From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Royal Navy admiral
Vice-Admiral
James Gambier
(1723?1789) was a
Royal Navy
officer who went on to be
Commander-in-Chief, North American Station
. The historian
David Syrett
presented a study of Gambier, which presented him as corrupt and largely disliked by his fellow officers.
Naval career
[
edit
]
Gambier joined the
Royal Navy
in about 1740 being promoted to
lieutenant
in 1743.
[1]
Promoted to
captain
, he commanded
HMS
Flamborough
and
HMS
Squirrel
.
[1]
Later he commanded
HMS
Burford
and took part in the capture of
Louisbourg
and the capture of
Guadeloupe
.
[1]
In 1770 he was appointed
commander-in-chief, North American Station
;
[1]
this appointment had been predictable because of his connections with the Vice Admiral Sir
Samuel Cornish
.
[2]
He was subsequently removed from control of the North American Station, following the rise of
Lord Sandwich
as
First Lord of the Admiralty
.
[2]
In 1773 he was made commissioner of victualling accounts on the Navy Board in an attempt to make amends to him for his political removal from his command in North America.
[1]
[2]
In September of that same year Gambier was appointed commissioner of Portsmouth. However, Gambier was not very successful or content with this position, as he was completely unprepared for managing a large civilian organization such as that at Portsmouth.
[2]
After becoming
rear-admiral of the red
from seniority in 1778, he returned to North America and was briefly
commander-in-chief of the North American Station
again after resigning from the commissionership at Portsmouth.
[1]
[2]
During his time in the post, Gambier was repeatedly accused of corruption and he was despised by many of his contemporaries.
[2]
In October 1783 he became commander-in-chief in the
Jamaica Station
.
[3]
He was not well liked by his men and was once described as "this penurious old reptile".
[2]
He retired in 1784.
[1]
Captain George Vancouver
likely named Gambier Point,
Alexander Archipelago
, Alaska after Gambier in 1794.
[4]
[5]
Family
[
edit
]
Gambier's nephew also became an admiral and later
1st Baron Gambier
. Gambier's son, also James Gambier (1772?1844), was British consul-general to the Portuguese royal court from 1803. He followed the court's transfer to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1808, and returned to England in 1814. James Gambier the younger's illegitimate son was Royal Navy officer
James Fitzjames
, making him James Gambier the elder's grandson.
[6]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
James Gambier at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
Syrett, David (February 2001). "
'This penurious old reptile': Rear-Admiral James Gambier and the American War".
Historical Research
.
74
(183). Wiley-Blackwell: 63?76.
doi
:
10.1111/1468-2281.00116
.
- ^
Cundall, p. xx
- ^
Baker, Marcus, 1849-1903. (1902).
Geographic dictionary of Alaska
. Govt. Print. Off.
OCLC
5045388
.
{{
cite book
}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link
) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (
link
)
- ^
Vancouver, George, 1757-1798. (1801).
A voyage of discovery to the North Pacific Ocean, and round the world : in which the coast of north-west America has been carefully examined and accurately surveyed : undertaken by His Majesty's command, principally with a view to ascertain the existence of any navigable communication between the North Pacific and North Atlantic oceans ; and performed in the years 1790, 1791, 1792, 1793, 1794 and 1795, in the Discovery sloop of war, and armed tender Chatham, under the command of Captain George Vancouver
. Printed for John Stockdale.
ISBN
0-665-42061-7
.
OCLC
1111838457
.
{{
cite book
}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link
) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (
link
)
- ^
Battersby, William (2010).
James Fitzjames: The Mystery Man of the Franklin Expedition
. Dundurn.
ISBN
9781459710733
.
Sources
[
edit
]
|
---|
International
| |
---|
National
| |
---|
Other
| |
---|