Robert Swanton


Robert Swanton was a Royal Navy officer who became commander-in-chief of the Leeward Islands Station.

Naval career

Swanton joined the Royal Navy in January 1734. Promoted to captain in 1743, he took command of the fifth-rate HMS Mary Galley in August 1744, the third-rate HMS Hampton Court in 1757 and the third-rate HMS Vanguard later that year. In HMS Vanguard he saw action at the Siege of Louisbourg in 1758 and at the Battle of Neuville in 1760 during the French and Indian War. He became commander-in-chief of the Leeward Islands Station in 1763.