Page:Royal Naval Biography Marshall sp1.djvu/10

  son of the late James Sykes, Esq. Navy Agent, of Arundel Street, Strand, London.

This officer was one of Captain Vancouver’s midshipmen, in the Discovery, during a voyage round the world, already noticed. He obtained his first commission in 1795, and was made a Commander in 1800. His post commission bears date Jan. 22d, 1806; previous to which he had commanded the Hecla bomb, and the Nautilus sloop of war. The former vessel formed part of the squadron under Captain, (now Rear-Admiral) Robert Dudley Oliver, at the bombardment of Havre, in July and Aug. 1804, on which occasions his conduct was highly meritorious, as will be seen by the following official letters:

“Melpomene, off Havre, July 24, 1804.

“My Lord.– Since my letter to your Lordship of the 17th instant, we had light and very variable winds for three days, which were succeeded by a gale from the northward, when the bombs had some difficulty to keep clear of the shore. Yesterday, the wind having got to the S.W., I stood in with the squadron, and at 11 made the signal for the bombs to try their range; they placed themselves with the utmost precision immediately off the pier-heads, and at a quarter past 11 began a most tremendous fire of shells and carcasses, which was continued without intermission for an hour and a half; in a very few minutes the town was observed to be on fire, and as the pier was very full of vessels, it is impossible but they must have suffered considerably. The vessels which had been outside the pier during the bombardment of the 16th, were so much annoyed as to retire, some into the pier, and some up the river; one of them was towed on shore under the batteries, and has since been taken to pieces. The enemy’s mortar-batteries have been very considerably increased since the attack of the