James Richard Dacres (1749–1810)

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James Richard Dacres
Vice-Admiral James Richard Dacres cropped.jpg
Born February 1749 (1749-02)
Gibraltar
Died6 January 1810 (1810-01-07) (aged 60)
Allegiance
Service/branchBritish-Red-Ensign-1707.svg  Royal Navy
Years of service 1762 – 1810
Rank Vice-Admiral
Commands held
Battles/wars
Relations

James Richard Dacres (February 1749 – 6 January 1810) was an officer of the Royal Navy who saw service during the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He eventually rose to the rank of Vice-Admiral.

Royal Navy Maritime warfare branch of the United Kingdoms military

The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by the English kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years War against the Kingdom of France. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the early 16th century; the oldest of the UK's armed services, it is known as the Senior Service.

Seven Years War Global conflict between 1756 and 1763

The Seven Years' War was a global conflict fought between 1756 and 1763. It involved every European great power of the time and spanned five continents, affecting Europe, the Americas, West Africa, India, and the Philippines. The conflict split Europe into two coalitions, led by the Kingdom of Great Britain on one side and the Kingdom of France, the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Spain, and the Swedish Empire on the other. Meanwhile, in India, some regional polities within the increasingly fragmented Mughal Empire, with the support of the French, tried to crush a British attempt to conquer Bengal. The war's extent has led some historians to describe it as World War Zero, similar in scale to other world wars.

American Revolutionary War War between Great Britain and the Thirteen Colonies, which won independence as the United States of America

The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), also known as the American War of Independence, was an 18th-century war between Great Britain and its Thirteen Colonies which declared independence as the United States of America.

Contents

Family and early life

Dacres was born in Gibraltar in February 1749, the eldest son of the secretary of the garrison Richard Dacres, and his wife Mary Dacres, née Bateman. He had a younger brother, Richard Dacres, who also embarked on a naval career. [1] James Richard entered the navy in February 1762, joining the 28-gun frigate HMS Active, which was then under the command of Captain Herbert Sawyer. Shortly afterwards, on 21 May that year, the Active in company with HMS Favourite captured the Spanish register ship Hermione . [2] The Hermione had been bound from Lima carrying a cargo of gold coin, gold, silver and tin ingots, and cocoa and when captured became the richest prize taken during the war. [3] The Active's share of the prize money came to £251,020 12s, which meant that even an ordinary seaman received the sum of £485 3s 4d. [3] Dacres moved aboard Captain William Hotham's 32-gun HMS Aeolus, following this with service aboard Captain John Elliot's HMS Thames and Commodore Richard Spry's 60-gun HMS Jersey. [1] Spry appointed Dacres as lieutenant to the 32-gun HMS Montreal under Captain Phillips Cosby on 17 March 1769. [1]

Gibraltar British Overseas Territory

Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula. It has an area of 6.7 km2 (2.6 sq mi) and is bordered to the north by Spain. The landscape is dominated by the Rock of Gibraltar at the foot of which is a densely populated town area, home to over 30,000 people, primarily Gibraltarians.

Sir Richard Dacres was an officer of the British Royal Navy who saw service during the American War of Independence, and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. A member of a substantial naval dynasty, he eventually rose to the rank of vice admiral.

Frigate Type of warship

A frigate is a type of warship, having various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.

American War of Independence

With the outbreak of the war Dacres was appointed as second lieutenant aboard the 32-gun HMS Blonde, under Captain Philemon Pownoll. He sailed with the Blonde to Quebec as part of the escort for a troop convoy. [1] In June 1776 he was appointed by Commodore Sir Charles Douglas to lead a naval detachment to Lake Champlain. There he took command of the 12-gun schooner Carleton, which formed part of Captain Thomas Pringle's flotilla. [1] [4] He took part in the battle of Battle of Valcour Island on 11 October 1776 and after the victory General Guy Carleton sent Dacres back to Britain with the despatches. [1] He was made master and commander on 25 November 1776 after his return and was appointed to command the 14-gun HMS Sylph. He transferred to the 18-gun HMS Ceres and commanded her off the Leeward Islands. [1]

HMS Blonde was a 32-gun fifth rate warship of the British Royal Navy captured from the French in 1760. The ship wrecked on Blonde Rock with American prisoners on board. An American privateer Captain Daniel Adams rescued the American prisoners and let the British go free. The Captain's decision created an international stir. Upon returning to Boston, the American privateer was banished for letting go the British crew and he and his family became Loyalist refugees in Nova Scotia.

Philemon Pownoll officer of the Royal Navy

Philemon Pownoll of Sharpham in the parish of Ashprington in Devon, England, was an officer of the Royal Navy who saw service during the War of the Austrian Succession, the Seven Years' War and the American War of Independence, rising to the rank of post-captain.

Quebec Province of Canada

Quebec is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is bordered to the west by the province of Ontario and the bodies of water James Bay and Hudson Bay; to the north by Hudson Strait and Ungava Bay; to the east by the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the province of Newfoundland and Labrador; and to the south by the province of New Brunswick and the U.S. states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York. It also shares maritime borders with Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia. Quebec is Canada's largest province by area and its second-largest administrative division; only the territory of Nunavut is larger. It is historically and politically considered to be part of Central Canada.

Ceres patrolled the Caribbean and the American coasts, and on 9 March 1778 and in company with HMS Ariadne she chased two American frigates, USS Alfred and USS Raleigh, eventually engaging the Alfred and forcing her to surrender. [1] [5] He went on to capture the French privateer Tigre on 18 October 1778; but the Ceres was herself engaged and captured by the 36-gun French frigate Iphigénie off St Lucia on 17 December 1778. [1] [5] The Ceres was escorting a troop convoy at the time, and Dacres acted to decoy the French frigate away from the convoy, eventually forcing the French to pursue the Ceres for 48 hours, allowing the convoy to escape. [1] Dacres was subsequently exchanged and returned to England, whereupon he was made acting-captain of the 74-gun HMS Sultan, afterwards being transferred to the 28-gun HMS Maidstone. He was not confirmed as post-captain however until 13 September 1780, when he was given command of the 20-gun HMS Perseus, stationed in the Downs. [1] He transferred to the frigates HMS Orpheus and HMS Aurora towards the end of the war. [1] [5]

USS <i>Alfred</i> (1774)

Alfred was the merchant vessel Black Prince, named for Edward, the Black Prince, and launched in 1774. The Continental Navy of what would become the United States acquired her in 1775, renamed her Alfred after 9th century English monarch Alfred the Great, and commissioned her as a warship. She participated in two major actions, the battle of Nassau, and the action of 6 April 1776. The Royal Navy captured her in 1778, took her into service as HMS Alfred, and sold her in 1782. She then became the merchantman Alfred, and sailed between London and Jamaica.

USS <i>Raleigh</i> (1776)

USS Raleigh was one of thirteen ships that the Continental Congress authorized for the Continental Navy in 1775. Following her capture in 1778, she served in the Royal Navy as HBMS Raleigh.

Privateer private person or ship authorized by a government to attack foreign shipping

A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. The commission, also known as a letter of marque, empowers the person to carry on all forms of hostility permissible at sea by the usages of war, including attacking foreign vessels during wartime and taking them as prizes. Historically, captured ships were subject to condemnation and sale under prize law, with the proceeds divided between the privateer sponsors, shipowners, captains and crew. A percentage share usually went to the issuer of the commission. Since robbery under arms was once common to seaborne trade, all merchant ships were already armed. During war, naval resources were auxiliary to operations on land so privateering was a way of subsidizing state power by mobilizing armed ships and sailors.

French Revolutionary Wars

The outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars in 1793 led to Dacres returning to sea aboard the 64-gun HMS Sceptre and taking part in the bombardment and capture of Fort Bizothen at Port-au-Prince. [1] [6] [7] His crew however suffered from high levels of sickness and Dacres was despatched back to Britain as a convoy escort. After his arrival he was appointed to command the 90-gun HMS Barfleur as part of the Channel Fleet under Lord Bridport. [8] He was present at the Battle of Groix on 23 June 1795, but was not actively engaged. [1] [8]

French Revolutionary Wars series of conflicts fought between the French Republic and several European monarchies from 1792 to 1802

The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Great Britain, Austria and several other monarchies. They are divided in two periods: the War of the First Coalition (1792–97) and the War of the Second Coalition (1798–1802). Initially confined to Europe, the fighting gradually assumed a global dimension. After a decade of constant warfare and aggressive diplomacy, France had conquered a wide array of territories, from the Italian Peninsula and the Low Countries in Europe to the Louisiana Territory in North America. French success in these conflicts ensured the spread of revolutionary principles over much of Europe.

HMS Sceptre was a 64-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 8 June 1781 at Rotherhithe.

Port-au-Prince Commune in Ouest, Haiti

Port-au-Prince is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,310 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is defined by the IHSI as including the communes of Port-au-Prince, Delmas, Cite Soleil, Tabarre, Carrefour, and Pétion-Ville.

Vice-Admiral William Waldegrave went on to hoist his flag on the Barfleur, retaining Dacres as his flag captain. He and the Barfleur sailed to join Sir John Jervis's fleet in the Mediterranean. [9] Dacres was involved in the recapture of HMS Nemesis from the French in early 1796, and was still in command when the Battle of Cape St Vincent took place on 14 February 1797. [10] Dacres subsequently returned to Britain aboard the hired cutter Flora and received command of the 80-gun HMS Foudroyant, sailing her to the Mediterranean. [9] Dacres remained aboard the Foudroyant until February 1799. [9]

William Waldegrave, 1st Baron Radstock Royal Navy admiral

William Waldegrave, 1st Baron Radstock, GCB was the Governor of Newfoundland and an admiral in the Royal Navy.

In the Royal Navy, a flag captain was the captain of an admiral's flagship. During the 18th and 19th centuries, this ship might also have a "captain of the fleet", who would be ranked between the admiral and the "flag captain" as the ship's "First Captain", with the "flag captain" as the ship's "Second Captain".

John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent 18th and 19th-century Royal Navy admiral of the fleet

Admiral of the Fleet John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent was an admiral in the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom. Jervis served throughout the latter half of the 18th century and into the 19th, and was an active commander during the Seven Years' War, American War of Independence, French Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars. He is best known for his victory at the 1797 Battle of Cape Saint Vincent, from which he earned his titles, and as a patron of Horatio Nelson.

Flag rank

Dacres was promoted to Rear-Admiral of the Blue on 14 February 1799, two years to the day after the battle of Cape St Vincent. [9] He was further advanced to Rear-Admiral of the White on 1 January 1801, and was then appointed as second in command of the Plymouth command. With the Peace of Amiens he became Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth. [9] With the resumption of the war he was appointed second in command on the Jamaica Station, serving under Sir John Thomas Duckworth and flying his flag in the 36-gun Franchise. [9] He soon became considerably wealthy from the spoils of prize warfare, being appointed commander of the station in late 1804, promoted to vice admiral on 9 November 1805 and remaining in the post until 1808. [11]

Family and later life

Dacres had married Eleanor Blandford Pearce, of Cambridge, on 1 August 1777 during a period in Britain while in command of the Ceres. The marriage took place at Totnes, Devon and subsequently produced two sons. Both had substantial naval careers, the elder, Barrington Dacres became post-captain, the younger, James Richard Dacres rose to be a Vice-Admiral. [1] Dacres retired from active service in 1809 having amassed considerable wealth from his time in Jamaica. He did not live long to enjoy it though, dying on 6 January 1810 at the age of 60 after a fall from his horse. [9]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Tracy. Who's who in Nelson's Navy. p. 108.
  2. ↑ Winfield. British Warships of the Age of Sail. p. 211.
  3. 1 2 Tracy. Who's who in Nelson's Navy. p. 107.
  4. ↑ Nelson. Benedict Arnold's Navy. p. 273.
  5. 1 2 3 Winfield. British Warships of the Age of Sail. p. 280.
  6. ↑ James. The naval history of Great Britain. p. 251.
  7. ↑ Winfield. British Warships of the Age of Sail. p. 100.
  8. 1 2 Winfield. British Warships of the Age of Sail. p. 20.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Tracy. Who's who in Nelson's Navy. p. 109.
  10. ↑ Colledge. Ships of the Royal Navy. p. 240.
  11. ↑ Cundall, p. xx

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References

Military offices
Preceded by
Sir Thomas Pasley 		Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth
1802–1803 		Succeeded by
Sir John Colpoys
Preceded by
Sir John Duckworth 		Commander-in-Chief, Jamaica Station
1804–1808 		Succeeded by
Bartholomew Rowley
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