Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Westphal, Philip
WESTPHAL, PHILIP (1782–1880), admiral, born in 1782, was the elder son of George Westphal, of a noble Hanoverian family, whose uncle was tutor to the Duke of Kent. Sir George Augustus Westphal [q. v.] was his younger brother. He entered the navy in 1794 on board the Oiseau on the North American station. In 1796 he was successively in the Albatross and the Shannon on the home station, and from 1797 to 1800 in the Asia on the coast of North America. In 1801 he was in the Blanche, one of the frigates with Nelson at Copenhagen on 2 April. For his share in this action Westphal was promoted on 5 April to be lieutenant of the Defiance. In May 1802 he was appointed to the Amazon [see Parker, Sir William, (1781–1866)] with Nelson off Toulon, and in his cruise to the West Indies in the spring of 1805, and in 1806 with Sir John Borlase Warren [q. v.], when the French frigate Belle Poule struck actually to the Amazon. The first lieutenant of the Amazon having been killed in the action, Warren gave Westphal an acting order as captain of the Belle Poule, which he refitted and took to England. The admiralty, however, refused to confirm the acting order, and Westphal continued lieutenant of the Amazon till she was paid off in 1812. He was then appointed to the Junon, a 38-gun frigate, in which he saw much sharp service on the coast of North America. In January 1815 he was moved by Sir George Cockburn (1772–1853) [q. v.] into his flagship, and on 13 June was at last promoted to be commander. In November 1828 he was appointed to the Warspite, again with Parker; but as Parker was very shortly afterwards appointed to the royal yacht, Westphal was moved to the Kent, from which, on 22 July 1830, he was advanced to post rank. In 1847 he was retired on a Greenwich Hospital pension, becoming rear-admiral 27 Sept. 1855, vice-admiral 4 Oct. 1862, and admiral 2 April 1866. He died at Ryde 16 March 1880.
[O'Byrne's Nav. Biogr. Dict.; Times, 19 March 1880.]