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 ...

Sir Charles Douglas, 1st Baronet (1727 – 17 March 1789) was a descendant of the

Earls of Morton The title Earl of Morton was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1458 for James Douglas of Dalkeith. Along with it, the title Lord Aberdour was granted. This latter title is the courtesy title for the eldest son and heir to the Earl of Morton. ...

and a distinguished

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

naval officer. He is particularly known for his part in the

Battle of the Saintes The Battle of the Saintes (known to the French as the Bataille de la Dominique), also known as the Battle of Dominica, was an important naval battle in the Caribbean between the British and the French that took place 9–12 April 1782. The Brit ...

during the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

where he helped pioneer the tactic of "breaking the line".

Early career

Douglas was born in Carr,

Perthshire Perthshire (locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

to Charles Ayton Douglas and Christian Hepburn of Kinglassie. Little is known of his early life, although it is established that he could speak six languages. He joined the Royal Navy at the age of twelve, and spent some time in the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

service before resuming his career with the British.

French and Indian War

He was a midshipman at the

Siege of Louisbourg (1745) The siege of Louisbourg took place in 1745 when a New England colonial force aided by a British fleet captured Louisbourg, the capital of the French province of Île-Royale (present-day Cape Breton Island) during the War of the Austrian Suc ...

, promoted to lieutenant in 1753 and to commander in 1759. By the end of the war in 1763, he was captain of HMS ''Syren''. While commanding the ''Syren'', Sir Charles reported the attack on St. John's and took part in recapturing

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. Following the war, Sir Charles went to

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

to help re-organize the

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

n navy for Catherine the Great in 1764–1765. He was elected 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 May, 1770 for carrying out "a series of curious experiments to determine the different degrees of cold at different depths in the Sea".

American War of Independence

After the

broke out in

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1775, Douglas was given command of a squadron to relieve

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

from

the siege ''The Siege'' is a 1998 American action thriller film directed by Edward Zwick. The film is about a fictional situation in which terrorist cells have made several attacks in New York City. The film stars Denzel Washington, Annette Bening, Tony ...

. When he arrived at the Gulf of St. Lawrence, he decided to ram the ice and successfully made his way up the river, surprising the Americans and putting them on the run. He was also in charge of creating a navy from scratch to fight on

Lake Champlain , native_name_lang = , image = Champlainmap.svg , caption = Lake Champlain-River Richelieu watershed , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = New York/Vermont in the United States; and Quebec in Canada , coords = , type = , ...

, and that small fleet routed the Americans under

Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold ( Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American military officer who served during the Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of major general before defect ...

. In 1777, he was made a baronet for his service in Quebec. As captain of HMS ''Stirling Castle'', he took part in the first Battle of Ushant. Whitcombe, Battle of the Saints

In 1781, Sir Charles became Captain-of-the-Fleet for

George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney Admiral George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, KB ( bap. 13 February 1718 – 24 May 1792), was a British naval officer. He is best known for his commands in the American War of Independence, particularly his victory over the French at the ...

, and was with Rodney on his flagship, ''Formidable'', at the

off Dominica, where on 12 April 1782, they defeated the

Comte de Grasse ''Comte'' is the French, Catalan and Occitan form of the word 'count' (Latin: ''comes''); ''comté'' is the Gallo-Romance form of the word 'county' (Latin: ''comitatus''). Comte or Comté may refer to: * A count in French, from Latin ''comes'' * A ...

by breaking the French line. Douglas is credited by many, including Sir Charles Dashwood (a midshipman present at the time who later became an admiral himself), for having the idea for the manoeuvre, but it is a subject of much debate. In 1783, he was made the Commander-in-Chief of North America at the Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

Station, but resigned due to a conflict. In 1787 he became a rear-admiral, and in 1789 was once again made commander of the

station, but died of apoplexy before taking his post.

Naval career

*1740 Joined Royal Navy at age twelve *1745 Midshipman at Siege of Louisbourg *1747 Past-Midshipman on HMS ''Centurion'' *1753 Lieutenant in the Royal Navy *1759 Promoted to Commander; Commander of HMS ''Boscawen'' *1761 Made Post-Captain; Commander of HMS ''Unicorn'', 28 guns *1762 Commander of HMS ''Syren'', 20 guns,

*1763 Commander of HMS ''Tweed'', 32 guns

*1767 Commander of HMS ''Emerald'', 32 guns *1770 Commander of HMS ''St. Albans'', 61 guns *1774 Commander of HMS ''Ardent'', 64 guns *1775 Commander of , 50 guns,

*1776 Commodore in charge of building

fleet *1777 Commander of HMS ''Stirling Castle'', 64 Guns *1778 Commander of HMS ''Duke'', 98 guns, Channel Fleet *1781 Captain-of-the-Fleet of Sir George Rodney, flagship HMS ''Formidable'',

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 ...

*1783 Commodore and Commander-in-Chief of Halifax Station, HMS ''Assistance'', 50 guns, HMS ''Hermione'', 32 guns *1787 Promoted to Rear-Admiral *1789 Commander-in-Chief of

North American 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 ...

, HMS ''London Man'', 50 guns

Personal life

The memorial to Admiral Charles Douglas, Greyfriars Kirkyard

Douglas was married three times: first to a Dutch woman called Uranie Lidie Marteilhe, with whom he had a son and a daughter; second to Sarah Wood of

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, the mother of

Sir Howard Douglas General Sir Howard Douglas, 3rd Baronet, (23 January 1776 – 9 November 1861) was a British Army officer born in Gosport, England, the younger son of Admiral Sir Charles Douglas, and a descendant of the Earls of Morton. He was an English ...

; and third to a woman named Jane, daughter of John Baillie. There is a great deal of confusion regarding the identity of Sir Charles' third wife, whose last name has been variously reported as Baillie, Grew, and Brisbane. It appears that some sources have mistaken his sister, Helena Baillie, for his third wife because she raised his younger children while he was at sea. The name Helen Brisbaine is also an error based on a mistake in ''The Scottish Nation'' (1862) where it says she was married to Admiral Sir Charles Douglas when, in fact, she was the wife of Admiral Sir James Dougla

When his eldest daughter, Lydia Mariana, married Rev. Richard Bingham against his wishes, he disinherited her. Following his death, Lydia and her husband sued for a share of his estate, and the case was appealed until finally being decided against them in the House of Lords in 1796. The case is made famous because of a letter Lydia had written to

Adam Smith Adam Smith (baptized 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the thinking of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as "The Father of Economics"——— ...

, a friend and distant relative of Sir Charles, requesting his assistance in reconciling the father and daughter. Douglas is buried in the ground south of the church in

Greyfriars Kirkyard Greyfriars Kirkyard is the graveyard surrounding Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located at the southern edge of the Old Town, adjacent to George Heriot's School. Burials have been taking place since the late 16th century, and a num ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

and a memorial lies on the outer south face of the church near the east gable.

Legacy

Sir Charles was known as a mechanical genius,A biographical dictionary of eminent Scotsmen
/ref> and many of his suggestions for improvements on naval vessels, including the substitution of flintlocks for matches, were adopted by the Admiralty for the entire

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 ...

. He was succeeded as Baronet of Carr by his sons, Vice-Admiral Sir William Henry Douglas, 2nd Baronet, and General Sir Howard Douglas, 3rd Baronet, who became a General, lieutenant-governor of

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

, MP for

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, and Lord High Chancellor of the Ionian Islands. Both Douglastown and Douglas Township, (the village of

Kennetcook, Nova Scotia Kennetcook is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the Municipal District of East Hants. Also see adjacent community of Upper Kennetcook. History The village takes its name from the Kennetcook River which is believ ...

and surrounding area), are named after him. The song "Caillich Odhar" was composed by

Nathaniel Gow Nathaniel Gow (28 May 1763 – 19 January 1831) was a Scottish musician who was the fourth son of Niel Gow, and a celebrated performer, composer and arranger of tunes, songs and other pieces on his own right. He wrote about 200 compositions in ...

in his honor.

References

* *Fullom, S.W. ''Life of General Sir Howard Douglas'' (1865) *Clark, William Bell. ''Naval Documents of the American Revolution'', vol. 3-6 (1968–1971) *Douglas, Percy. ''History of the Family Douglas'', vol. I. *Paton, Thomas S., ''Reports of Cases Decided in the House of Lords, Upon Appeal from Scotland, from 1753 to 1813,'' vol. III (1853) *''The Complete Baronetage'' *''Burke's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1938) * *

External links

''Douglastown Historical Review''''Quicksilver.net''''A Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Scotsmen (online at Google Books)''''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas, Charles, Sir, 1st Baronet 1727 births 1789 deaths Royal Navy personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession British military personnel of the French and Indian War Royal Navy personnel of the American Revolutionary War Royal Navy rear admirals Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain Fellows of the Royal Society Burials at Greyfriars Kirkyard Scottish naval personnel