Royal Naval Biography/Deacon, Henry Colins
HENRY COLINS DEACON, Esq.
[Post-Captain of 1817.]
Entered the navy in 1800, as midshipman on board the Fisgard frigate. Captain (now Sir T. Byam) Martin. During the peace of Amiens he served in the Achille 74 and Alarm 32. After the renewal of hostilities we find him in the Amazon 36, Captain William Parker, on the Mediterranean station. The manner in which that ship was employed will be seen by reference to pp. 438–440 of Vol. II. Part I.
After the capture of the Marengo and Belle Poule, Mr. Deacon was recommended by Earl St. Vincent to the patronage of Rear-Admiral George Murray, who appointed him acting lieutenant of the Olympia cutter, in the Rio de la Plata, during the expedition for the recovery of Buenos Ayres[1]. This appointment was confirmed in England, Feb. 24, 1808, previous to which he had assisted at the capture of a French letter of marque, of much superior force, after a severe action, and conducted her to the Cape of Good Hope, encountering in his passage thither a constant succession of heavy gales for 42 days, during which period the pumps were incessantly at work, and the prize crew reduced to half a pint of water each man per diem.
About 18 months after his appointment to the Olympia, Lieutenant Deacon was removed to the Caledon, which ship he soon quitted in order to join la Nereide frigate, Captain Robert Corbett, about to proceed on a cruise off the Mauritius and Bourbon[2]. In Aug. 1809, he assisted at the capture of two batteries, commanding the anchorage of St. Rose, on the eastern side of the latter island. The intelligence there obtained, led to the reduction of the capital town, by an expedition under Captain Josias Rowley, R.N. and Lieutenant-Colonel Keating[3]. A series of desperate services in which Lieutenant Deacon was afterwards engaged, under the command of Captain (now Sir Nisbet J.) Willoughby, have been fully detailed at pp. 148–182 of Suppl. Part II. At Jacotel, May 1, 1810, he was severely wounded in the head by a musket-ball. On the 23d Aug. following, while most gallantly defending la Nereide in Port Sud-Est, he received numerous other wounds, in the throat, breast, legs, and arms[4]. After that most sanguinary combat, he was carried to a French hospital, treated with the greatest inhumanity, and plundered of every thing except the shirt on his back. He was then considered, by medical men, past recovery; and many of his fellow sufferers were dying daily, of locked jaws, from want of proper nourishment, and the unfavorable climate. For four months he never left his bed; and he was obliged to make use of crutches for a long time afterwards.
On his return home, after the reduction of the Mauritius, Lieutenant Deacon was appointed to the Lavinia frigate, then in the Mediterranean. His commission as commander, appointing him to the Niobe 38, armed en flûte, bears date June 7, 1814.
The Niobe was first employed in conveying the sick of the Russian Imperial guards to their native country; and on her arrival at Cronstadt she was visited by the Czar, who expressed his satisfaction at the accommodation, and the great attention that had been shewn to them. By desire of that monarch, Count Neselrode afterwards presented Captain Deacon with a ring, and wrote to Lord Castlereagh in his favor; the Emperor also gave him a letter addressed to the Prince Regent of Great Britain, recommending him for promotion; and nothing could possibly exceed the kind reception he met with during a fortnight’s sojourn, by express invitation, at St. Petersburg.
We next find the Niobe proceeding to Halifax, with Commodore Owen, and reinforcements for the shipping on the Canadian lakes. She afterwards visited Bermuda, on her way to the West Indies; and formed part of the squadron under Sir Philip C. Durham, at the reduction of Guadaloupe, in 1815. Whilst employed at the Leeward Islands, Captain Deacon had two very severe attacks of yellow fever. He paid off the Niobe, at Woolwich, in the spring of 1816; and obtained post rank, April 2, 1817.
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