Sir Charles Pole, 1st Baronet
Sir Charles Pole | |
|---|---|
1781 portrait of Pole by John Francis Rigaud | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 18 January 1757 |
| Died | 6 September 1830 (aged 73) |
| Occupation |
|
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Branch/service | Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1770–1806 |
| Rank | Admiral of the Fleet |
| Commands | HMS Cormorant HMS Britannia HMS Hussar HMS Success HMS Crown HMS Melampus HMS Illustrious HMS Colossus Baltic Fleet |
| Battles/wars | American Revolutionary War French Revolutionary Wars Napoleonic Wars |
| Awards | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath |
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Charles Morice Pole, 1st Baronet, GCB (18 January 1757 – 6 September 1830) was a Royal Navy officer, colonial administrator and politician. As a junior officer he saw action at the siege of Pondicherry in India during the American Revolutionary War. After taking command of the fifth-rate HMS Success he captured and then destroyed the Spanish frigate Santa Catalina in the Strait of Gibraltar in the action of 16 March 1782 later in that War.
After capturing the French privateer Vanneau in June 1793, Pole took part in the siege of Toulon at an early stage of the French Revolutionary Wars. He went on to be governor and commander-in-chief of Newfoundland and then commanded the Baltic Fleet later in the War. He also served as a Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty on the Admiralty Board led by Viscount Howick during the Napoleonic Wars.