INTRODUCTION. liii 
stated by the Members of the Court martial, was, “ that 
of an experienced, brave, and meritorious officer,” de- 
termined to sacrifice the Calcutta to the safety of his con- 
voy, by first manceuvering so as to draw the attention of 
the enemy to one point ; and, with this view, he offered en- 
gagement to the whole squadron of the enemy from Roche- 
fort, one of which was a three-decker, and four others of 
the line. After a sort of running fight with l’Armide, the 
Magnanime came up, and this ship of the line he engaged 
for fifty minutes, frequently within pistol shot. By this 
time the Calcutta was unrigged and unmanageable, and 
had six of her crew killed and six wounded; and the Thetis 
frigate coming up close under her stern, Captain Wood- 
rift was under the painful necessity of striking his colours; 
but the whole of his valuable convoy effected their escape. 
Captain Woodriff, after an imprisonment of eighteen 
months, was exchanged for a French officer of equal 
rank, but Lieutenant Tuckey was kept till the termina- 
tion of the war. ‘The Court martial held for the loss of 
the ship * most honourably acquitted ‘Captain Wood- 
rift, his officers and ship’s company ;” and on this oc- 
casion the Captain delivered a paper to the court, which 
was as follows: * I cannot, Mr. President and Members 
of this Honourable Court, omit to express to you, how 
much I regret that the captivity of Lieutenant Tuckey, 
late first of His Majesty’s ship Calcutta, should be a bar 
to the promotion he so highly merits ; his courage, cool 
intrepidity, and superior abilities as a seaman and an 
officer, entitle him to my warmest gratitude, and render 
him most worthy of the attention of the Right Honourable 
the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty.” 
