On the Ocean 37 



means of which both the Hornet, the Rattlesnake, 

 and the Adams succeeded in escaping under similar 

 circumstances, but all was of no avail, and she 

 was finally captured. The court of inquiry honor 

 ably acquitted both officers and crew. As was to 

 be expected James considers the surrender a dis 

 graceful one, because the guns were thrown over 

 board. As I have said, this was a measure which 

 had proved successful in several cases of a like nat 

 ure; the criticism is a piece of petty meanness. 

 Fortunately we have Admiral Codrington's dictum 

 on the surrender ("Memoirs," Vol. I, p. 310), which 

 he evidently considered as perfectly honorable. 



A sister ship to the Frolic, the Peacock, Capt. 

 Lewis Warrington, sailed from New York on March 

 12, and cruised southward; on the 28th of April, 

 at seven in the morning, lat. 17 47' N., long. 80 

 7' W., several sail were made to windward. 25 These 

 were a small convoy of merchantmen, bound for 

 the Bermudas, under the protection of the i8-gun 

 brig-sloop Epervier, Capt. Wales, 5 days out of 

 Havana, and with $118,000 in specie on board. 26 

 The Epervier when discovered was steering north 

 by east, the wind being from the eastward; soon 

 afterward the wind veered gradually round to the 

 southward, and the Epervier hauled up close on the 



* 5 Official letter of Captain Warrington, April 29, 1814. 

 58 James, vi, 424. 



