"We came very close to firing. They veeered off at the last moment. Some of us thought they were looking to ram us. Which would have been a rather unusual and worthless tactic, since cannons are much better at causing damage. It was quite the scare.

"And then they turned, and we finally turned our spyglasses on the ship. That was when we saw the problem. Most of the crew was dying or dead, and a handful of men as thin as rails, as pale as ghosts despite the hot sun, where doing their best to keep the ship afloat.

"It was then that one of the Frenchmen signaled as best he could. And waved the white flag." All the years later, the shock at this, and the horror of the sight of the emaciated men, still rings in Gibbs' voice.