Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 44.djvu/320

 Charles Read, 1751, engraved by R. Pranker (cf. ). Both these portraits are now at Pennsylvania Castle, Portland Island, Dorset.

[Authorities given; Watson's Annals of Philadelphia, i. 116, 123; Gordon's Hist. of Pennsylvania, pp. 236, 264, 323; Chaloner Smith's Portraits, p. 918; Cornell's Hist. of Pennsylvania, pp. 150, 151.] 

PENN, WILLIAM (1621–1670), admiral and general at sea, baptised in the church of St. Thomas in Bristol on 23 April 1621, was the second son of Giles Penn, a merchant and sea-captain trading to the Mediterranean, a younger son of a family settled for many generations at Minety in Gloucestershire. In early boyhood he served under his father, and afterwards on board the king's ships, being—it is stated on his monument—a captain at the age of twenty-one. There is, however, no distinct record of his having any command in the navy before 1644, when he was appointed to the Fellowship of 28 guns, one of the Irish fleet in the service of the parliament, under the command of Captain Richard Swanley [q. v.] On 14 April 1648 he was suddenly superseded from his command, and ordered to be ‘brought up in safe custody,’ on suspicion, it would seem, of his being engaged in the king's interest. The suspicion passed away, and a month later he was in the Assurance as rear-admiral of the Irish fleet, and in 1649 in the Lion as vice-admiral, but always on the same service, which during the civil war was one of extreme importance, involving the defence of the western ports of England and Wales, as well as of the protestant interests in Ireland. Through 1650 he seems to have been at Deptford, superintending the building and fitting out of a new ship, of 250 men and 52 guns, which was launched in the autumn as the Fairfax. In November he received a commission to command the Fairfax, and also a squadron of eight ships on a cruise to the Azores and in the Mediterranean. As, however, the Fairfax was not ready, he sailed in the Centurion, and towards the end of January 1651 was joined by Lawson in the Fairfax, to which he then moved, and after cruising for some weeks between the Azores, Lisbon, and Cadiz, passed through the Straits on 29 March, with instructions to seek out Prince Rupert, and destroy him and his adherents.

In this search he ranged through the western basin of the Mediterranean, along the coast of Spain, touching at Minorca and Iviça, then south to the African coast, north again, along the coasts of Sardinia and Corsica to Leghorn, thence to Trapani and across to Biserta, thence to Algiers and Gibraltar, where, having intelligence that Rupert had gone to the Azores, he anchored on 9 Sept. to await his return. And so, for the next four months, he kept a close watch on the Straits, sometimes at anchor, more commonly under way, his ships covering the whole space, so that nothing could enter or leave the Mediterranean without his knowledge. By the end of the year reports reached him from different quarters that several of Rupert's ships had been lost, and his squadron completely broken up; and in February he sailed for England. On 18 March he landed at Falmouth, when he noted in his journal that he had not put foot on land since his departure from Falmouth ‘last December was twelve months.’

On 1 April he anchored in the Downs. The war with the Dutch was on the point of breaking out, and on 19 May 1652 Penn was appointed captain of the Triumph, and vice-admiral of the fleet under General Robert Blake [q. v.] In June he moved into the James of 60 guns, in which he was with Blake during the summer, and in the action near the Kentish Knock on 28 Sept. It is probable that he was afterwards in command of the squadron sent north for the protection of the Newcastle colliers, and that he was thus absent from the unfortunate action near Dungeness on 30 Nov. He seems, however, to have rejoined Blake shortly after; and on 25 Jan. 1653 he was again appointed captain of the Speaker and vice-admiral of the fleet. In that capacity he would, in ordinary course, have had command of the white squadron; but when the fleet was collected, Monck took command of the white squadron, Blake and Deane being together in command of the red. It was thus that, in the battle off Portland on 18 Feb., Penn commanded the blue squadron, and, by tacking to the support of the red squadron, rescued Blake from the effects of his blundering gallantry, and redeemed the fortune of the day.

Penn afterwards moved into the James, and in April was sent north for the protection of the Newcastle trade. By May he was again with the fleet, and this time in command of the white squadron, the generals Monck and Deane being together in command of the red. He had thus a very important share in the victory of 2–3 June, and again in that of 29–31 July, when Tromp was killed. On 6 Aug. Penn was ordered a gold chain of the value of 100l., together with the large medal; on 2 Dec. he was appointed one of the generals of the fleet, jointly with Blake, Monck, and Disbrowe; and on the 8th