Sir Joseph Abraham Douglas, RN
Sir Joseph Abraham Douglas, born 1797, was the son of Joseph
Douglas, Esq., of Whitehaven, Cumberland, by the 2nd dau. of Abraham
Leggett, Esq., of Cardiff, Glamorganshire. He married in 1825, the
2nd daughter of Capt. Thos. Worsell, of the Scilly Islands (she was born
1802).
He received the honour of knighthood for having, when captain of the
ship Cambridge, armed his vessel at Singapore, and proceeded to the
assistance of the British in Hong Kong Bay. There he was
severely wounded in the attack upon the Chinese junks at Kowloon,
5th Sept. 1839.
He was a master R.N.
Letter to the Editor 5th November 1839 – your September issue was
biased. Elliot’s actions are diametrically opposed to the interests
of the British mercantile community yet you find no fault in them. I
am British and I have an opinion on the ‘Kowloon Bay’ affair. From
7th July to 4th September Elliot’s regulations were inconsistent and
absurd but the worst matter was the 4th September battle.
You
have made several important criticisms but the most important one is
missing – HMS Volage did sail against the warjunks but they were not
driven ashore as you published. HMS Volage did not fire a shot. Ask
Elliot why. Elliot’s order was to board and cut-out the junks. In
conformity, Capt Douglas of the Cambridge commanded one of the
boarding boats and attacked but failed. He was beaten off. Several
other boats were coming to Douglas’ help and I witnessed Capt
Jauncey (in one of them) call upon him to renew the attack but he
retreated. With the leader retreating, the others did so also. Then
the recall order was given and all the boats returned to Hong Kong.
That was the end of the first day.
The boats of the fleet
promptly obeyed Elliot’s order to advance the following morning to
avenge the previous day’s defeat. They pulled on their oars before
dawn in order to arrive at Kowloon Bay early but were again ordered
back to the contempt and disgust of their crews. This was glaring
mismanagement. Had the boats been left to themselves they would have
procured the redress that was required. These are not just my
opinions. All the fleet except a certain clique hold them.
We
have stained the bright flag of old England. Elliot may have been
wrong to order the attack but having done so he should have
prosecuted it at all hazard. The junks should have been cut-out and
burned, the fort dismantled. Our representative and our flag had
been fired upon. Sgd Zosteria
Letter to the Editor 26th November 1839– You published Zosteria’s
prejudicial account of the 4th September affair in Kowloon Bay.
Please insert this correction:
At 3pm that day Captain Parry told
me the junks and fort were attacking Elliot in the cutter. I had no
orders to act but I assembled some volunteers and manned a boat to
assist. On arrival I was surprised that, although many boats had
preceded mine, none was to be seen.
I passed under the cutter’s
stern and Elliot told me to drive the junks on shore. I drove one on
shore and the other two anchored inside of her under the battery. I
was assisted by the Captain and four men in the John Marsh’s boat. I
returned to the cutter, my boat severely damaged and my crew and I
all injured.
When we moved out of gunshot, several boats came up.
One had 5-6 captains in her, swollen with brandy, with varying
opinions on what was to be done. One carried a sword longer than he
was himself and proclaimed his valour. Why did he not lead his
dinner party to destroy the battery and fire the junks? The latter
might easily have been achieved by lighting his breath.
Row, row
brothers, row,
But not so fast,
We shall be there too soon.
Let’s see the battle past,
And then we’ll quit Kowloon.
Had I
not been there the British flag would have been disgraced with a
vengeance. Sgd Captain J A Douglas, Cambridge, 20th November
The Cambridge 900 ton ex-warship had been sold cheap by Capt
Douglas to Warren Delano II, renamed Chesapeake, and on-sold to the
Hongs for Commissioner Lin who towed her below Whampoa, lined her
decks with cannon, flew flags from the masts with the character for
‘courage’ on them and gave the river smugglers pause. It was
re-named the Helen Douglas. At the end of Feb 1841 men of the paddle
steamer Nemesis boarded and burned her in the course of the British
attack on Canton.
At some point, his wife, Lady Douglas. Martha, daughter of Capt. T.
Worsell, whom he married in 1825, was on board the Cambridge.
Douglas may have been captured by the Chinese in 1840.
.jpg)
Douglas arms (as granted to Sir Joseph ABRAHAM
Douglas, of Clarendon House, Isle of Thanet). Ar. a human heart gu.
ensigned by a naval crown or, in chief three mullets az. ; on a
chief embattled of the last, on the dexter a representation of the
ship Cambridge, defending a fleet of merchant vessels,
superinscribed “Hong Kong,” in letters of gold, and on the sinister
side a representation of the barge belonging to the said ship,
engaging with three Chinese junks under a battery, superinscribed “
Kowloon," in letters also gold.
Crest—On an Eastern crown or, the rim inscribed
“China’’ in letters sa. betw. two wings a heart as in the arms.
Sir Joseph Abraham Douglas died in 1866 and is buried in Brockley
cemetery.
Any contributions will be
gratefully accepted
Sources
Sources for this article include:
• A Peoples
History from the Newspapers
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