Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

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

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

Naval career

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. Montagu began his naval career in the Royal Naval Academy, Portsmouth on 14 August 1733.Biography at Government House ''The Governorship of Newfoundland and Labrador''
/ref> He was promoted lieutenant in 1740 and served on and, in 1744, was present at the Battle of Toulon. In 1757 he was present at the execution of Admiral John Byng. Promoted to Rear-Admiral in 1770, he served as Commander-in-Chief of the North American Station from 1771 to 1774. In March 1772, Montagu was involved in the Gaspee Affair as the commanding officer of Lieutenant William Duddingston, where he unsuccessfully tried to identify and have prosecuted the raiders who attacked Dudingston's ship. He was promoted Vice-Admiral in 1776 and then appointed Governor and commander-in-chief of Newfoundland. Montagu captured

St. Pierre and Miquelon Saint Pierre and Miquelon (), officially the Territorial Collectivity of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon (french: link=no, Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Pierre et Miquelon ), is a self-governing territorial overseas collectivity of France in t ...

for the British and defended Newfoundland from both

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and American

privateers A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

. By his swift actions he had prevented the French from capturing Carbonear and Harbour Grace. In 1783 he was made Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth. He was promoted to

Admiral of the Blue The Admiral of the Blue was a senior rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, immediately outranked by the rank Admiral of the White (see order of precedence below). From 1688 to 1805 this rank was in order of precedence third; after 1805 ...

in 1782 and Admiral of the White in 1787.

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 Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...

became a lieutenant-colonel in the Royal Artillery. His daughter Sophia lived at

Dale Park Dale Park was an English country house in Madehurst, West Sussex. History In 1780, Sir George Thomas, 3rd Baronet created Dale Park near Madehurst by buying up separate pieces of land and joining them together into a estate. He married Sophia M ...

and the house there was constructed for her and her husband.Jacob M. Price, 'Smith, John Abel (1802–1871)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 200
accessed 16 April 2017
/ref>

Naval career

Family

References

See also