his career, Vernon had tried to improve naval procedures and encouraged his captains to improve manoeuvres and gun drill. He introduced new instructions to improve the flexibility of handling fleets in battle and formed the basis of continuing improvement to Admiralty fighting instructions by subsequent naval commanders. Vernon continued to serve in Parliament and remained active in the interest of naval affairs until his death at Nacton on 30 October 1757. His enduring claim to fame was his 1740 order that his sailors' rum should be diluted with water. In 1740, supposedly calling the new drink "grog" after Vernon's nickname "Old Grog", attributed to his habitual wearing of a grogram coat. Some writers have claimed that Vernon also added citrus juice to prevent spoilage and that it was found to prevent scurvy. This is not the case and is based on a misreading of Vernon's order in which, having instructed his captains to dilute the sailors's daily allowance of rum with water, he says that those members of the crew "which......are good husbandmen may from the saving of their salt provisions and bread, purchase sugar and limes to make it more palatable to them."] Scurvy, a disease of long ocean voyages — not of squadrons operating among islands where there was an abundance of fruits and fresh foodstuffs — was seen by the medical establishment (incorrectly) as the consequence of poor digestion and internal putrefaction.[4] Standard medical remedies focused on 'gingering up' the system by imbibing a variety of (ineffective) fizzy or fermenting drinks. Until an official daily issue of lemon juice was introduced into the Royal Navy in 1795, scurvy continued to be a debilitating disease which destroyed men and disabled ships and whole fleets. Practical seamen and surgeons, however, had known from practical experience that vitamin C, in the form of citrus juice, cured scurvy. In 1795, in defiance of medical opinion, the Admiralty and the admirals introduced lemon juice and sugar as a regular part of the naval diet. When a few years later Spain allied itself with France and lemons became unobtainable, West Indian limes were substituted. It was from this time that British obtained the nickname limeys. Mount Vernon George Washington's older half-brother, Lawrence Washington, served on Vernon's flagship HMS Princess Caroline (an 80-gun three-decker) as a captain of Royal Marines in 1741. He named his Virginia estate Mount Vernon in honour of his former