The National Intelligencer And Washington Advertiser

WASHINGTON CITY,
MONDAY, JULY 27.

The following narrative is from Moses Williams an old continental soldier, who farms a plantation adjoining Lynnhaven Inlet. The next morning after the late capture of the boat and officers, a tender came near the shore: a lieut. of the British navy got into her boat and came within about two hundred and fifty yards of the beach, shewing a desire to speak with the party. He (Williams) undertook to go down, and hear what he wanted. He demanded whether the boat, officers and men were to be released from their captivity—alleging that the two nations were not at war, and asked why our people fired on their boat. Williams asked him why they fired upon the Chesapeake—did he call that an act of war, or by what name did he distinguish it? He replied that we detained their men and they had used force. Williams urged that they had detained ten of ours for every one we had of theirs, if that had been the fact, and yet we had not used force to take them away. The officer said that our men had enlisted—to which Williams replied in that particular we were at least equal, for none of theirs were impressed or forced into our service, & that he wished to know what business any of them could have on shore when they had seen the President's proclamation ordering them out of our waters. He assured them also, that there was not an old planter in the country that would not enforce that Proclamation by putting a ball through any of them who set a foot on shore. That as to their boat, then in his possession, or their officers and men he could only act as the commanding officer directed, and that they had been sent to Gen. Mathews at Norfolk.