Peter Warren

Who was Peter Warren?

Sir Peter Warren, KB was a British naval officer from Ireland who commanded the naval forces in the attack on the French fortress of Louisbourg, Nova Scotia in 1745. He later sat as MP for Westminster.

He was the youngest son of Michael Warren and Catherine Plunkett, née Alymer.

A brother of his mother was Matthew Aylmer, 1st Baron Aylmer, admiral and commander-in-chief, had entered the navy under the protection of the Duke of Buckingham, as a lieutenant, in 1678.

Warren signed on as an ordinary seaman in Dublin, Ireland in 1716 when he was 13 years old. He rapidly rose in the ranks, becoming a Captain in 1727. His ship patrolled American colonial waters to provide protection from French forces. He became involved in colonial politics and land speculation. In 1731, he married Susannah Delancey, whose brother James was chief justice and lieutenant governor of the province of New York.

Warren's lands included several thousand acres on the south side of the Mohawk River west of Schenectady, New York. In 1738, he hired his nephew William Johnson to manage these western lands. In 1741, Warren built Warren House, a mansion overlooking the Hudson River on his 300-acre estate in Greenwich Village. In 1744, he was made commodore and commanded a 16 ship squadron off the Leeward Islands, capturing 24 ships in four months. In 1745, Warren commanded a group of ships that supported the Massachusetts forces in the capture of Louisbourg. The prize system of the time allowed naval officers to profit from the capture of enemy ships, and this expedition earned Warren a fortune, a promotion to the rank of Rear Admiral of the Blue, and a knighthood.