HMS Romney (1762)

HMS Romney was commissioned in August 1762 under her first commander, Captain Robert Walsingham, but was paid off by February the following year. When she recommissioned in June 1763, it was under the command of Captain James Ferguson.[3] Romney became the flagship of the commander of the North American station, Rear-Admiral Lord Colvill, and served in this capacity for the next three years.[3] After a brief refit at Portsmouth, Romney recommissioned in March 1767 under Captain John Corner, as part of a squadron sent to North America under Samuel Hood.[3] While serving off North America, Romney achieved a degree of notoriety after being sent to Boston Harbour to support the commissioners, who had asked Hood for help in enforcing the Townshend Acts.[5] She arrived on 17 May 1768, but being short of men, Captain Corner began to impress seamen from the harbour. This was unpopular with the locals, who took to attacking the press gangs. Events escalated when the commissioners in the town ordered the seizure of the merchant vessel Liberty, which belonged to John Hancock.[5] When sailors and marines from Romney attempted to seize the vessel, mobs attacked them and then turned on the commissioners. Many of the officials took refuge aboard Romney, before transferring to Castle William.[6] These incidents heightened tensions that would eventually lead to the Boston Massacre in 1770.[6]

In 1770 Romney was briefly under Captain Hyde Parker, followed by Captain Robert Linzee in October that year.[3] She was paid off in March 1771 and repaired and refitted at Deptford between 1773 and 1775, recommissioning under Captain George Elphinstone in April and becoming the flagship of the commander of the Newfoundland station, Rear-Admiral Robert Duff.[3] Duff was succeeded by Vice-Admiral John Montagu the following year. Montagu retained Romney, by now under the command of Captain Elliott Salter, as his flagship.[3] Salter was replaced by Captain George Montagu, the son of Vice-Admiral Montagu, in February 1777, who remained in command of the ship for the next two years.[3]

Captain George Johnstone took over in early 1779 and served in the English Channel. On Johnstone's advancement to commodore in April that year, Captain Robert Nicholas took over as Romney's commander, though she remained part of Johnstone's squadron and flew his broad pendant.[3] After a refit she returned to sea in 1779 as Sir John Ross's flagship, with Johnstone back as captain.[3] She was involved in the operations in the Channel during the attempted Franco-Spanish invasion, after which she sailed to Lisbon. On 11 November 1779 she and HMS Tartar captured the 34-gun Spanish frigate Santa Margarita, which was subsequently taken into the navy as HMS Santa Margarita.[3][7] With Johnstone's return to the post of commodore in December 1779, command passed to Captain Roddam Home, though Johnstone remained aboard. On 1 May 1780, Romney was involved in an incident with the cartel ship Sartine. Romney captured two French ships off Cape Finisterre in July, the 38-gun Artois on 1 July, and the 18-gun Perle five days later on 6 July.[8][Note 1]

Johnstone sailed to the East Indies with a convoy in March 1781, and Romney saw action at the Battle of Porto Praya on 16 April 1781. The battle was inconclusive, but on 21 July the ship was part of Johnstone's squadron which succeeded in capturing several Dutch East Indiamen in Saldanha Bay.[3]

HMS Romney returned to Britain in November that year, at which point Captain Robert McDougall took command. By March 1783 she was sailing in the Western Approaches under Captain John Wickey and flying the broad pendant of Captain John Elliot.[3] Wickey was replaced by Captain Thomas Lewes in July 1782, who went on to capture the 12-gun privateer Comte de Bois-Goslin off Ushant on 17 October 1782.[3] Romney's next commander was Captain Samuel Osborn, from January to April 1783, after which she was paid off. After a period spent in ordinary, she underwent a repair and refit at Woolwich, eventually recommissioning in March 1792 under Captain William Domett, as the flagship of Rear-Admiral Samuel Goodall.[3] She served in the Mediterranean until the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars, recommissioning under Captain William Paget in March 1793, and returning to the Mediterranean to take part in the British occupation of Toulon.[3][10]

The battle between Romney and Sibylle, depicted by Nicholas Pocock

While sailing off Mykonos on 17 June 1794, Paget spotted a French frigate in the harbour with three merchantmen.[11] Paget approached and demanded that the French surrender. The French captain refused, whereupon Paget approached and the two exchanged broadsides for an hour and ten minutes.[11] The French ship, which was discovered to be the 44-gun French frigate Sibylle, then struck her colours, having suffered casualties of 46 dead and 112 wounded, nine mortally.[12] Romney had suffered casualties of eight dead and thirty wounded, two mortally in the Battle of Mykonos.[12] In 1847 this action earned for the survivors the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Romney 17 June 1794".

Command then passed to Captain Charles Hamilton.[3] Henry Inman was briefly in command for her return to Britain in March 1795, whereupon Captain Frank Sotheron took over in June when Romney became the flagship of Vice-Admiral Sir James Wallace and returned to Newfoundland.[3] The vessel spent the next several years sailing to and from Newfoundland, under the command of Captain Percy Fraser from June 1797, and then Captain John Bligh from July 1797 when Vice-Admiral William Waldegrave took over the station.[3]