Andrew Leake
Captain Sir Andrew Leake (died 13 August 1704)[Note 1] was a Royal Navy officer of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, who distinguished himself at the Battle of Vigo Bay, during the War of the Spanish Succession.
His services at La Hogue brought him promotion to captain, and a series of commands that culminated in 1702 with Leake joining HMS Torbay.
He was promoted to master's mate while serving in Defiance on 1 December of the same year, and subsequently fought at the Battle of Bantry Bay on 1 May 1689.
With Ashby then promoted to flag rank, on 16 June Leake was appointed the second lieutenant of his brother-in-law's new flagship, the 70-gun ship of the line HMS Berwick.
The historians John Knox Laughton and Peter Le Fevre suggest that it was Leake's actions as a supernumerary at La Hogue that brought him to the attention of the Admiralty; because of this he was recommended to several admirals in April 1693, and on 25 June was promoted to post-captain.
[1][2] Greenwich returned to port for the winter, and was subsequently sent to serve with several other ships of the line in the entrance to the English Channel.
After a brief period serving in the Baltic Sea, in January 1702 he was appointed to command the 80-gun ship of the line HMS Torbay in Admiral Sir George Rooke's fleet.
[1][6][7] After the beginning of the War of the Spanish Succession Rooke's force was ordered to attack Cádiz in a plan originally created by William III.
She had been carrying aboard her a large amount of snuff, and in the explosion this powder served to put out most of the fire on Torbay, and Leake extinguished the rest, for which action he was especially congratulated.
[10][6][12] Torbay beat off the attack of Espérance d'Angleterre but then had little fighting left to do, as the remaining warships scuttled themselves or surrendered as more of the Anglo-Dutch fleet made its way past the boom.
[13] Torbay was badly damaged in the fight, having 115 men killed or drowned, her sails and rigging mostly destroyed by fire, several gun ports blown off their hinges, and the entire larboard side of the ship heavily scorched.
[6][8] In February 1703 Leake was translated into the 80-gun ship of the line HMS Ranelagh, serving at the Nore, because Torbay needed to undergo repairs.
He first sailed to Lisbon before collecting further merchant traffic from Oporto, at which point his force returned home, arriving in the Downs on 17 November and thus just missing the great storm of 1703.
[1] The ships were used to bombard the Gibraltar defences during the attack, diverting fire from the land forces, and Grafton used up much of her ammunition fulfilling this role.
Rooke initially failed to engage the enemy, but after pursuing them for several days on 13 August they fought the Battle of Málaga.
His will of March 1703 left his estate to his mother, who had remarried after the death of his father, while his brothers and sisters received varying amounts of money.
