Vice-Admiral Robert Duff (c.1721 – 6 June 1787) 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 ...

during the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's W ...

, the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754– ...

and 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 ...

. He briefly as colonial governor of

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

Family and early life

Duff was born c. 1721, among the youngest of more than thirty children of Patrick Duff of Craigston, by Craigston's second wife. Little is known about his early life, but a story that does survive attests to his father's fecundity and possibly also to Robert's own spirited approach. Walking in his garden the father, Patrick Duff, came across a small boy and enquired 'And wha's laddie are you?' to which his son, the future Admiral Robert Duff, replied 'Dinna ye ken your ain son Robbie, ye auld fool!'. Robert joined the navy and was listed a lieutenant by 9 March 1739. He was advanced to commander on 4 December 1744, and by 1746 was in command of the

bomb vessel A bomb vessel, bomb ship, bomb ketch, or simply bomb was a type of wooden sailing naval ship. Its primary armament was not cannons ( long guns or carronades) – although bomb vessels carried a few cannons for self-defence – but mortars mounted ...

, serving off the Scottish coast. Duff received the command of the 44-gun on 23 October, and remained in her off the Irish and English coasts until the signing of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748 that ended the War of the Austrian Succession.

Seven Years' War

Duff's next ship was the 50-gun , which he joined in 1755. He spent several years cruising, either independently or as part of the main fleet, and in 1758 was part of

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore, ...

Richard Howe's squadron defending the expeditions against

St Malo Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany, on the English Channel coast. The walled city had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth from local extortion and overseas adventures. In 1944, the All ...

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and St Cas. He became senior officer of a small squadron stationed off

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

in 1759, watching the French fleet in

Morbihan Morbihan ( , ; br, Mor-Bihan ) is a department in the administrative region of Brittany, situated in the northwest of France. It is named after the Morbihan (''small sea'' in Breton), the enclosed sea that is the principal feature of the coast ...

, while a fleet under

Edward Hawke Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke, KB, PC (21 February 1705 – 17 October 1781), of Scarthingwell Hall in the parish of Towton, near Tadcaster, Yorkshire, was a Royal Navy officer. As captain of the third-rate , he took part in the Battle of ...

blockaded

Brest, France Brest (; ) is a port city in the Finistère department, Brittany. Located in a sheltered bay not far from the western tip of the peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French m ...

. While at anchor in

Quiberon Bay Quiberon Bay (french: Baie de Quiberon) is an area of sheltered water on the south coast of Brittany. The bay is in the Morbihan département. Geography The bay is roughly triangular in shape, open to the south with the Gulf of Morbihan to t ...

on 20 November, his scouts reported a large French fleet to the south of Belle Île. Duff hurried his squadron, consisting of four 50-gun ships and four frigates, out to sea while the French chased them. Before they could be caught, the main fleet under Hawke came up and overran the French, defeating them in the decisive

Battle of Quiberon Bay The Battle of Quiberon Bay (known as ''Bataille des Cardinaux'' in French) was a decisive naval engagement during the Seven Years' War. It was fought on 20 November 1759 between the Royal Navy and the French Navy in Quiberon Bay, off the coast ...

. Duff was then appointed to the 80-gun and went out with her to the

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with Rear-Admiral George Brydges Rodney's fleet. Duff saw action at the capture of Martinique during January and February 1762, but owing to his seniority, he refused to serve as Rodney's flag-captain, and was sent home. In 1764 he married Helen Duff, the daughter of his cousin, the first Earl of Fife. Duff was promoted to rear-admiral of the blue on 31 March 1775, and in April was sent out as commander-in-chief at

. His posting was brief, in 1776 he became rear-admiral of the white and in September 1777 he was appointed to the command of the

Mediterranean Fleet The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between ...

, with the 60-gun as his

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the ...

American War of Independence

By now a rear-admiral of the red, he supported the British forces defending

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = "Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gibr ...

from Don Antonio Barcelo's fleet when the

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characteriz ...

there broke out in 1779, but had limited forces at his disposal and he was recalled early in 1780. He had been promoted to vice-admiral of the blue on 29 January 1778, and was advanced to vice-admiral of the white later that year, but held no further command after his return to England in 1780.

Later years and death

His portrait was painted by Sir

Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter, specialising in portraits. John Russell said he was one of the major European painters of the 18th century. He promoted the "Grand Style" in painting which depend ...

for Greenwich Hospital. Increasingly ill with

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot and swollen joint, caused by deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals. Pain typically comes on rapidly, reaching maximal intensi ...

during his later years, he died at Queensferry on 6 June 1787, his death being attributed to an attack of gout in the stomach. He had a number of children by his marriage to Helen Duff: * Jean (1765-1839), in 1791 married her cousin (Robert's nephew) James Clerk-Rattray of Edinburgh, later

Baron of the Exchequer The Barons of the Exchequer, or ''barones scaccarii'', were the judges of the English court known as the Exchequer of Pleas. The Barons consisted of a Chief Baron of the Exchequer and several puisne (''inferior'') barons. When Robert Shute was ...

* A son (b.1766, dsp) * Robert William (b.1767, grandfather of Robert Duff) * A child (b. 1775, d. young) * Adam (1775–1840) * James Alexander Duff (1777–1800) Another of Robert Duff's relations, his grandnephew George Duff, achieved distinction in the navy. He was part of Horatio Nelson's fleet, and was assigned to command the inshore squadron watching the enemy in Cadiz prior to the

Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval engagement between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition (August–December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (1 ...

. He commanded the 74-gun during the battle, and was killed during the fighting.

Notes

References

*. (subscription required). *

External links

Biography at Government House ''The Governorship of Newfoundland and Labrador''
* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Duff, Robert 1720s births 1787 deaths Governors of Newfoundland Colony Royal Navy admirals Royal Navy personnel of the American Revolutionary War Royal Navy personnel of the Seven Years' War Royal Navy personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession