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 James Robert Drummond (15 September 1812 – 7 October 1895) 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 commanded several ships in the

Black Sea Fleet Chernomorskiy flot , image = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet , dates = May 13, ...

during the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

and who commanded 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 ...

from 1874 to 1877 before going on to be Fourth Naval Lord.

Naval career

Born the second of the eight children of James Drummond, 8th Viscount Strathallan and Lady Amelia Sophia Drummond (née Murray),The Peerage.Com
/ref>
/ref> Drummond joined the

on 2 February 1826. He was promoted to lieutenant on 27 December 1832, and to commander on 9 June 1838.James Robert Drummond on-line biography.
/ref> As a commander he took command of the 18-gun sailing sloop in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

in 1841. Promoted to captain in 1846, in 1852 he took charge of the 1st-Class wooden paddle-frigate , which had 10-guns and also served in the Mediterranean. Under his command the ''Retribution'', which was listed as having 28 guns, participated in the first bombardment of

Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

on 17 October 1854 during the

. During the bombardment, ''Retribution'' towed or was coupled broadside to the 120-gun sailing line-of-battle ship . Later that year, Drummond was appointed captain of the 31-gun wooden screw-

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 ...

, and the following year to the 2nd rate, 2-decker 90-gun sail

line of battle The line of battle is a tactic in naval warfare in which a fleet of ships forms a line end to end. The first example of its use as a tactic is disputed—it has been variously claimed for dates ranging from 1502 to 1652. Line-of-battle tacti ...

ship , both of which ships formed part of the Black Sea Fleet. In March 1856 he became Captain of , flagship of Vice Admiral

George Francis Seymour Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Francis Seymour, (17 September 1787 – 20 January 1870) was a Royal Navy officer. After serving as a junior officer during the French Revolutionary Wars, Seymour commanded the third-rate under Admiral Sir John ...

, Portsmouth, and in December of that year he was transferred to the 5th-rate 44-gun sailing frigate , for coast guard service. In May 1857 Drummond was appointed Private Secretary to Sir Charles Wood, the First Lord of the Admiralty and was then himself appointed Fourth Naval Lord from March 1858. In December 1858 he was appointed as Commodore in , as Commander-in-Chief, Woolwich. ''Fisgard'' was an old 5th-rate 46-gun sailing frigate, which had been hulked in 1847. Captain Drummond was again Fourth Naval Lord from June 1861 to July 1866, and was promoted to

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star " admiral" rank. It is often rega ...

in January 1864. He was appointed 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 of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

on 24 May 1873, and was promoted to vice admiral on 2 June 1877. He commanded the

from 13 January 1874 to 15 January 1877. His flagship was initially and later . He was promoted to

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 ...

on 22 January 1877 and retired on 16 September 1877, the day after his 65th birthday. He was appointed a Knight Grand Cross 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 ...

on 23 April 1880. In retirement he served as

Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod Black Rod (officially known as the Lady Usher of the Black Rod or, if male, the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod) is an official in the parliaments of several Commonwealth countries. The position originates in the House of Lords of the Parliam ...

Family

Drummond married Catherine Francis Elliot, daughter of Admiral Sir George Elliot and Eliza Cecilia Ness, on 5 February 1856. They had one child, Laurence George Drummond, born on 13 March 1861, who became a soldier. Catherine Drummond died on 20 April 1914.

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Drummond, James Robert 1812 births 1895 deaths Royal Navy personnel of the Crimean War Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Lords of the Admiralty Royal Navy admirals Younger sons of viscounts Gentlemen Ushers Ushers of the Black Rod

Naval career

Family

See also

References