Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1880-02-06


The cry of the officers commanding the
boats was, up and aboard, my lads;
| give the enemy no quarterP At the
same instant they opened terrific fire
with cannonades, sWivels. blunderbusses
and musketTy. They were CALAMITY met
by the crew of the privateer in their
black leather boarding caps strapped
with iron, with boarding-pikes, muskets,
battle-aXes, pistols, and cutlasses.
Makinga last desperate effort TO board,
the enemy gained the spritsail-yard and
bowsprit of the pTivateer, and were press
ing their way to her decks when tho
American sailors drove back the attack.
ing party with hOrrid slaughter. The
second lieutenant of the Armstrong. Mr.
Alexander o. Williams, was killed at this
/ moment, while calamity leading on his
forward division; and the third heuten-
ant, Mr. Robert johnson, also fell dan
gerOusly wounded. At the same instant,
Capt. Reid, who commanded the after
division, was engaged in beating off two
large launches, the men and officers of
which had succeeded in climbing up the
sides of the privateer. One of the latter,
the first lieutenant of the Plantagenet,
had engaged Capt. Reid in q hand-to-
hand fight with cutlasses, and once or
twice came near OverpOwering him.
Capt. Reid being left-handed, used his
right hand in firing pistols, which the
pOwder-bOys handed him, while he con-
tinued to fight with the British heuten-
ant with his left hand, disdaining to
shoot down his adversary. At last the
British lieutenant making feint brought
down a separate blow, which Capt. Reid
mad just time to break the force of, cut
ting the captain slightly across the head, !
and nearly severing his thumb and fore
finger. Before the EngIishman could
recover, Capt. Reid struck him down.
and he fell back cor, ,Jse into the boat. !
It was at this critical juncture that |
Capt, Reid perceived that the fire had |
'slaekened on the fore-castle. at once
ralying the whole of the after division, |
they rushed forward with shout, and |
opened fresh fire, while he ordered the |
forward division to heaVe cold shot into /
the boats and sink them, as these men |
were out Of cartridges. The enemy fell |
back to their boats and retreated, when |
Capt. Reid, bringing the Long Tom to |
bear upon them, fred the gun himself, |
(which few off the carriage, doing fear
ful destruction and ending in the total /
defeat of the British. Then it was that |
Capt Reid cried out, aNow is the time,
my boys, to cheer" and three enthusias-
tic cheers re-echoed over the bay from
shore to shore.
Many of the boats had been sunk.
Two large launches belonging to the fri
gate Rota lay along the privateer, with
two other boats literally loaded with
their own dead. In boat belonging to
the Plantaganet, all were killed save
four. In another boat which had con-
tanned fifty souls, but one solitary officer
escaped, and he was wounded. Four
boats hOated on shore full of dead bodies.
Some of the boats were left with but
single man, while others had but four or
five to row them. The termination was
nearly a total massacre.
This action lasted about forty minutes.
The English force, estimating forty
men to boat, was about five bun1red
and sixty men. The English themselves
acknowledged a loss in this attack of one
hundred and twenty killed and one
hundred wounded.
The loss of the Americans in this ac-
ton was but one killed and six wounded,
Capt. Reid then went on shore, and after
receiving the congratulations of the con-
sui, was informed that the governor had
written to Admiral Lloyd, demonstrating
against any further attack, but Lloyd
sent for answer that he was determined
on the capture of the privateer, and that
if the governor suffered the Americana
to injure her in any manner, lie should
consider the place an enemy's port, and
treat it accordingly. Returning on board
Capt. Reid gave up all hope of saving
his vessel, but determined TO defend her
to the last. He accordingly ordered the
dead and wounded to be taken on shore,
and prepared for the worst. At day.
light, on the morning of the 9th, the
Carnation was observed under weigh, and
stood close in for the privateer, when
she Immediately opened heavy fire
with all her force. The crew of the Arm
strong stood by their little bark, return
ing broadside for broadside with wonder
full effect. The maintopmast of the
Carnation soon fell by the board, and
she became so much cut up in her hull
and rigging, and with the loss of men,
that her guns became silenced, and she
was forced to retire.
Finding all other resistance fruitless,
Capt. Reid blew hole through the bot
tom of his vessel and scuttled her to
prevent the English from getting posses
sion of her, and then went on shore with
his gallant crew. The enemy soon board
ed the privateer, and set her on fire, and
thus ended the history of this noble
little craft.