Royal Naval Biography/Stirling, Charles
CHARLES STIRLING, Esq
Senior Vice-admiral of the White; and Fellow of the Royal Society.
Henry, the third son of David, Earl of Huntingdon, brother to King William the Lion, in 1165 assumed the name of Stirling, the place of his birth. That branch of the family from which Vice-Admiral Stirling is descended, was subsequently seated at Calder, in North Britain.
Sir Walter Stirling, Knt., a Captain R.N., married Dorothy, daughter of Charles Willing, of Philadelphia, Esq., and by that lady had issue, Walter, (who was created a Baronet, Nov. 4, 1800,) Lord of the Honour of Otford, co. Kent, a London banker, &c. &c.; and Charles, the subject of this memoir; who, after passing through the intervening ranks of the naval service, was promoted to that of Commander; and on the 6th Sept. 1781, being on a cruize off Charlestown in the Savage, of 14 guns and 125 men, fell in with and maintained a spirited action with the Congress, American privateer, of 20 guns, and 215 men. Captain Stirling did not surrender his ship until his mizen-mast was shot away, the main-mast tottering, several of the guns rendered useless, 8 men killed, himself, a Lieutenant, 3 Midshipmen, and 12 of the crew, wounded. The enemy’s loss amounted to 11 men slain, and 30 wounded.
For his gallantry in the above action, our officer was made a Post-Captain, by commission, dated Jan. 15, 1783, and appointed to the Unicorn, of 20 guns, stationed in the West Indies. Some time after the commencement of the war with republican France, we find him commanding the Venus frigate, and subsequently the Jason, of 44 guns and 281 men, employed in the Channel, which latter frigate formed part of the expedition to Quiberon, under Sir John Borlase Warren, in the summer of 1795[1].
On the 11th Aug. 1797, the Jason assisted at the attack of several small armed vessels, which had taken shelter, with some merchantmen, under the guns of the fort at the entrance of the river Sable d’Olonne, one or two of which were sunk, and the fort considerably damaged. On the 27th, the squadron to which she was attached captured five vessels off the Garonne, and drove on shore le Petit Diable, national cutter, of 18 guns and 100 men, some of whom perished in their attempt to get on shore.
At 7 o’clock in the morning of the 29th June, 1798, Captain Stirling being on a cruize off the Saintes, in company with the Pique and Mermaid frigates, discovered and gave chace to a large French frigate; it was not till 11 at night that the Pique brought her to close action, which continued in a brisk running fight until 2 o’clock on the morning of the 30th, when, unfortunately, the main-top-mast of the Pique was shot away, and she dropt a-stern; at this instant the Jason came up, passed between the combatants, and opened her fire with great vigour; soon after both ships ran a-ground warmly engaged, that of the enemy completely dismasted. The Jason having only taken the ground forward, upon the rise of the tide, unavoidably swung round, with her stern close to the enemy’s broadside, and became exposed to a raking fire, which did her considerable damage; Captain Stirling, however, got some of the aftermost guns to play upon her with such effect, that in a few minutes she struck. In the meantime, Captain Milne, of the Pique, eager to renew the combat, and not hearing himself hailed from the Jason, ran a-ground with such violence that his ship bilged, and it was found necessary to destroy her; upon which Captain Stirling directed her officers and crew to take possession of the prize, which with much difficulty, and by great perseverance and activity, they got afloat. She proved to be la Seine, from the Isle of France, bound to l’Orient, of 42 guns and 610 men, (including soldiers,) 170 of whom were killed, and 100 wounded. Captain Newman, in the Mermaid, although not able to arrive up in time to partake in the action, had the satisfaction by his seamanlike conduct to be instrumental in preserving the Jason from being wrecked. The latter ship had 1 Lieutenant, (Robotier,) and 6 men slain, and 12 wounded; among the latter was Captain Stirling. The Pique had 1 man killed, 1 drowned, and 6 wounded.
On the 11th Oct., in the same year, the Jason being in pursuit of a French convoy near Brest, struck upon a rock with such force, as to baffle every exertion of her officers and men to get her off; she in consequence soon filled; the crew got on shore, and surrendered themselves prisoners of war, excepting 6, whom Captain Stirling permitted to take a boat, by which means they effected their escape, and arrived safe at Plymouth on the 15th[2].
In the month of Feb. 1799, our officer was appointed to the Pompée, of 80 guns, which ship he commanded in the battle off Algesiras, July 6, 1801. This action was not of the most fortunate stamp; but the failure was attributable to causes which no prudence could foresee, which no valour could control. Captain Stirling placed the Pompée with great judgment abreast of the inner ship of the enemy, bearing the Admiral’s flag; and such was the effect of his fire, that she was nearly silenced, when a sudden flaw of wind broke the Pompée’s sheer, and from that moment she was able to bring but very few of her guns to bear.
After this engagement, in which the Pompée sustained a loss of 15 men killed, and 69 wounded, the French ships were reinforced by a Spanish squadron of five sail of the line; notwithstanding which, and the crippled state of his own ships, the British Commander, Sir James Saumarez, resolved to pursue and attack the enemy. A glorious victory, in which Captain Stirling was prevented the honor of participating, in consequence of the damaged state of his ship, was the result of this determination[3].
Subsequent to the above event, our officer was entrusted with the command of a squadron, employed in the blockade of Cadiz. The Pompée returned to England at the latter end of the same year, and was paid off at Plymouth in the month of Feb. 1802. A more honorable testimony of the affection and esteem of a ship’s company, was perhaps never shown than on this occasion. When the business of paying the crew was finished, a deputation came aft to Captain Stirling and his officers, to thank them for their attention during the three years they had been together, and to assure their late commander that had the Pompée been ordered to any part of the globe, they would have cheerfully gone. When Captain Stirling got into his barge to go on shore, they gave him three hearty cheers.
Soon after the renewal of the war, in 1803, the subject of this memoir was appointed Resident Commissioner at Jamaica, where he remained until advanced to the rank of Rear-Admiral, April 23, 1804.
In the summer of 1805, Rear-Admiral Stirling, with his flag in the Glory of 98 guns, assumed the command of the squadron stationed off Rochefort; from whence he was despatched by Admiral Cornwallis to reinforce Sir Robert Calder, then cruising to intercept the French and Spanish squadrons on their return from the West Indies. He formed a junction with the Vice-Admiral July 15; and on the 22d, an engagement took place between the hostile fleets, which ended in the capture of two Spanish line-of-battle ships. The success would probably have been greater but for the prevalence of a thick fog. The result of this action, taking into consideration the great disproportion of the opposite forces[4], would, in some circumstances, have been deemed a first-rate victory; but such is the perversity of popular opinion, that the conduct of Sir Robert Calder, instead of receiving its meed of praise for what he had achieved, was violently impugned because he had not done more. At length the murmurs of disapprobation became so frequent and unrestrained, that that Admiral demanded a court-martial to investigate the circumstances which took place during, and subsequent to, the action. This was granted; and, to his great surprise and mortification, the court decided, that through error in judgment, unmixed, however, with fear or cowardice, he had not done all in his power to take or destroy every ship of the enemy, and adjudged him to be severely reprimanded.
In the autumn of 1806, Rear-Admiral Stirling was appointed to the command of a squadron sent to escort a body of troops under the command of Brigadier-General Sir Samuel Auchmuty to South America. On the arrival of those officers in the Rio de la Plata, they learnt that Buenos Ayres had been retaken by the Spaniards; and found the miserable remnant of the troops that had so recently achieved the conquest of that city in a very destitute and exposed situation at Maldonado. It being of the utmost importance to secure possession of some post of strength, before any attempts were made for the recovery of Buenos Ayres, and Monte Video appearing to be the only place on the river which could be assailed with probable advantage, the troops, together with 800 seamen and marines, were landed, and invested that town on the 18th Jan. 1807.
Rear-Admiral Stirling seeing no advantage could result from any effort of ships against a strong fortress, well defended at all points, and which, from the shallowness of the water, could not be approached within a distance to allow shot to be of any use, disposed his ships so as to prevent any escape from the harbour, as well as to impede the communication between Colonna and Buenos Ayres, and confined his whole attention to give every possible assistance in forwarding the siege, by landing guns, ammunition, stores, provisions, and everything required by the Brigadier-General. The distance which the ships lay from the shore, with the almost constant high winds and swell, and the great way every thing was to be dragged by the seamen, up a heavy sandy road, made the duty excessively laborious. The squadron had almost daily 1400 men on shore, and the flag-ship (Diadem) was often left with only 30 men on board.
The defence made by the enemy protracted the siege longer than was expected; and reduced the stock of powder so low, that the men of war, with all the transports, and what a fleet of merchantmen had for sale, could not have furnished a further consumption for more than two days, when a practicable breach was fortunately made, and on the 3d February, early in the morning, the town and citadel were most gallantly carried by storm.
The loss sustained by the squadron, during the siege and at the assault, amounted to no more than 6 killed, 28 wounded, and 4 missing. The prizes taken in the harbour consisted of ten armed vessels, mounting 198 guns; fifteen sloop-rigged gun-boats; six row-boats with guns; two Indiamen of 650 tons each, and upwards of 10,000 tons of merchant shipping. As soon as Fort Saint Philip was in possession of the British, the armed launches of the squadron took possession of the island of Rattones, mounting 10 guns, and garrisoned by 71 men. A very fine frigate mounting 28 guns, was set fire to by her crew, and blew up with an awful explosion; as also three gun-boats; but the other vessels in the harbour were saved by the exertion of the British seamen[5].
Early in May following, Lieutenant-General Whitelocke arrived in the Rio de la Plata, and took the command of the troops. On the 14th of the following month Rear-Admiral (afterwards Sir George) Murray also arrived from England, and took upon himself the direction of the naval operations. Serious preparations were now made for the reduction of Buenos Ayres; the united force, to the number of 7,822 men, with 18 pieces of artillery, were landed about 30 miles to the eastward of that place; and after some fatiguing marches, through a country much intersected by swamps and deep muddy rivulets, the different divisions assembled in the suburbs of the city, which was nearly invested on the 4th July. An injudicious plan of attack was carried into effect on the morning of the 5th, and was so far successful that two strong posts were gained in the town, but at the expense of 2,500 men in killed, wounded, and prisoners; the fire from the tops of the houses, and every advantageous position, upon the exposed and defenceless troops, having been most murderous. On the following morning, General Liniers addressed a letter to the British Commander, offering to give up all the prisoners taken on this occasion, as well as those captured with General Beresford in the preceding year, if he would desist from any farther attack on the town, and withdraw the British forces from the Rio de la Plata; intimating likewise that such was the exasperation of the populace, that he could not answer for the safety of the prisoners, should offensive operations be persisted in. Lieutenant-General Whitelocke agreed to the proposal, and both Buenos Ayres and Monte Video were evacuated. This termination of an enterprise, from which much had been anticipated, occasioned great dissatisfaction; and the Lieutenant-General, on his return to England, was tried by a court-martial, which sentenced him “to be cashiered, and declared totally unfit and unworthy to serve his Majesty in any military capacity whatever:” a decision confirmed by the King, and approved by the public.
During the above disastrous campaign, Rear-Admiral Stirling was ordered by the Commander-in-Chief to remain at anchor with the line-of-battle ships off Monte Video. He subsequently proceeded to the Cape of Good Hope, to the command on which station he had been previously appointed.
Our officer was advanced to the rank of Vice-Admiral, July 31st, 1810; and on the 10th of the following month received the freedom of the Goldsmith’s Company, unanimously voted to him for his important public services. Toward the latter end of the year 1811, he was appointed Commander-in-Chief at Jamaica; but, in consequence of certain representations made to the Admiralty, an order was sent for his return from that station long before the usual period; and, in the month of May, 1814, he was tried by a court-martial at Portsmouth, on a charge of which the following is the substance;
“That it appeared from the affidavits of James Greenfield, clerk and cashier to Messrs. Atkinson, Bayles, and Co. and Mordecai Pallache, co-partner in the firm of Messrs. Moravia and Co. sworn before the Mayor of Kingston, on the 18th Jan. preceding, and by other documents, that the sum of 2000 dollars was paid by the said Moravia and Co. to the agents of Vice-Admiral Stirling, for the convoy of a schooner that was to sail under the protection of the Sappho sloop of war, and of which sum one-third was retained by the said agents as the proportion or share of the Vice-Admiral, and 5 per cent, further on the other two-thirds, as the share of his secretary, and that a receipt was given for the amount by a clerk of the agents.”
The court agreed, That the charge had been in part proved against Vice-Admiral Stirling, and did adjudge him to remain on the half-pay list of Vice-Admirals of the Royal Navy, and not to be included in any future promotion.
This officer married Charlotte, second daughter of Andrew Grote, Esq. a banker in London.
Residence.– Woburn Farm, near Weybridge, Surrey.
- ↑ See p. 169.
- ↑ During the time Captain Stirling commanded the Jason, he captured the following French privateers; La Marie, 14 guns, 60 men; la Coureur, 24 guns, 150 men; la Bonne Citoyenne, 12 guns, 65 men; and, l’Arrogante, 6 guns, number of men not known.
- ↑ See p. 187, et seq.
- ↑ The British fleet consisted of fifteen line-of-battle ships, two frigates, and two smaller vessels. The enemy had twenty sail of the line, seven frigates, and two brigs. The English had 39 men slain and 159 wounded. The slaughter on board the combined squadrons was very great, but their exact loss has never been exactly ascertained.
- ↑ April 16, 1807, on the motion of Lord Mulgrave, the thanks of the House of Lords were voted to Rear-Admiral Stirling, and to the officers, seamen and marines, under his command, for their services at the capture of Monte Video. The same day, in the House of Commons, on the motion of Lord Castlereagh, a resolution was passed, acknowledging and highly approving the diligence and skill manifested by the Rear-Admiral, in landing the troops, &c.