[Philadelphia] 22nd July [1778]
Sir
As I have nothing public in charge for your Excellency I must request you Sir to indulge me in this private with a cover of six Marine Commissions, Instructions and Bonds, and of a letter to Captain Cottineau.1 The Captain applied to me in York Town for a Commission for his own Ship and for one or two which he said he intended to equip and to form a little squadron.2 Congress are not inclined to grant Commissions for Vessels in distant States unless special descriptions are previously laid before them Your Excellency will be capable of judging of the propriety of Capt Cottineau's pretensions and will act as you shall think for the benefit of the public—at this Critical moment it is highly probable demands will be made on Your Excellency for all that remain after Captain Cottineau shall be supplied. I am told no less than 12 Prizes lately taken are advertised for sale on tuesday next at Egg Harbour—3 Vice Admiral Count d'Estaing has captured a much greater number at Sandy Hook, some of them Armed Vessels and some very valuable, but we have not learned particulars. The Admiral finding his large ships of too great a draught of Water for the Bar of the Hook after lying several days in view of the British squadron within, sailed as we are informed for Rhode Island, where he must be content to play a smaller game than that which he had originally had in view—if General Pigot and his garrison shall be compellid to surrender the thing will not be very inconsiderable.... I have the Honor to be &c
LB, ScHi, Henry Laurens Letter Book. The portion not included concern newspapers that Laurens sent Caswell and dealing with the Carlisle Peace Commission.
1. Laurens's letter to Capt. Denis-Nicolas Cottineau de Kerloguen is printed in Letters of Delegates 10: 338–39.
2. The application made at York, Pennsylvania, as is clear from Laurens's letter Cottineau, was done orally. Cottineau was master of the armed French merchant ship Ferdinand, which was at Beaufort, North Carolina. From what Gov. Patrick Henry wrote to delegate to Congress Richard Henry Lee on 28 May, in NDAR 12: 275–76, it appears that Cottineau proposed an attack on British posts on the coast of Africa.
3. The Philadelphia newspaper Pennsylvania Packet or the General Advertiser in its 21 July edition advertised for sale at the "forks of Little Egg Harbour" three vessels and their cargoes. The sale was to be held on Tuesday, 28 July. The same notice also advertised the sale on 29 July of five additional prizes at "Chesnut Neck." On 28 July the Pennsylvania Packet advertised the sale at the “Borough of Chester" of two additional prizes taken by Vice-amiral comte d'Estaing's fleet. These two were Bonite (also rendered Bonette and Bonetta) and Charlotte. On the details of their sale, see Journal of Lieutenant de vaisseau Jean-Julien Chevalier Le Mauff, French Navy, 8 to 9 July, above. This sale was scheduled for 29 July as well.
