Rear-Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

John Monkton (c. 1754 – October 1826) was a Royal Navy officer of the late eighteenth century who is best known for his service in the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

as a commander of a

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactics in the Age of Sail, naval tactic known as the line of battl ...

seeing action in several engagements, particularly the

Battle of Groix The Battle of Groix (, ) took place on 23 June 1795 off the island of Groix in the Bay of Biscay during the War of the First Coalition. It was fought between elements of the British Channel Fleet and the French Ponant Fleet, Atlantic Fleet, whi ...

in 1795. Monkton was later embroiled in Admiralty politics and fell out with Earl St. Vincent which resulted in his enforced retirement.

Life

John Monkton was born in the mid-1750s, and joined 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 ...

in 1766, serving in a succession of ships for short periods, including HMS ''Chatham'', HMS ''Lark'', HMS ''Aurora'', HMS ''Carysfort'', HMS ''Maidstone'' and HMS ''Boreas''. He was noted for serving on a surprising number of ships that were later wrecked: ''Aurora'' was lost within months of his being replaced, ''Carysfort'' was almost wrecked three times while he was in the crew and ''Lark'' was lost in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. It was in this conflict, serving in ''Maidstone'', that he saw his first action, capturing hundreds of enemy merchant vessels operating from the

Leeward Islands The Leeward Islands () are a group of islands situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean. Starting with the Virgin Islands east of Puerto Rico, they extend southeast to Guadeloupe and its dependencies. In Engl ...

. In 1777 he returned to Britain and was promoted to lieutenant, serving on the hired armed ship ''Two Sisters'' off Northern Scotland. In 1779 he joined the frigate HMS ''Vestal'', then under the command of Captain George Cranfield Berkeley, with whom Monkton was to have a lengthy and productive professional relationship. In this frigate, Monkton raided French shipping off

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

and twice escorted convoys relieving

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

during the Great Siege. ''Vestal'' also served at the destruction of a French convoy in the action of 20–21 April 1782. Following the end of the war, Monkton joined HMS ''Ardent'', transferring to HMS ''Windsor Castle'' during the

Nootka Crisis The Nootka Crisis, also known as the Spanish Armament, was an international incident and political dispute between Spain and Great Britain triggered by a series of events revolving around sovereignty claims and rights of navigation and trade. It ...

and briefly joining HMS ''Niger'' following the outbreak of the

in 1793, before transferring with Captain Berkeley to the ship of the line HMS ''Marlborough''. In ''Marlborough'', Monkton fought at the battle of the

Glorious First of June The Glorious First of June, also known as the Fourth Battle of Ushant, (known in France as the or ) was fought on 1 June 1794 between the British and French navies during the War of the First Coalition. It was the first and largest fleet a ...

, fighting a number of French ships and taking command of ''Marlborough'' when Berkeley was seriously wounded. For his efforts in the battle, Monkton was promoted to commander and took temporary command of HMS ''Colossus'' which was heavily engaged at the

in 1795.''The Gentleman's Magazine'', p. 558–559 Following the battle, Monkton was made

post captain Post-captain or post captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of captain in the Royal Navy. The term "post-captain" was descriptive only; it was never used as a title in the form "Post-Captain John Smith". The term served to di ...

but not employed again until 1799 when he became Berkeley's flag captain on HMS ''Mars'' in 1801 however, Berkeley resigned his ship after a disagreement with Earl St. Vincent and Monkton was replaced. He never served at sea again, and in 1814 was superannuated – promoted to rear-admiral and forced to retire from service. Monkton married three times, first to Charlotte Slade, who died in 1806. Then to Charlotte Mackie, who also subsequently died, and finally in 1818 to Elizabeth Patience. He had four children, all with his first wife. He died at

Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

, France, in October 1826 aged 72.''The Monthly Magazine'', p. 571

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Monkton, John 1750s births 1826 deaths Royal Navy rear admirals Royal Navy personnel of the American Revolutionary War Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars