Thomas Fortescue Kennedy

Thomas Fortescue Kennedy
Born	(1774-11-09)9 November 1774
Died	15 May 1846(1846-05-15) (aged 71)
Allegiance	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1789 – 1846
Rank	Post-Captain
Commands held	HMS Cordelia HMS Temeraire
Battles/wars	French Revolutionary Wars Siege of Toulon Napoleonic Wars Battle of Trafalgar Walcheren Campaign

Thomas Fortescue Kennedy (9 November 1774 – 15 May 1846) was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.

Kennedy was born into a family with a history of military service, and entered the navy shortly before the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars. After some service on frigates during the various armament crises, in which Kennedy saw service on foreign stations, he was actively involved in the Siege of Toulon, and afterwards was promoted to lieutenant. He spent some time in the East Indies, distinguishing himself in action, before returning to British waters and serving under a number of prominent naval officers aboard ships of the line. One such officer was Eliab Harvey, who later asked for him to become first-lieutenant on his ship, the 98-gun HMS Temeraire.

Aboard Temeraire Kennedy fought at Trafalgar and played a key role in the capture of the French Fougueux. Promoted to commander for his services, Kennedy captained a ship during the Walcheren Campaign, before being promoted to post-captain shortly before the end of the Napoleonic Wars. His last posting was in 1834, as Captain-Superintendent at Sheerness Dockyard. For the last two years of his commission he commanded his old ship, HMS Temeraire, which was at Sheerness, serving as a guardship. He was required to arrange and oversee the sale and disposal of the Trafalgar veteran in 1838, one of his last duties before his own commission ended later that year. Kennedy subsequently went into retirement and died in 1846.