marked approbation of Earl St. Vincent, then commanding the Channel fleet, and is thus noticed by his own Captain, the present Viscount Exmouth, in his public letter to that noble Admiral, reporting the transactions of a squadron employed in co-operation with the French royalists[1]:–
“On the 4th the Thames, Cynthia, and small force, attacked the S.W. end of Quiberon, silenced the forts, which were afterwards destroyed hy a party of troops landed under Major Ramsay; several vessels were hrought off, and some scuttled; the only loss 2 killed and 1 wounded on board the Cynthia. * * * * On the 6th, before day, we succeeded in an attempt upon the Morbihan, from whence were taken 2 brigs, 2 sloops, 2 gun-vessels, and about 100 prisoners; a corvette, l’Insolente of 18 guns was burnt, with several other small craft, the guns all destroyed, and the magazine blown up.
“Three hundred of the Queen’s regiment were employed upon this service; and the gun-launches and naval force were under the direction of Lieutenant John Pilfold of this ship, who boarded the corvette with much bravery, and performed the service with much judgment and officer-like conduct; the loss was only one seaman killed in his boat, and some slight hurts.”
At the renewal of the war, in 1803, Lieutenant Pilfold was appointed to the Hindostan 54; and subsequently to the Dragon and Ajax third rates; of which latter ship he was first Lieutenant in the action off Ferrol, July 22, 1805; and commanding officer in the glorious battle off Cape Trafalgar, on the 21st Oct. in the same year, his Captain (William Brown) being then absent attending the trial of Sir Robert Galder for his conduct on the former day.
According to Mr. James’s account of the Trafalgar fight, the Ajax was only approaching l’Intrepide French 74, when that ship surrendered. Captain Brenton, in his view of the hostile fleets, places the Orion close to l’Intrepide, but takes no notice of the Ajax. This, we think, is giving too much credit to one officer at the expence of another. The fact is, Lieutenant Pilfold had been long engaged with l’Intrepide (as well as Captain Codrington, who was lying on his starboard quarter); but the enemy having hauled up athwart hawse of the Ajax, enabled the Orion to drop alongside, which obliged Lieutenant Pilfold to make way for fear of entangling the whole. He ultimately towed the prize to windward of the
