Sir Jahleel Brenton, Bt | |
---|---|
Born |
22 August 1770 Newport, Rhode Island, British North America |
Died |
21 April 1844 Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/branch | Royal Navy |
Years of service | 1781–1812 |
Rank | Royal Navy Vice-Admiral |
Battles/wars |
Battle of Svensksund, 1790 Battle of Cape St Vincent, 1797 Battle of Algeciras, 1801 |
Awards |
Baronetcy Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath |
Sir Jahleel Brenton, 1st Baronet, KCB (22 August 1770 – 21 April 1844) was a British admiral born in Newport, Rhode Island, British North America.
Jahleel Brenton was the son of Rear-Admiral Jahleel Brenton (1729–1802), and a great-great grandson of Rhode Island colonial governor William Brenton. His father belonged to a loyalist family which suffered the loss of most of its property in the American Revolution. He was a lieutenant in the Royal Navy when the war began, and emigrated with his family to the United Kingdom in 1780.
Apart from Jahleel, the eldest, two Brenton sons entered the Royal Navy: Captain Edward Pelham Brenton (1774–1839), and James Wallace Brenton, who was killed young in 1799 while attacking a Spanish privateer near Barcelona in the boats of HMS Peterel, of which he was lieutenant.
Jahleel first went to sea in 1781, serving as midshipman in HMS Queen (1769) which was commanded by his father, and then in HMS Termagant. At the end of the American War of Independence in 1783, Jahleel was sent to the maritime school at Chelsea.
In 1787 Jahleel joined HMS Perseverance which was however paid off soon after his arrival and he moved to HMS Dido where he took part in surveys of the coastline of Nova Scotia. In 1789, his time as a midshipman nearly expired, he joined HMS Bellona and in March 1790 passed his examination for the rank of Lieutenant.