Notes Made on Board the French Navy Ship of the Line Languedoc, July, 1778

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Notes Faites abord du Languedoc

Juillet—1778.

Dimanche 5. Le Zélé¹ fait Signal d'incommodité dans ses barres de hunes.—au coucher du soleil, vû la Terre du haut des mats. à 9. Heures ½ du soir l'Engageante atteint et attaque Le Corsaire La Rose, S'est Empare après 5. Heures de Combat.²

Lundy—6. L'Aimable Chasse et prend le Brigantin La Bonite³ qui étoit de conserve La veille, avec La Rose.—Le Gen^l. depesche Silby⁴ à la Baye de Chesapeake pour avoir des pilotes.—

Mardy—7. Reconnu La Baye de la Delawar; —Le Cezar⁵ Echouë.—Il est Secouru par le Zélé et la Chimere.⁶—remis à flot à 4 heures après midy.—Tout L'Escadre est mouillée à 9. Heures ½ du soir.

Mercredy. 8. Sous voiles à 6. heures ½ du matin.—Entré dans Le Delawar la sonde à La main.—La fregate Angloise La mermaid forcée La veille de S'echouë à la Coste, par Le Fantasque⁷ et la Chimere.⁸

Jeudy—9. Debarqué M.M. Gerard et Deane⁹ ainsi que Les prisonniers de guerre.—nous avons encore 20. Jours d'Eau.—Le Cezar et le Protecteur¹⁰ 12. Jours d'Eau.—appareillé à 10. heures du matin

Vendedy—10. pris La Seloup de guere Le York¹¹ de 14. Canons de 4.^£

Samedy—11. Rallié à L'escadre que nous avions perduë de vuë dans la Nuit.—mouillé à Black point.¹²—on S'est Emparé des bateaux pescheurs—qu'on a pû atteindre.—on a payé Leur poisson et on les a retenus

Dimanche 12. pris le Senau le Carcass, chargé de poudre, de Bombes et de boulets.¹³

Lundy—13. Le Gen^l.14 est allé à Terre reconnoitre L'Entrée de la riviere Shrewsbury.—L'Engageante a amariné le Senau le Lord Howe—venant de la Barbade, chargé de Rum, Cacao et Sucre—¹⁵

Mardy—14. une Goelette Americaine apporte un paquet à M. Le C^te. D’Estaing, contenant des lettres du ministre avec L'avis de L'Escadre de L'amiral Byron¹⁶

Mercredy—15. M. Clapier, Garde la Marine¹⁷ et 4. Matelots de L'aimable, Se sont noyés en passant la Barre. J'ai couru Le même danger

Jeudy—16—Je me sauve enfin.—L'Engageante amariné Le Corsaire anglois La Fanni de Liverpool, 14 Canons, 6. pieriers et 45. hommes.¹⁸—notre grand Canot crevé à La Barre; deux hommes noyés et plusieurs moutons.

Vendredy 17. Le Fantasque amarine 6. Batiments venant de La Barbade, Chargés de rum, sucre &c.¹⁹

Dimanche 19. Fait 5. Petites prises, desquelles est Le Brigⁿ. de Guerre Le Stanley de 12. Canons de 4^£.20

Lundy—20. L'Engageante S'empare de la goëlette de guerre le Dauphin; 2. Canons et 6. pieriers.²¹—M. Le Che^v. De Borda me Confirme Les pouvoirs qu'il m'avoit donnés d'agir et de Transiger pour lui à Terre.

Mercredy—22. appareillé à 8. Heures ½ du matin

Lundy—27. Les V^aux. Le Marseillois et le Vaillant²² ont visité un navire à 3. mats qui etoit à demi brulé, Chaviré Sur le coste et en partie coulé, Sans pourvoir decouvrir de quelle nation il Etoit.

Mardy—28. Retenu un bateau Corsaire de Bloc Island—armé de 8. hommes, qui est venu abord par meprise

Mercredy—29. mouillé devant Rhode Island

Jeudy—30. Le Sagitaire²³ appareille et entre dans la passe de L'ouest, fait Taire une batterie de deux canons et une autre de Trois—Le Fantasque entre aussi dans la même passe et ne trouve plus de feu à essayer.—L'aimable, L'Alcmene²⁴ et le Stanley appareillent et donnent dans le passe de L'Est.—Les Anglois mettent le feu à leur corvette Le Kingsfisher²⁵ de 16. canons qui etoit mouillée Sous une de leurs batteries avec deux Galeres qu'ils Embrasent pour les dirigent en brulots Sur nos fregates.—M. de Grasse Enseigne Sur L'aimable et M. d'orcet Enseigne Sur L'Alcmene,²⁶ ont detourné ces deux brulots qui ont sauté en L'air pendant que nos chaloupes les tenoient accrochés et cherchoient à en eteindre Le Feu.—personne des nôtres n'a perd dans cette occasion

[Translation]

Notes Made on board the Languedoc

July—1778

Sunday 5. The Zélé¹ signaled trouble with its top crosstrees. At sunset saw the land from the heights of the masts. At 9:30 o'clock in the evening the Engageante reaches and attacks the privateer the Rose, which was taken possession of after 5 hours of battle.²

Monday 6. The Aimable chases and takes the brigantine the Bonite, which was under convoy the day before with the Rose.³ The general dispatches Silby⁴ to Chesapeake Bay in order to have pilots.

Tuesday 7. Discovered Delaware Bay; the Cesar⁵ ran aground. It was assisted by the Zélé and the Chimère.⁶ Refloated at 4 o'clock in the afternoon. The entire squadron anchored at 9:30 o'clock in the evening.

Wednesday 8. Under sails at 6:30 in the morning. Entered into the Delaware, the sounding line in hand. The English frigate the Mermaid forced ashore the day before by the Fantasque⁷ and the Chimère.⁸

Thursday 9. Disembarked Messrs. Gérard and Deane,⁹ as well as the prisoners of war. We have still 20 days of water. The César and the Protecteur¹⁰ 12 days of water. Weighed anchor at 10 o'clock in the morning

Friday 10. Took the sloop of war the York¹¹ of 14 guns of 4 pounds.

Saturday 11. Rejoined the squadron, which we had lost from view in the night. Anchored at Black Point.¹² We took possession of some fishing boats, which we had been able to reach. We paid for their fish and retained them.

Sunday 12. Took the snow the Carcasse, laden with powder, bombs, and balls.¹³

Monday 13. The general¹⁴ went ashore to reconnoiter the entrance of the Shrewsbury River. The Engageante sent a prize crew aboard the snow the Lord Howe, coming from Barbados, laden with rum, cacao, and sugar—¹⁵

Tuesday 14. An American schooner brought a packet to M. the Comte d'Estaing, containing letters from the minister with news of the squadron of Admiral Byron.¹⁶

Wednesday 15. M. Clapier, Garde de la Marine,¹⁷ and 4 seamen of the Aimable were drowned in passing the bar. I ran the same danger.

Thursday 16. I saved myself in the end. The Engageante sent a prize crew aboard the English privateer the Fanny of Liverpool, 14 guns, 6 swivels, and 45 men.¹⁸ Our large dinghy stove on the bar, two men drowned and several sheep.

Friday 17. The Fantasque sent prize crews aboard 6 ships coming from Barbados, laden with rum, sugar, etc.¹⁹

Juillet–1778.

Sunday 19. Made 5 small prizes, among them the brigantine the Stanley of 12 guns of 4 pounds.²⁰

Monday 20. The Engageante took possession of the schooner of war the Dauphin, 2 guns and 6 swivels.²¹ M. the Chevalier de Borda confirmed to me the powers that he had given me to act and come to terms for him ashore.

Wednesday 22. Weighed anchor at 8:30 in the morning

Monday 27. The ships of the line the Marseillois and the Vaillant²² visited a three-masted ship that had been half burned, capsized on the shore and in part sunk, without being able to discover of what nation it was.

Tuesday 28. Retained a privateer boat from Block Island, outfitted with 8 men, which came aboard by mistake

Wednesday 29. Anchored before Rhode Island

Thursday 30. The Sagittaire²³ set sail and entered the West Passage, silenced a battery of two guns and another of three. The Fantasque also entered the same passage and no longer found any attempt to fire. The Aimable, the Alcmène,²⁴ and the Stanley set sail and went into the East Passage. The English set fire to their corvette the Kingsfisher²⁵ of 16 guns which was anchored under one of their batteries with two galleys to which they set fire to direct as fire ships onto our frigates. M. de Grasse, ensign in the Aimable, and M. d'Orcet, ensign in the Alcmène,²⁶ turned these two fire ships away, which leaped into the air while our longboats held them with hooks and tried to extinguish the fire. No one of ours was lost on this occasion.

D, FrPNA, Marine B⁴, vol. 286, fol. 51.

1. French ship of the line Zélé, Capitaine de vaisseau Jacques-Melchior, comte de Barras de Saint Laurent.

2. On the capture of British letter of marque ship Rose, Capt. James Duncan, see Journal of French Navy Frigate Engageante, Capitaine de vaisseau Charles-René, Chevalier de Gras-Préville, 5 July, below.

3. On the capture of the Bonite (also rendered Bonette and Bonetta), variously identified as a snow and a brigantine, by French Navy Frigate Aimable, Lieutenant de vaisseau Antoine-Stanislas-Xavier de Curières de Castelnau, Chevalier de Saint-Cosme-Sainte-Eulalie, see Journal of the French Navy frigate Engageante, of 5 July, and the Journal of French Navy Ship of the Line Languedoc, of 6 July, both below. Owned by Dagore of Nantes, the Bonite, with a burthen of 300 tons and a crew of 17 men, had been carrying a cargo of turpentine and tobacco from Cape Fear, North Carolina, to Nantes. It had been taken by H.M. frigate Perseus, under the command of Capt. George Keith Elphinstone; see Journal of H.M. frigate Perseus, above. When captured by the French, William Toivel commanded the the ship. Gambier's Prize List, 20 Dec. 1778, The London Gazette, 2–6 Feb. 1779; and “Liste des prisonniers Anglois fait par l'Escadre du Roi...," FrPNA, Marine B⁴, vol. 151, fol. 153.

4. Perhaps William Selby, of Pitts Landing, Virginia. See Maryland Council of Safety to William Selby, 28 June 1776, NDAR 5:792.

5. French ship of the line César, Capitaine de vaisseau Joseph-Louis, chevalier de Raymondis.

6. French Navy frigate Chimère, Capitaine de vaisseau Antoine de Cresp de Saint-Cézaire.

7. French ship of the line Fantasque, Capitaine de vaisseau Pierre-André bailli de Suffren de Saint-Tropez.

8. For the chase of H.M. frigate Mermaid, Capt. James Hawker by the French fleet, see Journal of French Navy Frigate Engageante, Capitaine de vaisseau Charles-René, Chevalier de Gras-Préville, for July 7 and 8, below.

9. Conrad-Alexandre Gérard, French ambassador to the United States, and Silas Deane, former American commissioner to France.

10. French ship of the line Protecteur, Capitaine de vaisseau Etienne-Joseph de Saint-Germain, chevalier d'Apchon.

11. H.M. armed sloop York, Lt. Thomas Walbeoff, commanding.

12. Black Point, New Jersey.

13. The snow Carcasse, master J. Marshal, 140 tons burthen, built in Leith in 1765, and owned by J. Mather. Garde de la Marine Thomas Sutton de Clonard, commanding a boat from the French ship of the line Languedoc, captured the British ship, which was carrying powder, bombs, and cannon balls to the fleet under Vice Admiral Viscount Howe. Lloyd's Register of Ships, 1777–1778 and "Liste des Prises faites sure les anglais par l'Escadre du Roy Commandée Par le Monsieur le comte D'Estaing...," FrPNA, Marine B⁴, vol. 151, fol. 131.

14. Vice-Amiral comte d'Estaing.

15. The brig Lord Howe, master Antoine Moll. From Barbados, it carried a cargo of rum, sugar, and cocoa. Other accounts indicate that it carried 8 3-pound cannon, and additional cargo of indigo and cotton. "Liste des Prises...," FrPNA, Marine B4, vol. 151, fol. 131; “Liste des prisonniers Anglois fait par l'Escadre du Roi...," FrPNA, Marine B⁴, vol. 151, fol. 154; and "Etat des prises faites par L'Escadre du Roy Commandée par M^r Le Comte D'Estaing," FrPNA, Marine B⁴, vol. 152, fol. 195. See also Journal of French Navy Frigate Engageante, Capitaine de vaisseau Charles-René, Chevalier de Gras-Préville, 13 July, below.

16. Gérard enclosed in a letter to d'Estaing of 13 July a copy of the letter from the American Commissioners in France addressed to "the Governor or Member of any House of Representatives in any of the 13 United States of North America," warning of the imminent sailing of Vice Adm. John Byron's fleet from England for North America, which is printed in NDAR 12: 706–7. FrPNA, Marine B4, vol. 143, fol. 99.

17. Clapier was garde de marine in the ship of the line Vaillant. D'Estaing to Gabriel de Sartine, 5 Nov. 1778, in Doniol, Histoire de la Participation de la France 3: 449.

18. The Fanny, master John Wignall, bound from Liverpool to Halifax, with a burthen of 300 tons and owned by J. Gildart. Built in Maryland in 1775, it mounted 6 swivels, as well as 10 cannon of 4 pounds and 4 cannon of 8 pounds. British insurance records give the burthen at 250 tons, with an armament of 2 cannon of 6 pounds and 12 cannon of 4 pounds. D'Estaing's “Liste des prises...," FrPNA, Marine B⁴, vol. 151, fol. 131; Liste des prisonniers Anglois fait par l'Escadre du Roi...," FrPNA, Marine B⁴, vol. 151, fol. 155; "Etat des prises faites par L'Escadre du Roy...," FrPNA, Marine B⁴, vol. 152, fol. 196; and Lloyd's Register of Ships, 1777-1778.

19. According to the prize accounts for d'Estaing's squadron, the French captured the following vessels on 17 July: César took the sloop Isabelle, master Alexander Thomson, from Grenada carrying a cargo of coffee, rum, and other goods; Fantasque captured Peggy, a privateer under the command of William Buddicom that carried 10 cannon of 4-pounds; César captured Phenix (or No 1), master Robert Cunningham, with a cargo of rum, syrup, and other goods; and César took Polly, master Ebenezer Peine, carrying rum, syrup, and other similar goods. In addition, Fantasque recaptured Heureuse Famille, a French brig with a cargo of rum. It is likely that the sixth ship referred to was L'Etoille du Matin, which is enumerated in the French prize lists between Polly and Phenix. See “Liste des Prises faites sur les anglais Par l'Escadre du Roy...," FrPNA, Marine B⁴, vol. 151, fols. 131-132; "Liste des prisonniers Anglois fait par l'Escadre du Roi...," FrPNA, Marine B⁴, vol, 151, fols. 155–56; and "Etat des prises faites par L'Escadre du Roy Commandée par M^r Le Comte D'Estaing," FrPNA, Marine B⁴, vol. 152, fol. 196. See also Journal of French Navy Frigate Engageante, 17 July, below, for further details on these captures.

20. H.M. armed brigantine Stanley, armed with 12 cannon of 4 pounds, Lt. Richard Whitworth, commanding. The French placed it under the command of officier auxiliare Boulouvard de Barentin and used it in subsequent operations. For more on the capture of Stanley, see Journal of French Navy Frigate Engageante, 19 July, below.

Besides Stanley, the French prize lists mention only three other captures for 19 July. A boat from Protecteur captured Flying Fish; a boat from Languedoc captured the Requin (or Roquin); and César captured Rosamond (or Rosamore), a sloop from Antigua carrying a cargo of rum, master John Ahall. “Liste des Prises faites sur les anglais Par l'Escadre du Roy...," FrPNA, Marine B⁴, vol. 151, fols. 132; “Liste des prisonniers Anglois fait par l'Escadre du Roi...," FrPNA, Marine B⁴, vol. 151, fol. 157; and “Etat et montant des prises faites par l'Escadre du Roy Commandée par M. le Comte D'Estaing...," FrPNA, Marine B⁴, vol. 152, fol. 177. For more on Flying Fish, see Journal of H.M. Frigate Sphynx, 29 July, below.

21. The schooner Dauphin or Dolphin, armed with 2 cannon and 6 swivels, under the command of Lt. Christopher Christie. Formerly under the command of Capt. Josh Peck, an unidentified tender of H.M.S. Roebuck had captured Dolphin. After capturing the vessel, d'Estaing placed it under the command of Frédéric-Alexandre Bouquier, a garde de la marine aboard Languedoc, with twelve sailors from Engageante sent aboard to crew the vessel. See Robert Morris to Jean Holker, 29 Sep. 1778, Letters of Delegates 10: 711-12; Journal of the Languedoc written by Duc de Cambis, 20 July 1778, FrPNA Marine B⁴, vol. 147, fol. 15; Vice-amiral comte d'Estaing's "Liste des prises...," FrPNA, Marine B⁴, vol. 151, fol. 132; “Liste des prisonniers Anglois fait par l'Escadre du Roi...," FrPNA, Marine B⁴, vol. 151, fol. 157; “Etat et montant des prises faites par l'Escadre du Roy Commandée par M. le Comte D'Estaing...," FrPNA, Marine B⁴, vol. 152, fol. 177; and “Etat des prises faites par L'Escadre du Roy Commandée par M^r Le Comte D'Estaing," FrPNA, Marine B⁴, vol. 152, fol. 197.

22. Ships of the line Marseillais, Capitaine de vaisseau Louis-Armand de la Poype Vertrieux, and Vaillant, Capitaine de vaisseau Joseph-Bernard, marquis de Chabert Cogolin.

23. Ship of the line Sagittaire, Capitaine de vaisseau François-Hector, comte d'Albert de Rions.

24. French Navy frigate Alcmène, Lieutenant de vaisseau Pierre-René-Bénigne-Mériadec, comte de Bonneval Ruffo.

25. H.M. sloop Kingsfisher, Comdr. Hugh C. Christian, commander.

26. Garde de la marine Etienne-Mars-Antoine-Joseph comte de Grasse-Limermont and Enseigne de vaisseau Darragonet-Dorcet.

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Volume 13

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American Theater, June 1 to August 15, 1778

Naval Documents of the American Revolution

Notes Made on Board the French Navy Ship of the Line Languedoc, July, 1778

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