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British Baltic Fleet
Active1658-1854
CountryUnited Kingdom
BranchRoyal Navy
TypeFleet
Part ofRoyal Navy
Garrison/HQSpithead, Hampshire, England
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Admiral Sir John Norris

The British Baltic Fleet and also known as the Baltic Squadron was a series of temporary or semi permanent fleets assembled for various naval operations of the Royal Navy in the Baltic Sea from 1658 to 1854 commanded by the Commander of the British Baltic Fleet.

History

[edit]

The British Baltic Fleet was a series of temporary fleets assembled for various naval campaigns of the Royal Navy from 1658 to 1854 it was commanded by the Commander-in-Chief, British Baltic Fleet. The fleet operated from a number of bases including Spithead in Hampshire, England but also the Nore.[1] The final British Baltic Fleet was the largest assembled since the Napoleonic Wars and in terms of aramament was the most powerful naval force the Royal Navy possessed in the mid 19th century.[2]

In November 1658 Vice-Admiral William Goodsonn was appointed to command the British Baltic Fleet of twenty ships he was transporting General at Sea Sir George Ayscue who was being loaned to Sweden to assist in there naval operations against Denmark and the Dutch.[3]

In 1715 Sir John Norris was sent with the fleet to the Baltic Sea to support a coalition of naval forces from Russia, Denmark and Hanover taking in the Great Northern War. Tsar Peter took personal command of the coalition fleet and appointed Norris as his deputy in 1716: together they protected British and other allied merchant vessels from attack by warships of the Swedish Empire.[4]

In 1717 the fleet was formed again this time under the command of Sir George Byng he was sent to the Baltic following information received by the Admiralty that a new movement in support of exiled Stuarts was being mediated by Charles XII of Sweden.[5]

In November 1718, following the death of Charles XII of Sweden Admiral Sir John Norris returned to the region as Commander-in-Chief of the Baltic Fleet to protect British merchant shipping from attack by Russian raiders.[6]

In 1726 Sir Charles Wager was appointed to take command of a large battle fleet sent to the Baltic to protect Sweden and Denmark from the threat of a recently mobilized Russian fleet. Stopping first at Copenhagen, he met with the court and completed arrangements for co-operation with the Danish navy. Wager took his twenty ships of the line of the fleet to Reval. He had orders to engage and destroy the Russian fleet if it came out. To reassure Sweden the British fleet stayed at Reval all summer until 1 November 1726.[7]

In 1801 Sir Hyde Parker was appointed to command the British Baltic fleet destined to break up the northern armed neutrality, with Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson as his second-in-command. Copenhagen, the first objective of the expedition, fell in the Battle of Copenhagen on 2 April 1801.[8][9]

In 1808 James Saumarez was given command of the British Baltic fleet with his flag in HMS Victory. His mission was to protect the British trade interests that were of vital importance for Royal Navy supplies. In addition he was to blockade enemy ports such as those under French control in northern Germany. The Russian fleet was also kept under blockade until Alexander I reopened Russian ports. In 1812 Napoleon invaded Russia the Baltic fleet succeeded in obstructing French operations.[10]

In February 1854 Rear-Admiral Charles Napier was appointed to command the Baltic Fleet for an expedition to the Baltic to attack the fortresses at Kronstadt and Helsingfors he reported back to the Admiralty they despite his attempts they were impregnable subsequently he was relived of his command.[11]

On 20 March 1854 Vice-Admiral James Dundas taking command of the fleet stationed at Spithead, Hampshire it proceeded to the Baltic Sea where it was employed on blockading duties to prevent Russia from receiving supplies at its Baltic Ports until 13 August 1854 .[12][13]

In command

[edit]
Post holders included:
Commander-in-Chief, British Baltic Fleet
No. rank name date/s notes ref
1. Vice-Admiral Sir William Goodsonn 1658-1659 as Commander of the British Baltic Fleet [14]
2. Admiral Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich 1659 in command as General at Sea [15]
3. Admiral Sir John Norris 1715 in command as Admiral of the Blue [16]
4. Admiral Sir George Byng 1717 in command as Admiral of the White [17]
5. Admiral Sir John Norris 1718-1725 in command as Admiral of the Blue and second appointment [18]
6. Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Wager 1726 in command as Vice-Admiral of the Red [19]
7. Admiral Sir John Norris 1727 in command as Admiral of the Blue and third appointment [20]
8. Admiral Sir Hyde Parker 1801 in command as Admiral of the Blue [21]
9. Vice-Admiral James Saumarez 1808-1812 in command as Vice-Admiral of the Red [22][23]
10. Vice-Admiral Charles Napier February-March, 1854 in command of the Baltic Fleet and Vice-Admiral of the Blue [24]
11. Vice-Admiral James Dundas March, - August, 1854 in command of the Baltic Fleet [25]

Footnotes

[edit]
  1. ^ Lavery, Brian (2015). Nelson's Victory: 250 Years of War and Peace. Barnsley, England: Seaforth Publishing. p. 165. ISBN 9781848322325.
  2. ^ Grehan, John; Mace, Martin (2014). "VIII British Battles of the Crimean Wars 1854 to 1855". British Battles of the Crimean Wars 1854-1856: Despatches from the Front. Barnsley, England: Pen and Sword. ISBN 9781473831858.
  3. ^ Grainger, John D. (2014). The British Navy in the Baltic. Woodbridge, England: Boydell & Brewer Ltd. p. 43. ISBN 9781843839477.
  4. ^ Heathcoate, Tony (2002). British admirals of the fleet 1734-1995 : a biographical dictionary. Barnsley: Pen and Sword. p. 196. ISBN 0850528356.
  5. ^ Laughton, John Knox. "Byng George". Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900. London, England: Smith, Elder and Co. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
  6. ^ Heathcoate, Tony (2002). British admirals of the fleet 1734-1995 : a biographical dictionary. Barnsley: Pen and Sword. p. 196. ISBN 0850528356.
  7. ^ Campbell, John (1814). Lives of the British Admirals: Containing Also a New and Accurate Naval History, from the Earliest Periods. London, England: C. J. Barrinton. pp. 221–222.
  8. ^ Laughton, John Knox. "Parker Hyde (1739-1807)". Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900. London, England: Smith, Elder & Co. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
  9. ^ Williams, Chris (2006). A Companion to Nineteenth-Century Britain. Hoboken, New Jersey, United States: John Wiley & Sons. p. 79. ISBN 9781405156790.
  10. ^ Heathcoate, Tony (2005). Nelson's Trafalgar captains and their battles. Barnsley, England: Pen & Sword Maritime. p. 106. ISBN 1844151824.
  11. ^ Callo, Joseph F.; Wilson, Alastair (2004). Who's Who in Naval History: From 1550 to the present. Cambridge, London: Routledge. p. 296. ISBN 9781134395408.
  12. ^ Lavery p. 165.
  13. ^ Richards, Donald (2006). Conflict in the Crimea: British Redcoats on Russian Soil. Barnsley, England: Pen and Sword. pp. 143–145. ISBN 9781844153435.
  14. ^ Harrison, Simon (2010–2018). "Three Decks - Warships in the Age of Sail: Fleet lists 1553 to 1821". threedecks.org. S. Harrison. Retrieved 28 February 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date format (link)
  15. ^ Harrison Fleet Lists
  16. ^ Harrison Fleet Lists
  17. ^ Harrison Fleet Lists
  18. ^ Harrison Fleet Lists
  19. ^ Campbell, John; Kent, John (1785). Biographia Nautica: Or, Memoirs of Those Illustrious Seamen, to Whose Intrepidity and Conduct the English are Indebted, for the Victories of Their Fleets, the Increase of Their Dominions, the Extension of Their Commerce, and Their Preeminence on the Ocean. Interspersed with the Most Material Circumstances of Naval History, from the Norman Invasion to the Year 1779. Embellished with Copper-plates. Dublin, Ireland: J. Williams. p. 188.
  20. ^ Harrison Fleet Lists
  21. ^ Harrison Fleet Lists
  22. ^ Hore, Captain Peter (20 May 2015). "James Saumarez". Nelson's Band of Brothers. Barnsley, England: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 9781848323568.
  23. ^ Harrison Fleet Lists
  24. ^ Callo and Wilson p. 296.
  25. ^ Lavery p. 165.

Bibliography

[edit]
  1. Callo, Joseph F.; Wilson, Alastair (2004). Who's Who in Naval History: From 1550 to the present. Cambridge, London: Routledge. ISBN 9781134395408.
  2. Campbell, John; Kent, John (1785). Biographia Nautica: Or, Memoirs of Those Illustrious Seamen, to Whose Intrepidity and Conduct the English are Indebted, for the Victories of Their Fleets, the Increase of Their Dominions, the Extension of Their Commerce, and Their Preeminence on the Ocean. Interspersed with the Most Material Circumstances of Naval History, from the Norman Invasion to the Year 1779. Embellished with Copper-plates. Dublin, Ireland: J. Williams.
  3. Campbell, John (1814). Lives of the British Admirals: Containing Also a New and Accurate Naval History, from the Earliest Periods. London, England: C. J. Barrinton.
  4. Grehan, John; Mace, Martin (2014). "VIII British Battles of the Crimean Wars 1854 to 1855". British Battles of the Crimean Wars 1854-1856: Despatches from the Front. Barnsley, England: Pen and Sword. ISBN 9781473831858.
  5. Harrison, Simon (2010–2018). "Three Decks - Warships in the Age of Sail: Fleet lists 1553 to 1821". threedecks.org. S. Harrison.
  6. Hore, Captain Peter (2015). "James Saumarez". Nelson's Band of Brothers. Barnsley, England: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 9781848323568.
  7. Grainger, John D. (2014). The British Navy in the Baltic. Woodbridge, England: Boydell & Brewer Ltd. ISBN 9781843839477.
  8. Heathcoate, Tony (2002). British admirals of the fleet 1734-1995 : a biographical dictionary. Barnsley: Pen and Sword. ISBN 0850528356.
  9. Heathcoate, Tony (2005). Nelson's Trafalgar captains and their battles. Barnsley, England: Pen & Sword Maritime. ISBN 1844151824.
  10. Laughton, John Knox. "Byng George". Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900. London, England: Smith, Elder and Co.
  11. Laughton, John Knox. "Parker Hyde (1739-1807)". Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900. London, England: Smith, Elder & Co. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
  12. Lavery, Brian (2015). Nelson's Victory: 250 Years of War and Peace. Barnsley, England: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 9781848322325.
  13. Richards, Donald (2006). Conflict in the Crimea: British Redcoats on Russian Soil. Barnsley, England: Pen and Sword. ISBN 9781844153435.
  14. Williams, Chris (2006). A Companion to Nineteenth-Century Britain. Hoboken, New Jersey, United States: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9781405156790.
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