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 George Elliot (1 August 1784 – 24 June 1863) 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 Fr ...

officer 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 ...

, and the

First Opium War The First Opium War (), also known as the Opium War or the Anglo-Sino War was a series of military engagements fought between Britain and the Qing dynasty of China between 1839 and 1842. The immediate issue was the Chinese enforcement of the ...

. Elliot was born to influential and distinguished family that included several powerful politicians and diplomats. After entering the navy at an early age he served through several of the decisive battles of the French Revolutionary Wars, seeing action at

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

Hyères Hyères (), Provençal Occitan: ''Ieras'' in classical norm, or ''Iero'' in Mistralian norm) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. The old town lies from the sea clustered arou ...

, and Cape St Vincent and under Nelson at the

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest riv ...

and

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 a ...

. He had graduated to his own commands by the outbreak of the Napoleonic Wars, being described by Nelson as one of the best officers in the navy, and served with distinction in the Mediterranean and in the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies), is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies refers to various lands in the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found in and around ...

, where he took part in the Invasion of Java. Left without significant employment after the end of the wars with France, Elliot took up politics, with the support of the

Duke of Clarence Duke of Clarence is a substantive title which has been traditionally awarded to junior members of the British Royal Family. All three creations were in the Peerage of England. The title was first granted to Lionel of Antwerp, the second son ...

and his relatives already in government office. Elliot briefly represented

Roxburghshire Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh ( gd, Siorrachd Rosbroig) is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the north-west, and Be ...

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

, and served as Secretary to the Admiralty and later one of the

Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty The Board of Admiralty (1628–1964) was established in 1628 when Charles I put the office of Lord High Admiral into commission. As that position was not always occupied, the purpose was to enable management of the day-to-day operational requi ...

. He briefly returned to active naval service with his elevation to flag rank, and commanded the station at 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 ...

. He went out to superintend operations in China during the First Opium War, but failed to make any decisive difference, and returned to Britain. Here he found factional politics had reduced his and his relations' former influence in government, and he thereafter only served in a minor capacity in the navy, and did not return to government office. He died in 1863, having risen by seniority to the rank of admiral, fathered a large family which included high-ranking military officers, and their spouses, and having made a distinct contribution to naval policy during his time in politics.

Family and early life

George Elliot was born on 1 August 1784, the second son of

Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Earl of Minto Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Earl of Minto, (; 23 April 175121 June 1814), known as Sir Gilbert Elliott, 4th Baronet until 1797, and The Lord Minto from 1797 to 1814, was a British diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Comm ...

and his wife Anna Maria. George Elliot was the brother of Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, the future second Earl of Minto. George Elliot joined the navy as a first-class volunteer in 1794, shortly after 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 France against Britain, Austria, Pruss ...

and served at first aboard the 98-gun under

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 ...

Thomas Foley. The ''St George'' was at the time 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 ...

of Sir Hyde Parker. While aboard ''St George'' Elliot saw action at the Naval Battle of Genoa on 14 March 1795 and the

Naval Battle of Hyères Islands A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

on 13 June 1795. Elliot continued to serve under Foley for the next few years, moving with him in succession to , aboard which he saw action at the Battle of Cape St Vincent on 14 February 1797, , which fought at the

Battle of the Nile The Battle of the Nile (also known as the Battle of Aboukir Bay; french: Bataille d'Aboukir) was a major naval battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the Navy of the French Republic at Aboukir Bay on the Mediterranean coast off the ...

on 1–3 August 1798 and then aboard . After seeing action in several of the decisive naval battles of the French Revolutionary Wars Elliot was promoted to lieutenant on 12 August 1800. He went on to serve under admirals Sir Charles Pole and

Horatio Nelson Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought a ...

in this capacity in 1801, initially aboard and then aboard HMS ''St George''. While serving aboard ''St George'', which was then under the command of Captain

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Wor ...

, Elliot accompanied the expeditionary fleet to the

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...

under Sir Hyde Parker, and took part in the fighting during the Battle of Copenhagen. He was promoted to the rank of commander on 14 April 1802, and went out to the Mediterranean in May the following year with Nelson, as a volunteer on his flagship .

Command

Nelson gave Elliot his first command on 10 July 1803, appointing him to 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 ...

. His time in command of her was brief, and on 1 August he was moved to the 32-gun . He received a promotion to

post-captain Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of 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) addressed as captain ...

on 2 January 1804, and commanded ''Maidstone'' at the blockade of

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 ...

. On 11 July 1804 boats from ''Maidstone'', and those from and took part in the destruction of vessels at Lavandou. He was then briefly attached to the squadron blockading Cadiz under Captain Sir Richard Strachan, and it was around this time that Nelson described him as one of the best officers in the navy. Elliot spent the rest of the war serving on several different stations, at times in home waters, and with spells in the Mediterranean, and in the

. He was made captain of in March 1805. In July 1805 he recommissioned the 22-gun for service in the Mediterranean, and in October 1806 took command of the 36-gun . Elliot commanded her for the next six years, and sailed for the East Indies and China on 15 February 1807. On 8 October 1808 he chased down and captured the 18-gun French

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...

''Iéna'' while in the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line bet ...

, and on 15 July 1809 boats from ''Modeste'' and cut out the 8-gun ''Tuijneelar'' in the

Sunda Straits The Sunda Strait ( id, Selat Sunda) is the strait between the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra. It connects the Java Sea with the Indian Ocean. Etymology The strait takes its name from the Sunda Kingdom, which ruled the western portion o ...

. Elliot then took part in the operations to capture Java between August and September 1811. He took command of the 38-gun in 1813 and was involved in the suppression of

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and e ...

pirates in June. His actions during these campaigns brought the attention of his superiors, as did his assistance to Colonel McGregor in restoring the Sultan of

Palembang Palembang () is the capital city of the Indonesian province of South Sumatra. The city proper covers on both banks of the Musi River on the eastern lowland of southern Sumatra. It had a population of 1,668,848 at the 2020 Census. Palembang ...

. The end of the

left him without any commands, though he was able to secure a posting to command HMS ''Victory'', then serving as the

guardship A guard ship is a warship assigned as a stationary guard in a port or harbour, as opposed to a coastal patrol boat, which serves its protective role at sea. Royal Navy In the Royal Navy of the eighteenth century, peacetime guard ships were usua ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...

from 1 May 1827 until 24 January 1832. His service during this period earned Elliot the praise of the Duke of Clarence, the future King William IV.

Flag rank and political career

King William appointed Elliot a naval aide-de-camp in 1830, and in September that year he was nominated a

Companion 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 on ...

. The King also asked him to serve as Secretary to the Admiralty from 29 November 1830, a post he held until December 1834. He was also one of the

(the Third Naval Lord) from April 1835. In addition to these offices Elliot sat as a Whig

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 ...

for

from 1832 until his defeat in 1835. In 1834 he was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemati ...

. The

First Lord of the Admiralty The First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible for the di ...

between September 1835 to September 1841, during Elliot's time as commissioner, was his brother, Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 2nd Earl of Minto. George Elliot specialised in ship design and construction, notably opposing

Sir William Symonds Sir William Symonds CB FRS (24 September 1782 – 30 March 1856, aboard the French steamship ''Nil'', Strait of Bonifacio, Sardinia)Surveyor of the Navy The Surveyor of the Navy also known as Department of the Surveyor of the Navy and originally known as Surveyor and Rigger of the Navy was a former principal commissioner and member of both the Navy Board from the inauguration of that body in 15 ...

, and his system. Together with First Naval Lord Sir Charles Adam he pressed for money to be spent on repairing ships rather than building new ones. He designed a small frigate during this period, which was launched in 1843 as . The design attracted much comment, particularly praising her fine lines and speed, and for a time she was commanded by his son, Captain George Elliot. She later became a

training ship A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house class ...

and foundered with heavy loss of life in a squall off the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Is ...

on 24 March 1878. Elliot was promoted to rear-admiral on 10 January 1837 and in September that year went out as commander-in-chief of the Cape of Good Hope Station. He was then sent to China in February 1840, during the

, as commander-in-chief

East Indies and China Station The Commander-in-Chief, East Indies and China was a formation of the Royal Navy from 1831 to 1865. Its naval area of responsibility was the Indian Ocean and the coasts of China and its navigable rivers. The Commander-in-Chief was appointed in 183 ...

and joint plenipotentiary with his cousin, Captain

Charles Elliot Admiral Sir Charles Elliot (15 August 1801 – 9 September 1875) was a British Royal Navy officer, diplomat, and colonial administrator. He became the first Administrator of Hong Kong in 1841 while serving as both Plenipotentiary and Chief Su ...

. He oversaw operations between July and November, but his actions and negotiations were viewed by the

foreign secretary The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwe ...

, Lord Palmerston, as being irresolute and ineffective. Elliot himself admitted that he was out of his depth, and on his health deteriorating, returned to Britain in November. By the time of his return the political situation had changed. The formation of the First Russell ministry in 1846 led to the exclusion of the Elliot clan from 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 ...

by the powerful Lansdowne faction. George Elliot became a vice-admiral on 13 May 1847, and served as Commander-in-Chief, The Nore between 1848 and 1851. He attained the rank of full admiral on 5 March 1853, and was placed on the retired list at half pay in 1855. He was advanced to 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 on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) a ...

in November 1862, and died on 24 June the following year at his home, 4 Princes Terrace,

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensington Garden ...

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 ...

. He was buried at

Kensal Green Cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of Queens Park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, it was founded by the barrister George Frederick ...

in a private ceremony.

Family and issue

George Elliot married Eliza Cecilia in 1810 and went on to have a large family together. Their eldest son, George Elliot, entered the navy and became an admiral, while another son,

Alexander Elliot Major-General Sir Alexander James Hardy Elliot, (23 February 1825 – 1 July 1909) was a British Army officer who became Commander-in-Chief, Scotland. Military career Born the son of Admiral Sir George Elliot, Elloit was commissioned ...

, entered the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

and became a major-general. Of his daughters, Georgiana Maria married William Carnegie, 8th Earl of Northesk, Eliza married

William Compton, 4th Marquess of Northampton Admiral William Compton, 4th Marquess of Northampton, (20 August 1818 – 11 September 1897), known as Lord William Compton from 1828 to 1877, was a British peer and Royal Navy officer. Biography Northampton was born at York Place, Marylebon ...

and Catherine Francis married

James Robert Drummond Admiral Sir James Robert Drummond (15 September 1812 – 7 October 1895) was a Royal Navy officer who commanded several ships in the Black Sea Fleet during the Crimean War and who commanded the Mediterranean Fleet from 1874 to 1877 before going o ...

Notes

References

* * * * *

External links

* , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Elliot, George 1784 births 1863 deaths Royal Navy admirals Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Royal Navy personnel of the First Opium War UK MPs 1832–1835 Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery Younger sons of earls Lords of the Admiralty Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies Fellows of the Royal Society