John Bazely

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John Bazely
BornMarch 1740
Battle of Hyères

George Rodney with some success. He later served in the Channel Fleet under Lord Howe and fought at the Glorious First of June, although his career stagnated during the French Revolutionary Wars and he was unemployed for the final decade of his life, despite his being "regarded with respect and gratitude by his compatriots at large".[1]

Early career

Bazely was born in

American War of Independence, was given his own command: the small cutter HMS Alert.[2]

American War of Independence

Bazely's first action was off

post captain in April 1778 and taking command of the new second-rate HMS Formidable as flag captain to Admiral Sir Hugh Palliser.[3]

Formidable was in action soon after Bazely took command, at the First Battle of Ushant. Bazely was heavily engaged, and Formidable suffered 16 killed and 49 wounded in the battle. The aftermath of the engagement was characterised by bad feelings between Palliser and Augustus Keppel, who each blamed the other for the failure to defeat the French squadron. Both demanded courts-martial to determine their measure of responsibility, and Bazely notoriously failed to back up Palliser when called to give evidence at Keppel's trial. As a result, Bazely was hastily given command of the frigate HMS Pegasus in order that he should not be available to appear at Palliser's court martial. Both admirals were controversially acquitted of any wrongdoing, but the enmity bred from this dispute lasted years.

Pegasus was attached to

Battle of Cape St Vincent eight days later, where a Spanish attempt to intercept the British fleet was destroyed.[4] Pegasus accompanied Rodney to Gibraltar and was subsequently involved in the inconclusive Battle of Martinique in the West Indies. Bazely carried the dispatches of the battle back to Britain and was soon given command of HMS Apollo and then HMS Amphion.[5]

In Amphion, Bazely served off the Eastern Seaboard of North America, supporting British troops at the Battle of Groton Heights and overseeing the burning of New London, Connecticut and the military stores within the town. At the end of the war, Bazely remained in service, commanding HMS Alfred at Chatham during the ten years of peace.[5]

French Revolutionary Wars

Bazely returned to active service in 1793 at the outbreak of the

French Revolutionary War. Operating with the Channel Fleet under Lord Howe, Alfred was engaged in the Atlantic campaign of May 1794 and fought at the Glorious First of June. For unknown reasons, Bazely failed to follow Lord Howe's battle plans and was thus not heavily engaged in the action, his ship suffering only eight men wounded. As a result, Bazely was among those captains omitted from the list of captains awarded the commemorative medal for the battle, omissions which caused severe divisions in the Navy.[6]

In February 1795, Bazely was appointed to

Battle of Hyères shortly after its arrival in the Mediterranean, but was not closely engaged. On 1 June 1795, Bazely was promoted to rear-admiral and briefly held temporary commands at the Downs and the Nore stations before being placed in retirement by 1797.[7] Bazely never again served on active duty, retiring to Edinburgh and gradually advancing as a retired admiral until he reached the rank of full admiral shortly before his death in April 1809.[8]

Family

He had two sons, John Bazely, Jr. (who later became an admiral himself) and Rev Thomas Tyssen Bazely father of Rev Henry Bazely of Oxford.[9]

Notes

  1. ^ a b The Naval Chronicle, 1805 Vol. 14, p. 177
  2. ^ a b The Naval Chronicle, 1805 Vol. 14, p. 178
  3. ^ The Naval Chronicle, 1805 Vol. 14, p. 179
  4. ^ The Naval Chronicle, 1805 Vol. 14, p. 180
  5. ^ a b The Naval Chronicle, 1805 Vol. 14, p. 181
  6. ^ James, p. 181
  7. ^ The Naval Chronicle, 1805 Vol. 14, p. 182
  8. ^ The Scots Magazine and Edinburgh Literary Miscellany, 1809 Vol. LXXI, p. 320
  9. ^ "Bazely: St Sepulchre's Cemetery, Oxford".

References

Military offices
Preceded by Commander-in-Chief, The Downs
(Acting)
1796–1797 		Succeeded by
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