Captain Taylor Penny (1721–1786) was an 18th-century officer of 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 ...

who came to fame at the

Battle of the Saintes The Battle of the Saintes (known to the French as the Bataille de la Dominique), also known as the Battle of Dominica, was an important naval battle in the Caribbean between the British and the French that took place 9–12 April 1782. The Brit ...

Life

He was born in Weymouth in

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

in 1721, probably into a seafaring family. He was commissioned as a lieutenant in the

on 6 August 1745. In 1755 he joined the newly converted

HMS Firebrand Eleven ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS ''Firebrand''. * was an 8-gun fireship launched in 1694 and wrecked in 1707. * was an 8-gun fireship, previously the civilian vessel ''Charming Jenny''. She was purchased in 1739 and sold i ...

and on 31 December of that year was promoted to commander. In November 1757 he transferred to be captain of the newly completed HMS Aldborough. He was mainly employed on convoy duty. In 1760 he transferred to the newly completed 44-gun HMS Looe. On this ship he captured the

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but ...

in June 1762. Soon after he captured a small Spanish privateer, Maria, and the 4-gun Joseph, which he took to

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Both these actions were 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� ...

. From 1762 to 1777 he had no active commissions (and possibly had a family life in Dorset during this period). In June 1778 he was appointed commander of the 70-gun HMS Burford, one of the largest ships in the

at the time. He was replaced by Captain Peter Rainier in October of that year. He was then given a more permanent position as captain and commander of

HMS Marlborough Six warships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS ''Marlborough'' after the Duke of Marlborough: * , a second rate, renamed ''Marlborough'' 1706; fought in the Seven Years' War; present in Sir George Pocock's fleet at the taking of Havana from t ...

in June 1779. On this ship he took part in 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 ...

retreat and the

Moonlight Battle The Battle of Cape St. Vincent () was a naval battle that took place off the southern coast of Portugal on 16 January 1780 during the American Revolutionary War. A British fleet under Admiral Sir George Rodney defeated a Spanish squadron unde ...

off

Cape St. Vincent Cape St. Vincent ( pt, Cabo de São Vicente, ) is a headland in the municipality of Vila do Bispo, in the Algarve, southern Portugal. It is the southwesternmost point of Portugal and of mainland Europe. History Cape St. Vincent was already sacr ...

on 16 January 1780. Under Admiral Robert Digby in February 1780 he captured the French ship Protee which was then recommissioned in the Royal Navy as HMS Prothee. In the campaign of June to December 1780, still under Admiral Digby, alongside Captain Richard Onslow on

HMS Bellona Eight ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS ''Bellona'' after Bellona (goddess), Bellona, the goddess of war in Roman mythology: * was a 30-gun sixth rate, formerly the French privateer ''Bellone''. She was captured in 1747, and sold i ...

they captured the 54-gun Dutch ship Princess Carolina (on 30 December). On 12 April 1781 he aided 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 ...

. Later in 1781 he sailed to the

Leeward Islands french: Îles-Sous-le-Vent , image_name = , image_caption = ''Political'' Leeward Islands. Clockwise: Antigua and Barbuda, Guadeloupe, Saint kitts and Nevis. , image_alt = , locator_map = , location = Caribbean SeaNorth Atlantic Ocean , coor ...

to join Admiral

George Rodney Admiral George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, KB ( bap. 13 February 1718 – 24 May 1792), was a British naval officer. He is best known for his commands in the American War of Independence, particularly his victory over the French at the ...

's fleet patrolling 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 ...

. On 12 April 1782 he headed the attack on the French fleet as part of the

. She approached to stand 150m from the French line. Following this action he attached to Admiral Hugh Pigot's fleet which went to North America, patrolling the seas off

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. Both Penny and the Marlborough were paid off by the Royal Navy in July 1783. Penny then returned to his home town of Weymouth where he served as mayor 1785/6. He died on 18 April 1786 in

Wyke Regis Wyke Regis is a village in south Dorset, England. The village is part of the south western suburbs of Weymouth, on the northern shore of Portland Harbour and the south-eastern end of Chesil Beach. Wyke is south of the county town, Dorchester ...

aged 64 and was buried in All Saints churchyard there on 19 April 1782.

Family

Penny was married and his wife outlived him. They did not have children. However he took a young Weymouth man,

Joseph Spear Joseph Spear (died 1837) was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the American War of Independence, and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Spear joined the Royal Navy during the American War of Independence and soon saw act ...

, his aid in receiving a commission into the navy in 1779. Spear had a very illustrious career. His great nephew Major General Nicholas Penny was killed in action at Kukerowlee in April 1858 during the

Indian mutiny The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Penny, Taylor 1721 births 1786 deaths People from Dorset Royal Navy officers