Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth

Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth (April 9, 1757 – January 23, 1833) was a British naval officer. He fought during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary, and the Napoleonic Wars.

Captaincy and the French Revolutionary War

He was Captain of HMS Nymph which took the first French warship, the Cleopatre, during the Revolutionary war with France in 1793. For this action he was knighted. By 1794 he was Commodore of the Western Frigate Squadron. In 1795, he took command of HMS Indefatigable, the ship with which he is most closely associated.

Related Topics:
HMS Nymph - Cleopatre - Revolutionary - France - 1793 - 1794 - Commodore - Western Frigate Squadron - 1795 - HMS Indefatigable

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His most famous action started on January 13, 1797 when cruising in company with HMS Amazon, a French 74 gun ship of the line, Les Droits de l'Homme, was sighted. Normally a ship of the line would outmatch two frigates, but by skilful sailing in the stormy conditions, the British frigates avoided bearing the brunt of the superior fire power of the French. In the early morning of January 14, 1797, the three ships were embayed on a lee shore in Audierne Bay. Both Les Droits de l'Homme and Amazon ran aground, but Indefatigable managed to claw her way off the lee shore to safety.

Related Topics:
January 13 - 1797 - HMS Amazon - Ship of the line - Les Droits de l'Homme - Frigate - British - January 14 - Audierne

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