 In the summer of 1854 several ships, including , , , , and set out from Valparaíso and sailed across the Pacific Ocean stopping at Marquesas Islands then on to Honolulu where they met a French fleet of warships.In late August the combined fleets sailed to Russia to engage in the Siege of Petropavlovsk at which Commander-in-Chief Pacific Station David Price died.Captain of the "Pique" Frederick William Erskine Nicolson was brevetted and took command of the British naval forces from 31 August 1854 until the arrival of the next Commander-in-Chief.