noble patron, from the Invincible to the Phoebe, a fine frigate commanded by the present Sir Robert Barlow, who, as we have already stated, was then considered the first man in the service for proper attention to the young gentlemen under him; and to whom the subject of this memoir always acknowledged himself indebted for the chief of his professional knowledge.
The excellent qualities both of his head and heart very soon made Mr. Shipley a great favorite with Captain Barlow, who, in a letter to the Dean, his father, written after the capture of la Nereide French frigate[1], says, “your son behaved very spiritedly indeed in the action; – you know he is an old warrior.”
We need scarcely add, that Mr. Shipley saw much active and severe service in the Phoebe, for no ship was ever more unremittingly, and we may say successfully employed against the enemy, than that frigate whilst commanded by Sir Robert Barlow: it will therefore be sufficient to state that he served the remainder of his time as a Midshipman in her, and that when he went to pass for a Lieutenant, his worthy Captain informed Earl Spencer by letter, “that he was perfect in every branch of his profession, and only wanted experience to be one of the best officers in the navy.”
In 1800, Mr. Shipley received his first commission as a Lieutenant, on which occasion he was appointed to the Endymion frigate, commanded by Sir Thomas Williams, whose entire confidence he very shortly gained; and from the period of that officer’s removal into the Vanguard 74, we find him serving under Captain (now Sir Philip C.) Durham, until the peace, or rather truce, of Amiens; when, being very eager for promotion, he gladly accepted an offer the late Rear-Admiral Totty made him, to go to the West Indies; and accordingly proceeded thither as a passenger on board the Saturn 74, and as a guest at the Admiral’s table.
The Saturn sailed from Spithead, Dec. 13, 1801; and in
- ↑ See Vol. II, Part I, p. 46. Mr. Conway Shipley was then little more than 15 years of age.
