perched them on the end of his nose, and went snooping around the Dunkirk waterfront for a vessel to suit his taste. His fame had already spread through Dunkirk, and everywhere townsfolk greeted Monsieur Conyngham cordially. It got to the ears of the British and they buzzed at the Mayor, who called Conyngham and pleaded:
âMonsieur, hide or leave Dunkirk. Now I must be firm.â
âI shall leave Dunkirk,â Conyngham agreed pleasantly. The brig, his first prize, had not been returned to the enemy, and there was enough money from its sale to purchase a beautiful new cutter that lay in the harbor. âIn my own ship,â he added.
The mayorâs face went red with horror at the thought of what the English would say if Conyngham went privateering out of Dunkirk in a French ship. âImpossible!â he decided.
âBut Iâve already ordered provisions to be delivered on board tomorrow,â Conyngham protested.
âAnd tomorrow a guard goes on board to prevent her from sailing,â said the mayor, delivering his ultimatum.
Conyngham shrugged and nodded, and that night rounded up his crew and sailed the cutter out of the harbor. She was trim, small, but fast. Standing proudly at her helm, Conyngham told Harding:
âIâm going to call her the Revenge .â
âWhy?â
âFor one thing, there was a British vessel of that name that was a fine fighting craft; for another, Iâm going to pay them back for that mail packet.â
âAnd provisions?â Harding asked.
âThe first British merchantman will take care of that,â Conyngham grinned.
For all his youth, his recklessness, and the offhand manner he went about commerce raiding, Conyngham was playing for keeps. To Franklin he had been a wild boy who might do the enemy some harm; to the French he was the sort of laughing fool they loved; to America and the Continental Congress, he was utterly unknown; to his crew he was a beloved if insane leader. Yet Conyngham was no fool; he was a born sailor, a clever captain and an utterly fearless fighter. He ran up the Stars and Stripes at a time when they were a completely unknown quantity and he defied the mightiest seafaring power on earth; he became in himself a navy, feared, hated, respected.
He ranged through the Bay of Biscay, and when he sighted a sail, he never stopped to count the guns, and his prizes sailed into obscure French and Spanish ports in a steady stream. East Indiamen, brigs, luggers, sloopsâall were his legitimate prey. At that time, the American Revolution needed money and financial backing more than anything else; there was no money to spare for Franklin and the diplomatic corps he had with him in France. Franklin, racking his wits for funds, was astounded when the prize money began to pour in from Conynghamâs raids. There were thousands and then tens of thousands and then hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Three months went by, and all the coast of France, Spain and Portugal came to know that strange striped banner that flew over the Revenge . King George roared with rage, and the admiralty sent a frigate to hunt Conyngham down. Conyngham helped in the hunt, picked up the frigate, and merrily sailed circles around her with the little Revenge , and then took a prize right under her nose. The frigateâs commander was dropped to the bottom of the captainâs list, and the admiralty sent out a squadron. Again the tiny Revenge led them a fantastic chase, sailed circles around them, and led them into shoals off the Spanish coast where the bottom was ripped out of a brig. Another squadron was sent out, but the Revenge sailed away, took three prizes, and brought them safely into port.
Thumbing his nose at the mightiest fleet in the world, Conyngham sailed into the Channel and took prize after prize, while incredulous spectators watched from the coast of France and the Dover Cliffs. Then he sailed north and smashed English commerce
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