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Admiral John Erskine Douglas (c. 1758 – 25 July 1847) was a senior British
Royal Navy officer of the early nineteenth century who served in a number of
vessels and participated at the destruction of the French ship of the line
Impétueux in 1806 and the victory over the French off Brest during the Battle of
Basque Roads in 1809. He also served in the Mediterranean and off Norfolk,
Virginia, where he gained notoriety by searching American vessels for British
deserters without asking permission from the American authorities. He later
served as commander in chief at Jamaica and rose through the ranks to full
admiral.
The son of David Douglas, he was a descendant of
James Douglas, 2nd earl of Queensberry. He amassed a fortune, and when he died Douglas left over 40,000l. to
his daughters.
Douglas was born in the later 1750s, and joined the
British Royal Navy at a young age, reaching the rank of commander in 1794 at the
outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars. Within a year he had been made a post
captain and taken command of the small frigate HMS Garland, which he commanded
in the North Sea until 1798, when he transferred to the larger frigate HMS
Boston. Boston was stationed off the Eastern Seaboard of the United States,
intercepting numerous French merchant ships trading with American ports. For a
time he blockaded the French frigate Sémillante, but by 1801 had sailed for the
West Indies, operating in the Leeward Islands and then moving north to Halifax,
Nova Scotia, where he remained until 1804, continuing in employment throughout
the Peace of Amiens.
On his return to Britain, Douglas was given the
80-gun ship of the line HMS Impetueux, moving in 1805 to the 74-gun HMS Bellona,
which participated in the Atlantic campaign of 1806 as part of the squadron
under Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Strachan. Ordered to the Eastern Seaboard of the
United States, Bellona was cruising with HMS Belleisle off Cape Henry on 14
September 1806 when the French ship of the line Impétueux was spotted steering
into the Chesapeake. Impétueux had been caught in a hurricane earlier in the
summer and was badly damaged, limping to port under jury masts. Closely pursued,
Impétueux was driven on shore by her captain and the crew scrambled onto the
beach as British boats boarded and captured the wreck. Although British
intervention on American shore was a clear violation of American neutrality in
the war, there was no protest from the American authorities – the only complaint
coming from the French consul at Norfolk. Damaged beyond repair, the wreck of
Impétueux was burnt on the beach.
Douglas remained off the Chesapeake
during 1807 in command of a squadron of smaller vessels observing two French
ships of the line at anchor in Hampton Roads. This squadron became embroiled in
the controversy surrounding the removal of British deserters from
American-flagged vessels that ended with the Chesapeake-Leopard Affair in July
1807 and Douglas exchanged angry letters with the Mayor of Norfolk. Returning to
Europe in 1808, Bellona was attached to the Channel Fleet and in 1809 was part
of the blockade fleet under Lord Gambier that destroyed a number of French ships
at the Battle of Basque Roads. Moving to the North Sea in 1810, Douglas captured
the privateer L'Heros du Nord and in 1812 transferred to the 98-gun second rate
HMS Prince of Wales in the Mediterranean, where he remained for the rest of the
war.
In 1814, Douglas was promoted to rear-admiral and the following year
served as commander in chief of the Jamaica station, remaining in the post until
1818. Retiring from active service, Douglas continued to rise through the ranks,
becoming a vice-admiral in 1825 and a full admiral in 1838.
He died aged 89 at Swallows near Watford in Hertfordshire on 25 July 1847,
leaving the considerable fortune of 40,000l. (£2,896,600 as of 2011) to his daughters, with a proviso
that his sister receive 150l. a year.
Notes:
1. D6/4/1853 - On the 6th instant, at 24 Chester Street, Belgrave
Square, London, Miss Douglas, only surviving daughter of Admiral John Erskine
Douglas, (died) aged 87 years.
2. Daughter Helen Catherine Douglas 'of
the Queensberry family' married in 1843 Lt Col Colin MacKenzie as his second
wife. There was no issue.
3. Baptism at St Elizabeth, Jamaica, June [?17] 1795 of Catherine-Ann,
Daughter of John William Spencer Griffith Esqr. and Catherine Campbell his wife,
born May 28 1795
4. Rear-Admiral Douglas may have fathered a child by one of his black
slaves in Jamaica, Diana Prince. Certainly the boy was named John Erskine
Douglas, his father was white, and conception took place when Douglas was in
Jamaica. He was christened (with his mother) at St Andrew's parish in August
1817 - he'd been born on 17th October 1816.
5. The Newfoundlander, of Thursday 24th January 1833, carried the
following notice: "Died, at Falmouth, England, on the 9th November last, aged 21
years, the much beloved wife of Lieut. Smith Griffith, RN, Commander of HM
Packet Swallow, daughter of the late Port Major Green and sister-in-law of
Admiral John Erskine Douglas. The deceased has left a truly affectionate and
fond husband absent at the Brazils ........".
Ship: L'Impetueux, 80,
Promoted Captain - 1795
Ship: Boston, 32 returned to England from America in 1795 under Capt. James
MORRIS. 1797 Capt. D. PRESTON, 8/97.
1798 Capt. John Erskine DOUGLAS, removed from GARLAND at the beginning of the
year. Coast of France. 1799 West Indies station, where he blockaded the French
frigate SEMILLANTE in Norfolk, Virginia, in the spring of 1801. She returned
home at the close of 1804. 1805- out of commission at Plymouth.
Extracted from ???
Josr Ensrnrr Doucues is son of the'late Divid
D_ouglas, Esq., by l\liss Thompson; grond-nephcw
ofJames, second Earl of Queensberrj; and ciusin
or_ the present tltrquesS of euensberrv, His
eld_e_br r_other, lfilliamf a Colonel in the Arniy, died
in May 1831.
. Tl-rjs officer obtained his first commission 2l
{nql,1778; acquired the rank of Commander. in
the I'RoypEUSE sloop, 24 llay, li94; and was motle
Post-Io June, 1795. He then assunied command of
the GAnT,AND 28, in which he served on the North
S€a stal.ion, util his removal, in 1799, to the Bosrox
32. \t'hile in-that vessel, on the American station.
ne appcars to heve ceptured and destroyed eeverai
ofthe_enemy's ships. and to bave bloikaded for
scveral months the &nillante, o French frieate of
l'ar s_rlperio_rfb rce. After cruizing for some t-im; iu
the \Yest Indies and off Halifax,tapt. Douelas. on
hpitsT UreEtruxr n^Uhqo maet.t acinh eId8 0{to, wthacs aCphpaonirnietel d flte"e
ti.i, u Ef*x-_
chongin& early in 1803, into the Bcnorr 24. he
subsequently assisted, ofi' Cape Henry. at the des-
truction, l.l Sept. l80ti, of the Frencli 7&gun ship
L'Imrytuew-was intrusted with the command-.
during the summer of 1806, of a squadron stationed
In the Ulresopeake. eerved under Lord Gambier at
the deslructiotr of the French shipping in Aix
lioads in April, 1809-and, on 18 D"". iSfO. "oo:
tu-red, in tbe North Sea, Le lldrcsdu-t\Irdprivatee'r.
or- t4 guns a'nd 4{ nretr. \l-hen in the Pnrrcr or
W,lr,ns 9_8r__t o s.hich ship he rvas appointetl in thl
spring of 1812. Capt. Doirglas witntised Sirndw.
'Ploeullleoivn',e parr,ial actions with" the Ft;";t fl";;;;;i
5 Nov. 1813, ond 13 Feb. l8-t,1. Beins oro_
moted to Flag-rank 4 June, 1814, he was noxtlt'rom
l8I5 to 1818, employed as Commander-ir(jhief at
Jameica. He has since been oo half-pav. He
became a Vice-Admiral 22 }tey, teSi, iln"d a fun
-.l,dmiral 28 June, 1838.
IIe married, in lEl8, llrs. White, end has. with
other issue, e deughter, Helen Catherine.' who
ItlS,2I Noy. l8,lg Capt. Colin l\lackenzie, Hon.
E.I.C.S. The true picture of a ship of war of the old school is to be
found in Roderic Random. Such it continued to be in 1 782, and was not much improved in 1/92. The store-rooms were a chaotic mass of most things
requisite for a ship, although nothing was to be found when wanted. The
first instance we can remember of their being arranged in that beautiful
order, now so generally observed in the service, was on board the Boston,
when commanded by the present Vice-Admiral John Erskiiie Douglas.
This was
done by the carpenters of the ship, under the direction of the captain : the
advantages soon became so apparent, that many captains followed the good
example ; and government, receiving into its counsels some of the most
active and influential officers in the navy, adopted the mode of fitting
store-rooms throughout the service, and great are the benefits derived from
it." Brenton's Nttvnl History, III. p. 141.
Comment: There is some superficial incongruity
in the union of the Admiral and Catherine. He was born in 1757, so was 61 on
their marriage in January 1818, while Catherine or (Catharine-Anne as she is
sometimes called) was 22 (she died aged 83 in 1878). There were two daughters:
Helen Catherine born 1819 and Louisa born 1821. Helen married Colin Mackenzie in
1843 (he of the extraordinary portrait by Sant) and she had her parents'
portraits. She wrote books on, among other topics, life in India.
The portraits
John and Catherine's portraits were left to Annan Museum by their daughter,
Helen (See below). She described them as being by a female artist, painted in Rome c1831.
The portrait of Catherine is of better quality than that of her husband,
although a close-up of his head seems of a better quality than of his uniform.
This gives rise to the hypotheses that the Admiral's portrait was either
deliberately left unfinished, and completed by a lesser artist later, or the
uniform was over-painted later. The rationale for this is that Admirals'
uniforms were changed in design and style in 1830, whilst the family were
travelling in Europe , and John wished to be 'corectly dressed'.
The original bequest (or informal instruction acting as one) of Admiral
Douglas’s portrait was to his cousin, The Hon
John Douglas, CMG, former premier of Queensland, Australia, and at the date
of writing (1902) Government Resident and Magistrate at Thursday Island. He died
in 1904, so it is no surprise that the picture had to go elsewhere. Our portrait
of his wife was at the same time bequeathed to ‘Germaine’, whom I take to be the
Adelaide Germaine Catharine Douglas mentioned elsewhere (her husband’s cousin,
b.1833), then living in Scotland. She did not die until 1917 (see memorial
below) (in England), but
the bequest was nevertheless superseded in the final memo.
Helen Mackenzie, – (1819 – 1910)
Anglo-Indian
author
Helen Douglas the elder daughter of Admiral Douglas of
Malvern (sic), she became the second wife (1843) of Lieutenant-General Colin
Mackenzie (1806 – 1881), with whom she spent some years in India during
the British Raj, before and after the Indian Mutiny (1857). She was the
author of English Women in the Rebellion (1859). Helen Mackenzie
survived her husband and wrote his biography Storms and Sunshine of a
Soldier’s Life: Lt-Gen Colin Mackenzie 1825 – 1881 (2 vols.). She left
her own memoirs Life in the Mission, the Camp and the Zenana (harem)
(1872, 3 vols.).
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