Edward O'Bryen

Who was Edward O'Bryen?

Rear-Admiral Edward O'Bryen was a British Royal Navy officer prominent in the late nineteenth century, who is best known for his participation at the Nore Mutiny and the Battle of Camperdown, both in 1797 during the French Revolutionary Wars. At the Nore, O'Bryen had recently been given command of the ship of the line HMS Nassau when the mutiny broke out. Although he was not the cause and the crew expressed their affection for him, O'Bryen had to be prevented from throwing himself overboard when his men refused to obey his orders. Just five months later, now in command of Vice-Admiral Richard Onslow's flagship HMS Monarch, O'Bryen led the southern division of the British attack at the Battle of Camperdown, in which a Dutch fleet was destroyed and British supremacy in the North Sea confirmed. Although he was praised for his exertions in the battle, O'Bryen's health was deteriorating and he retired from the Navy in 1803, dying at the rank of rear-admiral five years later.