On Sunday the seventh of April an express came from the light-house guard to Lewes, with intelligence that Captain [Nehemiah] Field, who commanded a schooner 2 sent by the Council of that county to St.Eustatia for powder, had just arrived, and demanded assistance to unload her. I gave orders for the troops to march as soon as boats could be had to ferry them across the creek, which the inhabitants procured with amazing despatch. We then marched with the utmost expedition to reinforce our guard, which had taken post by the schooner to assist in discharging her cargo, mostly coarse linens; she then lay seven or eight miles to the southward of our Cape; at the time of our arrival, the tender, making sail, bore down upon the schooner, on observing this the men immediately ran her on shore. Our troops were outgone by the tender, though they marched at the rate of seven miles per hour, just before our arrival the tender gave our guard a broadside with swivels and musquetry, which they returned. On our junction a constant fire was kept up for some time, till we perceived the distance too great. We then left off firing, and unloaded the schooner, though several hundred shots were fired at us, to prevent it. Our people picked up many of their balls rolling in the sand. The tender despatched one of the barges to the ship for assistance, who made sail immediately, but was soon obliged to come to an anchor for fear of running on the Hen and Chickens. About the time the ship turned the cape the tender anchored within musket shot of the schooner, and kept up a continual fire with her swivels. We had by this time got two swivels in the schooner loaded with grape shot, and a constant fire for two hours was kept up on both sides. We undoubtedly wounded their men, for we perceived some to fall, and others ran to their assistance; they made several efforts to purchase their anchor, which we prevented by our fire, but at last they succeeded; fortunately however one of our swivel shot cut their halyards, and down came their mainsail, which obliged them to anchor once more. At last the. wind shifting, they had a boat to tow them off; we then turned our fire on the boat, when two men were seen to fall; the barge returning from the ship joined to tow them out. Our men escaped unhurt. The militia officers, at Lewes, acted with a spirit which does honor to their county.
