Gazette Of The United States, & Philadelphia Daily Advertiser

Late Foreign Intelligence.

From the London Gazette Extraordinary.

Continued from our last.

Admiralty-Office, November 3, 1796.

Dispatches, of which the following are copies, (brought by Captain John Aylmer, of his Majesty's ship Tremendous) were this day received from the honorable Vice Admiral, Sir George Keith Elphinstone, K. B.

Monarch, Saldanha Bay, August 19, 1796.

SIR,

I have the honor to inclose a list of a Dutch squadron under the command of Rear Admiral Engelbertus Lucas, sent hither for the reduction of this colony, but which were compelled to surrender by capitulation, on the 12th instant, to the detachment of his Majesty's ships under my command, named in the margin*, on the terms also inclosed, For further particulars I beg leave to refer you to the accompanying detail of the proceedings of the squadron from the 4th to the 8th inst. and I hope the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty will approve the measures I have taken, so essential to the British commercial interest in the East. The ships are all coppered and in good condition, except the Castor, whose rudder is defective.

In justice to the officers and men I have the honor to command, it is my duty to observe, that, in consequence of the most violent tempestuous weather I ever beheld, and the very unpleasant situation in which the squadron was at times placed, they cheerfully, and much to their credit, underwent a degree of fatigue hardly credible.

Captain Aylmer will have the honor of presenting these dispatches. I beg leave to mention him to their Lordships, as a respectable Gentleman and an active officer.

I have the honor to be, with great respect,

Sir,

Your most obedient humble servant,

G. K. ELPHINSTONE.

Evan Nepean, Esq.

Monarch, Saldanha Bay, August 19, 1796.

SIR,

I have the honor to inform you, that intelligence was received at Cape Town, on the 3d inst. of a number of ships having been seen in the offing at Saldanha Bay, which was confirmed on the 5th. In consequence of this every preparation was made for putting to sea immediately, with the squadron under my command; but from the Monarch's main mast being out, and the tempestuous weather, I was not able to quit the anchorage in Simon's Bay until the 6th, when we proceeded to sea.

On getting under way an officer from the shore, came on board to inform me that a number of sails had been seen the preceding night in the offing, near False-bay: I then resolved to steer to the southward and westward, in expectation of their having taken that course.

The squadron continued cruising in the most tempestuous weather I have ever experienced, which damaged many of the ships, and at one time the Ruby had five feet water in her hold. We were joined at sea by his majesty's ship Stately, Rattlesnake and Echo sloops. On the 12th I returned, with a fresh breeze blowing from the south east, and, upon anchoring in Simon's Bay, the master attendant come off with information that the ships seen, consisting of nine sail, had put into Saldanha Bay on the 6th, the same day on which I had proceeded to sea; that they remained there by the last advice, and that four ships had been dispatched in quest of me to communicate this welcome intelligence.

I immediately made the signal to sail, but the Crescent had got ashore; the wind blew strong and increased on the following day to a perfect tempest, in which the Tremendous parted two cables, drove, and was in great danger of being lost, so that, notwithstanding every exertion, and the most anxious moments of my life, we could not get out until the 12th.

On the 12th the squadron arrived off Saldanha Bay at sun-set, and the Crescent, which had been ordered a-head, to discover information and to report, made the signal for the enemy, consisting of three ships of the line, three frigates, and other ships, being moored in the bay.

The squadron stood on into the Bay in the order of sailing, but the night coming on, and the rear being too far extended for action, I judged it expedient to come to an anchor within shot of the enemy's ships, and perceiving their numbers very inconsiderable in comparison to the forces under my command, I considered it my duty, and an incumbent act of humanity, to address the Dutch officer in command, and consequently forwarded the letter to him, of which the enclosure, No. 3, is a copy. by lieutenant Coffin, of the Monarch, with a flag of truce; to this I received a verbal return, that, a positive reply should be sent in the morning at day-break. I was fearful the enemy might attempt to injure the ships, and therefore ordered lieutenant Coffin to return immediately with my letter No. 4 to which he brought back the reply No. 5.

On the 17th, at nine in the morning, a Dutch officer came on board with a flag, and presented proposals of terms for capitulation, which you will observe in the correspondence, with my remarks and definitive letter; and at five P. M. the terms contained in the inclosed copy were ultimately agreed upon, but it was impossible to take possession of the ships until the 18th, on account of the stormy weather.

It affords me the highest satisfaction, therefore, to communicate to my lords commissioners of the admiralty, that a squadron of ships belonging to the United States, under the command of his excellency rear admiral Engelbertus Lucas, has surrendered to the British force under my command, consisting of three ships of the line, two fine frigates
of 28 guns, and a sloop of 18 guns, all completely coppered, stored and victualled, together with a large laden store ship, the names of which are described in the inclosure No. 6, and the British ships, to whom they are prizes, in the inclosure No. 7.

The consequent joy of this fortunate event is much augmented from the consolatory reflection on it's accomplishment without effusion of human blood, or injury to either of the enemy's or British ships, not a single shot having been fired.

I must, however, beg leave to observe, that any resistance on the part of the enemy could only have occasioned the wanton sacrifice of. a few lives; and I doubt not, that had their numbers been adequate to contention, their conduct would have confirmed the acknowledged merit at all times recorded to the martial spirit of subjects of the United States; and I can with similar confidence assure you, that the officers and men under my command would have exhibited a conduct equally creditable to themselves.

The repeated advices communicated in your letters, respecting the enemy's forces destined to this quarter, agreed so correctly with the intelligence obtained by other means, that I have long been expecting this arrival, and was thereby enabled to be perfectly prepared to receive them, and constantly to keep a vigilant look out.

I have the honor to be, with great esteem,

Sir,

Your most obedient humble servant,

G. K. ELPHINSTONE.

Evan Nepean, Esq.

[To be continued.]