John Wainwright

John Wainwright CB was an officer in the Royal Navy. Career In 1806, he became captain of the frigate HMS Chiffonne and, in 1809, was the commodore of a squadron sent to suppress pirates in the Persian Gulf.

After having led that joint-services expedition to ‘burn the Pirates out of the Gulf’, he was awarded a scimitar by a grateful emir and a gift ‘for plate’ by the Honourable East India Company. In recompense for the period without the opportunity to capture prizes, he was invited to escort on Chiffonne the 1810 Trade fleet from India to China, involving a lucrative ‘freight’ fee.

At the end of 1813, he was appointed to command the . Wainwright was exchanged commands with Captain Alexander Skene of the . In 1814, he captained Admiral Cochrane's flagship, , and saw action against the Chesapeake Bay Flotilla of Joshua Barney in the War of 1812.,

Later life and family In 1819, he became lieutenant governor of the Royal Naval College in Portsmouth but died within ten days.