Admiral William Carnegie, 7th Earl of Northesk was a British naval officer who served during the American Revolutionary War, French Revolutionary War, and Napoleonic Wars. While in command of HMS Monmouth he was caught in the Nore Mutiny of 1797 and was the officer selected to relay the demands of the mutineers to George III. He most notably served as third-in-command of the Mediterranean Fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar in HMS Britannia. He later became Rear-Admiral of the United Kingdom and Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth.
HMS Surprise was the name the Royal Navy gave to the French Navy's corvette Unité after Unité's capture in 1796. Unité was launched on 16 February 1794. Surprise gained fame in 1799 for the recapture of HMS Hermione. In 1802 Surprise was sold out of the service.
HMS Edgar was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, that saw service in the American Revolutionary, French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Launched in 1779, she fought in the battles of Cape St Vincent and Copenhagen, two of the major naval engagements of the wars.
HMS Sandwich was a 90-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 14 April 1759 at Chatham.
HMS Cambridge was an 80-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, designed by Sir Joseph Allin and built at Deptford Dockyard by Adam Hayes to the draught specified by the 1745 Establishment as amended in 1750, and launched on 21 October 1755.
HMS Atlas was a 98-gun second-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 13 February 1782. She was a Duke-class ship of the line built at Chatham Dockyard by Nicholas Phillips.
HMS Diadem was a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 19 December 1782 at Chatham. She participated in the Battle of Cape St Vincent in 1797 under Captain George Henry Towry.
HMS Queen Charlotte was a 100-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 15 April 1790 at Chatham. She was built to the draught of Royal George designed by Sir Edward Hunt, though with a modified armament.
HMS Monmouth was a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 23 April 1796 at Rotherhithe. She had been designed and laid down for the East India Company, but the Navy purchased her after the start of the French Revolutionary War. She served at the Battle of Camperdown and during the Napoleonic Wars. Hulked in 1815, she was broken up in 1834.
HMS Canopus was an 84-gun third rate ship of the line of the British Royal Navy. She had previously served with the French Navy as the Tonnant-classFranklin, but was captured after less than a year in service by the British fleet under Rear Admiral Horatio Nelson at the Battle of the Nile in 1798. Having served the French for less than six months from her completion in March 1798 to her capture in August 1798, she eventually served the British for 89 years.
HMS Orford was a 70-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built to the draught specified by the 1745 Establishment at Woolwich Dockyard, and launched in 1749.
HMS Inconstant was a 36-gun Perseverance-class fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. She had a successful career serving in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, capturing three French warships during the French Revolutionary naval campaigns, Curieux, Unité, and the former British ship HMS Speedy.
Vice-Admiral Thomas Pringle was a British officer of the Royal Navy. He served during the American War of Independence, and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.
HMS Coromandel was a 56-gun fourth rate of the Royal Navy, previously the East Indiaman Winterton. She was purchased on the stocks in 1795, used as a troopship from 1796, was converted to a convalescent ship in 1807 for Jamaica, and was sold there in 1813.
HMS Kingfisher was an 18-gun sloop of the Royal Navy which saw service during the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary Wars.
Admiral Sir John Wells was a Royal Navy officer of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. He was the son of Sarah Wells, who was mistress to Rear-Admiral Augustus Keppel. After joining the Royal Navy Wells was promoted to lieutenant in 1779 and commander in 1782. He was then given his first command, the sloop HMS Raven. He served in her on the Leeward Islands Station until he was captured by two French frigates in 1783. He was then promoted to post captain and given command of the frigate HMS Boreas upon his release later in the year. He left Boreas in 1784 and did not receive another command until 1797 when he commissioned the ship of the line HMS Lancaster.
Captain Joseph Ellison was a Royal Navy officer. Having joined the service at the age of nine, he served during the Falklands Crisis in 1770 and went on to participate in the Battle of Bunker Hill and Siege of Pondicherry during the American Revolutionary War, during which he was promoted to lieutenant. On 4 July 1780 Ellison was serving on board HMS Prudente when they engaged, with another British frigate, two French frigates off Cape Ortegal. Ellison was badly wounded in the back during the battle and had an arm destroyed by a cannon ball that was amputated after the British had attained their victory. Having recuperated from his injuries Ellison was appointed to the impress service where he performed so well that he was promoted to commander in 1782 and post-captain in 1783. He took command of HMS Ariadne in April of that year and served in her off Ireland investigating fisheries, but in September he temporarily retired from the navy when his wounds began to become more problematic.
Captain Sir Richard Hughes, 1st Baronet was a Royal Navy officer of the eighteenth century who served as Resident Commissioner of Portsmouth Dockyard. Hughes joined the navy in 1721 and served on a variety of ships, some commanded by his father Captain Richard Hughes, mostly in the Mediterranean Sea and Baltic Sea, and was also a some-time follower of Admiral Sir John Norris. He was promoted to commander in 1739 and given command of HMS Anne Galley, and was promoted to post-captain in the following year. Having served mostly in command of ships in the Mediterranean Fleet, Hughes was given command of the guardship HMS Fougueux in 1753, from where he was appointed Resident Commissioner of Portsmouth in 1754. He served there until 1773, in which year he was created a baronet and then retired. He died at Southampton, aged 71.
HMS Beaulieu was a 40-gun fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. The ship was laid down in 1790 as a private enterprise by the shipwright Henry Adams and purchased by the Royal Navy in June of the same year. A well-armed and large ship, Beaulieu was built to the dimensions of a merchant ship and did not have good sailing qualities. Commissioned in January 1793 by Lord Northesk, the frigate was sent to serve on the Leeward Islands Station. She participated in the capture of Martinique in February 1794, and then was similarly present at the capture of Saint Lucia in April. The frigate also took part in the start of the invasion of Guadeloupe. Later in the year the ship's crew was beset by yellow fever and much depleted. Beaulieu was sent to serve on the North America Station to recuperate, returning to the Leeward Islands in 1795. In the following two years the ship found success in prizetaking and briefly took part in more operations at Saint Lucia. She returned to Britain at the end of 1796.
Rear-Admiral Alexander Wilson was a Royal Navy officer most notable for his rise to flag rank from his position as a common seaman. Wilson joined the navy in 1777 and soon after became coxswain to Alexander Hood. By 1778 Wilson had been made a midshipman, fighting at the Battle of Ushant and Battle of Cape Henry. Wilson was promoted to lieutenant in 1787 and, continuing to serve with Hood, fought at the Glorious First of June and Battle of Groix before being promoted to commander.
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