Folios 213-215: Copy of a letter from Zachary Macaulay, Governor of Sierra Leone,...

Folios 213-215: Copy of a letter from Zachary Macaulay, Governor of Sierra Leone, Freetown, to Captain James Cornwallis, HMS Sheerness. As he has just received fresh intelligence about the vessels HMS Pearl engaged in the Îles de Los, he is sending a small craft to Cape Coast Castle with the information. The French force consists of two frigates, La Vertu is the commodore's ship mounting forty 18-pound guns, and the other is La Regenerée with forty 12-pounders. They sailed from the Île de France bound for home, but had to put into the Îles de Los because they were short of water and provisions. They are convoying two Spanish galleons and a Danish Guineaman which they had captured. With them is a privateer brig from Goree called La Mutine. The crews of the two frigates are very sickly, with 150 out of the Vertue's complement of 370 having been put ashore in tents and a great many of the 350 men on the Regenerée ill as well. When they met, HMS Pearl was mistaken for a Guineaman and La Mutine was ordered to take possession of her, but failed. When the French eventually realised that HMS Pearl was a frigate, the French had most of their men ashore and had difficulty in manning the guns. Her fire killed several men on board the French frigate, and the crews of the galleons ran below decks to take shelter. One of the galleons was hit and was taking on water, so that her captain wanted to strike her colours, but no one was willing to go on deck to do it. This vessel was carrying 15,000 dollars. The French think HMS Pearl had followed them from the Cape [of Good Hope] and will now have gone home to England. The French commodore has notified Governor Macauley that if he can be allowed to water at the Îles de Los and to buy provisions, he will undertake not to harm anyone on the islands. If not, he will take them by force. But the rainfall on the islands at this season is so scant that the Governor thinks they will need three or four weeks to collect enough, and he will not supply them with provisions. Suggest that word be sent to the Admiralty so that the French ships can be intercepted on the way home, which should be easy as one of the galleons is a particularly slow sailor. PS. Understands the three French ships are cruising near Cape Sierra Leone hoping to intercept British supplies coming from Europe.