Folios 457-458: George Countess, HMS Daedalus, Spithead. Reports his arrival at Spithead....

Folios 457-458: George Countess, HMS Daedalus, Spithead. Reports his arrival at Spithead. Has dispatched the packets which he was given by Captain Henry Mowat of HMS Assistance, Chief Officer at Halifax [Novia Scotia] on his departure from there. He completed his orders regarding the coast of Africa, he put himself under the command of Rear Admiral Parker, Commander-in-Chief at Jamaica. He was ordered by him to sail from there under the command of Captain Carpenter of HMS Intrepid, to assist with the homeward bound trade convoy, through the Gulf of Florida as far as latitude 30N, and then to return to Cape Nicholas Mole [Mole-Saint-Nicolas, Haiti]. The night before leaving Port Royal on 23 July the ship's company was affected by yellow fever: Lieutenant Taylor and 11 men being affected. Between then and 2 September, when they parted from the convoy at Latitude 30, 14 N, ordered by Captain Carpenter to return to the Mole, 24 of the crew had been affected, amongst them the Master, 3rd Lieutenant, Marine Officer, Surgeon, and one Midshipman. At this point there were 48 on the sick list, including the Lieutenants, Gunner, Mates, Midshipmen and Surgeons Mate, all unfit for duty. Captain Countess and the Boatswain took charge of the deck in turn. Although Captain Carpenter sent a Surgeons Mate from HMS Intrepid to act as Surgeon, little could be done for the patients in the lack of any proper medicine, having used their own ship's supply and most of the stocks they were able to collect from other ships in the convoy. The Acting Surgeon twice advised in writing that he should proceed as fast as possible to the north to stop the progress of the fever; copies of these letters are enclosed. He therefore decided to proceed to Halifax, where he should be able to recruit additional crew and have the ship repaired, having suffered damage in gales in the Gulf of Florida. When they reached Halifax it was not possible to repair the ship as all communication with the shore was forbidden by the Governor. Captain Mowat, with the advice of Commissioner Duncan, decided that HMS Daedalus should proceed to England as soon as it was possible to re-provision the vessel with food, water and medicines required for the sick and convalescent. Thus they sailed on 20 September under Captain Mowat's orders. He was much relieved that his decision to sail north was vindicated by preventing any further spread of the fever and hastening the recovery of the sick, who were left extremely debilitated. The decision of Captain Mowat to provide a liberal supply of refreshments played a large part in the recovery of the crew, and the crew are now healthy. Encloses a record of the voyage from Jamaica, a copy of the orders from Captain Mowat, a report on the state and condition of the ship, and the state of the sick list.

Folio 459: enclosure with folios 457-458. Copy of a letter from Thomas Downey, HMS Daedalus, at sea, to Captain Countess, 25 August 1796. The writer is in a very weak state following a severe attack of yellow fever, but is setting out a report on the current state of the ship's company. Mr Pritchard, the Surgeons Mate, has also been very ill with the fever. The sickness appeared a few days before the ship left Port Royal on 23 July. By this date there were 11 people ill. Between then and 16 August, 73 men had been affected and 24 had died (a proportion of 1 in 3) and 3 more were past recovery, including Mr Winter, the Surgeon, who died on 17 August. Having now been appointed Acting Surgeon, Mr Downey found there was little medicine available; scarcely any Calomel or purgatives. As ordered by Captain Countess, he has requested medicines from the other Royal Navy vessels and the merchant ships. He has now been aboard 9 days, during which 27 men have been taken ill, but only 2 have died. He expects the others to recover. Yesterday 4 became ill, and 2 today. There is a little medicine left, which with early and liberal bleeding are the only treatments in the early stages of infection. Since the ship left Port Royal, 102 men have been affected, of whom 40 recovered or began to convalesce before he came on board, 27 have died, and 27 are currently ill or starting to recover. Some have relapsed. Only 10 of the 75 who have recovered are fit for any sort of duty. He encloses a sick list and regrets that he is unable to do more because of a lack of medicines and fresh food. Given the lack of medicines and the incidence of relapses, it his opinion that the crew who have been so far unaffected will rapidly succumb should the ship return to the West Indies. In his opinion the only chance of controlling the fever is to sail north.

Folio 460: enclosure with folios 457-458. Copy of a letter from Thomas Downey, HMS Daedalus, at sea, to Captain Countess, 3 September 1796. Further letter setting out the lack of suitable medicines, despite the additional supplies obtained from other ships. Transmits his anxiety about the state of the sick and convalescent, and the urgent need to remove themselves from the current climate and sail north as fast as possible.