i ' -'/"'" ^. <-^ -^^ ' 'r. V^^ V-- ■0^ •> - i' * . .*> .»•., -^ "-^^-^ ~0 ^^•^^. V ^.i:-;- ^-^ • '-v.. ".' -;% ■■ -r-*' .' ^' '■^. ■{. *- ■:,F' ~ •• •-' •>* "^ -" • ;^ ^ c^ '<-"^"-- "*^ A 4, ■-♦ k' - '■■X' i^' ^ s -^■. - ; • _.vV 1i> k ^ •-S^,' ,^- ■S^:^^ J- • . . : ■ -. = •.'- /^---*. .'^A^'V Ni-r^" -V •>U V. •>-, "> -:*% ^ "^^ ^o. -'>;. '•''- ;^X' ,^ ' />CV- <- 'Si^^ ./ . 'n .•'^' r -• * • ^•..%. ■^'- -^.^ '>''^^% *-. • - ^f ' -^ ,%' .-f % ^i-'■v" -. .>-^ ;- ^>"^^ % .=■•-'■■- C. • . . t • . o ^ •%-:--*:' <> - • • • , v ..v.: .A' . • g a". .N^"... •i- ^ A^ ''^"^- ^ sr. «', -?>, "i -X V '-S^^/ Newly Discovered Battles and Other Important Historical Data of the Revolution, Deseribep in: — 25c OUR SEA FORCES ..-.■^■ v^ Jl^ \ ^ X ~^ -^ '^' A FORG« ) TT^^N OG«' AN ^ iT 27/ NEWLY DISCOVERED BATTLES AND OTHER IMPORTANT HISTORICAL DATA OF THE REVOLUTION DESCRIBED IN:— OUR SEA FORCES IN THE REVOLUTION CopyriKht, 1915, by American History League. Secretary's (.Ulice, Greenlawti. N. V. A series of five 32-page pamphlets, specially illustrated by famous artists. Send $1 to the Secretary's Office, Greenlawn, Long Island, N. Y. (P. O. Box 22), and the complete series of five pamphlets will be sent to you, postpaid, in the order of their publication. chaptp:r I. VALUABLE SEA SERVICES FORGOTTEN. O many important services rendered by our sea forces in the American Revohition have been brought to ight recently, as to substantially enlarge the historical perspective of our struggle for independence. For more than a century our histories have given the impression that Ameri- can independence was achieved almost entirely through the operation of our armies. Later re- search gives indubitable evidence that our cam- paigns on the ocean contributed vastly more to establishing the United States as a nation than American history has given credit for. Indeed, when we come to investigate old world records for the period of 1775-1783, we find that the operations of American sea forces assumed a prominence (as viewed on the other side of the Atlantic) which entered largely in determin- ing the final attitude of European nations toward the young republic. This, and the fact that the present-day map of the world is being completely revolutionized, with the United States being irresistibly forced into a position as the pivotal power of the earth (a position in which our sea forces of the future will become our main reliance for national de- fense and safety), renders it of vital importance that the American people have a clear idea of what our sea forces accomplished in attaining and maintaining the independence of the United States. A few illustrations will show to what a surprising extent the really wonderful achievements of our sea forces in the Revolution have been, for more than a hundred years, overlooked in our histories. Our "Ticonderogas of the Sea." We have read of Ethan Allen's seizure of Ticon- deroga with its garrison of forty-nine men, but how many know of the capture of the sixty-three Hessian chasseurs by the Massachusetts cruisers Tyrannicide and Massacliiisctts, manned by not more than one hundred and thirty men ? For three hours these little craft fought the British bark Lazvusdalc, besides a ship and six other vessels ( manned by not fewer than one hundred men, aside from the chasseurs) and captured them ; three of the enemy l>eing killed. TicDiideroga was taken without tiic loss of a man. Or, how many know that the Massachusetts, in September, 1776, fought and captured a company of British dragoons who were in transport aboard a 6-gun brig manned by a crew of twenty-eight men? Either of these captures ecjualed Allen's exploit in brilliancy and daring, and exceeded it in magni- tude ; yet, a great number of geographical points in the United States have been named Ticonderoga in honor of the Green Mountain hero while these notable sea captures for more than a century have remained, practically, unknown. "Stony Points" of the Ocean. Readers of American history are familiar with "Mad" Anthony Wayne's brilliant capture of Stony Point and its garrison of nearly six hundred sol- VALUABLE SEA SERVICES FORGOTTEN. diers, but are they so familiar with that desperate midnight battle of June 17, 1776, in Nantasket Roads which resulted in the capture of three hun- dred British soldiers of the 71st Regiment, after a struggle in which the British commander, Major Menzies, and eighteen of his men were killed; or of the capture of four hundred Highlanders, in the summer of the same year, by the 14-gun brig Andrea Doria? Wayne made prisoners of fewer than six hundred British soldiers while, in these two sea fights, fully seven hundred men from two of the best English regiments were captured. There are fifteen Wayne counties in the United States but not one named in honor of these important sea fights. Battle of Trenton Rivaled at Sea. It is well known that Washington, by his bold dash at Trenton, made prisoners of nearly one thou- sand Hessians, but it may not be so well known that the 14-gun brig Mars of Pennsylvania, manned by only sixty men, after a severe action, captured the transport Polly having two hundred and fourteen Hessians aboard ; or that, about the time Washing- ton was crossing the Delaware to attack Trenton, the Pennsylvania 6-gun sloop Congress, manned by only thirty men, captured the troopship Oxford with two hundred and twenty Britisii soldiers aboard : or that the 24-gun ship Alfred captured a transport with one hundred and fifty troops on board; or that the 4-gun schooner Warren of Con- necticut, manned by only fifty men, captured a ves- sel transporting one hundred British soldiers ; or that on April 7, 1779, three Continental cruisers secured more than two hundred English troops. Thus we find that, in these five sea battles alone, fully nine hundred of the enemy's troops were taken on the high seas by American war craft — a number almost equal to that of the Hessians made prisoners at Trenton. Trenton is famous in American his- tory, but scarcely one of the above mentioned brilliant victories on the sea is generally known. In the course of the war, our sea forces captured (and, in most instances, only after severe fighting) more than seventeen hundred British troops while in transport on the ocean. 26,000 British Seamen Captured. We know that Burgoyne surrendered about six thousand men after Saratoga, and Cornwallis fewer than eight thousand at Yorktown, but we may not know that, in the seven years of the war, our sea forces made prisoners of more than 26,000 British sailors — a class of men England could least afford to lose. She could replace her troops captured in America so long as the supply of mercenaries held out but she could not replace her sailors nor readily provide more vessels with which to transport sol- diers and munitions of war across the Atlantic. The above estimate of 26,000 sailors captured by our sea forces from the English has been based on an exhaustive calculation in which only authenti- cated instances of capture, officially recorded by the United States government in 1850, have been con- sidered. Without doubt, there were many captures of which all record has been lost, so that 26,000 is below, rather than above, the actual number of such prisoners made by our sea forces. Gideon Chapman Rivals Sergeant Jasper's Feat. Sergeant Jasper's heroic feat in restoring the flag on the rampart of Fort Moultrie, amid a storm of shot from Sir Peter Parker's squadron, is house- hold history, but how many have heard of the even more heroic feat of Gideon Chapman, who lost his life while endeavoring to save the frigate Trumbull's mast in her desperate battle with the British war ship Jl'attl' Chapman was "one of the bravest and noblest of our young men," a nephew of Major Chapman who fell in the Orchard fight about the time of the battle of White Plains. For nearly three hours the Truuibull and Watt, tossed and lurched about in a heavy sea, had been fighting each other at such close quarters that, at times, their yards interlocked and gunwads, fre- <|uently. were blown into the opposing craft. An unlucky shot passed through the Trmnbnll's main- mast, close to the deck, and caused it to totter. Chapman volunteered to go up and secure the mast with emergency stays and shrouds. Up the dizzy heights he climbed, the fearful roll- ing and pitching of the ship threatening at every in- stant to hurl the enormous weight of masts, yards and sails into the sea. Before Chapman could com- plete his perilous task, the mast went over the side with a crash that, for the moment, drowned the roar of battle, and the hero perished in the sea. There are seven counties in the United States named Jasper in honor of the hero of Fort Moultrie — there is not one Chapman County. 75 Officers, Marines and Sailors Frozen to Death. Our histories record that several of Washington's men were frozen to death when crossing the Dela- ware to attack Trenton, but scarcely is it known that seventy-five officers, marines and sailors were slowly frozen to death aboard the Massachusetts 20-gun cruiser General Arnold. December 26 and 27, 1778, in sight of Plymouth Rock. Gift Mrs. Gaiiigrd Hunt April 28, 193? ■H MiaMiEJjM B Mi Ba a iim i g p aaagBcsaa FORGOTTEN DEEDS OF HEROISM. OUR SEA FORCES FOUGHT MORE THAN 200 BATTLES ^ND MADE MORE THAN '^,P9Q PRISONERS. B(?ir(5H COMIrtfRCE AND ITS IvlANr OFPENDWr INDUSTRIES NEARLV R0IN6D oiDr land forces fought ABOUT 50 BATTUES AND "dE about 16,000 PRISONERS EN/SLAMiS HOME WATER RENDERED UNSAFE CAMADIAN COMMERCt ANNIHILATED LOAN.5 AOGREGATING FEWER TWAN »l0,OOO,0OO W£(?E SECURED BY AMERICANS IN EUROPE. OUR SEA FORCES BROUOHr SAFELY INTO PORT MORE THAN ^20,000,000 IN CAaH OS SOLID SPECIE VALUES NEWrOUNDLANO FI5HU)IES PEVASTATCO MORE THAN I700 BRITISH ANO HESSIAN TROOPS CAPTURED BY OOR aCA FORCES ON THE OCEAN EfuGLISH COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN THE NEW AND OLP WORLDS CONiTANTT-r HARASSED BY 00T INDIE.S TO STARVATION. FffOM 1775 TO 1730 OUf^ ARMY OF THE SEA" NEVER WUMBERED FEWEI? THAN 6,0 VETERAN*. THEY MAD NO "WINTER QOARTlRi, - EY F0U15HT IN EVERY MONTH OF EVERY VE At? BRITISH WEST AFRICAN TRADE REDUCED FROM ^e,OO0,CO0 TO $■{,^00,000 IT WAS SOLELY BY MEANS OF OUR SEA FORCES THJT MUNITIONS OF WW? WERE TRftN^PORTED ACR06.5 THE ATLANTIC AND FTOTMTHE WEST INDIES. Copyright, 1915, by American History League THE COMPLETED SCENE OF OUR STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE American sea forces rendered services of far greater importance and extent in tfie cause of independence than our histories have credited them with — as a close inspection of this chart will show. They "carried the war into the enemy's country" at more than 200 points. A Sea Battle Oft Ferrol, Spain, Dec. 12, 1782. Our histories also give the impression that the struggle for independence ended with the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. So far as American land forces were concerned this is, practically, cor- rect, but for more than twelve months after Octo- ber, 1781, our sea forces continued active opera- tions of no inconsiderable magnitude. As late as December 12, 1782, one of the most important naval battles of the seven years' struggle took place off Ferrol, Spain, between the allied American-French squadrons (of five war vessels, mounting 100 cannon and manned by 637 men) and the English "dreadnaught" Mediator. At the battle of Cowpens, one of the most "brilliant" in which our land forces were engaged and one of the best known in our histories of the Revolution, only 940 American (handling few if any cannon) were en- gaged. The 637 American-French allies began their sea battle off Ferrol early in the morning and continued it until late that night. The battle of Cowpens is known to every educated American ; the sea battle of Ferrol is unknown to our public. In the year 1782 an "army" of more than 1,500 American sailors, handling 264 cannon (a larger park of artillery than any possessed by either the patriots or British land forces at any time during the Revolution) was engaged in actual battles against the enemy's craft on the high seas. Heroic Feat of the Weston Girls. Much has been written, and deservedly, too, about "Moll" Pitcher, the heroic woman who took her hus- band's place at a cannon in the battle of Monmouth; but how little is known of 17-year-old Mrs. Josiah Weston and 15-year-old Rebecca Weston, who car- ried a bag of powder, weighing forty pounds, many miles through the wilderness of Maine, in June, MftJMiil^W»Jl«>JM* ■j -.J - Cof'vri^ht. 1915, by Aiucriciin History La^itc. A NEWLY DISCOVERED OCE Fought off Cape Finisterre, Spain, May 20, 1779, between the Massachusetts 20-gun cruiser "General Arnold," Ca same force. See pages 29-31. This most dramatic sea duel of the Revolution was fought in "plain sight" of a fleet of at the time, the great fleet was unable to come within gunshot of the combatants. In order to bring the entire scene \ Note — A copy of this historic engraving (a masterpiece of America's famous marine artist), on heavy plate-pape beautiful colors, size 12 x 18 inches, neatly framed, will be sent on the receipt of five dollars. Address: "American ] V ■"?»?• . ' ^^jj:.. I'mnlcl sfccially for tins laid. BATTLE OF OUR REVOLUTION. /loses Brown (afterward Captain, U.S.N.). and the English letter of marque "Nanny," Captain Thomas Beynon, of the rchantmen, convoyed by 8 ships of the line and a proportionable number of frigates. Owing to the calm prevailing :he space of this picture, part of the fleet is represented as being nearer the contendmg craft than actually was the case. ly framed, will be sent to any American post office address, postpaid, on receipt of two dollars. A copy in the original League. Secretary's Office, Greenlawn, N. Y." 18 CAPTURE OF THE BAHAMAS. tremendous gale in the course of which the Fly "got foul of the Hornet and carried away the boom and head of her mast" and, in that disabled condi- tion, the latter made her way to a South Carolina port where she arrived safely. The Fly also became separated from the squadron l)ut rejoined it several weeks later in the Bahamas. Finding that the storm had driven nearly all ihe shipping into the shelter of harbors where it would have been imprudent for him to attack them, Hop- kins determined to change the original plan of the expedition and attempt the capture of Nassau, on the island of New Providence, where he knew large ([uantities of military supplies had been stored. .Also, he was hopeful that by getting into a warmer latitude he couUl better check the progress of the epidemic that alflicted his crews. On March 1st the expedition arrived at Abaco, an island forty miles north of New Providence. Marines and Sailors Landed. Saturday evening, March 2d, two hundred ma- rines, under Captain Samuel Nicholas, and fifty sailors, commanded by Lieutenant Thomas Weaver of the Cabot, were placed in some small vessels that had been captured near Abaco and made sail in the direction of Nassau, the ca])ital of the archi- pelago. Under cover of night, the little craft sailed over the short stretch of sea between the two islands and, as they approached Nassau on the morning of March 3d, the marines were concealed below decks, as it was intended to take the town by surprise. By some means, however, the inhaliitants had been warned of the expedition, and as soon as the Amer- ican craft were observed, guns were fired from the two forts guarding the place. This necessitated a change in the original ])lan, which was for the marines to land at once and assault the forts from the rear. Capture of Forts Montagu and Nassau. The American boats then anchored in a cove, nine miles east of Nassau, where, under cover of the guns of the Proi'idcncc and Wasp (which vessels Hopkins had dispatched for that ])ur])ose), the whole force landed and marched upon the smaller fort, named Montagu, which was about half the distance to the town. Five guns were fired at the advancing Americans without efi^ect, when the feeble garrison withdrew to the larger fort. The Americans took possession of Fort Montagu where they remained over night. That evening Hopkins learned that about two huneen built for war purposes, was captured. The captors were the British cruisers Ariadne of twenty and the Ceres of fourteen guns. Knowing that the stores with which the Raleigh was laden were most anxiously awaited by the American TWO NAVY OI'FICERS ON A TRIVATE CRUISE. 25 armies, Thoni])son made sail to escape and although hotly pursued he finally ran the enemy out of sight and brought his ship safely into port. Two Navy Officers on a Private Cruise. Ouite as adventurous and even more daring than the cruise of the Raleigh and Alfred was that of the Pomona, Captain Isaiah Roliinson, U. S. N., having for her first of^cer Lieutenant Joshua Bar- ney, also of the navy. Owing to the scarcity of Continental cruisers, these navy officers, early in 1779, found themselves "waiting orders." Tiring of inactivity on shore they secured the old brig Pomona, commissioned as a privateer from Penn- sylvania, and on Fel.iruary sailed from Alexandria, \'a., on a venture of their own. The Pomona was pierced for eighteen guns but she sailed short of that number while the cannon she did have were of different calibers which made it difficult to obtain the proper size of shot — besides causing serious confusion and dangerous delays in battle. Her regular complement was seventy men but she was compelled to sail w'ith only half that number. She was deeply laden with tobacco which the two officers hoped to sell in Bordeaux at the enormous prices then prevailing in France for that product. Scarcely had the half-armed and half -manned Pomona cleared the Capes of Virginia when, on the third day out, she confronted her first challenge to her passage across the Atlantic. Early in the after- noon a strange sail rapidly developed above tlie hori- zon and made every effort to overtake the brig. Robinson and Barney had risked their all on this venture so their first object being to land their cargo of tobacco safely in France, they exerted themselves to avoid a fight. But the Pomona was heavily laden and with min- gled feelings of alarm and hope that the stranger might prove a friend or neutral, the Americans watched the sail slowly but surely draw nearer and nearer all that afternoon. An unclouded moon offered every opportunity to maneuver at night and about eight o'clock in the evening the stranger, being within hailing distance, broke out English colors and asked, "What ship is that?" Robinson did not reply except by showing American colors which the stranger immediately ordered down. In the uncer- tain light of the moon the Americans counted six- teen cannon in the stranger's Ijatteries against which they could oppose not more than eight guns of varying calibers. A Desperate Night Battle in Mid-Ocean. But the -Americans made up for their deficiency in calibers by the accuracy of their aim. Not wait- ing for the Englishman to begin hostilities. Captain Robinson delivered his broadside which brought down the stranger's fore topsail besides doing con- siderable damage to her rigging. Evidently the will- ingness and, still more, the ability of the Americans to fight came as a surprise to the Englishmen who were thrown into much confusion by this unex- pected attack. They returned the fire, however, and kept up a running fight at close quarters until nearly midnight — the Americans making every eft'ort to draw away from their jiowerful foe while the latter continued to follow with dogged per- sistency. At the opening of the battle the Englishmen dis- covered that the Pomona did not have her stern pierced for cannon and, availing themselves of this, they maneuvered so as to gain a position in her wake where she could not return their fire. Shrewdly suspecting their object, Robinson had a porthole cut in the brig's stern and quietly shifted a 3-pound- er, heavily loaded and ready to run out at a mo- ment's notice. Toward midnight, the stranger edged close under the Pomona's stern with his rigging and bulwarks swarming with men ready to spring upon the brig's deck and carry her Ijy boarding. They had not discovered the new gunport cut in the Pomona's stern, for Robinson had carefully screened it with tarpaulin. Just as the Englishmen were about to sjiring alioard, the 3-pounder was discharged and killed or wounded so many of the boarders that the stranger sheered off and did not come into action again until daylight. That the order and discipline of the stranger had been badly disturbed by the first broadside, was shown by the fact that the English gunners were able to fire only two or three shot every half hour. For the remainder of the night Roliinson con- tinued in his eft'ort to escape but the enemy per- sistently followed; keeping just out of gunshot. Disguised in British Naval Uniforms. In the clear light of the following day, officers in the contending craft observed each other with spy- glasses to eye, eager to obtain a more exact idea of their respective forces. The Americans were sur- prised to find that they had been opposed against a regular man-of-war (as they at first supposed when they saw many men aboard the stranger dressed in ]-lritish naval uniform), but gold lace and brass but- 26 GETTING SUPPLIES ACROSS THE ATLANTIC. tons did not deter Robinson from a readiness to renew the fight if forced upon him. As a matter of fact, the stranger was not a king's ship. Her commander had resorted to a trick often used by Yankee skippers to deceive and "overawe" the enemy, namely, arraying his officers in naval uni- forms. But, for the moment. Captain Robinson believed that he was opposed to a regular British war ship and he made preparations to fight to the last plank. Shortly after sunrise the stranger again ran close under the stern of the Pomona with the evident in- tention of boarding. With his own hands Lieuten- ant Barney loaded the solitary 3-pounder on the quarter deck with grapeshot and topped off the charge with a crowbar. Taking careful aim. he discharged the piece just as the enemy were about to leap aboard and with such effect that many Eng- lishmen were killed or wounded, besides which their foresail and all their weather shrouds were cut away. In his official report of this battle, the British com- mander charged the Americans with "unfair fight- ing in using langrage," but the only langrage used on this occasion was the crowbar just referred to. The cutting of his weather shrouds compelled the stranger to wear lest his foremast should go by the board ; but in wearing he exposed his ship to a rak- ing fire from the Pomona's broadside of which advantage the American gunners availed themselves to the utmost. The stranger did not again venture another attack so Robinson resumed his course. Afterward, he learned that his antagonist was the Tory privateer Rosebud, Captain Duncan, from New York, with a crew of one hundred men, of whom forty-seven were killed or wounded. Arriving at Bordeaux, Captain Robinson sold his cargo of tobacco at a fabulous price and with the money thus received he installed eighteen 6-pounders in the Pomona and enlisted thirty-five additional seamen, besides taking on a cargo of brandy. Thus better armed and manned, the brig, early in August, began her return voyage to America. A Long, Hard Chase. With a bulging purse, a cargo that was tremen- dously valuable in America at that period ( then con- sidered a necessary article of domestic and military use), a complete battery and a full complement, it is not strange that we find Captain Robinson feeling pugnacious on his homeward trip. He gave evi- dence of this early one morning when, about half way across the Atlantic, a sail was reported. He did not avoid it as he did the Rosebud. On the con- trary he encouraged the stranger to come within gunshot and exchanged several broadsides when the Englishman (for such the newcomer proved to be) made sail to escape. Robinson promptly was in full pursuit but, his brig being heavily laden, gradually fell behind. By making great exertions, however, she managed to keep the chase in sight all that day. A squall came on about sunset which enabled the Poinoiia again to get alongside and several more broadsides were exchanged but in the gloom of night the stranger was lost to view. In the hazy weather of the following morning the stranger was discovered about five miles ahead. As it was then calm, Robinson used his sweeps (long oars) and after several hours of hard work the Americans managed to bring their craft within gunshot for the third time. Not waiting for the broadside that was ready for them, the Englishmen surrendered, announcing themselves as privateersmen in a vessel carrying six- teen guns, 6- and 9-pounders and a complement of seventy men, of whom twelve had been killed and a large number wounded. In the Pomona the only one killed was a boy who had taken passage at Bor- deaux. Two of the crew were injured. The prize had been seriously injured in her hull, rigging and spars. She was placed in charge of Lieutenant Barney and a prize crew and arrived safely at Phila- delphia in the following October with the Pomona. A handsome fortune (for those days) was real- ized by Robinson and Barney from this "little jaunt" while "waiting orders." CHAPTER VI. "BENEDICT ARNOLD'S" FATE ON THE SEA. As the name of Benedict Arnold is linked with the most dramatic and lamentable act of treason in connection with the operation of our land forces in the Revolution, so it was associated with one of the most horrible and deplorable disasters that befell American sea forces in that war. Late in December, 1778, the Massachusetts 20- gun brig General Arnold, Captain James Magee, put to sea on her maiden cruise. Named after Benedict Arnold when he was in the height of his military fame and before he had made his treasonable overtures to the British, this newly completed ves- sel was considered one of the most formidable war craft thus far built by any of the seceding colonies. She had the complete armament, discipline and equipment of a regular Continental cruiser and high hopes were entertained that she would give a good account of herself. c m Uj £2 "^^ c >>■" ? E o o w «i; « IUT3 t*, lU w ^1 ffi H . cd o 2 "7 » ■"-^ w - ? r/i 2 « W r9 r/l uJJ D < s <: m " u V »" C M < « p 28 GETTING SUPPLIES ACROSS THE ATLANTIC. The General Arnold sailed from Boston Thurs- day, December 24, 1778, with a complement of one hundred and five men and boys, bound on a general cruise. On the following day she anchored off Plymouth harbor and signaled for a pilot, Captain Magee desiring to enter that port as there were indi- cations of a severe storm coming on. Fearful Result of a Christmas Celebration. It being Christmas day, Magee, followed the cus- tom of those day by issuing an extra allowance of grog to the crew with the result that a number of sailors in the steerage became involved in a fight which was quelled only after much exertion by the officers. As it was, many of the crew were tem- porarily incapacitated for active duty. While the brig was in this precarious condition, a tremendous snow storm, which Magee had ex- pected, swept down on the General Arnold during the night, forced her from her anchorage and drove her on the White Flat where she soon filled with water and it became necessary to cut away her masts. Saturday morning revealed the handsome craft a complete wreck and all that day and the following night, the storm raged with unabated fury — the cold being intense. There were three men aboard who did not belong to the crew and, claiming spe- cial knowledge of the ice floes in th;it harbor, they volunteered to take the yawl, proceed to a schooner that was frozen in the ice ten rods away, and bring assistance. The offer was accepted and the men got into the yawl. With the greatest difficulty they managed to reach the schooner and were saved. But they failed to return with the promised assist- ance. Had they returned, many lives would have been saved, for every other boat in the General Arnold had been smashed or swept away. Several of the cruiser's men perished from the cold on Saturday and the following night. "Sun- day morning," says a local chronicle, "the vessel was seen in a most distressful situation, enveloped in ice and snow, and the whole shore was frozen to a solid body of ice. The wind and waves were raging with such dreadful violence, that no possible relief could be aft'orded to the miserable suft'erers." The people of Plymouth lined the shore in the vicinity of the wreck and made every possible at- tempt to aid the sufferers. "They made eft'orts to reach the wreck in boats," continues the chronicle, "but were obliged to put back, although aware that the seamen were in the arms of death ; and when the miserable victims on board saw the boats returning, leaving them in a condition of utter hopelessness. their spirits were ap[)alled and numbers were seen to fall dead on the deck. A Scene of Indescribable Horror. "On Monday, the inhabitants passed over the ice to the wreck. Here was presented a scene unutter- ably awful and distressing. It is scarcely possible for the human mind to conceive of a more appalling spectacle. The ship was sunk ten feet in the sand, the waves had been for about thirty-six hours sweep- ing the main deck, the men had crowded to the quar- ter deck and, even there, they were obliged to pile to- gether dead bodies to make room for the living. Seventy dead bodies, frozen into all imaginable postures, were strewed over the deck or attached to the shrouds and spars. About thirty exhiljited signs of life but were unconscious whether in life or death. The bodies remained in the postures in which they ilied, the features dreadfully distorted. Some were erect, some bending forward, some sitting with the head resting on the knees, and some with both arms extended, clinging to spars or some parts of the vessel. 75 Officers, Marines and Sailors Frozen to Death. "The few survivors and the dead bodies were brought over the ice on sleds and boards ; and the dead were piled on the floor of the court house, ex- hibiting a scene calculated to impress even the most callous heart with deep humility and sorrow. It has been said that the Rev. Mr. Robbins fainted when called to perform the religious solemni- ties. . . . The greater part of those who were found alive, expired soon after. Captain Magee survived and performed several profitable voyages afterward. He abstained entirely from drinking ardent spirits, but was of opinion that he was greatly benefitted by putting rum into his boots." The "General Arnold," No. 2. Probably this was the greatest disaster from natu- ral causes that befell either our land or sea forces, in so short a time, during the Revolution, yet the courage of the New England people is shown in the fact that, immediately after learning of the dreadful fate of the General Arnold, they gave the same name to another private cruiser of similar force. The Gen- eral Arnold, No. 2, owned by Nathaniel Tracy of Newburyport, Mass., was a brig carrying twenty 6- pounders and a complement of one hundred and twenty officers, marines and sailors. She was com- manded by Moses Brown, afterward Captain, U. S. N., and sailing from Cape Ann Roads on her most eventful voyage, February 25, 1779, shaped her HBHiffWHWWHHmi l l l l l ll l HIIII I Ii BATTLr: UFF THE WESTERN ISLANDS. 29 course across the Atlantic for European waters. On March 11th the mainmast was found to be sprung while, two days later, a similar weakness was developed in the foremast. Notwithstanding this serious defect in his spars, Brown continued on his course. At six o'clock Sun- day morning, March 28th, he sighted St. Michael's of the Western Islands ( about midway across the Atlantic), distant nine or ten miles, bearing south- southeast. It being somewhat misty at the moment, land had not been discovered until the cruiser was quite close inshore. A Mid-Atlantic Sunday Battle. About the same time, a large vessel, which had been concealed in the shadow of St. Alichael's, was discovered, which promptly put about and gave chase to the Yankee. After a careful scrutiny through his spyglass, Brown was satisfied that the stranger was not a king's cruiser and permitted her to draw near. "At about ten o'clock in the morning," records Ignatius Webber, a prizemaster in the General Arnold, "the stranger hove out English colors, w-e at the same time showing American. She began to fire bow chase gims. At eleven o'clock we came to a general engagement which continued about four glasses [two hours] ; the Genera! Ar)iold being the weathermost ship." Brown had determined to bear down and lay her close aboard, notwithstanding the fact that she was greatly superior in force and bulk to the Yankee. "We bore down upon her," wrote Webber, "she at the same time bore away with several of her guns disabled. She having greatly the advantage in sailing and Captain Brown, perceiving that she was going from us, ordered the guns to be well loaded and, rounding-to, gave her the contents of the broadside which raked her fore and aft." Brown made every eft'ort to continue the fight but, owing to the weakened condition of his spars, he was unable to carry sufficient sail to accomplish that purpose — and the stranger (afterward known to have been the British privateer Gregson from Liverpool, mounting twenty 12-pounders, double the weight of the General Arnold's batteries, and manned by more than one hundred men), made her escape into St. Michael's. Defeat of the "Gregson." Throughout the battle it seemed to have been the Englishmen's aim to cripple the General Arnold's rigging while the American gunners directed their shot at the enemv's hull. The result was that, while the brig's sails had been cut to pieces, scarcely one of her crew had been injured while the Englishmen sufl:"ered heavily in killed or wounded — their first lieutenant and seventeen men being among the former. When the Gregson gained port, her commander reported that he had had a battle with "A rebel frigate of thirty-two guns and beat her off." Truly, this was an unbiased compliment to the American gunners if they handled their twenty 6-pounders so eft'ectively as to induce the British commander to honestly believe that he was fighting a frigate of thirty-two guns. It is worthy of remark that on the day the General Arnold was engaging the Gregson oft' the Western Islands, the French privateer Monsieur (one of John Paul Jones' squadron when he made his most famous cruise around Great Britain), fought and captured the Scotch privateer Leveller off the har- bor of Cork, Ireland. Thus, substantially, two blows were struck against British sea forces, at widely distant points on the Atlantic, on the same day. In hopes that the Gregson would come out to re- new the battle, Brown hovered in the vicinity of St. Michael's some time but in vain. The commander of the Liverpool privateer was too busy recuperating. Having repaired the injtu'ies to his vessel, Brown resumed his course across the Atlantic and on April 4th captured the English merchant ship William, John Gregory, master, from Gibraltar for New York. A few men under the orders of Prize- master Samuel Robinson were placed in charge of the WiUiaui and the General Arnold resumed her course. The Williuni, in due time, arrived safely in an American port. CHAPTER VII. REDEEMING A TRAITOR'S NAME. Arriving at Coruna, Spain, Captain Brown gave the General Arnold a thorough overhauling. Sail- ing again he had left this port only a few days when, at six o'clock on the morning of May 20th, while off Cape Finisterre, he descried a sail slowly de- veloping above the horizon. In an instant, all was attention and interest aboard the war brig "as she pricked up her ears and pre- pared to crawl stealthily upon the prey." Appar- ently, the stranger had been as keen-eyed as the Yankee, for, scarcely had Brown changed his course so as to approach the newcomer, when the latter was observed altering her upper sails so as to shape ^tftMt^r'ttttttt^t^i^tm V J-'J—fJ—**- her course in the direction of the General Arnold. It required only a glance to show that the stranger was anxious to meet the American vessel. A Spectacular Sea Fight Off Cape Finisterre. In the light breeze that served at the time it was fully an hour before the two vessels were near enough to make out their characteristics, when it was mutually discovered that each was well armed and desirous of a fight. Meantime, however, the lookout at the General Arnold's masthead had reported another sail. Scarcely did this news reach deck when the lookout reported still another stranger poking her mast- heads above the horizon. By the time Brown had begun ascending the shrouds with his spyglass, so as to get a better view of his "visitors," the lookout reported another and then a fifth, then a sixth and seventh sail. In short, the reports then came so "thick and fast" that counting was out of the ques- tion. Without doubt it was a great fleet of mer- chantmen, escorted by war craft, and prudence de- manded that the Americans delay awhile before closing on the sail first discovered. On and on came the seemingly endless procession of sails, sweeping majestically across the horizon and gradually nearing the General Arnold until, finally. Brown found himself in the imposing pres- ence of a fleet of sixty-eight merchantmen convoyed by eight ships-of-the-line and several frigates. "Are they enemies or friends ?" was the question uppermost in the minds of all aboard the General Arnold, for no colors had as yet been displayed and the vessels were too far ofif to determine national characteristics. Without doubt. Captain Brown found it a "Time to try men's souls." Before him was an opportunity to achieve immortal fame or to slink away into inglorious oblivion. He chose the former. For a better understanding of the incidents that rapidly followed, it will be stated that the sail first discovered by the General Arnold's lookout was the Liverpool privateer Nanny, Captain Thomas Beynon, laden with coal for Oporto. She was armed with sixteen 6- and 9-pounders and had a crew of fifty-seven men. Of course, all this was then unknown to Captain Brown. All that he could determine was that the stranger was heavily armed and was hovering on the outskirt of the great fleet in hopes of cutting out a merchantman, if the fleet was French, or, if it was English, the Nanny was sailing in its com- pany as a scouting vessel. Until the nationality of the armada was determined. Brown was placed in a perplexing situation. A Sea Duel in a Maritime Amphitheater. From the eagerness the Nanny displayed in clos- ing on the General Arnold, the Americans had every reason to believe that the fleet was English and that she was part of it. Down came the Nanny in gal- lant style, with every sail, capable of holding the failing breeze, set, her guns loaded and run out of their ports, and her men at their battle stations. Meantime the great fleet had been gradually edging nearer and nearer until, finally, the convoying war ships and the merchantmen, with their bulwarks topped with thousands of men and their shrouds filled with officers and marines eager to witness a sea battle, formed a marine amphitheater in "plain view" of the combatants. Brown realized that he must fight quickly and to the bitter end. He noted that the wind was dying out so that, in all probability, there could be no inter- ference on the part of the spectators, whether they were friends or foes. By the time the General Arnold and Nanny had closed, there scarcely was enough breeze to govern craft, which left the ves- sels of the great fleet, rolling sluggishly on the gently heaving bosom of the ocean, just beyond gunshot. Brown and Beynon held their fire until within the closest range when they delivered their broadsides almost simultaneously. British confidence in "de- feating anything afloat" was again demonstrated in this action for the Nanny's gunners aimed high, with a view to crippling the General Arnold's sails so as to prevent her escape (a point which Brown (juickly noted as further evidence that the fleet was English), while the Americans, although devoting some attention to their adversary's rigging, fired mostly, into the Nanny's hull with a view to sinking her as quickly as possible. As a result of these tactics. Brown, after the action had lasted about an hour, found his foreyard shot away and lying on the forecastle, a large piece out of his mainmast, and his sails and rigging seriously injured, while the Nanny was seen to be in a sinking condition. Heroic Fight Made by the "Nanny." The Nanny made a heroic fight but she was out- classed by the General Airnold's gunnery. In his official report to the owners of the privateer, dated at Cadiz, June 2, 1779, Beynon gives a manly ac- count of the battle, besides some details of the man- ner in which the Yankees used "firepots" or earthen jars filled with combustible which, on being dropped on the enemv's deck, would set fire to woodwork. MOST DRAMATIC SEA DUEL OF THE REVOLUTION. 31 Beynoii reported: "On the 20th of May, when off Cape Finisterre, we saw a ship in pursuit of us and, being resolved to know the weight of her metal before I gave up your property, I prepared to make the best defense I could. "Between eight and nine o'clock [A. M.] he came alongside with American colors and three firepots out — one at each end of his fore yardarms and one at his jibboom end. He hailed me and told me to haul down my colors. I told him to begin and blaze away, for I was determined to know his force before I gave up to hiiu. "The battle began and lasted two hours, our ships being close together, having only room enough to keep clear of each other. Our guns told well on both sides and we were soon left destitute of rig- ging and sails. As I engaged under topsails and jib, we were soon shattered below and aloft. "I got the Nanny before the wind and fought an hour that way, one pump going till we had seven feet of water in the hold. I thought it time to give up the battle as our ship was a long time in recov- ering her sallies [rolling] and began to be water- logged. We w'ere so close that I told him I had struck and then hauled down my colors. "The privateer [General Arnold] was in a shat- tered condition. Her foreyard was shot away and lying on the forecastle ; a piece was out of her main- mast so that he could make no sail until it was fished. All her running rigging was entirely gone and a great part of her shrouds and backstays. None of her sails escaped injury except his main- sail. By the time we were out of the Nanny, the water was up to her lower deck. "When Captain Brown heard of the small number of men I had, he asked me what I riieant by engag- ing him so long. I told him I was then his pris- oner and hoped he would not call me to account for what I had done before I hauled down my colors. He said that he approved of all that I had done and treated my officers and myself like gentlemen, and my people as his own. "I had only two men wounded, and they with splinters. The cook, I believe, was drowned as he never came on board the privateer [General Arnold]. Nothing was saved but the ensign and that was full of holes. . . . The privateer [Gen- eral Arnold] had six men wounded and is the same that fought the Grcgson of Liverpool." The Nanny sank soon after surrendering. While the General Arnold and Nanny were en- gaged in their tooth-and-nail struggle, three frig- ates were observed putting out from the great fleet and by availing themselves of fitful gusts of breezes that occasionally rippled the satin-like surface of the ocean swells," gradually made their way toward the combatants. Fearing that they might be Eng- lish, Captain Brown, after the surrender of the Nanny, exerted himself to the utmost to place his crippled brig in condition to make sail. All that afternoon the frigates, slowly but surely, crept up on the disabled General Arnold while the Americans made frantic efforts to hasten temporary repairs. But fate seemed to be against them for, liy sundown, a fresh breeze enabled the frigates to sweep grandly down on the shattered brig. When within hailing distance they broke out French colors and announced that they were from the outward bound French fleet. After extending effusive con- gratulations to Captain Brown for his brilliant vic- tory, the commanders of the frigates returned to their places in the convoy. Having repaired damages the best he could, Brown got under sail again in an effort to reach a friendly port. .\ week later he fell in with a Span- ish brig bound for Cadiz ajid very kindly placed Beynon and two other prisoners aboard it so they could report the loss of the Nanny in the shortest possible time to her owners. Ten days after her dramatic action with the N^anny, the General Arnold captured the English merchantman George, Captain Willicat, from New- foundland bound for Oporto. A prize crew under the command of Ignatius Webber was placed in charge with orders to make Coruna but, before reaching that port, the George was recaptured by three English cutters and was carried into Oporto. Captain Brown Braves Hanging. On June 2d, the General Arnold herself was cap- tured by the English 50-gun ship Experiment, Cap- tain Sir James Wallace. When Brown gained the Experiment's deck, Sir James asked if he was the "Captain of that rebel ship?" Brown replied: "I was very lately but now you are," and prof- fered his sword in surrender. Wallace declined to receive the weapon saying: "I never take a sword from a brave man." Sir James had been in command of the British naval forces oft' Newport in the first years of the Revolution and entertained the highest respect for the Americans as sea fighters. It was he who drove ashore, the 32-gun frigate Raleigh, Captain John Barry, after a prolonged chase in which Barry had displayed extraordinary seamanship and heroism. Sir James took Brown into his private cabin where the other officers of the Experiment were assembled. In the general conversation that fol- lowed, Sir James proposed the toast: "His Majesty, King George the Third." However distasteful it was to the gallant Brown, he drank to the toast without comment. Thinking, from his silence that Brown acquiesced in the senti- ment. Sir James called on the Yankee skipper for a return toast. Rising with much dignity and un- mindful of his position as a prisoner aboard an enemy's powerful war ship, Brown proposed: "His Excellency, General George Washington, the Commander-in-Chief of the American forces." Sir James suddenly lowered the glass that he had raised to his lips and, turning fiercely upon his pris- oner, exclaimed : "Do you mean to insult me, sir, in my own ship, Ijy proposing the name of that arch rebel?" "No,' replied Brown calmly. "If there was any msult, it was in your giving as a toast 'George the Third' who, however, I did not hesitate to drink to, although vou must have known it could not be agree- able to me who, at this moment, am a guest, although a prisoner." Sir Tames, like the honorable man he was, per- received that, if there had been a breach of etiquette. he had led the way. Suppressing his anger, he drank to that "arch rebel" Washington. Had Brown been promptly hanged at the yard- arm of the Experiment for his insult to the king, the Admiralty, undoubtedly, would have indorsed the execution as having been eminently appropriate. The General Arnold was escorted by the Experi- ment to Savannah where Brown was transferred to a British prison ship. A few months later he was released through an exchange of prisoners and ulti- mately returned to Newburyport. He records : "I arrived home after fourteen months, like the Frenchman at St. Eustatius : without money or goods ; only one poor heart — and that, too, was broke." Captain Brown returned to his Massachusetts home al)0ut the time Benedict Arnold made his treasonable overtures to the British. 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