The Texas Compatriot, Fall 2005 Page: 4 of 16
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ment. It was not until May 1,1780, that the chevalier would
sign a contract with Commodore Alexander Gillon of South
Carolina to lease the ship for three years as a privateer. The
contract called for one-quarter of the prizes and ransoms re-
ceived to go to the chevalier, one-quarter to the colony of
South Carolina, one-quarter to Gillon, and one-quarter to the
crew. Gillon was not unknown politically, having served
General Washington and the Congress in the purchase of
military supplies, and was highly respected and politically
involved in South Carolina as well. On his way to
Amsterdam, Gillon traveled, first to Cuba where he ex-
changed letters of introduction and other correspondence
from Juan de Miralles, Spain's first envoy to America and
the secret military intelligence go-between between George
Washington and the Governor of Cuba. In Havana, he se-
cured Spanish help in finding sea passage on Admiral
Francois Joseph Paul de Grasse's frigate Fortunee to Brest.
Gillon was of Dutch heritage and spoke several languages
including Dutch and French, and the fact that he was as good
if not better a sailor as John Paul Jones, instilled the confi-
dence needed to gain the trust of the chevalier and, in no less
degree, the ire of Franklin.
The challenge: Although both the South Carolina colony
and Gillon had made a large investment in the venture, it
soon turned muddy. To put the ship to sea, Gillon would
have to cross seventy miles of the Bay of Pampus to get to
Texel, on the North Sea. The rather unbelievable problem was
that the Pampus had an average water dept of fifteen feet
while the South Carolina required at least twenty-two. Gillon
had to de-mast and off load the South Carolina, seal up the
deck and one side of the ship, and laying it on its side, liter-
ally drag it to Texel. Once there, and made ready for sail, the
marines who were to be provided by the chevalier to man
the ship were away fighting in the Battle of Jersey (one of the
British held Islands in the English Channel). Expenses from
this delay were mounting so as to cause Gillon to contract to
carry passengers and military supplies to America in order
to raise necessary funds. Having misjudged the ship's ca-
pacity, and burdened with additional military supplies pur-
chased by Major Jackson and Col. James Searle, Gillon had
to contract with merchant ships to carry the excess. He also
agreed to escort to America. When Franklin learned that Jack-
son and Searle had used French money to buy military sup-
plies in Holland and contracted with Gillon instead of deliv-
ering the money to America, he became enraged. Later, he
made it very difficult for Gillon to acquire needed repairs
and supplies for the South Carolina in Corunna, Spain and
Philadelphia.
For reasons unclear, the merchant ships loaded with mili-
tary supplies, delayed leaving the dock until winter ice made
it unsafe for the South Carolina to linger any longer, and she
sailed without them. Finally at sea, Gillon took enemy ships
as prizes and sent them to France to be sold as required un-
der his contract with the chevalier. However, the British re-
captured the prize ships before reaching France, and the prize
money was not realized. The South Carolina soon developed
problems of her own and had to put into port in Spain for
repairs. Rot from all those years at anchor in the Amsterdam
mud had begun to eat away at the hull and many of the crew
had become ill. At this point, passengers Jackson and SearleFALL 2005
e r r I R1 ..L ..d i V V ' I
became disgruntled with Gillon's delay in sailing to America and
left the ship to seek other transportation. Charles, the son of John
Adams, was in their charge and he left as well. Spain, however,
was eager to help the American and accepted guarantees for ser-
vices rendered, even over the objections of Franklin. Leaving Spain,
Gillon again experienced problems with shortages of supplies and
put into port at Santa Cruz in the Azores where more guarantees
were exchanged for goods and repairs. After "acquiring" replace-
ment marines and sailors to take the place of those who jumped
ship or were too ill to continue, Gillon set sail for his homeport at
Charleston.
With Charleston in sight, several British war ships anchored
in the harbor were alerted, and immediately gave chase. The South
Carolina outran the British and was soon looking for safe refuge.
That refuge turned out to be the very busy port of Havana, Cuba.
After a friendly "business" visit on board the South Carolina,
General Bernardo de Galvez was off to Cap Francais to await the
return of Admiral Francois Joseph Paul de Grasse from Yorktown
to prepare for the invasion of Jamaica. But before he left, Galvez
authorized Captain General Juan Manuel de Cagigal to take a mili-
tary flotilla escorted by the South Carolina, and attack British held
New Providence in the Bahamas. The financial arrangements be-
came clouded as Gillon did not speak Spanish and Cagigal did
not speak anything other than Spanish. Francisco Miranda,
Cagigal's aide de camp, became interpreter. Soon Gillon and
Miranda were fighting over the soon-to-be spoils of war. The South
Carolina, being a privateer and Gillon being required to share
prizes of war with the Chevalier de Luxembourg, evidently
thought he deserved more than Miranda wanted to give. This was
probably manifested when the British, intimidated by the huge
man-of-war sitting in their harbor, surrendered without a fight.
The local merchants, many of whom owned several "enemy" pri-
vateers at anchor in the harbor, had been through this before and
rather than lose their property to an invading force, persuaded
the British commander to surrender. The terms of surrender would
preserve private property, including the privateers in the harbor,
from confiscation thus reducing the war prizes and with it the
expected revenue of the South Carolina.
The welcome home: Having participated in this final campaign
of the American Revolution, the South Carolina set sail to Phila-
delphia as Charleston was still under British control. The ship was
received with jubilation and a small but formidable group of dis-
gruntled creditors. Also among the group were Major Jackson and
Col. Searle, passengers who had chosen to go ashore in Spain and
seek other transportation to America. Even though the three-year
contract with the Chevalier de Luxembourg was not yet up, he
too was demanding satisfaction as well as the immediate return
of the ship due to the lack of expected prize money.
To say that the Commodore had his hands full is a bit of an
understatement as Franklin still had hopes of turning the ship
over to John Paul Jones and felt that the colony of South Carolina
had no business with a separate navy from that of the confedera-
tion. It appears "states rights" was very much an issue even at
this early struggle toward democracy.
The ship's bell continues to ring: Eventually, Gillon was judged
free of any wrongdoing, but he never returned to the South Caro-
lina. Instead, he gave command to John Joyner, who had served
as his second-in-command and instructed him to go forth and seize.
However, the British had other plans and were lying in wait justI
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Sons of the American Revolution. Texas Society. The Texas Compatriot, Fall 2005, periodical, Autumn 2005; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1764275/m1/4/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.