Virginia Argus. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1796-1816, 1814-05-18
sDOMESTIC.s
Official.

SIR, 54 .s 80 d '5'-'"-
have the honorto inform YOU that we
have this morning captured, after an action
OF forty-two minutes, his Majesty brig e.
pe,v'er, rating aud mountk < - thirty two
Pound carronades. with l2s men, Of whom
Swere killed and fifteen wounded (accor-.
ding to the best information we could obtain.l
Among the latter is her first Lieutenant.
WHO has lost an arm and received a
severe splinter wound on the hip. Not q
man N The Peacock was killed. and only 3
wounded. re'shsr dangerously so. The fate
OF the f.ferv,er would haze been. determir.
ed IN nuaE less tine. but Cor the circum.
stance otnHr fore Yard beial, totally di,a-.
bed by two round shoe in the starbos
quarter from her FIRST broadsidc, which e..
trsiy deprived us Of the use Of our fore anI
fote-toP saiis, and Com ,elled Us to keep the
siup large throughout the remaiuder OF
the action. ~ y
This. with few top-mast and top-gal.
liant cack stays cut away, few shot thros
our sails, is the only injury the Peacock
mas sustained. Not,a round shot touched Dur
null; our masss and spars are as sorad d
ever. When the enemy struck, he had
hye feet water in bis hold, his main-top-
mast was over the side. his main.boous
snol away, his fore>mast cut nearly in two
and lettering, his fore rigging and stays shot
away, nus bowsprit badly wounded. and IS
snot holes IN his hull. twenty of which were
withii a foot of his water line. By great
exertioo we got her in sailing order list as.
the dark came on.
In fifteen minutes after the enemy struck
the Peacock was ready for another action.
IN every respect but her tore-yard, which
was sent down, fshed & had the fore-sail set
again IN As minutes such was the spirit
aud activity OF our gallant crew. The Eper-
Vier mad under her convoy an English her.
maphroslite brig, a Russian and Spanish
ship, which all hauled their wind and stood
to the E. N. E. Ihad determined mon
pursuing the former, but found that Il
would not answer to leave our prize in her,
hcn crippled state, and the more particu-
iary so, as VIC found she had in
Sl2C,o00 in specie, which we soon transfer
red 70 this sloop. Every officer, seaman and
marine did his duty, which is the highest
compliment can pay them.
am, respectfully,
L. WARRINGTON.
p. S. From Licutenanr N,cholson's renort.
VIII" was Counting up the Epervier's crew
there were eleven killed and fifteen weun.
ded.
L. w.
Savannah, May 4th 1914.
l have great satisfaction in being able
to report TO you the arrival of the Peacock
at this anchorage t',-day, and also the arri-
val OF the E,pcrvier on Monday last. have
now to detail 10 you the reason of our sepa-
ration. We made sail, as mentioned in my
last, on the evening Of the 29,h April. The
next afternoon we were, at half past FIVE, a-
breast the centre of Amelia Island, with the,
vessels IN sight over the land, when large
snips, which had been seen sometime pre-
vions, little to the northward of the Is
land, were clearly ascertained to be frgates
and in chace of us. In this situation, at the
suggestion of Lieut.. Nicolson, took out all
but himself and sixteen officers and men &c
stood to the southwark along shore, on a
wind. leaving him to make the best of his
way for St. Mary S, which place felt conf
dent he won!d reach, as the weather frigate
was In chase of the Peacock, and the other
Was too far tn Ieeward 30 fetch him-at nine
we lost sight Of the chaser, but continued
standing all night to the southwark in hopes
to get entirely clear of him-At day light
we shortened sail and stood to the north.
ward and again made the frigate ahead,
who gave chace second time, which he
Continued until Pm. when finding he could
not come up he desisted-In the evening we
resumed our course, and saw nothing until
day light on Tuesday morning, when large
ship supposed to be the same was again
seen to be in chase of us, and vas again run
out of sight. ~
This morning. at halfpast three, we made
Tybee light. and at half past eight anchored
near the U. S. ship Adams. AS the enemy
Is lowering close to ST. Mary's, I concluded
that he had received information of. &c was
waititg to intercept us Accordingly we
steered for this place, where we received in.
telligence of the Epervier's arrival, after
frightening off a launch which was sent from
the enemy's ship to ieeward on Saturday e.
vening to cut him of from the land
From the 18th April to the 24th we saw
but one neutral and two priyateers, both
which we chased without ovefhauliny. al.
though we ran one among the shoals of
Cape Canaveral and followed him into four
fathoms water. We have been to the south h.
ward as far as the Great Isaacs, and have
cruzed from thence to Maranila reef. and
along the Florida shore to Cape Canaveral
not single running vessel has been through
the Gulph in all this time.
The fieet sails from jamaica under con-
yoy of ~, two frigaies and two sIoeus
from the 1st TO the 10th May.
They are so much afraid Of our cruizers
that several ships in the Havana ready
for sea. which intended to run II as Il Is
Cahed were forced to wait the arrival of
the convoy from Jamaica.
Inc Epervier, and her CONVOY, were the.
hrst English vessels we had seen.
we snail proceed in the execution of your
has ...s ...a.