James Newman-Newman
Encyclopedia
Captain
James Newman-Newman (1767–1811) of the British Royal Navy
was an officer who served during the French Revolutionary
and Napoleonic Wars
who served in numerous actions with distinction before his death in the wreck of his ship of the line
HMS Hero
, which was lost with two other battleships off the Northern European coast during a storm in December 1811. Over 2,000 sailors lost their lives.
, HMS Royal George
during the battle of the Glorious First of June
, when a French fleet was defeated deep in the Atlantic by the British Channel Fleet
under Lord Howe
. Due to good service in this action, Newman-Newman was promoted to captain and took command of a succession of frigates in the Mediterranean and home waters, beginning with HMS Ceres in 1795.
On March 21, 1796, the sloop HMS Lark
, under William Ogilvy, joined the Ceres and Newman-Newman in providing support to an unsuccessful attack by British troops from Port-au-Prince on the town and fort of Léogane on the island of Hispaniola.
In 1798, Newman-Newman was in command of the frigate
HMS Mermaid
during the campaign against a French fleet which threatened to invade Ireland
. The French force was destroyed at the Battle of Tory Island
, in which Mermaid was not engaged, but the surviving French ships scattered into the Atlantic and Mermaid was one of the ships tasked with tracking them. On 15 October, Mermaid, in company with the brig HMS Kangaroo
discovered the French frigate Loire
and gave chase, catching and engaging the French ship. Loire was too strong for her opponents, however, and despite suffering heavy damage, managed to escape. The following day Loire was captured by the large razee
HMS Anson
, having suffered heavy casualties. Mermaid had taken 17 casualties herself and Newman-Newman was praised for his conduct.
Two years later, Newman-Newman was again involved in the capture of a French frigate, this time as captain of HMS Loire, the same ship he had taken himself two years previously. The French Pallas had been sighted off St Malo by two small Royal Navy ships and despite the disparity in size, the small craft engaged the much larger frigate. Pallas was able to hold off her diminutive opponents, but in the afternoon of 5 February 1800 a squadron led by Newman-Newman in Loire arrived. In the engagement which followed, the five British ships fought a lengthy battle with Pallas and French shore batteries under which the frigate was sheltering until eventually Pallas surrendered. Loire had suffered 22 casualties.
In 1802, Newman-Newman was briefly in reserve during the Peace of Amiens, but he soon returned to service as commander of a ship of the line following the resumption of the Napoleonic Wars
the following year. Newman-Newman's service was in Home Waters and the Baltic Sea
, and in 1811 he was tasked with escorting a large convoy from Gothenburg
to London
in his ship HMS Hero
. Returning in late 1811 the convoy, which had joined with parts of the British Baltic Fleet, was struck by a huge storm which wrecked over 30 merchant ships and on 24 December claimed the flagship HMS St George
and HMS Defence
. Hundreds of sailors were drowned including Admiral Robert Carthew Reynolds
. The next day, Christmas Day 1811, HMS Hero was also driven ashore, onto the Haak Sands off the Texel
. Weather conditions were so severe that no boats could be launched and no rescue attempted and as a result only 12 men from a crew of several hundred reached safety. Newman-Newman was not among them.
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...
James Newman-Newman (1767–1811) of the British 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...
was an officer who served during the French Revolutionary
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 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...
who served in numerous actions with distinction before his death in the wreck of his ship of the line
Ship of the line
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...
HMS Hero
HMS Hero (1803)
HMS Hero was a 74-gun third rate of the Royal Navy, launched on 18 August 1803 at Blackwall Yard.She took part in Admiral Robert Calder's action at the Battle of Cape Finisterre in 1805....
, which was lost with two other battleships off the Northern European coast during a storm in December 1811. Over 2,000 sailors lost their lives.
Career
Newman-Newman was born in 1767, and joined the Royal Navy at a young age, serving as a lieutenant aboard the flagship of Sir Alexander HoodAlexander Hood, 1st Viscount Bridport
|-...
, HMS Royal George
HMS Royal George (1788)
HMS Royal George was a 100-gun first rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched from Chatham Dockyard on 16 September 1788. She was designed by Sir Edward Hunt, and was the only other ship built to her draught...
during the battle of 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...
, when a French fleet was defeated deep in the Atlantic by the British Channel Fleet
Channel Fleet
The Channel Fleet was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1690 to 1909.-History:The Channel Fleet dates back at least to 1690 when its role was to defend England against the French threat under the leadership of Edward Russell, 1st Earl of...
under 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...
. Due to good service in this action, Newman-Newman was promoted to captain and took command of a succession of frigates in the Mediterranean and home waters, beginning with HMS Ceres in 1795.
On March 21, 1796, the sloop HMS Lark
HMS Lark (1794)
HMS Lark was a 16-gun ship sloop of the Cormorant class, built in 1794 at Northfleet. She served primarily in the Caribbean, where she took a number of prizes, some after quite intensive action...
, under William Ogilvy, joined the Ceres and Newman-Newman in providing support to an unsuccessful attack by British troops from Port-au-Prince on the town and fort of Léogane on the island of Hispaniola.
In 1798, Newman-Newman was in 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 Mermaid
HMS Mermaid (1782)
HMS Mermaid was a 32-gun Active-class fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy .-Design and construction:Mermaid was one of the eight ship Active class, designed by Edward Hunt. She was initially ordered from the shipwright George White, of Woolwich Dockyard Shipwright on 27 August 1778, and laid down...
during the campaign against a French fleet which threatened to invade Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. The French force was destroyed at the Battle of Tory Island
Battle of Tory Island
The Battle of Tory Island, was a naval action of the French Revolutionary Wars, fought on 12 October 1798 between French and British squadrons off the northwest coast of Donegal, then in the Kingdom of Ireland...
, in which Mermaid was not engaged, but the surviving French ships scattered into the Atlantic and Mermaid was one of the ships tasked with tracking them. On 15 October, Mermaid, in company with the brig HMS Kangaroo
HMS Kangaroo
Six ships of the British Royal Navy have been named HMS Kangaroo, after the kangaroo.* HMS Kangaroo * HMS Kangaroo * HMS Kangaroo * HMS Kangaroo * HMS Kangaroo * HMS Kangaroo...
discovered the French frigate Loire
French frigate Loire (1797)
The Loire was a 44-gun frigate of the French Navy.-French service and capture:She took part in the Expédition d'Irlande, and in the Battle of Tory Island, where she battled , , and . After the battle, Loire and Sémillante escaped into Black Sod Bay, where they hoped to hide until they had a clear...
and gave chase, catching and engaging the French ship. Loire was too strong for her opponents, however, and despite suffering heavy damage, managed to escape. The following day Loire was captured by the large razee
Razee
A razee or razée is a sailing ship that has been cut down to reduce the number of decks. The word is derived from the French vaisseau rasé, meaning a razed ship.-Sixteenth century:...
HMS Anson
HMS Anson (1781)
HMS Anson was a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Plymouth on 4 September 1781 by Georgina, Duchess of Devonshire.-History:...
, having suffered heavy casualties. Mermaid had taken 17 casualties herself and Newman-Newman was praised for his conduct.
Two years later, Newman-Newman was again involved in the capture of a French frigate, this time as captain of HMS Loire, the same ship he had taken himself two years previously. The French Pallas had been sighted off St Malo by two small Royal Navy ships and despite the disparity in size, the small craft engaged the much larger frigate. Pallas was able to hold off her diminutive opponents, but in the afternoon of 5 February 1800 a squadron led by Newman-Newman in Loire arrived. In the engagement which followed, the five British ships fought a lengthy battle with Pallas and French shore batteries under which the frigate was sheltering until eventually Pallas surrendered. Loire had suffered 22 casualties.
In 1802, Newman-Newman was briefly in reserve during the Peace of Amiens, but he soon returned to service as commander of a ship of the line following the resumption 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...
the following year. Newman-Newman's service was in Home Waters and the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
, and in 1811 he was tasked with escorting a large convoy from Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
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...
in his ship HMS Hero
HMS Hero (1803)
HMS Hero was a 74-gun third rate of the Royal Navy, launched on 18 August 1803 at Blackwall Yard.She took part in Admiral Robert Calder's action at the Battle of Cape Finisterre in 1805....
. Returning in late 1811 the convoy, which had joined with parts of the British Baltic Fleet, was struck by a huge storm which wrecked over 30 merchant ships and on 24 December claimed the flagship HMS St George
HMS St George (1785)
HMS St George was a 98-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 14 October 1785 at Portsmouth. In 1793 she captured one of the richest prizes ever. She then participated in the Naval Battle of Hyères Islands in 1795 and took part in the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801...
and HMS Defence
HMS Defence (1763)
HMS Defence was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 31 March 1763 at Plymouth Dockyard. She was one of the most famous ships of the period, taking part in several of the most important naval battles of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars...
. Hundreds of sailors were drowned including Admiral Robert Carthew Reynolds
Robert Carthew Reynolds
Rear-Admiral Robert Carthew Reynolds was a long serving and widely respected officer of the British Royal Navy who served in four separate major wars in a 52 year career...
. The next day, Christmas Day 1811, HMS Hero was also driven ashore, onto the Haak Sands off the Texel
Texel
Texel is a municipality and an island in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is the biggest and most populated of the Frisian Islands in the Wadden Sea, and also the westernmost of this archipelago, which extends to Denmark...
. Weather conditions were so severe that no boats could be launched and no rescue attempted and as a result only 12 men from a crew of several hundred reached safety. Newman-Newman was not among them.