sloop and the Endymion 44; yet, although the Captains of those vessels, Geo. Wm. Douglas O’Callaghan and Geo. Robt. Lambert, were each senior to himself, the state of their health was such that he had the duty still to perform. So afflicted with sickness was the crew of the Vesuvius, that it was found necessary, soon after her arrival, to send her for a change of climate to Halifax; but her engineers having been carried off by fever, and her coals being nearly all expended, a formidable obstacle presented itself. In this emergency Commander Pelly was induced to apply for aid to the Royal Mail Steam-Packet Company; and as he had been the means not long before of procuring for the latter certain privileges already noticed, his request was forthwith acceded to, and the public service thereby materially benefited. During the many months that he was on the Mexican station, although his own health suffered from the anxiety to which he was exposed, that of his crew, owing to the sanitary measures he adopted, was preserved. Previously to embarking in the service we have here detailed, the Commander had been employed in protecting the fisheries in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, in a manner that had gained the approval of the Commander-in-Chief.
PHEPOE. (Retired Commander, 1848.)
John Phepoe served with the boats of the Armide, and of the Christian VII. 80 and Seine 36, eight in number, under Lieut. Gardiner Henry Guion, in a gallant attempt made, 13 Feb. 1810, to destroy part of a convoy which had got on a reef that projects from the point of Chatelaillon, between Aix and Rochelle. The vessels in question were protected by nine gun-boats, each carrying a 12-pounder carronade and 6 swivels, and rowing from 20 to 30 oars. One of the latter was boarded and carried, with a loss to the enemy of 2 men killed and 3 wounded. Lieut. Guion was promoted for his conduct to the rank of Commander. On the night of 27 Sept. following Mr. Phepoe contributed to the destruction, by the boats of the Armide, the Caledonia 120, and Valiant 74, the whole commanded by Lieut. Arthur Philip Hamilton (whose valour also obtained him promotion), to the capture of two brigs and the destruction of a third, lying at Pointe du Ché, near Rochelle, under a strong battery, which was at the same time stormed and taken by a party of marines.
RICHARDSON. (Lieutenant, 1822.)
Samuel Richardson was present in the boats of the Bacchante in the affairs (detailed in our memoir of Capt. Hon. Henry John Rous) at Otranto, Karlebago, Gela Nova, Rovigno, Lesina, and Ragusa. He was also at the capture of Fiumé.
SARTORIUS, Kt. (Captain, 1814.)
Sir George Rose Sartorius commanded the Pyramus 42 in 1826-8.
SEYMOUR, Kt., G.C.H. (Rear-Admiral of the Red, 1841.)
Sir George Francis Seymour relieved Rear-Admiral Rich. Thomas in the chief command in the Pacific 13 Dec. 1844. In the early part of 1845 he exacted redress from the Peruvian government for injuries which had been inflicted on British subjects at Tacna and Arica, and, in concert with Mr. Adams, Charge d’Affaires, compelled the dismissal of the Prefect of the department. After visiting Tahiti with the French Rear-Admiral Hamelin for the purpose of ascertaining the amount of the indemnity due to Mr. Pritchard, H.B. Majesty’s Consul, for the losses sustained by that gentleman, he proceeded to the Sandwich Islands and took such steps as were advisable to strengthen the position of the Consul-General, Miller, and to afford protection to British subjects against the predominance assumed by foreigners in the native governments. In the month of Nov. he returned to Tahiti in order to inquire into the previous independence of the N.W. group of the Society Islands, and to prevent the French from extending the protectorate they had induced Queen Pomare to yield by treaty beyond the limits of her sovereignty. In reference to this question Sir George visited the islands of Huahine, Raiatea, and Bola-bola, and traversed a part of the Pacific that had not before been navigated by a ship-of-the-line. Ultimately he had the satisfaction of announcing to the chiefs of the three islands that their independence was recognised both by Great Britain and France. During the discussion with the United States relative to the Oregon territory, the Rear-Admiral went to the North Pacific and remained principally at the same ports as the American squadron until matters were adjusted between the two governments. In 1846, the points at issue between the British Agents and the Hawaian government having been submitted to his judgment, he disposed of them in such a manner as, in the opinion of H.M. Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, to impress the Hawaian government with reliance on the justice and the disinterested views of the British government. His proceedings at Peru and the Society Islands had procured him similar expressions of approval. In 1847, when a general blockade was imposed by the Americans on the coast of Mexico, Sir Geo. Seymour adopted measures that had the effect of protecting British commerce on the west coast from injury during the war. He subsequently received payment from the Republic of Lima of the sums, due to British merchants, which had been promised to his predecessors; and he succeeded in obtaining, for the ships under his orders, indemnities, before evaded, from the revolutionary governments of Central America. In the early part of 1848 he re-examined the coal-mines in the province of Conception, in Chili, as well as in Valdivia and the island of Chiloe. In April of the same year he transferred the command he had held to Rear-Admiral Hornby; and on leaving Valparaiso he had the gratification of receiving a flattering expression of respect and good will from the British merchants there resident. He arrived at Spithead on 10 July, having, since his departure thence, sailed 76,000 miles. On the following day he struck his flag; and on the 25th he received from the Board of Admiralty a letter conveying to him “its entire approbation of his conduct during a command their Lordships deemed to have been of unusual responsibility and anxiety.” It is worthy of remark, that, during the whole period of Sir G. F. Seymour’s command, not a single court-martial took place.
His eldest son, Fras. Geo. Hugh, is now a Lieut.Colonel in the Army and Equerry to Prince Albert; his eldest daughter married Chas. Corkran, Esq., of Long Ditton, co. Surrey, and not, as we have stated, a son of Sir T. J. Cochrane.
SEYMOUR. (Captain, 1844.)
George Henry Seymour commanded the Wanderer in the Yang-tse-Kiang at the close of the operations in China. While in the same vessel he obtained the public thanks of the Commander-in-Chief for his conduct in the boats, under Capt Hon. Geo. Fowler Hastings of the Harlequin 16! in an attack made, in company with those of the E.I.Co.’s steamer Diana, on the piratical towns of Murdoo and Quallo Batto, in the island of Sumatra. He also received a letter of thanks from the Governor of the British Settlements in the Straits of Malacca, as well as the thanks of the Admiralty, for his exertions in proceeding 60 miles up the river Siac, in Sumatra, and recovering from the Rajah several convicts who had effected their escape from Singapore.
SNELL. (Commander, 1843.)
In reference to that part of our memoir of Commander George Snell in which we have noticed the death of Lieut. Layton, we have to state further, that that officer had ascended the river Santa Fé in search of pirates with two boats belonging to the
