Saumarez, James Saumarez, baron de

Saumarez, James Saumarez, baron de (sŏm`ərĕz), 1757–1836, British admiral, b. Guernsey. He entered the navy in 1770 and attained command of a vessel in 1778. He was with Admiral George Rodney at the defeat of the comte de Grasse in the West Indies (1782), with Admiral John Jervis at the victory of Cape St. Vincent (1797), and with Horatio Nelson at Aboukir in 1798, taking an important part in each engagement. In 1801, after an initial repulse, he defeated a French and Spanish fleet off Algeciras in his greatest victory. Made vice admiral in 1807, he conducted a five-year patrol of the Baltic (1808–12). In 1814, Saumarez was made an admiral, and in 1831 he was raised to the peerage.