The three other Admirals Hardy
The three other Admirals Hardy
Admiral Sir Charles Hardy
The most famous Admiral Hardy in the British Navy was Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy (1769-1839), who captained Nelson's flagship Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar
Hardy was descended from Jean Le Hardy, younger son of Clement Le Hardy, Bailiff of Jersey under Henry VII. Four other descendants of Clement rose to high rank in the Navy, Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Le Hardy (1680-1744) born in Guernsey, his cousin Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Le Hardy (1666-1732), born in Jersey, Sir Charles' son, Admiral Sir Charles (1716-1780), born in Portsmouth, and his second son Rear-Admiral John.
An article in Volume 19 of The Naval Chronicle of 1808 relates the careers of three of the four. Although this report, published only 28 years after the death of the younger Sir Charles Hardy, refers to his father Sir Charles Hardy as the son of Sir Thomas Hardy, they were only separated in age by 14 years and were first cousins.
Sir Thomas Hardy
It is not a little remarkable that the late Sir Charles Hardy, his father, and his grandfather, were all in the navy; and that each of them had the honour of being knighted, for his respective services.
His grandfather, Sir Thomas Hardy, was a native of the island of Guernsey. He entered into the navy, under the patronage of Admiral Churchill, whom he had served in the capacity of clerk, and who procured for him a lieutenant’s commission. He was made commander in the Charles fireship on 6 January 1693, and in the month of May following, he was removed into the Swallow prize, a small frigate of 18 guns, which was stationed off Guernsey to protect the trade of that island from the depredations of French privateers.
He is believed to have attained to the command of a ship of the line very soon after his entrance into the service, and is thought to have been never unemployed; but the only mention which is made of him during the reign of King William is that in October 1696, when captain of the Pendennis , of 48 guns, he was employed to convoy the mast ships from Norway.
Soon after the accession of Queen Anne, Captain Hardy commanded the Pembroke , of 60 guns, in which he accompanied Sir George Rooke on the expedition against Cadiz. After the failure of that enterprise, Sir George, on his way to England, found his fleet deficient in water; in consequence of which he sent Captain Hardy in the Pembroke , accompanied by the Eagle , the Stirling Castle and several of the transports, to water in Logos Bay.
Vigo
This circumstance incidentally led to the subsequent successful attack upon the Spanish galleons at Vigo, under convoy of a French fleet. The enemy's ships, says Colliber, "consisted of 15 men of war, from 76 to 42 guns, two frigates, and a fire-ship; of which five were brought off by the English, and one by the Dutch, the rest being either burnt or bilged.
The galleons (which had run up the river as far as they conveniently could) were 17; four of which were taken afloat, and two ashore, by the English, and five by the Dutch; the others were burnt."
The manner in which Captain Hardy became apprised of the situation of the enemy, is related at length, by most of our naval historians. Charnock thus briefly states it:
- "His chaplain, a Mr Beauvoir, "a native of Jersey, happening to go on shore at Logos, where the Eagle, Pembroke, Stirling Castle, and some transports, had put in to water, fell, by accident, into company with the French consul, who incautiously boasted of the arrival of the Spanish galleons, under convoy of M Chateau Renaud, but without mentioning at what port. Fortune still continuing in a favourable mood a day or two after this, a messenger arrived from Lisbon, with despatches from the Imperial Minister for the Prince of Hesse, who was supposed to be still on board the fleet. By him the intelligence was confirmed, with the addition that Vigo was the place where the fleet in question, consisting of 30 ships of war, and 22 galleons, had put in for security. The chaplain, with much adroitness, contrived to decoy the messenger to go on board the Pembroke, although he knew the Prince of Hesse, whom he was in search of, had proceeded to Lisbon, in order that Captain Hardy might be the better satisfied of the truth of the information, and take his measures accordingly. The chaplain, the instant he got on board, although it was then the middle of the night, went to the captain, and informed him what he had learnt. This being confirmed in the morning, by the oral testimony of the messenger, Captain Hardy communicated the whole to Captain Wishart, the senor officer of the detachment."
Knighthood
On the receipt of this gratifying intelligence, Sir George Rooke bore away for Vigo, where the success which we have already stated ensued. Sir George was so highly pleased with Captain Hardy's conduct on this occasion that he sent him home with the news; in consequence of which he received the honour of knighthood, was presented with a thousand pounds, and was promoted to the command of the Bedford , a third rate, of 70 guns.
His knighthood was thus announced in the gazette:
- "St James's, 31 October 1702: Her Majesty has been pleased to confer the honour of knighthood upon Thomas Hardy, Esq, captain of her Majesty's ship Pembroke , in consideration of his good service in gaining and giving to Admiral Rooke the intelligence, which was the occasion of our great success at Vigo."
In the Bedford , Sir Thomas Hardy accompanied Sir Cloudesley Shovel into the Mediterranean in the following year and, while there, he had the good fortune to capture a valuable ship from St Domingo, laden with sugar.
In 1704, continuing in the same ship, he went again to the Mediterranean, with Sir George Rooke and, in the memorable action off Malaga, on 13 August, he bore a very conspicuous part, the Bedford having 74 men killed and wounded. At the close of the year, having been removed into the Kent , he returned to England with Sir Cloudesley Shovel.
In the year 1706 he served under Sir Stafford Fairbone, in his expedition to the river Charente, and afterwards in that against Ostend. At the latter end of the same year he commanded, as commodore, a small squadron which was ordered to cruise in soundings; a service in which he was not very successful, a French letter of marque, of 20 guns, being the most considerable of his prizes.
Fleet escort
Sir Thomas continued to be engaged in this kind of service till the month of July 1707, when he was ordered to escort, to a certain latitude, and under certain restrictions, the outward bound Lisbon fleet. When he was about 100 leagues from the Lizard, six French men-of-war appeared in sight, which proved to be the squadron of M du Goal Trouin. He gave chase to the enemy, but, finding that he gained very little on them, he called a council, in which 14 captains gave it as their opinion, that he should give over the chase, and bear away to protect the convoy.
For this conduct Sir Thomas Hardy, on his return to England, was brought to a court martial. He was honourably acquitted but, in consequence of the complaint of some merchants, he was afterwards examined at the bar of the House of Lords. Campbell, however, in his Lives of the Admirals, says that he "gave so clear an account of his conduct that the very members who had promised to support this complaint, desired it might be dismissed."
Sir Thomas, thus fully exonerated from blame, continued to command the Kent till the beginning of the year 1708, when he was appointed first captain to Sir John Leake, who had just before been invested with the chief command of the fleet bound to the Mediterranean. He was indebted for this appointment, according to the writer of Sir John Leake's life, to the express solicitation of Admiral Churchill.
Blockade
In the month of October following, Sir Thomas Hardy returned to England and, from that time, till the beginning of 1711, he does not appear to have had any command. He was then promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral of the Blue and, having hoisted his flag on board the Canterbury, of 60 guns, he was sent with four small ships of the line, and as many frigates, to blockade the port of Dunkirk.
Notwithstanding his vigilance, however, several ships found means to escape, and others to enter that harbour. This was chiefly owing to a strong southerly, and south-west wind, which obliged him to quit his station, and to put into Yarmouth Roads. In the succeeding year, whilst cruising in the soundings, he captured six large French merchant ships, outward bound, which were richly laden; but, although they were taken before any orders had been issued for a suspension of hostilities, the administration thought proper to give them up, allotting to the captors a sum of woney far inferior to their value.
The peace of Ryswic taking place almost immediately after this event, Sir Thomas Hardy struck his flag, and held no other appointment during the reign of Queen Anne.
At the accession of George the First, he was invested with the command at Plymouth, for the purpose of forwarding the equipment of a squadron, lest any formidable attempt should be made it favour of the Pretender. In the spring of 1715, Sir Thomas Hardy, as second in command under Sir John Norris, sailed from the Nore, with a strong squadron, to join the fleets of Russia, Denmark, and Holland, in the Baltic, against the Swedes, who had seized and confiscated several English merchant vessels, under the pretence that they were assisting the Russians, with whom the Swedes were then at war, with arms and warlike stores.
The confederates met and remained in the Baltic till the middle of November, but the Swedes very prudently kept out of their reach and, the season being too far advanced for any farther naval operations in those seas, the English squadron returned home.
Dismissal
According to some manuscript accounts, mentioned by Charnock, Sir Thomas Hardy was, in the following year, dismissed from the service, but is said to have been afterwards restored to his rank, and to have been made Vice-Admiral of the Red. No cause whatever is assigned for the alleged dismissal nor, were it not from several concurrent testimonies, would the statement, from its improbability, seem to be deserving of credit.
However, Sir Thomas does not appear, after this time, to have been called into actual service. He died in retirement, in the month of August 1732.
Sir Charles Hardy snr
The earliest notice that we find of Sir Charles Hardy, the son of the preceding, is that on 28 June 1709 he was made captain of the Danwich, and stationed as a cruiser in the German Ocean. In 1710 he captured a privateer, which had done considerable mischief amongst the coasting trade; and was afterwards sent to the West Indies, with the squadron under the command of Commodore Lyttleton.
From this time until 1718 we find no mention made of him, though he is supposed to have held several intermediate appointments. In the year just stated he commanded the Guernsey, of 50 guns, one of the squadron sent to the Baltic under Sir John Norris to act in conjunction with the Danish fleet against the Swedes. He returned to England with the squadron, at the latter end of the year, and in 1720 he was captain of the Defiance, a fourth rate, of 60 guns, one of the fleet again sent upon the same service, and under the same commander. At the end of the season, Sir John Norris returned home, and Captain Hardy quitted the Defiance.
We are again ignorant of the services on which he was employed, till the year 1726, when he was appointed to the Grafton, of 70 guns, one of the squadron which was intended to be sent to the Baltic, under the orders of Sir Charles Wager, to overawe the Czarina; but, from illness or some other cause, he resigned the command of the Grafton, before the squadron sailed. He was next appointed to the Stirling Castle, of 70 guns, and ordered for the Mediterranean, where he served during the two succeeding years under Admiral Hopson and Sir Charles Wager; the latter having been, in the month of January 1727, sent out with a reinforcement, and to take upon him the command, in consequence of the attack menaced by the Spaniards on the fortress of Gibraltar. The events of this expedition were unimportant.
Promotion to Rear-Admiral
Captain Hardy returned to England with Sir Charles Wagers in the month of April 1728, from which time, till 6 April 1742, when he was promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral, the only command that he is known to have had was that of the Royal Caroline yacht. Just before his promotion he was invested with the honour of knighthood. On 7 December 1713, he was made a Vice-Admiral and on the 13th of the same month he was appointed to be one of the Commissioners of the Admiralty.
Early in 1744 Sir Charles commanded a division of the Channel fleet, under Sir John Norris, after which, in the same year, we find the following statement respecting him, in Entick's Naval History:
- "The Mediterranean fleet, under the command of Admiral Matthews, being in the utmost necessity for stores and provisions, a considerable number of store-ships were ordered to be convoyed there by Sir Charles Hardy, with a squadron of 11 ships of the line, and a bomb-ketch. The Vice-Admiral, with the store-ships, set sail from St Helens on 18 April, and conducted his convoy to Lisbon, where he was detained for a considerable time for the French received early information of the stores to
be convoyed to the Mediterranean and as the detention of these supplies would prevent Admiral Matthews from attempting anything, the French were determined to intercept or delay the passage of Vice-Admiral Hardy. Accordingly the Brest squadron, consisting of 14 ships of the line, and six commanded by Monsieur Rochambault, sailed out, two by two, and met in the appointed latitude, from whence they proceeded to, and to and blocked up Sir Charles Hardy and the store-ships in the Tagus, who was afraid to put to sea while a superior fleet was waiting to intercept the convoy.
- ”On 6 July the Dutch squadron, of 20 men of war, commanded by Admiral Baccharest, arrived on the British coast, and was ordered to Portsmouth, where a large fleet was assembled under Sir John Balchen, who was joined on 15 July by the Dutch squadron. As soon as the British ministry received intelligence that Sir Charles Hardy and the storeships were blocked up in the Tagus, Sir John Balchen received orders to sail with the first favourable wind, and proceed in quest of the Brest squadron, to disengage Sir Charles Hardy from his detention at Lisbon."
We find that on 7 August Sir John Balchen sailed from Spithead with a fleet of 21 ships; including the Dutch squadron, besides frigates, etc, and a convoy of 200 merchantmen. He arrived off Lisbon on 9 September, released Sir Charles Hardy, and proceeded with him to Gibraltar, to victual and reinforce the garrison of that fortress. Having also supplied the Mediterranean fleet with stores, Sir Charles Hardy returned to England.
During his absence, he had been advanced from the Blue to the Red Squadron; but he never attained a higher rank than that of Vice-Admiral, as he died at his house, in the Admiralty, on 27 November 1744 "with the universal reputation," says Charnock, " of a truly honourable and worthy man."
Sir Charles Hardy jnr
We now proceed to the immediate subject of this memoir, Sir Charles Hardy, the son of Sir Charles, whose naval services we have just been tracing, and the grandson of Sir Thomas.
With the period of this gentleman's birth we are unacquainted, but we understand that, on 10 August 1741 he was promoted to the rank of captain, in the Rye , of 20 or 24 guns, as the successor of Captain Lushington. In this ship he shortly afterwards sailed to Carolina, where he remained till the month of July 1742, immediately subsequent to which period, he was employed in cruising off the coast of Georgia, on which colony the Spaniards had effected a formidable descent.
Lieutenant Sutherland, of General Oglethorpe's regiment, in his official account or the proceedings at Georgia, under the date of 22 July, says:
- "A few days afterwards the men of war from Charlestown came off Simon's Bar, and Captain Thompson, with some volunteers from Carolina, one guard schooner, and two gallies, came into St Simon's Harbour, and Captain Hardy, of the Rye man-of-war, receiving a message from the general by Lieutenant Maxwell, who went on board him, sent for answer that he would take a cruise with the rest of the king's ships."
HMS Jersey
In 1744 Captain Hardy commanded the Jersey , of 60 guns and, by commission bearing the date of June 9 in the same year, he was appointed governor, and commander in chief, of the island of Newfoundland, with the port of Placentia, and all its dependencies. This command appears to have been of very short duration, as he returned to England at the conclusion of the year. On his passage home some of the ships under his convoy were captured; a circumstance which was investigated by a court martial, held on 2 February 1745. He had the satisfaction of being honourably acquitted.
Continuing in the command of the Jersey , Captain Hardy, in the month of July following, had a very severe encounter, which lasted between two and three hours, with a French man-of-war, near the Straits' mouth. The action is thus recorded in the gazette:
- "Lisbon, 28 July, NS
- "His Britannic Majesty's ship, which fell in with the French man-of-war, called the St Esprit , of 74 guns, near the Straits' mouth, was the Jersey , of 60 guns, Captain Hardy. The engagement lasted from half an hour past six in the evening, till nine, when the French man of war bore away on her return to Cadiz to refit. We hear that the St Esprit had lost her foremast, bowsprit, and 20 men in the action."
In 1746 and 1747 Captain Hardy served in the Mediterranean, under Vice-Admiral Medley, but whether he continued in the Jersey till the end of the war is uncertain.
Marriage
In July 1749, shortly after the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle„ he married a daughter of Bartholomew Tate, of Delapree, in the county of Northampton.
The next information respecting him is that in 1755, the year before war was declared against France, he was appointed governor of New York. On 15 April in the same year, believed to be about the time that he received the commission just mentioned, his Majesty was graciously pleased to confer on him the honour of knighthood.
St Louisbourg
On 4 June 1756, whilst absent on his government, he was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral of the Blue Squadron and, on 6 May 1757, his Rear-Admiral's commission having been forwarded to him at New York, he hoisted his flag on board the Nightingale. He afterwards removed it into the Sutherland, of 50 guns, and, agreeably to orders, prepared to put to sea with all the ships of war which he could collect, as convoy to the fleet of victuallers and transports, which were intended to convoy Lord Loudon and his troops to Halifax, preparatory to the intended attack upon St Louisbourg.
Sir Charles was for some time kept in a state of uncertainty as to the arrival of Vice-Admiral Holbourne, who was daily expected from England with a formidable fleet, and as to the situation and force of the enemy at the proposed point of attack. At length two vessels, which had been despatched to reconnoitre the neighbouring coast, returned without having seen any thing of the enemy, in consequence of which Sir Charles immediately put to sea from Sandy Hook.
Sir Charles arrived safely at Halifax, with his whole charge, comprising (the ships of war included) 101 sail; and, on 9 July he was joined by Vice-Admiral Holbourne, who immediately took upon himself the chief command of the whole force, Sir Charles removing his flag into the Invincible, as second in command.
The season was now very far advanced, notwithstanding which the preparations for the attack upon Louisbourg were carried on by the respective commanders. It was not, however, till the beginning of August that the armament was ready to sail. On the 4th of that month, an express arrived from Captain Edwards, the governor of Newfoundland, with the information that one of his cruisers had taken a vessel from St Louisbourg with despatches, from which he had learnt that the enemy's force in that harbour consisted of 18 sail of the line, five large frigates, and about 7,000 regular forces on shore.
Council of war
In consequence of this intelligence, a council of war, composed of naval and military officers, was immediately held and it was resolved:
- "Considering the great strength of the enemy and the advanced season of the year, it was expedient to postpone the attack upon Louisbourg and the troops should proceed to the different places where the public service required them."
The troops were accordingly disembarked, and marched to winter quarters. Some suspicions, however, arose that the French vessel, alluded to above, might have been thrown into the way of the Newfoundland cruisers, for the purpose of being captured, in order that her despatches might impress the English with an exaggerated notion of the French force at Louisbourg. Vice-Admiral Holbourne, to satisfy himself upon this point, sailed from Halifax, on 16 August. On the 20th, being close in with the harbour of Louisbourg, he found that the enemy's force was fully equal to what it had been represented, and that they were making preparations to sail. At night he bore away for Halifax; where, on his arrival, on the 11th of September, he found Captain Geary, with reinforcement from England.
Hurricane
This addition of strength induced the commander in chief to put to sea again, and to cruise off Louisbourg, under the hope that, should the enemy come out, he might be able to attack them to great advantage. Unfortunately, on the evening of 24 September, the fleet being about 20 leagues to the southward of its station, the wind came on to blow hard from the east. In the night it veered round to the south, and blew a perfect hurricane, which continued until eleven the next day. Had it not then suddenly shifted to the north, the whole fleet, in all probability, would have incurred utter destruction, as it was then close in with the rocks off Cape Breton. Even under this favourable circumstance, the injury and loss were very severe.
After the storm Vice-Admiral Holbourne collected his squadron together and Sir Charles Hardy, having resigned his government, returned to England with those ships which were the most disabled.
On 7 February 1758 he was made Rear-Admiral of the White Squadron and, having hoisted his flag in the Captain, of 68 guns, he was ordered again to New York, for the purpose of forwarding the necessary arrangements for a second attempt upon Louisbourg. He for some time cruised off that harbour, with the view of intercepting any supplies which the enemy might send out. Notwithstanding his vigilance, the French, favoured by thick fogs and tempestuous weather, got safe into Louisbourg, with a strong squadron of ships of war, under the command of M de Chaffaut.
Sir Charles, however, succeeded in taking the Foudroyant, of 22 guns, the ship which was annually sent from France to Quebec, with stores and ammunition for the garrison. Captain Boyle, in the Boreas, also captured the Diana, a French frigate, of 36 guns.
Admiral Boscawen arrived at Halifax, on 9 May and assumed the command of the fleet. On the 28th of the month, the Admiral left Halifax, for Louisbourg, off which he was joined by Sir Charles Hardy, on 14 June. Sir Charles, on this occasion, had his flag on board the Royal William, of 84 guns, as second in command. In the course of the ensuing night, he was blown off to sea by a violent gale of wind, but returned without having experienced any disaster.
During the remainder of the siege he was employed in blocking up the harbour, as well for the purpose of shutting in five ships of the line which were lying there, preventing the enemy from receiving any supplies. In this service he was extremely vigilant and active, and his success was commensurate with his activity as, excepting the Bienfaisant, which afterwards fell into the hands of the English, all the ships of the line were destroyed. The Apollo, of 50 guns ; the Fidelle, of 36 guns, the Chevre and the Biche, of 16 guns each, were sunk at the entrance of the harbour; the Echo, of 32 guns, in attempting to get out, was captured by Sir Charles, so that, of the whole naval force which was in the harbour, at the period of the investiture, amounting to five ships of the line, one of 50 guns, four frigates, and two corvettes, the Corvette and Bizarre frigates were all that got off. The latter, indeed, made her escape on the very day that the troops were landed; before the siege could be said to be formed.
Louisbourg surrendered, by capitulation, on 26t July, after which Sir Charles Hardy was detached, with seven sail of the line, and three frigates, to convoy three battalions of land forces, and a detachment of artillery, under the command of Brigadier General Wolfe, to Gaspe, for the purpode of destroying the French settlements in the gulf of St Lawrence. Having accomplished this service, he rejoined Admiral Boscowen, and in October both of the commanders returned to England.
On 27 October, being in soundings, they fell in with a French squadron from Quebec, under the command of M de Chaffaut. The hostile squadrons passed each other on contrary tacks and exchanged broadsides, after which the English wore and gave chase. But the enemy had so much the advantage in sailing, that they got off. However, the Carnarvon, East India ship, which had been captured by the French on the preceding day, was retaken. The English squadron arrived safely at Spithead, on 1 November.
Channel Fleet
In February 1759 Sir Charles Hardy was promoted to the rank of Vice-Admiral of the Blue Squadron. This year he served as second in command of the Channel fleet, under Sir Edward Hawke, and was slightly concerned in the memorable and glorious encounter with the French fleet under M. Conflans. A chaplain of one of the ships which were present, says :
- "Sir Charles Hardy, in the Union, with the Mars, Hero and several other ships, were crowding to the admiral's assistance when the retreat of the French, covered by the obscurity of the evening, put an end to the engagement."
In 1760, Sir Charles Hardy was employed upon the same station, his flag being the greater part of the year on board the Mars. However, the recent defeat of the French having effectually prevented them from putting to sea, nothing particular occurred to him, excepting that in the middle of September, having sprung all his masts in a heavy gale of wind, he was under the necessity of coming into port. He put to sea again in the month of October and, on joining the commander in chief in the Bay of Biscay, he shifted his flag into his old ship, the Union.
The year 1761, during which he remained upon the same station, was passed in a manner equally uninteresting as the preceding. In 1762 he commanded, alternately with Sir Edward Hawke, the squadrons stationed off Brest, which relieved each other successively, for the purpose of watching the shattered remnant of the French naval force. "Indeed," as Charnock observes, "the history of Sir Charles is so closely implicated during this period with that of Sir Edward, his superior in command, that the history of the former might in great measure suffice for that of the latter, with a mere change of name."
On 21 October 1762 he was made Vice-Admiral of the White and, after the conclusion of the peace, in the succeeding year, he enjoyed a long relaxation from the fatigues of public service.
Royal funeral
On 3 November 1767 Sir Charles Hardy was one of the supporters of the canopy at the funeral of his Royal Highness the Duke of York. On 28 October 1770, he was promoted to the rank of Admiral of the Blue. On the death of Admiral Holbourne in 1771, he was appointed Master and Governor of Greenwich Hospital. In 1774 he was elected Member of Parliament for the borough of Plymouth. On 23 January 1778 he was made Admiral of the White and, on 19 March 1779, on the resignation of Admiral Keppel, he was appointed Commander in Chief of the Channel Fleet.
At the period here mentioned, the Channel Fleet was formidable in numbers, but many of the ships were deficient in men, and in other respects very unfit for service. Most of our readers will recollect, that in August 1779, while Sir Charles was thus circumstanced, the Spanish fleet, from Cadiz, formed a junction with that of France, from Brest, and entered the Channel.
It was, we believe, on 15 August that the fleet, having eluded the notice of Sir Charles Hardy, entered the Channel and appeared before Plymouth. Some of the French frigates even anchored in Cawsand Bay, and took a few coasting vessels. On the 16th, the Ardent, of 64 guns, mistaking the enemy's fleet for the British, was also captured. Sir Charles, who had been forced out of the Channel by strong easterly winds, entered it on the 31st but, reflecting that the fate of his country was, in a great measure, supposed to be connected with that of the fleet under his command, he thought it expedient, considering the inferiority of his force, to act merely on the defensive. The French and Spaniards, after traversing the Channel for a short period without attempting any enterprise of note, returned to their own ports, without any other advantage than that of not having been defeated.
Death
At the latter end of the year, the Channel fleet returned into port to refit. In the spring Sir Charles Hardy was preparing to resume the command but, unfortunately, an apoplectic fit suddenly carried him off, at Portsmouth, on 8 May, 1780, and the country was thus deprived of a very active and able commander. He was buried a few days after, with the customary honours due to his rank; the whole fleet, "during the procession, remaining with their colours half-staff up, and firing minute guns.
Of this respected and much regretted officer, Charnock thus briefly sums up the character:
- "Brave, prudent, gallant, and enterprising, without the smallest ostentatious display of his noble qualities — generous, mild, affable, and intelligent — his virtues commanded the most profound respect, enabling him to pass through days, when the rage and prejudice of party blazed with a fury nearly unquenchable, without exciting envy or dislike, without even furnishing to the most captious man of party the smallest ground of reprehension or complaint."
