Jonathan French (January 30, 1740-1809) was a pastor at South Church, Andover, 1772-1809, and was a trustee of Phillips Academy. He had served as a drummer during the Revolutionary War, and at Castle William in Boston Harbor.
In June of 1746, French Duke of d'Anville sailed for New England, commanding the most powerful fleet of the time-70 ships with 13,000 troops, a full one half the French navy.
He intended to recapture Louisburg, Nova Scotia, and destroy from Boston to New York, all the way to Georgia.
Massachusetts Governor William Shirley declared a Day of Fasting on October 16, 1746, to pray for deliverance.
The ministers in New England mobilized colonists to pray for deliverance. In Boston's Old South Meeting-house, the pastor, Rev. Thomas Prince (1687-1758), prayed: "Send Thy tempest, Lord, upon the water...scatter the ships of our tormentors!"
Historian Catherine Drinker Bowen related that as he finished praying, the sky darkened, winds shrieked and church bells rang "a wild, uneven sound...though no man was in the steeple."
A hurricane subsequently sank and scattered the entire French fleet. Lightning struck several ships, igniting the gunpowder magazines, causing explosions and fire. With 4,000 sick and 2,000 dead, including d'Anville, Vice- Admiral d'Estournelle threw himself on his sword.
By September what was left of the fleet reached New England, but was so decimated by bad weather and disease that the venture was in jeopardy.
Rev. Jonathan French later wrote of the reaction of the people in the towns as the French vessels were first seen, and later turned away:
<All were filled with consternation. The streets filled with men, marching for the defense of the ports, and the distresses of women and children, trembling for the event made...deep impressions upon the minds of those who remember these scenes.
But never did the religion, for which the country was settled, appear more important, nor prayer more prevalent, than on this occasion. A prayer hearing God, stretched forth the arm of His power, and destroyed that mighty Armament, in a manner almost as extraordinary as the drowning of Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea.> 1740JF001
In 1746, Reverend Thomas Prince, who served as the Pastor of the South Church in Boston, described the incident:
<While we knew nothing of Danger, God beheld it, and was working Salvation for us. And when we had none to help in America, He even prevented Friends in Europe from coming to succor us; that we might see our Salvation was his Work alone, and that the Glory belongs entirely to Him.> 1740JF002
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote in his Ballad of the French Fleet:
<Admiral d'Anville had sworn by cross and crown, to ravage with fire and steel our helpless Boston Town... From mouth to mouth spread tidings of dismay, I stood in the Old South saying humbly: 'Let us pray!'.. Like a potter's vessel broke, the great ships of the line, were carried away as smoke or sank in the brine.> 1740JF003
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American Quotations by William J. Federer, 2024, All Rights Reserved, Permission granted to use with acknowledgement.
Endnotes:
1740JF001. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Reverend Jonathan French, November 29, 1798, Thanksgiving Sermon. Verna M. Hall, Christian History of the American Revolution-Consider and Ponder (San Francisco: Foundation for American Christian Education, 1976), p. 51. Marshall Foster and Mary-Elaine Swanson, The American Covenant-The Untold Story (Roseburg, OR: Foundation for Christian Self-Government, 1981; Thousand Oaks, CA: The Mayflower Institute, 1983, 1992), p. 40.
1740JF002. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Reverend Thomas Prince, 1746, in a sermon, Mr. Prince's Thanksgiving Sermon on the Salvation of God in 1746 (Boston: D. Henchman, 1746) p. 27. Marshall Foster and Mary- Elaine Swanson, The American Covenant-The Untold Story (Roseburg, OR: Foundation for Christian Self-Government, 1981; Thousand Oaks, CA: The Mayflower Institute, 1983, 1992), p. 40.
1740JF003. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Ballad of the French Fleet.