8vo. 24pp. Original publisher's powder blue wrappers. Without spine panel. Internally clean and crisp.

A record of the defence provided by Royal Navy officer Thomas Mathews (1676-1751) at his court-martial. In 1744 the Battle of Toulon saw the defeat of the British fleet and control of Mediterranean waters pass to the allied Franco-Spanish forces - a mortifying loss for Britain at the height of the War of the Austrian Succession. A parliamentary inquiry into events was subsequently launched, with Mathews, commander of the Mediterranean naval forces, ultimately being tried for his poor command, his failure to properly engage enemy forces, and his decision to flee. He was summarily discharged from service.