The New-Jersey gazette — Burlington [N.J.], 1779-08-18 00:00:00, page 2

sth, that the English fleet had been perceived from
that island Reeling south, which induced the A:nrial
to male a Signal to be ready for failing, and prc A are
for battle.
'' At half after one o'clock, P. M a signal was made
for the fleet to join together, which, by the wind be
ing at E. and E,N.E. and the currents Strong and con
trary, rendered this manoeuvre long and tedious ; and
as the fleet might have fallen to leeward in the night
by the calm, it was thought more convenient, not
withstanding the desire they had to meet the enemy
and engage, to remain at anchor the ensuing night.
" The 6th, at half after three in the morning, the
frigates whir h were cruizing to windward made'a Sig
nal that the Englilh fleet were in fight. Signals were
then made to get ready, and at a quarter after five
the fleet got under way. A little after daybreak the
English fleet appeared at a league and a half distance
to windward, with all their fails set, and Steering for
the French fleet. Some of the French Ships were lull
at anchor, but were ordered to cut or Slip. Then a
signal was made to form a line on the flat board tack,
close to the wind, a quarter before fix, which was
immediately done, the enemy being near, without
having regard to the proper poll or rank of Ships.
" The Britilh fleet, composed then of 19 ihips of
the line, and a frigate repeating Signals, were on the
tack opposed to that of our fleet ; a fleet of 25 to 28
fail, as we have heard since, loaded with troopt, es
corted by two Ships of the line and Several frigates,
were then and kept to windward. The ea was Imooth
and there was a moderate breeze the whole day. At
half after 7 the Signal for engaging was made; but
the hurry of getting under way prevented the line
from being perfectly formed.
" Several of our Ships being to leeward, at three
quarters after 8 a signal was made for them to make
all the fail they could to get in the line.
" It is probable that the enemy did not know that
the island of Grenada was then taken. It is also to
be presumed, that they thought their force Superior
to ours. They came abrealt of our line, which by
its position, oppoted to them less Ships than their own,
though notwithstanding they made as considerable <1
fire as the enemy. As soon as they had passed our
line, they wore round ; the firlt ships of their van had
stretched to the entrance of St. George's Bay, when
the forts fired on them. The British fleet then mak
ing all the fail they could, and keeping their wind as
much as possible, were joined by the two Ships which
before were convoying the transports, who, with all
the fail they could croud, came down and took the
van of their line. At that time three ships of their
rear seemed to be very much difablcd, and began to
fail to leeward.
" The remainder of the English fleet closed toge
ther, and seemed to get at a distance from our fire.
At a quarter and half after 9 fignaTTwere made to'
form the line, and keep as close to the wind as pos
sible ; three of the Britilh Ships, belonging to the rear,
edged down to attack some of ours that had fallen to
leeward of the line; but having reconnoitred them,
they put about to join their Ration in the fleet, which
After that used all their endeavours to get to windward.
v“ At 40 minutes after ten, a signal was made to ten
of\our ships, which were to leeward, to put about
and form in the rear ; two of those ships gained to
windward, got and kept in the line ; the fifteen ships
which before that composed our line, had Severely
handled the van of the English fleet, the center of
which, by their extent, and the efforts they made to
gain to windward, were then only abreast of our rear.
" A quarter after 12 the engagement ceased: The
fire had been very hot; five British ships had been
very much disabled, having Suffered much in their
rials and rigging ; the three belonging to their rear
had Separated from the rest, and fallen more to lee
ward. The signals made for our ten Ships that were
to leeward to put about and join their Rations hav
ing been executed, and the line formed, the signal
was. made for the whole to put about, which was
done without one Ship miffing Stays. The object of
this manoeuvre was to separate the three British Shi >s
of their rear from the rest of the fleet; a little time
after, the Bririlh fleet having performed the lame
manoeuvre, signal was made to form the line, put
about and make all the fail we could close to the wind.
On this one of the leewardmoft Britilh ships immedi
ately put before the wind, and consequently was to
tally Separated from the fleet; if we had chafed her
the would probably have been taken, but the incon
veniency would have been a falling with her to lee
ward of the island of Grenada ; returning to the fleet
was more advantageous to the glory his Majesty's arms
had gained. The two other Ships continued on the
fame tack opposed to that of their fleet, in order to
join them.---The critical position of those Ships who
passed to windward of us, one of which received a
very heavy fire, could not induce the Britilh fleet to
bear down to their relief, they continuing to keep
their wind to get from us.
" Our lights during the whole night--the two tacks
we made after the enemy---the bad condition several
of Admiral Byron's Ships were in---his constancy to
keep his wind, one of his ships obliged to fly before
it, and another in as much need of assistance---his.
flight from the field of battle, which he left to us---
the capture of a transport with 150 soldiers---the con
quest of a Britilh colony-leaves no doubt of the suc
cess ofhis Majesty's arms. It would have been great
er, if it had been possible to have opposed 25 Ships of
the line to them, to have got to windward, and to
have got all together nearer to their. But on the
" hole it is more glorious for the "King'd arms, as those
Ships that fought at the lame time and in a line were
always really an inferior number 10 the English fleet
who attacked them, being formed and having the
wind.
" The bravery and condud of the Generals, Cap
tains, officers and men, who behaved in the molt
gloripiis manner, would require a particular culogi
um, adapted to each individual."
A Return of the killed and wounded in the engage
ment between Count D'EEaing and Admiral By
ron, July 6, 1779.
Ship's names. K.W. Ship's names. K.W.
Le Languedoc, 10 54 Le Tonnaut, 221
Le Cartar, 19 64 Le Zele, 11 36
Le Robufte, 5 45 L' Hector, 5 24
L' Annibal, 31 41 Le Guerrier, 1 18,
Le Fendant, 3 64 Le Magnihque, 9 34
Le Markillois, 4 Le Protedteur, 1 14
Le Valliant, 1 12 Le Diademc, 13 41
Le Vengeur, 9 37 La Province, 6 16
La Fantaque, 19 43 Le Dauphin Royal, 5 20
L' Artefien.
Le Reflechi, 6 50 Le Sphnix, 9 50
Le Fier, 2 to L' Amphion, 4 38
Le Fier Rodrigue, 2 23
Total, 176 773
In the moment in which the action began, the of
ficers, Soldiers and sailors gave marks of that patri
otic ardor which characterizes the French people.
The cries of, Long live the King! resounded thro'
all the ships of the squadron, and during the whole
action the character of the French marines was not
disgraced. In the midSt of the horrors of a naval
combat, in which we were inferior in numbers, bc
caulc that all our vessels did not engage ; the orders
of the Admiral were attended to, and executed with
an admirable precision. As nearly as it has been pos
sible to ultimate the numbers of cannon fired on board
the French Squadron, they were supposed to -mount
to 20,696, of these 4148 were from the Languedoc.
'1 his Ship received 32 balls 111 her hull, and many in
her rigging ; nevcrtnelcfs, thanks to the wiftlom of
orders which were given, and the Skill with which
the Captains executed them. None of our velids
were dilmafcd, whilst a great number of thole ot the
English have inhered very considerably.
The 71b, Moul, the Count u'ESiaing, after having
convinced himSclf that there remained no more ene
mies for him to hght, in the iat. of Grenada, return
ed to anchor, where he repaired the small damages
which his squadron had fullered. The following days
he gave his attention to the establishment of good or
der in the island, and left the command of it to the
Count de Dural. The 14th he lent off for France,
theKingsfrigate the Dih^it, aboard o f which my
Lord Mtahn^j, arc al officer ~ hhiji.tr; Co
lonels and officers of justice of the island were em
barked. It is said, that when the English Governor
received orders to let oft for France, he fell into so
great a pallion that he tore off his lash, and threw
away the enligns of the ordei ot the bath, with which
he was decorated. The 15th, 111 the evening all the
squadron set fail, with Imad winds from the south
east, which continued the 16th and 17th; the 18th
at daybreak it appeared before our road bearing for
Fort Royal ; at 8 o'clock in the morning tacked about
under full fail. It is luppoled the Count u'Ehamg
proposes to pal's to Guaoamupe, and from thence to
St. Christopher's.
According to the last letters from St. Euftatia, the
squadron ot Byron had returned to St. Christopher's
the 12th. The 8 firft veficisof the English line which
engaged with ours, arc in a deplorable Situation, Some
ot them make a great deal ct water, so that they will
not be fit for fe 1 without such a repair as cannot be
had in the island-. Byion was anchored in the bay
of St. Christopher') with 20 Ships and 2 frigates; he
was there waiting for three transports which were
miffing. It was thought that when he had collected
ad iris fleet he would fail foi Antigua. Two sailors,
deserters, inform us that the Ship of the English Ad
miral alone had 188 men killed and wounded in the
action, and that Barrington haa received a wound in
the left arm.
The Schooner Lightning, commanded by Mr. Ra
bottau, which left Bayonne the 20th of June, arrived
in our road (Marrimco) by whom we are informed,
that the Count d'Orvilliers, named by the King, Vice
Admiral of France, was cruizing with 33 ships of the
line at the mouth of the Channel : That he was to be
reinforced by a Spanish squadron, composed of 40
ships of war: That the English squadron had not then
appeared. He adds, that Ireland had revolted, and
that the Count d'Veaux, Lieutenant-General of his
Majesty's armies, was to make a defeent there, at
the head of 24,00 c men.
BOSTO N, dugu/l 2 .
Yesterday arrived in port, a letter of marque Sloop
with about 80 puncheons of rum, hound from Ja
maica to New-York. She was captured off Sandy-
Hook by the privateer Beaver and Gen. Gates, who
have since captured a Schooner laden with rice, from
Georgia to New-York. This vessel confirms the ac
count of the enemy's troops quitting their enterprize
at S. Carolina, and returning to Georgia. The
Beaver and Gates were in chafe of a large ship when
the above prizes left them.
Aug. 5. Saturday last arrived here the prize ship
Tartar, mounting.l6 carriage guns, besides cohorts
WORCESTER, %& 29.
By a gentleman from N#.tucket we learn, that a
and fwivds, and had 130 hands ; taken'by the Mif
flin, cl 20 guns, Capt. Babcock, of this port, and
only 100 hands. She was fitted out of Ireland for
the purpole of taking an American frigate, and ihe
happened to catch a Tartar. The Tartar had her
Captain and 22 hands killed, besides some wounded :
Ihe Miflhn had 2 men killed. The Mifflin had also
taken tour other prizes, one of which we hear has
Since been retaken and carried into Newport. When
the Tartar left the Miffiin Ihe was chafed by a forty
gun Snip and two frigates, but as She Sailed vtry taft,
'tis thought She got clear. The Tartar on her voy
age hither, took a brig laden with about 2500 quin
tals of fith, which the parted with five days before
her arrival here, and may be hourly expe&cd.
On Tuesday left arrived here a frigate of France,
Le Senlible, 111 Seven weeks from Breit, which bro't
'over His Excellency M. de la Luzerne, in quality of
Minister Plenipotentiary from his Most Christian Ma
jesty, our great and good ally, to the United States^
His Excellency had but just returned from his nego
tiations on the part of Fiance, between the Emperor
and Prussia, in which he was happily fuccefsful, when
he received this frelh mark of the esteem and confi
dence of his Sovereign. A day, it is said, will loon
be appointed for his public entrance here.
It may be depended on that the Breit fleet failed
on the 3d of June, for the coalt of Spain, and that
the British fleet could not be in a condition to put to
sea till three weeks at lead alter the departure of the
former. All Europe was waiting the issue of such
formidable armaments, and it was expected some im
portant blow would soon be Struck.
It demonstrates the great Strength and natural re
sources of France, that her navy has So soon recover
ed trom the diialters it met with the last war, and
is already able to face in the channel or upon the o
cean, tne maritime power of a nation that has so
proudly boalted nfelf to be Sovereign of the ocean.
A French fleet putting to lea So long before a Britilh
one of equal force could be got ready to oppole it,
engages the attention of Europe, demonstrates the
weakness of Britain, and mult be not a little humili
ating to her.
From the haughty manner in which Britain has
conducted towards other maritime pou ers, from the
oppression with winch She firft loaned America, and
then the fayage barbarity with which She has carried
on this war, the nations in Europe regard with a se
cret Ltistaction the power ot her rivals, and the ma
nifeli symptoms of her own feebleness and decay.
The Courts of France and Spain, by the lall ac
counts from Europe, are as firmly united as ever,
and there is the utmost confidence between them.
Th^ French carry on their armaments, and make
their exertions with a furprizing alacrity and fpuit;
and Britain may soon repent that She has not more
™=™' Tr the proper
means for a general pacification.
I he Marquis Fayette, we hear, continues to ex
press upon ail occalions, the highest affect on for A
merica, in the fcrvice 01 which he so greatly distin
guished himfelf. He is now employed in an impor
tant command among the troops ol'France, near the
Britilh coast.
Extract ^ a letter fro 11 a refoeßable ILufe in France,
to tie Board of War in Boson, dated Nautz, Jun. 1779,
Gui fleet let tail from Brest on the 30 initant, in
the afternoon, and calf anchor at Berthomme ; irom
thence they departed on the 4th, in the morning,
with a frelh north-eafl gale of wind. It conlifts of
28 ihips of the line, 9 frigates, 7 advice boats, and
3 lire Ships. 4he two men of war, the Burgogne ar d
the Victory arc to join them at lea, or at Cadiz, whi
ther the fleet is Sailing. Eight or ten thousand land
forces arc embarked 111 that Sleet, and, as every body
thinks, it is going to join that of Spain, 32 men of
war in number. The combined fleets will attack Gib
raltar and Minorca. The Count a'Eitaing will keep
at bay Admiral Byron, while Spain, who has ten
battle ships about the Havannah, will attempt to
conquer the English illands, or support the Ameri
cans on the continent. It is reported the fleet at
Portsmouth cannot be ready before the latter end of
this month; eight tnoufand sailors are wanted to
ccmpleat it. Ihe Couni d'Orvilliers communicated
before his departure a letter directed to him by Mr.
de Sartine: It foretells good success. God grant
they may be true. The following is a copy Dear
General,—l bid you farewell : My best wiffies attend
you, all the general officers, commanders, and the
whole army. Seek for the enemies ; attack them vi
gorously in a favourable moment. They Shall be con
quered. You are to be happy, and your successes
will cause me much joy. The good news lam to
receive from you, will be announced by ne to the
King. His chearfulnefs and fatisfattion will appear
on that great event. I Shall alk for rewards : All will
be granted ; and immediately I'll forward them to
those that deserve them. With gratitude they Shall
be received.
“ The French flag will be triumphant, and our
thanksgivings will be echoed to the Lord of Hefts.
“ These are my most sanguine expectations in the
beginning of this campaign. Let me hear from you
by all opportunities. I will wait for them with im
patience. You know, dear General, my friendship
for you, my attachment to your corps, and zeal for
your glory. Adieu."