# Savage Mostyn

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{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{Infobox military person
|honorific_prefix = [Vice-Admiral](/source/Vice-admiral_(Royal_Navy))
|name=Savage Mostyn
|birth_date={{circa|1713}}
|death_date= 16 September 1757
|image=Rear Admiral Savage Mostyn died 1757.jpg
|caption=
|birth_place= 
|death_place =
|nickname=
|allegiance=[Great Britain](/source/Great_Britain)
|service_years= {{circa}}1733–1757
|rank=[Vice-Admiral](/source/Vice_Admiral_(Royal_Navy))
|branch= [Royal Navy](/source/Royal_Navy)
|commands={{HMS|Duke|1739|6}}<br/>{{HMS|Seaford|1697|6}}<br/>{{HMS|Winchelsea|1740|6}}<br/>{{HMS|Deptford|1732|6}}<br/>{{HMS|Suffolk|1680|6}}<br/>{{HMS|Hampton Court|1709|6}}<br/>[Commander-in-Chief, The Nore](/source/Commander-in-Chief%2C_The_Nore)<br/>[Comptroller of the Navy](/source/Comptroller_of_the_Navy)<br/>[Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty](/source/Lord_Commissioner_of_the_Admiralty)
|unit=
|battles=
{{tree list}}
* [War of the Austrian Succession](/source/War_of_the_Austrian_Succession)
** [Battle of Cartagena de Indias](/source/Battle_of_Cartagena_de_Indias)
* [French and Indian War](/source/French_and_Indian_War)
* [Seven Years' War](/source/Seven_Years'_War)
{{tree list/end}}
|awards=
|relations=[Sir Roger Mostyn, 3rd Baronet](/source/Sir_Roger_Mostyn%2C_3rd_Baronet) (father)<br/>[Daniel Finch, 8th Earl of Winchilsea](/source/Daniel_Finch%2C_8th_Earl_of_Winchilsea) (cousin)
}}

[Vice-Admiral](/source/Vice_Admiral_(Royal_Navy)) '''Savage Mostyn''' ({{circa|1713}} – 16 September 1757) was an officer of the [Royal Navy](/source/Royal_Navy) who saw service during the [War of the Austrian Succession](/source/War_of_the_Austrian_Succession) and the [Seven Years' War](/source/Seven_Years'_War). He embarked on a political career, and was a [Member of Parliament](/source/Member_of_Parliament), [Comptroller of the Navy](/source/Comptroller_of_the_Navy_(Navy_Board)), and one of the [Lords of the Admiralty](/source/Lords_of_the_Admiralty).

Mostyn was born into a well connected family. He went to sea and quickly rose through the ranks to command his own ships. By the outbreak of the War of the Austrian Succession he was a captain, and served with several of the leading naval officers of the day in operations off the British coast, and in the Caribbean. While sailing off the French coast in 1744, Mostyn became involved in an incident which almost blighted his career. His squadron chased down several French ships, with Mostyn being close to engaging them, but considering the risks of attacking while unsupported too great, he drew away and allowed the French to escape. His actions were approved of by the [Admiralty](/source/British_Admiralty), but sensitive to criticism, Mostyn demanded a court martial, which acquitted him of blame. Public opinion was against him however, especially when it was learnt that Mostyn's powerful relations may have had a hand in influencing the court.

His naval career was largely unaffected however, and he served in several cruising squadrons and captured a number of [privateer](/source/privateer)s. He entered politics in 1747, representing the constituency of [Weobley](/source/Weobley_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) until his death, and was involved in the administration of the navy as Comptroller, and as a Lord of the Admiralty. He was advanced to flag rank and served in a junior role in commanding several of the fleets of the Seven Years' War, until his death in 1757.

==Family and early life==
Savage Mostyn was born circa 1713, a younger son of [Sir Roger Mostyn, 3rd Baronet](/source/Sir_Roger_Mostyn%2C_3rd_Baronet), and his wife Lady Essex Finch, the daughter of [Daniel Finch, 7th Earl of Winchilsea](/source/Daniel_Finch%2C_7th_Earl_of_Winchilsea).<ref name="ODNB">{{cite ODNB |chapter=Savage Mostyn (c.1713–1757)|chapter-url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/19417|title=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography |year=2004|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/19417 |accessdate=7 January 2023 }}</ref> 

He entered [Westminster School](/source/Westminster_School) at the age of eleven in June 1725. He was appointed a lieutenant of the 60-gun {{HMS|Pembroke|1733|6}} on 2 March 1734. He went on to serve aboard the 100-gun {{HMS|Britannia|1682|6}} during her time as the [flagship](/source/flagship) of Sir [John Norris](/source/John_Norris_(Royal_Navy_officer)), before being advanced to his own command, that of the [fireship](/source/fireship) {{HMS|Duke|1739|6}}, on 3 July 1739. ''Duke'' was attached to Rear-Admiral [Nicholas Haddock](/source/Nicholas_Haddock)'s fleet off [Cádiz](/source/C%C3%A1diz), and having impressed Haddock, Mostyn was given command of the 24-gun {{HMS|Seaford|1697|6}} on 17 December 1739. The [Admiralty](/source/British_Admiralty) confirmed him in his rank on 6 March 1740.<ref name="ODNB"/>

He went on to serve on several ships in quick succession during 1740, taking command of the 24-gun {{HMS|Winchelsea|1740|6}} in April, and later that year moving to the 60-gun {{HMS|Deptford|1732|6}}. With ''Deptford'' Mostyn went out to the [West Indies](/source/West_Indies) with Sir [Chaloner Ogle](/source/Chaloner_Ogle)'s fleet, and later served under Vice-Admiral [Edward Vernon](/source/Edward_Vernon), during the [attempts to capture Cartagena](/source/Battle_of_Cartagena_de_Indias) in March and April 1741. Mostyn took command of the 70-gun {{HMS|Suffolk|1680|6}} in December 1743 and joined Sir John Norris's fleet. He was present with Norris off [Dungeness](/source/Dungeness_(headland)) on 24 February 1744, when the British intercepted a French fleet under the [Comte de Rocquefeuil](/source/Jacques_Aymar_de_Roquefeuil_et_du_Bousquet) which was carrying troops for a [planned invasion of Britain](/source/Planned_French_invasion_of_Britain_(1744)). Norris chased the French fleet away, until they were scattered by a storm.<ref name="ODNB"/>

==Chasing the French==
Mostyn took command of the 70-gun {{HMS|Hampton Court|1709|6}} in April 1744 and was assigned to [Sir John Balchen's](/source/John_Balchen) fleet.<ref name="ODNB"/><ref name="Winfield">{{cite book |last=Winfield |title=British Warships of the Age of Sail 1714–1792|pages=87–8}}</ref> By early 1745 Mostyn was cruising off [Ushant](/source/Ushant) with three other ships, {{HMS|Captain|1743|6}}, {{HMS|Dreadnought|1742|6}} and {{HMS|Sunderland|1724|6}}.<ref name="ODNB"/><ref name="Motooka7">{{cite book |last=Motooka |title=The Age of Reasons |page=7}}</ref> On 6 January they fell in with three French ships; ''Neptune'', ''Fleuron'' and ''Mars'', and chased them. ''Neptune'' and ''Fleuron'' were 74-gun ships, while ''Mars'' was a smaller vessel, a former English [privateer](/source/privateer).<ref name="Allen">{{cite book |last=Allen|title=Battles of the British Navy|page=156}}</ref> ''Mars'' broke away from the other two French ships, and was pursued by ''Captain'', which captured the French ship that evening.<ref name="Motooka7"/> ''Sunderland'' lost her fore-topmast and fell behind, leaving ''Hampton Court'' and ''Dreadnought'' to pursue the remaining two French ships alone.<ref name="Allen"/> Mostyn soon closed on the French, but ''Dreadnought'' still lagged behind. After waiting another day and night in the hope that ''Dreadnought'' would catch up, Mostyn abandoned the chase, fearing that he was too close to the French shore, and that he would be overwhelmed by the combined firepower of his opponents if he attacked alone.<ref name="Motooka7"/><ref name="Allen"/> After his return to port, Mostyn justified his actions, claiming that the choppy, squally weather caused his ship to heel over so far as to render his lower gunports inoperable, while the French vessels sat higher in the water and could have used theirs. Without ''Dreadnought'' to support him, Mostyn argued that he could have been overwhelmed, had he risked an attack.<ref name="Motooka7"/><ref name="Allen"/>

===Controversy===
The Admiralty accepted the explanation, and the matter might have passed, had Mostyn not written to the [Navy Board](/source/Navy_Board) to request his masts be replaced with smaller ones.<ref name="Motooka7"/> The Board declined the request, replying that 'as there has never been any Complaint, of her before, that She will do very well.'<ref name="Motooka7"/> Mostyn read into the reply an imputation that he was inventing a cause for his recent failure that did not exist. He immediately petitioned for a [court-martial](/source/court-martial) to examine his conduct, to which the Admiralty acquiesced.<ref name="Motooka7"/> Mostyn was duly acquitted, the court determining that he had done 'his duty as an experienced good Officer, and as a Man of Courage and Conduct.'<ref name="Motooka8">{{cite book |last=Motooka |title=The Age of Reasons |page=8}}</ref>

Shortly afterwards a pamphlet appeared, entitled ''An Enquiry into the Conduct of Captain Mostyn''. It was anonymous, though the author was probably Admiral Vernon.<ref name="ODNB"/><ref name="Motooka8"/> The author criticised the findings of the court, accusing them of having been led and coached by Mostyn's powerful cousin the Earl of Winchilsea, and of whitewashing Mostyn's negligent conduct during the chase.<ref name="ODNB"/><ref name="Motooka8"/> Mostyn's supporters quickly published a response, ''A Vindication of the Conduct of Captain M-N'', attributing blame solely to ''Hampton Court''{{'}}s tendency to [roll](/source/Ship_motions) in heavy swell.<ref>Willis 2008, p. 120</ref> Despite this response, public opinion remained against Mostyn and nearly a year after the verdict he was jeered out of Portsmouth Dockyard by workmen and sailors calling out 'All's well! there's no Frenchman in the way!'<ref name="ODNB"/>

==Continued service==
Despite these proceedings, Mostyn remained in command of ''Hampton Court'', and joined [William Martin](/source/William_Martin_(Royal_Navy_officer))'s squadron later in 1745.<ref name="Winfield"/> He enjoyed some considerable success against enemy cruisers and privateers, capturing ''Diane'' on 4 May 1745, and the 32-gun [''Lis''](/source/HMS_Lys_(1745)) in December that year.{{Ref label|A|a|none}}<ref name="Winfield"/> He captured several more privateers over the next few years, ''Dauphin'' on 27 January 1746, and the 20-gun ''Comte de Lowendahl'' in the Western Channel on 4 March 1747.<ref name="Winfield"/> He was with a squadron when they fell in with a convoy being escorted by [Comte Dubois de la Motte](/source/Emmanuel-Auguste_de_Cahideuc%2C_Comte_Dubois_de_la_Motte) on 20 June 1747, and took 48 merchants as prizes.<ref name="Winfield"/><ref name="Richmond">{{cite book |last=Richmond |title=The Navy in the War of 1739-48 |pages=96–8}}</ref> Several more privateers were taken during 1747, ''Triomphant'' on 23 June, ''Grand San Juan'' on 7 December, and the 20-gun ''Thétis'' on 9 December. ''Hampton Court'' cruised with [Sir Peter Warren](/source/Sir_Peter_Warren)'s fleet in 1748.<ref name="Winfield"/>

==Politics and high office==
Mostyn entered politics in 1747, with his election in July that year as [Member of Parliament](/source/Member_of_Parliament) for the [Herefordshire](/source/Herefordshire) constituency of [Weobley](/source/Weobley_(UK_Parliament_constituency)). He used the position to support the government, and held the seat until his death.<ref name="ODNB"/> He was appointed [Comptroller of the Navy](/source/Comptroller_of_the_Navy_(Navy_Board)) on 22 March 1749, having to manage the repair of old ships and the construction of new ones during the peace, when the dockyard workforces were being reduced.<ref name="ODNB"/> He is sometimes credited with the introduction of standardised uniforms for naval officers during his time as Comptroller, though an order in council establishing uniform clothing exists dating from 10 February 1747.<ref name="USM">{{cite book |title=The United Service Magazine|page=457}}</ref> Mostyn returned to active service with the outbreak of the [French and Indian War](/source/French_and_Indian_War), receiving a promotion to rear-admiral on 4 February 1755.<ref name="ODNB"/> He went out to North America in summer that year as second in command of the fleet under Vice-Admiral [Edward Boscawen](/source/Edward_Boscawen), and spent 1756 as second in command of the western squadron, serving successively under [Edward Hawke](/source/Edward_Hawke%2C_1st_Baron_Hawke), Boscawen, and [Sir Charles Knowles](/source/Sir_Charles_Knowles%2C_1st_Baronet).<ref name="ODNB"/>

He became one of the [junior lords of the Admiralty](/source/Lords_of_the_Admiralty) between April and June 1757, under the brief administration of his cousin, and died shortly afterwards, on 16 September 1757.<ref name="ODNB"/> He was unmarried, and left £60,000 to his nephew, [Roger Mostyn](/source/Sir_Roger_Mostyn%2C_5th_Baronet).<ref name="ODNB"/>

==Notes==
{{refbegin}}
'''a.''' {{Note label|A|a|none}} ''Lis'' was taken into the Royal Navy as the 26-gun [sixth rate](/source/sixth_rate) {{HMS|Lys|1745|6}}.<ref name="Colledge">{{cite book |last=Colledge |title=Ships of the Royal Navy|page=209}}</ref><br>
{{refend}}

==Citations==
{{reflist}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |title = The United Service Magazine| publisher =H. Colburn| year = 1837|volume=3}}
* {{cite book | last = Allen| first = Joseph|title = Battles of the British Navy| publisher =H.G. Bohn| year = 1853|volume=1}}
* {{Colledge: Ships RN|year=2006}}
* {{cite ODNB |first=J. K.|last=Laughton|author-link=John Knox Laughton|chapter='Mostyn, Savage (c.1713–1757)’, rev. Roger Morriss|chapter-url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/19417|title=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography |year=2004|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/19417 }}
* {{cite book | last = Motooka| first = Wendy|title = The Age of Reasons: Quixotism, Sentimentalism, and Political Economy in Eighteenth-century Britain| publisher =Routledge| year = 1998|isbn=0-415-17941-6}}
* {{cite book | last =Richmond| first = Theo. R|title = The Navy in the War of 1739-48| publisher =BiblioBazaar| year = 2009|isbn=978-1-113-20983-2}}
* {{cite book | last = Willis| first = Sam|title = Fighting at Sea in the Eighteenth Century: The Art of Sailing Warfare | publisher =Boydell| year = 2008|isbn=9781843833673}}
* {{cite book | last = Winfield| first = Rif|title = British Warships of the Age of Sail 1714–1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates | publisher = Seaforth| year = 2007|isbn=978-1-86176-295-5}}
{{refend}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{succession box | title=[Comptroller of the Navy](/source/Comptroller_of_the_Navy_(Navy_Board)) | before=[Richard Haddock](/source/Richard_Haddock_(Royal_Navy_officer%2C_born_1673)) | after=[Sir Charles Saunders](/source/Charles_Saunders_(Royal_Navy_officer)) | years=1749–1755}}
|-
{{s-par|gb}}
{{succession box
 | title=[Member of Parliament](/source/Member_of_Parliament) for [Weobley](/source/Weobley_(UK_Parliament_constituency))
 | years=1747&ndash;1757
 | with = [Mansel Powell](/source/Mansel_Powell) (1747)<br>[Viscount Perceval](/source/John_Perceval%2C_2nd_Earl_of_Egmont) (1747–1754)<br>[John Craster](/source/John_Craster) (1754–1757)
 | before=[Lieutenant-Colonel The Lord Carpenter](/source/George_Carpenter%2C_2nd_Baron_Carpenter)<br>[The Viscount Palmerston](/source/Henry_Temple%2C_1st_Viscount_Palmerston)
 | after= [John Craster](/source/John_Craster)<br />[George Venables-Vernon](/source/George_Venables-Vernon%2C_2nd_Baron_Vernon)
}}
{{s-end}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mostyn, Savage}}
Category:1710s births
Category:1757 deaths
Category:Royal Navy vice admirals
Category:Royal Navy personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession
Category:British military personnel of the French and Indian War
Category:Royal Navy personnel of the Seven Years' War
Category:Lords of the Admiralty
Category:British MPs 1747–1754
Category:British MPs 1754–1761
Category:Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies
Category:People educated at Westminster School, London
Category:Younger sons of baronets
Savage

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Savage Mostyn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savage_Mostyn) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savage_Mostyn?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.