ought to be fixed, with ports in the bulk head, to fire through in case of close quarters; and cannon through the sides of the cabin are very useful.

On a Merchantman heing Boarded by a Privateer.

If a merchant ship cannot prevent a privateer from boarding her; before she is boarded, the commander must order all his guns in the waist and quarter deck to be discharged, without letting them run in, for if they should be loaded when the enemy enters, and they should point them aft, they could soon level the bulkheads with your own cannon: and if there should be cannon in the close quarters, those opposite to the side which the enemy are on should be discharged, got in, and the ports shut, to prevent the enemy from tossing in hand grenadoes or stink pots, to destroy or suffocate the men in the close quarters ; and that they should be discharged is necessary, or otherwise a hand grenado or fire pot may be discharged in your close quarters, and do more damage to your ship than the enemy, and perhaps carry away a port, and make a vacancy where the enemy may toss in showers of hand grenadoes. Besides, in discharging your cannon they run in of themselves.

How to act when a Ship comes up in your wake, and lays you on board upon the quarter.

The enemy, in his attempt to board you, comes either by your wake, upon your quarter, upon your broadside, or upon your bow. If the enemy come up in your wake, ply him briskly with your chase guns, loaded with grape and cross-bar; and as soon as he is within pistol shot, give him your guns, loaded with double-headed shot, and canister. The former may destroy his masts and rigging, and the latter destroy his men. Next let the guns upon your quarter be got ready, loaded with doubleheaded and canister; and as the enemy ranges upon your quarter, with his men ready to enter, they may be discharged among them. Let, likewise, your powder tubs be ready, and just as the enemy is going to sheer on board, set fire to the fuze, hoist it up to the yard arm, and let it run amain among his men, on his deck. If he still persist in his resolution, and board you, let all your ports be lashed in, for fear the enemy wedge them, which might be of ill consequence; keep firing blunderbusses out of the loop holes in the quarter among his men, as they stand thick, and ready to enter. As soon as he is on board, spring your powder chest on your quarter; for while they are mounting your quarter, they will be numerous: let your men in the

round-house, be ready with their small arms to give the enemy a volley as soon as they come upon your deck; and those in the forecastle must keep a watchful eye upon the poop, that they do no mischief there; likewise, they must pick off the enemy as they mount the main and mizen rigging. If the enemy come in numbers on your deck, discharge one of your cannon out of your round-house, with canister shot at them; if that will not clear the deck, let fly the other; and if a breach is forced before the guns are reloaded, toss out of your ports some hand grenadoes. If this does not drive the enemy away before the guns are reloaded, then spring a powder chest on the quarterdeck as the last remedy; for it is prudent in a commander to let them stand as long as possible; because they do not only strike a terror into the enemy, but are at all times ready; and as long as they are standing, the enemy will conclude you are in no great extremity. Have a good eye to your rigging, and be sure to aim at the leading men. If you observe the enemy's vessel be so far aft that the chase guns may be brought to bear, spare two or three hands to ply them with round shot: aim at the water line, and if they be good marksmen, ten to one but they will spoil their cruize. If all the while the commander show an example of bravery, and the men fire with discretion, they will soon make a ship of considerable force leave so hot a place as they must consequently find.

It is the best Conduct for Merchantmen to fight before the Wind.

If all these advantages be rightly considered by mariners, and they act according to their usual courage, the enemy must purchase his prize with the blood of his men; and perhaps he may go without her, especially if the captain of the merchant ship add skill to the courage of his men, and will not suffer the enemy to possess the advantages he expects, by his good sailing; which is to be prevented only by bearing away when the engagement commences, or before. It is best for merchantmen to fight privateers before the wind, for the following reasons: In an engagement, the smoke is very offensive to the leewardmost vessel; not only by blinding the men, and hiding the enemy a considerable time from their sight, making them act with fear and confusion, and shoot at random, but it also stifles and suffocates them; and it cannot be otherwise with a merchantman that fights upon a wind, because, if he out-sail the enemy, there will be no battle; and it is absurd to think the enemy will fight to leeward, when he can get to windward; because the ship to leeward, fighting with her weather guns, has her water line exposed (more or less according as it blows above the surface

of the water, and may be shot between wind and water; and one shot there, may prove of worse consequence than a hundred upon the upper works; for should she tack or bear away, without perceiving it, she may sink before it is known; whereas, before the wind the danger is avoided. Again, by the wind, if your head sails are disabled, your ship will fly to, and if the enemy be within musket shot, you must lay at his mercy. This danger may be avoided by fighting before the wind, as ships will steer that way almost with any sail, and provision may be made to keep her so, whatever damage may happen to her sails or rigging. And if you fight before the wind, and the enemy keep in your wake, or upon your quarter, you may bring to either way and give him a broadside, and then bear up round, and give him the other broadside; and by the time your ship is round the other way, your other broadside may be ready. But if your ship sails nearly or equally as fast as the enemy, this conduct must not be pursued, because it hinders your ship's way, and consequently shortens the chase; wherefore, to prevent this, get all the guns you can out of the stern ports, and keep continually firing, if near, with cross-bar, among his rigging; but at a distance fire round shot. This will give your ship way, and it may also carry away the enemy's topmasts, or a yard; and a merchant ship's stern may be made to be grape and musket ball proof, and have at least four cannon, which, raking the enemy's ship, will be equal to her broadside, if the enemy be a-beam.

Though it is best for a merchantman to fight before the wind, it is in some places impracticable, or dangerous; as upon a leeshore, a weather shore, in a channel, &c.

A merchant ship fighting before the wind has many advantages; for if the merchant ship be well prepared, steering sail booms rigged out, with good preventers, preventer braces, and good quarters, they have greatly the advantage, particularly of those low privateers, where their men are so much exposed. If the men of the merchant ship be secured by good quarters from the privateer's musketry, she may destroy numbers of the privateer's men, by her grape from the cannon; and if there be a high sea, the privateer being low, the water at such times rolls over her, and they will not be able to load the cannon without damaging the cartridge.

Captain Swaine, of the ship Molly, of Philadelphia, being armed, and having good quarters, in the year 1799, somewhere on the coast of Europe, fell in with a heavy French brig privateer. Captain Swaine engaged this privateer before the wind. They made several attempts to board her, but without success. The grape shot were poured into the privateer from the Molly,

without her receiving much damage; while the privateer was very much injured, a great part of her rigging and spars being shot away. Captain Swaine saved his ship by fighting before the wind. When she arrived in Philadelphia, I saw her, and some hundreds of grape shot and musket balls were still sticking in her waists and quarters.

On Steering in Chasing or being Chased.

Good steering is a very essential thing, either in giving chase or being chased; so that it behoves the commanders of armed ships, in time of war, to be particular in noticing which of his men are the best helmsmen.

The following signals may be used on board of merchant ships in time of war, with but few flags, by having them numbered. A flag, when hoisted, may be made to express any par ticular number thus: Suppose, in order to express your meaning, the number 56 is required: hoist a flag numbered 5 over the one numbered 6, and in the same way for any number, which will express what is required.

Guns, lights, rockets, blue lights, &c. may be used as signals at night.

On Signals.

All signals, to be effectual, must be simple, and composed in such a manner as to express the same signification at whatever mast head, or yard arm, they may be displayed from.

Significations.

The ships of the fleet are to be denoted by particular vanes, fixed at either of the mast heads. Each ship is also to have assigned to her a particular pennant, which, being hoisted alone, expresses a wish to communicate with that ship; but when hoisted with a signal, expresses that the signal particularly applies to her.

General Significations.

O An acknowledgment that the signal is understood by the fleet.

1 Annulling.

2 Tack, headmost and weathermost first.

3 Veer, sternmost and leeward most first,

4 Make sail.

5 Shorten sail.

6 Ships ahead, shorten sail.

7 Ships astern, make more sail. 8 Gather together.

9 Open to a greater distance.

10 Heave to on the starboard tack.

11 Heave to on the larboard tack.

12 Take in your studding sails, and prepare to haul the wind. 13 Haul the wind to starboard.

14 Haul the wind to port.

15 Ships to starboard, join the fleet.

16 Ships to port, join the fleet.

17 Continue as before, though the commodore does otherwise.

18 Prepare to hoist foreign colours, (I will shew the nation's jack I mean.)

19 Show no lights during the night, and keep in close order, as I shall carry no toplight.

20 A strange sail is suspected to be in the fleet, any ship discovering her, is to hoist her ensign and run towards her.

21 Disperse, and each ship do the best for herself.

22 Be particularly attentive, as I am going to make several signals which I intend to have executed in the night. 23 Observe my telegraph.

24 For all commanders, or a particular commander. 25 For an officer from every ship, or a particular ship. 26 Open your signal letter.

To prevent these signals being of service to the enemy, let each ship be furnished with a signal letter, expressing, that "hereafter the numbers annexed to the significations will be shifted." For instance, let the significations in future be numbered 1, 2, 3, &c. instead of 0, 1, 2, &c.