James Robert Mosse (1745–1801) was a British

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 ...

killed during his command at the Battle of Copenhagen during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. He was also one of the prosecution during the trials of the participants of the

Nore Mutiny The Spithead and Nore mutinies were two major mutinies by sailors of the Royal Navy in 1797. They were the first in an increasing series of outbreaks of maritime radicalism in the Atlantic World. Despite their temporal proximity, the mutinies d ...

Career

He was born from a long line of naval commanders. He was baptised at

Little Missenden Little Missenden is a village and civil parish on the River Misbourne in Buckinghamshire, England. It is in the Chiltern Hills, about southeast of Great Missenden and west of Amersham. The village lies on the River Misbourne in the Misbourne v ...

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, on 5 December 1745. At the age of 11 years at 8 months, on 6 August 1757, he took on the role of captain's servant (then a standard route into a commissioned rank) on the newly built , where he served until October 1758. In November 1758 he joined as a master's mate where he remained until May 1763, serving in the Americas and

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 ...

. During this period Mosse was captured by the Americans and held prisoner for some time. From 1763 until 1771 he served on the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

on several ships: , , and . In 1771 he was promoted to

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

under the overall command of Sir Robert Harland, and served on in the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies), is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies refers to various lands in the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found in and around t ...

. In October 1771 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 sub ...

, and served on ''Swallow'', and before returning to England in 1775. After a brief respite, presumably in the company of his family he returned to active duties in March 1776, stationed in what was then the critical location of North America, under Lord Howe. Here he served on until her

scuttling Scuttling is the deliberate sinking of a ship. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vessel from becoming a navigation hazard; as an act of self destruct, self-destruction to prevent the s ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

in 1778 to evade capture. He was then posted to the relatively new . He returned to England briefly, marrying Ann Grace Kinchin of

Stoke Charity Stoke Charity is a small village on the River Dever that lies within the Wonston (where the 2011 Census was included) civil parish in the City of Winchester district of Hampshire, England. Its nearest town is Winchester, which lies approximately ...

on 16 March 1780 at

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before being redeployed in October 1780 again to the West Indies. Here he served on and . In April 1782 he received a post of first lieutenant under Lord Howe on and was subsequently present at the

Great Siege of Gibraltar The Great Siege of Gibraltar was an unsuccessful attempt by Spain and France to capture Gibraltar from the British during the War of the American Revolution. It was the largest battle in the war by number of combatants. The American war had end ...

in October of that year, where he commanded the

fireship A fire ship or fireship, used in the days of wooden rowed or sailing ships, was a ship filled with combustibles, or gunpowder deliberately set on fire and steered (or, when possible, allowed to drift) into an enemy fleet, in order to destroy sh ...

''Pluto'' as part of the attack.

Captaincy

On 19 April 1783 he was confirmed in the rank of

master and commander ''Master and Commander'' is a 1969 nautical historical novel by the English author Patrick O'Brian, first published in 1969 in the US and 1970 in the UK. The book proved to be the start of the 20-novel Aubrey–Maturin series, set largely in t ...

, rising to

soon thereafter, and he served in the

as captain of ''Wasp'', a duty which continued until 1790, but whose proximity to England probably permitted more home leave than previously. Richard Parker about to be hanged

A three-year gap in his service record possibly reflects a well-deserved break. His career then resumes in February 1793 as captain of patrolling the sandbanks of the Thames at

Nore The Nore is a long bank of sand and silt running along the south-centre of the final narrowing of the Thames Estuary, England. Its south-west is the very narrow Nore Sand. Just short of the Nore's easternmost point where it fades into the cha ...

. In 1797 he therefore became deeply embroiled in the

and was part of the prosecution and execution of its ringleader Richard Parker, both of which took place on board Mosse’s ship. He changed command soon thereafter, and served in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

for 18 months until April 1799, during which time he commanded both and . Despite his numerous absences they had six children.

Battle of Copenhagen and death

On 1 May 1799 Mosse had been appointed captain of under the overall command of Admiral

Horatio Nelson Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought abo ...

. On 30 March 1801 ''Monarch'', under Mosse's command, led the fleet through the Sound of Copenhagen towards the capital, under fire from

Kronborg Castle Kronborg is a castle and stronghold in the town of Helsingør, Denmark. Immortalized as Elsinore in William Shakespeare's play ''Hamlet'', Kronborg is one of the most important Renaissance castles in Northern Europe and was inscribed on the UNES ...

. On 2 April the Battle of Copenhagen began. Mosse took a leading role, sailing from one end of the line to the other, whilst both firing and receiving fire. He was killed soon after adopting his required position, his last orders being to "cut away the anchor". He was buried at sea.

Memorials

The British government erected a joint monument to Mosse and a second naval hero,

Edward Riou Edward Riou FRS (20 November 17622 April 1801) was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the French Revolutionary Wars under several of the most distinguished naval officers of his age and won fame and honour for two incidents in part ...

, who also fell in the Battle of Copenhagen, in the crypt of

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

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. It was sculpted by

John Charles Felix Rossi John Charles Felix Rossi (8 March 1762 – 21 February 1839), often simply known as Charles Rossi, was an English sculptor. Life Early life and education Rossi was born on 8 March 1762 at Nottingham, where his father Ananso, an Italian from Si ...

. The grave of his wife (d.1843) and children in Wickham,

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

also acts as his memorial. His will (read September 1801) is held in

The National Archives National archives are central archives maintained by countries. This article contains a list of national archives. Among its more important tasks are to ensure the accessibility and preservation of the information produced by governments, both ...

at Kew.

References

External links

James Robert Mosse (d.1801)
@ threedecks.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Mosse, James Robert Royal Navy officers British military personnel killed in the French Revolutionary Wars Royal Navy personnel of the American Revolutionary War Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars 1745 births 1801 deaths