[1] Captain Pendock Neale acquired a letter of marque on 20 July 1798, and Lord Hawke began sailing out of Dartmouth as a privateer.

[7] A third report had the Prussian brig Argo, Albert Smith, master, carrying brandy, glass, iron, and cloth from Nantes to New York.

A letter published in the London Gazette by the captain of HMS Nymphe, states that on 6 September Nymphe, in company with Aurora and Lord Hawke, had captured L'Edad de Oro, which had sailed from La Guaira, Venezuela, and Havana with a cargo of cocoa.

[11] Nymphe escorted Edad Dono into Plymouth and a naval officer carried the dispatches to the Admiralty in London.

The Spanish threw them overboard, but a sailor from Lord Hawke jumped from her bow and retrieved them before they sank.

[12] The capture of Edad de Oro resulted in Lord Hawke having no problem raising a crew for her next cruise.

It also resulted in litigation with Neale and Lord Hawke's owner, and crew contending that Nymphe and Aurora were effectively not in sight at the time of the capture and so not entitled to share in the proceeds.

They contended that the capture took place on a clear day and that all that was visible from Lord Hawke's deck was the top reefs of the topsails of the two navy ships.

[18] A third account gave the French privateer's name as Valour (or Vailleur), and stated that she was the former smuggler Vertumnus, of Fowey, which had been captured while coming from Guernsey.

Lord Hawke put Valour's French crew ashore in Spain before bringing her into Plymouth.

[19][e] A few days earlier, Lord Hawke had repelled an attack by a privateer brig of 16 guns off St Andero.

The confusion that had resulted in the efforts to prevent Lord Hawke from blowing up gave the enemy the opportunity to escape.

By this report, the only casualty was Lord Hawke's doctor, who was wounded, and who returned to Plymouth aboard Vailleur.

John had been sailing from Newfoundland with a cargo of oil and fish when a French privateer of 14 guns captured her.

[27] Lloyd's List reported in May 1799 that a French privateer of 18 guns and 80 men had captured Lord Hawke, Neale master.

Lord Hawke had captured a Spanish brig and to give the prize time to get away, Neale engaged Victoire.

[2] In October 1801 Lloyd's List reported that the "Armed schooner" Lord Hawke had sailed from Waterford on 13 April, bound for the West Indies.