Admiral Thomas Mackenzie (1753 – 20 September 1813) was a prominent British

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 of the late eighteenth century. Mackenzie's career, while successful, was blighted by a series of controversies that limited his opportunities and command, resulting in his placement in reserve for the last 19 years of his career. During his early service, Mackenzie served at a number of engagements 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 ...

and advanced rapidly, but he was caught during service in the

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in the midst of a disagreement between two senior officers and as a result was placed in reserve at the end of the war. At the start 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 ...

ten years later Mackenzie was restored to service, and commanded 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 ...

at the

Glorious First of June The Glorious First of June, also known as the Fourth Battle of Ushant, (known in France as the or ) was fought on 1 June 1794 between the British and French navies during the War of the First Coalition. It was the first and largest fleet a ...

. Mackenzie was again involved in a major dispute in the aftermath of the battle over credit for the victory, with the result that he never again served at sea.

Life

Thomas Mackenzie was born in 1753, the son of Vice-Admiral George Mackenzie. At a young age, Thomas joined 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 in 1771 passed the lieutenants exam and joined the sloop . He continued to rise in rank, and in 1776 at the start of the

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 di ...

for his services at the Battle of Quebec, and was assigned command of the 28-gun frigate .Winfield 2007, p. 227 On 4 December he was in command of ''Lizard'' when she captured the American privateer ''Putnam''. Mackenzie was later assigned to command the ship , but was captured with his vessel by the French frigate ''Amazone'' on 10 September 1779 ADM 1/5315 court-martial 23 Feb 1780 near

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

. Released in Cadiz the following year, Mackenzie returned to Britain, was cleared at a

court martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the mili ...

and given command of the frigate . ''Active'' was attached to the squadron under Commodore George Johnstone sent to the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...

in 1781, but the force was intercepted at

Porto Praya Praia (, Portuguese for "beach") is the capital and largest city of Cape Verde.St Jago by a French squadron. The ensuing

Battle of Porto Praya The Battle of Porto Praya was a naval battle that took place during the American Revolutionary War on 16 April 1781 between a British squadron under Commodore George Johnstone and a French squadron under Pierre André de Suffren. Both squadr ...

was inconclusive, but the French were able to reinforce the Cape before the British could attack, making an invasion impossible. Continuing westwards, ''Active'' joined a squadron under Vice-Admiral Edward Hughes and was engaged in operations on the Malabar coast and against the Dutch city of

Negapatam Nagapattinam (''nākappaṭṭinam'', previously spelt Nagapatnam or Negapatam) is a town in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Nagapattinam district. The town came to prominence during the period of Medieval ...

. In 1782 he was ordered by the council at

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to escort a ship pass the

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which was watched by a French privateer. This diversion caused him to miss the attack on

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and invoked Hughes' anger, despite Lord Macartney's advocacy of Mackenzie's actions. When peace came the following year, Mackenzie was ordered back to Britain and placed in reserve. Mackenzie did not serve again until 1793, when the outbreak of the

necessitated the employment of experienced seamen. Taking command of the

, Mackenzie joined 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 ...

under Lord Howe. During the

Atlantic campaign of May 1794 The Atlantic campaign of May 1794 was a series of operations conducted by the British Royal Navy's Channel Fleet against the French Navy's Atlantic Fleet, with the aim of preventing the passage of a strategically important French grain convoy ...

, ''Gibraltar'' was engaged at the actions on 28 and 29 May and again at the

, but failed to distinguish herself at any of the engagements. Mackenzie was consequently left off the list of officer commended for their service and was furious at his omission, as were many of the captains whose names were not included. The resulting furore was highly divisive in the Navy, and Mackenzie was never employed again, despite his promotion to rear-admiral three days later. He remained in reserve, continuing to gain in rank but never participating at sea until his death in 1813, childless at age 60.Tracy, p. 234–235

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mackenzie, Thomas 1753 births 1813 deaths Royal Navy admirals Royal Navy personnel of the American Revolutionary War Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars