marez was enabled to enjoy an interval o repose; during which, he took a leading part in the establishment of Sunday schools in his native island, a trait in his character which does him as much honour as any of his professional exploits.
On the appearance of hostilities in the year 1787, our officer quitted his domestic enjoyments, and was appointed to the command of the Ambuscade frigate. The Spanish armament in the year 1790, again called him from an unwished for state of inactivity, and he was ordered to commission the Raisonable, of 64 guns. The dispute with Spain being adjusted, the ships were dismantled, and Captain Saumarez remained unemployed until the commencement of the French revolutionary war, when he obtained the command of the Crescent, of 42 guns, the crew of which, consisting of 257 men, were principally volunteers from the island of Guernsey.
In this ship, being on a cruize near Cherbourg, Oct. 20, 1793, he fell in with, and after a close action of two hours and twenty minutes, captured le Reunion, of 36 guns and 320 men, 120 of whom were either killed or wounded. The Crescent had not a single man hurt. This service procured him the honour of knighthood; and the merchants of London, who have ever been conspicuous for their partiality to naval merit, presented him at the same time with an elegant piece of plate.
When the Crescent was refitted, she sailed on a cruise in the Bay of Biscay, with the Hind, a smaller frigate, in company; during which the Club de Cherbourg, and l’Espoir, French privateers, were taken. Sir James Saumarez was afterwards attached to the squadron under Admiral M‘Bride, which formed a part of Earl Moira’s expedition in favour of the French royalists.
On the 8th June, 1794, the Crescent, accompanied by the Druid frigate, and Eurydice, a 24-gun ship, fell in with, off the island of Jersey, and was chaced by a French squadron, consisting of two cut-down 74’s, each mounting 54 guns, two frigates, and a brig. Sir James perceiving the vast superiority of the enemy, ordered the Eurydice, which was the worst sailor, to make the best of her way to Guernsey; whilst the Crescent and Druid followed under easy sail, occasionally engaging the French ships and keeping them at bay, until the
