John Richards Lapenotière
Encyclopedia
Captain John Richards Lapenotière (1770 – 19 January 1834) was a British Royal Navy
officer who, as a lieutenant commanding the tiny topsail schooner HMS Pickle
, observed the Battle of Trafalgar
on the 21 October 1805, participated in the rescue operations which followed it and then carried the dispatches of the victory and the death of Admiral Nelson to Britain.
, Devon
to a Huguenot
exile family that came to Britain in 1688 with William of Orange
, he came from a military family: His great grandfather, Frederick La Penotiere, served in the Royal Irish Regiment
in the campaigns of the Duke of Marlborough
in the War of the Spanish Succession
and received a bounty for his service at the Battle of Blenheim
, in 1704.
and the Canadian Pacific coast (then a bare and savage coast), where he learned the principles of seamanship in difficult climates and the handling of small ships, which was very advantageous to him, given that he spent most of his career in such craft. After a period of service as a midshipman in the Royal Navy, Lapenotière again took a leave of absence, to accompany Portlock and William Bligh
on a breadfruit
expedition to the South Pacific, to replace those plants lost following the Mutiny on the Bounty
.
Returning in time for service in the French Revolutionary War, Lapenotière travelled to the West Indies in the fleet under John Jervis
in HMS Margarita, being briefly appointed lieutenant into HMS Boyne
before his superior knowledge of seamanship earned him an independent command in the schooner HMS Berbice. In 1796 he was transferred into the frigate
HMS Resource
and from there into four other ships, each of them without event or action. By 1800, he had yet to spend a full year in any ship but was given the small cutter Joseph, as a reward for his patience, and he distinguished himself in small boat actions on the French coast, prior to the Peace of Amiens, when he found himself on the beach
for the first long stretch of time since 1779. During this period ashore, he married Lucia Shean, with whom he had three daughters.
His efforts had not gone unnoticed, however and, when war broke out again, he was given the 10 gun schooner
HMS Pickle
, in which he again terrorised the French coastline, earning accolades for saving the crew of the ship of the line
HMS Magnificent
, which was wrecked off Ushant
in 1804. He was widowed during this period but soon remarried to Mary Anne Graves and had a further seven children, two of whom later became naval officers themselves. He was subsequently attached to Nelson’s fleet, blockading off Cadiz
and helping to feed the fleet by capturing Spanish and Portuguese livestock and grain transports.
, which culminated the campaign
on the 21 October 1805 but her assistance was invaluable during the difficult and dangerous task which arose during the ensuing storm. Lapenotière’s ship was engaged in rescuing survivors from the water, taking men off sinking ships over the next week and even towing damaged hulks in an effort to rescue them from the waves. On 26 October, Admiral Collingwood sent Pickle to Britain with the dispatches telling of the great victory. This was a signal honour for any junior officer, since it almost guaranteed promotion and fame and some of the other junior officers later expressed anger at the seeming preferment of Lapenotière.
Arriving in the English Channel
on 1 November, Lapenotière realised that the wind was so strong it would prevent him from making landfall further down the Channel and so landed at Falmouth
. He then took an exhausting series of mail coaches and horses overland to London
, where he arrived on 6 November, after a journey of about 271 miles and involving twenty-one changes of horses, to give his despatches to William Marsden
, Secretary of the Navy, who then spread the news of the victory and Nelson’s death. As was expected, Lapenotière was greatly rewarded for his feat, being promoted to Commander
, receiving a sword from the Patriotic Fund and £500 in cash. He was also given a silver muffetiere by King George III which is now owned by the mayor's office in Liskeard
. "Pickle Night", the story of Lapenotière's return with the news of Trafalgar and Nelson, is celebrated annually in many a Royal Navy Senior Rates Mess in early November. He was subsequently given the command of the 16-gun HMS Orestes
and participated in the bombardment of Copenhagen
in 1807, where he was badly wounded by an exploding gun.
His next four years of sea service was spent sailing the Orestes from Plymouth
, where he took two privateers (one French, one American) and a rich American merchant ship. In 1811, he received promotion to Post Captain but was unable to secure a ship and spent the remainder of the war on shore duties. He never captained a ship again, settling in Menheniot
near Liskeard, in Cornwall
with his family, dying peacefully in 1834. He was buried next to his second wife in the churchyard at Menheniot.
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 who, as a lieutenant commanding the tiny topsail schooner HMS Pickle
HMS Pickle (1800)
HMS Pickle was a topsail schooner of the Royal Navy. She was originally a civilian vessel named Sting. of six guns, that Lord Hugh Seymour purchased to use as an armed tender on the Jamaica Station...
, observed the Battle of Trafalgar
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
on the 21 October 1805, participated in the rescue operations which followed it and then carried the dispatches of the victory and the death of Admiral Nelson to Britain.
Early life
Born in 1770 in IlfracombeIlfracombe
Ilfracombe is a seaside resort and civil parish on the North Devon coast, England with a small harbour, surrounded by cliffs.The parish stretches along the coast from 'The Coastguard Cottages' in Hele Bay toward the east and 4 miles along The Torrs to Lee Bay toward the west...
, Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
to a Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
exile family that came to Britain in 1688 with William of Orange
William II of England
William II , the third son of William I of England, was King of England from 1087 until 1100, with powers over Normandy, and influence in Scotland. He was less successful in extending control into Wales...
, he came from a military family: His great grandfather, Frederick La Penotiere, served in the Royal Irish Regiment
Royal Irish Regiment (1684-1922)
The Royal Irish Regiment, until 1881 the 18th Regiment of Foot, was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army, first raised in 1684. Also known as the 18th Regiment of Foot and the 18th Regiment of Foot, it was one of eight Irish regiments raised largely in Ireland, its home depot in...
in the campaigns of the Duke of Marlborough
Duke of Marlborough
Duke of Marlborough , is a hereditary title in the Peerage of England. The first holder of the title was John Churchill , the noted English general, and indeed an unqualified reference to the Duke of Marlborough in a historical text will almost certainly refer to him.-History:The dukedom was...
in 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...
and received a bounty for his service at the Battle of Blenheim
Battle of Blenheim
The Battle of Blenheim , fought on 13 August 1704, was a major battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. Louis XIV of France sought to knock Emperor Leopold out of the war by seizing Vienna, the Habsburg capital, and gain a favourable peace settlement...
, in 1704.
Service career
John followed his father, Frederick, into naval service, joining his father’s ship unofficially, at just ten years old. At fifteen he enlisted with Nathaniel Portlock on a commercial expedition to what is now AlaskaAlaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
and the Canadian Pacific coast (then a bare and savage coast), where he learned the principles of seamanship in difficult climates and the handling of small ships, which was very advantageous to him, given that he spent most of his career in such craft. After a period of service as a midshipman in the Royal Navy, Lapenotière again took a leave of absence, to accompany Portlock and William Bligh
William Bligh
Vice Admiral William Bligh FRS RN was an officer of the British Royal Navy and a colonial administrator. A notorious mutiny occurred during his command of HMAV Bounty in 1789; Bligh and his loyal men made a remarkable voyage to Timor, after being set adrift in the Bounty's launch by the mutineers...
on a breadfruit
Breadfruit
Breadfruit is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry family, Moraceae, growing throughout Southeast Asia and most Pacific Ocean islands...
expedition to the South Pacific, to replace those plants lost following the Mutiny on the Bounty
Mutiny on the Bounty
The mutiny on the Bounty was a mutiny that occurred aboard the British Royal Navy ship HMS Bounty on 28 April 1789, and has been commemorated by several books, films, and popular songs, many of which take considerable liberties with the facts. The mutiny was led by Fletcher Christian against the...
.
Returning in time for service in the French Revolutionary War, Lapenotière travelled to the West Indies in the fleet under John Jervis
John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent
Admiral of the Fleet John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent GCB, PC was an admiral in the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom...
in HMS Margarita, being briefly appointed lieutenant into HMS Boyne
HMS Boyne (1790)
HMS Boyne was a 98-gun Royal Navy second-rate ship of the line launched on 27 June 1790 at Woolwich. She was the flagship of Vice Admiral John Jervis in 1794.-Fate:...
before his superior knowledge of seamanship earned him an independent command in the schooner HMS Berbice. In 1796 he was transferred into the frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
HMS Resource
HMS Resource
Three ships of the Royal Navy and one of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary have borne the name Resource: was a 28-gun sixth-rate frigate launched in 1778. She was converted to a 22-gun floating battery in 1804 and renamed Enterprize in 1806. She was sold in 1816. was a yacht launched in 1865 and hired...
and from there into four other ships, each of them without event or action. By 1800, he had yet to spend a full year in any ship but was given the small cutter Joseph, as a reward for his patience, and he distinguished himself in small boat actions on the French coast, prior to the Peace of Amiens, when he found himself on the beach
Beached (naval)
A naval officer who is beached is one who, through illness or other incapacitation, is restricted to shore duty....
for the first long stretch of time since 1779. During this period ashore, he married Lucia Shean, with whom he had three daughters.
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....
HMS Pickle
HMS Pickle (1800)
HMS Pickle was a topsail schooner of the Royal Navy. She was originally a civilian vessel named Sting. of six guns, that Lord Hugh Seymour purchased to use as an armed tender on the Jamaica Station...
, in which he again terrorised the French coastline, earning accolades for saving the crew of the ship of the line
Ship of the line
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...
HMS Magnificent
HMS Magnificent (1766)
HMS Magnificent was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 20 July 1767 at Deptford Dockyard. She was one of the built to update the Navy and replace ships lost following the Seven Years' War...
, which was wrecked off Ushant
Ushant
Ushant is an island at the south-western end of the English Channel which marks the north-westernmost point of metropolitan France. It belongs to Brittany and is in the traditional region of Bro-Leon. Administratively, Ushant is a commune in the Finistère department...
in 1804. He was widowed during this period but soon remarried to Mary Anne Graves and had a further seven children, two of whom later became naval officers themselves. He was subsequently attached to Nelson’s fleet, blockading off Cadiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
and helping to feed the fleet by capturing Spanish and Portuguese livestock and grain transports.
Battle of Trafalgar
Pickle was much too small to serve an active role in the Battle of TrafalgarBattle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
, which culminated the campaign
Trafalgar Campaign
The Trafalgar Campaign was a long and complicated series of fleet manoeuvres carried out by the combined French and Spanish fleets; and the opposing moves of the Royal Navy during much of 1805. These were the culmination of French plans to force a passage through the English Channel, and so achieve...
on the 21 October 1805 but her assistance was invaluable during the difficult and dangerous task which arose during the ensuing storm. Lapenotière’s ship was engaged in rescuing survivors from the water, taking men off sinking ships over the next week and even towing damaged hulks in an effort to rescue them from the waves. On 26 October, Admiral Collingwood sent Pickle to Britain with the dispatches telling of the great victory. This was a signal honour for any junior officer, since it almost guaranteed promotion and fame and some of the other junior officers later expressed anger at the seeming preferment of Lapenotière.
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...
on 1 November, Lapenotière realised that the wind was so strong it would prevent him from making landfall further down the Channel and so landed at Falmouth
Falmouth, Cornwall
Falmouth is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,635.Falmouth is the terminus of the A39, which begins some 200 miles away in Bath, Somerset....
. He then took an exhausting series of mail coaches and horses overland to 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...
, where he arrived on 6 November, after a journey of about 271 miles and involving twenty-one changes of horses, to give his despatches to William Marsden
William Marsden
William Marsden DCL FRS was an English orientalist, linguist, numismatist and pioneer in the scientific study of Indonesia...
, Secretary of the Navy, who then spread the news of the victory and Nelson’s death. As was expected, Lapenotière was greatly rewarded for his feat, being promoted to Commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
, receiving a sword from the Patriotic Fund and £500 in cash. He was also given a silver muffetiere by King George III which is now owned by the mayor's office in Liskeard
Liskeard
Liskeard is an ancient stannary and market town and civil parish in south east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.Liskeard is situated approximately 20 miles west of Plymouth, west of the River Tamar and the border with Devon, and 12 miles east of Bodmin...
. "Pickle Night", the story of Lapenotière's return with the news of Trafalgar and Nelson, is celebrated annually in many a Royal Navy Senior Rates Mess in early November. He was subsequently given the command of the 16-gun HMS Orestes
HMS Orestes
Several ships of the Royal Navy have carried the name HMS Orestes: was a Dutch-built brig-sloop. She was captured from the Dutch in 1781. was a ship sloop of 16 guns, purchased in 1803 and wrecked in 1805, but without loss of her crew. was a of 16 guns, launched in 1805 and broken up in 1817. was...
and participated in the bombardment of Copenhagen
Battle of Copenhagen (1807)
The Second Battle of Copenhagen was a British preemptive attack on Copenhagen, targeting the civilian population in order to seize the Dano-Norwegian fleet and in turn originate the term to Copenhagenize.-Background:Despite the defeat and loss of many ships in the first Battle of Copenhagen in...
in 1807, where he was badly wounded by an exploding gun.
His next four years of sea service was spent sailing the Orestes from Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
, where he took two privateers (one French, one American) and a rich American merchant ship. In 1811, he received promotion to Post Captain but was unable to secure a ship and spent the remainder of the war on shore duties. He never captained a ship again, settling in Menheniot
Menheniot
Menheniot is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The village is situated 2½ miles southeast of Liskeard. The meaning of the name is "sanctuary of Neot" ....
near Liskeard, in Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
with his family, dying peacefully in 1834. He was buried next to his second wife in the churchyard at Menheniot.
Further reading
- The Trafalgar Captains, Colin White and the 1805 Club, Chatham Publishing, London, 2005, ISBN 186176247X
- Lieutenant Lapenotière, a short story by Arthur Quiller-CouchArthur Quiller-CouchSir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch was a Cornish writer, who published under the pen name of Q. He is primarily remembered for the monumental Oxford Book Of English Verse 1250–1900 , and for his literary criticism...
at gutenberg.org