[page 16]

12.

12.

The frigates and the privateers had to protect them as well as possible[43]. Around 1 o’clock in the afternoon, our two ships returned and announced that it was an English flotilla.

Die Fregaten und Corssairs solten sie verwahren so viel als möglich seye. Gegen 1 Uhr nach Mittag kamen unsre 2 Schiffe wiedrum zurück und brachten Nachricht daß es eine englische Flotte seye.

Around 2 o’clock, the ships had come so close we could easily talk to them with the loud-hailer. Our commander called out to them, but he did not receive a response; they overtook us all down the line to reach some wind, but we immediately made a counter-maneuver. To this they hoisted their flags and fired in our direction[44], then both sides fired; some of their ships fell out of line and began to pursue our transport ships, upon which we also changed our alignment to get ahead of them[45].

Gegen 2 Uhr kamen diese Schiffe gantz nahe, daß wir mit ihnen durchs Sprach-Horn deutlich reden konten. Unser Comandant ruffte ihnen zu aber bekame keine Antwort, sie passiereten unsre gantze Linie um den Wind zu gewinnen, worauf wir aber auch gleich Gegen- Mannöver machten. Gleich darauf zogen sie ihre Bavillions heraus, und gaben Feuer auf uns, gleich darauf ginge es auf beyde Seiten an; einige ihrer Schiffe zogen sich gleich aus der Linie unsren Transport- Schiffe nach, worauf wir auch gleich Linie schanschirten um ihnen vorzukommen.

This battle would last from 2:30 till nightfall, and was lost by both sides. 3 English vessels were so damaged that they had trouble moving forward. On our side, 4 ships were seriously damaged. On the 21st, while we were heading toward Charleston, South Carolina[46], we passed the Chesapeake Bay[47] within close sight. On the 22nd, a privateer announced that Charleston had been taken[48]. We set off straight away for North America as follows.

Diese Batalie tauerte von 2 Uhr und ein halb biß in die dunckle Nacht, und wurde auf beyde Seiten verspielt. 3 englische Schiffe waren starck plessiert daß sie Mühe hatten fortzukommen. Auf unsrer Seite waren 4 Schiffe scharff plessiert. Den 21ten waren wir gantz nahe bei der Bucht von Schessabeck, wir seegelten als noch stets nach Charlstawn in Sud-Carolina . Den 22ten nachts bekamen wir Nachricht durch einen Corssair daß Charlstawn verspielt seye. Wir nahmen sogleich unsren Weg nach Nord-America wie folgt.

Line of English vessels under the command of General Kress
  Cannons   Cannons
Le Soulton 74. Royal Oack 90.
Le Roubust 74. La Weillant 74.
Bedford 74. Barvick 64.

Englische Schiffe in der Linie unter dem Befehl des General Kress
  Canonen   Canonen
Le Soulton 74. Royal Oack 90.
Le Roubust 74. La Weillant 74.
Bedford 74. Barvick 64.

https://gallica.bnf.fr/iiif/ark:/12148/btv1b10110846m/f9/pct:0,0,50,100/,700/0/native.jpg

Strasbourg, Médiathèque André Malraux, ms f 15, p. 16.

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 Notes

43. A privateer is a ship armed by private ship owners with official authorization from the State to make war against an enemy country’s trade ships.
44. Cf. F. Jukes, Vue du vaisseau Le Médiateur de 44 canons qui a attaqué et dispersé une escadre de cinq vaisseaux de guerre français et américains, engraving, 1783 [reproduction en ligne - Gallica]
45. The other available accounts also locate this battle of June 20, 1780 near the Bermuda islands (the position on the 18th of June is indicated by Blanchard in his diary on page 24) without actually giving it a precise name. Claude Blanchard gives an interesting account of it on pages 24 to 29 of his diary, especially concerning Admiral de Ternay’s conduct, he mentions the presence of General Cornwallis at the head of the English fleet, and estimates the toll of the combat: Blanchard (Claude), Guerre d’Amérique 1780-1783, Journal de Campagne, L. Baudoin et Cie, Paris, 1901, p. 24-29
46. South Carolina is one of the thirteen English colonies of North America, later one of the federal states of the United States of America. After unsuccessful colonization attempts by the French then the Spanish, King Charles I announced a charter in 1629 that founded the province of Carolina between the 36th and 31st parallels. This province split into two parts, North and South, in 1719. Both bestowed with royal charters, they were colonies of the crown (the governor of which was named by the sovereign). South Carolina was a prosperous colony throughout the 18th century, with a typical economy for the South of the United States, based on cotton, tobacco, and slavery. The main town and the port of this colony was Charles Towne (Charleston starting from 1783 on), the fourth most populous town of the Thirteen Colonies at the time of the Declaration of Independence. The town repelled an English attack in June 1776, but was taken by the English on May 12, 1780. Nearly 5,000 men under the orders of General Lincoln were taken prisoner on this occasion.
47. The Chesapeake Bay is a large estuary located on the east side of the North American continent, an alluvial basin fed by many rivers and estuaries such as the Susquehanna, the James River, the Potomac, and the Rappahannock. Around 300 km in length and from 6 to 50 km in width and with a surface area of 166,000 square km, the estuary stretches from Head-of-Elk in Maryland to Norfolk in Virginia. Flohr’s geographical description is very sketchy as the Chesapeake Bay is actually located north of South Carolina. It is therefore impossible to go past it while heading in the direction of South Carolina coming from the south, as was the case of the French flotilla.
48. After the year 1779 in which no warring party was able to gain the upper hand, the American Colonies’ War of Independence transformed into a war of attrition, psychologically speaking in particular. The English victory during the second Battle of Charleston in South Carolina (April 2 - May 12, 1780), was a hard blow for the Americans that had been able to resist in 1776. General Clinton coordinated a naval attack and a land assault after a siege of several weeks; 5,000 prisoners were taken within the continental army and the insurgent militiamen. The Americans began having doubts about their forces when their French allies were slow to arrive, thus the English found themselves dreaming of reconquering the American colonies. Cottret (Bernard), La Révolution américaine, Paris, Perrin, 2003, p. 235-236.