John Talbot (Royal Navy officer)

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Admiral The Honourable

Sir John Talbot
Bornc. 1769
Malahide, Dublin
Died7 July 1851
Lyme Regis, Dorset
AllegianceUnited Kingdom United Kingdom
Service/branch Royal Navy
Years of service1784 to 1815
RankRoyal Navy Admiral
Commands held

HMS Helena
HMS Eurydice
HMS Glenmore
HMS Leander
HMS Centaur
HMS Thunderer

HMS Victorious
Battles/wars
Awards
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath

Admiral the Honourable Sir John Talbot GCB (c. 1769 – 7 July 1851) was a senior British Royal Navy officer who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and was engaged in several prominent single ship actions, all of which were successful. Later, during the War of 1812, Talbot was engaged in blockading the Connecticut coast and following the war retired to his country seat, never returning to service.

Talbot's most famous actions were the capture of the French

Ville de Milan in 1805 while commander of HMS Leander and the capture of the ship of the line Rivoli in the Adriatic Sea on her maiden voyage, during Battle of Pirano
. During the latter engagement Talbot was badly wounded and was subsequently presented with a gold medal for his success.

Early life

Talbot was born in approximately 1769, the son of Richard and Margaret Talbot, of

Richard and subsequently James. A younger brother was Thomas Talbot, a Canadian politician of the early nineteenth century.[1]

Talbot entered the Navy in 1784, joining

Mediterranean. In the next two years, he moved between HMS Alcide and HMS Astraea and aboard the latter he was involved in the capture of the frigate Gloire in April 1796.[1] Talbot sailed the captured Gloire to Britain, where he was promoted to commander and took over the sloop HMS Helena
.

Post-captain

Giovanni Luzzo, The Battle of Pirano

In August Talbot was promoted to

sixth rate HMS Eurydice in which he remained for four years in the West Indies and English Channel. During this period he captured numerous enemy merchant ships. Eurydice was present at the Saint Marcou Islands for the Battle of the Îles Saint-Marcouf in 1798, although the lack of wind prevented her from engaging the French attackers.[1]

On 10 November 1799 near Beachy Head she surprised a schooner L'Hirondelle from Calais (14 guns) Captain Pierre Merie Dugerdin attacking a British brig the Diana of Sunderland which was putting up fierce resistance. Eurydice went in pursuit of the Frenchman and along the way met up with HMS Snake, Captain Lewis after a short engagement the Snake succeeded in capturing the schooner.[2][3]

In 1801 Talbot transferred to HMS Glenmore in Ireland.[1]

At the resumption of the conflict following the

John Thomas Duckworth.[1]

In 1809, Talbot took command of

immediately engaged. The ensuing five-hour duel caused heavy casualties on both ships, including Talbot who was badly wounded in the head by a large splinter. When Rivoli surrendered, she was found to have 400 of her crew, approximately half, killed or wounded. Both battered ships were returned to Britain, where they were repaired and Rivoli rejoined the Royal Navy.[1]

War of 1812

Talbot, recovered from his wound, was presented with a gold medal and in November 1812 took the repaired Victorious to the West Indies and then to the Eastern Seaboard of the

privateers. During this service, Victorious was badly holed by a rock and was forced to return to Britain. With the end of the Napoleonic Wars, Victorious was paid off.[1]

Retirement

Talbot never again took an active post in the Navy either at sea or on shore. In 1812 he had inherited Delvins plantation, Montserrat, West Indies (with 112 enslaved persons) from his great-uncle John Nugent, Lt.Governor of Tortola. He retired to his estate at Rhode Hill near

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath.[1]

See also

Notes

  1. ^
    Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, J. K. Laughton
    , Retrieved 25 May 2008
  2. ISBN 9781108018425
    .
  3. ^ "No. 15203". The London Gazette. 12 November 1799. p. 1168.

External links

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