Admiral Sir Benjamin Caldwell, (31 January 1739 – November 1820) was a senior and experienced British Royal Navy officer of the eighteenth century. His many victories and achievements were overshadowed by his acrimonious departure from the Navy during the French Revolutionary Wars after highly publicised disputes with Admiral Lord Howe and Admiral Sir John Jervis, over perceived slights against his name following the battle of the Glorious First of June in 1794. As a result of these disputes, Caldwell was overlooked for future employment and only received recognition for his service from King George IV months before his death. Early career Caldwell was born in Liverpool in 1739, the son of Dublin solicitor Charles Caldwell and his wife Elizabeth. Caldwell was one of ten children in his family; his sister married General Sir Phineas Riall and he was a younger brother of Andrew Caldwell, a noted solicitor in Dublin. At 15 in 1754, Caldwell attended the Royal Naval Academy, Portsmouth and graduated two years later into the fourth-rate HMS Isis, where he remained for three years. Seven Years' War In 1759 Caldwell joined HMS Namur, the flagship of Admiral Edward Boscawen in which he participated in the victories of the Battle of Lagos and Battle of Quiberon Bay in the same year. Profiting from his service in Namur, Caldwell was promoted to lieutenant in HMS Achilles and in her saw out the Seven Years' War. In 1762 he commanded the sloop HMS Martin and in 1765 became captain of the frigate HMS Milford. Caldwell later commanded the small frigate HMS Rose until the outbreak of the American War of Independence when he was transferred to HMS Emerald on the North American Station blockading ports, raiding and escorting convoys along the American eastern seaboard. American War of Independence In December 1779, Caldwell was given the new fourth-rate HMS Hannibal, moving to the new ship of the line HMS Agamemnon in 1781 with the Channel Fleet. Caldwell commanded this ship at the Second Battle of Ushant under Richard Kempenfelt with success and the following year had sailed for the Caribbean for the largest and most decisive fleet action of the war, the Battle of the Saintes, where Sir George Rodney successfully broke the French line and captured five ships. Caldwell was again distinguished in the action and continued on the North American station until the war's end in 1783. Peacetime Caldwell spent