Christopher Cole (Royal Navy officer)

Captain Sir Christopher Cole KCB was a prominent officer of the British Royal Navy who served in the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. Although he saw distinguished service in all three conflicts, he is best known for his exploits in the Dutch East Indies in 1810 and 1811, in which he was instrumental in the capture of the islands of Amboyna and Java. Coles early career involved extensive service in the Caribbean Sea, operating against the French during the last years of the American Revolutionary Wars and serving in several large battles. During the peace that followed, Cole remained in the Navy and forged a working relationship with Captain Edward Pellew that would last two decades.

Christopher Cole was born in June 1770, the son of Humphrey and Phillis Cole, in Marazion, Cornwall. In May 1780 at age nine, Cole was sent to sea to accompany his brother John, chaplain on the Royal Navy ship of the line HMS Royal Oak under Captain Sir Digby Dent. Royal Oak was stationed off North America at the time, participating in the American Revolutionary War, and Cole subsequently accompanied Dent to HMS Raisonnable and then HMS Russell, the flagship of Commodore Sir Samuel Drake in the West Indies. While serving on Russell, Cole was engaged at the Battle of Fort Royal in April 1781. In June 1781, Cole moved ships again, joining HMS Princessa with Drake. Princessa served in numerous actions over the following year, including the Battle of the Chesapeake in September 1781, the Battle of St. Kitts in January 1782 and the Battle of the Saintes in April 1782.

Source: Wikipedia