Edward Peyton (died 4 April 1749) was an officer of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. He served during the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession was a European conflict fought between 1740 and 1748, primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italian Peninsula, Italy, the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Related conflicts include King Ge ...

and took part in an inconclusive battle off Bengal. Peyton entered the navy in 1707. From 1744 to 1746 he was captain of the 60-gun . In 1746, he was appointed a commodore in succession of Curtis Barnett and was commanding a squadron of seven ships of the line off Bengal. The French commander Mahé de la Bourdonnais had been sent to the East Indies in response to attacks by Peyton's predecessor. Peyton sighted Bourdonnais and his French fleet off Negapatnam on 25 June 1746 and attacked. The clash was inconclusive as the British fleet held back too far to do sufficient damage. The British lost 14 killed and 46 wounded and the French lost 27 killed and 53 wounded. After the action Peyton held a council of war with his captains, and decided to break off the action and return to Tricomalee for repairs. By withdrawing, Peyton left Bourdonnais unopposed on the

Coromandel Coast The Coromandel Coast is a coastal region along the southeastern front of the Indian peninsula. Its delimitations are numerous, but generally admitted to be bounded by the Krishna River, Krishna river River mouth, mouth to the north, the Bay of B ...

where he went on to attack Madras. Peyton, was censured by the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

and arrested by his successor, Thomas Griffin. He was recalled to England but no charges were filed. He died on 4 April 1749, a broken man.DNB Epitome – Edward Peyton

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peyton, Edward Year of birth missing 1749 deaths Royal Navy captains Royal Navy personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession