Lucius Curtis
Encyclopedia
Admiral of the Fleet
Sir Lucius Curtis, 2nd Baronet, KCB (3 June 1786 – 1869) was a senior officer of the Royal Navy
during the nineteenth century. The son of Sir Roger Curtis, 1st Baronet, Lord Howe's
flag captain at the Glorious First of June
, Lucius served during the Napoleonic Wars
and was heavily involved in the Mauritius campaign of 1810. During this campaign, Curtis commanded the frigate
HMS Magicienne with the blockade squadron under Josias Rowley
and was still in command when the ship was destroyed at the Battle of Grand Port
. Magicienne grounded on a coral reef early in the engagement and despite the best efforts of Curtis and his crew, the ship had to be abandoned, Curtis setting her on fire to prevent her subsequent capture.
After Curtis was freed from captivity in December 1810, he was cleared of any wrong-doing in the loss of his ship and returned to his naval career. He later rose to become an Admiral of the Fleet
. As his eldest son predeceased him, the baronetcy in 1869 passed to his second son, Arthur.
and his wife Jane Sarah Brady. At a young age Curtis joined the Royal Navy
, by which time his father was an admiral and a senior but controversial figure in the Admiralty
. Roger Curtis had been flag captain to Lord Howe
at the Glorious First of June
, and became closely associated with the perceived injustices in the distribution of awards in the aftermath of the battle. Curtis further infuriated some of his fellow officers by acting as prosecutor at the court martial in which Anthony Molloy
was criticised for his conduct during the Atlantic Campaign of May 1794
. Molloy was effectively forced out of the Navy and Curtis attracted a significant amount of criticism, especially from Cuthbert Collingwood, who took a personal dislike to Lucius' father.
In 1802, Curtis' elder brother, also named Roger, died suddenly in naval service. As the remaining son, Lucius received strong patronage due to his family links and as a result was a post captain by 1809, aged only 24. Curtis took command of the frigate
HMS Magicienne, with orders to operate in the Indian Ocean
as part of the squadron attempting to blockade the French held islands of Île Bonaparte and Île de France
. Arriving during hurricane season in December 1809, Curtis had an immediate impact, sighting, chasing and capturing the East Indiaman Windham, previously captured by the French Commodore Jacques Hamelin at the Action of 18 November 1809
.
In 1810, Magicienne remained off the islands, participating in the Invasion of Île Bonaparte
in July and subsequently supporting Captain Samuel Pym
off Grand Port
. Pym was intending to blockade the harbour to French shipping, but when a squadron under Guy-Victor Duperré
arrived off the port on 20 August, Pym sought to lure them into coastal waters and engage them. Duperré successfully broke through Pym's ships however, and took shelter within the harbour. Pym gathered his frigates together and sailed directly into the harbour on 22 August to engage the French. Lacking harbour pilots, Pym's HMS Sirius
, Henry Lambert
's HMS Iphigenia
and Magicienne were soon aground on the coral reefs that sheltered the bay, and the remaining British ship, Nesbit Willoughby
's HMS Nereide, was forced to surrender by the French frigates in the port. Of the grounded ships, only Iphigenia sailed again, captured by Hamelin five days later. Sirius and Magicienne were burnt, their crews taking shelter on the tiny Île de la Passe
. Without food or fresh water, the sailors were forced to surrender to Hamelin when he arrived and were held prisoner until Île de France was captured by a British expeditionary force four months later.
Curtis was completely exonerated at the court martial convened to investigate the loss of his ship, given command of the newly captured HMS Madagsacar
and continued to rise in the navy, being made a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1815. In 1862, Curtis became a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath. He become an Admiral of the Fleet, the highest rank in the navy, in 1864. Cutis died in 1869. his eldest son had predeceased him, and the baronetcy he inherited from his father passed to his second son Arthur.
Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy)
Admiral of the fleet is the highest rank of the British Royal Navy and other navies, which equates to the NATO rank code OF-10. The rank still exists in the Royal Navy but routine appointments ceased in 1996....
Sir Lucius Curtis, 2nd Baronet, KCB (3 June 1786 – 1869) was a senior 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...
during the nineteenth century. The son of Sir Roger Curtis, 1st Baronet, Lord Howe's
Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe
Admiral of the Fleet Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe KG was a British naval officer, notable in particular for his service during the American War of Independence and French Revolutionary Wars. He was the brother of William Howe and George Howe.Howe joined the navy at the age of thirteen and served...
flag captain at the Glorious First of June
Glorious First of June
The Glorious First of June [Note A] of 1794 was the first and largest fleet action of the naval conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the First French Republic during the French Revolutionary Wars...
, Lucius served during 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 was heavily involved in the Mauritius campaign of 1810. During this campaign, Curtis commanded the 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 Magicienne with the blockade squadron under Josias Rowley
Josias Rowley
Admiral Sir Josias Rowley, 1st Baronet GCB, GCMG , known as "The Sweeper of the Seas", was a naval officer who commanded the campaign that captured the French Indian Ocean islands of Réunion and Mauritius in 1810.-Naval career:...
and was still in command when the ship was destroyed at the Battle of Grand Port
Battle of Grand Port
The Battle of Grand Port was a naval battle between squadrons of frigates from the French Navy and the British Royal Navy. The battle was fought during 20–27 August 1810 over possession of the harbour of Grand Port on Île de France during the Napoleonic Wars...
. Magicienne grounded on a coral reef early in the engagement and despite the best efforts of Curtis and his crew, the ship had to be abandoned, Curtis setting her on fire to prevent her subsequent capture.
After Curtis was freed from captivity in December 1810, he was cleared of any wrong-doing in the loss of his ship and returned to his naval career. He later rose to become an Admiral of the Fleet
Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy)
Admiral of the fleet is the highest rank of the British Royal Navy and other navies, which equates to the NATO rank code OF-10. The rank still exists in the Royal Navy but routine appointments ceased in 1996....
. As his eldest son predeceased him, the baronetcy in 1869 passed to his second son, Arthur.
Life
Lucius Curtis was born in 1786, the second son of Captain Roger CurtisRoger Curtis
Admiral Sir Roger Curtis, 1st Baronet, GCB was an officer of the British Royal Navy, who saw action in several battles during an extensive career that was punctuated by a number of highly controversial incidents...
and his wife Jane Sarah Brady. At a young age Curtis joined 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...
, by which time his father was an admiral and a senior but controversial figure in the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
. Roger Curtis had been flag captain to Lord Howe
Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe
Admiral of the Fleet Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe KG was a British naval officer, notable in particular for his service during the American War of Independence and French Revolutionary Wars. He was the brother of William Howe and George Howe.Howe joined the navy at the age of thirteen and served...
at the Glorious First of June
Glorious First of June
The Glorious First of June [Note A] of 1794 was the first and largest fleet action of the naval conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the First French Republic during the French Revolutionary Wars...
, and became closely associated with the perceived injustices in the distribution of awards in the aftermath of the battle. Curtis further infuriated some of his fellow officers by acting as prosecutor at the court martial in which Anthony Molloy
Anthony James Pye Molloy
Anthony James Pye Molloy was an officer of the Royal Navy. He served during the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary Wars....
was criticised for his conduct during the Atlantic Campaign of May 1794
Atlantic campaign of May 1794
The Atlantic campaign of May 1794 was a series of operations conducted by the British Royal Navy's Channel Fleet against the French Navy's Atlantic Fleet, with the aim of preventing the passage of a strategically important French grain convoy travelling from the United States to France...
. Molloy was effectively forced out of the Navy and Curtis attracted a significant amount of criticism, especially from Cuthbert Collingwood, who took a personal dislike to Lucius' father.
In 1802, Curtis' elder brother, also named Roger, died suddenly in naval service. As the remaining son, Lucius received strong patronage due to his family links and as a result was a post captain by 1809, aged only 24. Curtis took command of the 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 Magicienne, with orders to operate in the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
as part of the squadron attempting to blockade the French held islands of Île Bonaparte and Île de France
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
. Arriving during hurricane season in December 1809, Curtis had an immediate impact, sighting, chasing and capturing the East Indiaman Windham, previously captured by the French Commodore Jacques Hamelin at the Action of 18 November 1809
Action of 18 November 1809
The Action of 18 November 1809 was the most significant engagement of a six month cruise by a French frigate squadron in the Indian Ocean during the Napoleonic Wars. The French commander, Commodore Jacques Hamelin, raided across the Bay of Bengal with his squadron and achieved local superiority,...
.
In 1810, Magicienne remained off the islands, participating in the Invasion of Île Bonaparte
Invasion of Île Bonaparte
The Invasion of Île Bonaparte was an amphibious operation in 1810 that formed an important part of the British campaign to blockade and capture the French Indian Ocean territories of Île Bonaparte and Île de France during the Napoleonic Wars...
in July and subsequently supporting Captain Samuel Pym
Samuel Pym
Sir Samuel Pym KCB was a British admiral, brother of Sir William Pym.In June 1788, Pym joined the Royal Navy as captain's servant of the frigate Eurydice...
off Grand Port
Grand Port
Grand Port is a district encompassing much of the south-eastern part of the island of Mauritius. Its capital is Rose-Belle but the most important town of the district is Mahebourg...
. Pym was intending to blockade the harbour to French shipping, but when a squadron under Guy-Victor Duperré
Guy-Victor Duperré
Guy-Victor Duperré was a French admiral, Peer of France and thrice Naval Minister....
arrived off the port on 20 August, Pym sought to lure them into coastal waters and engage them. Duperré successfully broke through Pym's ships however, and took shelter within the harbour. Pym gathered his frigates together and sailed directly into the harbour on 22 August to engage the French. Lacking harbour pilots, Pym's HMS Sirius
HMS Sirius (1797)
HMS Sirius was a 36-gun fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. Between 1797 and 1805, the Sirius was engaged in maintaining the blockade of Napoleonic Europe...
, Henry Lambert
Henry Lambert
Captain Henry Lambert RN was an officer of the British Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. During his career, Lambert served in numerous ships and several military actions with success, participating in the capture of Île Bonaparte in the Indian Ocean as second in...
's HMS Iphigenia
HMS Iphigenia (1805)
HMS Iphigenia was a Royal Navy 36-gun Perseverance-class fifth-rate frigate. She was built at Chatham Dockyard by Master Shipwright Robert Seppings....
and Magicienne were soon aground on the coral reefs that sheltered the bay, and the remaining British ship, Nesbit Willoughby
Nesbit Willoughby
Sir Nesbit Josiah Willoughby was an officer in the British Royal Navy who was knighted in 1827, and made rear-admiral in 1847. He is related to Sir Hugh Willoughby , who also figures in British naval history....
's HMS Nereide, was forced to surrender by the French frigates in the port. Of the grounded ships, only Iphigenia sailed again, captured by Hamelin five days later. Sirius and Magicienne were burnt, their crews taking shelter on the tiny Île de la Passe
Île de la Passe
Ile de la Passe is a rocky islet in the bay off Grand Port on the island of Mauritius. Between 20–25 August 1810, during the British campaign to capture the island from the French, it was the scene of the Battle of Grand Port...
. Without food or fresh water, the sailors were forced to surrender to Hamelin when he arrived and were held prisoner until Île de France was captured by a British expeditionary force four months later.
Curtis was completely exonerated at the court martial convened to investigate the loss of his ship, given command of the newly captured HMS Madagsacar
HMS Madagascar (1811)
The Néréide was a 38-gun frigate of the French Navy designed by Sané.In 1810, she sailed to Guadeloupe but was repelled by the blockade off Basse-Terre, and returned to Brest after a fight with HMS Rainbow and HMS Avon....
and continued to rise in the navy, being made a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1815. In 1862, Curtis became a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath. He become an Admiral of the Fleet, the highest rank in the navy, in 1864. Cutis died in 1869. his eldest son had predeceased him, and the baronetcy he inherited from his father passed to his second son Arthur.