Skeffington Lutwidge

Skeffington Lutwidge
Skeffington Lutwidge, by Philip Jean
Born	13 March 1737
Died	15/16 August 1814 Holmrook
Allegiance	Kingdom of Great Britain
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	– 1814
Rank	Admiral of the Red
Commands held	HMS Cholmondely HMS Carcass HMS Triton HMS Yarmouth HMS Perseverance HMS Scipio HMS Terrible Nore Command The Downs
Battles/wars	Siege of Fort Ticonderoga Battle of Cape St. Vincent

Skeffington Lutwidge (13 March 1737 – 15/16 August 1814) was an officer of the Royal Navy, who saw service during the American War of Independence, and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He had a particular connection with Horatio Nelson, who served under Lutwidge as a midshipman on an expedition to the Arctic in HMS Carcass in 1773, and again in 1801 while a captain, when Lutwidge was commander in chief in the Downs. Lutwidge served for a considerable period and in a number of ships, in American waters during the War of Independence. During this time he captured a number of American privateers, and was involved in operations on Lake Champlain. He reached flag rank soon after the start of the French Revolutionary Wars, and served mainly in Home waters as commander in chief of some of the stations on the south coast. He retired from active service with the rank of admiral, and died in 1814, shortly before the end of the Napoleonic Wars. He was the great-uncle of Lewis Carroll.

Lutwidge was born on 13 March 1737, the son of Thomas Lutwidge of Whitehaven and his second wife Lucy nee Hoghton. Lutwidge embarked on a career in the Navy, and is listed as a lieutenant in 1763, taking command of the purchased cutter HMS Cholmondely in April that year. He remained with her until 1765, serving in the area of Liverpool.

Lutwidge, by now a commander, commissioned the bomb vessel HMS Carcass in June 1771, and served in the Irish Sea until the Carcass was paid off in April 1773. The Carcass was then refitted at Sheerness between March and April for a voyage to the Arctic, with Lutwidge retaining command. The expedition, under the overall command of Constantine Phipps, who commanded HMS Racehorse, sailed from the Nore on 10 June 1773. The expedition sailed up to and around Spitsbergen, managing to reach within ten degrees of the North Pole, but was prevented from travelling further north by thick sea ice, and returned to Britain in September. Sailing with the Carcass was a young Horatio Nelson, whose position as a midshipman on the expedition had been arranged by his uncle, Maurice Suckling. Suckling and Lutwidge knew each other well, Lutwidge having served under Suckling on a number of occasions, including time spent acting against privateers in 1771. Nelson was given the role of coxswain of Lutwidge's gig. Nelson managed to obtain command of the Carcass's cutter as the expedition progressed.