The controversial execution of Admiral John Byng on 14 March 1757 inspired Voltaire’s oft-quoted remark regarding the British Navy, “in this country it is found good, from time to time, to kill one Admiral to encourage the others." Byng had been court martialled for failing to do his utmost to engage the French fleet at the Battle of Minorca during the Seven Years’ War. He was sentenced to death by firing squad as mandated by the Articles of War. Only an amendment over two decades later would permit alternative lesser punishments for this type of offence before the enemy (p. 10). While no other British admiral suffered the extreme penalty after Byng, nine flag officers were tried by courts martial for offences ranging from military misconduct to personal impropriety during the period between 1778 and 1814. In Admirals in Court, John Morrow of the University of Auckland studies each court martial case in compelling detail and traces how the proceedings and outcomes reveal much about the British Navy’s historical culture and its understanding of duty and discipline.
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