Mr. Midshipman Puget
Puget's ancestors had fled France for Britain during Louis XIV's persecution of the Huguenots. His father, John, was a successful merchant and banker, but died in 1767, leaving Puget's mother, Esther, with two sons and three daughters. In 1778, twelve-year-old Peter entered the navy as a midshipman and served on the following ships:
- 1778: HMS Dunkirk, an ageing 60 gun two-decker, Captain John Milligan. Harbour service.
- December 1779: HMS Syren, frigate, Captain Edmund Dodd. Patrolled North Sea, battling blockade runners.
- 1780: HMS Lowestoffe, 32, Captain Edmund Dodd, (transferred from Syren); bound for the West Indies squadron. There, Puget served with a small force of naval gunners reinforcing the garrison at St. Kitts, and survived the defence of Brimstone Hill against the vastly superior forces of French Admiral de Grasse (see Battle of St. Kitts). Probably served in Rodney and Hood's victory of 12 April 1782 at the Battle of the Saintes.
- November 1782: HMS Thetis, 38, Captain John Blankett; Gibraltar and Mediterranean
- 1783: HMS Europa, 64, Captain James Vashon, flying the broad pennant of Commodore Alan Gardner; service in Jamaica. Met then-Lieutenant George Vancouver. Paid off in 1787.
- 1787: Rejoined Captain Dodd on the Lowestoffe, but within two months, that was paid off too.
- 1788 (?): East Indiaman Prince
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