John Wainwright (Royal Navy officer)

John Wainwright C.B. was an officer in the Royal Navy.

John Wainwright
Born	Wickham, Hampshire
Died	November 4, 1819 Portsmouth, Great Britain
Allegiance	Kingdom of Great Britain  United Kingdom / British Empire
Branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1783–1819
Rank	Captain
Commands	HMS Sulphur HMS Seagull HMS Royal William HMS Chiffonne HMS Tonnant
Battles / wars	Napoleonic Wars  • Battle of the Basque Roads Persian Gulf campaign of 1809 War of 1812  • Battle of Baltimore  • Battle of Bladensburg  • Burning of Washington
Awards	Order of the Bath
Alma mater	Royal Naval Academy
Spouse(s)	Harriet Wainwright
Children	James Francis Ballard Wainwright

In 1806, he became captain of the frigate HMS Chiffonne and, in 1809, was the commodore of a squadron sent to suppress pirates in the Persian Gulf.^[1]

After having led that joint-services expedition to ‘burn the Pirates out of the Gulf’, he was awarded a scimitar by a grateful emir and a gift ‘for plate’ by the Honourable East India Company. In recompense for the period without the opportunity to capture prizes, he was invited to escort on Chiffonne the 1810 Trade fleet from India to China, involving a lucrative ‘freight’ fee.^[2]

In 1814, he captained Admiral Cochrane's flagship, HMS Tonnant, and saw action against the Chesapeake Bay Flotilla of Joshua Barney in the War of 1812.,^[1] and subsequently landed some of the Marines who later helped burn Washington.

In 1819, he became lieutenant governor of the Royal Naval College in Portsmouth but died within ten days.^[1]

John Wainwright's father, also John, had been an RN Master's Mate at the siege of Quebec, his elder son, also John, was navigating lieutenant on HMS Blossom on the 1825–1828 Beechey expedition through the Bering Strait, and his younger son James Francis Ballard Wainwright C.B. was commissioning captain on HMS Black Prince.^[3]

See also

British Warships in the Age of Sail