Sir Frederick Lewis Maitland

author

Sir Frederick Lewis Maitland

1777–1839

A seasoned Royal Navy officer whose name is closely tied to one of the most dramatic moments in European history: Napoleon Bonaparte’s surrender aboard HMS Bellerophon. His career combined long wartime service, important commands, and a reputation shaped by the closing chapter of the Napoleonic Wars.

1 Audiobook

The Surrender of Napoleon Being the narrative of the surrender of Buonaparte, and of his residence on board H.M.S. Bellerophon, with a detail of the principal events that occurred in that ship between the 24th of May and the 8th of August 1815

The Surrender of Napoleon Being the narrative of the surrender of Buonaparte, and of his residence on board H.M.S. Bellerophon, with a detail of the principal events that occurred in that ship between the 24th of May and the 8th of August 1815

by Sir Frederick Lewis Maitland

About the author

Born in Fife, Scotland, on September 7, 1777, Sir Frederick Lewis Maitland built a long career in the Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He rose through the service to become a rear admiral and held several commands, earning lasting notice for steady naval leadership in a turbulent era.

He is best remembered for the events of 1815, when Napoleon Bonaparte surrendered to him aboard HMS Bellerophon after Waterloo. That moment gave Maitland a permanent place in popular history, and he later wrote an account of the episode that helped shape how it was remembered.

Maitland continued in senior service after the wars and eventually became Commander-in-Chief in the East Indies. He died at sea on November 30, 1839, aboard HMS Wellesley, bringing to a close a career that linked everyday naval duty with one of the best-known finales in modern European history.