On 8 March 1795 Lion, while under the command of Nick Simmons (or Simmonds, or Symonds) captured the ship Apparencen.
[5] The next month, on 12 September at 6a.m., Lion was three leagues — 9 nautical miles (17 km; 10 mi) — southeast of Beachy Head when she spotted a French privateer cutter.
[7]) Three months later, on 15 December, Lion, still under the command of Nick Simmonds, captured a French privateer off the Owers after a four-hour chase.
[9] In late 1797 or early 1798, Lion was in company with the hired armed cutters Telemachus and Peggy when they captured the Ledia.
[11] On 18 May 1798 Home Riggs Popham led an expedition to Ostend to attack the sluice gates of the Bruge Canal.
Captain Edward Henry Columbine was the commander of the Sea Fencibles for the area,[14] and Mr. Wexham, master of the Lion, volunteered his vessel to go after the privateer.
[15] Lion, and the hired armed cutters Dolphin and Lord Duncan were in company on 26 March 1799 when they recaptured the brigs Triton and Search.
[16] On 11 October Lion, under the command of Lieutenant William Yawkins, and the hired armed cutter Ann recaptured three small vessels.
Shortly after he was brought on shore at Deal, Captain Smith died of wounds he sustained when the privateer captured the Elizabeth.
Three Dutch vessels had taken refuge there and an overage merchant hoy, the Overyssel, was to be sunk at the mouth of the harbour to impede their escape.
[19] At the end of December or in early January 1800, Lion took up station at Newhaven, at the behest of the merchants of Lewes, for the "protection of ships trading to and from that port".
[27] Neither Havick nor Pelican suffered any casualties,[25] though the crews were subject to waves breaking over them for six hours until the tide, which had risen 32 feet (9.8 m) (perpendicular), providentially receded.
[32] Lloyd's List of 27 May reported that several gunboats had captured the privateer Lion, of Plymouth, off the French coast.
[33] (Readily available records of letters of marque do not show any contemporary one issued to any vessel matching Lion's description.)
[32] This article includes data released under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported UK: England & Wales Licence, by the National Maritime Museum, as part of the Warship Histories project.