Admiral Philip Patton (27 October 1739 – 31 December 1815) was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

officer.

Naval career

Educated at Kirkcaldy's grammar school, Patton joined the

in 1755. As a junior officer he saw action at the

Battle of Lagos The naval Battle of Lagos took place between a British fleet commanded by Sir Edward Boscawen and a French fleet under Jean-François de La Clue-Sabran over two days in 1759 during the Seven Years' War. They fought south west of the Gulf of C ...

in August 1759, 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 November 1759 and the attack on

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

in June 1762. Promoted to commander in May 1778, he was given command of the

bomb vessel A bomb vessel, bomb ship, bomb ketch, or simply bomb was a type of wooden sailing naval ship. Its primary armament was not cannons (long guns or carronades) – although bomb vessels carried a few cannons for self-defence – but mortars mounted ...

HMS ''Aetna'' at that time and of the

second-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a second-rate was a ship of the line which by the start of the 18th century mounted 90 to 98 guns on three gun decks; earlier 17th-century second rates had fewer gun ...

HMS ''Prince George'' the following year. Promoted to captain in March 1779, he commanded ''Prince George'' at the attack on the Caracas Convoy and the Battle of Cape St. Vincent in January 1780. He was given command of the

fifth-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a fifth rate was the second-smallest class of warships in a hierarchical system of six " ratings" based on size and firepower. Rating The rating system in the Royal ...

HMS ''Belle Poule'' in February 1781 and commanded her at the Battle of Dogger Bank in August 1781. Promoted to

rear-admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

on 1 June 1795 and to vice-admiral on 1 January 1801, he became commander-in-chief Downs Station in 1803 and a

Naval Lord The Board of Admiralty (1628–1964) was established in 1628 when Charles I put the office of Lord High Admiral into commission. As that position was not always occupied, the purpose was to enable management of the day-to-day operational requi ...

in May 1804 before being promoted to full admiral on 4 June 1814.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Patton, Philip 1739 births 1815 deaths Royal Navy admirals British military personnel of the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War People from Anstruther Royal Navy personnel of the American Revolutionary War People educated at Kirkcaldy High School Royal Navy personnel of the Seven Years' War Lords of the Admiralty