John Thomas Duckworth

Infobox Military Person
name=Sir John Thomas Duckworth, 1st Baronet, GCB
lived=9 February 1747 (Gregorian Calendar – death date and age|1817|8|31|1747|2|9


caption=Vice-Admiral Sir John Thomas Duckworth by Sir William Beechey, 1810
placeofbirth = Leatherhead, Surrey, England
placeofdeath = Plymouth naval base, England
nickname=
residence = United Kingdom
nationality = British
allegiance=United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland
serviceyears=1759–1817
rank=Admiral of the Blue Squadron
branch= Royal Navy
commands=Commander-in-Chief at Barbados and Leeward Islands
Commander-in-Chief at Jamaica
Second in Command of the Mediterranean Fleet
Governor of Newfoundland and Commander-in-Chief of the Newfoundland Squadron
Commander-in-Chief of the Plymouth naval base
unit=HMS "Namur"
HMS "Guernsey"
HMS "Prince of Orange"
HMS "Princess Royal"
HMS "Diamond"
HMS "Rover"
HMS "Grafton"
HMS "Bombay Castle"
HMS "Orion"
HMS "Queen"
HMS "Leviathan"
HMS "Superb"
HMS "Royal George"
HMS "San Josef"
HMS "Hibernia"
HMS "Armide"
HMS "Antelope"

battles=1 June 1794
Capture of Minorca
capture of the islands of St.Bartholomew and St.Martin
Ferrol expedition of 1800
blockade of Cadiz
Battle of San Domingo
Dardanelles Operation
Alexandria expedition of 1807
War of 1812
awards=Battle of the Glorious First of June, 1794 Medallion [The medallion, to be worn on the neck suspended by a white and blue ribbon, was issued to officers mentioned by Lord Howe in the report to the Admiralty, and has their names stamped on the obverse and reverse sides, Duckworth appearing on the reverse]
Battle of the Glorious First of June, 1794 Medal [the medal was issued to all officers to be worn between the third and fourth buttons of their uniform, as is illustrated on the portrait]
Jamaica Sword of Honour
Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
London Sword of Honour
relations=Son in law to the bishop of Exeter
Father in law to Vice-Admiral Sir Richard King
Parker Duckworth Bingham godson [son of the Rear-Admiral Joseph Bingham; grandson, maternally, of the Admiral Sir William Parker, Bart., an officer celebrated for his actions on 1 June, 1794, as Captain of the HMS Audacious 74]
Admiral Sir John Thomas Duckworth, 1st Baronet, GCB [Prior to 1815 the order had only a single class, Knights Companion (KB), which no longer exists.] (9 February 1747 (Gregorian Calendar) – 31 August 1817 in Plymouth, England) was a British naval officer, serving during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, as the Governor of Newfoundland during the War of 1812, and a member of the British House of Commons during his semi-retirement. One of the least known of the Age of Sail admirals of the Royal Navy, Duckworth, a vicar's son, achieved much in a naval service which began at the age of 11.

Serving with most of the great names of the Royal Navy during the later 18th and early 19th centuries, he fought almost all of Britain's enemies on the seas at one time or another, including in a operation that would be remembered a century later during the First World War. He also fought the last great fleet action of the Napoleonic Wars, [vii, Allen] which contributed to the growth of another great naval power in the next century, the United States of America. Overshadowed by other great British sailors, he passed away at his post, but in peace rather than in combat.

Early life

Born in Leatherhead, Surrey, England, Duckworth was one of five sons of Sarah Johnson and the vicar Henry Duckworth A.M. of Stoke Poges [county Bucks, p.173, Debrett; later installed as Canon of Windsor] descended from a landed family. Duckworth went to Eton College, but began his naval career in 1759 at the suggestion of Edward Boscawen, when he entered the Royal Navy as a midshipman on HMS "Namur". [Whiteley] On 5 April 1764 he joined the 50-gun HMS "Guernsey" at Chatham after leaving HMS "Prince of Orange", to serve with Admiral Hugh Palliser, then Governor of Newfoundland. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant aboard the "Princess Royal" on which he was concussed by a head of another sailor decapitated by a cannonball [p.209, Clarke] , based on the West Indies station on 14 November 1771, serving as first lieutenant in the frigate HMS "Diamond" during the American War of Independence. [Whiteley; however note that the ship was not commissioned until 1774, p.363, Stephens] He married Anne Wallis in July 1776 [with whom he had one son and one daughter] , and in 1779 after receiving his first command of a sloop-of-war HMS "Rover", was promoted to Captain in 16 June 1780 in which he cruised the waters off Martinique until briefly returning to the "Princess Royal" with a post rank before joining HMS "Grafton" (74 gun) with a command of escorting English convoys. [p.209, Clarke] In the years of peace before the French Revolution he was a captain of HMS "Bombay Castle" (74 guns) lying at Plymouth.

Revolutionary wars service

When the French Revolution broke out, Duckworth was serving as a flag-captain to the Admiral of the West Indies squadron, Sir George Brydges Rodney soon after in HMS "Princess Royal". [Whiteley]

Fighting against France, Duckworth distinguished himself both in European waters and in the Caribbean. Initially aboard the "Orion" (74-gun) from 1793 as Commander, and later in HMS "Queen" with the Channel Fleet of Admiral Lord Howe in the Admiral's division [p.366, Stephens] in which post Duckworth saw action in three battles during latter May and 1 June 1794 [Whiteley] , was one of eighteen Commanders honoured with a gold medal and ribbon and thanks of both Houses of Parliament. [Whiteley]

A Commodore in Santo Domingo in 1796, was promoted to Rear Admiral of the White Squadron on 14 February 1799 following the Capture of Minorca for which he sailed on 19 October 1798 [p.278, Ross] [pp.108-122, Lysons; later inscribed on his Arms Supporters] where he was a joint commander with Sir Charles Stewart, initially landing his 800 troops in the Bay of Addaya. [pp.369-370, Stephens; including frigates Cormorant and Aurora] , and later using sailors and marines from his ships to augment the Army troops.

He commemorated the promotion in June 1799 when "La Courageux" was captured by his squadron of four ships. [p.348, Mostert] Sailing to take up his post as the newly appointed Commander-in-Chief at Barbados and Leeward Islands (1800-1802) [succeeding Lord Hugh Seymour p.371, Stephens] , in April 1800, he intercepted a large and rich Spanish convoy from Lima off Cadiz consisting of two frigates (both taken as prizes) and eleven merchant vessels [p.371, Stephens] , with his share of the prize money estimated at £75,000. [Whiteley] [this was roughly the cost of building and manning a first rate ship of the line such as HMS Royal George he was to command later which in 1805 cost £35.4 per ton; [http://home.gci.net/~stall/traf.htm] , Watts] In 1801 he was appointed Commander-in-Chief at Jamaica, (1801-1805).

Between 1798 and 1801 Duckworth in HMS "Leviathan" (74-gun) [Captain James Carpenter; some mention only Levithan, Swiftsure and Emerald, p.37, James] commanded four ships in a fleet of 109 vessels in the Ferrol expedition under joint commands of Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren with 20 ships of the line and 15-20,000 Army troops under James Murray-Pulteney, ostensibly sent to capture Belleisle. [p.597, Bisset; Sir Ralph Abercromby serving as second in command to Pulteney]

The fleet landed with 12,500 troops under command of Sir Edward Pellew on 25 August. However, the assault on the city was inexplicably abandoned during the expected attack on Fort St.Philip due to fears of the fleet being driven off to sea by the winds, and leaving the Army troops unsupported and with no means of retreat. [p.179, Phillips]

Duckworth was nominated a Knights Companion of the most Honourable Military Order of the Bath in 1801 and installed in 1803 [Whiteley] for the capture of the islands of St.Bartholomew, St.Martin, St.Thomas, St.John and St.Croix and defeat of the Swedish and Danish forces stationed there on 20 March 1801 [p.209, Clarke] [

The ground troops commanded by Lieutenant-General Trigg were two brigades of Brigadier-Generals Fuller and Maitland, 1,500 and 1,800 troops respectively, and included the 64th Regiment of Foot (Lieutenant-Colonel Pakenham), and the 2nd and 8th West Indies Regiments supported by two detachments of Royal Artillery, and two companies of sailors about 100 in strength each; some of the ships involved aside from "Leviathan", were HMS "Andromeda", HMS "L'Unité", HMS "Coromandel", HMS "Proselyte", HMS "Amphitrite", HMS "Hornet", the brig HMS "Drake", armed brig HMS "Fanny", schooner HMS "L'Eclair" and tender HMS "Alexandria"] , also receiving a pension of £1,000. Aside from the territory and prisoners taken during the operation, Duckworth's force also took [p.375, Stephens] : two Swedish merchantmen, a Danish ship (in ballast), three small French vessels, one privateer brig (12-guns), one captured English ship, a merchant-brig, four small schooners and a sloop.

Much of 1802 was again spent in the West Indies station with fifteen sail-of-the-line under command.
thumb|Sword presented to Admiral Sir John Thomas Duckworth for services in the West Indies.">

The inscription on the sword reads:

Presented in 1804 by the Assembly of Jamaica to Vice-Adml J. T. Duckworth K.B. in Remembrance of the Effectual Protection Afforded to the Commerce and Costs of the Island by his Able Disinterested Distribution of HM Naval Forces Under his Command & as a Testimony of the High Sense Entertained By the Assembly of the Eminent Service he has Thereby Rendered to that Country.

ervice against Napoleon

West Indies

From 1803, on the death of Lord Hugh Seymour, and until 1805, Duckworth assumed command as the commander-in-chief of the Jamaica station, during which time he had the unlikely honour of taking prisoner vicomte de Rochambeau, son of the famous French General. [cf.p.459, Nelson]

Duckworth's appointment as Vice-Admiral of the Blue Squadron on 23 April 1804, briefly also serving as a Colonel of Marines.Fact|date=August 2008 He succeeded in capturing numerous enemy vessels and remained in Jamaica until 1805. [pp.108-122, Lysons]

The fortunes of Royal Navy service proved to be quite ironic for Duckworth in 1805. It was intended by the Admiralty that he should join Vice-Admiral Nelson in HMS "Royal George" off Cádiz, however the ship was not made ready to sail by the Plymouth Dockyards, and Duckworth was directed to raise his flag in HMS "Superb" [Captain Keats as Flag Captain, later Admiral Sir Richard Goodwin Keats] in which he was directed to command the West Indies squadron involved in the blockade of Cádiz [, a city and port in southwestern Spain] with seven sail of the line [p.793, Debrett] [all 74-gun except HMS "Canopus" of 80, and HMS "Agamemnon" of 64] and two frigates.

Consequently although he had volunteered to serve under Nelson, he would not be present at the Battle of Trafalgar, but would eventually sail in HMS "Royal George" during a decidedly unsuccessful period of service, see Nelson's HMS "Victory" in Portsmouth, and with time command the Plymouth Dockyards.

Although known for a cautious character, he abandoned the blockade and sailed in search of a French squadron reported by a frigate off Madeira in December on his own initiative [it was the squadron of Admiral Allemand; p.308, Miller] , something he was later to be criticised for [p.184, Ireland] because his orders, on failure to find the French, were to join Nelson with three of the vessels [p.103, Barham] , and therefore he subsequently missed Battle of Trafalgar. This turned out to be the much sought after Rochefort squadron that had earlier escaped a blockade by Cornwallis. Although he had found the squadron of Contre-Admiral Jean Batiste Willaumez [who was heading for the Cape of Good Hope] then sought by Rear-Admiral Sir Richard Strachan, Duckworth was unable to engage the French on the claim of his ships being scattered, and, short on water, made the decision to continue to West Indies.

There, at Saint Kitts he was joined by a pair of 74 gun ships commanded by Sir Alexander Cochrane [p.308, Miller] , and later a brig "Kingfisher" commanded by Nathaniel Day Cochrane which brought news of French at San Domingo [p.184, Ireland; p.105, Brenton which relates the story of amazingly lucky wind changes that allowed this news to be delivered to Duckworth within two days] that was the French squadron [5 ships: L'Imperial of 130 guns, 2 of 84 and 2 of 74 and two frigates.] under the command of Vice-Admiral Corentin Urbain Leissègues which escaped from Brest [p.184, Ireland] and sought to reinforce the French forces at San Domingo with about 1,000 troops. [p.102, Anderson] [p.308, Miller] Arriving at San Domingo on 6 February 1806, Duckworth found the French squadron with its transports anchored in the Occa bay. The French commander immediately hurried to sea, forming a line as they went. Duckworth gave signal to form two columns of four and three ships of the line.

In the Battle of San Domingo [Added to his Arms as words; the British sailor was added to the Supporters of the Arms in 1814] , Duckworth's squadron defeated the squadron of French when

Duckworth at once made the signal to attack and "with a portrait of Nelson suspended from the mizzen stay of the "Superb" with the band playing 'God Save the King' and 'Nelson of the Nile', bore down on the leading French ship "L'Alexandre" of 84 guns and engaged her at close quarters. After a severe action of two hours, two of the French ships were driven ashore and burnt with three others captured. Only the French frigates escaped. [ [http://www.royal-navy.mod.uk/server?show=nav.2545&outputFormat=print] The Fourth Superb - Napoleonic glory]

Despite this, it is thought that Duckworth used his own ship cautiously, and the credit for the victory was due more to the initiative of the individual British captains. [p.184, Ireland] Duckworth nearly grounded his own ship as he attempted to board "L'Impérial". [p.309, Miller]

His victory over the French Admiral Leissègues off the coast of Hispaniola on the 6 February together with Admiral Alexander Cochrane's squadron was the highlight of his Royal Navy service career, which was a fatal blow to French strategy in the Caribbean region, and played a major part in Napoleon's eventual sale of Louisiana, and withdrawal from the Caribbean. It was judged sufficiently important to have the Tower of London guns. [p.382, Stephens]

A promotion to Vice-Admiral of the White in April 1806 followed [p.483, Knight; the Naval Chronicle gives 9 November 1805, p.439, Stanier Clarke, Jones, Jones] , along with the presentation of a Sword of Honour by the grateful Jamaica House of Assembly, but after he returned to England again, he was called to face court-martial charges brought by the Captain Wood of HMS "Acasta" claiming transgression of the 18th Article of War [Taking goods onboard other than for the use of the vessel, except gold & etc., Duckworth apparently acquired some goods, and in wishing to transport them home in person reassigned Captain Wood to another vessel on Jamaica station knowing that the vessel was soon to be take under command by another flag officer. Consequently Duckworth was able to take the goods to England as personal luggage, and Wood was forced to sail back as a passenger on his own ship.] which was dropped on the 7 June 1805. [ [http://web.uflib.ufl.edu/spec/manuscript/guides/Duckworth.html] Sir John Thomas Duckworth, K.B., Papers, 1801-1807 Manuscript Group 18] [p.78, James; held on board HMS "Gladiator" in Portsmouth on 25 April 1805, p.84, Stanier Clarke, Jones, Jones] On his return to England, Duckworth was granted a substantial pension of £1,000 from the House of Commons, and freedom of the city of London [Whiteley] , while his naval feats were acknowledged with several honours, including the Sword of Honour by the corporation of the City of London. [ [http://web.uflib.ufl.edu/spec/manuscript/guides/Duckworth.html] Sir John Thomas Duckworth, K.B., Papers, 1801-1807 Manuscript Group 18] [Richard Teed (1756-1816) was responsible for the manufacture and supply of the swords presented by the Patriotic Fund to deserving sailors and soldiers during the Napoleonic Wars, 1803-14; it is a part of the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich sword collection [http://www.artfact.com/catalog/viewLot.cfm?lotRef=0F46XKCCWW&lotTitle=Presentation+sword%2C+belt+and+Freedom+scroll+The+C] ] A great dinner was also held in his honour as the Mansion House. [p.9, Sconce]

Santo Domingo was the last significant fleet action of the Napoleonic Wars which, despite negative claims made about his personality, displayed Duckworth's understanding of the role of naval strategy in the overall war by securing for Britain mastery of the sea, and thus having sea-oriented mentality having placed a British fleet in the right position. [pp.2-3, Wegener] Duckworth also displayed the willingness of accept changing tactics employed by Nelson, and maintained the superiority of British naval gunnery in battle.

Mediterranean

Duckworth was appointed second in command of the Mediterranean Fleet in 1805 [p.261, Stanier Clarke, Jones, Jones] primarily on consideration by the Admiralty of having a senior officer in the forthcoming operations with the Russian Navy. Sailing in the 100-gun first-rate HMS "Royal George" with eight ships of the line and four smaller vessels he arrived at the island of Tenedos with orders to take possession of the Ottoman fleet at Constantinople, thus supporting Dmitry Senyavin's Imperial Russian Navy in the Dardanelles Operation. Accompanying him were some of the ablest Royal Navy officers such as Sydney Smith, Dacres and Blackwood but he was in doubt of having the capability to breach the shore batteries and reach the anchored Ottoman fleet. Aware of Turkish efforts to reinforce the shore artillery, he nevertheless took no action until 11 February 1807 and spent some time in the straight waiting for a favourable wind. In the evening of the same day HMS "Ajax" (Captain Blackwood) was lost to accidental fire on-board at anchor off Tenedos, although most of the crew and captain were saved and redistributed among the fleet. [p.187, Brenton] Finally on 19 February at Action at Point Pisquies (Nagara Burun) a part of the British force encountered the Ottoman fleet which engaged first, but fourteen of its vessels and one gunboat [the defeated Turkish squadron consisted of one 64-gun ship of the line, four 36-gun frigates, five 12-gun corvettes, one 8-gun brig, and a gunboat ] were forced ashore and burnt by the part of the British fleet [These were HMS "Standard" (Captain Harvey), HMS "Thunderer" (Captain Talbot), HMS "Pompée" (Flag Captain Richard Dacres), and HMS "Repulse" (Captain Legge) p.51, Howard, HMS "Active" (Captain Moubray), pp.15-20,Howard] under command of Rear-Admiral Sir Sydney Smith [commanding the rear division, pp.15-20,Howard] taking one corvette and one gunboat, and the flags of the Turkish Vice-Admiral and Captain Pasha in the process, with adjacent fortifications destroyed by landing parties from HMS "Thunderer", HMS "Pompée", and HMS "Repulse", while its 31 guns were spiked [eight 32lb and 24lb brass guns and the rest firing marble shot weighing upwards of 200 pounds, p.23, Howard] by the marines. [p.189, Ireland] [marines were commanded by Captain Nicholls of HMS Standard who had also boarded the Turkish ship of the line] On the 20 February the British squadron under Duckworth [having joined Smith with the second division of ships under command of Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Louis] reached the Ottoman capital, but had to engage in fruitless negotiations with the Sultan's representatives advised by Napoleon's ambassador Sébastiani by the accompanying British ambassador Mr.Arbuthnot and Russian plenipotentiary Andrey Italinski [on HMS Endymion (Captain Capel), p.53, Howard, p.484, Knight] due to the secret instructions that were issued as part of his orders for the mission [pp.3-5, Howard] , and therefore loosing more time as the Turks played for time to complete their shore batteries in the hope of trapping the British squadron. [p.189, Ireland]

Smith was joined a week later by Duckworth, who observed the four bays of the Dardanelles lined with five hundred cannon and one hundred mortars as his ships passed towards Constantinople. There he found the rest of the Turkish fleet of twelve ships of the line and nine frigates [p.311,Miller reports "twelve ships of the line and nine frigates", but Howard (p.37) gives "twelve ships of the line, two of them three-deckers, and nine frigates filled with troops"] , all apparently ready for action in the Constantinople harbour. Exasperated by Turkish intransigence, and not having a significant force to land on the shore, Duckworth decided to withdraw on 1 March after declining to take Smith's advice to bombard the Turkish Arsenal and gunpowder manufacturing works. [p.44, Howard] The British fleet was subjected to shore artillery fire all the way to the open sea, and sustaining casualties and damage to ships from 26-inch calibre (650mm) guns firing 300-800 marble pound shot. [p.47, Howard] [p.193, Brenton]

Though blamed for indecisiveness, notably by the First Lord of the Admiralty [p.483, Knight] , Duckworth's words were to ring true a century later when he said in his report on the operation:

I must, as officer, declare to be my decided opinion that, without the cooperation of a body of land forces, it would be a wanton sacrifice of the squadrons to attempt to force the passage [p.114, Chatterton]

After departure from Constantinople, as an Admiral of the Blue [pp.108-122, Lysons] he commanded the squadron protecting transports of the Alexandria expedition of 1807, but that was forced to withdraw after after five months due to lack of supplies. [p.522, Mostert] Duckworth summed up this expedition, in reflection on the service of the year by commenting that

Instead of acting vigorously in either one or the other direction, our cabinet comes to the miserable determination of sending five or six men-of-war, without soldiers, to the Dardanelles, and 5000 soldiers, without a fleet, to Alexandria. [p.3, Higgins]

Soon after he married again on 14 May 1808 to Susannah Catherine Buller, a daughter of William Buller, the bishop of Exeter. [they had two sons; she passed away on 27 April 1840, p.xxvi, Debrett]

The Channel Fleet

Duckworth's career however did not suffer greatly, and in 1808 and 1810 he went on to sail in HMS "San Josef" and HMS "Hibernia" as commander of the Channel Fleet [p.311, Cates] , in some of the largest first-rateers in the Royal Navy. [p.13, Sconce] One of the least pleasant duties in his life was participation in the court-martial of Admiral Lord Gambier in the matter of the Basque Roads. [pp.124-125, James, Chamier]

Newfoundland and War of 1812

Probably because he was thought of as irresolute and unimaginative [p.323, Miller] , on 26 March 1810 Duckworth was appointed Governor of Newfoundland and Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian squadron's three frigates and eight smaller vessels. [p.18, Sconce] Although this was a minor command in a remote station spanning from Davis Strait to the Gulf of St Lawrence, he also received a promotion to Admiral of the Blue Squadron, still commanding the "Antelope". [Whiteley]

While serving as Governor he was attacked for his arbitrary powers over the territory, and retaliated against the pamphleteer by disallowing his reappointment as surgeon of the local militia unit, the Loyal Volunteers of St John, which Duckworth renamed the St John’s Volunteer Rangers, and enlarged to 500 officers and militiamen for the War of 1812 with the United States.

Duckworth also took an interest in bettering relationship with the local Beothuk Indians [Whiteley] , and sponsored Lieutenant David Buchan's expedition up the Exploits River in 1810 to explore the region of the Beothuk settlements.

As the Governor and station naval commander, Duckworth suddenly found himself again in the midst of a war precisely over those issues which United States thought they were fighting, such as "Free Trade and Sailor's Rights." His orders and instructions to captains under his command were therefore directly concerned with fishing rights of US vessels on the Grand Banks, the prohibition of United States trade with British colonials, the searching of ships under US flag for contraband, and the impressments of seamen for service on British vessels. Upon his return to Portsmouth on 28 November in HMS "Antelope" (50 guns) after escorting transports from Newfoundland [ [http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~dutillieul/ZOtherPapers/S&WJNov301813.html] The Salisbury And Winchester Journal, Monday, November 30th 1812] he witnessed somewhat of a personal omen, as on that same day HMS "Victory" was being paid off.

emi-retirement

On 2 December 1812, soon after arriving in Devon, resigned as Governor after being offered a parliamentary seat for New Romney on the coast of Kent. At about this time he found out that his oldest son George Henry was killed in action while serving in the rank of a Colonel [p.210, Clarke] with the Duke of Wellington in Spain at the Battle of Albuera at the head of 48th (Northamptonshire) Regiment of Foot. [p.173, Debrett] He was created a baronet on 2 November 1813, adopting a motto "Disciplina, fide, perseverantia" (Discipline, fidelity, perseverance) [p.716, Burke] , and in January 1815 was appointed Commander-in-Chief at the Plymouth Dockyards 45 miles from his home; a post considered one of semi-retirement by his successor, Lord Exmouth. [p.206, Osler] However, on 26 June that year it became a centre of attention due to the visit by HMS "Bellerophon" bearing Napoleon to his final exile, with Duckworth being the last senior British officer to speak with him on board HMS "Northumberland". [p.30, Sconce]

Duckworth passed away at his post on the base in 1817 at 1 o'clock after several months of illness [p.37, Sconce] ; a fitting end to a long and distinguished service with the Royal Navy. [Whiteley] being buried on the 9 September at the Topsham church where he was laid to rest in the family vault, with his coffin covered with crimson velvet studded with 2,500 silvered nails to resemble a ship's planking. [Whiteley]

Memorials

When in England for winters during his term as Governor of Newfoundland, Duckworth lived on a property called Weare House of Weare Park in Topsham [the new spelling is Wear, in Countess Wear on the outskirts of Exeter] in the County of Devon, which he purchased in 1804 and rebuilt over several years. [ [http://www.exetermemories.co.uk/em/_areas/countesswear.php Exeter Memories, Countess Wear, Weare Park] ] The only known memorial is found in St Margaret's Church, Topsham, in Devon. [it is unexplained why there the reference is made to Duckworth as having died on HMS Florizel at the Battle of Corrie]

His property, and half of the golf course, now occupied by the Exeter Golf and Country Club, was the largest US Navy Supply Depot in the south of England during the Second World War, with some later retained for use by a UK MOD Naval Store. [ [http://www.exetermemories.co.uk/em/_areas/countesswear.php Exeter Memories, Countess Wear, Weare Park] ]

During the Second World War one Royal Navy warship, the destroyer HMS "Duckworth" was named after the Admiral.

In England, The Duckworth House is located in Kent St, Portsmouth PO1 to be found not far from the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard complex.

Duckworth Street in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada is named in his honour.

See also

* Governors of Newfoundland
* List of people of Newfoundland and Labrador

Citations and notes

References

* Allen, Joseph, Esq. R.N., New Navy Lists and General Record of Services of Officers of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines, Greenwich Hospital, Parker, Furnivall and Parker, Military Library, Whitehall, London, 1850
* Anderson, William, "The Scottish Nation: Or The Surnames, Families, Literature, Honours, and Biographical History of the People of Scotland", Fullarton, 1862
* Barham (Lord), Charles Middleton, "Letters and Papers of Charles, Lord Barham, Admiral of the Red Squadron: 1758-1813", Volume III Adamant Media Corporation, 2004
* Brenton, Edward Pelham, "The Naval History of Great Britain, from the Year MDCCLXXXIII. to MDCCCXXXVI.: From the Year MDCCLXXXIII. to MDCCCXXXVI", Volume II, Henry Colburn Publisher, London 1837
* Bisset, Robert, "The History of the Reign of George III.: To which is Prefixed, A View of the Progressive Improvement of England, in Prosperity and Strength, to the Accession of His Majesty ...", Volumes II-III, E. Littell, London, 1828
* Burke, John, "A General and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire, Vol. II", 5th ed., Published by H. Colburn and R. Bentley, London, 1832
* Cates, William Leist Readwin, "A Dictionary of General Biography: With a Classified and Chronological Index of the Principal Names", Longmans, Green & Co., London, 1867
* Chatterton, E. Keble, "Dardanelles Dilemma; The Story of the Naval Operations", Rich & Cowan, Ltd., London, 1935
* Clarke, "The Georgian Era: Memoirs of the Most Eminent Persons, who Have Flourished in Great Britain, from the Accession of George the First to the Demise of George the Fourth", Vizetelly, Branston and Co., London, 1833
* Debrett, John, (Ed.), "The Peerage of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in two volumes, Volume Two, Scotland and Ireland", Thirteenth edition, London, 1820
* Debrett, John, "Debrett's baronetage of England revised, corrected and continued by George William Collen", William Pickering Publisher, London 1840
* Higgins, Trumbull, "Winston Churchill and the Dardanelles; A Dialogue in Ends and Means", McMillan, London, 1963.
* Howard, Edward, "Memoires of Admiral Sir Sidney Smith, K.C. B., & c.", Volume 2, Adamant Media Corporation, 2003
* Ireland, Bernard, "Naval Warfare in the Age of Sail: War at Sea 1756-1815", Collins, 2001
* James, William M., "A Naval History of Great Britain: During the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, Vol. 3: 1800-1805", Stackpole Books, 2002
* James, William & Chamier, Frederick, "The Naval History of Great Britain: From the Declaration of War by France in 1793 to the Accession of George IV", volume IV, R. Bentley, 1837
* Knight, Charles, "Popular History of England: An Illustrated History of Society and Government from the Earliest Period to Our Own Times", Volume VII, Bradbury and Evans, London, 1861
* Lysons, Daniel and Samuel, "General history: Baronets, Magna Britannia: volume 6", Devonshire, 1822 [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50551]
* Miller, Nathan, "Broadsides: The Age of Fighting Sail, 1775-1815", Wiley, 2001
* Mostert, Noel, "The line upon a wind: an intimate history of the last and greatest war fought at sea under sail, 1793-1815", Jonathan Cape, London, 2007
* Nelson, Horatio, Lord Viscount, "The Dispatches and Letters of Vice Admiral Lord Viscount Nelson: With Notes by Sir Nicholas Harris Nicolas G.C.M.G., The Fifth Volume, January 1802 to April 1804", Henry Colburn, London, 1845
* Osler, Edward, "The Life of Admiral Viscount Exmouth", BiblioBazaar, 2007
* Phillips, Richard, (ed.), "The Monthly Magazine, Volume XI, Part I, January to June", London, 1801
* Ross, Sir John, "Memoirs and Correspondence of Admiral Lord De Saumarez: From original papers in possession of the family", Volume 1, Adamant Media Corporation, 2001
* Sconce, Robert Clement, "Life and Letters of R. C. Sconce, formerly Secretary to Admiral Sir John Duckworth, Compiled by Sarah S. Bunbury. in two volumes", Cox & Wyman, London, 1861
* Stanier Clarke, James, Jones, Stephen & Jones, John, "The Naval Chronicle for 1805 containing a general and biographical history of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, Volume the fourteenth (from July to December)", Published by I.Gold, London, 1805
* Stephens, Alexander, "Public Characters of 1807, volume IX", R. Phillips, by T. Gillet, 1807
* Watts, Sir Percy, "The Ships of the Royal Navy as they existed at the time of Trafalgar", Read to the Institution of Naval Architects, July 19th 1905
* Wegener, Edward, H. Wegener (Translator), "The Soviet Naval Offensive", Naval Institute Press, 1976
* Whiteley, William H., Duckworth, Sir John Thomas, Dictionary of Canadian Biography online, http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=2380

Recommended reading

* Dr Leslie Southwick, "Journal of the Arms and Armour Society", Vol. XI pp47-55, Vol. XII pp223-284 and 291-311 and Vol XIII pp173-220. (Swords of Honour)
* William H. Whiteley, "Duckworth's Newfoundland: The island in the early nineteenth century", H. Cuff Publications, St. John’s, Newfoundland, 1985

External links

* [http://www.heritage.nf.ca/govhouse/governors/g38.html Biography at Government House "The Governorship of Newfoundland and Labrador"]