part of the early period of his fervice paffed on, and he remained totally undiftinguished and unnoticed. The first mention we ever find made of him, fubfequent to his first appointment, is in the year 1717, when he commanded the York, of fixty guns, one of the fleet fent into the Baltic under fir G. Byng... He.did not long continue in the above fhip, nor do we know any to which he was afterwards appointed, till the year 1726, when he was made captain of the Advice, a fourth rate of fifty guns, alfo one of the Baltic fleet, but now under the command of fir Charles Wager. This.hrip was, on the return of the fleet, ordered for Sheerness to be laid up; and captain Brown was, in the month of February following, appointed to the Oxford, fixty guns, in which we believe him to have ferved again, under fir C. Wager, during his expedition to the Mediterranean, for the protection of Gibraltar, which was foon after formally befieged by the Spaniards.

His next appointment appears to have been to the Buckingham, of feventy guns, about the year 1731, one of the fleet which had been previously kept in a state of equipment for a confiderable space of time, and was in the above year ordered again for the Mediterranean under his former admiral, fir C. Wager. We find no notice taken of this worthy and brave man after his return till his appointment, about the year 1738, to be commander of the Hampton Court, in which fhip he was ordered immediately for Jamaica; on which station he commanded as fenior officer, with a fmall fquadron, till the arrival of Mr. Vernon at the latter end of the year 1739. Previous, however, to this taking place, the Spaniards having manifested strong and frequent indications of an hoftile difpofition, Mr. Brown refolved at least to retaliate on them for infults fo frequently repeated, and battered down a fort which they were then erecting between the Matterfes and the Havannah. Left it may be thought he acted with too much precipitation on the foregoing occafion, it may not be improper to obferve, he acted not merely in conformity to his own feelings but in ftrict obedience to instructions he received from England, for as foon as it was foreseen a war was unavoidable, the British ministry took the proper measures for attacking the enemy in the Weft Indies, the South Seas, and every other part of the world

'where

where they were thought to be most vulnerable. Orders were specially fent out to Mr. Brown to make every poffible reprifal, and neglect no opportunity of diftreffing the enemy to the utmost of his power. Mr. Brown having joined the vice-admiral at Port Royal on the 28th of October, the attack and conqueft of Porto Bello took place immediately afterwards. This having been already generally related, and at fome length, it is needlefs to take notice of this event otherwise than in fuch parts as the commodore was more particularly engaged in.

The attack of the iron fort was led by the commodore, it being generally customary, in small fquadrons, to affign that poft of honour to the second in command. Unfortunately when the fhip came within a cable's length of the object of affault, it was fuddenly becalmed by the high land to windward, and before the guns could be brought to bear on the enemy, was exposed to a very smart cannonade. As foon, however, as the fhip could get to its proper ftation and was brought to an anchor, it seemed, in an inftant, as Campbell expreffes himself, a cloud of perpetual thunder, and appeared to the reft of the fleet to be all on fire. This may easily be credited, if we believe, and as we have no reafon to doubt, the affertion of the fame author, that four hundred cannon-shot were fired from that ship in the fpace of twenty-five minutes. All hiftorians are unanimous in beftowing the highest commendations on this very brave and experienced officer; and there are not wanting those who, with much appearance of reafon on their fide, affert, without the smallest wifh of taking away from the merit of the renowned and popular Vernon, that the commodore contributed, in at leaft an equal fhare with him, to this very speedy and important conquest.

After the reduction of the place; the demolition of the Gloria caftle, and St. Jeronimo fort, were particularly committed to the commodore's fuperintendance by the vice-admiral. The whole of the fervice intended to be effected by the foregoing expedition being completely carried into execution, the fquadron returned to Jamaica; and when Mr. Vernon failed in the month of February following intending to bombard Carthagena, and to annoy the Spaniards ftill farther by an attack on fort Chagre, he

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left

left Mr. Brown to command in his abfence, with the Hampton Court, Worcester, Diamond, and Torrington, that force being deemed fufficient for its protection and fecurity. Mr. Brown did not long remain at Jamaica, returning to England, in the course of the fummer, with a convoy, having removed his broad pendant, as we believe, into the Diamond. He, almost immediately on his arrival, again hoisted a broad pendant, as commodore, on board the Duke, of ninety guns: but nothing material took place in the European feas.

Mr.

On the promotion of Mr. Mathews to the Mediterranean command, in the month of March 1741-2, the office of commiffioner of the navy, refident at Chatham, which he had previously enjoyed, became vacant. Brown was appointed his fucceffor, and continued till his death, which happened on the 23d of March 1753-4, to fill that ftation with the fame unblemished reputation which had, in the more active line of service, attended all the former appointments he had ever received.

CARLTON, or CHARLTON, St. John. His name being thus varioufly fpelt on different occafions, was appointed captain of the Gofport on the 10th of November 1709. He was very foon afterwards promoted to the Montague, a fhip, which we believe, he continued to command during the war, being principally employed as a cruifer in the Channel. He met with tolerable fuccefs having captured feveral prizes, which, although they were of inconfiderable value and confequence, prove him to have been at least an active, if not a fortunate commander. We find no mention made of him after the conclusion of the war till the year 1716 he then commanded the Lively frigate, one of the cruifers ftationed off the western coaft of Scotland to prevent the introduction of any fupplies into that kingdom for the fupport of the Pretender and his adherents. Here also he was equally active and much more confequentially fuccefsful than when employed on a fimilar fervice in the preceding reign, having intercepted several veffels*, laden with arms and ammunition, intended for the rebel army. We find no mention

The most confequential of these was a fhip called the Duc de Vendofme, mounting fourteen guns, taken about the latter end of April.

made

made of him after this time till 1720, when he commanded the Kingston, of fixty guns, one of the fleet ordered for the Baltic under fir J. Norris. He quitted this command on the return of the fleet to England, at the close of the year; and we are again ignorant of any particulars concerning him till he was, in the year 1734, appointed captain of the Norfolk, of eighty guns, one of the fleet collected for Channel fervice under his former admiral, fir John Norris. This is the last commiffion we have any proof of his having held, and we believe him to have retired foon afterwards from the fervice. He died in England fome time in the year 1742.

CLARK, William,-was, on the 8th of March 1709, appointed captain of the Hector, and foon afterwards was ordered for Barbadoes, on which station he made feveral prizes, and we believe continued during the remainder of the war. We find no other mention made of this gentleman, the mere date of his death excepted, which happened on the 27th of August 1727.

DRAKE, Francis,-was, on the 21st of August 1709, appointed captain of the Hunter firefhip. No other mention is made of him till after the acceffion of king George the First. In 1715 he commanded the Swallow, of fifty guns, one of the fleet fent to the Baltic under fir John Norris: after which time we are again ignorant of any particulars concerning him till the year 1718, when he was appointed to the Dunkirk, of fixty guns, one of fir George Byng's fleet on the Mediterranean expedition, and was confequently one of thofe fortunate commanders who had, by their bravery and good conduct, the happinefs of contributing to the very memorable victory obtained over the Spanish fleet. No mention is made of his having been re-appointed to any other fhip after his return to England. He died, as fome fay, in the year 1726; but, according to other accounts, not till the year 1729. In Hardy's lift he is faid to have been appointed an admiral, and to have received the honour of knighthood: the first is evidently a mistake; and the latter we do not entirely credit. Á fir William Drake, who was a baronet, was one of the commiffioners of the admiralty during the latter part of the reign of queen Anne. This

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circum

circumftance may probably have occafioned the confufion, and the addition of the above fpurious honours.

EATON, Nicholas, was, on the 11th of March 1709, appointed captain of the Winchelsea frigate; and this is the only mention we find made of him during the reign of queen Anne. A confiderable time, indeed, elapfed, after the acceffion of king George the First, before we find him holding any commiffion: the first is in the year 1717, when he was appointed to the Chester, of fifty guns, one of the fhips ordered to be equipped for the Baltic under fir George Byng. We believe, however, owing to his having received his commiffion very late in the feafon, that the fhip was not in a condition to proceed on that fervice by the time the fleet failed. His next command appears to have been that of the Dartmouth, which, as well as the former, was a fourth rate of fifty guns. In this ship he accompanied fir John Norris to the Baltic in the year 1720, as he did again in the following year, and, on the return of the fleet, was promoted to the Kingston, of fixty guns.

In 1726 he failed, for a third time, on the fame kind of fervice under fir Charles Wager, being then commander of the Affiftance of fifty guns. This is the last mention we find made of him except the mere date of his death, which happened, in England, on the 5th of April 1729.

GAY, or GRAY, Charles, - is known only as having been appointed captain of the Nightingale on the 23d of March 1709, and of the Dolphin early in the year 1712. He died fome time in the course of that year.

GORDON, George,-was, on the 9th of April 1709, appointed to command the Loweftoffe frigate. He was ordered immediately afterwards to North America; and in the following year ferved under commodore Martin in the fortunate expedition against Port Royal, fince called Annapolis. Involved as he is in one common fate with a multitude of other brave men, we can only repeat the regret we have before frequently expreffed, at having fo little to record concerning them, except the account of the fervices on which they were from time to time employed. In 1715 he commanded the Advice of fifty guns, one of the fleet ordered for the Baltic under fir John Norris. In