A letter from John Ben, of S. Hilary, dated November 16th, 1707, describing the finding of his body, has been printed in the second volume of the Penzance Natural History Society. I give it in modern spelling.
It was addressed to the father of the young man who perished.
"My Lord,
"Your Lordship's commands having been signified to my brother at Scilly, he immediately made the strictest inquiry that was possible, all the bodies that had been thrown ashore and buried, and being told of one buried at Agnes about Mr. Trelawny's age, was resolved to have him taken up in order to view him, whether it was he or no. He had seen the young gentleman at Torbay, but not willing to depend on his own judgment, desired the Captain of the Phœnix fire-ship that was stranded there, who knew Mr. Trelawny intimately well all the voyage, to go with him. As soon as they had the body up, they found it actually to be the same, though somewhat altered, having been buried eleven days, and in the water four; however, the captain presently knew him, and my brother took care to have the body brought over to S. Mary's, and interred it in the chancel of the church there the 8th instant, with all the marks of respect and honour the island could show on such an occasion, some captains and the best of the inhabitants being present at the funeral. My brother took of his hair, being cut and that so close that the left lock was not left to send over, and there is no room to doubt but 'twas the body of poor Mr. Henry Trelawny. It has not been his good luck as yet to meet with anything belonging to him, but whatever of the nature happens to come to his hand or knowledge your lordship will be sure to have a faithful account of it. They can say nothing in particular touching Sir Cloudesley's loss, only the man saved out of the Romney tells that Sir Cloud was to the windward of all the ships, and fired three guns when he struck, and immediately went down, as the Romney a little after did. Upon hearing the guns, the rest of the fleet that were directly bearing on the same rocks changed their course, and stood more to the southward, or else, in all probability, they had run the same fate, which is never enough to be admired; and 'twas possible men of so much experience could be mistaken in their reckoning, after they had the advantage of a great deal of fair weather beforehand, and no bad weather when they were lost. There is a great quantity of timber all round the islands and abundance of sails and rigging just about the place where the ships sunk, and a mast, one end a little above water, which makes them conclude an entire ship to be foundered there, because all the force they can procure is not able to move the mast. The Eagle most certainly is lost too, and I wish no other of the squadron may be wanting; besides those, though I am heartily sorry for the loss poor England has sustained of so many men and in a most particular manner for the share your lordship has."
In a postscript Mr. Ben adds:—
"The Hound came from Scilly yesterday, and was very near being taken, having three privateers behind and two before her, but she escaped by creeping along the shore, where they would not adventure."
The authorities for the loss of the Association and the finding of the body of Sir Cloudesley are many:—
The Shipwreck of Sir Cloudesley Shovell, by Jas. Herbert Cooke, f.s.a., Gloucester, 1883, with portrait and map; The History of the Reign of Queen Anne, 1708; Secret Memoirs of the Life of Sir Cloudesley Shovell, London, 1708; The Life and Glorious Actions of Sir Cloudesley Shovell, Knt., London, 1709; "Sir Cloudesley Shovell," by S. R. Pattison, in the Journal of the Royal Institute of Cornwall, 1864; "Sir Cloudesley Shovel," by T. Quiller-Couch, ibid., 1866.