by John Marshall

“ On joining this latter ship, Captain Paterson found her crew in the most relaxed state of discipline; their irregular conduct, however, he succeeded in correcting; and for his judicious conduct in restoring them to a state of subordination, had the gratification of receiving due applause from the officer under whose orders he was then serving [7] . His next appointment was to the St. Fiorenzo, in which frigate he had the honor of attending his late Majesty during two succeeding seasons at Weymouth. ”

“ The Blast remained in the West Indies until the peace of 1783, when she returned to England, and was put out of commission. At the commencement of the war with the French republic, Captain Paterson obtained the command of the Gorgon store-ship, in which he proceeded with the late Viscount Hood to the Mediterranean, where he was promoted by his Lordship to post rank in the Ariadne, of 20 guns, by commission dated Jan. 20, 1794; and in the course of the same year removed into the Melpomene, a fine frigate taken possession of at Calvi, when that place surrendered to the British arms [6] . ”

“ From this period he served under the flag of Sir George B. Rodney in the Sandwich, Gibraltar, and Formidable, until advanced by that gallant veteran to the command of the Blast fire-vessel, an event that occurred in 1782, the same year in which the fleet of Great Britain obtained a most complete victory over that of France, commanded by the Count de Grasse, who was himself captured with the Ville de Paris, and four other ships of the line, besides one sunk in the action [5] . ”