1725 - 1749

1726. Hosier in the West Indies.

1727. Wager's Relief of Gibraltar.

1729. The Dursley Galley took Guarda- Costa.

1731. The Episode of Jenkins Ear.

1733. Operations against the Barary Corsnirs.

1739 - 1748. England declared war on Spain that became known as the War of Jenkins' Ear. A conflict between Britain and Spain that grew out of the commercial rivalry of the two powers and led to involvement in the larger War of the Austrian Succession. Its unusual name, is thought to have been coined by Thomas Carlyle 1858, and refers to an ear severed from Robert Jenkins Captain of a British merchant ship. The severed ear was subsequently exhibited before the British Parliament. The tale of the ear's separation from Jenkins following the boarding of his vessel by Spanish coast guards during 1731. Provided the impetus to war against the Spanish Empire, ostensibly to encourage the Spanish not to renege on the lucrative Asiento contract (permission to sell slaves in Spanish America).

1739. Marine Commissions were purchased and sold, although they always bore an inferior value to those of the Army. A perquisite arose to the Colonels from the disposal of the appointments of second Lieutenants, when their recommendations were approved of by his Majesty, and such commissions usually produced to those officers from £250 to £280, while ensigncies in the line sometimes yielded as much as £400. The great expense which had accrued in the maintenance of the land forces and Marines, led to the appointment of a committee of inquiry. In this investigation it appeared that the Colonel of a Marine Regiment had a greater emolument than an officer commanding a Regiment of the line, arising from the comparative superiority in their numbers, and the articles of clothing being of an inferior quality.

1739. Sunday 4th October. Marines landed on the peninsula of Quiberon, and took possession of a fort mounting eighteen cannons. After destroying all the forts and guns, as well as those on the islands of Houat and Hedic, the army re-embarked, and the expedition sailed for Ireland. In the gradual increase of the army during the present war, the Marines became incorporated with the line, and the 44th Regiment was styled the 1st Marines.

1739. Tuesday 6th October. A French fleet of merchant men under Commodore Letendeur sailed from the Isle of Aix for the West Indies, under convoy of nine ships of the line and several frigates. On the 14th while off Cape Finisterre, they came upon a British squadron Commanded by Rear Admiral Hawke, of thirteen ships of the line, including two of fifty guns. The Commodore, finding it impossible to avoid an action, directed a sixty gun ship and the frigates to proceed with the convoy, and then formed his squadron in order of battle. The action commenced at noon, and was continued until night fall, by which time six sail of the line ships had surrendered. The Commodore on board HMS Tonnant of 80 guns, and HMS Intrepid of 74, made their escape. The British had 154 killed, and 558 wounded. The enemy's loss amounted to 800 killed and wounded. The order of the Bath was conferred on Rear Admiral Hawke, and the thanks of Parliament voted to the officers, seamen, and Marines of the squadron.

1739. Tuesday 17th November - Sunday 22nd November. Six Marine Regiments (1st to 6th Marines, 44th to 49th Foot) were raised for the War of Jenkins' Ear, with four more being raised later. One large Marine Regiment (Spotswood's Regiment later Gooch's Marines, the 61st Foot) was formed of American colonists and served alongside British Marines at the Battle of Cartagena de Indias, Colombia and Guantanamo, Cuba in the War of Jenkins' Ear (1741). Among its officers was Lawrence Washington, the half-brother of George Washington. In 1747, the remaining Regiments were transferred to the Admiralty and then disbanded in 1748. Many of the disbanded men were offered transportation to Nova Scotia and helped form the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia.

1739. Saturday 21st November. Vernon's capture of Porto Bello.

1739. Saturday12th December. After the declaration of war with Spain Council Orders were issued for augmenting the land forces, and also for forming six Regiments of Marines, each to consist of ten companies of seventy privates in each company, and to be commanded by 1st Colonel Edward Wolfe from the 3rd Foot Guards, 2nd Colonel W. Robinson from Handasyd's 22nd Regiment, 3rd Colonel Andrew Lowther from the 2nd Foot Guards, 4th, Colonel John Wynyard, from Tyrrell's Regiment; 5th Colonel Charles Douglas from Howard's Regiment, 6th Colonel Lucius Ducic Moreton, from the 3rd Foot Guards. In order to facilitate the speedy formation of these Corps, and to render them effective, five men from each company of the Regiments of foot-guards were appointed Sergeants and Corporals, and further that they might be rapidly completed, a bounty of thirty shillings per man was allowed to 1800 men who volunteered from the Regiments of Infantry to the Marine Corps by these energies, the whole of the Marine Regiments were soon raised and disciplined. On the prospect of the commencement of hostilities Admiral Vernon had sailed for Jamaica, where he arrived in October 1739, with a fleet of five ships, having 200 Marines on board, and proceeded to Porto Bello, the destined object of his attack, which was at that time the greater part for the wealthy commerce of Chili and Peru, the attempt was fraught with many difficulties.

1739. Upon the repetition of Spanish cruelties and aggression towards the industrious and defenceless subjects of Britain, that the system of Marine Regiments was renewed. The sword was again drawn upon the 19th October of that year, and an Order of Council of the 12th December, determined upon the immediate levy of six of this description. The Colonels who were nominated to command them was, 1. Edward Wolfe esq. from the 3rd Foot Guards. 2. William Robinson esq. Lieutenant Colonel from Handyside's Regiment of Foot. 3. Anthony Lowther esq. from 2nd. Foot Guards. 4. John Wynyard esq. from Colonel Tyrrel's Regiment of Foot. 5. Charles Douglas esq. from Colonel Howard's Regiment of Foot. 6. Lewis Ducie Morton esq. from the 3rd Foot Guards.

1739 - 1740. The largest number of Marine Regiments was formed, when ten Regiments were raised for service. They ranked as the 44th to 53rd in seniority with the regular army regiments. They were all disbanded after the peace settlement in 1748.

1740. January. The six Regiments raised in late 1739 received an effective augmentation of 2,640 men.

1740. January. The six marine regiments received an augmentation of 2040 men, with one lieutenant to each company; twenty men were also added to each of the four companies of invalids, and another allowed to the retired Marine establishment.
When Admiral Vernon was about sailing for the West Indies, his honest zeal for the public service induced him to offer the following observations, in an address to the Duke of Newcastle, on the value of marine soldiers. " I could wish, indeed, we had each of us a company of regular troops sent on board of us, which would have strengthened us in numbers, as well as had their expertness in handling their arms, to have incited our seamen to the imitation of them. If we should come to a general war with France as well as Spain, I believe your Grace will have already perceived, from the difficulty of manning these ships as they are, the necessity there may be of converting most of our marching regiments into Marines; and if, as they become seamen, they were admitted to be discharged as such, that would make a good nursery for breeding them at a time we might probably find such a necessity for them." These ideas appear to have been drawn from the system which prevailed in the sea service, prior to the formation of marine regiments, in the reign of Queen Anne, when they were entirely devoted to naval purposes; and as each individual became qualified to act as a foremast man, which was universally encouraged, he was discharged from his regiment, and entered upon the books as a seaman. Even under the present regulation of the service, great advantages would result from an increase of Marines to the complement of each ship, instead of what is termed " landsmen and waisters." In case of emergency, a strong reinforcement might be embarked; and by the immediate equipment of ships, a powerful squadron could be sent to sea in perfect readiness to meet the enemy, with the advantage of having battalions well trained for both naval and military warfare, and capable of making a serious impression wherever their services might be required. (Volume 1 Historical Records of the Royal Marine Forces by Paul Harris Nicolas Lieut. Royal Marines.)

1740. An additional Regiment, of four Battalions, was authorised to be raised in America, and the Royal Standard was erected at New York. The field officers and subalterns were appointed by the King, and the captains of companies were nominated by the American provinces. Colonel Spotswood of Virginia, was appointed over all Colonel Commandant. It was believed that the natives of that continent, knowing the area and climate were better for service than Europeans. Their uniform was cumblet coats, brown linen waistcoats, and canvas trousers. This regiment, which was afterwards commanded by Colonel Gooche, was considered as the forty-third Regiment of infantry of the line.

1740.February. The town of Carthagena being the capital of an extensive and wealthy province in Terra Firma in South America was bombarded, and an attack was made upon a fort situate upon the mouth of a river of that name a little to the north-west of the Gulf of Darien. The latter surrendered, after a sharp contest, on Thursday 24th March, when the castle, situated on a rock, and the custom-house under its protection, were demolished and burnt to the ground.

1740. Sunday 6th - 9th March. Vernon bombarded Cartagena.

1740. Monday 18th April. HMS Lennox and consorts capture Princesa.

1740. June. Unsuccessful attempt on St. Augustine.

1740. Sunday 18th September. The departure of HMS Anson on voyage of circumnavigation.

1740. October. A large number of ships of war assembled at Spithead under the Command of Rear Admiral Sir Chalaoner Ogle, along with a large land force consisting of Harrison’s 15th Regiment. Wentworth’s 24th Regiment and part of Cavendish’s 34th Regiment was collected in the Isle of White and held in readiness with six Regiments of Marines to be embarked for service under the orders of General Lord Cathcart, a nobleman of approved courage and experience. The fleet with a British armament consisting of one hundred and seventy ships sailed from St. Helen’s heading for Jamaica. However, its progress was badly affected by server bad weather in the Bay of Biscay, the fleet was dispersed. The greater part of the vessels sort refuge by anchoring at the neutral island of Dominica, in order to obtain a supply of wood and water.

1740. Friday 16th December - 18th October 1748. The War of the Austrian Succession involved most of the European countries over the question of Maria Theresa's succession to the realms of the House of Habsburg. The war included King George's War in North America, the War of Jenkins' Ear, the First Carnatic War in India, and the First and Second Silesian Wars. It was fought between Britain, Austria and the Dutch Republic against. France and Germany. The war ended with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle signed in 1748.

1740 - 1748. The Ten Regiments of Marines uniforms of the day. (taken from 'Britain's Sea Soldiers: Vol 1 by Cyril Field RMLI.)

1740 - 1748. Ten Regiments of the line were detailed for Marine service as the 1st and 10th Regiments of Marines.

1740. While Commander in chief of the West Indies squadron, Admiral Vernon ordered his captains and surgeons to make recommendations regarding the rum issue. The resulting mixture is called grog after the nickname of the admiral, 'Old Grog'. In 1850 the ration was once again reduced to half gill.

1741. January. Admiral Sir Chalaoner Ogle’s fleet eventually arrived in Jamaica and joined a force under Vice Admiral Vernon who was placed at the head of the most formidable fleet and army which were employed in the Caribbean. The fleet now consisted of twenty nine ships of the line, with nearly an equal number of Frigates, Fire Ships, and Bomb Ketches, well manned and with a plentifully supply of provisions, stores. The number of seamen amounted to 15,000. Plus a land force that included the American Regiment of four battalions belonging to Colonel Spotswood and a body of Negroes enlisted at Jamaica, making a grand total of around 12,000 men. The whole force sailed from Irish Bay in Hispaniola, and anchored on the evening of the Saturday 4th March in the Grande Playa, to the windward side of the town of Carthagena, the intending objective.

1741. Sunday 15th January. The expedition arrived at Jamaica from Hispaniola, where they received a reinforcement of 2000 Marines from England. It was then determined to make another attack on Porto Bello, and if successful, to march across the Isthmus of Darien, and take the rich town of Panama. After a delay of two months the troops embarked, and the whole fleet anchored in the harbour of Porto Bello on the evening of 28th March but to the surprise of the admiral, the land officers considered, that as the season was far advanced, their numbers diminished by sickness, and the separation of some of the transports, they deemed it impracticable to pursue further measures. As there remained more than 2000 effective men, an army more than sufficient to have secured the treasure of Panama, and as there was no force in the whole country capable of meeting them in the field, this contemptible timidity is unaccountable; for in case of repulse they might have returned, without the least apprehension of being harassed in their retreat. The whole fleet sailed from Porto Bello in the early part of April and arrived at Jamaica on the 15th of May. (Volume 1 Historical Records of the Royal Marine Forces by Paul Harris Nicolas Lieut. Royal Marines.)

1741. Thursday 9th March - 16th May. The Battle of Cartagena de Indias in Colombia. Was an amphibious military engagement between the forces of Britain under Vice-Admiral Edward Vernon and those of Spain under Admiral Blas de Lezo. It took place at the city of Cartagena de Indias, in present day Colombia. The battle was the most significant of the War of Jenkins' Ear and one of the largest naval campaigns in British history. The battle resulted in a major defeat for the British Navy and Army. The battle marked a turning point in South American history, as Spain preserved her military supremacy in that continent until the nineteenth century. The defeat caused heavy losses for the British, that included 50 ships lost, badly damaged or abandoned, and losses of 18,000 soldiers and sailors, mostly due to disease that also took a heavy toll among the Spanish forces, especially yellow fever.

According to Gillespie the casualties among the officers of the Marine Regiments at Cartagena amounted to 61, of whom 13 were killed in action, the remainder dying of wounds or disease. However, he does not apparently include Colonel Moore, Grant and Daniels, which brings the total up to 64. Who Colonel Moore was is not clear, unless it means Colonel Moreton, but Grant and Daniels were successively appointed to the 5th Marine from Cavendish’s and Harrison’s. No exact details are forth coming as to the casualties among the rank and file. However, of six Marines Regiments with an original strength of 1,000 apiece, must have landed at least landed 5,000 men, and yet only re-embarked 3,382, of whom 1,103 were sick or wounded, it is evident that they must have had a very heavy Butchers Bill.

1741. Wednesday 22nd March. General Wentworth opened a battery of twenty- four pounders on the castle; and on the following day Commodore Lestock, with five ships, attacked it by sea; and the Spaniards having remounted the guns in the fascine battery, it was a second time destroyed by the seamen. A breach being practicable in the castle of Boca Chica, it was entered by a detachment of grenadiers, without opposition; and the garrison of Fort St. Joseph also capitulated. Emboldened by this success and perceiving that the enemy were preparing to sink their ships, the British boarded the Spanish admiral's ship, the Gallicia, and having destroyed the boom and opened a free passage, the fleet entered the harbour without molestation: the fortress of Castillo Grande, mounting fifty-nine guns, which protected the entrance, was abandoned by the enemy as soon as the ships approached. On the 5th of April the troops landed at La Quinta, and General Wentworth pushed forward through a narrow defile to an open ground about a mile from St. Lazar, which fort entirely commanded the town of Carthegena, and was strongly fortified and defended by a numerous garrison. After much altercation between the two commanders, it was determined to storm this important fortress; and on the 9th, Brigadier-general Guise, with five hundred grenadiers and a thousand Marines, advanced against the enemy's lines in front of the fort, followed by a body of Americans, carrying woolpacks, scaling-ladders, and hand-grenades. The troops pushed forward to the attack with great gallantry, although exposed to a heavy and destructive flanking fire; and on reaching the enemy's line, they rushed into the intrenchments, driving the Spaniards into the fort, over the drawbridge which communi- cated with the lines. But few of the Americans came up with the materials for further operations; and after an abortive attempt to scale the walls of St. Lazar by a small detachment, who were all cut to pieces, a general confusion ensued, and the troops were compelled to retire, with the loss of six hundred men, killed and wounded. It was then decided, in a council of war, that a re-embarkation should take place; and after destroying Castillo Grande, Vice-admiral Vernon returned to Port Royal in Jamaica, where he arrived on the 19th of May. The loss sustained arose more from the effects of the climate, than in action with the enemy. Twenty-eight officers were killed, and seventy-seven died from disease and fatigue. Colonel Douglas, of the Marines, was among the slain; and Lieut.-colonel Cochran was promoted to the vacancy.

After the arrival of the troops at Jamaica, the mortality continued very great among them. Many changes took place between the regiments of foot and the Marines, and promotion was established by rotation in the whole line. Within a few weeks the corps, originally Douglas's, included amongst its casualties three colonels, two lieutenant-colonels, and two majors. The fleet, consisting of eight sail of the line and twelve frigates, with more than forty transports, having taken on board a newly raised corps of 1000 negroes, who with the troops amounted to 3400 land forces, sailed from Jamaica on the 1st of July, and on the 18th anchored in Walthenham Bay, in the island of Cuba, which was immediately named Cumberland, in honour of his Royal Highness the Duke. It was determined to attack the city of St. Jago, and the troops were accordingly landed: meeting with no opposition, they marched some miles up the country, and encamped on the banks of a navigable river. In the mean time, Admiral Vernon despatched part of his ships to blockade the port of St. Jago, and to watch the motions of the Spanish admiral, who was lying with twelve ships of the line at Havanna, a populous city on the west side of the island. But on the 9th of October, General Wentworth expressed his doubts of being able to proceed with the army, or to subsist much longer in the part they occupied. A council of war, held on the 9th, determined that it was impossible to proceed further into the country; and on the 7th of November another council, consisting of the land officers only, resolved on embarking the troops with all expedition. They were accordingly put on board the transports on the 20th, without any molestation from the enemy.

Thus, ended the conquest of Cuba, the inhabitants of which, from the incomprehensible conduct of the British troops, were almost persuaded that they landed without any hostile intentions; for St. Jago, which was no more than four days' march from Cumberland harbour, was weak in its defences on the land side, and might, therefore, have been easily surprised; and as there was no army in the country to oppose an enemy, it is difficult to conceive why it was not immediately attempted. After remaining four months on the island, the number of the British force was so decreased by disease, that probably in another month there would scarcely have been any left to bring home an account of this disastrous expedition.
The total loss of officers, at the close of the year, amounted to one commander of the land forces, five colonels, ten lieutenant-colonels, seven majors, fifty-five captains, one hundred and sixteen subalterns, and fourteen staff officers. Each of the marine regiments, which on leaving Europe consisted of more than 1000 men, were now so reduced, that, including the four battalions of Gooch's Americans, only 251 Serjeants, 244 corporals, 89 drummers, and 2073 privates, remained fit for duty. (Volume 1 Historical Records of the Royal Marine Forces by Paul Harris Nicolas Lieut. Royal Marines.)

1741. During the year 1741, the number of marine regiments was increased to ten, and the regulations of this establishment were very similar in their principles to those framed for the line: they were clothed by their colonels, who had the privilege of nominating officers for commissions. The number of men embarked on board the largest ships did not exceed one hundred, under a captain and three subalterns; and the smallest not less than twenty under an officer. The field-officers never embarked, unless the whole battalion was destined for a particular service. Officers commanding Marine detachments were required to make effective returns of them every two months, attested by the captains and pursers of each ship, in order to assist the numbers of the regimental companies, and to guide the recruiting service. The same deductions were made from them as in the army for clothing and Chelsea Hospital, whether embarked or not. (Volume 1 Historical Records of the Royal Marine Forces by Paul Harris Nicolas Lieut. Royal Marines.)

When attached to any ship, marines were entitled to the same indulgences as the seamen, receiving their provisions without any deductions from their pay on that account; and they had short-allowance money, and the benefit of naval hospitals. When sent thither, either sick or wounded, they were deemed effective on their musters on shore, if producing a certificate from the surgeon of the ship, and another from their commanding officer at head-quarters.
The paymaster-general issued the pay to the colonels of regiments, or their agents, and the paymaster of each settled the accounts agreeably to the muster-rolls from the commissary general; which muster-rolls, and the colonel's receipts, were sufficient vouchers for passing the paymaster's accounts, &c.
When brigaded abroad, they were paid precisely in the same manner as the army; but the arrears of officers of Marines were longer withheld, and the captains of companies were exposed to peculiar hardships, particularly abroad, when they were often obliged to assign that portion of their pay at an enormous discount, in order to answer their temporary exigencies. (Volume 1 Historical Records of the Royal Marine Forces by Paul Harris Nicolas Lieut. Royal Marines.)

1741. Sunday 9th April. The Repulse at St. Lazar. At 4am in the morning a body of men consisting of 500 Grenadiers, supported by1,000 European Marines and Jamaican soldiers march towards the Enemy’s lines by the Fort St. Lazar, and were followed at considerable distance by a large body of American, laden with wool packs, scaling ladders, and hand grenades. The enemy had entrenched themselves breast high under the walls of the fort, observing their advance, and fired upon them with great fury as soon as they came within reach of their small arms. Which was returned by brave Grenadiers with equal smartness, but as the Spanish had the advantage of cover, it was impossible for the advancing force to be as accurate. Therefore it was resolved to push forwards up to the mouths of their pieces and storm their entrenchments, in doing so they suffered extremely. The assault failed with a loss of 600 casualties. The attack had been planned to help isolate Cartagena from the land side by an assault of Fort St. Lazar. The assault failed with a loss of 600 casualties.

1741. Tuesday 18th July. In consequence of the heavy losses sustained by Admiral Sir Chalaoner Ogle’s fleet at Cartagena, and the mortality which continued to prevail after the troops returned to Jamaica, it was not until the beginning of July that the fleet and army were in a condition to renew their operations. It had always been the objective to proceed against the Island of Cuba, where they anchored on the 18th July in Waltenham Bay, about eighteen leagues to windward of St. Jago, the first object of their intended attack. The troops were landed on the Monday 24th consisting of nearly 4000 men, including1000 Negroes raised by the Island of Jamaica. They did not try to establish a foot hold on the country, although there were several treks to find food and water. After establishing a position on the side of a river nearly three leagues from the mouth of the harbour, the General pushed some detachments into the country, which beat back the out posts of the enemy, and in a few days returned back to the camp with plentiful provisions. Eventually the fleet returned to Jamaica. Upon which it was revealed that they had sustained a total loss of officer amounting to One Commander in Chief, five Colonels, ten Lieutenant Colonels, seven Majors, fifty five Captains and one hundred and sixteen Subalterns and fourteen staff officers. The heavy casualties in the Marine Regiments are shown when it is stated that these six Regiments consisted of more than one thousand men each and that only 2654 survived.

1741. September. Admiral Vernon and General Wentworth were recalled; and thus, terminated this vast enterprise against the Spanish settlements in South America, in which enormous sums were expended, and 10,000 lives sacrificed without the least benefit to the nation. To the indecision of General Wentwortlfs character, and deficiency of that intrepid alacrity which inspires confidence in the soldier, may be attributed the cause of this inglorious issue. The naval commander was desirous to make the attack, but his contempt for his associate destroyed that cordiality which is so essential in all operations, and it abated the vigour which ought to have been exercised.
Previous to the departure of Vice-admiral Vernon from Jamaica, measures were taken to put that island in the best posture of defence, and for having the fleet efficiently supplied with Marines which arrangement required nearly all that remained fit for duty; consequently, the force was so reduced, that Sir Chaloner Ogle could only adopt a system of self-defence, as the Spanish squadron in the Havanna was now superior to his own. It having been represented to Sir Chaloner Ogle that the Spanish settlements of La Guyra and Porto Cavallo, on the coast of the Caraccas, were in a defenceless condition, the rear-admiral detached Captain Knowles with a small squadron to Antigua, where he was reinforced by some other ships; and 400 men of Dalzell's regiment, with 600 Marines, were embarked on board the squadron. So little caution had been used to conceal the destination of this armament, that the governor of the Caraccas had two months' notice of the intended expedition, and, consequently, the fortifications were strengthened with the utmost care. (Volume 1 Historical Records of the Royal Marine Forces by Paul Harris Nicolas Lieut. Royal Marines.)

1741. December. During 1741 the total loss of Officers, amounted to one Commander in Chief, five Colonels, ten Lieutenant Colonels, seven Majors, fifty five Captains, one hundred and sixteen Subalterns, and fourteen Staff Officers.

1741. Spotswood's Regiment was re-named Gooch's Marines, later becoming the 61st Foot (a predecessor of the Rifles) was raised from North American colonists.

1741. HMS Rupert captures four large Privateers.

1741. HMS Superb captured a galleon worth £200,000.

1741. The number of Marine Regiments was augmented to ten, and the sums voted to maintain them were £201,752 13s 0d. If the same force had been established before the peace of Utrecht, they would not have exceeded the estimate of £186,666 Is 8d, as the following indigenise were granted, and annual allowances made subsequent to that period. For servants allowed to Officers £7,786 13s 4d. Allowance to the Widows of Officers £2,433 6s 8d. To Colonels, for clothing lost by deserters £2,129 3s 4d. To Captains, for recruiting their Companies £1,825 0s 0d. To Agents of different Regiments £912 10s to £l5,086 13s 4d.

At this time the whole Half pay Establishment of Great Britain, including Horse, Dragoons, Foot, Invalids, and Marines, consisted of only five hundred and fifty one Officers, and the annual expenditure upon the whole was £34,492 10s, being at the rate of £94 10s per day, and so considerate and economical were the public measures, that the House of Commons addressed his Majesty, praying, that those upon this list, if fit for service, might be appointed to the first vacant commissions which occurred in the different Regiment?. But an ill judged parsimony, as to the number of Officers attached to Corps, seemed also to exist, and the same spirit was constantly urging the conversion of the Land (Forces into bodies of Marines.

The regulations for this establishment were nearly similar in their principles to those framed for the line. The Colonels of Marine Regiments clothed their respective Corps, and had the liberty of recommending for commissions. Excepting that the whole battalion was destined for a particular service, none of the Field Officers were embarked. The greatest number of men on board the largest ships did not exceed one hundred under a Captain, three Subalterns, and the smallest was not less than twenty under an Officer.

The Commanders of Marine detachments were enjoined to forward effective returns of them every two months to the Commissary General of Marines, attested by the Captains and Pursers of each. This was necessary, in order to conduct the musters of the Regimental Companies, and to guide the recruiting service on shore. The same deductions were made from them as the Army, for clothing and the Chelsea Hospital, whether embarked or not.

When attached to any ship, their indigence’s were equal to those of the Seamen, as to the receiving provisions without any deductions from their pay on that account, they had short allowance money, and the benefit of Naval Hospitals. When sent there, either sick or wounded, they were deemed effective in the musters ashore, if producing a certificate from the Surgeon of the Ship to which they belonged, and another from the Commanding Officer at head-quarters, when in Great Britain.

The Paymaster General of Marines issued the pay, upon receiving it, to the Colonels of Regiments, or their Agents, and the Pay master of each settled all their accounts agreeably to the muster rolls they had from the Commissary General.

These muster rolls, with the receipts of the different Colonels or their Agents, were esteemed sufficient vouchers for passing the Pay master's accounts, and for making out warrants or debentures for clearings, which terms shall undergo a more particular discussion, under the head of Examples.

When brigaded abroad, they were paid exactly in the same manner as the Army, but the arrears of Marine Officers were much longer withheld, and the Captains of Companies were exposed to very peculiar hardships, which will be explained more at length in a subsequent stage of the narrative. It is enough at present to remark, that the Officers of these Regiments, when abroad, were often obliged to assign that branch of their pay, at fifty per cent discount, in order to answer their temporary exigencies.

What a contrast does this sytem present to the reforms, which have been recently established, in favour of this class of men. (Taken from Chapter 9 'An Historical Review of the Royal Marine Corps by Alexander Gillespie)

1741. In consequence of the heavy losses sustained at Carthagena, and the mortality which still continued to rage after their arrival at Jamaica, the transit between the Regiments of Foot and Marines was rapid and immediate. Upon this service promotions were established by rotation in the whole line. Within the short period of five weeks, the Corps, originally Douglas's, numbered amongst its casualties, three Colonels, two Lieutenant Colonels, and two Majors.
It was not until the beginning of July that the fleet and army were in a state of readiness to renew their operations, when it was resolved to proceed against the Island of Cuba, where they anchored upon the 18th of July, in Walthenham Bay, immediately named Port Cumberland, in honour of his Royal Highness the Duke, about eighteen leagues to windward of St. Jago, the first object of their intended attack, and properly speaking, the Capital, although it was not then the seat of the Governor. The troops were all landed upon the 24th, consisting nearly of four thousand men, including one thousand chosen negroes, levied by the Island of Jamaica, with a view to sustain the laborious duties of this service. Having established a position upon the side of the river, nearly three leagues from the mouth of the harbour, the General on the 25th pushed some detachments into the country, which everywhere beat back the outposts of the enemy, and in a few days returned to the Camp, with plentiful supplies of provisions.

It was originally the intention of the Commanders in Chief to have made a joint attack upon St. Jago, but the want of unanimity which had sometime past, and now existed to a fatal degree, ruined every purpose. Contentious debates, and dilatory measures, took place of cordial co-operation and pushing enterprise, while the Country's interests and the lives of the Soldiery were daily sacrificed to the bitterest feuds.

About the middle of August, the General stated the impracticability of advancing into the interior country with his present force and expressed a wish to await the arrival of fresh levies from America, and the expected reinforcements from Europe, which now became essential to complete the skeleton Corps of his Army. The first resource was planned at the outset of the West India expedition, and instructions had been early given to the Commander in Chief to avail himself of it, when compelled by emergency.
Accordingly, recruiting parties were sent to New England to raise volunteers, and General Wentworth, by a personal appeal to the Governor of that province, urged the necessity of their being seconded with public spirit and public liberality. Similar steps were adopted in the State of New York, to fill up the American Regiments of Marines; and the Governors, by an impressive address to the Legislative Houses of both, strongly recommended their energies, not only on the ground of patriotism, but of political expediency. Bounties of forty shillings were offered to volunteers, and the alluring inducements of conquered territory. America then saw her interests in the subjugation of the Spanish dependencies in that quarter of the globe.
During a long interval nothing was attempted, even towards a partial reduction of Cuba, at the close of which, sickness, the never-failing result of total inactivity in these climes, began his ravages. It was therefore determined to evacuate the island, which was affected upon the 20th of November, when the regimental returns were as follow:
...................................................Serj.       Corp.    Drum.    Priv.
General Harrison's Foot              22          23          8          172.
Wentworth's ditto                        22          17          8          172.
Colonel Wolfe's (Marines.)        . 20           23         6          132
Frazer's                                       22           21         6           109
Lowther's                                    22           24          8          183
Wynyard's                                   23           20         11         123
Cochran's                                    15          11          7           158
Cotterell's                                    24           26         10         151
First Battalion,
Gooch's (American.)                   16           11          3            129
Second ditto                               10             7           3             90
Third ditto                                   10             7           3             79
Fourth ditto                                  6              7           1            107
.....................................................--------------------------------------
..................................................212          197         74         1610
Sick in all                                    39             47         15         .465
..................................................251          244         89         .2073
...............................................============================
The total loss of Officers, at the close of 1741, amounted to one Commander in Chief, five Colonels, ten Lieutenant Colonels, seven Majors, fifty-five Captains, one hundred and sixteen Subalterns, and fourteen Staff Officers.
The heavy casualties in the Marine Regiments may easily be known, when it is recollected, that upon their leaving Europe each consisted of more than one thousand men.
The transports, under a proper escort, returned to Jamaica upon the 29th of November, while the squadron continued at sea to meet the anxiously looked-for reinforcements. (Taken from Chapter 10 'An Historical Review of the Royal Marine Corps by Alexander Gillespie)

1742. Friday 5th January. Nearly 3000 men that included 2000 Marines arrived in Jamaica to replace the fleet’s losses.

1742. Monday 15th January. It was not until the 15th of January 1742, that nearly three thousand men, including two thousand Marines, arrived at Jamaica. Another expedition was now meditated, which put to sea early in March, but adverse winds, the separation of transports having on board the working negroes, and the expectation of the periodical rains now nearly setting in, suggested to a Council of War held at Porto Bello, at the close of that month, the immediate return of the whole armament, to the port they had left. This afforded another instance of unfortunate discord. The fleet arrived at Jamaica upon the 15th of May.
In order to give a specious appearance to things, and to compensate for the national expenditures and past miscarriages, it was now judged proper to detach a force to take possession of Rattan, an island in the Bay of Honduras, and a situation highly proper for maintaining a commercial intercourse with South America, as well as the trade in logwood.
An establishment there having been formed early in the year, it was determined in a Council 1742of War to send a force of fifty Marines and two hundred Americans, under Major Caulfield, in order to place the island in a state of military defence.
On the 23d of August, they reached Port Royal, on the south side of it, where they formed a camp and erected Fort George to defend the harbour, as well Fort Frederick, on the western part of it.
A great proportion of the American soldiers being papists, they formed a plot to render the settlement abortive, and to rise upon the Marines and the well-affected of their countrymen.
His Majesty's ship, Litchfield, then in the harbour, hearing the alarm guns, instantly landed her party of Marines, who with those on shore soon checked this daring mutiny, secured the delinquents, and preserved the settlement to his Majesty.
Nothing farther was done during the inauspicious commands of Admiral Vernon or General Wentworth, who both soon afterwards returned to Great Britain, excepting the detaching five hundred men of different descriptions to the aid of General Oglethorpe, in South Carolina, and repelling the menaces of the Spaniards against the infant colony of Georgia.
Orders of recall for both arrived at Jamaica upon the 23d of September, and the General was directed to provide the fleet with a number of commissioned Officers, and men, from the Marines, sufficient to supply its wants; to also fill up the vacancies in the eight Independent Companies raised for the defence of Jamaica.
For the former purpose, eleven hundred were required, which were nearly all that were now left and fit for duty. The supernumerary Officers and sick were sent home, and the American troops were invited to become volunteers for both.
Government, under the experience of past disasters, now vested the control of the Marines in Sir Chaloner Ogle, upon whom the naval command devolved after the departure of Admiral Vernon. Notwithstanding the personal animosities that had existed, this Officer bore his testimony to the zeal and distinguished bravery of the Soldiery, whose gallant efforts and patient endurance under the greatest privations, were uniformly conspicuous throughout a series of misfortunes.
Upwards of seven thousand Marines and nearly four thousand other troops were the lamentable victims to pestilence and disunion, but not to defeat. The objects which were accomplished, although not adequate to their country's hopes, were still distressing to the enemy. Their principal harbours were in a manner rendered defenceless, and the Spanish government experienced much embarrassment from nearly a total suspension of these pecuniary supplies, which could alone enable it to maintain the war with vigour and effect, while the distress pervaded every class of its subjects.
Our forces were ever after too feeble to undertake any enterprise of importance against the enemy in that quarter of the world. Self-defence was now the system adopted by Sir Chaloner Ogle, as the Spanish squadron at the Havannah was superior to his own, since the departure of Admiral Vernon.
The supplies which were voted for the year 1743 provided for a large levy of Marines to fill up their casualties--eleven thousand five hundred and fifty being the number decreed, and forty thousand seamen.
Nothing further, consistent with my subject, appears on the face of the public transactions of the year 1742. (Taken from Chapter 11 'An Historical Review of the Royal Marine Corps by Alexander Gillespie)

1742. Thursday 12th April. HMS Eltham and HMS Lively engaged three Spanish ships.

1742. June. HMS Kingston and consorts destroyed five Spanish ships.

1743. Early. That an impression upon some part of the continent of South America being resolved on, the conduct of these operations was entrusted to Captain Knowles, of the Navy, having on board his squadron four hundred of the regiment of Dalzell, and about six hundred Marines. They were first ordered to rendezvous at Antigua, from which island they sailed upon the 12th of February, with a view upon La Guira, a town in the district of the Caraccas, in Terra Firma. The attack against it was commenced on the 18th, but owing to a very heavy swell, the men of war could not approach the shore, and in consequence, the troops were not landed. After a very heavy cannonade, which was only ended by the night, the ships withdrew from the combat. The town suffered extremely, many breaches were made in the fortifications, and the enemy sustained a loss of more than seven hundred men.
The Spaniards behaved well, as the squadron suffered very considerable damages, besides having nearly four hundred killed and wounded.
It proceeded to Curaccoa to refit, where they prepared for another attempt upon the sea-coast of Terra Firma. Having been reinforced by some Dutch Volunteers, Commodore Knowles sailed from this island upon the 20th of March, and shaped a course for Porto Cavallo, where there was a respectable force, and a town in the best state of defence.
Owing to strong lee currents, it was not until the 15th of April that the ships anchored under the keys of Barbarat, to the eastward of the place. Having reconnoitred the different points of opposition, which were everywhere formidable, two ships were ordered upon the 16th of April against Ponta Brava, to commence upon it a flanking fire, which its low situation, and the injudicious construction of the works, evidently permitted.
After they were silenced, it was agreed to land the troops of every description, in order to take possession, and to turn the guns against the Castle; their retreat being secured by a man of war within pistol shot of the shore. By sunset the ships had accomplished their object, and by dark a force of twelve hundred sailors, soldiers, and Dutch Volunteers were disembarked under the command of Major Lucas.
About eleven at night the Van gained one of the fascine batteries upon Ponta Brava, when a Spanish centinel discharged his musquet, and gave a general alarm.
Two guns being fired from the other battery, which was the next for capture, put into an unaccountable confusion nearly the whole of this mixed detachment, when under the influence of a panic they retreated to the ships with precipitation.
Upon the 21st it was resolved to wipe away the disgrace of the late miscarriage, by an attack of the squadron and forces against the Castle and fascine batteries. Four ships were destined to batter the former upon the 24th, while three others were placed against the latter. The cannonading began at eleven on the noon of that day and was maintained with a mutual obstinacy till nine at night, when after a short interval the firing was renewed. Some of the ships having now expended all their ammunition, and others being damaged, they were ordered to slip, and to anchor without the reach of the enemy's shot.
This attack being fruitless in its object, which was to land the troops, and fatal in its consequences, by a loss of more than two hundred men, it was now deemed impracticable to push any farther enterprise, and upon the 28th, in a general consultation, it was resolved to return to Jamaica.
The extended operations of our fleets in other quarters being marked with no events in which his Majesty's Marine forces were particularly called forth, no farther details connected with my narrative appear within the annals of 1743. (Taken from Chapter 12 ‘An Historical Review of the Royal Marine Corps byAlexander Gillespie)

1743. Tuesday 15th January. HMS Sapphire sank two Spanish Privateers and destroyed three.

1743. Monday 18th February. The attack upon La Guira a town in the area of Catacas was a second attempt by the British trying to capture some of the Spanish controlled parts of South America, along its east coast. Captain Knowles lead a squadron that included 1400 of Dalzels 34th Regiment and 100 Marines. Owing to a heavy swell, the ships could not approach the shore. Therefore a heavy cannonade bombarded the town took place and was only ended by the onset of night. Eventually the British ships were forced to withdraw from the combat. While the town suffered extremely, with many breaches being made in their fortifications, and a loss of more than 700 men. The British squadron also suffered considerable damage to its ships and a loss of around 400 men killed and wounded.

1743. Monday 18th February. The squadron arrived off La Guyra on the 18th February, and about noon the attack commenced. Before one o'clock p. m. the ships had all anchored, and were warmly engaged with the batteries, which kept up a well-directed fire, and created great annoyance by their red-hot shot. The British had great prospect of success until the leading ship, the Burford, had her cable cut; being much disabled in her mast and rigging, she fell out of the line, and drifting on board the Norwich, obliged her, and also the Eltham, to quit their position, and with the strength of the current the three ships drove a great way to leeward. This disaster gave the enemy fresh spirits, and the cannonade continued until a shell fell into their principal battery and exploded the magazine. Night coming on, the firing ceased, when the squadron, having suffered considerably, drew off, and on the following morning the commodore proceeded to Curagoa to refit.
The service sustained a loss of one lieutenant and ninetytwo men killed; Captain Lushington of the Burford, mortally, and 308 wounded. The town was almost reduced to ruins, their fortifications were greatly injured, and the Spaniards had 700 men killed and wounded.
The squadron being refitted, and having received a reinforcement of Dutch volunteers, sailed on 20th March from Curae, to attack Porto Cavallo, and anchored under the Keys of Barbaret, on 15th April. The commodore perceiving that the enemy's batteries on Ponta Brava might be cannonaded with effect, directed the Lively and Eltham to anchor within pistol-shot; and before sunset these ships had effectually succeeded. The soldiers and Marines, supported by 400 seamen, were then landed, and proceeded to gain possession of the batteries; but some confusion taking place, the troops hastily retired to the beach. The commodore having determined to attack the place with his whole force, the ships on the morning of the 24th took their positions as follows: — Assistance, Burford, Suffolk, and Norwich, to batter the castle; and the Scarborough, Lively, and Eltham to cannonade the two fascine batteries. The firing continued until after dark, when the ships, being severely damaged, cut their cables and retired out of range of the enemy's guns. This fruitless attempt, with the loss of two hundred men in killed and wounded, led to a council of war on the 28th, when it was resolved to detach the ships belonging to the Leeward Island station, together with the detachment of Dalzell's regiment; and the rest of the squadron returned to Jamaica. In April his Majesty published a declaration for the encouragement of the officers and crews of his ships of war, privateers, and letters of marque; by which the property of all prizes taken by ships of war was declared to belong solely to the captors, and the two last-mentioned were. At this period, when the establishment of the Marines was 11,556 men, an order was issued by the Secretary -at-war for the ten regiments to recruit with expedition; and to render them speedily effective, impressed men were allotted to each: and this expedient was also extended to many regiments of the line. In the bill for recruiting, a clause was inserted that everyone who should voluntarily enlist in the land forces and marines, would be entitled to a bounty of £4, and might require his discharge from the service at the expiration of three years. (Volume 1 Historical Records of the Royal Marine Forces by Paul Harris Nicolas Lieut. Royal Marines.)

1743. Wednesday 20th March. Unable to restrain her views, France declared war, which was answered by a similar proclamation of the 31st March, on the part of England. Followed by the destruction of many of the French transports and troops at Dunkirk, while at sea they chased their covering fleet from the English coast.

1743. Monday 15th - 16th April. After a refit Captain Knowles ships set sail and anchored to the east-ward side of the town of Porto Brava. Two ships commenced a flanking fire and after the shore batteries were silenced, it was decided to land the troops in order to take possession, and to turn the guns towards the castle, their retreat being secured by a ship of war within a pistol shot of the shore. By sunset the ships had accomplished their objective, and by dusk a force of 1200 sailors, soldiers, and Dutch volunteers, was disembarked under the command of Major Lucas. About eleven at night they had gained one of the fascine batteries but the garrison having been pre-warned and prepared for the attack managed to push the British back to their boats.

1743. Saturday 20th April. HMS Centurion took the N.S. de Covadonga worth £4000.000.

1743. April. Knowle's unsuccessful attack on Porto Cavallo.

1743. Wednesday 8th of May. The Northumberland of 70 guns, Captain Watson, having chased from the fleet of Sir Charles Hardy, on the coast of Portugal, brought to action the Mars of 68, Content of 60, and Venus of 28 guns. After sustaining the fire of the Mars, Captain Watson bore down to the Content, then nearly a mile to leeward. This enabled the enemy to bring their whole force into action, as the Mars followed to support her consort. After a close engagement of upwards of three hours, the Northumberland being totally disabled, and Captain Watson mortally wounded, the master struck the colours before either of the lieutenants could get on deck to assume the command. The enemy had 130 men killed and wounded. The Northumberland was carried into Brest, having sustained a loss of 18 killed, and 30 wounded. (Volume 1 Historical Records of the Royal Marine Forces by Paul Harris Nicolas Lieut. Royal Marines.)

1743. Friday 23rd August. The occupation of the Island of Rattan.

1743. Thursday 3rd October. The Victory of 110 guns, commanded by Admiral Sir John Balchen, having separated in a heavy gale from the fleet cruising off Ushant, foundered on the Caskets, near Guernsey, and the admiral and all on board perished. (Volume 1 Historical Records of the Royal Marine Forces by Paul Harris Nicolas Lieut. Royal Marines.)

1743. Wednesday 27th November. The Parliament met and granted a vote of £206,253.-15s. to support an establishment of eleven thousand five hundred and fifty Marines during the ensuing twelve months.

1743. HMS Revenge and the Anne Gallery destroyed the San Yeidro.

1743. During the following three years the strength of the Marine Regiments was maintained at 11,550 men.

1743. Daily pay rates, which included a food and clothing allowance, ranged from £1.6.6 for a Major to 1/2d for a Marine private.

1744. Although Great Britain, as a guarantee of the balance of continental power, had, during a past period, exerted her resources in the cause of her Allies, opposed to the interests of France, although his Majesty King George the Second, in quality of Elector of Hanover, had been highly distinguished in the field at the head of these armies, still a specious cordiality continued to exist between the two nations.
Since the declaration of hostilities against Spain, our restless and intriguing neighbours enjoyed all the advantages of war, without experiencing any of its evils.
At the outset of this year, however, their projects were developed by the equipment of powerful naval armaments in their ports, and the assembling of armies upon their sea-coasts; the avowed aim of which was against the Crown and Liberties of the British Empire.

A Prince, delegated by his Father, and drawn from his retreat in another country, mild in his temper, and amiable in his manners, was induced to renew their almost forgotten claims upon our monarchy, and to revive the quickly decaying prejudices within our land, in favour of his family and himself.

Unable now no longer to restrain her views, France declared war upon the 20th day of March, which was answered by a similar proclamation of the 31st, on the part of England. That Providence which has often so signally interposed for our country was now conspicuous. The elements were employed in the destruction of many of their transports and troops at Dunkirk, while our floating bulwarks chased their covering fleet from our coasts.
At this time the whole property of naval prizes was vested in the captors, his Majesty having generously relinquished that share which hitherto had pertained to the Crown.

The arrival of Commodore Anson from his expedition, which was originally intended to co-operate across the isthmus of Darien, with the fatal one conducted by Admiral Vernon, diffused a joy into the nation.
The specie which was gained by his enterprise, courage, and perseverance was immense; and although it was obtained antecedent to the royal grant, still it was divided amongst his squadron, unimpaired by claims.
About three hundred and thirty marines shared in the toils, and the many debarkations which took place in his tedious progress; having been drafted from the different regiments to fill up the complement of his ships, and to supply the place of a number of Invalids under Lieutenant Colonel Cracherode, who dreading their approaching hardships, deserted from the service.
Fleets were now detached to every quarter of the globe, and a force of eleven thousand five hundred and fifty-six Marines, was again the establishment of 1744.

It falls not within my scope to enlarge upon the wide and mingled events of this year. A partial affair in the month of May, occurred in the Mediterranean, in which the party of Marines disembarked from the Essex signalized themselves. That ship being on a cruise, gained sight of twenty six Xebeques and Settees, bound to Antibes, from whence they were to carry troops to Italy. The former a convoy to the latter, which were laden with powder, cannon, ordnance stores, and provisions. Thirteen having taken refuge in the Creek of Cassi, the Marines were landed in order to co-operate with the boats, and to repel any enemy that might appear to retard their progress. They were soon attacked by a body of Spaniards, whom they beat back, and thus effected the object on which they were employed. Eleven vessels were burnt and two captured, which was a material loss in its consequences.

Nothing further, that properly falls within my notice, appears within the period of this year: our numerous cruisers were peculiarly successful, and although few traits of achievement appear on the face of our public transactions during this limited era, still both the nation and the individual felt the benefit and the incitement that resulted from the liberal sacrifice recently made by their Sovereign, which, while it promoted a general activity and zeal amongst every class of his subjects, struck deep also into the commercial vitals of our enemies.

The ten Regiments of Marines, by order of the Secretary at War, were directed to recruit with expedition, and in order to render them speedily effective, a number of impressed men were allotted to each. This expedient was also adopted with regard to many Regiments of Infantry.

In the Bill for the more easily recruiting his Majesty's Land Forces and Marines, a clause was inserted, that everyone who should enter voluntarily would be entitled to a bounty of four pounds and might require his discharge from the service at the expiration of three years. (Taken from Chapter 15 'An Historical Review of the Royal Marine Corps by Alexander Gillespie)

1744. January. Hector Vaughan and his Forty Marines. The British 6th Regiment of Marines (49th Foot) Charleston. South Carolina in the USA. The first Marines to serve in South Carolina were the forerunners of the present Royal Marines of Great Britain. They formed a ship's detachment of the 6th Regiment of Marines (also known as the 49th Regiment of the line) under the command of Lieutenant Hector Vaughan.

Within one year, (1774), this detachment of Marines was shipwrecked, embattled, and ultimately enriched (monetarily). Lieutenant Vaughan and his detachment were stationed aboard the Royal Navy frigate, HMS Looe, which struck a reef in the Florida Keys on Saturday 5th February 1774. The ship could not be 'gotten off' the reef and the crew were ordered to abandon ship. Most of the crew were taken off on a French ship which had been captured a few days before. This ship reached Charleston, S.C. before the end of the month. The remainder of the crew were forced to trust to the Looe's barge and yawl. The two boats became separated, the barge being picked up by the sloop Providence and brought into Charleston soon after the captured French ship. The yawl, however, ran out of water and provisions and was forced to sail for the enemy port of Havanna. In the nick of time they were rescued, not far off the Cuban coast, by another British frigate, IINS Rose under the command of Captain Thomas Frankland. Some of these men were in poor condition from their ordeal and on arrival in Charleston, were put under the care of church parish authorities until they recovered.

On the Monday 21st of February, soon after his arrival, Lieutenant Vaughan presented himself before the Governor of the Province, James Glen, and the Council, to enquire how his men were to be provided for while in the province. The Governor proposed that they be added to the garrison of the city and sent Lieutenant Vaughan to Fort Johnson to find quarters for his detachment. In addition, Glen proposed allowing the Marines additional pay for their support while in South Carolina. Two days later, Lieutenant Vaughan reported to the Council that Fort Johnson did not have accommodations suitable for his 44 Marines but a place at Craven's Bastion at the Northeast corner of the city was lacking only a few boards and 'necessaries' to make it a convenient place for his men to stay. The Council duly ordered them to go there and directed Lieutenant Hunter, the gunner of Craven's Bastion, to receive them.

The Council Journal entry for Monday 2nd March 1744 contains the only written document from Lieutenant Hector Vaughan himself. Faced with a problem familiar to anyone stranded in a strange city, he wrote the Council as follows:

"As I have had the misfortune to be easy away in His Majesty’s Ship the Looe, stationed for the service of this province, I am now obliged to continue here till such time as I receive orders how to dispose of the Marines under my command, and as my pay is too small to subsist me ashore, without the benefit of free quarters, as are allowed in Great Britain, I beg leave therefore to recommend myself to your excellency's favour for an allowance of quarters that I may thereby be enabled to subsist myself, till I am ordered for service. I am, Hector Vaughan". (sic)

The fate of the Looe, her importance to the defense of the colony, and the future employment of Vaughan and his stranded Marines were becoming entwined. Britain and her colonies had been at war with Spain in a rather desultory manner. But in the middle of 1744, France entered the conflict as an ally of Spain. French entry had been expected, especially when the French ship captured by the Looe before her wreck, had been found to be a spy ship, carrying both French and Spanish papers. The Looe under her Captain, Ashby Utting, late in the previous year, had crossed the bar into Port Royal Sound and shown that the passage was practicable for a large warship. Threats of a Spanish invasion, French belligerency, the loss of the only large frigate on station, the Looe, and an insufficiency of arms and men all coalesced into a full scale panic among the colonists. As the invasion threats grew more ominous, in June of 1744, Governor Glen sent a letter to Colonel Wigg in command of the provincial forces at Port Royal in response to an appeal for assistance and reinforcement. The letter detailed what munitions were to be sent and, as the only extra troops available, he offered to send Vaughan's detachment as follows:

"We have here 40 Marines, very good men which belonged to the Looe, which I shall immediately send down". (sic)

Lieutenant Vaughan and his Marines are not mentioned again in the Council Journals. It has not been shown that they ever actually went to Port Royal. If they did go there, however, the incident makes a nice play on History that they would have been sent to a place so familiar to modern Marines, the U.S. Marine Corps Recruit Depot at Parris Island.

The invasion panic gradually evaporated and possibly in September of 1744, Vaughan's detachment was taken aboard another ship of the Royal Navy, the frigate HMS Rose, the same that had rescued part of the Looe's crew from the yawl. The Captain of the Rose, Thomas Frankland, was already something of a naval hero for his capture of a Spanish Guarda Costs, the Juan de Bautista, and its infamous (to the British) Captain. Don Juan de Leon Fandino. Fandino was notorious for having instigated the War of Jenkin's Ear by removing the said extremity from the head of one Robert Jenkins, and English merchant captain, in 1731.

Captain Frankland had been so successful in his pursuit of French and Spanish ships during his five years on station, that he felt it necessary to purchase a wharf at Charleston on which to store the prize goods from his captures. Frankland was apparently a very lucky man, an excellent commander, or more probably both. The fall cruise of the Rose was to prove financially fortuitous for Frankland and Lieutenant Vaughan's Marines.

Off the coast of Cuba, on December 1, 1744, the Rose fell in with a French treasure ship, the Conception, bound from Cartagena to Havanna. The Conception carried only 20 guns like the Rose, but had an oversized crew of soldiers and sailors, numbering 326 men. The chase began at 0500 and lasted two hours before the Rose closed with the Conception and the battle began in earnest.

The details of the fight are lost but the accounts mention that the action was carried on at times at less than pistol-shot range and at other times the bows and quarters of the two ships were so close that the guns were touching.

The presence of the extra Marines aboard the Rose may have gone some way to even the odds with the Conception. The small arms fire from the Rose was particularly mentioned in the accounts. " uninterrupted volleys; fore and aft" from the tops as well as the fire of swivel guns and hand grenades created carnage on the decks of the Conception. The fifty Marines firing small arms expended 900 rounds of ammunition, some of them firing 27 or 28 times during five and a half hour battle. The Conception struck her colors only after suffering heavy casualties including her captain, 116 men killed and 45 wounded according to the account. The Roseon the other hand lost but five men killed and seven wounded. The reason for the uneven distribution of casualties is not recorded, but it can be surmised that the small arms fire from the Rose's Marine detachment had a decided effect on the outcome. The South Carolina Gazette ran perhaps the longest feature article to date on the battle and had the following to say:

"Lieutenant Hector Vaughan, the Marines under his command, lately belonging to His Majesty’s Ship Looe, and every man aboard the Rose behaved with undaunted bravery, worthy of the great example set with them by bravery and valiant commander”.(sic) 

A Mention in Dispatches was not to be their sole reward, however. The prize-money awarded for the capture of the Conception was in such large amounts and sufficiently heavy to necessitate its distribution in two separate payments and these paid out by weight to save the difficulty of counting it. The riches taken from the prize included: 800 bars of gold hidden in 'serons' or bales of cacao, 68 chests of silver coins containing 310,000 pieces of Eight, church plate, gold buckles and snuff boxes, a curious two-wheeled chaised of silver with wheels and axle of the same metal, a large quantity of diamonds, pearls, and other precious stones. It was impossible to give an exact accounting of the treasure aboard the Conception, since gold had been secreted in the knees, barricades, and other structural parts of the ship. The heels of the prisoner's shoes were found to be hollowed out and also filled with gold. In the face of such wealth, we should not be surprised to read that the officers and crew of the Rose, "unanimously resolved to present to Captain Frankland's Lady (the William Rhett) the silver chaise as a test­imony of gratitude to that brave commander". (sic)

When her tour of duty on the Southern station ended, the Rose sailed from Charleston for the last time on Tuesday 1st June 1745, carrying 80,000 pounds sterling in gold and silver - and presumably, the now, very much enriched detachment of the 6th Marines under Lt. Hector Vaughan.
Notes:
The Sixth Regiment of Marines (49th Foot) was raised Sunday 22nd November 1739 by Colonel Lewis Ducie Moreton lately of the 3rd Foot Guards. The cadre for the regiment came from men of the Foot Guard regiments, appointed sergeants and corporals in the new unit. Colonel Moreton died during the Cartagena expedition during April 1741 and command of the Sixth went to Colonel John Cottrell, who Hector Vaughan identified as being his Colonel in his presentation before the S.C. Provincial Council in February 1744. Hector Vaughan appears in the pen and ink additions to the entry for the Sixth Marines on the 1740 Army List as a Second Lieutenant commissioned Tuesday 10th May 1740.

HMS Looe was the fourth British frigate so named. She was a fifth rate 44. 124 feet in length and 36 feet in the beam, built by Snelgrove at Limehouse in 1741 and commanded by Captain Ashby (Ashley?) Utting RN. TINS Rose sailed from Charleston Thursday 17th September 1744; she was a sixth rate 24. 448 bm. 106 feet long and 31 feet in the beam, built by Brid at Rotherhithe.

There is no account of the uniform worn by Lieutenant Vaughan's detachment, but it can be surmised that they would have worn one similar to that depicted in the 1742 'Clothing Book', as worn by the grenadiers of the period:
From George S. Saussy. (sic) 

1744. Impressed men were allotted to each Regiment, and to those who entered voluntarily were given £4. Along with the power to claim their discharge at the end of three years.

1744. Tuesday 11th February. Mathew's engagement off Toulon.

1744. Saturday 22nd February. The third Naval Battle of Toulon took place in the Mediterranean off the coast of Toulon France. A combined Franco Spanish fleet fought off Britain's Mediterranean fleet. The French fleet, not officially at war with Britain, only joined the fighting late, when it was clear that the greatly outnumbered Spanish fleet had gained the advantage over its foe. With the French intervention, the British fleet was forced to withdraw. In Britain the battle was regarded as the most mortifying defeat. The Franco-Spanish fleet successfully ended the British blockade and inflicted considerably more damage to the British than they received, causing the British to withdraw to Minorca in need of heavy repairs.

1744. Thursday 9th - 11th April. Villefranche. Detachments of the 3rd, 4th, 7th and 9th Marines were landed to assist the Sardinians to defend their lines against the French and Spanish. Detachments were also landed from the 2nd, 7th, 10th, 29th and the 45th of the line who were serving as Marines on board the fleet. The detachments of the Royal Artillery from bomb vessels had been landed some days previously, but had all been captured during the early hours of the 9th April.

1744. Wednesday 29th April. HMS Dreadnought and HMS Grampus captured the Medle.

1744. Friday 8th May. HMS Northumberland captured by a French Squadron.

1744. Sunday 4th October. The Loss of HMS Victory, along with Admiral Balchen and 1,100 men.

1744. Tuesday 20th October. Eight men- of-war wrecked off Jamaica.

1744. HMS Seaford, HMS Sole Bay and HMS Grampus captured by De Rochambcau.

1744. Parliament granted that the establishment of Marines be increased to 11,550 men.

1744. Impressed men were allotted to each regiment; and to those who entered voluntarily, £4 per man was given, with the power to claim his discharge at the end of three years. (Volume 1 Historical Records of the Royal Marine Forces by Paul Harris Nicolas Lieut. Royal Marines.)

1745. Two Regiments were formed for service at Cape Breton, by Colonel William Shirley and Sir William Pepperell, each consisting of ten companies of 100 men per company. These were numbered the 50th and 58th Regiments of infantry of the line.

1745. Saturday 20th February. HMS Chester and HMS Sutherland captured the Elephant.

1745. Monday 5th April. Seven years after the last Marine Regiment had been disbanded, it was determined to raise a Marine force on a permanent basis. The order to raise the force was issued. With this in mind, fifty companies of Marines were authorised divided into three divisions based at Chatham, Portsmouth and Plymouth. The companies were known as Marine Forces. A Colonel Commandant commanded each division. The main staff officer was the Adjutant General.

1745. Friday 26th March. Admiral Martin captured the Panther and convoy of five sails.

1745. Thursday 22nd April. The Anglesea captured by the Apollen.

1745. Wednesday 19th May. Commodore Warren captured the Vigilante.

1745. Tuesday 1st June. The British Marines and American provincials succeeded in gaining an entrance into the harbour of Louisburg and they eventual capitulated, and with it the whole of Cape Breton. The British loss was about 100 men.

1745. Monday 28th June. The Capitulation of Louisbourg.

1745. Friday 9th July. 1745. Friday 9th July. The Lion of 50 guns, Captain Piercy Brett, cruising in the Bay of Biscay, sustained a very gallant action with the French 64-gun ship Elizabeth. After engaging from 5 a.m. until 10 a.m., the Lion, having her mizen-mast and most of her spars shot away, was totally incapable of making sail, and her opponent made off. The Lion had 55 men killed, and 107 wounded; among the latter, her captain, all the lieutenants, and the master. Of the enemy, the captain and 64 men were killed, and 140 wounded. Lieutenant Walter Graham of the Marines behaved so conspicuously, that, by the recommendation of the First Lord of the Admiralty, he was promoted to a troop in the 4th regiment of Dragoons. As soon as it was determined to make an attack on Louisbourg, Commodore Warren was directed to proceed to Canso from the Leeward Islands, to take command of the naval operations. On the 4th of April the levies from New England were encamped on Canso Hill, to await the arrival of the rest of the troops; while some ships of war, with several large privateers, continued off the harbour of Louisbourg, in order to cut off all supplies. On the 23rd of April, Commodore Warren, with the Superb 60 guns, Eltham 40, Launceston 40, and Mermaid 40, arrived at Canso, and after conferring with General Pepperell, the squadron proceeded off Louisbourg; and on the 29th the troops, amounting to 4000 provincials, and 800 seamen and marines, were conveyed to Garbarus Bay, about four miles distant. On the 30th, 2000 men landed, and beat back the enemy who had opposed their debarkation; and on the following day the commodore landed the remainder of the troops and the Marines from the ships, and they were formed into two separate encampments; one on the south side of the harbour to attack the city, and that on the northern against the grand battery. During the night of the 1st of May our picquets set fire to some storehouses; and the French, conceiving that the whole British force was advancing, retreated precipitately into the city. The enemy's works were quickly occupied by the British and continued to be held in defiance of all their efforts to regain them.

The force on the north side of the harbour had pushed their advances to within two hundred yards of the city by the 12th of May, and the cannonade was spiritedly maintained from some heavy ordnance on an eminence called the Green Hill, and a fascine battery mounting twenty-eight guns. The siege was carried on under great difficulties; but everything was well conducted, and some important captures by the squadron of ships bringing supplies from France, accelerated the fall of the colony of Cape Breton.
A force of 200 Marines and 300 Americans embarked in the boats to attack the island battery at midnight, on the 23rd of May; but owing to a dense fog, they failed in effecting a landing. On the 27th, another detachment, consisting of 150 Marines and 200 provincials, proceeded on this enterprise; but the enemy were prepared for their approach, and opened a heavy and destructive fire on the boats: nevertheless, the troops pushed gallantly ashore, and persevered in their efforts to scale the walls until sunrise; by which time they were so reduced in number, as to be compelled to surrender themse^es to the enemy. On the 12th of June, by great exertion, some cannon were planted on a cliff which commanded the platform of the island battery; and after forty-nine days of unceasing exertion, Louisbourg capitulated, and with it the whole dependency of Cape Breton, which was accomplished with the loss of about 100 men, while that of the enemy exceeded 300. The reduction of this settlement was of great importance to Great Britain, as well as to our North American possessions: it freed the northern colonies from a powerful neighbour, overawed the Indians of that country, and secured the possession of the province of Nova Scotia. At the same time, it distressed the French in their fishing and navigation, and removed all apprehension of encroachment or rivalship with our establishments on the coast of Newfoundland. (Volume 1 Historical Records of the Royal Marine Forces by Paul Harris Nicolas Lieut. Royal Marines.)

1744. Saturday 3rd October. The Victory of 110 guns, commanded by Admiral Sir John Balchen, having separated in a heavy gale from the fleet cruising off Ushant, foundered on the Caskets, near Guernsey, and the admiral and all on board perished. (Volume 1 Historical Records of the Royal Marine Forces by Paul Harris Nicolas Lieut. Royal Marines.)

1745. Sunday 31st October. Admiral Townsend took a great part of a large French convoy.

1745. HMS Rose captured Concepciogt. (spelling?)

1745. Sunday 19th December. The Clifton Moor Skirmish took place between forces of the British Hanoverian Government and Jacobite rebels. The Commander of the British forces, the Duke of Cumberland, was aware of the Jacobite presence in Derby. The Jacobite leader Prince Charles Edward Stuart decided to retreat north back towards Scotland.

1745. The men of the battalion companies of infantry ceased to carry swords.

1745. The following was the list and effective strength of the Marine Regiments.

Regiments. Number of effective men, and Wanting to complete.
Churchill's 878 and 122.
Frazer's 864 snd 136.
Lowthers 884 and 152.
Byng's 797 and 203.
Cochran's 945 and 55.
Cotterell's 843 and 157.
Cornwall's 845 and 155.
Duncombs 784 and 216.
Powlett's 916 and 84.
Jeffrey's 882 and 118.
Total's 860 and 1398.
Besides 1,550 Commissioned and Non-commissioned Officers.
At this time, and indeed since their institution in 1739, Commissions were purchased and sold in the Regiments of Marines, although they always bore an inferior value to these in Old Corps. A perquisite frequently arose to the Colonels from the disposal of Second Lieutenancies, when his Majesty was pleased to accept of their recommendation. Such usually produced from £250 to £280, while Ensigncies in the Line sometimes yielded £400.

1745. Ever since the institution of the marine regiments in 1745 commissions were purchased and sold, although they always bore an inferior value to those of the army. A perquisite arose to the colonels from the disposal of the appointments of second-lieutenants, when their recommendations were approved of by his Majesty; and such commissions usually produced to those officers from £250 to £280 while ensigncies in the line sometimes yielded as much as £400. The great expense which had accrued in the maintenance of the land forces and marines, led to the appointment of a committee of inquiry. In this investigation it appeared that the colonel of a marine regiment had a greater emolument than an officer commanding a regiment of the line, arising from the comparative superiority in their numbers, and the articles of clothing being of an inferior quality.
A squadron of six sail of the line, under Admiral Lestock, with a fleet of transports conveying a military force of 5000 men under Lieutenant-general St. Clair, sailed from Plymouth on the 14th of September, destined to make an attack on the port of L'Orient. On the morning of the 20th, the troops landed in the bay of Quimperlay, about ten miles from Port Louis, without sustaining any loss. Early on the 21st the general began his march, leaving the corps of Marines, under Colonel Holmes, to assist in landing the stores and artillery. The army was divided into two columns; the first arrived at the windmill near L'Orient early in the evening and were shortly afterwards joined by the other division. Preparations were made for bombarding the town; and after a fruitless parley with a deputation from the inhabitants, who proposed terms for the surrender of the place, considerable damage was done by our artillery; but the enemy, taking advantage of the delay in our operations, assembled a formidable force, which induced the Lieutenant-general to withdraw his army, and the re-embarkation was effected, after sustaining a loss of 150 men killed and wounded. (Volume 1 Historical Records of the Royal Marine Forces by Paul Harris Nicolas Lieut. Royal Marines.)

1746. Wednesday 9th February. HMS Portland captured the Auguste.

1746. Saturday 16th April. The Battle of Culloden was the final confrontation of the Jacobite Rising. The Jacobite forces of Charles Edward Stuart fought loyalist troops commanded by William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. The Hanoverian victory at Culloden decisively halted the Jacobite intent to overthrow the House of Hanover and restore the House of Stuart to the British throne, Charles Stuart never mounted any further attempts to challenge Hanoverian power in Great Britain.

1746. Friday 20th May - 3rd September. The Orkney Islands. Captain Benjamin Moodie sent with a detachment to Orkneys by Admiral Smith. S.N.O. Coast of Scotland “in search of rebels, and to secure those Islands, pursuant, to H.R.H. the Duke’s orders.” (sic)

1746. Saturday 25th June. Peyton engaged La Bourdonnais in East indies.

1746. Thursday 4th August. HMS Pembroke captured the Ferme.

1746. Tuesday 20th - 30th September. The Expedition against L’Orient. One hundred Marines landed at Quimperle bay. While the remainder that included three 3 pounder guns under Colonel Holmes marched with the rest of the army on to L’Orient. Seamen and Marines afterwards brought up two 12 pounders and furnace for red hot shot. 7 Marines drown during re-embarkation.

1746. Saturday 1st October. HMS Exeter and consorts captured and burnt the Ardent.

1746. Tuesday 4th of October. The troops landed on the peninsula of Quiberon, and took possession of a fort mounting eighteen guns. After destroying all the forts and guns, as well as those on the islands of Houat and Hedic, the army re-embarked, and the expedition sailed for Ireland. In the gradual increase of the army during the present war, the Marines became incorporated with the line, and the 44th regiment was styled the 1st Marines.
The following is a detail of the field-officers of each corps, all of which were quartered in the vicinity of the principal seaports of Great Britain:
JVo. of Regiment.
44th or 1st Marines.
45th 2nd "
46th 3rd
47th 4th
48th 5th "
49th 6th
50th 7th
51st 8th "
52nd 9th "
53rd 10th "
Colonel.
G. Churchill.
Robt. Frazer.
C. H. Holmes.
C. George.
C. J. Cochran.
Laforey.
H. Cornwall.
J. Dimcombe.
C. Powlett.
Sir A. Agnew.
Lieut. -colonel.
N. Mitchell.
J. Leighton.
P. Damar.
P. Hutchinson.
C. Whiteford.
C. Gordon.
J. Paterson.
T. Cunningham.
G. Walsh.
C. Pawlett.
Major.
J. M'Donald.
T. Matthews.
W. Brown.
J. Eead.
J. Stuart.
C. Leighton.
Ft. Bendish.
J. Brewse.
C. Durand.
These regiments, when complete, were supposed to consist of 1000 rank and file, with ten companies in each battalion; and at this period, the whole of the forces upon the British military establishment amounted to 85,600 men. (Volume 1 Historical Records of the Royal Marine Forces by Paul Harris Nicolas Lieut. Royal Marines.)

1746. Saturday 8th October. HMS Weazel Captured the Feantic and the Fortune.

1746. Tuesday 11th October. HMS Nottingham captured the Mars.

1746. October. The Distruction of Forts in Quiberon Bay.

1746. Friday 11th November. HMS Portland Captured the Subtile.

1746. Very serious complaints were made of the neglect and delay which had occurred in the settlement of the accounts of the Marine Corps, and a committee was appointed to investigate the grievances which had been represented. The cause of the delay was alleged to arise. In the first instance from the absence of regular and periodical muster rolls, according to the practice in Regiments of the regular Army. This system, it was stated, could not easily be acted upon in the Corps of Marines, who were employed by detachments in the several ships of war. However, the investigation produced, the effect of a large balance in the hands of the Pay Master General being repaid into the Bank of England, for the benefit of those who were justly entitled to it. The privations and inconveniences which this meritorious body of troops had continued to endure for several years, did not affect their loyalty and steady allegiance, and they still remained the useful Corps, in periods of emergency, they had always proved in former years.

I746. A Committee was appointed to investigate the state and grievances of the Land Forces and Marines. A considerable increase of expense had accrued in the maintenance of both, which was one of the objects of this inquiry. Such as affected the Marine Regiments already detailed, and assigned the causes of the additional charges in this establishment since the peace of Utrecht. The same are applicable to the Army at large, in the allowance which was made to Commission Officers in lieu of servants, in 1713, in a similar indulgence granted to the Quarter masters in marching Regiments in 1718, and the annuities to Officers Widows, to Colonels for clothing lost by deserters, to Captains for recruiting, and to the Agents of Corps, which were all the newly adopted establishments of the latter year. These additional grants, while they meliorated the situation of the Officer, cost the nation but little. It appears, in the course of this inquiry, that the perquisites of a Colonel, in clothing a Marine Regiment, exceeded those of the Foot, from the comparative superiority in their numbers, and the articles being of an inferior quality.

1746. The Marines gained the privilege of marching through the City of London with drums beating, Colours flying, and bayonets fixed, this privilege, shared with other certain regiments, stems from the formation of the first Maritime Regiments in 1664 from the Trained Bands of the City of London (from whom the Marines derive the nickname of Jollies).

1746. For their service nearly 12,000 Marines were included in the parliamentary vote of the military establishment.

1746. HMS Defence captured the Ambuscade.

1746. HMS Namur captured the Mercure.

1746. HMS Albany captured by the Caster.

1746. HMS Seven captured by M. de Conflane

1747. At that time the Marines strength was at 11,150, and the establishment for each ship fixed at the following numbers. Ships of 100 and of 90 guns, to have 100 Marines, of 80 guns to have 80 Marines, of 70 guns, to have 70 Marines, of 60 guns to have 60 Marines, of 40 guns to have 50 Marines, of 20 guns 30 Marines, and Sloops to have 20 Marines. It was proposed that the Marines Regiments should be placed altogether under the orders of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. Although this arrangement was not finally adopted until the year 1763.

Notwithstanding the disasters of the last year in a projected expedition under Duke D'Anville, against Cape Breton, still the ministry of France persevered in their designs upon that important possession. Another object, more extensive in its nature and more fatal in its aim, formed also a part of their plan in the subsequent operations of the war, which was directed against the British dependencies upon the Coast of Coromandel.
These armaments equipped, under different destinations, set sail from France in united force, under the fond persuasion that no hostile interruption could stop their progress.
A happy genius appeared at this time to guide our Naval Councils. Early intelligence was obtained of the enemy's views, and adequate measures were soon taken to counteract them. The occasion afforded a fresh display of the zeal and intrepidity of Vice Admiral Anson, and Rear Admiral Warren, who with a superior force fell in with and captured, upon the 3d day of May, five sail of the line of battle, a large frigate, and four stout armed ships freighted on account of the French East India Company, with troops and stores.
Above £300,000 in money, which was intended to answer the contingencies of these expeditions, was found on board the Men of War, which altered its course to the Bank of England, and whither it was escorted by a party of Marines, in military procession, amidst the acclamations of the populace.
For this achievement the Vice Admiral was created a Peer of Great Britain, and Rear Admiral Warren was invested with the Order of the Bath. The whole Fleet received the cordial thanks of their Sovereign, through its Commander, in these words, and who became the organ of the Royal wish:
"Sir, you have done me a great service--I thank you, and desire you to thank, in my name, all the Officers and Private Men, for their bravery and conduct, with which I am well pleased."
Soon after the enemy sustained a heavy commercial loss in forty-eight sail of homeward bound West Indiamen.
The 14th of October, in this year, memorable for our naval successes, was another day of triumph.
Rear Admiral Hawke, whom the vigilance of our Ministry detached early in August to intercept a numerous convoy then collecting for the West Indies, continued upon his cruising ground until that morning, when their wished-for object was espied. After the most gallant defence, six ships of the line struck their colours, and were carried into Portsmouth. The Order of the Bath was the well-earned laurel of this victory to the Commander, and the legislative thanks of a grateful country were rendered to the subordinate Officers, Seamen, and Marines of the Squadron.
While victory thus crowned the British Flag, its Commerce also continued protected by the same guardian care. A few short months accomplished the conquest of the flower of the French Navy, the consequences of which were soon felt in the security of our trade and the increase of public credit. Those of the enemy were both fast on the decline, and a general despondency prevailed throughout their country, from which all their boasted victories upon the Continent could not revive the nation.
Towards the close of this year, Rear Admiral Boscawen sailed for the East Indies with a powerful squadron, having nearly two thousand troops on board, in order to reinforce our ships then inferior to the enemy upon that station, and to retrieve our affairs in that quarter of the globe. All our exertions during this era were employed on our proper element, in which the Marines bore a share, and they leave not to me a single detached incident for record.
In the early part of this year, his Majesty directed that the several Regiments of Marines which were then existing, or might afterwards be raised, should for the future obey such orders as they, from time to time, might receive from the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, from which period our present Constitution may, in some degree, be dated. (Taken from Chapter 17 'An Historical Review od the Royal Marine Corps' by Alexander Gillespie)

1747. A French, persisting in their plan of operations, resolved to make another attempt to recover Cape Breton; and a squadron was equipped for that service, consisting of one ship of 74, one of 66, three of 52 guns, and four frigates, under commodore De la Jonquiere, with several transports, amounting altogether to thirty-eight sail. Admiral Anson, with eleven sail of the line and three ships of fifty guns, sailed from Plymouth on the 9th of April j and on the 3d of May fell in with the fleet of M. De la Jonquiere, off Cape Finisterre. After a smart action with the advanced ships of the british fleet, in which the enemy lost 700 men killed and wounded, five ships of the line and nine of the convoy were captured. The british loss amounted to 520 in killed and wounded.

On the 6th of October, a french fleet of merchant-men under commodore Letendeur sailed from the isle of Aix for the West Indies, under convoy of nine ships of the line and several frigates; and on the 14th, off Cape Finisterre, they fell in with a british squadron, commanded by rear-admiral Hawke, of thirteen ships of the line, including two of fifty guns. The commodore, finding it impossible to avoid an action, directed a sixty gun ship and the frigates to proceed with the convoy; and then formed his squadron in order of battle. The action commenced at noon and was continued with great spirit until night; by which time six sail of the line had surrendered. The commodore, in the Tonnant of 80 guns, and the Intrepid of 74, made their escape. The British had 154 killed, and 558 wounded. The enemy's loss amounted to 800 in killed and wounded. The order of the Bath was conferred on rear-admiral Hawke, and the thanks of parliament voted to the officers, seamen, and marines of the squadron. In the early part of this year, his Majesty directed that the several regiments of marines which were then existing, or might afterwards be raised, should for the future obey such orders as they, from time to time, might receive from the lords com missioners of the Admiralty. The present constitution of the corps may in some degree be dated from this period; but it was not until 1755, that the marines were embodied in companies, at the respective divisions, as will be presently shown. (Volume 1 Historical Records of the Royal Marine Forces by Paul Harris Nicolas Lieut. Royal Marines.)

1747. Hannah Snell (1723 - 1792) was a British woman who served in the Royal Marines as a man. Snell was born in Worcester, married in her late teens and gave birth to a daughter. While still an infant her daughter died, and her husband absconded, Snell borrowed some men’s clothing and on Monday 23rd October 1747 enlisted in the Marines using the name James Gray. In 1748 Snell was deployed to India and later fought in the battle of Devicotta during June 1749. Where she saw heavy combat and received twelve wounds, to her arms and legs and one to her groin area. She either managed to treat her groin wound without revealing her sex or she may have used the services of a sympathetic local Indian nurse. Although legend has it that she extracted the ball herself, in order to prevent her sex being discovered. Snell’s gender concealment is even more remarkable considering that she was flogged twice during her three years in the Marines and both times was stripped to the waist. In 1748 Snell was charged with dereliction of duty and publicly whipped in Carlisle. Snell later told biographers she avoided detection because her “breasts were but small”. “Her arms were drawn up, the protuberance of her breasts was inconsiderable, and they were hid by her standing close to the gate upon which she was flogged.” Snell received a second whipping on board a Royal Navy ship, where she prevented the discovery of her sex by tying a handkerchief around her neck and spreading it over her breasts. It’s reported that during this second flogging Snell’s breasts were spotted by the ship’s bossun, who said “they were the most like a woman’s he ever saw”. However, he was not concerned enough to raise the alarm. Although with the use of hind sight this may have been added to the story at a later date, some somebody wanting to cash in on the story. On her return to England during 1750 and leaving the Marines Snell confessed her true gender. She was given an honourable discharge and, later, a military pension and went on to run a pub. During 1791 she developed a mental condition and was admitted to Bethlem Hospital on Saturday 20th August. She passed away on Wednesday 8th February 1792.

1747. An expedition that included 880 Marines, under the command of Admiral Boscawen attacked French controlled positions in the Indian Ocean. At Mauritius the French were too well emplaced so the British fleet moved to the Coromandel coast of India in preparation of laying a siege at Pondicherry.

1747. HMS Surprise and HMS Jamaica capture the Superbe.

1747. HMS Enterprise captured the Vestale, worth £15.000.

1747. Rear-Admiral Griffin destroyed the Neptune.

1747. Tuesday 28th of February. His Majesty King George II. directed, that the several Regiments of Marines, which were then existing, should be placed under the entire Command of the Lords Commissioners for executing the office of High Admiral of Great Britain and Ireland.

1747. Wednesday 3th May. Admiral George Anson commanding 14 British ships of the line attacks a French 30 ship convoy commanded by Admiral de la Jonquière in what became known as the First Battle of Cape Finisterre, during the War of the Austrian Succession. The British captured 4 ships of the line, 2 frigates and 7 merchantmen, in a five hour battle in the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Finisterre in northwest Spain. However, 1 French frigate, 1 French East India Company warship and the other merchantmen escaped. The British suffered 520 killed or wounded. While the French losses were 4 ships of the line, 4 frigates, 4 corvettes, 6 merchantmen captured, 800 killed or wounded, and 3000 captured.

1747. Sunday 14th May. Admiral George Anson commanding 14 British ships of the line attacks a French 30 ship convoy commanded by Admiral de la Jonquière in what became known as the First Battle of Cape Finisterre, during the War of the Austrian Succession. The British captured 4 ships of the line, 2 frigates and 7 merchantmen, in a five hour battle in the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Finisterre in northwest Spain. However, 1 French frigate, 1 French East India Company warship and the other merchantmen escaped. The British suffered 520 killed or wounded. While the French losses were 4 ships of the line, 4 frigates, 4 corvettes, 6 merchantmen captured, 800 killed or wounded, 3000 captured.

1747. Friday 2nd June. HMS Fortune captured the Charon.

1747. Wednesday 21st June. Sir William Warren destroyed the L'Etoile.

1747. Wednesday 21st June. Captain Fox took 48 sail of a French Convoy.

1747. June. HMS Viper and HMS Hunter burnt 28 sail in to Sodiere Bay.

1747. Friday 14th July. HMS Warwick engaged the Glorioso.

1747. Wednesday 13th September. HMS Dover captured the Renommbe.

1747. Tuesday 8th August. An officer and 20 Marines were ordered from Maidstone to Goudhurst to protect it from a threatened attack by smugglers.

1747. Tuesday 8th August - October. The Siege of Pondicherry took place in India against the French East India Company garrison under the Command of Governor General Joseph François Dupleix at the Indian port of Pondicherry. It was the last major action of the First Carnatic War. The siege was lifted with the arrival of the monsoon rains. A sizable British army and fleet fail to capture the main French stronghold in southern India.

1747. Sunday 8th October. HMS Dartmouth blown up in action with the Glorioso.

1747. Monday 9th October. HMS Russell captured off Finisterre.

1747. Saturday 14th October. Rear Admiral Sir Edward Hawkes Victory over the French off Finisterre (the Second Battle of Cape Finisterre). A British fleet of fourteen ships of the line intercepted a French convoy protected by eight French ships of the line commanded by Admiral Desherbiers de l'Etenduère. The battle took place in the eastern Atlantic, roughly halfway between Ireland and Cape Finisterre in northwest Spain. It was a decisive British victory that has been described as ‘the most brilliant naval action of the war’. It put an end to French naval operations for the remainder of the war, eliminating any threat of an invasion of Britain and threatening the very existence of France's empire overseas. The British captured 6 ships of the line, and 7 ships of the convoy, along with 4000 seamen while 800 were killed. Their own losses were 154 killed and 558 wounded.

1747. The fouled anchor, incorporated into the emblem during 1747, is the badge of the Lord High Admiral and shows that the Corps is part of the Naval Service.

1747. December. The following is the details of the Field Officers and Agents of each Corps, all of which were quartered in Great Britain, and in the vicinity of the principal sea ports, at the close of the year.
44th Regiment or First Marines.
Colonel George Churchill.
Lieutenant Colonel N. Mitchell.
Major James Macdonald.
J. Winter, Dartmouth-street Westminster, Agent.

45th Regiment or Second Marines.
Colonel Robert Frazer.
Lieutenant Colonel J. Leighton.
Major T. Mathews.
T. Paterson Conduit-street, Agent.

46th Regiment or Third Marines.
C. H. Holmes.
Colonel. P. Damar.
Lieutenant Colonel. W. Brown.
Major. T. Fisher.
Privy-gardens, Whitehall, Agent.

47th Regiment or Fourth Marines.
Coronel C. George Byng.
Lieutenant Colonel B. Hutchison.
Major J. Read.
T. Paterson, Conduit-street, Agent.

48th Regiment or Fifth Marines.
Colonel C. James Cochran.
Lieutenant Colonel C. Whiteford.
Major J. Stuart.
Maynard Guering, St. James's-park, Agent.

49th Regiment or Sixth Marines.
Colonel vacant??.
Lieutenant Colonel C. Gordon.
Major C. Leighton.
William Adair, Pall-mall, Agent.

50th Regiment or Seventh Marines.
Colonel H. Cornwall.
Lieutenant Colonel J. Paterson.
Major R. Bendish.
T. Fisher, Privy-gardens, Whitehall, Agent.

51st Regiment or Eighth Marines.
Colonel J. Duncombe.
Lieutenant Colonel J. Cunningham.
Major J. Brewse.
Maynard Guering, St. James's-park, Agent.

52d Regiment or Ninth Marines.
Colonel C. Pawlett.
Lieutenant Colonel G. Walsh.
Major vacant??
Mr. Guering, Agent.

53d Regiment or Tenth Marines.
Colonel Sir Andrew Agnew.
Lieutenant Colonel C. Pawlett.
Major C. Durand.
Mr. Guering, Agent.
These Regiments, when complete, were supposed to consist of one thousand Rank and File each, and every battalion of ten Companies. At this period the whole forces upon the British Establishment amounted to eighty five thousand six hundred and eleven men.

1748. Cape Breton was restored to the French after the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle was settled. However, it was retaken in 1758 by Admiral Boscawen and General Sir Jeffery Amherst, and finally given back to Great Britain at the peace deal of 1763.

1748. Captain Pocock took 25 sail of Martinique.

1748. Unsuccessful attack on Pondicherry.

1748. Wednesday 31st January. HMS Nottingham and HMS Portland captured the Magnanime.

1748. Thursday 7th March. Captain Cotes captured 5 sail of a Spanish Convoy.

1748. Wednesday 8th May. Admiral Knowles reduced Port Louis.

1748. Tuesday 1st October. Admiral Knowles' Victory off Havana.

1748. Thursday 10th - 12th October. Mutinary re-captured HMS Chesterfield.

1748. Friday 18th October. After the signing of the Peace Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle by Great Britian, France, and the Dutch republic. Two follow up implementation treaties were also signed at Nice on Wednesday 4th December 1748 and Tuesday 21st January 1749 by Austria, Spain, Sardinia, Modena, and Genoa. After the signing all ten Marine Regiments were eventually disbanded.

1748. In consequence of the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, the marine force was totally disbanded at the close of the year. (Volume 1 Historical Records of the Royal Marine Forces by Paul Harris Nicolas Lieut. Royal Marines.)

1749. Sunday 2nd February. Peace having been proclaimed the liberal policy of Government was soon after conspicuous towards its disbanded servants.
The settlement of Nova Scotia, hitherto a neglected spot, presented itself to the enlightened mind of the Earl of Halifax as a proper field for improvement, and it readily occurred to him, as a fit occasion, for rendering useful to the State a body of men, that might have otherwise been let loose upon society.
Accordingly grants of land in that Province, were tendered to every rank of his Majesty's land and sea forces, and as a spur to immediate population, an extension of privilege and property was allowed to him, who should embark his family, in proportion to its numbers.
Some of the liberal professions, and mechanicks of different descriptions were also invited to become adventurers, under similar inducements, and the plan of a happy Civil Government emanating from a British fountain, was early framed for the permanent happiness of these military colonists.
Under such assurances above 4000 bid adieu to their native shore, and upon the 21st of June the whole anchored in the bay of Chebucto, upon the southern coast of the Province, where a town was quickly raised, fortified, and divided into lots, which was named Halifax; a monument of the liberal and humane views of its noble patron. The occasion merits many a reflection which I am not allowed to indulge.
While it is the wisdom, it is also the interest of every Country to frame employ for those who have served it faithfully in war. A distinction between the industrious and the profligate would soon be marked by Society, and the worthless wanderer roaming about unpitied, would be compelled to contribute to his own support, and thus promote the general good.
Every circumstance after the peace tended to shew that it was only a temporary expedient on the part of France.
Alternately they continued to inflame and negociate during nearly the whole interval of public repose, and by their extensive Naval preparations, which were not confined to their own Country, they obviously evinced the intention of renewing hostilities when they felt themselves in sufficient power.
Upwards of six years provocation and remonstrance had elapsed, when repeated insults aroused the Nation. Early in 1755 our armaments began, at which time a levy of 50 Companies of Marines, was ordered, and the following appointments of Officers to them appeared in the Gazette of the 5th of April:
Lieutenant Colonels.
James Patterson,
Thomas Drury,
Charles Gordon,
Majors.
Richard Bendyshe,
Charles Leighton,
James Burleigh.
Captains.
Hector Boisrond,
Gabriel Sediere,
John M'Kenzie,
Charles Repington,
Alexander Cumming,
Sir Robert Abercrombie,
Alexander Douglass,
Edward Rycaut,
John Wright,
Thomas Dawes,
John Tufton Mason,
Thomas Sheldon,
Thomas Moore,
John Gordon,
Richard Baker,
James Dundas,
George Maxwell,
James Robertson.
First Lieutenants.
Daniel Campbell,
Dudley Crofts,
George Langley,
James Hill,
Alexander Cathcart,
Francis Hay,
Donald M'Donald,
John Shuttie,
Edward Howarth,
Robert Duglass,
John Phillips,
John Brown,
Colin Campbell,
Robert Ewer,
Archibald Campbell,
George Ord,
Laucelor Willan,
William Fraizer,
Captains.
John Campbell,
Claud Hamilton,
John Bell,
John Dennis,
Thomas Dalton,
Thomas Whitwick,
James Hamilton,
Robert Barker,
John Groeme,
John Beaghan,
Samuel Prosser,
Patrick M'Donal,
Alexander Irons,
Charles Webb,
William Stacy,
Richard Brough,
Henry Smith,
John Johnston,
Leathes Johnston,
Christopher Gauntlett,
Tooker Collins,
Walter Canuthers,
John Vere,
William Picton,
Richard Shuckburgh,
Richard Hawkins,
First Lieutenants.
James Short,
George Bossuque,
James Mercer,
John Frazer,
W. Ayton Douglas,
Dennis Bond,
Thomas Backhouse,
Gerard Dennet,
Thomas Troy,
Edward Shyffin,
George Gulston,
Richard Dennison,
William Thompson,
John Elliot,
John Pitcairne,
James Perkins,
William Dennis,
Ralph Teasdale,
Pierce Deut,
Robert Shirley,
Daniel Campbell,
John Blinkhan,
William Lutman,
Thomas Wright,
William Rowley,
Thomas Stamper,
Captains
George Maddison,
Charles Grey,
Robert Burdet,
John Yeo,
Robert Packhurst,
Alexander Leslie,
First Lieutenants.
Thomas Airy,
Thomas Smith,
---- Waller,
Charles Fletcher,
Benjamin Edwards,
Enoch Markham.
These, formed into three divisions, were placed at Chatham, Portsmouth, and Plymouth, under the control of the Board of Admiralty, and an Act was passed for their regulation while on shore.
Some of the names detailed, still live, while others, like them, survived to hold distinguished rank, and to prove ornaments to their profession, and the British Army.
From this era the Marine Corps has ever constituted a branch of the peace establishment, the sale of Commissions was abolished, although a transit between the Army and it, was still kept up, which, from the casual introduction of men of influence, animated promotion. But this system was soon changed, by which reform all Officers rose in regular rotation, and what is the regulation of the present day. Every appointment in the Marine Corps was notified from the Admiralty and appeared in the London Gazette; a practice for reasons I know not, has been since discontinued.
Although no declaration of war had taken place, still hostilities of a serious nature had been committed in America and captures to an immense amount were made by our cruisers during 1755. Even since the signature of peace, indeed, the French maintained a spirit of inveteracy in the East, which aimed at universal dominion.
Preparations were at last commenced, and the country at large began to feel their wrongs. (Taken from Chapter 18 'An Historical Review of the Royal Marine Corps by Alexander Gillespie)

1749. Friday 12th April. Wreck of Namur and Pembroke.