Robert Devereux Fancourt (1742 – 7 June 1826) 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 F ...

officer who saw active service during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

and the

French Revolutionary War The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...

. He joined the Navy in 1759 and served in North America and the West Indies. Fancourt passed his lieutenant's examination in 1765 but was not promoted until 1777 and made

Post Captain Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of Captain (Royal Navy), captain in the Royal Navy. The term served to distinguish those who were captains by rank from: * Officers in command of a naval vessel, who were (and still are) ...

in 1789. The following year, he was appointed to in the Mediterranean. In 1797, Fancourt took command of and became involved in the fleet mutinies when his ship was taken by the crew that May. He was still in command of ''Agamemnon'' in 1800, when he was sent to the

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages * Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...

to pressure Denmark into withdrawing from the League of Armed Neutrality. Although present at the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801, Fancourt took no active role; ''Agamemnon'' running aground in the very early stages. Fancourt advanced to the rank of rear-admiral on 28 April 1808 and vice-admiral on 12 August 1812, but he never went to sea again and died on 7 June 1826.

Career

Robert Devereux Fancourt was born in 1742 and joined the navy in 1759, serving as an able seaman and then midshipman under

Robert Man Admiral Robert Man (1721–1783) was a Royal Navy officer. He commanded the third-rate HMS ''Lancaster'' at the siege of Louisbourg in June 1758 during the French and Indian War. He went on to become commander-in-chief of the Leeward Islands S ...

in the waters around North America and the West Indies. He followed Man from to and then where, at the beginning of 1762, he met

Maurice Suckling Captain Maurice Suckling (4 May 1726 – 14 July 1778) was a British Royal Navy officer of the eighteenth century, most notable for starting the naval career of his nephew Horatio Nelson and for serving as Comptroller of the Navy from 1775 until ...

and moved with him to .Hore p. 65 In 1765, Fancourt passed his lieutenant's examination but it was another 12 years before he was promoted. By 1782, he had risen to first lieutenant, on board , under Captain Thomas Hicks. Serving as flagship to Sir Richard Bickerton, ''Gibraltar'' was sent to the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies), is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies refers to various lands in the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found in and around t ...

that February. On the way, ''Gibraltar'' stopped at

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, where Bickerton purchased a 14-gun cutter which he named ''Substitute'', giving command to Fancourt. Shortly after arrival in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

, Fancourt was sent home with dispatches and missed the opportunity to acquire prize money from the successful campaign there. Between 1787 and 1789, during the peace between the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

and

s, Fancourt commanded the 16-gun . He was eventually promoted to

Post-Captain Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of Captain (Royal Navy), captain in the Royal Navy. The term served to distinguish those who were captains by rank from: * Officers in command of a naval vessel, who were (and still are) ...

on 2 December 1789 and during the

Spanish Armament The Nootka Crisis, also known as the Spanish Armament, was an international incident and political dispute between the Nuu-chah-nulth Nation, the Spanish Empire, the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the fledgling United States of America triggered b ...

in 1790, commissioned and took up station in the Mediterranean.Marshall p. 348 When Great Britain became embroiled in the French Revolutionary Wars, Fancourt was in command of the 44-gun , involved mainly in the escort of convoys to and from the West Indies and Mediterranean. While carrying out such duties off St Domingo in August 1794, Chichester and the 64-gun captured the French corvette, Sirenne. In 1797, Fancourt gained command of and was caught up in the

Spithead and Nore mutinies The Spithead and Nore mutinies were two major mutinies by sailors of the Royal Navy in 1797. They were the first in an increasing series of outbreaks of maritime radicalism in the Atlantic World. Despite their temporal proximity, the mutinies d ...

. On 29 May, when the North Sea squadron was ordered to sea, only Fancourt's ship, and , obeyed. ''Agamemnon''s crew however, later mutinied and returned to the

Nore The Nore is a long bank of sand and silt running along the south-centre of the final narrowing of the Thames Estuary, England. Its south-west is the very narrow Nore Sand. Just short of the Nore's easternmost point where it fades into the cha ...

anchorage on 7 June. Fancourt was at dinner with the other officers when the ship was taken.Hore p. 66 When a blockade of London was suggested, support for the mutiny waned and several ships deserted. Order was restored aboard ''Agamemnon'' when the marines and the loyal seamen retook the ship. Fancourt obtained a pardon for the ship's company. ''Agamemnon'' was one of the ships sent to the Baltic to break the

Second League of Armed Neutrality The Second League of Armed Neutrality or the League of the North was an alliance of the north European naval powers Denmark–Norway, Prussia, Sweden, and Russia. It existed between 1800 and 1801 during the War of the Second Coalition and was in ...

. In mid 1800 she was off Elsinore, enforcing Britain's perceived right to search neutral vessels and later that year took part in the important survey of the strait between Denmark and Sweden. The survey enabled an attack on the Danish capital that led to the country's withdrawal from the league. Although present at the

Battle of Copenhagen (1801) The Battle of Copenhagen of 1801 (Danish: ''Slaget på Reden''), also known as the First Battle of Copenhagen to distinguish it from the Second Battle of Copenhagen in 1807, was a naval battle in which a British fleet fought and defeated a sm ...

, serving in Vice Admiral

Horatio Nelson Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought abo ...

's squadron, Fancourt's ship was prevented from taking an active role when it went aground during the early manoeuvres. Nelson's post-battle report absolved Fancourt of any wrong-doing; stating, ''"The Agamemnon could not weather the shoal of the middle''

round Round or rounds may refer to: Mathematics and science * The contour of a closed curve or surface with no sharp corners, such as an ellipse, circle, rounded rectangle, cant, or sphere * Rounding, the shortening of a number to reduce the number ...

''and was obliged to anchor, but not the smallest blame can be attached to Captain Fancourt"''. Following the Baltic expedition, ''Agamemnon'' was reassigned as a

guardship A guard ship is a warship assigned as a stationary guard in a port or harbour, as opposed to a coastal patrol boat, which serves its protective role at sea. Royal Navy In the Royal Navy of the eighteenth century, peacetime guard ships were usual ...

at Hollesley Bay,

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

. At some point between 1805 and 1807, Fancourt was appointed to , Rear-Admiral Thomas Wells' flagship at the Nore.Winfield p.105 Fancourt advanced to the rank of Rear-Admiral himself on 28 April 1808, then Vice-Admiral on 12 August 1812.Marshall p. 349 He never returned to sea and died on 7 June 1826.

Citations

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fancourt, Robert Royal Navy vice admirals 1742 births 1826 deaths Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Royal Navy personnel of the Seven Years' War