The New-Jersey gazette — Burlington [N.J.], 1780-03-08 00:00:00, page 1

From the LONDON GAZETTE.
Admiralty-Cffice, October 12, 1779.
A LETTER from Captain Pearson, of his Majesty's
' Blip Seraphis, to Mr. Stephens, of which the
following is a copy, was yesterday received at this
office :
Pallas, French Frigate in Congress Service,
Texel, October 6, 1779.
SIR,
YOU will be pleased to inform the Lords
commissioners of the admiralty, that on
the 23d ult. being close in with Scarbo
rough, about ii o'clock, a boat came
on board with a letter from the Bailiffs
of that corporation, giving information
of a flying squadron of the enemy's ships being on
the coast, and a part of the said squadron having
been seen from thence the day before, Landing to
the southward. As soon as I received this intelli
gence I made the figrial for the convoy to bear
down, under my lee, and repeated with two guns;
g THE Publisher of the New-Jersey Gazette, in
his paper No. 83, of the 28th of July last, gave
notice that the price of the Gazette, as then fixed,
would be raised or lowered at the commencement of
each quarter, according to the general tenor of the
prices for the neceflaries of life. He has, however,
waved the privilege of increasing the price of his pa
per, and continued it for now more than two quar
ters since that date without alteration of terms, ex
cept in a very few instances, voluntarily made by
some of the subscribers, from a convidion that those
then stipulated were inadequate to the expence of pa
per and printing. He has also for some time past
flattered himfelf that the proposition he is now con
strained to make, would be rendered unnecessary by
the introduction of a limitation of prices, by which
all pecuniary tranfadions must have been placed upon
an ascertained and stable footing. He did not fuffer
himfelf to doubt that this measure would have taken
effect, when recommended by the most refpedable
authority, highly approved by the people of this state,
and so early and unanimously adopted by the Legisla
ture. Why the fame laudable and disinterested mo
tives have not influenced the counsels of other flata,
he leaves to those who are more dexterous at solving
political mysteries.
It is a matter of no difficulty to calculate what the
price of the Gazette ought to be, compared with the
prices current for the necessaries of life, and it will
occur to a single thought that Rating it at Thirteen
Dollars by the quarter will leave it below the mark
of profit, and convince the publick that gain cannot
be the only view of continuing it; and the Publisher
will be happy in an opportunity of proportionably
diminifliing the price upon an appreciation of the
currency. This sum he expects for the current quar
ter, advanced in the fame manner as proposed in his
advertisement above-mentioned. From those who
are near to the Office be hill experts the fame kind
ness of being paid in Produce at the former rates,
agreeably to the terms publiflied the 30th of June
last, which is a great convenience to him, and he
trusts not inconvenient to the cuftomefs. He defircs
that all arrears may be paid up without loss of time
to avoid confufion in accounts, and that the Packet-
Matters will be so good as to attend to this object,—
observing to colled an adequate sum for depreciati
on, the which is submitted to themselves.
Trenton, March 1, 1780.
TOBES O L D,
By JACOB BENJAMIN, opposite the Printing-
Office in Trenton ;
COPPER coffee-potts ; a final! sauce-pan ; a brass
candle-box ; brass candle-flicks ; a brass dredg
ing-box; a pair of brass stands for fnuffers ; a small
burnt China dish; China bowls, quart decanters,
tinn'd ; a quart flower'd decanter; pint decanters,
and half-pint ditto ; large hard metal pewter dishes,
London make ; 1 large pewter dish, with 6 leflfer size,
and a soup ditto ; a copper sauce-pan, ditto with a
cover ; a copper tea-kettle ; a large stew-pan ; a large
japan waiter, round; ditto, wooden ; a plated cof
fee-pot ; a chimney glass and branches; a damask
settee cover; a pier glass, plain ; a mahogany side
board, with caftor and marble flab; marble mortar
pestle ; four large burnt China dishes; blue & white
ditto; double flint pint flower decanters; a small
round japan waiter; a gold watch; a quantity of
Spanish brown ; fix neat mahogany tea-tables, some
round and some square ; and a time piece.
N. B. A house to be let in Amwell, enquire of Ja
cob Benjamin. 4 w
NEW-JERSEY GAZETTE.
[Vol. lII.]
WEDNESDAY, March 8, 1780.
notwithstanding which, the van of the convoy kept their
wind, with all fail stretching out to the southward from
under Flamborough head, till between twelve and one,
when the beadmoft of them got in fight of the ene
my's fllips, which were then in chafe of them ; they
then tacked, and made the belt of their way under the
shore for Scarborough, &c. letting fly their topgal
lant Ilieets and firing guns; upon which I made all
the fail I could to windward, to get between the ene
my's ships and the convoy, which I soon effected.
At one o'clock we got fight of the enemy's ships from
the masthead, and about four we made them plain
from the deck to be three large ships anda brig,
upon which I made the Countess of Scarborough sig
nal to join me, the being in shore with the convoy, at
the fame time I made the signal for the convoy to
make the belt of their way, and repeated the signal
with two guns ; I then brought to, to let the Coun
tess of Scarborough come up, and cleared ship lor
action. At half past five the Countess of Scarborough
joined me, the enemy's fiffps then bearing down
upon us, with a light breeze at S. S. W. at fix
tacked, and laid our head in shore, in order to keep
our ground the better between the enemy's ships
and the convoy; soon after Which we perceived the
ships bearing down upon us to be a two decked ship
and two frigates, but from their keeping end-on upon
us, on bearing down, we could not discern what co
lours they were under : At about 20 minutes past se
ven the largest ship of the three brought to, on our
larboard bow, within mufquet shot : I hailed him
and asked what flop it was ; they answered in English,
the Princess Royal ; I then asked where they belong
ed to, they aniwered evasively ; on which I told
them, if they did not answer diredly, I would fire
into them ; they then answered with a shot, which
was mftantly returned with a broadside ; and after
exchanging two or three broadsides, he backed his
topsails, and dropped upon our quarter within pistol
shot, then filled again, put his helm a-weather and run
us on board upon our weather quarter, and attempt
ed to board us, but being repulsed, he sheered off;
upon which I backed our topsails, in order to get
square with him again, which, as soon as he observed,
he then tilled, put his helm a-weather, and laid us
athwart hawfe ; his mizen shrouds took our jib-boom
which hung him for some time, till at last gave way,
and we dropt along fide of each other, head and
stern, when the fluke of our spare anchor hooking his
quarter, we became so close fore and aft, that the
muzzles of our guns touched each others sides. In
this position we engaged from half past eight till half
past ten; during which time, from the great quan
tity and variety of combultible matters which they
threw in upon our decks, chains, and in fliort into
every part of the ship, we were on fire not less than
ten or twelve times in differ, nt parts of the ship, and
it was with the greatest difficulty and exertion ima
ginable at times, that we were able to get it extin
guished. At the fame time the largest of the two
frigates kept failing round us the whole adion, and
raking us fore and aft, by which means the killed or
wounded almost every man on the quarter and main
decks.
About half past nine, either from a hand grenade
being thrown in at one of the lower deck ports, or
from some other accident, a cartridge of powder was
set on fire, the flames of which running from car
tridge to cartridge, all the way aft, blew up the whole
of the people and officers that were quartered abaft
the maiumaft, from which unfortunate circumstance
all those guns were rendered useless for the remain
der of the action, and I fear the greatest part of the
people will lose their lives. At ten o'clock they call
ed for quarters from the ship along fide, and said
they had struck: Hearing this, I called upon the
Captain to know if they had struck, or if he asked for
quarters; but no answer being made, after repeat
ing my words two or three times, I called for the
boarders, and ordered them to board, which they
did; but the moment they were on board her, they
difeovered a superior number lying under cover with
pikes in their hands ready to receive them, on which
our people retreated instantly into our own flrip, and
returned to their guns again till past ten, when the
frigate coming across our stern, and pouring her
broadtide into us again, without our being able to
bring a gun to bear on her, I found it in vain, and
in short impracticable, from the situation we were in,
to stand out any longer with the least profpeCt of suc
cess; I therefore struck, (our mainmast at the fame
time went by the board.) The firft Lieutenant and
myfelf were immediately escorted into the ship along
fide, when we found her to be an American ship of
war, called the Bon Homme Richard, of 40 gunsand
375 men, commanded by Captain Paul Jones; the
THE
other frigate which engaged us, to be the Alliance,
of 40 guns and 300 men ; and the third frigate, which
engaged and took the Countess of Scarborough, after
two hours action, to be the Pallas, a French frigate
of 32 guns and 275 men; the Vengeance, an armed
brig of 12 guns and 70 men, all in Congress service,
and under the command of Paul Jones. They fitted
out and failed from Port I'Orient the latter end of
July, and came north about ; they had on board 300
English prisoners which they have taken in different
vessels in their way round, since they left France, and
have ransomed some others. On my going on board
the Bon Homme Richard, I found her in the greatest
distress; her quarters and counter on her lower deck
entirely drove in, and the whole of her lower deck
guns dismounted ; she was also on fire in two places,
and fix or seven feet of water in her hold, which kept
increasing upon them all night and the next day, till
they were obliged to quit her, and flie funk, with a
great number of her wounded people on board her.
She had 306 men killed and wounded in the action ;
our loss in the Seraphis was also very great. My of
ficers and people in general behaved well, and I should
be very remiss in my attention to their merit were I
to omit recommending the remains of them to their
Lordfhips' favour. I must at the fame time beg leave
to inform their Lordships that Capt. Piercy, in the
Countess of Scarborough, was not in the least remiss
in his duty, he having given me every assistance in
his power, and as much as could be expected from
such a flrip in engaging the attention of the Pallas,
a frigate of 32 guns, during the whole action.
I am extremely sorry for the misfortune that has
happened, that of losing his Majesty's flripl had the
honour to command ; but at the fame time, I flatter
myfelf with the hopes, that their Lordships will be
convinced that she has not been given away ; but on
the contrary, that every exertion has been used to
defend her; and that two essential pieces of service
to our country have arisen from it ; the one in wholly
overfettjng the cruize and intentions of this flying
squadron ; the other in rescuing the whole of a va
luable convoy from falling into the hands of the ene
my, which must have been the case had I acted o
therwise than I did. We have been driven about in
the north sea ever since the action, endeavouring to
make to any port we possibly could, but have not
been able to get into any place till to-day we arrived
in the Texel.
Herewith I inclofe you the most exact lift of the
killed and wounded I have been able as yet to pro
cure, from my people being dispersed amongst the
different ships, and having been refufed permiflion to
muster them. There are I find, many more, both
killed and wounded, than appears on the inclofed
lift, but their names as yet I find impossible to ascer
tain ; as soon as I possibly can, shall give theirlord
fhips a full account of the whole.
I am, Sir, your most obedient and
Most humble servant,
R. PEARSON.
P.S. I am refufed permission to wait on Sir Joseph
Yorke, and even to go on shore. Inclofed is a copy
of a letter from Capt. Piercy, late of the Scarborough.
Abfrad of the lift of killed and wounded.
Killed - - 49
Wounded - 68
Among the killed are the boatswain, pilot, one
matter's mate, two midihipmen, the coxswain, one
quarter-matter, 27 seamen and 15 marines. Among
the wounded are the second Lieutenant, Michael
Stanhope, and Lieutenant Whitman, second Lieute
nant of marines, two surgeons mates, fix petty offi
cers, 46 seamen and 12 marines.
Pallas, a French Frigate, in Congress Service,
SIR, Texel, October 4,, 1779.
IBEG leave to acquaint you, that about two minutes
after you began to engage with the largest ships of
the enemy's squadron, 1 received a. broadside from
one of the frigates, which I instantly returned and
continued engaging her for about 20 minutes, when
she dropt a-stern. I then made fail up to the Sera
phis, so fee if 1 could give you any assistance; but
upon coming near you, I found you and the enemy so
close together and covered with finoke, that I could
not distinguish one from the othe; ; and for fear I
might fire into the Seraphis instead of the enemy, I
backed the maintop-fail in order to engage the atten
tion of one of the frigates that was then coming u r ,
When flie got on ray starboard quarter, she
her broadside, which, as soon as I could get rayguns
to bear, (which was very soon done) I returned and
continued engaging her for near two hours- when I
was so unfortunate as to have all my brac'es great
part of the running rigging, main and mizen 'topfail
fleets shot away, 7 of the guns demounted, 4 men
[Numb. 115.]