James Saumarez, 1st Baron de Saumarez
James Saumarez, 1st Baron de Saumarez, was a Royal Navy officer known for his victory at the Second Battle of Algeciras.
Early life
Saumarez was born at Saint Peter Port, Guernsey, to an old island family, the eldest son of Matthew de Sausmarez and his second wife Carteret, daughter of James Le Marchant. He was a nephew of Captain Philip Saumarez and John de Sausmarez of Sausmarez Manor. He was also the elder brother of General Sir Thomas Saumarez, Equerry and Groom of the Chamber to the Duke of Kent, and afterwards Commander-in-Chief of New Brunswick and of Richard Saumarez, a surgeon and medical author. Their sister married Henry Brock, the uncle of Major-General Sir Isaac Brock and Daniel de Lisle Brock. Many of de Sausmarez's ancestors had distinguished themselves in the naval service, and he entered it as midshipman at the age of thirteen. Upon joining the Navy, he dropped the second 's' to become de Saumarez.Naval service
Early service in the Mediterranean and American Revolutionary War
In 1767, Saumarez was entered as a volunteer on the books of although he never set foot in the ship, studying at a school near London until in 1770, Saumarez joined the in the Mediterranean. Placed on board, he was rated midshipman in November 1770. A transfer to in February 1772 until she returned to Spithead in 1775 gave an opportunity to take his examination for lieutenant.In 1775, at the age of 18, Saumarez was ordered to Sir Peter Parker's flagship in North America. Saumarez distinguished himself under Parker, showing courage and being promoted to acting lieutenant at the July 1776 Battle of Sullivan's Island which required the Bristol to fire broadsides at Fort Sullivan. The engagement lasted 13 hours and 111 men were killed in the Bristol.
Saumarez moved to as temporary 5th lieutenant. He received his first command, the tender Lady Parker. On promotion to lieutenant in 1778 he received his second command, the 8-gun galley. After forty-seven engagements, unfortunately he had to run Spitfire ashore and burn her on 30 July 1778 when a French fleet under Admiral d'Estaing arrived at Narrangansett Bay. Saumarez then served on land at the Battle of Rhode Island before returning to Portsmouth.
Saumarez next served as third lieutenant in, under various admirals until it became Vice Admiral Hyde Parker's flagship, by which time he had moved up to 1st lieutenant. He moved with the Admiral to, in which he was present at the Battle of Dogger Bank on 5 August 1781, when he was wounded. He was promoted commander and appointed to the fireship Tisiphone. In 1782, Saumarez sailed his ship to the West Indies with despatches for Samuel Hood and arrived in time to witness the closing stages of Hood's operations at St Kitts on 25 January 1782.
Battle of the Saintes
While commanding , Saumarez contributed to Rodney's victory over de Grasse at the Battle of the Saintes on 12 April 1782. During the battle and on his own initiative, Saumarez took his ship out of line to assist in the capture of de Grasse's flagship,. This action prompted Admiral Rodney to remark that, "The Russells captain is a fine fellow, whoever he is."When the war in America was finished, Saumarez went ashore and did not go to sea again until 1793 when he was given command of the frigate, a 36-gun fifth rate frigate.
Action of 20 October 1793
It was in Crescent that Saumarez was involved in one of the first major single-ship actions of the war when he captured the, in the action of 20 October 1793. British casualties were exceptionally light, with only one man wounded during the engagement. In reward, Saumarez was knighted by King George III and given a presentation plate by the City of London, although he later received a bill for £103 6s 8d, from a Mr. Cooke for "the honour of a knighthood". Saumarez refused to pay, telling Cooke to charge whoever had paid for Edward Pellew's knighthood after his successful action. Saumarez later wrote to his brother that "I think it hard to pay so much for an honour which my services have been thought to deserve".Channel Islands Station (1794)
While in command of a Guernsey-based squadron consisting of three frigates,,, and, and some smaller vessels a planned invasion by 20,000 French soldiers of the Channel Islands scheduled for February 1794 was frustrated and cancelled due to Saumarez's vigilant eye. On 8 June 1794 on the way from Plymouth to Guernsey, the squadron, which included six smaller vessels, including hired armed lugger and, encountered a superior French force of two razees, three frigates, and a cutter. The French squadron outgunned the British by 192 guns to 92, but Saumarez succeeded in getting his frigates to safety by sailing between rocks on the west coast of Guernsey and around the island to the St Peter Port anchorage. The British luggers and cutters had returned to Plymouth before the start of the action. The British threat to any invasion force stayed intact.Battle of Cape St Vincent
After being promoted in 1795, Saumarez was appointed to the 74-gun in the Channel fleet, where he took part in the defeat of the French fleet at the Battle of Groix off Lorient on 22 June. Orion was one of the ships sent to reinforce Sir John Jervis in February 1797, when Saumarez distinguished himself in the Battle of Cape St. Vincent. During the early stages he helped repel a sustained attack on the British line and covered the retreat of when she was forced to retire from the action. Colossus had sustained serious damage, her sails being virtually shot away and it looked as though she would be raked by Spanish warships, until Orion intervened. Later, when the engagement had turned to a general melee, Saumarez forced the Salvador del Mundo to surrender before attacking the Santissima Trinidad with the help of. Saumarez was certain he had forced her surrender too when the arrival of the remainder of the Spanish fleet forced Jervis to break off the engagement.Blockade of Cádiz and the Battle of the Nile
Saumarez remained with Jervis's fleet and was present at the blockade of Cádiz from February 1797 to April 1798. In May 1798, the Orion joined the squadron under Nelson's command that was sent into the Mediterranean to seek and destroy the French. Saumarez was Nelson's second in command at the Battle of the Nile where he distinguished himself once more, forcing the surrender of the Peuple Souverain and the 80-gun Franklin.Battle of Algeciras and Gut of Gibraltar
On his return from Egypt Saumarez received the command of, of 80 guns, with orders to watch the French fleet off Brest during the winters of 1799 and 1800. In 1801 he was promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral of the Blue, was created a baronet, and received the command of a small squadron which was to watch the movements of the Spanish fleet at Cádiz. Between 6 and 12 July he performed an excellent piece of service in the Algeciras campaign. In the first battle of Algeciras he launched an attack on a French squadron anchored under the protection of shore batteries in Algeciras Bay. Extensive shoals and a fickle breeze hindered his chances of success and HMS Hannibal was captured by the French.Saumarez refused to accept this first defeat and repaired his ships and regrouped for a further attack. When the French squadron, reinforced by Spanish ships sent from Cádiz, tried to leave the bay, Saumarez, although substantially outnumbered, went in pursuit. He sent, Captain Richard Keats, ahead and that ship almost singlehandedly brought about the destruction of two Spanish three-deckers and the capture of a French 74 in the Second Battle of Algeciras. For his services, Saumarez received the Order of the Bath and the Freedom of the City of London. In 1803, the United Kingdom Parliament bestowed upon him an annuity of £1,200 a year.
On 30 April, 1802 HMS Ceasar, under his command, made contact with USS Constellation near Gibraltar. During the Peace of Amiens, 1802–3, Saumarez remained at home with his family in Guernsey, and when war broke out again he was given command of the naval forces defending the Channel Islands. He therefore was not present at the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar. On 23 April 1804 he was promoted to Rear-Admiral of the White.