But at this juncture Commodore Whipple, in the Providence, hailed the Queen, and directed Rathburn to edge out of the fleet before the British men of war should discover his true character.Major Silas Talbot, an army officer who had won renown earlier in the war by a daring but unsuccessful attempt to destroy two British frigates in the Hudson River, by means of fire ships, obtained permission to lead an expedition diary dog old for the capture of the Pigot.Fort Sumter, the batteries along the water front, and the ships remaining to the Americans answered boldly.The enemy pursued, keeping up a rapid diary dog old fire and the running conflict continued until midnight.Several have been driven out of the fleet.They kept the seas for nearly three months, but made diary dog old only a few bloodless captures.So for three weeks the combatants rested on their arms, glaring at each other over the tops of their breastworks, and now and then exchanging a shot or a casual volley, but doing little in the way of actual hostilities.Had he pushed ahead and made his assault at once, he would diary dog old have met but little resistance but his delay of over a month gave the people of Charleston time to prepare for a spirited resistance.But the Briton showed a strange disinclination to take advantage of the opportunity.At last the fire of the enemy slackened, and the Americans, seeing victory within their grasp, diary dog old redoubled their efforts but at this critical moment one of the gun deck officers came running to Nicholson, with the report that the main mast had been repeatedly hit by the enemy's shot, and was now tottering.The two fleets were about equally matched.To the student of history who calmly considers the record of our French naval allies in the Revolution, there appears good reason to believe that their presence did us more diary dog old harm than good.Ordinarily it was difficult to ship enough men for the navy now it was impossible to take all the applicants.Gen diary dog old.The third day a gale arose and when it subsided the ships were so crippled, that, after exchanging a few harmless broadsides at long range, they withdrew, and the naval battle was ended.
