page_title: HMS Pearl (1762)
section_title: Operations in the West Indies
hierarchical_section_title: HMS Pearl (1762) / Service / American Revolutionary War / Operations in the West Indies
caption_attribution_description: Captain George Montagu of the 'Pearl', 32 guns, engaging the Spanish frigate 'Santa Monica' off the Azores, 14th. September 1779
context_page_description: HMS Pearl was a 32-gun fifth-rate frigate of the Niger-class in the Royal Navy. Launched at Chatham Dockyard in 1762, she served in British North America until January 1773, when she sailed to England for repairs. Returning to North America in March 1776, to fight in the American Revolutionary War, Pearl escorted the transports which landed troops in Kip's Bay that September. Much of the following year was spent on the Delaware River where she took part in the Battle of Red Bank in October. Towards the end of 1777, Pearl joined Vice-Admiral Richard Howe's fleet in Narragansett Bay and was still there when the French fleet arrived and began an attack on British positions. Both fleets were forced to retire due to bad weather and the action was inconclusive. Pearl was then despatched to keep an eye on the French fleet, which had been driven into Boston.
  Pearl was part of the British fleet that captured the island of St Lucia in December 1778 and was chosen to carry news of the victory to England, capturing the 28-gun Spanish frigate Santa Monica off the Azores on her return journey.
context_section_description: D'Estaing's fleet of 15 ships of the line left Boston on 3 November 1778, two days after Byron's squadron had been blown off station and driven into Newport by more bad weather. Pearl was despatched to carry news of the escape to Admiral Samuel Barrington; Byron was to follow two to three days later if he was unable to locate the French. Not knowing Barrington's precise whereabouts, Pearl at first sailed to Antigua, arriving on 4 December, before immediately heading for Barbados. En route, she stopped a Dutch vessel which had encountered a French warship out of Boston on the previous night. From the information received, Linzee deduced that d'Estaing's fleet was somewhere near Barbados and arrived there himself on 13 December.
  On 10 December, William Hotham with a convoy of 5,000 troops, escorted by a small squadron comprising two 64-gun and three 50-gun ships of the line, a bomb vessel, and two frigates arrived at Barbados. Here they were joined by Barrington's two ships of the line, before setting off to attack the island of St Lucia. On 13 December, the convoy landed troops on the west side of the island who quickly captured the batteries covering the bay. With the support of these batteries, Barrington's much smaller fleet was twice able to repulse d'Estaing's when it arrived the following day. Although the French were able to land 7,000 troops of their own, British command of the high ground meant they were beaten off. The French troops were re-embarked, and when d'Estaing's fleet left on 29 December, the island surrendered.
  News of the capture of St Lucia was carried back to England in Pearl. She left Antigua on 16 February 1779 in the company of HMS Sultan with despatches from both Byron and Barrington, and arrived at Spithead on 22 March. She was then paid off, sheathed in copper, and refitted at Plymouth. She served for a short while in the Channel before returning to the North American Station under Captain George Montagu.
  On her return to the American continent in September, Pearl encountered the 28-gun Santa Monica off the Azores. Pearl left Fayal on 13 September where she had spent two days resupplying. At 06:00 the following morning, the Spanish frigate was spotted to the north-west and was brought to action after a three-and-half-hour chase. The Santa Monica surrendered after a two-hour engagement, having 38 men killed and 45 wounded. Pearl had 12 killed and 19 wounded. The Santa Monica was a larger frigate than Pearl, at 956 tons burthen, but not as well armed; she was re-rated as a 36-gun when taken into British service.
  Pearl took part in an attack on a convoy from Caracas on 8 January 1780 comprising 22 ships, including seven Spanish men of war, and the entire convoy was taken. A proportion of the captured ships were carrying naval supplies and these were despatched to England with Pearl and HMS America as escorts, while the remainder were sent to Gibraltar. Pearl later returned to North America, spending some time at Halifax, Nova Scotia before leaving, with HMS Robust, to join Admiral Marriot Arbuthnot's squadron off Sandy Hook on 3 July 1780, where preparations were being made to repel an expected attack by the French fleet.
  Arbuthnot set sail on 13 July, after being reinforced with six ships-of-the-line under Rear-admiral Thomas Graves. Hearing that the French fleet had put into Narragansett Bay on 17 July, Arbuthnot's squadron arrived on 22 July to find the French encamped on Rose Island and their ships strung out between there and Conanicut. Arbuthnot sent orders for transports from New York, in case the British Army thought an attack on the island necessary, then anchored his squadron off Block Island. After re-provisioning on 6 August, the British squadron stationed itself off Newport, then retired to Gardiner's Island on 9 August, leaving on 17 August for an eight-day cruise between the Nantucket Shoals and the east end of Long Island, returning to lie off Martha's Vineyard.
  Pearl fell in with the 28-gun French frigate Esperance off Bermuda on 30 September 1780. After a two hour fight, Esperan
caption: Pearl engages the Santa Monica in the Action of 14 September 1779
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