John Ford (Royal Navy officer)

John Ford
Born	baptised 17 December 1738 Shropshire
Died	14 September 1796 Kensington
Allegiance	Kingdom of Great Britain
Service / branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1753–1796
Rank	Vice-Admiral
Commands	Hazard Venus Unicorn Brilliant Nymphe Polyphemus Carnatic Jamaica Station
Battles / wars	Seven Years' War Action of 8 June 1755 Siege of Louisbourg Battle of Lagos American Revolutionary War Capture of USS Raleigh Action of 13 May 1779 Battle of the Chesapeake Battle of the Saintes French Revolutionary Wars Battle of Port-Républicain

Vice-Admiral John Ford (fl.17 December 1738 – 14 September 1796) was a Royal Navy officer who served as Commander-in-Chief of the Jamaica Station.

Naval career

Promoted to post-captain on 25 June 1773, Ford was appointed to the command of the post ship Unicorn in April 1776 in which he saw action at the capture of American frigate Raleigh in September 1778 and the action of 13 May 1779. He commissioned the sixth-rate Brilliant in July 1779 and then transferred to the command of fifth-rate Nymphe in which he saw action at the Battle of the Chesapeake in September 1781 during the American Revolutionary War and again at the Battle of the Saintes in April 1782 during the Anglo-French War.^[1]

Haitian Revolution

Ford went on to become Commander-in-Chief of the Jamaica Station with his flag in the fourth-rate Europa in 1793.^[2]

During the Haitian Revolution, at the request of French Royalists he mounted a campaign against Saint-Domingue and Jérémie in the Caribbean.^[3] Ford sent the frigates Penelope, Iphigenia, and Hermione, plus the schooner Spitfire, to the north side of the island where on 23 September 1793 the British captured four merchant vessels at L'Islet, and on the 29th seven at Flamande Bay. Also on the 23rd, the squadron directly under Ford captured Môle-Saint-Nicolas, where they captured amongst other vessels a schooner belonging to the French Navy named Convention Nationale; the British took her into service under her earlier name as HMS Marie Antoinette.^[4]

Promoted to rear-admiral, Ford commanded a squadron commanded that accompanied Brigadier-General John Whyte that briefly captured Port-au-Prince in 1794. At the time some forty five vessels lay in harbour and these were all made prizes.^[5]

References

1. "John Ford". Three Decks. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
2. Cundall, p. xx
3. The Royal Navy. A History from the Earliest Times to 1900, William Clowes, Volume 4, p. 214
4. Ships of the Royal Navy, Colledge, p. 216
5. "No. 13684". The London Gazette. 17 July 1794. pp. 723–725.

Sources

• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
• Clowes, Sir William (2003). The Royal Navy: Vol. 4: A History – From the Earliest Times to 1900. Chatham Publishing. ISBN 1-86176-013-2.
• Cundall, Frank (1915). Historic Jamaica. West India Committee.

Military offices
Preceded by Philip Affleck	Commander-in-Chief, Jamaica Station 1793–1795	Succeeded by William Parker