The squadron was accompanied by two heavily armed privateers, the
Monsieur and the Granvelle, raising the number of vessels to seven.
The masters of the privateers did not sign the concordat, but they
entered into voluntary association with the others and agreed to abide
by the orders of Jones--an agreement they broke without hesitation in
the face of the first prize, which was captured on the 18th of August.
The prize was a full-rigged ship, called the Verwagting, mounting
fourteen guns and loaded with brandy. The vessel, a Dutch ship, had
been captured by the English, and was therefore a lawful prize to the
squadron. The captain of the Monsieur, which was the boarding vessel,
plundered the prize of several valuable articles for his own benefit,
manned her, and attempted to dispatch her to Ostend. Jones, however,
overhauled her, replaced the prize crew by some of his own men, and
sent her in under his own orders. The Monsieur and her offended
captain thereupon promptly deserted the squadron in the night.
On the 21st, off the southwest coast of Ireland, they captured a brig,
the Mayflower, loaded with butter, which was also manned and sent in.
On the 23d they rounded Cape Clear, the extreme southwestern point of
Ireland. The day being calm, Jones manned his boats and sent them
inshore to capture a brigantine. The ship, not having steerage way,
began to drift in toward the dangerous shore after the departure of
the boats, and it became necessary to haul her head offshore, for
which purpose the captain's barge was sent ahead with a towline. As
the shades of evening descended, the crew of the barge, who were
apparently English, took advantage of the absence of the other boats
and the opportunity presented, to cut the towline and desert. As they
made for the shore, Mr. Cutting Lunt, third lieutenant, with four
marines, jumped into a small boat remaining, and chased the fugitives
without orders; but, pursuing them too far from the ship, a fog came
down which caused him to lose his bearings, and prevented him from
joining the Richard that night.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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