Sir Charles Saxton , 1st Baronet Sir Charles Saxton , 1st Baronet ( 1732 – November 1808 ) was an officer of the Royal Navy who saw service during the War of the Austrian Succession , the Seven Years ' War , the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , rising to the rank of captain . Born the son of a merchant , Charles Saxton entered the navy and served on a number of ships . He went out to the East Indies during the Seven Years ' War , and shortly after his return to England was promoted to his first commands . He commissioned several frigates during the brief interlude of peace prior to the outbreak of the American War of Independence , before taking command of the ship of the line . After a brief period in the English Channel , he sailed to North America , where he would a number of actions . A bout of illness after his arrival in the West Indies forced him to relinquish command for a time , but he went on to recover and to see action with Sir Samuel Hood ' s squadron at the Battle of the Chesapeake in 1781 . He returned with Hood to the West Indies , and was again in action at the Battle of Saint Kitts in early 1782 , before taking the " Invincible " into refit . The remainder of the war was spent cruising with squadrons off the North American coast . A period of unemployment followed the end of hostilities , but in 1787 tensions with France brought Saxton a place on a commission into the impress service , and he spent the rest of his career as an administrator . He became commissioner at Portsmouth , the navy ' s principal dockyard , in 1789 and held the position until his retirement nearly twenty years later . During these years he oversaw operations during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , his career being rewarded with a baronetcy in 1794 . Retiring finally with a pension in 1806 , Sir Charles died in 1808 , being succeeded in the baronetcy by his eldest son , Charles . Family and early life . Charles Saxton was born in 1732 , the youngest son of Edward Saxton , a London merchant , and his wife Mary , " née " Bush . He entered the navy in January 1745 , becoming a captain ' s servant aboard the 50 - gun , under the command of Captain Charles Saunders . Saxton spent the next three years aboard the " Gloucester " , before joining the 58 - gun under Captain Richard Collins , while the " Eagle " was the guard ship at Plymouth . From her he moved to the 60 - gun where he served on the Guinea coast with Captain John Byron . After a period of time on this service he was promoted to lieutenant on 2 January 1757 , and went to the East Indies to serve in the fleets under Vice - Admiral Charles Watson , and then Vice - Admiral George Pocock , during the Seven Years ' War . Saxton returned to England in 1760 and was briefly assigned as lieutenant to the 64 - gun early that year , though on 11 October 1760 Saxton received a promotion to commander . He was apparently in command of one of the yachts sent to escort HMY " Royal Charlotte " , carrying Duchess Charlotte of Mecklenburg - Strelitz from Cuxhaven to Harwich for her marriage to George III . Saxton was promoted to post captain on 28 January 1762 , and appointed to command the 74 - gun , flying the broad pennant of Commodore Lord Howe , and subsequently forming part of the fleet under Sir Edward Hawke . The commission was apparently an uneventful one , the French having been decisively defeated by Hawke at the Battle of Quiberon Bay in 1759 , and after the Seven Years ' War had concluded , Saxton paid off the " Magnanime " . Interwar years . Saxton remained in active employment after the war , commissioning the 32 - gun in March 1763 and taking her out to the Newfoundland station in May . In 1764 he was sent by Commodore Hugh Palliser to reconnoitre French activities in the Gulf of St Lawrence , and to deter any claims they might make there . He remained with the " Pearl " until 1766 , when he paid her off . He appears to have held no further commands until October 1770 , when he commissioned the 40 - gun during the period of the Falklands Crisis , when it was feared that war might break out with Spain . In the event , the crisis passed without breaking into open hostilities and Saxton paid " Phoenix " off in January 1771 . In July 1771 he married Mary Bush . American War of Independence . Another period without active employment then passed for Saxton , before the outbreak of the American War of Independence . He commissioned the 74 - gun and in 1780 was part of the Channel Fleet under Francis Geary , and later George Darby . Saxton sailed to the West Indies in November 1780 and there became part of Sir Samuel Hood ' s squadron . He seems to have been present at the capture of Sint Eustatius on 3 February 1781 , but a bout of ill - health compelled him to leave his ship for some months , and " Invincible " was under the temporary command of Captain Richard Bickerton at the Battle of Fort Royal on 29 / 30 April 1781 . " Invincible " went on to form part of Francis Samuel Drake ' s squadron at the Invasion of Tobago in May 1781 , after which time Saxton was well enough to resume command , and to sail with her to North America with Sir Samuel Hood ' s force . He was with Hood ' s squadron , as part of the larger fleet under Sir Thomas Graves , at the Battle of the Chesapeake on 5 September , though Hood ' s force in the rear took little part in the action . Saxton then returned to the West Indies with Hood ' s force and was present at the Battle of Saint Kitts on 25 / 26 January 1782 . Again his ship was only lightly engaged , and suffered casualties of only two of her men wounded . Hood then despatched " Invincible " to Jamaica to be refitted , after which Saxton sailed in July 1782 to join Admiral Hugh Pigot off the American coast . He was off New York from September until October 1782 , and in November took part in the blockade of Cape François . He was present with Edmund Affleck ' s squadron at Puerto Cavello in February 1783 , and on 19 February " Invincible " retook the 44 - gun , which two French frigates had captured shortly before . Post - war and administrative career . Saxton returned to England in mid - 1783 and paid " Invincible " off . Again left without a ship , it was not until 1787 that he received another post . Tensions mounted with France that year , and Saxton was appointed to a commission with the purpose of examining the working of the impress system , with Saxton responsible for London . Again the crisis passed without breaking into open war , and in 1789 Saxton became commissioner of the navy at Portsmouth . It was an important posting at an important time , Portsmouth being the navy ' s principal dockyard , and Saxton oversaw operations during the expansion of the navy . A contemporary biographer noted that " he continued to fill [ the office ] with the highest reputation , as well on account of his ability , as to the attentive diligence to the duties of his situation , and his unblemished integrity . " Saxton was created baronet of Circourt on 19 July 1794 . He remained as commissioner at Portsmouth throughout the French Revolutionary Wars , and part of the Napoleonic Wars . He was described by J . K . Laughton as " a low - profile commissioner who disliked administrative innovations " . He retired in 1806 with a pension of £750 a year , with a remainder of £300 per annum to his wife if she survived him . Sir Charles Saxton died in November 1808 , and was succeeded in the baronetcy by his eldest son , Charles . He had six other children by his marriage . His fourth child , Philadelphia - Hannah , married the naval officer Captain Robert Dudley Oliver on 19 June 1805 . Notes . a . John Charnock ' s " Biographia Navalis " suggests that Saxton commissioned " Invincible " in 1778 , J . K . Laughton in the " Oxford Dictionary of National Biography " instead has 1779 . Rif Winfield ' s " British Warships in the Age of Sail " lists a number of other commanders during this period , from Anthony Parrey in 1778 , John Laforey in 1779 , Samuel Cornish in July 1779 , and then George Falconer from April 1780 . Falconer was sent to join Thomas Graves ' s squadron , but her crew mutinied . Winfield notes that it was " later in 1780 " that Saxton took command . b . Laughton instead suggests that Saxton remained at Jamaica until the end of the war . Charnock and Winfield counter this , reporting on Saxton ' s and " Invincible " s movements up until 1783 .