King Gustav III made Smith a naval adviser and light-squadron commander during Sweden's war with Russia. The resulting action in Viborg Bay cost the Russians dozens of vessels and earned the British officer a Swedish knighthood. When war with Revolutionary France began, Smith assembled British sailors in Ottoman ports and brought an improvised crew to Toulon. He destroyed a large part of the French fleet during the Allied evacuation, although Nelson and Collingwood later blamed him for the ships that escaped the fires.
Chapter · 2:48:11-2:50:29
Sidney Smith from Swedish fleet command to the Toulon fires
Smith commanded a Swedish light squadron against Russia, then improvised his way into the evacuation of Toulon and burned more French ships than any prior fleet action.