Samuel Campbell Rowley

Samuel Campbell Rowley
Born	19 January 1774 Drumsna, County Leitrim, Ireland
Died	28 January 1846(1846-01-28) (aged 72) Drumsna, County Leitrim, Ireland
Allegiance	Kingdom of Great Britain United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Rank	Rear Admiral
Battles/wars	Battle of Martinique (1794) Invasion of Guadeloupe (1794) Battle of Copenhagen (1801)

Samuel Campbell Rowley was a politician and Royal Navy officer who was born in Ireland in 1774. Rowley attended the Royal Naval Academy at Portsmouth in 1785 and joined his first ship in March 1789, serving in the West Indies. He passed the lieutenant's examination in 1792 but was not promoted until January 1794, when he joined HMS Vengeance. In her, Rowley took part in the West Indies campaign under Sir John Jervis and Sir Charles Grey, and was present at the capture of Martinique, St Lucia and Guadeloupe. Rowley returned to England at the beginning of 1795 and shortly after, was appointed to the 32-gun HMS Astraea, serving in the English Channel, where, on 10 April 1795, he assisted in the taking of the French 42-gun frigate, Gloire.

Rowley was promoted to Master and Commander of the bomb vessel HMS Terror in 1799 and fought in her at the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801. He made post-captain on 29 April 1802 and on 14 February 1811, commissioned HMS Laurel for service in the English Channel. While entering Quiberon Bay on 12 January 1812, Laurel hit the rocks and was wrecked. A subsequent court martial absolved Rowley of blame.

Rowley represented the constituency of Kinsale in the last Irish Parliament before the union with Great Britain and was after, elected to the Westminster Parliament, where he served until 1806. Rowley's first wife, whom he married on 16 September 1805, died in 1821. He remarried on 4 November 1830 but neither union resulted in children. Rowley was promoted to Rear Admiral on 10 January 1837 and died on 28 January 1846