| Sir Charles Hardy | |
|---|---|
Hardy, painted by George Romney in 1780 |
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| Born | ca. 1714 |
| Died | 18 May 1780 |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland |
| Service/branch | Royal Navy |
| Rank | Admiral of the Fleet |
| Commands held | HMS Torrington Channel Fleet |
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Charles Hardy (ca. 1714 – 18 May 1780) was a Royal Navy officer and colonial governor of New York.
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Born at Portsmouth, the son of a vice admiral, Charles Hardy joined the Royal Navy as a volunteer in 1731.[1]
He became a captain in the Royal Navy on 10 August 1741,[1] around the age of 27. He was appointed governor and commander-in-chief of the British colony of Newfoundland in 1744.[1] There is no evidence that he ever visited the colony of Newfoundland. The next year he commanded HMS Torrington, assisting in the protection of the convoy which brought reinforcements from Gibraltar to the newly captured fortress of Louisbourg.[1]
He was knighted in 1755 and served as British Administrative Governor of the Colony of New York from 1755 to 1757[1] (replaced by James Delancey). During his term he was made Rear Admiral of the Blue.
In 1757, under the command of Vice Admiral Francis Holburne, Hardy escorted Lord Loudoun and his army from New York to Halifax intending to attack the French fortress of Louisbourg, but the attack was cancelled. The next year, he was second in command under Admiral Edward Boscawen at the Siege of Louisbourg.[1]
That autumn, he and James Wolfe attacked French posts around the mouth of the St. Lawrence River and destroyed all of the French fishing stations along the northern shores of what is now New Brunswick and along the Gaspé peninsula. He also participated in Hawke's victory at the Battle of Quiberon Bay in 1759.[1] He became Member of Parliament for Rochester in 1764.[2]
Hardy served as governor of Greenwich Hospital from 1771 to 1780. In 1778, he was made Admiral of the White. In 1779 he became Commander-in-Chief of the Channel Fleet remaining in that post until his death in May 1780.[1]
In 1749 he married Mary Tate and in 1759, following his first wife's death, he married Catharine Stanyan.[1] The couple had three sons and two daughters. Sir Charles Hardy died at Spithead. He bequeathed £3000 to each of the sons and £4000 to each daughter,[1] as well as leaving his estate at Rawlins, Oxfordshire, to his eldest son Temple Hardy. By Catharine's death in 1801, only Temple survived of the three sons. Hardy's brother, Josiah, was a merchant and the Governor of New Jersey from 1761-63.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Thomas Smith |
Commodore Governor of Newfoundland 1744–1744 |
Succeeded by Richard Edwards |
| Preceded by James DeLancey |
Colonial Governor of New York 1755–1758 |
Succeeded by James DeLancey |
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