Charles Douglas (admiral)

Sir Charles Douglas, Bt
Admiral Sir Charles Douglas Mezzotint by John Jones after Henry Singleton, 1791
Born	1727 Carr, Perthshire, Scotland
Died	17 March 1789 Edinburgh, Scotland
Allegiance	Great Britain, Holland, Russia
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1740-1789
Rank	Rear-Admiral
Battles/wars	Seven Years' War * Siege of Louisbourg (1758) American War of Independence * Battle of Ushant (1778) * Battle of the Saintes'
Awards	Baronetcy
Relations	Vice-Admiral Sir William Henry Douglas (son), General Sir Howard Douglas (son)

Vice-Admiral Sir William Henry Douglas (son),

Rear Admiral Sir Charles Douglas, 1st Baronet of Carr (1727 – 17 March 1789) was a descendant of the Earls of Morton and a distinguished British naval officer. He is particularly known for his part in the Battle of the Saintes during the American War of Independence where he helped pioneer the tactic of "breaking the line".

Douglas was born in Carr, Perthshire, Scotland to Charles Ayton Douglas and Christian Hepburn of Kinglassie. Little is known of his early life, although it is established that he could speak six languages. He joined the Royal Navy at the age of twelve, and spent some time in the Dutch service before resuming his career with the British.

He was a midshipman at the Siege of Louisbourg (1745), promoted to Lieutenant in 1753 and to Commander in 1759. By the end of the war in 1763, he was captain of HMS Syren. While commanding the Syren, Sir Charles reported the attack on St. John's and took part in recapturing Newfoundland.

Following the war, Sir Charles went to St. Petersburg to help re-organize the Russian navy for Catherine the Great in 1764-1765.

He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in May, 1770 for carrying out "a series of curious experiments to determine the different degrees of cold at different depths in the Sea".

After the American War of Independence broke out in America in 1775, Douglas was given command of a squadron to relieve Quebec from the siege. When he arrived at the Gulf of St. Lawrence, he decided to ram the ice and successfully made his way up the river, surprising the Americans and putting them on the run. He was also in charge of creating a navy from scratch to fight on Lake Champlain, and that small fleet routed the Americans under Benedict Arnold. In 1777, he was made a baronet for his service in Quebec. As captain of HMS Stirling Castle, he took part in the Battle of Ushant.