Fleetwood Pellew

Who was Fleetwood Pellew?

Admiral Sir Fleetwood Broughton Reynolds Pellew CB KCH was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He was the son of Captain Edward Pellew, who later became an admiral and first Viscount Exmouth. The elder Pellew used his influence within the navy to secure positions for his two eldest sons in the service . Fleetwood received his first command when he was just 17, but seemed to justify it with his gallantry and daring, which won him the admiration of his father. His career was noted for a brief incident in Nagasaki harbour while in command of the frigate HMS Phaeton, an incident that was to have important implications for Anglo-Japanese relations. Fleetwood's doting father helped him rise through the ranks, but a tendency towards excessive harshness in command proved his downfall. He provoked a mutiny in 1814 and though he returned to sea in 1818, he received no further active commands after 1822 for thirty years. He briefly returned to service with the rank of rear-admiral and a post as commander-in-chief in the East Indies and China, but soon provoked another mutiny aboard his flagship, and was recalled. He never again served at sea, and died in 1861 with the rank of admiral.