John Barry: An American Hero in the Age of Sail by Tim McGrath

Author:Tim McGrath
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Ship Captains, 1775-1783 - Naval Operations, Transportation, Naval, Ship Captains - United States, Barry, 1775-1783, United States - History - Revolution, General, United States, Ships & Shipbuilding, Revolutionary Period (1775-1800), Biography & Autobiography, Military, John, Biography, History
ISBN: 9781594161537
Publisher: Westholme Publishing
Published: 2010-05-18T00:00:00+00:00

Pursuit continued. By now both Alliance and the Duc had hoisted their colors, along with Alliance's signals for the Duc to “Shift for herself.” Despite her added cargo the Alliance was even quicker now, thanks to her cleaned copper hull; Barry “found I sailed faster than the Enemy.” By mid-morning, the Alarm was within two miles of the Duc, with the others coming as fast as their sails could carry them. Suddenly Barry saw signal flags flying from the Duc: “Capt. Greene made a Signal to Speak with [Barry],” who “Shorten'd Sail” to find out what Green could possibly want to discuss at such a time.106

Barry was well aware that in returning to his consort, he was risking the money meant to save (or at least salve) America's dire financial straits. By 11 o'clock the Alliance was closer to the Duc than the pursuing Alarm and threw a scare into Charles Cotton. The closer the flying Alliance came, the more menacing her presence: with “the Squadron a long way a stern,” Cotton “shorten'd Sail” to await his fellow captains.107

Barry, “determined to know what Capt. Greene wanted with me,” was within hailing distance just as the Alarm and Duc de Lauzon exchanged cannon fire. The ships were not yet in range of each other; to Barry it seemed that Cotton wanted to feel out his opponent and see what the Duc was made of. He ordered his men to clew up the mainsail, take in the smaller sails, and clear the decks for action.108

While the Alliance showed no fear of the Alarm, Barry had eyes: the Sybil and Tobago now came on the Alliance's heels, approaching her stern. Grabbing his speaking trumpet, he “spoke Capt. Greene, one of the Enemys 32 Gun Frigates then in Gun Shott of us, the other two . . . Coming up fast and Confident.” Once more he ordered Green to make all sail and join the Alliance in a race for the horizon and the Spanish fleet.109 Again, Green failed to comprehend the situation. “They [are] Privateers,” he replied; “we could take them.”110

Green's statement left Barry dumbfounded. This was no inexperienced captain, forgetting his prior signal of “superior force” two hours earlier. The British were coming off the horizon then. Now they were less than a mile away. “With myself,” Barry thought, “I must have felt a sacrifice if I stayed with Capt. Greene.”111 What was Green thinking? What did he expect to happen, or hope to happen? Barry's conclusion was simple: Green “would have made no Scruple to have Sacrificed my Ship and the public property”—meaning the transferred money. Further, Barry knew what a superior prize the Alliance would be for the enemy: “To have saved his own [ship] . . . I know if [the British] had agot me between them they would have paid little regard to his Ship.”112

He choked back his anger, “begging to differ” with Green's ridiculous assessment: “It is very plain the ship to broadside of us to wind-ward”—the Alarm—“is a thirty two gun frigate.

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