Vice-Admiral Sir Peter Denis, 1st Baronet (1713 – 11 June 1778) was an English

naval A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

officer and Member of Parliament.

Life

The son of a Huguenot refugee, Denis was educated at The King's School, Chester and joined the navy as a young man. He was a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

in HMS ''Centurion'' under the command of Commodore George Anson at the start of his famous circumnavigation (1740–1744). He was promoted to lieutenant in 1739. On 5 November 1741, in the South Seas, he was sent in command of 16 men in a

cutter Cutter may refer to: Tools * Bolt cutter * Box cutter, aka Stanley knife, a form of utility knife * Cigar cutter * Cookie cutter * Glass cutter * Meat cutter * Milling cutter * Paper cutter * Side cutter * Cutter, a type of hydraulic rescue to ...

to pursue a Spanish vessel . He boarded and carried his prize, which proved to be bound from Guayaquil to

Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and Regions of Peru, region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists o ...

. The cargo was of little value to its captors, but intelligence derived from the capture led to the attack on the town of Paita a few days afterwards. By 1745 Denis had been promoted to command and given the 26-gun sixth rate . Soon afterwards he was transferred to temporary command of , during which time he captured a French privateer and recaptured two British merchantmen. By 1747 Denis was back in the 50-gun ''Centurion'' as her

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 ...

, commanding her at the Battle of Cape Finisterre, where he once more served under Anson, now an

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

. When the enemy was sighted, Anson signalled a general chase as he expected the French to evade action if possible until they could escape under cover of darkness; ''Centurion'' was swiftest into action, engaging the rearmost French ship and occupying her and two larger enemy ships until the main body of the British fleet could come up. After the battle Denis was entrusted with bringing back to England the news of Anson's victory; as the public acclaim that followed won Anson a peerage, this may well have further endeared Denis to Anson. In 1754, Denis entered Parliament as member for Hedon, a Yorkshire borough where Anson was the "patron" with the power to select the MPs. He held the seat for fourteen years, throughout which time the other MP was another naval officer, Sir Charles Saunders, who later rose to become First Lord of the Admiralty. Denis continued his naval career, commanding the 90-gun in Admiral Edward Hawke's unsuccessful expedition against Rochefort in September 1757. At the action of 29 April 1758, he was captain of the 70-gun which defeated and captured

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

ship of the line ''Raisonnable '' in the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...

. ''Dorsetshire'' was with the fleet at the decisive victory of Quiberon Bay in 1759. In 1767 he was created a baronet, of St Mary's in the County of Kent, but as he left no male heir the title became extinct on his death. Denis became Commander-in-Chief, The Nore, based on the

River Medway The River Medway is a river in South East England. It rises in the High Weald AONB, High Weald, East Sussex and flows through Tonbridge, Maidstone and the Medway conurbation in Kent, before emptying into the Thames Estuary near Sheerness, a to ...

in 1771 with his flag in the third-rate . He died in 1778, having reached the rank of Vice-Admiral of the Red.

References

External links

* * Dictionary of National Biography
Ships of the 18th-century Royal Navy
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Denis, Peter 1713 births 1778 deaths Royal Navy vice admirals Royal Navy personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession Royal Navy personnel of the Seven Years' War Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1754–1761 British MPs 1761–1768 People educated at The King's School, Chester