John Surman Carden

Admiral John Surman Carden (15 August 1771 – 22 April 1858) was an officer of the British Royal Navy in the early nineteenth century. Although the majority of his service was against the French during the Napoleonic Wars, he is best remembered for the action of 25 October 1812, an engagement against a larger American frigate during the War of 1812 in which his ship was captured. Carden was criticised for the loss of his ship, specifically his handling of the vessel during the action. Following his defeat in October 1812 he never served again in an active capacity, but he remained in the Navy and continued to gradually rise though the ranks in retirement, eventually becoming a full admiral before his death in 1858.

Life Carden was born in 1771, the son of Army officer Major John Carden of Tredington Court in Tewkesbury. Carden spent his childhood at home, his mother refusing to allow him to become a pageboy in the household of Queen Charlotte and also resisted orders to enlist him in his father's regiment at the age of eight. Both his parents died while he was young: his mother died aged only 26, while his father was killed in action during the American Revolutionary War. Carden was educated privately until he was 17, when he enlisted in the Royal Navy in 1788, joining under Captain Charles Thompson and later moving to the frigate under Captain Isaac Smith. In 1790 he became a midshipman and in 1793, at the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars, he moved to the ship of the line under Captain George Cranfield Berkeley.

Marlborough served in the Channel Fleet, and in 1794 was heavily engaged at the battle of the Glorious First of June, at which Carden was badly wounded in an ammunition explosion, suffering permanent damage to his eyesight. In March 1795 he moved to and 1797 to under Captain James Richard Dacres. In 1798 he briefly moved to Thompson's flagship before becoming a lieutenant in the frigate under Captain Thomas Byam Martin. Fisgard was employed in the aftermath of the Battle of Tory Island, successfully engaging and capturing the off Brest, for which Carden was promoted to commander. However Parliament soon resounded with his praises and, among other marks of respect, he was honoured with the freedom of the cities of Worcester and Gloucester and of the borough of Tewkesbury.

Very little is known of Carden's life beyond that he was once married and had a daughter, Jemima (born c. 1800). Carden remained in the Navy despite the lengthy period of inaction and in 1836 was superannuated, a form of retirement. He was promoted to rear-admiral the same year and although he was subsequently reinstated in the Navy and continued to receive promotions based on his seniority, he did not hold any further naval position. He died in County Antrim in 1858, at the age of 86 with the rank of full admiral.