Action of February 28 1760

Notes on Action

At Dublin, on the 26th, the senior officer, Captain John Elliot, learnt that the enemy was still at Carrickfergus. That same evening, he found himself off the mouth of Belfast Lough, but, the wind being contrary, he could not get in. On the 28th, at 4 A.M., he caught sight of the French as they rounded Copeland Island, and gave chase. " About nine," continues Captain Elliot, in his dispatch of February 29th to the Duke of Bedford, "I got alongside their commodore; and, in a few minutes, the action became general, and continued very briskly for an hour and a half, when they all three struck their colours." The Marechal de Belleisle alone fought well; the Blonde and Terpsichore struck almost as soon as they were engaged. Elliot, with the prizes, subsequently put into Ramsay, Isle of Man, to refit. All the vessels were greatly disabled aloft, and the Marechal de Belleisle, which had suffered most of all, was with difficulty prevented from sinking.

The gallant Thurot, 1 who fell on this occasion, was an opponent who, in his method of carrying on the war, had never shut his eyes to the principles of honour, generosity, and humanity, and who was scarcely less lamented by his British foes than by his own countrymen. The three victorious captains were unanimously voted the thanks of the Irish House of Commons, and the Blonde and Terpsichore were purchased into the Royal Navy.