LETTER FROM THE U. S. CONSUL AT FAYAL TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE FAYAL, 5th October, 1814 SIR, I have the honor to state to you that a most outrageous violation of the neutrality of this port, in utter contempt of the laws of civilized nations, has recently been committed here by the commanders of his Britannic majesty's ships Plantagenet, Rota, and Carnation, against the American private armed brig General Armstrong, Sam. C. Reid, commander; but I have great satisfac tion in being able to add that this occurrence terminated in one of the most brilliant actions on the part of Captain Reid, his brave officers and crew, that can be found on naval record. The American brig came to anchor in this port, in the afternoon of the 26th of September, and at sunset of the same day the abovenamed ships suddenly appeared in these roads; it being nearly calm in the port, it was rather doubtful if the privateer could escape if she got under way, and, relying on the justice and good faith of the British captains, it was deemed most prudent to remain at anchor. A little after dusk, Captain Reid, seeing some suspicious movements on the part of the British, began to warp his vessel close under the guns of the castle, and, while doing so, he was, at about eight o'clock, P.M., approached by four boats from the ships, filled with armed men. After hailing them repeatedly, and warning them to keep off, he ordered his men to fire on them, and killed and wounded several men. The boats returned the fire, and killed one man, and wounded the first lieutenant of the privateer, and returned to their ships, and, as it was now light moonlight, it was plainly perceived from the brig, as well as from the shore, that a formidable attack was premeditating. Soon after midnight, twelve or more large boats, crowded with men from the ships, and armed with carronades, swivels, and blunderbusses, small arms, &c., attacked the brig; a severe contest ensued, which lasted about forty minutes, and ended PREFACE. WE present to the public, a full Report of the Case of the private armed brig-of-war General Armstrong. The cause itself is of the most marked and unusual legal and historical interest to the profession and the country at large. The history of the prosecution of this Claim by the United States Government against Portugal, for a period of over thirty-eight years-involving a correspondence with some of the most distinguished men of the United States, Portugal, England, and France-as unfolded in the able arguments of the distinguished counsel, will be found as interesting as it is remarkable. This celebrated cause treats of, and the opinion of the court decides upon, some of the most interesting and important points of International Law relating to the rights and duties of Neutral Powers, and their obligations towards belligerents; of the obligations and duties of the Government towards its citizens, and its liabilities; of arbitration and submission; of the duties of the arbitrator, of the award, and its validity, etc., which will render this work invaluable as a reference and authority for the diplomate, the statesman, the jurist, and the lawyer. THE PUBLISHERS. in the total defeat and partial destruction of the boats, with a most unparalleled carnage on the part of the British. It is estimated by good judges that nearly 400 men were in the boats when the attack commenced, and no doubt exists in the minds of the numerous spectators of the scene, that more than half of them were killed or wounded; several boats were destroyed; two of them remained alongside the brig, literally loaded with their own dead. From these two boats only seventeen reached the shore alive; most of them were severely wounded. The whole of the following day the British were occupied in burying their dead; among them were two lieutenants and one midshipman of the Rota; the first lieutenant of the Plantagenet, it is said, cannot survive his wounds, and many of the seamen who reached their ships were mortally wounded, and have been dying daily. The British, mortified at this signal and unexpected defeat, endeavor to conceal the extent of the loss; they admit, however, that they lost in killed, and who have died since the engagement, upwards of 120 of the flower of their officers and men. The captain of the Rota told me he lost 70 men from his ship. Two days after this affair took place, the British sloops-of-war Thais and Calypso came into port, when Captain Lloyd immediately took them into requisition to carry home the wounded officers and seamenthey have sailed for England, one on the 2d and the other on the 4th instant; each carried 25 badly wounded. Those who were slightly wounded, to the number, as I am informed, of about 30, remained on board of their respective ships, and sailed last evening for Jamaica. Strict orders were given that sloops-of-war should take no letters whatever to England, and those orders were rigidly adhered to. In face of the testimony of all Fayal, and a number of respectable strangers who happened to be in this place at the moment, the British commander endeavors to throw the odium of this transaction on the American captain, Reid, alleging that he sent the boats merely to reconnoitre the brig, and without any hostile intentions. The pilots of the port did inform them of the privateer the moment they entered the port. To reconnoitre an enemy's vessel in a friendly port, at night, with four boats, carrying by the best accounts 120 men, is certainly a strange proceeding! The fact is, they expected, as the brig was warping in, that the Americans would not be prepared to receive them, and they had hopes of carrying her by a "coup de main." If anything could add to the baseness of this transaction on the part of the British commander, it is want of candor openly and boldly to avow the facts. In vain can he expect by such subterfuge to shield himself from the indignation of the world, and the merited resentment of his own government and nation for thus trampling on the sovereignty of their most ancient and faithful ally and for the wanton sacrifice of British lives. On the part of the Americans the loss was comparatively nothing; two killed and seven slightly wounded; of the slain, we have to lament the loss of the second Lieut., Mr. Alexander O. Williams of New York, a brave and meritorious officer. Among the wounded are Messrs. Worth and Johnston, first and third lieutenants; Capt. Reid was thus deprived, early in the action, of the services of all his lieutenants; but his cool and intrepid conduct secured him the victory. On the morning of the 27th ult., one of the British ships placed herself near the shore, and commenced a heavy cannonade on the privateer. Finding further resistance unavailing, Capt. Reid ordered her to be abandoned, after being partially destroyed, to prevent her falling into the hands of the enemy, who soon after sent their boats and set her on fire. At 9 o'clock in the evening (soon after the first attack), I applied to the governor, requesting his excellency to protect the privateer, either by force, or by such remonstrance to the commander of the squadron as would cause him to desist from any further attempt. The governor indignant at what had passed, but feeling himself totally unable, with the slender means he possessed, to resist such a force, took the part of remonstrating, which he did in forcible but |