Page:Notes and Queries - Series 12 - Volume 3.djvu/413

 12 S. III. SKPT., 1917.;

NOTES AND QUERIES.

her predecessor having been wrecked on Nov. 12, 1699, in the West Indies, and she herself experiencing a similar fate off Flamborough Head on Dec. 30, 1760. She took part in an expedition against Spain in 1720, which resulted in the capture of the town and citadel of Vigo. She and the Flamborough, another 20 -gun ship, distinguished themselves in April, 1760, in an engagement with the French Malicieuse, 32, and Opal, 32, which had captured the Penguin, 20, when, " though not powerful enough to take them, they hung on to them iu the most dogged manner and eventually put them to flight."

The Neptune with the " long and heavy Figure Head " of " Neptune sitting on a SeaLyon," as well as the Royal William and the Princess Amelia, formed part of Hawke's squadron which set out in 1757 on an attempt to attack the He d'Aix, which had to be abandoned owing to the weather. The Neptune was the flagship of Vice- Admiral Knowles.

The Royal William, which was being " cut down to an 84-gun ship," took part, with the Princess Amelia (the Amelia of the list prefaced to the diary), Neptune, Pem- broke (also in the list), Alcide, and Hind, in the expedition to Quebec in 1759, and had the honour of bringing General Wolfe's body to England ; was with the Union (see list) and Princess Amelia in the action off the Dogger Bank, Aug. 5, 1781 ; was flagship of Admiral Boscawen in the Qui- beron expedition of 1760, and in the same year chased the Diademe into Corunna.

The neglect to which, the Alcide was subjected after her capture by the British, as recorded in this diary, and the small store set on her by the diarist, are hardly justified by her subsequent active and lengthy career in the Royal Navy, which lasted, so far as Sir William Clowes' s record of it is con- cerned, until 1794. She began with the expedition to Quebec, returned to England with dispatches ; was in the St. Lawrence again in 1760, with Commodore T,ord Col- ville's fleet ; in the expedition against Mar- tinique in 1762, and in a fleet sent against Jamaica and with the fleet under Sir George Pocock at the reduction of Havana in the same year ; and formed one of the fleet of Sir Samuel Hood opposed to De Grasse off Martinique in 1781. She had by this time become a 74, and took part in the indecisive action fought off Chesapeake Bay on Sept. 5, 1781, by Rear -Admiral Graves against De Grasse ; was under Rodney in

the action between him and De Grasse on April 12, 1782; was under Vice -Admiral Lord Hood at Toulon from August to December, 1793. She was succeeded in the French Navy by another Alcide, which was with the French as this one was with the English fleet at Toulon in 1793. This successor blew up with more than half her crew in the action off Hyeres, July 13, 1795.

The Boyne, " the only ship by her appear- ance that any use can be made of," was not " cut down to a Seventy-four." Her repair must have turned out "too expensive," for she remained an 80-gun ship, and by 1795 had become a 98-gun ship or was this her successor ? She had already seen a good deal of service, having been the flagsnip of Admiral Sir John Norris in 1740. and of Admiral Vernon at Cartagena in 1741-2, returning home with him. She was in the battle off Toulon in 1744, but nothing more is recorded of her until 1778. She was then of 70 guns only, and took part next year in an action off Granada under Rear- Admiral Joshua Rowley.

With regard to the Hind, " a 24-gun ship lately paid off," the naval inspector records that he " desired Mr. Allen " to have her taken in hand and made fit for sea as soon as the work on the Boyne was finished. " Mr. Allen " was probably ' ; Mr. E. Allen,' who in 1757 -completed the building of the Dorsetshire at Portsmouth. She was a 74, and with the assistance of the Achilles, 60 (see list), captured the Raisonnable on May 29, 1758. She can hardly have been laid down at the time of the inspection, or we should have heard of her in the diary. The projected diary of Feb. 22, 1757, would probably have dealt with her. The Hind, cut down to 20 guns, took part in the Quebec expedition, and with the Royal William, Princess Amelia, Pembroke, and Alcide in 1762 in the expedition to Belle Isle.

The remaining ships mentioned in the list are the Sunderland, Preston, and Glasgow. The last-named was a 24-gun and later a 20-gun ship. She was with the fleet off Gibraltar in 1759, and at the reduc- tion of Havana and on the Jamaica station in 17.62. The others were chiefly employed in the East Indies, and the Preston, 50, as well in the American War, 1776-8. The Sunderland, 60, foundered on Jan. 1, 1761, in a violent hurricane during the blockade of Pcndicherry, with her captain and crew.

PENRY LEWIS.