- Charles Austen
-
For other people named Charles Austen, see Charles Austen (disambiguation).
Charles John Austen Born 1779 Died 7 October 1852
Prome, BurmaAllegiance United Kingdom of
Great Britain and IrelandService/branch 
Royal NavyYears of service 1791 – 1852 Rank Rear-Admiral Commands held Companion of the Order of the Bath Relations Francis Austen (brother)
Jane Austen (sister)Rear Admiral Sir Charles John Austen CB (1779 – 7 October 1852) was an officer in the Royal Navy. He served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and beyond, eventually rising to the rank of rear-admiral.
Contents
Family and early life
Charles was born in 1779 as the sixth and youngest son of the Reverend George Austen.[1] His elder brother, Francis Austen also joined the navy and eventually rose to be Admiral of the Fleet.[2] Their sister was the famous novelist Jane Austen.[2] Charles joined the Royal Naval Academy in July 1791, and by September 1794 he had become midshipman aboard HMS Daedalus.[3] He subsequently served aboard HMS Unicorn and HMS Endymion. While serving aboard the Unicorn Austen assisted in the capture of the 18-gun Dutch brig Comet, the 44-gun French frigate Tribune and the French transport ship Ville de l'Orient.[3]
After transferring to the Endymion he helped in the driving into Hellevoetsluis of the Dutch ship of the line Brutus. As a result of the latter action Austen was promoted to lieutenant on 13 December 1797, and appointed to gunboats and privateers out of Algeciras. On one occasion he set off in a small boat in a gale with only four other men, and succeeded in boarding and taking possession of the 18-gun Scipio, with 140 men aboard. He kept control of her until the following day.[3] He returned to the Endymion in April 1803. After continued good service he was promoted to commander by Captain Charles Paget and given command of the sloop edit] Command
Austen spent the next five years serving on the North American Station, before his promotion to captain on 10 May 1810 when he was given command of the 74-gun HMS Swiftsure, which was then the flagship of Sir John Borlase Warren.[3][4] Austen moved again the following September, joining HMS Cleopatra. Between November 1811 and September 1814 Austen served as captain of HMS Namur, based at the Nore and flying the flag of Sir Thomas Williams.[3] He was then given command of the 36-gun frigate HMS Phoenix and after the outbreak of hostilities with France Austen was dispatched in command of a squadron with Adriatic.[3] After Naples had surrendered Austen was active in the blockade of Brindisi. Lord Exmouth then sent him on to search of a French squadron, but with the end of the war with France in the intervening period he briefly turned his attention to suppressing piracy in the region.[3] He successfully captured two pirate vessels in the port of Pavos, but disaster struck when the Phoenix was wrecked off Smyrna on 20 February 1816, through the ignorance of her pilots.[3]
Austen was appointed to the 46-gun Jamaica Station as the second in command.[3] He was active in combating the slave trade and had considerable success, intercepting a number of slave ships.[3] He commanded the Aurora for two and a half years, until she was paid off in December 1828. Sir Edward Griffith Colpoys nominated Austen to become his flag captain aboard HMS Winchester on the North American and West Indies Station.[3] Austen remained here until being forced to be invalided home after a severe accident in December 1830.[3] Austen recovered and returned to service, being appointed to HMS Bellerophon on 14 April 1838. He was awarded a pension on 28 August 1840.[3] He sailed with the Bellerophon to the Mediterranean, and was active at the bombardment of Acre on 3 November 1840.[3] As a result of his good service during the bombardment he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath on 18 December 1840.[5] Austen and the Bellerophon returned home, where the latter was paid off in June 1841.[3]
Flag rank and death
Austen was advanced to rear-admiral on 9 November 1846,[3] and was appointed commander-in-chief in the East Indies and China Station on 14 January 1850, hoisting his flag the following day.[3] He commanded the British expedition during the Second Anglo-Burmese War but died of cholera at Prome on 7 October 1852, at the age of 73.[3][6] On 30 April 1852 Austen had been thanked for his services in Burma by the Governor-General of India, The Marquess of Dalhousie, who subsequently also formally recorded his regret for Austen's death.[6]
Family and issue
Austen married Frances Palmer, the youngest daughter of the late Attorney-General of Bermuda, in 1807. The two had three children together.[3] After the death of Frances, Charles married his late wife's sister in 1820. The couple produced another two sons, one of whom followed his father into the navy.[3]
Notes
- ^ Butler, Marilyn (September 2004; online edition, January 2010). "Austen, Jane (1775–1817)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/904. http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/904. Retrieved 20 January 2010.
- ^ a b Burke. A Genealogical and Heraldic History. pp. 44.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w The Gentleman's Magazine. pp. 438.
- ^ a b "RN Officer's Service Records—Image details—Austen, Charles John, Captain". DocumentsOnline. The National Archives. http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/details-result.asp?Edoc_Id=7896309. Retrieved 2008-11-06.
- ^ London Gazette: no. 19931. p. 3015. 18 December 1840.
- ^ a b "RN Officer's Service Records—Image details—Austen, Charles John, Rear Admiral". DocumentsOnline. The National Archives. http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/details-result.asp?Edoc_Id=7912944. Retrieved 2008-11-06.
References
- The Gentleman's Magazine. F. Jefferies. 1853.
- Burke, John (1836). A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland Enjoying Territorial Possessions Or High Official Rank: But Uninvested with Heritable Honours. Colburn.
External links
- "Biography of Charles John Austen R.N.". 2008-11-03. http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowBiog.php?id=283. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
Military offices Preceded by
Sir Francis CollierCommander-in-Chief, East Indies and China Station
1850–1852Succeeded by
Sir Fleetwood PellewCategories:- 1779 births
- 1852 deaths
- Royal Navy admirals
- Companions of the Order of the Bath
- British naval personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars
- British naval personnel of the Napoleonic Wars
- Deaths from cholera
- British military personnel of the Second Anglo-Burmese War
- People from Hampshire
- Infectious disease deaths in Burma
- Royal Navy personnel of the Syrian War
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