Hugh Palliser Admiral Sir Hugh Palliser , 1st Baronet ( 26 February 1723 – 19 March 1796 ) was an officer of the British Royal Navy during the Seven Years ' War and the American Revolutionary War . During the latter he came into a famous dispute with Augustus Keppel over the Battle of Ushant which led to Palliser being court - martialled , although he was subsequently acquitted . Early life . Palliser was the only son of Hugh Palliser and Mary Robinson . at Kirk Deighton , in the North Riding of Yorkshire . The family had estates in Yorkshire and Ireland . His parents died when he was still young , so he and his sisters were ( probably ) raised by relatives on his mother ' s side . He entered the navy in 1735 as a midshipman on HMS " Aldborough " commanded by his uncle Nicholas Robinson . He followed his uncle to HMS " Kennington " in 1737 , and then to HMS " Tiger " and HMS " Essex " . Palliser passed his lieutenant ' s examination on 12 May 1741 and was promoted to the rank on 18 September 1741 . He continued to serve aboard " Essex " , at first under Robinson , and after he was superseded , under Captain Richard Norris , the son of Sir John Norris . On 3 July 1746 he was placed in command of HMS " Weazel " . On 25 November of that year he was appointed post - captain of HMS " Captain " , sailing for the West Indies with the broad pennant of Commodore Edward Legge . Legge died on 19 September 1747 , and Palliser transferred to HMS " Sutherland " . Six months later an accidental fire in that ship ' s arms chest wounded Palliser ; a ball entered his back and exited his groin ; another ball struck his right hip ; a third ball struck his left shoulder . Two men were killed in the explosion , and Palliser returned to England to recover . He recovered , though he remained lame in his left leg , and suffered perpetual and sometimes excruciating pain , to which his death was eventually attributed . He was appointed to the frigate HMS " Sheerness " in December 1748 , and sailed her to the East Indies to bring the commanders there news of the peace . He was part of Edward Boscawen ' s squadron on the Coromandel coast from July 1749 , returning to Britain to pay off " Sheerness " in April 1750 . Palliser was next appointed to , the guardship at Chatham . Shortly afterwards he was moved to the 20 - gun , and while in that command he was arrested by Scottish authorities for refusing to let one of his seamen be taken from the ship on what turned out to be a forged letter of indenture . Palliser was held for several days in the Tolbooth Jail in Edinburgh until released by the Lords of Sessions , who invoked their authority to supersede that of the judge of the vice - admiralty court in Edinburgh . In early 1753 Palliser was appointed captain of the 50 - gun , but soon afterwards was returned to a convoy consisting of " Seahorse " and , to protect transports being used to move two British Army regiments to the Colonies to be used against the French forces there . He sailed in January 1755 , but chose to sail far south of the usual route . Going as far south as the Tropic of Cancer , he avoided the usual stormy and rough crossing , which won him significant notoriety and praise from governmental authorities . Seven Years ' War . The ongoing friction between Britain and France ignited into open warfare in 1755 . In October of that year Palliser was placed in command of the 60 - gun HMS " Eagle " . That ship engaged and defeated the French 50 - gun " Duc d ' Aquitain " off Ushant on 30 May 1757 . After that battle " Eagle " returned to port for repairs , and Palliser moved to command of the 74 - gun HMS " Shrewsbury " , part of the Channel Fleet under George Anson . In that ship in July 1758 he grounded and captured several French ships near Brest . In 1759 Palliser participated in the successful British capture of Quebec City , commanding the seamen who landed and took possession of Lower Town . In 1760 Palliser was sent to the Mediterranean Sea to chase a small French squadron which had slipped out of the port at Toulon . He bottled the French boats up at several ports in Turkey . In 1762 Palliser commanded a four - ship armada dispatched to retake St . Johns , Newfoundland , but the area was already in British control when he arrived following the Battle of Signal Hill . Governor of Newfoundland and subsequent service . In 1764 Palliser was named Governor and Commander - in - Chief at Newfoundland . He had under his command the 50 - gun , and several frigates . His forces encountered a similar French force which was ostensibly regulating their remaining fishing grounds in the area , but Palliser perceived that they had altered their maps to show they controlled more area than had been agreed upon in the negotiations which ended the conflict in this area . The French minister in London used this clash to complain to the British government against Palliser , but he was able to produce sufficient maps and supporting material to convince his superiors of his correct actions . Palliser actively supported the fisheries as a source of trained seamen for the Royal Navy . As such he took active steps to enforce the provisions of Treaty of Paris ( 1763 ) restricting French access to their specific fishing rights . He also sought to restrict further settlement of Newfoundland , so to encourage the British based industry . Palliser remained Governor of Newfoundland until 1768 . In 1770 Commodore Palliser was appointed Comptroller of the Navy , and in that same year was elected an elder brother of the Trinity House , which oversees British lighthouses and provides general expertise to the government on naval matters . In 1773 Palliser was made Baronet . In 1774 he was elected to Parliament for the Borough of Scarborough . In 1775 he achieved flag rank when promoted to rear - admiral . Under the Earl of Sandwich he became one of the Lords of the Admiralty and received the sinecure of Lieutenant - General of Marines . In 1775 he initiated legislation to encourage ship fisheries , known as " Palliser ’ s Act " but titled " The Act for the Encouragement of the Ship Fishery " . Historian Sean Cadigan , author of " Hope and Deception in Conception Bay " ( 1995 ) , has since linked " Palliser ' s Act " with the high - valuation of women ' s labour in 18th Century Newfoundland . Given that " Palliser ' s Act " required producers to pre - pay their labourers for the fishing season , producers developed little incentive to hire outside of their families : hired labour was high risk because pre - paid wages reduced producers ' margin for gain ( or loss ) . As such , " Palliser ' s Act " inspired the merger of household labour with the market , making women ' s work essential to the economic success of the colony . In 1778 Palliser was promoted again to Vice - Admiral of the Blue . Service during the American War of Independence and controversy with Admiral Keppel . In 1778 Palliser was appointed to the Channel Fleet under Admiral Augustus Keppel . On 27 July 1778 in the First Battle of Ushant , the Channel Fleet fought an inconclusive battle with the French fleet . The battle ’ s outcome led to personal acrimony between Palliser and Keppel , resulted in their individual courts martial and increased divisiveness in the Navy . Palliser was forced to resign from Parliament and his other posts . The July 1778 Battle of Ushant came about when the British fleet found that it had become located between the French ships and their home ports . Seeing the sudden advantage , Keppel ordered that a battle line be formed and an attack made . Palliser ' s ship was badly damaged in the ensuing fray , and when Keppel hoisted the signal to reform the battle line , Palliser ' s division was some distance away , so a frigate was dispatched to give the instruction . Due to the battle damage , Palliser ' s division was unable to comply until later in the evening , when it was too late to continue the battle , and the French withdrew to Brest . Both sides later claimed victory , and Keppel issued a dispatch which commended all his officers for their conduct in the action . Palliser heard rumours that Keppel had intimated in private conversations that Palliser ' s absence had been the cause of the inconclusive outcome , so Palliser wrote a paper defending his actions . An anonymous letter to a London newspaper accused Palliser of disobedience in the battle , and he called on Keppel to refute the allegation . When no public refutation was forthcoming , Palliser demanded that a court martial be held to try Keppel on charges of " misconduct and neglect of duty " ( which carried a death sentence if proved ) . Keppel ' s court martial was held at Portsmouth in January 1779 , and he was acquitted after 27 days , the court finding that the charges against him had been brought with malicious intent and were unfounded . The court - martial outcome meant ruin for Palliser . He was defended by Lord Sandwich , but still had to resign from Parliament and as Lieutenant - General of the Marines . He then demanded that a court martial be convened against him so that he could present his version of events during his defence . The court martial was convened , and he was acquitted after 21 days . However , he was censured in that he had failed to inform his superior officer of the battle damage in a timely manner . After his acquittal Palliser hoped to be reinstated in Lt . - General of Marines . Instead , in 1780 he was appointed Governor of Greenwich Hospital by Lord Sandwich , and was again elected to Parliament for Huntingdon ( 1780 – 1784 ) . In 1787 he was promoted to the rank of Admiral . Association with James Cook . James Cook , a fellow Yorkshireman , first served under Palliser as Master ' s Mate of HMS " Eagle " from 1755 to 1758 . Palliser would have supported his elevation to Master in 1757 . Both were present at the siege of Quebec where Cook charted the approach to the city and the landing area . Following the Treaty of Paris , Cook was charged with surveying Newfoundland . As Governor , Palliser actively supported Cook ’ s work and assisted in the publication of his acclaimed map of Newfoundland . During his term as Comptroller , Palliser supported Cook ’ s first command of exploration in 1768 , and his subsequent voyages . Cook named Cape Palliser , Palliser Bay and Palliser Isles after his " worthy friend " . On Cook ' s death , Palliser erected a memorial to Cook on his estate ( The Vache ) . Death . Admiral Palliser died on 19 March 1796 in at his estate in Chalfont St Giles and was buried at St Giles . Notes . a . Some sources use the Old Style dating system , in use in Britain until 1752 , for Palliser ' s birth . As under this system the new year did not begin until 25 March , Palliser ' s birth was recorded as being in 1722 . The article " Admiral Sir HUGH PALLISER , Bt 1723 – 1796 " , taken from Charnock , J . " Biographia navalis . . from 1660 to the present time " ( 6 volumes ) , article quoted on website http : / / www . palliser . co . uk / admiral . htm , accessed 6 August 2009 , states that Palliser was born " on 26 February 1722 " ( although the title of the article indicates he was born in 1723 ) . The Royal Naval Museum website , accessed 6 August 2009 , provides a biography , " Biography : Hugh Palliser " , which states that Palliser " was born on 26th February 1723 " . The Government House website , accessed 6 August 2009 , provides a biography , " Palliser , Sir Hugh ( 1722 – 1796 ) " . It states that Palliser " was born . . . on February 22 , 1722 . The " Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online " , accessed 6 August 2009 provides a biography , which states : " PALLISER ( Pallisser ) , Sir HUGH " , " b . 22 Feb . 1722 / 23 " . Contemporary scholarship by the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography places his birth date as 26 February 1723 .