Last Saturday sailed, on its return for St. Augustine, the cartel sloop Governor Tonyn, commanded by John Mowbray, Esq; with a number of prisoners, in exchange for those he brought.1 And it is not unlikely, that the same sloop may be on the coast again in a week, as a cruizer, together with Captain Mowbray's sloop Rebecca, and the Hinchinbrook brig of war. 'Tis to be hoped, we shall not suffer three such vessels to interrupt our trade.—Such prisoners as had fallen into the hands of Capt. Mowbray, universally speak well of that gentlemen and his treatment; but it is the very reverse with those who had been taken by Capt. Ellis in the Hinchinbrook.—This cartel left St. Augustine the 8th ult. when all the men of war that had for a long time cruized off this bar, were gone for New-York, on account of the difficulty of getting water; except the Daphne, which, with her tender, a Virginia boat, upwards of 50 feet long, was gone to convoy a three-decker, with a cargo for John Stuart, Esq; to Pensacola.—We have the following further intelligence from some of the released prisoners, viz. that near half the crews of the Brune and Daphne men of war, were Americans, compelled either by hard usage, confinement, or seduction, into the service: That Capt. Sir John Chinnery of the Daphne behaves in the character of a gentlemen to his prisoners: That the Hinchinbrook and Rebecca had lately been on a cruize, from St. John's River; but were soon obliged to return, on account of the Rebecca having lost her Bowsprit: That they will probably wait the re turn of the Governor Tonyn, before they sail again....That the nobleman taken in Capt. Minors's sloop from St. Eustatius, was the Count de Castleburg; and he was sent for England in the Springfield transport, Captain Armstrong: That the accounts we received from Capt. Duck, which were inserted in this gazette, of the 7th ult. of the ill treatment of Capt. Engs, and the rest of the Americans, who were confined at the Look out, were not exaggerated; on the contrary, that they had been once so neglected, as to be five days without one mouthful of any kind of provision, during which period one man died; and that they attributed this inhuman usage to a Major Brown, who went to England in the Springfield: But that Captain Engs, after having been nine weeks in this horrid confinement, had, thro' the interposition of some humane gentlemen, been sent for to St. Augustine, where he acknowledges he was used for three weeks, till the cartel sailed, in such a manner as he shall remember with gratitude.2
The privateer sloop Washington of this port, commanded by Capt. Hezekiah Anthony, returned last Thursday from a cruize; of which the Captain has favoured us with the following particulars, viz. On the 7th of September, in sight of Cape Antonio, fell in with the brig Pensacola, mounting 12 guns, and well manned, from London bound for Pensacola, with a very valuable cargo; engaged her from 7 o'clock in the morning till ten, struck several of her ports into one on her starboard side; but the Washington having her rigging all cut to pieces, mounting only 8 small guns, and having few men, was at last obliged to row off and leave her; and though her deck was covered with grape shot, not a man was hurt. On the 15th going into the Bay of Honduras, took a ship of upwards of 300 tons coming out; she proved to be the Spiers, of and for Glasgow, John Lamount master, laden with mahogany, logwood, and some rum. The same day in the bay, took two brigs at anchor, which had been deserted by the people; one called the Nancy, Captain Ferguson, laden with Mahogany; the other called the Anne, Lewis Lawes master, halfloaded, both bound for London; rigged and brought them. Capt. Anthony thinks himself obliged to acknowledge, that the behaviour of the inhabitants of the Bay, to him, was such, as intitled them to security against all depredations.3 Sept. 22d. fell in with an armed snow called the Peggy, from London for the Bay, fired about a dozen shot at her, and carried away her main top gallant mast, but there being a heavy sea, and the snow sailing very fast, she got away. On the 7th ult. took the sloop Tom, Stanton Hazard, master, laden with Logwood, from the Bay bound for Bristol.4 On the 12th the Washington fell in with and took the General Howe, commanded by Captain Underwood, a sloop of six carriage and 6 swivel guns, from Jamaica bound for New-York, having on board 72 pipes of Medera wine, besides rum, sugar, and a considerable quantity of dry goods; she engaged the Washington near half an hour, and placed her shot so well, that Captain Anthony had his boatswain, William Wallace killed, and two men wounded, and received three shot in his mast, one between wind and water, many in his sails, and had his rigging most terribly shattered. The General Howe had come out under convoy of an armed ship called the Fame, also bound for New-York; which ship coming in sight soon after the sloop had struck, Capt. Anthony, after about seven hours possession was obliged to quit her; but he first hove her guns overboard, and withdrew his people. He dogged the sloop for seven days after, to the lat. 30, but she always kept too near the ship for him to recover her, and then he parted from her in a gale of wind....
On saturday the Washington's prize ship Spiers, arrived off the bar. She had been retaken by the General Howe transport, which had also taken the sloop Sally, Tiddeman Carr master,5 of and from this port for St. Eustatius, and anchored off St. Augustine; but while the sloop went in, and the English prize master of the ship went on shore, the Washington's people that were left on board, thought proper to recover her, and conduct her for this harbour.
The French ship that appeared off this bar last Tuesday, did not come over till Saturday morning, when, after having been brought safe in, and coming up the channel, the wind blowing hard at North, she unfortunately got ashore upon Cummins's Island, where she is bulged. She is a ship of upwards of 400 tons, called Lilancour, commanded by Mons. Pierre Barriere, belonged to Bourdeaux, and came last from Cape-François, having on board 300 hogsheads of Melasses, 20 of sugar, 200 of Taffia, and about 50 barrels of coffee, a great part whereof, tis hoped, will be saved.
The brigantine of war Notre Dame, belonging to this State, commanded by Stephen Seymour, Esq; returned from a cruize last Sunday. On the 12th of October she took the brig John, Thomas Calannan master, from Missisippi, bound for London, laden with staves; and on the 18th, the scooner Jemmy & Sally, Rt. Sarjent master, likewise from Missisippi, laden with shingles, and bound for Jamaica.6
The Galatea, when she left this coast to return to New-York, took a large brig called the Fox, from Dartmouth for this port,7 and a ship from hence bound for France, supposed to be the Pliarne, Capt. Green, about 100 leagues off the land, and carried them in with her.8
