Capture of Vigilant

Capture of the Vigilant
Part of the King George's War
Edward Tyng
Date 18–20 May 1745 Location off Fortress Louisbourg Result British victory
Belligerents
Great Britain	France
Commanders and leaders
Peter Warren Edward Tyng	Alexandre de la Maisonfort du Boisdecourt, Marquis de la Maisonfort
Strength
5 ships of the line	1 ships of the line; 500 men
Casualties and losses
6 wounded (including Tyng)	1 ships of the line captured 35 killed and 26 wounded 2,000 prisoners

The Capture of the Vigilant 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 of HMS Shirley Galley who fought the French ship Vigilant (64 guns) off Louisbourg. Captain Douglas in the Mermaid (40 guns) engaged the French ship Vigilant. John Rous in the Shirley Galley was the first to fire, giving the ship several broadsides 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 the Vigilant got away. In the morning, the Vigilant was visible and clearly wrecked. They took 100 French sailors prisoner to Boston.

References

Endnotes

Texts

• 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
• Capture of Vigiant. MacLellan. Louisbourg, p. 156
• Capture of Vigiant. MacLellan. Louisbourg, p.177
• 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
• Blue Pete
• A summary, historical and political, of the first planting, progressive ...By William Douglass, 1755. p.341