[1] La Marie Victoire was put to sea in 1756, in the early stages of the Seven Years' War, to hunt British merchant ships returning home through the English Channel.

[1] This purchase price caused dissent among Tartar's crew as Portsmouth's merchants had made a counter-offer of more than £5,000, the acceptance of which would have increased the prize money.

Perhaps with an eye to their future careers, Tartar's officers accepted the Admiralty's lower offer but requested indemnification against any legal action brought by the crew for loss of earnings.

[4] Provisioned and manned by July, the vessel was returned to the English Channel to assist in safe convoy for a fleet of West Indiamen,[5] and then in company with Tartar to hunt privateers.

[1] Despite this victory Tartar's Prize was experiencing considerable difficulty with her long, sleek design, which increased her speed but made her unwieldy and liable to roll in heavy weather.

[4] A different issue had arisen in the galley, which had been built to provision the small crew of a French privateer and could not cater for the Royal Navy's larger complement of 160 men.

The ship's cook, Bartholomew Barry, complained that the galley's two fireplaces were in constant operation but they had no external vents, leading to a "smokiness which in truth is so great that no man living can stand it.