# Edmund Nagle

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Irish Royal Navy Admiral (1757–1830)

Admiral Sir Edmund Nagle KCB Sir Edward Nagle by William Corden the Elder Born 1757 (1757) Bloomfield, County Cork Died 14 March 1830(1830-03-14) (aged 72–73) East Molesey, Surrey Allegiance United Kingdom Branch Royal Navy Service years 1770–1830 Rank Admiral Commands Leith Station Guernsey Station Conflicts American Revolutionary War French Revolutionary Wars Action of 21 October 1794 Napoleonic Wars Awards Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath

Admiral **Sir Edmund Nagle**, [KCB](/source/Knight_Commander_of_the_Bath) (1757 – 14 March 1830) was an Irish officer in the [Royal Navy](/source/Royal_Navy) during the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries who is best known for his capture of the French frigate [*Révolutionnaire*](/source/HMS_R%C3%A9volutionnaire) at the [action of 21 October 1794](/source/Action_of_21_October_1794) and his close association with [George IV](/source/George_IV) as a courtier from 1820 to his own death. He served as [Commander-in-Chief at Leith, and on the Coast of Scotland](/source/Commander-in-Chief_at_Leith%2C_and_on_the_Coast_of_Scotland) and Commander-in-Chief on the Guernsey Station.

## Life

Edmund Nagle was born in 1757 at [Bloomfield](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bloomfield,_Cork&action=edit&redlink=1), [County Cork](/source/County_Cork) in the [Kingdom of Ireland](/source/Kingdom_of_Ireland). His father, Edmund Nagle Sr. died when his son was only six and Nagle was raised by relatives including the politician and philosopher [Edmund Burke](/source/Edmund_Burke). In 1770, Nagle entered the [Royal Navy](/source/Royal_Navy) in the [frigate](/source/Frigate) [*Juno*](/source/HMS_Juno_(1757)) and was present at the British occupation of the [Falkland Islands](/source/Falkland_Islands) the following year. He served in the [American Revolutionary War](/source/American_Revolutionary_War) without seeing extensive action, on [*Greenwich*](/source/HMS_Greenwich_(1777)), [*Syren*](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=HMS_Syren_(1779)&action=edit&redlink=1), [*Polecat*](/source/HMS_Polecat), and [*Warwick*](/source/HMS_Warwick_(1767)) until he was captured in 1782 when commanding the small brig [*Racoon*](/source/HMS_Racoon_(1782)). He was recaptured in September by *Warwick*, and at the end of the war entered the reserve after briefly commanding [*Hound*](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=HMS_Hound_(1776)&action=edit&redlink=1) and [*Grana*](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=HMS_Grana&action=edit&redlink=1).[1]

Nagle returned to active service in 1793 at the outbreak of the [French Revolutionary Wars](/source/French_Revolutionary_Wars) and commanded first [*Active*](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=HMS_Active_(1780)&action=edit&redlink=1) and then [*Artois*](/source/HMS_Artois_(1794)) with a detached squadron of frigates from the [Channel Fleet](/source/Channel_Fleet) commanded by Commodore [Sir Edward Pellew](/source/Sir_Edward_Pellew). It was with this force that *Artois* was cruising off the French Channel coast when the French frigate [*Révolutionnaire*](/source/HMS_R%C3%A9volutionnaire) was discovered. The squadron gave chase, Nagle catching the larger French ship and [fighting her](/source/Action_of_21_October_1794) until support arrived. *Révolutionnaire* surrendered, and in 1794 Nagle was made a [Knight Bachelor](/source/Knight_Bachelor) for his service in capturing her.[2] He remained in command of *Artois* until 1797, when the frigate was wrecked on the French coast in pursuit of an enemy ship.[1]

In 1798, Nagle married a wealthy widow, Mary Blackman (*née* Harnage) formerly the wife of John Lucie Blackman, father of [Sir George Harnage, 1st Baronet](/source/Sir_George_Harnage%2C_1st_Baronet) of the [Harnage baronets](/source/Harnage_baronets), and effectively retired from the sea. He had minor commands on board [*Majestic*](/source/HMS_Majestic_(1785)) and [*Juste*](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=HMS_Juste_(1794)&action=edit&redlink=1) and in 1803 took command of the [Sea Fencibles](/source/Sea_Fencibles), a coastal [fencible](/source/Fencible) force, based at [Shoreham-by-Sea](/source/Shoreham-by-Sea).[3] There he met [Prince George](/source/King_George_IV), the naval officer striking up a close friendship with the playboy prince. Nagle, who was described by Burke as having "a spirited and pleasing simplicity in his manner", was often the butt of the prince's jokes, but the relationship bore dividends as Nagle was promoted rapidly, becoming a rear-admiral in 1805 and a vice-admiral in 1810 with spells of service at [Guernsey](/source/Guernsey) and [Leith](/source/Leith). In 1813, after a very brief tenure as absentee [Governor of Newfoundland](/source/Governor_of_Newfoundland), Nagle was made an official aide-de-camp to the Prince. He became a Knight Commander of the [Order of the Bath](/source/Order_of_the_Bath) in 1815 and a full admiral in 1819.[1]

In 1820, when Prince George became King George IV, Nagle was appointed [Groom of the Bedchamber](/source/Groom_of_the_Bedchamber), and moved into the King's Royal residences, although also maintaining an estate at [East Molesey](/source/East_Molesey) in [Surrey](/source/Surrey). He remained close to the King until his death at his private estate, just three months before the King also died. After the passage of the [Slave Compensation Act 1837](/source/Slave_Compensation_Act_1837), Nagle was listed as a mortgagee of his stepson George Blackman's [slave plantation](/source/Slave_plantation) Boarded Hall, and so was issued compensation despite being deceased.[4]

## Notes

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-ODNB_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-ODNB_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-ODNB_1-2) [Laughton, John Knox](/source/John_Knox_Laughton) (1894). ["Nagle, Edmund"](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Dictionary_of_National_Biography,_1885-1900/Nagle,_Edmund). In [Lee, Sidney](/source/Sidney_Lee) (ed.). *[Dictionary of National Biography](/source/Dictionary_of_National_Biography)*. Vol. 40. London: [Smith, Elder & Co](/source/Smith%2C_Elder_%26_Co).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["London, Friday November 14"](http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000073/17941115/010/0003). *The Oxford Journal*. W. Jackson. 15 November 1794. p. 3. Retrieved 21 August 2016 – via [British Newspaper Archive](/source/British_Newspaper_Archive).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Rogers, Nicholas (2006). "The Sea Fencibles, Loyalism and the Reach of the State". In Philp, Mark (ed.). *Resisting Napoleon: The British Response to the Threat of Invasion, 1797-1815*. Ashgate Publishing. p. 43. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0754653137](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0754653137).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Summary of Individual | Legacies of British Slavery"](https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/person/view/-43065308).

Authority control databases VIAF

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Edmund Nagle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Nagle) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Nagle?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.