"To Encourage the Others"

250 years ago today, the English Admiral John Byng was executed on the deck of HMS Monarch in Portsmouth harbour. He had been found guilty of failing to do his utmost against the enemy, in this case a French naval squadron at the battle of Minorca.

Byng's squadron was transporting army troops to reinforce the garrison on Minorca when the French arrived. When the battle was joined the next day, the British were bloodied before the French attempted to escape. Although the fleets were roughly even in size, Byng was content to keep his squadron intact and he elected not to pursue the French. Byng failed to land the troops and, lacking reinforcements, the fortress eventually capitulated.

Byng's failure of nerve proved fatal. He was court-martialed and condemned for not having done his utmost against the French squadron, although he was acquitted of charges of personal cowardice. Sentenced to death, he became the last admiral executed in the Royal Navy.

Ironically, Byng may be best known thanks to a resident of France. Voltaire famously satirized Byng's execution in his novel Candide. The eponymous protagonist witnesses the execution of an officer by firing squad and is told that "it is wise to kill an admiral from time to time to encourage the others".