James Brisbane

Infobox Military Person
name= Sir James Brisbane
lived= 1774 – 19 December 1826
placeofbirth=
placeofdeath= Penang, Malaya


caption=
nickname=
allegiance= flagicon|United Kingdom United Kingdom
serviceyears= 1787 to 1826
rank= Royal Navy Captain
branch=
commands=
unit=
battles= French Revolutionary Wars • Glorious First of June Napoleonic Wars • Adriatic campaign of 1807–1814 Bombardment of Algiers First Anglo–Burmese War
awards= Knight Bachelor Companion of the Order of the Bath
laterwork=

Captain Sir James Brisbane, Kt, CB (1774 – 19 December 1826) was a British Royal Navy officer of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Although never engaged in any major actions, Brisbane served under both Lord Howe and Horatio Nelson and performed important work at the Cape of Good Hope, prior to the Battle of Copenhagen and in the Adriatic campaign of 1807–1814. In later life Brisbane became commander-in-chief in the East Indies, but died less than a year after arriving of a disease contracted in Burma.

Career

James Brisbane was born in 1774, the son of Admiral John Brisbane and the younger brother of future Admiral Charles Brisbane. In 1787 Brisbane went to sea aboard HMS "Culloden" and by 1794 he was signal midshipman aboard Lord Howe's flagship HMS "Queen Charlotte". Brisbane served in this capacity at the Glorious First of June, where "Queen Charlotte" was heavily engaged and badly damaged. In the aftermath of the battle, Brisbane was promoted to lieutenant and was sent to the Cape of Good Hope, later joining George Elphinstone's flagship HMS "Monarch" and being present at the surrender of a Dutch squadron in Saldanha Bay.

Brisbane was given command of one of the captured Dutch ships and later the frigate HMS "Daphne" as a commander, but on his return to Britain in 1797 was reduced to reserve. Remaining on half-pay until 1800, Brisbane married Jemima Ann Ventham shortly before he was returned to sea in command of HMS "Cruiser". "Cruiser" was attached to Sir Hyde Parker's Baltic fleet on commissioning and Brisbane came under the direct command of Admiral Horatio Nelson, who used "Cruiser" to take soundings and make charts of the approaches to Copenhagen prior to the British attack on the city at the Battle of Copenhagen. Brisbane impressed his superiors in this duty and in 1801 was made a post captain and commanded HMS "Saturn" under Admiral Thomas Totty until the admiral's death.

Between 1803 and 1805, Brisbane commanded the Kent sea fencibles and in 1807 took command of HMS "Alcmene" off Ireland. In 1809, he moved to HMS "Belle Poule", and commanded her in the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea in the early stages of the Adriatic campaign of 1807–1814. There Brisbane captured the French frigate "Var" off Valona. he later participated in the capture of several of the Ionian Islands and remained in the region until 1811, becoming an expert in coastal operations.

In 1812 Brisbane commanded the newly-built HMS "Pembroke" in the Channel Fleet and in 1813 returned to the Mediterranean, where he remained for the rest of the war. In 1816, "Pembroke" was attached to the force under Lord Exmouth that bombarded Algiers and on his return home, Brisbane was knighted. He was already a Companion of the Order of the Bath, having been admitted to the order in 1815. [LondonGazette|issue=17179|startpage=1915|date=5 October 1816|accessdate=2008-07-13]

In 1825, Brisbane was made commander-in-chief of the East Indies Station and sailed there as commodore, arriving in 1826 and taking part in the latter stages of the First Anglo-Burmese War, in which he had some success in riverine operations. During the campaign however he contracted a fatal illness and died from it at Penang in Malaya late in 1826. Brisbane is remembered as a popular and capable commander whose expertise was focused on coastal and riverine operations, which he conducted with success throughout his career. [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/3446 Brisbane, Sir James] , "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography", J. K. Laughton, Retrieved 13 July 2008 ]

Notes

Persondata
NAME=Brisbane, James
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= British Royal Navy officer
DATE OF BIRTH= 1774
PLACE OF BIRTH= [
DATE OF DEATH=19 December 1826
PLACE OF DEATH=Penang, Malaya