James Gambier, 1st Baron Gambier: Difference between revisions
==Legacy==
==Legacy==
Gambier was a founding benefactor of [[Kenyon College]] in the [[United States]], and the town that was founded with it,{{cite web|url=http://www2.kenyon.edu/Khistory/chase/biography/biography.htm|title= Biography of Philander Chase|publisher= Kenyon College|access-date=11 April 2015}} [[Gambier, Ohio]], is named after him,Gannett, p. 134. as is [[Mount Gambier, South Australia|Mount Gambier]], the city and dormant [[volcano]] in [[South Australia]],Grant, p. 68. and [[Gambier Island]] in [[British Columbia]].Walbran, p. 197. Gambier appears as a minor character near the end of ”[[Flying Colours (novel)|Flying Colours]]”, a 1938 [[Horatio Hornblower]] novel by [[C. S. Forester]].Forester, pp. 214–22.
Gambier was a founding benefactor of [[Kenyon College]] in the [[United States]], and the town that was founded with it,{{cite web|url=http://www2.kenyon.edu/Khistory/chase/biography/biography.htm|title= Biography of Philander Chase|publisher= Kenyon College|access-date=11 April 2015}} [[Gambier, Ohio]], is named after him,Gannett, p. 134. as is [[Mount Gambier, South Australia|Mount Gambier]], the city and dormant [[volcano]] in [[South Australia]],Grant, p. 68. and [[Gambier Island]] in [[British Columbia]].Walbran, p. 197. Gambier appears as a minor character near the end of ”[[Flying Colours (novel)|Flying Colours]]”, a 1938 [[Horatio Hornblower]] novel by [[C. S. Forester]].Forester, pp. 214–22.
==Personal life==
==Personal life==
Admiral of the Royal Navy and Governor of Newfoundland (1756–1833)
Admiral of the Fleet James Gambier, 1st Baron Gambier, GCB (13 October 1756 – 19 April 1833) was a Royal Navy officer. After seeing action at the capture of Charleston during the American Revolutionary War, he saw action again, as captain of the third-rate HMS Defence, at the battle of the Glorious First of June in 1794, during the French Revolutionary Wars, gaining the distinction of commanding the first ship to break through the enemy line.
Gambier went on to be a Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty and First Naval Lord and then served as Governor of Newfoundland. Together with General Lord Cathcart, he oversaw the bombardment of Copenhagen during the Napoleonic Wars. He later survived an accusation of cowardice for his inaction at the Battle of the Basque Roads.
Early career[edit]
Born the second son of John Gambier, the Lieutenant Governor of the Bahamas and Bermudian Deborah Stiles, Gambier was brought up in England by his aunt, Margaret Gambier, and her husband, Admiral Charles Middleton, 1st Baron Barham.[1] He was a nephew of Vice-Admiral James Gambier and of Admiral Lord Barham[2] and became an uncle of the novelist and travel writer Georgiana Chatterton.[3]
Gambier entered the Navy in 1767 as a midshipman on board the third-rate HMS Yarmouth, commanded by his uncle, which was serving as a guardship in the Medway, and followed him to serve on board the 60-gun fourth-rate HMS Salisbury in 1769 where he served on the North American Station. He transferred to the 50-gun fourth-rate HMS Chatham under Rear Admiral Parry, in 1772, in the Leeward Islands. Gambier was placed on the sloop HMS Spy and was then posted to England to serve on the 74-gun third-rate HMS Royal Oak, a guardship at Spithead.[2] He was commissioned as a lieutenant on 12 February 1777, in which rank he served successively in the sloop Shark, the 24-gun frigate HMS Hind, the third-rate HMS Sultan under Vice-Admiral Lord Shuldham, and then in HMS Ardent under his uncle’s flag. Lord Howe promoted Gambier to commander on 9 March 1778 and gave him command of the bomb ship HMS Thunder, which was promptly dismasted and surrendered to the French.[4] He was taken prisoner for a short period and, after having been exchanged, he was made a post captain on 9 October 1778 and appointed to the 32-gun fifth-rate HMS Raleigh and saw action at the capture of Charleston in May 1780 during the American Revolutionary War.[4] He was appointed commander of fifth-rate HMS Endymion, cruising in British waters, later in the year.[5] In 1783, at the end of the War, he was placed on half-pay.[2]
In February 1793 following the start of the French Revolutionary Wars, Gambier was appointed to command the 74-gun third-rate HMS Defence under Lord Howe. By faith an evangelical, he was regarded as an intensely religious man, nicknamed Dismal Jimmy, by the men under his command.[4] As captain of the Defence Gambier saw action at the battle of the Glorious First of June in 1794, gaining the distinction of commanding the first ship to break through the enemy line and subsequently receiving the Naval Gold Medal.[6]
Senior command[edit]
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