Editing Peter Puget (section)

==Midshipman Puget==
Puget's ancestors had fled France for Britain during [[Louis XIV]]'s persecution of the [[Huguenots]]. His father, John, was a successful merchant and banker, but died in 1767, leaving Puget's mother, Esther, with two sons and three daughters. In 1778, twelve-year-old Peter entered the navy as a [[midshipman]] and served on the following ships:

* 1778: [[HMS Dunkirk (1754)|HMS ''Dunkirk'']], an ageing 60 gun two-decker, Captain John Milligan. Harbour service.
* December 1779: [[HMS Syren (1782)|HMS ''Syren'']], frigate, Captain Edmund Dodd. Patrolled North Sea, battling blockade runners.
* 1780: [[HMS Lowestoffe (1761)|HMS ''Lowestoffe'']], 32, Captain Edmund Dodd, (transferred from ''Syren''); bound for the West Indies squadron. There, Puget served with a small force of naval gunners reinforcing the garrison at St. Kitts, and survived the defence of [[Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park|Brimstone Hill]] against the vastly superior forces of French [[François Joseph Paul de Grasse|Admiral de Grasse]] (see [[Battle of St. Kitts]]). Probably served in Rodney and Hood's victory of 12 April 1782 at the [[Battle of the Saintes]].
* November 1782: [[HMS Thetis (1782)|HMS ''Thetis'']], 38, Captain John Blankett; Gibraltar and Mediterranean
* 1783: [[HMS Europa (1783)|HMS ''Europa'']], 50, Captain [[James Vashon]], flying the broad pennant of Commodore [[Alan Gardner, 1st Baron Gardner|Alan Gardner]]; service in Jamaica. Met then-Lieutenant [[George Vancouver]]. Paid off in 1787.
* 1787: Rejoined Captain Dodd on the ''Lowestoffe'', but within two months, that was paid off too.
* 1788 (?): [[East Indiaman]] ''Prince''