In July 1794, our officer was removed into the St. Fiorenzo, of 36 guns, where he remained but a short time, and then joined the Romney, 50, in which ship he returned to England, and soon after his arrival commissioned the Melpomene, a frigate of the largest class.
Sir Charles Hamilton retained the command of the Melpomene for seven years and five months, during which long period he was constantly employed on various active services, and captured nearly fifty of the enemy’s vessels of different descriptions. In the autumn of 1799, he accompanied Vice-Admiral Mitchell, to whom he was next in seniority, on an expedition against the Helder, and on that occasion had confided to his care a division of transports, consisting of about eighty sail, which he conducted, under very trying circumstances, in safety to the place of debarkation; and after the troops had been landed proceeded with the Vice-Admiral to the Vlieter, where the Dutch squadron, commanded by Rear-Admiral Storey, surrendered to the British arms. Subsequent to this event, Sir Charles was employed in the Zuyder Zee, blockading Amsterdam for the space of seven weeks, the whole of his officers and crew, on account of the insufficiency of water for so large a ship as the Melpomene, having been removed into schuyts and boats for that purpose. He returned to England on a convention being entered into between H.R.H. the Duke of York and the French General Brune, for the evacuation of Holland by the allied forces; and soon after had the satisfaction of receiving the thanks of Parliament, in common with the other officers employed on the expedition[1].
- ↑ Early in the summer of 1799, an expedition was planned by the British government; the object of which remained for some time a profound secret. Large bodies of troops were collected, and ordered to rendezvous at Southampton, under the command of Sir Ralph Abercromby; this army was afterwards considerably augmented, and directed to assemble at Yarmouth, Ramsgate, and Margate, the whole amounting to about 27,000 men, commanded by the Duke of York. A large fleet of ships of war, with a sufficient number of transports, were collected at those ports for the purpose of receiving the troops, and an embargo was laid on all shipping throughout the kingdom. Such formidable preparations made in this quarter, soon discovered that Holland was the place of destination of this armament, which was rendered still more powerful by the addition of a
