32-567: Admiral Sir Manley Dixon , KCB (3 January 1757 – 8 February 1837) was a prominent Royal Navy officer during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Born into a military family in the late 1750s or early 1760s, Dixon joined the Navy and served as a junior officer in the American Revolutionary War , gaining an independent command in the last year of the war. Promoted to captain seven years later, Dixon then served in
64-562: A British Army Major-General serving with the Royal Artillery . Joining the Navy at a young age, Dixon served throughout the American Revolutionary War and by 1782 was a commander with the sloop HMS Jamaica in the Caribbean and the following year took over HMS Tobago . He saw little service during the peace of 1783–1793, although in 1790 he was promoted to post captain . His daughter Frances Elizabeth Dixon
96-511: A broad band with three narrower bands. In 2001 the number of stars on the shoulder board was increased to four, reflecting the equivalence to the OF-9 four-star ranks of other countries. Prior to 1864 the Royal Navy was divided into coloured squadrons which determined his career path. The command flags flown by an Admiral changed a number of times during this period, there was no Admiral of
128-560: A cruise on 3 April, 1800. For some of the period between 1798 and 1802, she was under the command of Captain Theophilus Jones . On 10 March 1800, USS Constellation made contact with her, HMS Castor and HMS Amphion at approximately ( 23°35′N 83°19′W / 23.583°N 83.317°W / 23.583; -83.317 ). After the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805, Queen continued in
160-517: Is a senior rank of the Royal Navy , which equates to the NATO rank code OF-9 , outranked only by the rank of admiral of the fleet . Royal Navy officers holding the ranks of rear admiral , vice admiral and admiral of the fleet are sometimes considered generically to be admirals. The rank of admiral is currently the highest rank to which a serving officer in the Royal Navy can be promoted, admiral of
192-684: The French Revolutionary Wars in the Channel Fleet and off Ireland until 1798, when he gained command of the 64-gun HMS Lion with the Mediterranean Fleet. Employed in the blockade of Cartagena , on 15 July 1798 Lion fought four Spanish frigates and successfully captured one, Santa Dorothea . Transferred to the Siege of Malta later the same year, Dixon remained off the island for two years, capturing
224-663: The Thames to Scotland. This was part of an effort by Edward I to establish a permanent official staff, even if a permanent naval force was not yet considered necessary. Leybourne's immediate purview was subsequently divided into the roles of Admiral of the West and Admiral of the South while Botetourt's became the Admiral of the North ; the first and last merged as the Admiral of
256-536: The blockade of Cartagena and on 15 July 1798 fought an action against four Spanish frigates, successfully dividing the squadron and capturing the Santa Dorothea . Later in the year, Lion was attached to the squadron blockading Valletta during the Siege of Malta , remaining on the station for two years. In March 1800, the French ship of the line Guillaume Tell attempted to break out of Valletta and
288-505: The 18th century, the original nine ranks began to be filled by more than one man per rank, although the rank of admiral of the red was always filled by only one man and was known as Admiral of the Fleet . After the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 the rank of admiral of the red was introduced. The number of officers holding each rank steadily increased throughout the 18th and early 19th centuries. In 1769 there were 29 admirals of various grades; by
320-691: The 74-gun HMS Sceptre and in 1804 transferred to HMS Queen in the Channel Fleet. In 1808 he was promoted to rear-admiral and raised his flag in HMS ; Temeraire in the Baltic Sea . In 1810 his first wife Christiana Sophia Dixon died suddenly while at dinner with friends in Deal . In 1812 he was transferred to the Brazilian station in HMS Montagu and remained there until
352-705: The English long depended upon levies of their subjects' vessels for any major naval expeditions. Nonetheless, historians have sometimes extended the concept of an English navy and its supposed admirals and lord high admirals back as far as Alfred the Great , counting several kings as themselves admirals, along with various dukes and earls who commanded fleets at prominent engagements such as Hubert de Burgh off Sandwich in 1217 . Other lists begin their count at King Henry III 's appointment of Sir Richard de Lucy on 28 August 1223 or 29 August 1224. A similar commission
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#1732773039718384-415: The Fleet rather than Algernon Frederick Rous de Horsey , who as senior active admiral nearing the age limit would customarily have received the promotion; John Baird became an Admiral; James Erskine a vice-admiral; and Harry Rawson a rear-admiral. Ironically, all these younger men would die at least a decade before de Horsey. In the time before squadron distinctions were removed or age limits instituted,
416-559: The French ship of the line Guillaume Tell at the action of 31 March 1800 . After the Peace of Amiens , Dixon remained in various active commands but saw no action and later retired, advancing to a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath and a full admiral. According to various sources, Manley Dixon was born in either 1757 or 1760 into a military family: his brother George W. Dixon became
448-565: The North and West in 1364; and from 1408–1414 they were all reunited as the High Admiral of England, Ireland, and Aquitaine , the forerunner to the present Lord High Admiral . (During this process, the short-lived post of Admiral of the Narrow Seas was used in 1412 and 1413. It was subsequently revived from 1523 to 1688.) The first royal commission as Admiral to a naval officer was granted in 1303 to Gervase Alard . By 1344, it
480-639: The Red rank until that post was introduced in 1805 prior to this the highest rank an admiral could attain to was Admiral of the White who then flew the Cross of St George . The next promotion step up from that was to Admiral of the Fleet. [REDACTED] Media related to Admirals of the United Kingdom at Wikimedia Commons HMS Queen (1769) HMS Queen was a three-deck 90-gun second-rate ship of
512-516: The battle Queen sustained significant damage, and her commanding officer, Captain John Hutt , was amongst those killed. On 16 November 1798, the squadron she was in captured three US merchantmen, Norfolk , Eliza , and Friendship , under convoy of USS Baltimore ; the squadron impressed five of Baltimore {'}s crew. At the time she was under command of Capt. Dobson. She was still Captained by Dobson when she contacted USS Ganges while on
544-535: The blockade of Cadiz. On 25 November, Thunderer detained the Ragusan ship Nemesis , which was sailing from Isle de France to Leghorn, Italy , with a cargo of spice, indigo dye , and other goods. Queen shared the prize money with ten other British warships. On 25 October 1806, the Spanish privateer Generalísimo captured HM gunboat Hannah , which was serving as a tender to Queen . After Trafalgar,
576-579: The close of the Napoleonic Wars in 1816 there were 190 admirals in service. Thereafter the number of admirals was reduced and in 1853 there were 79 admirals. Although admirals were promoted according to strict seniority, appointments to command were made at the discretion of the Board of Admiralty . As there were invariably more admirals in service than there were postings, many admirals remained unemployed, especially in peacetime. The organisation of
608-469: The concept of yellow admirals (formally known as granting an officer the position of "Rear-Admiral without distinction of squadron"), being captains promoted to flag rank on the understanding that they would immediately retire on half-pay . This was the navy's first attempt at superannuating older officers. During the Interregnum , the rank of admiral was replaced by that of general at sea . In
640-499: The death of James Hawkins-Whitshed resulted in ten men moving up to higher ranks. In 1996, the rank of admiral of the fleet was put in abeyance in peacetime, except for members of the Royal family but was resurrected on an honorary basis in 2014 for the appointment of Lord Boyce . Admirals of the fleet continue to hold their rank on the active list for life. The current ranks are rear admiral, vice admiral, admiral and admiral of
672-697: The end of the war, receiving a promotion to vice-admiral in 1813 and returning to Britain in 1815 on board HMS Valiant . Entering semi-retirement, Dixon did not return to the Navy and although he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in August 1819 and was promoted to full admiral in 1825, he never again commanded at sea. He was Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth from 1830 to 1833. Admiral Dixon died in February 1837 of influenza at his home in Exmouth , Devon . Admiral (Royal Navy) Admiral
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#1732773039718704-627: The fleet being in abeyance except for honorary promotions of retired officers and members of the royal family. The equivalent rank in the British Army and Royal Marines is general ; and in the Royal Air Force , it is air chief marshal . The title admiral was not used in Europe until the mid-13th century and did not reach England before the end of that century. Similarly, although some royal vessels are attested under King John ,
736-519: The fleet his deputy, the vice admiral , would be in the leading portion or van . Below him was another admiral at the rear of the fleet, called rear admiral . Promotion up the ladder was in accordance with seniority in the rank of post-captain , and rank was held for life, so the only way to be promoted was for the person above on the list to die or resign. In 1747 the Admiralty restored an element of merit selection to this process by introducing
768-596: The fleet into coloured squadrons was finally abandoned in 1864. The Red Ensign was allocated to the Merchant Navy , the White Ensign became the flag of the Royal Navy, and the Blue Ensign was allocated to the naval reserve and naval auxiliary vessels. The 18th- and 19th-century Royal Navy also maintained a positional rank known as port admiral . A port admiral was typically a veteran captain who served as
800-417: The fleet, also known as flag ranks because admirals, known as flag officers , are entitled to fly a personal flag . An admiral of the fleet flies a Union Flag at the masthead, while an admiral flies a St George's cross (red cross on white). Vice admirals and rear admirals fly a St George's cross with one or two red discs in the hoist, respectively. The rank of admiral itself is shown in its sleeve lace by
832-673: The line of the Royal Navy , launched on 18 September 1769 at Woolwich Dockyard . She was designed by William Bateley , and was the only ship built to her draught. Her armament was increased to 98 guns in the 1780s. Queen fought at the First Battle of Ushant under Keppel in 1778, and the Second Battle of Ushant under Kempenfelt in 1781. In 1794 she fought in the Glorious First of June under Howe , where she served as Rear-Admiral Alan Gardner 's flagship. During
864-411: The official ranks became admiral of the white and so forth, however each admiral's command flags were different and changed over time. The Royal Navy has had vice and rear admirals regularly appointed to the post since at least the 16th century. When in command of the fleet, the admiral would be in either the lead or the middle portion of the fleet. When the admiral commanded from the middle portion of
896-471: The shore commander of a British naval port and was in charge of supplying, refitting, and maintaining the ships docked at harbour. The problem of promoting strictly by seniority was well illustrated by the case of Provo Wallis who served (including time being carried on the books while still a child) for 96 years. When he died in 1892 four admirals under him could immediately be promoted. By request of Queen Victoria , John Edmund Commerell became Admiral of
928-456: Was born in 1784 and his son Manley Hall Dixon was born in 1786. In 1793 Dixon took command of the sixth rate HMS Porcupine off Ireland and later moved to the frigate HMS Espion in the Channel Fleet . In 1798, Dixon sailed in the 64-gun ship of the line HMS Lion for the Mediterranean Fleet under Vice-Admiral Earl St Vincent based in the Tagus . There he was assigned to
960-615: Was given to Sir Thomas Moulton in 1264, who held the formal title of Keeper of the Sea and the Sea Ports. On 8 March 1287, Sir William de Leybourne was specifically commissioned as the Admiral of the Seas of England ( Latin : Admirallus Maris Angliae ) and, in 1294, captain of all sailors and mariners of the king's dominions. Sir John de Botetourt served under him as warden at sea from
992-407: Was intercepted by a British squadron including Lion . During the ensuing battle Dixon was heavily engaged and inflicted severe damage on his French opponent, which was eventually forced to surrender. In August 1802 during the Peace of Amiens , Lion returned to Portsmouth and Dixon was briefly placed in reserve. When the Napoleonic Wars broke out in 1803, Dixon returned to service as captain of
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1024-424: Was only used as a rank at sea for a captain in charge of one or more fleets. In Elizabethan times the fleet grew large enough to be organised into squadrons . The squadron's admiral flew a red ensign , the vice admirals white , and the rear admirals blue on the aft mast of his ship. As the squadrons grew, each was eventually commanded by an admiral (with vice admirals and rear admirals commanding sections) and
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