John Talbot

Admiral the Honourable Sir John Talbot GCB (c. 1769 – 7 July 1851) was a senior British Royal Navy officer who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and was engaged in several prominent single ship actions, all of which were successful. Later, during the War of 1812, Talbot was engaged in blockading the Connecticut coast and following the war retired to his country seat, never returning to service. Talbot's most famous actions were the capture of the French frigate Ville de Milan in 1805 while commander of and the capture of the ship of the line Rivoli in the Adriatic Sea on her maiden voyage, during Battle of Pirano. During the latter engagement Talbot was badly wounded and was subsequently presented with a gold medal for his success. Early life Talbot was born in approximately 1769, the son of Richard and Margaret Talbot, of Malahide near Dublin. His mother became Baroness Talbot de Malahide in 1831, the title passing to his elder brothers Richard and subsequently James. A younger brother was Thomas Talbot, a Canadian politician of the early nineteenth century. Talbot entered the Navy in 1784, joining Horatio Nelson's ship in the West Indies. In the following years he moved to and at Portsmouth and he was promoted lieutenant in 1790 while aboard . At the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars in 1793, Talbot was attached to under Samuel Hood in the Mediterranean. In the next two years, he moved between and and aboard the latter he was involved in the capture of the frigate Gloire in April 1796. Talbot sailed the captured Gloire to Britain, where he was promoted to commander and took over the sloop .