13 Z^ 15 ^^ E 271 .B26 Copy 1 ^JL^.. THE BEGINNINUS OF THE AMERICAN NAVY BV JAMES BARNES. WITH few exceptions tlie important settlements of the British colonies of America were situated on the Atlantic coast, or at least on the inland waters having- direct communication with the sea. Thus the early settlers were per- force a seafaring people ; their children grew accustomed to the handling of small craft, and took up the oar and tiller as naturally as they took up the scythe and spade. Within twenty years after the settle- ment of Plymouth the trade of the ship- wright flourished to such an extent that native-built vessels, both open and decked over, were plying a regular trade along the rocky coast of New England or the shores of Long Island and Connecticut, exchanging their wares with the Indians for furs and pelts even before the stumps were removed from the corn-fields at home. Many ships were constructed of sufficient size to make the voyage to the Newfoundland Banks, where they com- peted witii the numerous Eng-lish, French, and Spanish vessels that sailed their thou- sands of miles to reach these rich fishing- g-rounds. Cooper, in his Naval History, states that as early as 1615 tlie P]ng]ish had 170 vessels engaged in the New England fish- eries, and the other maritime nations of Europe, exclusive of the Dutch, had about 300. An added incentive for tlie Amer- ican colonist and pioneer to follow the sea for a living may be found in the law passed in 1639 by the Colony of Massa- chusetts Bay ; by which law the fisherman din-ing the season, and the shipwright at all times, were exempt from military duty — no small privilege when the frequent conflicts with the Indians and thew^aging of war for the protection of the inkuid settlements forced almost every able- bodied man to drop his work and take up his sword and matchlock at a mo- ment's notice. In the year 1641 the first large vessel to be constructed in America was built at Salem by the regicide Hugh Peters. This vessel was 300 tons bui-den, over twice as large as any that had heretofore been constructed, although a "goodely sized ship" had been built eight years pre- viously. Sad to relate, the ambitious builder and designer was subsequently executed in England for the crime of high treason. The end of his vessel is not told in history. From the very outset, without excep- tion, the little ve.ssels employed in the coastwise trade were armed w[th guns of light weight and small calibi-e to guard against Indian treachery or surprise, and later all those that put to sea were forced to be ready to defend themselves from the pirates that very early began to find much profit in cruising along the coast; their depi-edationscau.sed much uneasiness, but for a long time few concerted attempts Avere made for their extermination. They landed and hid their plunder at various 548 HARPER'S NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE. poijits between Maine and the Carolinas, and small eifort was made to stop tliem. Before tlie outbreak of hostilities against the Dutch in 1654. however, the colonies of Hartford and New Haven joined to- gether in arming and equipping a small cruiser of ten guns, intended to put a stop to the encroachments of the New- Hollanders along the Sound, and to pre- vent hostilities between the Narragansett and the Montaulc tribes. Her presence seemed to have the desired effect ; the Dutch lield aloof, and there was no hostile meeting of tlie Indians. The first con- flict between American .sailors and an enemy took place on the high seas in 1645, when a small vessel, built at Cam- bridge, Massachusetts, carrying an arma- ment of fourteen guns and a crew of thirty men, bound for the Canary Islands, fell in with a Barbary corsair, and after a day's fighting beat her oft" — a rather unusual event. The peaceful capture of New Nether- laiuls from the Dutch gave totlie colonies of England the important port of New Amsterdam, at which tliey had long cast envious glances. It was just at this time that England was gaining the maritime supremacy of the world, so long divided among the powers of Holland, Spain, and Portugal, and English vessels in ever-in- creasing numbers sailed to our shores. But there were in commission in the year 1676 some hundreds of native-built craft read}^ to compete with them; in the neighborhood of one thousand had been built in Massachusetts alone, and there were in the vicinity of Boston no less than thirty master-sliii)wrights who were ready to turn out vessels ranging from 10 tons to 250 tons in bui-den. There followed a glut of commercial carriers in the harbors. Some ships were begging cargoes and some were seeking other occupations; and alas! it is beyond question that manj^of the alleged cruisers, privateers fitted out ostensibly against England's enemies, and hailing from American ports, acknowledged little or no allegiance to any power when on the high seas, plundering friend and foe in- discriminately. Piracy was rife: only a vessel that could show the right to fly the flag of England enjoj^ed immunity. Slowly legitimate trade increased, how- ever, especially in New England. The whale-fishing industry began to flourish; Nantucket, New Bedford, and the towns on Massachusetts Bay sent many vessels into Noi-thern waters — fine ships manned and outfitted for long and dangerous cruises, built to face ice and stormy weather. But what have all these early facts and figures to do with the founding of an American navy, may be asked. The re- ply is simple — they were the beginning of the beginning; for by the descendants of the seamen employed at this time in American ships, and in much the same class of vessels, were the united colonies to make their first venture as a nation against a common enemy. But England before this time arrived had not ignored their aid. During the war of 1739 against Spain, and the war five years later against France, the colonies supplied to the mo- ther-country^ ships and men that lent im- portant service in helping the vessels and forces of her regular navy. The success- ful siege of Loui.sburg, Nova Scotia, in 1745, could never have been brought to so earlj'^ a conclusion had it not been for the THE FIRST SAILING ORDER ISSUED BY THE "NAVAL COMMITTEE. HUGH PETERS. EXECUTED AT CHARING CROSS fleet of twelve vessels armed and made read3^ solely within the provinces of Mas- sachusetts, Rliode Island. Connecticut, and New Hampshire. Tliis, tlie first American fleet, was commanded by Cap- tain Edward Tyng, of the Massachusetts Colonial Marine, a brave and intrepid sailor, who had turned to war from the jieaceful cour.se of trade with all a Yan- kee's adaptability. As an example of the thrift of the New-Englander of that day, Governor Shirley laid great stress, in his written instructions, on an order for these ships to go well provided with cod-lines, in order "to subsist tlie troops and sea- men as much as possible on tlie products of the sea." Sir Peter Warren was in command of the naval force sent from England, and of course he superseded the colonial commanders. For bravery during this expedition, after the fall of Louisbu rg, a number of officers received commissions in the King's ser- vice, which many accepted eagerly. But prior to this, and for years afterwards. many of the sons of prominent Ameri- cans entered the English navy as mid- shipmen. This article is not intended as a resume of the help lent to Great Britain by the ships and sailors of New England; all that is an introduction merely, and it is necessary to hasten over the i-est of this period and arrive at the time at which the heai'ts of the colonies were becoming stirred against the molher-couiitry. owing to the short-sightedness of her jwlicy and the enforcement of legislative usurpation. America had learned much during the long years that her affections were bound up with those of England, and it was but slowly that the severance of these ties began. During the attempts to enforce the Nav- igation Act many events occurred that should have taught Parliament that the interests of the new country were not to be trified with. Surely hints to this effect were plentiful. In fact, so usual was the disregard of American skippers for the re- 550 HARPERS NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE. quirements imposed upon them that they regarded the act that made it necessary for vessels to be f urnislied with the King's permission to traffic as a dead letter, and any attempt to enforce this high-handed interference with what the colonies consid- ered the rights of freedom was sure to be followed by trouble. 'Die destruction of an English revenue-schooner was the di- rect result of sucli an attempt in the year 1772 — a year when all the country was arrayed, in sentiment at least, against the aggressions of the government in Eng- land, a time when the royalist officials on this side of the water should have used forbearance and exercised much care in handling their powers. The affair re- ferred to took place on the 17th of June, when the schooner Gcispee attempted to hold up tiie Providence packet Hcuina, in Long Island Sound. As the commander of the latter refused to obey the summons to heave to, he was fired at and hotly chased by the armed vessel, but owing to her light draught tlie packet escaped over a bar on which the schooner grounded. The rest of the story is too well known to require repeating. Tlie stranded ves- sel was boarded by a party of volunteers from Providence under cover of night; two of her company were wounded, in- cluding the commandingofficer; and then, after her people had been set ashore, she was set fii-e to and blown up — a fine illu- mination for the folks gathered along the shore. England exerted evei-y effort to find out who were the perpetrators of this "heinous crime against the crown," of- fering large rewai'ds for information, but without effect, although it must have been well known that Cai)taiu Whipple of Providence was the leader of the Americans, and there were many who could have pointed a directing finger. Tiie unloading of the tea-ships in Bos- ton Harbor, and the lefusal of the mer- chants in New York to accept the duties on tea, do not belong to naval historj', and nothing was done by the Americans at sea during the time that they were busy preparing for the inevitable conflict that was to take i)lace on land. British mer- chants sent out their cargoes without fear, and all tlie ports of entry were filled with busy shipping. There was little to record for the three uneasy years that led up to the commence- ment of hostilities in which American sea- men played a part. These were but the times of resistance to oppre.ssion, and the idea of actual wai-fare had not thorough- ly taken possession of the American mind. But the school of preparation from which were graduated many heroes des- tined to win laurels had been of such use to England that it is strange that she, even in the consciousness of her own tremendous power, did not recognize the fact and heed the warning. She did not appear to realize that the men who had fought so bravely and so willingly in her service on the Canadian coast under Ad- miral Warren and at Havana under Sir George Pocock would fight quite as brave- \}\ and surely no less willingly, in their own defence. But the idea of ultimate independence was not the first thought of those men who by speech and deed were animating the general public to make resistance to the impositions of the crown. Although blood had been spilt and shots exchanged at Concord and Lexington, there were few so radical or so fai--sight- ed as to dream of carrj'ing the conflict away from the homes they were protect- ing. To .seek to meet Great Britain on the element Avhere she held supreme would have been considered worse than foolish. In fact, it was necessity alone that turned the minds of the leaders of the Continental Congress to the sea. The young army that was gathering under the command of Washington was in need of arms and powder; other things were scarce enough of a truth, but pow- der and ball they must have at any price of dai'ing. On the 5tli of October, 1775, news was received that two transports had set sail from England for Quebec, loaded with the very things the Amer- icans most jieeded. Immediately a ))lot (it was nothing more at first) was laid to take these vessels, and a committee, con- sisting of Silas Deane, John Langdon, and John Adams (the hitter's place was afterwards taken by Christopher Gads- den), was appointed. Authority Avas given these gentlemen to outfit two fast-sailing vessels, one to carry ten guns and a num- ber of swivels, to be manned by eighty- five n)en; and the other vessel to carry fourteen guns. The only order their commanders i-eceived was to set sail and cruise to the eastward and intercept the expected store-ships. Merchant vessels they were to leave unmolested, and it was not expected of them to give combat to any of the ships of the regular English service— a rather sensible precaution. It is a remarkable fact that at this time, and for many months afterwards, the colonies, although in rebellion, yet acknowledged their connection with Great Britain; the man wlio spoke of anything else was a •'fiot-heail," his utterances were not listened to, for an act of Parliament could have ended the war! But the tem- per of tlie coast people was growing to a white heat; their doings proved it. The capture of the British schooner Marga- retta in the harbor of Machias, Maine, in the early spring was an evidence of this, and although the affair reflects great credit upon the inhabitants of the town, for the gallant way in which they manned a little sloop and captured a vessel larger in force of guns and men than they them- 552 HARPERS NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE. selves could command or muster, it can hardly be viewed except in the light of an uprising of the people, notwithstanding the fact that it was tlie fii-st conflict on the water, and has been termed the " Lex- ington of the sea." The brave fishermen had acted upon an impulse, and had chosen their leader, Jeremiah O'Brien, only on the instant of their embarking on the venture. After the capture of the Margaretta, Captain O'Brien took matters into his own hands — transferred his fol- lowers to his prize, and later sailed out and took two small English cruisers that it was rumored had been sent expressly to bring him in. As a reward for his con- ddir^Mr'-^^f^^i/^U^ duct he was made a captain in the marine of the colony, and given sailing orders to do about what he pleased — a commission he accepted. These were but a few of many similar adventures; but. as has been previously stated, no official act was promulgated until October of the year 1775. General Washington had granted permission and issued commissions on his own account, however, to several vessels to cruise in and about Massachusetts Bay in order to intercept British store - ships, and their efforts were attended with much success; a great deal of powder, small-arms, and a few cannon — the need of which was much felt— were captured and turned over to the army. Ten English merchant vessels that wei"e taken in one of these private foraging expeditions were released, how- ever, on the ground that their seizure might be considered as an "overt act." This delicate distinctioii is rather amusing if we take into consideration what the probable fate of the Americans would have been had ffiey been captured in- stead. The burning of the town of Falmouth bj' Captain Mowat, who acted under the orders of the English Admiral Graves, caused the colony of Massachusetts to grant commissions and direct the seizure of English vessels, thus suppressing the individual efforts that had hitherto been the only way in which America had car- ried on the war at sea. The indignation caused by Admiral Graves's order also compelled the authorities in Philadelphia to seek for a means of retaliation, and late in Noveinber the Continental Con- gress authorized the capture of any armed vessel employed against the colonies, or any carrying munitions of war for the British army or navj'. But it was not long before it was recognized that some- thing more was necessarj'. After much deliberation a naval committee was form- ed to take charge of matters, to prepare plans, and ascertain the resources of the country. The difficulties that beset the committee were great and many. The organization of the various de- ])artments of an army to be built up from farmers, tradespeople, and n)echanics, and welded into a composite whole, was no easy task; but all this was as nothing comjiared to that of forming an organized naval force. For officers they had but the merchant mai-ine to draw from, and although there were many brave com- manders, and the temper of the seafaring people was well known, yet tliere was none that had experience in maritime warfare. The idea of discijiline, of the strict obedience to orders and the adher- ence to duty that comes from the tradi- tions of long service, did not exist. The construction of the vessels which were required demanded the expenditure of much monev, and there was little of it :m^^'^m ~^M C 'A P T. ^' It ' 1 1 (.) L A S B 1 D IJ I ■ K to answer this demand. Nevertheless, on the 13th of December Congress passed a law authorizing tlie building- of thirteen cruisers, varying in force from ten to thirty-two guns. The estimated expense was in the neighborhood of $!900,000, and the vessels were to be divided among the colonies in the following proportions: Massachusetts, two ; New York, two ; Pennsylvania, four ; Rhode Island, two; Connecticut, one; New Hampshire, one; and Maryland, one. Searching about for officers, the choice of Congress settled upon Esek* Hopkins, "a brave and gallant se:iman,"to whom was given the title of Commander-in- Chief. Under him we find the names of Dudley Saltonstall, Abraham Whipple, * The old print which we reproduce on p. 557 erroneously calls him Hobo'/ Hopkins. 554 HARPER'S NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE. Nicholas Biddle, John Burroughs Hop- kins, as captains; and heading- tlie list of first lieutenants the name of John Paul Jones. The Commander-in-Chief was to receive tlie munificent sum of one hun- dred and twenty-five dollars a month ; the captain of a sliip of twenty guns and up- wards received sixty dollars; lieutenant, thirty dollars; master, thirty dollars; sur- geon, twent3'-five dollars; chaplain, twen- ty dollars; midshipmen, twelve dollars; gunner, fifteen dollars ; and seamen, eight. Officers of smaller ships received still less, willi the exception of midshipmen and seamen, whose pay remained unchanged. Before the act authorizing the construc- tion of this miniature nav\', which, by- the-way, was expected to be finished by tlie following April, Congress had re- solved to recruit two battalions of ma- rines to be enlisted and commissioned to serve during the war, independently of the army. Now followed a period of great confu- sion, of which there is little record, ow- ing to the various boards and committees that had control of the construction and finances. Private subscriptions began to come in; shipwrights and artisans were found ready to begin their work as soon as sufficient timber should be collected; volunteers came forward oflPering their services as workmen. In Philadelphia gentlemen of leisure, shopkeepers, and tradesfolk of all kinds reported at the ship-yard eager to help. This was the first evidence of the intention of the coun- try at large to do anything for a naval service. Up to this time the colonial navy liad done for itself, and had subsist- ed on what it could pick up. In making a summary of the uses, i-e- sults, and influence of the American na- val forces during the war of the Revolu- tion, it will be found necessary for the best understanding to divide the years during which hostilities were taking place into three periods, each slowly growing in witli the other; yet every period, so far as the animus tliat moulded it and the methods used in carrying on its opera- tions are concerned, stands out distinct and separate fi'om the rest. The guerilla warfare that was cai-ried on by the 'longshore folk merged into the time when it was found necessary to organize a system of sea-robbery in order to continue armed resistance on the land. But in the conception of the plan to ob- tain the necessary sustenance for fighting, private property was respected. There was no intention of harassment by de- stroying the commercial shipping of a hostile nation. The Amei-ican cruisers ■were brigand ships sent out for a purpose — to relieve a certain class of vessels of a certain class of wealth. They were to do this as peaceably as possible. Profit was not to be taken into account. Peaceful trade Avas left to sail the highways in safety. But with the growth of the idea of in- dependence came the years during which tlie American flag in various forms was flown from all sorts of craft, armed in all sorts of ways, cruising not only along our shores, but in far latitudes and dis- tant seas. The 23d day of March, 1776, was the date on which Congress had changed the complexion of matters by issuing letters of marque, and stating that henceforward all public and private crui.sers of the col- onies were authorized to capture any ves- sel, armed or unarmed, sailing under the British flag. This gave an immediate im- petus to a naval war. Many of the ves- sels that had been lying idle in the shal- low harbors and inlets along the coast were hastily manned with fishermen and merchantmen wlio had been forced into idleness b}' the embargo on American commerce. Armed with any sort of can- non that could be procured, helter-skelter they put to sea. Befoi-e the month was over the success of these privateers caused better-appointed vessels to be sent out, and their history would make a volume of fine reading. Flying the Pine Tree flag, or the Rat- tle Snake with the motto "Don't tread on me," thej'^ made with all haste for the highways of Great Britain's ship-trade. There for some years was a rich harvest to be reaped. The value of the opera- tions of these privateers cannot be over- estimated. It must be borne in mind that none of the colonies had a regu- larly armed vessel at its disposal, nor for some time had the Congressional govern- ment; but yet it must also be remembered that at the commelicement of the year 1775 the colonial merchant marine consisted of little short of 200,000 tons of shipping, giving employment to over fifteen thou- sand American sailors. The ship-builders of Massachusetts and Connecticut had turned out of their .ship-yards vessels that JOHX BARRY. could outsail any of their tonnage built in Europe. This came because of some modification in their lines and sail plans. The use of live-oak for their timbers had increased their seaworthiness and powers of resistance to weather, and, incidentally, to round shot. Thus it is seen the mo- ment that Congress decided to issue let- ters of marque and reprisal, a use was found for the Yankee ships and the men Avho formerly had sailed in tliem. But arrayed against this merchant navy was an overwhelming force — if we take mere numbers into consideration. Great Brit- ain possessed in her regular service three hundred and fifty-six vessels of all classes, one hundred and forty of which were of the line; butevidentlv the English Parlia- ment had begun to recognize the "influ- ence of sea power," and as it is to-day so it was then, not only did England's glory, but her very existence, depend upon her navy. The year 1776 saw great preparations for extending every branch of naval service in Great Britain. It cannot be claimed that the war Avith the colonies alone was responsible for this, but doubtless it bore some weiglit. In addition to the vessels already in connni.ssion. sixteen sail of the line were ordered to be put in readiness. Press warrants were issued, and by i-oyal proclamation a bounty was offered to all seamen who should enter the navy. Dur- ing this one year 21,000 seamen and 6665 marines were voted for the naval service. On the coast of North America by the 1st 550 HARPER'S NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE. of July, 1776. the Englisli had stationed seventy -eiglit men-of-war, mounting 2078 guns. The American navy at the same time consisted of but twenty-five cruisers, mounting 422 guns; but six of these ves- sels had been built for war purposes. The others were merchantmen, purchased and fitted out for the occasion ; the largest of them could be classed only as second-class frigates. Strange to say, at no time dur- ing the war were there more than twenty- five regulai'ly commissioned Congression- al vessels sailing the sea at the same time ; and their primary object was to intercept the enemy's transports. Thus, during this second period into which we have divided the war, the na- tional vessels were mere adjuncts of the army and supply -ships to Washington and his generals. In the earlier years their encounters with the British men-of- war redounded much more to the credit of the latter than to themselves. This is true with a few notable exceptions that could be counted almost upon tlie fingers of one's hands. In the first two years the English were winning almost all the ac- tions. But the private cruisers were ren- dering good accounts of themselves, and in speaking of the naval forces of the United States during the Revolution the privateers must not be excluded. Eng- lish testimony to this effect is not want- ing, for on February 6, 1778, Mr. Wood- bridge, M. P., testified at the bar of the House of Lords as follows: "The num- ber of ships lost by capture or destroyed by American privateers since the com- mencement of the war is 733, of which, deducting for those retaken and restored, tliere remain 559, the value of which, in- cluding the ships, cargoes, etc., amount- ed, upon a very moderate calculation, to 1,800,633 pounds sterling." The insurance to the West Indies, Amer- ica, and Africa had increased from two and a half per cent, to fifteen per cent., unless the ship was one of very superior force. The privateers daringly conducted their operations off the coasts of Great Britain, and the English government was obliged to furnish convoys for the Irish coast trade ! The West Indian colonies of Great Britain sutl'ered from the outset, and com- l)lained to the home authorities. The in- habitants, depending a great deal upon English commodities, actually feared tliat they would have to undergo the terrors of starvation. It is impossible in such an article as this to recount the details of the single actions of the war, or to do more than refer to conflicts where American vessels engaged those of England. The first cruise of the fleet under Conniiodore Hopkins was so disastrous that the com- modoi-e was censured and relieved from his command for allowing the Glasgoiv, a twenty-gun English ship, to escape him afte)' she had sailed through his fleet of five sail and engaged three of his vessels in succession. But the doings of tiie Alfred, of 24 guns, the Columbus, of 20 guns, the Lexington, of 16 guns, the Ran- dolph, of 32 guns, and the Raleigh, of 32 guns, have handed their names down to histor\\ A short chi-onological list, giving a few of the more important actions that took place after the issuance of the letters of marque, is not amiss in tliis connection. On May 17, 1776, a British ship, the Hope, laden with supplies, was captured in Bos- ton Bay and bx-ought safely into port. On June 17, six American privateers (mere 'longshore craft) captured the George and the Arabella in Boston Bay ; 320 prisoners were taken. On July 7, 1777, the United States frigate Hancock was captured by a British squadron; and on March 14 of the following year the American fi-igate Alfred was captured by the British ships Ariadne and Ceres; and three days later came the tragic end of brave Biddle in the Randolph, that blew up with 305 men while engaged with the Yarmouth, a. British ship almost twice the Randolph's size — four men only were saved. This is a sad chapter in recounting the doings of American vessels in home waters. The arrival of the French fleet in Amer- ica under the Count d'Estaing might be said to begin a sei)arate history of naval operations, but although of great service to the cause of liberty, and one that should be acknowledged with gratitude, the doings of the Fj'encli. their losses and victories, can hardly be ti-eated of in an article per- taining to Anierican naval history. They acted independently of Congressional au- thority, and .seldom in connection with any naval force of the United States. The third period, which began in the year 1777, shows a more aggressive spirit and a complete change of temper in the conniiittees and authorities who had charge of the conduct of naval afifairs. Conyng- ham's cruise in the Surprise, and the ap- pearance of tlie American flag on national vessels armed and equipped in Europe, opened a new field for adventure and conquest, and brought before the eyes of the world the most romantic and pictu- resque character, perhaps, in all sea his- tory — a man more maligned, perhaps more overrated, less understood, than any Yankee commander, and in whose defence or condemnation more volumes have been written than in that of any other seafarer — John Paul Jones. The success of his cruise iu the Ranger, a vessel that he described as exceedingly crank and of trifling force, is almost un- paralleled. He sailed from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on the 1st of November, 1777, and arrived in Nantes on the 2d of December, capturing two prizes on the passage over. From Quiberon Bay, to 558 HARPERS NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE. which he had convoyed a mnnber of American mercliantnien, Jones wrote (in referring to tlie returning of his salute by tlie French admiral) to the American commissioners in Paris, ''I am happy to have it in my power to congratulate you on my liaving seen the American Hag for tlie first time recognized in tlie fullest and completest manner by the flag of France." The colors he refers to were the stars and stripes that had been adopted by Congress on June 14 of this same year. Refitting at Brest, the Ranger sailed on that remarkable cruise around the west coast of Ireland, returning through the Irisli Channel, after liaving captured the British sloop of war Drake off the town of Carrickfergus, and having threatened the town of Whitehaven in Cumberland, where Jones set fire to the ships in the harbor and frightened the inhabitants back into the country'. The story of his land- ing in the Isle of St. Mary, and the taking of tlie Earl of Selkirk's plate, with its sub- sequent return, is interesting as showing the peculiar character of this complex in- dividual. The second cruise Jones made in June of 1779, in the Bonhomme Richard (an aged Indiaman), a most remarkable war ves- sel, boasting the most remarkable crew ever raked together. The terror that his name spread along the coast of England was long remembered, and his action off Flam- borough Head with the British two-deck- er Sera2)is is one of the most hotly con- tested and bloody battles in the annals of the sea. England, enraged at the humilia- tion she suffered by the total defeat of one of her best frigates, insisted that Jones held no commission from his country, that he was but a pii-ale, and as if to prove the disdain in which he was held, the King- knighted Captain Pearson, the command- er of the Serapis. When told of this, Jones is said to have remarked, "Never mind; if I meet him again, I'll make a lord of him." Several separate actions occurred dur- ing the next three j-ears that are worth the mention. On June 1, 1780, the American privateer General Pickering cayiiured the Englisli ship Golden Eagle: on Ajiril 2, 1781, the United States frigate Alliance. Captain Barry, took the British frigate Mars and the sloo^) Minerva. On the 28tli of the following month, in the same vessel. Captain Barry captured the slooi)s of war Atalanta and Trepassay. On August 11 the United States frigate Trum- bull was carried by the British into New York. On September 6 the privateer Congress captured the sloop of war Sav- age, 20 guns. On September 7 occurred tlie sea fight off' Cape Henry between the British fleet under Graves and the French fleet under de Grasse. Three days later d'Estaing took two British frigates in the Chesapeake. In April of 1782 occurred one of the most brilliant ac- tions of the war, when the American ship Hyder Ally, 16 guns, after a severe fight, captured the British ship General Monk. 29 guns. Several minor actions occurred, and the United States frigate Charleston was lost to the enemy oft" the capes of the Delaware, striking her flag to two English ships of war, the Diomede and the Quebec. On April 19, 1783, to the great relief and joy of the country, the cessation of hos- tilities between Great Britain and the United States was proclaimed hy General Washington. The results of the naval operations of the Revolutionary war can be told in fig- ures perhaps better than by any other method. Unfoi-tunately it cannot be said that the government profited greatly by the teachings it had derived. It is rather surprising that the American people, de- scended from the greatest of maritime nations, and so shoilly having finished a conflict with the elder country, should not have profited more than they did by her example in establishing- a naval force on a peace footing. America lost by capture, wreck, etc., but twenty-four regularly armed vessels during the war, while the British lost of the same class one hundred and two, car- rying in all two thousand six hundi'cd and twenty- guns. About eight hundred vessels of all kinds were captured by the American cruisei-s and privateers. Not a single Yankee cruiser was taken by the privateers of England; yet sixteen Eng- lish cruisers were captured by American privateers! The value of the cargoes of English vessels sent to the United States amounted to over ten millions of dollars; and it is stated in an English gazetteer that of two hundred ships employed in the African trade at the commencement of the war. only forty remained at the clo.se of the year 1777. So quickly did the American navy dwindle away upon the restoration of peace, and so soon were the ships that had mim. 560 HARPER'S NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE. been captured sold or broken up b}' the United States, tliat a competent autliority states that when tlie Alliance, the hist of these vessels, was sold on the 3d of June, 1785, the United States once more did not own a single ves- sel of war ca- pable of putting to sea. There was notliing in the Constitution about maintain- ing a navy on a peacefooting; the expense frigliten- ed the people, and it required the trouble with the Barbary States in 1790 to bring at- tention once more to the uses of a naval marine. The frigates ajid armed ves- sels that had been left in the stocks were not finished, and but one, called the Amer- ica, originally rated as a 74, but subsequently changed to a 56, was completed in 1781. John Paul Jones was ap- pointed by Con- gress to command her, but she was never put into commission ; and on the .'kl of September, the year following her launch- ing, she was presented to His Most Chris- tian Majesty the King of France, "in testimony of the sense entertained by Con- gress of his generous exertions in behalf of the United States, and to replace the Magnifique, of 74 guns, lost in the harbor of Boston." The navy during the Revolution had kept alive the army, and caused re- spect to be felt for the flag of a newcountry. The foundations were laid upon which were built the American suc- cesses of 1812, and from the ex- ample and teach- ings of the first generation of Yankee com- manders, the sec- ond profited. The art of ship- building took a new start that resulted in the producing of such noble vessels as the Constitution, the President, and the United States — frigates that were spoken of as "line-of- battle ships in disguise." Even tlie wellnigh fatal PAUL JONES. gunboat policy of Mr. Jeflferson could not kill the spirit that was aroused in the seaboard States, and the American sailor was all ready to assert himself when called to man the ships. The fast-sailing craft of Yankee pine and live-oak needed but armaments to turn from peaceful trade to warlike enterprise. LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS B WHOM GOD ll.VTlI JolXER- nV FIONA M.\CLEOD. ROTHER and Sister, wanderers they 011 800 978 2< Out of the golden Yesterday ; Thro' the dusty Now, and the dim To-morrow, Hand in hand cfo Jov and Sorrow. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 011 800 978 2 Hollinger Corp. pH8.5