George Stewart, 8th Earl of Galloway explained

Honorific-Prefix:Admiral The Right Honourable
The Earl of Galloway
Honorific-Suffix:KT
Office1:Member of Parliament
for Haslemere
Term Start1:1806
Term End1:November 1806
Predecessor1:George Wood
Successor1:Robert Plumer Ward
Office2:Member of Parliament
for Cockermouth
Term Start2:22 July 1805
Term End2:1806
Predecessor2:James Graham
Successor2:John Lowther
Office3:Member of Parliament
for Saltash
Term Start3:1790
Term End3:February 1795
Predecessor3:John Lemon
Successor3:William Stewart
Birth Date:24 March 1768
Party:Tory
Spouse:Lady Jane Paget
Children:8
Parents:John Stewart, 7th Earl of Galloway
Anne Dashwood
Alma Mater:Westminster School
Allegiance:Great Britain
United Kingdom
Branch:Royal Navy
Serviceyears:1781–1806
Rank:Admiral
Battles:
Awards:Order of the Thistle

Admiral George Stewart, 8th Earl of Galloway, (24 March 1768 – 27 March 1834), styled Lord Garlies between 1773 and 1806, was a British naval commander and politician.

Background

Garlies was the eldest son of John Stewart, 7th Earl of Galloway, and Anne, daughter of Sir James Dashwood, 2nd Baronet,[1] and attended Westminster School[2] before embarking on a career in the Royal Navy.

Military career

Garlies entered the navy at an early age, serving as a 13-year-old midshipman under the command of his uncle, Commodore Keith Stewart at the Battle of Dogger Bank in August 1781, and also in the Great Siege of Gibraltar in 1782. In 1789 he was promoted to lieutenant, serving in the frigate in the Mediterranean. He returned to England in early 1790, when appointed commander of the fire ship . He was promoted to post-captain on 30 April 1793, and soon after was appointed to the frigate, serving in the West Indies, and being wounded while covering the landing of the army at Guadaloupe in April 1794,[1] and was then sent with detachments of troops to accept the surrender of the islands of Marie-Galante and La Désirade.

In 1795 he took command of the frigate, and took Sir John Jervis out from England to assume command in the Mediterranean. Commanding a division of four frigates and a sloop, he engaged the Spanish ship of line San Francisco de Asís in the action of 25 January 1797, in which he was forced to withdraw. He served in the area until the Battle of Cape St Vincent in February 1797. After the battle Lively carried Sir Robert Calder, with the account of the victory, and Lord Minto, Viceroy of Corsica, and his suite, who were on board during the battle, back to England.[1]

Around November 1799 Garlies commissioned the frigate, and commanded her in the Channel and on the coast of Ireland until early 1801, making several captures and recaptures:[1]

In early 1801 Garlies moved into the, to serve on the blockade of Brest, remaining there until the Treaty of Amiens in early 1802 brought a short-lived period of peace. Following the renewal of hostilities in May 1803 he commanded the ship,[1] and sat on the Board of Admiralty in between May 1805 and February 1806.[2] Galloway saw no further active service, but was promoted to Rear-Admiral on 31 July 1810; to Vice Admiral on 12 August 1819;[1] and to Admiral on 22 July 1830.

Political career

Apart from his military career Garlies also sat as a Member of Parliament. He was first elected in 1790 for the constituency of Saltash, and served until vacating his seat in favour of his brother William in February 1795. He returned to Parliament when elected MP for Cockermouth on 22 July 1805, and then sat for Haslemere after the 1806 election, but was shortly after obliged to quit his seat following the death of his father on 13 November, when he became the Earl of Galloway, and moved to the House of Lords.[2]

He served as Lord Lieutenant of Kirkcudbright from 26 December 1794 to 1807, and from 1820 to 1828, and of Wigtownshire from 28 March 1807 to 1828.[2] On 30 May 1814 he was invested as a member of the Order of the Thistle. He also served as vice-president of the Board of Agriculture in 1815.[2]

Family

In April 1797 he married Lady Jane Paget, the daughter of Henry Paget, 1st Earl of Uxbridge, and sister of Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey.[1] They had eight children:[3]

  1. Lady Jane Stewart (1798–1844), m. George Spencer-Churchill, 6th Duke of Marlborough.
  2. Lady Caroline Stewart (1799–1857)
  3. Hon Randolph Stewart, later 9th Earl of Galloway (1800–1873)
  4. Lady Louisa Stewart (1804–1889), m. William Duncombe, 2nd Baron Feversham.
  5. Hon Arthur Stewart (1805–1806)
  6. Hon Alan Stewart (1807–1808)
  7. Lady Helen Stewart (1810–1813)
  8. Vice Admiral Hon Keith Stewart CB (1814– 15 September 1879),[4] m. Mary FitzRoy, daughter of Charles Augustus FitzRoy. Had issue, 9 daughters, and 1 son.

Notes and References

  1. Book: Marshall, John . John Marshall (biographer)

    . John Marshall (biographer) . Royal Naval Biography: or Memoirs of the services of all the flag-officers, superannuated rear-admirals, retired-captains, post-captains and commanders, whose names appeared on the Admiralty list of sea officers at the commencement of the year 1760, or who have since been promoted; illustrated by a series of historical and explanatory notes. With copious addenda. . I, Part II . 444–446 . 1823 . . . 12 October 2013 .

  2. Web site: Stewart, George, Viscount Garlies (1768-1834) . R.G. . Thorne . The History of Parliament Online . 2013 . 12 October 2013.
  3. Web site: Earl of Galloway . Patrick . Cracroft-Brennan . Cracrofts Peerage . 2013 . 12 October 2013.
  4. News: Births, Marriages, Deaths. The Cornishman. 62. 18 September 1879. 5.