Thomas Graves, 1st Baron Graves
The Lord Graves | |
|---|---|
American War of Independence French Revolutionary Wars | |
| Spouse(s) |
Elizabeth Williams (m. 1771) |
| Children | Alfred van der Smissen, 2nd Baron van der Smissen , his great-nephew. |
Military career
Born in England in October 1725, Graves was the second son of Rear-Admiral Thomas Graves of Thanckes in Cornwall.[2]
Graves' first military experience was as a volunteer with Commodore
With the end of the Seven Years' War,
During the American Revolution, his fleet was defeated by the
In September 1782, a fleet under his command was caught in a violent storm off the banks of Newfoundland. The captured French ships from the Battle of the Saintes Ville de Paris (110 guns) and HMS Glorieux (74 guns), and the British ships HMS Ramillies (74 guns) and Centaur (74 guns) foundered, along with other merchant ships, with the loss of 3,500 lives. In 1786 Graves became Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth.[1][3]
With the
Personal life
Lord Graves married Elizabeth, daughter of William Peere Williams, in 1771. The couple had a son, Thomas, in 1775. Following several battle injuries, Graves retired to his Devon estate in 1794, and died in February 1802, aged 76.[5]
Arms
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See also
- Governors of Newfoundland
- List of people of Newfoundland and Labrador
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g Article by Kenneth Breen, ‘Graves, Thomas, first Baron Graves (1725–1802)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 2008; Retrieved 4 June 2008.
- ^ Historic Cornwall website: Thanckes estate near Torpoint.
- ^ "Admiral Graves, we hear, will succeed Admiral Milbanke in the Station of Port Admiral at Plymouth". The Public Advertiser. 22 February 1786. p. 2. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
- ^ London Gazette no. 13727. p. 1178
- ^ "Graves, 1st Baron Thomas (1725-1802)". Archived from the original on 12 September 2015.
- ^ Burke's Peerage. 1949.
References
- Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, [page needed]
- Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages [better source needed]
External links
- Biography at Government House The Governorship of Newfoundland and Labrador
- "Thomas Graves, 1st Baron Graves". Dictionary of Canadian Biography (online ed.). University of Toronto Press. 1979–2016.
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