hurricane. They did not appear on the following day (particularly the Ville de Paris) to be in any thing near fo bad a ftate as the Centaur had been obferved to be in at the fame time. They were afterwards fallen in with at different times, within a few of the first days, by fome of the fcattered veffels of the fleet; and it augured but badly with regard to their being able to withstand the bad weather and deep fea which still continued, that every later account of their condition defcribed it as being much worfe than the preceding had done. As they were, however, fteering for the Western Islands, a course in which the weather was likely to become every day more favourable, and the diftance being likewise moderate, no great apprehenfion was for a long time entertained as to their fafety. No intelligence being received of them, the anxiety and fufpence became at length painful; and hope itself was nearly if not entirely exhausted, when a certainty of their unhappy fate was obtained, through one of thofe extraordinary accidents of fortune, to which a feafaring life is fo peculiarly liable. A Danish merchant fhip returning from the Weft-Indies took up a man who was floating on a piece of wreck, and who feems to have been infenfible when he was taken on board, as well as incapable of motion for fome time after; he continued fo infirm, that the Dane, putting in at Havre de Grace, fent him to the hofpital, where he was treated with great humanity; and the circumstances of his ftory being, on his recovery, communicated to the king, he was tranfmitted in a Ruffian fhip to the English admiralty. This man, whofe name was Wilfon, had, been a feaman in the Ville de Paris, and faid, that when he was going to pieces, he had clung to a piece of the wreck; but he had been fo overcome by terror, that he could remember nothing farther, and was in a state of total infenfibility during the. greatest part of the time that he lay in the water. He, however, perfectly recollected, that the Glorieux had foundered, and that he had feen her go down, on the day preceding that in which the Ville de Paris perifhed. Such was the fingular fortune of this man; who, appearing to be exceedingly deficient, both of the exertion and courage fo peculiar to feamen, yet was defined, unconfcioufly, to escape that deftruction, which fwallowed up two noble fhips, with their brave and numerous companies. The fate of Le Hector, of 74 guns, Captain Bourchier, though not attended with fuch entire deftruction, was yet more tediously and grievously calamitous than that of either of the preceding. This hip had left Jamaica in much worfe condition, in every refpect, than any other of the fquadron. Befides the defects and bad ftate of the fhip, and having on that account only 52 guns mounted, fhe was fcarcely more than a third part manned, and was incumbered with a number of French and American prifoners; nor could fome of our own invalids, who were returning home in her, be confidered as much otherwife than an incumbrance under circumftances of diftrefs. In this wretched ftate, it was the fortune of the Hector to fall in with the Eagle and La Gloire, two of the largest and fineft frigates in the French fervice, on the night of the 5th of September. Thefe frigates were fresh from France, mounted above 40 guns each, had about 600 feamen between them, and, befides being well command. ed, manned, and appointed, had on board feveral of the most diftinguished land officers, with fome hundreds of the best troops in France, whom they were conveying to the Chesapeak. The frigates, foon perceiving by her manner of working the weak ftate of the Hector, bore down upon, and furiously attacked her, one upon her beam, and the other upon her quarter; and being fill encouraged by the flackness of her fire, and by the opportunity which the flowness of her movements afforded of continually raking her, they continued the action closely, and with great vigour, between three and four hours. The lofs and damage fuftained by the Hector during this time was prodigious. Her originally weak crew had been greatly reduced by ficknefs; 46 of the remainder were already killed or difabled; and the nobleft exertions both of men and officers, feemed infufficient to fupply the defect of strength and number, under the rapid decrease of both which was continually taking place. Captain Bourchier was defperately wounded; but Captain Drury of the navy, who was a paffenger on board, bravely fupplied his place, and fought the fhip with no lefs intrepidity. He was moft gallantly fupported, to the laft, by all the officers without exception, who animated the crew in fuch a degree, as rendered them in a great measure infenfible to their weakness. The frigates, confiding in the number of their men, and in the bravery of their land officers and troops, who were eager to fignalize themselves in so new a fcene of action, attempted to board the Hector; but failing in this attempt, (which could not otherwise but have been decifive in the event) and finding the refiftance ftill to continue, far beyond what they could have expected, they, to the aftonishment of the English, (who could fcarcely hope to hold out much longer) abandoned their enterprize; and in full day-light, when they must have had a perfect view of the wretched condition of the Hector, they thought proper to fheer off. In the account of this action published at Paris, it was pretended, that the appearance of feveral fhips in the morning, which were fuppofed to be an English fquadron, had obliged the frigates to relinquish their enterprize, and make the best of their way to escape the fuppofed danger. But, to the unfpeakable misfortune and calamity of the Hector, no fhips whatever, of any nation, came in fight; for pirates or Algerines would have been foon deemed good company by her, and their meeting most joyfully hailed., It would have been indeed the greatest happiness to the officers and company of that unfortunate fhip that he had been then taken by the enemy; and it was furely a moft grievous as well as fingular circumftance, that their courage and conftancy in her defence fhould have operated upon them in its effects as the highest punishment, and subjected them to undefcribable calamities. The The ship had fuffered exceeding ly, and in every part, in the engagement; malts, fails, and rigging, were nearly ruined, and the hull itself deeply wounded. Bad weather came on. Topmaft followed topmaft, and the mafts followed the tops; until at length the hull was entirely ftripped; rudder, and all, gone. Leaks opened in every part; and the laft fail was drawn under the bottom, with fothering, in the hope of stopping, or of leffening the effect there. The hold filled with fea water, which foon fpoiled the fresh, and the provifions. The men died apace; and a fmall quantity of fpirits were nearly exhausted, which had for feveral days kept the remainder from perifhing. The of ficers, with fword and piftol, kept them ftill to the pumps, where numbers dropped dead at the work. The decks were finking faft; and fome of the beams of the orlop deck had fallen into the hold. In this laft fad ftage of the most deplorable diftrefs, when the men, having been four days without water or fpirits, were quite exhaufted; when hope itfelf failed; and the only alleviation of the prefent mifery feemed to be the fhortnefs of the period to which it was of neceffity limited; a fail was defcried on the 3d of October, and to confirm the bleffing, was bearing down directly on them. This proved to be the Hawke fnow, a letter of marque, bound from Lifbon to St. John's in Newfoundland, and commanded by Captain John Hill of Dartmouth; a man whofe name fhould long be remembered, and ever marked with diftinction. This humane and generous commander, without reVOL. XXVI. garding the great rifque to which he was expofing him felf, his people, and his veffel, leaving the future event to Providence, applied himfelf only to the immediate confideration of discharging in the ampleft and kindeft manner the duties of humanity. He accordingly lay by them during the night, and in the morning took on board Captain Bourchier, with the remainder of the perifhing company of the Hector; who still amount ing to, or exceeding, 200 in number, crowded his mall veffel fo much, that he was obliged to throw a confiderable part of the cargo overboard to make room for them. To place the merit of Captain Hill's conduct in its proper light, it is neceffary to take notice, that although they had a fair and full wind to St. John's, yet the laft cask of water had been broached on the day they difcovered land; fo that a common fhift of bad weather would have involved the deliverers and delivered in a fate no lefs deplorable than that from which the latter had, in the first inftance, been fo generously extricated. Such was the hard fortune to which the fleet from Jamaica was at this time doomed. Of the feven ships of the line which compofed the fquadron, the Canada and Le Caton only efcaped. The Ramillies, Ville de Paris, Centaur, Le Glorieux, and Hector, all perifhed. We have feen no lift of the merchant fhips that were loft; but though their number was confiderable, it fortunately bore no comparative proportion to that of the fhips of war. In confequence of the refolutions of the British parliament for an [7]. accom accommodation with the American colonies, and the powers granted to the crown for negotiating and concluding a general or particular peace or trace, with the whole, or with any part of that people, and for fufpending and fetting afide all former laws, whofe operations were in contravention to that purpose, inftructions had been difpatched to Sir Guy Carleton (who fucceeded Sir Henry Clinton in the command of the army, and the government of New York) to ufe his endeavours for carrying thefe difpo fitions into effect. Upon thefe advices, Sir Guy Carleton, pretty early in the month of May, 1782, difpatched a letter to General Washington, informing him of the proceedings of parliament, of the difpofitions prevalent both in that body and the British government, and of his own confequent inftructions; accompanied with fuch written or printed documents, as were neceffary to illuftrate and authenticate what he had ftated; and requiring, at the fame time, a paffport for Mr. Morgan, his fecretary, who he wanted to dispatch on the fame fubject to congrefs. Washington, as ufual, evading to act from himfelf in the bufinefs, referred the matter of the paffport to congrefs; and that body, on the 14th of the fame month, iffued a public refolution, forbid. ding the commander in chief to grant the pafiport. This idea of opening feparate negotiations with particular governments or bodies of men, or even of attempting to open a treaty with congrefs without the concurrence of its allies, caufed no fmall alarm, and was much refented by the feveral ftates. They were per haps equally apprehenfive of its producing a fchifm among themfelves, and of its exciting the jealoufy of France. Refolutions from the general affemblies of Maryland, New Jerfey, Penfylvania, and Virginia, were accordingly fpeedily iffued, in which they declared, That a propofition from the enemy, to all or any of the United States, for peace or truce, feparate from their allies, was infidious and inadmiffible. That a propofition for treating with any affembly or body of men in America, other than the congrefs, was infidious and inadmiffible. That they (the refpective affemblies) would not listen to any propofition, nor fuffer any negotiation, inconfiftent with their national faith and federal union. And, that they would exert the utmost power of their respective states to carry on the war with vigour and effect, until peace fhould be obtained in a manner confiftent with their national faith and federal union. The council of Pensylvania went farther than the general affemblies in their zeal upon this occasion. They declared, That all men, or bodies of men, who should prefume to enter into any feparate or partial convention or agreement with Great Britain, ought to be confidered and treated as open and avowed enemies of the United States of America. That any propofitions which might be made by the Court of Great Britain, tending, in any manner whatsoever, to violate the treaty between them and their illuftrious ally, ought to be treated with every mark of indignity and contempt. They feemed even to entertain fome jealoufy with refpect to the integrity of the general general reprefentative of the States, or at least to manifeft a difpofition to restrain its authority, by a refolution in which they declared, That the congrefs had no power, authority, or right, to do any act, matter, or thing, whatever, that might have a tendency to yield up, or abridge, the fovereignty and independence of that ftate, without its confent previously obtained. The congrefs likewife paffed a refolution, That the United States could not, with propriety, hold any conference or treaty with any commiffioners on the part of Great Britain, unless they should, as a pre. liminary thereto, either withdraw their fleets and armies, or elfe, in pofitive and exprefs terms, acknowledge the independence of the faid States. Refolutions to a fimilar amount were generally paffed by the other States. In fact, the Americans were too young a people, and had too much depending upon the eftablishment of a favourable and equitable character with other nations, to venture, at the very threshold of their emancipation, and just entering into the rank and confideration of a fovereign ftate, upon any violation of their public faith; particularly, to abandon thofe who had juft faved them from the fubjugation, if not vengeance, of the parent country, would have been a degree of perfidy too flagrant, to be admitted under any laxity of moral ties, or almoft juftified by any change of political fituation. It was probably fome jealoufy on this fubject, expreffed or apprehended on the fide of France, that occafioned congrefs, fo long after as the month of October, to iffue a public declaration, in which, af ter reciting that France and they were equally bound by the condi tions of their alliance, that neither fhould conclude either peace of truce with Great Britain, without the confent of the other; and ob ferving, that their minifters in Europe were vefted with full power and authority, in their behalf, and in concert with their allies, to negotiate and conclude a general peace; they then proceed to de clare in the strongest terms (in or, der, as they fay, to extinguifh illfounded hopes, to fruftrate infidious attempts, and to manifest to the whole world the purity of their intentions) their fixed and unalterable determination, inviolably to adhere to the treaty of alliance with his Moft Chriftian Majefty, and to conclude neither a feparate peace nor truce with Great Britain: nor, that they would not enter into the difcuffion of any overtures for pacification, but in confidence and in concert with his Moft Chrif tian Majefty. The concluding article of this document fufficiently fhews the apprehenfions they entertained of a fchifm among themselves upon the fubject of peace; that is, that fome one or more of the states might be fo lured, by the advantages to be derived from an early and separate accommodation, that neither the bonds of federal union, nor of their foreign alliance, would be able to withstand the ftrong temptations of felf-intereft that might be held out to them. It was undoubtedly upon this principle, and perhaps, likewife, under an apprehenfion of popular commotions, if the people were to become fully acquainted with the extent of the advantages that might be offered, that they [1] 2 ftrongly |