James Whitshed
Encyclopedia
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....

 Sir James Hawkins-Whitshed, 1st Baronet GCB (176228 October 1849) was a British naval officer.

Naval career

Hawkins-Whitshed 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...

 in 1777, and was promoted to 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...

 the following year. In 1780 he took part in the British victory at Battle of Cape St. Vincent
Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1780)
The naval Battle of Cape St Vincent, took place off the coast of Portugal on 16 January 1780 during the American War of Independence. A British fleet under Admiral Sir George Rodney defeated a Spanish squadron under Don Juan de Lángara. The battle is sometimes referred to as the Moonlight Battle,...

 during the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

 and in 1783 he was given command of the warship . Then in 1793 he took command of .

In 1795, as Captain of the 90-gun , he took part in the Battle of Cape St Vincent. Later he commanded and then . In 1803 he was appointed naval adviser to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland was the British King's representative and head of the Irish executive during the Lordship of Ireland , the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...

. In January 1806 he was present at the funeral of Vice-Admiral 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...

 as a pallbearer
Pallbearer
A pall-bearer is one of several funeral participants who helps carry the casket of a deceased person from a religious or memorial service or viewing either directly to a cemetery or mausoleum, or to and from the hearse which carries the coffin....

. He went on to be Commander-in-Chief at 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 1807.

In 1821 he was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth
Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth
The Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth was a senior commander of the Royal Navy for hundreds of years. Portsmouth Command was a name given to the units, establishments, and staff operating under the post.-History:...

 and in 1834 he was created a Baronet, of Killincarrick in the County of Wicklow.

The Admiralty modified W class
V and W class destroyer
The V and W class was an amalgam of six similar classes of destroyer built for the Royal Navy under the War Emergency Programme of the First World War and generally treated as one class...

 destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...

  was named in his honour.

Personal Papers

  • John Hattendorf
    John Hattendorf
    John Brewster Hattendorf is an American naval historian. He is the author, co-author, editor, or co-editor of more than forty books on British and American maritime history and naval warfare. In 2005, the U.S...

    , Register of the Papers of Admiral of the Fleet Sir James Hawkins Whitshed, GCB, (Newport, Rhode Island, USA: Naval Historical Collection, U.S. Naval War College).
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