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[ TRANSLATION. | 
Cotony oF Sr. Domineo. - 
Head-quarters at the Cape, 28th 
Brumaire, An. 12. 
The General in Chief of the Army of 
St. Domingo, Captain General of 
the said Colony, Commander of the 
French West India Islands, Sc. 
&c. §c. to Commodore Loring, 
Commander of the Naval Forces 
of his Britannic Majesty, before 
the Cape, Sc. 
Sir, 
I have received the letter which 
you have done me the honour to ad- 
dress to me. As your propositions 
are inadmissible, I request you will 
consider my preceding letter as 
amounting to nothing. 
I have the honour to be, Sir, 
with great consideration, 
D. Rochambeau. 
Port Royal, Dec. 18. 
Sir, 7 
Having, in my letter No. 3, by 
this conveyance, stated to you, for 
the information of my lords commis- 
sioners of the admiralty, that gen. 
Rochambeau had made proposals for 
capitulating, which, though inad- 
missible, | thought soon must lead 
to others more reasonable ; the event 
has justified my opinion ; but I am 
sorry to say, that officer, whose ac- 
tions are too extraordinary to ac- 
count for, had, on the 19th ultimo, 
‘(previous to his proposals to captain 
Loring, through the general of bri- 
gade, Boyer, and commodore Barré) 
actually entered into a capitulation 
with the black general Dessalines, 
to deliver up the Cape to him, with 
all the ordnance, ammunition, and 
stores, on the 30th; I conclude, fiat- 
tering himself that the tremendous 
weather, which our squadron was 
then and had been experiencing for 
ANNUAL REGISTER; 4803: 
three wecks, would offer an opening 
for an escape, but the perseverance 
and watchfulness thereof precluded 
him from even attempting it. On 
the 30th, the colours of the blacks 
were displayed at the forts, which 
induced capt. Loring to dispatch 
capt. Bligh, to know gen. Dessa- 
lines’ sentiments respecting gen. 
Rochambeau and his troops ; when, 
on his entering the harbour, he met 
commodore Barré, who pressed him, 
in strong terms, to go on board the 
Surveillante, and enter into some 
capitulation, which would put them 
under our protection, and prevent 
the blacks from sinking them with 
red-hot shot, as they had threaten- 
ed, and were preparing to do; 
which capt. Bligh complied with, 
when they hastily brought him a few 
articles they had drawn up, which he 
(after objecting to some particular 
parts, that they agreed should be al- 
tered, to carry his interpretation on 
their arrival at Jamaica) signed, and 
hastened to acquaint gen. Dessa- 
lines, that all the ships and vessels in 
port had surrendered to his ma- 
jesty’s arms; and with great diffi- 
culty he obtained the promise to 
desist from firing, till a wind offered 
for carrying them out (it then blow- 
ing hard directly into the harbour) ; 
this promise he at length obtained, 
and the first instant the land-breeze 
enabled them to sail out under 
French colours, which, upon a shot 
being fired athwart them, the vessels 
of war fired their-broadsides, and 
hauled down their colours, except 
the Clorinde, a large frigate of 38 
guns, who unluckily took the ground 
abaft, and was forced to throw most 
of her guns overboard, and knocked 
her rudder off, when there was great 
apprehension for her safety ; and I 
‘ aot 
