The Naval History of the United States. Volume 1Abbot, Willis J. (Willis John)
History
The Naval History of the United States. Volume 1
Abbot, Willis J. (Willis John)
United States -- History, Naval
The two prizes proved to be the "Atlanta" sixteen, and the "Trepassy"
fourteen. Both were badly cut up, and together had suffered a loss of
forty-one men in killed and wounded. On the "Alliance" were eleven
dead, and twenty-one wounded. As the capture of the two vessels threw
about two hundred prisoners into the hands of the Americans, and as
the "Alliance" was already crowded with captives, Capt. Barry made a
cartel of the "Trepassy," and sent her into an English port with all
the prisoners. The "Atlanta" he manned with a prize crew, and sent to
Boston; but she unluckily fell in with a British cruiser in
Massachusetts Bay, and was retaken.
Once more before the cessation of hostilities between Great Britain
and the United States threw her out of commission, did the "Alliance"
exchange shots with a hostile man-of-war. It was in 1782, when the
noble frigate was engaged in bringing specie from the West Indies. She
had under convoy a vessel loaded with supplies, and the two had hardly
left Havana when some of the enemy's ships caught sight of them, and
gave chase. While the chase was in progress, a fifty-gun ship hove in
sight, and was soon made out to be a French frigate. Feeling that he
had an ally at hand, Barry now wore ship, and attacked the leading
vessel, and a spirited action followed, until the enemy, finding
himself hard pressed, signalled for his consorts, and Barry, seeing
that the French ship made no sign of coming to his aid, drew off.
Irritated by the failure of the French frigate to come to his
assistance, Barry bore down upon her and hailed. The French captain
declared that the manoeuvres of the "Alliance" and her antagonist had
made him suspect that the engagement was only a trick to draw him into
the power of the British fleet. He had feared that the "Alliance" had
been captured, and was being used as a decoy; but now that the matter
was made clear to him, he would join the "Alliance" in pursuit of the
enemy. This he did; but Barry soon found that the fifty was so slow a
sailer, that the "Alliance" might catch up with the British fleet, and
be knocked to pieces by their guns, before the Frenchman could get
within range. Accordingly he abandoned the chase in disgust, and
renewed his homeward course. Some years later, an American gentleman
travelling in Europe met the British naval officer who commanded the
frigate which Barry had engaged. This officer, then a vice-admiral,
declared that he had never before seen a ship so ably fought as was
the "Alliance," and acknowledged that the presence of his consorts
alone saved him a drubbing.
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