The Trumbull sailed in August, 1781, as an escort for a fleet of twenty-eight merchantmen. If her crew was inefficient when she fought the privateer Watt, it was now well-nigh the worst conceivable for the occasion; for in numbers she lacked 200 men of a full complement—she had less than half the number needed to work and fight the ship—while of the hundred and odd men she did carry, many were landsmen, and a lot more were Englishmen, who, on learning that she was certain to go to sea short-handed, shipped in her in the hope of finding opportunity for a mutiny. This was not an unusual circumstance during the Revolution, for the British Parliament had passed an act offering a large bounty to her “loyal subjects” who, after making oath to support the American Constitution, should be able to carry an American ship into a British port.
When off the capes of the Delaware this worse than half-manned Trumbull, in a gale lost her fore topmast and main topgallantmast—a misfortune unquestionably due to the misconduct of her English crew. She was then not only worse than half-manned, but she was worse than half-found in sails.
While in this condition (and it should be remembered that the Trumbull carried but twenty-eight guns) the British frigate Iris (formerly the American frigate Hancock), of thirty-two guns, ranged up on one side of her, and another British ship, name unknown, on the other.
Instead of surrendering, as he would have been justified in doing, Captain Nicholson cleared the ship for action, and the battle began. And then at the first broadside the Englishmen to a man, by preconcerted action, fled to the hold and succeeded in frightening the landsmen into following them, so that but fifty men were left to fight the enemy.
After a miniature in the possession of Miss Josephine L. Stevens.
But among those fifty were Richard Dale from the deck of the Bonhomme Richard, and one Christopher Raymond Perry, who will be heard of later, and the summons to surrender was scorned. Never before had such a fight as this occurred—a fight wherein fifty men in a crippled ship of twenty-eight guns struck back at a thirty-two-gun ship carrying seven times as many men and helped by another ship that was itself undoubtedly more than a match for a cripple. And yet for an hour James Nicholson, Richard Dale, and Christopher Raymond Perry kept their men at the guns. Sixteen men were killed and wounded out of the valiant fifty. Even then the flag was still flying. There is no telling how long the desperate conflict would have continued; but a third British ship, the General Monk, came into the fight and in a position to rake the American at short range. It was a case then of surrender or sink, and the flag of the Trumbull was hauled down.
In March of 1781 the Alliance, under Capt. John Barry, was found in a most exasperating position off the British coast. She had sailed from Boston in February, and after taking a privateer called the Alert, reached L’Orient safely. There she was joined by a French privateer of forty guns, called the Marquis de la Fayette. Sailing on March 31st, they captured the British privateers Mars, of twenty-six guns, and the Minerva, of ten, the two carrying crews aggregating 167 men. Then the Alliance went on alone, and on May 28th fell in with two smaller vessels that boldly attacked her.
It had been a quiet day, but as the two smaller vessels approached, the Alliance lost the wind altogether, while the others, with the aid of big oars, came on, took safe positions at short range under her quarters, and opened fire. Captain Barry could bring only three nine-pounders to bear on each of the enemy, while they were delivering heavy broadsides of eight and seven guns, respectively. Captain Barry was so badly wounded by a grapeshot that he was carried below; but just when the surrender of the Alliance seemed inevitable a breeze filled her sails, and swinging around, she ran in between the two enemies, and with broadsides from her eighteen-pounders quickly brought down their flags. One was the sixteen-gun brig Atalanta, and the other the fourteen-gun brig Trepassy. They lost ten killed and thirty wounded between them. The Trepassy was sent to England with prisoners, and the Atalanta to the United States, but she was recaptured off Boston. The Alliance reached port safely.
A little later (June 22, 1781) the Confederacy was captured by the English. She was employed as a government packet to keep open communication with France, but while returning home laden with military supplies a two-decker and a frigate, the Orpheus and the Roebuck, overtook her, and her commander, Capt. Seth Harding, had to strike his colors.