COMMUNICATION
Mr. Hammond in his article on John Paul Jones (July Magazine) says that Jones left Portsmouth for Philadelphia, November 6, 1782. He might have added, as you will see by the following paragraph copied from the Journal of Claude Blanchard, commissary of Rochambeau’s army, that Jones sailed from Boston with the Frenchmen on December 23, 1782 (never to return to the United States alive.)
Boston.
A. A. Folsom.
On the 23d of December, 1782, I went on board of the Triomphant, eighty guns with M. de Viomenil, and on the 24th the whole squadron, carrying the army, set sail and left the harbor of Boston; the channel is narrow and has little depth; so that we were not without uneasiness. Our pilot himself did not appear to be quite composed and incessantly repeated orders. However, we fortunately got through; one only of the transport ships was shattered upon the rocks on setting sail; happily, there were not troops on board. We were to cruise as high up as Portsmouth, a pretty good port beyond Boston, where two ships of war were, which were to rejoin us and then to cruise alongside of Rhode Island in order to meet with the Fantasque, a vessel armed en flute. The bad weather changed these designs; we could not, without danger, remain upon these coasts exposed to being cast away upon them or driven upon sand banks.
On the 27th, the frigate Iris left us, to proceed to France. On the same day we lost sight of our convoy and our frigate. Moreover, every vessel carried a sealed package pointing out the general destination of the squadron.
The staff of the Triomphant consisted of thirteen officers. Three auxiliary and three officers of the regiment Médoc, keeping garrison in the ship, who, with the officers who were passengers made fifty-five persons. The soldiers and sailors were in proportion, so that there were more than eleven hundred persons on board of this ship. We also had on board the famous Paul Jones, who had asked permission to embark on board of us, who behaved with great propriety.
February, 1783. On the 8th, several of our ships were obliged to put into port at Curacoa. The squadron finally sailed for France, April 4th, arrived at Brest 17th of June.