Gazette Of The United States

NORFOLK, February 19.

SHIP NEWS.

CAPE HENLOPEN, Feb. 5.

P. M. Wind E. N. E. a heavy BANK hovering over Philadelphia—dark gloomy weather.

The B-t, a line of battle ship of New-Jersey, in the offing, making signals, but not understood by the fleet.

The A-s, one of the first ships of Massachusetts, sheltered herself under the bank, but was mistaken in her soundings.

The Constitution, a new ship, constructed for the Eastern Ocean. The crew of this ship, it is said, has disobeyed orders, in assuming prerogatives which they were not entitled to, at which, the late Lords of the Admiralty are much displeased, and for which she has been so generally assaulted, that her frame is much wrecked. and it is said she must be coppered, as her bottom is worm eaten. She is supposed to be a ship too large and unwieldy for the Atlantic Ocean, and it is thought by some (who are not acquainted with navigation) that it would have been better to have laid out the money that she cost in two light 74's, one to have cruised on St. George's Bank, and the other off Charleston bar.

The I-n, an active 74 of Georgia, has never seen an enemy, but has attacked it with firmness and intrepidity, but has unfortunately been over-powered by heavier metal; being much shattered, it is said she is to be laid up in ordinary, for two years, having received a sound drubbing from the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary at War, two flag ships of the enemy's squadron.

The M-n, a small ship with heavy ordnance, has been attacked by every capital ship of the enemy's fleet; she, however, broke their line and fought herself clear, but by an error in keeping the log, she over-ran her reckoning to the Eastward, and got entangled with the rocks of Scilly, and the whirlpool of Charybdis; but by altering her course she escaped shipwreck;—she is a valuable ship and it is to be hoped she will be more cautious in her reckoning for the future.

It is apprehended the bank has opened a false channel for her to enter at, to take her off from the support of her squadron, but it is expected she will keep a good look-out and not be decoyed—her batteries have been opened against the bank, with well directed fires, but it has such a number of heavy metal ships moored around it, that little impression has hitherto been made, being covered with the Wealth of the Nation, a ship of 120 guns, the A-s, a 74, the G-y, an old ship that has proved herself very obstinate in many hard fights, the S-k, commanded by a puritanical presbyterian, of more self-importance than any in the navy, the Sh-n commanded by old Reynard, who scarcely ever lost a battle, the L-e whose captain is very confident in the weight of his own metal, the V-g, a 50 gun ship, whose captain expects promotion from his ship's quick sailing, and his readiness to repeat signals from the Admiral, with a number of others of smaller note; hence it is supposed the M-n and its fleet will not be sufficient to dispel the bank, as he has in his fleet the I-n which has as already observed, been much wrecked in the service, the G-s, a new 74 from Virginia, the crew of which has not been yet well disciplined, the L-e a 64 who was never considered a sound ship, the W-e an old crazy ship, her command-
are very deficient in stability, the fleet commanded by a man whose zeal causes him often to leap the bars of order, and break the line of battle, by attacks upon the invincible Armada, the enemy's selected squadron of reserve, but cannot prevail on them to open their ports, the S—h, a [S. C.] ship built in America, but raised on in England, supposed not to be a substantial ship, as the American and English oak does not well say together. The S-e, a fine little ship from Maryland, has repeated the signals of the M—n, and thrown some dangerous shot into the enemy by ricochet and direct firing. The W-n, a good old ship from [N. C.] but very much hog'd from long service.