Guide to the Papers of Vice-Admiral John Byron (as filmed by the AJCP), 1764-1766

Summary

Collection number:

M605

Creator:

Byron, John, Vice-Admiral, 1723-1786

Extent:

1 item

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the location of the original material and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.Items from this collection should include references to the location of the original material and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.

Example: M Series: Journal of Capt. James Cook, 18 February-23 September 1770, British Library Add. MS 27885 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1234)

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Available for reference.

Background

Content Summary:

Journal of HMS Dolphin 21 June 1764-9 May 1766 with marginal notes, probably by John Hawkesworth. As well as giving meteorological and navigational information, the journal gives brief descriptions of places visited, especially their geographical features, and mentions the activities of the crew on board.

Biographical / Historical:

{"persname":"John Byron (1723-1786)","content":"\u003cspan class='persname'\u003eJohn Byron (1723-1786)\u003c/span\u003e, the son of the 2nd Baron Byron, entered the Royal Navy in 1731. In 1740 he sailed as a midshipman on HMS \u003cem\u003eWager\u003c/em\u003e in the squadron commanded by George Anson, on its voyage to the pacific. The \u003cem\u003eWager\u003c/em\u003e was wrecked off the coast of Chile in May 1741 and Byron was only able to return to England in 1746. He was promoted to the rank of captain in the same year. He commanded several ships during the Seven Years War (1756-1763). In 1760, while commanding \u003cem\u003eHMS Fame\u003c/em\u003e, he was sent to North America with a small squadron and supervised the demolition of the fortifications at Louisburg and destroyed a lot of French shipping in the Bay of Chaleur."}

In 1764, with the rank of commodore, he was given command of HMS Dolphin, and the sloop Tamar, on a voyage to the Pacific. It was publicly stated that he would take command of the East Indies Station. His secret instructions directed him to sail to the southern Atlantic Ocean, search for Pepys Island, and take possession of the Falkland Islands. He was then to sail into the Pacific Ocean, sail northwards to New Albion (California) and search for the North-West Passage. After sailing along the coast of Patagonia, Byron looked for but failed to find Pepys Island and decided that it did not exist. He claimed the Falkland Islands for Britain and named Port Egmont, but his exploration was cursory and he was unaware that there was a French settlement on East Falkland. When he reached the Pacific, he ignored his instructions to search for the North-West Passage. Instead, he sailed in a north-westerly direction across the Pacific, with the intention of exploring the Solomon Islands. However, he sailed too far northwards and found very few islands, before reaching the East Indies in November 1765. His voyage was the fastest circumnavigation up to that time and was soon followed by the more successful Pacific voyages of Samuel Wallis and James Cook.

Byron served as Governor of Newfoundland in 1769-1772. In 1775 he was promoted to rear-admiral and in 1778 to vice-admiral. In 1778 he led a squadron to North America to intercept a French fleet. He was hampered by bad weather, but the two forces finally met off Granada in July 1779 in an indecisive battle. Byron returned to England at the end of the year and did not take part in any further naval actions.

Related

Existence and Location of Copies:

The original AJCP microfilm of the records filmed from this collection is available at the National Library of Australia [https://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1856170] as well as other institutions holding AJCP microfilm.

Existence and Location of Originals:

National Maritime Museum, Romney Road, Greenwich. Collection reference: JOD/58

For further information see National Maritime Museum UK. (https://collections.rmg.co.uk/archive/objects/505840.html)

Conditions Governing Access:

Available for Access.

Conditions Governing Use:

Many of the records digitised as part of the AJCP are still in copyright. Readers wishing to publish or reproduce documents should seek permission, in the first instance, from the owner of the original material.

Preferred citation:

Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the location of the original material and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.Items from this collection should include references to the location of the original material and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.

Example: M Series: Journal of Capt. James Cook, 18 February-23 September 1770, British Library Add. MS 27885 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1234)

Location of this collection:

National Library of Australia

Parkes Place

Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Contact:

Contact us