Was a bad day to be
Admiral John Byng. Byng was the last British admiral to be shot on his own quarterdeck. Ordered to relieve the island of
Minorca at the beginning of the
Seven Year's War, Byng's squadron met a French squadron outside Port Mahon on that island. Despite having the weather gage Byng's squadron took heavy damage while, due to a tactical decision by Byng, the French squadron escaped virtually undamaged. After four days Byng returned to
Gibraltar and was subsequently brought before a court-martial for "failure to do his utmost". Undoubtedly he had failed to do his utmost to pursue the enemy and he was found guilty. Unfortunately for Byng a 1749 update to the
Articles of War left only one punishment for this crime as stated in Article 13:
"Every person in the fleet, who though cowardice, negligence, or disaffection, shall forbear to pursue the chase of any enemy, pirate or rebel, beaten or flying; or shall not relieve or assist a known friend in view to the utmost of his power; being convicted of any such offense by the sentence of a court martial, shall suffer death."
The Execution of Admiral John Byng (Click image to embiggun, link to the left for more info on painting)
No comments:
Post a Comment