Charles Dashwood ( Royal Navy officer ) Vice - Admiral Sir Charles Dashwood KCB ( 1 September 1765 – 21 September 1847 ) 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 . Early life and service during the American Revolutionary War . Charles Dashwood was born on 1 September 1765 in Vallon Wood , Somerset , England , where his family resided for three hundred years . His father was Mr . Robert Dashwood and his mother was Hon . Mary Sweeting . He was baptized on the day of his birth at Bicknoller . At the age of thirteen , Dashwood entered the Royal Navy , being appointed as a midshipman on 9 January 1779 , and embarking on board the 74 - gun ship HMS " Courageux " , commanded by Captain Lord Mulgrave . After serving some time with the Channel Fleet , from March 1780 to January 1782 he embarked successively on board the frigate HMS " Southampton " and on HMS " Grafton " , both under the orders of Captain Garnier , under whom he witnessed the Action of 9 August 1780 , where the " Southampton " narrowly escaped to a Franco - Spanish fleet . Returning from Jamaica to England with Garnier in the " Grafton " , he embarked on board HMS " Formidable " , flagship of Sir George Rodney , acting as aide - de - camp during the Battle of the Saintes , where the French fleet was beaten thanks to the innovative tactic of " breaking the line " , giving Britain a weapon to wield at the Treaty of Versailles , and restoring the status quo that the British had in the West Indies to that of 1776 . An eyewitness account of the battle was written by him . During the heat of the battle , Rodney asked Dashwood to make him a glass of lemonade , the ingredients for which were at hand . Not having anything to stir it with but a knife that was already discoloured by the cutting of the lemon , George Rodney said , on Dashwood presenting it to him : " Child , that may do for a midshipman , but not for an admiral . Take it yourself and send my servant to me . " French Revolutionary Wars . 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 " , flag - ship 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 prize frigates of that day , which he sailed into 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 gun - shot 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 of the merits of the action . Dashwood was finally promoted to Post - captain on 2 November 1801 , and was given command of the 20 - gun sloop HMS " Bacchante " on 28 November 1803 . Aboard that ship he convoyed a fleet from Oporto and then proceeded to the West Indies , where he captured , on 3 April 1803 , the Spanish schooner " La Elizabeth " , of 10 guns and 47 men . On 14 May 1805 he also took " El Felix " , a Spanish letter - of - marque of six guns and 42 men . He later wrote an account of the capture to Rear - Admiral James Dacres : Bacchante , off the Havana , May 14 , 1805 . Sir , I beg to acquaint you , that the Spanish schooner le Felix , a Letter of Marque , pierced for ten guns , but only six mounted , with a complement of forty - two men , commanded by Francisco Lopes , laden with coffee and bees wax , from the Havana to Vera Cruz , was this day captured by His Majesty ' s Ship under my Command , after a Chase of four hours . She sailed the preceding evening , and was permitted to do so from her very great superiority of sailing , and is the first Vessel that has quitted that anchorage since the Embargo was laid on . I have the honour to be , & c . C . DASHWOOD , Captain . Napoleonic Wars . On 5 April 1805 , as " Bacchante " was cruising off Havana , Dashwood received information that there were three French privateers lying in the harbour of Mariel , located to the westward and defended by a tower nearly 40 feet high , on the top of which were placed three long 24 - pounders , and round its oval numerous loop - holes for musketry . Dashwood endeavoured to cut them out . Accordingly , in the evening , he dispatched on that service two boats , containing about 35 seamen and marines , under the command of Lieutenant Thomas Oliver , with directions to attack and carry the fort prior to entering the harbour . When the boats pushed off , the tower fired at them . Seeing that no time was to be lost , the British marines rushed to the foot of the tower and scaled it . It was defended by a Spanish captain and 30 soldiers , who were quickly over powered after suffering casualties of two killed and three wounded . The privateers had already left the harbour , but Oliver , determined not to quit the harbour empty - handed , captured two schooners laden with sugar , which were brought away . While commanding HMS " Franchise " , a frigate of 36 guns , Dashwood saw action in the West Indies , where he captured the Spanish schooner " El Carmen " and the Dutch armed vessel " Brutus " . In January 1806 Dashwood received information that several Spanish vessels had anchored in the Bay of Campeche and he determined to try to capture them . On the night of 6 January , having anchored about from the town of Campeche , Dashwood dispatched three of " Franchise " ' s boats , under the command of three lieutenants . Because of the distance they had to row , the British did not reach the Spanish vessels until 4 : 00 am on the 7th , by which time the moon had risen , their approach had been observed and the Spaniards alerted . As the boats pulled in , the British parties became exposed to the fire of two Spanish brigs of war , a schooner and seven gun - boats . After about 10 minutes of hand - to - hand fighting , Dashwood ' s boarding parties had captured the Spanish national brig " Raposa " , which mounted 12 guns . The prize was pursued by the other Spanish vessels , which continued to fire on them until they withdrew . On 1 August 1807 , he parted in company with Commodore Richard Keats ' squadron and sailed to the passage of the Great Belt , in order to intercept any ships carrying Danish troops crossing from Holstein to Zealand . Accompanied by HMS " Magicienne " , Dashwood also escorted a convoy of 109 ships from Jamaica , and accompanied James Gambier on his expedition against Copenhagen in August and September 1807 . After this expedition , in 1808 he returned to the West Indies with a convoy , and served successively under the orders of John Duckworth and Vice - Admiral James Dacres . On 17 November 1808 Dashwood rendered an essential service to the Spanish patriots . A squadron under his orders , consisting of the former HM Ships " Franchise " , " Daedalus " , " Aurora " , " Reindeer " and " Pert " , blockaded the city of Santo Domingo by taking possession of the town of Samaná , where the French were erecting batteries for their permanent establishment . In the harbour he found two French schooner privateers , " Échange " and " Guerrier " , each of five guns and upwards of 100 men , and three trading vessels , all of which were taken . An English ship and a Spanish one were also recaptured while in the act of entering the port . After this brief action , he handed the port over a Spanish force under Don Diego de Lira , and a couple of weeks later he sailed to Port Royal , in Jamaica , with his captures . Dashwood also captured " Le Hazard " , a French privateer of four guns and 40 men off Scilly . On January 1809 , he captured " L ' Iphigénie " , a French letter - of - marque pierced for 18 guns . On 22 September 1809 Captain Dashwood presided a court martial to try Joseph Fountain , Master of HMS " Polyphemus " . Dashwood ' s next command was the 36 - gun frigate HMS " Belvidera " , which he obtained in January 1810 , and held that command until March . He was then appointed to HMS " Pyramus " , a 36 - gun frigate fitting for the Baltic station . Cruising on those latitudes , Dashwood captured a Danish privateer , giving notice of his feat : Sir , I beg to acquaint you , that the Danish three - masted schooner privateer Norsk Mod , of six guns , four swivels , 28 men , and of 100 tons burthen , commanded by Mathias Bergt , was captured at two o ' clock this morning by the Pyramus . – This privateer had left Arundel only six hours , and sailed for the express purpose of annoying the very large convoy that sailed yesterday from Gottenburgh for England . I have the honour to be , & c . C . DASHWOOD , Captain . Later service . During the winter of 1811 , Dashwood commanded a squadron of 10 sloops and smaller vessels , in order to collect and bring home the remnant of Rear - Admiral Robert Reynold ' s convoy that had been prevented from passing through the Skagerrak by bad weather . On this occasion , he availed himself of a strong S . S . W . wind , and boldly pushed through the Malmö Channel , instead of the Great Belt as ordered , saving the remaining of ships from destruction . In the Baltic , amidst the context of the Anglo - Swedish War , Dashwood received notice that the Swedes were fitting out eight sail of the line and five frigates at Karlskrona . The British consul in Sweden , a man named Smith , passed on to Dashwood a request from the Swedish government that those ships not be molested . Dashwood gave orders to his crew to respect the Swedish flag , and also informed Swedish Admiral Puke that there should not be misunderstanding between the two nations , as war between the United Kingdom and Sweden existed only on paper . Early in the spring , he was sent with his squadron to provide protection to the island of Anholt , which was threatened by the Danes . No action followed , though , as the Danish attempt to occupy the island was abandoned on the appearance of Dashwood ' s fleet . Afterwards Dashwood took eight American merchantmen , and on 15 June 1812 , he captured the " Hope " , a merchant ship off the north of Gothland . On 14 August 1812 he was appointed captain of HMS " Cressy " of 74 guns , and given a piece of plate by the officers of HMS " Pyramus " . After serving in the North Sea under Admiral Sir William Young , Dashwood escorted a convoy to the West Indies , whence he returned with another of equal importance . At the review of the fleet at Spithead , in the summer of 1814 , he steered the Royal barge . Afterwards he took part , commanding HMS " Norge " of 74 guns , in the Battle of New Orleans , where he assisted Admiral Pulteney Malcolm in the debarkation of the army , being reported by Sir Alexander Cochrane . He was also present at the Battle of Lake Borgne , where a few gunboats of the " Norge " , in company with other small vessels , captured five American gunboats . In 1815 , when at anchor in Port Royal , his ship was struck by lightning , which broke the main - topgallant - mast in three pieces , shivered the maintop - mast and brought the mizentop - mast and topgallant - mast down on to deck . In 1821 he was given command of HMS " Windsor Castle " of 74 guns , and HMS " Impregnable " , of 104 guns , as Cochrane ' s flag - captain . He recommissioned " Windsor Castle " on 4 January 1822 , as part of the guard - ships in Hamoaze . In 1825 he was put onto half - pay , and was made a rear - admiral on 22 July 1830 . He assumed the rank of vice - admiral on 23 November 1841 . Charles died while at service , on 21 September 1847 . Consequently , on 22 September 1847 , the Admiralty promoted him posthumously to the rank of admiral . Family . In 1799 , Dashwood married Elizabeth de Courcy , the daughter of Lord Kingsale , John de Courcy . They had three children . His two eldest sons , Charles Robert and John De Courcy , were commissioned into the Royal Navy . His youngest son , Francis , became a captain in the Bengal Horse Artillery .