Liveblogging the American Revolution: April 24, 1778: North Channel Naval Duel
The North Channel naval duel was in some respects a reverse, small-scale dress-rehearsal for Jones's 1779 battle with HMS Serapis. Drake had been built as a merchant ship with defensive capability, and bought by the Royal Navy to help fill the gap left when many ships had to be sent to America; even the 20 four-pound guns were not official Navy issue, just the ones which had originally been bought by the merchants. The hull was the wrong shape for rapid battle manoeuvres, and not designed to resist cannon fire. Ranger had been built as a fighting ship, and modified by Jones for maximum efficiency; for example, although there were ports for 20 guns, he found it safest to install only 18 six-pound guns. That made a total broadside weight of 54 pounds, slightly more than Drake's 40 pounds total—but those dozens of Irish volunteers meant that if Drake could grapple and board Ranger the Americans would be in trouble.
The formalities completed, Ranger turned sharply and fired a broadside at the following Drake. The British were unable to reply immediately; when they did, they found they had a serious problem. With full charges of powder, the four-pounders were unstable, and tended to tip forward; in the case of the two pairs of guns at the rear of the ship, most subject to the rise and fall with the waves, this meant that they could skid almost anywhere as they were fired, presenting grave danger to the gun crews. In Navy records, Drake's armament had been listed as only 16 guns, suggesting that the rearmost guns had been left aboard just for show. The original gunner may well have known of these problems, and perhaps the gunner's mate too, but neither was aboard the Drake anymore (the mate having been captured in the reconnaissance mission, and the gunner being ill at Portsmouth).
After a few more broadsides, further problems emerged. Shrapnel from Ranger's third broadside hit Lieut. Dobbs in the head, putting him out of action. Conditions on Drake's gun deck were so unpredictable that the 'powder monkeys'—the boys who brought charges of gunpowder up for the great guns, in fire-resistant boxes—eventually became reluctant to do their duty. Twice the ship's master had to go below to urge the acting gunner to be more efficient in supplying the powder, when opportunities for broadsides were missed. Another problem was that the 'slow matches' which were used to fire the guns kept falling into their fire-safety tubs and going out. The four-pound guns could not penetrate Ranger's toughened hull anyway, so Drake tried copying the technique the Americans had been using from the start: they aimed at the masts, sails and rigging, in order to slow the opponent down.
The combatants were very close together, but never close enough for grappling, probably because Captain Jones knew of the extra men hidden below decks on Drake. As well as the great guns, both sides were firing small arms at each other, and here too Drake failed. Little or no extra cartridge paper had been found since the previous night's embarrassing discovery, and soon the musketeers ran out of cartridges. That meant they had to load their guns the slow way, pouring in the right amount of powder, then putting in the shot. Musket balls were passed round in the armourer's hat, and two powder horns were shared between all the men on duty. With the other side much better organised, such inefficiency meant the difference between life and death. Drake killed just one of Jones's crew, Lieutenant Samuel Wallingford, by musket fire; another two who were firing from positions up the masts died as a by-product of a broadside. Four of Drake's crew were killed, including, just under an hour into the fight, Captain Burdon himself, struck in the head by a musket ball. With both the captain and lieutenant out of action, command of Drake passed to the master, John Walsh.
By that time, Drake's sails and rigging had been reduced to tatters by Ranger's broadsides, and even the masts and yardarms were seriously damaged; in the light wind, the sloop was more or less immobilised, not even able to turn to aim a broadside. Unable to load fast enough, the small-arms fighters had retreated to cover, so only about a dozen people were left on Drake's main deck. A few minutes after the captain died, the two remaining petty officers on deck went to the master and advised him that they should strike their colours and surrender; after further consultation, he agreed. The colours had already been shot away, so Mr. Walsh had to shout and wave his hat instead. According to John Paul Jones's records, the duel lasted one hour and five minutes.
Thirty five men were sent from Ranger to Drake to take charge and assess the damage, then the next three days were spent making repairs, while moving slowly north-westward between Ireland and Scotland. A cargo brig which came too close was captured, and used as extra accommodation; on the other hand, six Irish fisherman who had been captured on the first Carrickfergus expedition were allowed, along with three sick Irish sailors, to take a boat and go home, with a present of sails from Drake, and some money from Jones. On their return they also reported the concern Jones was showing for Lieut. Dobbs, who remained gravely ill. Meanwhile, the Royal Navy had sent out some proper warships in pursuit. Despite Drake's lameness, they never caught a glimpse of the slowly escaping Americans.
