The New-Jersey gazette — Burlington [N.J.], 1781-09-12 00:00:00, page 1

LONDO N, June 9.
From the LONDON GAZETTE EXTRA
ORDINARY. Published this day at noon.
St. James's, June 8, 1781.
Extract of a letter from Commodore George John
ftone to the Earl of Hillfborough, one of His
'Majefty's principal Secretaries of state, dated Pom
ney, in Port P,aya Road, in the island of St. Jago,
April 30, 1781, brought by Captain Lindsey, of
the Porto sloop of war.
My Lord,
ON the 16th of April at half past nine o'clock
in the morning, being at anchor in Port
Praya in the island of St. Jago, with the
squadron of His Majesty's ships under my
command, which are named in the margin; * toge
ther with the East-India ships, transports, and victu
allers who failed with us from England, the Isis
(which ship lay the fartheft to leeward) made the
signal for feeing eleven fail in the offing, towards
the N. E.
I was then absent in a boat, giving directions for
moving some ships which had driven too near each
other.
As soon as T saw the signal for so many strange
fliips, I instantly returned on board the Romney,
and made the signal for all peffons to come from the
shore, and to repair on board their respective ships,
having at that time not less than 1500 peribns absent
from the fleet, who were employed in watering,
fifhing, and embarking live cattle, with other occu
pations necessary to the dispatch in resiting so many
ships, besides a number of the officers and troops
who were taking the recreation of the shore.
As soon as this signal was made, and enforced by
the repeated firing of guns, and after a boat had
been dispatched to the shore, to give more expedition,
and effe& to the embarkation, a signal was made to
unmoor, and another to prepare for battle.
I went on board the Isis, to make my observations
on the strange ships, as they could only be seen from
that ship, on account of the east point of land which
intervened.
From the Isis I plainly difeovered five large ships
of the line, and several finaller ships, handing in
for the land ; the large ships being leparated from
the convoy, and making signals by superior and
inferior flags, which plainly denoted that they were
French.
Upon this I returned on board the Romney, calling
to the East-India ships, as I palled and repaffed, to
prepare for battle ; for most of them were as yet
heedless of the signals which had been made.
At a quarter before eleven o'clock the strange
ships appeared, coming round the east point of land,
drawn up in a line, and leading into the bay. His
Majesty's ships of war (excepting as to the people
who were absent on shore) were by this time prepar
ed to receive the enemy, if they should offer any
insult.
We plainly perceived they Intended an attack by
the springs which were passed to their cables along
the outside of the ships; and we knew the small
regard which the French usually pay to the laws of
rations, when they are possessed of a superior force,
or find it convenient to dispense with such obligati
ons, and in this our expectations were not dilap
pointed ; for with much courage and seeming deter
mination the French Commodore led on within two
cables length of the Monmouth, Jupiter and Hero,
passing the Diana, Terror bomb, and Infernal hre
foip, who lay without the rest of the ships: here he
hoisted his broad pendant, and displayed the French
colours; he then hauled up his courses, and fired
two shot at the Isis from his larboard bow as he
lifted up, and immediately after permitting his ship
to shoot up in the wind, as far as the force with
which the ship was failing enabled her, he dropt his
anchor abreast of the Monmouth, and began to fire
away among the ftiips as faft as he could difeharge
and load ; his fails, however, were Fill flying about
in great confufion, so that his spring on the cable
did not hold when the ship was checked to bring up,
and he drove abreast of the Hero.
After the two guns mentioned above had been
difeharged with foot, the fire from his Majesty's
ships opened upon the enemy with great power and
effea.
The next French flip which followed their Com
modore, anchored a-head of him ; the third endea
voured to pass through for the Romney; but being
unable to weather the different ships, he anchored
* Romney 50, Hero 74, Monmouth 64, Jupiter sc,
Isis 50, Terror bomb vessel, Infernal fircihip, Rattle
snake cutter.
[Vol. IV.J, , THE [Numb. 194.]
NEW-JERSEY GAZETTE.
WEDNESDAY, September 12, 1781.
a Rern of his Commodore, ail continued there for
a short (pace, driving about with his fails loose,
until he boarded the Fortitude and Hinchinbrook
East-India ships, and then went to sea. The fourth
ship run on different lines, luffing and bearing up as
he passed among the skirt of our ships, and firing
and receiving fire as he failed along, but seemingly
in great confufion also; and at last, with much
difficulty, he wore clear of the reef on the Weft
Point without us.
The fifth ship run among the merchant vessels also,
firing at all, and attempting to board two or three as
he passed along, without success.
In a quarter of an hour after the firft gun, several
of our East-India ships had recovered the alarm,
and were firing at the enemy, and some of them in
well directed lines ; two or three however had struck
their colours, and thrown the company's packets
over board, and others prudently put to sea.
The Romney could only fire in two openings, and
this under a pr&ifion which was cautiously observed;
neither could ihe veer any c, 'e to open a larger
space, as the Jason lay right a°ern of her. Seeing
the Romney was like to have little share in the action,
after the fourth ship had passed her, I ordered the
barge to be manned, to go on board the Hero.
General Meadows and Captain Saltern insisted they
should accompany me, with a degree of generosity
and good humour which I could not refill. It is
plealant to be near the General at all times, but
on the day of battle that fatisfa&ion is felt in a
peculiar degree. We were received by Captain
Hawker with as chearful and affable civility as if we
had come to dinner, while the Hero kept up a con
stant, awful, heavy difeharge of artillery.
The action bordered upon a furprize, and the
nature of the service in which we were engaged
rendered us liable to much confufion ; yet upon the
whole, until the enemy were beat off, I saw no
thing on our part but steady, cool, determined valour.
Captain Alms, of the Monmouth, kept up a well
directed fire.
Captain Parley had worked hard from the begin
ning of the butinefs, and had got a spring on his
cable, by which effort every /hot told from the
Jupiter.
The French Commodore now found his situation
too hot, and he cut his cable in three quarters of
an hour, and went away through the ships, as his
second a-stern had done before him ; the other a head
was now left behind, an object to be fired at by all
the fllips in our fleet, who could get guns to bear
upon him. In this situation he remained for 15
minutes, hardly firing a gun during the whole time:
such a fpebtacle of distress I never before beheld.
I am fitisfied myfelf he struck his colours, and
that they were not merely shot away, as some
alledge; and this I believe, because different ships
thought he struck at the fame time; but it was im
poflible to get all the ships to cease firing at once ;
and one gun being afterwards difeharged from the
enemy's ship, the firing began again, even from
such of our ships as had left off.
'Whether his cable was shot away, or he cut the
cable, I cannot fay, but off the ship went round
upon the heel, her stern falling close to the broad
fide of the Isis ; her malls were tottering ; her yards
were hanging different ways; her fails were flying
about in rags, and full of holes. First fell the mizen
mast, next went the main mast, and lastly the fore
mast and outer end of the bowsprit tumbled in the
water...
I instantly returned to the Romney, and made the
signal for all Captains, and after hearing the condi
tion of every ship, I directed the men of war to cut
and flip as faft as they could get to sea, to follow
up the victory, with orders to make any India ships
who lay in their way to cut their cables also, that
they might not be impeded.
I ordered the merchant ships to lie sass and repair
their damages, until we joined them again.
As soon as the Jason was out of the way, the
Romney was cast by a spring on the cable, and flic
went out to sea under the acclamations of the whole
fleet.
The Jupiter instantly followed, and we run be
tween our scattered flops and the enemy. Perceiv
ing neither the Isis nor the Diana making any signs
to follow, though both of them lay in clear births
for so doing, their several signals were made. The
Diana answered, and soon after followed; but al
though gun after gun was fired to enforce the signal
to call out the Isis, the still remained without any
signs of obedience to my signal then abroad. At
last the Hero came under our stern, with a message
from Captain Sitton, faying that his mails and yards
and fails and rigging, were so wounded, that he
could not come out without repairing them, but
that he would follow as faft as he could.
My answer was, all this is no excuse for disobey
ing my positive orders : besides, I think his damages
immaterial to a man of any resources.
Captain Sutton's signal was therefore again enforc
ed by another gun; he then hoisted his answering
flag, and came out, after three hours delay.
All the ships being now come out, the signal was
made to form the line a-head on the larboard tack.
The French' ships had before this collected and
taken the disabled ship in tow, and they had raised
a stump forward, and fixed a fail upon it, with which
they had wore the hulk, and put before the wind
in a line of battle abreast, and lent off their convoy
under all the fail they could set.
When the Isis joined us Ihe run under our stern,
and repeated an account ofher distress and her da
mages, particularly the want of a mizen top fail yard,
which I told the Captain was nothing at all.
The signal was now made to bear up in a line of
battle a breast. At that instant the Isis left her fore
topmast above the topsail yard, which yard was
not injured by the fall, nor was the fail hurt or any
other damage sustained, to prevent the,fhip from
working, the fore topsail being close reefed and set.
I immediately shortened fail to give time to the
Isis to clear the wreck, which was done in half an
hour or forty minutes.
This increased our distance from the enemy. As
soon as I saw the Isis could make fail, I bore up
and set the fore fail, and made the signal for the
line abreast. When we came near the enemy, I
found the Isis and Monmouth had dropt astern be
tween two and three miles, though both of them
failed much better than the Romney : Their signals
were therefore made to call them to their Rations;
the Monmouth immediately answered, and made
fail accordingly, but the Isis still kept behind.
By these various obftrudions and delays, added
to a strong lee current, the enemy had drawn us
far to leeward of St. Jago. The fun was set ; the sea
had increased, I could not propose a decisive a&ion
in the night. If 1 had followed until day-light my
profpedts were great and tempting ; but I mult then
determine to leave myconvoy in distress, and separate
from the troops, without any fixed determination
concerning thfy or their destination ; and I must
also have relinquished the object of the present expe
dition; because, after getting so far to leeward that
we could not fetch the ifiands of Bravo or Fogo, it is a
well known fad that no Grip can beat up against the
N. E. winds and the S. W. currents which always
prevail here, much less after such an action as must
be~expeded.
On the other hand, if the principal force of the
enemy should arrive before us at the place of our
destination, it might prove equally fatal to the object
of the expedition.
The dilemma was great indeed, and I felt the
cruel situation with an anguifli which I never before
experienced ; but after maturely weighing the fubjeft
in all its consequences with those persons on whole
judgment I have more confidence, I thought myfelf
bound to return to join the ships under my protecti
on and to pursue the object of the expedition, it
being most probable that the enemy must either
fend off two of their disabled ships of war to the
Weft-Indies, in which case I shall have a superior
naval force, or they must touch at the Brazils for
water and repairs; and perhaps they will be obliged
to do both; in either of which cases we shall have
a great advantage by the preceding action.
Next day we retook the Hinchenbrook East-India
ship, with 25 French men on board; and I learn
from them that the squadron who attacked us was
composed of Le Heros, 74, M. de Suffrein, Brigadier
des armes, grand commander de Malte.
L'Ahnibal, 74, M. de Tremigon, capitaine de Vaif
feau.'
L'Artefien, 64, M. de Cardaillac, chevalier de Mal
the.
Le Phynx, 64, M. de Duchillou, capitaine de Vaif
. feau.
Le Vengeur, 64, M. le chevalier de Forbin, capitaine
de Vaiffeau.
La Fortune, 16, Corvette.
M. de Carries, commandant de I'Armee de Terrel
Regiment de Pondicherry, deux batalione.
Detachment du regiment d'Auftrafie.
4 Vaiffeaux des Indfs, viz.
^ Le^Tr^ Amis, ^ tc ^ Vai fr de tramport
8. Life de France, ( a % een fc t e;-al! doubled
4. Pondicherry, ) with C9 PP CT