Admiral Thomas Dumaresq (1729 – 18 July 1802) was an officer in the British Royal Navy that rose to the rank of Admiral. Dumaresq was notable for his role as Captain of

HMS Repulse Twelve ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS ''Repulse'': * was a 50-gun galleon also known as ''Due Repulse'', launched in 1595 and in the records until 1645. * was a 32-gun fifth rate, originally the . She was captured in 1759 by and fo ...

in 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 ...

during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

Life

Thomas was born in 1729 to Jean Dumaresq and Ann Bokenham (niece of Captain William Bokenham), and was a member of the notable Dumaresq family of the Channel Islands. He would obtain a commission as a lieutenant in 1755 and in 1763 he would obtain his first command, of the British Cutter, named the "Esther". Thomas Dumaresq was promoted to Rear-Admiral in 1794, and a Vice-Admiral in 1795. On 1 January 1801, he was promoted to Admiral of the Blue.

Issue with Privateers

During the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

an order was given to seize all ships and vessels of the Thirteen-Colonies. This led to an increase of

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

ing and illegal privateers used by foreign powers and other

British Colonies A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony administered by The Crown within the British Empire. There was usually a Governor, appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the UK Government, with or without the assistance of a local Coun ...

alike to still trade with the rebellious colonies. Vice-Admiral James Young who was commander-in-chief in the

Leeward Islands Station The Leeward Islands Station originally known as the Commander-in-Chief at Barbadoes and the Leeward Islands was a formation or command of the Kingdom of Great Britain and then the United Kingdom's Royal Navy stationed at English Harbour, Antigua, L ...

made the decision to treat illegal

ing as

piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

and seize any vessels without the proper commission. In 1777, Captain Thomas Dumaresq who commanded HMS ''Portland'', the flag-ship of Vice-Admiral James Young was involved in an incident where the ''Portland'' seized the ''Hammond,'' a

ing ship from British Antigua. Due to the tribunal of the Court of Vice-Admiralty at Antigua declaring the privateers as legal, The owners of the ''Hammond'' had Vice-Admiral James Young and Captain Thomas Dumaresq arrested for the seizing of their ship and the impressing part of the crew. Young wrote to

John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, PC, FRS (13 November 1718 – 30 April 1792) was a British statesman who succeeded his grandfather Edward Montagu, 3rd Earl of Sandwich as the Earl of Sandwich in 1729, at the age of ten. During his life ...

who was

First Lord of the Admiralty The First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible for the di ...

to get clemency for both him and Dumaresq. However,

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 ...

would tell Lord Sandwich to resolve the matter quickly while not provoking the privateers due to the outcome it would have with neighbouring powers. On 3 June 1777 Dumaresq was found guilty of

impressment Impressment, colloquially "the press" or the "press gang", is the taking of men into a military or naval force by compulsion, with or without notice. European navies of several nations used forced recruitment by various means. The large size of ...

by the Court of Common Pleas of Antigua and had to pay £950 what is approximately £160,000 in today's currency. To Dumaresq's luck,

Lord Sandwich Earl of Sandwich is a noble title in the Peerage of England, held since its creation by the House of Montagu. It is nominally associated with Sandwich, Kent. It was created in 1660 for the prominent naval commander Admiral Sir Edward Montagu ...

brought forth the government's plan to deal with the issue of illegal

ing altogether. Privateer Commissions would be granted by the colonial governors to all current illegal privateers and them would be able to keep their prizes they have already taken. The only condition was that all charges against all naval officers were dropped. If Dumaresq's charges were not dropped it could have had distress effects for the navy that could result in a reluctance of naval officers to sign-on new seamen due to fear of being charged with of

Battle of the Saintes

Thomas Dumaresq, who was a Captain at the time of the

, which was a battle in 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 Greate ...

between the

British Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

and

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

. Dumaresq Commanded the

in the center under Admiral Sir George Rodney. His crew, what is described by

Edward Fraser Edward Henry Fraser Sir Edward Henry Fraser (15 February 1851 – 10 November 1921) was an English solicitor who was Mayor of Nottingham on four occasions. He was born in Nottingham and privately educated. He became a solicitor by profession, ...

as "smart set of Guernsey lads" would suffer 3 deaths and 11 wounded. In the aftermath of the

Dumaresq, now in command of the ''HMS Alfred'' would take part of the

Battle of the Mona Passage The Battle of the Mona Passage was a naval engagement on 19 April 1782 taking place in the aftermath of the Battle of the Saintes between Britain and France during the American Revolutionary War. A British fleet under Rear-Admiral Sir Samuel Hoo ...

under Rear-Admiral Sir Samuel Hood.

The Savanna-la-Mar Hurricane

During 1780, Rear-Admiral

Joshua Rowley Vice-Admiral Sir Joshua Rowley, 1st Baronet (1734 – 1790) was a Royal Navy officer who was the fourth son of Admiral Sir William Rowley. Sir Joshua was from an ancient English family, originating in Staffordshire (England) and was born on ...

was sent to reinforce Jamaica against a possible Spanish threat. However, in October 1780 a

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

formed off the coast of South America and would damage many British vessels, with the transport ship ''Monarch'' being sunk. Dumaresq, who was the Captain of the ''Ulysses'' was caught in this storm on October 6, 1780, resulting in only the foremast standing on the ''Ulysses''. Having to drop all guns on the upper deck, Dumaresq would not get to Jamaica until the 26th of October 1780.

Pelham Place

With the prize money obtained from his command of the ''

'' under

Lord Rodney Baron Rodney, of Rodney Stoke in the County of Somerset, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1782 for the naval commander Sir George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baronet. He had previously been created a Baronet, of Alresford i ...

during the Battle of the Saints Dumaresq would purchase the land of Pelham in

Newton Valence Newton Valence is a village and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is 4.4 miles (7.1 km) south of Alton, just off the A32 road. The nearest railway station is Liss, 4.5 miles (7.3 km) southeast of th ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

and build Pelham Place. Pelham Place still stands today and is classified as a

Grade II Listed Building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ir ...

Family

Thomas Dumaresq had one daughter; * Charlotte Dumaresq who married her first cousin William Dumaresq, son of Captain William Dumaresq (brother of Thomas Dumaresq). They had the following issue; ** Frances Dumaresq m. Admiral

George O. Lempriere Admiral George Ourry Lempriere (1787-1864) was an officer in the British Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars that rose to the rank of Admiral. Life George O. Lempriere was born in 1787 to Colonel Thomas Lempriere, Seigneur of Chesnel, and Eli ...

(1787–1864)

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dumaresq, Thomas Royal Navy admirals 1729 births 1802 deaths Royal Navy personnel of the American Revolutionary War Royal Navy personnel of the Seven Years' War Jersey people People from Newton Valence