Peter Warren (Royal Navy officer)

{{short description|Royal Navy officer and politician (1703–1752)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}} {{Use British English|date=August 2014}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = [[Vice-admiral (Royal Navy)|Vice-Admiral]] | name = Sir Peter Warren | honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|KB}} | image = Admiral Sir Peter Warren.jpg | caption = Portrait by [[Thomas Hudson (painter)|Thomas Hudson]], 1748–1752 | constituency_MP1 = [[Westminster (UK Parliament constituency)|Westminster]] | term_start2 = [[1747 British general election|1747]] | term_end2 = [[1754 British general election|1752]] | predecessor2 = [[Charles Edwin (died 1756)|Charles Edwin]] [[John Perceval, 2nd Earl of Egmont|Viscount Perceval]] | successor2 = [[Edward Cornwallis]] [[Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford|Viscount Trentham]] | birth_date = {{circa|1703}} | birth_place = [[Warrenstown]], [[Kingdom of Ireland|Ireland]] | death_date = {{Death date and age|1751|7|29|1703|df=yes}} | death_place = [[Dublin]], Ireland | spouse = Susannah Delancey (m. 1731) | children = 6, including [[Charles FitzRoy, 1st Baron Southampton#Family|Anne]] | allegiance = [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]] | branch = [[Royal Navy]] | service_years = 1716–1752 | rank = [[Vice-admiral of the red|Vice-Admiral of the Red]] | commands = [[HMS Falkland (1696)|HMS ''Falkland'']] [[HMS Grafton (1709)|HMS ''Grafton'']] [[HMS Solebay (1711)|HMS ''Solebay'']] [[HMS Leopard (1703)|HMS ''Leopard'']] [[HMS Squirrel (1707)|HMS ''Squirrel'']] [[HMS Devonshire (1745)|HMS ''Devonshire'']] | battles = {{tree list}} * [[War of Jenkins' Ear]] ** [[Siege of St. Augustine (1740)|Siege of St. Augustine]] ** [[Battle of Cartagena de Indias]] * [[War of the Austrian Succession]] ** [[Siege of Louisbourg (1745)|Siege of Louisbourg]] ** [[First Battle of Cape Finisterre (1747)|First Battle of Cape Finisterre]] {{tree list/end}} | mawards = [[Knight Companion of the Order of the Bath]] }}

'''Sir Peter Warren''', [[Order of the Bath|KB]] (10 March 1703 – 29 July 1752) was a [[Royal Navy]] officer and politician who sat in the [[House of Commons of Great Britain|British House of Commons]] representing the constituency of [[Westminster (UK Parliament constituency)|Westminster]] from 1747 to 1752. Warren is best known for his career in the British navy, in which he served for thirty-six years, participating in numerous naval engagements, most notably [[Siege of Louisbourg (1745)|the capture]] of the French [[fortress of Louisbourg]] in 1745, and rising to [[Vice-admiral of the red|Vice-Admiral]].

Born in [[Kingdom of Ireland|Ireland]] {{circa|1703}} to an [[Irish Catholics|Irish Catholic]] family, Warren's parents raised him as a [[Protestantism|Protestant]] in order to allow him to pursue a career at sea. In 1716, Warren enlisted in the Royal Navy, largely spending the next decade serving off the [[West Africa]]n coast or in the [[Caribbean]], participating in [[Piracy|anti-piracy operations]] and confrontations with Spanish [[coast guard]] vessels. Eleven years later in 1727, Warren was promoted to the rank of [[post-captain]].

From 1728 to 1745, Warren served almost continuously in the Americas. He commanded the ''[[HMS Solebay (1711)|Solebay]]'' off New York, where he married Susannah Delancey in 1731; they had six children together. During the [[War of Jenkins' Ear]], he participated in failed attacks on [[Siege of St. Augustine (1740)|St. Augustine]] and [[Battle of Cartagena de Indias|Cartagena]]. In 1745, Warren joined an expeditionary force to attack the fortress of Louisbourg, leading a blockade which led to the garrison capitulating on 28 June.

Warren participated in the [[First Battle of Cape Finisterre (1747)|First Battle of Cape Finisterre]] in May 1747, being made a [[Order of the Bath|Knight Companion]], before returning to England to pursue a political career. He was elected to [[Parliament of Great Britain|Parliament]] in the [[1747 British general election|1747 general election]], attending several [[Parliamentary committees of the United Kingdom|parliamentary committees]] in addition to opposing a clause in the [[Consolidation Act 1749|1749 Consolidation Act]]. Warren died in [[Dublin]] on 29 July 1752. The towns of [[Warren, Rhode Island]] and [[Warren, New Hampshire]] were named for him.

==Early life== Warren was born {{circa|1703}} in [[Warrenstown]], [[Kingdom of Ireland|Ireland]], the youngest son of Michael Warren, an [[Irish Army (1661–1801)|Irish Army]] officer and his wife Catherine Aylmer, the only daughter of [[Sir Christopher Aylmer, 1st Baronet]].{{sfn|Gwyn|1974|pp=7–8}} As [[Penal Laws against Irish Catholics|Penal Laws]] in Ireland prevented Catholics from enlisting in the [[Royal Navy]], his [[Irish Catholics]] parents raised him as a [[Protestantism|Protestant]] in order to allow him to pursue a career at sea.{{sfn|Gwyn|2004}}{{sfn|Connolly|Greenwood|2003|p=785}}

In 1716, Warren followed in the footsteps of his brother Oliver and enlisted in the Royal Navy, serving on board the [[HMS Rye|''Rye'']] at the rank of [[Ordinary seaman (rank)|ordinary seaman]] under the patronage of his maternal uncle [[Matthew Aylmer, 1st Baron Aylmer|Matthew Aylmer]].{{sfn|Moss|2010|p=71}}{{sfn|Gwyn|1974|p=8}} After a brief stint in Irish waters, Warren spent roughly the next decade serving off the [[West Africa]]n coast and the [[Caribbean Sea]], where he participated in [[Piracy|anti-piracy operations]] and confrontations with Spanish [[coast guard]] vessels.{{sfn|Gwyn|2004}}

On 23 July, Warren was promoted to the rank of [[Lieutenant (Royal Navy)|lieutenant]] while serving on board the ''[[HMS Guernsey (1696)|Guernsey]]'' off the [[Liberia]]n coast to replace a fellow naval officer. Three years later, he was placed in command of the ''[[HMS Falkland (1696)|Falkland]]'' when her previous captain died. In 1727, Warren was promoted to [[Commander (Royal Navy)|commander]] on 28 May before being promoted to [[post-captain]] on 19 June, and was given command over the ''[[HMS Grafton (1709)|Grafton]]'' in 1728, serving as part of the [[Baltic Fleet (United Kingdom)|Baltic Fleet]].{{sfn|Gwyn|2004}}

==Career in the Americas==

Warren spent only a short time in the Baltic before joining the [[Mediterranean Fleet]]. There he was given command of the ''[[HMS Solebay (1711)|Solebay]]'', and used it to deliver news of the [[Treaty of El Pardo (1728)|Treaty of El Pardo]] to [[Colony of Jamaica|Jamaica]] and [[Veracruz (city)|Veracruz]] in 1728. From 1730 to 1732, he commanded the ''Solebay'' in North America, operating off the coasts of [[Province of New York|New York]] and [[Province of South Carolina|South Carolina]]. In 1734, Warren started serving in the [[Western Squadron]], commanding the ''[[HMS Leopard (1703)|Leopard]]'' until 1735.{{sfn|Gwyn|2004}}

By the next year, Warren was serving in New York again and was made captain of the ''[[HMS Squirrel (1707)|Squirrel]]'', holding that command until 1741. After the [[War of Jenkins' Ear]] broke out, Warren participated in a failed [[Siege of St. Augustine (1740)|attempt to capture St. Augustine]] in 1740. After the battle, he sailed for Jamaica to serve under [[Edward Vernon]] in a failed [[Battle of Cartagena de Indias|British expedition against Cartagena]] on 1741; by January 1742, he was commanding the ''[[HMS Superb (1736)|Superb]]'', again in New York.{{sfn|Gwyn|2004}}

On 1742, Warren suggested to the [[Admiralty (United Kingdom)|British Admiralty]] that a new squadron be formed from ships serving in North America to serve in the West Indies during the winter season. The Admiralty accepted his suggestion in August of that year, and appointed him as the commander of the new squadron, which operated off the [[Leeward Islands]] and distinguished itself by capturing numerous French prizes during the [[War of the Austrian Succession]].{{sfn|Gwyn|2004}}

In 1745, Warren participated in [[Siege of Louisbourg (1745)|an expedition]] against the French [[fortress of Louisbourg]].{{sfn|Carr|2008|pp=207–208}} Warren led his squadron to [[Canso, Nova Scotia|Canso]] in April 1745, where he joined forces with a British expeditionary force and proceeded towards Louisbourg, instituting a [[blockade]] of the fortress harbour.{{sfn|Carr|2008|pp=207–208}} His fleet [[Capture of Vigilant|captured the ''Vigilant'']] on 20 May and soon received reinforcements, which combined with a planned British assault led to the fortress surrendering on 28 June.{{sfn|Gwyn|2004}}

Warren received praise in Britain for his role in the capture, and was promoted to the rank of [[Rear admiral (Royal Navy)|rear-admiral]] on 10 August 1745.{{sfn|Carr|2008|p=280}} He was also appointed as the first [[Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia|governor of Cape Breton Island]], though Warren pleaded with to the Admiralty to find a replacement as he was attempting to secure the [[List of colonial governors of New York|governorship of New York]] from [[George Clinton (Royal Navy officer)|George Clinton]]. Being relieved of the position in June 1746, Warren eventually returned to England after planning for an invasion of [[New France]] with Governor [[William Shirley]] which ultimately came to nothing.{{sfn|Gwyn|2004}}

==Later life and death== Upon arriving in England, Warren presented the Admiralty with a new scheme for an invasion of New France which he had planned out with Shirley. However, the Admiralty responded they could not undertake the scheme and have enough ships to maintain the ongoing British blockade of French ports; instead, they ordered Warren to lead an eight-ship squadron to reinforce the occupation of Louisbourg. However, they soon ordered him to take his flagship ''[[HMS Devonshire (1745)|Devonshire]]'' and join a fleet under [[George Anson, 1st Baron Anson|George Anson]] in the [[Bay of Biscay]], which was cruising in the area for [[French Navy|French warships]].{{sfn|Gwyn|2004}}{{sfn|Clowes|1898|p=125}}

In May 1747, Warren was part of the British fleet which [[First Battle of Cape Finisterre (1747)|encountered a French force]] under the command of the [[Jacques-Pierre de Taffanel de la Jonquière, Marquis de la Jonquière|Marquis de la Jonquière]] off [[Cape Finisterre]] and defeated it. Warren was made a [[Order of the Bath|Knight of the Bath]] and given £31,496 in [[prize money]] as a reward for his actions. On June of that year, he was promoted to the rank of [[Vice-admiral of the red|vice-admiral]] and given command of the Western Squadron, handing it over to [[Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke|Edward Hawke]] in August due to an illness.{{sfn|Rodger|2004|p=252}}{{sfn|Sweetman|1997|p=156}} In 1748, the [[Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748)|Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle]] was signed, which put an end to the ongoing conflict.{{sfn|Gwyn|2004}}

[[File:Peter Warren monument, Westminster Abbey 02.jpg|thumb|Warren's monument in Westminster Abbey]]

Warren then turned his attention towards political affairs, having been elected to the [[House of Commons of Great Britain|House of Commons]] in the [[1747 British general election]] representing the constituency of [[Westminster (UK Parliament constituency)|Westminster]]. In Parliament, Warren alienated some of his supporters by opposing a clause in the [[Consolidation Act 1749|1749 Consolidation Act]] being put forth by Anson which stipulated that naval officers on [[half-pay]] would be subject to [[courts-martial]] on the same terms as serving officers. Warren convinced the Admiralty to remove the clause, though this led to his relationship with Anson to become irrevocably hostile.{{sfn|Gwyn|2004}}

In addition to naval affairs, Warren was also active in attending [[Parliamentary committees of the United Kingdom|parliamentary committees]], chairing several and delivering numerous proposed bills to the [[House of Lords]] himself. He also advocated for a stronger Royal Navy and alliances with other European nations to counter French ambitions, and involved himself in discussions concerning [[Pound sterling|British currency]] and overseas trade, fishing and boundary issues in [[British Empire|Britain's colonial empire]]. In 1747, Warren proposed [[Royal Navy ranks, rates, and uniforms of the 18th and 19th centuries|new uniforms for the Royal Navy]], specifically those worn by [[flag officer]]s such as admiral and captains.{{sfn|Gwyn|2004}}

As his political career led him settling down in London, Warren purchased a home at 15 [[Cavendish Square]].{{sfn|Gwyn|2004}} In 1752, he was elected against his wishes to the [[Court of Aldermen]] from the [[Wards of the City of London|ward]] of [[Billingsgate]]; on 23 June, Warren sent a letter to the court requesting to be excused from serving his duties in exchange for paying a small fine, which was accepted.{{sfn|Clarke|McArthur|2010|p=273}} While on a visit to Dublin, Warren died at the age of 47-48 of a fever on 29 July 1752 and was buried in Warrenstown.{{sfn|O'Toole|2005|p=123}} After his death, [[Louis-François Roubiliac]] was commissioned to sculpt a monument to Warren in [[Westminster Abbey]].{{sfn|Gwyn|2004}}

==Personal life, family and legacy== [[File:Sir Peter Warren by John Smibert, Portsmouth Athenæum, New Hampshire.png|thumb|right|150px|A portrait of Warren by [[John Smibert]] made {{circa|1745}}]] During his military career, Warren amassed over £127,405 in prize money, primarily from capturing French and Spanish ships during the War of the Austrian Succession. He spent his fortune on purchasing large amounts of land in both Britain and the [[Thirteen Colonies]] and running a [[Loan|moneylending business]] which operated in England, Ireland and [[British North America|North America]]. Warren also made money by transporting bullion owned by the [[South Sea Company]] while commanding the ''Falkland'' in 1726.{{sfn|Gwyn|2004}}

Warren owned lands in [[Hampshire|Hampshire, England]], New York and [[Province of Pennsylvania|Pennsylvania]].{{sfn|Hoskins|1916|pp=187–198}} In 1732, he invited his nephew [[Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet|William Johnson]] to manage his estates in the [[Mohawk Valley region]], charging him with clearing the land and settling European tenant labourers, in addition to establishing trading relationships with local [[Native Americans in the United States|indigenous American tribes]].{{sfn|O'Toole|2005|pp=37–38}} On his American estates, Warren owned a number of [[Slavery in the colonial history of the United States|slaves]], purchasing over twenty enslaved labourers to work under Johnson in 1744.{{sfn|Gwyn|1974|p=72}}{{sfn|O'Toole|2005|p=291}}

In July 1731, Warren married Susannah Delancey, the daughter of [[Stephen Delancey]]; the couple would go on to have six children.{{sfn|Moss|2010|p=495}}{{sfn|Gwyn|1974|p=25}} His only son (along with a daughter) died in a [[smallpox]] epidemic in 1744, and when Warren was offered a [[baronet]]cy in the next year, he declined the offer as he no longer had a son to inherit it.{{sfn|Gwyn|2004}} Warren's eldest daughter [[Charles FitzRoy, 1st Baron Southampton#Family|Anne]] married [[Charles FitzRoy, 1st Baron Southampton|Charles FitzRoy]] on 27 July 1758, while his third daughter Charlotte married [[Willoughby Bertie, 4th Earl of Abingdon|Lord Abingdon]] on 7 July 1768.{{sfn|Cornish|2004}}{{sfn|Lowe|2004}}

During and after his life, numerous locations in both England and North America were named after Warren. The towns of [[Warren, Rhode Island]], and [[Warren, New Hampshire]], were named after him, as were several streets in [[Charleston, South Carolina]], London, [[Louisbourg]] and [[New York City]].{{sfn|Gwyn|1974|p=5}} In addition, Warren's involvement in the capture of Louisbourg has been credited as helping to inspire significant interest among the British public for the first time in North American affairs.{{sfn|Gwyn|2004}}

==References== ===Footnotes=== {{Commons category}} {{reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography=== {{refbegin|30em|indent=yes}}

* {{Cite book|first=J. Revell|last=Carr|author-link=J. Revell Carr|title=Seeds of Discontent: The Deep Roots of the American Revolution 1650–1750|year=2008|publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing|Walker & Company]]|isbn=978-0-8027-1512-8}} * {{Cite book|first1=James Stanier|last1=Clarke|author-link=James Stanier Clarke|first2=John|last2=McArthur|author-link2=John McArthur (Royal Navy officer)|title=The Naval Chronicle: Volume 12, July-December 1804: Containing a General and Biographical History of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom with a Variety of Original Papers on Nautical Subjects|year=2010|orig-year=1804|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-1-1080-1851-7}} * {{Cite book|first1=Mark|last1=Connolly|first2=Margaret|last2=Greenwood|title=The Rough Guide to Ireland|year=2003|publisher=[[Rough Guides]]|isbn=978-1-8435-3059-6}} * {{Cite book|first=William Laird|last=Clowes|author-link=William Laird Clowes|title=The Royal Navy: A History from the Earliest Times to the Present|year=1898|publisher=[[Sampson Low|Sampson Low, Marston and Company]]|volume=3}} * {{Cite ODNB|first=Rory T.|last=Cornish|title=FitzRoy, Charles, first Baron Southampton (1737–1797)|year=2004|url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-9630|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/9630}} * {{Cite book|first=Julian|last=Gwyn|title=The Enterprising Admiral: The Personal Fortune of Admiral Sir Peter Warren|year=1974|publisher=[[McGill–Queen's University Press]]|isbn=978-0-7735-0170-6}} * {{Cite ODNB|first=Julian|last=Gwyn|title=Warren, Sir Peter (1703/4–1752)|year=2004|url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-28786|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/28786}} * {{Cite journal|first=E. B.|last=Hoskins|title=Fanny Saltar's Reminiscences of Colonial Days in Philadelphia|year=1916|journal=[[Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography]]|volume=40|issue=2|pages=187–198 |jstor=20086261 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20086261}} * {{Cite ODNB|first=William C.|last=Lowe|title=Bertie, Willoughby, fourth earl of Abingdon (1740–1799)|year=2004|url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-2280|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/2280}} * {{Cite book|first=Robert|last=Moss|author-link=Robert Moss|title=The Firekeeper: A Narrative of the New York Frontier|year=2010|publisher=[[State University of New York#SUNY Press|State University of New York Press]]|isbn=978-1-4384-2936-6}} * {{Cite book|first=Fintan|last=O'Toole|author-link=Fintan O'Toole|title=White Savage: William Johnson and the Invention of America|year=2005|publisher=[[Farrar, Straus and Giroux]]|isbn=978-1-4668-9269-9}} * {{Cite book|first=N.A.M.|last=Rodger|author-link=Nicholas A. M. Rodger|title=The Command of the Ocean: A Naval History of Britain 1649-1815|date=2004|publisher=[[Penguin Group]]|isbn=978-0-1410-2690-9}} * {{Cite book|first=Jack|last=Sweetman|title=The Great Admirals: Command at Sea, 1587-1945|year=1997|publisher=[[Naval Institute Press]]|isbn=978-0-87021-229-1}}

{{s-start}} {{s-par|gb}} {{s-bef | before = [[Charles Edwin (died 1756)|Charles Edwin]] | before2 = [[John Perceval, 2nd Earl of Egmont|Viscount Perceval]] }} {{s-title | title = [[Member of parliament|Member of Parliament]] for [[Westminster (UK Parliament constituency)|Westminster]] | years = [[1747 British general election|1747]]–[[1754 British general election|1752]] | with = [[Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford|Viscount Trentham]] }} {{s-aft | after = [[Edward Cornwallis]] | after2 = [[Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford|Viscount Trentham]] }} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Warren, Sir Peter}} [[Category:1703 births]] [[Category:1752 deaths]] [[Category:18th-century Irish military personnel]] [[Category:De Lancey family]] [[Category:Irish officers in the Royal Navy]] [[Category:Irish slave owners]] [[Category:Knights Companion of the Order of the Bath]] [[Category:Military personnel from County Offaly]] [[Category:Royal Navy vice admirals]] [[Category:Royal Navy personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession]] [[Category:Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies]] [[Category:Politicians from County Offaly]] [[Category:People of King George's War]]