Naval History of the American Revolution - Chapter VIII



CHAPTER VIII
FOREIGN RELATIONS, 1777

From the beginning of the Revolution the eyes of America and of France 
were directed towards one another across the sea. With instructions dated 
March 3, 1776, Silas Deane was sent to France, where he was to seek an 
audience of the Comte de Vergennes, the French Minister of Foreign 
Affairs, and attempt to obtain military supplies for the American army, to 
be paid for by Congress (Wharton, ii, 78.) In the very same month 
Vergennes reminded Louis XVI and his ministers of the advantages which 
France might derive from the quarrel between England and her colonies, and 
suggested the expediency of encouraging the Americans even to the extent 
of advancing secret loans of money and supplies. This advice on the part 
of Vergennes was prompted by the report of a secret agent who had been 
sent to America in 1775. A paper addressed to the King by Caron de 
Beaumarchais, an enthusiast in the American cause, also greatly influenced 
French policy at this time. While this policy was plainly dictated by 
antipathy towards England and fear of her growing power, it is 
nevertheless true that there was in France, more or less widespread, a 
warm sympathy with the cause of American freedom (Wharton, i, ch. iv; 
Narr. and Crit. Hist., vii, ch. i; Doniol's Participation de la France, i, 
chs. vii, viii; Hart's American Nation, ix, ch. xii.)

The aid advanced to the Continental Congress by the French government was 
sent through Beaumarchais, and to make the transactions still more secret 
a fictitious mercantile house, under the name of Hortalez and Company, was 
reputed to carry on the business. In the summer of 1776 Beaumarchais 
received from the French government a million francs and another million 
from Spain, to be employed in aid of the Americans. Ships were purchased 
or chartered for the transportation of military stores. Some of these 
vessels sailed directly for the United States and others to the West 
Indies, where their cargoes were discharged and exchanged for American 
produce, which was taken back to France. Martinique and St. Eustatius were 
the principal depots for this exchange in the West Indies. The chief 
staple in this traffic was tobacco, brought to the islands in Continental 
vessels which returned to the United States with the warlike supplies. A 
number of French officers also took passage in these ships, to volunteer 
in the American service. Some of the vessels were ready to sail in 
December, 1776, but were delayed by unforeseen obstacles. Of several ships 
that sailed early in 1777 the Amphitrite was perhaps the first and arrived 
at Portsmouth in April with a valuable cargo and several officers. Nearly 
all these vessels seem to have crossed the ocean safely, but one of the 
earlier ones was captured by the British on her return voyage. First and 
last, large amounts of clothing, artillery, including field pieces from 
the royal arsenals of France, and other stores of all kinds found their 
way to America through the medium of Hortalez and Company (Wharton, i, 
369, 370, 442, 454, ii, 148, 171, 262, 276, 328; Stevens's Facsimiles, 
152, 240, 263, 1445, 1552, 1559, 1752; London Chronicle, July 17, 1777; 
Channing, iii, 283, 284, 405-408.)

Silas Deane arrived in Paris in June, 1776, and was well received by 
Vergennes. He was the sole American agent in France until Arthur Lee came 
over from England in December, closely followed by Franklin, who arrived 
in the Reprisal from America. These three had been appointed by Congress 
commissioners for the supervision and advancement of American interests in 
Europe. They were instructed to purchase or hire eight line of battle 
ships of seventy-four and sixty-four guns; also a frigate and two cutters 
(Jour. Cont. Congr., October 3, 22, 1776; Wharton, ii, 176, 177.)

About the 1st of October, 1776, the letter of marque schooner Hawke, 
Captain John Lee, of Newburyport, arrived at Bilbao in Spain, having 
captured five English vessels which she sent back to America, keeping some 
of the prisoners. These persons entered a protest through the British 
consul at Bilbao. Captain Lee was accused of piracy and with his vessel 
and crew was detained in port. Deane having made application in his behalf 
to Vergennes, the French government interceded with Spain with the result 
that the Hawke was released. (Annual Register, xix (1776), 261; Wharton, 
ii, 174,175,195, 208, 379; Stevens, 587, 589, 590.) In November, 1776, a 
French vessel arrived at Alicante in Spain and reported having met, off 
the Rock of Lisbon, "a North American armed vessel which forcibly put on 
board of her 11 Sailors, part of crews belonging to two English vessels, 
which she had seized on 12th Nov. about 25 Leagues W. of said Rock. This 
Pirate is a sloop called the Union, belong[ing] to Cape Ann, of 10 
Carriage Guns, 8 Swivels & 40 Men. Comd. by Isaac Soams, she had capt. 3 
other ships, of which 2 sent to Cape Ann, another in ballast let go." 
(Brit. Adm. Rec., Consuls' Letters, No. 3837 (November 26, 1776.)

The commercial house of Joseph Gardoqui and Sons of Bilbao had long had 
business connections in the American colonies, and during the war the 
Revolutionists had a firm friend in Diego Gardoqui, the head of the house, 
who at the same time had influence with the Spanish court. His aid was 
apparent in obtaining loans from Spain and even more so in extending a 
helping hand to American ships of war and privateers cruising in European 
waters. He secured their friendly reception and the disposal of their 
prizes in Bilbao and other Spanish ports, generally with success during 
the earlier years of the war at least, in spite of the strenuous protests 
of the British ambassador at Madrid. His services were especially 
important and valuable at a time when the Americans most needed friends in 
Europe, that is, before the French alliance. No doubt he took an interest 
and, though keeping himself in the background, an active part in procuring 
the release of the privateer Hawke, detained at Bilbao (Wharton, i, 442, 
ii, 292, 308, 315, 405, 424, 533; Channing, iii, 283,284.)

The Reprisal, Captain Wickes, was the first vessel of the Continental navy 
to arrive in European waters, although probably several privateers besides 
the Hawke and Union had preceded her. The prizes taken by the Reprisal on 
the passage over and brought into Nantes were probably the first American 
captures sent into French ports. The Committee of Secret Correspondence 
had written to the American Commissioners in Paris: "We desire you to make 
immediate application to the court of France to grant the protection of 
their ports to American men-of-war and their prizes. Show them that 
British men-of-war, under sanction of an act of Parliament, are daily 
capturing American ships and cargoes; show them the resolves of Congress 
for making reprisals on British and West India property, and that our 
continental men-of-war and numerous private ships of war are most 
successfully employed in executing these resolutions of the Congress; show 
them the justice and equity of this proceeding and surely they can not, 
they will not refuse the protection of their ports to American ships of 
war, privateers and prizes." They were also, if possible, "to obtain leave 
to make sale of those prizes and their cargoes." If successful in these 
applications, they were to "appoint some person to act as judge of the 
admiralty, who should give the bond prescribed for those judges, to 
determine in all cases agreeable to the rules and regulations of 
Congress." (Wharton, ii, 179.)

The arrival at Nantes of these first American prizes brought forth from 
Lord Stormont, the British ambassador, a vehement protest. In an interview 
with Vergennes, December 17, 1776, Stormont said he expected that the 
Reprisal's prizes would "be immediately restored to their owners; . . . 
that it was a clear and indisputable Principle [of the law of nations] 
that no Prize can be a lawful one that is not made by a ship who has 
either a Commission or Lettre de Marque from some sovereign Power." 
Vergennes replied that France must be cautious about exposing her trade to 
the resentment of the Americans, but that treaties with England would be 
observed. The Treaty of Utrecht, concluded between France and England in 
1713, expressly closed the ports of either power to the enemies of the 
other. Stormont said that England might have to issue letters of marque, 
because it was "next to impossible for our Frigates alone to get the 
better of the numberless small American vessels with which the seas 
swarmed and which greatly distressed our Trade. [He] added that the 
Difficulty was considerably encreased by France and Spain receiving these 
Armateurs into their Ports, which was a step . . . never expected, as it 
was the General Interest of all civilized Nations to give no Refuge or 
Assistance to Pirates." (Stevens, 1392 (Stormont to Weymouth, December 18, 
1776.) On a later occasion Vergennes asked if such letters of marque would 
be authorized to search neutrals, as to which Stormont was without the 
information necessary for a definite answer. Vergennes was apprehensive of 
results that might follow to French Commerce, especially the shipment of 
supplies to America, from the inquisitorial zeal of British privateers. A 
number of British agents were employed in France to collect intelligence 
for their government, and through them Stormont was kept advised of much 
that was going on. The transactions of Hortalez and Company were known to 
him, and the connection of the French government with that establishment 
was doubtless surmised. The delay in shipping stores to America was 
chiefly due to the ambassador's protests and to efforts to elude his 
vigilance. In reply to his complaints, January 28, 1777, about the sailing 
of the Amphitrite and other French vessels for America, Vergennes 
professed complete ignorance and promised to bring the matter to the 
attention of the King and his Prime Minister, the Comte de Maurepas. Soon 
after this Maurepas declared to Stormont that, while he had heard that 
some French merchants were intending to send cloth to San Domingo which 
Americans might perhaps purchase there, he did not believe any military 
stores were being shipped. It was impossible, he said, to prevent private 
trade, but an inquiry into the alleged transactions had been ordered 
(Stevens, 1418, 1427 (Stormont to Weymouth, January 29, February 5, 1777); 
Proc. U. S. Naval Institute, xxxvii (September, 1911), 937, 938.)

As soon as she could refit, after her arrival in France, the Reprisal 
sailed on a cruise in the Bay of Biscay and returned to L'Orient in 
February. On the 14th, Wickes reported to the commissioners: "This will 
inform you of my safe arrival after a tolerable successful cruise, having 
captured 3 sail of Brigs, one snow and one ship. The Snow is a Falmouth 
Packet bound from thence to Lisbon. She is mounted with 16 guns and had 
near 50 men on board. She engaged near an hour before she struck. I had 
one man killed. My first Lieut. had his left arm shot off above the elbow 
and the Lieut. of Marines had a musquet ball lodged in his wrist. They had 
several men wounded, but none killed . . . Three of our prizes are arrived 
and I expect the other two in to-morrow." (Hale's Franklin in France, i, 
114.) In due time Stormont was informed of these proceedings and, February 
25, he called upon Vergennes, intending to demand "the Delivery of these 
Ships with their Crews, Cargoes, &c."; but the French minister said "that 
immediately upon the Receipt of this News, a Resolution was taken to order 
the American Ship and her Prizes instantly to put to Sea and that orders 
were given in Consequence," and added that these directions had probably 
already been carried out. Vergennes also said that instructions had been 
issued "not to suffer any American Vessel to cruise near the Coast of 
France." (Stevens, 14, 38 (Stormont to Weymouth, February 26, 1777.) On 
March 4, Stormont complained that the Reprisal was still at L'Orient and 
that two of the prizes had been sold. Vergennes doubted the sale of these 
vessels and declared that the Reprisal had been ordered to sail 
immediately, although Captain Wickes had asked to be allowed to make 
necessary repairs first (lbid., 1442 (March 5, 1777.) Two weeks later 
Stormont sent a memorandum to Vergennes setting forth that the orders of 
the French government had been disregarded, that the Reprisal was still at 
L'Orient, careened and undergoing repairs, and that all five of the prizes 
had been sold and must have been sold with the knowledge and consent of 
the French commissary at L'Orient. The immediate departure of the Reprisal 
and the restoration of the prizes, which had all been sold to Frenchmen, 
was demanded (lbid., 1483 (Stormont to Vergennes, March 18, 1777.) 
Vergennes admitted that if these prizes, sailing under French colors and 
manned by French crews, should fall in with British cruisers, they might 
rightfully be taken. "Property cannot be altered by such sales; you would 
restore us the sailors." (Stevens, 1484 (Stormont to Weymouth, March 19, 
1777.) Through M. de Sartine, the Minister of Marine, an investigation of 
the affair was made, but no satisfactory explanation of the condemnation 
and sale of the prizes could be furnished (lbid., 1536 (Sartine to 
Vergennes, May 22, 1777.) Meanwhile the American Commissioners had at the 
outset disclaimed responsibility. February 20 they wrote: "We have ordered 
no Prizes into the Ports of France, nor do we know of any that have 
entered for any other purpose than to provide themselves with necessaries, 
untill they could sail for America or some Port in Europe for a Market . . 
. The Reprisal had orders to cruise in the open Sea and by no means near 
the Coast of France." If she "has taken a Station offensive to the 
Commerce of France, it is without our Orders or Knowledge and we shall 
advise the Captain of his Error." They had been informed, they said, that 
the cruise had been on the coast of Spain and Portugal (lbid., 644.) In 
April they wrote to the Committee of Secret Correspondence of Congress 
that bringing the prizes "into France has given some trouble and 
uneasiness to the court and must not be too frequently practiced." 
(Wharton, ii, 287. See Wickes's letters in Hale, i, 115, 119, 120.)

An early move in the direction of American expansion and the acquisition 
of territory beyond the seas was taken by the commissioners in Paris when 
in January, 1777, the following warrant was issued by them to the Baron de 
Rullecourt: "We the undersigned Commissioners Plenipotentiary of the 
United States of North America do in their Name & by their Authority take 
you into the Service of the sd States as Chief of a Corps which you are to 
raise & Command agreeable to the Plan by you delivered, respecting the 
Islands of the Zaffarines, understood to be disowned & deserted." The 
Zaffarines were off the coast of Morocco. Rullecourt was authorized to 
fortify and defend the islands and to raise the American flag and fight 
under it. He and his officers were to be naturalized as American citizens. 
To defeat this scheme it was proposed to the British government to induce 
Morocco to seize the islands, when Spain would probably interfere and they 
would be occupied by one or the other power. Apparently the enterprise was 
soon abandoned (Stevens, 4 (warrant), 54, 144 (P. Wentworth to Earl of 
Suffolk, March, 3, 5, 1777), 651 (map.)

Among the seafaring men who found their way from America to Europe during 
the Revolution and entered the service of the commissioners was Samuel 
Nicholson, a brother of Captain James Nicholson. He received the 
commission of lieutenant in the Continental navy, and later that of 
captain. Nicholson was directed by Franklin, January 26, 1777, "to proceed 
to Boulogne and there purchase, on as good terms as possible, a cutter 
suitable for the purpose of being sent to America. . . . Should you miss 
of one at Boulogne, proceed to Calais and pursue the same directions. If 
you fail there, pass to Dover or Deal and employ a person there to make 
the purchase." (Wharton, ii, 254.) In pursuance of these instructions 
Nicholson got to England before meeting with success. Being in London he 
wrote to Captain Joseph Hynson, February 9, 1777: "I came to town 12 
OClock last Night, my Business are of such a nature wont bare puttg to 
Paper. Shall say nothing more, but expect to see you Immediately. I shall 
leave Town early the Morrow Morning, therefore begg You will not loose A 
Minutes time in Coming here, as I have business of Importance for you, wch 
must be transacted this Day." (Stevens, 9.) A week later Nicholson and 
Hynson were in Dover together and there evidently purchased a cutter, 
which was called the Dolphin and was to be used as a packet. February 17, 
Nicholson sailed her over to Calais. Hynson still remained in Dover, but 
went over to France a few days later, apparently in a sloop which sailed 
the 22d. Lord North was promptly advised by one of his agents of the 
presence in England of these two Americans. Hynson was a brother-in-law of 
Captain Wickes, and was employed by Silas Deane in the mercantile affairs 
of the commissioners. His zeal for the American cause was unquestioned, 
but all the while he was secretly in the service of the British 
government. Lieutenant-Colonel Smith, an Englishman, was intimate with 
Hynson and drew much information from him, which from time to time he 
forwarded to London. A number of agents were employed who watched the 
movements of Wickes, Nicholson, and other captains, as well as of the 
American Commissioners in Paris, and reported the doings of Hortalez and 
Company, the arrival of American vessels, and other items of news. The 
Massachusetts state cruisers Freedom and Massachusetts, which arrived in 
the spring of 1777, were kept under observation, but as they had sent 
their prizes back to America, they did not so much disturb the Englishmen 
in France (Stevens, 9.)

William Hodge, a Philadelphia merchant who had come to France by way of 
Martinique with dispatches from Congress, was employed by the 
commissioners in the purchase of vessels for the naval service. On this 
errand he proceeded to Dunkirk, where in April a lugger was bought which 
was called the Surprise (Wharton, ii, 162, 181, 261, 283, 287, 380. Deane 
says the Surprise was bought in Dover; Conyngham says in Dunkirk. An 
socount in Nav. Inst., xxxvii, 938, based on the archives at Dunkirk, 
differs slightly but not essentially from the above.) Meanwhile Gustavus 
Conyngham, an American mariner of Irish birth, who had been sent out from 
Philadelphia to procure military supplies, had come to Dunkirk from 
Holland, having also visited London. He seems to have been recommended to 
the commissioners by Hodge as a capable man to take command of the 
Surprise. They accordingly filled out for him one of the blank commissions 
they had received for that purpose, signed by the President of Congress 
and dated March 1, 1777. The Surprise was fitted out, armed with ten guns, 
and got to sea about the 1st of May. In a few days she returned to Dunkirk 
with two prizes, one of them an English mail packet from Harwich. The 
British ambassador saw Vergennes and Maurepas, May 8, and they were 
obliged to yield to his demands. The Surprise was seized, her captain and 
most of his crew were put in prison, and the prizes released. Conyngham's 
commission was sent to Versailles and was not returned to him; it was 
alleged that the French ministry endeavored to persuade the American 
Commissioners to repudiate this document. Apparently the French were 
willing in this way to sacrifice Conyngham's good name in aid of their 
policy, which was to avoid a rupture with England until the time was ripe 
for it. However, they refused to deliver him in person to his enemies. 
Stormont recorded with satisfaction: "The Success of my application with 
regard to the Dunkirk Pirate has been highly displeasing to Franklin and 
Deane. They made strong Remonstrances, but were given to understand that 
there are some things too glaring to be winked at." (Stevens, 1533 (to 
Weymouth, May 14, 1777.) Vergennes wrote to the Marquis de Noailles, the 
French ambassador at London, that Conyngham's prizes had been restored to 
the British, not "for love of them, but only to do homage to the 
principles of justice and equity"; and that gratitude on the part of 
England was not to be expected (Ibid., 1546 (June 7, 1777.)) It was not 
long before the American Commissioners procured an order for the release 
of Conyngham and his crew, but so far as concerned the latter it was not 
at once executed for fear that the crew would disperse, and they were 
needed to man a cutter which Hodge had purchased at Dunkirk. This vessel 
was named the Revenge and carried fourteen guns. Meanwhile Stormont 
continued to complain that both in France and in the French West Indies 
vessels were fitted out and manned with French sailors under American 
captains, given American commissions, and then cruised against British 
commerce. If boarded by a British man-of-war, the crews would all talk 
French and show French papers and nothing could be proved against them. 
Vergennes promised to have these abuses corrected, and Sartine, the 
Minister of Marine, issued orders to prevent the fltting-out of vessels 
with American commissions in the French West Indies. Vergennes thought 
Stormont showed want of consideration in keeping spies in French ports 
(lbid., 159, 245, 690, 1529, 1530, 1531, 1543, 1548, 1551, 1552, 1553, 
1555; Nav. Inst., xxxvii, 938-941; Almon, v, 143, 146,176; Williams, 200, 
201; Penn. Mag. Hist. and Biog., January, 1899; Outlook, January 3, 1903.)

The Continental brig Lexington, Captain Henry Johnson, sailed from 
Baltimore, February 27, 1777, and arrived in France early in April. 
Johnson had been captured the year before in the privateer Yankee and had 
escaped from a prison ship. Upon his return to America he had been given a 
Continental commission. The American Commissioners in Paris now planned to 
send the Reprisal, Lexington, and Dolphin on a cruise along the shores of 
the British Isles. George Lupton, one of the Englishmen in France engaged 
in watching the course of events, wrote May 13 to William Eden of the 
foreign office in London: "I have at last with some certainty discovered 
the intended voyage of Nicholson, Weakes & Johnson; they have all sail'd 
from Nantes and mean if possiable to intercept some of your transports 
with foreign troops, but in what place or latitude cannot say." (Stevens, 
158.) It is probable that the squadron did not sail quite as early as 
this. The orders for the cruise issued by Wickes, who was senior officer, 
to Johnson and Nicholson were dated May 23. The ships were not to separate 
"unless we should be Chased by a Vessel of Superior Force & it should be 
Necessary so to do for our own preservation." In such an event "you may 
continue your Cruize through the Irish Channel or to the North West of 
Ireland, as you may Judge Safest and best, untill you Arrive off the Isles 
Orkney and there Cruize 5 or 6 Days for the Fleet to Come up & join you. 
If they do not appear in that time You may make the best of your Way back 
for Bilboa or St Sebastian & there Refit as fast as possible for Another 
Cruize, informing the Honourable Commissioners of your Safe Arrival and 
the Success of your Cruize." Prizes were to be sent into Spanish or French 
ports, all the prisoners having been taken out. "The Prize Master must not 
Report or Enter her as Prize, but as An American Vessel from a port that 
will be most likely to gain Credit according to the Cargo she may have on 
board . . . Be Very Attentive to your Signals and if you should be taken, 
you must take Care to Distroy them . . . Take care to have all the 
Prisoners properly Secured, to prevent their Rising & taking your Vessel, 
& if you meet a Dutch, French, Dean, Sweed, or Spainish Vessel, when you 
have a Number of Prisoners on board, I think it would do well to put them 
on board any of those Vessels, giving as much provision and Water as will 
serve them into Port. If any of your prizes should be Chased or in danger, 
they may Run into the first or most Convenient Port they Can reach in 
France or Spain, prefering Bilboa, St Sebastians, L'Orient, or Nantz. . . .
If you take a prize that you think worth Sending to America, you may 
dispatch her for Some of the Northern Ports in the Massechusets States." 
(Pap. Cont. Congr., 41, 7, 145.)

The squadron cruised a month, and while they missed the linen ships which 
they had hoped to capture, several prizes were made in the Irish Sea, and 
the Dolphin took a Scotch armed brig after a half-hour's engagement. Upon 
his return to France Wickes wrote to the Commissioners from St. Malo, June 
28, informing them of his "safe arrival at this port yesterday, in company 
with Capt. Samuel Nicholson of the sloop Dolphin. We parted from Capt. 
Johnson the day before yesterday, a little to the east of Ushant. Now for 
the History of our late cruise. We sailed in company with Captains Johnson 
and Nicholson from St Nazaire May 28th, 1777. The 30th fell in with The 
Fudrion [Foudroyant, 84,] about 40 leagues to the west of Bellisle, who 
chased us, fired several guns at the Lexington, but we got clear of her 
very soon and pursued our course to the No West in order to proceed round 
into the North Sea." The squadron fell in with several French, Portuguese, 
and Dutch vessels, and on the 19th of June, off the north of Ireland, they 
took their first prizes - two brigs and two sloops. During the following 
week they cruised in the Irish Sea and made fourteen additional captures, 
comprising two ships, seven brigs, and five other vessels. Of these 
eighteen prizes eight were sent into port, three were released, and seven 
were sunk, three of them within sight of the enemy's ports. June 27 "at 6 
a. m. saw a large ship off Ushant; stood for her at 10 a.m. [and] 
discovered her to be a large ship of war standing for us; bore away and 
made sail from her. She chased us till 9 p. m. and continued firing at us 
from 4 till 6 at night; she was almost within musket shot and we escaped 
by heaving our guns overboard and lightening the ship. They pay very 
little regard to the laws of neutrality, as they chased me and fired as 
long as they dared stand in, for fear of running ashore." (Hale, i, 122.) 
One of the prizes, taken in the Irish Sea and released, had been sent into 
Whitehaven full of prisoners, including a hundred and ten seamen besides a 
number of women and children. During the exciting chase described by 
Wickes the Dolphin sprung her mast, but also got safely into St. Malo, and 
the Lexington into Morlaix. Lupton wrote to Eden, July 9: "These three 
fellows have three of the fastest Sailing Vessell in the employ of the 
Colonies and its impossiable to take them unless it Blows hard." (Stevens, 
179.) The squadron required refitting and the Reprisal a new battery 
(Hale, i, 120-124; Almon, v, 174,175; Wharton, ii, 379, 380; Boston 
Gazette, October 6, 1777; Stevens, 61, 154, 175, 178, 680, 703, 1437, 
1521, 1539.)

An earlier visit of American cruisers to the coast of Ireland was reported 
in a letter from Galway: "Two American privateers [the Rover and 
Montgomery], mounting 14 guns each and as many swivels, put in here to 
procure some fresh provisions and water. On being supplied with such 
necessaries as they wanted, for which they paid in dollars, they weighed 
anchor and sailed, after being in the bay Only 24 hours. During the short 
time the Captains were on shore they behaved with the greatest politeness 
. . . The crews that came on shore with them were dressed in blue uniforms 
with cockades and made a genteel appearance, but were all armed with 
pistols, &c. They had been out from Philadelphia ten weeks and had taken 
only four prizes, which they had sent to America." (Boston Gazette, June 
2, 1777; London Chronicle, March 29, 1777.) Another letter, from Kinsale, 
says: "Two fishing boats, who came in here yesterday, brought on shore the 
crew of a ship taken by an American privateer off Bristol Channel. The 
privateer made a signal to the fishing boats, which they thought signified 
their want of a pilot . . . and accordingly went on board them, having 
sent the vessel the day before for France. The privateers' people behaved 
very well to the fishermen, paid them for what fish they took, and the 
Captain gave them a cask of brandy for their trouble in coming on board. 
She was called the Resolution, mounted fourteen guns and had one hundred 
and ten men when she left New England, but at that time not above eighty, 
on account of the number they had put on board their prizes, having taken 
five already." (Almon, v, 174.)

The presence of American armed vessels in British waters caused 
apprehension among the English. In April, while Wickes's squadron was 
fitting out, Stormont had information, which he believed reliable, that 
eight or ten French ships under American commanders were preparing for 
descent upon Great Britain and that Glasgow was likely to be attacked 
(Stevens, 1519.) "It is true," says a contemporary chronicler, "that the 
coasts of Great Britain and Ireland were insulted by the American 
privateers in a manner which our hardiest enemies had never ventured in 
our most arduous contentions with foreigners. Thus were the inmost and 
most domestic recesses of our trade rendered insecure, and a convoy for 
the protection of the linen ships from Dublin and Newry was now for the 
first time seen. The Thames also presented the unusual and melancholy 
spectacle of numbers of foreign ships, particularly French, taking in 
cargoes of English commodities for various parts of Europe, the property 
of our own merchants, who were thus seduced to seek that protection, under 
the colours of other nations, which the British flag used to afford to all 
the world." (Annual Register, xxi (1778), 36.) Insurance rose very high, 
which of course was one inducement for English merchants to ship their 
goods in foreign bottoms. In July, 1777, the British Admiralty stationed 
four ships in the Irish Sea for the protection of the coasts of England 
and Ireland (Wharton, ii, 168, 254, 391; Williams, 209. For rates of in. 
surance, see Channing, iii, 389, note.)

The British ambassador in France was fully informed of the purchase and 
fitting-out of the Revenge at Dunkirk and made strenuous efforts to have 
the proceeding stopped. It was necessary, therefore, to use circumspection 
in managing the affair, and this Hodge did by making a fictitious sale of 
the vessel to an Englishman, who guaranteed that she would go to Norway on 
a trading voyage. Nevertheless Captain Conyngham and his crew of a hundred 
and six men, including sixty-six French, and, according to English report, 
"composed of all the most desperate fellows which could be procured in so 
blessed a port as Dunkirk," (Almon, v, 173.) were put on board. The 
Revenge then hastily put to sea, before she could be detained in port or 
stopped off the harbor by an English captain who had threatened to seize 
and burn her. Conyngham had been given a new commission, dated May 2, 
1777, and instructions "not to attack, but if attacked, at Liberty to 
retaliate in every manner in our power - Burn, Sink & destroy the Enemy." 
The Revenge sailed July 16, and the next day, the captain says, was 
"attackd, fired on, chased by several british frigatts, sloops of War & 
Cutters." (Penn. Mag. Hist. and Biog., January, 1899, Conyngham's 
narrative.) She escaped, however, and made a cruise in the North Sea, 
Irish Sea, and Atlantic, taking many prizes. One of these was recaptured 
by the British, who found on her a prize crew of twenty-one, including 
sixteen Frenchmen.

Conyngham landed on the coast of Ireland for water and sailed for the Bay 
of Biscay, putting into Ferrol. From here and from Coruna he cruised 
successfully the rest of the year, sending his prizes into Spanish ports 
(Penn. Mag., January, 1899; Outlook, January 3, 1903; Nav. Inst., xxxvii, 
941, 942; Stevens, 200, 274, 1556, 1560, 1569, 1575, 1582, 1589, 1593,
1594.)

The cruises of the Reprisal, Lexington and Dolphin, and of the Revenge, 
brought forth renewed protests from Stormont and more or less lame excuses 
and promises of increased vigilance from Vergennes. The latter reproached 
the American Commissioners for failure to keep their cruisers away from 
French ports. They expressed concern at the continued presence of these 
vessels in forbidden waters, and explained that they had been driven in by 
the enemy's men-of-war. Hodge was arrested and thrown into the Bastile, 
where he was confined several weeks. He was well treated, however, and 
finally released at the solicitation of the Commissioners. The Reprisal, 
Lexington, and Dolphin were ordered to be sequestered and detained until 
sufficient security could be obtained that they would return directly to 
America. But in regard to captures Vergennes was indisposed to yield too 
far, and represented to the King that if he should consent "to compel the 
surrender, without examination, of the prizes that American privateers may 
bring into his ports, to the owners who may have been despoiled of them, 
it will have the effect of declaring them and their countrymen to be 
pirates and sea-robbers." (Stevens, 706 (August 23, 1777.) The account of 
England against France was to a slight degree offset by the case of an 
American sea captain in Cherbourg who was enticed on board a British 
vessel in the harbor. and then seized and carried off a prisoner (Ibid., 
180, 701, 1562, 1574, 1578, 1588, 1591, 1594, 1596, 1597, 1646, 1654, 
1694; Wharton, ii, 364, 365, 375, 377, 381, 406; Nav. Inst., xxxvii, 942-
947; Adams MSS., William McCreery to Adams, Nantes, September 29, 1777. 
See Almon, ix, 201-241.)

After being driven into port at the end of their cruise around Ireland, 
Captains Wickes and Johnson were employed several weeks in refitting their 
damaged vessels, the Reprisal at St. Malo and the Lexington at Morlaix. 
The Dolphin was converted into a packet, for which service she had been 
purchased in the first place. Stormont's demands became too insistent to 
be longer evaded, and in July the commissioners issued peremptory orders 
for the Reprisal and Lexington to proceed directly to America and to 
cruise no longer in European waters (See Wickes's letters in Hale, i, 125-
128.) In September the ships were ready for sea. Wickes wished to make the 
voyage in company with Johnson, but they did not meet, and each sailed 
forth alone, marked out for disaster. The Reprisal, homeward bound, was 
lost on the Banks of Newfoundland and all on board, except the cook, it is 
said, went down with her. Wickes was one of the best officers in the 
Continental navy and his loss was irreparable. The Lexington, on September 
19, two days out of Morlaix, fell in with the British ten-gun cutter 
Alert, Lieutenant Bazeley, who says in his report: "I gave chace at five 
in the Morning and came up with him at half past seven, had a close 
Engagement till ten, when He bore up and made Sail; as soon as I got my 
Rigging to rights, again gave Chace and came up with him at half past one, 
renewed the Action till half past two, when he Struck." (Stevens, 1695.) 
The Lexington lost seven killed and eleven wounded; the Alert, two killed 
and three wounded, one of them mortally. According to the log of the 
Alert, the Lexington carried fourteen four-pounders, two sixes, twelve 
swivels, and eighty-four men. The Alert carried ten four-pounders, ten 
swivels, and sixty men. Apparently on the authority of Richard Dale, an 
officer on the Lexington, it is said that she was short of ammunition, 
which would account for her striking to an inferior force. Several letters 
were captured on the Lexington, but the most important papers, including 
dispatches to Congress, were thrown overboard before the surrender. A 
report, fortunately untrue, that Captain Johnson had been killed in the 
action, added to the depressing effect of the ship's loss upon Franklin 
and other Americans in France (lbid., 181, 703, 1572, 1583, 1654, 1677,
1685, 1686, 1699, 1708; Almon, v, 362; Brit. Adm. Rec., Captains' Logs, 
No. 51 (log of Alert); Boston Gazette, January 12, 1778; Port Folio, June 
1814.

Captain Hynson's service in the American cause came to an end in the fall 
of 1777. During several previous months various plans for sending him to 
America with cargoes of stores and dispatches had been made by Deane, and 
plots for intercepting him and turning his employment to the advantage of 
the British had been laid by Colonel Smith. Hynson was to have sailed as a 
passenger in March, and Smith made arrangements to have his vessel 
captured soon after leaving port. Stormont feared that Hynson was too much 
under Deane's influence to be trusted. Owing to various circumstances the 
different plans made during the spring and summer fell through. In 
October, Deane sent to Hynson a packet containing dispatches for Congress 
which were to be conveyed to America by a vessel commanded by Captain John 
Folger of Nantucket, about to sail from Havre. Hynson delivered the parcel 
to Folger as instructed, having first, however, removed the dispatches, 
which were turned over to British agents. In due time this transaction 
became known to Deane, who expressed his opinion of it in appropriate 
terms in a letter to Hynson. Upon his arrival in America, Folger was 
suspected of the theft, which was then first discovered, and he was kept 
in prison about six months. Deane was suspected by Arthur Lee, and this 
circumstance may have served to protect Hynson. These intercepted letters, 
together with those captured on the Lexington, gave the British a good 
deal of information about the American Commissioners' plans. Shortly 
before this another vessel with dispatches from Congress to the 
commissioners had narrowly escaped capture and the dispatches had been 
thrown overboard (Stevens, 51, 52, 53, 64, 165, 166, 167, 181, 193, 203, 
205, 208, 269, 472; Wharton. ii, 468; Lee MSS., October 7, 1777, January 5,
12, 17, April 18, 1778.)

The Continental sloop Independence, Captain Young, arrived at L'Orient 
late in September and disposed of two prizes before the English had time 
to interfere. She was followed shortly after by the Raleigh and Alfred. 
The Randolph came in December. These vessels do not seem to have cruised 
in European waters, presumably on account of the necessity, which the 
French government felt, of pacifying England. Stormont protested against 
their remaining in port, and they sailed for home early in the following 
year. The Ranger also arrived in December. Captain Jones had hoped to be 
the first to bear the glorious tidings of Burgoyne's surrender, but he was 
forestalled by a special messenger in a swift packet (Stevens, 204, 274, 
1708, 1799, 1808 Wharton, ii, 428.)

American privateers were very active in foreign waters during the year 
1777, and displayed boldness and enterprise in pursuing the enemy close to 
his own shores. They cruised all about the British Isles, in the North Sea 
and the Bay of Biscay, and in the West Indies. The British stationed men-
of-war in the English Channel for the protection of commerce (Stevens, 47; 
Almon, v, 144.) The Americans were well rewarded for their activity and 
sent in many a rich prize. Captain Lee of Newburyport, who had been 
charged with piracy at Bilbao the year before, sent safely into port a 
vessel which was said to be the most valuable prize taken during the war 
up to that time (Boston Gazette, September 8, 1777.) On the other hand, 
the risks were great, and many of these predatory American cruisers were 
captured by the British (lbid., August 18, 1777; London Chronicle, April 
12, 22, July 22, 26, 31, August 5, 1777; Almon, v, 168.) The Republic, 24, 
was wrecked on the Orkney Islands and all hands were lost (Boston Gazette, 
December 22, 1777; Continental Journal, December 25, 1777.) Until summer 
probably all the American privateers in European seas came out from home 
with commissions. In December, 1776, the Committee of Secret 
Correspondence had written to the commissioners in Paris that "Congress 
approve of armed vessels being fitted out by you on continental account, 
provided the court of France dislike not the measure, and blank 
commissions for this purpose will be sent you by the next opportunity. 
Private ships of war or privateers cannot be admitted where you are, 
because the securities necessary in such cases to prevent irregular 
practices cannot be given by the owners and commanders of such 
privateers." (Wharton, ii, 231.) But by the following May the views of 
Congress in this regard had undergone a change, and in response to a 
request of Franklin and his associates, "commissions for fitting out 
privateers in France" were sent (Wharton, ii, 249, 314. )

Every visit of an American armed vessel to a port of France was brought to 
the attention of the French government by the British ambassador. A letter 
from Guernsey, June 5, says: "An American privateer of twelve guns came 
into this road yesterday morning, tacked about on the firing of the guns 
from the Castle, and just off the Island took a large brig bound for this 
port, which they have since carried into Cherburgh. She had the impudence 
to send her boat in the dusk of the evening to a little island off here . 
. . and unluckily carried off [two officers] who were shooting rabbits for 
their diversion. Two gentlemen of consequence are gone to Cherburgh to 
demand them." (Almon, v, 143.) The prize, being ordered away on her 
arrival at Cherbourg, was sold outside the harbor (Stevens, 1599.) In July 
the General Mifflin, a twenty-gun ship from Boston commanded by Captain 
Daniel McNeill, sailed into the harbor of Brest and saluted the French 
admiral. After a consultation of the admiral with his officers, this 
salute was returned and naturally became the subject of complaint and 
international correspondenee (Almon, v, 203; Stevens, 1599; Wharton, ii, 
381.) Vergennes wrote to Noailles, August 16, that the General Mifflin had 
been allowed to put into Brest on account of a leak and that he had not 
heard of the salute; and he added that French cruisers were employed in 
keeping "off all privateers from our latitudes and . . . we have at the 
mouth of the Garonne a frigate whose only duty is to protect there English 
commerce." (Stevens, 1651.) Stormont also complained of the General Mercer 
and Fanny, which had brought two Jamaicamen into Nantes; these prizes were 
afterwards given up for having been falsely declared as American vessels 
(lbid., 1661, 1664, 1801; Wharton, ii, 381, 496.) The privateer Civil 
Usage took a French ship from England with a Spanish cargo, for which the 
commissioners apologized to the King of Spain, and in other instances, 
such as the seizure of a Dutch vessel, irritation was caused (Stevens, 
1745; Wharton, ii, 429, 430, 431, 435; Lee MSS., Gardoqui to Lee, October 
27, 1777.) Consequently the commissioners sent a circular letter, dated 
November 21, to the captains of American armed vessels: "Complaints having 
been brought to us of violences offered by American vessels armed in 
neutral nations, in seizing vessels belonging to their subjects and 
carrying their flag and in taking those of the enemy while they were under 
the protection of the coasts of neutral countries, contrary to the usage 
and custom of civilized nations; these presents are to request you not to 
commit any such violations contrary to the right of nations, but to 
conform yourselves to the express powers in your commissions, which is to 
limit yourselves to the capture of such vessels at such times as they 
shall not be under the protection of a port, river, or neutral coast, and 
confine yourselves only to seizing such ships as shall have on board 
soldiers, ammunition, provisions, or other contraband merchandizes 
destined for the British armies and vessels employed against the United 
States. In all other cases you will respect the rights of neutrality as 
you would yourselves expect protection, and treat all neutral vessels with 
the greatest regard and friendship, for the honour of your country and 
that of yourselves." (Almon, v, 509. See Appendix IV.)

The privateer brig Oliver Cromwell, Captain William Cole, of Beverly, 
carried sixteen guns and a hundred men and cruised in the Bay of Biscay. 
August 4, 1777, and again on the 6th, she was chased by a sixty-gun ship, 
and not only escaped, but during the chase captured two brigs, one of 
which "was formerly an American Privateer called the Montgomery, mounting 
18 Guns, taken & carried into Gibralter, Capt. Fibby Commander. She had 
Several Laidys on Board boun to Lisbon, whom we determined to take on 
Board us &, together with all our other Prisoners, land them (as they were 
effectionately desireous of it) on the British Shore. But at 3 P.M. saw 2 
Brigs which we bore away for, and not knowing what they might prove to be, 
ordered Capt. Gray to keep away from us on a westward Course. Out Oars 
(being a small Breeze) & rowed towards them. They kept near each other & 
hove too and formed in a Posture of Battle to receive us. Every Thing 
being prepared for Battle, we advanced; one of them gave several Sho[t], 
which we took no Notice of till we came nigh enough to give her 2 Broad 
Sides, She continuing her Fire. By our well directed Fire She was 
compelled to strike to us & earnestly beg of us to desist our Fire on her. 
Our Capt. then ordered to bear away for the other Brig, which orders were 
immediately complyed with. We then charged the other with an incessant 
Fire for almost 3 Glasses. She returned our Fire for some Time with 
Spirit, but being disanabled, wore off. The other which fell a Stern & 
notwithstanding she had fairly struck to us, yet seeing her Partners Fire, 
she worried us with her Bow Chacers, but did us no Damage. But now our 
Officers began to think of the Man of War, which had been in Chace all Day 
& was now reasonably expected to be near up with us; therefore being dark, 
they rightly judged it best to give over the Assault for this Night, least 
falling in between three of them we must be obliged to submit, & so 
altered our Course." Two days later the Oliver Cromwell fell in with a 
fleet of British transports convoyed by three men-of-war. August 16 she 
took three prizes, and a week later was at Bilbao, where she found the 
Civil Usage and another American privateer. The Cromwell returned to 
America by a southerly route, and by the middle of October was not far 
from the Canary Islands. On the 16th she saw a sail which gave chase. 
"Discovered her to be a Frigate. Now she began to fire at us; many of her 
Shot went over us. Several struck our Hull & Sails. We hove our Guns 
overboard & stove some Water & by that means got a little from her." The 
next day, "the Man of War in Chace hard by. We Rowed & kept at a 
Distance." October 18, "lost sight of the Man of War." (Essex Inst. Coll., 
July, 1909; Boston Gazette, December 15, 1777; London Chronicle, September 
2, 1777. See further, for movements of American privateers in foreign 
waters, Boston Gazette, October 6, 13, 1777; London Chronicle, July 24, 
August 5, 1777; Almon, v, 171, 176; Stevens, 1551, 1650.)

The American Commissioners in Paris endeavored to carry out the 
instructions of Congress, which called for ships of the line and other 
vessels to be built, purchased, or hired in France, but met with 
difficulties. The French government positively refused to sell or loan 
eight ships of the line, on the ground that they could not be spared from 
their navy, as the possibility of trouble with England made any reduction 
of their defensive force inadmissible at that time. This was a great 
disappointment, as it had been confidently believed that the British 
blockade of the American coast could be successfully broken by these heavy 
ships together with the thirteen Continental frigates, all of which it was 
hoped would soon be at sea. The project was formed of procuring three 
ships in Sweden, of fifty or sixty guns each, but no move appears to have 
been made to carry it through. In addition to purchasing and fitting out 
the Dolphin and Surprise, whose service was very temporary, and the 
Revenge, the commissioners provided for three larger vessels during the 
year 1777. A frigate was built at Nantes, of five hundred and fifty tons 
and designed to carry twenty-four twelve-pounders, eight fours, and two 
sixes. This vessel was called the Deane, and when finished was commanded 
by Captain Samuel Nicholson. While she was under construction the Dolphin 
was kept at Paimboeuf, according to information furnished to Stormont, 
serving as a receiving ship, on board of which Nicholson held about 
seventy men, including a number of Englishmen, ready to be transferred to 
the Deane when finished; but this was denied by Sartine. Another vessel, 
somewhat smaller, was purchased, fitted out as a twenty-eight-gun frigate, 
and called the Queen of France. The commissioners also began the 
construction in Holland of a forty-gun ship called the Indien, but owing 
to international complications she was sold to the King of France 
(Wharton, ii, 176, 177, 230, 277, 284, 285, 433; Stevens, 187, 493, 683, 
1658, 1766, 1826; Lee MSS., January 21, 1778, May 2, 1779.)

Attempts were made to interest other European nations in the American 
cause and to obtain the privilege of entering their ports, refitting armed 
vessels in them and disposing of prizes. Arthur Lee visited Spain and 
Prussia with hopes of securing concessions of this sort, but he found both 
these powers very desirous of maintaining amicable relations with England. 
The same cautious attitude marked the policy of Holland. In Spain, 
however, owing largely to the influence of Gardoqui, powerful though 
unobserved, the Americans found less difficulty, for a time at least, in 
refitting their cruisers and disposing of their prizes than in France. The 
disposition of Spain is indicated in a letter, dated October 17, 1777, 
from Count Florida Blanca, the Prime Minister, to the French ambassador at 
Madrid, in which he says that a long duration of the American war would be 
"highly useful" to Spain and France. "We should sustain the Colonists, 
both with effectual aid in money and supplies," and with "prudent advice"; 
at the same time England should be kept pacified (Stevens, 1725.)

The situation of the United States from a naval point of view at the end 
of 1777 was not altogether encouraging. The bright hopes of the year 
before were in large degree unrealized. Of the thirteen frigates which 
were to dispute the naval supremacy of England in American waters, or at 
least to keep open some of the principal harbors and bays, only four, the 
Hancock, Boston, Raleigh, and Randolph had yet got to sea; and one of 
these, the Hancock, had been taken by the enemy. Of the remaining nine, 
the Delaware, together with several smaller vessels, had been lost in the 
unsuccessful defense of the Delaware River. Philadelphia in addition to 
New York had fallen into the hands of the enemy, whose occupation of these 
two cities made impossible the escape of four other frigates; in 
consequence of which, two of these vessels, the Congress and Montgomery in 
the Hudson, had already been destroyed in October, while the Washington 
and Effingham in the Delaware were awaiting the same fate. This still 
leaves four, of which the Warren and Providence were blockaded in 
Narragansett Bay and the Virginia in the Chesapeake, while the Trumbull 
continued to lie in the Connecticut River, unable to pass over the bar. Of 
the more important smaller Continental vessels, the Andrew Doria had been 
destroyed in the Delaware River, the Cabot and Lexington had been captured 
by the enemy, and the Reprisal had been lost at sea. The only naval vessel 
captured during the year, the frigate Fox, had been retaken by the British.

To offset, though only partially, these heavy losses, the navy had made a 
few acquisitions. In addition to the frigates just mentioned and the 
vessels procured in Europe, the Ranger and sloop Surprise (Not to be 
confounded with Conyngham's lugger Surprise) were in active service, and a 
brigantine called the Resistance went into commission about the end of the 
year. Of two of the three ships of the line authorized by Congress in 
1776, something is learned from information furnished to Admiral Howe by a 
prisoner at Boston, who says "that he saw the Keel and Floor-Timbers laid 
for a 74 Gun Ship, building at North End in Boston, The Scantlings whereof 
appeared scarce sufficient for a Frigate; And only 12 Men were at work 
upon her. He was informed another Ship of the same Class [the America] was 
building at Portsmouth in New Hampshire, but did not hear any further 
particulars concerning her. By another person released from Portsmouth and 
arrived about the same time at New York, this last Ship is said to be 
covered in as high as the Lower Deck and proposed to be finished in next 
May." (Brit. Adm. Rec., A. D. 488. Intelligence received December 25,
1777.) Work on the Boston seventy-four was probably soon abandoned, and 
the third ship of this class, which was to have been built at 
Philadelphia, may never have been begun. Sixty-nine letters of marque were 
issued to private vessels of war by the Continental Congress in 1777 and 
probably a still larger number of privateers were commissioned by the 
individual states; and many were fitted out in the West Indies.

In 1777 the British navy had in commission two hundred and fourteen 
vessels, besides ships in ordinary and under repair, the whole manned by 
forty-five thousand seamen and marines. It is difficult to state the exact 
force in American waters. The figures furnished by Admiral Howe's returns 
and by other authorities vary slightly and of course the number of ships 
was changing from time to time. There were about eighty vessels of all 
classes on the North American Station in 1777. About half the fleet 
consisted of frigates and rather less than a quarter of ships mounting 
sixty-four, fifty or forty-four guns, the rest being sloops of war and 
smaller vessels. There was also a squadron at Newfoundland and a fleet of 
nearly twenty in the West Indies. Altogether, therefore, more than a 
hundred vessels were stationed in American waters. Many privateers were 
sent out of New York (Brit. Adm. Rec., A. D. 487, January 15, No. 4, June 
8, 1777, No. 30: Disposition of His Majesty's Ships and Vessels in North 
America; Schomberg, i, 436, iv, 324-331; Beatson, iv, 291.)

Although the Americans inflicted so little injury upon the British navy, 
the activity of some of the smaller Continental cruisers and of the state 
navies and numerous privateers had dealt a heavy blow at English commerce. 
Four hundred and sixty-four vessels were taken from the British during the 
year 1777, of which seventy-two were recaptured, twelve destroyed, and 
nine released (Almon, v, 76, 108, 405, 513, vi, 39; Clark, i, 62, ii, 169. 
These lists are doubtless inaccurate and incomplete.) The Continental navy 
alone made over sixty captures of merchantmen (Neeser, ii, 286.) The 
British may have made about as many captures as the Americans, but 
doubtless a large proportion of their prizes were small coasting vessels 
of little value (Almon, v, 168, 231; London Chronicle, July 15, 1777; 
Annual Register, xxi (1778), 36. The lists cover only a part of the year, 
See table of captures in Clowes, iii, 396, evidently based on incomplete 
data.) It is impossible from available data to make a correct statement of 
actual or comparative losses by capture.