A Naval Biographical Dictionary/Oliver, Robert Dudley

by William Richard O'Byrne

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OLIVER. (Admiral of the Red, 1841. f-p., 26; h-p., 42.)

Robert Dudley Oliver was born 31 Oct. 1766.

This officer entered the Navy, 13 May, 1779, on board the Prince George 98, Capts. Phihp Patton, Wm. Fox, and Jas. Williams, hearing the flag of Rear-Admiral Digby; and in the following Dec. sailed with Sir Geo. Rodney for the relief of Gibraltar. During the passage he assisted at the capture of a 64-gun ship (afterwards named the Prince William, in honour of His late Majesty, who was on board the Prince George), six armed vessels belonging to the Royal Caraccas Company, and 14 sail of transports from St. Sebastian, bound to Cadiz, laden with naval stores, provisions, &c.; and also at the defeat of the armament under Don Juan de Langara 16 Jan. 1780. Gibraltar having been placed in a state of perfect security, he was next, while returning to England, present, 23 Feb. 1780, at the capture of the Prothée, a French 64-gun ship, and three vessels, forming part of a convoy bound to the Mauritius, laden with naval and military stores. Towards the close of 1782, having participated, as Midshipman, in the relief of St. Kitts, and shared in Rodney’s celebrated action of the 12th of April, Mr. Oliver successively joined the Vixen galley, Lieut.-Commander John White, and, as Master’s Mate, the Albacore sloop, Capts. Geo. Oakes and Edm. Crawley, both on the North American station; where, from June, 1783, until July, 1785, he acted as Lieutenant in the Ariadne, Capt. Sam. Osborne. He then came home as a Supernumerary of the Hermione, Commodore Sir Chas. Douglas; and in 1789 he again received an order to act as Lieutenant in the Racehorse sloop, Capt. Thos. Foley, in the North Sea. Being officially promoted by a commission bearing date 21 Sept. 1790, he was successively appointed Senior Lieutenant – 26 April and 11 Sept. 1791, of the Aquilon 32 and Squirrel, Capts. Hon. Robt. Stopford and Wm. O’Brien Drury, employed on the Channel and Irish stations – and 24 Jan. 1793, and 23 July, 1794, of the Active frigate and Artois of 44 guns and 281 men, both commanded by Capt. Edm. Nagle. For his conduct in the latter ship during an action of 40 minutes which preceded the surrender of La Révolutionnaire of 44 guns and 351 men, 8 of whom were killed and 5 wounded, with a loss to the British of 3 killed and 5 wounded, Mr. Oliver was made Commander, 21 Oct. 1794 (the date of the occurrence), into the Terror bomb, at Portsmouth. He removed, 3 Nov. following, to the Hazard sloop; and, after a servitude of a year and five months in that vessel on the coast of Ireland, he was posted, 30 April, 1796, into the Nonsuch, lying in the river Humber. His subsequent appointments were – 2 Feb. 1798, to the Nemesis 28 – 26 March, 1799, to the Mermaid 32 – 23 March, 1803 (having left the Mermaid in the preceding July), to the Melpomène 38 – 22 Oct. 1805, for twelve months, to the Mars 74 – and, 2 May, 1810, to the Valiant 74. In the Nemesis Capt. Oliver escorted convoy to Quebec; and in the Mermaid he made a voyage to the Mediterranean; where, previously to his return with Lord Hutchinson, the conqueror of Egypt, to England, he effected the capture of three corvettes and upwards of 70 sail of vessels, and chased the largest frigate in the possession of France into Toulon.^[1] While in command of the Melpomène^[2] we find him in 1804-5 engaged in blockading the French coast, and on two occasions conducting the bombardment of Havre de Grace. ^[3] On 28 July, 1806, being at the time in the Mars, he made prize, off the coast of France, after a chase of more than 150 miles, and in presence of three other heavy French frigates, of Le Rhin of 44 guns and 318 men.^[4] While in the Valiant, the command of which ship he resigned in July, 1814, Capt. Oliver cruized in the North Sea, Channel, and West Indies, assisted at the capture, 17 June, 1813, of the Porcupine letter-of-marque, of 20 guns and 72 men, and was a considerable time employed at the blockade of New York, New London, and other places on the American coast. He became a Rear-Admiral 12 Aug. 1819; a Vice-Admiral 22 July, 1830; and a full Admiral 23 Nov. 1841.

He married, 19 June, 1805, Mary, daughter of the late Sir Chas. Saxton, Bart., Commissioner of the Royal Dockyard at Portsmouth, by whom he has issue five sons and one daughter. One of the sons, Richard Aldworth, is a Commander R.N. Agents – Messrs. Chard.

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1. He also made prize, 1 June, 1800, of La Cruelle brig, of 6 guns and 43 men. – Vide Gaz. 1800, p. 784.
2. The Melpomène happening to be in dock at Portsmouth on the eve of Lord Nelson’s final departure from England, Capt. Oliver repaired to the George Hotel for the purpose of there taking leave of his Lordship, and of expressing his regret that the repairs required by his ship would prevent his accompanying him. In reply to Captain Oliver’s observation his Lordship exclaimed, – “hope you will come in time to tow some of the rascals.” The words were prophetic, for the Melpomène actually joined the fleet the morning after the battle of Trafalgar, and had the good fortune to rescue one of the captured ships of the line, by towing her off the land.
3. Vide Gaz. 1804, pp. 898, 938.
4. Vide Gaz. 1806, p. 1009.