Background
He was born on April 27, 1770 to an aristocratic, landowning family.
(Excerpt from Memoir of the Life of Admiral Sir Edward Cod...)
Excerpt from Memoir of the Life of Admiral Sir Edward Codrington, Vol. 1 of 2: With Selections From His Public and Private Correspondence IT may, perhaps, be thought late to publish now a memoir of Sm edward codrington, who has been dead nearly twenty-two years. The delay has been caused by circumstances over which I had no control. However, although so many of his personal friends and brothers in arms have passed away, it is not, I think, too late to bring before others the character and services of one who was himself an ornament to the profession he so truly loved and honoured and so devotedly served. To that character, and those services, the key and the incentive were the innate chivalry and high feeling of honour which made professional duty always the first consideration, to the utter exclusion of all sordid or selfish views of personal advantage. His principle was, as stated in his private letters to his wife, to strive to deserve credit, rather than to obtain it. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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(Edward Codrington (1770-1851) joined the navy at the age ...)
Edward Codrington (1770-1851) joined the navy at the age of thirteen. Having narrowly avoided freezing to death in Nova Scotia three years later, he went on to serve during some of the most important naval conflicts of his time. This two-volume biography was first published in 1873, and combines his own accounts with the research of his daughter Lady Bourchier. Volume 2 opens in 1827 as the English fleet, now under Codrington's command, faces the Turks at the battle of Navarino, now seen as a decisive moment in the struggle for Greek independence. It also includes accounts of the blockade of the Morea, Codrington's terse exchanges with the Ottoman commanders, and a vivid portrayal of the devastation that would ensue should his tactics fail. Structured around the first-hand accounts in Codrington's own correspondence, this is both an entertaining read and a useful resource for students of naval history.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1108044646/?tag=2022091-20
(Edward Codrington (1770-1851) joined the navy at the age ...)
Edward Codrington (1770-1851) joined the navy at the age of thirteen. Having narrowly avoided freezing to death in Nova Scotia three years later, he went on to serve during some of the most important naval conflicts of his time. This two-volume biography was first published in 1873, and combines his own accounts with the research of his daughter Lady Bourchier. Volume 1 introduces his friend Bowen, noted for his pink umbrella, the shy and awkward commander of the fleet, Lord Howe, and the sheer terror of the 1793 third battle of Ushant, the British fleet's first major encounter with that of the new French Republic. Included are Codrington's private and public letters, which give anecdotes of his own adventures and hint at the uneasy inner politics of the Admiralty, making this both an entertaining read and a useful resource for students of naval history.
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(Title: Compressed Narrative of the Proceedings of Vice-Ad...)
Title: Compressed Narrative of the Proceedings of Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Codrington, during his command of His Majesty's ships and vessels on the Mediterranean station, from the 28th of February 1827, until the 22nd of August 1828. Publisher: British Library, Historical Print Editions The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. It is one of the world's largest research libraries holding over 150 million items in all known languages and formats: books, journals, newspapers, sound recordings, patents, maps, stamps, prints and much more. Its collections include around 14 million books, along with substantial additional collections of manuscripts and historical items dating back as far as 300 BC. The HISTORY OF BRITAIN & IRELAND collection includes books from the British Library digitised by Microsoft. As well as historical works, this collection includes geographies, travelogues, and titles covering periods of competition and cooperation among the people of Great Britain and Ireland. Works also explore the countries' relations with France, Germany, the Low Countries, Denmark, and Scandinavia. ++++ The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification: ++++ British Library Codrington, Edward; 1832. 17 p. ; 8º. 601.f.55.
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He was born on April 27, 1770 to an aristocratic, landowning family.
He was educated by an uncle named Mr Bethell. He was sent for a short time to Harrow, and entered the Royal Navy in July 1783.
Codrington was of the Gloucestershire family of baronets and entered the navy in 1783.
He served with distinction at the Glorious First of June in 1794 and was given his first command later that year.
At Trafalgar he captained the Orion.
He continued to serve in the Channel, and was present at the action off L'Orient on the 23rd of June 1795.
Codrington wrote notes on this encounter also, which are to be found in the memoir.
They are able and valuable, but, like all his correspondence throughout his life, show that he was of a somewhat censorious disposition, was apt to take the worst view of the conduct of others, and was liable to be querulous.
He next commanded the " Druid " (32) in the Channel and on the coast of Portugal, till she was paid off in 1797.
Codrington now remained on shore and on half-pay for some years.
The " Orion " took a conspicuous part in the battle of Trafalgar.
Codrington's correspondence contains much illuminative evidence as to the preliminaries and the events of the victory.
From 1805 till 1813 he continued to serve first in the " Orion " and then (1808) in the " Blake " in European waters.
He was present onthe Walcheren expedition, and was very actively employed on the Mediterranean coast of Spain in co-operating with the Spaniards against the French.
In 1815 he was made K. C. B. , and was promoted vice-admiral on the 10th of July 1821.
In December 1826 he was appointed to the Mediterranean command, and sailed on the 1st of February 1827.
In 1827 he was given a difficult command in the eastern Mediterranean, where the Greeks were in rebellion against the Turks.
His squadron, with Russian and French contingents, was intended to enforce an armistice but on 20 October an accidental clash with a Turkish fleet led to the Turks' annihilation in Navarino Bay, on the south-west of the Morea.
The sequel became acrimonious and Codrington's orders appear vague.
From that date until his recall on the 216t of June 1828 he was engaged in the arduous duties imposed on him by the Greek War of Independence, which had led to anarchy and much piracy in the Levant.
As the battle had been unforeseen in England, and its result was unwelcome to the ministry of the day, Codrington was entangled in a correspondence to prove that he had not gone beyond his instructions, and he was recalled by a despatch, dated the 4th of June. After the battle Codrington went to Malta to refit his ships.
He remained there till May 1828, when he sailed to join his French and Russian colleagues on the coast of the Morea.
They endeavoured to enforce the evacuation of the peninsula by Ibrahim peacefully.
Codrington had heard on' the 22nd of June of his own supersession, but, as his successor had not arrived, he carried out the arrangement made on the 25th of July, and his presence at Alexandria led to the treaty of the 6th of August 1828, by which the evacuation of the Morea was settled.
His services were recognized by the grant of the grand cross of the Bath, but there is no doubt that he was treated as a scape-gOat at least to some extent.
After his return home he was occupied for a time in defending himself, and then in leisure abroad.
He commanded a training squadron in the Channel in 1831 and became admiral on the 1 oth of January 1837.
From November 1839 to December 1842 he was commander-in-chief at Portsmouth.
(Title: Compressed Narrative of the Proceedings of Vice-Ad...)
(Excerpt from Memoir of the Life of Admiral Sir Edward Cod...)
(Edward Codrington (1770-1851) joined the navy at the age ...)
(Edward Codrington (1770-1851) joined the navy at the age ...)
He was elected Member of Parliament for Devonport in 1832, and sat for that constituency until he accepted the Chiltern Hundreds in 1839.
