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| Keywords: Dominic Serres - Captain George Montagu of the 'Pearl', 32 guns, engaging the Spanish frigate 'Santa Monica' off the Azores, 14th. September 1779 .jpg Artwork Creator Dominic Serres 1781 oil canvas cm 61 91 4 object history Probably commissioned by Captain later Admiral Sir Sir George Montagu RN 1750-1829 Miss Montagu by 1883 Margaret Lady Gretton d 1999 Ufford Lincolnshire credit line signed 'D Serres' and dated 1781 lower left <small> Bearing an ancient name amongst the vessels of the Royal Navy the 32-gun fifth rate H M S ˜Pearl ™ was one of the seven ˜Alarm ™ class frigates ordered when the Seven Years ™ War was at its height ˜Pearl ™s ™ keel was laid down in Chatham dockyard in May 1761 and she was launched surprisingly quickly on 27th March 1762 Measured at 680 tons and 125 feet in length her main armament consisted of 26-12pounders and she had a crew of 220 officers and men Not ready for sea until the War was almost over she had to wait until the American War of Independence 1775-82 to show her mettle and her battle honours then included the capture of the island of St Lucia December 1778 and the victory over the French fleet off Cape Henry Virginia 16th March 1781 by which the British regained vital control of Chesapeake Bay In addition to those two large-scale actions she also captured two enemy vessels in 1779 and 1780 respectively the first of which is portrayed in this atmospheric work commissioned by her commanding officer <br/>In the autumn of 1779 the ˜Pearl ™ under the command of Captain George Montagu was cruising off the island of Fayal in the Azores when at 6 o ™clock on the morning of 14th September she sighted a suspicious sail on the horizon and gave chase It took ˜Pearl ™ three-and-a-half hours to overhaul her adversary which proving to be a Spanish frigate she engaged immediately After a spirited action lasting two hours the enemy vessel was forced to capitulate and when taken was found to be the 28-gun ˜Santa Monica ™ under Captain Don M de Nunes Despite having four fewer guns however the ˜Santa Monica ™ was in every other sense a larger and finer ship than ˜Pearl ™ herself with all her dimensions greater and her tonnage especially so Notwithstanding the damage which ˜Pearl ™ had inflicted on her during the fight ˜Santa Monica ™ made a valuable addition to the Royal Navy and after repairs was recommissioned using her original name and re-rated as a ˜36 ™ Her career under British colours proved short-lived however when towards the end of the American War she was wrecked off Tortola in the West Indies after striking a submerged rock on 1st April 1782 ˜Pearl ™ meanwhile went on to serve in the next War and after being present at the capture and subsequent evacuation of Toulon in 1793 remained on active service until hulked in 1803 Eventually renamed ˜Prothee ™ in 1825 she was thereafter employed as a receiving ship until finally broken up in 1832 <br/>Admiral Sir George Montagu G C B 1750-1829 was made Lieutenant in 1771 and received his final promotion to Admiral in 1810 After serving with particular distinction during the American War of Independence he was made Rear-Admiral as early as April 1794 and in 1803 was appointed C in C at Portsmouth <ref>http //www bonhams com/cgi-bin/public sh/WService wslive_pub/pubweb/publicSite r screen lotdetailsNoFlash iSaleNo 14823 iSaleItemNo 3466694 bonhams com</ref> reflist </small> accession number http //www bonhams com/cgi-bin/public sh/WService wslive_pub/pubweb/publicSite r screen lotdetailsNoFlash iSaleNo 14823 iSaleItemNo 3466694 bonhams com PD-old-100 Dominic Serres 18th-century sailing ships in paintings Sailing ships of the Royal Navy 1781 paintings Images from Bonhams Military under Louis XVI of France 1774-1792 | ||||
