Charles Knowles

Charles Knowles was a British naval officer whose long career included command in the Caribbean, colonial administration, and later service advising the Russian navy. Rising from lieutenant to admiral, he developed particular knowledge of ships, fortifications, and West Indian operations. An Account Of The Expedition To Carthagena is attributed to him and examines Britain’s unsuccessful 1741 attack on the Spanish stronghold now known as Cartagena de Indias. Printed in 1743, the pamphlet describes naval movements, troop landings, defensive positions, supply problems, and disagreements that shaped the operation under Admiral Edward Vernon and General Thomas Wentworth. Its documented fuller title adds “with explanatory notes and observations,” signalling an argument alongside a chronological record. Knowles had participated in the expedition and later held senior commands in the region, so the work belongs closely to the practical world of his service. An Account Of The Expedition To Carthagena remains valuable because it preserves a contemporary, strongly critical view of coordination between fleet and army during a costly imperial failure.