Charles Pole (Admiral)

Charles Pole as captain. Painting by John Francis Rigaud , 1781

Sir Charles Morice Pole, 1st Baronet (born January 18, 1757 in Stoke Damerel , † September 6, 1830 in Aldenham Abbey ) was a British admiral, nobleman and politician. As a naval officer he rose to the rank of rear admiral before he was elected five times as a member of the House of Commons from 1802 . Although he was no longer in active service, he was promoted to Admiral and shortly before his death to Admiral of the Fleet .

origin

Charles Pole came from a branch of the Pole family , a Gentry family from Devon . He was the second of five children and the second son of Reginald Pole († 1767) and his second wife Anne Buller , a daughter of John Francis Buller from Morval . His father was a grandson of Sir John Pole, 3rd Baronet , who lived in the village of Stoke Damerel not far from the Plymouth Dock naval base . His older brother was Reginald Pole .

Service in the Royal Navy

Promotion during the American Revolutionary War

Pole first attended the Grammar School in Plympton and from January 16, 1770 the Royal Naval Academy in Portsmouth Dockyard . In 1772 he joined the Royal Navy as a midshipman and initially served on the 32-gun frigate HMS Thames . In December 1773 he switched to the 50-gunship HMS Salisbury , the flagship with which Commodore Sir Edward Hughes set out for India. Promoted by Hughes to lieutenant, Pole moved to India on June 26, 1777 on the 24-gun frigate HMS Seahorse and in 1778 on the 60-gun ship HMS Ripon , the flagship of Commodore Edward Vernon . On August 9, 1778, on this ship, Pole took part in the battle off Pondicherry against a French squadron, after France had entered the American Revolutionary War on the American side . On October 25, 1778, Pole was promoted to command of the 18-cannon loop HMS Cormorant , with which he brought dispatches from Vernon back to Great Britain. On March 12, 1779, Pole reached Great Britain with the Cormorant, where its promotion was confirmed on March 18. On March 22, 1779 he was post-captain officer on the ship of the line HMS Britannia 1st rank , before he was on March 27, 1781 commander of the 32-gun frigate HMS Success . With this he escorted the armed supply ship HMS Vernon to Gibraltar in March 1782 , when the Spanish 34-cannon frigate Santa Catalina was sighted off Cape Spartel on the morning of March 16 . With the support of the Vernon, Pole immediately attacked the Spanish ship, which finally, badly damaged, dropped the flag. Pole had the pinch repaired, but more ships were sighted on March 18. To prevent the Santa Catalina from falling back into enemy hands, Pole had it burned. Too late he discovered that the supposed enemy ships were two British frigates escorting a convoy.

Pole owed his speedy promotion and attractive commandos to the influence of his family. This influence probably also led to the fact that, unlike many other officers, he retained a command after the end of the war. In 1783 he became commandant of the 64-gunship HMS Crown and on August 30, 1786, the commandant of the 64-gunship HMS Scipio . When the Nootka Crisis with Spain came in 1790, Pole became commander of the 36-gun frigate HMS Melampus on May 10, 1790 and in 1791 the commander of the 74-gunship HMS Illustrious .

The sinking of the Santa Catalina by HMS Success . Representation from 1786

Service during the coalition wars against France

After Great Britain declared war on France on February 20, 1793 , Pole became the commander of the 74 gunship HMS Colossus in March 1793 , which was assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet under Admiral Hood . He took part under Hood in the conquest of Toulon . In 1794 he returned to Great Britain with the Colossus, where he was assigned to the Canal Fleet under Admiral Howe . The Colossus belonged to Rear Admiral Montagu's squadron , which Howe had ordered to intercept a French convoy coming from America. Due to a lack of reconnaissance, Montagu's ships found neither the French ships nor Howe's fleet. Therefore, Pole did not take part in the battle of June 1, 1794 , but only saw French ships returning to Brest . The unsuccessful Montagu withdrew to England with his ships and reached Plymouth Sound on June 12th . On June 1, 1795, Pole was promoted to Rear Admiral of the blue . Together with Rear Admiral Sir Hugh Cloberry Christian , he was to take command of the naval station on the Leeward Islands . Due to storms, however, they could not leave England until March 20, 1796. Until the end of May they brought reinforcements to the island of St. Lucia for the British troops who were trying to conquer the island from France. In November 1796, Pole and Christian returned to England on the 18-gun loop HMS Beaulieu .

Roll before Spithead and Nore during the mutiny

In March 1797, Pole was appointed First Captain of HMS Royal George , Admiral Bridport's flagship . As a result, he became involved in the mutiny of the fleet off Spithead in mid-April . On April 16, Bridport sent him to London, where he could report the mutiny directly to the Admiralty . He then returned to his ship to report to Bridport that the Admiralty leadership would come to Portsmouth to deal with the situation on the ground. On April 18, together with Admirals Gardner and Colpoys , Pole informed the mutineers' envoy on HMS Queen Charlotte of the concessions the Admiralty was prepared to make. After deliberations, the mutineers initially refused the concessions and insisted on fulfilling their demands before accepting the Admiralty's offer on April 20. Finally the admirals obtained a pardon for the mutineers, who Pole read to the emissaries on the Queen Charlotte. This effectively ended the mutiny at Spithead . When mutinies also broke out in the ships of the Nore sandbank in May 1797 , Pole regularly reported the situation to his friend William Young , who worked in the Admiralty. He also informed him about unpleasant facts such as irregularities and a lack of discipline among fleet officers. However, he showed no understanding for the mutineers.

Later service as a naval officer

On February 14, 1799 Pole was promoted to Rear Admiral of the red , but did not receive a post he sought in the Admiralty. Instead, he continued to serve in the Canal Fleet under Admiral Bridport. In April 1799, the French admiral Bruix was able to break out of Brest with his fleet despite the British blockade. But then Bruix returned to Brest, from where he supposedly wanted to sail on to Rochefort . Bridport then sailed to Rochefort to forestall Bruix. On June 4, Bridport sighted a Spanish fleet that dodged into a bay on the Île-d'Aix . There it should have been blocked by a small squadron under Pole. A few weeks later, the blockade fleet was reinforced by the 80-gun ship HMS Sans Pareil and the HMS Royal George, which now served as Poles flagship. Pole attacked the Spanish ships on July 2, which were anchored between the Île-d'Aix and a shoal. They were covered by a floating battery whose guns had a much longer range than the guns of the British ships. Pole was therefore unable to carry out the attack, which is why he ordered his ships to break off the attack and withdraw. Although the British were pursued by French oar gunboats, neither side suffered damage or losses.

On May 1, 1800, Pole became Commodore Governor of Newfoundland . On June 28th, he left Spithead on the 60-gunship HMS Agincourt for Newfoundland. On November 16, he returned to Great Britain, where he was promoted to Vice Admiral on January 1, 1801. On June 2, 1801, he was to replace Admiral Nelson as commander of the Baltic Fleet. Pole sailed into the Baltic Sea on the 32-gun frigate HMS Aeolus , where he set his flag on the liner HMS St George on June 17th . All that was left for him was to bring the British fleet back to Great Britain, for which he left the Baltic Sea in early August 1801. Despite a strong headwind, he was able to lead the fleet undamaged through the Great Belt . On August 20th he reached Spithead, from where he immediately set off for Spain. On August 27, he reached Cape St. Vincent , from where he cruised off Cádiz until November and blocked an enemy fleet of eleven ships. He then returned to Great Britain, where he lowered his flag on December 4th. On January 18, 1802, he was reassigned command of Newfoundland, but before he could leave, he was replaced on April 6 by Admiral James Gambier . Pole was promoted to admiral on November 9, 1805, but he was no longer given any naval command.

Political activity

Political ambitions during the 1790s

While serving in the Royal Navy during the American Revolutionary War, Pole befriended Prince William Henry , a younger son of King George III. on. The prince took Pole into his household as Groom of the Bedchamber in 1789 . In 1785, Pole had served as mayor of East Looe for one year , which was considered the pocket borough of the Buller family, his mother's family. Before Pole left for his service in the Mediterranean Fleet in 1793, he showed interest in running for East Looe in the next general election. In the Caribbean, he was annoyed to learn that his uncle William Buller had his cousin John Buller run as a candidate for East Looe, who was also elected in the 1796 general election. Although he still served in the Caribbean, Pole was put up in this election along with his brother-in-law John Langston as a candidate for Minehead , where, however, the Luttrell family had considerable influence. His election campaign was funded by Henry Hope , a wealthy businessman and uncle of his wife. While Langston was able to prevail against one of the candidates from John Fownes Luttrell , Pole lost the election. When, after the death of Sir Frederick Rogers in 1797, a by-election in Poles hometown Plymouth was due, his brother Reginald Pole-Carew tried to propose him as a candidate for the government. Pole referred to £ 1000 that he had signed a government bond with that year , but Prime Minister Pitt's government had already nominated Francis Glanville as a candidate.

Member of the House of Commons, Committee Chair and Sea Lord

After Pole was prematurely replaced in April 1801 from his second command as Commodore Governor of Newfoundland, he concentrated more on a political career as a member of a traditional, politically influential family. In the end, he rejected the voting arrangements that were customary at the time and, despite the influence of his relatives, did not run in an electoral district that was politically controlled by them. Instead, Pole sought other political supporters. On September 12, 1801, on the recommendation of Henry Addington , a friend of his brother Reginald, he was raised to the hereditary nobility of the Baronetage of the United Kingdom as Baronet , of the Navy . In the 1802 general election he was elected as a candidate for the Duke of Newcastle as MP for Newark . The First Lord of the Admiralty, Lord St. Vincent , appointed Pole in December 1802, on the recommendation of his favorite John Markham , a cousin of Pole's wife, to chair a committee to investigate maladministration in the Navy. At the end of April 1803 the House of Commons asked about the results of the committee, whereupon Pole announced a first report on May 4th in his first speech in the House of Commons, which was then presented on May 12th. More reports followed, and on July 11, 1803, Pole passed a bill to improve the Chatham Chest , a naval welfare facility. This draft was passed into law on July 29th. On the other hand, there were serious allegations against the work of the committee, which would act like a tribunal . In total, the committee headed by Pole had published fourteen reports by the end of June 1806 on numerous aspects of naval administration. During this period, Henry Addington's government was often attacked for its inadequate preparation for war against France, and Pitt in particular made charges against the Admiralty, headed by Lord St. Vincent. When William Pitt returned to power in May 1804, Pole remained a supporter of Addington. However, he was upset when Addington joined Pitt's government as Lord President of the Council , and Pole generally now voted with the opposition to the government. In the Government of All Talents formed after Pitt's death in February 1806 , Pole became one of the Admiralty Sea Lords under Lord Gray . During this time, however, he hardly appeared in the House of Commons. He resigned in October when he was to become deputy commandant of the Canal Fleet under the command of Lord St. Vincent. However, since St. Vincent did not want to guarantee him that he would be his successor, he did not accept the office.

Charles Pole in his senior years. Portrait created around 1823

Opposition and critical stance in the House of Commons from 1807

In the general election in 1806 Pole ran successfully for Plymouth with the support of Lord St. Vincent , where he was able to beat the previous MP Sir William Elford . In April 1807, he voted against the bills, the adoption of which led to the overthrow of the Government of All Talents. After the fall of the government, his re-election in the general election in May 1807 was uncertain, so that his friend Francis Basset, 1st Baron de Dunstanville tried to get him to be a candidate for Penryn . Nevertheless, Pole ran as a candidate for Plymouth and was able to prevail again against the unpopular Elford, who was the candidate of the new administration of the Duke of Portland . In the House of Commons, Pole campaigned primarily for the interests of the Royal Navy. In July 1807 he defended the policy of the previous First Sea Lord Lord Gray in a speech. In the same year he criticized the Copenhagen bombing . Without any influence over the government, Pole applied at least three times in vain for a command in the Royal Navy in 1807 and 1808. In March and April 1808, he submitted petitions to the House of Commons to reform the administration of Greenwich Hospital and the Royal Naval Asylum , both of which were rejected by the government. In December 1808 he continued to criticize the government and on February 21, 1809 voted against the ratification of the Cintra Convention . Pole's negative attitude towards the government was reinforced by the failure of the Walcheren expedition . In February and March 1810 he fought for a reform of the naval jurisdiction, for a reduction of the sinecures in the navy and for a more targeted use of the funds for the navy. In April 1810, Charles Philip Yorke was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty. The government hoped to win the support of Pole with his appointment. Pole welcomed some of Yorke's actions, but continued to oppose government laws in the House of Commons. To this end, he demanded in May 1810 that active naval officers receive tax breaks and on June 13th he proposed a reform of the award of prize money . Even when his friend Henry Addington , who was promoted to Viscount Sidmouth, became a member of the government in 1812, Pole maintained his critical stance. His independent, critical stance did not recommend him for government office. Nevertheless, with the support of the government, he was re-elected unchallenged as MP for Plymouth in the general election in 1812, but the government now apparently expected his support. This he then granted her in individual cases, but in March 1815 he again condemned abuses in the administration of the Royal Naval Asylum. In May 1815 he again requested tax breaks for naval officers, and in 1816 he supported the motion to have the administration of Greenwich Hospital investigated. This attitude was not without consequences. In 1817, Pole agreed that in the next general election, not he, but his friend Sir Thomas Byam Martin should run for office in Plymouth. When, however, a few months before the election, the previous second MP, Benjamin Bloomfield , the private secretary of the Prince Regent , unexpectedly resigned his mandate, it was not Martin but Sir William Congreve who was elected as the new MP. Pole then felt disadvantaged and decided to run again in the general election in June 1818 . In the vote, however, he was clearly beaten.

Pole was considered an authority on naval affairs, although he had not distinguished himself particularly well during his active service. He was both politically and socially extremely conservative. In February and March 1806 he had voted against the ban on the slave trade in the House of Commons . However, he was not reactionary, but repeatedly advocated reforms to improve the naval administration. He had worked hard as chairman of the Committee on Abuses in the Navy Administration, and the committee's reports exposed abuses. Although Pole's proposals were initially ignored by the governments, they and the reports of the committee he chaired eventually led to improvements in the administration of the Navy. Although he no longer held an active command or office, he was promoted to Admiral of the White on July 31, 1810 and Admiral of the red on June 4, 1814 . On April 12, 1815 he was awarded as Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath and on April 17, 1818 as Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath.

Aldenham Abbey, a country estate acquired by Pole in 1812

Last years

In the course of his service, Pole had made a handsome fortune that enabled him to purchase Aldenham Abbey in Hertfordshire from the Thelluson family in addition to his home in London in 1812 . In 1818 he became deputy governor and from 1820 to 1822 he was governor of the Bank of England . When his old friend Prince William Henry ascended the throne as William IV in June 1830, he appointed Pole Master of the Robes and promoted him to Admiral of the Fleet on July 22, 1830. However, Pole died just weeks later.

Families and offspring

On June 8, 1792, Pole had married Henrietta Goddard († after 1830), a daughter of the merchant John Goddard from Woodford Hall in Essex. With her he had at least two daughters:

• Henrietta Maria Sarah Pole (1799–1853) ∞ William Stuart
• Anna Maria Pole (* 1805)

His second daughter Anna may have been deaf from birth. Since Pole had no sons, his title expired on his death. Aside from small gifts to friends and executors, Pole bequeathed his fortune and property to his family. His main heiress was his daughter Henrietta, who inherited the country estate of Aldenham Abbey.

Web links

Commons : Charles Morice Pole  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• David R. Fisher: POLE, Sir Charles Morice, 1st Bt. (1757-1830), of Aldenham Abbey, Herts. (History of Parliament Online, Ref Volumes: 1790-1820)
• PK Crimmin: Pole, Sir Charles Morice (1757-1830). In: Henry Colin Gray Matthew, Brian Harrison (Eds.): Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , from the earliest times to the year 2000 (ODNB). Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-861411-X , ( oxforddnb.com license required ), as of 2004
• Admiral Sir Charles Morice Pole, 1st and last Bt. On thepeerage.com , accessed January 8, 2018.
• Sir Charles Pole at the Hansard (English)