Royal Naval Biography/Luce, John
JOHN LUCE, Esq.
[Commander.]
Was made a lieutenant in 1793, and served as first lieutenant of the Orion 74, Captain Sir James Saumarez, at the battle of Cape St. Vincent; on which occasion he took possession of the Spanish 3-decker Salvador-del-Mundo. The following is appended to a biographical memoir of Sir James Saumarez, published in 1801:–
“The mind shrinks with horror in relating the accumulated sufferings which the wounded on board that ship endured. There were no less than 52 lying on the decks with wounds that required amputation. The Spanish surgeon, after dressing the other wounded men below, came upon deck and began the butchery; after having separated the limb, he omitted to tie up the arteries. Bleeding returned as soon as the circulation was restored, and in a few minutes the victims bled to death. Such was the indignation felt by the English sailors towards the surgeon, that it required some efforts on the part of their officers, to prevent them from throwing him overboard. He was, however, stopped in his bloody career.”
Lieutenant Luce obtained the rank of commander Mar. 8th, 1797; married, in 1799, Miss Jane Scarville, of Newport, in the Isle of Wight; and died at Walworth, co. Surrey, May 8th, 1827, aged 70 years.