caption serviceyears branch commands death_date death_place birth_place allegiance awards nationality birth_date placeofburial residence rank image article_title name
admiral 1782 by thomas gainsborough . behind is the french fleur rodney de lys naval ensign from the captured '' ville de at paris '' the battle of the saintes , 1732 -- 1792 kingdom of great britain greenwich hospital 24 may 1792 hanover square , london walton-on-thames , surrey kingdom of great britain knight of the order of the bath british bap . 13 february 1718 old alresford united kingdom admiral admiral of the white by thomas gainsborough.jpg george brydges rodney , 1st baron rodney
 george brydges rodney
george brydges rodney , 1st baron rodney

george brydges rodney , 1st baron rodney , kb -lrb- bap .
13 february 1718 -- 24 may 1792 -rrb- was a british naval officer .
he is best known for his commands in the american war of independence , particularly his victory over the french at the battle of the saintes in 1782 .
it is often claimed that he was the commander to have pioneered the tactic of `` breaking the line '' .
rodney came from a distinguished but poor background , and went to sea at the age of fourteen .
his first major action was the second battle of cape finisterre in 1747 .
he made a large amount of prize money during the 1740s , allowing him to purchase a large country estate and a seat in the house of commons of great britain .
during the seven years ' war , rodney was involved in a number of amphibious operations such as the raids on rochefort and le havre and the siege of louisbourg .
he became well known for his role in the capture of martinique in 1762 .
following the peace of paris , rodney 's financial situation stagnated .
he spent large sums of money pursuing his political ambitions .
by 1774 he had run up large debts and was forced to flee britain to avoid his creditors .
he ended up imprisoned in a french jail , where he was when war was declared in 1778 .
thanks to a benefactor , rodney was able to secure his release and returned to britain where he was appointed to a new command .
rodney successfully relieved gibraltar during the great siege and defeated a spanish fleet during the 1780 battle of cape st. vincent , known as the `` moonlight battle '' because it took place at night .
he then was posted to the west indies , where he became involved in the controversial 1781 capture of sint eustatius .
later that year he briefly returned home suffering from ill health .
during his absence the british lost the crucial battle of the chesapeake leading to the surrender at yorktown .
to some rodney was a controversial figure , accused of an obsession with prize money and nepotism .
this was brought to a head in the wake of his taking of sint eustatius for which he was heavily criticised in britain .
orders for his recall had been sent when rodney won a decisive victory at the battle of the saintes in april 1782 , ending the french threat to jamaica .
on his return to britain , rodney was made a peer and was awarded an annual pension of # 2,000 .
he lived in retirement until his death in 1792 .
the use of rodney as a first name originates with the admiral .
it became a popular name for boys at the end of the eighteenth century .
