“That Admiral John Byng did not do his utmost to relieve St. Philip’s
Castle; and also that, during the engagement between His Majesty’s fleet
under his command, and the fleet of the French king, on the 20th of May
last, he did not do his utmost to take, seize, and destroy the ships of
the French king, which it was his duty to have engaged, and to assist
such of His Majesty’s ships as were engaged in fight with the French
ships, which it was his duty to have assisted; and do therefore
unanimously agree that he falls under part of the 12th article of an Act
of Parliament, of the 22nd year of his present Majesty, for amending,
explaining, and reducing into one Act of Parliament the laws relating to
the government of His Majesty’s ships, vessels, and forces by sea; and
as that article prescribes death, without any alternative left to the
discretion of the court under any variation of circumstance, the court
do thereby unanimously adjudge the said Admiral John Byng to be shot to
death, at such time and on board such ship as the Lords Commissioners of
the Admiralty shall direct.
“But as it appears, by the evidence of Lord Robert Bertie,
Lieutenant-Colonel Smith, Captain Gardiner, and other officers of the
ship who were near the person of the admiral, that they did not perceive
any backwardness in him during the action, or any marks of fear or
confusion, either from his countenance or behaviour, but that he seemed
to give his orders coolly and distinctly, and did not seem wanting in
personal courage; and, from other circumstances, the court do not
believe that his misconduct arose either from cowardice or disaffection,
and do therefore unanimously think it their duty earnestly to recommend
him as a proper object of mercy.”
The court-martial went further, for in transmitting a copy of their
proceedings to the Board of Admiralty, they likewise sent their
lordships a letter, which concluded in these terms:—
“We cannot help laying the distresses of our minds before your lordships
on this occasion, in finding ourselves under the necessity of condemning
a man to death from the great severity of the 12th Article of War, part
of which he falls under, and which admits of no mitigation, even if the
crime should be committed by an error in judgment; and therefore, for
our own consciences’ sake, as well as in justice to the prisoner, we
pray your lordships in the most earnest manner to recommend him to His
Majesty’s clemency.”
The king and his ministry met this representation and other applications
in behalf of Admiral Byng by referring the legality of the judgment of
the court-martial to the consideration of the twelve Judges at
Westminster, who were unanimously of opinion that the sentence was
legal. This was really doing nothing. It was not the strict literal
correctness of the sentence that was doubted, but Byng’s friends mainly
looked to that mercy which was the attribute of the sovereign. The Lords
of the Admiralty, on the Judges giving their decision, signed a warrant
for Byng’s execution: two lords, however, nobly, to their own detriment
and loss of place, refused to concur in the proceeding. These were
Admirals West and Forbes.
Captain, afterwards Admiral, Lord Keppel (who on a future day was to be
subjected to a similar trial) made a last effort to save Byng, and got a
temporary respite, by stating in the House of Commons, of which he was a
member, that he and other members of the court-martial desired to be
released from their oath of secrecy, that they might reveal the grounds
on which they recommended Byng to mercy. A bill was accordingly brought
into the House of Commons for that purpose, and it passed with little
opposition; but being carried to the Lords, it was there so vigorously
opposed that it was thrown out on the second reading.
The following admirable letter was addressed by the Hon. Mrs. Osborn,
Byng’s sister,[10] to the Lords of the Admiralty:—
“MY LORDS,—The judges having reported to His Majesty in council, that
the sentence passed on my unfortunate brother is a legal one, permit
me to implore your lordships’ intercession with His Majesty for his
most gracious mercy, and to hope your lordships will not think an
afflicted sister’s application ill-founded, in a case so hardly
circumstanced, and which the judges (though by the severity of the law
they thought themselves obliged to pronounce the fatal sentence) have
so earnestly recommended to your lordships’ humanity; to your justice
I will not presume to add, though in their letter to your lordships
they say, ‘that in justice to the prisoner, as well as for their own
conscience’ sake, they recommend him to His Majesty’s mercy.’
“The court-martial, my lords, seemed to have acquitted my unhappy
brother of cowardice and disaffection, and, therefore, it is presumed
he stands sentenced under the head of negligence. It is not fitting,
perhaps, that a wretched woman, as I am, should offer any arguments in
my brother’s relief to your lordships, who are masters of the whole:
but what criminal negligence, my lords, can there have been, in which
neither cowardice nor disaffection have had a part? What criminal
negligence can there have been, since his judges thought it incumbent
on them, for their own conscience’ sake, and in justice to the
prisoner, to recommend him to His Majesty’s mercy?
“I must submit to your lordships, whether it be the meaning of the law
that every kind of negligence, wilful or not, should be punished with
death. If so, it is not for me to make an observation on the law; if
not, a negligence arising neither from cowardice, disaffection, nor
wilfulness, ought not, according to the spirit and intention of the
law, to be deemed capital.
“Why, my lords, should my poor brother suffer, when both the sentence
by which he is condemned, and the letter to your lordships, by which
he is so strongly recommended to His Majesty’s mercy, fully prove that
his judges did not deem him deserving the punishment they thought
themselves obliged to sentence him to? I hope your lordships will not
think he ought to suffer, either under a law unexplained or doubtful,
or under a sentence erroneously passed, if the law has been
misunderstood; and if my unfortunate brother has been condemned under
the 12th Article, according to the spirit and meaning of which he
should not have been condemned, I submit to your lordships whether his
life should be the forfeit.
“If there is a doubt on the principles and motives that induced the
court-martial to entreat the intercession of your lordships with His
Majesty for mercy, I submit to your lordships whether these motives
should not be more fully explained before it be too late. It would be
needless to mention the usual course of His Majesty’s mercy to the
condemned, upon the application of his judges, if my unhappy brother’s
case had circumstances particularly unfavourable to it; but, on the
contrary, for the reasons I have ventured briefly to offer, and the
many others that must occur to your lordships, his case appears to be
uncommonly hard, and well deserving that mercy to which his judges
have so earnestly recommended him. I hope I shall stand excused, if I
beseech your lordships’ immediate intercession with His Majesty in his
behalf.—_17th February, 1757._”
This letter passed unheeded.
Byng prepared himself for death. He was ordered to be executed on board
the _Monarque_ in Portsmouth harbour, on the 14th March, 1757.
Two illustrious Frenchmen also interfered to rescue Byng. The one was
Voltaire, ever humane whatever his faults might be; and the other was
the Duke of Richelieu, a Marshal of France, the successful invader of
Minorca.
The Marshal Duke of Richelieu wrote in French; but M. de Voltaire wrote
in English. Voltaire’s letter, and the duke’s translated, run as
follows:—
“Clux Délices près de Genêve.
“Sir,—That I am almost unknown to you, I think ’tis my duty to send
you the copy of the letter which I have just received from the
Marishal Duke of Richelieu: honour, humanity, and equity, order me to
convey it into your hands. This noble and unexpected testimony from
one of the most candid as well as the most generous of my countrymen,
makes me presume your judges will do you the same justice.
“I am, with respect, Sir, &c.,
“VOLTAIRE.
“To the Hon. J. Byng, Esq.”
“Sir,—I am very sensibly concerned for Adm. Byng; I do assure you
whatever I have seen or heard of him does him honour. After having
done all that man could reasonably expect from him, he ought not to be
censured for suffering a defeat. When two commanders contend for
victory, tho’ both are equally men of honour, yet one must necessarily
be worsted, and there is against Mr. Byng but his being worsted, for
his whole conduct was that of an able seaman, and is justly worthy of
admiration. The strength of two fleets was at least equal; the English
had 13 ships and we 12, much better equipped and much cleaner. Fortune
that presides over all battles, and especially those that are fought
at sea, was more favourable to us than to our adversaries, by sending
our balls into their ships with greater execution. I am persuaded, and
it is the generally received opinion, that if the English had
obstinately continued the engagement their whole fleet would have been
destroyed.
“In short, there can be no higher act of injustice than what is now
attempted against Admiral Byng, and all men of honour, and all
gentlemen of the army, are particularly interested in the event.
“RICHELIEU.”
“I received this original letter from Marishal D. de Richelieu, the
1st of January, 1757, in witness of which I have signed my name.
“VOLTAIRE.”
Voltaire, in one of his satirical works, observes that Admiral Byng was
put to death “pour encourager les autres.”
On Sunday morning, the 13th of March, 1757, Captain Montague having
received a warrant from Admiral Boscawen for Admiral Byng’s execution to
take place next day, gave it to the Marshal of the High Court of
Admiralty to read to him; Byng calmly heard it, and remarked, with some
warmth, that the place appointed by the warrant was upon the forecastle.
“Is not this,” said he, addressing himself to his friends, “putting me
upon the footing of a common seaman condemned to be shot? Is not this an
indignity to my birth, to my family, and to my rank in the service? I
think I have not been treated like an officer in any instance since I
was disgraced, excepting in that of being ordered to be shot.” He
appeared much disturbed at this circumstance, and looked upon it as a
grievance. His friends, fearing it would not be altered, because the
warrant was expressly worded so, represented to him that it appeared to
them no impropriety; but they hoped he would think the place immaterial
and beneath his notice, and not let any such consideration break in upon
his tranquillity of mind. He then composed himself again, and replied,
“It is very true, the place or manner is of no great importance to me;
but I think living admirals should consult the dignity of the rank for
their own sakes. I cannot plead a precedent; there is no precedent of an
admiral or a general officer in the army being shot. They make a
precedent of me, such as admirals hereafter may feel the effects of.”
At his last dinner on that Sunday he was cheerful as usual, and in the
evening he ordered a small bowl of punch to be made; and when all were
seated round the table, he helped every one, and taking his own glass
with a little punch in it—“My friends,” said he, “here are your healths,
and God bless you all. I am pleased to find I have some friends still,
notwithstanding my misfortunes.” When he had drank, and set his glass
down, he added, “I am to die to-morrow; and as my country requires my
blood, I am ready to resign it, though I do not as yet know what my
crime is. I think my judges, in justice to posterity and to officers who
come after me, should have explained my crime a little more, and pointed
out the way to avoid falling into the same error I did. As the sentence
and resolutions now stand, I am persuaded no admiral will be wiser
hereafter by them, or know better how to conduct himself on the like
occasion.”
The following day he spent a considerable part of the morning in the
state-room by himself, then came out and sat down with the marshal and
breakfasted composedly as usual. His dress was a plain cloth suit of a
light grey mixture, such as he had always worn after he received his
order of suspension in Gibraltar Bay, having there taken off his
uniform, which he immediately threw into the sea as soon as he had read
the suspending order.
The Monday on which Byng suffered death was most stormy; and amid the
clash of the elements came the clash of the discharge which shot down a
brave British admiral, not for any moral crime, but for that which an
act of Parliament had strangely made a capital offence—viz., an error of
judgment.
Orders had been given for all the men-of-war at Spithead to send their
boats, with the captains and all officers of each ship, accompanied with
a party of marines under arms, to attend the execution. They, in
pursuance of that order, rode from Spithead, and made the harbour a
little after eleven o’clock, with the utmost difficulty and danger, it
blowing a prodigious hard gale, the wind at W.N.W., and ebbing water. It
was still more difficult to get up so high as the _Monarque_ lay, on
board which ship the admiral was to suffer. Notwithstanding it blew so
strong and the sea ran very high, there was a prodigious number of other
boats round the ships on the outside of the men-of-war’s boats, which
last kept off all others. Not a soul was allowed to be on board the
_Monarque_, except those belonging to the ship. Admiral Byng,
accompanied by a clergyman who attended him during his confinement, and
two gentlemen, his relations, walked out of the great cabin to the
quarterdeck, where he was to be shot, on the larboard side, a few
minutes before twelve o’clock. He was dressed in a light grey coat,
white waistcoat, white stockings, and a large white wig, and had in each
hand a white handkerchief. He threw his hat on the deck and kneeled on a
cushion. One of his friends attended him to this cushion, and offered to
tie the bandage over his eyes; but having a white handkerchief ready
folded in his hand, he replied, with a smile on his countenance, “I am
obliged to you, sir,—I thank God I can do it myself; I think I can—I am
sure I can;” and he tied it behind his head himself. He then dropped the
other handkerchief as a signal, on which a volley from six marines was
fired, five of whose bullets went through him, and he was in an instant
no more. The sixth bullet went over his head.
It could not be two minutes from his coming out of his cabin till he
fell motionless on his left side. He died with great resolution and
composure, not showing the least sign of timidity. The spectators were
amazed at the intrepidity of his behaviour, and scarcely could refrain
from tears—even the common seamen, one of whom having stood all the
while full of attention, with his arms crossed, cried out, with a kind
of enthusiasm, when he saw him fall, “There lies the bravest officer in
the navy.”
The _Ramillies_, the ship which was the admiral-ship of Byng in his
fatal engagement in the Mediterranean, was riding at her moorings in the
harbour, and about half an hour before he suffered she broke her mooring
chain, and only held by her bridle, which was looked upon as a wonderful
incident by people who did not consider the high wind at the time.
The admiral just before his execution read and delivered to William
Brough, Esq., Marshal of the High Court of Admiralty, a paper couched in
the following terms:—
“Sir,—These are my thoughts on this occasion. I give them to you, that
you may authenticate them, and prevent anything spurious being
published that might tend to defame me. I have given a copy to one of
my relations.
“A few moments will now deliver me from the virulent persecution, and
frustrate the farther malice of my enemies. Nor need I envy them a
life subject to the sensation my injuries and the injustice done me
must create. Persuaded I am, justice will be done to my reputation
hereafter. The manner and cause of raising and keeping up the popular
clamour and prejudice against me will be seen through. I shall be
considered (as I now perceive myself) a victim destined to divert the
indignation and resentment of an injured and deluded people from the
proper objects. My enemies themselves must now think me innocent.
Happy for me, at this my last moment, that I know my own innocence,
and am conscious that no part of my country’s misfortunes can be owing
to me. I heartily wish the shedding my blood may contribute to the
happiness and service of my country, but cannot resign my just claim
to a faithful discharge of my duty according to the best of my
judgment, and the utmost exertion of my ability for His Majesty’s
honour and my country’s service. I am sorry that my endeavours were
not attended with more success, and that the armament under my command
proved too weak to succeed in an expedition of such moment.
“Truth has prevailed over calumny and falsehood, and justice has wiped
off the ignominious stain of my supposed want of personal courage or
disaffection. My heart acquits me of these crimes. But who can be
presumptuously sure of his own judgment? If my crime is an error in
judgment, or differing in opinion from my judges; and if yet the error
in judgment should be on their side, God forgive them, as I do; and
may the distress of their minds, and uneasiness of their consciences,
which in justice to me they have represented, be relieved and subside,
as my resentment has done.
“The Supreme Judge sees all hearts and motives; and to him I must
submit the justice of my cause.
“J. BYNG.
“On board His Majesty’s ship _Monarque_, in Portsmouth harbour, March
14, 1757.”
It is a singular and melancholy fact, that in the very month of June,
1756, when the order had gone to Gibraltar to arrest Byng and bring him
home to his trial and death, one of the admiral’s nephews, Robert Byng,
was among the hundred and twenty-three victims who perished from
suffocation in the black-hole of Calcutta.
To the honour of the Byng family, their patriotic character and public
spirit were no wise lessened by the sad treatment of the unfortunate
admiral. They have continued to bear themselves with high credit and
honour down to the present day, and their very conduct, showing the
worth and dignity of the race, is another proof of the injustice done
their relative. The admiral’s two elder brothers were Pattee, second
Viscount Torrington, who acted efficiently as Paymaster-General in
Ireland; and George, third Viscount Torrington, who was a general
officer of repute, and whose grandson George, sixth and late Viscount
Torrington, was a vice-admiral of the blue. Admiral John Byng had
another brother, the Hon. Robert Byng, who was Commissioner of the Navy
and Governor of Barbadoes, and whose two grandsons were the honest old
George Byng, Esq., for fifty six years M.P. for Middlesex; and Sir John
Byng, G.C.B., a field marshal in the army, who was one of the glories of
the Peninsula and Waterloo. His heroic conduct in many a Peninsular
battle, and particularly at Waterloo, obtained for him twice the thanks
of Parliament, and eventually the Viscountcy of Enfield and the Barony
and Earldom of Strafford. The present head of the house of Byng, George,
seventh Viscount Torrington, has held and still holds high office under
the Crown; his next brother, Major the Hon. Robert Barlow Palmer Byng,
of the Bengal Native Infantry, an officer of great merit and ability,
fell gloriously in India, in 1857, while leading his regiment against
the mutineers. The present viscount’s third brother, the Hon. James
Byng, in another public capacity, as the able chairman of the
South-Eastern Railway Company, has rendered to the community services of
the greatest value. In fine, the unfair cruelty which Admiral Byng
underwent, the little wrong he had done, and the very merits of his
family, make his putting to death a very sorrowful and a but little
creditable recollection in the annals of our navy.