Combat· American Revolutionary War
Alliance vs privateer schooner Alert
In early March 1781 the Continental frigate Alliance, nearing the French coast on a passage from Boston, captured the British privateer schooner Alert.
The Alliance, under Captain John Barry, had stood to sea from Nantasket Road on February 11, 1781, mustering 250 men including passengers, among them Colonel John Laurens and Thomas Paine. Her Marine officers were Captain Matthew Parke and Lieutenants Thomas Elwood, James Warren and Samuel Pritchard. As the frigate approached France, a small schooner and a tall ship were sighted, and a shot from the forecastle gun brought both vessels to. McClellan dates the capture to March 4. The schooner mounted 10 guns, and the ship was a Venetian merchantman, the Buono Campagnia, which the Alert had taken a few hours before. Because the merchantman was neutral and carried no contraband, Barry allowed her to resume her voyage. On March 9 the Alliance and her prize anchored north of the Isle de Groix, where they remained for several days before entering the port.
Record no. 148