The Pennsylvania ledger, or, The Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, & New-Jersey weekly advertiser — Philadelphia, Pa., 1776-11-23 00:00:00, page 2

Verity, he is set faft, and nothing will then serve
his turn, neither truth nor falfliood.
$4> # l> w &rf.<>...O-.0.-O!»«&► # <>-+ ta <> '«»"<>M>-<>-<$
L ONDO N, August 16.
Edict of the King of Portugal, prohibiting all
intercourse between bis dominions and the Ameri
can colonies.*
JOSEPH, by the grace of God, king of Por
tugal and of the Algarves, &c. &c. &c. I make
known to al! who shall fee this - ptefent edi&, that
having been lately informed, that the Englilh
Colonies in America, had not only separated them
selves by an ad of the Congress, the 15th of May
lad, from the Subjection to the crown of Great-
Britain, but also were making laws of their own,
and ghdrig particular power to refill the lawful
authority of his Britannic Majesty, my good bro
ther, friend and ally: And Whereas so pernici
ous an example ought to interest even the mod
indifferent princes not to favour or assist, diredly
or indirectly, fubje&s thus publicly and formally
rebelling against their lawful Sovereign: It is my
will and pleafare to order, that, in all the ports
of these kingdoms and its dominions, no ihelter
llull be given to any ships loaded or in ballad,
coming from any of the ports of the said North-
American Britilh Colonies; but on the contrary,
that they are to be repelled from the said ports,
and in the fame manner they entered, without
giving them the least fuccour of any kind what
soever. The mailers of ships, who have been
permitted to enter hitherto, in consideration of
not having received any express injunction to the
contrary, shall be notified to depart with their
fliips out of the above-mentioned ports within
the space of eight successive days, without fail;
examination being had before their departure, if
they have on board any gunpowder, or other
warlike stores of the kinds already prohibited by
my royal orders, given the twenty firft of Odober
Jaft, to the arsenal of the army, and to the office
of outward consulship; and confifcating, for the
benefit of the public works, any of the said ships
on board of which shall be found clandestinely
concealed any of the above-mentioned warlike
ffores, as goods rightly seized and manifeftly
known to be the property of rebels. Our Lord
the King hath ordered this by his royal decree of
the fourth of this current month of July, and
directed to his royal counsel, commanding it to be
printed and set up in all public places of Lisbon
and ports of this kingdom, and of the Algarve,
in order that every one should have notice thereof,
and that no person may pretend ignorance.
'Lifbon, yk of July, 1776.
(Signed) Count de AZAMBUJA, Pres.
WHITEHALL, August 24.
Captain Hope arrived on Wednesday evening
Taft from South-Carolina, with dispatches from
Commodore Sir Peter Parker, and Lieutenant
General Clinton.
Extrafl of a letter from Sir Peter Parker to Mr.
Stephens, Secretary of the Admiralty, dated
within CharleJloivn-bar, July 9, 1776.
- — : —“ It having been judged advisable to make
an attempt upon Charleftown in South-Carolina,
the fleet failed from Cape-Fear on the iff of June,
and on the 4th anchored off Charleftown-Bar.
The sth founded the Bar, and laid down buoys
preparatory to the intended entrance of the
harbour. The 7th all the frigates and most of
the transports got over the Bar into Five-Fathom
Hole. The 9th General Clinton landed on Long-
Island with about four or five hundred men. The
10th the Bristol got over the Bar with some
difficulty. The 15th gave the Captains of the
squadron my arrangement for the attack of the
batteries on Sullivan's island, and the next day
acquainted General Clinton that the ships were
ready. The General fixed on the 23d for our
joint attack, but the wind proving unfavourable
prevented its taking effed. The 25th the Experi
ment arrived, and the next day came over the Bar,
when a new arrangement was made for the attack.
The 28th at half an hour after nine in the morn
ing informed Gen. Clinton by signal, that I should
go on to the attack. At half an hour after ten
made the signal to weigh; and about a quarter
after eleven the Bristol, Experiment, Active and
Solebay, brought up against the fort. The Thun
der-bomb, covered by the Friendship armed vessel,
brought the salient angle of the East bastion to bear
N. W. by N. and Col. James (who has ever since
our arrival been anxious to give the best afliftance)
threw several flails a little before and during the
engagement in very good direction. The Sphynx,
A^eon and Syren, were to have been to the west
ward, to prevent fire-lhips or other veftls from an
noying the Ships engaged, to flank the works, and,
if the rebels should be driven from them, to cut off
their retreat if possible. This last Service was not
performed, owing to the ignorance of the Pilot who
run the three trigates aground. The Sphynx and
Syren got off in a few hours but the Action remain
ed faft till the next morning, when the Captain and
officers thought proper to scuttle and set her on fire.
I ordered a Court Martial on the Captain. Officers
and Company, and they have been honourably ac
quitted. Capt. Hope made his armed Ship as uleful
as he could on this occasion, and he merits every
thing that can be said in his favour. During the
time of our being abreast of the fort, which was
near ten hours, a brisk firing was kept up by the
fliips, with intervals, and we had the fatisfadion,
after being engaged two hours, to oblige the rebels
to slacken their fire very much. We drove large
parties several times out of the fort, which were
replaced by others from the main. About half an
hour after three, a considerable reinforcement from
Mount Pleafaht hung a man on a tree at tlie back
of the fort, and we imagine that the fame party
ran away about an hour alter, for the fort was then
totally silenced, and evacuated for near one hour
and an half; but the rebels finding that our army
could not take pofleffion, about fix o'clock a consi
derable body of people re-entered the fort, and re r
newed the firing from two or three guns, the rest
being, I suppose, dismounted. About nine o'clock,
it being very dark, part of our ammunition expend
ed, the people fatigued, the tide of ebb almost done,
no profpeft from the eastward, and no poflibility of
our being of any farther service, I ordered the Ships
Ao withdraw to their former moorings. Their
Lordships will fee plainly by this account, that if
the troops could have co-operated on this attack,
his Majesty would have been in pofleffion of Sulli
van's Island. But I must beg leave to be fully un
derstood, left it should be imagined that I mean to
throw the most distant reflection on our army: I
should not difeharge my conscience, were 1 not to
acknowledge, that such was my opinion of his Ma
jesty's troops, from the General down to the private
soldier, that after 1 had been engaged some hours,
and perceived that the troops had not got a footing
on the north end of Sullivan's Island, I was perfectly
Satisfied that the landing was impracticable, and
that the attempt would have been the deftruCtion
of many brave men, without the leall probability
of success; and this. I am certain, will appear to
be the case, when General Clinton represents his
situation.—The Bristol had 40 men killed and 71
wounded; the Experiment 23 killed and 56 wound
ed, and both of them Suffered much in their hulls,
masts and rigging ; the Active had Lieutenant Pike
killed, and fix men wounded; and the Solebay 8
men wounded. Not one man who was quartered
at the beginning of the action on the Bristol's quar
ter-deck escaped being killed or wounded. Capt.
Morris loft his right arm and received other wounds,
and is since dead; the Master is wounded in his
right arm, but will recover the use of it: I received
several contusions at different times, but as none of
them are on any part where the lead danger can
be apprehended, they are not worth mentioning.
Lieuts. Caulfield, Molloy, and Nugent, were the
Lieuts. of the Bristol in the action; they behaved
so remarkably well that it is impossible to fay to
whom the preference is due, and so indeed I may
fay of all the petty officers, ships company and vo
lunteers. At the head of the latter I must place
Lord William Campbell, who was so condefeending
as to accept of the direction of some guns on the
lower gun deck. His Lordship received a contusion
on his left fide, but I have the happiness to inform
their Lordships that it has not proved of much con
sequence. Capt. Scott, of the Experiment, loft his
right arm, and is otherwise so much wounded, that
I fear he will not recover. I cannot conclude this
letter without remarking, that when it was known
we had many men too weak to come to quarters,
almost all the teamen belonging to the transports
offered their service with a truly Britilh spirit,
and a just fenle of tlie cause we are engaged in :
I accepted of upwards of fifty to supply the place
of our sick. The masters of many of the trans
ports attended with their boats, but particular
thanks are due to Mr. Chambers, the matter of
the Mercury.
"All the regiments will be embarked in a few
days. The firft brigade, confiding of four regi
ments, will fail, in a day or two, under convoy,
for New-York; and the Bristol and Experiment
will, I hope, soon follow with tlie remainder.
" Sir Peter Parker's squadron confiding of the
following Ihips and vessels: The Bristol, 50 guns,
Sir Peter Parker, Commodore, Capt, John. Morris:
Experiment 50, Alexander Scott; Active 28, Wil
liam Williams; Solebay 28, Thomas Symonds;
Alteon 28, Christopher Atkins, Syren 28, Tobias ,
Furneaux; Sphynx 20, Anthony Hunt; Friendship
armed vessel 22, Charles Hope; Ranger sloop 8,
Roger Will: Thunder bomb 8, James Reid; Saint
Lawrence schooner—, Lieut. John Graves."
Whitehall, August 24. It appears by Lieut. Gen.
Clinton's letters to Lord George Germain, dated
July 8, 1776, from the camp on Long Island, pro
vince of South Carolina, that Sir Peter Parker and
the General having received intelligence, that the
fortrefs erected by the rebels on Sullivan's Island
(the key to Charles-Town harbour) was in an im
perfect and unfinifhed state, resolved to attempt the
reduction thereof by a coup de main; and that in
order that the army might co-operate witli the
fleet, the Gen. landed his troops on Long Island,
which had been represented to him as communicat
ing with Sullivan's Island, by a ford payable at
law water; but that he, to his very great mortifi
cation, found the channel, which was reported to
have been eighteen inches deep at low water, to be
seven feet deep; which circumstance rendered it
impossible for the army to give that assistance to the
fleet, in the attack made upon the fortrefs that the
General intended, and whicli he, and the troops
'under his command, ardently wished to do.
To these advices published by government we
shall add some further circumstances (contained in
the extract of a particular letter from an officer in
Gen. Clinton's army, dated July 7th, as follows.)
" The 9th of June we got over the Bar and
came to anchor in the road. Sullivan's Island,
which forms one fide of the canal, that goes up to
Charles-Town, the rebels had fortified in a very
strong manner. For this reason we made it the
firft object of our attack, the frigates not being
fufficient for that purpose, and heavy ships being
required to silence their batteries, we were obliged
to lighten the Bristol and experiment 50 gun ships,
by taking out their artillery, and enable them to go
over the bar; it took us to the 28th before we
could perform it and put those ships in order.
That day the Experiment and the Bristol, with the
frigates the Soleday and the Active, with a bomb,
began the engagement at about eleven o'clock in
the morning, the hotted fire was continued on
both tides till eight in the evening, during the two
lall hours the enemy fired only witli two cannon;
the fliips have loffered greatly and loft about 200
men. This great lots it is said, was occasioned by
the timidity of tlie pilots who would not carry the
ships nearer than 900 yards from the batteries,
which was an excellent distance for our enemies,
and from which we could do them little damage.
" Between the 9th and the 28th of June, the
troops landed on the island (Long-Island) in order
to aflift the attack by the fleet, by endeavouring,
if possible, by means of the boats, to land on the
weft end of Sullivan's Island, whicli is separated
from it by only a final! Canal. Never were troops
more ardent than ours appeared to be to support
the operations of the fleet, but by what we learned
afterwards, it was our great happiness that our
General was so prudent as not to attempt it. Our
firft disembarkation was to have been composed of
the grenadiers, light infantry, and the 15th regi
ment, amounting in the whole to about 700 men;
we liad not boats fufficient to carry more, and by
what we afterwards discovered, the rebels were on
Sullivan's Island 2000 strong, and entrenched up
to theii chin.
" During the day of the 28th and the night fol
lowing the troops were kept under arms, but the
29th in the morning we saw that the fliips had got
off, and all our operations ceased. We are pre
paring to embark to join the grand army to
York. Some of our people have beei
with the jaundice but in general they enjoy a tole
rable liealth, altho' reduced to salt provisions.”
All the advices we have received of this action
make great elogiums of Capt. Morris; this officer
having the two bones of his right arm broke by a
chain shot, and wounded in the neck, was carried
into the cabin to have his arm cut off, during the
operation a red hot shot entered the cabin, killed
two of the surgeon's mates and wounded the pur
ler. This confufion ended, and his two wounds
being dressed, he ordered the people to carry him
on the quarter deck when he resumed his com
mand, began his orders with much intrepidity for
several hours, until he received a third shot in his
body; he fell, and had only time to answer an offi
cer who asked him what direction he had for his.
family, that he left them to the protection of God
and the generosity of his country : The bravery and
the personal qualities of Mr. Morris make his loss
the more felt as he had a worthy wife, a numerous
family, and a brother, of whom he was the only
support . Lieutenant Pike was killed on board of
the Active, he equally leaves an affli&ed widow and
several children, who have fuffered his loss by zeal
for the government's cause. Such are, lays the
above letter (from which we draw these fads) the
bitter fruits of a civil war, insensibly pursued with
out reflecting on the terrible consequences, and
without our being able to forefee the final deter
mination.
Au g u ^ 27. It is reported, that when Gen. Lee
(then in Virginia, at the head of the second Pro
vincial Army) heard that the fleet undei the com
mand of Sir Peter Parker, had failed from Cape-
Fear, to attempt the conquest of Charles-town, he
marched with the greater diligence to its defence
with three thousand men. He was seen in the fort
m the heat of the adion, animating the men by his
example with the greatest ardour and activity. The
man who was hung to a tree, as mentioned by Sir
Peter, was a Virginia soldier, who had two differ
ent times abandoned his poll. A matter of one of
the transports reports that the Provincials had
tlirown a bridge of boats, which communicated
from the main to Sullivan's Island, by which they
continually renewed the garrison of the fort; that
when the Americans appeared to have abandoned
the fort, it was only a feint to induce the troops
under the command of Gen. Clinton to land, and
thus draw them in ambufeade, where a body of
3000 men were polled and securely intrenched, it