The Ximenes Cannon: from plunder to prize of war

On July 12, 1798, Admiral John Jervis, first Earl of St Vincent (1735-1823) and Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet, issued the following order to the relevant officers of His Majesty's Ordnance at Gibraltar from his flagship HMS Ville de Paris, riding at anchor off the port of Cadiz: "Gentlemen, having taken the French national frigate La Sensible into His Majesty's Service, I desire you will survey and value the Ordnance, Ordnance Stores & C., with all possible dispatch, and leave them in charge of the gunner."
During the Napoleonic Wars, ordnance (in the form of cannon and ammunition) captured from the enemy was generally surveyed, valued and registered at the convenience of the Ordnance Department. In this case there is no doubt of the urgency expressed by Admiral St Vincent. In fact, La Sensible sailed under its new name of HMS Sensible within two days of this order being issued.
The admiral's concerns give us an idea of the turmoil then swirling around the Mediterranean as the struggle for power was unfolding: the Order of St John, which held sway over Malta for over two-and-a-half centuries, was being usurped by the French invaders, and the British, eager to...

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