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, ...

Sir Robert Harland, 1st Baronet (ca. 1715 – 21 February 1784) 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. He commanded HMS'' Tilbury'' at the

Second Battle of Cape Finisterre The second battle of Cape Finisterre was a naval encounter fought during the War of the Austrian Succession on 25 October 1747 (N.S.). A British fleet of fourteen ships of the line commanded by Rear-Admiral Edward Hawke intercepted a Frenc ...

in October 1747 during the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's W ...

and commanded HMS ''Princess Louisa'' 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 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� ...

. He went on to be Commander-in-Chief of the

East Indies Station The East Indies Station was a formation and command of the British Royal Navy. Created in 1744 by the Admiralty, it was under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies. Even in official documents, the term ''East Indies Station'' was ...

and then First Naval Lord.

Naval career

La bataille de Lagos en 1759 vue par le peintre Thomas Luny

Born the son of Captain Robert Harland, Harland joined the Royal Navy in 1729 when he was appointed a

Volunteer-per-order Volunteer-per-order was a name for a rating for young boys in the Royal Navy for young gentlemen who were training to become officers. The rating was introduced by Samuel Pepys in 1676 and the recipient received £24 a year and a letter from the cro ...

on HMS ''Falkland''. He was present as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

on HMS ''Princessa'' at the Battle of Toulon on 11 February 1744. He was given command of the

fireship A fire ship or fireship, used in the days of wooden rowed or sailing ships, was a ship filled with combustibles, or gunpowder deliberately set on fire and steered (or, when possible, allowed to drift) into an enemy fleet, in order to destroy sh ...

HMS ''Scipio'' in 1745 and, with promotion 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 19 March 1746, he took command of HMS'' Tilbury'' and took part in

on 14 October 1747. He was then appointed to HMS ''Nottingham'' later that year and the following year had a major role in the capture of the French 74 gun ''Magnanime'' on 31 January 1748. He commanded HMS ''Monarch'' from 1748 and HMS ''Essex'' from 1755 before transferring to HMS ''Conqueror'' in 1758. In 1759 he transferred to HMS ''Princess Louisa'' and took part in the

on 18 August 1759. Harland was 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 regarded ...

on 18 October 1770 and appointed Commander-in-Chief of the

in 1771 remaining there until 1775. He was appointed a baronet on 19 March 1771. He was further promoted to vice-admiral on 5 February 1776 before becoming second in command 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 ...

and fighting at the Battle of Ushant on 27 July 1778. Harland was appointed to the

Board of Admiralty 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 the Second Rockingham ministry in April 1782. He served as First Naval Lord from 1 April 1782, with the rank of full

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, ...

from 8 April 1782, until he left on 30 January 1783. He died at his home in

Sproughton Sproughton (pronounced Spror-ton) is a village in Suffolk, England, just to the west of Ipswich and is in the Babergh administrative district. It has a church, a primary school, a pub (the Wild Man), a community shop and various groups. It is i ...

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 ...

on 21 February 1784.

Family

In 1749 he married Susanna Reynold; they had three daughters and a son.The Peerage.com
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References

Sources

* * * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Harland, Robert 1715 births 1784 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain Royal Navy admirals Lords of the Admiralty Royal Navy personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession Royal Navy personnel of the Seven Years' War Royal Navy personnel of the American Revolutionary War