Sir Charles Hardy (c. 1714 – 18 May 1780) was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," ...

and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

between 1764 and 1780. He served as colonial governor of New York from 1755 to 1757.

Early career

Born at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is admi ...

, the son of Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Hardy, Charles Hardy joined the

as a volunteer in 1731. He became a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the Royal Navy on 10 August 1741, around the age of 27. His first command was the 24-gun , stationed off the British

Carolinas The Carolinas are the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina, considered collectively. They are bordered by Virginia to the north, Tennessee to the west, and Georgia to the southwest. The Atlantic Ocean is to the east. Combining Nort ...

from January 1742 to February 1744. In 1744 he was appointed governor and commander-in-chief of the British colony of

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

, though there is no record of his visiting it during his term in office. In 1745 he took command of HMS ''Torrington'', assisting in the protection of a convoy which brought reinforcements from Gibraltar to the newly captured fortress of Louisbourg. He was

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the G ...

ed in 1755 and served as governor of the Colony of New York from 1755 to 1757 (replaced by James Delancey). During his term he was made Rear-Admiral of the Blue.

Seven Years' War

In 1757, under the command of Vice Admiral Francis Holburne, Hardy escorted Lord Loudoun and his army from New York to Halifax intending to attack Louisbourg, but the attack was called off when Louisbourg was found to be strongly defended by a French fleet. The next year, he was second in command under Admiral Edward Boscawen at the successful Siege of Louisbourg. That autumn, he and James Wolfe attacked French posts around the mouth of the St. Lawrence River and destroyed all of the French fishing stations along the northern shores of what is now

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic Canad ...

and along the Gaspé Peninsula. He also participated in Hawke's victory at the

Battle of Quiberon Bay The Battle of Quiberon Bay (known as ''Bataille des Cardinaux'' in French) was a decisive naval engagement during the Seven Years' War. It was fought on 20 November 1759 between the Royal Navy and the French Navy in Quiberon Bay, off the coast ...

in 1759. Hardy served as the governor of Greenwich Hospital from 1771 to 1780. In 1778, he was made Admiral of the White. In 1779 he became Commander-in-Chief of the

Channel Fleet The Channel Fleet and originally known as the Channel Squadron was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1854 to 1909 and 1914 to 1915. History Throughout the course of Royal Navy's history the ...

, remaining in that post until his death in May 1780.

Member of Parliament

Hardy sat as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

for

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

from 1764 to 1768 and for

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymout ...

from 1771 to 1780.

Personal life

In 1749 he married Mary Tate, however she died the next year without issue and left her home Delapré Abbey to Hardy which he sold in 1764Frances Maria Peacock: A BUILDING HISTORY OF DELAPRE ABBEY 2017 to Edward Bouverie for £22,000. Following his first wife's death, he married Catharine Stanyan, the daughter of

Temple Stanyan Temple Stanyan (1675–1752) was an English civil servant, politician and author. He is most known for his ''Grecian History'', first published in 1707, which became a standard work on the history of ancient Greece in the early part of the 18th ...

. Through Catherine, he inherited Temple Stanyan's estate at Rawlins, Oxfordshire. The couple had three sons and two daughters. Sir Charles Hardy died at

Spithead Spithead is an area of the Solent and a roadstead off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds except those from the southeast. It receives its name from the Spit, a sandbank stretching south from the Hampshir ...

. He bequeathed £3000 to each of the sons and £4000 to each daughter, as well as leaving his estate to his eldest son Temple Hardy. By Catharine's death in 1801, only Temple survived of the three sons. Hardy's brother

Josiah Josiah ( or ) or Yoshiyahu; la, Iosias was the 16th king of Judah (–609 BCE) who, according to the Hebrew Bible, instituted major religious reforms by removing official worship of gods other than Yahweh. Josiah is credited by most biblical ...

was a merchant and the

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official re ...

from 1761 to 1763.

References

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hardy, Charles 1710s births 1780 deaths Politicians from Portsmouth Knights Bachelor Governors of the Province of New York Lords of the Admiralty Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Plymouth British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 Governors of Newfoundland Colony Royal Navy admirals Royal Navy personnel of the Seven Years' War Military personnel from Portsmouth

Early career

Seven Years' War

Member of Parliament

Personal life

See also

References