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{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox military person
|name=John Pasco
|birth_date=20 December 1774
|death_date=16 November 1853
|birth_place=[[England]]
|death_place=[[East Stonehouse]], [[England]]
|image=Rear-Admiral John Pasco (1774-1853), by British school of the 1850s.jpg
|caption=Rear Admiral John Pasco, ca. 1850
|nickname=
|allegiance=
|serviceyears=1784-1853
|rank=[[Rear Admiral]]
|branch=[[Royal Navy]]
|commands=
|unit=
|battles=[[Battle of Trafalgar]]
|awards=
|relations=son [[Crawford Pasco]] (1818–1898)
|laterwork=
}}

Rear-Admiral '''John Pasco''' (1774–1853) served in the [[Royal Navy]] between 1784 and 1853, eventually rising to the rank of [[Rear admiral (Royal Navy)|rear admiral]]. He acted as signal officer on board {{HMS|Victory}} at the [[Battle of Trafalgar]] and notably advised on the wording of [[Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson|Nelson]]'s famous signal "[[England expects that every man will do his duty]]".

==Early life==
Pasco was born on 20 December 1774 (some accounts say 29 December) and entered the Royal Navy on 4 June 1784 as captain's servant, on {{HMS|Druid|1783|6}}. In 1786 he moved to {{HMS|Pegasus|1779|6}}, under the command of the then Prince William Henry (later [[William IV of the United Kingdom|William IV]]), spending about 12 months on duty in the [[West Indies]] and along the coast of North America. He served on various ships after 1787 and by 1790 he had risen to the rank of [[midshipman]] under Captain John Manley on {{HMS|Syren|1782|6}}. He continued serving on various ships as midshipman and [[master's mate]] until 1795, mainly in the [[English Channel]] and West Indies.

On 15 July 1795 he was promoted to the rank of [[Lieutenant (navy)|lieutenant]] and assigned to {{HMS|Majestic|1785|6}}. In 1796 he joined {{HMS|Beaulieu}} under Lancelot Skynner (who, three years later, captained [[French frigate Lutine (1779)|HMS ''Lutine'']] on her last voyage). During his service aboard ''Beaulieu'' he assisted in the capture of [[St Lucia]] and on 27 December 1799 he became [[first lieutenant]] aboard {{HMS|Immortalite|1796|6}}. In 1801, while still on ''Immortalite'', he volunteered to command a boat to cut out the French [[corvette]] ''Chevrette'' from [[Camaret Bay]] on the north coast of [[Brittany]]; however, bad weather frustrated the plan.

On 7 April 1803 he was assigned to Nelson's [[flagship]] {{HMS|Victory}}. While serving on ''Victory'' he assisted in the capture of the French 32-gun [[frigate]] {{ship|French frigate|Embuscade|1789|2}}, was involved in the blockade of [[Toulon]] and pursued the French squadrons in the West Indies.
[[File:John pasco 1805.PNG|left|thumb|A portrait of Pasco painted around 1805]]

==Trafalgar==
On the day of the [[Battle of Trafalgar]] Nelson appointed Pasco as signal officer. In this role he was to hoist the famous signal "[[England expects that every man will do his duty]]". [[File:England Expects Signal.svg|right|thumb|Nelson's famous signal, relayed using [[Home Riggs Popham|Popham's]] "Telegraphic Signals of Marine Vocabulary"]]
Nelson asked Pasco to send the message "England confides that every man will do his duty". Pasco suggested  "expects" be substituted for "confides", since the former was in the signal book, whereas confides would have to be spelt out letter-by-letter. Nelson quickly agreed to the change, Pasco recorded:
{{cquote|His Lordship came to me on the poop, and after ordering certain signals to be made, about a quarter to noon, he said, 'Mr Pasco, I wish to say to the fleet, ENGLAND CONFIDES THAT EVERY MAN WILL DO HIS DUTY' and he added 'You must be quick, for I have one more to make which is for close action'. I replied, 'If your Lordship will permit me to substitute the confides for expects the signal will soon be completed, because the word expects is in the vocabulary, and confides must be spelt', His Lordship replied, in haste, and with seeming satisfaction, 'That will do, Pasco, make it directly'.}}

Nelson then ordered "Engage the enemy more closely" to be sent. Pasco ran it up and it remained flying until shot away in the battle. Pasco was severely wounded in the right side and arm with [[grapeshot]] early in the engagement and was carried below decks.

It was Nelson's personal practice to assign the officer first on his list for promotion to the role of signal officer, and the second on his list to the position of First Lieutenant. [[John Quilliam]], the Sixth Lieutenant, was appointed to the position of First Lieutenant vacated by Pasco's promotion to signal officer during the battle. It is likely that Pasco would have been advanced, but Nelson's death meant standard Navy traditions were followed rather than his personal preferences - Quilliam was promoted to Captain while Pasco and the other lieutenants were only made up to [[Commander]].

At Nelson's [[State funeral#United Kingdom|state funeral]] in January 1806 Pasco was given the honour of accompanying the coffin to St Paul's Cathedral with some of the other officers (and one warrant officer) from the ''Victory''.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=15881|page=59|date=14 January 1806}}</ref>

==Later life and service==
With no ship to command and nursing an injury, Pasco returned to land. He had married Rebecca Penfold on 1 September 1805, and would eventually have nine children with her, six sons (two of whom died as children) and three daughters. He remained without a ship on half-pay until 1808. For his injury he received a pension of £250 and a grant from the [[Lloyd's Patriotic Fund]].

In May 1808 he managed to obtain the command of [[Ann and Amelia (1781 ship)|HMS ''Mediator'']] for three months. In November 1809 he took command of {{HMS|Hindostan|1804|6}} and sailed her to [[New South Wales]], with his wife and two of his children accompanying him on the voyage. During the voyage he showed an eagerness in pursuing and engaging any unknown ships, perhaps in an attempt to provide for his growing family from the spoils.

On his return he was appointed to {{HMS|Tartarus|1806|6}} where on 3 April 1811 he was appointed [[Captain (Royal Navy)|captain]]. Stationed in [[Halifax, Nova Scotia|Halifax]], he captured several French and American vessels including in August 1811, an American [[Slave ship|slave schooner]] named ''Severn'', which became the highly successful British privateer {{ship||Liverpool Packet}}.

In June 1815 he assumed command of {{HMS|Rota|1807|6}} in [[Lisbon]]. Then on 20 August 1815, he transferred to {{HMS|Lee|1814|6}}, stationed in the English Channel. During this last appointment he took several smuggling vessels. He remained captain of ''Lee'' until she was [[paid off]] in September 1818.

Thereafter, Pasco remained without a ship for almost 30 years. Still, on 19 February 1842 he was selected as a recipient of the Captain's Good Service Pension. In 1843 he was married again, to Eliza, the widow of the Royal Marine, Captain Weaver.

In 1846 he was placed in command of HMS ''Victory'' at [[Portsmouth]]. He was promoted to [[Rear-Admiral of the Blue]] on 22 September 1847, [[Rear-Admiral of the White]] on 9 October 1849, and [[Rear-admiral of the red|Rear-Admiral of the Red]] sometime in 1852. He died in [[East Stonehouse]] on 16 November 1853.

==See also==
* {{cite wikisource |first=William Richard |last=O'Byrne |chapter=Pasco, John |title=A Naval Biographical Dictionary |year=1849 |publisher=[[John Murray (publishing house)|John Murray]]}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
*{{Cite web|title=A Naval Biographical Dictionary|author=William Richard O'Byrne|author-link=William Richard O'Byrne|year=1849|url=http://www.aboutnelson.co.uk/30pascoobyrne.htm|accessdate=5 January 2007 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20061206071748/http://www.aboutnelson.co.uk/30pascoobyrne.htm <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 6 December 2006}}
*{{Cite web|title=Obituary from The Gentleman's Magazine|url=http://www.aboutnelson.co.uk/30pascoobituary.htm|year=1854|accessdate=5 January 2007 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20061206071950/http://www.aboutnelson.co.uk/30pascoobituary.htm <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 6 December 2006}}
*{{Cite web|title=PASCO, John|url=http://www.lib.mq.edu.au/all/journeys/people/profiles/pasco.html|accessdate=5 January 2007}}
*{{Cite web|title=Information Sheet No. 18, John Pasco|url=http://www.royalnavalmuseum.org/info_sheets_john_pasco.htm|publisher=Royal Naval Museum|accessdate=5 January 2007}}
*{{Cite web|title=Patronage and Promotion|url=http://www.nelsonsnavy.co.uk/patronage.html|publisher=Nelson's Navy|accessdate=5 January 2007}}
*{{Cite web|title=Nelson and His Navy - England or Nelson? |url=http://www.hms.org.uk/nelsonsnavyee.htm |publisher=Historical Maritime Society |accessdate=5 January 2007 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060928143122/http://www.hms.org.uk/nelsonsnavyee.htm |archivedate=28 September 2006 }}
*{{Cite web|url=http://www.nelson-society.org.uk/html/body_england_expects.htm |title=England Expects |publisher=The Nelson Society |accessdate=5 January 2007 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20050324080325/http://www.nelson-society.org.uk/html/body_england_expects.htm |archivedate=24 March 2005 }}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pasco John}}
[[Category:Royal Navy rear admirals]]
[[Category:Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars]]
[[Category:Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars]]
[[Category:1774 births]]
[[Category:1853 deaths]]