A Naval Biographical Dictionary/Hodge, Stephen
HODGE. (Commander, 1846. f-p., 33; h-p., 9.)
Stephen Hodge was born 12 Jan. 1792.
This officer entered the Navy, in 1805, as Fst.-cl. Vol., on board the Autumn sloop, Capt. Thos. Searle; and in the course of the same year he partook, as Midshipman, of an action with the Boulogne flotilla. He next joined the Regulus 44, Capt. Chas. Worsley Boys, with whom he served, on the Home station, until April, 1806, when he was again placed under the orders of Capt. Searle, in the Fury bomb. On subsequently accompanying the same officer to the Mediterranean in the Grasshopper, of 18 guns and 120 men, he shared, 11 Dec. 1807, in a gallant action with three Spanish vessels-of-war, carrying in the whole 30 guns and 226 men, the largest of which, the San Josef, of 12 24-pounders and 99 men, was in 15 minutes compelled to strike her colours. He was also, on 4 April, 1808, present, in company with the Mercury frigate, in a successful attack made off the town of Rota upon a Spanish convoy passing alongshore under the protection of about 20 gun-boats, and a numerous train of flying artillery on the beach; on which occasion the Grasshopper, who sustained very serious damage, actually silenced the batteries at the above place, and attracted general admiration by her noble conduct. Nineteen days after the latter event we find him participating in the capture, at the end of a severe action of two hours and a half, fought among shoals and within grape-shot distance of a battery, of two Spanish vessels laden with cargoes worth 30,000l. each, and further protected by four gun-boats, two of which were forced to surrender, and the remainder driven on shore. The collective loss of the Grasshopper in the three engagements above recorded amounted to 1 man killed and 10 wounded. In Sept. 1809 (the Grasshopper having been latterly commanded by Capt. Henry Fanshawe) Mr. Hodge rejoined Capt. Searle for a short time as Master’s Mate on board the Frederickstein 32. He next served for 18 months on the Channel station in the Coquette 18, Capts. Robt. Forbes and Geo. Hewson; and on then removing to the Druid 32, Capts. Thos. Searle, Fras. Stanfell, and Wm. King (of which vessel he was created an Acting-Lieutenant 17 July, 1811), he was successively employed at the defence of Cadiz and Tarifa. On the night of 17 Sept. in the latter year he was severely wounded during a mutiny of his boat’s crew in Cadiz Harbour, where he was stripped of his clothes, and thrown overboard in a state of insensibility. On recovering his senses in the water, he swam a distance of nearly four miles, and was ultimately picked up by some Spanish fishermen on the beach in a state of great exhaustion. He was confirmed in the rank of Lieutenant 16 Feb. 1813, and, leaving the Druid in the ensuing July, was next appointed, 5 Oct. 1813, and 18 Oct. 1814, to the Wolverene and Bittern sloops, Capts. Chas. Kerr and Geo. Augustus Hire, both in the Channel. After nearly six years of half-pay Mr. Hodge, on 3 Oct. 1821, obtained an appointment to the Genoa 74, Capt. Sir Thos. Livingstone; in command of a tender belonging to which ship it fell to his lot to form part of George IV.’s escort, on the occasion of His Majesty’s visit to Ireland. Having been in the Coast Guard since 19 March, 1823, he was at length advanced to the rank of Commander 5 Jan. 1846. He has since been on half-pay.
Commander Hodge married, in June, 1821, Miss Trout, of East Looe, Cornwall, and by that lady has issue five children.