John Lawford
Encyclopedia
Sir John Lawford KCB
(c. 1756 – 22 December 1842) was an officer of the Royal Navy
who served during the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary
and Napoleonic Wars
.
He had a long and distinguished career, seeing action during the war with America at the Battle of the Saintes
, and was commanding small ships during the interwar years and by the outbreak of war with Revolutionary France. He graduated to larger ships, despite the loss of a frigate under his command in 1794, and was commanding in British waters by 1798. His interception of a Swedish convoy in the English Channel
further strained relations between Britain and Sweden, though Lawford was also to be involved in the breakup of the League of Armed Neutrality
, when he formed part of Rear-Admiral Horatio Nelson's
fleet at the Battle of Copenhagen
. Another highlight was the capture of a Spanish frigate carrying an immensely valuable cargo of specie. Lawford commanded several ships of the French and Spanish coasts throughout the rest of the wars, until being promoted to flag rank in 1811. He received further promotions throughout his long life, and the award of the KCB
for his actions at Copenhagen, the only captain who fought at the battle to receive any honours related to it. He died three years later at the age of 86, having by then spent 65 years serving the navy.
. In October 1788 he commissioned the brig
and commanded her for the next two years. Lawford then took command of the 16-gun sloop
during the Spanish Armament and was stationed initially in the English Channel
, before departing for Jamaica
on 22 October 1790, where he spent the next two years. He was promoted to post-captain
on the outbreak of war with France in 1793, and took command of the newly captured 36-gun . He sailed as an escort for a convoy to Britain on 5 February the following year, but his command was short-lived as Convert was wrecked three days later on a reef off the East End of Grand Cayman
; the wreck later referred to as the Wreck of the Ten Sail
. While court martialled as a result of the shipwreck, Lawford was acquitted and the event did not adversely affect his career. Lawford remained in service to the Royal Navy and in January 1798 took command of the 64-gun . His time aboard her was brief, and in March he handed her over to Captain John Bligh and took up command of Bligh's old ship, the 50-gun .
on 30 June, suspecting that the supplies were bound for French forces. The convoy resisted, but Lawford brought them to after a short action and took them to a British port. There most of the ships were condemned, though some were allowed to sail to Portugal
. The question of the right of belligerent powers to stop and search neutral merchants on the high seas was firmly upheld by Britain, though incidents such as this strained relations with the northern Kingdoms of Sweden, Denmark and Russia, and was a contributing factor to the formation of the League of Armed Neutrality
two years later. Lawford took Romney to join Vice-Admiral Andrew Mitchell's
squadron in Den Helder
in August 1799, and was present at the Vlieter Incident
on 30 August.
Lawford took command of the 64-gun in August 1800, and went out with the fleet sent out under Sir Hyde Parker to compel the Danes to abandon the League of Armed Neutrality. Polyphemus was part of Rear-Admiral Horatio Nelson's
squadron sent in to attack the Danish fleet at anchor at the Battle of Copenhagen
on 2 April 1801. Polyphemus was not part of Nelson's original plan, but he had to improvise when ran aground on shoals at the entrance to the harbour, and could not free herself. Polyphemus was signalled to take her place, and she anchored at the south of the line, opposite the Provestenen and engaged for the rest of the battle. She eventually sustained casualties of six killed and twenty-five wounded. Polyphemus returned to Britain and was paid off into ordinary
in April 1802, and after being refitted at Chatham Dockyard
between March and September 1804, was recommissioned under Lawford. Lawford served with the Channel Fleet
and on 7 December 1804 engaged the Spanish 36-gun Santa Gertruyda off Cape St Mary. The Santa Gertruyda was captured, and found to be shipping 1,125,000 dollars of specie from Peru
and Mexico
to Spain.
Lawford commissioned the 74-gun in June 1805, and moved from there to command the 74-gun HMS Impetueux
in October 1806. He served initially in the English Channel, followed by service in the North Sea
in 1809 and then off Portugal from March 1810. Lawford was superseded on 1 August 1811, when he was promoted to rear-admiral.
. His award of the KCB was the only honorary reward specifically for gallantry at Copenhagen 37 years previously, made to any of the captains who were present. Admiral Sir John Lawford died at his home at Grove Road, St John's Wood
on 22 December 1842 at the age of 86. He had married in 1803, and on his death had served in the navy for 65 years.
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
(c. 1756 – 22 December 1842) was an officer 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...
who served during the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary
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...
and 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 had a long and distinguished career, seeing action during the war with America at 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...
, and was commanding small ships during the interwar years and by the outbreak of war with Revolutionary France. He graduated to larger ships, despite the loss of a frigate under his command in 1794, and was commanding in British waters by 1798. His interception of a Swedish convoy in the English 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...
further strained relations between Britain and Sweden, though Lawford was also to be involved in the breakup of the League of Armed Neutrality
Second League of Armed Neutrality
The Second League of Armed Neutrality or the League of the North was an alliance of the north European naval powers Denmark–Norway, Prussia, Sweden and Russia. It occurred between 1800 and 1801 during the War of the Second Coalition and was initiated by Paul I of Russia...
, when he formed part of Rear-Admiral Horatio Nelson's
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté, KB was a flag officer famous for his service in the Royal Navy, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. He was noted for his inspirational leadership and superb grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics, which resulted in a number of...
fleet at the Battle of Copenhagen
Battle of Copenhagen (1801)
The Battle of Copenhagen was an engagement which saw a British fleet under the command of Admiral Sir Hyde Parker fight and strategically defeat a Danish-Norwegian fleet anchored just off Copenhagen on 2 April 1801. Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson led the main attack. He famously disobeyed Parker's...
. Another highlight was the capture of a Spanish frigate carrying an immensely valuable cargo of specie. Lawford commanded several ships of the French and Spanish coasts throughout the rest of the wars, until being promoted to flag rank in 1811. He received further promotions throughout his long life, and the award of the KCB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
for his actions at Copenhagen, the only captain who fought at the battle to receive any honours related to it. He died three years later at the age of 86, having by then spent 65 years serving the navy.
Early career
Lawford was born c. 1756 and entered the navy at an early age. He served during the war with America, and was first lieutenant aboard the 90-gun at the Battle of the SaintesBattle 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...
. In October 1788 he commissioned the brig
Brig
A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...
and commanded her for the next two years. Lawford then took command of the 16-gun sloop
Sloop-of-war
In the 18th and most of the 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. As the rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above, this meant that the term sloop-of-war actually encompassed all the unrated combat vessels including the...
during the Spanish Armament and was stationed initially in the English 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...
, before departing for 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...
on 22 October 1790, where he spent the next two years. He was promoted to post-captain
Post-Captain
Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of captain in the Royal Navy.The term served to distinguish those who were captains by rank from:...
on the outbreak of war with France in 1793, and took command of the newly captured 36-gun . He sailed as an escort for a convoy to Britain on 5 February the following year, but his command was short-lived as Convert was wrecked three days later on a reef off the East End of Grand Cayman
Grand Cayman
Grand Cayman is the largest of the three Cayman Islands and the location of the nation's capital, George Town. In relation to the other two Cayman Islands, it is approximately 75 miles southwest of Little Cayman and 90 miles southwest of Cayman Brac.-Geography:Grand Cayman encompasses 76% of...
; the wreck later referred to as the Wreck of the Ten Sail
Wreck of the Ten Sail
Wreck of the Ten Sail is a historic shipwreck event that occurred off the East End of Grand Cayman Island on February 8, 1794. Ten ships that were part of a convoy on its way from Jamaica to the United States and Britain wrecked on the surrounding reef...
. While court martialled as a result of the shipwreck, Lawford was acquitted and the event did not adversely affect his career. Lawford remained in service to the Royal Navy and in January 1798 took command of the 64-gun . His time aboard her was brief, and in March he handed her over to Captain John Bligh and took up command of Bligh's old ship, the 50-gun .
Command
Lawford and Romney became involved in an incident with a convoy of Swedish merchants sailing from the Mediterranean with cargoes of pitch, hemp, iron, deals and tar. Lawford intercepted the convoy in the English ChannelEnglish 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...
on 30 June, suspecting that the supplies were bound for French forces. The convoy resisted, but Lawford brought them to after a short action and took them to a British port. There most of the ships were condemned, though some were allowed to sail to Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
. The question of the right of belligerent powers to stop and search neutral merchants on the high seas was firmly upheld by Britain, though incidents such as this strained relations with the northern Kingdoms of Sweden, Denmark and Russia, and was a contributing factor to the formation of the League of Armed Neutrality
Second League of Armed Neutrality
The Second League of Armed Neutrality or the League of the North was an alliance of the north European naval powers Denmark–Norway, Prussia, Sweden and Russia. It occurred between 1800 and 1801 during the War of the Second Coalition and was initiated by Paul I of Russia...
two years later. Lawford took Romney to join Vice-Admiral Andrew Mitchell's
Andrew Mitchell (Royal Navy officer)
Sir Andrew Mitchell KB was an Admiral of the Blue in the Royal Navy. Married to Mary Uniacke in Halifax, Nova Scotia on 3 May 1805.-Career:...
squadron in Den Helder
Den Helder
Den Helder is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Den Helder occupies the northernmost point of the North Holland peninsula...
in August 1799, and was present at the Vlieter Incident
Vlieter Incident
The Vlieter incident was the surrender without a fight of a squadron of the navy of the Batavian Republic, commanded by Rear-Admiral Samuel Story, during the Anglo-Russian Invasion of Holland to the British navy on a sandbank near the Channel known as De Vlieter, near Wieringen, on August 30,...
on 30 August.
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté, KB was a flag officer famous for his service in the Royal Navy, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. He was noted for his inspirational leadership and superb grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics, which resulted in a number of...
squadron sent in to attack the Danish fleet at anchor at the Battle of Copenhagen
Battle of Copenhagen (1801)
The Battle of Copenhagen was an engagement which saw a British fleet under the command of Admiral Sir Hyde Parker fight and strategically defeat a Danish-Norwegian fleet anchored just off Copenhagen on 2 April 1801. Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson led the main attack. He famously disobeyed Parker's...
on 2 April 1801. Polyphemus was not part of Nelson's original plan, but he had to improvise when ran aground on shoals at the entrance to the harbour, and could not free herself. Polyphemus was signalled to take her place, and she anchored at the south of the line, opposite the Provestenen and engaged for the rest of the battle. She eventually sustained casualties of six killed and twenty-five wounded. Polyphemus returned to Britain and was paid off into ordinary
Reserve fleet
A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed, and thus partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; an equivalent expression in unofficial modern U.S....
in April 1802, and after being refitted at Chatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard, located on the River Medway and of which two-thirds is in Gillingham and one third in Chatham, Kent, England, came into existence at the time when, following the Reformation, relations with the Catholic countries of Europe had worsened, leading to a requirement for additional...
between March and September 1804, was recommissioned under Lawford. Lawford served with 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 on 7 December 1804 engaged the Spanish 36-gun Santa Gertruyda off Cape St Mary. The Santa Gertruyda was captured, and found to be shipping 1,125,000 dollars of specie from Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
and Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
to Spain.
Lawford commissioned the 74-gun in June 1805, and moved from there to command the 74-gun HMS Impetueux
French ship America (1788)
America was a Téméraire-class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy. The Royal Navy captured her in 1794 at the Battle of the Glorious First of June. She then served with the British under the name HMS Impetueux until she was broken up in 1813...
in October 1806. He served initially in the English Channel, followed by service in the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
in 1809 and then off Portugal from March 1810. Lawford was superseded on 1 August 1811, when he was promoted to rear-admiral.
Later life
Lawford was advanced to vice-admiral in 1819, and a full admiral in 1832. In August 1838 he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the BathOrder of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
. His award of the KCB was the only honorary reward specifically for gallantry at Copenhagen 37 years previously, made to any of the captains who were present. Admiral Sir John Lawford died at his home at Grove Road, St John's Wood
St John's Wood
St John's Wood is a district of north-west London, England, in the City of Westminster, and at the north-west end of Regent's Park. It is approximately 2.5 miles north-west of Charing Cross. Once part of the Great Middlesex Forest, it was later owned by the Knights of St John of Jerusalem...
on 22 December 1842 at the age of 86. He had married in 1803, and on his death had served in the navy for 65 years.