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, ...

Charles Powell Hamilton (26 December 1747 – 12 March 1825) 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 F ...

, who saw service during the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, and the

French Revolutionary The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are consider ...

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 Fren ...

, eventually rising to the rank of

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, ...

Family and early life

Hamilton was born on 26 December 1747, the third and youngest son of

Lord Anne Hamilton Lord Anne Hamilton (12 October 1709 – 25 December 1748) was a Scottish nobleman. He is said to have married the richest woman in the UK and they had a child. Early life Hamilton was born at St. James's Square, London, the third son of Lieute ...

, who was the third and youngest son of

James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton Lieutenant General James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton and 1st Duke of Brandon (11 April 1658 – 15 November 1712) was a Scottish nobleman, soldier and politician. Hamilton was a major investor in the failed Darien Scheme, which cost many of ...

.; his middle name was from his mother, Anna Charlotta Maria Powell. He joined the navy and saw some service during the

. After the

Action of 13 May 1779 The action of 13 May 1779 was a battle in Cancale Bay, near St Malo, between a French and a British squadron of frigates. The French force of three frigates, two sloops, a brig, and a cutter had been part of the escort meant for Karl Heinrich ...

in which he commanded HMS ''Fortune'', he was promoted to the rank of

post-captain Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of Captain (Royal Navy), 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) ...

on 18 May 1779 and to command of the

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

HMS ''Apollo''.

War with the French

With 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 French First Republic, France against Ki ...

in 1793 Hamilton was assigned to command the 74-gun

third rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy, a third rate was a ship of the line which from the 1720s mounted between 64 and 80 guns, typically built with two gun decks (thus the related term two-decker). Years of experience proved that the third r ...

. In November 1794 the ''Canada'' and the , the latter under Captain

Richard Rodney Bligh Admiral Sir Richard Rodney Bligh, GCB ( bap. 8 November 1737 – 30 April 1821) was an officer of the Royal Navy. He saw service during the American War of Independence, as well as the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, eventually ri ...

, had been assigned to escort a convoy from England to

Cape St Vincent Cape St. Vincent ( pt, Cabo de São Vicente, ) is a headland in the municipality of Vila do Bispo, in the Algarve, southern Portugal. It is the southwesternmost point of Portugal and of mainland Europe. History Cape St. Vincent was already sacr ...

. While the two warships were returning they were spotted by a French squadron under

Joseph-Marie Nielly Joseph-Marie Nielly (1751 – 1833) was a French naval officer and admiral. Nielly was born and died in Brest. He began his career aged seven aboard the ''Formidable'', and was wounded at the Battle of Quiberon Bay, on 20 November 1759. He sai ...

, consisting of five 74 gun

ships of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colum ...

, three large

s and a

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...

. Outnumbered the British ships attempted to escape, but began to be overhauled by the French. Bligh eventually turned and engaged the French, allowing Hamilton aboard the ''Canada'' to escape. After an unequal engagement during which the ''Alexander'' was reduced to a sinking condition, Bligh struck his colours. Shortly after Hamilton's return to England he was transferred to the 98-gun

second rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a second-rate was a ship of the line which by the start of the 18th century mounted 90 to 98 guns on three gun decks; earlier 17th-century second rates had fewer guns ...

. Hamilton and the ''Prince'' were assigned to the fleet under Admiral Alexander Hood, which in June 1795 came across a French fleet under

Louis Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse Louis-Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse (29 May 1747Granier, p.87Some biographers give a date of 1750 (Levot, p.541). Granier quotes the registers of Sainte-Marie parish. – 24 July 1812Levot, p.544) was a French admiral. Villaret was born at Auch ...

, and which included the captured ''Alexander'' off

Groix Groix (; br, Enez Groe) is an island and a commune in the Morbihan department of the region of Brittany in north-western France. Groix lies a few kilometres off the coast of Lorient. Several ferries a day run from Lorient to Groix. There are a ...

. The ''Alexander'' had been taken into the French navy after her surrender, and after an engagement termed the

Battle of Groix The Battle of Groix was a large naval engagement which took place near the island of Groix off the Biscay coast of Brittany on 23 June 1795 ( 5 messidor an III) during the French Revolutionary Wars. The battle was fought between elements of the ...

, the British recaptured her. Though Hamilton was present, he was not directly engaged in the fighting.

Family and later life

Hamilton was promoted rear-admiral on 20 February 1797, vice-admiral on 1 January 1801 and admiral on 28 April 1808. He married Lucretia Prosser in May 1777, having two sons with her. The younger, Augustus Hamilton, also joined the navy, becoming a

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 sub ...

. Correspondence between Vice-Admiral Hamilton and Vice-Admiral

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 abo ...

in 1803 indicates that the elder Hamilton asked Nelson to find a place for his son aboard , but that Nelson was unable to oblige. Admiral Charles Powell Hamilton died at Fir Hill, near

Droxford Droxford ( Drokensford) is a village in Hampshire, England. Geography The village is clustered with slight ribbon development along its main, north–south, undulating road. It is entirely on the lower half of the western slopes of the Meon v ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

on 12 March 1825, at the age of 77. Following the death in 1895 of

William Douglas-Hamilton, 12th Duke of Hamilton William is a male given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norm ...

without male issue, Hamilton's great-grandson, Alfred Douglas Hamilton inherited the Dukedom of Hamilton.

Notes

References

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Charles Powell 1747 births 1825 deaths Royal Navy admirals Royal Navy personnel of the American Revolutionary War Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars People from the City of Winchester