"Sir, I have had the pleasure of receiving and communicating to my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, a letter from Captain the Hon. T. B. Capel, of H.M.S. Hogue, enclosing a copy of his letter to you, and of that of Captain Broke to him, announcing the capture, in fifteen, minutes, of the United States’ frigate Chesapeake, of 49 guns and 440 men, by H.M.S. Shannon.
“My Lords have before had occasion to observe with great approbation, the zeal, judgment, and activity, which have characterized Captain Brake’s proceedings since the commencement of the war; and they now receive with the highest satisfaction a proof of professional skill and gallantry in battle, which has seldom been equalled, and certainly never surpassed; and the decision, celerity, and effect, with which the force of H.M.S. was directed against the enemy, mark no less the personal bravery of the officers, seamen, and marines, than the high discipline and practice in arms to which the ship’s company must have been sedulously and successfully trained.
“My Lords, to mark their sense of this action, have been pleased to direct a medal to be presented to Captain Broke; Lieutenants Wallia and Falkiuer, who, in consequence of the wound of Captain Broke, and the death of the gallant first Lieutenant, Watt, succeeded to the command of the Shannon and the prize, to be promoted to the rank of Commanders, and Messrs. Etough and Smith to that of Lieutenants; and my Lords will be glad to attend to the recommendation of Captain Broke in favor of the petty officers and men who may have particularly distinguished themselves. “You will convey to Captain Broke, his officers and ship’s company, these sentiments of their Lordships, with an expression of their satisfaction at hearing that the Captain’s wound is not likely long to deprive his country of his valuable services. I am, Sir, your most obedient humble servant,
“To Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren, Bart., &c. &c. &c.”
On the 2d Nov. following, Captain Broke was raised to the dignity of a Baronet of Great Britain, “in consideration of the distinguished zeal, courage, and intrepidity displayed by him in his brilliant action with the Chesapeake;” and in Feb. 1814, he received the royal permission to bear a crest of honorable augmentation to his family arms, together with the motto, “Saevumque tridentem servamus.”
It would be endless to detail the various instances of compliment and congratulation paid to Captain Broke, on account of this glorious achievement. The underwriters of Halifax, in Nova Scotia, presented him with the following address, Aug. 25, 1813:
