Rear Admiral Sir Digby Dent (1739–1817) was a Royal Navy commander.

Life

He was from a long line of "Digby Dents" who served in the

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 ...

including his grandfather and uncle. He was baptised in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

on 16 November 1739 one of eight children of Captain Cotton Dent RN and his wife, Catherine ("Kitty") Bowerbank (1717-1804). His father became Captain of Greenwich Hospital and died there in 1761. He was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Royal Navy on 4 February 1758. In July 1758 he was given captaincy and command of the 24-gun HMS ''Queenborough'' in 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 ...

under Vice Admiral George Pocock and fought the French fleet in the Battle of Negapatam and the

Battle of Pondicherry The Battle of Pondicherry was a naval battle between a British squadron under Vice-Admiral George Pocock and French squadron under Comte d'Aché on 10 September 1759 off the Carnatic coast of India near Pondicherry during the Seven Years' Wa ...

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 ...

. He transferred to HMS ''Newcastle'' the day after the latter battle to replace Captain Colin Michie who was killed in the engagement but remained stationed off Pondicherry. He was given command on New Year's Day 1760 of the 50-gunner HMS ''Falmouth'', remaining in the

. In September 1760, he took command of HMS ''Tiger''. Both ''Queenborough'' and ''Newcastle'' went down in a

cyclone In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an anti ...

off Pondicherry on

New Year's Day New Year's Day is a festival observed in most of the world on 1 January, the first day of the year in the modern Gregorian calendar. 1 January is also New Year's Day on the Julian calendar, but this is not the same day as the Gregorian one. Wh ...

1761. In 1762, he returned to Europe on a Dutch East Indiaman. In May 1763, he was given command of HMS ''Deal Castle'' which served in the Mediterranean including a diplomatic mission to Cadiz. From July 1766 to May 1768 he had an extended period of leave, before taking command of HMS ''Boreas'' in Woolwich Dockyard. Boreas sprung a leak in the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

and was condemned causing another period of leave from February 1769 to April 1770, which allowed him time to be with his second wife and young family. He then spent a year on HMS ''Dolphin'' before another two-year break, March 1771 to April 1773 before taking command of HMS ''Seahorse''. The most noteworthy event during his command of Seahorse was

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 appearance as a midshipman under Dent's command. In June 1775 he moved to HMS ''Arethusa'' mainly based in

. Arethusa's task was protecting the harbour against feared attach by John Paul Jones but was also asked to do convoy work to

St Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...

. On

Boxing Day Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Though it originated as a holiday to give gifts to the poor, today Boxing Day is primarily known as a shopping holiday. It ...

1776 he was given the 80-gun HMS ''Princess Amelia'' to command but despite two years with the ship saw no action and was again mainly based in

. He was knighted (

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

) in May 1778 by

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

during the King's review of the Fleet 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 Hampshire ...

. In December 1778 he was given active command of the 64-gun HMS ''Vigilant'' and took her to the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

where on 6 July 1779 he took part in the

Battle of Grenada The Battle of Grenada took place on 6 July 1779 during the American Revolutionary War in the West Indies between the British Royal Navy and the French Navy, just off the coast of Grenada. The British fleet of Admiral John Byron (the grandfather ...

. In August 1779 he took command of the larger (74-gun) HMS ''Royal Oak'' which had also fought in the battle. However his main task with Royal Oak was to return her to England to refit with a copper bottom, arriving Portsmouth on 4 December 1779. He then spent 8 months with his family before commanding HMS ''Raisonnable'' from August 1780. He took command off the coast of North America following the assault on

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...

. It is not recorded how he crossed from Portsmouth to America. He returned the ship to Portsmouth on 23 November. On the same day he was given command of his final ship, the newly completed HMS ''Repulse'' which he commanded for a year, including action at the Relief of

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

in April 1781. He spent his final years in Portsmouth and retired in May 1788 at the rank of rear-admiral. He died at Clontarf near

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

on 15 February 1817 and was buried on 17 February.

Family

He was married three times: firstly to Susanna (who died before 1769) with whom he had a son, Commodore Digby Dent (1764–1798), and three daughters. ( Commodore Digby Dent married Frances Butler Saunders and they were parents to Rear Admiral Charles Calmady Dent.) He next married Elizabeth Greentree of

St. Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...

, daughter of James Greentree, on 5 April 1762, with whom he had three sons and six daughters. She died in childbirth in November 1769 at home in

Fareham Fareham ( ) is a market town at the north-west tip of Portsmouth Harbour, between the cities of Portsmouth and Southampton in south east Hampshire, England. It gives its name to the Borough of Fareham. It was historically an important manufact ...

near Portsmouth. His third wife, Lady Elizabeth Dent, bore him one more son, giving a total of 14 children. In 1787, his son, Commodore Digby Dent, served as best man at

's wedding on Nevis in the

. Another son, Chaloner Dent, was named after Admiral

Chaloner Ogle Admiral of the Fleet Sir Chaloner Ogle KB (1681 – 11 April 1750) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. After serving as a junior officer during the Nine Years' War, a ship he was commanding was captured by three French ships off Ostend in ...

, commander of the fleet. Chaloner's son, born in

, again Digby Dent (1805-1888) became a hotel keeper in Portsmouth. Digby Dent's sister, Caroline Dent, married Rear Admiral John Stanhope.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dent, Digby 1738 births 1817 deaths Military personnel from Portsmouth Royal Navy rear admirals Knights Bachelor Royal Navy personnel of the Seven Years' War Royal Navy personnel of the American Revolutionary War