Hugh Pigot (Royal Navy officer, born 1722)

Hugh Pigot
Hugh Pigot
Born	28 May 1722
Died	15 December 1792 (aged 70); Bristol, England
Allegiance	Kingdom of Great Britain
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1734–1783
Rank	Admiral of the White
Commands held	HMS Vulcan; HMS Centaur; HMS Ludlow Castle; HMS York; HMS Royal William; HMS Triumph; Leeward Islands Station;
Battles/wars	Seven Years' War; • Siege of Louisburg; • Capture of Quebec; American Revolutionary War;
Relations	George Pigot (brother); Robert Pigot (brother); Henry Pigot (son); Hugh Pigot (son); Hugh Pigot (nephew);

Member of Parliament

.

Naval career

Early career

Hugh Pigot was the third son of Richard Pigot of Westminster, by his wife Frances, daughter of Peter Goode, a

Governor of Madras, and Lieutenant-General Sir Robert Pigot, who commanded the left flank of the British forces at the Battle of Bunker Hill.^[2]

Pigot entered the navy in around 1735, serving for four years as a captain's servant and able seaman aboard the Captain under Captain Alexander Geddes on the home station, and then Seaford under Captain Savage Mostyn. He then served for another two years as a midshipman aboard the Seaford, Cumberland, and Russell. On 5 November 1741 he passed his examination, and on 9 February 1741/42 (OS) was promoted to lieutenant, and on 2 August was appointed to the Romney under Captain Thomas Grenville, in the Mediterranean.^[3]

In March 1744 he followed Grenville into

the Groyne.^[4]

He saw no further service at sea following the conclusion of the war in 1763, but in 1769 was appointed colonel of the second (or Portsmouth) division of Marines; shortly before he had been chosen as representative in parliament for the borough of

Sir George Rodney.) Pigot was a close friend of the Prime Minister, the Duke of Grafton, and this connection was cemented when Grafton married Elizabeth Wrottesley, sister of Pigot's second wife, Frances. Pigot represented Penryn until 1774, but did not contest the general election that year.^[5]

In January 1771

the Falkland Islands. When the crisis was peaceably settled his ship was put out of commission, and Pigot held no subsequent commission as a captain.^[4]

Flag rank

He was promoted to

vice-admiral on 5 February 1776.^[7] In 1778, following the death of his brother, Lord George Pigot, he was elected to fill his seat in Bridgnorth.^[5]

By this time he was a consistent opponent of

Whig leader Charles James Fox), and seems to have been denied commands for political reasons. When Sheridan attacked the government in the Commons in February 1782 for driving the most distinguished naval commanders out of the service, it was Pigot who rose in answer to the invitation to give instances of the First Lord of the Admiralty's conduct towards officers who were his political opponents.^[5]^[8]

With the fall of the government the following month,[5] on 30 March 1782 Pigot was appointed to the Board of Admiralty in the Second Rockingham ministry,^[5]^[9] and on 24 April 1782 was promoted to full admiral^[10] and appointed to supersede Sir George Rodney as commander-in-chief in the Leeward Islands Station.^[11] Pigot hoisted his flag on board the 50-gun Jupiter, and sailed from Plymouth^[4] on 18 May,^[3] only a day before the arrival of the frigate bringing the news of the defeat of the French fleet under Comte de Grasse at the Battle of the Saintes on 12 April.^[4] Although Rodney was neither in favour with the new ministry, nor a particularly popular commander, it was considered politic to allow him to remain in command and a message was sent after Pigot to recall him.^[4] However, it failed to arrive before he had assumed command at Jamaica on 13 July.^[3] His appointment was allowed to proceed, and Rodney received an apology and was made a Baron. Pigot, having hoisted his flag on board the 98-gun Formidable, then sailed, as was customary at that time, to America during the hurricane months.^[4]

Pigot had little experience as a captain, with none as an admiral. His second-in-command,

First Naval Lord from January 1783 to December 1783^[12] and then retired from the Navy on 30 December 1783,^[4] and was defeated at Bridgnorth at the general election of 1784.^[5] Pigot lived in the Ranger's Lodge at Wychwood Forest in Oxfordshire exploiting the forest by demanding a firewood allowance from the keepers.^[13]

Pigot died at Bristol on 15 December 1792.[3]

Personal life

Pigot was twice married, firstly c.1749, to Elizabeth le Neve,

Hugh Pigot, RN, (1769–1797),^[3] and two daughters.^[5] He inherited a one-third share of the Pigot Diamond from his older brother, which remained in the family until sold in a lottery in 1801.^[14]

References

^ Marshall, P. J. (2004). "Pigot, George, Baron Pigot (1719–1777)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
^ "Brig. Gen. Robert Pigot and the Battle of Bunker Hill". derekbeck.com. 17 June 2011. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Laughton, John Knox (1896). "Pigot, Hugh (1721?-1792)" . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 45. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Charnock, John (1797). Biographia navalis; or, Impartial memoirs of the lives ... of officers of the navy of Great Britain from ... 1660. Vol. V. London: R. Faulder. pp. 497–499.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Namier, Lewis; Brooke, John, eds. (1964). "Pigot, Hugh (1722-92), of Wichwood Forest, Oxon.". The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1754-1790. Boydell & Brewer. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
^ "No. 11549". The London Gazette. 1 April 1775. p. 1.
^ "No. 11637". The London Gazette. 3 February 1776. p. 2.
^ Namier, Lewis (1961). The Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III (2nd ed.). London: St Martin's Press. p. 32.
^ "Sainty, JC, Lord High Admiral and Commissioners of the Admiralty 1660-1870, Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 4: Admiralty Officials 1660-1870 (1975), pp. 18-31". Archived from the original on 7 October 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2009.
^ "No. 12290". The London Gazette. 23 April 1782. p. 1.
^ Haydn, Joseph (13 June 2008). The Book of Dignities: Containing Lists of the Official Personages of the British Empire ... from the Earliest Periods to the Present Time ... Together with the Sovereigns and Rulers of Europe, from the Foundation of Their Respective States; the Peerage of England and Great Britain Original 1851 Digitized by the University of Michigan. Longmans, Brown, Green, and Longmans. p. 279.
^ Rodger, p. 69
^ "Wychwood and Cornbury" (PDF). Victoria County History. p. 7. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
^ Ogden, Jack (April 2009). "England's largest diamond". Gems and Jewellery History. 18 (2).

Sources

Concise Dictionary of National Biography. 1930.
Rodger, N.A.M. (1979). The Admiralty. Offices of State. Lavenham: T. Dalton Ltd.
ISBN 0900963948
.

Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by George Brydges Rodney Francis Basset	Member of Parliament for Penryn 1768–1774 With: Francis Basset 1768–1769 William Lemon 1770–1774	Succeeded by William Chaytor
Preceded by Thomas Whitmore The Lord Pigot	Member of Parliament for Bridgnorth 1778–1784 With: Thomas Whitmore	Succeeded by Isaac Hawkins Browne
Military offices
Preceded by Sir George Brydges Rodney	Commander-in-Chief, Leeward Islands Station 1782–1783	Succeeded by Sir Richard Hughes
Preceded by Sir Robert Harland	First Naval Lord January 1783–December 1783	Succeeded by John Leveson-Gower

[1] Marshall, P. J. (2004). "Pigot, George, Baron Pigot (1719–1777)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 30 December 2013.

[2] "Brig. Gen. Robert Pigot and the Battle of Bunker Hill". derekbeck.com. 17 June 2011. Retrieved 8 April 2014.

[DNB-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Laughton, John Knox (1896). "Pigot, Hugh (1721?-1792)" . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 45. London: Smith, Elder & Co.

[BioNav-4] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Charnock, John (1797). Biographia navalis; or, Impartial memoirs of the lives ... of officers of the navy of Great Britain from ... 1660. Vol. V. London: R. Faulder. pp. 497–499.

[ParlOnline-5] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Namier, Lewis; Brooke, John, eds. (1964). "Pigot, Hugh (1722-92), of Wichwood Forest, Oxon.". The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1754-1790. Boydell & Brewer. Retrieved 8 April 2014.

[6] "No. 11549". The London Gazette. 1 April 1775. p. 1.

[7] "No. 11637". The London Gazette. 3 February 1776. p. 2.

[8] Namier, Lewis (1961). The Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III (2nd ed.). London: St Martin's Press. p. 32.

[9] "Sainty, JC, Lord High Admiral and Commissioners of the Admiralty 1660-1870, Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 4: Admiralty Officials 1660-1870 (1975), pp. 18-31". Archived from the original on 7 October 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2009.

[10] "No. 12290". The London Gazette. 23 April 1782. p. 1.

[11] Haydn, Joseph (13 June 2008). The Book of Dignities: Containing Lists of the Official Personages of the British Empire ... from the Earliest Periods to the Present Time ... Together with the Sovereigns and Rulers of Europe, from the Foundation of Their Respective States; the Peerage of England and Great Britain Original 1851 Digitized by the University of Michigan. Longmans, Brown, Green, and Longmans. p. 279.

[12] Rodger, p. 69

[13] "Wychwood and Cornbury" (PDF). Victoria County History. p. 7. Retrieved 6 August 2017.

[ELD-14] Ogden, Jack (April 2009). "England's largest diamond". Gems and Jewellery History. 18 (2).

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First Sea Lords of the Royal Navy
Senior Naval Lords (1689–1771)	Arthur Herbert Sir John Chicheley Edward Russell Henry Priestman Earl of Orford Sir George Rooke Sir John Leake Sir George Byng Sir John Leake Sir George Byng Matthew Aylmer Sir George Byng Sir John Jennings Sir John Norris Sir Charles Wager Lord Archibald Hamilton Lord Harry Powlett Lord Archibald Hamilton Lord Vere Beauclerk Lord Anson Sir William Rowley Edward Boscawen Sir William Rowley Edward Boscawen John Forbes Earl Howe Sir Charles Saunders Augustus Keppel Sir Peircy Brett Sir Francis Holburne
First Naval Lords (1771–1904)	Augustus Hervey Sir Hugh Palliser Robert Man George Darby Sir Robert Harland Sir Hugh Pigot John Leveson-Gower Lord Hood Sir Charles Middleton James Gambier Sir Thomas Troubridge James Gambier John Markham James Gambier Sir Richard Bickerton William Domett Sir Joseph Yorke Sir Graham Moore Sir William Johnstone Hope Sir George Cockburn Sir Thomas Hardy The Hon. George Dundas Charles Adam Sir George Cockburn Sir Charles Adam Sir George Cockburn Sir William Parker Sir Charles Adam Sir James Dundas The Hon. Maurice Berkeley Hyde Parker The Hon. Maurice Berkeley The Hon. Sir Richard Dundas William Martin The Hon. Sir Richard Dundas The Hon. Sir Frederick Grey Sir Alexander Milne Sir Sydney Dacres Sir Alexander Milne Sir Hastings Yelverton Sir George Wellesley Sir Astley Key Sir Arthur Hood Lord John Hay Sir Arthur Hood Sir Richard Hamilton Sir Anthony Hoskins Sir Frederick Richards Lord Walter Kerr
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