Hovenden Walker

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Rear-Admiral Sir Hovenden Walker (1656 or 1666 – 1725 or 1728) was a British naval officer best known for leading an unsuccessful 1711 expedition against Quebec during Queen Anne's War. He studied at Trinity College Dublin in 1678 but did not graduate, then joined the Royal Navy. He probably visited North America in 1686, arriving in Boston aboard HMS Dartmouth. He became a captain around 1692 and fought near the Lizard while commanding the Foresight in 1696. In 1701 he joined Sir George Rooke’s fleet at Cádiz and soon after, as commodore, led a detachment for an attack on Guadeloupe and Martinique, which failed but did not harm his career. He helped relieve Barcelona in 1706 and in 1708 commanded the squadron before Dunkirk. In March 1711 he was promoted to rear-admiral and knighted. On 3 April 1711 he was named commander-in-chief of a secret expedition to capture New France, planned to attack Quebec with a land force led by Colonel Francis Nicholson.

The fleet sailed from Boston on 30 July 1711, consisting of nine warships, two bomb vessels, and about 60 transports and tenders with roughly 7,500 troops. On 18 August, as they reached the Saint Lawrence area, strong winds forced them to shelter in Gaspé Bay. By 20 August the wind shifted and allowed slow progress, but fog and shifting currents kept land from sight. Walker misread his position and, thinking he was in mid-stream, ordered the fleet to head south. He was about seven leagues north of his intended course and was pushed toward the northwest by currents and an easterly wind. He believed land was ahead and ordered a turn, but breakers appeared all around. After trying to recover, the fleet headed toward mid-channel. A gale held along the shore, and by the next day the wind eased enough for most ships to escape the dangers. Seven transports and one storeship were lost, and among about 1,390 men aboard the damaged ships, roughly 740 soldiers (including 35 women) and about 150 sailors died from drowning or exposure.

Walker stayed near Île-aux-Oeufs to aid survivors for two days, then, after a war council, abandoned the Quebec assault and returned to London in October 1711. He was not censured for the failure. In 1712 he became commodore of the Jamaica Station, returning to England the following year. His journal recounting the 1711 expedition was published in 1720 and later republished in 1953.