HMS '' Romney '' was commissioned in August 1762 under her first commander , Captain Robert Walsingham , but was paid off by February the following year . When she recommissioned in June 1763 , it was under the command of Captain James Ferguson . '' Romney '' became the flagship of the commander of the North American station , Rear-Admiral Lord Colvill , and served in this capacity for the next three years . After a brief refit at Portsmouth , '' Romney '' recommissioned in March 1767 under Captain John Corner , as part of a squadron sent to North America under Samuel Hood . While serving off North America , '' Romney '' achieved a degree of notoriety after being sent to Boston Harbour to support the commissioners , who had asked Hood for help in enforcing the Townshend Acts . She arrived on 17 May 1768 , but being short of men , Captain Corner began to impress seamen from the harbour . This was unpopular with the locals , who took to attacking the press gangs . Events escalated when the commissioners in the town ordered the seizure of the merchant vessel '' Liberty '' , which belonged to John Hancock . When sailors and marines from '' Romney '' attempted to seize the vessel , mobs attacked them and then turned on the commissioners . Many of the officials took refuge aboard '' Romney '' , before transferring to Castle William . These incidents heightened tensions that would eventually lead to the Boston Massacre in 1770
Boston Massacre
Boston Massacre
HMS Romney (1762)