Robert Henley was born on January 5, 1783 in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. He was a descendant of Reynold or Reginald Henley who settled in James City County as early as 1661. He was the second son of Leonard Henley and his wife, Elizabeth Dandridge, sister of Martha Dandridge Custis Washington, and was a younger brother of Captain John Dandridge Henley, U. S. N. , and of Frances Dandridge, the wife of Tobias Lear.
Originally intended for the law, Henley entered the College of William and Mary, at Williamsburg; but his interest in the navy was such that his family allowed him to apply for a midshipman's warrant, which he obtained on April 8, 1799.
After the war he obtained a leave of absence and returned to Williamsburg for a course of lectures in navigation and naval science.
Henley served throughout the war with France, and was on the Constellation with Commodore Truxtun during the engagement with the French frigate La Vengeance, February 1-2, 1800. His bravery and gallant behavior in that battle drew from his commander the compliment, "That stripling is destined to be a brave officer. "
He was commissioned lieutenant, January 29, 1807, and placed in command of a gunboat at Norfolk. He was in command of one of two divisions of fifteen gunboats, arranged in crescent formation, which drove three English frigates from Hampton Roads, June 20, 1813. It was, however, at the battle of Lake Champlain, September 11, 1814, that Henley won his chief fame. He commanded the brig Eagle, which headed the American line, and was second in command to Commodore Macdonough. The Eagle was the first to open fire and bore an important and aggressive part in the entire engagement.
Family tradition has it that Henley planned the battle; and certainly his report to the Secretary of the Navy indicates his belief that he had not received sufficient acknowledgment from his superior, although Commodore Macdonough wrote officially, "To Captain Robert Henley, of the brig Eagle, much is to be ascribed; his courage was conspicuous, and I most earnestly recommend him as worthy of the highest trust and confidence".
He was promoted to the rank of master-commandant. Ordered to the Naval Station at Norfolk, he was subsequently made post-captain. Serving next on the Hornet, he captured the piratical schooner Moscow off Santo Domingo, October 29, 1821.
He was promoted to the rank of captain, March 3, 1825. After a tour of duty in North Carolina, he was ordered to the Naval Station at Charleston, South Carolina, and died there, at Sullivan's Island, where he was buried with military honors.
Henley married in early life, but left no children.
