page_title: Charles Dashwood (Royal Navy officer)
section_title: French Revolutionary Wars
hierarchical_section_title: Charles Dashwood (Royal Navy officer) / French Revolutionary Wars
context_page_description: Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Dashwood KCB was a distinguished British officer, who served in the Royal Navy during the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812. He had a long and prestigious naval career, gaining his own command by the last stages of the French Revolutionary Wars. He took part in a number of famous naval battles during his career, such as the Battle of the Saintes, the Glorious First of June and the Battle of Tory Island, where he received the sword of the French commodore, Jean Bompart. His record also includes extensive operations in the West Indies and the Baltic Sea, followed by the expedition to New Orleans in 1815.
context_section_description: After the American Revolutionary War, Dashwood was employed as master's mate on board the sloop HMS Cygnet until he was sent to the 50-gun fourth-rate HMS Bristol. He served on the latter until she was put out of commission in 1786. After being paid off in 1787, Dashwood joined the packet-service at Falmouth, where he remained for two years. Shortly afterwards he was appointed commander of a merchant vessel, cruising between London and Jamaica until the renewal of hostilities against the French Republic in 1793.
  In early March 1794, he was appointed as a junior lieutenant aboard HMS Impregnable, flagship of Rear-Admirals Benjamin Caldwell and Andrew Mitchell. He distinguished himself in the Glorious First of June, at which British Admiral Richard Howe attempted to destroy a large French fleet protecting a convoy. The convoy escaped the British, but seven French ships were taken and the rest driven back to France. Impregnable was heavily engaged in the action and suffered severe damage. During the course of the engagement, Dashwood had to lash the fore top-sail yard which had been shot in the slings, to the cap, whereby the ship was enabled to wear in pursuit of the enemy. For this action he was promoted, on 20 June 1794, to the rank of full lieutenant. Dashwood's next appointments were from 13 August 1796 to late 1798; first on board HMS Defiance and then on board HMS Magnanime frigate of 48 guns. On the former he resisted a mutiny, while on the latter he assisted in the capture of the 36-gun French frigate La Décade, on 24 August 1798, off Cape Finisterre.
  He was also present at the Battle of Tory Island, where the French squadron under Jean Bompart was defeated off the coast of Ireland. During the course of the engagement, Charles Dashwood captured the 74-gun Le Hoche, and later received the sword of the French commodore. He was superseded by an officer of HMS Canada, bearing Sir John B. Warren's broad pendant, and was appointed in command of La Coquille, one of the frigates captured that day, which he sailed into Belfast and then to Plymouth. She was accidentally burnt on 14 December, and several of her crew, along with three women, perished. He continued serving on board Magnagnime and after contributing to the capture of some privateers, on 2 August 1799 he was promoted to the rank of commander, and appointed captain of the 18-gun ship HMS Sylph.
  The following year, Dashwood's command was employed on operations within gunshot distance of the French batteries in Brest harbour, and on one occasion, during a foggy night, he rescued the British frigate HMS Alcmene, after she had become grounded and began drifting among the rocks. On 31 July, while stationed off the north-coast of Spain, Dashwood beat off the 44-gun French frigate L'Artémise; after a vigorous action of an hour and 29 minutes. On 28 September, about 40 leagues to the north of Cape Pinas, he discovered a large ship, apparently of similar force to her former opponent. After exchanging broadsides and conducting several tacks, at 7:30 pm the Sylph succeeded in placing herself on the weather bow of the frigate, and the engagement commenced, which continued for two hours until the enemy escaped, having inflicted heavy damage on Sylph's sails and rigging.
  After beating the enemy twice, Dashwood, on rejoining the fleet off Brest, was congratulated by Admiral William Cornwallis who recommended to the Board of Admiralty that he be promoted, albeit with no effect. Dashwood had repeatedly hailed the enemy to ascertain her name and nation, but received no answer. In consequence of not being able to tell the name of the enemy ship, his promotion was delayed, as it evidenced in the following letter from the Earl of St. Vincent, replying to Cornwallis' recommendation of Dashwood's application for a post commission:
  I have read your official letter with all the attention such a recital merits; but until the Board receive official information of the force, and the nation to which the vessel belongs, which the Sylph was engaged with, and adequate judgement cannot be formed 
caption: HMS Brunswick fighting Achille and Vengeur du Peuple simultaneously at the Battle of the Glorious 1 June 1794, by Nicholas Pocock.
exif: {"Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop 7.0", "Image DateTime": "2002:07:01 16:09:42", "Image ExifOffset": "156", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "294", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "3832", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1280", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "924"}