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Admiral of the Fleet Sir Francis William Austen, (23 April 1774 – 10 August 1865) was a Royal Navy officer. As commanding officer of the sloop HMS ''Peterel'', he captured some 40 ships, was present at the capture of a French squadron, and led an operation when the French brig ''Ligurienne'' was captured and two others were driven ashore off Marseille during the French Revolutionary Wars. On the outbreak of Napoleonic Wars Austen was appointed to raise and organise a corps of Sea Fencibles at Ramsgate to defend a strip of the Kentish coast. He went on to be commanding officer of the third-rate , in which he took part in the pursuit of the French Fleet to the West Indies and back and then fought at the Battle of San Domingo, leading the lee line of ships into the battle. He later commanded the third-rate and observed the Battle of Vimeiro from the deck of his ship before embarking British troops retreating after the Battle of Corunna. He went on to be commanding officer of the third-rate and captured the United States privateer ''Swordfish'' during the War of 1812. As a senior officer Austen served as Commander-in-Chief, North America and West Indies Station. ==Early career== Born the son of the Reverend George Austen and Cassandra Austen (the daughter of the Reverend Thomas Leigh), and the brother of the novelist Jane Austen, Francis Austen joined the Royal Navy in April 1786.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Austen, Sir Francis William )〕 After graduating at the Royal Naval Academy at Portsmouth, he was appointed to the fifth-rate HMS ''Perseverance'' on the East Indies Station.〔Heathcote, p. 17〕 Promoted to midshipman in December 1789, he joined the third-rate HMS ''Crown'' and then transferred to the fifth-rate HMS ''Minerva'' in November 1791.〔 In HMS ''Minerva'' he took part in a blockade of the coast of Mysore.〔 Promoted to lieutenant on 28 December 1792, Austen transferred to the sloop HMS ''Despatch'' and then returned to England at the end of 1793.〔 In March 1794 he joined the sloop ''Lark'', a brig that was part of a fleet that evacuated British troops from Ostend and Nieuwpoort after the French captured the Netherlands during the French Revolutionary Wars.〔Poplawski, p. 62〕 In March 1795 HMS ''Lark'' was part of a squadron that escorted Princess Caroline of Brunswick to England.〔 Austen transferred to the fifth-rate HMS ''Andromeda'' in May 1795 and to the second-rate HMS ''Glory'' in Autumn 1795.〔 In HMS ''Glory'' he escorted the troops of General Ralph Abercromby destined for the West Indies in December 1795.〔 He moved to the fifth-rate HMS ''Shannon'' in early 1796, to the fifth-rate HMS ''Triton'' in September 1796 and to the fifth-rate HMS ''Seahorse'' in March 1797.〔 He then joined the second-rate HMS ''London'' in February 1798 and took part in the blockade of Cádiz.〔 After securing the patronage of Admiral Lord Gambier, he was promoted to commander on 3 January 1799 and became commanding officer of the sloop HMS ''Peterel'' in February 1799.〔 In HMS ''Peterel'' he captured some 40 ships, was present at the capture of a French squadron in June 1799 and led an operation when the French brig ''Ligurienne'' was captured and two others were driven ashore off Marseille in March 1800.〔 He also took part in the blockade of Genoa in May 1800 and, having been promoted to captain on 13 May 1800, was present at the blockade of Abu Qir in August 1800.〔Heathcote, p. 18〕 Austen became Flag Captain to Lord Gambier, in the second-rate HMS ''Neptune'' in August 1801 and earned a reputation for seeing to the welfare and health of his men.〔 On the outbreak of Napoleonic Wars he was appointed to raise and organise a corps of Sea Fencibles at Ramsgate to defend a strip of the Kentish coast.〔 He went on to be commanding officer of the fourth-rate HMS ''Leopard'', flagship of Rear Admiral Sir Thomas Louis, in May 1804 and then took part in the blockade of Boulogne.〔 He next became commanding officer of the third-rate HMS Canopus, a French ship of the line captured in the Battle of the Nile (as the ''Franklin''), early in 1805.〔 In HMS ''Canopus'' he took part in the pursuit of the French Fleet, under the command of Admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve, to the West Indies and back in Summer 1805.〔 Austen was temporarily detached from the fleet for convoy duty in the Mediterranean and missed the Battle of Trafalgar. However, he did command HMS ''Canopus'' at the Battle of San Domingo, leading the lee line of ships into the battle, in February 1806.〔 He went on to be commanding officer of the third-rate HMS ''St Albans'' in March 1807.〔 On 13 July 1808, the East India Company gave Austen £420 with which to buy a piece of plate: this was a substantial gift (perhaps the equivalent of a year's salary) in thanks for his having safely convoyed to Britain from Saint Helena seven of their Indiamen, plus one extra (voyage chartered) ship.〔Le Faye (2006), p.355.〕 In HMS ''St Albans'' he observed the Battle of Vimeiro from the deck of his ship in August 1808 and then embarked British troops retreating after the Battle of Corunna in January 1809.〔 Austen became Flag Captain to Lord Gambier, Commander-in-Chief of the Channel Squadron, in the first-rate HMS ''Caledonia'' in September 1810.〔Heathcote, p. 19〕 He went on to be commanding officer of the third-rate HMS ''Elephant'' in the North Sea in 1811 and took part in a blockade of the Scheldt.〔 In HMS ''Elephant'' he captured the United States privateer ''Swordfish'' in December 1812 during the War of 1812.〔 He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath on 4 June 1815. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Francis Austen」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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