John Borlase Warren
Sir John Borlase Warren | |
---|---|
Born | 2 September 1753 Stapleford, Nottinghamshire, England |
Died | 27 February 1822 Greenwich Hospital, London[1] | (aged 68)
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service | Royal Navy |
Years of service | 1771–1822 |
Rank | Admiral |
Commands | HMS Helena HMS Ariadne HMS Winchester HMS Flora Western Squadron HMS Pomone HMS Canada North America Station |
Battles / wars | |
Alma mater | Winchester College Emmanuel College, Cambridge |
Spouse(s) | Caroline Clavering |
Relations | George Venables-Vernon, 5th Baron Vernon (grandson) |
Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren, 1st Baronet GCB GCH PC (2 September 1753 – 27 February 1822) was a British Royal Navy officer, diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1774 and 1807.
Naval career
[edit]Born in Stapleford, Nottinghamshire, he was the son and heir of John Borlase Warren (died 1763[2]) of Stapleford and Little Marlow. He entered Emmanuel College, Cambridge in 1769, but in 1771 entered the navy as an able seaman;[3] in 1774 he became member of Parliament for Great Marlow; and in 1775 he was created a baronet, the baronetcy held by his ancestors, the Borlases, having become extinct in 1689.[4]
Career
[edit]His career as a seaman really began in 1777, and two years later he obtained command of a ship.[4] On 23 April 1794, as Commodore of the frigate squadron off the north-west French coast assisting in the blockade of Brest, Warren and his squadron captured a number of French frigates.[1] In 1795, he commanded one of the two squadrons carrying troops for the Quiberon expedition and in 1796 his frigate squadron off Brest is said to have captured or destroyed 220 vessels.[1] In October 1798, a French fleet—carrying 5,000 men—sailed from Brest intending to invade Ireland.[1] The plan was frustrated in no small part due to the squadron under his command during the action of 12 October 1798 off Donegal.
Diplomatic career
[edit]In 1802, he was sworn of the Privy Council and sent to St. Petersburg as ambassador extraordinary,[1] but he did not forsake the sea. In 1806 he captured a large French warship, the Marengo, at the action of 13 March 1806. He was commander-in-chief on the North American Station from 1807 to 1810.[1] He became an admiral in 1810, and was commander-in-chief on this Station again from 1813 to 1814.[1][4] While in Halifax he determined the late commander John Shortland's dog had been stolen from London and brought to Halifax.[5] He had the dog returned to London to Shortland's widow. During the British invasion of Maryland in 1814, he led a detail of British troops that occupied Havre de Grace and set fire to much of the town, including the home of Commodore John Rodgers.[6]
Personal life
[edit]On 12 December 1780, he married Caroline Clavering, a daughter of Lt.-Gen. Sir John Clavering. She died in 1839.
He died on 27 February 1822. His two sons predeceased him. His daughter and heiress, Frances Maria Warren (1784–1837), married George Venables-Vernon, 4th Baron Vernon. Their son was George Venables-Vernon, 5th Baron Vernon.
Legacy
[edit]There is a monument to him in St Mary's Church, Attenborough in Nottinghamshire. A popular figure in the area of his birth, there are a number of pubs named after him in Nottingham and nearby towns.
Notes
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
- ^ Stanford University,
- ^ "Warren, John Borlase (WRN769JB)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ^ a b c public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Warren, Sir John Borlase". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 330. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
- ^ King, R.N., Lt. William Elletson (1811). The Naval Chronicle (1799-1818): Containing a general and biographical history of the royal navy of the United kingdom with a variety of original papers on nautical subjects. London: J. Gold. p. 197. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
- ^ Paullin, Charles Oscar (1910). Commodore John Rodgers: Captain, Commodore, and Senior Officer of the American Navy, 1773-1838. Arthur H. Clark Company. pp. 279–280. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
References
[edit]External links
[edit]- 1753 births
- 1822 deaths
- Royal Navy admirals
- Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars
- People from Stapleford, Nottinghamshire
- Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge
- Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies
- Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies
- Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain
- Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
- Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the Russian Empire
- UK MPs 1801–1802
- UK MPs 1802–1806
- UK MPs 1806–1807
- British MPs 1774–1780
- British MPs 1780–1784
- British MPs 1796–1800
- Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars