Charles Austen Rear Admiral Charles John Austen CB ( 23 June 1779 – 7 October 1852 ) was an officer in the Royal Navy . He served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , and beyond , eventually rising to the rank of rear - admiral . Family and early life . Charles was born in 1779 as the sixth and youngest son of the Reverend George Austen . His elder brother , Sir Francis Austen also joined the navy and eventually rose to be Admiral of the Fleet . Their sister was the famous novelist Jane Austen . Charles joined the Royal Naval Academy in July 1791 , and by September 1794 he had become midshipman aboard . He subsequently served aboard and . While serving aboard the " Unicorn " Austen assisted in the capture of the 18 - gun Dutch brig " Comet " , the 44 - gun French frigate " Tribune " and the French transport ship " Ville de l ' Orient " . After transferring to the " Endymion " he helped in the driving into Hellevoetsluis of the Dutch ship of the line " Brutus " . As a result of the latter action Austen was promoted to lieutenant on 13 December 1797 , and appointed to . He was aboard the " Scorpion " long enough to be present at the capture of the Dutch brig " Courier " , after which he transferred to . Aboard the " Tamar " Austen was frequently involved in attacks and engagements with gunboat s and privateer s out of Algeciras . He returned to the " Endymion " in April 1800 . On one occasion he set off in a small boat in a gale with only four other men , and succeeded in boarding and taking possession of the 18 - gun " Scipio " , with 149 men aboard . He kept control of her until the following day when " Endymion " could complete the capture . After continued good service under Captain Charles Paget , the Admiralty promoted Austen to commander and he took command of the sloop on 10 October 1804 . Command . Austen spent the next five years serving on the North American Station , before his promotion to captain on 10 May 1810 when he was given command of the 74 - gun , which was then the flagship of Sir John Borlase Warren . Austen moved again the following September , joining . Between November 1811 and September 1814 Austen served as captain of , based at the Nore and flying the flag of Sir Thomas Williams . He was then given command of the 36 - gun frigate and after the outbreak of hostilities with France Austen was dispatched in command of a squadron with and to hunt a Neapolitan squadron suspected to be at large in the Adriatic . After Naples had surrendered Austen was active in the blockade of Brindisi . Lord Exmouth then sent him on to search of a French squadron , but with the end of the war with France in the intervening period he briefly turned his attention to suppressing piracy in the region . He successfully captured two pirate vessels in the port of Pavos , but disaster struck when the " Phoenix " was wrecked off Smyrna on 20 February 1816 , through the ignorance of her pilots . Austen was appointed to the 46 - gun on 2 June 1826 , and was sent to the Jamaica Station as the second in command . He was active in combating the slave trade and had considerable success , intercepting a number of slave ship s . He commanded the " Aurora " for two and a half years , until she was paid off in December 1828 . Sir Edward Griffith Colpoys nominated Austen to become his flag captain aboard on the North American and West Indies Station . Austen remained here until being forced to be invalided home after a severe accident in December 1830 . Austen recovered and returned to service , being appointed to HMS " Bellerophon " on 14 April 1838 . He was awarded a pension on 28 August 1840 . He sailed with the " Bellerophon " to the Mediterranean , and was active at the bombardment of Acre on 3 November 1840 . As a result of his good service during the bombardment he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath on 18 December 1840 . Austen and the " Bellerophon " returned home , where the latter was paid off in June 1841 . Flag rank and death . Austen was advanced to rear - admiral on 9 November 1846 , and was appointed commander - in - chief in the East Indies and China Station on 14 January 1850 , hoisting his flag the following day . He commanded the British expedition during the Second Anglo - Burmese War but died of cholera at Prome on 7 October 1852 , at the age of 73 . On 30 April 1852 Austen had been thanked for his services in Burma by the Governor - General of India , The Marquess of Dalhousie , who subsequently also formally recorded his regret for Austen ' s death . Austen is buried in Trincomalee . Family and issue . Austen married Frances Palmer , the youngest daughter of the late Attorney - General of Bermuda , in 1807 . The two had three children together . After the death of Frances in 1814 , Charles married his late wife ' s sister Harriet Palmer in 1820 . The couple produced four children , two of them sons , and one of whom followed his father into the navy .