Frederick Lewis Maitland

Rear-Admiral of the Red Sir Frederick Lewis Maitland, (7 September 177730 November 1839) was a Royal Navy officer who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He rose to the rank of rear admiral and held a number of commands. The most famous event of his career occurred when Napoleon surrendered to him aboard , marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars.

Family and early life

Maitland was born at Rankeilour, Fife, on 7 September 1777, as the third son of Frederick Lewis Maitland (1730–1786), himself a distinguished naval officer. Several other members of Maitland's family were serving officers in the army, including his uncle, General Sir Alexander Maitland, 1st Baronet and his cousin, General Frederick Maitland (1763–1848). Having received an education at the Royal High School, Edinburgh, Maitland followed his father into the Navy in 1785 at the age of eight, spending his first years aboard the sloop , under Captain George Duff, followed by a period aboard the frigate with Robert Forbes. Whilst aboard Southampton, Maitland was present at the Glorious First of June in 1794.

Royal duties and rise to rear admiral Maitland took command of the 74-gun in October 1818, and in 1819 sailed her to South America. He took Lord George Beresford from Rio de Janeiro to Lisbon in 1820, and then returned to the Mediterranean. He then carried Ferdinand I, king of the Two Sicilies from Naples to Livorno. The passage was rough and lasted seven days, but they arrived safely on 20 December. As a token of gratitude the king invested Maitland with the insignia of a knight commander of the Order of St Ferdinand and Merit, and presented him with his portrait, set with diamonds, in a gold box. and Rear Admiral of the Red on 10 January 1837. He had been appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) on the restructuring of the Order in 1815, and on 17 November 1830 he was advanced to Knight Commander (KCB). He was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of the County of Fife on 5 March 1831.

Indian service He was admiral superintendent of the dockyard at Portsmouth between 1832 and 1837. He was appointed commander-in-chief in the East Indies and China Station in July 1837, and raised his flag in the Wellesley again. He co-operated with the army during its advance from Bombay towards Afghanistan in February 1839, and captured the town and fort of Karachi, going on to oversee the landing of troops and supplies. News then reached him of disturbances at Bushehr, so he set off to investigate. He landed Marines and evacuated the resident and his staff, without punishing the rioters. The Anglo-Indian press subsequently criticised this action as being injudiciously lenient.

Death Maitland died on 30 November 1839 whilst at sea on board the Wellesley, off Bombay. He was buried at Bombay. A monument was later erected by subscription to his memory in St. Thomas Cathedral. His wife, Lady Maitland, died in 1865 at Lindores, Fife.