Admiral of the Fleet Sir James Hawkins-Whitshed, 1st Baronet, (1762 – 28 October 1849), 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. He saw action in command of a

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

at the Battle of Martinique during 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 ...

. He went on to serve under Sir John Jervis in the Mediterranean and took part in the battle of Cape St. Vincent during 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 ...

. After promotion to flag-officer rank Hawkins-Whitshed became Commander-in-Chief of the

Sea Fencibles The Sea Fencibles were naval fencible (a shortening of ''defencible'') units established to provide a close-in line of defence and obstruct the operation of enemy shipping, principally during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. The ea ...

in Ireland and then Commander-in-Chief of the Cork Station 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 ...

. After the War with France was won he served as

Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth The Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth, was a senior commander of the Royal Navy for hundreds of years. The commanders-in-chief were based at premises in High Street, Portsmouth from the 1790s until the end of Sir Thomas Williams's tenure, his succe ...

Early life

Hawkins was born simply James Hawkins in

Raphoe Raphoe ( ; ) is a historical village in County Donegal, Ireland. It is the main town in the fertile district of East Donegal known as the Laggan, as well as giving its name to the Barony of Raphoe, which was later divided into the baronies of R ...

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconne ...

, in

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

, the third son of The Rt Rev. Dr James Hawkins,

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second ...

Lord Bishop of Raphoe, and his wife, Catherine Keene Hawkins. His name was carried on the muster roll of the sloop on the Irish Station in 1773, and on that of , the guard ship at

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

, the next year.Hattendorf (2008)

American War

The first ship in which Hawkins actually served at sea was the 20-gun

sixth-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a sixth-rate was the designation for small warships mounting between 20 and 28 carriage-mounted guns on a single deck, sometimes with smaller guns on the upper works and ...

, commanded by Captain William Bennett, whom he accompanied to

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 ...

in 1775. He afterwards served under Sampson Edwards in the schooner ''Canada'', and after the loss of that vessel, returned to England with Admiral Robert Duff in .Marshall (1823), p.120 He was then assigned to the frigate , under Captain

Charles Fielding Charles Fielding (also known as Charles Feilding; 2 July 1738 – 11 January 1783) was a British naval officer who was the initiator of the Affair of Fielding and Bylandt in the run-up to the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War. He attained the "rank" of Co ...

. In May 1776, ''Diamond'' escorted a convoy carrying a large detachment of British and foreign troops to America. In 1778, Hawkins served for a time as a

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 ...

in , under Captain Sir

George Collier Vice Admiral Sir George Collier (11 May 1732 – 6 April 1795) was an officer of the Royal Navy who saw service during the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary Wars. As commander of the fourth-rate shi ...

, and after being confirmed in his rank by Lord Howe on 4 September 1778.Heathcote, p. 254 On his arrival back in England he was appointed to the frigate , where he remained until the end of 1779. He then served aboard the 90-gun ship , the

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

of Admiral Sir

George 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 ...

. Hawkins consequently saw action in the capture of the Caracas Company convoy on 8 January 1780, and the "

Moonlight Battle The Battle of Cape St. Vincent () was a naval battle that took place off the southern coast of Portugal on 16 January 1780 during the American Revolutionary War. A British fleet under Admiral Sir George Rodney defeated a Spanish squadron unde ...

" on 16 January, when Rodney defeated a Spanish squadron under Don

Juan de Lángara Juan Francisco de Lángara y Huarte (''Juan Francisco Langara Uharte'' in Basque) (1736 in Coruña, Galicia – 1806 in Madrid) was a Spanish naval officer and Minister of Marine. By all accounts, Lángara was a highly skilled, brave and s ...

off the southern coast of Portugal. Hawkins was promoted to

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

on 10 February 1780, and given command of the 14-gun sloop (formerly the Spanish ''San Vicente'' of the Caracas Company) and sailed with Rodney from

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

to 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 ...

, seeing action again in the Battle of Martinique on 17 April 1780. On the day after the battle, on 18 April, he was 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 ...

and given command of the 20-gun frigate . ''Deal Castle'' and the sloop-of-war were anchored in

Gros Islet Gros Islet (English: ''Large Island'') is a community near the northern tip of the island country of Saint Lucia, in the Gros Islet Quarter. Originally a quiet fishing village, it has become one of the more popular tourist destinations in the cou ...

Bay,

Saint Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindian ...

, when in early October 1780 the " Great Hurricane" struck the island. The two ships made for the relative safety of the open sea, but ''Deal Castle'' was wrecked on the coast of

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

. Three of the crew were killed, but the rest escaped on rafts to the safety of the land. They were promptly imprisoned by the Spanish, and held for two months, before being released and sent to

Tortola Tortola () is the largest and most populated island of the British Virgin Islands, a group of islands that form part of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands. It has a surface area of with a total population of 23,908, with 9,400 residents in ...

. Hawkins made his way to St. Eustatia, where he found Admiral Rodney. Having passed the ordeal of a court-martial for the loss of his ship, he returned to England in a

packet Packet may refer to: * A small container or pouch ** Packet (container), a small single use container ** Cigarette packet ** Sugar packet * Network packet, a formatted unit of data carried by a packet-mode computer network * Packet radio, a form ...

with despatches from the Admiral.Marshall (1823), p.121 Hawkins was appointed to command of the newly built 32-gun

fifth-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a fifth rate was the second-smallest class of warships in a hierarchical system of six " ratings" based on size and firepower. Rating The rating system in the Royal N ...

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 ...

in July 1781. ''Ceres'' returned to America in May 1782, conveying

Sir Guy Carleton Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester (3 September 1724 – 10 November 1808), known between 1776 and 1786 as Sir Guy Carleton, was an Anglo-Irish soldier and administrator. He twice served as Governor of the Province of Quebec, from 1768 to 17 ...

, the new

Commander-in-Chief, North America The office of Commander-in-Chief, North America was a military position of the British Army. Established in 1755 in the early years of the Seven Years' War, holders of the post were generally responsible for land-based military personnel and ac ...

to his command. ''Ceres'' remained in America until its final evacuation in December 1783, when Hawkins returned to England, where in February 1784, ''Ceres'' was paid off. After a short stay on shore, Hawkins took command of , which had been intended for the Mediterranean, but was subsequently sent to

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by '' Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

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 ...

, where she remained till 1785, before being put out of commission. Hawkins took advantage of the peace to attend lectures in astronomy at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

in 1786, and travelled extensively throughout Europe, visiting

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the stat ...

Reval Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ''m ...

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 ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, and

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. In 1791, following the provisions of a will of his cousin

James Whitshed Admiral of the Fleet Sir James Hawkins-Whitshed, 1st Baronet, (1762 – 28 October 1849), was a Royal Navy officer. He saw action in command of a sloop at the Battle of Martinique during the American Revolutionary War. He went on to serve under ...

, Hawkins added the surname of his maternal grandmother, Whitshed, to his own, in order to inherit properties that had once belonged to the

Lord Chief Justice of Ireland The Court of King's Bench (or Court of Queen's Bench during the reign of a Queen) was one of the senior courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror of the Court of King's Bench in England. The Lord Chief Justice was the most senior judge i ...

William Whitshed William Whitshed (1679–1727) was an Irish politician and judge who held office as Solicitor-General and Lord Chief Justice of Ireland; just before his death he became Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas. He became the Member of Parliament ...

. On 11 December 1791 Hawkins-Whitshed married Countess Sophia Henrietta Bentinck, the daughter of Captain

John Bentinck John Albert Bentinck (29 December 1737 – 23 September 1775) was an officer of the Royal Navy, an inventor and a Member of Parliament. Family background He was a member of the younger line of the house of Bentinck. His father, William, Count B ...

War with France

In June 1793, after the outbreak of war with Revolutionary France, Hawkins-Whitshed was appointed to command of the

74-gun ship The "seventy-four" was a type of two- decked sailing ship of the line, which nominally carried 74 guns. It was developed by the French navy in the 1740s, replacing earlier classes of 60- and 62-gun ships, as a larger complement to the recently-de ...

, on the home station. In March 1795, he moved to the 90-gun

second-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a second-rate was a ship of the line which by the start of the 18th century mounted 90 to 98 guns on three gun decks; earlier 17th-century second rates had fewer guns ...

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 ...

, and after cruising for some time with 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 ...

, sailed with Rear Admiral William Parker to reinforce Sir John Jervis in the Mediterranean. On 14 February 1797, Hawkins-Whitshed took part in the battle of Cape St. Vincent, where Jervis gained a notable victory over a Spanish fleet. Hawkins-Whitshed, with the rest of the officers of the squadron, received the thanks of Parliament, and was presented with a

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

. Hawkins-Whitshed returned to England, where in January 1798 he was appointed to the 80-gun ship , but after only six months was transferred to the 98-gun , in which he remained after his promotion to the rank of

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 ...

on 14 February 1799.Marshall (1823), p.122

Senior command

Upon the death of

Sir Charles Thompson Sir Charles Thompson, 1st Baronet (c.1740 – 17 March 1799) was a British naval officer. After long service in the Seven Years' War, American War of Independence and War of the First Coalition, he was John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent, Admir ...

in March 1799, Hawkins-Whitshed hoisted his flag on board the 110-gun

first-rate In the rating system of the British Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a first rate was the designation for the largest ships of the line. Originating in the Jacobean era with the designation of Ships Royal capable of carrying at ...

ship and sailed for the Mediterranean. He soon returned to England, with his flag in the second-rate , and joined the Channel Fleet in November 1799. He remained there until the temporary peace occasioned by the

Treaty of Amiens The Treaty of Amiens (french: la paix d'Amiens, ) temporarily ended hostilities between France and the United Kingdom at the end of the War of the Second Coalition The War of the Second Coalition (1798/9 – 1801/2, depending on perio ...

in March 1802. On the recommencement of hostilities in May 1803, Hawkins-Whitshed was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the

in Ireland, receiving promotion to the rank of vice admiral on 23 April 1804. Hawkins-Whitshed was present at the funeral of

Lord Nelson Vice-admiral (Royal Navy), Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British people, British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strate ...

in January 1806. In early 1807 he replaced Lord Gardner as Commander-in-Chief on the Cork Station, remaining there until late 1810. He was promoted to the rank of

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, ...

on 31 July 1810. On 2 January 1815 Hawkins-Whitshed was made a

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

(KCB), receiving the award from the

Prince Regent A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch regnant, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illness ...

Carlton House Carlton House was a mansion in Westminster, best known as the town residence of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV. It faced the south side of Pall Mall, London, Pall Mall, and its gardens abutted St James's Park in the St James' ...

, on 11 April 1815. In February 1821, following the sudden death of Sir George Campbell, he was appointed

serving there until March 1824. On 17 November 1830 he was advanced to

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one ...

(GCB), receiving the award on 1 December 1830. On 1 May 1834 Hawkins-Whitshed was made a

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 ...

of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, of Killincarrick, in the county of Wicklow, and of

Jobstown Jobstown (; ) is a suburb of Tallaght, and so an outer suburb of Dublin, in the administrative county of South Dublin, Ireland. History Jobstown takes its name from Henry Jope, who held land here in the 1250s. Jobstown was historically a small r ...

, in the

county of Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...

, and the heirs "male of his body lawfully begotten." He received promotion by seniority to the highest rank in the navy, Admiral of the Fleet, on 8 January 1844. Hawkins-Whitshed died at his home in

Cavendish Square Cavendish Square is a public garden square in Marylebone in the West End of London. It has a double-helix underground commercial car park. Its northern road forms ends of four streets: of Wigmore Street that runs to Portman Square in the much lar ...

, London, on 28 October 1849.

Family

Hawkins-Whitshed and his wife, Sophia, had two sons and four daughters. Their eldest son, James Hawkins-Whitshed (ca. 1795–1813) followed his father into the Royal Navy, but was killed while serving as a midshipman in . Their second son, St. Vincent Keene Hawkins-Whitshed (1801–1870), succeeded his father as baronet.

References

Sources

* * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hawkins-Whitshed, James 1762 births 1849 deaths 18th-century Anglo-Irish people 19th-century Anglo-Irish people People from Raphoe Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Royal Navy admirals of the fleet Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Royal Navy personnel of the American Revolutionary War