Gates, Horatio, 1727-1806 to Silas Talbot
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.02297 Author/Creator: Gates, Horatio, 1727-1806 Place Written: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Type: Manuscript document Date: 17 July 1783 Pagination: 2 p. : docket ; 29.7 x 19.3 cm. Order a Copy
This is a copy of a certificate sent to Captain Talbot by Major General Gates. Says when he was in command of the troops in the Eastern Department in 1779, there were many small British cruisers harrasing American shipping from Long Island to Nantucket. To stop them, Gates says he had a large galley and a sloop named "Argo" fitted for battle. The "Argo" had 12 6-pound guns and was given to the command of Rhode Islander Silas Talbot, "that intrepid & enterprising officer." Goes on to say he "was eminently useful & greatly assisted in driving the enemy from our coast and relieving our wants by opening a safer Passage to our supplies by water." Says in his first cruise he took 6 British privateers. Afterwards he was sent with dispatches for the French fleet, which was on its way to America, and he took 5 more prizes.
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