Anse la Barque, thought it the most prudent course to abandon his prize. Scarcely had the Pelican, taking advantage of the breeze that then sprang up, set sail from the spot, when one of the frigates came out and joined the Medde; but neither frigate evinced any further disposition to molest the Pelican, and she proceeded to the Saintes to refit.
“On the day succeeding that of her arrival at this anchorage, where also was lying the 74-gun ship Bellona, Captain George Wilson, an aid-de-camp arrived, with a flag, from Victor Hugues, then Governor of Guadaloupe, expressly to ascertain whether there was any truth in the statement made by the Captain of the Médée, that the English vessel he had engaged on the 23d, was a frigate with her mizen-mast out. The mistake was soon cleared up, if not to the satisfaction, to the confusion of the French officer; who actually went on board the Pelican, to be certain that she mounted only 18 guns. About the same time arrived an officer of the 60th regiment, who had been a prisoner on board the Médée during the action, and got released on her arrival at Guadaloupe. He confirmed every statement; adding, that the Médée mounted 40 guns, with a complement of nearly 300 men; that she sustained much damage, and lost several men in killed and wounded. At the subsequent capture of the Médée by the British, she was found to be armed precisely as the Prudente or Régénérée; mounting not 40, but 36 guns[1].”
After the above brilliant exploit, Captain Searle was appointed to the Cormorant, a 20-gun ship. He subsequently commanded the Garland frigate, and Tremendous, 74, the latter bearing the flag of Sir Hugh C. Christian, on the Cape of Good Hope station, where he continued until after the demise of that officer, which took place Jan. 31, 1799.
His next appointment was to the Ethalion, in which fine frigate he had the misfortune to be wrecked on the Saintes rocks, Dec. 24th following. On the 10th Jan. 1800, Captain Searle was tried by a Court-martial for the loss of his ship, and most honorably acquitted. It appeared that the accident was occasioned by an unusual course of tide, and but little wind; that every exertion which skill and zeal could effect, was made by him and his officers; and the utmost discipline and subordination observed by the ship’s company, so highly honorable to British seamen in times of danger.
Soon after this event, Captain Searle obtained the command of la Determinee, of 24 guns; and on the 25th July, 1801, he captured a French corvette of 10 guns, with specie on board to the amount of 10,000l. sterling. During the
- ↑ If the Médée mounted 40 guns in 1796, the additional pieces were probably brass 36-pounder carronades.
