On the 6th Mar. 1794, Mr. Lowcay followed Captain Hood into l’Aigle 36, in which frigate he was present at the reduction of Calvi, a service effected on the 10th Aug. 1794, after a siege of fifty-one days[1].
During the whole of 1795, Captain Hood had the command of a small detachment in the Archipelago, for the purpose of protecting the trade, and watching an enemy’s squadron of superior force. In April 1796, he was appointed to the Zealous 74, and again followed by Mr. Lowcay, whom we find serving as a volunteer at the attack made by Nelson upon Santa Cruz, in the island of Teneriffe, July 24th, 1797[2]. On this occasion, our young officer appears to have had a very narrow escape; the boat under his command having been sunk, and one of her crew killed, by the enemy’s first shot. In consequence of this disaster, he was obliged to swim to the shore, under a tremendous fire of round, grape, and musketry; nor was it until after he had repeatedly been washed away from the beach, by the very heavy surf, that he succeeded in effecting a landing. He then joined Captain Hood, and remained by his side, as aide-de-camp, during the whole of the subsequent proceedings.
On the 5th Oct. following, Mr. Lowcay joined the Ville de Paris, first rate, bearing the flag of Earl St. Vincent; by whom, on the 25th Dec, in the same year, he was appointed acting lieutenant of the Culloden 74, Captain Thomas Troubridge.
After the battle of the Nile[3], we find Mr. Lowcay daily volunteering his services to intercept the enemy’s boats attempting to pass from Rosetta to Alexandria, with provisions, letters, &c. Many of them he succeeded in capturing, and the sick and wounded of the British fleet were thus supplied with refreshments which could not otherwise have been procured: he also recovered possession of a quantity of church plate taken from Malta, part of which was afterwards pre-
