UNSUCCESSFUL ATTACK BY THE AMERICANS AND FRENCH ON RHODE ISLAND.
Six days after General Clinton arrived at New York, the French fleet, under Count d’Estaign, who had lost many days by putting into the Delaware, appeared before that city. His force consisted of twelve sail of the line, and three or four heavy frigates. He had, indeed, collectively, eight hundred and fifty-four guns to oppose to Howe’s 614, and the weight of his metal and the size of his ships were still greater in proportion even than the number of his guns. It was expected that the count would immediately attack Lord Howe’s squadron, but he lay inactive outside the Hook for eleven days. All this time, the British admiral was preparing for a contest, and the sailors universally burned with impatience to engage the enemy. As a defeat would have been fatal to the troops on shore, Howe wisely forbore to respond to their wishes of attacking the enemy, and at length, on the 22nd of July d’Estaign weighed anchor, and instead of entering Sandy Hook, stood out to sea, and then shaped his course northward to attempt the reduction of Rhode Island. In his passage to America, the French admiral had been pursued by Vice-Admiral Byron whose fleet unfortunately had been dispersed and shattered by storms. The wreck of two or three of these ships joined Lord Howe a few days after d’Estaing had left his anchorage, and when these had been put in sailing and fighting trim, Lord Howe sailed in quest of the French admiral. General Sullivan had been ordered to pass over from the continent with 10,000 men to attack the British lines at Newport, in which 6000 troops were intrenched, while d’Estaing with the French fleet assailed them on the other side. When near the coast, also, the French admiral was joined by Lafayette with 2000 American troops, and he entered the Sound and prepared to land near Newport. Four English frigates were lying at anchor there, and as the defence of these frigates was impracticable, the crews set fire to them and joined the troops on the island. The French admiral was on the point of landing when Howe hove in sight, he having been hitherto deterged from so doing by a quarrel with General Sullivan as to which of them should hold the supreme command. The appearance of Howe altered the operations of d’Estaing. Being superior in force he resolved to sail out of the harbour and meet the English. Both commanders prepared for battle; but while they were each exerting all their skill to gain the advantages of a position a furious storm arose, which dispersed the hostile fleets over the face of the ocean. Both fleets were greatly damaged, but Howe’s fleet suffered least. Subsequently one of his ships fell in with the Languedoc, d’Estaign’s flag-ship, and another with the Tonnant, both of superior size, and would have captured them had they not been rescued by other portions of the scattered fleet, Another isolated battle afterwards occurred between two ships, in which the French lost seventy killed and wounded, while the English lost only one man killed and had fifteen wounded. No captures, however, were made on either side, and while Howe returned to New York for the purpose of refitting his ships, d’Estaing came to anchor near Rhode Island. By this time, Sullivan, contrary to the wishes of Lafayette, had landed on the island with his 10,000 men, and had commenced the siege of Newport. He also had suffered by the storm, for it had blown down all his tents, damaged his ammunition, and caused the death of several of his soldiers. When it abated, Sullivan renewed the siege; but though the garrison of Newport amounted only to about 1200 men, he only ventured to proceed by regular approaches. Sullivan was not much encouraged by the re-appearance of the French Admiral, and when d’Estaing announced his intention of retiring to Boston to refit, the besiegers lost all hope, and numbers of them deserted and crossed over to Connecticut. It was in vain that Sullivan remonstrated with the French admiral: he had received orders from his government to be very careful of his fleet, and having reasons to believe that Howe had received reinforcements, he adhered to his resolution of getting to a place of safety. Sullivan then implored him to leave the French forces he had on board, and the bearer of his letter was also charged with a protest, written in angry terms, and complaining of the desertion of the French. This protest was signed by all the general officers in Rhode Island, except Lafayette; but the French admiral considered it as insulting, and sailed away for Boston in an angry mood. Sullivan then abandoned the siege of Newport, and retired to the north of the island. He was pursued by Sir Robert Pigott, commander of the garrison of Newport, who brought him to battle on the 29th of August. The loss was about equal, but Sullivan found himself compelled to evacuate the island in haste. He retired just in time, for on the following day a reinforcement, commanded by Sir Henry Clinton, arrived at Rhode Island. The attempt on the island, therefore, signally failed, and Sullivan laid the blame of the failure on the French admiral. He even published some letters reflecting very severely on the conduct of d’Estaing, and asserted that the Americans had been basely abandoned by their new allies. The public feeling was so strong against him, that when he arrived at Boston he met with a rude reception. The French were everywhere hooted by the Bostonians, and in a scuffle between them a French officer was killed. The French were also denounced by some of the hottest members in congress, and even the alliance with the French court was reprobated and reviled in bitter terms. About the same time, also, riots happened at Charlestown, in South Carolina, between American and French seamen, in which several lives were lost on both sides. But, at the same time that the Americans exhibited this feeling toward the French, they could not deny that the French alliance was still useful to them; and hence they had no thought of coming to an open rupture with their government.