Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Loring, John Wentworth
LORING, Sir JOHN WENTWORTH (1775–1852), admiral, born in America on 13 Oct. 1775, was grandson of Commodore Joshua Loring, who commanded the flotilla employed on the North American lakes in the seven years' war, and died in 1781 (Charnock, Biog. Nav. vi. 260). His father, Joshua Loring, was high sheriff of Massachusetts before the revolt of the colonies, and afterwards coming to England settled in Berkshire. John Loring entered the navy in June 1789 on board the Salisbury, carrying the flag of Vice-admiral Milbanke on the Newfoundland station. He returned to England in 1791, continued serving on the home station and in the Mediterranean, and as midshipman of the Victory was severely wounded at the evacuation of Toulon on 17 Dec. 1793. At the siege of Bastia he had command of a gunboat, and was ‘employed every night from dark to dawn in watching the Molehead.’ On 24 May 1794 he was promoted to be lieutenant of the Flêche sloop, from which he was shortly afterwards moved to the St. George, carrying the flag of Sir Hyde Parker (1739–1807) [q. v.]. In her he was present in the two actions off Toulon, 13–14 March, 13 July 1795. In the beginning of 1796 he followed Parker to the Britannia, in which he returned to England, and towards the end of the year went out to the West Indies in the Comet fireship, to rejoin Parker, then commander-in-chief at Jamaica.
In June 1798 Loring was appointed acting commander of the Rattler sloop, and in September of the Lark, to which he was confirmed on 3 Jan. 1799. In the Lark he cruised with marked success against the enemy's privateers and merchant ships, and in acknowledgment of his energy and zeal he was publicly thanked by Sir Hugh Seymour, and appointed acting captain of the Abergavenny of 54 guns, April 1801. In October 1801 he was moved to the Syren frigate, and in March 1802, while cruising off Cape François, ‘with a degree of coolness that called forth the admiration and applause of Sir John Duckworth,’ then commander-in-chief, he suppressed ‘a most dangerous mutiny, the crew having combined to take possession of the ship.’ Consequent on Duckworth's recommendation the admiralty confirmed his post rank to 28 April 1802, the day before the general promotion which had been made in honour of the peace.
In 1803–4 Loring commanded the Utrecht, flagship of successive admirals in the Downs, and in 1805 the Aurora, in a voyage to Bermuda and back; but his war service is chiefly identified with the Niobe, a 38-gun frigate, which he commanded on the coast of France from November 1805 to 1813. It was in the Niobe that on the dark night of 28 March 1806 he pursued and took silent possession of the Néarque brig of 16 guns out of a squadron of three frigates of equal or superior force (James, iv. 159; Troude, iii. 436). On 13 Nov. 1810 he took part with Captain Grant of the Diana, also of 38 guns, in driving under the batteries of La Hougue two 40-gun French frigates, one of which got on the rocks and was burnt by her own people, while the other escaped for the time, only to be driven on shore and burnt at Cape Barfleur on 24 March 1811, by a British squadron, of which the Niobe was one (James, v. 107, 211; Troude, iv. 113, 134). Thirteen days previously the Niobe, while watching the port of Havre, had captured the Loup Marin, privateer, of 16 guns. In 1813–14 Loring commanded the Impregnable as flag-captain to Admiral William Young [q. v.] in the North Sea. On 4 June 1815 he was nominated a C.B.; from 1816 to 1819 he was superintendent of the Ordinary at Sheerness, and on 4 Nov. 1819 he was appointed lieutenant-governor of the Royal Naval College at Portsmouth. This post he held till his promotion to flag-rank on 10 Jan. 1837. He was nominated a K.C.H. on 30 April 1837, K.C.B. on 4 July 1840, became vice-admiral on 9 Nov. 1846, and admiral on 8 July 1851. He died at Ryde on 29 July 1852. Loring married in 1804 Anna, daughter of Vice-admiral Patton, and left issue three daughters and three sons, the second of whom was Admiral Sir William Loring, K.C.B.
[O'Byrne's Nav. Biog. Dict.; Marshall's Roy. Nav. Biog. iv. (vol. ii. pt. ii.) 544; Gent. Mag. 1852, pt. ii. p. 312; Notes and Queries, 6th ser. ii. 432; James's Naval Hist. (edit. of 1860); Troude's Batailles navales de la France.]