James Abercromby (1706–1781) by unknown artist © National Portrait Gallery, London
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Paul David Nelson
Abercromby, James (1706–1781), army officer and politician, was born in Glassaugh, Banffshire, the son of Alexander Abercromby (1677–1728), laird of Glassaugh, politician and army officer, and his wife, Helen Meldrum. With his father's assistance he became commissioner of supply and justice of the peace in ...
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Abercromby, Sir John (1772–1817), army officer, was the second son of the famous General Sir Ralph Abercromby (1734–1801) and his wife, Mary Anne (d. 1821), daughter of Captain John Menzies. His brothers included James Abercromby and Alexander Abercromby. He was born on 2 April 1772 at ...
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Acland, Sir Wroth Palmer (1770–1816), army officer, was the son of Arthur Palmer Acland of Fairfield, and nephew of Sir Thomas Acland bt. He entered the army in 1787 as ensign in the 17th regiment, becoming a lieutenant in 1790 and captain in 1791 before being placed on half pay until the outbreak of war with ...
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Aconcio, Jacopo [Jacobus Acontius] (c. 1520–1566/7
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Acton, Edward (d. 1707), naval officer, was the son of Mary Acton, and was related to the Acton family of Shropshire. He entered the navy as a volunteer on the Diamond in September 1691, was lieutenant on the Advice in May 1693, and succeeded as captain on 7 October 1694 following his predecessor's death. The ship was docked in ...
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Affleck, Sir Edmund, baronet (1725–1788), naval officer, ninth son of the eighteen children of Gilbert Affleck (1684?–1764), politician, of Dalham Hall, Suffolk, and Anna Dolben, was born on 19 April 1725. He became a lieutenant in the Royal Navy in July 1745, commander in May 1756, and captain on 23 March 1757; and he served throughout the Seven Years' War, first in the ...
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Nicholas Tracy
Affleck, Philip (b. after 1725
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H. M. Stephens
revised by S. Kinross
Ainslie, George Robert (1776–1839), army officer and numismatist, was born near Edinburgh, the eldest son of Sir Philip Ainslie (1728–1802) of Pilton, Midlothian, landowner and army officer, and his wife, the Hon. Elizabeth Gray, fifth daughter of John, twelfth Lord Gray...
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Airey, Sir George (1761–1833), army officer, entered the army as ensign in the 91st regiment in 1779, and was promoted lieutenant in 1781; on 2 January 1782 he transferred to the 48th regiment, and went with it to the West Indies. Airey was almost certainly attracted to this unappealing station by the prospect of better pay, and he inadvertently laid the foundation for his future advancement through his perceptive observation of the military features of the islands....
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H. M. Chichester
revised by S. Kinross
Alten, Sir Charles von, Count von Alten in the Hanoverian nobility (1764–1840), army officer in the British and Hanoverian armies, is most famous for his service at the head of the famous light division of the British army during the Peninsular War. He was born on 12 October 1764 at ...
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Ambrose, John (d. 1771), naval officer, was commissioned fourth lieutenant of the Lenox on 20 June 1728, and from 27 March 1734 served as captain of the frigate Greyhound in Sir John Norris's fleet off Lisbon. As captain of the Rupert (60 guns) from 12 September 1740 he cruised the north coast of ...
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Bernard Capp
Ames, Joseph (1619–1695), naval officer, was born at Great Yarmouth on 5 March 1619, the son of John Ames (c.1577–1647). Bred to the sea, Ames appears to have played no part in the civil war but he shared the puritan sentiments strong in the town and on 18 February 1647 was admitted to the congregationalist church led by ...
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André, John (1750–1780), army officer and spy, was born in London on 2 May 1750, the eldest son of Anthony André (1717–1769), a Genevese merchant settled in the city, and Marie Louise Girardot (1721?–1813). He had at least one brother and sister. He was educated at home and possibly at ...
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John André (1750–1780) by John Keyse Sherwin, 1781 (after self-portrait, 1780) © National Portrait Gallery, London
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Anstruther, Robert (1768–1809), army officer, was the eldest son of Sir Robert Anstruther, third baronet (1733–1818), and Lady Janet Erskine (d. 14 Oct 1770), youngest daughter of the fifth earl of Kellie. He was born on 3 March 1768. Educated at Westminster School...
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Bernard Capp
Appleton, Henry (d. 1657), naval officer, probably born in Hull, was bred to the sea and commanded merchant vessels to Spain and the Mediterranean in the 1630s and 1640s. He was admitted a younger brother of Hull Trinity House in 1632, and was elected an assistant in 1640, an elder brother in 1644, and warden in 1650. In 1645 he was also serving as lieutenant of the town's garrison. He played very little part in naval affairs during the civil wars, though there were negotiations to hire one of his ships and its ordnance in 1645. In September 1650, however, ...
