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, ...

James Cumming (16 April 1738 – 19 August 1808) was a British

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. He sailed with

John Byron Vice-Admiral John Byron (8 November 1723 – 1 April 1786) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer. He earned the nickname "Foul-Weather Jack" in the press because of his frequent encounters with bad weather at sea. As a midshipman, he sa ...

as part of a circumnavigation of the world in 1764. He fought in the

American Revolutionary War 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 ...

and eventually rose to the rank of Admiral before his death in 1808.

Early life

Born in Sandwich, England to a Naval family, he was the third son to James Cumming, A Lieutenant of Greenwich Hospital. He studied at the Royal Naval Academy and was commissioned Lieutenant in 1758.

Voyage around the world

In 1764, Cumming served as 1st Lieutenant on

HMS Dolphin Numerous Royal Navy vessels have been named HMS ''Dolphin'' after the dolphin. * The first seven ''Dolphins'' were small ketches and fireships. * , launched in 1731, was a 20-gun post ship, renamed ''Firebrand'' in 1755 and ''Penguin'' in 1757. * ...

, on a circumnavigation of the world. Captain John Byron was secretly tasked with surveying the

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

, searching for the non-existent Pepys's Island, and finding a northeastern passage across North America. Patagonian-giants-1767

The two-ship expedition made landfall in Patagonia, where the crew made contact with

indigenous people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

. Cumming, being the only other officer ashore within a close distance, became Byron's reference to the natives' supposed enormous size, due in part to his own tall stature. Cumming, who stood at 6'2", was described as being dwarfed over by the natives. Following the voyage, various accounts would be added to the already existing European lore of the '

Patagonian Giants The Patagones or Patagonian giants were a race of giant humans rumoured to be living in Patagonia and described in early European accounts. They were said to have exceeded at least double normal human height, with some accounts giving heights of ...

'. Later on, it was implied through conversation to Captain Robert Scott, an uncle of

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...

and close acquaintance of Cumming, that the descriptions of the giants were merely exaggerated. In April, 1765 Cumming was transferred and promoted to Commander of HMS ''Tamar'', the Dolphin's consort ship. He would reach England again in 1766, after stopping in Antigua to repair a broken rudder.

Service in the American Revolutionary War

Cumming was a commissioned captain during the American Revolutionary war, seeing action on both the American coast and West Indies. He would capture several American Privateers during this time. He was present during the

Battle of St. Lucia The Battle of St. Lucia or the Battle of the Cul de Sac was a naval battle fought off the island of St. Lucia in the West Indies during the American Revolutionary War on 15 December 1778, between the British Royal Navy and the French Navy. Back ...

, commanding HMS ''Aurora'' as part of Samuel Barrington's convoy against the French attempt to re-take the island. The ''Aurora'' was among three frigates positioned in a line of battle to protect the windward side of the island. Thereafter, Cumming would go on to command in 1780. His last commission was HMS ''Confederate'', which proved to be a defective ship.

Later career

Cumming was not commissioned again until 1793, when he commanded

HMS Resolution Several ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS ''Resolution''. However, the first English warship to bear the name ''Resolution'' was actually the first rate ''Prince Royal'' (built in 1610 and rebuilt in 1641), which was renamed ''Resol ...

(74) during the early period of the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...

. Soon after, he reached flag rank and would not see any further field service. He was promoted to Vice-Admiral in 1795, and finally Admiral of the White in 1805 before dying at his home in Wilmington, England in 1808.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cumming, James British admirals Royal Navy personnel of the American Revolutionary War 1738 births 1808 deaths