James Cornewall
| James Cornewall | |
|---|---|
James Cornewall, by an unknown artist
|
|
| Born | 1698 Moccas, England |
| Died | 11 February 1744 (aged 45) off Toulon, France |
| Allegiance |
 Kingdom of Great Britain
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| Service/branch |
 Royal Navy
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| Years of service | 1691–1744 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Commands held |
HMS Sheerness HMS Greyhound HMS Deptford HMS Greenwich HMS St Albans HMS Bedford HMS Marlborough |
| Battles/wars | War of the Austrian Succession |
Captain James Cornewall (1698 – 11 February 1744) was an officer in the British Royal Navy who became a national hero following his death at the Battle of Toulon in 1744. His monument in Westminster Abbey was the first ever to be erected by Parliament at public expense.
He was born in 1698, the youngest son of Henry Cornewall and his second wife Susanna, and was baptised at Moccas on 17 November 1698.
His naval career began as a Volunteer-per-order, serving first upon HMS Chatham from March 1721 before transferring to HMS Torbay in December of the same year. Three years later he was given his first independent command, being promoted to become captain of the Fifth-rate HMS Sheerness on 3 April 1724. He spent four years aboard this ship, principally in the waters off Boston, protecting trade and suppressing piracy. John Knox Laughton compares this phase of his life to "the opening chapters of Fenimore Cooper's Water Witch and Red Rover."
He returned to England in August 1728, and made an unsuccessful attempt to represent the seat of Weobley on 30 January 1730, losing to John Birch. When Birch was expelled from Parliament due to his involvement in the fraudulent sale of the Derwentwater estates, Cornewall stood again and defeated him on 14 April 1732. In December of that year he was back at sea, this time commanding HMS Greyhound, which he sailed to the coast of Morocco establishing friendly relations with the Barbary pirates of Salé and the bashaw of Tétouan.
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