nada, when the Suffolk received considerable damage ; and in December, two vessels, close to the shore of Martinique, were destroyed under his command. In March 1780, Lieut. Hoar accompanied Admiral Rowley from the Suffolk into the Conqueror, which formed part of Admiral Rodney's fleet in the action with De Guichen, April 17, and May 15 and 18. In 1782 he was made Commander into the Duc d'Estisac sloop, in which he served until the end of the American war, and returned to England in 1783. On the 20th of May, 1788, Capt Hoar married Catharine Dorothy, daughter and co-heiress of Peregrine Bertie, of Low Layton, Essex, Esq., of the family of the Duke of Ancaster, whose name he assumed; and has since borne alone, agreeably to the will of that gentleman. Nov. 2, 1790, Capt. Bertie was advanced to post rank in the Leda. Upon the breaking out of the war with France, he offered his services to government, and was appointed, Sept. 1795, to the Hindostan, and was employed in active service, and in various ships, without intermission, until April, 1808; namely, the Braakel, 54 guns, the Ardent, 64, &c. While in the Ardent, the board of ordinance adopted an improvement suggested by Capt. Bertie, on the 42 pounder carronades. He was employed in the Ardent, under Lord Duncan, in the blockade of the Texel fleet, until the expedition to Holland in 1799. He was then placed under Vice-Admiral Mitchell; and when the enemy surrendered, Capt. Bertie was ordered to take possession of the Admiral De Ruyter, of 68 guns, and afterwards to escort the whole of the prizes to the Nore, where he arrived on the 10th of Sept. In the following month Capt. Bertie assisted at the eva cuation of the Texel; for which, in common with other offcers of the fleet, he received the thanks of parliament. In the Ardent, at the battle of Copenhagen, under Lord Nelson, he particularly distinguished himself by compelling four of the Danish flotilla to surrender. Capt. Bertie again received the thanks of parliament, as well as of his heroic chief, who visited the Ardent for that purpose, the morning after the battle. On the eighth of the same month, he was appointed by the commander in chief, Sir Hyde Parker, to the Bellona, of 74 guns. He continued in the Baltic station till the following July, when he returned with the squadron under Sir Thomas Greaves; he then proceeded off Cadiz and remained employed in the blockade of the Spanish fleet till the termination of the war. The Bellona was ordered to the West Indies, and Capt. Bertie returned to England in 1802. On the re-cominencement of hostilities Capt. Bertie was appointed to the Corageaux, of 74 guns, in which soon after Rear Admiral Dacres hoisted his flag. In Jan. 1804, they sailed to the West Indies, with 170 sail of merchantmen in convoy, which were all dispersed, and the Corageaux, reduced to a wreck, was compelled, with the remnant of her scattered charge, to bear up for Plymouth, where she arrived on the 7th of February. Capt. Bertie resigned the command of the Corageaux, when she was nearly ready for sea. In December, 1805, he obtained the command of the St, George, attached to the Channel fleet, and on the 28th of April, 1808, then off Brest in the same ship, he was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral of the Blue Squadron: in which capacity he proceeded to a command in the Baltic, under Sir James Saumarez, in the Rosamond sloop. He hoisted his flag off Helsingburg, in the Orion, 74, then in the Vanguard, 74, and afterwards in the Dictator, 64. In Jan., 1809, he returned to Yarmouth, having been driven from his station in the Sound by the ice. He resumed his station of blockading the Island of Zealand, in the Stately, 64, March 20th. The heavy gales of December again obliged him to quit his anchorage off Hoganis, nearly at the entrance of the Sound, and proceeded to Gottenburg, where he received orders from Adm. Dickson to return to England. On the 10th of February, 1810, ill health and an impaired constitution compelled Rear Adm. Bertie reluctantly to strike his flag. He has since passed through the progressive ranks of Rear Admiral of the White and Red Squadrons, and of Vice Admiral of the Blue, White, and Red Flags. In the promotion of the 28th of May, 1825, he had the gratification to attain the high honour of" Admiral."-Short-lived has been that honour! He died at Twyford Lodge, Hants, the residence of his brother, George Hoar, Esq. June 14th, 1825, in the 67th year of his age. During the period between 1773 and 1810, this gallant and skillful officer was (to use a seaman's phrase) 25 years afloat. Of that time upwards of 20 were spent in the service of war: in the course of which he was engaged in between 20 and 30 actions, general or partial, with the enemy, and in each engagement his conduct was rewarded with the approbation of his commanding officers. In Nov. 1809, R. Adm. Bertie was created by the king of Sweden, a commander of the military Order of the Sword. I may add, from the first authority, Adm. Bertie was as amiable, and mild, and generous in private life, as in public life he was brave and undaunted. He died as he lived, esteemed by all who knew him, and beloved by his family and friends.* As a mark of the kind-heartedness of Adm. Bertie, the following extract from his will will be thought interesting:-" And if my old nurse, Ann Thompson, of Stockton-upon-Tees, in the county of Durham, widow, shall happen to be living at the time of my decease, I give and bequeath to her the sum of fifty pounds sterling. But in case she shall not then be living, I do hereby give and direct the same to be distributed amongst the poor of the town of Stockton aforesaid (that being the place of my birth.) And it is my will and desire that such distribution shall be made under the sole direction and discretion of the mayor of the same town, for the time being, into whose hands I direct my executors hereinafter-named to pay the same." Ann Thompson died in his life-time. On the 11th of Oct., 1825, his executors and brothers, William and Ralph Hoar, paid the full legacy into the hands of William Skinner, Jun., Esq., then mayor of Stockton, for distribution. * Communicated by his brother, William Hoar, (now Harland) Esq.) Naval Chronicle. Gen. Mag. Part the Ninth. LOCAL POETRY. CHAPTER XXXVIII. A Cleveland Prospect-Stockton's Commendation-New Stockton's Commendation—A new Song, 1764-Verses supposed to have been written by Thomas Hutchinson -The Humble Petition of the Remains of StocktonCastle-Epitaph on John Chipchase. A CLEVELAND PROSPECT. By I. S. Hall, Esq. of Skelton-Castle, addressed to the Gentlemen of the Neighbourhood. I am the first that with advent'rous hand With cloudy head involved in murky rain; The poem was originally written in Greek Hexameters, and trans lated by the author. A copy of the Greek original was once in sion of the editor. It was lent, but never returned. + Zachary Moore, Esq. of eccentric memory. posses |