Admiral
Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...
Lord Amelius Beauclerk (23 May 1771 – 10 December 1846) was a
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 ...
officer.
Early life
Beauclerk was born on 23 May 1771, the third son of
Aubrey Beauclerk, 5th Duke of St Albans (1740–1802) and his wife, the former
Lady Catherine Ponsonby (1742–1789), daughter of
William Ponsonby, 2nd Earl of Bessborough. He was
baptised at
St Marylebone Parish Church, London on 15 June 1771.
He was entered on the books of the cutter in June 1782,
and in 1783 was appointed to , bearing the flag of
Vice-Admiral John Campbell on the
Newfoundland Station. Afterwards he served in the
West Indies
The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...
under
Commodore Gardner, and returned to England in 1789 as
acting
Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode.
Acting involves a broad r ...
Lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...
of . He was not confirmed as a Lieutenant until 21 September 1790,
[ at the time of the Great Spanish Armament crisis.
]
Promotion to captain
In 1792 he went to the Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
in the frigate , and on 16 September 1793 was made captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
[ by Lord Hood and appointed to the command of (28 guns). In March 1794 he was transferred to (32 guns), and attached to the ]squadron
Squadron may refer to:
* Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies
* Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, de ...
under Admiral Hotham, blockading Toulon
Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...
. ''Juno'' took part in the action of 14 March 1795, which resulted in the capture of the French ships and , and was one of the squadron, under Commodore Taylor, which convoyed the homeward trade in the following autumn, when the ''Censeur'' was recaptured by the French off Cape St Vincent on 7 October 1796.
Frigate commands
On his return to England, Lord Amelius was appointed to the frigate , of 44 guns and 251 men, and on the coast of Ireland, at the action of 13 June 1796
The Atlantic raid of June 1796 was a short campaign containing three connected minor naval engagements fought in the Western Approaches comprising Royal Navy efforts to eliminate a squadron of French frigates operating against British commerce d ...
, captured the ''Proserpine'', of 42 guns and 348 men, after a brilliant and well-managed action, in which ''Dryad'' lost only two killed and seven wounded, while ''Proserpine'' lost thirty killed and forty-five wounded. He also captured several privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...
s. In 1800 he was appointed to (40 guns), employed in the Channel
Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to:
Geography
* Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water.
Australia
* Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...
and in attendance on the King In the British English-speaking world, The King refers to:
* Charles III (born 1948), King of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms since 2022
As a nickname
* Michael Jackson (1958–2009), American singer and pop icon, nicknamed "T ...
at Weymouth.
Ship-of-the-line commands
Over the next ten years he commanded HM Ships , , and (all 74 guns) in the English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
, and in 1809 had charge of the amphibious landing of Lord Chatham's army at Walcheren
Walcheren () is a region and former island in the Dutch province of Zeeland at the mouth of the Scheldt estuary. It lies between the Eastern Scheldt in the north and the Western Scheldt in the south and is roughly the shape of a rhombus. The two ...
, and continued, during the operations on that coast, as second-in-command
Second-in-command (2i/c or 2IC) is a title denoting that the holder of the title is the second-highest authority within a certain organisation.
Usage
In the British Army or Royal Marines, the second-in-command is the deputy commander of a unit, ...
under Sir Richard Strachan.
Admiral
On 1 August 1811 he was promoted to rear-admiral,[ but during that and the two following years he continued in the ]North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
, stretching in 1813 as far as the North Cape in command of a small squadron on the look-out for the American Commodore Rogers. In 1814 he commanded in the Basque Roads
Basque Roads, sometimes referred to as ''Aix Roads'', is a roadstead (a sheltered bay) on the Biscay shore of the Charente-Maritime département of France, bounded by the Île d'Oléron to the west and the Île de Ré to the north. The port of La ...
, and conducted the negotiations for the local suspension of hostilities. On 12 August 1819 he was advanced to vice-admiral,[ and from 1824 to 1827 was Commander-in-Chief at ]Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
[ and on the coast of ]Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
. He became a full admiral
Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...
on 22 July 1830,[ and was Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth from 1836 to 1839.][
Beauclerk was a fine professional officer who benefited from his family connections to secure early promotion. Port Beauclerc, Point Amelius, Point St. Albans, Beauclerc Island, Beauclerc Peak and Amelius Island, all in ]Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
, are named for him.
He died, unmarried, at his seat, Winchfield House, near Farnborough, Hampshire
Farnborough is a town in northeast Hampshire, England, part of the borough of Rushmoor and the Farnborough/Aldershot Built-up Area. Farnborough was founded in Anglo-Saxons, Saxon times and is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. The name is ...
, on 10 December 1846.
Honours and achievements
Beauclerk became a Fellow of the Royal Society
Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...
in 1809,[ and was given the ]honorary rank
Military ranks are a system of hierarchical relationships, within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies or other institutions organized along military lines. The military rank system defines dominance, authority, and responsibility in a m ...
of Colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
of Marines
Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...
on 31 July 1810.[ He was appointed to the KCB on 2 January 1815, GCH on 29 March 1831,][ GCB on 4 August 1835,][ and First and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp to ]King William IV
William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded h ...
[ on 4 August 1839. He was also the ]hereditary
Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic inform ...
Lord of the Manor
Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...
of Winchfield, Hampshire.[
]
See also
*
References
*
;Attribution
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beauclerk, Lord Amelius
Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars
Fellows of the Royal Society
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Royal Navy admirals
Younger sons of dukes
1771 births
1846 deaths
Amelius
Amelius (; grc-gre, Ἀμέλιος), whose family name was Gentilianus, was a Neoplatonist philosopher and writer of the second half of the 3rd century.
Biography
Amelius was a native of Tuscany.Porphyry, ''Vit. Plotin.'' 7 Originally a student ...