2. "By a letter from the Mate of the Harriot, Capt. Orrock, a transport, which left the Downs the 10th of December, with stores, provisions, &c. for our troops at Boston, there is advice, that after greatly suffering on their passage by storms, they at length got to the Jerseys, and after being refitted by the assistance of the carpenters of his Majesty's ship the Phoenix, Capt. Parker ordered them to proceed for Rhode Island, in hopes they might there meet a convoy to see them through the Nantucket shoals: They left New York March 4, at night, and after three days terrible weather the ship grounded among shoals; at length the gale abating, the long-boat was hoisted out, and manned with the boatswain and four seamen, to go to the nearest land for a pilot and assistance. The 7th of March (says the writer) we saw a sloop making towards us; she run under our stern full of men; they asked if we wanted a pilot; the Captain said he did, and requested one to be sent: They sent a boat with four men, and one was left in the Harriot as a pilot, who asked the Captain how many hands he had? It was answered, that five men were sent on shore, and that only two were left. The pretended Pilot then offered to send for two or three out of the sloop, but he called after the boat, to send all the men the boat could carry; on which Capt. Orrock began to suspect something, and asked the Pilot whether he intended to take the ship? To which no satisfactory answer was given; the arms were then ordered upon deck; which consisted of six very indifferent muskets, six old cutlasses, with two swivel guns on the ship's bows. The Captain ordered the Pilot to carry the ship through the shoals, else he would put him to instant death; but the man begged for mercy, declared he was ignorant of the place, and incapable of doing it; and was ordered to the cabbin, About this time we saw our boat making for us from the shore; but the sloops people seeing her also, bore down and took the boat, and in a few minutes the ship [sic sloop] bore down upon us, within musket shot, with about fifty men in her; they fired a volley of small arms at us; we returned a fire from our swivels and small arms, and continued the engagement for half an hour; being in want of shot, having only nine balls at first for the swivels, we took the lead from the cook's hearth, and cut it into slugs, resolved not to surrender while we had ammunition left; at last Capt. Orrock, whose intrepidity and courage cannot be too much commended, took one of the swivels in his arms, to carry it aft the ship, and whilst in the act of pointing it and firing, was shot through the fleshy part of his thigh; he fell on the deck, and was carried to his cabin, bleeding very much. This misfortune deprived us of one of our bravest hands, our ammunition also spent, the ship aground, and no hopes of escape now remained; I, therefore, by the Captain's consent, gave the ship up to the Americans, who took possession of her. They were such dastards, that they placed our five men, whom they had taken in the boat, before some of them, and rested their muskets on the mens shoulders, to screen themselves from our shot: They were a set of ruffians, and a disgrace to the name of men; by experience we found them far short in true courage to Englishmen; for fifty of them well armed, and supplied with powder and ball, their sloop afloat, and our ship on shore, did not dare to board us, which they might have done, as the sloop drew little water. As soon as they came on board, they eat and drank the Captain's provisions and liquors, set butts of porter on end, and stove in their heads, to drink greedily, rummaged and plundered every thing, taking even our clothes from us. The only instance of humanity they shewed, was, they sent Captain Orrock ashore with some degree of tenderness to the pretended pilot's house, put him to bed, and got a surgeon to dress his wound, and before I left America I had the pleasure to hear he was getting well. We were carried to an island named Martha's Vineyard, a mile and a half from the main land of New England, from thence Mr.Christie, an officer of the army, who was a passenger with us from New York, and all our crew, were conveyed in the sloop which took us to Plymouth, where we were examined by a committee of the town, and then sent, under a strong guard, to the head quarters at Cambridge, where we were put into a prison; but by the favour of Gen. Washington I was released the same day; also my brother, a boy." London Chronicle, June 27 to June 29, 1776.