George Downie was a Scottish officer of the British Royal Navy.
12 Facts About George Downie
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George Downie was the son of The Reverend John Downie, minister of Stornoway, and Charlotte Mackenzie.
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George Downie then served aboard the frigates Melampus and Apollo in the West Indies for several years.
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George Downie was promoted to acting-lieutenant, and after he returned to the United Kingdom on sick leave, his promotion was confirmed on 23 March 1802.
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George Downie boarded and brought out a Spanish brig, laden with 1,170 quintals of powder while the Spanish gun-boats continued to fire on the Seahorse, damaging the main topgallant mast, shooting away several braces and bowlines, and killing a crewman.
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George Downie was still first lieutenant of Seahorse in July 1808, under Captain John Stewart, patrolling in the Aegean Sea, when on 5 July she encountered two Turkish vessels off Skopelos.
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George Downie commanded the 18-gun Cruizer-class brig-sloop Royalist from 15 June 1810 to December 1812, operating in the English Channel and taking several prizes:.
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George Downie was promoted to captain on 1 January 1813, and was appointed to command of the sloop Montreal on Lake Ontario.
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On 11 September 1814, during the Battle of Plattsburgh, George Downie was leading into battle inexperienced crews, most of them from provincial units and not from the cream of the Royal Navy.
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One eyewitness later recorded how George Downie appeared when the gun, which weighed several tons, was removed:.
11.
The loss of George Downie, who was arguably the most experienced officer in the British fleet, greatly increased the odds of the American forces winning the engagement that day.
12.
The anchor from George Downie's Confiance is in the lobby of Plattsburgh City Hall in Plattsburgh, NY.