Admiral of the Fleet Sir Charles Gilbert John Brydone Elliot (12 December 1818 – 21 May 1895) 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. As a junior officer he was involved in the bombardment of

Acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imp ...

during the Egyptian–Ottoman War. During the

Second Opium War The Second Opium War (), also known as the Second Anglo-Sino War, the Second China War, the Arrow War, or the Anglo-French expedition to China, was a colonial war lasting from 1856 to 1860, which pitted the British Empire and the French Emp ...

Eliott led a unit of 300 sailors and marines that successfully breached the walls of Canton and then led another unit that destroyed 23 Chinese war-junks in the estuary South of the city. After that, he led a small squadron of British ships which pursued a fleet of 41 Chinese war-junks at the

Battle of Escape Creek The Battle of Escape Creek was a naval engagement fought between the United Kingdom's Royal Navy and the Qing Chinese naval force on 25–27 May 1857 during the Second Opium War. Commodore Charles Elliot's squadron chased the war-junks at Esca ...

: his squadron chased the war-junks upriver and then, once the British ships were grounded as the river narrowed, they chased them in the ships' boats until all the war-junks had been overhauled. He also took part in the larger action, under Commodore

Henry Keppel Admiral of the Fleet The Honourable Sir Henry Keppel (14 June 1809 – 17 January 1904) was a Royal Navy officer. His first command was largely spent off the coast of Spain, which was then in the midst of the First Carlist War. As commanding off ...

, involving around 100 war-junks at the

Battle of Fatshan Creek The Battle of Fatshan Creek (佛山水道之戰) was a naval engagement fought between the United Kingdom's Royal Navy and the Cantonese fleet of Qing China on 1 June 1857. Rear-Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equ ...

. Elliot went on to be Commander-in-Chief,

South East Coast of America Station The South East Coast of America Station was a formation of the Royal Navy which existed from 1838 until just after the end of the 19th century. History The station was separated from the Pacific Station in 1838 in order to combat the slave trade i ...

, then

Commander-in-Chief, The Nore The Commander-in-Chief, The Nore, was an operational commander of the Royal Navy. His subordinate units, establishments, and staff were sometimes informally known as the Nore Station or Nore Command. The Nore is a sandbank at the mouth of the Th ...

and finally

Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth The Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth, was a senior commander of the Royal Navy for hundreds of years. Plymouth Command was a name given to the units, establishments, and staff operating under the admiral's command. Between 1845 and 1896, this offic ...

Early career

Born the son of

Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 2nd Earl of Minto Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 2nd Earl of Minto, (; 16 November 178231 July 1859), styled as Viscount Melgund between 1813 and 1814, was a British diplomat and Whig politician. Background and education Minto was the eldest son of the Gilbe ...

and Mary Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound (née Brydone), Elliot joined the

in May 1832.Heathcote, p. 71 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 ...

on 27 June 1838, he was appointed to the

second-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a second-rate was a ship of the line which by the start of the 18th century mounted 90 to 98 guns on three gun decks; earlier 17th-century second rates had fewer guns ...

HMS ''Rodney'' in August 1838. He transferred to the

sixth-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a sixth-rate was the designation for small warships mounting between 20 and 28 carriage-mounted guns on a single deck, sometimes with smaller guns on the upper works and ...

HMS ''Talbot'' in the

Mediterranean Fleet The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between t ...

in October 1838. Promoted to

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

on 16 July 1840, he became commanding officer of the

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

HMS ''Hazard'' in July 1840 and was involved in the bombardment of

in November 1840 during the Egyptian–Ottoman War. Promoted to

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 ...

on 16 August 1841, he went on to be commanding officer of the sixth-rate HMS ''Spartan'' on 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 t ...

in August 1841 and commanding officer of the fifth-rate HMS ''Sybille'' on the

East Indies and China Station The Commander-in-Chief, East Indies and China was a formation of the Royal Navy from 1831 to 1865. Its naval area of responsibility was the Indian Ocean and the coasts of China and its navigable rivers. The Commander-in-Chief was appointed in 1 ...

in May 1853. Elliott became

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, a ...

on the East Indies and China Station, with his

broad pennant A broad pennant is a triangular swallow-tailed naval pennant flown from the masthead of a warship afloat or a naval headquarters ashore to indicate the presence of either: (a) a Royal Navy officer in the rank of Commodore, or (b) a U.S. Nav ...

in the screw

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...

HMS ''Haughty'', in January 1855. In October 1856 a small unit of Chinese soldiers boarded the British-flagged lorcha ''Arrow'' and kidnapped twelve of the crew so initiating the

. The British Consul, Harry Parkes, demanded return of the men, an apology and assurances of respect for the British flag. The crew was released but without any apology or assurances. In response the Commander-in-Chief on the East Indies and China Station, Rear-Admiral Sir Michael Seymour, decided to enter Canton. In late October 1856, Eliott led a unit of 300 sailors and marines which successfully breached the walls of the city and then, in early November 1856, he led another unit which destroyed 23 Chinese war-junks in the estuary South of Canton. After that, in May 1857, he led a small squadron of British ships which pursued a fleet of 41 Chinese war-junks at the

: his squadron chased the war-junks upriver and then, once the British ships were grounded as the river narrowed, they chased them in the ships' boats until all the war-junks had been overhauled. Elliot also took part in the larger action, under Commodore

, involving around 100 war-junks at the

in June 1857. He was appointed a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

on 12 September 1857. Elliott went on to be commanding officer of the

third-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy, a third rate was a ship of the line which from the 1720s mounted between 64 and 80 guns, typically built with two gun decks (thus the related term two-decker). Years of experience proved that the third r ...

HMS ''Cressy'' in the Mediterranean Fleet in April 1859 and commanding officer of the second-rate HMS ''St Jean d'Acre'' in the Mediterranean Fleet in September 1860.

Senior command

Promoted to

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 regarde ...

on 5 August 1861, Elliot became Commander-in-Chief,

, with his broad pennant in the second-rate HMS ''Bombay'', in April 1864. This post was based in the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...

. After HMS ''Bombay'' was destroyed by accident in a fire on the River Plate in December 1864, he transferred his flag to the

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

HMS ''Narcissus''. Promoted to vice admiral on 6 April 1866, Elliot went on to be

, with his flag in the base ship HMS ''Pembroke'', in July 1870 and, having been promoted to 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 8 February 1873, he became

in January 1880. He was advanced to

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

on 24 May 1881, promoted to Admiral of the Fleet on 1 December 1881 and then retired in December 1888. Elliot died at his home, Brydone House in

Bitterne Bitterne is an eastern suburb and ward of Southampton, England. Bitterne derives its name not from the similarly named bird, the bittern, but probably from the bend in the River Itchen; the Old English words ''byht'' and ''ærn'' together mean ...

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, on 21 May 1895.

Family

In 1863 Elliot married Louisa Blackett, daughter of

Sir Edward Blackett, 6th Baronet There have been two baronetcies created for members of the Blackett family, both in the Baronetage of England. One creation is extant as of 2013. The Blackett family can be traced back to the Blacketts/Blakheveds of Woodcroft, County Durham, some ...

; they had four children, three of whom died in infancy. Following the death of his first wife, he married Lady Harriet Emily Liddell, daughter of

Henry Liddell, 1st Earl of Ravensworth Henry Thomas Liddell, 1st Earl of Ravensworth (10 March 1797 – 19 March 1878) was a British peer and Member of Parliament for several constituencies. Liddell was the eldest son of Thomas Liddell, 1st Baron Ravensworth. He was educated at Eton ...

in 1874; they had three daughters and a son.

References

Sources

External links