2257656Royal Naval Biography — Pringle, JamesJohn Marshall


JAMES PRINGLE, Esq.
[Post-Captain of 1812.]

Son of James Pringle, of Torwoodlee, Melrose, N.B. Esq. He received his first commission Mar. 6, 1804; obtained the rank of Commander, Oct. 9, 1805; and was made a Post-Captain, June 1, 1812. We first find him commanding the Sparrowhawk brig, in which he captured the following French privateers: – l’Esperance, 14 guns and 54 men, off Cherbourgh, Jan. 12, 1809; l’Intrepide, 6 guns 47 men, off Marseilles, June 19, 1810; and l’Invincible, 2 guns 33 men, off Malaga, Nov. 6, 1811.

The Sparrowhawk had 1 man killed, and an officer and 2 men wounded, in the disastrous affair at Palamos, Dec. 13, 1810; on which occasion, says the senior officer, “nothing could exceed the good conduct of Captain Pringle, both in the landing and withdrawing the men[1].” She was afterwards very actively employed on the coasts of Valencia and Tarragona, under the orders of Captain (now Sir Edward) Codrington.

On the 19th Jan. 1812, Captain Pringle was taken prisoner by a party of the enemy’s dragoons, in the neighbourhood of Tarragona; but he appears to have been very soon liberated by the Baron d’Eroles, then commanding a division of the Catalan army. During his short captivity, he witnessed the defeat of 800 French infantry, advantageously posted behind the walls of Villa Suca.

Agent.– Sir F. M. Ommanney.