The Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution Volume IX Part 36

The Hague, October 29th, 1779.

High and Mighty Lords,

In thanking your High Mightinesses for the orders your humanity has dictated in relation to the wounded, who were on board two vessels of the King, the Serapis and Countess of Scarborough, I only discharge the orders of his Majesty in renewing the most strong and urgent demand for the seizure and rest.i.tution of said vessels, as well as for the enlargement of their crews, who have been seized by the pirate Paul Jones, a Scotchman, a rebellious subject and state criminal.

The sentiments of equity and justice of your High Mightinesses leave no room to doubt, that in taking into a more mature deliberation all the circ.u.mstances of this affair, you will recognize readily the justice of a demand, founded as well on the most solemn treaties, which have subsisted more than a century between the Crown of Great Britain and the United Provinces, as on the principles of the law of nations, and the custom of friendly and allied States.

The stipulations of the treaty of Breda, of the 31st of July, 1667, confirmed and renewed expressly in that of 1716, and in all the subsequent ones, are too clear and incontestible in this respect not to be felt in all their force.

The King considered it derogatory to his dignity, as well as to that of your High Mightinesses, to expose the particulars of a case so notorious as that in question, or to cite to the ancient friends and allies of his Crown a.n.a.logous examples of other Princes and States.

I shall confine myself to the remark, that the placard of your High Mightinesses, in prescribing to the captains of foreign ships of war to show their letters of marque or commissions, authorise you according to the general custom of Admiralties to treat as pirates those, whose letters are found to be illegal for not being issued by a sovereign power.

The character of Paul Jones, and all the circ.u.mstances of the affair, cannot by their notoriety be unknown to your High Mightinesses. Europe has her eyes fixed on your resolution. Your High Mightinesses know too well the value of good faith, not to give an example of it on this important occasion. The least deviation from a rule so sacred, in weakening friendship among neighbors, produces often unfortunate consequences.

The King has always made it his pride to cultivate the friendship of your High Mightinesses. His Majesty persists steadfastly in the same sentiments; but the English nation does not think itself bound, by any of its proceedings, to have its citizens detained prisoners in a port of the Republic by an outlaw, a subject of the same country, and who enjoys the liberty of which they are deprived.

It is for all these reasons, and many others equally solid, which cannot escape the great penetration and sagacity of your High Mightinesses, that the undersigned hopes to receive a ready and favorable answer to the above, conformable to the just expectation of the King, his master, and of the British nation.

JOSEPH YORKE.

JOHN PAUL JONES TO LIEUTENANT COLONEL WEIBERT, IN THE SERVICE OF THE UNITED STATES.

Their High Mightinesses, the States-General of Holland, have granted permission to us to land on the Island of Texel, a number of wounded British prisoners of war now in our hands, to guard them by our American soldiers in the fort of that Island, with the draw bridges hauled up or let down at our discretion, and to remove them again from thence to our ships at our free will and pleasure, and dispose of them afterwards as though they had not been landed. Therefore you are hereby appointed Governor-General over the wounded, and the soldiers, that are destined this day to conduct them there, until further orders.

These wounded prisoners are to be supported and provided with good surgeons and medicine, and with necessary attendance at the expense of the United States. The Commissary of the Admiralty, who resides on the Texel, has undertaken, by our orders, to furnish you with the necessary provisions; and surgeons, medicine and bedding, &c. are sent from the squadron. In short, these prisoners, together with such other sick and wounded as we may hereafter see fit to send to your care in that fort on the Texel, are to be treated with all possible tenderness and humanity. And you are to take care that no person under your command may give any cause of complaint whatever to the subjects or government of this country; but, on the contrary, to behave towards them with the utmost complaisance and civility.

For which this shall be your order.

Given on board the American ship of war, the Serapis, at anchor in the Road of Texel, November 1st, 1779.

JOHN PAUL JONES.

JOHN PAUL JONES TO THE DUC DE LA VAUGUYON.

Texel, November 4th, 1779.

Sir,

This morning the commandant of the Road sent me word to come and speak to him on board his ship. He had before him on the table a letter, which he said was from the Prince of Orange. He questioned me very closely, whether I had a French commission, and if I had, he almost insisted upon seeing it. In conformity to your advice, I told him that my French commission not having been found among my papers since the loss of the Bon Homme Richard, I feared that it had gone to the bottom in that ship; but that, if it was really lost, it would be an easy matter to procure a duplicate of it from France. The commandant appeared to be very uneasy and anxious for my departure. I have told him, that as there are eight of the enemy's ships laying wait for me at the south entrance, and four more at the north entrance of the Port, I was unable to fight more than three times my force; but that he might rest a.s.sured of my intention to depart with the utmost expedition, whenever I found a possibility to go clear.

I should be very happy, Sir, if I could tell you of my being ready. I should have departed long ago, if I had met with common a.s.sistance; but for a fortnight past I have every day expected the necessary supply of water from Amsterdam, in cisterns, and I have been last night only informed, that it cannot be had unless I send up water casks. The provisions too, that were ordered the day I returned to Amsterdam from the Hague, are not yet sent down, and the spars that have been sent from Amsterdam are spoiled in the making. None of the iron work that was ordered for the Serapis is yet completed, so that I am, even to this hour, in want of hinges to hang the lower gun ports.

My officers and men lost their clothes and beds in the Bon Homme Richard, and they have as yet got no supply. The bread that has been twice a week sent down from Amsterdam to feed my people has been, literally speaking, rotten; and the consequence is, that they are falling sick. It is natural, also, that they should be discontented, while I am not able to tell them that they will be paid the value of their property in the Serapis and Countess of Scarborough, if either or both of them should be lost or taken after sailing from hence.

Thus you see, Sir, that my prospects are far from pleasing. I have but few men, and they are discontented. If you can authorise me to promise them, at all hazards, that their property in the prizes shall be made good, and that they shall receive the necessary clothing and bedding, or money to buy them with, I believe I shall soon be able to bring them again into a good humor. In the meantime, I will send a vessel or two out to reconnoiter the offing and to bring me word. Whatever may be the consequence of my having put into this harbor, I must observe that it was done contrary to my opinion, and I consented to it only because the majority of my colleagues were earnest for it.

I am under a very singular obligation to you, Sir, for your kind letter, which you did me the honor to write to me on the 29th of last month. It shall be my ambition to get clear of my present embarra.s.sment, and to merit, what I so much esteem, the good opinion of your Excellency and of the Court, by my future service in support of the common cause.

I have the honor to be, &c.

JOHN PAUL JONES.

M. DUMAS TO THE DUC DE LA VAUGUYON.

Helder, November 9th, 1779.

Sir,

To fulfil my promise, it is my duty by the first post to give information to your Excellency, that in spite of the bad roads and dark nights I arrived here this morning. I saw immediately M.

Cottineau, from whom here is a letter enclosed to your Excellency.

There was a violent storm, which prevented me from going on board the Serapis. Nevertheless, having found means to make known my arrival to the Commodore, he came on sh.o.r.e this evening for half an hour only in order that he might reach his ship again before night. He will send his boat tomorrow for me to breakfast with him, to converse longer on our affairs, and it may be to make a visit together to the Vice-Admiral.

In the meantime I have already learnt, that not only the Commodore has not written anything at all on what has given us uneasiness, but even that he has not said anything, of which they can make an authentic use; that he showed to M. Riemersma, on his arrival, as well as to the other Captains his commission, which is American, not having any other; that he will give me a copy, with a declaration signed at the bottom by himself, that he had shown it; and that as to the cartel made between himself and Captain Pearson, they have had no other surety for its basis, than the permission of this government to put on sh.o.r.e the wounded prisoners, without changing in any manner their condition, having taken upon them, besides, each one on his part, to engage their respective sovereigns. All, therefore, that I shall be able to do further in this respect will be to get signed by Mr Jones the copy he sent me of this cartel. The crowded inns leave me no place for a lodging but the house of a peasant, where I write this letter as I can. I fear that notwithstanding the good will of the Commodore, he will not be in condition to depart in fifteen days; and on examining things closely, and comparing the complaints of one with those of another, as to the delays, I find that the great and true cause is this bad Roadstead, distant from Amsterdam twentyfive leagues by water.

The copy of the resolution of the 21st of October, which I have sent to the Commodore, is a paper very necessary to him.

They will not be able longer to impose on him or spread snares for him. His way will be clear. He regrets only that it had not been sooner.

I have the honor to be, &c.

DUMAS.

TO THE DUC DE LA VAUGUYON.

On board the Serapis, November 11th, 1779.

Sir,

According to my letter of the day before yesterday, I was yesterday morning on board the Serapis. The weather was so thick in the evening, that there was no chance of sending anything on sh.o.r.e that night. The Commodore and myself, with great difficulty, went to make a visit to the Dutch Vice-Admiral, in which all that has been said was so well cleared up, that nothing can (at least on our part) cause a change in the state of things as they were after the 21st of October. The result of the visit is, in substance, that they do not much approve the expedient of providing two different flags in order to make use of one in default of the other; that they rather preferred that the whole squadron should have been entered under the flag and commission of France, as not being liable to any difficulties; but since what had been done could not be otherwise, they desire and expect that the squadron shall depart with the first fair wind; as also that there shall not be in this Roadstead any transportation of prisoners on board the King's cutters that are here; which the Commodore promised.

Today we have been with M. Ricot on board one of the cutters, where we found the two captains, Messrs de la Laune and de la Bourdonnoie, who received us with all the cordiality and manifested all the good will imaginable. They do for us what they can, and M. de la Laune will inform your Excellency of it.

I hope to be able to depart for Amsterdam the morning after tomorrow, if I can without danger be put on sh.o.r.e tomorrow, with the satisfaction of having by my journey hither cleared up, and much accelerated affairs; in a word, of having been useful. I see no possibility of being able to write to Dr Franklin. He cannot, therefore, know anything, nor, consequently, the Minister, except what your Excellency shall judge worthy to be communicated in your despatches, of the contents of my letters, &c.

I have the honor to be, &c.

DUMAS.

THE DUC DE LA VAUGUYON TO C. W. F. DUMAS.