Sir Albemarle Bertie, 1st Baronet
| Sir Albemarle Bertie, Bt | |
|---|---|
| Born | 20 January 1755 |
| Died | 24 February 1824 (aged 69) Donnington, Berkshire |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/branch | Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1760s–1812 |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Commands held | |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards |
Baronetcy Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath |
Admiral Sir Albemarle Bertie, 1st Baronet, KCB (20 January 1755 – 24 February 1824) was a long-serving and at the time controversial officer of the British Royal Navy who saw extensive service in his career, but also courted controversy with several of his actions.
Bertie won recognition for unsuccessfully defending his ship against superior odds in the American Revolutionary War. He was later criticised however for failing to close with the enemy at the Glorious First of June and later for pulling rank on a subordinate officer just days before the capture of the French island of Mauritius and taking credit for the victory. Despite these controversies, Bertie was rewarded for his service with a baronetcy and the Order of the Bath, retiring in 1813 to his country estate at Donnington, Berkshire.
Albemarle Bertie was born in 1755, the natural son of Peregrine Bertie, 3rd Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven, and much of his childhood is undocumented. It is not even clear when he entered the Navy, although he was gazetted lieutenant in December 1777 aged 22, quite a bit older than most of his contemporaries. Within a year of promotion, Bertie had witnessed combat on the repeating frigate Fox at the First Battle of Ushant, a brief and inconclusive action which resulted in a court martial for Admiral Hugh Palliser, a court martial at which Commander Bertie (as he by then was), was called on to give evidence in 1779. The intervening two years had been highly eventful, Bertie spending most of it as a prisoner of war in France after Fox had been taken by the larger French Junon on 11 September 1778.
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