Herbert Sawyer (1730–1798)
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Herbert Sawyer (c. 1730 – 4 June 1798) was an officer of the
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 ...
who saw service during the
Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...
, the
American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
and the
French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...
. He eventually rose to the rank of
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 ...
.


Early life

He was born in 1730, the youngest son of John Sawyer of Hayward, Berkshire by Anne, sister of Anthony Duncombe, Lord Feversham. He entered the navy in 1747, spending his first six years mostly on the Jamaica Station aboard George Townshend's HMS ''Gloucester''.Herbert Sawyer at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
/ref> He passed his
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 ...
's examination on 30 August 1753, when his age was given as 'more than 22', suggesting he was born in or before 1730. He was promoted to lieutenant on 4 March 1756, and the following year was serving aboard HMS ''Grafton'', which at the time was part of Vice-Admiral Francis Holburne's fleet off
Louisbourg Louisbourg is an unincorporated community and former town in Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia. History The harbour had been used by European mariners since at least the 1590s, when it was known as English Port and Havre à l'An ...
.


Promotion to command

He received his first command, that of the sloop HMS ''Happy'' on 19 October 1758, but was soon moved to HMS ''Swallow'' off the coast of France under the orders of Lord Howe. He took command of HMS ''Chesterfield'' on 26 December, followed with a transfer to HMS ''Active'' in February 1759. He spent the rest of the war aboard her. On 21 May 1762 he and the sloop HMS ''Favourite'', the latter commanded by Philemon Pownoll, captured the Spanish frigate ''Hermione'' off Cadiz. A cargo of over £500,000 in cash and bullion was secured, of which Sawyer received £65,053 13s. 9d. Now extremely wealthy, he married Susannah Ann Majendie, the daughter of a
Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
merchant. They had a daughter, Ann Sophia, who was the mother of Admiral Sir Henry Hope, K.C.B., and a son, Admiral Sir Herbert Sawyer, K.C.B., who inherited the Leicestershire estates of his father's cousin, the Hon. Frances Bowater, elder daughter and co-heir of Anthony Duncombe, Lord Feversham. His next appointment came in 1777, with the command of HMS ''Boyne''. He sailed with her the following year to join Rear-Admiral
Samuel Barrington Admiral Samuel Barrington (1729 – 16 August 1800) was a Royal Navy officer. Barrington was the fourth son of John Barrington, 1st Viscount Barrington of Beckett Hall at Shrivenham in Berkshire (now Oxfordshire). He enlisted in the navy at ...
off the
West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
, and was present at the repulse of
Charles Hector, comte d'Estaing Jean Baptiste Charles Henri Hector, Count of Estaing (24 November 1729 – 28 April 1794) was a French military officer and writer. He began his service as a soldier in the War of the Austrian Succession, briefly spending time as a prisoner of wa ...
's attempt to capture
St Lucia Saint Lucia is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. Part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Saint Vincent ...
on 15 December that year. Sawyer remained in the Caribbean, and was present at 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. A British fleet led by Admiral John Byron (the grandfath ...
as part of Vice-Admiral
John Byron Vice-Admiral John Byron (8 November 1723 – 1 April 1786) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer. He earned the nickname "Foul-Weather Jack" in the press because of his frequent encounters with bad weather at sea. As a midshipman, he sa ...
's fleet on 6 July 1779. Sawyer returned to England in the autumn, and was given command of HMS ''Namur'' in 1780. He commanded her in the
English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...
, and was present at the relief of Gibraltar in April 1781. He left the ''Namur'' in December, and by 1783 he was in command of the
guardship A guard ship is a warship assigned as a stationary guard in a port or harbour, as opposed to a coastal patrol boat, which serves its protective role at sea. Royal Navy In the Royal Navy of the eighteenth century, peacetime guard ships were usua ...
HMS ''Bombay Castle'' at
Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...
.


On the North American Station

He left the ''Namur'' in 1785 and was appointed commodore of the
North American Station The North America and West Indies Station was a formation or command of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy stationed in North American waters from 1745 to 1956, with main bases at the Imperial fortresses of Bermuda and Halifax, Nova Scotia. The ...
's base at Halifax. He took up his post in June, and authorized the frigate HMS ''Mercury'' to escort a merchant vessel to the American port of
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
to collect a shipment of cattle. This marked the first free visit of a British warship to the port since March 1776. In 1787 Sawyer had taken part of his fleet to
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
, where he was embarrassed by a French squadron of three ships of the line and four frigates, which sailed unchallenged along the
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...
coast bound for Boston. His daughter Sophia died in Halifax in 1788 and was buried in the
crypt A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...
at
St. Paul's Church (Halifax) St. Paul's Church is a historically evangelical Anglican church in downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia, within the Diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island of the Anglican Church of Canada. It is located at the south end of the Grand Parade, ...
. Soon after he returned to England in August 1788.


Further promotions

Sawyer never returned to sea but continued to rise through the ranks based on his seniority. He was promoted to rear-admiral on 24 September 1788, vice-admiral on 1 February 1793 and admiral on 1 June 1795. Poor health meant he was unable to take up any commands. He died in
Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...
,
Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...
, on 4 June 1798. His eldest son, also named Herbert Sawyer followed his father into a navy, and also had served in the
American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...
. He too reached the rank of admiral, and even was appointed to his father's old command on the
North American Station The North America and West Indies Station was a formation or command of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy stationed in North American waters from 1745 to 1956, with main bases at the Imperial fortresses of Bermuda and Halifax, Nova Scotia. The ...
, which he commanded during the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...
.


Notes


References

* J. K. Laughton
‘Sawyer, Herbert (b. in or before 1730, d. 1798)’
rev. Julian Gwyn, ''
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...
'',
Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, 2004, accessed 30 June 2008 (also mentions younger Herbert Sawyer). * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sawyer, Herbert 1730s births 1798 deaths Royal Navy admirals Royal Navy personnel of the Seven Years' War Royal Navy personnel of the American Revolutionary War Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars