Diary of Dr. Ezra Green, Friday, April 24, 1778

Early in the morning our Capt. proposed making a second attempt to cut out the Ship in Caracfergus, which was now within a small Distance, the People both officers & men discovr’d gread unwillingness to make the attempt. Capt. Jones notwithstanding declar’d publickly his determination to go in, in short it seem’d impossible to avoid it for the Tide & what little wind there was, had imperceptibly carry’d us in so far that there was very little chance for an Escape, and now which was about sun-rise we saw the Ship with Her Sails loos’d and had nothing to do but to get ready for Action Our People at the same Time discovering the greatest readiness to engage Her. When she [the Sloop of war Drake] came out at 11 almost Calm about 12 Saw a Boat coming from the Ship which we Decoy’d and took on board a Midshipman & 5 Men ; there being a light Breeze of Wind & understanding by the People from the Ship that she was coming Out to us; clung our wind and stood out under easy sail till 4 O’clock, P.M. & hove too for Her, she came up about 6 and hailed after the usual Compliments were pass’d we wore Ship and gave her a whole broad side, without receiving a Shot: the Action continued till 5 minutes after seven very warm when her 2 Commanding Officers being the one Capt. Brurdon killed & the other Lt. Dobbs mortally wounded and about 20 of Her Men disabled and the Ships Rigging Sails &c. very much damaged they were oblig’d to give her up by the wave of the Hat & a call for Quarters for having the Second Time cut away their Ensign staff they had no Colours to Strike.

Lost on our side,—Lt. Wallingsford¹ killed by a musket shot in the head. John W. Dangle by a double H^d. shot cut in two in the Fore Top.

Wounded,—Pierce Powers lost his right Hand, & his left badly wounded. James Falls by a musket shot through the Shoulder. Thos. Taylor lost his little Finger by a musket shot at the wheel.

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¹ Lieut. Wallingford’s Christian name was Samuel. Doct. Green told his son he was a lieutenant of marines. His son George Washington Wallingford, born in Somersworth, N. H., and an infant two months old at the time of his father’s death, was a distinguished lawyer of Maine. (See Willis’s Law and Lawyers of Mains, pp. 252, 256.)

SOURCE: Dr. Ezra Green, Diary of Ezra Green, M.D., Surgeon on Board the Continental Ship “Ranger,” Under John Paul Jones, from November 1, 1777 to September 27, 1778,  p. 23-5

Journal of Lieutenant William Feltman, July 6, 1781

At sunrise we took up the line of march for Jamestown, at which place the enemy lay encamped.

The first battalion of our line (the Pennsylvanians) was detached with a small party of riflemen, which brought on a scattering fire in front and on the flanks of our battalion (the first), that continued for two or three hours, between our Riflemen and their Yeagers; our battalion (the first) was then ordered to close column and advance, when we had information the 2nd and 3rd battalions with one of Infantry were in sight of us; we then formed again, displayed to the right and left, the 3rd battalion on our right and the 2nd on our left; being then formed, brought on a general engagement, our advance regular at a charge till we got within eighty yards of their whole army, they being regularly formed, standing one yard distance from each other, their Light Infantry being in front of our battalion. We advanced under a very heavy fire of grape-shot, at which distance we opened our musquetry. Then I received a wound with a canister shot in my left breast, but did not retreat until the whole of us retreated, which was very rapidly. Upon our retreat I felt very faintish, but the thoughts of falling into the enemy's hands made me push on as hard as I possibly could for about five miles, when I got a horse and rode to Bird's Ordinary, being 12 miles, where I arrived in the morning, 3 o'clock, my wound being very painful. List of the wounded officers of our line:

Capt. Cropley	Artillery
Capt. Jirnney	6 Reg’t Penna.
Capt. Doyle	6 Reg’t Penna.
Capt. Vanlear	5 Reg’t Penna.
Capt. Stake	1 Reg’t Penna.
Capt. McClelland	1 Reg’t Penna.
Capt. Montgomery	4 Reg’t Penna.
Lieut Herbert	wounded and taken and immediately paroled
Lt. White	1st.
Lt. Pierey	2nd.

The number of our killed and wounded and taken being 97 Rank and File.

SOURCE: Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Publisher, Journal of Lieut. William Feltman, of the First Pennsylvania Regiment, 1781-82, p. 6