cruising with a more powerful force near Sicily. Unfortunately, adverse winds prevented Collingwood from intercepting the French before they reached the safety of Toulon. While employed on the coast of Naples, Prescott was employed in attacking coastal traffic. He first drove a French 20-gun brig to seek refuge under shore batteries. He attempted to entice her out, and although she was supported by 11 Neapolitan gun-boats, she refused. On 8 September 1808 he contributed to the capture of four large gunboats and 34 coasting vessels assembled at Diamante near the Gulf of Policastro, which he blockaded until the arrival from Sicily of a force sufficient to capture them. On 27 October 1809 he captured the French letter of marque Veloce, of 4 guns and 83 men; and on 25 December, after a chase of nine hours and an action lasting one and a half hours, the polacre rigged privateer Eole of 14 guns and 140 men, five of whom were killed and nine wounded, with a loss of only one man killed and one wounded. Between then and June 1810, Weazel was employed off Sardinia, where she took and re-captured 17 vessels, including the French privateer schooner Ippolite, of 5 guns and 78 men. She next took part in the defence of Sicily, coming into frequent contact with the flotilla equipped by Joachim Murat for his attempted invasion of the island. On 25 July 1810 Weazel, the frigate , and the 18-gun brig-sloop , forced a convoy of 31 vessels, protected by seven large gunboats and five scampavias, to seek refuge at Amantea, under the protection of two shore batteries. Prescott led in the boats of the three British ships, and despite heavy enemy fire, captured or destroyed all the vessels. Two days later Prescott returned to Amantea with a detachment of marines from , destroyed several vessels, and captured a gun under a heavy fire of musketry, and having only three men wounded. The following month he twice engaged convoys, and captured six vessels, although he was obliged to abandon two — an armed xebec and a gunboat — as a sudden shift of wind direction, and the Weazles mainyard being shot away, it became impossible for her to tow them out from under a shore battery. In 1847 a clasp to the Naval General Service Medal "Amanthea 25 July 1810" was awarded to any surviving claimants from the