James Saumarez
| The Lord de Saumarez | |
|---|---|
Portrait of Vice-Admiral James Saumarez, NMM
|
|
| Born |
11 March 1757 St Peter Port, Guernsey |
| Died | 9 October 1836 (aged 79) Guernsey |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom
|
| Service/branch |
 Royal Navy
|
| Years of service | 1770–1821 |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Commands held | Plymouth Command |
| Battles/wars |
Battle of the Dogger Bank, 1781 Battle of the Saintes, 1782 Battle of Groix, 1795 Battle of Cape St Vincent, 1797 Battle of the Nile, 1798 Battle of Algeciras, 1801 |
| Awards |
Order of the Sword Baronetcy Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Freedom of the City of London |
Admiral James Saumarez, 1st Baron de Saumarez (or Sausmarez), GCB (11 March 1757 – 9 October 1836) was an admiral of the British Royal Navy, notable for his victory at the Battle of Algeciras.
He was born at St Peter Port, Guernsey to an old island family, the eldest son of Matthew de Sausmarez (1718-1778) and his second wife Carteret, daughter of James Le Marchant. He was a nephew of John de Sausmarez (1706-1774) of Sausmarez Manor and the elder brother of General Sir Thomas Saumarez (1760-1845), Equerry and Groom of the Chamber to the Duke of Kent, and afterwards Commander-in-Chief of New Brunswick and of Richard Saumarez (1764-1835), a surgeon and medical author. Their sister married Henry Brock, the uncle of Major-General Sir Isaac Brock and Daniel de Lisle Brock. Many of de Sausmarez's ancestors had distinguished themselves in the naval service, and he entered it as midshipman at the age of thirteen. Upon joining the navy, he dropped the second 's' to become de Saumarez.
In 1767 Saumarez was entered as a volunteer on the books of HMS Solebay (1763) although he never set foot on the ship, studying at a school near London until in 1770, Saumarez joined the Montreal in the Mediterranean. Placed on board HMS Winchelsea (1764) he was rated Midshipman in November 1770. A transfer to HMS Levant (1758) in February 1772 until she returned to Spithead in 1775 gave an opportunity to take his examination for Lieutenant.
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