HM galley Alarm, of eight guns, was the mercantile Mountfield (launched in 1776) that the Royal Navy purchased on 4 June 1777.
[1] On 29 June 1778, during a larger operation against American forces, Alarm landed a party of marines at Fogland Ferry that destroyed the guardhouse there.
When French frigates entered Rhode Island, Lieutenant d'Auvergne carried out his written orders and scuttled Alarm on 30 July 1778.
[5] The court martial of d'Auvergne for the loss of his vessel is reported as being aboard HMS Royal Oak on 28 September 1778.
The court martial acquitted d'Auvergne; the British had been forced to scuttle ten vessels in all, including Flora.