Augustus Brine
| Augustus Brine | |
|---|---|
Augustus Brine as a young midshipman, John Singleton Copley, 1782
|
|
| Born | 1769 Blandford St. Mary, Dorset, England, Kingdom of Great Britain |
| Died | 28 January 1840 (aged 70 or 71) Boldre Hill, Hampshire, England, United Kingdom |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland |
| Service/branch |
 Royal Navy
|
| Years of service | 1782 – 1840 |
| Rank | Rear admiral |
| Commands held | |
| Battles/wars |
French Revolutionary Wars
|
French Revolutionary Wars
Napoleonic Wars
War of 1812
Augustus Brine (1769 – 28 January 1840) was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.
Despite being the son of a prominent naval officer of the American War of Independence, Augustus Brine had a relatively quiet career. He rose through the ranks to his first command during the French Revolutionary Wars, and was serving at the Cape of Good Hope by 1798. In 1799 he was faced with rumours of a mutiny while off Madagascar, and took decisive steps to maintain his authority and suppress any attempted insubordination. In doing so he was able to navigate his ship back to a British port and obtain support from other British ships.
He was unable to obtain a seagoing command early in the outbreak of the Napoleonic Wars, but accepted a shore position in charge of a unit of Sea Fencibles. He finally received a ship, the 74-gun HMS Bellerophon, in 1810, and carried out patrols off the Dutch coast until 1813. Other commands followed, including that of a ship sent out to the Cape. While cruising in the Atlantic he discovered the homeward-bound American commerce raider USS Syren, and captured her. Apparently entering retirement after the end of the Napoleonic Wars, he was promoted to rear-admiral shortly before his death in 1840.
Augustus Brine was born into a naval family in 1769, the eldest son of James Brine, who became an admiral and commanded a ship at the Battle of the Chesapeake. Augustus's brother, George, also entered the navy and became a captain. Little is known about his early service, but he entered the navy at the age of thirteen in 1782 and served as a midshipman aboard his father's ship, HMS Belliqueux. His portrait was painted at about this time by John Singleton Copley. He was commissioned a lieutenant on 20 November 1790, and a commander on 6 December 1798. He commissioned the 14-gun sloop HMS Hope that year and commanded her at the Cape of Good Hope until paying her off in February 1800.
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