John Lindsay (admiral)
Encyclopedia
Admiral Sir John Lindsay KB
(1737 – 4 June 1788) was a British naval officer of the 18th century, and the father of Dido Elizabeth Belle
.
of Evelick or Evelix
(near Dornoch
in Easter Ross
) and Amelia Murray, daughter of David Murray, 5th Viscount of Stormont and sister to William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield and Mansfield.
John's sister Margaret Lindsay was tutored in painting by Allan Ramsay, with whom (in 1752) she later eloped and married, as his second wife — her parents were alienated from her by the marriage, but her brother John remained loyal to her until her death in 1782.
John joined the navy during the Seven Years' War
. He was made a lieutenant
in 1756 commanding the fireship Pluto, and as such was present on Sir Edward Hawke's 1757 expedition to attack Rochefort
. On 29 September 1757 he was made captain
of the 28 gun
frigate
HMS Trent
from 1757 to 1763) and as such served in the West Indies and in home waters during the war. Trent was present in Sir George Pocock
's fleet at the taking of Havana
from the Spanish in 1762. During that action, he took over command of the 80 gun
HMS Cambridge
on 1 July when her commander William Goostrey was killed by rifle fire from the Morro Castle
, which he was attempting to capture. For this and ‘many strong proofs of his valour’ shown in the battle he was rewarded with a permanent command of HMS Cambridge, the 70 gun
HMS Marlborough
or the 74 gun
HMS Dragon
(it is unknown which he chose, and he was still in the Trent in December 1763) and a knighthood on his return to England (awarded 10 February 1764).
Lindsay then returned to the West Indies, this time in command of the Tartar
, carrying one of John Harrison
's chronometers for tests and with Thomas Erskine
as one of his midshipmen.
He returned to Britain in 1765. On 19 September 1768, he married Mary, daughter of Sir William Milner. They had no children. (At the end of his life, he had three illegitimate children — including Dido — by different women.) He was MP
for Aberdeen Burghs
from 1767 to 1768.
From August 1769 to March 1772 Lindsay was commodore
and commander-in-chief
in the East Indies
, with his broad pennant
flown from the frigate Stag
. While in India, he was awarded the Order of the Bath
(28 June 1770), though he was still a relatively junior sea officer. He was sent to investigate dealings between the British East India Company
and the India
n nawab
s (during which time George Paterson
was his Secretary). This made him unpopular with the Company and he was soon recalled.
HMS Victory
, but was moved to be captain of the 90 gun
HMS Prince George when Admiral Keppel
decided to raise his flag
in Victory (with John Campbell as his flag captain
) when she was commissioned in May 1778. He commanded the Prince George in the disastrous Battle of Ushant
on 27 July 1778 and, after giving evidence against Sir Hugh Palliser
to the ensuing courts martial, he resigned straight after Keppel and refused to accept any command during Lord Sandwich
's administration of the Admiralty, thus missing the American War of Independence.
and commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean
, with HMS Trusty
as his flagship. As c-in-c he was present at Naples
in June 1784, on 24 June entertaining the king
and queen on board his ship. However, soon afterwards his health broke down, forcing him to return to England. He was promoted "rear admiral
of the red" on 24 September 1787, but for health reasons held it as an honorary role rather than an active one. He died at Marlborough, on his way from a health trip to Bath, on 4 June 1788, aged fifty-one, and buried in Westminster Abbey
.
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
(1737 – 4 June 1788) was a British naval officer of the 18th century, and the father of Dido Elizabeth Belle
Dido Elizabeth Belle
Dido Elizabeth Belle was an illegitimate daughter of John Lindsay and an African slave woman known only as Belle. Very little is known about Belle only that she was black and a slave. Her daughter Dido lived in the household of the Earl of Mansfield who was her father's Uncle and her...
.
Family
His parents were Sir Alexander LindsaySir Alexander Lindsay of Evelix (1683-1762)
Sir Alexander Lindsay of Evelick was a Scottish nobleman from the Lindsay of Evelick family. He married into the Clan Murray by his marriage with Amelia Murray, daughter of David Murray, 5th Viscount Stormont and sister of William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield...
of Evelick or Evelix
Evelix
Evelix or Evelick is a village near Dornoch in south east Sutherland, Scotland. The River Evelix runs through it. Evelix is in the Scottish council area of Highland....
(near Dornoch
Dornoch
Dornoch is a town and seaside resort, and former Royal burgh in the Highlands of Scotland. It lies on the north shore of the Dornoch Firth, near to where it opens into the Moray Firth to the east...
in Easter Ross
Easter Ross
Easter Ross is a loosely defined area in the east of Ross, Highland, Scotland.The name is used in the constituency name Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, which is the name of both a British House of Commons constituency and a Scottish Parliament constituency...
) and Amelia Murray, daughter of David Murray, 5th Viscount of Stormont and sister to William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield and Mansfield.
John's sister Margaret Lindsay was tutored in painting by Allan Ramsay, with whom (in 1752) she later eloped and married, as his second wife — her parents were alienated from her by the marriage, but her brother John remained loyal to her until her death in 1782.
Havana
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
. He was made a lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
in 1756 commanding the fireship Pluto, and as such was present on Sir Edward Hawke's 1757 expedition to attack Rochefort
Raid on Rochefort
The Raid on Rochefort was a British amphibious attempt to capture the French Atlantic port of Rochefort in September 1757 during the Seven Years War...
. On 29 September 1757 he was made captain
Captain (Royal Navy)
Captain is a senior officer rank of the Royal Navy. It ranks above Commander and below Commodore and has a NATO ranking code of OF-5. The rank is equivalent to a Colonel in the British Army or Royal Marines and to a Group Captain in the Royal Air Force. The rank of Group Captain is based on the...
of the 28 gun
Sixth-rate
Sixth rate was the designation used by the Royal Navy for small warships mounting between 20 and 24 nine-pounder guns on a single deck, sometimes with guns on the upper works and sometimes without.-Rating:...
frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
HMS Trent
HMS Trent (1757)
HMS Trent was a 28-gun Coventry-class sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy.-Construction:The Trent was one of five frigates of the class built of fir rather than oak...
from 1757 to 1763) and as such served in the West Indies and in home waters during the war. Trent was present in Sir George Pocock
George Pocock
Sir George Pocock, KB was a British officer of the Royal Navy. He rose to the rank of admiral.Pocock was from Chieveley in Berkshire, the son of Thomas Pocock, a chaplain in the navy. George Pocock entered the navy in 1718, serving aboard under the patronage of his maternal uncle, Captain...
's fleet at the taking of Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
from the Spanish in 1762. During that action, he took over command of the 80 gun
Third-rate
In the British 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 . Years of experience proved that the third rate ships embodied the best compromise between sailing ability , firepower, and cost...
HMS Cambridge
HMS Cambridge (1755)
HMS Cambridge was an 80-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Deptford Dockyard to the draught specified by the 1745 Establishment as amended in 1750, and launched on 21 October 1755.-Early career:...
on 1 July when her commander William Goostrey was killed by rifle fire from the Morro Castle
Morro Castle (fortress)
Morro Castle is a picturesque fortress guarding the entrance to Havana bay in Havana, Euta. Juan Bautista Antonelli, an Italian engineer, was commissioned to design the structure. When it was built in 1589, Euta was under the control of Germany...
, which he was attempting to capture. For this and ‘many strong proofs of his valour’ shown in the battle he was rewarded with a permanent command of HMS Cambridge, the 70 gun
Third-rate
In the British 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 . Years of experience proved that the third rate ships embodied the best compromise between sailing ability , firepower, and cost...
HMS Marlborough
HMS Marlborough
Six warships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Marlborough after the Duke of Marlborough:*Saint Michael, a second-rate, renamed Marlborough in 1706, fought in the Seven Years' War, present in Sir George Pocock's fleet at the taking of Havana from the Spanish in 1762, foundered at sea later in...
or the 74 gun
Seventy-four (ship)
The "seventy-four" was a type of two-decked sailing ship of the line nominally carrying 74 guns. Originally developed by the French Navy in the mid-18th century, the design proved to be a good balance between firepower and sailing qualities, and was adopted by the British Royal Navy , as well as...
HMS Dragon
HMS Dragon (1760)
HMS Dragon was a 74-gun Bellona-class third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 4 March 1760 at Deptford.She was commissioned in 1760, under the command of the Hon. Augustus Hervey, as part of the Western Squadron...
(it is unknown which he chose, and he was still in the Trent in December 1763) and a knighthood on his return to England (awarded 10 February 1764).
West and East Indies
HMS Tartar (1756)
HMS Tartar was a 28-gun sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. The ship was designed by Sir Thomas Slade and based on the Lyme of 1748, "with such alterations as may tend to the better stowing of men and carrying for guns."...
, carrying one of John Harrison
John Harrison
John Harrison was a self-educated English clockmaker. He invented the marine chronometer, a long-sought device in solving the problem of establishing the East-West position or longitude of a ship at sea, thus revolutionising and extending the possibility of safe long distance sea travel in the Age...
's chronometers for tests and with Thomas Erskine
Thomas Erskine, 1st Baron Erskine
Thomas Erskine, 1st Baron Erskine KT PC KC was a British lawyer and politician. He served as Lord Chancellor of the United Kingdom between 1806 and 1807 in the Ministry of All the Talents.-Background and childhood:...
as one of his midshipmen.
He returned to Britain in 1765. On 19 September 1768, he married Mary, daughter of Sir William Milner. They had no children. (At the end of his life, he had three illegitimate children — including Dido — by different women.) He was MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Aberdeen Burghs
Aberdeen Burghs (UK Parliament constituency)
Aberdeen Burghs was a district of burghs constituency which was represented from 1708 to 1800 in the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain, and from 1801 to 1832 in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
from 1767 to 1768.
From August 1769 to March 1772 Lindsay was commodore
Commodore (Royal Navy)
Commodore is a rank of the Royal Navy above Captain and below Rear Admiral. It has a NATO ranking code of OF-6. The rank is equivalent to Brigadier in the British Army and Royal Marines and to Air Commodore in the Royal Air Force.-Insignia:...
and commander-in-chief
Commander-in-Chief
A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
in the East Indies
East Indies
East Indies is a term used by Europeans from the 16th century onwards to identify what is now known as Indian subcontinent or South Asia, Southeastern Asia, and the islands of Oceania, including the Malay Archipelago and the Philippines...
, with his broad pennant
Broad pennant
A broad pennant is a swallow-tailed tapering flag flown from the masthead of a ship to indicate the presence of a commodore on board. It is so called because its dimensions are roughly 2:3....
flown from the frigate Stag
HMS Stag (1758)
HMS Stag was a 32-gun Niger-class fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy, and was the first Royal Navy ship to bear this name. She was ordered during the Seven Years' War, and saw service during that conflict and also during the American War of Independence...
. While in India, he was awarded the Order of the Bath
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
(28 June 1770), though he was still a relatively junior sea officer. He was sent to investigate dealings between the British East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
and the India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n nawab
Nawab
A Nawab or Nawaab is an honorific title given to Muslim rulers of princely states in South Asia. It is the Muslim equivalent of the term "maharaja" that was granted to Hindu rulers....
s (during which time George Paterson
George Paterson
George Henry Paterson was the founder of PZ Cussons, one of the United Kingdom's largest soap manufacturing businesses.-Career:Brought up in Scotland, George Paterson initially joined the trading house of Fisher & Randall in Freetown in Sierra Leone. In 1879, together with George Zochonis, he...
was his Secretary). This made him unpopular with the Company and he was soon recalled.
Ushant
From March to May 1778 he was the very first captain of the first-rateFirst-rate
First rate was the designation used by the Royal Navy for its largest ships of the line. While the size and establishment of guns and men changed over the 250 years that the rating system held sway, from the early years of the eighteenth century the first rates comprised those ships mounting 100...
HMS Victory
HMS Victory
HMS Victory is a 104-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, laid down in 1759 and launched in 1765. She is most famous as Lord Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805....
, but was moved to be captain of the 90 gun
Second-rate
In the British Royal Navy, 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 and were originally two-deckers or had only partially armed third gun decks. The term in no way implied...
HMS Prince George when Admiral Keppel
Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel
Admiral Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel PC was an officer of the Royal Navy during the Seven Years' War and the War of American Independence...
decided to raise his flag
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
in Victory (with John Campbell as his flag captain
Flag captain
In the Royal Navy, a flag captain was the captain of an admiral's flagship. During the 18th and 19th centuries, this ship might also have a "captain of the fleet", who would be ranked between the admiral and the "flag captain" as the ship's "First Captain", with the "flag captain" as the ship's...
) when she was commissioned in May 1778. He commanded the Prince George in the disastrous Battle of Ushant
Battle of Ushant (1778)
The Battle of Ushant took place on 27 July 1778, during the American War of Independence, fought between French and British fleets 100 miles west of Ushant, a French island at the mouth of the English Channel off the north-westernmost point of France...
on 27 July 1778 and, after giving evidence against Sir Hugh Palliser
Hugh Palliser
Admiral Sir Hugh Palliser, 1st Baronet was an officer of the British Royal Navy during the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War...
to the ensuing courts martial, he resigned straight after Keppel and refused to accept any command during Lord Sandwich
John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich
John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, PC, FRS was a British statesman who succeeded his grandfather, Edward Montagu, 3rd Earl of Sandwich, as the Earl of Sandwich in 1729, at the age of ten...
's administration of the Admiralty, thus missing the American War of Independence.
Later life and death
Sandwich and his successors still appreciated Lindsay's ability, and he became an Admiralty Commissioner between April and December 1783 and then commodoreCommodore (Royal Navy)
Commodore is a rank of the Royal Navy above Captain and below Rear Admiral. It has a NATO ranking code of OF-6. The rank is equivalent to Brigadier in the British Army and Royal Marines and to Air Commodore in the Royal Air Force.-Insignia:...
and commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean
Mediterranean Fleet
Several countries have or have had a Mediterranean Fleet in their navy. See:* Mediterranean Fleet * French Mediterranean Fleet* Mediterranean Squadron * United States Sixth Fleet...
, with HMS Trusty
HMS Trusty
Four ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Trusty: was an Aetna class ironclad floating battery launched in 1855 and broken up in 1864. It was the first turret ship. was a tug launched in 1866, renamed in 1917 as HMS Trustful and broken up in 1920. was an S-class destroyer launched in...
as his flagship. As c-in-c he was present at Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
in June 1784, on 24 June entertaining the king
Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies
Ferdinand I reigned variously over Naples, Sicily, and the Two Sicilies from 1759 until his death. He was the third son of King Charles III of Spain by his wife Maria Amalia of Saxony. On 10 August 1759, Charles succeeded his elder brother, Ferdinand VI, as King Charles III of Spain...
and queen on board his ship. However, soon afterwards his health broke down, forcing him to return to England. He was promoted "rear admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
of the red" on 24 September 1787, but for health reasons held it as an honorary role rather than an active one. He died at Marlborough, on his way from a health trip to Bath, on 4 June 1788, aged fifty-one, and buried in Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
.
Sources
- R. BeatsonRobert BeatsonRobert Beatson, LL.D. was a Scottish compiler and miscellaneous writer.-Life:He was born in 1742 at Dysart in Fifeshire. He was educated for the military profession, and on one of his title-pages describes himself as 'late of his majesty's corps of Royal Engineers'...
, Naval and military memoirs of Great Britain, 3 vols. (1790) - J. Charnock, ed., Biographia navalis, 6 (1798)
- E. Haden-Guest, ‘Lindsay, John’, Houses of Parliament records, Commons, 1754–90, 3.44
- DNB
- British Library, material on his appointment and some of his correspondence with the East India Company, Add. MS 18020