Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

John Carter Allen (19 January 1724 – 2 October 1800) 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.

Life and career

He 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 ...

on 19 January 1724 the son of Carter Allen and his wife Emma Hay. He was baptised at

St Dunstan in the East St Dunstan-in-the-East was a Church of England parish church on St Dunstan's Hill, halfway between London Bridge and the Tower of London in the City of London. The church was largely destroyed in the Second World War and the ruins are now a publi ...

. He was educated at Westminster College where he befriended Augustus Keppel. On 14 June 1745 he appears as a commissioned lieutenant in the

lists. He served on HMS Gosport under Captain

Thomas Pye Admiral (Royal Navy), Admiral Sir Thomas Pye ( – 26 December 1785) was a Royal Navy officer who served during the War of the Austrian Succession, the Seven Years' War, and the American War of Independence. He was briefly Member of Parliament ...

which served in

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 ...

returning to England in 1752. He also served on HMS Swan 1750/51. On 5 April 1757 he got his first command: the 14-gun sloop HMS Grampus which under his command in May 1757 took the French privateers La Philippine and Le Duc D'Aumont on consecutive days in the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay ( ) is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Point Penmarc'h to the Spanish border, and along the northern coast of Spain, extending westward ...

. On 21 March 1758 he was promoted to Captain and transferred to command of the infamous HMS Experiment which in December 1758 was involved in the capture of Goree alongside his friend Commodore Keppel, at which Experiment was damaged and paid off. In 1758/9 he temporarily replace Captain

John Strachan John Strachan (; 12 April 1778 – 1 November 1867) was a notable figure in Upper Canada, an "elite member" of the Family Compact, and the first Anglican Bishop of Toronto. He is best known as a political bishop who held many government posit ...

on HMS Sapphire, capturing the French privateer "Le Saint Michel" on 1 February 1759. Due to his success on Experiment, in August 1759 he was given command of the newly captured 32-gun French frigate

HMS Repulse Twelve ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS ''Repulse'': * was a 50-gun galleon also known as ''Due Repulse'', launched in 1595 and in the records until 1645. * was a 32-gun fifth rate, originally the . She was captured in 1759 by and fo ...

in which he was part of force sent to destroy the

Fortress of Louisbourg The Fortress of Louisbourg () is a tourist attraction as a National Historic Sites of Canada, National Historic Site and the location of a one-quarter partial reconstruction of an 18th-century Kingdom of France, French fortress at Louisbourg, Nov ...

alongside Captain

John Byron Vice-Admiral John Byron (8 November 1723 – 1 April 1786) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer. He earned the nickname "Foul-Weather Jack" in the press because of his frequent encounters with bad weather at sea. As a midshipman, he sa ...

. He was then part of the British action at

Chaleur Bay frame, Satellite image of Chaleur Bay (NASA). Chaleur Bay is the large bay in the centre of the image; the Gulf_of_St._Lawrence.html" ;"title="Gaspé Peninsula is to the north and the Gulf of St. Lawrence">Gaspé Peninsula is to the north and t ...

aka the

Battle of Restigouche The Battle of Restigouche was a naval battle fought in 1760 during the Seven Years' War (known as the French and Indian War in the United States) on the Restigouche River between the British Royal Navy and the small flotilla of vessels of the ...

involving 4 British ships and 3 French ships. In July 1761 he escorted a convoy 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 ...

under the flag of Admiral James Douglas and joined his squadron in the capture of

Dominica Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. It is part of the Windward Islands chain in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of t ...

on 8 June. He then attached to the squadron of Admiral

George Brydges Rodney Admiral George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, KB ( bap. 13 February 1718 – 24 May 1792), was a Royal Navy officer, politician and colonial administrator. He is best known for his commands in the American War of Independence, particularl ...

and in January 1762 was part of the fleet which captured

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

. He was briefly in command of HMS Rochester before in January 1763 taking command of the huge HMS Vanguard (70-gun and a crew ow 520 men) off Grenada. He took extended shore leave 1764 to 1769 then took command of the 74 gun

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactics in the Age of Sail, naval tactic known as the line of battl ...

HMS Superb Eleven ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS ''Superb'', or HMS ''Superbe'': * was a 64-gun third rate, previously the . She was captured by in 1710 and was broken up in 1732 * was 60-gun fourth rate launched in 1736 and broken up in ...

in November, based in

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 May 1770 he took command of HMS Ajax a newly launched ship of the line with 74 guns and 500 crew, based in Cork harbour. In June 1771 he moved to

HMS Albion Nine ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS ''Albion'' after Albion, an archaic name for Great Britain: * was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line launched in 1763. She was converted into a floating battery in 1794 and was wrecked in 17 ...

and April 1778 to

HMS Egmont Several ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS ''Egmont'': *, a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line launched in 1768, and broken up in 1799. * was a schooner of eight guns and 100 tons burthen, launched in 1768. The Royal Navy purchased her b ...

in which he was part of the Battle of Ushant. In March 1780 he took command of the newly captured Spanish ship of the line HMS Gibraltar, but only as a nominal command during her refit to British standards at

Plymouth Dockyard His Majesty's Naval Base, Devonport (HMNB Devonport) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Portsmouth) and is the sole nuclear repair and refuelling facility for the Roya ...

. In January 1781 he took HMS Formidable for a brief period, but his last active command was on HMS Royal William which had 84 guns and a crew of 750. On 29 August 1782 he was one of the presiding officers in the inquiry into the loss of HMS Royal George upon which 900 persons had died including Captain

Richard Kempenfelt Rear admiral (Royal Navy), Rear-Admiral Richard Kempenfelt (1718 – 29 August 1782) was a Royal Navy officer best known for his victory at the Battle of Ushant (1781), Battle of Ushant in 1781 and dying when accidentally sank at Portsmouth th ...

. On Royal William on 20 October 1782 he took an active part in the

Battle of Cape Spartel The Battle of Cape Spartel was an indecisive naval battle between a Franco- Spanish fleet under Admiral Luis de Córdova y Córdova and a British fleet under Admiral Richard Howe. These forces met on 20 October 1782 after Howe successfully re ...

. He was promoted to Rear Admiral of the White in September 1787 and passed command of Royal William to Captain George Gayton in 1790. In 1795 he was promoted to full Admiral. He retired in February 1799 and died on 2 October 1800.

Family

In 1780 he married Caroline Addington (1731-1896, nee Arnold). In 1799 he married Stella Frances Freeman (1730-1821), daughter of Cope Freeman. By Caroline he was father to: * Lt Thomas Allen RN (1767-1852) who married Catherine Manning in 1792 * Jean or Jane Allen (1768-1829) who married Thomas Robinson in 1788 * Captain John Allen RN (1774-1854) who married Jane Skinner in 1811 His sister Emma Allen was married to Admiral Robert Swanton in 1750. It is claimed (and dates would appear to support the theory) that all his children were born out of wedlock but he eventually married their mother in 1780. His grandchildren by Thomas were John Carter Allen (1795–1872) and Charles Manning Allen (1802–1880) who infamously changed their identity and claimed to be the

Sobieski Stuarts In the 1820s, two English brothers, John Carter Allen (1795–1872) and Charles Manning Allen (1802–1880) adopted the names John Sobieski Stuart and Charles Edward Stuart, moved to Scotland, converted to Catholicism, and about 1839 began to cla ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, John Carter 1724 births 1800 deaths People from London Royal Navy admirals