Hornblower's Career

Below is a general chronology of the rise through the ranks of Our Hero.  Because many of the dates are not specifically mentioned in the books, take them with a grain of salt--but if they're not on target, they're pretty darned close.

• January 1793/1794¹ - Accepted by Captain Keene on to HMS Justinian as midshipman.  (January 1793 - The movies imply that this was a favor to Hornblower's father.)

• January 1796 - Pellew appoints Hornblower to Acting Lieutenant (after action with Spanish galleys) (Approximately 1795 and for other circumstances according to the movies.)

• August 1797 - Earns commission as lieutenant "on account of his meritorious service" (action with the fireships).

• 1802 - Appointed Commander to Retribution by Admiral Lambert.  (Hornblower receives his appointment to commander from Commodore Pellew in the movie Retribution in January 1802.)  His initial appointment to commander was denied upon his return to England as a result of the Peace of Amiens.

• March 1803 - Appointment to commander confirmed by Admiral Parry immediately prior to the outbreak of hostilities.  (Appointment to commander confirmed by Admiral Pellew in movie Loyalty).

• May 1805-Promoted to post captain by Admiral William Cornwallis upon Cornwallis's retirement. (Promoted to post captain by Admiral Pellew in Duty upon Pellew's own promotion.)

• June 1805-Post rank confirmed with command in the Sea Fencibles.

• June 1811-Invested as a Knight of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath and appointed Colonel of Marines (was Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath by end of his term as Commander-in-chief of the West Indies)

• April 1812-Made commodore

• 1814-Made Peer of the Realm (Baron, Lord Hornblower of Smallbridge)

• 1820-Rear Admiral of the Red (Commissioned Commander-in-chief of West Indies station and served there July 1820-October 1823)

• 1848 (?)-Promoted to Admiral of the Fleet (his promotion is described as "recent" in this year)

• 1848-Made (and allowed to accept by permission of Queen Victoria's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs) Chevalier of the Legion of Honour by French President Charles Louis Napoleon Bonaparte (later Napoleon III)

¹ While the text of Mr. Midshipman Hornblower strongly implies that the action of Chapter 1 takes place in January 1794, Forester references his first map in The Hornblower Companion with "...Hornblower's activities were confined, during the thirty years 1793 to 1823...".  Hornblower himself also refers to 1793 as the year his career started in a conversation with Captain Bolton in Chapter 9 of Ship of the Line.

William Bush

Bushbabe though I am not, it's only fair that, as Hornblower's (book canon) closest friend, Mr. Bush deserves some attention for his career as well.  Due to the nature of the books, of course, I don't have the detail for his career that I do for Hornblower's, but we can figure out a few things anywho.

• c. 1766¹ - Born (Flying Colours - "And Bush was ten years older than he [Hornblower]...")  From Chichester; Supports mother and four sisters (Ship of the Line).  (Uncle was a blacksmith according to the movies).

• c. 1790 - Enters the Royal Navy (Lieutenant Hornblower)

• July 1796 - Earns commission as lieutenant while serving on the Superb.(Lieutenant Hornblower)

• (Sometime between 1796-1800) - Served aboard the Conqueror (Lieutenant Hornblower)

• 1805 - Served aboard the Temeraire at Trafalgar (Beat to Quarters)

• October 1810 - wounded at the battle of Rosas Bay.  Lost a foot. (Ship of the Line)

• 1811 - Made post captain, given job at dockyard at Sheerness. (Flying Colours)

• 1812 - Given command of Nonsuch, 74.

• 1813 - Killed in action at Caudebec (Lord Hornblower)

¹While Flying Colours gives us a general idea of the difference between the ages of Hornblower and Bush, other books--in true Forester fashion--call that date into question.  If you accept all the statements that Forester gives in the whole of the series, Bush would have entered the navy as a 24 year-old, which doesn't seem quite plausible (though perhaps not impossible).  These conflicting dates are yet another victim to the span of years (and, it would seem, ideas) between the writing of each of the novels.  If you don't wish to drive yourself crazy trying to reconcile all of them, it's best to be as flexible with the dates as Forester was. ;)

CAUDEBEC ON THE SEINE. Original drawn by C. Marshall, engraved by S. Lacey; published by Simpkin & Marshall, Stationers Court, London, c. 1840.