John Knight (Royal Navy officer)
Encyclopedia
Sir John Knight, KCB was a senior British Royal Navy
officer during the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries most noted for his activities as a post captain during the American
and French Revolutionary Wars
. Serving with the Caribbean Fleet during the American war, Knight fought a several significant battles and was commended for his service and made tutor of the young Prince William
. During the French wars he served with the North Sea fleet under Admiral Adam Duncan and was engaged at the Battle of Camperdown
against the Dutch. During the Napoleonic Wars
that followed he held a senior administrative role at Gibraltar
and retired in 1815 to his home and eight children. Although Knight was respected professionally, he was not popular with his men and fellow officers and was criticised for his ability to maintain discipline and for his close relationship with his family which some suggested had a negative impact on his performance as an officer.
in February 1747, the son of Rear-Admiral John Knight and his wife Jean Hay. In 1758, aged 11, he followed his father into service with the Royal Navy
aboard HMS Tartar
, participating in the Raid on Cherbourg
that year during the Seven Years War. Knight remained with his father for five more years, until moving at the end of the war in 1763 to HMS Romney
on the North American station. Off North America, Knight participated in surveying operations and although he returned to Europe some years later, he went back to North America in 1775 at the start of the American Revolutionary War
.
Serving on the sloop
HMS Falcon, Knight witnessed the Battle of Bunker Hill
while anchored off Boston
, and in 1776 he was captured in an attack on an American schooner
. He was exchanged
in December 1776 and given the independent hired vessel HMS Haerlem to conduct raiding operations along the Eastern Seaboard. In 1777 he was aboard Lord Howe
's flagship HMS Eagle
, and his knowledge of the coast played a vital part in Howe outmanoeuvring the French fleet of d'Estaing
. The same year he married a woman named Prudence Reynolds in America, with whom he would have eight children, and in February 1778 he returned to Britain.
In 1780, Knight returned to the Americas again aboard HMS Barfleur
and participated in the Battle of Fort Royal
and the Battle of the Chesapeake
, briefly becoming post captain in command of HMS Shrewsbury
in 1782 before returning to Barfleur as captain and fighting at the Battle of St. Kitts
and the Battle of the Saintes
. At the end of the war, Knight remained in command of Barfleur and was given personal responsibility for the naval education of the young Prince William
who served aboard.
After the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars
, Knight had periods in command of Barfleur in the Channel Fleet
and HMS Victory
in the Mediterranean, before taking over HMS Monatgu
with the North Sea fleet. At the Nore Mutiny in 1797, Montagu was heavily involved, but Knight resumed command once the uprising had collapsed, and in October he was engaged at the Battle of Camperdown
against the Dutch fleet. In 1798 he commanded a squadron off Ireland
and the following year was in command of the blockade squadron off Brest
. He also remarried, his first wife having died sometime previously, to a widow named Love Pickman Oliver. In 1801 Knight was promoted to rear-admiral, and in 1805 during the Napoleonic Wars
he was named as commander at Gibraltar
, where he remained for another ten years until the war's end in 185 when he retired from the Navy as a full admiral and a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath.
He settled with his family at Woodend House in Soberton
, Hampshire
, and died there in June 1831. Although he was respected professionally, Knight was not popular with his men or his fellow officers. Discipline aboard his ship was considered poor by naval standards, and his habit of bringing his wife and children to sea with him was criticised.
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...
officer during the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries most noted for his activities as a post captain during the American
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
and French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
. Serving with the Caribbean Fleet during the American war, Knight fought a several significant battles and was commended for his service and made tutor of the young Prince William
William IV of the United Kingdom
William IV was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death...
. During the French wars he served with the North Sea fleet under Admiral Adam Duncan and was engaged at the Battle of Camperdown
Battle of Camperdown
The Battle of Camperdown was a major naval action fought on 11 October 1797 between a Royal Navy fleet under Admiral Adam Duncan and a Dutch Navy fleet under Vice-Admiral Jan de Winter...
against the Dutch. During the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
that followed he held a senior administrative role at 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 retired in 1815 to his home and eight children. Although Knight was respected professionally, he was not popular with his men and fellow officers and was criticised for his ability to maintain discipline and for his close relationship with his family which some suggested had a negative impact on his performance as an officer.
Life
John Knight was born in DundeeDundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
in February 1747, the son of Rear-Admiral John Knight and his wife Jean Hay. In 1758, aged 11, he followed his father into service with 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...
aboard HMS Tartar
HMS Tartar (1756)
HMS Tartar was a 28-gun sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. The ship was designed by Sir Thomas Slade and based on the Lyme of 1748, "with such alterations as may tend to the better stowing of men and carrying for guns."...
, participating in the Raid on Cherbourg
Raid on Cherbourg
The Raid on Cherbourg took place in August 1758 during the Seven Year's War when a British force was landed on the coast of France by the Royal Navy with the intention of attacking the town of Cherbourg as part of the British government's policy of "descents" on the French Coast.-Background:Since...
that year during the Seven Years War. Knight remained with his father for five more years, until moving at the end of the war in 1763 to HMS Romney
HMS Romney (1762)
HMS Romney was a 50-gun fourth rate of the Royal Navy. She served during the American War of Independence, and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars in a career that spanned forty years....
on the North American station. Off North America, Knight participated in surveying operations and although he returned to Europe some years later, he went back to North America in 1775 at the start of the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
.
Serving on the sloop
Sloop
A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....
HMS Falcon, Knight witnessed the Battle of Bunker Hill
Battle of Bunker Hill
The Battle of Bunker Hill took place on June 17, 1775, mostly on and around Breed's Hill, during the Siege of Boston early in the American Revolutionary War...
while anchored off Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, and in 1776 he was captured in an attack on an American schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
. He was exchanged
Prisoner exchange
A prisoner exchange or prisoner swap is a deal between opposing sides in a conflict to release prisoners. These may be prisoners of war, spies, hostages, etc...
in December 1776 and given the independent hired vessel HMS Haerlem to conduct raiding operations along the Eastern Seaboard. In 1777 he was aboard Lord Howe
Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe
Admiral of the Fleet Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe KG was a British naval officer, notable in particular for his service during the American War of Independence and French Revolutionary Wars. He was the brother of William Howe and George Howe.Howe joined the navy at the age of thirteen and served...
's flagship HMS Eagle
HMS Eagle (1774)
HMS Eagle was a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 2 May 1774 at Rotherhithe.On 7 September 1776, the experimental American submarine Turtle, under the guidance of Army volunteer Sergeant Ezra Lee, attacked HMS Eagle, which was moored off what is today called Liberty...
, and his knowledge of the coast played a vital part in Howe outmanoeuvring the French fleet of d'Estaing
Charles Hector, comte d'Estaing
Jean Baptiste Charles Henri Hector, comte d'Estaing was a French general, and admiral. He began his service as a soldier in the War of the Austrian Succession, briefly spending time as a prisoner of war of the British during the Seven Years' War...
. The same year he married a woman named Prudence Reynolds in America, with whom he would have eight children, and in February 1778 he returned to Britain.
In 1780, Knight returned to the Americas again aboard HMS Barfleur
HMS Barfleur (1768)
HMS Barfleur was a 90-gun second-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, designed by Sir Thomas Slade on the lines of the 100-gun ship Royal William, and launched at Chatham Dockyard on 30 July 1768, at a cost of £49,222. In about 1780, she had another eight guns added to her quarterdeck, making...
and participated in the Battle of Fort Royal
Battle of Fort Royal
The Battle of Fort Royal was a naval battle fought off Fort Royal, Martinique in the West Indies during the American War of Independence on 29 April 1781 between fleets of the British Royal Navy and the French Navy. After an engagement lasting four hours, the British squadron under Sir Samuel Hood...
and the Battle of the Chesapeake
Battle of the Chesapeake
The Battle of the Chesapeake, also known as the Battle of the Virginia Capes or simply the Battle of the Capes, was a crucial naval battle in the American War of Independence that took place near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay on 5 September 1781, between a British fleet led by Rear Admiral Sir Thomas...
, briefly becoming post captain in command of HMS Shrewsbury
HMS Shrewsbury (1758)
HMS Shrewsbury was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 23 February 1758 at Deptford.In 1783, she was condemned and scuttled....
in 1782 before returning to Barfleur as captain and fighting at the Battle of St. Kitts
Battle of St. Kitts
The Battle of Saint Kitts, also known as the Battle of Frigate Bay, was a naval battle that took place on 25 and 26 January 1782 during the American Revolutionary War between a British fleet under Rear-Admiral Sir Samuel Hood and a larger French fleet under the Comte de Grasse.-Background:When Hood...
and the Battle of the Saintes
Battle of the Saintes
The Battle of the Saintes took place over 4 days, 9 April 1782 – 12 April 1782, during the American War of Independence, and was a victory of a British fleet under Admiral Sir George Rodney over a French fleet under the Comte de Grasse forcing the French and Spanish to abandon a planned...
. At the end of the war, Knight remained in command of Barfleur and was given personal responsibility for the naval education of the young Prince William
William IV of the United Kingdom
William IV was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death...
who served aboard.
After the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
, Knight had periods in command of Barfleur in the Channel Fleet
Channel Fleet
The Channel Fleet was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1690 to 1909.-History:The Channel Fleet dates back at least to 1690 when its role was to defend England against the French threat under the leadership of Edward Russell, 1st Earl of...
and HMS Victory
HMS Victory
HMS Victory is a 104-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, laid down in 1759 and launched in 1765. She is most famous as Lord Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805....
in the Mediterranean, before taking over HMS Monatgu
HMS Montagu (1779)
HMS Montagu, sometimes spelled Montague, was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 28 August 1779 at Chatham Dockyard....
with the North Sea fleet. At the Nore Mutiny in 1797, Montagu was heavily involved, but Knight resumed command once the uprising had collapsed, and in October he was engaged at the Battle of Camperdown
Battle of Camperdown
The Battle of Camperdown was a major naval action fought on 11 October 1797 between a Royal Navy fleet under Admiral Adam Duncan and a Dutch Navy fleet under Vice-Admiral Jan de Winter...
against the Dutch fleet. In 1798 he commanded a squadron off Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and the following year was in command of the blockade squadron off Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
. He also remarried, his first wife having died sometime previously, to a widow named Love Pickman Oliver. In 1801 Knight was promoted to rear-admiral, and in 1805 during the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
he was named as commander at 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...
, where he remained for another ten years until the war's end in 185 when he retired from the Navy as a full admiral and a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath.
He settled with his family at Woodend House in Soberton
Soberton
Soberton is a village in the Meon Valley, Hampshire, England and is bordered by villages such as Newtown and Droxford. It is listed in the Domesday Book under its original name, 'Sudbertone'/'Sudbertune', and comes under Winchester City Council....
, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, and died there in June 1831. Although he was respected professionally, Knight was not popular with his men or his fellow officers. Discipline aboard his ship was considered poor by naval standards, and his habit of bringing his wife and children to sea with him was criticised.