John Thomas Duckworth
Encyclopedia
Admiral
Sir John Thomas Duckworth, 1st Baronet, GCB
(9 February 1747 (Gregorian Calendar
) – 31 August 1817 in Plymouth
, England) was a British naval
officer, serving during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary
and Napoleonic Wars
, as the Governor of Newfoundland during the War of 1812
, and a member of the British House of Commons during his semi-retirement. One of the least known of the Age of Sail
admirals of the Royal Navy, Duckworth, a vicar's son, achieved much in a naval service which began at the age of 11.
Serving with most of the great names of the Royal Navy during the later 18th and early 19th centuries, he fought almost all of Britain's enemies on the seas at one time or another, including in an operation
that would be remembered a century later during the First World War. He also fought the last great fleet action
of the Napoleonic Wars. Overshadowed by other great British sailors, he died at his post, but in peace rather than in combat.
, Surrey
, England
, Duckworth was one of five sons of Sarah Johnson and the vicar Henry Duckworth A.M. of Stoke Poges descended from a landed family
. Duckworth went to Eton College
, but began his naval career in 1759 at the suggestion of Edward Boscawen
, when he entered the Royal Navy
as a midshipman
on . On 5 April 1764 he joined the 50-gun at Chatham
after leaving , to serve with Admiral Hugh Palliser
, then Governor of Newfoundland. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant aboard the Princess Royal
on which he was concussed by a head of another sailor decapitated by a cannonball
, based on the West Indies station on 14 November 1771, serving as first lieutenant in the frigate
during the American War of Independence. He married Anne Wallis in July 1776, and in 1779 after receiving his first command of a sloop-of-war
, was promoted to Captain in 16 June 1780 in which he cruised the waters off Martinique until briefly returning to the Princess Royal with a post rank before joining (74-gun) with a command of escorting English convoys. In the years of peace before the French Revolution he was a captain of (74 guns) lying at Plymouth
.
to the Admiral of the West Indies squadron
, Sir George Brydges Rodney
soon after in HMS Princess Royal
.
Fighting against France, Duckworth distinguished himself both in European waters and in the Caribbean. Initially aboard the Orion
(74-gun) from 1793 as Commander, and later in HMS Queen
with the Channel Fleet
of Admiral Lord Howe
in the Admiral's division in which post Duckworth saw action in three battles during latter May and 1 June 1794
, was one of eighteen Commanders honoured with a gold medal and ribbon and thanks of both Houses of Parliament.
A Commodore
in Santo Domingo in 1796, was promoted to Rear Admiral of the White Squadron
on 14 February 1799 following the Capture of Minorca
for which he sailed on 19 October 1798 where he was a joint commander with Sir Charles Stewart
, initially landing his 800 troops in the Bay of Addaya., and later using sailors and marines from his ships to augment the Army troops.
He commemorated the promotion in June 1799 when La Courageux was captured by his squadron of four ships. Sailing to take up his post as the newly appointed Commander-in-Chief at Barbados
and Leeward Islands
(1800–1802), in April 1800, he intercepted a large and rich Spanish convoy from Lima
off Cadiz
consisting of two frigates (both taken as prizes) and eleven merchant vessels, with his share of the prize money
estimated at £75,000. In 1801 he was appointed Commander-in-Chief at Jamaica
, (1801–1805).
Between 1798 and 1801 Duckworth in HMS Leviathan
(74-gun) commanded four ships in a fleet of 109 vessels in the Ferrol expedition under joint commands of Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren with 20 ships of the line and 15-20,000 Army troops under James Murray-Pulteney
, ostensibly sent to capture Belle Île
.
The fleet landed with 12,500 troops under command of Sir Edward Pellew on 25 August. However, the assault on the city was inexplicably abandoned during the expected attack on Fort St. Philip due to fears of the fleet being driven off to sea by the winds, and leaving the Army troops unsupported and with no means of retreat.
Duckworth was nominated a Knights Companion of the most Honourable Military Order of the Bath
in 1801 and installed in 1803 for the capture of the islands of St.Bartholomew
, St.Martin
, St.Thomas, St.John and St.Croix and defeat of the Swedish and Danish forces stationed there on 20 March 1801, also receiving a pension of £1,000. Aside from the territory and prisoners taken during the operation, Duckworth's force also took: two Swedish merchantmen, a Danish ship (in ballast), three small French vessels, one privateer
brig (12-guns), one captured English ship, a merchant-brig, four small schooners and a sloop.
Much of 1802 was again spent in the West Indies station with fifteen sail-of-the-line under command.
, and until 1805, Duckworth assumed command as the commander-in-chief of the Jamaica station, during which time he had the unlikely honour of taking prisoner vicomte de Rochambeau
, son of the famous French General.
Duckworth's appointment as Vice-Admiral of the Blue Squadron
on 23 April 1804, briefly also serving as a Colonel of Marines. He succeeded in capturing numerous enemy vessels and remained in Jamaica
until 1805.
The fortunes of Royal Navy service proved to be quite ironic for Duckworth in 1805. It was intended by the Admiralty that he should join Vice-Admiral Nelson in HMS Royal George
off Cádiz, however the ship was not made ready to sail by the Plymouth Dockyards
, and Duckworth was directed to raise his flag in HMS Superb
in which he was directed to command the West Indies squadron involved in the blockade of Cádiz with seven sail of the line and two frigates.
Consequently although he had volunteered to serve under Nelson, he would not be present at the Battle of Trafalgar
, but would eventually sail in HMS Royal George during a decidedly unsuccessful period of service, see Nelson's HMS Victory
in Portsmouth, and with time command the Plymouth Dockyards.
Although known for a cautious character, he abandoned the blockade and sailed in search of a French squadron reported by a frigate off Madeira
in December on his own initiative, something he was later to be criticised for because his orders, on failure to find the French, were to join Nelson with three of the vessels, and therefore he subsequently missed Battle of Trafalgar
. This turned out to be the much sought after Rochefort
squadron that had earlier escaped a blockade by Cornwallis
. Although he had found the squadron of Contre-Admiral Jean-Baptiste Willaumez then sought by Rear-Admiral Sir Richard Strachan, Duckworth was unable to engage the French on the claim of his ships being scattered, and, short on water, made the decision to continue to West Indies.
There, at Saint Kitts
he was joined by a pair of 74 gun ships commanded by Sir Alexander Cochrane
, and later a brig Kingfisher commanded by Nathaniel Day Cochrane
which brought news of French at San Domingo that was the French squadron under the command of Vice-Admiral Corentin Urbain Leissègues
which escaped from Brest
and sought to reinforce the French forces at San Domingo with about 1,000 troops. Arriving at San Domingo on 6 February 1806, Duckworth found the French squadron with its transports anchored in the Occa bay. The French commander immediately hurried to sea, forming a line
as they went. Duckworth gave signal to form two columns
of four and three ships of the line.
In the Battle of San Domingo
, Duckworth's squadron defeated the squadron of French when
His victory over the French Admiral Leissègues off the coast of Hispaniola
on the 6 February together with Admiral Alexander Cochrane's squadron was the highlight of his Royal Navy service career, which was a fatal blow to French strategy in the Caribbean
region, and played a major part in Napoleon's eventual sale of Louisiana
, and withdrawal from the Caribbean. It was judged sufficiently important to have the Tower of London
guns.
A promotion to Vice-Admiral of the White in April 1806 followed, along with the presentation of a Sword of Honour by the grateful Jamaica House of Assembly, but after he returned to England again, he was called to face court-martial
charges brought by the Captain James Athol Wood
of HMS Acasta claiming transgression of the 18th Article of War which was dropped on the 7 June 1805. On his return to England, Duckworth was granted a substantial pension of £1,000 from the House of Commons, and freedom of the city
of London, while his naval feats were acknowledged with several honours, including the Sword of Honour
by the corporation of the City of London
. A great dinner was also held in his honour as the Mansion House
.
Santo Domingo was the last significant fleet action
of the Napoleonic Wars which, despite negative claims made about his personality, displayed Duckworth's understanding of the role of naval strategy
in the overall war by securing for Britain mastery of the sea, and thus having sea-oriented mentality having placed a British fleet in the right strategic position. Duckworth also displayed the willingness of accept changing tactics employed by Nelson, and maintained the superiority of British naval gunnery in battle.
Duckworth was appointed second in command of the Mediterranean Fleet
in 1805 primarily on consideration by the Admiralty of having a senior officer in the forthcoming operations with the Russian Navy. Sailing in the 100-gun first-rate HMS Royal George
with eight ships of the line and four smaller vessels, he arrived at the island of Tenedos with orders to take possession of the Ottoman fleet at Constantinople
, thus supporting Dmitry Senyavin
's Imperial Russian Navy
in the Dardanelles Operation
. Accompanying him were some of the ablest Royal Navy officers such as Sydney Smith, Dacres and Blackwood but he was in doubt of having the capability to breach the shore batteries and reach the anchored Ottoman fleet. Aware of Turkish efforts to reinforce the shore artillery, he nevertheless took no action until 11 February 1807 and spent some time in the strait waiting for a favourable wind. In the evening of the same day HMS Ajax
(Captain Blackwood) was lost to accidental fire on-board at anchor off Tenedos, although most of the crew and captain were saved and redistributed among the fleet. Finally on 19 February at Action at Point Pisquies (Nagara Burun), a part of the British force encountered the Ottoman fleet which engaged first, but fourteen of its vessels and one gunboat were forced ashore and burnt by the part of the British fleet under command of Rear-Admiral Sir Sydney Smith taking one corvette
and one gunboat
, and the flags of the Turkish Vice-Admiral and Captain Pasha in the process, with adjacent fortification
s destroyed by landing parties from HMS Thunderer, HMS Pompée, and HMS Repulse, while its 31 guns were spiked by the marines
. On the 20 February the British squadron under Duckworth reached the Ottoman capital, but had to engage in fruitless negotiations with the Sultan's representatives advised by Napoleon's ambassador
Sébastiani, by the accompanying British ambassador Mr.Arbuthnot
and Russian plenipotentiary Andrey Italinski due to the secret instructions that were issued as part of his orders for the mission, and therefore losing more time as the Turks played for time to complete their shore batteries in the hope of trapping the British squadron.
Smith was joined a week later by Duckworth, who observed the four bays of the Dardanelles lined with five hundred cannon and one hundred mortars as his ships passed towards Constantinople. There he found the rest of the Turkish fleet of twelve ships of the line and nine frigates, all apparently ready for action in the Constantinople harbour. Exasperated by Turkish intransigence, and not having a significant force to land on the shore, Duckworth decided to withdraw on 1 March after declining to take Smith's advice to bombard the Turkish Arsenal and gunpowder manufacturing works. The British fleet was subjected to shore artillery fire all the way to the open sea, and sustaining casualties and damage to ships from 26-inch calibre (650 mm) guns firing 300-800 marble pound shot.
Though blamed for indecisiveness, notably by the First Lord of the Admiralty
, Duckworth's words were to ring true a century later when he said in his report on the operation:
he commanded the squadron protecting transports of the Alexandria expedition of 1807, but that was forced to withdraw after five months due to lack of supplies. Duckworth summed up this expedition, in reflection on the service of the year by commenting that
.
and HMS Hibernia
as commander of the Channel Fleet
, in some of the largest first-rate
s in the Royal Navy. One of the least pleasant duties in his life was participation in the court-martial of Admiral Lord Gambier in the matter of the Basque Roads
.
of the Canadian squadron's three frigates and eight smaller vessels. Although this was a minor command in a remote station spanning from Davis Strait
to the Gulf of St Lawrence, he also received a promotion to Admiral of the Blue Squadron
, still commanding the Antelope.
While serving as Governor he was attacked for his arbitrary powers over the territory, and retaliated against the pamphleteer
by disallowing his reappointment as surgeon of the local militia unit, the Loyal Volunteers of St John, which Duckworth renamed the St John’s Volunteer Rangers, and enlarged to 500 officers and militiamen for the War of 1812
with the United States.
Duckworth also took an interest in bettering relationship with the local Beothuk
Indians, and sponsored Lieutenant David Buchan's expedition up the Exploits River
in 1810 to explore the region of the Beothuk settlements.
As the Governor and station naval commander, Duckworth suddenly found himself again in the midst of a war precisely over those issues which United States thought they were fighting, such as "Free Trade and Sailor's Rights." His orders and instructions to captains under his command were therefore directly concerned with fishing rights of US vessels on the Grand Banks
, the prohibition of United States trade with British colonials, the searching of ships under US flag for contraband
, and the impressment
of seamen for service on British vessels. Upon his return to Portsmouth on 28 November in HMS Antelope (50 guns) after escorting transports from Newfoundland he witnessed somewhat of a personal omen, as on that same day HMS Victory was being paid off.
on the coast of Kent
. At about this time he found out that his oldest son George Henry was killed in action
while serving in the rank of a Colonel with the Duke of Wellington
in Spain
at the Battle of Albuera
at the head of 48th (Northamptonshire) Regiment of Foot
. He was created a baronet
on 2 November 1813, adopting a motto
Disciplina, fide, perseverantia (Discipline, fidelity, perseverance), and in January 1815 was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth
45 miles from his home; a post considered one of semi-retirement by his successor, Lord Exmouth
. However, on 26 June that year it became a centre of attention due to the visit by HMS Bellerophon bearing Napoleon to his final exile, with Duckworth being the last senior British officer to speak with him on board HMS Northumberland.
Duckworth died at his post on the base in 1817 at 1 o'clock after several months of illness; a fitting end to a long and distinguished service with the Royal Navy. being
buried on the 9 September at the Topsham
church where he was laid to rest in the family vault, with his coffin covered with crimson velvet
studded with 2,500 silvered nails to resemble a ship's planking.
When in England for winters during his term as Governor of Newfoundland, Duckworth lived on a property called Weare House of Weare Park in Topsham in the County of Devon, which he purchased in 1804 and rebuilt over several years. The only known memorial is found in St Margaret's Church, Topsham, in Devon.
His property, and half of the golf course, now occupied by the Exeter Golf and Country Club, was the largest US Navy Supply Depot in the south of England during the Second World War, with some later retained for use by a UK MOD Naval Store.
During the Second World War one Royal Navy warship, the destroyer HMS Duckworth
was named after the Admiral.
In England, The Duckworth House is located in Kent St, Portsmouth PO1 to be found not far from the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard complex.
Duckworth Street in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada
is named in his honour.
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Admiral (United Kingdom)
Admiral is a senior rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, which equates to the NATO rank code OF-9, outranked only by the rank Admiral of the Fleet...
Sir John Thomas Duckworth, 1st Baronet, GCB
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...
(9 February 1747 (Gregorian Calendar
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...
) – 31 August 1817 in 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...
, England) was a British naval
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, serving during the American War of Independence, 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...
, as the Governor of Newfoundland during the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, and a member of the British House of Commons during his semi-retirement. One of the least known of the Age of Sail
Age of Sail
The Age of Sail was the period in which international trade and naval warfare were dominated by sailing ships, lasting from the 16th to the mid 19th century...
admirals of the Royal Navy, Duckworth, a vicar's son, achieved much in a naval service which began at the age of 11.
Serving with most of the great names of the Royal Navy during the later 18th and early 19th centuries, he fought almost all of Britain's enemies on the seas at one time or another, including in an operation
Dardanelles Operation
The Dardanelles Operation was the Royal Navy's unsuccessful attempt to impose British demands on the Ottoman Empire as part of the Anglo-Turkish War ....
that would be remembered a century later during the First World War. He also fought the last great fleet action
Fleet action
A fleet action is a naval engagement involving combat between forces that are larger than a squadron on either of the opposing sides. Fleet action is defined by combat and not just manoeuvring of the naval forces strategically, operationally or tactically without engaging. Most famous large naval...
of the Napoleonic Wars. Overshadowed by other great British sailors, he died at his post, but in peace rather than in combat.
Early life
Born in LeatherheadLeatherhead
Leatherhead is a town in the County of Surrey, England, on the River Mole, part of Mole Valley district. It is thought to be of Saxon origin...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, 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...
, Duckworth was one of five sons of Sarah Johnson and the vicar Henry Duckworth A.M. of Stoke Poges descended from a landed family
Landed gentry
Landed gentry is a traditional British social class, consisting of land owners who could live entirely off rental income. Often they worked only in an administrative capacity looking after the management of their own lands....
. Duckworth went to Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
, but began his naval career in 1759 at the suggestion of Edward Boscawen
Edward Boscawen
Admiral Edward Boscawen, PC was an Admiral in the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament for the borough of Truro, Cornwall. He is known principally for his various naval commands throughout the 18th Century and the engagements that he won, including the Siege of Louisburg in 1758 and Battle of Lagos...
, when he entered 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...
as a midshipman
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
on . On 5 April 1764 he joined the 50-gun at Chatham
Chatham, Medway
Chatham is one of the Medway towns located within the Medway unitary authority, in North Kent, in South East England.Although the dockyard has long been closed and is now being redeveloped into a business and residential community as well as a museum featuring the famous submarine, HMS Ocelot,...
after leaving , to serve with Admiral Hugh Palliser
Hugh Palliser
Admiral Sir Hugh Palliser, 1st Baronet was an officer of the British Royal Navy during the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War...
, then Governor of Newfoundland. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant aboard the Princess Royal
HMS Ossory (1682)
HMS Ossory was a 90-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched in 1682 at Portsmouth Dockyard. She was renamed HMS Prince in 1705....
on which he was concussed by a head of another sailor decapitated by a cannonball
Round shot
Round shot is a solid projectile without explosive charge, fired from a cannon. As the name implies, round shot is spherical; its diameter is slightly less than the bore of the gun it is fired from.Round shot was made in early times from dressed stone, but by the 17th century, from iron...
, based on the West Indies station on 14 November 1771, serving as first lieutenant in 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"...
during the American War of Independence. He married Anne Wallis in July 1776, and in 1779 after receiving his first command of a sloop-of-war
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...
, was promoted to Captain in 16 June 1780 in which he cruised the waters off Martinique until briefly returning to the Princess Royal with a post rank before joining (74-gun) with a command of escorting English convoys. In the years of peace before the French Revolution he was a captain of (74 guns) lying at 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...
.
Revolutionary wars service
When the French Revolution broke out, Duckworth was serving as a flag-captainFlag captain
In the Royal Navy, a flag captain was the captain of an admiral's flagship. During the 18th and 19th centuries, this ship might also have a "captain of the fleet", who would be ranked between the admiral and the "flag captain" as the ship's "First Captain", with the "flag captain" as the ship's...
to the Admiral of the West Indies squadron
West Indies Squadron
West Indies Squadron can refer to one of the following:*West Indies Squadron , a US Navy formation*West Indies Squadron , a Royal Navy formation...
, Sir George Brydges Rodney
George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney
George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, KB was a British naval officer. He is best known for his commands in the American War of Independence, particularly his victory over the French at the Battle of the Saintes in 1782...
soon after in HMS Princess Royal
HMS Princess Royal (1773)
HMS Princess Royal was a 90-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 18 October 1773 at Portsmouth. During her career she was upgraded to a 98-gun ship, by the addition of eight 12 pdr guns to her quarterdeck....
.
Fighting against France, Duckworth distinguished himself both in European waters and in the Caribbean. Initially aboard the Orion
HMS Orion (1787)
HMS Orion was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Deptford on 1 June 1787 to the design of the , by William Bately...
(74-gun) from 1793 as Commander, and later in HMS Queen
HMS Queen (1769)
HMS Queen was a three-deck 90-gun second-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 18 September 1769 at Woolwich Dockyard. She was designed by William Bateley, and was the only ship built to her draught...
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...
of Admiral 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...
in the Admiral's division in which post Duckworth saw action in three battles during latter May and 1 June 1794
Glorious First of June
The Glorious First of June [Note A] of 1794 was the first and largest fleet action of the naval conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the First French Republic during the French Revolutionary Wars...
, was one of eighteen Commanders honoured with a gold medal and ribbon and thanks of both Houses of Parliament.
A 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...
in Santo Domingo in 1796, was promoted to Rear Admiral of the White Squadron
Admiral (United Kingdom)
Admiral is a senior rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, which equates to the NATO rank code OF-9, outranked only by the rank Admiral of the Fleet...
on 14 February 1799 following the Capture of Minorca
Capture of Minorca
In November 1798 a British expedition captured the island of Minorca from Spain. A large force under General John Stuart landed on the island and forced its Spanish garrison to surrender in eight days with only some bloodshed...
for which he sailed on 19 October 1798 where he was a joint commander with Sir Charles Stewart
Charles Stewart
-UK people:* Charles Stewart , Scottish-born merchant and officeholder involved in the Somersett Case* Charles William Stewart later Charles William Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry...
, initially landing his 800 troops in the Bay of Addaya., and later using sailors and marines from his ships to augment the Army troops.
He commemorated the promotion in June 1799 when La Courageux was captured by his squadron of four ships. Sailing to take up his post as the newly appointed Commander-in-Chief at Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
and Leeward Islands
Leeward Islands
The Leeward Islands are a group of islands in the West Indies. They are the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles chain. As a group they start east of Puerto Rico and reach southward to Dominica. They are situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean...
(1800–1802), in April 1800, he intercepted a large and rich Spanish convoy from Lima
Lima
Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...
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....
consisting of two frigates (both taken as prizes) and eleven merchant vessels, with his share of the prize money
Prize money
Prize money has a distinct meaning in warfare, especially naval warfare, where it was a monetary reward paid out to the crew of a ship for capturing an enemy vessel...
estimated at £75,000. In 1801 he was appointed Commander-in-Chief at 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...
, (1801–1805).
Between 1798 and 1801 Duckworth in HMS Leviathan
HMS Leviathan (1790)
HMS Leviathan was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 9 October 1790. At the Battle of Trafalgar under Henry William Bayntun, she was near the front of the windward column led by Admiral Lord Nelson aboard his flagship, , and captured the Spanish ship San Augustin.In...
(74-gun) commanded four ships in a fleet of 109 vessels in the Ferrol expedition under joint commands of Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren with 20 ships of the line and 15-20,000 Army troops under James Murray-Pulteney
Sir James Murray-Pulteney, 7th Baronet
General Sir James Murray Pulteney, 7th Baronet PC was a Scottish soldier and British politician.-Background and education:...
, ostensibly sent to capture Belle Île
Belle Île
Belle-Île or Belle-Île-en-Mer is a French island off the coast of Brittany in the département of Morbihan, and the largest of Brittany's islands. It is 14 km from the Quiberon peninsula.Administratively, the island forms a canton: the canton of Belle-Île...
.
The fleet landed with 12,500 troops under command of Sir Edward Pellew on 25 August. However, the assault on the city was inexplicably abandoned during the expected attack on Fort St. Philip due to fears of the fleet being driven off to sea by the winds, and leaving the Army troops unsupported and with no means of retreat.
Duckworth was nominated a Knights Companion of the most Honourable Military Order of the Bath
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...
in 1801 and installed in 1803 for the capture of the islands of St.Bartholomew
Saint Barthélemy
Saint Barthélemy , officially the Territorial collectivity of Saint Barthélemy , is an overseas collectivity of France. Often abbreviated to Saint-Barth in French, or St. Barts in English, the indigenous people called the island Ouanalao...
, St.Martin
Saint Martin
Saint Martin is an island in the northeast Caribbean, approximately east of Puerto Rico. The 87 km2 island is divided roughly 60/40 between France and the Kingdom of the Netherlands ; however, the Dutch side has the larger population. It is one of the smallest sea islands divided between...
, St.Thomas, St.John and St.Croix and defeat of the Swedish and Danish forces stationed there on 20 March 1801, also receiving a pension of £1,000. Aside from the territory and prisoners taken during the operation, Duckworth's force also took: two Swedish merchantmen, a Danish ship (in ballast), three small French vessels, one privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
brig (12-guns), one captured English ship, a merchant-brig, four small schooners and a sloop.
Much of 1802 was again spent in the West Indies station with fifteen sail-of-the-line under command.
West Indies
From 1803, on the death of Lord Hugh SeymourLord Hugh Seymour
Vice-Admiral Lord Hugh Seymour was a senior British Royal Navy officer of the late 18th century who was the fifth son of Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford and became known for being both a prominent society figure and a highly competent naval officer...
, and until 1805, Duckworth assumed command as the commander-in-chief of the Jamaica station, during which time he had the unlikely honour of taking prisoner vicomte de Rochambeau
Donatien-Marie-Joseph de Vimeur, vicomte de Rochambeau
Donatien-Marie-Joseph de Vimeur, vicomte de Rochambeau was a French soldier, the son of Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau....
, son of the famous French General.
Duckworth's appointment as Vice-Admiral of the Blue Squadron
Admiral (United Kingdom)
Admiral is a senior rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, which equates to the NATO rank code OF-9, outranked only by the rank Admiral of the Fleet...
on 23 April 1804, briefly also serving as a Colonel of Marines. He succeeded in capturing numerous enemy vessels and remained 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...
until 1805.
The fortunes of Royal Navy service proved to be quite ironic for Duckworth in 1805. It was intended by the Admiralty that he should join Vice-Admiral Nelson in HMS Royal George
HMS Royal George (1788)
HMS Royal George was a 100-gun first rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched from Chatham Dockyard on 16 September 1788. She was designed by Sir Edward Hunt, and was the only other ship built to her draught...
off Cádiz, however the ship was not made ready to sail by the Plymouth Dockyards
HMNB Devonport
Her Majesty's Naval Base Devonport , is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy . HMNB Devonport is located in Devonport, in the west of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England...
, and Duckworth was directed to raise his flag in HMS Superb
HMS Superb (1798)
HMS Superb was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, and the fourth vessel to bear the name. She was launched on 19 March 1798 from Northfleet, and was eventually broken up in 1826. Superb is mostly associated with Richard Goodwin Keats who commanded her as captain from 1801 until...
in which he was directed to command the West Indies squadron involved in the blockade of Cádiz with seven sail of the line and two frigates.
Consequently although he had volunteered to serve under Nelson, he would not be present at 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 ....
, but would eventually sail in HMS Royal George during a decidedly unsuccessful period of service, see Nelson's 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 Portsmouth, and with time command the Plymouth Dockyards.
Although known for a cautious character, he abandoned the blockade and sailed in search of a French squadron reported by a frigate off Madeira
Madeira
Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...
in December on his own initiative, something he was later to be criticised for because his orders, on failure to find the French, were to join Nelson with three of the vessels, and therefore he subsequently missed 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 ....
. This turned out to be the much sought after Rochefort
Rochefort, Charente-Maritime
Rochefort is a commune in southwestern France, a port on the Charente estuary. It is a sub-prefecture of the Charente-Maritime department.-History:...
squadron that had earlier escaped a blockade by Cornwallis
William Cornwallis
Admiral the Honourable Sir William Cornwallis GCB was a Royal Navy officer who fought in the Napoleonic Wars. He was the brother of Charles Cornwallis, the 1st Marquess Cornwallis, governor-general of India...
. Although he had found the squadron of Contre-Admiral Jean-Baptiste Willaumez then sought by Rear-Admiral Sir Richard Strachan, Duckworth was unable to engage the French on the claim of his ships being scattered, and, short on water, made the decision to continue to West Indies.
There, at Saint Kitts
Saint Kitts
Saint Kitts Saint Kitts Saint Kitts (also known more formally as Saint Christopher Island (Saint-Christophe in French) is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean...
he was joined by a pair of 74 gun ships commanded by Sir Alexander Cochrane
Alexander Cochrane
Admiral Sir Alexander Forrester Inglis Cochrane GCB RN was a senior Royal Navy commander during the Napoleonic Wars.-Naval career:...
, and later a brig Kingfisher commanded by Nathaniel Day Cochrane
Nathaniel Day Cochrane
Nathaniel Day Cochrane was a British naval officer. He was the son of Hon. John Cochrane, third son of Thomas Cochrane, 8th Earl of Dundonald...
which brought news of French at San Domingo that was the French squadron under the command of Vice-Admiral Corentin Urbain Leissègues
Corentin Urbain Leissègues
Corentin Urbain de Leissegues was a French admiral of the Napoleonic wars, notably protagonist of the Battle of San Domingo.- Biography :...
which escaped from 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...
and sought to reinforce the French forces at San Domingo with about 1,000 troops. Arriving at San Domingo on 6 February 1806, Duckworth found the French squadron with its transports anchored in the Occa bay. The French commander immediately hurried to sea, forming a line
Line of battle
In naval warfare, the line of battle is a tactic in which the ships of the fleet form a line end to end. A primitive form had been used by the Portuguese under Vasco Da Gama in 1502 near Malabar against a Muslim fleet.,Maarten Tromp used it in the Action of 18 September 1639 while its first use in...
as they went. Duckworth gave signal to form two columns
Column (formation)
A military column is a formation of soldiers marching together in one or more files in which the file is significantly longer than the width of ranks in the formation...
of four and three ships of the line.
Battle of San Domingo
The Battle of San Domingo, in 1806, was a naval battle of the Napoleonic Wars. French and British squadrons of ships of the line met off the southern coast of the French-occupied Spanish Colony of Santo Domingo in the Caribbean...
, Duckworth's squadron defeated the squadron of French when
Duckworth at once made the signal to attack and "with a portrait of Nelson suspended from the mizzen stay of the Superb with the band playing 'God Save the King' and 'Nelson of the Nile', bore down on the leading French ship L'Alexandre of 84 guns and engaged her at close quarters. After a severe action of two hours, two of the French ships were driven ashore and burnt with three others captured. Only the French frigates escaped.Despite this, it is thought that Duckworth used his own ship cautiously, and the credit for the victory was due more to the initiative of the individual British captains. Duckworth nearly grounded his own ship as he attempted to board L'Impérial.
His victory over the French Admiral Leissègues off the coast of Hispaniola
Hispaniola
Hispaniola is a major island in the Caribbean, containing the two sovereign states of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The island is located between the islands of Cuba to the west and Puerto Rico to the east, within the hurricane belt...
on the 6 February together with Admiral Alexander Cochrane's squadron was the highlight of his Royal Navy service career, which was a fatal blow to French strategy in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
region, and played a major part in Napoleon's eventual sale of Louisiana
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of America of of France's claim to the territory of Louisiana in 1803. The U.S...
, and withdrawal from the Caribbean. It was judged sufficiently important to have the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
guns.
A promotion to Vice-Admiral of the White in April 1806 followed, along with the presentation of a Sword of Honour by the grateful Jamaica House of Assembly, but after he returned to England again, he was called to face court-martial
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
charges brought by the Captain James Athol Wood
James Athol Wood
Sir James Athol Wood , British rear-admiral. Younger brother of Sir Sir Mark Wood, 1st Baronet. After serving on merchant ships for the East India Company from a young age, he entered the Royal Navy in 1774. Wood served in the navy for almost his whole life, and took part in several of the wars...
of HMS Acasta claiming transgression of the 18th Article of War which was dropped on the 7 June 1805. On his return to England, Duckworth was granted a substantial pension of £1,000 from the House of Commons, and freedom of the city
Freedom of the City
Freedom of the City is an honour bestowed by some municipalities in Australia, Canada, Ireland, France, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, Gibraltar and Rhodesia to esteemed members of its community and to organisations to be honoured, often for service to the community;...
of London, while his naval feats were acknowledged with several honours, including the Sword of Honour
Sword of Honour
The Sword of Honour trilogy by Evelyn Waugh is his look at the Second World War. It consists of three novels, Men at Arms , Officers and Gentlemen and Unconditional Surrender , which loosely parallel his wartime experiences...
by the corporation 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...
. A great dinner was also held in his honour as the Mansion House
Mansion House, London
Mansion House is the official residence of the Lord Mayor of the City of London in London, England. It is used for some of the City of London's official functions, including an annual dinner, hosted by the Lord Mayor, at which the Chancellor of the Exchequer customarily gives a speech – his...
.
Santo Domingo was the last significant fleet action
Fleet action
A fleet action is a naval engagement involving combat between forces that are larger than a squadron on either of the opposing sides. Fleet action is defined by combat and not just manoeuvring of the naval forces strategically, operationally or tactically without engaging. Most famous large naval...
of the Napoleonic Wars which, despite negative claims made about his personality, displayed Duckworth's understanding of the role of naval strategy
Naval strategy
Naval strategy is the planning and conduct of war at sea, the naval equivalent of military strategy on land.Naval strategy, and the related concept of maritime strategy, concerns the overall strategy for achieving victory at sea, including the planning and conduct of campaigns, the movement and...
in the overall war by securing for Britain mastery of the sea, and thus having sea-oriented mentality having placed a British fleet in the right strategic position. Duckworth also displayed the willingness of accept changing tactics employed by Nelson, and maintained the superiority of British naval gunnery in battle.
Mediterranean
Mediterranean Fleet
Several countries have or have had a Mediterranean Fleet in their navy. See:* Mediterranean Fleet * French Mediterranean Fleet* Mediterranean Squadron * United States Sixth Fleet...
in 1805 primarily on consideration by the Admiralty of having a senior officer in the forthcoming operations with the Russian Navy. Sailing in the 100-gun first-rate HMS Royal George
HMS Royal George (1788)
HMS Royal George was a 100-gun first rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched from Chatham Dockyard on 16 September 1788. She was designed by Sir Edward Hunt, and was the only other ship built to her draught...
with eight ships of the line and four smaller vessels, he arrived at the island of Tenedos with orders to take possession of the Ottoman fleet at Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, thus supporting Dmitry Senyavin
Dmitry Senyavin
Dmitry Nikolayevich Senyavin or Seniavin was a Russian admiral who ranks among the greatest seamen of the Napoleonic Wars.- Service under Ushakov :...
's Imperial Russian Navy
Imperial Russian Navy
The Imperial Russian Navy refers to the Tsarist fleets prior to the February Revolution.-First Romanovs:Under Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich, construction of the first three-masted ship, actually built within Russia, was completed in 1636. It was built in Balakhna by Danish shipbuilders from Holstein...
in the Dardanelles Operation
Dardanelles Operation
The Dardanelles Operation was the Royal Navy's unsuccessful attempt to impose British demands on the Ottoman Empire as part of the Anglo-Turkish War ....
. Accompanying him were some of the ablest Royal Navy officers such as Sydney Smith, Dacres and Blackwood but he was in doubt of having the capability to breach the shore batteries and reach the anchored Ottoman fleet. Aware of Turkish efforts to reinforce the shore artillery, he nevertheless took no action until 11 February 1807 and spent some time in the strait waiting for a favourable wind. In the evening of the same day HMS Ajax
HMS Ajax (1798)
HMS Ajax was an Ajax class 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She was built by John Randall & Co of Rotherhithe and launched on the Thames on 3 March 1798...
(Captain Blackwood) was lost to accidental fire on-board at anchor off Tenedos, although most of the crew and captain were saved and redistributed among the fleet. Finally on 19 February at Action at Point Pisquies (Nagara Burun), a part of the British force encountered the Ottoman fleet which engaged first, but fourteen of its vessels and one gunboat were forced ashore and burnt by the part of the British fleet under command of Rear-Admiral Sir Sydney Smith taking one corvette
Corvette
A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or fast attack craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role...
and one gunboat
Gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...
, and the flags of the Turkish Vice-Admiral and Captain Pasha in the process, with adjacent fortification
Fortification
Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...
s destroyed by landing parties from HMS Thunderer, HMS Pompée, and HMS Repulse, while its 31 guns were spiked by the marines
Royal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
. On the 20 February the British squadron under Duckworth reached the Ottoman capital, but had to engage in fruitless negotiations with the Sultan's representatives advised by Napoleon's ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
Sébastiani, by the accompanying British ambassador Mr.Arbuthnot
Charles Arbuthnot
Charles Arbuthnot was a British diplomat and Tory politician. He was Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire between 1804 and 1807 and held a number of political offices. He was a good friend of the Duke of Wellington...
and Russian plenipotentiary Andrey Italinski due to the secret instructions that were issued as part of his orders for the mission, and therefore losing more time as the Turks played for time to complete their shore batteries in the hope of trapping the British squadron.
Smith was joined a week later by Duckworth, who observed the four bays of the Dardanelles lined with five hundred cannon and one hundred mortars as his ships passed towards Constantinople. There he found the rest of the Turkish fleet of twelve ships of the line and nine frigates, all apparently ready for action in the Constantinople harbour. Exasperated by Turkish intransigence, and not having a significant force to land on the shore, Duckworth decided to withdraw on 1 March after declining to take Smith's advice to bombard the Turkish Arsenal and gunpowder manufacturing works. The British fleet was subjected to shore artillery fire all the way to the open sea, and sustaining casualties and damage to ships from 26-inch calibre (650 mm) guns firing 300-800 marble pound shot.
Though blamed for indecisiveness, notably by the First Lord of the Admiralty
Thomas Grenville
Thomas Grenville PC was a British politician and bibliophile.-Background and education:Grenville was the second son of Prime Minister George Grenville and Elizabeth, daughter of Sir William Wyndham, 3rd Baronet...
, Duckworth's words were to ring true a century later when he said in his report on the operation:
After departure from Constantinople, as an Admiral of the Blue
I must, as officer, declare to be my decided opinion that, without the cooperation of a body of land forces, it would be a wanton sacrifice of the squadrons to attempt to force the passage
Admiral (United Kingdom)
Admiral is a senior rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, which equates to the NATO rank code OF-9, outranked only by the rank Admiral of the Fleet...
he commanded the squadron protecting transports of the Alexandria expedition of 1807, but that was forced to withdraw after five months due to lack of supplies. Duckworth summed up this expedition, in reflection on the service of the year by commenting that
Soon after he married again on 14 May 1808 to Susannah Catherine Buller, a daughter of William Buller, the Bishop of Exeter
Instead of acting vigorously in either one or the other direction, our cabinet comes to the miserable determination of sending five or six men-of-war, without soldiers, to the Dardanelles, and 5000 soldiers, without a fleet, to Alexandria.
Bishop of Exeter
The Bishop of Exeter is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. The incumbent usually signs his name as Exon or incorporates this in his signature....
.
The Channel Fleet
Duckworth's career however did not suffer greatly, and in 1808 and 1810 he went on to sail in HMS San JosefHMS San Josef
HMS San Josef was a 114-gun first rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She was captured from the Spanish Navy at the Battle of Cape St Vincent on 14 February 1797...
and HMS Hibernia
HMS Hibernia (1804)
HMS Hibernia was a 110-gun first rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She was launched at Plymouth dockyard on 17 November 1804, and was the only ship built to her draught, designed by Sir John Henslow....
as commander of 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...
, in some of the largest first-rate
First-rate
First rate was the designation used by the Royal Navy for its largest ships of the line. While the size and establishment of guns and men changed over the 250 years that the rating system held sway, from the early years of the eighteenth century the first rates comprised those ships mounting 100...
s in the Royal Navy. One of the least pleasant duties in his life was participation in the court-martial of Admiral Lord Gambier in the matter of the Basque Roads
Battle of the Basque Roads
The Battle of the Basque Roads, also Battle of Aix Roads was a naval battle during the Napoleonic Wars off the Island of Aix...
.
Newfoundland and War of 1812
Probably because he was thought of as irresolute and unimaginative, on 26 March 1810 Duckworth was appointed Governor of Newfoundland and Commander-in-ChiefCommander-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...
of the Canadian squadron's three frigates and eight smaller vessels. Although this was a minor command in a remote station spanning from Davis Strait
Davis Strait
Davis Strait is a northern arm of the Labrador Sea. It lies between mid-western Greenland and Nunavut, Canada's Baffin Island. The strait was named for the English explorer John Davis , who explored the area while seeking a Northwest Passage....
to the Gulf of St Lawrence, he also received a promotion to Admiral of the Blue Squadron
Admiral (United Kingdom)
Admiral is a senior rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, which equates to the NATO rank code OF-9, outranked only by the rank Admiral of the Fleet...
, still commanding the Antelope.
While serving as Governor he was attacked for his arbitrary powers over the territory, and retaliated against the pamphleteer
Pamphleteer
A pamphleteer is a historical term for someone who creates or distributes pamphlets. Pamphlets were used to broadcast the writer's opinions on an issue, for example, in order to get people to vote for their favorite politician or to articulate a particular political ideology.A famous pamphleteer...
by disallowing his reappointment as surgeon of the local militia unit, the Loyal Volunteers of St John, which Duckworth renamed the St John’s Volunteer Rangers, and enlarged to 500 officers and militiamen for the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
with the United States.
Duckworth also took an interest in bettering relationship with the local Beothuk
Beothuk
The Beothuk were one of the aboriginal peoples in Canada. They lived on the island of Newfoundland at the time of European contact in the 15th and 16th centuries...
Indians, and sponsored Lieutenant David Buchan's expedition up the Exploits River
Exploits River
The Exploits River is a Canadian river in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It flows through the Exploits Valley in the central part of the island of Newfoundland....
in 1810 to explore the region of the Beothuk settlements.
As the Governor and station naval commander, Duckworth suddenly found himself again in the midst of a war precisely over those issues which United States thought they were fighting, such as "Free Trade and Sailor's Rights." His orders and instructions to captains under his command were therefore directly concerned with fishing rights of US vessels on the Grand Banks
Grand Banks
The Grand Banks of Newfoundland are a group of underwater plateaus southeast of Newfoundland on the North American continental shelf. These areas are relatively shallow, ranging from in depth. The cold Labrador Current mixes with the warm waters of the Gulf Stream here.The mixing of these waters...
, the prohibition of United States trade with British colonials, the searching of ships under US flag for contraband
Contraband
The word contraband, reported in English since 1529, from Medieval French contrebande "a smuggling," denotes any item which, relating to its nature, is illegal to be possessed or sold....
, and the impressment
Impressment
Impressment, colloquially, "the Press", was the act of taking men into a navy by force and without notice. It was used by the Royal Navy, beginning in 1664 and during the 18th and early 19th centuries, in wartime, as a means of crewing warships, although legal sanction for the practice goes back to...
of seamen for service on British vessels. Upon his return to Portsmouth on 28 November in HMS Antelope (50 guns) after escorting transports from Newfoundland he witnessed somewhat of a personal omen, as on that same day HMS Victory was being paid off.
Semi-retirement
On 2 December 1812, soon after arriving in Devon, resigned as Governor after being offered a parliamentary seat for New RomneyNew Romney (UK Parliament constituency)
New Romney was a parliamentary constituency in Kent, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1371 until 1832, when it was abolished by the Great Reform Act....
on the coast of Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. At about this time he found out that his oldest son George Henry was killed in action
Killed in action
Killed in action is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own forces at the hands of hostile forces. The United States Department of Defense, for example, says that those declared KIA need not have fired their weapons but have been killed due to...
while serving in the rank of a Colonel with the Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
in Spain
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
at the Battle of Albuera
Battle of Albuera
The Battle of Albuera was an indecisive battle during the Peninsular War. A mixed British, Spanish and Portuguese corps engaged elements of the French Armée du Midi at the small Spanish village of Albuera, about 20 kilometres south of the frontier fortress-town of Badajoz, Spain.From...
at the head of 48th (Northamptonshire) Regiment of Foot
48th (Northamptonshire) Regiment of Foot
-History:The regiment was first raised in 1741 as James Cholmondeley's Regiment of Foot in Norwich, England during the War of Austrian Succession. The regiment first saw action at the Battles of Falkirk and Culloden in 1745-1746, campaigning against the Young Pretender. In 1748, it was renumbered...
. He was created a baronet
Baronet
A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...
on 2 November 1813, adopting a motto
Motto
A motto is a phrase meant to formally summarize the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used. The local language is usual in the mottoes of governments...
Disciplina, fide, perseverantia (Discipline, fidelity, perseverance), and in January 1815 was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth
Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth
The Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth was a senior commander of the Royal Navy for hundreds of years. Plymouth Command was a name given to the units, establishments, and staff operating under the admiral's command. In the nineteenth century the holder of the office was known as Commander-in-Chief,...
45 miles from his home; a post considered one of semi-retirement by his successor, Lord Exmouth
Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth
Admiral Sir Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth, GCB was a British naval officer. He fought during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary, and the Napoleonic Wars...
. However, on 26 June that year it became a centre of attention due to the visit by HMS Bellerophon bearing Napoleon to his final exile, with Duckworth being the last senior British officer to speak with him on board HMS Northumberland.
Duckworth died at his post on the base in 1817 at 1 o'clock after several months of illness; a fitting end to a long and distinguished service with the Royal Navy. being
buried on the 9 September at the Topsham
Topsham, Devon
Topsham is a suburb of Exeter in the county of Devon, England, on the east side of the River Exe, immediately north of its confluence with the River Clyst and the former's estuary, between Exeter and Exmouth. Although village-sized, with a current population of around 5,023, it was designated a...
church where he was laid to rest in the family vault, with his coffin covered with crimson velvet
Velvet
Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed,with a short dense pile, giving it a distinctive feel.The word 'velvety' is used as an adjective to mean -"smooth like velvet".-Composition:...
studded with 2,500 silvered nails to resemble a ship's planking.
Memorials
His property, and half of the golf course, now occupied by the Exeter Golf and Country Club, was the largest US Navy Supply Depot in the south of England during the Second World War, with some later retained for use by a UK MOD Naval Store.
During the Second World War one Royal Navy warship, the destroyer HMS Duckworth
HMS Duckworth (K351)
-Service:HMS Duckworth was a Captain class frigate of the Royal Navy. Built in Massachusetts USA, she was launched on 1 May 1943 as USS Gary in honor of Thomas J. Gary, a Texan who died in the Attack on Pearl Harbor. Gary was transferred to the Royal Navy under Lend-Lease on 4 August 1943...
was named after the Admiral.
In England, The Duckworth House is located in Kent St, Portsmouth PO1 to be found not far from the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard complex.
Duckworth Street in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
is named in his honour.
See also
- Governors of Newfoundland
- List of people of Newfoundland and Labrador
Recommended reading
- Dr Leslie Southwick, Journal of the Arms and Armour Society, Vol. XI pp47–55, Vol. XII pp223–284 and 291-311 and Vol XIII pp173–220. (Swords of Honour)
- William H. Whiteley, Duckworth's Newfoundland: The island in the early nineteenth century, H. Cuff Publications, St. John’s, Newfoundland, 1985
External links
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