e the "Pallas," "Cerf,"
"Vengeance," and "Alliance." The three former were small vessels,
built in France, and manned wholly by Frenchmen. The "Alliance" was a
powerful, well-built American frigate, carrying an American crew, but
commanded by a French officer,--Capt. Landais. This vessel was the
last to arrive at the rendezvous, as she had a stormy and somewhat
eventful trip across the ocean.

The "Alliance" was a thirty-two gun frigate, built under the
supervision of the American Marine Committee, and which had come to
European waters, bringing as a passenger the distinguished Gen.
Lafayette. As has been stated, she was under the command of a French
naval officer, to whom the command had been offered as a compliment to
France. Unfortunately the jack tars of America were not so anxious to
compliment France, and looked with much disfavor upon the prospect of
serving under a Frenchman. Capt. Landais, therefore, found great
difficulty in getting a crew to man his frigate; and when Lafayette
reached Boston, ready to embark for France, the roster of the ship in
which he was to sail was still painfully incomplete. Great was the
mortification of the American authorities; and the government of
Massachusetts, desiring to aid the distinguished Frenchman in every
way, offered to complete by impressment. It is vastly to the credit of
Lafayette that he refused for a moment to countenance a method of
recruiting so entirely in opposition to those principles of liberty to
which he was devoted. But, though impressment was not resorted to, a
plan hardly less objectionable was adopted. The British man-of-war
"Somerset" had been wrecked on the New England coast some time before,
and many of her crew were then in Boston. These men volunteered to
join the crew of the "Alliance," though by so doing they knew that
they were likely to be forced to fight against their own flag and
countrymen. But the ties of nationality bear lightly upon sailors, and
these men were as ready to fight under the stars and stripes as under
the cross of St. George.

With a crew made up of Americans, Englishmen, and Frenchmen, the
"Alliance" put to sea in the early part of January, 1779. It was the
most stormy season of the year on the tempestuous Atlantic. But the
storms which racked the good ship from without were as nothing to the
turbulence within. In the forecastle were three different elements of
discord. British, French, and Americans quarrelled bitterly amon