George Nicholas Hardinge

Hardinge's earlier patron, Earl St Vincent, had by now risen to the post of First Lord of the Admiralty, and he promoted Hardinge to the rank of commander on 29 April 1802. He had to wait nearly a year though before he obtained his first ship, the bomb vessel HMS Terror in March 1803.^[1][2] Serving in the English Channel, initially under Captain Edward Owen, and later Admiral James Saumarez, he took part in the attack on Granville.^[1] The Terror was heavily damaged in this operation, and Hardinge's next command was the 18-gun HMS Scorpion, which he commanded in the North Sea.^[1] On 28 March 1804 he was sailing off the Vlie when he discovered two Batavian Navy corvettes at anchor in the roads. Since Scorpion was too large to risk navigating the passage, Hardinge decided to make an attack with his boats.^[3]

While waiting for conditions that would allow an attack, he was joined by the 14-gun HMS Beaver, and at 9.30 in the evening of 31 March two boats from Beaver and three from Scorpion altogether carrying 60 men, set off to attack the corvettes.^[3] They approached Atalante, the nearest one, and boarded her, with Hardinge being the first to leap aboard.^[3] After some fierce fighting they subdued the ship's crew, with Hardinge at one point fighting hand to hand with Atalante's captain, who was able to disarm him before other members of the crew came to Hardinge's aid.^[3] Seeing that his opponent was outnumbered, Hardinge called upon the Batavian captain to surrender, but he refused and the British were forced to kill him. "He fell covered with honourable wounds", as Hardinge later recounted.^[4] The British secured Atalante and attempted to attack the second Batavian corvette but found that she had moved out of range. Hardinge instead laboured to take Atalante out to sea and though hampered by a gale succeeded after three days.^[4]

Although he had been rewarded for his bravery with a promotion to post captain on 10 April 1804, and a sword worth £100 from the Lloyd's Patriotic Fund, Hardinge found it difficult to return to active service.^[5] He was at first assigned to command the 24-gun HMS Proselyte and to escort a convoy to the West Indies, but was instead transferred to HMS Valorous.^[6] The Valorous was found to be unfit for sea, but he was given the command of HMS Salsette, a frigate then supposed to be fitting out at Bombay. He made his way to the East Indies, taking part in the Capture of the Cape en route, but on his arrival at Bombay he found that the Salsette had only just been laid down.^[6] He was promised her command when she was completed, but in the meantime had to make do with the old fifth rate HMS St Fiorenzo, a ship he had served as a midshipman on 15 years earlier.^[5][6]

Hardinge made a number of uneventful patrols in the Indian Ocean, but on 6 March 1808 he came across three East Indiamen being followed by the 40-gun French frigate Piémontaise. He turned to confront the Frenchman, who attempted to escape.^[7] St Fiorenzo chased the Piémontaise for the next several days, with intermittent fighting as the French turned to engage their pursuer, before sailing away again. They were finally brought to a decisive battle on 8 March, where after an hour and twenty minutes of fierce fighting, they surrendered.^[8] French losses amounted to 48 dead and 112 wounded, while the British lost 13 dead and 25 wounded.^[8] Captain Hardinge was among the dead, killed by grapeshot shortly before the Piémontaise surrendered.^[9][5] He was buried at Colombo with full military honours, and monuments to his memory were erected in Bombay and in St Paul's Cathedral.^[5]

Following this action he was awarded a £300 Lloyd's Patriotic Fund Silver Vase, the inscription upon which reads: 'IN MEMORY OF GEORGE NICHOLAS HARDINGE ESQ'R CAPTAIN OF HMS ST. FIORENZO, OF 36 GUNS Who NOBLY FELL in the Moment of Victory, while COMMANDING THAT SHIP in ACTION with LA PIEDMONTESE, FRENCH SHIP, of 50 GUNS, OFF CEYLON on the 8 of March 1808 after a continued ACTION of the Three successive Days as recorded in the LONDON Gazette of the 20 of December 1808 THIS VASE IS PRESENTED TO HIS UNCLE GEORGE HARDINGE ESQR KINGS COUNCIL ATTORNEY GENERAL TO THE QUEEN, and his MAJESTY'S JUSTICE for the Counties of Glamorgan, Brecon and Radnor FROM THE PATRIOTIC FUND AT LLOYDS'.

On 29 November 1809, His Majesty George III granted to the Hardinge family an augmentation to their coat of arms commemorating both the victory over Piemontaise and Hardinge's earlier victory over Atalanta.^[10]

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