Polycarpus Taylor

Rear-Admiral Polycarpus Taylor (1706/07 – 23 January 1781) was a Royal Navy officer of the eighteenth century, most notable for his service commanding ships in the West Indies during the War of the Austrian Succession.

Having joined the Royal Navy some time before 1733, Taylor then served at the Battle of Cartagena de Indias and Invasion of Cuba before being promoted to commander in 1742.

[4][5] The ship had been heavily hit by fevers, and routinely cycled through commanding officers; in September 1735 Taylor had to apply directly to the Admiralty for his wages because his most recent captain had died before being able to sign off on them.

[Note 2][2][3] From 11 July Augusta served off Cape St Vincent, forming part of Rear-Admiral Nicholas Haddock's Mediterranean Fleet.

[7][8] On 10 September Ogle was sent with a large squadron to escort an expeditionary force to the West Indies, sent there to reinforce Vice-Admiral Edward Vernon on the Jamaica Station.

[9][8] Then on 19 June Vernon moved Taylor to serve on board his flagship, the 80-gun ship of the line HMS Boyne, as her fourth lieutenant.

[15] The Admiralty had previously ordered that a new ship be built in the place of Fowey, and accordingly Taylor paid her off upon reaching England with his convoy.

[12] On 12 June Taylor was sailing off Cape Antifer when the French 24-gun Saint Malo privateer Griffon attempted to chase him, being ignorant of Fowey's greater strength.

Both of her pilots had however been incapacitated by Fowey's return fire, and after an hour Taylor forced Griffon to run ashore without reaching her goal.

[17][12][13] In November Taylor's ship escorted a troop convoy to Louisbourg and was subsequently kept on station there under the governor, Commodore Charles Knowles.

[12][18] On 1 February Taylor was part of a court martial board that dismissed Captain John Crookshanks from his command of the 44-gun frigate HMS Lark and cashiered him.

[2][3][12] Knowles' squadron sailed to the south coast of Cuba on 13 February, but contrary winds meant they instead first went to attack Port Louis, Hispaniola, at the Battle of Saint-Louis-du-Sud on 22 March.

[28][29] Cornwall reached the engagement at 4 p.m. and at pistol-range attacked the 70-gun ship of the line Africa, Vice-Admiral Andrés Reggio's flagship.

Africa had been heavily damaged in the fight, and anchored in a bay to make repairs before she could reach a friendly port; Knowles' squadron found her on 15 October, and the Spaniards burned the flagship to avoid capture.

[29] After the battle Knowles reported the "bashfulness" of several of his captains to Admiral Lord Anson, but listed Taylor among those he thought were good seamen.

[2][33] In the meantime Knowles' captains had sent their own complaints to Anson, arguing that he had stayed in Taylor's Cornwall when he could have moved into a faster ship, and had been slow to form line of battle.

[38] Taylor relinquished his command of Culloden in favour of Captain Smith Callis in August, instead joining the 50-gun ship of the line HMS Deptford on 3 October.

[2][33][39] Deptford was also part of the Mediterranean Fleet, and Taylor continued with it until his ship returned home to undergo a refit at Chatham Dockyard from December 1757.