IX. THE PRINCE OF WALES
INTRODUCTORY NOTE
According to Tucker (Memoirs of Admiral the Right Hon. the Earl
of St Vincent, I, pp. 40–47) Captains Barrington and Jervis visited
St Petersburg in the summer of 1774 and undertook a cruise on
the coast of France in the summer of 1775. From a letter from
Lord Sandwich to Barrington in May 1775 (The Sandwich Papers,
I, pp. 37–8) it would appear that if the French cruise did in fact
take place, it was against the advice of the First Lord of the
Admiralty.
In November 1776 Captain Barrington was appointed to the
Prince of Wales, which had been paid off five and a half years
earlier and was lying at Plymouth. It was April 25th, 1777, before
she was ready for sea. The flag promotion of April 28th, 1777, left
Captain Barrington top of the Captains' List. In anticipation of
receiving his flag shortly, he apparently asked to be considered for
the Leeward Islands command, in preference to receiving a divisional
appointment in the North America or Channel Fleets. As a result
of correspondence with Lord Sandwich, Barrington applied for
leave on January 12th, 1778, and came up to the Admiralty for an
interview with the First Lord. He was promoted to the rank of
Rear-Admiral on January 29th, 1778.