Frederick Thesiger (28 March 1758 – 26 August 1805) was an English naval officer who went to sea with the East India Company and was later commissioned into the Royal Navy and the navy of the Russian Empire.
Thesiger saw active service in the American War of Independence, the Russo-Swedish War of 1788–1790, and the War of the Second Coalition. He was flag lieutenant to Rodney at the Battle of the Saintes and to Nelson at the Battle of Copenhagen and served onshore during the Napoleonic Wars.
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Early life
Thesiger was the eldest son of John Andrew Thesiger, originally from Saxony, by his English wife Sarah Gibson. He was baptized at St George's, Hanover Square, on 14 April 1758, with the register noting his date of birth as 28 March. The young Thesiger first went to sea in the service of the East India Company, but was accepted into the Royal Navy as a midshipman under Samuel Marshall.
His younger brother Charles Thesiger (died 1831) became comptroller and collector of customs in St Vincent and was the father of Frederic Thesiger, 1st Baron Chelmsford.
Naval career
In February 1782, during the American War of Independence, Admiral Sir George Rodney sailed again for the West Indies after a period of leave, and Thesiger gained a commission as acting-lieutenant on board HMS Formidable. He caught the eye of Admiral Sir Charles Douglas, captain of the fleet, and on his recommendation he was appointed as flag lieutenant to Rodney on the eve of the last day of the Battle of the Saintes. Thesiger went on serving with the fleet on the Leeward Islands Station under Admiral Hugh Pigot, and later went with Douglas when he was appointed to command the North America and West Indies Station at Halifax, Nova Scotia. The American war was ended by the Treaty of Paris in September 1783, and Thesiger returned to shore leave in England.