the fort at Pointe-a-Pitre, the British crossed the water on 14 April but it was not until 22 April that the French fully relinquished their hold on the island of Basse-Terre.
The British occupation of Guadeloupe did not go unchallenged. On 3 June, a French force arrived and began attacking British positions on Basse-Terre. Jervis was made aware of this on 5 June and immediately sent ships to Martinique for reinforcements while he and Grey set off in Boyne with Veteran in company. They reached Guadeloupe on 7 June, where they were joined by Vanguard and Vengeance. Grey landed on Basse-Terre, and Jervis, with the Boyne, Vanguard, Vengeance and Veteran, proceeded off Point-a-Pitre. Additional troops arrived at Grande-Terre on 19 June but the British counter-attack was not successful. Reinforcements from France reached the islands in September and by 10 December, had driven the British from Guadeloupe. After a period serving ashore in the newly acquired territories, Rowley returned to England in early 1795.