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Article: FRENCH SHIP CAPTAIN WROTE STRONG MEMOIR OF BRITISH RAID.(PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS)
- Article from:
- The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA)
- Article date:
- June 16, 1996
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1996 The Virginian Pilot-Ledger Star. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of the Dialog Corporation by Gale Group. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Alan Flanders
DURING THE FIRST of May 1779, French Capt. Pierre Raphael Charlet and his crew were busy loading 366 hogsheads of tobacco on their ship the Le Soucy off Portsmouth.
Shielded by the colonial garrison at nearby Fort Nelson, while other local militia manned positions on both sides of the Elizabeth, the French had little to think about except their return voyage to Bordeaux with the following tide. However, British Commodore Sir George Collier had other plans not only for the colonials but also for the unsuspecting French.
On May 9, as many of the townspeople and the astonished French crew looked on, six of Collier's warships ...