James Gambier
Character Profile[edit]
| Name: | James Gambier |
| Date of Birth: | 13 October, 1756 |
| Service: | Royal Navy |
| Rank: | Admiral |
| Nationality: | British |
| Billets: | HMS Raleigh, Post-Captain HMS Defence, Post-Captain HMS Neptune, Vice-Admiral Governor of Newfoundland Lords of Admiralty |
Biography[edit]
Admiral John James Gambier (born 13 October, 1756, New Providence, Bahamas), was born in the Bahamas, while his father John Gambier was Lieutenant Governor of the Bahamas. His mother was a Bermudian, and he remained the patron of an extended, but impoverished, Bermudian family throughout his adult life. He entered the navy list in 1767 as a midshipman on board the Yarmouth, commanded by his uncle, and family interests gained him rapid promotion. He was commissioned as a Lieutenant on 12 February 1777, became a Master & Commander on 9 March 1778, and a Post Captain on 9 October 1778.
Governor of Newfoundland 1802 - 1804.
In 1807, he took part in the Battle of Copenhagen (1807).
As one of the Lords of Admiralty, he was involved in the release of the French courier dragon Sauvignon back to France, thereby infecting the entire continent with the dragon plague.
Titles and Promotions[edit]
By the age of 22, Gambier was promoted to Post-Captain and appointed to the 32-gun frigate HMS Raleigh, in 1778. In 1783 when peace broke out, he was placed on half-pay, but when the French Revolution broke out in 1789 he was appointed to command the 74-gun HMS Defence under Lord Howe, and by 1795 was a rear-admiral.
More promotions ensued. In 1794, Captain Gambier received the gold medal and was appointed Colonel of the Marines; 1795, promoted to rear-admiral; 1795, appointed as one of the Lords of the Admiralty; 1799, vice-admiral; 1801, commander of the 98-gun Neptune and third-in-command of the Channel Fleet under Admiral Cornwallis; 1802, governor of Newfoundland and Commander In Chief of all ships appointed there. 1804, back to the Lords of the Admiralty, 1805 promoted to Admiral, 1807 still a Lord of the Admiralty but also saw action in the Battle of Copenhagen, where with Lord Cathcart, captured the Danish navy, including stores on land, for which he received official thanks from Parliament.
