Artist: Lemuel Francis Abbott (1760–1802)

Object type: Painting

Genre: portrait

Medium: Oil on canvas

Original Dimensions: 50 in. x 40 in.

Collection: National Portrait Gallery

Source/Photographer: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Navy

National Portrait Gallery: NPG 1260

About Admiral Lord Bridport

He was a more youthful son of the rev. Samuel hood (1691/2 – 1777),vicar of butleigh and prebendary of wells cathedral (each in somerset) and vicar of thorncombe in devon (whose monument survives in st leonard's church, butleigh), by means of his wife mary hoskins, a daughter of richard hoskins, esquire, of Beaminster, dorset. His elder brother changed into admiral Samuel hood, 1st viscount hood (1724–1816). The sons of his first cousin samuel hood (1715–1805), a purser in the royal navy included admiral sir samuel hood, 1st baronet (1762–1814), captain alexander hood (1758–1798)and captain arthur hood (1754–1776).

alexander entered the military in January 1741 and changed into appointed lieutenant in HMS Bridgewater in 1746. He changed into promoted to commander in 1756 and served as flag captain for rear admiral sir charles saunders, first in Hms prince inside the mediterranean sea (the flagship of rear-admiral saunders, beneath whom hood had served as a lieutenant), then in the frigate HMS Minerva.

Within the seven years' war hood fought at the conflict of Quiberon bay on 20 november 1759, and in 1761 minerva recaptured after an extended struggle, the 60-gun warwick of same force, which were captured with the aid of the french in 1756. For the rest of the battle, from 1761 to 1763, he turned into the captain of HMS Africa in the Mediterranean.

From this time forward hood became in continuous employment afloat and ashore. In 1778 he was appointed to Hms robust and fought at the first conflict of ushant on 22 july. In the court docket-martial of admiral Augustus Keppel that observed the battle, although the damaging popular feeling turned into aroused by the route which hood took in keppel's defense, his behavior does now not appear to have injured his expert profession. In 1780 hood turned into promoted to rear admiral of the white, and succeeded kempenfeldt as one in all howe's flag officials. In the American revolutionary warfare, in hms queen, he took element in howe's alleviation of Gibraltar in 1782.

Hood served in the house of commons for a time. Promoted vice-admiral in 1787, he have become knight companion of the Bath within the following yr, and at the event of the spanish armament in 1790 flew his flag once more for a quick time. On 22 october 1790 he turned into a member of the court that acquitted william bligh of dropping his ship HMS bounty. On the outbreak of battle with france in 1793 he went to sea once more. In the struggle of the primary coalition, on 1 june 1794, in HMS royal George (100), he became third in command to admiral lord howe on the struggle of the glorious first of june.

For his exploits in this warfare, he become accelerated to the Irish peerage as baron bridport and received the large naval gold medal and chain. Henceforth hood become practically in unbiased command. On 23 June 1795, together with his flag in royal george, he fought the inconclusive war of groix in opposition to the french under rear admiral Louis Thomas villaret de joyeuse off the Île de groix and captured three ships. he turned into much criticized in the military for his failure to win a greater decisive victory. But the british public taken into consideration the war a first-rate victory and his peerage become made English and he turned into promoted to vice-admiral of first-rate britain. From 1795 until hood's retirement in 1800, he changed into the commander of the channel fleet. In 1796 and 1797 he directed the conflict from hms london, not often hoisting his flag afloat save at such essential instances as that of the irish excursion in 1797.

He changed into about to place to sea whilst the Spithead fleet mutinied. He succeeded before everything in pacifying the team of his flagship, who had no non-public grudge against their admiral, however a few days later the mutiny broke out afresh, and this time was uncontrollable. For a whole week the mutineers had been ultimate, and it changed into handiest through the finest labor of the antique lord howe that order turned into then restored and the guys back to responsibility. After the mutiny had been suppressed, hood took the fleet to sea as commander-in-leader in name as well as in reality, and from 1798 he in my view directed the blockade of brest, which grew stricter and stricter as time went on. In 1800 he was relieved by using john Jervis, 1st earl of st vincent. In praise for hood's first-rate document his peerage become made a viscounty. He spent the ultimate years of his life in retirement and died on 2 may 1814.

• "The HOOD Peerage Pedigree Database - Individual Data of Person P951".

• Alexander Hood at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

• Joslin, Litherland and Simpkin. British Battles and Medals. p. 37. Published Spink, London. 1988.ISBN 0907605257

• "CRICKET HOUSE, Cricket St. Thomas - 1001142 | Historic England".

• See monuments in Cricket St Thomas Church

• "Sir Alexander Hood Viscount Bridport". more than Nelson. Retrieved 3 August 2021.

• https://morethannelson.com/officer/sir-alexander-hood-viscount-bridport/

• Sir Alexander Hood Viscount Bridport"

• CRICKET HOUSE, Cricket St. Thomas - 1001142 | Historic England".