Letter from Rear-Adm. Sir Samuel Hood to General Jacob de Budé, writing from various locations and detailing his activities, expressing frustration over the general lack of action by the British fleet and the failure to take opportunities against the enemy, complaining about Adm. Pigot's inexperience, reporting on illness on board his ship and his own need for exercise, and commenting on the whereabouts of Prince William and his ship.
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of the Line, is at Boston; if the information is correct as to the Number, only ten Spanish Ships, must have sailed from the Cape, and thirteen french; in place of thirteen of the former, and ten of the latter, as we were informed at Jamaica, for the whole consisted but of twenty three of the Line. In a conversation when I delivered a certain paper I sent by the convoy, and of which you have now a duplicate, I suggested an alternative, that if a Squadron was not sent to precede the Convoy in quest of Vaundreuil, As [[underline]] many [[/underline]] Ships might be left to join Adml Graves, as would give him a superiority to the Spaniards at the Havanna, or to the French Squadron, in case of his meeting it, before he reached the Lattitude of Bermuda; and for the rest of the fleet, to proceed as fast as possible to New York; as it was highly probable, the good people there were full of apprensions, and possibly under serious difficulties. Has a certain person in high office acted, upon true [[underline]] patriotic [[/underline]] principles, as a real friend to his poor distracted country by, and what has he not to answer for in placing an officer so very inexperienced, at the head of so great a fleet, having never been in the command of a squadron before, or scarce seen the sea, since the year 1763? And who, had he acted with the least degree of foresight, and judgement, and spirit of enterprize, which [[catchword]] the [[/catchword]]
