The Moonlight Battle, where Peyton fought alongside his father, Joseph, aboard HMS Cumberland
John Goodwin Gregory Peyton was born in Ardingly, Sussex in 1752 to Joseph Peyton and his wife Katherine. The Peytons were a naval family; at least five generations served and both his grandfather, Edward Peyton and his father attained the rank of admiral.[1] John was one of seven children, five boys and two girls, and of his four brothers, all but one entered the Royal Navy: The eldest, named after his father, also became an admiral, the younger brother, William was an administrator, the youngest, Thomas, died while in command of HMS Monarch in 1801.[2]
Peyton's early career is not well documented, and he is sometimes confused with other family members, but it is most likely that he is the Peyton registered aboard his father's ship, HMS Belleisle, in 1766. Promoted to lieutenant in 1772, he remained with his father, fighting in HMS Cumberland at the first Battle of Cape St Vincent in 1780.[1]
CommandEdit
Peyton's first command was the 12-gun cutter, HMS Kite, in which he captured the privateer, Fantasque off Dunkirk in March 1782. He made Post on 21 January 1783 when he commissioned the newly-launched HMS Carnatic.[1] Peyton was assigned to another new ship in July 1794, the 38-gun HMS Seahorse, in which he served on the Irish Station.[1][3] At some point in 1795, Peyton took command of HMS Ceres, sailing her to the Mediterranean in December.[4][1]
Nelson's Band of Brothers at the Nile. Peyton's portrait is in the top row, fifth from the left
Peyton was destined to become one of Nelson's Band of Brothers at the Battle of the Nile, when he took command of HMS Defence in 1798.[1] Having returned to England, Peyton shared a coach journey with Fanny Nelson in March 1798 while on his way to join Horatio Nelson in HMS Vanguard for a journey out to the Mediterranean, where Peyton was to take command of his next ship. Later, despite his seniority by 15 years, Peyton was not consulted by Nelson, prior to the search for the French fleet, leaving the naval historian, Peter Hore to wonder whether those encounters, which undoubtedly would have given Nelson an opportunity to appraise one of his captains, might have influenced that decision.[1]
Vanguard left England on 9 April 1798 and joined the Mediterranean Fleet off Cadiz twenty days later[5][6] but Peyton did not join his new command until June.[7] Both the ship and crew were in a poor condition; Defence was overdue a refit and had one of the longest sick lists in Nelson's fleet. Scurvy, ulcers and fever were common aboard and within a month, Peyton had succumbed to sickness himself, writing so in a letter to Nelson on 3 July. Despite these problems, Defence fought hard at the Nile, engaging Peuple Souverain on 1 August for three hours before bringing down her masts and moving on to attack Franklin.[8]
On 13 August, Peyton wrote a letter to his wife which gives one of the few surviving first-hand accounts of the Nile battle.[9]
Later lifeEdit
Peyton retired to Lymington in 1800, where he bought Priestlands, a large house with extensive grounds. He lived there with his wife, Susanna Gurnell, whom he had married in 1793, until his death, at the age of 56, on 2 August 1809. There is a memorial to him at All Saints Church, Milford on Sea.[9]
Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Barnsley: Seaforth. ISBN978-1-86176-246-7.
August 25, 2023
john, peyton, royal, navy, officer, john, goodwin, gregory, peyton, 1752, august, 1809, officer, royal, navy, during, american, french, revolutionary, wars, lieutenant, fought, alongside, father, joseph, peyton, moonlight, battle, cape, vincent, later, 1798, c. John Goodwin Gregory Peyton 1752 2 August 1809 was an officer in the Royal Navy during the American and French revolutionary wars As a lieutenant he fought alongside his father Joseph Peyton at the Moonlight Battle off Cape St Vincent and later in 1798 commanded HMS Defence at the Battle of the Nile He retired a Rear admiral in 1800 and died in 1809 at the age of 56 John PeytonJohn PeytonBorn1752Ardingly SussexDied2 August 1809 1809 08 02 aged 56 57 LymingtonBuriedMilford on SeaAllegiance Kingdom of Great Britain United KingdomService wbr branch Royal NavyYears of service1766 1800RankRear admiral Contents 1 Early life and career 2 Command 3 Later life 4 Citations 5 ReferencesEarly life and career Edit The Moonlight Battle where Peyton fought alongside his father Joseph aboard HMS CumberlandJohn Goodwin Gregory Peyton was born in Ardingly Sussex in 1752 to Joseph Peyton and his wife Katherine The Peytons were a naval family at least five generations served and both his grandfather Edward Peyton and his father attained the rank of admiral 1 John was one of seven children five boys and two girls and of his four brothers all but one entered the Royal Navy The eldest named after his father also became an admiral the younger brother William was an administrator the youngest Thomas died while in command of HMS Monarch in 1801 2 Peyton s early career is not well documented and he is sometimes confused with other family members but it is most likely that he is the Peyton registered aboard his father s ship HMS Belleisle in 1766 Promoted to lieutenant in 1772 he remained with his father fighting in HMS Cumberland at the first Battle of Cape St Vincent in 1780 1 Command EditPeyton s first command was the 12 gun cutter HMS Kite in which he captured the privateer Fantasque off Dunkirk in March 1782 He made Post on 21 January 1783 when he commissioned the newly launched HMS Carnatic 1 Peyton was assigned to another new ship in July 1794 the 38 gun HMS Seahorse in which he served on the Irish Station 1 3 At some point in 1795 Peyton took command of HMS Ceres sailing her to the Mediterranean in December 4 1 Nelson s Band of Brothers at the Nile Peyton s portrait is in the top row fifth from the leftPeyton was destined to become one of Nelson s Band of Brothers at the Battle of the Nile when he took command of HMS Defence in 1798 1 Having returned to England Peyton shared a coach journey with Fanny Nelson in March 1798 while on his way to join Horatio Nelson in HMS Vanguard for a journey out to the Mediterranean where Peyton was to take command of his next ship Later despite his seniority by 15 years Peyton was not consulted by Nelson prior to the search for the French fleet leaving the naval historian Peter Hore to wonder whether those encounters which undoubtedly would have given Nelson an opportunity to appraise one of his captains might have influenced that decision 1 Vanguard left England on 9 April 1798 and joined the Mediterranean Fleet off Cadiz twenty days later 5 6 but Peyton did not join his new command until June 7 Both the ship and crew were in a poor condition Defence was overdue a refit and had one of the longest sick lists in Nelson s fleet Scurvy ulcers and fever were common aboard and within a month Peyton had succumbed to sickness himself writing so in a letter to Nelson on 3 July Despite these problems Defence fought hard at the Nile engaging Peuple Souverain on 1 August for three hours before bringing down her masts and moving on to attack Franklin 8 On 13 August Peyton wrote a letter to his wife which gives one of the few surviving first hand accounts of the Nile battle 9 Later life EditPeyton retired to Lymington in 1800 where he bought Priestlands a large house with extensive grounds He lived there with his wife Susanna Gurnell whom he had married in 1793 until his death at the age of 56 on 2 August 1809 There is a memorial to him at All Saints Church Milford on Sea 9 Citations Edit a b c d e f g Hore p 34 Marshall p 438 Winfield 2008 p 144 Winfield 2007 p 216 Clarke MacArthur pp 450 451 James Vol II p 215 Winfield 2008 p 43 Hore pp 34 35 a b Hore p 35References EditClarke James Stainer MacArthur John 1810 The Life of Admiral Lord Nelson KB London T Cadell amp W Davies OCLC 183096009 Hore Peter 2015 Nelson s Band of Brothers Lives and Memorials Barnsley Seaforth Publishing ISBN 9781848327795 James William 1827 The Naval History of Great Britain Volume II 1797 1799 London Richard Bentley ISBN 0 85177 906 9 Marshall John 1828 Royal Naval Biography London Longman Rees Orme Brown and Green OCLC 1111834724 Winfield Rif 2007 British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714 1792 Design Construction Careers and Fates Barnsley Seaforth Publishing ISBN 978 1 84415 700 6 Winfield Rif 2008 British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793 1817 Design Construction Careers and Fates Barnsley Seaforth ISBN 978 1 86176 246 7 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John Peyton Royal Navy officer amp oldid 1167830029, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
