Henry Inman | |
|---|---|
&sq=Envato&lang=en&file=File:CaptainHenryInman.jpg) Captain Henry Inman, engraving by Henry Cook, 1811 | |
| Born | 1762 Burrington, Somerset |
| Died | 15 July 1809 (aged 46–47) Madras, British India |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service |  Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1776–1809 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Battles / wars | |
Captain Henry Inman (1762 – 15 July 1809) was a British Royal Navy officer during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, serving in the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. Inman's service in the American war was punctuated by three shipwrecks: the burning of HMS Lark off Rhode Island in the face of a superior French squadron, the grounding of HMS Santa Monica on Tortola and the foundering of Hector following an engagement with two French ships in the Mid-Atlantic. After the war he was placed in reserve until the Spanish Armament of 1790, when he was given command of the 14-gun cutter HMS Pygmy stationed off the Isle of Man.
Inman's subsequent service career was principally in frigates: he was engaged at the Siege of Toulon in HMS Aurore, in a raid at Dunkirk in HMS Andromeda and participated in the Battle of Copenhagen as captain of HMS Désirée. He later served on the ship of the line HMS Triumph at the Battle of Cape Finisterre and was subsequently called to give evidence at the court martial of Sir Robert Calder. After the battle off Finisterre, Inman suffered from ill-health and remained on shore duty until 1809 when he was appointed as Admiralty commissioner for Madras. The lengthy sea journey to India exacerbated his existing health problems and he died just ten days after his arrival.