1, with as much expedition as circumstances would admit of, got my ship ready for action, and endeavored to get a spring on my cable, but had not succeeded when the enemy, at fiftv four minutes after 3, P. M., made his attack, the Phoebe placing herself under my stern, and the Cherub on my starboard bow; but the Cherub soon finding her situation a hot one, bore up and ran under my stern also, where both ships kept up a hot raking fire. I had got three long twelve pounders out of the stern ports, which were worked with so much bravery and skill, that in half an hour we so disabled both as to compel them to haul off to repair damages.
In the course of this firing, I had by the great exertions of Mr. Edmund Barnwell, the acting sailing-master, assisted by Mr. Linscott, the boatswain, succeeded in getting springs on our cable three different times; but the fire of the enemy was so excessive, that before we could get our broadside to bear, they were shot away, and thus rendered useless to us. My ship had received many injuries, and several had been killed and wounded; but my brave officers and men, notwithstanding the unfavorable circumstances under which we were brought to action, and the powerful force opposed to us, were no ways discouraged; and all appeared determined to defend their ship to the last extremity, and to die in preference to a shameful surrender.
Our gaff, with the ensign, and the motto flag at the mizzen, had been shot away, but " free trade and sailors' rights" continued to fly at the fore. Our ensign was replaced by another; and to guard against a similar event, an ensign was made fast in the mizzen rigging, and several jacks were hoisted in different parts of the ship. The enemy soon repaired his damages for a fresh attack; he now placed himself with both his ships, on my starboard quarter, out of the reach of my carronacles, and where my stern guns could not be brought to bear; he there kept up a most galling fire, which it was out of my power to return, when I saw no prospect of injuring him without getting underway and becoming the assailant.
My top-sail sheets and halliards were all shot away, as well as the jib and foretop-mast staysail halliards. The only rope not cut away was the flying-jib halliards; and that being the only sail I could set, I caused it to be hoisted, my cable to be cut, and ran down on both sbips, with an intention of laying the Phcebe on board. The firing on both sides was now tremendous; I had let fall my foretop-sail and foresail, but the want of tacks and sheets rendered them almost useless to us — yet we were enabled, for a short time, to close with the 324. enemy; and although our decks were now strewed with dead, and our cockpit filled with wounded — although our ship had been several times on fire, and was rendered a perfect wreck, we were still encouraged to hope to save her, from the circumstance of the Cherub, from her crippled state, being compelled to haul off.
She did not return to close action again, although she apparently had it in her power to do so, but kept up a distant firing with her long guns. The Phoebe, from our disabled state, was enabled, however, by edging off, to choose the distance which best suited her long guns, and kept up a tremendous fire on us, which mowed down my brave companions by the dozen. Many of my guns had been rendered useless by the enemy's shot, and many of them had their whole crew's destroyed. We manned them again from those which were disabled, and one gun in particular was three times manned — fifteen men were slain at it, in the course of the action!
But, strange as it may appear, the captain of it escaped with only a slight wound. Finding that the enemy had it in his power to choose his distance, I now gave up all hopes of closing with him, and, as the wind, for the moment, seemed to favor the design, I determined to endeavor to run her on shore, land my men and destroy her. Everything seemed to favor my wishes. We had approached the shore within musket shot, and I had no doubt of succeeding, when, in an instant, the wind shifted from the land (as is very common in this port in the latter part of the day) and payed our head down on the Phoebe, where we were again exposed to a dreadful raking fire.