KNOWLES (Sir Charles). The Conduct of Admiral Knowles on the Late Expedition set in a True Light.1758

London: Printed for J. Clarke, First edition, 8vo, 30pp., woodcut vignette on title, errata slip after title, folding map engraved by T. Jefferys of "La Rade de Basque" and a large folding engraved plate of "Fort de l'Aiguille, Fort Fouras and the Fort in the Island of Aix, and a Prospect of the Land about the Mouth of the River Charante, from Fort de la Aiguille to l'Isle Madame, taken art about 5 Miles distant", disbound pamphlet. Admiral Knowles was second in command with his flag in the "Neptune", under Sir Edward Hawke in the abortive expedition against Rochefort in 1757. Knowles's conduct and the conduct of the military commander, Lieutenant-General Sir John Mordaunt, provoked considerable criticism. Knowles was among those reproached for this failure and responded with a pamphlet, "The Conduct of Admiral Knowles on the Late Expedition Set in a True Light, 1758". This met with scant favour, and a notice of it in the Critical Review was so extreme that the editor, Tobias Smollett, was tried for libel and sentenced to a £100 fine and three months imprisonment. He was superseded in his command and, though he retained his flag in the "Royal Anne", guardship at Portsmouth, he had no further active service in the English navy. Sabin, 38150; Goldsmith, 9428.