The Connecticut courant, and the weekly intelligencer — Hartford [Conn.], 1782-01-01 00:00:00, page 2

Every thing was prepared for the defeent, and if
the winds had not been Wronger than usual upon
this coast, and the disembarkation of the troops
thereby rendered long and troublesome, we
would have perfectly surprised the enemy ; for
they did not know in the least pf our approach,
neither did expert us. The commander, in chief
having previously concerted the plan ofopperati
ons, and given all his officers the moll particular
inftrh^ions, the defeent was made in the follow
ing manner: t. Some vessels of war command
ed by don Diego Quevedo were difpacched, be
fore the convoy could be perceived, for to block
up Port Mahon, and prevent any vcffels escaping.
2. Several other vessels of war, commanded by
don Pedro Catnaverai, and by don Antonio Or
tegd, were sent to flrut up in like manner the
ports of Fornella and Citodella^ 3. Along boat
manned with sailors and Grenadiers, under the
command of an officer of infantry, was sent be
fore to reconnoitre the coast of the bay Mufcheto,
the intended landing place. 4. Several long boats
belonging to the squadron of don Bonaventura
Moreno, landed the due de Crillon, followed by
his brigade major and aid de camps •,this general
was at the head of a brigade of grenadiers, and
the volunteers of Catalonia, commanded by the
marcchal de-camp the marquis de Cagigal. 5 At
the fame time, don Felix, second in command,
and don Louis de las Cafas, disembarked several
regiments. 6. A third division composed of gre
nadiers, chaffeurs, and dragoons a foot, under
the command of Col. the Marquis de Aviles,
took possession of the town of Citadella, and of
the forts that defended the entrance of the port,
by storming them. '7. As soon as a defeent was
effefled at the bay#Mufcheto, a brigade of gre
nadiers and chaffeurs, under the Marquis de Pe
nafiel, son of the due d'Ofuna, were ordered to
proceed, either by land or water, to fieze upon
Fornella, and to storm the two forts which de
fend the entrance of this port. This defeent was
covered by several vessels of war, commanded by
don Bonaventura Moreno. 8. During this time,
doh Balthazar de Perma covered the brigade of
Savoy on their landing at the bay of Alcofar, a
league and a half from Mahon; don Antonio
Ortego, covered that of the Marquis d'Aviles, in
the environs of Citadella : and don Pedro Carna
veral was to cover thatof the Marquis of Penafiel,
if it had been necessary for this detachment to
have gone by sea to Fornella. 9. Thirty two
transports carrying artillery, fafcines, gabions,
powder, provisions, hospital llores, Ac. were ar
ranged ih the rear of the two principal embarka
tions at Mufcheto and Alcofar, in order to put it
out of the power of the enemy, to judge which
was to be the true attack.
From this plan of defeent, which could not be
so completely executed as wished, owing to the
contrary winds, we mayjudge how much more
fuccefsful it would have been, if the brigade of
Savoy had not been prevented from effecting a
landing for 36 hours, by the bad weather. The
two bays, de la Mufcheto and d'Alcofar, are one
league and a half from fort St. Philip, and about
the fame distance from each other: and if the
division at Alcofar could have affefted a landing
at the fame time with that at Mufcheto, they
would have prevented the English troops which
were at Mahon from retiring into fort St. Philip ;
but the brigade of Savoy could not effect a land
ing with the rest of the army, and the alarm be
ing given, the Governor of the fort was enabled,
bf the delay, to draw in the two battallions
which were at Mahon, and to force 500 inhabi
tants into the fort, which already consisted of
2,^00 men.
The towns and forts of Citadella and Fornella,
surrendered without making any defence. The
landing which began at three o'clock in the af
ternoon, was finifhed at midnight, and in 24
hours we became masters of the whole island,
except fort St. Philip. We exped a reinforce
ment of SOOO men in a few days.
LONDO N, September 29.
Extract of a letter from Paris, Sept. 9.
" The Court has given orders to draft from
each regiment of infantry (a small number only
excepted)loo men, who are to be sent to Ame
rica to reinforce the army under M. de Rocham
beau. Part of these troops are already arrived
at Brest, to embark on board the flrips which are
to carry them to the place of their destination.
The Amphritite frigate arrived a few days ago
in Brett Road, with an English privateer of eight
guns. The number of the enemy's privateers
taken by us during the war, is so considerable,
that that part of the English force 1^ beep Urik
ingly attested by it, ns appears by the few of
that nation now cruizing. The frigate l'Agle of
St. Maloes, has taken three English ihips belong
ing to the Quebec fleet; and it is very remarka
ble that one, of them is named the Admiral Rod
ney, and another the General Vaughan."
We hear Government have received certain
advice of ten ftorefhips having failed from Brett,
bound to Rhode-Ifland, under convoy of a 64 gun
flrip, and a 50, armed' en flute, with eloathing on
board for the American army, and that they em
braced the opportunity of failing during the time
that the combined fleets were offScilly.
By the fame line of information, we learn, that
the combined fleets were never to the N. E. of
Ufhant, except feme of their frigates, and none
of them ' were to the northward of the Land's
End. The report of their having ten thousand
troops on board, is falfe. The island 2d battali
ons of a new railed regiment, were the only sol
diers on board, distributed asmarines, the great
„eft part of whom are dead.
A scheme is said to be in agitation at Peterf
burgh, into which, if the Empress is able to bring
the Emperor of Germany, there is no doubt of
its immediate success; the Kings of Pruffia,Swe
den, and Denmark, having acceded to it. It is
to declare the Continent of North and South A
meriea, independent of any European fovereign
tv ; and if Great- Britain and the house Bourbon
(but chiefly the latter) do not agree to it, to at
tack, and oblige them to comply, with all the
forces of this grand alliance. A free trade for
all the world with the new States of America,to
be the end and basis of the whole plan! The Eng
lish, French, and Dutch, would, be the great
gainers by such a resolution. Upon peace being
eftablifhed,England must carry away from every
rival the trade of North-America, which is at
present supported more by her manufa&ures
than those ofany other country. Lord North
I received your's, and be assured, when we fee
each other next, we will fettle accounts to each
other's fatisfadion. lam sorry for your misfor
tune, but I hope you'll get the better of it.
Your's, Ac, F.
r From Rivington's Royal Gazette.]
N E W-Y O R K, December 8.
Yesterday arrived here the Greyhound Packet,
Capt, Dunn, in 45 days from Falmouth, by
whom we have the following advices.
From the London Gazette Extraordinary, Odd 15.
Admiralty-Office, O&. 15, 1781.
CAPTAIN Dunean, of his Majesty's frigate
Medea, arrived at this office, late on Satur
day night, with dispatches from Rear-Admiral
Graves, Commander in Chief of his Majesty's
forces in North-America, to Mr. Stephens,
of which the following are extracts.
London, at Sandy-Hook, Aug. 13, 1781.
THE 28th Sir Samuel Hood arrived off the
Hook with 14 fail of the line, 4 frigates, 1 sloop,
and a fire-lhip, from the Weft-Indies : Thefame
-evening intelligence was brought, that Mons. de
Marras had foiled % Saturday before, with his
and the Chancellor, it is said, are decidedly of
opinion, that we ought immediately to embrace
this fyfteni, and openly declare our readiness to
acquiefee in it, which would turn nearly all Eu
rope against the house of Bourbon. His Majes
ty has no objection, provided France is made to
lose, as well as Spain, and that her sugar Islands
be placed also in the fame situation.
Letters were received this morning from Com
modore Stewart's fleet, consisting of nine ships
of the line, and eight frigates, now cruizing off
the Texel, in hopes of meeting with the Dutch
fleet, which,it is said, consisted of thirteen fail,
so that should they meet, we may expert some
capital news from that quarter.
The profefled mediation from the Northern
States between us and Holland, together with the
separate negociation between us and Spain, both
of which we have authority to fay are agitated at
present, will at lead furnifh the Ministers, during
the fiery ordeal of the approaching sessions, with
new arguments to Profecute'the American war.
_ A man of the name of T. Teige, who was con
vi&ed of cow stealing last assizes, at Dublin,
and ordered for execution in a short day after,
wrote the following letter to a friend of his in
the town of Athlone.
Dearly Farly,
As I am to die on Thursday next, please to
fend me the four guineas I lent you, in order to
have myfelf interred decently, &c.
When he received the following answer some
few hours before his execution:
whole squadron. As Sir Samuel Hood had
brought intelligence from the Weft.lndies, that
all the French fleet from the Cape were failed,
I immediately determined to proceed to the
Southward, in hopes to intercept the one, or
both, if polhble.
London, at Sea, Sept. 14, 1781.
I Beg ynu will be pleated to acquaint my
Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, that the
moment the wind served to carry the ships over
the bar, which was buoyed for the purpose, the
squadron came out, and Sir Samuel Hood get
ting under fail at the fame time, the fleet pro
ceeded together, on the 31st of August to the
Southward.
The cruizers which I had placed before the
Delaware, could give me nocertain information,
and the cruizers off the Chesapeake had not join--
ed; the winds being rather favourable, we ap
proached the Chesapeake the morning of the sth
of September, when the advanced ship made the
signal of a fleet: We soon difeovered a number
of great ships at anchor, which seemed to be ex
tended across the entrance of the Chesapeake,
from Cape Henry to the Middle-Ground, they
had a frigate cruizing off the Cape, which flood
in and joined them, and as we approached, the
whole fleet got under fail, and stretched out to
fea,with the wind at N. N. E. As we drew
nearer, I formed the line firft a-head, and then
in such a manner as to bring his Majesty's fleet
nearly parallel to the line of approach of the
enemy, and when I found that our van was ad
vanced as far as the shoal of the middle ground
would admit of, I wore the fleet and brought
them upon the fame tack with the enemy, and
nearly parallel to them, though we were by no
means extended with their rear. So soon as I
judged that our van would be able to operate, I
made the signal to bear away and approach, and
soon after, to engage the enemy close.
Somewhat after fourthe action began amongst
the headmoil pretty close, and soon became ge
neral, as far as the second ship from the center
towards the rear. The van of the enemy bore
away to enable their center to support them, or
they would have been cut up. The action did
not entirely cease till a little after sun-set, though
at a considerable distance, for the center of the
enemy continued to bear up as it advanced, and
at that moment seemed to have little more in
view than to shelter their own van as it went
away before the wind.
His Majesty's fleet consisted of nineteen fail of
the line ; that of the French formed twenty-four
fail of the line. After night I sent the frigates
to the van and rear, to push forward the line and
keep it extended with the enemy, with a full in
tention to renew the engagement in the morn
ing ; butwhen the frigate Fortune returnedfrom
the van, I was informed that several flrips had
fuffered so much, they were in no condition to
renew the a&ion until they had secured their
masts ; we however kept well extended with the
enemy all night.
We continued all day the 6th, in fight of each
other, repairing our damages. Rear-Admiral
Drake fhifted his flag into the Alcide, until the
Princeffa had got up another main-top-mast
The Shrewsbury, whose Captain loft a leg, and
had the firft Lieutenant killed, was obliged to
reef both top-mafls, drifted her top-fail-yard,and
had sustained very great damage, I ordered Capt.
Colpoys, of the Orpheus, to take command of
her, and put her into a state for action.
Thelntrepid had both top-fail-yards (hot down,
her top-mast in great danger of falling, and her
lower masts and yards very much damaged, her
Captain having behaved with the greatest gal
lantry to cover the Shrewfbury. The Monta
gue was in great danger of losing her malls:
'l'he Terrible so leaky as to keep all her pumps
going ; and the Ajax also very leaky.
In the present date of the fleet, and being five
fail of the line less than the enemy, and they
having advanced very much in the wind upon
us during the day, I determined to tack after
eight, to prevent being drawn too far from the
Chefapeak, and to stand to the northward.
Enclosed is the line of battle, with the num
bers killed and wounded in the different ships.
The ships in general did their duty well, and
the officers and people exerted themselves ex
ceedingly
On the Bth it came to blow pretty frefh, and,
in standing against a head sea, the Terrible made
the signal of distress ; I immediately sent the
Fortune and Orpheus frigates te attend upon
her.