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33-667: Baron Keith was a title that was created three times in British history, with all three creations in favour of the same person, Admiral the Honourable Sir George Keith Elphinstone . In 1814 Lord Keith was further honoured when he was made Viscount Keith in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, with normal remainder to heirs male. This biography of a peer , peeress or noble of

66-688: A competing Swedish sponsored settlement, New Sweden in 1638. The resulting dispute with the Dutch colonial authorities in New Amsterdam (New York City) was settled when Petrus Stuyvesant led a Dutch military force into the area in 1655. After the English took title to the New Netherland colony in 1667 at the Treaty of Breda the bay came into their possession and was renamed Delaware Bay,

99-618: A director of the company, Samuel Godijn . As part of the New Netherland colony, the Dutch established several settlements (the most famous being Zwaanendael ) on the shores of the bay and explored its coast extensively. The thin nature of the corporate colony's presence in the bay and along what was called the South River (now the Delaware) made it possible for Peter Minuit , the former director of New Netherland, to establish

132-740: A few days before. On 15 September 1782 in the Delaware Bay he led a squadron that captured the French 38 gun frigate Aigle during which Captain Latouche Tréville was taken prisoner. After peace was signed he remained on shore for ten years, serving in Parliament as member first for Dunbartonshire , and then for Stirlingshire . He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1790. When war broke out again in 1793, he

165-458: Is a key stopover site for over 30 species of migrating shorebirds that migrate north come May. Many birds like red knots use this Bay area to fuel up their energy reserves on horseshoe crab eggs after the long journey. Delaware Bay hosts the largest population of horseshoe crabs in the world. At the time of the arrival of the Europeans in the early 17th century, the area around the bay

198-667: The East India Company . Elphinstone followed his third brother into the navy, joining the 100-gun ship of the line HMS  Royal Sovereign on 4 November 1761. He stayed in her only briefly, transferring to the 44-gun frigate HMS  Gosport , commanded by Captain John Jervis , on 1 January of the following year. Serving in Gosport on the North American Station , Elphinstone saw action in

231-481: The "Chart of Delaware Bay" was restricted by the authorities as its accuracy might advantage an enemy approach. In 1782 during the American Revolutionary War , Continental Navy Lieutenant Joshua Barney fought with a British squadron within the bay. Barney's force of three sloops defeated a Royal Navy frigate , a sloop-of-war and a Loyalist privateer . The strategic importance of

264-676: The Atlantic. Delaware Bay is bordered by six counties: Sussex, Kent, and New Castle in Delaware, and Cape May, Cumberland, and Salem in New Jersey. The Cape May–Lewes Ferry crosses Delaware Bay from North Cape May, New Jersey , to Lewes, Delaware . The bay's ports are managed by the Delaware River and Bay Authority . The shores of the bay are largely composed of salt marshes and mudflats , with only small communities inhabiting

297-521: The British admiral had no opportunity of an action at sea, but his management of the convoy carrying the troops, and of the landing at Aboukir , was greatly admired. He was made Baron Keith of the United Kingdom , an Irish barony having been conferred on him in 1797. On the renewal of the war in 1803 he was appointed Commander-in-Chief, North Sea (which at the time included Nore Command ), which post he held until 1807. In February 1812 he

330-607: The Delaware River is by far the largest tributary of Delaware Bay, numerous smaller rivers and streams also drain to the bay. These include the Appoquinimink River , Leipsic River , Smyrna River , St. Jones River , Mispillion River , Broadkill River and Murderkill Rivers on the Delaware side, and the Salem River , Cohansey River , and Maurice Rivers on the New Jersey side. Delaware Bay ecosystem

363-490: The United Kingdom, or one or more of its constituent countries , is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . George Keith Elphinstone, 1st Viscount Keith George Keith Elphinstone, 1st Viscount Keith GCB , FRS (7 January 1746 – 10 March 1823) was a Royal Navy officer, politician and peer who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars . George Elphinstone

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396-720: The United States; it is the second busiest waterway after the Mississippi River . Its lower course forms part of the Intracoastal Waterway . The need for direct navigation around the two capes into the ocean is circumvented by the Cape May Canal and the Lewes and Rehoboth Canal at the north and south capes respectively. The upper bay is connected directly to the north end of Chesapeake Bay by

429-574: The bay was noticed by the Marquis de Lafayette during the American Revolutionary War , who proposed the use of Pea Patch Island at the head of the bay for a defensive fortification to protect the important ports Philadelphia and New Castle, Delaware . Fort Delaware was later constructed on Pea Patch Island. During the American Civil War it was used as a Union prison camp. In 1855, the United States government systematically undertook

462-878: The campaign that culminated in the removal of the French from Newfoundland at the Battle of Signal Hill in September. At the end of the year Gosport sailed back to Britain, and in March of the following year Elphinstone left her to join the 32-gun frigate HMS Juno . He stayed in Juno only briefly, transferring from her to the 20-gun frigate HMS Lively after two months. As part of the Mediterranean Fleet , Elphinstone served in Lively until January 1765, at which point he went on leave at home. His leave over, Elphinstone

495-618: The coastline from as far north as Delaware Bay. That same year, De Ayllon and Captain Quejo called Delaware Bay by the name "Saint Christopher's Bay". In the 1600s, the bay was known as "Niew Port May" after Captain Cornelius May . Another recorded European visit to the bay was by Henry Hudson , who claimed it for the Dutch East India Company in 1609. The Dutch called the estuary "Godyns Bay", or "Godins Bay" after

528-405: The command, and was soon able to restore order. He was equally successful at Plymouth , where the squadron was also in a state of effervescence. At the close of 1798, he was sent as second in command to St Vincent. It was for a long time a thankless post, for St Vincent was at once half incapacitated by ill-health and very arbitrary, while Horatio Nelson , who considered that Keith's appointment

561-412: The expedition. He became lieutenant in 1770, commander in 1772, and post captain in 1775. During the American Revolutionary War he was employed against the privateers, and with a naval brigade at the occupation of Charleston, South Carolina . In January 1781, when in command of the 50-gun HMS  Warwick , he captured a Dutch 50-gun ship that had beaten off a British vessel of equal strength

594-476: The formation of a 26 ft (7.9 m) channel 600 ft (180 m) wide from Philadelphia to deep water in Delaware Bay. The Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 provided for a 30-foot (9.1 m) channel 600 feet (180 m) wide from Philadelphia to the deep water of the bay. Other names for the bay have been "South Bay" and "Zuyt Baye". The bay is one of the most important navigational channels in

627-514: The name given it in 1610 by Samuel Argall , after the then new Governor of Virginia, Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr . The Native American tribe living along the bay and river were later called the Delaware by the Europeans due to their location. The U.S. state also takes its name from the bay and the river. Conflicting crown grants were made to the James, Duke of York and William Penn on

660-634: The novels in Patrick O'Brian 's Aubrey–Maturin series . He is also mentioned in passing in Robert Brightwell's novel Flashman and the Seawolf , based loosely on the exploits of Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald (as is, in part, the character of Jack Aubrey). Delaware Bay The bay is bordered inland by the states of Delaware and New Jersey , and its mouth is framed by Cape Henlopen in Delaware and Cape May in New Jersey, on

693-548: The shore of the lower bay. Several of the rivers hold protected status for their salt marsh wetlands bordering the bay, which serves as a breeding ground for many aquatic species, including horseshoe crabs . The bay is also a prime oystering ground. Delaware Bay was designated a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance on May 20, 1992. It was the first site classified in the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network . While

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726-834: The viscountcy became extinct on his death, but the British and Irish baronies descended to his elder daughter Margaret (1788–1867), who married the Comte de Flahault , only to become extinct on her death. A portrait of him by Owen is in the Painted Hall in Greenwich and another by George Sanders in the National Maritime Museum , Greenwich. He was initiated into Scottish Freemasonry in Lodge Holyrood House (St Luke's), No. 44, on 16 June 1769. Lord Keith and his wife 'Queeney' appear in several of

759-629: The west bank of the bay and river. Settlement grew rapidly, leading Philadelphia , upriver on the Delaware, to become the largest city in North America in the 18th century. Penn viewed access to Delaware Bay as being so critical to Pennsylvania's survival that he engaged in an eighty-year long legal boundary dispute with the Calvert family to secure it. During the French and Indian War the dissemination of Joshua Fisher's original publication of

792-619: Was a personal slight to himself, was peevish and insubordinate. In May 1799, he was unable to counter Bruix' expedition , mainly due to sparring among the British naval commanders. Keith followed the enemy to Brest on their retreat, but was unable to bring them to action. He returned to the Mediterranean in November as commander-in-chief. He co-operated with the Austrians in the siege of Genoa , which surrendered on 4 June 1800. It

825-494: Was appointed commander-in-chief in the English Channel , and in 1814 he was raised to a viscountcy . During his last two commands he was engaged first in overseeing the measures taken to meet a threatened invasion, and then in directing the movements of the numerous small squadrons and private ships employed on the coasts of Spain and Portugal , and in protecting trade. He was at Plymouth when Napoleon surrendered and

858-417: Was appointed to the 74-gun HMS  Robust , in which he took part in the occupation of Toulon by Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood . He particularly distinguished himself by beating a body of the French ashore at the head of a naval brigade of British and Spaniards. He was entrusted with the duty of embarking the fugitives when the town was evacuated. In 1794 he was promoted rear-admiral , and in 1795 he

891-729: Was brought to England in HMS ; Bellerophon by Captain Maitland (1777–1839). The decisions of the government of the United Kingdom were expressed through him to the fallen Emperor. Lord Keith refused to be led into disputes, and confined himself to declaring steadily that he had his orders to obey. He was not much impressed by the appearance of his illustrious charge and thought that the airs of Napoleon and his suite were ridiculous. Lord Keith died in 1823 at Tulliallan Castle , near Kincardine-on-Forth , Fife, his property in Scotland , and

924-517: Was buried in the parish church. He was twice married: in 1787 to Jane Mercer, daughter of Colonel William Mercer of Aldie, and in 1808 to Hester Maria Thrale , daughter of Henry Thrale and Hester Thrale , who is spoken of as 'Queeney' in Boswell 's Life of Johnson and in Madame d'Arblay 's Diary . He had a daughter by each marriage, the second being Georgina Augusta Henrietta, but no son. Thus

957-414: Was however immediately afterwards lost in consequence of the Battle of Marengo , and the French made their re-entry so rapidly that the admiral had considerable difficulty in getting his ships out of the harbour. The close of 1801 and the beginning of the following year were spent in transporting the army sent to recover Egypt from the French. As the naval force of the enemy was completely driven into port,

990-657: Was inhabited by the Native American Lenape people. They called the Delaware River "Lenape Wihittuck", which means "the rapid stream of the Lenape". Delaware Bay was called "Poutaxat", which means "near the falls". In 1523, Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón had received from Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor a grant for the land explored in 1521 by Francisco Gordillo and slave trader Captain Pedro de Quejo (de Quexo). Ayllón sent Quejo northward in 1525 and received reports of

1023-463: Was next appointed to serve on the 32-gun frigate HMS Emerald in August 1766. In December, however, he obtained permission from his captain to leave Emerald in order to join his brother William's East India Company ship, Tryton , as third mate on a trip to China. The two brothers' uncle, George Keith, 10th Earl Marischal , lent each £2,000 for the journey, which money allowed them to profit from

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1056-700: Was sent to occupy the Dutch Cape Colony thereby establishing the Cape of Good Hope Station . He had a large share in the capture of the Cape in 1795, and in August 1796 captured a whole Dutch squadron in Saldanha Bay . In the interval he had gone on to India, where his health suffered, and the capture at Saldanha was effected on his way home. When the Nore Mutiny broke out in 1797 he was appointed to

1089-522: Was the fourth son of Charles Elphinstone, 10th Lord Elphinstone , and his wife Lady Clementina Fleming, the daughter and heiress of John Fleming, 6th Earl of Wigtown . Elphinstone was born on 7 January 1746 at Elphinstone Tower , Scotland. Of his three elder brothers, two joined the British Army while the third, William Fullerton Elphinstone , initially served in the Royal Navy before joining

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