THE SECOND CRUISE OF THE RANGER--THE DESCENT ON WHITEHAVEN--THE
ATTEMPT ON LORD SELKIRK--THE CAPTURE OF THE DRAKE.
The first few days of the cruise were uneventful. On the 14th of
April, 1778, between the Scilly Isles and Cape Clear, the Ranger
captured a brig bound for Ireland loaded with flaxseed. As the prize
and her cargo were not worth sending in, the vessel was burned at sea.
On the 17th, off St. George's Channel, they overhauled a large ship,
the Lord Chatham, loaded with porter _en route_ from London to Dublin.
The ship and cargo being of great value--one likes to think how the
porter must have appealed to the seamen, who, it is quite likely, were
permitted to regale themselves to a limited extent from the cargo--she
was manned and sent back to Brest as a prize. After this capture Jones
proceeded up the Irish Channel, heading to the northeast, and on the
18th, finding himself off the northern extremity of the Isle of Man,
and in line with Whitehaven, he attempted to carry out a preconceived
project of destroying the shipping in the port; being determined, as
he says, by one great burning of ships to put an end to the burnings
and ravagings and maraudings of the British upon the undefended coasts
of North America.
The wind was blowing from the east, and he beat up against it toward
the town, where he hoped to find a large number of ships in the
harbor. The adverse wind delayed him, however, and it was not until
ten o'clock at night that the Ranger reached a point from which it was
practicable to dispatch the boats. Preparations were hastily made, and
the boats were called away and manned by volunteers. The boats were
already in the water when the wind suddenly shifted and blew hard on
shore, so that the Ranger was forced to beat out to sea promptly to
avoid taking ground on the shoals under her lee. The expedition,
therefore, for that time, was abandoned, the boats were swung up to
the davits, and the Ranger filled away again.
The next morning, off the Mull of Galloway, they captured a schooner
loaded with barley and sunk her. Learning from some prisoners that ten
or twelve large ships, under the protection of a small tender, were
anchored in Lochvyau, Scotland, Jones ran for that harbor, intending
to destroy them, but the variable weather, as before, interfered with
his plans, and a sudden squall drove the Ranger into the open once
more and saved the ships. He captured and sunk a small Irish fishing
sloop, making prisoners of the fishermen, that same afternoon. The
sloop was of no value to Jones, and he would have let her go had it
not been that he feared the alarm would be given. He treated the
fishermen kindly, however, and, as we shall see, in the end they
suffered no loss from his action.
On the 20th he captured a sloop loaded with grain, and on the 21st,
off Carrickfergus, he took another small fishing boat. Learning from
the fishermen that the British man-of-war Drake, twenty guns and a
hundred and fifty men, was lying at anchor in Belfast Lough, he
promptly determined upon a bold scheme to effect her capture. Beating
to and fro off the mouth of the Lough until the evening, as soon as it
was dark he ran for the harbor, proposing to lay his vessel athwart
the hawse of the Drake, lying unsuspiciously at anchor, drop his own
anchor over the cable of the English sloop of war, and capture her by
boarding.
Every preparation was made to carry out this brilliant _coup de main_.
The crew were mustered at quarters, armed for boarding with pike or
cutlass and pistol, the best shots were told off to sweep the decks of
the Drake with small-arm fire, guns were loaded and primed, and so on.
It was blowing heavily as the Ranger under reduced canvas dashed
gallantly into the harbor. With masterly seamanship Jones brought her
to in exactly the right position, and gave the order to let go the
anchor. His orders were not obeyed, through the negligence of a
drunken boatswain, it was said, and the anchor was not dropped until
the Ranger had drifted down past the lee quarter of the Drake, when
she brought up. The position of the American was now one of extreme
peril. The Ranger lay under the broadside of the Drake, subjected to
her fire and unable to make reply.
The watch kept on the British ship, however, must have been very
careless. In the darkness of the night, too, the guns of the Ranger
being run in, it is probable that if they observed her they took her
for a clumsy merchantman. Enjoining perfect silence on the part of his
crew, with the greatest coolness Jones took the necessary steps to
extricate the vessel from her dangerous position. The cable was cut,
sail made, and under a heavy press of canvas the Ranger beat out of
the harbor, barely clearing the entrance, and only escaping wreck by
the consummate ability of her captain.
The plan was brilliantly conceived, and would have been successful but
for the mischance, or delay, in dropping the anchor. The crew
originally was only a fair one, as has been stated, and, owing to the
fact that their wages had not been paid, they were in a more or less
mutinous state by this time. Jones was covetous of glory only. A less
mercenary man never lived. To fight and conquer was his aim, but in
this he radically differed from the ideas of his officers and men.
Where he wrote honor and fame they saw plunder and prize money, and it
was sometimes difficult to get them to obey orders and properly to
work the ship.
After leaving Belfast the Ranger ratched over to the southern coast of
Scotland to ride out the sudden and furious gale under the lee of the
land. The wind had abated by the morning of the 22d, and the sun rose
bright and clear, discovering from the of the Ranger a beautiful
prospect of the three kingdoms covered with snow as far as the eye
could see. The wind now set fair for Whitehaven, and Jones squared
away for that port to carry out his previous project. The breeze fell
during the day, however, and it was not until midnight that the boats
were called away.
The expedition comprised two boats, carrying thirty-one officers and
men, all volunteers, Jones himself being in command of one boat, while
Lieutenant Wallingford, one of the best officers of the ship, had the
other. Simpson and the second lieutenant both pleaded indisposition
and fatigue as excuse for not going on the expedition. The tide was
ebbing, and it was not until nearly dawn, after a long, hard pull,
that the two boats reached the harbor, which was divided into two
parts at that time by a long stone pier. There were from seventy to
one hundred ships on the north side of the pier, and about twice as
many on the south side, ranging in size from two hundred to four
hundred tons. As the tide was out, the ships were all aground, lying
high and dry upon the beach, and in close touch with each other.
Directing Wallingford to set fire to the ships on the north side of
the pier, Jones and his party landed and advanced toward the fort
which protected the harbor.
The weather was raw and cold, the fort was old and dilapidated, and
manned by a few men. The sentry, ignorant of the presence of any foe,
never dreaming of an enemy within a thousand miles of him, had calmly
retired to the sentry box. Probably he was asleep. The little party
approached the walls without being detected. Climbing upon the
shoulder of one of his men, Jones sprang over the rampart, where he
was followed by the rest of the party. The feeble garrison was
captured without striking a blow. The guns were hastily spiked.
Ordering the prisoners to be marched down to the wharf, and throwing
out a few sentries, Jones, attended by a single midshipman, then made
his way to the other fort or battery, a distance of about half a mile.
Finding it untenanted, he spiked the few guns mounted there and
returned to the landing place.
To his very great surprise and disappointment, no evidence of a
conflagration was apparent. When he reached the wharf he was met by
Wallingford, who explained his failure to fire the shipping by
claiming that his lights had gone out. It was before the days of
lucifer matches, and the party had carried candles in lanterns with
which to kindle the fires. Wallingford excused himself by a remark
which does more credit to his heart than to his head, to the effect
that he could not see that anything was to be gained by burning poor
people's property. Inasmuch as he was sent on the expedition to obey
orders and not to philosophize, his statement gives the key to the
disposition among the officers and crew. Whether his hesitation was
dictated by charity to others or lack of possible profit to the
officers and men it is not necessary to inquire particularly now, for
Wallingford redeemed himself nobly later in the cruise. A hasty
inspection revealed the fact that the candles had also burned out, or
had been extinguished through carelessness, in Jones' own boat.
It was now broad daylight, and considerations of safety indicated an
immediate return to the ship; but Jones was not willing to abandon his
brilliantly conceived, carefully prepared, and coolly undertaken
enterprise without some measure of success. Re-posting his sentries,
therefore, he dispatched messengers who broke into a neighboring
dwelling house and procured a light in the shape of a torch or glowing
ember. With his own hand Jones kindled a fire on one of the largest
ships in the midst of the huddle of vessels on the beach. In order to
insure a thorough conflagration, a hasty search through the other
vessels was made, and a barrel of tar was found which was poured upon
the flames now burning fiercely.
One of the boat party, named David Freeman, happened to be an
Englishman. In the confusion attendant upon these various maneuvers he
made off, and, escaping observation, sought shelter in the town, which
he quickly alarmed. The inhabitants came swarming out of their houses
in the gray of the morning and hastened toward the wharf. Seeing that
the fire on the ship was at last blazing furiously, and realizing that
nothing more could be effected, Jones ordered his men to their boats.
Then, in order that the fire already kindled might have sufficient
time to develop, the undaunted captain stood alone on the wharf,
pistol in hand, confronting the ever-increasing crowd. Impelled by
pressure from behind, those in front finally made a movement toward
him. He gave no ground whatever. Pointing his weapons at the front
rank, he sternly bade them retire, which they did with precipitation.
I should think so. Having remained a sufficient time, as he thought,
he calmly entered the boat and was rowed to the Ranger.
Some of the inhabitants promptly made a dash for the burning ship, and
succeeded by hard work in confining the fire to that one vessel.
Others released the prisoners which Jones left bound on the wharf,
taking, as he said, only two or three for a sample. The soldiers ran
to the fort and managed to draw the hastily applied spikes from two or
three of the guns, which they loaded and fired after the retreating
boats. Answering the harmless fusillade with a few derisive musket
shots, Jones returned to the Ranger; having had, he says, the pleasure
of neither inflicting nor receiving any loss in killed or wounded.
The desertion and treachery of David Freeman undoubtedly saved the
shipping. The enterprise was well conceived and carried out with the
utmost coolness. Had the orders of Captain Jones been obeyed, the
shipping would have been completely destroyed. As it was, the descent
created the greatest consternation in England. No enemy had landed on
those shores for generations, and the expedition by Jones was like
slapping the face of the king on his throne. A burning wave of
indignation swept over England, as the news was carried from town to
town, from hall to hall, and from hamlet to hamlet. It was all very
well to burn property in America, but the matter had a different
aspect entirely when the burning took place in England. A universal
demand arose for the capture of this audacious seaman, who was called
many hard names by the infuriated British.
From Whitehaven the Ranger ran over to St. Mary's Isle, a beautifully
wooded promontory at the mouth of the River Dee, which was the seat of
the Earl of Selkirk. In furtherance of his usual desire to ameliorate
the wretched condition of the Americans in British prisons, Jones
determined to seize the earl. He cherished the hope that by securing
the person of a peer of the realm, who could be either held as a
hostage or exchanged for some prominent American captive, he could
thus effect a recognition of the principle of exchange, which the
British had refused to consider. It was a wild hope, to be sure, but
not without a certain plausibility.
Two boat crews under the command of Lieutenants Simpson and Hall, with
himself in charge of the expedition, landed on the shore. Before
moving toward the hall, Jones learned that the earl was not at home.
He proposed, therefore, to return to the ship, but the mutinous men
demurred fiercely to this suggestion, and demanded that they be
permitted to enjoy the opportunity for plunder presented. The
situation was a precarious one, and Jones finally agreed, although
very reluctantly, that they should demand the family silver from the
Countess of Selkirk, who was at home. He did this with the full
intention of purchasing the silver on his own account when the prizes
were disposed of, and returning it to the earl. A party of the men,
therefore, with Simpson and Hall, went up to the house, leaving Jones
pacing to and fro near the shore under the oaks and chestnuts of the
estate. By Jones' orders the seamen did not enter the house. Simpson
and Hall were ushered into the presence of the Lady Selkirk, made
their demand upon her ladyship, received the silver, which the butler
gathered up for them, and retired without molesting or harming any of
the inmates or endeavoring to appropriate anything except what was
given them. The men drank her ladyship's health in good Scots whisky,
which was served them by the countess' orders. The party then embarked
on the Ranger.
One of his biographers has said that the whole transaction was an
evidence of the singular ability of Jones in creating difficulties
which it afterward required greater labor to overcome; but the
criticism is unfair. The only way in which he could satisfy the
demands of his men and maintain even that precarious authority which
the peculiar constitution of the crew and the character of his
officers enabled him to have, was by permitting them to take something
of value which could be turned into prize money. He could buy it from
the prize court, or from the prize master, as well as any other man,
and after it became his own property he could return it to its proper
owners at his pleasure.
It was a perfectly legitimate transaction on his part, and he could
only obviate the necessity by taking the proposed value of the silver
out of his own pocket and handing it to his men, a proceeding which
would have been subversive of the last remains of discipline, and
therefore could not be considered for a moment. It would establish a
precedent which could not be carried out in the future unless he were
willing to abrogate his right of command; if he began that way he
would have to buy their acquiescence to every command--bribe them to
obey orders; so he said nothing whatever to them about his intentions
with regard to the plate at present.
Standing away from St. Mary's Isle on the morning of the 24th, the
Ranger came in sight once more of Carrickfergus. By this time her
presence on the Irish coast had become well known, and expresses had
been sent to the Drake with information of the propinquity of the
enemy. In the afternoon the Ranger appeared in the offing easily
visible from the Drake. The commander of the Drake, Captain George
Burdon, with singular stupidity, sent a lieutenant and a boat off
toward the Ranger to investigate and report what she was, meanwhile
getting his ship under way and clearing for action. The boat foolishly
came alongside the Ranger and was captured. As Burdon weighed anchor
he was joined by Lieutenant William Dobbs, engaged on recruiting duty
in the vicinity, and a band of volunteers ranging in number, according
to different reports, from ten to forty.
The regular complement of the Drake was one hundred and fifty officers
and men. This re-enforcement raised her crew to between one hundred
and sixty and one hundred and ninety. It was developed at the
court-martial, which was held upon the survivors some months after for
the loss of the ship, that the Drake was poorly prepared for action;
that she was short of commissioned and warrant officers and skilled
men; that her powder charges were bad, matches poor, cartridges
unfilled, and that her guns were badly mounted, so that they were
easily "overset," and so on. In short, the whole catalogue of usual
excuses for failure is given. It is true that although the Drake
carried two more guns than the Ranger, they were of smaller caliber,
being 4-pounders. Still, the two ships were well matched, and
preparedness for action has always been considered a test of naval
ability as much as capacity in maneuvering and courage in the actual
fight.
The wind was now blowing toward the shore, and the Drake made but slow
progress in ratching toward the sea. While the Ranger awaited her, the
guns were run in and the English flag hoisted on the approach of the
Drake's boat, and the character of the American disguised as much as
possible. I presume that, save for her armament, she looked more like
a merchant vessel than anything else, and, as Jones skillfully kept
the sloop end on to the cutter, the British suspected, or at least
discovered, nothing. Indeed, so well was the deception carried out
that the Drake's officer actually boarded the Ranger and was made
prisoner with his crew before he discovered her quality.
Meanwhile things were almost in a state of mutiny. Jones states in his
journal that he was in peril of his life from his recalcitrant crew,
who, under the leadership of Simpson, were apparently appalled at the
prospect of encountering a regular man-of-war, and therefore
manifested a great unwillingness to fight. Plunder without danger was
the end of their ambition. However, after the capture of the Drake's
boat, by putting a bold front on the situation, Jones succeeded in
restoring comparative order and getting his men to their quarters. His
power of persuasive and inspiring speech never stood him in better
stead than on this occasion, and he actually seems to have succeeded
in infusing some of his own spirit into the refractory men.
It was late in the evening before the Drake neared the Ranger. Jones
had stood out to sea to draw his pursuer far away from the land to
prevent his escape in case of defeat, and now awaited his advance. The
Drake was accompanied by several pleasure yachts filled with people
who were desirous of seeing the English victory, which was almost
universally attendant upon single ship actions in which the British
navy participated; but, not liking the look of things in this
instance, they one by one dropped astern and returned to the land.
Between five and six o'clock, having come within easy distance, an
officer of the Drake sprang on the rail and hailed, demanding to know
the name of the stranger. Jones, still keeping the stern of his ship
toward the bow of the enemy, seized the trumpet and replied:
"This is the American Continental ship Ranger. We are waiting for you.
The sun is scarce an hour high. It is time to begin. Come on!"
While he was amusing the English captain with this rather lengthy
rejoinder for the purpose of gaining time, the Stars and Stripes
supplanted the red ensign of England, the helm of the Ranger, which
was to windward of her antagonist, was suddenly put up, and by smart
handling, in the twinkling of an eye she was rushed across the bow of
the Drake, which was severely raked by a prompt broadside at short
range. As Jones shifted his helm so as not to lose the weather gauge,
the advantage of the first hard blow was clearly with the Americans.
The English captain, after an attempt to cross her stern, which was
frustrated by Jones' promptness, ran off by the side of the Ranger,
and the combat resolved itself into a fair and square yardarm to
yardarm fight, which was continued with the most determined
persistence on both sides. The two ships under the gentle breeze
sailed side by side, gradually nearing, and poured a furious fire upon
each other. The lack of preparedness on the English ship was
manifested in the slowness and inaccuracy of her gun practice. That of
the Ranger, however, was very effective. An hour and five minutes
after the first broadside the enemy called for quarter and hauled down
the flag. The Drake was a wreck. Her fore and main topsail yards were
cut adrift and lying on the caps; the fore topgallant yard and the
spanker gaff were hanging up and down their respective masts; two
ensigns had been shot away, and another one was hanging over the
quarter galley and dragging in the water. The jib was dragging under
her forefoot; her sails and rigging were entirely cut to pieces, most
of the yards wounded, and her hull very much shattered. Many of her
guns were dismounted, and she had lost, according to the statement of
the Americans, forty-two[6] men in killed and wounded (or about twenty
per cent of her force!), including her captain, who had been struck in
the head by a musket ball at the close of the action, about a minute
before the ship surrendered; the gallant first lieutenant, Dobbs, who
had bravely volunteered for service, was so severely wounded that he
survived the action only two days. Captain Burdon was still living
when Jones boarded the prize, but died a few moments after. The
Americans lost two killed, among them being poor Wallingford, whose
death has somewhat redeemed him from his failure to obey orders in the
raid on Whitehaven. There were six wounded on the Ranger, including
the gunner and a midshipman who lost his arm; one of the wounded
subsequently died.
The action was a sharp and brilliant one. Jones had maneuvered and
fought his ship with his usual skill and courage, and had given fair
evidence of what might be expected from him with a better vessel and
better men under his command. The English captain had been
outmaneuvered when he permitted the American to rake him, and he had
been outfought in the action. Unpreparedness was the cause of the
failure of the Drake to make a better showing in the fight. This lack
must be laid at the captain's door. It is the business of a captain to
see that things are ready. The deficiencies in the Drake's equipment
were counterbalanced by equal deficiencies on the part of the Ranger.
The apparent preponderance of the latter's gun power was, in fact,
minimized by the shortening of her guns, of which Jones had previously
complained. It is probable that the Drake had a better crew, and such
officers as she had were probably better than those under Jones, with
a few exceptions. It is always the custom of the defeated party to
make excuses, and always will be; but the ships were as nearly matched
in offensive qualities as two vessels in different navies are ever
likely to be, and the difference between them, which determined the
issue of the conflict, was purely a question of the personal equation.
It was always hard to find anything to counterbalance Jones for the
other side of the equality sign. Burdon was not the man.
The English captain was a brave but very stupid or very confident man.
Jones was more than a match for him at best, and when the mistakes of
Burdon are considered the comparison is painful. The English knew that
the Ranger was on the coast; the Drake had picked up her anchor (it
was, of course, recaptured), and an alert mind would have connected
the recovered anchor with the attempt of the night of the 20th. The
suspicious actions of the stranger--and there must have been some
indication in her maneuvers and appearance at least to inspire
caution--the failure of the boat crew either to return or to make any
signal, should have made the English captain pause and consider the
situation. But with the usual "uncircumspect gallantry" of his kind he
charged down, bull-like, on his enemy, was promptly raked, hammered to
pieces, killed, and his ship surrendered. He proved his courage in
battle--which no one would question, bravery being usual and to be
expected--and he died in the attempt to atone for his rashness; but
professionally he was a failure, and his demise was fortunate for his
reputation and future career. His death probably prevented some very
inconvenient questions being asked him.
Jones treated his prisoners with a kindness and consideration the more
remarkable from the fact that the contrary was the custom with the
British toward American captives. During the night and the whole of
the next day, the weather being moderate, the two ships were hove to
while the Drake was refitted as well as their resources permitted.
Late the next afternoon a large brigantine, actuated by an unfortunate
curiosity, ran down so near the two ships that she was brought to by a
shot from the Drake and taken possession of. Having repaired damages
and put the Drake in as good trim as possible, Jones first determined
to return to Brest by the South Channel, the way he had come, but the
variable wind shifted and came strongly, and he decided to run
northward before it and pass around the west coast of Ireland. In
spite of his previous insubordination Simpson was placed in command of
the Drake.
Before they left these waters, however, something still remained to be
done. On the evening of the 25th the two ships sailed once more for
Belfast Lough. There Jones hove the Ranger to, and, having given the
poor Irish fishermen, whom he had captured on the 21st and held, one
of the Drake's boats, and having charitably bestowed upon them all the
guineas which he had left in his private purse (not many, I suppose)
to remunerate them for the loss they had sustained, he sent them
ashore. They took with them one of the Drake's sails, which would
attest the truth of their story of what had happened. The grateful
Irishmen were delighted and touched by such unusual treatment, and
they signalized their gratitude to their generous and kindhearted
captor by giving Jones three cheers from the boat as they passed the
Ranger's quarter. The Americans then bore away to the northwestward.
The voyage around the coast of Ireland was uneventful. Lieutenant
Dobbs, of the Drake, died on the cruise, and he and Captain Burdon
were buried at sea with all possible honors, Jones himself reading the
usual Church service. The cruise was continued without incident until
the morning of the 5th of May, when the Ranger being off Ushant, and
having the Drake in tow, Jones cut the towline and bore away in chase
of a sail which had been sighted. Simpson, instead of continuing
toward Brest, as he had been directed, hauled off to the south, so
that when Jones had overtaken the chase and found her a neutral, the
Drake was almost entirely out of sight to the southward.
The Ranger chased her and made various signals, to which no attention
was paid. Simpson changed his course aimlessly several times. During
the whole of the day the same eccentric maneuvers on the part of the
Drake continued. To Jones' great annoyance, the inexplicable actions
of the prize prevented him from chasing several large vessels which he
saw standing into the Channel, among which he would probably have made
many valuable captures. He was forced to abandon any attempt to take
them and follow the Drake, which he only overhauled late in the
evening. By Jones' orders Lieutenant Elijah Hall immediately replaced
Simpson in command of the Drake, and the latter was placed under
arrest. On the 8th of May both vessels arrived safely at Brest, from
which point Jones promptly dispatched the following remarkable letter
to the Countess of Selkirk:
"Ranger, Brest, _May 8, 1778_.
"_The Right Hon. the Countess of Selkirk_.
"Madam: It can not be too much lamented that, in the profession of
arms, the officer of fine feelings and real sensibility should be
under the necessity of winking at any action of persons under his
command which his heart can not approve; but the reflection is doubly
severe when he finds himself obliged, in appearance, to countenance
such actions by his authority. This hard case was mine, when, on the
23d of April last, I landed on St. Mary's Isle. Knowing Lord Selkirk's
interest with his king, and esteeming as I do his private character, I
wished to make him the happy instrument of alleviating the horrors of
hopeless captivity, when the brave are overpowered and made prisoners
of war. It was perhaps fortunate for you, madam, that he was from
home, for it was my intention to have taken him on board the Ranger
and detained him until, through, his means, a general and fair
exchange of prisoners, as well in Europe as in America, had been
effected.
"When I was informed, by some men whom I met at landing that his
lordship was absent, I walked back to my boat, determined to leave the
island. By the way, however, some officers who were with me could not
forbear expressing their discontent, observing that in America no
delicacy was shown by the English, who took away all sorts of movable
property, setting fire not only to towns and to the houses of the
rich, without distinction, but not even sparing the wretched hamlets
and milch cows of the poor and helpless, at the approach of an
inclement winter. That party had been with me the same morning at
Whitehaven; some complaisance, therefore, was their due. I had but a
moment to think how I might gratify them, and at the same time do your
ladyship the least injury. I charged the officers to permit none of
the seamen to enter the house, or to hurt anything about it; to treat
you, madam, with the utmost respect; to accept of the plate which was
offered, and to come away without making a search or demanding
anything else. I am induced to believe that I was punctually obeyed,
since I am informed that the plate which they brought away is far
short of the quantity expressed in the inventory which accompanied it.
I have gratified my men, and when the plate is sold I shall become the
purchaser, and will gratify my own feelings by restoring it to you by
such conveyance as you shall please to direct.
"Had the earl been on board the Ranger the following evening he would
have seen the awful pomp and dreadful carnage of a sea engagement,
both affording ample subject for the pencil, as well as melancholy
reflection for the contemplative mind. Humanity starts back from such
scenes of horror, and can not sufficiently execrate the vile promoters
of this detestable war.
"'For they, 'twas they unsheathed the ruthless blade,
And Heaven shall ask the havoc it has made.'
"The British ship of war Drake, mounting twenty guns, with more than
her full complement of officers and men, was our opponent. The ships
met, and the advantage was disputed with great fortitude on each side
for an hour and four minutes, when the gallant commander of the Drake
fell, and victory declared in favor of the Ranger. The amiable
lieutenant lay mortally wounded, besides near forty of the inferior
officers and crew killed and wounded--a melancholy demonstration of
the uncertainty of human prospects and of the sad reverses of fortune
which an hour can produce. I buried them in a spacious grave, with the
honors due to the memory of the brave.
"Though I have drawn my sword in the present generous struggle for the
rights of men, yet I am not in arms as an American, nor am I in
pursuit of riches. My fortune is liberal enough, having no wife and
family, and having lived long enough to know that riches can not
secure happiness. I profess myself a citizen of the world, totally
unfettered by the little mean distinctions of climates or of country,
which diminish the benevolence of the heart and set bounds to
philanthropy. Before this war was begun, I had, at an early time in
life, withdrawn from sea service in favor of 'calm contemplation and
poetic ease.' I have sacrificed not only my favorite scheme of life,
but the softer affections of the heart, and my prospects of domestic
happiness, and I am ready to sacrifice my life also with cheerfulness,
if that forfeiture could restore peace among mankind.
"As the feelings of your gentle bosom can not but be congenial with
mine, let me entreat you, madam, to use your persuasive art with your
husband, to endeavour to stop this cruel and destructive war, in which
Britain can never succeed. Heaven can never countenance the barbarous
and unmanly practice of the Britons in America, which savages would
blush at, and which, if not discontinued, will soon be retaliated on
Britain by a justly enraged people. Should you fail in this, and I am
persuaded you will attempt it (and who can resist the power of such an
advocate?), your endeavour to effect a general exchange of prisoners
will be an act of humanity, which will afford you golden feelings on
your deathbed.
"I hope this cruel contest will soon be closed; but, should it
continue, I wage no war with the fair. I acknowledge their force, and
bend before it with submission. Let not, therefore, the amiable
Countess of Selkirk regard me as an enemy; I am ambitious of her
esteem and friendship, and would do anything, consistent with my duty,
to merit it. The honor of a line from your hand, in answer to this,
will lay me under a singular obligation, and if I can render you any
acceptable service in France or elsewhere I hope you see into my
character so far as to command me, without the least grain of reserve.
I wish to know the exact behaviour of my people, as I am determined to
punish them if they have exceeded their liberty.
"I have the honor to be, with much esteem and with profound respect,
madam, etc.,
"John Paul Jones."
The shrewd Franklin says of this extraordinary document: "It is a
gallant letter, which must give her ladyship a high and just opinion
of your generosity and nobleness of mind." But I seem to read a gentle
laugh in the tactful words of the old philosopher. I like this epistle
less than any of Jones' letters I have read, but it certainly does not
merit the severe censures which have been passed upon it. No one would
write such a letter to-day, certainly, but things were different then,
and we need not too closely criticise the form and style of the
document in view of its honest purpose and good intent.
As might have been expected, the Countess of Selkirk made no reply to
this singular communication. To anticipate the course of events, and
obviate the necessity of further discussion of this incident, it may
be stated that more than a year after its capture Jones obtained
possession of the plate through the prize court by strenuous effort,
and by paying for it at an exorbitant valuation. The state of warfare
then existing between France and England prevented the delivery of the
silver for several years, though Jones made earnest efforts to get it
into the hands of the Selkirks whenever apparent opportunity
presented. It was not, however, until 1784, after peace had been
declared, that the plate was restored to its original owners. It is
stated that it was received by them in exactly the same condition as
when it had been taken, even to the tea leaves which were still in the
teapot! The receipt of the silver is thus acknowledged in a letter
from Lord Selkirk:
"London, _August 4, 1789_.
"_Monsieur le Chevalier Paul Jones, à Paris_.
"Sir: I received the letter you wrote to me at the time you sent off
my plate, in order for restoring it. Had I known where to direct a
letter to you at the time it arrived in Scotland I would then have
wrote to you; but, not knowing it, nor finding that any of my
acquaintance at Edinburgh knew it, I was obliged to delay writing till
I came here, when, by means of a gentleman connected with America, I
was told M. le Grand was your banker at Paris, and would take proper
care of a letter for you; therefore, I inclose this to him.
"Notwithstanding all the precautions you took for the easy and
uninterrupted conveyance of the plate, yet it met with considerable
delays: first at Calais, next at Dover, then at London; however, it at
last arrived at Dumfries, and I dare say quite safe, though as yet I
have not seen it, being then at Edinburgh.
"I intended to have put an article in the newspapers about your having
returned it; but before I was informed of its being arrived, some of
your friends, I suppose, had put it in the Dumfries newspaper, whence
it was immediately copied into the Edinburgh papers, and thence into
the London ones. Since that time I have mentioned it to many people of
fashion; and, on all occasions, sir, both now and formerly, I have
done you the justice to tell that you made an offer of returning the
plate very soon after your return to Brest; and, although you yourself
was not at my house, but remained at the shore with your boat, that
yet you had your officers and men in such extraordinary good
discipline that your having given them the strictest orders to behave
well, to do no injury of any kind, to make no search, but only to
bring off what plate was given them; that in reality they did exactly
as ordered, and that not one man offered to stir from his post on the
outside of the house, nor entered the doors, nor said an uncivil word;
that the two officers stayed not a quarter of an hour in the parlour
and butler's pantry, while the butler got the plate together, behaved
politely, and asked for nothing but the plate, and instantly marched
their men off in regular order; and that both officers and men behaved
in all respects so well that it would have done credit to the best
disciplined troops whatever.
"Some of the English newspapers at that time having put in confused
accounts of your expedition to Whitehaven and Scotland, I ordered a
proper one of what had happened in Scotland to be put in the London
newspapers, by a gentleman who was then at my house, by which the good
conduct and civil behaviour of your officers and men was done justice
to, and attributed to your order, and the good discipline you
maintained over your people.
"I am, sir, your most humble servant,
"Selkirk."
It is a handsome acknowledgment, but I note with great pleasure the
sailor writes better than the peer!