Sir John Orde , 1st Baronet Sir John Orde , 1st Baronet ( 22 December 1751 – 19 February 1824 ) was the third son of John Orde , of Morpeth , Northumberland , and the brother of Thomas Orde - Powlett , 1st Baron Bolton . Remembered as a professional enemy of Nelson , Orde ' s quarrel was actually more with Lord St Vincent and he never attacked Nelson personally . Orde joined the Navy in 1766 , gained the rank of Rear - Admiral in 1795 , Vice - Admiral in 1799 and eventually Admiral of the Red . In 1805 , despite being asked to strike his flag , he was made Admiral of the Blue and Admiral of the White in 1810 . As a Vice Admiral in 1805 he commanded a squadron of six ships of the line off Cadiz , in the flagship HMS " Glory " . Orde served as the Governor of Dominica between 1783 and 1793 and was created 1st Baronet Orde , of Morpeth , co . Northumberland on 27 July 1790 . From 1807 he served as Member of Parliament for Yarmouth . Career . American revolutionary war . Orde joined the Royal Navy in 1766 and was promoted to lieutenant in 1774 . He served throughout the American revolutionary war ( 1775 – 1783 ) , and was promoted to post captain on 19 May 1778 , making him senior to Nelson by less than a month . Orde served as Governor of Dominica from 1783 until 1793 and on 9 August 1790 was made a baronet . He returned to naval service and was promoted Rear Admiral 1795 . Relationships with Jervis and Nelson . In early 1798 , Orde was appointed to the Mediterranean fleet as 3rd in command under John Jervis , 1st Earl of St Vincent . In May 1798 , acting on his own initiative but with the support of Lord Spencer , the First Lord of the Admiralty ; St Vincent gave command of a special squadron to Nelson . As Nelson ' s senior , Orde felt he had been unfairly passed over and complained to St Vincent who , annoyed at his subordinates questioning of his orders , relieved Orde and ordered him home . Orde requested that he be court - martialled in order that he might have the opportunity to clear his name . The Board refused . < ref name = " NC11 / 194 " > " The Naval Chronicle " Vol . 11 , p . 194 < / ref > Orde then requested that St Vincent be brought before a court - martial . Again , the Board refused . < ref name = " NC11 / 195 " > < / ref > The Board did go so far as to censure Jervis for not having supported his subordinates . Orde , unhappy with the outcome , challenged the earl to a duel . The challenge became public knowledge and the king ordered Jervis to decline . Before the challenge was formally declined however , Orde wrote to the Board to inform them that he had withdrawn it . < ref name = " NC11 / 197 " > < / ref > Neither side came out of the situation well . Had Nelson not won such an extraordinary victory at the Battle of the Nile , Jervis may have faced a court martial for not having supported Orde . Unfortunately for Orde , Nelson ' s victory was so complete that any criticism of Nelson or Jervis fell on deaf ears . Nelson naturally took Jervis ' s side and regarded Orde as a personal enemy but Orde maintained that it was the principle of the appointment he objected to , not the person who had been chosen . Things became worse for Orde when St Vincent was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty . St Vincent now controlled appointments and Orde found himself left ashore . St Vincent left the Admiralty in 1804 and Orde was offered command of a newly formed squadron off Cadiz . This further angered Nelson who saw it as a deliberate diminution of his authority . The Spanish squadron . Orde ' s squadron of six ships of the line were stationed off Cadiz when Villenueve arrived with the Toulon fleet in April 1805 . Orde ' s ships , which were busy revictualling at the time , cast off their store ships and hastily formed line of battle . Villenueve however , with his eleven ships of the line and six frigates , made no attempt to engage the squadron . Greatly outnumbered Orde retired , an act that earned him condemnation from some , Nelson included . Villenueve gathered the ships that were ready to sail and put to sea again . Orde believed they were bound for the Channel but in fact Villenueve was on his way to the West Indies . Orde therefore took his squadron north to rendezvous with the Channel Fleet . Although technically correct , Orde ' s behaviour was not in accordance with the country ' s mood at the time and he was ordered to strike his flag . He never served at sea again . In 1807 Orde became the member of parliament for Yarmouth , Isle of Wight and served in that capacity until his death on 19 February 1824 . Orde never appeared to reciprocate Nelson ' s animosity and was one of the pall - bearers at Nelson ' s funeral in January 1806 . < ref name = " LG15881 / 2 " > < / ref > Family . Sir John Orde was married twice , to Margaret Emma Stephens in 1781 , who died in 1790 ; and Jane Frere in 1793 , with whom he had two children : John Powlett Orde , born 9 June 1803 and Anna Maria Fenn Orde , born 1806 .