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Rear-Admiral '''James Haldane Tait''' (1771–1845) was a 19th-century Scottish naval commander during the Napoleonic Wars and through the early 19th century.

==Life==
[[File:The 'Defence' at the Battle of the First of June, 1794.jpg|thumb|HMS ''Defence'' in action]]
[[File:HMS Africa 1808 Falsterbo.jpg|thumb|HMS ''Africa'' in action]]
[[File:Bellevue Crescent, Edinburgh 010.jpg|thumb|Bellevue Crescent, Edinburgh]]
[[File:The grave of Rear Admiral James Haldane Tait, St Cuthberts, Edinburgh.jpg|thumb|The grave of Rear-Admiral James Haldane Tait, St Cuthberts, Edinburgh]]
He was born in [[Glasgow]] the son of William Tait, a merchant in the Trongate.<ref>Glasgow Post Office Directory 1783</ref> His mother Margaret Duncan was the sister of [[Adam Duncan, 1st Viscount Duncan|Admiral Adam Duncan]]. He joined the [[Royal Navy]]
in March 1783 aged 12 as captain's servant on {{HMS|Edgar|1779|6}}. He also saw service on his uncle's ship {{HMS|Ganges|1782|6}}. On both ships they mainly remained in the [[Portsmouth]] area.<ref name="O'Byrne 1849">{{cite wikisource |last=O'Byrne |first=William Richard |year=1849 |chapter=Tait, James Haldane |wslink=A Naval Biographical Dictionary |title=A Naval Biographical Dictionary |pages=1154–1155}}</ref>

From 1787 he joined the Navy of the [[East India Company]] but on the rise of military tensions between Britain and Spain he rejoined the Navy in September 1790. He was now a midshipman on [[HMS Defence (1763)|HMS ''Defence'']], an older and more battle-hardened ship than his earlier commissions. In October 1793 he transferred with the ship's captain, Captain G. Murray, to [[HMS Duke (1777)|HMS ''Duke'']]. In April 1794, when Murray was promoted to rear-admiral, he followed him to {{HMS|Resolution|1779|6}} and sailed to [[North America]].<ref>{{cite DNB |last=Laughton |first=John Knox |wstitle=Tait, James Haldane |volume=55 |pages=299–300}}</ref>

Under Admiral Murray he served as an acting lieutenant to Captain Hardy on [[HMS Thisbe (1783)|HMS ''Thisbe'']] and had a brief spell with Captain Roddam Home on [[HMS Africa (1781)|HMS ''Africa'']]. He was commissioned as a full lieutenant on 6 July 1796. Whilst with Murray he saw action against the American fleet. As a lieutenant he moved to [[HMS Cleopatra (1779)|HMS ''Cleopatra'']]. The ''Cleopatra'' saw great action in 1796 with Tait present: capturing the French ships ''Aurore'', ''Hirondelle'', ''Basque'' and ''Nouvelle Eugenie''.<ref name="O'Byrne 1849"/>

From 1797 to 1799 he served again with his uncle defending the [[English Channel]]. In 1799 he was given command of {{HMS|Jane}}. This small (14-gun) [[lugger]] gained a huge reputation under Tait patrolling the British and European coast, capturing 56 French or Dutch vessels and by 1801 Tait was growing in fame. Scotland reacted very well to this and he was given the Freedom of the City variously to [[Dundee]], [[Banff, Aberdeenshire|Banff]] and [[Aberdeen]]. In April 1802 he was promoted to commander. After some time with the [[Sea Fencibles]] at [[Dunbar]], he was given command of [[HMS Volcano (1797)|HMS ''Volcano'']] in October 1803 protecting [[Dungeness (headland)|Dungeness]].<ref>{{cite wikisource |last=Marshall |first=John |year=1825|chapter=Tait, James Haldane |wslink=Royal Naval Biography |title=Royal Naval Biography |volume=2, Part 2 |page=1996}}</ref>

In 1805 he was captain of HMS ''Sir Francis Drake'' in the [[East Indies]].

He took over as captain of {{HMS|Grampus|1802|6}} in March 1806 and was stationed in [[India]] and the [[Cape of Good Hope]]. The ship returned to Britain in 1809, and Tait spent some years ashore. In 1814 he took charge of [[HMS Venus (1807)|HMS ''Venus'']] patrolling the Norwegian fjords. In 1815 he saw a year's service with [[HMS Junon (1810)|HMS ''Junon'']] (a renamed captured French vessel) in the [[West Indies]] and his final charge in 1816 was [[HMS Pique (1798)|HMS ''Pique'']], also in the West Indies.<ref name="O'Byrne 1849"/>

In March 1817 he was invalided out of the navy, having caught [[yellow fever]].

He retired to 6 Bellevue Crescent in [[New Town, Edinburgh|Edinburgh's Second New Town]].<ref>Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1844</ref> His promotion to Rear-Admiral of the Blue was largely in retrospective recognition of his worth and he did not see any operational use of the rank.

He died on 7 August 1845. He is buried in [[St Cuthbert's Church, Edinburgh|St Cuthberts churchyard]] in central [[Edinburgh]] just west of [[Princes Street Gardens]]. The grave lies on the small mound to the south-west of the church, backing onto the upper vaults.

==Family==

He was married three times: firstly to Mary Duncan (probably his cousin); secondly Miss Stewart; and lastly to Marion Yule (d.1878). He had one son Adam Duncan Tait (1813–1881)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ancestry.co.uk/genealogy/records/james-haldane-tait_138095036|title = James Haldane Tait 1761-1818 - Ancestry®}}</ref> who became minister of [[Kirkliston]] and was grandfather to [[Sir Robert Hutchison, 1st Baronet of Thurle]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://munksroll.rcplondon.ac.uk/Biography/Details/2350|title = Inspiring Physicians | RCP Museum}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tait, James Haldane}}
[[Category:1771 births]]
[[Category:1845 deaths]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Glasgow]]
[[Category:Scottish admirals]]
[[Category:British East India Company Marine personnel]]
[[Category:Royal Navy admirals]]
[[Category:Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars]]

James Haldane Tait - Revision history

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