John Montagu (Royal Navy officer)

Admiral John Montagu (1719–1795) was an English naval officer and colonial governor of Newfoundland.

John Montagu
Born1719
Lackham, Wiltshire
Died1795 (aged 7576)
Fareham, Hampshire
Allegiance Kingdom of Great Britain
Service/branch Royal Navy
RankAdmiral
Commands heldNorth American Station
Portsmouth Command
Battles/warsWar of the Austrian Succession
American Revolutionary War

He was born in 1719, son of James Montagu of Lackham, Lacock, Wiltshire (died 1747), and great-grandson of James Montagu of Lackham (1602–1665), third son of Henry Montagu, 1st Earl of Manchester.[1] Montagu began his naval career in the Royal Naval Academy, Portsmouth on 14 August 1733.[2]

He was promoted lieutenant in 1740 and served on HMS Buckingham and, in 1744, was present at the Battle of Toulon.[2] In 1757 he was present at the execution of Admiral John Byng.[2] Promoted to Rear-Admiral in 1770, he served as Commander-in-Chief of the North American Station from 1771 to 1774.[2]

He was promoted Vice-Admiral in 1776 and then appointed Governor and commander-in-chief of Newfoundland.[2] Montagu captured St. Pierre and Miquelon for the British and defended Newfoundland from both French and American privateers.[2] By his swift actions he had prevented the French from capturing Carbonear and Harbour Grace.[2]

In 1783 he was made Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth.[3] His honorary appointments included Admiral of the Blue in 1782 and Admiral of the White in 1787.[2]

Family

Montagu married Sophia Wroughton on 2 December 1748 and had one daughter and four sons. Of his sons, George and James became naval officers, while Edward became a lieutenant-colonel in the Royal Artillery. His daughter Sophia lived at Dale Park and the house there was constructed for her and her husband.[4]

References

  1. Laughton, John Knox (1894). "Montagu, John (1719-1795)" . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. 38. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
  2. Biography at Government House The Governorship of Newfoundland and Labrador
  3. History in Portsmouth Archived 27 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Jacob M. Price, ‘Smith, John Abel (1802–1871)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 accessed 16 April 2017

See also

Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by
Edward Montagu
Kelland Courtenay
Member of Parliament for Huntingdon
1748–1754
With: Edward Montagu
Succeeded by
Edward Montagu
Robert Jones
Military offices
Preceded by
James Gambier
Commander-in-Chief, North American Station
1771–1774
Succeeded by
Samuel Graves
Political offices
Preceded by
Robert Duff
Commodore Governor of Newfoundland
1776–1778
Succeeded by
Richard Edwards
Military offices
Preceded by
Thomas Pye
Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth
1783–1786
Succeeded by
Viscount Hood


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.