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 Thomas Briggs (1780 – 16 December 1852) was an officer of the 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 ...

who served during the

French Revolutionary The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are consider ...

and

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 ...

, and went on to be

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 and career

The only surviving son of Dr. Stephen Briggs, Chief Surgeon at

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, and Magdalene Pasley, Briggs entered the Navy on 10 September 1791. He first served as a first class volunteer aboard the ship , under the command of his uncle Captain

Thomas Pasley Admiral Sir Thomas Pasley, 1st Baronet (2 March 1734 – 29 November 1808) was a senior and highly experienced British Royal Navy officer of the eighteenth century, who served with distinction at numerous actions of the Seven Years' War, America ...

. He later followed him into the ship with the rank of midshipman. Between 1793 and 1798 Briggs served under Captain

Charles Tyler Admiral Sir Charles Tyler, GCB (1760 – 28 September 1835) was a naval officer in the British Royal Navy who gained fame during the Napoleonic Wars as a naval captain that fought at the Battle of Copenhagen (1801) and Battle of Trafalgar, beco ...

in the , and , taking part in the operations against

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

and Corsica in 1793–94, and saw action under Admiral William Hotham in the

Battle of Genoa The Battle of Genoa (also known as the Battle of Cape Noli and in French as ''Bataille de Gênes'') was a naval battle fought between French and allied Anglo-Neapolitan forces on 14 March 1795 in the Gulf of Genoa, a large bay in the Ligurian ...

on 14 March and the

Battle of Hyères Islands A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

on 13 July 1795.* Briggs was promoted to lieutenant on 28 September 1797, and was transferred from ''Aigle'' to ,

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 Earl St. Vincent off Lisbon, and shortly afterwards moved to , flying the flag of Rear-Admiral Thomas Frederick off Cádiz.

Commands

On 10 July 1799 Briggs was appointed

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad r ...

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. ...

of the sloop HMS ''Salamine'', and was officially confirmed in that rank on 30 June 1800, having taken part in the reduction of Genoa earlier. In March 1801 Captain

Manley Dixon Admiral Sir Manley Dixon, KCB (3 January 1757; 8 February 1837) was a prominent Royal Navy officer during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Born into a military family in the late 1750s or early 1760s, Dixon joined the Navy an ...

of at

Port Mahon A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

, sent Briggs to Rear-Admiral Sir

John Borlase Warren Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren, 1st Baronet (2 September 1753 – 27 February 1822) was a British Royal Navy officer, diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1774 and 1807. Naval career Born in Stapleford, Nottinghamsh ...

's fleet with the news that Admiral

Honoré Ganteaume Honoré is a name of French origin and may refer to several people or places: Given name Sovereigns of Monaco Lords of Monaco * Honoré I of Monaco Princes of Monaco * Honoré II of Monaco * Honoré III of Monaco * Honoré IV of Monaco * Honor� ...

had sailed from Toulon bound for Egypt. Warren intercepted the French fleet and pursued them back to Toulon. Briggs was then engaged in the expedition to Egypt under

Lord Keith Baron Keith was a title that was created three times in British history, with all three creations in favour of the same person, Admiral the Honourable Sir George Keith Elphinstone. He was the fifth son of Charles Elphinstone, 10th Lord Elphinsto ...

and Sir

Ralph Abercromby Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom), Lieutenant General Sir Ralph Abercromby (7 October 173428 March 1801) was a British people, British soldier and politician. He rose to the rank of lieutenant-general in the British Army, was appointed Gov ...

, for which he was awarded the Turkish Gold Medal and the

Order of the Crescent The Imperial Order of the Crescent ( ota, نشانِ خلال) was a chivalric order of the Ottoman Empire. History The order was instituted in 1799 by Sultan Selim III when he wished to reward Horatio Nelson, an Anglican Christian, for his vi ...

, and was promoted to

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) ...

on 24 July 1801. He commanded , flagship of Sir Richard Bickerton off

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

, then on the Mediterranean and Home stations from 1802. From 14 December 1805 he was appointed to command of the frigate , and in late 1806 captured two privateers; ''Guadeloupe'' of 3 guns and 54 men on 25 September, and ''Susanna'' of 4 guns and 20 men on 12 November. ''Orpheus'' was shortly after wrecked on a coral reef off

Port Royal Port Royal is a village located at the end of the Palisadoes, at the mouth of Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1494 by the Spanish, it was once the largest city in the Caribbean, functioning as the centre of shipping and co ...

, Jamaica, on 23 January 1807, and Briggs had to be rescued from the bowsprit of his ship by a boat from . On 27 April 1808 Briggs took temporary command of off

L'Orient Lorient (; ) is a town (''commune'') and seaport in the Morbihan department of Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginning around 3000 BC, settlements in the area of Lorient are attested by the presence ...

, before assuming command of on 7 November, sailing to the

East Indies Station The East Indies Station was a formation and command of the British Royal Navy. Created in 1744 by the Admiralty, it was under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies. Even in official documents, the term ''East Indies Station'' was ...

. There, on 28 January 1810, he captured the privateer ''L' Henri'', of 8 guns and 57 men, and proved of material service in disembarking the troops at the reduction of the ''Île de France'' in December 1810. He was next employed in the

China Sea The China Seas consist of a series of marginal seas in the Western Pacific Ocean, around China. They are the major components signifying the transition from the continent of Asia to the Pacific Ocean.Pinxian Wang, Qianyu Li, Chun-Feng Li, ''Geol ...

, and in October 1814, took command of in which he served on the Lisbon, Cork, and Mediterranean stations, before being paid off on 19 July 1816. On 15 May 1818, Briggs joined , as

Flag-Captain In the Royal Navy, a flag captain was the captain of an admiral's flagship. During the 18th and 19th centuries, this ship might also have a "captain of the fleet", who would be ranked between the admiral and the "flag captain" as the ship's "First ...

to Sir George Campbell,

, serving there until February 1821.

Admiral

In 1823 Briggs was appointed Resident Commissioner of the Royal Naval Dockyard at

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

. He transferred to

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

in 1829, being promoted to Rear-Admiral on 27 June 1832, and was appointed Superintendent of the

Malta Dockyard Malta Dockyard was an important naval base in the Grand Harbour in Malta in the Mediterranean Sea. The infrastructure which is still in operation is now operated by Palumbo Shipyards. History Pre-1800 The Knights of Malta established dockyard ...

, remaining in that post until 1838. He was awarded the

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

in 1833, for his services while in temporary command of the Mediterranean Squadron, and was promoted to Vice-Admiral on 23 November 1841. Briggs was promoted to

Admiral of the Blue The Admiral of the Blue was a senior rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, immediately outranked by the rank Admiral of the White (see order of precedence below). From 1688 to 1805 this rank was in order of precedence third; after 1805 ...

on 1 July 1851, and from September served as Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth, flying his flag on , and dying in office in December 1852.

Personal life

In 1814 he married Isabella Harriet Trepand, and had three sons and a daughter. His eldest son, George Campbell Briggs, died while serving in the Navy with the rank of lieutenant. His daughter married Captain George Bohun Martin, RN.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Briggs, Thomas 1780 births 1852 deaths Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Royal Navy admirals Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George