Captain Adam Mackenzie (died 13 November 1823) was an officer of the British
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
who served during the
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
,
French Revolutionary
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are consider ...
and
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
, being present at numerous fleet actions, as well as serving as successful ship captain.
Biography
Early career
Mackenzie was present as a midshipman in several actions between the British and French during the American War: under
Augustus Keppel at
Ushant
Ushant (; br, Eusa, ; french: Ouessant, ) is a French island at the southwestern end of the English Channel which marks the westernmost point of metropolitan France. It belongs to Brittany and, in medieval terms, Léon. In lower tiers of govern ...
in 1778; under
John Byron at
Grenada
Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...
in 1779; under
Rodney at
Cape St. Vincent
Cape St. Vincent ( pt, Cabo de São Vicente, ) is a headland in the municipality of Vila do Bispo, in the Algarve, southern Portugal. It is the southwesternmost point of Portugal and of mainland Europe.
History
Cape St. Vincent was already sacr ...
and
Martinique
Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...
in 1780; and the
relief of Gibraltar under
Earl Howe
Earl Howe is a title that has been created twice in British history, for members of the Howe and Curzon-Howe family respectively.
The first creation, in the Peerage of Great Britain, was in 1788 for Richard Howe, but became extinct on his ...
in 1782.
He was eventually commissioned as a lieutenant on 3 March 1790,
and was present as the first lieutenant of the frigate at the
Glorious First of June
The Glorious First of June (1 June 1794), also known as the Fourth Battle of Ushant, (known in France as the or ) was the first and largest fleet action of the naval conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the First French Republic ...
in 1794.
HMS ''Pylades''
Promoted to commander on 22 June 1796,
he appointed to command of the 16-gun
sloop . In May 1797 he was sent by the
Port Admiral at
Sheerness to negotiate with the
mutineers at the Nore, and also assisted in securing the dockyard from any attempt by the mutineers to capture it.
''Pylades'' was then stationed principally off the Dutch coast, where Mackenzie greatly distinguished himself.
* In July 1797 he recaptured the ''Thetis'', ''Ocean'', ''John'', and ''Swan''.
* In April and May 1798 he captured the fishing vessels ''Staadt Altona'' and ''De Hoop''.
* On 27 March 1799 he captured the ''Noyt Gedacht'' and ''Goode Hoop''.
* On 12 May 1799 ''Pylades'' and captured the ''Vrow Etje''.
* ''Pylades'' was part of a squadron led by Captain Frank Sotheron in the frigate , composed of the frigate , the
brig-sloop
In the 18th century and most of the 19th, a sloop-of-war in the Royal Navy was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. The rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above; thus, the term ''sloop-of-war'' enc ...
, the sloops ''Ranger'' and , the
hired cutters ''Courier'', ''Fox'' and ''Diligent'', and the hired
lugger
A lugger is a sailing vessel defined by its rig, using the lug sail on all of its one or several masts. They were widely used as working craft, particularly off the coasts of France, England, Ireland and Scotland. Luggers varied extensively i ...
''Speculator'', that captured six Dutch ships between March and May 1799. ''Pylades'' received a share of the
prize money
Prize money refers in particular to naval prize money, usually arising in naval warfare, but also in other circumstances. It was a monetary reward paid in accordance with the prize law of a belligerent state to the crew of a ship belonging to ...
paid for three of them; ''Vinnern'' (5 May), ''Jonge Picter'' (7 May) and ''Ferwagting'' (14 May), but after deductions for the cases of six other ships (presumably disallowed by the
prize court
A prize court is a court (or even a single individual, such as an ambassador or consul) authorized to consider whether prizes have been lawfully captured, typically whether a ship has been lawfully captured or seized in time of war or under the t ...
), Mackenzie's share came to only £31 13s 0d.
* On 10 July 1799, he led an attack by boats near the island of
Ameland
Ameland (; West Frisian: It Amelân) is a municipality and one of the West Frisian Islands off the north coast of the Netherlands. It consists mostly of sand dunes. It is the third major island of the West Frisians. It neighbours islands Ter ...
, bringing out three valuable merchantmen, and burnt a
galliot
A galiot, galliot or galiote, was a small galley boat propelled by sail or oars. There are three different types of naval galiots that sailed on different seas.
A ''galiote'' was a type of French flat-bottom river boat or barge and also a flat- ...
, loaded with ordnance stores.
Mackenzie's most notable action during this time took place on 11 August 1799, when ''Pylades'', accompanied by the 14-gun sloop , under Captain James Boorder, and the 12-gun hired cutter ''Courier'', under Lieutenant Thomas Searle, reinforced with men and boats from the frigates ''Latona'' and , were sent to recapture the , a former British gun-brig, which lay moored between the island of
Schiermonnikoog and the mainland of
Groningen
Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...
. The ''Courier'', faster and smaller than her companions, was sent ahead to engage the ''Crash'', despite being heavily outgunned, with ''Courier'' mounting only twelve 4-pounder guns, while ''Crash'' was armed with eight 18-pounders, two 24-pounders and two 32-pounders, all
carronade
A carronade is a short, smoothbore, cast-iron cannon which was used by the Royal Navy. It was first produced by the Carron Company, an ironworks in Falkirk, Scotland, and was used from the mid-18th century to the mid-19th century. Its main func ...
s. Sailing into the wind in the narrow and shallow channel delayed the arrival of ''Pylades'' and ''Espiegle'', however they eventually arrived to within pistol-shot of ''Crash'', which surrendered after a determined resistance. At the same time the boats of ''Pylades'', ''Latona'' and ''Juno'' pursued a large armed schooner, forcing her to run ashore to avoid capture, before capturing a
schuyt
A Dutch barge is a traditional flat-bottomed shoal-draught barge, originally used to carry cargo in the shallow '' Zuyder Zee'' and the waterways of Netherlands. There are very many types of Dutch barge, with characteristics determined by regio ...
. Lieutenant James Slade of the ''Latona'' was given command of ''Crash'', and Lieutenant
Salusbury Pryce Humphreys of ''Juno'' that of the schuyt, which Mackenzie armed with two 12-pounder carronades and named ''Undaunted''.
Two days later, on the afternoon of the 13th, the British returned to attack a shore battery of six guns on Schiermonnikoog, and the schooner ''Vengeance'', armed with two long 24-pounders, four guns of smaller calibre, and 70 men, which was lying with a large row-boat, and several merchant vessels, near the island. ''Crash'' and ''Undaunted'', accompanied by the
launches of the ''Latona'' and ''Pylades'', each mounting a 12-pounder carronade, and several smaller boats armed with
swivels and
musket
A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually d ...
s, all under the command of Lieutenant Slade, approached to attack. Unfortunately, ''Crash'' grounded too far out to aid to Lieutenant Humphreys in ''Undaunted'', who steered towards the ''Vengeance'', arriving alongside just after her crew had abandoned her. The strong tide, and the
tumblehome
Tumblehome is a term describing a hull which grows narrower above the waterline than its beam. The opposite of tumblehome is flare.
A small amount of tumblehome is normal in many naval architecture designs in order to allow any small projecti ...
of both ships prevented Humphreys jumping aboard, so he attempted to swim across with a rope, but was defeated by the strong current and was hauled back to the ''Undaunted''. This was fortunate, for he had only just returned to his own ship when the ''Vengeance'' exploded, her crew having left a fuze burning in the
magazine
A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...
. In the meantime the boats had landed on Schiermonnikoog, captured the battery and spiked the guns. Assisted by ''Undaunted'' they then brought off two brass
field piece
Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, short range, long range, and extremely long range target engagement.
Until the early 20t ...
s, the row-boat, and twelve schuyts.
In 1847 the Admiralty authorised the issue to the surviving claimants of the
Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Schiermonnikoog 12 Augt. 1799".
Frigate captain
Mackenzie was then present at the
capture of the Dutch fleet of Vice-Admiral
Samuel Story
Samuel Story (2 October 1752 – 8 January 1811) was a vice admiral of the Batavian Republic Navy. He commanded the squadron that surrendered without a fight to the Royal Navy at the Vlieter incident in 1799.
Early life
Story was born in Maas ...
on 30 August 1799, and was promoted to
post-captain
Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of Captain (Royal Navy), captain in the Royal Navy.
The term served to distinguish those who were captains by rank from:
* Officers in command of a naval vessel, who were (and still are) ...
on 2 September. He remained on
half-pay Half-pay (h.p.) was a term used in the British Army and Royal Navy of the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries to refer to the pay or allowance an officer received when in retirement or not in actual service.
Past usage United Kingdom
In the En ...
until October 1801, when was appointed to the 28-gun , commanding her until March 1802, when the
Treaty of Amiens
The Treaty of Amiens (french: la paix d'Amiens, ) temporarily ended hostilities between France and the United Kingdom at the end of the War of the Second Coalition
The War of the Second Coalition (1798/9 – 1801/2, depending on perio ...
brought a temporary peace.
At the renewal of the war in May 1803, Mackenzie was given command of the frigate , and was employed in the blockade of the enemy's coast into the following year. He then escorted vessels taking 10 troops of horse and 1,000 infantry to the West Indies, where he had several skirmishes with the enemy's batteries, and destroyed many vessels.
On 25 January 1806, in the
Mona Passage
The Mona Passage ( es, Canal de la Mona) is a strait that separates the islands of Hispaniola and Puerto Rico. The Mona Passage connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean Sea and is an important shipping route between the Atlantic and the Panama ...
, ''Magicienne'' and the sloop ''Penguin'' captured the Spanish packet ''El Carmen'' after a chase lasting 12 hours. The Spaniard was pierced for 14 guns, but mounted only two, and had a crew of 18 men. ''Magicienne'' also formed part of the squadron under
Sir John T. Duckworth at the
Battle of San Domingo
The Battle of San Domingo was a naval battle of the Napoleonic Wars fought on 6 February 1806 between squadrons of French and British ships of the line off the southern coast of the French-occupied Spanish colonial Captaincy General of Santo Do ...
on 6 February 1806. Mackenzie was subsequently ordered to escort a convoy from Jamaica to England. Soon after leaving the
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...
, a hurricane struck, sinking twenty vessels, and obliging him to sail for
Bermuda
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, song_type = National song
, song = " Hail to Bermuda"
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to repair damage.
Ship of the line
In 1807 Mackenzie was
2nd Captain of the , the flagship of Admiral
James Gambier
Admiral of the Fleet James Gambier, 1st Baron Gambier, (13 October 1756 – 19 April 1833) was a Royal Navy officer. After seeing action at the capture of Charleston during the American Revolutionary War, he saw action again, as captain of the ...
, at the
Battle of Copenhagen. On his return he was appointed to the frigate
''President'', and soon after ordered to Brazil; from where
Sir W. Sidney Smith sent him to negotiate with the
Viceroy of Buenos Aires Santiago de Liniers
Santiago Antonio María de Liniers y Bremond, 1st Count of Buenos Aires, KOM, OM (July 25, 1753 – August 26, 1810) was a French officer in the Spanish military service, and a viceroy of the Spanish colonies of the Viceroyalty of the River ...
for the opening of the South American ports to English commerce.
On his return, he served under Rear-Admiral Michael de Courcy, who sent his ship to
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
, to attend upon and afford protection to
the Portuguese royal family. Before his departure, Mackenzie received the insignia of the Portuguese
Order of the Tower and Sword
The Ancient and Most Noble Military Order of the Tower and of the Sword, of the Valour, Loyalty and Merit ( pt, Antiga e Muito Nobre Ordem Militar da Torre e Espada, do Valor, Lealdade e Mérito), before 1910 Royal Military Order of the Tower an ...
. From August 1810 until January 1812
he commanded the
74-gun
The "seventy-four" was a type of two- decked sailing ship of the line, which nominally carried 74 guns. It was developed by the French navy in the 1740s, replacing earlier classes of 60- and 62-gun ships, as a larger complement to the recently-de ...
in the Channel and North Sea.
Post-war career
On 13 May 1820, Mackenzie was appointed to command of the frigate , and in January 1821 to the ship to serve on the coast of South America. He rounded
Cape Horn
Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramírez ...
into the Pacific a few months later, during the southern winter, to protect British interests and property during the
Wars of Independence
This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars
Wars of national liberation or national liberation revolutions are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against for ...
. ''Superb'' was stationed as a
guard ship
A guard ship is a warship assigned as a stationary guard in a port or harbour, as opposed to a coastal patrol boat, which serves its protective role at sea.
Royal Navy
In the Royal Navy of the eighteenth century, peacetime guard ships were usual ...
at Plymouth by mid-1822.
Death
Mackenzie died in November 1823
and was buried at
Stoke
Stoke is a common place name in the United Kingdom.
Stoke may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
The largest city called Stoke is Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. See below.
Berkshire
* Stoke Row, Berkshire
Bristol
* Stoke Bishop
* Stok ...
, his funeral attended by over 300 sailors and
Royal Marines
The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...
. The event was controversial, as after his death a woman had emerged claiming to be Mackenzie's secret wife and laying claim to his inheritance. The local vicar, Mr. Ley, carried out an investigation and determined that the woman had once been a mistress of Captain Mackenzie. Upon the end of their relationship she had conducted a marriage with a shipwright named George Condy, who had posed as Captain Mackenzie. Condy was confronted about the accusations and committed suicide, while the woman was arrested for attempting to fraudulently lay claim to Mackenzie's military pension.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mackenzie, Adam
Year of birth unknown
1823 deaths
Royal Navy personnel of the American Revolutionary War
Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars
Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars