Captain James Cranstoun, 8th Lord Cranstoun (c. 1755–22 September 1796) was an officer of the

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 ...

. The third son of James Cranstoun, 6th Lord Cranstoun, he succeeded to

the title The Title are a British four-piece indie band based in Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England. It has an estimated populati ...

on 1 August 1778 on the death of his elder brother William Cranstoun, 7th Lord Cranstoun. Cranstoun reached the rank of

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

on 19 October 1776 and

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 ...

on 31 January 1780. He commanded HMS ''Belliqueux'' at the Battle of St. Kitts in January 1782 and after 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 April was sent home with the despatches (in which he was mentioned) bearing news of the victory. From 1791 to 1793 he was Captain in HMS ''Assistance'' and in 1795 commanded HMS ''Bellerophon'' under Admiral

Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805) was a British Army officer, Whig politician and colonial administrator. In the United States and United Kingdom, he is best known as one of the leading Britis ...

at the

First Battle of Groix Cornwallis's Retreat was a naval engagement during the French Revolutionary Wars in which a British Royal Navy squadron of five ships of the line and two frigates was attacked by a much larger French Navy fleet of 12 ships of the line and 11 fri ...

. He was appointed

Governor of Grenada This is a list of Viceroys of Grenada from the establishment of French rule in 1649 until its independence from the United Kingdom in 1974. Following independence, the viceroy of Grenada ceased to represent the British monarch and British governme ...

in 1796 but before taking up his appointment he died at

Bishop's Waltham Bishop's Waltham (or Bishops Waltham) is a medieval market town situated at the source of the River Hamble in Hampshire, England. It has a foot in the South Downs National Park and is located at the midpoint of a long-established route between ...

on 22 September that year, as a result of

lead poisoning Lead poisoning, also known as plumbism and saturnism, is a type of metal poisoning caused by lead in the body. Symptoms may include abdominal pain, constipation, headaches, irritability, memory problems, infertility, numbness and paresthesia, t ...

cider Cider ( ) is an alcoholic beverage made from the Fermented drink, fermented Apple juice, juice of apples. Cider is widely available in the United Kingdom (particularly in the West Country) and Ireland. The United Kingdom has the world's highest ...

. He was buried at the Royal Garrison Church,

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 ...

. Lord Cranstoun was married on 19 August 1792 to Elizabeth, youngest daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Lewis Charles Montolieu and sister-in-law of Alexander Murray, 8th Lord Elibank and of James Bland Burges (later Sir James Bland Lamb, 1st Baronet). They had no children, so the title passed to Lord Cranstoun's nephew. Lady Cranstoun died on 27 August 1797, aged twenty-seven.

Sources

* William Anderson, ''The Scottish Nation'', vol. i, Edinburgh 186

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cranstoun, James Cranstoun, 8th Lord 1750s births 1796 deaths Royal Navy captains Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Lords of Parliament