Edward Vernon
Encyclopedia
Edward Vernon (12 November 1684 – 30 October 1757) was an English
naval officer. Vernon was born in Westminster
, England
and went to Westminster School
. He joined the Navy in 1700 and was promoted to Lieutenant
in 1702 and served on several different ships for the next five years. He was appointed Captain
in 1706, taking command of , part of the fleet of Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell
. With HMS Rye he narrowly escaped the Scilly naval disaster of 1707
in which Shovell and nearly 2,000 sailors were lost. In the next ten years Vernon was on half pay for half of this time. In May 1728 he took up parliamentary duties and the case of Robert Jenkins, who was alleged to have had his ear cut off by Spanish coastguards in the Caribbean. This led to the War of Jenkin's Ear in 1739 in which Vice Admiral Vernon led a fleet along with Major General
Thomas Wentworth
. Vernon captured Porto Bello a Spanish colonial possession, as a result of which, he was granted the Freedom of the City of London
. However, Vernon's next campaign against the Spanish, a large-scale assault on Cartagena de Indias
in 1741 ended in disaster. This was the biggest amphibious attack until the Invasion of Normandy in 1944: in Cartagena the British fleet of 186 ships and almost 27,000 men was defeated by a garrison of 3,500 men and 6 ships of the line commanded by the one-eyed, one-armed and lame, admiral Blas de Lezo
. The strategic defense of the colonial port of Cartagena led to heavy British casualties and eventually a retreat to Jamaica
. Following the disease outbreak and quarrels with Wentworth, Vernon returned to the UK to find he had been elected MP
for Ipswich
. However, the news of the Cartagena defeat eventually led to the collapse of Robert Walpole
's government. Vernon maintained his Naval career for another four years before retiring in 1746. In an active Parliamentary career Vernon advocated an improvement in naval procedures and he continued to hold an interest in naval affairs until his death in 1757.
, secretary of state
to William III
. Edward had one other sibling, James
who became British envoy to Denmark and served as a member of parliament and Clerk of the Privy Council
. Vernon briefly attended Westminster School
, then joined the Royal Navy
on 10 May 1700 as a Volunteer per order on board . It is important to note that Vernon's secondary education was sharply at odds with the norm for Royal Navy officers of his day, most of whom received only an elementary education before they were sent to sea at about the age of twelve.
and appointed to serving in the Channel
Squadron. The ship was later transferred to the Mediterranean and finally paid off in March 1704. He was then appointed to , which at the time was the flagship of Admiral Cloudesley Shovell
in the Mediterranean. The ship was present at the capture
of Gibraltar
and the Battle of Malaga
.
In December, with Shovell, he transferred to and was present at the capture
of Barcelona
in 1705.
On 22 January 1706 he was promoted Captain
and appointed to HMS Dolphin. However, he was moved ten days later into and remained in the Mediterranean until 1707. With the rest of Shovell’s fleet, he returned to England, but was fortunate to escape the disaster that befell Shovell’s flagship, at the Isles of Scilly
. In November, he joined and in April 1708, took command of the West Indies station. In 1710, he successfully broke up a Spanish squadron off Cartegena. At the end of the War of the Spanish Succession
in 1712, he returned to Britain.
until 1717 when the ship was paid off. After this, he was put on half pay for the next eighteen months. In March 1719, he was appointed to HMS Mary and returned to the Baltic. Vernon was the commodore
of Port Royal
in Jamaica
in 1720. In 1721, he again went on half pay for five years. During this period, he became the member of Parliament
for Penryn
and took a leading part in naval debates. In 1726, he was re-appointed to active service in . This ship served in the Baltic until the winter of 1727 when it was transferred to the fleet at Gibraltar, after Spain
had declared war on Britain. In May 1728, peace was made with Spain and Vernon returned to Britain and resumed his Parliamentary duties. He took up the case of Robert Jenkins, a merchant seaman who claimed to have had his ear cut off after his vessel was boarded by Spanish guardacostas in 1731.
, Vernon was promoted Vice-Admiral (of the Blue) on 9 July 1739 and, as he had prominently spoken for both the war and the Navy, he was given the command of a squadron of six ships. The Gentleman's Magazine
reported England's preparations for war against Spain in July 1739, noting that: Vernon had been recalled to active duty and promoted; that, on 10 July King George II had instructed the Lords of the Admiralty to prepare Letters of Marque
; and (a week after the fact) it reported Vernon and his squadron had sailed for the West Indies on 20 July.
Despite the unmistakable signs of Great Britain preparing for a naval war in the summer of 1739, the formal declaration of war against Spain was not announced in London until Saturday 23 October 1739 (Old Style
).
On 21 November 1739 Vernon captured the Spanish
colonial possession of Porto Bello (now in Panama
) using just six ships (against the 90 men Spanish garrison). Vernon was subsequently granted the Freedom of the City of London
and commemorative medals were produced. The Portobello areas in London
, Dublin and Edinburgh (see Portobello Road
and Portobello, Dublin
) are named for his victory, and "Rule Britannia" was composed by Thomas Arne during the celebratory frenzy
of 1740. A tower commemorating his victory was erected by members of the Vernon family living at Hilton Hall outside Wolverhampton
.
's disastrous Blockade of Porto Bello
during 1726-28 where with a greater force of 20 ships, and Porto Bello inadequately defended, government orders forbade him from firing a shot, leaving him and some 4,000 sailors to linger ineffectually off the shore and to die of tropical diseases. The ballad Admiral Hosier's Ghost was written by Richard Glover following Vernon's triumph, as an attempt to remind Walpole of his previous failed policy of inaction, and to check any basking in Vernon's glory on his part. In the ballad, the Ghost of Hosier appears to Vernon as he rests at anchor following his successful engagement, and congratulates him:
He then charges him to let Hosier's wrongs prevail when he returns to England, upon which he and his fellow ghosts can finally rest, their reputations restored. The first half of verse 7 is thus:
in Nueva Granada
(now Colombia
). Vernon was so self-confident that he sent a message to his King assuring he had conquered the city, generating a euphoria in England bigger than the capture of Portbelo produced the year before. Previously he tried to bombard
Cartagena with his huge squadron without success. Vernon and Wentworth did not get on and time was wasted in deciding where to land the army. When the army finally attacked at the battle of Cartagena
, it was repelled by the garrison of less than 3,000 men and 6 ships commanded by Blas de Lezo
. An epidemic of yellow fever
which ravaged the crews of the ships and the soldiers ashore, compounded the problems and the force returned to Port Royal.
George Washington
's half-brother, Lawrence Washington
, served on Vernon's flagship
"Princess Caroline" [80 guns] as a Captain of the Marines in 1741 and named his estate Mount Vernon
in honour of his commander. At the end of May 1741, the British forces in the Caribbean decided to attack Cuba
. Vernon captured Guantánamo Bay
, briefly renaming it Cumberland Bay. He arrived with a force of eight warships and 4,000 soldiers with plans to march on Santiago de Cuba
, but was resisted by local guerilla forces and finally abandoned the attempt in December after sickness broke out again. Vernon could no longer hold back his anger at what he perceived as Wentworth’s ineptitude and a bitter quarrel ensued ending in the recall of both parties to Britain at the end of 1742.
for Ipswich
, after having purchased the Nacton
estate in Suffolk
. Vernon returned to Parliament
and continued to harass the government on naval affairs. At this time, many anonymous pamphlets criticising the Admiralty
appeared and although Vernon denied he was the author, some have been attributed to him. In 1745, Vernon was promoted to Admiral
and appointed to command the North Sea Fleet in response to the threat from the French forces in support of Charles Edward Stuart, "Bonnie Prince Charlie"
. This was his last operational command. When the Admiralty refused to grant him the status of Commander-in-Chief
, he asked to be relieved on 1 December 1745, and the Admiralty removed him from the list of flag officers in 1746.
on 30 October 1757. Many of his proposals were subsequently adopted and contributed to Britain's victory in the Seven Years War
.
His enduring claim to fame was his 1740 order that his sailors' rum
should be diluted with water. In 1740, citrus juice (usually lemon or lime juice) was added to the recipe of the traditional daily ration of watered-down rum known to cut down on the water's foulness. Although they did not know the reason at the time, Admiral Edward Vernon's sailors were healthier than the rest of the navy, due to the daily doses of vitamin C
the sailors received. However, it was not until 1747 that James Lind
formally proved that scurvy
could be treated and prevented by supplementing the diet with citrus fruit such as limes or lemons. The rest of the Royal Navy
rapidly followed Vernon's lead, supposedly calling the new drink "grog
" after Vernon's nickname
"Old Grog", attributed to his habitual wearing of a grogram coat. The tradition of a provision to each seaman of a tot of rum per day continued until "Black Tot Day" on July 31, 1970 when the last pipe of "Up Spirits" was heard throughout the ships and shore establishments of the Royal Navy.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
naval officer. Vernon was born in Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and went to Westminster School
Westminster School
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...
. He joined the Navy in 1700 and was promoted to Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
in 1702 and served on several different ships for the next five years. He was appointed Captain
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
in 1706, taking command of , part of the fleet of Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell
Cloudesley Shovell
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Cloudesley Shovell , was an English naval officer. Rising through the ranks and fighting in many of the important battles of the late 17th and early 18th centuries, he became a popular British hero, whose celebrated career was brought to an end in a disastrous shipwreck in...
. With HMS Rye he narrowly escaped the Scilly naval disaster of 1707
Scilly naval disaster of 1707
Scilly naval disaster of 1707 is an umbrella term for the events of 22 October 1707 that led to the sinking of a British naval fleet off the Isles of Scilly. With four large ships and more than 1,400 sailors lost in stormy weather, it was one of the greatest maritime disasters in the history of...
in which Shovell and nearly 2,000 sailors were lost. In the next ten years Vernon was on half pay for half of this time. In May 1728 he took up parliamentary duties and the case of Robert Jenkins, who was alleged to have had his ear cut off by Spanish coastguards in the Caribbean. This led to the War of Jenkin's Ear in 1739 in which Vice Admiral Vernon led a fleet along with Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
Thomas Wentworth
Thomas Wentworth (general)
Lieutenant-General Thomas Wentworth was a British Army commander of the early 18th century. He became commander of the land troops in the amphibious expedition against Cartagena de Indias following the deaths of the original commander, Lord Cathcart, and his second-in-command, General Spotswood,...
. Vernon captured Porto Bello a Spanish colonial possession, as a result of which, he was granted the Freedom of the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
. However, Vernon's next campaign against the Spanish, a large-scale assault on Cartagena de Indias
Battle of Cartagena de Indias
The Battle of Cartagena de Indias was an amphibious military engagement between the forces of Britain under Vice-Admiral Edward Vernon and those of Spain under Admiral Blas de Lezo. It took place at the city of Cartagena de Indias in March 1741, in present-day Colombia...
in 1741 ended in disaster. This was the biggest amphibious attack until the Invasion of Normandy in 1944: in Cartagena the British fleet of 186 ships and almost 27,000 men was defeated by a garrison of 3,500 men and 6 ships of the line commanded by the one-eyed, one-armed and lame, admiral Blas de Lezo
Blas de Lezo
Blas de Lezo y Olavarrieta , also known as "Patapalo" , and later as "Mediohombre" for the many wounds suffered in his long military life, was a Spanish admiral, and one of the greatest strategists and commanders in the history of the Spanish Navy...
. The strategic defense of the colonial port of Cartagena led to heavy British casualties and eventually a retreat to Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
. Following the disease outbreak and quarrels with Wentworth, Vernon returned to the UK to find he had been elected MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Ipswich
Ipswich (UK Parliament constituency)
Ipswich is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- Boundaries :...
. However, the news of the Cartagena defeat eventually led to the collapse of Robert Walpole
Robert Walpole
Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, KG, KB, PC , known before 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole, was a British statesman who is generally regarded as having been the first Prime Minister of Great Britain....
's government. Vernon maintained his Naval career for another four years before retiring in 1746. In an active Parliamentary career Vernon advocated an improvement in naval procedures and he continued to hold an interest in naval affairs until his death in 1757.
Early life
Born in Westminster, London, Vernon was the second son of James VernonJames Vernon
James Vernon was an English politician and Secretary of State for both the Northern and the Southern Departments during the reign of William III.-Origins and education:...
, secretary of state
Secretary of State (England)
In the Kingdom of England, the title of Secretary of State came into being near the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I , the usual title before that having been King's Clerk, King's Secretary, or Principal Secretary....
to William III
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
. Edward had one other sibling, James
James Vernon the younger
James Vernon the younger was a British diplomat and civil servant, briefly a Member of ParliamentHe was the son of James Vernon, who was Secretary of State under William III....
who became British envoy to Denmark and served as a member of parliament and Clerk of the Privy Council
Clerk of the Privy Council (United Kingdom)
The Clerk of the Privy Council is a civil servant in the government of the United Kingdom. He or she is the most senior civil servant in the Privy Council Office....
. Vernon briefly attended Westminster School
Westminster School
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...
, then joined the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
on 10 May 1700 as a Volunteer per order on board . It is important to note that Vernon's secondary education was sharply at odds with the norm for Royal Navy officers of his day, most of whom received only an elementary education before they were sent to sea at about the age of twelve.
War of the Spanish Succession
In March 1701, he was transferred to and three months later, joined . On 16 September 1702, Vernon was promoted LieutenantLieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
and appointed to serving in the Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
Squadron. The ship was later transferred to the Mediterranean and finally paid off in March 1704. He was then appointed to , which at the time was the flagship of Admiral Cloudesley Shovell
Cloudesley Shovell
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Cloudesley Shovell , was an English naval officer. Rising through the ranks and fighting in many of the important battles of the late 17th and early 18th centuries, he became a popular British hero, whose celebrated career was brought to an end in a disastrous shipwreck in...
in the Mediterranean. The ship was present at the capture
Capture of Gibraltar
The Capture of Gibraltar by the Anglo-Dutch forces of the Grand Alliance occurred between 1–3 August 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession. Since the beginning of the war the Allies had been looking for a harbour in the Iberian Peninsula to control the Strait of Gibraltar and facilitate...
of Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
and the Battle of Malaga
Battle of Malaga
The Battle of Málaga was the largest naval battle in the War of the Spanish Succession. It took place on 24 August 1704, south of Málaga, Spain.-The battle:...
.
Siege of Barcelona (1705)
The Siege of Barcelona took place between 14 September and 19 October 1705 during the War of the Spanish Succession when an Allied army supporting the Austrian pretender to the Spanish throne led by Lord Peterborough captured the city of Barcelona from its Franco-Spanish Bourbonic defenders.An...
of Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
in 1705.
On 22 January 1706 he was promoted Captain
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
and appointed to HMS Dolphin. However, he was moved ten days later into and remained in the Mediterranean until 1707. With the rest of Shovell’s fleet, he returned to England, but was fortunate to escape the disaster that befell Shovell’s flagship, at the Isles of Scilly
Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly form an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain. The islands have had a unitary authority council since 1890, and are separate from the Cornwall unitary authority, but some services are combined with Cornwall and the islands are still part...
. In November, he joined and in April 1708, took command of the West Indies station. In 1710, he successfully broke up a Spanish squadron off Cartegena. At the end of the War of the Spanish Succession
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...
in 1712, he returned to Britain.
Peace, promotion and parliament
In March 1715, he was appointed to , in which he served in the BalticBaltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
until 1717 when the ship was paid off. After this, he was put on half pay for the next eighteen months. In March 1719, he was appointed to HMS Mary and returned to the Baltic. Vernon was the commodore
Commodore (rank)
Commodore is a military rank used in many navies that is superior to a navy captain, but below a rear admiral. Non-English-speaking nations often use the rank of flotilla admiral or counter admiral as an equivalent .It is often regarded as a one-star rank with a NATO code of OF-6, but is not always...
of Port Royal
Port Royal
Port Royal was a city located at the end of the Palisadoes at the mouth of the Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1518, it was the centre of shipping commerce in the Caribbean Sea during the latter half of the 17th century...
in Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
in 1720. In 1721, he again went on half pay for five years. During this period, he became the member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Penryn
Penryn (UK Parliament constituency)
Penryn was a parliamentary borough in Cornwall, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of England from 1553 until 1707, to the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and finally to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to until 1832...
and took a leading part in naval debates. In 1726, he was re-appointed to active service in . This ship served in the Baltic until the winter of 1727 when it was transferred to the fleet at Gibraltar, after Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
had declared war on Britain. In May 1728, peace was made with Spain and Vernon returned to Britain and resumed his Parliamentary duties. He took up the case of Robert Jenkins, a merchant seaman who claimed to have had his ear cut off after his vessel was boarded by Spanish guardacostas in 1731.
War of Jenkins' Ear
During the ensuing War of Jenkins' EarWar of Jenkins' Ear
The War of Jenkins' Ear was a conflict between Great Britain and Spain that lasted from 1739 to 1748, with major operations largely ended by 1742. Its unusual name, coined by Thomas Carlyle in 1858, relates to Robert Jenkins, captain of a British merchant ship, who exhibited his severed ear in...
, Vernon was promoted Vice-Admiral (of the Blue) on 9 July 1739 and, as he had prominently spoken for both the war and the Navy, he was given the command of a squadron of six ships. The Gentleman's Magazine
The Gentleman's Magazine
The Gentleman's Magazine was founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term "magazine" for a periodical...
reported England's preparations for war against Spain in July 1739, noting that: Vernon had been recalled to active duty and promoted; that, on 10 July King George II had instructed the Lords of the Admiralty to prepare Letters of Marque
Letter of marque
In the days of fighting sail, a Letter of Marque and Reprisal was a government licence authorizing a person to attack and capture enemy vessels, and bring them before admiralty courts for condemnation and sale...
; and (a week after the fact) it reported Vernon and his squadron had sailed for the West Indies on 20 July.
Despite the unmistakable signs of Great Britain preparing for a naval war in the summer of 1739, the formal declaration of war against Spain was not announced in London until Saturday 23 October 1739 (Old Style
Old Style and New Style dates
Old Style and New Style are used in English language historical studies either to indicate that the start of the Julian year has been adjusted to start on 1 January even though documents written at the time use a different start of year ; or to indicate that a date conforms to the Julian...
).
Porto Bello
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
colonial possession of Porto Bello (now in Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
) using just six ships (against the 90 men Spanish garrison). Vernon was subsequently granted the Freedom of the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
and commemorative medals were produced. The Portobello areas in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Dublin and Edinburgh (see Portobello Road
Portobello Road
Portobello Road is a street in the Notting Hill district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in west London, England. It runs almost the length of Notting Hill from south to north, roughly parallel with Ladbroke Grove. On Saturdays it is home to Portobello Road Market, one of London's...
and Portobello, Dublin
Portobello, Dublin
In Dublin, Portobello is an area stretching westwards from South Richmond Street as far as Upper Clanbrassil Street bordered on the north by the South Circular Road and on the south by the Grand Canal....
) are named for his victory, and "Rule Britannia" was composed by Thomas Arne during the celebratory frenzy
Jingoism
Jingoism is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as extreme patriotism in the form of aggressive foreign policy. In practice, it is a country's advocation of the use of threats or actual force against other countries in order to safeguard what it perceives as its national interests...
of 1740. A tower commemorating his victory was erected by members of the Vernon family living at Hilton Hall outside Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
.
Addressed by Hosier's Ghost
Vernon's action was seen by the "Patriots", or pro-war party opposed to Walpole, as just vengeance for Admiral HosierFrancis Hosier
Francis Hosier was a British Vice-Admiral. He was lieutenant in Rooke's flagship at the Battle of Barfleur in 1693. He captured the Heureux off Cape Clear in 1710 and distinguished himself in action with the Spanish off Cartagena in 1711...
's disastrous Blockade of Porto Bello
Blockade of Porto Bello
The Blockade of Porto Bello was a failed British naval action against the Spanish port of Porto Bello in present day Panama between 1726 and 1727 as part of the Anglo-Spanish War. The British were attempting to blockade the port to stop valuable treasure convoys leaving for Spain...
during 1726-28 where with a greater force of 20 ships, and Porto Bello inadequately defended, government orders forbade him from firing a shot, leaving him and some 4,000 sailors to linger ineffectually off the shore and to die of tropical diseases. The ballad Admiral Hosier's Ghost was written by Richard Glover following Vernon's triumph, as an attempt to remind Walpole of his previous failed policy of inaction, and to check any basking in Vernon's glory on his part. In the ballad, the Ghost of Hosier appears to Vernon as he rests at anchor following his successful engagement, and congratulates him:
Unrepining at thy glory
Thy successful arms we hail.
He then charges him to let Hosier's wrongs prevail when he returns to England, upon which he and his fellow ghosts can finally rest, their reputations restored. The first half of verse 7 is thus:
For resistance I could fear none
But with twenty ships had done
What thou brave and happy Vernon
Hast atchiev'd with six alone.
Cartagena de Indias
In April 1741, with a much larger fleet and land forces under Major General Thomas Wentworth, 26,600 men and 186 ships, Vernon turned his attention to Cartagena de IndiasCartagena, Colombia
Cartagena de Indias , is a large Caribbean beach resort city on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region and capital of Bolívar Department...
in Nueva Granada
Viceroyalty of New Granada
The Viceroyalty of New Granada was the name given on 27 May 1717, to a Spanish colonial jurisdiction in northern South America, corresponding mainly to modern Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela. The territory corresponding to Panama was incorporated later in 1739...
(now Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
). Vernon was so self-confident that he sent a message to his King assuring he had conquered the city, generating a euphoria in England bigger than the capture of Portbelo produced the year before. Previously he tried to bombard
Bombard
Bombard may refer to:*The act of carrying out a bombardment*Bombard , a type of late medieval siege weapon.*Bombard , a contemporary double reed instrument used to play traditional Breton music....
Cartagena with his huge squadron without success. Vernon and Wentworth did not get on and time was wasted in deciding where to land the army. When the army finally attacked at the battle of Cartagena
Battle of Cartagena de Indias
The Battle of Cartagena de Indias was an amphibious military engagement between the forces of Britain under Vice-Admiral Edward Vernon and those of Spain under Admiral Blas de Lezo. It took place at the city of Cartagena de Indias in March 1741, in present-day Colombia...
, it was repelled by the garrison of less than 3,000 men and 6 ships commanded by Blas de Lezo
Blas de Lezo
Blas de Lezo y Olavarrieta , also known as "Patapalo" , and later as "Mediohombre" for the many wounds suffered in his long military life, was a Spanish admiral, and one of the greatest strategists and commanders in the history of the Spanish Navy...
. An epidemic of yellow fever
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
which ravaged the crews of the ships and the soldiers ashore, compounded the problems and the force returned to Port Royal.
George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
's half-brother, Lawrence Washington
Lawrence Washington (1718-1752)
Lawrence Washington was a soldier and prominent landowner in colonial Virginia. As a founding member of the Ohio Company of Virginia, and a member of the colonial legislature representing Fairfax County, he was chiefly responsible for securing the establishment of the town of Alexandria, Virginia...
, served on Vernon's flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
"Princess Caroline" [80 guns] as a Captain of the Marines in 1741 and named his estate Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon (plantation)
Mount Vernon, located near Alexandria, Virginia, was the plantation home of the first President of the United States, George Washington. The mansion is built of wood in neoclassical Georgian architectural style, and the estate is located on the banks of the Potomac River.Mount Vernon was designated...
in honour of his commander. At the end of May 1741, the British forces in the Caribbean decided to attack Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
. Vernon captured Guantánamo Bay
Guantánamo Bay (Cuba)
Guantánamo Bay is a bay located in Guantánamo Province at the southeastern end of Cuba . It is the largest harbor on the south side of the island and is surrounded by steep hills creating an enclave cut off from its immediate hinterland....
, briefly renaming it Cumberland Bay. He arrived with a force of eight warships and 4,000 soldiers with plans to march on Santiago de Cuba
Santiago de Cuba
Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city of Cuba and capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province in the south-eastern area of the island, some south-east of the Cuban capital of Havana....
, but was resisted by local guerilla forces and finally abandoned the attempt in December after sickness broke out again. Vernon could no longer hold back his anger at what he perceived as Wentworth’s ineptitude and a bitter quarrel ensued ending in the recall of both parties to Britain at the end of 1742.
Further political career
While he had been away, Vernon had been elected MPMember of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Ipswich
Ipswich (UK Parliament constituency)
Ipswich is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- Boundaries :...
, after having purchased the Nacton
Nacton
Nacton is a civil parish in the Suffolk Coastal region of Suffolk, England, taking its name from the village within it. The parish is bounded by the neighbouring parishes of Levington to the east and Bucklesham in the north. It is located between the towns of Ipswich and Felixstowe.Nacton abuts...
estate in Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
. Vernon returned to Parliament
Parliament of Great Britain
The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and Parliament of Scotland...
and continued to harass the government on naval affairs. At this time, many anonymous pamphlets criticising the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
appeared and although Vernon denied he was the author, some have been attributed to him. In 1745, Vernon was promoted to Admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
and appointed to command the North Sea Fleet in response to the threat from the French forces in support of Charles Edward Stuart, "Bonnie Prince Charlie"
Charles Edward Stuart
Prince Charles Edward Louis John Casimir Sylvester Severino Maria Stuart commonly known as Bonnie Prince Charlie or The Young Pretender was the second Jacobite pretender to the thrones of Great Britain , and Ireland...
. This was his last operational command. When the Admiralty refused to grant him the status of Commander-in-Chief
Commander-in-Chief
A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
, he asked to be relieved on 1 December 1745, and the Admiralty removed him from the list of flag officers in 1746.
Naval innovation and health
Throughout his career, Vernon had tried to improve naval procedures and encouraged his captains to improve manoeuvres and gun drill. He introduced new instructions to aid the flexibility of handling fleets in battle and formed the basis of continuing improvement to Admiralty fighting instructions by subsequent naval commanders. Vernon continued to serve in Parliament and remained active in the interest of naval affairs until his death at NactonNacton
Nacton is a civil parish in the Suffolk Coastal region of Suffolk, England, taking its name from the village within it. The parish is bounded by the neighbouring parishes of Levington to the east and Bucklesham in the north. It is located between the towns of Ipswich and Felixstowe.Nacton abuts...
on 30 October 1757. Many of his proposals were subsequently adopted and contributed to Britain's victory in the Seven Years War
Great Britain in the Seven Years War
The Kingdom of Great Britain was one of the major participants in the Seven Years' War which lasted between 1756 and 1763. Britain emerged from the war as the world's leading colonial power having gained a number of new territories at the Treaty of Paris in 1763 and established itself as the...
.
His enduring claim to fame was his 1740 order that his sailors' rum
Rum
Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak barrels...
should be diluted with water. In 1740, citrus juice (usually lemon or lime juice) was added to the recipe of the traditional daily ration of watered-down rum known to cut down on the water's foulness. Although they did not know the reason at the time, Admiral Edward Vernon's sailors were healthier than the rest of the navy, due to the daily doses of vitamin C
Vitamin C
Vitamin C or L-ascorbic acid or L-ascorbate is an essential nutrient for humans and certain other animal species. In living organisms ascorbate acts as an antioxidant by protecting the body against oxidative stress...
the sailors received. However, it was not until 1747 that James Lind
James Lind
James Lind FRSE FRCPE was a Scottish physician. He was a pioneer of naval hygiene in the Royal Navy. By conducting the first ever clinical trial, he developed the theory that citrus fruits cured scurvy...
formally proved that scurvy
Scurvy
Scurvy is a disease resulting from a deficiency of vitamin C, which is required for the synthesis of collagen in humans. The chemical name for vitamin C, ascorbic acid, is derived from the Latin name of scurvy, scorbutus, which also provides the adjective scorbutic...
could be treated and prevented by supplementing the diet with citrus fruit such as limes or lemons. The rest of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
rapidly followed Vernon's lead, supposedly calling the new drink "grog
Grog
The word grog refers to a variety of alcoholic beverages. The word originally referred to a drink made with water or "small beer" and rum, which British Vice Admiral Edward Vernon introduced into the Royal Navy on 21 August 1740. Vernon wore a coat of grogram cloth and was nicknamed Old Grogram or...
" after Vernon's nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
"Old Grog", attributed to his habitual wearing of a grogram coat. The tradition of a provision to each seaman of a tot of rum per day continued until "Black Tot Day" on July 31, 1970 when the last pipe of "Up Spirits" was heard throughout the ships and shore establishments of the Royal Navy.