porter's jourkal. 



171 



witnesses, who covered the surrounding hills, can testify 

 that we fought his ships near two hours and a half ; up- 

 wards of fifty broadsides were fired by the enemy, agree- 

 ably to their own accounts, and upwards of seventy-five by 

 ours : except the few minutes they were repairing damages, 

 the firing was incessant. 



Soon after my capture, I entered into an agreement with 

 Commodore Hillyar to disarm my prize, the Essex Junior, 

 and proceed with the survivors of my officers and crew to 

 the United States, taking with me her officers and crew. 

 He consented to grant her a passport to secure her from 

 recapture. The ship was small, and we knew we had much 

 to suffer, yet we hoped soon to reach our country in safety, 

 that we might again have it in our power to serve it. This 

 arrangement was attended with no additional expense, as 

 she was abundantly supplied with provisions and stores for 

 the voyage. 



In justice to Commodore Hillyar, I must observe, that 

 (although I can never be reconciled to the manner of his 

 attack on the Essex, or to his conduct before the action,) 

 he has, since our capture, shown the greatest humanity to 

 my wounded, (whom he permitted me to land, on condition 

 that the United States should bear their expenses,) and 

 has endeavoured as much as lay in his power, to alleviate 

 the distresses of war, by the most generous and delicate 

 deportment towards myself, my officers, and crew. He 

 gave orders that the property of every person should be 

 respected ; which orders, however, were not so strictly 

 attended to as might have been expected ; besides being 

 deprived of books, charts, &:c. &;c. both myself and officers 

 lost many articles of our clothing, some to a considerable 

 amount. I should not have considered this last circum- 

 stance of sufficient importance to notice, did it not mark a 

 striking difference between the navy of Great-Britain, and 

 that of the United States, highly creditable to the latter. 



By the arrival of the Tagus a few days after my capture, 

 I was informed, that besides the ships which had arrived 

 in the Pacific in pursuit of me, and those still expected, 

 others were sent to cruize for me in the China seas, off 

 New Zealand, Timor, and New Holland, and that another 

 frigate was sent to the river La Plata. 



To possess the Essex, it has cost the British government 

 near six millions of dollars, and yet, sir, her capture was 



