Admiral Sir Charles Saunders, KB (7 December 1775) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. He commanded the fourth-rate and at the Second Battle of Cape Finisterre in October 1747 during the War of the Austrian Succession. After serving as Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet, he was appointed Commander-in-Chief, English Channel, in charge of the Western Squadron between October 1758 and May 1759.

Saunders took command of the fleet tasked with carrying James Wolfe to Quebec in January 1759 and consolidated the dead general's victory after the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in September 1759 by devoting great energy to keeping the British Army, now under the command of Colonel George Townshend, well supplied during the Seven Years' War. He later became Senior Naval Lord and then First Lord of the Admiralty.

Early career

thumb|Portrait of Saunders as an admiral by [[Richard Brompton]]

Born the son of James Saunders of Bridgwater, Somerset, Saunders joined the Royal Navy in October 1727. He initially served as a midshipman on the sixth-rate and then transferred to the fourth-rate in March 1731. Promoted to lieutenant on 8 November 1734, he was posted to the fourth-rate in July 1738 and then transferred to the third-rate in June 1739, to the fourth-rate in August 1739 and to the fourth-rate in November 1742. and, in the action of 31 May 1762, his fleet chased down and captured the Spanish treasure ship Hermione off Cape St Mary.

Later career

thumb|[[French Firerafts Attacking the British Fleet off Quebec by Samuel Scott]]

Saunders joined the Board of Admiralty as Senior Naval Lord in the First Rockingham ministry in July 1765 and was advanced to First Lord of the Admiralty in the Chatham ministry in September 1766; after a disagreement with Lord Chatham, he stood down from the Admiralty Board in December 1766. Promoted to full admiral on 18 October 1770, he died at his home at Spring Gardens in London on 7 December 1775 and was buried in Westminster Abbey.

Family

Saunders married a Miss Buck, the daughter of a London banker, in September 1751.

References

Sources

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