Sir James Wallace (1731–6 March 1803) was an 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 ...

. He served for a time as a colonial governor.

Career in England

Wallace was born in

Loddon, Norfolk Loddon is a small town and civil parish in Norfolk, England, about south-east of Norwich. The town lies on the River Chet, a tributary of the River Yare within The Broads. The name "Loddon" is thought to mean ''muddy river'' in Celtic in ref ...

in 1731 and was the son of Thomas and Mary (née Beamish) Wallace (married 1725) of Loddon. He had a brother William Wallace (b. 1730) and a sister Mary Wallace (b. 1727). His grandfather William Wallace was a son of William Wallace (b. 1632) a younger brother of Thomas Wallace the 2nd Baronet of Craige. His uncle James Wallace (b. 1691 d. 1778) reared his illegitimate daughter Frances (b. 1751). He entered the

in 1746. He was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

in 1755, and having served in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

and

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 Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

in 1760, he was promoted to commander in 1762. He joined the

North American Station The North America and West Indies Station was a formation or command of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy stationed in North American waters from 1745 to 1956. The North American Station was separate from the Jamaica Station until 1830 when the ...

in 1763.

An American loyalist

Promoted 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 ...

, Wallace was given command of the sixth-rate in November 1771. In 1774 Wallace set sail in ''Rose'' for North America where he was to be based. He married Anne (or Ann) Wright in 1775 in Georgia. In July 1776 Wallace became the captain of (a 50-gun ship). Wallace was sent to England with the military dispatches in 1777 and was knighted on 13 February 1777. In 1778 the American rebels seized the British ship ''Alert'' and quickly outfitting it the American rebels used it to set fire to two other vessels carrying hay. Wallace came to the rescue with his ship ''Experiment'' and recaptured ''Alert'' and by quick action Wallace saved the ship from being burnt by the rebels. Combat naval sur les côtes de France en 1779

Combat naval sur les côtes de France en 1779

On 24 September 1779 Wallace and his ship ''Experiment'' along with 20 British officers and 30,000 pounds worth of silver were captured by ''Sagittaire'' off Hilton Head. He was taken to France as a prisoner and later returned in February 1780 from France to England.

Life after American independence

In April 1782 he was in the

serving under

Admiral Rodney Admiral George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, KB ( bap. 13 February 1718 – 24 May 1792), was a British naval officer. He is best known for his commands in the American War of Independence, particularly his victory over the French at t ...

at the

Battle of the Saintes The Battle of the Saintes (known to the French as the Bataille de la Dominique), also known as the Battle of Dominica, was an important naval battle in the Caribbean between the British and the French that took place 9–12 April 1782. The Brit ...

. In 1783 Sir James Wallace and his wife Lady Wallace (née Ann Wright (b. 1749) daughter of Sir James Wright) along with members of Lady Wallace's family the Wrights were granted land in Jamaica as compensation for their lost estates in America. (Lady Wallace (née Ann Wright) should not be confused with another Lady Wallace (née Eglantine Maxwell) who was a literary personality who was married to Sir Thomas Dunlop Wallace.) From 1782 he leased Hanworth House where his family lived for some years. Also in 1783 Sir James Wallace was involved in a complicated assault case at which Charles Bourne accused him of assaulting him when they were on the ship ''Warrior'' in 1782 on a journey to Jamaica and then in Bath Charles Bourne challenged Sir James Wallace to a duel which Wallace declined. On 12 April 1794, Wallace was promoted to

rear-admiral of the white The Rear-Admiral of the White 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 maj ...

and appointed commander-in-chief and governor of Newfoundland. During his governorship Wallace defended the coast of Newfoundland from French

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. In August 1796 Wallace's leadership successfully defended St. John's against a French

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...

of seven ships and three frigates and raised a

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

known as "Skinner's Fencibles". He was promoted to

vice-admiral of the white The Vice-Admiral of the White was a senior rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, immediately outranked by the rank Vice-Admiral of the Red (see order of precedence below). Royal Navy officers holding the ranks of commodore, rear admira ...

in 1795. He departed Newfoundland in 1797 for England, and left active service. He was promoted to

vice-admiral of the red Vice-admiral of the Red was a senior rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, immediately outranked by the rank admiral of the Blue (see order of precedence below). Royal Navy officers currently holding the ranks of commodore, rear admira ...

in 1799 and to admiral of the blue in 1801. He died 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 6 March 1803. He is buried at Hanworth with his uncle James Wallace and his supposed younger cousin Frances Grey Wallace the mother of Sir James Wallace Sleigh. Sir James Wallace's will confirmed that his wife was still alive at the time of his death as he mentions her as Lady Ann Wallace and her father as 'Sir James Wright the former governor of Georgia' and Wallace leaves his estate and properties and that coming from her father to her and their daughter Mary Wallace. The will also mentions Frances Sleigh (who is later buried with James and his uncle her presumed father) and her children . It is possible that Frances Gray Wallace (who married William Sleigh) was Admiral James Wallace's illegitimate daughter who was reared by his uncle as his own daughter. In the records of his life he also spent a lot of time with Frances Sleigh and her son Sir James Wallace Sleigh (who became a General and fought with Wellington at Waterloo).

References

External links

*
Biography at Government House ''The Governorship of Newfoundland and Labrador''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wallace, James 1731 births 1803 deaths Royal Navy admirals Governors of Newfoundland Colony People from Loddon

Career in England

An American loyalist

Life after American independence

See also

References

External links