Samuel Graves Admiral Samuel Graves ( 17 April 1713 – 8 March 1787 ) was a British Royal Navy admiral who is probably best known for his role early in the American War of Independence . Military career . Son of Samuel Graves , he was thought to have been born in Northern Ireland where his grandfather , Captain James Graves ( 1654 – 1689 ) , who married a daughter of Sir John Herdman of Stannington , lived , before he was robbed of his regiment ' s wages and murdered in his bed . Graves joined the Royal Navy in 1732 . Made lieutenant in 1739 , he participated in the 1741 expedition against Cartagena , serving on the frigate " Norfolk " , under his uncle and future admiral , Captain Thomas Graves . Samuel Graves ’ s cousin Thomas , Captain Graves ’ s son and also future admiral , served alongside him on the third - rate ship - of - the - line Norfolk ( 80 ) . Promoted to command of the sloop " Bonetta " in 1743 , Graves served in the West Indies until 1747 , commanding " Ripon ’ s Prize " , and , later , " Enterprise " . Seven Years ' War . In 1756 Graves rose to command the " Duke " . Two years later , Graves returned to command of the " Duke " , serving again under Hawke in the Battle of Quiberon Bay on 20 November 1759 . He continued in command of the " Duke " until his promotion to rear admiral in October 1762 . American War of Independence . In October 1770 Graves rose to vice admiral , and in July 1774 assumed command of the North American Station . Graves ’ s orders were vague , his resources overstretched , and his task , in the words of the Dictionary of National Biography , “ perhaps the most ungracious duty that has ever fallen to the lot of a naval officer . ” According to his instructions , Graves was charged with supporting customs officials enforcing the various revenue and trade acts governing North American colonial trade within the empire , especially the Boston Port Act . With only twenty - six ships and over one - thousand miles of coastline from Nova Scotia to Florida to patrol , Graves ’ s task was Sisyphean . Manning problems made the Royal Navy ’ s problems even more acute , thus forcing it to resort to press gangs in order to supplement the ships ’ slender crews . Compounding the problem was the attitude and behavior of navy officers who did not recognize local authority and were more often contemptuous of local officials and sensitivities . Headquartered in Boston , Graves was at the center of the Revolutionary turmoil in New England . His sailors manned the boats that ferried British soldiers across the Charles River en route to Concord on the night of 18 April 1775 . Two months later , on 17 June 1775 , his sailors again helped ferry troops , this time to the Charlestown Peninsula , while several of his ships provided fire support for the pyrrhic victory at Bunker Hill . During the Siege of Boston , Admiral Graves , on 6 October 1775 , ordered Lt . Henry Mowat t , commanding the armed vessel HMS " Canceaux " , to destroy seaports that were supporting the rebellion . Mowatt burned Falmouth ( today ’ s Portland , Maine ) on 18 October . On 27 January 1776 , Vice Admiral Richard Howe succeeded Graves as commander - in - chief of the North American station . Graves returned to England without a command . In September 1777 he declined command of Plymouth , but indicated a desire to return to active duty . Graves advanced to admiral of the blue on 29 January 1778 , admiral of the white on 8 April 1782 , and died at his estate at Hembury Fort , Honiton , Devon on 8 March 1787 . A monument sculpted by John Bacon but designed by a " Miss Burgess " was erected in Dunkeswell in Devon in the same year . Family . He married Elizabeth Sedgwick , daughter of John Sedgwick of Staindrop ( County Durham ) . After Elizabeth ' s death in 1767 he married again in 1769 , his second wife being Margaret Spinkes , daughter of Elmer Spinkes of Aldwinkle in Northamptonshire , and an elder sister of Elizabeth Simcoe . He had no children , just a ward ( daughter of his late sister - in - law ) who married his godson John Graves Simcoe , who later became first Governor General of Upper Canada . He was the uncle of Admiral Thomas Graves , 1st Baron Graves , who was a first cousin of Rear - Admiral Sir Thomas Graves .