he attained the rank of Post-captain, by the spirited services mentioned in the following letter:

"Admiralty Office, 25th May, 1782.

"SIR, I am so well pleased with the accounts I have received of your gallant and seamanlike conduct in the sloop you command, in your spirited attack on three privateers inside the Isle of Bass, and your success in driving them all on shore, that I am induced to bestow on you the rank of a Post-captain in the service to which your universal good character and conduct do credit; and for this purpose I have named you to the command of the Suffolk.

(Signed)

KEPPEL."

"To Capt. Edward Pellew,

H. M. S. Pelican, Plymouth."

The cessation of hostilities having restored him and others of his gallant comrades to the more peaceful occupations of home, he remained on shore until 1786, when he proceeded, in command of the Winchelsea frigate, to Newfoundland, and remained on that station till 1789. In the following year he was appointed to the Salisbury, bearing the flag of Admiral Milbanke; and was at length paid off in December, 1791.

A

At the commencement of the war of the French Revolution, Captain Pellew was among the first officers who were called into active service, being appointed, on the 11th Jan. 1793, to command La Nymphe frigate of 36 guns. Being by descent a Cornishman, his popularity in the neighbourhood of Falmouth, where he resided, enabled him to man his ship principally with miners, and put to sea with his usual activity; but he had no opportunity of proving their spirit until the summer of that year, when, having prevailed on his brother to accompany him as a volunteer, he sailed from Falmouth on the evening of the 17th June, and before the day closed, when off the Start, they descried a large vessel, to which they gave chase, and followed her through the night. At daybreak next morning she appeared again, standing towards them; and on her approach proved to be the French

frigate La Cléopatre, of equal force. All was silent until the ships came within hail: Captain Pellew then ordered his crew to man the shrouds and give three cheers, with "Long live King George the Third!" The French Captain ordered his rigging, in the same manner, to be manned; and, coming forward on the gangway, waved his hat, exclaiming "Vive la Nation!" which his crew accompanied with three cheers. Captain Pellew's putting on his hat was the signal for La Nymphe to begin the action. One more desperate was never fought they were engaged, throughout, yard-arm and yardarm. The sails and rigging were so much intermixed during the engagement, that the crew of La Nymphe actually went from their own yards to those of La Cléopatre, and cut the men from their quarters. At length a shot from the British frigate carried away the enemy's mizen-mast, and another her wheel; so that she became ungovernable, and fell on board her opponent. The gallant French Captain was cheering on his crew to board La Nymphe, when he was shot dead before them, by which they were so disheartened, that his Second vainly endeavoured to rally them, and Captain Pellew, seizing the advantage, ordered his men to board La Cléopatre, which was carried after a short struggle. He proceeded with his prize directly to Portsmouth, and was received with acclamations on entering the harbour, this being the first important capture made since the declaration of hostilities. As such it was distinguished by peculiar reward; Captain Pellew, on being presented to the King, on the 29th June, 1793, received the honour of knighthood, and he had the further satisfaction of seeing his brother advanced to the rank of Post-captain for his voluntary services in the action.

Sir Edward was now removed to the command of the Arethusa, of 44 guns, attached to the squadron under the command of Sir John B. Warren. In this ship he was pre... sent at a number of encounters, both with batteries on shore, and with the enemy's vessels at sea.

Early on the 23d of April, 1794, while cruising off Guernsey, in company with the Flora, the Melampus, La Nymphe,

and La Concorde, four sail were discovered standing out to sea; and, as day broke, they were clearly perceived to be French. The wind, by fortunately changing two points, enabled the British to gain the weather-gage, and bring them to close action, while at the same time it precluded the possibility of their gaining their own shore. The battle was maintained on both sides with great resolution for three hours, when two of the enemy's ships, La Pomone, of 44 guns, and La Babet, of 22 guns, struck to the Flora and Arethusa. The other English frigates pursued the remainder of the French squadron and captured L'Engageante, of 38 guns.

On the 23d of August, the squadron under the command of Sir John B. Warren, cruising off Brest, fell in with, and drove on shore near the Penmark Rocks, La Félicité, French frigate of 40 guns, 18-pounders; and soon after two corvettes, L'Espion and Alert, mounting 18 guns, 9-pounders. They at first took shelter under cover of three batteries in Hodierne Bay; but, being hard pressed, cut their cables and ran ashore. The boats of the squadron were ordered under Sir Edward Pellew to set fire to them; but finding them filled with wounded men, incapable of being removed, his benevolent spirit revolted at their destruction, and, he preferred to abandon the ships rather than debar these poor fellows from the relief afforded to them in their extremity by their countrymen on shore.

In October following, he was cruising off Ushant, with a small squadron under his own command, consisting of the Arethusa, Artois, Diamond, and Galatea frigates. On the 21st of that month, he discovered a large French frigate, and immediately gave orders for a chace. The enemy, being to leeward, was cut off from the land, and after sustaining an action of forty minutes with the Artois, obliged to surrender.

At the commencement of 1795, Sir Edward was again serving under Sir J. B. Warren; whose squadron, on the 18th February, fell in with, off the Isle of Oleron, a French frigate and twenty sail of vessels under her convoy, which were pursued half way up the Pertuis d'Antioche, in sight of

Like many others of our most celebrated commanders, Lord Exmouth was the architect of his own fortune. Born to no inheritance, he raised himself to great and well-merited reputation by the steady application of all his powers to the duties of his profession, supported by that undaunted and indefatigable spirit which carried him triumphantly through every service of difficulty or danger in which he was engaged.

His immediate ancestor was George Pellew, of Flushing, near Falmouth, Esq., who married Judith Sparrow, by whom he had three sons: viz. first, John; second, Israel, who married Gertrude Trefusis, the descendant of a very ancient family in Cornwall, and a relation of Lord Clinton; and third, Samuel, who married Constance Longford, by whom he had issue, first, Samuel Humphrey; second, Edward, the subject of this memoir; third, Israel, a Vice-Admiral of the White, who died in 1832; fourth, John, an officer in the army, who was killed at Saratoga; and fifth, Catharine, wife of the son of the Vice-Admiral of Sweden.

Edward Pellew was born 19th April, 1757, at Dover, where his father then commanded the government packetboat. At his death, in 1765, the young sailor was deprived of his natural patron, and had to struggle against those difficulties in attaining a nautical education which are now removed by a liberal public provision for such as are destined for the King's service. At the age of thirteen he began his career at sea in the Juno frigate, commanded by Capt. Stott, with whom he sailed to the Falkland Islands, and afterwards accompanied him in the Alarm to the Mediterranean; where, some misunderstanding arising between Captain Scott, himself, and another Midshipman, the two latter were cruelly sent on shore at Marseilles, and obliged to return to England by land.

At the opening of the war with the American colonies, he became Midshipman of the Blonde frigate, with Captain Pownoll; and was detached, in February, 1776, to serve under the late able and intelligent Admiral Schank (then a

Lieutenant), to take part in the struggle for naval supremacy on Lake Champlain. During this arduous service they cut down trees from the neighbouring forests, and in a few weeks converted them into vessels of war, with which they succeeded in driving the force under General Arnold from the lake; and, in giving this effectual support to the British army, Mr. Pellew gained great credit from his Admiral, whose testimony deserves to be recorded:

"H. M. S. Eagle, New York, 20th Dec. 1776. "SIR,-The account I have received of your gallant behaviour from Captain Charles Douglas, in the different actions upon Lake Champlain, gives me much satisfaction, and I shall receive pleasure in giving you a Lieutenant's commission when you may reach New York.

"To Mr. Edward Pellew,

(Signed)

HOWE."

Commanding the Carleton schooner, Lake Champlain.”

With this rank of acting Lieutenant, which could not be confirmed till he returned to England, he continued to cooperate with the army under General Burgoyne, and shared in all the toils and dangers of the disastrous campaign of 1777. A letter from that General may properly be inserted here, to show the high sense which was entertained of his services.

"Camp at Saratoga, 14th Oct. 1777. "DEAR SIR,It was with infinite pleasure General Phillips and myself observed the gallantry and address with which you conducted your attack on the provision-vessel in the hands of the enemy. The gallantry of your little party was deserving of the success which attended it, and I send you my sincere thanks, together with those of the whole army, for the important service you have rendered them on this occasion.

(Signed)

"Lieut. Edward Pellew, Royal Navy."

JOHN BURGOYNE."