During the remainder of the siege, he was employed in blocking wp the harbour, as well for the purpose of shutting in fiveships of the line which were lying there, as for preventing the enemy from receiving any supplies. In this service he was extremely vigilant and active, and his success was commensurate with his activity; as, excepting the Bienfaisant, which afterwards fell into the hands of the English, all the ships of the line were destroyed. The Apollo, of 50 guns; the Fidelle, of 36 guns; the Chevre, and the Biche, of 16 guns each, were sunk at the entrance of the harbour: the Echo, of 32 guns, in attempting to get out, was captured by Sir Charles; so that, of the whole naval force which was in the harbour, at the period of the investiture, amounting to five ships of the line, one of 50 guns, four frigates, and two corvettes, the Comette and Bizarre frigates were all that got off. The latter, indeed, made her escape on the very day that the troops were landed; consequently, before the siege could be said to be formed. Louisbourg surrendered, by capitulation, on the 26th of July ;* after which, Sir Charles Hardy was detached, with seven sail of the line, and three frigates, to convoy three battalions of land forces, and a detachment of artillery, under the command of Brigadier-General Wolfe, to Gaspè, for the purpose of destroying the French settlements in the gulf of St. Lawrence. Having accomplished this service, he rejoined Admiral Boscawen; and, in the month of October, both of the commanders returned to England, with the following squadron: On the 27th of October, being in soundings, they fell in with the following French squadron, from Quebec, under the command of M. de Chaffaut : The Hon. Captain Edgecombe, of the navy, and Captain Amherst, aide-de-camp to General Amherst, the military commander at the siege, were sent to England with the news of the surrender of Louisbourg. They were most graciously received by his Majesty, and received a present of 5001 each. The colours which were taken at Louisbourg were deposited in St. Paul's cathedral. The hostile squadrons passed each other on contrary tacks, and exchanged broadsides; after which, the English wore and gave chase; but the enemy had so much the advantage in sailing, that they got off. However, the Carnarvon, East India ship, which had been captured by the French on the preceding day, was retaken. The English squadron arrived safely at Spithead, on the 1st of November. In February, 1759, Sir Charles Hardy was promoted to the rank of vice-admiral of the blue squadron. This year he served as second in command of the Channel fleet, under Sir Edward Hawke, and was slightly concerned in the memorable and glorious encounter with the French fleet under M. Conflans.* A chaplain of one of the ships which were present, says: Sir Charles Hardy, in the Union, with the Mars, Hero, and several other ships, were crowding to the admiral's assistance, when the retreat of the French, covered by the obscurity of the evening, put an end to the engagement." In 1760, Sir Charles Hardy was employed upon the same station; his flag being the greater part of the year on board the Mars. However, the recent defeat of the French having effectually prevented them from putting to sea, nothing particular occurred to him; excepting that, in the middle of September, having sprung all his masts in a heavy gale of wind, he was under the necessity of coming into port. He put to sea again in the month of October; and, on joining the commander in chief, in the Bay of Biscay, he shifted his flag into his old ship, the Union. The year 1761, during which he remained upon the same station, was passed in a manner equally uninteresting as the preceding. In 1762, he commanded, alternately with Sir Edward Hawke, the squadrons stationed off Brest, which relieved each other successively, for the purpose of watching the shattered remnant of the French naval force. "Indeed," as Charnock observes, the history of Sir Charles is so closely implicated during this period with that of Sir Edward, his superior in command, that the history For the official details of this action, the reader is referred to the biographical memoir of Lord Hawke, in the seventh volume of the NAVAL CHRONICLE, page 462, et seq. of the former might in great measure suffice for that of the latter, with a mere change of name." On the 21st of October, 1762, he was made vice-admiral of the white; and, after the conclusion of the peace, in the succeeding year, enjoyed a long relaxation from the fatigues of public service. On the 3d of November, 1767, Sir Charles Hardy was one of the supporters of the canopy at the funeral of his Royal Highness the Duke of York; on the 28th of October, 1770, he was promoted to the rank of admiral of the blue; on the death of Admiral Holbourne, in 1771, he was appointed master and governor of Greenwich Hospital; in 1774, he was elected member of parliament for the borough of Plymouth; on the 23d of January, 1778, he was made admiral of the white; and, on the 19th of March, 1779, on the resignation of Admiral Keppel, he was appointed commander in chief of the Channel fleet. At the period here mentioned, the Channel fleet was formidable in numbers; but many of the ships were deficient in men, and in other respects very unfit for service.-Most of our readers will recollect, that, in August, 1779, whilst Sir Charles was thus cir cumstanced, the Spanish fleet, from Cadiz, formed a junction with that of France, from Brest, and entered the Channel. As the documents must be considered as curious, we shall here take the opportunity of displaying the respective force of the contending powers, upon this occasion. The following, therefore, is A list of the Chunnet fleet, in the order of battle, on the 31st of August, 1779, when it fell in with the fleets of France and Spain;—the Resolution to lead with the starboard, and the Bedford with the larboard tacks on board: : |