Admiral Sir Andrew Mitchell, KB (1757 – 26 February 1806) was an admiral of the blue in the

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 ...

. He married Mary Uniacke (daughter of

Richard John Uniacke Richard John Uniacke (November 22, 1753 – October 11, 1830) was an abolitionist, lawyer, politician, member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly and Attorney General of Nova Scotia. According to historian Brian Cutherburton, Uniacke was " ...

) in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348 ...

on 3 May 1805.

Career

Mitchell entered service in 1771 as a midshipman on HMS ''Deal Castle''. He was promoted to

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 ...

in 1776, while serving 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 Greate ...

and again promoted to

post-captain Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of 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) addressed as captain ...

, skipping the rank of commander, after distinguishing himself in action in 1778. He distinguished himself again while serving with the 1782 expedition of Sir Edward Hughes in India. On 12 August 1782, Mitchell was captain of the frigate , when she encountered the French frigate ''Bellone'' off Friars Hood, Ceylon. After two-and-a-half hours, ''Bellone'' sailed away. ''Coventry'' had suffered 15 men killed and 29 wounded in the engagement. When Hughes returned to England, he left Mitchell in charge of the

East Indies Station The East Indies Station was a formation and command of the British Royal Navy. Created in 1744 by the Admiralty, it was under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies. Even in official documents, the term ''East Indies Station'' was ...

commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore ...

. Mitchell returned to England in 1786. In February, 1795 he received command of a ship in the Channel fleet of Admiral

Howe Howe may refer to: People and fictional characters * Howe (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters * Howe Browne, 2nd Marquess of Sligo (1788–1845), Irish peer and colonial governor Titles * Earl Howe, two titles, an ext ...

. In June, 1795 he was promoted

rear-admiral of the blue The Rear-Admiral of the Blue was a senior rank of the 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 ...

, and in 1799 vice-admiral and given the command of Sheerness. In August, 1799 he conducted the naval part of the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland. Here he obtained the surrender of a squadron of the navy of the Batavian Republic in the Vlieter Incident. For his service in this expedition he was appointed

Knight Companion of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as on ...

, with his own ribbon (no stall being vacant at this time) by

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

in 1800. He was voted the thanks of Parliament, and the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

presented him with a sword of honour at a value of 100

guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, from where m ...

. He was commander-in-chief of the

North America and West Indies Station The North America and West Indies Station was a formation or command of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy stationed in North American waters from 1745 to 1956. The North American Station was separate from the Jamaica Station until 1830 when the ...

from 1802 to his death in 1806. His wife Mary died years later and was buried in the crypt of

St. Paul's Church (Halifax, Nova Scotia) St. Paul's Church is an evangelical Anglican church in downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia, within the Diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island of the Anglican Church of Canada. It is located at the south end of the Grand Parade, an open squar ...

In 1805 he was raised to the rank of admiral of the blue. He died in Bermuda after a severe illness on 26 February 1806.Chalmers, p. 307

Sources

References

* (1844) ''Historical and statistical account of Dunfermline'', Edinburgh and London, William Blackwood & Sons, pp. 306–307 , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Andrew Royal Navy personnel of the American Revolutionary War Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Royal Navy admirals Knights Companion of the Order of the Bath 1757 births 1806 deaths