Fairfax; and a strong squadron, of twenty-five fail, formed of the fhips in beft condition for fervice, was put under his command, during the winter, for the protection of our commerce, to which end his activity did not a little contribute. The latter end of January he failed for the Downs, and by that means entirely broke the measures concerted by the Dutch for the protection of their own trade, and the injury of ours. In the middle of February he went to the Elbet for the purpose of convoying home the Hamburgh fleet, a fervice he completely effected. When the fleet was affembled under the command of the joint admirals, prince Rupert and the duke of Albemarle, he removed into the Victory, being appointed, as it is faid by fome, to ferve as vice-admiral of the red. But we have a good deal of reafon to doubt this information, and to fuppofe that, acting as vice-admiral of the white, he led the van of prince Rupert's + divifion, which was detached, in confequence of false information, to meet the French fleet. He confequently was not present during the three first days of the long battle; but on the fourth, as though he thought it incumbent upon him to make amends for the time he had loft, he fell, exerting himself almoft beyond what ftrict duty and gallantry demanded. We cannot do a greater juftice to his memory than by giving an account of the manner of his death, extracted from La Vie de Michael de Ruyter, and inferted by Lediard. "Admiral Myngs having received a musket ball in his throat, would not be perfuaded to be bound, or to leave the quarter deck, but held his fingers in the "Portsmouth, Jan. 9, 1665-6. Sir Chriftopher Myngs, by fending out fhips conftantly to cruise about, hath kept this coaft very free from all the enemy's men of war." Gaz. No. 18.And again, "the vigilancy of fir Chriftopher Myngs is fuch, that hardly any thing can escape our frigates that come through the Channel." No. 39. + While on this fervice he had the honour of a vifit from the celebrated Swedish general, Wrangel, whom he fumptuously enter tained. "Sir Chriftopher Myngs, vice-admiral, with his divifion, led the van, next the prince, with his divifion, followed; and then fir Edward Spragge." And again, "The duke came on board the Royal James, to the prince, and gave him an account of what had happened in the three days action before; and it was then refolved by them, there being prefent fir Thomas Allen, fir Chriftopher Myngs, and fir Edward Spragge, to fet upon the enemy next morning." Gaž. No. 60. wound, to stop the flowing blood, for about half an hour, till another mufket ball taking him in the neck, he died, after having given the moft fignal proofs of his courage, to the very laft gafp." PETERSON, Matthew,-is known only as having commanded the James yacht in 1662. PYEND, Valentine, was appointed captain of the Guardland, or Garland, in 1662; of the Expedition in 1663, and the Dragon in 1664. In 1665 he was promoted to the Saint Andrew, a fecond rate; which ship he is known to have commanded during the three firft great actions with the Dutch. It is molt probable he foon afterwards died, or retired from service, no further mention being made of him. 1663. CHICHELY, Sir John. We cannot be at a loss for the rank and quality of this gentleman's family, his name fufficiently declares him a defcendant of the bishop Chichely, founder of All Souls College, Oxford. Having entered into the navy, he was appointed lieutenant of the Swiftfure; and, in the following year, was promoted to be commander of the Milford. In 1664 he was captain. of the Bristol; and of the Antelope, a fourth rate, in 1665. His behaviour in the action between the duke of York and Opdam procured him to be promoted, in 1666, to the command of the Fairfax, a third rate, as fucceffor to fir Chriftopher Myngs. We have not been able to learn how long he continued captain of this fhip, but we find him appointed to the Rupert of fixty-four guns in 1668, and foon afterwards fent to the Mediterranean, his, being one of the fhips put under the command of fir Thomas Allen for that fervice. On the return of fir Thomas to England, in 1670, and fir Edward Spragge becoming commander-in-chief on that ftation, fir John was appointed vice-admiral of his majefty's fleet in the Streights, nothing being a more common practice, at this time, in the navy, than that of giving officers local rank. In 1671 he removed into the Dreadnought, and being taken very ill at Majorca, was prevented from returning to England in company with fir Edward Spragge, who arrived in March; but following him as foon as he was a little recovered, he was was, on his arrival, appointed to command the Royal Catherine, of feventy-fix guns. The fate of this thip, in the Solebay fight, is too fingular to pafs unnoticed. She had joined the fleet on the very eve of the action with a raw, undifciplined crew; and, from the confufion that muft unavoidably reign on board, under fuch circumftances, in a condition totally unfit for immediate fervice; thus fituated, fhe was, about ten o'clock, boarded, and taken poffeffion of by the enemy. Her commander, fir John, and the principal officers, were fhifted, and the crew put down, as is customary, below. But the Dutch having incautiously, or, perhaps, through neceflity, left but a fmall number of men to take charge of her, the English difcovering this to be the cafe, rofe upon their enemy, and not only redeemed both themselves and the fhip from captivity, but, in return, made prifoners of the Dutch, whofe captives they had, themselves, the moment before, been. This being accomplished, they brought their fhip fafe into harbour. This accident was fo far from being thought difgraceful to fir John, that, foon after his return, he was promoted to be rear-admiral of the red, and hoifted his flag on board the Royal Charles of eighty-two guns. In the action with the Dutch in 1673, they were enabled, by the inactivity of the French, to double on the red fquadron and feparate it, fo that fir John was, for a confiderable length of time, in the greatest danger of being overpowered. But defending himself with the greatest gallantry, feconded by captain Wetwang in the Warfpight, he was, at length, extricated from his diftrefs by the very fpirited exertions of prince Rupert. The peace with Holland taking place in a few months after this action, he removed into the Phenix, of fixty guns, in 1674, and totally quitted the fervice in the following year, as we find him, on the 22d of November, 1675, appointed commiffioner of the Davy, an office which he continued to hold till the month. of February 1680, He was, moreover, on the 23d of The following account of this tranfaction is given in a letter from Aldborough, published in the Gazette, No. 681. "They, "the Dutch," were going to put a fire-fhip to her, and French floop came in and cut off the fire-fhip's boat and took the fireChip; and then the prifoners, who were under hatches, found a way to break out upon the Dutch, and redeem both themselves and the hip." G 3 Janu January, 1679, made a joint commiffioner with fir William Hickman and fir Charles Mufgrave, for exercising the office of mafter-general of the ordnance. This poft he quitted on the 28th of January 1681, two years after his appointment to it. On the 28th of January 1682, he was appointed one of the commiffioners for exercifing the office of lord high admiral; which poft he held through three commiffions, till king Charles took the management of the navy into his own hands, on the 22d of May, 1684. After the revolution he was again appointed to the fame office, on the 26th of January, 1690. He held it only till the 5th of June following. The time of his death is unknown to us. But the favour in which he flood with different governments, and the high opinion entertained of his conduct, as a good officer and an honeft man, is to be naturally inferred from the very confequential trufts repofed in him, after infirmities or inclination induced him to quit the fervice in which he had been bred, and to which he had rendered himself an ornament. ENSOME, or INSAM, Robert, was appointed to command the Swallow ketch in 1663, and fent to the West Indies, in company with two frigates which were both wrecked in the Gulf of Florida. The Swallow efcaped that misfortune by throwing all her guns and provifions overboard: and after experiencing, for the space of fixteen weeks, hardships almost incredible, during which time the crew had nothing to fubfift upon but rain water, and the fish they providentially caught, arrived safe at Campeachy, and from thence, after a three week's passage, at Jamaica. Thofe feas being at that time much infefted with pirates, the Swallow was ordered, by the governor, to be immediately refitted, and to fail in queft of one of them, which he had received intelligence of as lying off the island of Hifpaniola. A long account is given of this action by Campbell, in his Life of fir John Berry, in which, as it was compiled from the papers of his brother, we may, without meaning the moft diftant reflection on the character of fir John, allow fomething for exaggeration. According to this relation captain Enfome, confidering the fuperior force of the pirate, who carried twenty guns, while the Swallow had only eight, was rather averfe to attacking him; upon which Mr. Berry, who was was the lieutenant, is faid to have taken upon himself the command, and behaved with fo much bravery, that the pirate was quickly carried, and with very trivial lofs on the part of the Swallow. Captain Enfome is reported to have been fo much offended at Mr. Berry's behaviour, that he brought him, on his return to Jamaica, to a court-martial, whofe decifion confirmed, as might naturally be expected, the propriety of Mr. Berry's conduct. According to the navy lift, captain Enfome was appointed fecond lieutenant of the Conftant Warwick in 1665; and we find him commanding the fame fhip in the month of March, 1666-7. In her paffage to Cadiz, off the rock of Lifbon, fhe fell in with a large Dutch privateer, which, after a fhort but very warm difpute, made all the fail fhe could to escape; and the Conftant Warwick had received: fo much damage in her mafts and rigging as to be incapable of purfuing her. Captain Enfome was fo defperately wounded in this action that he died foon afterwards; fo that even admitting his former conduct to have been more cautious than became the character of a valiant man, it must be allowed that the mode of his death fully discharged the debt to honour, and fhould wipe off from his memory even the fhadow of afperfion. KNEVET, Thomas,-was appointed commander of the Giles ketch in 1663, and of the Lilly in the following year. He did not long continue captain of this last ship, being, in a very fhort time, removed into the Richmond. At the commencement of the Dutch war he was particularly fortunate, as well as active, in diftreffing the enemy's trade, by the capture of a number of their merchant veffels; but never having been appointed to the command of a fhip of the line, had no opportunity of diftinguishing himself in any other way. In the year 1666 he quitted the command of the Richmond, and did not enter again into the service till the year 1672, when he was appointed to the Argier. The time of his death is unknown. SYMONDS, He is to be remembered as the first officer we have met with, who used the ftratagem, fince his time frequently practifed, and with much fuccefs, of difguifing his thip for the purpofe of drawing the enemy within his reach. This he did, while commanding the Argier, by houfing his guns, fhewing no colours, ftriking even his flag-Gaff, and working his fhip with much apparent aukwardnefs. He G4 fpcceeded |