• Admiral of the Royal Navy Edward Boscawen, 1711
• General of the British Army John Forbes, 1707

 

In his political role, he served as a Member of Parliament for Truro from 1742 until his death although due to his almost constant naval employment he does not appear to have been particularly active in the role. He also served as one of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty on the Board of Admiralty from 1751 and as a member of the Privy Council from 1758 until his death in 1761.

The Honourable Edward Boscawen was born in Tregothnan, Cornwall, England, on 19 August 1711, the third son of Hugh Boscawen, 1st Viscount Falmouth (1680 – 1734) by his wife Charlotte Godfrey (d.1754) elder daughter and co-heiress of Colonel Charles Godfrey, master of the jewel office by his wife Arabella Churchill, the King's mistress.

The young Edward joined the navy at the age of 12 aboard the HMS Superb of 60 guns. The Superb was sent to the West Indies with Admiral Francis Hosier. Boscawen stayed with Superb for three years during the Anglo - Spanish War. He was subsequently reassigned to the HMS Canterbury, HMS Hector, and HMS Namur under Admiral Sir Charles Wager and was aboard the Namur when she sailed into Cadiz and Livorno following the Treaty of Seville that ended hostilities between Britain and Spain. On 25 May 1732 Boscawen was promoted lieutenant and in the August of the same year rejoined his old ship the 44 gun fourth rate Hector in the Mediterranean. He remained with her until 16 October 1735 when he was promoted to the 70 gun HMS Grafton. On 12 March 1736 Boscawen was promoted by Admiral Sir John Norris to the temporary command of the 50 gun HMS Leopard. His promotion was confirmed by the Board of Admiralty. In June 1738 Boscawen was given command of HMS Shoreham a small sixth rate of 20 guns. He was ordered to accompany Admiral Edward Vernon to the West Indies in preparation for the oncoming war with Spain.

The War of Jenkins' Ear proved to be Boscawen’s first opportunity for action and when the Shoreham was declared unfit for service he volunteered to accompany Vernon and the fleet sent to attack Porto Bello.

During the siege Boscawen was ordered with Sir Charles Knowles to destroy the forts. The task took three weeks and 122 barrels of gunpowder to accomplish but the British leveled the forts surrounding the town. Vernon’s achievement was hailed in Britain as an outstanding feat of arms and in the furor that surrounded the announcement the patriotic song "Rule, Britannia" was played for the first time. Streets were named after Porto Bello throughout Britain and its colonies. When the fleet returned to Port Royal, Jamaica, the Shoreham had been refitted and Boscawen resumed command of her.

In 1741 Boscawen was part of the fleet sent to attack another Caribbean port, Cartagena de Indias. Large reinforcements had been sent from Britain, including 8,000 soldiers who were landed to attack the chain of fortresses surrounding the Spanish colonial city. The Spanish had roughly 6,000 troops made up of regular soldiers, sailors and local loyalist natives. The siege lasted for over two months during which period the British troops suffered over 18,000 casualties, the vast majority from disease. Vernon’s fleet suffered from dysentery, scurvy, yellow fever and other illnesses that were widespread throughout the Caribbean during the period. As a result of the battle Prime Minister Robert Walpole’s government collapsed and George II removed his promise of support to the Austrians if the Prussians advanced into Silesia. The defeat of Vernon was a contributing factor to the increased hostilities of the War of Austrian Succession. Boscawen had however distinguished himself once more. The land forces that he commanded had been instrumental in capturing Fort San Luis and Boca Chica Castle, and together with Knowles he destroyed the captured forts when the siege was abandoned. For his services he was promoted to command the 70 gun Prince Frederick to replace Lord Aubrey Beauclerk who had died during the siege.

In 1742 Boscawen returned in the Prince Frederick to England where she was paid off and Boscawen joined the Fleet commanded by Admiral Norris in the newly built 60 gun HMS Dreadnought. In the same year he was returned as a Member of Parliament for Truro, a position he held until his death.

In 1744 the French attempted an invasion of England and Boscawen was with the fleet under Admiral Norris when the French fleet were sighted. The French under Admiral Rocquefeuil retreated and the British attempts to engage were confounded by a violent storm that swept the English Channel.

Whilst cruising the Channel, Boscawen had the good fortune to capture the French frigate Médée. She was the first capture of an enemy ship made during the War of Austrian Succession and was commanded by M. de Hocquart. The Médée was sold and became a successful privateer under her new name Boscawen commanded by George Walker.

At the end of 1744 Boscawen was given command of the HMS Royal Sovereign, guardship at the Nore anchorage. He commanded her until 1745 when he was appointed to another of his old ships HMS Namur that had been reduced (razéed) from 90 guns to 74 guns. He was appointed to command a small squadron under Vice Admiral Martin in the Channel.

In 1747 Boscawen was ordered to join Admiral Anson and took an active part in the first Battle of Cape Finisterre. The British fleet sighted the French fleet on 3 May. The French fleet under Admiral de la Jonquière was convoying its merchant fleet to France and the British attacked. The French fleet was almost completely annihilated with all but two of the escorts taken and six merchantmen. Boscawen was injured in the shoulder during the battle by a musket ball. Once more the French captain, M. de Hocquart became Boscawen’s prisoner and was taken to England.

Boscawen was promoted rear admiral of the blue on 15 July 1747 and was appointed to command a joint operation being sent to the East Indies. With his flag in the Namur and five other line of battle ships a few smaller men of war and a number of transports Boscawen sailed from England on 4 November 1747. On the outward voyage Boscawen made an abortive attempt to capture Mauritius by surprise but was driven off by French forces. Boscawen continued on arriving at Fort St. David near the town of Cuddalore on 29 July 1748 and took over command from Admiral Griffin. Boscawen had been ordered to capture and destroy the main French settlement in India at Pondicherry. Factors such as Boscawen’s lack of knowledge and experience of land offensives, the failings of the engineers and artillery officers under his command, a lack of secrecy surrounding the operation and the skill of the French governor Joseph François Dupleix combined to thwarrt the attack. The British forces amounting to some 5,000 men captured and destroyed the outlying fort of Aranciopang. This capture was the only success of the operation and after failing to breach the walls of the city the British forces withdrew. Among the combatants were a young ensign Robert Clive, later known as Clive of India and Major Stringer Lawrence, later Commander - in - Chief, India. Lawrence was captured by the French during the retreat and exchanged after the news of the Treaty of Aix - la - Chapelle had reached India. Over the monsoon season Boscawen remained at Fort St David. Fortunately, for the Admiral and his staff, when a storm hit the British outpost Boscawen was ashore but his flagship the Namur went down with over 600 men aboard.

Boscawen returned to England in 1750. In 1751 Anson became First Lord of the Admiralty and asked Boscawen to serve on the Admiralty Board. Boscawen remained one of the Lord Commissioners of the Admiralty until his death.

On 4 February 1755 Boscawen was promoted vice - admiral and given command of a squadron on the North American Station. Despite the fact that Britain and France were not formally at war, preparations were being made for a conflict by then considered inevitable. A squadron of partially disarmed French ships of the line were dispatched to Canada loaded with reinforcements and Boscawen was ordered to intercept them. The French ambassador to London, the Duc de Mirepoix had informed the government of George II that any act of hostility taken by British ships would be considered an act of war. Thick fog both obstructed Boscawen's reconnaissance and scattered the French ships, but on 8 June Boscawen’s fleet sighted the Alcide, Lys and Dauphin Royal off Cape Ray off Newfoundland. In the ensuing engagement the British captured the Alcide and Lys but the Dauphin Royal escaped into the fog. Among the 1,500 men made prisoner was the captain of the Alcide. For M. de Hocquart it was the third time that Boscawen had fought him and taken his ship. Pay amounting to £80,000 was captured aboard the Lys. Boscawen, as admiral of the fleet, would have been entitled to a sizeable share in the prize money. The British fleet headed for Halifax to regroup but a fever spread through the ships and the Admiral was forced to return to England. The fever killed almost 2,000 of his men.

Boscawen returned to the Channel Fleet and was commander - in - chief Portsmouth during the trial of Admiral John Byng. Boscawen signed the order of execution after the King had refused to grant the unfortunate admiral a pardon.

In October 1757 Boscawen was second in command under Admiral Edward Hawke. On 7 February 1758 Boscawen was promoted to Admiral of the blue squadron and ordered to take a fleet to North America. Once there, he took naval command at the Siege of Louisburg during June and July 1758. On this occasion rather than entrust the land assault to a naval commander, the army was placed under the command of General Jeffrey Amherst and General James Wolfe. The Siege of Louisburg was one of the key contributors to the capture of French possessions in Canada. Wolfe used Louisburg as a staging point for the Siege of Quebec and the capture of the town took away from the French the only effective naval base that they had in Canada, as well as leading to the destruction of four of their ships of the line and the capture of another. On his return from North America Boscawen was awarded the Thanks of both Houses of Parliament for his service. The King made Boscawen a Privy Counsellor in recognition for his continued service both as a member of the Board of Admiralty and commander - in - chief.

In April 1759 Boscawen took command of a fleet bound for the Mediterranean. His aim was to prevent another planned invasion of Britain by the French. With his flag aboard the newly constructed HMS Namur of 90 guns he blockaded Toulon and kept the fleet of Admiral de le Clue - Sabran in port. In order to tempt the French out of port, Boscawen sent three of his ships to bombard the port. The guns of the batteries surrounding the town drove off the British ships. Having sustained damage in the action and due to the constant weathering of ships on blockade duty Boscawen took his fleet to Gibraltar to refit and resupply. On 17 August a frigate that had been ordered to watch the Straits of Gibraltar signaled that the French fleet were in sight. Boscawen took his available ships to sea to engage de la Clue. During the night the British chased the French fleet and five of de la Clue’s ships managed to separate from the fleet and escape. The others were driven in to a bay near Lagos, Portugal. The British overhauled the remaining seven ships of the French fleet and engaged. The French line of battle ship Centaur began a duel with the Namur but was outgunned and struck her colors. The damage aboard the Namur forced Boscawen to shift his flag to the HMS Newark of 80 guns. Whilst transferring between ships, the small boat that Boscawen was in was hit by an enemy cannon ball. Boscawen took off his wig and plugged the hole. Two more French ships, the Souverain and Guerrier escaped during the second night and on the morning of the 19 August the British captured the Téméraire and Modeste and drove the French flagship Océan and Redoubtable ashore where they foundered and were set on fire by their crews to stop the British from taking them off and repairing them. The five French ships that avoided the battle made their way to Cadiz where Boscawen ordered Admiral Broderick to blockade the port. There was a certain controversy surrounding the battle in that the British pursued the French into the waters of a neutral country and there engaged the fleet. It is possible that this controversy prevented Boscawen from receiving as much recognition as other admiral’s have received for lesser victories.

Boscawen returned to England where he was promoted General of Marines in recognition of his service. He was given the Freedom of the City of Edinburgh. Admiral Boscawen returned to sea for the final time and took his station off the west coast of France around Quiberon Bay. After a violent attack of what was later diagnosed as Typhoid fever the Admiral came ashore where, on 10 January 1761, he died at his home in Hatchlands Park in Surrey. His body was taken to St. Michael’s Church, Penkivel, Cornwall where he was buried. The monument at the church begins:

William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham and Prime Minister once said to Boscawen: "When I apply to other Officers respecting any expedition I may chance to project, they always raise difficulties, you always find expedients."

In 1742 Boscawen married Frances Glanville with whom he had three sons and two daughters. The youngest son, George succeeded his uncle as third Viscount Falmouth. After Boscawen's death, Frances became an important hostess of Bluestocking meetings.

The town of Boscawen, New Hampshire, is named after him, as are Boscawen Street and Boscawen Park in Truro, Cornwall.
Two ships and a Stone frigate of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Boscawen, after Admiral Boscawen, whilst another ship was planned but the plans were shelved before she was commissioned.

The stone frigate was a training base for naval cadets and in consequence three ships were renamed HMS Boscawen whilst being used as the home base for the training establishment.

"To be sure I lose the fruits of the earth, but then, I am gathering the flowers of the Sea" (1756)
"Never fire, my lads, till you see the whites of the Frenchmen's eyes."

When the French and Indian War (called the Seven Years' War in Europe) broke out, Forbes was sent to the fighting in the New World. His first action in North America came in 1757 when he was dispatched to reinforce an attack on the French fortress of Louisburg in what is now Nova Scotia.

In December 1757, he was promoted to brigadier general and assigned to command an expedition to capture Fort Duquesne, which guarded the vital forks of the Ohio River. General Edward Braddock had tried and failed to capture the fort in 1755, with disastrous consequences for both the British army and Braddock himself, who was mortally wounded in a bloody engagement nine miles short of the objective. Lt. Colonel George Washington, who had been a member of Braddock’s campaign, accompanied the expedition, serving at the fore of one of the Virginia provincial regiments. A Swiss born colonel of the Royal American Regiment, Henry Bouquet, served as Forbes' second - in - command.

In the summer of 1758, Forbes began his campaign to capture Fort Duquesne. His plan was to complete slow and methodical march to Fort Duquesne, taking great pains to secure his lines of supply and communication with a string of forts along a newly constructed road from the Pennsylvania frontier. Rather than move on Fort Duquesne via Braddock’s road, which began in western Maryland, Forbes began his march in eastern Pennsylvania. This decision led to major political infighting among the Pennsylvanians and Virginians in his expedition. Both colonies claimed the Ohio River country. Forbes was able to quell the dissent by agreeing to improve Braddock's original road, but travel the route through Pennsylvania, which was longer but required fewer river crossings. This also gave the tactical advantage of forcing the French to divide their assets and defend both approaches.

With just under 7,000 regular and provincial troops, Forbes began his push from his main stores in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, into the trackless wilderness of western Pennsylvania. West of Raystown (now Bedford, Pennsylvania) he cut a wagon road over the Allegheny Mountains, later known as Forbes Road, building a series of fortifications such as the fort at Raystown and Fort Ligonier to serve as supply depots.

Forbes authorized a reconnaissance in force. In the Battle of Fort Duquesne, on 15 September 1758, the advance column under Major James Grant was bloodily defeated by French and Indian warriors who sallied from the fort in greater numbers than Grant anticipated, upsetting his deliberate (and likely overreaching) plan to set an ambush for his enemy. With this defeat, Forbes decided to wait until the spring to attack.

In the fall of 1758, Conrad Weiser arbitrated a council at Easton, Pennsylvania, during which the tribes in the Ohio Valley agreed to abandon the French. This collapse of Native American support was a factor in the French decision to abandon Fort Duquesne.

Soon after his decision to wait, Forbes received word that the French garrison at Fort Frontenac had fallen and that Fort Duquesne had been largely evacuated. Forbes decided to launch an immediate attack on the weakened fort. Forbes divided his command into three columns in preparation to make the final assault on the fortress. But the French, who were now hopelessly outnumbered, abandoned and razed Fort Duquesne before the British arrived.

Forbes occupied the burned fort on 25 November 1758. He immediately ordered the construction of a new fortification to be named Fort Pitt, after British Secretary of State William Pitt the Elder. He also named the settlement between the rivers "Pittsburgh", which is the location of modern Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Forbes’s health, which had been poor for much of the campaign, began a rapid decline during his occupation of Fort Pitt. On 3 December 1758, now gravely ill, Forbes began the arduous journey back to Philadelphia leaving Colonel Hugh Mercer in command of Fort Pitt. General Forbes died in Philadelphia on 11 March 1759. He was buried in Christ Church in Philadelphia.

Forbes Field, which served as the home field for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Pittsburgh Steelers and the Pitt Panthers football team, was named after John Forbes. Likewise was Forbes Avenue in Downtown Pittsburgh.