To Captain Pringle late Commander of His Majestys Fleet on the Lake Champlain
Sir

A letter from you to the secretary of the Admiralty dated on board the Maria at Crown Point Octr 15th 1776 appeared in the London Gazette of Novr 23d following,² which has only reached us now, wherein you congratulate with pleasure their Lordships upon the victory compleated on the 13th of that month by His Majesty's Fleet under your command on the lake Champlain, and proceed to claim the merit of that service to yourself and Lieutenant [James Richard] Dacres as the principal agents without mentioning the name of any other officer employed in it — Now Sir in order to do justice, and to undeceive the public who must have formed a very wrong idea of that affair from your letter, we do affirm it to be untrue! And that in the preparing and fitting out of the fleet, and also in its operations afterwards, no officer or other person employed therein had so small a share as yourself. But to proceed and trace your letter throughout — "upon the llth I came up with the Rebel fleet command by Benedict Arnold: They were at anchor under the island of Valcour and formed a strong line extending from the island to the west side of the continent" — Although you had in­ formation of their being there the night before, you formed no plan nor made any disposition of the fleet under your command to attack them, which you was advised to do the next day before you had seen them; this neglect, whether proceeding from want of capacity or want of inclination, was the true reason of their not being brought to action, and not so very unfavourable a wind as you are pleased to say. It is farther to be observed that when the rebel fleet was discovered, and the Inflexible and Carleton went in chace of them, the Thunderer, the Loyal Convert, and the Gun boats also followed, but irregularly, having no order how to proceed: But each endeavoring to the utmost of his power to attack and destroy the enemy, and did effectual service on the occasion, while yourself in the Maria lay too with the topsails, and was the only person in the fleet who showed no inclination to fight. You farther say "the Carleton schooner commanded by Mr Dacres. by much perseverance at last got in to their assistance; but as none of the other vessels of the fleet could then get up I did not think it by any means advisable to continue so partial and unequal a combat." - Nothing can be more untrue & ungenerous than this assertion. The Inflexible was in the bay and fired several broadsides with much effect, having sunk one of the rebel Gundalos, and was the cause of the Royal savage being run on shore and abandoned by the rebels. The Loyal Convert was also in the bay, whose commander boarded the Royal savage, made some of her crew not then escaped prisoners, turned her guns upon the rebel fleet, and fought till half of the men who boarded with him were kill'd; from which circumstance, and the Convert having fallen to leeward, he was obliged to quit her, which vessel was most shamefully lost, by your not sending the assistance to get her off as he (Lieut Longcroft) desired. The Maria which was the best sailer you brought to an anchor yourself, Lieutenant Starke having refused it as an act truely unbecoming on such an occasion. But let us proceed, you say "consequently with the approbation of His Excellency General Carleton, who did me the honor of being on board the Maria, I called off the Carleton and Gunboats, and brought the whole fleet to an anchor in a line as near as possible to the rebels, that their retreat might be cut off." This Sir is also untrue! The fact is, your signals were confused and not understood as Mr Dacres declared; the Gunboats were called off by the generals aid de camp by his order, and the Carleton was towed off by the lnflexibles boats independent of you: and the fleet was not brought to an anchor as near as possible to the rebels, for the Maria weighd and run out about half a mile from the place where you had an­ chored her before as did also the Carleton still farther, and the lnflexible was ordered by you to anchor near the Maria not to make the line too ex­ tensive: By which means, the rear of the British line was at least one mile from the western shore, and the van beyond the small island at the Southern end of Valcour. From this disposition Sir, and not from the extreme obscurity of the night as you are pleased to say, the rebels escaped: —And had it not been for a most fortunate shift of wind from NNW to South, you never would have seen them more. The Gunboats also which were a very considerable part of the fleet, were not put in the line, nor formed into any order whatever, nor was any order or signal for attack given to the officers commanding them, in case the rebels had been discovered making their escape. But to proceed "upon the 13th I again saw eleven sail of their fleet making off to Crown Point, who after a chase of seven hours I came up with in the Maria, leaving the Carleton and lnflexible astern"; — It is true the Maria got up with the rebel fleet owing to her being the best sailer, and not owing to you, who took in your oars and lowered the topgallant sails, and also kept at a greater distance when abreast of the Congressgalley, than any officer inspired with true courage in his countrys cause would have done. But let us ask you why the Maria, as also the Inflexible and Carleton did not continue the chace after the rest of the rebel fleet, when the Con­ gress and the four Gondalos had run on shore, instead of being ordered to ply to windward again to prevent the rebels from burning them, which was then seen to be already effected? Had this been done, the Galley, the Schooner and the Gondal that escaped, must inevitably have been taken; or shared the same fate. But how the narrowness of the Lake, or the wind being of[f] shore, which were not true, were circumstances in their favor we can not conceive—

As to the number of killd and wounded in the fleet you never took the trouble to know it, and had not others, touched with compassion for the widows and orphans of those brave men who fell in their countrys cause, made enquiry into the matter, they must have been deprived of the benefits His Majesty is pleased to allow them.

As to the Modesty and merit of Mr Dacres which you are pleased so strenuously to recommend we do not call them in question, but we think it no prooff of either, in him or you, to suppress that of others, particularly of the officers of the Artillery who commanded the Gunboats, that did more service in the first days action than all the rest of the fleet, and exerted themselves with a spirit & intrepidity equal to british seamen, or any other men that ever existed — But we must observe as a mark of the modesty & merit so well recommended, that your letter such as it is here shewn to be was smuggled from the fleet in so clandestine a manner, that no other officer had any notice of such design till about half an hour before its de­ parture. But you will certainly acknowledge that you received a copy of Lieutenant Schank's letter to Captain Douglas on the same occasion, which was sent you from Quebec, as the account of the action therein related differed so widely from yours, no part of which you ever denyed, as may be seen by Captain Douglas's letter to Mr Schank, in answer.

It may now be inferred from what is here related, which we are ready to give prooff of to those who have authority to decide thereon, that in addi­ tion to the promotion you have already received for your valour & good conduct, you are still entitled to a farther reward by act of parliament, clearly pointed out in the 12th & 13th articles of war — We call upon Lieutenant [George] Scott and Lieutt [Thomas] Butler of the Royal Navy, as also the officers of the 29th Regt and of the Royal artillery, who were witnesses of almost every transaction here related — To the truth of which we set our hands at St Johns June the 8th 1777

[Endorsed] A true copy of the original which was designed to be published—

Jn° Starke