A Brief History
March 14, 1757 was a sad, black day in the annals of the Royal Navy for on that day, Admiral Sir John Byng was executed by firing squad on the deck of HMS Monarch. Byng had been convicted of non-compliance with The Articles of War, a British naval regulation that had been recently revised.
Digging Deeper
In particular, the articles governing the conduct of British naval officers had been modified to read that all British naval officers were subject to the penalty of death by execution (with no lesser sentence possible) for failing to do their utmost in prosecuting war against the enemy, including mandatory pursuit of the foe.
The Byng trial and execution had its roots in a 1745 incident in which a Royal Navy lieutenant was thrust into command after the captain had been killed when their ship was broadsided by a French ship. Even though the dead captain had failed to prepare his ship for action, and despite the fact that the ship was heavily damaged and that continued resistance was basically suicide for the crew, the lieutenant was court martialed for failing to prevent the capture of his ship and subsequently executed. Outcry that a junior officer could suffer such a fate while a senior officer would not led to the rules being changed to make it applicable to any officer.
In Byng’s case, his “crimes” were losing the island of Minorca and failing to pursue the enemy, even though his force was outclassed by the French because of the British task force being in dire need of repairs. The loss was not the fault of Byng but of the Admiralty that had ignored pleas to arrange for repairs and refitting. After some of his ships were shot up by the French, Byng at first kept his fleet in the area for a few days after the French had left but had to sail for Gibraltar to leave his wounded for care and repair his ships. His intent was to get reinforcements for Minorca as well, but before he could sail, an emissary from Britain arrived to relieve Byng of command and to take him to England for trial.
In a political tug of war between factions of Parliament and the throne, Byng was convicted at court martial and given the only sentence allowed. Numerous pleas to the King for clemency (including by members of the court martial) were to no avail as politics had intervened, and the King refused to commute the sentence (especially since clemency had been urged by the House of Commons, the political foes of the King), resulting in Byng’s execution by firing squad.
The Articles of War were changed 22 years later to allow for other punishments, and Byng was the last British admiral executed. The epitaph on Byng’s gravestone refers to him as a martyr and having lived a life of honour. His relatives have fought for a pardon over the years, even as recently as 2007, but the Ministry of Defence has refused so far. The “murder” of Byng is seen by many as a gross miscarriage of justice, but it is also pointed to as inspiration for the British officer corps of the Navy to fight as aggressively as possible, which perhaps resulted in some of the Royal Navy’s greatest victories.
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Admiral Sir John Byng lies buried, a courageous, loyal and patriotic officer who believed in service to his country but was taken down by political infighting by people more concerned with their own lot than that of the nation. Once again, politicians had won, and the nation had lost. Apparently, little if anything has been learned, for it seems the same sort of thing continues today all over the world.
Question for students (and subscribers): Is the author correct in decrying the political influence on war and warriors, or is it well and good that politics should play such an intrusive role? Let us know what you think in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Lacey, Jim and Williamson Murray. Moment of Battle: The Twenty Clashes That Changed the World. Bantam, 2013.
The featured image in this article, The Shooting of Admiral Byng (1757), is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The work of art itself is in the public domain for the following reason: This UK artistic work, of which the author is unknown and cannot be ascertained by reasonable enquiry, is in the public domain because it is one of the following:
- A photograph, which has never previously been made available to the public (e.g. by publication or display at an exhibition) and which was taken more than 70 years ago (before 1 January 1949); or
- A photograph, which was made available to the public (e.g. by publication or display at an exhibition) more than 70 years ago (before 1 January 1949); or
- An artistic work other than a photograph (e.g. a painting), which was made available to the public (e.g. by publication or display at an exhibition) more than 70 years ago (before 1 January 1949).
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<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="9662 https://www.historyandheadlines.com/?p=9662">26 Comments
When the shooting starts, you are on your own. Hit hard and fast, make every shot count.
They should have trusted Byng to make the right choice. By taking him to trial it shows they do not have confidence in their men.
As unfortunate as it was that Byng lost his life, it did bring strong Royal Navy leaders. Other officers knew that they had to fight aggressively or else they would end up like Byng.
It seems as though Byng was making the smartest decision when he left for reinforcement and repair. If he would have stayed he could have lost his ship, his crew and his life. It doesn’t make sense that he would be executed for this, but not many political things made sense back then (still don’t today).
I think that what happened was that Byng was considered to have been disobeying orders, despite his good intentions. I think that with all militaries, that is taken very seriously and I think his execution was to show solidarity and adherence to the laws that have been created. However, I think Byng deserved clemency and not such a drastic punishment for what he did.
I do not think Bying should have been killed for making a mistake. This would make people further down the line reluctant to accept such a position. Then again. I am sure they wanted to place their countries defeat on somebody.
I think that this could be a relevant topic to what is happening in the police force today. Some officers kill or injure others no matter what race people are because the police officers believe it will benefit them from not getting hurt themselves. The police are making mistakes just like Bying did and the police are not dying for their mistakes but they are for sure losing their job because it is a hot topic issue in todays world.
It is crazy that the law states that the only possible punishment is death. In every aspect of life there are gray areas. This mans actions most certainly did not warrant his death.
Politicians should leave the soldiers to fight, while the soldiers should leave the politicians to run the country. Politics should not have an say in how a soldier commands his men. In this case, the commander was trying to prevent even more of his men from dying. It is a shame that the politicians condemned him to death.
It is crazy how the only penalty for the naval officers was death! How can that be the only solution possible? I think it is an extreme and it should be avoided. The politicians’ force and power over the nation are scary to think about. Only a few people manage our lives and the same few people can also destroy it.
Once again the British let their pride get the best of them. While some leaders were trying to smart and safe (thinking abut others for a change) most still had their minds set on never backing down even if it meant a terrible fate.
We see a similar kind of relationship here that we do in businesses and sports. People in the front office make decisions, and the people on the field or on the floor (in business) have to do their job based on those decisions. There is a lot of gray area here. You want leadership that can make decisions, but I am not sure leadership always knows what is best.
It seems that Byng was unfairly treat and should not have been sentence to death. The death penalty here seemed to be missed used but it was a good thing that it was no longer used for these cases twenty-two years after Byng’s death. It is surprising that the decision for Byng’s execution was not changed on account that a lot of people were trying to fight for his life.
Britain’s Ministry of Defence’s refusal to grant a modern-day pardon to Byng is ridiculous. While that might have been the view of the politicians back then, it should not be the view today. Byng was a brave and patriotic naval officer who wanted the best for his crew and country, and he should be recognized as such. This event shows what happens when you let out-of-touch politicians thousands of miles away dictate how to run military campaigns to on-the-ground commanders.
This shows no confidence in the soldiers and a great injustice to Bying, hate to see someone so committed and so loyal to their country be killed for the wrong reason because those in charge wanted to take immediate action which was the wrong action.
I don’t believe the articles governing the British soldiers are a good idea then and in any time. If you make failures at war punishable by death who will want to fight for you? Sometimes failures in war are unavoidable and if youre soldiers are so terrified of failing and being punished won’t this hinder their decisions?
Although they say this law was the one that could have perhaps been the reason Britain won some of its greatest victories, I don’t think I agree. Within reason any person in the Royal Navy should be trying their best to fight for their country. However, it should be in reason that when your ship is in dire need of repairs and you were going to get reinforcements in the process. This man died because of something that was out of his control.
Despite what Byng went through during his trials and being shot to death in front of an entire crew on board, I am pleased to hear that his life and legacy is viewed with respect and the greatest honor. It is also reassuring to read that he was the last put to death for breaking the naval code of battle in such a way.
I am happy to hear that Byng was the last put to death for violating the naval code of battle, but the way he was killed and what he went through during his trial was unfair. It is crazy that someone who was that loyal to his country was killed for such a reason.
I think that the only good thing that came about from Byng’s death was that he was the last to be put to death for violating the naval code of battle. I am glad to see that his life is viewed with respect and honor. It is sad to see someone so loyal and committed to their nation killed in an unjust way.
Another example of someone doing the right thing and staying loyal and committed, ends up dying do to others taking wrongful action.
Byng was treated unfairly and as a result was put to death. Just like Brandon stated, someone doing the right thing, staying loyal and committed but ends up dead. Life seems cruel back then.
Byng went from being loyal an serving the country he loved, to being executed by his crew members. That is a harsh life.
It amazes me that he was trialled for something that is not his fault!
I cannot believe that even with the law changing soon after Byng’s death, the government will still not pardon him or apologize hundreds of years later!
What’s most upsetting is that the British parliament still won’t acknowledge that they made a mistake.