Voltaire publishes Candide in 1759 and our Admiral Byng is in it
This fantastical novella was published in English in the same year of 1759 it got printed in French. Candide's visit at Portsmouth England arrives just in time to see the execution of Admiral Byng. He doesn't mention Admiral Byng by name, but the whole description of the the execution by firing squad on a ship matches that moment.
Admiral Byng's Troubles
This Admiral Bying was involved in a naval battle near the island Minorca in the Medittereanan 9 May 1756. This admiral is 51 years old at that battle. He loses the battle in the sense that he does not accomplish his mission. He's courtmartialed with a guilty verdict 27 Dec 1757 for not engaging hard enough to save the British beseiged by the French on this island. But the real reason for the verdict was his failure had followed many others.
It fell to Admiral John Forbes [not the same as General Forbes] , in his role as Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty, to sign Byng's death warrant. This he refused to do, believing the sentence to be illegal, instead attaching to the warrant a document explaining his refusal . .- wikipedia. .
The wrangling to appeal the verdict went on for several months. The King refused clemency. Admiral John Bying waited in the ship's hold until 14 March 1757. That's when the firing squad assembled with a fleet of ships and people watching an Admiral receiving the nicety of a cushion for him to sit his knees upon.
This coincides closely with an official declaration of war by the King of England in May 1756. It wasn't declared at Braddock's Defeat in July 9, 1755. It wasn't declared when Washington saw Chief Half King kill a French officer at Jumonville Glen May 28, 1754. It wasn't declared when the French and their Indians kill and boil and eat an English Indian named Old Briton in June 21, 1752.
Fort Loudoun Winchester VA connection
The connection to Fort Loudoun is only in context of what the top officers of the Virginia Regiment heard about the rest of the world. They knew of the battles around the world but sometimes only months after it happened. Aide de camp, Captain John Mercer writes to his Colonel George Washington from Charleston SC about Frederick the Great's battles in Europe.
May 17, 1756 Virginia did not know yet that Great Britain declared official war.
The day after Fort Loudoun construction began.
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August 15, 1756 Colonel Washington got word of this formal declaration ordering for the next day in Winchester VA, a “triple Discharge of the Artillery, and three Rounds of Musquetry, with loud Acclamations of the People.”
ONE MORE THING.This day May 18, 1756 was a busy day when starting building of Fort Loudoun, and George Washington delaying two executions. Nathan Lewis had been convicted of cowardice for returning to Fort Edwards from the Battle of the Great Cacapon. And a Henry Campbell convicted for embezzling and then for deserting twice.
Voltaire's Candide:
But back to Voltaire's Candide's worldwide pursuit to find an answer to the craziness of the world.
This also might be the genesis, of similar phrases like "the beatings will continue until morale improves."
Here is what Voltaire's Candide is told abount the execution of Admiral Bying in the 1759 English translation:
"in this country, it is proper now and then to kill one admiral, in order to make the others fight. "
Below is the full excerpt where the above quote is found in Chapter 23, pages 94 and 95 in "Candide: or, all for the best." By M. de Voltaire. 1759
You are acquainted with England: are they as great fools in that country as in France? They have a different kind of folly, said Martin; you knew that these two nations are at war, for a few acres of barren land in the neighbourhood af Canada, land that they have spent a great deal more in the prosecution of this war than all Canada is worth. [France was more focused on the European continent - from the King to its citizens thought that]
To tell you exactly, whether there are more inhabitants fit to send to a madhouse in one country than the other, is what my imperfect intelligence will not permit, only so in general that the people we sure going to see, are very atrabilarious [melancholy and/or ill-tempered]. As they were talking in this manner, they arrived at Portsmouth [England]. The coast was lined with à multitude of people, whose eyes were fixed on a lusty man [He must have looked robust at age 52 at time of execution]
on board one the the men of war, in the harbour, who was upon his knees, and blindfolded, Four soldiers stood opposite to this man; each of them fired three balls at his head, [ the picture shows more than 4 men firing] with all the calmness in the world; and the whole assembly went away very well satisfied, What is all this? said Candid ; and what dæmon is it that exercises his tyrannic sway in every country? He then asked: who was that lusty man, who had been killed with so much ceremony?They answered, he was an admiral. And why would you kill your admiral? Because he did not take care to kill a sufficient number of men himself. He gave battle to a French admiral; and it has been proved that he was not near enough to him. But, replied Candid, the French admiral was as far from the English Admiral. "There is no doubt of it, said they ; but in this country, it is proper now and then to kill one admiral, in order to make the others fight.
Candide was so shocked at what he saw and heard, that he would not set foot on shore, but made a bargain with the Dutch skipper (were he even to rob him, like the captain at Surinam (a Dutch colony in South America) to carry him directly to Venice.
Source
Compiled by Jim Moyer first researched in 2016, updated 12/15/2023
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