Naval Lord
He was appointed Third Naval Lord in January 1853 and Second Naval Lord in June 1854. On 19 February 1855 he was appointed to the command of the Fleet in the Baltic Sea in succession to Sir Charles Napier. Relations between Napier and the Admiralty had been strained to say the least, and in Dundas they were appointing one of their own, with the requisite diplomatic and management skills. As Napier had before him, Dundas enforced a blockade of Russian ports and his ships raided along the coast of Finland, co-operating also with a French Fleet under Admiral Penaud. Dundas knew he was expected to attack the fortress of Sveaborg, which Napier had declined to do, and duly did so in August. Although he inflicted heavy casualties and some material damage, the fortifications were virtually unaffected and the Anglo-French fleet exhausted its entire ammunition in the attempt. Nevertheless this was judged a success, and Dundas would have continued to command the fleet in 1856 had peace not been negotiated.
He was promoted to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in 1856 and was made a grand officer of the Legion of Honour and a Vice Admiral in 1858. He served as Second Naval Lord from April 1857 and as First Naval Lord from November 1857 until March 1858 when he was briefly Second Naval Lord again. He served again as First Naval Lord from June 1859 until his death. He died, unmarried, of a heart attack at 13 New Street, Spring Gardens, London, on the morning of 3 June 1861. Later that day, the Prime-Minister (Viscount Palmerston) described Vice Admiral Dundas as:
- "a most distinguished officer, who was for forty-five years in the service of his country, and who equally distinguished himself in every sphere in which he was called upon to act. He was eminent for the good discipline and order of the ships which he commanded, he was distinguished by the gallantry and good judgment with which he conducted every naval operation in which he was engaged, he was most valuable as a public servant in the direction of naval affairs at the Admiralty. Whether at the Council Board or on the quarter deck his merits were equally eminent, and his services were equally valuable to the country."
Read more about this topic: Richard Saunders Dundas
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