Folios 152-153: Jocelyn Percy, HMS La Volontaire, Spithead. Reports his arrival,...

Folios 152-153: Jocelyn Percy, HMS La Volontaire, Spithead. Reports his arrival, encloses a copy of his orders from Commodore Sir Home Riggs Popham listing the 14 vessels in his convoy and recounts his voyage since he left Table Bay, South Africa, on 1 April. He had hoped to get men from the East India Company ships at St Helena, but arrived to find that Governor Robert Patton had allowed them to sail for England two days earlier. After leaving St Helena they encountered the Aurora of Liverpool, which had been captured off the coast of Africa by a French squadron consisting of the Regulus, President, Sybelle and a 16-gun Brig, all under the command of Captain l'Hermite [Commodore Jean-Marthe-Adrien l'Hermite], who later released the Aurora on parole. She joined their convoy briefly but parted company and he thinks she has gone to the West Indies. They then spoke a Portuguese ship from St Salvador [Brazil] , which reported that a larger French squadron of six ships of the line and a Frigate commanded by Rear Admiral Willamaty [Jean-Baptiste Philibert Willaumez] had been in Salvador from February to April before sailing for North America. Lists the vessels in this squadron. Thanks Captain William Butterfield, Principal Agent for Transports, and Lieutenant Cochrane of the Transport Service for their help in keeping the convoy together. Encloses [not present] a log of proceedings, convoy list and the state and condition of his ship.

Folio 153A: enclosed with folios 152-153. Commander Jocelyn Percy and Carpenter John Wightman, HMS La Volontaire, Spithead. [not dated] A list of the ship's defects.

Folios 153B-153C. enclosed with folios 152-153. Copy of orders dated 26 March 1806 from Commodore Sir Home Riggs Popham, Commander, Cape of Good Hope, HMS Diadem, Table Bay, to Commander Jocelyn Percy, HMS La Volontaire. He is ordered to take the 14 transports listed and any other vessels bound for Europe under convoy, sail first to St Helena to complete the manning of his ship from vessels there and to collect detachments of the 73rd and 74th Regiments, then to proceed to Spithead and take the East India Company ships into his convoy. Counter-signed by J A Lethbridge [?] on behalf of the Commodore.