Admiral Adam Duncan

Adam Duncan, Viscount Duncan of Camperdown (1 July 1731 - 4 August 1804), born in Lundie, Angus, Scotland, and receiving his education in Dundee - defeated the Dutch fleet off Camperdown (north of Haarlem) on 11 October 1797. This victory was considered one of the most significant actions in naval history. This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... July 1 is the 182nd day of the year (183rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 183 days remaining. ... Events 10 Downing Street becomes the official residence of the United Kingdoms Prime Minister when Robert Walpole moves in. ... August 4 is the 216th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (217th in leap years), with 149 days remaining. ... 1804 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Angus (Aonghas in Gaelic) is one of the traditional counties and also one of 32 unitary council regions in Scotland and a Lieutenancy area. ... Motto: Nemo me impune lacessit (English: No one provokes me with impunity) Scotlands location within Europe Scotlands location within the United Kingdom Languages English, Gaelic, Scots Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow First Minister Jack McConnell Area - Total - % water Ranked 2nd UK 78,782 km² 1. ... For other uses see Dundee (disambiguation) Dundee is Scotlands fourth largest city, population 154 674 (2001), situated on the North bank of the Firth of Tay. ... Camperduin () is a town in the Dutch province of North Holland. ... ... October 11 is the 284th day of the year (285th in leap years). ... 1797 (MDCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 11-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Naval warfare is combat in and on seas and oceans. ...

Life

Adam Duncan, second son of Alexander Duncan of Lundie, Provost of Dundee, and his wife Helen Haldane, daughter of John Haldane of Gleneagles. He entered the navy in 1746 on board the Trial sloop, under the care of his maternal uncle, Captain Robert Haldane, with whom, in HMS Trial and afterwards in HMS Shoreham, he continued till the peace in 1748. In 1749 he was appointed to HMS Centurion, then commissioned for service in the Mediterranean, by the Hon. Augustus Keppel (afterwards Viscount Keppel), with whom he was afterwards in the Norwich on the coast of North America, and was confirmed in the rank of lieutenant on 10 Jan. 1755. Provost is from the Latin praepositus (set over, from praeponere, to place in front). It may mean: Provost (religion), a church official. ... Robert Haldane (February 28, 1764 - December 12, 1842), was a Scottish churchman. ... There have been five ships of the Royal Navy named HMS Shoreham: The first Shoreham was a 32-gun ‘one and a half’ decked ship built at Shoreham in 1694. ... Eight ships of the British Royal Navy have been named HMS Centurion, after the centurions of ancient Rome. ... The Mediterranean Sea is an intercontinental sea positioned between Europe to the north, Africa to the south and Asia to the east, covering an approximate area of 2. ... Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel (25 April 1725 - 2 October 1786), was a British admiral who held sea commands during the Seven Years War and the War of American Independence. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ...

In August 1755 he followed Keppel to the Swiftsure, and in January 1756 to the Torbay, in which he continued till his promotion to commander's rank on 21 Sept. 1759, and during this time was present in the expedition to Basque Roads in 1757, at the reduction of Goree in 1758, and in the blockade of Brest in 1759, up to within two months of the battle of Quiberon Bay, from which his promotion just excluded him. The Basque Roads are a sheltered bay on the Biscay shore of the Charente-Maritime département of France, bounded by by the ÃŽle dOléron to the west and the ÃŽle de Ré to the north. ... The Île de Gorée (Gorée Island) is a 45 acre (180,000 m²) island off the coast of Dakar, Senegal. ... Brest is the name of several cities: City in Belarus: Brest, Belarus, formerly in Russia and the Soviet Union and formerly known as Brest-Litovsk. ... The naval Battle of Quiberon Bay took place on 20 November 1759 during the Seven Years War in Quiberon Bay, off the coast of France near St. ...

From October 1759 to April 1760 he had command of the Royal Exchange, a hired vessel employed in petty convoy service with a miscellaneous ship's company, consisting to a large extent of boys and foreigners, many of whom (he reported) could not speak English, and all impressed with the idea that as they had been engaged by the merchants from whom the ship was hired they were not subject to naval discipline. It would seem that a misunderstanding with the merchants on this point was the cause of the ship's being put out of commission after a few months.

As a commander Duncan had no further service, but on 25 Feb. 1761 he was posted and appointed to the Valiant, fitting for Keppel's broad pennant. In her he had an important share in the reduction of Belle Île in June 1761, and of Havana in August 1762. He returned to England in 1763, and, notwithstanding his repeated request, had no further employment for many years. White dot: Location of Belle ÃŽle in France Red dot: Location of the city Le Palais on Belle ÃŽle Belle ÃŽle or Belle ÃŽle en Mer is a French island off the coast of Brittany in the département of Morbihan. ... This article is about the Cuban capital city. ...

During this time he lived principally at Dundee, and married on 6 June 1777 Henrietta, daughter of Robert Dundas of Arniston, lord-president of the court of session. It would seem that his alliance with this influential family obtained him the employment which he had been vainly seeking during fifteen years. Towards the end of 1778 he was appointed to the Suffolk, from which he was almost immediately moved into the Monarch. In January 1779 he sat as a member of the court-martial on Keppel, and in the course of the trial interfered several times to stop the prosecutor in irrelevant and in leading questions, or in perversions of answers. The admiralty was therefore desirous that he should not sit on the court-martial on Sir Hugh Palliser, which followed in April, and the day before the assembling of the court sent down orders for the Monarch to go to St. Helens. Her crew, however, refused to weigh the anchor until they were paid their advance; and as this could not be done in time, the Monarch was still in Portsmouth harbour when the signal for the court-martial was made (Considerations on the Principles of Naval Discipline, 8vo, 1781, p. 106n.); so that, sorely against the wishes of the admiralty, Duncan sat on this court-martial also. Dundee (Gaelic: Dùn Dèagh) is a royal burgh and the fourth largest city in Scotland. ... Robert Dundas, 2nd Viscount Melville (March 14, 1771–June 10, 1851) was a British statesman, the son of Henry Dundas, the 1st Viscount. ... Old Admiralty House, Whitehall, London, Thomas Ripley, architect, 1723-26, was not admired by his contemporaries and earned him some scathing couplets from Alexander Pope The Admiralty was historically the authority in the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy. ... Sir Hugh Palliser (22 February 1722 or 1723 – 19 March 1796) was a British naval officer and the Governor of Newfoundland (a Commodore-Governor) from 1764 – 1768. ... St Helens is the name of several places: St Helens, Merseyside St Helens, Isles of Scilly St. ... Portsmouth is a city of about 189,000 people located in the county of Hampshire on the southern coast of Great Britain. ...

During the summer of 1779 the Monarch was attached to the Channel fleet under Sir Charles Hardy; in December was one of the squadron with which Rodney sailed for the relief of Gibraltar, and had a prominent share in the action off St. Vincent on 16 Jan. 1780. On returning to England Duncan quitted the Monarch, and had no further command till after the change of ministry in March 1782, when Keppel became first lord of the admiralty. He was then appointed to the Blenheim of 90 guns, and commanded her during the year in the grand fleet under Howe, at the relief of Gibraltar in October, and the rencounter with the allied fleet off Cape Spartel. He afterwards succeeded Sir John Jervis in command of the Foudroyant, and after the peace commanded the Edgar as guardship at Portsmouth for three years. He attained flag rank on 24 Sept. 1787, became vice-admiral 1 Feb. 1793, and admiral 1 June 1795. In February 1795 he was appointed commander-in-chief in the North Sea, and hoisted his flag on board the Venerable. Sir Charles Hardy (c. ... Admiral Lord George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, 1719–1792 by Jean-Laurent Mosnier, painted 1791, George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney (February 1718 – May 24, 1792), was a British naval officer. ... Saint Vincent may refer to: Saint Vincent (island) Saint Vincent and the Grenadines São Vicente Saint Vincent de Paul Saint Vincent Ferrer Saint Vincent of Lerins Saint Vincent of Saragossa Saint Vincent Pallotti Saint-Vincent, a municipality of the Valle dAosta, in Italy St. ... The First Lord of the Admiralty was a British government position in charge of the Admiralty. ... Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe (March 8, 1726 – August 5, 1799) was a British admiral. ... Cape Spartel is a promontory in Morocco about 1,000 feet above sea level at the entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar. ... John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent (1735-1823) was an admiral in the British Royal Navy. ... Portsmouth is a city of about 189,000 people located in the county of Hampshire on the southern coast of Great Britain. ... The North Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, located between the coasts of Norway and Denmark in the east, the coast of the British Isles in the west, and the German, Dutch, Belgian and French coasts in the south. ...

During the first two years of Duncan's command the work was limited to enforcing a rigid blockade of the enemy's coast, but in the spring of 1797 it became more important from the knowledge that the Dutch fleet in the Texel was getting ready for sea. The situation was one of extreme difficulty, for the mutiny which had paralysed the fleet at the Nore broke out also in that under Duncan, and kept it for some weeks in enforced inactivity. Duncan's personal influence and some happy displays of his vast personal strength held the crew of the Venerable to their duty; but with one other exception, that of the Adamant, the ships refused to quit their anchorage at Yarmouth, leaving the Venerable and Adamant alone to keep up the pretence of the blockade. Fortunately the Dutch were not at the time ready for sea; and when they were ready and anxious to sail, with thirty thousand troops, for the invasion of Ireland, a persistent westerly wind detained them in harbour till they judged that the season was too far advanced (Life of Wolfe Tone, ii. 425–35). For political purposes, however, the government in Holland, in spite of the opinion of their admiral, De Winter, to the contrary, ordered him to put to sea in the early days of October. This article is about the Dutch island Texel. ... Mutiny is the crime of conspiring to disobey an order that a group of similarly-situated individuals (typically members of the military; or the crew of any ship, even if they are civilians) is legally obliged to obey. ... N.O.R.E. formerly known as rapper Noreaga, is a member of the rap group C-N-N. N.O.R.E. stands for Niggaz on (the) run eatin. He is currently signed to Def Jam Records and Roc-A-Fella Records. ... Yarmouth may refer to one of the following places. ... Jan Willem de Winter (1750-1812) was a Dutch admiral of the Napoleonic Wars. ...

Duncan, with the main body of the fleet, was at the time lying at Yarmouth revictualling, the Texel being watched by a small squadron under Captain Henry Trollope in the Russell, from whom he received early information of the Dutch being at sea. He at once weighed, with a fair wind stood over to the Dutch coast, saw that the fleet was not returned to the Texel, and steering towards the south sighted it on the morning of 11 Oct. about seven miles from the shore and nearly halfway between the villages of Egmont and Camperdown. The wind was blowing straight on shore, and though the Dutch forming their line to the north preserved a bold front, it was clear that if the attack was not made promptly they would speedily get into shoal water, where no attack would be possible. Duncan at once realised the necessity of cutting off their retreat by getting between them and the land. At first he was anxious to bring up his fleet in a compact body, for at best his numbers were not more than equal to those of the Dutch; but seeing the absolute necessity of immediate action, without waiting for the ships astern to come up, without waiting to form line of battle, and with the fleet in very irregular order of sailing, in two groups, led respectively by himself in the Venerable and Vice-admiral Richard Onslow in the Monarch, he made the signal to pass through the enemy's line and engage to leeward. Admiral Sir Henry Trollope (20 April 1756 – 2 November 1839) was an officer of the Royal Navy. ... Egmont may refer to the following: Egmont is a play by Goethe telling the tale of the 16th century Flemish Count of Egmont who is sentenced to death by the occupying Spaniards. ... Camperdown may refer to several different places: Camperdown is a suburb of Sydney, in New South Wales, Australia. ...

It was a bold departure from the absolute rule laid down in the Fighting Instructions, still new, though warranted by the more formal example of Howe on 1 June 1794; and on this occasion, as on the former, was crowned with complete success. The engagement was long and bloody; for though Duncan, by passing through the enemy's line, had prevented their untimely retreat, he had not advanced further in tactical science, and the battle was fought out on the primitive principles of ship against ship, the advantage remaining with those who were the better trained to the great gun exercise (CHEVALIER, Histoire de la Marine Française sous la première République, 329), though the Dutch by their obstinate courage inflicted great loss on the English. The Glorious First of June (also known as the Third Battle of Ushant and in French as the Bataille du 13 prairial an 2) was a naval battle fought in the Atlantic Ocean on June 1, 1794 between the Royal Navy and the navy of Revolutionary France. ...

It had been proposed to De Winter to make up for the want of skill by firing shell from the lower deck guns; and some experiments had been made during the summer which showed that the idea was feasible (WOLFE TONE, ii. 427); but want of familiarity with an arm so new and so dangerous presumably prevented its being acted on in the battle.

Recognition

The news of the victory was received in England with the warmest enthusiasm. It was the first certain sign that the mutinies of the summer had not destroyed the power and the prestige of the British navy. Duncan was at once (21 Oct.) raised to the peerage as Baron Duncan of Lundie and Viscount Duncan of Camperdown (with which came the lands now known as Camperdown Park, Dundee), and there was a strong feeling that the reward was inadequate. Even as early as 18 Oct. his aunt, Lady Mary Duncan, wrote to Henry Dundas, at that time secretary of state for war: ‘Report says my nephew is only made a viscount. Myself is nothing, but the whole nation thinks the least you can do is to give him an English earldom. … Am sure were this properly represented to our good king, who esteems a brave, religious man like himself, would be of my opinion. …’ (Arniston Memoirs, 251). It was not, however, till 1831, many years after Duncan's death, that his son, then bearing his title, was raised to the dignity of an earl, and his other children to the rank and precedence of the children of an earl. Camperdown is an area of Dundee, Scotland, best known for Camperdown Park, which is the largest in the city. ...

Duncan was awarded the Large Naval Gold Medal and an annual pension of £3000, to himself and the next two heirs to his title - this was the biggest pension ever awarded by the British government. Additionally, he was given the freedom of several cities, including Dundee and London. The United Kingdom is a unitary state and a democratic constitutional monarchy. ... London is the capital city of England and of the United Kingdom, and is the most populous city in the European Union. ...

Till 1801 Duncan continued in command of the North Sea fleet, but without any further opportunity of distinction. Three years later, 4 Aug. 1804, he died quite suddenly, aged 73, at the inn at Cornhill, a village on the border, where he had stopped for the night on his journey to Edinburgh (ib. 252) and is buried in Lundie. He left a family of four daughters, and, besides the eldest son who succeeded to the peerage, a second son, Henry, who died a captain in the navy and K.C.H. in 1835. Cornhill is one of the principal streets of the City of London, the historic nucleus of modern London. ... Edinburgh (pronounced ; Dùn Èideann () in Scottish Gaelic) is Scotlands capital, and its second-largest city. ...

Several ships have been named HMS Duncan after him, also a street in Leeds town centre is named after him (Duncan Street), The pub on this street honours him with it's name and many pictures and paintings of him.(Also the William Hills on Duncan street has a very good looking lad who works there). Six Royal Navy ships have been named HMS Duncan, after Admiral Adam Duncan, 1st Viscount Duncan of Camperdown, hero of the Battle of Camperdown. ...

The title of Viscount Duncan of Camperdown was created in 1797 for Adam Duncan, the hero of the naval Battle of Camperdown against the Franco-Dutch fleet, fought in that year. ...

References

• Rampant Scotland - Famous Scots - Adam Duncan, 1st Viscount Camperdown (1731-1804)
• Taynet - Admiral Lord Duncan, Hero of Camperdown
• Gazeteer for Scotland - Admiral Adam Duncan