dreadful hurricane, which spread desolation over the whole of the West India Islands, particularly Barbadoes, Martinique, and Jamaica; several ships of war and merchant-vessels were lost, with the greater part of their crews[1]; the Egmont, however, escaped with the loss of all her masts, and in the following year was ordered to escort a large fleet to England. On approaching the Channel, Captain Fanshawe received intelligence of the combined fleets of France and Spain, amounting to forty-nine sail of the line, being on the look-out for his valuable charge; which induced him to take them north about, and thus prevented the greater part from falling into the hands of the enemy. For his judicious conduct on this critical occasion, he received the thanks of the Admiralty, and was presented with the freedom of Edinburgh.
The Egmont having been paid off soon after her arrival, Captain Fanshawe was for a short time out of employ; but happening fortunately to be at Plymouth when Sir George B. Rodney was about to sail from that port to resume the chief command in the West Indies, and the Captain of the Namur, a 90-gun ship, having desired to be superseded, he was immediately sent for to fill up the vacancy, an appointment as sudden and unexpected as it was complimentary on the part of the Admiral. His conduct as one of Rodney’s supporters, on the glorious 12th April, 1782, is too well known and too highly appreciated to require repetition[2].
Captain Fanshawe retained the command of the Namur until the termination of the war in 1783, and was afterwards
- ↑ See Vol. I, pp. 68, 105, et seq.
- ↑ Sir George B. Rodney formed a junction with Sir Samuel Hood, off Antigua, Feb. 25, 1782; and on the 8th April following, whilst refitting his fleet at St. Lucia, received intelligence that the enemy were coming out of Port Royal Bay. Before day-light on the following morning, he came up with the French fleet near the island of Dominica. A partial action ensued; but notwithstanding the greatest exertions were used by the British, nothing decisive could be effected till the 12th; on which day a most complete victory was gained over the enemy, commanded by the Count de Grasse, who was himself captured, with the Ville de Paris, and four other ships of the line, besides one sunk in the action; for a more particular account of which we must refer our readers to Vol. I, p. 35, et seq.
