Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many 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. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

Sir Edward Vernon (30 October 1723 – 16 June 1794) was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

officer who became 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'' wa ...

Naval career

Born the fourth son of Henry Vernon and Penelope Vernon (née Phillips) and educated at the

Royal Naval Academy The Royal Naval Academy was a facility established in 1733 in HMNB Portsmouth, Portsmouth Dockyard to train officers for the Royal Navy. The founders' intentions were to provide an alternative means to recruit officers and to provide standardise ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

, Vernon joined the Royal Navy in 1739 when he was appointed a Volunteer-per-order on . He was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in 1743 during the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession was a European conflict fought between 1740 and 1748, primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italian Peninsula, Italy, the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Related conflicts include King Ge ...

and assigned to the 70-gun under Captain Edward Hawke. Present at the Battle of Toulon in 1744 against a combined French and Spanish fleet, he and 22 other British seamen were sent by Hawke aboard the disabled enemy vessel ''Poder'' in order to secure her as a

prize A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

. ''Poder'' was heavily damaged, and Vernon and others began

jury rig In maritime transport and sailing, jury rigging or jury-rigging is making temporary makeshift running repairs with only the tools and materials on board. It originates from sail-powered boats and ships. Jury-rigging can be applied to any part o ...

ging masts in order to make her ready to sail. They neglected to observe a Spanish counter-attack and were captured. Vernon was returned to British service as part of a prisoner exchange, and in 1747 was appointed as commander of the sloop HMS ''Baltimore''. In 1753 he was promoted to captain of in 1753 and captain of in 1755. He went on to be captain of and was present at the destruction of the French Fleet at the Battle of Lagos on 18–19 August 1759. He went on to command successively , , , , and . Knighted in June 1773, he became

Commander-in-Chief, The Nore The Commander-in-Chief, The Nore, was an operational commander of the Royal Navy. His subordinate units, establishments, and staff were sometimes informally known as the Nore Station or Nore Command. Nore, The Nore is a sandbank at the mouth of t ...

in 1775 and Commander-in-Chief of the

in 1776 and took part in an indecisive action off

Pondicherry Pondicherry, officially known as Puducherry, is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of the Puducherry (union territory), Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the southeast coast of Indi ...

on 10 August 1778 which at least forced the French fleet to retire to

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

, much booty and plunder having been seized by the British. Promoted to

rear-admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

in March 1779, he returned to England in 1781. He was promoted to

vice-admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of vic ...

in 1787 and

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many 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. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

in 1794. A monument to Vernon was placed in All Saints Church, at

Binfield Binfield is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England, which at the 2011 census had a population of 8,689. The village lies north-west of Bracknell, north-east of Wokingham, and south-east of Reading at the westernmost extremity of ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vernon, Edward 1723 births 1794 deaths Royal Navy admirals