15 Facts About John Colpoys

John Colpoys's mother was a Miss Madden whose mother was Anne, daughter of Edward Singleton, an alderman of Drogheda in Ireland.

Nothing is known of John Colpoys' birth or childhood, except that he was born in approximately 1742.

John Colpoys is believed to have entered the Royal Navy in 1756 at the outbreak of the Seven Years' War and certainly served in the Siege of Louisbourg in 1758 and the British expedition against Martinique four years later.

At the outbreak of the American War of Independence, John Colpoys took command of the frigate HMS Seaford, which he commanded in European waters without seeing any significant action.

In 1778, shortly after leaving the frigate, John Colpoys was called to an Admiralty court as a judge in the court-martial of Sir Hugh Palliser in the acrimonious aftermath of the First Battle of Ushant.

In Orpheus, John Colpoys achieved his one victory at sea when, in company with HMS Roebuck, he successfully ran down and captured the small frigate USS Confederacy in 1781.

Rather than pursue the French, John Colpoys took his ships into Plymouth for a refit while the main body of the Channel Fleet hunted for the invasion force.

Worried about the potential influence of mutineers from the fleet at St Helens, John Colpoys then attempted to isolate his crew by sealing them below decks.

John Colpoys refused to allow their delegates on deck, and the crew attempted to storm the hatches.

John Colpoys panicked, and ordered his officers and marines to open fire on the sailors climbing out of the hatches.

Outnumbered by his thoroughly mutinous crew, John Colpoys was forced to surrender.

John Colpoys was later explicitly named in the mutineer's demands as an officer they would refuse to serve under.

In 1805, John Colpoys was awarded the honorary position of treasurer of Greenwich Hospital, and in 1816 he became governor of that institution.

In 1821, John Colpoys died at the Greenwich Hospital aged 79, and was buried on the site.

John Colpoys is listed on the south face of the Officers Monument there.