Isaac Smith (1752–1831) was a
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral.
Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...
in the
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 ...
and cousin of
Elizabeth Cook (née Batts) wife of Captain
James Cook
Captain (Royal Navy), Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 176 ...
, with whom he sailed on two voyages of exploration in the South Pacific. Smith was the first European to set foot in eastern Australia and the first to prepare survey maps of various Pacific islands and coastlines including
Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South America, South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan.
The archipelago consists of the main is ...
in South America.
Early life
Smith was born in
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 ...
in 1752, the eldest of seven children of Charles and Hannah Smith and cousin to James Cook's wife Elizabeth.
He enlisted for naval service in 1767 at the age of thirteen, using his family connections to secure an immediate ranking of
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 a position aboard under Cook's command, for a survey voyage off the west coast of Newfoundland.
On 27 May 1768, and still ranked able seaman, he transferred to his second vessel, Cook's , at Deptford
ahead of its expedition to the Pacific to observe the 1769
Transit of Venus
A transit of Venus takes place when Venus passes directly between the Sun and the Earth (or any other superior planet), becoming visible against (and hence obscuring a small portion of) the solar disk. During a transit, Venus is visible as ...
and then to search the south Pacific for signs of the postulated ''Terra Australis Incognita'' (or "unknown southern land").
Pacific exploration
Smith sailed with Cook to
Tahiti
Tahiti (; Tahitian language, Tahitian , ; ) is the largest island of the Windward Islands (Society Islands), Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. It is located in the central part of t ...
, then to New Zealand and the east coast of Australia. On 28 April 1770 he became the first European to set foot on eastern Australian soil, Cook telling him "Jump out, Isaac" as the ship's boat touched the shore at Botany Bay. A month later on 23 May 1770, Smith was promoted to
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 ...
following
James Magra's suspension on suspicion of having assaulted Cook's clerk.
Cook's lieutenant
Zachary Hicks
Zachary Hicks (1739 – 26 May 1771) was a Royal Navy officer, second-in-command on Lieutenant James Cook's first voyage to the Pacific and the first among Cook's crew to sight mainland Australia. A dependable officer who had risen swiftly ...
died from
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
in May 1771, and was replaced by the
master's mate
Master's mate is an obsolete rating which was used by the British Royal Navy, Royal Navy, United States Navy and merchant services in both countries for a senior petty officer who assisted the sailing master, master. Master's mates evolved into th ...
Charles Clerke
Captain (Royal Navy), Captain Charles Clerke (22 August 1741 – 22 August 1779) was an officer in the Royal Navy who sailed on four voyages of exploration (including three circumnavigations), three with Captain James Cook. When Cook was killed ...
. In turn, Smith was promoted to fill Clerke's former role and served with distinction for the remainder of the voyage. Cook singled him out in a letter to the
Secretary of the Admiralty
The Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty also known as the Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Board of Admiralty was a position on the Board of Admiralty and a civil officer of the British Royal Navy. It was usually ...
in 1772, noting that Smith "had been of great use to me in assisting to make Surveys, Drawings &c in which he is very expert."
Smith sailed again with Cook in 1772, as master's mate aboard . He assisted first mate Joseph Gilbert in drawing Cook's maps and survey charts during the voyage, including one of the first recorded maps of Tierra del Fuego in 1773. Smith's wider artistic talents were also demonstrated by the production of a small
watercolour
Watercolor (American English) or watercolour ( Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting method"Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to the ...
of icebergs, painted while ''Resolution'' sailed close to
Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...
in 1773. On ''Resolution''s return Cook again singled Smith out for praise, advising Admiralty that he was "a Young man bred to the Sea under my care and who has been a very great assistant to me in
aking charts both in this and my former voyage."
Independent command
On ''Resolution''s return to England in 1775, Smith was promoted to lieutenant and given command of the elderly 16-gun
sloop , holding this post for two years.
In December 1787, he was 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 ...
in command of the 36-gun frigate HMS ''Perseverance.''
The future Admiral
John Surman Carden
Admiral (Royal Navy), Admiral John Surman Carden (15 August 1771 – 22 April 1858) was an officer of the British Royal Navy in the early nineteenth century. Although the majority of his service was against the French during the Napoleonic Wa ...
was a member of Smith's crew from 1787 to 1793, before his transfer to . As captain of ''Perseverance'', Smith was assigned to the
East Indies Station
The East Indies Station was a formation and command of the British Royal Navy. Created in 1744 by the Admiralty, it was under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies.
Even in official documents, the term ''East Indies Station'' wa ...
under the overall command of Admiral
William Cornwallis
Admiral Sir William Cornwallis, (20 February 17445 July 1819) was a Royal Navy officer. He was the brother of Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, British commander at the siege of Yorktown. Cornwallis took part in a number of decisive ...
and took part in the capture at sea of the French frigate in 1791 at the
Battle of Tellicherry
The Battle of Tellicherry was a naval action fought off the Indian port of Tellicherry between British and French warships on 18 November 1791 during the Third Anglo-Mysore War. Britain and France were not at war at the time of the engagement ...
, shortly before the outbreak of the first
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 ...
.
Later life
Despite this achievement and continued commendation from his superiors, Smith's active service days were drawing to a close. In 1794 he contracted
hepatitis
Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver parenchyma, liver tissue. Some people or animals with hepatitis have no symptoms, whereas others develop yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice), Anorexia (symptom), poor appetite ...
, and his ill health gradually prevented him from performing his duties. In either 1804 or 1807
he applied for and received a promotion to the superannuated post of
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral.
Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...
and returned to England to retire.
In initial retirement Smith shared a house in Clapham with his cousin, Cook's widow Elizabeth, until in the 1820s he inherited
Merton Abbey in Merton, Surrey, from his brother in law.
He then divided his time between these two homes, until his death on 2 July 1831 at the age of 78.
His will left a sum of £700 to the church of St Mary the Virgin in
Merton, the interest from which was to support the poor of the parish. A memorial to Smith, originally financed by Elizabeth Cook, stands in the church grounds.
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Isaac
Royal Navy rear admirals
British explorers of the Pacific
1752 births
1831 deaths
Military personnel from London