New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1854-12-02

- OF the names we're paobcy me' <a,,eb q. H., limo
!. would seem as ii research n .h, have eu,blel Mr..
Cooper to have attained sOr a Ts,roe Of certainty on
point 60 interesting ~. HSlreth. an old friend of
the 'oh niouoie' - bad sS,.ss TO contemporaneous
letters uia," Sod other documents, has done fall
justice 10 ais act m Whippes life: On the 18th OF
June TIP, the packet Hannah, plying between
L evidence and Nev-York, was chased by the
armed British vessel, the Gnspt, and was led by the
cunning Yanb ee to shoal place where His asjestys
bost stuck fast while the Hannah reached Providence
in safety The news of the chase caused great excite
ment. and large crowd was collected by beating the
drum. On sudden, man disguised as an Indian
appeared on the roof OF house near by, and gave
notice Of secret expedition that blight, aad invited
all stout hearts TO assemble at the wharf az clock
that evening, disguised like himself. There i not
doubt that this man was Abraham Whipple That
NIGHT sixty men obey the call and went out IN eight
boats 20 take an armed schooner. There was but
one nusket among the whole OF them. lhey were
hsiled nv sentinel on the deck OF the schooner. who
den anded, "Who commands those boats whip
ple replied, The Sheriff OF the County OF Kent, and
=" come TO arrest Capt. Buddinston.' The boats
wee well provided with stones Of convenient sile
for being thrown, eud NOW they were brought INTO
use bov on oil of the boats, without orders, lred
the mu,ket and wounded the captain in the thigh AM
the men then poured in broadside OF stones, which
20 cleared the deck that Wbipple and his men were
able 10 spring on board. They secured the ere" aud
fred the vessel taking their prisoners to the shore
A ROYAL proclamation offered one hundred pounds
steriog for The discovery of any one of those con-
c, rntd in this act and atcrward thousand pounds
r oolio "a thp ol
County, but no evidence was ever obtained sufi-
" ciopt TO arraign single individual, although
Commission OF Inquiry, under the great seal OF Eng
land. sat IN Newport from January 10 June during
" the year l773.'
In May 1910, the Legislssure OF Rhode Island
passed en- act renounciDg allegiance to the King OF
" Great Britain" Two days before the battle of
Bunker-Hin, the same Legislature purchased and
armed two sloops' and gave the larger Que of
twelve guns to the command OF Whipole. On the
18th OF June, 1875, Wh'pple, in this official com
mspd attacked British tenders, and by this act
" fred the first gun Of the Revolution on the water
Ths bold act was done under the guns OF the trgate
Rose commanded by Sir ia mes Wallace. Tbs gen
tIeman, meanwhile, had learned to whom the English
were indebted for the burning of the Gispe, and
wrote the following curt note: "You Abraham
" Wbipple on the 18th OF June, l772, burned His
" Mojes,ys vessel the Gaspe, and will hang you al
- the yard-arm JAMES WALLACE"
To this Wbipple replied with conmendable point;
"To Sir James Wallace-Sir: Always catch
" man before you hang him. ABRAHAM WHipPLE.
whippe received an appointment under Congress,
and did great execution among the trading vessels OF
The enemy. Ard there ia nothing more admirable in
the history OF the than the daring shown by these
little vessels in attacking armed vessels which seemed
in the con parison like elephants fighting with grass
hoppers One of the bodest exploits ever performed
by Whipple was in 177s, when he was ordered to ft
the isgte Providence for sea- TO carry important dis
patches TO our Minister in France. The great dill
cuiy was 70 get out to through the Gordon of the
enenys ships, which guarded every outlet; bat,
with picked crew, the bold mariner who knew every
char mel got gb-haviDg selected dark night for
the feat lie passed within half pistols shot OF the
frigate LARK Of 40 guns and poured broadsde into
her-doing great DAMAGE and then, flying ON, DO
passed by the Renown of 81 guns, by a rnse, de-
cetvipg the enemy, as he cried out With stcn.OriS
voice to his helmsman, "pass her on the Narrsgan-
sett side while in quiet tone he ordered the man
10 steer on the opposite side Under full sail he
passed on the side where the enemy did hot expect
him, and as he sped by poured in an effective broad
side. One of the balls passed under the pillow on
which the captain of the Renown was sleeping
The Providence was splendid ,aier and with such
a commander she made her way through the enomy
to the ocesn end reached the French port of Nantes
in twenty six days capturing, during the voyage,
merchant ship OF the enemy. On his return voyage
bis vessel was loaded A" with clothing arms and am
munition.' On his passage he had a narrow escape
from being captured by British msn-of-war, but
caI ed BY his fertile ingenuity
The gallant conduct OF Whippe called forth q com
pimeniary letter from Washington, in which be writes
to " Capt Abraham Whpple, Esq - Il am greatly
90 pleased with the gallant circumstance of your pas
" sage through the blocksded harbor, &C., sc. l
think Mr.. Cooper, in bis Naval History, does nj ven
mention this gallant circumstance"
At the capture Of Charleston in 1880, Whipple was
taken prisoner, and, with his companions, remained
such to the close of the war because the British
no other way preserve their commerce from these
bold operators on the sea. At Chester, Penn where
be was kept he hired house for the use of his sick
friends and in 1s6 petitioned Congress to refund his
e1peDses stating that in order to perform this act Of
humsnity he had been obliged to mortgage his little
ia m The farm is now gone, he says, and hay-
" lrg been sued out of possession, am turned out
" into the world at advanced age, feeble and vale
" tudinary with my wife And children, destitute Of
" house or a home that can call my own, OF have
the Of hiring This calamity has arisen from
"two causes viz: In France and Charleston ex-
" pended, in The service Of the United State, 800
" French guiness,' besides the stores for num-
Der of gentlemen sent by our Commissioners in
France to this country in Whipples vessel, Tor which
be received nothiDg.) "And secondly my having
served the United States from jane - l775, to De-
" cember, l'-2, without receiving iarthng Of wages
" or subsistence from them since December, l7iG.
" D. advances in France and Charleston amount in