Robert Lambert Baynes
Encyclopedia
Admiral Sir Robert Lambert Baynes KCB
(1796 – 7 September 1869) was a Royal Navy
officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Station
.
in 1810. He was on board the , the British flagship, during the Battle of Navarino
in 1827. Promoted to Captain
in 1828, he commanded HMS Andromache and then HMS Bellerophon
. As a Rear Admiral
he was a senior officer in the Baltic Sea
during the Crimean War
in 1855.
He was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Station
in 1857. Baynes refused to obey orders from the Governor of the Colony of Vancouver Island
, James Douglas
, to land marines
on San Juan Island
to engage American soldiers under the command of Brigadier-General William Selby Harney that had occupied the island on 27 July 1859. Accordingly he is credited with adopting a policy of non-intervention that helped to defuse the San Juan Boundary Dispute
of 1859 between Britain
and the United States of America
.
Baynes Sound
in British Columbia
is named for him, and the town of Ganges
on Saltspring Island
and the waters offshore, Ganges Harbour, are named for his flagship, .
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
(1796 – 7 September 1869) was a Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Station
Pacific Station
The Pacific Station, often referred to as the Pacific Squadron, was one of the geographical divisions into which the Royal Navy divided its worldwide responsibilities...
.
Naval career
Baynes joined the Royal NavyRoyal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
in 1810. He was on board the , the British flagship, during the Battle of Navarino
Battle of Navarino
The naval Battle of Navarino was fought on 20 October 1827, during the Greek War of Independence in Navarino Bay , on the west coast of the Peloponnese peninsula, in the Ionian Sea. A combined Ottoman and Egyptian armada was destroyed by a combined British, French and Russian naval force...
in 1827. Promoted to Captain
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
in 1828, he commanded HMS Andromache and then HMS Bellerophon
HMS Waterloo (1818)
HMS Waterloo was an 80-gun third rate ship of the line, launched on 16 October 1818 at Portsmouth. She was designed by Henry Peake, and was the only ship built to her draught. She had originally been ordered as HMS Talavera, but was renamed on the stocks after the Battle of Waterloo.In 1824...
. As a Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
he was a senior officer in the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
during the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
in 1855.
He was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Station
Pacific Station
The Pacific Station, often referred to as the Pacific Squadron, was one of the geographical divisions into which the Royal Navy divided its worldwide responsibilities...
in 1857. Baynes refused to obey orders from the Governor of the Colony of Vancouver Island
Colony of Vancouver Island
The Colony of Vancouver Island , was a crown colony of British North America from 1849 to 1866, after which it was united with British Columbia. The united colony joined the Dominion of Canada through Confederation in 1871...
, James Douglas
James Douglas (Governor)
Sir James Douglas KCB was a company fur-trader and a British colonial governor on Vancouver Island in northwestern North America, particularly in what is now British Columbia. Douglas worked for the North West Company, and later for the Hudson's Bay Company becoming a high-ranking company officer...
, to land marines
Royal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
on San Juan Island
San Juan Island
San Juan Island is the second-largest and most populous of the San Juan Islands in northwestern Washington, United States. It has a land area of 142.59 km² and a population of 6,822 as of the 2000 census....
to engage American soldiers under the command of Brigadier-General William Selby Harney that had occupied the island on 27 July 1859. Accordingly he is credited with adopting a policy of non-intervention that helped to defuse the San Juan Boundary Dispute
Pig War
The Pig War was a confrontation in 1859 between the United States and the British Empire over the boundary between the US and British North America. The territory in dispute was the San Juan Islands, which lie between Vancouver Island and the North American mainland...
of 1859 between Britain
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
and the United States of America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Baynes Sound
Baynes Sound
Baynes Sound is the channel between Denman Island and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The sound is a narrow western off-shoot of the Strait of Georgia that separates Vancouver Island from the mainland of British Columbia. The area is actively harvested by the local oyster industry, as...
in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
is named for him, and the town of Ganges
Ganges, British Columbia
Ganges, British Columbia is an unincorporated community on Salt Spring Island in the province of British Columbia, Canada.-History:Ganges Harbour, from which Ganges takes its name, was originally called Admiralty Bay but was renamed by Captain Richards in 1859 for the , which was at the Pacific...
on Saltspring Island
Saltspring Island
Saltspring Island is one of the Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia between mainland British Columbia, Canada and Vancouver Island. It is the largest, the most populous, and the most frequently visited of the Gulf Islands...
and the waters offshore, Ganges Harbour, are named for his flagship, .