Robert Faulknor The Younger
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Robert Faulknor the younger (1763–1795) was an 18th-century
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, part of the Faulknor naval dynasty. He was
court-martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the arme ...
led (but acquitted) and died in an action off
Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...
in the eastern Caribbean Sea.


Life


Early life

He was born on the coast of
Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...
, the eldest of the two sons of Robert Faulknor captain of HMS Bellona, and his wife, Elizabeth Ashe. His paternal grandfather had served as flag captain under Admiral
John Balchen Admiral of the White Sir John Balchen (2 February 1670 – 4 October 1744) was a Royal Navy officer with a long and distinguished career during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. In the course of his service at sea, Balchen saw action in ...
on
HMS Victory HMS ''Victory'' is a 104-gun first-rate wooden sailing ship of the line. With years of service as of , she is the world's List of oldest surviving ships, oldest naval vessel still in Ship commissioning, commission. She was ordered for the Roy ...
the predecessor to its more famous namesake and went down with his ship and 100 men in a shipwreck on 4 October 1744. His great grandfather had served his life at sea then ended as Lt Governor of Greenwich Hospital. Sometime after that the family moved to
Dijon Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...
, France, where they stayed until Robert the elder died there on 9 May 1769, when his widow and the children returned to Southampton. Robert and his brother were enrolled in a grammar school, with Robert then entering the
Royal Naval Academy The Royal Naval Academy was a facility established in 1733 in HMNB Portsmouth, Portsmouth Dockyard to train officers for the Royal Navy. The founders' intentions were to provide an alternative means to recruit officers and to provide standardise ...
,
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 ...
, in 1774, aged eleven.


First commissions

Robert completed his term at the Academy in March 1777 and joined ( 50 guns), under the Hon.
William Cornwallis Admiral Sir William Cornwallis, (20 February 17445 July 1819) was a Royal Navy officer. He was the brother of Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, British commander at the siege of Yorktown. Cornwallis took part in a number of decisive ...
, stationed in North America. He then followed Cornwallis to (50 guns) and then (64 guns), seeing many engagements in 1779/80. From December 1780 to March 1783 Robert served in (98 guns) and (98 guns), leading Rear-Admiral Sir Joshua Rowley to call him "a young man of great merit." After 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 the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
, Robert Faulknor was one of a lucky few officers to gain peacetime commissions and was put in command of the sloop after ''Britannia''s paying-off in March 1783 and then, from December 1783, to (20 guns).


''Pluto''

He was appointed to serve in (98 guns) during the
Nootka Sound Nootka Sound () is a sound of the Pacific Ocean on the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island, in the Pacific Northwest, historically known as King George's Sound. It separates Vancouver Island and Nootka Island, part of the Canadian province of ...
crisis in May 1790 and six months later he was promoted to
commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...
, although it was April 1791 before he got his first command at that rank, (the
fireship A fire ship or fireship is a large wooden vessel set on fire to be used against enemy ships during a ramming attack or similar maneuver. Fireships were used to great effect against wooden ships throughout naval military history up until the adv ...
). That command ended in September 1791, after which he remained on
half pay Half-pay (h.p.) was a term used in the British Army and Royal Navy of the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries to refer to the pay or allowance an officer received when in retirement or not in actual service. Past usage United Kingdom In the E ...
until the outbreak of the
War of the First Coalition The War of the First Coalition () was a set of wars that several European powers fought between 1792 and 1797, initially against the Constitutional Cabinet of Louis XVI, constitutional Kingdom of France and then the French First Republic, Frenc ...
against France in 1793.


Martinique

After the outbreak of war, in June 1793, he was placed as commander of the 16-gun sloop-of-war , firstly stationed in the
English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...
and then - through his mother's lobbying of
Lord Chatham Earl of Chatham, of Chatham, Kent, Chatham in the County of Kent, was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1766 for William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, William Pitt the Elder on his appointment as Lord Privy Seal, along with ...
- attached to Sir John Jervis's expedition to the
West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
. On the morning of Thursday 20 March 1794 the Zebra was part of a planned attack on Fort Royal and Fort Louis on
Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...
. HMS ''Zebra'' and the far larger (64 guns) were ordered to give covering fire for the landing of ground troops and seamen (from other smaller ships, under the direct command of Captains Riou and Nugent) by anchoring close under the walls of Fort St Louis. However ''Asia'' twice turned away when coming within range of the French canon. This appeared due to a former French officer on board, who was familiar with Fort Royal, being in charge of the piloting - Lt. de Tourelles. It is unclear if this was due to fear or guilt. Faulknor was left to attack alone, with his 100 men on the ''Zebra''. Bizarrely his own pilot had the same fear as de Tourelles, and began to turn the sloop away from the enemy. Faulknor approached him and he said he had dreamed he would die, so Faulknor took the wheel himself and sent the man to the rear of the ship, where he was almost instantly hit by a cannonball: the only member of the crew to die. He came closer to the fort than originally planned, and using ladders of bamboo scaled its walls at the head of his men and had a lucky escape when a wooden cartouche (powder cartridge) box strapped to his waist was struck by
grapeshot In artillery, a grapeshot is a type of ammunition that consists of a collection of smaller-caliber round shots packed tightly in a canvas bag and separated from the gunpowder charge by a metal wadding, rather than being a single solid projectile ...
but left him unharmed. His men reached the top of the outer wall and were met with a volley of musket fire which injured only three of the men. They drew their
cutlass A cutlass is a short, broad sabre or slashing sword with a straight or slightly curved blade sharpened on the cutting edge and a hilt often featuring a solid cupped or basket-shaped guard. It was a common naval weapon during the early Age of ...
es ready to attack, but the French turned and fled into the main fortress. The main gate was easily forced and within seven minutes they reached the upper platform of the fortress, causing the governor to surrender. Jervis watched the French flag atop the fortress replaced by the
British ensign In British maritime law and custom, an ensign is the identifying flag flown to designate a British ship, either military or civilian. Such flags display the United Kingdom Union Flag in the canton (the upper corner next to the staff), with eit ...
. Capture of the fort also brought the capture of the frigate "Bienvenue" anchored alongside. The 500 marines, under Captain
Edward Riou Edward Riou Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (20 November 17622 April 1801) was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the French Revolutionary Wars under several of the most distinguished naval officers of his age and won fame and hono ...
and Captain Nugent, were given entry to the fort by Faulknor's second-in-command, Lt. Hill, who lowered the drawbridge. Jervis witnessed Faulknor's action from HMS Boyne sitting beyond the range of the cannon fire. As the Zebra passed the stern of the Boyne to go back to its position in the fleet, Jervis's band played See, the Conqu'ring Hero Comes and the whole crew cheered his actions. Jervis then called Faulknor on board, embraced him and promoted him to captain on the spot. He was given immediate command of the frigate he had captured at the fort which was rechristened as HMS Undaunted. Capture of Fort Louis brought with it control of the town and harbour of Fort Royal. This in domino effect brought about the surrender of Fort Bourbon by General Rochambeau, and from that the capture of the entire island of Martinique. His command of the Undaunted was short-lived and he was moved to be captain of the far smaller
frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...
. He then took command of the slightly heavier frigate (32 guns) several months later, (as the expedition moved to attack the island of Guadeloupe).


Court martial

On 21 April 1794 he led a party of his seamen during the attack on Fort Fleur d'Epée on Guadeloupe. He was attacked by two French soldiers, lost his sword and knocked to the ground. Midshipman John Maitland fought off the French and Faulknor was finally rescued by his own men. During the attack on Guadeloupe, Faulknor became involved in an angry altercation with an engineer who had criticised the battery erected by Faulknor's men, during which he killed the
quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land army, armies, a quartermaster is an officer who supervises military logistics, logistics and requisitions, manages stores or barracks, and distri ...
from , and Jervis's
flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, 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 ...
), with his sword for making some form of contemptuous comment. Faulknor's own seamen working on the battery, immediately refused to serve under him. A mutiny was only averted by the intercession of other officers and by Faulknor's immediate
court martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the mili ...
, at which he was acquitted. Faulknor was remorseful, but maintained that he had been provoked, and for the rest of his life he was morose and restless, pacing his cabin at night. Waiting for his court martial, he wrote to Lieutenant Hill of ''Zebra'' that he was less concerned "for my own fate, than orthat of being accessory to the death of any human being not the natural enemy of myself or my country ... the hasty and sudden punishment I unhappily inflicted on the spot will be a source of lasting affliction to my mind."


Death

Faulknor and the 32-gun HMS Blanche were dispatched in December 1794 to cruise off the French-held island of Desirade in the
West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
. On 4 January 1795, ''Blanche''s crew discovered the 36-gun French frigate off Pointe à Pitre,
Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...
. The French ship at first seemed to be trying to avoid an action, but the two ships eventually came to close quarters just after midnight in the early hours of 5 January, in an engagement of over 3¾ hours in which ''Blanche'' lost her main and mizzen masts. One and a quarter hours in, ''Pique'' ran her bow on board ''Blanche'', making her unable to bring any of her guns to bear on ''Blanche'' and (once the English crew had rapidly lashed the French ship's bowsprit to the remains of ''Blanche''s main mast) unable to manoeuvre. Faulknor was wounded by an initial musket shot, but continued to direct the action until around 3am when a second musket shot struck his heart and killed him. Lieutenant Frederick Watkins took over command. Two hours later at 5am the ''Pique'' surrendered. Faulknor was buried the day after his death 6 January 1795 on the Isles des Saintes. There is a memorial to him within
St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...
."Memorials of St Paul's Cathedral" Sinclair, W. p. 451: London; Chapman & Hall, Ltd; 1909.


Recognition

Following news of his death reaching
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, a public subscription led to the erection of a memorial in
St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...
, London.


References


Sources


DNB
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Faulknor, Robert Royal Navy captains 1763 births 1795 deaths Military personnel from Northampton Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars People of the War of the First Coalition British military personnel killed in the French Revolutionary Wars