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, ...

Sir Peter Halkett, 6th Baronet (''c.'' 1765 – 7 October 1839) was a senior Royal Navy officer of the early nineteenth century who is best known for his service in 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 ...

. The younger son a Scottish

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

, Halkett joined the Navy and by 1793 was a lieutenant, becoming a

post captain Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of Captain (Royal Navy), captain in the Royal Navy. The term served to distinguish those who were captains by rank from: * Officers in command of a naval vessel, who were (and still are) ...

after service at the Siege of Williamstadt in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. He later commanded 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 ''Circe'' during the

Battle of Camperdown The Battle of Camperdown (known in Dutch as the ''Zeeslag bij Kamperduin'') was a major naval action fought on 11 October 1797, between the British North Sea Fleet under Admiral Adam Duncan and a Batavian Navy (Dutch) fleet under Vice-Admiral ...

in 1797 and later achieved success in the Caribbean in command of HMS ''Apollo''. He was made a rear-admiral in 1812, but his first major command was in the

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 ...

in 1836, lasting two years. Shortly before his death he inherited the Halkett Baronetcy from his brother Charles, later passing it to his son John.

Life

Peter Halkett was born in 1765, the second son of Sir John Halkett, the 4th Halkett Baronet of Pitfirrane in

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

. At a young age, Halkett entered the

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 ...

and as a lieutenant achieved his first command, that of the tiny sloop in 1789. By 1793 was serving on , which conveyed the Duke of York to the Netherlands for service in the

. During the campaign, Halkett served in

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 ...

s assisting the Dutch garrison during the Siege of Williamstadt and impressed the Duke with his activity, being rewarded with a promotion to

and an expensive medal from the

Prince of Orange Prince of Orange (or Princess of Orange if the holder is female) is a title originally associated with the sovereign Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France and subsequently held by sovereigns in the Netherlands. The title ...

.''The Gentleman's Magazine'', January to June 1840, p. 90 On his return to Britain, Halkett was given command of the

HMS ''Circe'' 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 ...

, and in 1797 his ship was one of the few not to suffer from the effects 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 ...

that brought the fleet to a standstill. For his conduct during the crisis, Halkett was praised by the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

and later in the year ''Circe'' acted as a signal frigate for the fleet under Admiral Adam Duncan that destroyed a Dutch fleet at the

. In the aftermath of the battle, Halkett moved to the larger frigate HMS ''Apollo'', but his ship was lost on the Dutch coast, Halkett and his men rescued by a

Prussian Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

ship. At the subsequent court martial Halkett was cleared of any blame in the loss of his ship, the pilot being broke and rendered incapable of ever serving his Majesty, and he was given command of a new frigate, also named HMS ''Apollo''. In ''Apollo'', Halkett sailed for the

and remained there for two years, capturing a number of French and Spanish vessels, including privateers. He returned to Britain in 1802 and subsequently joined the

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colu ...

. At the

Second Battle of Copenhagen The Second Battle of Copenhagen (or the Bombardment of Copenhagen) (16 August – 7 September 1807) was a British bombardment of the Danish capital, Copenhagen, in order to capture or destroy the Dano-Norwegian fleet during the Napoleonic War ...

in 1807 ''Ganges'' carried commodore

Richard Goodwin Keats Admiral Sir Richard Goodwin Keats (16 January 1757 – 5 April 1834) was a British naval officer who fought throughout the American Revolution, French Revolutionary War and Napoleonic War. He retired in 1812 due to ill health and was made Comm ...

' flag. Halkett remained in command of ''Ganges'' until 1812 when he was made a rear-admiral. Halkett did not see a lot of subsequent high command, although he remained in service 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 ...

, stationed at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

aboard HMS ''Gladiator''. After the war Halkett remained in service, becoming a vice-admiral in 1821 and a full admiral in 1837. In 1837 he inherited his father's baronetcy from his brother. In 1836 he got his only major seagoing command when he spent two years as Commander in Chief of 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 ...

, before returning to Britain. Halkett died at home in Pitfirrane in October 1839. His wife Elizabeth Todd, whom he had married in 1802, had died in 1814, but Halkett was survived by his son John, who inherited the baronetcy.

Notes

Links

Halkett Portrait

References

* Retrieved on 29 January 2010
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Halkett, Peter 1765 births 1839 deaths Royal Navy admirals Baronets in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars