Letter written by Thomas from HMS SPARTIATE, off Toulon, to his father Sir John Thomas. In the letter he tells of how he had just returned to the SPARTIATE after having spent three weeks on an unsuccessful expedition to burn down the town of Marseilles. He writes ‘An expedition had been privately fitting out which I luckily got scent of, and immediately offered my services.’ He added that he was commended for volunteering, and believed he would have ‘earned an Epaulet’ had the expedition been successful.