Sherard Osborn | |
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| Born | (1822-04-25)25 April 1822 |
| Died | 6 May 1875(1875-05-06) (aged 53) London, Middlesex, England |
| Branch |  Royal Navy |
| Service years | 1837–1875 |
| Rank | Rear-Admiral |
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Sherard OsbornCB FRS (25 April 1822 – 6 May 1875) was a Royal Navy admiral andArctic explorer.
Born inMadras, he was the son of an Indian army officer. Osborn entered the navy as a first-class volunteer in 1837, serving until 1844 onHMS Hyacinth,HMS Clio, andHMS Volage.[1]
In 1838, he was entrusted with the command of a gunboat at the attack onKedah in theMalay Peninsula, and was present at theBattle of Canton in 1841, and at theBattle of Woosung in 1842. From 1844 until 1848, he was gunnery mate and lieutenant onHMS Collingwood, the flagship of SirGeorge Seymour in thePacific.[1]
He took a prominent part in 1849 in advocating a new search expedition for SirJohn Franklin, and in 1850 was appointed to the command of the steam-tenderHMS Pioneer (1850) in the Arctic expedition underHoratio Thomas Austin, in the course of which he performed a remarkable sledge-journey to the western extremity ofPrince of Wales Island.[2] He published an account of this voyage, entitledStray Leaves from an Arctic Journal (1852), and was promoted to the rank of commander shortly afterwards.
In the new expedition of 1852–1854 under SirEdward Belcher he again took part as commander ofPioneer. In 1856, he published the journals of CaptainRobert McClure, giving a narrative of the discovery of theNorthwest Passage. Early in 1855, he was called to active service in theCrimean War as the captain ofHMS Vesuvius (1839). After seeing considerable action in the Black Sea he was promoted to post-rank in August 1855, and was appointed toHMS Medusa, in which he commanded theSea of Azov squadron until the end of the war. For these services he was appointed aCompanion of the Order of the Bath, awarded theLegion of Honour,[3] and the TurkishOrder of the Medjidie.[4]
In 1859 he published the workA cruise in Japanese waters, The fight on the Peiho and some of the first Japanese illustrations (since a shipment in made 1620 byJohn Saris) which he published initially in theOnce a Week periodical which Osborn acquired inEdo in 1859.[5]
As captain ofHMS Furious, he took a prominent part in the operations of theSecond Opium War, and performed a piece of difficult and intricate navigation in taking his ship up theYangtse toHankow in 1858. He returned to England in broken health in 1859, and at this time contributed a number of articles on naval and Chinese topics toBlackwood's Magazine, and wroteThe Career, Last Voyage and Fate of Sir John Franklin (1860).
In 1861, he commandedHMS Donegal in theGulf of Mexico during theSecond French intervention in Mexico, and in 1862, undertook the command of a squadron fitted out by the Chinese government for the suppression of piracy on the coast of China. Owing to the non-fulfilment of the condition that he should receive orders from the imperial government only, he quit the appointment.[6]
During theTaiping Rebellion the Chinese government wished to regain control overNanjing, which had been captured by the rebel forces in 1853 and declared their capital, but lacked the necessary ships to bring troops down theYangtze River and to provide fire support. The Chinese government turned to the British for help, who agreed to provide assistance in order to bring stability to their commerce in China.
The Chinese Emperor, exiled toJehol, agreed to a proposal presented by British ambassador SirFrederic Bruce in July 1861 to purchase Britishgunboats.Robert Hart, interpreter of theImperial Maritime Customs Service is given credit for creating the proposal.Prince Gong, the head of theZongli Yamen, appointedHoratio Nelson Lay as Inspector General of the new flotilla. Lay left China for England on 14 March 1862 with written instructions from Prince Gong.
Queen Victoria agreed to the proposal on 2 September 1862 and gave permission to equip the vessels and hire crews. Lay appointed Captain Sherard Osborn as commander of the flotilla.
On 13 February 1863 the "Lay-Osborn" flotilla, also known as the Osborn or "Vampire" Fleet, with seven steamcruisers and a supply ship left England, arriving in China in September 1863. Upon reaching China, Osborn refused to take any orders from local Chinese officers, stating that his agreement with Lay stipulated that any Chinese orders must come directly from the Tongzhi Emperor, as transmitted via Lay. The Imperial court refused to ratify this, and Osborn resigned in pique on 9 November 1863, disbanded the flotilla, and sent the ships back to England without them having fired a shot. Lay was fired that same year by the Chinese government and replaced withSir Robert Hart.[7]
In 1864, he was appointed to the command ofHMS Royal Sovereign, the first British turret-armed battleship, in order to test the turret system of shipbuilding. In 1865, he became agent to theGreat Indian Peninsula Railway Company, and two years later was made managing director of the Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company, a post that he held until 1874. From 1869 he was a Director of the International Mid-Channel Telegraph Co. Ltd.[1]
In 1871, he was appointed as captain ofHMS Hercules in the Channel Fleet. On 12 June 1873, he was appointed rear admiral.[8]
His interest in Arctic exploration had never ceased, and in 1873, he induced CommanderAlbert Hastings Markham to undertake a summer voyage for the purpose of testing the conditions of ice-navigation with the aid of steam. The result of this summer voyage was theBritish Arctic Expedition, under SirGeorge Nares. Osborn became a member of the expedition committee.
Osborn died in London on 6 May 1875, a few days after the expedition had sailed. His body was interred atHighgate Cemetery on 10 May 1875 with the funeral attended by many of those who had served with him in the Royal Navy.[9]
A cable ship was named for him and the SSSherard Osborn was launched in 1878, for the Eastern Extension, Australasia and China Telegraph Company.
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