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Adm G Rodney

Full Name: Admiral George Bridges Rodney

Nickname/Alias: George Bridges Rodney, 1st Baron of Stoke-Rodney

Achievements: 18thcentury British Admiral.

Born: baptized February 13, 1718; at London, England

Died: 24 May 1792; London, England (Aged 74)

Field & Discipline: Military; Admiral

Language: English

Father: Henry Rodney (1681-1737)

Mother: Mary Newton (d. 1736)

Siblings: Maria Constantia (d. 1782); Catherine (d. infancy); Henry (1714-36); James (1724-93)

Spouse: Jane Compton (married 1753, d. 1757); Henrietta Clies (married 1764, d. 1829)

Children: By first wife: George, 2nd Lord Rodney (1753-1802), James

(1754-76) and Jane (1756-58); by second wife: John Rodney (1765-1847), Jane

(b. 1766), Henrietta (b. 1769), Margaret Anne (1776-1855), Sarah (1780-1871)

and Edward (1783-1828)

Education: Harrow School (c. 1725-32)

Life & Times:

Rodney entered the Royal Navy in 1732.   1745 he was given the new 60-gun ship 'Eagle', and began to make his name and fortune (from his share of captured French and Spanish ship prize-money) as a hard-working naval man.

By the end of 1747, Rodney had made more than £10,000 from these adventures, with which he bought land near Avington, Hampshire. In five years he had transformed himself from a penniless captain into one of the landed gentry.

On October 14, 1747, in one of the final battles of the war against the Spanish and French, Rodney took part in the famous victory over the French off Ushant.  It won him another £5,000 and praise from Admiral [admired by] Anson*.

In 1749 Rodney was appointed to the 40-gun ship 'Rainbow' as Naval Governor and commander-in-chief of Newfoundland, with the rank of commodore and secret orders to support the colonists against the encroachments of the French in Nova Scotia. During the next two years he made several trips to Newfoundland, but in 1752 was forced to return retire from the governorship owing to ill-health, and he returned home to his new house, and to a seat in the House of Commons as a nominee of the Duke of Newcastle.

In 1757, with the onset of the Seven Years' War (1756-63) - in which France, Austria, Saxony, Sweden, and Russia fought against Prussia, Hanover, and Great Britain, but which especially involved colonial battles between Britain and France - he was appointed to the 'Dublin' in the fight against the French. On his return to England in May 1759, struck down with scurvy, he was promoted to rear-admiral of the fleet.

In October 1761 Rodney was appointed commander-in-chief of the Leeward Islands station in the Caribbean and given the job of capturing the wealthy French island of Martinque.

By February 1762 he had captured Martinque, and had taken permanent possession of St. Lucia, Grenada and St. Vincent. Rodney returned to England in 1763.

In 1764 he was created a baronet, and in November 1765 he was appointed governor of Greenwich Hospital, a position he held for the next five years. During this period he was also elected as M.P. for Northampton, but spent so much money on the election (estimated at around £30,000) and his notoriously extravagant lifestyle, that his finances never fully recovered.

Rodney's financial position became so difficult that he retired to Paris,  France in early 1775, where he remained for the next three years.   In late 1779 he finally received a lucrative commission, again to the Leeward Islands station. On his way, on 8 January 1780 he captured a Spanish convoy off Cape Finisterre, and eight days later, at night and in a violent storm, defeated the Spanish admiral Don Juan de Langara off Cape St. Vincent, taking or destroying seven (of the nine) Spanish ships. Rodney reached St. Lucia on 22 March.

On 27 January, 1780, he heard that Britain was at war with Holland, and was ordered to attack the Dutch island of St. Eustatius, which he captured on 3 February 1781.

After a brief trip to Britain for reasons of health, he returned to the Caribbean,  where the situation was critical, as a large French force under the command of the [defeated] de Grasse* had just captured St. Kitts and were about to launch an attack - aided by 14 Spanish ships - on Jamaica.

On April 9, 1782 he led an aggressive pursuit of the French, who three days later were forced to engage in the Battle of the Saints off Dominica. During the battle, with 36 ships of the line, Rodney famously defeated de Grasse.

Rodney was now at the height of his popularity, and on his return to England he received the barony of Stoke-Rodney, and a pension. Until the mid-1780s he continued as an M.P., but remained in financial straits, and suffering severely from gout. He then retired entirely from public life, and died suddenly.

Extra Connections:  Painted by [painted by] Reynolds*

He was commanded by John [commanded by] Montagu*

Assessment: His flamboyant fighting style made him a star.

Oneliner:  George Rodney,  British Navy Admiral

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