was successful, at daylight discovering
them,--three ships, three brigs, and two schooners. At 11 A.M. one
ship was overtaken, but proving to be Spanish, from Havana to Hamburg,
was allowed to proceed, while the "Kemp" again followed the others. At
noon they were five miles to windward, drawn up in a line to fight;
for in those days of war and piracy most merchant ships carried at
least a few guns for defence, and in this case their numbers, combined
in mutual support, might effect a successful resistance. At two they
took the initiative, bearing down together and attacking. The "Kemp"
engaged them all, and in half an hour the untrained squadron was
naturally in confusion. One after the other, six of the seven were
boarded, or without waiting to be attacked struck their colors as the
schooner drew up; but while four were being taken into possession, the
two others seized the opportunity and made off. Two ships and two
brigs remained in the hands of the captor. All were laden with sugar
and coffee, valuable at any time, but especially so in the then
destitute condition of the United States. After this unusual, if not
wholly unique, experience, the "Kemp" returned to port, having been
absent only six days. Her prisoners amounted to seventy-one, her own
crew being fifty-three. The separation of the escort from the convoy,
the subsequent judicious search for the latter, and the completeness
of the result, constitute this a very remarkable instance of good
management accompanied by good fortune; success deserved and
achieved.[236]

The privateer brig "Chasseur," of Baltimore, Captain Thomas Boyle, was
one of the typically successful and renowned cruisers of the time. She
carried a battery of sixteen 12-pounder carronades, and in the course
of the war thirty prizes are credited to her. In the late summer of
1814 she cruised off the coast of Great Britain and Ireland,
returning at the end of October; having made eighteen captures during
an absence of three months. From these she paroled and sent in by
cartels one hundred and fifty prisoners, bringing back with her
forty-three, of whom she had not been able thus to rid herself.[237]
After refitting she went to the West Indies for a winter cruise, which
extended from the Windward Islands to the neighborhood of Havana. Here
she signalized the approaching end of her career by an action, fought
after peace not only had been concluded at Ghent, but already was
known in the United