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CAPTAINZ
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(70) |
3rd rate
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Built in 1743, Woolwich.
Broken up as BUFFALO in 1783. |
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- 1744 Capt. Thomas GRIFFIN. As senior officer of a small squadron of four ships of the line, the others being HAMPTON COURT, DREADNOUGHT and SUNDERLAND, he was chiefly employed cruising in the Channel.
- On Friday 4 January the MARS, a privateer from Dartmouth, Capt. Walker, was captured by two French men of war of 70 guns, who were escorting a convoy of 20 merchantmen in latitude 48 deg., and he and his crew were taken on board the FLORISSANT.
- Captain Walker recorded:-
- "On the Sunday morning following we saw four sail of large ships astern which greatly alarmed the French. The panic arose from the great value of their cargo, as they were bringing home all the French and Spanish treasure from the West Indies, to the amount of near four millions sterling; their ships were besides in no order for fighting, as they had come so long a voyage and were likewise very sickly. The French officer on board the MARS judiciously bore away to the leeward, in order to draw off one of the ships in pursuit of him. This had the intended effect, for his majesty's ship CAPTAIN sailed off in chase of him and retook him, but did not afterwards return to the fleet."
- The MARS arrived in Portsmouth with the news that three British ships were in close chase of two French, in fact the SUNDERLAND lost her main top-mast in coming up and fell astern, HAMPTON COURT and the DREADNOUGHT lost sight of the enemy during the second evening and the French escaped. Captain MOSTYN of the HAMPTON COURT faced a court martial.
- Capt. GRIFFIN continued as before - on Sunday 26th. May CAPTAIN and MONMOUTH. being on a cruise in the Channel, gave chase to two sail. At five o'clock in the evening CAPTAIN came up with the largest between Portland and the Gaskets and gave her a broadside. She immediately surrendered and proved to be the GRAND TURK privateer of St. Malo, of 32 guns and 240 men. Only 24 guns were mounted, having thrown 8 overboard. On the 30 May CAPTAIN and PRINCESS LOUISE gave chase to two sail to the S. W., one of which, a British privateer, stood towards CAPTAIN and told them that the other was a privateer from St. Malo. They continued the chase until eight in the evening when they came up with her and she struck without firing a shot. She proved to be the ACHILLE (22), of St. Malo with 148 men. She was sent into Plymouth.
- 1755 Capt. Charles CATFORD, commissioned at Portsmouth in March. Early in 1756 he was ordered to the Mediterranean with Ad. BYNG and behaved with gallantry in the action with the French off Minorca, losing six killed and thirty wounded. He was ordered home to give evidence in the trial of Admiral BYNG but died before he reached Gibraltar on 24 September 1756.
- 1756 Capt. John AMHERST, appointed out of DEPTFORD to succeed Capt. CATFORD, he returned home at the end of the year.
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