James Young

Who was James Young?

James Young was an officer of the Royal Navy who saw service during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, rising to the rank of vice-admiral of the white.

Young was born in 1762, the son of a naval officer. He followed his father, and an older half-brother, into the navy and was promoted to commander early in the French Revolutionary Wars while serving in the West Indies with Sir John Jervis. His first command was a fireship, though he was also temporary commander of a 74-gun warship, before being promoted to post captain and given a frigate. He was successful in cruising against privateers, and was given another ship, in which in late 1799, he was involved in the chase of two Spanish frigates, capturing one of them. They were found to be transporting valuable cargoes from the Spanish colonies, and their capture made the captains involved extremely wealthy men, with their crews also receiving huge sums of money comparative to their usual wages.

Young commanded a frigate in the Mediterranean for the rest of the French Revolutionary Wars, paying her off at the peace. He did not immediately return to service with the outbreak of the Napoleonic Wars, and it was not until 1807 that he commissioned a 74-gun ship and joined the expedition to Copenhagen. Promoted to flag rank towards the end of the Napoleonic Wars, Young was further advanced to vice-admiral in 1830, and died three years later with the rank of vice-admiral of the white.