Page 60 - Demo

Barry and most of the crew made for the mainland in the ship’s launches, leaving Jabez and a party behind on the island to burn the ship to keep it from falling into British hands.
A midshipman charged with setting the ship ablaze panicked when the Experiment and Unicorn appeared and opened fire. He struck the ship’s colors and surrendered her. Barry and most of the crew made it back to Boston, but Jabez and his party were taken prisoner. Fortunately for Jabez, he was paroled rather than consigned to a prison ship in New York, but he was not exchanged until 1779.
An advertisement for crewmen to join
the new ship Trumbull was published in the March 7, 1777 issue of the Connecticut Gazette and Universal Intelligencer.
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Once back in American
hands, Jabez was assigned to the thirty-gun Continental frigate Trumbull. She was fitted out in New London and sailed in May 1780 under the command of Captain James Nicholson.
Jabez was on board as a second lieutenant of marines.
They soon captured privateer Queen Charlotte. On June 1
they sighted the 36-gun privateer Watt. Nicholson exhorted his crew, who “most chearfully decided to fight.” The Americans
overtook the Watt, which responded by running up the Cross of St. George and firing a gun. Nicholson ran up the British colors and the British captain, John Coulthard, mistook the American ship “for one of his Majesty’s cruizing frigates.” Coulthard recognized the ruse when Trumbull failed to respond correctly to a
flag signal, and opened fire. Trumbull ran up the Continental colors and returned fire.
For two and one half hours, the two warships exchanged broadsides from a distance that never exceeded eighty yards. Both ships caught fire and theWatt, left with only one
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