by injury, but Bompart was presented with a gold medal on his return to France, and remained a prominent figure in the French Navy, serving at the Glorious First of June in 1794 and leading the French expeditionary force that unsuccessfully attempted to invade Ireland in 1798 and was destroyed at the Battle of Tory Island. Edwards' report contained his account of Courtenay's death in battle, and it was widely accepted at the time. However, rumours began circulating that Courtenay had not been killed but merely stunned by the blow, and that his death may have come as a result of Edwards order for him to be thrown overboard. This second account was accepted by Courtenay's family and shortly after Edwards' death in January 1823 from the effects of the wound he received in the action with Embuscade, the naval officer and historian Edward Pelham Brenton published his work Naval History of Great Britain from the Year 1783 to 1822, in which he wrote that: This version of events was refuted in 1827 by historian William James, who wrote in response to Brenton that "All we [James] can say to this extraordinary statement is, that our [James'] account was taken chiefly from Bostons log book, and we have not the least reason, from subsequent inquiries, to believe it to be incorrect." Subsequent histories, including William Laird Clowes' book of 1900 and Richard Woodman's of 2001 follow James, but in his 1837 reprint Brenton defended the account and named Alexander Robert Kerr, second lieutenant of Boston during the action, as his source. In the same year a magazine article written by a niece of Captain Courtenay continued to repeat the allegations, stating that "the treacherous or – to say the least of it – the improper and unprofessional conduct of Lieutenant Edwards" had been responsible for his commander's death. After the battle, the ladies of Halifax launched a subscription to celebrate the crew of HMS Boston. On the other hand, the population of New York had a golden medal made in honour of the crew of Embuscade; Bompart accepted the medal on the condition he would not have to wear it, as the National Convention had banned medals. Notes Bibliography Retrieved on 14 January 2010 Conflicts in 1793 Naval battles involving France Naval battles of the French Revolutionary Wars Naval battles involving Great Britain Military history of the Atlantic Ocean