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George Stewart, 8th Earl of Galloway

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AdmiralThe Right Honourable
The Earl of Galloway
KT
George Stewart wearing the naval uniform of post-captain. Watercolour on ivory byAnne Mee.
Member of Parliament
forHaslemere
In office
1806 – November 1806
Preceded byGeorge Wood
Succeeded byRobert Plumer Ward
Member of Parliament
forCockermouth
In office
22 July 1805 – 1806
Preceded byJames Graham
Succeeded byJohn Lowther
Member of Parliament
forSaltash
In office
1790 – February 1795
Preceded byJohn Lemon
Succeeded byWilliam Stewart
Personal details
Born(1768-03-24)24 March 1768
Died27 March 1834(1834-03-27)(aged 66)
Political partyTory
SpouseLady Jane Paget
Children8
Parent(s)John Stewart, 7th Earl of Galloway
Anne Dashwood
Alma materWestminster School
AwardsOrder of the Thistle
Military service
AllegianceGreat Britain
United Kingdom
Branch/serviceRoyal Navy
Years of service1781–1806
RankAdmiral
Commands
Battles/wars

AdmiralGeorge Stewart, 8th Earl of Galloway,KT(24 March 1768 – 27 March 1834), styledLord Garliesbetween 1773 and 1806, was a British naval commander and politician.

Background

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Garlies was the eldest son ofJohn Stewart, 7th Earl of Galloway,andAnne,daughter ofSir James Dashwood, 2nd Baronet,[1]and attendedWestminster School[2]before embarking on a career in the Royal Navy.

Military career

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Garlies entered the navy at an early age, serving as a 13-year-old midshipman under the command of his uncle, CommodoreKeith Stewartat theBattle of Dogger Bankin August 1781, and also in theGreat Siege of Gibraltarin 1782. In 1789 he was promoted to lieutenant, serving in the frigateAquilonin the Mediterranean. He returned to England in early 1790, when appointed commander of thefire shipVulcan.He was promoted topost-captainon 30 April 1793, and soon after was appointed to the frigateWinchelsea,serving in the West Indies, and being wounded while covering the landing of the army atGuadaloupe in April 1794,[1][3]and was then sent with detachments of troops to accept the surrender of the islands ofMarie-GalanteandLa Désirade.[4]

In 1795 he took command of the frigateLively,and tookSir John Jervisout from England to assume command in the Mediterranean. Commanding a division of four frigates and a sloop, he engaged the Spanish ship of lineSan Francisco de Asísin theaction of 25 January 1797,in which he was forced to withdraw. He served in the area until theBattle of Cape St Vincentin February 1797. After the battleLivelycarried SirRobert Calder,with the account of the victory, andLord Minto,Viceroy of Corsica,and his suite, who were on board during the battle, back to England.[1]

Around November 1799 Garlies commissioned the frigateHussar,and commanded her in the Channel and on the coast of Ireland until early 1801, making several captures and recaptures:[1]

  • On 17 May 1800Hussar,the frigateLoireand the schoonerMilbrookrecaptured the shipPrincess Charlotte,and captured the French schoonerLa Francoise.[5]
  • On 2 March 1801Hussarcaptured the French schoonerLe General Bessieres.[6]
  • On 12 April 1801Hussarrecaptured the shipJamesof Liverpool.[7]

In early 1801 Garlies moved into theBellerophon,to serve on the blockade ofBrest,remaining there until theTreaty of Amiensin early 1802 brought a short-lived period of peace. Following the renewal of hostilities in May 1803 he commanded the shipAjax,[1]and sat on theBoard of Admiraltyin between May 1805[8]and February 1806.[2]Galloway saw no further active service, but was promoted to Rear-Admiral on 31 July 1810;[9]to Vice Admiral on 12 August 1819;[1]and to Admiral on 22 July 1830.[10]

Political career

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Apart from his military career Garlies also sat as aMember of Parliament.He was first elected in1790for the constituency ofSaltash,and served until vacating his seat in favour of his brotherWilliamin February 1795.[11]He returned to Parliament when elected MP forCockermouthon 22 July 1805, and then sat forHaslemereafter the1806 election,but was shortly after obliged to quit his seat following the death of his father on 13 November, when he became the Earl of Galloway, and moved to theHouse of Lords.[2]

He served asLord Lieutenant of Kirkcudbrightfrom 26 December 1794[12]to 1807, and from 1820 to 1828, and ofWigtownshirefrom 28 March 1807[13]to 1828.[2]On 30 May 1814 he wasinvestedas a member of theOrder of the Thistle.[14]He also served as vice-president of theBoard of Agriculturein 1815.[2]

Family

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In April 1797 he marriedLady Jane Paget,the daughter ofHenry Paget, 1st Earl of Uxbridge,and sister ofHenry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey.[1]They had eight children:[15]

  1. Lady Jane Stewart(1798–1844), m.George Spencer-Churchill, 6th Duke of Marlborough.
  2. Lady Caroline Stewart (1799–1857)
  3. HonRandolph Stewart,later9th Earl of Galloway(1800–1873)
  4. Lady Louisa Stewart (1804–1889), m.William Duncombe, 2nd Baron Feversham.
  5. Hon Arthur Stewart (1805–1806)
  6. Hon Alan Stewart (1807–1808)
  7. Lady Helen Stewart (1810–1813)
  8. Vice Admiral HonKeith StewartCB (1814– 15 September 1879),[16]m. Mary FitzRoy, daughter ofCharles Augustus FitzRoy.Had issue, 9 daughters, and 1 son.

References

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  1. ^abcdefgMarshall, John(1823).Royal Naval Biography: or Memoirs of the services of all the flag-officers, superannuated rear-admirals, retired-captains, post-captains and commanders, whose names appeared on the Admiralty list of sea officers at the commencement of the year 1760, or who have since been promoted; illustrated by a series of historical and explanatory notes. With copious addenda.Vol. I, Part II.London:Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green.pp. 444–446.Retrieved12 October2013.
  2. ^abcdeThorne, R.G. (2013)."Stewart, George, Viscount Garlies (1768-1834)".The History of Parliament Online.Retrieved12 October2013.
  3. ^"No. 13657".The London Gazette.20 May 1794. pp. 450–451.
  4. ^"No. 13659".The London Gazette.21 May 1794. p. 463.
  5. ^"No. 15328".The London Gazette.13 January 1801. p. 73.
  6. ^"No. 15365".The London Gazette.12 May 1801. p. 541.
  7. ^"No. 15369".The London Gazette.26 May 1801. p. 598.
  8. ^"No. 15802".The London Gazette.27 April 1805. p. 569.
  9. ^"No. 16391".The London Gazette.28 July 1810. p. 1119.
  10. ^"No. 18709".The London Gazette.23 July 1830. p. 1539.
  11. ^"No. 13759".The London Gazette.10 March 1795. p. 231.
  12. ^"No. 13735".The London Gazette.27 December 1794. p. 1268.
  13. ^"No. 16014".The London Gazette.28 March 1807. p. 393.
  14. ^"No. 16905".The London Gazette.4 June 1814. p. 1154.
  15. ^Cracroft-Brennan, Patrick, ed. (2013)."Earl of Galloway".Cracrofts Peerage.Retrieved12 October2013.
  16. ^"Births, Marriages, Deaths".The Cornishman.No. 62. 18 September 1879. p. 5.
[edit]
Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by Member of ParliamentforSaltash
1790–1795
With:Edward Bearcroft 		Succeeded by
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of ParliamentforCockermouth
1805–1806
With:Robert Plumer Ward 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of ParliamentforHaslemere
1806
With:Charles Long 		Succeeded by
Honorary titles
Preceded by
?
 Lord Lieutenant of Kirkcudbright
1794–1803 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Lord Lieutenant of Kirkcudbright
1820–1828 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Lord Lieutenant of Wigtownshire
1807–1828 		Succeeded by
Peerage of Scotland
Preceded by
Earl of Galloway
1806–1834 		Succeeded by
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