Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 02.djvu/44

 in the Channel; and in February 1731-2, being appointed to the Squirrel, was sent out to his old station on the coast of Carolina, whence he returned in June 1735; the Squirrel was paid off, and Anson, for the first time, was on shore for two years and a half.

In December 1737 he was appointed to the Centurion, of 60 guns, and sent to the west coast of Africa for the protection of the English trade against the encroachments of the French, after which he crossed over to the West Indies, and was recalled thence in the autumn of 1739, It had been determined to give him the command of one of two squadrons that were to be sent to the Pacific; and when it was found necessary to curtail the plan and send only one, that one was put under the orders of Anson with the nominal rank of commodore. The establishment of the navy, after many years of peace and decay, was at a very low ebb, and the expense of fitting out the fleet for the West Indies and the coast of Spain swallowed up all the resources of the admiralty. There was thus great difficulty in equipping and manning the ships intended for the Pacific; whilst instead of the regiment of soldiers which had been told off for this service, a number of pensioners, old, worn-out, and crippled, were put on board, together with a number of newly enlisted and wholly undrilled marines. All this caused great delay, and it was not till 18 Sept. 1740, after eight months' preparation, that the little squadron of six ships put to sea from St. Helens. Arriving in the neighbourhood of Cape Horn in the stormy season, the ships were severely buffeted; two were driven back, and never got round at all; one, the Wager, was driven ashore and totally lost [see ]; the Centurion narrowly escaped a similar fate; and it was not till 11 June 1741 that she arrived at Juan Fernandez, with not more than thirty men, officers included, fit for duty. The Gloucester, of 50 guns, arrived some time after in still worse plight, as also the Trial brig; and after refitting and resting till September, it was found that out of the 961 men who had left England in these three ships, 626 had died, leaving 335 men and boys, a number quite insufficient for even the Centurion alone, Anson, however, determined to do what he could to effect the purpose of his voyage, and, with a hollow pretence of strength, he managed to destroy the Spanish commerce, blockade the ports, and sack and burn the town of Paita. He then hoped to intercept the yearly ship from Manila for Acapulco; but finding that he had missed her, and that there was no chance of her sailing on the return voyage while he was on the coast, he made sail for China. The Trial had long since been condemned: the Gloucester now proved to be unseaworthy, and was cleared out and set on fire; the Centurion alone remained, and again, as off Cape Horn, was visited by scurvy in its worst forms. It was only after refreshing and resting for two months at Tinian, that her men, sorely diminished in numbers, were able to take the ship on to Macao; and, after refitting there, they sailed to cruise off Manila in quest of the Acapulco ship. The Centurion had now less than 200 men left of the original 961; but some Spanish negroes and Indians, as well as some Dutchmen and Lascars, had been picked up at Macao, and she had actually on board, of all creeds and colours, 227, With this reduced crew, however, she met the great galeon on 20 June 1743, and captured her. In size and number of men the Spaniard was vastly superior to the Centurion; but she was lumbered with merchandise, and of her 600 men few were trained to arms or to act together, whilst during the last cruise Anson had taken very great pains in exercising his men. The amount of treasure was enormous; and Anson, deciding that nothing more was to be done, resolved to return to England round the Cape of Good Hope. Good fortune favoured him at the last, and as he came into the Channel a thick fog hid him from the French fleet which was cruising in the Soundings; he passed safely through it, and anchored at Spithead on 15 June 1744. The treasure which he had brought home amounted to about 500,000l. This was landed at Portsmouth, sent up to London, and paraded in triumph through the city in a procession of thirty-two wagons, the ship's company marching with colours flying and band playing.

In ready acknowledgment of Anson's good service and good fortune, the admiralty at once promoted him to the rank of rear-admiral, but they refused to confirm an acting commission as captain of the Centurion, which Anson, claiming to act as commodore, had given to his first lieutenant, Mr. Peircy Brett, whilst in China. They did indeed specially promote Mr. Brett, but Anson rejected the compromise, returned his own commission—which was accordingly cancelled—and went on half pay as a captain. As his share of the prize money had rendered him a wealthy man, quite independent of the service, he would certainly not have accepted any further appointment from the Earl of Winchilsea, but the change of ministry a few months later brought in a new admiralty, with the Duke of Bedford at its