James Anderson (Royal Navy officer)
Encyclopedia
James Anderson was an officer of the Royal Navy
, who rose to the rank of captain
.
, and after the end of the war, joined the colonial service in the West Indies. He married Jane Anne Thornhill in September 1790, and rejoined the navy in 1793 with the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars
, and was made lieutenant
. He was promoted to commander in 1806, and spent some years as agent of transports, after which he commanded the brig
, operating in the English Channel
against privateer
s. He became the senior officer on the coast between Calais
and Boulogne in 1811, until being promoted to post-captain
in 1812.
In August 1814 Anderson was appointed to the 74-gun , and sent out with stores to Quebec
, where he was ordered to dismantle the rigging and remove her guns, sending them on to the forces on the Great Lakes
. He was then to winter at Quebec. The ship was old and rotten, badly manned, and inadequately equipped; and Captain Anderson, judging that it was impossible to stay at Quebec without sacrificing the ship, returned to England; on the charge of this action being contrary to his orders, he was tried by court martial. Lord Melville, then first lord of the admiralty, criticised Anderson's decision, telling him that "If Canada fall, it will be entirely owing to your not wintering the Zealous at Quebec"; to which Anderson replied: "I rather think it will be in consequence of proper supplies, in proper ships, not having been sent out there at a proper season of the year". Naval historian John Knox Laughton
read into Melville's response the intention to sacrifice Zealous in order to provide an excuse should British forces in Canada suffer a defeat, and was not pleased with Anderson's thwarting his plan. Anderson was acquitted of the charges at the court martial, but due to the drawdown of the navy in 1815 after the end of the Napoleonic Wars
, he did not serve again at sea.
in 1819. He died on 30 December 1835.
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...
, who rose to the rank of 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...
.
Biography
James Anderson served through the American War of Independence as a midshipmanMidshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
, and after the end of the war, joined the colonial service in the West Indies. He married Jane Anne Thornhill in September 1790, and rejoined the navy in 1793 with the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
, and was made 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...
. He was promoted to commander in 1806, and spent some years as agent of transports, after which he commanded the brig
Brig
A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...
, operating in the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
against privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
s. He became the senior officer on the coast between Calais
Calais
Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
and Boulogne in 1811, until being 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:...
in 1812.
In August 1814 Anderson was appointed to the 74-gun , and sent out with stores to Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, where he was ordered to dismantle the rigging and remove her guns, sending them on to the forces on the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
. He was then to winter at Quebec. The ship was old and rotten, badly manned, and inadequately equipped; and Captain Anderson, judging that it was impossible to stay at Quebec without sacrificing the ship, returned to England; on the charge of this action being contrary to his orders, he was tried by court martial. Lord Melville, then first lord of the admiralty, criticised Anderson's decision, telling him that "If Canada fall, it will be entirely owing to your not wintering the Zealous at Quebec"; to which Anderson replied: "I rather think it will be in consequence of proper supplies, in proper ships, not having been sent out there at a proper season of the year". Naval historian John Knox Laughton
John Knox Laughton
Sir John Knox Laughton Kt was a British naval historian and arguably the first to argue for the importance of the subject as an independent field of study...
read into Melville's response the intention to sacrifice Zealous in order to provide an excuse should British forces in Canada suffer a defeat, and was not pleased with Anderson's thwarting his plan. Anderson was acquitted of the charges at the court martial, but due to the drawdown of the navy in 1815 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...
, he did not serve again at sea.
Works
Anderson engaged in various scientific and literary pursuits, and was said to have contributed several articles to magazines, though the only one he signed was "Some Observations on the Peculiarity of the Tides between Fairleigh and Dungeness", which was published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal SocietyPhilosophical Transactions of the Royal Society
The Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society is a scientific journal published by the Royal Society of London. It was established in 1665, making it the first journal in the world exclusively devoted to science, and it has remained in continuous publication ever since, making it the world's...
in 1819. He died on 30 December 1835.