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 ...

Hon. Charles Elphinstone Fleeming (18 June 1774 – 30 October 1840) was a British officer of 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 Fr ...

who served during the French Revolutionary 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 Fre ...

. He commanded a succession of smaller vessels during the early years of the wars, achieving some successes against French cruisers, merchants and

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

s, before losing his ship on one operation. Combining his naval career with periods of political activity he took part in only one major fleet operation, the Battle of Cape Finisterre in 1805, but spent several years as a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

. Connected by birth to a major noble landowning family several of his children went on to inherit or marry into titles and rank in the British peerage. Charles himself died an

Admiral of the Blue The Admiral of the Blue was a senior rank of 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 mar ...

with extensive Scottish estates.

Family and early life

Born Charles Elphinstone in 1774, he was the son of

John Elphinstone John Elphinstone, also known as John Elphinston (1722 – 28 February 1785), was a senior British naval officer who worked closely with the Russian Navy after 1770, with approval from the Admiralty, during the period of naval reform under Russi ...

, the 11th Lord Elphinstone, and his wife Anne Ruthven. He entered the Navy and by March 1794 and the age of 20 had reached the rank of commander aboard 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 moved aboard the 26-gun on 7 October 1795 and commanded her until her loss in 1797 while attempting to cut some French merchantmen out under the batteries at Puerto Plata, on

Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1804. The name derives from the Spanish main city in the island, Santo Domingo, which came to ref ...

. He was then appointed to the 50-gun in March 1798 which he commanded initially 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 ...

, but departing for 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 ...

on 6 December that year. He spent the rest of the war on the East Indies station, stepping down in December 1802 following the

Peace 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. It marked the end of the French Revolutionary Wars; after a short peace it s ...

. He briefly entered politics during this period, having been elected

for the constituency of

Stirlingshire Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling, gd, Siorrachd Sruighlea) is a historic county and registration countyRegisters of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties. of Scotland. Its county town is Stirling. It borders Perth ...

on 13 January 1802. He had assumed the name Fleeming on the death of his grandmother, the only surviving child of

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

, 6th Earl of Wigtoun, and his succeeding to the family's estates.

Napoleonic Wars

With the outbreak of the

in 1803 Elphinstone returned to active service, commanding the 40-gun HMS ''Egyptienne'' from April that year. While Fleeming was in command the ''Egyptienne'' took the 16-gun ''Epervier'' on 27 July, and the 14-gun privateer ''Chiffonette'' on 30 August 1803. Serving aboard the ''Egyptienne'' as a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Af ...

during this time was future-Admiral Charles John Napier. The two were on bad terms, that would later lead to Napier challenging Fleeming to a duel. The two met at the appointed time, but were reconciled by their seconds, and did not fight. The two were not fully reconciled as friends though until some years later. Fleeming and the ''Egyptienne'' supported Vice-Admiral

Robert Calder Admiral Sir Robert Calder, 1st Baronet, (2 July 174531 August 1818) was a British naval officer who served in the Seven Years' War, the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. For much of his career h ...

's fleet at the Battle of Cape Finisterre on 22 July 1805. ''Egyptienne'' did not participate in the fighting herself, but while reconnoitring in advance of the fleet she captured a Danish merchant brig. After the battle she took the disabled Spanish 74-gun ''Firme'' into tow. After the battle, Admiral

requested a court-martial to review his decision not to pursue the enemy fleet after the engagement. Fleeming was one of the witnesses. The court martial ruled that Calder's failure to pursue was an error of judgement, not a manifestation of cowardice, and severely reprimanded him. On 2 October ''Egyptienne'' captured the French

brig-sloop In the 18th century and most of the 19th, a sloop-of-war in the Royal Navy was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. The rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above; thus, the term ''sloop-of-war'' enc ...

''Acteon'', under Capitaine de Frégate Depoge, off Rochefort. She was armed with 16 6-pounder guns and had a crew of 126 men. The navy took ''Acteon'' into service under her own name. On 20 November ''Egyptienne'' captured the 12-gun Spanish letter of marque ''Paulina''. The chase took nine hours, during which the ''Paulina'' threw eight of her guns overboard. She was out of Pasajes (Spain), on her way to cruise the West Indies. By late December Fleeming had left ''Egyptienne'' and was at Calder's court-martial. Fleeming then moved to command in 1806, with the

Mediterranean Fleet The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between t ...

in 1807, and in 1811. He was appointed a Colonel of

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious warfare, amphibious light infantry and also one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighti ...

on 12 August 1812, and reached flag rank with a promotion to rear-admiral on 4 December 1814. He was appointed commander-in-chief at

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 = Gibr ...

in 1814 and became the first Master of the

Royal Calpe Hunt The Royal Calpe Hunt of the British Crown Colony of Gibraltar originated in 1812 as the Civil Hunt. The fox hunt was initially a civilian endeavour that began when a pair of English foxhounds were imported to Gibraltar. The hunts took place acros ...

Later life

Fleeming continued to rise through the ranks after the end of the wars with France. He was made a vice-admiral on 19 July 1821, was in command at the West Indies by 1828, and became an admiral in 1837. He had been re-elected three times as MP for Stirlingshire before his naval career intervened, but returned to politics during his retirement from active service, regaining the seat in 1832 and holding it until 1835. Fleeming married 16-year-old Doña Cataline Paulina Alesandro de Jiminez in June 1816 in the Cathedral of Santa Cruz in Cadiz; he was 42. The marriage produced a son,

, who was born on 11 December 1819, and four daughters. One daughter, Clementina, married

Cornwallis Maude, 1st Earl de Montalt Cornwallis Maude, 1st Earl de Montalt (4 April 1817 – 9 January 1905), styled The Honourable Cornwallis Maude until 1856 and known as The Viscount Hawarden from 1856 to 1886, was a British Conservative politician. Background Maude was the only ...

and became a celebrated photographer. John meanwhile inherited the title of Lord Elphinstone in 1860 after the death without issue of

John Elphinstone, 13th Lord Elphinstone John Elphinstone, 13th Lord Elphinstone, 1st Baron Elphinstone, (23 June 1807 – 19 July 1860) was a Scottish soldier, politician and colonial administrator. He was twice elected to the Parliament of the United Kingdom as a Scottish Representativ ...

. Another daughter, Anne Elizabeth, who was born off Venezuela aboard Fleeming's flagship, in 1828, married William Cunningham Bontine of Gartmore and Ardoch, and had three sons, the eldest of which was the author, adventurer and politician

Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham (24 May 1852 – 20 March 1936) was a Scottish politician, writer, journalist and adventurer. He was a Liberal Party Member of Parliament (MP); the first ever socialist member of the Parliament of the United Ki ...

. Fleeming was Commander-in-Chief, West Indies from 1828 to 1829, Commander-in-Chief, The Nore from 1834 to 1837 and briefly

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 succes ...

from April to November 1839.History in Portsmouth
He succeeded Sir Thomas Hardy as Governor of Greenwich Hospital in September 1839, holding the position until his death from influenza at Leamington on 30 October 1840 at the age of 66. He was buried in Leamington parish church on 7 November.

Notes

References

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External links

* , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Fleeming, Charles Elphinstone 1774 births 1840 deaths Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Royal Navy admirals UK MPs 1802–1806 UK MPs 1806–1807 UK MPs 1807–1812 UK MPs 1832–1835 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies