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 commission as commander-in-chief in the seas to the east of a line running due south from Point de Galle in Ceylon, leaving Pellew with only the western and least important part of the station, though with an authority to collect and command the two squadrons should the French come in force into the eastern seas. The division of the station, especially at that time (1805), when a strenuous attack by the French seemed not unlikely, was considered by Pellew as in the highest degree ill-judged, and he proposed various modifications of the order to Troubridge, at the same time offering him an equal share of the pecuniary advantages and of the patronage. Troubridge held that the admiralty order was absolute, and declined to accept the proposals of Pellew, who thereupon wrote a very strong remonstrance to the admiralty, who, apparently after consulting with Admiral [q. v.], yielded to Pellew's reasoning, and recalled Troubridge, appointing him to the command at the Cape of Good Hope, Pellew remaining, as at first, commander-in-chief of the whole East India station.

On the part of the French the war was principally waged by a few powerful frigates and many privateers, fitted out for the most part from Mauritius. The imprudence of the Calcutta merchants in letting their ships sail without convoy played into the enemy's hands, and they suffered severely in consequence (, Studies in Naval History, pp. 449–50); but the arrangements of Pellew reduced the risk of ships sailing with convoy to a minimum, and the losses by capture were less than those by the dangers of the sea (, Influence of Sea Power upon the French Revolution and Empire, ii. 217). The Dutch, on the other hand, had a considerable force of ships-of-war on the station; but, after many minor losses, the residue was destroyed at Gressie on 11 Dec. 1807 (, iv. 284). As captain and as admiral, Pellew was at all times most careful of the health and comfort of the men under his command; and, though determined to enforce the strictest discipline, he knew that, as a rule, frequency of punishment is a proof of unsatisfactory discipline. Accordingly, soon after arriving in India, he required a monthly return of punishment from every ship under his command; and the admiralty, struck with the good effects of the order, adopted it as general for the whole service. It is rightly described as ‘the first step in the milder and more effectual system of discipline which has since prevailed’ (, p. 258).

On 28 April 1808 Pellew was advanced to the rank of vice-admiral, and in 1809 he returned to England in the Culloden. Having declined an offer of the post of second in command in the Mediterranean, under Lord Collingwood, he was, in the spring of 1810, appointed commander-in-chief in the North Sea, with the charge of blockading the enemy's fleet in the Scheldt. In the spring of 1811 he succeeded Sir Charles Cotton as commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean, and went out with his flag in the 120-gun ship Caledonia, in which he continued during the war, for the most part off Toulon. On 14 May 1814 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Exmouth of Canonteign, a Devonshire estate which he had bought; on 4 June 1814 he became admiral of the blue; and on 2 Jan. 1815 was nominated a K.C.B., from which he was advanced a few months later to a G.C.B.

On the conclusion of the war, by the exile of Napoleon to Elba, Exmouth returned to England; but, on the escape of Napoleon in the following year, he was again sent out with his flag in the Boyne. The squadron wintered at Leghorn, and early in 1816 he was ordered to visit the several North African powers and claim the release of all British subjects. This was granted without difficulty by Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli; but the dey of Algiers positively refused a further request that he would abolish Christian slavery.

After a very warm altercation, and a serious risk of some of the English officers being torn to pieces by the mob, it was agreed to refer the matter to England, the dey undertaking to send a special embassy. Exmouth accordingly sailed for England; but before his arrival the news of a fresh outrage of the Algerines had determined the government to inflict a summary punishment on them. Exmouth was ordered to undertake the task, and, in consultation with the admiralty, declared his readiness to do so with five sail of the line. He was offered a larger force, but refused, considering that a greater number of ships could not be advantageously placed. The force with which he actually sailed from Plymouth on 28 July consisted of two three-deckers, the Queen Charlotte and Impregnable, and three 74-gun ships, with one of 50 guns, four frigates, and nine gun-brigs and bombs. At Gibraltar he found a Dutch frigate squadron, whose commander begged that they might be allowed to co-operate. To this Exmouth consented, and, coming off Algiers on 27 Aug. at daybreak, sent in a note demanding, among other points, the abolition of Christian slavery and the immediate release of all Chris-