Philip Beaver

Philip Beaver (28 February 1766 – 5 April 1813) was an officer of the Royal Navy, serving during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

Beaver returned to a more active form of service in 1791 when he participated in a colonization scheme intended to resettle Black former slaves from the Americas with Richard Hancorn, commander of HMS Calypso, on the island of Bulama off the coast of Portuguese Guinea.

Beaver was in command of the Hankey, a small ship with sixty-five men, twenty-four women, and thirty-one children, mostly seasick and all useless.

By the time of his return, the French Revolutionary Wars had broken out and two months later Beaver was appointed as first lieutenant of the 64-gun HMS Stately, under Captain Billy Douglas.

She set sail for the West Indies in March 1795, eventually meeting up with a squadron under Sir George Elphinstone.

Beaver was made a commander on 19 June 1799, and Keith appointed him a few months later to serve aboard the flagship as acting assistant captain of the fleet.

He was sent home to England with the dispatches of the victory, but by the time he arrived the Battle of Marengo had been fought and Genoa had again fallen to the French.

He was detained at Gibraltar for a fortnight whilst making his return, and so took the opportunity to marry his young fiancée, Miss Elliott.

He quickly tired of the monotony of maintaining a blockade and obtained permission to take the frigate HMS Déterminée to Constantinople with dispatches.

He was highly successful in these duties, and three years later returned to sea, having been appointed to command the 40-gun frigate HMS Acasta.

Immediately Beaver traveled to Caracas, brought news of the Spanish uprising against the Napoleonic invasion and the formation of the Juntas in defense of the King Ferdinand VII wrights.

[4] He returned to England and after a few months, was appointed to command the 38-gun HMS Nisus, departing aboard her for the East Indies on 22 June 1810.

Beaver and the Nisus then moved to a squadron under Rear-Admiral Robert Stopford and took part in the conquest of Java in August and September 1811.