Napoleonic Wars
In the spring of 1803 Boyle was given command of the 32-gun frigate HMS Seahorse and ordered to the Mediterranean, where he was actively employed under Nelson during an important part of his Lordship's command on that station. On 11 July 1804, three of Seahorse's boats took part in an action against twelve French settees, most of them laden with cargo, lying at La Vandour, in the bay of Hyères. Most of the French vessels were set alight by parties of the British frigates HMS Seahorse, HMS Maidstone and HMS Narcissus. In January 1805, Lord Nelson, lying at anchor in Madalena Harbour, Sardinia, dispatched HMS Seahorse and HMS Active to watch the enemy in Toulon. Boyle was frequently chased away by the French ships, but carried out his duties. On 18 January 1805 the Seahorse, while cruising with HMS Active along the French coast, were sighted and pursued by the whole French fleet, but effected their escape.
Boyle sailed to communicate the news that the French had put to sea to Lord Nelson, who was lying at anchor north of Sardinia. On 4 May 1805, while cruising off the southern Spanish coast, Boyle received intelligence that a Spanish convoy, chiefly laden on government account with gunpowder for the gun-boats at Málaga, Ceuta and Algeciras, was upon the coast. He then kept close along the Spanish coast, and at 2 p.m. the convoy was sighted from the mast-head of the Seahorse. At 5 pm. Boyle observed that the Spanish vessels hauled into San Pedro, an anchorage to the eastward of Cape de Gata, under the protection of a fort and several schooners and mortar launches. He then sent his first lieutenant, George Downie, and other men of his crew in a cutter to board the vessels. Covered by the fire of the Seahorse, Downie boarded a Spanish brig, laden with 1170 quintals of powder. Finding that the Spanish gun-boats continued to fire on the Seahorse, which had already suffered damage to her main topgallant mast and had had several braces and bowlines shot away, the Seahorse discontinued the engagement and stood out to the offing.
