Gower, Sir Erasmus, Admiral, 1742-1814.

The papers consist of a log, 1792 to 1794, with one watercolour sketch; two volumes of 'Nautical Observations on a Voyage to China', illustrated with views of coasts and harbours; a letterbook, 1794 to 1798, and a signal notebook, 1801

Administrative / biographical background
Gower entered the Navy in 1755. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1762 and took part in two voyages of circumnavigation early in his career. He was promoted to captain in 1780 and served on the East Indies and Newfoundland stations. In 1792 he was appointed to command the Lion in which he took the embassy of Earl Macartney (1737-1806) to China In November 1794, he was appointed to command the Triumph and was with Admiral Sir William Cornwallis (q.v.) during the 'Cornwallis retreat' in 1795 He was involved in the mutiny at the Nore when he commanded the Neptune, one of the ships commissioned for the defence of the Thames, and continued to serve in her, in the Channel Fleet, until his promotion to rear-admiral in 1799. In 1804 Gower became a vice-admiral and in 1809 an admiral.