Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Vinicombe Penrose (20 June 1759 – 1 January 1830) was a

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 ...

officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet.

Naval career

Penrose joined the

in 1775.Sir Charles Penrose at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
/ref> He took part in the Battle of Dogger Bank in 1781 and the capture of

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in ...

in 1793. In 1794 he became Commander in HMS ''Lynx''. He later commanded HMS ''Cleopatra'', HMS ''Resolution'', HMS ''Sans Pareil'' and HMS ''Carnatic''. During 1813 he commanded a small squadron operating off northern Spain and south-western France with his flag in HMS ''Porcupine''. He coordinated naval support for the crossing of the river Adour in early 1814 that allowed the

Anglo-Portuguese Army The Anglo-Portuguese Army was the combined British and Portuguese army that participated in the Peninsular War, under the command of Arthur Wellesley. The Army is also referred to as the British-Portuguese Army and, in Portuguese, as the ''Ex� ...

to isolate and invest Bayonne.Nauticus, p. 95 He went on to become Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet in Autumn 1814. He remained in this role until May 1815 when Viscount Exmouth reclaimed his former position again. Penrose then accepted the position of Second-in-Command under Exmouth but was appointed overall Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet again in May 1816. He retired in 1819.

Family

In 1787 he married Elizabeth Trevenen; they had three daughters.

Notes

References

* * Winfield, Rif. ''British Warships in the Age of Sail, 1793-1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates''. Seaforth Publishing, 2nd edition, 2008. . , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Penrose, Charles 1759 births 1830 deaths Royal Navy vice admirals Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George