George Elliot (Royal Navy Officer, Born 1784)
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Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many 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. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...
Sir George Elliot (1 August 1784 – 24 June 1863) was a
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
officer who served during the French Revolutionary and
Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
, and the
First Opium War The First Opium War ( zh, t=第一次鴉片戰爭, p=Dìyīcì yāpiàn zhànzhēng), also known as the Anglo-Chinese War, was a series of military engagements fought between the British Empire and the Chinese Qing dynasty between 1839 and 1 ...
. Elliot was born to an 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
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,
Hyères Hyères (), Provençal dialect, Provençal Occitan language, Occitan: ''Ieras'' in classical norm, or ''Iero'' in Mistralian norm) is a Communes of France, commune in the Var (département), Var Departments of France, department in the Provence-Al ...
, and Cape St Vincent and under
Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...
at the
Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...
and
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
. 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'' broadly referred to various lands in Eastern world, the East or the Eastern Hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainl ...
, 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 was a substantive title created three times in the Peerage of England. The title Duke of Clarence and St Andrews has also been created in the Peerage of Great Britain, and Duke of Clarence and Avondale and Prince Leopold, Duke ...
and his relatives already in government office. Elliot briefly represented
Roxburghshire Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh () is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the northwest, and Berwickshire to the north. T ...
in
Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
, and served as
Secretary to the Admiralty S, or s, is the nineteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and other latin alphabets worldwide. Its name in English is ''ess'' (pronounced ), plural ''esses''. ...
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 ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...
. 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 1813, 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 () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...
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 or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
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 navy, 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 ...
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 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; ) was fought between the Royal Navy and the French Navy at Abu Qir Bay, Aboukir Bay in Ottoman Egypt, Egypt between 1–3 August 1798. It was the climax of the Mediterranean ca ...
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 Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...
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 Literary realism, Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry ...
, 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 . 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 or post captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of captain in the Royal Navy. The term "post-captain" was descriptive only; it was never used as a title in the form "Post-Captain John Smith". The term served to dis ...
on 2 January 1804, and commanded ''Maidstone'' at the blockade of
Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...
. 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
East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies) is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The ''Indies'' broadly referred to various lands in Eastern world, the East or the Eastern Hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainl ...
. 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 sloo ...
''Iéna'' while in the
Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Geographically it is positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese peninsula, located below the Bengal region. Many South Asian and Southe ...
, and on 15 July 1809 boats from ''Modeste'' and cut out the 8-gun ''Tuijneelar'' in the Sunda Straits. 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 () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...
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 (, Palembang: ''Pelémbang'', Mandarin: 巨港 (Jùgǎng), Hokkien: 舊港 (Kū-káng), Jawi: ) is the capital city of the Indonesian province of South Sumatra. The city proper covers on both banks of the Musi River in the ea ...
. The end of the
Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
left him without any commands, though he was able to secure a posting to command HMS ''Victory'', then serving as the guardship at
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
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 William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...
.


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 King George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior military officers or senior civil servants, and the monarch awards it on the advice of His ...
. The King also asked him to serve as
Secretary to the Admiralty S, or s, is the nineteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and other latin alphabets worldwide. Its name in English is ''ess'' (pronounced ), plural ''esses''. ...
from 29 November 1830, a post he held until December 1834. In addition to these offices Elliot sat as a Whig Member of Parliament for
Roxburghshire Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh () is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the northwest, and Berwickshire to the north. T ...
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 Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...
. He was also 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 ...
(the Third Naval Lord) from April 1835. The
First Lord of the Admiralty First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the title of the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible f ...
between September 1835 to September 1841, during Elliot's time as commissioner, was his brother,
Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 2nd Earl of Minto Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 2nd Earl of Minto, (; 16 November 178231 July 1859), styled as Viscount Melgund between 1813 and 1814, was a British diplomat and Whig politician. Background and education Minto was the eldest son of the Gilbe ...
. George Elliot specialised in ship design and construction, notably opposing Sir William Symonds, the
Surveyor of the Navy The Surveyor of the Navy, originally known as Surveyor and Rigger of the Navy, held overall responsibility for the design of British warships from 1745. He was a principal commissioner and member of the Navy Board from the inauguration of tha ...
, 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 (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...
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 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 then sent to China in February 1840, during the
First Opium War The First Opium War ( zh, t=第一次鴉片戰爭, p=Dìyīcì yāpiàn zhànzhēng), also known as the Anglo-Chinese War, was a series of military engagements fought between the British Empire and the Chinese Qing dynasty between 1839 and 1 ...
, as commander-in-chief East Indies and China Station 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,
Lord Palmerston Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865), known as Lord Palmerston, was a British statesman and politician who served as prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1855 to 1858 and from 1859 to 1865. A m ...
, 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 by the powerful Lansdowne faction. George Elliot became a vice-admiral on 13 May 1847, and served as
Commander-in-Chief, The Nore The Commander-in-Chief, The Nore, was an operational commander of the Royal Navy. His subordinate units, establishments, and staff were sometimes informally known as the Nore Station or Nore Command. Nore, The Nore is a sandbank at the mouth of t ...
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 King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...
in November 1862, and died on 24 June the following year at his home, 4 Princes Terrace,
Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around 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 Kensingt ...
,
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. He was buried at
Kensal Green Cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of North Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in P ...
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, entered the
Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
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 (Royal Navy), Admiral William Douglas-Maclean-Compton, 4th Marquess of Northampton (20 August 1818 – 11 September 1897), known as Lord William Compton from 1828 to 1877, was a British Peerage, peer and Royal Navy officer. Biography ...
and Catherine Francis married James Robert Drummond.


See also

*


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