Captain Risk now had the Englishman at his mercy. When under full headway, he wore ship and brought the starboard battery into short range, thus raking the cruiser from stem to stern.
Both ships were now on the starboard tack and the Holker in the weather position. The Englishman came up on the port tack to cross the Holker’s bow for a rake, but the foxy Risk brought his ship up for the port tack, too, and filled away so fast that the broadside went astern.
The chance now came for Risk. The Englishman would have to wear ship, to bring his starboard broadside into action. As quick as a flash, Risk came about on the starboard tack, passed astern and raked the cruiser a second time from stem to stern. The execution was so severe that every one of the starboard main-shrouds was carried away and the Englishman was thrown into utter confusion on his deck.
The Holker had the Englishman so that his only chance was to wear ship, but his masts could not stand the strain. So the privateer came around on the port tack and came booming alongside, within pistol range, and delivered another broadside of grape that cut the crew to pieces and sent a large part of them writhing on his deck.
But the cruiser’s crew was plucky, for now a running fight commenced. The Englishman got in a telling broadside, that cut the binnacle from under Captain Risk’s feet, and killed Mr. Ripley at his side. The privateer, on account of her superior sailing qualities, had to tack to bear up to her antagonist and keep from running out of range. The fire of the cruiser was getting nervous and irregular and the privateer delivered a terrific broadside that drove the men that were splicing the shrouds, under the bulwarks. As the Holker was closing in to board under cover of the smoke, a voice on the privateer’s foretop sang out:
“’Vast firing. She has struck.”
Captain Risk ordered his second lieutenant to board and find out her name and the damage inflicted.
The ship was the General Monk, a brig of two hundred tons, commanded by Lieutenant Churchill of His Majesty’s service. She carried sixteen long nine-pounders and two long twelve-pounders for stern and bow chasers, with a full complement of eighty men.
When the privateer’s crew boarded the General Monk, the decks were literally strewn with dead and wounded, and the scuppers were running blood. The grape at short range had killed fifteen and wounded twenty more, among whom was Lieutenant Churchill. All the shrouds of the foremast, and the head-sails were shot away. The foremast and bowsprit were cut one-quarter through. The halyards and standing rigging were shot adrift, and the running-gear was cut to pieces.
The Holker had lost the first lieutenant and six men killed, while ten were wounded, and much injury had been done to the sails and gear. A prize crew of fifteen were put aboard the General Monk, and ordered back to Philadelphia, taking the prisoners and valuable stores found aboard. The Holker had left, forty men effective for service, and needed her rigging overhauled before making for the Long Island rendezvous given by Barclugh. So Captain Risk thought best to put into Egg Harbor for a short time to repair his rigging and get into ship-shape for the run over to Long Island.