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the word was pass beat to quarters but she was alongside of us our guns nearly touching, I distinctly heared the order to break stop stand by fire. She was a 24 gun sloop of war 32 pounders. I never thought that 12 guns could do so much execution 3 of our [?] were knocked into one the nettings all knocked in the main and spar deck ripped up so that they gave way and the guns of the spar and gun deck by their weight fell thro this started the [?] deck besides there was a shot between wind and water and starting the beems of the [?] deck caused her to leak terrably. There was a cry of Terror thro the ship the Main [?] tree was shot awa and the flapping of the sail with the confusion on deck and the fright of the man at the wheel put her up in the wind and flat aback. in less time than I have taken to tell it the 25th of May luffed under our stern [?] sharp up and gave us he same broadside a raking fire but tho this did us a great deal of damage it killed fewer men than the first fire for all the [?cholows?] ran down into the hold & cockpit and no one was to be seen at their quarters but the officers and the few Americans