Arthur Forrest | |
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_by_John_Vandiest_(1695_-_1757).jpg) | |
| Born | c. 1716 (1716) |
| Died | 26 May 1770(1770-05-26) (aged 53–54) |
| Allegiance | Kingdom of Great Britain |
| Branch | Royal Navy |
| Service years | 1740–1770 |
| Rank | Captain |
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| Conflicts | |
Arthur Forrest (c. 1716 - 26 May 1770) was aRoyal Navy officer and planter who saw service during theWar of the Austrian Succession and theSeven Years' War, rising to the rank ofcaptain and the post ofcommodore. He also owned 3,000 acres ofsugar plantations, and a considerable number ofslaves, in theColony of Jamaica.
Details of Forrest's parents and upbringing are unknown, but he had served in themerchant navy as mate or master, trading withCartagena. He volunteered to serve as apilot, passed his lieutenant's examination by December 1740, and was given command of the sloopPilot. During this time he was under orders to train officers in the pilotage ofPort Royal. His skills led him to take a distinguished part in theBattle of Cartagena de Indias in March 1741. He came to the attention ofEdward Boscawen after serving under him in an attack on the Baradera battery on shore on 17 and 18 March 1741, and on 25 May he was promoted by the expedition's commander, AdmiralEdward Vernon, to command thebomb vesselHMS Alderney. Further appointments followed, to the sloopHMS Hawk in November 1742, and then toHMS Success. During this time he served on the home station and in convoy service to America.[1]
In 1745 he was promoted topost captain and given command ofHMS Wager, in which he took out a large convoy toNewfoundland. In November he was atBoston, where, by pressing some seamen contrary to colonial custom, he got into a troublesome dispute, ending in a serious fray, in which two men were killed. Theboatswain of theWager was arrested on a charge of murder, was convicted, and sentenced to death; the sentence, however, does not appear to have been carried out. Forrest afterwards went to theWest Indies, where, in the following year, he captured a Spanishprivateer of much superior force.[1]
In 1755 he commandedHMS Rye, in which he was again sent to the West Indies, and in 1757 was moved into the 60-gunHMS Augusta.
In October he was detached, with two other shipsHMS Dreadnought andEdinburgh under his command, to cruise offCape François; and on 21 October encountered a powerful French squadron of fourships of the line and three heavy frigates underGuy François de Coetnempren, comte de Kersaint, which came out of harbour to drive the British away from a convoy. After a short conference with his colleagues, CaptainsMaurice Suckling and William Langdon said to have lasted just half a minute Forrest determined on attempting to carry out his orders, and bore down on the enemy. In theensuing battle the British managed to disable several French ships, but were outnumbered and too badly damaged to press an attack, and after two hours of fighting, each side drew off and returned to their respective ports. The French returned to the Cape, where they refitted and then proceeded on their voyage, while Forrest went back to Jamaica.[1]
On 24 December, being detached singly offPetit-Goâve, he encountered a fleet of eight merchant ships, and in the night captured the sloop of war which was escorting them, and used her as a tender against her own convoy, taking all the ships. In August 1759 he took theAugusta to England, and on paying her off, in April 1760, commissionedHMS Centaur, one of the ships taken by Boscawen at theBattle of Lagos in 1759. After a few months with the fleet in theBay of Biscay, he went out to theJamaica Station,[2] where, by the death of Rear-AdmiralCharles Holmes in November 1761, he was left senior officer. On this he moved intoHMS Cambridge, hoisted abroad pennant, and took on himself both the duties and privileges of commander-in-chief, untilSir James Douglas, coming from the Leeward Islands in April 1762, summarily dispossessed him. Forrest returned to England, passenger in a merchant ship, when, on reporting himself to the admiralty, he was told that his conduct in constituting himself commodore was 'most irregular and unjustifiable;’ and that the officers whom he had promoted would not be confirmed. This led to a long correspondence, in which the admiralty so far yielded as to order him to be reimbursed for the expenses he had incurred, though without sanctioning the higher rate of pay.[1]
In Jamaica, Forrest owned about 3,000 acres of land inWestmoreland Parish andSaint Elizabeth Parish. One of the many slaves on his estates, Apongo, whom Forrest named Wager after one of his ships, ended up being one of the most significant leaders of theTacky's War slave revolt in western Jamaica.[3]
Forrest purchased property in Jamaica following his appointment as Commander-in-Chief. He also probably inherited land in Jamaica and wealth from his father who died sometime before 1750. In Jamaica, Forrest owned at the time of his death six sugar estates: Masemure, Robins River, Ragged Castle, Vineyard and Pontrepant, Vineyard and Breadnut.[4]
In 1769, however, he was sent out to the same station as commander-in-chief, with his broad pennant inHMS Dunkirk. His time in the appointment was short-lived, he died at Jamaica on 26 May 1770. At the time of his death, he never knew that advice of his appointment to the rank of admiral and reputedly, elevation to the peerage as the Viscount Forrest, were on a ship from London to Jamaica.
Forrest owned 422 slaves at the time of probate, of whom 219 were listed as male and 203 as female. 117 were listed as boys, girls or children.[4]
He had married Frederica Marina Cecilia, probably a daughter of Colonel Lynch of Jamaica, by whom he had two sons and five daughters. Mrs. Forrest survived her husband many years, and died in 1802. His eldest daughter, Bridget, married the diaristJohn Byng, 5th Viscount Torrington.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: "Forrest, Arthur (d.1770)".Dictionary of National Biography. London:Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
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| Preceded by | Commander-in-Chief, Jamaica Station 1769–1770 | Succeeded by |
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| People | |
