Charles Stirling (28 April 1760 – 7 November 1833) was a vice-admiral in 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 ...

Early life and career

Charles Stirling was born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

on 28 April 1760 and baptised at

St. Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Roman r ...

on 15 May. The son of Admiral Sir Walter Stirling, he was born into a family with a long and proud naval tradition. Stirling joined the Royal Navy and was promoted to captain in 1783. On 11 August 1789 he married Charlotte Grote at

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

. He was involved in the capture of ''Seine'' at the

action of 30 June 1798 The action of 30 June 1798 was a minor naval engagement fought along the Biscay coast of France during the French Revolutionary Wars. The French Navy had been largely driven from the Atlantic Ocean early in the war following heavy losses in a se ...

during which he was wounded, and took part in the July 1801 Battle of Algeciras as captain of the

74-gun 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 ...

. Later that year he was appointed Commissioner at

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

Yard.

Admiral

Stirling was recalled to England in late 1804, and on arrival was promoted to rear admiral and hoisted his flag in the 98-gun , which had been one of the famous ships involved in 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 ...

battle, and was now the flagship of the Rochefort squadron. Stirling immediately arranged for his nephew

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

to transfer to his ship as a midshipman. James Stirling would remain under his uncle's command until 1808, and would be enormously influenced by his uncle, both professionally and personally. On 22 July 1805, Stirling took part in the Battle of Cape Finisterre under Sir

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 ...

, during which his squadron attacked the combined French and

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fleets off Cape Finisterre. In July 1806 he was given command of the ship and order to convoy General Samuel Auchmuty's troops to

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, where he would relieve Admiral Sir

Home Riggs Popham Rear Admiral Sir Home Riggs Popham, KCB, KCH (12 October 1762 – 20 September 1820), was a Royal Navy commander who saw service against the French during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He is remembered for his scientific accomplishment ...

, who, with troops under

William Carr Beresford General William Carr Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford, 1st Marquis of Campo Maior, (; 2 October 1768 – 8 January 1854) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and politician. A general in the British Army and a Marshal in the Portuguese Army, he foug ...

, had captured Buenos Aires in the first of a series of

British invasions of the River Plate The British invasions of the River Plate were two unsuccessful British attempts to seize control of areas in the Spanish colony of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata that were located around the Río de la Plata in South America – in p ...

. By the time he arrived, Buenos Aires had been retaken by the Spanish, so after relieving Popham and transferring to Popham's ship, , Stirling aided Auchmuty in a successful attack on Montevideo. He was later praised in both

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and in the British press for his good judgement. Shortly after the capture of Montevideo, Stirling was relieved and ordered to take up the office of naval Commander-in-Chief at the

Cape of Good Hope Station The Commander-in-Chief, Africa was the last title of a Royal Navy's formation commander located in South Africa from 1795 to 1939. Under varying titles, it was one of the longest-lived formations of the Royal Navy. It was also often known as the C ...

. He was recalled to London after about five months. On 31 July 1810, he was promoted to vice admiral, and given the Freedom of the City of London. He also received a sword with "gallant and meritorious conduct at the capture of the Fortress of Monte Video" inscribed on the hilt. Stirling took an extended period of leave, but in October 1811 returned to active service to take up an appointment as Commander-in-Chief of the

Jamaica Station Jamaica station is a major train station of the Long Island Rail Road located in Jamaica, Queens, New York City. With weekday ridership exceeding 200,000 passengers, it is the largest transit hub on Long Island, the fourth-busiest rail station ...

.Cundall, p. xx When war broke out with America, he was placed under the command of 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 ...

in September 1812, and led his squadron in harassing American shipping and conducting coastal raids in the

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 = , es ...

area.

Court martial

In June 1813 Stirling was relieved and ordered to return to London. On arriving in London late in 1813, he learned that he had been recalled to face charges of accepting payment for protecting foreign seamen. The specific charges were contained in a letter written by Commissioner Wolley at Jamaica, who claimed "that His Majesty's Naval Service had been brought into disrepute in consequence of it being spoken of publicly that ships of war were hired out to convoy vessels going to the Spanish Main." Wolley cited a specific incident, when Stirling was said to have received $2000 for the hire of His Majesty's sloop . Aspects of the charge were dismissed, but the verdict that was handed down in May 1814 was "that the charge had been in part proved." Although it was agreed that Stirling's actions were excusable on humanitarian grounds, he had acted against regulations. He was retired on half pay, and barred from further promotion. Stirling appealed in July and won a number of concessions: a restoration to

flag officer A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which the officer exercises command. The term is used differently in different countries: *In many countries ...

status and the right to continue to be addressed as "senior vice admiral of the white". The

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

, however, refused to return him to active service.

Later life

Stirling's wife died on 25 March 1825 at Woburn Farm,

Chertsey Chertsey is a town in the Borough of Runnymede, Surrey, England, south-west of central London. It grew up round Chertsey Abbey, founded in 666 CE, and gained a market charter from Henry I. A bridge across the River Thames first appeared in t ...

, Surrey. Stirling was reported as seriously ill in September 1833, and he died at Woburn Farm on 7 November 1833. His only daughter Charlotte Dorothea Stirling married her cousin Charles Stirling of Muiravonside House on 1 May 1827.

Cultural references

Charles Stirling appears as a character in the book ''

Master and Commander ''Master and Commander'' is a 1969 nautical historical novel by the English author Patrick O'Brian, first published in 1969 in the US and 1970 in the UK. The book proved to be the start of the 20-novel Aubrey–Maturin series, set largely in th ...

'' by

Patrick O'Brian Patrick O'Brian, CBE (12 December 1914 – 2 January 2000), born Richard Patrick Russ, was an English novelist and translator, best known for his Aubrey–Maturin series of sea novels set in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, and cent ...

References

Sources

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