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 Reginald John James George Macdonald (19 October 1820 – 15 December 1899) 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 who went on to be
Commander-in-Chief, East Indies Station.
Early life
Macdonald was born in
Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...
, the son of Reginald George MacDonald, chief of
Clan Ranald, and Lady Caroline Anne Edgcumbe, daughter of
Richard Edgcumbe, 2nd Earl of Mount Edgcumbe
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'strong ...
.
Naval career
Macdonald joined 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 ...
in 1833.
[National Historical Collectors and Research Association]
/ref> He served in the Eighth Xhosa War
The Eighth Xhosa War was a war between the British Empire and Xhosa as well as Khoikhoi forces, between 1850 and 1853. It was the eighth of nine Xhosa Wars.
Background
Large numbers of Xhosa were displaced across the Keiskamma by Governor Har ...
as Commander of HMS ''Ferret''.[William Loney RN]
/ref> 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 ...
in 1854, he commanded HMS ''Hogue'', HMS ''Arethusa'' and then HMS ''Bellerophon''.[ He was appointed Second-in-Command of the ]Channel Fleet
The Channel Fleet and originally known as the Channel Squadron was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1854 to 1909 and 1914 to 1915.
History
Throughout the course of Royal Navy's history the ...
in 1872 and from 1873 he became the 21st chief of the Clan Macdonald of Clanranald.[
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 regarded ...
, he was made Commander-in-Chief, East Indies Station with his flag in the armoured cruiser
The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship and fast eno ...
, , in 1875 and 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 ...
in 1879.[ He retired in 1884.][
]
Family
In 1855, he married Hon. Adelaide Louisa Warren Venables-Vernon, daughter of 5th Baron Vernon. They had two sons and two daughters:
References
Further reading
*
External links
HMS Ferret (1840)
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonald, Reginald
1820 births
1899 deaths
Clan MacDonald of Clanranald
Royal Navy admirals
Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath
Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India
Clanranald, Reginald Macdonald, 7th Baron