Admiral Sir Edmund Nagle, KCB (1757 – 14 March 1830) was an Irish officer in

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 ...

during the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries who is best known for his capture of the French frigate at the action of 21 October 1794 and his close association with

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, h ...

as a courtier from 1820 to his own death. He served as Commander-in-Chief at Leith, and on the Coast of Scotland and Commander-in-Chief on the Guernsey Station.

Life

Edmund Nagle was born in 1757 at Bloomfield,

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

in the

Kingdom of Ireland The Kingdom of Ireland (; , ) was a dependent territory of Kingdom of England, England and then of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain from 1542 to the end of 1800. It was ruled by the monarchs of England and then List of British monarchs ...

. His father, Edmund Nagle Sr. died when his son was only six and Nagle was raised by relatives including the politician and philosopher

Edmund Burke Edmund Burke (; 12 January ew Style, NS1729 – 9 July 1797) was an Anglo-Irish Politician, statesman, journalist, writer, literary critic, philosopher, and parliamentary orator who is regarded as the founder of the Social philosophy, soc ...

. In 1770, Nagle entered the

in the

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 ...

and was present at the British occupation of the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Dub ...

the following year. He served in the

American Revolutionary War 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 ...

without seeing extensive action, on , , , and until he was captured in 1782 when commanding the small brig . He was recaptured in September by ''Warwick'', and at the end of the war entered the reserve after briefly commanding and . Nagle returned to active service in 1793 at 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 ...

and commanded first and then with a detached squadron of frigates from the

Channel Fleet The Channel Fleet and originally known as the Channel Squadron was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1854 to 1909 and 1914 to 1915. History Throughout the course of Royal Navy's history th ...

commanded by Commodore

Sir Edward Pellew Admiral Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth, GCB (19 April 1757 – 23 January 1833) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. He fought during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary Wars, and the Napoleonic Wars. His younge ...

. It was with this force that ''Artois'' was cruising off the French Channel coast when the French frigate was discovered. The squadron gave chase, Nagle catching the larger French ship and fighting her until support arrived. ''Révolutionnaire'' surrendered, and in 1794 Nagle was made 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 ...

for his service in capturing her. He remained in command of ''Artois'' until 1797, when the frigate was wrecked on the French coast in pursuit of an enemy ship. In 1798, Nagle married a wealthy widow, Mary Blackman (''née'' Harnage) formerly the wife of John Lucie Blackman, father of

Sir George Harnage, 1st Baronet Sir George Harnage, 1st Baronet (1767–1836) was an English businessman and a director of the Bank of England. He was born George Blackman and changed his name in 1821 so that he could inherit the ancestral home of his wife, Mary (''née'' Harnag ...

of the

Harnage baronets The Harnage Baronetcy, of Belswardyne in the County of Shropshire, was a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 28 July 1821 for George Harnage, a captain in the Royal Navy. Born George Blackman, he was the son of John ...

, and effectively retired from the sea. He had minor commands on board and and in 1803 took command of the

Sea Fencibles The Sea Fencibles were naval fencible (a shortening of ''defencible'') units established to provide a close-in line of defence and obstruct the operation of enemy shipping, principally during the French Revolutionary Wars, French Revolutionary a ...

, a coastal

fencible The Fencibles (from the word ''defencible'') were British regiments raised in the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and in the colonies for defence against the threat of invasion during the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence, the Frenc ...

force, based at

Shoreham-by-Sea Shoreham-by-Sea (often shortened to Shoreham) is a coastal town and port in the Adur District, Adur district, in the county of West Sussex, England. In 2011 it had a population of 20,547. The town is bordered to its north by the South Downs, to ...

. There he met Prince George, the naval officer striking up a close friendship with the playboy prince. Nagle, who was described by Burke as having "a spirited and pleasing simplicity in his manner", was often the butt of the prince's jokes, but the relationship bore dividends as Nagle was promoted rapidly, becoming a rear-admiral in 1805 and a vice-admiral in 1810 with spells of service at

Guernsey Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...

and

Leith Leith (; ) is a port area in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is home to the Port of Leith. The earliest surviving historical references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of ...

. In 1813, after a very brief tenure as absentee

Governor of Newfoundland The lieutenant governor of Newfoundland and Labrador () is the representative in Newfoundland and Labrador of the monarch, who Monarchy in Newfoundland and Labrador, operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the Cana ...

, Nagle was made an official aide-de-camp to the Prince. He became a Knight Commander of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

in 1815 and a full admiral in 1819. In 1820, when Prince George became King George IV, Nagle was appointed

Groom of the Bedchamber Groom of the Chamber was a position in the Royal Household, Household of the monarch in early modern Kingdom of England, England. Other ''Ancien Régime'' royal establishments in Europe had comparable officers, often with similar titles. In King ...

, and moved into the King's Royal residences, although also maintaining an estate at

East Molesey East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

. He remained close to the King until his death at his private estate, just three months before the King also died. After the passage of the

Slave Compensation Act 1837 The Slave Compensation Act 1837 ( 1 & 2 Vict. c. 3) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, signed into law on 23 December 1837. Together with the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 ( 3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 73), it authorized the Commissione ...

, Nagle was listed as a mortgagee of his stepson George Blackman's

slave plantation A slave plantation is an agricultural farm that uses enslaved people for labour. The practice was abolished in most places during the 19th century. Slavery Planters embraced the use of slaves mainly because indentured labor became expensive ...

Boarded Hall, and so was issued compensation despite being deceased.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nagle, Edmund 1757 births 1830 deaths Royal Navy admirals Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Royal Navy personnel of the American Revolutionary War Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Knights Bachelor People from Molesey