The Sun.
London, England, 1812-10-21 00:00:00

AMERICAN PArERO.

COPIES Off; LE TIERS: •
ERCErirED AT THE NAVY DEIWUMENT
THIN PORTER, OF THE UNITED STATEO FRIGATE
ESSEX, OF 32 GUTS.

At Set 5 August 17, 181.

have .the honour to-infornr7ouithat on
the 13th, his Britannic. Majesty's sloOp of war
Alert, Captain T. L. P. Laugharne, ran down on
our weather quarter, gave three cheers, and com-
menced an action: (if so trifling a skirmish de-
serves the name), and- after eight minutes firing
struck 'her colours, with seven feet water iii her
hOld, :much 'cut to " pieces, and three men
wounded. - •

I need not inform you that the officers and crew
of the Essex behaved as. I trust all Americans will
in such cases, and it is only to be regretted, that
so much 'zeal and activity Could not have been
displayed on an occasion that would haVe done them
inore honour. The• Essex has not received the
slightest injury.
The Alert was out for the purpose Of taking
the Hornet.

I have' the honour to be wish greit respect,
your obedientservant;
(Signed)
Hon Paul Hamilton, Secretary, of the
Navy, Washington.
•

D. PORTER.

At Sea, August 20.
Sta,—Finding myself much 'emharrassed by the
Alert, from the great number of pi isoners wehave
already made, (about 500) I concluded that, be-
fore our arrival in America, the number would be
considerably augmented, and as I found- my,
provisions and water getting -short, and be-.
ing - well satisfied that a plan had been ; or-
ganized
.by' them for rising on the ship, in the
event Of an.engagernent, 1 considered it to :be
the interest of my country to get clear of ffem
as speedily as possible, particularly as I was well
assured that, immediately on their arrival in St.
John's, an equal number of my countrymenwould
be released, and find a sure and immediate Con-
veyance. 1 therefore drew up written stipula-
tions corresponding with the accompanying let-
ters ; threw all the.guns of the Alert overboard ;
withdrew from her. all the men belonging to the
Essex ; appointed Lieut. J. P. Wilmer to'com-
inand her as a cartel, put all my prisoners on
board her, and dispatched her for St. John's, in
Newfouudland,with orders to proceed from thence
to New York with such Americans as he may re-
receive in exchange.
At a more suitable 'opportunity I shall do my-
self the honour to lay before you copies of every
paper relative th this transaction, and sincerely
hope that my conduct in this affair may meet with
your approbation..
As the Essex has been so annoying about Ber-
inuda, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, I expect I
shall hare to run the gauntlet through their, cruiz-
ers ; you may, however, rest assured that all a; ship.
of her size can do shall be done, and whatever
may be our fate, our country shall never blush
fox us.

non: Paul Timinilt:on, Secre`.•^_ry of the -
Nit\ y, Wasllin4zz,o.

D. PORTER.

{The follOwiug are the pit.pers accompanying
the preceding : viz. my t vo letters to Captain
Litigharne,- with vcrial and written,
to the first: a copy of gi ;en to Lieu-
tenant Wilmer, and a copy of Captain .;.,aurliarne's
certificate; certifying the number of prisoners put
on board the. cartel. Alert.]

A•lgnst 43, 16-12.

arrangerr.cp,t saggested itself to
yne, which, in my opior-., is calculated to ad:
vance the interest of the -United States, as well
as that of his Britannic_ Majesty, and if acceded
to by you,, shell immediately be put in execu-
tion : shoidd vou, object to the terms, they will
not after this he repeated, and the treatment usual
to prisoners of war, will in future be observed to-
wards your crew.
Art. 1. The Alert to:be deprived of all her ar-
mament, and to proceed, under charge of an
Officer of this ship, as a cartel, to such British
port as you may deem most advisable, and to take
your officers and crew, together with the British
Captains and mates of merchant vessels; with
their crews, now prisoners on board this ship.
Art. 2d. The Officers t 6 go. on parole of honour,
not to serve against the United:States of America,
during the existing war, until regularly exchang-
ed. The and mates of merchant vessels,
and their crews, as well as the petty officers, sea-
men, marines, landmen, and boys composing your
crew, to be exchanged immediately on their arrival
in a British port, for an equal number of equal
grades of American. prisoners, and are not to serve
against the United States until the exchange takes
place.
Art. 3d. The swords of the officers to be re-
turned to them. _ _ _

Art. 4th.- You to remain as. a pledge for the
faithful fulfilment of the foregoing articles.

I -have the hOhOtir, le.
(Signed) D. PORTER.
•
Capt. T. L. P. Laugharne, late Commander of
. Xi. B, M. sloop of war Alert—Present. .
After delivering the preceding letter to Captain
Laugbarne, he verbally informed me, "That his
officers preferred remaining with him and sharing
bislate and as he was confident that some of his
ship.,'s company were much prejudiced against him.,
he did not wish them to go to Newtbendland,
until he could be present to appear in his own jus-
.tification, before they could' have an opportunity
of injuring his honour and reputation as an officer,'
both of which he held as inestimable, and as, a
Court Martial could not take place in hiS absence."
lie then wrote me the-following letter. •

August, 18, 1811:

SIR,-1 have the honour to acknowledge the
, -receipt of your letter of this day's date, offering an
arrangement for the officers and crew of his Ma-
jesty's late sloop Alert.
;In answer thereto I beg to inform you, I ac-
cept and agree to the first-, second, .and.third ar-
tiCies; but permit me to mention my objection to
the last,, as it seems by your requiring one to re-
main as an hostage for the performance of the
pre-
ceding ones, to cast (though Lain willing to ber
. lieve unintentionally) an indirect suspicion on the
faith of the British :Government; s 9 universally
'known for it fulfilment of every compact entered
7;into by its public servants.

tiotit pie to acc&iipany In' st:ip~
CoMpany ar.;l. officers; I will pledge to you mine
honour to see the articles of our -release fully com-
plied with on oath arrival in a British pbrt.
Should you object to this; my otficCrs prefer re-
inaining with me till we are regularly exchanged.

I have the honour, &c. '
(Signed) T. L. P. LAUGHARNE,.
Late Commander of his Majesty's slpop Alert,
Cart. D. Pnrter, Z.S. frigate E,sex.

August 18th, 1 12.

reply to fine paragraph in your letter
in answer,to the' terms offered by me, I shall ob-
serve, that having on two' former in§tancei per-
mitted. cartels to proceed to British ports, without.
reserving hostages, I have sufficiently evinced that
I entertained the highest confidence in the honour
and faith of the• British Government, as respects
the fulfilment of compacts entered into by their
officers nor should I have proposed •the laSt arti-
cle in this instance, were it not that I felt a ne-
cessity for holding some pledge as a justification
of%fmy conduct to my own Government for the
unlimited confidence l'have reposed ; for the rea-
sons, however, 'that you have stated, I am willing
to yield, that condition ;—and you may consider
yourself at liberty to proceed with your•officers
and crew, and on the same terms. .
I have the.hononr, &c.
(Signed) B. PORTER.
Captain T. P. Langhorne, late Com-,
mander of his British Majesty's sloop
. of war Alert—Present.

[Here follow copics of the agreement, pass-
ports, &c. and a list of the prisoners.]

At Sea, September Ist, 1812.

SIR,—On the afternoon of- the 30th August,
in latitude- 3G. N. longitude 62. W. discovered
.one o. the enerny'.; frigates standingtowiirds us
• under a press of apparently with an intention
•Of speaking us. Stood for hint under easy sail,
with the ship prepared 'for action—apprehensive
that he might not find us in the night, I hoisted
a light. At nine, he made a signf;l, consisting of
two flashes and one blue light, apparently about
four miles distance from us. I continued to stand
On for the. paint where they t't.!: seen•tintil mid-
night, when, not, getting sight of the enemy, I
concluded that it would be best to heave-to for
him until dayli,;hl:, presuming that he had .done
the same, or that, he would at least have kept
in our neighbourhood ; but to my great surprise,
and the rnmtiLicatiou of my ofilcers and , crew,
(whose zeal -oh every occasion excites adinire.-
tion), we discovered in the morning that the bird
had flown ! From the latitude and longitude in
which we saw this vessel, and from -her fleetness-,
which enabled her to disappear so soon, I think it
not unlikely that it was the Acasta, of 30 gains
and 350 men, sent out with so much parade; ac-
companied by the Ringdove,•of 22 guns, to cruise
for the Essex ! Perhaps, however, she went to
seek ber consort.

I have the honour to be, with great respect,
Your obedient servant,
D. PORTER.

Hen. Patti Hamilton, Sec.retary of the Navy

At Sea, September 52,1312..

SIR,—On the 4th instant; off the tail of St.
George's Bank, I discovered two ships of war to
;he southward, and a brig to the northward ; the
brio- in chase of an American merchant ship, and
I have not the sli.ghtest doubt of their being ene-
inies,--gave chase to the brig, which attempted to
get past us to join the rest of the squadron ; this
7.v!fi prevented, and compelled her-to stand to the
north ,ward ;. continued in chase until We got
abreast the American ship, when we gave over
chase, as the wind' was getting light, and the brig
was leaving us with her sweeps out. , On shewing
our colours to, the American merchant ship, -se7.
veral signal guns were tired by the ships to the
southward, which made all sail in.chase of us. At
four P.M. they had gained our wake, and had
conic up with us very fast. Calculat'ng on mak-
ing my escape by some! manoeuvre in the course
of the night, I hoisted American colours, and
fired a gun to the windward : the shipS still con 7
tinning togain On'us, and the largest being con-
siderably to thewindward of the other, and about.
five miles -astern us, bearing S. by W. I deter
mined to heave about as soon as it. krew dark, and
in the event of our not being able to pass him, to
fire a broadside into him, and lay hint On board.
With this view, made eveey arrangement and pre-
paration, the crew in'higli.spirits, and gave three
cheers when the plan was proposed to them. At
twenty minutes after seven, hove about, and stood
S. E. by_ S. (the wind heading us off the moment
we hove in. stays) until thirty minutes after eight,
when we bore away W. without seeing any
thing More of theta, which seems the more extra-
ordinary, as a pistol was fired by accident on
board this slop at the moment when she must
have been at • our shortest dista...ce from • them.
Finding myself thus cut oil' from New York and
Rhode Island,. I made the Vest of may way for the
• Wlaware. •

Considering this escape as a very extraordinary
one, I have the honour to enclose you a sketck of
the position of the ships at three different periods,
which. you will perceive at once the plan of
eifecting it,
I have the honour to be, with great respect,
Your obedient servant,
D. IORTER.
Hon. Paul Hamilton, Secretary of the Navy.

Month of the Delaware, Sept. 7, ISI2.
pursuance of your orders of the 24th
June, I sailed from Sandy hook on the 3d July,
shaping my course to the southward ; in the lat.
of 30:52. N. long. 66. 16. W. I captured the brig
Lamprey, 21 days from Jamaica ; bylier I received
certain intelligence that at the time of her depar-
ture the Thetis frigate, with specie and a largc
convoy. for England, was to sail on or ablaut the
26th June, and that several running ships were
also-on the point of departure.. I consequently
made every. exertion to .get 'off St. Augustine in
time to fall in with them, but without • effect, as
fresh gales prevailed from the south west, and in-
creased Until the 19th July, when we were com-
pelled to scud. I succeeded ii getting within a
few miles as far south as St. Augustine, but was
baffled in every attempt.to
,get to the westward;
as th-el,:galeS continued to increase, and as there
was no possibility of getting there in time to meet
the- convoy, I concluded it best to -endeavour to

intercept it on -the banks Of eWfoundlandi to
which place I proceeded, taking lialifap in my
wny, and although I have be.en disappointed inoray
efpeaations, I hope that the facts above stated,
and the services rendered by the Essex, may be
•r.oasidered a sufficient apology for departing from
the letter of your instructions. •
It is tititch to. be regretted that I had' not with
tikea.sloop of war at the time I fell' in the
convoy of-the Minerva, .(as well as on other im-
portant. occasions), that the ships of the convoy
might he.kept in play _whilel engaged -tbe,frigate.
Had this been the case, instead of taking only
200_praers, including the transports crew, I
have pot a doubt that we should bate made pri
sonevs Of the whole of the troops,; as well as the
frigates:and transports' crews, which. vould have
exceeded 2000:nien-.

I arrived here this yawning, and shall .proceed
as high up as Chester, &c.

i have the honavr to he,
.• With great respect, &c.
D. PORTER.

lion. Paul Hamilton, &c.

FROM TUE NATIONAL I,NTELLIGENCER
WASHINGTON, .Sitar. 8.

"United States Frigate Constitution, of Boston, Aug. 311

. " have the honour to inform you, that
On the 19th instant, at two p. m.• being in lat.
41. 42. and long. 55. 4S. 'with the -Constitution
under mTcommand,,a said was -discovered from
.the mast-head,:hearing ..,by S. or.E. S. E. but at
such a distanee• we could .not tell what she was.
Alt said was 'instantly made in chase, and soon
found we came tip with' her: At three` p. m. could
Mainly see that she was 'a -ship on the starboard
tack,' under an easy sail,! close on a wind ; at
halt past three p. at. Made her out to be a -fri-
gate : continued the chase until we were within
about three miles, when.' ordered the light sails
to
,he taken in, the courses furled up; and the
ship cleared for action. -At this tine the 'chase
had backed his Maintop-sail, whiting for us to
come down. As soon as the Constitution was
ready for action, I bore down with an intention
to bring him to close action immediately ; but on
our coining within gun-shot,,she gave us -a broad -
side, and filled away and wore, giving us a broad-
side on the other tack, but ivithbitt effect, her
shot falling short. She continued. wearing .and
manantvring for about three-quarters of an hour,
to,get- a. raking :position ; but finding she -could
not, she bore up, and run under her top-sails and
jib, with the wind on the quarter. immediately
made sail to bring the ship up with her, and five
minutes before six p. m. being alongside; within
-half-pistol-shot, we commenced a heavy fire from
all our guns, doutileshotted with round and
grape; and so well directed were they, 'and so
wariniFkept up, that in 15 minutes his wizen-
, mast went by the board, and his retain-yard in
the slings, and the hull, rigging, and sails, very
much- torn to pieces.' The fire was kept up
with equal warmth tor 15 minutes longer, when
his mainmast and foremast . went, taking with
them every spar; excepting the; bowsprit. •On
seeing this, we ceased firing.; so that in 39 mi-
nutes after we got fairly alongside of the enemy,
she 'surrendered, and had niit a spar st:inding.
and her :above and" below Water so shatter-
ed, that a few more broadsides must have carried,
her down.'

After informing you that so fine a ship as the
Guerriete, commanded ban able and experienced
Officer," had been totally dismasted, and other-
wise cut to pieces so as to make her not worth
towing into port, in the short Space of 50 mi;Jites',
you can have no doubt of the gallantry and good
conduct the officers and ship's company I have
the honour to command. It only remains, there-
fore, for me to assure.vou, they all fought
with great bravery; -and it gives me,great plea-
sure to say, that. from the'snrallest boy in the ship
to the oldest seaman; nut a look of fear .Vias seen.
They all went into action giving three cheers, and
requesting-to be laid close alongside the enemy.
" Inclosed have the honour to sent[you a list

of killed and wounded on board the Constitution,

and a report of the damages she has sustained;
also a list of killed and wounded on board the
enemy, With his quarter bill, &c.
" ISAAC lILTLL:'
" To the Hon. Paul Hamilton, Esq."

PHILADELPHIA.-The. following; aescription of
the state of that city, brought on by the \val., and
a want of foreign commerce, is front. tile True
American . •

Between 300 and .400 houSes empty, more
closing ; nearly one-halt are -the most valuable
property in the city, stands for business*, which
formerly'commanded extravagant rent, now re-
duced already one-third, and May ere long be re-
duced onehalf in price.
Merchant vessels of eV'ery description, more
especially of eXtensive burthens, moored economi-
eally_ in the 'Borough of Kensington and the
Navy-yard, to'save tae expence of wharfage : fo-
reign, goods Jorinerly were in abundance; now
scarce ; the 'feu remaining on hand advanced to
'exorbitant prices, to Snell a degree as to prevent
the indigent altogether from purchase;
Shopkeepers, who once could scarce spare time
for their meals, now yawning and stretching their
tired inactive limbS, for N.Vant of more active em-
ployment ; and what more disagreeable, con-
templating on the (pecnniary, Of course) time to'
come.

If' national poverty be a national blessing, as
some antiquated philosophers believed, and some
modern philosophers appear to approximate with
a rapid stride, we shall have it to the fill.

* In high-street, at present, torty-two houses and stoles
are nuotcapie,l.----N. front from Iligh=street to Nlulherry--
street, upw4rll. of 41. dozeii.hotiSes and stores have been to let
more than-Line ..'e4r-74.011.EAT CHANGE ! llormerly it, was fa-
shionabk to'iiciliase. the stock of goods of a store-keeper,.
to procuro.tho ,1•00-.will-of' a stand for hnsiaess. ,

A poor Hibernian soldier having by some aCci-
dent received a ball in his back at the *battle of
Salamane*, was lamenting, to one of his compa-
nions that he should have been so unfortunate as
to be hit behind, as .his friends would imagine he
was running 'away. The other reconciled him to
his hard fate, however, by advising him to say,
he had got up in such a hurry that he put his coat on
the hind side before.