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Sir Robert Baynes
AdmiralBaynes
Rear Admiral Robert Lambert Baynes, 1850s, unknown artist
Born 1796
Died September 7, 1869(1869-09-07)
Place of death Upper Norwood, England
Allegiance United Kingdom United Kingdom
Service/branch Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom Royal Navy
Rank Admiral
Commands held HMS Andromache
HMS Bellerophon
Pacific Station
Battles/wars Greek War of Independence
Crimean War
San Juan Boundary Dispute
Awards Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath

Admiral Sir Robert Lambert Baynes KCB (1796 – 7 September 1869) was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Station.

Naval career[]

Baynes joined the Royal Navy in 1810.[1] He was on board the HMS Asia, the British flagship, during the Battle of Navarino in 1827.[2] Promoted to Captain in 1828, he commanded HMS Andromache and then HMS Bellerophon.[1] As a Rear Admiral he was a senior officer in the Baltic Sea during the Crimean War in 1855.[1]

He was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Station in 1857.[1] Baynes refused to obey orders from the Governor of the Colony of Vancouver Island, James Douglas, to land marines on San Juan Island to engage American soldiers under the command of Brigadier-General William Selby Harney that had occupied the island on 27 July 1859.[2] Accordingly he is credited with adopting a policy of non-intervention that helped to defuse the San Juan Boundary Dispute of 1859 between Britain and the United States of America.[2]

Baynes Sound in British Columbia is named for him,[3] and the town of Ganges on Saltspring Island and the waters offshore, Ganges Harbour, are named for his flagship, HMS Ganges.[4]:198

He died at Upper Norwood, and was buried at West Norwood Cemetery.

References[]

Military offices
Preceded by
Sir Henry Bruce
Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Station
1857–1860
Succeeded by
Sir Thomas Maitland
All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at Robert Lambert Baynes and the edit history here.
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