HMS Lively ( 1756 ) HMS " Lively " was a 20 - gun post ship of the Royal Navy , launched in 1756 . During the Seven Years ' War she captured several vessels , most notably the French corvette " Valeur " in 1760 . She then served during the American Revolutionary War , where she helped initiate the Battle of Bunker ' s Hill . The French captured her in 1778 , but the British recaptured her 1781 . She was sold in 1784 . Seven Years ' War . " Lively " was commissioned in July 1756 under Captain Francis Wyatt . In November 1756 she captured the French privateer " Intrépide " , of Nantes , and her prize , the " Charming Molly " , which had been sailing from Malaga to Bristol . " Intrépide " was armed with eight guns and 10 swivel gun s , and had a crew of 75 men . " Lively " brought the two vessels into Plymouth . Around this time she also recaptured the merchant vessel " Pike " , of Liverpool . " Lively " sailed for Jamaica on 31 January 1757 . In March 1759 she was under the command of Captain Frederick Maitland , at Jamaica . On 17 October 1760 she was with and when they intercepted five French vessels in the Windward Passage . On 18 October " Lively " used her sweeps to catch up with the sternmost enemy vessel , the French 20 - gun corvette " Valeur " . " Valeur " had a crew of 160 men under the command of a Captain Talbot . In the hour - and - a - half fight before " Valeur " struck , " Lively " had two men killed and no wounded ; " Valeur " had 38 killed and 25 wounded , including her captain , master and boatswain . " Boreas " captured " Sirenne " , and " Hampshire " chased the merchant frigate " Prince Edward " on shore where her crew set fire to her , leading her to blow up . On 19 October , " Hampshire " , with " Lively " and " Valeur " , cornered the King ' s frigate " Fleur de Lis " in Freshwater Bay , a little to leeward of Port - de - Paix ; her crew too set her on fire . The merchant frigate " Duc de Choiseul " , of 32 guns and 180 men under the command of Captain Bellevan , escaped into Port - de - Paix . In March 1762 Captain J . Jorer took command of " Lively " from Maitland . Captain the Honourable Kieth Stewart replaced Jorer later that year , and cruised her in home waters . In June 1763 he sailed her to the Mediterranean and remained in command into 1764 . In April 1769 Captain Robert Fanshawe recommissioned " Lively " for the Channel . Fanshawe apparently commanded her through 1770 , and in 1771 was superseded by Captain G . Talbot . In early 1771 s " Lively " served at Plymouth as the flagship of Admiral Richard Spry . Then on 18 June 1771 Talbot sailed her to North America . In 1773 Captain William Peere Williams took command of " Lively " on 11 October 1773 , sailing her back to Britain and paying her off in December . Captain Thomas Bishop recommissioned " Lively " in January 1774 . On 16 April he sailed her for North America . American Revolutionary War . On 13 May 1774 , " Lively " arrived in Boston . She brought with her General Thomas Gage , commissioned as governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay . " Lively " was part of the British fleet that blockaded the port of Boston to enforce the Boston Port Act , a punishment of that city for the Boston Tea Party . Following the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War in April 1775 , she remained part of the British presence during the Siege of Boston , and was the first ship to fire at the fortifications erected by the American colonial militia , helping to spark the Battle of Bunker Hill . In 1776 she cruised off Marblehead . She captured a number of vessels off Cape Ann : in February the schooner " Tartar " ; in May an unknown sloop ( unknown because the crew abandoned her and fled , taking all her papers with them ) ; on 26 June , " Lively " , " Milford " and " Hope " took the schooner " Lydia " , bound for the West Indies . The Vice - Admiralty Court at Halifax , Nova Scotia ruled all three to be prizes . Capture and re - capture . In March 1777 Captain Robert Biggs recommissioned " Lively " . On 10 July 1778 " Lively " , having escorted an ordnance sloop to Guernsey , then proceeded to sail to meet Admiral Keppel ' s fleet off Ushant . In the morning , as the fog lifted , she found herself near the French fleet , under Louis Guillouet , comte d ' Orvilliers . The French cutter " Curieuse " , of 10 guns and under the command of Captain Trolong du Rumain , chased " Lively " and ordered her to lie to , which order Biggs declined . However , the 32 - gun " Iphigénie " , Captain Kersaint de Coëtnempren , came up and ordered Biggs to sail " Lively " to the French admiral . Biggs was still arguing when " Iphigénie " fired a broadside . The broadside killed 12 British sailors ; thereupon , Biggs struck . The French Navy took " Lively " into service . In January – February 1779 she was part of a squadron , together with " Résolue " , under Admiral Vaudreuil that captured Fort St Louis in Senegal from the British . The troops were under the command of the Duc de Lauzun . " Lively " then sailed to the Caribbean . In June 1779 she was the lead ship in a small flotilla sent from Martinique to capture British - controlled Saint Vincent . On 29 July 1781 , Captain Skeffington Lutwidge ' s " Perseverance " recaptured " Lively " , which was under the command of Lieutenant de Breignon . " Lively " put up a short , desperate defense during which she had six men killed and 10 wounded , one whom died later . " Lively " was on her return from Cayenne , had been at sea for 53 days , and ten days earlier had captured the " Rosemount " and the " Katherine " , which had been sailing from Cork . In capturing " Lively " , " Perseverance " recaptured the two brigs . " Lively " had also been in company with the corvette " Hirondelle " , which however escaped . Thirty - two vessels of the British fleet shared the prize money , which was declared on 17 August 1782 . By September 1781 " Lively " was off Sandy Hook , with Admiral Robert Digby ' s squadron . By 14 November " Lively " , under Captain Manley , had returned to Britain with dispatches from Rear - Admiral Thomas Graves . On 3 October 1782 , " Lively " captured the sloop " Charles " , laden with stock and sailing to Turks Island . Fate . She was sold in March 1784 .