Monseugneur
Pendant mon séjour à Boston le navire français la Brune, Cape. dufresne, armé à l’orient arriva dans cette baye. Je recommandai au dit Capitaine de prendre toutes les précautions possibles pour éviter la desertion de ses mattelots. il me répondit qu’il croyait que le navire quoiqu expedié sous commission française avait été dès l’orient vendu aux Ameriquains,1 et qu’il n’attendait pour le remettre que la ratification du conseil du païs.2 je ne manquai pas d’enjoindre au Sr. dufresne de ne pas permettre qu’on arborât à son bord le pavillon amériquain qu’il ne m’en eût prévenu aussitôt pour que j’eusse le tems d’envoyer auparavant prendre tous les marins français qui composaient son équipage. il me le promit, et comme cette affaire me tenait fort au cœur, dès le lendemain, je lui envoyé un officier pour prendre copie de son rolle d’équipage et lui répéter qu’il me répondrait devant vous, monseigneur, du dernier mousse qui manquerait.
j’attendais de bonne foy la conclusion de cette affaire, lorsque deux jours après on vint m’avertir que le pavillon Ameriquain était à bord de la brune et que plusieurs hommes faissaient Signe qu’on les envoyât chercher. j’expédiai aussitôt ma chaloupe avec un officier qui eut ordre d’aller reclamer l’equipage français. on ne trouva à Bord aucun officier ameriquain, mais seulement anciens officiers du navire ausquels on fit cette sommation de ma part. on ne me rendit dabord que très peu de mattelots. les meilleurs que les ameriquains avaient eû le tems de débaucher s’étaient cachés. j’appris cependant que la veille l’équipage avait été sur le point de se revolter sçachant qu’on voulait le livrer au étrangers.
il remit dans ma chaloupe un officier de la brune qui m’apporta une copie traduitte de l’acception que le conseil du païs faisait de ce vaisseau, annonçant que le commandement en était donné à M. Gréen Capitaine ameriquain. je me plaignis des manœuvres sourdes du Cape. dufresne et j’insistai pour qu’on me remît la reste de l’équipage.
peu après, le Cape. dufresne vint à mon bord pour s’excuser sur la maniere dont tout venait de se passer, et me demander conseil sur le parti qu’il avait à prendre pour ce qui était du a ses officiers et à son équipage. je lui fis des reproches sanglants d’avoir manqué tout à la fois à son devoir et à sa parole d’honneur. j’ajoutai qu’ayant accepté lui même l’écrit par lequel le conseil venait de s’attribuer la proprieté de son vaisseau il n’en était plus le maître et que le seul devoir qui lui restât à remplir était de faire payer à ses mattelots ce qui pouvait leur être du. je m’offris même de l’aider dans cette demarche, mais cet homme était tellement troublé qui je ne le revis plus.
presque tous les mattelots de ce navire se sont ensuite rendus successivement à mon bord et volontairement dès qu’il ont sçu que les ameriquains leur promettaient beaucoup, ne les payaient point, les nourrissaient mal, et les tenaient aux fers pour s’assurer d’eux.
Le lendemain, le Cape. Green qui était venu de france comme passager sur ce vaisseau, qui à ce que j’ai sçu depuis avait essayé d’en débaucher tous les mattelots et qui avait peutêtre compté les conserver de gré ou de force se rendit à mon Bord et me temoigna qu’il serait fâché que je crusse qu’il eût voulu engager ces mattelots malgré eux, que dans tous les cas possibles si j’eusse voulu les reclamer au conseil, on me les aurait rendus et que cette voie eut, selon lui, mieux convenu que d’envoyer ma chaloupe à Bord. je lui répondis qu’une affaire de cette nature ne demandant pas autant d’éclat j’avais cru plus simple—de reclamer directement mes nationnaux auprès des personnes chargées du commandement du vaisseau, que n’y ayant trouvé ni capitaine ni individu ameriquain on s’était addressé aux officiers français qui dans ce moment étaient censés dépendre du conseil de la province puisqu’il venaient de recevoir et d’éxécuter un ordre de sa part. j’ajoutai à cela beaucoup de raisons qui parurent convaincre M. G[reen] de mon esprit de moderation et de la necessité où me mettaiet nos ordonnances de me conduire comme je venais de le faire. il parrut satisfait, et nous nous quittames bons amis.
il n’en est pas moins vrai, monseigneur, que je dois vous demander une justice exemplaire du capitaine dufresne qui sans égard pour le pavillon du Roi, au mepris de mes recommandations et de sa parole d’honneur a été au moment de m’exposer ou à me compromettre, ou à manquer à mon devoir. il est du département de st. malo. j’ignore dans quel tems il sera de retour en france ; mais vous en serez facilement instruit si vous desirez de l’être.
en outre des mattelots de la brune, j’ai encore ramené onze hommes qui se sont reclamés de moi comme marins.
|
de la Brune |
|
|
officiers mariniers— |
5 |
|
mattelots— |
40 |
|
mousses— |
11 |
|
Autres passagers |
|
|
officers mariniers— |
3 |
|
mattelots |
7 |
|
mousses |
1 |
Total— |
|
67 |
[Translation]
[Brest, June 15, 1778]
My Lord
During my stay at Boston the French ship Brune, Captain Dufresne, from L’Orient, arrived in that bay. I recommended to the said captain that he take every possible precaution to prevent the desertion of his seamen. He answered that he believed the ship, although sent under a French commission, had already been sold at L’Orient to the Americans,1 and that he was waiting to return only for the ratification of the council of the country.2 I did not fail to enjoin Mr. Dufresne not to permit the American flag to be hoisted on his ship before he had informed me immediately so that I would have time previously to retrieve all the French sailors who made up her crew. This he promised me, and as this affair concerned me greatly, the next day I sent to him an officer to take a copy of his muster roll and he repeated that he would answer to me before you, My Lord, for the last ship’s boy who would be missing.
I waited with good faith for the conclusion of this affair, when two days later I was alerted that the American flag was on board the Brune and that several men beckoned that they be sent for. I immediately dispatched my ship’s boat with an officer who had orders to reclaim the French crew. No American officer was on board, but only the former officers of the vessel to whom this notice was given on my behalf. There were delivered up to my ship very few of the seamen. The best of them whom the Americans had had the time to seduce had been hidden. I understood, however, that the old crew had been on the point of revolting on learning that they were to be delivered up to the foreigners.
An officer of the Brune returned in my ship’s boat who brought me a translated copy of the acceptance that the council of the country made of this ship, declaring that the command had been given to the American captain Mr. Green. I complained of these underhand actions of Captain Dufresne and demanded that the rest of the crew be sent to me.
A little later Captain Dufresne came on board my ship in order to apologize for the manner of all that had taken place, and he asked advice on the course he was to take concerning what was owing to his officers and men. I gave him some biting reproaches for having failed altogether in his duty and his word of honor. I added that he himself having accepted the document by which the council had come into ownership of his ship, he was no longer master of it and the sole duty that remained for him to fulfill was to have the seamen paid what appeared to be due them. I offered to aid him in this proceeding, but this man was so far troubled that I did not see him again.
Almost all the seamen of this vessel subsequently came in succession on board my ship and volunteered since they had learned that the Americans promised much, paid them nothing, fed them poorly, and held them in irons in order to secure them.
The next day Captain Green, who had come from France as a passenger on that ship, who, I learned since, had tried to entice away all the seamen, and who had perhaps intended to keep them willingly or by force from being turned over to my ship, testified to me that he would have been angered that I might have believed he had wanted to engage these sailors against their will, that in any case, I might have reclaimed them in the council, where they would have been turned over to me, and that this way would have been, according to him, more suitable than sending my ship’s boat alongside. I responded to him that an affair of this nature did not demand so much uproar, I had thought more simply to reclaim my countrymen, close by, directly from the person to whom they had been entrusted by the commander of this ship, but having found there neither captain nor individual American, we addressed the French officers who at that moment were supposed to depend on the advice of the council of the province, since they had just received and executed an order on its behalf. I added many reasons that appeared to convince Mr. G[reen] of my spirit of moderation and of the necessity of enforcing our ordinances, as I had just done. He appeared satisfied, and we parted good friends.
It is not less true, My Lord, that I ought to ask of you an exemplary justice for Captain Dufresne, who, without regard for the King’s flag, in contempt of my advice and of his word of honor, had been at the point of exposing me to either compromising myself or failing in my duty. He is from the department of St. Malo. I do not know when he will return to France; but you will easily be informed of it if you want to be.
In addition to the seamen of the Brune, I have brought back another eleven men who have been reclaimed by me as sailors.
|
from the Brune |
|
|
petty officers |
5 |
|
seamen |
40 |
|
boys |
11 |
|
Other passengers |
|
|
petty officers |
3 |
|
seamen |
7 |
|
boys |
1 |
Total |
|
67 |
Sainneville