Benjamin Caldwell

Infobox Military Person
name= Sir Benjamin Caldwell
lived= 31 January 1739 – November, 1820
placeofbirth= Liverpool
placeofdeath= Basingstoke, Hampshire


caption= Sir Benjamin Caldwell
nickname=
allegiance= flagicon|United Kingdom United Kingdom
serviceyears= 1754 to 1795
rank= Royal Navy Admiral
branch=
commands=
unit=
battles= Seven Years War • Battle of Lagos • Battle of Quiberon Bay American Revolutionary War • Battle of Ushant • Battle of the Saintes French Revolutionary Wars • Glorious First of June
awards= Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
laterwork=

Admiral Sir Benjamin Caldwell, GCB was a senior and highly experienced British Royal Navy officer of the eighteenth century whose many victories and achievements were overshadowed by his acrimonious departure from the Navy during the French Revolutionary Wars after highly publicised disputes with Admiral Lord Howe and Admiral Sir John Jervis over perceived slights against his name following the battle of the Glorious First of June in 1794. As a result of these disputes, Caldwell was overlooked for future employment and only received recognition for his service from King George IV months before his death.

Early career

Caldwell was born in Liverpool in 1739, the son of Dublin solicitor Charles Caldwell and his wife Elizabeth. Caldwell was one of ten children in his family; one of his elder brothers was Andrew Caldwell, a noted solicitor in Dublin. At 15 in 1754 Caldwell attended the Royal Naval Academy, Portsmouth and graduated two years later into the fourth-rate HMS "Isis", where he remained for three years. In 1759 Caldwell joined HMS "Namur", the flagship of Admiral Edward Boscawen in which he participated in the victories of the Battle of Lagos and Battle of Quiberon Bay in the same year.

Profiting from his service in "Namur", Caldwell was promoted to lieutenant in HMS "Achilles" and in her saw out the Seven Years War. In 1762 he commanded the sloop HMS "Martin" and in 1765 became captain of the frigate HMS "Milford". Caldwell later commanded the small frigate HMS "Rose" until the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War when he was transferred to HMS "Emerald" on the North American Station blockading ports, raiding and escorting convoys along the American eastern seaboard.

American Revolutionary War

In December 1779, Caldwell was given the new fourth-rate HMS "Hannibal", moving to the new ship of the line HMS "Agamemnon" in 1781 with the Channel Fleet. Caldwell commanded this ship at the Second Battle of Ushant under Richard Kempenfelt with success and the following year had sailed for the Mediterranean for the largest and most decisive fleet action of the war, the Battle of the Saintes, where Sir George Rodney successfully broke the French line and captured five ships. Caldwell was again distinguished in the action and continued on the North American station until the war's end in 1783.

Political career

Caldwell spent the next for years in semi-retirement, using the opportunity to marry Charlotte Osborn, daughter of admiral and politician Henry Osborn. During the Revolutionary War, Caldwell had entertained a political career, becoming MP for Knocktopher in the Irish House of Commons between 1776 and the peace in 1783. During the years ashore, he became more active, becoming MP for Harristown until 1790. In 1787 he returned to sea again for several months as captain of HMS "Alcide" and in 1790 during the Spanish armament he took over HMS "Berwick". A more permanent commission was not however forthcoming until 1793, when at the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars, Caldwell was promoted to rear-admiral, raising his flag in HMS "Cumberland".

Glorious First of June

Caldwell moved from the "Cumberland" after only a short period and took over HMS "Impregnable", a huge 98-gun second rate in the Channel Fleet of Admiral Lord Howe. With the rest of Howe's fleet, "Impregnable" was present at the Glorious First of June, at which Howe attempted to destroy a large French fleet protecting a grain convoy. The convoy escaped the British, but seven French ships were taken and the rest driven back to France. "Impregnable" was heavily engaged in the action and suffered 31 casualties but along with many officers, Caldwell was overlooked in Howe's dispatch to the Admiralty. Unmentioned in the dispatch, Caldwell's part in the action was not celebrated in Britain and Caldwell was even denied a commemorative medal issued to the captains who had fought at the battle.

Caldwell was infuriated by this snub, and became even more so when the Admiralty endorsed Howe's version of events despite an outcry from the overlooked officers. Transferred to the West Indies under Sir John Jervis as a vice-admiral in HMS "Majestic", Caldwell attempted to put his feelings behind him and was even briefly made commander in chief of the West Indies station when Jervis returned to England. Caldwell's ambitions were however thwarted when the Admiralty appointed John Laforey to replace him after only a few months. Perceiving this second slight to be a consequence of the first, Caldwell returned to England at once and refused to serve at sea again even if the Admiralty, who had been unimpressed by his attitude, offered him employment, which they did not.

Retirement

Retiring to his estates, Caldwell refused all further involvement in naval affairs, and his later promotion to full admiral in 1799 was a formality only. In consequence of the disagreement between Caldwell and the Admiralty, Caldwell was not conferred a knighthood in 1815 at the conclusion of hostilities, as were so many of his contemporaries, and it was not until 1820 that this was reversed, Caldwell being made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in early 1820. [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/4383 Caldwell, Sir Benjamin] , "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography", J. K. Laughton, Retrieved 08 December 2007 ] He died a few months later at his son Charles Andrew's estates near Basingstoke, survived by his wife.

Notes

References

* cite web
title = Caldwell, Sir Benjamin
work = Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, J. K. Laughton
url = http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/4383

Persondata
NAME=Caldwell, Benjamin
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= British Royal Navy admiral
DATE OF BIRTH=31 January 1739
PLACE OF BIRTH=Liverpool
DATE OF DEATH=November 1820
PLACE OF DEATH=Basingstoke, Hampshire