George M'Kinley (1766–1852) 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 during the

American Revolutionary Patriots (also known as Revolutionaries, Continentals, Rebels, or Whigs) were colonists in the Thirteen Colonies who opposed the Kingdom of Great Britain's control and governance during the colonial era and supported and helped launch the Amer ...

, French Revolutionary and

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

. He joined the navy in 1773 but did not go to sea until 1777. In December 1778, the vessel he was serving on, , was captured and M'Kinley was a prisoner of war until his exchange the following January. In 1781, M'Kinley was aboard , fighting at the

Battle of Fort Royal The Battle of Fort Royal was a naval battle fought off Fort Royal, Martinique in the West Indies during the Anglo-French War on 29 April 1781, between fleets of the British Royal Navy and the French Navy. After an engagement lasting four hours, ...

on 29 April and the

Battle of the Capes The Battle of the Chesapeake, also known as the Battle of the Virginia Capes or simply the Battle of the Capes, was a crucial naval battle in the American Revolutionary War that took place near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay on 5 September 17 ...

on 5 September. In January 1782, he was rated lieutenant aboard and in April took part in the

Battle of the Saintes The Battle of the Saintes (known to the French as the Bataille de la Dominique), also known as the Battle of Dominica, was an important naval battle in the Caribbean between the British and the French that took place 9–12 April 1782. The Brit ...

and the

Battle of the Mona Passage The Battle of the Mona Passage was a naval engagement on 19 April 1782 taking place in the aftermath of the Battle of the Saintes between Britain and France during the American Revolutionary War. A British fleet under Rear-Admiral Samuel Hood, 1 ...

. When war with France resumed in 1793, M'Kinley was sent to the Mediterranean, where, as first lieutenant under

Robert Linzee Admiral Robert Linzee (1739 – 4 October 1804) was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the American War of Independence, and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Linzee entered the navy and was promoted to lieutenant during ...

, he took part in operations against Corsica. As a lieutenant, M'Kinley was given command of the 14-gun cutter ''Liberty'' in March 1795. Serving in 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 ...

, he joined

Sir Sidney Smith Sir William Sidney Smith (21 June 1764 – 26 May 1840) was a British naval officer and politician. Serving in the American Revolutionary War, American War of Independence and French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, he rose to the rank of Ad ...

for an attack on a French squadron near

Cap Fréhel Cap Fréhel is a peninsula in Côtes-d'Armor, in northern Brittany, France which extends off the Côte d'Émeraude into the Golfe de Saint-Malo. No towns or villages are situated on the peninsula; however, two lighthouses, one from the 17th ce ...

and was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

for his efforts. Promoted to Master and Commander of the 14-gun brig-sloop, on 16 May 1798, M'Kinley was in the task force sent to invade Holland the following year. While serving in the

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...

in 1801, M'Kinley's ''Otter'' had a minor role in the Battle of Copenhagen; part of a light division, attached to

Lord Nelson Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...

's squadron. Soon after, on 20 October, M'Kinley made

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 ...

and on the same day, set sail for 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 ...

in his new command . He remained in American waters until July 1802, serving aboard then , in which he returned home. Following the short-lived

peace of Amiens The Treaty of Amiens (, ) temporarily ended hostilities between France, the Spanish Empire, and the United Kingdom at the end of the War of the Second Coalition. It marked the end of the French Revolutionary Wars; after a short peace it set t ...

, M'Kinley was appointed to , a

guardship 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 usua ...

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 ...

. It was on board, during a gun drill, where he was temporarily blinded in an explosion and had to be excused from duties for several weeks. In 1807, M'Kinley was operating off

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

in and rescued British merchant vessels from the

Tagus The Tagus ( ; ; ) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales between Cuenca and Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally westward, and empties into the Atlantic Ocean in Lisbon. Name T ...

when French troops threatened the capital. M'Kinley commanded a small squadron off Galicia in 1809, co-operating with the local resistance and aiding in the recapture of

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela, simply Santiago, or Compostela, in the province of Province of A Coruña, A Coruña, is the capital of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city ...

. The following year, M'Kinley's ship was wrecked off the coast of Malta but he was cleared of blame by a court martial and returned to duty. Apart from a single trip to the

South Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for ...

, M'Kinley remained in home waters until the end of his sea service, finally coming ashore in 1817. He rose through the ranks to become Vice Admiral of the White in 1841 and died in 1852.

Early life and career

George M'Kinley was born in Devonport,

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

, in 1766.Hore p. 78 His father and both his brothers were

officers who all died during 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 ...

: His father, a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

, when M'Kinley was eleven and his brothers; Samuel in 1780, while in command of HMS ''Comet'' on the American Station, and John in 1782, off

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ) is an island between Geography of Cuba, Cuba and Geography of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and the second-largest by List of C ...

.O'Byrne p. 703 M'Kinley received the patronage of

Samuel Barrington Admiral Samuel Barrington (1729 – 16 August 1800) was a Royal Navy officer. Barrington was the fourth son of John Barrington, 1st Viscount Barrington of Beckett Hall at Shrivenham in Berkshire (now Oxfordshire). He enlisted in the navy at ...

and John Leveson Gower and on 5 August 1773, was entered on the books of Gower's ship, , at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

. In 1777 he joined the 18-gun sloop, , under James Dacres and was quickly rated

able seaman An able seaman (AB) is a seaman and member of the deck department of a merchant ship with more than two years' experience at sea and considered "well acquainted with his duty". An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination ...

and then

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

. He was still aboard ''Ceres'' when she was captured off

St Lucia Saint Lucia is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. Part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Saint Vincent ...

by the French frigate, ''Iphigénie'' on 17 December 1778 and consequently was a prisoner of war until exchanged at the beginning of the 1779. Following his release, M'Kinley returned to the West Indies where he served on HMS ''Surprise'', then in which he fought at the

on 29 April 1781 and the

on 5 September. He later joined , where it came to the attention of Rear-Admiral Samuel Hood, whose flag she was flying at the time. On 14 January 1782, M'Kinley was made lieutenant of the sloop , a position he was unable to take up due to the vessel's capture. He therefore remained on ''Barfleur'' and was at the

, at the beginning of April. While in the

Mona Passage The Mona Passage () is a strait that separates the islands of Hispaniola and Puerto Rico. The Mona Passage connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean Sea and is an important shipping route between the Atlantic and the Panama Canal. The Mona Pas ...

, on 19 April, Hood's fleet captured the French ships , , and recaptured the sloop, ''Ceres''. After the battle, M'Kinley transferred to the 24-gun under Captain Alexander Hood and, in July 1783, sailed for home aboard ''Aimable''. M'Kinley remained in active service after the war, first on the New Foundland Station in the 14-gun sloop, and then aboard , a guardship at

. In 1787, M'Kinley was in the 16-gun , engaged in the suppression of smuggling along the English coast. He was very nearly given up for dead when, having taken off after a smuggler in the sloop's

jolly boat The jolly boat was a type of ship's boat in use during the 18th and 19th centuries. Used mainly to ferry personnel to and from the ship, or for other small-scale activities, it was, by the 18th century, one of several types of ship's boat. The de ...

, he was caught in a violent storm and went missing for 30 hours. In 1789, M'Kinley was reunited with Gower, first in and later in . On 1 December 1792, M'Kinley boarded as first lieutenant. In February 1793 Britain joined the

First Coalition The War of the First Coalition () was a set of wars that several European powers fought between 1792 and 1797, initially against the constitutional Kingdom of France and then the French Republic that succeeded it. They were only loosely allied ...

in the

French Revolutionary War The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted France against Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, Russia, and several other countries ...

and in September, ''Alcide'', under Commodore

, took part in operations preceding the Invasion of Corsica. M'Kinley followed Linzee into the 98-gun before joining , under Captain William Young. On 8 February 1794 as part of the siege of Saint-Florent, ''Fortitude'' and , made an unsuccessful attack on the tower at Mortella Point.Clowes (Vol.III) p. 243

Command

As a lieutenant, M'Kinley received his first command, the 14-gun cutter, , in March 1795, operating in the waters around the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...

. In 1796, M'Kinley came to the attention of

when he offered the services of ''Liberty'' and her crew, for an attack on a French squadron that had been chased into the port of Herqui, near

.James (Vol.I) p. 319 At 12:00 on 18 March, Smith's ship, , ''Liberty'' and a hired lugger named ''Aristocrat'', entered the narrow entrance of the harbour. A party of marines and seamen were put ashore to silence one of the gun batteries while the British vessels engaged the French Corvette, four brigs, two sloops and a lugger, within. ''Liberty'', having a shallower draught than ''Diamond'' was able to maintain a close action with the 16-gun corvette. At 22:00, with all the enemy's ships ablaze but the guns ashore still firing, the British withdrew. M'Kinley was

for his, "Gallant and judicious manner" in this action. M'Kinley was promoted to Master and Commander of the 14-gun brig-sloop, on 16 May 1798, taking part in the invasion of Holland the following year. In August, ''Otter'' was present at, although she took no active part in, the

Vlieter incident In the Vlieter incident of 30 August 1799, a squadron of the Batavian Navy, commanded by '' Schout-bij-nacht'' Samuel Story, surrendered to the British navy. The incident occurred during the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland. It occurred in t ...

; the surrender of a Dutch squadron near

Texel Texel (; Texels dialect: ) is a municipality and an island with a population of 13,643 in North Holland, Netherlands. It is the largest and most populated island of the West Frisian Islands in the Wadden Sea. The island is situated north of Den ...

. He later commanded a detachment of marines in operations ashore; holding the town of

Enkhuizen Enkhuizen () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland and the region of West-Frisia. History Enkhuizen, like Hoorn and Amsterdam, was one of the harbour-towns of the VOC, from where overseas trade ...

until the evacuation. At the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801, M'Kinley's ''Otter'' was part of a light division, attached to

's squadron. Immediately after the battle, M'Kinley was placed in temporary command of , her previous captain, Sir Thomas Boulden Thompson, being incapacitated through the loss of a leg. M'Kinley had just finished refitting the ship when he was appointed another, ; aboard which, he returned to England. M'Kinley was confirmed

on 20 October and, on the same day, sailed for the

aboard . On arrival, he took up his new position on . In March 1802, Britain signed the

Treaty of Amiens The Treaty of Amiens (, ) temporarily ended hostilities between France, the Spanish Empire, and the United Kingdom at the end of the War of the Second Coalition. It marked the end of the French Revolutionary Wars; after a short peace it set t ...

and on 23 July, M'Kinley transferred to , sailing her first to Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

, before heading home. War resumed in the May following and on 11 July 1803, M'Kinley was appointed to , a

. While stationed there, M'Kinley was temporarily blinded by an exploding powder horn during a gun drill. He returned to duty some weeks later, when ''Roebuck'' took up her new position in the

Yarmouth Roads Yarmouth Roads is a coastal feature in Norfolk, England that was used by merchant and naval ships as an anchorage or roadstead off Great Yarmouth. Description The following is a description of Yarmouth Roads that appeared in The Nautical Magazi ...

. On 23 January 1806, M'Kinley took command of off the Dutch coast. He transferred to 20 May. In 1807, when

came under threat from French troops under

Jean-Andoche Junot Jean-Andoche Junot, Duke of Abrantes (; 25 September 1771 – 29 July 1813) was a French military officer who served in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He is best known for leading the French invasion of Portugal in 1807. ...

, ''Lively'' was tasked with the evacuation of a British factory and the removal of British merchant vessels, moored in the river

.Hore p. 79 In 1809, with a small squadron under his command, M'Kinley operated off the coast of Galicia, where he supported local guerrilla groups. Such alliances resulted in the surrender of French forces at

Vigo Vigo (, ; ) is a city and Municipalities in Spain, municipality in the province of province of Pontevedra, Pontevedra, within the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Spain. Located in the northwest ...

on 27 March, and the recapture of the city of

on 3 July.Hore p. 79 ''Lively'' was wrecked off

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

in 1810, M'Kinley and his crew having worked for 8 weeks to try to salvage her. A court martial acquitted M'Kinley of blame and commended him for his efforts. On 19 April 1811, M'Kinley took the position of flag captain to Sir Charles Cotton, aboard . Following the retirement of

Lord Gambier Admiral of the Fleet James Gambier, 1st Baron Gambier, (13 October 1756 – 19 April 1833) was a Royal Navy officer and colonial administrator. After seeing action at the capture of Charleston during the American Revolutionary War, he saw act ...

, Cotton was given command of the Channel Fleet and ''San Josef'' and M'Kinley went with him. M'Kinley was appointed to on 5 May 1812, initially cruising off the mouth of the

Scheldt The Scheldt ( ; ; ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of Netherlands, the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to Old Englis ...

before being sent to

St Helena Saint Helena (, ) is one of the three constituent parts of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, a remote British overseas territory. Saint Helena is a volcanic and tropical island, located in the South Atlantic Ocean, some 1,874 km ...

. On his return, he served in the Channel, where he saw out the remainder of the war. M'Kinley came ashore in 1817, having spent an almost unbroken period of 33 years at sea; twenty-two in command.

Later career and death

On 16 January 1818, M'Kinley took up a position at the Royal Greenwich Hospital. On its amalgamation with the

Royal Naval Asylum The Royal Naval Asylum was an educational institution, founded under the name The British National Endeavour in 1798, that later merged with the Royal Hospital School in Greenwich. The school was founded by Mr Andrew Thompson, who appealed to t ...

in April 1821, he was nominated Superintendent and rewarded for his services with a special pay increase in 1828. M'Kinley was promoted

Rear-Admiral of the Blue Rear-Admiral of the Blue was a senior rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, immediately outranked by the rank Rear-Admiral of the White. Royal Navy officers currently holding the ranks of commodore, rear admiral, vice admiral and admira ...

on 13 October 1830 and Vice Admiral of the White on 23 November 1841.O'Byrne p. 704 He died in

Alverstoke Alverstoke is a village in the borough of Gosport, on the south coast of Hampshire, England. It stretches east–west from Fort Blockhouse, Haslar to Browndown Battery, and is centred east of the shore of Stokes Bay and near the head of a cree ...

in 1852.

Citations

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:M'Kinley, George 1766 births 1852 deaths Royal Navy captains Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Royal Navy personnel of the American Revolutionary War Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Royal Navy officers who were court-martialled