SIR EDWARD BERRY,
Baronet; Rear-Admiral of the Blue; and a Knight Commander oft Ik most honorable Military Order of the Bath.
This officer is a son of the late Edward Berry, Esq., of London, by Elizabeth, daughter of the Rev. Thomas Foster, Rector of Holton, in Suffolk. He was born April 17, 1768, and went to sea at an early age, under the auspices of Lord Mulgrave. The first recorded circumstance of his life was the boarding of a French ship of war, for which action he was rewarded with a Lieutenant’s commission. His subsequent conduct in the glorious battle of June 1, 1794, appears also to have obtained for him the approbation of his superiors.
Early in 1796, Mr. Berry was appointed by Sir John Jervis, under whom he had before served, to the Agamemnon, of 64 guns, commanded by Commodore Nelson, who was at that time employed in laying the foundation of his future fame; and to whose favorable notice he soon recommended himself, as may be inferred from the following passage, which we extract from a letter addressed by that officer to the Commander-in-Chief, May 30, 1796;
“Lieutenant Berry joined me in the Comet, and I have, as far as I have seen, every reason to be satisfied with him, both as a gentleman, and an officer. I had a few days ago a plan for taking the French brig of war out of Vado, and intrusted the execution of it to him; it miscarried from an unforeseen and improbable event, but I was much pleased by Mr. Berry’s strict attention to my instructions.”
Passing over occurrences of minor importance, we shall here introduce the contents of a paper written by Commodore Nelson, some time after the memorable battle off Cape St. Vincent; on which occasion the subject of this memoir, by his extraordinary activity in boarding two of the enemy’s ships, acquired the honest eulogium of every officer in the fleet.
“A few remarks relative to myself in the Captain, in which ship my pendant was flying on the most glorious Valentine’s Day, 1797.
