Richard Dacres ( Royal Navy officer ) Sir Richard Dacres , GCH ( September 1761 – 22 January 1837 ) was an officer of the Royal Navy who saw service during the American War of Independence , and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars . A member of a substantial naval dynasty , he eventually rose to the rank of Vice - Admiral . Family and early life . Richard Dacres was born in September 1761 , the fifth son of Richard and Mary Dacres , and younger brother to James Richard Dacres . The Dacres would eventually become a substantial naval dynasty , Richard ' s elder brother James Richard embarked on a naval career and rose to be vice - admiral , while James ' s sons and Richard ' s nephews followed their father into the navy . Barrington Dacres became a post - captain while James Richard Dacres became a vice - admiral . Richard ' s own son Sydney Dacres would eventually be an admiral , and First Sea Lord . Richard himself entered the navy in 1775 , serving aboard the 50 - gun fourth rate under Captain Francis Banks . He was present at the capture of New York serving under Sir Peter Parker , and was commissioned as lieutenant on 28 May 1781 , transferring aboard the 74 - gun under Captain Charles Thompson . He was then present with Rear - Admiral Thomas Graves ' s fleet at the Battle of the Chesapeake in 1781 , Rear - Admiral Samuel Hood ' s fleet at the Battle of St . Kitts in 1782 and Admiral George Brydges Rodney ' s fleet at the Battle of the Saintes in 1782 . French Revolutionary Wars . Dacres returned to service in 1793 , following the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars . He was initially appointed to the 74 - gun , which was then under the command of Captain John Colpoys . With " Hannibal " Dacres became part of the squadron despatched under Admiral Alan Gardner to the reinforce the British possessions in the West Indies . Dacres returned to Britain either in late 1793 or early 1794 , after which he was appointed as first lieutenant to the 32 - gun frigate , then under the command of Captain Sidney Smith . He moved aboard the 90 - gun second rate in October 1794 , serving under his old commander , now Rear - Admiral John Colpoys . Dacres was promoted to commander on 10 March 1795 in the 14 - gun sloop . While captain of " Childers " Dacres captured the French Coast guard cutter " Vigilante " , of six guns , in the Bay of Saint Brieux . On 31 October he was appointed post captain on the 20 - gun , which formed part of Richard Strachan ' s squadron in the English Channel . He remained in routine active service until 1806 , when Sir Sidney Smith specifically requested Dacres to join him in the Mediterranean as his flag captain aboard the 80 - gun HMS " Pompee " . In this role Dacres went on to see service in the amphibious operations at Calabria , leading to the Battle of Maida , and later Admiral John Thomas Duckworth ' s failed Dardanelles Operation and the Alexandria expedition in February 1807 . Dacres then returned to England after " Pompee " s recall , arriving in June 1807 . He was then ordered to take the " Pompee " to join Vice - Admiral Henry Stanhope ' s squadron for service in the second expedition to Copenhagen . He was involved in the subsequent Battle of Copenhagen , where he and the navy provided support for the besieging forces . Later life . Dacres returned from the campaign , which proved to be his last command at sea . He was appointed first governor of the Royal Naval Asylum at Greenwich , on 2 February 1808 and resigned in August 1816 . He was promoted to rear - admiral on 29 March 1817 , and a vice - admiral on 22 July 1830 . He was nominated a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order on 25 January 1836 and died at Balibroke Villas , near Bath , Somerset on 22 January 1837 at the age of 75 . Family and personal life . Dacres seems to have married Martha Philips Milligan around 1795 , about the time he was in command of HMS " Camilla " . The couple had at least two children , a son named Richard James Dacres who joined the army and rose to be a field marshal , and a son named Sydney Colpoys Dacres , who went on to be an Admiral and First Naval Lord .