1. Homepage
2. Life of Henry Cort
3. Cort's processes in iron manufacture
4. Cort's patents
5. Refutation of allegations of conspiracies against Cort
6. Adam Jellicoe's death
7. Henry Cort's birth
8. A navy agent's business
9. Early life of John Becher
10. Attwick & Burges families
11. "Cortship" of second wife
12. Thomas Morgan
13. Henry Cort's hoops contract
14. 1856 Accolade
15. Generosity of friends 1789-94
16. James Watson
17. Illness of Cort's son
18. Main sources of information
19. Contemporary sources
20. Navy sources
21. Chancery files
22. Publications about Cort
23. Assessment of Cort's character
24. Images of Henry Cort

25. Impeach-tranferred to 05

26. Parliamentary inquiry 1811-2
27. The furore of the 1850s
28. Society of Arts
29. Cort's first marriage
30. Henry Cort's children
31. Cort family pensions
32. Henry Cort's Hertfordshire property
33. 1791 signatories
34. Guiana and the Cort-Gladstone connection
35. Cort's twilight years
36. Memorials to Henry Cort


37. Smelting of iron
38. Fining before Cort
39. Shropshire & Staffordshire ironmasters
40. Cumbrians: Wilkinson etc
41. Early works at Merthyr Tydfil
42. The Crowley business
43. London ironmongers
44. Scottish iron
45. Cort's promotion efforts 1783-6
46. Later Merthyr connections
47. Puddling after Henry Cort


48. Gosport in Cort's day
49. Gosport administration
50. Gosport worthies
51. The Amherst-Porter network
52. James Hackman, murderer
53. Samuel Marshall
54. Samuel Jellicoe's legacy
55. Links with Titchfield
56. Links with Fareham


57. Fact, error and conjecture
58. 18th century politics
59. Law in the 18th century
60. 18th century finance
61. Religion and sexual mores
62. Calendar change of 1752
63. Shelburne, Parry and associates
64. John Becher's family
65. The Becher-Thackeray lineage
66. Thomas Lyttelton: a fantastic narrative
67. Eighteenth-century London
68. Abolition and the Corts
69. The Burges will tangle


70. Navy connections
71. Navy agent's business
72. Cort's clients
73. Ships' pursers
74. History of Adam Jellicoe
75. Dundas & Trotter
76. Cort's navy office associates
77. Toulmin & other agents
78. Sandwich & Middleton
79. The Arethusa
80. John Becher's war
81. Thomas Morgan's war
82. The 1782 Jamaica convoy
83. Sinking of the Royal George

84. Rickman & Scott: two contrasting naval careers-Missing



85. Visitors 2006-2009
86. Developement of the site 2006-2009

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87. Daniel Guion and family
88. Extremely bad academic work and extremely bad journalism

Thomas Morgan's war

Thomas Morgan's first post after the American War breaks out is as purser on the 74-gun Russell. Her first assignment is with a squadron under Admiral Byron sent to reinforce the fleet in America following news that a French fleet under Admiral d'Estaing is heading across the Atlantic. At this stage Britain and France are not yet officially at war.

Byron is said to be known throughout the service as "Foul-weather Jack" because of his tendency to encounter bad weather. Sure enough, Russell's log records several such encounters.

The ship is so badly damaged she has to return to England. One is tempted to say she limps back, but in fact she arrives in Plymouth Sound in ten days, compared to her month-long outward trip.

After being repaired, she has to wait for a new expedition under Admiral Marriot Arbuthnot, sailing to take command in the American theatre in 1779, by which time France has officially entered the war.

They arrive late in August. Arbuthnot and the army commander, General Clinton, undertake an adventurous project to capture Charleston. Russell is part of the fleet.

The outcome can be reckoned the high point of the war from Britain's point of view. Not only does the town fall, but the defending force is isolated and forced to surrender.

Russell's share in the victory is limited, however. In March 1780, two months before the end of the campaign, she has to return New York because of sickness among the crew. She is then ordered to the Caribbean, where she comes under the command of Admiral Rodney. In September Rodney's fleet heads north, following intelligence of a new French threat.

Rodney joins Arbuthnot in New York, but the commanders rapidly fall out. Russell returns to the Caribbean with a convoy, soon followed by Rodney.

In July 1781 Thomas Morgan leaves Russell for Alfred, another 74-gunner. By this time a squadron under Rear Admiral Samuel Hood (like brother Alexander, a former protégé of Thomas Smith) has arrived in the Caribbean.

Rodney hands command over to Hood and returns to England. He needs the break to recover from ill health.

A new assignment beckons. Lord Cornwallis, left in Charleston with a large army and the task of extending British control in South Carolina, has perversely taken most of his troops way north into Virginia and is busy fortifying a base at Yorktown, on the western shore of Chesapeake Bay. Meanwhile a French fleet, under Admiral de Grasse, is heading north from the Caribbean.

Is he making for the Chesapeake, or for New York? There a new commander, Thomas Graves, has taken over from Arbuthnot. His fleet needs reinforcing to respond to both threats. Alfred is one of the squadron Hood takes north and puts at Graves's disposal.

Worrying news! The main American army under Washington has left its position north of New York and is heading for Philadelphia, on its way to Yorktown. Naval support for the Yorktown garrison is more urgent than ever.

Graves's fleet arrives at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay on 5th September. De Grasse has got there first! As the French emerge from the bay, Alfred leads the British line to engage them.

Graves gives the signal to tack. The British line goes into reverse, Alfred now in the rear. As the two fleets converge, a fierce engagement between their vans causes severe damage on both sides. The lines draw apart without Alfred engaging. The French force is bigger.

For four days the fleets face each other without engaging again. Then the French slip back into the bay, their mission accomplished. Washington's army is closing in on Yorktown, and the British attempt to relieve their forces by sea has failed.

With several of his ships badly damaged, Graves hesitates another three days, then heads back to New York. He needs to repair the damaged vessels quickly if he is to relieve Cornwallis before Yorktown is overpowered by the combined forces of France and the rebels.

On 19th October Graves reckons the fleet is ready to sail to the rescue. Too late! Approaching Chesapeake Bay, they hear the bad news: Cornwallis has surrendered.

Sent to reconnoitre the bay, Alfred reports "47 sail of the Enemy's ships laying at anchor". The British fleet heads back to New York and ignominy.

Hood now detaches his squadron (Alfred included) and returns to the Caribbean. De Grasse also heads that way. There is a fierce encounter at St Kitts, which the French capture. Hood's force is too weak to defend it.

But Admiral Rodney is returning to the Caribbean, many of his ships armed with the formidable carronade. One ship is the frigate Flora, commanded by Samuel Marshall.

Rodney and Hood link up, and set off to engage the French.

De Grasse is in harbour on the west coast of Martinique. A French convoy is approaching with provisions for some of the remaining French and Dutch possessions in the Caribbean. Rodney, a little way to the south at St Lucia, fails to prevent it from linking up with de Grasse.

The French plan to proceed west, link up with a Spanish fleet, and attack Jamaica.

Their plans are known to the British, who set out in pursuit. De Grasse sails past Dominica along the chain of islands, but the convoy is slowing him down. He decides to leave it at Guadeloupe.

By now the British van under Hood, including Alfred, detached from the rest of Rodney's fleet after passing through a calm spot near the Dominican shore, has nearly caught up with the French admiral. He sends out fifteen of his ships, and a fierce battle ensues.

Over the next two days, 10-11 April 1782, both admirals pull their fleets together. The decisive action, the "Battle of the Saints", follows on 12 April between Dominica and Guadeloupe.

The British carronades are devastating. By the end of the day several French ships, including de Grasse's flagship Ville de Paris, have hauled down their colours.

In the next few days, as the remainder of the French fleet scurries westwards, Hood captures two more vessels.

News of Rodney's success will be greeted with rejoicing in England: at last a victory over the French! There is embarrassment for the Government, however. They have ordered Rodney's replacement by Admiral Pigot, who has already departed.

Richard Curgenwen is the British captain appointed to command the captured Ville de Paris. Coming aboard on 13 April, he finds her "much shattered in hull, masts, yards, sails and rigging". Many French sailors are dead or mortally wounded.

The next few days are spent exchanging Frenchmen for a new British crew. Carpenters come aboard to do the most urgent repairs. On the sixteenth the newly-appointed purser, Thomas Morgan, arrives from the Alfred.

Ville de Paris creeps to Port Royal, Jamaica, arriving on the 30th. For two months she undergoes further repairs and prepares for her next voyage.

Rodney wants to send his prizes back to England. Pigot arrives to replace him, and he sets sail for home. Graves has also arrived, and is put in charge of another homeward-bound convoy, including the captured French ships.

Purser Morgan's adventures haven't finished yet.

The pages on this site are copied from the original site of Eric Alexander (henrycort.net) with his allowance.
Eric passed away abt 2012
If you use/copy information from this site, please include a link to the page where you found the information.