302
RIDDELLS OF SOMERSET COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.
wounded; in the other, we captured a large quantity of dry goods and
clothing belonging to the British, the whole of which we carried away.
"On one occasion Captain Story, who commanded a privateer from
Woodbridge, N. J., fell in with us in Sosbury River, which was our ren-
dezvous. Captains Hiller and Story ascending the heights, discovered
four vessels, termed 'London traders,' at a distance, moored close to the
highlands. One of the vessels, however, was an armed schooner, carrying
eight guns, and was used as a guard-ship to protect the other three. Our
captain determined on their capture, and we attacked them within a short
distance of the British fleet. The cannonading was very severe on both
sides, but after a hard-fought battle the armed schooner struck her colors,
and we captured the others without difficulty. The guard-ship closed on
us and poured her shot into us like hail, - -a solid shot cutting our mast
away just above our heads; but at last we succeeded in running the
schooner first captured on a sand-bar, where we burnt her; and the other
we bilged and wrecked, all in sight of the British fleet.
"A short time afterwards two good men and myself, with permission,
took a small boat and in the night boarded and took a craft laden with
calves, poultry, butter, eggs, etc., going to the British fleet. A prize of
this kind, at the present day, would be considered of small account, but
at that time it was of great value to troops who were almost starving.
"At another time we attacked a large sloop and two schooners, one of
them heavily armed. They gave us a warm reception, and after a run-
ning fire of some duration, we closed with the armed schooner, and when
about to board her, Captain Hiller cursed the British officer, and told him
if he fired another gun he should have no quarter; whereupon he seized
a match from the hand of one of his gunners and directed a shot himself,
but owing to the roll of the vessels it did no execution. We then board-
ed her and had a most desperate hand-to-hand conflict for some minutes,
Captain Hiller engaging the British captain, and I the second officer.
Our commander was soon victorious, and the British captain, badly
wounded, cried for quarter, which we generously gave him and all his
men. These prizes we ran into a cove on the Jersey shore.
"A few days after, we sailed again, and discovered a vessel with British
colors. Our captain declared he would have her, and after an exciting
chase we found she was an American prize which the British had captured
off the Cape of Delaware, and were sending her, filled with American
prisoners, to New York, then occupied by the British troops and fleet.
We soon boarded and recaptured her, threw her dead overboard, placed
the crew in irons, and I was put in command to take her to a place of
safety. In the evening we found that we were pursued by a sloop-of-war
and two privateers, which had been sent from the British fleet to capture
us, but the darkness of the night enabled us to escape them, and we ran
into Shirk River, where we released the American prisoners and set fire
to the ship.
"Soon after we dropped out again,- flying British colors,- for another
cruise; but not finding anything along the coast, we ran into Sandy Hook,
alongside the British fleet, and passed through the narrows about sunset.
Here we espied a craft going across to the guard-ship, in pursuit of which
our captain sent a whale-boat, well manned and armed, but perceiving a
line of soldiers marching down the beach, evidently intending to waylay
us at the narrows, we rowed to the shore and landed fifteen men, who
were to attack in the rear, the enemy in the meantime having crossed the
