My Lord,—By a letter to Mr Stephens of this day's date, I begged him to acquaint my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty of my arrival in the Druid and of the action sustained on the 4th of September with a rebel privateer.

Your Lordship may perhaps wish to be more fully informed of the rebel force and of circumstances relative to the action than comes within the compass of a public letter: this, my Lord, is my motive for addressing your Lordship in a private letter. On Thursday in the afternoon, about half after four, a ship in a very heavy squall of wind and rain carrying a crowd of sail steering directly for us appeared to me (it being my watch upon deck) of force,¹ which I acquainted Captain Carteret, who ordered me to see the ship clear for action and hoist the private signal to the Camel for a strange sail's being in sight. The irregularity and inattention of the merchant vessels occasioned the men of war to be at so great a distance from each other as they were: the Camel, commanded by the Honble Captain Finch, leading the fleet about five miles from us, had made the signal for the fleet to go under his stern, which we repeated, and kept to windward obliging that part of the convoy to obey the signal, and the Weasel, Captain Hope, on the same service ahead and to lee ward out of our sight; we having but little sail out, the rebel privateer was up with us by five o'clock, hoisted his colours, hailed us, and desired we would strike to the honour of the Congress colours, at the same time gave us a broadside, most of which was fired upon our quarter and between wind and water. I could plainly perceive her force to be 30 guns on her main deck; 6 on her quarterdeck, and 4 on her forecastle. Her marines seem to be a great number and very regularly drawn up on the quarterdeck; but after discharging their pieces, I observed they retired to a round-house abaft to load. The decks and tops appeared very full of men, and for the first two or three broadsides they were very brisk and regular, but found them slack in the middle part and latter much more so; their cohorns from their tops did much damage to our rigging. I take her to be a new ship and had a very warlike appearance. The bars of iron and langridge shot they fired shattered our rigging in such a manner that rendered most of the sails useless, so that they had every advantage over us they could wish; but as their spleen was mostly aimed at the quarterdeck, it gave me an opportunity of managing the ship with the head sails and frustrate their design (as I suppose) of raking us—she at that time got the wind abaft, ceased firing, sheered off, hauled down her colours, and made sail, at which time I saw the Camel about 2 or 3 miles [off] giving chase; and about half past seven the Weasel, Captain Hope, hailed us and gave chase also. After the action was over I saw another rebel privateer² laying to with her colours hoisted bearing S.S.W. 6 or 7 miles. Have since been informed she mounted about 20 guns and was in that situation the whole time we engaged, but immediately the ship we engaged sheered off she made sail and joined her.

I am sorry to inform your Lordship that the first broadside that was fired killed the master and wounded Captain Carteret in the left thigh, of which he died the next morning after undergoing an amputation. I should do the greatest injustice was I to omit acquainting your Lordship that, though Captain Carteret was so dangerously wounded, it was with great difficulty he could be persuaded to quit the deck. His for titude and intrepidity was such that he wished to have remained on deck to have seen the service performed, but the loss of blood was so great it was absolutely necessary to carry him to the surgeon.

I should be also wanting in gratitude and justice if I omitted acquainting your Lordship of the remarkable bravery of the officers, seamen, and marines, during the action, and the alertness they showed with the fatigue they went through to put the ship in order for service, when action was hourly expected, for three days and nights the rebels were in sight.

I think I have given your Lordship as full an account as I am capable of recollecting; and if your Lordship should think through the course of this service I shall appear to merit any claim for preferment, I rest upon that known candour your Lordship has ever shown since your presiding at the head of the first maritime power in the world. I have the honour to be [&c.] ³