Sir James Lucas Yeo KCB Kt KBA |
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Sir James Lucas Yeo
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Born |
Southampton, England |
7 October 1782
Died | 21 August 1818 At sea, off the coast of Africa |
(aged 35)
Allegiance |
Great Britain United Kingdom |
Service/branch | Royal Navy |
Years of service | 1792–1818 |
Rank | Captain |
Battles/wars | |
Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath 1815 Knight Bachelor 1810 Knight Commander of the Royal Portuguese Military Order of St. Bento d'Avis 1809 |
Sir James Lucas Yeo, KCB, Kt, KBA (7 October 1782 – 21 August 1818) was a British naval commander who served in the War of 1812. Born in Southampton, he joined the Royal Navy at the age of 10 and saw his first action in the Adriatic Sea. He distinguished himself in combat multiple times, most notably during the Portuguese conquest of French Guiana, earning knighthoods in the Portuguese Order of Aviz and the British Order of the Bath. Given command of the frigate Southampton, in 1811 his ship was wrecked in the Bahamas and was acquitted of blame for its loss . Yeo was then given command of the squadron on Lake Ontario, commanding it in several engagements with the Americans.
Yeo was born in Southampton, England on 7 October 1782 to a naval victualling agent. Yeo was sent to an academy near Winchester for his formal education. Yeo joined the Royal Navy as a midshipman aboard HMS Windsor Castle at the age of 10, thanks to his patron, Admiral Phillips Crosby. In 1796, he was made acting-lieutenant and placed in command of the 16-gun sloop HMS Albacore. He was made lieutenant permanently on 20 February 1797. The vessel was deployed to the West Indies, where Yeo contracted Yellow fever was ordered home to England to convalesce in 1798. By 1802, Yeo was first lieutenant aboard HMS Genereux in the Adriatic Sea. He distinguished himself during the siege of Cesenatico in 1800, when thirteen merchant vessels were burned or sunk. Following the Peace of Amiens in 1802, Yeo was demoted to half-pay.