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

Second Battle of Cape Finisterre The second battle of Cape Finisterre was a naval battle, naval encounter fought during the War of the Austrian Succession on 25 October 1747 (N.S.). A Royal Navy, British fleet of fourteen ships of the line commanded by Rear admiral (Royal Navy ...

in October 1747 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 commanded HMS ''Princess Louisa'' at the

Battle of Lagos The Battle of Lagos took place between a British fleet commanded by 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 Cádiz on ...

in August 1759 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 ...

. 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'' wa ...

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 cr ...

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

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 ...

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

fireship A fire ship or fireship is a large wooden vessel set on fire to be used against enemy ships during a ramming attack or similar maneuver. Fireships were used to great effect against wooden ships throughout naval military history up until the adv ...

HMS ''Scipio'' in 1745 and, with promotion to

post captain Post-captain or post captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of captain in the Royal Navy. The term "post-captain" was descriptive only; it was never used as a title in the form "Post-Captain John Smith". The term served to di ...

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 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 ...

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 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 ...

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 th ...

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 This is a list of the principal holders of government office during the second premiership of the Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham for four months in 1782. The North ministry resigned on 22 March 1782 after losing the confi ...

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 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 ...

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

Sproughton Sproughton ( ) 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, which has been closed since 2020), a community shop and various ...

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

on 21 February 1784.

Family

In 1749 he married Susanna Reynold; they had three daughters and a son.

References

Sources

* * * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Harland, Robert 1710s 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