John Monkton
| John Monkton | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1754 |
| Died | October 1826 Le Havre, France |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom |
| Service/branch |
 Royal Navy
|
| Years of service | 1766–1814 |
| Battles/wars |
American Revolutionary War • Great Siege of Gibraltar • Action of 20–21 April 1782 French Revolutionary Wars • Glorious First of June • Battle of Groix |
Rear-Admiral 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 as a commander of a ship of the line seeing action in several engagements, particularly the Battle of Groix in 1795. Monkton was later embroiled in Admiralty politics and fell out with Earl St. Vincent which resulted in his enforced retirement.
John Monkton was born in the mid-1750, and joined the Royal Navy 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. 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.
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 and twice escorted convoys relieving Gibraltar during the Great Siege. Vestal also served at the destruction of a French convoy in the Action of 20–21 April 1782.
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