James Nicoll Morris
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Sir James Nicoll Morris KCB |
|
|---|---|
| Born | 1763 |
| Died | 15 April 1830 Cosgrove Priory, Northamptonshire, England |
| Service/branch | Royal Navy |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Commands held |
HMS Plato; HMS Lively; HMS Colossus |
| Battles/wars |
Battle of St. Lucia; Battle of Grenada; Battle of Trafalgar |
| Spouse(s) | Margaretta Sarah Somers Cocks |
Vice-Admiral Sir James Nicoll Morris KCB (1763 – 15 April 1830) was a Royal Navy officer with a history of distinguished service during the American War of Independence, French Revolutionary War and Napoleonic Wars, especially at the battle of Trafalgar in 1805, where the majority of his ship's crew were killed or injured, including Morris himself who was wounded in the knee. Throughout all his service, Morris was respected for his "strict sense of honour" and "simplicity and singleness of heart for which he was remarkable".
Born into a seafaring family in 1763, Morris joined the navy in 1775 and served aboard several ships, including HMS Prince of Wales in numerous actions off the United States seaboard and in the West Indies. In 1776 his father, Captain James Morris RN, was killed whilst attacking Fort Moultrie off Sullivan's Island near Charleston, South Carolina, under the command of Lord Cornwallis, but Morris was not present being stationed off the Leeward Islands. In 1779 he fought at the battle of St. Lucia and at the battle of Grenada, making lieutenant the following year as a reward for his good service.
At the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars, Morris was in command of the sloop HMS Plato and succeeded in capturing his French counterpart Lutine off Newfoundland, for which he was promoted Post captain in 1793. Taking over the frigate HMS Lively, he commanded her until she was wrecked on Rota Point off Cadiz, and then commanded the frigate HMS Phaeton in the Mediterranean, co-operating with Austrian movements in the Aegean Sea and delivering Lord Elgin to Constantinople as ambassador. Following the Peace of Amiens, Morris was given command of the ship of the line HMS Colossus, a new, fast and powerful ship, which unfortunately had had a poor previous captain who left behind a backlog of unfinished maintenance work and a surly and unpaid crew.
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