Rear Admiral Sir Digby Dent (1739–1817) was a Royal Navy commander.

Life

He was from a long line of "Digby Dents" who served in the

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 ...

including his

grandfather Grandparents, individually known as grandmother and grandfather, or Grandma and Grandpa, are the parents of a person's father or mother – paternal or maternal. Every sexually reproducing living organism who is not a genetic chimera has a m ...

and

uncle An uncle is usually defined as a male relative who is a sibling of a parent or married to a sibling of a parent, as well as the parent of the cousins. Uncles who are related by birth are second-degree relatives. The female counterpart of an un ...

. He was

baptised Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

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 ...

on 16 November 1739 one of eight children of Captain Cotton Dent RN and his wife, Catherine ("Kitty") Bowerbank (1717-1804). His father became Captain of Greenwich Hospital and died there in 1761. He was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Royal Navy on 4 February 1758. In July 1758 he was given captaincy and command of the 24-gun HMS ''Queenborough'' in 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 ...

under Vice Admiral

George Pocock Admiral Sir George Pocock, KB (6 March 1706 – 3 April 1792) was a Royal Navy officer who served in the Seven Years' War. Family Pocock was born in Thames Ditton in Surrey, the son of Thomas Pocock, a chaplain in the Royal Navy. His grea ...

and fought the French fleet in the Battle of Negapatam and the

Battle of Pondicherry The Battle of Pondicherry was a naval battle between a British squadron under Vice-Admiral George Pocock and French squadron under Comte d'Aché on 10 September 1759 off the Carnatic coast of India near Pondicherry during the Seven Years' ...

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), ...

. He transferred to HMS ''Newcastle'' the day after the latter battle to replace Captain Colin Michie who was killed in the engagement but remained stationed off Pondicherry. He was given command on New Year's Day 1760 of the 50-gunner HMS ''Falmouth'', remaining in the

. In September 1760, he took command of HMS ''Tiger''. Both ''Queenborough'' and ''Newcastle'' went down in a

cyclone In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an ant ...

off

Pondicherry Pondicherry, officially known as Puducherry, is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of the Puducherry (union territory), Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the southeast coast of Indi ...

New Year's Day In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year, January 1, 1 January. Most solar calendars, such as the Gregorian and Julian calendars, begin the year regularly at or near the December solstice, northern winter ...

1761. In 1762, he returned to Europe on a Dutch East Indiaman. In May 1763, he was given command of HMS ''Deal Castle'' which served in the Mediterranean including a diplomatic mission to Cadiz. From July 1766 to May 1768 he had an extended period of leave, before taking command of HMS ''Boreas'' in Woolwich Dockyard. Boreas sprung a leak 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 was condemned causing another period of leave from February 1769 to April 1770, which allowed him time to be with his second wife and young family. He then spent a year on HMS ''Dolphin'' before another two-year break, March 1771 to April 1773 before taking command of HMS ''Seahorse''. The most noteworthy event during his command of Seahorse was

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 appearance as a midshipman under Dent's command. In June 1775 he moved to HMS ''Arethusa'' mainly based in

. Arethusa's task was protecting the harbour against feared attach by

John Paul Jones John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 – July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-born naval officer who served in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War. Often referred to as the "Father of the American Navy", Jones is regard ...

but was also asked to do convoy work to

St Helena Saint Helena (, ) is one of the three constituent parts of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, a remote British overseas territory. Saint Helena is a volcanic and tropical island, located in the South Atlantic Ocean, some 1,874 km ...

. On

Boxing Day Boxing Day, also called as Offering Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Boxing Day was once a day to donate gifts to those in need, but it has evolved to become a part ...

1776 he was given the 80-gun HMS ''Princess Amelia'' to command but despite two years with the ship saw no action and was again mainly based in

. He was knighted (

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

) in May 1778 by

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

during the King's review of the Fleet 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 ...

. In December 1778 he was given active command of the 64-gun HMS ''Vigilant'' and took her 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 ...

where on 6 July 1779 he took part in the

Battle of Grenada The Battle of Grenada took place on 6 July 1779 during the American Revolutionary War in the West Indies between the British Royal Navy and the French Navy, just off the coast of Grenada. A British fleet led by Admiral John Byron (the grandfath ...

. In August 1779 he took command of the larger (74-gun) HMS ''Royal Oak'' which had also fought in the battle. However his main task with Royal Oak was to return her to England to refit with a copper bottom, arriving Portsmouth on 4 December 1779. He then spent 8 months with his family before commanding HMS ''Raisonnable'' from August 1780. He took command off the coast of North America following the assault on

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond, and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point near whe ...

. It is not recorded how he crossed from Portsmouth to America. He returned the ship to Portsmouth on 23 November. On the same day he was given command of his final ship, the newly completed HMS ''Repulse'' which he commanded for a year, including action at the Relief of

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 ...

in April 1781. He spent his final years in Portsmouth and retired in May 1788 at the rank of

rear-admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

. He died at Clontarf near

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

on 15 February 1817 and was buried on 17 February.

Family

He was married three times: firstly to Susanna (who died before 1769) with whom he had a son, Commodore Digby Dent (1764–1798), and three daughters. ( Commodore Digby Dent married Frances Butler Saunders and they were parents to Rear Admiral Charles Calmady Dent.) He next married Elizabeth Greentree of

St. Helena Saint Helena (, ) is one of the three constituent parts of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, a remote British overseas territory. Saint Helena is a volcanic and tropical island, located in the South Atlantic Ocean, some 1,874 km ...

, daughter of James Greentree, on 5 April 1762, with whom he had three sons and six daughters. She died in childbirth in November 1769 at home in

Fareham Fareham ( ) is a market town at the north-west tip of Portsmouth Harbour, between the cities of Portsmouth and Southampton in south east Hampshire, England. It gives its name to the Borough of Fareham. It was historically an important manufac ...

near Portsmouth. His third wife, Lady Elizabeth Dent, bore him one more son, giving a total of 14 children. In 1787, his son, Commodore Digby Dent, served as

best man A groomsman or usher is one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony. Usually, the groom selects close friends and relatives to serve as groomsmen, and it is considered an honor to be selected. From his groomsmen, the groom usuall ...

's wedding on

Nevis Nevis ( ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea that forms part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies. Nevis and the neighbouring island of Saint Kitts constitute the Saint Kitts and Nevis, Federation of Saint Kitts ...

in the

. Another son, Chaloner Dent, was named after Admiral

Chaloner Ogle Admiral of the Fleet Sir Chaloner Ogle KB (1681 – 11 April 1750) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. After serving as a junior officer during the Nine Years' War, a ship he was commanding was captured by three French ships off Ostend i ...

, commander of the fleet. Chaloner's son, born in

, again Digby Dent (1805-1888) became a hotel keeper in Portsmouth. Digby Dent's sister, Caroline Dent, married Rear Admiral John Stanhope.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dent, Digby 1738 births 1817 deaths Military personnel from Portsmouth Royal Navy rear admirals Knights Bachelor Royal Navy personnel of the Seven Years' War Royal Navy personnel of the American Revolutionary War