John Bligh (Royal Navy officer)
John Bligh | |
---|---|
Born | August 1770 Guildford, Surrey |
Died | Hambledon, Hampshire | 19 January 1831 (aged 60)
Allegiance | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland |
Service/ | Royal Navy |
Years of service | 1780 – 1831 |
Rank | Rear-Admiral |
Commands held | |
Battles/wars |
|
Awards | Companion of the Order of the Bath |
Relations | Richard Rodney Bligh (uncle) |
Bligh was born into a naval family and served on a variety of ships from a young age, moving up through the ranks to lieutenant prior to the outbreak of the wars with France. He was in the East Indies when war broke out, but returning to Britain he saw action in the Mediterranean during the early attacks on
Returning to Britain in 1806, Bligh went out with the fleet to the Baltic and was present at the Battle of Copenhagen. He then sailed to the Portuguese coast, where he was active landing troops and supporting the army's operations there. He was involved in the Battle of the Basque Roads in 1809, directing efforts to destroy several grounded French ships. While cruising off Belle Île in 1810 he had the good fortune to intercept a French vessel carrying the wealth of the merchants of Île de France back to France. Suddenly wealthy from the prize money and in weakening health after his long service in the tropics, Bligh retired ashore. He settled on the south coast, receiving an appointment as a Companion of the Bath, and a promotion to rear-admiral before his death in 1831.
Family and early life
Bligh was born in
Crown was chosen by Commodore William Cornwallis to fly his broad pennant in his new post in the East Indies, and Bligh sailed with her to this post. He spent several years on this station, being finally commissioned lieutenant on 25 June 1791 and appointed to the 32-gun HMS Thames under Captain Thomas Troubridge. He returned to Britain aboard her in December 1791. He then joined the 28-gun HMS Lizard in 1792, under the command of Captain Sir Thomas Williams.[3]
French Revolutionary Wars
With the outbreak of war with
Bligh was ordered to leave his ship shortly after his arrival at
He commissioned the 74-gun
Napoleonic Wars
Blockade of Cap-François
Bligh initially blockaded
On their arrival there they found that the French garrison's situation was desperate. General Dumont and his suite had been captured by the Haitians, and Cap-François was in imminent danger of falling to an army led by
Attack on Curaçao
Having performed these duties Bligh sailed to Jamaica and was given command of a squadron of three ships of the line and two frigates by Sir John Duckworth with orders to attack the Dutch-held island of Curaçao. Duckworth had received intelligence that the Dutch had not been able to reinforce the island and consequently it was only lightly defended. Bligh sailed to the island with his squadron, expecting to face only 160 men and a frigate, and with the garrison apparently having been further reduced by disease.[12] He had permission to land troops if the Dutch refused to surrender, but Duckworth cautioned him from risking too much, partly because the plan to capture the island was Duckworth's own initiative. Bligh arrived off the island on 31 January 1804 with the 74-gun HMS Theseus and HMS Hercule, the frigates HMS Blanche and HMS Pique, and the schooner HMS Gipsy. The 74-gun HMS Vanguard had not arrived in time to join the expedition.[12][13] After arriving off the island, Bligh sent an officer to negotiate with the island's governor. The Dutch refused to surrender and Bligh began to blockade the island and begin preparations to force a landing.[12]
Using his frigates to blockade the harbour, Bligh moved his ships of the line to a small cove, and exchanged fire with a shore battery. He landed a party of sailors and marines, carrying the battery without loss and then storming the heights around the cove, driving the Dutch away with four or five casualties among the British party.[14] Having secured a landing site, Bligh sent 600 men ashore and landed some cannon, which he placed so as to be able to bombard Fort Republique and the town of St Anne. Contrary to reports, the Dutch had received significant reinforcements and though Bligh was able to set part of the town on fire, he was forced to constantly skirmish with Dutch forces, which numbered around 500 men. Though the Dutch were continually repulsed, British losses mounted, exacerbated by outbreaks of dysentery.[14] With no quick end to the conflict in sight, and mindful that he had been warned not to overextend himself, Bligh called off the attack on 4 March, having exhausted his ammunition of 18-pounder shot. He re-embarked his men and returned to Jamaica, having sustained losses of 18 killed and 43 wounded.[13][15] Though the British force had failed to capture the island, Duckworth was sympathetic, and felt that Bligh could have succeeded had the men and guns of HMS Vanguard been at his disposal.[15][e]
Return to Britain
Bligh remained in the Caribbean until July 1805, when Theseus became the flagship of the station's new commander, Vice-Admiral
Battle of Copenhagen and Portugal
Bligh did not go to sea again until March 1807, when he was given command of the 74-gun HMS Alfred and ordered to join the fleet bound for Copenhagen under Vice-Admiral James Gambier.[11] He took part in the Battle of Copenhagen in August/September that year, resulting in the Danes being forced to surrender their fleet to the British. Bligh had special responsibility for overseeing the landing of the troops and stores during the operation.[15] Following the successful conclusion of the campaign Bligh was sent to serve off Portugal under Admiral Sir Charles Cotton.[11]
Cotton was asked for assistance from the inhabitants of
Basque Roads
Bligh was given command of the 74-gun
Capture of Confiance
Bligh then resumed his station with the Channel Fleet, patrolling off the French ports. On 3 February 1810 he came across the French ship Confiance, a former frigate that had been purchased by the merchants of the Île de France to transport their goods back to France.[17] At the time Bligh had been sailing in company with the 74-gun HMS Defiance, and under the orders of her captain, Henry Hotham. On 1 February Hotham had ordered Bligh to follow him into Quiberon Bay, but Valiant was unable to weather the point, nor could she make progress in the light winds the following day. She was therefore still off Belle Île on 3 February, when the Confiance came in sight. Confiance had evaded British blockaders and cruisers during the entirety of her voyage, having escaped pursuit fourteen times in her 93-day passage from the Indian Ocean.[17] Hampered by light winds, she was unable to escape the Valiant, and finally surrendered to her just a few hours away from reaching safety in a French port.[17][20] Her cargo was valued at £800,000, of which Bligh received £14,041.[21]
Later life and family
By now extremely wealthy from
Notes
a. ^ Several sources, including John Marshall's Royal Naval Biography and James Ralfe's The Naval Biography of Great Britain give a birth month and year of August 1771. Nicholas Tracy's entry in Who's Who in Nelson's Navy uses August 1770, but goes on to incorrectly state his age of death in 1831 as sixty-nine. Bligh's obituary in The United Service Magazine notes that he was sixty at his death on 19 January 1831, ruling out his birth in August 1771.
b. ^ While sources agree that Bligh studied at Guildford, they vary on the date of his entry to the navy. The United Service Magazine and Royal Naval Biography both use 1782, The Naval Biography of Great Britain 1783, and Who's Who in Nelson's Navy 1780. The first two omit details of his ships, while The Naval Biography of Great Britain makes reference to Trimmer as being his first ship. Tracy's biography is the more complete, giving details of his earlier ships.
c. ^ The Naval Biography of Great Britain has a slightly different order of his ships, suggesting he was aboard Bulldog until March 1786, when the death of her captain caused him to move to Camilla. He returned to England aboard her in 1787 and then joined Pegase until she was paid off in February 1788.[3]
d. ^ Ralfe records that Dessalines was extremely reluctant to allow the French to evacuate, and on being presented with the British terms, requested that eight French officers be surrendered to him in exchange for his agreement. When Bligh refused, he had him arrested and threatened to shoot him, before finally having him released and allowing the evacuation to proceed. Bligh's other biographers omit this detail, but agree Dessalines was reluctant, and refused to provide pilots to guide the French out of the harbour, resulting in one of the frigates running aground for a time. Ralfe also records that having failed to get his revenge on the French squadron, Dessalines had the French soldiers who had been left in the hospital killed.[12]
e. ^ Curaçao remained in Dutch hands for over two years, until being captured by a force led by Captain Charles Brisbane in January 1807.[23]
Citations
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Tracy. Who's Who in Nelson's Navy. p. 42.
- ^ Winfield. British Warships of the Age of Sail 1714–1792. p. 229.
- ^ a b c d Ralfe. The Naval Biography of Great Britain. p. 261.
- ^ a b c d e Marshall. Royal Navy Biography. p. 814.
- ^ a b c d e f g Ralfe. The Naval Biography of Great Britain. p. 262.
- ^ Tracy. Who's Who in Nelson's Navy. p. 45.
- ^ Winfield. British Warships of the Age of Sail 1793–1814. p. 106.
- ^ The United Service Magazine. p. 343.
- ^ a b c Ralfe. The Naval Biography of Great Britain. p. 263.
- ^ a b c Marshall. Royal Navy Biography. p. 815.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Tracy. Who's Who in Nelson's Navy. p. 43.
- ^ a b c d e Ralfe. The Naval Biography of Great Britain. p. 264.
- ^ a b c d Marshall. Royal Navy Biography. p. 816.
- ^ a b Ralfe. The Naval Biography of Great Britain. p. 265.
- ^ a b c d e f g Ralfe. The Naval Biography of Great Britain. p. 266.
- ^ The United Service Magazine. p. 344.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Ralfe. The Naval Biography of Great Britain. p. 267.
- ^ a b c Marshall. Royal Navy Biography. p. 817.
- ^ Gurney, W.B. (1809). Minutes of a court-martial . . . on the trial of James Lord Gambier. Mottey, Harrison & Miller.
- ^ a b Marshall. Royal Navy Biography. p. 821.
- ^ a b Ralfe. The Naval Biography of Great Britain. p. 270.
- ^ The United Service Magazine. p. 345.
- ^ Tracy. Who's Who in Nelson's Navy. p. 59.
References
- The United Service Magazine. Vol. Part 1. H. Colburn. 1831.
- Marshall, John (1823). Royal Naval Biography; Or, Memoirs of the Services of All the Flag-officers, Superannuated Rear-admirals, Retired-captains, Post-captains, and Commanders, Whose Names Appeared on the Admiralty List of Sea Officers at the Commencement of the Present Year, Or who Have Since Been Promoted; Illustrated by a Series of Historical and Explanatory Notes ... With Copious Addenda. Vol. 1, part 2. Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown.
- Ralfe, James (1828). The Naval Biography of Great Britain: Consisting of Historical Memoirs of Those Officers of the British Navy who Distinguished Themselves During the Reign of His Majesty George III. Vol. 4. Whitmore & Fenn.
- Tracy, Nicholas (2006). Who's Who in Nelson's Navy: 200 Naval Heroes. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 1-86176-244-5.
- Winfield, Rif (2007). ISBN 978-1-84415-700-6.
- Winfield, Rif (2008). ISBN 978-1-86176-246-7.