He was the second son of
Vice-Admiral Sir Joshua Rowley and was a member of a notable naval dynasty. His grandfather was
Admiral of the Fleet Sir William Rowley, while his younger brother was Admiral Sir Charles Rowley. His cousins included Admiral
Sir Josias Rowley, Rear-Admiral
Samuel Campbell Rowley, Vice-Admiral Sir Joshua Ricketts Rowley, and Admiral of the Fleet
Sir George Martin. His sister, Philadelphia Rowley, was married to Admiral
Sir Charles Cotton. Rowley attended
Harrow School from 1775 and then entered the Navy. By 1780, he was serving as a
lieutenant aboard his father's
flagship, the
74-gun . On 31 January 1781, he was
made post-captain (before his 17th birthday!) in order to command the 28-gun
sixth-rate frigate . On 20 April 1781,
Resource captured the 20-gun French frigate
Licorne in an action lasting 1½ hours. She proved to be the former , which had been captured on 4 September 1780 by a French frigate and two ships of the line off
Tortuga. In October 1782, Rowley took command of the
fifth-rate 32-gun frigate , where he served until August 1783. On 16 April 1793
Penelope captured the French
aviso Le Goéland, commanded by
lieutenant de vaisseau Leissègues de Pennenyum, en route from
Cap-Français to
Jérémie. In late 1793 Ford took advantage of the
Haitian Revolution to occupy several ports in the French colony of
Saint-Domingue (now
Haiti). On 20 November 1793,
Penelope sailed from
Môle-Saint-Nicolas, having received news that the French 36-gun frigate ''L'Inconstante
was sailing from Port-au-Prince, escorting a large merchant ship. The next day, Penelope
met the 32-gun frigate , and the two ships proceeded towards Port-au-Prince. However they learned that L'Inconstante
had sailed to Petit Trou with two mail ships but was soon expected to return to port. They intended to cut her out of the harbour of Port-au-Prince, but on the night of 25 November, they met her at sea. After a brisk exchange of broadsides, L'Inconstante
surrendered. Penelope
had only one man killed and seven wounded, while L'Inconstante
had nine killed, including the Captain and the First Lieutenant, and 17 wounded. On 2 January 1794, Ford sent Penelope'' into Port-au-Prince under a
flag of truce where Rowley demanded the surrender of the island from the French Civil Commissioner
Léger-Félicité Sonthonax. He refused, and the British promptly blockaded the island. After the capture of Port-au-Prince on 4 June 1794, Rowley and Lieutenant-Colonel
John Whitelocke were sent back to England with dispatches aboard the
sloop . In August 1794. Rowley was appointed captain of the 74-gun , taking part in the
Battle of Hyères Islands on 13 July 1795, off the southern coast of France, when a British fleet under Admiral
William Hotham engaged a French fleet.
Cumberland was in the
van of the British fleet, accepting the surrender of the French 74 , before Hotham ordered the fleet to disengage. From July 1797 until October 1798 Rowley commanded the 74-gun , Rowley was promoted to Rear-Admiral on 14 February 1799, and to Vice-Admiral on 9 November 1805. He was appointed Commander-in-Chief at
The Downs in 1807 and Commander-in-Chief at the
Jamaica Station in 1808, and sailed from England in July 1808 aboard , commanded by Captain
William Pryce Cumby. As C-in-C Rowley resided ashore, flying his flag in . He was promoted to
Admiral of the Blue on 31 July 1810, and died at Jamaica on 7 October 1811. ==References==