John Loring ( d . 1808 ) John Loring ( died 9 November 1808 ) was an officer in the Royal Navy who served during the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars . Loring was a descendant of a naval officer , with his first - cousin also making a successful career in the Navy . John Loring saw some service in the American War of Independence , being promoted to lieutenant during the war , but remained at this rank until shortly after the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars . He went out to the Mediterranean with his first command and served at the Siege of Toulon under Admiral Lord Hood . His ship was under repair when the city fell to French forces , and he was forced to burn her to keep her out of enemy hands . His service continued though , and he became acting - captain of the 74 - gun for a brief period before a new officer was appointed to replace her original captain . Loring went on to command several ships of the line , before one again taking over HMS " Bellerophon " , this time as a full post - captain . He served in the West Indies , and distinguished himself after the outbreak of the Napoleonic Wars by superintending the Blockade of Saint - Domingue , with the post of commodore . During the blockade a number of French warships , merchants and privateer s were taken by his squadron , and he oversaw the surrender and evacuation of the French garrison of Haiti . He finally returned to Britain in 1805 and paid his ship off . He does not appear to have served in a seagoing command again , but commanded the Plymouth guardship for two years and took up a shore - based position as commander of a unit of the Sea Fencibles . He died in 1808 , still with the rank of captain . He was succeeded by at least two sons , who followed their father into the navy . Family and first commands . Loring ' s origins are obscure . He was the grandson of Joshua Loring , a naval officer who had served in North America during the Seven Years ' War and had commanded a squadron on the Great Lakes during the American War of Independence . He was also the first - cousin of John Wentworth Loring , who also embarked on a naval career and rose to the rank of admiral . John Loring was commissioned as a lieutenant on 3 December 1779 . He still held this rank by the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars and in January 1793 was appointed to command the fireship . Promoted to commander on 16 May 1793 , he sailed " Conflagration " to the Mediterranean on 22 May and was part of Lord Hood ' s fleet at the occupation and siege of Toulon . She was under repair there when the city was evacuated , and was burnt on Hood ' s orders to avoid falling into French hands on 18 December 1793 . He returned to England and was given command of the 16 - gun sloop , which he served in from April 1794 until 1795 . Loring was made acting - captain of the 74 - gun on 12 April 1796 while " Bellerophon " was serving off Ushant on the Brest blockade . " Bellerophon " s nominal commander , Captain James Cranstoun , 8th Lord Cranstoun , had been appointed Governor of Grenada and left the ship to prepare to take up his post . Loring was in command until being superseded by Cranstoun ' s replacement , Captain Henry D ' Esterre Darby , on 11 September . He seems to have left the ship shortly after this and by October 1796 had presumably been promoted to captain as he commissioned the 32 - gun and prepared her for service . He took her out to Jamaica in February 1797 and there had some success against privateer s , capturing the French 6 - gun privateer schooner " Liberté " later that year . In 1799 he is recorded as taking command of the 74 - gun at Jamaica , holding the post until 1800 . He took over the 74 - gun that year , but paid her off later in 1800 . He appears to have briefly commissioned the 98 - gun in early November 1801 , but had received a new appointment before the end of the month . HMS " Bellerophon " . Loring was appointed to take over his former command , HMS " Bellerophon " , on 25 November 1801 , superseding Captain Lord Garlies . " Bellerophon " was serving at this time with the Channel Fleet , but in early 1802 Loring received new orders . " Bellerophon " was among five ships ordered to join Admiral John Duckworth ' s squadron in the West Indies , and having stored , she sailed from Torbay on 2 March 1802 . By the time of her arrival on 27 March , the Treaty of Amiens had been signed , and Britain and France were at peace . For the next eighteen months " Bellerophon " took part in cruises in the Jamaica Passage and escorted merchant convoys between Jamaica and Halifax . " Bellerophon " was in the West Indies when the Napoleonic Wars broke out in May 1803 . Loring was appointed commodore of the British squadron , which quickly went on the offensive against French shipping in the Blockade of Saint - Domingue . The corvette " Mignonne " and a brig were captured in late June , after which the British patrolled off Cap - François . On 24 July the squadron , made up of " Bellerophon " and the 74 - gun ships , and , came across two French 74 - gun ships , " Duquesne " and " Duguay - Trouin " , and the frigate " Guerrière " , attempting to escape from Cap - François . The squadron gave chase , and on 25 July overhauled and captured " Duquesne " after a few shots were fired , while " Duguay - Trouin " and " Guerrière " managed to evade their pursuers and escape to France . One man was killed aboard " Bellerophon " during the pursuit . Loring remained blockading Cap - François until November , when the French commander of the garrison there , General Rochambeau , approached him and requested to be allowed to evacuate his men , which were being besieged by a native Haitian force led by Jean - Jacques Dessalines . The French were allowed to evacuate on three frigates , " Surveillante " , " Clorinde " and " Vertu " , and a number of smaller ships , and were escorted to Jamaica by the squadron . A particularly severe outbreak of malaria struck the ship in early February 1804 , with 212 members of " Bellerophon " s crew falling ill . 17 died aboard the ship , while 100 had to be transferred to a shore - based hospital , where a further 40 died . Loring was ordered to sail her back to Britain in June , escorting a large convoy , and arrived in the Downs on 11 August . He briefly paid her off and she was taken into Portsmouth Dockyard for a refit , before rejoining the Channel Fleet , still off Brest , and under the command of Admiral Sir William Cornwallis . These duties lasted until early 1805 , with Loring being superseded by Captain John Cooke on 24 April . Later life . Loring was then appointed to command the 112 - gun , the Plymouth guardship , later that month , holding the post until being superseded in June 1807 . He was then in command of the Sea Fencibles covering the district between Emsworth and Calshot , and died in this post on 9 November 1808 , still a captain , at Fareham , Hampshire . He was described as " a most zealous , brave , and humane officer " in John Marshall ' s " Royal Naval Biography " . He had at least two sons , who followed him into the Navy . Both survived him , with the eldest , John , dying of yellow fever while a midshipman aboard in 1820 . His second son , Hector , became a commander . Notes . a . Cranstoun died suddenly at his home at Bishop ' s Waltham on 22 September before he could take up his post .