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 ...

Swynfen Thomas Carnegie (8 March 1813 – 29 November 1879) 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 went on to be Fourth Naval Lord.

Early life

Swynfen Thomas Carnegie was born the youngest son of Admiral

William Carnegie, 7th Earl of Northesk Admiral (Royal Navy), Admiral William Carnegie, 7th Earl of Northesk (10 April 1756 – 28 May 1831) was a Royal Navy officer who served in the American Revolutionary War and French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. While in command of HMS Mon ...

and his wife Mary on 8 March 1813.O'Byrne, ''Naval Biographical Dictionary'', p.169.

Naval career

Carnegie joined the

on 3 August 1826 as a

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 ...

on board 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 ...

HMS ''Undaunted''. He later served in the same rank on the

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 ''St Vincent'', flag ship of Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Hotham, and the

brig-sloop During the 18th and 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship of the Royal Navy with a single gun deck that carried up to 18 guns. The rating system of the Royal Navy covered all vessels with 20 or more guns; thus, the term encompassed all ...

HMS ''Raleigh''. He was promoted to

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 ...

on 21 April 1832 and was appointed on 9 November to serve on the frigate HMS ''Castor'', commanded by Commodore Lord John Hay, later moving with Hay to the

post ship Post ship was a designation used in the Royal Navy during the second half of the 18th century and the Napoleonic Wars to describe a sixth-rate ship (see rating system of the Royal Navy) that was smaller than a frigate (in practice, carrying ...

HMS ''North Star''. In these ships he participated in the

First Carlist War The First Carlist War was a civil war in Spain from 1833 to 1840, the first of three Carlist Wars. It was fought between two factions over the succession to the throne and the nature of the Monarchy of Spain, Spanish monarchy: the conservative a ...

and was rewarded by Spain with the Order of San Fernando. He was promoted to

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

on 28 June 1838 and given command of the sloop HMS ''Orestes'' on 10 August 1842. He transferred to the steam sloop HMS ''Devastation'' in November 1843 and served with her until February 1844. Promoted to

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 ...

on 10 June 1845, he was given command of the frigate . Subsequently, he commanded the frigates HMS ''Tribune'' and HMS ''Leander'' in the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

during the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

. Later he commanded the ship of the line HMS ''Edinburgh'' before being appointed Fourth Naval Lord in 1859. He went on to be Captain of the ship of the line HMS ''Colossus'' in 1862 and Commodore of the Coast Guard Service at

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-o ...

in 1863.

Political career

He was Member of Parliament for

Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, England. It is located about south of Stoke-on-Trent, north of Wolverhampton, and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 71,673 at the 2021–2022 United Kingd ...

from 1841 to 1847. In 1846, he briefly served as a

Lord Commissioner of the Treasury In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords (or Ladies) Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second ...

Personal life

In 1858 Carnegie married Albertine Louise, eldest daughter of John Adrian Hope, the second son of Thomas Hope.Hemming, ''The Law Reports'', p. 263.Dod, ''The Peerage'', p. 615. The couple divorced in 1872.''Kelly's Handbook'', p. 75.

Citations

References

* * * *

External links

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Carnegie, Swynfen 1813 births 1879 deaths Royal Navy admirals UK MPs 1841–1847 Swynfen Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Stafford Younger sons of earls Lords of the Admiralty