by Richard Hiscocks | Oct 13, 2017 | 1782, American Revolutionary War 1776-1783
Following the surrender of Lieutenant-General Lord Cornwallis? army at Yorktown in October 1781 American independence was all but granted by the debt-ridden British, who now took steps to assume an ascendancy over the French before peace could be negotiated. To...
by Richard Hiscocks | Oct 13, 2017 | 1782, American Revolutionary War 1776-1783
Battle of St. Kitts – 25/26 January 1782 Rear Admiral Sir Samuel Hood, the acting commander-in-chief in the Leeward Islands, had only recently returned to Barbados from North America with eighteen sail of the line when he received intelligence from the...
by Richard Hiscocks | Oct 15, 2017 | 1782, American Revolutionary War 1776-1783
Battle of Sadras – 17 February 1782 Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Hughes had not long effected the successful reduction of Dutch Trincomale by taking the principle bastion Fort Oostenburg on 11 January with casualties of twenty-one killed and forty-two wounded,...
by Richard Hiscocks | Oct 19, 2017 | 1782, American Revolutionary War 1776-1783
Success v Santa Catalina – 16 March 1782 Born to a prominent family, Captain Charles Morice Pole had risen quickly in the service with his early promotions taking place in the East Indies under the patronage of Commodores Sir Edward Hughes and Sir Edward...
by Richard Hiscocks | Oct 24, 2017 | 1782, American Revolutionary War 1776-1783
To the great relief of the navy and the country as a whole, the fall of Lord North?s government enabled the hitherto dissident Vice-Admiral Lord Howe to take command of the Channel Fleet on 2 April. At last the country?s most important line of defence had a...
by Richard Hiscocks | Oct 29, 2017 | 1782, American Revolutionary War 1776-1783
Battle of Providien – 12 April 1782 After his earlier inconclusive battle with the Bailli de Suffren off Sadras, Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Hughes and his nine sail of the line had undertaken repairs at Trincomale before departing for Madras on 4 March in...
by Richard Hiscocks | Nov 9, 2017 | 1782, American Revolutionary War 1776-1783
Battle of the Saintes – 12 April 1782 Shortly after daylight broke on 8 April over the British Leeward Islands fleet at anchor in Gros Islet Bay, St. Lucia, a message was rushed below to the commander-in-chief, Admiral Sir George Rodney, in the great...
by Richard Hiscocks | Nov 12, 2017 | 1782, American Revolutionary War 1776-1783
The 12-pounder frigate Blonde 32 had been built in France during the mid 1750?s, but in February 1760 had been one of three French vessels captured in a stunning action off the Isle of Man by a British squadron commanded by Captain John Elliot. After service in...
by Richard Hiscocks | Nov 16, 2017 | 1782, American Revolutionary War 1776-1783
Battle of Negapatam – 6 July 1782 Following the Battle of Providien in April, the British East Indian squadron commanded by Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Hughes had undertaken repairs at Trincomale whilst its adversary, the French squadron under Commodore...
by Richard Hiscocks | Nov 21, 2017 | 1782, American Revolutionary War 1776-1783
Following the Battle of Providien in the East Indies on 12 April Captain George Talbot of the Worcester 64 had been relieved of his command by Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Hughes and been left to find his own way home to England. Later accounts would differ as to...
by Richard Hiscocks | Nov 24, 2017 | 1782, American Revolutionary War 1776-1783
The Sinking of the Royal George – 29 August 1782 On 17 March 1782 the Royal George 100, flagship of Rear-Admiral Richard Kempenfelt, joined the Channel Fleet at Portsmouth following a comprehensive refit at Plymouth. A few weeks later she inherited a new...
by Richard Hiscocks | Dec 3, 2017 | 1782, American Revolutionary War 1776-1783
The Battle of Trincomale – 3 September 1782 Whilst the British East Indian squadron commanded by Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Hughes had licked its wounds at Madras in the weeks after the Battle of Negapatam on 6 July, the French squadron under Commodore...
by Richard Hiscocks | Dec 12, 2017 | 1782, American Revolutionary War 1776-1783
Rainbow v Hebe – 4 September 1782 In the spring of 1782, the thirty-five year-old two-decked British fifth rate Rainbow 44 was fitted out at Chatham with a battery of carronades consisting of twenty 68-pounders on her lower deck, twenty-two 42-pounders on...
by Richard Hiscocks | Dec 28, 2017 | 1782, American Revolutionary War 1776-1783
The Central Atlantic Hurricane destroys Graves’ Convoy – September 1782 On 25 July Rear Admiral Thomas Graves with his flag aboard the aged Ramillies 74, Captain Sylverius Moriarty, departed Bluefields, Jamaica, for England in command of a small...
by Richard Hiscocks | Dec 17, 2017 | 1782, American Revolutionary War 1776-1783
The leadership qualities and self-belief of Captain Roger Curtis had manifested themselves at an early age when as a young captain he had twice disobeyed orders from his admiral in the interests of the service, and had twice been complimented by Vice-Admiral...
by Richard Hiscocks | Jan 1, 2018 | 1782, American Revolutionary War 1776-1783
The capture of the Aigle and escape of the Gloire – 15 September 1782 Following their encounter with the disabled British prize Hector 74 on 4 September, the French frigates Aigle 40, commanded by the inspiring and well-connected 37-year-old Captain...
by Richard Hiscocks | Jan 11, 2018 | 1782, American Revolutionary War 1776-1783
London v Scipion – 17 October 1782 The British ships of the line Torbay 74, Captain John Lewis Gidoin, and London 90, Captain James Kempthorne, were cruising to the east of San Domingo in company with the sloop Badger 18, Commander Safry Hills, when at 9...
by Richard Hiscocks | Jan 18, 2018 | 1782, American Revolutionary War 1776-1783
The Third Relief of Gibraltar and Battle of Cape Spartel – October 1782 Throughout the summer of 1782, the British government had been unable to send a fleet to replenish the beleaguered Gibraltar as they had required ships in home waters to counter the...
