1808.] Account of thetate Admiral Roddain. : 
etherwise known to its inhabitants than from 
the account of his conduct in Sidera bay, they 
immediately offered and earnestly solicited 
Captain Roddam to become their represen- 
tative in parliament; this honour he re- 
peatedly refused, as well as many offers from 
boroughs at various times rendered to him. 
Captain Roddam served in the Greyhound 
frigate in Holland, under Commadore Mitchell: 
he was afterwards ordered to join Admiral 
Watson at Louisburgh, and was by him sta~- 
tioned three years at New York, whence he 
returned to England in 1751, and onthe 30th 
of January, 1753, was commissioned for the 
Bristol guardship, of 50 guns, at Plymouth, 
where he served about a year} and in 1755, 
he was appointed to the Greenwich, also a 
50 gun ship, sailed to the West Indies, and 
was upon the Jamaica station till 1757. At 
this period, being on a cruize off Hispaniola, 
on the 16th of March early in the morning, 
plying off Cape Cabroon, the Greenwich fell 
in with five French line of battle ships, two 
frigates, and a stgreship, which the officers 
and créw of the Greenwich all fully supposed 
and asserted were merchantmen convoyed by 
two frigates ; but Captain Rotidam saw other- 
wise, and, though late, cofvinced his ship’s 
compasy of their mistake, as they proved to 
‘he the Tonnant, of 84 guns, commanded by 
Admiral Bofromont ; the Desanncene, of 74, 
Captain Blonal ; the Diadem, of 74, Captain 
Rofele; PEveille, of 64, Captain Merville ; 
Inflexible, of 645 and the Savage and Le 
Bronne frigates, with a twenty-gun storeship. 
This squadron being to windward, sent one 
of the frigates te reconnoitre, which Captain 
Roddam perceiving, and finding there could 
be no chance to escape, used every maneuvre 
to draw her towards the Greenwich, This 
ship being painted in the manner of the 
French, he hoped to decoy the frigate, for 
which he had prepared men to board, with 
an intension of sending her immediately to 
Admiral Townshena, at Jamaica, with inte}- 
ligence of the situation and number of the 
enemy; but the French frigate soon-disco- 
vering the Greenwich to be a two-decked ship, 
made great exertion to shelter herself amidst 
the French squadron. The Diadem first be- 
gan firing at nine o’clock, and from that ‘hour 
till nine at night, the Greenwich was inces- 
santly attacked by one or other of the fleet. 
Captain Roddam again prepared to board the 
VEveille, a 64, being the best sailing ship ; 
but several of the enemy renewing the action 
at the same time, the ‘Greenwich became so 
much injured in her rigging, that she was 
quite unmanageable, which compelled Capt. 
Roddam to relinquish his hopes of -boarding. 
He then called his ship’s company together, 
and told them he had doneall in his power to 
preserve his Majesty’s ship, but if any of 
them could “point out the French admiral’s 
ship, the Yonnant, he thought the Greenwich 
could yet divert her an hour or two, The 
olficers, and the whole ship's company, an- 
# gered, “They must obey their captain; but 
863 
they had been unceasingly shot at for twelve 
hours, and supported an action they believed 
longer than any ship had ever before sus 
tained.” At half after nine at night, it 
being the opinion of all the officers that 
Captain Roddam had done every thing that 
coutd be done for his Majesty’s seryice, and 
that engaging any further could only tend to 
sacrifice the men; the 64 gun ship being 
then within hail, and the othersclose a stern 
of her. Captain Roddam ordered the colours 
to be struck: the French slip l’Eveille pre- 
sently hailed Captain Roddam to hoist out a 
boat and go on board the sixty-four, which 
he repeatedly refused to do; and finding his 
interpreter had said, ¢* every thing being cut 
away they could not get a boat out,” instead 
of saying, ‘*Captain Roddam wou/d not,” he 
himself hailed, and enquiring if any one on 
board the l’Eveille spoke English, he was re- 
“plied to by a person he knew, a Mr. Giddy, 
a Danish efficer, who had served in the pre- 
ceding war with Captain Norris in the Prince 
Frederick. Captain Roddam then told Mr, 
Giddy he would not go on board the French 
man of war in his own boat, but must be sent 
for, which if not complied with, he would 
hoist the British colours immediately,* and 
defend his ship as long as she could swim. 
The French lieutenant then went on board 
the Greenwich, and found the men all at 
their quarters, with lighted matches in their 
hands, and the greatest order prevailing 
throughout the ship (of which under like 
circumstances there had never been a prece- 
dent), and which seeming to alarm and sur- 
prize the French lieutenant, Captain Roddam 
told him, ‘‘He had there seen a garrison 
capitulate to a very superior force, and ready 
to renew the fight if the French had zot done 
as ne required.” Captain Roddam was then 
taken on board the l’Eveille, Captain Mer- 
_ ville, who, instead of sending for his own 
bedding, gave him that night one of the 
ship’s company’s cradles, with a dirty rus, 
which seemed to have been employed in the 
last office for many a poor mariner in the 
French ship 5; and Captain Roddam’s anxious 
mind not having allowed him to think of 
dressing when he struck (which was at that 
time an invariable custom of the French), he 
was of course next morning extremely black 
and dirty, with torn shoes and tattered ha- 
biliments, damaged by splinters during the 
long action ; and although he had so feelingly 
urged and solicited kind treatment for his of- 
ficers and men, yet had he the painful re- 
flection to know, that all except the’ lieu- 
tenants wer€ put among the foremast-men; 
his purser’s cloaths were taken off his back, 
and nis steward was kept waiting on the poop 
without victuals ten hours; every place was 
broken open and ransacked, though the 
French lieutenant (who had the key of the 
bureau, &c.) had given his word of honour 
to the contrary; and the whole crew of the 
Greenwich were without food. Captain 
Roddam insisted upon being carried to the 
French 
