Hugh Cloberry Christian Sir Hugh Cloberry Christian KB ( 1747 – 23 November 1798 ) was an officer of the Royal Navy who saw service during the American War of Independence , and the French Revolutionary Wars . Details of his early life are obscure , but he appears to have served initially in the English Channel and the Mediterranean , before obtaining the rank of captain and going out to North America with Commodore Joshua Rowley . Christian was Rowley ' s flag - captain on for several years , and saw action in several of the naval engagements of the American War of Independence . Returning to Britain at the end of the war , he spent a period without active employment , before receiving a post as second captain aboard Lord Howe ' s flagship , the 100 - gun , during the Spanish Armament . He temporarily left her when the crisis abated , but the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars led to his return to " Queen Charlotte " . Christian stepped down from her in 1794 to join the Transport Board , and in 1795 was promoted to rear - admiral . He was made commander - in - chief in the West Indies and given the task of transporting a large troop convoy . Twice he attempted the crossing of the Atlantic , and twice he was forced back by severe gales which ravaged his fleet and wrecked a number of the merchant ships in the convoy . He made a third attempt in 1796 , and succeeded in shepherding the fleet to its destination . He was then active in using the troops and his naval forces to capture the islands of Saint Lucia , Saint Vincent and Grenada , before returning to England . He was made second in command at the Cape of Good Hope in 1797 , succeeding to commander - in - chief the following year , and he died while in command there in November 1798 . Family and early life . Christian , descended from residents of the Isle of Man , was born at Hook Norton , Oxfordshire in 1747 . He followed his father into the navy in 1761 , spending time in the English Channel and the Mediterranean , but few details of his early service survive , other than that he took his lieutenant ' s examination in 1767 , and received his commission on 21 January 1771 . He married Ann Leigh , resident of the Isle of Wight on 6 March 1775 , and was promoted to master and commander in 1778 . American War of Independence . Christian received a further promotion to flag - captain on 8 December 1778 and took command of the 74 - gun , flying the broad pennant of Commodore Joshua Rowley . Rowley sailed from Spithead on 25 December in command of a squadron of seven ships of the line , which was part of the fleet under the overall command of Lord Shuldham escorting the trade convoys to the colonies . Rowley and the " Suffolk " were assigned to the West Indies - bound convoy . The " Suffolk " arrived in the Leeward Islands on 12 February 1779 , and Christian remained with Rowley in the West Indies , serving with Vice - Admiral John Byron at the Battle of Grenada on 6 July 1779 . Christian led the van of the British attack , and the " Suffolk " lost seven killed and 25 wounded . Byron returned to England after this , being replaced by Rear - Admiral Hyde Parker , with Rowley retaining " Suffolk " as his flagship . Towards the end of 1779 intelligence reached Parker that three French ships had been sighted from Morne Fortune , sailing northward . Parker sent Rowley to intercept them , and after chasing them for several hours , all three were captured . They were revealed to be the 42 - gun " Fortunée " , the 36 - gun " Blanche " and the 28 - gun " Ellis " , with all three being added to the Royal Navy . Christian was again in action on 18 December , helping to capture and destroy a large French convoy off Martinique , and took part in the engagements off Martinique under Admiral George Rodney in April 1780 . Over the three engagements that took place , " Suffolk " lost one man killed , and 33 wounded . Rowley shifted his flag to the 74 - gun after these clashes , and Christian was transferred to command the 38 - gun , the frigate he had helped to capture in 1779 . He was present at the Battle of the Chesapeake on 5 September 1781 , after which he returned to the West Indies . He and " Fortunee " formed part of Sir Samuel Hood ' s fleet , with Christian being present at the Battle of St . Kitts on 25 and 26 January 1782 , attached to the centre division . He was still with Rodney ' s fleet when the Battle of the Saintes was fought against the Comte de Grasse on 9 to 12 April 1782 . End of the war . Christian sailed north from Jamaica on 21 July 1782 with Admiral Hugh Pigot ' s fleet , arriving at New York on 5 September . Returning to Port Royal with Hood ' s fleet in February the following year , he spent several months cruising in the area . He returned to England with Hood in April 1783 , and left active service following the end of the war with the signing of the Treaty of Paris . He presumably did not receive any further employment until the Spanish Armament in 1790 , when he is recorded as being appointed as second captain aboard Lord Howe ' s flagship , the 100 - gun . The easing of tensions meant that " Queen Charlotte " was paid off at the end of the year , and Christian again found himself without a ship . French Revolutionary Wars . The outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars in early 1793 provided Christian with further employment . " Queen Charlotte " was recommissioned , and he again became her second captain , still under Lord Howe . He stepped down from his post in August the following year , becoming a commissioner of the Transport Board , and on 1 June 1795 he was advanced to rear - admiral of the blue . He was then appointed commander - in - chief of the West Indies station , and was instructed to take a fleet out with a convoy of transports , carrying soldiers for operations against the French and Dutch colonies there . He duly hoisted his flag aboard the 98 - gun and assembled his squadron and the transports , numbering over two hundred merchants carrying 16 , 000 men , and making up the largest troop convoy to leave England to that date . Attempts to cross the Atlantic . The fleet did not leave Spithead until 16 November , the departure having been delayed until late in the season . The delay proved disastrous : two days after departing , a westerly gale blew up , dispersing the fleet and driving the ships back to port . Several of the merchants were wrecked with heavy loss of life ; over 200 bodies were washed up on the coastline between Portland and Bridport . Christian shifted his flag to the 90 - gun , after deeming the " Prince George " to be too badly damaged to take to sea , and after gathering his fleet again , set sail on another attempt to cross the Atlantic on 9 December . Again the ships encountered severe gales that caused considerable damage , forcing nine of the warships and fifty of the merchants to struggle back to port on 29 January . Some of the convoy successfully made the crossing , while others were wrecked , or captured by enemy ships . The storms were afterwards alluded to as ' Christian ' s Gales ' . Christian again shifted his flag , this time to the 74 - gun while he waited for repairs to his ships to be completed , and the merchants gathered to make a third attempt to reach the West Indies . While ashore he was invested as a Knight Companion of the Order of the Bath on 17 February 1796 , and on 20 March he left Spithead again , bound for the West Indies . The third voyage was successful , and he arrived at Carlisle Bay , Barbados on 21 April . He joined with the forces of the station ' s current commander , Sir John Laforey several days later , and took over the command from him . Christian assembled his forces , and on 26 April sailed to invade St Lucia , with a detachment of troops under Lieutenant - General Sir Ralph Abercromby . The invasion was successful and the island was surrendered to the British on 25 May . Christian went on to use his naval forces to support the reduction and capture of the islands of Saint Vincent and Grenada . Later years . Christian was succeeded as commander in the West Indies by Rear - Admiral Henry Harvey , who had arrived in late June , and Christian returned to England in October aboard . He was advanced to rear - admiral of the white on 20 February 1797 , and was appointed as second in command of the Cape of Good Hope station later in the year and duly sailed to take up the post on the 44 - gun HMS " Virginie " . He succeeded Admiral Thomas Pringle as the station commander in 1798 , but died on 23 November that year at the age of 51 . His wife , who had been seriously ill for sometime , died two months later , without having heard of her husband ' s death . Hugh Cloberry Christian had been created a peer , and chose the title of Lord Ronaldsway to honour his ancestor , Manx politician Illiam Dhone , but died before the patent reached him . He was buried at the Cape . Of the two sons and three daughters he had had with his wife , one became a rear - admiral , Hood Hanway Christian .