Peter Warren was a British naval officer from Ireland.
Background
Peter Warren, son of Michael and Catherine (Aylmer) Warren, was born on the Warren estate at Warrenstown, County Meath, Ireland, where his ancestors had settled in 1282. His mother was the daughter of Sir Christopher Aylmer, first baronet of Balrath, and the sister of Matthew, Lord Aylmer, one of the Lords of the Admiralty and commander-in-chief of the fleet.
Career
Peter Warren entered the navy as a midshipman at the age of twelve, remaining in British waters until 1718, when he sailed for the West Indies and the North American coast in the Rose. On July 7, 1730, he arrived in New York Harbor as a captain, commander of H. M. S. Solebay, a 20-gun frigate, and for the next seventeen years his residence was in New York City. In June 1731 he acquired title to a number of plots in the city and to "Greenwich House" at the bank of the Hudson, with some twenty acres of ground - the first of six parcels which made up the "Warren Farm" of some three hundred acres, now known as Greenwich Village. Five years later Warren purchased a tract of 14, 000 acres in the Mohawk Valley, of which his nephew, later Sir William Johnson, became manager, and in 1744 he acquired the famous Warren mansion, demolished in 1865, with forty-six acres, the fifth section of the "Warren Farm, " which was completed sometime later by a gift of four acres from the city. In 1749 he purchased 100 acres on Turtle Bay. His last city home was 59-65 Broadway. Meanwhile he had commanded successively the Squirrel, 20 guns (1735 - 42); the Launceton, 40 guns (1742 - 45); and the Superbe, 60 guns. Early in 1745, when at Antigua, he received orders to cooperate with the expedition projected by Gov. William Shirley of Massachusetts against Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island, and on March 13 of that year he set sail in the Superbe, with the Launceton and Mermaid, arriving in time to prevent the French supply ship, Vigilante, from entering Louisbourg harbor. This vessel and many other rich prizes were captured. On Saturday afternoon, June 15, just before the capitulation of the fortress, he addressed the army, saying that he would rather leave his body at Louisbourg than not take the city. His knowledge of American conditions, his sense of strategy, and his ability to work with men of various types all contributed to the success of the expedition. He was promoted to be rear admiral of the Blue August 8, 1745; and with Sir William Pepperrell, continued in joint supervision of the captured post until, much to his disgust, he was appointed governor of Louisbourg and Cape Breton Island. On October 5 he wrote the Duke of Newcastle asking to be appointed governor of New York, and on June 7, 1746, the day of his final departure from Louisbourg, he asked unsuccessfully for the governorship of New Jersey. As some evidence of his popularity in America, the Admiral Warren, a tavern, was opened at 11-15 Wall Street, and Warren Street, New York City, was named after him. He was also a member of the Governor's Council of New York. On November 30, 1746, he sailed for Spithead in the Chester, arriving December 24, to oppose as impracticable the expedition against Canada projected for the following year. Before he had a chance to return, he was sent on an expedition which culminated in the battle of May 3, 1747, with a French squadron off Cape Finisterre - one of the most important British naval victories since the defeat of the Spanish Armada - in which he was the outstanding hero. On May 29 he was knighted, with the Cross of the Bath; on July 1, he was elected to Parliament; on July 15, he was promoted to be vice-admiral of the White. He then changed his residence from New York City to London and summoned his family to join him. Sir Peter had command of three later expeditions and retired at the close of the war with £200, 000 prize money and a promotion to be vice-admiral of the Red, May 12, 1748. In Parliament he was an outstanding exponent of preparedness. He died in Dublin, and was buried at the church at Knockmark, near Warrenstown; subsequently a monument to him, by Roubiliac, was erected in Westminster Abbey.
Achievements
Connections
The following month he married Susannah De Lancey, elder daughter of Stephen and Anne (Van Cortlandt) De Lancey, sister of James and Oliver De Lancey, and granddaughter of Stephanus Van Cortlandt. The wedding reception at the De Lancey home was described in the New-York Gazette for July 26, 1731.