Sir James Graham, The Baltic Campaign and War-Planning at the Admiralty in 1854

The majority of men who held the post of first lord of the Admiralty in the middle nineteenth century were usually of mediocre standard, and in the 1840s, significantly or not, were generally ex-governor generals of India. Sir James Graham was an exception; he had a first class mind and only narrowly missed being prime minister. He was also never governor general, although he must have been offered the post more frequently than any other man of his time! Given the dangerous international situation at the beginning of Lord Aberdeen's ministry, and the importance of naval preparedness and planning, it was plain that an experienced man was needed to head the Admiralty. Sir James was the natural choice. He had, after all, been first lord before, from 1830 to 1834, and while there he had been responsible for radical changes in naval administration. It so happened that his reforms were not subjected to the stresses of a large-scale European war until after their originator had returned to the post of his youth, and it will be the main aim of this paper to study how the reformed Admiralty tackled some of the problems of major warfare, and the way in which Sir James interpreted his powers and duties

Administration (probate law · Ancient history · Christian ministry · Governor · Operations research · Political science · Politics · Preparedness · Prime minister · Engineering · Historical Studies on Spain · History · Law · Maritime and Coastal Archaeology

• Naval Hagiography and the Victorian Hero

  Open Access•C I Hamilton•The Historical Journal•1980

  Add to list