Captain Sir Murray Maxwell, CB, FRS (10 September 1775 – 26 June 1831)There is some confusion over the exact date of Maxwell's death. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography states that he died on 26 June, while Fraser's Magazine and the United Services Magazine claim that he died on 19 June. Since all sources agree on the circumstances of his death, there is no accounting for the difference in date. was a Royal Navy officer who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Maxwell first gained recognition in the British navy during the successful Adriatic campaign of 1807–1814, during which he destroyed a French supply convoy during the action of 29 November 1811. As a result of achieving further victories in the Mediterranean, Maxwell was given increasingly important positions and, despite losing the frigate off British Ceylon in 1813, was appointed to escort ambassador Lord Amherst to China in 1816.
The voyage to China went awry when Maxwell's ship wrecked in the Gaspar Strait, and he and his crew became stranded on a nearby island. The shipwrecked crew of Alceste ran low on supplies and were repeatedly attacked by Malay pirates, but thanks to Maxwell's leadership suffered no deaths. Eventually rescued by a brig of the East India Company, the party returned to Britain as heroes, with Maxwell being especially commended. He was knighted for his services, and made a brief and unsuccessful foray into politics before resuming his naval career. In 1831 Maxwell was appointed the Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island, but fell ill and died before he could take up the post.
Early career
Murray Maxwell was born on 10 September 1775 to James and Elizabeth Maxwell. His father was an officer in the British Army's 42nd Regiment of Foot and the son of politician Sir Alexander Maxwell.Maxwell, Sir Murray, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, J. K. Laughton, (subscription required), Retrieved 25 July 2008 The family lived in Penninghame in Wigtownshire, Scotland, and Murray was intended for the armed forces from an early age: six of Murray's eight brothers would also join the Army or Navy.Annual Biography and Obituary, 1832 Vol. XVI, p. 220 In 1790, at the age of 14, he was sent to sea on board , then commanded by Samuel Hood. He had been in Juno for three years when the French Revolutionary Wars broke out, and was on board when the frigate was forced to make a desperate escape from Toulon harbour under heavy fire from French Republican batteries during their siege of Toulon.United Services Magazine, 1831 Part II, p. 531 Later that year, he was involved in the British invasion of Corsica, including the siege of Bastia during which he made such a favourable impression that when Hood transferred to in 1794, he requested that Maxwell accompany him. Maxwell was transferred again during 1794, this time to the small frigate under the command of Hood's relative Captain Samuel Hood Linzee.
In December 1795 Maxwell was taken prisoner when Nemesis was captured by a superior French force in Smyrna harbour. Despite Smyrna's neutrality, the large French frigate Sensible and the smaller corvette Sardine entered the port, followed later by the corvette Rossignol, and called on Nemesis to surrender. Linzee protested at the illegal nature of the French demands, but decided it would be futile to engage the significantly stronger force inside a neutral harbour, and complied with the French order.James, Vol. 1, p. 275 Maxwell was rapidly exchanged, and returned to service aboard under Captain James Colnett. However, on 27 December 1796, Hussar was wrecked off Southern France, and Maxwell once again became a prisoner of war.James, Vol. 2, p. 378 Exchanged a second time, he joined , and later moved to , before being made lieutenant in October 1796. Following his promotion, Maxwell was not employed at sea again until 1802. In 1798 he married the daughter of an army officer, Grace Callander Waugh.
Napoleonic Wars
After Britain declared war on France in 1803, initiating the Napoleonic Wars, Maxwell returned to active service in command of the sloop-of-war . Within days of war start, Cyane captured two French transports destined for the Caribbean, and later served in the West Indies, on one occasion exchanging fire with two large French frigates off Martinique. In 1803, Maxwell was involved in the capture of St Lucia, for which he was made captain of the ship of the line —the flagship of his former commander Sir Samuel Hood. In this ship Maxwell participated in the capture of the French and Batavian colonies of Tobago, Demerera and Essequibo in 1803, following which his promotion to post-captain was confirmed. He also blockaded Martinique, and was subsequently involved in the British operation which occupied Diamond Rock, overseeing the construction of a gun battery on its summit.Clowes, Vol. 5, p. 333 This fortified position was able to severely restrict French shipping from entering or leaving Fort-de-France.
In 1804, Maxwell participated in the capture of the Batavian colonies of Surinam and Berbice, and was the most senior naval officer present at the surrender of Surinam. During the invasion of Surinam, his command over the British naval forces present and capture of a succession of Batavian forts along the Suriname River were highly commended.Clowes, Vol. 5, p. 83 Maxwell's decisive leadership was essential in the rapid movement of British troops over water to prevent the Batavian defenders from preparing fresh defensive positions; the colony surrendered after the British reached Paramaribo, resulting in the capture of 2,000 prisoners, several ships and large quantities of supplies. British losses during the invasion numbered less than 30.Annual Biography and Obituary, 1832 Vol. XVI, pp. 220–224
Mediterranean service
In 1805 Maxwell took command of the frigate off Jamaica, participating in the Atlantic campaign of 1806 as part of the squadron under Rear-Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane that drove off a French attack on the Jamaica convoy near Tortola on 4 July 1806.James, Vol. 4, p. 204 In 1807, Maxwell was transferred to the Mediterranean in . He was initially part of a raiding squadron that attacked coastal batteries and other positions along the Spanish coast as part of the war between Britain and Spain. On 8 April 1808, shortly before Spain allied with Britain, he destroyed a Spanish convoy carrying military stores off Rota.United Services Magazine, 1831 Part II, p. 532 Over the next two years Maxwell became an expert at raiding the French, Italian and Spanish coasts, destroying numerous Italian Martello towers and small armed vessels.Clowes, Vol. 5, p. 278Annual Biography and Obituary, 1832 Vol. XVI, p. 226 In May 1810 he was commended for a raid at Frejus, where he led a landing party that stormed and destroyed a coastal fort and seized a coastal convoy.
Adriatic campaign
Maxwell's most notable service came during the Adriatic campaign of 1807–1814. Alceste was despatched to the Adriatic Sea to support James Brisbane in the absence of William Hoste, who had been wounded at the Battle of Lissa in March 1811. On 4 May, Maxwell and Brisbane led an attack on Parenza, where a brig carrying supplies to Ragusa had taken shelter.Clowes, Vol. 5, p. 484 Seizing an island at the mouth of the harbour, the British established a mortar position overlooking the anchorage, and sank the brig with a heavy bombardment.James, Vol. 5, p. 364 In November 1811, with the temporary absence of Brisbane, Maxwell became the senior officer in the Adriatic. Seven months later, a convoy of French frigates carrying cannon from Corfu to Trieste was spotted attempting to slip past his base of operations on the island of Lissa. Ashore in Port St. George, Maxwell was informed by telegraph, and led Alceste and the rest of his squadron— and —in pursuit.James, Vol. 5, p. 375
On 29 November, after a night's chase, the British caught their opponents near Pelagosa. The French force consisted of the large frigates Pauline and Pomone, and the armed storeship Persanne.James, Vol. 5, p. 378 In the battle that followed, Unite pursued and, after a lengthy chase, seized the smaller Persanne, while Maxwell and James Alexander Gordon in Active engaged the frigates.Clowes, Vol. 5, p. 496 The action was bitterly contested, the British taking 61 casualties, including Gordon who lost a leg. However, Alceste and Active successfully isolated Pomone, and when another British ship, , appeared in the distance, Pauline fled.Gardiner, p. 178 Alone and having lost heavily, Pomone surrendered. The prizes were later sold along with their cargo of 200 cannon. Maxwell, despite attributing most of the credit for the victory to the wounded Gordon, was rewarded in 1812 with command of , a former Italian frigate captured at the Battle of Lissa.Henderson, p. 152
HMS Daedalus
Maxwell commanded Daedalus for less than a year. On 2 July 1813 the frigate ran aground on a shoal off Galle, Ceylon, causing serious damage to her keel. Although she was soon brought off, the leaks created in the grounding became so severe that Maxwell had no option but to order his crew to cease their desperate attempts to keep her afloat and abandon ship. He was the last to leave and shortly after he had been transported to a nearby East Indiaman, Daedalus rolled over and sank.Grocott, p. 357 Maxwell returned to Britain to face a court-martial but was exonerated for the frigate's loss and reappointed to Alceste. In 1815 he was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath for his naval service, and although the war against France had ended, was retained for active duty at the special request of Lord Amherst.Annual Biography and Obituary, 1832 Vol. XVI, p. 229
Voyage to China and shipwreck
In 1816 Maxwell was ordered to escort Lord Amherst on a diplomatic mission to the Jiaqing Emperor of China. Alceste was accompanied by the small sloop HMS Lyra, under Captain Basil Hall, and the East Indiaman General Hewitt, which carried gifts for the Emperor. The small convoy called at Madeira, Rio de Janeiro, Cape Town, Anjere and Batavia, and arrived at Peiho after nearly six months at sea in July. Amherst went ashore with his party, instructing Maxwell to meet him at Canton once his diplomatic mission was complete. The mission was expected to last several months, so Maxwell and Hall agreed to use the time to become the first British sailors to explore the Yellow Sea and beyond. Between them, Lyra and Alceste visited the Gulf of Pecheli, the West coast of Korea and the "Loo-Choo" (Ryukyu) Islands—in some cases as the first European ships known to have sailed these waters.Annual Biography and Obituary, 1832 Vol. XVI, p. 230 During the journey, Maxwell saw the Great Wall of China and discovered serious inaccuracies in the charts of Western Korea, finding it lay 130 miles east of its supposed position.Annual Biography and Obituary, 1832 Vol. XVI, p. 231 The expedition also made the first known British government contacts with both the Koreans and the Ryukyu Islanders, who ignored instructions from Chinese officials not to communicate with the British ships.