Robert Devereux Fancourt (1742 – 7 June 1826) 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 who saw active service during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

and the

French Revolutionary War The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted France against Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, Russia, and several other countries ...

. He joined the Navy in 1759 and served in North America and the West Indies. Fancourt passed his lieutenant's examination in 1765 but was not promoted until 1777 and made

Post Captain Post-captain or post captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of captain in the Royal Navy. The term "post-captain" was descriptive only; it was never used as a title in the form "Post-Captain John Smith". The term served to di ...

in 1789. The following year, he was appointed to in the Mediterranean. In 1797, Fancourt took command of and became involved in the fleet mutinies when his ship was taken by the crew that May. He was still in command of ''Agamemnon'' in 1800, when he was sent to the

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...

to pressure Denmark into withdrawing from the League of Armed Neutrality. Although present at the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801, Fancourt took no active role; ''Agamemnon'' running aground in the very early stages. Fancourt advanced to the rank of rear-admiral on 28 April 1808 and vice-admiral on 12 August 1812, but he never went to sea again and died on 7 June 1826.

Career

Robert Devereux Fancourt was born in 1742 and joined the navy in 1759, serving as an able seaman and then

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

under

Robert Man Admiral Robert Man (1721–1783) was a Royal Navy officer. He commanded the third-rate HMS ''Lancaster'' at the siege of Louisbourg in June 1758 during the French and Indian War. He went on to become commander-in-chief of the Leeward Islands ...

in the waters around North America and the West Indies. He followed Man from to and then where, at the beginning of 1762, he met

Maurice Suckling Captain Maurice Suckling (4 May 1726 – 14 July 1778) was a Royal Navy officer and politician best known for starting the naval career of his nephew Horatio Nelson and for serving as Comptroller of the Navy from 1775 until his death. Suckling ...

and moved with him to .Hore p. 65 In 1765, Fancourt passed his lieutenant's examination but it was another 12 years before he was promoted. By 1782, he had risen to first lieutenant, on board , under Captain Thomas Hicks. Serving as flagship to Sir Richard Bickerton, ''Gibraltar'' was sent to the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies) is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The ''Indies'' broadly referred to various lands in Eastern world, the East or the Eastern Hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainl ...

that February. On the way, ''Gibraltar'' stopped at

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, where Bickerton purchased a 14-gun cutter which he named ''Substitute'', giving command to Fancourt. Shortly after arrival in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

, Fancourt was sent home with dispatches and missed the opportunity to acquire prize money from the successful campaign there. Between 1787 and 1789, during the peace between the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

and

s, Fancourt commanded the 16-gun . He was eventually promoted to

Post-Captain Post-captain or post captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of captain in the Royal Navy. The term "post-captain" was descriptive only; it was never used as a title in the form "Post-Captain John Smith". The term served to dis ...

on 2 December 1789 and during the

Spanish Armament The Nootka Crisis, also known as the Spanish Armament, was an international incident and political dispute between Spain and Great Britain triggered by a series of events revolving around sovereignty claims and rights of navigation and trade. It ...

in 1790, commissioned and took up station in the Mediterranean.Marshall p. 348 When Great Britain became embroiled in the French Revolutionary Wars, Fancourt was in command of the 44-gun , involved mainly in the escort of convoys to and from the West Indies and Mediterranean. While carrying out such duties off St Domingo in August 1794, Chichester and the 64-gun captured the French corvette, Sirenne. In 1797, Fancourt gained command of and was caught up in the

Spithead and Nore mutinies The Spithead and Nore mutinies were two major mutinies by sailors of the Royal Navy in 1797. They were the first in an increasing series of outbreaks of maritime radicalism in the Atlantic World. Despite their temporal proximity, the mutinies ...

. On 29 May, when the North Sea squadron was ordered to sea, only Fancourt's ship, and , obeyed. ''Agamemnon''s crew however, later mutinied and returned to the

Nore The Nore is a long sandbank, bank of sand and silt running along the south-centre of the final narrowing of the Thames Estuary, England. Its south-west is the very narrow Nore Sand. Just short of the Nore's easternmost point where it fades int ...

anchorage on 7 June. Fancourt was at dinner with the other officers when the ship was taken.Hore p. 66 When a blockade of London was suggested, support for the mutiny waned and several ships deserted. Order was restored aboard ''Agamemnon'' when the marines and the loyal seamen retook the ship. Fancourt obtained a pardon for the ship's company. ''Agamemnon'' was one of the ships sent to the Baltic to break the

Second League of Armed Neutrality The Second League of Armed Neutrality or the League of the North was an alliance of the north European naval powers Denmark–Norway, Prussia, Sweden, and Russia. It existed between 1800 and 1801 during the War of the Second Coalition and was in ...

. In mid 1800 she was off Elsinore, enforcing Britain's perceived right to search neutral vessels and later that year took part in the important survey of the strait between Denmark and Sweden. The survey enabled an attack on the Danish capital that led to the country's withdrawal from the league. Although present at the

Battle of Copenhagen (1801) The Battle of Copenhagen of 1801 ( Danish: ''Slaget på Reden'', meaning "the battle of the roadstead Copenhagen Harbour), also known as the First Battle of Copenhagen to distinguish it from the British fleet fought and defeated a smaller for ...

, serving in

Vice Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

Horatio Nelson Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...

's squadron, Fancourt's ship was prevented from taking an active role when it went aground during the early manoeuvres. Nelson's post-battle report absolved Fancourt of any wrong-doing; stating, ''"The Agamemnon could not weather the shoal of the middle''

round Round or rounds may refer to: Mathematics and science * Having no sharp corners, as an ellipse, circle, or sphere * Rounding, reducing the number of significant figures in a number * Round number, ending with one or more zeroes * Round (crypt ...

''and was obliged to anchor, but not the smallest blame can be attached to Captain Fancourt"''. Following the Baltic expedition, ''Agamemnon'' was reassigned as a

guardship A guard ship is a warship assigned as a stationary guard in a port or harbour, as opposed to a coastal patrol boat, which serves its protective role at sea. Royal Navy In the Royal Navy of the eighteenth century, peacetime guard ships were usua ...

at Hollesley Bay,

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. At some point between 1805 and 1807, Fancourt was appointed to , Rear-Admiral Thomas Wells' flagship at the Nore.Winfield p.105 Fancourt advanced to the rank of Rear-Admiral himself on 28 April 1808, then Vice-Admiral on 12 August 1812.Marshall p. 349 He never returned to sea and died on 7 June 1826.

Citations

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fancourt, Robert Royal Navy vice admirals 1742 births 1826 deaths Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Royal Navy personnel of the Seven Years' War