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Henry Plowman (June 1779 - 1 March 1842) was a Royal Navy surgeon during the War of the Second Coalition and the Napoleonic Wars. He was the second son of the Rev'd John Plowman..[1], vicar of Toller Porcorum, with his second wife Elizabeth née Gollop.

In 1817 Henry Plowman married Mary Elizabeth Kirkham at Winterborne Houghton and their daughter was born in 1818 but died aged 8 months in 1819. His wife, Mary, died in 1820[2]. In 1822 he married Frances Louisa Taunton a daughter of Thomas and Agnes Taunton of Wrackleford House. They had three sons. Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy stood as Godfather to the eldest, Thomas Henry, in 1832. [3]

Naval Career[edit]

Surgeon's Mate[edit]

  • HMS Orion 31 March 1801 - 10 July 1802[4]. Captain: Robert Cuthbert.
On 15 January 1802 whilst anchored at Spithead he wrote his will which was signed by the Captain.[5].

Surgeon[edit]

In September 1805 Admiral Lord Nelson sent Hoste and the Amphion on a diplomatic mission to Algiers which meant they missed the Battle of Trafalgar by a matter of days,
In January 1809 the Barfleur was at Corunna and was involved in the evacuation following the Battle of Corunna. On the 16th January General Sir David Baird was wounded in the upper arm and taken to HMS Ville de Paris for treatment. Henry Plowman, with the Ville de Paris's surgeon, amputated Baird's left arm.[6]. Plowman's medical journal records that the Barfleur received 34 wounded soldiers after the battle of Corunna of which three died, two of them shot through the lungs and one through the abdomen. All the rest at the time of their departure from the ship, which was 10 days after the battle, was in a fair way of recovery[7].
On 4 March 1810 HMS Triumph and HMS Phipps, salvaged a large load of elemental mercury from a wrecked Spanish vessel Purisima Concepcion near Cadiz, Spain. 130 tons were removed and stored aboard the two vessels. The quicksilver was in kidskin bladders. The bladders containing the mercury soon ruptured. The element spread about the ships in liquid and vapor forms. The sailors presented with neurologic compromises: tremor, paralysis, and excessive salivation as well as tooth loss, skin problems, and pulmonary complaints, symptoms of mercury poisoning. Henry Plowman had concluded that the ailments had arisen from inhaling the mercurialized atmosphere. His treatment was to order the lower deck gun ports to be opened, when it was safe to do so; sleeping on the orlop was forbidden; and no men slept in the lower deck if they were at all symptomatic. Windsails were set to channel fresh air into the lower decks day and night.
Two papers have been written covering the the effects of Mercurial vapour on the Triumph's crew and Plowman's treatment. The first was in 1823 by William Burnet, MD who published it for presentation to the Royal Society,[8] and the second in 2003 by Dr Michael J. Doherty MD.[9]
The Hyperion was based at Newhaven and Plowman was employed as a Supernumerary Surgeon visiting various locations in Sussex.[11]

Half Pay & Retirement[edit]

Between 1815 and 1827 Henry Plowman was on half pay living at 9 Portman Street, London, and worked as an apothecary/chemist.[12] [13] He treated Admiral Hardy for a number of medical complaints in 1826 [14] In 1828 Plowman retired on half pay and moved to Dorset. In 1831 he declared himself unfit for Naval service due to the effects of the mercury poisoning he had suffered onboard HMS Triumph.[10]

Whilst living in Dorchester, he was involved in local activities. In July 1834 he was a member of the committee set up to look at the proposed railway between Dorchester and Weymouth. He was the secretary to the Weymouth and Dorchester Medico Chirurgical Book Society[15], supported Henry Ashley in the 1831[16] and 1835[17] elections and in 1838 was elected as a member of the Board of Guardians for the Dorchester Union representing Winterbourne Herringston[18].

From 1836 Plowman was a subscriber and committee member of the Dorchester Dispensary[19] until it closed in March 1841[20]. He was also involved in the Dispensary's replacement, the Dorset County Hospital, as a subscriber and member of the Management Committee until his death[21]

Henry Plowman died at Dorchester on 1st March 1842[22] and was buried in the aisle of St Peter's Church Dorchester [23]

References[edit]

  1. ^ The Clergy of the Church of England Database: Plowman, John (1764 - 1784)
  2. ^ The Gentleman's Magazine,July to December 1820 edition, Page 281
  3. ^ The three Dorset captains at Trafalgar: Thomas Masterman Hardy, Charles Bullen, Henry Digby by Alexander Meyrick Broadley Page 213
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i National Archives Kew: Surgeon Services ADM 140/30 Page 323
  5. ^ National Archives Kew: Will of Henry PLOWMAN Rank Surgeons First Mate on HMS Orion Ships Pay Book No. 125 Dated 15 January 1802 ADM/48/73/153
  6. ^ The life of Sir David Baird by Walter Harold Wilkin
  7. ^ National Archives Kew: Journal of HMS Barfleur by Henry Plowman, Surgeon, for 9 March 1808 and 8 March 1809 ADM 101/89/2
  8. ^ An Account of the Effect of Mercurial Vapors on the Crew of His Majesty's Ship Triumph, in the year 1810. By Wm. Burnet, M.D. one of the Medical Commissioners of the Navy, formerly Physician and Inspector of Hospitals to the Mediterranean Fleet.
  9. ^ Michael J. Doherty MD: The Quicksilver Prize: Mercury vapor poisoning aboard HMS Triumph and HMS Phipps (2003).
  10. ^ a b National Archives Kew: ADM 104/12 Surgeons Vol. I Part I pp. 1-215 Page 127
  11. ^ The Navy List 1828
  12. ^ London Metropolitan Archives: Henry Plowman 9 Portman Street apothecary MS 11936/488/983802
  13. ^ Robson London Directory 1820
  14. ^ The three Dorset captains at Trafalgar: Thomas Masterman Hardy, Charles Bullen, Henry Digby by Alexander Meyrick Broadley Pages 196-198
  15. ^ Dorset County Chronicle 21 Aug 1834
  16. ^ Dorset election, September and October, 1831. The poll Page 32
  17. ^ Dorset County Chronicle 22 Jan 1835
  18. ^ Dorset County Chronicle 26 Apr 1838
  19. ^ Dorset County Chronicle, 2 June 1836
  20. ^ Dorset County Chronicle,25 March 1841
  21. ^ Sherborne Mercury,17 January 1842
  22. ^ The Gentleman's Magazine, January to June 1842, Page 450
  23. ^ A popular and illustrated guide to St. Peter's Church, Dorchester



Category:1779 births Category:1842 deaths Category:Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Category:Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Category:Royal Navy Medical Service officers

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