Of the American ships which have been spoken of, the "Raleigh" was the only one which was seriously engaged in this year. She put to sea on the 25th of September, with a small convoy. Before night she was pursued by two cruisers of the enemy. Barry, the commander, ran his ship on shore and saved his officers and men; but the "Raleigh" was floated by the English and taken into their service.[1250]
Meanwhile, in adventures which separately do not claim the dignity of historical narrative, the public and private cruisers from New England so swept the ocean that they sent into Boston most of the provision ships intended for the English army in New York. D'Estaing was able to leave Boston on the 3d of November for an expedition to the West Indies, with a fleet provisioned with the very stores which had been provided for his enemies. His vessels had been thoroughly repaired, cleaned, and sailed in good condition, and well fitted for the important duty assigned to them.
Early in 1779 the "Alliance" was fitted out for France, from Boston, to take General Lafayette on an important mission home. She was under the command of Pierre Landais, of whose misbehavior afterwards, in the battle of the "Serapis", the reader has been informed. Landais was already so unpopular that American sailors would not enlist under him, although the "Alliance" herself was a favorite vessel. Lafayette was, however, eager to be on his way, and at his urgent instance a crew was made up by accepting the services of English seamen, prisoners of war, who had been taken when the "Somerset" was shipwrecked on Cape Cod. As might have been expected, a mutiny was planned before she reached France; but it was fortunately revealed by an Irish seaman who was loyal to his new country. Passengers and officers united in confining the mutineers, and the ship was safely brought to France. She was a fine, new, swift vessel. Seamen liked her, though they disliked Landais. Another crew was obtained for her, and it was thus that she sailed with Paul Jones. It has been more convenient to speak of her after-history as we described transactions in the European waters.
In April, a squadron of three vessels, commanded by Hopkins in the "Warren", sailed from Boston and overtook a fleet of transports and store-ships which Clinton had sent from New York to Georgia. Hopkins captured eight out of ten vessels, of which three were armed. By this brilliant success the Americans took as prisoners twenty-four officers and a large number of private soldiers.
In the same summer, Whipple, one of the old commanders, in the "Providence", fell in with a large convoy of English merchantmen bound from the West Indies to England. The American officer disguised his vessel, or concealed her character, so that he boldly entered the fleet as one of their number. As night fell, on each of ten successive days he boarded and captured some vessel from the convoy, and eight of the prizes thus taken arrived in Boston. Their cargoes were sold for more than a million dollars, and the bold venture is spoken of as the most successful pecuniary enterprise of the war.
Early in the same year, Hallett, in the "Tyrannicide", a cruiser of the State of Massachusetts, took the "Revenge", a privateer cruiser from Jamaica.[1251] In the same summer, John Foster Williams, in the Massachusetts cruiser "Hazard", engaged the "Active", an English vessel with a larger force, with success. He was then transferred to the "Protector", a ship of twenty guns, in which he engaged the "Duff", an English privateer, which blew up after an action of an hour.[1252]
These successes, perhaps, stimulated the State of Massachusetts to attempt an enterprise which proved the most unfortunate in her military history, and was the end of her separate state naval force. John Foster Williams, who had commanded the "Protector", was very popular, and he was placed at the head of the state squadron, consisting of the "Tyrannicide", the "Hazard", and the "Protector", fitted out by the State against the English post at Penobscot, which was then within her own borders. The state authorities obtained from Congress, as an accession to their own force, the "Warren", the "Diligent", and the "Providence", which were nearly all that were left of the Continental navy. Some privateersmen joined the expedition. The whole naval force was placed under Saltonstall, who had a Continental commission. The land force consisted of 1,500 militiamen. This little force landed near the end of July; but Lovell, the land commander, thought his force insufficient, and sent for reinforcements. While they were waiting, Sir George Collier appeared with five English vessels. Saltonstall did not dare engage them, and ran his own ship, the "Warren", on shore and burnt her. Most of the other vessels followed his example, and the rest were captured by the English. The crews, with the land forces, abandoned the expedition, and returned to Boston by land.
The national navy of the United States was thus reduced to the very lowest terms. Of the few vessels left, four were taken by the English when they captured Charleston, namely, the "Providence", the "Queen of France", the "Ranger", and the "Boston." Nor had Congress much enthusiasm for replacing them. In the first place, Congress had no money with which to build ships; and in the second place, the alliance with France gave it the use of a navy much more powerful than it could itself create.[1253] It was also clear enough that the great prizes to be hoped for in privateering gave a sufficient inducement to call out all the force the country had for naval warfare. The history of such warfare can never be written, but the damage which the privateers inflicted upon the enemy's commerce was such that the mercantile classes of England became bitterly opposed to the war. On the other hand, it has been said, and probably truly, that New England, the home of the privateers, was never more prosperous than in the last years of the Revolution, so large were the profits made in privateering enterprises.
