Sir Richard Onslow, 1st Baronet
Encyclopedia
Sir Richard Onslow, 1st Baronet GCB
(23 June 1741 – 27 December 1817) was an English naval officer who played a distinguished role at the Battle of Camperdown
.
and his wife Pooley, daughter of Charles Walton. Onslow's uncle was Arthur Onslow
, Speaker of the British House of Commons
, and he enjoyed considerable interest as he rapidly rose through the Navy.
He was made fourth lieutenant of the Sunderland
on 17 December 1758 by V-Adm. George Pocock
, fifth lieutenant of the Grafton
on 3 March 1759, and fourth lieutenant of Pocock's flagship, the Yarmouth on 17 March 1760, upon which he returned to England.
Onslow became commander of the Martin on 11 February 1761, cruising in the Skagerrak
until his promotion to captain of the Humber on 14 April 1762. He joined the Humber in June, but she was wrecked off Flamborough Head
while returning from the Baltic
in September. Onslow was court-martial
ed for her loss, but was acquitted, the pilot being blamed for the wreck. On 29 November 1762, he was appointed to command the Phoenix.
Onslow did not receive another command until 31 October 1776, when he was appointed to the St Albans
. He took a convoy to New York City
in April 1777 and joined Lord Howe
in time for the repulse of d'Estaing
on 22 July 1777 at Sandy Hook
. Onslow sailed for the West Indies on 4 November 1778 with Commodore Hotham
, and took part in the capture of Saint Lucia
and its defense against d'Estaing that December at the Cul-de-Sac. In August 1779, he brought a convoy from St Kitts to Spithead
.
He was placed in command of the Bellona
, in the Channel Fleet
under Admiral Francis Geary
, in February 1780, and captured the Dutch 54-gun ship Prinses Carolina on 30 December 1780. Onslow took part in the Relief of Gibraltar under Admiral Darby
in April 1781, and again under Howe in October 1782. The Bellona captured La Solitaire in the West Indies before Onslow returned home and took half-pay in June 1783.
In early 1789, he was appointed to command the Magnificent at Portsmouth
, but was out of employment again in September 1791. He was promoted rear-admiral of the white on 1 February 1793 and vice-admiral on 4 July 1794. In 1796, he was made port admiral at Portsmouth, and in November, he went aboard the Nassau
to act as second-in-command of the North Sea Fleet under Admiral Duncan
.
During the Spithead and Nore mutinies
, Onslow suppressed a rising aboard the Nassau, and was sent by Duncan to quell the Adamant
. When the Nassau refused to sail on 26 May 1797, Onslow moved his flag to the Adamant and until the end of the mutiny, Duncan (in the Venerable
) and Onslow maintained the blockade off the Texel
alone, making signals to an imaginary fleet over the horizon. Onslow moved his flag again to the Monarch
on 25 July 1797, and it was aboard her that he took part in the Battle of Camperdown
on 11 October 1797. His flag captain, Edward O'Bryen
, supposedly warned him that the Dutch ships were too close together to get between, to which Onslow replied "The Monarch will make a passage." Indeed, Monarch was the first to break the Dutch line and attack the Jupiter of 72 guns, flagship of Vice-Admiral Reyntjes, who subsequently surrendered to Onslow.
For his exertions at Camperdown, Onslow was created a baronet and presented with the Freedom of the City of London. He became Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth
in 1796.
He went on sick leave on 10 December 1798 and retired as Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth a few weeks later. He was promoted Admiral of the Red on 9 November 1805 and received the GCB
in 1815. He died in 1817 at Southampton
.
Aquilon
in the Mediterranean
, which he did until 1769, and from 12 October 1770, commanded the Diana
in the West Indies. Admiral Rodney gave him command of Achilles
on 18 January 1773, in which he returned to England, where he acquired an estate and married Anne, daughter of Commodore Matthew Michell. They had three sons and four daughters:
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
(23 June 1741 – 27 December 1817) was an English naval officer who played a distinguished role at the Battle of Camperdown
Battle of Camperdown
The Battle of Camperdown was a major naval action fought on 11 October 1797 between a Royal Navy fleet under Admiral Adam Duncan and a Dutch Navy fleet under Vice-Admiral Jan de Winter...
.
Naval career
He was the younger son of Lt-Gen. Richard OnslowRichard Onslow (British Army officer)
Lieutenant-General Richard Onslow was a British army officer and politician.He was the second son of Foot Onslow and the younger brother of Arthur Onslow, Speaker of the House of Commons. On 9 December 1726, he married his brother's sister-in-law, Rose Bridges, daughter of John Bridges of Thames...
and his wife Pooley, daughter of Charles Walton. Onslow's uncle was Arthur Onslow
Arthur Onslow
Arthur Onslow was an English politician. He set a record for length of service when repeatedly elected to serve as Speaker of the House of Commons, where he was known for his integrity.-Early life and education:...
, Speaker of the British House of Commons
Speaker of the British House of Commons
The Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, the United Kingdom's lower chamber of Parliament. The current Speaker is John Bercow, who was elected on 22 June 2009, following the resignation of Michael Martin...
, and he enjoyed considerable interest as he rapidly rose through the Navy.
He was made fourth lieutenant of the Sunderland
HMS Sunderland (1724)
HMS Sunderland was a 60-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built to the 1719 Establishment at Chatham Dockyard, and launched on 30 April 1724....
on 17 December 1758 by V-Adm. George Pocock
George Pocock
Sir George Pocock, KB was a British officer of the Royal Navy. He rose to the rank of admiral.Pocock was from Chieveley in Berkshire, the son of Thomas Pocock, a chaplain in the navy. George Pocock entered the navy in 1718, serving aboard under the patronage of his maternal uncle, Captain...
, fifth lieutenant of the Grafton
HMS Grafton (1750)
HMS Grafton was a 70-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Portsmouth Dockyard to the draught specified by the 1745 Establishment, and launched on 29 March 1750.Grafton served until 1767, when she was sold out of the navy....
on 3 March 1759, and fourth lieutenant of Pocock's flagship, the Yarmouth on 17 March 1760, upon which he returned to England.
Onslow became commander of the Martin on 11 February 1761, cruising in the Skagerrak
Skagerrak
The Skagerrak is a strait running between Norway and the southwest coast of Sweden and the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat sea area, which leads to the Baltic Sea.-Name:...
until his promotion to captain of the Humber on 14 April 1762. He joined the Humber in June, but she was wrecked off Flamborough Head
Flamborough Head
Flamborough Head is a promontory of on the Yorkshire coast of England, between the Filey and Bridlington bays of the North Sea. It is a chalk headland, and the resistance it offers to coastal erosion may be contrasted with the low coast of Holderness to the south...
while returning from the Baltic
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
in September. Onslow was court-martial
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
ed for her loss, but was acquitted, the pilot being blamed for the wreck. On 29 November 1762, he was appointed to command the Phoenix.
Onslow did not receive another command until 31 October 1776, when he was appointed to the St Albans
HMS St Albans (1764)
HMS St Albans was a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 12 September 1764 at Blackwall Yard, London.She served in the American War of Independence from 1777 and was part of the fleet that captured St Lucia and won victories at Battle of St. Kitts and The Saintes...
. He took a convoy to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in April 1777 and joined Lord Howe
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...
in time for the repulse of d'Estaing
Charles Hector, comte d'Estaing
Jean Baptiste Charles Henri Hector, comte d'Estaing was a French general, and admiral. He began his service as a soldier in the War of the Austrian Succession, briefly spending time as a prisoner of war of the British during the Seven Years' War...
on 22 July 1777 at Sandy Hook
Sandy Hook, New Jersey
Sandy Hook is a barrier spit, approximately 6.0 miles in length and varying between 0.10 and 1 miles wide in Middletown Township in Monmouth County, along the Atlantic Ocean coast of eastern New Jersey in the United States. The barrier spit encloses the southern entrance of Lower New York Bay...
. Onslow sailed for the West Indies on 4 November 1778 with Commodore Hotham
William Hotham, 1st Baron Hotham
Admiral William Hotham, 1st Baron Hotham was an officer in the Royal Navy. He was the son of Sir Beaumont Hotham , a lineal descendant of Sir John Hotham....
, and took part in the capture of Saint Lucia
Saint Lucia
Saint Lucia is an island country in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. Part of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent, northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique. It covers a land area of 620 km2 and has an...
and its defense against d'Estaing that December at the Cul-de-Sac. In August 1779, he brought a convoy from St Kitts to Spithead
Spithead
Spithead is an area of the Solent and a roadstead off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds, except those from the southeast...
.
He was placed in command of the Bellona
HMS Bellona (1760)
HMS Bellona was a 74-gun Bellona-class third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. Designed by Sir Thomas Slade, she was a prototype for the iconic 74-gun ships of the latter part of the 18th century...
, in the Channel Fleet
Channel Fleet
The Channel Fleet was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1690 to 1909.-History:The Channel Fleet dates back at least to 1690 when its role was to defend England against the French threat under the leadership of Edward Russell, 1st Earl of...
under Admiral Francis Geary
Sir Francis Geary, 1st Baronet
Sir Francis Geary was an officer of the Royal Navy. He served during the War of the Austrian Succession, the Seven Years' War, and the American War of Independence, eventually rising to the rank of Admiral.-Family and early life:...
, in February 1780, and captured the Dutch 54-gun ship Prinses Carolina on 30 December 1780. Onslow took part in the Relief of Gibraltar under Admiral Darby
George Darby
Vice Admiral George Darby was an officer in the Royal Navy. He was the second son of Jonathan Darby III Esq. , of Leap Castle, in King's County, Ireland.-Early career:Darby joined the Royal Navy as a volunteer...
in April 1781, and again under Howe in October 1782. The Bellona captured La Solitaire in the West Indies before Onslow returned home and took half-pay in June 1783.
In early 1789, he was appointed to command the Magnificent at Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
, but was out of employment again in September 1791. He was promoted rear-admiral of the white on 1 February 1793 and vice-admiral on 4 July 1794. In 1796, he was made port admiral at Portsmouth, and in November, he went aboard the Nassau
HMS Nassau (1785)
HMS Nassau was a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 28 September 1785 at Bristol.During the Nore Mutiny she was commanded by Captain Edward O'Bryen. She was converted for use as a troopship in 1797. Nassau was wrecked in 1799....
to act as second-in-command of the North Sea Fleet under Admiral Duncan
Adam Duncan, 1st Viscount Duncan of Camperdown
Adam Duncan, 1st Viscount Duncan was a British admiral who defeated the Dutch fleet off Camperdown on 11 October 1797. This victory was considered one of the most significant actions in naval history.-Life:...
.
During the Spithead and Nore mutinies
Spithead and Nore mutinies
The Spithead and Nore mutinies were two major mutinies by sailors of the Royal Navy in 1797. There were also discontent and minor incidents on ships in other locations in the same year. They were not violent insurrections, being more in the nature of strikes, demanding better pay and conditions...
, Onslow suppressed a rising aboard the Nassau, and was sent by Duncan to quell the Adamant
HMS Adamant (1780)
HMS Adamant was a 50-gun Portland-class fourth rate warship of the British Royal Navy. She served during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary Wars, and the Napoleonic Wars in a career that spanned thirty years....
. When the Nassau refused to sail on 26 May 1797, Onslow moved his flag to the Adamant and until the end of the mutiny, Duncan (in the Venerable
HMS Venerable (1784)
HMS Venerable was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 19 April 1784 at Blackwall Yard.In 1797, Venerable served as Admiral Duncan's flagship at the Battle of Camperdown....
) and Onslow maintained the blockade off the Texel
Texel
Texel is a municipality and an island in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is the biggest and most populated of the Frisian Islands in the Wadden Sea, and also the westernmost of this archipelago, which extends to Denmark...
alone, making signals to an imaginary fleet over the horizon. Onslow moved his flag again to the Monarch
HMS Monarch (1765)
HMS Monarch was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 20 July 1765 at Deptford Dockyard.Monarch had a very active career, fighting in her first battle in 1778 at the First Battle of Ushant and her second under Admiral Rodney at Cape St. Vincent in 1780...
on 25 July 1797, and it was aboard her that he took part in the Battle of Camperdown
Battle of Camperdown
The Battle of Camperdown was a major naval action fought on 11 October 1797 between a Royal Navy fleet under Admiral Adam Duncan and a Dutch Navy fleet under Vice-Admiral Jan de Winter...
on 11 October 1797. His flag captain, Edward O'Bryen
Edward O'Bryen
Rear-Admiral Edward O'Bryen was a British Royal Navy officer prominent in the late nineteenth century, who is best known for his participation at the Nore Mutiny and the Battle of Camperdown, both in 1797 during the French Revolutionary Wars...
, supposedly warned him that the Dutch ships were too close together to get between, to which Onslow replied "The Monarch will make a passage." Indeed, Monarch was the first to break the Dutch line and attack the Jupiter of 72 guns, flagship of Vice-Admiral Reyntjes, who subsequently surrendered to Onslow.
For his exertions at Camperdown, Onslow was created a baronet and presented with the Freedom of the City of London. He became Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth
Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth
The Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth was a senior commander of the Royal Navy for hundreds of years. Plymouth Command was a name given to the units, establishments, and staff operating under the admiral's command. In the nineteenth century the holder of the office was known as Commander-in-Chief,...
in 1796.
He went on sick leave on 10 December 1798 and retired as Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth a few weeks later. He was promoted Admiral of the Red on 9 November 1805 and received the GCB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
in 1815. He died in 1817 at Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
.
Family
In 1765, Onslow, known for his conviviality, was a founder of the Navy Society dining club. On 18 January 1766, he was appointed to command the frigateFrigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
Aquilon
HMS Aquilon (1758)
HMS Aquilon was a 28-gun Coventry-class sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy.-References:* Robert Gardiner, The First Frigates, Conway Maritime Press, London 1992. ISBN 0-85177-601-9....
in the Mediterranean
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
, which he did until 1769, and from 12 October 1770, commanded the Diana
HMS Diana (1757)
HMS Diana was one of the four 32-gun Southampton-class fifth-rate frigates of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1757 and served through the American Revolutionary War before being broken up in 1793.- References :...
in the West Indies. Admiral Rodney gave him command of Achilles
HMS Achilles (1757)
HMS Achilles was a 60-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Barnard and Turner at Harwich to the draught specified by the 1745 Establishment as amended in 1750, and launched in 1757. She was ordered in November 1755...
on 18 January 1773, in which he returned to England, where he acquired an estate and married Anne, daughter of Commodore Matthew Michell. They had three sons and four daughters:
- Matthew Richard Onslow (d. 1808), married Sarah Seton in 1805 and had two daughters
- Sir Henry Onslow, 2nd Baronet (1784–1853)
- Capt. John James Onslow (d. 1856)
- Frances Onslow (d. 1844), married V-Adm. Sir Hyde Parker
- Anne Onslow (d. 1853), married Francis Lake, 2nd Viscount Lake (d. 1836) in 1833; married Henry Gritton in 1837
- Elizabeth Onslow (d. 1861), married Robert Lewis (d. 1840)
- Harriet Onslow (d. 1860), married J.N. Creighton