Admiral James Saumarez, 1st Baron de Saumarez was an admiral of the British Royal Navy, notable for his victory at the Battle of Algeciras.
Background
He was born at St Peter Port, Guernsey to an old island family, the eldest son of Matthew de Sausmarez (1718-1778) and his second wife Carteret, daughter of James Le Marchant. He was a nephew of John de Sausmarez (1706-1774) of Sausmarez Manor and the elder brother of General Sir Thomas Saumarez (1760-1845), Equerry and Groom of the Chamber to the Duke of Kent, and afterwards Commander-in-Chief of New Brunswick and of Richard Saumarez (1764-1835), a surgeon and medical author. Their sister married Henry Brock, the uncle of Major-General Sir Isaac Brock and Daniel de Lisle Brock. Many of de Sausmarez's ancestors had distinguished themselves in the naval service, and he entered it as midshipman at the age of thirteen. Upon joining the navy, he dropped the second 's' to become de Saumarez.
Career
Entering the navy at the age of 13, Saumarez was promoted to lieutenant for bravery during the attack on Charleston, S. C. (June 28, 1776), in the American Revolutionary War and to commander for his part in a battle against the Dutch off the Dogger Bank (August 5, 1781). In command of the 74-gun Russell, he helped Adm. George Rodney defeat the French under the Comte de Grasse in the Battle of the Saints off Dominica (April 12, 1782).
Soon after the outbreak of war with Revolutionary France, Saumarez captured (October 20, 1793) La Réunion, a large French frigate, and was knighted shortly afterward. He took part in the naval battles off Lorient (June 22, 1795) and Cape St. Vincent (February 14, 1797) and in the blockade of Cádiz (February 1797–April 1798). In the Battle of the Nile (August 1, 1798) he was Horatio (afterward Viscount) Nelson’s second in command. From February 1799 he commanded the 84-gun Caesar. He was created a baronet on June 13, 1801, a month before his victory of Algeciras.
Saumarez commanded the Baltic Fleet with distinction from 1809 to 1814, when he was promoted to admiral and received honours from King Charles XIII of Sweden. On September 15, 1831, he was created Baron de Saumarez by King William IV. In February 1832 Saumarez was appointed general of marines, a post abolished after his death.
Achievements
Saumarez appears as a minor character in C. S. Forester's Hornblower novel 'The Happy Return' as a rear-admiral and is mentioned again in the later Hornblower novel 'The Commodore' as the Admiral soon to be commanding in the Baltic. He also appears as Admiral of the Gibraltar Squadron in "Master and Commander" and also as Admiral of the Baltic Fleet in "The Surgeon's Mate", books from Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey–Maturin series. In Treachery (2008) (US title "The Privateer's Revenge") by Julian Stockwin, Saumerez' purported orders (actually a forgery) result in the disgrace of Thomas Kydd.
Connections
In 1788 he married Martha le Marchant of a wealthy Guernsey family, who brought the estate now known as Saumarez Park into the marriage. They had three sons and four daughters: The eldest, James (1789–1863), succeeded to the peerage, was a clergyman and died without children; he was succeeded in the peerage by his brother, John St. Vincent Saumarez (1806–1891).
