Lt. John Laforey

John Laforey is one of the people of the historical narrative that started as a minor character in my novel, War on the Inland Sea, but became more through my research into his history. As it relates to the war on Lake Ontario, Lieutenant John Laforey was part of the original expedition under Commander Thomas Owen. Along with Lieutenant Joseph Deane, the three were tasked with building and manning the ships that would secure the lake against the French and help the British Army capture the French Fort at Niagara. For some reason that I was unable to determine, Owen was replaced by Commander Housman Broadley prior to the expedition’s arrival at Fort Oswego on Lake Ontario.

Portrait of a Naval Officer ca. 1749

 A quick note about the rank of “Commander” which I’ve referenced twice. In the Royal Navy of the time, this nebulous rank was a shortened version of the title “Master and Commander,” and was given to those officers who had commands that were too large for a lieutenant, but too small for a post-captain. It was the step an officer needed to attain that higher, coveted rank. And why post-captain, why not just call them captain? Indeed they were, but the official rank was post-captain, which was used to differentiate from the courtesy title of “captain” which was used for anyone that commanded a ship.

John Laforey’s family were descended from protestant French Huguenots that escaped French persecution in the 17th century. His father, Lieutenant-Colonel John Laforey, was the governor of Pendennis Castle in Falmouth, UK. One would assume, and I have, that the family wasn’t wealthy enough to afford to purchase a commission in the British Army and that Falmouth offered the opportunity to become a midshipman in the Royal Navy. Born in 1729, Laforey’s life as a midshipman is unknown, though he did pass his lieutenant’s examination in April of 1748. The first record of him afterward is the Oswego and Lake Ontario narrative, so I unfortunately have no idea what ships he may have served on prior to that. He had Augustus Keppel as his patron though, so must have served with that incredible leader before.

He would have been twenty six years old in 1755, which would have been old enough to be a mentor to my main character, Robert Marshal, but Laforey would still have been young enough to be a friend as well. There are no paintings that I’ve been able to find of Laforey, despite his long career in the Royal Navy. Though, there is a painting of a young Augustus Keppel that captures how I imagine John Laforey to have looked. Patrician perhaps, confident and a gentleman as defined by class and expectation. However, I think he would have had a strong sense of right and wrong that would be a hinderance in the Georgian Navy. The future King William IV, a fellow officer in the Royal Navy, would describe him as a “proud imperious fellow.”

Laforey was appointed by Commodore Keppel to command the HMS Ontario on Lake Ontario. A twelve gun sloop that he had overseen the building of at the mouth of the Onondaga River, he still fell under the command of Housman Broadley, who was the squadron commander. After the fall of the British forts at Oswego and the subsequent surrender of the squadron to the French commanded by the Marquis de Montcalm, Laforey and the other officers were transported to Great Britain to await exchange. Having been appointed into the HMS Hunter, a ten gun sloop of war, while still in command of the HMS Ontario, he was able to take command of her after his exchange.

The HMS Hunter sailed from Great Britain on 25 January 1758 as escort for a large convoy. Of note, he showed great courage at the capture of Louisbourg in 1758 where he commanded a cutting out expedition of the French man of war, the Prudent (74). Unfortunately, the ship went aground and he was forced to set her on fire and abandon her. Admiral Edward Boscawen rewarded Laforey for his gallantry by promoting him to post-captain into the captured frigate Echo (24).

Though Laforey’s narrative in War on the Inland Sea ended with the French capture of Fort Oswego, I have a tough time letting go of this interesting man and expect that he and Robert Marshal will see one another again in another novel.

REF:

More Than Nelson: the Royal Navy 1776-1815, a Biographical History and Chronicle. https://morethannelson.com/officer/sir-john-laforey/

Portrait of a Naval Officer by John Wollaston ca. 1747-1751

The Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX

Three Decks - Warships in the Age of Sail. https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_crewman&id=2485