A LIST OF THE FLAG OFFICERS OF HIS MAJESTY'S FLEET WITH THE DATES OF THEIR FIRST COMMISSIONS AS ADMIRALS, VICE-ADMIRALS, REAR-ADMIRALS, AND CAPTAINS. 1802 (SIGNED!)

london: M. an S. brooke, 1802. Book. Very Good. Hardcover. 12mo - over 6¾ - 7¾" tall. 1st ed. 1802. Printed by M. and S. Brooke, Pater Noster Row. London. 12mo: 7.5" x 2.75". The original owner of this book was Rear Admiral Edward Tyrrell Smith, b. 1752- d. 1824. His signature is at the top of the title page. At the time of this book's publication he was a Rear Admiral of the White. He achieved the rank of Admiral of the Blue in 1812, making him one of the highest ranking flag officers of his day. (See below for more on the ranking system of the Royal Navy as it existed in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.) The following extract on the life of Admiral Edward T. Smith comes from The Royal Navy Biography; Or Memoirs of the Services of All the Flag Officers by John Marshall, which was published in 1823. EDWARD TYRRELL SMITH, ESQ. ADMIRAL OF THE WHITE. This officer obtained Post rank, May 2, 1781; and commanded the Endymion, of 44 guns, one of Sir George B. Rodney's repeaters on the memorable 12th April, 1782. He subsequently served on the Jamaica station. During the Spanish and Russian armaments, in 1790 and 1791, he had the Prosperine, of 28 guns; from which time we find no further mention of him until the month of November 1795, when he sailed from England in the Abergavenny, of 54 guns, in company with the late Sir Hugh C. Christian, on an expedition against St Lucia; after the reduction of which island, he proceeded to Jamaica, and in the autumn of 1796, removed in the Hannibal, of 74 guns, on the station, where he continued during the greater part of the war. Captain Smith joined the Carnatic, of 74 guns, at Jamaica, in 1800, and on the first day of the following year, was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral. He was made a Vice Admiral Nov. 9, 1805; and a full Admiral, Aug. 12, 1812. A good clean solid book for it's age with rare Admiral's signature.