Charles Austen

For other people named Charles Austen, seeCharles Austen (disambiguation).

Charles John Austen
Born	23 June 1779(1779-06-23) Steventon, Hampshire
Died	7 October 1852(1852-10-08)(aged 73) Prome,British Burma
Allegiance	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1791–1852
Rank	Rear-Admiral of the Blue
Commands held	HMSIndian HMSSwiftsure HMSCleopatra HMSNamur HMSPhoenix HMSAurora HMSWinchester HMSBellerophon East Indies and China Station
Awards	Companion of the Order of the Bath
Spouse(s)	Frances Palmer ​ ​ (m.1807; died 1814)​ Harriet Palmer ​ (m.1820)​
Relations	George Austen(father) James Austen(brother) Edward Austen Knight(brother) Henry Thomas Austen(brother) Cassandra Austen(sister) Francis Austen(brother) Jane Austen(sister) Philadelphia Austen Hancock(aunt)

Rear AdmiralCharles John AustenCB(23 June 1779 – 7 October 1852) was an officer in theRoyal Navyand the youngest brother of novelistJane Austen.He served during theFrench RevolutionaryandNapoleonic Wars,and beyond, eventually rising to the rank ofrear-admiral.

Family and early life

Charles was born in 1779 as the sixth and youngest son of the ReverendGeorge Austenand his wife, CassandraLeigh.His elder brother,Sir Francis Austen,also joined the Navy, and eventually becameAdmiral of the Fleet.Charles joined theRoyal Naval Academyin July 1791, and by September 1794, he had becomemidshipmanaboardHMSDaedalus.He subsequently served aboardHMSUnicornandHMSEndymion.While serving aboard theUnicorn,Austen assisted in the capture of the 18-gun DutchbrigComet,the 44-gun FrenchfrigateTribune,and the French transport shipVille de l'Orient.

After transferring toEndymionhe helped in the driving intoHellevoetsluisof the Dutchship of the lineBrutus.As a result of the latter action Austen was promoted to lieutenant on 13 December 1797, and appointed toHMSScorpion.He was aboardScorpionlong enough to be present at the capture of the Dutch brigCourier,after which he transferred toHMSTamar.AboardTamar,Austen was frequently involved in attacks and engagements withgunboatsandprivateersout ofAlgeciras.He returned to theEndymionin April 1800. On one occasion he set off in a small boat in a gale with only four other men, and succeeded in boarding and taking possession of the 18-gunScipio,with 149 men aboard.He kept control of her until the following day whenEndymioncould complete the capture.After his continued good service underCaptain Charles Paget,the Admiralty promoted Austen tocommanderand he took command of thesloopHMSIndianon 10 October 1804.

Command

Austen spent the next five years serving on theNorth American Station,based atSt. George's Town,at the East End of the developingImperial fortressofBermuda(where theRoyal Naval Dockyardhad yet to be completed at the West End), inBritish North America.He was promoted to Commander and given command ofHMS Indian,a sloop newly built in Bermuda (when ashore, he lived atAlnwick,near toConvict BayandSt. George's Garrison).He was promoted tocaptainon 10 May 1810 when he was given command of the 74-gunHMSSwiftsure,which was then theflagshipofSir John Borlase Warren.Austen moved again the following September, joiningHMSCleopatra.Between November 1811 and September 1814 Austen served as captain ofHMSNamur,based at theNoreand flying the flag ofSir Thomas Williams.He was then given command of the 36-gun frigateHMSPhoenixand after theoutbreak of hostilities with FranceAusten was dispatched in command of a squadron withHMSUndauntedandHMSGarlandto hunt a Neapolitan squadron suspected to be at large in theAdriatic.After Naples had surrendered Austen was active in the blockade ofBrindisi.Lord Exmouththen sent him on to search of a French squadron, but with the end of the war with France in the intervening period he briefly turned his attention to suppressing piracy in the region.He successfully captured two pirate vessels in the port of Pavos, but disaster struck when thePhoenixwas wrecked offSmyrnaon 20 February 1816, through the ignorance of herpilots.

Austen was appointed to the 46-gunHMSAuroraon 2 June 1826, and was sent to theJamaica stationas the second in command.He was active in combating theslave tradeand had considerable success, intercepting a number ofslave shipsbound for the United States and the Spanish colonies of Cuba and Puerto Rico.He commanded theAurorafor two and a half years, until she was paid off in December 1828. SirEdward Griffith Colpoysnominated Austen to become hisflag captainaboardHMSWinchesteron the North American and West Indies Station.Austen remained here until being forced to be invalided home after a severe accident in December 1830.Austen recovered and returned to service, being appointed toHMSBellerophonon 14 April 1838. He was awarded a pension on 28 August 1840.During the Oriental Crisis of 1840, Britain waged an undeclared war against Mohammed Ali the Great, thevali(governor) of Egypt who was attempting to make the House of Ali the new ruling family in the Ottoman Empire by deposing the House of Ottoman. He sailed with theBellerophonto the Mediterranean, and was active at the bombardment ofAcreon 3 November 1840.As a result of his good service during the bombardment he was appointed aCompanion of the Order of the Bathon 18 December 1840.Austen and theBellerophonreturned home, where the latter was paid off in June 1841.

Flag rank and death

Austen was advanced to rear-admiral on 9 November 1846,and was appointed commander-in-chief in theEast Indies and China Stationon 14 January 1850, hoisting his flag the following day.He commanded the British expedition during theSecond Anglo-Burmese Warbut died ofcholeraatPromeon 7 October 1852, at the age of 73.On 30 April 1852 Austen had been thanked for his services in Burma by theGovernor-General of India,The Marquess of Dalhousie,who subsequently also formally recorded his regret for Austen's death.

Austen is buried in the Esplanade Cemetery, inTrincomalee,Sri Lankahis grave was rediscovered in 1984/1985.

It is presumed that the monument at the Esplanade burial ground inTrincomalee,is merely acenotaph(as per J. Penry Lewis - ‘List of Inscriptions on Tombstones and Monuments in Ceylon’ 1913). Because records do not indicate any last rites being given to Austen, thus it may appear that he was given aBurial at seawith fullnaval honours,and subsequently had his remains transported to Trincomalee.

There is also a memorial at St. Anne’s Church in Portsmouth for Austen.

Family and issue

Austen married Frances Palmer, the youngest daughter of the lateAttorney General of Bermuda,in 1807. The two had three children together.After the death of Frances in 1814, Charles married his late wife's sister Harriet Palmer in 1820, which was at that timecontrary to church lawand illegal in England, remaining so until the passage of theDeceased Wife's Sister's Marriage Act 1907.The couple produced four children, two of them sons, and one of whom followed his father into theNavy.Austen was close to his older sisterJane,and is said to have offered naval vocabulary to help her revise the second edition ofMansfield Park.

Footnotes

Notes

Citations

References

• The Gentleman's Magazine.F. Jefferies. 1853.
• Burke, John (1836).A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland Enjoying Territorial Possessions Or High Official Rank: But Uninvested with Heritable Honours.Colburn.
• Hill, Constance (1902)Jane Austen: her homes & her friends.(John Lane)

External links

• "Biography of Charles John Austen R.N."3 November 2008.Retrieved3 November2008.
• O'Byrne, William Richard (1849)."Austen, Charles John (a)".A Naval Biographical Dictionary.John Murray– viaWikisource.