Viscount Lake
Encyclopedia
Viscount Lake, of Delhi and Laswary and of Aston Clinton in the County of Buckingham, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
. It was created in 1807 for the prominent soldier Gerard Lake, 1st Baron Lake
. He was Commander-in-Chief of India
from 1801 to 1805 and from 1805 to 1807. Lake had already been created Baron Lake, of Delhi and Laswary and of Aston Clinton in the County of Buckingham, in 1804, also in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The titles became extinct on the death of the third Viscount in 1848.
Peerage of the United Kingdom
The Peerage of the United Kingdom comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Act of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great Britain...
. It was created in 1807 for the prominent soldier Gerard Lake, 1st Baron Lake
Gerard Lake, 1st Viscount Lake
General Gerard Lake, 1st Viscount Lake was a British general. He commanded British forces during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 and later served as Commander-in-Chief of the military in British India.-Background:...
. He was Commander-in-Chief of India
Commander-in-Chief, India
During the period of the British Raj, the Commander-in-Chief, India was the supreme commander of the Indian Army. The Commander-in-Chief and most of his staff were based at General Headquarters, India, and liaised with the civilian Governor-General of India...
from 1801 to 1805 and from 1805 to 1807. Lake had already been created Baron Lake, of Delhi and Laswary and of Aston Clinton in the County of Buckingham, in 1804, also in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The titles became extinct on the death of the third Viscount in 1848.
Viscounts Lake (1807)
- Gerard Lake, 1st Viscount LakeGerard Lake, 1st Viscount LakeGeneral Gerard Lake, 1st Viscount Lake was a British general. He commanded British forces during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 and later served as Commander-in-Chief of the military in British India.-Background:...
(1744–1808) - Francis Gerard Lake, 2nd Viscount Lake (1772–1836)
- Warwick Lake, 3rd Viscount Lake (1783–1848). On 13 December 1807, when he was then captain of HMS RecruitHMS Recruit (1806)HMS Recruit was an 18-gun Cruizer class brig-sloop of the Royal Navy, launched in 1806 at Sandwich, Kent. She is best known for an act of pique by Cmdr. Warwick Lake, who marooned a seaman, and for an inconclusive but hard fought ship action under Cmdr. Charles John Napier against the French...
, Lake abandoned an impressed seaman, Robert Jeffrey, on Sombrero IslandSombrero, AnguillaSombrero, also known as Hat Island, is the northernmost island of the Lesser Antilles in position 18° 60'N, 63° 40'W. It lies north west of Anguilla across the Dog and Prickly Pear Passage. The distance to Dog Island, the closest island of Anguilla, is . Sombrero is long north-south, and wide....
for having stolen rum and beer while the crew was on short rations. Eight days later, Capt. John Dennis of the American schoonerSchoonerA schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
Adam, out of MarbleheadMarblehead-Places:United States*Marblehead, Illinois*Marblehead, Massachusetts*Marblehead, Ohio*Marblehead, Wisconsin-Other uses:*Marblehead to Halifax Ocean Race, a biannual sailing race on the North Atlantic...
, saw Jeffrey waving his arms and rescued him. Apparently, Jeffrey was only slightly emaciated but initially incapable of speech. He went on to live in Marblehead, where he pursued his original trade of blacksmith. Some months later, Lake's commanding officer Sir Alexander CochraneAlexander CochraneAdmiral Sir Alexander Forrester Inglis Cochrane GCB RN was a senior Royal Navy commander during the Napoleonic Wars.-Naval career:...
discovered what had happened and immediately ordered Lake to retrieve Jeffrey. When Recruit arrived at Sombrero, Jeffrey could not be found. When it found out Jeffrey's whereabouts, the Royal NavyRoyal NavyThe 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...
repatriated him. On 14 June 1810, HMS FrolicHMS Frolic (1806)HMS Frolic was a 18-gun Cruizer-class brig-sloop of the Royal Navy. She was built by Boole, of Bridport and was launched on 9 February 1806. In 1812 the American sloop captured her after a fierce fight, but later that day the British recaptured Frolic and captured Wasp...
arrived at Sombrero Island in the West Indies. A party from the vessel searched the island to assess the survival prospects for someone landed at this place without food and water as Lake was then the subject of an Admiralty investigation. A subsequent court-martial dismissed Lake from the King's service. Lake settled with Jeffrey out of court for ₤600 to avoid a civil suit.