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HiddenStoat t1_iy80gmm wrote

Reply to comment by gunboatdiplomacy in TIL that after the battle between the USS Constitution and HMS Guerriere, the captain of the Constitution, Isaac Hull, refused the sword of surrender from the captain of the Guerriere, James Richard Dacre, saying he could not accept it from a man who fought so gallantly by alcapwnage0007

> after an admiral wussed out of a fight [the Admiralty] went and shot him

Inspiring Voltaire's famous quote

>Mais dans ce pays-ci il est bon de tuer de tems en tems un Amiral pour encourager les autres. > > but in this country it is found good, from time to time, to kill one Admiral to encourage the others.

And it did indeed have a galvanising effect on the Royal Navy - officers were incredibly gung-ho and would prosecute an attack in the face of insurmountable odds. Thanks to the high training and discipline of the Royal Navy they would typically win as well.

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