Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

Sir Thomas Troubridge, 1st Baronet (22 June 17571 February 1807) 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. As a junior officer he saw action at the Battle of Sadras in February 1782 during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

and the Battle of Trincomalee in September 1782 during the Anglo-French War. He commanded the third-rate '' Culloden'' at the Battle of Cape St Vincent in February 1797 during 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 ...

. He went on to be First Naval Lord and then served as Commander-in-Chief, East Indies, during 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 ...

Naval career

Born the son of Richard Troubridge, a

baker A baker is a tradesperson who baking, bakes and sometimes Sales, sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient histo ...

, Troubridge was educated at St Paul's School,

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 entered the

on 8 October 1773 and, together with

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 ...

, served 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 ...

in the frigate . He was promoted to

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 1 January 1781 on the newly-purchased sloop ''Chaser''. On 3 March he returned to ''Seahorse''. In her he took part in the Battle of Trincomalee in February 1782 during the

and the Battle of Sadras in September 1782 during the Anglo-French War. His first command was the sloop in October 1782. Promoted 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 1 January 1783, Troubridge was given command of the frigate and was present at the Siege of Cuddalore in June 1783. After that he transferred to the third-rate . In 1785 Troubridge returned to England in as flag-captain to Admiral Sir Edward Hughes. He was appointed to the frigate in 1790. Appointed to command the frigate in May 1794, he and his ship were captured by the French while escorting a convoy, but he was liberated soon afterwards. On his return he was appointed to command , a third-rate

ship 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 tactics in the Age of Sail, naval tactic known as the line of battl ...

, in which he fought at the

Battle of the Hyères Islands The Battle of the Hyères Islands was a naval engagement fought between a combined British and Neapolitan fleet and the French Mediterranean Fleet on 13 July 1795 during the French Revolutionary Wars. Since the start of the war in 1793 the Fr ...

, led an unsuccessful pursuit of a French squadron in the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

, and led the line at the Battle of Cape St Vincent, being commended for his courage and initiative by Admiral Sir John Jervis. In July 1797 he assisted

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 ...

in the unsuccessful attack on

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Santa Cruz de Tenerife (; locally ), commonly abbreviated as Santa Cruz, is a city, the capital of the island of Tenerife, Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and one of the capitals of the Canary Islands, along with Las Palmas. Santa Cruz has a ...

. In August 1798, when getting into position for the attack on the French fleet, ''Culloden'' ran aground on a shoal near the entrance to Aboukir Bay and was consequently unable to take any part in 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 ...

. At Nelson's request, however, he was awarded the gold medal commemorating the victory. Troubridge then served in the

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 east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

and was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

on 30 November 1799. In February 1801 he joined the

Board of 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 ...

as First Naval Lord. Promoted to a

rear-admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

on 21 April 1804, Troubridge was appointed to command the eastern half of the East Indies Station, and he went out in with his resignation from the Admiralty Board becoming effective in May 1804. On his arrival the area of command was changed to that of the

Cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used th ...

Station. He left

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

in January 1807 for the Cape of Good Hope. Off the coast of

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

, ''Blenheim'', an old and damaged ship, foundered in a cyclone and the admiral and all others on board perished.

Arms

References

Sources

* * * *

External links

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990. * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Troubridge, Sir Thomas 1757 births 1807 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Deaths due to shipwreck at sea Deaths in tropical cyclones Lords of the Admiralty Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies People educated at St Paul's School, London Royal Navy rear admirals UK MPs 1802–1806 Politics of the Borough of Great Yarmouth Troubridge family

Naval career

Arms

References

Sources

Further reading

External links