Sir Robert Kingsmill, 1st Baronet
Encyclopedia
Sir Robert Brice Kingsmill, 1st Baronet (1730 – 23 November 1805) was an 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...

 who served during the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...

, the American War of Independence and 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...

 in a career that spanned nearly 60 years. Kingsmill was a contemporary and close friend of Lord Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté, KB was a flag officer famous for his service in the Royal Navy, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. He was noted for his inspirational leadership and superb grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics, which resulted in a number of...

, and was one of the prominent Royal Navy admirals of his time referred to as "The Conquerors of the Seas," illustrated in Piercy Roberts' 1800 engraving. He served with Rodney
George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney
George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, KB was a British naval officer. He is best known for his commands in the American War of Independence, particularly his victory over the French at the Battle of the Saintes in 1782...

 in the West Indies, where he was wounded in battle, and with Keppel
Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel
Admiral Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel PC was an officer of the Royal Navy during the Seven Years' War and the War of American Independence...

 at the Battle of Ushant
Battle of Ushant (1778)
The Battle of Ushant took place on 27 July 1778, during the American War of Independence, fought between French and British fleets 100 miles west of Ushant, a French island at the mouth of the English Channel off the north-westernmost point of France...

. He took the time to embark on a career in politics as a Member of Parliament, giving this up several times to resume his service in the Navy when war broke out. Kingsmill rose to flag rank by the time of the outbreak of war with revolutionary France in 1793. As the naval commander-in-chief on the coast of Ireland, he repelled several attempts by the French to invade Ireland and foment insurrection. Kingsmill died on 23 November 1805 at Sydmonton Court as a baronet
Baronet
A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...

 and with the rank of Admiral of the Blue.

Family and early life

He was born in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

 as Robert Brice, the son 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...

 Charles Brice, of Castle Chichester, and his wife Jane. He followed his father into the navy, joining the 14-gun sloop
Sloop-of-war
In the 18th and most of the 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. As the rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above, this meant that the term sloop-of-war actually encompassed all the unrated combat vessels including the...

  as an able seaman
Able seaman
An able seaman is an unlicensed member of the deck department of a merchant ship. An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination of these roles.-Watchstander:...

 on 29 October 1746. He remained with the Speedwell for several years, being promoted to midshipman
Midshipman
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...

 on 3 October 1748, and having passed his lieutenant's examination on 5 July 1754, received his commission on 29 April 1756. The outbreak of the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...

 offered further opportunities for advancement, and in February 1761 he was promoted to master and commander of the sloop . His capture of the 10-gun French 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...

 Sultan led to the confirmation of his rank on 3 July, and he soon received an appointment to the bomb vessel
Bomb vessel
A bomb vessel, bomb ship, bomb ketch, or simply bomb was a type of wooden sailing naval ship. Its primary armament was not cannon —although bomb vessels carried a few cannon for self-defence—but rather mortars mounted forward near the bow and elevated to a high angle, and projecting their fire in a...

 . It was during this period that he was recalled and placed in command of one of the yachts preparing to carry Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was the Queen consort of the United Kingdom as the wife of King George III...

 and her suite to England to marry King George III
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...

. The voyage was hampered by fierce storms, but all of the yachts and their naval escorts arrived safely. He then returned to the Basilisk and sailed to the West Indies with Rear-Admiral George Rodney's
George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney
George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, KB was a British naval officer. He is best known for his commands in the American War of Independence, particularly his victory over the French at the Battle of the Saintes in 1782...

 fleet. Brice assisted with the assaults on Martinique and St Lucia
British expedition against Martinique
The British expedition against Martinique was a military action from January to February 1762, as part of the Seven Years' War.- Prelude :...

, during which he was wounded.

Brice's rewards for his good services were a promotion 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 26 May 1762, and an appointment to command the 28-gun sixth rate . He was sent back to the West Indies and remained there until the end of the Seven Years' War in 1764, upon which he returned to England. He married Elizabeth Corry, heiress to the Kingsmill estates at Sydmonton Court in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...

, at some point in 1766. Her uncle had died on 8 January 1766, and after assuming the surname Kingsmill by Act of Parliament, he succeeded to the estates. He retired from active naval service and spent the years of peace enjoying his newly acquired wealth and status.

Active service and political career

The outbreak of war with France in 1778 during the American War of Independence led to his return to active service. He accepted command of the 64-gun and formed part of Admiral Augustus Keppel's
Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel
Admiral Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel PC was an officer of the Royal Navy during the Seven Years' War and the War of American Independence...

 fleet at the Battle of Ushant
Battle of Ushant (1778)
The Battle of Ushant took place on 27 July 1778, during the American War of Independence, fought between French and British fleets 100 miles west of Ushant, a French island at the mouth of the English Channel off the north-westernmost point of France...

 on 27 July 1778. The indecisive result and subsequent controversies and intrigues surrounding the conduct of the officers involved redounded against Kingsmill. He was offered service in the West Indies, but turned it down by resigning his command.

Kingsmill took advantage of this break from active service to enter politics. He was elected as Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for Yarmouth
Yarmouth (Isle of Wight) (UK Parliament constituency)
Yarmouth was a borough constituency of the House of Commons of England then of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832...

, on the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...

, but only held the seat for a year. His dabbling in politics brought him more enemies in high positions, and Kingsmill was destined to remain without a ship until April 1782, when he took over the newly refitted 74-gun third rate . Kingsmill was too late to join Admiral 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...

 expedition to relieve Gibraltar, and was instead offered command of a reinforcement squadron that was being prepared to sail to the East Indies
East Indies
East Indies is a term used by Europeans from the 16th century onwards to identify what is now known as Indian subcontinent or South Asia, Southeastern Asia, and the islands of Oceania, including the Malay Archipelago and the Philippines...

. He accepted the appointment, which would see him command a squadron consisting of the Elizabeth, the 74-gun , the 64-gun and the 32-gun . His force was finally ready to put to sea by 17 January 1783, but while sailing through the Bay of Biscay
Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal, and is named in English after the province of Biscay, in the Spanish...

 they encountered heavy gales, and were eventually forced back to Spithead
Spithead
Spithead is an area of the Solent and a roadstead off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds, except those from the southeast...

, having suffered considerable damage. Before Kingsmill could attend to repairs he learnt that the Treaty of Paris
Treaty of Paris (1783)
The Treaty of Paris, signed on September 3, 1783, ended the American Revolutionary War between Great Britain on the one hand and the United States of America and its allies on the other. The other combatant nations, France, Spain and the Dutch Republic had separate agreements; for details of...

 had been signed and that the war was over. There would be no reinforcement squadron for the East Indies. The Elizabeth was to be retained in commission as a guard ship
Guard ship
A guard ship is a warship stationed at some port or harbour to act as a guard, and in former times in the Royal Navy to receive the men impressed for service...

 however, and Kingsmill accepted the three year posting as her commander.

He took this opportunity to resume his parliamentary career, being elected to the constituency of Tregony
Tregony (UK Parliament constituency)
Tregony was a rotten borough in Cornwall which was represented in the Model Parliament of 1295, and returned two Members of Parliament to the English and later British Parliament continuously from 1562 to 1832, when it was abolished by the Great Reform Act....

 on 5 April 1784, holding the seat until 1790. He does not appear to have ever spoken in parliament, but records show that he voted in favour of William Pitt
William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger was a British politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 . He left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806...

 over his 1785 Reform Bill, against him during the Regency crises of 1788 and 1789, and against the Duke of Richmond's
Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond
Field Marshal Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond, 3rd Duke of Lennox, 3rd Duke of Aubigny, KG, PC, FRS , styled Earl of March until 1750, was a British politician and office holder noteworthy for his advanced views on the issue of parliamentary reform...

 fortification plans in 1786. The Nootka Crisis
Nootka Crisis
The Nootka Crisis was an international incident and political dispute between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Spain, triggered by a series of events that took place during the summer of 1789 at Nootka Sound...

 in 1790 brought an end to his career in politics, as Kingsmill returned to active duty in command of the 90-gun . The crisis passed without breaking into open war, and Kingsmill paid off the Duke and once again entered semi-retirement. In October 1790 he was selected to serve as a member of the panel of officers at the court-martial
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...

 concerning the mutiny and loss
Mutiny on the Bounty
The mutiny on the Bounty was a mutiny that occurred aboard the British Royal Navy ship HMS Bounty on 28 April 1789, and has been commemorated by several books, films, and popular songs, many of which take considerable liberties with the facts. The mutiny was led by Fletcher Christian against the...

 of . As contemporaries in the service, Sir Robert and Horatio Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté, KB was a flag officer famous for his service in the Royal Navy, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. He was noted for his inspirational leadership and superb grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics, which resulted in a number of...

 developed a close friendship that lasted until Nelson's death at Trafalgar
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....

 on 21 October 1805.

French Revolutionary Wars

The outbreak of war with revolutionary France led to a general promotion of Royal Navy officers on 1 February 1793. Kingsmill was advanced to Rear-Admiral of the White and placed in command of the Irish station, despite having comparatively little experience of command. The forces at his disposal consisted of two ships of the line, seven frigates and four smaller vessels, which he quickly put to use combating the swarms of enemy cruisers that operated in these waters. He was advanced to Vice-Admiral of the White on 4 July 1794, and continued to grow rich off the spoils of captured privateers and French supply ships. He was still on station in Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...

 in 1796 and played a role in the defeat of the French Expédition d'Irlande
Expédition d'Irlande
The Expédition d'Irlande was an unsuccessful attempt by the First French Republic during the French Revolutionary Wars to assist the outlawed Society of United Irishmen, a popular rebel Irish republican group, in their planned rebellion against British rule...

that year. The main French force under Admiral Morard de Galles
Justin Bonaventure Morard de Galles
Justin-Bonaventure Morard de Galles was a French admiral.-Family:de Galles was the issue of a noble family from Dauphiné whose origins stretched right back to the end of the 11th century...

 sailed from Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...

, evading the blockading fleet under Admiral Sir John Colpoys
John Colpoys
Admiral Sir John Colpoys, GCB was an officer of the British Royal Navy who served in three wars but is most notable for being one of the catalysts of the Spithead Mutiny in 1797 after ordering his marines to fire on a deputation of mutinous sailors...

 and headed for Ireland to land troops to support an anticipated rising of the United Irishmen. Kingsmill knew his forces were too few to risk an open engagement, but shadowed the French fleet, which were eventually dispersed by gales, and was able to harry their retreat back to France. The risk to Ireland and the importance of Kingsmill's squadron demonstrated, 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...

 hurried to increase his supplies and resources. He was ready for the French when they made another attempt in May 1798, but the crushing of the main force by Sir John Borlase Warren 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...

 put a decisive end to the threat.

Kingsmill continued to run the station, being promoted to Admiral of the Blue on 14 February 1799. He had asked the First Lord of the Admiralty, Earl Spencer
George Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer
George John Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer KG PC FRS FSA , styled Viscount Althorp from 1765 to 1783, was a British Whig politician...

 as early as February 1798 for permission to retire, and this request was finally granted towards the end of 1800. This was granted, and he duly stepped down, being succeeded by Sir Alan Gardner
Alan Gardner, 1st Baron Gardner
Admiral Alan Gardner, 1st Baron Gardner was a British Royal Navy officer and peer of the realm. He became one of the Georgian era's most dashing frigate captains and, ultimately, a respected senior admiral.-Naval career:...

. Kingsmill was rewarded on 24 November 1800 with a baronetcy
Kingsmill Baronets
The Kingsmill Baronetcy, of Sidmanton in the County of Southampton, was a title in the Baronetage of Great Britain. It was created on 24 November 1800 for the Royal Navy Admiral Robert Kingsmill, with remainder in default of male issue of his own to his brother Edward Kingsmill and the male issue...

 as a gesture of appreciation from King George III for his long years of service. He spent his last years in retirement, dying at Sydmonton
Ecchinswell, Sydmonton and Bishops Green
Ecchinswell, Sydmonton and Bishops Green is a civil parish within the district of Basingstoke and Deane in Hampshire, United Kingdom....

 Court, Kingsclere
Kingsclere
Kingsclere is a large village and civil parish in the county of Hampshire, England. Kingsclere is located near to Watership Down, the setting of Richard Adams' 1972 novel Watership Down.-Geography:...

, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...

 on 23 November 1805 at the age of 75. By then he had served the Navy for nearly 60 years, in a career that spanned four major wars. He died without issue, the baronetcy passing to his nephew, Robert Kingsmill
Sir Robert Kingsmill, 2nd Baronet
Sir Robert Kingsmill, 2nd Baronet was an English landowner and politician.He was born the son of Edward Kingsmill, of Belfast, and his wife Catherine. He was the nephew of Robert Brice Kingsmill, who rose to be an admiral in the Royal Navy...

.
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