Admiral Sir James Wishart (1659–1723) was a Scottish admiral in 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 ...

and Member of Parliament (MP) for

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

. Wishart served at the Battle of Cadiz and the Battle of Vigo Bay in 1702James Wishart
Europeana, accessed December 2012 and at the Capture of Gibraltar.

Biography

Wishart was born to

William Wishart :''See also William Wishart (disambiguation)'' William Wishart (or Wischard) (died 28 May 1279) was a 13th-century Bishop of St. Andrews. He was postulated to the see of St. Andrews (''Cell Rígmonaid'' or ''Cill Rìmhinn'') while holding the ...

, Principal of Edinburgh University. James Wishart was not the eldest son and he joined the

Dutch navy The Royal Netherlands Navy ( nl, Koninklijke Marine, links=no) is the naval force of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. During the 17th century, the navy of the Dutch Republic (1581–1795) was one of the most powerful naval forces in the world an ...

and reputedly commanded a Dutch vessel.J. D. Davies, ‘Wishart, Sir James (c.1659–1723)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 200
accessed 9 Dec 2012
/ref> His elder brother George became a baronet and a lieutenant colonelJames Wishart
Paula Watson, HistoryOfParliament.org, accessed December 2012 whilst his brother

became the Principal of

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted ...

. Wishart returned to Great Britain with William of Orange and he was rewarded, as he became a captain of

HMS Pearl HMS ''Pearl'' may refer to the following ships of the Royal Navy: *, a fifth rate of 42 guns launched in 1708; a detachment of its crew under Lieutenant Robert Maynard killed Blackbeard in 1718; broken up in 1722 *, a fourth rate of 42 guns launch ...

in 1689 and later he moved to HMS ''Mary Galley''. Wishart captained HMS ''Swiftsure'' and became a favourite of Sir

George Rooke Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Rooke (1650 – 24 January 1709) was an English naval officer. As a junior officer he saw action at the Battle of Solebay and again at the Battle of Schooneveld during the Third Anglo-Dutch War. As a captain, ...

after becoming his flag captain in 1695 on the recently renamed HMS ''Queen''. He served at the Battle of Cadiz and the Battle of Vigo Bay in 1702. In 1703-4 Wishart was with Sir

at the Capture of Gibraltar. By 1704 Rooke was threatening to resign when he found out that William Whetstone who lacked Wishart's seniority had been promoted to rear-admiral of the blue in preference to his captain. Rooke suspected that Wishart had been passed over either to slight him or because of Wishart's Scottish ancestry. Rooke noted that Wishart had recently moved to Yorkshire with his wife as way of mitigation of Jacobite leanings. Rooke's protest resulted in Wishart also being promoted to rear-admiral of the blue and it was backdated to the same date as his competitor was promoted. Rooke and Wishart were in the Mediterranean later the same year and Wishart was given a knighthood on his return. The success was short-lived however as both Rooke and Wishart lost their positions the following year. Wishart was placed on half pay and it was not until 1710 that his career progressed further when he became an Admiralty Lord. After having been defeated as a Tory parliamentary candidate for

in the 1710 election, he was successfully returned on petition the following year, sitting until 1715. Wishart was sent to

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

where he unsuccessfully lobbied the Dutch to form an alliance against the French. His last naval role was as Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet taking over from Sir

John Jennings John Jennings may refer to: Politicians * John Jenyns (1660–1717), MP * John Jennings (Burton MP) (1903–1990), British Conservative Party politician * John Jennings (American politician) (1880–1956), U.S. Representative from Tennessee, 1939 ...

in December 1713. Wishart was always suspected of being of a Jacobite persuasion. When

George I of Great Britain George I (George Louis; ; 28 May 1660 – 11 June 1727) was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 and ruler of the Electorate of Hanover within the Holy Roman Empire from 23 January 1698 until his death in 1727. He was the first ...

became king, Wishart lost his line management role and he died childless on 30 May 1723. He was an Admiral of the White Squadron.

Private life

He married Cordelia Raper of Bedale, North Yorkshire and lived at 53 High Street, Portsmouth. They had no children and his legacy of £20,000 went first to his wife. Wishart's will stipulated that anyone who ever owned his land or money needed to take his surname. The money eventually went to his nephew

who was Principal at Edinburgh University in 1736 or 1737. There is a memorial to Wishart, erected by his brother also William in the Church of St. Mary & St. Nicholas, Leatherhead. The memorial features a good biography and models of ships.

Legacy

He had his portrait painted by

Michael Dahl Michael Dahl (1659–1743) was a Swedish portrait painter who lived and worked in England most of his career and died there. He was one of the most internationally known Swedish painters of his time. He painted portraits of many aristocrats and s ...

.Sir James Wishart
Michael Dahl, Royal Museums, Greenwich, accessed December 2012 The Royal Navy has named one ship, the destroyer , after James Wishart; she was in commission from 1920 to 1945.

Lord Louis Mountbatten Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979) was a British naval officer, colonial administrator and close relative of the British royal family. Mountbatten, who was of Germa ...

was her commanding officer for a time, and when he was trying to inspire their crew he joked that the ship had the best name in the navy making the pun, "Our Father Wishart in Heaven..."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wishart, James 1659 births 1723 deaths People from Linlithgow People from West Lothian Royal Navy admirals Knights Bachelor Scottish admirals Scottish knights Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Portsmouth British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1713–1715 Lords of the Admiralty