Declaration of George Sisson, published in the "Virginia Calendar of State Papers," Vol. II, pp. 83-84. Now not all the British vessels were keeping their stations. In February George Sisson|R*|r of Richmond County was a participant, under duress, in an engagement in Virginia waters. He was captured on the fifteenth of the month in Corotoman River by the Cornwallis brig, Capt. Downey, acting in conjunction with the sloop Hybernia, Capt. John Disney, the Trimmer schooner, Capt. Phillips, and another schooner commanded by Capt. Thomas. The next day the Hybernia and the Trimmer attacked a Baltimore brig of fourteen or sixteen guns off the mouth of Rappahannock. The action continued for a considerable time with a number of casualties resulting on the British ships, which, finding they had more than met their match, sheered off and ran for it, pursued almost into Hampton Roads by the triumphant American. Sisson and other prisoners on board had been formed upon the quarter-deck and forced to take up arms against their compatriots. Lieut. Joseph Saunders has left his reminiscence of another daring effort of this time that did not end with pursuit: "Some British ships carne up James River as high as Chickahominy. Lt. Chandler and myself obtained permission of the Commissioner Capt. James Maxwell to take a galley and Man her and go and attack a British ship that lay off the mouth of the River. We accordingly went down and made the attack. The ship was a letter of marque, and the action continued. Our ammunition failed and we had to bare away, no lives lost on our side but shot Langraze and round shot flew thick around and through our sales & rigging until we got out of reach."* And now came aid from New England. "Two days ago," wrote Jefferson on February 17, "I received notice of the arrival of a 64 gun ship & two frigates of [p.96]36 each, part of the French fleet at Rhode Island**they are equal to the destruction of the British vessels, could they get at them, but these are drawn up into Elizabeth river into which the 64 cannot enter." These ships, anchored for the time being in Lynnhaven Bay between the Horse Shoe and Cape Henry, would be attended by great service to the American cause (the Governor informed Baron yon Steuben) consequent on their cruising off the Capes and intercepting communication between New York and Charles Town. To Capt. Maxwell instructions were sent to wait on the French commanding officer and receive from him the arms which, Jefferson was confident, had been consigned for transportation to Virginia, and Maxwell was further instructed to render at once "the armed vessels of this state subservient to the performing necessary offices for the French fleet." The brig Jefferson, the Executive conceived, would at this time prove useful in preventing the escape of small vessels from Elizabeth river. The French commander, however, gave no sign of delivering arms, which, as a matter of fact, were not in his hands, and, without exchanging courtesies with Jefferson, set out on a cruise of the Bay, in the course of which eight prizes, including the before-mentioned Cornwallis, were taken, and then the visitor vanished from sight. The Governor, firm in the conviction that the Admiral was lying in wait off the Capes, informed Lafayette on March 1 that the enemy in Portsmouth, "environed by the Militia of this state and of North Carolina are afraid to venture forth to maraud for fear of the French fleet." Maxwell, however, on March 5 made report of an occurrence that proved that the Governor's reasoning admitted of argument. The Commissioner of the Navy, bearing dispatches from the Marquis de la Fayette to the French Naval Commander, had embarked on a boat from Annapolis. When the haze lifted on the morning succeeding, the occupants of the American boat, discovering that they were the object of pursuit by three large sloops, were forced to withdraw at their best speed up Back River into shallower water, and in that situation awaited [p.97]developments. From their retreat they had a clear view of British lookout boats, some cruising up the Bay and others, the General Monk and the sloop Hope included, making sail down towards the Capes. On Sunday the Boat Liberty put in an appearance and was ordered to lie by. On the night of March 6 Maxwell planned to brave the perils of the Capes the next day and "stretch out to sea" in quest of the French squadron. The morning was productive, however, of a disconcerting surprise. About seven o'clock there suddenly emerged from the heavy mists eight flat boats returning from a plundering expedition up Back River. The Liberty, aground, was immediately boarded and seized. The captors then stripped her of sails and military stores, and finally left her, carrying off the sailing-master Gibson and eight other men, who had "offered all the resistance that their situation would permit." While this was going on, Maxwell's boat had been hastily got up a creek and sunk. Her crew, on the shore, stood determined to resist to the death any attempt to capture her. But the British went off without making any movement in this direction; whereupon, the sunken craft was raised and sailed safely to York, where it was hoped that the Liberty might soon be able to join her. The British marauders, three hundred in number, found determined opposition from some forty militia, collected at a place called Race Path about three miles from Hampton, who fired upon them, killing Lieut. Salisburg of the Charon and two others. Col. Dundas, the British leader, had his horse shot under him. The enemy afterwards killed a few cattle and returned to their shipping the next morning.