30 m. a.m. the strange ship passed about three miles and a half to windward, making signals with false fires. At 3h. 50 m. a.m. the ship was discovered to be a frigate, under French national colours. The Boston now hoisted the same colours; whereupon the stranger ran up at her peak a blue flag with a white cross, and thus made herself known as the Embuscade.

At 4 a.m. the latter wore to the eastward, and the Boston set her mainsail; as did also the Embuscade. At 4h. 45 m. a.m. the Boston tacked, hauled up her mainsail, hauled down the French, and hoisted English colours; and was passed by the Embuscade, at about a mile and a half distance. At 5 a.m. the Boston again tacked; when the Embuscade bore up, and at 5 h, 5 m. a.m. ranged along the former's larboard and weather side. The Boston thereupon fired her larboard guns; which were promptly answered by the starboard ones of the Embuscade, as the latter lay with her main topsail to the mast. The Boston then wore, and, on coming to on the starboard tack, laid her main topsail to the mast also; and an animated fire was kept up by both ships. At this time the high land of Neversink, in the Jerseys, bore north-west, distant four leagues.

At 5 h. 20 m. a.m. the cross-jack yard of the Boston was shot away; and at 5 h. 45 m. a.m. her jib and fore-topmast staysail, with the stays themselves, as well as all the braces and bowlines, met the same fate; consequently, she had no further command of those sails. At 6 h. 10 m. a.m. her main topmast, and the yard with it, fell over on the larboard side, and the mizen derrick was shot away. At 6 h. 20 m. a.m. Captain Courtenay, and Lieutenant James Edward Butler, of the marines, while standing at the fore-part of the quarterdeck, were killed by the same cannon-ball. At this time, too, the mizen, mizen topmast, and mizen staysail, were shot away: the mizen-mast was also expected, every moment, to go by the board, and the only two lieutenants, John Edwards and Alexander Robert Kerr, were below, wounded ; the latter with the temporary loss of sight in one, and with total blindness in the other, of his eyes, and the former by a contusion in the head, which rendered him senseless. At 6 h. 40 m. a.m., finding that the crew were in some confusion for the want of officers to give orders, Lieutenant Edwards, although still suffering greatly from the stunning effects of his wound, came on deck, and took command of the ship.

At 6 h. 40 m. a.m. the Embuscade dropped a little astern, with the view of putting an end to the battle at once, by a raking fire; and which the Boston, having no use of her sails, with difficulty wore round in time to avoid. On coming to on the larboard tack, the Boston could not use many of her guns, because the wreck of the main topmast lay over them. Thus circumstanced, with her principal officers dead or disabled, the British frigate put before the wind, under all the sail she could set; and at 7 h. 7 m. a.m. the Embuscade, who, to all appear-

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