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|battles = * American War of Independence * French Revolutionary Wars * *Siege of Toulon * *Battle of Cape St Vincent * Napoleonic Wars * *Blockade of Saint-Domingue * *Battle of Copenhagen * *Battle of the Basque Roads |battles_label = |awards = Companion of the Order of the Bath |relations = Richard Rodney Bligh (uncle) |laterwork = |signature = }} John Bligh CB (August 1770 – 19 January 1831) was an officer in the Royal Navy who served during the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Bligh was born into a naval family and served on a variety of ships from a young age, moving up through the ranks to lieutenant prior to the outbreak of the wars with France. He was in the East Indies when war broke out, but returning to Britain he saw action in the Mediterranean during the early attacks on Corsica, the Siege of Toulon and the Battle of Cape St Vincent. Promoted to his own commands in 1797, he was the victim of a mutiny on his ship, when his crew joined the larger mutinies at Spithead, and was sent ashore. He returned after it had ended and went on to serve at Newfoundland, before beginning a long period of distinguished service in the Caribbean. He was active in the Blockade of Saint-Domingue after the outbreak of the Napoleonic Wars, and arranged the surrender and evacuation of several French-held positions. He then took charge of an expedition to Curaçao, but withdrew his forces in the face of heavy opposition. His final actions there involved several successes against enemy privateers and merchant shipping. Returning to Britain in 1806, Bligh went out with the fleet to the Baltic and was present at the Battle of Copenhagen. He then sailed to the Portuguese coast, where he was active landing troops and supporting the army's operations there. He was involved in the Battle of the Basque Roads in 1809, directing efforts to destroy several grounded French ships. While cruising off Belle Île in 1810 he had the good fortune to intercept a French vessel carrying the wealth of the merchants of Île de France back to France. Suddenly wealthy from the prize money and in weakening health after his long service in the tropics, Bligh retired ashore. He settled on the south coast, receiving an appointment as a Companion of the Bath, and a promotion to rear-admiral before his death in 1831. ==Family and early life== Bligh was born in Guildford in August 1770, the son of the naval officer Commander John Bligh, and his wife Elizabeth, née Titcher. He attended the Royal Grammar School, Guildford until joining the Navy on 22 January 1780, becoming a captain's servant aboard the 28-gun . ''Nemesis'' was at this time commanded by John's uncle, Richard Rodney Bligh. After service here he was rated midshipman and moved to the 74-gun on 28 August 1782.〔 Bligh then served on a succession of ships, moving in turn to the brig-sloop , the 74-gun and the sloop , the last of which he was rated as an able seaman. He was then aboard the 50-gun and afterwards the 20-gun . He was rated as master's mate aboard the ''Camilla'' on 13 September 1786, and served on her in the West Indies.〔 He passed his lieutenant's examination on 6 February 1788 but did not receive a commission immediately, instead serving aboard the 74-gun , then moving to the 64-gun in October that year.〔 ''Crown'' was chosen by Commodore William Cornwallis to fly his broad pennant in his new post in the East Indies, and Bligh sailed with her to this post. He spent several years on this station, being finally commissioned lieutenant on 25 June 1791 and appointed to the 32-gun under Captain Thomas Troubridge. He returned to Britain aboard her in December 1791. He then joined the 28-gun in 1792, under the command of Captain Sir Thomas Williams.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「John Bligh (Royal Navy officer)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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