John Byng
Categories: 1704 births | 1757 deaths | Newfoundland colonial leaders | Royal Navy admirals | Executed people | British executions | 1911 Britannica
John Byng (October 29, 1704 – March 14, 1757), was a former Commodore-Governor of Newfoundland and Admiral of the British Royal Navy. He is chiefly noted for having been controversially court-martialled and executed for breach of the Articles of War at the start of the Seven Years' War.
Contents |
Early life and career
John Byng was born in Bedfordshire, England, the fourth son of George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington.
By the time John enlisted in the Royal Navy in 1718, aged 14, his father George was already a well-established Admiral with a rising and stellar career, who ever since supporting William III in his successful bid to be crowned King of England in 1689 had seen his stature and fortune grow. A highly-skilled naval commander, he won distinction in a series of battles and was held in great esteem by the reigning monarchies he served under. In 1721 he was rewarded by King George I of Great Britain with a viscountcy, and created the 1st. Viscount Torrington.
As things would later turn out, the careers of father and son could hardly have ended up more differently.
Like most of the younger sons of British nobility, the young John Byng would have to earn his keep since his father's titles and estates would ordinarily pass on only to the eldest. However, with such an illustrious naval father, Byng's rapid promotions through the service most likely owed something to his influence.
Byng's youth and early career were served out on a series of Mediterranean postings. In 1723 at the age of 19 he was made a Lieutenant, and at the age of 23 rose to become Captain, of HMS Gibraltar. His Mediterranean service continued without much incident or action until 1739.
Governorship of Newfoundland
In 1742 he was appointed to the post of Commodore-Governor to the British Empire colony of Newfoundland.
Return to Europe
He was promoted to rear-admiral in 1745, and to Vice-Admiral in 1747. He served on the most comfortable stations, and avoided the more arduous work of the navy.
Battle of Minorca
On the approach of the Seven Years War the island of Minorca, which had been under British possession since 1708 when it was captured during the War of the Spanish Succession, was threatened by a French naval attack from Toulon and was actually invaded in 1756.
Byng, who was then serving in the Channel with the rank of admiral, which he attained in 1755, was ordered to the Mediterranean to relieve the British garrison of Fort St Philip (Port Mahon), which was still holding out. The squadron was not very well manned, and Byng was in particular much aggrieved because his marines were landed to make room for the soldiers who were to reinforce the garrison, and he feared that if he met a French squadron after he had lost them he would be dangerously undermanned. His correspondence shows clearly that he left prepared for failure, that he did not believe that the garrison could hold out against the French force landed, and that he was already resolved to come back from Minorca if he found that the task presented any great difficulty. He wrote home to that effect to the ministry from Gibraltar. The governor of the fortress refused to spare any of his soldiers to increase the relief for Minorca, and Byng sailed on May 8.
On the 19th he was off Minorca, and endeavoured to open communications with the fort. Before he could land any of the soldiers, the French squadron appeared.
A battle (the Battle of Minorca) was fought on the following day, May 20. Byng, who had gained the weather gauge (was windward), bore down on the French fleet of M. de la Galissonire at an angle, so that his leading ships came into action unsupported by the rest of his line. The French cut the leading ships up, and then slipped away. When the flag captain pointed out to Byng that by standing out of his line he could bring the centre of the enemy to closer action, he declined on the ground that Thomas Mathews had been condemned for so doing. The French, who were equal in number to the English, got away undamaged. After remaining near Minorca for four days without making any further attempt to communicate with the fort or sighting the French, Byng sailed away to Gibraltar leaving Fort St Philip to its fate. the garrison held out until June 29, when it was forced to capitulate. Under negotiated terms the garrison was allowed passage back to England, whilst the fort and island came under French control.
Court-martial, trial and execution
The failure caused a savage outburst of wrath in the country. Byng was brought home, tried by court-martial, condemned to death, and shot on 14 March 1757 at Portsmouth, aboard HMS Monarch.
The severity of the penalty, aided by a not unjust suspicion that the ministry sought to cover themselves by throwing all the blame on the admiral, led in after time to a reaction in favour of Byng. It became a commonplace to say that he was put to death for an error of judgment. The court had indeed acquitted him of personal cowardice or of disaffection, and only condemned him for not having done his utmost. But it must be remembered that in consequence of many scandals which had taken place in the previous war, the Articles of War had been deliberately revised so as to leave no punishment save death for the officer of any rank who did not do his utmost against the enemy either in battle or pursuit. That Byng had not done all he could is undeniable, and he therefore fell under the law. Neither must it be forgotten that in the previous war in 1745 an unhappy young lieutenant, Baker Phillips by name, whose captain had brought his ship into action unprepared, and who, when his superior was killed, surrendered the ship when she could no longer be defended, was shot by sentence of a courtmartial. This savage punishment was approved by the higher officers of the navy, who showed great leniency to those of their own rank. The contrast had angered the country, and the Articles of War had been amended precisely in order that there might be one law for all.
Aftermath
The facts of Byng's life are fairly set out in Charnocks Biogr. Nay. vol. iv. pp. 145 to 179. The number of contemporary pamphlets about his case is very great.
Byng's execution was satirized by Voltaire in his novel Candide. In Portsmouth, Candide witnesses the execution of an officer by firing squad; and is told that "in this country, it is wise to kill an admiral from time to time to encourage the others." (Dans ce pays-ci, il est bon de tuer de temps en temps un amiral pour encourager les autres.)
See also
External links
fr:John Byng This article incorporates text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, which is in the public domain.