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Edward Vernon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Edward Vernon ("Old Grog") (1684–1757) was an English naval officer. His nickname derived from the grogram coat he wore.
Commodore and Admiral of the White, he is a hero in England following his capture of the Spanish fortress Porto Bello in Panama at the start of the War of Jenkin's Ear against the Spanish in November 1739.
In the War of the Spanish Succession he served at the Battle of Malaga in 1704 and at the Battle of Barcelona in 1705. Vernon was the commodore of Port Royal in Jamaica in 1720 and Naval Commander in Chief of all His Majesty's ships in the West Indies from 1739 to 1742.
In the War of Jenkins' Ear in 1739 he commanded a fleet that captured the Spanish colonial possession of Porto Bello (now in Panama), and unsuccessfully attacked Cartagena de Indias in Nueva Granada (now Colombia). The Portobello areas in both London and Dublin (see Portobello Road and Portobello, Dublin) are named for Vernon's victory, and "Rule Britannia" was composed by Thomas Arne during the celebratory frenzy of 1740.
Vernon also captured Guantánamo Bay, Cuba in 1741, briefly renaming it Cumberland Bay. He arrived with a force of eight warships and 4,000 soldiers with plans to march on Santiago de Cuba, but was resisted by local guerilla forces and withdrew.
However Vernon's reputation was later damaged by noisy defeat of his invasion force of 23 600 men and 186 ships by the Spanish colonial defenders of Cartagena de Indias of just 3000 men and 6 ships in 1741 commanded by Blas de Lezo. George Washington's half-brother, Lawrence Washington, had served on Vernon's flagship as a Captain of the Marines in 1741 and named his estate Mount Vernon in honour of his impressive commander. Despite his heroic status, Vernon's fiery and difficult temper lead to fractious relationships with various governors of Jamaica, and with his navy superiors, and he was ultimately dismissed from the Royal Navy in 1746.
His enduring claim to fame was his 1740 order that his sailors' rum should be diluted with water. The rest of the Royal Navy rapidly followed his lead, calling the new drink "grog" after Vernon's nickname.