The Sun.
London, England, 1853-12-05 00:00:00

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.

PORTSMOUTH, DEC. 4.

We have to announce the'death of Vice-Admiral
Jaines Richard Dacres, which took place at his seat,
Catisfield, near Fareham, this morning. The services
of the deceased are thus graven in, O'Byrne's Naval
Biography :
"This officer entered the navy in 1796 as first-class
volunteer on board the Sceptre, 64, commanded by his
father Captain .T. R. Dacres, With whom we, find him
also in 1796 serving in the ,Barfieur, 98, from August,
1800, until the receipt of his first commission, which
bears date 15th November, 1804. He 'further officated
chiefly on the home station as Midshipman of the Impe-
tenx, 74, Captain Sir Edward Pellew • the Clyde, 38,
Captain C. Cunningham ; Centaur, 74, 'Captain Bendal
Robert. Littlehales ; Excellent, 74,- Captain Nash ; the
Boadicea, 38, Captain J. Maitland ; and Culloden, 74,
• Captain R. Dacres. During that period he attended,
• when in the Impeteux, the expedition against Ferrol, in
August, 1800, and was present in the Boadicea in a
short action with the French 74, Duguay Trouin, 29th
August, 1803. After performing the duties for seven
months of flag-lieutenant in the Theseus and Hercule,
74's, to his father, then Commander-in-Chief on the Ja-
maica 'station, Mr. Dacres was promoted (sth July,
1805,) to the command of the Elk sloop, from which he
appears to have been posted (14th January, 1806,) into
the Bacchante, 24. On the. 14th January, 1807, he
captured, off the island of St. Domingo, the French na-
tional schooner Dauphin, of 3 guns and 71 men, and he
then associated himself with Captain W. F. Wise, of the
Mediator, 32, and succeeded, by well conducted strata-
gem, in approaching, through a most difficult navigation,
the Fort of Samana, a notorious nest for privateers,
which, after a cannonade of four hours, and a loss to '
the British of two men killed and 16 wounded, was
ultimately stormed and carried with great gallantry
by the boats of the two ships under Lieutenants
H. L. Baker, J. Norton, and Shaw. On his return to
England in the Mediator, Captain Dacres (in December,
1807) was placed on half-pay, and from that time we do
not again find him afloat until= appointed (16th March,
1811)16 the 'Guerriere, an old worn-Out frigate, carry-,
ing 48 guns (yielding a broadside weight of 5171 b.), dan
244 men. On the 19th of August, 1812, being on her
way to Halifax, after a very long cruise, this vessel en-
countered and came to close action with the -United
States' 'ship Constitution, of 57 guns (throwing a broad-
side, weight of 7681 b.) and 460 men. After nobly strug.
gling with her huge antagonist for nearly an hour and
three quarters, the Guerri4re, having lost 15 men killed
and 63' wounded, and being rendered quite ungovernable,
with the loss of all her masts, was at length obliged to
surrender, in' so shattered a condition, ~indeed, that on
the followingmorning she was set on fire and blown up.
The Constitution's loss on that. Occasion amounted to at
least seven men
-killed, and' as 'many wounded.' -A-mong
the badly wounded on board the Grierribre was her gal-
lant defender, Captain Dacres, himself, who received a
musket ball in the back' while standing on the starboaid
forecastle hammocks,: animating his crew ; but Who
could not be prevailed upon to leave tile dectk. By the
court martial which, on the 2d .of October following,
• assembled on board the Africa,, 64, at Halifax, to try
' Captain Dacres for. surren.clerieg_his ship to the enemy,
- he was, as may be readily imagined, unanimously and
honourably acquitted of all blame on account of her cap-
ture. We afterwards find him in command, from the,
23d of July, 1814, to the
,18th of Sept.,- 1818;'of
_the
Tiber, 38, on the Cork, Newfoundland, and Channel sta-
tions ; and, from the 28th of Oct,, 1833, until 1837, ofthe
, Edinburgh, 74, in the Mediterranean. In the former ship
Capt. Dacres took (on the Bth of March, 1815) the Leo,
Americhn privatem of-7-guns an 41.93 men. He attained
. flag rank ,on the 28th of June, 1338 ; and on the 9th of
August; 183; -was appointed`. Cominande.r-in-Chief on
the Cape of Good Hope station (which was his laSt em-
ployment.) Rear-Admiral Dacres was presented with a
gratuity from the Patriotic Fund at Lloyd's-in consider-
ation of his wound." By his death the 'following pro-
.motions ensue "f-: •
Vice-Admiral of the White, the Hon. G. Poulett, to
be Vice-Admiral of the Red, •
Vice-Admiral of the Blue, Hyde Parker, C. 8., senior
naval Lord ofthe Admiralty, to be Vice;Admiral bf the
White.
Rear-Admiral of the Red, Sir Phipps Hornby, K.C.8.,
to be Vice-Admiral of the-Blhe:
Rear-Admiral of the White, Sir William F. Carrel,
K.C.B. Commander-in-Chief on the Irish station, to be
Rear-Admiral of the Red. •
Rear-Admiral of the Blue, P. W. P. Wallis, to be
Rear-Admiral of the White. "
Captain, the Hon. MOntague Stopford, commanding
the Waterloo, 120, at Sheerness, Aide-do-cep to the
Queen, 'to be Rear-Admiral of the Blue: -
This leaves_ Captain Chads, C. 8., of the Excellent,
the senior captain' of the-fleet.,•
Captain, the Right Hon. Lord G._Poulett becomes in
receipt, of the half-pay of 14s. 6d. per diem, and Captain
the Hon. Joieph Denmaii, commanding the Queen's
steam-squadron,' the half-pay of 12s. 6d. per diem.
By the above promotions' the • command -of the flag-
ship at the Nore and a'naval aide-de-camp ship 'to the
Queen, fall to the gift of the First Lord of the Admiralty.