George Wilson (Royal Navy officer)

Admiral George Wilson (4 March 1756 – 6 March 1826) was an officer in the Royal Navy who saw service in the American Revolutionary War and the French Revolutionary War. The son of a Chief Justice of Dominica, he joined the navy as a follower of Sir John Jervis on board the ship of the line HMS Foudroyant. In January 1780 he served on Vice-Admiral Richard Howe's flagship HMS Victory at the relief of Gibraltar, after which he was promoted to post-captain. While in command of the post ship HMS Eurydice he participated in the Battle of Saint Kitts and Battle of the Saintes in 1782 before he was appointed to the ship of the line HMS Fame. Wilson was given command of the frigate HMS Inconstant during the Spanish Armament and then at the beginning of the French Revolutionary War, the ship of the line HMS Bellona. In Bellona he served extensively on the Leeward Islands Station, taking a 44-gun frigate in January 1795. He was then present at the Capitulation of Saldanha Bay in 1796 and the invasions of Trinidad and Porto Rico in 1797. In 1799 Wilson was promoted to rear-admiral and rose through the ranks by seniority to become an admiral of the red in 1819, however he never served at sea as an admiral. He died at his seat Redgrave Hall in Suffolk on 6 March 1826 at the age of seventy.