page_title: Robert Roddam
section_title: Defending Greenwich
hierarchical_section_title: Robert Roddam / Seven Years' War / Defending Greenwich
caption_attribution_description: English: Joseph_de_Bauffremont_with_M_de_Broves_being_welcome_into_Smyrne_by_the_French_Consul_28_September_1766_detail.
context_page_description: Robert Roddam 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. He survived to see the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, but was not actively employed during them.
  Robert Roddam was born to a gentry family in northern England, and entered the navy some years before the outbreak of the War of Jenkins' Ear. He worked his way up through the ranks during this war, and the wider War of the Austrian Succession, distinguishing himself in several actions and gaining promotions which eventually led to his first command in 1746. He impressed his superior officers, including George Anson and Sir Peter Warren, with his ability and enthusiasm, particularly during a daring attack on a French force at Cedeira. Appointed to larger and more powerful ships, Roddam continued to win praise, and spent some time in North American waters, where he became embroiled in local power struggles. Sent to the Caribbean shortly after the outbreak of the Seven Years' War, Roddam encountered a powerful French squadron, and after a hard-fought struggle, was captured and taken prisoner.
context_section_description: Roddam was ordered to the Caribbean shortly after the outbreak of the Seven Years' War and departed for Jamaica on 23 January 1757. While cruising off Cape Cabron, San Domingo on 18 March 1757, mysterious sails were sighted, which were at first assumed to be a small fleet of merchant ships being conveyed by two frigates. They were in fact a squadron of French warships under Joseph de Bauffremont, consisting of the 84-gun Tonnant, the 74-gun ships Diadème and Desauncene, the 64-gun ships Éveillé and Inflexible, the frigates Sauvage and Brune, and a 20-gun storeship. The French were to windward, and Bauffremont, unsure of Greenwich's identity, sent one of his frigates to examine her. Realising that with the wind in the Frenchman's favour, he could not escape, Roddam attempted to lure the frigate towards him, hoping to capture her before the rest of the fleet could intervene, and then send her immediately to Rear-Admiral George Townshend, the commander at Jamaica, with news of the French movements.
  On assessing Greenwich's strength, the frigate kept close to the squadron, which then came up and attacked, action commencing at 9 a.m. when Diadème opened fire. For the next twelve hours Greenwich was constantly engaged with one or other of the French ships. Roddam still hoped to carry his plan of capturing one of them into execution, and assembled his men in an attempt to board the 64-gun Éveillé, but several of her consorts bore up and opened fire, damaging Greenwich's rigging and leaving her unmanageable. Roddam gathered his officers together, and told them that though they had no hope of winning against such a superior force, if any man could point out the admiral's flagship, he hoped to engage her and fight on for another hour or two. His officers, among whom was Lieutenant James Wallace, pledged to follow their captain, but pointed out that they had done all in their power to defend their ship. At 9.30 p.m., Roddam agreed to surrender his ship, as further resistance would only cause further casualties among his men.
  The colours were then struck to Éveillé, upon which her commander demanded Roddam come aboard his ship. Roddam refused, answering that if he was wanted on the French ship, a boat must be sent for him, or else he would rehoist the colours and defend the ship until she sank. A lieutenant was then sent over in a boat from the French ship, and Roddam came aboard. The French commander, Captain Merville, gave Roddam the bedding of the ordinary ship's company and a dirty rug, and did not allow him to change his clothes. Greenwich was ransacked, and the crew left unfed. Roddam protested, and demanded to be taken to see Bauffremont. After Roddam had expressed his grievances, Bauffremont asked Roddam why he had refused to come to present his surrender in his own boat. Roddam replied that he would have considered it a disgrace, and that his sword would have been delivered through the body of the person demanding it, had it happened to him.
caption: Joseph de Bauffremont, whose squadron captured Roddam's ship off San Domingo
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "", "Image Make": "SONY", "Image Model": "DSC-T10", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Paint Shop Pro Photo 12.00", "Image DateTime": "2009:11:28 06:01:03", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "272", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "860", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "9545", "Thumbnail YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/20", "EXIF FNumber": "7/2", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "800", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2007:10:17 00:29:41", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2007:10:17 00:29:41", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "8", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "29/8", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Spot", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "633/100", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1066", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1103", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "718", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Hard"}