Philemon Pownoll
Encyclopedia
Philemon Pownoll was an officer of the Royal Navy
who saw service during the War of the Austrian Succession
, the Seven Years' War
and the American War of Independence, rising to the rank of post-captain
.
Pownoll was born the son of a leading shipwright, and entered the navy in the last year of the War of the Austrian Succession
. After several years service he rose through the ranks to his own command in time for the outbreak of the Seven Years' War
. Commanding a sloop
he took part in the capture of one of the most valuable prizes taken in the entire conflict, and became immensely wealthy overnight from his success. He married and settled on his estate, but despite his riches, chose to return to active service on the outbreak of the American War of Independence. During his time as a frigate captain he acted as a mentor to future star captains Edward Pellew
and John Borlase Warren.
His service in North America was marked with successes in supporting and conveying troops, and engaging in larger fleet actions such as the relief of Gibraltar
. He took part in a hard-fought action against a French privateer
in 1779, and received a musket ball to the chest, which remained with him for the rest of his life. He again engaged a heavily-armed privateer the following year, and this time was killed by a cannonball in the heat of the action, which was brought to a successful conclusion by his first lieutenant. His death was marked with tributes from the leading naval figures of his age, including Admiral John Jervis
and Edward Pellew. Naval historians credit him as the mentor of men like Pellew and Warren, who would go on to be successful frigate captains.
circa 1734, the son of master shipwright Israel Pownoll, who had built a large number of warships for the Royal Navy over his career. Israel, who died in 1779, served as master shipwright of the dockyard at Plymouth between 1762 and 1765, and of Chatham
from 1775 until his death. He owned property in the Shadwell
and Clerkenwell
areas of London
, suggesting that the family descended from the Independent seamen and merchants who were numerous in the Shadwell and Wapping
area at the time, and had connections with New England
. The naval antiquary Edward Hawke Locker
later described Philemon as ‘a Gentleman of American extraction’.
Philemon Pownoll entered the navy in about 1748, joining the 64-gun . He passed his lieutenant's examination on 7 April 1755, at which point his age was recorded as ‘upwards of twenty’, and was promoted to lieutenant on 7 October 1755. He was at first appointed to be second lieutenant of the 60-gun , and was later moved to the 100-gun . Pownoll continued to serve in the Navy with the outbreak of the Seven Years' War
, and in 1758 was moved to the 74-gun . Namur was at this time the flagship
of Admiral Edward Boscawen
, who became Pownoll's patron and rapidly promoted him from fourth to first lieutenant, and then on 6 August 1759 to commander of the sloop .
under Captain Charles Proby, consisting of the 74-gun ships and and the 44-gun . Two French ships, the 64-gun Achille and the frigate Bouffonne escaped the port on 16 July, but were chased down and brought to action the following day by the British squadron. After a fierce fight, both ships were captured. Pownoll was still in command by May 1762, when Favourite was one of the ships sent by Admiral Sir Charles Saunders to guard Cape St Vincent.
On 15 May Favourite was sailing in company with Captain Herbert Sawyer's frigate off Cape St Mary, when a Spanish ship was sighted and chased down. Once captured she was found to be the Spanish register ship Hermione, which had sailed from Lima
on 6 January bound for Cadiz with a valuable cargo of bags of dollars, gold coin, ingots of gold and silver, cocoa, and blocks of tin. The Hermione was taken into Gibraltar
and eventually condemned as a prize, with her contents, hull, and fittings valued at £519,705 10s. 0d., approximately £ at today's prices. Pownoll and Sawyer each received captain's shares of the prize money
of £64,872, approximately £ at today's prices, amounting to one of the largest individual sums obtained in the period. The ordinary seamen received £480 each, equivalent to thirty years wages. Coincidentally Sawyer and Pownoll had been courting two sisters, the daughters of a Lisbon
merchant, but had been rejected for their lack of funds. Now suddenly extremely wealthy, the two captains married the sisters. Pownoll used his money to buy an estate at Sharpham, at Ashprington
, and to build a large house there, with gardens designed by Capability Brown
. It was about this time that he commissioned a portrait from Sir Joshua Reynolds
.
in the House of Lords
. Pownoll was given command of the 32-gun in December, and prepared her for a voyage to North America. While mustering his crew, a young midshipman was recommended to him by Hugh Boscawen, 2nd Viscount Falmouth, the brother of Pownoll's old patron, Admiral Edward Boscawen. Possibly out of consideration to his debt to the admiral, Pownoll agreed to take him on. The young midshipman was Edward Pellew
, who had been turned out of his previous ship, , after a quarrel with her captain, John Stott, but went on to become one of the great naval commanders of his age. Pownoll and his officers oversaw the fitting out of their ship, which almost ended in disaster when a storm in February 1775 swept Blonde from her moorings at Chatham and nearly wrecked her, the ship being saved by Pownoll's prompt action.
Blonde sailed for North America in April that year, in company with the frigate , and via St Helen's, where they collected a convoy of twenty transports carrying troops under General John Burgoyne
. During the voyage Burgoyne was alarmed to see a midshipman on a yardarm balancing on his head. Pownoll reassured him that it was just one of Pellew's antics, and that 'should [he] fall, he would only go under the ship's hull and come up on the other side.' Later in the voyage Pellew jumped overboard to save a man's life, and was reprimanded for his actions by Pownoll, though he later shed tears when talking about it with his fellow officers and called Pellew 'a noble fellow.'
Pellew and Pownoll served at the relief of Quebec
, and subsequent operations on the Canadian lakes and at the Battle of Saratoga. In January 1777 Pownoll was appointed to command the 32-gun HMS Apollo, and brought Pellew with him to his new command. By now a popular figure with his men, Pownoll was able to write to Lord Sandwich that he was '...happily situated in a fine ship & exceedingly well manned with all volunteers except 15 landsmen I received from Admiral Amherst to complete my compliment not having time to do it myself.'
Pownoll returned to North America in April 1776, and was active against American shipping, capturing the privateer
Freedom on 16 September 1777, and the privateer True Blue on 27 January 1778. Apollo served for a time as Lord Howe's
flagship from August 1778, and had returned to be refitted and coppered
at Plymouth in December that year. Returning to active service in January, on 31 January 1779 she engaged the 26-gun French frigate Oiseau off the Brittany
coast in a hard-fought action that left both Pownoll and the French commander wounded. Pownoll was hit in the chest by a musket ball, which remained lodged there for the remainder of his life. Apollo was repaired at Plymouth, and returned to sea later in 1779, joining the fleet under Admiral Sir Charles Hardy
. Pownoll captured the 14-gun Mutine on 2 October 1779, and joined Reynolds's squadron later that month. He sailed the following year in support of George Brydges Rodney's
mission to relieve Gibraltar, and was present at the attack on the Caracas convoy
on 8 January 1780, the Battle of Cape St. Vincent
on 16/17 January, and the eventual relief of Gibraltar
on 19 January. On 2 March 1780 the privateer Victoire was captured by Apollo, and in mid June Apollo was cruising in company with the 32-gun , under Captain the Hon. George Murray
.
and Murray was sent to investigate it. After closing to within gunshot of the cutter by 10.30am, a large sail was observed standing off the land. The two ships closed, tacking about to gain the weather gauge, and eventually opening fire. Apollos opponent was the 26-gun French privateer Stanislaus, and after a period of tacking, the two engaged in broadsides while running for Ostend
. After nearly an hour of intense cannonading Pownoll was hit by a cannon ball and killed. Command of Apollo devolved to Pellew as the first lieutenant, who continued the fight, eventually driving the Stanislaus on shore. Apart from her captain, Apollo lost five men killed and had twenty wounded. The Stanislaus was later recovered and brought into the navy as .
that: 'The loss of Captain Pownoll will be severely felt. The ship's company have lost a father. I have lost much more, a father and a friend united; and that friend my only one on earth. Never, my lord, was grief more poignant than that we all feel for an adored commander. Mine is inexpressible.' Admiral John Jervis
wrote of him that he was ‘the best officer, & most excellent, kind hearted man in the Profession’, and claimed that he had ‘lost the best Partizan, if not the best officer under every line of description in the Service’. Edward Osler wrote in 1835 that 'St Vincent and Pownoll who were brought up under Boscawen, and received their Lieutenant's commission from him, contributed materially to form a Nelson or an Exmouth; each the founder of a school of officers, whose model is the character of their chief, and their example his successes.' As well as Pellew, John Borlase Warren served under Pownoll and went on to become a leading frigate captain, while Jervis remembered Pownoll's contribution to the navy in 1804, when he promoted Pownoll's grandson, John Bastard
. Pellew named his eldest son Pownoll Bastard Pellew
in honour of his former captain and his family.
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
who saw service during the War of the Austrian Succession
War of the Austrian Succession
The War of the Austrian Succession – including King George's War in North America, the Anglo-Spanish War of Jenkins' Ear, and two of the three Silesian wars – involved most of the powers of Europe over the question of Maria Theresa's succession to the realms of the House of Habsburg.The...
, the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
and the American War of Independence, rising to the rank of post-captain
Post-Captain
Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of captain in the Royal Navy.The term served to distinguish those who were captains by rank from:...
.
Pownoll was born the son of a leading shipwright, and entered the navy in the last year of the War of the Austrian Succession
War of the Austrian Succession
The War of the Austrian Succession – including King George's War in North America, the Anglo-Spanish War of Jenkins' Ear, and two of the three Silesian wars – involved most of the powers of Europe over the question of Maria Theresa's succession to the realms of the House of Habsburg.The...
. After several years service he rose through the ranks to his own command in time for the outbreak of the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
. Commanding a sloop
Sloop-of-war
In the 18th and most of the 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. As the rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above, this meant that the term sloop-of-war actually encompassed all the unrated combat vessels including the...
he took part in the capture of one of the most valuable prizes taken in the entire conflict, and became immensely wealthy overnight from his success. He married and settled on his estate, but despite his riches, chose to return to active service on the outbreak of the American War of Independence. During his time as a frigate captain he acted as a mentor to future star captains Edward Pellew
Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth
Admiral Sir Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth, GCB was a British naval officer. He fought during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary, and the Napoleonic Wars...
and John Borlase Warren.
His service in North America was marked with successes in supporting and conveying troops, and engaging in larger fleet actions such as the relief of Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
. He took part in a hard-fought action against a French privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
in 1779, and received a musket ball to the chest, which remained with him for the rest of his life. He again engaged a heavily-armed privateer the following year, and this time was killed by a cannonball in the heat of the action, which was brought to a successful conclusion by his first lieutenant. His death was marked with tributes from the leading naval figures of his age, including Admiral John Jervis
John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent
Admiral of the Fleet John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent GCB, PC was an admiral in the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom...
and Edward Pellew. Naval historians credit him as the mentor of men like Pellew and Warren, who would go on to be successful frigate captains.
Family and early life
Pownoll was born in PlymouthPlymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
circa 1734, the son of master shipwright Israel Pownoll, who had built a large number of warships for the Royal Navy over his career. Israel, who died in 1779, served as master shipwright of the dockyard at Plymouth between 1762 and 1765, and of Chatham
Chatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard, located on the River Medway and of which two-thirds is in Gillingham and one third in Chatham, Kent, England, came into existence at the time when, following the Reformation, relations with the Catholic countries of Europe had worsened, leading to a requirement for additional...
from 1775 until his death. He owned property in the Shadwell
Shadwell
Shadwell is an inner-city district situated within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets located on the north bank of the Thames between Wapping to the south and Ratcliff to the east...
and Clerkenwell
Clerkenwell
Clerkenwell is an area of central London in the London Borough of Islington. From 1900 to 1965 it was part of the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury. The well after which it was named was rediscovered in 1924. The watchmaking and watch repairing trades were once of great importance...
areas of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, suggesting that the family descended from the Independent seamen and merchants who were numerous in the Shadwell and Wapping
Wapping
Wapping is a place in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets which forms part of the Docklands to the east of the City of London. It is situated between the north bank of the River Thames and the ancient thoroughfare simply called The Highway...
area at the time, and had connections with New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
. The naval antiquary Edward Hawke Locker
Edward Hawke Locker
Edward Hawke Locker was an English watercolourist and administrator of the Royal Naval Hospital, Greenwich.-Life:...
later described Philemon as ‘a Gentleman of American extraction’.
Philemon Pownoll entered the navy in about 1748, joining the 64-gun . He passed his lieutenant's examination on 7 April 1755, at which point his age was recorded as ‘upwards of twenty’, and was promoted to lieutenant on 7 October 1755. He was at first appointed to be second lieutenant of the 60-gun , and was later moved to the 100-gun . Pownoll continued to serve in the Navy with the outbreak of the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
, and in 1758 was moved to the 74-gun . Namur was at this time the flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
of Admiral Edward Boscawen
Edward Boscawen
Admiral Edward Boscawen, PC was an Admiral in the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament for the borough of Truro, Cornwall. He is known principally for his various naval commands throughout the 18th Century and the engagements that he won, including the Siege of Louisburg in 1758 and Battle of Lagos...
, who became Pownoll's patron and rapidly promoted him from fourth to first lieutenant, and then on 6 August 1759 to commander of the sloop .
Command
Pownoll commanded Favourite for the next two years, and in mid-1761 was sailing as part of a squadron off CadizCádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
under Captain Charles Proby, consisting of the 74-gun ships and and the 44-gun . Two French ships, the 64-gun Achille and the frigate Bouffonne escaped the port on 16 July, but were chased down and brought to action the following day by the British squadron. After a fierce fight, both ships were captured. Pownoll was still in command by May 1762, when Favourite was one of the ships sent by Admiral Sir Charles Saunders to guard Cape St Vincent.
On 15 May Favourite was sailing in company with Captain Herbert Sawyer's frigate off Cape St Mary, when a Spanish ship was sighted and chased down. Once captured she was found to be the Spanish register ship Hermione, which had sailed from Lima
Lima
Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...
on 6 January bound for Cadiz with a valuable cargo of bags of dollars, gold coin, ingots of gold and silver, cocoa, and blocks of tin. The Hermione was taken into Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
and eventually condemned as a prize, with her contents, hull, and fittings valued at £519,705 10s. 0d., approximately £ at today's prices. Pownoll and Sawyer each received captain's shares of the prize money
Prize money
Prize money has a distinct meaning in warfare, especially naval warfare, where it was a monetary reward paid out to the crew of a ship for capturing an enemy vessel...
of £64,872, approximately £ at today's prices, amounting to one of the largest individual sums obtained in the period. The ordinary seamen received £480 each, equivalent to thirty years wages. Coincidentally Sawyer and Pownoll had been courting two sisters, the daughters of a Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
merchant, but had been rejected for their lack of funds. Now suddenly extremely wealthy, the two captains married the sisters. Pownoll used his money to buy an estate at Sharpham, at Ashprington
Ashprington
Ashprington is a village and civil parish in the South Hams district of Devon, England. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 428. The village is not far from the River Dart, and is about three miles south of Totnes....
, and to build a large house there, with gardens designed by Capability Brown
Capability Brown
Lancelot Brown , more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English landscape architect. He is remembered as "the last of the great English eighteenth-century artists to be accorded his due", and "England's greatest gardener". He designed over 170 parks, many of which still endure...
. It was about this time that he commissioned a portrait from Sir Joshua Reynolds
Joshua Reynolds
Sir Joshua Reynolds RA FRS FRSA was an influential 18th-century English painter, specialising in portraits and promoting the "Grand Style" in painting which depended on idealization of the imperfect. He was one of the founders and first President of the Royal Academy...
.
Continued service
Despite his immense wealth Pownoll returned to naval service in late 1774, shortly after the outbreak of the American War of Independence. For this he was praised by John Montagu, 4th Earl of SandwichJohn Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich
John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, PC, FRS was a British statesman who succeeded his grandfather, Edward Montagu, 3rd Earl of Sandwich, as the Earl of Sandwich in 1729, at the age of ten...
in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
. Pownoll was given command of the 32-gun in December, and prepared her for a voyage to North America. While mustering his crew, a young midshipman was recommended to him by Hugh Boscawen, 2nd Viscount Falmouth, the brother of Pownoll's old patron, Admiral Edward Boscawen. Possibly out of consideration to his debt to the admiral, Pownoll agreed to take him on. The young midshipman was Edward Pellew
Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth
Admiral Sir Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth, GCB was a British naval officer. He fought during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary, and the Napoleonic Wars...
, who had been turned out of his previous ship, , after a quarrel with her captain, John Stott, but went on to become one of the great naval commanders of his age. Pownoll and his officers oversaw the fitting out of their ship, which almost ended in disaster when a storm in February 1775 swept Blonde from her moorings at Chatham and nearly wrecked her, the ship being saved by Pownoll's prompt action.
Blonde sailed for North America in April that year, in company with the frigate , and via St Helen's, where they collected a convoy of twenty transports carrying troops under General John Burgoyne
John Burgoyne
General John Burgoyne was a British army officer, politician and dramatist. He first saw action during the Seven Years' War when he participated in several battles, mostly notably during the Portugal Campaign of 1762....
. During the voyage Burgoyne was alarmed to see a midshipman on a yardarm balancing on his head. Pownoll reassured him that it was just one of Pellew's antics, and that 'should [he] fall, he would only go under the ship's hull and come up on the other side.' Later in the voyage Pellew jumped overboard to save a man's life, and was reprimanded for his actions by Pownoll, though he later shed tears when talking about it with his fellow officers and called Pellew 'a noble fellow.'
Pellew and Pownoll served at the relief of Quebec
Battle of Quebec (1775)
The Battle of Quebec was fought on December 31, 1775 between American Continental Army forces and the British defenders of the city of Quebec, early in the American Revolutionary War. The battle was the first major defeat of the war for the Americans, and it came at a high price...
, and subsequent operations on the Canadian lakes and at the Battle of Saratoga. In January 1777 Pownoll was appointed to command the 32-gun HMS Apollo, and brought Pellew with him to his new command. By now a popular figure with his men, Pownoll was able to write to Lord Sandwich that he was '...happily situated in a fine ship & exceedingly well manned with all volunteers except 15 landsmen I received from Admiral Amherst to complete my compliment not having time to do it myself.'
Pownoll returned to North America in April 1776, and was active against American shipping, capturing the privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
Freedom on 16 September 1777, and the privateer True Blue on 27 January 1778. Apollo served for a time as Lord Howe's
Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe
Admiral of the Fleet Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe KG was a British naval officer, notable in particular for his service during the American War of Independence and French Revolutionary Wars. He was the brother of William Howe and George Howe.Howe joined the navy at the age of thirteen and served...
flagship from August 1778, and had returned to be refitted and coppered
Copper sheathing
Copper sheathing was the practice of protecting the under-water hull of a ship or boat through the use of copper plates affixed to the outside of the hull. It was pioneered and developed by the Royal Navy during the 18th century.-Development:...
at Plymouth in December that year. Returning to active service in January, on 31 January 1779 she engaged the 26-gun French frigate Oiseau off the Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
coast in a hard-fought action that left both Pownoll and the French commander wounded. Pownoll was hit in the chest by a musket ball, which remained lodged there for the remainder of his life. Apollo was repaired at Plymouth, and returned to sea later in 1779, joining the fleet under Admiral Sir Charles Hardy
Charles Hardy
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Charles Hardy was a Royal Navy officer and colonial governor of New York.-Early career:Born at Portsmouth, the son of a vice admiral, Charles Hardy joined the Royal Navy as a volunteer in 1731....
. Pownoll captured the 14-gun Mutine on 2 October 1779, and joined Reynolds's squadron later that month. He sailed the following year in support of George Brydges Rodney's
George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney
George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, KB was a British naval officer. He is best known for his commands in the American War of Independence, particularly his victory over the French at the Battle of the Saintes in 1782...
mission to relieve Gibraltar, and was present at the attack on the Caracas convoy
Action of 8 January 1780
The Action of 8 January 1780 was a naval encounter off Cape Finisterre between a British Royal Naval fleet under Admiral Sir George Rodney, and a fleet of Spanish merchants sailing in convoy with seven warships of the Caracas Company, under the command of Commodore Don Juan Augustin de Yardi....
on 8 January 1780, the Battle of Cape St. Vincent
Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1780)
The naval Battle of Cape St Vincent, took place off the coast of Portugal on 16 January 1780 during the American War of Independence. A British fleet under Admiral Sir George Rodney defeated a Spanish squadron under Don Juan de Lángara. The battle is sometimes referred to as the Moonlight Battle,...
on 16/17 January, and the eventual relief of Gibraltar
Great Siege of Gibraltar
The Great Siege of Gibraltar was an unsuccessful attempt by Spain and France to capture Gibraltar from the British during the American War of Independence. This was the largest action fought during the war in terms of numbers, particularly the Grand Assault of 18 September 1782...
on 19 January. On 2 March 1780 the privateer Victoire was captured by Apollo, and in mid June Apollo was cruising in company with the 32-gun , under Captain the Hon. George Murray
George Murray (MP)
Vice Admiral George Murray was a Royal Navy officer and politician. He was the third son of the Jacobite general Lord George Murray.-Naval career:...
.
Last fight
On 15 June a cutter was sighted while cruising in the North SeaNorth Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
and Murray was sent to investigate it. After closing to within gunshot of the cutter by 10.30am, a large sail was observed standing off the land. The two ships closed, tacking about to gain the weather gauge, and eventually opening fire. Apollos opponent was the 26-gun French privateer Stanislaus, and after a period of tacking, the two engaged in broadsides while running for Ostend
Ostend
Ostend is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke , Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast....
. After nearly an hour of intense cannonading Pownoll was hit by a cannon ball and killed. Command of Apollo devolved to Pellew as the first lieutenant, who continued the fight, eventually driving the Stanislaus on shore. Apart from her captain, Apollo lost five men killed and had twenty wounded. The Stanislaus was later recovered and brought into the navy as .
Legacy
Pownoll's death was widely mourned, Pellew writing in his report to the AdmiraltyAdmiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
that: 'The loss of Captain Pownoll will be severely felt. The ship's company have lost a father. I have lost much more, a father and a friend united; and that friend my only one on earth. Never, my lord, was grief more poignant than that we all feel for an adored commander. Mine is inexpressible.' Admiral John Jervis
John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent
Admiral of the Fleet John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent GCB, PC was an admiral in the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom...
wrote of him that he was ‘the best officer, & most excellent, kind hearted man in the Profession’, and claimed that he had ‘lost the best Partizan, if not the best officer under every line of description in the Service’. Edward Osler wrote in 1835 that 'St Vincent and Pownoll who were brought up under Boscawen, and received their Lieutenant's commission from him, contributed materially to form a Nelson or an Exmouth; each the founder of a school of officers, whose model is the character of their chief, and their example his successes.' As well as Pellew, John Borlase Warren served under Pownoll and went on to become a leading frigate captain, while Jervis remembered Pownoll's contribution to the navy in 1804, when he promoted Pownoll's grandson, John Bastard
John Bastard (Royal Navy officer)
John Bastard was an officer of the Royal Navy who saw service during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and the War of 1812, rising to the rank of post-captain...
. Pellew named his eldest son Pownoll Bastard Pellew
Pownoll Pellew, 2nd Viscount Exmouth
Pownoll Bastard Pellew, 2nd Viscount Exmouth was an English peer and officer of the Royal Navy. He was the eldest son of Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth. Like his father, and his younger brother Fleetwood Pellew, he served in the Royal Navy and attained the rank of Post Captain in 1806...
in honour of his former captain and his family.