John Tremayne Rodd
Encyclopedia
Vice-Admiral Sir John Tremayne Rodd, KCB
(c. 1769 – 4 October 1838) was an officer of the Royal Navy
noted for his services during the Napoleonic Wars
. Rodd served in a number of ships, including under Admiral Sir Charles Cotton
and during the Battle of the Basque Roads
. In 1809, he married the daughter of James Rennell
and in 1825 was promoted to rear-admiral, later advancing to vice-admiral and knighted. He died in 1838.
he served as a commander in the sloop
s and . In the former he participated in the capture of the French privateer Le Poisson Volant in the West Indies on 4 August 1796, and in the latter he captured the Dutch privateer
Courier, for which was promoted to post captain on 7 September 1798. After the Peace of Amiens in 1803, Rodd briefly took command of the first rate ship of the line
under Admiral Sir Charles Cotton
, but by 1805 had moved to the veteran frigate
. In Indefatigable, Rodd served as the main scout for the British squadron blockading Brest, France
. In 1805 he sighted the French fleet under Admiral Ganteaume
attempting to escape and warned the Offshore Squadron, who drove the French back into Brest in a brief engagement. In 1806, Rodd was working in conjunction with Captain Lord Cochrane
in and on 15 July Indefatigable was the launch point for a fleet of small boats that attacked a French convoy in the Gironde
.
In early 1809, Rodd gained information concerning the departure of the French frigate Niémen from Brest, which led to her capture in early April. The same month, Indefatigable was heavily engaged at the Battle of Basque Roads, in which the French fleet in Brest was driven onto shoals by fireships launched by Cochrane who then attacked. Cochrane was inadequately supported by Admiral Lord Gambier and as a result only five French ships were destroyed instead of the entire fleet. Throughout the battle Rodd was heavily engaged with superior enemy forces, closely supporting Cochrane's attack. He left Indefatigable soon afterwards. In 1809, Rodd married Jane Rennell, daughter of Major James Rennell
, a noted geographer who often assisted her father in his work. In 1814, Rodd moved to the ship of the line but was placed in reserve at the end of the war in the same year.
In 1825, Rodd was promoted to be a Rear-Admiral of the Red, and on 20 February 1832 he was knighted as a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath. He died at Tunbridge Wells in October 1838, survived by his wife and recently promoted to vice-admiral.
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. 1769 – 4 October 1838) 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...
noted for his services during the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
. Rodd served in a number of ships, including under Admiral Sir Charles Cotton
Sir Charles Cotton, 5th Baronet
Sir Charles Cotton, 5th Baronet was a senior Royal Navy officer of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars whose service continued until his death in command of the Channel Fleet from apoplexy in 1812. During his service, Cotton saw action off the Eastern Seaboard of the Thirteen Colonies and...
and during the Battle 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...
. In 1809, he married the daughter of James Rennell
James Rennell
Major James Rennell, FRS was an English geographer, historian and a pioneer of oceanography.-Early life:Rennell was born near Chudleigh in Devon...
and in 1825 was promoted to rear-admiral, later advancing to vice-admiral and knighted. He died in 1838.
Life
Little is known of Rodd's early life, but during the French Revolutionary WarsFrench 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...
he served as a commander in the sloop
Sloop
A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....
s and . In the former he participated in the capture of the French privateer Le Poisson Volant in the West Indies on 4 August 1796, and in the latter he captured the Dutch 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...
Courier, for which was promoted to post captain on 7 September 1798. After the Peace of Amiens in 1803, Rodd briefly took command of the first rate 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...
under Admiral Sir Charles Cotton
Sir Charles Cotton, 5th Baronet
Sir Charles Cotton, 5th Baronet was a senior Royal Navy officer of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars whose service continued until his death in command of the Channel Fleet from apoplexy in 1812. During his service, Cotton saw action off the Eastern Seaboard of the Thirteen Colonies and...
, but by 1805 had moved to the veteran 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"...
. In Indefatigable, Rodd served as the main scout for the British squadron blockading Brest, France
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...
. In 1805 he sighted the French fleet under Admiral Ganteaume
Honoré Joseph Antoine Ganteaume
Count Honoré Joseph Antoine Ganteaume was a French admiral.Ganteaume was born to a family of merchant sailors, and sailed on a dozen commercial cruises in his youth...
attempting to escape and warned the Offshore Squadron, who drove the French back into Brest in a brief engagement. In 1806, Rodd was working in conjunction with Captain Lord Cochrane
Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald
Admiral Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald, 1st Marquess of Maranhão, GCB, ODM , styled Lord Cochrane between 1778 and 1831, was a senior British naval flag officer and radical politician....
in and on 15 July Indefatigable was the launch point for a fleet of small boats that attacked a French convoy in the Gironde
Gironde
For the Revolutionary party, see Girondists.Gironde is a common name for the Gironde estuary, where the mouths of the Garonne and Dordogne rivers merge, and for a department in the Aquitaine region situated in southwest France.-History:...
.
In early 1809, Rodd gained information concerning the departure of the French frigate Niémen from Brest, which led to her capture in early April. The same month, Indefatigable was heavily engaged at the Battle of Basque Roads, in which the French fleet in Brest was driven onto shoals by fireships launched by Cochrane who then attacked. Cochrane was inadequately supported by Admiral Lord Gambier and as a result only five French ships were destroyed instead of the entire fleet. Throughout the battle Rodd was heavily engaged with superior enemy forces, closely supporting Cochrane's attack. He left Indefatigable soon afterwards. In 1809, Rodd married Jane Rennell, daughter of Major James Rennell
James Rennell
Major James Rennell, FRS was an English geographer, historian and a pioneer of oceanography.-Early life:Rennell was born near Chudleigh in Devon...
, a noted geographer who often assisted her father in his work. In 1814, Rodd moved to the ship of the line but was placed in reserve at the end of the war in the same year.
In 1825, Rodd was promoted to be a Rear-Admiral of the Red, and on 20 February 1832 he was knighted as a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath. He died at Tunbridge Wells in October 1838, survived by his wife and recently promoted to vice-admiral.