Lord George Paulet
Encyclopedia
Admiral Lord George Paulet CB
(12 August 1803 – 22 November 1879) was a officer of the Royal Navy
.
He entered the navy shortly after the end of the Napoleonic Wars
and after some years obtained his own command. He served off the Iberian Peninsula
during the Portuguese Liberal Wars
and the Spanish First Carlist War
, protecting British interests and property. While serving on the Pacific Station
he obtained a brief measure of infamy when he occupied the Hawaiian Islands
for five months in 1843, in an incident known as the Paulet Affair
. The occupation was later reversed by his commanding officer. Paulet went on to serve during the Crimean War
, commanding a ship during the heavy fighting around the Siege of Sevastopol in 1854. He received a number of awards after the war, and was promoted through the ranks, until his death in 1879 at the rank of full admiral.
, 13th Marquess of Winchester
, and his wife, Anne Andrews. He joined the Royal Navy on 6 February 1817 and after several years of service was commissioned a lieutenant on 9 February 1825. He was promoted to commander on 28 February 1828, and was given command of in March 1830. He was assigned to the Lisbon
station, where he spent the rest of the Portuguese Civil War
, based in and off the Douro
and Tagus
rivers. Nautilus was later moved to the northern Spanish coast after the outbreak of the First Carlist War
. During her time in Portugal Nautilus was visited by Sir Charles Shaw, who remarked on the great respect that the Spanish had for Paulet, and also commented on how his men were 'so comfortably clad, so well fed, so respectful, and so attached to their officers.' Paulet was promoted to post-captain
on 18 November 1833. He went to Bilbao
on 17 December to render assistance and protect British property, but bad weather delayed his entry to the port. From Bilbao he proceeded to London
to deliver despatches, after which he sailed to Portsmouth
to pay off Nautilus, on which occasion he gave his officers 'a sumptuous entertainment'.
He married Georgina Wood of Surrey
, daughter of Major-General Sir George Wood on 11 July 1835.
under Rear-Admiral Richard Darton Thomas
.
In late 1842, Richard Charlton
, the British consul
to the Kingdom of Hawaii
told Paulet that British subjects in the Hawaiian Islands
were being denied their legal rights. Paulet requested permission from Rear-Admiral Thomas to investigate the allegations. Paulet arrived at Honolulu on 11 February 1843 but was unable to meet immediately with King Kamehameha III
. Paulet refused to use an intermediary, the chief government minister American Gerrit P. Judd
, and warned Captain Long of an American ship, on 17 February that he would attack the town were his demands not met.
The Hawaiian government acceded to his demands on 18 February and an agreement was signed on 25 February which ceded the land subject to any diplomatic resolution. Paulet appointed himself and three others to a commission to be the new government, and insisted on direct control of land transactions.
Paulet destroyed all Hawaiian flags he could find, and raised the British Union Flag
during the occupation. He cleared 156 residents off contested land. Both Paulet and Judd despatched envoys to London to present their cases, Paulet to explain to his actions and Judd to press for an independent Hawaii. While discussions were held in London, the American warships under Commodore Lawrence Kearny
and under Commodore Thomas ap Catesby Jones
arrived in the islands and consulted with American and Hawaiian representatives. Rear-Admiral Thomas received word of the developments, and sailed to Hawaii himself on his flagship . On 26 July Thomas arrived in Honolulu harbour and met with King Kamehameha III. After investigating, Thomas declared on 31 July that the occupation was over and while he reserved the right to protect British citizens, Hawaiian sovereignty was to be respected.
on 7 November 1850 in the Mediterranean. He fought during the Crimean War
, seeing action at the Siege of Sevastopol. During the bombardment of Fort Constantine on 17 October 1854 Paulet took Bellerophon in close to support the damaged . Bellerophon was hit several times, a shot smashing her wheel, and another setting her on fire. Paulet continued to stand in to the attack, until his ship was hit by raking fire. Her launch was hit and sunk, and she again caught fire. After signalling for assistance came to her aid, and Bellerophon was towed out of the line, on fire and with four of her crew dead and 15 wounded.
Paulet was made an naval aide de camp to Queen Victoria
in 1854, and was awarded the Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1855. For his services during the war he was also authorised to accept appointments as an Officier of the Légion d'honneur
and as a Medjidie of the Third Class. He was promoted to rear-admiral on 21 July 1856, vice-admiral on 3 April 1863 and a full admiral on 20 March 1866. He retired on 12 March 1867 and died on 22 November 1879.
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...
(12 August 1803 – 22 November 1879) was a officer of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
.
He entered the navy shortly after the end of the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
and after some years obtained his own command. He served off the Iberian Peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
during the Portuguese Liberal Wars
Liberal Wars
The Liberal Wars, also known as the Portuguese Civil War, the War of the Two Brothers, or Miguelite War, was a war between progressive constitutionalists and authoritarian absolutists in Portugal over royal succession that lasted from 1828 to 1834...
and the Spanish First Carlist War
First Carlist War
The First Carlist War was a civil war in Spain from 1833-1839.-Historical background:At the beginning of the 18th century, Philip V, the first Bourbon king of Spain, promulgated the Salic Law, which declared illegal the inheritance of the Spanish crown by women...
, protecting British interests and property. While serving on the Pacific Station
Pacific Station
The Pacific Station, often referred to as the Pacific Squadron, was one of the geographical divisions into which the Royal Navy divided its worldwide responsibilities...
he obtained a brief measure of infamy when he occupied the Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
for five months in 1843, in an incident known as the Paulet Affair
Paulet Affair (1843)
The Paulet Affair was a five month occupation of the Hawaiian Islands in 1843 by British naval officer Captain Lord George Paulet, of .-Paulet affair:...
. The occupation was later reversed by his commanding officer. Paulet went on to serve during the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
, commanding a ship during the heavy fighting around the Siege of Sevastopol in 1854. He received a number of awards after the war, and was promoted through the ranks, until his death in 1879 at the rank of full admiral.
Family and early life
George Paulet was born on 12 August 1803, the third son of Charles Ingoldsby PauletCharles Paulet, 13th Marquess of Winchester
Charles Ingoldsby Paulet, 13th Marquess of Winchester PC was a British peer and courtier, styled Earl of Wiltshire from 1794 until 1800....
, 13th Marquess of Winchester
Marquess of Winchester
Marquess of Winchester is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1551 for the prominent statesman William Paulet, 1st Earl of Wiltshire. He had already been created Baron St John in 1539 and Earl of Wiltshire in 1550, also in the Peerage of England...
, and his wife, Anne Andrews. He joined the Royal Navy on 6 February 1817 and after several years of service was commissioned a lieutenant on 9 February 1825. He was promoted to commander on 28 February 1828, and was given command of in March 1830. He was assigned to the Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
station, where he spent the rest of the Portuguese Civil War
Liberal Wars
The Liberal Wars, also known as the Portuguese Civil War, the War of the Two Brothers, or Miguelite War, was a war between progressive constitutionalists and authoritarian absolutists in Portugal over royal succession that lasted from 1828 to 1834...
, based in and off the Douro
Douro
The Douro or Duero is one of the major rivers of the Iberian Peninsula, flowing from its source near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province across northern-central Spain and Portugal to its outlet at Porto...
and Tagus
Tagus
The Tagus is the longest river on the Iberian Peninsula. It is long, in Spain, along the border between Portugal and Spain and in Portugal, where it empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Lisbon. It drains an area of . The Tagus is highly utilized for most of its course...
rivers. Nautilus was later moved to the northern Spanish coast after the outbreak of the First Carlist War
First Carlist War
The First Carlist War was a civil war in Spain from 1833-1839.-Historical background:At the beginning of the 18th century, Philip V, the first Bourbon king of Spain, promulgated the Salic Law, which declared illegal the inheritance of the Spanish crown by women...
. During her time in Portugal Nautilus was visited by Sir Charles Shaw, who remarked on the great respect that the Spanish had for Paulet, and also commented on how his men were 'so comfortably clad, so well fed, so respectful, and so attached to their officers.' Paulet was promoted to post-captain
Post-Captain
Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of captain in the Royal Navy.The term served to distinguish those who were captains by rank from:...
on 18 November 1833. He went to Bilbao
Bilbao
Bilbao ) is a Spanish municipality, capital of the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. With a population of 353,187 , it is the largest city of its autonomous community and the tenth largest in Spain...
on 17 December to render assistance and protect British property, but bad weather delayed his entry to the port. From Bilbao he proceeded to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to deliver despatches, after which he sailed to Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
to pay off Nautilus, on which occasion he gave his officers 'a sumptuous entertainment'.
He married Georgina Wood of Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, daughter of Major-General Sir George Wood on 11 July 1835.
Paulet Affair
Paulet became captain of on 28 December 1841, and served on the Pacific StationPacific Station
The Pacific Station, often referred to as the Pacific Squadron, was one of the geographical divisions into which the Royal Navy divided its worldwide responsibilities...
under Rear-Admiral Richard Darton Thomas
Richard Darton Thomas
Admiral Richard Darton Thomas was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Station.-Naval career:...
.
In late 1842, Richard Charlton
Richard Charlton (Hawaii)
Richard Charlton was the first diplomatic Consul from Great Britain to the Kingdom of Hawaii 1825–1843. He was surrounded by controversies that caused a military occupation known as the Paulet Affair, and real estate claims that motivated the formalization of Hawaiian land titles.-Life:Richard...
, the British consul
Consul (representative)
The political title Consul is used for the official representatives of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, and to facilitate trade and friendship between the peoples of the two countries...
to the Kingdom of Hawaii
Kingdom of Hawaii
The Kingdom of Hawaii was established during the years 1795 to 1810 with the subjugation of the smaller independent chiefdoms of Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lānai, Kauai and Niihau by the chiefdom of Hawaii into one unified government...
told Paulet that British subjects in the Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
were being denied their legal rights. Paulet requested permission from Rear-Admiral Thomas to investigate the allegations. Paulet arrived at Honolulu on 11 February 1843 but was unable to meet immediately with King Kamehameha III
Kamehameha III
Kamehameha III was the King of Hawaii from 1825 to 1854. His full Hawaiian name was Keaweaweula Kiwalao Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa and then lengthened to Keaweaweula Kiwalao Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa Kalani Waiakua Kalanikau Iokikilo Kiwalao i ke kapu Kamehameha when he ascended the throne.Under his...
. Paulet refused to use an intermediary, the chief government minister American Gerrit P. Judd
Gerrit P. Judd
Gerrit Parmele Judd was an American physician and missionary to the Kingdom of Hawaii who later became a trusted advisor and cabinet minister to King Kamehameha III.- Life :...
, and warned Captain Long of an American ship, on 17 February that he would attack the town were his demands not met.
The Hawaiian government acceded to his demands on 18 February and an agreement was signed on 25 February which ceded the land subject to any diplomatic resolution. Paulet appointed himself and three others to a commission to be the new government, and insisted on direct control of land transactions.
Paulet destroyed all Hawaiian flags he could find, and raised the British Union Flag
Union Flag
The Union Flag, also known as the Union Jack, is the flag of the United Kingdom. It retains an official or semi-official status in some Commonwealth Realms; for example, it is known as the Royal Union Flag in Canada. It is also used as an official flag in some of the smaller British overseas...
during the occupation. He cleared 156 residents off contested land. Both Paulet and Judd despatched envoys to London to present their cases, Paulet to explain to his actions and Judd to press for an independent Hawaii. While discussions were held in London, the American warships under Commodore Lawrence Kearny
Lawrence Kearny
Commodore Lawrence Kearny was an officer in the United States Navy during the early nineteenth century. In the early 1840s he began negotiations with China which opened that country to U.S. trade and pointed the way toward the American Open Door Policy a half century later...
and under Commodore Thomas ap Catesby Jones
Thomas ap Catesby Jones
Thomas ap Catesby Jones was a U.S. Navy officer during the War of 1812 and the Mexican-American War.-Early life:Jones was born in 1790 in Westmoreland County, Virginia. Thomas ap Catesby Jones means Thomas, son of Catesby Jones in the Welsh language. His brother was Roger Jones, who would become...
arrived in the islands and consulted with American and Hawaiian representatives. Rear-Admiral Thomas received word of the developments, and sailed to Hawaii himself on his flagship . On 26 July Thomas arrived in Honolulu harbour and met with King Kamehameha III. After investigating, Thomas declared on 31 July that the occupation was over and while he reserved the right to protect British citizens, Hawaiian sovereignty was to be respected.
Crimean War and later life
In June 1845 Paulet was no longer captain of Carysfort. He was appointed to command HMS BellerophonHMS Waterloo (1818)
HMS Waterloo was an 80-gun third rate ship of the line, launched on 16 October 1818 at Portsmouth. She was designed by Henry Peake, and was the only ship built to her draught. She had originally been ordered as HMS Talavera, but was renamed on the stocks after the Battle of Waterloo.In 1824...
on 7 November 1850 in the Mediterranean. He fought during the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
, seeing action at the Siege of Sevastopol. During the bombardment of Fort Constantine on 17 October 1854 Paulet took Bellerophon in close to support the damaged . Bellerophon was hit several times, a shot smashing her wheel, and another setting her on fire. Paulet continued to stand in to the attack, until his ship was hit by raking fire. Her launch was hit and sunk, and she again caught fire. After signalling for assistance came to her aid, and Bellerophon was towed out of the line, on fire and with four of her crew dead and 15 wounded.
Paulet was made an naval aide de camp to Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
in 1854, and was awarded the Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1855. For his services during the war he was also authorised to accept appointments as an Officier of the Légion d'honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
and as a Medjidie of the Third Class. He was promoted to rear-admiral on 21 July 1856, vice-admiral on 3 April 1863 and a full admiral on 20 March 1866. He retired on 12 March 1867 and died on 22 November 1879.