Rear-Admiral Sir Frederick Lewis Maitland KCB (7 September 1777 – 30 November 1839) was an officer in the Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.

Having received an education at the Royal High School, Edinburgh, Maitland followed his father into the Navy, spending his first years aboard the sloop HMS Martin, under Captain George Duff, followed by a period aboard the frigate HMS Southampton with Robert Forbes.

Maitland then moved to the Mediterranean in April 1797, joining the fleet under John Jervis, Lord St Vincent.

[1] The combined fleets of France and Spain were retiring from the Mediterranean by mid-1799, and on 7 July St Vincent ordered Maitland to go aboard the hired armed cutter Penelope with orders for her to carry out reconnaissance on the enemy fleets, as St Vincent put it, 'to go, count and dodge them'.

He was apparently hampered by the cowardice and disobedience of the crew of the cutter, and the next day the Spanish captured Penelope and brought her into Cadiz as a prize.

Being under an obligation to St Vincent[clarification needed], Mazarredo set Maitland free and returned him to Gibraltar without requesting an exchange.

[1] Maitland commanded her off the coast of Egypt, under Sir Sidney Smith until the signing of the convention of al-'Arish on 24 January 1800.

Maitland married Catherine, the second daughter of Daniel Connor of Ballybricken, County Limerick, Ireland in April 1804.

Maitland spent three years with the Loire, during which time he captured or destroyed a number of privateers and coastal batteries.

He was involved in a particularly heroic action on 4 June 1805 in Muros Bay, south of Cape Finisterre, for which he received the thanks of the City of London, the freedom of Cork, and a sword from the Patriotic Fund.

Maitland spent the early part of 1815 gathering a fleet of transports and merchants in Cork harbour in preparation for crossing the Atlantic, but found himself unable to set sail due to a succession of strong westerly winds.

[1] Maitland believed that Rochefort was the more likely point of escape, but took the precaution of sending two smaller craft to cover other ports, one to Bordeaux, and another to Arcachon.

Hotham was aboard HMS Superb covering Quiberon Bay, whilst a string of British frigates, corvettes, and brigs were watching all along the coast.

Napoleon could no longer remain in France without risking arrest; indeed, Prussian troops had orders to capture him dead or alive.

She reached Torbay on 24 July, then was ordered to Plymouth, whilst a decision was made by the government over Bonaparte's fate.

As a token of gratitude the king invested Maitland with the insignia of a knight commander of the Order of St Ferdinand and Merit, and presented him with his portrait, set with diamonds, in a gold box.

He commanded HMS Wellesley in the Mediterranean between 1827 and 1830, and was promoted to Rear-Admiral of the Blue on 22 July 1830,[4] and Rear Admiral of the Red on 10 January 1837.

He co-operated with the army during its advance from Bombay towards Afghanistan in February 1839, and captured the town and fort of Karachi, going on to oversee the landing of troops and supplies.