Charles Dashwood (Royal Navy officer)
| Sir Charles Dashwood | |
|---|---|
| Born |
1 September 1765 Somerset, England |
| Died |
21 September 1847 (aged 82) London, England |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom |
| Service/branch | Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1779–1847 |
| Rank | Vice-Admiral |
| Commands held |
HMS Sylph HMS Bacchante HMS Franchise HMS Belvidera HMS Pyramus HMS Cressy HMS Norge HMS Windsor Castle HMS Impregnable |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath |
Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Dashwood KCB (1 September 1765 – 21 September 1847) was a distinguished British officer, who served in the Royal Navy during the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812. He had a long and prestigious naval career, gaining his own command by the last stages of the French Revolutionary Wars. He took part in a number of famous naval battles during his career, such as the Battle of the Saintes, the Glorious First of June and the Battle of Tory Island, where he received the sword of the French commodore, Jean Bompart. His record also includes extensive operations in the West Indies and the Baltic Sea, followed by the expedition to New Orleans in 1815.
Charles Dashwood was born on 1 September 1765 in Vallon Wood, Somerset, England, where his family resided for three hundred years. His father was Mr. Robert Dashwood and his mother was Hon. Mary Sweeting. He was baptized on the day of his birth at Bicknoller.
At the age of thirteen, Dashwood entered the Royal Navy, being appointed as a midshipman on 9 January 1779, and embarking on board the 74-gun ship HMS Courageux, commanded by Captain Lord Mulgrave. After serving some time with the Channel Fleet, from March 1780 to January 1782 he embarked successively on board the frigate HMS Southampton and on HMS Grafton, both under the orders of Captain Garnier, under whom he witnessed the Action of 9 August 1780, where the Southampton narrowly escaped to a Franco-Spanish fleet. Returning from Jamaica to England with Garnier in the Grafton, he embarked on board HMS Formidable, flagship of Sir George Rodney, acting as aide-de-camp during the Battle of the Saintes, where the French fleet was beaten thanks to the innovative tactic of "breaking the line", giving Britain a weapon to wield at the Treaty of Versailles, and restoring the status quo that the British had in the West Indies to that of 1776. An eyewitness account of the battle was written by him. During the heat of the battle, Rodney asked Dashwood to make him a glass of lemonade, the ingredients for which were at hand. Not having anything to stir it with but a knife that was already discoloured by the cutting of the lemon, George Rodney said, on Dashwood presenting it to him: "Child, that may do for a midshipman, but not for an admiral. Take it yourself and send my servant to me."
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