August 19th Admiral Edward Boscawen (Birth)
     

Tregothnan – born Admiral Edward Boscawen (1711 – 1761), Member of Parliament for the Borough of Truro, is known for his commands at the Siege of Louisburg (1758) and the Battle of Lagos (1759).

He is notorious as the officer who signed the death warrant of Admiral John Byng (1757) for allegedly failing to engage the enemy at the Battle of Minorca (1756).  Byng was executed by firing squad on the deck of his own flagship.

The son of Hugh Boscawen, 1st Viscount Falmouth (1680 – 1734), and also the nephew of the first Duke of Marlborough, Boscawen fought in North America, India and in the Seven Years War.

Aged twelve, Boscawen joined the Royal Navy and served on HMS Superb, a 60-gun first vessel in the West Indies for three years.  Serving on numerous vessels subsequently he participated in the War of the Austrian Succession and the War of Jenkin’s Ear.

His final voyage was to the Mediterranean as Admiral of the Fleet and died of typhus on January 10th, 1761.  He was buried at St. Michael's Church in St. Michael Penkevil.

 



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