752 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 



1805. 



been captured at the Dutch settle- 

 Jiient of Kiistatia, by a French pri- 

 Tateer, under the guns and protec- 

 tion of the governor. Lieutenant 

 llovve, at his own earnest request, 

 Was sent with orders to claim her 

 for the owners. This demand not 

 being complied with, he desired 

 leave to go with the boats, and at- 

 tempt cutting her out of tlie Jiar- 

 bour. The captain represented tlie 

 danger of so adventurous a step, 

 and added, that he had not suHi- 

 cicnt interest to support him in 

 England, on a fepresentalion of 

 the breach of neutrality. The lieu- 

 tenant then requested he would for 

 a short time quit tlic ship, and leave 

 the command witli him. This being 

 done, the Jvioutcnant went with the 

 boats, cut out the vessel, and re- 

 stored it to the proprietors. 



In the autumn of 1745, lieute- 

 nant Howe, having served pre- 

 viously with admiral Vernon in the 

 Downs, '.'.as raised to the rank of 

 commander in the Haltimore sloop 

 of war, which joined the rest 

 of the scjaadron on the coast of 

 Scotland, under Admiral Smith. 

 During this cruize, the liallimore 

 and another armed vessel fell in 

 with two French frigates, of 30 

 guns each, full of' troops and am- 

 munition. Capt. Howe immediately 

 ran the Baltimore between then), 

 and almost on board one of the 

 ' ships. A desperate action com- 

 menced, in which C;ipt. Howe was 

 severely Avoundcd in the head by a 

 nusket-ball, and carried off the 

 deck to all appearance dead ; but, 

 by medical assistance he soon reco- 

 vered signs of life, and, after the 

 dressing of his wound iiew again to 

 his post. The action continued till 

 the French ships sheered off, leav- 

 ing the Baltimoje in too shattered a 



condition to pursue them. For his 

 behaviour in this action, properly 

 represented to the worthy admiral 

 Smith, our young hero was advanc- 

 ed to the rank of post-captain, and 

 on April 10, 1746, appointed to the 

 Tj-iton fiigate. With the Triton he 

 was ordered to Lisbon, there found 

 the Rippon, captain Ilolbourne, 

 with %vhom he changed ships, and 

 visited the coast of Guinea. He af- 

 terwards went to admiral Knowles, 

 at Jamaica, was appointed his first 

 captain, on board tlie Cornwall, of 

 80 guns, in which ship he returned 

 to England at the peace in 1748. 



During the time of captain Howe's 

 continuance with Sir Edward 

 Knowles, in the West Indies, he 

 did his patron a particular piece of 

 service in the domestic xsuy. By an 

 intinite deal of jjains he prevented 

 that very skilful, but over-amorous, 

 naval officer, from degrading him- 

 self excessively through a most im- 

 proper marriage. This private 

 anecdote (lately communicated to 

 me from a most respectable and un- 

 deniable authority) proves that an 

 early and sincere desire of render- 

 ing his friendshij) effectually useful, 

 was remarkably prevalent in capt. 

 Richard Howe. 



A slate of total inactivity could 

 be little suited to the genius of an 

 enterjirising youth. We may rea- 

 sonably conclude, then, that his in- 

 terval at this time, of about three 

 years, between his actual services, 

 was chiefly taken up by an atten- 

 tion to the study of mathematics 

 and naval tactics ; in the know- 

 ledge of which he was universally 

 allowed to have been singularly 

 eminent, when of matnrcr years. 



JNlarch, 1751, proved the recom- 

 mencement of his nautical under- 

 takings. He was then appointed 



to 



i 



