Admiral
Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...
Sir Richard Rodney Bligh,
GCB (
bap. 8 November 1737 – 30 April 1821) was an officer of the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
. He saw service during the
American War of Independence
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, as well as the
French Revolutionary and
Napoleonic Wars, eventually rising to the rank of admiral. He served as
Commander-in-Chief, Jamaica Station and
Commander-in-Chief, Leith
The Leith Station was a military unit of the British Navy administered by the Commander-in-Chief, Leith formally known as the Commander-in-Chief at Leith and on the Coast of Scotland from 1745 to 1825.
History
Royal Navy forces first began opera ...
.
Family and early life
Bligh was born into a naval family, probably in 1737, since he was baptised on 8 November 1737 at Holy Trinity Church,
Gosport
Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan borough on the south coast of Hampshire, South East England. At the 2011 Census, its population was 82,662. Gosport is situated on a peninsula on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour, opposite th ...
. His
godfather was
Captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
George Brydges Rodney, later to win fame during the American War of Independence, rising to the rank of admiral. Bligh's father was Richard Bligh, a lieutenant in the navy, while
William Bligh was a third cousin.
[. ] The younger Richard also embarked on a naval career, joining in 1750 aboard Rodney's ship, the 44-gun . By 1756 he had risen to
midshipman and was serving aboard the 90-gun
HMS ''Ramillies'', then flying the flag of Admiral Sir
John Byng
Admiral John Byng (baptised 29 October 1704 – 14 March 1757) was a British Royal Navy officer who was court-martialled and executed by firing squad. After joining the navy at the age of thirteen, he participated at the Battle of Cape Passa ...
. Bligh saw action at Byng's unsuccessful attempt to
relieve Minorca, after which he was commissioned a lieutenant on 30 September 1757 aboard the 24-gun .
He remained with the fleet of his patron Rodney, whom he accompanied to the
West Indies.
Rodney duly appointed him
Master and Commander
''Master and Commander'' is a 1969 nautical historical novel by the English author Patrick O'Brian, first published in 1969 in the US and 1970 in the UK. The book proved to be the start of the 20-novel Aubrey–Maturin series, set largely in th ...
of the
sloop
A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular s ...
on 22 October 1762. He carried out various cruises aboard her against enemy
privateers.
He followed this by being made
post-captain
Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of captain in the Royal Navy.
The term served to distinguish those who were captains by rank from:
* Officers in command of a naval vessel, who were (and still are) addressed as captain ...
aboard on 6 December 1777. In January 1780 he commissioned the newly built . By 1782 he was in command of the 64-gun during the
Relief of Gibraltar
The Great Siege of Gibraltar was an unsuccessful attempt by Spain and France to capture Gibraltar from the British during the War of the American Revolution. It was the largest battle in the war by number of combatants. The American war had en ...
by Admiral
Richard Howe
Admiral of the Fleet Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe, (8 March 1726 – 5 August 1799) was a British naval officer. After serving throughout the War of the Austrian Succession, he gained a reputation for his role in amphibious operations aga ...
.
Command
On the
outbreak of war with
Revolutionary France, Bligh was initially commissioned to command the 74-gun before being moved to in 1794.
He was present during the events around the
Glorious First of June as part of the attached squadron under
George Montagu, but did not actively participate in the engagement. By late 1794 the ''Alexander'' and the had been assigned to escort a convoy from England to
Cape St Vincent
Cape St. Vincent ( pt, Cabo de São Vicente, ) is a headland in the municipality of Vila do Bispo, in the Algarve, southern Portugal. It is the southwesternmost point of Portugal and of mainland Europe.
History
Cape St. Vincent was already sac ...
. While the two warships were returning they were spotted by a French squadron under
Joseph-Marie Nielly
Joseph-Marie Nielly (1751 – 1833) was a French naval officer and admiral.
Nielly was born and died in Brest. He began his career aged seven aboard the ''Formidable'', and was wounded at the Battle of Quiberon Bay, on 20 November 1759. He sail ...
, consisting of five 74 gun
ships of the line, three large
frigate
A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat.
The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...
s and a
brig
A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the latter part ...
.
Outnumbered the British ships attempted to escape, but began to be overhauled by the French. Bligh eventually turned and engaged the French, allowing ''Canada'' to escape.
After an
unequal engagement during which ''Alexander'' was reduced to a sinking condition, Bligh struck his colours.
The French took possession of ''Alexander'', but owing to the damage both they and their prize had sustained, were compelled to abandon their cruise and return to port, thus allowing several approaching British convoys to reach port unhindered.
Flag rank
Bligh was taken as a prisoner of war, but unknown to him he had been promoted to the rank of rear-admiral of the blue on 23 October 1794.
He was eventually
exchanged and returned to England in May 1795, where he faced the customary court-martial for the loss of his ship. He was honourably acquitted, and allowed to take up a position under
Sir Peter Parker.
He was then appointed as second-in-command to Sir
Henry Harvey, then commander in the
Windward Islands
french: Îles du Vent
, image_name =
, image_caption = ''Political'' Windward Islands. Clockwise: Dominica, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada.
, image_alt =
, locator_map =
, location = Caribbean Sea North ...
, with Bligh flying his flag aboard the 74-gun . Bligh arrived on station in September, but was then given new orders from
Sir Hyde Parker, instructing him to go to the
Jamaica Station
Jamaica station is a major train station of the Long Island Rail Road located in Jamaica, Queens, New York City. With weekday ridership exceeding 200,000 passengers, it is the largest transit hub on Long Island, the fourth-busiest rail station ...
and take command until Parker arrived the following month.
Bligh remained as Parker's second, being promoted to vice-admiral on 14 February 1799.
Bligh however incurred the wrath of Parker when, following a mutiny, he granted pardons to two members of the crew
[The two crew members pardoned by Bligh were the captain's elderly servant and his twelve year old son – a ship's boy on the Hermione. Neither had participated in the mutiny and Bligh concluded that they could not reasonably have been expected to have opposed armed mutineers.] of and recommended mercy for a third. Acting against regulations Parker forced Bligh to resign his command and return to Britain in the summer of 1799.
In late 1803 he was made
Commander-in-Chief at Leith, and on the Coast of Scotland, serving under
Lord Keith, before being promoted to the rank of
Admiral of the Blue
The Admiral of the Blue was a senior rank of the Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major mar ...
on 23 April 1804.
He then resigned and retired from active service.
Family and later life
Bligh married Ann Worsley, daughter of Sir Edward Worsley in 1765. They had one son,
George Miller Bligh, who went on to become a captain in the Navy. The couple also had four daughters, two of whom married naval officers, and three of whom went on to have children who became naval officers.
Ann died in 1797, Richard remarrying on 28 June 1800. He was appointed a
GCB on 16 May 1820, and died on 30 April 1821 at his home, Bell Vue, near
Southampton,
Hampshire.
Notes
References
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bligh, Sir Richard
1737 births
1821 deaths
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Royal Navy admirals
Royal Navy personnel of the American Revolutionary War
Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars
Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars
Sea captains
Military personnel from Portsmouth