Granville Loch, one of the most gallant officers who ever adorned
H.M.'s Navy, was born in 1813; entered the service as a volunteer in
1824, for ten years remaining constantly at sea, till, in 1834, he
obtained his lieutenant's commission. When Admiral Fleming, under
whom he had served as flag-lieutenant, retired, he became commander;
and, perceiving at once that steam was becoming all-important, he
betook himself to Glasgow to study the science and practice of that
arm in the great factory of Mr. Napier, the steam-engine
manufacturer. With an energy unusual even in his profession, he
resolved to acquaint himself with its minutest details, worked
himself, for a time, as a stoker, and took charge of the engine in
the boats which plied between Glasgow and Liverpool. He received
from Mr. Napier a certificate of ability, and was immediately
appointed to command the 'Vesuvius,' then in the Mediterranean. He
was soon afterwards posted, being one of the youngest post-captains
in the service, and was appointed to the South American station. On
arriving at Rio Janeiro he found his ship in the Pacific. He had
important despatches for the admiral, no vessels were likely to start
for a considerable period, so he resolved on one of the most
astounding feats on record, one which utterly eclipses even the
journey of Sir F. Head. He actually rode across the South American
continent, and after a series of adventures, out of which any other
man would have made at least three volumes, he joined his vessel. On
his return home, finding no chance of immediate employment, he
volunteered for the expedition to China, where both Sir Wm. Parker
and Lord Gough availed themselves of his services. On the conclusion
of peace, he visited Calcutta, and travelled homewards through
Southern India. In 1846 he was appointed to the 'Alarm,' on the West
India station, where he was entrusted with the settlement of the
Mosquito question, and sailed up the St. Juan de Nicaragua, took a
fort at the end of his voyage, and was the first to navigate a river
so filled with rapids as to be deemed impassable, in the face of an
enemy. For these services he was made a C.B., and what, probably,
gratified him still more, received from Sir Robert Peel and Lord
Palmerston the highest compliments in the House of Commons. He then
remained on shore till appointed to the 'Winchester,' by the Duke of
Northumberland, a peer directly opposed to the politics of his
family; and the remainder of his life-history is that of the Burmese
war.