The Capture of ''Vigilant'' was an incident in May 1745 of the naval warfare of

King George's War King George's War (1744–1748) is the name given to the military operations in North America that formed part of the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748). It was the third of the four French and Indian Wars. It took place primarily in t ...

. British forces captured the French vessel '' Vigilant'' off

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. It involved Commodore Warren in HMS ''Superb'' (60 guns), Captain Durell in HMS ''Eltham'' (40 guns), Captain Calmady in HMS ''Launceston'', Captain Douglas in HMS ''Mermaid'' and Captain

John Rous John Rous (21 May 1702 – 3 April 1760) was a privateer and then an officer of the Royal Navy. He served during King George's War and the French and Indian War. Rous was also the senior naval officer on the Nova Scotia station during Father L ...

of HMS ''Shirley Galley'' who fought the French ship ''Vigilant'' (64 guns) off

Louisbourg Louisbourg is an unincorporated community and former town in Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia. History The French military founded the Fortress of Louisbourg in 1713 and its fortified seaport on the southwest part of the harbour, ...

. Douglas in ''Mermaid'' (40 guns) engaged the French ship. John Rous in ''Shirley Galley'' was the first to fire, giving the ship several

broadside Broadside or broadsides may refer to: Naval * Broadside (naval), terminology for the side of a ship, the battery of cannon on one side of a warship, or their near simultaneous fire on naval warfare Printing and literature * Broadside (comic ...

s into the stern. Captain Durell was next to give a broadside. The commodore got alongside the ship - they fired briskly, tearing the rigging and sails to pieces. Fog settled in and ''Vigilant'' got away. In the morning, ''Vigilant'' was visible and clearly wrecked. The British took 100 French sailors prisoner to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

References

Sources

Canadian Biography - Edward Tyng

Memoirs of Edward Tyng, Esquire ... and of Hon. William Tyng ... By Edward Tyng, William Tyng, Timothy Alden

Capture of the Vigilant, A particular history of the five years French and Indian war in New England ... By Samuel Gardner Drake p. 209
*
French third rate ship of the line 'Le Vigilant' (1744)

Seeds of Discontent: The Deep Roots of the American Revolution, 1650-1750 By J. Revell Car, p. 244

* {{coord missing, Atlantic Ocean Military history of Nova Scotia Vigilant Vigilant