Rear-Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarded ...

Charles Steevens (c. 1705 – 20 May 1761) 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 who became Commander-in-Chief 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 ...

Naval career

Born the fifth son of John Steevens, Steevens 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 sub ...

in the Royal Navy in 1729.Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
/ref> In 1738 as a lieutenant on HMS ''Falmouth'' he was involved in an incident whereby he insisted that Captain William Douglas, commanding officer of the ship, be confined in his cabin ''for the preservation of their lives'', he being ''disordered in his senses'': Steevens eventually gave Douglas a public apology and thereby avoided court martial. He was given command of HMS ''Cumberland'' in 1741 and was present at the

Battle of Cartagena de Indias The Battle of Cartagena de Indias ( es, Sitio de Cartagena de Indias, lit=Siege of Cartagena de Indias) took place during the 1739 to 1748 War of Jenkins' Ear between Spanish Empire, Spain and Kingdom of Great Britain, Britain. The result of lo ...

in the Spring of that year. He went on to command HMS ''Phaeton'' later that year, HMS ''Ludlow Castle'' from 1742 and HMS ''Portland'' from 1744 (in which he was involved in the capture of three French ships). He briefly commanded HMS ''Tiger'' before becoming Commander-in-Chief of the

Leeward Islands french: Îles-Sous-le-Vent , image_name = , image_caption = ''Political'' Leeward Islands. Clockwise: Antigua and Barbuda, Guadeloupe, Saint kitts and Nevis. , image_alt = , locator_map = , location = Caribbean SeaNorth Atlantic Ocean , coor ...

in HMS ''Lichfield'' in 1755. On return to England he was given command of HMS ''Oxford''. He became Commander-in-Chief of the

in 1760 with the rank of

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 ...

. Promoted rear-admiral of the blue, he organised the Naval siege of Pondicherry in September 1760, receiving their surrender in January 1761.Jaques, Tony ''Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: P-Z'', p. 808
/ref> He died, unmarried, at

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

on 20 May 1761.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steevens, Charles 1705 births 1761 deaths Royal Navy rear admirals