Houston Stewart

Admiral of the Fleet Sir Houston Stewart, (3 August 1791 – 10 December 1875) was a Royal Navy officer and briefly a Liberal Party Member of Parliament. After serving as a junior officer in the Napoleonic Wars, Stewart became commanding officer of the third-rate HMS Benbow in the Mediterranean Fleet and took part in the bombardment of Acre during the Egyptian–Ottoman War. He went on to be Captain-Superintendent of Woolwich Dockyard and then Controller-General of the Coastguard.

Stewart served as Third Naval Lord before entering the House of Commons as Liberal Party Member of Parliament MP for Greenwich. Following his election he became Second Naval Lord in the First Derby Ministry. However, he stayed at the Admiralty for only a few weeks and lost his seat in Parliament at the next general election. He became Admiral Superintendent of Malta Dockyard and then second-in-command in the Black Sea taking part in the Siege of Sevastopol and commanding the fleet at the capture of Kinburn during the Crimean War. He went on to be Admiral Superintendent of Devonport Dockyard, then Commander-in-Chief, North America and West Indies Station and finally Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth.

Early career Born the son of Sir Michael Shaw Stewart, 5th Baronet and Catherine Stewart (daughter of Sir William Maxwell, 3rd Baronet), Stewart joined the Royal Navy in February 1805. He was appointed to the fifth-rate HMS Medusa which was engaged to transport Lord Cornwallis, Governor-General of Bengal, to Calcutta. He transferred to the third-rate HMS Revenge and took part in the blockade of Brest and then in the action of 25 September 1806 when four French frigates were captured by a squadron commanded by Commodore Sir Samuel Hood during the Napoleonic Wars. Promoted to captain on 10 June 1817, he became commanding officer of the sixth-rate HMS Menai on the North America and West Indies Station in October 1823 and was simultaneously commanding officer of the Halifax Dockyard for much of his tour. He became commanding officer of the third-rate HMS Benbow in the Mediterranean Fleet in April 1839 and took part in the bombardment of Acre in November 1840 during the Egyptian–Ottoman War. He observed the Egyptian withdrawal and then rescued Greek nationalists escaping from Candia following an uprising against the Ottoman Empire. he entered the House of Commons at a by-election in February 1852 as Liberal Party Member of Parliament MP for Greenwich, following the resignation of Sir James Dundas. Following his election he became Second Naval Lord in the First Derby Ministry in February 1852. and lost his seat in Parliament at the general election in July 1852.

Stewart became Admiral Superintendent of Malta Dockyard, with his flag in the fifth-rate HMS Ceylon, in April 1853 and second-in-command in the Black Sea, with his flag in the second-rate HMS Hannibal in January 1855. appointed to the French Legion of Honour, 2nd Class on 30 April 1857 and awarded the Turkish Order of the Medjidie, 1st Class on 2 March 1858.

Stewart went on to be Admiral Superintendent of Devonport Dockyard, with his flag in the second-rate HMS Indus, early in 1856 and Commander-in-Chief, North America and West Indies Station, with his flag in HMS Indus again, in November 1856. he became Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth, with his flag in the second-rate HMS Impregnable, in October 1860. and advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath on 28 March 1865, he was appointed Governor of Greenwich Hospital in February 1869 and promoted to Admiral of the Fleet on 20 October 1872. He died at his home in Port William in Wigtownshire on 10 December 1875.

Family In 1819, Stewart married Martha, youngest daughter of Sir William Miller, 2nd Baronet, and had three sons, the eldest of whom was Admiral Sir William Houston Stewart GCB.