John Penington
Admiral, Sir John Penington | |
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Commander-in-Chief, the Downs Victory |
Sir John Penington (1584?–1646) was an English admiral who served under Charles I of England.[1]
Biography
John Penington was the second cousin of
Captaincy
His name first appears as captain of his own ship, the Star, and vice-admiral under
Raleigh, writing from Saint Kitts on 21 March 1617–18, described him as 'one of the sufficientest gentlemen for the sea that England hath'. His imprisonment does not seem to have been long, and during the latter months of 1618 and through 1619 he was applying to the East India Company for employment, with a recommendation from the Duke of Buckingham. His applications were unsuccessful, and in 1620 he was in the service of the crown as captain of the Zouch Phœnix, in the expedition against Algiers under Sir Robert Mansell.[2]
Command of the Victory
In December 1621 he was appointed to command the
But at
After a delay of more than two months, during which he received many perplexing and contradictory instructions, affairs took a more peaceful appearance as far as the Huguenots were concerned, and on 28 July he received a formal order to deliver up the Vanguard and the other ships to the French, and at the same time a private note of the king's certain knowledge that peace was made with the Huguenots, and that war would be declared against Spain. On 3 August he arrived at Dieppe; on the 5th he handed over the Vanguard to the French, and the other ships — except that of Gorges — a day or two later; but the men refused to serve, and were sent home. On the impeachment of Buckingham, in the following year, it was stated that Penington, by firing on these other ships, had compelled them to surrender; but of this there is no contemporary evidence, and the fact is improbable.[2]
Admiral
His was appointed Rear-
In the following spring he put to sea under more favourable circumstances, and captured and sent in some twenty French ships at one time, and swept the sea from Calais to Bordeaux. The prizes were sold, the sailors and soldiers, who had been on the verge of mutiny, were paid, and France, it was said, would provide the means for her own ruin.
In 1631, Penington, with his flag in the Convertine, was appointed Admiral of the Narrow Seas for second time.' He was employed on the same service through the summer of 1633 and of 1634, with his flag in the Unicorn, on board which ship he was knighted by the king on 14 April.
In 1635, in the Swiftsure, he was rear admiral of the fleet under the Earl of Lindsey, Sir William Monson being the vice-admiral; and on Lindsey and Monson leaving the fleet in October, Penington remained in command of the winter guard.[2]
Downfall
In the following years he was still on the same service, and in September 1639 was lying in the Downs with a strong squadron, when the Spanish fleet for Dunkirk, with a large body of troops on board, was driven in by the Dutch fleet under the command of Tromp, which also came in and anchored in the Downs. Penington insisted that the two enemies should respect the neutrality of the roadstead; but he had a very insufficient force, and the orders he received from the king were confused and contradictory. Oquendo, the Spanish admiral, and Tromp had both, in fact, appealed to King Charles, who, hardly pressed for money by reason of the Scottish war, hoped to make some advantage out of one or the other, but was unable to decide which would pay the better; and before he could make up his mind, Tromp, probably on a hint from Richelieu, took the matter into his own hands, and on 11 October, having been joined by large reinforcements from Holland, attacked the Spanish fleet, drove many of their ships on shore, pursued those that fled, and captured or sank the greater part.
Penington, meantime, was powerless; he had no instructions to take part with either, and was disinclined to risk the total loss of his fleet by defending the Spaniards. It may, indeed, be doubted if his fleet would have obeyed him had he attempted to do so, for the popular opinion was that the Spanish fleet was there on the invitation of Charles, and that the troops it carried were to be landed to help in crushing English liberties. For the deliverance from this fancied danger the nation was grateful to the Dutch; but that Penington had had no hand in it, and had appeared rather as a supporter of the Spaniards, was probably remembered against him when, in July 1642, the parliament, after vainly protesting against the king's appointment of Penington as
That the popular feeling mistrusted Penington was evident. Clarendon says that 'he was a very honest gentleman, and of unshaken faithfulness and integrity to the king;' and though the lords 'pretended that they had many things to object against him, the greatest was that he had conveyed the Lord Digby over sea, though they well knew that for that he had the king's warrant'. But in fact the objection was that throughout his whole career he had shown himself to the people as preferring the will of the king to the welfare of the nation or even his own honour.[2]
Older sources claim that Penington played a negligible role in the Civil War, a titular
Death
One Royalist chronicler says that Penington died in Bristol in September 1646, long after its fall to the Parliament forces.[3] Some modern sources, however, say he died at the family seat of Muncaster in North-West England.[2] What is clear that his will was proved 28 May 1648.[3] Penington was unmarried, and left legacies to various relatives; among others, his 'Great Heart diamond ring' to his cousin William Pennington of Muncaster, who became ancestor of the barons of Muncaster.[2]
References
- ^ Sir William Laird Clowes, et al, The royal navy, a history from the earliest times to present, published London : S. Low, Marston, Co. 1897, page 58
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Laughton, J. K. (1885–1900). . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- ^ required.)
- ^ May and Maseres, History of the Parliament of England (1812), at page 137
- ^ Lynch, John (2009) Bristol and the Civil War: For King and Parliament. The History Press.
- Attribution
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "Penington, John". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.