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Rear-Admiral John Duff Markland CB KLA (14 September 1780–28 August 1848) was a Royal Navy officer of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Early life
John Duff Markland was born in Leeds on 14 September 1780, the son of Edward Markland and Elizabeth Sophia Hardy. His maternal grandfather was the colonial administrator Josiah Hardy, who was the brother of Admiral Sir Charles Hardy. Markland was also related on his mother's side to the secretary of the admiralty Josiah Burchett. His father's family was long established and originated during the reign of Edward III from Wigan. Markland followed his relatives into the Royal Navy, joining the 38-gun frigate HMS Hebe as a midshipman on 27 May 1795.

Naval career
Markland only briefly served in Hebe because soon after he took advantage of his mother's naval connections and transferred to serve in the 30-gun frigate HMS Tourterelle, which was commanded by his uncle-in-law, Captain John Cooke. Cooke soon after resigned his command of Tourterelle and Markland left alongside him. He instead joined the 38-gun frigate HMS Seahorse on the Irish Station. In May 1796 Cooke received command of the 32-gun frigate HMS Nymphe and Markland again joined him. He was present at the action of 9 March 1797 where Nymphe and the 40-gun frigate HMS St Fiorenzo captured the 48-gun frigate Resistance and the 24-gun corvette Constance in the aftermath of the Battle of Fishguard.

Cooke left Nymphe in November and Markland transferred to the 100-gun ship of the line HMS Royal George which was the flagship of Admiral Lord Bridport in the English Channel. He served in her until May 1799 when Cooke received his next command, the 36-gun frigate HMS Amethyst. One of Amethyst's first tasks was to transport the Duke of York to Holland at the start of the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland. Markland subsequently participated in Amethyst in the capture of the 14-gun privateer brig L'Aventure on 29 December, and then in the following year of the 15-gun cutter Le Vaillant on 15 February and 22-gun ship Le Mars on 31 March. He witnessed the capture of the 40-gun frigate Dédaigneuse on 28 January 1801, but Amethyst had not been fast enough to participate in the action herself. On 8 June Markland was promoted to lieutenant and posted to the 80-gun ship of the line HMS Malta.

Markland continued in Malta until December 1802 when he transferred into the 74-gun ship of the line HMS Albion. Upon the start of the Napoleonic Wars he was present in her at the capture of the 40-gun frigate Franchise on 28 May 1803, near Brest. Similarly, the corvette Clarissa was captured in January 1804 in the Bay of Bengal. Markland was then advanced to become Albion's first lieutenant after this while she served in the East Indies, and he held this position until 25 December 1805 when he was forced to resign his position for the good of his health. He travelled home on the 74-gun ship of the line HMS Tremendous.

Upon returning to England, Markland found that while he had been away he had been promoted to commander, with his seniority dated to 22 January 1806. He did not receive an immediate command, and stayed on half pay until 12 April 1808 when he was given the 16-gun brig HMS Bustard. Serving in the Mediterranean Sea, Bustard was part of a squadron commanded by Captain John West off the coast of Venice. On 29 July 1809 the squadron forced an Italian convoy of six gunboats and ten coasters to hide inside a fortified port close to Trieste. At midnight Bustard was sent in alongside the 18-gun ship-sloop HMS Acorn and boats from West's ship, the 74-gun ship of the line HMS Excellent. The two ships provided covering fire for the small boats as they sailed ashore and captured the entire convoy. For his part in the action Markland was thanked by West and Commander Robert Clephane of Acorn. Towards the beginning on July 1810 Bustard captured or destroyed nine ships in a harbour on the east side of Calabria, for which service Markland was complimented by his commanding officer, Rear-Admiral George Martin.

After this event Markland was given command over a squadron of sloops serving in the Faro of Messina to assist in protecting Sicily from the expected invasion of Marshal Joachim Murat from mainland Italy. On 24 July Bustard and the 16-gun brig-sloop HMS Alcyon destroyed two armed feluccas, and the squadron continued to frequently engage the land batteries and small vessels controlled by Murat until the threat of invasion dissipated after three months. Martin reported Markland's successes to the commander of the Mediterranean Fleet, Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Cotton, who appointed Markland to command the 18-gun brig-sloop HMS Eclair in January 1811. Markland only stayed in Eclair for five days, because at this point he was moved to become acting captain of the 110-gun ship of the line HMS Ville de Paris, the flagship of Rear-Admiral Thomas Fremantle.