Temple Hardy

Captain Temple Hardy (14 January 1765 – 29 March 1814) was an English naval officer active during the French Revolutionary Wars. He commanded a battalion of sailors during the invasion of the Cape Colony in 1795. Early life He was born on 14 January 1765, and christened "Charles Temple Hardy" on 11 February, at Westminster. He was a son of Admiral Charles Hardy, from whom he inherited a house at Rawlins, in Oxfordshire, and £3,000, on his father's death in 1780. He was possibly named after his maternal grandfather, the historian Temple Stanyan. Naval career Like his father, he entered the Royal Navy; he was appointed to the rank of Lieutenant on 4 November 1790, and to Commander on 1 June 1794. He commissioned the 16-gun floating battery , staying with her only until September. In 1795, he commanded the sloop HMS Echo in the expedition to capture Cape Town. He commanded a battalion of sailors from the fleet at the Battle of Muizenberg, with Echo being commanded by a lieutenant from Monarch. He was mentioned in both the Army and Navy despatches: