English naval officer: Sir John Munden

Sir John Munden served in the English navy in from the 1670's until the early 1700's. He was appointed 2nd Lieutenant of the St. David on 30 November 1677. He was appointed Lieutenant of the Constant Warwick on 16 July 1681. The King appointed him Lieutenant of the Mary Rose on 17 June 1685. On 11 July 1686, the King appointed him as First Lieutenant of the Charles galley. He was appointed to command the Half Moon fireship on 23 July 1688. He was promoted to Captain on 14 December 1688 and the Earl of Dartmouth appointed him to command the Edgar. He fought in the Battle of Beachy Head in 1690, where he commanded the Coronation (90 guns). In 1692, he fought in the Battle of Barfleur, where he commanded the Lennox (70 guns). In 1697, he cruised in the Mediterranean Sea to help suppress piracy. He commanded the Winchester (60 guns). On 14 April 1701, he was appointed Rear-Admiral of the Blue. On 1 July 1701, he was knighted. On 2 September 1701, he commanded an Anglo-Dutch squadron which escorted Admiral Benbow's squadron as they sailed for the Caribbean. On 28 January 1702, he was appointed Rear-Admiral of the White. He had been appointed Rear-Admiral of the Red on 30 June 1701. He was dismissed from the service sometime in 1702. He had commanded a squadron sent to Spain, and tried to intercept 13 French warships, but he could not catch them, and they got into Corunna. He was put before a court martial and was acquitted of all charges. The Queen was unhappy, nonetheless, and had the Lord High Admiral dismiss him from the service. Sir John Munden died in 1718. William Laird Clowes considers that he was mistreated. Sources:

1. William Laird Clowes, The Royal Navy: A History from the Earliest Times to the Present, Vol.II, 1898
2. David Syrett, R. L. DiNardo, The Commissioned Sea Officers of the Royal Navy 1660-1815, 1994
3. J.R. Tanner, A Descriptive Catalogue of the Naval Manuscripts in the Pepysian Library at Magdalene College, Cambridge, Vol.I, 1903