Captain Death was in command of the Terrible, a ship equipped with twenty-six carriage guns, and manned with 200 sailors.
[2] On 23 December 1756, the Terrible engaged the Alexandre le Grande, a large French ship sailing from Saint-Domingue.
[4] As the ships entered the English Channel on 27 December,[4] they met the French Vengeance, a privateer from Saint-Malo, with 36 large cannon and 360 men.
[10][11] In his 1776 pamphlet Common Sense, Paine cited Captain Death's battles in his argument that the American colonies should raise a naval fleet.
"[13] It is said that the Terrible was equipped at Execution Dock, commanded by Captain Death, Lieutenant Devil, and had a surgeon named Ghost.