Andrew Snape Douglas
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Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
Sir Andrew Snape Douglas (8 October 1761 – 4 June 1797) was a
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
officer who served in the
American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
and
French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...
.


Family and early life

Andrew Snape Douglas was born in
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
on 8 October 1761, the son of Dr. William Douglas, a medical doctor from Springfield in
Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...
, and Lydia Hamond, daughter of a
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
merchant and shipowner. William Douglas's death in 1770 led Andrew to sign on that year aboard his maternal uncle Sir Andrew Snape Hamond's ship, the 32-gun
frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...
. The two sailed to North America, and after spending time along the coast, Douglas moved to the
West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
. With the outbreak of the
American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
in 1775 he returned to North America and rejoined his uncle, now commanding the 44-gun . He received his commission as a lieutenant on 23 April 1778, and was made master and commander on 16 February 1780. He was to have been appointed to the armed ship ''Germain'', but instead took command of a floating battery, and was present at the
Siege of Charleston The siege of Charleston was a major engagement and major British victory in the American Revolutionary War, fought in the environs of Charles Town (today Charleston), the capital of South Carolina, between March 29 and May 12, 1780. The British ...
. He was subsequently promoted to
post-captain Post-captain or post captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of captain in the Royal Navy. The term "post-captain" was descriptive only; it was never used as a title in the form "Post-Captain John Smith". The term served to dis ...
on 15 May 1780 and appointed to the command of the captured American frigate . Instead he had in April 1780 become commander of the ''Roebuck'', then serving as the flagship of Vice-Admiral
Mariot Arbuthnot Admiral of the Blue Mariot Arbuthnot (1711 – 31 January 1794) was a Royal Navy officer who served in the American War of Independence. Early life A native of Weymouth, Dorset in England, Arbuthnot was the son of Robert Arbuthnot and Sarah ...
. He went on to capture the American ships on 14 April 1781 and ''Protector'' on 5 May. He was succeeded in the command of the ''Roebuck'' by Captain
John Orde Sir John Orde, 1st Baronet (22 December 1751 – 19 February 1824) was a British Royal Navy officer. The third son of John Orde, of Morpeth, Northumberland, and the brother of Thomas Orde-Powlett, 1st Baron Bolton, he is remembered as a profe ...
in July 1781.


Command

The ''Roebuck'' was ordered home in July 1781, but Douglas remained in American waters, having been given command of the 54-gun . He was employed in a senior position in Admiral Thomas Graves's fleet owing to his extensive knowledge of the American coasts. He was subsequently given command of a squadron of frigates and went on to enjoy considerable success in a number of cruises. Among his captures was the 32-gun French frigate ''Magicienne'' on 2 July 1781, an action that thwarted a planned French assault on British ships in the St John River. He then proceeded to end the
Raid on Lunenburg, Nova Scotia (1782) The Raid on Lunenburg (also known as the Sack of Lunenburg) occurred during the American Revolution when the US privateer, Captain Noah Stoddard of Fairhaven, Massachusetts, and four other privateer vessels attacked the British settlement at Lu ...
. Douglas returned to England after the end of the war, initially spending time at
Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham, Kent, Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham, Kent, Gillingham; at its most extens ...
studying naval architecture, before going to sea again, mostly serving in the Mediterranean and the
English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...
. Douglas commanded the 74-gun
third rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy, a third rate was a ship of the line which from the 1720s mounted between 64 and 80 guns, typically built with two gun decks (thus the related term two-decker). Rating When the rating system was f ...
from October 1787 during the period of the Spanish Armament. He was in command of the 32-gun , which had been appointed the
guard ship A guard ship is a warship assigned as a stationary guard in a port or harbour, as opposed to a coastal patrol boat, which serves its protective role at sea. Royal Navy In the Royal Navy of the eighteenth century, peacetime guard ships were usual ...
at Weymouth, when the town was visited by
King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...
. Douglas conducted the King on his first voyage aboard a warship, and on 13 September 1789 King George appointed Douglas a
knight bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...
. Also in 1789 Douglas and his uncle Snape Hamond were members of the court for the court martial of the mutineers of the ''Bounty''. Douglas was then in command of the 74-gun from 1790.


French Revolutionary Wars

The outbreak of the
French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...
in February 1793 led to Douglas being appointed to command the 38-gun frigate . He went on to capture five enemy vessels that year, and was involved in the capture of a French
privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...
and her prize, the Spanish
galleon Galleons were large, multi-decked sailing ships developed in Spain and Portugal. They were first used as armed cargo carriers by Europe, Europeans from the 16th to 18th centuries during the Age of Sail, and they were the principal vessels dr ...
''St Jago''. Lord Howe arranged for Douglas to be commodore in charge of the fleet's frigates, occasionally sending him on detached cruises. He moved aboard Howe's
flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...
, the 100-gun
first rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a first rate was the designation for the largest ships of the line. Originating in the Jacobean era with the designation of Ships Royal capable of carrying at least ...
on 8 April 1794, apparently through the auspices of both his uncle and the
First Lord of the Admiralty First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the title of the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible f ...
,
John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham General John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham (9 October 1756 – 24 September 1835) was a British soldier and politician. He spent a lengthy period in the cabinet but is best known for commanding the disastrous Walcheren Campaign of 1809. Chatham wa ...
. Now serving as Howe's
flag captain In the Royal Navy, a flag captain was the captain of an admiral's flagship. During the 18th and 19th centuries, this ship might also have a " captain of the fleet", who would be ranked between the admiral and the "flag captain" as the ship's "Firs ...
Douglas fought at the
Glorious First of June The Glorious First of June, also known as the Fourth Battle of Ushant, (known in France as the or ) was fought on 1 June 1794 between the British and French navies during the War of the First Coalition. It was the first and largest fleet a ...
, sustaining a severe wound to the head but refusing to leave the deck. He was appointed a Colonel of Marines on 1 June 1795 and remained as captain of the ''Queen Charlotte'' after Howe was succeeded by Lord Bridport. He commanded his ship at the
Battle of Groix The Battle of Groix (, ) took place on 23 June 1795 off the island of Groix in the Bay of Biscay during the War of the First Coalition. It was fought between elements of the British Channel Fleet and the French Ponant Fleet, Atlantic Fleet, whi ...
in 1795, earning private praise for his courage in leading his ship whilst heavily outnumbered, but little public reward.


Personal life and later years

Douglas had married Anne Burgess on 14 November 1781 in British-occupied
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. They had one son and two daughters, Anne Hammond Douglas and Harriet Douglas. He had begun to suffer increasing ill health, complaining of persistent headaches, which eventually forced him to end his career at sea. He moved ashore but died on 4 June 1797. A subsequent autopsy revealed
brain tumour A brain tumor (sometimes referred to as brain cancer) occurs when a group of cells within the brain turn cancerous and grow out of control, creating a mass. There are two main types of tumors: malignant (cancerous) tumors and benign (non-cancero ...
s, a likely result of his injury at the Glorious First of June three years before.''The Pictorial History of England'', George Lillie Craik, p. 394


Legacy

An engraving of Douglas is in the collection of the British National Portrait Gallery. There are several other images of Douglas; he appears in several paintings by
Mather Brown Mather Brown (baptized 11 October 1761 – 25 May 1831) was an American painter who was born in Boston, Massachusetts and was active in England. Early life and education Brown was the son of Gawen and Elizabeth (Byles) Brown, and descended from ...
and in a portrait by modern maritime artist Irwin Bevan. Douglas is primarily known today through his letters to his uncle.


Notes


References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas, Andrew Snape Royal Navy captains Knights Bachelor Royal Navy personnel of the American Revolutionary War Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Military personnel from Edinburgh 1761 births 1797 deaths