A Follow Up on the U.S. Privateer Governor Thompkins

From Footnotes to War of 1812 Blockade by Thomas R. Bayles.

I'd never heard of this particular privateer. which I wrote about yesterday, so looked it up.  I found mention of it at several places.  According to yesterday's account, the ship had had a run-in with a British frigate while under a Captain Shaler and the actions of two black sailors helped save the outgunned American ship.

In this other account, the ship was under command of a Captain Smith and had captured several British merchant ships and was on the way back to New York when it encountered and fought a British brig-of-war.  The two ships fought until dark and the Thompkins had slipped away by morning, but had been severely damaged with 5 men killed or wounded.  Its bowsprit had been carried away by a 32-pdr. shot.

New York was blockaded upon arrival all the way to Sandy Hook, so the Governor Thompkins tried to make for New London and would have been captured except for a Daniel Winters on board who knew the way through the narrow, rock strewn Plum Gut connecting Long Island Sound and Gardiner's Bay.

Didn't Know That.  --Brock-Perry