Page:A Naval Biographical Dictionary.djvu/601

Rh . These exploits indeed were so highly estimated both by Capt. Pigot and by the Commander-in-Chief, Sir John Poo Beresford, that they each recommended him for promotion. This, however, did not take place until 5 Jan. 1844, when, after having been employed in the Coast Guard for a further period of nearly thirteen years, and been instrumental to the seizure of 60 vessels and boats, with their crews, he was at length invested with the rank of Commander. He has since been on half-pay.

 JOHNSTON. 

entered the Navy, about 1787, as Captain’s Servant, on board the sloop, Capts. Rich. R. Burgess and Dickinson, with whom he served on the Greenock station until transferred, as Midshipman, in 1790, to the 98. In the course of the same year heremoved to the sloop, Capt. Benj. Hallowell, and, after an attachment of two years to that vessel on the African and West India stations, he successively joined the frigate. 64, and 74, the two latter bearing the flag of Sir Rich. King and Hon. Wm. Cornwallis at Newfoundland and in the Channel. In the latter ship he continued until promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, 26 Feb. 1795; four months subsequently to which period we find him appointed to the 64, Capt. Hon. Henry Edwin Stanhope, part of the force employed at the ensuing reduction of the Cape of Good Hope. Exchanging, after that event, into the 74, Capts. Rich. Lucas and Edw. Oliver Osborn, Lieut. Johnston witnessed the surrender of Columbo 15 Feb. 1796; and, on 9 of the following Sept., when off the coast of Sumatra, participated, in company with the 74, in a long conflict of nearly four hours with six heavy French frigates under M. Sercey, which terminated in the separation of the combatants, after each had been well crippled, and the  occasioned a loss of 7 men killed and 27 wounded. In July, 1800, our officer, who had for a long time discharged the duties of First-Lieutenant of the latter ship, and had assisted at the capture and destruction of many armed vessels and valuable merchantmen, off Batavia, and in other parts of the Java seas, joined the 74, bearing_ the flag of Sir Edw. Pellew, who (besides intrusting him with the government, for a short time in 1802, of the Naval Hospital at Madras) successively appointed him to the command, between May, 1801, and June, 180.5, of the frigate,  bomb,  sloop,  64,  frigate, and  50. His official promotion to the rank of Commander took place while he was serving on board the Victor, 18 Jan. 1803; and to that of Captain while in the, 5 Sept. 1806. In the course of the latter year Capt. Johnston appears to have several times engaged the enemy’s formidable batteries on the Isle of France; and on 11 Nov. he made a dash with Capt. Bingham, of the 74, into St. Paul’s Bay, Ile de Bourbon, and opened a fire upon the shipping there at anchor, consisting of the Semillante French frigate, three armed ships, and 12 sail of merchantmen which had been captured from the British. Had it not been that the breeze soon subsided and impeded the manoeuvres of their assailants, the enemy on this occasion would in all probability have incurred great loss. The was afterwards, in 1807, the first regular man-of-war that ever, we believe, passed between New Holland and Van Diemen’s Land. Capt. Johnston’s next and last appointments were 18 Feb. 1808, and 23 Dec. 1813, to the and  74’s; the former of which ships, after having brought her home from India, and then accompanied the expedition to the Walcheren, he paid off 11 Oct. 1809. In the, bearing the flag of Rear-Admiral Ferrier in the North Sea, he served until 5 May, 1814. His advancement to Flag-rank took place 23 Nov. 1841.

The Rear-Admiral is married, and has issue.

 JOHNSTON. 

is second son of the Right Hon. Sir Alex. Johnston, F.R.S., of Carnsalloch, CO. Dumfries (late Chief Justice and President of Her Majesty's Council in the island of Ceylon), by Louisa, only daughter of the late Lord Wm. Campbell, Captain R.N., son of John, fourth Duke of Argyll. The Commander is nephew of Major-General Fras. Jas. Johnston, C.B.; and great-grandson of Francis Lord Napier.

This officer entered the Navy 4 Sept. 1828; passed his examination in 1834; obtained his first commission 28 June, 1838; and was successively appointed – 25 July, 1838, and 6 Jan. 1841, to the 26, Capt. John Townshend, and (as Flag-Lieutenant to Sir Chas. Napier) to the  84, both in the Mediterranean – 28 Aug. 1841, to the  84, Capt. Sir Edw. Thos. Troubridge, fitting at Sheerness – 2 Oct. 1841, and 23 April, 1844, to the 110, and again to the, bearing each the flag of Sir Edw. W. C. R. Owen on the Mediterranean station – and, 18 Dec. 1845, as Senior, to the steam-frigate, Capt. Wm. Ramsay, attached to the Channel squadron. He attained his present rank 9 Nov. 1846; and has since been on half-pay.

 JOHNSTON. 

entered the Navy 12 Aug. 1826; passed his examination 1 Oct. 1832; and at the period of his promotion to the rank of Lieutenant, which took place 23 Nov. 1841, was serving at the Cape of Good Hope, as Mate, on board the brigantine, Lieut.-Commander John Foote. His appointments have since been – 3 Dec. 1841, to the 50, flag-ship of Sir Edw. Durnford King on the same station- 7 March, 1842, to the 16, Capt. John Adams, on the coast of Africa, whence he returned early in 1843 – 19 April, 1844, to the  steam-sloop, Capt. Hon. Edw. Plunkett, employed on particular service – 25 Jan. 1845, to the surveying-vessel,- Capt. Thos. Graves, stationed in the Mediterranean and, 20 Feb. 1847, after a few months of half-pay, to the 26, Lieut.-Commander Thos. Abel Bremage Spratt, under whom, he is again engaged on surveying-duty. Agents - Messrs. Stilwell.

 JOHNSTON. 

, born 2 Dec. 1795, is second son of the late Henry Johnston, Esq., merchant by his wife Henrietta Ogilvie, of Dundee, N.B.

This officer entered the Navy, 18 Feb; 1809 as Fst.-cl. Vol., on board the 16, Capts Wm. Wilkinson, John Eveleigh, and Christopher Nixon, stationed in the North Sea, where, and in the Baltic, he served, as Midshipman, from 1812 to 1814, in the 74, Capt. Robt. Williams Towards the close of the latter year, after he had been again employed for a few months under the orders of Capt. Wilkinson, in the 64 on the Downs station, he joined the  24, Capt John Harper, with whom, on arriving in the East Indies, he removed, as a passed Midshipman, to the  74. Returning to England with Capt John Bayley m the last-named ship in June 1816 Mr.Johnston immediately appointed Admiralty-Midshipman of the 50, Capt. Edw Chetham, and was thus afforded an opportunity of sharing in the bombardment of Algiers. He was afterwards employed, from April, 1817, until promoted to the rank of Lieutenant 27 March 1826 in the and  frigates, commanded, on the North American and Channel stations, bv Capts Wm. Hugh Dobbie and Robt. Henderson, 74, and  100; both lying in Portsmouth harbour, and Severn and  again, each commanded, for the purposes of the Coast Blockade, by Capt. Wm. M‘Culloch. His succeeding appointments were – 9 Oct. 1828 to the 42, Capt. Wm. Jas. Mingaye, under whom he served, once more in the Coastal Bockade, until Dec. 1829 - for a few months in 1834, as 