Edward Acton (Royal Navy officer)
Edward Acton (died 1707) was a captain in the Royal Navy, distinguished for services in the reign of Queen Anne.
Life[]
Acton was born in about 1673, the illegitimate son of Mary Acton (née Weaver), widow of William Acton of Buildwas, Shropshire (son of Sir Edward Acton, 1st Baronet).[1] He joined the navy as a volunteer aboard HMS Diamond in September 1691, was a Lieutenant on HMS Advice in May 1693 and succeeded to command that vessel following the death of the previous captain on 7 October 1694.[2]
In 1703 Acton had Captain Richard Kirkby and Captain as prisoners as he escorted them back to England to be executed. They had been found guilty of failing to support Vice-Admiral John Benbow.[2]
In Sir George Rooke's vigorous and intrepid attack of Gibraltar, he commanded HMS Kingston, one of the ships at the Capture of Gibraltar.[3]
Under the same chief, Acton took part in the Battle of Málaga (1704); but aspersions had been cast upon his bravery. Fortunately, however, for Acton, and others who underwent the same ordeal, a court martial silenced slander and exposed the fabrications. He was fully and honourably acquitted.[3]
In 1706 he took command of HMS Grafton which was refitted the following year. Whilst part of a larger battle and while escorting other ships his ship was engaged by two French ships under the command of Claude de Forbin off Dungeness. Acton was killed.[2]
References[]
- ^ "Staffordshire Pedigrees". p. 172.
- ^ a b c Le Fevre, Peter. "Acton, Edward". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ a b Rose, Hugh James (1857). "Acton, Edward". A New General Biographical Dictionary. Vol. 1 AA–ANS. London: B. Fellowes et al. p. 81.
  | This biographical article related to the Royal Navy is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by . |
- 1707 deaths
- Royal Navy officers
- British naval commanders in the War of the Spanish Succession
- Royal Navy personnel stubs