Charles Hardy (Royal Navy officer, died 1744)

[1][2] In this rank Hardy was appointed third lieutenant of the 70-gun ship of the line HMS Resolution, which was under the command of Captain Basil Beaumont.

[1][4] He transferred to the guardship HMS Royal Ann in December 1704, serving for some time in the English Channel, before being promoted to commander on 27 November 1705.

[1][2][7] Stationed in the North Sea, Dunwich operated as an escort to convoys sailing off the east coast of England.

[8][9] Having left Dunwich, he was appointed to command the 50-gun fourth-rate HMS Nonsuch later in 1710, sailing to Jamaica as part of the fleet of Commodore James Littleton.

[1][12] In that ship he served in the Baltic Fleet of Admiral Sir John Norris, supporting Denmark against Sweden in the Great Northern War.

[1][14] Kent initially joined Admiral Sir John Jennings' fleet which sailed to the Straits of Gibraltar in October.

In November Wager moved Hardy from Kent into the 70-gun ship of the line HMS Stirling Castle in which he continued in the Mediterranean.

[1][14] On 9 February 1730 Hardy was appointed to command the royal yacht HMY Carolina and was knighted on 26 September 1732 in reward for his long naval service.

[1] On 13 December Hardy was also appointed to serve as a Lord of the Admiralty, replacing Admiral Philip Cavendish who had died in the previous year.

[22] He served as second-in-command to Admiral Norris, with the fleet consisting of twenty-five ships of the line and twenty-four frigates and other craft.

The two fleets almost met off Dungeness on 24 February 1744 but de Roquefeuil retreated and Norris was unable to chase him because of deteriorating sea conditions.

[26] Soon after this Hardy commanded a detached squadron of eleven ships of the line serving as an escort for storeships sent to restock the Mediterranean Fleet.

[Note 4][29] Hardy set sail for England, and on 8 May lost one of his warships, the 70-gun ship of the line HMS Northumberland, in the action of 8 May 1744.

Hardy had detached Northumberland from the squadron to investigate a strange sail, but when the weather worsened he ordered the ship to return to him.