John Elliot (Royal Navy Officer) - Family and Early Life

Family and Early Life

Elliot was born in Scotland in 1732, the fourth son of Sir Gilbert Elliott, 2nd Baronet and his wife Helen. Little is known about his early life but he joined the Royal Navy after graduating from the Royal Naval Academy, Portsmouth in 1740, and went aboard HMS Augusta in July that year. From there he went to the hospital ship HMS Princess Royal, and after a period probably spent in the merchant service, Elliot served aboard HMS Chesterfield and HMS Assistance, and for two years aboard the sloop HMS Peggy. He passed his lieutenant's examination on 1 May 1752, though he did not receive a commission until 30 April 1756, when he joined HMS Scarborough. It was about this time that his brother, Gilbert Elliot, who had entered parliament, became one of the Lords of the Admiralty, and so was able to speed his brother's rise through the ranks. John Elliot was promoted to commander on 21 January 1757 and then advanced to post-captain on 5 April 1757. His first appointment was to command HMS Hussar with the Channel Fleet, and he took part in the reconnaissance of Rochefort in early 1758.

In November 1758 he was appointed to the newly launched 32-gun HMS Aeolus. On 19 March 1759, while sailing off Brittany in company with the 50-gun HMS Isis came across a squadron of four French corvettes escorting a convoy. While the convoy and two frigates fled, pursued by Isis, the remaining two French ships, the 36-gun Blonde and the 20-gun Mignonne came up to prevent Aeolus from following. Elliot fought an action with the Mignonne, capturing her after a hard-fought engagement, though Blonde escaped. The battle cost Mignone the lives of her commander, and many of her crew, with the second captain and 25 men being wounded. Aeolus's casualties amounted to two or three men wounded. Elliot spent the rest of the year cruising off the French coast with Sir Edward Hawke's fleet, and on 27 December sailed on a cruise from Quiberon Bay with the 64-gun HMS Intrepid. The ships were caught in bad weather, and on being unable to reach the appointed rendezvous point of Groix, and with provisions running low, Elliot made instead for Kinsale to resupply, putting in there on 21 January 1760. He remained trapped there by the weather, and while waiting for the opportunity to sail again a letter reached him from the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, the Duke of Bedford, asking for assistance. The French privateer François Thurot had landed near Carrickfergus with several ships and had occupied the town. The letter had been sent to all the ports in the hopes of there being ships available to intercept the French, but no ships were stationed on the coast, and only by chance was Elliot at Kinsale. Also there sheltering from the weather were the 36-gun ships HMS Brilliant and HMS Pallas.