Admiral Thomas Mackenzie (1753 – 20 September 1813) was a prominent 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 ...
officer of the late eighteenth century. Mackenzie's career, while successful, was blighted by a series of controversies that limited his opportunities and command, resulting in his placement in reserve for the last 19 years of his career. During his early service, Mackenzie served at a number of engagements in 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 ...
and advanced rapidly, but he was caught during service in the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
in the midst of a disagreement between two senior officers and as a result was placed in reserve at the end of the war. At the start of 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 ...
ten years later Mackenzie was restored to service, and commanded 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
Glorious First of June
The Glorious First of June (1 June 1794), also known as the Fourth Battle of Ushant, (known in France as the or ) was the first and largest fleet action of the naval conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the First French Republic ...
. Mackenzie was again involved in a major dispute in the aftermath of the battle over credit for the victory, with the result that he never again served at sea.
Life
Thomas Mackenzie was born in 1753, the son of Vice-Admiral George Mackenzie. At a young age, Thomas joined 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 ...
and in 1771 passed the lieutenants exam and joined the
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 ...
. He continued to rise in rank, and in 1776 at the start of 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 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) ...
for his services at the Battle of Quebec, and was assigned command of the 28-gun frigate .Winfield 2007, p. 227 On 4 December he was in command of ''Lizard'' when she captured the American privateer ''Putnam''. Mackenzie was later assigned to command the ship , but was captured with his vessel by the French frigate ''Amazone'' on 10 September 1779 ADM 1/5315 court-martial 23 Feb 1780 near
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...
. Released in Cadiz the following year, Mackenzie returned to Britain, was cleared at a
court martial
A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...
and given command of the frigate .
''Active'' was attached to the squadron under Commodore George Johnstone sent to the
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa.
A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is t ...
in 1781, but the force was intercepted at
Porto Praya
Praia (, Portuguese for "beach") is the capital and largest city of Cape Verde.St Jago by a French squadron. The ensuing
Battle of Porto Praya
The Battle of Porto Praya was a naval battle that took place during the American Revolutionary War on 16 April 1781 between a British squadron under Commodore George Johnstone and a French squadron under the Bailli de Suffren.
Both squadrons w ...
was inconclusive, but the French were able to reinforce the Cape before the British could attack, making an invasion impossible. Continuing westwards, ''Active'' joined a squadron under Vice-Admiral Edward Hughes and was engaged in operations on the Malabar coast and against the Dutch city of
Negapatam
Nagapattinam (''nākappaṭṭinam'', previously spelt Nagapatnam or Negapatam) is a town in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Nagapattinam District. The town came to prominence during the period of Medieval ...
. In 1782 he was ordered by the council at
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
to escort a ship pass the
Hoogly River
The Bhagirathi Hooghly River (Anglicized alternatively spelled ''Hoogli'' or ''Hugli'') or the 'Bhāgirathi-Hooghly', called the Ganga or the Kati-Ganga in mythological texts, is the eastern distributary of the Ganges River in West Bengal, In ...
which was watched by a French privateer. This diversion caused him to miss the attack on
Trincomalee
Trincomalee (; ta, திருகோணமலை, translit=Tirukōṇamalai; si, ත්රිකුණාමළය, translit= Trikuṇāmaḷaya), also known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee Dis ...
and invoked Hughes' anger, despite Lord Macartney's advocacy of Mackenzie's actions. When peace came the following year, Mackenzie was ordered back to Britain and placed in reserve.
Mackenzie did not serve again until 1793, when the outbreak of 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 ...
necessitated the employment of experienced seamen. Taking command of 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 ...
Atlantic campaign of May 1794
The Atlantic campaign of May 1794 was a series of operations conducted by the British Royal Navy's Channel Fleet against the French Navy's Atlantic Fleet, with the aim of preventing the passage of a strategically important French grain convoy t ...
, ''Gibraltar'' was engaged at the actions on 28 and 29 May and again at the
Glorious First of June
The Glorious First of June (1 June 1794), also known as the Fourth Battle of Ushant, (known in France as the or ) was the first and largest fleet action of the naval conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the First French Republic ...
, but failed to distinguish herself at any of the engagements. Mackenzie was consequently left off the list of officer commended for their service and was furious at his omission, as were many of the captains whose names were not included. The resulting furore was highly divisive in the Navy, and Mackenzie was never employed again, despite his promotion to rear-admiral three days later. He remained in reserve, continuing to gain in rank but never participating at sea until his death in 1813, childless at age 60.Tracy, p. 234–235