Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many 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. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

Sir Charles Hardy ( – 18 May 1780) was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

officer, politician and colonial administrator who sat in the

House of Commons of Great Britain The House of Commons of Great Britain was the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain between 1707 and 1801. In 1707, as a result of the Acts of Union 1707, Acts of Union of that year, it replaced the House of Commons of England and the Pa ...

between 1764 and 1780. He served as

governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor ...

from 1755 to 1757.

Early career

Born at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

, the son of Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Hardy, Charles Hardy joined the

as a volunteer in 1731. He became a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in the Royal Navy on 10 August 1741, around the age of 27. His first command was the 24-gun , stationed off the British

Carolinas The Carolinas, also known simply as Carolina, are the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina considered collectively. They are bordered by Virginia to the north, Tennessee to the west, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the southwes ...

from January 1742 to February 1744. In 1744 he was appointed governor and commander-in-chief of the

British colony A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony governed by England, and then Great Britain or the United Kingdom within the English and later British Empire. There was usually a governor to represent the Crown, appointed by the British monarch on ...

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

, though there is no record of his visiting it during his term in office. In 1745 he took command of HMS ''Torrington'', assisting in the protection of a convoy which brought reinforcements from

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

to the newly captured fortress of

Louisbourg Louisbourg is an unincorporated community and former town in Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia. History The harbour had been used by European mariners since at least the 1590s, when it was known as English Port and Havre à l'An ...

. He was

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

ed in 1755 and served as governor of the Colony of New York from 1755 to 1757 (replaced by

James Delancey James De Lancey (November 27, 1703 – July 30, 1760) was an American politician from the colonial period who served as chief justice, lieutenant governor, and acting colonial governor of the Province of New York. Early life and educatio ...

). During his term he was made

Rear-Admiral of the Blue Rear-Admiral of the Blue was a senior rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, immediately outranked by the rank Rear-Admiral of the White. Royal Navy officers currently holding the ranks of commodore, rear admiral, vice admiral and admira ...

Seven Years' War

In 1757, under the command of Vice Admiral Francis Holburne, Hardy escorted Lord Loudoun and his army from New York to Halifax intending to attack Louisbourg, but the attack was called off when Louisbourg was found to be strongly defended by a French fleet. The next year, he was second in command under Admiral

Edward Boscawen Admiral of the Blue Edward Boscawen, Privy Council (United Kingdom), PC (19 August 171110 January 1761) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. He is known principally for his various naval commands during the 18th century and the engagements ...

at the successful Siege of Louisbourg. That autumn, he and

James Wolfe Major-general James Wolfe (2 January 1727 – 13 September 1759) was a British Army officer known for his training reforms and, as a major general, remembered chiefly for his victory in 1759 over the French at the Battle of the Plains of ...

attacked French posts around the mouth of the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawren ...

and destroyed all of the French fishing stations along the northern shores of what is now

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

and along the

Gaspé Peninsula The Gaspé Peninsula, also known as Gaspesia (, ; ), is a peninsula along the south shore of the St. Lawrence River that extends from the Matapedia Valley in Quebec, Canada, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It is separated from New Brunswick on it ...

. He also participated in Hawke's victory at the

Battle of Quiberon Bay The Battle of Quiberon Bay (known as the ''Bataille des Cardinaux'' by the 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 ...

in 1759. Hardy served as the governor of Greenwich Hospital from 1771 to 1780. In 1778, he was made Admiral of the White. In 1779 he became Commander-in-Chief of the

Channel Fleet The Channel Fleet and originally known as the Channel Squadron was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1854 to 1909 and 1914 to 1915. History Throughout the course of Royal Navy's history th ...

, remaining in that post until his death in May 1780.

Member of Parliament

Hardy sat as Member of Parliament for Rochester from 1764 to 1768 and for

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

from 1771 to 1780.

Personal life

In 1749 he married Mary Tate, however she died the next year without issue and left her home

Delapré Abbey Delapré Abbey is a neo-classical architecture, neo-classical mansion in Northampton, England. The mansion and outbuildings incorporate remains of a former monastery, the Abbey of St Mary de la Pré (the suffix meaning "in or of the Meadow"), ...

to Hardy which he sold in 1764Frances Maria Peacock: A BUILDING HISTORY OF DELAPRE ABBEY 2017 to Edward Bouverie for £22,000. Following his first wife's death, he married Catharine Stanyan, the daughter of Temple Stanyan. Through Catherine, he inherited Temple Stanyan's estate at Rawlins, Oxfordshire. The couple had three sons and two daughters. Sir Charles Hardy died at

Spithead Spithead is an eastern area of the Solent and a roadstead for vessels off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds except those from the southeast, with the Isle of Wight lying to the south-west. Spithead and the ch ...

. He bequeathed £3000 to each of the sons and £4000 to each daughter, as well as leaving his estate to his eldest son Temple Hardy. By Catharine's death in 1801, only Temple survived of the three sons. Hardy's brother

Josiah Josiah () or Yoshiyahu was the 16th king of Judah (–609 BCE). According to the Hebrew Bible, he instituted major religious reforms by removing official worship of gods other than Yahweh. Until the 1990s, the biblical description of Josiah’s ...

was a merchant and the

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The ...

from 1761 to 1763.

References

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hardy, Charles 1710s births 1780 deaths Politicians from Portsmouth Knights Bachelor Governors of the Province of New York Lords of the Admiralty Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Plymouth British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 Governors of Newfoundland Colony Royal Navy admirals Royal Navy personnel of the Seven Years' War Military personnel from Portsmouth

Early career

Seven Years' War

Member of Parliament

Personal life

See also

References