If it is thought necessary or proper to call the Congress from their more Important business, your Memorits. has prepared and will furnish a history of his services as a Public Off. prior to the Establishment of rank, but he presumes that it is not necessary and depends upon the Justice & Candor of Congress. Your Memorilst. therefore begs leave to subscribe himself with profond respect & Esteem yr. Excellency, most obedt. Humble. Servt. &ca.
Jas. Nicholson
Editor's Note: Captain John Barry, to whom this letter was written, was then in command of the Alliance, lying in Boston Harbor. He had just returned from an eventful voyage to L'Orient, having taken Colonel John Laurens to France as Special Commissioner of the United States.
APPENDIX C.
Copy of Letter from Jones to Commodore Ezekiel Hopkins.
The Honble. E. Hopkins Esquire
Admiral of the American Fleet
Rhode Island.
P the Brig Sea Nymph
Capt. W. Hopkins.
Providence, at Sea in No Latd 37°. 40'
and W. Longd. 54° Septr. 4th. 1776—
Honoured Sir
I know you will not suspect me of flattery when I affirm that I have not experienced a more sincere pleasure for a long time past than the account I have had of your having gained your cause at Philadelphia in spite of party.—Your late trouble will tend to your future advantage; by pointing out your friends & Enemies you will be thereby enabled to retain the one part while you guard against the other.——You will be thrice welcome to your Native Land and to your nearest concerns—after your late shock they will see you, as Gold from the Fire, of more worth and Value, and Slander will learn to keep silence when Admiral Hopkins is mentioned, but enough of this.
And now for my success—I sent in a Nantucket Whailer by Captn. Grinnele 27th. Ulto.—She appeared by the voluntary testimony of the master mate &ca to be the property of Rank Tories who had ordered their Oil to be Carried to the London Market and the amot. of it to be ship't out in English goods to Nantucket. Since that time I have been further to the Southward when I brought too a number of French Spanish & Danish Ships—but saw no Englishmen 'till the first Currt. when I fell in with five Sail—one of them being very large we took her to be either an Old East Indiaman or a Jamaica three Decker—but she proved to be an English Frigate Mounting twenty six Guns upon one Deck—She sailed fast and pursued us by the wind 'till after four hours Chase, the sea running Very Cross, she got within Musquit Shot of our Lee Quarter—as they had continued firing at us from the first without showing Colours I was angery at this low piece of Conduct therefore ordered ours to be hoisted and began to fire at them—they then hoisted American Colours and fired Guns to leeward—but the bait would not take for having everything prepared I bore away across his forefoot and set all our light sails at once so that before her sails were trimmed and Steering-sails set I was almost out of reach of Grape & soon after out of reach of Cannon Shot.—Our "Hairbreadth Scape" and the saucy manner of making it must have mortified him not a little—had he foreseen this motion and been prepared to counteract it he might have fired several Broadsides while we were within pistol shot—but he was a bad marksman and did not hit the Providence with one of the many shot which he fired.—I met with no other adventure 'till last night when I took the Brigantine Sea Nymph bound from Barbados for London with a Cargo of two hundred and twenty seven Hogsheads of Rum besides Oil Sugar Ginger and Madeira Wine—I understand by this Brig that the A. Doria is off Bermuda and that Captn. Weeks hath given a trimming to an English sloop of war off Martinico.—— I am too late for West Indiamen but will not yet give up hopes—I am much afraid that the Store Ships come out under Convoy for who would have expected to find a Frigate with no more than two Ships a Brig & a Sloop.