the most ancient and illustrious family, and reflected back a splendor, on the most distinguished ancestry, not inferior to that of its proudest actions.
The subject of this memoir is a younger brother of Admiral Viscount Exmouth; and like him, entered at an early age into the naval service. In the month of Jan. 1783, he commanded the Resolution cutter, of 12 guns and 75 men, and captured, after a smart action of an hour and a half, the Flushing, a Dutch privateer, of 14 guns and 68 men, one of whom was killed and six wounded. He soon after attained the rank of Commander, but does not appear to have been employed during the peace that succeeded the contest with our American colonies. It fortunately happened, however, as has been already stated in our memoir of his brother, that he served as a volunteer with that officer on board la Nymphe, at the capture of la Cleopatre; in consequence of which he was promoted to the rank of Post-Captain, June 25th, 1793, seven days after the action.
After acting for some time in the command of la Nymphe, Captain Israel Pellew was appointed to the Squirrel, of 20 guns, employed in the North Sea, where he remained until the spring of 1795, and then removed into the Amphion frigate, in which he served under the orders of Sir James Wallace, at Newfoundland; and on his return from thence, after cruizing some time in the North Sea, was directed to join the squadron of frigates, commanded by Sir Edward Pellew, employed between Falmouth and the French coast. On her passage, the Amphion sustained some damage in a gale of wind, and was obliged to put into Plymouth to refit.
On the 22d Sept. 1796, the Amphion’s fore magazine by some accident took fire and blew up; which had such an effect as to rip the upper works in the fore part of the ship to atoms, and she almost immediately sank alongside the sheerhulk, and close to the dock-yard jetty, in ten fathoms water. The number of persons on board at the time, including visitors of both sexes, was at least 300, not more than 40 of whom were saved, and several of these severely wounded. Captain Pellew, his first Lieutenant, and Captain Swaffield of the Overyssel, were in the cabin at dinner; hearing a kind of
