Whitshed, James Hawkins, Sir, 1762-1849

British admiral.

Sir James Hawkins Whitshed, of Anglo-Irish descent, was born in 1762. He joined the Royal Navy in 1773 at age eleven. He served in a variety of ships as a midshipman and saw action off Cape Vincent in 1780 against the Spanish. He delivered General Guy Carleton to New York in 1780 as Commander-in Chief of British forces in the American Revolution. He attended Oxford University but did not matriculate for a degree. During the French Revolution, he served in HMS Arrogant and HMS Namur and ships of the Channel Squadron. Promoted to rear admiral in 1799, his last years of naval service were spent in Ireland where he took charge of defending the Irish coast against an invasion by the French. He retired in 1810 and was promoted to Admiral. He died at his London home in 1849.