Baker Philipps

Lieutenant Baker Phillips (1718 – 19 July 1745) was a Royal Navy officer who served in the War of the Austrian Succession. During the conflict, he served as second lieutenant abroad . In 1745, an unprepared Anglesea was attacked and captured by a French warship. Phillips was court-martialed and executed for surrendering his ship while in command, his superiors having fallen to French fire. His court-martial was widely criticised and led to an amendment of the British Articles of War.

Naval service On 28 March 1745, Anglesea sailed out of Kinsale, having landed her first Lieutenant, among others, due to illness and proceeded to the mouth of the English Channel. The warship was under the command of Captain Jacob Elton, and was tasked with patrolling the Channel for French shipping. On the afternoon of 29 March, a large sail was spotted windward (upwind) of Anglesea, with the vessel heading in the direction of the British warship. Believing the oncoming ship to be HMS Augusta, Captain Elton retired below deck to take his dinner. The ship quickly approached Anglesea, with it eventually being discovered that the ship flew French colours on her quarter. This was the 50-gun Apollon, which closed and prepared for action with the seemingly idle British warship. In the confusion aboard the British ship, Captain Elton ordered Anglesea's foresail raised in preparation for a retreat. The effect of this action was to blow the ship to one side and flood the lower gun decks. Apollon laid down a withering fire onto Anglesea, with the first broadside killing both Captain Elton and the master of the ship, leaving the second lieutenant Baker Phillips in command. Several more minutes saw 60 men killed or wounded by French fire. Apollon was able to engage the crippled Anglesea from its leeward side, granting the French ship an advantage in manoeuvrability. With Anglesea unable to fight and with the ship taking on water, Phillips ordered the colours struck and surrendered the vessel.

The execution of Lieutenant Phillips was controversial. Many in Parliament believed that a captain or other high-ranking officer caught in his position would not have been executed. The incident led to the Articles of War being amended to ensure one law for all, with that law recommending the death penalty for any officer of any rank who did not do his utmost against the enemy in battle or pursuit. The consensus within the Royal Navy was not that Phillips should have been spared execution, but rather that any commander, including high-ranking officers, should be executed if they surrendered or showed incompetence.