A HISTORY OF 
 THE UNITED STATES NAVY 
 
 VOLUME I 
 
NEW EDITION OP 
 
 A History of the United States Navy, 
 
 From 1775 to 1898. By EDGAR STANTON MACLAY, 
 A. M. With Technical Revision by Lieutenant Roy 
 C. Smith, U. S. N. New edition, revised and en 
 larged, with new chapters and several new Illustra 
 tions. In two volumes, 8vo. Per vol., cloth, $3.50. 
 
 This work has been adopted as the Text-Book upon United States Naval 
 History in the U. S. Naval Academy at Annapolis. 
 
 "It fills a place which has almost escaped the attention of histo 
 rians. Mr. Maclay s work shows on every page the minute care 
 with which he worked up his theme. His style is precise and clear." 
 New York Tribune. 
 
 " A thrilling romance which will interest every mind that is fed by 
 tales of heroism, and will be read with patriotic pride by every true 
 American." Chicago Evening Post, 
 
 " The author writes as one who has digged deep before he began 
 to write at all. He thus appears as a master of his material. This 
 book inspires immediate confidence as well as interest." New York 
 Times, 
 
 "A systematic and brilliant history ... A splendid tribute to the 
 genius of the American seaman." Philadelphia Ledger. 
 
 " A most brilliant history. ... A splendid record admirably 
 written." The Churchman. 
 
 "One continuous story of pluck, perseverance, and skill. . . . The 
 landsman no less than the sailer can appreciate both the method and 
 material." Journal of the Military Service Institute. 
 
 "A delightful style. Mr. Maclay not only serves up old facts in a 
 new way, but he gives us new facts." Army and Navy Journal. 
 
 " Must inevitably rank as standard. To the completion of any 
 library it is indispensable." Neiv York Marine Journal. 
 
 "Deserves to be read by all who are interested in naval progress 
 and in gallant deeds." London Saturday Review. 
 
 The Private Journal of William Maclay, 
 
 United States Senator from Pennsylvania, 1789-1791, 
 with Portrait from Original Miniature. Edited by 
 EDGAR S. MACLAY, A. M. Large 8vo. Cloth, $2.25. 
 
 D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, NEW YORK. 
 
"3 c 53 
 I 1 P 
 
 
A HISTORY OF THE 
 
 UNITED STATES NAVY 
 
 FROM 1775 TO 1898 
 
 BY 
 
 EDGAR STANTON MACLAY, A. M 
 
 AUTHOR OF REMINISCENCES OF THE OLD NAVY 
 EDITOR OF THE JOURNAL OF WILLIAM MACLAY 
 
 WITH TECHNICAL REVISION BY 
 LIEUTENANT ROY C. SMITH, U. S. N. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES 
 VOL. I 
 
 ILLUSTRATED 
 
 NEW EDITION, REVISED AND ENLARGED 
 
 NEW YORK 
 D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 
 
COPYRIGHT, 1893, 1898. 
 BY D. APPLETON AND COMPANY. 
 
 ELECTRO-TYPED AND PRINTED 
 AT THE APPLETON PRESS, U. S. A. 
 
I DEDICATE THIS WORK TO MY FATHER, 
 
 THE REV. ROBERT SAMUEL MACLAY, D. D., 
 
 IN RECOGNITION OF THE 
 
 LONG YEARS OF PATIENT TOIL AND SELF-DENIAL HE IMPOSED UPON HIMSELF 
 IN ORDER THAT I MIGHT RECEIVE A UNIVERSITY EDUCATION. 
 
 HE WAS THE PIONEER MISSIONARY OF THE 
 
 METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN CHINA AND JAPAN, 
 
 LABORING IN THE FORMER COUNTRY TWENTY-SIX YEARS, 
 
 AND IN THE LATTER FIFTEEN YEARS. 
 
 SINCE 1888 HE HAS BEEN PRESIDENT OF MACLAY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, 
 IN SAN FERNANDO, LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. 
 
To One Maclay: 
 
 The Kept Historian of the Bureau 
 Naval Promotion and Villificaiioi. 
 
 By Ambrose Bierce. 
 
 Maclay, you re a great Admiral! Tis true 
 
 You ne er commanded in an ocean fight, 
 You ne er was on a ship at all, and you 
 
 Would not know stem from stern; but then you write! 
 
 That s to possess a rank and power quite 
 As great as any hero neath the heavens, 
 And nearly half as great as Boh-up Evans. 
 
 Bob-up s a hero, and a scribe as well, 
 
 And therefore doubly great; while men like Schley, 
 Who merely steam about and fight, compel 
 Inferior admiration. The supply 
 Of such is plentiful, but still we sigh 
 In vain for heroes who are also writers- 
 Historians terrible! and peaceful fighters. 
 
 "The man behind the gun" has ample fame: 
 
 We all affirm his glory, night and day. 
 Tis true we never speak, nor know, his name. 
 
 But that s because he doesn t write and say 
 
 Twa/s his arm won the victory! Maclay, 
 Would your name be unknown to us, I wonder. 
 If you d a gun to get behind or under? 
 
 With Sampson. Evans, Crowninshield (ye gods! 
 
 That name is longer than twill last) we ought 
 To feel secure against the greatest odds 
 
 That eny naval power ever fought. 
 
 Historians can be so cheaply bought 
 That sea fights may be won in Central Kansas 
 And one mule slain by thousands in Matanzas. 
 
 You say that Schley s "a coward and a liar," 
 But what are you, who say so when he s far 
 
 Beyond the world s convexity scarce nigher 
 To yours than to the inaccessible star 
 That shines at midnight o er his tallest spar? 
 
 What were that star if angrily it glowered, 
 
 And with a bully s courage called him coward? 
 
 Aa to veracity, you say he tried 
 
 Right hard the Spanish warships to avoid 
 The very ships, unless all men have lied, 
 
 That he by accident perhaps destroyed. 
 
 Your brains might be consistently employed 
 In fortifying your account by writing 
 That stubborn old Cervora still is fighting. 
 
 Maclny, you are a master of the pen! 
 So say all members of the Naval Ring. " "J** J "2/s 
 
 At "social functios" of "the upper ten" *J 4V*i4 %/W 
 
 Your praises Sampeon ever more will sing * 
 
 (He s a tea-going mariner) and swing /*i /V I 
 
 The censer for your talent. On reflection. * ^"t w I 
 
 That s Just a kind of moral disinfection. 
 
 You an historian! If we depend 
 
 On you to chronicle our every deed 
 In peace or war, why, faith! there s just an enfl 
 
 To all activity our only creed 
 
 Is Lethargy, and death our dearest need. , , 
 
 Maclay, you ve spoken and Nirvana s dawning! 
 
 YrmrHPlf thft nnlv tnari that Ireono t\r> **>(.... 
 
INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW EDITION. 
 
 IN the introduction to the first edition of this work 
 the author said that he " will gladly receive informa 
 tion bearing on our navy from any reliable source, in 
 order that it may be incorporated in future editions." 
 This invitation has been responded to generously, so 
 that with these additional details it is believed that 
 this new and substantially enlarged edition is a com 
 plete narrative of our navy s career from the earliest 
 records down to the intervention of the United States 
 between Spain and Cuba. 
 
 Some of the most important additions are the chap 
 ters Cruising after Slavers, Attack on the Wyoming, 
 and Sea Power in the Civil War. Some of the other 
 material incorporated is an account of Commander (now 
 Commodore) Schley s arctic relief expedition, the sequel 
 to the sinking of the Monitor, a fuller account of the 
 Apia disaster, the last appearance of the Merrimac in 
 Hampton Roads, from material prepared for the author 
 by Rear-Admiral Thomas Stowell Phelps, the latest 
 developments in gun and ship building, an outline of 
 the formation and develoi)ment of our marine, medical 
 and pay departments, an explanation of the Cuban com 
 plications, an account of the Maine disaster and our 
 relations with Spain, and a description of the equip 
 ment and mobilization of the navy in the winter and 
 spring of 1898 down to the beginning of war with Spain 
 on April 21st. There are several new and typical pic 
 tures of vessels likely to be prominent in our naval 
 operations. 
 
vi INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW EDITION. 
 
 Some interesting additions also have been made to 
 the account of the Bonhomme Richard- Serapis iight, 
 to the action between the Constitution and Java, to 
 the cruise of the Essex, and to the torpedo warfare in 
 the civil war, while the account of the tragedy in the 
 Somers has been enlarged to several pages. Some of 
 the most important services performed by the supply 
 steamers Rhode Island and Connecticut and the sloop- 
 of-war Jamestown have been noted. The list of ships 
 has been revised and brought down to date, while the 
 latest developments in naval warfare are recorded. The 
 arrangement of chapters has been altered so as to end 
 the War of 1812 with Volume I. The number of pages 
 in each volume has been greatly increased. 
 
 It will be necessary to explain why some of the ma 
 terial offered does not appear in this new work. It has 
 always been the author s intention to devote a separate 
 volume to the story of our privateers. This seems 
 appropriate, not only because they formed a distinct 
 class of warships, but because their services were of 
 so great national importance and their actions in so 
 many cases were of such remarkable brilliancy and 
 attended with such "astounding audacity." For this 
 reason the mass of exceedingly valuable and interest 
 ing material placed before the author by the descend 
 ants of our daring privateersmen does not appear in 
 the history of the navy proper, but is reserved for a 
 volume which will be uniform with the " History of 
 the Navy," but w r ill be published separately. 
 
 In the preparation of the final chapters of the War 
 of 1812 the author desires to acknowledge his obliga 
 tions to William J. Kyle, of Providence, R. I.; to 
 Robert H. Hope, of Montreal, grandnephew of Captain 
 Hope, who was first lieutenant in the British 38-gun 
 frigate Macedonian when she fought the United 
 States ; to Richard Watson Gilder for interesting de 
 tails of the last cruise of the Constitution in the War 
 of 1812 ; to Theodore Roosevelt, author of The Naval 
 
INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW EDITION. v ii 
 
 War of 1812 ; to H. Y. Powell, of London ; to Judge 
 William W. Carruth, of Boston ; to Oliver Ormsby 
 Page, of Allegheny, Pa., a relative of Captain Benjamin 
 Page, U. S. N.; to Lieutenant-Commander William 
 Bainbridge-Hoif, U. S. K; to Samuel C. Clarke, of 
 Marietta, Ga.; and to Mrs. Laura W. A. Cook, of 
 Chicago, daughter of Captain Joel Abbot, U. S. N. 
 In that part of the history extending from 1815 to 
 1860 the author is indebted to Joseph A. McCreery, of 
 New Jersey, for the unpublished private journal of 
 one of the officers who was in the frigate Potomac 
 in the expedition against the Qualla Battoons in 
 1832 ; to William Elliot Griffis, author of the Life 
 of Matthew Calbraith Perry ; to Rear- Admiral Henry 
 Walke, for interesting data on the Mexican War ; 
 to Edward Trenchard, son of Rear-Admiral Stephen 
 Decatur Trenchard, for the private papers and un 
 published journal of his father bearing on the inter 
 esting incidents in the China Sea in 1856- 59, and also 
 on the civil war ; to Franklin Eyre, of Philadelphia, 
 great-grandson of the builder of the first United States 
 war vessel ; to Assistant - Engineer Henry Eckford 
 Rhoades, who was in the United States war steamer 
 Juniata in her Polaris -search expedition ; and to S. 
 C. Bigelow, of San Francisco. 
 
 In the chapters bearing on the civil war the author 
 has received great assistance from Rear- Admiral James 
 Edward Jouett and Rear-Admiral Thomas Holdup 
 Stevens. Both of these officers have contributed many 
 items of interest on the parts they took in the great 
 strife, and have given their personal experiences in 
 the famous battle of Mobile Bay. To Rear-Admiral 
 Thomas Stowell Phelps the author is indebted for val 
 uable material on the early naval operations in the 
 Potomac, the surveying of Hatteras Inlet, and incidents 
 attendant and consequent to the appearance of the 
 Merr-imac in Hampton Roads. Rear- Admiral Henry 
 Walke has kindly read and corrected chapters on the 
 
viii INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW EDITION. 
 
 naval operations of the Western rivers, in which he 
 participated, besides contributing many items of gen 
 eral interest on the navy. The invaluable assistance 
 of Miss Susan G. Perkins, in laying before the author 
 the letters and private papers of her brother, Captain 
 George Hamilton Perkins, bearing on the part he took 
 in the battles of New Orleans and Mobile Bay, is ac 
 knowledged. To Ensign Thomas Tingey Craven, grand 
 son of Rear- Admiral Craven, the author is indebted for 
 items concerning the admiral ; to Madeline Yinton 
 Dahlgren, widow of Rear-Admiral Dahlgren, for the 
 private journal and letters written by the admiral dur 
 ing the civil war, and especially while he was in com 
 mand of the National lleet off Charleston; to Judge 
 Charles Cowley, of Lowell, Mass., author of Leaves 
 from the Diary of a Lawyer Afloat and Ashore ; to 
 Frank W. Hackett, of Washington ; and to Rear- 
 Admiral John Henry Russell, for interesting material 
 bearing on the civil war. The author also desires to 
 acknowledge the assistance he has received from Lieu 
 tenant-Commander Pendleton Gaines Watmough, Rear- 
 Ad miral James Augustin Greer, Rear- Admiral George 
 Eugene Belknap, Rear- Ad miral Edmund R. Colhoun, 
 Rear- Admiral Alexander Colden Rhind, Rear- Admiral 
 John G. Walker, Commander Charles S. Sperry, Lieu 
 tenant-Commander Charles Belknap, Lieutenant-Com 
 mander Franklin Hanford, and from the able works of 
 Rear- Admiral Daniel Ammen, Captain Alfred Thayer 
 Ma ban and Prof. James Russell Soley on the civil war. 
 In the preparation of this enlarged edition the au 
 thor acknowledges his obligations to an advance chap 
 ter of Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan s "History of the 
 Royal Navy of Great Britain " ; to Mrs. D. McDougal 
 Van Yoorhis (daughter of Rear-Admiral David Stock 
 ton McDougal, U. S. N.) for valuable details of Mc- 
 DougaPs gallant fight against the Japanese batteries in 
 the Straits of Shimonoseki ; to John C. Crowninshield 
 for interest-ing items about the prominent part his an- 
 
INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW EDITION. i x 
 
 cestors took in the formation of the navy ; to the late 
 Pay Director Augustus H. Gilman, U. S. N., for his 
 personal account of various incidents in the civil war ; 
 to William Elliot Griffis for an account of the Wyo 
 ming affair ; to Mrs. Truxtun Craven Barnard ; to Com 
 modore Winfield Scott Schley, U. S. N., commanding 
 the " Fly ing Squadron," for material bearing on the 
 Greeley relief expedition; to Lieutenant-Commander 
 James D. Jerrold Kelley s "History of the Navy"; to 
 Commander Willard H. Brownson, U. S. N. ; to Hun 
 ter Davidson, who managed the Confederate torpedo 
 bureau during the civil war, for his personal account 
 of those operations ; to Medical Director George W. 
 Woods, U. S. K, Surgeon-General William K. Van 
 Reypen, U. S. IN"., and Surgeon James D. Gate wood, 
 U. S. IS"., for interesting data bearing on the rise and 
 development of the medical department of our navy ; 
 to the Rev. David H. Tribou, chaplain U. S. K ; to Pay 
 Director Albert S. Kenny, U. S. IS". ; to Chief Engineer 
 Edward Farmer, U. S. N. ; and to Colonel Charles Hey- 
 wood, colonel commandant of the Marine Corps, all of 
 whom have contributed interesting data bearing on 
 their several departments. E S M 
 
 OLD FIELD POINT, 
 SETAUKET, LONG ISLAND, N. Y. f 
 May, 1898. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 IT would be difficult to exaggerate the value of the 
 services that have been rendered by the United States 
 navy. The Continental cruisers and privateers the 
 latter corresponding to the militia on land during the 
 War of the Revolution captured about eight hundred 
 vessels from the enemy, and, making the moderate 
 allowance of fifteen men to each craft, we have a total 
 of twelve thousand prisoners taken on the high seas by 
 a maritime force which at no time consisted of more 
 than five thousand men. About five hundred of these 
 prisoners were soldiers of some of the best English regi 
 ments, and had they been captured on land the inci 
 dent would have occupied many pages in our histories. 
 It was by means of our maritime forces that the Ameri 
 can armies were supplied with the munitions of war 
 during that terrible struggle. In our two years of naval 
 war with France the work was all done by the navy. 
 About eighty vessels, mostly privateers, carrying over 
 three thousand men, were captured from the enemy. 
 Again, the wars with the States of Barbary were brought 
 to a highly honorable termination by the unaided efforts 
 of the navy, the United States securing privileges that 
 had been denied to European powers. 
 
 The naval War of 1812 did more to humble the pride 
 of Great Britain than any other contest. The Revo 
 lution was a struggle for independence on land, but 
 it required a second fight to secure our " inalienable 
 rights " on the high seas. Over fifteen hundred vessels 
 were taken from the English, and more than twenty 
 
 Cad) 
 
x ii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 thousand of their seamen were made prisoners. It was 
 by means of her marine that England had attained her 
 greatness, and it was on her naval supremacy that she 
 depended for safety and prosperity. "Our maritime 
 superiority," said the London Star, "is in fact apart 
 of the law of nations. It is the right of conquerors, 
 since men associated together in civilization, to give 
 laws to the conquered." At the outbreak of the War 
 of 1812 the British navy was in the zenith of its glory. 
 It had matched its strength against the combined 
 navies of the greatest maritime nations of the world, 
 and had come off a victor. In two hundred actions 
 between single ships it had been defeated but five 
 times, and on those occasions the British ship is ad 
 mitted to have been of inferior force. But in two 
 and a half years of naval war with the United States 
 British commerce was almost annihilated, and in eight 
 een naval engagements the royal navy sustained fif 
 teen defeats ; and this after the London Statesman of 
 June 10, 1812, had said, "America certainly can not 
 pretend to wage war with us ; she has no navy to do 
 it with." 
 
 The most serious aspect of this war, however, was 
 not the number of ships engaged, but the astonishing 
 disparity in losses. In the battle of Trafalgar Nelson s 
 100-gun flagship, the Victory, after five hours of fight 
 ing, sustained a loss of fifty-seven killed and one hun 
 dred and two wounded out of a complement of about 
 six hundred men and boys. In the action between the 
 44-gun frigate Constitution and the 38-gun frigate Java, 
 which lasted less than two hours, the English lost sixty 
 killed and one hundred and one wounded out of a com 
 plement of four hundred and twenty-six, while the 
 Americans had only nine killed and twenty-five wound 
 ed. In the battle of the Nile, in which there were 
 twelve hours of hard fighting, the 74-gun ship of the 
 line BelteropTion sustained the greatest loss on the 
 British side, her casualties being forty-nine killed and 
 
AMERICANS CAUSE GREAT LOSSES TO THE ENGLISH, xiii 
 
 one hundred and forty-eight wounded out of a comple 
 ment of five hundred and eighty-four. In the action 
 between the 44-gun frigate United States and the 38- 
 gun frigate Macedonian, which lasted an hour and a 
 half, the English had thirty-six killed and sixty-eight 
 wounded out of a complement of fewer than three hun 
 dred, while the Americans had only five killed and 
 seven wounded. In the great naval engagement off 
 Camperdown the 74-gun ship of the line Monarch sus 
 tained the heaviest losses on the side of the British. 
 She had thirty-six killed and one hundred wounded 
 out of a complement of five hundred and ninety-three. 
 In the action between the 18-gun sloops of war Wasp 
 and Reindeer, which lasted only nineteen minutes, the 
 English had twenty-five killed and forty-two wounded. 
 Next to the Monarch, the 64-gun ship of the line Belli- 
 queux sustained the greatest loss in the Camperdown 
 engagement, her casualties being twenty-five killed and 
 seventy-eight wounded out of a complement of four 
 hundred and eighty-five. In the action between the 
 44-gun frigate Constitution and the 38-gun frigate Guer- 
 riere, which lasted only forty minutes, the English lost 
 fifteen killed and sixty- three wounded out of a comple 
 ment of two hundred and sixty- three. The third Eng 
 lish vessel at Camperdown in point of casualties was 
 the 74-gun ship of the line Powerful, which had ten 
 killed and seventy-eight wounded out of a complement 
 of five hundred and eighty-four. In the action between 
 the 18-gun sloops of war Wasp and Frolic the English 
 had fifteen killed and forty-seven wounded out of a 
 complement of one hundred and ten, while the Wasp 
 had only five killed and five wounded. In the action 
 between the 18-gun sloops of war Hornet and Peacock, 
 which lasted but eleven minutes, the English had five 
 killed and thirty-three wounded out of a complement 
 of one hundred and thirty, while the American loss 
 was only three men injured. 
 
 It will be seen from these figures that the naval War 
 
x i v INTRODUCTION. 
 
 of 1812, in proportion to the forces engaged and the 
 losses sustained, was a contest of far greater moment 
 and disastrous consequences to Great Britain than any 
 in which she had been engaged, and it is not surprising 
 that it " spread a degree of gloom over London that was 
 most painful to observe." The London Times summed 
 up the full significance of these actions, when it heard 
 of the loss of the first frigate, in the following words : 
 "The loss of a single frigate by us, it is true, is but a 
 small one ; when viewed as a part of the British navy 
 it is almost nothing; yet under all the circumstances 
 of the two countries to which the vessels belonged, we 
 know not any calamity of twenty times its amount that 
 might have been attended with more serious conse 
 quences to the worsted party." That the " Thunderer" 
 was conscious of the increasing gravity of the war is 
 seen when it heard of the capture of the second British 
 frigate, and exclaimed: "In the name of God, what 
 was done with this immense superiority of force ! Oh, 
 what a charm is hereby dissolved ! The land spell of 
 the French is broken [alluding to Napoleon s disastrous 
 retreat from Moscow], and so is our sea spell ! " In 
 these naval disasters intelligent Englishmen foresaw 
 the subversion of their naval supremacy, and they well 
 knew that if that were lost it meant the reduction of 
 England to one of the least of the European powers. 
 
 Such being the seriousness of the subject from the 
 English standpoint, we can readily understand why 
 volume after volume has been written and every art of 
 figure- juggling resorted to to explain away these de 
 feats. One of the most popular methods of accounting 
 for the British naval disasters of this war is that of 
 comparing the ships engaged by means of tonnage. By 
 this method English writers make out that the Ameri 
 can frigates were from forty to fifty per cent larger than 
 their antagonists. But tonnage, as determined in those 
 days, by no means gives an accurate idea of the force 
 of war ships. The system of measuring was to declare 
 
TONNAGE NOT A FAIR MEASUREMENT. 
 
 that half of the breadth of the vessel at the broadest 
 part was to be considered the depth. Three fifths of 
 the breadth was to be deducted from the length of the 
 vessel, the remainder to be multiplied by the breadth 
 and the product to be multiplied by the depth, and 
 this result was to be divided by ninety-five. This was 
 an arbitrary rule adopted for the purpose of ascertain 
 ing something on which to gauge the collection of rev 
 enue, and was designed primarily for merchant craft. 
 Applied to such vessels, it gave a tolerably accurate 
 idea of the dimensions, as merchantmen were built on 
 the same general lines. But when applied to English 
 and American built frigates the formula is obviously 
 unfair, as nearly all the British frigates involved in the 
 War of 1812 were " full-built," the deck plans bearing 
 a strong resemblance to a modern canal boat, while the 
 American frigates were constructed on much finer lines, 
 their deck plans showing a decided taper from the 
 broadest part of the deck toward both the bow and the 
 stern. The deck plan of the British frigate showed that 
 the extreme breadth of the deck was maintained nearly 
 the whole distance between the bow and the stern. Be 
 sides this, the rake of the stem and stern posts of the 
 American frigate was greater than those of the British 
 frigates. From measurements taken at the custom 
 house in Baltimore in 1812 it is shown that a merchant 
 vessel built on the plan of the Macedonian registered 
 three hundred tons, and was able to carry four hundred 
 hogsheads of tobacco, while a ship of the same tonnage, 
 but built more on the lines of the American frigate, 
 could carry only one hundred hogsheads. 
 
 But even if the two vessels were built on the same 
 general lines, this formula is eminently elastic in the 
 hands of persons determined on arriving at agreeable 
 figures rather than the truth. An increase of ten feet 
 over all, six feet in beam and six feet in hold, would 
 increase the apparent tonnage of a ship (one hundred 
 and seventy-six feet long and carrying fifty-five guns) 
 
 2 
 
xvi INTRODUCTION. 
 
 fifty per cent, yet it would not admit of more than 
 four extra guns. Adding ten feet to a frigate s beam 
 and ten feet to her hold, although greatly increasing 
 her tonnage, would not admit of a single additional 
 gun in her armament. The American 44-gun frigate 
 of the War of 1812 was from ten to fifteen feet longer 
 than the British 38-gun frigate, but, owing to the rake 
 of the stem and stern posts in the American frigates, 
 not a single extra gun could be put into the broadside, 
 there being just fifteen ports to the side in both the 
 American and the British ship. When the United 
 States returned to port with her prize, the Macedo 
 nian, both ships were measured, and the former was 
 found to be ten feet longer but to have eight inches less 
 beam than the English frigate. Here the American frig 
 ate apparently has ten more feet of deck, yet her con 
 structors were unable to get a single gun more to the 
 broadside on the gun deck than the Macedonian had, 
 both ships having fifteen ports to the side. 
 
 Another point that English writers discuss is the 
 heavy metal carried in the American frigates. They 
 rightly declare that the American frigate was armed 
 with 24-pounders on the main deck, while the English 
 ship carried only 18-pounders. At the time of the War 
 of 1812 24-pounders as the main armament of frigates 
 was largely experimental, with the weight of experi 
 ence and authority against their use. English com 
 manders insisted that 24-pounders were too heavy, and 
 could not be worked as effectually as 18-pounders. Ex 
 perience had taught them that 18-pounders were the 
 medium weights from which the highest possible effi 
 ciency could be derived ; and when 24-pounders were 
 introduced in the American frigates they pronounced 
 them innovations, contrary to all established rules, and 
 mirthfully pictured the disasters that would result from 
 the experiment, In the years preceding the War of 
 1812 American and British officers frequently exchanged 
 visits, so that the latter were thoroughly aware of the 
 
AMERICAN FRIGATES TOO HEAVILY ARMED. xvii 
 
 kind of guns the American frigates carried, and they 
 frequently criticised the 24-pounders. Captain Garden, 
 of the Macedonian, on more than one occasion met 
 Captain Decatur in the United States. While dining 
 one day at the latter s table he " particularly pointed 
 out the inefficiency of the 24-pounders on the main deck 
 of the United States, and said that they could not be 
 handled with ease and rapidity in battle, and that long 
 18-pounders would do as much execution and were as 
 heavy as experience had proved that a frigate ought to 
 carry." * 
 
 To a limited extent the criticism of the British com 
 manders on the overweight of the 24-pounders on the 
 main deck of the American 44-gun frigates was well 
 founded. It is a fact that our three frigates of this 
 class were overweighted, and the experiences of the 
 first battles in which they were engaged discovered it 
 to their commanders. In the first actions of the war 
 the Constitution carried thirty 24-pounders on her main 
 deck, or fifty-five guns in all, with a total weight in 
 shot of fourteen hundred and one pounds, while her 
 opponent, the Guerriere, carried thirty 18-pounders, or 
 forty-nine guns in all, with eleven hundred and seventy- 
 five pounds of metal. Before the close of the war the 
 Constitution s armament was reduced to fifty- one guns, 
 having a total shot weight of twelve hundred and 
 eighty-seven pounds. These two figures eleven hun 
 dred and seventy-five and twelve hundred and eighty- 
 seven probably represent the real difference in the 
 weight of metal between these frigates. The Constitu 
 tion, with her armament reduced to twelve hundred and 
 eighty-seven pounds, captured an English force of fifty- 
 five guns with a total shot weight of fifteen hundred 
 and eight pounds, and with about one third of the loss 
 and injury to herself. In her action with the Mace 
 donian the United States carried fifty-four guns to the 
 
 1 Mackenzie s Life of Decatur, p. 157. 
 
xv iii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Englishman s forty -nine, but on returning to port six 
 of the United States guns were landed, as it was found 
 that their great weight caused the frigate to become 
 hogged or broken-backed. The third of these frigates, 
 the President, also reduced the number of her guns to 
 fifty- two, but even this was not sufficient to prevent her 
 from becoming hogged, and undoubtedly it was the 
 cause of her being overtaken by a British squadron in 
 1815. 1 
 
 1 In comparing the weight of metal carried in American ships of war 
 with that in English ships there are three important considerations to be 
 kept in mind. First, the actual weight of American shot at this period 
 was considerably below its nominal value. For instance, the American 32- 
 pound shot weighed only thirty pounds, and sometimes less, and the 24- 
 pound shot weighed but twenty-two and a half pounds, etc. In the action 
 between the Wasp and the Avon it was officially reported that " the four shot 
 which struck the Wasp are all thirty-two pounds in weight, being a pound 
 and three quarters heavier than any belonging to this vessel." As the 
 heaviest 32-pound shot in the Wasp was one and three quarters of a pound 
 underweight, then, inasmuch as there was much irregularity in the weight 
 of American shot, there must have been many 32-pound shot in the Wasp 
 of even greater deficiency in weight. Cooper says : " In consequence of the 
 infancy of the arts in America, both the soldiers and seamen have had to 
 contend with their enemies . . . under the disadvantage of possessing in 
 ferior arms, powder and even shot. . . . Another consequence of this de 
 fective casting was a diminution in weight and consequently momentum. 
 The latter fact having been alluded to in the course of the war, the writer 
 personally weighed a quantity of shot, both English and American, and 
 found that the old shot used in the beginning of the War of 1812 were 
 comparatively lighter than those which had been cast at a later day; but 
 in no instance was an American shot even then found to be of full weight. 
 On the other hand, the English shot were uniformly of accurate weight. 
 Some of the American 32-pound shot weighed but thirty pounds. . . . The 
 average of the 18-pound shot was about seventeen pounds, but it is under 
 stood, as this examination occurred several years after the peace, that the 
 shot as well as the guns were materially better than they had been pre 
 viously to and during the war." James considers that " it is not worth 
 inquiring whether or not this alleged trifling variation in weight between 
 American and British shot does exist." To those familiar with James 
 method of delving into the minutest details and infinitesimal figures 
 which would in any way diminish the American victory, this " not worth 
 inquiring " will seem a practical concession of the point. These various 
 authorities prove not only that American shot was deficient in weight but 
 that British shot was uniformly accurate in weight. Theodore Roosevelt, 
 
AMERICAN POWDER AND SHOT INFERIOR. x ix 
 
 Another favorite method of excusing the British 
 naval disasters of the War of 1812 was by representing 
 the British ships as being old, worn out and rotten, and 
 
 in his Naval War of 1812, has found that on an average the American shot 
 was about seven per cent below its nominal weight, so that in the compari 
 son of all metals in all the actions of this war this amount will be deducted 
 from the American metal. 
 
 Second, American powder and cannon were of inferior quality. The 
 President, while chasing the Belvidera, lost sixteen men by the bursting 
 of a bow chaser and only six men from the enemy s fire. In many other 
 actions in this war similar accidents happened to American cannon; 
 and even in the action of the new Guerriere with the Moorish frigate 
 off the coast of Africa, in 1815, several of the American crew were killed 
 by the explosion of a gun. The shot themselves were of such poor qual 
 ity that they frequently broke when they struck, thus losing their force. 
 At times the shot flew to pieces before reaching its mark, thus falling 
 against the sides of the ship with no more effect than so much grape 
 or canister. An officer of the Belvidera, speaking of a shot fired from 
 the President, says: " This shot, being of bad quality, it split into about 
 fifty pieces." 
 
 Third, the Guerriere and the Java were French-built frigates. It will 
 be remembered that a French 24-pound shot weighed twenty-six English 
 pounds, and a French 18-pound shot was equal to nineteen and a half Eng 
 lish pounds. To show that these ships, beyond a reasonable doubt, carried 
 their French armaments and shot when engaged with the Constitution, we 
 have the following evidence : From 1780 to 1812 the English had captured 
 a great number of French vessels of war whose armaments aggregated sev 
 eral thousand cannon, together with several hundred thousand shot. It is 
 not reasonable to suppose that when so many captured French vessels of 
 war were taken into the English navy these valuable cannon and shot were 
 thrown aside for old iron. On the contrary, it is more than probable that 
 the French cannon were retained in the ships that had been built expressly 
 to receive them. It is still more probable that these captured French ships 
 were supplied solely with captured French shot, for a 13-pound shot 
 (French 12) was not cast to fit a 12-pound muzzle, nor was a 26-pound 
 shot cast to fit a 24-pound muzzle. Although it is possible to fire a 12- 
 pound shot from a 13-pound bore and a 24-pound shot from a 26-pound 
 bore, it is not to be presumed that the Lords of the Admiralty supplied 
 their frigates mounting 26-pound cannon with 24-pound shot, or 13- 
 pound cannon with 12-pound shot, when they had an enormous quantity 
 of 26-pound shot and 13-pound shot cast expressly for these guns, espe 
 cially when they could not use this shot for English cannon. We have 
 proof that the Guerriere carried French shot, for an officer of the Consti 
 tution actually weighed the shot of both ships, and found that the Consti 
 tution s 24-pound shot were only three pounds heavier than the Guerriere s 
 
XX INTRODUCTION. 
 
 their crews as deficient in discipline and gunnery, etc. 
 As a matter of fact, in all these frigate actions the 
 American ship was older than the English. In the 
 Constitution- Java and the United States -Macedonian 
 engagements the English ships were "new frigates," 
 while the American frigates had been built in the pre 
 ceding century. Of the Guerriere James said : " Her 
 hull, from age and length of service, was scarcely sea 
 worthy, and such was the general decay in which the 
 Guerriere at that time was that had the frigate gone 
 into Portsmouth or Plymouth, she would in all proba 
 bility have been disarmed and broken up." Captain 
 Dacres, who commanded the Guerriere, had a different 
 opinion of his ship. A few months before his capture 
 by the Constitution, he spoke of the ship in the highest 
 terms, saying that "she d take an antagonist in half the 
 time the Shannon could " (see page 359), and the Shan 
 non was one of the best frigates in the British service. 
 A few weeks before meeting the Constitution Captain 
 Dacres even more forcibly expressed his confidence in 
 the ability of his ship to capture her, as will be seen in 
 the following challenge, which he wrote on the register 
 of the American brig John Adams : "Captain Dacres, 
 commander of his Britannic Majesty s frigate Guerriere, 
 presents his compliments to Captain Rodgers, of the 
 United States frigate President [sister ship to the Con 
 stitution}, and will be very happy to meet him, or any 
 other American frigate of equal force to the President, 
 
 18-pounders, and that there was nearly the same difference in favor of the 
 latter s 32s. If the Guerriere s 18s were English 18-pounders, the deficiency 
 of the Constitution s 24-pounders would have been three pounds, or nearly 
 twice as much as it was ever claimed to be. How, then, can the discrep 
 ancy in these figures be accounted for unless the Guerriere s shot were 
 French ? If they were, everything is clear. Her 18-pounders in English 
 measurement, which was the scale used by the officer in question, weighed 
 nineteen and a half pounds. The Constitution s 24-pounders, allowing 
 seven per cent for under weight, were about twenty-two and a half pounds, 
 and thus we get an intelligible "only three pounds heavier than the 
 riere s 18s." 
 
BRITISH OFFICERS VERSUS BRITISH WRITERS. X xi 
 
 off Sandy Hook, for the purpose of having a social tete- 
 a-tete." That Captain Dacres at the time of the action 
 had not changed this opinion, is seen in the following : 
 On the 10th of August, or nine days before this en 
 gagement, the Guerriere captured the American brig 
 Betsey, commanded by Mr. Orne. Mr. Orne was 
 aboard the Guerriere when that frigate met the Consti 
 tution, and says : "I soon saw from the peculiarity of 
 her [the Constitution s] sails, and from her general 
 appearance, that she was without doubt an American 
 frigate, and communicated the same to Captain Dacres. 
 He immediately replied that he thought she came 
 down too boldly for an American, but soon after added, 
 4 the better he behaves the more honor we shall gain 
 by taking him. " 1 Even after the action, when Cap 
 tain Dacres and his officers had been several days in 
 the Constitution, thus having an excellent opportunity 
 of comparing the two ships, he still entertained the 
 same views, and immediately on landing wrote that 
 "the loss of the ship is to be ascribed to the early fall 
 of her mizzenmast." This opinion was still more forci 
 bly stated by Captain Dacres several months afterward. 
 In his defense before his court-martial he says : "Not 
 withstanding the unlucky issue of this affair, such con 
 fidence have I in the exertions of the officers and men 
 who belong to the Guerriere, and I am so well aware 
 that the success of my opponent was owing to fortune, 
 that it is my earnest wish, and would be the happiest 
 moment of my life, to be once more opposed to the 
 Constitution with them under my command in a frig 
 ate of similar force to the Guerriere." 
 
 But we have eve"n a more explicit contradiction of 
 James statement in reference to the unprepared condi 
 tion of the British frigates. Twelve years after the 
 action between the United States and the Macedonian, 
 Captain David Hope, who served in the Macedonian 
 
 Coggeshall, History of American Privateers. 
 
xxii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 as first lieutenant, wrote to his former commander, 
 Captain Garden : 
 
 " NEWTON, BY MUSSELBURGH, June 22, 1824. 
 
 "DEAR SIR : I have just received your letter of the 
 10th inst., in which you mention that Mr. James, in 
 his naval history, has stated that you knew the ship s 
 crew of the Macedonian was, for want of practice, de 
 ficient in gunnery. That statement is certainly totally 
 unfounded, as in no ship in the British service could 
 there have been more attention paid to the practical 
 part of gunnery than was done by you to the crew of 
 the Macedonian. The men were not only well trained, 
 but the greatest attention was paid to every depart 
 ment relating to the guns. There was general exercise 
 every evening before sunset, a division was exercised 
 through the day, and frequently fired at a mark. In 
 fact, everything was done to make the ship in all re 
 spects ready to meet the enemy. As to the state of 
 discipline in the ship, that has been so strongly ex 
 pressed by the sentence of the court-martial [three 
 years before this letter was written], where the evi 
 dence was examined upon oath, that any comment of 
 mine would be unnecessary. As an officer who has 
 served his country twenty-eight years, and having 
 been frequently in action with the enemy, in no in 
 stance did I ever see men more devoted to the honor 
 and service of their country than the ship s company 
 of the Macedonian. DAVID HOPE." 
 
 Captain George Richard Pechell, under date of May 
 14, 1824, wrote to Captain Garden to the same effect. 
 
 The real cause of the British naval disasters of the 
 War of 1812 was an overweening confidence on the 
 part of the British officers. English commanders for 
 twenty years had been waging an easy naval warfare 
 against France, whose discipline had been destroyed 
 by the Revolution, in which all rank (which is espe 
 cially necessary in ships of war) was obliterated. So far 
 
OVERCONPIDENCE OF THE ENGLISH. xx iii 
 
 had this been carried that the captain was styled " citi 
 zen captain," and the enervating influence of the Revo 
 lution was shown in the lack of discipline and order 
 in French frigates of this period. The English had 
 also been fighting against Spaniards, many of whom 
 were so terrified at the sound of guns that they per 
 mitted themselves to be shot down like dogs by their 
 own officers rather than ascend the rigging or perform 
 their duty. The English sailor was spoiled by his too 
 easy victories over the French and Spaniards, and when 
 he came to match his strength with American tars he 
 was handicapped by an exaggerated notion of his own 
 prowess. 
 
 Intelligent and well-informed Englishmen saw this. 
 The Edinburgh Review for April, 1840, said: " The 
 American navy was then in its infancy, almost untried 
 against civilized enemies, and obnoxious to the unmanly 
 taunts of too many English party writers. The people 
 of the United States felt a just and laudable pride when 
 they saw their marine take its place among the best of 
 Europe, and even assert its claim to the respect of the 
 proudest maritime nation in the world." Hughes, in 
 his History of England, says (vol. xiv, p. 18): "It is 
 not to be denied that the American frigates were ma 
 noeuvred with such skill as would have done honor to 
 any officers of the British navy." Admiral Nelson, 
 after critically watching the manoeuvres of Captain 
 Dale s squadron in the Mediterranean, said, "There is 
 in the handling of those transatlantic ships a nucleus 
 of trouble for the navy of Great Britain." When Na 
 poleon, in 1803, parted with Louisiana, he prophetically 
 said : "I have given to England a maritime rival that 
 will sooner or later humble her pride." 
 
 In 1812 naval warfare had reached that stage of 
 development when brute strength and animal courage 
 had become secondary considerations. Success then 
 depended more on the higher discipline of the men, 
 better training at the guns, the intelligent use of im- 
 
xx iv INTRODUCTION. 
 
 proved weapons, the skillful manipulation of the sails 
 and the thousand and one little improvements in, about 
 and all over a ship which only a cultivated intellect 
 would suggest. These improvements, together with 
 the indomitable pluck and quick perception that have 
 ever characterized the American seaman, overwhelmed 
 the British navy with disaster and consternation. This 
 was the mainspring of our brilliant successes, and in 
 this particular our naval officers achieved their highest 
 triumph. 
 
 That a navy having such a brilliant career is with 
 out a full and continuous record of its achievements is 
 the excuse for the present history. While we have 
 excellent works on portions of our navy s career, no 
 continuous narrative from 1775 to the present time is in 
 existence. Cooper s history of the navy gives a con 
 tinuous although meager narrative to the close of the 
 Mexican War, but it has been out of print for nearly 
 half a century. 
 
 Since beginning this work, in 1885, I have endeav 
 ored to get new light on the subject. By the courtesy 
 of Admiral Aube, who in 1886 was the French Minister 
 of the Marine and Colonies, I was permitted to search 
 the archives of the French Navy Department in Paris, 
 and there I discovered documents bearing on our 
 troubles with the Directory in 1798-1801, which up to 
 that time had not been published. This part of our 
 national history has been a blank chapter, but the offi 
 cial reports of the French commanders concerned in 
 that war throw a flood of light upon it, and show that 
 it was one of the most interesting and glorious wars of 
 our country. 
 
 To Edouard Chevalier, captain in the French navy, 
 and to M. Leingy, chief of the Bureau of Archives of 
 the Navy Department in Paris, I am greatly indebted 
 for assistance in prosecuting my researches in Paris. I 
 must also acknowledge my obligations to Mr. McLane, 
 at that time the American minister to France, and to 
 
BRITISH OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS UNRELIABLE. xxv 
 
 Henry Yignaud, first secretary of the legation in Paris, 
 for courtesy and assistance extended to me in my his 
 torical researches. I desire to express my great obli 
 gations to Edward Augustus Bond, in 1886 the librarian 
 of the British Museum, who extended to me every 
 courtesy during the eight months of my researches in 
 that place. I desire also to extend my thanks to Ros- 
 siter Johnson, of New York, for valuable suggestions 
 in the preparation of this work. 
 
 While I was in England 1885- 86 Sir Provo Wal- 
 lis, at that time the senior admiral of the royal navy, 
 who served in the Shannon as second lieutenant dur 
 ing her memorable action with the Chesapeake, June 1, 
 1813, favored me with documents of great value. Some 
 of the reports of the British commanders concerned in 
 the War of 1812 were garbled before the public were 
 allowed to see them, in order to mitigate as much as 
 possible the humiliation of British defeat. In the 
 documents furnished by Sir Provo it appears that not 
 only were these documents garbled, but the official 
 report of Captain Broke, of the Shannon, was a 
 forgery. That report, as published, is signed P. 
 B. Y. Broke," but the following medical certificate 
 proves that Captain Broke, on the 6th of June, 1813, 
 and for six days before and for several weeks after 
 ward, was absolutely unable u to dictate or write" any 
 account of the action : " These are to certify that I; the 
 undersigned, David Rowlands, M. D., F. R. S., late 
 surgeon of his Majesty s naval hospital at Halifax, in 
 Nova Scotia, was there when his Majesty s ship the 
 Shannon arrived with her prize, the American frigate 
 Chesapeake, on Sunday, the 6th of June, 1813. The 
 former was commanded by the present Captain Wallis, 
 owing to the dreadful wound which Captain Broke had 
 received in the action with the enemy a few days pre 
 vious. On the 7th of June I was requested by Alexan 
 der Jack, the surgeon of the Shannon, to visit Captain 
 Broke, confined to bed at the commissioner s house in 
 
xxvi INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the dockyard, and found him in a very weak state, 
 with an extensive saber wound on the side of the head, 
 the brain exposed to view for three inches or more. He 
 was unable to converse, save in monosyllables, and, I 
 am sure, totally unable to dictate or write an account 
 of the action for some time afterward, owing to his 
 severe wounds, loss of blood and the shock his whole 
 frame must have experienced by the blow on the head. 
 I grant this certificate to Captain Wallis, being called 
 to do so by the death of Mr. Jack, the surgeon. D. 
 Rowlands, M. D." It appears, then, that this official 
 report, signed "P. B. Y. Broke," was neither written 
 nor dictated, nor authorized by that commander, but 
 was "a concoction of Commissioner Woodehouse and 
 Captains Capel and Byron," men who saw nothing of 
 the action, and knew nothing of it until the arrival of 
 the Shannon and her prize in Halifax six days after 
 ward. Even had these gentlemen shown their "con 
 coction " to the then commanding officer of the Shan 
 non, Lieutenant Wallis, before sending it to England, 
 "I would have corrected the errors." 1 
 
 The published official report of Captain Broke con 
 tains this episode: "Mr. Smyth, who commanded in 
 our foretops, stormed the enemy s foretop from the 
 fore yardarm, and destroyed all the Americans remain 
 ing in it." This "storming "is flatly contradicted by 
 Admiral Wallis, who said: "It was mere invention, 
 Smyth s having stormed her foretop, but he did board 
 her from our foreyard and slid down on one of her 
 backstays." The same published official report records : 
 "The lieutenants, Johns and Law, of the marines, 
 bravely boarded at the head of their respective divi 
 sions." To this Sir Provo replies: "Neither did the 
 officers of the marines board, for when I took command 
 of the quarter-deck I found them there." The pub 
 lished official report goes on to say : "Both ships came 
 
 1 Admiral Sir Provo Wallis. 
 
A HISTORY FOR THE PEOPLE. xxvii 
 
 out of the action in the most beautiful order, their rig 
 ging appearing as perfect as if they had been only ex 
 changing a salute." Admiral Wallis thinks otherwise. 
 He says: " It was equally erroneous to say that the 
 ships came out of action as perfect as if they had been 
 only exchanging a salute, the fact being that our lower 
 rigging was all cut through, and the masts, conse 
 quently, unsupported, so that had any sea been on they 
 would have gone over the side." 
 
 I made every effort and brought all possible influ 
 ence to bear on the Lords of the Admiralty in order to 
 get permission to peruse the documents bearing on the 
 War of 1812, but in reply to my application I was in 
 formed that "their Lordships express to you their 
 regrets at not being able to comply with this request, 
 as the regulations in force preclude all public inspec 
 tion of admiralty records after the year 1800." 
 
 Lieutenant Roy C. Smith, U. S. N., has edited my 
 work from a professional standpoint, but I have not 
 followed all his suggestions in the matter of technical 
 phrases. As this history is for the people, I have in 
 many cases changed the professional terms to a more 
 " landlubbeiiy " phraseology, in order that the descrip 
 tions of the battles may be as clear as possible to the 
 average landsman. The diagrams and maps, also pre 
 pared for this work, are not intended for a technical 
 work, but simply to convey to the mind of the reader 
 in the plainest possible manner the movements of the 
 ships and their geographical bearings. 
 
 The study of the United States navy is far from be 
 ing completed, and, impressed with this fact, I would 
 gladly receive information from any reliable source 
 bearing on our navy, in order that it may be incorpo 
 rated in future editions. 
 
 E. S. M. 
 
 NEW YORK, July, 1893. 
 
CONTENTS OF VOLUME I. 
 
 PART FIRST. 
 
 THE WAR OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE UNITED STATES A MARITIME NATION. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Conditions of colonial existence fostered a maritime spirit Colo 
 nial naval expeditions Rapid growth of colonial commerce . 3-13 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 DEVELOPMENT OB NAVAL WARFARE. 
 
 High decks lowered by the introduction of cannon Division of labor 
 in the frigate of 1800 Order and ^discipline Reduction of crews 
 and improved sanitary arrangements Flogging Superior skill 
 of American shipwrights and commanders English criticism of 
 American improvements 14-33 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 OUTBREAK OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 First naval committees Fitting out cruisers and appointing officers 
 Pay Establishment of a marine corps Uniforms Expedition 
 to New Providence Escape of the Glasgow Cruise of the Lex 
 ington Cruises of the Wasp, the Andrea Doria, the Cabot and 
 the Sachem Paul Jones in the Providence State cruisers Lee, 
 Hancock, Defense and franklin Battle of Lake Champlain 
 Heavy losses to the British commerce 34-59 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE AMERICAN NAVY IN EUROPE. 
 
 Boldness of our cruisers Careers of the Reprisal, the Lexington, the 
 Dolphin and the Surprise Remarkable success of the Revenge 
 Alarm of British merchants Cruise of the Raleigh, and the Al- 
 
 (xxix) 
 
XXX CONTENTS OF VOLUME I. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 fred Paul Jones appears in English waters Extraordinary 
 cruise of the Hanger 60-82 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE STRUGGLE IN AMERICAN WATERS. 
 
 Heroic attack of the Randolph Cruises of the Cabot and the Trum- 
 bull A submarine boat Cruise of the Hancock and the Boston 
 The American flag The Providence off the Bahamas Chase 
 of the Raleigh The United States and British navies in 1778 
 Mutiny in the Alliance Cruise of Captain J. B. Hopkins squad 
 ron Valuable captures by the Queen of France, the Providence 
 and the Ranger Battle between the Providence and the Diligent 
 The State cruisers Hazard and Protector Disastrous expedi 
 tion to the Penobscot Cruises of the Deane (Hague] and the Bos 
 ton Great losses to British commerce 83-102 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 SECOND CRUISE OF CAPTAIN JOHN PAUL JONES. 
 
 Difficulty in securing a squadron The ships and their crews Cap 
 tain Jones puts to sea A collision Returns to port Vexatious 
 delays Sails again Desertions Insubordination On the west 
 ern coast of Scotland Fruitless attack on Leith Off Flambor- 
 ough Head 103-113 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE BONHOMME RICHARD-SERAPIS FIGHT. 
 
 Excitement caused by the squadron The Baltic fleet sighted Terri 
 ble battle between the Bonhomme Richard and the Serapis A 
 critical moment A ruse de guerre Treachery of Landais Dr. 
 Franklin s opinion Return to France 114-136 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 CLOSING NAVAL ACTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 Cruel treatment of American prisoners The prison-ship Jersey The 
 navy reduced to a few vessels Cruises of the TrumbuU Loss of 
 the Saratoga Captain Jones returns to the United States The 
 Alliance captures the Atalanta and the Trepassey Loss of the 
 Confederacy Cruises of the Deane (Hague] and the Alliance 
 The Hyder Ally-General Monk affair The Congress and the Sav 
 ageCaptures of American privateers Summary of the naval 
 war of the Revolution .... 137-151 
 
CONTENTS OF VOLUME I. xxxi 
 
 PART SECOND. 
 
 WARS WITH FRANCE AND TRIPOLI. 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 OUTBREAK OF THE WAR WITH FRANCE. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Neglect of the navy Trouble with Algiers Opposition to a navy 
 The new frigates New officers Pay and rations A navy de 
 partment created Tribute to Algiers Necessity of a navy War 
 declared against France The Delaware captures the Croyable 
 Chase of the Montezuma and the Norfolk Lieutenant Bain- 
 bridge s clever deception In the dungeons at Guadeloupe 
 Cruises of the United States, the Delaware and the Herald Out 
 rage on the Baltimore 155-172 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 A VIGOROUS NAVAL WAR AGAINST FRANCE. 
 
 A race off St. Domingo Increasing the naval force in the West In 
 dies The United States sinks the Amour de la Patrie The 
 squadron off Porto Rico The British cruiser Surprise boards the 
 Ganges in vain Action between the Constellation and the In 
 surgent Official report of Captain Barreaut Critical condition of 
 the prize crew Active cruise of the Norfolk The Congress 
 chases a privateer She is dismasted in a gale The Essex passes 
 the Cape of Good Hope 173-192 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE WAR WITH FRANCE IN 1800. 
 
 Night action between the Constellation and the Vengeance Official 
 report of Captain Pitot Cutting out the Sandwicli Loss of the 
 Insurgent Remarkable cruises of the Enterprise and the Experi 
 ment Plucky defense of the Louisa off Gibraltar Picaroons at 
 tack the Boston Extraordinary action between the Boston and 
 the Berceau Official report of the French commander Sum 
 mary of the French war 193-213 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR WITH TRIPOLI. 
 
 Judicious reduction of the navy Tribute to the States of Barbary 
 Insolence of those regencies England s policy in regard to the 
 pirates The George Washington at Algiers and Constantino 
 ple The Sultan pleased with the visit Insolence of the Dey. 214-227 
 
xxxii CONTENTS OF VOLUME I. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE WAR IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 
 
 The President, the Philadelphia, the Essex and the Enterprise sail 
 for the Mediterranean Tripolitan cruisers blockaded at Gibral 
 tar American officers insulted at Barcelona Action between the 
 Enterprise and the Tripoli the President runs on a rock 
 Strange conduct of Captain McNiell The Constellation attacks 
 Tripolitan gunboats Duel between Joseph Bainbridge and an 
 Englishman at Malta Fire in the President Boat attack on the 
 Tripolitans A Tripolitan cruiser blown up The Constitution 
 and the Maidstone off Gibraltar The Philadelphia captures the 
 MeshbohaLoss of the Philadelphia 228-250 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE FRIGATE PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 Serious effects of the loss of the Philadelphia Suggestions for her re 
 captureDefenses of Tripoli Preparations to recapture the 
 Philadelphia Lieutenant Decatur volunteers Capture of the 
 Mastico Volunteers The ketch starts A week of great hard 
 ships Entering the harbor Boarding the Philadelphia The re 
 treat Loss of the enemy 251-269 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 BOMBARDMENT OF TRIPOLI. 
 
 Vigorous blockade of Tripoli The Siren and the Argus destroy a 
 felucca Comparative forces before Tripoli Fierce battle of gun 
 boats Four bombardments of the city The floating mine In 
 trepid 270-293 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 CONCLUSION OP THE WAR WITH TRIPOLI. 
 
 The experiences of the American prisoners in Tripoli Attempts to es 
 cape Bombards and gunboats cross the Atlantic Mr. Eaton col 
 lects an army at Alexandria He captures Derne Peace The 
 Bey of Tunis hastily retracts Spanish gunboats fire on the 
 President Benefits of the Mediterranean war , 294-302 
 
 I 
 
CONTENTS OF VOLUME I. xxxiii 
 
 PART THIRD. 
 
 THE WAR OF 1812. 
 
 * 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE OUTBREAK. pAGE 
 
 The Chesapeake- Leopard affair Outrages by British cruisers Case of 
 the Leander Increasing the navy The United States and the 
 Guerriere Captain Rodgers puts to sea The President and the 
 Little Belt War declared A comparison of the two navies Pay 
 Lack of confidence in the navy . . . . . . 305-321 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 FIRST NAVAL EFFORTS OF 1812. 
 
 Captain Rodgers puts to sea Chase of the Belvidera Cruise of the 
 Essex The Essex and the Minerva The Essex and the Alert 
 The Constitution at Portsmouth, England Loss of the Nautilus 
 Celebrated chase of the Constitution by Captain Broke s squad 
 ron 322-343 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 FIRST FRIGATE ACTION. 
 
 The Constitution puts to sea in search of a British frigate Sights the 
 Guerriere At close quarters Comparison of forces Disasters 
 on land Song, " The Constitution and the Guerriere " . 344-363 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 SECOND FRIGATE ACTION. 
 
 Sketch of the Macedonian She searches for the Essex, but meets the 
 United States Beautiful handling of the American frigate 
 Dreadful slaughter in the Macedonian The two commanders 
 Return to port Our tars at a public dinner and in the thea 
 ter 364-394 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE CONSTITUTION-JAVA FIGHT. 
 
 The Java sails for India Her officers The Constitution and the Hor 
 net off Bahia Challenge to the Bonne Citoyenne The Java meets 
 the Constitution A comparison of the two frigates Death of 
 Lambert How the news of the naval disasters of 1812 was re 
 ceived in England 395-417 
 
xxxiv CONTENTS OF VOLUME I. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 FIRST SLOOP ACTIONS. 
 
 The Hornet blockades the Bonne Citoyenne She is driven off by the 
 Montagu Action with the Peacock Cruise of the President, 
 the Congress and the Argus Boat attacks on the Constellation 
 Loss of the Vixen and the Viper Action between the Wasp and 
 the Frolic .......... 418-435 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE CHESAPEAKE AND THE SHANNON. 
 
 The Chesapeake an unlucky ship Long preparation of the Shannon 
 Captain Broke s challenge never reached Captain Lawrence The 
 Chesapeake sails to meet the Shannon The battle of June 1, 
 1813 " Don t give up the ship " Scenes after the battle Arrival 
 of the two ships at Halifax Fate of the Chesapeake . . 43G-468 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 OPERATIONS ON THE GREAT LAKES. 
 
 Importance of the Great Lakes Lieutenant Woolsey s heroic defense 
 of the Oneida The Julia beats off the Earl of Moira and the 
 Duke of Gloucester Captain Chauncey assumes command on the 
 Great Lakes Lieutenant Elliott s gallant capture of the Detroit 
 and the Caledonia The Royal George chased into Kingston 
 Attack on Toronto Capture of Fort George Sir George Pre- 
 vost s attack on Sackett s Harbor The Lady of the Lake cap 
 tures the Lady Murray Manoeuvres of the two squadrons The 
 partial engagement of September 28th Increasing the naval force 
 on Lake Ontario The British capture Oswego The battle of 
 Sandy Creek Lieutenant Gregory s gallant capture of the Black 
 Snake Loss of the Ohio and the Somers Minor actions on Lake 
 Huron and Lake Erie ........ 469-491 
 
 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE. 
 
 Oliver Hazard Perry ordered to Lake Erie Dismal prospects Build 
 ing a squadron Getting the brigs over the bar Character of the 
 crews Comparative forces The battle at long range At great 
 odds Dreadful slaughter in the Lawrence Perry changes his 
 flag to the Niagara Surrender of the British Rewards . 492-520 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 ACTIVE NAVAL WAR OF 1813. 
 
 Cruise of the President and the Congress Capture of the High Flyer 
 Gallant defense of the Asp Action between the Argus and the 
 
CONTENTS OF VOLUME I. X xxv 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Pelican Burial of Master-Commandant Allen The gunboat 
 theory Gunboats attack the Narcissus and Junon Boat attack 
 on Craney Island The gunboats under Lieutenant Angus in 
 the Delaware Exploit of Midshipman Ten Eyck on Long Island 
 Sound Attempts at submarine and torpedo warfare The Enter 
 prise-Boxer fight Fourth cruise of the President . . 521-541 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 CAPTAIN PORTER S CRUISE IN THE PACIFIC. 
 
 Building the Essex Her first services Sails to join Captain Bain- 
 bridge s squadron Captures the Nocton Arrives off Brazil 
 Captain Porter decides to cruise in the Pacific Dreadful passage 
 around the Horn In the broad Pacific Capturing the British 
 whalers and privateers In the Gallapagos Winter quarters at 
 Nukahiva 542-560 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 HEROIC DEFENSE OF THE ESSEX. 
 
 Departure from Nukahiva Arrival at Valparaiso Unexpected arri 
 val of the Phoe.be and the Cherub Captain Porter blockaded 
 The Essex blown to sea and loses a topmast Anchors off a neu 
 tral shore Cautious attack of the English A heroic defense 
 against overwhelming odds Terrible losses Return to the 
 United States Fate of the survivors at Nukahiva . . . 561-576 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE NAVAL WAR IN 1814. 
 
 Cruise of the Adams Her loss Attack on the Alligator Wreck of the 
 Ferret Chase of the Nonesuch Third cruise of the Constitution 
 Cruise of the Enterprise and the Rattlesnake Capture of the 
 Frolic Captain Joshua Barney s gunboats Our seamen at the 
 defense of Washington Capture of the Surveyor The Peacock- 
 Epervier fight Loss of the Siren The Wasp takes the Reindeer 
 and sinks the Avon Her fate 577-602 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 BATTLES OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN AND LAKE BORGNE. 
 
 First losses on Lake Champlain Building a new squadron Mac- 
 donough s splendid strategy Surrender of the British The 
 New Orleans expedition Heroic fight of the American gun 
 boatsNight attack on the English camp Battle of New 
 Orleans , 603-621 
 
xxxv i CONTENTS OF VOLUME I. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE CONSTITUTION ON THE AFRICAN COAST. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Old Ironsides escapes from Boston Off the Rock of Lisbon Cap 
 tures the Cyane and the Levant At Port Praya Blind chase of 
 Sir George Collier s squadron Marvelous escape of the Constitu 
 tion from Port Praya Sir George Collier s blunders . . 622-639 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE EAST INDIA SQUADRON. 
 
 The President puts to sea Chased by a British squadron A desper 
 ate battle Captured by an overwhelming force The Hornet 
 takes the Penguin In the Indian Ocean A three-day chase 
 Wonderful escape of the Hornet The Peacock takes the Nautilus 
 The London Times on the naval war 640-058 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 Reuben James . 659-660 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 The Bonhomme Richard and the Serapis . . . Frontispiece 
 
 Map showing the colonial naval expeditions 12 
 
 The Great Harry 15 
 
 The Sovereign of the Seas 16 
 
 The frigate in 1800 17 
 
 Flogging (from a sketch by George Cruikshank, 1818) ... 25 
 
 Scene of the naval operations of 1776 40 
 
 The Royal Savage, showing the " grand Union flag " (from an old 
 
 water color) 52 
 
 Map of the battle of Lake Champlain 54 
 
 Map of Lake Champlain 57 
 
 European waters 61 
 
 Scene of Captain Jones cruise in the Irish Sea 75 
 
 The Ranger and the Drake Facing 80 
 
 Scene of the naval operations of 1777, 1778 and 1779 .... 84 
 
 The Randolph and the Yarmouth Facing 85 
 
 Map of the second cruise of Captain Jones in British waters . . 107 
 Diagram of the Bonhomme Richard- Serapis fight . . . .119 
 
 The prison ship Jersey Facing 138 
 
 Scene of the naval operations of 1780, 1781 and 1782 . . . .141 
 
 Scene of the naval operations in the West Indies in 1799 . . . 174 
 
 Diagram of the Constellation- Insurgent fight 179 
 
 The Constellation raking the Insurgent .... Facing 181 
 
 The Constellation and the Vengeance Facing 196 
 
 Scene of the naval war in 1800 199 
 
 The Boston capturing the Berceau Facing 212 
 
 City of Algiers 219 
 
 The Dardanelles 222 
 
 Port of Alicante 226 
 
 Scene of the naval operations in the Mediterranean .... 229 
 
 Rock of Gibraltar 241 
 
 Diagram of the harbor of Tripoli 247 
 
 Diagram explaining the loss of the Philadelphia .... 258 
 
 Boarding the Philadelphia Facing 264 
 
 A brass cannon captured from the Tripolitans, now in Annapolis . 276 
 
 (xxxvii) 
 
xxxviii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Port of Tripoli 285 
 
 Chase of the Constitution Facing 338 
 
 Hoisting the Constitution s boats 340 
 
 Map showing cruise of the Constitution 346 
 
 Diagram of the Constitution- ffuerri&re fight 348 
 
 The (riierriere in the trough of the sea .... Facing 353 
 
 Portsmouth 365 
 
 View in the Canary Islands 367 
 
 Scene of the second frigate action 371 
 
 Diagram of the United States- Macedonian fight .... 375 
 
 The United States raking the Macedonian .... Facing 380 
 
 Cruise of the Constitution, Hornet and Java 397 
 
 Bahia 399 
 
 Action between the Constitution and the Java . . . Facing 406 
 
 Map showing the cruises of the Hornet and the Wasp . . . 419 
 
 Diagram of the Hornet- Peacock fight 421 
 
 Diagram of the Wasp-Frolic fight 430 
 
 Action between the Wasp and the Frolic .... Facing 432 
 
 Diagram of the Chesapeake- Shannon fight 452 
 
 The struggle for the Chesapeake s forecastle . . . Facing 458 
 
 Lawrence s tomb 466 
 
 Scene of the naval operations on the Great Lakes .... 471 
 
 Map of Lake Erie 495 
 
 Diagram of the battle of Lake Erie, No. 1 504 
 
 The battle of Lake Erie Facing 510 
 
 Diagram of the battle of Lake Erie, No. 2 512 
 
 Graves of Burrows and Blythe 540 
 
 Map showing the cruise of the Essex 544 
 
 Captain Porter with his squadron at Nukahiva . . . Facing 556 
 
 The Essex cruising with her prizes 559 
 
 The Phoebe and the Cherub attacking the Essex . . . Facing 565 
 
 City of Valparaiso 572 
 
 The Wasp sinking the Avon Facing 600 
 
 Diagram of the battle of Lake Champlain (No. 1) .... 605 
 Diagram of the battle of Lake Champlain (No. 2) . . . .611 
 
 Battle of Lake Champlain Facing 613 
 
 Diagram of the Constitution-Cyane-Levant fight .... 627 
 
 The Constitution backing between the two English ships . Facing 629 
 
 The Constitution at close quarters Facing 632 
 
 Captain Decatur wounded Facing 644 
 
 Chase of the Hornet by the Cornwallis .... Facing 655 
 
PAET FIEST. 
 THE WAR OP THE REVOLUTION, 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE UNITED STATES A MAEITIME NATION". 
 
 THE people of the United States have inherited an 
 aptitude for the sea from five of the greatest maritime 
 nations of the world. The Spanish and Portuguese at 
 the time of the discovery of the New World were the 
 boldest and most skillful mariners in Europe, and the 
 State of Maine to-day is populated to an appreciable 
 extent by descendants of these first explorers who have 
 contributed not a little to the shipbuilding industry 
 that for two centuries has made the State famous. After 
 the Spaniards and Portuguese came the French, Dutch 
 and English, all of whom at some period have main 
 tained a high place among the maritime powers of Eu 
 rope. The French and Dutch, like the Spaniards and 
 Portuguese, became assimilated with the English popu 
 lation but, in common with the Anglo-Saxons, retained 
 their skill as sailors. 
 
 Not only did the people of the United States inherit 
 nautical skill from the boldest navigators of the Old 
 World, but the surroundings and every-day life of 
 the early colonist were such as to develop this skill 
 to an extraordinary degree. The first settlements 
 were made along the coast line, and even those who 
 came at a late day followed the course of rivers and 
 lakes as being the easiest means of receiving their sup 
 plies and of forwarding their products to the outside 
 world, so that the maintenance of sailing craft became 
 an almost necessary condition of existence. Even be 
 tween houses in the same settlement, especially those 
 that clustered around irregularly formed bays, visits 
 
 (3) 
 
4 THE UNITED STATES A MARITIME NATION. 1614-1639. 
 
 were more conveniently made in boats, and it was not 
 uncommon to see a household embark in a barge on a 
 peaceful Sabbath morning and row across the quiet 
 waters of some bay or river to "attend meeting." The 
 waters along which these settlements were founded 
 supplied the colonists with an important means of sub- 
 sistence, so that fishing in boats became a regular oc> 
 cupation. 
 
 The trade between the colonies developed this nau 
 tical bent on a larger scale. Owing to the difficulty of 
 cutting roads through boundless forests and the great 
 expense of bridging rivers, intercolonial trade was car, 
 ried on by water, so that from the beginning the colo* 
 nies were compelled to maintain a commercial marine. 
 As the settlements grew in number and wealth this 
 commerce increased proportionately until at the out 
 break of the Revolution it had aroused the jealousy oi: 
 England. The colonial legislatures from the first were 
 fully alive to the importance of this trade and in 1639 
 New England legislated directly in favor of her fisher 
 men and shipwrights, the former being excused from 
 military duty during the fishing season while the latter 
 were exempt the year around. When we remember 
 the dangers surrounding these feeble colonies, both 
 from a savage foe and from hostile Europeans, we can 
 more readily understand how great a privilege was 
 exemption from military service in those days. 
 
 As a result of this fostering care shipbuilding soon 
 became an important industry. The first decked vessel 
 built in North America was constructed by Schipper 
 Adrian Block and was launched in the Hudson River 
 in the summer of 1614, its length being thirty-eight 
 feet on the keel, forty-four and one half feet over all, 
 and eleven feet beam. Other small vessels for the In 
 dian trade were built about this time in New Amster 
 dam (New York). In 1615 the French, Portuguese 
 and Spaniards had about three hundred vessels in the 
 Newfoundland fisheries while the English had about 
 
1527-1713. INTEREST OF COLONISTS IN SHIPBUILDING. 5 
 
 one hundred and seventy, most of these vessels making 
 some port in North America their base of supplies. In 
 1632, twelve years after the landing of the Pilgrims, 
 "a vessel of one hundred tons, and in the next year 
 another of double that measurement, were launched 
 in Mystic River, Massachusetts." 
 
 We may form some idea of the great interest taken 
 by the early settlers in shipbuilding from the following 
 extract from a letter written in 1641 by a New England 
 colonist to friends in England : "Besides many boats, 
 shallocks, hoys, lighters, pinnaces, we are in a way of 
 building ships of a hundred, two hundred, three hun 
 dred, four hundred tons. Five of them are already at 
 sea, many more in hand at this present, we being much 
 encouraged herein by reason of the plenty and excel 
 lence of our timber for that purpose, and seeing all the 
 materials will be had there in a short time." Many of 
 these vessels were built by Hugh Peters, who some 
 years later was executed in England for high treason. 
 By 1676 Massachusetts alone had built seven hundred 
 and thirty vessels, varying from six tons to two hun 
 dred and fifty tons, and in 1690 the Falkland, the first 
 ship of the line built in America, was launched in the, 
 Piscataqua. In 1713 Massachusetts employed three! 
 thousand four hundred and ninety- three seamen, and x/ 
 four hundred and ninety-two vessels with a total of ! 
 twenty-five thousand four hundred and six tons. And 
 in the following year the first schooner built in Amer 
 ica was launched, its builder being Henry Robinson of I 
 Cape Ann. 
 
 Many circumstances contributed to make the inter 
 colonial commerce assume the character of an armed 
 trade. On looking over the map of North America of 
 the period from 1630 to 1660, it will be seen that the 
 region about the St. Lawrence was occupied by the 
 French, who had settled there as early as 1527, the 
 present New England States were held by the Eng 
 lish, New Netherlands (New York) by the Dutch, 
 
6 THE UNITED STATES A MARITIME NATION. 1631-1717. 
 
 New Sweden (Delaware) by the Swedes, Virginia and 
 Maryland by the English, while South Carolina and 
 Georgia were claimed by the French, and Florida by 
 the Spaniards. Thus an English vessel bound from 
 Massachusetts to Virginia, skirting along the coasts of 
 New Netherlands and New Sweden, frequently fell in 
 with outward and inward bound ships of those colo 
 nies as well as with those of France and Spain. The 
 parent states, while at war and sometimes when at 
 peace, encouraged their colonies in the New World 
 to attack, harass, and in every way check the growth 
 of their neighbors, and this rendered it necessary for 
 vessels engaged in the coasting trade to be well armed, 
 while their crews were as carefully instructed in the 
 use of firearms as in the handling of the sails. 
 
 This armed trade was further necessitated by the 
 boldness and number of the buccaneers who infested 
 the coast of North America and the West India Islands 
 in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and even 
 at the beginni ng of the nineteenth century. As early 
 as 1631 the Colony of Plymouth built a bark of thirty 
 tons, which was named the Blessing of the Bay, for 
 the special object of defending its coasts against pi 
 rates. By the close of the seventeenth century piracy 
 had assumed alarming proportions, and the exploits of 
 Captain William Kidd finally compelled England to 
 take vigorous measures against it, and for a time the 
 freebooters were suppressed. But after the peace of 
 1713 they began their depredations again, and in 1717 a 
 piratical craft called the WJiidali, of twenty-three guns, 
 manned by one hundred and thirty men under the com 
 mand of Samuel Bellamy, cruised off the coast of New 
 England with impunity until she was wrecked with 
 her prizes on Cape Cod, where all on board perished 
 except six, who were seized and executed in Boston. 
 About 1718 William Khett routed a gang of pirates 
 who had been established near the mouth of Cape Fear 
 River, North Carolina. Two sloops were seized and 
 
1613-1723. THE COLONIAL SEAMAN A DANGEROUS FOE. 7 
 
 their crews were exterminated. In 1723 an English 
 sloop of war brought into Rhode Island twenty-five 
 pirates. 
 
 Whale-fishing also tended to develop the seaman- 
 ship of the colonists. This industry was established 
 early in the seventeenth century and increased rap 
 idly; before the Revolution Massachusetts alone had 
 three hundred vessels engaged in it. Owing to the 
 great distance these vessels sailed from home and their 
 frequent meetings with hostile ships, they were heav 
 ily armed and their crews were carefully instructed in 
 the use of firearms. The fate of Oldham in the sloop 
 Gallop, which was captured by the Narragansett In 
 dians, taught the early mariner that even the savages 
 must be guarded against. 
 
 Such were the peculiar conditions of early life in 
 the North American colonies that tended to develop 
 the maritime spirit of the American people. It is not 
 strange, therefore, that the colonial seaman was a skill 
 ful mariner and a dangerous foe, and it was largely 
 owing to this that after the independence of the United 
 States was established the Lords of the Admiralty, in 
 their eagerness to secure American seamen, violated 
 the laws of nations in order to impress our sailors 
 into their service. Many of the best colonial families 
 entered their sons in the royal navy where they attained 
 high rank, some of them being numbered among Eng 
 land s greatest naval heroes. Washington, at the age 
 of fifteen, " urged so pressingly to be permitted to enter 
 the British navy, that the place of a midshipman was 
 obtained for him." 1 
 
 It was not long before the American colonist began 
 to assert himself on the high seas. The first attempt 
 was made in 1613 when Samuel Argal commanded an 
 expedition of eleven vessels, mounting in all fourteen 
 light guns, from Virginia against a French settlement 
 
 1 Marshall s Life of Washington, vol. ii., p. 2. 
 
S THE UNITED STATES A MARITIME NATION. 1613-1665. 
 
 in Nova Scotia. As the French were without artillery 
 the place was reduced with little difficulty. On return 
 ing to Virginia, Argal was sent against Acadia a second 
 time with only three vessels, but better equipped than 
 his first command, and he laid waste all the French 
 settlements. 
 
 Entering New Amsterdam (New York) on his return, 
 he obtained the surrender of that place, claiming that 
 it rightfully belonged to England by virtue of its having 
 been first discovered by an Englishman, but as he had 
 no means of making good his conquest the Dutch re 
 turned to their old, allegiance immediately after his 
 departure. Returning to Virginia, Argal lost one of 
 his ships in a storm, another was driven to the Azores 
 and made its way to England, and the third regained 
 the Chesapeake. These expeditions were undertaken 
 while the two countries concerned were at peace, and 
 the prisoners taken narrowly escaped being executed 
 as pirates. This fact, together with the statement that 
 pirates of that day often began their enterprises with 
 prayer, reveals a singularly unsettled condition of af 
 fairs, and shows how necessary it was that the ear]y 
 mariner should be self-reliant and capable of fighting 
 his own battles. In 1645 a vessel built in Massachu 
 setts gained wide celebrity by beating off a rover of 
 Barbary near the Canary Islands after an all-day fight. 
 In 1648 the settlements of Hartford and New Haven 
 employed a vessel of ten guns to cruise in Long Island 
 Sound so as to guard against the encroachments of the 
 Dutch, and from 1665 Connecticut kept a small cruiser 
 off Watch Hill to intercept the Narragansett Indians 
 in their threatened attempts against the Montauks, 
 who were allies of the settlers. 
 
 The ease and impunity with which the French and 
 Indians made their incursions on the English settle 
 ments aroused the latter to a realization of the danger 
 threatening them from the north. The New England 
 colonists, being nearest to the Canadas, were the heav- 
 
1690. NAVAL EXPEDITIONS AGAINST THE FRENCH. 9 
 
 iest sufferers from these inroads, and were the first to 
 take effective measures against the French. On the 28th 
 of April, 1690, "seven or eight hundred men in eight 
 small vessels" were sent by Massachusetts against 
 Port Royal, Nova Scotia, the command of the expe 
 dition being given to Sir William Phipps, a New Eng- 
 lander. Port Royal was taken before a blow could be 
 struck in its defense. The squadron then destroyed 
 a French fort at the mouth of the St. John River, 
 and on the 30th of May it returned to Boston in tri 
 umph. 
 
 Elated with this success, the colonists determined 
 to send an expedition against Quebec, and on the 9th of 
 August, 1690, a fleet of " thirty- two vessels, the largest 
 numbering forty-four guns," 1 carrying two thousand 
 men and provisions for four months, sailed from Nan- 
 tucket. A land force under the command of Captain 
 Church was to reach the point of attack by Lake 
 Champlain. Sir William Phipps and John Walley 
 were made general and lieutenant-general of the naval 
 forces. It was not until the 6th of October that the 
 fleet approached Quebec, the expedition under Cap 
 tain Church in the meantime having found the route 
 impracticable, returned. On the 8th of October Sir 
 William Phipps landed fourteen hundred men about 
 two miles below the town, and on the following day the 
 ships opened a heavy cannonade, but they did little 
 injury owing to the great height of the land batteries. 
 After several days of ineffective cannonading the fleet 
 put back to Boston, but on the return passage it met 
 with heavy weather, in which two of the vessels found 
 ered while several were carried to the West Indies. 
 One ship was wrecked in the St. Lawrence, and, says 
 Palfrey, " the number of men lost in the expedition by 
 disease and casualties was estimated at two hundred, 
 though only thirty fell by the hands of the enemy 
 
 1 Palfrey s History of New England, vol. iv., p. 51. 
 4 
 
10 THE UNITED STATES A MARITIME NATION. 1706-1711. 
 
 before Quebec. The money sacrificed by Massachusetts 
 was reckoned at fifty thousand pounds." 
 
 In 1706 four Spanish ships of war appeared before 
 Charleston, South Carolina, and demanded the sur 
 render of that place. Lieutenant-Colonel Rhett was 
 commissioned vice-admiral for the emergency, and 
 hoisting his flag on a galley called the Crown got under 
 way with several armed vessels to engage the enemy, 
 but the Spaniards, not waiting for a battle, beat a 
 hasty retreat. In May, 1707, twenty-three transports 
 and whaleboats, convoyed by the Deptford, Captain 
 Stuckley, and the galley Province, Captain Southack, 
 made an unsuccessful attempt against Port Royal, 
 and two years later another expedition against that 
 place proved disastrous. On the 18th of September, 
 1710, however, a fleet of thirty-six vessels of war and 
 transports, under the command of Captain Nicholson, 
 sailed from Boston for a third attack on Port Royal, 
 which place had been returned to France by treaty. 
 The expedition arrived before the town on the 26th of 
 September, and on the 1st of October the forts were 
 carried by storm. In honor of the reigning Queen 
 of England the name of the town was changed to 
 Annapolis. 
 
 Flushed with victory, Mcholson went to England 
 where he urged more extensive operations for the follow 
 ing year, and as a result of his efforts a fleet of fifteen 
 vessels of war and forty transports, under the command 
 of Vice- Admiral Sir Hovenden Walker, appeared in 
 Boston Harbor on the 24th of June, 1711, where it took 
 aboard seven thousand well-appointed troops, regulars 
 and provincials, and on the 30th of July made sail for 
 Quebec. On the night of the 22d of August, while 
 ascending St. Lawrence River in a fog, eight ships with 
 eight hundred and eighty-four men were lost. A council 
 of war then decided unanimously to give up the ex 
 pedition, upon which the royal ships sailed for Eng 
 land while the colonial vessels made their way to Bos- 
 
1745. THE EXPEDITION AGAINST LOUISBURG. H 
 
 ton. This disaster plunged the New England prov 
 inces heavily in debt, and so checked their maritime 
 enterprise that not for thirty years did they again 
 venture on any considerable undertaking. 
 
 In 1745 they determined to make another attack on 
 the French, and a fleet of fourteen war vessels with 
 eighty or ninety transports was collected in Nantasket 
 Roads, Boston Harbor. The troops were commanded 
 by Colonel William Pepperel while the fleet was placed 
 under the orders of Captain Edward Tyng. The ships 
 sailed in several divisions which were to rendezvous at 
 Cape Canso, Nova Scotia, and then invest Louisburg. 
 This fortress was the strongest in the New World. For 
 twenty-five years the French had been strengthening 
 its defenses, until at this time it was called the second 
 Dunkirk. Bancroft says : " Its walls raised on a neck 
 of land on the south side of the harbor, forty feet 
 thick at the base, and from twenty to thirty feet high, 
 all swept from the bastions, surrounded by a ditch 
 eighty feet wide, were furnished with one hundred and 
 one cannon, seventy-six swivels and six mortars ; its 
 garrison was composed of more than sixteen hundred 
 men; the harbor was defended by an island battery 
 of thirty 22-pounders and a royal battery on the shore, 
 having thirty large cannon, a moat and bastion; all so 
 perfect that it was thought two hundred men could 
 have defended it against five thousand." 
 
 In less than two months from the time the Governor 
 of Massachusetts broached the enterprise to the Gen 
 eral Court a squadron had sailed to blockade Louisburg. 
 On the 24th of March the three thousand men from 
 Massachusetts embarked, and after a week s voyage 
 arrived at Cape Canso, where they found the three 
 hundred and four men from New Hampshire, while ten 
 days later five hundred and sixteen men from Connect 
 icut arrived ; but the expedition was detained by ice 
 until the last of April. In the meantime Admiral 
 Warren, having received orders to give all possible as- 
 
THE UNITED STATES A MARITIME NATION. 1745. 
 
 Cha 
 
 si stance to the colonies, joined the force at Cape Can so 
 with five ships of sixty guns each and six frigates. 
 
 On the 30th of 
 April the expedi 
 tion sailed from 
 Cape Canso and on 
 the following day 
 appeared before 
 Louisburg. The 
 colonists were des 
 titute of siege guns, 
 and with a view of 
 supplying this deficiency four 
 hundred men were landed to 
 capture some heavy cannon in 
 an outwork called the Grand 
 Battery. In the night the French 
 retired from this battery to their 
 main fortifications, thus ena 
 bling the colonists to secure the 
 guns without bloodshed. 
 
 The investment was soon completed and maintained 
 with no interruption until the 15th of June, when the 
 French, learning of the capture of the long-expected 
 64-gun relief ship Vigilant with her stores and troops, 
 sent out a flag of truce. On the 17th the fortress with 
 six hundred regular troops and thirteen hundred militia 
 was surrendered. The French flag was kept flying at 
 the fort some days after the surrender, by means of 
 which two richly laden Indiamen and one South Sea 
 whaler, valued at three million dollars, were decoyed 
 under the guns and captured. On the return of the 
 expedition to Massachusetts the 20-gun galley Shirley, 
 Captain Rouse, secured eight prizes, two of which were 
 taken only after an obstinate resistance. For this serv 
 ice Captain Rouse received a commission in the royal 
 navy. The French attempted to retaliate on the Eng 
 lish colonists by sending a powerful fleet to devastate 
 
1749. RAPID GROWTH OF THE COLONIAL MARINE. 13 
 
 their coasts, but the first division of this fleet was scat 
 tered by a storm and the second was defeated by a 
 British squadron under Admiral Anson and Admiral 
 Warren. 
 
 During this war the English colonies sent out between 
 three and four hundred privateers. In 1749 five hundred 
 and four vessels cleared from the port of Boston and four 
 hundred and eighty-nine entered, not counting coasters 
 and fishing craft. At Philadelphia in the same year 
 there were two hundred and ninety- one clearances and 
 three hundred and three entries.* The shipping of New 
 York was about the same as Philadelphia, while that 
 of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, had one hundred and 
 twenty-one clearances and seventy-three entries besides 
 two hundred coasting vessels. In the following year, 
 
 1750, a vessel built of live oak arrived in Charleston, 
 South Carolina. The qualities of this wood were found 
 to be so much superior to those of the white oak, which 
 was in general use up to that time, that vessels were 
 afterward constructed of live oak in preference to the 
 wood formerly used. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE DEVELOPMENT OF NAVAL WARFARE. 
 
 AT the outbreak of the American Revolution, in 
 1775, the science of naval warfare had reached a well- 
 defined period of development and was in condition to 
 enter upon another. In the first period, or from the 
 earliest records down to the successful introduction of 
 cannon in ships in the sixteenth century, weapons 
 throwing a projectile with sufficient force to penetrate 
 the side of a ship had not been invented, so that the 
 only way of injuring the enemy was by ramming, 
 boarding, or by throwing missiles from a height suffi 
 cient to overtop the bulwarks and reach the men ex 
 posed on the deck. Therefore shipwrights of this first 
 period raised the decks of war vessels to as great 
 height as safety would permit. As the weight of 
 these decks made the ship topheavy, not a few were 
 capsized in moderately smooth water, and to overcome 
 this difficulty the constructors invented towers or cas 
 tles, which were erected in the bow and stern, and not 
 only enabled the men to fight from a greater height 
 but diminished the danger of capsizing ; for with cas 
 tles it was not necessary to build the decks so high. 
 Although not a vestige of the tower or castle remains 
 in the modern ship the name "castle" or "forecastle" 
 is still retained. The masts also were topped with a 
 parapet from which archers and spearmen could hurl 
 their missiles over the enemy s bulwarks. 
 
 The implements of offense and defense of the first 
 period were : espringalds, haubergeons, bacinets, bows, 
 jacks, doublets, targets, pavises, lances and firing bar- 
 
 (14) 
 
1337. ANCIENT NAVAL WEAPONS AND WAR SHIPS. 15 
 
 rels. These weapons were improved, until in 1337 we 
 find the cannon-pavoir or stone shot thrower, basilisks, 
 port-pieces, stock-fowlers, sakers and the bombard. 
 The last was a large instrument of hammered iron made 
 of bars welded together, throwing a stone shot weighing 
 from one hundred and forty to one hundred and ninety- 
 five pounds. But none of these weapons were capable 
 of penetrating the side of a ship. 
 
 These circumstances caused a race among the naval 
 constructors for ships with high sides, each endeavor 
 ing to outstrip the other in the height of the castles 
 and parapet masts. The different classes of ships in 
 this first period of naval history were : cogs, which 
 were swift-sailing vessels of two hundred and fifty tons, 
 carrying one hundred and thirty seamen besides sol- 
 
 The Great Harry. 
 
 diers ; barges, which carried from sixty to eighty men ; 
 balingers, which bore some resemblance to the modern 
 
16 
 
 THE DEVELOPMENT OF NAVAL WARFARE. 1488. 
 
 barge ; caraks, which were used chiefly in the navies of 
 Portugal, Spain, Holland and France ; crayers or trans 
 ports of sixty tons or less ; doggers and lodeships of 
 thirty men each, used chiefly as fishing and pilot boats; 
 and fluves or two-masted transports. Of the lesser 
 craft there were galleys, galiots, hoc-boats or store- 
 boats, lynes, persours, pikards and espinaces. The 
 best specimen of this school of naval architecture of 
 which we have a record is the &reat Harry ^ built in 
 1488. 
 
 The gradual improvement in cannon with sufficient 
 power to penetrate the side of a ship rendered these 
 
 The Sovereign of the Seas. 
 
 high decks, castles and towers not only useless but 
 objectionable, and this brought about a new style in 
 naval construction which began the second era in ship 
 building. In the same ratio that cannon were improved 
 the towers and castles were lowered, until at the out 
 break of the American Revolution the frigate had those 
 graceful lines which were not improved, except in minor 
 details, down to the introduction of ironclad ships, 
 
1512. ARMAMENT OF THE SOVEREIGN OP THE SEAS. 17 
 
 1855-1865 ; and that again marks a third era in naval 
 construction. But the introduction of cannon in ships 
 was slow, owing to imperfect castings and the unwill 
 ingness of the Admiralty to depart from the traditions 
 of the service. The cannon first used were unwieldy, 
 and dangerous alike to friend and foe, one discharge 
 being considered sufficient, the rest of the battle being 
 fought on the old tactics. The invention of brass can 
 non in 1535 did much to hasten this evolution in ship 
 building. 
 
 5 The Henry Grace de Dieu, a ship of one thousand 
 tons built in 1512, marks the dividing line between the 
 first and second eras in naval architecture. In this 
 curious craft were combined the towers, castles, lofty 
 decks and parapet masts of the old school with the* 
 numerous ordnance of the new, her armament consisting 
 of fourteen guns on the lower deck, twelve on the main 
 deck, eighteen on the quarter-deck and poop, eighteen 
 on the lofty forecastle and ten in the stern ports. 
 This distribution of her cannon shows that her build 
 ers adhered to the idea of placing the heaviest batteries 
 on the highest decks, where 
 they could be fired over 
 the bulwarks and upon the 
 decks of the enemy, and in 
 spite of frequent disasters 
 from thus making the ship 
 topheavy, English ship 
 wrights clung to their tra 
 ditions with characteristic 
 tenacity. Raleigh notes The fr - igate in 180 - 
 
 that a vessel of six hundred tons, the Mary Rose, 
 sank at Spithead because of u a little sway in casting 
 the ship about." 
 
 When the Sovereign of the Seas was built, 1637, the 
 second period of naval construction was well under way. 
 In this craft, which for many years was regarded as the 
 " goodliest shippe in all the worlde," the forecastle was 
 
18 THE DEVELOPMENT OF NAVAL WAKFARE. 1775. 
 
 entirely done away with and the after tower was much 
 reduced, while the arrangement of her armament was 
 the reverse of that of the Henry Grace de Dieu, the 
 heaviest and greatest number of guns being on the 
 lower decks while the lighter calibers were placed on 
 the upper decks. Her armament consisted of thirty 
 cannon (60-pounders) and demi-cannon (32-pounders) 
 in the lower tier, thirty .culverins (18-pounders) and 
 demi-culverins (10-pounders) in the middle tier, twenty- 
 six sakers (5-pounders), in the third tier, twelve light 
 guns in her forecastle, fourteen murthering pieces on 
 the two half decks^-ten chase guns forward, ten chase 
 guns aft, besides "many loopholes in the cabin for 
 musquet shots." 
 
 From this time there was a diminution in the num 
 ber of calibers. The Sovereign of the Seas carried nine 
 or ten different calibers varying from 60-pounders to 
 1 -pound swivels, which in the excitement of battle 
 occasioned great ^elay and ; c6*nfusion in loading. At 
 the close of the eighteenth ^century frigates of her ton 
 nage carried, only. -ti^o principal calibers and the num 
 ber and weight of the guns also were reduced to one 
 third, so that white the Sovereign of tlie Seas carried 
 one hundred and thirty-two cannon, ranging from 
 60-pounders down, -a. ship of the same size in 1775 
 carried only forty-eight guns, 18-pounders and 12- 
 pounders at the most. Masts also, which hitherto had 
 been made of a single stick, were divided into two and 
 finally three separate spars. 
 
 Such x in brief, was the progress of naval construc 
 tion down to the* close of the eighteenth century. The 
 war ship at that period was the result of centuries of 
 experiments, and a well-ordered frigate had come to be 
 a little community in itself, isolated for the time being 
 from the rest of mankind and governed by its own code 
 of laws. The ship s company was a human machine in 
 which each man was a part, all moving with exact pre 
 cision at the will of the commander. The crew was 
 
1800. THE DIVISION OP LABOR IN A FRIGATE. 19 
 
 divided into little companies, each having a well-defined 
 work to do. One set of men was appointed to reef, furl 
 and take in the topgallant sails, topsails, topgallant, 
 royal and topmast studding sails ; and this in turn was 
 divided into three sections, one for each mast, and were 
 known as foretopmen, maintopmen and mizzentopmen ; 
 each having two captains, one for the port watch and 
 one for the starboard watch. 
 
 Another set of men had charge of the fore and main 
 courses and lower studding sails whose duty it was to 
 set and furl the jib, flying jib and spanker. Other men 
 had charge of all ropes in the after part of the ship, 
 while the "scavengers" swept the decks. Then came 
 that institution peculiar to sea life known as the " boy." 
 He was employed chiefly as a servant to officers and 
 messes, but in time of battle he was called a "powder- 
 monkey, "for then he was required to bring ammunition 
 from the passing scuttles to the guns. The captain of a 
 frigate usually had both a steward and a boy who acted 
 as his servants, while the lieutenants, purser, surgeon 
 and sailing master were entitled to one boy each. The 
 lieutenants of the marines were waited on by marines. 
 One boy was allotted to the gunner, boatswain and a 
 few others as a special favor, while a man and a boy 
 were appointed to a certain number of midshipmen. 
 
 The entire crew was divided into two watches called 
 the port and starboard watches, each watch being com 
 manded by one of the boatswain s mates whose silver 
 whistle, by which orders were given, could be heard 
 amid the roar of a hundred cannon or the thunder of 
 the heaviest storm ; but the captain, first lieutenant, 
 surgeon, purser, gunner, carpenter, armorer, the stew 
 ards and boys were excused from the watches except 
 in cases of danger. These watches took turns in being 
 on duty, alternating every four hours except between 
 four and eight o clock in the afternoon, when the 
 watches were only two hours long, so as to reverse the 
 order every twenty-four honrs. 
 
20 THE DEVELOPMENT OF NAVAL WARFARE. 1800. 
 
 The same system was observed at the meals. The 
 ship s company was divided into messes : the captain 
 had his table in his cabin ; the lieutenants, purser, sur 
 geon, sailing masters and the two lieutenants of the 
 marines, composing the ward room officers, had their 
 table in the ward room, and the midshipmen in the 
 steerage. The seamen were divided into messes of 
 eight men, each mess being waited on by a boy. Every 
 mess was served by itself, and it was a privilege that 
 tended much toward good fellowship to oust any mem 
 ber of a mess who was not agreeable to the others, 
 and if such men did not find congenial messmates 
 elsewhere they were put into a mess reserved espe 
 cially for such disagreeable fellows. The meals were 
 served either on the berth deck or the gun deck 
 where ]arge platforms were provided which, when 
 placed on casks or suspended from the deck above, 
 made comfortable tables, about thirty inches high, the 
 men sitting on benches. 
 
 The fare consisted of hard tack and fresh beef 
 while in port (but salt pork and beef when at sea), pea- 
 soup and burgoo or, as the seamen sportively called 
 it, "skillagallee," which was oatmeal boiled to the con 
 sistency of hasty pudding. Cocoa sometimes was given 
 in place of burgoo, and once a week flour and raisins 
 were served with which the men made "plum duff." 
 The cook of each mess drew these provisions, prepared 
 them for the mess and washed the kids ; he also drew 
 a gill of rum mixed with two gills of water for each 
 man, which was known as grog and was served out at 
 noon. At four o clock in the afternoon a half -pint of 
 wine was served, the boys receiving only half rations 
 of grog but were allowed pay for the rest. 
 
 Just before the British frigate Java sailed from 
 England on the cruise in which she was captured by 
 the Constitution, 1812, a landsman was brought aboard 
 by the press-gang, and toward evening he asked where 
 his bed was a very natural and proper inquiry for a 
 
1800. THE DUTY OF MARINES IN A FRIGATE. 21 
 
 landlubber to make. But the unfeeling boatswain told 
 him to stick a knife in the softest plank in the ship 
 and use that for a bed. When, however, the watch to 
 which he was assigned came to "turn in" the "green 
 horn " found that the crew slept in hammocks strung 
 on the berth deck, and that during the day the u beds" 
 were rolled up, carried to the main deck and stowed 
 away in nettings over the bulwarks, where they af 
 forded additional protection to the men from the 
 enemy s sharpshooters in the tops. Each hammock 
 had its number, and on the bulwarks a corresponding 
 number was marked so the men knew exactly where 
 to place them. Every evening when the ship was at 
 sea the drummer beat to quarters, all hands hurried 
 to their stations and eight men and a boy were placed 
 at each gun, one of the men being known as the cap 
 tain of the gun, while another loaded and sponged and 
 others seized the side and train tackle-falls which ran 
 the gun in and out of the port. The boys of the ship 
 took stations near the magazine, each boy knowing 
 which gun he was to supply. 
 
 There were thirty or forty marines in every frigate. 
 These soldiers, who were called marines simply because 
 they were serving in a ship instead of on land, per 
 formed the police duty in the ship, standing guard at 
 the gangway when in port and acting as sentinels at 
 the cabin and ward room doors and at the ship s galley 
 during cooking hours. It was the policy of command 
 ers to engender as much "coolness " as possible between 
 the sailors and the marines so as to diminish the chance 
 of collusion between them. They slept, messed and 
 worked separately, the marines considering themselves 
 two or three degrees better than the seamen, while the 
 latter regarded the marines with supreme contempt as 
 being no better than landlubbers, and anybody making 
 a particularly stupid remark was told to "Go tell it to 
 the marines." 
 
 At night the marines were stationed at the great 
 
22 THE DEVELOPMENT OF NAVAL WARFARE. 1800. 
 
 guns as sentinels, and in time of battle they were placed 
 in the tops where it was their duty to pick off the enemy 
 with their muskets. In case of close quarters they 
 were expected to board the enemy, assisted by two or 
 three seamen from each gun, the latter being armed 
 with pistols, cutlasses and boarding pikes. These 
 were known as the boarders, and when they were 
 called for, just so many men and no more ran from 
 each gun to the critical point. Beating to quarters 
 was practiced every day in well-ordered frigates, so 
 that the men became wonderfully proficient in execut 
 ing orders, and in the presence of the enemy these 
 exercises were supplemented by bringing up ammuni 
 tion and piling it along the deck for immediate use, 
 while small arms, boarding pikes and cutlasses were 
 stacked around the masts and other convenient places. 
 The cockpit and the steerage were cleared for the re 
 ception of the wounded and the surgeon and his as 
 sistants spread out their instruments, while the decks 
 above were sanded to make them less slippery when 
 blood should begin to flow. 
 
 Such was the complicated machinery of the frigate 
 at the close of the eighteenth century, and it seemed at 
 that time as if there was little left for American ingenu 
 ity to improve upon. The general lines of the ship 
 remained the same down to the introduction of iron in 
 shipbuilding, and the armaments underwent no radical 
 change until the American civil war, while the system 
 of managing the ship s company is practically the same 
 to-day as it was a hundred years ago. But the Ameri 
 can commander and shipwright made improvements 
 here and there in the details of the frigate which, when 
 taken as a whole, accomplished amazing results in the 
 French War and in the War of 1812. 
 
 The first thing to which they turned their attention 
 was the condition of the crew. Impressment was sel 
 dom resorted to. The Massachusetts State government 
 attempted to coerce sailors to serve in the Alliance in 
 
1800. IMPROVED SANITARY ARRANGEMENTS. 23 
 
 1779, when that ship was commissioned to convey Lafay 
 ette to France, but in deference to the wishes of the 
 French patriot the authorities filled out the crew by 
 other means. By this system of impressment, as prac 
 ticed in England, men were seized in the streets or wher 
 ever found by the press-gangs and hurried on to a 
 cruel service without having time even to make neces 
 sary arrangements for leaving their families. The 
 Americans endeavored to secure a sufficient number of 
 seamen by making their service attractive, and well- 
 known results have shown the wisdom of what in those 
 days seemed a rash innovation. 
 
 After the men were enlisted the American command 
 er did much toward improving their condition. In the 
 days of the Henry Grace de Dieu naval warfare was 
 waged on the principle that the more men crowded 
 into a ship the better. The regular complement of the 
 Henry Grace de Dieu, which ship was about the size 
 of an American 36-gun frigate, was seven hundred, but 
 when an enemy was expected this number was still 
 further increased. The Mary Rose, a vessel of only 
 six hundred tons, carried a crew of five or six hundred 
 men. At the close of the eighteenth century this over 
 crowding had been reduced so that ships of the tonnage 
 of the Henry Grace de Dieu were manned by only 
 three hundred men and those of the Mary Rose by 
 only one hundred and eighty men. 
 
 At the time of the American Revolution, however, 
 the sanitary condition of war ships, in spite of the re 
 duction made in the number of the crew, was very 
 imperfect. In fact the greatest danger on an extended 
 voyage was not so much the perils of the sea or attacks 
 from the enemy as scurvy, smallpox and other dis 
 eases. It sometimes happened that nearly an entirn 
 ship s company was carried off while in mid-ocean by 
 these dreadful scourges, and one of the great achieve 
 ments of Captain David Porter in his cruise of seventeen 
 months in the Pacific was the perfect health in which he 
 
24: THE DEVELOPMENT OF NAVAL WARFARE. 1811. 
 
 kept the three hundred and more men who were for so 
 long a time confined on the decks of the little Essex. 
 We can better understand this when it is borne in mind 
 that this occurred in days when the only means of 
 preserving meat was by salting, and when the many 
 modern improvements in the art of keeping food whole 
 some were unknown. That the expedients resorted to 
 by Captain Porter to keep his crew in good health were 
 unusual in his day is seen by the minute description of 
 them in his Journal. 
 
 That the Americans were entitled to the credit of 
 having begun a reform in the matter of impressment 
 of seamen is shown in Captain Edward P. Brenton s 
 History of the British Navy, when he says: "On the 
 subject of impressment I will, however, venture to say 
 as one well entitled to speak from experience, that 
 Great Britain must, as she values her welfare, be the 
 first to abandon this unjust practice. Let us not be 
 compelled to abandon it by America. Let us relinquish 
 it as a willing and cheerful sacrifice to the just and 
 indisputable rights of man." The brutality of the 
 British service at this period, although not equaling 
 that of some Continental navies, was, to the American 
 mind, almost beyond belief. Flogging for petty of 
 fenses in many ships was of almost daily occurrence, 
 and severer punishments, such as flogging through the 
 fleet, were inflicted with frequency according to the 
 disposition of the commander. While a detailed de 
 scription of the last-named punishment may be revolt 
 ing, it is necessary in order to convey some idea of the 
 condition of the seamen of that day and the great im 
 provements that have been made. 
 
 We have a well-authenticated instance of flogging 
 through the fleet as late as 1811, which occurred in the 
 British 38-gun frigate Macedonian, Captain John S. 
 Garden, afterward captured by the United States. A 
 midshipman named Gale, who was reputed to be a 
 "rascally, unprincipled fellow," found his handker- 
 
1811. 
 
 FLOGGING THROUGH THE FLEET. 
 
 25 
 
 chief in the possession of one of the crew. Gale charged 
 the man with stealing it although the latter insisted 
 
 Flogging (from a sketch by George Cruikshank, 1818). 
 
 that he had found it under his hammock, which was 
 quite possible since the midshipmen frequently passed 
 through the berth deck on inspection and on other 
 duties. The case was reported, a court-martial was 
 convened and the seaman was sentenced to receive three 
 hundred lashes through the fleet and imprisonment for 
 one year. On the day appointed the prisoner was 
 taken into the ship s launch. This boat had been 
 rigged for the occasion with poles and grating to which 
 the prisoner, stripped to the waist, was " sized up" or 
 bound at his wrists and ankles to the grating with spun 
 yarn. The ship s surgeon took his place in the launch 
 to determine when nature had reached the extreme 
 limit of endurance, and a boat from every ship in the 
 fleet, each containing one or two officers and two ma 
 rines fully armed, attended and was connected by a 
 
 towline to the prisoner 1 s boat. 
 5 
 
 "3 
 
 f :RSITY 
 
26 THE DEVELOPMENT OF NAVAL WARFARE. 1811. 
 
 Having completed these preliminaries the crew of 
 the victim s ship manned the yards and rigging to get 
 a better view of the proceedings, for the punishment 
 was intended to be a warning to them. At the word 
 from the officer in charge the boatswain, with coat off 
 and sleeves rolled up, carefully spread the nine cords 
 of the cat with the fingers of his left hand, then threw 
 the instrument over his right shoulder and brought it 
 down with all his strength on the bare back of the 
 prisoner. The flesh crept and reddened. Lash followed 
 lash with nothing to break the dreadful silence save 
 the swish of the nine cords cutting through the air and 
 striking on human flesh, and the cries of the agonized 
 prisoner. In order that the blows might be delivered 
 with undiminished vigor to the end the boatswain, on 
 the completion of one dozen lashes, handed the cat to 
 one of his mates who stood beside him, and they in 
 turn delivered one dozen lashes each. 
 
 The first sixty lashes were inflicted alongside the 
 Macedonian, in conformity with the custom of giving 
 the greatest number by the prisoner s ship so that his 
 gory back might strike terror in the crews of the other 
 ships. By this time his back had been lacerated beyond 
 description, the flesh resembling " roasted meat, burned 
 nearly black before a scorching fire. " His shirt now was 
 thrown over his wounds, the boatswain and his mates 
 returned to their ship, all hands were piped down, the 
 drummer beat the Rogue s March and the procession of 
 boats moved on to the next ship. Here the yards and 
 rigging were manned by the crew and the boatswain 
 with his mates descended into the prisoner s launch, cat 
 in hand. Removing the shirt he exposed the ghastly 
 spectacle to his shipmates aloft, and he and his mates 
 then delivered one, two, or three dozen lashes, according 
 to the number of ships in the fleet. This scene was to be 
 repeated at the side of every ship in the fleet until the 
 three hundred lashes were delivered, but the attending 
 surgeon at the end of two hundred and twenty blows 
 
1812. THE DEGRADING EFFECTS OP FLOGGING. 27 
 
 pronounced the prisoner unfit to receive any more. 
 Galled, bruised and agonized as he was, the prisoner 
 begged them to deliver the remaining eighty blows so 
 that he would not again be compelled to pass through 
 the degrading ordeal. His request was denied, he 
 was taken aboard his ship, his wounds were dressed, 
 and when partially healed for human flesh could never 
 fully recover from such horrible laceration Captain 
 Garden, Shylock-like, determined to have the whole 
 pound of flesh, and the remaining eighty were delivered 
 before the year of imprisonment was begun. Thus the 
 mangled wretch was ruined for life, broken in spirit, 
 all sense of self-respect gone, ever to be a crawling, 
 servile, cringing slave to the beck of his fellow-seamen, 
 ready with sullen alacrity to obey their slightest wish. 
 
 This case was neither one of exceptional severity nor 
 one of rare occurrence. When the United States 32- 
 gun frigate Essex, Captain Smith, was in England, 
 shortly before the War of 1812, a deserter from an 
 English vessel of war sought refuge in her. A British 
 lieutenant came aboard and made a formal demand for 
 the man. On being sent below to get his clothes the 
 deserter deliberately walked to the carpenter s bench 
 on the gun deck and seizing an axe, with one blow cut 
 off his left hand. Picking up the severed member with 
 his right hand he returned to the quarter-deck and 
 flung it at the feet of his captors, saying that he would 
 cut off his left foot before he would again serve in a 
 British man-of-war. Horrified at the spectacle the 
 English officer left the Essex without his prisoner. 
 
 It was a peculiar feature of the brutal punishment 
 of flogging that officers and men who at first sickened 
 and fainted at the sight of it gradually grew indifferent, 
 and in some instances acquired a craving for the bloody 
 ordeal and took a fiendish delight in superintending it. 
 The first lieutenant of the Macedonian, David Hope, 
 was one of these. He took the exquisite delight of a 
 connoisseur in the art of flogging, being especially fond 
 
28 THE DEVELOPMENT OF NAVAL WARFARE. 1812. 
 
 of seeing the tender flesh of boys lacerated and torn, and 
 with the nice sense of propriety that conies to experts 
 he ordered that boys should handle the cat when boys 
 were to be flogged. Captain Lord William Fitzroy was 
 of the same school, but he urged as his excuse that 
 discipline required it. He insisted that the men must 
 be cowed, and when punishments grew slack he hunted 
 up old charges in order that discipline might not be 
 impaired through want of the application of the lash. 
 
 Flogging was practiced in the American service at 
 this time but not to the extent to which it was carried 
 in the British and in Continental navies. The articles 
 of war of the American navy in 1812 and prior to that 
 declare that "not more than twelve lashes shall be 
 given for a crime," and although there were cases where 
 American commanders exceeded this limit, the in 
 stances were rare and the punishment inflicted was in 
 significant when compared with the cruelty of the 
 British service. 
 
 In manoeuvring their ships and in gunnery also the 
 Americans made great improvements. Even as late as 
 1812 the English commander had much to learn from 
 the American. Sir Howard Douglas in his work on 
 Naval Gunnery says : " The United States commanders 
 so circumspectly and cautiously adapted their tactics 
 to the superior powers of their armaments that, even 
 when opposed to very inferior numbers and quality of 
 ordnance, they would neither approach nor permit us 
 to join in close battle until they had gained some de 
 cisive advantage from the superior faculties of their 
 long guns in distant cannonade and from the intrepid, 
 uncircumspect and often very exposed approach of an 
 assailant, who had been long accustomed to contemn 
 all manoeuvring, and who only considered how to rush 
 soonest into a yardarm action. Such unquestionably 
 was the character of these proceedings [the naval 
 actions of the War of 1812]. The uncircumspect gal 
 lantry of our commanders led our ships unguardedly 
 
1812. AMERICAN SEAMANSHIP AND GUNNERY. 29 
 
 into snares which wary caution had spread." The im 
 putation in this extract that American commanders 
 objected to fighting at close quarters is not borne out 
 by facts. The Americans undoubtedly availed them 
 selves to the utmost of their superior seamanship and 
 gunnery, and allowed no advantage to escape their 
 quick perception, but when anything was to be gained 
 by coming to close quarters they were the first to seize 
 the opportunity. 
 
 The skill with which American commanders manoeu 
 vred their vessels was one of the most notable fea 
 tures of the War of 1812. The manner in which they 
 tacked, luffed, gave their ships stern board and raked 
 during the excitement and confusion of battle was 
 astonishing. In raking especially they were remark 
 ably proficient. By this manoeuvre the ship was laid 
 at right angles across the bow or stern of an opponent 
 so that the entire broadside swept or raked the enemy s 
 deck from end to end without his being able to bring 
 a gun to bear in return, except a few bow or stern 
 chasers. 
 
 American seamen, besides performing the ordinary 
 duties of a war ship, were constantly exercised at the 
 great guns. James says : " Highly to the credit of the 
 naval administration of the United States, the crews 
 of their ships were taught the practical rules of gun 
 nery, and ten shot, with the necessary powder, were 
 allowed to be expended in play to make one hit in 
 earnest ; while the British seamen, except in particu 
 lar cases, scarcely did so once in a year, and some 
 ships could be named on board of which not a shot 
 had been fired in this manner upward of three years." 
 The superiority of American gunnery at this period 
 is well known. In speaking of the action between the 
 Enterprise and the Boxer the London Times of Octo 
 ber 22, 1813, said: "What we regret to perceive stated, 
 and trust will be found much exaggerated, is that the 
 Boxer was literally cut to pieces in sails, rigging, spars 
 
30 THE DEVELOPMENT OF NAVAL WARFARE. 1814. 
 
 and hull ; whilst the Enterprise, her antagonist, was 
 in a situation to commence a similar action immediately 
 afterward. The fact seems to be but too clearly estab 
 lished, that the Americans have some superior mode of 
 tiring ; and we can not be too anxiously employed in 
 discovering to what circumstance that superiority is 
 owing." Again, Sir Edward Codrington, writing to 
 Lady Codrington in 1814 of the Peacock-ftp ermer tight, 
 said: "It seems that the Peacock, American sloop of 
 war, has taken our ftpermer. Bat the worst part of 
 our story is that our sloop was cut to pieces and the 
 other scarcely scratched." In many cases the Ameri 
 can sailors formed a strong attachment for their guns, 
 speaking to them and treating them almost as if they 
 were endowed with life, and the frigate was never in 
 perfect order until the " pets " had received their usual 
 cleaning and polishing. The men gave each gun a 
 name, which was engraved on a copper plate and at 
 tached to its carriage or fastened over its port. Some 
 of the most popular of these names were: "Brother 
 Jonathan," "Raging Eagle," "Polly," "Spitfire," 
 "Nancy," "Jumping Billy," "Yankee Protection," 
 "Mad Anthony," "Liberty Forever," "Sweetheart," 
 "America," "Defiance," "United Tars," "Liberty or 
 Death," "Banker Hill," " Willful Murder, " etc. 
 
 In other ways the Americans trained their crews to 
 be prepared for any emergency. Captain Porter when 
 at sea frequently sounded the alarm of "Fire!" an 
 enemy more dreaded by sailors than all the other perils 
 of the sea at all hours of the night to accustom the 
 men to face danger, and as a further test he caused 
 smoke and flame to ascend from the main hold. At 
 first there was some confusion among the crew, but 
 the delinquents were promptly punished and soon the 
 alarm "Fire!" had no terror for the men, and they 
 went with their cutlasses and blankets to their quarters 
 in perfect self-possession. 
 
 While the early American commanders made many 
 
1812. AMERICAN IMPROVEMENTS IN NAVAL WARFARE. 31 
 
 improvements in the science of naval warfare, as they 
 found it toward the close of the eighteenth century, it 
 is a curious fact that every departure from established 
 theories was hooted at by the English press as unfair, 
 illegitimate or ridiculous. It is interesting to note, 
 however, that the Admiralty almost invariably followed 
 the lead of the Americans in this respect, and toward 
 the close of the War of 1812 paid us the compliment of 
 building a frigate exactly on the plan of the American 
 44-gun ships which in the early part of the war they 
 had ridiculed as being "bundles of pine boards with a 
 gridiron flag floating over them " as will be seen from 
 the following notice in the London Times of March 
 17, 1814: "Sir Gr. Collier was to sail yesterday from 
 Portsmouth for the American station in the Leander, 
 54. This ship has been built and fitted out exactly 
 upon the plan of the large American frigates. Shortly 
 after the War of 1812, when the Constitution was 
 being fitted at Boston for a cruise in the Mediterra 
 nean, she was visited by a distinguished officer of the 
 royal navy. On returning to her quarter-deck, after 
 having made a thorough inspection of the frigate, he 
 remarked: "This is one of the finest frigates, if not 
 the very finest, I ever put my foot aboard of ; but, as I 
 must find fault, I ll just say that your wheel is one of 
 the clumsiest things I ever saw, and it is unworthy of 
 the vessel." The American commander replied : "That 
 wheel, sir, is the only thing English in the ship. When 
 this ship captured the Java, in 1812, our wheel was 
 knocked into splinters by a shot from the Englishman. 
 After the engagement the Java s wheel was fitted, and, 
 although we think it as ugly as you do, yet we keep it 
 as a trophy." 
 
 Among other things of which English writers "ac 
 cused " the Americans was the wearing of strips of steel 
 in the sailors caps, to prevent saber cuts from penetrat 
 ing. It is true that some of the American crews in this 
 war were supplied with stout leather caps crossed with 
 
32 THE DEVELOPMENT OF NAVAL WARFARE. 1812. 
 
 two strips of iron, covered with bearskin, designed to 
 protect the head. The crew of the Siren in 1814 was 
 provided with such caps, and strips of bearskin with 
 the fur still attached were used to fasten them on, and 
 coming down each side of the face they bore some re 
 semblance to false whiskers and gave the men a ferocious 
 appearance. But it seems a little out of place to put 
 this in the form of an "accusation," when we remember 
 that Yice- Admiral John Benbow, master of the British 
 fleet under Admiral Russell in the battles of Barfleur 
 and la Hogue, had his entire body incased in metal, 
 from which we may infer that the British officer of that 
 period generally protected himself in the same manner. 
 Or coming down to the present time, we find England s 
 choicest cavalry not only wearing a helmet made of 
 steel but having the body incased in the same metal. 
 How much more excuse there was for seamen to wear 
 armor than soldiers is clearly shown by Sir Richard 
 Hawkins, who said: u On shore it is only the bullet 
 that hurteth, but in a ship I have seen the splinters kill 
 and hurt many at once," and he cites an instance where 
 a dozen were hurt by splinters, u the most part where 
 of," he added, "would have been excused if they had 
 been armored." 
 
 Another improvement in naval warfare of which 
 English writers seriously "accused" the early Ameri 
 can commander was the invention of fine sheet-lead car 
 tridges which could be handled with more safety and 
 with greater rapidity in action than the old paper or 
 flannel cartridge of the British service. This gave the 
 Americans an advantage equal almost to one gun to 
 three, for as a sheet-lead cartridge sel dom left a particle 
 of itself in the gun there was no time lost in sponging 
 and worming the gun after firing, which was always 
 necessary when paper or flannel cartridges were used. 
 Again, the Americans were "accused" of inventing 
 chain and bar shot and a new kind of grapeshot and 
 canister, which played such havoc with British rigging 
 
1812. AMERICAN IMPROVEMENTS IN NAVAL WARFARE. 33 
 
 in the War of 1812. The grapeshot in 1812 was formed 
 by seven or eight balls attached to an iron and tied in 
 a cloth, which were scattered by the explosion of the 
 powder, while the canister shot was made by filling a 
 powder canister with balls each as large as two or three 
 musket balls. But the fact that these improvements 
 were afterward introduced into the British navy only 
 too well attests the wisdom of the American command 
 ers in first using them. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE OUTBREAK OF THE KEVOLUTTOX. 
 
 ALTHOUGH open hostilities between the American 
 colonies and Great Britain began with the battle of 
 Lexington. April 19, 1775, it was not until late in 
 that year that the Continental Congress became suffi 
 ciently organized to take serious measures in defense of 
 its claims, and it was not until October that attention 
 was given to the formation of a naval force. On the 
 5th of October, 1775, news was received that two Brit 
 ish transports, laden with arms and ammunition, had 
 sailed from England for Quebec, and as the Conti 
 nental army stood in great need of such supplies, Con 
 gress determined to make an effort to capture them. 
 On the 13th of October, Silas Deane, John Adams 
 and John Langdon (Christopher Gadsden afterward 
 taking the place of John Adams) were appointed a 
 committee with authority to fit out two swift- sailing 
 vessels, one to carry ten carriage guns and a propor 
 tionate number of swivels, with eighty-five men, and 
 the other to carry fourteen guns, to cruise "eastward" 
 for the purpose of intercepting these or any other 
 storeships. This was the first official step toward the 
 formation of a national American navy. During the 
 Kevolution the affairs of the navy were managed by 
 various committees which were known as the Marine 
 Committee," "Marine Board," etc. Subordinate to 
 these were the "Continental Naval Board," "Board of 
 Admiralty," etc. The powers and functions of these 
 committees were changed many times during the war, 
 
 (34) 
 
1775. ENGLISH CRUISERS BEGIN HOSTILITIES. 35 
 
 so that it would be tedious as well as unprofitable to 
 follow them. 
 
 On the 30th of October, 1775, it was decided to fit 
 out two more vessels, one of twenty and the other of 
 thirty-six guns, and Stephen Hopkins, Joseph Hewis 
 and Richard Henry Lee were added to the first Naval 
 Committee, and all matters pertaining to the marine 
 were referred to them, Congress reserving the final de 
 cision. Congress also held the power of appointing the 
 commissioned officers as low as third lieutenant, while 
 the Naval Committee selected all subordinate officers. 
 
 Down to November, 1775, Congress had not gone so 
 far as to consider a permanent separation from England, 
 and orders had been issued to all armed forces both on 
 land and on sea carefully to refrain from acts of vio 
 lence which could be construed as open rebellion. But 
 British cruisers were not so hesitant in beginning hos 
 tilities, and several merchantmen which had cleared 
 from port according to all the requirements of the acts 
 of Parliament were captured as lawful prizes. The 
 flourishing town of Falmouth (now Portland) was ruth 
 lessly laid in ashes, while several other settlements were 
 attacked and the people compelled to abandon their 
 homes late in the winter. 
 
 But these barbarities produced a far different effect 
 from that which their perpetrators anticipated. The 
 colonial device of a rattlesnake and the motto " Don t 
 tread on me" could not have been in better keeping 
 with the spirit of the people, for these depredations, 
 instead of overawing the colonists, only served to 
 arouse that indomitable resistance which endured the 
 sufferings of a seven years struggle against a powerful 
 adversary. Seeing that the royalists did not hesitate 
 to resort to extreme measures, the Continental Con 
 gress, on the 25th of November, 1775, authorized the: 
 capture of any armed vessel employed against the 
 colonies, or any tender or transport engaged in carry 
 ing munitions of war to the British army or navy. 
 
3G THE OUTBREAK OF THE REVOLUTION. 1775. 
 
 Congress soon realized the great advantage to be 
 derived from a naval establishment, and on the 13th of 
 December, at the suggestion of the Naval Committee, 
 ordered the construction of five ships of thirty -two guns 
 each, five of twenty-eight guns, and three of twenty- 
 four guns, to be completed by the following April. 
 The expense of building these vessels was estimated at 
 $866,666.66, and they were to be built in the following 
 States : One in New Hampshire, two in Massachusetts, 
 one in Connecticut, two in Khode Island, two in New 
 York, one in Maryland, and the others at such places 
 as the committee should designate. The names of 
 these ships were : Hancock, Randolph, RaleigJi, War 
 ren, Washington, Congress, Effingham, Providence, 
 Trumbull, Virginia, Boston, Delaware and Montgom 
 ery. Other laws were soon passed for the purchase 
 and equipment of vessels suitable for cruisers. On 
 the 22d of the same month the Naval Committee laid 
 before Congress the following list of officers, which 
 was approved : Esek Hopkins, commander in chief ; 
 Dudley Saltonstall, Abraham Whipple, Nicholas Bid- 
 die, John Burroughs Hopkins, captains ; John Paul 
 Jones, Rhodes Arnold, - - Stansbury, Hoysted Hack 
 er, Jonathan Pitcher, first lieutenants ; Benjamin Sea- 
 bury, Joseph Olney, Elisha Warner, Thomas Weaver, 
 
 - M Dougall, second lieutenants; John Fanning, 
 Ezekiel Burroughs, Daniel Vaughan, third lieutenants. 1 
 The pay of the officers and petty officers was fixed as 
 follows : Commander in chief, $125 a month. Officers 
 
 1 The following vessels, purchased in 1775, formed the nucleus for the 
 navy of the Revolution, but none of them were built for war purposes ; 
 they were such merchantmen as could be secured in the emergency, and 
 were pierced for guns and altered as much as circumstances would allow : 
 the 24-gun ship Alfred, the 20-gun ship Columbus, the 16-gun brig Lex 
 ington, the 16-gun brig Reprisal, the 14-gun brig Cabot, the 14-guii brig 
 Andrea Doria, the 14-gun brig Hamden, the 12-gun brig Providence, the 
 10-gun sloop Independence, the 10-gun sloop Sachem, the 10-gun sloop 
 Hornet, the 8-gun schooner Fly, the 8-gun schooner Wasp and the 4-gun 
 sloop Mosquito. 
 
1776. THE FIRST AMERICAN NAVAL UNIFORMS. 37 
 
 of a ship of twenty guns and upward : captain, 
 lieutenant, $30 ; master, $30 ; surgeon, $25 ; chaplain, 
 $20 ; midshipman, $12 ; gunner, $15 ; seaman, $8. Of 
 ficers of a ship of ten to twenty guns : captain, $48 ; 
 lieutenant, $24; master, $24; surgeon, $21.66; mid 
 shipman, $12 ; gunner, $13 ; seaman, $8. The pay of 
 the following was the same in any class of cruisers : 
 armorer, $15 ; sailmaker, $12 ; yeoman, $9 ; quarter 
 master, $9 ; quarter gunner, $8 ; coxswain, $9 ; cook, 
 $12. Commanders were allowed $4 and $5 a week for 
 rations ; and lieutenants, captains of marines, surgeons 
 and chaplains, $4 when on shore. Prize money coming 
 to the officers and seamen of the Continental navy was 
 divided in shares : captains, 6 ; first lieutenant, 5 ; sec 
 ond lieutenant, 4 ; surgeon, 4 ; master, 3 ; steward, 2 ; 
 mate, 1J ; gunner, \\ ; boatswain, 1^ ; gunner s mate, 
 1J ; sergeant, 1^ ; privates, 1. 
 
 On the 9th of November, 1775, Congress resolved : 
 u That two battalions of marines be raised, to be en 
 listed and commissioned to serve for and during the 
 present war between Great Britain and the colonies, 
 and to be considered as a part of the Continental army 
 before Boston ; particular care to be taken that no 
 persons be appointed or enlisted into said battalions 
 but such as are good seamen or so acquainted with 
 maritime affairs as to be able to serve with advantage 
 at sea when required." On the 30th of November these 
 battalions were ordered to be recruited independently 
 of the army before Boston. 
 
 On the 5th of September, 1776, the Marine Com 
 mittee decided that the uniform for the officers of the 
 navy should be as follows: Captains, a coat of blue 
 cloth with red lapels, slashed cuifs, a stand-up collar, 
 flat yellow buttons, blue breeches and a red waistcoat 
 with yellow lace. The uniform for lieutenants consist 
 ed of a blue coat with red lapels, a round cuff faced, a 
 stand-up collar, yellow buttons, blue breeches and a 
 plain red waistcoat. Masters were to have a blue coat 
 
38 THE OUTBREAK OF THE REVOLUTION. 1776. 
 
 with lapels, round cuffs, blue breeches and a red waist 
 coat ; while the midshipmen had a blue coat with lapels, 
 a round cuff faced with red, a stand-up collar, with red 
 at the buttons and button holes, blue breeches and a 
 red waistcoat. The marines were to have a green coat 
 faced with white, round cuffs, slashed sleeves and pock 
 ets, with buttons around the cuff, a silver epaulet on 
 the right shoulder, skirts turned back, buttons to suit 
 the facings, white waistcoat and breeches edged with 
 green, black gaiters and garters. The men were to 
 have green shirts "if they can be procured." In April 
 the Massachusetts Council decided that the officers of 
 the State cruisers should have a uniform of "green 
 and white and that they furnish themselves accord 
 ingly, and that the colors be a white flag with a pine 
 tree and the inscription 4 An Appeal to Heaven. r It is 
 doubtful, however, if many of these prescribed uniforms 
 were worn by the officers, as their pay was meager and 
 Congress found great difficulty in supplying even the 
 most necessary armaments and ammunition. 
 
 The first naval effort of the Revolution was com 
 manded by Captain Esek Hopkins, who is described as 
 "a most experienced and venerable sea captain." At 
 nine o clock on a clear, frosty morning early in Janu 
 ary, 1776, this officer stepped into his barge at the foot 
 of Walnut Street, Philadelphia, where a squadron of 
 eight cruisers had been collected, and amid the dis 
 charge of artillery and the cheers of the multitude he 
 made his way through the floating ice to his flagship, 
 the Alfred. When he gained the deck Captain Dud 
 ley Saltonstall gave the signal, and First Lieutenant 
 John Paul Jones hoisted a yellow silk flag bearing the 
 device of a pine tree and a rattlesnake, with the motto 
 "Don t tread on me." This was the first flag hoisted 
 on an American man-of-war. The "grand Union flag," 
 or flag having the thirteen American stripes with the 
 English union jack in the field, was also displayed. 
 The destination of this squadron was kept secret, but 
 
1776. THE EXPEDITION AGAINST NEW PROVIDENCE. 39 
 
 it was not until the 17th of February that the ships 
 got to sea, as they were detained six weeks by the ice 
 off Reedy Island. This squadron comprised the fol 
 lowing vessels : The 24-gun ship Alfred (flagship), Cap 
 tain Dudley Saltonstall ; the 20-gun ship Columbus, 
 Captain Abraham Whipple ; the 14- gun brig Andrea 
 Doria, Captain Mcholas Biddle ; the 14-gun brig 
 Cabot, Captain John Burroughs Hopkins ; the 12-gun 
 brig Providence, the 10-gun sloop Hornet, the 8-gun 
 schooner Wasp, and the 8-gun schooner Fly. The 
 first of these vessels, the Alfred, had been a merchant 
 ship called the Black Prince, and arrived from Lon 
 don only a few weeks before under the command of 
 John Barry, afterward a captain in the navy. She was 
 a small vessel, but was considered a stout ship of her 
 class, and was named the Alfred after Alfred the Great, 
 who was commonly regarded as the founder of the 
 British navy. She was armed with twenty 9-pounders, 
 and carried a few guns on her quarter-deck and fore 
 castle. The Columbus, originally the merchant ship 
 Sally, was named after the discoverer of America, and 
 the Cabot after Sebastian Cabot, who discovered the 
 northern part of the continent. The Andrea Doria 
 was named after the great Genoese admiral of that 
 name, while " the Providence," wrote John Adams, 
 "was named for the town where she was purchased, 
 the residence of Governor Hopkins and his brother 
 Esek, whom we appointed the first captain." 
 
 These vessels were to rendezvous at Cape Henlopen, 
 but on the night of the 19th the Hornet and the Fly 
 were separated from the squadron and they did not 
 again join it. Seeing nothing of Lord Dunmore s ships, 
 which had been devastating the coast, and learning 
 that a quantity of military supplies were stored in the 
 town of New Providence, which was feebly garrisoned, 
 Captain Hopkins determined to make an attack on the 
 place and if possible seize the stores. Arriving at 
 Abaco he sent three hundred men in two of the ves- 
 
THE OUTBREAK OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 1776. 
 
 sels to New Providence with the view of surprising 
 the garrison, but off that port tit was found that the 
 
 place was fully prepared 
 for the attack. The ves 
 sels were then re -en 
 forced by the Providence 
 and the Wasp, a body of 
 troops was landed, cov 
 ered by the guns of the 
 squadron, and the fort- 
 
 was carried by storm under the 
 lead of Captain Nicholas of the 
 marines. After holding the 
 place several days Captain 
 Hopkins sailed away with near 
 ly eighty cannon, fifteen bar 
 rels of gunpowder and a large 
 quantity of stores, besides Gov 
 ernor Brown and several of the 
 more prominent inhabitants of 
 the island, to be held as hos 
 tages for the 
 welfare of cer 
 tain Ameri 
 cans who were 
 in the hands 
 of the ene 
 my. Govern 
 or Brown aft 
 erward was exchanged for Lord Stirling. On arriv 
 ing off the eastern end of Long Island, April 4th, the 
 squadron captured the 6-gun tender HawTce, com 
 manded by a son of Captain Wallace, and on the fol 
 lowing day it took the 12-gun bomb-brig Bolton, Lieu 
 tenant Edward Sneyd. 
 
 A little after midnight, April 6th, a stranger came 
 into the squadron and the Cabot immediately ranged 
 alongside and hailed. This was answered with a broad- 
 
 Scene of the naval operations of 1776. 
 
1776. THE ESCAPE OF THE GLASGOW. 41 
 
 side, upon which, the Cabot opened fire and for several 
 minutes kept up a close cannonading. "The Cabot 
 was disabled at the second broadside, the cap tain being 
 dangerously wounded, while the master and several 
 men were killed. The enemy s whole fire was then 
 directed at us [in the Alfred]. . An unlucky shot 
 having carried away our wheel block and ropes, the 
 ship broached to and gave the enemy an opportunity 
 of raking us with several broadsides before we were 
 again in a condition to steer the ship and return their 
 fire. The second lieutenant of the marines was killed." * 
 The stranger proved too heavy for the Cabot, and the 
 latter withdrew from the unequal contest. By this 
 time the Alfred had closed, and the Providence, having 
 secured a position off the enemy s lee quarter, opened 
 an effective fire. After an hour s cannonading, during 
 which the American vessels suffered considerably, the 
 Alfred lost her wheel and became unmanageable, and 
 the stranger, finding her antagonists too numerous, 
 seized the opportunity to withdraw. She afterward 
 was known to be the 20-gun ship Glasgow, Captain 
 Tyringham Howe, manned by a crew of one hundred 
 and fifty men and boys, of whom she lost one killed 
 and three wounded. 2 The Continental Gazette, in its 
 issue of May 29, 1776, said : " Just before the Glasgow 
 came into the harbor it was plainly perceived by the 
 holes in her sails that she had standing, and by the 
 hanging of her yards, that she had been treated in a 
 very rough manner." The Cabot had four killed and 
 seven wounded, Elisha Hinman, afterward captain, 
 being among the latter. The Alfred had six killed and 
 six wounded, and the Columbus one wounded, making 
 a total loss to the Americans of ten killed and fourteen 
 wounded. 
 
 The escape of the Glasgow vas not due to any lack 
 
 1 Log book of the Alfred. 
 
 2 Schomberg s History of the British Navy, vol. i, p. 427. 
 
 6 
 
42 THE OUTBREAK OP THE REVOLUTION. 1776. 
 
 of spirit on the part of the Americans but to the want 
 of experienced officers, organization and discipline. 
 Captain Howe of the Glasgow, however, made a gallant 
 defense and won the well-deserved commendation of 
 his senior officer. In June, Captain Hopkins conduct 
 was inquired into by Congress, and it was decided that 
 his instructions, which " directed him to annoy the 
 enemy s ships upon the coasts of the Southern States," 
 had been exceeded. On the 16th of October, 1776, a 
 vote of censure was passed upon him, and three days 
 later he was ordered to take "command of the fleet 
 formerly put under his care," but afterward his name 
 was dropped from the list of officers, and on the 2d of 
 January, 1777, he was formally dismissed from the 
 service. The affair with the Glasgow for a time ha<J 
 an unfortunate effect on the seamen. Many of the sail 
 ors became discouraged with the prospects which the 
 navy offered them and enlisted in the army, so that 
 it was difficult to fill out the crews. The rank of com 
 mander in chief of the navy was intended to corre 
 spond with the rank that Washington held in the 
 army, but from the time of the dismissal of Captain 
 Hopkins no commander in chief of the navy was ap 
 pointed, that rank afterward being merged in the office 
 of the President. 
 
 On the 23d of March, 1776, Congress took more de 
 cisive measures against England. Letters of marque 
 were issued, and thenceforth all public and private 
 cruisers of the colonies were authorized to capture any 
 vessel, armed or unarmed, sailing under the British 
 flag. 
 
 After the squadron under Captain Hopkins had left 
 the Delaware the Lexington, Captain John Barry, 
 while cruising off the Capes of Virginia, April 17th, fell 
 in with the Edward, Lieutenant Boucher^ an armed 
 tender of the Liverpool, mounting from six to eight 
 guns and carrying thirty-five men. After a spirited 
 action of an hour s duration the Edward surrendered, 
 
1776. CAPTURE AND RECAPTURE OF THE LEXINGTON. 43 
 
 having sustained serious injuries and a severe loss in 
 killed or wounded. The Lexington mounted sixteen 
 long 4-pounders, and out of a crew of seventy lost two 
 killed and two wounded. In the following October the 
 Lexington, under the command of Captain William 
 Hallock, while returning from the West Indies laden 
 with powder and military stores, was captured by the 
 British 32-gun frigate Pearl. Owing to a high sea it 
 was impossible to transfer the prisoners to the frigate, 
 and the Pearl, after taking out four or five men, placed 
 a prize crew aboard the Lexington with orders to fol 
 low. As night came on, dark and boisterous, the 
 American prisoners, seventy-five in all, seized the op 
 portunity, when the British prize officers went below 
 for a moment, to rise on their captors, recovered pos 
 session of the vessel, changed her course and ran into 
 Baltimore with the British prize crew as prisoners. 
 Richard Dale, afterward celebrated in the BonJwmme 
 Richard-Serapis fight, was a master s mate in the Lex 
 ington during this cruise. The British prize officer, an 
 acting lieutenant, was dismissed from the royal navy. 
 
 On the 9th of May the 8-gun schooner Wasp, while 
 cruising under the command of Captain Charles Alex 
 ander, captured the enemy s bark Betsey. A week 
 afterward the Andrea Doria, Captain Nicholas Biddle, 
 put to sea, and, cruising between the Delaware and the 
 Penobscot, in the course of four months captured ten 
 vessels, which with one exception were sent into port. 
 Two of the prizes were transports conveying four 
 hundred Highlanders. One was recaptured by the 
 frigate Cerberus, while the other was seized by the 
 soldiers aboard, but the latter was again captured. 
 When Captain Biddle returned to port he had only five 
 of his own crew aboard, the others having been put in 
 charge of prizes. The Cabot, Captain Elisha Hinman, 
 got to sea toward the latter part of May and cruised off 
 the northeast coast until the 5th of October, during 
 which time she captured seven vessels and sent them 
 
44 THE OUTBREAK OF THE REVOLUTION. 1776. 
 
 into port. Soon after the return of Captain Esek Hop 
 kins expedition from New Providence, the Columbus, 
 Captain Abraham Whipple, got to sea and cruised 
 northward until August, securing in that time four 
 prizes. 
 
 At the time the Continental Congress formally de 
 clared the United States independent of Great Britain, 
 July 4, 1776, England had in commission one hundred 
 and twelve vessels of war, carrying three thousand 
 seven hundred and fourteen guns ; and of this force, 
 seventy-eight men of war, mounting two thousand and 
 seventy-eight guns, were stationed on the coast of North 
 America. 1 The American navy at the same time con 
 sisted of twenty-five cruisers, mounting four hundred 
 and twenty-two guns ; but only six of these vessels 
 were built for war purposes, the others being mer 
 chantmen purchased and fitted out for the occasion. 2 
 
 1 Schomberg s History of the British Navy, vol. iv, pp. 319-321. 
 
 2 On the 3d of October Congress ordered another cruiser and two cutters, 
 and in November it authorized the construction of three 74-gun ships of 
 the line, a sloop of war and a packet. None of the ships of the line were 
 ever in the American service. In January, 1777, another frigate and a 
 sloop of war were ordered, besides which eight prizes were fitted for the 
 service. Including the vessels purchased in 1775 and the cruisers ordered 
 by the law of December 13, 1775, the navy at the Declaration of Inde 
 pendence consisted of the following vessels : the 24-gun ship Alfred, the 
 20-gun ship Columbus, the IG-gun brig Lexington, the 16-gun brig Reprisal, 
 the 14-gun brig Cabot, the 14-gun brig Andrea Doria, the 14-gun brig 
 JIamden, the 12-gun brig Providence, the 10-gun sloop Independence, the 
 10-gun sloop Sachem, the 10-gun sloop Hornet, the 8-gun schooner Fly, the 
 8-gun schooner Wasp, the 4-gun sloop Mosquito, the 32-gun ship Hancock, 
 the 32-gun ship Randolph, the 32-gun ship Raleigh, the 32-gun ship War 
 ren, the 32-gun ship Washington, the 28-gun ship Congress, the 28-gun ship 
 EJfingham, the 28-gun ship Providence, the 28-gun ship Trurribull, the 28- 
 gun ship Virginia, the 24-gun ship Boston, the 24-gun ship Delaware, the 
 24-gun ship Montgomery, the 10-gun cutter Revenge, the 10-gun cutter 
 Surprise and the 10-gun cutter Dolphin. 
 
 Of these vessels the Washington, Effingham, Virginia, Congress, Dela 
 ware and Montgomery never got to sea, being destroyed when the British 
 seized Philadelphia and New York. The Virginia, while attempting to 
 get an offing, ran aground in Chesapeake Bay and was there captured by a 
 
1776. CAPTURE OF THE BRITISH CRUISER RACEHORSE. 45 
 
 Comparative forces in 1776. 
 American navy : 25 vessels, mounting 422 guns. 
 British navy:" 78 2,078 " 
 
 Two days after the Declaration of Independence 
 the 10-gun sloop Sachem, Captain Isaiah Robinson, en 
 gaged a British letter of marque of six guns, and after 
 some loss to both vessels the enemy struck. On return 
 ing to port the Sachem was sent to the West Indies 
 with dispatches, while Captain Robinson was trans 
 ferred to the command of the Andrea Doria, and in 
 December he sailed in this brig for St. Eustatius, to 
 transport arms and ammunition for the American army. 
 At this port he received a salute from the Dutch gov 
 ernor, which was the first ever given to the new flag 
 by a foreign power. The governor soon afterward 
 was removed for his indiscretion. When off the west 
 ern end of Porto Rico on his return passage Captain 
 Robinson discovered an English brig bearing down on 
 him. The vessels soon closed, and after a desperate 
 fight of two hours the enemy surrendered, the prize 
 proving to be the British brig Racehorse, Lieutenant 
 Jones. The Andrea Dorians loss was four killed and 
 eight wounded, while that of the Raceliorse was con 
 siderably greater, Lieutenant Jones being mortally 
 wounded. The Racehorse had been sent out for the 
 express purpose of taking her captor. Captain Rob 
 inson resumed his course for the Delaware, where he 
 
 British squadron. This left the Americans with a seagoing force of twenty- 
 five vessels, aggregating four hundred and twenty-two guns. 
 
 By a resolution of October 10, 1776, Congress declared that the num 
 ber of captains in the navy should be twenty-four, and that they should 
 rank in the following order : James Nicholson, John Manly, Hector McNiel, 
 Dudley Saltonstall, Nicholas Biddle, Thomas Tompson, John Barry, 
 Thomas Read, Thomas Grennall, Charles Alexander, Lambert Wickes, 
 Abraham Whipple, John Burroughs Hopkins, John Hodge, William Hal- 
 lock, Hoysted Hacker, Isaiah Robinson, John Paul Jones, James Josiah, 
 Elisha Hinman, Joseph Olney, James Robinson, John Young and Elisha 
 Warner. On the 17th of September, 1779, Samuel Nicholson and John Nich 
 olson, brothers of James Nicholson, were appointed captains in the navy. 
 
46 THE OUTBREAK OF THE REVOLUTION. 1776. 
 
 arrived with his prize in safety. The Andrea Dor la 
 was burned shortly afterward to prevent her falling 
 into the hands of the British. In October the Wasp, 
 under command of Lieutenant J. Baldwin, made a 
 short cruise during which she took three prizes. 
 
 The name of John Paul Jones has been already 
 noticed in the list of officers as a first lieutenant in the 
 American navy, in which capacity he sailed in the 
 squadron under Captain Esek Hopkins to New Provi 
 dence. Returning from that service he was made 
 commander of the 12-gun brig Providence, and was 
 employed in conveying troops from Rhode Island to 
 New York. He was frequently chased and several 
 times under fire, but always escaped by skillful sea 
 manship. At one time he covered the retreat of a brig 
 that was coming from the West Indies laden with mili 
 tary supplies for Washington s army, which was hotly 
 pursued by the British frigate Cerberus, but Lieutenant 
 Jones drew the enemy off in chase of himself, so that 
 the brig escaped. On the 10th of October, 1776, he was 
 promoted to the rank of captain and was ordered to 
 cruise between Boston and the Delaware. 
 
 On the 1st of September, 1776, while he was engaged 
 in this service off Bermuda, five sails were made out to 
 the windward, and he immediately beat up to recon- 
 noiter. Selecting what he took to be a large merchant 
 ship, Captain Jones was fast closing when he suddenly 
 discovered that she was the British 23-gun frigate Sole- 
 bay. The Providence immediately bore up to escape 
 while the Englishman made all sail in pursuit, and at 
 the end of four hours succeeded in getting within mus^ 
 ket shot of the brig s lee quarter. Seeing that capture 
 was inevitable unless some extraordinary expedient 
 was resorted to, Captain Jones edged away until he 
 had almost brought the frigate astern, when suddenly 
 he put about dead before the wind, with every stitch 
 of canvas set alow and aloft and studding sails on both 
 sides. So unexpected was this manoeuvre that, although 
 
1776. CAPTAIN JONES DARING MANOEUVRE. 47 
 
 the brig was obliged to pass within pistol shot of the 
 Englishman, the latter did not sufficiently recover from 
 the confusion of the moment to fire a gun until the 
 Providence was out of reach of his grape. Then began 
 another long chase, but the brig proved her superiority 
 on this point of sailing by gradually drawing out of 
 reach of the enemy s bow chasers. By this clever arti 
 fice Captain Jones saved a ship to the navy and drew 
 much attention to himself by his bold and skillful 
 seamanship. Shortly afterward Captain Jones, still 
 commanding the Providence, was chased by the 32-gun 
 frigate Milford, but he escaped. Continuing his cruise 
 he secured many valuable prizes, and running up to 
 Cape Canso he created great havoc in the enemy s 
 shipping besides destroying several fishing stations. 
 The Providence returned to Newport October 7th, hav 
 ing secured or destroyed fifteen prizes. 
 
 For these services Captain Jones was placed in com 
 mand of the 24-gun ship Alfred, while the Providence 
 was given to Captain Hoysted Hacker. On the 2d of 
 November, 1776, these vessels got under way for a gen 
 eral cruise against the enemy, and on the following 
 night, by skillful manoeuvring, they passed through 
 the British squadron off Block Island, On the 13th, 
 while off Cape Canso, the Alfred fell in with and after 
 a sharp action captured three vessels, one of them 
 being the British 10-gun transport MellisTi carrying 
 one hundred and fifty men. She was found to be 
 laden with supplies for General Burgoyne s army, then 
 assembling at Montreal, and among other articles in 
 her were ten thousand suits of uniform. Of such 
 value to the Americans was this capture that Captain 
 Jones determined to see his prize safely in port, and 
 in case of pursuit to sink the MellisTi rather than let 
 the enemy recapture her. 
 
 On the following night, during a snowstorm, the 
 Providence parted company, and the Alfred, having 
 captured a letter of marque of sixteen guns, made for 
 
48 THE OUTBREAK OF THE REVOLUTION. 1775-1776. 
 
 Boston with her prizes. When off St. George s Banks, 
 December 7th, she was discovered by the British 32- 
 gun frigate Milford, which two months before had 
 chased Captain Jones when in command of the Provi 
 dence. At the time the stranger was made out she 
 was to the windward, the dusk of evening making 
 her outlines somewhat indistinct. Captain Jones now 
 ordered the MellisTi and the other prizes to steer south 
 ward all night, regardless of any signals that might be 
 given from the Alfred. About midnight he hoisted a 
 top-light and with the letter of marque in company 
 tacked to the west, well knowing that the prizes would 
 not alter their courses. The stratagem succeeded, and 
 when day broke the prizes were well below the horizon, 
 while the Milford was crowding all sail in a vain en 
 deavor to come up with the Alfred. Having led the 
 frigate far enough from the prizes the Alfred spread 
 more canvas, and by evening had run the Milford 
 out of sight, but the letter of marque was recaptured. 
 Captain Jones then made for port, where he found his 
 seven prizes safely anchored. 
 
 During the war of the Revolution some of the sea 
 board colonies fitted out cruisers at their own expense, 
 and although such craft can not be accounted as belong 
 ing to the United States navy, yet in some instances 
 they performed valuable services, so that a notice of the 
 better authenticated actions will not be out of place. 
 
 The first capture made by these vessels was by the 
 Massachusetts State cruiser Lee, commanded by John 
 Manly, who received a commission from General Wash 
 ington to cruise in the vicinity of Boston for the pur 
 pose of intercepting supplies for the British army. On 
 the 29th of November, 1775, the Lee entered Cape Ann 
 Roads with the prize Nancy laden with two thousand 
 muskets and bayonets, besides eight thousand fuses, 
 thirty-one tons of musket shot, three thousand round 
 shot for 12-pounders, a 13-inch mortar, two 6-pounders, 
 several barrels of powder and fifty carcasses or great 
 
1776. EXPLOITS OF STATE CRUISERS. 49 
 
 frames for combustibles to set buildings on fire. On 
 the 8th of December this vessel captured three more 
 transports, and soon afterward she was chased into 
 Gloucester by the cruiser Falcon, but by running close 
 inshore she inflicted considerable injury on her pursuer 
 and escaped. For these valuable captures Mr. Manly 
 received a captain s commission, April 17, 1776, and 
 was assigned to the command of the 32-gun frigate 
 Hancock. In the following spring, 1776, the Frank 
 lin, commanded by James Mugford, captured the 
 Hope and brought her safely into port with fifteen 
 hundred barrels of powder, a large quantity of in 
 trenching tools, gun carriages and other stores which 
 were destined for the British army ; all of which were 
 forwarded to the troops under Washington. 
 
 Early on the morning of June 17, 1776, the Con 
 necticut State cruiser Defense, commanded by Mr. 
 Harding, left Plymouth, and on hearing a desultory 
 cannonading to the north made all sail in that direc 
 tion. Toward evening she met four American schoon 
 ers which reported that they had had a running fight 
 with two heavy British transports, which escaped into 
 Nantasket Roads. The American vessels were the 
 Massachusetts State cruiser Lee of eight guns, under 
 the orders of Daniel Waters, and three privateers. 
 Having arranged a plan of attack with the command 
 ers of the schooners Mr. Harding ran into the Roads, 
 and about eleven o clock anchored between the two 
 transports within pistol shot. After hailing he or 
 dered them to strike. A voice from one of the trans 
 ports was heard in reply, "Aye, aye I ll strike," and 
 immediately a broadside was poured into the Defense. 
 The Americans promptly responded, and for more than 
 an hour they were engaged in a sharp cannonade, when 
 the enemy surrendered. The prizes were found to con 
 tain about two hundred regular soldiers of the 71st regi 
 ment, and among the prisoners was Lieutenant Camp 
 bell, commander of the troops. In this affair the De- 
 
50 THE OUTBREAK OF THE REVOLUTION. 1776. 
 
 fense had nine men wounded besides suffering con 
 siderably in her rigging. The transports had eighteen 
 men killed and many wounded, among the former be 
 ing Major Menzies, the officer who answered the hail 
 as narrated. On the following morning the Americans 
 gave chase to a suspicious sail in the offing, and soon 
 overhauled another transport with one hundred men 
 from the same regiment. Thus three hundred men 
 from one of the best English regiments were captured 
 by these little cruisers. 
 
 The following account of an audacious attack on 
 British transports is given by Allen in his Battles of the 
 British Navy : " On the 23d of November a small fleet 
 of transports under convoy of the frigate Tartar ar 
 rived off Boston, and with the exception of two safely 
 entered the port. The ship Hunter and a brig, owing to 
 a shift in the wind, were obliged to anchor outside the 
 harbor, which being observed by two American priva 
 teers that had been following the convoy, they in the 
 most daring manner attacked and boarded them, set 
 ting them on fire. A signal was immediately made for 
 the Itaven to weigh anchor and go in chase, but Lieu 
 tenant John Bourmaster, who had been appointed to 
 protect Boston Lighthouse, then under repair, and who 
 was in command of an armed transport, on observing 
 the privateers fire upon the Hunter, set sail and reached 
 the transports in time to save them from destruction." 
 
 The vessels fitted out by the order of General Wash 
 ington were the Hancock, commanded by John Man- 
 ley, the first and second officers being Richard Stiles 
 and Nicholas Ogilby ; the Lee, commanded by Daniel 
 Waters, the first and second officers being William 
 Kissick and John Gill, while the master was John Des 
 mond ; the Franklin, commanded by Samuel Tucker, 
 his first and second officers being Edward Phittiplace 
 and Francis Salter ; the Harrison, commanded by 
 Charles Dyar, the first and second officers being 
 Thomas Dote and John Wigglesworth ; the Lynch, 
 
1775. CRUISERS COMMISSIONED BY GEN. WASHINGTON. 51 
 
 commanded by John Ayers, the first and second offi 
 cers being John Roche and John Tiley ; and the War 
 ren, commanded by William Burke. Elbridge Gerry 
 in a letter to John Adams gives an account of a cruise 
 of the LyncTi, commanded by Nicholas Broughton, 
 and the Franklin, commanded by John Selman, in 
 the fall of 1775. The Lynch mounted six 4-pounders 
 and ten swivels. "These vessels," he wrote, "were 
 ordered to the St. Lawrence to intercept an ammunition 
 vessel bound for Quebec, but missing her they took 
 ten other vessels and Governor Wright of St. Johns. 
 All of the vessels were released, as we had waged a 
 ministerial war and not one against our most gracious 
 Sovereign." On the 14th of November, 1775, Clement 
 Lempriere was appointed commander of the ship Pros 
 per, which was being fitted out for South Carolina, 
 and on the llth of the same month the South Carolina 
 State schooner Defense, while sinking some hulks in 
 Hog Island Creek, Charleston Harbor, was fired on by 
 the British 16-gun ship Tamar and the 6-gun schooner 
 Cherokee. On the 21st of December, 1775, North Caro 
 lina authorized the equipment of three armed vessels 
 for the protection- of its trade, and on the 20th of De 
 cember authorized the arming of the sloop Sally for 
 the defense, of the East River. Virginia also estab 
 lished a Board of Commissioners to superintend her 
 naval affairs. In October, 1775, two floating batteries, 
 constructed in the Charles River and propelled by 
 sweeps, opened fire on Boston and damaged several 
 houses besides causing considerable alarm. The bat 
 teries were constructed of heavy planks pierced for 
 oars and musketry, and a heavy gun was at each end, 
 while four swivels were on top. 
 
 As Lake Champlain at the time of the American 
 Revolution afforded the only means of inland com 
 munication between the rebelling colonies and Canada, 
 that water course became a point of great importance, 
 and each side made early preparations to control it. 
 
52 
 
 THE OUTBREAK OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 1776. 
 
 The Royal Savage, showing the "grand 
 Union flag " (from an old water color). 
 
 On the llth of October, 1776, the opposing naval forces 
 on this lake met to give battle. The American squad 
 ron, under the command of General Benedict Arnold, 
 
 consisted of the 12- 
 gun schooner Royal 
 Savage, the 10 - gun 
 sloop Enterprise, the 
 8-gun schooner Re 
 venge, the 8-gun gal 
 ley Trumbull, the 8- 
 gun galley Congress, 
 the 8 - gun galley 
 Washington, the 6- 
 gun galley Lee, the 
 5-gun gondola Spit 
 fire, the 5-gun gon 
 dola Connecticut, the 
 3-gun gondola New 
 Haven, the 3-gun gon 
 dola Providence, the 3-gun gondola Boston, the 3-gun 
 gondola Philadelphia, the 3-gun gondola Jersey and 
 the 3-gun gondola New Tor~k. 
 
 This made a total of fifteen vessels mounting eighty- 
 eight guns, the regular complement of which was eight 
 hundred and eleven men, but at the time of the en 
 gagement not over seven hundred were on duty. The 
 greater portion of these men were troops drafted from 
 the regiments at Ticonderoga and were unfitted for 
 water service. General Arnold, writing before the bat 
 tle, describes them as follows : " They are a miserable 
 set ; indeed, the men on board the fleet in general are 
 not equal to half their number of good men." In an 
 other letter he writes : " We have a wretched, motley 
 crew in the fleet. The marines are the refuse of every 
 regiment, and the seamen, few of them were ever wet 
 with salt water." The officers of the fleet were army 
 officers, while the vessels themselves were never intend 
 ed for serious fighting. 
 
1776. THE BATTLE OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN. 53 
 
 The British squadron, commanded by Captain Prin- 
 gle, was far better manned and equipped. Three of 
 the vessels, the Inflexible, the Maria and the Carleton, 
 built in England, were taken to pieces in the St. Law 
 rence and transported to Lake Champlain, reconstruct 
 ed at St. Johns and fitted for service on the lake ; while 
 the other vessels were constructed under the "imme 
 diate inspection of " an English naval officer. The In 
 flexible, a ship of more than three hundred tons bur 
 den, manned by sailors from the royal navy, alone 
 was sufficient to destroy the entire American flotilla. 
 According to English accounts their squadron consisted 
 of the following vessels : The 14-gun schooner Maria 
 (flagship), Lieutenant Starke ; the 18-gun ship Inflexi 
 ble, Lieutenant Schank ; the 12-gun schooner Carleton, 
 Lieutenant Dacres ; the 14-gun radeau Thunderer, 
 Lieutenant Scott ; the 7-gun gondola Loyal Convert, 
 Lieutenant Longcraft ; twenty gunboats each carrying 
 a brass fielclpiece from 24 to 9 -pounders ; four large 
 boats mounting one carriage gun each ; twenty-four 
 long boats with stores and provisions ; making a total 
 of eighty-nine guns. Lieutenant Dacres of the Carle- 
 ton was the father of James R. Dacres, the commander 
 of the Guerriere when captured by the Constitution 
 in 1812. 
 
 " This flotilla was manned by a detachment of sea 
 men from the King s ship and transports at Quebec. 
 Their numbers amounted to eight officers, nineteen petty 
 officers and six hundred and seventy picked seamen," 1 
 making in all six hundred and ninety-seven men from 
 the regular navy. One hundred of these men were 
 taken from the Isis, seventy from the Blood, sixty 
 from the Triton, thirty from the Garland, forty from 
 the Canceau, eighteen from the Magdalen, Brunswick 
 and Gasper, ninety from the Treasury and several 
 armed brigs, thirty from the Fell, nine from the Char- 
 
 1 Schomberg s History of the British Navy, vol. iv, pp. 323-324. 
 
THE OUTBREAK OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 1776. 
 
 lotte, two hundred and fourteen from transports, while 
 nine were volunteers. Besides this there were several 
 hundred Indian allies, together with a detachment of 
 regular troops. Among the English officers was Ed 
 ward Pellew, afterward Admiral Viscount Exmouth, 
 one of England s naval heroes. 
 
 Early on the morning of October llth the enemy s 
 ships were discovered passing Cumberland Head, and 
 ___ ..^^.^^.^.^^^ Arnold for the first time learned 
 
 that he had a ship of three 
 hundred tons to oppose, but, 
 undaunted by this, that in 
 trepid officer made ready to 
 receive the attack. He moored 
 his vessels in a small bay on 
 the west side of Valcour Island, 
 as near together as possible, 
 and in such a form that few 
 vessels would be exposed to 
 the fire of the whole fleet. A 
 
 A, American battle line ; 
 
 B, British gunboats; c, the strong northerly wind was 
 
 larger English vessels ; D, 
 
 where the Royal Savage was 
 
 it 
 
 ]t 
 
 rmt rm 
 no1 
 
 burned ; E, CumberlancfHead ; til the British squadron had 
 F, Pittsburgh ; G, Grand Isl- . -, . ,, ^ - Tr , 
 
 and. passed to the south of Valcour 
 
 Island that they discovered the 
 
 Americans, it was impossible for their heavy ships to 
 beat back within range; but by eleven o clock 1 their 
 gunboats, with the aid of their sweeps and the Carle- 
 ton, came within gunshot and began a heavy can 
 nonading. By some mishap the Royal Savage and 
 the galleys had drifted beyond the support of the 
 American line and sustained the attack of the 
 gunboats alone. One of the masts of the Royal 
 Savage was wounded and her rigging was shot away 
 so as to render her unmanageable, and she was run 
 aground on Valcour Island, where her men es- 
 
 Official report of General Arnold. 
 
1776. THE BATTLE OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN. 55 
 
 caped. During the night she was burned by the 
 enemy. 1 
 
 General Arnold in his official report says : " At half 
 past twelve the engagement became general and very 
 warm. Some of the enemy s ships and all their gondo 
 las beat and rowed up within musket shot of us. They 
 continued a very hot fire with round and grapeshot until 
 five o clock, when they thought proper to retire to about 
 six or seven hundred yards distance and continued the 
 fire till dark." The retreat of the British gunboats 
 is explained by Lieutenant James Murray Hadden, 
 who commanded them, as follows : " It was found that 
 the [gun] boats advantage was not to come nearer than 
 seven hundred yards, as whenever they approached 
 nearer they were greatly annoyed by grapeshot, 
 though their case shot could do little mischief." Dur 
 ing the battle the Indian allies of the British fired on 
 the American flotilla from the woods and caused serious 
 annoyance. " These savages," said Lieutenant Hadden, 
 "under Major Carleton, moved with the fleet in their 
 canoes, which were very regularly ranged. On the 
 day of the battle, the rebels having no land force, the 
 savages took post on the mainland and on Valcour 
 Island. Thus being upon both flanks they were able 
 to annoy them in the working of their guns. This had 
 the effect of now and then obliging the rebels to turn 
 a gun that way, which danger the savages avoided by 
 getting behind trees." 
 
 About five o clock Captain Pringle, having made 
 several unsuccessful attempts to bring his larger ships 
 into action, gave the signal of recall and anchored his 
 fleet in a line just out of gunshot, intending to renew 
 the action on the morrow. * The Thunderer lay at 
 the right of the line, a little south of Garden Island, 
 the schooner Maria on the left near the mainland, 
 
 1 She sank near the present site of Hotel Champlain. Her hull can be 
 seen at low water. 
 
56 THE OUTBREAK OF THE REVOLUTION. 1776. 
 
 while the Loyal Convert and the Inflexible occupied 
 intermediate positions. The Carleton and gunboats 
 were anchored near the other vessels." 1 
 
 In this first day s fight General Arnold commanded 
 the Congress, and he fought with characteristic cour 
 age. Toward the end of the action he pointed almost 
 every gun with his own hands and cheered his men by 
 his example. His flagship received seven shot between 
 wind and water ; she was hulled twelve times, and 
 her mainmast was wounded in two places and the yard 
 in one place. The Washington was commanded by 
 General Waterbury, who fought on the quarter-deck 
 of his ship with conspicuous bravery, and at the end 
 of the action he was the only officer on duty, the first 
 lieutenant, the captain and the master being killed. 
 His ship was hulled several times, and her mainmast 
 was so. injured as to require a new one. Both the Con 
 gress and the Washington were leaking badly. The 
 Trumbult, commanded by Colonel Wigglesworth, was 
 severely damaged, while the New York lost all of her 
 officers except her commander, Captain Lee ; and the 
 Philadelphia, Captain Grant, was so riddled with shot 
 that she sank one hour after the engagement. General 
 Arnold in his official report places the total loss to the 
 Americans in the first day s action at " about sixty." 
 On the part of the English, eight men were killed and 
 six wounded in the Carleton, while two of their gun 
 boats were sunk and one was blown up with a number 
 of men aboard. Captain Pringle reported that his 
 losses did not " amount to forty." 
 
 Having expended three fourths of his ammunition 
 and "being sensible of the inferiority of his force," 2 
 General Arnold determined to steal through the Eng 
 lish line at night, in hopes of reaching Crown Point. 
 At seven o clock in the evening Colonel Wigglesworth 
 
 Palmer s History of Lake Champlain. 
 
 Schomberg s History of the British Navy, vol. i, p. 431. 
 
1776. 
 
 THE BATTLE OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN. 
 
 57 
 
 began the retreat with the Trumbull and directed her 
 course toward the upper end of the lake. He was fol 
 lowed by the Enterprise and the 
 Lee with the gondolas, and about 
 ten o clock General Waterbury 
 started in the Washington, fol 
 lowed by General Arnold in the 
 Congress. In this order, with a 
 light at the stern of each vessel, 
 the squadron passed to Schuyler 
 Island, about nine miles distant, 
 where it arrived early next morn 
 ing. General Arnold now found 
 that two of the gondolas were so 
 badly injured that he sunk them, 
 and having fitted np the other 
 vessels as well as his limited time 
 and means would allow he again 
 made sail for Crown Point. 
 
 The enemy discovered the es 
 cape on the following morning 
 and immediately set out in pur 
 suit. Thursday, October 12th, 
 was taken up with the chase, and 
 it was not until noon of the 13th, 
 just after Arnold s vessels had 
 passed Split Rock, that the ene 
 my again came within gunshot. 
 By this time the American vessels were much scat 
 tered, and the. crews also had become so reduced in 
 numbers that the officers were compelled to load and 
 point the guns with their own hands. The Congress 
 and the Washington now made a rally to cover the 
 flight of the remaining vessels. The latter was at 
 tacked by the Maria, commanded by Captain Prin- 
 gle in person, and the Inflexible, and struck after a 
 few shot had been exchanged. General Waterbury 
 and his surviving men were taken prisoners. These 
 7 
 
 Lake Champlain. 
 
58 THE OUTBREAK OF THE REVOLUTION. 1776. 
 
 two English vessels then joined the Carleton in the 
 pursuit of the Congress, and for two hours they kept 
 up a running fight. When about ten miles from 
 Crown Point General Arnold was so hard pressed that 
 he ran the Congress and four gondolas into Panton 
 Bay, on the east side of the lake, and after removing 
 all the small arms he destroyed the vessels and escaped 
 with his men in the woods, and then made his way 
 to Crown Point. Two hours afterward the woods at 
 this point were filled by the Indian allies of the English, 
 who would have made Arnold s escape more hazard 
 ous. In the meantime the Enterprise, the Revenge, 
 the Trumbull and one gondola had reached places 
 of safety, while the galley Lee, Captain Davis, ran in a 
 bay on the east side of the lake above Split Rock, 
 where she was blown up. The only vessels the enemy 
 captured were the Washington and the gondola Jersey. 
 In the second day s fight the Congress lost her first 
 lieutenant and three men. The total American loss in 
 killed or wounded in the two days fight was u eighty 
 odd," 1 while that of the English was " about forty. " a 
 One great disadvantage under which the Americans 
 labored was that of having several different calibers in 
 the same vessel. The Washington, for instance, was 
 armed with one 18-pounder, one 12-pounder, two 9- 
 pounders and six 4-pounders, which caused great con 
 fusion in loading the guns, and in the excitement of 
 action seriously detracted from her efficiency. Each 
 English vessel, on the other hand, had the same caliber 
 throughout its armament the Thunderer alone ex- 
 cepted, she having six 24-pounders, six 12-pounders 
 and two howitzers. Sir Guy Carleton treated his pris 
 oners with great kindness, ordering that the American 
 wounded should receive the same attention as the 
 English. On the 14th of October they were accompa- 
 
 1 Official report of General Arnold. 
 8 Official report of Captain Pringle. 
 
1776. THE BATTLE OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN. 59 
 
 nied to Ticonderoga by Captain (afterward Sir James) 
 Craigh, where they were released on parole. 
 
 Comparative force and loss. 
 
 Vessels. Guns. Men. Loss. 
 
 American flotilla: 15 88 700 u 80 odd." 
 
 British flotilla: 25 89 1000 "About 40." 
 
 The results of this naval engagement, notwithstand 
 ing the defeat of Arnold s flotilla, were highly advan 
 tageous to the cause of the colonists. It convinced 
 the enemy that the Americans were in earnest, and, 
 what was more, knew how to fight a point which had 
 been gravely debated at British mess-tables and in 
 London drawing-rooms. Sir Guy Carleton occupied 
 Crown Point, which had been abandoned and de 
 stroyed by the Americans after the naval engagement, 
 and on the 27th of October he advanced against Ti 
 conderoga, but after exchanging a few shot he retreated 
 to Crown Point, and on the 3d of November took up 
 the march for winter quarters in Canada. 
 
 During the year 1776 British commerce suffered 
 heavy losses at the hands of American cruisers and 
 privateers. The London Remembrancer of that period 
 declared that the damage to the West India trade 
 alone amounted to nearly two million dollars. The 
 total number of vessels captured by the Americans in 
 1776 was three hundred and forty-two, of which forty- 
 four were recaptured, eighteen released, and five were 
 burned. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE AMEKICAN NAVY IN EUKOPE. 
 
 better illustrates the spirit and patriotism 
 of the colonists than the manner in which they carried 
 the war for independence into the enemy s country. 
 When England determined to coerce the refractory 
 Americans she little thought that she was inviting 
 danger to her own doors, her idea of an American war 
 being a somewhat expensive transportation of German 
 mercenaries across the Atlantic, where the dispute 
 would be settled in a wilderness, far removed from any 
 possible chance of interference with British interests in 
 other parts of the world. The British merchant looked 
 forward to the war with no small degree of complacen 
 cy, for in spite of the provisions of the Navigation 
 Acts, which were designed especially to protect him 
 from colonial competition, he already keenly felt 
 American rivalry for the carrying trade of the world. 
 It would cost several million pounds annually to send 
 Hessians to America, but this would be more than made 
 good by the British merchant securing the colonist s 
 share of commerce. 
 
 This was the view generally taken by Englishmen 
 before hostilities began ; but had they anticipated that 
 American cruisers would cross the Atlantic and throw 
 their coasts into continual alarm, that their shipping 
 even in their own harbors would be in danger, that it 
 would be unsafe for peers of the realm to remain at 
 their country seats, that British commerce would be 
 almost annihilated and that sixteen thousand British 
 seamen would be captured, they would have entered 
 
 (60) 
 
1776. 
 
 CRUISERS SAIL FOR EUROPE. 
 
 61 
 
 upon a coercive policy with far greater hesitancy. 
 Without her ships and seamen England would be re 
 duced to one of the least of the European powers, and 
 while she could afford to lose a few thousand Hessians, 
 the loss of her maritime ascendancy touched her to the 
 quick. 
 
 American naval enterprise in European waters dur 
 ing the Revolution, from the appearance of the first 
 American war vessel to the cruise of the squadron 
 under Captain John Paul Jones, was unexampled in 
 daring and success. The first American cruiser to 
 show herself on the other side of the Atlantic was the 
 16-gun brig Reprisal, Captain Lambert Wickes. Early 
 in the summer of 1776 this little vessel was dispatched 
 
 to Martinique for 
 the purpose of 
 transporting mili 
 tary stores to Amer 
 ica. When nearing 
 her port she was 
 attacked by the 16- 
 gun sloop of war 
 Shark, Captain 
 Chapman, but after 
 a severe action she succeeded 
 in driving her assailant off 
 and resumed her course. In 
 the autumn of 1776 the Re 
 prisal was placed under the 
 command of Captain Lambert 
 Wickes, who received orders 
 to convey Dr. Franklin to 
 France. Taking two prizes 
 on the passage over, the Reprisal reached Nantes and 
 landed her distinguished passenger in safety. Here she 
 refitted and sailed for the Bay of Biscay, where she 
 captured two vessels, one of which was the King s 
 packet plying between Falmouth and Lisbon. When 
 
 European waters. 
 
62 THE AMERICAN NAVY IN EUROPE. 1777. 
 
 these prizes were brought to Nantes the English agents 
 protested so vehemently that great caution became 
 necessary in disposing of them, and they were secretly 
 taken into the offing and sold to French merchants. 
 The proceeds were handed over to the American com 
 missioners in Europe and materially assisted them in 
 their negotiations in behalf of the struggling colonies. 
 
 These commissioners, from the first, urged the ad 
 visability of stationing a naval force near the coasts of 
 Great Britain. "We have not the least doubt," wrote 
 Dr. Franklin, "but that two or three of the Conti 
 nental frigates sent into the German Ocean, with some 
 less swift- sailing cruisers, might intercept and seize a 
 great part of the Baltic and Northern trade. . . . 
 One frigate would be sufficient to destroy the whole 
 of the Greenland whale-fishery or take the Hudson 
 Bay ships returning." 
 
 The Marine Committee acted on this advice, and in 
 April, 1777, the Reprisal was joined by the Lexing 
 ton, Captain Henry Johnston. The American agents 
 also purchased a 10-gun cutter called the Dolphin, 
 which was placed under the orders of Lieutenant Sam 
 uel Nicholson, brother of Captain James Nicholson. 
 In June this little squadron, under command of Cap 
 tain Lambert Wickes, sailed from Nantes and ventured 
 in British waters. After a short cruise in the Bay of 
 Biscay the vessels made two circuits of Ireland, caus 
 ing great havoc in the enemy s commerce and alarm 
 ing the entire coast. After securing fifteen prizes the 
 cruisers returned to France, but when nearing the coast 
 they were chased by a British line of battle ship, and 
 the Reprisal was so hard pressed that she was obliged 
 to saw away her bulwarks and some of her timbers, be 
 sides throwing her guns overboard. When the ships 
 regained port the captures were clandestinely disposed 
 of to French merchants. This aroused a greater storm 
 of opposition from the English agents than before, and, 
 as the King had not openly declared war, some appear- 
 
1777. ACTION BETWEEN THE LEXINGTON AND ALERT. 63 
 
 ance of neutrality had to be made in order to avoid 
 actual hostilities. The Reprisal and the Lexington 
 accordingly were held until security was given that 
 they would quit France, while the prizes were ordered 
 to leave port. The latter were taken into the offing 
 and sold as before. 
 
 According to the agreement, the Lexington refitted 
 and sailed from Morlaix on the 18th of September. The 
 second day out she fell in with the British man-of-war 
 Alert, Lieutenant Bazely (afterward Admiral), of "ten 
 guns, ten swivels and sixty men." 1 The vessels im 
 mediately closed and began a heavy cannonade, which 
 was maintained with great spirit for two hours and a 
 half, but the high sea and the lightness of the craft 
 rendered the fire less effective. So unprepared were 
 the Americans for battle that at first no matches were 
 ready, and several broadsides were fired by discharging 
 muskets at the vents of the cannon. The Lexington 
 also had sailed with a short supply of powder and 
 shot. At the end of two and a half hours of cannon 
 ading the Lexington had crippled her antagonist s rig 
 ging, but in so doing had used up nearly all of her 
 powder. Captain Johnston then took advantage of 
 his opponent s condition and by setting all sail drew 
 out of range, but the Alert repaired her injuries and 
 after a chase of four hours succeeded in getting along 
 side. The Lexington soon used up the remainder of 
 her ammunition and forthwith a one-sided action en 
 sued. For an hour the Americans received the fire in 
 silence, hoping some accident would befall the enemy s 
 rigging, but at the end of that time, seeing that further 
 resistance was useless his first lieutenant, marine offi 
 cer and sailing master being killed and many of his 
 men wounded Captain Johnston hauled down his 
 flag. The Lexington was armed with sixteen 4-pound- 
 ers. The Alert, according to English accounts, lost 
 
 1 Schomberg s History of the British Navy, vol. i, p. 440. 
 
64: THE AMERICAN NAVY IN EUROPE. 1777. 
 
 two killed and three wounded. The Lexington was 
 taken to Plymouth, and her men were thrown into Mill 
 Prison on a charge of high treason. Here they were 
 treated with great brutality, and on one occasion they 
 were so reduced by want of food that they killed a 
 stray dog, cooked it and ate it with a relish. After 
 some months of imprisonment the Americans effected 
 their escape by digging a hole under the prison, carry 
 ing away the dirt from day to day in their pockets, 
 and got aboard a vessel in London bound for Dunkirk, 
 when they were discovered by a press-gang and re 
 turned to prison. About a year later Richard Dale, 
 who had been master s mate in the Lexington, made 
 his escape by boldly walking past the guards in broad 
 daylight, dressed in a British uniform. Dale refused 
 to reveal how he secured this dress to the day of his 
 death. The Reprisal, which sailed soon after the Lex 
 ington, foundered off the Banks of Newfoundland on 
 her homeward passage and all hands but one perished. 
 
 The loss of the Lexington and the Reprisal left the 
 other side of the Atlantic without an American war 
 vessel, but the results of Captain Wickes cruises w r ere 
 so encouraging that our commissioners immediately 
 took measures to secure other vessels. In the spring 
 of 1777 an agent was sent to Dover to purchase a fast- 
 sailing vessel, and a cutter was brought over to Dun 
 kirk, where she was equipped and armed as a vessel of 
 war under the name of the Surprise. 
 
 The character of these vessels fitted out in Europe 
 has been misunderstood by English writers and by 
 some American historians. The president of the Con 
 tinental Congress, John Hancock, had authorized the 
 American commissioners in Europe to purchase and fit 
 out such craft as the Surprise for the purpose of prey 
 ing on the commerce of Great Britain, and, in order 
 that these vessels might sail in the capacity of national 
 cruisers, blank commissions were placed in the hands of 
 our representatives, to be filled out at their discretion. 
 
1777. CONNYNGHAM SAILS FROM DUNKIRK. 65 
 
 Such a commission, dated March 1, 1777, issued by 
 Dr. Franklin and Silas Deane, was filled out for Cap 
 tain Gustavus Connynghani, commander of the Sur 
 prise, authorizing him to sail as a captain in the Ameri 
 can navy, and investing the Surprise with all the 
 requisites of a national cruiser, so far as the Ameri 
 cans were concerned. 
 
 Having made up a crew Captain Connynghani sailed 
 from Dunkirk on the 1st of May, but it was only by a 
 good deal of intrigue that the Surprise was enabled to 
 get to sea. Captain Connynghani "took his arms out 
 of his ship and said he should load it with merchandise 
 for one of the ports in Norway. As this declaration 
 was suspected, security was demanded. Two persons, 
 Hodge and Allen, became responsible for him. Con 
 nynghani actually left the port of Dunkirk without 
 arms, but he caused sailors, cannon and ammunition to 
 be sent out to him in the night while he was in the 
 ship s Road off Dunkirk. As soon as this manoeuvre 
 came to the knowledge of the French Government, 
 Hodge, one of the securities, was arrested and con 
 ducted to the Bastille, and the prize, which the Sur 
 prise soon afterward captured, was returned to the 
 British Government without the form of a process. 
 After six weeks of confinement Hodge was released." 1 
 
 The third day after leaving Dunkirk Captain Con- 
 nyngham gave chase to a sail and soon overhauled the 
 British merchant ship Joseph, after which he cruised 
 along the coast of Holland until the 7th, when he fell 
 in with the English packet Prince of Orange. The 
 presence of an American cruiser in these waters was so 
 unexpected that it was not until Captain Connynghani 
 had run alongside and boarded that the Englishman 
 realized that he was in the presence of a hostile vessel. 
 Knowing that the Channel was frequented by British 
 cruisers and believing that the packet contained valu- 
 
 1 Sparks Diplomatic Correspondence, vol. i, p. 292, note. 
 
60 THE AMERICAN NAVY IN EUROPE. 1777. 
 
 able dispatches, Captain Connyngham returned to 
 Dunkirk. 
 
 On hearing of this capture the English ambassador 
 threatened to leave the country if the Surprise and her 
 prize were not immediately given up. As France was 
 not prepared for war the ministers were constrained to 
 seize the vessels and imprison Captain Connyngham 
 and his men. Not satisfied with this the British Gov 
 ernment demanded that these men should be given up 
 to be tried as pirates, and sent over two sloops of war 
 for the purpose of taking them to England ; but before 
 the sloops arrived Captain Connyngham had sailed on 
 another expedition. 
 
 The American agents were indefatigable in their 
 efforts to replace the Surprise and soon secured another 
 cutter, the Revenge, carrying fourteen 6-pounders and 
 twenty-two swivels with one hundred and six men, and 
 Captain Connyngham and his men, having been re 
 leased " with some address and intrigue," l managed to 
 get to sea in her. The Revenge proved a remarkably 
 successful vessel, taking prizes daily, many of which 
 were sent to Spain and sold to merchants ; the proceeds 
 thus realized affording much-needed assistance to the 
 American commissioners in urging the cause of the col 
 onies before the French ministry and in furthering their 
 operations against the British Government. The money 
 advanced to Mr. Adams for traveling expenses when he 
 landed in Spain from the French frigate la Sensible, a 
 year or two later, was derived from this source. The 
 Revenge was now in need of repairs, and fearing to take 
 her into a French port lest she might again be detained, 
 Captain Connyngham resorted to one of those daring 
 expedients for which the American navy is renowned. 
 Disguising his cutter as well as his limited stores would 
 allow, he boldly entered an English port, thoroughly 
 refitted, and sailed again without arousing the first 
 
 1 Silas Deane to Robert Morris, August 23, 1777. 
 
1777-1778. THE AUDACITY OF AMERICAN CRUISERS. 67 
 
 suspicion as to his identity. Encouraged by this he 
 shortly afterward entered an Irish port, where he laid 
 in a full supply of provisions, paid for them with bills 
 on his agents in Spain, and again sailed unmolested. 
 The audacity of these exploits will be better under 
 stood when we remember that by this time Captain 
 Connyngham and his cutter had obtained wide notori 
 ety in Great Britain, especially among the seafaring 
 classes. The Revenge continued her depredation on 
 the enemy s commerce for several weeks after this, 
 when, having made a cruise of unprecedented success, 
 she refitted in Ferrol and sailed for America. 
 
 The daring and success of these several expeditions 
 along the enemy s coasts struck terror into the heart of 
 the British merchant. Mr. Deane wrote: "It effect 
 ually alarmed England, prevented the great fair at 
 Chester, occasioned insurance to rise, and even deterred 
 the English merchant from shipping goods in English 
 bottoms at any rate of insurance, so that in a few weeks 
 forty sail of French ships were loading in the Thames 
 on freight an instance never before known. . . . In 
 a word, Connyngham, by his first and second bold ex 
 peditions, is become the terror of all the eastern coast 
 of England and Scotland, and is more dreaded than 
 Thurot was in the late war." The English ministry 
 denounced the character of the Surprise and Revenge 
 as piratical, and demanded that Captain Connyngham, 
 as the commander of such vessels, should be given over 
 to the British authorities. In the following year he 
 was captured, and treated with such severity that Con 
 gress, by a resolution of July 17, 1778, formally de 
 manded the reason for his being " treated in a manner 
 contrary to all the dictates of humanity and the prac 
 tice of civilized nations," and in case of an unsatis 
 factory answer the Marine Committee was ordered to 
 "immediately cause to be confined, in close and safe 
 custody, such and so many persons as they may think 
 proper in order to abide the fate of said Gustavus 
 
68 THE AMERICAN NAVY IN EUROPE. 1778, 1777. 
 
 Connyngham." On the 13th of the following Decem 
 ber one Christopher Hale was detained from an ex 
 change of prisoners, Congress declaring that he would 
 suffer the fate of Captain Connyngham. 
 
 The loss of the Surprise and the departure of the 
 Revenge for America did not check American enterprise 
 in European waters. Toward the latter part of August, 
 1777, the 32-gun frigate Raleigh, Captain Thomas 
 Thompson, and the 24-gun ship Alfred, Captain Elisha 
 Hinman, sailed in company for France to transport 
 military supplies for the American army and to harass 
 the enemy s commerce. On the 2d of September they 
 overhauled a small vessel named the Nancy, and from 
 her master learned that she had been separated only 
 the day before from the outward bound Windward 
 Island fleet, which was under the protection of the 
 20-gun ship Camel, the 14-gun brig Druid, the 14-gun 
 brig Grasshopper and the 16-gun sloop Weasel. Having 
 ascertained from the people in the Nancy the positions 
 of these war vessels in the fleet, and also their private 
 signals, Captain Thompson made sail to bring up with 
 them. About noon on the following day, September 
 3d, while in latitude 40 33 north, longitude 50 17 
 west, the fleet was descried from the RaleigWs mast 
 head. Gradually approaching until he could make out 
 the exact positions of the escorts, Captain Thompson, 
 using the enemy s code, signaled the Alfred as if she 
 were one of the merchantmen, and awaiting the cover 
 of night he bore down on his consort and ordered her to 
 follow his movements. After manoeuvring until break 
 of day in a vain endeavor to separate some of the ships 
 from the fleet Captain Thompson resolved to leave the 
 Alfred, as she was a dull sailer, and go into the fleet 
 alone. This plan was carried out in a most audacious 
 manner, the RaleigTi giving orders to the merchantmen 
 as she passed and answering the British commander s 
 signals just as if she were one of the convoy. The 
 English were completely deceived and continued peace- 
 
1777. A SUCCESSFUL NIGHT ATTACK. 69 
 
 fully on their course, ignorant of the presence of an 
 enemy. 
 
 Taking advantage of this, Captain Thompson care 
 fully worked his way through the fleet until he had 
 secured a position to windward of the Druid, when, 
 having edged up to a favorable quarter, he suddenly 
 threw open his ports, ran out a row of sixteen guns 
 and poured in a broadside of round and grapeshot upon 
 the astounded enemy. In the twinkling of an eye the 
 innocent-looking merchant ship had been changed into 
 a powerful frigate, and for twenty minutes she hurled 
 broadside after broadside into the unfortunate English 
 men, who were scarcely able to fire a shot in return. 
 Consternation and confusion reigned throughout the 
 fleet, and the ships crowded sail in every direction to 
 escape not only from the Raleigli but from each other, 
 for now broadsides were expected from every quarter. 
 Finally discovering that the cause of the panic was but 
 a single ship, the British vessels of war, together with 
 several heavily armed merchantmen, made sail to rescue 
 the Druid. Captain Thompson continued his storm of 
 round shot, grape and canister until the enemy was 
 nearly upon him, when he hauled off and rejoined the 
 Alfred on the outskirts of the fleet. Here the two 
 cruisers remained some time, hoping for another op 
 portunity to attack, but as none presented itself they 
 resumed their course for France. 
 
 The Druid was a complete wreck ; her masts, rig 
 ging and sails were cut to pieces, and five feet of water 
 was in her hold, so that she was compelled to return to 
 England. Captain Carteret, her commander, was so 
 dangerously wounded that he was carried below, and 
 by the same shot the master was killed. The enemy s 
 loss was six killed and twenty-six wounded, 1 while 
 the Raleigli sustained only trifling injury, her loss in 
 killed or wounded being three. 
 
 1 Official report of Captain Carteret. 
 
YO THE AMERICAN NAVY IN EUROPE. 1778. 
 
 Arriving in France the Raleigh and the Alfred 
 loaded with military stores, and in February, 1778, 
 sailed from L Orient for America, taking a southerly 
 course in the expectation of falling in with English 
 merchantmen. On the 9th of March, while they were 
 pursuing an uneventful voyage, two sails were discov 
 ered which proved to be English ships of war. The 
 Alfred was the first to make them out, the Raleigh 
 being hull down to leeward, and before the American 
 cruisers could come together, the Alfred, being a " ten 
 der-sided ship," was overtaken and captured. Seeing 
 the fate of his consort and knowing that the stores 
 with which his ship was laden were of great value to the 
 American army, Captain Thompson made all sail be 
 fore the wind to escape, and although the enemy gave 
 chase the fine sailing qualities of the RaleigJi enabled 
 her to run them out of sight. The British vessels were 
 the Ariadne of twenty guns and the Ceres of fourteen. 
 Captain Thompson was severely criticised for abandon 
 ing the Alfred, and soon afterward was relieved of his 
 command and ordered to await trial. 
 
 The temerity of American privateers in their opera 
 tions off the coasts of Great Britain was unparalleled. 
 An instance of it is quaintly described in a private 
 letter of that day as follows : " An American privateer 
 of twelve guns came into this road (Guernsey) yester 
 day morning, tacked about on the firing of the guns 
 from the Castle, and just off the Island took a large 
 brig bound for this port which they have since carried 
 into Cherbourg. She had the impudence to send her 
 boat in the dusk of the evening to a little island off 
 here called Jet to and unluckily carried off the lieuten 
 ant of Northley s Independent Company here with the 
 adjutant, who were shooting rabbits for their diver 
 sion. The brig they took is valued at seven thousand 
 pounds." The English Government was obliged to 
 furnish convoys even for the Irish coast trade. "An 
 escort for linen ships from Newry and Dublin, and from 
 
1777. UNPRECEDENTED LOSSES TO BRITISH COMMERCE. 71 
 
 Dublin to England, was requested and given." 1 u ln 
 no former war, not even in any of the wars with France 
 and Spain, the linen vessels from Ireland were con 
 voyed." 2 
 
 English trade to the West India Islands also suf 
 fered great losses. An English correspondent writing 
 from Jamaica, May 2, 1777, said that in one week 
 upward of fourteen English ships were carried into 
 Martinique. Another Englishman, writing from Gre 
 nada, April 18, 1777, said : " Every thing continues ex 
 cessively dear here, and we are happy if we can get 
 anything for money by reason of the quantity of ves 
 sels that are taken by American privateers. A fleet 
 of vessels came from Ireland a few days ago. From 
 sixty vessels that departed from Ireland not above 
 twenty-five arrived in this and neighboring islands, the 
 others (it is thought) being all taken by the American 
 privateers. God knows if this American war continues 
 much longer we shall all die with hunger. There was 
 a Guineaman that came from Africa with four hundred 
 and fifty negroes, some thousand weight of gold dust 
 and a great many elephant teeth ; the whole cargo be 
 ing computed to be worth twenty thousand pounds 
 sterling, taken by an American privateer, a brig mount 
 ing fourteen cannon, a few days ago. " 
 
 The number of British vessels captured by the 
 Americans during the year 1777 was four hundred and 
 sixty-seven. 
 
 We now come to the first of the famous cruises of 
 Captain John Paul Jones off the coasts of Great Britain. 
 The American commissioners in Europe had ordered 
 one of the heaviest single-decked frigates that up to 
 that time had been built to be constructed in Holland. 
 She was called the Indien, but afterward her name was 
 changed to South Carolina, and she was armed on her 
 
 1 Admiralty to London merchants. 
 
 8 London Remembrancer, vol. v, p. 144. 
 
72 THE AMERICAN NAVY IN EUROPE. 1777. 
 
 main deck with Swedish 36-pounders. It was pro 
 posed to send over a party of American officers and 
 sailors to France in the French letter of marque 
 Amphitrite, which had recently arrived in America 
 with stores from Europe, and, by making a transfer 
 of property, man the Indien and send her into 
 British waters under the American flag. Owing to 
 some difficulty in the matter of the transfer the plan 
 fell through, and Captain Jones, who was to have 
 commanded her, was ordered to the 18-gun ship 
 Hanger. 
 
 As English writers have asserted that in his opera 
 tions oif the British coasts Captain Jones acted merely 
 in the capacity of a privateers man, it will be neces 
 sary at the outset to show that he served as a naval 
 officer and was duly authorized to command the regu 
 lar cruiser of the United States : 
 
 " PHILADELPHIA, May 9, 1777. 
 
 " JOHN PAUL JONES, Esq. 
 
 " SIR : Congress have thought proper to employ you 
 on a voyage in the AmpMtrite, from Portsmouth to 
 Carolina and France, where it is expected you will be 
 provided with a fine frigate ; and as your present com 
 mission is for the command of a particular ship, we 
 now send you a new one, whereby you are appointed 
 a captain in our navy, and of course may command 
 any ship in the service to which you are particularly 
 ordered. You are to obey the orders of the Secret 
 Committee. Sir, &c. 
 
 "[Signed] JOHN HANCOCK, 
 ROBERT MORRIS, 
 WILLIAM WHIPPLE." 
 
 The Hanger sailed from Portsmouth, New Hamp 
 shire, on the 1st of November. Captain Jones com 
 plained that he could obtain but one barrel of rum for 
 his crew, that the vessel had only one set of sails, and 
 some of those were made of inferior cloth, that his 
 
1777. A FRENCH ADMIRAL SALUTES OUR FLAG. 73 
 
 stores were short, and tha/t the ship in every respect 
 was poorly equipped. This complaint was undoubt 
 edly well grounded, but it was under such difficulties 
 that nearly every American commander took to the sea 
 in the struggle for independence. The Ranger arrived 
 at Nantes on the 2d of December, having captured, on 
 the passage over, two prizes, and was once chased by a 
 two-decker. From Nantes Captain Jones convoyed a 
 number of American merchantmen to Quiberon Bay (a 
 few miles to the north), and placed them under the 
 protection of the French fleet commanded by Admiral 
 Le Motte Piquet. From this officer Captain Jones, 
 after considerable negotiation, secured a salute to the 
 Stars and Stripes. Captain Jones describes this diplo 
 matic triumph in a style peculiarly his own, as fol 
 lows : "I am happy to have it in my power to con 
 gratulate you [the American Commissioners at Paris] 
 on my having seen the American flag for the first time 
 recognized in the fullest and completest manner by the 
 flag of France. I was off this bay on the 13th inst., 
 and sent my boat in the next day to know if the ad 
 miral would return my salute. He answered that he 
 would return to me as the senior American Continental 
 officer in Europe the same salute as he was authorized 
 to return to an admiral of Plolland, or any other re 
 public, which was four guns less than the salute given, 
 I hesitated at this, for I demanded gun for gun. 
 Therefore I anchored in the entrance to the bay at 
 some distance from the French fleet, but after a very 
 particular inquiry on the 14th, finding that he really 
 told the truth, I was induced to accept his offer ; the 
 more as it was an acknowledgment of American inde 
 pendence. The wind being contrary and blowing hard, 
 it was after sunset before the Ranger was near enough 
 to salute Le Motte Piquet with thirteen guns, which he 
 returned with nine. However, to put the matter be 
 yond a doubt, I did not suffer the Independence to 
 salute until the next morning, when I sent word to the 
 
 8 
 
74 THE AMERICAN NAVY IN EUROPE. 1778. 
 
 admiral that I would sail through his fleet in the brig 
 and would salute him in open day. He was exceed 
 ingly pleasant, and returned the compliment also with 
 nine guns." 
 
 Having refitted at Brest, the Ranger sailed on the 
 10th of April, 1778, for the English coast, and on the 
 14th, while between the Scilly Islands and Cape Clear, 
 captured and destroyed a brigantine laden with flax- 
 seed. Three days later she appeared off the port of 
 Dublin and seized the ship Lord Chatham, which was 
 manned and sent into Brest. Captain Jones then stood 
 over to the Isle of Man with the intention of making 
 a descent on Whitehaven. At ten o clock that night 
 everything was in readiness for the attempt, but before 
 eleven o clock the wind had so increased in violence as 
 to render it impossible to land. On the following day 
 the ship chased a revenue wherry but did not succeed 
 in coming up with it. Captain Jones was anxious to 
 have his presence in these waters unknown to the 
 enemy as long as possible, and to this end he kept his 
 vessel disguised as a merchantman. It was under this 
 guise that he chased the revenue wherry, but it is be 
 lieved that the men in the boat were aware of the 
 Ranger s character, and carried the news to the people 
 on shore. At dawn of the next day Captain Jones 
 found himself alongside of a coasting schooner laden 
 with barley, and he sunk her lest her crew should 
 spread the news of the cruiser s presence in these 
 parts. 
 
 The next day, while off the extreme southwestern 
 coast of Scotland, a coasting schooner laden with bar 
 ley was captured and sunk. Cruising along the coast 
 of Scotland as high as the Clyde, Captain Jones put 
 across for the Irish coast and on the 21st appeared 
 off Carrickfergus, where he learned from some fisher 
 men that the British sloop of war Drake was at anchor 
 in the Roads. This was an opportunity admirably 
 adapted to the daring of the American commander, 
 
1778. 
 
 A NIGHT ATTACK ON THE DRAKE. 
 
 75 
 
 and, having ascertained the exact position of the sloop, 
 he made careful preparation for a night attack. Wait 
 ing until dark he got under way and stood into the 
 Koads, but by this time the wind, which had been 
 fresh throughout 
 the afternoon, had 
 increased to a gale 
 and made the un 
 dertaking exceed 
 ingly hazardous ; 
 but, undaunted by 
 this, Captain Jones 
 kept on his course. 
 Presently the shad 
 owy outlines of 
 the Drake, riding 
 heavily at anchor, 
 loomed out of the 
 darkness. It was 
 intended to foul 
 her at the cables, 
 swing alongside 
 and carry her by 
 surprise, but "un 
 fortunately," says 
 Captain Jones in 
 his Journal, the 
 
 Captain Jones cruise in the Irish Sea. 
 
 anchor was not let go as soon as the order was given," 
 and, instead of laying the enemy alongside, the Ranger 
 was brought up half a cable s length off his quarter. 
 This put the Americans in imminent danger of ground 
 ing, for the wind had carried them between the Dratie 
 and the shore, where, if found at break of day, they 
 would be at the enemy s mercy. The perils of their 
 situation were greatly enhanced by the strength and 
 direction of the wind, which was now blowing a furious 
 gale. After half an hour of manoeuvring the JRanger 
 was extricated from her critical position and regained 
 
76 THE AMERICAN NAVY IN EUROPE. 1778. 
 
 the Roads, when she stood out to sea, postponing for 
 the time her design on the Drake. 
 
 Captain Jones now determined to renew his attempt 
 against the shipping in Whitehaven, a city of nearly 
 fifty thousand inhabitants, and to u put an end, by one 
 good fire in England, of shipping, to all burnings in 
 America." 1 Waiting until midnight, April 22d, he put 
 off from the Ranger with thirty men in two boats, one 
 commanded by himself and the other by Lieutenant 
 Wallingford. Day was beginning to break, however, 
 before they reached the outer pier of the harbor, where 
 the boats separated ; the one commanded by Lieutenant 
 Wallingford making for the north side of the harbor 
 with orders to burn all the shipping there, while Cap 
 tain Jones made for the south shore with the same 
 object in view. Lieutenant Wallingford on reaching 
 the land abandoned the attempt, because the candle on 
 which he relied for starting the fire gave out. The 
 party under Captain Jones found a small fort on the 
 south side of the harbor, garrisoned by a few soldiers. 
 Gallantly scaling the walls, the Americans seized the 
 sentinels, spiked the guns and made the garrison pris 
 oners. Captain Jones then gave orders to fire the 
 shipping, while he, with one officer, went to a second 
 fort about a quarter of a mile away and spiked its 
 guns also. Returning to the first fort, he was sur 
 prised to find that the fires had not been started, and 
 was informed that the candles had given out. Not 
 withstanding that it was now broad daylight and that 
 the alarm had been given, Captain Jones entered one 
 of the houses in the neighborhood, secured tinder and 
 candles and proceeded with the work of destruction. 
 A large vessel was boarded and a fire kindled in her 
 steerage, and by placing a barrel of tar over the flames 
 they soon made great headway. This ship "was sur 
 rounded by at least an hundred and fifty others, chiefly 
 
 1 Captain Jones in a memorial to Congress. 
 
1778. THE ATTEMPT AGAINST WHITEHAVEK 77 
 
 from two to four hundred tons burthen, and lying side 
 by side, aground, unsurrounded by the water, the tide 
 being out." 1 
 
 The Americans now embarked in their boat at the 
 end of the pier with the exception of Captain Jones, 
 who leveled his pistol at the crowd that had collected 
 at the other end of the wharf, and by maintaining a 
 bold front he held them at bay until the flames burst 
 out of the steerage and began to ascend the rigging, 
 when he retired to his boat and gave the word to shove 
 off. By this time the sun had been up quite an hour 
 and the entire population was assembling at tire pier. 
 The instant the American boat put off the crowd rushed 
 to the rescue of the shipping, and succeeded in extin 
 guishing* irhe flames before any considersfble dantage 
 had Jaeen done. Attempts were made to fire on the 
 retreating boat, but the guns of the forts were found to 
 be spiked, although one or two cannon were landed 
 from the ships and discharged. No loss was sustained 
 by the Americans except that one of the crew was 
 missing, and it was thought that he deserted and gave 
 the alarm to the people, as a man of his description 
 was seen running from house to house shouting that 
 the Americans had landed and were firing the ship 
 ping. Captain Jones carried off three prisoners. 
 
 The Gentleman s Magazine for 1778 gives the fol 
 lowing account of this affair: " The town of White- 
 haven, in Cumberland, opposite the Irish coast, was 
 suddenly alarmed by a party from an American priva 
 teer, who landed in the night and set fire to one of the 
 ships in the harbor, with a design to burn the town, 
 which, however, was providentially prevented by the 
 exertions of the inhabitants, who extinguished the 
 flames before they had reached the rigging." 
 
 As a means of alleviating the suffering of American 
 prisoners, efforts were made to secure the person of some 
 
 1 Log of the Ranger. 
 
78 THE AMERICAN NAVY IN EUROPE. 1778. 
 
 Englishman of rank, to be held as a hostage and to share 
 the fate of certain American officers confined in British 
 prisons. 1 Being familiar with these coasts Captain 
 Jones determined to seize the Earl of Selkirk, a Scot 
 tish nobleman whose country seat was on the Isle of 
 St. Mary at the mouth of the river Dee. On the night 
 of April 23d he anchored off the Dee, a force was landed 
 and the house surrounded, but it was found that the 
 earl was absent. On the return of his men to the ship 
 Captain Jones, who had not accompanied the expedi 
 tion, discovered that they had taken some of the family 
 plate, valued at five hundred dollars, which he after 
 ward returned with a note expressing regret for the 
 conduct of his men. 
 
 Although fully aware that the entire coast by this 
 time was advised of his presence and that many cruis 
 ers had been dispatched to intercept him, Captain Jones 
 still lingered in a position which was hourly growing 
 more critical. On the 24th of April he ran over to Car- 
 rickfergus, hoping to induce the Drake to come out and 
 give battle. On the afternoon of the same day Captain 
 Burdon of the Drake , observing what he thought to be 
 
 1 The brutalities to which Americans were subjected in British prison- 
 ships and other places of confinement had aroused great indignation through 
 out the United States. The following extract from the Journals of Par 
 liament throws some light on the mode the British ministers adopted in 
 carrying on this war : 
 
 " Mr. Burke moved an amendment by adding these words, saving and 
 excepting the sum of 160,837 which appears, by Sir Guy Carleton s ac 
 counts laid before this House, to have been expended for the carrying on 
 of a savage war in a manner contrary to the usages of the civilized nations, 
 against the English colonies in North America ; excepting also the sum of 
 16,000 which appears to have been expended for the same purpose in the 
 southern department of Indians ; also excepting the sum of 5,000 which 
 hath been expended in carrying on a war of insurgent negroes against the 
 inhabitants of the Province of Virginia ; and excepting whatever hath been 
 paid out of the said extraordinaries, specified in General Carleton s corre 
 spondence, for one hundred crosses and five gross of scalping-knives, the 
 said expenditures being disgraceful to religion and humanity. " Journals 
 of Parliament, vol. xix, p. 971. 
 
1778. THE RANGER AND THE DRAKE. 79 
 
 the American cruiser making for the Roads, sent an 
 officer in a boat to determine the character of the ap 
 proaching vessel, but Captain Jones, surmising the mis 
 sion of the boat, skillfully kept the Ranger s stern 
 toward the skiff so that the enemy was unable to see 
 her broadside. The officer soon came alongside and 
 hailed, and being induced to come aboard was made 
 prisoner and taken below. Believing that the com 
 mander of the Drake would come out in search of his 
 men, Captain Jones filled away into North Channel, 
 hoping the sloop would follow. The tide was against 
 the British cruiser, so that it was several hours before 
 she cleared the headland and was enabled to lay a 
 straight course for the offing. In the meantime the 
 Ranger kept drifting to windward, and her helm was 
 put up several times in order to ru\i down toward her 
 enemy, when she would again throw her maiii topsail 
 aback and lie with her courses in the brails. Alarm 
 smokes now appeared in great numbers on both sides 
 of the Channel, giving notice of the presence of the 
 Ranger. About an hour before sunset the Drake was 
 observed slowly working her way out of the Roads, 
 followed by five small vessels at a respectful distance 
 filled with people eager to witness a naval engagement, 
 while thousands of spectators lined the shores to watch 
 the impending struggle. When the enemy was near 
 enough to recognize the boat towing astern of the 
 Ranger as the one that had been sent out early in the 
 afternoon to reconnoiter, the small craft hurriedly put 
 about and kept at a safe distance. Having led the 
 Drake into mid-channel, in plain view of three king 
 doms, Captain Jones hove to, ran up the flag of the 
 Republic, and awaited the enemy. 
 
 On coming within hail Captain Burdon demanded 
 the Ranger s name and business, to which Captain 
 Jones replied, "The American Continental ship Ran 
 ger" and expressed his readiness to engage. At this 
 moment, the Drake being astern of the Ranger, Cap- 
 
80 THE AMERICAN NAVY IN EUROPE. J778. 
 
 tain Jones ordered his helm up and poured in a full 
 broadside. The enemy promptly responded, and with 
 little or no manoeuvring the ships maintained a heavy 
 cannonade for one hour and four minutes. The action 
 was a square yardarm and yardarm light, and was 
 continued with great spirit until the expiration of that 
 time, when the enemy called for quarter, upon which 
 the Ranger ceased firing, lowered a boat and sent it 
 aboard the Drake to take possession. The latter was 
 found to be greatly injured. "Her fore and maintop- 
 sail yards," said Captain Jones in his official report, 
 being both cut away and down on the caps, the top 
 gallant yard and mizzen gaff both hanging up and 
 down along the mast, the second ensign which they 
 had hoisted shot away and hanging on the quarter 
 gallery in the water, the jib shot away and hanging in 
 the water, her sails and rigging entirely cut to pieces, 
 her masts and yards all wounded and her hull very 
 much galled." 
 
 The Ranger s injuries were comparatively slight, 
 while her loss, out of a crew of one hundred and twenty- 
 three men, 1 was Lieutenant Wallingford and one man 
 killed, and six men wounded, 2 among the latter being 
 Midshipman Powers. c The crew of the Drake was 
 more numerous than has been generally supposed. 
 The exact number borne upon her books at the time 
 of the action, including officers, supernumeraries and 
 boys, was one hundred and fifty-one." 3 Captain Jones 
 learned from the officer captured in the boat sent out 
 before the battle to reconnoiter that the Drake came 
 out with volunteers against the Ranger. It is not 
 likely that these volunteers for this special and un 
 expected occasion of a single battle would be regu 
 larly enrolled on the Drake s books, which, together 
 
 1 Emmons Statistical History of the United States Navy, p. 44. 
 
 2 Official report of Captain Jones. 
 
 3 Allen s Battles of the British Navy, vol. i, p. 262, note. 
 

1778. THE RANGER AND THE DRAKE. gj_ 
 
 with the one hundred and fifty-one admitted to have 
 been engaged as her crew at the time of the action, 
 makes Captain Jones estimate of the enemy s force 
 highly probable: U A11 the prisoners allow that they 
 came out with a number not less than an hundred and 
 sixty men, and many of them affirm that they amounted 
 to an hundred and ninety. The medium may, perhaps, 
 be the most exact account. " Out of this crew the Drake 
 lost forty-two killed or wounded, according to Amer 
 ican accounts, while the English admit twenty-four. 1 
 Among the mortally wounded were Captain Burdon 
 and his lieutenant, the former struck by a musket shot 
 in the head. The Ranger carried eighteen guns, 2 while 
 the Drake was rated as an 18-gun ship-sloop, but on 
 this occasion carried twenty guns. 
 
 Comparative force and loss. 
 
 tal. 
 
 2 \ 
 
 Time Ih. 4m. 
 
 Guns. Crew. Killed. Wounded. Total. 
 
 Ranger 18 123 .2 6 8 ) 
 
 Drake: 20 160 .. . .. 42 \ 
 
 The moderate weather during the night enabled the 
 men to repair damages, which occupied them until day 
 light and the whole of the afternoon of the following 
 day, April 25th, and having sunk a large brigantine in 
 the meantime the .Ranger with her prize got under 
 way about dusk. Captain Jones now liberated the 
 fishermen he had captured, giving them money, a boat, 
 provisions and a sail from the Drake as a significant 
 intimation to those ashore of the fate of that cruiser. 
 Heading northward the Ranger passed through North 
 Channel, skirted the western coast of Ireland and made 
 for France, where she arrived with her prize on the 
 8th of May, when Captain Jones had First Lieutenant 
 Simpson of the Ranger arrested for disobedience of 
 orders. The daring and success of this short cruise 
 
 1 Allen s Battles of the British Navy, vol. i, p. 262. 
 
 8 Ernmons Statistical History of the United States Navy, p. 44. 
 
82 THE AMERICAN NAVY IN EUROPE. 1778. 
 
 of twenty-eight days are unsurpassed in the annals of 
 naval history. The name Paul Jones became a syno 
 nym of terror throughout the coasts of Great Britain, 
 and he was the object of hatred and malicious mis 
 representation. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 THE STKUGGLE IN AMEKICAN WATEKS. 
 
 THE first of the 32-gun frigates, ordered by Congress 
 in 1775, to get to sea was the Randolph. In February, 
 1777, this ship, under the command of Captain Nicholas 
 Biddle, sailed from Philadelphia with general cruising 
 orders, but when only a few days out she was overtaken 
 by a violent gale in which her masts were so seriously 
 weakened that Captain Biddle put into Charleston for 
 repairs. Getting to sea again the Randolph in one 
 week returned to Charleston with six prizes, one of 
 them, the True Briton, armed with twenty guns. Here 
 the frigate was blockaded for the rest of the year, 
 but in March, 1778, this ship together with the fol 
 lowing South Carolina State cruisers, the 18-gun ship 
 General Moultrie, the 16-gun ship Notre Dame, the 
 16-gun ship Polly and the 14-gun ship Fair Ameri 
 can, got to sea in search of the English 32-gun frigate 
 Carry sford, the 20-gun sloop Perseus, the 16-gun sloop 
 HichiribrooTc and a privateer that had been cruising off 
 the coast. On the 7th of March, while eastward of 
 Barbadoes, these vessels fell in with the English 64-gun 
 ship of the line Yarmouth, Captain Vincent. Captain 
 Biddle immediately signaled the other vessels of his 
 squadron to make all sail in escape while he stood on 
 to engage the ship of the line single-handed. Unfor 
 tunately we must rely upon English accounts for the 
 details of this affair. 
 
 Allen in his Battles of the British Navy says : " On 
 the 7th of March, at 5 A. M., the 64-gun ship Yarmouth, 
 Captain Nicholas Vincent, cruising eastward of Bar- 
 
 (83) 
 
84: 
 
 THE STRUGGLE IN AMERICAN WATERS. 
 
 1778. 
 
 badoes got sight of a squadron of six sails consisting of 
 two ships, three brigs and a schooner. The Yarmouth 
 made sail to close on the strangers and at 9 A. M. was 
 near enough to hail the largest, which proved to be 
 the American 32-gun frigate Randolph, Captain Mcho- 
 las Biddle. The Randolph immediately hoisted her 
 colors and fired a broadside at the Yarmouth, which 
 
 being returned a 
 running fight of an 
 hour s duration en 
 sued, when the Ran 
 dolph blew up. The 
 Yarmouth being to 
 windward fortunate 
 ly escaped being in 
 volved in the catas 
 trophe, but several 
 pieces of the burn 
 ing wreck fell on her 
 decks. An American 
 ensign, rolled up, 
 was blown upon the 
 Yarmouths forecas 
 tle not singed. The 
 temerity of Captain 
 Biddle in. thus en- 
 
 Scene of the naval operations of 1777, 1778 and 1779. 
 
 gaging a ship so much superior to his own deserved 
 a better fate." In a foot-note the same writer adds: 
 "On the 12th the Yarmouth fell in with a piece of 
 wreck of the Randolph on which were found four 
 
t 
 
 
1778-1777. THE RANDOLPH AND THE YARMOUTH. 85 
 
 men, part of the crew of the ill-starred ship. The 
 poor fellows had been on the wreck four days and 
 had subsisted on the rain water which had been im 
 bibed by a piece of blanket which they had picked 
 up. With these exceptions all hands perished." Cap 
 tain Biddle was wounded early in the action, but 
 refused to be carried below, and at the time the ex 
 plosion occurred he was on deck having his wounds 
 dressed. Thus out of a crew of three hundred and 
 fifteen, three hundred and eleven perished. By 
 this heroic sacrifice Captain Biddle so injured and 
 harassed the Yarmouth that the other vessels of his 
 squadron, although pursued, were enabled to make 
 good their escape. Captain Vincent reported five killed 
 and twelve wounded. A model of the Randolph was 
 exhibited in 1842 in the hall of the Naval Asylum at 
 Philadelphia. 
 
 In March, 1777, Captain Joseph Olney while cruis 
 ing off the coast of Nova Scotia in the 14-gun brig 
 Cabot discovered a suspicious sail to windward, and 
 after edging near enough to ascertain that the stranger 
 was of superior force he made sail to escape. But the 
 brig proved to be a dull sailer and the stranger gained 
 rapidly. Seeing that capture was inevitable Captain 
 Olney headed for land and ran his ship aground. By 
 this time the enemy had gained so much that the 
 Americans barely had time to get ashore and escape to 
 the woods. The Cabot with her armament and stores 
 fell into the hands of the English, who succeeded in 
 floating her off and took her into their service. The 
 British vessel was the 28-gun frigate Milford. Captain 
 Olney subsequently seized a schooner and arrived safe 
 ly in port. This loss was retrieved shortly afterward 
 by the Trumbull, Captain Dudley Sal tons tall, which 
 frigate on the 9th of April, while lying off New York, 
 chased two British transports, and after a spirited 
 action captured them and found that they were laden 
 with military stores for the British army. The enemy 
 
86 THE STRUGGLE IN AMERICAN WATERS. 1777. 
 
 suffered heavily in this affair, while the Trumbull had 
 seven killed and eight wounded. 
 
 During 1777, David Bushnell, of Saybrook, Connect 
 icut, completed a submarine boat called the American 
 Turtle, which is the first of this species of naval war 
 fare in the records of the American navy. In a letter 
 to Thomas Jefferson he describes the machine as fol 
 lows : 4 The external shape of the submarine vessel 
 bore some resemblance to two upper tortoise shells of 
 equal size joined together, the flue of entrance into the 
 vessel being represented by the opening made by the 
 swells of the shells at the head of the animal. The 
 inside was capable of containing the operator and air 
 sufficient to support him thirty minutes without receiv 
 ing a fresh supply. At the bottom, opposite to the 
 entrance, was fixed a quantity of lead for ballast. At 
 one edge, which was directly before the operator, who 
 sat upright, was an oar for rowing forward or backward. 
 At the other edge was a rudder for steering. An aper 
 ture at the bottom, with its valve, was designed to 
 admit water for the purpose of descending, and two 
 brass forcing pumps served to eject the water within 
 when necessary for ascending. At the top there was 
 likewise an oar for ascending or descending, or con 
 tinuing at any particular depth. A water-gauge or 
 barometer determined the depth of descent, a compass 
 directed the course, and a ventilator within supplied 
 the vessel with fresh air when on the surface. The skill 
 ful operator could swim so low on the surface of the 
 water as to approach very near a ship in the night with 
 out fear of being discovered, and might, if he chose, 
 approach the stern or stem above water with very little 
 danger. He could sink very quickly, keep at any 
 necessary depth and row a great distance in any direc 
 tion he desired without coming to the surface. In the 
 fore part of the brim of the crown of the submarine 
 vessel was a socket and an iron tube passing through 
 the socket ; the tube stood upright and could slide up 
 
1777. THE FIRST AMERICAN SUBMARINE BOAT. 87 
 
 and down in the socket six inches. At the top of the 
 tube was a wood screw fixed by means of a rod which 
 passed through the tube and screwed the wood screw 
 fast upon the top of the tube. By pushing the wood 
 screw up against the bottom of a ship and turning it at 
 the same time it would enter the planks. Behind the 
 submarine vessel was a place above the rudder for car 
 rying a large powder magazine. This was made of two 
 pieces of oak timber large enough, when hollowed out, 
 to contain a hundred and fifty pounds of powder with 
 the apparatus used in firing it, and was secured in 
 its place by a screw turned by the operator. A strong 
 piece of rope extended from- the magazine to the wood 
 screw above mentioned and was fastened to both. 
 When the wood screw was fixed and ready to be cast 
 off from its tube the magazine was to be cut off like 
 wise by severing it, leaving it hanging to the wood 
 screw. Within the magazine was an apparatus con 
 structed to run any length of time under twelve hours ; 
 when it had run its time it unpinned a strong lock, re 
 sembling a gun lock, which gave fire to the powder. " 
 
 Mr. Bushnell seems to have had more success with 
 his machine than would be thought possible from the 
 above description. The following letter from Captain 
 J. Symons, of the British frigate Cerberus, dated Au 
 gust, 1777, to Eear- Admiral Parker, shows that Bush 
 nell s submarine boat at least made British command 
 ers far more cautious and disinclined to come too near 
 inshore. 
 
 "Wednesday night, being at anchor to the west of 
 New London in Black Point Bay, the schooner I had 
 taken was at anchor close by me astern. About eleven 
 o clock at night we discovered a line towing astern that 
 came from the bows. We immediately conjectured 
 that it was somebody that had veered himself away by 
 it and began to haul in. We then found that the 
 schooner had got hold of it (who had taken it for a 
 fishing line), gathered in near fifteen fathom, which was 
 
88 THE STRUGGLE IN AMERICAN WATERS. 1777-1778. 
 
 buoyed up by little bits of sticks at stated distances 
 until he came to the end, at which was fastened a 
 machine which was too heavy for one man to haul up, 
 being upward of one hundredweight. The other peo 
 ple of the boat turning out assisted him, got it on deck, 
 and were unfortunately examining it too curiously 
 when it went oif like the sound of a gun, blew the boat 
 into pieces and set her in a flame, killing three of the 
 men that were in her stern ; the fourth, who was stand 
 ing forward, was blown into the water. " 
 
 The following closing sentences of this letter show 
 that the commander of the Cerbemts was made very ill 
 at ease by this first experience with submarine warfare : 
 "Upon examining round the ship after this accident 
 we found the other part of a line to the larboard [port] 
 side buoyed up in the same manner, which I ordered 
 to be cut away immediately for fear of hauling up an 
 other machine. . . . The mode these villains must have 
 taken, etc. ... As the ingenuity of these people is 
 singular in their secret modes of mischief, etc." Cap 
 tain Symons, like many naval officers of a later day, 
 evidently did not approve of " under-handed" fighting. 
 In January, 1778, Mr. Bushnell sent a "Fleet of Kegs" 
 down the Delaware with a view of having them explode 
 among the British ships that were in the lower part of 
 the river, but owing to the ice and darkness they did 
 little damage. They blew up one of the enemy s boats, 
 however, and occasioned no little consternation among 
 their seamen. Francis Hopkinson based his humorous 
 poem "The Battle of the Kegs" on this incident. 
 
 In May, 1777, the 32-gun frigate Hancock, Captain 
 John Manly, and the 24-gun ship Boston, Captain 
 Hector McNiel, got under way for a cruise eastward, 
 the Hancock being the second of the new cruisers to 
 get to sea. Early on the morning of the fourth day 
 out from Boston the Hancock, being about four miles 
 to windward of her consort, signaled a strange sail, 
 and Captain Manly put about and stood for the stran- 
 
1777. ACTION BETWEEN THE HANCOCK AND FOX. 39 
 
 ger, which, soon was made out to be an English frigate. 
 After some manoeuvring to determine the force and 
 sailing qualities of his foe, Captain Manly closed on 
 1pm and opened the action with a broadside from his 
 starboard battery. It was not long before the enemy, 
 finding himself opposed to a superior force, turned to 
 escape ; but the Hancock was quickly in pursuit, and 
 as she was one of the swiftest vessels in the service she 
 soon closed again on the enemy. The chase kept up a 
 galling fire on the Hancock s rigging, but Captain Man 
 ly, reserving his ammunition until fairly alongside, 
 poured in a full broadside, and then began another 
 heavy cannonade, which the enemy with commendable 
 obstinacy sustained for an hour, when, the Boston hav 
 ing come within range, he struck. The prize proved 
 to be the British 28-gun frigate Fox, Captain Fother- 
 ingham. The Hancock sustained a loss of eight men 
 killed or wounded, while that of the Fox was placed at 
 thirty-two. 
 
 A prize crew having been put aboard the Fox, the 
 vessels continued their cruise to the north. While ap 
 proaching too near the harbor of Halifax, June 1st, 
 they were pursued by the British 44-gun frigate Rain- 
 bow, Sir George Collier, the 32-gun frigate Flora and 
 the 18-gun sloop of war Victor. The Boston was well 
 to seaward and found no difficulty in effecting her es 
 cape, but the Hancock and the Fox were so close in 
 shore that the enemy was upon them before sail could 
 be made. As soon as the force of the strangers was dis 
 covered the Hancock and the Fox crowded on all sail 
 to escape, but they were so hard pressed that Captain 
 Manly began easing his ship by throwing overboard 
 every article that could be dispensed with. This so 
 increased the Hancocks speed that she undoubtedly 
 would have got free had not the wind failed at a crit 
 ical moment, leaving her within easy gunshot of the 
 Rainbow and the Victor with no means of changing 
 
 her position. Seeing that it was impossible to elude 
 . 9 
 
90 THE STRUGGLE IN AMERICAN WATERS. 1777. 
 
 the enemy s cruisers, Captain Manly struck his flag. 
 The Flora in the meantime had overtaken and cap 
 tured the Fox, but not without a sturdy resistance on 
 the part of her prize crew. 
 
 The conduct of Captain McMel, of the Boston, in 
 deserting his consort at the first alarm has been harsh 
 ly criticised. This neglect of duty, if it was such, was 
 owing largely, if not entirely, to the unorganized condi 
 tion of the navy at that period. The absence of esprit de 
 corps was one of the many disadvantages under which 
 our officers contended. That moral courage and keen 
 sense of official honor which lead men to prefer death 
 to professional disgrace were necessarily wanting in the 
 undisciplined body of men who so bravely manned our 
 ships during the Revolution. It was hardly just, 
 therefore, to criticise these officers as if they were a 
 properly organized body of men, or to expect them at 
 once to attain the same degree of discipline to which 
 long experience and practice had brought the English 
 service. It is not probable that the Boston could have 
 been of any avail against the superior force that at 
 tacked the Hancock, but had she gone to the assistance 
 of the Fox there is some reason to believe she might 
 have prevented her recapture. Even this, however, is 
 open to question, for the vessels were at the entrance of 
 the principal English naval station in North America, 
 and had the Boston become involved in an engagement 
 the enemy could have sent out such forces as would 
 have made her escape impossible. The country de 
 nounced Captain McNiel in unmeasured terms, and 
 Congress, obeying the dictates of popular clamor, dis 
 missed him from the service. 
 
 On the 14th of June, 1777, Congress resolved " that 
 the flag of the thirteen United States shall be thirteen 
 stripes, alternate red and white ; that the union be 
 thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new 
 constellation." The design of this flag, the thirteen 
 stripes representing the original thirteen colonies, and 
 
1778. SECOND ATTACK ON NEW PROVIDENCE. 91 
 
 a star for each State of the Union, remains to this day, 
 which makes the American flag, or "Old Glory" as it 
 has frequently been called, one of the oldest among 
 the great banners of the world. On the 1st of May, 
 1795, the number of stripes was increased to fifteen, so 
 as to match the number of stars. This was done on the 
 admission of Vermont and Kentucky into the Union, 
 and from 1795 to 1818 the American flag had fifteen 
 stripes. In 1818 the number of stripes was reduced to 
 the original thirteen. The design of the present flag 
 of Great Britain was adopted in 1801, that of Spain in 
 1785, that of France (the tricolor, also red, white and 
 blue) in 1794, that of Portugal in 1830, that of the Ger 
 man Empire in 1871, and that of Italy in 1848. So the 
 American flag may well be called "The Old Flag." 
 
 The year 1778 opened auspiciously for the cause of 
 the colonists on the high seas. Early in January 
 Captain John P. Rathbourne, in the 12-gun ship Provi 
 dence, sailed for a cruise to the south. Appearing off 
 the Bahamas, he learned that the port of New Prov 
 idence was poorly garrisoned, and, landing at eleven 
 o clock at night on the 27th of January with twenty- 
 five men, at a short distance from the town, where he 
 was joined by about thirty American prisoners who 
 had escaped from British prison ships at that place, he 
 marched upon the town, seized the forts, and overawed 
 the inhabitants with threats of burning their houses. 
 The guns of the forts were then turned on an English 
 privateer of sixteen guns lying in the harbor, and her 
 flag was lowered at the first summons ; the six remain 
 ing vessels in port also surrendered. Late in the after 
 noon the British sloop of war Grayton entered the 
 Roads, but being fired at hastily withdrew. On the 
 following day the populace assembled in such numbers 
 as to place the handful of Americans in a critical posi 
 tion ; and as no advantage was to be derived by hold 
 ing the town, Captain Kathbourne ordered the guns to 
 be spiked, and, having secured the small arms, ammu- 
 
92 THE STRUGGLE IX AMERICAN WATERS. 1777-1778. 
 
 nition and stores, returned to his ship without the 
 loss of a man. Two of the prizes were burned, while 
 the others sailed with the Providence for the United 
 States. 
 
 It will be remembered that Captain Thomas Thomp 
 son in 1777 was relieved of the command of the 32-gun 
 frigate Raleigh for having deserted the Alfred when 
 attacked by the Ariadne and the Ceres. The Raleigh 
 was then placed under the orders of Captain John Bar 
 ry, who was the commander of the Lexington in her 
 fight with the Edward. While in charge of the 28- 
 gun ship Effingham, which was blockaded in the Dela 
 ware, this officer, with twenty-seven men in four boats, 
 captured and destroyed a 10-gun schooner and four 
 transports laden with freight for the British army, 
 that were anchored off Port Penn.^f On the 25th of 
 September, 1778, the Raleigh sailed from Boston hav 
 ing under convoy two merchant ships. The vessels 
 got under way early in the morning, and at noon 
 they discovered two sails to the south, when Captain 
 Barry signaled the merchantmen to haul close by the 
 wind while he ran down to reconnoiter. At dusk, 
 when the strangers had been made out to be English 
 frigates, the convoy was ordered to put back to port 
 and the Raleigli cleared for action. But as night 
 came on the Englishmen were lost to view, and Captain 
 Barry resumed his course. The following day dawned 
 with a heavy mist on the ocean, so that little could be 
 seen. Toward noon the fog lifted and disclosed the 
 enemy still to the south, holding a course parallel to 
 that which the Raleigh had been making. Captain 
 Barry then changed his course and crowded on every 
 stitch of canvas, but as the afternoon wore on the fog 
 settled down, again shutting the enemy out of sight. 
 Taking advantage of this the Raleigh headed east 
 ward under a press of sail for the rest of the afternoon 
 and the following night. 
 
 As day began to break, September 27th, sail was 
 
1778. CHASE OF THE 32-GUN FRIGATE RALEIGH. 93 
 
 shortened and the ship was stripped of everything 
 that might attract the enemy s attention. Captain 
 Barry anxiously swept the horizon with his glass, and 
 as his pursuers were nowhere to be seen he filled away 
 to the southeast ; but at 9.30 A. M. the enemy again 
 hove in sight, whereupon Captain Barry went about 
 and stood on the wind north by west. On this point 
 of sailing the Raleigh proved her superiority, and soon 
 dropped her pursuers out of sight. By noon, how 
 ever, the wind fell so that the enemy s leading ship 
 again appeared above the horizon, and this vessel 
 gained so rapidly that at 4 p. M. Captain Barry tacked 
 to the west so as to ascertain her force. Soon after 
 ward several low islands were discovered ahead, and 
 as this rendered an engagement unavoidable the Ra 
 leigh luffed up to await the attack. It was nearly 
 dark when the foremost ship came within gunshot. 
 She opened at long range, but rapidly closing ran under 
 the Raleigh s lee quarter, where she kept up a heavy 
 fire. At the second broadside the stranger gained an 
 advantage in manoeuvring by the loss of the Raleigh s 
 fore-topmast and mizzen- topgallant mast, and he availed 
 himself of it by endeavoring to rake, but Captain Barry 
 frustrated this by bearing up so as to bring the ships 
 side by side. The near approach of the enemy s sec 
 ond ship rendered further resistance out of the ques 
 tion, so the Raleigh wore around and headed for the 
 islands already mentioned. The enemy promptly made 
 sail in chase, but about midnight hauled off on account 
 of shoaling water. 
 
 Finding that they had abandoned the pursuit, Cap 
 tain Barry changed his intention of running his ship 
 aground, as the night still afforded him an opportunity 
 to escape, and, bending new sails, he tacked, but the 
 enemy anticipated this movement and again closed 
 upon him. The only recourse now left was to run 
 ashore, so heading his ship toward the island he ran 
 her fast aground. The Englishmen cautiously followed, 
 
94 THE STRUGGLE IN AMERICAN WATERS. 1778. 
 
 and taking positions off her quarter opened a heavy 
 lire, to which the Raleigh replied with her stern guns, 
 and at the same time hurried preparations were made 
 for landing the crew and destroying the ship. A 
 part of the men were put ashore, and the boats were 
 returning for the remainder when the ship surren 
 dered. 
 
 The English frigates proved to be the 50-gun ship 
 Experiment , Captain Wallace, and the 28-gun ship 
 Unicorn, the latter being the one that had engaged 
 the Raleigh. The American loss was ten killed or 
 wounded, while that of the Unicorn was ten killed be 
 sides many wounded. The RaleigJi afterward was 
 floated off and taken into the British service. Captain 
 Barry and the men who escaped with him landed on 
 an island known as the Wooden Ball, about twenty 
 miles from the mouth of the Penobscot, and after under 
 going great hardships they reached the mainland and 
 finally gained the settlements. 
 
 By the close of the year 1778 the Americans had 
 lost many of their cruisers, and as Congress was unable 
 to replace them the navy had been reduced to fourteen 
 vessels of war mounting three hundred and thirty- two 
 guns. 1 In the year 1778 England had in commission 
 one hundred and eighty ships of war, aggregating six 
 thousand nine hundred and twenty-six guns. Of this 
 force, eighty-nine ships, with a total of two thousand 
 
 1 The following is the list : The 32-gun ship Alliance, the 32-gun ship 
 Confederacy, the 32-gun ship Hague (or Deane), the 32-gun ship Warren, 
 the 28-gun ship Providence, the 28-gun ship Queen of France, the 28-gun 
 ship Trumbull, the 24-gun ship Boston, the 20-gun ship Due de Luzun, 
 the 18-gun ship General Greene, the 18-gun ship Ranger, the 18-gun ship 
 Saratoga, the 12-gun brig Providence and the 10-gun cutter Revenge. 
 Prom this it will be seen that, of the fourteen vessels purchased and fitted 
 out as cruisers in 1775, only one, the 12-gun brig Providence, was still in 
 the service. Of the thirteen frigates ordered under the law of December 
 13. 1775, and built in 1776, only four remained, while of the three cutters 
 purchased by the American commissioners in France, only the Revi 
 was retained in service. 
 
1779. MUTINY IN THE ALLIANCE. 95 
 
 five hundred and seventy-six guns, were stationed on 
 the North American coast. 
 
 Comparative Forces in 1778. 
 
 American: 14 vessels of war with a total of 332 guns. 
 British: 89 " " 2,576 " 
 
 In January, 1779, the 32-gun frigate Alliance was 
 ordered to France for the purpose of conveying General 
 Lafayette home, and, as a compliment to the marquis, 
 the command of the ship was given to Captain Pierre 
 Landais, a French officer of reputed skill and merit. 
 The Alliance was one of the new frigates ordered by 
 Congress to replace those destroyed when the enemy 
 occupied Philadelphia, and was so named in honor 
 of the treaty which had been concluded with France. 
 It was found extremely difficult to fill out her com 
 plement, not only on account of the scarcity of seamen 
 then beginning to be felt throughout the United States 
 but because of the prejudice among the men against 
 serving under a foreign officer. To overcome the diffi 
 culty, the authorities of Massachusetts resorted to 
 impressment, but the magnanimous Lafayette pro 
 tested against this measure as being contrary to the 
 principles for which they were struggling. The au 
 thorities then had recourse to a still more objection 
 able method of raising the required number. Having 
 in custody some English seamen from the ship of the 
 line Somerset, which had been wrecked on the New 
 England coast the year before, the State government 
 offered them their liberty if they would serve in the 
 Alliance on her passage to France. The oifer was 
 readily accepted, and these men, with some French 
 sailors and a few American volunteers, made up the 
 complement, and with this ill-assorted crew the Alli 
 ance sailed from Boston on the llth of January, 1779. 
 
 It was with an unusual degree of anxiety that the 
 friends of General Lafayette bade him adieu when he 
 sailed in the care of such a crew, nor were their appre- 
 
96 THE STRUGGLE IN AMERICAN WATERS. 1779. 
 
 hensions alleviated by the knowledge that Parliament 
 had passed a bill encouraging sailors in American ships 
 to rise on their officers, a munificent bounty being 
 promised in case they succeeded in bringing the vessel 
 into an English port. It seems that the men of the 
 Alliance were aware of this inducement to mutiny, and 
 the frigate had not been out many days when a con 
 spiracy was begun among the seventy or eighty British 
 seamen, who constituted a portion of the crew, and by 
 the third week out a well-laid plot had been developed. 
 The signal "Sail ho!" from the masthead was to be 
 given about daylight on the morning of February 2d, 
 upon which the mutineers were to form in four divis 
 ions : one to clear the quarter-deck and kill any officer 
 that might appear, another to secure the magazine, a 
 third to capture the ward room, and the fourth to seize 
 the cabin. The four long 9-pounders on the fore 
 castle were secretly loaded with grape and canister, 
 and trained so as to sweep the after decks. All the 
 officers, the surgeon, the carpenter and the gunners 
 were to be killed, while the lieutenants were to have 
 the option of navigating the ship to the nearest English 
 port or of "walking the plank." The passengers were 
 to be given up as prisoners on arrival in England. 
 
 At the date settled on for the perpetration of this 
 deed the Alliance would be about two days from land ; 
 but on the night of February 1st the conspirators de 
 cided to postpone the execution of their plot until four 
 o clock in the afternoon of the following day, so as to 
 induce one of the seamen, who had unusual knowledge 
 of navigation, to co-operate with them. This was in 
 anticipation of the lieutenants refusing to navigate the 
 ship or playing them false by running her into a 
 French port. Supposing the man in question to be an 
 Irishman, they broached the subject to him, but he 
 was an American who had resided on the Emerald Isle 
 several years and had acquired the brogue. Feigning 
 to favor their scheme, he obtained the details of the 
 
1779. MUTINY IN THE ALLIANCE. 97 
 
 plot and then awaited an opportunity to disclose it to 
 the officers. It wanted but an hour of the appointed 
 time when he, with much difficulty, managed to speak 
 to the officer of the deck unobserved. To him he dis 
 closed the danger, and also named the men who would 
 be found faithful and would follow him to any rallying- 
 point. A few minutes before four o clock the officers 
 and passengers, armed with cutlasses and firearms, 
 rushed on deck, where they were joined by the French 
 and American sailors ; and the mutineers, finding them 
 selves discovered, pleaded for clemency. At this mo 
 ment an English 24-gun ship hove in sight, but was 
 allowed to escape after a little manoeuvring, as the con 
 dition of the crew made it inadvisable to give battle. 
 Thirty or forty of the mutineers were put in irons, and 
 on their arrival in Brest were placed in prison to await 
 trial, but they were afterward exchanged, as Lafayette 
 was adverse to any further punishment being inflicted. 
 On the 18th of April, 1779, a squadron under Captain 
 John Burroughs Hopkins (son of Esek Hopkins) sailed 
 from Boston. It consisted of the 32-gun frigate Warren, 
 flagship ; the 28-gun frigate Queen of France, Captain 
 Joseph Olney ; and Captain John Paul Jones cele 
 brated 18-gun ship-sloop Ranger, now commanded by 
 Captain Simpson. The Queen of France was built in 
 France, and was secured for our navy by the efforts of 
 Dr. Franklin and Silas Deane. On the 6th of April 
 this squadron sighted and after a long chase captured 
 a British privateer of fourteen guns, and from her peo 
 ple Captain Hopkins learned that a fleet of armed trans 
 ports and storeships had sailed a few days before from 
 New York, laden with supplies for the British troops 
 in Georgia and South Carolina. The squadron imme 
 diately filled away, hoping to come up with the vessels 
 before they reached their destination. Late in the 
 afternoon of the 7th nine sails were made out off the 
 starboard bow. The three cruisers immediately cleared 
 for action and rapidly bore down, and after some sharp 
 
98 THE STRUGGLE IN AMERICAN WATERS. 1779. 
 
 manoeuvring seven of the transports for such the 
 strangers proved to be were captured, the other two 
 escaping in the night. The vessels taken were the 
 20-gun ship Jason, with one hundred and fifty men ; 
 the 16-gun letter of marque Maria, with eighty-four 
 men ; the 8-gun privateer Hibernia, with forty-five 
 men ; three brigs and a schooner laden with supplies 
 for the British army. Among the prisoners were 
 Colonel Campbell and twenty English army officers on 
 the way to join their regiments. Of such importance 
 was this capture that Captain Hopkins immediately re 
 turned to Boston with his prizes. 
 
 Early in May the Queen of France, commanded by 
 Captain John P. Rathbourne, and the Ranger, again 
 got to sea, this time accompanied by the 28-gun frigate 
 Providence, Captain Abraham Whipple who was en 
 gaged in the boat attack on the British revenue schoon 
 er Gaspe in June, 1772. In July these cruisers fell in 
 with a large fleet of merchantmen, escorted by a 74-gun 
 ship of the line and several frigates. By skillful ma 
 noeuvring the American cruisers succeeded in cutting 
 out eleven valuable prizes, three of which were recap 
 tured before reaching port, but the remaining eight 
 arrived safely in Boston. Their cargoes were valued 
 at over a million dollars, so that from a pecuniary 
 point of view this was th# most successful cruise of 
 the war. 
 
 It is very much to be regretted that the records of 
 an action between the United States 12-gun brig Provi 
 dence and the English brig Diligent have been lost. 
 The forces engaged were small, but from the meager 
 fragments that have been preserved it seems that this 
 engagement called forth an obstinate resistance and 
 persevering heroism that have seldom been surpassed. 
 The brigs were evenly armed, the Providence com 
 manded by Captain Hoysted Hacker, and the Diligent 
 by Captain Thomas Davy (?). On the 7th of May, 1779, 
 they met, and after an hour s bloody fighting the Dili- 
 
1779. ACTION BETWEEN THE HAZARD AND ACTIVE. 99 
 
 gent struck, having lost eight men killed and nineteen 
 wounded, a total of twenty-seven out of a crew of 
 fifty-three ! The Providence lost four killed and ten 
 wounded. The Diligent was brought into port and 
 was taken into the service. 
 
 In the spring of 1779 the Massachusetts State cruiser 
 Hazard, commanded by John Foster Williams, had a 
 severe action with the English 18-gun privateer Active ; 
 the Hazard mounting fourteen guns. After a hot en 
 gagement of nearly an hour the Active struck, being 
 badly cut up, and, on boarding, Mr. Williams found 
 that she had sustained a loss of thirty- three killed or 
 wounded, while the Hazard reported a loss of eight. 
 For his gallantry on this occasion the command of the 
 18-gun State cruiser Protector was given to Mr. Wil 
 liams ; Edward Preble, afterward captain, serving in 
 the ship at this time. On the 9th of July, 1780, Cap 
 tain Williams attacked a heavy privateer called the 
 Admiral Duff, and after a sanguinary action of an 
 hour the privateer was blown up. Fifty-five of her 
 men were saved, the Protector losing six killed or 
 wounded. Shortly after this the Protector was chased 
 by the British 32-gun frigate Thames, but escaped by 
 superior seamanship. 
 
 For the purpose of establishing a secure and con 
 venient naval station nearer to the seat of war the 
 enemy erected a fort near the mouth of the Penobscot, 
 and as this proved a source of irritation to Massa 
 chusetts that State determined to dislodge the English 
 at her own expense. Accordingly, fifteen hundred 
 militia, under the command of General Solomon Lovell, 
 were embarked in thirteen privateers and transports. 
 This fleet was accompanied by the following Conti 
 nental cruisers : The 32-gun frigate Warren, Captain 
 Dudley Saltonstall ; the 14-gun brig Diligent, Captain 
 Brown ; and the 12-gun brig Providence, Captain Hoy- 
 sted Hacker ; the entire marine force being commanded 
 by Captain Saltonstall, of the Warren. The expedi- 
 
100 THE STRUGGLE IN AMERICAN WATERS. 1779. 
 
 tion appeared off the Penobscot on the 25th of July, 
 1779, and after landing the troops the fleet opened a 
 heavy fire on the fort, but finding its armament inade 
 quate it soon drew off to await re-enforcements. In the 
 meantime the news of the intended attack reached New 
 York, and on the 13th of August Sir George Collier ap 
 peared with the 64-gun ship of the line Raisonnable, the 
 32-gun frigate Greyhound, the 32-gun frigate Blonde, 
 the 32-gun frigate Virginia, the 20-gun sloop Galatea, 
 the 20-gun sloop Camilla and the 14-gun brig Otter. 
 The 18-gun sloop Nautilus, the 14-gun brig Albany 
 and the 14-gun brig North were at the Penobscot be 
 fore the arrival of Sir George. 
 
 At the first alarm the American privateers scattered 
 in all directions, each vessel seeking its own safety re 
 gardless of signals from the Warren. The three Con 
 tinental cruisers, with some of the privateers and trans 
 ports, were compelled to run up the river, where they 
 were destroyed to prevent their falling into the hands 
 of the enemy; the crews and militia, after enduring 
 great hardships, reached the settlements. By this dis 
 aster the United States lost three of its few remaining 
 war vessels, and privateering also received a heavy 
 blow. 
 
 On the 2d of August, 1779, the 32-gun frigate Deane 
 (or Hague), Captain SamueL Nicholson, and the 24-gun 
 frigate Boston, Captain Samuel Tucker, made a short 
 cruise in company, during which they secured six 
 prizes aggregating fifty-four guns. Among the vessels 
 taken were the 16-gun packet Sandwich, the 20-gun 
 privateer Glencairn and the 18-gun privateer Thorn. 
 Captain Tucker, who commanded the Boston on this 
 occasion, was one of the most successful officers in the 
 service. While in charge of a small schooner in 1776 
 he captured, after a desperate action of two hours and 
 a half, a British transport laden with military stores. 
 While commanding the State cruisers Hancock and 
 Franklin he secured about thirty English vessels. For 
 
1779. THE SERVICES OP CAPTAIN SAMUEL TUCKER. 101 
 
 these services he was appointed to the command of 
 the 24-gun frigate Boston, on the 15th of March, 1777, 
 and in February, 1778, he took John Adams to France. 
 Returning to the United States in June, 1779, he se 
 cured five prizes, and then convoyed a fleet of mer 
 chantmen, laden with clothing bought in Holland for 
 the American army, from the West Indies to Phila 
 delphia. Soon after this he sailed on a cruise in the 
 Confederacy. After his cruise in the Deane, in Au 
 gust, 1779, he sailed in the Boston in the same year, 
 to join the squadrtm under Captain Abraham W hippie 
 to assist in the defense of Charleston. On the sur 
 render of that place he was made a prisoner, but was 
 exchanged for Captain Wardlaw, whom he had cap 
 ture^ in the Thorn. Returning to Boston in 1780, he 
 sailed in the Thorn and captured seven vessels ; but 
 in July, 1781, the Thorn was captured by the British 
 cruiser Hind, and he was again made prisoner. 
 
 Thus far English commerce had suifered unprece 
 dented losses at the hands of American cruisers and 
 privateers. On the 6th of February, 1778, Mr. Wood- 
 bridge testified at the bar of the House of Lords that 
 "the number of ships lost by capture or destroyed by 
 American privateers since the commencement of the 
 war is seven hundred and thirty- three, of which, after 
 deducting for those retaken and restored, there re 
 mained five hundred and fifty-nine, the value of which, 
 including the ships, cargoes, etc., amounted, upon a 
 very moderate calculation, to 1,800,633 18s. . . . The 
 alderman further stated that the average value of a 
 ship and cargo trading to Jamaica was 8,000 on her 
 outward and 10,000 on her homeward voyage. . . . 
 That insurance before the war was two per cent to 
 America, and two and a half per cent to North Caro 
 lina, Jamaica, etc. That insurance to America, Africa 
 and the West Indies was now more than double, even 
 with the convoy, and without the convoy, unless the 
 ship was a ship of force, fifteen per cent. William 
 
102 THE STRUGGLE IN AMERICAN WATERS. 1778. 
 
 Creighton, Esq., not only corroborated the alderman 
 in the most material points, but added many new facts 
 which had fallen within his own knowledge. He 
 stated the losses suffered by the merchants in con 
 sequence of the captures made by the American priva 
 teers to have amounted to at least 2,000,000 in October 
 last, and that by this time they could not be less than 
 2, 200,000."* 
 
 Records of Parliament, vol. xix, pp. 707-711. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 SECOND CRUISE OF CAPTAIN JOHN PAUL JONES. 
 
 ON returning to Brest after his successful cruise in 
 the Ranger, May 8, 1778, Captain John Paul Jones en 
 deavored to secure a better and larger ship with which 
 to operate off the coasts of England. He wrote to Dr. 
 Franklin, June 1, 1778: "The Ranger is crank, sails 
 slow, and is of trifling force. Most of the enemy s 
 cruisers are more than a match." After many months 
 of vexatious delay he received the following letter from 
 the French Minister of the Marine : 
 
 " VERSAILLES, February 4, 1779. 
 
 " To JOHN PAUL JONES, Esq., Commander of the 
 
 American Navy in Europe. 
 
 "SiK: I announce to you that his Majesty has 
 thought proper to place under your command the ship 
 Duras, of forty guns, at present at L Orient. I am 
 about, in consequence, to issue the necessary orders 
 for the complete armament of said ship. The com 
 mission which was given you at your departure from 
 America will authorize you to hoist the flag of the 
 United States, and you will likewise serve yourself 
 with powers which have been remitted to you to form 
 your equipage with American subjects ; but as you 
 may find too much difficulty in raising a sufficient 
 number, the King permits you to levy volunteers until 
 you have a sufficient number, exclusive of those who 
 are necessary to manoeuvre the ship. 
 
 " [Signed] DE SARTINE. 
 
 (103) 
 
104 SECOND CRUISE OF CAPTAIN PAUL JONES. 1779. 
 
 " P. S. According to your desire, sir, I consent 
 that the Duras takes the name of the BonJiomme 
 Richard." 
 
 The following extract from Sherburne s Life of 
 Captain Jones explains the reason for changing the 
 name of the Due de Duras : " It is a fact not generally 
 known that the late John Paul Jones, at the time that 
 he was attempting to fit out a small squadron during 
 the late war in one of the ports of France, to cruise on 
 the coast of England, was much delayed by neglects 
 and disappointments from the court that nearly frus 
 trated his plans. Chance one day threw into his hands 
 an old almanac containing Poor Kichard s Maxims, by 
 Dr. Franklin. In that curious assemblage of useful 
 information a man is advised, if he wishes to have 
 business faithfully and expeditiously performed, to go 
 on it himself ; otherwise, send. Jones was imme 
 diately struck, npon reading this maxim, with the im 
 propriety of his conduct in sending letters and mes 
 sages to court when he ought to have gone in person. 
 He instantly set out, and by dint of personal repre 
 sentation procured the immediate equipment of the 
 squadron which afterward spread terror along the 
 eastern coast of England. In gratitude to Dr. Frank 
 lin he named the principal ship of his squadron the 
 name of the pretended almanac-maker, le Bonhomme 
 Richard" 
 
 The Due de Duras, or the Bonhomme Richard, as 
 she is known in American history, proved to be an 
 antiquated India merchant ship, and had one of the 
 high old-fashioned poops that caused the sterns of the 
 ships launched in the early part of the eighteenth cen 
 tury to resemble towers. On being fitted for the India 
 trade she carried her armament as a single-deck ship, 
 with the usual forecastle and quarter-deck guns. As 
 she had unusually high sides, Captain Jones caused 
 twelve ports, six on a side, to be cut in the lower gun 
 
1779. THE VESSELS COMPRISING THE SQUADRON. 1Q5 
 
 room. Here six old 18-pounders were mounted, which 
 in smooth water could be used to advantage, but in 
 rough weather the ports were necessarily closed. On 
 her main deck the Bonhomme Richard was pierced for 
 twenty-eight guns, which was the usual armament of 
 the old English 38-gun frigate. For these ports Cap 
 tain Jones ordered 18-pounders, but as they could not 
 be procured in time he substituted 12-pounders. On 
 the quarter-deck and forecastle eight 9-pounders were 
 mounted, giving in all forty- two guns. 1 The following 
 extract from a letter from General Lafayette to Cap 
 tain Jones will give an inkling as to the quality of the 
 Bonliomme Richard? s armament: "I think you are 
 extremely right in refusing such guns as would expose 
 your reputation, the lives of your men, and even the 
 honor of your flag." 
 
 On the arrival in France of the 32-gun frigate 
 Alliance, Captain Pierre Landais, as narrated in the 
 last chapter, she was placed under the orders of Cap 
 tain Jones. A third vessel, the Pallas, Captain Denis 
 Nicholas Cottineau, also a merchantman, was pur 
 chased, armed with thirty guns, 2 and fitted out for the 
 expedition. A merchant brig called the Vengeance, 
 Captain Ricot, also was purchased and armed, while 
 the fifth vessel of the squadron was the 18-gun cutter 
 Cerf* The Cerf and the Alliance were the only ves 
 sels in the squadron built for war purposes. 
 
 When, after strenuous efforts, these vessels were 
 secured, the still more difficult task of manning them 
 remained. We have already seen that it was only by 
 great exertions that a crew for the Alliance, even in an 
 American port, was finally enlisted, owing to the great 
 scarcity of seamen then beginning to be felt throughout 
 the United States. The mutiny which broke out in 
 that frigate soon after sailing showed the kind of men 
 with which commanders at that period of the war had 
 
 1 Official report of Captain Jones. >2 Ibid. 3 Ibid. 
 
 10 
 
106 SECOND CRUISE OP CAPTAIN PAUL JONES. 1779. 
 
 to deal. From these circumstances we get some idea 
 of the difficulties Captain Jones had in securing seamen 
 for his squadron in a foreign port. But Captain Jones 
 was indefatigable, and, after surmounting the most for 
 midable obstacles, he brought together a barely suffi 
 cient number of men. Undesirable and inefficient as the 
 crew of the Alliance had proved to be, the comple 
 ments which finally were secured for the vessels of this 
 squadron were much worse. Of all the motley and in 
 congruous gatherings that have assembled in a vessel of 
 war, perhaps the crew of the Bonhomme Richard was 
 the most remarkable in point of variety. Her muster 
 roll showed that the men hailed from America, France, 
 Italy, Ireland, Germany, Scotland, Sweden, Switzer 
 land, England, Spain, India, Norway, Portugal, Fayal 
 and Malaisia, while there were seven Maltese, and the 
 knight of the ship s galley was from Africa. Among 
 the officers, however, the American element predomi 
 nated. 
 
 The first design of this expedition was an attack on 
 Liverpool. 1 General Lafayette, with six hundred and 
 fifty dragoons and soldiers, was to embark in the ships, 
 sail directly for the Mersey, and, after having laid that 
 great shipping port either in ashes or under ransom, 
 put back to France before the alarm could be given. 
 Before these arrangements could be completed Lafay 
 ette was ordered to take command of the King s regi 
 ments, which necessitated the abandonment of the land 
 attack, but Captain Jones still determined on a cruise 
 around the coast of Great Britain. 
 
 On the 19th of June, 1779, this remarkable squad 
 ron sailed from L Orient. Taking a course to the south, 
 it convoyed several merchantmen into the Loire and the 
 tlaronne to Bordeaux. The defects of the organization 
 immediately came to the surface, and disputes arose 
 even as to who was the commander of the expedition. 
 
 1 General Lafayette to Captain Jones. 
 
1779. 
 
 LANDAIS ARROGATES THE COMMAND. 
 
 107 
 
 Bordea 
 
 Captain Landais, whose eccentricities had prevented 
 his employment in the French navy, claimed seniority 
 
 by virtue of his com 
 mission, stoutly main 
 taining that his had 
 been issued directly 
 from the American Con 
 gress, and that of Cap 
 tain Jones had come 
 only from Dr. Frank 
 lin. As to the matter 
 of dates, the commis 
 sion of Captain Jones 
 which, as we have 
 seen, was issued direct 
 ly from the American 
 Congress - - antedated 
 that of Landais by 
 nineteen months. The 
 Committee on Foreign Affairs in 
 formed the American commission 
 ers in France that Captain Jones 
 " takes with him his commission 
 to France." 1 Dr. Franklin, more 
 over, duly authorized by Congress, 
 had appointed Captain Jones as the commander of this 
 squadron. 2 The absurdity of the claims of Captain 
 Landais is but one of the many evidences that we 
 shall have of his mental derangement. 
 
 " PHILADELPHIA, 9th May, 1777. 
 
 " GENTLEMEN : This letter is intended to be deliv 
 ered to you by John Paul Jones, an active and brave 
 commander in our navy. Our design of sending him 
 is (with the approbation of Congress) that you may 
 purchase one of those fine frigates that Mr. Deane 
 
 1 Sparks Diplomatic Correspondence, vol. i, p. 290. 
 
 2 Dr. Franklin to Captain Jones, April 28, 1779. 
 
 The second cruise of Cap 
 tain Jones in British 
 waters. 
 
108 SECOND CRUISE OF CAPTAIN PAUL JONES. 1779. 
 
 writes us you can get, and invest him with the com 
 mand thereof as soon as possible. 
 
 " [Signed] ROBERT MORRIS, 1 
 
 RICHARD HENRY LEE, I 
 
 , 
 
 WILLIAM WHIPPLE, F .L ei 9\ 
 
 PHILIP LIVINGSTON, Affairs. 
 
 Lack of seamanship and ordinary discipline also 
 became apparent at the outset. On the night of their 
 departure the Bonhomme Richard and the Alliance, 
 by palpable mismanagement, aggravated no doubt by 
 a Babel of tongues, fouled and narrowly escaped seri 
 ous disaster. As it was, the Bonhomme Richard lost 
 her head and cutwater, sprit-sail yard and jib-boom, 
 while the Alliances mizzenmast was carried away. 
 The collision made a return to port necessary, and 
 this, together with a tedious investigation into the 
 causes of the accident, made another vexatious delay, 
 so that it was nearly two months, or the 14th of Au 
 gust, before the squadron again got under way. 
 
 While returning to L Orient for repairs the squad 
 ron came in sight of three British cruisers that were 
 coming down as if to engage, but, getting close enough 
 to make out the height of the Bonhomm.e Richards 
 sides, they probably took her for a two-decker and 
 made their escape under press of sail. This occurred 
 on the 22d of June, and on the 29th of June, while 
 the American flagship was alone off the Penmarks, 
 two of the enemy s cruisers bore down on her, but 
 these also put about to escape, probably mistaking the 
 Bonhomme Richard for a two-decker. In the mean 
 time the Cerf had given chase to an English war vessel 
 of fourteen guns. A warm action ensued, and after a 
 brave resistance the Englishman struck. But a superior 
 force appeared at this moment, and Captain Varage 
 was compelled to abandon his prize. He then returned 
 to port for repairs. Several men were killed or wound 
 ed in the Cerf. 
 
1779. VALUABLE RE-ENFORCEMENTS. 1Q9 
 
 While the squadron was thus detained at L Orient, 
 one hundred and nineteen exchanged American pris 
 oners arrived in a cartel at Nantes, and on hearing of 
 the proposed expedition most of them enlisted and 
 were taken aboard the Bonhomme Richard. This was 
 an invaluable re-enforcement, and in a great measure it 
 was instrumental in bringing about better discipline 
 and organization in the crew. Soon afterward Captain 
 Jones received another acquisition to his squadron in 
 the person of Richard Dale. This officer had been 
 master s mate in the Lexington, and after making his 
 escape from Mill Prison, as narrated in Chapter IV, he 
 learned of the force fitting out under Captain Jones, 
 and hastening to L Orient offered his services. He was 
 made first lieutenant in the Bonliomme Richard, the 
 second lieutenant being Henry Lunt. 
 
 While the Bonhomme Richard was undergoing 
 repairs at L Orient Captain Jones wrote to Dr. Frank 
 lin : "I have inspected the Bonhomme Richard, and 
 it is the constructor s opinion that she is too old to ad 
 mit of the necessary alterations. Thus circumstanced, 
 I wish to have an opportunity of attempting an essen 
 tial service to render myself worthy of a better and 
 faster-sailing ship." 
 
 On the 14th of August, 1779, the squadron again 
 sailed, this time accompanied by the French privateers 
 Monsieur and Granmlle. Captain Jones wrote to De 
 Sartine, the Minister of Marine, that the Bonhomme 
 Richard s complement numbered three hundred and 
 eighty officers, men and boys, inclusive of "one hun 
 dred and thirty-seven marine soldiers." On the 18th 
 a large ship belonging to Holland, in the hands of a 
 British prize crew, was captured. During the night 
 the commander of the Monsieur appropriated such 
 articles from the prize as he wished, and then put her 
 in charge of one of his officers with instructions to make 
 for port. Captain Jones resented this infringement on 
 his authority, and promptly reversed the Frenchman s 
 
HO SECOND CRUISE OF CAPTAIN PAUL JONES. 1779. 
 
 orders and sent the prize into L Orient. Taking offense 
 at this, the commanders of both the Monsieur and the 
 Granmlle, on the evening of the following day, sepa 
 rated from the squadron and did not again join it. The 
 Monsieur subsequently was captured by the enemy. 
 
 On the 21st, a brigantine from Limerick for London 
 was seized and sent into L Orient, and on the 23d the 
 squadron made Cape Clear. In the evening, while the 
 Americans were chasing another brigantine in the vicin 
 ity of some dangerous rocks called the Shallocks, the 
 wind failed and it became necessary to send the boats 
 ahead of the Bonhomme Richard to tow. Seizing a fa 
 vorable moment, the men in the barge, w r ho were Eng 
 lishmen, cut the line and made a dash for the shore. 
 The sailing master, Cutting Lunt, hastily manned an 
 other boat and with four armed soldiers started in pur 
 suit. After they had pulled a long distance from the 
 ship a heavy fog settled on the water, completely shut 
 ting out of view any object more than a boat s length 
 away. This, together with the oncoming night, not only 
 enabled the deserters to make good their escape, but 
 prevented the pursuing boat from rejoining the ship, 
 by which mishap Captain Jones lost a valuable officer 
 and twenty-three men. The deserters landed the next 
 morning at Ballinskellix, County Kerry, and gave no 
 tice of the presence of the American squadron. Two 
 days later Sailing-Master Lunt reached the same place 
 with his men and was sent to Mill Prison. In a year 
 or two he was liberated, but soon afterward he was lost 
 at sea. He was a distant relative of Henry Lunt, the 
 Bonhomme Richard? s second lieutenant, both of them 
 being natives of New Hampshire. 
 
 On the following afternoon, August 24th, Captain 
 Landais came aboard the flagship and exhibited so 
 much insubordination that Captain Jones more than 
 ever doubted the soundness of his mind. He wrote to 
 Dr. Franklin : "In the afternoon Captain Landais came 
 aboard the Bonhomme Richard and behaved toward 
 
1779. THE CRUISERS SCATTERED BY A GALE. 
 
 me with great disrespect, affirming in the most insolent 
 manner and language that I had lost my boats and peo 
 ple through my imprudence in sending boats to take a 
 prize ! He persisted in his reproaches, though he was 
 assured by Messrs. De Weibert and Be Chamillard that 
 the barge was towing the ship at the time of the elope 
 ment, and that she had not been sent in pursuit of the 
 prize. He was affronted because I would not, the day 
 before, suffer him to chase without my orders, and to 
 approach the dangerous rocks [the Shallocks] where he 
 was an entire stranger and where there was not suffi 
 cient wind to govern a ship. He told me that he was 
 the only American in the squadron, and was determined 
 to follow his own opinion in chasing when and where 
 he thought proper, and in every other matter that con 
 cerned the service, and that if I continued in that situa 
 tion three days longer the squadron would be taken." 
 
 As a heavy gale came up on the morning of the 
 26th, Captain Jones gave the signal to sail northward. 
 On the following day only the captured brigantine and 
 the Vengeance could be seen from the flagship. Skirt 
 ing along the western coast of Ireland and Scotland 
 in a leisurely manner, these vessels on the 31st made 
 the Flannen Islands. The next day, September 1st, 
 while they were chasing a vessel to windward, two 
 large ships appeared in the northwest. These proved 
 to be the Alliance and a prize from Liverpool for Que 
 bec. Upon ascertaining this, Captain Jones resumed 
 his pursuit of the sail to windward. The swift-sailing 
 Alliance also joined in the pursuit and by noon had 
 the stranger under her guns. She proved to be a letter 
 of marque from London for Quebec, laden with naval 
 stores for an armament on the Great Lakes. Such was 
 the terror inspired by American cruisers and privateers 
 that this ship, like many others, had made the circuit 
 to the north of Scotland rather than take the direct 
 course from London to the New World, which was 
 vigilantly watched by American ships. 
 
112 SECOND CRUISE OF CAPTAIN PAUL JONES. 1779. 
 
 Captain Jones then weathered Cape Wrath and 
 made for the first rendezvous, hoping to fall in with 
 the Pallas and the Cerf. On the 2d of September 
 chase was given to a large sail which proved to be the 
 Pallas, Captain Cottineau reporting that his ship s 
 steering gear had become disabled during the gale of 
 August 26th. The next day the squadron doubled 
 Fair Isle and stood for the second rendezvous with the 
 expectation of meeting the Cerf, which cutter had not 
 been seen since the 23d of August. But the Cerf 
 again failed to appear. 
 
 On the 4th of September a pilot from Shetland 
 boarded the Bonhomme Richard and gave Captain 
 Jones such information as to induce him to call a 
 council of his captains to decide on their future move 
 ments. The signal to repair to the flagship was obeyed 
 by all the commanders with the exception of Captain 
 Landais. To him Captain Jones issued several orders, 
 and finding them unnoticed he sent a written com 
 mand. This called forth a disrespectful response from 
 that erratic Frenchman, upon which the council pro 
 ceeded without him. It was now decided to make for 
 the third and last rendezvous, and if they did not find 
 the Cerf there to continue the cruise without her. As 
 that cutter again failed to appear, Captain Jones stood 
 down the eastern coast of Scotland. 
 
 Land was not seen again until late in the afternoon 
 of the 13th, when the Cheviot hills were descried. 
 During all this time the Alliance assumed the most 
 independent course, paying no attention to signals from 
 the flagship, and on the 8th disappeared altogether 
 to the east. This left the Bonhomme Richard with 
 only the Pallas and the Vengeance. 
 
 Learning that a British sloop of war of twenty guns 
 was at anchor in the Firth of Forth, Captain Jones 
 resolved to capture her, and at the same time secure 
 a large contribution from the people under threat of 
 laying the city of Leith in ashes. While working up 
 
1779. INSUBORDINATION. 
 
 to windward of the Firth of Forth for this purpose, 
 the cruisers had come almost within reach of the town 
 when a heavy gale carried them out to sea. The 
 wind blew with such violence that a prize, taken on 
 the 14th, foundered, and it was with the greatest diffi 
 culty that her people were rescued. Before the attempt 
 on Leith could be renewed the country had been 
 thoroughly alarmed, and troops from Edinburgh, only 
 a mile distant, were hurried down to defend the place. 
 
 Captain Cottineau, of the Pallas, and Captain Ricot, 
 of the Vengeance, now began to give indications of in 
 subordination, both urging the necessity of leaving the 
 English coast, as the country was aroused and many 
 war ships had been sent to intercept them. Captain 
 Cottineau finally intimated that, if the order to leave 
 these waters was not given by the 21st or the 22d, both 
 he and Captain Ricot would abandon the Bonhomme 
 Richard to her fate. On the 19th the Vengeance dis 
 appeared to the south in pursuit of several vessels, and 
 soon afterward the Pallas followed with all the prizes, 
 leaving the flagship quite alone. Skirting along the 
 Northumberland coast the Bonhomme Richard, on the 
 20th, again fell in with the Pallas and the Vengeance, 
 and Captain Cottineau reported that he had sunk one 
 of the vessels chased the day before and had ransomed 
 the others ; which was in disobedience of strict orders. 
 
 On the 21st, while the squadron was off Flam- 
 borough Head, two sails were discovered and chased, 
 the Pallas making after that to the northeast, while 
 the Bonhomme Richard, followed by the Vengeance, 
 went in pursuit of the one in the southwest. The 
 latter, a brigantine collier from Scarborough, was soon 
 overtaken and sunk. Toward evening several sails 
 appeared to the south. Giving chase, Captain Jones 
 drove one of the vessels ashore between Flamborough 
 and Spurn Head, and soon afterward another brigan 
 tine was taken. By daylight of the 22d the Pallas 
 was nowhere to be seen. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE BONHOMME RICHARD AND THE SERAPIS. 
 
 THE Bonhomme Richard and the Vengeance were 
 now off the mouth of the Humber. Here two pilots 
 were decoyed aboard, from whom Captain Jones 
 learned that the entire coast was in the wildest state of 
 excitement ; that the force of the American squadron 
 had been exaggerated to ridiculous proportions ; and 
 that the people were burying their plate and other 
 valuables. Sir Walter Scott said that he "well re 
 membered the feeling excited by the appearance of 
 Jones squadron." So ignorant were the English of 
 the true character of the American ships that a mem 
 ber of Parliament sent a boat aboard the Bonhomme 
 Richard with a request for powder and shot, saying 
 that he had heard that "Paul Jones was on the coast, 
 and he wished to be ready for him." Captain Jones 
 sent a barrel of powder, but informed the honorable 
 gentleman that he did not have shot of the desired 
 size. By this time the squadron had nearly completed 
 the circuit of Great Britain, and had taken about 
 seventeen vessels, many of which were destroyed, but 
 the more valuable cargoes had been sent into port in 
 charge of prize crews. These drafts of seamen had 
 seriously weakened the crews, and that of the Bon 
 Tiomme Richard numbered now only three hundred 
 and twenty men. In view of these facts and the dan 
 ger of remaining too long in one place, Captain Jones 
 headed northward, so as to double Flamborough Head, 
 at which place the Pallas was last seen. During the 
 night two sails were chased, which on the following 
 
 (114) 
 
1779. THE ENEMY SIGHTED. 115 
 
 morning proved to be the Pallas and the Alliance, the 
 latter having been absent for two weeks. 
 
 About noon of this day, September 23d, while the 
 American squadron, in chase of a brigantine, was near- 
 ing Flamborough Head from the south, a large sail, 
 promptly followed by several others, suddenly round 
 ed that promontory from the north. This apparition 
 was immediately followed by other ships, which came 
 into view one after the other in quick succession. 
 The Americans counted the strangers with increasing 
 amazement and consternation, and in twenty minutes 
 they found themselves in the presence of a fleet of 
 forty-two ships. 
 
 The excitement occasioned in the American squad 
 ron by the unannounced appearance of this formidable 
 force was intense, for, should the vessels prove to be 
 ships of war, or should the convoy be much superior to 
 the American cruisers, the chances for escape were 
 slight indeed. More than this, it was well known to 
 Captain Jones and his men that should they fall into 
 the hands of the English they c^uld expect little clem 
 ency, for the exasperation arousWi in Great Britain by 
 the enormous amount of injury inflicted on British 
 commerce by American vessels, and especially by Cap 
 tain Jones, together with the brutality with which 
 the British ministry was accustomed to treat Ameri 
 can colonists, left no room for doubt as to the fate 
 that awaited them in the case of capture. That the 
 ministers were particularly anxious to vent their wrath 
 on Captain Jones is evident from the tenor of a me 
 morial presented by Sir Joseph Yorke, British ambas 
 sador to Holland, a few weeks afterward, to the Staats- 
 General. In this document Sir Joseph demanded 
 "that those ships and their crews might be stopped 
 and delivered up which the pirate Jones, a rebel sub 
 ject and criminal of the state, had taken." Well might 
 Mr. Burke exclaim against carrying on this war "in a 
 manner contrary to the usage of civilized nations." On 
 
116 THE BONHOMME RICHARD AND THE SERAPIS. 1779. 
 
 the other hand, should these vessels prove to be mer 
 chantmen under a weak escort, the Americans had a 
 rare opportunity for dealing a crushing blow at the 
 enemy s commerce. 
 
 Thus hesitating between fear and exultation, the 
 little squadron anxiously allowed the fleet to draw 
 near, ready at a moment s notice to spread all sail for 
 escape or to pounce upon the prey. The pilot boat, 
 which had been manned by sixteen men under Second- 
 Lieutenant Henry Lunt, and was at this time in chase of 
 the brigantine, was recalled, but she had already gone 
 so far that Captain Jones was under the necessity of 
 abandoning her. 1 This left the Bonhomme Richard 
 with only one lieutenant, Richard Dale (the third 
 lieutenant, Cutting Lunt, having been lost on the 23d 
 of the preceding month), or three hundred and four 
 men in all. 
 
 After a long and careful search through the glass, 
 Captain Jones was satisfied that there were only two 
 vessels of war in the fleet, upon which he gave the 
 signal for a general chase. Just then a boat, which 
 had been observed hurriedly pulling from the shore 
 toward the hostile fleet, was seen to run alongside of 
 the larger English frigate, and a man clambered up her 
 side by means of a rope ladder and gained the deck. 
 This was the bailiff of Scarborough, giving notice to 
 the British commander of the presence of Paul Jones. 
 Soon afterward three little black balls were seen as 
 cending the English frigate s mast, which on reaching 
 the masthead fluttered out into signal flags, and at 
 the same time a gun was fired to windward. This was 
 the signal of an enemy, and the merchantmen hastily 
 put about and in great confusion scattered in all direc 
 tions, many of them firing alarm guns and seeking 
 refuge under the guns of Scarborough Castle, while the 
 frigate with her consort bore down to cover the flight. 
 
 1 Affidavit of Second-Lieutenant Lunt. 
 
1779. INSUBORDINATION. 117 
 
 At this critical moment the insubordination which 
 had been so noticeable throughout the cruise, especially 
 on the part of Captain Landais, became alarming, for 
 not only did that officer willfully ignore the signal to 
 fall astern of the Bonhomme Richard, but Captain 
 Cottineau also seemed to be affected by the example 
 of his brother officer. Instead of obeying the signal, 
 Captain Landais drew ahead to speak to the Pallas, 
 and, as was afterward proved, said, "If it is a ship of 
 more than fifty guns, we have nothing to do but to run 
 away." 1 As Captain Jones was thus delayed by the 
 dastardly conduct of his subordinates, it was nearly 
 dark before he could approach the enemy. By this 
 time, however, the Pallas had changed her demeanor, 
 and gallantly advanced to engage the enemy s second 
 ship, while the Bonhomme Richard singled out the 
 frigate. But the Alliance held aloof in mutinous in 
 difference to the impending battle. As soon as the 
 British commander found that his convoy was out of 
 danger he tacked inshore ; and Captain Jones, fear 
 ing that the Englishman might seek refuge under the 
 guns of the castle, changed his course so as to cut the 
 enemy off from the land. This manoeuvre gave rise 
 to a serious misapprehension on the part of the other 
 American commanders. They knew that the Bon 
 homme Ricliard had several hundred English prison 
 ers in her hold, and when she suddenly headed in 
 shore they believed that the prisoners, with the aid 
 of the English sailors comprising a considerable por 
 tion of the crew, had risen on their captors, killed 
 Captain Jones, and were running the ship into Scar 
 borough. Acting under this impression, Captain Cotti 
 neau tacked and laid the head of the Pallas offshore. 
 
 By 6.30 P. M. it was so dark that Captain Jones had 
 some difficulty in following the movements of his an 
 tagonist even with the aid of a powerful glass. The 
 
 1 Affidavit of Captain Cottineau, of the Pallas. 
 
118 THE BONHOMME RICHARD AND THE SERAP1S. 1779. 
 
 fast-falling night rendered the bold headland of Flam- 
 borough indistinct, and the other vessels of the squad 
 ron were quickly lost to view. The British frigate at 
 this moment was heading westward, while the Bon- 
 homme Richard was coming down with the wind on 
 her port quarter. As the Americans drew near, the 
 outlines of the enemy s ship stood out in dark relief 
 in the gathering gloom, and as the huge vessels edged 
 toward each other to grapple in a deadly struggle a 
 profound hush settled over the scene. The fretful 
 splashes of the waves as the great frigates disdain 
 fully tossed them aside, and the subdued seething of 
 the foaming waters rushing swiftly along their sides, 
 alone served to break the quiet of the hour. When 
 the ships were within pistol shot of each other a voice 
 from the stranger hailed, "What ship is that?" to 
 which Captain Jones replied, "I can t hear what you 
 say," wishing to close before opening tire. Finding 
 that the hail was ineffectual, the voice was again heard 
 across the water: "What ship is that? Answer, or 
 I shall be under the necessity of firing into you." 
 Again no reply came from the ghostly ship, the hail 
 seemingly having been lost in the deep silence. 
 
 But now a few orders were quietly passed along the 
 American batteries. Suddenly, as if at a preconcerted 
 signal, two blinding sheets of flame leaped from the 
 dark sides of both the frigates into the black night, 
 while the discharge of forty guns crashed into the 
 deathlike stillness, and round shot, grape and canis 
 ter rushed to their mission of destruction and death. 
 For an instant all was again quiet, as each man in 
 stinctively looked around to ascertain which of his 
 companions had fallen or how his ship had fared by 
 this first blow of the battle. Then began the heat of 
 the action, the men hastening to reload the guns while 
 the agonized groans of the wounded roused the hot 
 blood of revenge. At the first broadside two of the six 
 18-pounders in the improvised battery of the lower gun 
 
1779. DREADFUL SLAUGHTER. 
 
 deck of the Bonhomme Richard burst, killing most of 
 the men that worked them, and blowing up the deck 
 
 Diagram of the Battle. 
 
 above. The remaining 18-pounders were necessarily 
 abandoned, as after the warning given by the first two 
 the men refused to handle the rest. By this disaster 
 the Bonhomme Richard was not only deprived of her 
 heaviest battery, but also sustained a serious loss in 
 killed or wounded. 
 
 Captain Jones now drew ahead and crossed the 
 enemy s bow to leeward, while the latter filled away, 
 coming up on his port quarter. The frigates then 
 verged nearer to each other until they were within 
 half pistol shot. By this time the cannonading had 
 become furious, enveloping the two vessels in a dense 
 volume of smoke, which was illuminated by continu 
 ous flashes. Soon the musketry in the tops mingled 
 its sharp rattling fire with the roar of the artillery, and 
 the shrieks and yells of the wounded and dying in 
 creased with the din of battle until the two ships com 
 ing together united their tumults in one awful uproar. 
 The slaughter in the Bonhomme Richard had become 
 frightful. Her decks were literally flooded with blood, 
 while sluggish crimson streams oozed out from her 
 scuppers, and running down her sides streaked the 
 black hull with a ghastly hue. 
 
120 THE BONHOMME RICHARD AND THE SERAPIS. 1779. 
 
 Thirty minutes after the battle opened the Bon- 
 Jiomme Richard had received several 18-pound shot 
 under the water line, which caused her to leak serious 
 ly. By the loss of his battery of 18-pounders Captain 
 Jones was compelled to rely entirely upon his 12- 
 pounders. These guns were manned and fired chiefly 
 by American and French seamen, who worked them 
 with desperate energy. In three quarters of an hour, 
 however, this battery of fourteen guns was completely 
 disabled or silenced, while seven of the quarter-deck 
 and forecastle guns had been dismounted. This left 
 the frigate with only two 9-pounders on the quarter 
 deck. With great difficulty a 9-pounder was shifted 
 over from the starboard side, thus giving her in all 
 three 9-pounders. These guns were loaded under the 
 personal supervision of Captain Jones, and swept the 
 enemy s deck with great effect. They were then dou 
 ble-shotted with round shot and aimed at the main 
 mast. 
 
 After the battle had lasted an hour the moon rose. 
 The enemy now forged ahead with the intention of run 
 ning across the Bonhomme Richard s course to rake ; 
 but, seeing that he had miscalculated his distance, he, 
 after giving a yaw, put his helm a-lee, which brought 
 the frigates in line ahead. The Bonhomme Richard, 
 having greater momentum, overtook the enemy and 
 ran her bowsprit over his stern. There was now a 
 lull in the uproar, as each side expected the other to 
 board, and after a moment s uncertainty the British 
 commander hailed to know if the American ship had 
 struck. Captain Jones replied, "I have not yet be 
 gun to fight ! " He then backed his topsails, and the 
 enemy filling away the frigates separated. 
 
 The Englishman then shivered his after-sails, put 
 his helm hard down, and laying all aback forward wore 
 short around on his heel, with the intention of rak 
 ing, but owing to the smoke and confusion he ran his 
 jib boom afoul of the BonJiomme Richard s starboard 
 
1779. THE FRIGATES FOUL. 121 
 
 mizzen shrouds. Seeing that his only chance was at 
 close quarters, Captain Jones with his own hands 
 lashed the spar to his rigging. The ships hung in this 
 position for a moment, but the wind gradually swung 
 them around side by side, and brought a leverage on 
 the enemy s bowsprit, which soon snapped under the 
 strain. At the same moment his spare anchor hooked 
 on the Bonlwmme Richards quarter and held the 
 vessels together. The Americans then secured the 
 ships by passing a hawser over the stump of the ene 
 my s bowsprit and around the Bonhomme Richard 1 s 
 mizzenmast. In this position, side by side, bow and 
 stern, the two frigates fought for the remainder of the 
 action. With the view of separating them the English 
 commander dropped his anchor, hoping that the wind 
 would carry the American clear of him, but the Bon 
 homme Richard hung fast, and thenceforth they re 
 mained anchored. 
 
 While the vessels were thus swinging alongside the 
 British closed their lower ports on the engaged side, 
 fearing that the Americans might board through them ; 
 but now, as the frigates lay closely pressed against 
 each other, these ports, which opened outwardly, could 
 not be raised. This compelled the enemy either to 
 abandon their battery of 18-pounders or fire through 
 their own ports to reach the American ship. They 
 resorted to the latter alternative. 
 
 The battle now recommenced with great fury. So 
 close were the ships that the gunners in loading were 
 obliged to send their rammers into the ports of the 
 opposite vessel, and the Bonhomme Richard was soon 
 set on fire in several places with burning wads. To 
 meet this new enemy Captain Jones detailed a por 
 tion of his crew, and the flames were extinguished 
 before they made serious headway. Between nine and 
 ten o clock the enemy attempted to board, but, finding 
 the Bonhomme Richard s men drawn up in readiness 
 
 to receive them, they abandoned the attempt. 
 11 
 
122 THE BONHOMME RICHARD AND THE SERAPIS. 1779. 
 
 As we have already seen, the American lower bat 
 tery of 18-pounders at the first discharge had proved 
 worse than useless, so that all this time the English 
 gunners, in their corresponding battery of 18-pounders, 
 were unmolested, and were pouring in broadside after 
 broadside with impunity. As a consequence, the low 
 er portion of the Bonhomme Richard s hull was in a 
 terrible condition. The six ports had been battered 
 into one awful chasm, through which the waves washed 
 freely, while shot frequently passed through the ship 
 and fell into the sea on the other side without touch 
 ing her. To offset this appalling condition the Amer 
 icans had put all their forces on the upper decks and 
 in the rigging. The fire from their tops had driven 
 every officer and seaman out of sight, while the 9- 
 pounders on the quarter-deck and one or two 12-pound- 
 ers, which had been brought into play again, gradually 
 silenced the upper batteries in the British frigate. 
 
 Seeing that the enemy s upper decks were deserted, 
 an American seaman climbed out on the Bonhomme 
 Richard s main yard with a bucket filled with com 
 bustibles and hand grenades, which he threw on the 
 decks of the English frigate whenever he saw two or 
 three men collected. As the enemy retreated below 
 decks this seaman began tossing his grenades into the 
 hatches, where they occasioned considerable injury. 
 Finally, reaching far out on the yard and taking delib 
 erate aim, he managed to drop a grenade through the 
 main hatchway and into the gun room below. Here 
 the enemy s powder boys had been depositing 12- 
 pound cartridges, and as the guns of this battery had 
 been gradually silenced, the supply of ammunition 
 was greater than the demand. In the confusion of the 
 battle this supply was not checked, so that in a short 
 time a quantity of ammunition was hurriedly piled 
 along the deck until a great mass had accumulated. 
 The blazing grenade fell on this heap, and the explo 
 sion was terrific. The fire, " running from cartridge 
 
1779. THE ALLIANCE FIRES INTO THE FLAGSHIP. 123 
 
 to cartridge all the way aft, blew up the whole of the 
 people and officers that were quartered abaft the main 
 mast." 1 " More than twenty of the enemy were blown 
 to pieces, and many stood with only the collars of their 
 shirts upon their bodies." 2 The British commander, a 
 week after the action, reported that thirty-eight were 
 killed or wounded by this explosion. 
 
 At this juncture the Alliance hove in sight. Cap 
 tain Jones then believed that the battle was decided, 
 but to the consternation of all she fired a full broad 
 side into the Bonhomme Richard s stern. Captain 
 Jones in his official report says: "I now thought 
 that the battle was about ended. But to my utter 
 astonishment he, Pierre Landais, discharged a full 
 broadside into the stern of the Bonhomme Richard. 
 We called to him for God s sake to forbear, yet he 
 passed along the off side of the ship which was the 
 port side, the enemy being on the starboard side and 
 continued firing. There was no possibility of his mis 
 taking the enemy s ship for the BonTiomme Richard, 
 there being the most essential difference in their ap 
 pearance and construction. Besides, there was a full 
 moonlight, and the sides of the Bonhomme Richard 
 were all black, and the sides of the enemy s ship were 
 yellow. Yet, for the greater security, I showed the 
 signals for our reconnoissance by putting out three 
 lanterns, one at the bow, one at the stern and one in 
 the middle, in a horizontal line. Every tongue cried 
 out that he was firing into the wrong ship, but nothing 
 availed. He passed round firing into the Bonhomme 
 Richard, head, stern and broadside, and by one of 
 his volleys killed several of my best men and mortally 
 wounded a good officer of the forecastle. My situation 
 was truly deplorable. The Bonhomme Richard re 
 ceived several shot under the water [line] from the 
 
 1 Official report of the British commander. 
 
 2 Journal of Lieutenant Dale. 
 
THE BONHOMME RICHARD AND THE SERAPIS. 1770. 
 
 Alliance. The leaks gained on the pumps, and the 
 fire increased much in both ships." A number of men 
 had collected on the Bonhomme Richard? s forecastle, 
 where the enemy s shot could not reach them, but the 
 Alliance, in coming around the flagship s bow, poured 
 in a destructive fire of grape, which killed or wounded 
 ten or twelve of these men, among the killed being 
 Midshipman Caswell, who affirmed with his dying 
 breath that he had been slain by a shot from the 
 American frigate. There could be no doubt that the 
 Alliance had been captured by the enemy, and now, 
 with a British crew aboard, was attacking the Bon- 
 Tiomme Richard. The cry, "The Alliance has been 
 captured by the British and is now attacking us ! " 1 
 was heard all over the ship. But as the Alliance soon 
 ceased her fire and stood away from the frigates, Cap 
 tain Jones did not strike. 
 
 But the mischief had been done. Already there 
 were several feet of water in the hold, which the leak 
 age caused by the broadside from the Alliance so 
 increased that now the water rapidly gained on the 
 pumps. Besides this the fire, which for some time 
 had been raging below, now approached within a few 
 feet of the magazine. This state of affairs so alarmed 
 the master-at-arms that he cried out, "The ship is 
 sinking ! " and took it upon himself to liberate between 
 one and two hundred prisoners who were confined 
 below decks, and the carpenter at the same time re 
 ported six feet of water in the hold. The panic that 
 ensued was appalling. The men rushed wildly about 
 in confusion, their blind haste frustrating their own 
 efforts to lower the boats ; the liberated prisoners ran 
 about the ship with but little thought, fortunately, 
 except for their own safety ; the wounded piteously 
 entreated to be removed from the sinking ship, but 
 were ruthlessly trampled under foot by the frantic, 
 
 1 Affidavit of Midshipman John Mayrant, of the Bonhomme Richard. 
 
1779. PANIC AMONG THE PRISONERS AND CREW. 125 
 
 struggling mass of men ; orders were shouted in many 
 languages, only to be lost in the tumult. Several of 
 the warrant officers, after looking in vain for Captain 
 Jones and Lieutenant Dale, the latter being below at 
 the moment examining the pumps, decided that it was 
 their duty to surrender the ship, and went to the quar 
 ter-deck to haul down the colors. The flag, however, 
 had been shot away, upon which the gunner ran to the 
 taffrail and called out to the English ship for quarter. 
 Hearing this, the British commander actually mustered 
 a boarding party to take possession of the Bonhomme 
 Richard, but the men, being exposed to the musketry 
 from the American tops, were soon driven below again. 
 
 Among the English prisoners was the master of a 
 letter of marque, captured a few days before oif the 
 coast of Scotland. Taking advantage of the stampede, 
 he slipped through one of the ports and stepped aboard 
 the enemy s ship, where he informed her commander 
 of the confusion in the American frigate. This gave 
 new life to the Englishmen, and giving three cheers 
 they loaded their guns with renewed energy. The 
 condition of the BonTiomme Richard was hopeless 
 indeed. She had taken in so much water as to be 
 perceptibly settling, a fire was raging near her maga 
 zine which the efforts of her crew had not been able 
 to check, nearly all her guns were disabled, several 
 hundred prisoners were skulking about the ship ready 
 at the first opportunity to strike from behind, and the 
 enemy was thoroughly cognizant of these overwhelm 
 ing disasters. 
 
 The surviving officers now advised Captain Jones to 
 surrender, and any ordinary commander would have 
 been justified in doing so. But Jones was not an 
 ordinary commander. Defiantly returning the Eng 
 lishman s inquiry if the Americans had surrendered 
 with an emphatic negative, this strange man converted 
 his disheartening calamities into the very means of 
 success. Circulating the report that the English frig- 
 
126 THE BONHOMME RICHARD AND THE SERAPIS. 1779. 
 
 ate was on the point of sinking, Captain Jones con 
 vinced his prisoners that their lives, as well as those 
 aboard the British ship, depended on the BonJiomme 
 Richard? s floating. Terrified at this, the Englishmen 
 eagerly manned the pumps and fought the flames with 
 frantic energy.. This clever artifice had the double 
 advantage of relieving the American crew from the 
 arduous task of fighting the water and fire and also of 
 safely disposing of the many prisoners. Captain Jones 
 then ordered his men to their guns, threatening to kill 
 the first man that hesitated to obey, and the sight of a 
 cocked pistol and the expression on his face forced 
 them to prompt obedience. 
 
 The stratagem succeeded admirably. Under the 
 supervision of Lieutenant Dale the prisoners fought 
 the flames and worked the pumps with desperate 
 eagerness, stimulated every now and then by a re 
 mark from that officer to the effect that the enemy s 
 ship was fast settling, until, utterly exhausted, they 
 were relieved by other gangs of prisoners. Thus by 
 the efforts of these Englishmen the Bonhomme Rich 
 ard was kept afloat, for without their aid her fear 
 fully weakened crew could not have mustered suf 
 ficient strength to check the inrushing water. 
 
 Finding that the cannonading from the American 
 frigate rather increased than diminished, the enemy 
 began to doubt if the British privateersman had in 
 formed them aright. Their own ship was on fire in 
 several places, and the crew had suffered great losses. 
 One by one their guns had become silent, while a few 
 on the American frigate were still worked with effect. 
 Feeling that further resistance was hopeless, the Brit 
 ish commander at 10.30 p. M. with his own hands 
 hauled down his flag. A moment later his mainmast 
 tottered and went crashing over the side, bringing 
 down with it the mizzen topmast. Captain Jones then 
 ceased firing, and Lieutenant Dale was ordered to take 
 possession. Jumping on the gunwale and seizing the 
 
1779. THE BONHOMME RICHARD A WRECK. 127 
 
 loose main brace, that officer swung himself on the 
 enemy s deck. Standing on the lee side of the quarter 
 deck, he found the British commander, Captain Pear 
 son, of the 44-gun frigate Serapis. Lieutenant Dale 
 was promptly followed on board the British frigate by 
 Midshipman Mayrant and a party of boarders. Mr. 
 Mayrant was wounded in the thigh by a boarding pike 
 in the hands of a seaman in the waist who was unaware 
 of the surrender. 
 
 But the labors of the exhausted crews were not 
 over yet, for the Bonhomme Richard was sinking and 
 also in momentary danger of blowing up, and it was 
 only by the united exertions of both crews that she 
 was kept afloat during the night, while the wounded 
 and prisoners were hurried aboard the Serapis. The 
 Bonhomme Richard s hull was so shattered that, had 
 it not been for the support of a few futtocks which the 
 enemy s shot had missed, her poop, quarter-deck and 
 main deck would have fallen into the gun room, so that 
 the Americans in the after part of the ship actually 
 had been fighting on a floating platform upheld by 
 only a few stanchions, and these were not carried away 
 simply because they were so close to the enemy that 
 no gun could reach them. Captain Jones said her 
 "rudder was cut entirely off the stern frame, and the 
 transoms were almost cut away; the timbers by the 
 lower deck especially, from the mainmast to the stern, 
 being greatly decayed with age, were mangled beyond 
 my power of description ; and a person mast have been 
 an eyewitness to form a just idea of the tremendous 
 scene of carnage, wreck and ruin that everywhere ap 
 peared. Humanity can not but recoil from the pros 
 pect of such finished horror, and lament that war 
 should produce such fatal consequences." Immedi 
 ately on the surrender of the Serapis, Captain Jones 
 ordered the lashings to be cut and the two ships sepa 
 rated. Now that the Bonhomme Richard stood alone 
 in the light of the moon, the chasms in her sides were 
 
128 THE BONHOMME RICHARD AND THE SERAPIS. 1779. 
 
 brought out more clearly. She presented such a hor 
 rible spectacle that many of her men, fearing that she 
 would sink, threw themselves into the water and swam 
 to the nearest ships, while ten Englishmen, who formed 
 a part of her crew, seized a boat from the Serapis and 
 escaped to the shore. About ten o clock on the morn 
 ing of the 25th the Bonhomme Richard rapidly settled, 
 gave a heavy roll, and plunged out of sight, bow fore 
 most, to the bottom of the German Ocean. The other 
 ships of the squadron with the prizes, after repairing 
 damages, sailed for Texel, where they arrived on the 
 3d of October. 1 
 
 This action of three hours and a half duration 7 to 
 10.30 P. M. is unsurpassed in naval history for the en 
 durance displayed on both sides. The ships grappled 
 from the first and immediately began a desperate strug 
 gle, which ceased only when their common enemies, 
 tire and water, threatened to engulf them both. The 
 Bonhomme Richard, as we have seen, was but a mer 
 chant vessel mounted with guns. Her armament con 
 sisted of six 18-pounders in the improvised battery on 
 the lower gun deck, twenty-eight 12-pounders on her 
 main deck, and eight 9-pounders on the quarter-deck 
 and forecastle, making in all forty-two guns, throwing 
 five hundred and sixteen French pounds of metal, 
 which are equal to five hundred and fifty-seven Eng 
 lish pounds. On the first discharge two of the six 18- 
 pounders burst, and the others were abandoned as 
 being too dangerous. Thus the Bonlwmme Richard 
 was deprived of her heaviest battery from the outset. 
 This left her with only 12- and 9-pounders; in all 
 thirty-six guns, throwing a total weight of four hun- 
 
 1 The flag carried by the Bonhomme Richard in this cruise " was made 
 of English bunting, and was about eight and one half yards long and 
 one yard five inches wide. It was sewed with flax thread, and contained 
 twelve white stars in a blue union and thirteen stripes, alternately red and 
 white. The stars were arranged in four horizontal lines, three stars in 
 each." Preble s History of the United States Flag, p. 283. 
 
1779. THE BONHOMME RICHARD A WRECK. 129 
 
 dred and forty-one English pounds. But as she actu 
 ally carried these 18-pounders, they will be counted in 
 her armament. 
 
 The Serapis was a new frigate only a few months out. 
 English historians rate her as a 44-gun ship, 1 but have 
 neglected to give a detailed description of her arma 
 ment. Her captors and all American authorities agree 
 that she carried fifty guns, which is more than proba 
 ble, since vessels generally carried more guns than their 
 nominal rate. Her armament consisted of twenty 18- 
 pounders on the lower gun deck, twenty 9-pounders on 
 the main deck, and ten 6-pounders on the quarter-deck 
 and forecastle in all fifty guns, throwing six hundred 
 pounds of metal. Captain Jones, besides being encum 
 bered with several hundred prisoners, found that his 
 crew had been reduced by the loss of his two barges, 
 the pilot boat and the necessity of manning prizes, to 
 three hundred and four, all told. Of this number 
 forty-nine were killed and sixty-seven wounded, 2 
 among the latter being Lieutenant Richard Dale, who 
 was severely wounded by a splinter, but so earnestly 
 engaged in the battle that he did not discover the fact 
 until after the surrender, when he attempted to rise 
 from his seat on the binnacle and fell to the deck. The 
 Scrap is is admitted to have carried a crew of three 
 hundred and twenty, all told. 3 Of this number Cap 
 tain Pearson reported forty -nine killed and sixty-eight 
 
 wounded. 4 
 
 Comparative force and loss. 
 
 Guns. Lbs. Crew. K d. W d. Total. 
 
 Bonhomme Richard : 42 557 304 49 67 116 ) Time 
 Serapis: 50 600 320 49 68 I17f3h.30ni. 
 
 The Countess of Scarborough was gallantly de 
 fended by Captain Piercy, and did not strike until 
 
 1 Allen s Battles of the British Navy, vol. i, p. 251. 
 
 2 Official report of Captain Jones. 
 
 3 Allen s Battles of the British Navy, vol. i, p. 253. 
 
 4 Official report of Captain Pearson. 
 
130 THE BONHOMME RICHARD AND THE SERAPIS. 1779. 
 
 after nearly two hours of resistance, during which, 
 she had "all her braces, the greater part of her run 
 ning rigging, main and mizzen topsails and sheets 
 shot away and seven guns dismounted." 1 She car 
 ried twenty- two 6-pounders and one hundred and 
 fifty men, of whom four were killed and twenty 
 were wounded. 2 Captain Cottineau and the French 
 men under his command fought with commendable 
 bravery. 
 
 The conduct of Captain Landais throughout the 
 cruise, and especially during this action, was so ex 
 traordinary as to require indisputable proofs, which 
 we have in the following testimony : 
 
 " We, the officers, etc., of the American squadron 
 now at Texel, this 30th day of October, 1779, do attest 
 and declare upon our words of honor as gentlemen that 
 what [articles] we subscribe respecting the conduct of 
 Peter Landais, captain of the frigate Alliance, are re 
 ally and truly matters of fact. In witness thereof we 
 hereunto sign our names and qualities, and will at any 
 time hereafter be ready to prove the same upon oath if 
 required." Then follow twenty-five separate instances 
 in which Captain Landais is shown to have been guilty 
 of culpable insubordination. Some of the more promi 
 nent, which bear directly on what has been narrated 
 in reference to the engagement of the 23d of Sep 
 tember, are these: "No. 9. On the morning of the 
 23d of September, when the Bonlwmme Richard, 
 after being off the Spurn, came in sight of the Alli 
 ance and the Pallas, off Flamborough Head, Captain 
 Landais distinctly told Captain Cottineau (of the Pal 
 las) that if it [the Serapis] was, as it appeared, a 
 50-gun ship, they must run away." Many officers of 
 the Pallas corroborate this statement, and Captain 
 Cottineau himself says : "With respect to Article 9, 
 I recollect that he [Landais] said, If it is a ship of 
 
 1 Official report of Captain Piercy. 2 Ibid. 
 
1779. THE TREACHERY OF LANDAIS. 
 
 more than fifty guns, we have nothing to do but to 
 run away. r 
 
 In reference to Captain Landais firing into the 
 Bonhomme Richard, Article 15 says: "At last Cap 
 tain Landais made sail under Ms topsails to work up 
 to windward, but made tacks before he (being within 
 range of grapeshot, and, at the longest, three quar 
 ters of an hour, struck) fired a second broadside into 
 the Bonhomme Richards larboard [port] quarter, the 
 latter part whereof was fired when the Alliance was 
 not more than three points abaft the Bonhomme Rich 
 ard? s beam ; although many tongues had cried from 
 the Bonhomme Richard that Captain Landais was 
 firing into the wrong ship, and prayed him to lay the 
 enemy alongside. Three large signal lanterns with 
 proper signal wax candles in them, and well lighted, 
 had also, previously to his firing, been hung over the 
 bow, quarter and waist of the Bonhomme Richard in a 
 horizontal line, which was the signal of reconnoissance ; 
 and the ships, the one having a high poop and being all 
 black, the other having a low stern with yellow sides, 
 were easily distinguishable, it being full moon." This 
 article is subscribed to by Lieutenant Dale, Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Weibert, Lieutenant-Colonel Stack (French), 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Macarty (French), Samuel Stacey 
 the sailing master, and many others, all of the Bon 
 homme Richard. The charge is further substantiated 
 by the officers of the Alliance: " Article 20. Several 
 people on board the Alliance told Captain Landais at 
 different times that he fired upon the wrong ship ; 
 others refused to fire." This article is signed by the 
 first and second lieutenants, master and captain of 
 the marines, all officers in the Alliance at the time. 
 But there was a third witness of Captain Landais 
 treachery whom we have probably forgotten. When 
 the English fleet rounded Flamborough Head, Second- 
 Lieutenant Henry Lunt, of the Bonhomme Richard , 
 with fifteen men, was in the pilot boat chasing the 
 
132 THE BONHOMME RICHARD AND THE SERAPIS. 1779. 
 
 brigantine, and lie was unable to rejoin his ship until 
 after the action. In the meantime he drew near the 
 combatants, and saw a ship (afterward known to have 
 been the Alliance) fire into the port side of the Bon 
 homme Richard, the Serapis being on her starboard 
 side. 
 
 Thus we have the evidence of all the officers of the 
 Eonhomme Richard, all of the Alliance, that of Sec 
 ond-Lieutenant Henry Lunt in the pilot boat, and the 
 official report of Captain Jones, besides the affidavits 
 of many eyewitnesses. From English reports we have 
 still further proof: " Captain Pearson and his first 
 lieutenant were instantly hurried on board the enemy s 
 ship [the Bonhomme Richard\ which was found to 
 be in the most shattered condition ; her stern and 
 quarters were entirely beaten in." 1 On reviewing the 
 manoeuvres of the two frigates it will be seen that at 
 no time could the Serapis possibly have fired into the 
 BonTiomme Richard s stern, yet Allen says that her 
 stern was "entirely beaten in," clearly showing that 
 some ship other than the Berapis must have caused 
 the damage. 
 
 English writers have endeavored to lead the public 
 into the belief that the Bonhomme Richard and the 
 Alliance united in attacking the Serapis, but this 
 assumption has no foundation. Captain Pearson 
 merely declares that the Serapis received several shot 
 from the Alliance, and this undoubtedly is correct, as 
 the Alliance ran across the Bonhomme Richard s bow 
 and raked ; and as the Serapis was lashed alongside 
 it would have been strange had not some of the shot 
 struck the latter. But Captain Pearson in his official 
 report in no way intimates that the Alliance ranged up 
 on his off side, while article No. 18 shows that she 
 did not: " Cap tain Landais never passed on the off 
 side of the Serapis" This is subscribed to by the 
 
 1 Allen s Battles of the British Navy, vol. i, p. 253. 
 
1779. THE TREACHERY OF LANDAIS. 133 
 
 first and second lieutenants and sailing master of the 
 Alliance. 
 
 Neither can the presence of the Alliance be said to 
 have exerted an influence on the battle any more 
 against Captain Pearson than against Captain Jones, 
 for the Americans, after making all the signals of 
 recognition in vain, and repeatedly calling out that the 
 Alliance was firing into the wrong ship, fully believed 
 that she had been captured by her English prisoners, or 
 by some English ship that had appeared on the scene 
 of action after the battle began, and was now attacking 
 them. This will be seen in the following: "I, late a 
 midshipman on board of the Bonhomme Richard, and 
 aid-de-camp to the Honorable John Paul Jones in the 
 action of the 23d of September, off Flamborough Head, 
 do certify that an hour after the commencement of it I 
 was on the main deck, where there was a brisk firing 
 kept up until a ship raked us, when I saw two men 
 drop dead and several running from their quarters, 
 crying out, The Alliance is manned with Englishmen 
 and firing upon us. " l 
 
 Captain Landais motive for thus firing on his 
 senior officer is seen in the following article: "No. 
 23. Captain Landais has acknowledged since the ac 
 tion that he would have thought it no harm if the 
 Bonhomme Richard had struck, for it would have 
 given him an opportunity to retake her and to take 
 the Serapis" This article is subscribed to by Lieu 
 tenant-Colonel Weibert, Lieutenant - Colonel Stack 
 (French), and Lieutenant - Colonel Macarty (French), 
 while Midshipman Mayrant writes : " It is my sincere 
 opinion on the conduct of the commander of said 
 ship [the Alliance ], together with his manoeuvres dur 
 ing the time of action on the 23d of last September, 
 that his motive must have been to kill Captain Jones, 
 and distress the Bonhomme Richard so as to cause 
 
 1 Affidavit of John Mayrant, October 24, 1779. 
 
THE BONHOMME RICHARD AND THE SERAPIS. 1779. 
 
 her to strike to the Serapis and honor himself with 
 the laurels of that day. In witness whereof, I have 
 hereunto subscribed my name, on board the Serapis, 
 lying in Texel, the 24th of October, 1779. John 
 Mayrant." 
 
 The proof comes from all quarters and from men 
 of unquestioned honor. The conduct of Captain Lan- 
 dais aroused great indignation both in France and in 
 America. But owing to the unorganized state of the 
 American Government, and in view of the critical con 
 dition of the war, our commissioners did not carry the 
 matter to its legitimate end, fearing it might give rise 
 to ill feeling at a time when France had openly de 
 clared herself in favor of the United States. Captain 
 Landais was discharged from the French navy and 
 ordered to quit the country. When Congress learned 
 of his behavior he was dismissed from the American 
 service also, the belief that he was insane preventing 
 a severer penalty. 
 
 Dr. Franklin, in spite of his extreme caution and 
 desire to foster the friendly relations between the two 
 peoples, could not refrain from expressing himself to 
 Captain Landais, in a letter dated Passy, March 12, 
 1780, as follows : " No one has ever learned the opinion 
 I have formed of your conduct. I kept it entirely to 
 myself; I have not even hinted it in my letters to 
 America, because I would not hazard giving to any 
 one a bias to your prejudice. By communicating a 
 part of that opinion privately to you I can do no 
 harm, for you may burn it. I should not give you the 
 pain of reading it if your demand did not make it 
 necessary. I think you so impudent, so litigious and 
 quarrelsome a man, even with your best friends, that 
 peace and good order, and consequently the quiet and 
 regular subordination so necessary to success, are, 
 where you preside, impossible. These are within my 
 observation and apprehension ; your military oper 
 ations I leave to more capable judges. If, therefore, I 
 
1779. THE ALLIANCE RUNS A GANTLET. 135 
 
 had twenty ships of war at my disposition, I should 
 not give one of them to Captain Landais. The same 
 temper which excluded him from the French marine 
 would weigh equally with me. Of course I shall not 
 place him in the Alliance" 
 
 On arrival in Texel the Serapis and the Connies s of 
 Scarborough were refitted and given to France, while 
 Captain Jones assumed the command of the Alliance. 
 Holland was not unfriendly to the Americans, but the 
 aristocracy was opposed to the prolonged presence of 
 American cruisers in these waters, and on the 27th of 
 December, 1779, the Alliance was compelled to put to 
 sea in the face of several hostile cruisers. A number 
 of English war ships were waiting for Captain Jones, 
 and not the least of his brilliant exploits was the man 
 ner in which he avoided them. The enemy did not be 
 lieve that even the American commander would have 
 the temerity to run the gantlet of the Straits of Dover, 
 and consequently they were expecting the Alliance to 
 pass around to the north of the British Islands. But 
 again they misjudged their man. Closely hugging the 
 shoals and keeping well to windward, Captain Jones 
 evaded the blockading squadron off Texel, and instead 
 of heading north he boldly stood down the English 
 Channel in plain view of some of the largest British 
 fleets. In passing Dover he went so close to the Downs 
 as to accurately determine the force of the war ships 
 there, and when he passed the Isle of Wight he was 
 equally near the British fleet anchored at Spithead. 
 Several of the heaviest English cruisers were eluded by 
 keeping well to the east of them, and on the 10th of 
 February, 1780, Captain Jones gained the Roads of 
 Groix in safety. After a short cruise in the Bay of 
 Biscay, the Alliance, in June, 1780, sailed for the 
 United States. 
 
 Thus terminated one of the most extraordinary 
 cruises in naval history. The inefficiency of the ships 
 engaged, their deficient armaments, their promiscuous 
 
136 THE BONHOMME RICHARD AND THE SERAPIS. 1779. 
 
 and ill-assorted crews, the daring of their leader, the 
 desperate energy displayed in the battle, together with 
 the marvelous success of the enterprise, stand unsur 
 passed. England was astounded and filled with dread 
 of the terrible Paul Jones, while her rage and humili 
 ation at the total defeat of one of her best frigates by 
 a man whom she persisted in calling "a pirate " passed 
 all bounds. Captain Jones on returning to France 
 was loaded with honors, and another squadron more 
 worthy of his ability was promised. 
 
 No one knew better than Jones himself of the fate 
 that awaited him if he fell into the hands of the Eng 
 lish. Ordinary American navy officers cruised off the 
 British coasts, knowing that, if captured, they would 
 be subjected at the worst to cruel imprisonment ; but 
 to Jones, capture meant a most ignominious death. 
 British opinion of Jones at that time is strikingly illus 
 trated by an article published in an American news 
 paper of 1789 under the head " News from London": 
 " The infamous son of Lord Selkirk s gardener did well 
 in changing his name from John Paul to Paul John, 
 or, as is now more generally accepted, Jones, being the 
 more common surname and of similar sound. The 
 gardener might possibly be an honest man, although 
 the son was everything or anything but that. Like 
 others in the line of iniquity, he began with inferior 
 crimes, and proceeded in regular gradation to those of 
 the greatest enormity. He plundered his master s, 
 Lord Selkirk s, house, and he murdered multitudes of 
 his innocent countrymen, besides numbers of his own 
 sailors. Renegade-like, he joined the enemies of his 
 king and country, among whom he was distinguished 
 for his barbarity and violence. Polluted with crimes 
 and stained with innocent blood, they detested and 
 abhorred the traitor." 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 CLOSING NAVAL ACTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 THE treatment that American seamen received in 
 British prisons and prison ships during the War of the 
 Revolution forms one of the dark pages of English his 
 tory. Of the men employed in Continental cruisers 
 only a comparatively small number were captured, but 
 these were treated with great harshness, as the follow 
 ing extract from the British Annual Register for 1781 
 (page 152) will show : 
 
 "A petition was presented to the House of Com 
 mons the same day, June 20, 1781, by Mr. Fox, from 
 the American prisoners in Mill Prison, Plymouth, set 
 ting forth that they were treated with less humanity 
 than the French and Spaniards, though by reason 
 that they had no agent established in this country for 
 their protection they were entitled to expect a larger 
 share of indulgence than others ; they had not a suffi 
 cient allowance of bread and were very scantily fur 
 nished with clothing. A similar petition was present 
 ed to the House of Peers by the Duke of Richmond, 
 and these petitions occasioned considerable debate in 
 both houses. Several motions were grounded on these 
 petitions, but those proposed by the lords and gentle 
 men in the opposition were determined in the negative, 
 and others, to exculpate the Government in this busi 
 ness, were resolved in the affirmative. It appeared 
 upon inquiry that the American prisoners were al 
 lowed half a pound of bread less per day than the 
 French and Spanish prisoners. But the petitions of 
 the Americans produced no alterations in their favor, 
 
 12 (137) 
 
138 CLOSING NAVAL ACTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION. 1781. 
 
 and the conduct of the administration was equally 
 impolitic and illiberal. The additional allowance 
 which was solicited on behalf of the prisoners could be 
 no object either to the Government or to the nation ; 
 and it was certainly unwise, by treating American pris 
 oners worse than those of France and Spain, to increase 
 the fatal animosity which has unhappily taken place 
 between the mother country and the colonies, and this, 
 too, at a period when the subjugation of the latter had 
 become so hopeless." 
 
 Such being the treatment of American prisoners in 
 England, where they were under the eyes and within 
 the knowledge of Parliament and the ministers, we 
 can more readily understand that their fellow-sufferers 
 in America were treated with even greater severity. 
 The number of prisoners who perished in the prison 
 ships anchored in Wallabout Bay, the site of the pres 
 ent Brooklyn Navy Yard, is variously estimated to 
 have been between ten thousand and ten thousand five 
 hundred. Of this number fully nine thousand were 
 Americans, the others being Spaniards and Frenchmen 
 who had been captured near the American coast. 
 
 The prison ships were old vessels of war which had 
 been condemned as unseaworthy. They were the Jer 
 sey, the Whifby, the Good Hope, the Falmoutli, the 
 Scheldt and the Clyde, but the Jersey was the ship 
 principally used for prisoners, the others being store- 
 ships and hospitals. There was no reason why the 
 Jersey could not have been made a comfortable and 
 healthful place of confinement for the great number of 
 prisoners who were detained in her. She had been a 
 ship of the line, and with a full supply of stores, pro 
 visions, and her heavy armament she was designed to 
 carry a crew of four hundred men ; and when she was 
 stripped of her guns, stores and masts and reduced to 
 a hulk, a thousand men might easily have been con 
 fined in her for many months without fear of disease. 
 But the British officers, by their brutal indifference to 
 

 _.3 3, M - 
 
 S-i 03 w EC fc- ^ 
 
 
 so - i ~a: 
 
 -i 
 
 - - O v r- -> . *rt 
 
1780. THE PRISON SHIP JERSEY. 139 
 
 the condition of the prisoners and by a shameful mis 
 appropriation of the funds, rendered the ships such 
 breeding- places of pestilence that they were compelled 
 to remove them from their anchorage near Manhattan 
 Island to the malarious Wale Bogt, or Wallabout Bay, 
 lest the contagion should spread to the town. The 
 leakages in the Jersey, which were so great that a fre 
 quent use of her pumps was necessary to " prevent her 
 from sinking," caused her to be constantly damp and 
 her timbers to undergo a rapid decay. 
 
 One object in this treatment of American prisoners 
 was to induce them to serve in a regiment of renegade 
 colonists which was comfortably quartered on Long 
 Island within sight of the prison ships, and the Ameri 
 cans had only to consent to serve against the colonies 
 and they were immediately freed from the pest ships 
 and allowed to go on shore. Be it said to the honor of 
 these patriots that few accepted the offer, preferring 
 to continue in their living death and have their bones 
 strewed on the sands of the Wale Bogt rather than serve 
 against their country. Among the prisoners confined in 
 the Jersey were David and Samuel Porter, the former 
 being the father of Captain David Porter, the com 
 mander of the Essex in her celebrated cruise in the 
 Pacific Ocean in 1813 and 1814. Samuel Porter died 
 in the Jersey, but his brother David Porter made his 
 escape by concealing himself in a water cask that was 
 carried ashore to be filled. 
 
 Many efforts were made to exchange these prisoners 
 or alleviate their sufferings, but the rapacity and bru 
 tality of their keepers frustrated the one and prevented 
 the other. Washington, in a letter to Congress dated 
 February 18, 1782, wrote : " Few or none of these prison 
 ers belonged to the regular cruisers of the colonies, most 
 of them being captured privateersmen," and as the pri 
 vateers seldom secured English prisoners there was no 
 means of exchange. David Sproats, who had charge of 
 the prison ships and boasted that he had caused the death 
 
140 CLOSING NAVAL ACTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION. 1780. 
 
 of more rebels than all the British armies in America, 
 offered to exchange the prisoners for British soldiers, 
 but the proposition was intentionally unfair and impos 
 sible, and, as Washington wrote, "it would immediately 
 give the enemy a very considerable re -enforcement and 
 will be a constant draft hereafter upon the prisoners of 
 war in our hands ; while the exchanged American pris 
 oners, being captured while engaged in private enter 
 prises, would return to their homes." 
 
 At the close of the year 1779 the navy had been 
 reduced to a minimum. The vessels that won our 
 admiration had become only memories, while their offi 
 cers and crews were in British prisons or scattered far 
 and wide seeking other fields of activity. By the fall 
 of Charleston the 28-gun frigate Providence, the 28-gun 
 frigate Queen of France, the 24-gun frigate Boston 
 and the celebrated 18-gun ship-sloop Hanger were 
 either captured or destroyed, which left the United 
 States with only six vessels of war the 32-gun ship 
 Alliance, the 32-gun ship Confederacy, the 32-gun 
 ship Deane, the 28-gun ship Trumbull, the 20-gun ship 
 Due de Lauzun and the 18-gun ship Saratoga. Not 
 only had the vessels of the navy been reduced to this 
 small number, but officers and seamen were scarce, as 
 the English, finding that their commerce had suffered 
 unprecedented losses at the hands of American cruisers 
 and privateers, refused to exchange prisoners, hoping 
 thereby to check this destruction of their trade. At 
 the same time Parliament voted eighty-five thousand 
 men for the navy during the year 1780. This increase, 
 together with the departure of the French fleet under 
 Count d Estaing for the West Indies, made it exceed 
 ingly difficult for American vessels to get to sea. 
 
 Early in the summer of 1780 Captain James Mchol- 
 son, in the Trumbull, succeeded in running the block 
 ade, and while he was cruising in latitude 35 54 north, 
 longitude 66 west, June 2d, a sail was descried from 
 the masthead. In hopes of decoying the stranger under 
 
1780. 
 
 THE TRUMBULL AX I) THE WATT. 
 
 141 
 
 his guns, Captain Mcholson rigged his ship in a slov 
 enly manner and carefully concealed all signs of hos 
 tility. After mano3iivring so as to ascertain the char 
 acter of the Trum 
 bull the stranger sud 
 denly filled away, 
 evidently desirous of 
 avoiding her, but the 
 American frigate 
 made all sail and 
 soon overhauled the 
 chase. When with 
 in a hundred yards 
 the ships opened fire 
 and for nearly three 
 hours fought one of 
 the most obstinate 
 actions of the war. 
 So close were the ves 
 sels at times that 
 their yards inter 
 locked, and gun wads 
 
 iCttiS 
 
 MARTINIQUE 
 
 Scene of the naval operations of 1780, 1781 and 1182. 
 
 were frequently blown into the opposite ship, by which 
 the Trumbull was twice set on fire. Finally the ene 
 my s fire slackened, while that of the Trumbull was 
 maintained with vigor, and victory seemed about to 
 decide in favor of the American frigate when her 
 mainmast tottered. Down it came with a crash, drag 
 ging spar after spar with it, until only the foremast 
 was left ; and the enemy, profiting by this disaster, 
 
142 CLOSING NAVAL ACTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION. 1781. 
 
 made his escape. He was afterward known to have 
 been a heavily armed letter of marque called the Watt, 
 commanded by a Mr. Coulthard, who admitted that 
 his loss was ninety-two killed or wounded, while Cap 
 tain Nicholson estimated her armament to be from 
 thirty-four to thirty- six guns. The Trumbull with 
 great difficulty regained port. Her loss was thirty-nine 
 killed or wounded. The American crew was largely 
 made up of raw hands, many of whom suffered from 
 seasickness during the engagement. 
 
 In the following August (1781) the Trumbull was 
 again on duty, this time as an escort to a fleet of 
 twenty-eight merchantmen. Her crew on this occasion 
 was most unfortunately assorted, for, owing to the im 
 possibility of securing enough American seamen, her 
 complement had been filled out with British volun 
 teers ; but even then she was short-handed by two 
 hundred men. When off the Capes of the Delaware 
 the fleet was chased by three British cruisers, but 
 night intervening they were eluded. The next day a 
 heavy gale scattered the ships, each one making the 
 best of its way to port, while the Trumbull lost her 
 fore-topmast and main- topgallant mast, which, together 
 with the inefficiency of the crew, placed her in a peril 
 ous condition. At ten o clock on the following night 
 the British 32-gun frigate Iris formerly the American 
 32-gun frigate Hancock, captured off Halifax by the 
 Rainbow and the Victor and another ship closed on 
 her. The condition of the Trumbull at this moment 
 was most unfortunate. The weather came on with 
 rain and squalls, while the wreck of her spars covered 
 the forecastle or dragged over her bow in the sea, and 
 one arm of the fore- topsail yard was thrust through 
 the foresail while the other arm was jammed on the 
 deck. At the first alarm many of the TrumbuWs crew, 
 after extinguishing the battle lanterns, ran below, leav 
 ing the deck entirely dark. Captain Nicholson, with 
 not more than fifty officers and American seamen, en- 
 
1780. LAST CRUISE OF THE SARATOGA. 143 
 
 deavored to work the crippled ship and fight the ene 
 my. This handful of men made a noble defense, Lieu 
 tenant Alexander Murray being especially commended 
 for his gallantry. But the approach of a third English 
 ship the General Monk rendered further resistance 
 useless, and the colors were struck. Among the Ameri 
 can lieutenants was Richard Dale, who served with 
 such distinction in the action between the Bonhomme 
 Richard and the Serapis. Christopher Raymond Per 
 ry, afterward captain, and father of Oliver Hazard 
 Perry, also was in this action. The Trumbull was 
 badly cut up, but as so few of her men were engaged 
 in the fight her loss was only five killed and eleven 
 wounded. 
 
 Early in October, 1780, the Saratoga, Captain James 
 Young, sailed from Philadelphia, and on the 8th of 
 that month discovered and gave chase to three sails. 
 Hoisting English colors, Captain Young decoye d a 
 large, heavily armed ship under his guns, and running 
 alongside he learned that she was an English mer 
 chantman from Jamaica bound for New York. Upon 
 this the Saratoga changed her flag for the American, 
 poured in a broadside, threw grapnels aboard in the 
 smoke and held the stranger fast, while Lieutenant 
 Joshua Barney, at the head of fifty men, boarded, and 
 after a sharp resistance drove the enemy below. The 
 prize proved to be the Charming Molly, with a crew 
 of ninety men. 1 Leaving Lieutenant Barney aboard 
 the Charming Molly, Captain Young made all sail 
 after the other two vessels, which by this time were 
 under the horizon, and after a long chase they were 
 overhauled and captured with but little resistance. 
 They were brigs, one mounting fourteen and the other 
 four guns. The Saratoga with her prizes then made 
 for port, and while off the Capes of the Delaware she 
 was chased by the British 74-gun ship of the line In- 
 
 1 Life of Joshua Barney, p. 85. 
 
144: CLOSING NAVAL ACTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION. 1780. 
 
 trepid, and although she made her escape all her prizes 
 were recaptured. This was the last ever heard of the 
 Saratoga. It was thought that she foundered in the 
 gale of the following day. 
 
 After his extraordinary action with the Serapis 
 Captain Jones remained in Europe several months 
 planning new expeditions against the English coast, 
 and on the 7th of September, 1780, he sailed from 
 France in the 20-gun ship Ariel, lent by the king. The 
 Ariel was detained a month off the port of L Orient by 
 unfavorable winds. On the 8th of October she put to 
 sea, but on the same night she encountered a heavy 
 gale, during which her lower yards frequently dipped 
 into the sea. In order to keep her from foundering 
 the foremast was cut away, and soon afterward the 
 heel of the mainmast, having worked out of the step, 
 also went over, bringing down with it the mizzenmast. 
 With great difficulty Captain Jones made his way back 
 to port, and it was not until the 18th of December, 
 
 1780, that he sailed again. When two weeks out he 
 fell in with an English ship and began an action. The 
 enemy soon struck, but in the darkness and confusion 
 of the moment made his escape. The name of this ship 
 has not been determined. On the 18th of February, 
 
 1781, Captain Jones reached Philadelphia. Congress 
 tendered him a vote of thanks for his brilliant services, 
 and as a token of their high esteem gave him the com 
 mand of the new 74-gun ship America, then nearly 
 completed ; but the war ended before she got to sea, 
 when Congress presented her to France in compensa 
 tion for the 74-gun ship of the line Magnifique, which 
 was lost in Boston harbor. For lack of suitable ves 
 sels Captain Jones never went to sea again in the serv 
 ice of the United States. At the close of the Revolu 
 tion his restless spirit led him to seek a new field of 
 activity, and this he found in the Russian service, 
 which he entered with the stipulation that he would be 
 free to offer his services to the United States should 
 
1781. TWO BRIGS ATTACK THE ALLIANCE. 145 
 
 they be called for. In his conflicts with the Turks he 
 again displayed his great skill in seamanship and bat 
 tle, and at the end of that war he had attained the rank 
 of rear-admiral. In 1792 he was appointed the Ameri 
 can consul to Algiers, but before the commission 
 reached him he died in Paris, July 18, 1792. 
 
 In February, 1781. the Alliance, Captain John 
 Barry, sailed from Boston for France with Colonel 
 Laurens aboard as a passenger. After capturing the 
 privateer Alert on the outward passage the frigate 
 arrived at her destination, and on the 31st of March 
 she sailed from L Orient in company with the French 
 40-gun letter of marque Marquis de la Fayette. The 
 third day out they chased and captured the British 
 26-gun privateer Mars, manned by one hundred and 
 twelve men, and the Minerva of ten guns, carrying 
 fifty -five men. From this time the Alliance continued 
 her cruise alone, and on the 28th of May two sails were 
 discovered bearing for her. At this time the wind had 
 subsided, so that the Alliance lost steerage way, but 
 the strangers, being smaller vessels, had the advantage 
 in the light breeze, and, with the aid of sweeps, select 
 ed positions off the frigate s quarter and stern and 
 opened an animated fire. The situation was exasper 
 ating in the extreme, for Captain Barry could bring 
 only a few guns to bear, while the enemy were pouring 
 in full broadsides. For fully an hour the English 
 brigs kept up their cannonading with comparative im 
 punity, and finally a shot carried away the American 
 flag. So confident were they of capturing the frigate 
 that they now ceased their fire and hailed to know if 
 she had struck. Captain Barry long before had been 
 desperately wounded in the shoulder with a grape- 
 shot, and was below. As matters stood, the Alliance 
 was in a hopeless condition, while further resistance 
 could only result in useless sacrifice of life, but at this 
 moment the ship felt a breeze and gradually gained 
 steerage way. This reversed the state of affairs, for 
 
H6 CLOSING NAVAL ACTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION. 1779. 
 
 now, as the frigate s powerful batteries came slowly 
 into play, missiles of destruction began to fly right 
 and left. Running between the two brigs, the Alliance 
 delivered her broadsides with full effect and soon com 
 pelled the Englishmen to strike. They proved to be 
 the 16-gun brig Atalanta, Commander Sampson Ed 
 wards, and the 14-gun brig Trepassey, Commander 
 James Smith. Captain Smith and five men of the Tre- 
 passey were killed and ten were wounded, while the 
 Atalanta lost five killed and twenty wounded. 1 The 
 former carried one hundred and thirty men and the 
 latter eighty. On this occasion the Alliance mounted 
 twenty-eight 18-pounders and twelve 9-pounders. Her 
 loss was eleven killed and twenty-one wounded. The 
 Trepassey was sent to England as a cartel, and the 
 Atalanta was ordered to the United States, but while 
 endeavoring to run into Boston she was recaptured. 
 The Alliance reached port in safety. 
 
 In 1779 the Confederacy one of the new frigates 
 built in Norwich, Connecticut, in 1778 commanded by 
 Captain Seth Harding, sailed for Europe with John 
 Jay as a passenger. Taking a southerly course this 
 new frigate experienced a misfortune which frequently 
 befell the vessels of that day. Her rigging had been 
 fitted in the cold climate of New England, and as she 
 approached the warm latitudes to the south her stays 
 and shrouds slacked up to an alarming extent, and while 
 off the Bahamas in this critical condition she was over 
 taken by a violent gale. All efforts to save her masts 
 were futile, and spar after spar and mast after mast 
 went over the side, until even the bowsprit was cut 
 away, leaving her rolling in the trough of the sea like 
 a log. After being tossed about in this helpless condi 
 tion for several weeks Captain Harding reached Mar 
 tinique, where Mr. Jay took passage in the French 
 frigate PAurore. The Confederacy was refitted, and 
 
 1 Allen s History of the British Navy, vol. i, p. 275. 
 
1782. LAST ACTION OF THE WAR. 147 
 
 during the remainder of the war she was employed in 
 keeping up communications between the United States 
 and France. While on a return passage from Cape 
 Frangais, June 22, 1781, laden with military stores, 
 she was chased by a two-decker and a frigate, and as 
 both ships succeeded in getting alongside Captain 
 Harding was compelled to strike. The British ships 
 were the Orpheus and the Roebuck. 
 
 In the early part of 1782 which was practically the 
 last year of the great struggle the Deane (or the 
 Hague], Captain Samuel Nicholson, made a cruise of two 
 months and captured four vessels whose armaments 
 aggregated forty- eight guns. In September of the 
 same year the Deane, commanded by Captain John 
 Manly, made a cruise in the West Indies, during which 
 she was chased several times ; and at one time Captain 
 Manly was compelled to run his ship on a sand bar, 
 but he soon succeeded in getting her off, and after 
 firing thirteen guns in defiance he made his escape. 
 
 The last action of the war was fought by the Alli 
 ance, Captain John Barry. While making a run to 
 Havana this frigate was chased by several English 
 cruisers, and when she was endeavoring to escape from 
 them a French 50-gun ship was sighted. Relying upon 
 her support Captain Barry turned on his pursuers and 
 engaged the enemy s leading ship, the others making 
 for the Frenchman. After a hot cannonade of half an 
 hour the Englishman signaled for assistance, and the 
 Alliance stood for the Frenchman in order to arrange 
 some plan of action, but the enemy, finding their forces 
 too light, made their escape. Captain Barry pursued, 
 but as the Frenchman was too dull a sailer to keep in 
 sight the chase was given over. Captain Barry report 
 ed three killed and eleven wounded. The ship that 
 engaged the Alliance is not definitely known, but was 
 thought to be the 28-gun ship Sibyl. 
 
 During the latter part of this war some of the priva 
 teers and State cruisers were engaged in actions that were 
 
148 CLOSING NAVAL ACTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION. 1782. 
 
 highly creditable. In April, 1782, an action took place 
 between the Pennsylvania State cruiser Hyder Ally 
 and the British cruiser General Monk, which in many 
 respects was one of the most brilliant affairs of the war. 
 The former was a merchant ship carrying sixteen 6- 
 pounders and a crew of one hundred and ten men, 
 under Lieutenant Joshua Barney. The Hyder Ally 
 had orders to convoy a fleet of merchantmen down to 
 the capes and then return to the State jurisdiction, as 
 it was not intended to protect vessels beyond those 
 boundaries. On the 8th of April the convoy dropped 
 down to Cape May Roads, and while the merchantmen 
 were waiting for a breeze to take them to sea two Eng 
 lish cruisers were descried standing for them. Lieu 
 tenant Barney immediately signaled the merchantmen 
 to make sail up the bay while he covered their retreat. 
 The first Englishman soon came up with the Hyder 
 Ally, but after discharging a broadside he passed up the 
 bay after the merchantmen. Lieutenant Barney made 
 no reply to this fire, but reserved himself for the sec 
 ond vessel, which was the 20-gun sloop of war General 
 Monk. On came the Englishman, and he was about to 
 pass the Hyder Ally as his consort had done, when the 
 Americans fired a broadside at pistol shot, upon which 
 the General Monk put about so as to board. Per 
 ceiving the intention of the British commander, Lieuten 
 ant Barney instructed his men at the wheel to execute 
 his next orders " by the rule of contrary," as he ex 
 pressed it, and just as the ships were about to foul the 
 quick-witted American commander called out in a loud 
 voice, which he intended to be heard aboard the ene 
 my s vessel: " Hard aport your helm ! Do you want 
 him to run aboard of us \ " The helmsmen understood 
 their cue, and clapping the wheel hard to the starboard 
 brought the Englishman s jib boom afoul of their fore 
 rigging, which exposed him to a raking fire from the 
 entire American broadside. Immediately lashing the 
 spar to his fore rigging, Lieutenant Barney poured 
 
1782. THE HYDER ALLY AND THE GENERAL MONK. 149 
 
 several broadsides in rapid succession upon the help 
 less Englishmen, so that in thirty minutes they were 
 obliged to surrender. Hastily securing his prize, Lieu 
 tenant Barney made sail up the bay and rejoined his 
 convoy before another English ship, a frigate, could 
 come within range. 
 
 The General Monk, Captain Rodgers, mounted 
 twenty 9-pounders and carried a crew of one hundred 
 and thirty-six men, of whom twenty were killed and 
 thirty-three were wounded. The Hyder Ally mounted 
 sixteen 6-pounders and carried a crew of one hundred 
 and ten men. Her loss was four killed and eleven 
 wounded. 
 
 Comparative force and loss. 
 
 Guns Lbs. Crew. Killed. Wounded. Total. 
 
 Hyder Ally: 16 96 110 4 11 1M Time 30m 
 General Monk : 20 180 136 20 33 53 ) 
 
 Mr. Gilpin, in his Life of Captain Rodgers, accounts 
 for the defeat of the General Monk in this wise : 
 " Captain Rodgers soon had melancholy proof that 
 his fears for his guns were too well founded. As soon 
 as they were heated they became quite unmanageable, 
 and many of them overset." It is, of course, to be re 
 gretted that the General Monies guns "overset" and 
 became " heated " in the presence of an enemy, but it 
 is remarkable that Mr. Gilpin had not discovered these 
 qualities in the General Months guns before this action, 
 for he had described her as a most useful and success 
 ful ship. On page 54 he says : " While Captain Rodgers 
 commanded this ship {General Monk\ he took, or as 
 sisted in taking, more than sixty vessels from the ene 
 my, though he did not command her above two years." 
 The General Monk was taken into the United States 
 service under the name of General Washington. 
 
 On the 6th of September, 1781, the 20-gun private 
 armed cruiser Congress, of Philadelphia, commanded 
 by Mr. Geddes, while cruising off the coast of Georgia 
 
150 CLOSING NAVAL ACTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION. 1781. 
 
 and South Carolina, fell in with the British 16-gun 
 sloop of war Savage, Captain Sterling. On discovering 
 the superior force of the Americans Captain Sterling 
 stood off as if to escape, while the Congress immediately 
 made sail in chase, and by half past ten o clock she 
 opened with her bow guns, and at eleven was close on 
 the Englishman s quarter, where an effective fire of mus 
 ketry was opened, to which the enemy made a spirited 
 reply. Forging ahead, Mr. Geddes engaged in a fierce 
 broadside duel until his rigging became unmanageable, 
 when he fell astern to repair damages. Having done 
 this he again closed with the Savage, and in the course 
 of an hour reduced her to a wreck. So near were the 
 vessels at times that the men frequently were scorched 
 by the flashes of their opponent s guns, and it is even 
 asserted that shot were thrown by hand into the oppo 
 site ship with effect. The Englishman was now re 
 duced to a deplorable condition, his quarter-deck and 
 forecastle were swept of men, his mizzenmast had gone 
 by the board and the mainmast threatened to follow. 
 At this juncture their boatswain appeared on the fore 
 castle, waved his hat and announced that they had 
 surrendered. The Congress, although mounting a few 
 more guns than her opponent, was manned almost en 
 tirely by landsmen owing to the scarcity of seamen 
 while the /Savage was a regular cruiser, manned by 
 the regular complement of seamen. The loss in killed 
 or wounded in the Congress was thirty, while that of 
 the Savage, according to English accounts, was eight 
 killed and twenty-four wounded. 
 
 One of the noteworthy features of the struggle for 
 American independence was the prominent part that 
 private enterprise took in the operations on the sea. 
 While not a single Continental cruiser was taken by 
 British privateers, sixteen English cruisers, mounting 
 in all two hundred and twenty-six guns, were taken by 
 American privateers or by private enterprise. They 
 were the 14-gun cruiser Hichiribrook, captured by an 
 
1782. PRIVATE ENTERPRISE ON THE OCEAN. 
 
 American privateer at sea; the 12-gun cruiser YorTc, 
 captured by boats from the land ; the 10-gun cruiser 
 Enterprise, captured by boats from the land ; the 14- 
 gun cruiser West Florida, captured by boats at Pen- 
 sacola ; the 14-gun cruiser Hope, captured by an Ameri 
 can privateer ; the 10-gun cruiser Harlem, captured by 
 an American privateer; the 14-gun cruiser Coureur, 
 captured by an American privateer ; the 14-gun cruis 
 er Active, captured by boats from New York ; the 8- 
 gun cruiser Egmont, captured by an American priva 
 teer ; the 20-gun cruiser Sandwich, captured by boats 
 from Charleston ; th 20-gun cruiser Germain, captured 
 by an American^rivajfir_; the 14-gun cruiser Ravage, 
 captured by the Pennsylvania State cruiser Congress ; 
 the 14-gun cruiser Snake, captured by an American pri 
 vateer ; the 20-gun cruiser General Monk, captured by 
 the Pennsylvania State cruiser Hyder Ally ; the 14- 
 gun cruiser Allegiance, captured by an American pri 
 vateer; and the 14-gun cruiser Prince Edward, cap 
 tured by an American privateer. 
 
 The total number of Continental vessels lost during 
 the Revolution, by capture, wreck, etc., was twenty- 
 four, carrying in all four hundred and seventy guns. 
 The loss of the British Government war vessels was 
 one hundred and two, carrying in all two thousand six 
 hundred and twenty-two guns. About eight hundred 
 vessels of all kinds were captured from the English by 
 American cruisers, privateers and by private enterprise. 
 
PAET SECOND. 
 WARS WITH PRANCE AND TRIPOLI. 
 
 13 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 OUTBKEAK OF THE WAR WITH FRANCE. 
 
 As might have been expected, the termination of 
 the war for American independence found the United 
 States in a deplorable condition. The treasury long 
 before had been exhausted, an enormous debt was 
 saddled upon the people, and, although nominally at 
 peace, Great Britain kept up an insidious war on the 
 young nation ; and before treating on commerce she 
 insisted that each State should have separate ministers, 
 while an order in Council excluded from the West In 
 dies all American vessels and American products ex 
 cept in British ships. Not only was the United States 
 harassed by the inimical attitude of England, but the 
 positions assumed by the several States themselves 
 threatened to break the "rope of sand" that bound 
 them together. "The Legislatures of States having 
 ports convenient for foreign commerce taxed the peo 
 ple of States trading through them, others taxed im 
 ports from adjoining States, and in some instances the 
 navigation laws treated people of other States as aliens. 
 The authority of Congress was disregarded by violating 
 not only the Treaty of Paris, but treaties with France 
 and Holland." 1 
 
 Such being the political chaos in which the United 
 States was thrown at the close of the Revolution, it 
 was found necessary to sell the few remaining ships of 
 the navy, while their officers and men sought employ 
 ment in other fields of activity ; so that, when peace 
 
 1 Frothingham s Rise of the Republic. 
 
 (155) 
 
156 OUTBREAK OF THE WAR WITH FRANCE. 1787-1794. 
 
 was proclaimed in the United States, April 11, 1783, 
 only the Alliance, the Deane and the General WasJi- 
 ington were left as mementos of the gallant fight made 
 by our seamen against the mistress of the ocean. The 
 first of these, the beautiful Alliance, was converted 
 into an Indiaman, and in 1787, under the command of 
 Thomas Read, formerly a captain in the navy, she sailed 
 for China. 
 
 After long deliberation a constitution was framed 
 and adopted, and on the 30th of April, 1789, it went 
 into effect, with George Washington as President of 
 the United States of America. By this scheme of gov 
 ernment the Secretary of War was intrusted with the 
 management of all marine forces, but it was not until 
 the 27th of March, 1794, that a law was passed for the 
 establishment of a navy. By this act six frigates, 
 rating not less than thirty-two guns, were ordered, but 
 it is more than probable that even this step would not 
 have been taken had it not been for the difficulties that 
 arose with Algiers. Soon after the close of the Revo 
 lution the Dey of Algiers discovered that a new nation 
 with a commerce had sprung into existence, and he pro 
 ceeded to extort an annual tribute similar to that paid 
 him by the powers of Europe. On the 25th of July, 
 1785, the American schooner Maria, of Boston, com 
 manded by Isaac Stevens, was seized near the Straits 
 of Gibraltar by an Algerian corsair, and Ijer crew was 
 held in captivity to await ransom, and five days after 
 ward the ship Dauphin, of Philadelphia, commanded 
 by Richard O Brien, met the same fate. Thus twenty- 
 one Americans were thrown into slavery. The reports 
 of these proceedings reached the United States in due 
 time, but such was the opposition to a standing army 
 or a permanent naval force that no decisive action was 
 taken. 
 
 The experience of a hundred years has proved the 
 necessity of a permanent and progressive naval force, 
 and has shown that the arguments used against it at 
 
1789. OPPOSITION TO A NAVY. 157 
 
 the close of the eighteenth century were groundless ; 
 but a brief review of the position taken by the oppo 
 nents to the establishment of a marine may be interest 
 ing. William Maclay, who with Robert Morris repre 
 sented Pennsylvania in the first United States Senate, 
 thus expresses the feeling of the opposition: "It is 
 the design of the Court party [referring to those who 
 wished the new Government to conform as much as 
 possible to the monarchical ideas of the Old World] to 
 have a fieet and an army. This is but the entering 
 wedge of a new monarchy in America, after all the 
 bloodshed and sufferings of a seven years war to estab 
 lish a republic. The Indian War is forced forward to 
 justify our having a standing army, and eleven unfor 
 tunate men now in slavery in Algiers is the pretext for 
 fitting out a fleet." In another place he says: "This 
 thing of a fleet has been working among our members 
 all the session. I have heard it break out often. It is 
 another menace to our republican institutions." 1 
 
 Charles W. Goldsborough, who was intimately con 
 nected with the navy in its earliest days as chief clerk 
 of the Navy Department and as secretary of the Naval 
 Board, said: "The resolution of the House of Repre 
 sentatives, that a naval force adequate to the protec 
 tion of the commerce of the United States ought to be 
 provided, was passed by a majority of two voices only. 
 Its adversaries, who were powerful in numbers and in 
 talents, urged with force and eloquence that the force 
 contemplated was inadequate ; that the finances of the 
 nation did not justify expensive fleets ; that it was a 
 sacred duty as well as a sound policy to discharge the 
 X>ublic debt ; that older and more powerful nations 
 bought the friendship of Algiers, and we might do 
 the same, or that we might subsidize some of the Eu 
 ropean naval powers to protect our trade." 
 
 Portugal about this time placed a blockade at the 
 
 1 William Maclay s Journal, p. 383. 
 
158 OUTBREAK OF THE WAR WITH FRANCE. 1793-1794. 
 
 Straits of Gibraltar, confining the depredations of these 
 rovers to the Mediterranean, which relieved the Ameri 
 cans from farther molestations until early in October, 
 1793, when, by a truce of twelve months, the blockade 
 was removed. Immediately afterward a squadron of 
 four ships three xebecs and one brig passed into the 
 Atlantic, and in one cruise captured ten American mer 
 chantmen and enslaved one hundred and five citizens. 
 Soon after this they seized the brig Minerva, of New 
 York, commanded by Joseph Ingraham, making a 
 total of one hundred and twelve American captives. 
 This act, coupled with the Dey s refusal to treat unless 
 all tribute that he reckoned as being in arrears was 
 paid, induced Congress to authorize the construction 
 of these six frigates. They were laid down as follows : 
 The 44-gun frigate Constitution, 1,576 tons, $302,719, 
 at Boston ; the 44-gun frigate President, 1,576 tons, 
 $220,910, at New York ; the 44-gun frigate United 
 States, 1,576 tons, $299,336, at Philadelphia; the 
 36-gun frigate Chesapeake, 1,244 tons, $220,678, at 
 Norfolk, Va. ; the 36-gun frigate Congress, 1,268 tons, 
 $197,246, at Portsmouth, N. H. ; the 36-gun frigate 
 Constellation, 1,265 tons, $314,212, at Baltimore. 
 
 According to the report of the Secretary of War, 
 April 1, 1794, these frigates "separately would be 
 superior to any European frigate of the usual dimen 
 sion ; that if assailed by numbers they would always 
 be able to lead ahead ; that they would never be 
 obliged to go into action but on their own terms, ex 
 cept in a calm ; and that in heavier weather they would 
 be capable of engaging double-decked ships." Thus, 
 at the outset, American naval constructors aimed at 
 a higher standard of war ships than had yet been 
 attained, and that they reached the mark is convin 
 cingly shown in the wars with France, Tripoli and 
 England ; and at the close of the War of 1812 Great 
 Britain in self-defense was compelled to build ships 
 on "exactly the same plan." Speaking of the con- 
 
1797. BUILDING A NEW NAVY, 159 
 
 struction of these American frigates, James said : 
 " Every thing that was new in the navies of England 
 and France was tried, and, if approved, adopted, no 
 matter at what expense. There were no contractors to 
 make a hard bargain pay by deteriorating the quality 
 of the article ; no deputies, ten deep, each to get a 
 picking out of the job. The Executive Government 
 agreed directly with the artisans, and not a plank was 
 shifted or a long bolt driven without the scrutinizing 
 eye of one of the captains or commodores of him, 
 perhaps, who expected at no distant day to risk his 
 life and honor on board the very ship whose equip 
 ment he was superintending." To Joshua Humphreys, 
 of Philadelphia, belongs the honor of designing these 
 ships, but many valuable suggestions in their construc 
 tion, made by experienced commanders who had served 
 in the navy of the Revolution, were adopted. The 
 United States was the first of these new cruisers to get 
 into the water, being launched at Philadelphia, July 10, 
 1797. The Constellation, constructed by David Stodert, 
 followed at Baltimore on the 7th of September of the 
 same year ; and on the 20th of September, 1797, the 
 Constitution was launched at Boston. The Constitu 
 tion was built by George Cloghorne and Mr. Hartly, 
 of Boston. "When she was ready to be launched," 
 said Rear- Admiral George Henry Preble, "Captain 
 Nicholson, who had charge of her construction, left 
 the shipyard to get his breakfast, leaving express or 
 ders not to hoist any flag over her until his return, 
 intending to reserve that honor to himself. Among 
 the workmen upon her was a shipwright and calker 
 named Samuel Bentley, who, with the assistance of 
 another workman named Harris, bent on and hoisted 
 the Stars and Stripes during Captain Nicholson s ab 
 sence. When the captain returned from his breakfast 
 he was very wrathy, and expressed himself in words 
 more strong than polite. Bentley died in Boston in 
 1852." Congress ordered that the complements of the 
 
160 OUTBREAK OF THE WAR WITH FRANCE. 1794. 
 
 44-gun frigates should be three hundred and fifty -nine, 
 and those of the 36-gun frigates three hundred and 
 twelve. 
 
 On the 5th of June, 1794, the following were selected 
 to be captains in the new navy : John Barry, Samuel 
 Nicholson, Silas Talbot, Joshua Barney, Richard Dale 
 and Thomas Truxtun. All these men were identified 
 with the struggle for independence, four of them hav 
 ing been captains in the navy. We have followed 
 Captain Barry in the Lexington, the RaleigJi, and in 
 the Alliance ; Captain Nicholson was commander of 
 the cutter Dolphin and the frigate Deane ; Silas Tal 
 bot, though not in command of a Government vessel, 
 gave efficient aid by capturing the schooners Pigot, 
 Lively, King George, Adventure, Elliot and Dragon, 
 besides being associated with several other creditable 
 affairs. Richard Bale was serving as master in the 
 Lexington when that vessel was captured by the Alert, 
 and he was first lieutenant in the BonTiomme Richard 
 during her extraordinary fight with the Serapis. 
 Thomas Truxtun was engaged in many daring exploits 
 of the Revolution. Joshua Barney, famous for his 
 action with the General Monk, declined to serve, and 
 on the 18th of July, 1794, James Sever was appointed 
 in his place. The lieutenants and other officers were 
 to be selected by these commanders, the first lieutenant 
 under Captain Barry ranking the corresponding officer 
 under Captain Nicholson, and so on through the list. 
 
 By an act of Congress, March 27, 1794 r the pay in 
 the navy was fixed as follows : Captain, seventy-five 
 dollars a month and six rations a day, twenty-five cents 
 being allowed for each ration ; lieutenant, forty dollars 
 and three rations ; lieutenant of marines, twenty-six 
 dollars and two rations ; chaplain, forty dollars and 
 two rations ; sailing master, forty dollars and two ra 
 tions ; surgeon, fifty dollars and two rations ; surgeon s 
 mate, thirty dollars and two rations ; purser, forty dol 
 lars and two rations. The boatswain, gunner, sail- 
 
1795-1798. A NAVY DEPARTMENT CHEATED. 
 
 maker and carpenter received fourteen dollars and two 
 rations. The pay of midshipmen, petty officers, able 
 seamen, ordinary seamen and marines was to be fixed 
 by the President, while they received one ration a day. 
 By an act of July 1, 1797, the pay of a lieutenant of 
 marines was raised to fifty dollars a month, and that 
 of the boatswain, gunner, carpenter and sailmaker to 
 twenty dollars. The rations consisted of Sunday, a 
 pound and a half of beef, half a pint of rice ; Monday, 
 a pound of pork, half a pint of peas, four ounces of 
 cheese ; Tuesday, a pound and a half of beef, a pound 
 of potatoes ; Wednesday, half a pint of rice, two ounces 
 of butter, six ounces of molasses ; Thursday, a pound 
 of pork, half a pint of peas ; Friday, a pound of pota 
 toes, a pound of salt fish, two ounces of butter or one 
 gill of oil ; Saturday, a pound of pork, half a pint of 
 peas, four ounces of cheese. One pound of ]3read and 
 half a pint of spirits, or one quart of beer, were served 
 every day. 
 
 On the 30th of April, 1798, the Secretary of the 
 Navy was added to the President s Cabinet, Benjamin 
 Stoddart, of Georgetown, D. C., being the first. The 
 temporary marine corps, hastily organized during the 
 Revolution, became extinct, as did the navy, at the 
 close of that struggle, but by a law of July 11, 1798, 
 a permanent marine corps was established, having 
 eight hundred and eighty-one officers, noncommis 
 sioned officers, privates and musicians, all under the 
 command of a major. 
 
 In November, 1795, the signing of a treaty between 
 the United States and Algiers obviated the immediate 
 necessity of these frigates, but the Constitution, the 
 United States and the Constellation were completed, 
 the timber, and other material for the remaining frig 
 ates being sold. Money and presents to the amount 
 of a million dollars were the price of this treaty, and 
 by the last article of it the United States was bound 
 to pay Algiers an annual tribute of twelve thousand 
 
162 OUTBREAK OF THE WAR WITH FRANCE. 1798-1796. 
 
 sequins, equal to about twenty-two thousand dollars. 
 Thus the dangerous and shortsighted policy of leav 
 ing the nation without an adequate naval force in time 
 of peace was pursued even at this early period of our 
 history. Hardly had peace with Algiers been con 
 cluded when trouble with France began. Taking ad 
 vantage of the unprotected state of our commerce, her 
 cruisers and privateers not only violated the neutral 
 ity of American waters by capturing British vessels 
 within the limits, but even seized American merchant 
 men as lawful prizes. On the principle, apparently, 
 that cure is better than prevention, Congress, on the 
 27th of April, 1798, or less than three years from the 
 time it bought a degrading peace from a semibarbar- 
 ous power, passed a law authorizing the purchase or 
 construction of twelve vessels, none of which were to 
 rate over twenty-two guns, and to meet the expense 
 $950,000 were appropriated. Thus, after paying out 
 a million in tribute which alone would have been 
 sufficient to equip a navy that could have annihilated 
 the marine forces of Algiers 1 Congress was compelled 
 to double the amount to meet this new difficulty. Soon 
 afterward the President was authorized to order the 
 construction of six ships of the line. 
 
 Washington saw the necessity and economy of a 
 permanent naval establishment, and he repeatedly 
 urged the subject upon Congress. In a speech be 
 fore both Houses, December 7, 1796, he said: "To an 
 active, external commerce the protection of a naval 
 force is indispensable." Not only did Washington 
 promulgate this doctrine, but he maintained that "to 
 secure respect to a neutral flag requires a naval force 
 
 1 Richard O Brien, of the Dauphin, said that the Algerian marine force 
 on the 12th of November, 1793, consisted of four frigates carrying forty- 
 four, thirty-two and twenty-four guns each ; one polacre of eighteen guns, 
 one brig of twenty guns ; four xebecs of twenty, fourteen and twelve guns 
 each ; one brig on the stocks, pierced for twenty guns ; and sixty gun 
 boats. 
 
1798. NECESSITY OF A NAVY. 163 
 
 organized and ready to vindicate it from insult or 
 aggression." He furthermore advocated the u gradual 
 creation" of a navy, and said : " Will it not be advis 
 able to begin without delay to provide and lay up the 
 materials for the building and equipping of ships of 
 war, and to proceed in the work by degrees in propor 
 tion as our resources shall render it practicable without 
 inconvenience, so that a future war with Europe may 
 not find our commerce in the same unprotected state 
 in which it was found by the present ? " 
 
 The population of the United States at this time 
 numbered nearly five millions, while the exports from 
 October 1, 1797, to September 30, 1798, were valued at 
 $61,527,097, and the imports at $63,000,000. The total 
 tonnage of the merchant marine was nearly nine hun 
 dred thousand tons, valued at $29,397,963.11. The 
 entire cost of the navy from 1794 to 1798, including 
 building, arming, equipping and keeping the ships in 
 commission, was $2,510,730.69; and at a moderate cal 
 culation the gain to American merchants in the lower 
 ing of insurance, caused by the existence of this naval 
 force, for the year 1798 alone, was* $8,655,566.06 ; so 
 that the economists in Congress, whd had been so loud 
 ly boasting that they had saved the United States 
 Treasury two or three million dollars by not establish 
 ing a navy, had in fact been extorting from the people 
 many times that amount in the form of high insurance, 
 which the absence of a naval force had made necessary, 
 besides paying several millions in 1 tribute to the pi 
 ratical states of Barbary. View it in whatever light 
 we may, the expense of maintaining a respectable and 
 progressive navy is nothing more^ than a safe, econom 
 ical and necessary insurance on the prosperity of the 
 nation. 
 
 The depredations of French cruisers and privateers 
 had been so great that on the 2d of March, 1794, Ed 
 mund Randolph charged France with flagrant viola 
 tions of the treaty, and a list of thirty-eight American 
 
164: OUTBREAK OF THE WAR WITH FRANCE. 1798. 
 
 vessels carried into French ports by French cruisers 
 and privateers was given. It was not until several 
 years later that Congress gave up all hope of adjust 
 ing the difficulty, but on the 4th of May, 1798, the 
 construction of galleys and several small vessels was 
 ordered, and on the 28th of the same month our 
 cruisers were authorized to capture any French vessel 
 that might be found near the coast preying upon 
 American commerce. On the 7th of July, 1798, all 
 treaties with France were abrogated, and American 
 cruisers were ordered to capture French vessels when 
 found within the limits, and two days afterward they 
 were permitted to attack them wherever found, while 
 the President was authorized to issue commissions to 
 privateers. On the 16th of July the construction of 
 three more frigates was ordered. The navy immedi 
 ately became the favorite branch of the service, and no 
 difficulty was experienced in filling out the comple 
 ments, in some instances the entire crew being en 
 listed in a few hours. The sons of leading families of 
 the country eagerly proffered their services and were 
 enrolled as midshipmen, while the merchant marine 
 furnished a supply of experienced men for commanders 
 and lieutenants. 1 
 
 1 According to a report made by the Secretary of the Navy, December 
 24, 1798, the list of available vessels in the American navy comprised the 
 44-gun frigate Constitution* the 44-gun frigate United States* the 36-gun 
 frigate Constellation* the 24-gun ship Portsmouth* the 18- gun brig Nor 
 folk* the 18-gun brig Pinckney* the 14-gun brig Eagle* the 14-gun brig 
 Pickering,* the 14-gun schooner Scammel* the 14-gun schooner Governor 
 Jay* the 14-gun schooner Virginia* the 12-gun schooner Diligence* the 
 12-gun schooner South Carolina* the 10-gun sloop General Greene* the 
 24-gun ship Ganges, the 24-gun ship George Washington, the 24-gun ship 
 Merrimac, the 20-gun ship Baltimore, the 20-gun ship Delaware, the 
 20-gun ship Montezuma, the 18-gun ship Herald and the 18-gun brig 
 Richmond ; total, twenty-two ships, mounting four hundred and fifty-six 
 guns, and having a complement of three thousand four hundred and eighty- 
 four men. 
 
 These vessels, except those marked with asterisks, were merchantmen, 
 and poorly adapted for war purposes. The revenue vessels were brigs of 
 
1798. CHASE OF THE MONTEZUMA AND THE NORFOLK. 165 
 
 A month before hostilities were declared against 
 France, the Constellation, Captain Thomas Truxtun, 
 and the Delaware, Captain Stephen Decatur, Sr. 
 father of Stephen Decatur, famous in the War of 1812 
 got to sea for the protection of the American coast 
 ing trade. When off the Delaware they fell in with 
 the French privateer Croyable, of fourteen guns, carry 
 ing a crew of fifty-four men. Knowing that this vessel 
 had lately captured several American ships, Captain 
 Decatur seized her and carried her into Philadelphia, 
 where she was refitted and taken into the navy under 
 the name of the Retaliation. On the passage of the 
 laws of July 7 and 9, 1798, many of the American 
 cruisers hastened to sea, among them the Retaliation, 
 now commanded by Lieutenant William Bainbridge. 
 
 At six o clock on the morning of November 20th 
 this ship, while cruising in the vicinity of Guadeloupe 
 in company with the Montezuma, Captain Alexander 
 Murray, and the Norfolk, Captain Thomas Williams, 
 discovered three sails to the east - southeast and 
 shortly afterward two more to the west. The Monte 
 zuma and the Norfolk immediately gave chase to the 
 strangers to the west, while Lieutenant Bainbridge in 
 the Retaliation was ordered to reconnoiter the sup 
 posed English vessels to the east. Running down to 
 them the Retaliation gave the private signal of the 
 day, and was answered with a flag at the mizzenmast 
 which could not be distinctly made out, but from the 
 manoeuvres of the stranger Lieutenant Bainbridge was 
 
 one hundred and fifty to two hundred tons, carrying a crew of fifty to 
 seventy men. Preble, afterward famous in the War with Tripoli, served in 
 one of these vessels. The vessels of the Ganges class were old-fashioned 
 ships carrying long 9- and 6-pounders ; the smaller craft carried lighter 
 guns and were deep-waisted. Besides this force several ships of war were 
 built by private subscription. Along the southern seaboard eight large 
 galleys were kept for coast defense. The Ganges, Captain Richard Dale, 
 was the first United States man-of-war to get to sea under the Constitu 
 tion. She was ordered to cruise from the eastern end of Long Island to 
 the Capes of Virginia. 
 
166 OUTBREAK OF THE WAR WITH FRANCE. 1798. 
 
 inclined to believe that they were British cruisers, as 
 the English ship Scourge had been seen the day before 
 bearing down on two vessels of similar appearance. In 
 consequence of this the strangers were allowed to ap 
 proach too near, and it was not until they were almost 
 within gunshot that Lieutenant Bainbridge discovered 
 them to be French frigates, when he immediately 
 crowded all sail to escape, and signaled the Montezuma 
 and the Norfolk. The leading French ship, the 36-gun 
 frigate Insurgent, Captain Barreaut, proved a remark 
 ably fast sailer and soon compelled the Retaliation to 
 strike ; so that although the Retaliation was the first 
 vessel taken from the French, she was also the first 
 captured from the Americans. The Insurgent then 
 resumed her course after the Montezuma and the Nor 
 folk, while Lieutenant Bainbridge was taken aboard 
 the second French ship, the Volontaire, Captain St. 
 Laurent. When Lieutenant Bainbridge presented his 
 sword to the French commander the latter returned it, 
 remarking: "You had, sir, no opportunity to defend 
 yourself. I therefore beg you to retain your sword." 
 
 By this time the Insurgent was far ahead in hot 
 pursuit of the Montezuma and the Norfolk and was 
 fast overhauling them. The Volontaire, having put a 
 prize crew aboard the Retaliation, made sail after her 
 consort, then far to the east. Lieutenant Bainbridge 
 joined the group of French officers watching the chase 
 from the forecastle of the Volontaire, and, just as they 
 were expecting to see the Insurgent open fire on the 
 American ships, Captain St. Laurent abruptly turned to 
 Lieutenant Bainbridge and inquired the force of the 
 two ships the Insurgent was pursuing. With great 
 presence of mind the American officer replied, u The 
 ship has twenty-eight 12-pounders, and the brig twenty 
 9-pounders," which was double their actual force, and 
 would have rendered them too formidable for the In 
 surgent alone to attack. Greatly alarmed at the unex 
 pected force of the chase, Captain St. Laurent directed 
 
1798. CHASE OF THE MONTEZUMA AND THE NORFOLK. 167 
 
 his signal officer to recall the Insurgent. On coming 
 within hall Captain Barreaut stepped to the gangway 
 to hail his senior officer, and said, "Had you not sig 
 naled me, sir, I would have captured those ships in ten 
 minutes." 
 
 "Citizen captain," replied Captain St. Laurent, 
 * the Insurgent was not heavy enough to attack the 
 ships you were chasing. They were armed with 12- 
 and 9-pounders." Captain Barreaut answered with 
 considerable excitement that there was not a gun in 
 either vessel heavier than a 6-pounder. On hearing 
 this Captain St. Laurent turned upon Lieutenant 
 Bainbridge and said severely, "Did you not say, sir, 
 that the force of those vessels was such as I have 
 stated \ " The American officer as sternly replied that 
 if he could save the ships of his Government by mis 
 representing their strength he felt justified in doing so. 
 The ruse gave rise- to much ill-concealed vexation 
 among the French officers, but both Captain St. Lau 
 rent and Captain Barreaut continued to treat Lieuten 
 ant Bainbridge with all due courtesy. 
 
 Perhaps no one was more surprised at the sudden 
 abandonment of the chase than were Captain Murray 
 and Captain Williams, of the Montezuma and the Nor 
 folk, for they had given over all hopes of eluding their 
 swift and powerful foe ; but when the Insurgent turned 
 back they made the best of the opportunity, so that 
 by the time the French commanders were comparing 
 notes the American ships were not in sight. The 
 Montezuma continued her cruise in the West Indies 
 until October, 1799, when she returned to port to refit. 
 The Volontaire and the Insurgent continued on their 
 course, and on the following day they reached Guade 
 loupe with their prize, where the American prisoners 
 were landed. 
 
 The unsettled condition of political affairs in the 
 West Indies at this time is shown by the treatment 
 Lieutenant Bainbridge and his men received on their 
 
168 OUTBREAK OF THE WAR WITH FRANCE. 1798. 
 
 arrival at Basse Terre. General Desf ourneaux, governor 
 of the island, who was described as a man of " fine tal 
 ents, courtly manners and insinuating address," after 
 expressing great friendship for Lieutenant Bainbridge, 
 intimated that "much individual advantage" might 
 result if the island of Guadeloupe were considered 
 neutral in the war, and he suggested that Lieutenant 
 Bainbridge should lend his influence to secure this 
 end. The American officer indignantly refused to en 
 ter into such a scheme, upon which the Americans 
 were treated with great brutality and reduced almost 
 to starvation. General Desfourneaux said this treat 
 ment was due to the orders of the notorious Victor 
 Hughes, the deposed governor of the island, and that 
 no change could be made until he had left the port. 
 In a few days the disgraced governor was sent aboard 
 the Volontaire as a national prisoner, and the Ameri 
 cans anticipated better treatment, but instead of this 
 they were subjected to even greater cruelty than be 
 fore. Lieutenant Bainbridge informed General Des 
 fourneaux that the seamen were nearly in a state of 
 starvation ; that among them were a number of highly 
 respectable masters of vessels, and that they were 
 almost daily insulted, beaten and confined in a dun 
 geon by a drunken and brutal jailer. But the remon 
 strance proved of no avail. 
 
 On Christmas night, when a few of the seamen 
 were amusing themselves with songs, dancing and a 
 rude theatrical performance, in celebration of the day 
 and as a means of relieving the monotony of their 
 imprisonment, the jailer and his assistants rushed into 
 the apartment, and seizing twelve of the prisoners 
 from their hammocks while they were still undressed, 
 threw them into a damp dungeon which had only a 
 small opening at the top for the admission of light 
 and air. After much importunity Lieutenant Bain 
 bridge was allowed to visit the dungeon, and found 
 his countrymen in the cold place nearly naked, with 
 
1798. IN THE DUNGEONS OF GUADELOUPE. 
 
 nothing to eat except a little raw salt beef, and noth 
 ing to interpose between their bodies and the muddy 
 ground, the jailer refusing even to give them their 
 clothes. 
 
 A few days after this the French frigate Ponsea 
 arrived at Guadeloupe having twenty to thirty Ameri 
 can prisoners aboard, taken by French privateers, and 
 they had been compelled to act as a part of the 
 frigate s crew. Lieutenant Bainbridge requested that 
 they be landed as prisoners of war, for in their present 
 position they might be compelled to fight against their 
 flag. The wily governor immediately saw his oppor 
 tunity, and again suggested that this might be done 
 provided the American officers conformed to his wishes 
 in the matter of making Guadeloupe neutral ; but as 
 Lieutenant Bainbridge still refused, the Ponsea sailed 
 for France two days afterward with her prisoners. 
 
 Not long after this the governor again endeavored 
 to bring the Americans to terms. He sent a courteous 
 message to Lieutenant Bainbridge offering to restore 
 the Retaliation and release all citizens of the United 
 States on the island if his trade with the United States 
 was unmolested. As Lieutenant Bainbridge refused 
 to accede to these terms the governor threatened to 
 put him in irons ; but a few days afterward, finding it 
 impossible to coerce the Americans, he released them, 
 and using the Retaliation as a cartel sent three hun 
 dred of them to the United States. He forwarded a 
 dispatch by Lieutenant Bainbridge to the President of 
 the United States, demanding the neutrality of Guade 
 loupe and free commerce with the United States ; and 
 he threatened, if this were not granted, to put to death 
 every American prisoner who afterward fell into his 
 hands. 
 
 In the middle of July the United States, Captain 
 
 John Barry, having in company the Delaware, Captain 
 
 Stephen Decatur, Sr., got to sea with instructions to 
 
 cruise off Cape Cod, where it was intended to have the 
 
 14 
 
170 OUTBREAK OF THE WAR WITH FRANCE. 1798. 
 
 Herald, Captain James Sever, meet him. The United 
 States on this cruise carried many officers who after 
 ward became distinguished. They were : David Ross, 
 first lieutenant ; Mr. Mullany, second lieutenant ; James 
 Barron, third lieutenant ; Charles Stewart, fourth lieu 
 tenant. Among the midshipmen were Richard Somers, 
 Stephen Decatur, Jr., James R. Caldwell, Jacob Jones 
 and William Montgomery Crane. 
 
 On his way to Cape Cod Captain Barry discovered 
 a heavy frigate sailing under French colors, and he 
 immediately displayed the same flag, and signaled the 
 Delaware to haul off so that he could engage the ene 
 my single-handed. The stranger made every prepara 
 tion to meet the American ship, and tried to gain the 
 weather gauge. In this the commanders displayed 
 great skill, but after manoeuvring a long time the 
 United States secured the vantage point and closed on 
 the enemy ; but just as she was about to open fire the 
 stranger showed English colors, and hailed that she 
 was the British 50-gun ship Thetis. In order to avoid 
 a repetition of what nearly proved to be a serious mis 
 take, Admiral Vandeport proposed a set of signals by 
 which American and British cruisers could know each 
 other. The code was accepted and was used for many 
 years. Soon afterward the French privateers Sans 
 Pareil, of sixteen guns and eighty-seven men, and 
 Jaloux, of fourteen guns and seventy men, were cap 
 tured by the United States and the Delaware. Subse 
 quently, while cruising alone, the Delaware took the 
 Marsouin, of ten guns. 
 
 On the 10th of the following August the Constel 
 lation, Captain Thomas Truxtun, and the Baltimore, 
 Captain Isaac Phillips, sailed for Havana, where a fleet 
 of sixty American merchant ships was awaiting convoy. 
 Several French cruisers also were lying in port ready to 
 attack the fleet as soon as it cleared the land, but the 
 presence of the American men of war prevented trouble, 
 and the ships arrived at their destination in safety. 
 
1798. OUTRAGE ON THE BALTIMORE. 
 
 While the Baltimore was engaged in this service 
 an incident occurred which created great excitement in 
 the United States, and did much toward opening the 
 eyes of the people to the necessity of maintaining a 
 permanent and efficient marine force. Although Great 
 Britain at this time was also carrying on an active war 
 against France, her cruisers in several instances perpe 
 trated outrages on American seamen and on the Ameri 
 can flag. On the 16th of November, while convoying 
 merchant vessels from Charleston to Havana, the Balti 
 more fell in with a British squadron under the com 
 mand of Captain Loring, consisting of the 74-gun ship 
 of the line Carnatie, flagship ; the 98-gun ship of the 
 line Queen, Captain Dobson ; the 74-gun ship of the 
 line Thunderer ; the 32-gun frigate Maidstone ; and the 
 32-gun frigate Grayhound, Captain Hardy. As soon 
 as the British vessels were made out Captain Phillips, 
 distrusting their respect for the rights of the American 
 vessels on the high seas, signaled his convoy to make 
 all sail before the wind while he ran down to recon- 
 noiter. 
 
 On going aboard the Carnatie Captain Phillips was 
 informed that every man in the Baltimore not provided 
 with an American "protection" would be impressed. 
 Captain Phillips protested against this, and avowed his 
 determination to surrender his ship before he would 
 countenance such a measure, but on returning to the 
 Baltimore he found a British lieutenant in the act of 
 mustering the crew. Taking the roll from that officer s 
 hands he ordered him to the lee side, and then sent 
 the men to their quarters. But in the presence of 
 such a squadron the Baltimore was powerless, and 
 Captain Phillips was compelled to surrender the muster 
 roll and call up all hands for inspection. Fifty-five 
 men were selected and taken aboard the Carnatie, fifty 
 of whom, however, were returned. Having in the 
 mean time seized three vessels of the American convoy, 
 under his own interpretation of the rules of blockade, 
 
172 OUTBREAK OF THE WAR WITH FRANCE. 1799. 
 
 Captain Loring sailed for Havana, after acknowledging 
 that he had a number of Americans in his crew. The 
 three merchantmen, after a vexatious and unnecessary 
 delay, were released and proceeded on their voyage. 
 Captain Phillips, on the 10th of January, 1799, was dis 
 missed from the service, and his course of nonresist- 
 ance was pronounced most culpable. 1 
 
 1 Secretary of the Navy to Captain Phillips, January 10, 1799. 
 

 CHAPTER II. 
 
 A VIGOEOUS NAVAL WAR AGAINST FEANCE. 
 
 THE War with France afforded the first opportu 
 nity to test the new American frigates, which, by com 
 bining heavy armaments with great speed, were de 
 signed to be superior to any ship of the same class 
 afloat. Their arrival in the West Indies was awaited 
 with much curiosity and with not a little covert merri 
 ment by the English and French officers on that sta 
 tion. The English were especially emphatic in their 
 predictions of the failure of the " monstrous and pre 
 posterous " armaments carried in these ships, and many 
 a messroom rang with laughter over the imaginary 
 mishaps that would befall the presumptuous attempts 
 at naval architecture by " rebel subjects," as the 
 Americans were still graciously called by their friends 
 the English. The result of several actions between 
 American and French cruisers did much toward chang 
 ing the tune of their laughter, but British officers were 
 not yet satisfied, and, wishing to know if Yankee-built 
 frigates really could sail with any respectable speed, 
 the commander of an English cruiser, while on block 
 ade duty on the St. Domingo station, challenged Cap 
 tain Silas Talbot, of the Constitution, to an all- day 
 race, wagering a cask of wine on the result. The 
 younger American officers were immediately on their 
 mettle, especially as the British ship had the reputa 
 tion of being one of the best sailers in the West Indies, 
 and they begged Captain Talbot to accept the challenge, 
 and, as making an agreeable break in the monotony of 
 the cruise, the American commander consented. 
 
 (173) 
 
A VIGOROUS NAVAL WAR AGAINST FRANCE. 1799. 
 
 Isaac Hull at this time was first lieutenant in the 
 Constitution and had the reputation of being one of 
 the most skillful navigators of his day, and, as Farra- 
 gut in later years remarked, "he was as able a seaman 
 as ever sailed a ship." The race began at daybreak 
 and lasted until the sun went down, and Lieutenant 
 Hull kept all hands constantly on deck, not even 
 allowing them time to go below for mess. The Consti 
 tution had it all her own way from the start, and just 
 as the sun was disappearing below the horizon she 
 fired her evening gun, the signal that the race was 
 ended, and hove to, waiting for the Englishman to 
 come up. When within hail the British commander 
 
 V ^ C3 L-^ <{>8T.KI 
 
 WINDWARD 
 
 * 
 
 TOBAGO^ 
 
 Scene of the naval operations in the 
 West Indies in 1799. 
 
 handsomely acknowledged 
 his defeat, and, promptly 
 lowering his gig, sent the 
 cask of wine aboard the 
 Constitution. Had this cap 
 tain lived sixteen years longer, the mortification of 
 his defeat would have been considerably diminished 
 by learning that eighteen British frigates and several 
 ships of the line subsequently endeavored to overtake 
 the Constitution with a similar want of success. 
 
 French privateers by this time had become so nu 
 merous and daring in the West Indies that the Govern 
 ment found it necessary to direct all its naval force 
 against them. Accordingly, a squadron commanded 
 by Captain John Barry was ordered to rendezvous at 
 
1799. MANY FRENCH PRIVATEERS CAPTURED. 175 
 
 Prince Rupert s Bay, and to cruise to windward of St. 
 Kitts and as far south as Barbadoes and Tobago. It 
 consisted of the following vessels : The United States, 
 Captain John Barry ; the Constitution, Captain Samuel 
 Nicholson ; the George Washington, Captain Patrick 
 Fletcher ; the Merrimac, Captain Moses Brown ; the 
 Portsmouth, Captain Daniel McNiell ; the Pickering, 
 Master-Commandant Edward Preble ; the Eagle, Lieu 
 tenant Hugh George Campbell ; the Herald, Lieuten 
 ant Charles C. Russell ; the Scammel, Lieutenant J. 
 Adams ; and the Diligence, Lieutenant J. Brown. The 
 Merrimac took le Bonaparte, le Phenix, of fourteen 
 guns and one hundred and twenty-eight men, and la 
 Magicienne, of fourteen guns and sixty- three men ; 
 the Portsmouth took le Bonaparte (No. 2), la Bril- 
 lante, le Fripon and le Bon Pere, of six guns and fifty- 
 two men. Seven other captures were made by this 
 squadron. 
 
 On the 3d of February, while the United States 
 was cruising to windward of Martinique, chase was 
 given to a suspicious sail. As there was a fresh breeze 
 at the time the American frigate soon had the stranger, 
 which proved to be a French privateer, under her 
 guns. Finding that he was outsailed on this point, the 
 Frenchman, as a last hope, went about and boldly 
 endeavored to turn to windward by short tacks, under 
 the guns of the frigate. A single well-aimed 24-pound 
 shot from the United States cut the career of the 
 privateer short, for the ball went through her hull 
 between wind and water, so that she quickly began to 
 fill and settle. The sudden lowering of her sails, the 
 confusion aboard her and the cries of her people for 
 aid, told plainly enough that one shot was sufficient. 
 The United States promptly hove to and lowered her 
 boats to the rescue. Midshipman Stephen Decatur was 
 in the boat that first reached the wreck, and he found 
 her crew collected on her rails, stripped of their plun 
 der and clothes, ready to swim to the boats. "They 
 
176 A VIGOROUS NAVAL WAR AGAINST FRANCE. 1799. 
 
 were plaintively imploring for help," wrote an eyewit 
 ness, " with earnest gesticulations, not only from men 
 but from God, and although it is true they had abol 
 ished all religion, they had not, it seemed, forgot the 
 old way of invoking the protection of the Omnipotent." 
 Seeing that the boats would be swamped if they came 
 within reach of the frantic privateersmen, the Ameri 
 can officer in charge ordered the Frenchmen to put 
 their helm up and run down to the frigate. This was 
 done at once, and the privateer, which was the Amour 
 de la Patrie, of six guns and eighty men, sank near 
 the United States ; her men jumped clear of her, other 
 boats were lowered, and all were saved. The United 
 States also took the privateer Tartufe, of eight guns 
 and sixty men. 
 
 Desiring to relieve himself of his prisoners, and 
 hoping to liberate an equal number of Americans who 
 were confined in the loathsome dungeons at Guade 
 loupe, Captain Barry put into the roads of Basse 
 Terre with the white flag of truce at his fore, but when 
 within effective range the French batteries opened on 
 her. Quickly hauling down the white flag, Captain 
 Barry sailed around the harbor and returned the fire 
 so effectively that the walls of the batteries bore the 
 marks of American shot for many years afterward. 
 
 A second squadron, under Captain Thomas Trux- 
 tun, which cruised in the vicinity of Porto Rico, St. 
 Martins and the Virgin Gorda, consisted of the Con 
 stellation, Captain Thomas Truxtun; the Baltimore, 
 Captain Isaac Phillips ; the Norfolk, Captain Thomas 
 Williams ; the Richmond, Captain Samuel Barron ; and 
 the Virginia, Captain Francis Bright. These ships 
 captured nine privateers, carrying in all forty guns. 
 A third squadron, under Captain Thomas Tingey, con 
 sisting of the Ganges, Captain Thomas Tingey, the 
 Pinckney, Lieutenant Samuel Heywood, and the 
 South Carolina, Lieutenant J. Payne, was stationed 
 between Cuba and Hayti, and captured six privateers, 
 
1799. THE CONSTELLATION-INSURGENT ACTION. 177 
 
 the Ganges taking le Vainqueur, T Eugene and TEspe- 
 rance. The Delaware, Captain Stephen Decatur, Sr., 
 and the revenue cutters Governor Jay, Lieutenant 
 George Price, and General Greene, Lieutenant J. W. 
 Leonard, cruised near Havana. By this distribution 
 of the naval force over sixty privateers were seized, 
 while many picaroons, who were in the habit of 
 attacking becalmed merchant ships near shore, were 
 severely punished. 
 
 While cruising off Cape Mcolas Mole the Ganges 
 was boarded by a boat from the British cruiser Sur 
 prise for the purpose of impressing all seamen who 
 happened to be without American " protection " papers. 
 Captain Tingey refused to have his ship searched, and 
 said : " A public ship carries no protection for her men 
 but her flag. I do not expect to succeed in the action 
 with you, but I will die at my quarters before a man 
 shall be taken from the ship." The crew was then 
 sent to quarters and the guns manned to the tune of 
 Yankee Doodle." Perceiving the determination of 
 the Americans, the British commander sailed without 
 attempting to seize any of the crew. 
 
 At half past twelve on the 9th of February the 
 Constellation, Captain Truxtun, while cruising near 
 St. Kitts, discovered a sail to the south-southeast, the 
 Island of Nevis bearing fifteen miles west by south. 
 The frigate was put before the wind, which was fresh 
 from the north-northeast, so as to cross the stranger s 
 course, and at 1 P. M. the chase was standing close- 
 hauled on the port tack. Half an hour later a squall 
 necessitated shortening of sail, and for a few minutes 
 the vessels were shut out of view, but when the weather 
 cleared up it was seen that the stranger had lost her 
 main-topmast, and had changed her course to "north 
 west, one quarter north," with a view of running into St. 
 Eustatius. Soon afterward she hoisted an American 
 flag, upon which Captain Truxtun showed his colors 
 and gave the private signal of the day, and also the 
 
178 A VIGOROUS NAVAL WAR AGAINST FRANCE. 1799. 
 
 signal agreed upon by American and British command 
 ers. As the chase did not answer, there was no doubt 
 of his nationality. Presently he hoisted French colors, 
 fired a gun to leeward in " confirmation," and headed 
 to the southeast, the Constellation rapidly coming up 
 with him. 
 
 The first division of the gun deck of the Constella 
 tion, at this time consisting of five guns on each side, 
 was commanded by First-Lieutenant John Rodgers 
 (afterward famous in the War of 1812) ; the second 
 division of five guns on each side was commanded by 
 Second-Lieutenant William Cowper ; and the third di 
 vision of four guns on each side by Third-Lieutenant 
 Andrew Sterett. Fourth-Lieutenant John Archer was 
 stationed on the quarter-deck. 
 
 About 3.15 P. M., when within pistol shot, the French 
 man hailed but Captain Truxtun did not answer. The 
 chase hailed again, when the Constellation, having 
 gained a position off her port quarter, poured in a full 
 broadside. This was promptly returned, and the firing 
 became steady. After the first broadside the enemy 
 luffed up to run aboard, but owing to the loss of his 
 main-topmast he was not quick enough, so that the 
 Constellation, forging ahead, ran across his course and 
 raked. Captain Truxtun then passed along the enemy s 
 starboard side, and having received no material damage 
 in his spars or rigging he was able to keep his ship 
 off the Frenchman s starboard bow, in a position which 
 he maintained fully an hour, pouring in and receiving 
 broadsides. During this time an 18-pound shot struck 
 the Constellation s fore-topmast just above the cap, 
 and so weakened it that it tottered, and was in immi 
 nent danger of giving way under the press of sail. 
 Midshipman David Porter (afterward captain) who was 
 stationed in the foretop, hailed the deck, giving notice 
 of the danger, but in the excitement and uproar of 
 battle no order was sent up. Seeing the urgency of 
 the occasion, young Porter, with great judgment and 
 
1799. THE CONSTELLATION-INSURGENT ACTION. 
 
 179 
 
 presence of mind, went aloft, cut the stoppers and 
 lowered the yard, thus relieving the mast of the press 
 ure of sail and preventing a serious mishap. 
 
 The Constellation now drew out of the smoke which 
 had gathered around the two ships, and running across 
 the enemy s course poured in a second raking broad 
 side. Then ranging alongside the Frenchman s port 
 bow she opened a heavy fire from her starboard battery, 
 which soon dismounted every^ 18-pounder on the ene 
 my s main deck, leaving him with only his battery of 12- 
 pounders. 1 About 4. 30 p. M., the Constellation dropped 
 astern, crossed the enemy s wake and was about to 
 rake for the third time, when the Frenchman struck. 
 
 Diagram of the battle. C, Constellation. 
 
 A boat was immediately sent aboard the prize, which 
 soon returned with Captain Barreaut and the first lieu 
 tenant of the French 36-gun frigate Insurgent, the 
 same that in the preceding year had chased the Monte- 
 zuma and the Norfolk. 
 
 There has been much error among naval writers 
 concerning the Insurgents armament. Cooper merely 
 says that it consisted of forty guns, her main deck bat 
 tery being French twelves. James, an English naval 
 historian, in his estimate, gives the Insurgent twenty- 
 six long 18-pounders on the main deck, while Troude, 
 a French naval historian, gives her 12-pounders instead 
 of 18-pounders on the main deck. 2 On the other hand, 
 
 1 Official report of the French commander. 
 
 2 Batailles Navales de la France, tome iii, p. 1G9. 
 
180 A VIGOROUS NAVAL WAR AGAINST FRANCE. 1799. 
 
 Troude gives the Constellation twenty-eight 12-pound- 
 ers on the main deck, whereas she carried 24-pounders. 
 James, moreover, says, "The nature of V Insurgent s 
 guns nowhere appears." 
 
 These conflicting statements rise from lack of infor 
 mation on the subject, and the impossibility at that 
 time of getting at the official report of the French 
 commander. Through the courtesy of Admiral Aube, 
 of the French navy, late Minister of Marine, the author 
 was permitted to search the archives of the Depart 
 ment of the Marine and Colonies at Paris, and there 
 found the official reports of the French commanders 
 concerned in our war with France 1798-1801. The re 
 port of Captain Barreaut throws much light on this ac 
 tion, and determines the Insurgent s armament, which 
 up to this time has been in doubt. This report de 
 scribes the Constellation s main deck guns as 24-pound- 
 ers, or twice the weight Troude gives her. From Cap 
 tain Barreaut s report it is seen that the Insurgent car 
 ried 18-pounders on the main deck: " J etais dans un 
 grand embarras, vos ordres etaient de ne tirer sur le 
 pavilion americain, une fregate anglaise pouvait Men 
 s en servir pour eviter nos coups de canon de 18 en 
 retraite qui 1 eurent beaucoup endommage pendant 1 
 heure -J et m eut donne le temps de me sauver." 1 Here 
 we see that Captain Barreaut speaks of his c canon de 
 18," and in the same report he mentions his " canons 
 de 18," leaving no doubt as to the plural number. He 
 mentions his 18-pounders in three separate places. 
 This, together with the fact that an 18-pound shot 
 struck the Constellation s fore-topmast in the action, 
 proves that she carried a battery of 18-pounders. 
 Again Captain Barreaut says: "After two hours of 
 battle, totally unrigged, the frigate like a hulk, having 
 for all defense one battery of 12-pounders," etc. 2 This 
 
 1 Official report of Captain Barreaut. 
 
 2 " Deux heures de combat, totalement degre, la fregate comrae un 
 ponton ayant pour toute defense une batterie de 12." 
 
1799. THE CONSTELLATION-INSURGENT ACTION. 
 
 shows that the Insurgent also had a battery of 12- 
 pounders. In no portion of his long report of this 
 action does Captain Barreaut mention, or in any way 
 intimate, that his ship carried other than 18- and 12- 
 pounders. 
 
 All authorities agree that the Insurgent carried 
 forty guns ; * which, as the rating of French frigates 
 was peculiarly regular, places her as a 36-gun frigate. 
 The French 36-gun frigate carried twenty-six long guns 
 on the main deck, ten long guns on the quarter-deck and 
 forecastle, and four 36-pound carronades on the quarter 
 deck and forecastle, in all forty guns. According to 
 Troude : 2 u U "Insurgent e portait vingt-six canons de 
 12, portait dix canons de 6 et quatre carronades de 36." 
 We have seen that Captain Barreaut admits having a 
 battery of 18-pounders and one of 12-pounders, but no 
 where does he mention 6-pounders. There can be no 
 doubt, then, that the Insurgent carried twenty -six 
 long 18-pounders on the main deck, ten long 12-pound 
 ers on the quarter-deck and forecastle, and four short 
 36-pounders, which were carried in all French frigates 
 of that class. The Constellation mounted twenty-eight 
 long 24-pounders on the main deck and twenty long 
 12-pounders on the quarter-deck and forecastle; car 
 ronades had not as yet been introduced in our navy. 
 Her crew numbered three hundred and nine, of whom 
 one was killed by the officer commanding the third 
 division of the gun deck, Third-Lieutenant Andrew 
 Sterett, for deserting his gun early in the action, and 
 three were w r ounded, among the latter being Midship 
 man James Macdonough, who lost a foot. 
 
 Neither Captain Barreaut in his official report nor 
 Troude makes any statement regarding the Insurgent s 
 complement. Captain Truxtun, in his official report, 
 says the French frigate carried a crew of four hundred 
 
 1 Official report of Captain Truxtun ; Cooper s Naval History, vol. ii, 
 p. 169 ; Troude, tome iii, p. 169 ; James Naval Occurrences, p. 63, etc. 
 
 2 Batailles Navales de la France, tome iii, p. 169. 
 
182 A VIGOROUS NAVAL WAR AGAINST FRANCE. xT99. 
 
 and nine men, of whoni twenty-nine were killed, twenty- 
 two badly wounded and nineteen slightly wounded. 
 Captain Barreaut in reference to his losses merely re 
 marks : "About fifty killed or wounded." As he was 
 immediately taken aboard the Constellation and had 
 no opportunity to compute his losses accurately, it is 
 probable that the minute report of Captain Truxtun is 
 correct. Allowing for the deficiency of American metal 
 in weight, we find that the total weight of the Constella 
 tion " s shot was eight hundred and forty-eight pounds. 
 A French pound was eight per cent heavier than an 
 English pound ; for example, a French 12-pound shot 
 weighed thirteen English pounds, and a 24-pound 
 French shot weighed twenty-six English pounds. Cal 
 culating on this basis, we find the Insurgents total 
 weight of metal to be seven hundred and ninety-one 
 English pounds. 
 
 Comparative force and loss. 
 
 Guns. Lbs. Crew. Killed. Wounded. Total. 
 
 Constellation: 48 848 309 2 3 5 ) Time 
 
 Insurgent: 40 791 409 29 41 70 flh. 14m. 
 
 Captain Barreaut made a noble defense, but the 
 misfortune of losing his main-topmast at a critical 
 moment placed him at disadvantage. Captain Trux 
 tun in his official report says : "I must not omit to 
 do justice to Monsieur Barreaut, for he defended his 
 ship manfully, and from my raking him several times 
 fore and aft, and being athwart his stern, ready with 
 every gun to fire when he struck his colors, we may 
 impute the conflict not being more bloody on our side ; 
 for had not these advantages been taken the engage 
 ment would not have ended so soon." But the effects 
 of the Insurgent s fire as seen on the Constellation 
 showed that French gunnery, like the English, was 
 inferior. The loss of the Insurgent is attributable to 
 these two facts, for the Frenchmen fought gallantly, 
 and surrendered only when further resistance would 
 
1799. CAPTAIN BARREAUT S REPORT. 153 
 
 have been culpable. Captain Truxtun spoke in the 
 highest terms of the gallantry of all his officers, and 
 especially mentioned Lieutenants John Rodgers, Wil 
 liam Cowper, Andrew Sterett, John Archer and Sail- 
 ing-Master Ambrose Shirley. The other officers in the 
 ship were Bartholomew Clinch, lieutenant of marines ; 
 Henry Vandyke, John Herbert Dent, Philip C. Weder- 
 strandt, John M. Clagett, James Macdonough, David 
 Porter, William Davis, Joshua Herbert, Arthur Sinclair 
 (afterward captain) and Thomas Robinson, midship 
 men ; Samuel B. Brooks, John S. Smith and Daniel 
 Gorman, master s mates. 1 The merchants of London 
 
 1 The following is Captain Barreaut s official account of the action : 
 
 "At Pitre Point, Liberty Port, this 29th Pluviose, year 7 of the French 
 Republic. Barreaut, Frigate Captain, to the Citoyen Desfourneaux Par- 
 ticulier of the Executive Directory for the Windward Islands. 
 
 "CITIZEN GENERAL: It is ray duty and desire to give you an exact 
 account of my conduct on the 21st Pluviose, and of the unfortunate events 
 following it. I shall not deviate from the truth, arid as agent and military 
 commander I beg that you will judge me. 
 
 " The 21st Pluviose, about three leagues off the northeast point ofc 
 Nevis, which then bore N. W. by N., the wind east, the lookout called 
 at 12.30 p. M., that there was a sail to the windward of us. I continued 
 my course for another half hour ; then, having mounted the foreyard 
 with Citizen Petit Pierre, I saw that the stranger was making for us. 
 I then kept away to the northwest with the intention of running between 
 Saba and St. Kitts, but this vessel in approaching appeared to me and to 
 all on the yards to be a corvette from the trim of her sails. Having, 
 Citizen agent, engraved upon my heart your words You are going to 
 see how a good crew conduct themselves ; I think a corvette would not 
 frighten you I believed it was the moment to show our haughty enemies 
 [the English] that, in spite of the superiority of their forces, vessels of war 
 might still be captured from them. I wished also to inspire confidence in 
 my crew, and I hauled by the wind, every one burning with ardor for the 
 fight, 
 
 " At one o clock I went about on the same tack as this vessel, which 
 continued to chase us, and at 1.30 P.M., in a squall in which the top 
 gallant sails were taken in, the Citizen Durand then commanding the 
 manoeuvre, the main-topmast fell source of all our misfortune. Immedi 
 ately, upon the advice of the coasting pilot, I steered to the N. W. by N. 
 to make St. Eustatius if I had time to gain the anchorage. The vessel, 
 which 1 could see was a frigate, chased me. I had hoisted the American 
 flag ; she signaled me and also hoisted an American flag. 
 
184 A VIGOROUS NAVAL WAR AGAINST FRANCE. 1799. 
 
 gave Captain Truxtun a handsome piece of plate for 
 "having captured a French frigate of superior force." 
 
 " I found myself in a position to no longer avoid an engagement, and 
 as the stranger still pursued me it became necessary to ascertain her nation 
 ality. I therefore lowered the American flag and hoisted French colors 
 with pennant, which I confirmed by a cannon shot to leeward. She 
 hoisted her broad pennant with the American flag without confirming. 
 I doubted yet that she was an American. I was much embarrassed by 
 your orders, which were not to fire on the American flag. Thus an Eng 
 lish frigate could easily have made use of this flag while chasing us, thereby 
 avoiding the fire of our 18-pounder, with which we could have seriously 
 injured her [the Constellation] during the hour and a half she was over 
 taking us, and thus have given me time to save myself. 
 
 " Again, if I had fired on the American frigate, with what reproach 
 would you not have overwhelmed me ! If I had commenced hostilities, 
 and in the end had been defeated all the blame would have been on me ; 
 and it would have been said that, The instructions of captains of Ameri 
 can frigates did not permit them to fire on the Republic s vessels. 
 
 " Lastly, it stands to reason that, having lost my main-topmast, I gave 
 the advantage to a frigate of double my strength in letting her approach 
 within pistol shot before defending myself. I was thus obliged to receive 
 a full broadside from a frigate of 24 and 12-pounders, deliberately aimed 
 at pistol shot, which broadside made terrible havoc in my quarter-deck. 
 
 " At three o clock the combat began. Judge of my surprise on finding 
 myself fought by an American frigate, after all the friendship and protec 
 tion accorded to the United States ! My indignation was at its height. 
 As soon as my first broadside was fired I cried, and with all the men on 
 the quarter-deck and forecastle, Stand by to board ! My cabin was in 
 vaded to get arms, and I ran to the helm to luff her in order to run aboard 
 the American frigate. L Insurgents obeyed the first impulse, but, as she 
 was without sails amidships and as we were not able to move the others 
 quickly enough, the American frigate had time to run ahead of us, and 
 having all her sails set she was beyond us, which compelled us to man the 
 other battery. 
 
 " My only remaining resource were my guns and an 18-pounder of the 
 port battery ; and manosuvring with much difficulty, we fired three broad 
 sides. The American frigate now seemed to suspend her fire and I ordered 
 Citizen Jourdan to suspend ours, thinking that the American captain 
 might still be considering his conduct, But he again opened on us, so I 
 gave orders to fire also. This frigate did not remain abeam of us, but 
 sought by every means to take advantageous positions and completely to 
 dismantle us. I endeavored to repair the rigging. The mizzen-topmast 
 had fallen in the top, the spanker was completely riddled. All that I 
 could do was to take it in. The braces, fore bowlines, and fore topsails 
 were completely cut through, our topmen without doubt killed, as they did 
 
1799. CAPTAIN BARREAUT S REPORT. 
 
 Immediately upon the surrender of the Insurgent 
 Lieutenant John Rodgers, with Midshipman David Por- 
 
 not reply ; the master did not appear upon the bridge, no quartermasters 
 were left, nly a bridgeman and the masters. All I could do was to give 
 the order to Citizen Sire to square everything ; the only after sail was 
 the mizzen. The American frigate still having all her sails, which were 
 only slightly injured, and moving very easily, was at pistol range ahead 
 of us. 
 
 " Finally, as my position was hopeless, it soon became necessary to sur 
 render to very superior forces. Seeing many men wounded and killed 
 about the decks, I decided to pass forward of the gangway to consult my 
 lieutenant. At this moment the topmen cried out, Two ships to wind 
 ward coming down on us, and they are large vessels. I said to my sec 
 ond : Rather than strike to two English ships in my disabled condition, 
 I prefer to surrender to the American frigate, which I believe has not the 
 right to take me, being persuaded that war did not exist between the two 
 nations. 
 
 "After two hours combat, totally dismantled, the ship like a hulk, 
 having as our only defense a battery of 12-pounders, yet well provided 
 with a crew and ammunition, comparing her to a disabled battery against a 
 frigate of 24- and 12-pounders, about fifty men killed or wounded, my second 
 said to me, Do as you please. No objection from the others, I thought 
 it necessary to strike, so that I might have a chance to speak to the Ameri 
 can commander. 
 
 "The American frigate then sent its boat aboard to take me and my 
 second aboard their ship, we carrying nothing with us. My first question 
 was : Why have you fired upon the national flag 1 Our two nations are 
 not at war. His only reply was, You are my prisoner, and he made us 
 go below and took our arms from us. This conduct surprised me, the 
 more so after the last news from Europe received through the corvette la 
 iSagesse, and after the statement of the Citizen Marin, who declared at 
 the Point that the captain of the frigate Constitution [Nicholson] had told 
 him that if he had overtaken me he would not have fired the first shot on 
 me, but that if I had fired he would have replied. 
 
 " This is an exact account of my conduct. I have done everything I 
 could in such unfortunate circumstances. I thought that about two hours 
 of combat, the total dismantlement of my frigate, fifty men Tiors de com 
 bat, were sufficient. A greater obstinacy would have caused a greater loss 
 of men without having any hope of escape. An hour later I should have 
 been compelled to surrender anyhow. All just and impartial seamen will 
 tell you that I should have been taken. My hope was that Captain Trux- 
 tun, commanding the Constellation, had taken altogether too much upon 
 himself in firing first upon us. 
 
 " The next morning I reported to him what the captain of the Consti 
 tution had said to one of my midshipmen. He replied that he had special 
 15 
 
186 A VIGOROUS NAVAL WAR AGAINST FRANCE. 1799. 
 
 ter and eleven men, was placed aboard the prize to super 
 intend the transfer of prisoners. While this work was 
 going on, the wind, which had been fresh all the after 
 noon, came on to a gale, and by sunset it was so vio 
 lent as to make it impossible to remove the remaining 
 prisoners (of whom one hundred and seventy- three were 
 still in the Insurgent] or to re-enforce the Americans 
 aboard her. During the night the ships were sepa 
 rated, and on the following morning Lieutenant Rodg- 
 ers anxiously scanned the horizon, but no trace of the 
 Constellation could be seen. There was nothing but 
 an unbroken stretch of angry white-capped seas on all 
 sides. His position in the shattered prize was critical, 
 for he had only Midshipman Porter and eleven seamen 
 to guard his one hundred and seventy- three prisoners 
 and to navigate the ship. Furthermore, the Insurgent 
 had been nearly dismasted in the action, and now 
 rolled in the trough of the sea in a most alarming man 
 ner, while her weakened masts tottered and bent, threat 
 ening to come down with every lurch of the ship. Her 
 decks resembled a slaughter house, the dead and the 
 dying not having been removed, and the blood stains 
 not having been washed with hot vinegar. 
 
 On examination, it was discovered that the gratings 
 for the hatchways, the ordinary means of securing pris- 
 
 instructions, known only to himself, and that three months before war had 
 been declared in France. You can imagine how much surprised I was, 
 remembering your particular orders and instructions [i. e., not to fire on 
 the American flag], and I make bold to assure you that if I had been able, 
 during the two hours that the American frigate was in our wake, within 
 range of my two long 18-pound stern chasers, to fire on her, I should have 
 made it impossible for her to overtake me. 
 
 " My honor, existence, all are compromised by the duplicity of this in 
 famous government. [Signed] 
 
 " BARREAUT." 
 
 " A true copy, signed Desfourneaux, certifying this to be an exact copy 
 of the original deposited at the Majorite de la Marine. Le Commis Prin 
 cipal de la Marine, charged with the execution of the order contained in 
 the dispatch of the 28th July, 1821. SCHABRIE. 
 
 "L Orient le 6 9bre, 1821." 
 
1799. A CRITICAL SITUATION. 187 
 
 oners, had disappeared ; and, moreover, not a handcuff 
 or shackle of any kind was to be found. It certainly 
 seemed as if the Americans were to be made prisoners. 
 Lieutenant Rodgers, however, was a man of herculean 
 strength and great resolution, and, gallantly seconded 
 by his twelve companions, he forced the prisoners into 
 the lower hold ; then "one of the guns was cast loose 
 loaded with grape and canister, and pointed down the 
 hatch, over which a bag filled with shot was sus 
 pended, ready to be cut away at a moment s notice. 
 All the muskets and pistols were kept loaded and were 
 placed by the hatch, and two or three men with pikes 
 and battle axes, to be used in case of emergency, stood 
 at the opening." 1 In this perilous condition the little 
 band of captors remained for three nights and two 
 days, and during this time all were constantly on duty. 
 On the third day they made St. Kitts, where they found 
 Captain Truxtun in the Constellation anxiously await 
 ing them. 
 
 The Insurgent was refitted and taken into the serv 
 ice as a 36 -gun frigate, the command of her being 
 given to Captain Alexander Murray, who was the cap 
 tain of the Montezuma when chased by the Insurgent 
 on the 20th of November, 1798. Lieutenant Rodgers 
 was promoted to the rank of captain and on the 13th of 
 July, 1799, Lieutenant William Cowper was promoted 
 to the rank of master commandant, the former being 
 appointed to the command of the 20-gun ship Mary 
 land and the latter to the Baltimore. The Insur 
 gent s flag is now in the Naval Institute Building at 
 Annapolis. 
 
 The capture of the Insurgent and the check given 
 to privateering made the Directory better disposed to 
 negotiate a treaty of peace ; and as it assured the Unit 
 ed States that our representatives would be received 
 with more respect than had been accorded them in the 
 
 1 Life of Commodore David Porter, by Admiral David D. Porter, p. 23. 
 
188 A VIGOROUS NAVAL WAR AGAINST FRANCE. 1799. 
 
 past, the 44-gun frigate United States, Captain John 
 Barry, was sent to France with Messrs. Ellsworth and 
 Davie as envoys, sailing from Newport on November 3. 
 In the meantime Congress did not relinquish its efforts 
 to build up a permanent navy, and $2,482,953.90 were 
 voted for the service during the year 1800. 1 
 
 On returning to the United States after his imprison 
 ment on the island of Guadeloupe, Lieutenant Wil 
 liam Bainbridge was promoted to the rank of master 
 commandant, his commission bearing the date of March 
 
 1 Since the Secretary of the Navy made his report on the number of 
 ships in the navy, December 24, 1798, the following vessels had been 
 added to the list : The 44-gun frigate President, the 36-gun frigate Chesa 
 peake, the 36-gun frigate Congress, the 36-gun frigate Insurgent, the 36-gun 
 frigate New York, the 36-gun frigate Philadelphia, the 32-gun frigate 
 Essex, the 28-gun corvette Adams, the 28-gun corvette Boston, the 28-gun 
 corvette General Greene, the 28-gun corvette John Adams, the 24-gun 
 sloop of war Connecticut, the 24-gun sloop of war Trumbull, the 20-gim 
 sloop of war Maryland, the 20-gun sloop of war Patapsco, the 18-gun brig 
 Warren, the 14-gun brig Augusta, the 12-gun schooner Enterprise and 
 the 12-gun schooner Experiment. The cruisers were divided among the 
 different squadrons in the West Indies as follows: The Adams, Captain 
 Richard Valentine Morris ; the John Adams, Captain George Cross ; the 
 Connecticut, Captain Moses Tryon ; the Delaware, Captain Thomas Baker; 
 the Baltimore, Master-Commandant William Cowper ; the Eagle, Master- 
 Commandant Hugh George Campbell ; the Pickering, Lieutenant Benjamin 
 Hiller ; the Enterprise, Lieutenant John Shaw ; and the Scammel, Lieu 
 tenant Mark Fernald, at the Guadeloupe station. The General Greene, 
 Captain Christopher Raymond Perry ; the Boston, Captain George Little ; 
 the Patapsco, Captain Henry Geddes; the Herald, Master-Commandant 
 Charles C. Russell; and the Augusta, Lieutenant Archibald McElroy, at 
 the St. Domingo station. The Warren, Lieutenant T. Newman, and the 
 Pinckney, Lieutenant Samuel Heywood, were stationed at the Havana 
 station ; the Portsmouth, Captain David McNiell, and the Maryland, Cap 
 tain John Rodgers, at the Surinam station. The Insurgent, Captain Alex 
 ander Murray, sailed with a roving commission the West Indies, the 
 Western Isles, Madeira, the Canary Islands and the coast of South America 
 as far as Cayenne being suggested. The Richmond, Master-Commandant 
 Cyrus Talbot, was ordered to cruise as far as St. Mary s until November 
 15, when she was to return to Philadelphia. The United States, Captain 
 John Barry, had special orders until early in May, 1800 ; the Chesapeake, 
 Captain Samuel Barren, conveyed some specie from Charleston to Phila 
 delphia, after which she cruised between the coast and the West Indies. 
 
1799. THE CRUISE OF THE NORFOLK. 189 
 
 29, 1799, and he was placed in command of the 18-gun 
 brig Norfolk (one of the vessels which his quick wit had 
 saved), with orders to join the squadron at St. Kitts, 
 commanded by Captain Thomas Truxtun. While chas 
 ing a large three-masted schooner just out from Basse 
 Terre, the Norfolk lost both her topmasts and was 
 compelled to put into St. Kitts for repairs. Sailing 
 again, she convoyed a fleet of one hundred and nine 
 teen merchantmen, bound for different ports in the 
 United States. When in latitude 34 North, the ships 
 fell in with a French frigate, when Master-Command 
 ant Bainbridge signaled his convoy to disperse while 
 he drew the Frenchman off in chase. The manoeuvre 
 succeeded, and having led the enemy far enough away, 
 the Norfolk hauled close to the wind and soon ran her 
 pursuer out of sight, rejoining her convoy on the fol 
 lowing day at a rendezvous previously agreed upon. 
 
 On the 12th of September the Norfolk sailed from 
 New York for Cape Frangais, to join the squadron 
 under Captain Christopher Raymond Perry (father of 
 the hero of the Battle of Lake Erie), who commanded 
 the 28-gun ship General Greene, Oliver Hazard Perry 
 at that time serving in her as a midshipman. On the 
 31st of October, while she was cruising off St. Domingo, 
 with her guns housed and disguised as a merchantman, 
 an armed barge, rowed by sixteen oars and filled with 
 men, came out in chase from the northwest point of 
 the island. Pretending to make great efforts to escape, 
 Master-Commandant Bainbridge allowed the barge to 
 come within musket shot, when the men in it waved 
 their hats as a signal for the brig to heave to, and at 
 the same time they opened a fire of musketry and 
 swivels. But growing suspicious of the Norfolk they 
 made for the shore, and then the Americans triced 
 up their ports and fired a broadside. From the pierc 
 ing shrieks in the barge it was evident that many were 
 hurt. Owing to the calm the Norfolk could not follow 
 up the attack, but her boats were sent after the barge, 
 
190 A VIGOROUS NAVAL WAR AGAINST FRANCE. 1799. 
 
 which was captured on the beach shortly after her men 
 had left it. Two of them were found dead, four were 
 dying in the grass, and others were thought to be 
 badly wounded, as many bloody trails were discovered 
 leading into the woods. 
 
 Nine days after this, while off Cape Nicolas Mole, 
 the Norfolk captured the French lugger Republican 
 and her prize, laden with coffee. On boarding the latter 
 the Americans found the decks strewed with mangled 
 bodies, while five women and six children were weep 
 ing over their murdered husbands and fathers. The 
 prize had sailed from a port in the vicinity for Cuba 
 only a short time before, but had scarcely made the 
 offing when she was pursued by a brigand barge filled 
 with armed men, who boarded her, killed all the male 
 passengers, and were plundering the vessel which car 
 ried a considerable amount of specie when the Repub 
 lican hove in sight and drove the pirates off. Master- 
 Commandant Bainbridge sent the prize to the United 
 States, and forwarded the unhappy survivors to their 
 destination. 
 
 On the 14th of November the Norfolk was ordered 
 to cruise on the Cuba station, with the Warren, Lieu 
 tenant T. Newman, and the Pinckney, Lieutenant 
 Samuel Hey wood, in company. While engaged in this 
 service she chased a French privateer ashore, where it 
 was destroyed. Learning that another privateer was 
 being fitted out at Havana, the Norfolk blockaded that 
 port in spite of the protestations of the Spanish gov 
 ernor, and compelled the commander to dismantle his 
 vessel and discharge his crew. For six months this lit 
 tle squadron kept the sea during the inclement season 
 (with the exception of ten days in port for provisions) 
 and gave convoy to many merchant ships going in and 
 out of the port. For this service Master-Commandant 
 Bainbridge, on the 2d of May, 1800, was promoted to 
 the rank of captain. 
 
 Before the close of the year 1799 the Congress, Cap- 
 
1799. NARROW ESCAPE OP THE CONGRESS. 191 
 
 tain James Sever, and the Essex, Captain Edward Pre- 
 ble, convoyed a fleet of merchantmen to Batavia. 
 While off Porto Rico the Congress gave chase to a 
 French privateer, which made for a shoal known as the 
 Silver Keys. Charles Morris, who was the first lieuten 
 ant of the Constitution when that frigate was pursued 
 by a British squadron in 1812, was in the Congress at 
 this time as a midshipman, and he describes the chase 
 of the French privateer as follows : "In the eagerness 
 of pursuit the danger of the shoals was probably for 
 gotten, the attention of all being engrossed by the 
 chase, in which we were gaining upon the privateer. 
 While I was watching her movements with others on 
 the forecastle, the gunner, who was at my side, quietly 
 told me to look at the water under and near our bows. 
 My attention being thus directed, rocks were visible, 
 which to appearance were very near the surface. The 
 gunner then told me to go quietly to the captain, who 
 was on the quarter-deck, and tell him what I had 
 seen, but not to mention it to others. This was quickly 
 done. Captain Sever told me to remain by him, and, 
 turning to the officer of the deck, directed him to 
 ready about, and, as soon as ready, to tack; and 
 when about, to keep her off two points, by which to 
 gain her former tack. Then for the first time the cap 
 tain looked over the side of the ship and saw the dark 
 objects just below the surface of the water which al 
 ways sends a cold shudder over every seaman. The 
 officers and men also discovered the danger, but the 
 course taken by Captain Sever prevented all danger 
 and confusion. The privateer being a very light craft 
 was able to continue her course and so escaped." 
 
 Soon after this the masts and bowsprit of the Con 
 gress were carried away in a gale, and Fourth-Lieuten 
 ant Bosworth, who was endeavoring to lower the main- 
 topmast at the time, was lost with the wreck. This mis 
 hap was due to the fact that the rigging had been fitted 
 in the cold climate of the north, so that when the ship 
 
192 A VIGOROUS NAVAL WAR AGAINST FRANCE. 1799. 
 
 got into the Gulf Stream the shrouds and stays slack 
 ened up, in which condition the ship was overtaken 
 by a violent gale. It will be more readily understood 
 how such a disaster could occur when we remember 
 that the masts at that time were usually made of a sin 
 gle stick, while the shrouds and stays, instead of being 
 of steel rope like those of the present day, were made 
 of cordage, which admitted of greater expansion and 
 contraction. The United States, Captain John Barry, 
 during her first cruise nearly lost her masts from the 
 same cause. During a heavy gale, when the ship was 
 scudding along at ten knots and at times almost on her 
 beam ends, her rigging became dangerously slack. 
 James Barron, the third lieutenant, volunteered to save 
 the masts, and by getting purchases on every other 
 shroud and swaying all together the difficult task was 
 accomplished. The Congress returned to port, but the 
 Essex reached her destination, and was the first United 
 States cruiser to carry the American flag eastward of 
 the Cape of Good Hope. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE WAR WITH FRANCE IN 1800. 
 
 EARLY on the morning of February 1, 1800, while 
 cruising on her prescribed grounds, about fifteen miles 
 west of Basse Terre, the Constellation, Captain Thomas 
 Truxtun. gave chase to a sail that appeared to the 
 south, standing to the west, which on close inspection 
 proved to be a heavy French frigate. Orders were im 
 mediately given to sling the yards with chains and 
 clear the ship for action. Toward noon the wind be 
 came light, enabling the stranger to hold his own, and 
 in this relative position the two frigates remained twen 
 ty-four hours. At one o clock on Sunday afternoon, 
 February 2d, the wind freshened, so that by setting 
 every inch of canvas, except the bag reefs which were 
 kept in the topsails in case the enemy attempted to 
 haul on a wind, the Constellation gained rapidly. At 
 eight o clock she came within gunshot, when Captain 
 Truxtun lighted his battle lanterns, hoisted his colors, 
 and stepped to the gangway to hail, but at this mo 
 ment the stranger opened fire from his stern chasers 
 and quarter-deck guns. 
 
 Before the vessels came to close quarters Captain 
 Truxtun with his aids had passed along the divisions 
 on the gun deck and had carefully instructed the men 
 not to fire until he gave the word, and above all not to 
 throw away a single charge of powder or shot, but to 
 aim with deliberation and fire into the enemy s hull. 
 His orders were to load principally with round shot, 
 with now and then a stand of grape added to it. The 
 men of the four divisions were also instructed to load 
 
 (193) 
 
194 THE WAR WITH FRANCE IN 1800. 1800. 
 
 as fast as possible, but to fire only when it could be 
 done with certain effect, and he particularly enjoined 
 it upon the officers to allow no confusion in loading, 
 and to encourage their men by their example and 
 bearing. When the stranger opened with his stern 
 chasers the Constellation did not reply immediately, as 
 Captain Truxtun wished to come to close action at once. 
 Observing that the stranger s shot were doing consider 
 able damage and were causing some restlessness among 
 the American gun crews, Captain Truxtun sent Mid 
 shipman Henry Vandyke to the officers commanding 
 the different divisions, to warn them again to refrain 
 from firing. The instructions were faithfully carried 
 out, and the men stood silently by their guns and saw 
 one after another of their shipmates fall to the deck, 
 mutilated or killed by some unseen missile and hurried 
 below to the cockpit, while the ever-present quartermas 
 ter in ominous silence sprinkled sand over the little pools 
 of blood, to prevent the deck from becoming slippery. 
 
 Finally, having reached a favorable position off the 
 stranger s weather quarter, Captain Truxtun stepped to 
 the quarter-deck taffrail and gave the word to fire. In 
 an instant the different divisions belched forth a torrent 
 of carefully aimed round shot, while the recoil of so 
 many guns at almost the same instant shook the frigate 
 from stem to stern. Judging by the shrieks that could 
 be distinctly heard in the opposing ship after the deaf 
 ening roar of the broadside had subsided, the effect 
 must have been terrific. The Americans now hastened 
 to reload their guns and fire again as soon as the smoke 
 enabled them to get a fair view of their antagonist. 
 Some of the cannon were handled with such rapidity 
 that they became so heated that it was necessary to 
 dash buckets of water over them. 
 
 It seemed to be the enemy s object to avoid an en 
 gagement, and to further this end he directed most of his 
 shot at the Constellation s rigging, while the Ameri 
 cans, eager for another yard arm action, aimed at the 
 
1800. SECOND ACTION WITH A FRENCH. FRIGATE. 195 
 
 enemy s hull. The result was that the Constellations 
 rigging soon became seriously damaged, and a large 
 part of her crew was employed in splicing ropes as fast 
 as they were cut, and repairing the sails and spars as 
 much as possible. Toward midnight the Frenchman s 
 tire slackened, and by half past twelve it was silenced. 
 By this time the Constellation? s rigging and spars were 
 seriously cut up, although her hull was comparatively 
 unhurt. It was now ascertained that the mainmast was 
 unsupported, every stay and shroud having been car 
 ried away, so that stoppers were rendered useless. The 
 men were immediately ordered from their guns to meet 
 this new danger ; but it was too late, for a minute aft 
 erward it went over with a crash, carrying the topmen 
 and Midshipman James C. Jarvis with the wreck. This 
 young man, although warned by a gray-haired seaman 
 of the critical condition of the mast, refused to leave 
 his post, saying that if the mast went they must go 
 with it. Every effort was made to clear the wreck, 
 which was done in an hour ; but the Frenchman, hav 
 ing sustained little damage in his rigging, had improved 
 this opportunity to escape, so that by the time the Con 
 stellation was again under way the stranger was lost in 
 the night, whereupon Captain Truxtun made sail for 
 Jamaica to repair damages. 
 
 The Frenchman was known subsequently to have 
 been the 40-gun frigate Vengeance^ Captain A. M. Pitot. 
 In his official report Captain Pitot neglects to give the 
 particulars of this action ; but on the 20th of the fol 
 lowing August, or six months afterward, the Vengeance 
 was captured by the British frigate Seine, Captain 
 David Milne (afterward rear-admiral), when she carried 
 twenty-eight long 18-pounders on the main deck, six 
 teen long 12-pounders on the quarter-deck and forecas 
 tle, and eight short 42-pound carronades, making a total 
 of fifty- two guns with eleven hundred and fifteen English 
 pounds of metal. During the engagement between the 
 Constellation and the Vengeance the latter had thirty- 
 
196 THE WAR WITH FRANCE IN 1800. 1800. 
 
 six American prisoners aboard, who refused to fight 
 against their flag. 
 
 Since her action with the Insurgent the Constella 
 tion had exchanged ten of her long 12-pounders for 
 24-pound carronades, the first, it is believed, ever used 
 in our navy. Her 24-pounders also had been exchanged 
 for long 18-pounders, so that at the time of this action 
 her armament consisted of twenty-eight long 18-pound 
 ers on the main deck, and twelve long 12-pounders and 
 ten short 24-pounders on the quarter-deck and fore 
 castle, in all fifty guns with eight hundred and twenty- 
 six actual pounds of metal. Out of her crew of three 
 hundred and ten she lost fourteen killed and twenty- 
 five wounded, eleven of the wounded afterward dying 
 of their injuries. Captain Pitot does not report his 
 losses, merely saying : u In consequence of the action, 
 1 was so much damaged in my rigging that I was forced 
 to put back to the port of Curagoa, endeavoring to bend 
 sails on the stumps of the masts that still remained, 
 by means of which we were enabled to reach this port 
 on the 18th of the same month." James Howe, one of 
 the American prisoners aboard the Vengeance, reported 
 that one hundred and eighty-six round shot struck her 
 hull, and that the slaughter was horrible. Some of her 
 passengers were mustered at quarters. The regular 
 complement of a French 40-gun frigate was three hun 
 dred and thirty men, which, for lack of other satis 
 factory information, will be taken as the Vengeance} s 
 complement on this occasion, although the passengers 
 mustered at quarters would probably bring the number 
 up to three hundred and fifty. In consequence of the 
 Constellation directing her fire at the enemy s hull, the 
 French suffered heavily in men, their loss being fifty 
 killed and one hundred and ten wounded. 
 
 Comparative force and loss. 
 
 Guns. Lbs. Crew. Killed. Wounded. Total. 
 
 Constellation: 50 826 310 14 25 39 i Time, 
 Vengeance : 52 1,115 330 50 110 160 ^ 5 hours. 
 
1800. SECOND ACTION WITH A FRENCH FRIGATE. 197 
 
 Captain Pitot reports the Constellation as a "fre- 
 gate des Etats Unis de soixante canons et ayant cinq 
 cent hommes d equipage. Elle a du vingt-quatre et 
 dix-huit dans sa batterie et du douze sur ses gaillards." 
 It is hardly necessary to show the error of this state 
 ment, but it will be remarked that no ship in the United 
 States navy up to 1814 carried more than fifty-five guns, 
 and not even the heaviest frigates as many as five hun 
 dred men. That the 36-gun frigate Constellation, under 
 cover of night, should have handled the Vengeance so 
 energetically as to induce Captain Pitot to believe she 
 was a frigate of sixty guns and manned by five hundred 
 men, is the highest possible compliment to Captain 
 Truxtun and his men. 
 
 The officers in the Constellation who so gallantly 
 conducted this second frigate action of the war were 
 Lieutenants Andrew Sterett, Ambrose Shirley, Samuel 
 B. Brooks and John Herbert Dent. The sailing mas 
 ter was Daniel Eldridge, and the lieutenant of ma 
 rines was Bartholomew Clinch, while the midshipmen 
 were Philip C. Wederstrandt, Robert Henly, Henry 
 Vandyke, Benjamin Yancey, Samuel Angus, Samuel 
 Woodhouse, John M. Claggett, Robert Warren, James 
 T. Leonard, Benjamin F. Read, Thomas Robinson and 
 James C. Jarvis. For this handsome affair Captain 
 Truxtun received a gold medal from Congress and was 
 placed in command of the 44-gun frigate President, 
 while the Constellation was given to Captain Alexan 
 der Murray, with orders to join the West India squad 
 ron under the command of Captain Silas Talbot. 1 
 
 1 Captain Pitot s official report of this action is as follows : 
 
 Year 8. 
 
 " A. M. PITOT, captain commanding la Vengeance of the French Republic, 
 
 to the Minister of the Marine and Colonies : 
 
 " CITIZEN MINISTER : I have the honor to send you an account of two 
 actions I have had on the 12th and 13th Pluviose with an American frigate, 
 which attacked us at eight o clock in the evening in latitude 15 17 North 
 and longitude 66 4 West of Paris, and fought at first under the English 
 flag and then the American. I am ignorant of its name. The rumor 
 
198 THE WAR WITH FRANCE IN 1800. 1800. 
 
 The squadron under Captain Silas Talbot had been 
 cruising some time .on its station off St. Domingo, when 
 it was ascertained that a valuable French letter of 
 marque, the Sandwich, was about to sail from Puerto 
 Plata. Fearing that he would not be able to capture 
 her if she once got to sea, Captain Talbot resolved to 
 attempt the difficult feat of cutting her out of the 
 harbor. First-Lieutenant Isaac Hull was sent with one 
 of the Constitution s barges to reconnoiter. A few 
 days afterward the American sloop Sally was secured, 
 armed and fitted at sea, so that the people on shore 
 could not discover what was going on, and having 
 taken aboard a party of about ninety volunteers she 
 got under way on the following night. 
 
 While the Sally was still some distance from the 
 harbor a shot flew just ahead of her bow, and a mo 
 ment later the dark outlines of a frigate loomed up off 
 
 which 1 heard from the Governor of CuraQoa, and all the information that 
 I have been enabled to procure, lead me to believe that the action took 
 place with the Constellation, frigate of the United States, of sixty cannons 
 and having five hundred men as a crew. She had 24- and 18-pounders in 
 her battery and 12-ponnders upon her quarter-deck and forecastle. 
 
 " You will see, Citizen Minister, what has been my conduct on this 
 occasion ; everything showed me that I must avoid an action in the posi 
 tion I was in, and must limit myself to the defensive. I acted in conse 
 quence. After having in the first action dismantled my antagonist, I made 
 all sail and continued my course. As to him, he could have attacked us in 
 daylight, but he did not do so, preferring to attack at nightfall, and after 
 having been forcibly repulsed he returned to the charge. The engagement 
 was very exciting. In consequence of the action I was so much damaged 
 in my rigging that I was forced to run before the wind to Curagoa, working 
 to bend new sails on the stumps of the masts which remained, by means 
 of which we were enabled to reach port on the 18th of the same month. I 
 was very well received here by the governor and the marine commandant. 
 Each of my officers fulfilled his duty with honor, courage and talent, and 
 I must express very great satisfaction with their conduct. I have too much 
 confidence in the justice of the Government to believe that it will be neces 
 sary for me to solicit its good offices in their favor. But I can not refuse 
 myself 1 he pleasure of letting you know what brave people I command, the 
 more so as it is the second action in which the great part of them have 
 participated in la Vengeance in the space of ten months. 
 
 " (Signed) A. M. PITOT." 
 
1800. 
 
 EXPLOIT OF THE SALLY. 
 
 199 
 
 her starboard quarter. This startling summons to 
 heave to was obeyed, and a few minutes later a British 
 lieutenant boarded the sloop and demanded her papers. 
 Lieutenant Hull explained the nature of the expedi 
 tion, upon which the British officer expressed disap 
 pointment, as his commander also had been waiting 
 for an opportunity to cut out the Sandwich. The 
 sloop then resumed her course and soon arrived off the 
 harbor. The Sandwich was anchored so as to rake any 
 vessel entering the port with her entire broadside, and 
 
 Scene of the naval war in 1SOO. 
 
 a battery on shore gave her ^ additional protection. 
 Lieutenant Hull divided his force : one party to remain 
 in the Sally and board the letter of marque, while the 
 other, under Captain Daniel Carmick and Lieutenant 
 William Armory of the marines, was to take the boats 
 for the purpose of landing and spiking the guns in the 
 battery. Having made these dispositions for the attack, 
 the boat party put off, while the Sally boldly entered 
 the harbor and stood for the enemy. Lieutenant Hull 
 
200 THE WAR WITH FRANCE IN 1800. 1800. 
 
 and his men concealed themselves in the hold of the 
 Sally, leaving only five or six on deck to work the 
 sails. The surprise was complete. The sloop ran 
 alongside the Sandwich about twelve o clock ; the men 
 boarded and in a few minutes secured her. The men 
 under Captain Carmick by this time had landed and 
 spiked the guns before effectual resistance could be 
 made. They then returned to their boats and rejoined 
 Lieutenant Hull in the Sandwich. The letter of marque 
 was cut from her moorings, her guns scaled and sail 
 was made, and by sunrise both vessels were well out 
 of the harbor. This gallant affair was conducted with 
 much steadiness, and reflects the highest credit on Lieu 
 tenant Hull ; but seizure was illegal, as Captain Talbot 
 learned on arrival in port, and the Sandwich was re 
 turned with full compensation for losses. 
 
 In July the Insurgent, Captain Patrick Fletcher, 
 got to sea with these instructions : " After leaving the 
 Capes of the Chesapeake take an easterly course, keep 
 ing rather north of 38 North latitude until you obtain 
 the longitude 68 West, and cruise for a few weeks be 
 tween longitude 68 and 66 West, and stretch as far 
 south as latitude 31 or 30." Since her departure on 
 this cruise, July 14, 1800, she has not been heard from. 
 In the following month the Pickering, Master-Com 
 mandant Benjamin Hillar, got to sea with orders to 
 cruise in the neighborhood of Gfuadeloupe, and that 
 vessel also has never been heard from. It was thought 
 that she and the Insurgent went down in the great 
 equinoctial gale of September, 1800, so that down to 
 this year three vessels of the navy, the Saratoga, the 
 Insurgent and the Pickering, had shared this fate. 
 
 During the year 1800 the 12-gun schooner Enter 
 prise, Lieutenant John Shaw, had a remarkable career. 
 This little vessel and her sister schooner, the Exper 
 iment, had been constructed with a view of dealing 
 with the small fore-and-aft rigged French privateers 
 which swarmed in the West Indies, and w T hich the 
 
1800. THE CRUISE OF THE ENTERPRISE. 201 
 
 heavy, square-rigged frigates could not so readily cap 
 ture. These two schooners were armed with twelve 
 old-fashioned 6-pounders, and their complements varied 
 from sixty to eighty- three men and boys. 
 
 About the 1st of April, while near the Mona Pas 
 sage, the Enterprise discovered a brig under Spanish 
 colors bearing away to the southeast. Lieutenant 
 Shaw hoisted his flag and gave chase, but as soon as 
 he was within gunshot the brig opened fire. Lieuten 
 ant Shaw did not reply immediately, but reserving his 
 ammunition until he had gained a position off the brig s 
 weather quarter he poured in a broadside, and after a 
 sharp action of twenty minutes, during which the stran 
 ger kept her Spanish colors flying, the vessels separated 
 by mutual consent, evidently satisfied that a mistake 
 had been made. The Spaniard mounted eighteen guns 
 of heavier caliber than the Enterprise. Lieutenant 
 Shaw gained much applause for this spirited affair. 
 
 While lying in the port of St. Thomas, repairing 
 damages after this action, the Enterprise received an 
 invitation to meet a heavy French lugger, carrying 
 the same number of guns, outside the harbor. The 
 challenge was accepted, but after waiting several days 
 in vain for the Frenchman to appear, and firing taunt 
 ing shot toward the harbor, the Enterprise made for 
 St. Kitts, capturing a small privateer on the way. 
 Having taken aboard fresh provisions at this port, 
 Lieutenant Shaw sailed in May, and when a few days 
 out he captured the letter of marque Seine. Although 
 this vessel mounted only four guns and had no more 
 than fifty-four men and boys to man her, she made 
 a desperate resistance, and did not surrender until 
 twenty-four of her crew had been killed or wounded. 
 The Enterprise had several men wounded and sus 
 tained some injury in her hull and rigging. Two 
 weeks afterward, while cruising to the leeward of 
 Guadeloupe, Lieutenant Shaw captured the 6-gun 
 privateer Citoyenne, with fifty-seven men, which did 
 
202 THE WAR WITH FRANCE IN 1800. 1800. 
 
 not surrender until after a stubborn resistance. The 
 French loss was four killed and ten wounded, while 
 the Americans had a marine killed and seven seamen 
 wounded. The prize was sent to St. Kitts. 
 
 After refitting at this port the Enterprise put to sea 
 again, and while passing between Antigua and Desi- 
 rade she fell in with the lugger that a month before 
 had challenged her at St. Thomas. Lieutenant Shaw 
 promptly closed, in the expectation of a desperate 
 encounter, but to his surprise the Frenchman sur 
 rendered after exchanging a few shot. He had a 
 number of passengers aboard, among whom was a 
 French general. Taking his prize to St. Kitts, Lieu 
 tenant Shaw held the general and the master of the 
 lugger to share the fate of two Americans who were in 
 the hands of the enemy at Guadeloupe and were 
 threatened with death, and by this means he obtained 
 their release. 
 
 Remaining in port only long enough to replenish 
 his stores, Lieutenant Shaw sailed again, and when to 
 the leeward of Guadeloupe he fell in with the cele 
 brated French privateer brig V Agile, which had done 
 so much harm to American and English commerce, 
 carrying ten guns and seventy-eight men. The ves 
 sels passed each other on opposite tacks, the Enter 
 prise to leeward. The instant they exchanged broad 
 sides Lieutenant Shaw put his helm down and under 
 cover of the smoke came quickly into the French 
 man s wake, and raked him with four guns before 
 the latter was aware of the manoeuvre, making eleven 
 shot in all fired by the Americans. As the Enter 
 prise was working easily Lieutenant Shaw allowed her 
 to come around on the other tack, when he ran aboard 
 the Frenchman s weather quarter and carried him by 
 boarding. The comparative ease with which T Agile 
 had been captured at first occasioned some surprise, as 
 her commander was reputed to be one of the most dar 
 ing and determined privateersmen in the West Indies. 
 
1800. THE CRUISE OF THE ENTERPRISE. 203 
 
 When the Americans boarded, however, they found 
 the commander of V Agile stretched out on the deck, 
 having been struck on the upper part of his forehead 
 early in the action by a cannon shot, which tore away 
 his scalp. He afterward recovered consciousness and 
 survived his injuries. His first lieutenant was killed 
 early in the action by a 6-pound shot which passed 
 directly through his chest, while the second lieutenant 
 was knocked senseless by a round shot, which tore off 
 a part of one ear and much of the skin. The French 
 man s total loss was three killed and nine wounded, 
 while that of the Enterprise was three wounded. 
 
 Sending this prize to St. Kitts, Lieutenant Shaw 
 continued on his successful cruise, and one night in 
 July he discovered what afterward proved to be a pri 
 vateer of unusual force. As the stranger seemed to 
 mistake the Enterprise for a merchant vessel, he was 
 allowed to approach. As there was no wind the enemy 
 resorted to his sweeps and gradually drew near, but be 
 fore he came to close quarters, Lieutenant Shaw felt 
 the sea breeze, and setting every inch of canvas gave 
 chase, upon which the Frenchman, alarmed by this 
 unexpected willingness to engage, made off under 
 studding sails, with a view of keeping his distance 
 until he could determine the character and force of 
 his opponent. For this purpose he gradually hauled 
 up and boarded his starboard tacks without hauling 
 down his studding sails, which were set on both sides, 
 as he thought that his brig sailed better on than off 
 the wind than the schooner did. This brought the 
 Enterprise in his wake, and as she was an unusually 
 fast sailer she quickly came within musket shot, when 
 an animated fire of small arms was opened. Finding 
 that he outsailed the brig, Lieutenant Shaw drew off 
 on her beam, with the intention of bringing his battery 
 into play, when the enemy gave a sudden yaw and 
 fired his broadside. The American promptly returned 
 the fire, and for twenty minutes maintained it brisk- 
 
204: THE WAR WITH FRANCE IN 1800. 1800. 
 
 ly at pistol shot. Finding that he was getting the 
 worst of it the Frenchman hauled close to the wind, 
 came round on the other tack, and made sail to escape. 
 The Enterprise promptly followed, but in coming 
 around she missed stays, and while she was waiting to 
 gather sufficient headway to tack the enemy gained a 
 considerable lead. But it was not long before the 
 swift-sailing Enterprise again overhauled him, and 
 soon after she reopened the action at pistol shot. The 
 Frenchman s fore-topmast had been badly wounded 
 early in the action, and six of his crew could be 
 seen aloft endeavoring to secure it. At this moment 
 a flaw struck the brig and carried away the spar and 
 the sailors who were on it. Without waiting to rescue 
 his men, the Frenchman put his helm up and continued 
 in his endeavor to escape, while the Enterprise, coming 
 directly upon the wreckage, rounded to and lowering 
 a boat saved the unfortunate men clinging to it. By 
 this delay the enemy again gained a lead, but the 
 Enterprise running alongside soon compelled the brig 
 to strike, after an exciting action of forty minutes. 
 The prize, the French privateer Flambeau, was con 
 siderably heavier than the Enterprise, mounting twelve 
 9-pounders and carrying a crew of one hundred and 
 ten, while the Enterprise mounted twelve 6-pounders 
 and was manned by a crew of eighty- three. The 
 Frenchman s loss in killed or wounded was forty, 
 while that of the American s was eight or ten. 
 
 While cruising near Antigua, in August, this lucky 
 schooner, after a chase of five hours, captured the pri 
 vateer Pauline, of six guns and forty men, the French 
 consul at Porto Rico being a passenger in her ; and 
 in the following month she took the letter of marque 
 Guadaloupeenne, carrying seven guns and forty -five 
 men. Aboard of her was found the same French 
 general who was in the lugger captured by the Enter 
 prise some weeks before. The Enterprise now re 
 turned to port, having secured, in a cruise of six 
 
1800. THE CRUISE OF THE EXPERIMENT. 205 
 
 months, eight privateers and recaptured four American 
 merchantmen. The privateers aggregated forty-seven 
 guns and three hundred and eighty -four men. Lieu 
 tenant Shaw returned to the United States, and for his 
 brilliant services he was placed in command of the 26- 
 gun corvette le Berceau, but failing health compelled 
 him to retire from active command. The Enterprise 
 was placed under the orders of Lieutenant Charles 
 Stewart. 
 
 Scarcely less fortunate than the Enterprise was her 
 sister schooner the Experiment, Lieutenant William 
 Maley. On the 1st of January, 1800, while escorting 
 several merchantmen near the island of Gonaive, she 
 was becalmed, and while in this conditipn ten picaroon 
 barges, each containing forty men, pulling twenty-six 
 oars, with swivels in the bow and quarters, came out 
 to attack her. The vessels of the convoy were widely 
 separated, and there was not a breath of air stirring 
 which would enable them to manoeuvre. After a hard 
 fight the mulattoes were driven off, but not until they 
 had captured two of the vessels. Landing their dead 
 and wounded and taking aboard re-enforcements, they 
 returned to the attack. For seven long hours the 
 people in the remaining vessels of the convoy made a 
 desperate defense, and finally drove off the murderous 
 picaroons and saved themselves from a horrible fate. 
 Two of the barges were sunk, while the loss of the 
 picaroons in killed or wounded must have been heavy. 
 The Experiment had two men wounded, one of whom 
 was Lieutenant David Porter. 
 
 On the 16th of July Lieutenant Charles Stewart was 
 transferred from the command of the Enterprise and 
 placed in charge of the Experiment, and in a few days 
 he captured the French schooner Deux Amis, of eight 
 guns and carrying from forty to fifty men. Soon after 
 ward the Experiment was chased by a French 18-gun 
 brig and a three-masted schooner of sixteen guns. 
 Knowing that the force of his vessel would not justify 
 
206 THE WAR WITH FRANCE IN 1800. 1300. 
 
 an action, Lieutenant Stewart manifested great eager 
 ness to escape, hoping thereby to lead the strangers a 
 long chase in which they might become separated, so 
 that he could attack them singly. The ruse was suc 
 cessful, and by evening the brig was far in advance of 
 her consort. Under cover of night, Lieutenant Stewart 
 allowed the brig to pass him, and about midnight he 
 ran up on the schooner s weather quarter and poured 
 in a broadside. The consternation produced by this 
 unexpected attack, followed up by a close and rapid 
 fire, in a short time compelled the enemy to sur 
 render. First-Lieutenant David Porter, with a prize 
 crew, was placed in the schooner, the prisoners were 
 secured in the bold, and then both vessels made sail in 
 search of the brig. But that vessel, alarmed by the 
 unlooked-for attack in the rear, had made her escape. 
 The prize was la Diane, commanded by M. Perradeau, 
 a privateer carrying fourteen guns and sixty men. 
 Among the prisoners were General Bigand, thirty in 
 valid soldiers, and the first lieutenant of the Insurgent 
 during her action with the Constellation, who also had 
 been the prize officer of the Retaliation. 
 
 Before the season closed the Experiment had a 
 night action with a strange sail that gives some idea of 
 the hardships and danger encountered by the men who 
 manned these little cruisers. During heavy weather on 
 the night of November 16th, the Experiment was put 
 under storm sail, and even with this she was scudding 
 along at nine knots. Shortly before midnight the look 
 out reported a suspicious sail off the weather bow. As 
 the schooner was heeling over so much that her guns 
 were useless, it was necessary to chock up the carriages 
 until the weather broadside guns became sufficiently 
 depressed to bear on the stranger. By the time this 
 was done the vessels were within gunshot and opened 
 a heavy fire, and in the course of a few minutes the 
 stranger surrendered ; but when First-Lieutenant David 
 Porter was sent aboard to take possession, it was found 
 
1800. GALLANT DEFENSE OF THE LOUISA. 207 
 
 that the prize was the English privateer Louisa 
 Bridger, armed with eight 9-pounders and carrying a 
 crew of about forty-five men. She was badly injured, 
 and had four feet of water in her hold. Her command 
 er was severely wounded early in the action, while the 
 Experiment had one man killed and one boy wounded. 
 On discovering the mistake the Americans made every 
 possible reparation. 
 
 While the little marine force of the United States 
 was waging a successful war in the West Indies, a spir 
 ited action took place off the coast of Spain between 
 an American privateer from Philadelphia called the 
 Louisa and several French vessels which came out of 
 Algeciras for the purpose of cutting her off. During 
 the desultory engagement that followed, a lateen-rigged 
 craft filled with men made several desperate attempts 
 to board but was successfully repelled. Before the 
 enemy gave up the fight the commander of the Louisa 
 was shot through the shoulder, and while the mate 
 was taking him into his cabin the crew deserted the 
 guns, and, with the exception of the man at the wheel, 
 went below. At this moment the enemy, noticing the 
 confusion, made a final effort to board ; and when the 
 mate returned to the deck he found the privateer close 
 alongside,, with her forecastle and long bowsprit swarm 
 ing with men in readiness to spring aboard the Louisa. 
 The situation was critical, but the mate came from a 
 city noted for bold and skillful seamen, and, taking in 
 the situation at a glance, the Philadelphian rushed to 
 the forward hatchway and called on his men to come 
 up and take a last shot at the retreating Frenchmen. 
 The ruse had the desired effect, and the crew came 
 tumbling up on deck and was immediately sent to 
 quarters. A destructive fire was now opened on the 
 privateer, which swept many of her men from her bow 
 sprit and forecastle, and, supposing that the confusion 
 of a few minutes before was but a stratagem to inveigle 
 her into an attempt to board, she hauled off and re- 
 
208 THE WAR WITH FRANCE IN 1800. 1800. 
 
 joined her discomfited consorts. The Louisa sailed 
 into Gibraltar in triumph, and was greeted with enthu 
 siasm by the thousands of people who had witnessed 
 the action from the Rock. 
 
 In March, while engaged in towing a merchant ship 
 near Gonaive Island, the Boston, Captain George Lit 
 tle, discovered nine picaroon barges pulling from the 
 land to attack him. Running in his guns, Captain 
 Little took every precaution to deceive the marauders 
 as to the character of his ship. On came the barges, 
 pulled by twenty oars and manned by thirty to forty 
 men each, but before they approached as near as could 
 be desired they discovered their mistake and made 
 every exertion to regain the land. The Boston then 
 cast off her tow and filled away in pursuit. The chase 
 lasted two hours, during which time the Americans 
 held the picaroons under their guns and exterminated 
 three boat loads of them. 
 
 At five o clock in the morning of the 12th of the 
 following October the Boston, being in longitude 51 
 West, latitude 22 55 North, discovered a sail to the 
 south. The breeze was light and varying from east- 
 northeast to southeast. The Boston was standing for 
 the stranger, when shortly afterward the lookout re 
 ported another sail to the southeast. By 6. A. M. the 
 first sail was seen to be a corvette and the second a 
 schooner. When the first stranger made the Boston 
 out as a vessel of war she immediately signaled her 
 consort to make all sail to escape, at the same time set 
 ting a good example. Captain Little under a press of 
 sail stood for the schooner, which was making after the 
 corvette on the starboard tack, but the schooner soon 
 proved her superior sailing on this point by passing 
 her consort, and at 10 A. M. was hull down. The Bos 
 ton, however, continued the chase, hoping to overtake 
 the corvette, which was le Berceau, commanded by 
 Andre Senez, who had served as a midshipman under 
 Count D Estaing during the war of the American Revo- 
 
1800. THE BOSTON AND THE BERCEAU. 2Q9 
 
 lution and was considered one of the bravest officers 
 of the French marine. By 11 A. M. the American ship 
 had gained perceptibly, and at noon she was only a 
 league astern. The chase then began to relieve herself 
 by cutting away an anchor and throwing overboard 
 other heavy articles ; but in spite of these efforts the 
 Frenchman lost ground, and at 2 P. M. he resorted to 
 the extreme measure of throwing overboard ballast, 
 the second boat and the spare masts. This effort also 
 proved futile, and at 3.30 P. M. the Boston, having 
 hoisted her colors, fired two shot, upon which the 
 stranger showed French colors and fired a shot from 
 one of his stern chasers. 
 
 Fifteen minutes later Captain Little, being within 
 hailing distance of the corvette, inquired what port 
 she came from, to which her commander replied, 
 "Cayenne." Captain Little then asked, " Where are 
 you going?" and received in reply, " Cruising." He 
 then ordered the Frenchman to strike, but the latter 
 answered with an emphatic "Never!" The Boston 
 then ranged up on the enemy s starboard side and be 
 gan the action at pistol shot. The corvette responded 
 with admirable promptness, and also displayed much 
 more accuracy in her gunnery than either the Insur 
 gent or the Vengeance. 
 
 The story of this remarkable sea fight is best told 
 in the words of one of the officers of the French cor 
 vette, Second-Lieutenant Louis Marie Clement, whose 
 official account of the action was discovered by the 
 author in the archives of the Department of the Marine 
 and Colonies in 1886 : 
 
 " At five o clock in the morning we noticed a sail 
 ahead of us at a league and three quarters distance. 
 Immediately we signaled it to the schooner to the 
 southeast and kept away a little. A short time after 
 we found out that the vessel we had sighted was a 
 large war vessel. We at once wore around and sig 
 naled the schooner to do the same, and a moment later 
 
210 THE WAR WITH FRANCE IN 1800. 1800. 
 
 the stranger imitated our actions. At six o clock the 
 vessel, which we found to be a frigate, was in our wake, 
 the schooner being a little to windward of us. At half 
 past six a general and decided rallying was signaled to 
 the schooner. At this instant the frigate hauled her 
 wind in chase of the schooner, which immediately came 
 to the wind, close hauled on the starboard tack. We 
 kept away a little more, bringing the wind aft ; the 
 frigate hugged tne wind, but the schooner gained on 
 her. At eight o clock the frigate, seeing that she was 
 not overhauling the schooner, kept away toward us. 
 We continued before the wind, which we knew from 
 experience was our best point of sailing. At ten o clock 
 the schooner had disappeared ; the frigate was still 
 chasing us and was gaining a little. By eleven o clock 
 she had gained still more, and at noon we perceived 
 that she had a decided advantage over us, upon which 
 we relieved our ship by throwing overboard the waist- 
 anchor. The frigate was now about a league astern of 
 us. At half past twelve, their advantage being more 
 obvious, we threw overboard many articles which might 
 impede our progress ; and at two o clock, the frigate 
 having gained considerably on us, we threw overboard 
 what remained of the ballast, also the second cutter 
 and the life-raft, but we still retained two spare masts. 
 " At half past three o clock the frigate hoisted the 
 American flag and pennant and fired twice. We at 
 once hoisted French colors and pennant and answered 
 by a single cannon shot. The frigate, at a quarter to 
 four, being within speaking distance, asked us whence 
 we came. A moment later she fired on us, and ranging 
 along our port side within pistol shot the battle began 
 in a most spirited manner on both sides. The musketry 
 was very sharp and well sustained, the only delays be 
 ing to reload the pieces. The battery also was served 
 with the greatest activity, and the cry of Vive la Ee- 
 publique ! was often heard during the battle. At six 
 o clock our topgallantmasts were seriously wounded, 
 
1800. THE BOSTON AND THE BERCEAU. 211 
 
 the shrouds were cut through, and the yards, sails and 
 lower masts were riddled with shot. At five minutes 
 after six o clock the frigate dropped astern, having her 
 topsail ties cut and the yards on the caps. We boarded 
 our fore and main tacks and came by the wind. The 
 frigate from this moment ceased firing, and we worked 
 without ceasing at repairing damages. 
 
 "At half past eight o clock the frigate again at 
 tacked us and we discharged a broadside. From that 
 time the action was renewed with great ferocity at 
 pistol shot. At half past nine o clock the captain, 
 seeing a favorable opportunity of boarding the frigate, 
 gave the order, and the crew only awaited the chance, 
 and our vessel manoeuvred to favor the attempt. The 
 frigate, however, took care not to allow herself to be 
 boarded, and the action continued at pistol range up 
 to eleven o clock, when the frigate again hauled off to 
 repair damages. We again set our courses, a short 
 time after which our jib boom was carried away and the 
 topmasts followed. At this time our shrouds and back 
 stays were nearly all cut through, and the two spare 
 topmasts had also been cut upon the gallows frame. 
 We therefore found ourselves without the possibility 
 of repairing, but we nevertheless made as much sail as 
 we could. The frigate also was much damaged in her 
 sails and rigging, and she remained out of gunshot but 
 always in sight. 
 
 " At five o clock the next morning nobody had yet 
 left his post and we expected every moment a third 
 attack, when the frigate passed us to the starboard at 
 a great distance, and placed herself to leeward of us 
 at half a league distance. In the course of the morn 
 ing we saw that she was working at repairs. At half 
 past eleven o clock our foremast, pierced with shot, 
 fell to starboard, and a short time afterward the main 
 mast also fell. At two o clock in the afternoon the 
 frigate, which had now finished repairs, came up to us 
 on the starboard side. Our captain then assembled 
 
212 THE WAR WITH FRANCE IN 1800. 1800. 
 
 the council necessary in such cases. All that were 
 called to the council thought that the dismasted ship 
 having its battery encumbered with the fallen masts, 
 many shot holes at the water line, which already caused 
 her to make seven inches of water an hour, as well as 
 many other serious damages could no longer keep up 
 the combat against the frigate without further sacri 
 ficing the lives of the men, who were now unable to 
 defend themselves. Besides this, the honorable man 
 ner in which they had fought had sufficiently proved 
 how much they had had at heart to preserve to the 
 Republic the sloop which had been confided to their 
 care ; but having done all that was possible to prevent 
 its capture they ought to give in to superior forces. 
 It was then unanimously decided that, without making 
 further resistance, the flag should be hauled down. 
 Accordingly it was struck at once, and immediately 
 the frigate sent a boat to take possession. We found 
 her to be the United States frigate Boston, Captain 
 George Little. "[Signed] CLEMENT. 
 
 SALLERON. 
 
 "Four killed and seventeen wounded. Seven hun 
 dred cannon shot expended and two thousand one hun 
 dred musket shot." 
 
 The Boston carried twenty-four long 12-pounders 
 and twelve long 9-pounders, or three hundred and sixty- 
 eight actual pounds of metal. Out of a crew of two 
 hundred and thirty she lost four killed and eleven 
 wounded. The Berceau carried twenty- two long 
 8-pounders and two short 12-pou.nders, 1 or two hun 
 dred and sixteen English pounds of metal. Out of a 
 crew of two hundred and twenty she lost four killed 
 and seventeen wounded. 
 
 Comparative force and loss. 
 
 Guns. Lbs. Crew. Killed. Wounded. Total. 
 
 Boston: 36 368 230 4 11 15 
 
 Berceau: 24 216 220 4 17 21 
 
 1 Official report of Second-Lieutenant Clement. 
 
The Boston capturing the Berceau. 
 
1801. THF BOSTON AND THE BERCEAU. 213 
 
 The Berceau was in a deplorable condition. She 
 was completely dismasted, the wreck covering her guns 
 and decks, while many shot had taken effect at the 
 water line, causing her to leak dangerously. Captain 
 Little returned to port with his prize in safety. The 
 flag of the Berceau is now in the Naval Institute Build 
 ing at Annapolis. 
 
 On the 3d of February, 1801, a treaty of peace, 
 which had been under negotiations for some time, was 
 ratified by the Senate, and on the 23d of the same 
 month the Herald, Master - Commandant Charles C. 
 Russell, was dispatched to the West Indies to recall 
 the cruisers on the station. By the terms of the treaty 
 all Government vessels of war captured on either side 
 were to be restored, and under this provision the Ber 
 ceau and the Vengeance, a small cruiser taken by the 
 Trumbull, were released. The Insurgent, the remain 
 ing national war vessel taken from the French, had 
 been lost the year before. 
 
 This two and a half years of. naval war with France 
 had been conducted in a manner that was highly cred 
 itable to the little navy of the United States. Eighty- 
 four armed French vessels, nearly all of them priva 
 teers, mounting over five hundred guns, had been 
 captured. Of these, eight were released, besides the 
 Berceau and the Vengeance, as having been illegally 
 seized ; one, le Croyable, was recaptured, and the re 
 maining vessels were condemned and sold. Nearly all 
 these captures were made by Government cruisers, as 
 few American privateers got to sea during this war. 
 No vessel of the navy was taken by the enemy except 
 the Retaliation. 
 
 The exports of the country under the protection of 
 this marine force increased from $57,000,000 in 1797, 
 when not a single American cruiser was in commission, 
 to $78,665,528 in 1799, and the revenue on imports 
 rose from $6,000,000 in 1797 to $9,080,932 in 1800. 
 
CHAPTER IY. 
 
 THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR WITH TRIPOLI. 
 
 THE defeat of John Adams for re-election to the 
 presidency of the United States in 1800 led many to 
 believe that the navy would be reduced to a minimum, 
 if not done away with altogether, for it was under his 
 administration that the Department of the Navy was 
 established and the new navy created. Thomas Jeffer 
 son represented the extreme Republican view of gov 
 ernment, which was as much opposed to a permanent 
 navy as the country at large objected to a standing 
 army ; and as he entered upon his term of office 
 twenty-nine days after the treaty of peace with France 
 was ratified by the Senate, many believed that the 
 young navy was doomed. But such a hold had the 
 gallant little marine force of the United States taken 
 on the people, and so indispensable had it proved 
 itself to the dignity, safety and economical adminis 
 tration of the Government, that the new President, 
 while making radical changes in the precedents estab 
 lished in almost every other department, left the navy 
 practically unimpaired. John Adams himself could 
 not have placed the navy on a peace footing with more 
 regard for its future development than his successor 
 did. At the time when peace was proclaimed the navy 
 numbered thirty-four vessels, of which fifteen, repre 
 senting four fifths of its strength, were retained in the 
 service, while the remaining vessels, most of which had 
 been merchantmen purchased for the emergency, were 
 sold, and the number of officers was reduced to nine 
 
 (214) 
 
1785-1798. TRIBUTE TO THE STATES OF BARBARY. 215 
 
 captains, thirty-six lieutenants and one hundred and 
 fifty midshipmen. 1 
 
 The new administration had been in office only a 
 short time when the necessity of a permanent and ade 
 quate navy was shown in a most emphatic manner. 
 As has already been seen, the piratical States of Bar- 
 bary were not long in discovering that a new nation 
 with a commerce had sprung into existence, and in 
 1785 two American vessels were seized by them and 
 twenty-one citizens were thrown into slavery. These 
 unfortunate people were ransomed for $59,496 (Spanish 
 milled dollars), and on the payment of tribute depre 
 dations in this quarter for a time ceased. But this 
 tame submission only served to stimulate the cupidity 
 of the semibarbarians, and having so easily obtained 
 the inch of tribute they proceeded to extort the ell. 
 
 The following extract from an American periodical, 
 published in 1798, throws some light on the humili 
 ating position of the nation before that patriotic senti 
 ment, "Millions for defense ; not a penny for tribute ! " 
 rang through the halls of Congress and stirred the 
 members to action: "Portsmouth, January 20, 1798. 
 On Thursday morning about sunrise a gun was dis 
 charged from the frigate Orescent as a signal for getting 
 under way, and at 10 A. M. she cleared the harbor with a 
 fine leading breeze. Our best wishes follow Captain 
 Newman, his officers and men. May they arrive in safety 
 at the place of their destination, and present to the 
 Dey of Algiers one of the finest specimens of elegant 
 naval architecture which was ever borne on the Pis- 
 cataqua s waters. The Crescent is a present from the 
 
 1 The cruisers retained were the 44-gun frigate Constitution, the 44-gun 
 frigate President, the 44-gun frigate United States, the 36-gun frigate 
 Chesapeake, the 36-gun frigate Congress, the 36-gun frigate Constellation, 
 the 36-gun frigate New York, the 36-gun frigate Philadelphia, the 32-gun 
 frigate Essex, the 28-gun corvette Adams, the 28-gun corvette Boston, the 
 28-gun corvette General Greene, the 28-gun corvette John Adams, the 24- 
 gun sloop of war George Washington and the 12-gun schooner Enterprise. 
 
216 THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR WITH TRIPOLI. 1800. 
 
 United States to the Dey as a compensation for delay 
 in not fulfilling our treaty stipulations in proper time. 
 Richard O Brien, Esq., who was ten years a prisoner at 
 Algiers, took passage in the above frigate, and is to 
 reside at Algiers as Consul-General of the United States 
 to all the Barbary States. The Orescent has many 
 valuable presents on board for the Dey, and when she 
 sailed was supposed to be worth at least three hundred 
 thousand dollars. Twenty- six barrels of dollars con 
 stituted a part of her cargo. It is worthy of remark 
 that the captain, chief of the officers, and many of the 
 privates of the Crescent frigate have been prisoners at 
 Algiers." 
 
 But these presents had a far different effect from 
 that intended, for the other States of Barbary beheld 
 with envious eyes the frigate Crescent, and, observing 
 the rich and unprotected commerce of the United 
 States in the Mediterranean, they insolently demanded 
 similar gifts and a proportionate tribute. Early in 
 1800 Jessuf Karamauli, Bashaw of Tripoli, informed 
 the American consul, Mr. Cathcart, "that the Sahib- 
 tappa at Tunis had received more than forty thousand 
 dollars from the United States in cash, besides pres 
 ents, that he had received very little more, and that he 
 had never imagined that the United States meant to 
 put him on an equality with one of the Bey of Tunis 
 ministers." The Bashaw further showed his arrogance 
 in a letter to the President, dated March 5, 1800. 
 After giving numerous statistics to show that other 
 States received quite as much as himself, he concluded : 
 " But, our sincere friend, we could wish that these your 
 expressions were followed by deeds and not empty 
 words. You will therefore endeavor to satisfy us by a 
 good manner of proceeding. We, on our part, will 
 correspond with you with equal friendship as well as 
 deeds. But if only flattering words are meant, with 
 out performance, every one will act as he finds con 
 venient. We beg a speedy answer without neglect of 
 
1801. ENGLAND S MEDITERRANEAN POLICY. 217 
 
 time, as a delay on your part can not but be prejudicial 
 to your interests." 
 
 As the President s "manner of proceeding" was 
 not satisfactory, the Bashaw sent his prime minister 
 to Mr. Cathcart with the notice that war had been de 
 clared against the United States, and that the American 
 consul was no longer recognized at Tripoli. On the 
 14th of May, 1801, the American flagstaff was cut down. 
 The Bey of Tunis also became imperative in his de 
 mands, and he complained that some of the planks 
 and oars which had been sent to him were too short. 
 In a letter to the President, April 15, 1801, he asked 
 for forty cannon of different calibers, and in June 
 demanded of the American consul at Tunis, William 
 Eaton, ten thousand stands of arms, saying, "Tell your 
 Government to send them without delay ; peace de 
 pends on compliance." 
 
 At first blush we are surprised to find the leading na 
 val powers of Europe for so many years paying tribute 
 to the piratical States of Barbary, but, turning to the 
 records of Parliament of that period, we come across 
 documents that explain the whole matter. England s 
 aim was to secure a monopoly of the carrying trade and 
 commerce of the world, and in furtherance of this pur 
 pose she encouraged the pirates of the Mediterranean, 
 so that, with the aid of her fleet and by paying them a 
 small tribute, her commerce was unmolested while that 
 of weaker maritime nations was constantly harassed. 
 By acknowledging the independence of the United 
 States, England admitted a dangerous competitor to 
 this trade, and in a few years American shipping 
 reached a million tons. The means Great Britain took 
 to cut off this competitor is seen in the following ex 
 tract from a speech made by Lord Sheffield in Parlia 
 ment in 1784 : "It is not probable that the American 
 States will have a very free trade in the Mediterranean. 
 It will not be to the interest of any of the great mari 
 time powers to protect them from the Barbary States. 
 
218 THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR WITH TRIPOLI. 1793. 
 
 If they know their interests, they will not encourage 
 the Americans to be carriers. That the Barbary States 
 are advantageous to maritime powers is certain. If 
 they are suppressed, the little States of Italy would 
 have much more of the carrying trade." 
 
 A good illustration of the unscrupulous manner in 
 which England carried out her maritime policy was 
 given in 1793. For several years Portugal had been 
 carrying on an active war against Algiers, and she had 
 confined the depredations of these rovers to the Medi 
 terranean. As this gave protection to American com 
 merce outside of that sea, the British agent at Algiers, 
 without authority from Portugal, brought about a 
 twelve months truce, and incorporated in the docu 
 ment this extraordinary clause "that the Portuguese 
 Government should not afford protection to any na 
 tion against Algerian cruisers." As this truce was to 
 go into operation immediately, no opportunity was 
 given to warn American or other merchantmen of it, 
 and the robbers were suddenly released and reaped a 
 golden harvest. In the face of the stipulation that 
 Portugal should afford no protection to any other na 
 tion against Algerian corsairs, the British ministry 
 disclaimed any intention of injuring American com 
 merce, but their hypocrisy was only too plainly shown 
 in the large number of our merchantmen that were im 
 mediately seized and thrown into Mussulman bondage. 
 When David Humphreys, the American commissioner, 
 endeavored to treat with the Dey, the latter, breathing 
 the true spirit of Lord Sheffield s policy, said: "If I 
 were to make peace with every nation, what should I 
 do with my corsairs ? My soldiers can not live on their 
 miserable allowance." 
 
 Under such fostering care it is not suprising that 
 piracy flourished in the Mediterranean ; and as the 
 buccaneers were generally of the Mohammedan faith, 
 their attacks were directed against Christians. For 
 two centuries the northern shores of the Mediterranean 
 
1516-1800. 
 
 PIRACY A STATE INSTITUTION. 
 
 219 
 
 had been devastated by these pests ; for, emboldened 
 by their success on the sea, they frequently landed at 
 night and destroyed whole villages, carrying off the 
 men to a horrible servitude to await ransom, while the 
 women were sold in the slave marts of the East. Some 
 of the greatest fortifications along the northern coast of 
 Africa were constructed by Christian slaves in Mussul 
 man bondage, the mole at Algiers representing the 
 labor of thirty thousand Christians. 
 
 Piracy was made a state institution at Tripoli, to 
 ward the close of the seventeenth century, by the cele- 
 
 Algiers. 
 
 brated pirate Dragut, who was appointed first gov 
 ernor of the province by Sultan Suleyman II. The 
 Karamauli dynasty of pirates was established in 1713 
 by Hamet Karamauli, a Moorish chief, his lineal de 
 scendant Jessuf reigning at Tripoli in 1800. Piracy 
 was instituted at Algiers in 1516 by the famous Turkish 
 pirate Aruch Barbarossa. On the northern shore of 
 
220 THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR WITH TRIPOLI. 1800. 
 
 the Mediterranean to-day can be seen the ruins of 
 watch towers which were built to discover the approach 
 of Barbary pirates and to give the alarm to the in 
 habitants. 
 
 In May, 1800, the George Washington, Captain Wil 
 liam Bainbridge, was ordered to the Mediterranean to 
 convey the annual tribute to the Dey of Algiers. She 
 reached her destination in September and anchored 
 under the guns of the batteries. After the tribute had 
 been transferred to Mr. O Brien, the American consul, 
 the Dey requested that the frigate be placed at his dis 
 posal, as he wished to send presents to the Sultan at 
 Constantinople. Algiers, like other States of Barbary, 
 was a conquered province under tribute to the Sultan. 
 The Dey and all officials under him, with five thou 
 sand Turkish soldiers, were sent from Constantinople to 
 govern the province and to be answerable to the Sultan 
 only for so much tribute annually, which was extorted 
 from the native population and from his American and 
 European tributaries in whatever manner he saw fit. 
 Just before the arrival of the American frigate the 
 Dey had seriously offended the Sublime Porte by 
 making a treaty with France at a time when Turkey 
 and her ally, Great Britain, were carrying on a war 
 against Napoleon Bonaparte in Egypt, and the Dey 
 was anxious to forward, with all possible dispatch, 
 presents to the val ue of five or six hundred thousand 
 dollars, besides upward of two hundred envoys, to 
 propitiate the wrath of the Sultan. 
 
 The American commander declined to have the 
 George Washington used in such a service, upon which 
 the Dey put his request in the form of a demand, threat 
 ening at the same time to blow the ship out of water if it 
 were not complied with. Mr. O Brien, whose long ac 
 quaintance with Mussulman politics entitled his opin 
 ion in these matters to consideration, advised Captain 
 Bainbridge to acquiesce, as refusal would result in a 
 declaration of v 7 ar. The consul furthermore said that 
 
1800. MOHAMMEDAN WORSHIP IN THE WASHINGTON. 221 
 
 English, French and Spanish frigates had complied 
 with similar requests. The Dey s argument, " You pay 
 me tribute, by which you become my slaves ; I have 
 therefore a right to order you as I may think proper," 
 together with his batteries, compelled obedience, and 
 brought home to the American officers the bitter hu 
 miliation of their country s position. 
 
 At the moment of sailing another difficulty arose. 
 The Dey insisted that the American flag at the main 
 mast should give place to the Algerian, but he intimated 
 that the American colors might fly at the foremast, if 
 that harmless concession w r ould tend to soothe his 
 spirited tributaries. This led to another dispute, but 
 as the frigate was under the guns of the batteries 
 and the Mussulmans refused to allow her to move, 
 this last indignity was submitted to. Accordingly, 
 on the 9th of October the George Washington set 
 sail with the flag of Algiers over her ; but scarcely 
 had she passed beyond the reach of the Moorish bat 
 teries, when the Algerian colors were hauled down 
 and once again the Starry Flag floated over the 
 frigate. 
 
 The passage to the Bosphorus was particularly dis 
 agreeable to the American officers, while the interrup 
 tions to the duties of the ship by the frequent devo 
 tions of the Mussulmans proved another source of 
 annoyance. Besides other religious ceremonies, they 
 prayed five times a day, and always with their faces 
 toward Mecca. As the ship frequently tacked while 
 they were thus engaged, they were as often obliged to 
 change their positions ; and so scrupulous were they 
 that they appointed one of their number to consult the 
 compass at every change in the ship s course, in order 
 to get the right direction. The American tar is not an 
 irreverent fellow as a rule, but his love for a joke 
 usually gets the better of his prudence ; and on one 
 occasion when the ship tacked, the seamen at the wheel 
 reversed the points of the compass when the Mussulman 
 
222 THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR WITH TRIPOLI. 1800. 
 
 committee of one came to get his spiritual bearings, 
 and so made these devout Turks worship with their 
 backs toward Mecca. When the error was discov 
 ered a howl of rage burst from the devotees, and 
 from that time on they stationed several of their keen- 
 eyed brethren behind the helmsmen to see that there 
 was no further tampering with their religious observ 
 ances. 
 
 When the George Washington reached the Dar 
 danelles, where two forts commanded the entrance, her 
 
 The Dardanelles. 
 
 passport was demanded. As she was not provided 
 with one, and came from a country that was unknown 
 in the Orient, Captain Bainbridge resorted to a ruse de 
 guerre, not wishing to be delayed several weeks while 
 the regular form of entry could be made out for him. 
 Approaching the usual anchoring ground, he clewed 
 up his courses, let the topsails go, and made every pre 
 tense of complying with the rules of the port ; but 
 when the ship began firing a salute and the forts re 
 turned it, all sail was instantly made under cover of 
 the smoke, and before the Turks were aware of it the 
 frigate was beyond the range of their guns, which, be 
 ing stationary, were useless when a ship passed their 
 
1803. THE GEORGE WASHINGTON AT CONSTANTINOPLE. 223 
 
 line of fire. On arrival at Constantinople, the Sublime 
 Porte was officially advised for the first time of a na 
 tion in the New World, and he expressed himself as be 
 ing pleased with the visit ; while the American frigate 
 was placed under the " protection " of Capudan Pasha, 
 a brother-in-law of the Sultan and Admiral of the 
 Fleets. The Pasha also gave Captain Bainbridge a 
 firman which entitled him to the special protection of 
 the Sultan in any part of the Turkish Empire. Soon 
 afterward a messenger from the castle came aboard the 
 George Washington, bringing with him a lamb and a 
 bunch of flowers, the former an emblem of peace and 
 the latter of welcome. But the Algerian ambassadors 
 were treated with harshness, and were informed that 
 the Dey had just sixty days in which to declare war 
 against France and to send a large sum of money to 
 Constantinople. 
 
 The celebrated English traveler Edward Daniel 
 Clarke, who arrived overland at Constantinople from 
 St. Petersburg at the time of Captain Bainbridge s visit, 
 gives the following account of the interest the pres 
 ence of the United States cruiser aroused in that city : 
 "On the arrival of the American frigate for the first 
 time at Constantinople considerable sensation was ex 
 cited not only among the Turks but also throughout 
 the whole diplomatic corps stationed at Pera. The 
 ship commanded by Captain Bainbridge came from 
 Algiers, with a letter from the Dey to the Sultan and 
 Capudan Pasha. The presents consisted of tigers and 
 other animals, sent with a view to conciliate the Turk 
 ish Government. The messenger from the Dey was 
 ordered on board the Capudan Pasha s ship, who, re 
 ceiving the letter from the Dey with great rage, first 
 spat and then stamped upon it, telling him to go back 
 to his master and inform him that he would be treated 
 after the same manner whenever the Turkish admiral 
 met him. 
 
 "Captain Bainbridge, however, was received with 
 
221 THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR WITH TRIPOLI. 1801. 
 
 every mark of attention. The order of the ship and 
 the healthy state of the crew became topics of general 
 conversation in Pera, and the different ministers strove 
 who should first receive him in their palaces. We ac 
 companied him in his long boat to the Black Sea, as 
 he was desirous of hoisting there, for the first time, the 
 American flag ; and upon his return we were amused 
 by a very singular entertainment at his table during 
 dinner. Upon the four corners of the table were so 
 many decanters containing fresh water " [the Mussul 
 mans not drinking wine] "from the four quarters of 
 the globe. The nations of Europe, Asia, Africa and 
 America sat^down together at the same table, and were 
 regaled with flesh, fruits, bread and other viands, while 
 of every article a sample of each quarter of the globe 
 was presented at the same time." 
 
 After landing the envoys and their presents Cap 
 tain Bainbridge returned to Algiers, arriving at that 
 place on the 21st of January, 1801. This time he took 
 the precaution to anchor beyond reach of the bat 
 teries, upon which the Bey expressed great indigna 
 tion, for it afterward appeared that he wished to send 
 the frigate to Constantinople a second time, as she was 
 the only ship suited for the purpose. The Dey s plan 
 now was to inveigle her under his guns on any pretext, 
 seize her, enslave all her officers and men, and then 
 declare war against his unmannerly tributaries. Hav 
 ing brought them to a better frame of mind with threats 
 of torturing or butchering his several hundred prison 
 ers, he would grant peace only on promises of better 
 behavior in the future, and on payment of a heavy 
 ransom, which would reimburse him for the fine the 
 Sultan had just imposed upon him, and leave a hand 
 some balance besides. 
 
 Having marked out his programme for the chastise 
 ment of the "Christian dogs" of the New World, he 
 proceeded to carry it out. All the subterfuge and craft 
 known to Oriental diplomacy were brought into play. 
 
1801. CAPTAIN BAINBRIDGE BEFORE THE BASHAW. 225 
 
 Threats and persuasion, menace and flattery, and an 
 adroit manipulation of falsehood, spread out their net 
 work of deceit and trickery to entangle the victim. 
 But the clear-headed commander of the George Wash 
 ington was not to be duped by such methods. His 
 prudence in anchoring his ship out of gunshot inter 
 rupted the programme, and nothing could induce him 
 to change his determination. 
 
 Before he sailed for Constantinople Captain Bain- 
 bridge had borrowed some old cannon of the Algerians 
 to be used as ballast. He now wished to return them, 
 and engaged lighters for that purpose ; but when the 
 Dey heard of it he forbade the men to undertake the 
 work unless the frigate came under the guns of his 
 batteries, and at the same time threatened to declare 
 war unless the cannon were immediately returned, on 
 the charge that the frigate had borrowed cannon and 
 would not return them. Captain Bainbridge, however, 
 managed to have the cannon landed in spite of the 
 obstacles the Dey threw in his way, and said "the 
 Dey had forgotten the oath he swore not to make any 
 further demands after the first voyage was performed. 
 After such a disregard of his solemn declaration he 
 could not doubt his disposition to capture the frigate, 
 and enslave the officers and crew, if she were again in 
 his power." 
 
 At the urgent solicitation of the American consul, 
 Captain Bainbridge, being assured of his personal 
 safety, landed and waited upon the Dey in his council 
 chamber. The despot received him with scowls, and, 
 soon bursting forth into an ungovernable rage, threat 
 ened him with torture and captivity ; and as he was 
 surrounded by fifty of his janizaries fully armed, and 
 having before them a representative of an unknown 
 nation in the far-off New World, there was little doubt 
 that the Dey would have made good his threat ; but at 
 this critical moment Captain Bainbridge thought of 
 the firman that Capudan Pasha had given to him, and 
 
226 THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR WITH TRIPOLI. 1801. 
 
 showed it to the enraged potentate. In an instant the 
 fury of the tyrant was changed into cringing deference 
 to the unarmed man before him. The next morning 
 the flagstaff of the French consulate was cut down 
 and war was declared against that country, while about 
 four hundred Venetians, Maltese and Sicilian prison 
 ers, who had been captured while under the protection 
 of British passports, were liberated. 
 
 Smarting under the insults that had been heaped 
 upon his flag, Captain Bainbridge made sail for the 
 United States. Before leaving Algiers he took aboard 
 several French families, including that of Dubois de 
 Trainville, the French consul, and that of the French 
 governor of La Caille. Failing of an opportunity to 
 wreak his rage on the Americans or on the Maltese, 
 Venetians or Sicilians, the Dey now turned on the 
 
 Alicante. 
 
 French who happened to be in his realm ; and as he 
 had been compelled by the Sultan to declare war 
 against that country, he threatened to put every man, 
 woman and child of them in irons if found in Algiers 
 after forty-eight hours. As the Dey well knew, there 
 
1801. THE GEORGE WASHINGTON SAILS HOME. 227 
 
 was no vessel in port that could take them away, and 
 they were doomed to the horrors of Mussulman slavery. 
 But Captain Bainbridge offered to take them aboard 
 the George Washington, although the United States 
 and France at that time were at war. Such was the 
 haste of the debarkations that no preparation for the 
 unexpected passengers could be made, but the Ameri 
 can officers gave up their cabins to the refugees and did 
 everything in their power to alleviate their distress. 
 On the 8th of May they were landed at Alicante, 
 and they bade adieu to their "kind and generous 
 friend with hearts full of gratitude." Napoleon Bona 
 parte, who at that time was First Consul of France, 
 ordered that u his acknowledgments and thanks be 
 tendered to Captain Bainbridge for the important 
 services he had rendered the Republic, with assur 
 ances that such kind offices would be always remem 
 bered and reciprocated with pleasure whenever an 
 occasion offered." 
 
 The George Washington now stood down to the 
 Straits of Gibraltar, and in a few days was spreading 
 her sails on the broad Atlantic for the United States, 
 where she arrived early in the summer of 1801, bring 
 ing news of the outrages that had been perpetrated on 
 her and on the American flag. 
 
CHAPTER Y. 
 
 THE WAR IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 
 
 BEFORE news of the declaration of war by the 
 Bashaw of Tripoli reached the United States the 
 Government had intimations of the probability of such 
 a measure being taken, and on the 20th of May, 1801, 
 the Secretary of the Navy ordered a squadron of ob 
 servation, under the command of Captain Eichard 
 Dale, to the Mediterranean. The squadron consisted 
 of the 44-gun frigate President (flagship), Captain 
 James Barron ; the 36-gun frigate Philadelphia, Cap 
 tain Samuel Barron ; the 32-gun frigate Essex, Captain 
 William Bainbridge (this ship sailing after the others), 
 and the 12-gun schooner Enterprise, Lieutenant An 
 drew Sterett. Captain Dale was instructed to appear 
 off the ports of Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, and if pos 
 sible maintain peace with those regencies by this show 
 ing of force and by promises of presents ; but if any of 
 them had declared war by the time he arrived he was 
 to act on his own judgment. In any case the ships 
 were not to remain in the Mediterranean after the 1st 
 of December, as navigation in that sea was considered 
 too hazardous in winter. 
 
 The squadron arrived at Gibraltar on the 1st of July, 
 where it found two Tripolitan corsairs, one a ship of 
 twenty-six guns, 9- and 6-pounders, with two hundred 
 and sixty men ; and the other a brig of sixteen guns 
 and one hundred and sixty men, under the command of 
 an admiral, a renegade Scotchman named Lisle. As 
 the circumstances of these rovers being stationed at the 
 Straits of Gibraltar was suspicious, the PhiladelpJiia 
 
 (228) 
 
1801. AMERICAN OFFICERS INSULTED BY SPANIARDS. 229 
 
 was ordered to watch them and to prevent their get 
 ting to sea. This was effectually done, and the ad 
 miral, despairing of making his escape, dismantled his 
 ships and sent his men secretly across the Straits in 
 boats, and they made their way overland to Tripoli. 
 The despots of the several States of Barbary united in 
 complaining of the blockade as being contrary to cus 
 tom, and the Dey of Algiers insolently demanded pass 
 ports for the crew of the Tripolitan corsair, which Cap 
 tain Dale promptly refused to give. 
 
 The arrival of this first American squadron in the 
 Mediterranean aroused much interest in the several 
 ports at which the ships stopped, and many compli 
 mentary notices of them appeared in the newspapers. 
 When the Essex. Captain William Bainbridge, arrived 
 in the Roads of Barcelona, early in August, she was 
 received with every courtesy by the Spanish officers. 
 An incident happened in this port, however, which 
 showed that even among friends a frigate must be 
 ready to defend the honor of its flag. Returning from 
 a visit to the city in his gig one night Captain Bain- 
 bridge was grossly insulted by the commander of a 
 Spanish xebec which was anchored in the harbor as 
 
 Scene of the naval operations in the Mediterranean. 
 
 a guard boat. In vulgar and abusive language the 
 Spaniard ordered the gig to come alongside, and, as no 
 attention was paid to the insult, several musket shots 
 
230 THE WAR IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 1801. 
 
 were fired. Supposing that some mistake had been 
 made, Captain Bainbridge ran alongside the xebec and 
 explained who he was, but, not satisfied with this, the 
 commander of the guard boat insisted on his coming 
 aboard. Captain Bainbridge replied that, as the com 
 mander of an American frigate, he considered it be 
 neath his dignity to comply with such an impudent 
 request, and ordering his men to shove off, he pulled 
 for the Essex in spite of the Spaniard s repeated 
 threats of firing on him. 
 
 On the following night some of the American lieu 
 tenants returning from the shore were insulted in the 
 same manner. First-Lieutenant Stephen Decatur was 
 one of the number, and the next morning he went 
 aboard the xebec and asked for her commander, but 
 finding that he was ashore he said, " Well, then, tell 
 him that Lieutenant Decatur, of the frigate Essex, 
 pronounces him a cowardly scoundrel, and that when 
 they meet on shore he will cut his ears off." The cap 
 tain-general of the port, hearing of the threat, was 
 much disturbed, as the commander of the xebec was a 
 man with influential connections, and he begged Cap 
 tain Bainbridge to avert the duel by keeping all the 
 American officers confined to the Essex so long as they 
 were in that port, while on his part he promised that 
 the commander of the xebec would be kept out of 
 harm s way. Captain Bainbridge replied that not for 
 a moment would he consider the proposition ; that he 
 knew the American officers to be gentlemen, and if the 
 commander of the xebec did not know how to treat 
 them as such he must take the consequences. This 
 spirited answer brought the captain-general to terms, 
 and the obnoxious commander of the xebec was severe 
 ly censured and made ample apology. This affair 
 reached the ears of the King at Madrid, who immedi 
 ately ordered the officials of every Spanish seaport to 
 4 treat all officers of the United States with courtesy 
 and respect, and more particularly those attached to 
 
1801. THE ENTERPRISE AND THE TRIPOLI. 231 
 
 the United States frigate Essex? This order was faith 
 fully carried out, and our officers were not again an 
 noyed by the impertinence of petty officials. 
 
 While the Essex called at the ports of Marseilles, 
 Barcelona and Alicante to collect arid convoy a fleet of 
 American merchantmen through the Straits of Gibral 
 tar, the President and the Enterprise made sail for 
 Algiers. The appearance of this force had a more 
 soothing effect on the Dey s resentment than a dozen 
 George Washingtons laden with presents, and he has 
 tily retracted his hostile utterances of a few months 
 before and assured Captain Dale of his friendship for 
 the United States. 
 
 In the meantime the Enterprise, Lieutenant An 
 drew Sterett, was sent to Malta, and while cruising off 
 that island, August 1, she fell in with the enemy s 
 war polacre Tripoli of fourteen guns and eighty men. 
 An action began within pistol shot, and was main 
 tained with great obstinacy for three hours. In the 
 course of the battle the Tripolitans surrendered three 
 times, but when the Americans sent a boat to take 
 possession the Turks twice reopened fire and rehoisted 
 their colors. Exasperated by their treachery, Lieuten 
 ant Sterett determined to sink them, but the Turkish 
 commander finally appeared at the gangway, and, cast 
 ing his flag into the sea, bowed his head to the deck 
 and begged for quarter. Thereupon Lieutenant David 
 Porter was again sent aboard to secure the prize, and 
 this time no difficulty was experienced. In this action 
 the Enterprise did not lose a man, and she received 
 no material damage in her hull or rigging ; but the 
 Tripoli was severely handled, her mizzenmast going 
 by the board shortly after she struck. Out of her crew 
 of eighty she lost twenty killed, while her commander, 
 Mahomet Sous, her first officer and twenty-eight men 
 were wounded. 
 
 According to his instructions, Lieutenant Sterett 
 threw all the enemy s guns, arms and ammunition over- 
 
232 THE WAR IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 1801. 
 
 board, and completely dismantling the polacre of every 
 thing save a sail and a spar he ordered her to make for 
 the nearest port. For this handsome affair Congress 
 voted Lieutenant Sterett a sword and promoted him to 
 the rank of master-commandant, and gave one month s 
 pay to each of the officers, the sea lieutenants being 
 David Porter and Richard H. L. Lawson, while E. S. 
 Lane was lieutenant of the marines. 
 
 Comparative force and loss. 
 
 Guns. Crew. Killed. Wounded. Total. 
 
 Enterprise: 12 94 0, Time 
 
 Tripoli : 14 80 20 30 50 f 
 
 The result of this first rencontre between the Amer 
 icans and the Tripolitans was to render the latter ex 
 tremely cautious in venturing on the sea when an Amer 
 ican cruiser was known to be around. On regaining 
 port, the survivors of this action circulated such ac 
 counts of the ferocity and prowess of the Americans 
 that it caused almost a panic among the superstitious 
 seafaring classes at Tripoli, and it was with the great 
 est difficulty that they could be induced to go to sea. 
 This fear was increased by wild and exaggerated ac 
 counts of the personality of the strange men from the 
 New World. They were represented as being possessed 
 of terrible powers and superhuman influences, stories 
 which were readily believed by the imaginative Ori 
 entals. The commander of the Tripoli was severely 
 punished, in spite of the evidences of his bravery as 
 shown in his many wounds. He was placed on a don 
 key, and having been paraded through the streets of 
 Tripoli he received the bastinado. 
 
 After overawing the Dey of Algiers, the President 
 appeared off Tripoli on the 24th of August, and on the 
 30th she brought to a Greek ship that was endeavoring 
 to run the blockade. On board were found thirty-five 
 Tripolitans, who were detained as prisoners, and after 
 considerable haggling over the terms they were ex- 
 
1801-1802. THE PRESIDENT S NARROW ESCAPE. 233 
 
 changed for six Americans. Remaining eighteen days 
 before this city, Captain Dale made for Gibraltar, stop 
 ping at several European ports on the way. 
 
 While entering Port Mahon the President met with 
 an accident that would have resulted in the loss of the 
 ship had it not been for her superior construction. 
 While standing into the Roads with about six knots 
 headway she struck a rock, and rolling heavily, set 
 tled off toward the passage and again floated. Cap 
 tain Dale immediately came on deck, and with great 
 skill and coolness carried his ship through the nar 
 row channel and brought her to the wind until the 
 extent of the damage could be ascertained. As the 
 pumps showed that she was not leaking seriously, it 
 was decided not to run off the land, but a heavy gale 
 coming on during the night Captain Dale made for 
 Toulon, where he arrived in safety. On examining 
 the ship s bottom it was found that a large piece of 
 the stem had been literally twisted off, while the keel 
 for several feet was shattered. Nothing prevented the 
 ship from sinking but the skillful manner in which she 
 had been constructed. 
 
 In December the President and the Enterprise re 
 turned to the United States, leaving the Philadelphia 
 and the Essex on the station. During the winter of 
 1801-1802 these frigates appeared off Algiers, Tunis 
 and Tripoli, and so vigilant were their commanders, and 
 so excellent was the disposition of their forces, that not 
 a single American merchantman was captured. Cap 
 tain Dale was superseded in the command of the Med 
 iterranean squadron by Captain Thomas Truxtun, but 
 the question of allowing the latter a captain for his 
 flagship arose and he resigned from the service, and 
 Captain Richard Valentine Morris was appointed in 
 his place. Up to this time much difficulty had been 
 experienced from enlisting the men for one year only. 
 The limit was now increased to two years. 
 
 Captain Morris arrived at Gibraltar on the 25th 
 
 18 
 
234: THE WAR IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 1802-1812. 
 
 of May, 1802, and in the course of a few months the 
 following vessels arrived on the scene of action : The 
 36-gun frigate Chesapeake (flagship), Lieutenant Isaac 
 Chauncey ; the 36-gun frigate Constellation, Captain 
 Alexander Murray ; the 36-gun frigate New York, 
 Captain James Barron ; the 28-gun corvette Adams, 
 Captain Hugh George Campbell ; the 28-gun corvette 
 John Adams, Captain John Rodgers ; and the 12-gun 
 schooner Enterprise, Master -Commandant Andrew 
 Sterett. The 28-gun corvette Boston was ordered to 
 join this squadron after landing Robert R. Livingston, 
 the American minister to France, at L Orient ; but her 
 eccentric commander, Captain Daniel McNiell, took 
 pains not to fall in with his superior officer, and after 
 cruising some time in the Mediterranean he brought 
 the Boston back to the United States. Richard Somers 
 at that time was her first lieutenant, and Melanchthon 
 Taylor Woolsey, afterward captain, was a master s mate 
 in her. It was said of Captain McMell that he sailed 
 from Toulon leaving three of his officers on shore, 
 and in order that he might keep his complement 
 full he carried with him three French officers who 
 were dining aboard the Boston at the time. They 
 were carried over to the African coast and returned in 
 a fishing boat, but it was many months before the 
 American officers were able to rejoin their ship. On 
 another occasion Captain McNiell, while at Messina, 
 had a number of musicians aboard belonging to one of 
 the regiments quartered at that port, whom he carried 
 to the United States against their will. Several of 
 them were returning in the Chesapeake when that ship 
 was attacked by the Leopard in 1807. During the 
 War of 1812 Captain McJNlell performed some gallant 
 exploits in a revenue cutter, but after his eccentric 
 career in the Mediterranean he was not again connected 
 with the navy, although he was ever considered one of 
 the bravest and most skillful officers of his day. 
 
 So sanguine was the Government that this squad- 
 
1802-1803. AN ATTACK ON TRIPOL1TAN GUNBOATS. 235 
 
 ron would bring the Bashaw to terms, that Mr. Cath- 
 cart, who had been the American consul at Tripoli, 
 was sent to negotiate a treaty of peace. But formidable 
 as this naval force was, it was not fitted either for 
 blockade duty or for bombarding a city fortified as 
 Tripoli was. It contained no long gun heavier than 
 an 18-pounder, and the Enterprise was the only vessel 
 in the squadron fitted for the peculiar and difficult 
 navigation of the northern coast of Africa. Little 
 could be done, therefore, toward bringing the Bashaw 
 of Tripoli to terms, but the timely appearance of this 
 strong force not only protected American shipping but 
 so overawed the Em peror of Morocco, the Dey of Al 
 giers and the Bey of Tunis that they hastily retracted 
 their hostile expressions. 
 
 While cruising three or four leagues off the port of 
 Tripoli in company with a Swedish frigate, the Con 
 stellation discovered seventeen gunboats stealing along 
 the shore, which had left Tripoli the night before to 
 assist in running in an American prize that was ex 
 pected from Tunis. Captain Alexander Murray im 
 mediately gave chase and opened a brisk fire, com 
 pelling nine of the gunboats to run close in shore, 
 where they were protected in little bays and inlets ; at 
 the same time a large body of cavalry came down to 
 the shore to aid in their defense. Finding it impos 
 sible to reach them, Captain Murray returned to his 
 station off the port. The gunboats were seriously 
 injured by the Constellation s fire, and the cavalry 
 suffered severely, one officer of high rank being re 
 ported killed. The Constellation received some slight 
 damage in her rigging. On the 30th of January, 1803, 
 Captain Morris sailed from Malta for Tripoli with the 
 Chesapeake, the New York, the John Adams and the 
 Enterprise, but before he had cleared Malta a gale be 
 gan and blew with extreme violence for eleven days, 
 which rendered it impossible to approach the coast. 
 
 While Captain Morris was detained in Malta by 
 
236 THE WAR IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 1803. 
 
 adverse winds an incident took place which will give 
 some idea of the difficulties with which the officers of 
 the navy in its early days had to contend. It was the 
 fashion in British society at this time to speak con 
 temptuously of anything that pertained to the United 
 States, and especially of the navy ; and one evening, 
 while Midshipman Joseph Bainbridge and some of his 
 messmates were in the lobby of a theater, a young 
 British officer, the secretary of Sir Alexander Ball, the 
 governor of the island, said with the intention of being 
 overheard by the Americans, "Those Yankees will 
 never stand the smell of powder," and followed up the 
 slander by rudely brushing against Midshipman Bain- 
 bridge. The latter promptly knocked the offensive 
 officer down, and a challenge followed. Lieutenant 
 Stephen Decatur acted as second to young Bainbridge, 
 and selected pistols at four paces. The governor s sec 
 retary was an expert duelist, but his second objected 
 to the distance, remarking, "This looks like murder, 
 sir " ; to which Decatur replied : No, sir, this looks 
 like death ; your friend is a professed duelist ; mine is 
 wholly inexperienced." And on this footing the two 
 men faced each other. Decatur gave the warning, 
 "Take aim ! " and at the word "Fire ! " Bainbridge dis 
 charged his weapon and the ball passed through the 
 secretary s hat, while the latter missed his aim entirely. 
 The men were again placed face to face, and this time 
 the Englishman fell, mortally wounded. 
 
 Hearing from William Eaton, the American consul 
 at Tunis, that " matters were not quite peaceable in 
 that quarter," Captain Morris changed his course for 
 that place, and by this showing of force undoubtedly 
 prevented the Bey from beginning hostilities. Sailing 
 again on the llth of March, the squadron appeared off 
 Algiers. The Dey quickly changed his belligerent at 
 titude, expressed satisfaction with the existing treaty, 
 and became indignant when it was intimated that the 
 Americans had been led to believe to the contrary. 
 
1803. THE PRESIDENT ON FIRE. 237 
 
 Arriving at Gibraltar on the 23d of March, Captain 
 Morris shifted his broad pennant to the New York, 
 and the Chesapeake sailed for the United States by 
 order of the Navy Department. 
 
 On the 10th of April, while the New York, the 
 John Adams and the Enterprise were on their way 
 from Gibraltar to Malta, an explosion took place near 
 the cockpit of the flagship, just as the music w^as 
 beating to grog, and the lower part of the ship im 
 mediately became filled with smoke. At this moment, 
 Lieutenant Isaac Chauncey, who was acting captain, 
 was passing the drummer and immediately ordered 
 him to beat to quarters, and soon the well-disciplined 
 crew was under perfect control, ready for any emer 
 gency. As the explosion had occurred near the maga 
 zine, it was feared that the ship might blow up at any 
 instant, so Captain Morris gave the command to hoist 
 out the boats ; but the men, mistaking the meaning of 
 the order, rushed to the jib-boom, bowsprit, spritsail 
 yardarm, and to any place that was as far as possible 
 from the dreaded magazine. To add to the confusion, 
 when a quartermaster was ordered to hoist the sig 
 nal "A fire on board!" in his haste he sent up the 
 signal "A mutiny on board!" Thereupon the John 
 Adams and the Enterprise ranged up under the New 
 Yortfs stern with their crews at quarters and guns 
 trained, and observing the smoke and excitement 
 aboard the flagship awaited only the word to fire ; 
 but they were prevented from doing so by a timely ex 
 planation from the flagship. Lieutenant Chauncey 
 then rallied some of the men, and, coolly remarking 
 that they might as well be blown through three decks 
 as one, led the way to the magazine. The passages 
 were filled with smoke, and a single spark would have 
 blown the entire ship s company to eternity. Lieuten 
 ant Chauncey was seconded by Lieutenant David Por 
 ter, who with some other officers descended through 
 the wardroom, and by means of wet blankets and a 
 
238 THE WAR IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 1803. 
 
 liberal use of water they extinguished the flames. The 
 explosion was thought to have originated from a candle 
 which the gunner took into the storeroom that led from 
 the cockpit, where a quantity of marine cartridges and 
 loose powder were stored. Nineteen officers and men 
 were injured by the explosion, of whom fourteen sub 
 sequently died. The sentinel at the magazine passage 
 was blown through to the filling-room door, while the 
 two doors leading to the magazine passages were forced 
 open, and nearly all the adjoining bulkheads were 
 blown down. 
 
 Arriving off Tripoli, the John Adams, Captain John 
 Rodgers, on the 5th of May intercepted the Meshouda, 
 one of the Tripolitan cruisers that had been blockaded 
 at Gibraltar, and which was now returning to Tripoli 
 under an assumed character. In order to deceive the 
 Americans she had been sold to the Emperor of Moroc 
 co, who had sent her to Tunis, and having loaded at 
 that port with grain she made sail for Tripoli. 
 
 Captain Morris now determined to assemble his 
 entire force before Tripoli, with a view of intimidating 
 the Bashaw and negotiating a favorable treaty, and by 
 the end of May all the vessels were collected off that 
 port. On the 8th of June, having been assured of his 
 personal safety, he landed and had an interview with 
 the Bashaw s ministers, but their terms were so ex 
 travagant that negotiations were abruptly broken off. 
 
 While assembled before the town the squadron 
 chased eleven lateen-rigged coasters, laden with wheat, 
 into the harbor of Old Tripoli, where the enemy, being 
 in great need of grain, made every preparation to se 
 cure them, and a large body of troops came down from 
 Tripoli to assist in their defense. The coasters were 
 hauled up high and dry on the shore near a stone build 
 ing, and breastworks from fifteen to eighteen feet high 
 were hastily erected with the bags of wheat. During 
 the night Lieutenant David Porter made a reconnois 
 sance, and on the following morning he and Lieutenant 
 
1803. A SPIRITED BOAT ATTACK. 239 
 
 James Lawrence, at the head of a strong boat party, 
 pulled inshore, and notwithstanding a heavy fire 
 routed the enemy ; and after firing the coasters they 
 returned to the ships with the loss of about fifteen 
 killed or wounded, among the latter being Lieutenant 
 Porter, who was twice injured. John Downes was 
 one of the midshipmen in this spirited affair. So 
 close were they to the enemy that five or six of the 
 Tripolitans stepped from behind the breastworks and 
 threw handfuls of pebbles and sand at the Americans, 
 hoping that the wind would blow it in their faces and 
 blind them a species of warfare often resorted to in 
 that country, and very effective in a desert. The Tri 
 politans succeeded in extinguishing the flames before 
 serious damage was done, but their loss was severe. 
 Several of their horses were cut in two by cannon balls, 
 and their riders fell dead. On the 28th of May an at 
 tack was made on the gunboats, but owing to the direc 
 tion of the wind little was accomplished. 
 
 On the 10th of June Captain Morris returned to 
 Malta to arrange for the bombardment of Tripoli, leav 
 ing the John Adams, the Adams and the Enterprise, 
 the last now commanded by Lieutenant Isaac Hull, to 
 watch the port. On the night of June 21 some move 
 ments on the part of the enemy led the senior officer 
 of this squadron, Captain John Rodgers, to believe 
 that an effort would be made to run the blockade 
 that night. In order that he might more effectually 
 intercept any craft which should make this attempt 
 Captain Rodgers stationed the Adams, Captain Hugh 
 George Campbell, to the west, and the Enterprise, 
 Lieutenant Isaac Hull, to the east, while the John 
 Adams cruised off the port between the two. Early 
 on the following morning the signal " An enemy ! " was 
 flying from the Enterprise. The frigate immediately 
 ran down to her and discovered that a ship " mount 
 ing twenty-two guns, the largest cruiser belonging to 
 Tripoli," had run into a deep, narrow bay, about six 
 
240 THE WAR IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 1803. 
 
 leagues east of Tripoli, and was favorably anchored 
 for resisting an attack. This corsair had been cor 
 nered by the little Enterprise, which, on discovering 
 the enemy at daylight, boldly ran down and compelled 
 him to seek refuge. 
 
 Soon nine gunboats were seen sweeping along the 
 shore to aid in the defense, while a large body of 
 soldiers were collected on shore. The John Adams 
 and the Enterprise now stood close into the bay, and 
 at 8.53 A. M. opened fire. After a cannonading of forty- 
 five minutes the Turks were observed hastily abandon 
 ing their ship, a number of them jumping overboard, 
 and shortly afterward the cruiser blew up. The explo 
 sion " burst the hull to pieces, and forced the main and 
 mizzen masts one hundred and fifty feet perpendicular 
 ly into the air, with all the yards, shrouds, stays etc., 
 belonging to them." l Captain Rodgers then endeav 
 ored to cut oif the nine gunboats, but owing to numer 
 ous shoals he was compelled to keep too far seaward 
 to accomplish his purpose. 
 
 The difficulty of COD ducting an effective warfare in 
 the shoal waters off the coast of Tripoli with ships of 
 heavy draft induced Congress to pass a ]aw, February 
 28, 1803, authorizing the construction of the brigs 
 Siren and Argus, mounting sixteen 24-pound carron- 
 ades and two long 12-pounders, and the schooners 
 Nautilus and Vixen, mounting twelve 18-pound car- 
 ronades and two long guns. These vessels, commanded 
 by Lieutenant Charles Stewart, Lieutenant Stephen 
 Decatur, Lieutenant Richard Somers and Lieutenant 
 John Smith, respectively, sailed as soon as they could 
 be prepared for sea, and arrived in the Mediterranean 
 by the close of 1803. Captain Morris was ordered back 
 to the United States, where his conduct was inquired 
 into by Congress, and as it did not prove satisfactory 
 he was dismissed from the service, although it was 
 
 1 Official report of Captain Rodgers. 
 
1803. 
 
 CAPTAIN PREBLE ASSUMES COMMAND. 
 
 241 
 
 thought that his dismissal was largely due to political 
 influences. He was succeeded by Captain Edward 
 Preble, who arrived at Gibraltar in the 44-gun frigate 
 Constitution, on September 12. 
 
 
 Gibraltar. 
 
 When Captain Preble assumed command of the 
 squadron in the Mediterranean he was little known to 
 the officers and men. He came from New Hampshire, 
 while the other officers generally hailed from the Mid 
 dle and Southern States. He was a man of high tem 
 per and a disciplinarian of the strictest type, and at 
 first the officers, especially the younger men, conceived 
 a strong dislike for him. But they mistook their man, 
 and shortly after his arrival in the Mediterranean an 
 incident happened which won for him the respect and 
 loyalty of the entire squadron. One dark night, while 
 the flagship was in the Straits of Gibraltar, a large 
 ship suddenly loomed up off the beam, and was soon 
 made out to be a heavy man-of-war. After exchang 
 ing several hails, in which neither commander would 
 
242 THE WAR IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 1803. 
 
 reveal the name of his ship, but insisted on knowing 
 the name of the other, Captain Preble hailed rather 
 sharply : 
 
 "I now hail you for the last time ; if you do not 
 answer I ll fire a shot into you." 
 
 To which the stranger replied : "If you do, I 11 re 
 turn a broadside." 
 
 "I should like to catch you at that! I now hail 
 for an answer. What ship is that ? " 
 
 i This is his Britannic Majesty s 84-gun ship of the 
 line Donegal, Sir Richard Strachan. Send a boat on 
 board." 
 
 To this Captain Preble replied : " This is the United 
 States 44-gun ship Constitution, Captain Edward Pre 
 ble, and I ll be d d if I send a boat on board any 
 
 ship ! Blow your matches, boys ! " 
 
 As Captain Preble doubted the truth of the stran 
 ger s hail, he told him that he would lie alongside him 
 until the morning revealed his identity ; upon which 
 the stranger sent a boat aboard the Constitution to ex 
 plain that it was the English 32-gun frigate Maidstone, 
 and that the American had got alongside of her so un 
 expectedly that they gave a fictitious name in order to 
 gain time for getting to quarters. 
 
 Arriving at Gibraltar after his cruise in the upper 
 Mediterranean Captain Bainbridge was informed that 
 two Tripolitan vessels were cruising in the vicinity of 
 Cape Gata, and he immediately made sail for the place. 
 On the night of August 26 a ship and a brig w r ere dis 
 covered running under easy canvas, and after coming 
 up with them and repeatedly hailing, Captain Bain- 
 bridge learned that the ship was a cruiser from Bar- 
 bary. The Moorish commander was finally made to 
 understand that he must send a boat aboard with his 
 ship s papers, from which Captain Bainbridge discov 
 ered that she was a cruiser belonging to the Emperor 
 of Morocco, called the MesTiboTia, commanded by Ibra- 
 ham Lubarez, mounting twenty-two guns and carrying 
 
1803. THE PHILADELPHIA AND THE MESHBOHA. 243 
 
 one hundred men. Believing the Philadelphia to be 
 an English frigate, the Moor remarked that the brig in 
 company was an American which had sailed under his 
 protection for several days. The small sail the brig 
 was under induced Captain Bainbridge to suspect that 
 she had been captured, and Lieutenant Cox was sent 
 aboard to discover if she had prisoners. When that 
 officer reached the brig the Moors in charge would not 
 allow him to board, which only increased the suspicions 
 of foul play, and an armed party was immediately or 
 dered to enforce a search. 
 
 Confined in the hold were found Richard Bowen 
 and seven men of the American brig Celia of Boston, 
 owned by Amasa Thayer. The officers and crew of the 
 Mesliboha were immediately made prisoners and or 
 dered on board the Philadelphia. This took so much 
 time that during the night the brig was lost sight 
 of, and it was not until the following afternoon that 
 she was discovered rounding Cape Gata from the 
 east and standing close inshore. Owing to the light 
 ness of the wind it was midnight before she was re 
 captured. 
 
 In the meantime the commander of the Mesliboha 
 was asked on what authority he had seized the Celia. 
 He answered that he had no authority, but that when 
 he left Tangiers there was serious trouble between the 
 Emperor and the American consul, and in anticipation 
 of an immediate declaration of war he had seized the 
 brig. Captain Bainbridge replied that in such case he 
 had no right to use the American consul s passport, 
 which permitted him to cruise unmolested by American 
 ships of war ; and still suspecting that the seizure had 
 been made with the sanction of the Emperor of Moroc 
 co, Captain Bainbridge informed the commander of the 
 Meslibolia that the capture was an act of piracy, and 
 that he was under the necessity of hanging him at the 
 yardarm. This threat had the desired effect. The Moor 
 begged for a stay of proceedings, hastily unbuttoned 
 
244 THE WAR IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 1803. 
 
 several waistcoats, and from the inside pocket of the 
 fifth drew out the secret document. It was not signed 
 by the Emperor of Morocco, however, but by his subor 
 dinate, the Governor of Tangiers. Captain Bainbridge 
 now made sail for Cape St. Vincent in search of a 
 Moorish ship of thirty guns, but not falling in with her 
 he returned to Gibraltar with his prizes (where he was 
 joined by David Porter as first lieutenant) and reported 
 the affair to his superior. 
 
 Captain Preble took prompt and decisive measures, 
 and on the 6th of October the Constitution, the New 
 York, the John Adams and the Nautilus appeared off 
 Tangiers. Although Captain John Rodgers was the 
 senior officer on this station, and his authority, strictly 
 speaking, had ceased, he generously consented to ac 
 company Captain Preble to Tangiers, leaving him his 
 power to act as negotiator and commander in chief. 
 The Emperor promptly disavowed the act of his gov 
 ernor, and as an earnest of his good faith signed anew 
 the treaty of 1786, and deprived the governor of his 
 commission, confiscated his estates and publicly pro 
 claimed the commander of the MesJibolia a disgraced 
 officer. A salute of twenty-one guns was given to the 
 American squadron, and a present of ten bullocks, 
 with sheep and fowls was sent aboard the ship ; and 
 to make the reparation greater, an American ship that 
 had been detained at Mogador was released. On 
 the 8th of October the Emperor, with his court and 
 army, reviewed the American squadron and exchanged 
 salutes. Notwithstanding this ample apology, it was 
 generally thought at the time that the Emperor had 
 authorized these captures and had merely shifted the 
 responsibility on his subordinates. The Mesliboha was 
 returned, however, and the affair was amicably dis 
 missed. Congress voted the captors of this ship an 
 appropriation in lieu of prize money. 
 
 Soon afterward the Philadelphia, Captain William 
 Bainbridge, was detailed to assist the 12-gun schooner 
 
1803. THE LOSS OF THE PHILADELPHIA. 245 
 
 Vixen, Lieutenant John Smith, in blockading the port 
 of Tripoli. After arriving off that harbor Captain Bain- 
 bridge was informed by a Neapolitan that a Tripoli- 
 tan corsair had just sailed on a cruise. This informa 
 tion induced him to dispatch the Vixen in the direc 
 tion the corsair was .supposed to have taken, so that 
 the Philadelphia was left alone before Tripoli. On 
 the 29th of October, while on this tedious duty, the 
 frigate was driven from her station by a strong wester 
 ly wind, and as she was returning to her station, on the 
 morning of the 31st, she discovered a Tripolitan vessel, 
 probably the corsair the Vixen had gone in search of, 
 endeavoring to run into the port. The Philadelphia 
 immediately made sail in chase, and by 11 A. M. had 
 opened fire with her bow guns, but owing to numerous 
 shoals and sunken rocks she was much embarrassed 
 in her movements and did not gain so rapidly as could 
 be desired. An extensive reef called Kalinsa, not 
 down on the charts of that day, ran some miles east 
 ward of Tripoli, parallel to the coast. As the chase 
 undoubtedly well knew, there w r as an abundance of 
 water between the reef and the mainland, and many 
 openings led out to sea where there were six and 
 seven fathoms ; but all this was unknown to Captain 
 Bainbridge and his officers. These reefs and channels 
 afforded the enemy every facility in evading a block 
 ading force, for knowing all the landmarks they could 
 sail through the various channels in safety, and the 
 Tripolitan probably steered among these reefs hoping 
 the frigate would follow and run aground. In making 
 for the chase the Philadelphia passed to the east of 
 the most easterly reef and then entered the inner chan 
 nel. The lead was constantly kept going and showed 
 from seven to ten fathoms, and when the water shoaled 
 the frigate s speed was checked until the lead again 
 showed deepening water. In this manner she continued 
 the chase before the wind, until, Tripoli being only three 
 miles distant, it was seen that the enemy would gain 
 
216 THE WAR IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 1803. 
 
 the harbor, when the courses were hauled up and the 
 helm was put aport. But it was some time before 
 the Philadelphia lost her headway, and when the lead 
 showed eight fathoms she was still making eight knots. 
 The next lead showed seven fathoms, and fifteen sec 
 onds later the cry " Six half ! " startled every man in 
 the ship, for she was rushing through the water at a 
 dangerous rate. The helm was instantly ordered hard 
 aport, and the yards were braced up, rapidly bringing 
 her up to the wind, so that the crew began to breathe 
 more easily. The frigate was headed out to sea, where 
 it would naturally be supposed the water would deepen, 
 but at this moment a harsh, grating noise was heard, 
 chilling the blood of every seaman aboard, and the next 
 instant the bow shot five or six feet out of water, the 
 shock throwing many prostrate on the deck and nearly 
 wrenching the masts out of the frigate. For a moment 
 a profound silence prevailed, as the men stared in each 
 other s pale faces and breathlessly awaited the outcome. 
 But a few sharp taps of the drum recalled them to their 
 senses, and they hastened to their quarters in perfect 
 order. It was found that the Philadelphia had twelve 
 feet of water forward and seventeen abaft, whereas she 
 required eighteen and a half forward and twenty and a 
 half astern. A boat was then lowered, and on taking 
 soundings it was found that the deepest water was 
 astern. 
 
 The position of the frigate was perilous in the ex 
 tremehard and fast aground at the entrance of the 
 enemy s principal harbor, from which their numerous 
 gunboats and corsairs would soon issue, and selecting 
 their positions would batter her to pieces with im 
 punity. But this was not the only danger that threat 
 ened the ship, for at this season of the year violent 
 gales rendered navigation in the Mediterranean ex 
 ceedingly difficult, and should a heavy wind come on 
 while the Philadelphia was thus fast on a sunken 
 ledge, a great distance from the nearest land, she would 
 
1803. 
 
 THE LOSS OF THE PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 247 
 
 soon be pounded to pieces and her crew left to struggle 
 in the open sea. 
 
 Beset with these appalling dangers, Captain Bain- 
 bridge went about the task of extricating his ship from 
 her critical position with that coolness and decision 
 which characterized him as a commander. The sails 
 were set aback, topgallant sails loosed and heavy pres 
 sure put on her, the wind being two points off the star 
 board bow. The anchors were then thrown overboard, 
 
 Diagram explaining the loss of the Philadelphia. 
 
 The walled city of Tripoli is seen on the extreme left of the diagram ; 
 the fine dotted lines show the shoal water, while the heavier clotted lines 
 show the courses taken by the Philadelphia and the coaster she was chas 
 ing; the numerals in the diagram show the number of fathoms of water; 
 the shoal represented at the right hand upper corner of the diagram is the 
 one the Philadelphia ran on. The Bashaw s castle is represented in the 
 lower right-hand corner of the diagram of the walled city of Tripoli. 
 
 guns run aft and the water started, but the ship held 
 fast, for having a headway of seven or eight knots 
 when she struck she piled a mass of water under her 
 bows which, together with the ground swell, carried 
 her too far upon the reef to be floated off by ordinary 
 means. In the meantime the xebec which the Phila 
 delphia had been chasing gained the harbor and car- 
 
248 THE WAR IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 1803. 
 
 ried news of the disaster to Tripoli, and soon afterward 
 nine gunboats were seen sweeping out of the harbor. 
 All the frigate s guns, except a few carronades astern, 
 were then run overboard, together with all the anchors, 
 and by the time this was done the Tripolitans had opened 
 fire, but at such a respectful distance that it was not 
 effective. This was answered by the quarter-deck car 
 ronades, but with a similar lack of effect. In the mean 
 time the ship drove higher up on the rocks, and soon 
 began to careen so as to render her guns useless, and 
 at half past six o clock she fell over on her port beam. 
 As the full extent of the disaster dawned upon the 
 natives they became bolder, and gradually took posi 
 tions where the Americans could not bring their guns 
 to bear upon them, not even after cutting away a part 
 of the stern. Up to this time every attempt to float the 
 frigate had been futile, and as a last resort the foremast 
 was cut away, and in falling it brought the main top 
 gallant mast with it. As the ship still remained im 
 movable it became necessary to strike, as further resist 
 ance would only result in useless bloodshed ; but before 
 this was done the magazine was flooded, the pumps 
 were blocked, and holes bored through the bottom of 
 the ship, so that in case the enemy succeeded in float 
 ing her off she would sink. At five o clock the flag was 
 hauled down. The Tripolitans then ceased their fire, 
 but mistrusted the sincerity of the surrender, nor was 
 it until nearly dark that they could be induced to take 
 possession. Then began a scene of indiscriminate 
 plundering and pilfering, which was as annoying as 
 it was contemptible. The swords, epaulets, watches, 
 pocket trinkets, money, clothing, and even the cravats 
 and outside garments of the officers were taken, and it 
 was only by a most determined defense that Captain 
 Bainbridge saved the locket around his neck contain 
 ing a miniature of his wife. The prisoners, three hun 
 dred and fifteen in all, were hurried aboard the gun 
 boats and taken to the city. 
 
1803. THE LOSS OF THE PHILADELPHIA. 249 
 
 Captain Bainbridge gives the names of his officers 
 thus taken into captivity as follows : David Porter 
 (afterward famous for his cruise in the Essex), first 
 lieutenant ; Jacob Jones (afterward the hero of the 
 Wasp-Frolic fight), second lieutenant ; Theodore Hunt, 
 third lieutenant ; Benjamin Smith, fourth lieutenant ; 
 William S. Osborn, lieutenant of marines ; John 
 Ridgely, surgeon ; Jonathan Cowdery, surgeon s mate ; 
 Nicholas Harwood, surgeon s mate ; Keith Spence, 
 purser ; Robert Gamble, Bernard Henry, Benjamin 
 Franklin Reed, James Gibbon, Daniel Tod Patter 
 son (who commanded the naval forces at the Battle of 
 New Orleans in 1815), James Biddle (afterward com 
 mander of the Hornet in her fight with the Penguin), 
 James Renshaw (who was commander of the Enter 
 prise and did good service in the War of 1812), Wal 
 lace Wormly, William Cut-bush, Richard R. Jones and 
 Simon Smith, midshipmen. Others in the ship were : 
 William Anderson, captain s clerk; William Knight, 
 sailing-master ; William Godby, carpenter ; George 
 Hodger, boatswain ; Richard Stephenson, gunner ; 
 Joseph Douglass, sailmaker ; Minor Forentine, mas 
 ter s mate. 
 
 About ten o clock that night the boats containing 
 the American prisoners reached the mole, and the men 
 were conducted under a strong escort through the nar 
 row, winding streets, amid throngs of wondering na 
 tives, to the Bashaw s castle. So eager was that poten 
 tate to see them that, notwithstanding the late hour, 
 they were ushered into his audience hall, where he was 
 seated in his chair of state, surrounded by his divan 
 and guards, all richly dressed for the occasion. After 
 being questioned as to the force of the American 
 squadron and the naval resources of the United States, 
 the prisoners were conducted into another apartment, 
 where a supper was provided for them. At midnight 
 they were again led into the audience chamber, and 
 were consigned to the special care of Sidi Mohammed 
 
 19 
 
250 THE WAR IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. 1803. 
 
 D Ghiers, the Bashaw s prime minister. They were 
 then marched through the town to the building for 
 merly occupied by the American consul, which was to 
 be their temporary prison. Although it was now one 
 o clock in the morning, the Danish consul, Mr. Nissen. 
 paid them a visit of condolence ; and during the entire 
 period of their captivity this gentleman did his utmost 
 to lighten their burdens, and interceded in their be 
 half. 
 
 Two days after the disaster a strong northerly wind 
 drove the water of the Mediterranean against the Afri 
 can coast and lifted the Philadelphia s stern off the 
 ledge of rocks, although her bow still held fast. Ca 
 bles and anchors were then run out astern, and by 
 hauling altogether the ship was got into deep water, 
 the holes in her bottom in the meantime having been 
 plugged, and her pumps put in working order. On 
 the 5th of November she was towed to the city and 
 anchored about a quarter of a mile from the Bashaw s 
 castle. Her guns, anchors and shot had been thrown 
 overboard in the shoal water on the reef, but were 
 easily raised by the Turks and replaced in the ship. 
 The court-martial which was convened to inquire into 
 the loss of this frigate gave the following verdict : 
 
 " June 29, 1805. The court, having deliberated on 
 the evidence from the testimony of the witnesses heard 
 in this case, are decidedly of opinion that Captain 
 William Bainbridge acted with fortitude and conduct 
 in the loss of his ship, the United States frigate PMla- 
 delpMa, on the 31st of October, 1803, and that no de 
 gree of censure should attach itself to him from that 
 event. 
 
 4< JAMES BARRON, President ; 
 
 " WILLIAM EATON, Acting Judge Advocate." 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE FKIGATE PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 THE capture of the Philadelphia and her twenty- 
 two quarter-deck officers, besides the seamen, gave the 
 war a far more serious aspect than it had yet assumed. 
 The enormous ransom the Bashaw expected to get 
 for these prisoners would more than compensate him 
 for the losses and inconveniences he might experience 
 in a war ; while threats of torturing officers who, as he 
 was aware, were connected with some of the most influ 
 ential families in the United States gave him a hold on 
 the Americans of which he well knew how to avail him 
 self. This state of affairs put the Bashaw in a genial 
 frame of mind, and he treated the American officers 
 with much leniency. He even allowed them to ride out 
 a few miles into the picturesque suburbs of Tripoli, 
 and they forgot, as they wandered among the beautiful 
 groves of olive, fig and lemon trees, the bitterness of 
 their captivity. During the thirty days of the Fast of 
 Ramadan, when the Mohammedans denied themselves 
 many pleasures, they treated their prisoners with kind 
 ness. The fast was followed by a festival of five days 
 called the Biaram, and on one occasion Captain Bain- 
 bridge and some of his officers were ushered into the 
 audience hall where the Bashaw, surrounded by his 
 children, officers of the divan and life guards, all in 
 gala dress, sprinkled the Americans with attar of roses 
 and fumigated them with frankincense, after which 
 Neapolitan slaves brought in coffee and sherbet. 
 
 On leaving the audience hall Captain Bainbridge 
 noticed three beautiful little boys sitting in the court- 
 
 (251) 
 
252 THE FRIGATE PHILADELPHIA. 1803. 
 
 yard, the sad expression on their faces forming a 
 striking contrast to the gay scenes around them. The 
 American officers were told that these children belonged 
 to the deposed Bashaw of Tripoli, Hamet Karamanli, 
 and were held as hostages for the good behavior and 
 meek submission of their father, who was a wanderer 
 among the Mamelukes of Egypt. Noticing that much 
 covert sympathy for the children was shown by the 
 people in the castle it occurred to Captain Bainbridge 
 that the deposed Bashaw, with the assistance of the 
 American squadron, might make a serious revolt against 
 the usurper of the throne, against whom the United 
 States was carrying on war. How this idea was carried 
 out will be shown in another chapter. 
 
 Not many weeks after the loss of the Philadelphia a 
 messenger abruptly entered the room occupied by Cap 
 tain Bainbridge and told him that the Bashaw desired 
 to see him at once. When ushered into the presence 
 of the despot, Captain Bainbridge was informed that 
 a Tripolitan ship had been captured by the John 
 Adams and that the prisoners had been treated harsh 
 ly, and it was intimated that if they were not released 
 the Americans in Tripoli would be subjected to the 
 severest treatment. This was only the first of the 
 Bashaw s attempts to frighten his captives, and the 
 Americans in the squadron, into concessions by threats 
 of torture. Captain Bainbridge replied that the Ameri 
 cans had always treated their Tripolitan prisoners with 
 kindness, and he did not believe that they would now 
 do otherwise. As this reply was not satisfactory, the 
 Bashaw ordered that at nine o clock on the following 
 morning the American officers be removed from their 
 comfortable quarters which were due to the efforts of 
 Mr. Nissen, the Danish consul to the loathsome prison 
 in the castle. At the appointed hour the chief slave 
 driver with his underlings marched the officers through 
 several streets to the common prison in which were 
 confined the crew of the ship. In this filthy place, 
 
1803. A PLAN TO DESTROY THE PHILADELPHIA. 253 
 
 which was ordinarily used for smoking hides, they 
 were obliged to remain without food, except a little 
 black bread and water, which was offered by the sea 
 men as a part of their own allowance. In the even 
 ing a visit of condolence was paid by the admiral, the 
 renegade Scotchman Lisle, who urged Captain Bain- 
 bridge to accede to the Bashaw s wishes. The latter 
 replied with firmness that, as he was a prisoner, the 
 Bashaw could subject him to torture or could "lop 
 off" his head, but "he can not force me to commit an 
 act incompatible with the character of an American 
 officer." Finding that the officers could not be swerved 
 from this determination, the Bashaw on the following 
 day returned them to their former quarters. 
 
 It was not long before Captain Bainbridge, with the 
 assistance of Mr. Nissen, managed to open communi 
 cations with Captain Edward Preble. In one of these 
 letters written with lemon juice, which on being held 
 to the fire became legible dated December 5, 1803, 
 Captain Bainbridge suggested the feasibility of de 
 stroying the Philadelphia at her anchorage. An ex 
 tract from this letter will reveal the plan : " Charter a 
 small merchant schooner, fill her with men and have 
 her commanded by fearless and determined officers. 
 Let the vessel enter the harbor at night, with her men 
 secreted below deck ; steer her directly on board the 
 frigate and then let the officers and men board, sword 
 in hand, and there is no doubt of their success. It 
 will be necessary to take several good row boats in order 
 to facilitate the retreat after the enterprise has been 
 accomplished. The frigate in her present condition is 
 a powerful auxiliary battery for the defense of the 
 harbor. Though it will be impossible to remove her 
 from her anchorage and thus restore this beautiful 
 vessel to our navy, yet, as she may and no doubt will 
 be repaired, an important end will be gained by her 
 destruction." 
 
 Having settled the difficulty with the Governor of 
 
254 THE FRIGATE PHILADELPHIA. 1803. 
 
 Tangiers, Captain Preble arrived at Gibraltar on the 
 15th of October and proceeded to Cadiz, where he for 
 mally declared his intention of blockading the port of 
 Tripoli. On the 13th of November he sailed from Gi 
 braltar for Algiers, where he landed the United States 
 consul, Mr. Lear, and then resumed his course for 
 Malta. On the 24th he spoke to the British frigate 
 Amazon, and learned of the loss of the Philadelphia. 
 He arrived at Malta on the 27th of November, and 
 soon afterward made for Syracuse, meeting the Enter 
 prise, Lieutenant Decatur, on the way. Having com 
 pleted his final preparations, he sailed on the 17th of 
 December for Tripoli. 
 
 Captain Preble described Tripoli as "a city well 
 walled, protected by batteries judiciously constructed, 
 mounting one hundred and fifteen pieces of heavy 
 cannon, and defended by twenty-five thousand Arabs 
 and Turks ; the harbor, protected by nineteen gun 
 boats, two galleys, two schooners of eight guns each 
 and a brig mounting ten guns, ranged in order of bat 
 tle, forming a strong line of defense at secure moor 
 ings inside a long range of rocks and shoals extend 
 ing more than two miles to the eastward of the town, 
 which from the harbor protects them from the north 
 ern gales, and renders it impossible for a vessel of the 
 Constitutions draft to approach near enough to destroy 
 them, as they are sheltered by rocks, and can retire 
 under that shelter to the shore, unless they choose to 
 expose themselves in the different channels and open 
 ings of the reef, for the purpose of annoying their 
 enemies. Each of their gunboats mounts a heavy 
 18- or 26-pounder in the bow and two brass howitzers 
 on the quarters, and carries from thirty-six to fifty 
 men. The galleys have each one hundred men ; the 
 schooners and brigs have about the same number." 
 
 In the midst of this formidable armament lay the 
 Philadelphia, with her guns all mounted and double 
 shotted, and with a full complement of Turks and 
 
1803. CAPTURE OF THE MASTICO. 255 
 
 Tripolitans. She was moored under the guns of the 
 Bashaw s castle, within range of all the batteries ; and 
 besides this the Tripolitan cruisers, galleys and gun 
 boats, fully manned and armed, were anchored between 
 her and the shore. 
 
 On the 23d of December the Enterprise, Lieutenant 
 Decatur, was dispatched in chase of a Tripolitan ketch, 
 which, when overtaken, was found to be the Mastico, 
 bound for Constantinople with female slaves for the 
 Sultan. This vessel had been constructed for a gun 
 boat by the French in their expeditions against Egypt, 
 and from their service it had passed into the hands 
 of the Tripolitans. Soon afterward a heavy gale com 
 pelled the squadron to put into Syracuse for repairs. 
 On the receipt of the letter from Captain Bainbridge, 
 suggesting the feasibility of destroying the Philadel 
 phia at her moorings, Captain Preble hesitated, for 
 he had no vessel that sufficiently resembled a Tripoli- 
 tan merchant craft to deceive the Turks, but by the 
 capture of the Mastico this difficulty was removed. 
 Captain Preble then broached the plan to Lieutenant 
 Decatur, who immediately volunteered for the hazard 
 ous service. The ketch was armed and fitted for the 
 desperate attempt, while the details of the undertak 
 ing were discussed and perfected in the cabin of the 
 Constitution as she lay at anchor in Syracuse. Not 
 knowing of these arrangements, Lieutenant Charles 
 Stewart, who had recently arrived in the Siren from 
 Gibraltar, offered to cut out the Philadelphia with the 
 Siren s men, but Captain Preble informed him that he 
 had already given Lieutenant Decatur the honor of 
 heading this enterprise. 
 
 As soon as the nature of the project leaked out 
 volunteers pressed forward from all sides, the officers 
 and men being eager to enlist in the expedition ; but the 
 men of the Enterprise insisted on their privilege, as 
 captors of the ketch, to exclusive participation in the 
 attempt. As the Mastico could carry but a limited 
 
256 THE FRIGATE PHILADELPHIA. 1804. 
 
 number, only a part of the Enterprise s people would 
 be needed ; and assembling his crew on deck, Lieuten 
 ant Decatur explained the nature and perils of the ex 
 pedition in a few words, and then asked for volunteers. 
 Every man and boy in the schooner offered his services, 
 and sixty-two of the more active and experienced were 
 selected. Six officers from the Enterprise and six from 
 the Constitution were then selected ; they were : Lieu 
 tenants Stephen Decatur and James Lawrence, Midship 
 men Joseph Bainbridge, Jonathan Thorn and Thomas 
 Macdonough, and Surgeon s-Mate Lewis Herrmann, of 
 the Enterprise ; and Midshipmen Ralph Izard, John 
 Rowe, Charles Morris, Alexander Laws, John Davis and 
 Thomas O. Anderson, of the Constitution, while Salva- 
 tore Catalano acted as pilot. These, with sixty-two 
 men, made a total of seventy-five. Lieutenant Decatur 
 had strict orders not to attempt to bring out the Phila 
 delphia, but to destroy her at her moorings, and for 
 this purpose the ketch was supplied with combustibles 
 of every description prepared for immediate use. 
 
 Among the volunteers was a slender youth, nine 
 teen years old, who belonged to the Society of Friends 
 in Philadelphia, but, when punished for some trifling 
 offense he had preferred the perils of the sea to the 
 rebukes of his elders. As he was not included in the 
 first selection of volunteers, he begged Lieutenant De 
 catur to be allowed to accompany the expedition, but 
 was told that he was not needed. As the ketch was 
 about to start on her hazardous enterprise this youth 
 pressed forward and entreated to be taken aboard ; and 
 being sternly questioned as to such an unusual request 
 he suddenly hesitated, and remembering the prohibi 
 tion of war in his religion, replied, "I wish merely to 
 see the parts." He was accepted, and was one of the 
 foremost in the charge on the Philadelphia s forecastle. 
 
 On the afternoon of February 9, 1804, the final ar 
 rangements having been carefully made, the Mastico 
 left Syracuse for Tripoli, accompanied by tha Siren, 
 
1804. A GALE DELAYS THE ATTEMPT. 257 
 
 Lieutenant Charles Stewart, to cover the retreat, while 
 the other ships of the squadron remained at Syracuse 
 in order to lull the enemy into a greater sense of se 
 curity. The little vessels stretched across the Medi 
 terranean, and as night came on they approached the 
 harbor of Tripoli ; but the weather, which up to this 
 time had been favorable for the attempt, underwent 
 one of the sudden changes so common in that sea. 
 The wind rose with increasing violence, and the waves 
 ran so high as to render it doubtful if the ketch would 
 be able to enter the port. When about a mile to 
 windward of the town the vessels anchored, and by 
 this time the gale had increased to such fury that 
 the pilot pronounced it extremely hazardous to ven 
 ture among the numerous rocks and shoals. Unwill 
 ing to give over the attempt, Lieutenant Decatur sent 
 Midshipman Morris and the pilot in a boat to recon- 
 noiter. The men pulled with muffled oars close to the 
 northern passage, and found that the predictions of 
 the pilot were well grounded ; for not only would the 
 entrance be attended with great risk, but the sea 
 breaking over the rocks would make it impossible to 
 return, and Midshipman Morris put back to the ketch 
 with this report. In attempting to get aboard, the 
 boat was dashed to pieces, and it was only by the 
 greatest exertions that the men were rescued. In the 
 meantime the Siren had got out and armed her boats 
 to cover the retreat, but they were compelled to re 
 turn. The enterprise was necessarily postponed until 
 the weather moderated ; and orders were given to 
 weigh anchor, but such was the violence of the waves 
 and the rolling of the ketch that it was nearly day 
 light before this could be done. Lieutenant Charles 
 Stewart and several men of the Siren were injured 
 by the capstan running away with the bars. After 
 much difficulty and loss of time they were compelled 
 to cut their cables, and at daybreak they had scarcely 
 got out of sight of the town. Running a short dis- 
 
258 
 
 THE FRIGATE PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 1804. 
 
 tance from Tripoli the vessels hove to, hoping the 
 weather would moderate so as to make it possible to 
 renew the attempt on the following night. 
 
 Diagram of the harbor of Tripoli. 
 
 B, shows the position of the Philadelphia when recaptured by the 
 Americans ; the dotted line shows the course taken by the Mastico. 
 
 But for six days the gale continued with unabated 
 fury, tossing the schooners about in a most alarming 
 manner, the Mastico especially being in imminent 
 danger of foundering or being driven on the rocks. 
 The sufferings of Lieutenant Decatur and his men 
 were much aggravated by the construction of the ketch, 
 which was of only thirty or forty tons burden, and 
 had no accommodations whatever. " The commander, 
 three lieutenants and the surgeon occupied the very 
 small cabin. Six midshipmen and the pilot had a 
 platform laid on the water casks, the surface of which 
 they covered when they lay down to sleep, and at so 
 small a distance below the deck that their heads 
 would reach it when seated on the platform. The 
 marines had corresponding accommodations on the 
 opposite side, and the sailors had only the surface of 
 the casks in the hold. To these inconveniences were 
 added the want of any room on the deck for exercise 
 and the attack of innumerable vermin, which our prede- 
 
1804. INSTRUCTIONS FOR BOARDING. 259 
 
 cessors, the slaves, had left behind them." 1 To make 
 matters worse, they had been provisioned for a few 
 days only, and, as if their misfortunes were not already 
 heavy enough, the salt meat was found to be spoiled ; 
 so that during this long week of privation and hard 
 ship they were compelled to live on a short allowance 
 of bread and w r ater. 
 
 By the 15th the weather had sufficiently moderated 
 to make a renewal of the attempt possible. Waiting 
 until dark, the vessels again approached Tripoli, but 
 after spending the night in sounding and getting their 
 bearings they found they had gone -too far eastward to 
 effect their object, and on the approach of day they 
 were compelled to retire. The afternoon of the 16th 
 gave promise of a favorable night* Decatur then 
 cheered his men with a speech, in which he set forth 
 the details of the attack, which were simple and con 
 cise. First of all, the spar deck of the Philadelphia 
 was to be cleared, and then the gun deck. The whole 
 party having united in this, they were to divide as fol 
 lows : Lieutenant Decatur, with Midshipmen Izard and 
 Rowe and fifteen men, to keep guard of the upper deck ; 
 Lieutenant Lawrence and ten men with Midshipmen 
 Laws and Macdonough, to fire the berth deck and for 
 ward storeroom ; Midshipmen Joseph Bainbridge and 
 John Davis and ten men to fire the wardroom and 
 steerage ; and Midshipman Morris and eight men to 
 fire the cockpit and after storeroom. Midshipman 
 Thorn, with the gunner and surgeon and thirteen men, 
 was detailed to remain in the ketch ; while Midship 
 man Anderson was to man the cutter, pick up all boats 
 found alongside, and prevent as many of the enemy 
 as possible from swimming ashore. The watchword 
 " Philadelphia " was then given, and strict orders were 
 issued not to use a musket, pistol or firearm of any kind, 
 except in case of great emergency. The general plan 
 
 1 Autobiography of Commodore Morris. 
 
260 THE FRIGATE PHILADELPHIA. 1804. 
 
 was, first to clear the ship of the enemy, fire her in 
 several places with combustibles prepared for that pur 
 pose, and then to get as far on the return as possible 
 before the alarm could be given to the batteries or be 
 fore the light from the burning frigate would enable 
 the Tripolitans to fire with accuracy. Having taken 
 every precaution that prudence and forethought could 
 suggest, and receiving a re-enforcement of seven men 
 from the Siren, Lieutenant Decatur gave the order to 
 weigh anchor, and at dusk both vessels filled away for 
 Tripoli. The Siren had been newly painted and her 
 rig was changed so as to still further deceive the enemy. 
 
 When they were about five miles from the town 
 the night was well advanced, but as it was clear and 
 starlit the shore and harbor could easily be seen. The 
 daring adventurers now bade adieu to their friends in 
 the Siren, and amid many Godspeeds boldly set out on 
 their dangerous mission. Finding that he would gain 
 the harbor too soon, Lieutenant Decatur put out buck 
 ets and other drags astern to lessen her speed without 
 shortening sail. As the wind gradually died out these 
 drags were removed, and the ketch made nearly two 
 knots an hour. About nine o clock the Mastico gained 
 the harbor by the eastern passage and was in full view 
 of the city. Now that she had cut loose from her 
 consort and was standing alone into the enemy s strong 
 hold the men began to realize that they were entering 
 upon an undertaking from which the chances of escap 
 ing were slight indeed. Around them lowered the shores 
 of the harbor, crowned with dark batteries, whose rows 
 of silent cannon seemed ready, at the touch of a spring, 
 to close on the audacious little ketch like the jaws of a 
 trap ; while away back in the farthermost corner of the 
 bay, snugly moored under the guns of the Bashaw s 
 castle, lay the Philadelphia. 
 
 But it was too late to think better of their daring, 
 and the men nerved themselves anew to their desperate 
 task. Onward went the ketch into the very gates of 
 
1804. THE MASTICO ENTERS THE HARBOR. 261 
 
 death, the gradually failing wind causing her to creep 
 slowly and stealthily along like a prowling beast of 
 prey. An occasional fishing craft that lazily floated 
 past her, or the boats that glided between the shipping 
 and the shore, and the lights from the city that came 
 shimmering across the water were the only signs of a 
 wakeful enemy. Soon the Philadelphia was distinctly 
 made out. Her main and mizzen topmasts were housed 
 (her foremast had been cut away when she was on the 
 reefs), her lower yards were on the gunwales, and her 
 numerous well-lighted ports seemed to eye the ketch 
 with distrust. "As we advanced into the harbor," 
 wrote Midshipman Charles Morris, afterward captain, 
 u strict silence was enjoined and observed. The injunc 
 tion, however, appeared to be unnecessary. No one 
 seemed to be disposed to enter into conversation, but to 
 be absorbed by his own reflections. My own thoughts 
 were busy, now reverting to friends at home, now to the 
 perils we were about to meet. Should I be able to 
 justify the expectations of the former by meeting prop 
 erly the dangers of the latter ? How was I prepared 
 for the death which might possibly be my fate ? These 
 thoughts, with others of a somber character, mixed with 
 calculations to secure a prominent position when board 
 ing, passed rapidly through my mind ; and the minds 
 of others were, no doubt, employed on similar subjects." 
 As the Mastico drew near to the object of the ex 
 pedition Lieutenant Decatur ordered his men to con 
 ceal themselves, as such an unusual number might 
 arouse suspicion among the people on shore. Many 
 therefore lay flat on the deck close to the bulwarks, 
 while others concealed themselves behind barrels and 
 masts and in dark corners, but six or eight of the crew 
 dressed as Maltese sailors purposely remained in the 
 light of the moon, A little before ten o clock the ketch 
 came within hailing distance of the frigate, when Lieu 
 tenant Decatur ordered the quartermaster at the wheel 
 to steer so as to foul her at the bow, where they would 
 
262 THE FRIGATE PHILADELPHIA. 1804. 
 
 be less exposed to her guns. With a grim Ay, ay, sir, " 
 the veteran tar brought the Mastico^s bow around, head 
 ing directly for the Philadelphia? s fore chains. While 
 they were yet at a considerable distance the anxious 
 silence was broken by a challenge from a sentinel in 
 the frigate, and at the sound of his voice the American 
 officers and seamen tightened their grip on their weap 
 ons, riveted their eyes on their leader, and made an in 
 voluntary movement as if to spring, ready for the word 
 to board. Lieutenant Decatur, who had stationed him 
 self beside the pilot, instructed him to reply to the sen 
 tinel that the ketch had just arrived from Malta, had 
 survived a terrible gale and, her anchors having been 
 lost, desired to make fast to the frigate s cables until an 
 other could be procured from the shore. The Turkish 
 commander, who was recognized by Catalano, asked 
 what brig that was in the offing for it seems that, in 
 spite of all precautions, the Sir en had been seen. With 
 much tact Decatur instructed Catalano to reply that it 
 was the Transfer, formerly a British man-of-war, which 
 had been purchased at Malta for the Tripolitans, and 
 was anxiously awaited at Tripoli. The pilot was then 
 ordered to engage the attention of the frigate s people 
 by telling them with what commodities the ketch was 
 laden. During this conversation many of the Turks 
 were seen leaning over the bulwarks or peering through 
 the ports, searching the Mastico with curious eyes. 
 
 The little vessel at last was almost within reach of 
 the frigate s fore chains, and the order to board was 
 momentarily expected, when a " cat s paw," or a light 
 puff of air from the south, struck her sails and took her 
 aback. This unlocked for mishap placed the ketch in 
 a perilous position, for she now backed and soon was 
 exposed to the frigate s entire port broadside, not more 
 than twenty yards distant. Had the least nervousness 
 or a premature movement on the part of the men dis 
 covered to the Turks the real character of the ketch, 
 they would have blown her out of the water. At this 
 
1804, THE CRITICAL MOMENT. 263 
 
 critical moment Decatur showed those qualities which 
 in after years ranked him among our greatest naval 
 heroes. Not the slightest indication of alarm could be 
 discovered in his bearing or voice, and the manoeuvre 
 necessary to regain the frigate s fore chains was exe 
 cuted as coolly and naturally as if in the open sea. 
 The Masticd s boat was now sent out to make fast to 
 one of the ringbolts in the Philadelphia s fore chains, 
 so that they could haul the ketch to the desired posi 
 tion, but the Turks also had lowered a boat with a 
 hawser aboard, intending to secure the ketch at their 
 stern rather than at their cables, which would have 
 proved a serious detriment to the original plan. With 
 great self-possession the Americans, as they were re 
 turning to the ketch, took the hawser from the Tripo- 
 litan boat, intimating that they would do as desired ; 
 the broken Italian used in their discourse and the great 
 diversity of languages in the many coasters trading 
 in the Mediterranean ports serving to lull any possi 
 ble suspicions of the Tripolitans. The line which had 
 been made fast to the frigate s fore chains was immedi 
 ately passed along the Mastictfs deck, so that the men 
 could haul on it while still lying down. By a strong, 
 steady pull they checked the stern board of the ketch 
 and she began to move ahead again. This forward and 
 diagonal tension caused her gradually to swing along 
 side of the Philadelphia, where the Turks would soon 
 be looking directly upon her decks and discover the 
 men who were concealed by the bulwarks. Seeing this 
 danger, Lieutenant Decatur quietly but emphatically 
 urged the men to greater exertion. 
 
 While they were about ten yards from the much- 
 desired position the enemy discovered that the ketch 
 still carried her anchors, and, loudly rebuking the pilot 
 for the falsehood, sent a man down their fore chains to 
 cut the rope on which the Americans were hauling. The 
 ketch was now fairly alongside, so that the men lying 
 on her decks could be plainly seen in the moonlight ; 
 
264: THE FRIGATE PHILADELPHIA. 1804. 
 
 but as yet no alarm seems to have been excited, until 
 one Turk, more inquisitive than his fellows, leaned far 
 over the frigate s side and saw the men hauling on the 
 line. Instantly the cry "Amerikano! Amerikano ! " 
 resounded through the ship, and, followed by the 
 rapid shuffling of slipshod feet and a jargon of excited 
 voices, proclaimed that they were discovered and that 
 further concealment was unnecessary. The all-impor 
 tant object was to haul the ketch to the fore chains 
 before the enemy could cut the line, so the Americans 
 quickly rising to their feet as a man pulled with a will ; 
 and although the Turks succeeded in severing the line, 
 yet the ketch had acquired such momentum that she 
 was carried to the desired spot and was immediately 
 secured. Lieutenant Decatur, who was standing with 
 Midshipmen Morris and Laws, ready to spring aboard, 
 now jumped with the two midshipmen to the Phila 
 delphia? s main chain plates and then gave the order 
 to board. Midshipman Laws endeavored to enter one 
 of the frigate s ports, but the pistols in his boarding 
 belt were caught between the guns and the port. 
 Lieutenant Decatur slipped while jumping, so that 
 Midshipman Morris was the first to gain the Phila 
 delphia} s deck, where he was quickly joined by Decatur 
 and Laws. The Americans, with cutlass and board 
 ing-pike in hand, were now swarming over the port 
 bulwarks and through the gun ports. The astounded 
 Turks ran over to the starboard side or crowded for 
 ward on the forecastle, while the rapid succession of 
 splashes which could be distinctly heard around the 
 ship told that many of them were plunging into the 
 water. The quarter-deck was soon cleared, when, form 
 ing in a compact body, the Americans charged forward 
 and drove all the Tripolitans on the forecastle over 
 board. Hearing the disturbance, many Turks came on 
 deck from below to learn the cause, but on catching a 
 glimpse of the Americans they cast themselves into the 
 sea or secreted themselves in the hold. The boarders 
 

 hoarding the Philadelphia. 
 
1804 FIRING THE PHILADELPHIA. 265 
 
 next ran below, where some .resistance was encountered, 
 but after a brief struggle the enemy gave way, so that 
 in ten minutes from the time the first man appeared 
 over the bulwarks the ship was captured, not a firearm 
 of any description having been used. While in the 
 cabin Midshipman Morris met Lieutenant Decatur com 
 ing in the door, and owing to the darkness the Ameri- 
 can commander mistook his midshipman for one of the 
 Tripolitans, and was about to cut him down when the 
 watchword < Philadelphia " arrested the blow. Accord 
 ing to agreement, a rocket was sent up, notifying the 
 Siren of the capture of the Philadelphia. 
 
 The men now set to work passing up the combus 
 tibles from the ketch, and in a few minutes this was 
 accomplished. Then forming in their several divisions 
 they proceeded to the work of destruction, which was 
 done in a most thorough and expeditious manner. In 
 fact, their movements were so rapid that the party 
 which had been detailed to fire the cockpit had diffi 
 culty in getting back, owing to the dense volumes of 
 smoke from the wardroom. Captain Morris, in his 
 Autobiography, says : " Passing through the wardroom, 
 which I found deserted, I awaited in the cockpit the 
 men who had gone for the combustibles. These were 
 so delayed that we had none when the order was given 
 to set fire ; but as they came a moment after, they were 
 distributed and fire communicated before we left our 
 station. In the meantime the fire on the deck above 
 us had communicated so rapidly that it was with no 
 small difficulty and danger that our party reached the 
 spar deck by the forward hatchways." By the time 
 the last party regained the deck flames were bursting 
 from the ports and hatches ; and seeing that the frig 
 ate could not possibly be saved, Lieutenant Decatur 
 gave the order to return to the Mastico. He had not 
 remained on the frigate more than twenty-five minutes. 
 Lieutenant Decatur was the last man to leave the Phila 
 delphia, and the bow of the Mastico had actually swung 
 20 
 
266 THE FRIGATE PHILADELPHIA. 1804. 
 
 off when he jumped into her shrouds and made his way 
 to her deck. On returning to the ketch the adventurers 
 found that they still had great dangers to face, for so 
 rapid had been the progress of the conflagration that 
 the Mastico herself was in imminent danger of being 
 consumed. With all haste they tried to shove her off 
 with poles and sweeps, but in spite of their greatest 
 efforts she could not be moved entirely clear. She 
 dropped astern, with her boom afoul, and her jigger 
 flapping against the frigate s quarter gallery. All this 
 time flames came pouring out of the Philadelphia s 
 ports and leaping into the cabin of the ketch, where all 
 the ammunition of the party, covered only by a tarpau 
 lin, was stored. For some time it could not be discov 
 ered what kept the Mastico fast to the frigate s side, 
 but after a search it was found to be the hawser with 
 which the Turks had secured her to the frigate s stern. 
 In the excitement of the moment this had been forgot 
 ten, but it was now quickly severed with cutlasses, and 
 the ketch slowly drew away from the burning frigate. 
 
 But the Americans seemed to escape from one dan 
 ger only to face another, for by this time the flames 
 had made such progress as to envelop the ship in a 
 mass of fire, which illuminated the bay for miles 
 around and enabled the gunners on shore to aim with 
 accuracy. The Tripoli tans fortunately had not as 
 yet sufficiently recovered from their surprise to man 
 their guns, but realizing the danger the Americans 
 took to their sweeps, eight to a side, and put forth 
 their best efforts to get out of gunshot. As the Mas 
 tico came fairly into view of the gunboats they opened 
 fire, and aroused from their stupor by the sound of 
 these guns the Tripolitans on shore rushed to their 
 batteries and began firing. Soon the shot fell thick 
 and fast, splashing the water on all sides of the ketch, 
 the missiles striking the sea between the Mastico and 
 the burning frigate, threw up a spray that was radi 
 ant with all the colors of the rainbow. But the enemy 
 
1804. THE BURNING FRIGATE. 267 
 
 were too excited to aim well, and although the ketch 
 was within half a mile of their heaviest guns, in plain 
 sight, only one shot struck her, and that passed through 
 the topgallant sail. The efforts of the men quickly 
 urged the ketch out of range, and at the entrance of 
 the harbor they were met by boats with men from the 
 Siren, under Lieutenant James R. Caldwell, who had 
 pulled beyond the rocks in their anxiety to learn the 
 fate of their comrades, or in case of pursuit to cover 
 their retreat. 
 
 The men now rested on their sweeps while they 
 gazed on the work of destruction. The burning ship 
 presented a spectacle of awful grandeur. Long tongues 
 of flame thrust themselves from the numerous port 
 holes, licking her black sides, while the tar, melted by 
 the blistering heat, boiled and ran down in huge drops. 
 The flames ran up the masts and shrouds, curving over 
 at the tops like glowing columns with fiery capitals. 
 Soon the well-oiled rigging above the tops became 
 ignited, and suggested fiery serpents twisting and 
 writhing up and down the masts, leaping from yard to 
 yard or falling from a dizzy height, struggling in mid 
 air with each other in hideous contortions, and on 
 reaching the water vanishing in hisses. Every now and 
 then a cannon, becoming heated, was discharged, the 
 recoil sending up myriads of sparks, which, caught in 
 the currents of hot air, were swept upward in the smoke 
 until they gradually fluttered out of sight in the black 
 heavens. The shipping in the harbor loomed up behind 
 the frigate, and the white walls of the city with its bat 
 teries, castle, mosques and graceful minarets formed an 
 indistinct background, while the inhabitants, startled 
 from repose, hurried to and fro in the steep, narrow 
 streets, or, assembling on their housetops and other 
 vantage points, gazed upon the conflagration with dis 
 may and terror. Then a terrific explosion took place, 
 and the burning frigate was rent into fragments, which 
 were hurled upward in the night, and, reaching the 
 
268 THE FRIGATE PHILADELPHIA. 1804. 
 
 zenith, gracefully curved and slowly descended in a 
 cascade of fire. The beautiful pyrotechnical display 
 was over, and the harbor was left again enshrouded in 
 darkness and silence. The adventurers once more bent 
 to their sweeps and pulled beyond the rocks, where 
 they were soon telling to eager listeners the story of one 
 of the most audacious and successful exploits in naval 
 history, or as Nelson, who at this time was in command 
 of the British blockading fleet before Toulon, expressed 
 it, " the most bold and daring act of the age." 
 
 No trustworthy estimate of the loss the Tripolitans 
 sustained in this affair has ever been made. Twenty 
 men were reported killed during the struggle for the 
 lower gun deck, but there is no doubt that many more 
 secreted themselves in the hold and perished with the 
 ship. The remaining Mussulmans jumped overboard, 
 many of them were probably drowned. Only one pris 
 oner was taken, a wounded Tripoli tan who swam to the 
 ketch ; and although the party had received strict or 
 ders not to take prisoners, he was allowed to remain on 
 board. Of the Americans, only one man was wounded. 
 
 Having accomplished their mission, the Mastico and 
 the Siren made sail for Syracuse and arrived there on 
 the 19th of February, where Captain Preble awaited 
 them with great anxiety. The ketch was rechristened 
 Intrepid, in honor of this brilliant achievement. Lieu 
 tenant Decatur was promoted to the rank of captain, 
 and he received a sword from Congress, while the offi 
 cers and men serving under him were warmly ap 
 plauded. Nearly all of them gave conspicuous service 
 to their country in subsequent wars. 
 
 The destruction of his prize greatly exasperated the 
 Bashaw, and he vented his Oriental rage upon his pris 
 oners. He ordered the prison to be immediately sur 
 rounded by a cordon of troops and all intercourse be 
 tween the officers and the men to be interrupted, lest 
 some exploit even more daring than the capture of the 
 frigate under the guns of his castle might be attempted. 
 
1804. THE REMAINS OP THE PHILADELPHIA. 269 
 
 On the 1st of March the officers were conducted under 
 a strong guard to the castle and confined in a cold, damp 
 apartment, with one opening at the top, grated with iron 
 bars, which was their only means of receiving light and 
 air. In this place they were entombed during the rest 
 of their captivity. What remained of the Philadelphia 
 after the explosion sank to the bottom of the harbor of 
 Tripoli, where it still lies. When Captain Breese in the 
 Cumberland, in 1844, visited Tripoli, he caused a por 
 tion of the wreck to be raised, and had the water-logged 
 timber made into paper knives and other souvenirs. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE BOMBAKDMENT OF TEIPOLI. 
 
 ALTHOUGH the destruction of the Philadelphia re 
 moved from the harbor of Tripoli its most formidable 
 auxiliary battery, the place was still well defended and 
 the Bashaw was far from being subdued or inclined 
 to accept terms satisfactory to the Americans. Cap 
 tain Preble therefore determined to maintain a regular 
 blockade of the port and to begin a bombardment of 
 the town as soon as he could collect a sufficient force. 
 The Siren, Master-Commandant Charles Stewart, and 
 the Nautilus, Master-Commandant Richard Somers, 
 were immediately stationed off the port, and early on 
 the morning of March 21, 1804, they discovered a brig 
 in the offing endeavoring to get to sea. On making 
 oat the American cruisers she made every effort to 
 beat back into the harbor ; at the same time several 
 Tripolitan gunboats were observed hovering near, ap 
 parently with the intention of supporting her in case 
 of attack. The Nautilus bore down on the gunboats, 
 and as she approached they prudently withdrew to the 
 harbor. The Siren in the meantime overhauled the 
 brig, which proved to be the privateer Transfer, from 
 Malta, with an English commission, carrying sixteen 
 guns and eighty men. When captured she had her 
 crew at quarters, but no resistance was made. She was 
 seized for violation of the blockade and sent to Syra 
 cuse, and on being taken into the service under the 
 name of the Scourge she was placed under the com 
 mand of Lieutenant John Herbert Dent, the acting cap 
 tain of the Constitution. Subsequent information in- 
 
 (270) 
 
1804. GALLANT ATTACK ON A FELUCCA. 271 
 
 duced Captain Preble to believe that the brig actually 
 belonged to the Bashaw of Tripoli and was waiting to 
 take his consul to Malta. 
 
 In the following month, April, a felucca was discov 
 ered attempting to run into the harbor under cover 
 of a fog, and the blockading force immediately made 
 after her. The Siren, being the nearest, was rap 
 idly coming up when the chase, in order to prevent 
 capture, ran ashore about ten miles west of Tripoli. 
 The Siren s boats, under the command of Lieutenant 
 James R. Caldwell, were then sent against the enemy, 
 but on nearing land one of the boats struck a rock, and 
 the delay caused by this mishap enabled the Tripoli- 
 tan cavalry to assemble in such numbers as to render 
 a boat attack impracticable. Lieutenant Caldwell, 
 however, did not give over the attempt until several 
 of his men were killed or wounded, without having 
 inflicted any loss on the enemy. The Argus with the 
 schooners then ran inshore as close as the shoals 
 would allow, and opened such an effective fire that in 
 a few minutes the felucca was destroyed. The Siren 
 at the same time gained a position at the opening of 
 the ravine behind which the Turks were concealed, 
 and delivered a fire of grape and canister that dis 
 lodged them. The felucca was said to have been laden 
 with salt,, a commodity of great value to the Tripoli tans 
 at that time. 
 
 Captain Preble had been actively engaged in mak 
 ing arrangements for the bombardment of Tripoli, and 
 by the 25th of July the following vessels had been 
 collected off the harbor : The 44-gun frigate Constitu 
 tion (flagship), Captain Preble ; the 16-gun brig Siren, 
 Master-Commandant Charles Stewart ; the 16-gun brig 
 Argus, Master-Commandant Isaac Hull ; the 12-gun 
 schooner Nautilus, Master-Commandant Richard Som- 
 ers ; the 12-gun schooner Vixen, Master-Commandant 
 John Smith ; the 14-gun brig Scourge (Transfer), Lieu 
 tenant John Herbert Dent ; and the 12-gun schooner 
 
272 THE BOMBARDMENT OF TRIPOLI. 1804. 
 
 Enterprise, Lieutenant James Decatur. Besides this 
 force, Captain Preble, through the kindness of the King 
 of the Two Sicilies, secured the loan of two bomb ves 
 sels and six gunboats. The number of men in this 
 squadron all told was one thousand and sixty. 
 
 4 < The gunboats, " said Captain Preble, 4 are con 
 structed for the defense of harbors ; they are flat- 
 bottomed and heavy, and do not sail or row tolerably 
 well. They were never intended to go to sea, and I 
 find can not be navigated with safety unless assisted 
 by tow-ropes from larger and better sailing vessels, 
 nor even then in very bad weather. The bomb ves 
 sels are about thirty tons, carrying a 13-inch brass sea 
 mortar and forty men ; the gunboats, twenty-five tons, 
 carry a long iron 24-pounder in the bow, with a com 
 plement of thirty-five men." A comparison of the force 
 of Captain Treble s squadron with the strength of 
 Tripoli will show how overwhelming were the odds 
 against which the Americans had to contend. 
 
 Comparative forces before Tripoli. 
 
 Heavy guns. Light guns. Total. Men. 
 
 American: 48 86 134 1,060 
 
 Tripolitans : 134 66 200 25,000 
 
 Such was the inclemency of the weather after the 
 arrival of the squadron off Tripoli, July 25th, that 
 not until the afternoon of the 28th were the vessels 
 able to stand toward the coast. Scarcely had they 
 anchored when the wind shifted from the east-south 
 east to the north-northwest, and soon increased to a 
 gale, which placed the squadron in a perilous position, 
 so at 6 P. M. the signal to weigh anchor was given. 
 The gale increased in violence until the 31st, when it 
 blew a hurricane. By the 3d of August it had suffi 
 ciently moderated to allow a near approach to the 
 coast. In this gale the Constitution had her close- 
 reefed foresail and main topsail blown from the bolt 
 ropes into ribbons, and had not the wind been from the 
 
1804. GUNBOATS ADVANCE TO ATTACK. 273 
 
 south, which gave them the protection of a weather 
 shore, the gunboats and bomb vessels undoubtedly 
 would have been towed under. 
 
 At 12.30 P. M., August 3d, Captain Preble advanced 
 to the attack. Observing that the enemy had formed 
 their gunboats into two divisions, nine at the eastern 
 entrance and five at the northern, he determined to 
 begin on them. Accordingly the six American gun 
 boats and the two bombards were dispatched to attack 
 the enemy at the eastern entrance. The first division 
 consisted of gunboat No. 1, Master-Commandant Rich 
 ard Somers ; gunboat No. 2, Lieutenant James Deca- 
 tur ; gunboat No. 3, Lieutenant Joshua Blake. Second 
 division, gunboat No. 4, Captain Stephen Decatur ; 
 gunboat No. 5, Midshipman Joseph Bainbridge ; gun 
 boat No. 6, Sailing-Master John Trippe. In gunboat 
 No. 1 were Midshipmen Charles Goodwin Rldgeley and 
 William Miller, the former afterward rising to a high 
 rank in the navy. In gunboat No. 4 were Midshipmen 
 Jonathan Thorn and Thomas Macdonough, and in gun 
 boat No. 6 were Midshipmen John D. Henley and David 
 Deacon. The two bombards were commanded by Lieu 
 tenant John Herbert Dent and Lieutenant Thomas 
 Robinson, Jr. 
 
 These boats immediately made for the enemy. Only 
 Nos. 2, 4 and 6 succeeded in weathering the point, but 
 these, led by the impetuous Captain Stephen Decatur, 
 boldly dashed on to engage three times their force. 
 Reserving his fire until at close quarters, Captain De 
 catur discharged the long gun, which was loaded with 
 bags of musket balls filled with one thousand bullets 
 each, and then laid the first Tripolitan gunboat along 
 side. Gallantly seconded by Midshipmen Jonathan 
 Thorn and Macdonough and twenty-two of his seamen, 
 who were armed with pistols, sabers, pikes and toma 
 hawks, he boarded, and a short but fierce struggle took 
 place. The Tripolitan boat was divided in the middle 
 by an open hatchway, and as the Americans came in at 
 
274: THE BOMBARDMENT OF TRIPOLI. 1804. 
 
 one end of the boat the enemy retreated to the other, 
 leaving a space between them. For a moment there 
 was a pause as each party glared at the other across the 
 opening to discover what move would next be made, but 
 Captain Decatur did not give them long to wait, and 
 charging with his men along the gangway on each 
 side of the hatch he cut down the remaining Turks 
 or drove them into the sea, while eight of them ran 
 below and were made prisoners. So deadly had been 
 the fire of gunboat No. 4 that the Turkish commander 
 was riddled with fourteen bullets. Hauling down the 
 Tripolitan colors and returning to gunboat No. 4, Cap 
 tain Decatur began towing his prize to a place of safety. 
 In the meantime gunboat No. 2, Lieutenant James 
 Decatur (brother of Stephen), had singled out an ene 
 my s boat, and reserving his fire until alongside, he 
 delivered his grape and musketry with such effect 
 that the Tripolitans surrendered. But while stepping 
 aboard to take possession he was suddenly set upon 
 by the treacherous Turkish commander and mortally 
 wounded in the forehead with a pistol shot. Before 
 the vessel could be secured the enemy fled. The news 
 of this affair reached Stephen Decatur while he was 
 towing his prize out of range, and casting her adrift he 
 turned about and went in pursuit of his brother s mur 
 derer. Revenge stimulated the Americans to such ex 
 ertions that soon their boat ran alongside the fieeing 
 Turk, and after pouring in a fire of grape and musket 
 ry they boarded in the smoke. Captain Decatur soon 
 espied the Turkish commander, a man of powerful 
 build, and rushing upon him made a lunge with his 
 boarding-pike. The Mussulman parried the thrust, 
 and seizing the weapon, wrenched it from Decatur s 
 hands and aimed a blow at his breast which Decatur 
 guarded, but in so doing broke his sword short off at 
 the hilt. The Turk instantly made another lunge, and 
 this time Captain Decatur partially warded off the pike 
 but received ugly flesh wounds on his arm and chest. 
 
1804. A DESPERATE HAND-TO-HAND FIGHT. 275 
 
 Before the blow could be repeated lie sprang within 
 the weapon and closed with the Mussulman in a des 
 perate hand-to-hand fight. In this his antagonist 
 proved his superiority, for he soon threw Decatur and 
 pinned him to the deck with an iron grip on his throat, 
 while with his disengaged hand he endeavored to draw 
 the shorter of his two yataghans, which were carried 
 especially for such close work. 
 
 While the two leaders were thus struggling, their 
 respective crews had rushed to their assistance, so 
 that they became the center of a fierce conflict. Now 
 that they had fallen to the deck, the surging mass 
 of desperate men toppled over them and piled up in 
 an inextricable, smothering heap. The Turkish com 
 mander succeeded in drawing his yataghan, but could 
 not immediately free his arm to strike the fatal blow. 
 At this instant Captain Decatur, who had also been 
 struggling to reach some weapon, succeeded in drawing 
 a pistol from his pocket, and though now gasping, 
 blinded and almost suffocated, he passed his hand over 
 the Mussulman s body to feel for some vital part, well 
 knowing that if the bullet failed to cause instant death 
 his own life was lost. Pressing the muzzle of the pistol 
 against the Turk s ribs, as near his heart as he could 
 determine, Decatur fired, and the shot proved instantly 
 fatal. As soon as the surviving Tripolitans learned 
 that their leader was slain they gave way on all sides 
 and jumped overboard. During this melee a Turk 
 raised his scimiter to strike a blow at Decatur s head, 
 when, seeing the peril of his commander, a sailor, 
 Reuben James, whose arms had been disabled, inter 
 posed his head and received a terrible gash in his 
 skull. By this noble sacrifice Decatur s life was un 
 doubtedly saved. 1 
 
 While this fight was going on, Sailing-Master John 
 Trippe, in gunboat No. 6, also conducted himself with 
 
 1 For a sketch of Reuben James life see Appendix. 
 
276 THE BOMBARDMENT OF TRIPOLI. 1804 
 
 conspicuous gallantry. Reserving his fire until within 
 the enemy s smoke, he discharged his grape and mus 
 ketry and then boarded with cutlass in hand. But 
 the American boat rebounded after fouling and was 
 
 out of reach be 
 fore she could be 
 secured along 
 side, leaving Mr. 
 Trippe with Mid 
 shipman John 
 D. Henley and 
 
 A brass cannon captured from the Tripolitans, n i ne men aboard 
 now in Annapolis. 
 
 the enemy, cut 
 
 off from both retreat and support. The situation ad 
 mitted of no half-way measures, and Mr. Trippe prompt 
 ly singled out the Turkish commander and engaged him 
 in a personal combat, well knowing that the Tripoli- 
 tans would flee if their leader fell. The boarders brave 
 ly backed his lead and attacked the Mussulmans with 
 the energy of despair. The Turk succeeded in giving 
 Mr. Trippe several saber cuts on the head and soon 
 afterward two on the breast, while he had received no 
 hurt in return. Suddenly making a rush forward, the 
 Turk brought the American officer down on one knee 
 with a fearful blow on the head, but while in this 
 position Mr. Trippe seized the opportunity to run his 
 powerful foe through the abdomen with a boarding- 
 pike and laid him on the deck. Midshipman Henley, 
 supposing the Turk to be dead, stepped over his 
 body, but the Mussulman, conscious of the indignity, 
 although in the agonies of death, seized Henley s 
 ankle and gave it a violent wrench before he expired. 
 During this struggle a Turk aimed a blow at Sailing- 
 Master Trippe from behind, but before it fell, Ser 
 geant Meredith, of the marines, pinned the Turk to 
 the deck with his bayonet. Mr. Trippe received eleven 
 saber cuts in the affair. He spoke in high terms of 
 the gallantry of Midshipman Henley, who supported 
 
1804. HEROISM OP RICHARD SOMERS. 277 
 
 Mm. By this time gunboat No. 6 had again come 
 alongside, and her crew hastened to the rescue of their 
 comrades. As usual, the Tripolitans, seeing that their 
 leader had fallen, considered themselves at liberty to 
 flee, and were now plunging into the sea on all sides 
 and swimming to their other boats or to the rocks in 
 the harbor. This vessel was the largest of the Bashaw s 
 gunboats. Such was the confusion and excitement of 
 the moment that none of the Americans thought of 
 lowering the Tripolitan flag, and the Vixen, observing 
 her coming down on her, apparently manned by the 
 enemy, gave her a broadside, which brought down the 
 colors, mast, lateen yard and all, but fortunately in 
 jured no one. The remaining Tripolitan gunboats by 
 this time had fled to the cover of their batteries, leav 
 ing three vessels out of the nine in the hands of the 
 Americans. 
 
 While this plucky fight had been going on at the 
 eastern passage the larger vessels of the squadron were 
 maintaining a vigorous bombardment of the town 
 from the northern entrance. Master -Commandant 
 Richard Somers, in gunboat No. 1, finding that he 
 could not reach the enemy at the eastern passage, 
 attacked the Tripolitan gunboats at the northern en 
 trance single-handed, and they retreated. Not satis 
 fied with this, Master-Commandant Somers pursued 
 them within a hundred yards of a battery of twelve 
 guns, which up to this time had restrained its fire 
 lest it might damage the fleeing Tripolitans. When 
 gunboat No. 1 gave over the chase and turned to re 
 treat she exposed herself to the entire battery, and her 
 destruction seemed inevitable ; but at this moment a 
 shell from one of the bombards exploded in the bat 
 tery, blew up the platform and drove the gunners un 
 der cover, and before they had sufficiently collected 
 themselves to return to their guns the gunboat gained 
 a place of safety. During this time the bomb vessels, 
 under the command of Lieutenant John Herbert Dent 
 
278 THE BOMBARDMENT OF TRIPOLI. 1804. 
 
 and Lieutenant Thomas Robinson, although covered 
 with spray from the enemy s shot, maintained a steady 
 and well-directed fire and threw a great number of 
 shells into the town. At 4.30 p. M., the wind having 
 veered around to the north, Captain Preble gave the 
 signal to retire, and the vessels with their prizes re 
 treated in good order, covered by a heavy cannonading 
 from the Constitution, the brigs and the schooners. 
 
 Thus closed the first day s bombardment of Tripoli. 
 The results had been satisfactory in every respect, and 
 thenceforth the enemy could not be induced to engage 
 the Americans in a hand-to-hand encounter a species 
 of warfare in w r hich Mussulmans had been deemed 
 most formidable. Twice their five gunboats and two 
 galleys, composing the center division and the reserve, 
 attempted to row out to the assistance of their com 
 rades at the eastern passage, and both times they were 
 driven back by the brigs and schooners. The shore 
 batteries had been thoroughly battered, and about 
 fifty shells were dropped in the town. At times the 
 Constitution was within two cable lengths of the rocks 
 and within three cable lengths of the batteries, all of 
 which were silenced the moment her guns were brought 
 to bear, but when she passed out of range they opened 
 again. The frigate was most exposed when wearing 
 and tacking, and the need of another heavy frigate 
 was felt. The manner in which the Constitution was 
 handled during this fight excited the admiration of all 
 witnesses, especially the American prisoners in Trip 
 oli. The frigate boldly stood into the harbor, deliber 
 ately shortened sail, with the men on the yards and 
 everything going on as calmly as if in a friendly har 
 bor. Then she would come to and discharge her for 
 midable broadside with great effect. 
 
 Of the enemy s nineteen gunboats, three were sunk 
 in the harbor, while the decks of several were nearly 
 cleared of men by shot, and many ships in the harbor 
 were injured. The two gunboats captured by Captain 
 
1804. RESULTS OF THE FIRST ATTACK. 979 
 
 Decatur had thirty-three officers and men killed, and 
 twenty- seven prisoners were taken in them, nineteen of 
 whom were wounded. The prize of Sailing-Master John 
 Trippe lost fourteen killed, and twenty-two prisoners 
 were taken, seven of whom were wounded. Many Tri- 
 politans were wounded and drowned, of whom no ac 
 curate list or estimate can be made. The American loss 
 was one killed, Lieutenant James Decatur, and thir 
 teen wounded. Gunboat No. 5, Midshipman Joseph 
 Bainbridge, had her main-yard shot away, while the 
 rigging and sails of the brigs and schooners were con 
 siderably cut. The Constitution, although exposed to 
 the fire of the enemy s batteries fully two hours, had 
 only one man wounded. A 24-pound shot passed nearly 
 through the center of the mainmast, thirty feet from 
 the deck, the main royal yard and sail were shot away, 
 while two lower shrouds, two backstays, and some run 
 ning rigging were cut through. Captain Preble him 
 self had a narrow escape. While the ship was wear 
 ing, a 32-pound shot came through a stern port on a 
 direct line for his body, but fortunately it struck on 
 the breech of a quarter-deck gun, and broke into frag 
 ments that flew about the quarter-deck, which was 
 crowded with men. Only one marine, however, was 
 hurt by it. The officers who were especially mentioned 
 for their gallantry in this brilliant affair, besides those 
 already named, were Lieutenant Charles Gordon, Cap 
 tain John Hall and Second-Lieutenant Robert Green- 
 leaf, of the marines, Midshipmen Jonathan Thorn, 
 Thomas Macdonough, Charles Goodwin Rldgeley and 
 William Miller, and Sailing-Master Nathaniel Harriden. 
 
 From the 3d to the 7th of August the squadron 
 rode at anchor about two leagues north of Tripoli, re 
 pairing damages and altering the rig of the captured 
 gunboats, which were found to be much better adapted 
 for this service than the vessels secured from Sicily. 
 They were numbered 7, 8 and 9. 
 
 On the night of August 5th, while Midshipman 
 
280 THE BOMBARDMENT OF TRIPOLI. 1804. 
 
 Charles Morris was in a boat on guard close to the rocks 
 forming the harbor of Tripoli, he suddenly found him 
 self in the presence of a strange vessel. Without 
 waiting to learn her force he boarded her and carried 
 her by surprise, and found that she was a French priva 
 teer that had put into Tripoli for water. Her com 
 mander was induced to return fourteen badly wound 
 ed Tripolitans, who had been taken prisoners, to the 
 enemy. These prisoners informed the Bashaw that 
 " though the Americans in battle were fiercer than 
 lions, yet in treatment of prisoners they were even 
 kinder than Mussulmans." It was learned that the 
 bombardment of the 3d had been more effective 
 than Captain Preble had supposed. Captain Bain- 
 bridge, who was a prisoner in Tripoli, describes it as 
 follows : " A number of guns in the battery were dis 
 mounted, the city considerably injured, and many of 
 the inhabitants killed. A great portion of the people 
 and all the foreign consuls fled from the city, with the 
 exception of the benevolent Mr. Nissen. So devoted 
 was he to the American prisoners that he remained at 
 the risk of his life and property, in order that he 
 might contribute to their comfort. In one of the at 
 tacks a 24-pound shot entered the window of a small 
 room in the turret where Mr. Mssen, only a moment 
 before, had been examining the operations of the squad 
 ron. At the commencement of the bombardment the 
 Bashaw surveyed the squadron from his palace win 
 dows, and affected to ridicule any attempt which might 
 be made to injure either the batteries or the city. He 
 promised the spectators who were on the terraces that 
 rare sport would presently be enjoyed by observing the 
 triumph of his boats over those of the Americans. In 
 a few minutes, however, he became convinced of his 
 error, and precipitately retreated with an humble and 
 aching heart to his bomb-proof chamber. " 
 
 At 9 A. M. on the 7th of August the squadron ad 
 vanced to the second attack, the gunboats Nos. 7, 8 
 
1804. THE MAGAZINE OP A GUNBOAT EXPLODES. 281 
 
 and 9 being commanded by Lieutenant William Mont 
 gomery Crane, Lieutenant James R. Caldwell, and 
 Midshipman Jonathan Thorn. The bombards were or 
 dered to take a position in a small bay west of the 
 city, where only seven guns could be brought to bear 
 on them, while at the same time they could annoy the 
 enemy with shells. The gunboats were ordered to 
 silence this battery, and the brigs and schooners were 
 held in readiness to support them in case the enemy s 
 flotilla should venture out to attack. By 2 P. M. the 
 vessels had taken their positions, and at the signal 
 they opened fire at point-blank range. In less than 
 two hours the seven-gun battery had been silenced with 
 the exception of one piece, while the others were prob 
 ably dismounted, as the walls were demolished. The 
 Tripolitan flotilla did not venture within range, al 
 though at one time they made a slight advance. While 
 bringing gunboat No. 1 into close action, Master-Com 
 mandant Richard Somers was leaning against her flag 
 staff, when he saw a shot coming on a line with his 
 head. By stooping, he avoided the shot, which cut the 
 flagstaff in two, after which he coolly resumed his po 
 sition, leaning against the stump of the staff. At 3.30 
 p. M. a hot shot passed through the magazine of gun 
 boat ~No. 8 and blew up her stern. She had on board 
 twenty-eight officers, seamen and marines, ten of whom 
 were killed and six were wounded. Among the killed 
 were Lieutenant James R. Caldwell, first lieutenant 
 of the Siren, and Midshipman John S. Dorsey, both 
 officers of great promise. At the time the disaster oc 
 curred, Midshipman Robert T. Spence was superin 
 tending the loading of a gun, and although the boat 
 was sinking he completed the task, and, firing the shot, 
 jumped into the water with his men. He did not 
 know how to swim, but grasping one of the gunboat s 
 sweeps he managed to keep afloat until he was picked 
 up, with eleven men, by boats from the other vessels. 
 On gaining the decks of the gunboats the rescued men 
 
 21 
 
282 THE BOMBARDMENT OF TRIPOLI. 1804. 
 
 continued the fight at their new quarters as if nothing 
 had happened. Edmund P. Kennedy, gunner s mate, 
 who had once been impressed into the British service, 
 was captain of this gun and received a midshipman s 
 commission for his gallantry, and afterward rose to a 
 high rank in the navy. But the loss of gunboat No. 8 
 did not abate the fury of the attack, which was main 
 tained with spirit until 5.30 P. M., when the signal to 
 haul off was given, and the vessels returned to their 
 anchorage. 
 
 During this day s bombardment the Constitution, 
 owing to an unfavorable wind, was unable to cannon 
 ade the batteries, so that the latter gave their undivided 
 attention to the gunboats. Forty-eight shells and about 
 five hundred 24-pound shot were fired. Gunboat No. 
 4 had a 24-pound shot through her hull, as did also 
 gunboat No. 9, the latter killing two men. Gunboat 
 No. 6, commanded by acting Midshipman Henry Wads- 
 worth, of the Constitution, had her lateen yard shot 
 away, while other gunboats were slightly injured in 
 their rigging and sails. The enemy s loss in killed and 
 wounded must have been exceedingly severe, while 
 that of the Americans was twenty- two killed and six 
 wounded. 
 
 At the time of this attack Keith Spence, the father 
 of Midshipman Robert T. Spence, was a prisoner in 
 Tripoli. The brother of Midshipman Joseph Bain- 
 bridge, Captain William Bainbridge, also was a pris 
 oner in Tripoli, and was nearly killed by a heavy shot 
 that struck the Bashaw s castle. It is said that several 
 other men in the American squadron also had relatives 
 who were prisoners in Tripoli, and the Bashaw kept 
 them in his castle and took pains to inform Captain 
 Preble of that fact, hoping it would divert shot to 
 other parts of the town. But Captain Bainbridge wrote, 
 through the assistance of Mr. Nissen, urging the Ameri 
 cans to fire at the Bashaw s castle, as that was the best 
 means of annoying him and bringing him to terms. 
 
1804. A NIGHT ATTACK ON THE BATTERIES. 283 
 
 While the bombardment was in progress a sail hove 
 A n sight, which proved to be a large man-of-war, and 
 soon afterward it showed a square blue flag with a red 
 cross on it, which was the signal of the 28-gun frigate 
 John Adams, Master-Commandant Isaac Chauncey, 
 bringing news of the promotion of Decatur to be cap 
 tain, and Lieutenants Stewart, Hull, Smith and Somers 
 to be masters-commandant. Captain Preble was ad 
 vised of re-enforcements consisting of four frigates, un 
 der Captain Samuel Barron, which would arrive shortly. 
 This determined him to postpone further attack until 
 the arrival of his successor. On the 16th, the squadron 
 being in great need of water, the Enterprise, Lieuten 
 ant Thomas Robinson, was sent to Malta for a sup 
 ply. At three o clock on the afternoon of August 
 9th Captain Preble went aboard the Argus, and while 
 she was standing in toward the town for the purpose 
 of reconnoitering the state of the defenses, the enemy 
 opened an animated fire, and one of their heaviest shot 
 struck the brig about three feet short of the water 
 line, raked the copper off her bottom under water and 
 cut the plank half through. 
 
 After vainly waiting two weeks for the relief squad 
 ron, Captain Preble on the night of the 24th advanced 
 to the third attack. In this engagement the John 
 Adams was of little service, as she had left her gun 
 carriages to be forwarded in the other ships. By 2 
 A. M., August 25th, the smaller vessels had secured 
 their positions and opened fire. The Constitution was 
 unable to get in range for lack of wind, and at break 
 of day the ships withdrew, having sustained little in 
 jury, and, as it afterward appeared, caused less. The 
 shells used during these bombardments, purchased at 
 Messina, proved to be of very inferior quality. Cap 
 tain Bainbridge, in his journal, records that out of 
 the forty-eight shells thrown on the 7th, only one ex 
 ploded. Captain Preble afterward discovered that 
 many of the bombs had had lead poured into the fuses. 
 
284 THE BOMBARDMENT OF TRIPOLI. 1804. 
 
 which was supposed to have been done by French 
 agents in Sicily, as the bombs were originally pur 
 chased to resist an expected French invasion. 
 
 These spirited attacks, however, had such a salu 
 tary effect on the Bashaw s resentment against the 
 Americans that he now reduced his demand for ran 
 som to five hundred dollars a man, or half of his fig 
 ures on the 7th of the same month. Captain Preble 
 rejected the terms, and on the 28th prepared for a 
 still more vigorous attack. While the larger vessels 
 were to engage the batteries, the eight gunboats, un 
 der Captain Decatur, were to direct their attention 
 to the thirteen Tripolitan galleys, gunboats Nos. 2 
 and 3 on this occasion being commanded by Lieuten 
 ant Charles Gordon of the marines and Sailing- Master 
 Brooks of the Argus. After taking their places 
 within pistol shot of the rocks on the night of Au 
 gust 28th, the larger gunboats, at three o clock in the 
 morning of the 29th, opened a heavy fire, covered by 
 the Siren, Master-Commandant Charles Stewart ; the 
 Argus, Master-Commandant Isaac Hull ; the Vixen, 
 Master-Commandant John Smith ; the Nautilus, Lieu 
 tenant Reed ; and the Enterprise, Lieutenant Thomas 
 Robinson. The attack on the galleys was made with 
 great spirit, and one of them was sunk, two were 
 compelled to run ashore, and the others were put to 
 a disorderly flight. On the approach of day Captain 
 Decatur s flotilla was signaled to retire, while the Con 
 stitution ran within musket shot of the mole to cover 
 the retreat. Here the frigate remained three quarters 
 of an hour, pouring in a tremendous fire of more 
 than three hundred round shot, besides sweeping the 
 parapets with grape and canister. The gunboats hav 
 ing reached a place of safety, Captain Preble retired 
 to his anchorage. 
 
 The enemy suffered heavily in this attack. A large 
 galliot belonging to Tunis was sunk at the mole, while 
 the Tripolitan galleys and gunboats were badly cut 
 
1804. THE FIFTH BOMBARDMENT OF TRIPOLI. 285 
 
 up and lost many men. The gunboats, after the flight 
 of the galleys, ran close up to the town and fired up 
 ward of four hundred round shot, while the Consti 
 tution s cannonading so demoralized the Turks that 
 their fire was ineffectual. The Constitution had sev 
 eral shot through her sails, and a few shrouds, stays, 
 trusses, chains and lifts of the main yard were carried 
 away, while grapeshot struck different parts of her 
 hull. None of the seamen, however, were injured. A 
 boat belonging to the John Adams, manned by Mas- 
 ter s-Mate John Orde Creighton and eight men, while 
 in tow of the Nautilus, was sunk by a double-head- 
 
 Port of Tripoli. 
 
 ed shot, which killed three men and severely wounded 
 one. The only injury that the gunboats received was 
 in their sails. 
 
 For about a week after this attack the squadron 
 was deterred from resuming the bombardment by un 
 favorable winds, but at 2.30 P. M. on the 3d of Septem 
 ber the gunboats, under the command of Captain De- 
 catur and Master-Commandant Richard Somers, were 
 ordered to engage the Tripolitan flotilla. The latter 
 opened a hot fire on the advancing Americans until 
 within musket shot, when the Tripolitan vessels fled. 
 The Constitution made for the batteries, and when 
 
286 THE BOMBARDMENT OF TRIPOLI. 1804. 
 
 within grapeshot distance opened her broadside against 
 the enemy s seventy guns. After firing three hundred 
 round shot and sweeping the batteries with grape and 
 canister, Captain Preble signaled the boats to withdraw, 
 and soon followed them. In this attack about fifty 
 shells and four hundred round shot, besides grape and 
 canister, were fired at the enemy. The frigate suffered 
 heavily in her rigging, but nothing larger than a grape- 
 shot struck her hull. The bombards and gunboats 
 also sustained considerable damage, chiefly in their 
 rigging. Sailing-Master Trippe resumed the command 
 of gunboat No. 6, and Midshipman Charles Morris had 
 charge of gunboat No. 3. Gunboat No. I became so 
 leaky as to require constant baling, while every shroud 
 was carried away. Although in the attacks that were 
 made after the arrival of the John Adams that ship 
 was unable to participate for want of gun carriages, 
 yet Master Commandant Chauncey and his men were 
 actively engaged in the Constitution and gave valuable 
 assistance. 
 
 While these spirited attacks were being made, the 
 ketch Intrepid, in which Decattir had made his cele 
 brated capture of the PMladelpMa, had been fitted up 
 as a floating mine with a view of sending her into the 
 harbor and exploding her in the midst of the Tripoli tan 
 shipping. She was stripped of every incumbrance, 
 and a room in her hold just forward of her principal 
 mast was planked up and filled with one hundred bar 
 rels of powder in bulk, while on the deck immediately 
 above were placed one hundred 9-inch shells and fifty 
 131-inch shells, besides a. quantity of shot, kentledge 
 and pieces of iron. Communicating with this powder 
 was a tube leading to a room aft which was filled 
 with combustibles that would burn fiercely, thus 
 frightening off boarders by the apprehension of an im 
 mediate explosion. In order to prevent the enemy 
 from firing on the ketch while she was entering the 
 harbor, it was intended to give her the appearance of a 
 
1804, A FLOATING MINE. 287 
 
 blockade runner. Two of the best rowing boats "in the 
 squadron were placed aboard her for the purpose of 
 bringing the men out after the lire had been started. 
 
 Captain Preble was fully aware of the hazardous 
 nature of the enterprise, and for that reason he per 
 sonally superintended every detail of the preparations, 
 selecting only officers of tried ability and good judg 
 ment. The exploit of Decatur in cutting out the frigate 
 Philadelphia and the hand-to-hand encounters with 
 the Mussulmans, together with the dash and energy 
 of Preble himself, had raised the spirit of the officers 
 in the American squadron to the highest point of chiv 
 alrous daring, so that when volunteers were called for 
 the officers and men eagerly pressed forward from all 
 sides. Master-Commandant Richard Somers, who had 
 led one of the divisions of gunboats in the several 
 attacks on the enemy, was selected to command the 
 ketch, while Midshipman Henry Wadsworth (an uncle 
 of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the poet, who was 
 named for him) was selected as second in command. 
 With two such gallant officers it was thought unneces 
 sary to allow more to embark in the ketch except 
 ten seamen to man her ; but at the last moment Mid 
 shipman Joseph Israel, who had pleaded in vain to be 
 permitted to join the company, managed to get aboard 
 unobserved, and when discovered he was allowed to re 
 main. Four seamen from the Nautilus and six from 
 the Constitution were selected from the volunteers to 
 man the ketch. Their names were : James Simms, 
 Thomas Tompline, James Harris and William Keith, of 
 the Nautilus / William Harrison, Robert Clark, Hugh 
 McCormick, Jacob Williams, Peter Penner and Isaac 
 W. Downes, of the Constitution. 
 
 A few days before the ketch started Captain Preble 
 was trying a port fire in the cabin of the Constitution 
 in the presence of several officers, when one of their 
 number, who was timing the fuse with his watch, re 
 marked that it burned too long and might enable the 
 
288 THE BOMBARDMENT OF TRIPOLI. 1804. 
 
 enemy to board and extinguish it before it ignited the 
 magazine. Hearing the remark, Master-Commandant 
 Somers quietly said, "I ask for no port fire at all." 
 This incident, together with the fact that he had ex 
 pressed a determination not to be taken alive by the 
 Turks, nor to allow the ketch with her ammunition to 
 fall into the hands of the enemy, plainly indicates the 
 spirit with which these men went into the enterprise. 
 
 All the arrangements for the undertaking having 
 been completed the expedition only awaited favorable 
 weather. Once or twice the Intrepid started out on 
 her desperate mission but came back on account of the 
 lightness of the air. The night of September 4th came 
 on with a heavy mist covering the sea, but in the lighter 
 haze above the stars were visible, and the minarets of the 
 mosques and the loftier buildings of Tripoli could be 
 made out. Orders were given to make ready to sail. 
 Conscious of the desperate nature of the expedition, 
 Somers gave the men who had volunteered their serv 
 ices a last chance to withdraw, saying that he wished 
 no man to accompany him who would not prefer being 
 blown up to being taken alive. The boat s crew gave 
 three cheers by way of an answer, and each man in turn 
 asked to have the "honor" of applying the match. 
 Before starting on their hazardous journey each of the 
 seamen disposed of his personal effects among his 
 shipmates as if he were at the point of death. Many 
 officers visited Somers in the ketch just before he 
 got under way, among them being Captain Stephen 
 Decatur and Master-Commandant Charles Stewart. 
 Decatur, Stewart and Somers, each about twenty-five 
 years old, were all Philadelphia-bred sailors and had 
 been unusually intimate in their professional careers. 
 They all felt the seriousness of the hour, and what few 
 words were interchanged were spoken in a low tone. 
 Somers, in whom centered the chief interest, was tran 
 quil and grave. When this trio of young officers was 
 about to separate, Somers took a ring from his finger, 
 
1804. A FLOATING MINE. 289 
 
 and breaking it into three pieces gave each of his com 
 panions a part and retained the third himself. Just 
 before night closed in, three of the Tripolitan gunboats 
 were seen to anchor within the western entrance, 
 through which the Intrepid was to pass, and Decatur 
 admonished Somers to look out for them lest they 
 board him before he gained the desired position in the 
 harbor. Somers quietly replied that the Turks had be 
 come so shy that he thought they would be more likely 
 to cut and run than advance to meet him. 
 
 At eight o clock in the evening the ketch got under 
 way with a fine leading breeze from the east. She was 
 accompanied by the Argus, the Vixen and the Nauti 
 lus, the last being Somers own vessel, and shortly 
 afterward the Siren weighed anchor by the special 
 order of Captain Preble and stood toward the northern 
 passage, through which the ketch was to enter the har 
 bor, so as to assist in picking up the returning boats. 
 
 Arriving off the northern entrance the men in the 
 ketch bade adieu to their comrades and boldly stood out 
 into the harbor. The last man in the squadron to hold 
 communication with Master-Commandant Somers was 
 First-Lieutenant George W. Reed, of the Nautilus. 
 The haze hanging over the sea finally swallowed up 
 the ketch like the mystery that afterward enshrouded 
 the fate of these adventurers. Her outlines became 
 indistinct, and finally her shadowy form melted into 
 the surrounding gloom. Every eye in the little vessels 
 watching outside the rocks was strained on the spot 
 where the sails of the ketch vanished into obscurity, 
 and so great w^s the anxiety of the men that many 
 thought they could still make her out, though this was 
 probably the effect of imagination. Midshipman Ridge- 
 ley, of the Nautilus, which ship was nearest to the 
 rocks, followed the ketch with the aid of a night glass 
 to the end, but he could not distinguish more than her 
 outlines. In order to get some clew to the movements 
 of the ketch many of the watchers leaned over the 
 
290 THE BOMBARDMENT OF TRIPOLI. 1804. 
 
 sides of the vessel, holding lights near the surface of 
 the sea, and at the same time placing their ears close 
 to the water s edge in the hope that they might catch 
 some sound which would reveal her whereabouts. The 
 silence soon became so oppressive that the watchers 
 found themselves breathing with difficulty, and the 
 sweat of anxiety started from every pore, while each 
 heart throbbed with unaccustomed violence. The faint 
 est ripple of the water against the sides of the vessel 
 was eagerly caught at as being the sound of boats re 
 turning with the adventurers, while every splash of the 
 waves against the bows or the chafing of the cables in 
 the hawse-holes was thought to be the sound of muffled 
 oars. By way of relieving the unendurable suspense 
 the watchers began to pass the question, "Have you 
 heard anything yet?" but always with the same in 
 definite answer. 
 
 At last the distant report of a cannon proclaimed 
 that the alarm had been given. This was followed by 
 a rapid discharge of artillery, and soon the brilliant 
 flashes of guns and the continuous roar of heavy ord 
 nance announced that every battery was making its 
 angry protest against the stranger s approach. So 
 great had been the anxiety of the watchers, that many 
 of them afterward declared that it was several hours 
 between the time the ketch was lost to view and the 
 sound of the first gun, although in reality it was not 
 more than a few minutes. The cannonading afforded 
 a welcome relief, but owing to the direction of the 
 guns it gave no indication of the position of the ketch. 
 
 About ten o clock, while Master-Commandant Stew 
 art and Lieutenant Carrol were standing at the Siren s 
 gangway gazing intently into the night, the latter sud 
 denly exclaimed, " Look ! See the light ! " and far out 
 in the night a dim light was seen moving in a waving 
 line, as if some one were running along the deck of 
 a vessel with a ship s lantern in his hand. It paused 
 for a moment and then dropped out of sight, as if the 
 
1804. ANXIETY OF THE WATCHERS. 291 
 
 bearer had descended into a hatchway, again leaving 
 the watchers staring into the night. An instant later 
 a sheet of fierce flame leaped heavenward, followed by 
 a terrific explosion. The night of Egyptian darkness 
 had changed to the brilliancy of the midday sun, blind 
 ing the beholders, while the ships quivered from truck 
 to keel. The sublime spectacle reached its climax. 
 The column of flame vibrated a moment, and in a 
 twinkling had vanished, and with the exception of a 
 few shells that flashed across the sky, left the awe- 
 stricken beholders in a darkness of twofold intensity. 
 The deafening roar of the batteries and the noise of the 
 explosion had suddenly ceased, and in the profound 
 hush that followed each man stood mute with horror. 
 Soon the rattling of shot, shell and the fragments of 
 the wreck could be heard falling on the rocks in the 
 harbor or splashing the water near by, while far off in 
 the distance a few cries arose from the city, but this 
 soon ceased, leaving a deep and unbroken silence. 
 
 If the Americans in the offing had been anxious 
 before the explosion, they were doubly so now. Every 
 eye was strained with renewed effort, every ear eagerly 
 caught at the faintest sound, and with increasing fre 
 quency came the question, " Have you heard anything 
 yet ? " During all this dark night the vessels hovered 
 around the northern entrance in the vain hope of pick 
 ing up some of the survivors. The heavier frigates 
 tacked back and forth from one entrance to the other, 
 occasionally firing a gun or a rocket for the guidance 
 of any possible fugitive, but in the depressing silence 
 the cannon sounded like minute guns for the dead ; 
 and well might they have been, for the sound fell on 
 ears that heard not, while eyes that should have seen 
 the rockets were sightless forever. 
 
 At dawn the Americans closely scanned the harbor 
 for traces of the Intrepid. On the rocks which formed 
 the northern entrance of the harbor, through which 
 the ketch passed, was seen the wreck of a mast, and 
 
292 THE BOMBARDMENT OF TRIPOLI. 1804. 
 
 scattered around on the other side were fragments 
 of vessels. It was soon discovered that one of the 
 enemy s largest gunboats was missing, while two others 
 badly shattered were being hauled up on shore for 
 repairs. As the three gunboats that had been sta 
 tioned at this entrance of the harbor crowded with sol 
 diers had disappeared, it was -thought that one of them 
 had been sunk and the other two were so injured as 
 to require running ashore to prevent sinking. It was 
 afterward known that the ketch grounded on the north 
 side of the rocks, 1 and, as she was attacked by the 
 three gunboats on guard there, it is believed that 
 Somers, in keeping with his avowed determination not 
 to be taken alive by the enemy, and to prevent this 
 valuable supply of ammunition from falling into their 
 hands, took a ship s lantern and, descending directly 
 into the magazine room, deliberately fired the entire 
 mass, blowing up his own men and the Tripolitans 
 who were swarming over the ketch. 
 
 Two bodies mangled beyond possibility of recog 
 nition were found in the bottom of the ketch, and on 
 the 6th of September four more were discovered float- 
 in the harbor or on the rocks. Six more bodies had 
 been found the day after the explosion, and some time 
 afterward the Constitutions gig, which had been sent 
 in with the ketch, was found on the beach where it 
 had drifted, with another *body in it. These bodies 
 were collected and laid on the beach, and on the 8th 
 of September Captain Bainbridge and some of the 
 American officers in Tripoli were permitted to view 
 them. He describes them as being in a " most mangled 
 and burned condition," and "from the whole of them 
 being so disfigured it was impossible to recognize any 
 feature known to us, or even to distinguish an officer 
 from a seaman." One of the bodies had the remains of 
 nankeen trousers on it, while the hair of the head was 
 
 1 See A in diagram of Tripoli harbor, p. 257. 
 
1804. HEROIC OFFICERS. 293 
 
 of deep black, and as Somers was the only one of the 
 party that answered to this description it was probable 
 that these were his remains. A number of the bodies 
 were riddled with grapeshot, but as the two found in 
 the bottom of the ketch were uninjured in this respect 
 it was thought that they were below at the time the 
 attack was made and fired the magazine. The remains 
 were buried on the beach, outside the town, near the 
 walls, while small stones marked their graves ; but 
 these modest tombstones were removed by the Turks, 
 who objected to Christian monuments in their land. 
 
 Thus perished Richard Somers, Henry Wadsworth, 
 and Joseph Israel, three as courageous young officers 
 as ever drew a sword. Their names have passed into 
 the annals of the navy as synonyms of all that is 
 heroic. Congress passed a resolution of sympathy for 
 the relatives of Richard Somers, Henry Wadsworth, 
 James Decatur, James R. Caldwell, Joseph Israel and 
 John Sword Dorsey, all of whom were killed before 
 Tripoli. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 CONCLUSION OF THE WAE WITH TRIPOLI. 
 
 THE experiences of the American seamen during 
 the nineteen months of their captivity in Tripoli were 
 not pleasant. The Tripolitans at first were disposed to 
 treat the prisoners with leniency, but the American 
 tars held their captors in such contempt, and so fre 
 quently came to blows with them, that the Turkish 
 guards soon looked upon the sailors from the New 
 World as incorrigible scamps, on whom kindness was 
 thrown away. The carpenters, riggers and sailmakers 
 were employed in repairing the Bashaw s gunboats, 
 while the seamen were compelled to work on the forti 
 fications with other slaves, and having nothing to eat 
 but black bread and olive oil they soon became emaci 
 ated and feeble. The sailors were put to work carry 
 ing stones on their heads and shoulders to repair the 
 fortifications ; and at this laborious employment they 
 were kept from morning till night, exposed to the 
 burning sun and supplied with very insufficient rations. 
 Instead of beef, tough camel s meat was served out to 
 them, and the bread was a miserable article, composed 
 of beans instead of wheat." 1 At the solicitation of 
 Captain Bainbridge, a supply of salt provisions and 
 clothing was sent to them from the American squad 
 ron. By doing overtime work the men made a little 
 money and were permitted to walk about the streets, 
 two or three at a time. But with the money thus ac 
 quired Jack was tempted to drown his sorrows in liq- 
 . ih _- 
 
 1 Memoirs of Commodore David Porter, p. G2. 
 
 (894) 
 
1804. ATTEMPTS TO ESCAPE FROM CAPTIVITY. 295 
 
 uor, which could only be obtained from the Jew shops ; 
 and as there is no sight so offensive to the Mussulmans 
 as a drunken man, they gave expression to their disgust 
 by spitting in his face. As the American sailor was fre 
 quently intoxicated, he was subjected to this indignity 
 on more than one occasion, but in every instance he 
 gave the offender a sound thrashing. The disturbance 
 being reported to the slave guards, Jack would be sen 
 tenced to receive the bastinado. In receiving this pun 
 ishment he was favored by the slave driver, who, in 
 stead of delivering the blows on the bare feet, inter 
 posed straw pads, so that practically Jack got off free ; 
 but in order that the deception might not be discov 
 ered, Jack was instructed to yell right lustily, so that 
 the chief slave driver, whose high office and dignity 
 would not permit him to witness the punishment of a 
 common sailor, but who never failed to listen outside, 
 might be satisfied that the punishment was properly 
 administered. 
 
 Several attempts were made by the American officers 
 to escape from their captivity. As the castle was near 
 the harbor, it was thought possible to reach the Ameri 
 can squadron if boats could be procured, and the offi 
 cers began to dig a tunnel under the castle, but they 
 had not proceeded far when they discovered that the 
 distance seventy or eighty feet would be too great, 
 and would lead under the water that washed the outer 
 walls of the castle. They also discovered that senti 
 nels were stationed along the beach for several miles 
 on both sides of the city, so that it would have been 
 impossible for boats from the squadron to approach 
 unobserved. 
 
 On one of the dreary nights of their imprisonment 
 in the castle Captain Bainbridge and Lieutenant Jacob 
 Jones opened a passage in the wall that led into a de 
 serted apartment, where they discovered that the upper 
 floor had been broken through. With great difficulty 
 one of the officers climbed into the room above, in 
 
296 CONCLUSION OF THE WAR WITH TRIPOLI. 1804. 
 
 which there was an iron-grated window overlooking the 
 ramparts of the castle. In the course of several days 
 the iron bars of this window were cut through, and 
 selecting a dark, stormy night, the prisoners made a 
 rope of their shirts and trousers, passed through the 
 window, lowered themselves to the ramparts, and crawl 
 ing along in the shadow of the walls reached a point 
 where they intended to lower themselves into the sea 
 and swim to a small armed vessel which had come into 
 the port several days before. Just as they were ap 
 proaching the cannon to which it was intended to tie 
 one end of the rope, the relief guard approached, and 
 the adventurers were compelled to retreat, which they 
 did without detection. It was fortunate that the proj 
 ect was thus interrupted, for they afterward discov 
 ered that the vessel to which they intended to swim 
 had sailed early in the evening. 
 
 A few months after this failure the American 
 officers determined to make an attempt to escape to a 
 British frigate that was expected in a few days. In 
 order to do this they began, about the last of June, 
 1804, to dig a tunnel under the castle, but while exca 
 vating under the ramparts they reached a vault which 
 became so weakened that it caved in under the weight 
 of a 42-pound cannon which the Turkish guards were 
 moving at the time. Even this did not seem to arouse 
 the suspicions of their captors. It was as well, how 
 ever, that the tunnel was not completed, for the British 
 frigate, instead of coming into the harbor, hove to in 
 the offing only long enough for the English consul to 
 come aboard. 
 
 The tropical heat of the summer rendered the air 
 in the prison foul and unendurable, and as no atten 
 tion was paid to the frequent requests for better ven 
 tilation, Lieutenant David Porter succeeded in remov 
 ing the stone and mortar from a window which had 
 been filled in. When the chief slave driver saw the 
 opening he rushed into the apartment, seized Lieu ten- 
 
1804-1805. THE BASHAW INCREASES HIS GUARDS. 297 
 
 ant Porter, and had Mm removed to a filthy room in a 
 distant part of the castle. 
 
 The American seamen also matured several plans 
 for escape, one of which they managed to communi 
 cate to Captain Bainbridge, and it met his approval. 
 They proposed to await a favorable moment and then 
 make a rush in a body to the castle, overpower the 
 guards, liberate their officers, and then make an attack 
 on the palace, and having secured the Bashaw and his 
 family, they were to hold them as hostages for their 
 safe conduct to Captain Treble s squadron. But after 
 his experience with American daring in the loss of the 
 Philadelphia and the explosion of the ketch Intrepid, 
 the Bashaw had become exceedingly nervous about his 
 three hundred American prisoners. The guards at all 
 places were doubled, while the carpenters, boatswains, 
 sailmakers and master s mates were separated from the 
 seamen and placed in a secure apartment in the castle. 
 
 On the 5th of September, 1804, the weather becom 
 ing unusually threatening, the guns, mortars and 
 shells were taken out of the smaller vessels, as it was 
 feared that they would be swamped, and on the 7th the 
 John Adams, the Siren, the Nautilus, the Enter 
 prise and the Scourge took the gunboats and bom 
 bards in tow and sailed for Syracuse, leaving the Con 
 stitution, the Argus and the Vixen to blockade the 
 port of Tripoli. On the 10th of September Captain 
 Samuel Barron, in the 44-gun frigate President, Mas 
 ter-Commandant George Cox, with the 36-gun frigate 
 Constellation, Captain Hugh George Campbell (Mid 
 shipman Oliver Hazard Perry being in the latter), ar 
 rived on the scene of action to assume command. Two 
 days later two coasters laden with sixteen thousand 
 bushels of wheat were intercepted while attempting 
 to run into the port. Captain Preble now returned to 
 the United States in. the John Adams, where he ar 
 rived on the 26th of February, 1805, and Congress 
 voted him a gold medal for his brilliant services. 
 
 22 
 
298 CONCLUSION OF THE WAR WITH TRIPOLI. 1805. 
 
 In the meantime the Government continued to in 
 crease the naval force in the Mediterranean, and also 
 sent over two bombards, the Vengeance and the Spit 
 fire, besides ten gunboats, which had been constructed 
 especially for service in the Mediterranean. The navi 
 gation of these small craft across the stormy Atlantic 
 was a feat requiring no little daring and skill. The 
 Vengeance was taken across by Lieutenant Lewis and 
 the Spitfire by Lieutenant McNiell. The gunboats were 
 brought over by Lieutenants James Lawrence, Max 
 well and Elbert, and by Midshipmen Izard, J. D. Hen 
 ley, Harrison, Harriden and Carter. Gunboat No. 7, 
 commanded by Lieutenant Peter Ogelvie, sailed from 
 New York May 14, 1805, but springing her mast returned 
 for repairs. She sailed again on the 20th of June, but 
 since that time she has not been heard from. The fate 
 of this gunboat only too plainly showed what great risk 
 the men who commanded and manned the other vessels 
 of its class took when they sailed across the Atlantic 
 in them. Eight of these boats, although sailing sepa 
 rately from the United States, arrived at Gibraltar 
 within forty-eight hours of one another. Gunboat No. 
 6, Lieutenant James Lawrence (afterward the hero of 
 the Hornet-Peacock fight), when near the Azores, fell 
 in with the British frigate Lapwing, Captain Upton, 
 which had run down on her supposing she was a raft 
 with a number of shipwrecked men aboard. When off 
 Cadiz, June 12th, the same gunboat was boarded by a 
 boat from Admiral Collingwood s fleet and three of her 
 men were impressed. 
 
 At the time Captain Samuel Barron arrived in the 
 Mediterranean the American naval force was the strong 
 est that had ever been collected under the flag of the 
 United States. It consisted of the 44-gun frigate Presi 
 dent (flagship), Master-Commandant Cox ; the 44-gun 
 frigate Constitution, Captain Stephen Decatur ; the 36- 
 gun frigate Congress, Captain John Rodgers ; the 36- 
 gun frigate Constellation, Captain Hugh George Camp- 
 
1804-1805. THE AMERICAN ARMY IN AFRICA. 299 
 
 bell ; the 32-gun frigate Essex, Captain James Barren ; 
 the 16-gun brig Siren, Master-Commandant Charles 
 Stewart ; the 16-gun brig Argus, Master-Commandant 
 Isaac Hull ; the 12-gun schooner Vixen, Master- Com 
 mandant John Smith ; the 12-gun schooner Nautilus, 
 Master-Commandant John Herbert Dent * the 12-gun 
 schooner Enterprise, Master-Commandant Robinson; 
 the 10-gun sloop Hornet, Lieutenant Samuel Evans ; 
 besides the bombards and gunboats. The Hornet was 
 a vessel purchased at Malta and altered for the service. 
 While the Americans were thus preparing to con 
 tinue the war with greater vigor than ever, trouble be 
 gan in the enemy s camp. It is to be remembered that 
 Captain Bainbridge was aware of the strong feeling 
 among the Tripolitans against Jussuf Karamauli, the 
 reigning Bashaw of Tripoli, who had usurped the 
 throne of his brother Hamet and held his children as 
 hostages, and it was not long before advantage was 
 taken of this circumstance. William Eaton, the 
 American consul at Tunis, persuaded the ex-Bashaw 
 to raise an army and in co-operation with the Ameri 
 can squadron to attack Tripoli. Mr. Eaton, who had 
 served in the army during the Revolution, volunteered 
 his services as leader of the land forces. On the 26th 
 of November, 1804, the Argus, Master-Commandant 
 Isaac Hull, repaired to the old port of Alexandria, 
 where Hamet had assembled the army. This " army " 
 proved to be a rabble of thirty thousand unarmed and 
 destitute adventurers, who swarmed to a standard that 
 gave promise of pillage and plunder. Picking out 
 twelve hundred men, most of them Christians, Mr. 
 Eaton, early in the spring of 1805, marched across the 
 desert of Barca for Derne, the capital of the richest 
 province in Tripoli. A few miles from this place he 
 found the Argus, the Nautilus and the Hornet. A 
 field piece and a body of marines under First-Lieu 
 tenant Presley !N". O Bannon and Midshipman George 
 Mann were landed, together with arms, ammunition 
 
300 CONCLUSION OF THE WAR WITH TRIPOLI. 1805. 
 
 and provisions. The dispositions for an attack were 
 soon made, and on the 27th of April they advanced to 
 the assault. The vessels ran close to the batteries, 
 and after an hour of spirited cannonading, silenced 
 them. In two hours the place was occupied and the 
 enemy subdued, and for the first time in its history 
 the flag of the United States floated over a fortress of 
 the Old World. This was the fif teen-star- and-fif teen- 
 stripe flag which had been in use since 1795. Fourteen 
 of the assailants were killed or wounded, among the 
 latter being Mr. Eaton, who was shot through his waist. 
 
 Hamet Karamauli now asked for another supply of 
 arms and ammunition in order to follow up his advan 
 tage by an immediate attack on Tripoli, but this Captain 
 Samuel Barron refused, on the ground that the deposed 
 Bashaw was now in possession of half the regency, and 
 if he had the influence over the people which he professed 
 to have he could easily conquer the remaining half with 
 out further augmentation of his forces. On the 22d of 
 May, Captain Barron, on account of his poor health, 
 transferred the command of the American squadron to 
 Captain John Rodgers. In the meantime Jussuf Kara 
 mauli, finding that his situation was growing critical, 
 and that the Americans were increasing rather than 
 diminishing in strength, came to terms. On the 3d of 
 June he signed a treaty by which he relinquished all 
 claims to tribute in the future, and upon the exchange 
 of the Tripolitan prisoners the remaining American 
 captives were to be ransomed for sixty thousand dol 
 lars. These terms were undoubtedly the best that could 
 be expected under the circumstances. The exiled 
 Bashaw did not develop the popularity and strength 
 which were promised, and he remained a pensioner of 
 the United States for two years afterward, receiving 
 two hundred dollars a month. 
 
 While the Americans were engaged in the bom 
 bardment of Tripoli the Bey of Tunis took the oppor 
 tunity to manifest his hostility toward the United 
 
1805. DICTATING PEACE AT THE CANNON S MOUTH. 301 
 
 States. This ruler, like the other potentates of Bar- 
 bary, undoubtedly was encouraged in these unfriendly 
 acts by agents of the British Government, 1 for the 
 American commercial marine had by this time grown 
 to such proportions as to prove a dangerous rival to 
 Great Britain. These agents had given the Bey such 
 assurances of the insignificance of the United States 
 that he had come to regard the Americans as being 
 only too anxious to maintain peace with the " terrible" 
 regencies of Barbary, and he supposed a little expres 
 sion of his wrath at a time when this " unimportant 
 nation" of the New World was struggling with his 
 neighbor would conduce to his good. Accordingly he 
 told Mr. Davis, the American consul at Tunis, that un 
 less the Tunisian corsair that had been captured, while 
 attempting to run the blockade, by the squadron before 
 Tripoli was returned, he would declare war. 
 
 But the Bey chose a most unfortunate moment for 
 his bravado. The American squadron had grown to 
 the size of a respectable fleet, while the officers had 
 become thoroughly organized and trained ; and, flushed 
 with their victories off Tripoli, nothing would have 
 suited them better than u a brush" with Tunis. On 
 the 1st of August Captain John Rodgers appeared off 
 Tunis with thirteen vessels of war, and, promptly 
 sending for the American consul, he informed the Bey 
 in the plainest possible manner that he would give 
 him just thirty-six hours in which to answer to the 
 terms of peace proposed by Captain Rodgers. The 
 Bey at first seemed dazed by this unexpected bearing 
 of the u new nation in the West," but Captain Rodg 
 ers quickly brought him to a realization of the situ 
 ation, and literally dictated the terms of peace under 
 the muzzles of his cannon. In September a Tunisian 
 minister embarked in the Congress, Captain Stephen 
 Decatur, and in due time was landed at Washington. 
 
 1 See p. 218. 
 
302 CONCLUSION OF THE WAR WITH TRIPOLI. 1805. 
 
 The result of the visit of this squadron to Tunis 
 astonished the representatives of the different Euro 
 pean powers residing there ; the general remark was, 
 4 No other nation has ever negotiated with the present 
 Bey on such honorable terms." 
 
 A few hours after leaving Algeciras on her home 
 ward passage, the President was fired on by Spanish 
 gunboats, and some of their shot passed over the frig 
 ate. As the gunboats were anchored in the harbor so 
 that it was impossible for the President to get at them, 
 and as the Spaniards were probably mistaken as to the 
 nationality of the frigate, the only notice taken of the 
 incident was the display of the Spanish flag under the 
 President s colors. 
 
 Thus the young republic, by means of its navy, 
 threw off the ignoble yoke of the piratical States of 
 Barbary, and frustrated the intrigues of Great Britain 
 against the development of our commerce in the Med 
 iterranean and in the Atlantic. The other powers of 
 Europe some years later compelled these regencies to 
 give up all claim of tribute on Christendom. The four 
 years of active service in the Mediterranean proved of 
 great benefit to the infant navy of the United States. 
 The officers and men acquired that practical training 
 and discipline which active service alone can give. It 
 rendered them self-reliant, and developed their apti 
 tude for the sea to an astonishing degree, as will be 
 seen in succeeding chapters. 
 
PART THIRD. 
 THE WAR OF 1812, 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE OUTBREAK. 
 
 ABOUT eighteen months after the signing of the 
 treaties with the Bashaw of Tripoli and the Bey of 
 Tunis, an incident occurred off the coast of Virginia 
 which again brought the navy into prominence. The 
 36 -gun frigate Chesapeake, Master - Commandant 
 Charles Gordon, had been put into commission for the 
 purpose of relieving the Constitution, then stationed 
 in the Mediterranean. In the spring of 1807, while the 
 Chesapeake was completing her outfit at the navy yard 
 in Washington, the English minister informed the 
 Government that three sailors had deserted from the 
 British frigate Melampus and were enrolled in the 
 Chesapeake* s crew. In keeping with the custom ex 
 isting between friendly powers, Master-Commandant 
 Gordon ordered an investigation. One of the deserters 
 declared that he was a native of the Eastern Shore, 
 and as Mr. Gordon himself had lived there he was 
 satisfied with the man s statement. The second de 
 serter was a negro, and no question was entertained on 
 the part of the Chesapeake s officers as to his right to 
 American protection. Concerning the third there 
 seems to have been no conclusive evidence on either 
 side, but the man stoutly maintained that he was an 
 American citizen. All the deserters reiterated that 
 they had been forced into the British service ; and as 
 the English officers had no proof to the contrary, and 
 as two out of the three were unquestionably entitled to 
 American protection, the British minister was in 
 formed that none of them would be given up. This 
 
 (305) 
 
306 THE OUTBREAK. 1807. 
 
 answer was though. t to be satisfactory, as nothing fur 
 ther was said on the subject. 
 
 On the 22d of June, 1807, the Chesapeake was 
 ready for sea. Getting under way at eight o clock in 
 the morning, she dropped down to Hampton Roads 
 and made sail for the Mediterranean, bearing the 
 broad pennant of Captain James Barron. At the mo 
 ment the Chesapeake was seen to be weighing anchor, 
 the British 50-gun ship Leopard, Captain Humphreys, 
 which had been lying at Lynnhaven for some days, 
 also got under way and preceded the American frigate 
 to sea by several miles. By noon the ships were stretch 
 ing out to clear the land, and at three o clock they 
 were forty-five miles from port. The Chesapeake then 
 tacked to the northeast, when the Leopard which 
 had been allowing the Chesapeake to come up with 
 her being to windward, bore up and ran close abeam 
 of the American. Captain Humphreys then hailed, 
 saying he had dispatches which he desired to have 
 taken to Europe, and in a few minutes a boat was low 
 ered and sent aboard the Chesapeake. So far nothing 
 unusual had occurred, as it was customary for vessels 
 of war to extend this courtesy to each other. On gain 
 ing the Chesapeake s deck the British lieutenant was 
 conducted to the cabin, where he handed Captain James 
 Barron an order, signed by Vice- Admiral Berkeley, 
 dated June 1, 1807, directing all commanders in his 
 (Berkeley s) squadron to board the Chesapeake wher 
 ever found on the high seas, and to "require to search 
 for deserters " and " to proceed to search for the same." 
 In the same order Vice- Admiral Berkeley extended a 
 similar privilege to American officers when searching 
 for deserters. In this arrogant assumption of author 
 ity Vice-Admiral Berkeley, without the sanction of his 
 Government, not only presumed to institute a radical 
 innovation in that most delicate of all legal subjects, 
 international law, but proceeded in an arbitrary way 
 to carry out his views in this case without so much as 
 
1807. THE CHESAPEAKE-LEOPARD AFFAIR. 307 
 
 informing the American authorities of his dissatisfac 
 tion. 
 
 The Chesapeake at this moment was in great disor 
 der. Her men were still engaged in stowing away 
 cables, while the decks were encumbered with cabin 
 furniture, personal effects, provisions, chicken coops 
 etc. certainly a most disgraceful condition for a man- 
 of-war on the high seas. Captain Barron sent a note 
 to the commander of the Leopard, in which he re 
 fused to permit the search ; and when the British lieu 
 tenant returned with this note, Captain Barron gave 
 orders to clear for action. The word was easily given, 
 but it was soon found impossible to be carried out, for 
 even the rammers, wads, matches, gunlocks and pow 
 der horns could not be produced. In the meantime 
 Captain Barron stood at the gangway, watching the 
 British boat pulling back to the Leopard. In five 
 minutes the note was read, when Captain Humphreys 
 hailed. Captain Barron replied that he did not under 
 stand, upon which a shot flew just ahead of the Chesa 
 peake* s bow. As the American frigate did not obey 
 this summons to heave to, a broadside was poured into 
 her, which wounded several men, including the cap 
 tain. 
 
 For fifteen minutes the Leopard, at short range 
 and in smooth water, fired broadside after broadside 
 into the unresisting Chesapeake, for the latter, owing 
 to the confusion of her stores and armament, could 
 not discharge a single gun. Captain Barron begged 
 that at least one gun might be fired in defense before 
 he surrendered, and just as the flag was coming down 
 Lieutenant William Henry Allen, who commanded the 
 second division, seized a live coal from the galley fire 
 with his fingers and discharged a gun. The shot 
 hulled the Leopard, but did no further damage. The 
 cannonading then ceased, and a boat put out to board 
 the Chesapeake. Out of her crew of three hundred 
 and seventy-five she had lost three killed and eight- 
 
308 THE OUTBREAK. 1807-1811. 
 
 een wounded. Twenty-one shot had hulled her, all 
 the masts were wounded, and the sails were riddled 
 with grape and canister. Several British officers then 
 boarded her, and, mustering the crew, picked out the 
 three men who had left the Melampus William Ware, 
 Daniel Martin (colored) and John Strachan besides 
 Jenkin Ratford, or John Wilson, as he is called in 
 some accounts, who had left the English cruiser Hali 
 fax, and carried them aboard the Leopard, all the 
 men maintaining to the last that they were American 
 citizens. Captain Barron informed the British com 
 mander that he considered the Chesapeake a prize of 
 the Leopard ; but Captain Humphreys refused to look 
 at it in that light, and, after securing his four prison 
 ers, sailed away. Captain Barron then put back to 
 Hampton Roads. 
 
 The news of this outrage caused great excitement 
 throughout the United States. It had been the prac 
 tice of British cruisers to hover round American ports 
 for the purpose of boarding vessels and searching for 
 alleged English seamen. Not only were coasting ves 
 sels thus made liable to a reduction in their crews, but 
 American ships on the open sea, wherever found, 
 were brought to, their crews, never too numerous, were 
 inspected, and such as in the estimation of the British 
 officer were English deserters were forcibly carried off, 
 thus leaving the merchant ship in midocean bereft of 
 her best seamen and with her crew dangerously weak 
 ened. By 1812 over six thousand cases of impressed 
 American seamen were registered in Washington while 
 even Lord Castlereagh, in a speech before Parliament, 
 February 18, 1811, admitted that " out of one hundred 
 and forty-five thousand seamen employed in the Brit 
 ish service in January, 1811, the whole number claim 
 ing to be American subjects amounted to no more than 
 three thousand three hundred." 1 
 
 1 See Records of Parliament. 
 
1806. OUTRAGES ON AMERICAN MERCHANTMEN. 3Q9 
 
 But British cruisers did not stop at this. Any 
 American vessel laden with a cargo that British com 
 manders suspected of being intended for the enemies 
 of England was ordered out of her course into some 
 port, and was there unloaded and searched. This fre 
 quently resulted in the confiscation of American car 
 goes for the benefit of the British exchequer, and 
 always entailed a serious loss of time to the merchant. 
 The War of 1812 adjusted these difficulties, although 
 not by treaty stipulation, but, even before that, many 
 English officers denounced the practice as unjust. In 
 his private journal Lord Dundonald says: " On our 
 arrival at Halifax we found many American vessels 
 which had been detained, laden with corn [wheat] and 
 provisions. These had been seized by our predecessors 
 on the station, the act by no means tending to in 
 crease our popularity on subsequent visits along the 
 United States coasts. Another practice which was 
 pursued here always appeared to me a questionable 
 stretch of authority toward a neutral nation, viz., the 
 forcible detention of English seamen whenever found 
 navigating American ships. Of this the Government 
 of the United States justly complained, as inflicting 
 severe losses on its citizens, whose vessels were thus 
 delayed or imperiled for want of hands." 
 
 On the 25th of April, 1806, the British 50-gun ship 
 Leander, Captain Whitby, while cruising off New 
 York harbor for the purpose of intercepting American 
 merchant ships and depleting their crews, had endeav 
 ored to bring to a small coasting vessel. Her master, 
 knowing that this meant the abduction of some of his 
 men, gave no heed to the summons and attempted to 
 gain the harbor. The Leander thereupon fired a shot 
 at the coaster, which killed her commander, John 
 Pierce, but the Americans kept on their course and 
 reached port. On the 17th of April, 1806, a memorial 
 of the mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the city 
 of New York, signed by De Witt Clinton, was for- 
 
310 THE OUTBREAK. 1798-1806. 
 
 warded to the President, which, said that "our port is 
 blockaded, our vessels intercepted, our seamen im 
 pressed, our commerce interrupted and our jurisdic- 
 tional rights most grossly violated. A British squad 
 ron is now before our harbor, evincing a disposition to 
 renew its outrages and to perpetrate additional enormi 
 ties. We therefore respectfully request that a naval 
 force may be immediately stationed at this port, and 
 that three or more American frigates may without de 
 lay be sent for our protection." By an act of Congress, 
 April, 1806, the list of captains in the United States 
 navy was increased to fourteen, masters-commandant to 
 eight, lieutenants to seventy-two. The captains under 
 this law were Samuel Nicholson, Alexander Murray, 
 Samuel Barron, John Rodgers, Edward Preble, James 
 Barron, William Bainbridge, Hugh G. Campbell, Ste 
 phen Decatur, Thomas Tingey, Charles Stewart, Isaac 
 Hull, John Shaw and Isaac Chauncey. The masters- 
 commandant were : John Smith, George Cox, John 
 Herbert Dent, Thomas Robinson, David Porter, John 
 Cassin, Samuel Evans and Charles Gordon. 
 
 The American people had not yet forgotten the out 
 rage on the Baltimore in 1798, when the United States 
 and England were attacking a common enemy. In 
 proportion as these abuses were persisted in, the indig 
 nation of the people grew apace, until the news of the 
 attack on the Chesapeake wrought the nation to the 
 highest degree of exasperation. The prompt action of 
 the cabinet at Westminster, disavowing the act of Vice- 
 Admiral Berkeley, alone prevented an immediate decla 
 ration of war. Of the three deserters from the Melam,- 
 pus, seized in the Chesapeake, two (the third having 
 died) were returned on board the latter with indemnity 
 money and much formality. The fourth man Jenkin 
 Ratford, or John Wilson, who had deserted from the 
 Halifax is deserving of further notice. After escap 
 ing from the British ship, he met her commander, Lord 
 James Townshend, in the streets of Norfolk. As Lord 
 
1807. THE FATE OF THE DESERTERS. 31 1 
 
 James was endeavoring to induce him to re-enter their 
 service, Eatford s anger broke all bounds, and, heaping 
 maledictions on the British officer, he left him to the 
 jeers of the crowd. On the seizure of the four men 
 from the Chesapeake, the three men from the Melam- 
 pus were sentenced to receive each five hundred 
 lashes, 1 a punishment little short of the death penalty. 
 But these sentences were not carried into execution, as 
 it was feared that the seizures might be disapproved 
 by the home Government. But the puerile spite of the 
 noble Lord James, smarting under the insults he had 
 received from a common sailor in the streets of Nor 
 folk, could not be appeased until he saw Jenkin Rat- 
 ford hanged at the fore yardarm of the Halifax, be 
 fore instructions from England could arrive ordering 
 the immediate release and return of the four men. 
 
 Captain Barron was tried by court-martial under 
 four charges and was found guilty of the second : 
 " For neglecting, on the probability of an engagement, 
 to clear his ship for action." He was suspended from 
 the service without pay for five years. Master-Com 
 mandant Charles Gordon and Captain Hall of the ma 
 rines, as acting under the orders of a superior officer, 
 escaped with a private reprimand, while the gunner 
 was cashiered. The British ministry recalled Vice- 
 Admiral Berkeley from the command of this station, 
 but soon afterward assigned him to a more important 
 one. 
 
 These flagrant violations of neutral rights taught 
 the American people that the dignity of a nation can 
 be maintained only by a respectable showing of force. 
 When they were thus rudely awakened to the fact 
 that even their largest frigates were incapable of re 
 senting insults, they became apprehensive of their de 
 fenseless ships, representing a tonnage of two millions, 
 which spread their sails on every sea. The condition 
 
 1 James History of the British Navy, vol. iv, p. 255. 
 
312 THE OUTBREAK. 1807-1811. 
 
 of the Chesapeake on the 22d of June, 1807, unpre 
 pared to vindicate its honor by immediate action, illus 
 trates the humiliation and danger that ever await a 
 nation when its coast defenses and navy are permitted 
 to deteriorate and decay. 
 
 On the 18th of December, 1807, Congress author 
 ized the construction of one hundred and eighty-eight 
 additional gunboats, making a total of two hundred 
 and fifty-seven vessels of this class. Four days after 
 ward a law was passed declaring an unlimited embargo 
 on all foreign commerce, and all the war vessels were 
 recalled from the Mediterranean and stationed on the 
 American coasts. In January, 1809, the President was 
 empowered to put into commission the frigates United 
 States, President and Essex, and the corvette John 
 Adams, and to increase the naval complement from 
 fourteen hundred and twenty-five to five thousand and 
 twenty-five men and boys. Every officer from this 
 time exercised great care in training his men at the 
 guns and working the ship, and every vessel was kept 
 in the highest state of preparation for immediate ac 
 tion. 
 
 While both nations were assuming a belligerent 
 attitude, the British 38-gun frigate Guerriere, Captain 
 Samuel John Pechell, while cruising off New York har 
 bor, May 1, 1811, boarded the American brig Spitfire, 
 from Portland, bound for New York, and impressed 
 a man named John Deguyo, a passenger and a native 
 citizen of the United States. As a further expression 
 of his arrogance Captain Pechell had caused the name 
 of his frigate to be painted in large letters extending 
 across the entire width of his foretopsail. A few days 
 after the perpetration of this outrage the United States 
 44-gun frigate President was lying at anchor off Fort 
 Severn, Annapolis, bearing the broad pennant of Cap 
 tain John Eodgers. All about the frigate was quiet 
 and listless ; no sounds of warlike preparation could 
 be heard. Her commander was with his family at 
 
1811. THE PRESIDENT PUTS TO SEA. 313 
 
 Havre de Grace, forty-five miles distant ; her chaplain 
 and purser were in Washington, and the sailing-master 
 was at Baltimore, twenty -five miles away ; and her 
 senior lieutenant, Charles Ludlow, was dining aboard 
 the brig-of-war Argus, anchored near the President. 
 About noon the attention of a quartermaster in the 
 President was attracted by a gig, five miles distant, 
 pulling down Chesapeake Bay, from the direction of 
 Havre de Grace, at a furious rate. Leveling his glass, 
 he soon made out the captain s broad pennant flying 
 at her bow. The people in the frigate hastened to pre 
 pare the ship for the reception of her commander, for 
 Captain Rodgers was one of the strictest disciplinarians 
 in the service. 
 
 Soon the gig dashed alongside and Captain Rodg 
 ers stepped aboard. He had received orders from 
 Washington to get to sea as soon as possible and 
 search for the Guerriere. In an instant all was excite 
 ment and bustle aboard the flagship. The general re 
 call cornet was run up at the main and a gun fired. 
 Boats hurriedly put off to and from the shore, and 
 from other vessels thereabout, and preparations were 
 made to sail at the earliest possible moment. At dawn, 
 May 12th, all was ready. Sharp, quick orders were 
 given in rapid succession, which were promptly re 
 peated by the shrill piping of the boatswain s silver 
 whistle. Men rushed about in seeming confusion, the 
 capstan was manned, the music struck up, and the an 
 chor was wrenched from its comfortable bed at the 
 bottom of the river and soon appeared under the bow, 
 muddy and ugly, as if it did not relish this sudden 
 call to action. The topmen scrambled up the shrouds, 
 swung out on the yards, loosened sail after sail amid 
 the. merry squeaking of the blocks and the creaking 
 of the yards, as they were braced around ; the ship 
 moved forward in dignified majesty, the waters rip 
 pled away on both sides in graceful lines, as if starting 
 aback in mild surprise at such unseemly haste, and 
 
 23 
 
314 THE OUTBREAK. 1811. 
 
 almost before tlie men realized it, the noble frigate was 
 standing down the bay under a cloud of white, belly 
 ing sails, the tall masts making stately bows by way 
 of a farewell to those on shore. Stopping on her way 
 down the bay for some of her people who had been 
 left behind, the President passed the Capes of Virginia 
 and out into the broad ocean. Learning that the com 
 mander of the Guerriere had painted the name of his 
 ship on his foresail, Captain Rodgers caused the Presi 
 dent s name to be placed on each of her three topsails, 
 so that there might be no possible chance of the British 
 frigate mistaking her in case they met. 
 
 At noon on the 16th of May, when about forty miles 
 northeast of Cape Henry, a strange vessel was descried 
 on the eastern horizon, which from the squareness of 
 her yards and symmetry of her sails was at once 
 known to be a man-of-war. On discovering the Presi 
 dent the stranger stood for her under a press of sail. 
 At two o clock signals were exchanged, but as they 
 were unintelligible the stranger continued on her course 
 around Cape Hatteras. In the meantime the breeze 
 had been dying away, so that it was dark before the 
 President drew near. 
 
 "From the symmetry of her upper sails," wrote 
 Captain Rodgers, the stranger was thought to be the 
 Guerriere. At 8.30 p. M. Captain Kodgers hailed, 
 " What ship is that?" and by way of answer the 
 stranger repeated the question. The President again 
 hailed, and this time received a shot in the mainmast. 
 Captain Rodgers then ordered a shot to be fired in re 
 turn, and this induced the stranger to fire three guns 
 in quick succession, which she followed up with a 
 broadside. The President then began firing in earnest, 
 but it was soon perceived that she was engaging a vessel 
 much inferior, both in size and in weight of metal, and 
 when the stranger ceased his fire the President also 
 stopped. But the stranger again fired, whereupon the 
 Americans reopened their broadsides. The enemy 
 
1811. THE PRESIDENT AND THE LITTLE BELT. 315 
 
 soon swung end on, perfectly unmanageable, and Cap 
 tain Rodgers then drew to windward and remained in 
 the vicinity for the night so as to be of assistance if 
 necessary. At the break of day the stranger was 
 seen to leeward, and the President bore down and 
 sent Lieutenant John Orde Creighton aboard with 
 proffers of services. The vessel proved to be the Brit 
 ish 22-gun ship Little Belt, Captain Arthur Batt 
 Bingham. She had suffered severely from the Presi 
 dent s fire, and had lost eleven killed and twenty-one 
 wounded. Captain Bingham declined all assistance, 
 whereupon the ships made for their respective stations. 
 James, in his History of the British Navy, admits 
 that u the act of the Guerriere in pressing a native 
 American citizen out of an American coaster, in the 
 very mouth of an American port, was unjustifiable, 
 unnecessary and impolitic ; and that this wanton en 
 croachment upon neutral rights, coupled with many 
 others which have been practiced along the same coast, 
 was a sufficient ground for the Government of the 
 United States to take every measure, short of actual 
 war, for protecting its commerce and citizens from the 
 repetition of such acts of violence." The question as 
 to which of these vessels fired the first shot is one of 
 veracity. Investigations were held on both sides, and 
 resulted in diverse verdicts. Every sea officer in the 
 President, besides many petty officers, was sworn and 
 examined. The chaplain testified that he felt no jar 
 when the first gun was fired. Such being the case, the 
 first shot could not have been fired from the President. 
 The number and respectability of the witnesses exam 
 ined in the President put an end to all doubt, so far 
 as the Americans were concerned, that the Little Belt 
 fired the first shot. On the other hand, the British 
 ministry credited Captain Bingham s version of the 
 affair, although it is believed that no thorough official 
 investigation was ever made among the Little Belfs 
 officers and men. As no evidence could be adduced 
 
316 THE OUTBREAK. 1811-1812. 
 
 that would settle the dispute, both Governments 
 dropped the matter ; but the people of the two coun 
 tries took up the question with intense bitterness, each 
 placing implicit confidence in the statements of its 
 officers. 
 
 Some weeks after this rencounter the 44-gun frig 
 ate United States, Captain Stephen Decatur, while 
 cruising off the harbor of New York for the protection 
 of American seamen, fell in with the British war ships 
 Eurydice and Atalanta. While the commanders 
 were exchanging hails, a gunner aboard the United 
 States, handling the lanyard of his lock, discharged 
 the gun, afterward averring that it was done acciden 
 tally ; but the circumstances were very suspicious, and 
 Captain Decatur believed that the cannon was fired 
 intentionally with a view of bringing on an action. 
 Fortunately the commanders were cool enough to 
 await explanations before precipitating an engagement. 
 Captain Decatur hastened to apologize for the careless 
 ness of his gunner, and the affair was amicably dis 
 missed ; but the incident serves to show the intense 
 feeling then existing between the two nations, and the 
 careful preparation in which the war ships were kept. 
 
 In the winter of 1811-12 a plot, instigated by emis 
 saries of the British Government, for the dismember 
 ment of the American Union, was discovered to the 
 President and Congress. At the same time depreda 
 tions on American commerce, against which the United 
 States had so long complained, were persisted in ; and 
 these repeated outrages, together with the sound prin 
 ciple that respect between nations is mainly based on 
 force and martial capabilities, induced Congress, on 
 the 18th of June, 1812, to declare war against Great 
 Britain. As soon as war was announced American mer 
 chants sent a swift sailing pilot boat to northern Eu 
 rope to warn American merchantmen to remain in the 
 ports of Sweden, Russia, Denmark and Prussia until 
 the cessation of hostilities. By this means a great 
 
1812. THE NAVY IN 1812. 317 
 
 number of American vessels was saved from capture. 
 The news of the war aroused much interest in the 
 Bonapartist papers of the day, while the Journal de 
 Paris made the following almost prophetic declara 
 tion : " The United States, wearied of the commercial 
 tyranny of England, draws from its scabbard the 
 sword of Washington, which has once already hum 
 bled British pride. The efforts of the Americans excite 
 an interest in those who recall with what insulting hau 
 teur they have been treated by the English Govern 
 ment, which always considers them as revolted colo 
 nies. The probable consequence of this new war will 
 be a mortal blow to that system of commercial monop 
 oly which England for two centuries has so obstinately 
 pursued, and which becomes weaker in proportion as 
 it becomes more extended, because it is contrary to the 
 natural rights of other nations." l 
 
 The United States navy at the beginning of the War 
 of 1812 consisted of the following vessels : The 44-gun 
 frigate President, the 44-gun frigate Constitution, the 
 44-gun frigate United States, the 36-gun frigate Chesa 
 peake, the 36-gun frigate Congress, the 36-gun frigate 
 Constellation, the 32-gun frigate Essex, the 28-gun 
 corvette Adams, the 28-gun corvette John Adams, the 
 18-gun sloop of war Hornet, the 18-gun sloop of war 
 Wasp, the 16-gun brig Argus, the 16-gun brig Siren, 
 the 12-gun schooner Enterprise, the 12-gun Schoon 
 er Nautilus, the 12-gun schooner Vixen, the 10-gun 
 schooner Viper. This makes, in all, seventeen vessels 
 of war, fifteen thousand three hundred tonnage, and 
 four hundred and forty-two guns. The 36-gun frigate 
 New York and the 28-gun corvette Boston were unsea- 
 worthy. The 16-gun brig Oneida was stationed on 
 Lake Ontario. The officers and men numbered five 
 thousand and twenty-five. 
 
 On the 25th of February, 1799, the rate of payment 
 
 1 Journal de Paris, July 29, 1812. 
 
318 THE OUTBREAK. 1799-1817. 
 
 in the navy was established as follows : Captain of a 
 ship of thirty-two guns and upward, $100 a month and 
 eight rations a day ; captain of a ship of twenty guns 
 and under thirty- two guns, $75 and six rations ; master- 
 commandant, $60 and five rations ; lieutenant, $50 and 
 four rations ; any officer employed in the command of 
 a squadron on separate service received double rations,/ 
 and the commanding officer of the navy was entMm 
 to sixteen rations a day. This schedule remained 
 unchanged until April 18, 1814, when the President 
 was authorized "to make an addition of twenty-five 
 per cent to the pay of the officers, petty officers, mid 
 shipmen, seamen and marines engaged in any service, 
 the hardships or disadvantages of which shall in his 
 judgment render such an addition necessary." This 
 law was repealed February 22, 1817. On the 3d of 
 March, 1801, the price of a ration was fixed at twenty 
 cents, and remained at that figure until January 1, 1814, 
 when it was raised to twenty-five cents. In the British 
 navy at this period an admiral of the fleet received $30 
 a day and was entitled to twelve servants, or $15,624 a 
 year ; an admiral received $25 a day and was entitled 
 to ten servants, or $13,831 a year; a vice-admiral re 
 ceived $20 a day and seven servants, or $11,952 a year ; 
 a rear-admiral $15 a day and five servants, or $10,160 a 
 year ; every commander in chief received the further 
 sum of $15 a day while his flag was flying within the 
 limits of his station ; a captain of the fleet received 
 $15 a day and three servants, or $5,122. Each servant 
 was calculated at $8 a month. Besides this, the Brit 
 ish officer enjoyed many privileges and allowances not 
 known in our navy. The pay of the surgeon after 
 six years was $892 ; after ten years, $1,135 ; after twen 
 ty years, $1,460. The pay of physicians of less than 
 three years service was $1,703 ; of less than ten years 
 service, $2,555 ; and after ten years service, $3,406. 
 In the Dutch navy at this time the commander 
 of 74-gun ships received $3,600 a year ; commander 
 
1812. A COMPARISON OF THE TWO NAVIES. 319 
 
 of a frigate, $3,200 ; commander of a sloop of war, 
 $2,000. 
 
 In 1810 Great Britain had one thousand and forty- 
 eight vessels of war, aggregating eight hundred and 
 sixty thousand nine hundred and ninety tons, with 
 twenty-seven thousand eight hundred guns. 1 Her num 
 ber of commissioned officers and masters fit for duty 
 at the beginning of the year 1812 was five thousand 
 two hundred and sixty, while Parliament voted one 
 hundred and forty-five thousand men, though one hun 
 dred and forty-six thousand three hundred and twelve 
 were actually in service. 
 
 A comparison of the two navies. 
 
 Ships. Tons. Guns. Men. 
 
 United States : 17 15,300 442 5,025 
 
 Great Britain : 1,048 860,990 27,800 151,572 
 
 At the beginning of the War of 1812, says the Lon 
 don Times in its issue of December 28, 1812, the Eng 
 lish "had, from Halifax to the West Indies, seven 
 times the armament of the whole American navy," and 
 this force was greatly increased as the war advanced. 
 Besides this, Great Britain had naval ports at Halifax, 
 Bermuda and in the West Indies, which were fitted 
 with docks, arsenals, hospitals and all the appliances 
 for waging active warfare. The Americans, on the 
 other hand, owing to the mistaken policy of econo 
 mists in Congress, were destitute of these facilities. 
 They had no navy yard worthy of the name, the first 
 one being established at Norfolk, Ya., while their 
 means for building, arming, equipping or refitting 
 ships of war were inadequate for the needs of even 
 their few cruisers. 
 
 In a letter to Mr. Cheves, dated December 3, 1811, 
 Paul Hamilton, the Secretary of the Navy, said : " The 
 United States does not own a dock. To repair our ves 
 sels we are compelled to heave them down a process 
 
 1 Chart of the British Navy. F. Perigal. 
 
320 THE OUTBREAK. 1811-1815. 
 
 attended with great labor, considerable risk and loss 
 of time ; and upon a ship thus hove down the carpen 
 ters can not work without much inconvenience. Hence 
 the Department is subjected to much expense, which 
 might be avoided by the construction of one or more 
 suitable docks." On March 3, 1813, a section was intro 
 duced in an Act for Increasing the Navy, appropriating 
 one hundred thousand dollars for the establishment of 
 a dock yard u in such a central and convenient place 
 on the seaboard as the President of the United States 
 shall designate," but this provision was not carried 
 out. At that time the cost of building a dock in Eng 
 land was estimated at from one hundred thousand to 
 five hundred thousand dollars, so that the appropria 
 tion of one hundred thousand dollars by Congress 
 would not have provided a very efficient dock yard. 
 On the 2d of May, 1815, the Commissioners of the Navy 
 informed the Secretary of the Navy that "dry docks 
 were absolutely necessary," and they recommended the 
 construction of three sufficiently large to accommodate 
 the largest class of ships. 
 
 Such being the vast superiority of the forces against 
 which this " untried navy" had to contend, it is not 
 surprising that the Government determined to keep its 
 few cruisers in the harbors, to act merely on the defen 
 sive, fearing to risk them on the high seas. It is not 
 strange that this " contemptible navy" became the 
 butt of ridicule and of the " unmanly taunts" of Eng 
 lish writers ; and when Captain William Bainbridge 
 and Captain Charles Stewart finally prevailed upon 
 the Government to grant our officers at least a trial on 
 the high seas, it is not strange that the Navy Depart 
 ment thought it necessary for them to sail in squad 
 rons, lest by sailing separately they should fall an easy 
 prey to the enemy. That subtile but powerful support 
 called " public opinion," that popular backing which 
 in all ages has infused a spirit of heroism into the 
 breasts of the few so as to carry them over seemingly 
 
1812. LACK OF CONFIDENCE IN THE NAVY. 
 
 insurmountable difficulties, was somewhat chilled, if 
 not entirely lacking in the case of our seamen, when 
 the public and even the Government distrusted their 
 ability to cope with the redoubtable English frigate. 
 It is hard to fight against confidence, and it is still 
 harder to fight without confidence, so that between the 
 contempt shown for them by the enemy and the want 
 of confidence in their prowess on the part of their own 
 countrymen, our officers found the real difficulties of 
 the situation vastly increased. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE FIKST NAVAL EFFORTS OF 1812. 
 
 As soon as war was declared, a courier set out from 
 Washington, and in three days arrived in New York. 
 One hour after receiving the news, Captain John Rodg- 
 ers in the 44-gun frigate President, with the 44-gun 
 frigate United States, Captain Stephen Decatur, the 36- 
 gun frigate Congress, Captain John Smith, the 18-gun 
 sloop Hornet, Master-Commandant James Lawrence, 
 and the 18-gun brig Argus, Lieutenant Arthur Sin 
 clair, got under way and stood down the Narrows. 
 The 32-gun frigate Essex, Captain David Porter, was 
 to sail with this squadron, but could not be prepared 
 in time. The object of Captain Rodgers, besides that 
 of a general cruise against the enemy, was to intercept 
 a fleet of one hundred Jamaica merchant ships which 
 was expected to pass near the coast of the United 
 States about this time. 
 
 Taking a southerly course, the American squadron, 
 at three o clock on the morning of June 23d, spoke to 
 an American vessel, and learned from her master that 
 he had seen the Jamaica fleet steering eastward only 
 two days before. Crowding all sail in that direction, 
 the squadron, at six o clock on the same morning, while 
 thirty-five miles southwest of Nantucket Shoals, discov 
 ered a sail to the northeast. It was the British 36-gun 
 frigate Belmdera, Captain Richard Byron, which was 
 waiting to intercept the French privateer Marengo, 
 hourly expected from New London. A few days pre 
 vious Captain Byron had been informed by pilot boat 
 from New York that war was likely to be declared at 
 
1812. CHASE OF THE BELV1DERA. 323 
 
 any moment, and accordingly he was on the alert. 
 Having sighted the stranger, the Americans abandoned 
 their search for the merchantmen, and made all sail by 
 the wind on the starboard tack to bring up with her. 
 At 8.30 A. M. the stranger made private signals, but 
 as they were not answered she stood away to the 
 northeast with the squadron in pursuit. The wind was 
 fresh from the north, and by 11 A. M. the President 
 had forged ahead of her consorts and was slowly draw 
 ing up on the chase. Captain Eodgers now cleared for 
 action and trained his bow guns on the enemy. About 
 11.30 A. M. the breeze moderated and shifted to the 
 west, giving the Belmdera a slight advantage, which 
 enabled her to keep her lead. This distance she main 
 tained with little variation until 2 P. M., when the wind 
 veered to the south, again giving the President the ad 
 vantage in sailing. By this time the Belmdera was 
 flying English colors. At 4.20 p. M. Captain Rodg- 
 ers personally trained one of his bow chasers on the 
 enemy and fired the first shot of the war ; the second 
 shot was fired from the first division below by Second- 
 Lieutenant Gamble. Captain Rodgers then fired the 
 third gun. One of these shot struck the Belmdertfs 
 rudder coat and went into the after gunroom ; the 
 other two passed into the upper or captain s cabin, 1 one 
 of them striking the muzzle of the port chase gun, and 
 the other, "breaking into several pieces, killed one 
 man, mortally wounded another, severely wounded two, 
 and slightly wounded Lieutenant William Henry Bruce 
 and two men standing beside him in the act of pointing 
 the gun." 2 At 4.25 P. M. the enemy opened from his 
 stern chasers with considerable effect. The President 
 then fired her fourth shot, but the gun burst, which, 
 together with the explosion of the passing box from 
 which the gun was served, killed or wounded sixteen 
 
 1 Official report of Captain Byron. 
 
 2 Allen s Battles of the British Navy, vol. ii, p. 395. 
 
324 THE FIRST NAVAL EFFORTS OF 1812. 1812. 
 
 men, 1 Captain Rodgers being among the latter. He was 
 thrown into the air, and in falling fractured a leg. 
 This disaster so shattered the main and forecastle decks 
 as temporarily to disable the remaining bow chasers. 
 
 The broadside guns were then single-shotted, and 
 yawing to port, the President delivered her starboard 
 fire. This cut the Belmdertis "rigging and sails much, 
 the long bolts, breeching hooks and breechings of the 
 guns and carronades frequently breaking. " 2 Resuming 
 her course, the President again opened from her bow 
 guns, and the enemy s fire also had become very accu 
 rate, almost every shot hulling or injuring the Presi 
 dent. One shot, plunging on her deck, killed one mid 
 shipman and wounded several seamen. At 5 P. M. Cap 
 tain Rodgers tacked and delivered another effective 
 broadside. The Belmdera now had several of her 
 backstays, main shrouds and studding-sails halyards 
 shot away, and her crossjack yard badly wounded." 8 
 Again following in the enemy s wake, Captain Rodgers 
 still gained, in spite of the galling fire that the chase 
 kept up on his rigging and spars. When the President 
 came to the wind to deliver her last broadside Captain 
 Byron noticed that her head sails lifted, and so con 
 cluded that she had in some degree lost the effect of 
 her helm. He then quickly came to with the Belm 
 dera, hoping to be able to rake the American before 
 she could follow the manoeuvre ; but the President was 
 too prompt, and after giving a yaw the Belmdera was 
 brought back to her course. By 6.30 P. M. the Presi 
 dent had still more reduced her distance from the ene 
 my. Seeing that his situation was becoming desperate, 
 Captain Byron began throwing overboard his spare 
 anchors, barge, yawl and jolly boat, and pumped out 
 fourteen tons of water. 4 This had the desired effect, 
 
 1 Official report of Captain Rodgers. 
 
 2 Official report of Captain Byron. 
 
 3 James History of the British Navy, vol. v, p. 359. 
 
 4 Log of the Belvidera. 
 
1812. CHASE OF THE BELVIDERA. 325 
 
 and from that time the President, being heavily laden 
 for a long cruise, steadily lost ground. "Four of the 
 Belvidertfs boats were seen floating by the President, 
 completely knocked to pieces, together with a great 
 number of casks, spars etc." 1 By still further easing 
 his ship Captain Byron was soon out of gunshot, and 
 by 8 P. M. was two miles in advance of his pursuers. 
 The chase was maintained in hope that some of the 
 enemy s spars might give way, but at 11.30 p. M., seeing 
 that it would be impossible to come up with him, Cap 
 tain Rodgers gave the signal of recall. 
 
 In this chase the President lost three men killed 
 and nineteen wounded, of whom sixteen were dis 
 abled by the bursting of the bow gun, Second- Lieu ten 
 ant Gamble being among the wounded. She also suf 
 fered to some extent in her rigging, while her sails 
 and spars were much damaged. The Belmdera lost 
 two men killed and twenty-two wounded. 2 Among the 
 latter was Captain Byron, who received a severe con 
 tusion on the left thigh. Besides the injuries already 
 mentioned, the British frigate suffered extensively in 
 her rigging, while her "main topmast was badly 
 wounded." 3 
 
 Having lost the Belmdera, the American cruisers 
 resumed their search for the Jamaica ships, and on the 
 1st of July they fell in with "quantities of cocoanut 
 shells and orange peels," which showed that they were 
 in the wake of the fleet ; but owing to dense fogs noth 
 ing was seen of the merchantmen, although they must 
 have been within a few miles of the squadron. On the 
 9th of July the Hornet captured an English letter of 
 marque. By the 13th the American cruisers had ar 
 rived "within eighteen or twenty hours sail of the 
 English channel," 4 when they steered southward. 
 
 1 Private account of one of the officers in the President. 
 
 2 James History of the British Navy, vol. v, p. 360. 
 
 3 Log of the Belvidera. 
 
 4 Journal of Captain Rodgers. 
 
326 THE FIRST NAVAL EFFORTS OF 1812. 1812. 
 
 Passing the Madeiras, the Western Isles and the 
 Grand Banks, Captain Rodgers arrived in Boston on 
 the 29th of August, having been at sea sixty-nine 
 days. 
 
 The meager results of this first essay of the navy on 
 the high seas caused great disappointment throughout 
 the country. The squadron had been fitted out with 
 much care, was commanded by experienced officers and 
 had the advantage of taking the enemy unawares, and 
 it was confidently expected that a heavy blow would 
 be struck at British commerce. It is not surprising, 
 then, that the people, when the most formidable naval 
 force which they could hope to get together during the 
 war came back without having accomplished its pur 
 pose, were confirmed in their doubts as to the ability of 
 their navy to meet the mistress of the seas. 
 
 The Essex, Captain David Porter, twelve days after 
 the American cruisers left New York, got under way 
 for a cruise to the south in search of the British 36-gun 
 frigate Thetis, which contained a large amount of 
 specie for South America. After taking a few prizes 
 on this course, and failing to meet the Thetis, the Essex 
 headed north, and on the night of July 10th she came 
 across a fleet of merchantmen. As the moon was ob 
 scured by clouds, the approach of the Essex was not 
 observed, and Captain Porter determined to avail him 
 self of this circumstance to ascertain the force of the 
 escort, and, if it did not prove too strong, to carry her 
 by surprise. Every precaution was taken to deceive 
 the strangers as to the Essex* character. Her guns 
 were run in and the ports closed, the topgallant masts 
 housed, sails were trimmed in a slovenly manner, the 
 men were carefully concealed, save a few to work the 
 ship, and every other effort was made to give her the 
 appearance of a merchantman. Waiting until three 
 o clock in the morning, the Essex filled away and un 
 der easy canvas gradually drew among the strangers. 
 The escort of the fleet was soon discovered some dis- 
 
1812. THE ESSEX AUDACIOUS NIGHT ATTACK. 327 
 
 tance in advance, but she was not near enough for 
 Captain Porter to make out her force. Edging along 
 side of the sternmost vessel, Captain Porter opened a 
 conversation with her master, from which he gathered 
 that the fleet was transporting about a thousand sol 
 diers from Barbadoes to Quebec, and that the convoy 
 ing vessel was the British 32-gun frigate Minerva, 
 Captain Richard Hawkins ; besides which there was a 
 bomb ship and several heavily armed merchantmen. 
 
 As the people of the vessel thus spoken to did not 
 seem to be suspicious of the Essex, Captain Porter 
 drew still more into the fleet for the purpose of getting 
 alongside of the Minerva. Drawing carefully ahead, 
 he spoke to a second vessel, but the appearance of the 
 Essex so alarmed the master of this ship that he was 
 about to signal the escort that a stranger had joined 
 the fleet, when the Essex* ports were thrown up and 
 twenty black muzzles were thrust out. The English 
 man was then commanded to maintain the strictest 
 silence and to follow close in the frigate s wake, under 
 penalty of being blown out of the water. So skillfully 
 did Captain Porter manoeuvre his ship and prize out 
 of the fleet, that the other vessels did not manifest the 
 first symptoms of alarm. Taking the vessel out a short 
 distance, he found her to be a brig with one hundred 
 and ninety^seven British soldiers aboard. Returning 
 to the fleet, the Essex was about to renew her hazard 
 ous attack when the morning light discovered her to 
 the enemy, and, seeing that further disguise was un 
 necessary, Captain Porter trimmed his ship in true 
 man of war style, cleared for action and offered battle 
 to the Minerva. But Captain Hawkins, although the 
 Essex and her prize remained for some time on the 
 outskirts of his convoy, deemed it his duty to abide by 
 fche remainder of his vessels, so, leaving the Essex, he 
 continued his course for Quebec, while Captain Porter 
 resumed his course to the south. His prize afterward 
 was ransomed for fourteen thousand dollars. 
 
328 THE FIRST NAVAL EFFORTS OF 1812. 1812. 
 
 From this time the Esse-x met nothing worthy of 
 note until the 13th of August, when a sail was made 
 out which proved to be a man of war. The men of 
 the Essex, who had become skillful in the art of dis 
 guising their ship, gave the Essex the appearance of a 
 merchantman endeavoring to escape. " We put our 
 drags astern and led the enemy to believe we were de 
 sirous of making our escape by sending men aloft, 
 shaking out the reefs, mastheading the yards, and 
 making sail." 1 So well was the deception kept up 
 that the stranger, dispensing with the usual manoeu 
 vres for ascertaining the speed and force of an antago 
 nist, ran down on the weather quarter, gave three cheers 
 and opened fire. The Essex responded with a broad 
 side, which, followed up with a steady fire, reduced the 
 enemy to a sinking condition in " eight minutes," 2 
 when she surrendered. On sending Lieutenant Finch 
 (afterward Captain Bolton) aboard the prize she was 
 found to be the British 16-gun ship-sloop Alert, Cap 
 tain Thomas Lamb Paulden Laugharne. The Alert car 
 ried two long 12-pounders and eighteen short 32- 
 pounders, with eighty-six men. Only three of her men 
 were wounded, 8 but her rigging and hull were badly in 
 jured, and seven feet of water was in the hold. The 
 Essex, mounting forty 32-pounders and six long 12- 
 pounders, did not "receive the slightest injury," 4 all 
 the shot from the Alert falling wide of the mark. 
 When the seamen in the British ship had come fairly 
 alongside of the Essex and had received her first broad 
 side, they deserted their guns and "went aft to request 
 their captain to strike the colors," 5 and several of them, 
 on being exchanged, were executed. The British offi 
 cial report of this action has not been published. The 
 
 1 Farragut s Journal. 
 
 2 Official report of Captain Porter. 
 
 3 Washington Irving s Spanish Papers. 
 
 4 Official report of Captain Porter. 
 
 5 James History of the British Navy, vol. v, p. 366. 
 
1812. A BRITISH CONSPIRACY IN THE ESSEX. 329 
 
 flag of the Alert is preserved in the Naval Institute 
 Building at Annapolis. 
 
 The Essex now had five hundred prisoners aboard, 
 who outnumbered her crew two to one, and it was not 
 long before a conspiracy was formed to capture the 
 frigate and carry her into Halifax. But the plot was 
 frustrated in a manner which again illustrates the su 
 perior discipline that was maintained in the United 
 States navy. Mention has already been made of a 
 habit Captain Porter had of sounding the alarm of fire 
 at all hours of the night when the ship was at sea, 
 and of still further testing the nerves of his crew by 
 starting a fire in the hatches, so as thoroughly to ac 
 custom the men to the danger. The coxswain of the 
 AlerVs gig was the leader in the conspiracy to capture 
 the ship, and on the night determined upon for the at 
 tempt he approached the hammock of Midshipman 
 David Glasgow Farragut, famous in the Civil War, pis 
 tol in hand, to see if he were awake. Feigning to be 
 asleep, young Farragut, as soon as the coxswain passed 
 on, slipped out of his hammock unobserved, crept into 
 the cabin and informed Captain Porter of what was 
 going on. Captain Porter promptly rushed into the 
 berth deck giving the alarm of "Fire!" The well- 
 trained American crew promptly responded to the call 
 and repaired to the main hatch, where they were armed 
 and received their orders from Captain Porter. The 
 prisoners became panic-stricken, and were secured be 
 fore they recovered from their confusion. 
 
 Desiring to rid himself of his dangerous prisoners, 
 but being unwilling to return immediately to port, Cap 
 tain Porter, after having thrown all the AlerVs guns 
 overboard, employed her as a cartel, and sent the pris 
 oners to Nova Scotia on parole under the command of 
 Lieutenant James P. Wilmer. This arrangement, al 
 though agreed to by Captain Laugharne, was not in ac 
 cordance with the rules of war, for the Essex was still 
 several days from port and liable to lawful capture, 
 
 24 
 
330 THE FIRST NAVAL EFFORTS OF 1812. 1812. 
 
 and her prisoners to recapture. By thus disposing of 
 his prisoners on the open sea Captain Porter deprived 
 British cruisers of this chance to recapture them, but 
 Admiral Sir John T. Duckworth generously sustained 
 the agreement made by his subordinate, saying, "I 
 am willing to give proof at once of my respect for the 
 liberality with which the captain of the Essex has 
 acted in more than one instance toward British sub 
 jects who have fallen into his hands." 
 
 About midnight, August 30th, Captain Porter dis 
 covered a suspicious sail standing toward him, but 
 the stranger, after making a private signal, consist 
 ing of two flashes and a blue light, and finding 
 that it was not answered, put about and crowded all 
 sail to escape, and by daybreak she was nowhere to be 
 seen. 
 
 On the night of September 4th, while in latitude 39 
 11 North, longitude 70 22 West, the Essex was chased 
 by the 38-gun frigate Shannon, Captain Philip Bowes 
 Vere Broke, and another ship. Believing that the two 
 British ships had become separated in the night, Cap 
 tain Porter determined under cover of the darkness to 
 surprise the leading frigate (the Shannon, although 
 Captain Porter was ignorant of her name) and to carry 
 her by boarding an attempt fully in keeping with the 
 daring of the American commander and crew, as is 
 shown in the Essex? subsequent career in the Pacific. 
 All lights were extinguished, the stream anchor and 
 cable were triced up to the main yard, ready to be 
 dropped on the enemy s deck, and every preparation 
 was made to board the English ship. The Essex was 
 then put about and a sharp lookout was kept for the 
 enemy. As the night wore on, however, no trace of the 
 Shannon could be found, and at daybreak the ships 
 were not in sight. Captain Porter then headed for the 
 United States, and arrived in the Delaware on the 7th 
 of September. During this cruise of sixty days the 
 Essex made nine prizes, secured over five hundred pris- 
 
1812. THE CONSTITUTION IN PORTSMOUTH, ENGLAND. 331 
 
 oners and recaptured five American privateers and mer 
 chantmen. 
 
 In the latter part of the year 1811 the 44-gun frigate 
 Constitution, Captain Isaac Hull, was dispatched to 
 Europe with specie for payment of interest due on the 
 debt to Holland. From the Texel the Constitution pro 
 ceeded to Portsmouth in order to communicate with the 
 legation in London. Late one night, while she was in 
 this port, a British officer came aboard with the informa 
 tion that an American deserter was in the British man- 
 of-war Havana, and that he would be given up when 
 desired. On the following morning a boat was sent for 
 him, but the British commander said that it was neces 
 sary first to get an order from Admiral Sir Roger Cur 
 tis. In the absence of Captain Hull, First-Lieutenant 
 Charles Morris, of the Constitution, waited on the ad 
 miral, but was informed that the deserter claimed to be 
 a British subject and that he would not be given up. 
 Additional sentries were now stationed in the Constitu 
 tion, and on the following night the report of a musket 
 shot startled the ship s company. Hastening to the 
 deck, Lieutenant Morris found that a deserter from the 
 Havana had come aboard, and on being asked his 
 nationality he answered in an unmistakable brogue, 
 " An American, sor." Lieutenant Morris sent word to 
 the commander of the Havana that a British deserter 
 was aboard the Constitution, and the next morning the 
 American officer had the satisfaction of refusing to 
 give up the man, and assigned the same reason as that 
 given by Admiral Curtis when he refused to give up 
 the deserter from the Constitution. This spirited re 
 fusal aroused much angry comment on the part of the 
 British officers in the port, and threats of using force 
 were freely expressed. Signals were now made from 
 the British flagship, and soon afterward two frigates 
 bore down on the Constitution and anchored so near 
 that it was almost impossible for her to get under way 
 without fouling them. With much skill Lieutenant 
 
332 THE FIRST NAVAL EFFORTS OF 1812. 1812. 
 
 Morris got the American frigate under way and an 
 chored a short distance from his objectionable neigh 
 bors ; but he had scarcely done so when the two 
 British ships also got under way and again anchored 
 close beside him. 
 
 That evening Captain Hull came aboard, with sev 
 eral American gentlemen as passengers, and gave the 
 order to put to sea. As the Americans anticipated 
 trouble, the crew was sent to quarters, the battle lan 
 terns were lighted, the decks cleared, and ammunition 
 was piled near the guns in readiness for immediate 
 action. The anchor was then weighed and the ship 
 stood down the Roads, while the two British frigates 
 also got under way and followed the American ship to 
 sea. Captain Hull had no intention of being taken un 
 prepared, like Captain James Barron in the Chesa 
 peake, when that ship was attacked by the Leopard, 
 in 1807, and he made every preparation for a desperate 
 resistance. The swift-sailing Constitution led the 
 Englishmen a long chase, and soon left one of their 
 frigates far behind ; but their second ship still main 
 tained the pursuit. "If that fellow wants to fight," 
 remarked Captain Hull to a lieutenant, " we won t 
 disappoint him," and he gave the order to heave to, 
 and allowed the Englishman to come up. Every one 
 now believed that the Chesapeake- Leopard affair was 
 to be repeated, and as the British frigate came within 
 hail the eagerness of the entire ship s company for an 
 action was at a high pitch. The men pulled the gun 
 tackles as if they would jerk the bolts through the side 
 of the ship, while the officers, passing through the dif 
 ferent divisions to see that everything was in readiness 
 for immediate action, gave words of encouragement to 
 the crew. But the men needed no urging. "Let the 
 quarter-deck look out for the colors, and we ll look after 
 the guns," replied one brawny tar who had stripped to 
 the waist, eager for the fray. Whether the too evident 
 desire of the American frigate to engage rendered the 
 
1812. CHASE OF THE CONSTITUTION. 333 
 
 Englishman more cautious, or whether the chase was 
 intended merely to bully the American commander into 
 surrendering the deserter, is not known, but on coming 
 within hail the Englishman exchanged a few common 
 place hails and then stood about on a different course. 
 When the drum beat the retreat and the boatswain 
 piped the men down there was a sorely disappointed 
 lot of men in the American frigate. They were dis 
 gusted at this tame ending of a valorous chase. The 
 Constitution resumed her course for Cherbourg, and 
 remaining at that port only long enough to refit, she 
 stood over to America, and in due time arrived in the 
 Chesapeake, where she was cleaned and coppered. 
 
 Captain Hull now learned of the beginning of hos 
 tilities, and shipping a new crew, many of whom had 
 "never been on an armed vessel before," 1 one hundred 
 having joined the ship the night before she sailed, he 
 put to sea on the 12th of July with instructions to join 
 the squadron under the command of Captain Rodgers 
 at JSTew York. Although the crew of the Constitution 
 was largely made up of inexperienced men, yet her 
 officers were among the best in the service. They were : 
 Charles Morris, first lieutenant ; Alexander Scammel 
 Wadsworth (an uncle of the poet Longfellow), second 
 lieutenant ; George Campbell Read, third lieutenant ; 
 Beekman Yerplank Hoffman, fourth lieutenant ; John 
 Templer Shubrick, fifth lieutenant ; Charles W. Mor 
 gan, a midshipman who was acting as sixth lieutenant ; 
 John C. Alwyn, sailing-master; William S. Brush and 
 John Contee, lieutenants of marines ; Amos E. Evans, 
 surgeon ; John D. Armstrong and Donaldson Yeates, 
 surgeon s mates ; Thomas J. Chew, purser ; Henry 
 Gilliam, Thomas Beatty, William D. Salter, Lewis 
 German, William L. Gordon, Ambrose D. Field, Fred 
 erick Baury, Joseph Cross, J. Alexander Belcher, 
 William Taylor, Alexander Eskridge, James W. De- 
 
 1 Official report of Captain Hull. 
 
334: THE FIRST NAVAL EFFORTS OF 1812. 1812. 
 
 lancy, James Greenlaw, Allen Griffin and John Taylor, 
 midshipmen ; Peter Adams, boatswain, and Robert 
 Anderson, gunner. In keeping with the timorous pol 
 icy of the Government, Captain Hull had been particu 
 larly instructed "not to voluntarily encounter a force 
 superior to his own." 
 
 Till the 17th of July the Constitution had been 
 progressing on an uneventful voyage, when at two 
 o clock in the afternoon four sails were made out di 
 rectly ahead about twelve miles off Barnegat. At this 
 moment the ship was under easy canvas, and the 
 weather was clear, with a fresh breeze from the north 
 east. At three o clock the lead showed eighteen and a 
 half fathoms, and finding that he was getting too near 
 the coast, Captain Hull went about on the opposite 
 tack, steering due east. The vessels in sight were 
 Captain Philip Bowes Yere Broke s blockading squad 
 ron, which consisted of the following ships : The 38-gun 
 frigate Shannon, Captain Broke ; the 64-gun razee 
 Africa, Captain John Bastard ; the 36-gun frigate 
 Belmdera, Captain Richard Byron ; and the 32-gun 
 frigate Molus, Captain Lord James Townshend. On 
 the same day this squadron had captured the United 
 States 12-gun schooner Nautilus, Lieutenant William 
 Montgomery Crane, but not without a hard chase of 
 six hours, in which all her lee guns were thrown over 
 board. The Nautilus was added to the British serv 
 ice (her name being changed to Emulous, as the Eng- 
 glish had just lost a cruiser of that name), and Lieuten 
 ant Crane and his officers and men, one hundred and 
 six in all, were taken aboard the Africa. 
 
 At 4 P. M. Captain Hull descried another sail to the 
 north, which, being to windward, was in a position to 
 close. This ship, which proved to be the 38-gun frig 
 ate Guerriere, Captain James Richard Dacres, did 
 not seem desirous of coming down, and, on sighting 
 the Constitution, kept her wind. The breeze contin 
 ued light from the northeast until 6.30 P. M., when it 
 
1812. THE CHASE OP THE CONSTITUTION. 335 
 
 shifted around to the southeast, giving the Americans 
 the weather gage. Availing himself of this, Captain 
 Hull bore down on the Guerriere, keeping her just off 
 his port bow, and at 7.30 P. M., being nearly within 
 gunshot, he cleared for action and beat to quarters. 
 For two hours longer the two frigates silently contin 
 ued on converging courses, cautiously drawing nearer 
 to each other. At 10.30 p. M. Captain Hull made the 
 private night signals and kept them up forty-five min 
 utes, without getting an answer ; but he was unwill 
 ing to engage, as the strangers first discovered were 
 still in his wake. At half past three in the morning, 
 July 18th, the Guerriere, then only half a mile to lee 
 ward, fired two guns and a rocket, and immediately 
 afterward made all sail before the wind, and when day 
 broke she was fully two miles northward. In explana 
 tion of this sudden flight of the Guerriere, James says : 
 " These two frigates continued to near each other, and 
 at 3. 30 A. M. on the 18th were only half a mile apart ; 
 when, observing on his lee beam two other frigates, the 
 Belmdera and Molus, and astern of them three more 
 vessels, the Shannon, the Africa and a schooner [the 
 Nautilus}, none of whom answered or appeared to un 
 derstand his signals, Captain Dacres concluded that 
 they were the squadron of Captain Rodgers, and 
 tacked." 1 
 
 The same mistake seems to have been made by the 
 other British commanders. Captain Byron reported : 
 "lam much concerned that the blame should fall so 
 heavily on Captain Dacres of the Guerriere. We were 
 at quarters all night. The Guerriere and the Ameri 
 can frigate were seen from us most of the night, and 
 being near together, the impression on my mind was 
 that they were both American frigates. We often 
 saw lights on board both of them during the night, and 
 I thought they were making signals to each other. I 
 
 1 James History of the British Navy, vol. v, p. 370. 
 
336 THE FIRST NAVAL EFFORTS OF 1812. 1812. 
 
 expected to be in action very early in the morning, and 
 did not make signals, being apprehensive that they 
 might induce the enemy to make sail from us. I 
 really did not think, from the squadron s position in 
 the evening, that the Guerriere would take the Belm- 
 dera and the JEolus to be American frigates. About 
 seven bells in the middle watch, as it must have been 
 (as the night signal appears to have been made by the 
 Guerriere at 3.15 A. M.), it [the signal] was reported to 
 me on the quarter-deck ; but from the haziness of the 
 morning I was not satisfactorily convinced that it w T as 
 the real night signal. I rather thought it was the sig 
 nal to distinguish British ships from the enemy when 
 going into or in action, and I had mine hanging at the 
 gaff, ready for showing, all night. The American 
 came down within a mile of my bow and hauled close 
 upon the starboard tack. My anxiety w r as not to 
 frighten him away by signals. I am now sorry that I 
 did not answer the Guerriertfs signals, but as it was 
 so near daylight a day signal might nearly be seen as 
 well. I considered the rockets and guns of the Guer 
 riere as announcing an enemy in view ; but whether 
 one or more ships, the daylight immediately coming on 
 would inform us." 
 
 Daylight showed that the strangers were British 
 ships, and Captain Hull immediately put about to the 
 south to escape. At 5 A. M. the wind, which had been 
 light, failed entirely. At that moment the Belm- 
 dera was about four miles off the Constitutions lee 
 quarter, Captain Dacres, in the Guerriere (who by this 
 time had discovered the strangers to be friends), was 
 to leeward of the Belvidera, the Shannon was on 
 the weather quarter of the Guerriere^ and the other 
 ships brought up the rear. At 5.15 A. M. Captain 
 Hull hoisted out the first cutter and got his other boats 
 to tow. In the meantime a 24-pounder was hoisted 
 from the main deck to the quarter-deck, to be used as a 
 stern chaser, and an 18-pounder from the forecastle 
 
1812 THE CHASE OF THE CONSTITUTION. 337 
 
 was brought aft, a portion of the taffrail being cut 
 away to make room for it. Then two more guns were 
 run out of the cabin ports, giving the Constitution in 
 all four stern chasers. 1 The American frigate then set 
 her topgallant studding sails and staysails. 
 
 At 5.45 A. M. Captain Byron, of the Belmdera, de 
 tecting the means by which the Constitution was slow 
 ly drawing away, sent his boats ahead to tow, and this 
 expedient was then resorted to by nearly all the com 
 manders. Every effort that ingenuity or experience 
 could suggest was made to increase the Constitution s 
 headway, and even the hammocks were removed from 
 the nettings and the cloths rolled up to prevent their 
 unfavorable action. "But in spite of all these exer 
 tions," wrote Lieutenant Morris, "our chance fores- 
 cape was considered hopeless. For many months the 
 Constitution had proved a very dull sailer, especially 
 during the late cruise in Europe, and it was supposed 
 that the first steady breeze would bring up such a force 
 as would render resistance of no avail, and our situa 
 tion seemed hopeless. At about eight o clock one of 
 the British frigates called all the boats of the squadron 
 to her, and having arranged them for towing, furled all 
 sail. This brought her toward us steadily and seemed 
 to decide our fate. Fortunately for us, however, a 
 slight breeze sent us forward a few hundred yards be 
 fore the English frigate could set her sails to profit by 
 it." 2 This light puff of air soon died away, and again 
 the British frigate was slowly but surely drawing up 
 to her prey. The enemy now opened fire, and some of 
 his shot passed over the Constitution ! 
 
 At this critical juncture, the lead showing twenty- 
 six fathoms, First- Lieu tenant Charles Morris suggested 
 the feasibility of kedging. " With our minds excited 
 to the utmost to devise means for escape, I happened 
 
 1 Log of the Constitution. 
 
 2 Autobiography of Commodore Morris. 
 
P,38 THE FIRST NAVAL EFFORTS OF 1812. 1812. 
 
 to recollect that, when obliged by the timidity of my 
 old commander, - , to warp the President in and 
 out of harbors where others depended on sails, our 
 practice had enabled us to give her a speed of nearly 
 three miles an hour." 1 As the situation of the frigate 
 was growing desperate, Captain Hull resolved to at 
 tempt kedging, and accordingly the hawsers and rig 
 ging in the ship, from a five-inch rope upward, were 
 spliced into a line nearly a mile long, one end of which 
 was bent to a kedge or small anchor and carried 
 ahead of the frigate in a boat to the full extent of the 
 line and dropped into the water. The men then seized 
 the inboard end, and, hauling slowly and carefully at 
 first, until the ship was in motion, gradually increased 
 the tension, and ran aft with it, thus warping the ship 
 ahead. In the meantime another line and kedge were 
 prepared, so that by the time the first kedge was 
 tripped the second was ready to be hauled on. The 
 Constitution now fired a gun and hoisted her colors by 
 way of waving an adieu. It was some time before the 
 puzzled Englishmen could understand how the Ameri 
 can frigate, out of sight of land and in a calm, could 
 thus glide from their grasp. But it was only for a 
 short time that Captain Hull enjoyed the enemy s per 
 plexity, for Captain Byron (who by this time undoubt 
 edly was well versed in the arts of escape) discovered 
 the secret, and promptly followed his example by 
 " bending all his hawsers to one another and working 
 two kedges at the same time." 2 It is difficult to de 
 termine to whom should be adjudged the praise : to 
 the Yankee for his ingenuity in devising means of 
 escape, or to the British tar for the readiness he dis 
 played in imitation. 
 
 At 9.09 A. M. a light breeze sprang up from the 
 south, and Captain Hull braced by the wind on the 
 
 1 Autobiography of Commodore Morris. 
 
 2 Marshall s History of the English Navy, vol. ii, p. 627. 
 
Chase of the Constitution. 
 
 In order to make the sails hold the wind better, streams of water were 
 played on them, and buckets of water were dashed on the upper sails. 
 
1812. THE CHASE OF THE CONSTITUTION. 339 
 
 port tack, and, without losing an inch, of headway, ran 
 his boats up to their davits or suspended them from 
 spars in the chains by temporary tackles with their 
 crews still in them, ready to resume towing again at a 
 moment s notice. The breeze came at a most oppor 
 tune time, for the enemy, having put all his boats 
 on the leading ship, was gradually bringing her into 
 long range. Once there, she would soon have crippled 
 the Constitution s spars and rigging, so that, when the 
 wind did serve, the Belvidera and the Guerriere would 
 have had no difficulty in closing. But, seeing the 
 American frigate for the third time eluding their 
 clutches, the Guerriere fired a harmless broadside. At 
 10 A. M. it again fell calm, when Captain Hull prompt 
 ly sent his boats out to resume towing and kedging. 
 The enemy then got all his boats on the Belmdertfs 
 tow line, which enabled her to gain so much that Cap 
 tain Hull was compelled to lighten his ship by pump 
 ing out twenty-three hundred and thirty-five gallons 
 of water. 
 
 The wind continued light and baffling throughout 
 the morning and afternoon, and at 1.53 P. M. the Belvi 
 dera was nearly within range and opened fire, which 
 the Constitution returned with her stern chasers, but 
 as the shot fell short the frigates soon desisted. Thus 
 with towing and kedging the afternoon of the 18th was 
 passed. At 7 P. M. Captain Hull lowered his first cutter, 
 the green cutter and gig, and sent them ahead to tow, 
 but at 10.53 P. M. a fresh breeze sprang up from the 
 south, and the boats were run up to their places, and 
 the fore topmast staysail and main topgallant studding 
 sail were set. This gave the exhausted crews much- 
 needed rest. No one, however, thought of turning 
 in," but the men caught snatches of sleep whenever it 
 was possible. The officers did not once leave the deck, 
 and when relieved they threw themselves on the quar 
 ter-deck, sleeping on ropes, sails or any place where 
 sleep was possible. All the men slept at quarters. At 
 
340 
 
 THE FIRST NAVAL EFFORTS OF 1812. 
 
 1812. 
 
 midnight it again fell calm, but the commanders of all 
 the ships allowed their men to rest until 2 A. M., July 
 19th, when towing and kedging were resumed and con 
 tinued until daylight, at which time the Belmdera, 
 having gained a position off the lee beam of the Con- 
 
 Hoisting the boats. 
 
 stitution, stood about to close. In order to avoid her 
 Captain Hull tacked likewise, but in so doing he was 
 compelled to pass within gunshot of the JEolus on the 
 contrary tack. Much to the surprise of alJ, Captain 
 Lord James Townshend, late of the Halifax, did not 
 offer to exchange broadsides, and allowed the Consti 
 tution to pass unmolested. At 9 A. M. an American 
 merchantman hove in sight, and in hopes of decoying 
 her under her guns the Belmdera hoisted American 
 colors. To counteract this, Captain Hull showed Eng 
 lish flags, which induced the merchant ship to make 
 
1812. THE CHASE OF THE CONSTITUTION. 341 
 
 all sail before the wind, and as the British were too in 
 tent on capturing the Constitution to detach a frigate, 
 she soon disappeared below the horizon. 
 
 By noon the wind had become light again, and it 
 continued so throughout the afternoon. All this time 
 the Constitution kept about four miles ahead of the 
 enemy s leading ship, the Betmdera. The ships were 
 now in latitude 38 47 North and longitude 73 53 
 West. At 6.30 P. M. a squall of wind and rain was seen 
 approaching, and Captain Hull, still being to wind 
 ward, determined on a stratagem by which he hoped to 
 increase his lead. Everything was kept fast until just 
 before the squall struck the ship, when, in an incredi 
 bly short time, all the light sails were furled, a double 
 reef was put in the mizzen topsail, and every precau 
 tion taken to make snug for a heav.y blow. Observing 
 these extreme preparations, the English commanders 
 supposed, as Captain Hull intended, that a squall of 
 unusual violence was coming down, so, without wait 
 ing for it to reach them, they began shortening sail 
 and clewing down, and bore up before the wind, which 
 headed them in a direction opposite to that which the 
 Constitution was taking. The squall, as Captain Hull 
 could see, was light, and as soon as the rain shut in his 
 frigate from the enemy s view he made sail and soon 
 had his ship bowling along with a stiff breeze at eleven 
 knots, instead of having her on her beam ends as his 
 pursuers supposed. In forty-five minutes the squall 
 had blown over, when the British squadron was seen 
 so far to leeward as to relieve the Americans of imme 
 diate fear of capture, but the enemy with commendable 
 tenacity persevered in the chase throughout the follow 
 ing night and until half past eight o clock on the morn 
 ing of the 20th, when they gave it up and stood about 
 to the northeast. 
 
 This celebrated chase extended over three nights 
 and two days or sixty-six hours and thirty minutes 
 during which time Captain Hull displayed an indomi- 
 
342 THE FIRST NAVAL EFFORTS OF 1812. 1812. 
 
 table perseverance and skillful seamanship, which have 
 justly ranked him among the greatest of our naval com 
 manders. Nor must the officers and men who so gal 
 lantly supported their leader during all these trying 
 hours be forgotten. It will be remembered that when 
 the Constitution sailed from the Chesapeake, five days 
 before, her crew had assembled on her deck for the 
 first time ; many of them were then, for the first time, 
 in a vessel of war, and had not as yet been thoroughly 
 instructed in the duties or accustomed to the exact 
 ing discipline of a man-of-war. In spite of this, such 
 coolness and order were maintained during the chase 
 that not a single boat was abandoned. As each breeze 
 struck the ship every boat was run up in perfect or 
 der, and the frigate continued her headway without 
 checking her speed, the only losses being a few spars 
 and the twenty- three hundred and thirty-five gallons 
 of water. " The launch and first cutter, which we 
 dared not lose, were hoisted on board at six o clock, 
 under the direction of Captain Hull, with so little loss 
 of time or change of sails that our watching enemies 
 could not conceive what disposition was made of them. 
 This we afterward learned from Lieutenant Crane, who 
 was a prisoner in their squadron. " l Equal praise can 
 not be awarded to the British commanders. Although 
 they did not commit conspicuous errors, and perse 
 vered in the chase with praiseworthy persistency, yet, 
 notwithstanding the fact that their vessels were manned 
 by experienced crews (the crew of the /Shannon having 
 served together in the same ship and under the same 
 commander upward of four years), they not only cut 
 adrift many boats and spent much time in picking 
 them up after the chase, 2 but they were completely 
 outmano3uvred. So confident were they of taking the 
 American frigate, that Captain Broke had selected a 
 
 1 Autobiography of Commodore Morris. 
 
 2 See the Shannon s log. 
 
1812. THE CHASE OF THE CONSTITUTION. 343 
 
 prize crew from " his Shannons" who were to have the 
 honor of sailing the Constitution to Halifax. Captain 
 Broke gives the following account of this chase in his 
 journal: "July 18. At dawn, an American frigate 
 within four miles of the squadron. Had a most fa 
 tiguing and anxious chase, both towing and kedging, 
 etc., as opportunity offered. American frigate ex 
 changed a few shot with Belmdera, carried near the 
 enemy by a partial breeze. Cut our boats adrift, but 
 all in vain ; the Constitution sailed well and escaped." 
 Captain Byron, of the Belmdera, wrote, "Nothing can 
 exceed my mortification from the extraordinary escape 
 of the American frigate." The Rev. Dr. Brighton, in 
 his Memoirs of Sir Philip Broke, says : " The vexation 
 of the whole British squadron may be inferred from 
 Admiral King s account of the sharp recriminations 
 among the sailors. The commanders of the little 
 squadron exchanged their explanations in the Shan 
 non s cabin." 
 
 After running the British squadron out of sight the 
 Constitution headed northward, and on the following 
 Sunday put into Boston for a fresh supply of water. 
 The English frigates in the meantime separated, hoping 
 that by thus spreading out their forces they would be 
 able to capture the Constitution in single ship action. 
 The Shannon and the Guerriere, falling in with the 
 Jamaica fleet for which Captain Rodgers at that time 
 was looking, escorted it over the Newfoundland Banks. 
 The Guerriere then put into Halifax for repairs, while 
 the Shannon returned to the coast of the United States. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE FIRST FEIGATE ACTION. 
 
 Anxious to meet some of the famous British frig 
 ates whose commanders had indulged in contemptuous 
 language about the " fir-built Yankee frigates flying 
 a piece of striped bunting at their mast-heads," and 
 fearing that the timid policy of the Navy Department 
 might detain him in port, Captain Hull sailed from 
 Boston on the 2d of August. A few days later in 
 structions arrived in that city for him to "remain in 
 port until further orders" ; and "had the Constitution 
 been captured on this cruise," remarked Rear- Admi 
 ral Bell, " Hull would have been hanged or shot for 
 sailing without orders." Reaching the Bay of Fundy 
 without taking a prize, Captain Hull made for the Gulf 
 of St. Lawrence, hoping to fall in with the English 
 38-gun frigate Spartan, Captain Edward Pelham, or to 
 intercept vessels bound for Quebec ; but as he had lit 
 tle success here he stood out to sea. On the morning 
 of the 15th five vessels were discovered. Setting all 
 sail the Constitution was rapidly nearing them, when, 
 after burning a brig, the strangers scattered. Select 
 ing the largest vessel, Captain Hull soon overhauled 
 her, and found that she was an English merchant ship 
 in the hands of an American prize crew. It was fortu 
 nate, however, that the frigate hove in sight when she 
 did, for the prize was about to fall into the hands of the 
 British ships which were now crowding all sail to lee 
 ward. Before night closed in the Constitution made 
 sail for another vessel, coming up with her after a 
 sharp chase. She proved to be the American brig 
 
 (344) 
 
1812. THE ENEMY SIGHTED. 345 
 
 Adeline, in the hands of a prize crew from the British 
 sloop of war Avenger. By this time the two remain 
 ing ships had disappeared. Destroying one brig and 
 ordering the other to Boston in charge of Midshipman 
 Madison and five men, Captain Hull headed south 
 ward, intending to pass near Bermuda. 
 
 About half past nine o clock on the night of August 
 18th, it being unusually dark, a strange vessel ap 
 proached very close to the Constitution before it was 
 discovered. Sail was promptly made, and after a 
 hard chase of two hours the stranger was brought to. 
 On sending a boat aboard it was found that she was 
 the American privateer Decatur, with a crew of one 
 hundred and eight men, and carrying fourteen guns, 
 twelve of which had been thrown overboard in the 
 chase, as the privateersman mistook the Constitution 
 for a British cruiser. Learning from the commander of 
 the Decatur that an English frigate had been seen the 
 day before steering southward, Captain Hull changed 
 his course to that direction in hopes of coming up with 
 her. At one o clock on the following afternoon, Au 
 gust 19th, latitude 41 42 North, longitude 55 48 
 West, a sail was discovered from the masthead, and 
 after an hour s scrutiny through the glass she was 
 made out to be a ship on the starboard tack, close 
 hauled and under easy canvas. By 3.30 p. M. she was 
 seen to be an English frigate, which, from her manoeu 
 vres, was apparently desirous of engaging, for as soon 
 as she discovered the Constitution to be an American 
 frigate she shortened her topsails, foresail, jib and 
 spanker, and braced her main topsail to the mast, wait 
 ing for the American to come down. Observing this, 
 Captain Hull, when the vessels were about three miles 
 apart, sent down his royal yards, reefed his topsails 
 and hauled up the courses. The ship was then cleared 
 for action and the crew sent to quarters. 
 
 American frigates, with the exception of the Con 
 stellation, had not yet been opposed to those of rec- 
 
 25 
 
346 
 
 THE FIRST FRIGATE ACTION. 
 
 1812. 
 
 ognized naval powers, while the many improvements 
 which our officers had devised, the untiring discipline 
 of their crews, and the drill of the men at the guns, 
 with their many ingenious contrivances about the ship, 
 were to a large extent innovations in naval warfare, 
 
 The cruise of me Constitution. 
 
 with their efficacy yet to be 
 proved. Now that the Ameri 
 can frigate for the first time 
 was about to match its strength 
 with the "Terror of the World," as Admiral Duncan 
 called it, the American tar experienced the excite 
 ment which is attendant upon every hazardous un 
 dertaking, while the sense of self-distrust which great 
 renown always instills in the breast of the inexperi 
 enced began to creep over him, causing him to won 
 der at his audacity in presuming to defy the venge 
 ance of the redoubtable English frigate. But at the 
 same time the memories of repeated insults to his flag. 
 
1812. OPENING OF THE BATTLE. 347 
 
 and the brutal impressment of American seamen and 
 the bloody lash, came to his mind with overwhelming 
 force, arousing a thirst for revenge which predom 
 inated over every other emotion. A large proportion 
 of the Constitution s crew carried the scars of British 
 lashes on their backs, while nearly all of them had 
 some score to settle with England s navy. A number 
 of the American sailors were descendants of men who 
 had suffered martyrdom in the British prison ships 
 anchored at Wale Bogt in the War of the Revolution, 
 and the thought of the brutal treatment which those 
 patriots suffered did not lessen the desire of the hardy 
 tars in the Constitution to meet the enemy. Cap 
 tain Hull s father, Joseph Hull, died in the pest ship 
 Jersey from the effects of the cruel treatment he re 
 ceived. 
 
 At ten minutes after four o clock in the afternoon the 
 English frigate hoisted four flags and tired a "few guns 
 at the Constitution, more with a view to try the dis 
 tance than for any effectual attack." 1 At 4.20 P. M. 
 the ships exchanged broadsides, 2 but being at a great 
 distance the shot fell short. For three quarters of an 
 hour after this the English frigate continued wearing, 
 so as to get a raking position, but finding that the 
 Americans would not allow this, she laid her main 
 topsail to the mast, afterward bearing up and run 
 ning with the wind on the quarter under topsails and 
 jib. Captain Hull, observing this indication that the 
 enemy was willing to engage in a yardarm and yard- 
 arm fight, made sail to bring up with her, and at 5.20 
 p. M. he had his colors flying, a jack at each mast 
 head and one at the mizzen peak. The antagonists 
 now warily approached each other. "To avoid being 
 raked," says James, "the English ship wore three or 
 four times and continued discharging her alternate 
 
 1 Brenton s History of the English Navy, vol. ii, p. 453. 
 
 2 Official report of the English commander. 
 
348 THE FIRST FRIGATE ACTION. 1812. 
 
 broadsides, with about as little effect, owing to her 
 constant change of position and the necessary altera 
 tion in the level of her guns, as when her shot fell 
 short." For the same reason the firing of the Consti 
 tution was ineffectual. James says the Constitution, 
 "at about 5 h. 45 m. p. M., brought the English frigate 
 to close action," which coincides with the statements 
 given by Captain Hull in his official report. It is neces 
 sary to be thus minute in determining the time when 
 this action began for reasons which will appear here 
 after. It will be noticed that the English authority 
 just quoted has said that the vessels came to "close 
 action" about 5.45 P. M., and that the half hour im 
 mediately before that time was employed by the Eng 
 lish frigate in " wearing three or four times," and that 
 her fire during this wearing was "with about as little 
 effect ... as when her shot fell short." As the Con 
 stitution had to wear precisely when the enemy did, in 
 order to avoid being raked, it is also true that her fir 
 ing was with as little effect as " when her shot fell 
 short." This, then, establishes the beginning of the 
 action at " about 5 h. 45 m. p. M." 
 
 "As their manoeuvres prolonged our separation, 
 Captain Hull, at six o clock, directed the ship to be 
 
 Diagram of the battle. 
 
 steered directly for the enemy, and the main topgal 
 lant sail to be set. The enemy now bore up gradually 
 
1812. HULL RESERVES HIS FIRE. 349 
 
 to nearly the same course as ourselves before the wind, 
 but with our greater quantity of canvas we speedily 
 closed upon his port quarter and passed to his beam, 
 at about two hundred yards distance, gradually ap 
 proaching still nearer." * Seeing that the ships were 
 about to enter upon an action at close quarters, Cap 
 tain Hull ordered the men to cease firing, so as to make 
 every preparation to have their next broadside deliv 
 ered with full effect. The guns were carefully reload 
 ed with round shot and grape and deliberately trained 
 upon the British ship. Having completed all these ar 
 rangements, the men stood silently beside their guns 
 waiting for the order to fire. The frigates were now 
 only a short distance apart, and the English officers 
 could be distinctly seen through their ports searching 
 the Constitution with glasses or moving about the ship 
 encouraging their gun crews, while frequent cheers 
 were wafted across the water to the ears of the Ameri 
 cans. The Englishmen maintained their fire with 
 much earnestness, but as yet no order had come from 
 the quarter-deck of the American frigate, and perfect 
 quiet prevailed along her decks as the men stood by 
 their guns, nearly all of them barefooted and many 
 stripped to the waist, ever and anon casting inquiring 
 glances at their officers. At this moment a shot struck 
 the Constitution s bulwarks, and threw innumerable 
 splinters over the first division of the gun deck, wound 
 ing several men. Observing the effect of this shot, the 
 Englishmen gave three cheers ; but still the American 
 frigate remained silent. First-Lieutenant Morris now 
 approached the quarter-deck, where Captain Hull was 
 coolly pacing back and forth, and said: " The enemy 
 has opened fire and killed two of our men. Shall we 
 return it 1 " " Not yet, sir," was the response from the 
 quarter-deck, and the men saw their mutilated ship 
 mates hurried below to the surgeon s table, while they 
 
 1 Autobiography of Commodore Morris. 
 
350 THE FIRST FRIGATE ACTION. 1812. 
 
 stood silently at their guns in momentary expectation 
 of meeting a similar fate. Nothing but the perfect 
 discipline in the American frigate restrained the im 
 patience of the gun crews and prevented them from 
 returning the Englishman s cannonading. Three times 
 Lieutenant Morris asked if he could open fire, and 
 three times he was answered with a calm " Not yet, 
 sir." But at last, having gained a position about forty 
 yards off the enemy s port quarter, Captain Hull gave 
 the order to fire as the guns bore. In an instant the 
 frigate belched forth a storm of iron hail that carried 
 death and destruction into the opposing ship. The 
 effect of this carefully aimed broadside at short range 
 was terrific. The splinters were seen to fly over the 
 British frigate like a cloud, some of them reaching as 
 high as the mizzen top, while the cheers of her men 
 abruptly ceased, and the shrieks and groans of the 
 wounded were heard. The Americans had struck their 
 first earnest blow, and it was a staggering one. The 
 Englishmen felt its full weight, and perhaps for the 
 first time realized that this was no child s play. 
 
 So rapid and accurate were the American gunners, 
 that at 6.10 P. M. the enemy s main yard was shot away 
 in the slings, and his hull, rigging and sails were badly 
 cut, while the Constitution had sustained no serious 
 damage. At this moment a 24-pound shot passed 
 through the Englishman s mizzenmast a few feet above 
 the deck. The pressure of the sails brought it down 
 with a crash, and falling over the quarter it dragged in 
 the water, "knocking a large hole under her starboard 
 counter." 1 The wreck acted on the ship like a rudder, 
 bringing her up to the wind in spite of her helm, and 
 the Constitution put her helm hard to port so as to 
 rake, but the loss of braces, with the injuries to the 
 spanker and mizzen topsails, prevented her from fall 
 ing off as quickly as was desired. Nevertheless the 
 
 1 The British commander at his court-martial. 
 
1812. BOARDERS CALLED. 351 
 
 Americans were able to get in two raking broadsides. At 
 6.15 P. M. the jib boom of the English frigate passed over 
 the Constitutions quarter- deck, where Fifth-Lieutenant 
 John Templer Shubrick was commanding the guns. 
 
 There was a lull in the uproar now as each ship s 
 company paused to see whether the other would board. 
 The British commander said: "It was my intention, 
 after preventing the enemy from boarding to have 
 boarded in return, and in consequence I ordered down 
 the first lieutenant to the main deck to send up every 
 body from the guns, but finding the deck of the Ameri 
 can frigate filled with men and every preparation to 
 receive us, it would have been almost impossible for us 
 to succeed." 1 When the crews rushed up on deck to 
 board or repel boarders, they exposed themselves to the 
 riflemen at short range, and the topmen in both ships 
 soon renewed their sharp rattling fire with twofold 
 energy. The frigates were now so close together that 
 the enemy s cutwater chafed against the Constitutions 
 side, and the white and gold figurehead of the English 
 ship was within easy reach of the hand, while the bow 
 sprit extended entirely across the quarter-deck, rising 
 and falling with the motion of the waves over the 
 heads of the Americans. As this spar afforded a con 
 venient passage for boarding, it was feared that the 
 English might make such an attempt, and Lieutenant 
 Morris climbed up the taifrail to see if they were mass 
 ing their forces. The British commander was discov 
 ered collecting his men on the forecastle, and he could 
 be heard instructing his crew how to board. Lieu 
 tenant Morris reported this to Captain Hull, and the 
 American seamen and marines, armed with cutlasses, 
 boarding-pikes, pistols and muskets, were soon drawn 
 up on the Constitutions quarter-deck, waiting for the 
 first Englishman to show his head over the forecastle 
 bulwarks. 
 
 1 The British commander at his court-martial. 
 
352 THE FIRST FRIGATE ACTION. 1812. 
 
 At this stage of the action both sides suffered a 
 serious loss of officers. With a view of lashing the two 
 ships together, Lieutenant Morris seized a rope dan 
 gling from the Englishman s bowsprit, and, climbing up, 
 passed a few turns of the main brace around that spar, 
 but at this moment a bullet from a sharpshooter in the 
 enemy s tops passed through his body. He fell to the 
 quarter-deck, badly stunned, but he regained conscious 
 ness in a few minutes and returned to his post. When 
 it was seen that the vessels would foul, W T illiam S. 
 Bush, the first lieutenant of the marines, and John C. 
 Alwyn, master, ran to the taffrail with their men and 
 stood in readiness to board the enemy. A ball from 
 the Englishman s maintop wounded Mr. Alwyn in the 
 shoulder, and when Mr. Bush had mounted the taffrail 
 and was calling out, "Shall I board her?" a shot 
 crashed through his skull, killing him instantly. Mr. 
 Bush was the son of Captain John Bush, who served 
 with distinction in the American Revolution, and he 
 was also a nephew of Major Lewis Bush, who fell at the 
 battle of Brandy wine. Captain Hull at this moment 
 stepped upon an arms chest to mount the taffrail and 
 lead the boarders, but he was dragged back by a sea 
 man, who begged that he would not get up on the taff 
 rail unless he took off those u swabs," referring to his 
 epaulets. So close together were the two ships at this 
 moment, that an American sailor, having discharged 
 his boarding, pistol and missed his aim, threw the 
 weapon itself and struck an English sailor on the chest. 
 About this time the American flag at the main topgal 
 lant masthead was carried away, when a young sailor 
 by the name of John Hogan ascended the rigging and 
 lashed the colors to the mast, for which act he was 
 pensioned. The British commander, while standing on 
 the starboard forecastle hammocks, encouraging his 
 men by his example, was shot in the back by one of 
 the American sharpshooters, and had the ball passed 
 half an inch more to the left the wound would have 
 
THE CONSTITUTION ON FIRE. 353 
 
 proved fatal. Another ball struck the British master 
 in the knee, and his mate, shortly afterward, was also 
 wounded. There were seven marines in each of the 
 Constitution s tops, six loading while the seventh, the 
 best marksman, fired. 
 
 The rolling of the ships, however, prevented either 
 party from boarding. In her present position the Brit 
 ish ship could not bring a single broadside gun to 
 bear, and, as she was exposed to a dreadful raking fire 
 from the Constitution, she must soon have been de 
 stroyed. At this crisis the vessels fell apart, and the 
 English ship, disengaging her bowsprit from the Consti 
 tution s rigging, paid off a little, and was enabled to 
 bring her broadside into play. Some of the burning 
 wads from her guns were blown into the Constitution s 
 after cabin, and for a moment the ship was in danger 
 of destruction by fire ; but Fourth- Lieutenant Hoff 
 man, who commanded in that division, succeeded in 
 extinguishing the flames before serious damage was 
 sustained. In dropping astern, at 6.22 P. M., the ene 
 my s bowsprit, striking the taffrail of the Constitution, 
 slackened the forestays of the English ship, and as the 
 latter s fore shrouds on the port side had already been 
 cut away, tbe foremast went by the starboard side, 
 crossing the main stays. The sudden wrench thus 
 given to the mainmast, already much weakened by the 
 loss of shrouds and .stays, carried it along with the 
 foremast, and this enormous weight of masts, yards 
 and rigging came down with a crash that for a moment 
 drowned the roar of battle, leaving the enemy totally 
 dismasted. She quickly fell into the trough of the 
 sea, "a perfect wreck," 1 and at each wave rolled the 
 " main-deck guns in the water." 2 
 
 Seeing that the enemy was incapable of making fur 
 ther resistance, Captain Hull, "about 6.23," 3 prudently 
 
 1 The English commander at his court-martial. 
 
 2 Brenton s History of the English Navy, vol. ii, p. 51. 
 8 James History of the British Navy, vol. v, p. 379. 
 
354: THE FIRST FRIGATE ACTION. " 1812 
 
 drew off to repair damages, for at any moment another 
 British frigate or squadron might appear and make an 
 easy capture of the Constitution while she was injured 
 in her rigging. About seven o clock she returned, and 
 Third-Lieutenant George Campbell Head was sent 
 aboard to take possession. At 8 p. M. he returned 
 with Captain (afterward Rear- Admiral of the Red) 
 James Richard Dacres of the 38-gun frigate Guerriere, 
 one of the squadron that shortly before had chased the 
 Constitution. This frigate, like several others of Cap 
 tain Broke s squadron, had separated after the Consti 
 tution s extraordinary escape, in hopes of capturing 
 her in single combat. Captain Dacres was a son of 
 Lieutenant James Richard Dacres (afterward Yice- Ad 
 miral of the Red), who commanded the Carleton, one 
 of the British vessels in the action with the American 
 flotilla on Lake Champlain in 1776. 
 
 Some idea of the great humiliation which the Brit 
 ish commander felt at being captured by the much- 
 ridiculed American frigate will be gained from the con 
 versation that took place when Lieutenant Read came 
 alongside of the English frigate to receive her sur 
 render. The American boat pulled under the Guer- 
 riere s quarter, and Captain Dacres, in response to the 
 inquiry if he had struck, answered evasively, " I don t 
 know that it would be prudent to continue the engage 
 ment any longer." 
 
 "Do I understand you to say that you have 
 struck ? " asked Lieutenant Read. 
 
 "Not precisely," returned Dacres, "but I don t 
 know that it will be worth while to fight any longer." 
 
 " If you can not decide, I will return aboard my 
 ship and we will resume the engagement," said the 
 American officer. 
 
 To this Captain Dacres called out somewhat ex 
 citedly : "Why, I am pretty much Tiors de combat 
 already. I have hardly men enough left to work a 
 single gun, and my ship is in a sinking condition." 
 
1812. REPAIRING DAMAGES. 355 
 
 " I wish to know, sir," peremptorily demanded 
 Lieutenant Eead, whether I am to consider you as a 
 prisoner of war or an enemy. I have no time for fur 
 ther parley." 
 
 Captain Dacres replied with evident reluctance : " I 
 believe now there is no alternative. If I could fight 
 longer I I I I would with pleasure ; but but 
 I must surrender. " 
 
 Captain Hull and Captain Dacres, like several of the 
 American and British officers who met in battle in the 
 course of this war, had frequently interchanged visits 
 before hostilities were begun, and it seems that on one 
 occasion Captain Dacres made a wager of a hat with 
 Captain Hull on the outcome of a possible meeting be 
 tween their respective frigates. When the command 
 er of the Guerriere came up the side of the Constitu 
 tion on a rope ladder to surrender his sword, Captain 
 Hull assisted him, saying: "Dacres, give me your 
 hand. I know you are hurt." When the English 
 commander offered his sword, Captain Hull replied : 
 "No, no, I will not take a sword from one who knows 
 so well how to use it ; but I ll trouble you for that 
 hat." Learning of the great slaughter in the British 
 ship, Captain Hull promptly sent his surgeon s mate 
 aboard the prize to assist in tending the wounded. "I 
 feel it my duty to state that the conduct of Captain 
 Hull and his officers to our men has been that of a 
 brave enemy, the greatest care being taken to prevent 
 our men losing the smallest trifle, and the greatest at 
 tention being paid to the wounded." 1 
 
 During the night boats were busy removing prison 
 ers. At 2.20 A. M. a suspicious sail appeared off the 
 port beam, steering south. The Constitution immedi 
 ately cleared for action, and, owing to the precautions 
 of her commander, was ready for another battle ; but at 
 three o clock the stranger stood off and soon afterward 
 disappeared. At daylight the officers in charge of the 
 
 1 Official report of Captain Dacres. 
 
356 THE FIRST FRIGATE ACTION. 1812. 
 
 Guerriere hailed to say that she had four feet of water 
 in the hold, and that she was in momentary danger of 
 sinking. All hands were then employed in transfer 
 ring the remaining prisoners and wonnded, and at 3.15 
 p. M., August 21st, the prize, being too shattered to be 
 brought into port, was blown up. 
 
 We have already seen that American and English 
 writers agree that this action began at "about 5 h. 45 m. 
 p. M." Captain Hull says that at 5.55 P. M. he was 
 within " half pistol shot" of the Guerriere.^ There can 
 be no doubt, then, that ten minutes before this, or at 
 5.45 P. M., the frigates were getting into effective range. 
 The authorities on both sides nearly coincide also as 
 to the time the action closed. James says the Guer 
 riere became totally dismasted, or, to use the words of 
 her commander, a "perfect wreck," at 6.23 p. M., 
 while Captain Hull puts it at 6.25 P. M. Whether the 
 Guerriere at 6.23 p. M. or 6.25 P. M. actually went 
 through the formality of surrendering, is a point in 
 dispute. By the account of an officer in the Constitu 
 tion, the Guerriere, at 6.25 p. M., "fired a gun to lee 
 ward as a signal of submission." 2 On the other side 
 it is affirmed that the Constitution, at "6.45 P.M., 
 having rove new braces, wore round and took a posi 
 tion within pistol shot on her starboard quarter. It 
 being utterly in vain to contend any longer, the Guer 
 riere fired a lee gun and hauled down the Union jack 
 from the stump of her mizzenmast." 3 It is immaterial 
 when the Guerriere "fired a lee gun," "hauled down 
 the Union jack from the stump of her mizzenmast," or 
 went through any other form of surrendering. She 
 was beaten at 6.25 P. M., as all accounts agree that 
 from this time she made no further resistance. If at 
 " 6 h. 45 m. P. M.," when the English had been unmolest 
 ed for twenty minutes, which they had improved by 
 
 1 Official report of Captain Hull. 
 
 3 Autobiography of Commodore Morris. 
 
 3 James History of the British Navy, vol. v, p. 879. 
 
1812. COMPARATIVE FORCES. 357 
 
 clearing the ship and making ready for further action 
 if after this preparation they found it "utterly in 
 vain to contend any longer," what could they have 
 done at 6.25 P. M., before they had cleared away the 
 wreck that covered their guns ? It is not improbable 
 that some British seaman, seeing the Constitution out 
 of gunshot engaged in making repairs, did, out of a 
 spirit of bravado, tack an ensign on the stump of the 
 mizzenmast, hoping that that harmless act might be 
 construed as heroic, and that he could, in due time, 
 claim a substantial recognition of it. But when the 
 Constitution returned, all thought of fighting seems to 
 have vanished, for not a gun or musket was fired, nor 
 was resistance of any kind made after 6.25 p. M. This, 
 then, establishes the duration of this battle, as being, 
 on the best American and English authorities, from 
 the time the firing became effective, 5.45 P. M., to the 
 time the Constitution left the Guerriere, 6.25 P. M., at 
 forty minutes. 
 
 The Constitution was twelve to fifteen feet longer 
 than the Guerriere, and had a trifle more beam. The 
 former carried thirty long 24 pounders, t\venty-four 
 short 32-pounders, and one long 18-pounder, making a 
 total of fifty-five guns. Her crew numbered four hun 
 dred and sixty-eight all told. The Guerriere was cap 
 tured from the French, off Faroe Islands, by the Brit 
 ish frigate BlancJie, Captain Lavie, on the 19th of 
 July, 1806, and, says Captain Lavie, in his official re 
 port of her capture, u she was of the largest class of 
 frigates, mounting fifty guns." At the time of her 
 action with the Constitution she mounted, according 
 to James account, thirty- two long 18-pounders, six 
 teen short 32-pounders, and one short 18-pounder, in 
 all forty-nine guns, while her crew was placed at two 
 hundred and sixty-three, all told ; although Hughes, 
 in his History of England, places the Guerriere s crew 
 at three hundred. 1 Deducting seven per cent for un- 
 
 1 Vol. xiv, p. 18. 
 
358 THE FIRST FRIGATE ACTION. 1812. 
 
 derweight in American shot, we find that the Consti 
 tution carried seven hundred pounds to the broadside, 
 and adding eight per cent to the weight of the Guer- 
 riere s French shot we have a total of five hundred 
 and ninety-seven English pounds to the broadside, or 
 only one hundred and three pounds to a broadside 
 less than the Constitution. 
 
 In this short action the Constitution lost her first- 
 lieutenant of marines, William Sharp Bush, and six 
 seamen killed ; and her first lieutenant, Charles Morris, 
 her sailing-master, four seamen and one marine were 
 wounded. 1 The Guerriere lost her second lieutenant, 
 Henry Ready, and fourteen seamen killed ; and Cap 
 tain Dacres, First-Lieutenant Bartholomew Kent, Rob 
 ert Scott, the sailing-master, two master s mates, one 
 midshipman and fifty-seven sailors were wounded, six 
 of the wounded afterward dying. 2 
 
 Comparative force and loss. 
 
 Guns. Lbs. Crew. Killed. Wounded. Total. 
 
 Constitution: 55 700 468 7 7 14 > Time 
 
 Guerriere: 49 597 263 15 63 78 f 40m. 
 
 The attempt made by some English writers to show 
 that the Guerriere was "an old, worn-out frigate," 
 "looking like a second-hand jaunting-car, very fair 
 without but most rickety and rotten within," is com 
 pletely frustrated by Captain Dacres himself, who, 
 according to the best of English authorities, expressed 
 the following opinion of his ship a few months before 
 she was captured by the Constitution : * Some time 
 before this action [the Chesapeake and the Shannon, 
 June 1, 1813] the Guerriere was cruising in company 
 with the Shannon, Captain Philip Bowes Yere Broke, 
 and the commanders and their friends, after dining 
 together as usual, were pacing the Shannon s quarter 
 deck, when Captain Dacres drew attention to his ship, 
 
 1 Official report of Captain Hull. 
 
 2 Official report of Captain Dacres. 
 
1812. THE GUERRIBRE IN GOOD CONDITION. 359 
 
 the Guerriere, which, at that moment was just off their 
 weather bow, bowling along in gallant style under easy 
 canvas. 
 
 " Well, commodore, said Dacres, what do you 
 think of the Guerriere now \ 
 
 " H m, replied Broke, surveying her thoughtfully 
 alow r and aloft, 4 I think she looks very handsome. 
 
 " Is that all? asked Dacres. I say she looks 
 beautiful ; and more, she d take an antagonist in half 
 the time the Shannon could. " 1 The Shannon was 
 described by British writers at that time as " a very 
 fine frigate of thirty-eight guns" ; while a former mess 
 mate of Captain Broke, on hearing of his appointment 
 to this frigate, wrote, "We hear your new ship is a 
 very fine craft." On the 9th of October, 1812, before 
 the question of the Guerriere s condition had been 
 brought up, the St. Christopher s Gazette, of the West 
 Indies, said that " the Guerriere is as fine a frigate as 
 we can boast of." 
 
 The small superiority of the Constitution in weight 
 of metal by no means accounts for the extraordinary 
 difference in the amount of damage sustained by the 
 two ships. The hull of the American frigate was 
 scarcely touched, her injuries being confined chiefly to 
 the rigging. All her braces, much of the standing rig 
 ging and a few spars were carried away. After apply 
 ing stoppers and splicing her ropes, she was ready to 
 engage another frigate eight hours after the action. 
 The Guerriere, on the other hand, was utterly demol 
 ished in the incredibly short time of forty minutes. 
 Captain Dacres says that "on the larboard [port] side 
 about thirty shot had taken effect about five sheets of 
 copper down [that is, below the water line], and she 
 was so completely shattered that the enemy found it 
 impossible to refit her sufficiently to attempt carrying 
 her into port." In the forty minutes of this action 
 
 1 Brighton s Memoirs of Sir Philip Broke, p. 139. 
 
360 THE FIRST FRIGATE ACTION. 1812. 
 
 the Constitution expended twenty -three hundred and 
 seventy-six pounds of powder and fired nine hundred 
 and forty shot, or at the rate of twenty-three shot a 
 minute. Of the number of shot fired five hundred and 
 sixty were 24- and 82-pound round shot, while the 
 rest were stands of 24- and 32-pound grape and 
 canister. 
 
 While these exciting scenes were taking place at 
 sea, American arms had suffered overwhelming disas 
 ters on land. General William Hull, an uncle of Cap 
 tain Isaac Hull, had surrendered Detroit with the 
 entire American force there, and all his stores and the 
 vast territory of Michigan, without striking a blow in 
 their defense. In remarkable contrast to the navy, the 
 army had set out with every prospect of a brilliant 
 campaign. By this ignominious surrender the British 
 obtained a tract of territory which they hoped to ex 
 tend to the mouth of the Mississippi, intending to cut 
 the United States ofi from the West. General Hull 
 was tried by court-martial under the charges of trea 
 son, cowardice and conduct unbecoming an officer, and 
 being found guilty of the last two, he was sentenced to 
 be shot ; but, in consideration of his services during the 
 Revolution, the President remitted the sentence. This 
 disaster was soon followed by the surrender of Fort 
 Dearborn (on the site of Chicago), and its garrison im 
 mediately afterward was massacred by the Indian allies 
 of the British. News of defeat came in from all sides. 
 British armies had crossed the frontier and were driv 
 ing the discouraged Americans before them. The ears 
 of our patriotic forefathers grew accustomed to reports 
 of losses, while every courier that arrived was looked 
 upon with foreboding as the bearer of more evil 
 tidings. 
 
 And what was to be expected from the little navy 
 when matching its puny strength against the victor of 
 a hundred battles? Had not late experience taught 
 Americans the folly of placing confidence in that feeble 
 
1812. REJOICING OVER THE VICTORY. 
 
 branch, of the service ? Their best effort in this direc 
 tion had failed of its object ; the Nautilus was cap 
 tured, and the Constitution had just escaped the 
 clutches of Captain Broke s squadron by a miracleo 
 The only relief to this dismal background was the soli 
 tary success of the frigate Essex, mounting forty- six 
 guns, over the sloop Alert, carrying eighteen. 
 
 Such was the despondency that prevailed over the 
 United States, when, on the 30th of August, the Consti 
 tution, gayly bedecked with flags, appeared off Boston 
 Lighthouse, and, amid the booming of cannon, proudly 
 passed up the harbor to tell the story of the first frigate 
 action of the war. The joy that followed this first sun 
 shine of victory after so many gloomy defeats was un 
 bounded, and as the triumph came from a quarter 
 where success was least expected, it raised the exulta 
 tion of the people to a pitch which we, at this day and 
 in our strength, can hardly understand. A banquet, 
 over which John Adams presided, was given to Captain 
 Hull and to the officers of the Constitution at Faneuil 
 Hall. Congress voted fifty thousand dollars to the 
 officers and seamen of the Constitution, a gold medal 
 to Captain Hull, and one of silver to his officers. Lieu 
 tenant Charles Morris was the recipient of a handsome 
 piece of plate ; the citizens of Portland presented a 
 sword to Lieutenant Alexander Scammel Wadsworth ; 
 while swords were also given to Midshipmen Charles 
 Morgan and Taylor by the Legislature of Virginia. 
 The colors of the Guerriere are preserved in the Naval 
 Institute Building at Annapolis. 
 
 In his History of the English Navy 1 Captain Bren- 
 ton says : " It is pleasing to add that, since Captain Da- 
 cres has been at Malta in command of the Edinburgh, 
 he has had the satisfaction of meeting with and show 
 ing attention to Commodore Hull and his amiable con 
 sort, who visited that island very lately. Perhaps 
 
 1 Vol. ii, p. 457. 
 
362 THE FIRST FRIGATE ACTION. 1812. 
 
 there are few pleasures greater to a noble mind than 
 meeting in peace those against whom we have honor 
 ably contended in war. Dacres always entertained a 
 high respect and esteem for Hull." General James 
 Grant Wilson, in a paper on the life of Captain Hull, 
 gives the following : Captain Hull asked Dacres if there 
 was anything in particular in the Guerriere which he 
 wished to preserve. On his expressing a desire to save 
 a large Bible, the gift of his mother, Hull sent an offi 
 cer for it. Many years later our hero met Dacres, 
 then an admiral, and in command of a squadron an 
 chored off Gibraltar. He expressed the greatest pleas 
 ure at meeting the commodore, and was constant in 
 his courtesies and attentions. At a dinner given on 
 board his flagship he showed Mrs. Hull the treasured 
 Bible which her husband had saved. Dacres was 
 deeply touched by Hull s humane and generous treat 
 ment of himself and his crew." While visiting Rome 
 in 1837, Hull and Dacres were frequently seen walking 
 arm in arm through the streets of the Eternal City. 
 The former was short and stout, and the latter was 
 unusually thin and tall. 
 
 The following song was written soon after Captain 
 Hull s victory, and was popular many years afterward. 
 
 THE CONSTITUTION AND THE GUERRIERE. 
 AIR : The Landlady of France. 
 
 It ofttimes has been told that British seamen bold 
 
 Could flog the tars of France so neat and handy, Oh ! 
 
 But they never met their match till the Yankees did them catch 
 
 Oh, the Yankee boy for fighting- is the dandy, Oh ! 
 
 The Guerriere, a frigate bold, on the foaming ocean rolled, 
 Commanded by proud Dacres, all the grandee, Oh ! 
 With as choice a British crew as a rammer ever drew 
 They could flog the French, two to one, so handy, Oh ! 
 
 When this frigate hove in view, says proud Dacres to his crew : 
 " Come, clear the ship for action and be handy, Oh ! 
 
1812. THE CONSTITUTION AND THE GUERRIERE. 363 
 
 To the weather gage, boys, get her ! " and to make his men fight 
 
 better, 
 Gave them to drink gunpowder mixed with brandy, Oh ! 
 
 Then Dacres loudly cries : " Make the Yankee ship your prize 
 You can in thirty minutes, neat and handy, Oh ! 
 Thirty-five s enough, I m sure, and, if you ll do it in a score, 
 I ll treat you to a double share of brandy, Oh ! " 
 
 The British shot flew hot, which the Yankees answered not 
 Till they got within the distance they call d handy, Oh ! 
 Then says Hull unto his crew : u Boys, let s see what we can do ! 
 If we take this boasting Briton we re the dandy, Oh ! " 
 
 The first broadside we poured took her mainmast by the board, 
 
 Which made this lofty frigate look abandoned, Oh ! 
 
 Then Dacres shook his head, and to his officers he said, 
 
 " Lord ! I didn t think these Yankees were so handy, Oh ! " 
 
 Then Dacres came aboard to deliver up his sword. 
 
 Loath was he to part with it, twas so handy, Oh ! 
 
 u Oh, keep your sword," says Hull, "for it only makes you dull, 
 
 So cheer up and let us have a little brandy, Oh ! " 
 
 " Come, fill your glasses full, and we ll drink To Captain Hull ! 
 And so merrily we ll push about the brandy, Oh ! " 
 John Bull may toast his fill ! let the world say what it will, 
 But the Yankee boy for fighting is the dandy, Oh ! 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE SECOND FRIGATE ACTION. 
 
 ON the 29th of September, 1812, the British 38-gun 
 frigate Macedonian, Captain John Surman Garden, 
 sailed from Portsmouth, England, with orders to cruise 
 off the coast of Portugal and Spain, and to keep a 
 sharp lookout for French merchantmen and war ships. 
 This ship was one of the finest frigates in the Brit 
 ish navy," l and at this time she was scarcely two years 
 old and had just left the docks, where she had been 
 thoroughly overhauled. From the time she was 
 launched it had been the Macedonian s good fortune 
 to be well officered and well manned. Her first com 
 mander, Lord William Fitzroy, a son of the Duke of 
 Graf ton, of the house of Marlborough, is reputed to 
 have been one of the severest disciplinarians of his 
 day. Whenever he appeared on his quarter-deck and 
 began pacing the planks with a distinctively Fitzroy 
 gait, a hush would spread over the entire ship s com 
 pany ; the officers withdrawing from the weather side 
 and lowering their voices, while the seamen instinct 
 ively shrank from his gaze and went forward as far 
 as possible. Lord Fitzroy may not have been a first- 
 class sailor, but he was thoroughly conscious of his 
 exalted rank, and was an enthusiastic disciplinarian. 
 Bold indeed was the officer who had the temerity to 
 address him as "captain," or to reply to his commands 
 with a "Yes, sir," instead of " My lord" or "Yes, 
 me lud." 
 
 1 James Naval Occurrences, p. 125. 
 
 (364) 
 
1812. 
 
 MACEDONIAN AN EFFICIENT FRIGATE. 
 
 365 
 
 The Macedonian had not been many days out on 
 her maiden cruise when an incident happened that 
 will illustrate Captain Fitzroy s temperament. While 
 she was at Lisbon, one of the sailors, named Bob Ham 
 mond, came aboard intoxicated, and on the next day 
 he received four dozen lashes for the offense. As soon 
 as the punishment had been inflicted, Bob applied him 
 self lustily to the bottle, and before night he was again 
 gloriously drunk," and while in this condition he 
 
 
 Portsmouth. 
 
 suddenly conceived the idea of making a " sociable 
 call " on the captain, just to show that he harbored no 
 ill will for the flogging he had received. Marching 
 up to the quarter-deck, he accosted his commander in 
 the free-and-easy style with which one "good fellow" 
 should address another, and said, "Hello, Billy, my 
 boy, is that you ? " Observing that he had made an 
 impression, Bob followed up his advantage by saying, 
 "You are young and foolish, my boy just fit to 
 launch. You are like a young lion, Billy, all your sor 
 rows are to come." As soon as the noble lord could 
 recover his voice he shrieked out, "Put that man in 
 
366 THE SECOND FRIGATE ACTION. 1812. 
 
 irons ! " And the next morning Bob received five dozen 
 lashes. 
 
 In the eight months that Lord Fitzroy commanded 
 the Macedonian he brought her crew to the highest 
 point of efficiency, which was sustained long afterward. 
 When he left her, the command devolved in rapid suc 
 cession on Captain Carson, Captain Waldgrave and 
 Captain Garden, all of whom ruled with an iron hand, 
 and gave her the reputation of being the best-manned 
 ship in the navy. The unusual efficiency of the Mace 
 donian s crew was especially noticeable during her 
 operations off Basque Roads in the summer of 1812. 
 Captain George Richard Pechell, at that time serving 
 as a junior lieutenant in her, records : " Scarcely was 
 there a day in which the Macedonian for months was 
 not engaged either with the batteries or stopping the 
 convoys ; and not an enemy s vessel in that roadstead 
 even moved without the Macedonian s signal being 
 made to advance which alone gave repeated occa 
 sions for manoeuvring and firing. The precision of the 
 fire from the Macedonian was never more observable 
 than on the evening of the 6th of August, 1812, when a 
 French lugger was chased ashore under the batteries 
 near L Isle d Aix." 1 David Hope, the first lieutenant 
 of the Macedonian, said : " The cruise previous to our 
 unfortunate capture we were under the command of 
 Sir P. C. Durham. The men were not only well trained, 
 but the greatest attention was paid to every depart 
 ment of gunnery." 2 The arrival of Captain Garden 
 as commander of the Macedonian excited a transitory 
 hope in the crew of less severity, as his grave and 
 benign demeanor indicated a kindlier disposition. The 
 men exhausted all their arts on him, and called him a 
 " kind-hearted, fatherly old gentleman." But in vain, 
 for he proved to be severer than any of his predecessors. 
 
 1 Letter from Captain Pechell to Captain Carden. 
 8 Letter from Captain Hope to Captain Carden. 
 
1812. THE MACEDONIAN OFF THE CANARIES. 367 
 
 At the time Captain Carden sailed from England in 
 the Macedonian news of the first action between 
 American and English frigates had not arrived, al 
 though it was known that war had been declared. As 
 the Macedonian was bound for the coast of Portugal 
 and Spain, there was little anticipation of an encounter 
 with an American frigate ; but as there were a number 
 of American seamen in her crew, the fact that war ex 
 isted between the two countries was carefully kept from 
 them. Rumors of the hostilities, however, were circu 
 lating among the men, and it was not long before the 
 unusual precautions and sharp lookout kept by the 
 officers, together with the knowledge that the relations 
 between the United States and England had been more 
 than usually strained in the last two years, made the 
 men feel almost sure that the two nations were at war. 
 
 Arriving off the coast of Portugal, the Macedonian 
 took a run down to Madeira, where eight hundred dol 
 lars worth of wine was taken aboard and stowed away 
 for the officers and their friends in England. While 
 at this place Captain Carden was informed that the 
 United States 32-gun frigate Essex had sailed, or was 
 about to sail, from the Delaware, and it was expected 
 that she would cruise in the vicinity of Madeira and 
 the Canary Islands. Determined to teach the Ameri 
 cans that it was dangerous for them to sail too far 
 
 View in the Canary Islands. 
 
 from home, Captain Carden headed southward, and as 
 he drew near the tropics he doubled his lookouts and 
 
368 THE SECOND FRIGATE ACTION. 1812. 
 
 lay in wait for the little Essex. On the 24th of Octo 
 ber the Macedonian began to enter the Sargasso Sea, 
 the waters of which were turned to a yellowish tint by 
 the immense quantities of seaweed brought into it by 
 ocean currents. At dawn on the 25th of October the 
 frigate was in latitude 29 North, longitude 29 30 
 West, only a few days sail from the Canary Islands. 
 It was a beautiful Sabbath morning. The sun, rising 
 out of the semitropical sea, quickly dispelled the 
 mists of early dawn and dried the moist sails and rig 
 ging of the frigate. The British seamen usually made 
 a sort of holiday of this sacred day, and after they had 
 donned their best rig and put their ship in order they 
 went down to breakfast. Just as they were finishing 
 the meal the man at the masthead shouted, " Sail 
 ahoy ! " Believing that it might be the Essex, Cap 
 tain Garden rushed on deck, and exclaimed, " Mast 
 head, there ! " 
 
 " Sir \ " was the reply. 
 
 " Where away is the sail \ " 
 
 u To the northwest, sir." 
 
 u What does she look like \ " 
 
 " A square-rigged vessel, sir." 
 
 After a few minutes pause Captain Garden again 
 called out, " Masthead, there ! " 
 
 44 Sir?" 
 
 " What does sho look like ? " 
 
 " A large ship, sir, standing toward us." The news 
 quickly spread to all parts of the ship, and by this time 
 nearly every man and boy was on deck eagerly strain 
 ing his eyes to get the first glimpse of the stranger 
 when her sails should appear above the horizon. Many 
 of the men were murmuring their opinions to each 
 other as to her probable character, while the Ameri 
 cans among the crew intimated that if she were an 
 American they would surrender themselves to the cap 
 tain as prisoners of war rather than fight against their 
 flag. It was not long before the dreaded voice of Cap- 
 
1812. THE ENGLISH CLEAR FOR ACTION. 369 
 
 tain Garden was again heard, this time in more em 
 phatic tones, " Keep silence, fore and aft ! " and when 
 all were quiet, for the third time he asked the man at 
 the masthead, " What does she look like I " 
 
 "A large frigate bearing down upon us, sir," was 
 the reply. Captain Garden then ascended the mizzen 
 shrouds so as to get a better view of the approaching 
 stranger. After several minutes of careful scrutiny 
 through his spyglass he hastily descended to the quar 
 ter-deck, and with unwonted excitement in his voice 
 gave the order to clear for action. In an instant the 
 scene of tranquillity was changed into one of excite 
 ment and seeming confusion. The hoarse call of the 
 boatswain s mates, "All hands clear ship for action 
 ahoy ! " resounded through the frigate. The drum 
 and fife beat to quarters, bulkheads were knocked 
 away, the guns were released from their lashings and 
 loaded ; a woolen screen, drenched with water, having 
 a hole cut in the center, was placed before the maga 
 zine entrance, where cartridges were passed ; buckets 
 of pistols were placed within easy reach, boarding 
 pikes, cutlasses and battle axes were stacked around 
 the masts, tubs of sand were placed at convenient in 
 tervals, so that the decks could readily be sanded where 
 the blood was spilled on them, and ammunition was 
 brought up and piled along the decks near the guns. 
 Two marines and several seamen were placed in each 
 of the tops to pick off the enemy with their muskets 
 in case the ships should come to close quarters, and to 
 facilitate the trimming of the upper sails if it should 
 be necessary to put the ship through rapid manoeuvres. 
 Other sailors, called " trimmers," who were not con 
 nected with the gun crews, were stationed on the decks 
 ready to trim the lower sails whenever the ship changed 
 her position. All the guns of the Macedonian were 
 furnished with first-rate locks, but as a further precau 
 tion the matches attached by lanyards were now lighted 
 in case the locks should miss fire. With the exception 
 
370 THE SECOND FRIGATE ACTION. 1812. 
 
 of the Americans and the band of eight musicians, all 
 were in the best of spirits, and hurried to their quarters 
 with an alacrity which showed that they were accus 
 tomed to victory. Only one man, James Holmes, the 
 boatswain, was on the sick list, and at the cry of bat 
 tle he arose from his cot and hurried to his post. 
 The musicians asked to be excused from the impend 
 ing conflict, and by virtue of their contract they were 
 stowed away in the cable tier. 
 
 In an incredibly short time all the preparations for 
 battle had been made, and the recent scene of confu 
 sion had been changed into one of quiet but eager 
 expectancy. A lieutenant now passed along the bat 
 teries with the boatswain and securely locked the 
 gratings over the hatchways, so that it would be im 
 possible for any of the men to run below and secrete 
 themselves in the hold. The main hatchway, leading 
 to the cockpit, and that leading to the magazine, were 
 necessarily left open, but a strong guard of marines 
 was stationed at each opening, so that none but au 
 thorized persons could go below. A number of junior 
 midshipmen were stationed at different points along 
 the batteries, with orders, which were given in a loud 
 voice so that all might hear, to " shoot down the first 
 man who attempts to run from his quarters." Besides 
 this, thirty marines with loaded muskets were drawn 
 up in a line behind the gun crews, ready to shoot down 
 any man who flinched from his quarters. The men 
 were then instructed what they were to do in case it 
 became necessary to board. When all these instruc 
 tions had been given, Captain Garden himself passed 
 along the gun deck urging the men to fight valiantly, 
 and reminding them of Nelson s motto, " England ex 
 pects every man to do his duty ! " and then ran up the 
 colors. The men responded with three cheers, and 
 Captain Garden returned to his quarter-deck. 
 
 By this time the sail on the horizon had risen suffi 
 ciently to show that a frigate was rapidly drawing hear 
 
1812. 
 
 A TRIAL OF SPEED. 
 
 371 
 
 under a cloud of canvas. To avoid the possibility of 
 a mistake, Captain Garden showed the private signal 
 
 /Scene o/ Me second frigate action. 
 
 of the day and his number, but after they had been 
 kept up some time without a response he was satisfied 
 that he had to deal with an enemy. The stranger now 
 went through a number of rapid evolutions for the 
 purpose of testing the Macedonian s speed, and < if pos 
 sible gaining the weather gage which the English ship 
 held. The beautiful style in which the stranger was 
 
372 THE SECOND FRIGATE ACTION. 1812. 
 
 put through these tactics aroused the admiration of 
 the English. She tacked, luffed, took in sail or spread 
 more canvas with marvelous rapidity, and seemed to 
 answer to the slightest wish of her commander, like a 
 thing of life. She was so near that the dashes of spray 
 frequently drenching her forecastle and the foam rising 
 under her bow, as she rushed swiftly through the water, 
 could be seen sparkling and gleaming in the bright 
 sunlight. With the aid of their glasses the British 
 officers made out groups of men on her quarter-deck 
 scanning them closely, while through her open ports 
 they caught occasional glimpses of sailors moving 
 about the decks and the gun crews standing quietly 
 at their stations. The ominous absence of tompions in 
 the long row of black muzzles that protruded from 
 both sides of the frigate plainly indicated that the 
 stranger was fully prepared for battle ; while every 
 now and then a shift in her sails revealed marines sta 
 tioned in her tops armed with muskets, showing that 
 they were not at all afraid of coming to close quarters. 
 Having watched the manoeuvres of the stranger some 
 time, a veteran British seaman turned to his shipmate 
 and muttered : " It s no fool of a seaman handling that 
 ship. We ve got hot work ahead of us." 
 
 As yet the stranger had given no indication of her 
 nationality, and the British officers were still specu 
 lating on the chances that she was a French ship. Soon 
 after, the Macedonian showed her colors, however, four 
 little bundles, in the distance looking like mere specks, 
 were noticed ascending the stranger s gaff and rigging. 
 On reaching the mastheads they were secured, and 
 remained there as if in no hurry to reveal themselves. 
 But as the ships drew nearer, the bundles were sud 
 denly loosed, and as the breeze caught them they flut 
 tered out into the beautiful folds of the Stars and 
 Stripes. At that time the American flag showed fif 
 teen stars and fifteen stripes. The red, white and blue 
 bunting, radiant in the brilliant sunlight, formed a 
 
1812. THE BATTLE OPENS. 373 
 
 beautiful contrast to the snowy whiteness of the belly 
 ing sails and the cloudless sky. At the foremast a 
 sturdy little American jack, with its white stars on a 
 blue field, as if anxious to make the most of its short 
 length, aimed its flight heavenward and fluttered sev 
 eral inches above the masthead itself. The Ameri 
 can flags at the main and mizzen mastheads assumed 
 their positions above the cloud of canvas with becom 
 ing grace, while "Old Glory" at the gaff majestically 
 revealed its beautiful folds in quiet dignity. While 
 this was taking place, the men of the Macedonian 
 stood at their guns in motionless suspense ; but when 
 the nationality of the stranger was made known, sev 
 eral American seamen went aft, and through their 
 spokesman, John Card (who was described by one of 
 his shipmates as being "as brave a seaman as ever trod 
 a plank"), frankly told Captain Garden their objec 
 tions to fighting the American flag. The British com 
 mander savagely ordered them back to their quarters, 
 threatening to shoot them if they again made the re 
 quest. Half an hour later Jack Card was stretched 
 out on the Macedonians deck weltering in his blood, 
 slain by a shot from his countrymen. 
 
 Finding that the Macedonian had the i l superiority 
 of sailing," the American commander prepared to en 
 gage with, the disadvantage of a leeward position. A 
 little after nine o clock Captain Garden, more to test 
 the distance than to do injury, ordered three guns to 
 be fired from the port battery of the main deck. Three 
 18-pound shot promptly sped toward the American, 
 and ricochetting along the rough water they sank be 
 fore reaching the mark. Captain Garden then called 
 out : " Cease firing ! You are throwing away your 
 shot ! " An instant later he gave the command, " Pre 
 pare to wear ship and attack the enemy with your star 
 board guns ! " The gun crews were shifted over to the 
 opposite battery, while the marines changed their guard 
 line to the port side. About 9.10 A. M. a long tongue 
 
374 THE SECOND FRIGATE ACTION. 1812. 
 
 of flame leaped from the American port battery, fol 
 lowed by a column of white smoke, which rolled along 
 the water a great distance, a ring of vapor floating 
 off on the breeze. To the men on the Macedonian? s 
 main deck the report of this gun seemed to be from 
 their own quarter-deck, but an instant later a peculiar 
 noise, like the tearing of sails, was heard just over their 
 heads. It was the wind of the American shot. This 
 was followed by several more in rapid succession, which 
 also whizzed unpleasantly close to the heads of the 
 British gun crews ; but as yet no damage had been 
 done, and both ships ceased firing. 
 
 " About 9.20 A. M." 1 the firing opened again with 
 great effect. The roaring of cannon could be heard 
 from all parts of the Macedonian, and the ship trem 
 bled in every part like an affrighted animal, while 
 the more distant but rapid booming from the Amer 
 ican frigate proclaimed that the battle had opened in 
 earnest. In a few seconds the sound of shot crashing 
 through the side of the ship could be heard. The first 
 one that struck the Macedonian came through the 
 starboard bulwark and killed the sergeant of marines, 2 
 and soon afterward her gaff halyards were carried 
 away. Scarcely had this happened when the men on 
 the quarter-deck were startled by a sharp crack over 
 their heads. Looking upward, they saw the mizzen top 
 mast swaying back and forth, and an instant later 
 with a terrific crash it fell with its enormous weight 
 of sails, yards and rigging into the maintop. There it 
 lay in a horizontal line suspended between the mizzen 
 and main tops, threatening to fall at any moment and 
 crush the men working the guns below. But the gun 
 ners had no time to consider this danger, for their offi 
 cers were behind them, and with drawn swords were 
 constantly urging them to renewed energy. As they 
 
 1 James History of the British Navy, vol. v, p. 395. 
 
 2 Statement of Captain Garden. 
 
1812. GREAT RAPIDITY OP THE AMERICAN S FIRE. 375 
 
 warmed up to the fight many of the men pulled off 
 their jackets, others their jackets and waistcoats, and 
 finally many had nothing on them but trousers with a 
 
 120 
 
 Diagram of the battle. 
 
 handkerchief tied around their waists, one of the sea 
 men named Jack Sadler being especially conspicuous 
 for the energy with which he fought. Many of the 
 men and boys seemed to be entirely unconscious of 
 danger. A powder boy named Cooper, who was sta 
 tioned at a gun some distance from the magazine, so 
 that he had to pass nearly the whole length of the bat 
 teries at each trip, would receive a cartridge from the 
 woolen screen before the magazine, and, covering it 
 with his jacket to guard against sparks, would return 
 to his gun ,on a full run, jumping over men writhing in 
 their death agonies, and skipping over pools of blood 
 as merrily as if engaged in a steeple chase. Lieutenant 
 John Bulford occasionally cheered him with a "Well 
 done, my boy ! You are worth your weight in gold." 
 
 Ten minutes after the battle had opened, the scene 
 in the Macedonian was indescribably confused and 
 horrible. "It was like some awfully tremendous 
 thunderstorm whose deafening roar is attended by in 
 cessant streaks of lightning, carrying death in every 
 flash and strewing the ground with victims of its 
 wrath ; only in our case the scene was rendered more 
 horrible than that by the presence of torrents of blood 
 
376 THE SECOND FRIGATE ACTION. 1812. 
 
 which dyed our decks." 1 While one of the men sta 
 tioned at the fifth gun on the main deck was stooping 
 to lift a shot, blood suddenly spurted from his arm, 
 although nothing was seen to strike him. The third 
 lieutenant quickly tied a handkerchief around the 
 shattered lirnb and sent the groaning wretch below to 
 the cockpit. In order to keep the decks clear the in 
 jured were hurried below as fast as possible, while 
 those who were killed outright, or were so mutilated 
 as to be beyond hope of recovery, were thrown over 
 board without ceremony. The slaughter among the 
 boys of the Macedonian was one of the most painful 
 incidents of the battle. The lads supplying the sixth 
 and seventh guns on the main deck were disabled early 
 in the action, one of them having his leg taken off by 
 a cannon shot, while the other was struck in the ankle 
 by a grapeshot. A stout Yorkshire man lifted the 
 latter in his arms and carried him to the cockpit, where 
 the foot was amputated. A Portuguese boy who was 
 supplying the quarter-deck guns had nearly all the flesh 
 on his face burned off by an accidental explosion of 
 the cartridge he was carrying, and as the agonized youth 
 lifted both hands, as if imploring relief, a cannon shot 
 cut him in two. Another Portuguese boy serving the 
 quarter-deck guns was also killed. 
 
 While this carnage and destruction were taking 
 place in the Macedonian, Captain Garden and his 
 aids, who were directing the battle from the quarter 
 deck, could not discover anything in the appearance 
 of the American frigate to indicate that she was suf 
 fering in a corresponding degree. In the early part of 
 the action, it is true, a shot carried away her mizzen 
 topgallant mast, but aside from this her spars seemed 
 to be intact. Her firing had been wonderfully accu 
 rate, and was so rapid that " in a few minutes she was 
 enveloped in a dense volume of smoke, which from the 
 
 1 Account of an eyewitness. 
 
1812. THE AMERICANS AT CLOSE QUARTERS. 377 
 
 Macedonians quarter-deck appeared like a huge 
 cloud rolling along the water, illuminated by lurid 
 flashes of lightning and emitting a continuous roar of 
 thunder." But the unceasing storm of round shot, 
 grape and canister, and the occasional glimpses of the 
 Stars and Stripes floating above the clouds of smoke, 
 forcibly dispelled the illusion, and showed the English 
 men that they were dealing with an enemy who knew 
 how to strike, and who struck hard. 
 
 At 9.50 A. M., or thirty minutes after the battle 
 opened, the American commander found such volumes 
 of dense smoke collected around his ship that it was 
 impossible to fire with accuracy. Giving the order to 
 cease firing, he took a position a little forward of the 
 Macedonians beam and renewed the battle. The fire 
 from the American frigate at close quarters was terrific. 
 Her cannon were handled with such rapidity that there 
 seemed to be one continuous flash from her broadside, 
 and several times Captain Garden and his officers be 
 lieved her to be on fire, 1 and they spread the report 
 along the British batteries so as to encourage the ex 
 hausted gun crews, who responded with cheers. It 
 was in reference to this incident that the following 
 verses appeared in a periodical soon after the war : 
 
 " They thought they saw our ship in flame, 
 
 Which made them all huzza, sir ; 
 
 But when the second broadside came 
 
 It made them hold their jaw, sir." 
 
 The diagonal fire from the American frigate soon 
 cut away the chocks of the guns, dismounted every 
 carronade on the starboard side of the quarter-deck 
 and forecastle, and cut down officers and men in great 
 numbers. By 10.45 A. M. the carnage in the Mace 
 donian was fearful. The cries of the wounded and 
 dying came from all parts of the ship. One man, 
 
 1 Mackenzie s Life of Stephen Decatur. 
 
 27 
 
378 THE SECOND FRIGATE ACTION. 1812. 
 
 named Aldrich, had his hand taken off by a shot, and 
 almost at the same instant another shot tore open his 
 bowels in a horrible manner. Two or three of his ship 
 mates caught him as he fell and threw him overboard 
 while he was yet alive. A quartermaster s mate named 
 Thomas James Nankivee, who was exceedingly popu 
 lar with the men. was struck near the heart by a grape 
 or canister shot, and exclaiming, Oh, my God ! " he 
 was carried below and shortly afterward died. The 
 tyrannical first lieutenant, David Hope, was wounded 
 on the head by a grummet which had been torn from 
 a hammock clew by a shot and was hurled against 
 him. He went below, and after his wound had been 
 dressed he returned to the deck shouting at the top of 
 his voice, " Keep on fighting ! " There was not a sea 
 man in the ship who would not have rejoiced had Hope 
 shared the fate of Nankivee. One heavy shot shat 
 tered the muzzle of the fifth gun on the main deck and 
 scattered the fragments around, injuring several men. 
 When the ship rolled, the remainder of the gun struck 
 a beam of the upper deck and became jammed in that 
 position. A 24-pound shot also passed through the 
 flannel screen of the magazine, just over the opening 
 through which the ammunition was passed. James 
 Holmes, the boatswain, who had left his cot in the sick 
 bay at the call to quarters, was in the act of fastening 
 a stopper on a backstay which had been carried away, 
 when a cannon ball struck him on the head, killing him 
 instantly ; and another man, attempting to complete 
 the unfinished task, was also struck down. Shortly 
 afterward the schoolmaster, Dennis Col well, was mor 
 tally wounded. While stepping from the cabin door 
 the steward was struck by a heavy shot and instantly 
 killed. Even the goat kept by the officers for her milk 
 did not escape the dreadful storm of iron, for her hind 
 legs were shot off, and she was thrown overboard. 
 
 But above the din of battle and the groans of the 
 wounded rose the frequent cheers and shouts of the 
 
1812. "WE ALL APPEARED CHEERFUL." 379 
 
 men who yet remained unhurt. Samuel Leech, who 
 was in the Macedonian during this battle, said : " Our 
 men kept cheering with all their might. I cheered 
 with them, though I confess I scarcely knew what for. 
 Certainly there was nothing very inspiriting in the as 
 pect of things. Grapeshot and canister were pouring 
 through our portholes like leaden hail ; the large shot 
 came against the ship s side, shaking her to the very 
 keel, and passing through her timbers and scattering 
 terrific splinters, which did more appalling work than 
 the shot itself. A constant stream of wounded men 
 were being hurried to the cockpit from all quarters of 
 the ship. My feelings were pretty much as I suppose 
 every one else felt at such a time. That men are with 
 out thought when they stand among the dying and 
 dead is too absurd an idea to be entertained. We all 
 appeared cheerful, but I know that many a serious 
 thought ran through my mind. Still, what could we 
 do but keep up a semblance at least of animation ? To 
 run from our quarters would have been certain death 
 from the hands of our own officers ; to give way to 
 gloom or show fear would do no good, and might brand 
 us with the name of cowards and insure certain defeat. 
 Our only true philosophy, therefore, was to make the 
 best of our situation by fighting bravely and cheer 
 fully. I thought a good deal, however, of the other 
 world ; every groan, every falling man, told me that 
 the next instant I might be before my Judge. A fel 
 low named John, who for some petty offense had been 
 put on board as a punishment, was carried past me 
 wounded. I distinctly heard the large drops of blood 
 fall pat pat pat on the deck. His wound was 
 mortal." 
 
 And still the American frigate kept up her merciless 
 cannonading. As the breeze occasionally made a rent 
 in the smoke, her officers could be seen walking around 
 her quarter-deck, calmly directing the work of destruc 
 tion, while her gun crews were visible through the open 
 
380 THE SECOND FRIGATE ACTION. 1812. 
 
 ports deliberately loading and aiming their pieces. At 
 10.45 A. M. a shot carried away the stump of the Mace 
 donian? s mizzenmast, and the men on it at the time were 
 lost. Availing himself of the superior sailing of the 
 Macedonian and the advantage which the weather 
 gage gave him, Captain Garden at first kept at long 
 range, being under the impression that he was attack 
 ing the Essex, which, as he well knew, was armed 
 almost entirely with short guns ; and he believed that 
 he was holding himself at a great advantage by attack 
 ing her at long range, where her short guns could not 
 reach him. But it was not long before he was con 
 vinced of the mistake, and he determined to bring his 
 antagonist to close quarters so as to decide his shat 
 tered fortunes by boarding. With this in view he or 
 dered his helm aport and gave the order for boarders 
 to be called. Every man was on deck, several who 
 had lost an arm responded, and the universal cheer 
 was, Let us conquer or die ! " * But, unfortunately 
 for Captain Garden s intentions, a shot at this moment 
 carried away the fore brace, and the yard swinging 
 around threw the ship into the wind and exposed her 
 to a raking fire. The American quickly availed him 
 self of this advantage and poured in a terrific storm of 
 round shot, grape and canister. 
 
 After a few minutes of this exposure the Mace 
 donian was reduced to a wreck. Her decks were 
 strewed with the dead and dying ; men were frequently 
 coming up the main hatchway bearing limbs that had 
 just been detached from some suffering wretches, which 
 were to be cast overboard, for there was not sufficient 
 room to allow the accumulation of these severed mem 
 bers. As the cockpit long before had been crowded to 
 overflowing, the surgeon removed his instruments into 
 the steerage. All these rooms were filled with injured 
 men, some groaning, others cursing, a few praying, 
 
 1 Account of First-Lieutenant David Hope of the Macedonian. 
 
1812. DREADFUL SCENE IN THE COCKPIT. 381 
 
 while those that arrived last were begging most pite- 
 ously to have their wounds dressed next. The long 
 table of the wardroom, around which the officers had 
 sat at many a jolly mess, was covered with mangled 
 bodies which the surgeon and his mate, smeared from 
 head to foot with blood, and looking more like butch 
 ers than physicians, were cutting and sawing, for there 
 was no time for anaesthetics or refined surgery. A 
 Swede, named Logholrn, was brought down toward the 
 close of the action with a serious wound just above 
 the kneecap. Without ceremony he was thrown on 
 the bloody table, and was firmly held by several men 
 while the surgeon, in spite of the agonizing cries and 
 the fearful struggles of the man, cut the leg off above 
 the knee. The carpenter, Reed, had his leg taken off 
 in the same manner, while some of the men were so 
 dreadfully mangled with splinters that the surgeon 
 pronounced their cases hopeless, and as an act of 
 mercy they were taken on deck and thrown into the 
 sea, where* their groans, prayers or imprecations 
 were quickly hushed by the surging waters. As most 
 of the wounded were lying helplessly on the lower 
 decks, cots were got out as fast as possible for their 
 accommodation. One seaman, named Wells, after hav 
 ing had his arm amputated, cheerfully said: "Well, 
 doctor, I have lost my arm in the service of my coun 
 try, but I don t mind it. It s the fortune of war." His 
 companions, after the battle was over, gave him some 
 rum to drink, inflammation set in, and he soon died. 
 Another poor fellow who had been lying helplessly on 
 the deck a long time with a broken thigh bone, wait 
 ing for his turn at the surgeon s table, begged one of 
 the ship s boys for a cup of water. His request was 
 complied with, and, with a look of unutterable grati 
 tude, he drank and died. 
 
 By eleven o clock the Macedonian was totally dis 
 abled. Her mizzenmast had been shot away close to 
 the deck and had fallen with the mizzen topmast over 
 
382 THE SECOND FRIGATE ACTION. 1812. 
 
 her starboard quarter, so that the guns in that part of 
 the ship could not be fired without setting the wreck 
 in a flame. Her fore and main topmasts had been shot 
 away at the caps, the main yard was gone in the 
 slings, the lower masts were cut and shattered, rigging 
 of every description had been destroyed, only a por 
 tion of the foresail was left to the yard, a]l but two of 
 the forecastle and quarter-deck guns were disabled, 
 while two guns of the main battery were knocked to 
 pieces. Over one hundred cannon shot had penetrated 
 her hull, many of them between wind and water, all of 
 her boats except the jolly boat towing astern had been 
 smashed into splinters, and owing to her dismasted 
 condition she rolled her main-deck guns under water. 
 About eleven o clock the deafening roar of cannon from 
 the American frigate and the incessant rattling of iron 
 missiles against the side of the Macedonian suddenly 
 ceased. An oppressive silence followed, broken only 
 by the stifled groans of the wounded below and the 
 creaking of the hulk as she rolled on her beam ends 
 at each wave. Not understanding this unexpected ces 
 sation of the battle, the English officers hastened to dis 
 cover the cause of it, and as soon as the smoke had 
 cleared away sufficiently they beheld the American 
 frigate standing away from them. Hoping she was 
 fleeing because another frigate was appearing on the 
 scene of action, or for some cause unknown to them, 
 the surviving Englishmen gave three cheers. But in 
 the course of three quarters of an hour this transitory 
 hope vanished, for the American, after hauling out of 
 gunshot, hove to, spliced her rigging, bent a few new 
 sails, and having repaired her other inconsiderable in 
 juries, with the exception of the mizzen topgallant mast, 
 again with guns reloaded bore down on the helpless 
 Macedonian. 
 
 Captain Garden now assembled his surviving officers 
 on the deck in a council of war. Lieutenant David 
 Hope advised that the colors should not be struck and 
 
1812. THE AMERICANS TAKE POSSESSION. 383 
 
 that it would be better for them to sink alongside. His 
 advice was not followed, and it was soon decided to sur 
 render. About noon, just as the American frigate, un 
 der easy canvas, with colors flying, came under the 
 Macedonian s stern, ready to repeat her dreaded 
 broadsides, a sailor named Watson hauled down the 
 English colors. The American promptly lay to, low 
 ered one of her boats, and sent a party of seamen 
 and marines under the command of a lieutenant to 
 take possession. The little boat was tossed about by 
 the heavy sea like a cockleshell, and coming under the 
 Macedonian s lee the lieutenant clambered up the side 
 and announced himself to Captain Garden as Lieuten 
 ant John B. Nicholson, of the American 44-gun frigate 
 United States, Captain Stephen Decatur. The United 
 States had sailed from Boston on the 8th of October 
 in company with the 44-gun frigate President, Cap 
 tain John Rodgers ; the 36-gun frigate Congress, Cap 
 tain John Smith ; and the 16-gun brig Argus, Mas 
 ter-Commandant Arthur Sinclair, On the fourth day 
 out the President, with the Congress, separated from the 
 United States and the Argus, and after cruising for a 
 few day together the United States and the Argus 
 also took separate courses, the latter making for the 
 coast of Brazil, while the former stood over for Africa, 
 and on the 25th of October fell in with the Mace 
 donian. 
 
 The American boarders were shocked at the awful 
 carnage and destruction that met their gaze in the 
 Macedonian. The officers and seamen of the two frig 
 ates were well acquainted with each other, having ex 
 changed visits when the United States and the Mace 
 donian were lying in Norfolk some months before war 
 had been declared, and they were not a little sur 
 prised when they discovered whom they had been fight 
 ing. Going to the wardroom, Lieutenant Mcholson 
 found the surgeon still attending the wounded, and 
 familiarly greeted him with: "How do you do, doc- 
 
384: THE SECOND FRIGATE ACTION. 1812. 
 
 tor ? " Looking up with a surprised glance at the sound 
 of the well-known voice, the surgeon shook his head 
 sadly and replied : " I have enough to do. You fellows 
 have made wretched work with us." With difficulty 
 the Americans made their way through the steerage, 
 which was filled with mangled bodies, and as the deck 
 was slippery with blood the heavy rolling of the ship 
 made their progress extremely hazardous. They met 
 a boy who was crying as if his heart would break be 
 cause his master, James Holmes, the boatswain, whose 
 head had been shattered by a cannon ball, was dead. 
 The lad felt that he had lost his only friend. Many of 
 the Englishmen were running around the ship looking 
 up their messmates and ascertaining who had escaped. 
 Many affecting scenes took place at these meetings. 
 Some had heard that a messmate was dead, and great 
 joy was expressed when they found him alive. On the 
 day after the battle, a boy passing along the berth 
 deck found a hammock strung up with some one ap 
 parently sleeping in it. Attempting to rouse the man, 
 it was found that he was dead ; evidently he had been 
 wounded and had crawled into his hammock. In the 
 confusion he had escaped notice and had bled to death. 
 The surviving English officers and a number of the 
 men were quickly transferred to the United States, 
 but those who were left in the wreck, being relieved of 
 the restraint of their officers, broke into the spirit room 
 and became intoxicated and riotous. Many of the 
 wounded were persuaded to drink, and aggravated 
 their wounds by doing so. Their boisterous songs and 
 derisive laughter mingling with the piteous cries of 
 the wounded were heard far into the night, but amid it 
 all the faithful surgeon patiently continued at his re 
 volting task in the steerage, nor did he find time to 
 rest until day broke. When Captain Decatur came 
 aboard he found "fragments of the dead scattered in 
 every direction, the decks slippery with blood, one con 
 tinuous agonizing yell of the unhappy wounded. A 
 
1812. THE AMERICAN AND BRITISH COMMANDERS. 385 
 
 scene so horrible of my fellow-creatures, I assure you, 
 deprived me very much of the pleasure of victory." 1 
 
 The personality of the American and English com 
 manders was sufficiently remarkable to merit a mo 
 ment s notice. They were men of no ordinary fame, 
 both having risen to distinction from the lowest ranks. 
 Captain Decatur was in his thirty-fourth year, Captain 
 Garden in his forty-second. As was the case with Cap 
 tains Hull and D acres, their fathers had been engaged 
 in the war of the American Revolution. Captain 
 Stephen Decatur, Sr., commanded the privateers Royal 
 Louis and the Fair American, and Major Garden, the 
 father of Captain Garden, died from wounds received 
 in the same war while serving in the British army in 
 America. Captain Decatur began his naval career in 
 the French War, entering the United States cruiser 
 Delaware as a midshipman, April 30, 1798, the ship at 
 that time being commanded by his father. Young De 
 catur also assisted in getting out the keel pieces of the 
 frigate United States, in which he achieved his bril 
 liant victory. His career in the Mediterranean, and 
 his extraordinary exploit in destroying the 36-gun 
 frigate Philadelphia in the harbor of Tripoli, have 
 already been narrated. 
 
 Captain Garden began his career in the navy with 
 the disadvantage of royal displeasure. In his father s 
 absence in America young Garden was appointed by 
 Queen Charlotte a page to the King, and also an en 
 sign in Major Garden s regiment, although the lad 
 was less than eight years old. As Mrs. Garden, who 
 was in Ireland, refused to take charge of one of the 
 royal progeny as a nurse until she received permission 
 to do so from her husband, young Garden s name was 
 stricken from the list of pages and the roll of his 
 regiment, which put an end to his prospects of ad 
 vancement either at court or in the army. At the age 
 
 1 Captain Decatur in a letter to Mrs. Decatur. 
 
386 THE SECOND FRIGATE ACTION. 1812. 
 
 of sixteen he entered the navy as the captain s servant 
 in the 74-gun ship of the line Edgar, Captain Charles 
 Thompson. In 1789, while in the ship Perseverance, 
 he cruised in the East Indies, and in 1790 was made a 
 midshipman. During Lord Howe s memorable engage 
 ment, June 1, 1794, young Garden was conspicuous for 
 his bravery, and was promoted to the rank of lieuten 
 ant. He served with credit in the 74-gun ship Marl- 
 borough, the 98-gun ship Formidable, the 98-gun ship 
 Barfteur and the 100-gun ship Queen Charlotte. As 
 first lieutenant in the 46-gun frigate Fisgard he again 
 displayed conspicuous gallantry during the action with 
 V Immortalite, for which he was promoted to the rank 
 of commander. He also served with distinction in 
 actions in the Mediterranean and Red Seas, in the 
 Arabian Gulf and in the Indian Ocean. He served in 
 the 110-gun ship Ville de Paris, the 98-gun ship 
 Queen, the 74-gun ship Mars, and on the 5th of April, 
 1811, he was appointed to the command of the new 38- 
 gun frigate Macedonian. When the United States 
 and the Macedonian were at anchor in Norfolk, a few 
 months before the War of 1812, their commanders fre 
 quently interchanged visits, and one day, while Captain 
 Garden was dining aboard the United States, he re 
 marked, after pointing out the superiority of the Brit 
 ish frigates: " Besides, Decatur, though your ships 
 may be good enough, and you are a clever set of fel 
 lows, what practice have you had in war? There is 
 the rub ! " 1 
 
 As Captain Garden was about to deliver his sword 
 to Captain Decatur, the latter refused to receive it, say 
 ing, " Sir, I can not receive the sword of a man who 
 has so bravely defended his ship." It was the frequent 
 manifestation of this magnanimous spirit toward a 
 fallen foe that secured for our navy the respect and es 
 teem of the world. The flush of pride mantles the 
 
 1 Mackenzie s Life of Decatur, p. 157. 
 
1812. DECATUR S MAGNANIMITY. 337 
 
 cheek of every American quite as much for this noble 
 quality displayed by our naval heroes as for their bril 
 liant victories. Well might it be said that they not 
 only captured the enemy s ships but won their hearts 
 as well ! In a private letter Captain Decatur expresses 
 a manly sympathy for Captain Carden, when he wrote : 
 " One half of the satisfaction arising from this victory 
 is destroyed in seeing the mortification of poor Carden, 
 who deserved success as much as we did who had the 
 good fortune to obtain it." No trouble was spared in 
 alleviating the sufferings of the prisoners, and such 
 were the kindness and delicacy of Captain Decatur s 
 bearing toward the British commander and his officers 
 that he won their heartfelt gratitude. All their private 
 property, and even that of the common seamen in the 
 Macedonian, were returned or its equivalent in money, 
 including the eight hundred dollars worth of wine 
 purchased at Madeira a few days before. "I have 
 much gratitude to express to you, my dear sir, for all 
 your kindnesses, and all my officers feel it equally with 
 myself. If ever we should turn the tables, we will en 
 deavor, if possible, to improve on your unusual good 
 ness." 1 Captain Brenton, in his History of the Eng 
 lish Navy, says: " Captain "Decatur, who commanded 
 the United States, behaved to his prisoners in a man 
 ner so honorable and humane as to entitle him not 
 only to the thanks of Captain Carden and his officers, 
 but also to the grateful record of history." 
 
 The American crew was perhaps as fine a set of fel 
 lows as ever trod a gun deck. Most of them had been 
 under Captain Decatur many years, having followed 
 him from ship to ship. The same is true of his officers, 
 the first lieutenant, William Henry Allen, having served 
 under him five years. Thus the officers and men had 
 become thoroughly acquainted with one another s hab 
 its, methods of discipline and navigation, which, when 
 
 1 Letter from Captain Carden to Captain Decatur. 
 
388 THE SECOND FRIGATE ACTION. 1812. 
 
 we remember that every commander has his own pe 
 culiar ideas of routine, is an item of consideration. It 
 had been Decatur s highest ambition to bring his ship s 
 company under the best possible training, and the re 
 sult of his efforts was seen in the quiet rapidity and 
 perfect self-possession with which each man performed 
 his part. The spirit of their commander seemed to 
 pervade the entire company, every order being carried 
 out with as much precision as if it were performed in 
 the security of a friendly port. Captain Decatur was 
 a strict disciplinarian, but, unlike the British com 
 mander, he had won the affection of his crew. Decatur 
 was simple and unaffected in his bearing toward those 
 around him. He was five feet ten inches high, and 
 had a somewhat slender figure, a long face, prominent, 
 restless eyes, dark skin, and black hair. He is de 
 scribed by one of the British seamen who was taken 
 abroad the United States soon after the Macedonian 
 surrendered as "wearing an old straw hat and a plain 
 suit of clothes, which made him look more like a 
 farmer than a naval hero." 
 
 An incident occurred in the United States just as 
 she was about to engage the Macedonian which illus 
 trates the enthusiasm of the crew and their unbounded 
 confidence in Captain Decatur. A lad, named Jack 
 Creamer, had been permitted to go on the present 
 cruise, although his tender age disqualified him from 
 regular enlistment in the American service. Cap in 
 hand, he timidly approached the sacred precincts of 
 the quarter-deck, where Captain Decatur, surrounded 
 by his aids, was intently watching the approach of the 
 British frigate. After gaining his commander s atten 
 tion the boy said: " Commodore, will you please, sir, 
 have my name put down on the muster roll ? " Being 
 asked the reason of this strange request, the little fellow 
 replied, " So I can draw my share of the prize money, 
 sir." The far-sighted young financier accordingly had 
 his name enrolled. While the battle was in progress, 
 
1812. GALLANTRY OF THE AMERICAN OFFICERS. 389 
 
 Captain Decatur visited different parts of the ship, 
 personally inspecting the divisions and encouraging his 
 men. Observing that the enemy s rigging was being 
 cut to pieces, he remarked to the captain of a gun on 
 the main deck : " Aim at that yellow streak along her 
 side. Her spars and rigging are going fast enough ; 
 she must have a little more hulling." At another time 
 an American gunner noticing the mizzenmast of the 
 British frigate fall over the starboard quarter, said to a 
 shipmate, "Ay, Bill, we have made a brig of her." 
 Overhearing the remark, Captain Decatur replied, 
 " Take good aim, my lad, and she will be a sloop," and 
 such good aim did they take that her main topmast 
 soon went over. 
 
 Decatur spoke in the highest terms of his officers, 
 and especially of Lieutenants Allen and John Musser 
 Funck. The latter was mortally wounded, and died a 
 few hours after the battle. The names of the officers 
 of the United States in this action are : William 
 Henry Allen, first lieuteuant ; John Gallagher, John 
 Musser Funck, George Campbell Read, Walter Woos- 
 ter and John B. Nicholson, lieutenants ; John D. 
 Sloat, sailing-master ; Samuel R. Trevitt, surgeon ; Sam 
 uel Yernon, surgeon s mate ; John B. Timberlake, pur 
 ser ; William Anderson, James L. Edwards, lieuten 
 ants of marines ; John Stansbury, Joseph Cassin, 
 Philip Voorhees, John P. Zantzinger, Richard Delphy, 
 Dugan Taylor, Richard S. Heath, Edward F. Ho well, 
 Archibald Hamilton, John N. Carr, H. Z. W. Harring 
 ton, William Jamieson,. Lewis Hinchman and Benja 
 min S. Williams, midshipmen. Thomas Barry was the 
 gunner. 
 
 The duration of this action is a subject of contro 
 versy. Captain Decatur merely says that "after an 
 action of an hour and a half " the Macedonian struck. 
 James says that the action began " about 9h. 20m. 
 A.M." Concerning its termination he says: "By a 
 few minutes past 11 A. M." the Macedonian was com- 
 
390 THE SECOND FRIGATE ACTION. 1812. 
 
 pletely wrecked, and " owing to the heavy sea and her 
 dismasted state she rolled her main-deck guns under 
 water, while the United States, having no sail that she 
 could not set but her mizzen topgallant sail, remained 
 perfectly steady." This very clearly shows that it 
 would have been impossible for the Macedonian at a 
 " f ew minutes past 11 A. M." to make further resist 
 ance. It is improbable that Captain Garden contem 
 plated such a course, for, from the moment the United 
 States ceased firing, a "few minutes past 11 A. M.," ac 
 cording to Mr. James, until she returned at noon to re 
 ceive the surrender of the Macedonian, the latter did 
 not make the slightest resistance. From the figures of 
 this authority it appears that the Macedonian was 
 beaten in about one hour and forty minutes. When 
 we make allowance for Mr. James bias on the subject, 
 we find that his "about 9h. 20m. A. M."and by a "few 
 minutes past 11 A. M." practically corroborates Captain 
 Decatur s general statement that the action lasted one 
 hour and thirty minutes. 
 
 The Macedonian, as we have seen, is acknowledged 
 by English writers to have been "one of the finest 
 frigates in the British navy." She was not built of 
 fir, like many British frigates of her time, but was of 
 the best oak. She was ten feet shorter than the United 
 States, but had eight inches more beam, and she was 
 of the " same class as the Guerriere," 1 which ship, we 
 are told by James himself, was rated among the "]arge 
 38s." " Such was the confidence of victory on board 
 the Macedonian, that every officer, man and boy was 
 in the highest spirits." 2 The United States mounted 
 thirty- two long 24-pounders and twenty-two short 42- 
 pounders, in all fifty-four guns. Deducting the seven 
 per cent for deficient weight of American metal, we 
 have a total of seven hundred and eighty-seven pounds 
 
 1 Hughes History of England, vol. xiv, p. 19. 
 
 2 James History of the British Navy, vol. v, p. 395. 
 
1812. COMPARATIVE FORCES. 391 
 
 to the broadside. The Macedonian, according to Eng 
 lish accounts, carried twenty-eight long 18-potmders, 
 eighteen short 32-pounders, one long 12-pounder and 
 two long 9-pounders, giving a total of forty-nine guns 
 and five hundred and fifty-five pounds of metal to the 
 broadside. Out of a crew of two hundred and ninety- 
 seven, 1 she lost thirty-six killed and sixty-eight wound 
 ed, among the latter being Third-Lieutenant John Bui- 
 ford and three midshipmen ; 2 total, one hundred and 
 four. The United States, out of her crew of four hun 
 dred and seventy-eight, lost five killed and seven 
 wounded, 3 two of the wounded afterward dying, mak 
 ing a total loss of twelve. 
 
 Comparative force and loss. 
 
 Guns. Lbs. Crew. Killed. Wounded. Total. 
 
 United States : 54 787 478 5 7 12 { Time, 
 
 Macedonian : 49 555 297 36 68 104 I Ik. 30m. 
 
 In this action the United States sustained a sur 
 prisingly small amount of damage. With the excep 
 tion of her mizzen topgallantmast her spars remained 
 intact, while her hull was struck only three times. The 
 Macedonian, on the other hand, was completely dis 
 mantled, so that " with the profusion of stores of every 
 sort which was to be found on board the American 
 frigate, with so many able seamen that could be spared 
 from her numerous crew, and with all the advantages 
 that a fortnight s calm weather gave, it took the whole 
 of that time to place the prize in a seaworthy state 
 a clear proof how much the Macedonian had been 
 shattered." 4 
 
 Although the Macedonian had been captured, she 
 was still a long distance from an American port, and 
 had to ran a gantlet of British cruisers before reach- 
 
 1 James History of the British Navy, vol. v, p. 398. 
 
 2 Official report of Captain Garden. 
 
 3 Official report of Captain Decatur. 
 
 4 James History of the British Navy, vol. v, p. 402. 
 
392 THE SECOND FRIGATE ACTION. 1812. 
 
 ing the American coast. First- Lieutenant Allen, of the 
 United States , was put in charge of her, and after 
 nearly two weeks spent in making repairs the vessels 
 took up their course toward the United States. Early 
 in December they sighted the coast of Rhode Island, 
 and succeeded in evading British cruisers stationed at 
 that point ; and on the 4th of December they arrived in 
 New London and Newport, whence they proceeded to 
 New York by the Hell Gate passage. 
 
 As might be expected, the rejoicings occasioned by 
 the news of this second naval victory raised the na 
 tional pride to a dangerous height. Congress voted 
 Captain Decatur a gold medal, and to each of his offi 
 cers a silver one, while many resolutions, swords and 
 receptions were tendered by State legislatures and mu 
 nicipal corporations. The Legislature of Virginia pre 
 sented Lieutenants William Henry Allen and John B. 
 Nicholson with swords, and the former was promoted 
 to the rank of master- commandant. A public ball was 
 given to Captain Decatur, January 2, 1813, at Gibson s 
 City Hotel, New York, and the decorations on that oc 
 casion were said to have surpassed anything of the 
 kind ever attempted before. The hall had the appear 
 ance of a marine palace. Around it was a colonnade 
 formed of the masts of ships, entwined with laurels and 
 bearing the flags of all the nations of the world. Five 
 days afterward a dinner was given in the same place 
 and with the same decorations to the crew of the United 
 States by the Corporation of New York City, but the 
 miniature frigate which decorated the center of one of the 
 tables was floated in grog instead of water. The follow 
 ing account of this banquet is given by an eyewitness : 
 
 u The crew was landed at New Slip precisely at two 
 o clock, and marched in good order through Pearl and 
 Wall Streets and Broadway, preceded by a band of 
 music and amid the loud and reiterated huzzas of their 
 fellow- citizens. On their arrival at the hotel they were 
 ushered into the room by the committee of the Cor- 
 
1812. THE BANQUET OF VICTORY. 393 
 
 poration and took their seats with perfect regularity 
 at the call of the boatswain- s whistle, while the 
 band struck up the inspiring tune of Yankee Doodle. 
 After this, a handsome address was delivered by Al 
 derman Vanderbilt, to which the boatswain replied in 
 nearly the following words : In behalf of my ship 
 mates I return our sincere thanks to the Corporation of 
 the City of New York for the honor which it has this 
 day done us. Rest assured that it will be always our 
 wish to deserve the good opinion of our countrymen. 
 When the boatswain had finished this reply, his ship 
 mates, in token of their approbation, made the room 
 ring with three hearty cheers. At this moment the 
 mainsail of a ship forty-six feet wide by thirty-six feet 
 high, which had been hung at the back of the room, 
 was suddenly furled and revealed a transparent paint 
 ing exhibiting our three glorious naval victories. It is 
 impossible for pen to describe the scene that followed. 
 All the fierce enthusiasm of the battle they had recent 
 ly been through was roused again, and, jumping on 
 their chairs and some standing on the table, they gave 
 vent to three savage yells of victory. For a few min 
 utes the din was deafening, but silence finally being 
 secured by the boatswain s whistle, the crew of four 
 hundred and more men began to lay aboard the excel 
 lent dinner in true man-of-war style. After dinner the 
 boatswain piped for silence, when the president gave 
 the following toast : American ships all over the 
 ocean. Captain Decatur and his first lieutenant, Mr. 
 Allen, shortly afterward entered the room, and were re 
 ceived by the seamen in a manner that showed how 
 deep and sincere was their affection for their com 
 mander. Captain Decatur gave the following toast : 
 Free trade and no impressment. After their com 
 mander had retired, a variety of volunteer toasts was 
 given in true nautical style, and at six o clock the men, 
 obedient to the boatswain s whistle, adjourned to the 
 theater. The jolly tars marched in regular procession, 
 
 28 
 
394: THE SECOND FRIGATE ACTION. 1812. 
 
 in compliance with an invitation from the managers. 
 The front of the theater was illuminated, and exhib 
 ited a transparency of the engagement between the 
 United States and the Macedonian. The house was 
 more crowded than was ever known before. The pit 
 was entirely occupied by the gallant crew of the frigate 
 United States." 
 
 The Macedonian was refitted, and in the following 
 June she sailed with the United States, Captain Ste 
 phen Decatur, and the Hornet, Master-Commandant 
 James Biddle. While working up Long Island Sound 
 the United States was struck by lightning and nar 
 rowly escaped blowing up. The bolt shattered the 
 royal mast, bringing down Captain Decatur s broad 
 pennant, and, passing along the conductor on the out 
 side of the hull, it was attracted by a gun into one of 
 the main -deck ports and from there it went down the 
 wardroom hatch, skirting the magazine scuttle, entered 
 the surgeon s room, put his light out, tore up his bed, 
 and, descending between the side and the ceiling, it 
 went out at the waters edge, tearing away a portion of 
 the copper. At that moment the Macedonian was di 
 rectly astern of the flagship, and, fearing an explosion, 
 Captain Jacob Jones threw all aback ; but the lightning 
 caused no further damage. This squadron, however, 
 had scarcely cleared the land when it was driven back 
 by two 74-gun ships and a frigate, and taking refuge in 
 New London it was blockaded in that port until the 
 close of the war. The Hornet, however, managed to 
 get to sea early in 1815, and the story of her interesting 
 cruise will be told in another chapter. In March, 1813, 
 Captain Garden and the surviving officers and men of 
 the Macedonian being exchanged, were sent to Ber 
 muda, where Captain Garden was tried by court-martial 
 for the loss of his ship, and was honorably acquitted. 
 On the 17th of August, 1840, he was made a rear-admi 
 ral of the Red. The colors of the Macedonian may be 
 seen in the Naval Institute Building at Annapolis. 
 
CHAPTER Y. 
 
 THE CONSTITUTION-JAVA FIGHT. 
 
 THE result of the first and second actions between 
 American and English frigates and the enthusiasm 
 aroused by this arm of the service induced the Gov 
 ernment to change the timorous policy, which charac 
 terized it at the beginning of hostilities, to a bold and 
 far-reaching plan of operations on the high seas. Sev 
 eral expeditions were organized with a view of striking 
 the enemy in distant parts of the globe ; and by having 
 frigates well provisioned for long cruises, so that they 
 would not be obliged to put into port except at unfre 
 quented places, the Americans hoped to compel the 
 British navy to spread out its forces and to draw many 
 of its cruisers from their coast. In pursuance of this 
 policy a squadron was fitted out under the command 
 of Captain William Bainbridge with orders to sail for 
 the Indian Ocean and to cruise against English com 
 merce in the East Indies. Captain Bainbridge was one 
 of the most experienced and trusted officers in the 
 navy. The clever artifice by which he saved the Nor 
 folk and the Montezuma from a French squadron in 
 1798, his subsequent brilliant career as commander of 
 the Norfolk, and his long imprisonment at Guadeloupe 
 and Tripoli, have already been narrated. His squadron 
 consisted of the 44-gun frigate Constitution, flagship ; 
 the 32-gun frigate Essex, Captain David Porter ; and 
 the 18-gun ship-sloop Hornet, Master-Commandant 
 James Lawrence. The Constitution and the Hornet 
 sailed from Boston on the 26th of October, while the 
 Essex put to sea from the Delaware two days earlier, 
 
396 THE CONSTITUTION-JAVA FIGHT. 1811. 
 
 having been informed about various places at which 
 she was to meet the other ships. 
 
 Seventeen days after the American squadron put to 
 sea the British 38-gun frigate Java, Captain Henry 
 Lambert, sailed from Portsmouth, England, for India, 
 having under her protection two richly laden merchant 
 ships. The Java, formerly the 40-gun frigate Re- 
 nommee, 1 was captured from the French off Madagas 
 car in the latter part of February, 1811, at which time, 
 says James, she was a "new frigate " and "of the first 
 class," 2 and on being taken into the British navy she was 
 named Java. At the time of sailing on her long voy 
 age for India she had received a thorough overhauling 
 and was newly fitted. She was laden with stores for 
 the 74-gun ship of the line Cornwallis and the 10-gun 
 sloops of war Chameleon and Icarus, then fitting at 
 Bombay. Captain Lambert, the commander of the 
 Java, "one of our most distinguished officers," 3 had a 
 high reputation for seamanship. He entered the Brit 
 ish navy as a midshipman under Admiral Robert Man, 
 and early in 1798 he sailed in the frigate Virginie for 
 the East Indies, where he was transferred to the 74-gun 
 ship of the line Suffolk. He rose rapidly in his profes 
 sion, and in 1804, while commanding the 32-gun frigate 
 Wilhelmina, gained wide celebrity by beating off the 
 French frigate-built privateer Psyche, after two and a 
 half hours of desperate fighting. The Wilhelmina 
 mounted eighteen 9-pounders, and the Psyche twenty- 
 four 12-pounders and ten heavy carronades. In the 
 following year Captain Lambert, in command of the 
 frigate St. Fiorenzo, after a long chase captured the 
 Psyche. 
 
 But Captain Lambert made his great reputation as 
 commander of the frigate Iphigenia. Having under 
 
 1 Allen s Battles of the British Navy, vol. ii, p. 359. 
 
 2 Marshall s Royal Naval Biography, vol. iv, p. 834. 
 
 3 Brenton s History of the English Navy, vol. ii, p. 46. 
 
1812. 
 
 THE JAVA AND HER OFFICERS. 
 
 397 
 
 his orders the frigates Leopard and Magicienne, the 
 sloop Sapphire and the brig Staunch, he blockaded 
 the Isles of France and Bourbon during the hurricane 
 months, " which had never before been attempted." 1 
 Afterward the Iphigenia, with the Magicienne, the 
 Sirius and the Nereide, made a daring attack on the 
 French squadron in Grande Port, and in his operations 
 at 1 Isle de la Passe Captain Lambert showed his great 
 
 Cape of Good Hope 
 
 Cruise of the Constitution, Hornet and Java. 
 
 abilities as a naval officer, and in August, 1812, he was 
 placed in command of the Java. The first lieutenant 
 of the Java, Henry Ducie Chads, was also an officer of 
 no mean experience and reputation. He had been con 
 spicuous for his gallantry in the affair of 1 Isle de la 
 Passe, and so conscious was Captain Lambert of the 
 lieutenant s ability that when placed in command of 
 
 1 Marshall s Royal Naval Biography, vol. v, p. 238. 
 
398 THE CONSTITUTION-JAVA FIGHT. 1812. 
 
 the Java he especially requested that Mr. Chads, then 
 serving in the Semiramis, might be made the senior 
 lieutenant in the Java. The Java had as passengers 
 Lieutenant-General Thomas Hislop, the recently ap 
 pointed Governor of India, Captain Wood, Captain 
 John Marshall, of the British navy, Major Walker, 
 James Saunders, a lieutenant in the navy, and one 
 hundred supernumeraries, so that she sailed with the 
 distinction of having two navy captains, besides other 
 extra sea officers whose services might become valuable 
 in case she met an enemy. 
 
 In due time the Constitution and the Hornet ar 
 rived at Port Praya, the first rendezvous, but nothing 
 was seen of the Essex, and at Fernando de Noronha 
 Captain Bainbridge again failed to meet her. In order 
 to deceive the enemy as much as possible, the Constitu 
 tion and the Hornet appeared at these ports under the 
 assumed names of the British frigates Acasta and Mbr- 
 giana, while Captain David Porter was to figure as Sir 
 James Yeo, of the 32-gun frigate Southampton. De 
 spairing of falling in with the Essex at these places, 
 Captain Bainbridge wrote a letter containing some com 
 monplace matter, and on the back of it wrote in " sym 
 pathetic ink " orders for the future movements of the 
 Essex. This letter, addressed to " Sir James Yeo of 
 his Britannic Majesty s ship Southampton" was left at 
 the last rendezvous to await the arrival of Captain Por 
 ter, while the Constitution and the Hornet made for the 
 coast of Brazil, preparatory to doubling the Cape of 
 Good Hope, and arrived off Bahia (St. Salvador) on the 
 13th of December. Not wishing to have it known to 
 the people on shore that the Constitution was there 
 about, Captain Bainbridge sent the Hornet into the 
 harbor to communicate with the American consul, Mr. 
 Hill, and from him Master-Commandant Lawrence 
 learned that the British sloop of war Bonne Citoyenne, 
 Captain P. B. Greene, was in port and was about to 
 transport a large amount of specie to England. 
 
1812. THE HORNET AND THE BONNE CITOYENNE. 399 
 
 The Bonne Citoyenne is described as having been 
 " one of the finest sloops of war in the service." It was 
 this ship that had created such a "tempest in a tea 
 pot " a few years before, at Gibraltar. Lord Dundonald 
 
 JBahia. 
 
 was anxious to secure the command of her, but by the 
 influence of the Admiralty it was given to the brother 
 of Lord Keith s secretary. 1 She carried eighteen short 
 32-pounders and two long 9-pounders. In August, 
 1809, after an action of seven hours, she captured la 
 Furieuse, "a French frigate of the largest class," 
 having her "full complement of officers and two hun 
 dred seamen, with a colonel, two lieutenants and a 
 detachment of the Sixty-sixth Regiment of the line." 2 
 La Furieuse carried twelve short 42-pounders, two 
 long 24-pounders and six guns of a smaller caliber. 
 Afterward she was taken into the British navy and 
 
 1 Autobiography of Lord Dundonald, vol. ii, p. 92. 
 
 2 Brenton s History of the English Navy, vol. ii, p. 258. 
 
4:00 THE CONSTITUTION-JAVA FIGHT. 1812. 
 
 was classed as a 36-gun frigate. The Hornet carried 
 eighteen short 32-pounders and two long 12-pounders, 
 which made her equal to the Bonne Citoyenne in 
 weight of metal. 
 
 Desirous of bringing on an action with this ship, 
 Master-Commandant Lawrence sent a challenge through 
 the American consul to Captain Greene, pledging on 
 his part that the Constitution would sail away so as 
 to make it impossible for her to interfere. " When I 
 last saw you I stated to you my wish to meet the 
 Bonne Citoyenne, and authorized you to make my 
 wish known to Captain Greene. I now request you to 
 state to him that I will be pleased to come out, and 
 pledge my honor that neither the Constitution nor any 
 other American vessel shall interfere." Captain Bain- 
 bridge supplemented this letter with a note in which 
 he said : "If Captain Greene wishes to try equal force, 
 I pledge my honor to give him an opportunity, by be 
 ing out of the way or not interfering." But Captain 
 Greene declined the challenge, saying: " I am con 
 vinced, sir, if such a rencounter were to take place, the 
 result could not long be dubious, and would terminate 
 favorably to the ship which I have the honor to com 
 mand ; but I am equally convinced that Captain Bain- 
 bridge could not swerve so much from the duty he 
 owes his country as to become an inactive spectator, 
 and to see a ship belonging to the very squadron under 
 his orders fall into the hands of an enemy. This reason 
 operates powerfully on my mind for not exposing the 
 Bonne Citoyenne to a risk upon terms so manifestly 
 disadvantageous as those proposed by Captain Bain- 
 bridge. Indeed, nothing could give me greater satis 
 faction than complying with the wishes of Master- 
 Commandant Lawrence, and I earnestly hope that 
 chance will afford him an opportunity of meeting the 
 Bonne Citoyenne under different circumstances, to en 
 able him to distinguish himself in the manner he is 
 now so desirous of doing. I further assure you that 
 
1812. THE JAVA SIGHTED. 401 
 
 my ship will at all times be prepared, wherever she 
 may be, to repel any attacks made against her and I 
 shall also act offensively whenever I judge it proper to 
 do so." 1 "To make him easy on this point, Captain 
 Bainbridge left the Hornet four days together off the 
 harbor in which the Bonne Citoyenne lay, and from 
 which he could see that he was not within forty miles. 
 He afterward went into the harbor and remained there 
 three days, where he might have been detained twenty- 
 four hours, at the request of Captain Greene, if dis 
 posed to combat the Hornet. " 2 Finding Captain Greene 
 determined not to fight, Master-Commandant Lawrence 
 rejoined the Constitution in the offing, resolved at all 
 events to prevent the Bonne Citoyenne from sailing on 
 her intended voyage ; and on the 26th of December the 
 Constitution, leaving the Hornet to blockade Captain 
 Greene, stood out to sea. 
 
 Four days after Christmas, while the Constitution 
 was about thirty miles from the coast in latitude 13 6 
 South, longitude 38 West, the wind being light from 
 the east by northeast, Captain Bainbridge discovered 
 two sails on his weather bow. By ten o clock it was 
 seen that the strangers were full-rigged ships, one 
 standing in for the land, while the other was making 
 for the Constitution. They were the Java and her 
 prize the American merchant ship William, which she 
 had captured two weeks before. After leaving Spithead 
 the Java touched at Port Praya, where she heard that 
 the Essex was expected. Soon afterward she chased 
 and overhauled the William. On the 24th of Decem 
 ber, being short of water and not able to get at the 
 supply he had, on account of the heavy articles with 
 which the hold was stowed, Captain Lambert deter 
 mined to touch at Bahia, and altered his course ac 
 cordingly ; but the two Indiamen, not wishing to go 
 
 1 Captain Greene to the British consul, Frederick Landeman. 
 
 2 Washington Irving, Spanish Papers, vol. ii. p. 42. 
 
402 THE CONSTITUTION-JAVA FIGHT. 1812. 
 
 so far out of the course, continued on their way. At 
 daylight, December 29th, the Java sighted the Bra 
 zilian coast and soon afterward descried the Consti 
 tution, Captain Lambert at first believing her to be 
 the Essex. 
 
 At 11 A. M. Captain Bainbridge took in his royals 
 and tacked to the southeast, and half an hour later he 
 hoisted the private signal of the day, but finding that 
 it was not answered he cleared for action. Wishing to 
 draw the enemy from his supposed consort, he set his 
 mainsails and royals and stood from the land. At 
 noon he showed his colors, the broad pennant at the 
 main, the Stars and Stripes at the peak, another at the 
 main topgallant mast and the American jack at the 
 fore. At 12.15 P. M. the enemy hoisted an ensign at 
 the mizzen peak, and a union jack at the mizzen top 
 gallant masthead, lashing another to the main rigging, 
 while a private signal was made at the masthead. At 
 1.06 P. M., finding that the enemy had " the advantage 
 of her in sailing," l the Constitution took in her main 
 sail and royals, went about and stood for the Eng 
 lishman. About 2 P. M. the enemy hauled down all 
 his colors except the union jack at the mizzen mast 
 head. At this time he was about a mile to windward, 
 when Captain Bainbridge fired a gun from the third 
 division of his main-deck battery across the Java s 
 bow in order to induce her to show her colors again. 
 The shot had the desired effect, the enemy immedi 
 ately rehoisting all his flags and firing a broadside in 
 return. Thereupon the Constitution fired her port 
 guns, the shot splashing the water harmlessly against 
 the enemy s hull. 
 
 At 2.10 P. M., ? when the ships were half a mile apart, 
 the Constitution opened fire from her port battery. 
 
 1 Official report of the British commander. 
 
 2 Official report of Captain Bainbridge ; also official report of the Brit 
 ish commander. 
 
1812. MANOEUVRING FOR CLOSE QUARTERS. 403 
 
 The enemy did not immediately reply, but when within 
 pistol shot delivered a starboard broadside. The two 
 frigates then ran along side by side, delivering and 
 receiving a tremendous fire. At 2.25 P. M. the ships 
 passed each other on opposite tacks and shifted their 
 gun crews. Captain Bainbridge was anxious to come 
 to close quarters, but as the British frigate held the 
 weather gage, besides having the superiority in sailing, 
 in the prevailing light wind he could not do this with 
 out exposing his ship to a raking broadside. About 
 2.28 P. M. a cannon shot smashed the Constitution s 
 wheel into splinters, which rendered her steering ex 
 tremely difficult throughout the rest of the action, and 
 the same shot drove a small copper bolt into Captain 
 Bainbridge s thigh, inflicting a painful wound. A short 
 time before this he had been injured by a musket ball, 
 but fearful of dampening the ardor of his crew by 
 going below, he kept the quarter-deck and continued 
 to direct the battle. He was a man of imposing build, 
 and when aroused to action his manner inspired con 
 fidence and enthusiasm in all around him. He was 
 about six feet high, with a well-proportioned, muscular 
 frame, and had an unusually piercing eye. He was 
 severe in discipline, but tempered it with much con 
 sideration for the men. The loss of the wheel was a 
 serious mishap, as the English vessel, being strongly 
 manned, was handled with great dexterity ; this, to 
 gether with her superiority of sailing, made her a nim 
 ble and dangerous foe. The enemy took advantage of 
 the situation by endeavoring to rake, which caused a 
 succession of rapid manoeuvres, so that in a short time 
 the ships were several miles to leeward of the point 
 where they first came into action. After the loss of 
 the wheel the Americans worked the tiller by means of 
 tackles two decks below, which made it exceedingly 
 awkward, because the men at the tiller could not see 
 the sails, and orders had to be transmitted by a line of 
 midshipmen, making them peculiarly liable to confu- 
 
404: THE CONSTITUTION-JAVA FIGHT. 1812. 
 
 sion. About 2.30 the Java succeeded in running across 
 the Constitution s stern and poured in a raking broad 
 side, but in so doing relinquished the weather gage. 
 Captain Bainbridge, however, did not avail himself of 
 this advantage, but ran with the wind free on the port 
 tack. The Java quickly luffed up and again raked 
 with her starboard guns, but at too great a distance to 
 be effective. 
 
 At 2.40 P. M. Captain Bainbridge determined to 
 come to close quarters at any cost, and setting his fore 
 and main sails he boldly headed his frigate for the 
 enemy, exposing her to a fore-and-aft fire. But for 
 some unexplained reason the British did not improve 
 their opportunity, and when broadsides should have 
 raked the Constitution from stem to stern, only one 
 9-pounder was discharged. Having brought his ship 
 into close quarters, Captain Bainbridge opened afresh 
 from the starboard battery. The effect of the Ameri 
 can guns at close quarters was dreadful. In a few 
 minutes the enemy lost his jib boom and bowsprit, 
 while his running rigging was so injured as to deprive 
 him of the superiority of sailing for the rest of the 
 action. Availing herself of this advantage, the Consti 
 tution wore in the smoke, and the Englishmen did not 
 discover the manoeuvre until it was nearly completed, 
 when they hove in stays, hoping to get around quickly 
 enough to avoid a raking. But their ship, having lost 
 her bowsprit and jib boom, hung a long time and re 
 ceived from the American, not more than two cables 
 lengths off, a disastrous fire which sw^ept their decks 
 fore and aft. The Constitution now took a position off 
 her opponent s bow and poured in a diagonal fire, so 
 that at 3.05 P. M. the enemy s foremast was carried 
 away by the board, and in falling it passed through 
 the forecastle and main deck. 
 
 Finding that his situation was becoming desperate, 
 the British commander made an attempt to board, but 
 owing to the dismantled condition of his ship he was 
 
1812. THE CALL FOR BOARDERS. 405 
 
 unable to do so. His foremast had fallen over the 
 forecastle and encumbered many of the guns on the 
 main deck, his maintopmast fell soon afterward, shot 
 away just above the cap, the stump of his bowsprit was 
 carried away, and fifteen minutes later his gaff and 
 spanker boom went over the side. The ships were so 
 close together at this moment that the remains of the 
 enemy s bowsprit, passing over the Constitution s stern, 
 became entangled with the starboard mizzen rigging, so 
 that the Englishman was forced up to the wind. At 
 the time the enemy was expected to board, Lieutenant 
 John C. Alwyn, who had been sailing-master in the 
 Constitution during her action with the Guerriere and 
 had been promoted for his gallantry on that occasion, 
 promptly answered to the call for boarders, and when 
 on the quarter-deck hammock cloths, in the act of dis 
 charging his pistol, he received a ball through the 
 same shoulder that had been injured in the action with 
 the Guerriere. Although suffering great pain, he re 
 mained at his post till the close of the battle. Shortly 
 after Lieutenant Alwyn fell, a marine in the Constitu 
 tion s maintop, observing the British commander, shot 
 him through the breast. The Java? s surgeon, Thomas 
 Cooke Jones, says: "I saw him [Captain Lambert] 
 almost immediately afterward, and found that the ball 
 had entered his left side under the clavicle, fracturing 
 the first rib, the splinters of which had severely lacer 
 ated the lungs. I put my finger in the wound, de 
 tached and extricated several pieces of the bone. He 
 said that he felt no annoyance from the wound in his 
 breast, but complained of pain extending the whole 
 length of his spine." The command of the Java now 
 devolved on Lieutenant Chads, who, with the assistance 
 of Captain John Marshall, Lieutenant James Saunders 
 and other officers who were in the frigate as passengers, 
 continued the battle with great bravery. 
 
 By 3.30 P. M. the fire of the British frigate had per 
 ceptibly slackened, although the guns that were still 
 
406 THE CONSTITUTION-JAVA FIGHT. 1812. 
 
 mounted were handled with spirit. At 3.55 p. M. Cap 
 tain Bainbridge had the satisfaction of seeing his an 
 tagonist s mizzenmast go by the board, and the wreck 
 hanging over the engaged side caught fire from the 
 enemy s own guns. From 3.30 p. M. until the Java s 
 mizzenmast went over, the Constitution i i lay on our 
 starboard quarter, pouring in a tremendous, galling fire, 
 while on our side we could never get more than two or 
 three guns to bear, and frequently none at all." 1 At 
 4.05 P. M. the English frigate was " an unmanageable 
 wreck." 2 Her fire for some time had ceased, six of 
 her quarter-deck guns, four on her forecastle and many 
 on the main deck were disabled by the wreck of her 
 masts hanging over them, her fore and mizzen masts 
 and bowsprit were carried away, her mainmast was 
 tottering and no flag was visible. " Having effectually 
 done her work " the Constitution drew away to repair 
 her rigging, which was considerably damaged, leaving 
 " us a perfect wreck, with only our mainmast standing 
 and the main yards gone in the slings. Every exertion 
 was made by us during this interval to place the ship 
 in a state to renew the action. We succeeded in clear 
 ing the wreck of our masts from the guns, and endeav 
 ored to get before the wind by setting sails on the 
 stumps of the bowsprit and foremast. Got the main 
 tack forward, the weather yardarm remaining aloft ; 
 cleared away the booms, and got # topgallantmast out 
 and commenced rigging it for a jury foremast, intend 
 ing to set a lower steering sail for a foresail. Before 
 we could get this accomplished we were obliged to cut 
 away the mainmast to prevent its falling inboard from 
 the heavy rolling of the ship." 3 
 
 Seeing that the American frigate was out of gun 
 shot, engaged in repairing her rigging, the surviving 
 
 1 Subsequent account of Lieutenant Chads. 
 
 2 Official report of the British commander. 
 
 3 Subsequent account of Lieutenant Chads. 
 
OF THK 
 
 X^ Ur iXir, ^ j- 
 
 giSlIVERSlTY J 
 
 
1812. THE JAVA S CREW. 407 
 
 Englishmen tacked a flag to the stump of their miz- 
 zenmast and rigged a square sail to the wreck of the 
 foremast, so that they could report to the Admiralty, 
 " We still awaited the attack of the enemy." " The 
 enemy," in the meantime, having spliced her rigging, 
 with all her masts sound, with every gun in place and 
 reloaded, bore down at 5.25 P. M. on the wreck. Here 
 upon the surviving Englishmen seemed to think better 
 of their resolution to " await the attack of the enemy," 
 for they struck at the first summons. At this moment 
 John Cheever, one of the American seamen who had 
 been mortally wounded in the action, hearing that the 
 c enemy had struck, raised himself with one hand, 
 and, giving three feeble cheers, expired. His brother, 
 Joseph P. Cheever, also was killed in this battle. Im 
 mediately upon the surrender of the enemy, First- 
 Lieutenant George Parker, of the Constitution, was 
 sent aboard to take possession. On sighting the 
 American frigate, the Java s prize, the William, 
 made directly for Bahia and was captured by the 
 Hornet. 
 
 By placing twenty men in the William, the Java s. 
 crew, at the time of her action with the Constitution, 
 according to English accounts, was reduced to three 
 hundred and seventy-seven men, including the super 
 numerary list. That the Java s passengers were ac 
 tively engaged in the fight is seen in Lieutenant 
 Chads official report, w|en he says : " To Captain John 
 Marshall, of the royal ijavy, who was a passenger, I 
 am particularly obliged" for his exertions and advice 
 throughout the action. Lieutenant-General Hislop, 
 Major Walker and Captain Wood of his staff, the lat 
 ter of whom was wounded, were solicitous to assist 
 and remained on the quarter-deck." James Saunders, 
 another passenger and a lieutenant in the royal navy, 
 commanded the forecastle. But there are reasons for 
 believing that the Java carried more men than the 
 English accounts give her. Captain Bainbridge re- 
 
 29 
 
408 THE CONSTITUTION-JAVA FIGHT. 1812-1813. 
 
 ported that he released on parole three hundred and 
 sixty-one officers, seamen, marines and boys, besides 
 eight passengers and nine Portuguese seamen, making 
 three hundred and seventy-eight people in the ship. 
 The Java s losses are admitted to have been twenty- 
 two killed and one hundred and two wounded. Add 
 ing the number of killed to the number of prisoners 
 released on parole by Captain Bainbridge, we have 
 four hundred. After the action the Java s muster 
 roll, bearing the date of November 17, 1812, was dis 
 covered, which showed that four hundred and forty- 
 six persons were in her when she sailed from England, 
 twenty of whom were put in the William, thus leav 
 ing the Java at the time of the action with four hun 
 dred and twenty-six souls. 
 
 The number of the Java s killed and wounded as 
 given in the official report of Lieutenant Chads also is 
 open to question. A letter was found in the Constitu 
 tion after the prisoners were landed, addressed to 
 Lieutenant Peter Y. Wood, Twenty-second Eegiment, 
 foot, signed by Lieutenant H. D. Carnick and dated 
 January 1, 1813, which said that sixty were killed and 
 one hundred and seventy were wounded. After refer 
 ring to the death of a friend, Lieutenant Carnick adds : 
 u Four others of my messmates shared the same fate, 
 together with sixty killed and one hundred and seventy 
 wounded." As Lieutenant Carnick could not have 
 had so good an opportunity for estimating the Java s 
 loss as Captain Bainbridge had which remark applies 
 equally to Lieutenant Chads we are justified in accept 
 ing Captain Bainbridge s statement of the Java s loss, 
 which is the mean between the British accounts, as 
 follows : sixty killed and one hundred and one wound 
 ed. Among the latter were First-Lieutenant Chads, 
 Mr. Robertson the sailing-master and Lieutenant Davis, 
 of the marines. The Constitution s complement num 
 bered four hundred and eighty, of whom she lost nine 
 killed and twenty -five wounded. 
 
1812. COMPARATIVE FORCES. 409 
 
 The official reports on both sides agree that this 
 third frigate action began at 2.10 P. M. At 4.05 p. M., 1 
 when the Constitution left the Java, the latter was a 
 " perfect wreck, with only her mainmast standing, and 
 that tottering, her main yard gone in the slings, and the 
 muzzles of her guns dipping in the water from the 
 heavy rolling of the ship in consequence of her dis 
 masted state." 2 On the other hand, " considering that 
 the loss of her [the Constitution s] main topsail yards, 
 with some cut rigging, was the only injury she had 
 sustained," there can be no doubt that the Java at 
 this time was incapable of making further resistance. 
 This determines the duration of the action at one hun 
 dred and fifteen minutes by Captain Bainbridge s fig 
 ures, one hundred and thirty-five by James , and one 
 hundred and forty-five according to Lieutenant Chads. 
 
 Since her engagement with the Guerriere, the 
 Constitution had changed her armament so that she 
 now carried thirty-two long 24-pounders and twenty- 
 two short 42-pounders, a total of fifty-four guns, ag 
 gregating seven hundred and eighty- seven pounds of 
 metal, after deducting seven per cent for deficiency in 
 the weight of American shot, to the broadside. For 
 reasons given in the introduction, the Java will be con 
 sidered as still mounting her French guns. According 
 to English authorities, she carried on this occasion 
 twenty-eight long 18-pounders, sixteen short 32-pound- 
 ers, two long 9-pounders, and one short 18-pounder, 
 giving a total of forty-seven guns and five hundred and 
 sixty-eight English pounds of metal to the broadside. 
 
 Comparative force and loss. 
 
 Guns. Lbs. Crew. Killed. Wounded. Total. 
 
 Constitution : 54 787 480 9 25 34 ( Time 
 
 Java : 47 568 426 60 101 161 ( Ih. 55m. 
 
 1 Journal of Captain Bainbridge. Lieutenant Chads gives it at 4.35 
 p. M., while James says 4.25 p. M. 
 
 2 James History of the British Navy, vol. v, p. 414. 
 
410 THE CONSTITUTION-JAVA FIGHT. 1812. 
 
 With the exception of her main topsail yard the 
 Constitution came out of the action with her royal 
 yards across, and every spar, from the highest to the 
 lowest, in place, while the injuries to her hull were 
 trifling. Her rigging was considerably cut up, but her 
 masts and spars, although wounded, did not even re 
 quire fishing. One 18-pound shot passed through her 
 mizzenmast, her foremast was slightly wounded, while 
 the mainmast was untouched. The Java, which, as 
 compared with the Constitution, was a new frigate, 
 was "totally dismasted." 1 Stick after stick had been 
 shot out of her until nothing was left but a few stumps. 
 The foremast had been shot away twice, once near the 
 cat-harpings and again much nearer the deck. She 
 was so shattered that it was impossible to get her even 
 to Bahia, and on the following day she was blown up. 
 On the same day that this battle was fought and at 
 the precise hour when the Java lay a rolling hulk on 
 the ocean, and the crew of the Constitution were busily 
 engaged washing the blood stains from the decks with 
 hot vinegar, or attending to the wounded, burying the 
 dead and putting the ship in order for action again, 
 five hundred men sat down to a banquet at Gibson s 
 City Hotel, New York city, over which De Witt Clin 
 ton presided, in honor of the victories of Captain Isaac 
 Hull, Captain Stephen Decatur and Master-Comman 
 dant Jacob Jones. 
 
 A short time before the Java was blown up Captain 
 Lambert, who had been delirious during the night from 
 his dreadful wound, was removed from his cabin and 
 taken aboard the Constitution. This removal was at 
 tended with much difficulty, for, although the two frig 
 ates lay near together, the seas were running high and 
 the boat in which the wounded veteran was placed was 
 tossed about in an alarming manner. The short passage 
 from the wreck to the American frigate was watched 
 
 1 Allen s Battles of the British Navy, vol. ii, p. 414. 
 
1812-1813. LAMBERT S DEATH. 
 
 with painful interest by the survivors in both ships, and 
 when the boat finally came under the Constitutions lee 
 and the delirious Lambert was tenderly lifted aboard a 
 sigh of relief escaped many. The day after the arrival 
 of the Constitution in Bahia a touching interview took 
 place on the quarter-deck of the American frigate be 
 tween Captain Bainbridge and Captain Lambert. The 
 British commander was lying in his cot under the shade 
 of an awning when Captain Bainbridge, who was still in 
 a critical condition from his wound, approached, sup 
 ported by two of his officers, and returned the sword 
 to the dying Englishman. This meeting of the two 
 heroes left a kindlier feeling between their crews. In 
 January Captain Lambert was landed at Bahia, where 
 more comfortable quarters were provided for him. 
 He lingered several days, delirious, and muttering in 
 coherently about the loss of his ship. "Our unhappy 
 situation seemed to produce reflections which entered 
 uppermost in his discordant mind, on which he raved 
 till he was completely exhausted. At night [of the 
 fifth day] he became totally insensible and fell into 
 a disturbed slumber. The organs of respiration per 
 formed their office with difficulty ; at every gasp the 
 air issued from the wound with a peculiar noise ; his 
 pulse grew faint, and a few minutes before ten o clock 
 he breathed his last." 1 
 
 The characteristic kindness of the American offi 
 cers brought forth the following letter from Lieu 
 tenant - General Hislop to Captain Bainbridge: "I 
 am justly penetrated with the fullest sense of your 
 very handsome and kind treatment ever since the 
 fate of war placed me in your power, and I beg 
 once more to renew to you my sincere acknowledg 
 ments for the same." In his official report to the 
 Admiralty, Lieutenant Chads wrote: "lean not con 
 clude this letter without expressing my grateful ac- 
 
 1 Letter of Thomas Cooke Jones, the Java s surgeon. 
 
412 THE CONSTITUTION-JAVA FIGHT. 1812-1813. 
 
 knowledgments thus publicly for the generous treat 
 ment Captain Lambert and his officers have experi 
 enced from our gallant enemy Captain Bainbridge and 
 his officers." 
 
 Captain Bainbridge spoke in the highest terms of 
 the conduct of his officers and men who were engaged 
 in this action. He said : " Should I attempt to do jus 
 tice by representations of the brave and good conduct 
 of all my officers and crew during the action, I should 
 fail in the attempt ; therefore suffice it to say, that the 
 whole of their conduct was such as to merit my highest 
 encomiums. I beg leave to recommend the officers 
 particularly to the notice of the Government, and also 
 the unfortunate seamen who were wounded and the 
 families of those who fell in the action." A few days 
 later, on the appearance of a strange ship, all hands 
 were called to quarters in the expectation of a battle, 
 and Lieutenant Alwyn, although desperately wounded 
 in the action with the Java, left his bed and repaired 
 to his station. The ship, however, turned out to be 
 the Hornet. He died at sea from the effect of his in 
 juries, January 28th. The officers of the Constitution 
 in this action were : George Parker, first lieutenant ; 
 Beekman Verplank Hoffman, second lieutenant ; John 
 Templer Shubrick, third lieutenant ; Charles W. Mor 
 gan, fourth lieutenant ; John C. Alwyn, junior lieuten 
 ant; John Nichols, sailing-master; John Carleton, 
 chaplain ; John Contee and William H. Freeman, lieu 
 tenants of marines ; Amos A. Evans, surgeon ; John 
 D. Armstrong and Donaldson Yeates, surgeon s mates ; 
 Robert C. Ludlow, purser ; Thomas A. Beatty, Lewis 
 German, William L. Gordon, Ambrose D. Fields, 
 Frederick Baury, Joseph Cross, Alexander Belcher, 
 William Taylor, Alexander Eskridge, James W. De- 
 lancy, James Greenlaw, William D. M Carty, Z. W. 
 Nixon, John A. Wish, Dulaney Forrest, George H. 
 Leverett, Henry Ward, John C. Long, John H. Packett 
 and Richard Winter, midshipmen. Peter Adams was 
 
1813. THE CONSTITUTION HOMEWARD BOUND. 413 
 
 boatswain, Ezekiel Darling gunner and John C. Cum- 
 ings acting midshipman. 
 
 Believing it to be advisable to postpone the cruise 
 in the Bast Indies, as the Essex failed to appear, 
 Captain Bainbridge, after landing his prisoners at 
 Bahia, sailed for the United States on the 6th of Janu 
 ary, 1813, and on the 27th of February he arrived in 
 Boston. Congress voted fifty thousand dollars to the 
 officers and. crew of the Constitution as prize money, 
 and a gold medal to Captain Bainbridge and a silver 
 one to each of his officers. The fifty thousand dollars 
 was divided into twenty equal parts, as follows : Three 
 parts to the captain ; two parts to the sea lieutenants 
 and sailing-master ; two parts to the marine officers, 
 surgeon, purser, boatswain, gunner, carpenter, master s 
 mates and chaplain ; three parts to the midshipmen, 
 surgeon s mates, captain s clerks, schoolmaster, boat 
 swain s mates, gunner s mates, carpenter s mates, stew 
 ard, sailmaker, master-at-arms, armorer and coxswains ; 
 three parts among the gunner s yeomen, boatswain s 
 yoemen, quartermasters, quarter gunners, coopers, 
 sailmaker s mates, sergeants and corporals of the ma 
 rines, drummer, fifer and extra petty officers ; seven 
 parts among the seamen, ordinary seamen, marines and 
 boys. 
 
 The following account of Captain Bainbridge s re 
 ception in Boston after his victory over the Java is 
 taken from a paper of that day: "On the Thursday 
 following his arrival Captain Bainbridge landed at 
 Long Wharf amid loud acclamations and roaring of 
 cannon from the shore. All the way from the end of 
 the pier to the Exchange Coffee House was decorated 
 with colors and streamers. A procession was formed 
 in Faneuil Hall by Major Tilden and was escorted by 
 the Boston Light Infantry and the Winslow Blues. 
 Decorations and streamers were strung across State 
 Street, while the windows and the tops of the houses 
 were filled with spectators. Captain Bainbridge was 
 
414: THE CONSTITUTION-JAVA FIGHT. 1813. 
 
 distinguished by his noble figure and by his walking 
 uncovered. On his right hand was the veteran Cap 
 tain Rodgers, and on his left Brigadier-General Welles ; 
 then followed the brave Captain Hull, Colonel Blake 
 and a number of officers and citizens. But the crowd 
 was so immense that it was difficult to keep the order 
 of the procession. The band of music in the balcony 
 of the State Bank and the music of the New England 
 Guards had a fine effect. On the 2d of March a splen 
 did public dinner was given in the Exchange Coffee 
 House to Captain Bainbridge and his officers. The pro 
 cession was formed at Faneuil Hall and was escorted 
 amid the applause of the citizens by a battalion com 
 posed of the Boston Light Infantry and the Winslow 
 Blues, commanded by Colonel Sargeant. Before sit 
 ting down to the table the blessing of Almighty God 
 was asked in a most impressive manner by the Rev. 
 Mr. Holley." The crew of the Constitution was treat 
 ed to a theatrical entertainment on the 9th of April. 
 The City Council of Charleston, South Carolina, ap 
 pointed March 8th as a day of rejoicing in honor of 
 American naval victories, and the day was ushered in 
 with the ringing of bells and firing of cannon. All 
 business was suspended, and the day was given up to 
 processions, banquets and oratory. 
 
 On arriving in Boston the Constitution was found 
 to be in need of extensive repairs, but by the time 
 these were completed the port was blockaded by a 
 powerful British squadron, so it was not until the 
 winter of 1814-15 that Old Ironsides again got to 
 sea. The colors of the Java are preserved in the 
 Naval Institute Building at Annapolis. The surviv 
 ing officers and crew of the Java were embarked in 
 two cartels that sailed from Brazil for England shortly 
 after the Constitution returned to the United States, 
 and on being tried by court-martial for the loss of 
 the Java, April 23, 1813, they were "most honorably 
 acquitted." 
 
1812. EFFECT OF AMERICAN NAVAL VICTORIES. 415 
 
 Chads, after this battle, and possibly before it, al 
 ways had a high opinion of the American seaman. In 
 later years, when he was Sir Henry, he was wont to 
 declare that of all the many brave men he had met 
 in the course of a career which for thirty years had 
 been a series of hard fights, dangerous expeditions 
 and exciting events, the bravest was an American 
 sailor named Reed. Reed was a gunner in the Consti 
 tution in her action with the Java. Some years after 
 ward he turned up in the East Indies, where Chads 
 commanded the British frigate Andromache, and en 
 listed in that ship. Chads selected Reed as chief gun 
 ner in a boat expedition against the Malay pirates ; 
 and in the succession of hand-to-hand fights Reed 
 conducted himself with extraordinary coolness and 
 bravery, saving a midshipman s life on one occasion 
 by warding off a kriss-thrust, and at another time 
 drowning a Malay in a struggle in the water. Reed s 
 name was constantly slated for special mention, and 
 after one of the fierce encounters with the pirates his 
 shipmates made up a purse for him. 
 
 It will be interesting at this late day to see what 
 effect the news of these three frigate actions had in 
 England. The report of the capture of their first ship, 
 the Guerriere, was taken with philosophical surprise : 
 "The loss of a single frigate by us, when we consider 
 how all other nations of the world have been dealt by, 
 it is true is but a small one ; when viewed as a portion 
 of the British navy, it is almost nothing ; yet, under 
 all the circumstances of the two countries to which the 
 vessels belonged, we know not any calamity of twenty 
 times its amount that might have been attended with 
 more serious consequences to the worsted party, had 
 it not been counterbalanced by a contemporaneous ad 
 vantage [alluding to Wellington s successes in Spain] 
 of much greater magnitude. As it was, the loss of the 
 Guerriere spread a degree of gloom through the town 
 which it was painful to observe, but which was yet 
 
416 THE CONSTITUTION-JAVA FIGHT. 1812-1813. 
 
 most honorable to the patriotism of those over whom 
 it was diffused. " 1 
 
 The news of the loss of the Macedonian was at first 
 discredited. "There is a report that another English 
 frigate, the Macedonian, has been captured by an 
 American. We shall certainly be very backward in 
 believing a second recurrence of such a national dis 
 grace. . . . We have heard that the statement is dis 
 credited at the Admiralty, but we know not on what 
 precise grounds. Certainly there was a time when it 
 would not have been believed that the American navy 
 could have appeared upon the seas after a six months 
 war with England ; much less that it could, within 
 that period, have been twice victorious. Sed tempora 
 mutantur." 2 The uncomfortable suspicion evidently 
 grew, and on the next day the acute pang of confirma 
 tion extorted from the British lion the following: U 
 miserable advocates ! Why, this renders the charge of 
 mismanagement far heavier than before ! In the name 
 of God, what was done with this immense superiority 
 of force ? Why was not a squadron of observation off 
 every port which contained an American ship of war ? 
 Why was not Rodgers intercepted with his whole 
 squadron, and taken or destroyed within sight of his 
 own coasts \ " 3 On the following day their rage sub 
 sides into this lament: u Oh, what a charm is hereby 
 dissolved ! What hopes will be excited in the breasts 
 of our enemies ! The land spell of the French is broken 
 [alluding to Napoleon s disastrous retreat from Mos 
 cow] and so is our sea spell." 4 The London Morning 
 Chronicle for December 26, 1812, with greater modera 
 tion, asks : u ls it not sickening to see that no experi 
 ence has been sufficient to rouse our Admiralty to take 
 measures that may protect the British flag from such 
 disgrace ? " 
 
 1 London Times, October 7, 1812. 2 Ibid., December 26, 1812. 
 
 3 Ibid., December 28, 1812. 4 Ibid., December 29, 1812. 
 
1813. THE LONDON TIMES ON THE VICTORIES. 
 
 The news of the loss of the Java arriving in Eng 
 land, March 19, 1813, drew from the London Times the 
 following resigned soliloquy: "The public will learn 
 with sentiments which we shall not presume to antici 
 pate that a third British frigate has struck to an 
 American. . . . This is an occurrence that calls for 
 serious reflection this, and the fact stated in our pa 
 per of yesterday, that Lloyd s list contains notices of 
 upward of five hundred British vessels captured in 
 seven months by the Americans. Five hundred mer 
 chantmen and three frigates! Can these statements 
 be true ? And can the English people hear them un 
 moved ? Any one who had predicted such a result of 
 an American war this time last year would have been 
 treated as a madman or a traitor. He would have been 
 told, if his opponents had condescended to argue with 
 him, that long ere seven months had elapsed the Ameri 
 can flag would have been sw^ept from the seas, the con 
 temptible navy of the United States annihilated, and 
 their marine arsenals rendered a heap of ruins. Yet 
 down to this moment not a single American frigate has 
 struck her flag." 1 
 
 NOTE. John Ceilings Long, who served with credit in this battle, 
 afterward became a commodore in the navy. As commander of the Mis 
 sissippi he was ordered to bring Kossuth to this country ; and as the 
 American commander would not allow Kossuth to deliver revolutionary 
 speeches while the Mississippi was at Marseilles, the Hungarian left the 
 ship at Gibraltar. Commodore Long s last duty was the command of the 
 Pacific squadron. He died in 1865. 
 
 1 London Times, March 20, 1813. 
 
CHAPTEE VI. 
 
 THE FIRST SLOOP ACTIONS. 
 
 IN the three preceding chapters the triumph of the 
 much-ridiculed American 44-gun frigates, and the suc 
 cess of many innovations in their construction, arma 
 ments and general equipments introduced by American 
 shipwrights and naval officers have been noted. But 
 at the outbreak of hostilities with England the United 
 States sloops of war did not have a marked difference 
 in their construction and arrangements except in such 
 details as the superior American genius would suggest. 
 They had been built more in accordance with the same 
 class of war ships in the British navy at that time. 
 The Wasp, Hornet, Argus, Vixen and Viper had little 
 to distinguish them from English craft of the same 
 rates. After their service in the Mediterranean the 
 Wasp and the Hornet were altered so as to carry three 
 masts instead of two, and were ship-rigged. As the 
 actions in which these vessels were engaged deprive 
 our friends, the English, of the charge of superiority 
 of force, it will be interesting to notice the results of 
 their combats with British sloops of war, and to see if 
 the greater equality in the opposing forces led to a 
 proportionate equality of damage and losses. 
 
 In the last chapter we left the Hornet blockading 
 the Bonne Citoyenne, Captain Greene, in the port of 
 Bahia, while the Constitution, after capturing the 
 Java, returned to the United States. With a dogged 
 determination to fight the Bonne Citoyenne at any risk, 
 Master-Commandant Lawrence remained off the port 
 of Bahia until the 24th of January, 1813. Captain 
 
 (418) 
 
1812. THE BLOCKADE OF THE BONNE C1TOYENNE. 419 
 
 Greene, who had said : " I am convinced, sir, that if such 
 a rencounter were to take place the result would not 
 be long dubious, and would terminate favorably to the 
 ship which I have the honor to command," now sent a 
 
 Cruises of the Hornet and the Wasp. 
 
 note by a Portuguese fishing-smack to Rio Janeiro, re 
 questing the commander of the English 74-gun ship of 
 the line Montagu to release him from his humiliating 
 position. So disgusted had Master-Commandant Law 
 rence become at what he considered the cowardice of 
 Captain Greene, that he undoubtedly would have main 
 tained the blockade indefinitely had he not been driven 
 off by the Montagu, which ship came up from Rio 
 Janeiro for the express purpose" 1 of liberating the 
 
 1 Washington Irving, Spanish Papers, vol. ii, p. 42. 
 
420 THE FIRST SLOOP ACTIONS. 1813. 
 
 Bonne Citoyenne. So unexpected was her arrival that 
 the Hornet was compelled to run into the harbor to 
 avoid capture, so that she in turn was in danger of 
 being blockaded ; but on the following night Master- 
 Commandant Lawrence boldly stood out of the harbor 
 and got to sea in spite of the Montagu. By this time 
 several British men-of-war were making for Bahia to 
 intercept the Hornet, and Master-Commandant Law 
 rence determined to change his cruising ground, and 
 hauling by the wind to the eastward he made sail for 
 Pernambuco. On the 14th of February he captured 
 the British merchant ship Resolution, mounting ten 
 guns and laden with coffee and tea ; she also had on 
 board about twenty- three thousand dollars in specie. 
 Having transferred his prisoners and burned his prize, 
 Master-Commandant Lawrence shaped his course for 
 Maranham, where he cruised several days, and then 
 made for Surinam, cruising off that port from the 15th 
 to the 22d of February. Afterward he stood over to 
 Demerara for the purpose of running along the West 
 Indies on his way to the United States. 
 
 On the morning of the 24th of February a brig was 
 discovered off the lee bow. Chase was immediately 
 given, but having run into a quarter less five fathoms, 
 and having no pilot aboard, Master-Commandant Law 
 rence was obliged to haul off. Before he gave up the 
 pursuit, however, another brig had been discovered 
 lying at anchor within the bar. This was the English 
 sloop of war Espiegle, Captain John Taylor, mounting 
 sixteen short 32-pounders and two long guns. The 
 American commander determined to attack her at her 
 anchorage, and was beating around the Carobana Banks 
 for that purpose, when, at 3.30 P. M., a third sail was 
 descried to windward. By 4 P. M. she was made out 
 to be a large brig of war, and twenty minutes later she 
 hoisted British colors. Upon this Master-Commandant 
 Lawrence cleared for action and sent his men to their 
 stations. His first lieutenant, Walter Stewart, was ill. 
 
1813. THE SLOOP ACTION OFF DEMERARA. 421 
 
 and unable to leave his berth, so that Lieutenant John 
 Templer Shubrick acted in his place. At 5.10 P. M. the 
 Hornet, by keeping close to the wind, succeeded in 
 weathering the stranger. The American flag was now 
 thrown to the breeze, and fifteen minutes later, or at 
 5.25 P. M., the vessels passed each other on opposite 
 tacks and exchanged broadsides at half pistol-shot. 
 After this the Englishman luffed so as to continue the 
 action on the other tack, but the Hornet quickly bore 
 up, and, having received the enemy s starboard fire, ran 
 close aboard the starboard quarter and tenaciously held 
 that position to the end of the battle. A destructive 
 fire was then poured into the British vessel. The 
 American guns were fired so rapidly that in order to 
 keep them cool buckets of water were constantly dashed 
 over them. 
 
 At 5.36 P. M., or eleven minutes from the beginning 
 of the action, the English vessel surrendered, and im 
 mediately afterward hoisted 
 
 her flag from her fore rig 
 ging with the union down, 
 as a signal of distress. In 
 his official report Master- 
 Commandant Lawrence is 
 recorded as saying that the 
 British vessel surrendered 
 at 5.40 P. M., making the 
 
 duration of the action fif- Diagram of the batae . 
 teen minutes. This was a 
 
 mistake, "but, "said Lawrence, u as my clerk got it 
 down fif teen, I thought that was short enough." 
 The Americans then ceased firing, while Lieuten 
 ant John Templer Shubrick was sent aboard to 
 take possession. Shortly afterward the enemy s main 
 mast went by the board. Mr. Shubrick returned with 
 the first lieutenant of the English sloop of war Pea 
 cock, her commander, Captain William Peake, hav 
 ing been killed in the action. The prize, with six 
 
 5.35 
 
 5.15 
 
422 THE FIRST SLOOP ACTIONS. 1813. 
 
 feet of water in her hold, was fast sinking, and Mas 
 ter-Commandant Lawrence hastily got out all his boats 
 under the command of Acting-Lieutenant David Con 
 ner and Midshipman Benjamin Cooper to rescue the 
 survivors. Before the short twilight merged into 
 darkness the Peacock was anchored, the shot holes 
 that could be reached were plugged, the guns thrown 
 overboard, the pumps manned and every effort made 
 to keep her afloat, but a few minutes after her sur 
 render she sank in five and a half fathoms, carrying 
 down thirteen of her own crew and three of the Hor 
 net s, the names of the latter being John Hart, Joseph 
 Williams and Hannibal Boyd. Four of the thirteen 
 Englishmen, however, managed to climb into the fore- 
 top, where they were rescued. Lieutenant Conner, 
 Midshipman Cooper and several of the Hornet s men, 
 who were engaged in removing the wounded and 
 prisoners, jumped into the launch lying at the Pea 
 cock s booms and were saved. Before the vessel sank 
 four of her men, availing themselves of the confusion 
 of the moment, seized the boat towing astern, and, not 
 withstanding its shattered condition, reached the shore. 
 The Peacock had three American seamen aboard, who, 
 on seeing the United States flag, went aft and requested 
 to be excused from fighting, but Captain Peake ordered 
 them back and instructed the marines to be particu 
 larly watchful of them, and to shoot them down at the 
 first sign of flinching. One of these men was killed. 
 Another was a relative of Master-Commandant Law 
 rence s wife. 
 
 The Hornet was four feet longer than the Peacock, 
 but had five inches less beam. The former mounted 
 eighteen short 32-pounders and two long 12-pound ers, 
 making in all twenty guns or two hundred and seventy- 
 nine pounds, allowing for deficient weight, of metal to 
 the broadside. Out of her original complement of one 
 hundred and fifty the sailing-master and seven men 
 were absent in a prize, leaving the Hornet at the time of 
 
1813. COMPARATIVE FORCES. 423 
 
 this action with one hundred and forty- two men. The 
 Peacock mounted sixteen short 24-pounders, two long 
 9-pouuders, one short 12-pounder and one long 6-pound- 
 er, making a total of twenty guns with two hundred and 
 ten pounds of metal to a broadside, only sixty-nine 
 pounds less than the Hornet. Her quarter bill showed 
 a crew of one hundred and thirty-four men, of whom 
 four were away in a prize. "The Peacock had long 
 been the admiration of her numerous visitors for the 
 tasteful arrangement of her deck, and had obtained, in 
 consequence, the name of the yacht. The breechings 
 of the carronades were lined with white canvas, the 
 shot lockers shifted from their usual places, and noth 
 ing could exceed in brilliancy the polish upon the 
 traversing bars and elevating screws." 1 The Hornet 
 sustained little or no damage in her hull, her injuries 
 being confined chiefly to the rigging. One shot passed 
 through the foremast, and she received a slight wound 
 in the bowsprit. 2 Her loss was one man killed, John 
 Place, who was shot while in the tops, and four men 
 wounded, two of the latter by an explosion of a car 
 tridge. The Americans lost more men in attempting 
 to save the drowning Englishmen than by the ene 
 my s fire. The Peacock, as we have seen, was utterly 
 demolished, and in a few minutes, from being a beau 
 tiful "yacht" she was a sunken wreck. A Halifax 
 paper of the day said that "a vessel moored for 
 the purpose of experiment could not have been sunk 
 sooner. It will not do for our vessels to fight theirs 
 single-handed. The Americans are a dead nip." The 
 Peacock s loss was Captain Peake and four seamen 
 killed ; one sailing-master, one midshipman and thirty- 
 one seamen wounded. Among the English prisoners 
 was a boy whose father had been killed in the battle, 
 and out of compassion Master-Commandant Lawrence 
 
 1 James History of the British Navy, vol. vi, p. 48. 
 
 2 Official report of Master-Commandant Lawrence. 
 
 30 
 
424 THE FIRST SLOOP ACTIONS. 1813. 
 
 took the youth under his special protection. Writing 
 home from Bermuda in 1813, Sir Charles Napier gives 
 one of the many evidences that about this time British 
 contempt for American naval prowess was rapidly turn 
 ing into respect, if not fear: "Two packets are quite 
 due, and we fear that they have been taken, for the 
 Yankees swarm here, and when a frigate goes out to 
 drive them off by force they take her ! Yankees fight 
 well, and are gentlemen in their mode of warfare. De- 
 catur refused Garden s sword, saying, Sir, you have 
 used it so well I should be ashamed to take it from 
 you. These Yankees, though so much abused, are 
 really fine fellows." 
 
 Comparative force and loss. 
 
 Guns. Lbs. Crew. Killed. Wounded. Total. 
 
 Hornet: 20 279 142 1 4 5 ) Time 
 
 Peacock: 20 210 130 5 33 38 t llm. 
 
 Master-Commandant Lawrence made every exertion 
 to get his ship in fighting trim, for in the bay, not more 
 than six miles distant, in plain sight, lay the Espiegle, 
 a brig of even greater force than the Peacock. During 
 the action Captain Taylor remained quietly at anchor, 
 although he could see the vessels engaged and must 
 have heard the heavy cannonading. Subsequently he 
 was tried by a court-martial and was found guilty of 
 having " neglected to exercise the ship s company at 
 the great guns." By nine o clock that night the Hor 
 net had her boats stowed away and a new set of sails 
 bent, and was in every other respect prepared to meet 
 the Espiegle, but Captain Taylor allowed the American 
 sloop of war to depart unmolested. 
 
 Nothing could exceed the care that Master-Com 
 mandant Lawrence took of his wounded prisoners. 
 Every exertion was made to have their necessarily 
 cramped quarters as comfortable as possible, and such 
 was their appreciation of this generous treatment that 
 on arrival in the United States the British officers pub- 
 
1813. KINDNESS TO THE PRISONERS. 425 
 
 listed a letter of gratitude. They said, " We can not 
 better express our feelings than by saying we cease to 
 consider ourselves prisoners." The magnanimity of 
 Master-Commandant Lawrence was contagious. The 
 sailors of the Hornet, knowing that the Peacocks men 
 had lost everything by the sinking of their ship, made 
 contributions from their own scanty kits and supplied 
 each of the Englishmen with a complete outfit. In his 
 official report of this action Master-Commandant Law 
 rence spoke in the highest terms of the gallantry of 
 Lieutenants Shu brick, Conner and Newton. 
 
 This action again illustrates the superiority of 
 American gunnery. An English author writes : "The 
 firing of the Hornet was admirable, and proved that 
 her men, to the credit of Lawrence and his officers, had 
 been well taught what use to make of their guns." On 
 the other hand, speaking of the sentence of the court- 
 martial convened to try Captain Taylor of the Espiegle, 
 the same writer says: k It seemed hard, however, to 
 punish the Espiegltfs commander for a piece of neg 
 lect [i. e., to exercise the men at their guns] which pre 
 vailed over two thirds of the British navy." 
 
 At 2 A. M. on the 25th of February the Hornet 
 weighed anchor and under easy canvas stood out to 
 sea. Running through the West Indies and past the 
 Capes of Virginia she arrived at Holmes Hole, Martha s 
 Vineyard, on the 19th of March ; thence proceeding 
 to New York by Hell Grate, she completed a cruise of 
 one hundred and forty- five days. On the 4th of May 
 the Common Council of the city of New York gave a 
 public dinner in Washington Hall to the officers and 
 crew of the Hornet. A periodical of the day says : 
 u ln the evening the gallant tars were treated to a seat 
 in the pit of the theater by the managers and roused 
 the house by their jollity and applause during the per 
 formance. Captain Lawrence, with General Van Rens- 
 selaer, General Morton and a number of other officials, 
 filled one of the side boxes and made the house ring 
 
426 THE FIRST SLOOP ACTIONS. 1812. 
 
 with huzzas on their appearance." In the following 
 June the Hornet, with the United States and the Mace 
 donian, attempted to get to sea, but they were driven 
 back and blockaded in New London by a superior 
 force. Early in 1815 the Hornet managed to run the 
 blockade and get to sea. The colors of the Peacock 
 are preserved in the Naval Institute Building at An 
 napolis. 
 
 As we have seen in Chapter IV, Captain John Rodg- 
 ers, having refitted after his first cruise, sailed again 
 on the 8th of October, 1812, in the 44-gun frigate Presi 
 dent, having with him the 44 gun frigate United States, 
 Captain Stephen Decatur ; the 36-gun frigate Congress, 
 Captain John Smith ; and the 16-gun brig Argus, Mas 
 ter-Commandant Arthur Sinclair. On the 12th of Oc 
 tober the President and the Congress separated from 
 the other vessels and continued their cruise in company. 
 Taking a northerly course, Captain Rodgers, on the 
 17th of October, while on the Newfoundland Banks, 
 fell in with the Jamaica homeward-bound packet Swal 
 low. When she was taken, two hundred thousand dol 
 lars in gold and silver, packed in twenty boxes, were 
 found in her hold. Shaping their course eastward, the 
 frigates, on the morning of the 31st of October, while 
 in latitude 32 North, longitude 30 West, discovered 
 three sails. These were the British 36-gun frigate 
 Galatea, sister ship of the Belmdera, Captain Woodley 
 Losack, and the South Sea whalers Berkeley and Argo. 
 The Galatea bore down to reconnoiter, and at 10 A. M., 
 discovering the President and the Congress to be 
 American frigates, and having learned three days be 
 fore from the outward-bound India merchant ship 
 Inglis that war had been declared, Captain Losack 
 stood away to the east. At noon the Galatea was on 
 her best point of sailing, with the American frigates 
 about four miles astern. The Congress at this time 
 stood after the Argo and captured her, while the Presi 
 dent continued in chase of the Galatea. The pursuit 
 
1812. THE PRESIDENT-CONGRESS-ARGUS CRUISE. 427 
 
 was maintained throughout the afternoon, but, although 
 the President gained, it was dark before she came 
 within gunshot, and seeing that the chase would escape 
 in the night Captain Rodgers hauled off and rejoined 
 his consort. From this time until the 30th of Novem 
 ber the two frigates did not meet a sail. Having gone 
 as far as 22 West and 17 North, they ran over to 
 Bermuda, and thence past the Capes of Virginia to 
 Boston, at which port they arrived on the 31st of De 
 cember. 
 
 After parting from the President and the Congress, 
 the United States and the Argus also took up differ 
 ent courses, Captain Decatur soon afterward falling in 
 with the British 38-gun frigate Macedonian off the 
 Canary Islands, as has been narrated in Chapter IV. 
 After leaving the United States the Argus headed 
 southward, and in two weeks arrived off the coast of 
 Brazil, taking one or two valuable prizes on the way. 
 Cruising for several days between St. Roque and Su 
 rinam, Master-Commandant Sinclair passed to the 
 windward of the West Indies and then steered north. 
 Arriving off Bermuda, he hovered in the vicinity of that 
 port until driven off by a superior force. Two weeks 
 later the little brig appeared off Halifax and succeeded 
 in intercepting a number of vessels bound for British 
 America. While off Nova Scotia the Argus experi 
 enced intensely cold weather. It was impossible to 
 handle the ropes without freezing the fingers, and the 
 spray froze on the sails, making them as brittle as glass, 
 and when loosed they would not fall from the yards. 
 It frequently became necessary to strike them with 
 hammers and capstan bars, and when this was done the 
 ice broke and fell to the deck in showers. The ropes 
 were incrusted with ice and would neither start nor run 
 through the sheaves. In such a condition, it was im 
 possible to tack, and when it became necessary for the 
 brig to wear this was done by first hauling up the fore 
 sail, as no dependence could be placed on the tacks or 
 
428 THE FIRST SLOOP ACTIONS. 1813. 
 
 the sheets working in their blocks. The clouds of 
 spray that dashed over the vessel froze on the guns, 
 rigging and decks as fast as it fell, so that the ship from 
 one end to the other was one mass of ice, rendering 
 walking exceedingly dangerous, and in rough weather, 
 when the sloop was rolling and pitching, impossible. 
 Having secured five prizes, valued at two hundred thou 
 sand dollars, Master-Commandant Sinclair made for the 
 United States, and arrived in Boston on the 3d of Janu 
 ary, 1813, three days after Captain Rodgers gained that 
 port. In this cruise of eighty-seven days the Argus 
 was chased by a British squadron, two vessels of which 
 were ships of the line. The favor of the moon ena 
 bled them to keep the brig in sight at night as well 
 as in the day, so that for seventy hours her position 
 was critical ; but by superior seamanship Master- 
 Commandant Sinclair escaped with all his guns, al 
 though he was compelled to sacrifice his anchors and 
 boats. 
 
 The 36-gun frigate Constellation, famous during the 
 French war, was being prepared for sea under the 
 direction of Captain Charles Stewart, but when she got 
 down to Hampton Roads, January, 1813, it was found 
 that a strong blockading force had been stationed off 
 the bay. The Constellation was then anchored at Nor 
 folk, and remained there throughout the war. The 
 English made several attempts to destroy her, but 
 Captain Stewart arranged such a perfect line of defense 
 that they were repelled every time. On the return of 
 the 44- gun frigate Constitution from her cruise in 
 which she captured the Java, Captain Stewart was 
 transferred to the command of " Old Ironsides ," while 
 Captain Joseph Tarbell was placed in command of the 
 Constellation. 
 
 In the earlier part of the War of 1812 the United 
 States 12-gun brig Vixen, Master-Commandant Chris 
 topher Gadsden, was employed on the Southern coast. 
 On the death of her commander she was placed under 
 
1812. LOSS OF THE VIXEN AND VIPER. 429 
 
 the orders of Lieutenant George Washington Read, 
 who had been first lieutenant under Captain Somers 
 before Tripoli. On the 22d of November, 1812, while 
 cruising among the West Indies, the Vixen was chased 
 by the British 32-gun frigate Southampton, Captain 
 Sir James Lucas Yeo, which succeeded in getting along 
 side of the brig and compelled her to surrender. Both 
 vessels were lost soon afterward on Concepcion Island, 
 one of the Bahama group. Before he could be ex 
 changed Master-Commandant Read died from yellow 
 fever. On the 17th of January, 1813, the United States 
 10-gun sloop Viper, Lieutenant John D. Henley, was 
 overtaken and captured by the British 32-gun frigate 
 Narcissus. 
 
 On the outbreak of hostilities between the United 
 States and Great Britain the American 18-gun sloop of 
 war Wasp was in European waters conveying dis 
 patches for the Government. Returning to the United 
 States, she immediately refitted and sailed from the 
 Delaware on the 13th of October, under the command 
 of Master-Commandant Jacob Jones, who had seen 
 active service in the Mediterranean, and who was in the 
 Philadelphia when that frigate ran on the shoals be 
 fore Tripoli and was captured. It was Master-Com 
 mandant Jones intention to get into the track of the 
 enemy s merchantmen plying between the West Indies 
 and England. While running due east for this purpose 
 the Wasp was overtaken by a violent gale, in which 
 she lost her jib boom and two men who were on it. 
 About half past eleven o clock on the night of the 17th 
 several lights were discovered, which were made out to 
 be a small convoy of merchant ships. Thinking it im 
 prudent to remain too near the strangers while in a 
 damaged condition, there being a clear moonlight, 
 Master-Commandant Jones drew to windward until the 
 morning light should discover to him the force of the 
 escort. In the morning it was seen that five merchant 
 men were being convoyed by a brig of war, and that 
 
1215 
 
 430 THE FIRST SLOOP ACTIONS. 1812, 
 
 several of the merchant ships also mounted from six 
 teen to eighteen guns. 1 
 
 The Wasp was now in latitude 37 North, longitude 
 65 West, or a little eastward of Albemarle Sound. As 
 she bore down on the strangers the brig of war signaled 
 her convoy to make all sail before the wind while she 
 dropped astern to reconnoiter. Hoisting his colors and 
 pennant, about eleven o clock in the morning, Master- 
 Commandant Jones made for the stranger, and at 11.32 
 A. M., when the vessels were fifty or sixty yards apart, 
 he hailed and demanded the stranger s name. By way 
 of an answer the brig hauled down the Spanish flag and 
 ran up British colors, and poured in a broadside and 
 
 f __ i a volley of musketry. The 
 
 Wasp responded promptly, 
 and as the vessels gradually 
 neared each other the fir 
 ing became close and de 
 structive. A few minutes 
 after the battle opened the 
 Wasp lost her main top 
 mast, and as it fell, together 
 
 Diagram of the battle. with, the main topsail yard, 
 
 across the port fore and 
 
 foretopsail braces, the head yards were useless for 
 the rest of the action. Three minutes after this mis 
 hap the gaff and the mizzen topgallant mast were 
 shot away, which left the Wasp almost unmanagea 
 ble. At the same time the enemy had sustained no 
 considerable injury that was visible from the deck of 
 the American ship, yet the Wasp s fire had been ex 
 ceedingly rapid, and it was thought accurate. A 
 heavy sea was running, which frequently submerged 
 the muzzles of the guns. At 11.52 A. M., twenty min 
 utes from the time the action began, the vessels were 
 within half pistol-shot. By this time the Wasp s rig- 
 
 1 Official report of Master-Commandant Jones. 
 
 * 
 
 . 
 
1812. THE WASP S BRILLIANT VICTORY. 431 
 
 ging and masts were badly cut up. Besides the loss of 
 her jib boom in the gale of the 15th and the damage 
 already mentioned, every brace and most of the other 
 running rigging were cut away, whereas the enemy 
 had lost only her gaff and head braces. But this loss 
 proved most unfortunate ; for, as the brig was unable 
 to trim her head yards, her after sails threw her into a 
 position to be raked by the Wasp. Master-Command 
 ant Jones quickly availed himself of this by running 
 the enemy s bowsprit between his main and mizzen 
 masts, just over the heads of Master-Commandant Jones 
 and Lieutenant Biddle, who were standing near the 
 capstan. The Americans then loaded with grape and 
 canister and swept the enemy s deck with great effect. 
 So close were the vessels that the American ramrods 
 were pushed against the side of the British ship. 
 
 Lieutenant James Biddle with his boarders now 
 sprang upon the hammock cloths in readiness to jump 
 aboard the brig as soon as a roll of the vessels should 
 bring them close enough. Master-Commandant Jones, 
 in view of the dangerous condition of his spars and 
 rigging, was unwilling to relinquish his present advan 
 tage, and ordered his crew to their guns ; but the ardor 
 of the men could not be restrained, and before his com 
 mand could reach them an American sailor, Jack Lang, 
 who had been impressed in the British service, jumped 
 upon his gun, and, reaching up to the brig s bowsprit, 
 clambered along that spar and gained the enemy s 
 deck. Seeing the impetuosity of the crew, Lieutenant 
 Biddle, followed by Lieutenant George W. Rodgers and 
 Midshipman Yorick Baker and his boarders, taking 
 advantage of a favorable lurch, sprang upon the brig s 
 forecastle. The scene they beheld there beggars de 
 scription. Only a few of the English ship s company 
 were standing, one a lieutenant, who was bleeding 
 from numerous wounds and leaning against the com 
 panion way for support, another a quartermaster who 
 remained at the wheel still clutching it with a grim de- 
 
432 THE FIRST SLOOP ACTIONS. 1812. 
 
 termination to die at his post, apparently regardless of 
 the slaughter around him. The decks were thickly 
 strewn with the mutilated dead and dying, and as the 
 vessel rolled, great quantities of blood diluted with 
 water washed from one side to the other, covering the 
 prostrate forms and splashing the bulwarks and masts 
 with a ghastly hue. The horrid spectacle chilled all 
 feelings of exultation in the breasts of the victorious 
 Americans and aroused their sympathy. Carefully 
 picking their way over the dead and wounded, they 
 reached the quarter-deck, when the surviving officer 
 dropped his sword in token of submission, while Lieu 
 tenant Biddle hauled down the colors. A few minutes 
 later the enemy s masts fell, the mainmast going close 
 to the deck, and the foremast leaving a stump twelve 
 or fifteen feet high. 
 
 The prize was the British brig of war Frolic, Cap 
 tain Thomas Whinyates, convoying merchantmen 
 homeward bound from Honduras, and carrying a crew 
 of one hundred and ten all told. 1 Captain Whinyates 
 reports: "At length the enemy boarded and made 
 himself master of the brig, every individual officer be 
 ing killed or wounded, and the greater part of the men 
 either killed or wounded, there being not twenty per 
 sons remaining unhurt." James, however, places her 
 loss at fifteen killed and forty-seven wounded, among 
 the latter being Captain Whinyates and Second-Lieu 
 tenant Frederick Boughton Win tie, while Lieutenant 
 Charles M Kay was mortally injured. Out of her crew 
 of one hundred and thirty-eight the Wasp lost five 
 killed and five wounded. 2 When Master-Commandant 
 Jones learned of the frightful slaughter in the Frolic he 
 immediately sent the Wasp s surgeon s mate aboard. It 
 was now seen why the American shot apparently did 
 no damage to the Frolic. The gunners of the English 
 
 1 James History of the British Navy, vol. v, p. 391. 
 
 2 Oilicial report of Master-Commandant Jones. 
 
1812. THE WASP AND THE FROLIC. 433 
 
 brig fired on the upward roll, which accounts for most 
 of their shot taking effect in the Wasp s spars and 
 rigging. The American gunners, on the contrary, 
 fired on the downward roll, their shot striking the ene 
 my s hull. 
 
 The duration of this action, from the first broadside 
 to the time Lieutenant Biddle lowered the British fiag, 
 was forty-three minutes. The two vessels were of the 
 same size. The Frolic, during a gale, had lost her 
 main yard, and had had her topsails blown away and 
 her main topmast sprung. The Wasp, during the same 
 gale, was also much damaged in her rigging and spars. 
 The latter s armament consisted of sixteen short 32- 
 pounders and two long 12-pounders, with an actual 
 weight of two hundred and forty-nine pounds of metal 
 to the broadside. James gives the Frolic sixteen short 
 32-pounders, two long 6-pounders and two short 12- 
 pounders, or twenty guns, with two hundred and sev 
 enty-four pounds of metal to the broadside. But he 
 has not given any authority for this statement. Cap 
 tain Whinyates, in his official report of the action to 
 Admiral Warren, as given to the public, is silent as to 
 the size, crew or force of either the Wasp or the Frolic. 
 Master-Commandant Jones, in his report, gives a mi 
 nute description of the Wasp s and Frolic s armaments, 
 placing the latter s at twenty-two guns, sixteen of them 
 32-pound carronades and four 12- pounders on the main 
 deck and two 12-pound carronades on the topgallant 
 forecastle. James seems to have depended entirely on 
 Master-Commandant Jones report of this battle. In 
 no particular does he use the few statistics given by 
 Captain Whinyates, while his description and discus 
 sion of the action are full of American figures. Under 
 these circumstances we are justified in accepting the 
 statement given by Master- Commandant Jones in ref 
 erence to the Frolic s armament, rather than James . 
 This gives the Frolic twenty-two guns, with two hun 
 dred and ninety-two pounds of metal to the broadside. 
 
THE FIRST SLOOP ACTIONS. 1812. 
 
 We have now discussed two actions in which the op 
 posing vessels were of the same force (even English 
 authorities admitting that the Frolic had a superior 
 armament to the Wasp\ and yet the proportion of 
 damage and loss is even more against the British ves 
 sels than they were in the frigate s actions. 
 
 Comparative force and loss. 
 
 Guns. Lbs. Crew. Killed. Wounded. Total. 
 
 Wasp: 18 249 138 5 5 10 ) Time 
 
 Frolic: 22 292 110 15 47 62 f 43m. 
 
 The Frolic was literally cut to pieces. Almost 
 every broadside crashed into her hull with terrible pre 
 cision, while her masts were so damaged that shortly 
 after the surrender they fell, covering the decks with 
 the wreckage. It is doubtful if there is another in 
 stance in naval history where such a large proportion 
 of a crew fell by cannon fire alone, and this is the more 
 remarkable when we consider that a heavy sea was 
 running, which in such small craft made accurate can 
 non fire extremely difficult. That the Admiralty did 
 not find extenuating circumstances in the capture of 
 the British cruiser Frolic by an American vessel of in 
 ferior force is shown in these significant words : " Since 
 then [i. e., his return to England after this action] we 
 find no official mention of him [Captain Whinyates]." 1 
 In the afternoon, while the Americans were repairing 
 damages, a sail hove in sight, which proved to be the 
 British 74-gun ship of the line Poictiers, Captain Sir 
 John P. Beresford, and running down on the two sloops 
 of war she seized both the Wasp and her prize, and 
 carried them to Bermuda. 
 
 Master-Commandant Jones in his official report 
 spoke in the highest terms of the conduct of Lieuten 
 ants Biddle and George W. Rodgers, Midshipmen 
 Benjamin W. Booth and Henry B. Rapp and Sailing- 
 
 1 Marshall s Royal Naval Biography, vol. xi, p. 108. 
 
1812. THE WASP AND THE FROLIC. 435 
 
 Master William Knight. Midshipman Alexander Clax- 
 ton, who was on the sick list? when the enemy was 
 sighted, left his berth and remained on deck during 
 the entire engagement, although too ill to be with his 
 division. The other officers in the Wasp were Thomas 
 Harris, surgeon ; Walter W. New, surgeon s mate ; 
 George S. Wise, purser ; George W. Vancleave, A. S. 
 Ten Eyck, Richard Brashiers, John Holcomb, William 
 J. M Cluney, C. J. Baker and Charles Gauntt, midship 
 men ; John M Cland, boatswain ; and George Jackson, 
 gunner. Congress voted twenty-five thousand dollars 
 to the officers and seamen of the Wasp as prize money, 
 and a gold medal to Master-Commandant Jones and a 
 silver one to each of his officers, while the Legislature 
 of Pennsylvania gave a sword to Lieutenant Biddle. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE CHESAPEAKE AND THE SHANNON. 
 
 LANDING in New York after his brilliant victory 
 over the Peacock, Captain Lawrence was received with 
 great enthusiasm and well-merited applause. Previ 
 ously to his return he had been promoted to the rank 
 of captain, and the command of the 44-gun frigate 
 Constitution was now offered to him, on the condition, 
 however, that neither Captain David Porter nor Cap 
 tain Samuel Evans applied for it. This conditional 
 offer, being distasteful to Captain Lawrence, was de 
 clined, whereupon the Secretary of the Navy gave him 
 unconditionally the command of that favorite ship. 
 But a few weeks later Captain Lawrence was surprised 
 and chagrined by counter orders, with instructions to 
 repair immediately to Boston and take command of the 
 36 -gun frigate Chesapeake, then nearly ready for sea. 
 From the time of her ignominious surrender to the 
 Leopard, in 1807, the Chesapeake had been stigmatized 
 as an unlucky ship, and this reputation had been 
 strangely borne out in her subsequent career. On the 
 17th of December, 1812, this frigate, under the com 
 mand of Captain Samuel Evans, sailed from Boston for 
 an extended cruise against the enemy. Running down 
 to Madeira and past the Cape Verdes, she reached 
 the equator without taking any considerable prize. 
 Here Captain Evans cruised six weeks between longi 
 tudes 16 and 25 West without sighting an enemy, and 
 then, hoping for better luck, he made for the coast of 
 South America. Approaching within forty-five miles of 
 Surinam, he passed the spot where the Hornet, only the 
 
 (436) 
 
1813. THE CHESAPEAKE AN UNLUCKY SHIP. 437 
 
 day before, had sunk the Peacock. Thus early did the 
 Chesapeake cast her baleful shadow over the young 
 life of Lawrence. 
 
 Cruising among the West Indies with the same 
 want of success, Captain Evans headed north, and 
 passing near Bermuda and the Capes of Virginia he 
 arrived at Boston on the 18th of April. During this 
 protracted cruise of one hundred and twenty-two days 
 the Chesapeake had taken only five merchantmen, re 
 captured one American vessel, chased an English frig 
 ate, and was in turn pursued by a ship of the line. 
 While entering Boston harbor on her return she had 
 the misfortune to lose a topmast, and the men on it 
 were drowned. The accident, happening just on her 
 return to port, was regarded among the seafaring men 
 as an inauspicious omen for the next cruise, and this, 
 together with her previous reputation for bad luck 
 and a sailor s unaffected dread of such a ship, made it 
 exceedingly difficult to enlist another crew. In the 
 estimation of all thorough seamen such bad records 
 were of the greatest importance. The repute of the 
 vessel exercised a powerful influence not only in en 
 listing a crew but on its efficiency. The Constitution, 
 the Constellation and the Enterprise were the lucky 
 vessels of the service, while the Chesapeake and the 
 President were the unlucky ones. These vessels went 
 into the War of 1812 with such characters, and they 
 were strangely borne out by the naval operations of 
 1812- 15. Besides this unfortunate reputation, the 
 Chesapeake was deservingly styled by Washington 
 Irving " the worst frigate of our navy," and immedi 
 ately on her return to Boston from her last cruise the 
 men made haste to leave her, while her officers found 
 employment in other vessels. Captain Evans, having 
 lost the sight of one eye and being in imminent danger 
 of losing that of the other, was permitted to remain on 
 shore while undergoing medical treatment. Such being 
 the condition of the Chesapeake after her last unsuc- 
 
438 THE CHESAPEAKE AND THE SHANNON. 1813. 
 
 cessful cruise, it is not surprising that Captain Law 
 rence felt " extreme reluctance" in obeying his orders. 
 He even requested to be continued in command of the 
 little Hornet rather than accept promotion to such a 
 frigate. He wrote " f our letters successively to the 
 Secretary of the Navy," 1 asking for some alteration in 
 his last instructions, but receiving no answer he was 
 constrained to obey. 
 
 It was the intention of the Navy Department to 
 have the Hornet, Master- Commandant James Biddle, 
 then refitting in New York, sail in company with the 
 Chesapeake on a cruise to the north, with the twofold 
 object of intercepting British vessels bound for the St. 
 Lawrence and of destroying the Greenland whale fish 
 eries. In furtherance of this plan Captain Lawrence, 
 a few days before sailing, sent the following letter to 
 Master-Commandant Biddle, in which he clearly ex 
 pressed the reluctance with which he sailed in the 
 Chesapeake : 
 
 " BOSTON, May 7, 1813. 
 
 " DEAK SIE : In hopes of being relieved by Captain 
 Stewart I neglected writing agreeably to promise, but 
 as I have given over all hopes of seeing him, and the 
 Chesapeake is almost ready, I shall sail on Sunday 
 [May 30th], provided I have a chance of getting out clear 
 of the Shannon and the Tenedos, who are on the look 
 out. My intention is to pass out by Cape Sable and 
 then run out west [east ?], until I get into the stream, 
 then haul in for Cape Canso, and run from Cape Bre 
 ton, where I expect the pleasure of seeing you. I 
 think your best chance for getting out is through the 
 Sound. In haste, yours sincerely, 
 
 "JAMES LAWKENCE." 
 
 In the earlier part of the War of 1812 the enemy 
 did not make serious efforts to interfere with the trade 
 of the New England States, under the impression that 
 
 1 Washington Irving, Spanish Papers, vol. ii, p. 45. 
 
1806-1813. SPLENDID CONDITION OF THE SHANNON. 439 
 
 they were opposed to the war and were friendly to 
 Great Britain. But when a number of American war 
 vessels put into Boston, after their successful cruises, 
 and were received with every demonstration of joy, the 
 English began to doubt if the New Englanders were so 
 friendly after all, and in the spring of 1813 powerful 
 blockading squadrons were collected off their ports. 
 Among these vessels was the 38-gun frigate Shannon, 
 Captain Philip Bowes Vere Broke. The condition of 
 this frigate was sufficiently remarkable to merit a mo 
 ment s notice. The Shannon was one of the most 
 efficient ships of her class afloat. In this particular 
 she formed a striking contrast to the average British 
 war vessel of that day. This distinction was entirely 
 due to the efforts of her commander, who, in spite of 
 the regulations of the service and at considerable ex 
 pense to himself, developed the Shannon s force and 
 trained her men to the highest proficiency. Yonge, 
 in his Naval History of Great Britain, says: u From 
 the time that Captain Broke took command of her 
 he had carefully trained her crew in gunnery and in 
 every other exercise calculated to make them really 
 efficient in the day of trial." Turning to various rec 
 ords, we find that Captain Broke assumed command of 
 the Shannon on the 14th of September, 1806, so that 
 down to 1813 he had commanded her over six years. 
 
 To those who have had practical experience in sea 
 manship the advantage of a long acquaintance with a 
 ship is obvious. Every vessel has its peculiarities, 
 which require at least one voyage for her officers and 
 men to discover them. By this time Captain Broke 
 had thoroughly mastered the "tricks" of the Shan 
 non, and by those innumerable little changes or addi 
 tions in her rigging, armament etc., which only experi 
 ence could suggest, he had developed her efficiency in 
 spoed and battle to the utmost limits. In other words, 
 he had grown into his ship. Not only had Captain 
 Broke been in continuous command of the Shannon 
 
 31 
 
440 THE CHESAPEAKE AND THE SHANNON. 1813. 
 
 over six years, but his present crew had served under 
 him five years. "The crew of the Shannon had been 
 five years together, commanded by the same cap 
 tain." 1 Thus it was that Captain Broke was thorough 
 ly acquainted with his crew ; he knew whom of his 
 officers he could trust for any particular duty, and on 
 whom to depend in the many emergencies of battle. 
 The quartermasters were those best fitted for their 
 places, the boatswain and mate by long training and a 
 series of promotions had proved themselves in every 
 way qualified to handle their respective watches ; and 
 they, in turn, knew just which of their men could be re 
 lied upon for the performance of any hazardous duty. 
 Thus it was throughout the ship s entire company. 
 
 That the crew of the Shannon had been trained to 
 the highest possible degree of skill and competency, 
 and that Captain Broke was regarded as an unusually 
 able disciplinarian for the British navy of that period, 
 is admitted by James when he says : " Every day, for 
 about an hour and a half in the forenoon, when not 
 prevented by chase or the state of the weather, the men 
 were exercised at training the guns, and for the same 
 time in the afternoon in the use of the broadsword, 
 pike, musket etc. Twice a week the crew fired at tar 
 gets both with the great guns and musketry, and Cap 
 tain Broke, as an additional stimulus beyond the 
 emulation excited, gave a pound of tobacco to every 
 man that put a shot through the bull s eye." Brighton, 
 in his memoirs of Sir Philip B. Y. Broke, says : " The 
 guns were manned from the port and starboard watches 
 alternately, the odd-numbered guns from the port 
 watch, the even-numbered guns from the starboard 
 watch ; the idea was that the watch below should not 
 be disturbed, and that those men who fought together 
 ought to be exercised together. In exercising with shot 
 at a mark each gun was allowed three shot. The mark 
 
 1 Allen s Battles of the British Navy, vol. ii, p. 430. 
 
1813. SPLENDID CONDITION OF THE SHANNON. 
 
 was a beef cask with a square piece of canvas of about 
 four feet. It was always cut to pieces, the distance 
 being between three and four hundred yards. There 
 was also an occasional exercise, which was, to lay the 
 ship to, throw a beef cask overboard and at the same 
 time pass the word, Numbers two and four, main-deck 
 guns, up to your quarters ! Then the captain gave the 
 word, Clear for action and fire at the cask ! It was in 
 most instances sunk, but the shot always went close 
 enough to be called effective." A writer in the United 
 Service Journal of 1841 said : 4 It should not be for 
 gotten that the present system of gunnery in the royal 
 navy sprang from the Shannon s, borne on at last upon 
 the tide of popular favor from the surprising effects 
 it had produced in the capture of the Chesapeake" 
 Such were the thorough state of preparation and de 
 veloped force of the Shannon at this time that James 
 says: " Had this frigate [the Shannon], in the excel 
 lent order she was kept, met the Constitution in Au 
 gust, 1812, we verily believe But the Shannon and 
 Constitution did not meet, therefore the thing was not 
 tried." Here we have an admission on the part of 
 James that the Shannon on this occasion had been 
 so thoroughly prepared for battle as to be nearly or 
 quite able to cope successfully with the Constitution ; 
 it being borne in mind that the Constitution was a 
 heavier frigate than the Chesapeake, the former rating 
 as a 44-gun and the latter as a 36-gun ship. 
 
 An example of the splendid discipline maintained 
 in the Shannon was given on the night of April 5, 
 1813, when she was struck by lightning while lying to 
 in the act of boarding a schooner that she had just 
 captured. Her main topmast and topgallant mast were 
 shivered to pieces, and fifteen feet out of the middle of 
 the former was blown to atoms. The topsail yard was 
 broken in the slings, a cheek and hasp were forced off 
 the head of the mainmast and the mast was shaken to 
 the quarter-deck, where the partners were broken. The 
 
442 THE CHESAPEAKE AND THE SHANNON. 1813. 
 
 main yard also was sprung in two places ; the brass 
 skewers in the truck and some links of the maintop 
 chain were melted as if they had been in a furnace. 
 For some time after the crash the tops were on fire, and 
 nothing but the perfect discipline of the crew saved the 
 ship from destruction. Captain Broke was in his cabin 
 and thought several guns had been fired. Rushing to 
 the deck, he found his masts and rigging on fire. Or 
 dering the drummer to beat to quarters, he soon had 
 his crew under control and averted a serious disaster. 
 
 The result of the first five actions between American 
 and English cruisers in the War of 1812 caused deep 
 humiliation in England. " The British navy, depressed 
 by repeated mortifications, had in some measure lost 
 its spirits ; and the dissatisfaction expressed in the 
 public journals of the empire produced a feeling of 
 discontent and disgust in the bosom of our seamen." 1 
 And well it might. During the preceding eighteen 
 years the British navy had matched its strength 
 against that of almost every civilized nation, and in 
 two hundred actions between single ships the English 
 were defeated but five times, and on each of those five 
 occasions their vessel was of inferior force to her an 
 tagonist. But in six months this same navy had suf 
 fered five consecutive and overwhelming defeats, in one 
 of which their vessel is acknowledged to have been su 
 perior in force to her antagonist, with not one corre 
 sponding success. And this, too, from "the contempt 
 ible navy of the United States," 2 which had long been 
 the butt of ridicule and the "unmanly taunts of too 
 many English party writers." 3 To stem this torrent of 
 popular rage and to soothe the wounded pride of 
 Britons at home, English commanders on the Amer 
 ican station found it necessary to report some success 
 
 1 Brenton s History of the British Navy, vol. ii, p. 490. 
 
 2 London Times, March 20, 1813. 
 
 3 Edinburgh Review, April, 1840, p. 125. 
 
1813. BROKE ANXIOUS FOR BATTLE. 443 
 
 more substantial than a furious chase or a masterly re 
 treat. 
 
 Conscious of the superior condition of his ship, and 
 confident of his ability to capture an American of equal 
 rate, Captain Broke had cruised off the port of Boston 
 during the spring of 1813, hoping to meet one of the 
 American frigates. On the night of April 30th the 
 President, Captain John Rodgers, and the Congress, 
 Captain Smith, eluded the British blockading squadron 
 and got to sea, leaving only the Constitution and the 
 Chesapeake in that port, the former undergoing exten 
 sive repairs and with only her mainmast in, and the 
 latter nearly ready for sea. Anxious to try the for 
 tunes of war in single combat, and fearing that the 
 Chesapeake also would get to sea in spite of the vigi 
 lance of British cruisers, Captain Broke ordered all his 
 consorts away where they could not interfere, and then 
 wrote a challenge to Captain Lawrence and sent it In 
 by Eben SJocum, one of the American prisoners in the 
 Shannon. Slocum set out in a boat and landed at 
 Marblehead, from which place he forwarded the letter 
 to Boston ; but before it arrived Captain Lawrence had 
 received peremptory orders from Washington to sail at 
 the earliest possible moment. 
 
 Tuesday morning, June 1, 1813, broke over the is 
 lands and shores of Boston harbor in unclouded sum 
 mer loveliness. As the sun cast its welcomed rays of 
 light over the gently heaving bosom of the bay a faint 
 breeze rippled the waters and floated through the rig 
 ging of the shipping, which was strung with the sailors 
 4 Monday wash. " The night before and several days 
 preceding had been rainy and foggy, so that the block 
 ading squadron had been lost to view, but as the mists 
 cleared away at the dawn of this momentous day the 
 sentry at the fort turned his gaze seaward. A few hazy 
 mists still clustered around the lighthouse the guide 
 of friend and foe alike but in the offing, in full view 
 of the town, a solitary frigate was seen standing to and 
 
444 THE CHESAPEAKE AND THE SHANNON. 1813. 
 
 fro, in quiet reaches, across the bay, as if daring the 
 Americans to come out and give battle. It was the 
 Shannon awaiting an answer to her challenge. The 
 news quickly spread among the townsfolk that a sin 
 gle British frigate presumed to blockade the harbor of 
 Boston while two such ships as the Constitution and 
 Chesapeake were in port. Lawrence learned of this 
 while breakfasting with a friend. He was not a man 
 to be blockaded by a single frigate, and he did not 
 hesitate to seize this opportunity of getting to sea be 
 fore other British ships appeared off the harbor. Hasti 
 ly leaving the table, he made his way to the wharf, ac 
 companied by his two youthful sons, and bidding them 
 an affectionate adieu he put off to his ship, where he 
 gave orders to prepare for immediate sailing. Boats 
 laden with supplies and delinquent seamen were soon 
 pulling hurriedly to and from the frigate, while the 
 wharf was crowded with an excited throng of people 
 eagerly discussing the chances of the impending con 
 flict, others made off to different points of observation 
 along the shore to get a better view of the expected 
 battle. 
 
 Just as the last boat-load of seamen, amid the cheers 
 and hand- waving of the crowd, was putting off from 
 the landing, a negro, who had spent most of his life in 
 Nova Scotia, called out to a friend in the boat, " Good- 
 by, Sam. You s goin to Halifax before you comes 
 back to Bostaing. Gib my lub to requiring friends 
 and tell em Fs berry well." The ominous import of 
 this message enraged the people around him, and the 
 negro narrowly escaped with his life. 
 
 Before giving the order to weigh anchor Captain 
 Lawrence penned the following dispatch to the Secre 
 tary of the Navy : " Since I had the honor of address 
 ing you last I have been detained for want of men. I 
 am now getting under way, and shall endeavor to carry 
 into execution the instructions you have honored me 
 with. An English frigate is now in sight from my 
 
1813. LAWRENCE GOES FORTH TO BATTLE. 445 
 
 deck. I have sent a pilot boat out to reconnoiter, and 
 should she prove to be alone I am in hopes of giving a 
 good account of her before night." This was the last 
 letter ever written by Captain Lawrence. On the re 
 turn of the pilot boat with the announcement that no 
 other frigates were in concealment behind the head 
 lands in the vicinity, Captain Lawrence gave the order 
 to weigh anchor, and the frigate stood down the bay. 
 
 Now that the Chesapeake had severed all communi 
 cations with the shore and was standing out to sea with 
 the avowed purpose of engaging the enemy, her people 
 began to realize the condition of the ship. Their com 
 mander had arrived in Boston only ten days before, and 
 was totally unacquainted with his officers, men or 
 ship. The first lieutenant, Octavius Augustus Page, 
 of Virginia, an officer of experience, was confined on 
 shore with lung fever, from which he died three days 
 afterward, aged twenty-eight. His place was filled by 
 Third-Lieutenant Augustus C. Ludlow, who, though 
 an officer of merit, was scarcely twenty-one years of 
 age, 1 and who was in a strange and new position a 
 position most important in a frigate so far as navigat 
 ing the ship and handling the men were concerned, but 
 especially important in breaking in and disciplining 
 a crew. Second-Lieutenant Thompson was absent on 
 account of his health, and Acting- Lieutenants Nichol 
 son and Pearce also were absent for the same reason. 
 George Budd, the only commissioned sea officer of ex 
 perience in the ship, was made second lieutenant. The 
 places of third and fourth lieutenants were vacant, and 
 were supplied by Midshipmen William Cox and Ed 
 ward J. Ballard, who now served in these capacities 
 for the first time. 
 
 In consequence of the Chesape.aJctfs bad repute, it 
 was with the greatest difficulty that men could be in 
 duced to serve in her, especially since seamen at that 
 
 1 Ludlow s Monument, Trinity churchyard, New York City. 
 
446 THE CHESAPEAKE AND THE SHANNON. 1813. 
 
 time were so scarce that even the best frigates were em 
 barrassed to fill out their complements. The Chesa 
 peake s crew, as finally brought together, was composed 
 in a large part of landsmen, foreigners the boatswain s 
 mate being a Portuguese and the least desirable sail 
 ors in port. Captain Broke, in a letter to Admiral H. 
 Hotham, dated September 24, 1813, said: "Simpson, 
 gunner s mate of the Chesapeake, says he delivered the 
 keys of the fore magazine up to Lieutenant Falkiner 
 [of the Shannon] directly the ship was taken, or be 
 fore." Even when a newly enlisted ship s company is 
 composed of experienced officers and able seamen there 
 must be more or less confusion for the first few days 
 after leaving port. It takes time for the officers to get 
 accustomed to the habits of their commander and the 
 men to learn their officers methods of carrying on dis 
 cipline. The peculiarities of the vessel have to be dis 
 covered, the arrangement of her armament must be 
 mastered, possible changes made in the watch and sta 
 tion bills to secure the best advantage, and a thousand 
 and one little improvements effected which only expe 
 rience can suggest. Owing to the irregularity in the 
 uniforms, if not the entire lack of uniformity in dress 
 of both officers and seamen in the American war ves 
 sels of that day, it was especially necessary that the 
 officers and men should become thoroughly familiar 
 with each other s faces, lest in the confusion of battle 
 they should be unable to distinguish between friends 
 and foes. So ignorant were the officers of the Chesa 
 peake of their own men, that one of her lieutenants 
 joined a party of British boarders supposing them to 
 be Americans. Besides this unfortunate condition of 
 the ship, a large proportion of the sailors, in keeping 
 with their time-honored custom of getting intoxicated 
 before leaving port on an extended voyage, were lying 
 round the ship in a drunken stupor from which even 
 the excitement and turmoil of battle did not arouse 
 them, as is seen in Captain Brenton s Naval History, 
 
1813. WRETCHED CONDITION OF THE CHESAPEAKE. 447 
 
 when lie says, " Many of the prisoners were drunk and 
 riotous." 
 
 Captain Lawrence was aware of the disorderly con 
 dition of his ship, and naval officers who accompanied 
 him to the wharf warned him of the risk of giving 
 battle under such circumstances. "Be cautious," they 
 said ; " take heed. We know every British ship on the 
 station except the Shannon" But Captain Lawrence 
 was determined on the meeting, for he regarded the 
 appearance of the frigate as appealing to his sense of 
 honor, inasmuch as he, only six months before, had 
 sent a challenge to Captain Greene, of the sloop of war 
 Bonne Citoyenne, off Bahia. The challenge sent by 
 Captain Broke through Eben Slocum did not arrive in 
 Boston until some time after the Chesapeake sailed, so 
 that Captain Lawrence did not receive it. 1 Had he 
 known that the British commander had left the selec 
 tion of time and place to him, "at any bearing and 
 distance you please to fix off the south breakers of 
 Nantucket or the shoal on St. George s Banks," he un 
 doubtedly would have postponed the meeting until he 
 could accustom his men to act together and to perform 
 the ordinary duties of seamanship and gunnery. As 
 it was, the Chesapeake went out to meet the Shannon 
 not in response to Captain Broke s challenge, but as if 
 the two vessels had casually met off the harbor. 
 
 All this time an animated scene was taking place in 
 the British frigate. Captain Broke had long desired to 
 meet an American cruiser of the same rate and had long 
 prepared for the meeting. This was to be the greatest 
 day of his life. At early dawn he climbed into the 
 Shannon 1 s tops and eagerly scanned the harbor to see 
 if the Chesapeake, aided by the fog and the night, had 
 given him the slip as the President and Congress had 
 done some weeks before when the entire British block 
 ading squadron was collected off the port. The lofty, 
 
 1 Washington Irving, Spanish Papers, vol. ii, p. 40. 
 
448 TnE CHESAPEAKE AND THE SHANNON. 1813. 
 
 tapering masts and the widespread yards of a frigate 
 were soon descried through the breaking mists, show 
 ing that the Chesapeake was still in the harbor, but 
 beside the loosened foresail, which in the light currents 
 of air was lazily bulging out and falling flat against the 
 mast, there were no signs of unwonted activity. See 
 ing no occasion for immediate action, Captain Broke 
 descended into his cabin for breakfast and allowed the 
 usual routine of the ship to begin. At ten o clock the 
 beat to quarters rattled along the decks of the British 
 frigate and sent its sharp summons down the hatch 
 ways, and the men were soon hurrying to their sta 
 tions to go through their regular morning drill. At 
 noon the men went to dinner ; but just as they were 
 seated the words "She s coming out!" spread like 
 wildfire from one end of the ship to the other, and the 
 officers and men hastened on deck to gaze on the wel 
 comed sight. Nor were they disappointed. Sail after 
 sail was unfurled on the towering masts of the Ameri 
 can frigate and sheeted home until the noble ship was 
 bending under a cloud of canvas. Soon flags were de 
 fiantly run up to her mastheads, and with all the speed 
 of the ebbing tide and the light breeze she stood down 
 the bay, attended by numerous pleasure craft filled 
 with people anxious to witness a naval engagement. 
 
 Captain Broke silently and thoughtfully descended 
 into his cabin and there made his personal arrange 
 ments for the battle. The Rev. Dr. Brighton says : 
 "What passed in that solemn hour no living creature 
 now on earth can tell, but we know enough of the war 
 rior to feel assured that he committed himself and the 
 wife and children then sleeping the sleep of the peace 
 ful in distant England to the great God he had so long 
 confessed and honored." Returning to the deck after 
 a brief absence, the British commander took a position 
 on the break of the quarter-deck and called his crew 
 aft. The men of the upper-deck quarters stood in 
 front of him and along the gangways, while the men of 
 
1813. "A SCOUNDREL PORTUGUESE." 449 
 
 the main deck assembled below, the marines being 
 drawn up in line at the great guns. Captain Broke 
 then said : u Shannons ! You know that from various 
 causes the Americans have lately triumphed on several 
 occasions over the British flag. This will not daunt 
 you. But they have said that the English have forgot 
 ten the way to fight. You will let them know to-day that 
 there are Englishmen in the Shannon who still know 
 how to fight. Fire into her quarters, main deck into 
 main deck, quarter-deck into quarter-deck. Kill the 
 men, and the ship is yours. Don t cheer. Go quietly 
 to your quarters. You have the blood of hundreds of 
 your countrymen to avenge." A dead silence rested 
 over the Shannons deck at the close of these words, 
 and all went to their stations feeling that they had a 
 foe worthy of their steel. First-Lieutenant Watt then 
 went forward and placed a white ensign on the cap 
 stan, as had been his custom whenever preparing for 
 action, remarking, "That is to hoist over the enemy s 
 colors." 
 
 Scarcely had the Chesapeake rounded the light 
 house, at one o clock in the afternoon, when Captain 
 Lawrence got a foretaste of the quality of his crew. 
 After hoisting a flag with the motto " Free Trade and 
 Sailors Rights," 1 he gave them, according to custom, 
 a short harangue. In the midst of his speech he was 
 interrupted by the loud murmurs and the mutinous 
 attitude of his men. When allowed to finish his re 
 marks, " a scoundrel Portuguese who was boatswain s 
 mate " 2 spoke up in an insolent manner and demand 
 ed, among other things, prize money which had been 
 
 1 It- seems almost superfluous to remark that the phrase " free 
 trade " had an entirely different meaning from that which it bears to 
 day, meaning at that time that American merchants had a right to sail 
 on the high seas without being subject to delays and the confiscation of 
 their merchandise by British cruisers wherever found. 
 
 2 Washington Irving, Spanish Papers, vol. ii, p. 47 ; also Brighton s 
 Memoirs of Admiral Broke, p. 165. 
 
450 THE CHESAPEAKE AND THE SHANNON. 1813. 
 
 due to some of their number several weeks. Here was 
 an awakening for Captain Lawrence : an enemy in a 
 part of his crew and a powerful foe awaiting him in 
 the offing. But to such a nature as Lawrence pos 
 sessed, to retire in the face of the enemy and meet the 
 cold glances of his countrymen after he had set out 
 with the avowed determination of engaging, was worse 
 than death. Flight was out of the question, so the 
 purser was ordered to issue prize checks, while to de 
 feat and death went the haughty Lawrence. Filled 
 with gloomy forebodings by the dastardly conduct of 
 his crew, deeply wounded by the treachery of the men 
 on . whom he relied, Captain Lawrence bravely faced 
 his doom. " Colossal in figure, and with muscular 
 power superior to most men," he endeavored to infuse 
 his own indomitable courage into the drooping spirits 
 around him ; but to the close observer it must have 
 been apparent that he did not possess the confidence 
 which he so manfully attempted to inspire. 
 
 The calm deliberation with which the American and 
 English commanders went out to seek each other s life, 
 and the earnestness with which they urged their offi 
 cers and men to steep their hands in the blood of their 
 fellow-beings, form one of the somber pictures of naval 
 history. Lawrence was the youngest son of John 
 Lawrence, Esquire, counselor-at-law at Burlington, 
 N. J., and was the second in command at the cele 
 brated capture of the Philadelphia in the harbor of 
 Tripoli. Broke was the descendant of an ancient fam 
 ily which had lived in Broke Hall, England, over three 
 hundred and fifty years, and for four hundred years at 
 Leighton. Both were men in the prime of manhood, 
 LawTence in his thirty-second year and Broke in his 
 thirty-seventh. Both were models of chivalry and 
 manly grace ; both were held in the highest estimation 
 in their profession. Lawrence had just taken an affec 
 tionate farewell of his two sons, and an hour later was 
 urging his men to Peacock them ! Peacock them ! " 
 
1813. THE BATTLE OPENS. 451 
 
 Broke but a short time before had committed his wife 
 to God s mercy, and soon afterward was urging his crew 
 to " Kill the men ! kill the men ! " Both were men of 
 the kindliest feelings and most tender affections ; both 
 acknowledged the justice of the cause for which the 
 Americans were contending ; yet with steady deter 
 mination they went out at the head of their ships com 
 panies to take each other s life. A few hours after 
 ward, when Captain Broke fell on the Chesapeake } s 
 decks fainting, and covered with his own blood, his 
 lieutenants, on loosening his clothes, found a small blue- 
 silk case suspended around his neck. It contained a 
 lock of his wife s hair. 
 
 At four o clock in the afternoon the frigates were 
 seven miles apart, and half an hour later the Chesa 
 peake hauled up and fired a gun, intimating her readi 
 ness to begin the action. At five o clock she took in 
 her royal and topgallant sails and sent down her royal 
 yards. At 5.10 P. M., 1 being about eighteen miles east 
 of Boston Lighthouse, the Shannon beat to quarters, 
 and twenty minutes later hauled up her courses, with 
 her head to the southeast, and lay-to under her top 
 sails and jib, the latter flowing and the spanker hang 
 ing by the throat brail only, ready for hauling out. 
 u Lawrence displayed great skill and tactics when clos 
 ing with us to prevent our fire, which, however, we did 
 not attempt, for Broke had given orders not to fire 
 whilst the gallant fellow keeps his head toward us, 
 and so we waited in silence." 2 The sun was setting, 
 and the Chesapeake, being to the west of her foe, 
 threw the shadow of her sails far ahead, and finally 
 they passed over the decks of the British frigate, dark 
 ening her main-deck ports and throwing a chill over 
 
 1 Shannon s log. 
 
 2 Sir Provo Wallis to the author. Sir Provo was second lieutenant in 
 the Shannon. He died February 13, 1892, at his home, Funtington House, 
 Chichester, England, in his one hundred and first year, at which time he 
 was the senior admiral of the British navy. 
 
452 THE CHESAPEAKE AND THE SHANNON. 1813. 
 
 the men stationed at the guns. She was now so near 
 her foe that the rippling of the waters against her bow 
 could be distinctly heard by those in the British frigate. 
 
 For some time 
 Captain Broke 
 was in doubt 
 as to whether 
 the Chesapeake 
 would run down 
 under the Shan 
 non s stern and 
 rake or come 
 
 Diagram of the battle. fairly alongside. 
 
 The American 
 
 frigate, however, disdained the advantage, and hold 
 ing on her course ranged up off the Shannon s beam. 
 Seeing that Lawrence was about to engage in a fair 
 yard-arm and yard-arm action, Captain Broke stepped 
 to the skylight on his quarter-deck and ordered the 
 gunners on the deck below "to fire on the enemy 
 as soon as the guns bore on his second bow port." 
 Allen, in his Battles of the British Navy, says: "The 
 Shannon s aftermost guns on the main deck were 
 loaded with two round shot and a keg of one hundred 
 and fifty musket balls ; the next gun had one round 
 shot and one double-headed shot, and so on alternately 
 with every gun on the main deck." 1 At a quarter be 
 fore six " 2 the bow of the Chesapeake began to double 
 on the Shannon s quarter and the latter opened fire, one 
 gun after the other, from the aftermost gun to the bow. 
 The effect of this fire, as witnessed from the Shan 
 non s tops, was truly withering. A hurricane of shot, 
 splinters, torn hammocks, cut rigging and wreck of 
 every kind was hurled like a cloud across the deck." 
 The Chesapeake did not immediately reply, but having 
 secured a favorable position she also delivered her 
 
 1 Vol. ii, p. 427, note. 2 Official report of Lieutenant Budd. 
 
1813. DREADFUL SLAUGHTER. 453 
 
 broadside with tremendous effect. Both ships then 
 kept up a furious cannonade for several minutes. 
 
 At the first broadside Captain Lawrence, while 
 standing on a carronade slide, was severely wounded 
 in the leg, but refused to go below, and, supporting him 
 self on the companion way, continued in command of 
 his ship. At the same time William Augustus White, 
 the sailing-master, was killed. The firing was so close 
 and rapid that in a few minutes half of the Ameri 
 can officers were either killed or wounded. The Brit 
 ish frigate had also suffered heavily. One 12-pound 
 shot entered her lower port sill on the quarter where 
 the ninth gun was being worked ; it passed through 
 the gun carriage and knocked out the quoin, which, 
 striking the captain of the gun on the knee, broke the 
 knee-cap and drove the fragments of bone half way up 
 his thigh. At the same instant Captain Broke was 
 stepping over the train tackle of this gun, and it is be 
 lieved that the shot passed betw r een his legs. One 32- 
 pound shot, after piercing the Shannon s hull, passed 
 through one of the gun-room cabins, knocked out a 
 part of the bulkhead and injured a magazine man who 
 was stationed at a powder scuttle. The shot, then 
 nearly spent, rolled toward the powder scuttles and 
 would have fallen in the magazine passage had not a 
 man turned it away with his foot. One of the men at 
 the ninth gun was struck by a grape shot, which pierc 
 ing him below the stomach entered the cavity of the 
 body, but the brave fellow continued the task of load 
 ing his gun. He would not go below, and was led to an 
 arm chest and there lay down in dreadful agony, beg 
 ging those about him to put their hands into the wound 
 and take out the shot, saying, "I shall do well enough 
 if you will only do that." He died in a few minutes. 
 The STiannorfs marines at this moment were drawn up 
 along the gangway, the first division on the starboard 
 side, under the command of First- Lieu tenant Johns, and 
 the second division on the port gangway, commanded 
 
454 T HE CHESAPEAKE AND THE SHANNON. 1813. 
 
 by Second-Lieutenant Law, and they had been ordered 
 to move to the forecastle, as it was thought that the 
 Chesapeake might fall aboard the Shannon at that 
 point. At this moment a 32-pound shot struck the top 
 of the stern boat and made a host of splinters out of 
 it, for a moment throwing the marines into confusion. 
 The same shot came through the top of the forecastle 
 and knocked away all the lining planks. Another shot 
 entered the ship diagonally, crippling the port-cabin 
 guns, tearing down the beams overhead, and passing 
 out on the starboard side. The Chesapeake had a kind 
 of double transom formed by a transverse timber being 
 laid athwart the stern frame, and inside of this was the 
 usual stern-frame woodwork. It formed a shelf or flat 
 surface in the after gun room, just below the stern 
 ports. This woodwork, from the inside to the out, 
 must have been five feet thick. An 18-pound shot 
 entered diagonally and penetrated it nearly seven feet. 
 The headway that the Chesapeake had acquired in 
 coming into action, and the calm she produced on the 
 Shannon s sails when fairly alongside, carried the 
 American frigate ahead of her antagonist, and, desir 
 ing to preserve the weather gage so as to cripple the 
 Shannon with his dismantling shot, Captain Lawrence 
 hauled up a little. But as her jib sheet and fore-top 
 sail tie were shot away, and her helm was unattended 
 by reason of the death of the men at her wheel, the 
 Chesapeake came up so sharply to the wind as to deaden 
 her headway completely, and in consequence she was 
 taken aback and given sternboard, with her stern and 
 quarters exposed to the Shannon s broadside. At this 
 moment the British delivered their most effective fire, 
 not only raking the Chesapeake fore and aft with their 
 quarter guns and beating in her stern ports, but at the 
 same time maintaining a tremendous diagonal fire from 
 their forward guns across the decks of the American 
 frigate. This fire rapidly increased the American list 
 of killed or wounded : it now included Captain Law- 
 
1813. BOARDERS CALLED. 455 
 
 rence, Acting First-Lieutenant Ludlow, who was twice 
 wounded by grape and musketry ; Acting Fourth- Lieu 
 tenant Ballard, mortally wounded ; Lieutenant of Ma 
 rines James Broom, mortally wounded ; Sailing- Master 
 William Augustus White and Peter Adams, the boat 
 swain (the latter having served in the Constitution 
 during her fight with the Guerriere\ killed at the 
 first broadside ; Midshipmen Pollard Hopewell, John 
 Evans, Jr., and Daniel Burnham also killed; Mid 
 shipmen William A. Weaver, Edmund M. Russell and 
 William Barry wounded. Second-Lieutenant Budd 
 and Acting Third-Lieutenant Cox were below in charge 
 of their divisions. The early loss of the sailing-master 
 and boatswain was an irretrievable disaster, as there 
 were so few able seamen in the ship, and there is 
 no doubt that this was the cause of the Chesapeake* s 
 rigging and sails remaining entangled at this critical 
 moment. Seeing that the ships were about to foul, 
 Boatswain Stevens, of the Shannon, who had fought 
 under Rodney, endeavored to lash the two ships to 
 gether, but the Americans on the Chesapeake^ s quarter 
 deck hacked off his left arm with their cutlasses, be 
 sides mortally wounding him. 
 
 Captain Lawrence now gave the order for the board 
 ers to be called, but the bugler, a negro named George 
 Brown, was not to be found ; and at the same moment 
 an arm chest on the quarter-deck was blown up by a 
 hand grenade thrown from the Shannon which caused 
 additional confusion. After several precious minutes 
 had been wasted in a search for the bugler he was 
 discovered under the stern launch, paralyzed with 
 terror and utterly incapable of calling the boarders. 
 Before an oral order could be conveyed below, the 
 frigates fouled ; and Captain Broke, seeing that the 
 Chesapeake^ s boarders were not in readiness, and hav 
 ing all his marines assembled in the gangway, and the 
 seamen in the boats and at the booms in readiness to 
 spring, threw down his trumpet, and, calling out "Fol- 
 
 32 
 
456 THE CHESAPEAKE AND THE SHANNON. 1813. 
 
 low me who can!" stepped aboard the Chesapeake* s 
 quarter-deck. 
 
 At this juncture Captain Lawrence, "fatally con 
 spicuous by the white vest and other habiliments he 
 had assumed," 1 was mortally wounded and was carried 
 below. Even in the cockpit he continued to issue 
 orders, shouting: "Keep the guns going!" "Fight 
 her till she strikes or sinks ! " And when he learned that 
 the enemy had carried the spar deck, he exclaimed : 
 "Then the officers of the deck haven t toed the mark. 
 The Shannon was whipped when I left the deck." His 
 last words were, " Don t give up the ship ! " 2 
 
 The few men on the Chesapeake } s quarter-deck made 
 a "desperate and disorderly resistance, "but, not being 
 supported by their comrades below, were soon cut to 
 pieces. The only officer on deck was Mr. Ludlow, and 
 he was so weak from loss of blood as to be on the point 
 of fainting. Samuel Livermore, of Boston, who from 
 a personal attachment to Captain Lawrence had ac 
 companied him as chaplain, seeing the fall of his be 
 loved chief, seized a pistol, and, though almost the 
 only American on the quarter-deck, deliberately fired 
 at the British commander, who was gallantly leading 
 
 1 Brighton s Memoirs of Admiral Broke, p. 165. 
 
 2 This exclamation, " Don t give up the ship ! " is regarded by some 
 writers as a myth. With a view of determining this question the author 
 inquired of Sir Provo Wallis, a survivor of the battle, and was authorized 
 by him to publish the following statement : " We heard that when they 
 were carrying Captain Lawrence below, mortally wounded, he uttered the 
 words, Don t give up the ship ! " It hardly seems possible that such a 
 myth could be invented during the great excitement consequent on the 
 termination of the battle and immediately after have reached the ears of 
 the British officers. Myths of this character are generally the productions 
 of some gifted pen when writing, in the peaceful security of a study, of 
 events long after their occurrence. An officer of the Chesapeake, writing 
 in reference to the voyage of these ships from Boston to Halifax, remarks: 
 " Captain Broke and Captain Lawrence were both delirious from their 
 wounds. When Captain Lawrence could speak, he would say, Don t give 
 up the ship ! Evidently the words were firmly impressed on his mind at 
 the time of the battle." 
 
1813. A CRITICAL MOMENT. 457 
 
 his boarders, and then dashed at the enemy with a 
 broadsword. The bullet missed its mark, but struck a 
 seaman. Captain Broke, with a backward stroke of 
 his good and mighty Toledo blade," l felled the patriot 
 to the deck. The enemy then charged along both 
 gangways to the Chesapeake s forecastle. 
 
 A messenger now came rushing into the first divi 
 sion of the gun deck below, and informed Lieutenant 
 Budd for the first time that the enemy had boarded 
 and that all hands were called. Mr. Budd instantly 
 called his men, but the raw hands, influenced by the 
 foreigners, held back, while the Portuguese boatswain s 
 mate, who led in the murmurs about the prize checks, 
 removed the gratings of the berth deck, and, shouting, 
 " So much for not paying men prize money," ran below, 
 followed by many of the other malcontents. Some 
 American seamen, however, followed Lieutenant Budd 
 on deck, where they arrived only in time to see their 
 gallant commander carried below and the enemy in full 
 possession of the quarter-deck. Lieutenant Budd, with 
 a view of separating the frigates and so cutting off the 
 British boarders from support, ordered the fore tacks 
 to be hauled aboard ; but the rigging had become so 
 entangled that it was impossible to perform the ma 
 noeuvre. On attempting to gain the quarter-deck, he 
 was wounded and hurled to the deck below, badly 
 stunned. 
 
 All this time the Chesapeake s head had been 
 gradually swinging around, and she now broke away 
 from her lashings and forged across the Shannon s 
 bow. This left fifty or sixty Englishmen in the Ameri 
 can frigate cut off from support and retreat, and, had the 
 Chesapeake been manned by a thoroughbred American 
 crew, the Englishmen might soon have been overpow 
 ered and the result of the action of June 1, 1813, would 
 have been far different. To add to the confusion of 
 
 1 Brighton s Memoirs of Admiral Broke. 
 
458 THE CHESAPEAKE AND THE SHANNON. 1813. 
 
 the English, one of their boarders hauled down the 
 American colors and hoisted it again with the white 
 ensign under instead of over it. Seeing this, the 
 Shannon re- opened fire, and at the first discharge took 
 off the head of her first lieutenant, George Thomas L. 
 Watt, who was standing on the Chesapeake* s quarter 
 deck, besides killing or wounding other Englishmen 
 near him. 
 
 Seeing the difficulty the enemy was in, a few 
 Americans on the forecastle made a desperate struggle 
 to regain the ship. The British rallied to the forecas 
 tle, and a short but fierce encounter took place. In 
 the melee Captain Broke was felled to the deck with 
 the blow of a cutlass on the head which laid bare sev 
 eral inches of his brain. An American seaman fatally 
 wounded was also thrown to the deck beside the British 
 commander, and although in his death agonies he still 
 continued to fight. Both of these men were weak from 
 loss of blood, so that their struggle was feeble, but 
 none the less deadly in purpose. The American grap 
 pling with the British commander soon got the upper 
 most, and, having picked up a bayonet, he raised the 
 weapon with fast ebbing strength to strike the fatal 
 blow, while Captain Broke endeavored to draw his 
 dagger. At this moment a British marine rushed up, 
 and, supposing the American was underneath, was 
 about to run a bayonet through his own commander, 
 when Captain Broke called out, " Poh ! poh ! You 
 fool ! Don t you know your captain 1 " Upon which 
 the marine changed the direction of the blow and laid 
 the American out on the deck. Owing to the great 
 loss of American officers, it is doubtful if there was 
 any formal surrender ; certainly the news of it was 
 not promptly conveyed to the seamen in the different 
 parts of the ship, and they received no orders to de 
 sist from fighting. In consequence of this confusion a 
 British marine standing guard at the main hatchway 
 was shot by an American from below, and the British 
 
1813. COMPARATIVE FORCES AND LOSSES. 459 
 
 retaliated by pouring in a volley of musketry. About 
 this time Acting Third-Lieutenant Cox gained the deck 
 with a few American seamen and joined the boarders, 
 supposing them to be the Chesapeake s men, but he 
 was quickly undeceived by saber cuts. 
 
 The English were now in complete possession of the 
 ship. Lieutenant Wallis, before the action opened, 
 handed his watch to a seaman who was stationed in the 
 magazine, remarking : " You will be safe ; should any 
 thing happen to me, give this to my father." By this 
 watch the seaman timed the firing, and " by it we knew 
 that the cannonading lasted only eleven minutes." 1 
 The boarding occupied only a few minutes, so that 
 Lieutenant Budd s official report that the action lasted 
 fifteen minutes is fully corroborated. 
 
 The Chesapeake* s armament, as given by Sir Provo 
 Wallis, who took command of her immediately upon 
 her surrender, and remained there for a week after 
 ward, was : Main deck, twenty-eight long 18-pound- 
 ers ; quarter-deck, sixteen short 32-pounders ; forecas 
 tle, four short 32-pounders and one long 18-pounder, 
 forty-nine guns in all " ; 2 giving a total actual weight 
 of five hundred and forty pounds to the broadside. Out 
 of her complement of three hundred and forty men she 
 lost forty- seven killed and ninety-nine wounded, 3 and 
 fourteen of the latter afterward died. Perhaps the fact 
 that reflects most credit is that the loss was chiefly con 
 fined to the American portion of the crew, the foreign 
 ers skulking about the ship seeking to escape their own 
 officers as well as the enemy. Every officer was either 
 killed or wounded so early in the action that no one 
 was left to throw the signal-book overboard when the 
 enemy boarded, so that the English came into posses 
 sion of all the American private signals. This book 
 had been placed on the cabin table and shotted, ready 
 
 1 Admiral Wallis to the author. 2 Ibid. 
 
 3 Official report of Lieutenant Budd. 
 
460 THE CHESAPEAKE AND THE SHANNON. 1813. 
 
 to be thrown overboard. Five of the Chesapeake* s 
 men were held as deserters ; one of them was executed, 
 and the others were sentenced to be flogged through 
 the fleet. The Shannon carried twenty-eight long 18- 
 pounders, four long 9-pounders, one long 6-pounder, 
 sixteen short 32-pounders and three short 12-pounders, 
 making in all fifty-two guns, or five hundred and forty- 
 seven pounds to the broadside. 1 Her complement is 
 given at three hundred and thirty, out of which she 
 lost twenty-four killed and fifty-nine wounded ; 2 total, 
 eighty-three. Three of the British sailors had their 
 heads taken off by round shot, and several of them 
 were literally cut in two. The Chesapeake was struck 
 by twenty-five 32-pound shot, twenty-nine 18-pound 
 shot, two 9-pound shot and three hundred and six 
 grapeshot, many of the round shot taking eifect at the 
 water s edge. On her weather side only one shroud 
 was left. The Shannon was struck by twelve 18-pound 
 shot, thirteen 32-pound shot, fourteen bar shot and one 
 hundred and nineteen grapeshot. 
 
 Comparative force and loss. 
 
 Guns. Lbs. Crew. Killed. Wounded. Total. 
 
 Chesapeake: 49 540 340 47 99 146 j Time 
 Shannon: 52 547 330 24 59 83 [ 15m. 
 
 "There has been, no doubt, a great deal of trash 
 on that subject [action between the Chesapeake and 
 the Shannon] given to the world." 3 Unfortunately 
 this is far from an exaggeration of the case. Perhaps 
 no other naval encounter of this war called from con 
 temporary writers and newspapers on both sides of 
 the Atlantic so much misrepresentation and exaggera- 
 
 1 James History of the British Navy, vol. vi, p. 53. James, it will be 
 again remarked, has departed from the figures given in the official report 
 of Captain Broke, which gives the Shannon but forty-nine guns. James 
 says "the Shannon certainly mounted fifty-two guns." Yonge, in his 
 Naval History, says : " The Shannon was a fine frigate, with fifty-two guns." 
 
 2 Official report of Captain Broke. 3 Admiral Wallis to the author. 
 
1813. EFFECT OF THE VICTORY. 461 
 
 tion. But this can be overlooked on the plea of the 
 intense bitterness then existing between the two peo 
 ples. The Americans were filled with profound gloom 
 and an unreasonable loss of confidence in their navy, 
 while the English gave vent to extravagant demonstra 
 tions of joy, simply because an English frigate had 
 captured an American of the same force. The news 
 was carried to England in the brig Nova Scotia, Lieu 
 tenant Bartholomew Kent, which sailed from Halifax 
 June 12th, and arrived at Plymouth July 7th. On the 
 following evening Lord Cochrane was making severe 
 criticisms in Parliament on the administration of the 
 naval war with the United States, when Mr. Croker 
 arose to answer him with the announcement that the 
 Shannon had captured the Chesapeake. This was 
 received with the "loudest and most cordial acclama 
 tions from every part of the House." The city of Lon 
 don presented to Captain Broke a sword and the free 
 dom of the city, the Tower guns were fired, and Cap 
 tain Broke was made a baronet of the United Kingdom, 
 and soon afterward a Knight Commander of the Bath. 
 He and his descendants were allowed to bear the fol 
 lowing crest of honorable augmentation, "Issuant from 
 a naval crown, a dexter arm embowed, encircled by a 
 wreath of laurel, the hand grasping a trident erect"; 
 the motto was Scevumque tridentem servamus. " Con 
 gress voted a gold medal to the nearest male descend 
 ant of Captain Lawrence. 
 
 But above all partisan discussion one fact is clear, 
 which is, that the condition of the Chesapeake did not 
 justify an action with the Shannon on the 1st of June, 
 1813. It is to be feared that Captain Lawrence had 
 fallen into the error which proved to be the stumbling- 
 block of British commanders in the early part of this 
 war an underestimation of his opponent s prowess 
 and an overestimation of his own. At the beginning 
 of the contest the British navy had attained its highest 
 degree of success. Now that the American navy had 
 
462 THE CHESAPEAKE AND THE SHANNON. 1813. 
 
 won five consecutive and signal victories over the mis 
 tress of the ocean in six months, the national pride 
 was unduly puffed up, and it needed but a single de 
 feat to prick the bubble of our vanity. Just at the 
 culmination of this series of brilliant victories, Captain 
 Lawrence returned from a highly successful cruise. 
 His experience with the Bonne Citoyenne and the 
 Espiegle, and his splendid and easy victory over the 
 Peacock, had not tended to raise the overboasted Brit 
 ish naval prowess in his estimation ; and, as he came 
 home flushed with victory and on the crest wave of 
 national success, it is not surprising that he thought 
 the Chesapeake, even in her wretched condition, was 
 able to cope with the Shannon. This seems the more 
 probable when we remember that Captain Lawrence 
 could not have known of the superb order in which the 
 latter frigate was kept. 
 
 M. De la Graviere, commenting on this action in his 
 Guerres Maritimes, vol. ii, page 272, says: " Captain 
 Broke had commanded the Shannon for nearly seven 
 years ; Captain Lawrence had commanded the Chesa 
 peake for but a few days. The Shannon had cruised 
 for eighteen months on the coast of America ; the 
 Chesapeake was newly out of harbor. The Shannon 
 had a crew long accustomed to habits of strict obedi 
 ence ; the Chesapeake was manned by men who had 
 just been engaged in mutiny. The Americans were 
 wrong to accuse Fortune on this occasion. Fortune 
 was not fickle, she was merely logical. The Shannon 
 captured the Chesapeake on June 1, 1813, but on Sep 
 tember 14, 1806, when he took command of his frigate, 
 Captain Broke had begun to prepare the glorious ter 
 mination of the bloody affair." 
 
 Some years after this battle a British naval officer, 
 while dining at the table of the Duke of Wellington, 
 was indulging in extravagant comments on Broke s 
 victory and deprecating the American naval victories 
 in this war. Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin, who was pres- 
 
1813. AFTER THE BATTLE. 463 
 
 ent, listened to the foolish talk with growing impa 
 tience, and finally remarked : "It was a lucky thing 
 for your friend Broke that he fell in with the unpre 
 pared Chesapeake, and not with Hull and the Constitu 
 tion. If he had, no Tower guns would have been heard 
 celebrating the Shannon s victory." 
 
 The passage of the two ships to Nova Scotia was 
 melancholy for both the victors and the vanquished. 
 The quiet of the twilight was disturbed by the groans 
 of the wounded, and as night advanced the moon rose, 
 bringing out in its cold light the sanguinary work of 
 the day. Splashes of blood were seen on the bul 
 warks, masts, gangways and gun-carriages. Coils of 
 rope were matted with gore as if in a slaughter-house ; 
 dead men were lying around the decks, staring with 
 sightless eyeballs into vacancy ; pieces of skin and 
 hair adhered to different portions of the ship, and in 
 one place the fingers of a man protruded from the bul 
 warks as if thrust through the side of the frigate. The 
 survivors of the battle moved about with torn clothing, 
 bandaged heads and splinted arms, and those who were 
 unhurt were busily engaged in splicing the rigging and 
 repairing damages. At nine o clock the dead in both 
 frigates were collected at the gangway, shotted and 
 bound in canvas, and at the sublime words of the litur 
 gy, "to be turned into corruption, looking for the res 
 urrection of the body, when the sea shall give up her 
 dead," they were rapidly yet tenderly dropped over 
 board one after another into the dark sea. 
 
 In the foggy weather of the second evening the 
 monotony of the voyage was suddenly broken aboard 
 the Shannon by the shrill piping of the tune Yankee 
 Doodle. The American prisoners in the hold pricked 
 up their ears in eager anticipation of recapture, while 
 the British, alarmed at the unwonted tune, hastily 
 armed and tumbled up on deck to learn the cause 
 of it. Their anxiety was enhanced by the belief that 
 the frigates President and Congress were in that 
 
4:64: THE CHESAPEAKE AND THE SHANNON. 1813. 
 
 vicinity, and they thought it possible that these ships 
 might have come near them unawares in the heavy 
 fog, and that the piping of the American tune might be 
 from one of the frigates. Only the day before they 
 had fallen in with two ships which at first were taken 
 to be the American cruisers, but they proved to be the 
 74-gun ship of the line Scepter and the frigate Loire. 
 The cause of this alarm, however, proved to be the 
 Shannon s piper playing in his most elaborate style 
 the tune that had startled his shipmates. He had 
 been ordered to do this by Captain Broke himself, who 
 quaintly remarked, "I thought nothing wpuld cheer 
 me up so much as that old tune." 
 
 Captain Lawrence received every kindness and at 
 tention from the British officers. His own cabin was 
 so shattered that it could not be fitted up for him, so 
 he was removed to the wardroom. Dr. Jack, the Shan 
 non s surgeon who attended him, describes Lawrence 
 as being " tractable, gentle and docile, as the brave al 
 ways are under medical treatment. Few inquiries 
 were necessary, but few as they were Lawrence antici 
 pated nearly all, and steadily prognosticated his own 
 decease. 4 1 know, said he, why you ask that ques 
 tion ; my own surgeon asked me the same, and I see 
 from it that there is no hope for me." : He died after 
 suffering several days of intense bodily pain, and the 
 more acute agony of a proud and wounded spirit. 
 James Todd, of Portland, who saw Lawrence in Bos 
 ton, described his appearance to Rear- Admiral George 
 H. Preble as follows : " The day before the battle Cap 
 tain Lawrence came into the shop where I was appren 
 ticed, with a lieutenant, the latter desiring to have a 
 miniature of Captain Lawrence mounted. During the 
 conversation Captain Lawrence leaned his tall, manly 
 figure over the showcase. He was a little under six 
 feet, and broad across the shoulders, with a handsome 
 manly face and dark hair, with side whiskers combed 
 up, and shaved under the ears as was then the style. 
 
1813. ARRIVAL AT HALIFAX. 465 
 
 His proportions were good and his movements were 
 graceful, and he carried himself as one born to com 
 mand. The miniature was left to be called for, but 
 the battle was fought the next day and they never re 
 turned." 1 
 
 It was Sunday morning when the Chesapeake and 
 the Shannon appeared off Halifax harbor. Lawrence, 
 wrapped in the American colors, lay dead on the quar 
 ter-deck of the Chesapeake. Broke, delirious and un 
 conscious, was in the Shannon s cabin. Divine serv 
 ice was being held in St. Paul s Church, when a man 
 was seen to enter hurriedly, whisper to a friend in the 
 garrison pew and hastily withdraw. The effect was 
 electrical ; the news flashed from pew to pew, and one 
 by one the worshipers left the church, until finally the 
 clergyman, scarcely waiting to divest himself of his 
 surplice, also found his way down to the wharf. " In 
 passing up the bay," wrote one of the American offi 
 cers, " there was a great shout from the people, for 
 they thought our prize was the 44-gun frigate Presi 
 dent, which had incurred their cordial dislike ; but 
 when they heard that it was the Chesapeake, and that 
 Lawrence, her commander, was dead, not a huzza was 
 heard, except, I believe, from a brig lying at anchor. 
 Captain Lawrence was highly respected for his human 
 ity to the crew of the Peacock, and marks of real grief 
 were seen in the countenances of all the inhabitants I 
 had a chance to see. I can truly say that all appeared 
 to lament his death, and I heard several say that they 
 considered the blood which had been shed on the Chesa 
 peake" s deck as being as dear to them as that of their 
 own countrymen. On the day of the funeral I saw three 
 mahogany coffins carried on board the Chesapeake. In 
 one of them the remains of Captain Lawrence were 
 placed and then rowed in a twenty-oared barge, to min 
 ute strokes, to the shore, followed by a procession of 
 
 1 Rear- Admiral Preble, in the United Service Magazine, p. 500. 
 
466 THE CHESAPEAKE AND THE SHANNON. 1813. 
 
 boats at respectful distances. After landing at King s 
 Wharf, a regiment of troops and a full band of music 
 playing the Dead March in Saul took up the line of 
 march. Six of the oldest navy officers in port, one 
 of them being Lieutenant Samuel Ely the, afterward 
 killed in the Boxer in her action with the Enterprise, 
 carried the pall, which was one of the colors of the 
 Chesapeake, and on top of the coffin was placed Law 
 rence s sword. The procession was very long, and 
 everything was conducted in the most solemn and re 
 spectful manner, and the wounded officers of both na 
 tions, who followed the procession, made the scene 
 very affecting. I never attended a funeral in my life 
 when my feelings were so struck. There was not the 
 
 least mark of exultation that 
 I saw, even among the com 
 monest people." 
 
 About six weeks after this, 
 George Crowninshield, Jr., 
 and ten other masters of ves 
 sels sailed from Boston, in the 
 brig Henry, under a flag of 
 truce to Halifax, where the 
 tomb. Bodies of Lawrence and Lud- 
 
 low were exhumed and brought to Boston and landed 
 at India Wharf, and funeral services were held over 
 them. The remains were then carried to New York, 
 where they were escorted by a procession from the Bat 
 tery, through Greenwich Street to Chambers Street, 
 then down Broadway to Trinity churchyard, where 
 they were interred. 1 
 
 1 James Lawrence was born October 1, 1781, in Burlington, N. J., and 
 was educated by his father for the law, but preferring the sea, he received 
 a midshipman s warrant September 1, 1798, and served under Captain 
 Tingey, in the 24-gun cruiser Ganges. Within two years he was made 
 acting lieutenant, although he did not receive his commission until 1802. 
 From 1802 to 1804 Lawrence distinguished himself while first lieutenant 
 in the Enterprise in the attacks on the feluccas before Tripoli, May, 1802. 
 
1813. THE CHESAPEAKE S FATE. 467 
 
 Captain Broke never fully recovered from the ef 
 fects of his wounds. It was nearly four months before 
 he was able to sail for England. He was not again ac 
 tively engaged in the service, and spent the remaining 
 years of his life in London, Shrubland Park (Lady 
 Broke s previous home), and at Broke Hall, leading 
 the quiet life of an English country gentleman. He 
 died while on a visit to London, in Bayley s Hotel, 
 Berkeley Square, on the night of January 2, 1841. 
 Like Napoleon s, his spirit passed away during a tre 
 mendous storm. 
 
 An account of the celebrated action between the 
 Chesapeake and the Shannon would not be complete 
 without a brief sketch of the subsequent careers of these 
 two ships. The Shannon was retained in the service 
 only a short time after the War of 1812. Two frigates 
 bearing the same name had been built for the royal 
 navy and lost one a 32-gun frigate, built in 1796 and 
 wrecked in 1800, the othera36-gun frigate, launched in 
 1800, which in the same year ran aground under the 
 batteries of Cape La Hogue. The third Shannon, the 
 one that fought the Chesapeake, was built in Chatham, 
 Brindley s yard, in 1806, and some years after the War 
 of 1812 was broken up. 
 
 The Chesapeake met a far different fate. After her 
 capture by Captain Broke she was taken to England, 
 and in 1820 her timbers were sold to John Prior, 
 miller, of Wickham, Hants. Mr. Prior pulled down 
 his mill at Wickham and erected a new one from 
 the CJiesapeake^s timbers, which he found admirably 
 adapted for the purpose. The deck beams were thirty- 
 He was second in command in the memorable capture of the Philadelphia 
 in the harbor of Tripoli. He crossed the Atlantic in 1805 in a gunboat, 
 and in 1808 he became first lieutenant in the Constitution, and in the fol 
 lowing year was commander of the Vixen, shortly after which he was 
 promoted to the Wasp. His next ship was the Argus, and in 1811 he re 
 ceived the command of the Hornet, in which he achieved his brilliant vic 
 tory over the Peacock. For this service he was made commander of the 
 Chesapeake. 
 
468 THE CHESAPEAKE AND THE SHANNON. 1820-1864. 
 
 two feet long and eighteen inches square, and were 
 placed, unaltered, horizontally in the mill. The pur 
 lins of the deck were about twelve feet long, and served 
 without alterations for joists. Many of these timbers 
 still bear the marks of the Shannon s grapeshot, and 
 in some places the shot are to be seen deeply imbedded 
 in the pitch pine. The metamorphosis of a sanguinary 
 man-of-war into a peaceful flour mill is perhaps as near 
 an approach to the Scriptural prophecy that spears and 
 swords shall be beaten into plows and pruning-hooks 
 as the conditions of modern civilization will allow. 
 
 The Rev. Dr. Brighton, in his Memoirs of Sir Philip 
 B. Y. Broke, gives the following account of a visit to 
 this mill in 1864: Nothing shiplike or of the sea 
 was discernible from without the mill. A comely 
 young Englishman of some eight and twenty years of 
 age was coming forth to join his cricket club on a 
 neighboring down, and this proved to be the owner of 
 the Chesapeake Mill. A large cigar box, constructed 
 from the polished pine of the old ship and bearing the 
 inscription Chesapeake in small brass nails, stood 
 upon a table. The beams were pock-marked in many 
 places with grapeshot. The mill was merrily going, 
 but as I stood in the midst of this peaceful scene I re 
 membered that, beyond all reasonable doubt, on one of 
 these planks Lawrence fell in the writhing anguish of 
 his mortal wound ; on another, if not the same, Watt s 
 head was carried away by a shot ; and on others Broke 
 lay ensanguined, and his assailants dead, while near by 
 Ludlow must have poured out his life s blood. Thus 
 pondering I stood, and still the busy hum went on, 
 wheat passed beneath the stones, flour poured forth 
 and the merry millers passed around their kindly smile 
 and blithesome jest." 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 OPERATIONS ON THE GREAT LAKES. 
 
 THE possession of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie was 
 of vital importance both to the Americans and to the 
 English, for through this channel re-enforcements and 
 supplies were forwarded to their respective armies in 
 the West. Perceiving the necessity of controlling 
 these lakes, both governments, early in the war, took 
 measures for building and maintaining a naval force 
 there. In this the Americans had to surmount great 
 difficulties. From the head of the Hudson to the 
 shores of Lake Ontario there was a vast wilderness, 
 through which no road had been cut, and the trail 
 could be followed only by Indians and experienced 
 hunters. The route taken by white men was along the 
 waters of the Mohawk to Oneida Lake, from which 
 place they reached Lake Ontario by Oswego River, 
 thence coasting along the shores of the lake to Sackett s 
 Harbor. The transportation of heavy ordnance, ammu 
 nition, stores and men along this difficult trail, besides 
 being attended with many dangers, was possible only 
 at a great outlay of time and money, and even after 
 arrival at Sackett s Harbor, the American headquar 
 ters on Lake Ontario, the perils of the journey were 
 by no means over. At that time Oswego consisted of 
 only twenty-five houses, and Sackett s Harbor of a few 
 huts and a blockhouse places where money was un 
 known and where the circulating medium was salt, one 
 barrel of it being computed at two dollars. These set 
 tlements, isolated by three hundred miles of wilder 
 ness, were in constant danger of being swept away by 
 
 (469) 
 
4:70 OPERATIONS ON THE GREAT LAKES. 1679-1812. 
 
 fire, disease or famine, and were continually exposed 
 to Indian assaults. 
 
 On the other hand, the English were able to reach 
 these lakes with comparative ease. In accordance with 
 the plan of the French ministers, when they held the 
 Canadas and extensive tracts at the mouth of the Mis 
 sissippi, to merge these provinces into one vast domain, 
 a chain of trading posts had been established along 
 the St. Lawrence, Lake Ontario, Lake Erie and the 
 Ohio River, and down the Mississippi to New Orleans. 
 By this means it was not only intended to cut off the 
 English colonist from the West, but, as this mighty 
 dominion became firmly established and its power grew 
 in proportion to its size, it was hoped that it would 
 crowd more and more on the English settlers, and 
 eventually absorb them or sweep them into the At 
 lantic. As early as 1678 De la Salle launched a craft 
 of ten tons on Lake Ontario, which was the first decked 
 vessel ever on those waters, and in 1679 he launched 
 another of sixty tons on Lake Erie. Nor was this 
 scheme an idle fancy on the part of the French 
 Government. No one was more sensible of the power 
 that was gradually developing and tightening its folds 
 around him than the English colonist. It is remark 
 able that the control of this boundless empire should 
 have been contested by so few combatants, yet practi 
 cally several hundred English and French settlers de 
 cided the occupation of the North American continent 
 in favor of one race to the exclusion of the other. 
 How deep-rooted the French power had become was 
 seen when the Canadas passed under British rule. 
 Their trading-posts formed nuclei of permanent settle 
 ments, which rapidly grew into villages all along these 
 water-ways. While the English were building them 
 selves up on the coast, the French had flourishing 
 towns on the great rivers and inland seas, which con 
 tinued to grow in size and number ; and at the time of 
 the War of 1812 there were prosperous towns of many 
 
1812. 
 
 IMPORTANCE OF THE GREAT LAKES. 
 
 471 
 
 years growth scattered along the lakes in the pos 
 session of the British, affording secure headquarters 
 and bases for operation. The principal English port 
 on Lake Ontario was Kingston, at the northeastern ex 
 tremity of the lake. Originally it was the old French 
 trading post Frontenac, but in 1812 it was a town of 
 nearly fifteen hundred inhabitants. Opposite Kings 
 ton, almost within sight, was the precarious hamlet of 
 Sackett s Harbor. 
 
 The English ministry had maintained a naval force 
 on these lakes since the close of the American Revolu 
 tion, with the view of car 
 rying out, at the first op 
 portunity, the original 
 scheme of the French, 
 
 Scene of t7te naval operations on the Great Lakes. 
 
 which was to extend Canadian dominion along the 
 Great Lakes and down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers 
 to New Orleans, thus cutting off the United States from 
 the West. The London press, as will be seen by the 
 following, already regarded the Great Lakes as belong 
 ing exclusively to Great Britain. tk We must again 
 and again call upon them [the ministers] to make ar 
 rangements for retrieving the temporary subversion of 
 our superiority on the American lakes. They are a 
 portion of our marine dominion, which must on no 
 
472 OPERATIONS ON THE GREAT LAKES. 1812. 
 
 account be yielded." 1 In 1812 the British naval force 
 on Lake Ontario consisted of the 22-gun ship Royal 
 George, the 16-gun ship Prince Regent, the 14-gun 
 ship Earl of Moira, the 14-gun brig Duke of Glouces 
 ter, the 4-gun schooner Seneca and the 12-gun schoon 
 er Simcoe. Opposed to this squadron, the United 
 States had only the 16-gun brig Oneida, Lieutenant 
 Melancthon Taylor Woolsey, built as a revenue cutter 
 by Christian Bergh and Henry Eckford, and launched 
 at Oswego in 1809. 
 
 On the 19th of July the British vessels, under the 
 command of Captain Earle, aggregating nearly eighty 
 guns, sailed from Kingston with the avowed intention 
 of taking or destroying the Oneida. Reaching the off 
 ing of Sackett s Harbor, they captured a custom-house 
 boat, which was then sent in with a flag of truce to 
 demand the surrender of the Oneida and the schooner 
 Lord Nelson (which vessel had been captured by the 
 Oneida in May, 1812, for violating the revenue laws), 
 under penalty of laying the town in ashes. Lieutenant 
 Woolsey refused to surrender his vessels, and attempt 
 ed to escape from the harbor with a view of separating 
 the British ships in a long chase, but the enemy closed 
 the entrance of the port before he could make an offing. 
 Beating back, he anchored near the shore, where his 
 broadside could rake the British vessels as they en 
 tered the port. All the guns on the other side were 
 then landed and formed into a battery for -the further 
 reception of the enemy. For several years an old 
 32-pound cannon had been lying on the shore, im 
 bedded in the mud, which was called the " Old Sow. 7 
 Lieutenant Woolsey caused this gun to be mounted on 
 a hill that commanded the offing, and placed it under 
 the command of Sailing- Master William Yaughan. As 
 the Americans were destitute of 32-pound shot, they 
 wrapped pieces of carpet around 24-pound shot in 
 
 1 London Times, November 18, 1813. 
 
1812. THE BATTLE ON THE ST. LAWRENCE. 473 
 
 order to make them fit the gun. The English stood on 
 and off the harbor, keeping up a desultory fire at long 
 range, which could be answered only by the 32-pounder 
 on the hill. At one time a 32-pound shot landed near 
 this battery, which Sergeant Spier picked up and fired 
 back just as the Royal George was wearing, raking her 
 fore and aft. It raised a shower of splinters as high 
 as her mizzen topsail yard, killed fourteen men and 
 wounded eighteen. After two hours of distant cannon 
 ading the British commander made sail for Kingston, 
 abandoning the attempt to capture Sackett s Harbor, 
 " which the Royal George alone, well manned and ap 
 pointed, might easily have accomplished." 
 
 The Americans soon fitted out their second prize, 
 the Julia, armed with one long 32-pounder and two 
 long 6-pounders, and on the evening of July 30th sent 
 her to Ogdensburg with a crew of thirty men, under 
 the command of Midshipman Henry Wells, with orders 
 to convoy six schooners, varying from thirty to one 
 hundred tons, which were to be fitted as gunboats. 
 The Julia was piloted by Messrs. Vaughan and Dixon, 
 and she also had a rifle corps commanded by Noadiah 
 Hubbard, At three o clock on the afternoon of July 31, 
 while among the Thousand Islands, eleven miles above 
 Ogdensburg, the Julia was attacked by the 14-gun ship 
 Earl of Moira and the 14-gun brig Duke of Gloucester , 
 and for three hours a desultory action was maintained. 
 At one time the Duke of Gloucester hauled up within 
 half a mile of the Julia and was running down to close, 
 when two well-directed shot from the American 32- 
 pounder induced her to sheer off. Both the British 
 vessels then withdrew to the Canadian shore, leaving 
 the Julia in undisputed possession of the river, and at 
 eight o clock that evening Midshipman Wells, with the 
 aid of flashes of lightning, made his way to Ogdens 
 burg, " having actually beat off, without losing a man, 
 
 1 James History of the British Navy, vol. vi, p. 102. 
 
4-74 OPERATIONS ON THE GREAT LAKES. 1812. 
 
 the Earl of Moira and the Duke of Gloucester " 1 The 
 Julia was struck by only one shot, while the Earl of 
 Moira was hulled several times. In the armistice that 
 followed the Julia and the six schooners were taken to 
 Sackett s Harbor. 
 
 On the 31st of August, 1812, Captain Isaac Chaun- 
 cey, who had taken a prominent part in the war with 
 Tripoli, was ordered to the command of the naval 
 operations on the Great Lakes. At this time Captain 
 Chauncey was in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and on the 
 1st of September he dispatched over forty ship carpen 
 ters to Sackett s Harbor. On the 18th one hundred 
 officers and seamen, with guns, munitions of war and 
 stores, also began the tedious journey, and by the 
 6th of October Captain Chauncey arrived in person. 
 Schooners of thirty to forty tons were immediately 
 purchased and mounted with guns, and the sailors 
 were initiated in the peculiarities of lake navigation. 
 The schooners thus hastily fitted out were the Hamil 
 ton, the Governor TompJcins, the Conquest, the Growl 
 er, the Julia and the Pert. None of these vessels 
 were adapted for war purposes, but the urgency of the 
 occasion necessitated their employment. The keel of 
 a 24-gun ship was then laid, so as to be ready for 
 launching in the following spring. 
 
 Soon after Chauncey s arrival he dispatched Lieu 
 tenant Jesse Duncan Elliott to Lake Erie with instruc 
 tions to purchase any vessel that could be procured, for 
 the purpose of forming the nucleus of a naval force on 
 that lake. The only armed American vessel that had 
 been on Lake Erie was the brig Adams, and by the 
 surrender of Michigan she fell into the enemy s hands, 
 who took her into their service under the name De 
 troit. On the afternoon of October 7th, Lieutenant 
 Elliott, observing that the Detroit, Lieutenant Roulette, 
 and the Caledonia, commanded by Mr. Irvine, mounting 
 
 1 James History of the British Navy, vol. vi, p. 102. 
 
1812. CAPTURE OF THE CALEDONIA AND DETROIT. 475 
 
 two light guns, and manned by twelve men, had come 
 down the lake and anchored at Fort Erie, determined 
 to attempt their capture. Applying to Brigadier-Gen 
 eral Smythe, commander of the American troops in 
 that region, he obtained the necessary arms and ammu 
 nition for fifty sailors who arrived that afternoon, be 
 sides the services of fifty soldiers who volunteered, un 
 der the command of Captain Nathan Towson. Early in 
 the evening, the party, embarking in two barges and 
 several boats, pulled out of Buffalo Creek. Lieuten 
 ant Isaac Roach, of the artillery, and Ensign William 
 Pressman, of the infantry, were in Lieutenant Elliott s 
 boat, while Master s Mates William Peckham, J. E. 
 McDonald, John S. Cummings, Edward Wilcox, and 
 Boatswain s Mates Lawrence Hanson, John Rack and 
 James Morell were in the other boats. In crossing the 
 bar at the mouth of Buffalo Creek the barges grounded, 
 but the men jumped out and the boats, thus lightened, 
 were floated over. After making a wide detour, the 
 men neared the object of the expedition about mid 
 night. Greater caution was now exercised, but in 
 spite of their care the leading boat, commanded by 
 Sailing-Master Thomas Watts, while crossing the 
 Caledonia s bow, was discovered and challenged by a 
 sentinel. Further concealment being impossible, the 
 men bent to their oars and dashed alongside, receiving 
 two volleys of musketry. When they gained the deck 
 of the schooner there was a short struggle, but the ene 
 my was overpowered. The Americans then hastened 
 to secure their prizes by cutting the moorings and 
 towing them out. The Caledonia was brought safely 
 over to the American side, but the Detroit, owing to 
 the darkness, grounded on Squaw s Island, in Magara 
 River just below Buffalo, and at break of day the 
 Americans abandoned her, after securing the prison 
 ers. About 10 A. M. a company of British regulars 
 pulled down to the island with the intention of de 
 stroying the military stores with which she was laden, 
 
476 OPERATIONS ON THE GREAT LAKES. 1812. 
 
 but were driven back by a party of Americans, who, 
 after securing a large portion of the cargo, fired the 
 prize and then escaped to the mainland. The Detroit 
 mounted six long 9-pounders and had a crew of sixty 
 men, while the Caledonia carried two guns and twelve 
 men, and had a cargo of fur valued at one hundred 
 and fifty thousand dollars. Fifty prisoners were taken 
 and about forty men of General Hull s army were re 
 captured. The American loss was one killed and four 
 wounded, among the latter being Master s Mate Cum- 
 mings. 1 The enemy s loss is not definitely known, but 
 was considerably heavier than that of the Americans. 
 For this handsome affair Congress presented Lieuten 
 ant Elliott with a sword, and in July, 1813, he was pro 
 moted to the rank of master-commandant. 
 
 On the 28th of November a party of eighty-two sea 
 men from the 28-gun corvette John Adams (which had 
 been laid up in New York), under Sailing-Master Sam 
 uel Angus, with a detachment of one hundred and 
 fifty soldiers under Captain King, made an attack on 
 the British batteries on Niagara River. After a gal 
 lant assault the English were put to flight, their guns 
 spiked and thrown into the river, some barracks were 
 burned and their commander was made prisoner ; but 
 owing to the confusion of the moment a number of the 
 Americans were left behind, the main body having re 
 turned in the boats. After some search two boats 
 were found in which most of the remaining Americans 
 escaped, but Captain King and a few soldiers were 
 taken prisoners. The American loss was about twenty 
 killed or wounded, while that of the enemy must have 
 been much heavier. Sailing-Master Angus was des 
 perately wounded on the head by a blow from the 
 butt of a musket, Sailing-Masters Alexander Sisson 
 and Thomas Watts were mortally wounded, Sailing- 
 Master John K. Carter and Midshipman Joseph Wragg 
 
 1 Official report of Lieutenant Elliott. 
 
1812. CHATJNCEY APPEARS ON THE LAKES. 477 
 
 were wounded, while Midshipman John Hodges Gra 
 ham, afterward commodore, lost a leg. Midshipman 
 Holdup-Stevens, afterward captain, was shot through 
 the leg, and Midshipman William Mervine, afterward 
 captain, received a musket ball in his side. 
 
 On the 8th of November, a cold, raw, blustering 
 day, such as only the dwellers on the Great Lakes have 
 experienced, Captain Chauncey appeared on Lake On 
 tario with his squadron, wearing his broad pennant on 
 the 16-gun brig Oneida, Lieutenant Woolsey. The 
 other vessels of the squadron were the 3-gun schooner 
 Conquest, Lieutenant Elliott ; the 9-gun schooner Ham 
 ilton, Lieutenant Macpherson ; the 6-gun schooner 
 Governor Tompldns, Midshipman Brown ; the 3-gun 
 schooner Pert, Sailing- Master Robert Arundel ; the 2- 
 gun schooner Julia, Sailing-Master James Trant ; and 
 the 2- gun schooner Growler, Sailing-Master Elijah Mix. 
 On the 9th of November the Royal George was discov 
 ered off False Ducks, and on being chased ran into 
 Kingston. At three o clock on the following day Cap 
 tain Chauncey made an attack on the batteries of this 
 place for the double purpose of reconnoitering and de 
 stroying the Royal George. Lieutenant Elliott, in the 
 Conquest, led the advance, closely followed by the 
 Julia, the Pert, the Growler and the Oneida. The 
 Oneida, in spite of a hot fire, would have brought the 
 Royal George into close action had not the latter fled 
 from her anchorage and moored alongside the wharf, 
 where troops from the fort assembled in such numbers 
 that it was impossible to board her. The Governor 
 Tompkins and the Hamilton also engaged in gallant 
 style, but finding that it was impossible to capture the 
 Royal George the Americans beat out of the harbor. 
 In this spirited affair the Oneida lost one man killed 
 and three wounded, while Sailing-Master Arundel, al 
 though severely wounded by the bursting of one of 
 the Perils guns, refused to leave the deck ; afterward 
 he was knocked overboard and drowned. 
 
478 OPERATIONS ON THE GREAT LAKES. 1812-1813. 
 
 Next day the Governor Tompkins, the Hamilton 
 and the Julia chased the Simcoe, but she escaped over 
 the reefs, although Lieutenant Macpherson followed 
 her into nine feet of water. The Simcoe was so riddled 
 with shot that she sank before reaching Kingston. On 
 returning to port the American squadron captured sev 
 eral vessels, in one of which was Captain Brock, a 
 brother of General Brock. Shortly after this the Onei- 
 da offered battle to the Royal George and two schoon 
 ers, but the latter fled on the approach of the Ameri 
 can ship. The Conquest, the Governor TompMns, the 
 Growler and the Hamilton continued to cruise off 
 Kingston until the 17th of November, but two days 
 later the Growler was dismasted in a gale. Soon after 
 this ice began to form in the lake and closed naviga 
 tion until the following spring. 
 
 During the winter of 1812- 13 both Governments 
 made great efforts to construct a naval force that 
 would control these lakes, and on the 26th of Novem 
 ber, 1812, the Americans launched the 24-gun ship 
 Madison. By the spring of 1813 the British force on 
 Lake Ontario consisted of the 24-gun ship General 
 Wolfe, the 22-gun ship Royal George, the 16-gun 
 schooner Prince Regent, the 14-gun ship Earl of Moi- 
 ra, the 14-gun brig Melville, the 14-gun schooner Duke 
 of Gloucester, the 12-gun schooner Simcoe, the 12-gun 
 schooner Sidney Smith, the 8-gun schooner Beresford, 
 the 4-gun schooner Seneca in all ten vessels be 
 sides gunboats mounting one hundred and forty guns. 
 The rig of several of these vessels had been changed 
 from ship rig to schooner rig. 
 
 On the 25th of April Captain Isaac Chauncey sailed 
 from Sackett s Harbor with seventeen hundred troops 
 under Brigadier-General Zebulon Montgomery Pike 
 for an attack on York, now Toronto, and two days later 
 arrived off that place. The American squadron con 
 sisted of the 24-gun ship Madison (flagship), Lieutenant 
 Jesse D. Elliott ; the 16-gun brig Oneida, Lieutenant 
 
 
1813. THE CAPTURE OF TORONTO. 479 
 
 Melancthon Taylor Woolsey ; the 2-gun schooner Fair 
 American, Lieutenant Wolcott Chauncey ; the 9-gun 
 schooner Hamilton, Lieutenant Joseph S. Macpher- 
 son ; the 6-gun schooner Governor Tompkins, Mid 
 shipman Brown ; the 3-gun schooner Conquest, Sail 
 ing-Master Mallaby ; the 2-gun schooner Asp, Sailing- 
 Master Smith ; the 3-gun schooner Pert, Sailing-Mas- 
 ter Adams ; the 2-gun schooner Julia, Sailing-Master 
 James Trant ; the 10-gim schooner Scourge, Sailing- 
 Master Osgood ; the 2-gun schooner Growler, Sailing- 
 Master Elijah Mix ; the 3-gun schooner Lady of tlie 
 Lake, Sailing-Master Flinn ; the 2-gun schooner On 
 tario, Sailing-Master Joseph Stevens ; and the trans 
 port Raven in all fourteen vessels, mounting eighty- 
 four guns. The landing was effected with great steadi 
 ness, although forty soldiers and fourteen seamen were 
 killed or wounded. 1 The smaller vessels then ran in, 
 and, taking positions within six hundred yards of the 
 batteries, opened an effective fire. The forts and the 
 town were carried in gallant style, but by an explosion 
 in the magazine the Americans suffered a heavy loss, 
 among the killed being General Pike. Of the naval 
 force four were killed, including Midshipmen John 
 Hatfield and Thompson, and ten were wounded. Burn 
 ing a large vessel on the stocks and capturing the 14- 
 gun schooner Duke of Gloucester and a large amount 
 of naval and military stores, Captain Chauncey re 
 turned to Sackett s Harbor in triumph. Among the 
 trophies carried off by the Americans was a royal 
 standard of the United Kingdom, probably the first 
 ever taken from the English. It is preserved in the 
 Naval Institute Building at Annapolis. 
 
 On the 6th of May the British troop-ship Woolwich 
 arrived at Quebec from Spithead, with Captain Sir 
 James Lucas Yeo, four commanders of the navy, twen 
 ty-four midshipmen and about four hundred and fifty 
 
 1 Official report of Captain Chatmeey. 
 
480 OPERATIONS ON THE GREAT LAKES. 1813. 
 
 picked seamen, "sent out by the British Government 
 expressly for service in the Canadian lakes." Captain 
 Yeo commanded the Southampton when that frigate 
 and her prize, the Vixen, were wrecked on Concepcion 
 Island, of the Bahama group. Such was the zeal of 
 the officers and men to get to the scene of action that 
 they departed the same evening for Montreal. 
 
 Having stationed the Fair American and the Pert 
 off Kingston to watch the enemy, Captain Chauncey 
 sailed with the remainder of his squadron for Fort 
 George. Approaching Magara River on the 26th of 
 May, the Americans sounded along the shore and laid 
 buoys for the guidance of their vessels during the 
 attack. On the same day Master-Commandant Oliver 
 Hazard Perry came down from Lake Erie and was as 
 signed to the difficult task of debarking the troops. 
 At 3 A. M. on the 27th the Governor TompJcins, Mid 
 shipman Brown, and the Conquest, Midshipman Thom 
 as Petigru, drew up to the batteries and opened such 
 an effective fire that the enemy was soon fleeing in 
 all directions. The boats under Master-Commandant 
 Perry and Colonel Winfield Scott then pulled from the 
 cover of the schooner and made a dash for the landing. 
 Just then a detachment of soldiers, w r hich had been 
 concealed in a ravine, opened fire with great effect on 
 the crowded boats, but nothing could check the impetu 
 osity of the men, and the two divisions vied with each 
 other to be first at the landing. The boats under Colo 
 nel Scott arrived first, and the men, unmindful of the 
 storm of bullets that fell among them, scrambled out of 
 their boats, hastily formed a line, and with a cheer 
 drove the enemy from cover into a disorderly retreat. 
 In this spirited affair the American s loss was seventeen 
 killed and forty- five wounded, 1 while that of the enemy 
 is estimated at ninety killed, one hundred and sixty 
 wounded and about one hundred prisoners. 
 
 1 Official report of General Dearborn. 
 
1813. SECOND ATTACK ON SACKETT S HARBOR. 481 
 
 While the American squadron was thus engaged at 
 the southern end of the lake, Sir George Prevost, taking 
 advantage of the unprotected condition of Sackett s 
 Harbor, determined to attack that place and destroy 
 all the stores there collected. According to the Eng 
 lish account of this affair, " Sir George Prevost now 
 allowed himself to be persuaded to embark seven hun 
 dred and fifty troops on board the squadron for the pur 
 pose of making an attack upon Sackett s Harbor ; but 
 to mar the successful issue of the plan he resolved to 
 head the troops himself. On the 27th of May, when 
 an excellent opportunity was afforded by the absence of 
 the American squadron at the opposite end of the lake, 
 the British squadron, in high glee, sailed from Kings 
 ton, and with a fair wind stood across to the enemy s 
 depot. At noon the squadron arrived off Sackett s 
 Harbor and lay to, with everything in readiness for 
 the troops to disembark. Sir George hesitated, looked 
 at the place, mistook trees for troops and blockhouses 
 for batteries, and ordered the expedition to put back. 
 Just as the ships had turned their heads toward King 
 ston, and, with the wind now changed, were beginning 
 to sail before it, about fifty Indians brought off a party 
 of American soldiers from the shore near Sackett s 
 Harbor. Encouraged by this, Sir George permitted the 
 squadron to begin working its way back to the Ameri 
 can port. On the morning of the 29th some of the 
 lighter vessels got close to the shore, and the troops 
 were landed. They drove the Americans like sheep, 
 compelled them to set fire to the General Pike, a new 
 frigate on the stocks, the Duke of Gloucester, captured 
 at York, and a barrack containing, among other valu 
 able articles, all the naval stores taken on the same 
 occasion. At this moment some resistance unexpected 
 ly made at a barrack caused the British commander in 
 chief to sound a retreat. The indignant, the victorious 
 officers and men were compelled to obey the fatal 
 bugle, and the British retired to their vessels, and the 
 
482 OPERATIONS ON THE GREAT LAKES. 1813. 
 
 Americans, as soon as they could credit their senses, 
 hastened to stop the conflagration. The General Pike, 
 being built of green wood, was saved, but the Duke of 
 Gloucester and the barracks containing the stores were 
 entirely consumed. That Sir George Prevost was as 
 fond of writing official letters as he was of substituting 
 the first personal pronoun for the third, has already 
 appeared in these pages ; but in the present instance, 
 contrary to all precedents, he required his adjutant, 
 Colonel Edward Baynes, to pen the dispatch. That 
 obedient gentleman did so, and the European public 
 scarcely know at this hour through whose fault it was 
 that Sackett s Harbor was not taken from the Ameri 
 cans in May, 1813. The Canadian public, besides be 
 ing in the secret, were less surprised at the result of 
 the enterprise, because they knew that Sir George, a 
 few months before, had rejected an excellent oppor 
 tunity of marching across the ice to Sackett s Harbor 
 and destroying the whole American lake navy at a 
 blow." The American force stationed at Sackett s 
 Harbor at the time of Sir George Prevost s attack con 
 sisted of four hundred regulars under General Jacob 
 Brown, besides some militia. Their loss was one hun 
 dred and fifty killed or wounded, while that of the 
 enemy is given at fifty- two killed and two hundred and 
 eleven wounded. 2 
 
 On the 14th of June the Lady of the Lake, Lieu 
 tenant Wolcott Chauncey, left Sackett s Harbor to in 
 tercept British supply ships, and on the 16th she 
 chased and overhauled the schooner Lady Murray, 
 laden with provisions and ammunition. She then re 
 turned to Sackett s Harbor with her prize and twenty- 
 one prisoners, among whom were Ensign George Charles 
 Merce and several noncommissioned officers of the 
 Forty-first and One Hundred and Fourth Regiments. 
 
 1 James History of the British Navy, vol. vi, p. 104. 
 
 2 Military Occurrences between Great Britain- and the United States, 
 p. 173. 
 
1813. LOSS OF THE HAMILTON AND THE SCOURGE. 83 
 
 In the latter part of July Captain Channcey sailed 
 with his squadron for Niagara, arriving at that port on 
 the 27th. This force consisted of thirteen vessels, car 
 rying one hundred and nine guns ; only three of these 
 vessels, however, were adapted for war purposes ; the 
 schooners could not be fought within canister dis 
 tance, their bulwarks being so low as to afford no pro 
 tection to their crews. Besides this, they were so light 
 that their guns could be used only in smooth water. 
 
 On the morning of the 7th of August the British 
 squadron was discovered coming down the lake, and, 
 notwithstanding the advantage the enemy had in a 
 compact force and superior metal, Captain Chauncey 
 determined on a general engagement. Captain Yeo s 
 squadron consisted of six vessels, mounting ninety-four 
 guns. About 9 A. M. the General Pike hoisted her col 
 ors and fired several guns at the General Wolfe, but 
 the shot fell short, upon which the American squad 
 ron hauled up to the wind and went on the other tack. 
 The British ships imitated the manoeuvre, but finding 
 that the General Pike would weather him, Sir James 
 Yeo drew away to the north. The American vessels 
 made sail in chase, but as the wind was failing Cap 
 tain Chauncey gave the signal of recall. That night 
 the wind came on in violent squalls, and the American 
 crews were constantly on duty endeavoring to weather 
 the enemy. When morning broke it was discovered 
 that the 9-gun schooner Hamilton, Lieutenant Walter 
 Winter, and the 10-gun schooner Scourge, Sailing-Mas 
 ter Joseph Osgood, had been capsized and only sixteen 
 men were saved. By this disaster Captain Chauncey s 
 force was reduced to eleven vessels and ninety guns. 
 The Hamilton and the Scourge were the most valuable 
 schooners in the squadron, the others being so light, 
 and such indifferent sailers, as to impede the move 
 ments of the larger vessels. 
 
 Early on the following morning the enemy was seen 
 coming down to engage, but when about three miles 
 
484: OPERATIONS ON THE GREAT LAKES. 1813. 
 
 distant they hauled about and stood away on the other 
 tack. The American vessels then hauled off from the 
 shore, hoping that the land breeze in the afternoon 
 would enable them to close, but in the afternoon it 
 fell calm, whereupon the Americans resorted to their 
 sweeps. The light schooners soon drew ahead of the 
 larger craft and were nearly in range of the enemy, 
 when a fresh westerly breeze gave Captain Yeo the 
 weather gage and placed the schooners in a critical 
 position, for their support was some distance astern. 
 Seeing their advantage, the British crowded all sail to 
 close on the schooners before the General Pike, the 
 Madison and the Oneida could come to the rescue ; 
 but by a free use of their sweeps and sails the schoon 
 ers regained their position in the line, upon which Cap 
 tain Yeo hauled off. It was evident that Sir James, 
 notwithstanding his superior force, was unwilling to 
 risk a general engagement without the additional ad 
 vantage of the weather gage, and this Captain Chaun- 
 cey very properly refused to concede. The overcau- 
 tiousness of Sir James in this affair is the more inex 
 plicable when we remember the great anxiety he ex 
 pressed at the beginning of the war to meet an enemy. 
 Early in September, 1812, this officer, then in command 
 of the 32-gun frigate Southampton, sent the following 
 challenge to Captain David Porter, of the 32-gun frigate 
 Essex : " Sir James Yeo presents his compliments to 
 Captain Porter, of the American frigate Essex, and 
 would be glad to have a tete-a-tete ; anywhere between 
 the Capes of Delaware and Havana, where he would 
 have the pleasure to break his sword over his damned 
 head and put him down forward in irons." Sir James 
 did not have the " pleasure" of meeting the Essex, 
 but he had ample opportunity of engaging an Ameri 
 can squadron of inferior force commanded by Captain 
 Chauncey. 
 
 Seeing that the British commander would not en 
 gage that day, Captain Chauncey anchored in Niagara 
 
1813. MANOEUVRES OF THE TWO SQUADRONS. 435 
 
 River for the night. During the next day the oppos 
 ing squadrons manoeuvred without coming to action, 
 both commanders being unwilling to close unless 
 favored with the weather gage, but on the following 
 night the Americans worked np the north shore, and 
 by daylight of the 10th found themselves to windward. 
 A general chase was now signaled, and with every pros 
 pect of bringing on an engagement the squadron bore 
 down under press of sail ; but at noon, when they were 
 nearly within gunshot, the wind shifted around in 
 favor of the enemy. Captain Chauncey then manoeu 
 vred to secure the weather gage again, but his vessels 
 were so impeded by their inequality in sailing that he 
 was unsuccessful. At 6 p. M., when the British were 
 about four miles distant, the fickle lake wind again 
 changed, placing the Americans to windward ; but it 
 was 10 P. M. before the squadrons were near enough to 
 render an action probable, and at this moment the 
 breeze again veered, placing the Americans to leeward. 
 By 11 p. M. the heavier vessels opened fire, but they 
 were out of range, and at 11.45 P. M. the American 
 schooners, being in the advance, ran to leeward so as to 
 come under the protection of the ships. The Growler, 
 Lieutenant Deacon, and the Julia, Sailing-Master 
 James Trant, however, contrary to the intention of 
 Captain Chauncey, hauled close to the wind to 
 weather the enemy, and the excessive zeal of their com 
 manders put the British squadron between them and 
 the other American vessels. Sir James immediately 
 went about with all his vessels to capture the Growler 
 and Julia, while the General Pike, the Madison and 
 the Oneida, with the schooner straggling in the rear, 
 hauled up in chase, hoping to draw the enemy from 
 the fugitive schooners. Sir James, after exchanging a 
 few shot with the General Pike, continued in pursuit 
 of the Growler and the Julia, and after a long chase 
 captured them. The General Pike, the Madison and 
 the Oneida maintained the chase for some time, but 
 
486 OPERATIONS ON THE GREAT LAKES. 1813. 
 
 finding that they were drawing away from their sup 
 port, stood about and returned to port. Contented 
 with this success, Captain Yeo sailed for Kingston, 
 while the American squadron shortly afterward put 
 back to Sackett s Harbor. 
 
 After this week of indecisive skirmishing the two 
 squadrons did not sight each other again until the 28th 
 of September, when they met oif Toronto. After some 
 manoeuvring, the General PiJte, the Governor Tomp- 
 Jcins, Lieutenant W. C. B. Finch, and the Asp, got 
 within range and opened a sharp fire, which soon car 
 ried away the General Wolffs main and mizzen top 
 mast and her main yard, when she put dead before 
 the wind to escape. After an ineffectual pursuit the 
 Americans hauled oif and returned to port. The Gen 
 eral Pike s loss in killed or wounded was twenty-seven, 
 but of these twenty-two were killed or wounded by the 
 bursting of one of her guns. Pour of her other guns 
 also were cracked. Her main topgallant mast was car 
 ried away and her hull was wounded. The Madison 
 was slightly injured, while the Oneida had her main 
 topmast shattered and the Governor TompMns lost her 
 foremast. Before the season closed the British squad 
 ron was chased several times, but no action took place. 
 On the afternoon of October 5th Captain Chauncey, 
 while cruising near False Ducks, discovered seven sails 
 to windward, which, on being overtaken, proved to be 
 British gunboats with troops aboard. Five of these 
 were captured, one was burned and the other, the En 
 terprise, escaped. Two of the prizes were the Growler 
 and the Julia, lately captured by Captain Yeo. Near 
 ly three hundred British soldiers were secured, and 
 about two hundred American prisoners were released. 1 
 For the remainder of the year Captain Yeo was block 
 aded in Kingston. On the 10th of November he ven 
 tured out, but on sighting the American squadron re- 
 
 1 Captain Chauncey s official report. 
 
1813-1814. RE-ENFORCEMENTS. 487 
 
 gained the shelter of the batteries, and by the first of 
 December navigation on the lake had closed. 
 
 Captain Perry s victory on Lake Erie, which will be 
 narrated in the next chapter, enabled the Americans to 
 re-enforce their squadron on the upper lake, and the 
 winter of 1813- 14 was taken up with building war ves 
 sels, so that by the summer Captain Chauncey s force 
 consisted of the 58-gun frigate Superior (flagship), 
 Lieutenant John H. Elton ; the 42-gun frigate Mb- 
 hawk, Captain Jones ; the 28-gun ship General Pike, 
 Master-Commandant William Montgomery Crane; the 
 24-gun ship Madison, Master-Commandant Edward 
 Trenchard ; the 22-gun brig Jefferson, Master-Com 
 mandant Charles Goodwin Ridgeley ; the 22-gun brig 
 Jones, Master- Commandant Melancthon Taylor Wool- 
 sey ; the 16-gun brig SylpTi, Master-Commandant Elli 
 ott ; the 16-gun brig Oneida, Lieutenant Thomas 
 Brown ; making a total of eight vessels, mounting two 
 hundred and twenty-eight guns. Captain Yeo s squad 
 ron also had been strengthened until it comprised the 
 58-gun frigate Prince Regent (flagship), Captain O Con- 
 ner ; the 42-gun frigate Princess Charlotte, Captain 
 Mulcaster ; the 24-gun ship Montreal ( Wolfe), Captain 
 Downie ; the 22-gun ship Niagara (Royal George), 
 Captain Popham ; the 16-gun ship CTiarwell (Earl of 
 Moira), Lieutenant Dobbs ; the 16-gun brig Netley 
 (Beresford), Lieutenant Owens ; the 16-gun brig Star 
 (Melville), Captain Clover ; the 14-gun brig Magnet 
 (Sidney Smith) ; a total of eight vessels, mounting two 
 hundred and eight guns. 
 
 Early in May, before Captain Chauncey could get 
 to sea, the British squadron, commanded by Sir James 
 Yeo, manned by fifteen hundred men and carrying 
 one thousand soldiers, appeared before Oswego. This 
 place was then a village of about five hundred inhab 
 itants, defended by rude earthworks, garrisoned with 
 two hundred and ninety regulars and some militia un 
 der Lieutenant-Colonel Mitchell. The entire American 
 
 34 
 
488 OPERATIONS ON THE GREAT LAKES. 1814. 
 
 force numbered fewer than four hundred men, while 
 there were only three or four heavy guns that could be 
 used. The enemy landed on the 6th of May, under 
 Lieutenant-General Drummond, and carried the place 
 by assault. The American loss was six killed, thirty- 
 eight wounded and twenty -five reported missing ; total, 
 sixty-nine. The British admit a loss of eighteen killed 
 and sixty-four wounded. The transport Growler was 
 sunk, to prevent her falling into the hands of the ene 
 my. After spiking the four guns of the batteries and 
 destroying a considerable quantity of stores, the enemy 
 raised the Growler and retired to Kingston with that 
 vessel as a prize. 
 
 On the 19th of May Captain Yeo appeared before 
 Sackett s Harbor and prevented supplies, guns, rig 
 ging etc., for the American vessels from getting in, and 
 this for a time gave the British undisturbed posses 
 sion of the lake. But valuable re- enforcements were 
 arriving at Sackett s Harbor. Between the llth and 
 21st of May the crew of the Macedonian which frig 
 ate had been laid up in the Thames arrived under the 
 command of her first lieutenant, Mr. Rodgers. On 
 the 12th, Master-Commandant Jesse D. Elliott rejoined 
 the station, and on the 15th Master-Commandant 
 Trenchard arrived. The crew of the new sloop of war 
 Erie, which was blockaded at Baltimore, also arrived 
 under Master- Commandant Charles G. Ridgeley, and 
 was ordered to the Jefferson. 
 
 Captain Chauncey was greatly delayed in getting 
 to sea by the nonarrival of guns and rigging for his 
 new cruisers, especially for the Superior. Many of 
 his stores were at Oswego Falls, about twelve miles 
 above Oswego, but as the roads were impassable and 
 the enemy controlled the lake, the task of forwarding 
 these supplies to Sackett s Harbor was attended with 
 great difficulty and danger. As the Americans could 
 not get to sea without them, Master-Commandant Me- 
 lancthon T. Woolsey volunteered to bring them to 
 
1814. BATTLE OP SANDY CREEK. 489 
 
 Sackett s Harbor. On the evening of May 28th this offi 
 cer sailed out of Oswego Harbor with nineteen boats 
 laden with twenty-two long 32-pounders, ten long 24- 
 pounders, three short 42-pounders, and twelve cables, 
 escorted by Major Appling with one hundred and 
 thirty riflemen. By rowing hard all night the party 
 reached Big Sandy Creek by the following noon with 
 the exception of one boat, which was lost in the fog 
 at dawn and was captured by the enemy, who were 
 maintaining a sharp lookout. From the men in this 
 captured boat Sir James Yeo learned where the Ameri 
 can flotilla was, and he immediately dispatched three 
 gunboats with three cutters and a gig under the com 
 mand of Captain Popham and Captain Spilsbury in 
 chase. The Americans, being warned of the pursuit 
 by a resident named James Otis, ran about three miles 
 up Sandy Creek, where they landed and arranged a 
 skillful ambuscade. The enemy came up the creek, 
 confident of an easy capture, but, falling into the snare 
 set for them, they were captured with all their boats. 
 Their loss was Midshipman Hoare and fourteen seamen 
 and marines killed, and two lieutenants of marines 
 and twenty-six wounded, which with the prisoners 
 made a total loss to the enemy of one hundred and 
 eighty-six, or as many as the entire American force. 
 The American loss was one man wounded. The 
 stores were then landed from the flotilla and carried 
 overland to Sackett s Harbor, fifteen miles distant. 
 The great cable for the Superior was twenty-two 
 inches in circumference and weighed nine thousand 
 six hundred pounds. As there was no vehicle strong 
 enough to carry this cable, it was taken on the shoul 
 ders of two hundred men and carried to Sackett s 
 Harbor. 
 
 On the 6th of June the blockade was raised, but it 
 was more than six weeks later when Captain Chauncey 
 got to sea, and in the mean time the enemy had been 
 hastening the completion of a 100-gun ship. 
 
490 OPERATIONS ON THE GREAT LAKES. 1814. 
 
 On the 19th of June Acting Lieutenant Francis H. 
 Gregory, afterward rear-admiral, was dispatched to 
 the St. Lawrence with two gigs, with orders to cut out, 
 if possible, some of the English supply boats. He was 
 discovered in this attempt by the enemy, who sent the 
 gunboat Black Snake, carrying an 18-pound carronade 
 and eighteen men, against him. But instead of retreat 
 ing, Mr. Gregory made a dash at the gunboat and cap 
 tured her. Being chased by a larger boat, he was com 
 pelled to sink his prize, and he then returned to port 
 with almost as many prisoners as seamen. He was 
 ably assisted in this spirited affair by Sailing-Master 
 William Vaughan and Mr. Dixon, who were familiar 
 with lake navigation. Before the close of the month 
 Mr. Gregory, again accompanied by Yaughan and Dix 
 on, with two gigs, landed at Erie and destroyed a cruiser 
 designed to carry fourteen guns, which the enemy was 
 building there. For these handsome affairs Mr. Greg 
 ory received a commission as lieutenant. 
 
 On the 31st of July the American squadron, in 
 creased by the 62-gun frigate Superior and the 42-gun 
 ship Mohawk, took to the lake, and after capturing 
 the Magnet blockaded Captain Yeo in Kingston forty- 
 five days. On the night of August 12th the schooners 
 Ohio and Somers in Lake Erie were captured by a party 
 of seventy-five British seamen, in nine boats under the 
 command of Captain Dobbs. The Porcupine also was 
 attacked, but she beat off her assailants. In this affair 
 the Americans lost one killed, and seven men, includ 
 ing three officers, wounded. On the 25th of August, 
 while reconnoitering Kingston harbor in a gig, Mr. 
 Gregory was chased by two of the enemy s barges and 
 captured. Midshipman Hart was killed and five of the 
 men wounded. Although on several occasions it was 
 expected that the British squadron would advance to 
 give battle, nothing of importance occurred. An at 
 tempt made on the 19th of November, by Midshipman 
 M Gowan and William Johnson, to blow up the new 
 
1814 ON LAKE HURON. 491 
 
 112-gun ship St. Lawrence was unsuccessful, and by 
 the end of November ice had closed navigation. 
 
 In the summer of 1814 the American naval force 
 stationed on Lake Huron, under the command of Cap 
 tain Arthur Sinclair, captured the British schooners 
 Mink and Nancy, laden with flour and stores. The 
 Perseverance was captured by the same force soon aft 
 erward on Lake Superior, but was lost while passing 
 down the Falls of St. Mary. Having destroyed the 
 enemy s shipping on the upper lakes, Captain Sinclair 
 returned to Lake Erie in August, leaving the schooners 
 Scorpion, Lieutenant Champlin, and Tigress, Lieuten 
 ant Turner, on guard. On the night of September 3d 
 the Tigress was attacked by British barges under the 
 command of Lieutenant Bugler and carried by sur 
 prise. Two days later the Scorpion, not having heard 
 of the Tigress fate, and seeing the American colors on 
 her, ran alongside and was captured. In his official 
 report Lieutenant Bugler said: " The defense of the 
 Tigress did credit to her officers, who were all severe 
 ly wounded." Lieutenant Champlin s thigh bone was 
 shattered by a canister shot. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE BATTLE OF LAKE EEIE. 
 
 AT the beginning of the War of 1812 Master- Com 
 mandant Oliver Hazard Perry, then in his twenty -sixth 
 year, and recently promoted from the rank of lieuten 
 ant, was in charge of the gunboats at Newport. He 
 had seen active service in the wars with France and 
 Tripoli, and at the outbreak of hostilities with England 
 he requested the Navy Department to send him "where 
 he could meet the enemies of his country." On the 17th 
 of February, 1813, he received orders to select such offi 
 cers and men from his gunboat flotilla as were adapted 
 for service on the Great Lakes and to report to Captain 
 Isaac Chauncey at Sackett s Harbor. On the day he 
 received this order Master-Commandant Perry dis 
 patched Sailing-Master Thomas C. Almy with fifty men 
 for Lake Ontario, and two days later fifty more under 
 Sailing-Master Stephen Champlin, while on the 21st a 
 third detachment of fifty men under Sailing-Master 
 William Vigneron Taylor set out from Providence on 
 a "land cruise" over mountains and hills and through 
 trackless forests. 
 
 On the 22d of February Master- Commandant Perry 
 left his pleasant home in Washington Square, New 
 port, and, taking an affectionate leave of his young 
 wife, started with his thirteen-year-old brother James 
 Alexander in a heavy rainstorm for the frozen north 
 in quest of glory. After stopping a day at Lebanon, 
 Conn., to visit his parents, he hastened northward, and 
 on the 28th of February met Captain Chauncey at Al 
 bany. In the severest part of the winter of 1812- 13 
 
 (492) 
 
1813. PERRY SETS OUT FOR THE LAKES. 493 
 
 these two officers turned their backs on the borders of 
 civilization and plunged into the wilderness. Making 
 their way along the waters of Mohawk River, now 
 traveling in rude sleighs over corduroy roads, now in 
 canoes gliding swiftly along turbulent streams, and at 
 other times breaking through the dense underbrush on 
 foot, they hastened westward. Nothing relieved the 
 loneliness of their journey save the distant howl of 
 wild beasts or the occasional whir of birds, startled by 
 the unwonted sight of man. The only indications of 
 human life were fleeting glimpses of savages as they 
 hovered around the trail with plunder and murder de 
 picted on their scowling visages, or some settler who 
 met them with keen, suspicious glances, as if fearful 
 of hidden danger or treachery. From Lake Oneida 
 the young adventurers followed the trail down Oswego 
 Elver to its mouth, and then skirted along the bleak 
 shores of Lake Ontario in a boat toward Sackett s 
 Harbor. 
 
 If there was little sign of life in their journey from 
 Albany to the lake, there was even less on that dreary 
 waste of waters. The dull, leaden sky of a wintry day 
 hung over them like a pall. To seaward nothing met 
 their gaze but an unbroken stretch of short, choppy seas, 
 whipped into petulant whitecaps by the piercing north 
 west wind ; on the other side sullen forests came down 
 to the water s edge, their somber hue intensified by the 
 yellow and dull white line formed by the clay banks 
 and sandy shore. Now and then a bird rising out of 
 the woodlands and winging its flight over the lake, 
 where it circled in monotonous gradations, enhanced the 
 loneliness of the situation. To afford a relief for the 
 depressing sensation, a musket was fired occasionally or 
 a shout raised, only to be mockingly returned from the 
 gloomy forests while the echoing reverberations rolled 
 along the shores, growing more and more indistinct, 
 until lost in the distance again leaving the travelers 
 overwhelmed by the silence of a primeval solitude. To 
 
494 THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE. 1813. 
 
 add to their discomforts, a cold rain began to fall, so 
 that by the time they arrived at Sackett s Harbor, on 
 the evening of a dismal day early in March, they were 
 soaked to the skin. The reception they met by the 
 people of this place was even more chilly, if possible, 
 than the weather they had experienced. The principal 
 business of the townsfolk was smuggling, and the ar 
 rival of United States officials was looked upon with 
 suspicion and displeasure. 
 
 And this was the u scene of glory " for which young 
 Perry had left his home in far-off Newport ! It is easy 
 to dream of fame while snugly ensconced in a stanch 
 frigate, bowling along the ocean under easy canvas, 
 with a loyal crew, a complete armament, a dry maga 
 zine and a well- stored hold, but the scrawny pines and 
 the stubborn oaks that grew on the shore of Lake On 
 tario were far from being the "stanch frigate" of the 
 middy s dream, while the little company of half-frozen, 
 plague- stricken men who huddled around the fires in 
 the wretched hamlet of Sackett s Harbor was not the 
 kind of a crew on which a naval commander would or 
 dinarily care to risk his life and professional honor. 
 
 By the capture of the vast tract of land then known 
 as the Territory of Michigan, but now comprising a 
 number of States, the English obtained undisputed 
 control of Lake Erie, and were in a position to carry out 
 their plans of extending the Dominion of Canada along 
 the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers down to the Gulf, so as 
 to cut off the United States from the West. To young 
 Perry was assigned the herculean task of regaining 
 control of Lake Erie, which was the first step necessary 
 to the recovery of the lost ground. At the time of his 
 arrival at Sackett s Harbor it was expected that the 
 English would make an attack on that place, so Perry 
 remained there two weeks to assist in its defense. The 
 attack was postponed, however, and on the 16th of 
 March he set out for Lake Erie. On the 24th he arrived 
 at Buffalo, and from that place he made his way in a 
 
1813. 
 
 BUILDING A SQUADRON. 
 
 495 
 
 sleigh over the ice to Erie, then known as Presque Isle, 
 an insignificant hamlet of a few log houses and a tav 
 ern, at one time a trading-post established by the 
 French in 1749 as one of their chain of forts which was 
 to unite the Canadas with Louisiana. Perry arrived at 
 this place on the 27th of March and established his 
 headquarters at Duncan s Erie Hotel. Sailing-Master 
 Daniel Dobbins, who had been in charge of the Ameri- 
 
 Buffalo 
 
 Erie 
 
 Sandusky 
 
 Lake, Erie. 
 
 can naval affairs on this lake, had, with the assistance 
 of Noah Brown, a shipwright from New York, already 
 laid down several vessels which were now nearly com 
 pleted. Two brigs, the Niagara and the Lawrence, 
 which were being constructed at the mouth of Cascade 
 Creek, had been built with white and black oak and 
 chestnut frames, the outside planking being of oak, 
 while the decks were of pine. Many trees found their 
 places in these vessels on the same day they were felled 
 in the forest. The brigs were one hundred and ten feet 
 over all, and had twenty-nine feet beam. The Lawrence 
 was so named by order of the Secretary of the Navy, 
 who, on receiving the news of the capture of the Chesa 
 peake by the Shannon, June 1, 1813, ordered that one 
 of the brigs be named after the ChesapeaTce s com- 
 
496 THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE. 1813. 
 
 mander. Two gunboats, nearly planked up, were at 
 the mouth of Lee s Run between the present Beech and 
 Sassafras Streets of Erie, while work on a schooner 
 called the Scorpion was just begun. 
 
 On his way from Buffalo to Erie Perry stopped at a 
 lonely cabin on the shores of Lake Erie, and from its 
 keeper, who had lately returned from the Canadian 
 side, learned that the enemy was fully informed of the 
 progress made on the American vessels, and was pre 
 paring to attack Erie. To meet this danger the ship 
 wrights, when not engaged at their vocation, were 
 drilled under the command of Sailing-Master Dobbins 
 and were formed into a guard, while an additional 
 company of sixty volunteers was raised by a Mr. Fos 
 ter. By the time the brigs were ready for launching 
 the Americans found that they were destitute of rig 
 ging, sails, armaments and general equipments, and 
 with a view of hastening their arrival Master-Com 
 mandant Perry went to Pittsburg. Returning from 
 this tedious journey, he hastened to Buffalo with Sail 
 ing-Master Dobbins for men and ammunition. By the 
 capture of Fort George, as narrated in the last chapter, 
 the English were compelled to abandon Fort Erie, 
 which left Niagara River open. This enabled the 
 Americans to re- enforce their squadron at Erie with 
 the following vessels : the brig Caledonia, the schoon 
 ers Somers, Tigress and Ohio, and the sloop Trippe, 
 which had been detained below Buffalo by the Cana 
 dian batteries. By the united efforts of two hundred 
 soldiers and many yoke of oxen these vessels were 
 warped up the swift current, the task requiring six 
 days. As they rode out on the lake a resident of the 
 Canadian shore put off in a boat and informed Perry 
 that the English had dispatched a powerful squadron 
 under Captain Finnis to intercept him. All haste was 
 made to get the vessels into Erie, but they were so 
 delayed by head winds that at one time they made only 
 twenty-five miles in twenty-four hours. To make their 
 
1813. THE AMERICANS BLOCKADED. 497 
 
 position more critical, Perry was seized with the lake 
 fever, but he still insisted on retaining command. Af 
 ter being buffeted about for several days by boisterous 
 winds, in momentary expectation of capture, they final 
 ly gained the harbor of Erie only a few hours before 
 the British squadron hove in sight and blockaded the 
 port. 
 
 By the 10th of July the American vessels were ready 
 for sea, but there were only officers and sailors enough to 
 man one ship, and many of these men were on the sick 
 list. In the meantime the British squadron maintained 
 a rigorous blockade, and Perry was compelled to see the 
 English colors flaunted before his eyes every day, while 
 he was powerless to act. He wrote repeatedly to Gen 
 eral Harrison, to Captain Chauncey and to the Secre 
 tary of the Navy. " Give me men, sir, and I will 
 acquire both for you and myself honor and glory on 
 this lake or perish in the attempt," was his plea. On 
 the 23d of July he wrote to Captain Chauncey : "For 
 God s sake and your own and mine, send me men and 
 officers, and I will have the enemy in a day or two." 
 But his prayer was almost in vain, for only a few men 
 could be sent to him, and they were of an inferior 
 class "a motley set, blacks, soldiers and boys." 
 Rumors that the enemy had planned a land and water 
 expedition against Erie with a view of destroying the 
 American squadron before it could get to sea again 
 reached Erie, and many of the people became panic- 
 struck and fled to the interior. With what men he 
 had Master-Commandant Perry made the best possible 
 disposition for defense by throwing up breastworks 
 and batteries, but fortunately the English were delayed 
 in massing their troops at Long Point, and did not 
 carry out their plans. 
 
 By the close of July Perry had three hundred men 
 with whom to man his ten vessels, and even with this 
 inferior force he determined to get to sea at the first 
 opportunity. But now a new difficulty confronted 
 
498 THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE. 1813. 
 
 him. The water in the lake had gradually been fall 
 ing, until now it was impossible to get the brigs over 
 the bar without landing their guns and blocking the 
 vessels up on scows. To attempt this in the face of 
 a powerful blockading squadron was worse than folly, 
 and again Perry was compelled to remain an inactive 
 spectator. Commander Robert Heriot Barclay, who 
 had succeeded Captain Finnis in the command of the 
 British squadron, was fully aware of his advantage, 
 and remained off the harbor, determined to prevent 
 the Americans from getting to sea ; and as a further 
 precaution, he sent spies into Erie to inform him of 
 any attempt that might be made to get the vessels 
 over the bar under cover of night. As the Americans 
 did not seem to be ready for sea, Commander Barclay, 
 on the 2d of August, made sail for the Canadian side 
 of the lake, in order, it is said, to accept an invitation 
 to dinner from the inhabitants of Port Dover. Master- 
 Commandant Perry seized the opportunity, and on 
 August 4th, without any appearance of preparation, he 
 dropped down to the bar with his ships. The guns of 
 the Lawrence and the Niagara were quickly landed 
 on the beach, two large scows were brought alongside 
 and sunk nearly to the level of the water, so that the 
 ends of massive pieces of timber, which had been run 
 through the after and forward ports, passed over them. 
 Plugs were then put in and the water pumped out of 
 the scows, and, gradually rising, they lifted the brigs 
 higher out of the water until they drew two feet less 
 than before. But even this was not sufficient to enable 
 them to pass over the bar, and it became necessary to 
 block up the timbers and again sink the scows and 
 pump them out. This was done, and before dawn the 
 Lawrence and the Niagara were safely over the bar, 
 when their guns were replaced and hurried prepara 
 tions were made to defend them. The task had been 
 accomplished none too soon, for at eight o clock the 
 following morning the British squadron reappeared, 
 
1813. PERRY APPEARS ON THE LAKE. 499 
 
 and after half an hour of reconnoitering and some 
 harmless cannonading it made sail for the upper end 
 of the lake. 
 
 After equipping their vessels the Americans cruised 
 several days between Erie and the Canadian shore in 
 search of the enemy, but Commander Barclay had put 
 into Maiden to await the completion of the 19-gun ship 
 Detroit. On the 9th of August Master-Commandant 
 Jesse D. Elliott arrived at Erie with one hundred men 
 and was assigned to the Niagara, and three days later 
 the American squadron put to sea in a double line of 
 battle. On the 13th of August, off Sandusky, a sus 
 picious sail was descried, and the Scorpion was sent in 
 chase. The stranger proved to be a British spy boat, 
 and the whole squadron made sail after it, but during 
 the night a storm came on, so that by darting among 
 the islands of Put-in-Bay, the boat escaped. As the 
 wind increased in violence the squadron came to an 
 chor, and during the heavy rain storm on the evening 
 of August 19th General William Henry Harrison and 
 staff, with a number of Indian chiefs, arrived for the 
 purpose of arranging some concerted plan of action 
 between the water and land forces. It was decided to 
 move upon the enemy as soon as the army was ready. 
 In the meantime the squadron sailed for Maiden on a 
 reconnoitering expedition, while the Ohio, Sailing-Mas 
 ter Daniel Dobbins, was sent to Erie to forward sup 
 plies. After looking into Maiden, Perry returned to 
 Put-in-Bay on the 27th, with many of his men pros 
 trated by lake fever, and Perry himself with the three 
 medical officers of the squadron was suffering from the 
 malady. 
 
 As a large proportion of the crews of the American 
 vessels was made up of soldiers, those who were able 
 to get about were exercised every day in seamanship, 
 as it was intended to make a boat attack on the Brit 
 ish vessels in Maiden if they failed to come out and 
 give battle on the lake. On the 1st of September the 
 
500 THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE. 1813. 
 
 Americans again sailed for Maiden. The appearance 
 of Perry s squadron spread great alarm on shore, and 
 the Indians requested that it be attacked at once, but 
 as Commander Barclay had not completed his arrange 
 ments he did not feel justified in giving battle. After 
 remaining off Maiden several days, Perry, on the 6th of 
 September, returned to Put-in-Bay. On the night of 
 the 9th he held a council of his officers, at which it was 
 decided to make a boat attack on the British squadron 
 at its anchorage in Maiden, and preparations were 
 made to carry out the plan. But before this could be 
 done, Commander Barclay was compelled to put to sea 
 in order to open communications with Long Point, the 
 English base of supplies ; and at sunrise on Saturday 
 morning, September 10th, the English ships were de 
 scried from the Lawrences masthead, and the Ameri 
 cans hastened to meet them. 
 
 At this time Master-Commandant Perry s squadron 
 consisted of the brig Lawrence (flagship), Lieutenant 
 John J. Yarnall, mounting two long 12-pounders and 
 eighteen short 32-pounders ; the brig Niagara, Master- 
 Commandant Jesse D. Elliott, two long 12-pounders 
 and eighteen short 32-pounders ; the brig Caledonia, 
 Lieutenant Daniel Turner, two long 24-pounders and 
 one short 32-pounder ; the schooner Ariel, Lieutenant 
 John H. Packet t, four long 12-pounders ; the schooner 
 Tigress, Lieutenant Augustus H. M. Conckling, one 
 long 32-pounder ; the sloop Trippe, Lieutenant Thomas 
 Holdup, one long 32-pounder ; the schooner Porcupine, 
 Midshipman George Senate, one long 32-pounder ; the 
 schooner Scorpion, Sailing-Master Stephen Champlin, 
 one long 32-pounder and one short 24- pounder ; the 
 schooner Somers, Sailing-Master Thomas C. Almy, one 
 long 24-pounder and one short 32-pounder ; 1 in all, nine 
 vessels, mounting fifty-four guns, with fifteen hundred 
 and thirty- six pounds of metal ; and deducting seven 
 
 1 Official report of Master-Commandant Perry. 
 
1813. THE OPPOSING SQUADRONS. 5Q1 
 
 per cent for deficient weight in American metal, we 
 have fourteen hundred and twenty-eight pounds. 
 These vessels were manned by four hundred and 
 ninety men, only one hundred and twenty-five of 
 whom were from the regular navy, a fourth of them 
 were raw recruits, and a fourth were negroes, while 
 one hundred and sixteen during the action were unfit 
 for duty, as they were suffering from cholera morbus 
 and lake fever. Of the one hundred and thirty-seven 
 men and boys in the Lawrence only one hundred and 
 three were fit for duty on this occasion. 
 
 The British squadron consisted of the ship Detroit 
 (flagship), mounting two long 24-pounders, one long 
 18-pounder, six long 12-pounders, eight long 9-pound- 
 ers, one short 24-pounder and one short 18-pounder ; 
 the ship Queen Charlotte, Captain Finnis, one long 
 12-pounder, two long 9-pounders and fourteen short 
 24-pounders ; the brig Lady Prevost, Lieutenant 
 Edward Wise Buchan, one long 9-pounder, two long 
 6-pounders and ten short 12-pounders ; the brig 
 Hunter, Lieutenant Bignell, four long 6-pounders, two 
 long 4-pounders, two long 2-pounders and two short 
 12-pounders ; the sloop Little Belt, one long 12- 
 pounder and two long 6-pounders ; the schooner Chip- 
 pewa, Mr. Campbell, one long 9-pounder ; in all, six 
 vessels, mounting sixty-three guns, with a total weight 
 of eight hundred and fifty- two pounds. These ves 
 sels were manned by at least five hundred and two 
 men and boys. 1 James has neglected to give satis 
 factory evidence of the number of men in the English 
 squadron, and as the British official reports are silent 
 on this important detail we must rely on American 
 official documents. One hundred and fifty of these 
 men were from the royal navy, eighty were Canadian 
 sailors, and two hundred and forty of them were 
 soldiers, mostly regulars. Commander Robert Heriot 
 
 1 Emmons Statistical History of the United States Navy, p. 56. 
 
502 THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE. 1813. 
 
 Barclay, the commander of the British squadron, was 
 "a man of no ordinary fame." 1 At this time he was 
 in his thirty-seventh year, and had fought under Nel 
 son at Trafalgar, where he was dangerously wounded, 
 and in another engagement he lost an arm. Lieuten 
 ant Buchan, of the Lady Prevost, also had distin 
 guished himself under Nelson. 
 
 Comparative force. 
 
 Guns. Lbs. Crews. 
 
 American : 54 1,428 490 
 
 British : 63 852 502 
 
 At ten o clock in the morning the American vessels 
 got under way and stood out to sea, while hundreds 
 of soldiers and civilians with anxious faces lined the 
 shores to watch the battle. Calling his men aft, Mas 
 ter-Commandant Perry, jumped on a gun slide and gave 
 them a short address, at the close of which he dis 
 played a large blue flag made by Samuel Hambleton 
 and bearing in white muslin letters about a foot high 
 the immortal words of the dying Lawrence, " Don t 
 give up the ship ! " saying, "My brave lads, this flag 
 bears the last words of Captain Lawrence. Shall I hoist 
 it ? " With one voice the men shouted, " Ay, ay, sir ! " 
 and as the bunting was run up to the main royal mast 
 head, and, fluttering out, hovered over the ship like 
 the guardian spirit of that departed hero, cheer upon 
 cheer burst from the American squadron, while the 
 army took up the echo with a mighty shout. The men 
 were then sent to quarters, and a profound hush settled 
 over the scene as every one waited the issue with breath 
 less anxiety. Perry now descended into the quiet of 
 his cabin to make his personal arrangements for " what 
 might happen." Gathering his public papers and sig 
 nal-book together, he tied them in a neat package, 
 shotted it and laid it carefully on the cabin table in 
 
 1 Hughes History of England, vol. xiv, p. 18. 
 
1813. FINAL PREPARATIONS FOR BATTLE. 5Q3 
 
 plain view, ready to be thrown overboard should the 
 ship be captured. Then looking over his wife s letters 
 he tore them up, and after giving a searching glance 
 around the cabin to see that everything was prepared 
 for the worst, he returned to the deck prepared to fight 
 for the best. 
 
 The light breeze that wafted the squadron toward 
 the enemy was scarcely sufficient to ruffle the smooth 
 tranquillity of the lake. The English vessels, newly 
 painted, gayly bedecked with flags and under easy sail, 
 throwing their shadows ahead glancing along the sunlit 
 waves, presented a beautiful sight as they came down 
 in line of battle under the cloudless sky. The Detroit 
 was especially noticeable for the tautness of her rigging, 
 the dazzling whiteness of her canvas and the handsome 
 style in which she was handled. About half -past ten 
 o clock a bugle was heard from their flagship, which was 
 followed by a succession of cheers from the different 
 vessels, and at the same time the strains, of Rule Bri 
 tannia from a band in the Detroit were carried by the 
 faint breeze to the ears of the Americans. In the Law 
 rence nothing served to break the silence except a few 
 short orders which, followed by the shrill piping of the 
 boatswain s whistle, broke over the waters with start 
 ling clearness ; then another silence, the more oppress 
 ive by the contrast, would follow. The men, divested 
 of all unnecessary clothing, revealing brawny arms and 
 weather-beaten chests, stood by the guns, their set 
 faces and quiet demeanor plainly showing the serious 
 ness of the conflict. 
 
 The bearing of Perry at this moment is said to have 
 inspired confidence in all who saw him. The youthful 
 commander, closely watching the approaching enemy, 
 gave the few necessary orders in a calm, firm voice 
 which filled all around him with an intense earnestness 
 and a determination to conquer or die. He was fully 
 conscious of the responsibility resting upon him. The 
 possession of the Great West was at stake. Whether 
 
 35 
 
504 
 
 THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE. 
 
 1813. 
 
 it was to pass into the hands of Great Britain or of the 
 United States would be largely determined by this bat 
 tle. Whether the young master-commandant was to 
 go into history a hero or covered with the ignominy 
 of defeat was to be decided that day. It was indeed 
 "a time to try men s souls." About this time Perry 
 ordered grog and rations to be served, for it was more 
 than likely that at the regular time for the midday 
 mess the squadrons would be engaged. After a hasty 
 meal the men again returned to their quarters. The 
 youthful American commander now passed along the 
 deck and examined each gun to make sure that all was 
 in readiness, and as he approached the several gun 
 crews he had a word of encouragement for each. Ob 
 serving some of the men from the Constitution, he 
 said, U I need not say anything to you. You know 
 how to beat those fellows." Approaching another gun 
 manned by men who had served under him in Rhode 
 
 Island, he remarked: 
 
 ff. 
 
 "Ah! Here are the 
 Newport boys ! They 
 will do their duty I 
 warrant." 
 
 After some ma 
 noeuvring in the vari 
 able wind to gain the 
 weather gage, Perry 
 said to Sailing - Mas 
 ter William Vigneron 
 Taylor, "Run to the 
 lee side of the is 
 lands." The sailing- 
 master ventured to re 
 ply, "Then you will 
 have to engage the enemy to leeward, sir." "I don t 
 care," answered Perry ; " to windward or leeward, they 
 shall fight to-day," and the American vessels passed 
 under the lee of the islands, but a favorable shift in 
 
 Diagram of the battle, No. L 
 
1813. THE BATTLE OPENS. 505 
 
 the wind soon afterward placed them to windward. It 
 was Perry s intention to have the Niagara lead the 
 American line of battle, as he supposed that the Queen 
 Charlotte would lead the English vessels ; but learn 
 ing from Captain Brevoort, of the army, who was serv 
 ing in the Niagara as a marine officer, and who had 
 recently returned from Canada, the names of the Brit 
 ish vessels, and linding that the Detroit was at the 
 head of the British line, Perry decided to run the Law 
 rence ahead of the Niagara, so that the two flagships 
 might come fairly alongside. At the same time he 
 designated which of the English ships the other vessels 
 of his squadron were to engage. 
 
 At 11.45 A. M., while the squadrons were yet a mile 
 apart, the Detroit discharged a long 24-pounder at the 
 Lawrence by way of testing the distance. The shot 
 ricochetted along the water and passed beyond the 
 American flagship, upon which Perry seized a trumpet 
 and sent the word along his line for the vessels to close 
 up and take their prescribed positions, which were, to 
 keep within half a cable s length of each other, and en 
 joining it upon the commanders to preserve their sta 
 tions in the line." Five minutes after this the Detroit 
 fired a second 24-pound shot, and it crashed through 
 the Lawrences starboard bulwarks and sent a cloud of 
 splinters over the men stationed at the batteries. Sail 
 ing- Master Champlin, of the Scorpion, now trained his 
 long 32-pounder on the Detroit, firing the first Ameri 
 can shot of the battle, and soon afterward Lieutenant 
 John H. Packett, of the Ariel, who had been a mid 
 shipman in the Constitution during her action with the 
 Java, fired one of his long 12-pounders. The Queen 
 Charlotte then fired her first gun, which was aimed by 
 a Canadian gunner, John Chapman. The shot went 
 through the Lawrence s mainmast, while another shot 
 fired from the same gun entered her starboard side at 
 the water line. The Lawrence then opened fire on the 
 Detroit with her two long 12-pounders, to which the 
 
506 THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE. 1813. 
 
 enemy responded with long 24-, 18- and 12-pounders, 
 their leading ships concentrating their fire on the 
 American flagship. About the same time the Niagara 
 opened with her two long 12-pounders, which were 
 handled so rapidly that in a short time nearly all the 
 ammunition for these guns was expended. But the 
 enemy paid very little attention to her, centering his 
 fire on the Lawrence. 
 
 Finding that he was suffering heavily from the 
 enemy s long guns, Master-Commandant Perry, at 12.15 
 p. M., made sail to get at close quarters, where he could 
 bring his short guns into play. The rest of the Amer 
 ican line followed his example, but the slow-sailing 
 Caledonia a prize brig built for burden rather than 
 speed being immediately astern the Lawrence, com 
 pelled the Niagara and the vessels in her wake to 
 shorten sail lest they should run ahead of her, for they 
 had received peremptory orders " to preserve their sta 
 tions in the line." As Perry did not signal a change 
 in these instructions, the Lawrence, with only the 
 Scorpion and the Ariel, forged considerably ahead of 
 the American column and drew upon herself the prin 
 cipal fire of the English vessels. Notwithstanding this, 
 Perry gallantly made for the enemy s flagship, and 
 when about five hundred yards away he backed his 
 topsails and again opened fire, while the Ariel and the 
 Scorpion engaged the CMppewa. In spite of the fact 
 that these schooners were destitute of bulwarks, so that 
 their crews were exposed to the full effect of grape and 
 canister, they were gallantly brought into close action 
 by Lieutenant John H. Packett and Sailing-Master 
 Stephen Champlin, materially assisting the Lawrence 
 in her unequal fight. The calm caused by the cannon 
 ading now placed the American flagship in a critical 
 position, for the other vessels of the squadron were far 
 from supporting distance. 
 
 For an hour Perry fought the Detroit and the 
 Hunter, and it was not long before the Queen Charlotte 
 
1813. AT TREMENDOUS ODDS. 507 
 
 devoted all her attention to Mm, after which the Lady 
 Prevost, which was next to the last ship of the British 
 line, also directed her broadsides at the Lawrence. 
 The American flagship was now fighting against hope 
 less odds, for the distance was too great for short guns 
 to be really effective, and it became a battle of long 
 guns. In this the three American vessels in effective 
 gunshot of the British squadron were at a great disad 
 vantage, for there were only seven long guns in the 
 Lawrence, Ariel and Scorpion combined, with an ag 
 gregate of only one hundred and four pounds of metal, 
 while among the English vessels that were devoting 
 their attention to the Lawrence were thirty- two long 
 guns, throwing three hundred and six pounds of metal, 
 so that a comparison of the forces engaged at this time 
 would result as follows : 
 
 Comparative force in effective range. 
 
 Guns. Lbs. 
 
 American : 7 104 
 
 British : 32 306 
 
 The concentrated fire of almost the entire British 
 squadron soon reduced the American flagship to a 
 wreck. One by one her guns were disabled until only 
 one on her engaged side could be worked. Her condi 
 tion at the end of an hour of this unequal contest was 
 appalling. Her rigging was badly damaged, " every 
 brace and bowline being shot away," 1 her spars were 
 shattered beyond description, the sails were torn into 
 shreds that streamed out with every puff of air, while 
 out of her complement of one hundred and three men 
 fit for duty eighty-three had been killed or wounded. 
 Every corner and nook of the brig was occupied by 
 some wounded and dying wretch who had sought the 
 seclusion so that he might spend his last moments 
 somewhat removed from the turmoil of battle ; but 
 
 1 Official report of Master-Commandant Perry. 
 
508 THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE. 1813. 
 
 even this poor consolation was denied him, for the 
 ruthless messengers of death quickly found out his 
 hiding-place and crashed through his mangled body. 
 The rain of iron and lead spared neither the young nor 
 the old. Perry s brother James was struck down at 
 his side by a splinter, but the boy fortunately recov 
 ered. Seven years later James, while at Valparaiso in 
 the United States man-of-war Franklin, was drowned 
 in a heroic attempt to save a seaman in the surf. As 
 the vessels gradually drifted to closer quarters the short 
 guns and small arms became more effective. Two mus 
 ket-balls passed through Perry s hat and his clothing 
 was torn by splinters. While a captain of one of the 
 gun crews who had served in the Constitution was aim 
 ing his piece, a 24-pound shot passed through his chest. 
 
 Toward the close of the action First-Lieutenant 
 John J. Yarnall, with his face badly lacerated, came 
 to Perry and said: U A11 the officers of my division 
 are cut down. Can I have others?" Perry detailed 
 several of his aids, but in a few minutes Lieutenant 
 Yarnall, with fresh wounds, again returned and said : 
 " These officers also have been cut down. I need 
 more." Perry replied : "I have no more to give you. 
 You must endeavor to make out by yourself." U A11 
 right, sir," was the grim response, and the heroic officer 
 returned to his division and directed every gun with 
 his own hands. He was wounded three times, and 
 three times he left the cockpit in order to return to his 
 post. His second wound was on the scalp, which 
 caused streams of blood to flow over his face, at times 
 completely blinding him. 
 
 Midshipman Dulany Forrest, who was in the Con 
 stitution during her engagement with the Java, was 
 stunne*d by a grapeshot and fell at Perry s feet. Perry 
 raised him up, and when he recovered consciousness 
 asked if he was seriously injured. The midshipman 
 replied, " I am not hurt, sir, but this is my shot," 
 and extracting the grapeshot from his clothing where 
 
1813. DREADFUL SLAUGHTER IN THE LAWRENCE. 599 
 
 it had lodged, he coolly put it in his pocket and walked 
 to his station. About the same time a cannon ball 
 struck First-Lieutenant John Brooks, Jr., of the ma 
 rines, on the hip, shattering the bones in a horrible 
 manner. He was carried below, but even in his death 
 agony he expressed anxiety for the outcome of the 
 battle, and died just as victory was announced. One 
 heavy shot crashed into the large china closet and 
 smashed everything in it with a deafening clatter. A 
 spaniel which had been locked up there, startled by 
 this noise, added to the tumult of the battle by setting 
 up a dismal howling. Several times the flagship was 
 in danger of blowing up. One shot went through the 
 light room and knocked the snuff of the candle into 
 the magazine, but the gunner extinguished it with his 
 hand. Besides this, two cannon balls passed entirely 
 through the magazine. 
 
 The most revolting carnage, however, was in the 
 cockpit. Ordinarily this room was below the water 
 line, and safe from the enemy s shot, but the Law 
 rence, being a shallow craft, had not room for it, so 
 that the wardroom, which was considerably above the 
 water line, was used for this purpose. Many of the 
 men were killed while being carried below, and some 
 were struck by cannon balls while under the surgeon s 
 hand. Midshipman Henry Laub, who had come down 
 to have his shattered arm dressed, was leaning forward 
 to lie down after the operation had been performed 
 and was struck on the side by a 24-pound shot which 
 came through the side of the vessel, and dashed his 
 mutilated body against the opposite side of the room, 
 killing him instantly. A Narragansett Indian named 
 Pohig, who was serving in the Lawrence as one of her 
 crew, was killed in the same manner. No fewer than 
 six cannon shot passed through the cockpit, one of 
 them clearing Assistant- Surgeon Usher Parsons head 
 by only a few inches. Nothing but the pine planks of 
 the deck above separated the cockpit from the dread- 
 
510 THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE. 1813. 
 
 ful turmoil of battle. The groans and shrieks of the 
 wounded and dying, the deep rumblings and reverber 
 ations of the gun carriages as they were run in and 
 out of the ports, the awful explosion of cannon, the 
 crash of round shot as it shattered the boats at the 
 davits, stove in the bulwarks or brought heavy spars 
 tumbling to the deck, could be distinctly heard ; while 
 the opening seams in the deck allowed the blood to 
 stream on the surgeon s table in little rills. When 
 the battle had raged three quarters of an hour Mas 
 ter-Commandant Perry stepped to the skylight over 
 the wardroom and ordered the surgeon to send up 
 one of his aids to assist in manning the guns. The 
 command was obeyed, but in five minutes another 
 aid was called for, and this was repeated till only the 
 surgeon himself was left in the cockpit. Finally Per 
 ry called out, "Can any of the wounded pull a 
 rope ? " Two or three mangled men crawled out and 
 lent a feeble hand in training the few remaining guns. 
 But even this help was soon exhausted, so that Perry 
 himself, with the aid of his chaplain and purser, 
 loaded, trained, and fired the last gun in the Law 
 rence. 
 
 At half-past two o clock the Lawrence, the Ariel 
 and the Scorpion had borne the brunt of the battle for 
 two hours and forty-five minutes. About this time a 
 breeze sprang up, and Master-Commandant Elliott of 
 the Niagara, observing the desperate condition of the 
 Lawrence, and fearing that Perry had been killed, as 
 no signal to change the order of the battle had been 
 given, instructed Lieutenant Turner, of the Caledo 
 nia, to bear down on the Hunter, while he forged 
 ahead to the relief of the Lawrence. As the crippled 
 flagship was rapidly drifting out of action, and the 
 Niagara was comparatively uninjured, Master- Com 
 mandant Perry determined to change his flag to her. 
 "The American commander, seeing that as yet the 
 day was against him, made a noble effort to regain 
 
OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
1813. PERRY CHANGES HIS FLAG TO THE NIAGARA. 51 1 
 
 it." 1 Leaving First-Lieutenant John J. Yarnall in 
 command, with orders to hold out to the last, Perry, 
 with his broad pennant over his arm, got into a boat 
 with his brother James and four seamen. Just as 
 they were shoving off from the side of the brig one of 
 the survivors in the Lawrence, Hosea Sargeant, hauled 
 down the blue flag bearing the motto "Don t give up 
 the ship ! " rolled it up and tossed it to Perry. A 
 survivor of the action, John Chapman, who was serv 
 ing as a gunner in the Queen Charlotte, describes the 
 passage of Perry s boat from the Lawrence to the Ni 
 agara as follows: "The Lawrence being disabled, 
 Perry took advantage of the settling smoke upon the 
 British fleet to go from her to the Niagara. We did 
 not see him until he had nearly effected his purpose, 
 but the wind causing the smoke to lift, I saw the boat 
 and aimed a shot at her, and saw the shot strike the 
 boat. I then saw Perry strip off his coat and plug 
 the hole with it, which prevented the boat from fill 
 ing before it reached the Niagara" 
 
 Clambering up the side of the Niagara, Master- 
 Commandant Perry quickly rehoisted his broad pen 
 nant and the flag bearing the words of the dying Law 
 rence, and after a hurried consultation he sent Master- 
 Commandant Elliott in a boat with orders to bring up 
 the schooners. Pulling along the line, that officer 
 spoke to the vessels and then repaired aboard the 
 Corners. Before the squadron could close on the 
 enemy, however, Master-Commandant Perry, with "un 
 speakable grief," beheld the surrender of the Law 
 rence. But it could not have been otherwise. Every 
 thing that a heroic officer could do had been done, 
 every gun on the engaged side was disabled, nearly 
 every man was either killed or wounded, and after a 
 consultation with Midshipman Forrest and Sailing-Mas 
 ter Taylor, Lieutenant Yarnall decided to surrender in 
 
 1 Official report of Commander Barclay. 
 
512 
 
 THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE. 
 
 1813. 
 
 order to prevent a useless mutilation of the wounded 
 and dying, and the flag was lowered. The English 
 now gave three cheers, for they believed that they had 
 won the battle. As they were unable to take posses 
 sion of the Lawrence she drifted down between the 
 two lines of battle, and was soon out of range and 
 rehoisted her colors. 
 
 At forty-five minutes past two the British endeav 
 ored to swing around so as to bring fresh broadsides 
 into play, but in so doing their line became broken and 
 entangled. Seeing the Niagara coming down to close 
 quarters, Provincial Lieutenant Irvine, on whom the 
 command of the Queen Charlotte had devolved, deter 
 mined to pour a broadside into her and then board, but 
 his plan was frustrated by the sudden failing of the 
 wind, which just before had been fresh. At this mo 
 ment a shot carried away "a down haul of one of the 
 sails, which left her at the 
 
 mercy of the wind, which 
 again rose suddenly, and 
 she ran foul of the De 
 troit and became entangled 
 with her." 1 The Niagara 
 now gave the signal for 
 u close action," backed her 
 maintopsails, and, running 
 across the bow and stern 
 of the two English ships, 
 raked them fore and aft 
 with her starboard broad 
 side. The effect of this fire 
 at such close quarters was 
 dreadful. The storm of 
 
 -VKN 
 
 v\\x w-T 
 
 Diagram of the battle, No. 2. 
 
 iron swept along the decks of the enemy, tearing ghast 
 ly chasms through the crowds of officers and men. 
 Not waiting to repeat this, the Niagara continued her 
 
 1 Account of John Chapman. 
 
1813. SURRENDER OF THE ENGLISH. 513 
 
 course, and, running astern of the Lady Prewst, de 
 livered another raking fire with her port battery, and 
 then running off she made for the Hunter. 
 
 The example of the Niagara was gallantly imitated 
 by the other vessels of the American squadron. Lieu 
 tenant Turner, in the Caledonia, closely followed his 
 senior officer, while the Ariel, the Somers, the Scor 
 pion, the Tigress and the Porcupine darted among 
 the English vessels and for eight minutes kept up a 
 furious cannonading. Asel Wilkinson, who stood at 
 the helm of the Ariel all through the battle, had his 
 cartridge box torn from his belt by a cannon shot, while 
 the concussion of the artillery brought blood from his 
 ears and nose. For the first time the entire American 
 squadron was engaged at close quarters. John Chap 
 man said: "The American schooners, coming into 
 close action, raked fore and aft, carrying away all the 
 masts of the Detroit and the mizzenmast of the Queen 
 Charlotte, besides crippling her severely otherwise. I 
 remained at my gun through the action, except when 
 I was obliged to bring cartridges for the gun after the 
 men were killed whose duty it was to serve them. I 
 had my clothes, whiskers and hair badly singed by the 
 accidental discharge of some loose powder, but suffered 
 no further injury notwithstanding I had a 24-pound 
 cartridge in my hand at the time." At 3 P. M., or fif 
 teen minutes from the time the breeze enabled the 
 Americans to close, an officer appeared on the taffrail 
 of the Hunter, waving a white handkerchief at the end 
 of a boarding-pike as a signal of surrender. The Niag 
 ara immediately ceased firing, while word was passed 
 that the enemy had struck. Two of the English ves 
 sels, the Chippewa and the Little Belt, availing them 
 selves of the smoke and confusion, crowded on all sail 
 to escape, but they were pursued by the Trippe and the 
 Scorpion and were brought back. 
 
 Determined to have the formality of receiving the 
 surrender of the British squadron take place in the 
 
514 THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE. 1813. 
 
 battle-scarred Lawrence and in the presence of her 
 heroic defenders, Master-Commandant Perry again 
 lowered his broad pennant, and jumping into a boat 
 made for his first flagship, which by this time had 
 drifted considerably to leeward. As soon as the sur 
 vivors in the Lawrence learned that the English had 
 surrendered they gave three feeble cheers. Even when 
 afar off they recognized Perry in the boat, and the news 
 that he was coming aboard quickly spread through the 
 brig, while those who were able gathered at the gang 
 way. As they stood there, awaiting their commander, 
 they formed a striking group. Few of them were un 
 injured. Many of them had an arm or leg bound and 
 splinted, others had blood-soaked bandages around 
 their heads or other parts of the body, the clothing of 
 all was torn and steeped in gore, while their faces and 
 arms were blackened with the grime of burned powder, 
 and had it not been for the streams of perspiration that 
 had furrowed down their faces, revealing streaks of 
 white skin, they might well have been taken for black 
 men. One of the last to join this group was Assistant- 
 Surgeon Usher Parsons. Hearing that his commander 
 was coming aboard, he left his revolting task in the 
 cockpit, and, smeared from head to foot with blood, 
 ascended to the deck, leaving a bloody trail as he 
 walked along and red handmarks on everything that he 
 touched. " When Master-Commandant Perry stepped 
 upon the deck," wrote Dr. Parsons, "it was a time of 
 conflicting emotions. Not a cheer was heard ; the hand 
 ful of men that was left of the gallant crew silently 
 greeted their commander." As Perry gazed around 
 him the decks presented the appearance of a slaughter 
 house. The only sounds that broke the mournful si 
 lence were the groans of the wounded and dying that 
 came from all parts of the battered flagship. The 
 decks were still slippery with blood. The masts, brok 
 en gun carriages, dismounted cannon, coils of rope, 
 and shattered timbers, were smeared with gore, while 
 
1813. CLOSING SCENES OF THE BATTLE. 515 
 
 fragments of human bodies were visible in every di 
 rection. 
 
 The surviving officers from the different English 
 vessels now began to arrive alongside of the Lawrence. 
 One by one they stepped over the gangway and cast a 
 wondering glance at the destruction and butchery they 
 had caused and the great sufferings the Americans had 
 endured. Then, carefully picking their way over the 
 bodies of the slain, they went aft, where Perry in quiet 
 dignity stood to receive them. As each one presented 
 his sword the American commander bade him retain it. 
 Immediately on receiving the surrender Perry wrote 
 with a pencil on the back of an old letter, using his cap 
 for a desk, his famous dispatch: "We have met the 
 enemy and they are ours two ships, two brigs, one 
 schooner and one sloop," which he sent to General Wil 
 liam Henry Harrison by Midshipman Forrest. Ar 
 rangements were then made for collecting the dead in 
 both squadrons and preparing them for burial. Each 
 body was sewed in a canvas shroud with a cannon ball 
 at the foot, and as the moon rose over the lake on that 
 beautiful September evening they were dropped over 
 the sides of the vessels into the clear waters, where 
 they rapidly sank, swirling round and round and grow 
 ing more and more indistinct until they vanished. On 
 the morning of September 12th the bodies of Lieuten 
 ant John Brooks, Jr., and Midshipman John Clark, of 
 the American squadron, and of Captain Finnis and 
 Lieutenants Thomas Stokoe and John Garland, of the 
 English squadron, were buried side by side on South 
 Bass Island. 
 
 The loss in the American squadron was : Lawrence^ 
 twenty-two killed and sixty-one wounded ; Niagara^ 
 two killed and twenty-five wounded ; Ariel, one killed 
 and three wounded ; Scorpion, two killed ; Caledonia, 
 three wounded ; Somers, two wounded ; Trippe, two 
 wounded ; in all, twenty-seven killed and ninety-six 
 wounded, making a total of one hundred and twenty- 
 
516 THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE. 1813. 
 
 three. 1 Twelve of the American quarter-deck officers 
 were killed. Besides those already mentioned, the fol 
 lowing were wounded : Midshipmen Dulany Forrest, 
 Augustus Swartwout, Thomas Claxton, John C. Cum- 
 mings and Sailing-Master William Vigneron Taylor. 
 In this action one of the ArieTs guns, two of the long 
 guns in the brigs and the Caledonia s two long guns 
 burst. The loss in the British squadron was forty- 
 one killed and ninety-four wounded, making a total 
 of one hundred and thirty -five. 2 Commander Barclay 
 conducted himself throughout the battle with great 
 bravery. He was twice wounded, once in the thigh 
 and again in the shoulder, so that he lost the use of 
 his remaining arm. The first lieutenant of the De 
 troit was killed, and the purser, J. M. Hoifmeister, 
 was severely wounded in the knee. In the Queen 
 Charlotte, Captain Finnis was mortally wounded early 
 in the action and died the same evening, while his first 
 lieutenant, Thomas Stokoe, and Midshipman James 
 Foster also were desperately wounded. Lieutenant 
 Buchan and Lieutenant F. Rolette, of the Lady Pre- 
 vost, were wounded, the former having been shot 
 through the face by one of the American marines. 
 When Perry first noticed him, Buchan was standing 
 alone on the deck of his vessel (all his men having run 
 below), leaning against the companionway, resting his 
 chin on his hands and looking at the Niagara with 
 a fixed, meaningless stare. It was afterward learned 
 that the man had lost his mind from the effects of 
 his wound. Lieutenant Bignell, the commander of 
 the Hunter, and Master s-Mate Henry Gateshill were 
 wounded, and so was Master s-Mate J. Campbell of the 
 CJtippewa. Lieutenant S. James Garden was killed. 
 The Detroit and the Queen Charlotte, having much of 
 their standing rigging cut away, while at anchor in 
 
 1 Official report of Master-Commandant Perry. 
 9 Official report of Commander Barclay. 
 
1813. SCENES AFTER THE SURRENDER. 517 
 
 Put-in- Bay two days afterward rolled their masts out 
 in a gale. The colors of the Detroit, the Lady Pre- 
 vost, the Hunter, the Little Belt and the CJdppewa are 
 preserved in the Naval Institute building at Annapolis. 
 
 Comparative force and loss. 
 
 Guns. Lbs. Crew. Killed. Wounded. Total. 
 
 Americans: 54 1,428 490 27 96 123) Time 
 British: 63 852 502 41 94 135 \ 3h. 15m. 
 
 The fire of the Lawrence was not so effective as it 
 might have been, owing to the fact that her carronades 
 had been overshotted, some of them having been loaded 
 with round, grape and canister, and in some instances 
 with langrage on top of that. It is said that many of 
 her round shot struck the enemy s hull and rebounded 
 into the lake, while others remained sticking in the 
 sides without penetrating. When the Americans 
 boarded the Detroit they found a pet bear lapping the 
 blood of his recent masters. Two panic-stricken Indian 
 chiefs, dressed in the uniform of British sailors, were 
 discovered skulking in the hold of the Detroit. They, 
 with other Indians, had been placed in the tops to pick 
 off the American officers, but becoming terrified when 
 the cannonading began they fled into "the uttermost 
 parts of the ship, " and when brought before Perry they 
 expected to be tortured. " Our surrender was uncon 
 ditional. All the prisoners who were not wounded were 
 put on board the Porcupine and afterward were landed 
 at Cannon River, and from thence they were sent to 
 Chillicothe. The conduct of Perry was magnanimous, 
 every kindness being shown to the wounded and pris 
 oners, and it made a deep impression in his favor upon 
 all our hearts. He showed himself as humane toward 
 the fallen as he had shown himself brave in the pres 
 ence of a resisting foe. The commander of the Porcu 
 pine, to which we were transferred, was equally kind. 
 He ordered food and grog to be served to us when we 
 went on board, which was at an unseasonable hour, and 
 
518 THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE. 1813. 
 
 was quite unexpected, it being but the dictates of his 
 humanity." * "Captain Perry has behaved in a most 
 humane and attentive manner, not only to myself and 
 officers, but to all the wounded." 2 
 
 In speaking of the conduct of his officers and men 
 Master-Commandant Perry said : u Lieutenant Yarnall, 
 although several times wounded, refused to quit the 
 deck. Midshipman Forrest and Sailing-Master Taylor 
 were of great assistance to me. I have great pain in 
 reporting the death of Lieutenant John Brooks, of the 
 marines, and Midshipmen Henry Laub, of the Law 
 rence, and John Clark, of the Scorpion; they were 
 valuable and promising officers. Samuel Hambleton, 
 purser, who volunteered his services on deck, w r as 
 severely wounded late in the action. Midshipmen 
 Thomas Claxton and Augustus Swartwout, of the Law 
 rence^ were severely wounded. Lieutenants Smith and 
 John J. Edwards and Midshipman Nelson Webster, 
 of the Niagara, behaved in a very handsome manner. 
 Captain Brevoort, of the army, who acted as a volun 
 teer marine in the Niagara, is an excellent and brave 
 officer, and did great execution with his musketry. 
 Lieutenant Turner, of the Caledonia, brought that ves 
 sel into action in a most able manner, and is an officer 
 who in all situations may be relied on. The Ariel, 
 Lieutenant Packett, and the Scorpion, Sailing-Master 
 Champlin, were enabled to get into action early, and 
 were of great service. Master-Commandant Elliott 
 spoke in the highest terms of Humphrey Magrath, 
 purser, who had been dispatched in a boat on service 
 previously to my getting on board the Niagara, and, 
 being a seaman, had rendered essential service since 
 the action by taking charge of one of the prizes. Of 
 Master-Commandant Elliott, already so well known to 
 the Government, it would be almost superfluous to 
 
 1 Account of John Chapman. 
 
 2 Official report of Commander Barclay. 
 
1813. RESULTS OF THE VICTORY. 519 
 
 speak. In this action he evinced his characteristic 
 bravery and judgment." 
 
 The result of this battle was awaited with great 
 anxiety by all the American settlers in that part of the 
 country, for Proctor and Tecumseh were at Maiden 
 with five thousand men, ready to cross the frontier and 
 devastate the territory. The roar of the cannonading 
 resounded many miles along the shores of Lake Erie, 
 and all day long terrified men, women and children 
 in breathless suspense awaited the outcome, ready to 
 flee from their homes if the dreaded savages, under 
 the guidance of British officers, were again let loose on 
 them. By this victory the enemy was compelled to 
 evacuate Detroit and Michigan, and on the 23d of Sep 
 tember Captain Perry conveyed twelve hundred troops 
 up the lake and took possession of Maiden. On the 
 27th he reoccupied Detroit in conjunction with the 
 army, so that what had been lost by the land forces 
 in 1812 was recovered by the navy in 1813. On the 2d 
 of October Master-Commandant Elliott ascended the 
 Thames with the Scorpion, the Porcupine and the 
 Tigress. 
 
 Master-Commandant Perry was promoted to the 
 rank of captain, his commission bearing the date of 
 his great victory, but it did not reach him until the 
 29th of November. On the 25th of October he resigned 
 from his command on Lake Erie, and was appointed 
 commander of the new 44-gun frigate Java, then fit 
 ting out at Baltimore. Congress awarded gold medals 
 to Captain Perry and to Master-Commandant Elliott, 
 silver medals to each of the commissioned officers, a 
 silver medal to the nearest male relatives of Lieutenant 
 Brooks, of the marines, and swords to the nearest male 
 relatives of Midshipmen Henry Laub, Thomas Clax- 
 ton and John Clark, besides three months extra 
 pay to all the officers, seamen and marines. Con 
 gress voted two hundred and twenty-five thousand 
 dollars to the captors of the British squadron as 
 
 36 
 
520 THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE. 1813. 
 
 prize money, which was divided as follows : Captain 
 Chauncey, as the superior officer on the Great Lakes, 
 $12,750 ; Captain Perry and Master - Commandant 
 Elliott, $7,140 each (besides which Congress voted 
 Captain Perry an additional $5,000) ; each commander 
 of a gunboat, lieutenant, sailing-master and lieutenant 
 of marines, $2,295 each ; midshipmen, $811 each ; 
 petty officers, $447 each ; marines and sailors, $209 
 each. 
 
 Orlando Allen, in a paper read before the Buffalo 
 Historical Society, April, 1863, said : "When the Erie 
 Canal was opened the guns of Perry s squadron were 
 placed along the whole line of the new water way, 
 about ten miles apart, and when the first fleet of boats 
 left Buffalo the fact was literally announced in thun 
 der tones in one hour and twenty minutes to the 
 citizens of New York, by a serial discharge of these 
 guns." 
 
 NOTE. Thomas Holdup Stevens, who commanded the Trippe with 
 such distinguished bravery in this action, became a midshipman in 1809 
 and volunteered for service on the lakes early in the war. He took part 
 in the night attack on the English works opposite Black Rock, and was 
 one of the leaders of a detachment that captured the enemy s artillery 
 and of a scaling party which dislodged the British grenadiers. In this 
 brilliant exploit nine of the twelve naval officers participating were killed 
 or wounded. Although wounded in the hand by a canister shot, he re 
 mained on the British side of the river after the naval force had retired. 
 He, with two other midshipmen, made their escape across the Niagara 
 River in a leaky canoe. For his bravery in this action he was made lieu 
 tenant. In the battle of Lake Erie he boldly passed the Tigress and the 
 Porcupine, and poured grape and canister into the Queen Charlotte until 
 she struck. For his conspicuous services in this action Congress voted 
 him a silver medal and the citizens of Charleston gave him a sword. In 
 1814 he was ordered to the new 44-gun frigate Java. In the war for the 
 suppression of West India piracy he again won distinction as the com 
 mander of the Asp, and then of the Jackal and the Shark. He was made 
 master commandant, March 3, 1825. He reached the highest rank at that 
 time in the navy that of captain January 27, 1836, and died in Washing 
 ton, January 22, 1841, while in command of the Washington Navy Yard. 
 His son, Thomas Holdup Stevens, is now a rear-admiral in the navy. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE ACTIVE NAVAL WAR OF 1813. 
 
 THE success of the little navy of the United States 
 in its struggle against the mistress of the ocean in 
 the first seven months of the war was so great that 
 Congress determined to increase its naval force, and 
 on the 2d of January, 1813, it ordered the construc 
 tion of four ships of the line to carry not fewer than 
 seventy-four guns each, six 44-gun frigates and six 
 sloops of war, the last to be armed with twenty short 
 32-pounders and two long guns. 
 
 On the 30th of April, Captain John Rodgers, in the 
 President, again accompanied by the Congress, Cap 
 tain John Smith, sailed from Boston on his third cruise 
 against the enemy. On the 2d of May he fell in with 
 the British 18-gun sloop of war Curleio, Captain Mi 
 chael Head, but after a protracted chase the sloop es* 
 caped. A few days afterward the frigates separated. 
 The Congress, taking a southeast course, cruised for 
 many months in the south Atlantic, but meeting little 
 success, Captain Smith returned to the United States, 
 arriving at Portsmouth on the 14th of December. In 
 this cruise of two hundred and twenty-nine days the 
 Congress took but four merchantmen. The President 
 reached the Grand Banks, where Captain Rodgers 
 hoped to intercept vessels engaged in the West India 
 and Quebec trade. But in this he was disappointed, 
 and, stretching over to the Azores, he cruised in the 
 vicinity of those islands until the 6th of June, when, 
 shaping his course northward, he endeavored to fall in 
 with the West India fleet. Failing in this, he cruised 
 
 (521) 
 
522 THE ACTIVE NAVAL WAR OF 1813. 1813. 
 
 off the Shetland Islands, and then put into North Ber 
 gen for supplies. On the 19th of July he was off 
 North Cape for the purpose of intercepting the Arch 
 angel fleet, but after waiting some days in vain for 
 these ships, he made sail on the 3d of August for the 
 United States. 
 
 On the 23d of September, when a little to the 
 south of Nan tucket Shoals, the President descried a 
 schooner that was flying a private signal, and the 
 Americans hoisted a signal in return. Upon this the 
 stranger promptly ran down and reported herself to be 
 the High Flyer, Lieutenant George Hutchinson, ten 
 der to the ship of the line San Domingo. Captain 
 Rodgers ordered one of his officers to dress in a British 
 uniform and go aboard the High Flyer. The com 
 mander of the tender, however, did not wait to be 
 boarded, but manned his gig and pulled for the Presi 
 dent, supposing her to be an English frigate. In 
 the mean time the American officer had reached the 
 High Flyer and demanded of the lieutenant in com 
 mand the book of private signals and instructions. 
 These were handed over, upon which the officer re 
 turned to the President. By this artifice Captain 
 Rodgers came into possession of the British signals, 
 and also Admiral Warren s private instructions to all 
 commanders in his fleet, besides ascertaining the posi 
 tion of the English ships on the North American sta 
 tion, the force of each, and their intended movements. 
 A private circular was found, instructing British com 
 manders to capture the President at any cost. This 
 valuable information was forwarded to the Secretary of 
 the Navy, and enabled our cruisers, which otherwise 
 must have remained blockaded, to get to sea. In this 
 cruise of one hundred and forty-seven days the Presi 
 dent captured twelve vessels, while many times her 
 force was employed in looking for her in distant seas. 
 
 On the 14th of July the United States 3-gun sloop 
 Asp, commanded by Midshipman J. B. Sigourney, who 
 
1813. GALLANT DEFENSE OF THE ASP. 523 
 
 had served under Master-Commandant James Law 
 rence in the Hornet, while in Yeocomico Creek, Vir 
 ginia, was attacked by a boat party from English war 
 vessels. Being repelled in their first attack, the British 
 returned with re-enforcements and succeeded in taking 
 the craft, and after setting her on fire they returned to 
 their boats. Upon this the Americans hastened to the 
 Asp and extinguished the flames. In this affair the 
 enemy gave no quarter. Midshipman Sigourney was 
 shot through the body in the first attack, but he re 
 fused to go below. While he was sitting on the deck, 
 leaning against the mast, animating his men by his ex 
 ample, a British marine stepped up to him and deliber 
 ately shot him through the head. Midshipman Henry 
 M. M Clintock succeeded him in the command. Out of 
 a crew of twenty-one men the Asp lost ten, 1 while the 
 enemy s loss was even greater. 
 
 The Argus, on her return from her cruise under 
 Master-Commandant Arthur Sinclair, was placed under 
 the command of Master-Commandant William Henry 
 Allen, who had been the first lieutenant in the United 
 States during her engagement with the Macedonian. 
 The Argus was ordered to convey William H. Craw 
 ford, United States minister, and suite to France. 
 Sailing from New York on the 18th of June, 1813, 
 they reached L Orient after a passage of twenty-three 
 days. Remaining in port only long enough to refit, 
 Master-Commandant Allen sailed again for the English 
 Channel, and then around by Land s End into the 
 Irish Sea. In this short cruise the little brig captured 
 twenty vessels, valued at two and a half million dollars, 
 most of which were destroyed, a few of the more valu 
 able cargoes being sent to France. This destruction 
 of British commerce spread consternation among Eng 
 lish merchants ; for a time only a few vessels ventured 
 from port, while insurance rose to ruinous rates, and 
 
 1 Official report of Midshipman M Clintock. 
 
524: THE ACTIVE NAVAL WAR OF 1813. 1813. 
 
 cruisers were hastily fitted and sent out to destroy the 
 mischievous Argus. On the night of August 13th 
 Master- Commandant Allen captured a vessel from 
 Oporto, which he burned a little before daylight, the 
 Argus being then in latitude 52 15 North and longi 
 tude 5 50 West, about fifteen miles west of St. David s 
 Head. As day broke, a large brig was discovered bear 
 ing down upon the Argus under a press of canvas, 
 the wind being from the south and the Argus standing 
 close hauled on the starboard tack. The stranger soon 
 proved to be a heavy brig of war, and the Americans 
 made preparations for battle, notwithstanding the fact 
 that their vessel was smaller than their antagonist. 
 For some time Master-Commandant Allen manoeuvred 
 to gain the weather gage, but failing in this he short 
 ened sail and awaited the enemy. At 6 A. M., August 
 14th, the stranger ranged alongside and without pre 
 liminary formalities opened with her starboard battery, 
 to which the Argus promptly responded with her port 
 broadside. The action began at grape and canister dis 
 tance, which range was rapidly diminished as the ves 
 sels drew near to each other. In about four minutes 
 Master-Commandant Allen s left leg was carried away 
 by a round shot, but he refused to be taken below, 
 and endeavored to give his orders while lying on the 
 quarter-deck, half raising himself by his elbow. But 
 the heroic man soon fainted from loss of blood, and 
 at 6.08 A. M. was carried below. By this time the 
 main braces, tnain spring stay, gaff and trysail mast 
 of the Argus were shot away, and at 6.12 A. M. her 
 first lieutenant, William H. Watson, received a grape- 
 shot wound on the head which felled him to the deck, 
 and he was carried below unconscious. The com 
 mand then devolved upon Lieutenant William Howard 
 Allen (Midshipmen Richard Delphy and W. W. Ed 
 wards having been killed early in the action), who con 
 tinued the fight with great skill and perseverance. The 
 Argus had now lost her spritsail yard and most of the 
 
1813. THE ARGUS-PELICAN FIGHT. 525 
 
 standing rigging on the port side of the foremast. The 
 enemy at 6.14 A. M., endeavored to cross the wake of 
 the Argus so as to rake ; but Lieutenant Allen adroit 
 ly evaded the manoeuvre by suddenly throwing all 
 aback, and at the same time seized his opportunity to 
 sweep his antagonist fore and aft with a broadside, 
 At 6.18 A. M. the preventer main braces and maintop- 
 sail tie of the American brig were shot away, and 
 while she was deprived of the use of her after sails 
 the English again attempted to rake her. This time 
 they succeeded, and poured in a full broadside ; then, 
 ranging on her starboard side, they opened a fresh 
 battery. 
 
 By 6.25 A. M. the wheel ropes and running rigging 
 of every description had been shot away, leaving 
 the Argus unmanageable ; and, taking advantage of 
 this, the enemy selected his position and soon was 
 pouring in broadsides with impunity. At this crisis 
 Lieutenant Watson recovered consciousness and ap 
 peared on deck, only to find that the Englishman was 
 having it all his own way. As a last resort, an attempt 
 was made to board, which the enemy easily frus 
 trated. But the Americans still refused to surrender, 
 though all this time the Argus was an unresisting 
 hulk. After enduring the Englishman s cannonading 
 for fifteen minutes without striking a blow in return, 
 the Argus, at 6.47 A. M. struck her colors, and the 
 enemy then boarded over her bow. The victor proved 
 to be the British brig Pelican, Captain John Fordyce 
 Maples. On the 12th of August the Pelican had 
 dropped anchor at Queenstown, but being informed 
 that an American brig was in the neighborhood de 
 stroying British shipping, Captain Maples immediately 
 got under way and sailed in search of her. He was 
 guided to the object of his search by the light from the 
 burning merchantman from Oporto. 
 
 The Pelican mounted sixteen short 32-pounders, 
 two long 6-pounders, one short 12-pounder, and two 
 
526 THE ACTIVE NAVAL WAR OF 1813. 1813. 
 
 short 6-pounders, making a total of twenty-one guns. 1 
 or two hundred and seventy-four pounds of metal to 
 the broadside. The Argus was built in Boston by Ed 
 ward Hart, and carried eighteen short 24-pounders and 
 two long 12 pounders, making twenty guns, 2 and two 
 hundred and twelve pounds actual weight of metal to 
 the broadside. This gave the Pelican a superiority of 
 more than a fourth. In 1799, under the command of 
 Captain Searle, the Pelican drove the French frigate 
 Media into Guadaloupe after an action of two hours. 
 The Argus sailed from the United States with one hun 
 dred and fifty-seven men, but this number had been 
 reduced by prize crews to one hundred and twenty-five. 
 She lost six killed and seventeen wounded, 3 among the 
 former being Midshipmen Richard Delphy and William 
 W. Edwards, of whose gallantry Lieutenant Watson 
 spoke in the highest terms. Among the wounded were 
 Boatswain M Leod and Mr. White, the carpenter. The 
 Pelican s crew is given at one hundred and sixteen, of 
 whom two were killed and five wounded. 
 
 Comparative force and loss. 
 
 Guns. Lbs. Crew. Killed. Wounded. Total. 
 
 Argus: 20 212 125 6 17 23 ) Time 
 
 Pelican: 21 274 116 2 5 7 \ 47m. 
 
 The Argus sustained severe injuries in her hull, 
 nearly all her shrouds were shot away, and both 
 masts were greatly damaged. The Pelican s sides 
 were full of shot that did not penetrate ; her sails were 
 much torn, and several spars were wounded. Two 
 shot passed through the boatswain s and carpenter s 
 cabins, and two of her carronades were dismounted. 
 The Argus was more skillfully handled than the Brit 
 ish brig, which was especially noticeable when the 
 former threw all aback and not only prevented the 
 
 1 James History of the British Navy, vol. vi, p. 79. 
 
 2 Official report of Captain Manles. 
 
 3 Official report of Lieutenant Watson. 
 
1813. THE ARGUS-PELICAN FIGHT. 527 
 
 Englishman from raking but turned the tables by 
 securing a raking position for herself. This vast dif 
 ference between the excellent navigating of the Argus 
 and her poor exhibition of gunnery naturally leads to 
 deeper inquiry. The belief that some extraordinary 
 circumstance must have been the cause of this defi 
 ciency at the great guns, when all else about the brig 
 was admirable, is confirmed when we investigate Will 
 iam Allen s record as a naval officer. In gunnery he 
 was deemed specially efficient, and for his thor 
 oughness in this particular he was officially noticed 
 and commended by his superiors. In his report of the 
 action between the United States and the Macedo 
 nian, Captain Decatur wrote: " Where all met my 
 fullest expectations, it would be unjust in me to dis 
 criminate. Permit me, however, to recommend to 
 your particular notice my first lieutenant, William 
 H. Allen. He has served with me upward of five 
 years, and to his unremitted exertions in disciplining 
 the crew is to be imputed the obvious superiority of 
 our gunnery exhibited in the results of this combat." 
 It would hardly be reasonable to suppose that William 
 Allen, in his first independent command the ambition 
 of every officer neglected the branch of discipline to 
 which in a large measure he owed his rapid promo 
 tion ; and even poor gunnery, with so broad a mark 
 as a brig not twenty yards away, should have been 
 far more effective. The explanation made by an 
 officer in the Argus is undoubtedly the true solu 
 tion of this mystery. "The brig [Argus] having ex 
 pended a good deal of her powder, Mr. Allen took a 
 quantity on board from a prize bound to South Amer 
 ica. Shortly after, the gunner had occasion to fill a 
 number of cylinders, and he used the powder of the 
 prize, which lay uppermost in the magazines. It was 
 afterward ascertained that this powder was condemned 
 powder of the British Government, going to South 
 America to be sold. In proof of its effects, the officer 
 
528 THE ACTIVE NAVAL WAR OF 1813. 1813. 
 
 in question assured us that the Pelican s side was 
 dotted with impressions of shots that did not enter." 
 
 Having taken aboard a prize crew, the Argus made 
 for Plymouth, where she arrived on the 16th of August. 
 Master-Commandant Allen was immediately taken to 
 Mill Prison Hospital, his left leg having been ampu 
 tated above the knee by his own surgeon. All pos 
 sible attention and kindness were shown to him, but his 
 life s cruise was over, and on the 18th he was mercifully 
 released from suffering. On the 21st the remains were 
 buried with the highest military honors, the navy, ma 
 rine and army officers in port participating in the sad 
 rites. An English paper describes the burial as fol 
 lows : The procession left Mill Prison at twelve 
 o clock. The coffin was covered with a velvet pall, on 
 which was spread the American ensign under which 
 the action was fought. Upon this the hat and sword 
 of the deceased were laid. On the coffin being removed 
 to the hearse the guards saluted, and when it was de 
 posited in the hearse the procession moved forward, 
 the band playing the Dead March in Saul. On arrival 
 near the church the guards clubbed arms, single file in 
 ward, through which the procession passed to the 
 church. The corpse was now carried in and placed in 
 the center aisle, where the funeral service was read; 
 after which the body was interred in the south yard, 
 on the right of Midshipman Delphy, of the Argus" 
 
 William Henry Allen was a disciplinarian of the 
 highest order. He had a noble presence, and was fear 
 less in battle, but was gentle in nature. His career un 
 der Captain Decatur, especially during his action with 
 the Macedonian, had been most creditable. An Irish 
 paper contains this notice of him : "It would be injus 
 tice not to notice the excellent conduct of William 
 Allen, of the Argus. He allowed the passengers and 
 crews of the Betsey and Mariner to remove every arti 
 cle of their private property, and, in order that they 
 might have the liberty to do so, he would not suffer one 
 
1813. W. H. ALLEN A MODEL OFFICER. 529 
 
 of Ms officers or crew to be present below while they 
 were employed in packing up their effects. Captain 
 Gilbert, of the Mariner, had left some articles of cabin 
 furniture behind, which William Allen sent after him 
 in his boat. A greatcoat belonging to an officer of one 
 of the captured ships was missing, and it was found in 
 the possession of one of the crew of the Argus. Will 
 iam Allen immediately ordered the man to be tied up, 
 and he actually received a severe flogging. Consider 
 able sums in specie were saved by the passengers, as 
 William Allen would not allow his men to touch a sin 
 gle article." The British Naval Chronicle says : "His 
 death was conceived to be chiefly occasioned by the 
 great loss of blood which he sustained previous to am 
 putation by his persisting in remaining on deck after 
 he was wounded. Throughout the whole he bore his 
 sufferings with that manly, determined fortitude and 
 composure which might be expected of a brave and 
 gallant officer, and never once complained of pain ; but 
 his mind constantly dwelt on the loss of his ship, which 
 he regretted in the most feeling and manly manner. In 
 person he was about six feet high, a model of symmetry 
 and manly comeliness, and in his manners and conver 
 sation a highly finished and accomplished gentleman." 1 
 
 1 William Henry Allen was born in Providence, R. I., October 21, 1784. 
 His father was an officer in the Revolution ; his mother was a sister of 
 a governor of the State. He entered the navy as a midshipman April 
 28, 1800, and made his first cruise in the George, Washington, then com 
 manded by Captain Bainbridge. His second cruise was in the Phila 
 delphia, Captain Samuel Barron, and his third was in the John Adams, 
 Captain John Rodgers. He was acting lieutenant in 1805, when in the 
 Constitution, under John Rodgers, and he was third lieutenant in the 
 Chesapeake in 1807, when that ship was captured by the Leopard. The 
 only gun fired by the Americans was touched off by a live coal which 
 Mr. Allen seized from the galley fire with his fingers. Lieutenant Allen 
 was in the Chesapeake when she was commanded by Captain Decatur, and 
 he followed that officer to the United States and distinguished himself 
 during the action between that frigate and the Macedonian. In 1813 he 
 was promoted to the rank of master-commandant. Allen Street in New 
 York city was named in his memory. 
 
530 THE ACTIVE NAVAL WAR OF 1813. 1813. 
 
 When war seemed imminent with Great Britain 
 Congress caused several hundred gunboats to be con 
 structed for coast and harbor defense. The idea of the 
 gunboat system seems to have been derived from the 
 French. About two thousand of these craft were built 
 at Boulogne when Napoleon contemplated an invasion 
 of England. The French boats were sixty feet over all, 
 sixteen feet beam, and drew about two and a half feet 
 of water. They carried a 24- or 36-pounder in the bow 
 and a field piece in the stern, and each boat was manned 
 by a hundred men and was rowed with twenty-five oars 
 on a side. The first gunboats employed in the United 
 States were for the defense of the Delaware, 1775- 76, 
 and they succeeded in driving the British frigate Roe 
 buck out of the river ; and at the outbreak of the War 
 of 1812 there were two hundred and fifty-seven vessels 
 of this class stationed in our rivers and harbors. Al 
 though the "gunboat system" of naval warfare has 
 been shown to be demoralizing on the service and inef 
 fective when opposed to improved ordnance, yet these 
 vessels did some good service in the War of 1812, so 
 that a brief review of the arguments in favor of this 
 system of naval warfare may be interesting. They are : 
 
 1. Frigates and ships of the line are too heavy to act in 
 narrow and shoal waters, but gunboats are movable 
 batteries that are capable of attacking the largest ships. 
 
 2. A gunboat can carry as heavy metal as a 100-gun 
 ship of the line. Thus a frigate attacked by thirty- 
 seven gunboats would have the force of a ship of the 
 line against her. 3. When a ship fights she presents 
 her entire broadside as a target. Thus a ship of forty 
 guns would be about one hundred and fifty feet long 
 and ten feet out of water, presenting fifteen hundred 
 square feet of surface, while only twenty of her guns 
 could be brought to bear. A gunboat has ten feet 
 beam and is only two feet out of water, thus present 
 ing only twenty square feet of surface when in action, 
 as a gunboat always fires with her bow pointed at the 
 
1813. THE GUNBOAT THEORY. 531 
 
 enemy. Thus twenty gunboats carrying twenty guns 
 present an aggregate surface of four hundred square 
 feet, while the 40-gun frigate exposes fifteen hundred 
 square feet, and brings only twenty guns to bear. 4. 
 If a shot should pass an inch or two above a gunboat 
 it would do no harm, but if it should pass above the 
 hull of a frigate it might carry away a mast or injure 
 the rigging. 5. The two most serious accidents that can 
 happen to a ship are the loss of her rudder and injuries 
 to her sailing-gear. Neither of these accidents can 
 happen to a gunboat, as she is not dependent on masts, 
 but is guided and propelled by sweeps. 6. The nearer 
 the gun is to the level of the water the more accurate 
 the aim and the more liable to strike on or below the 
 water line. 7. As the gunboats are separated, each gun 
 of the frigate must be aimed at some particular gun 
 boat, which presents only a mark of twenty square feet, 
 and should the ball miss its aim by an inch it would 
 pass harmlessly beyond. On the other hand, all the 
 gunboats can aim at one solid mark of fifteen hun 
 dred square feet. 8. A 36-gun frigate cost three hun 
 dred thousand dollars. Gunboats cost four thousand 
 dollars each, so that seventy-five could be built for 
 three hundred thousand dollars. The Constellation, 
 for instance, would have only twenty-five guns with 
 which to oppose seventy-five of the heaviest metal. 
 
 On the 18th of June three of the enemy s frigates 
 anchored in Hampton Roads, and on the following day 
 fifteen gunboats, under Master-Commandant Joseph 
 Tarbell, moved down to attack them. The boats ad 
 vanced in two divisions, one commanded by Lieutenant 
 John M. Gardner and the other by Lieutenant Robert 
 G. Henley. Approaching the frigates in the night, the 
 gunboats anchored in the form of a crescent, and at 4 
 A. M. of the 20th they opened a heavy fire. One of the 
 many serious defects of the gunboat system now became 
 apparent. The recoil of the guns caused such rocking 
 that it not only prevented accurate firing, but even 
 
532 THE ACTIVE NAVAL WAR OF 1813. 1813. 
 
 threatened to upset the boats. The first ship attacked, 
 the 32-gun frigate Narcissus, was roughly handled, and 
 had she not been rescued by her consort, the 38-gun 
 frigate Junon, Captain Saunders, she might have been 
 destroyed or captured. After a spirited cannonade 
 the frigates retired and the boats returned up the river. 
 Lieutenant William Branford Shubrick (who was in 
 the Hornet-Peacock fight, and who afterward was in 
 the Constitution during her remarkable engagement 
 with the Cyane and Levant) on this occasion com 
 manded one of the gunboats nearest to the enemy and 
 won much applause by the style in which he covered 
 the retreat and drew the entire fire of the frigates on 
 his boat. The loss on the part of the Americans was 
 Master s-Mate Allison killed and two men wounded. 
 The gunboat commanded by Sailing-Mas ter ISTantz was 
 so crippled as to be in danger of capture, but she was 
 taken in tow by the boat under the command of Lieu 
 tenant Shubrick and carried out of danger. 
 
 On the 22d of June the enemy made a boat attack 
 on Craney Island, where Captain John Cassin, com 
 mander of the naval forces at Norfolk, had stationed 
 Lieutenants B. J. Neale, William Branford Shubrick 
 and James Sanders with one hundred seamen and fifty 
 marines, mostly from the Constellation, under Lieu 
 tenant H. B. Breckenridge, and it was largely due to 
 their coolness and effective firing that the British were 
 repelled. One of their barges, fifty feet long, painted 
 green and named the Centipede, commanded by Cap 
 tain Hanchett, of the Diadem, a natural son of George 
 IV, was hulled by a round shot that passed through 
 her diagonally and cut off the legs of several men. 
 Captain Hanchett himself received a severe contusion 
 of the thigh. Under the direction of Midshipmen Jo- 
 siah Tattnall and David Geisinger the Centipede was 
 hauled ashore by Midshipman Bladen Dulany and act 
 ing Sailing-Master George F. De la Roche. A French 
 man was found in the barge with both legs taken off. 
 
1813. GUNBOAT ACTIONS. 533 
 
 He was carried ashore and placed in a hammock, where 
 he soon died. A Scotch terrier also was found in the 
 boat. In all, five barges were sunk. Forty prisoners 
 were taken, and the enemy s loss in killed or wounded 
 was heavy. The officers and men of the Constellation 
 were applauded for their skillful and spirited defense. 
 
 On the 29th of July, 1813, Master-Commandant An 
 gus, who commanded a flotilla of gunboats in the Dela 
 ware, learned that the English 16-gun sloop of war 
 Martin had rounded the Cape, and while he was recon- 
 noitering the British 38-gun frigate Junon also came 
 to and anchored within supporting distance of the 
 sloop. Samuel Angus, with eight gunboats and two 
 sloops, advanced to the attack and opened a spirited 
 cannonade. Unfortunately, gunboat No. 121, com 
 manded by Sailing- Master William W. Sheed, in spite 
 of every exertion of her crew, drifted more than a mile 
 beyond her consorts. Seeing this, the enemy sent eight 
 boats against her with a strong party of men. Mr. 
 Shead anchored and fired two shot at the enemy, but 
 in doing so disabled his only gun. The English then 
 carried the gunboat by storm, but they sustained a loss 
 of seven killed and twelve wounded. The American 
 loss was seven wounded. 
 
 While the United States and the Macedonian were 
 blockaded at New London two boats were sent out 
 from each of these frigates, under the command of 
 Lieutenant John Gallagher, to make an excursion into 
 Long Island Sound. In the night, a small boat com 
 manded by Midshipman Abraham S. Ten Eyck was 
 separated from the others and was driven upon Gar 
 diner s Island. As morning broke, the Americans, find 
 ing themselves under the guns of the British frigate 
 Ramillies, landed and concealed themselves on shore. 
 Soon afterward a boat came ashore from the British 
 ship and a number of officers and seamen went to a 
 house near by. Mr. Ten Eyck approached the house 
 and made prisoners of two lieutenants, one midship- 
 
534: THE ACTIVE NA~VAL WAR OP 1813. 1813. 
 
 man, one master s mate and five seamen. Finding that 
 they were discovered by the people in the frigate, he 
 released his prisoners on parole and made his escape 
 with his men to Long Island, whence, on the following 
 night, they were taken off by the other boats. 
 
 About this time several attempts at submarine war 
 fare were made. As the Navy Department refused 
 to adopt this method, these experiments were under 
 taken by private individuals. In June, 1813, John 
 Scudder fitted up the trading schooner Eagle as a 
 floating mine, which was temptingly covered with 
 naval stores. This boat, as it was expected, was cap 
 tured by the Ramillies while attempting to run 
 through the British blockading squadron, her crew 
 escaping to the shore. Soon after the enemy boarded 
 the mine was ignited by clockwork and blew up a 
 British lieutenant and ten men. Subsequently a 
 citizen of Norwich, Conn., invented a submarine 
 boat by which he passed under the Ramillies three 
 times, and nearly succeeded in blowing her up. Cap 
 tain Hardy, of the Ramillies, became so alarmed that 
 he caused a cable to be passed under his ship every 
 two hours, and finally he threatened to burn all towns 
 on the sound if the Americans persisted in this dis 
 agreeable method of warfare. Mr. Mix, of the navy, 
 also nearly succeeded in destroying the British 74-gun 
 ship Plantagenet off Cape Henry, Virginia, by carrying 
 out a torpedo in an open boat called the Chesapeake 
 Avenger, under cover of night, and casting it off so it 
 would float down on the enemy. The machine exploded 
 a few seconds too soon, but near enough to cause the 
 Plantagenet to roll heavily into the chasm and nearly 
 upset. 
 
 In the earlier part of the war the Enterprise, Mas 
 ter-Commandant Johnston Blakeley, the little 12-gun 
 schooner that figured so prominently during the French 
 and Tripolitan wars, had been employed on the coast 
 of Maine to protect the local trade against privateers 
 
1813. THE ACTION OFF MONHEGAN. 535 
 
 that were sent out from neighboring English ports. 
 In August, 1813, she captured a privateer named the 
 Fly, and soon afterward Master-Commandant Blakeley 
 was transferred to the new Wasp, while Lieutenant 
 William Burrows was placed in charge of the Enter 
 prise. On the 1st of September Lieutenant Burrows 
 sailed from Portsmouth, and on the 3d he gave chase 
 to a schooner. On the 4th he stood out to sea in quest 
 of several privateers that had been reported in the vi 
 cinity of Monhegan, and while he was nearing Penguin 
 Point on the following morning a brig was discovered 
 getting under way. The stranger was soon made out 
 to be a British brig of war, upon which Lieutenant 
 Burrows cleared for action. It was then about noon, 
 and a fresh breeze from the southwest gave the vessels 
 an opportunity to close. The Enterprise displayed 
 three flags and stood out to sea, while the enemy fired 
 several guns by way of a challenge, and, hoisting four 
 ensigns, followed her. 
 
 At this moment occurred an episode that reveals 
 the spirit of the American seamen of that day. While 
 the two vessels were standing out so as to clear the 
 land, Lieutenant Burrows ordered a long gun to be 
 run out of one of the stern ports. This made it neces 
 sary to cut away some timbers, and the men, who 
 were as yet unacquainted with their commander, got 
 the impression that he was endeavoring to evade the 
 enemy. As they were burning with impatience to 
 engage, they requested the young officer in command 
 of the forecastle Midshipman John H. Aulick, after 
 ward captain to go aft and express to their com 
 mander the desire of the crew to fight. That officer 
 so far complied as to speak privately to First-Lieu 
 tenant Edward Rutley McCall, who assured the men 
 that Lieutenant Burrows had no intention of avoid 
 ing an engagement. The answer was satisfactory, 
 and the crew awaited the contest with renewed eager 
 ness. 
 
 37 
 
536 THE ACTIVE NAVAL WAR OF 1813. 1813. 
 
 At 3 P. M. the Enterprise shortened sail and awaited 
 her antagonist. At 3.20 P. M. the brigs were within half 
 pistol-shot, and the battle began, the Enterprise using 
 her port battery and the enemy his starboard. At the 
 first broadside, while Lieutenant Burrows was assisting 
 his men in running out a carronade, he was mortally 
 wounded by a musket ball, but he refused to be car 
 ried below, requesting that the Hag might not be 
 struck. The Enterprise soon drew ahead and crossed 
 her antagonist s course, and in doing so managed to 
 get in one or two raking shot from the long gun that 
 had been run out of the stern port. The combat 
 ants now changed batteries, the Americans using their 
 starboard and the English their port guns, the two 
 vessels running along side by side, the Enterprise 
 keeping just off the enemy s bow. By 3.30 p. M. the 
 Englishman had lost his main topmast and fore top 
 sail yard. Lieutenant McCall, who had succeeded to 
 the command of the ship, now set his foresail, ran 
 around on the enemy s bow, and poured in several 
 raking fires, which, at 4 p. M., compelled the English 
 man to call for quarter, saying that his colors were 
 nailed to the mast and could not be hauled down. 
 The prize was the British brig Boxer, Captain Samuel 
 Blythe, who was killed at the first broadside by an 
 18-pound shot through his abdomen. When the Brit 
 ish commander s sword was placed in the hands of the 
 dying Burrows, he exclaimed, "I am satisfied, I die 
 content," and a few minutes later he breathed his last. 
 
 The Enterprise mounted fourteen short 18-pound- 
 ers and two long 9-pounders, making sixteen guns 
 and one hundred and twenty-five actual pounds of 
 metal to the broadside. Out of the crew of one hun 
 dred and two 1 she lost Lieutenant Burrows and one 
 seaman, killed ; Midshipman Kirven Waters and the 
 carpenter s mate, mortally wounded ; and eight men 
 
 1 Emmons Statistical History of the United States Navy, p. 56. 
 
1813. THE ENTERPRISE CAPTURES THE BOXER. 537 
 
 seriously injured. 1 English accounts give the Boxer 
 twelve short 18-pounders and two long 6-pounders, in 
 all fourteen guns, 2 with one hundred and fourteen 
 pounds of metal to the broadside. Her crew has been 
 variously estimated from seventy to one hundred. 
 Captain Hull visited the Boxer shortly after the en 
 gagement, and wrote: "I yesterday visited the two 
 brigs. We find it impossible to get at the number 
 of killed ; no papers are found by which we can ascer 
 tain it. I, however, counted upward of ninety ham 
 mocks, which were in her nettings, with beds in them, 
 besides several beds without hammocks ; and she has 
 excellent accommodations for all her officers below in 
 the staterooms ; so that I have no doubt that she had 
 one hundred men on board." 3 She lost four killed and 
 seventeen wounded. 4 
 
 Comparative force and loss. 
 
 Guns. Lbs. Crew. Killed. Wounded. Total. 
 
 Enterprise: 16 125 102 2 10 12 ) Time 
 
 Boxer : 14 114 70-100 4 17 21 f 40 m. 
 
 This battle again illustrates the overweening con 
 fidence of the British commander at this period. For 
 several days before the Boxer sailed from St. Johns 
 the English made every exertion to fit her out with 
 a view of meeting the Enterprise. Captain Blythe 
 knew his antagonist to be the Enterprise before he 
 closed, and he also was familiar with her force, yet the 
 fact of his nailing his flag to the mast and the eager 
 ness with which he sought the engagement show his 
 confidence in the result of the battle. The result of 
 the Chesapeake- Shannon fight led British naval offi 
 cers to believe that it was only necessary for them to 
 
 1 Official report of Lieutenant McCall. 
 
 2 James History of the British Navy, vol. vi, p. 75. 
 
 3 Extract of a letter from Captain Hull to Captain Bainbridge, Sep 
 tember 10, 1813. 
 
 4 James History of the British Navy, vol. vi, p. 76. 
 
538 THE ACTIVE NAVAL WAH OF 1813. 1813. 
 
 get fairly alongside in order to secure victory. Blythe 
 was at Halifax when Captain Broke arrived there with 
 the Chesapeake, and evidently he was imbued with this 
 idea when he sighted the Enterprise. At the time 
 the Americans hailed to ascertain if the Boxer had 
 struck, one of the British officers jumped upon a gun, 
 and, shaking both fists at the Americans, cried out, 
 "JSTo, no, no!" with several strong adjectives inter 
 jected. To those in the Enterprise the spectacle would 
 have been ludicrous, had it not been for the pitiful 
 condition to which their enemy was reduced. The 
 officer in question evidently was animated with that 
 pseudo heroism which possessed Lieutenant Hope, of 
 the Macedonian, when he advised Captain Garden to 
 sink with his ship rather than surrender, well knowing 
 that his advice w r ould not be followed ; or like the 
 crew of the Java, who, after their ship had been re 
 duced to a helpless wreck, tacked an ensign to the 
 stump of their mizzenmast when the Constitution 
 was out of gunshot repairing damages, so that they 
 could report to the Lords of the Admiralty, We 
 still awaited the attack of the enemy." The officer of 
 the Boxer was promptly ordered down by a lieuten 
 ant. Congress voted a gold medal to the nearest male 
 relative of Lieutenant Burrows, and a silver one to 
 each of his commissioned officers. Lieutenant McCall, 
 in his official report, commended the bravery and 
 steadiness of his officers, and especially the gallantry 
 of Second-Lieutenant T. G. Tillinghast. 
 
 No vessels better matched than the Enterprise and 
 the Boxer were could have met, yet the difference in 
 the damage sustained by them was extraordinary. 
 Captain Hull said : "I was astonished to see the dif 
 ference of injury sustained in the action. The Enter 
 prise has but one 18-pound shot in her hull, and one 
 in her mainmast ; her sails are much cut with grape- 
 shot, and there are a great number of grape lodged in 
 her sides, but no injury done by them. The Boxer 
 
1813. INJURIES OF THE BOXER. 539 
 
 has eighteen or twenty 18-pound shot in her hull, most 
 of them at the water s edge, several stands of 18-pound 
 grape stick in her sides, and such a quantity of small 
 grape that I did not undertake to count them. Her 
 masts and spars are literally cut to pieces, several of 
 the guns dismounted and unfit for service ; her top 
 gallant forecastle nearly taken off by the shot, her 
 boats cut to pieces and her quarters injured in pro 
 portion. To give you an idea of the quantity of shot 
 about her, I inform you that I counted in her main 
 mast alone three 18-pound-shot holes, eighteen large 
 grapeshot holes, sixteen musket-shot holes, and a 
 large number of smaller shot holes, without counting 
 above the catharpins." One of the causes assigned 
 by the British court-martial convened to try the sur 
 viving officers of the Boxer for the loss of their ship, 
 was the "greater degree of skill in the direction 
 of her [the Enterprise s] fire." The London Times of 
 October 22, 1813, says : " But what we regret to per 
 ceive stated, and trust will be found much exagger 
 ated, is, that the Boxer was literally cut to pieces in 
 sails, rigging, spars and hull ; whilst the Enterprise 
 (her antagonist) was in a situation to commence a 
 similar action immediately afterward. The fact seems 
 to be but too clearly established that the Americans 
 have some superior mode of firing ; and we can not be 
 too anxiously employed in discerning to what circum 
 stances that superority is owing." 
 
 The two vessels were brought into Portland on the 
 7th of September, and were moored at the end of 
 Union wharf. The coffins containing the bodies were 
 placed in ten- oared barges draped in black, and amid 
 the booming of minute guns they were rowed to minute 
 strokes by ship s masters and mates to the shore. A 
 procession was formed at the landing-place and moved 
 up Fore and Pleasant Streets to High Street, and then 
 down Main and Middle Streets to the Rev. Mr. Payne s 
 meetinghouse, where public services were held. The 
 
540 
 
 THE ACTIVE NAVAL WAR OF 1813. 
 
 1813. 
 
 remains were then buried side by side in the Eastern 
 Cemetery. Lieutenant Burrows had never before seen 
 a naval battle. Captain Blythe had distinguished 
 himself in the conquest of Cayenne, and was honored 
 by the Prince Regent with a memorial for his gal 
 lantry. He had also been one of the pallbearers when 
 Captain Lawrence was buried in Halifax, three months 
 before. Thus in 1813 the American people lost three 
 naval commanders in quick succession, Lawrence, Allen 
 
 and Burrows. A 
 few years after 
 Lieutenant Bur 
 rows death, Mat 
 thew L. Davis, of 
 New York, hap 
 pened to be walk 
 ing through the 
 graveyard in Port- 
 
 Graves of Burrows and Blythe. 
 
 land when his at 
 tention was at 
 tracted to the neglected grave of this gallant officer, 
 and he immediately caused a handsome tombstone to 
 be erected. 
 
 " The flag worn by the Enterprise in this action, and 
 afterward used as the pall which covered the body 
 of Captain Burrows at his funeral, " had fifteen stripes 
 and fifteen stars, the latter arranged in parallel lines." 
 This flag, which was old on the day of the engagement, 
 and patched with a still older one, is now in the pos 
 session of H. Gf. Quincy, of Portland, and was exhib 
 ited at the Massachusetts Mechanics Charitable Fair, 
 in Boston, October, 1873. After the action it bore the 
 marks of fifty-nine shot holes, chiefly musketry. 1 It is 
 now in the Naval Institute Building at Annapolis. 2 
 
 1 Treble s History of the United States Flag, p. 327. 
 
 2 William Burrows was born in Kinderton, near Philadelphia, October 
 6, 1785. In early life he evinced that reserve which in later years de 
 veloped into a strong aversion for society. He seemed to aspire to an in- 
 
1813. WILLIAM BURROWS. 
 
 On the 4th of December, 1813, Captain Rodgers, in 
 the President, sailed from Providence on his fourth 
 cruise against the enemy. Making Barbadoes, he 
 cruised in that vicinity until the 16th of January, 
 when he ran down to Surinam and Berbice and between 
 the islands of Tobago and Grenada. Striking north 
 from this point through the Caribbean Sea, he went 
 through the Mona Passage, and on the 18th of Febru 
 ary, 1814, arrived at New York. The President 
 entered the harbor during the night, and while she was 
 waiting for the tide, the British 38-gun frigate Loire 
 approached, but on ascertaining the President *s force 
 drew oif. During this cruise of seventy -six days the 
 President captured four merchantmen. 
 
 dependence of mind, to scorn the old fashion of life, and, depending 
 entirely on his own resources, to strike out into original methods and 
 new expedients. As he showed a decided inclination for the sea, a midship 
 man s warrant was secured for him, and in 1799 he made his first cruise 
 in the sloop of war Portsmouth, Captain M Neal. In 1803 he was under 
 Captain Preble in the Constitution, and in this frigate he was made acting 
 lieutenant for his efficient services in the Tripolitan war. Returning to 
 the United States in 1807, he was employed in various capacities. While 
 in the Hornet as first lieutenant, he so distinguished himself by his skill 
 ful seamanship, during a violent gale, that the officers attributed the 
 preservation of the sloop entirely to his presence of mind and ability. 
 Feeling that he had been unjustly outranked by some junior officers 
 whom he had commanded in the Tripolitan war, Lieutenant Burrows 
 resigned from the service. This was not accepted, but after some diffi 
 culty he obtained a furlough. He then sailed as first mate in a mer 
 chantman for Canton. On the return voyage this vessel, the Thomas 
 Penrose, was captured by a British ship and the officers were made 
 prisoners, but Lieutenant Burrows was permitted to return home on 
 parole. Being exchanged soon afterward, he was appointed to the com 
 mand of the Enterprise, and from this period we have followed his career 
 in the text. 
 
CHAPTEK XI. 
 CAPTAIN PORTER S CRUISE IN THE PACIFIC. 
 
 IN keeping with the Government s policy of send 
 ing light squadrons into distant seas, to draw Brit 
 ish cruisers from the American coast in pursuit, the 
 82-gun frigate Essex, Captain David Porter, sailed 
 from the Delaware on the 28th of October, 1812, to 
 join the Constitution and the Hornet on a cruise in 
 the Indian Ocean. In anticipation of an extended 
 voyage Captain Porter shipped an unusually large 
 complement of officers and seamen, among the mid 
 shipmen being David Glasgow Farragut, then only 
 eleven years old. The Essex was the smallest frigate 
 in the navy. She had been built, in 1799, by the 
 citizens of Salem, Mass., then a town of only a few 
 thousand inhabitants, and w r as given to the Govern 
 ment for the purpose of protecting American com 
 merce from the depredations of the French and Eng 
 lish. The Salem Gazette for October 26, 1798, contains 
 the following notice: "At a meeting in the court 
 house in this town, on Tuesday evening last, of those 
 gentlemen who have subscribed to build a ship for the 
 service of the United States, it was voted unanimously 
 to build a frigate of thirty- two guns." During the 
 winter of 1798- 99 the streets of Salem were enlivened 
 with teams and sleds drawing timber, principally 
 white oak, from Danvers, Topsfield, Boxford and 
 Andover to Winter Island, the site selected for build 
 ing the ship. Eear- Admiral George H. Preble, of the 
 United States navy, in a paper read before the Essex 
 Historical Institute, said : The Federalists considered 
 
 (542) 
 
1812. BUILDING THE ESSEX. 543 
 
 it a patriotic duty to cut down the finest sticks of 
 their wood lots to help build the noble structure 
 which was to chastise French insolence and piracy." 
 The keel was laid April 13, 1799, and on the 30th of 
 the following September thousands of men, women, 
 and children assembled to witness the launch. The 
 new frigate was gayly bedecked with flags and stream 
 ers, and as she went into the water " with a most easy 
 and graceful motion" the people gave three cheers, 
 her guns, which had been landed and formed in a 
 battery near by, thundered out a salute, and the hills 
 of Essex County (for which the frigate was named) 
 greeted their offspring with echoing applause. The 
 newborn frigate sailed for the Indian Ocean in De 
 cember, 1799, and she was the first United States war 
 vessel to double the Cape of Good Hope. Afterward 
 she took part in the naval operations in the Mediter 
 ranean. Her services at the outbreak of the War of 
 1812 have been recorded in preceding pages. 
 
 After clearing the Capes of the Delaware, Captain 
 Porter sailed due east with the intention of getting in 
 the track of British merchantmen. But nothing was 
 seen of the enemy s ships, and on the 27th of Novem 
 ber he anchored at Port Praya, the first rendezvous 
 appointed by Captain Bainbridge. Although Portu 
 gal at this time was an ally of Great Britain, the 
 Portuguese governor of this island treated the Ameri 
 cans with every civility, and cheerfully furnished such 
 supplies as he possessed. Wishing to conceal the desti 
 nation of the Essex, Captain Porter, on leaving this 
 place, stood southeast, so as to create the belief that 
 he was bound for the coast of Africa ; but when he 
 was out of sight of land he changed his course to 
 south-southwest, so as to make Fernando de No- 
 ronha, the second place at which he was to meet the 
 Constitution and the Hornet. On the llth of Decem 
 ber the Essex crossed the equator in longitude 30 
 west, and at two o clock in the afternoon of the follow- 
 
544 CAPTAIN PORTER S CRUISE IN THE PACIFIC. 1812. 
 
 ing day she discovered a sail to windward, which had 
 the appearance of a vessel of war. With a view of 
 decoying the stranger under his guns, Captain Porter 
 
 -a SANDWICH IS. 
 " 
 
 if y^ST. CATHERINE I. 
 
 iCoquimbo ff I 
 "^ > Valparaiso J 
 Concepcion- f 
 MOCHA 
 
 J^TERRA DEL Fl 
 
 \ V^j STATEN I. 
 \ ", CAPE HORN 
 
 Cruise o/ the Essex. 
 
 displayed the British signals that he had captured in 
 his previous cruise, but they were ineffectual, and he 
 made all sail in chase. About 4 P. M. the stranger, 
 which was now seen to be a brig of war, made signals, 
 but as they were not recognized they only increased 
 the desire of the Americans to close before night 
 should enable the brig to escape. By sunset the 
 chase showed English colors, and a few minutes after 
 ward she displayed night signals. Paying no atten 
 tion to these, the Essex kept on her course, bowling 
 along at the rate of eight knots an hour. This thor 
 oughly alarmed the people in the brig, and they could 
 be seen bending studding sails and throwing overboard 
 anchors, boats and other heavy articles. At this time 
 the vessels were about two miles apart, just distin 
 guishable in the deepening gloom ; each had every 
 
1812. CAPTURE OF THE NOCTON. 545 
 
 stitch of canvas set, besides resorting to extreme meas 
 ures for increasing speed. By 8 P. M. the Essex was 
 perceptibly getting the better of the race, for now her 
 bow chasers were within gunshot ; but Captain Porter, 
 being anxious to injure the brig as little as possible, 
 did not open fire, and by 9 P. M. he came within mus 
 ket shot, and a few minutes later ran alongside, when 
 he hailed and ordered her to heave to. The chase, 
 instead of obeying, gave a sudden yaw, and endeav 
 ored to run under the Essetfs stern, so as to rake, hop 
 ing to make her escape in the night before the frigate 
 could sufficiently recover from the confusion to pur 
 sue her, but this attempt was frustrated by Captain 
 Porter, who quickly brought his ship around, and, lay 
 ing the enemy abeam, poured in a volley of musketry, 
 upon which the brig struck, having lost one man 
 killed. She proved to be the British packet Nocton, 
 bound for Falmouth, carrying ten guns and thirty-one 
 men. On the following day the prisoners, with a 
 quantity of specie found aboard, which amounted to 
 about fifty-five thousand dollars, were transferred to 
 the Essex, while Midshipman William Finch (after 
 ward Captain Bolton), with sixteen men, was placed 
 in charge of the prize and instructed to make for the 
 nearest American port. In carrying out this order 
 Mr. Finch had proceeded as far as Bermuda, when he 
 was overtaken by a violent gale, and as the weather 
 cleared up he discovered a British frigate to wind 
 ward. The Nocton was put on different points of sail 
 ing, but she rapidly lost ground, and finally, as a last 
 resort, she was put before the wind. In spite of all 
 efforts, however, the stranger, which proved to be the 
 Belmdera, soon overhauled her, and running close on 
 the Noctorts quarter prepared to pour in a broadside. 
 Mr. Finch thereupon surrendered. 
 
 Meantime the Essex continued her course south 
 ward, and on the 14th of December the mountainous 
 peak of the penal island of Fernando de JNToronha tow- 
 
546 CAPTAIN PORTER S CRUISE IN THE PACIFIC. 1812. 
 
 ered sullenly out of the dreary waste of water. In 
 keeping with his policy of concealing the movements 
 of the Essex, Captain Porter did not enter the port, but 
 disguised his ship as a merchantman and lay to off the 
 entrance of the harbor, while Lieutenant John Downes 
 went ashore to inform the Governor that the ship in 
 the offing was the British merchantman Fanny, Cap 
 tain Johnson, from London. In a few hours Lieutenant 
 Downes returned with the information that the British 
 44-gun frigate Acasta and the 20-gun sloop of war Mor- 
 giana had stopped at the port only the week before, 
 and had left a letter with the Governor addressed to 
 Sir James Yeo, of the British 32-gun frigate Southamp 
 ton. Captain Porter was satisfied that the alleged 
 "Acasta" and "JHbrgiana" were none other than the 
 Constitution and the Hornet, and as he had been in 
 structed to appear as Sir James Yeo, of the 32-gun frig 
 ate Southampton, he felt sure that the letter was in 
 tended for him, and sending Lieutenant Downes ashore 
 with a present of porter and cheese to the Governor, he 
 assured that magistrate that he was sailing for Rio de 
 Janeiro and would forward the letter to England. The 
 Governor sent the letter aboard the Essex, and on 
 breaking it open Captain Porter read the following : 
 4 My dear Mediterranean friend, probably you may 
 stop here. Don t attempt to water ; it is attended with 
 too much difficulty. I learned before I left England 
 that you were bound to the Brazil coast ; if so, we may 
 meet at Bahia or Rio de Janeiro. I should be happy 
 to meet and converse on our old affairs of captivity. 
 Recollect our secret in those times. Your friend of 
 His Majesty s ship Acasta, Kerr." Captain Porter and 
 Captain Bainbridge had been prisoners together in Trip 
 oli, and the reference to " Mediterranean " and " cap 
 tivity "gave Porter the hint. He called for a candle 
 and held the letter to the flame, when the following in 
 structions written in sympathetic ink became legible : 
 " I am bound off Bahia, thence off Cape Frio, where I 
 
1812. ON TO THE PACIFIC. 547 
 
 intend to cruise until the 1st of January. Go off Cape 
 Frio, to the northward of Rio de Janeiro, and keep a 
 lookout for me. Your friend." 
 
 Captain Porter accordingly made for Cape Frio, ar 
 riving off that point on the afternoon of the 25th of 
 December. At that time the Constitution and the 
 Hornet were off Bahia, and four days later the former 
 captured the Java. After cruising in the vicinity of 
 Cape Frio several days in the expectation of falling in 
 with Captain Bainbridge, the Essex was drawn away 
 in chase. While beating back to her station she cap 
 tured the British schooner Elizabeth, and from her mas 
 ter learned that she was one of a convoy of six vessels 
 that had left Rio de Janeiro the day before bound for 
 Bahia, but the Elizabeth put back on account of a leak 
 age. The Essex immediately crowded all sail, hoping 
 to intercept the convoy, and while beating up the coast 
 she ascertained from Portuguese vessels that the Con 
 stitution and the Hornet had been off that port. After 
 struggling a week against strong northerly winds, Cap 
 tain Porter gave over the attempt and put into St. 
 Catherine, where he learned that the 74-gun ship Mon 
 tagu had compelled the Hornet to raise the blockade 
 on the Bonne Citoyenne, and that the Hornet and the 
 Constitution had put to sea. 
 
 This left the Essex free to choose her own course, 
 and Captain Porter conceived the bold plan of doubling 
 the Horn and cruising in the Pacific Ocean. This cruise 
 was particularly hazardous, as Great Britain exerted a 
 controlling influence over the South American coun 
 tries, so that the Essex could hardly expect a friendly 
 reception at any of their ports. To obviate this dif 
 ficulty, Captain Porter determined to live on the enemy 
 at sea, to replenish his stores from captured vessels, 
 and, if the frigate stood in urgent need of repairs, to 
 run to some of the numerous islands and there effect 
 the more necessary changes. This scheme, if it could 
 be carried out, offered the further advantage of taking 
 
548 CAPTAIN PORTER S CRUISE IN THE PACIFIC. 1813. 
 
 the enemy unawares and rendering pursuit almost im 
 possible, while it also enabled the Americans to strike a 
 severe blow at British commerce in the Pacific before a 
 sufficient force could be collected to drive them away. 
 Yet another difficulty stood in the way of this auda 
 cious enterprise. The season for doubling the Horn had 
 passed, and bold indeed was the mariner who hoped to 
 weather that tempestuous point at this time of the 
 year. But Captain Porter, placing every confidence in 
 his ship, officers and crew, set out upon his perilous 
 voyage on the 26th of January, 1813. 
 
 Scarcely had the frigate left the Island of St. Cath 
 erine when Captain Porter was confronted by one of 
 the numerous dangers that the undertaking involved. 
 On the 27th dysentery made its appearance among 
 the crew, and threatened the entire ship s company, 
 but the excellent sanitary condition maintained in 
 the Essex, together with her captain s untiring care 
 for the health of his crew, soon caused it to disap 
 pear. Cape Horn was made on the 14th of Febru 
 ary, and as the weather had been moderate up to 
 this time all were congratulating themselves on their 
 escape from the terrors of the Cape. About noon, how 
 ever, a storm suddenly came up and raised an irregu 
 lar and dangerous sea. Gale succeeded gale, with de 
 ceitful intervals of calm encouraging a spread of can 
 vas, which was torn away again by sudden blasts. On 
 the 28th of February the ship came into smooth water 
 and there was every indication that the worst was 
 past, when the wind began to freshen and soon in 
 creased until it became one of the most dreadful 
 storms of the cruise. It was hoped that the great vio 
 lence of the wind would soon expend itself, but this 
 hope failing, many of the crew, alarmed by the terrors 
 of a lee shore, and exhausted by fatigue and anxiety, 
 began to consider their situation hopeless. The sea 
 had risen to an extraordinary height, and every mo 
 ment it threatened to engulf the little Essex. The 
 
1813. IN THE BROAD PACIFIC. 549 
 
 ship began to take large quantities of water through 
 her waterways and separating timbers, because of the 
 heavy and continued strain she was subjected to, and 
 her masts and bowsprit seemed in danger of going at 
 every lurch. For three days the storm continued, and 
 on the third an enormous wave broke over the ship. 
 The gun-deck ports were stove in from bow to quarter, 
 the weather quarter boat was carried to the wheel, the 
 lee boat was taken off the davits, the extra spars washed 
 from the chains, the head rails swept away, and the 
 hammock stanchions broken. The boatswain was so 
 appalled that he cried out : The ship s broadside is 
 stove in ! We are sinking ! " The alarm spread all 
 over the ship, and torrents of water rushing down the 
 hatchways led those below to believe that she was 
 plunging to the bottom of the sea. " This was the only 
 instance," wrote young Farragut, "in which I ever saw 
 a regular good seaman paralyzed by fear of the perils 
 of the sea." The men at the wheel, however, distin 
 guished themselves by their cool intrepidity, and after 
 the storm Captain Porter promoted them, at the same 
 time rebuking the others for their timidity. 
 
 By the 5th of March the Essex was fairly in the 
 broad Pacific, and soon afterward she dropped anchor 
 off the island of Mocha. Here the men had an oppor 
 tunity to exercise themselves while a large hunting 
 party brought in hogs and horses, which were salted 
 down and packed. The Essex had now been at sea 
 over two months; she had but one chart of the Pa 
 cific, and that a very poor one, and she stood in great 
 need of new cordage ; but Captain Porter determined 
 not to touch at any town, as he was very desirous of 
 capturing a number of the enemy s ships before his ar 
 rival in those waters was discovered. The pressing 
 necessities of the frigate, however, compelled him to 
 put into Valapraiso on the 15th, where he learned that 
 Chili had declared herself independent of Spain. 
 
 He put to sea again on the 20th of March, and on 
 
550 CAPTAIN PORTER S CRUISE IN THE PACIFIC. 1813. 
 
 the 25th, learning from the master of the ship Charles, 
 of Nantucket, that the American whalers Walker and 
 Barclay only two days before had been captured off 
 Coquimbo by a Spanish and an English ship, he made 
 sail for the scene of trouble. At eight o clock in the 
 evening of March 26th a sail was discovered to the 
 north, and on nearer approach she showed Spanish 
 colors, whereupon the Essex hoisted the English flag. 
 " Immediately, from her appearance and the descrip 
 tion I had received of her, I knew her to be one of the 
 picaroons that had been for a long time harassing our 
 commerce." 1 The stranger quickly ran down, fired a 
 shot ahead of the frigate, and sent an armed boat 
 aboard. This was returned with peremptory orders to 
 come under the lee of the Essex, which being done, 
 Captain Porter ran out his guns and commanded her 
 to strike. The stranger proved to be the Peruvian 
 cruiser Nereyda, of fifteen guns, which had captured 
 the American whalers. Her commander, still believing 
 that the Essex was a British frigate, admitted that he 
 had been cruising against American commerce, 2 and 
 Captain Porter ordered all the Nereydtfs guns, small 
 arms, ammunition and spars to be thrown over 
 board ; then, having obtained from her commander a 
 list of all vessels in the Pacific known to him, he 
 allowed her to depart. This list contained the names 
 and descriptions of the ships Nimrod, Perseverance, 
 Seringapatam, Charlton, Catherine, Thames, Green 
 wich, Monteznma, Rose and Sir ins. These were all 
 that could be remembered, but the Peruvian asserted 
 that there were no fewer than twenty-five English 
 whalers in these waters. 
 
 On the 28th of March the Essex stood northward, 
 with the expectation of falling in with inward-bound 
 whalers. Captain Porter improved the fine weather 
 
 1 Captain Porter s journal. 
 
 2 Letter from Captain Porter to the Viceroy of Peru, March 26, 1813. 
 
1813. FIRST PRIZES. 551 
 
 by " disguising our ship, which was done by painting 
 her in such a manner as to conceal her real force and 
 exhibit in its stead the appearance of painted guns, 
 etc. ; also by giving her the appearance of having a 
 poop, and otherwise so altering her as to make her look 
 like a Spanish merchant vessel." While he was busy 
 with these changes the lookout reported a large ship 
 standing for the port of Callao, and all sail was imme 
 diately made to cut her off. After an hour s chase 
 two more sails standing on the same tack were dis 
 covered. The first vessel was overtaken and captured, 
 and on boarding it was found to be the Barclay. The 
 other strangers, not seeming to suspect the Essex, con 
 tinued on their course until one was made out to be 
 a coasting brig and the other a "fine-looking ship." 
 But they proved to be Spanish, and were allowed to 
 pass unmolested. 
 
 The frigate then took a favorable position for watch 
 ing the harbor of Callao, but meeting no success here, 
 she made for Chatham Island, of the Galapagos, with 
 the Barclay in company, arriving there on the 17th 
 of April. Captian Porter determined to examine the 
 " post-office" at Charles Island a box nailed to a 
 tree, in which whalers and other vessels deposited 
 records of their movements but there was nothing for 
 the Essex. He cruised from island to island without 
 meeting a sail, until "at daylight on the morning of 
 the 29th [April] I was aroused from my cot, where I 
 had passed a sleepless and anxious night, by the cry 
 of Sail ho ! sail ho ! which was re-echoed through the 
 ship, and in a moment all hands were on deck." Or 
 ders were given to make all sail, and an hour afterward 
 two more large sails appeared above the horizon, bear 
 ing away to the southwest. By nine o 1 clock the Essex 
 had under her guns the first vessel, the British whaler 
 Montezuma^ with fourteen hundred barrels of sperma 
 ceti oil aboard. After securing his prize, Captain Por 
 ter made sail for the other strangers, which, as he 
 
 38 
 
552 CAPTAIN PORTER S CRUISE IN THE PACIFIC. 1813. 
 
 learned from the master of the Mbntezuma, were the 
 British whalers Georgiana and Policy, and at this 
 time they were about seven miles distant, making 
 strenuous efforts to escape. At 11 A. M. the wind, 
 which had been light, failed altogether, so that Cap 
 tain Porter got out his boats and sent a force under 
 Lieutenant John Downes against the ships. By 2 P. M., 
 when the boat party had arrived within a mile of the 
 enemy, the largest ship hoisted English colors and 
 fired several guns, upon which the Americans formed 
 for the attack. " We pulled up in two divisions, and 
 when within a few yards Downes hailed and asked if 
 they had surrendered, at the same time displaying the 
 American colors from a boarding-pike in the bow of 
 his boat. They gave three cheers, and replied, We 
 are all Americans. After taking possession we passed 
 on to the next vessel. The mate was in command and 
 hesitated for some time, but seeing one of our men in 
 the bow of the boat cock his musket, he yielded. We 
 had taken him rather by surprise, as he had to get his 
 guns out of the hold and mount them, and he remarked 
 that, if he had been ready for us, some of us would 
 have returned with bloody noses. The greater part of 
 the crews of both ships were Americans who had been 
 pressed into the English service, and many entered for 
 our ship." 1 
 
 These prizes, together with their cargoes, were esti 
 mated to be worth in England half a million dollars. 
 As the Georgiana had the reputation of being a fast 
 sailer and was pierced for eighteen guns, and mounted 
 six when she was captured, Captain Porter determined 
 to fit her up as a cruiser. The Policy carried ten guns, 
 which, being transferred to the Georgiana, gave the 
 latter sixteen light guns. All the small arms and am 
 munition found in the other prizes were then put 
 aboard the Georgiana, and on the 8th of May Lieuten- 
 
 1 Farragut s Journal, edited by Loyall Farragut, p. 22. 
 
 
1813. AN EXCITING CHASE. 553 
 
 ant Dowries and forty-one men were placed in charge 
 of her. The American flag was then hoisted and a 
 salute of seventeen guns fired, which was returned by 
 nine guns from the Essex. It was hoped that the Geor- 
 giana, thus equipped, would be able to cope with any 
 of the enemy s numerous privateers. This draft of sea 
 men left the Essex with a crew of two hundred and 
 sixty-four men, including officers and those on board 
 the Barclay. As it was pleasant weather, Captain 
 Porter overhauled his ship, rove new rigging, bent new 
 sails, restowed the hold and painted the frigate ; the 
 captured whalers furnishing the supplies. 
 
 On the afternoon of May 28th, the vessels still being 
 in the vicinity of Charles Island, a sail was discovered 
 and chased, but night intervened before she could be 
 overtaken, and Captain Porter, fearing that she would 
 escape by altering her course, ordered the Montezuma, 
 the Barclay and the Policy to stretch out on different 
 courses, so that one of the ships might be in sight of 
 the chase on the following morning. The plan proved 
 successful, for soon after daylight on the 29th the 
 Montezuma signaled "a sail to the northward." The 
 Essex bore away in chase, but it was fully two hours 
 before anything of the stranger could be made out 
 from the masthead. An exciting chase was maintained 
 throughout the day, and toward evening the Essex ran 
 alongside and captured the British letter of marque 
 Atlantic, mounting eight 18-pounders. At this mo 
 ment another strange sail was reported from the mast 
 head, and as the Atlantic had the reputation of being 
 the fastest vessel in these waters, Captain Porter put 
 Midshipman M Knight and eleven men in her and or 
 dered them after the chase, the Essex soon following. 
 Night was fast coming on while yet the stranger was 
 hull down, but the pursuit was maintained with dogged 
 perseverance, although there was little chance of com 
 ing up with her. At one time they lost sight of the 
 stranger, but after a long search through the night glass 
 
554 CAPTAIN PORTER S CRUISE IN THE PACIFIC. 1813. 
 
 she was again made out, having changed her course in 
 order to elude her pursuers. The Essex now rapid 
 ly gained, and in a few hours held the chase under 
 her battery. This prize was another British letter of 
 marque, the Greenwich, which had sailed from Eng 
 land under the convoy of the 38-gun frigate Java. She 
 had on board one hundred tons of water, which at that 
 time was of great value to Captain Porter. The Atlan 
 tic and the Greenwich also were abundantly supplied 
 with provisions of every description, and naval stores, 
 such as cordage, canvas, paints and tar, and eight hun 
 dred large tortoises, sufficient to furnish all the ships 
 with fresh provisions for a month. Lieutenant Gamble, 
 of the Marines, with thirteen men, was placed aboard 
 the Greenwich. The little squadron now consisted of 
 the Essex, carrying forty-six guns and two hundred 
 and forty-five men ; the Georgiana, sixteen guns and 
 forty-two men ; the Greenwich, ten guns and fourteen 
 men ; the Atlantic, six guns and twelve men ; the 
 Montezuma, two guns and ten men ; the Policy, ten 
 men ; and the Barclay, seven men ; in all, seven ships, 
 carrying eighty guns and three hundred and forty men, 
 besides which there were eighty prisoners, which made 
 a total of four hundred and twenty. 
 
 Captain Porter found himself so encumbered with 
 prisoners and prizes as to be compelled to touch at 
 some neutral port. Accordingly, sail was made for the 
 mainland, and on the 19th of June the squadron 
 dropped anchor in the river Tumbez ; but the Georgi- 
 ana, Lieutenant Downes, in the meantime was ordered 
 to cruise and to rejoin the squadron in the Tumbez 
 within a specified time. While thus cruising near 
 James Island, Lieutenant Downes discovered two sails, 
 which ran down to him without the least suspicion of 
 danger ; in fact, their masters did not know that they 
 were in the presence of an enemy until they had gone 
 on board the Georgiana and were made prisoners. 
 These vessels proved to be the Catherine, of eight guns 
 
1813. MAKING REPAIRS AT SEA. 555 
 
 and twenty-nine men, and the Rose, of eight guns and 
 twenty-one men. The prisoners were secured, and 
 prize masters and twenty men were put aboard. 
 
 In the afternoon of the same day another sail was 
 discovered, and the Georgiana gave chase, and late at 
 night overtook a well-armed privateer. At this time 
 Lieutenant Downes had only twenty men and boys 
 with whom to handle and fight his ship, besides which 
 he had upward of fifty prisoners to guard ; but, un 
 mindful of the danger, he boldly ran alongside the 
 stranger and ordered her to strike. To this summons 
 the British commander returned no answer, but was 
 heard ordering his guns to be cleared. The Georgiana 
 then fired a shot into the enemy s quarter, upon which 
 they attempted to escape by crowding on sail. Lieu 
 tenant Downes then opened fire in earnest, and after 
 the fifth broadside the stranger surrendered, having 
 lost her main topmast and most of her standing and 
 running rigging, and had two of her men killed and six 
 dangerously wounded. This third ship was the Hector, 
 of eleven guns and twenty-five men. After putting a 
 prize crew aboard her, the Georgiana was left with 
 only ten men, while her number of prisoners was in 
 creased to seventy- three, so that it was imperative 
 that she should be disencumbered of her dangerous 
 captives. Accordingly the Rose was made a cartel, all 
 her guns were thrown overboard, most of her cargo 
 was destroyed, and the prisoners, being released on pa 
 role and put aboard of her, were directed to make for 
 St. Helena, while the Georgiana, with her two remain 
 ing prizes, made for Tumbez, where she rejoined Cap 
 tain Porter s squadron on the 24th of June. On the 
 same day Mr. Downes was promoted to the rank of 
 master-commandant, and as the Atlantic was a hun 
 dred toDS larger than the Georgiana, and proved much 
 faster, he and his crew, now augmented to sixty, were 
 transferred to the former. Twenty guns were mounted 
 aboard of her, and forthwith the Atlantic went under 
 
556 CAPTAIN PORTER S CRUISE IN THE PACIFIC. 1813. 
 
 the name of Essex Junior, while all the stores in the 
 other prizes were placed in the Greenwich, which was 
 now used as the storeship of the squadron. 
 
 Having effected these changes, the squadron put to 
 sea on the 30th of June. On the 4th of July a salute 
 of seventeen guns was fired from the Essex, the Essex 
 Junior and the Greenwich, and "the day was spent 
 in the utmost conviviality." On the 9th the Essex 
 Junior was ordered to escort the Hector, the Cathe 
 rine, the Policy, the Montezuma and the Barclay (the 
 youthful Farragut in command of the last) to Val 
 paraiso ; and having appointed a rendezvous with the 
 Essex Junior for September, Captain Porter, with the 
 Greenwich and the Georgiana, made for the Gala 
 pagos. On the 13th of July, off Banks Bay, three 
 sails were discovered. The Essex gave chase to the 
 one in the middle, the other strangers making off on 
 different tacks with the Georgiana after them, while 
 the slow- sailing Greenwich was soon left behind. As 
 the Essex was gradually overhauling her chase, Cap 
 tain Porter became anxious for his storeship, for the 
 inshore stranger, a large, fine-looking ship, was seen 
 standing for her, and the Greenwich, having re-en 
 forced her crew from the Georgiana, boldly bore down 
 for the stranger. The Essex soon secured her prize, 
 which proved to be the English ship CJiarlton, of ten 
 guns, and from her master Captain Porter learned that 
 the other ships were the Seringapatam, of fourteen 
 guns and forty men, and the New Zealander, of eight 
 guns and twenty- three men. The Greenwich contin 
 ued after the Seringapatam, and after several broad 
 sides had been exchanged the latter struck, but imme 
 diately afterward made all sail to escape. The dull- 
 sailing Greenwich made every endeavor to come up 
 with her, but she would have lost her prize in the fast 
 closing of the night had not the* Essex, after capturing 
 the New Zealander, joined in the pursuit and over 
 hauled the chase about an hour later. The CUarlton 
 
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1813. A LONG CHASE. 557 
 
 was now stripped of her armament, and forty-eight 
 paroled prisoners were put aboard of her and ordered 
 to make for Rio de Janeiro. Her eight guns had been 
 transferred to the Serinffapatam, giving the latter 
 twenty- two in all. On the 25th of July the Georgiana 
 was sent to the United States with a full cargo of oil, 
 and as the Essex had been at sea nine months the 
 time of enlistment for many of her crew was nearly 
 up. and this opportunity for returning home was of 
 fered to those who did not wish to re-enlist ; but nearly 
 all desired to continue on the cruise. On the 25th the 
 vessels separated, the Georgiana homeward bound, the 
 Essex, the Greenwich, the Seringapatam and the New 
 Zealander making for Albemarle Island. 
 
 On the morning of the 28th of July a sail was de 
 scried to windward, but as the Essex was becalmed 
 while the stranger held a light breeze the latter soon 
 ran out of sight. In the night, however, the Essex 
 caught the breeze and crowded all sail in the direction 
 the stranger was taking when last seen, and on the fol 
 lowing morning Captain Porter had the satisfaction of 
 making out the chase from his masthead. The frig 
 ate now rapidly gained until, when she was about four 
 miles distant from the chase, the wind failed, upon 
 which the stranger sent his boats ahead to tow ; while 
 Captain Porter resorted to his drags, by means of which 
 he acquired a headway of two knots an hour, at the same 
 time ordering his gig and whaleboat, with some good 
 marksmen, to pull ahead and annoy the enemy. The 
 American sharpshooters did their work effectively, 
 driving the enemy from his boats and compelling him 
 to relinquish towing. By four o clock the Essex had 
 reduced her distance to three miles, when Captain Por 
 ter got out his boats for the purpose of boarding. The 
 boats pulled toward the chase in gallant style, despite 
 a galling fire, but when they were about three quarters 
 of a mile from the enemy a breeze sprang up and 
 filled the stranger s sails, and away he went, again 
 
558 CAPTAIN PORTER S CRUISE IN THE PACIFIC. 1813. 
 
 leaving the Essex becalmed. By sunset he was hull 
 down, but the boats maintained the pursuit, hoping 
 that the wind would soon die out. It was not until 
 dark that the Essex felt the breeze, when, directed by 
 flashes of gunpowder, she was able to follow her boats, 
 and after picking them up she continued on the 
 course that the chase held. But on the following 
 morning the stranger was nowhere to be seen, and at 
 noon the pursuit was abandoned. Greatly mortified 
 at the escape of the enemy after such a long and prom 
 ising chase, Captain Porter made for James Island, 
 where he anchored on the 4th of August. The Serin- 
 gapatam was now painted to look like the Essex and 
 the appearance of the latter was entirely changed, while 
 the Greenwich was made to look like a sloop of war ; 
 Captain Porter hoping to derive some advantage by 
 means of this deception. On the 22d of the same month 
 the squadron put into Banks Bay. 
 
 Leaving the prizes at this place, the Essex, on the 
 24th of August, put to sea, and after sailing among 
 the islands for several weeks without success, Captain 
 Porter, on the 15th of September, discovered a sail 
 southward. Not wishing to run the risk of another 
 long chase in the fickle winds of this season, he ordered 
 the fore and main royal yards to be sent down, the 
 mast housed, the ports closed, the sails trimmed in a 
 slovenly manner and every care taken to give the 
 frigate the appearance of a merchantman, and in this 
 disguise the Essex kept plying to windward under 
 easy sail. By noon the sail was seen to be a whaler, 
 lying to and "cutting in" blubber. At one o clock, 
 when the vessels were but four miles apart, the stran 
 ger suddenly took alarm, cast off her whale, and made 
 all sail to escape. The Essex was immediately trimmed 
 and was soon stretching out in chase, and at four 
 o clock she was within gunshot, and by firing six or 
 eight times at the stranger induced her to surrender. 
 She was found to be the British letter of marque Sir 
 
1813. 
 
 WINTER QUARTERS AT NUKAH1VA. 
 
 559 
 
 Andrew Hammond, "pierced for twenty guns, com 
 missioned for sixteen, but had only twelve mounted, 
 with a complement of thirty-six men." The most 
 pleasing phase of this capture was that this ship was 
 the one which on the 28th and 29th of July had led 
 the Essex such a long and fruitless chase. "Her 
 captain assured me that our ship had been so strange 
 ly altered that he supposed her to be a whale ship, 
 until we were within three or four miles of him and 
 it was too late to escape. Nor did he suppose her to 
 be a frigate until we were within gunshot, and indeed 
 never would have suspected her to be the same ship 
 that had chased him before, as she did not now ap 
 pear above one half the size she did formerly. " 1 
 
 The Essex cruising with her prizes. 
 
 The Essex and her prizes made for Banks Bay, 
 where, soon after their arrival, they were joined by 
 the Essex Junior on her return from Valparaiso. 
 Captain Porter now learned that several English frig 
 ates of superior force were in these waters, searching 
 for the mischievous Essex. Having captured all the 
 British whalers and privateers of which he had heard, 
 he sailed for the Marquesas Islands, and made Nuka- 
 hiva on the 23d of October, which place was so well 
 adapted for repairing his ship that it was decided to 
 
 1 Captain Porter s journal. 
 
560 CAPTAIN PORTER S CRUISE IN THE PACIFIC. 1813. 
 
 spend the winter there and to give the vessel a thor 
 ough overhauling. Accordingly, a fort was erected to 
 command the bay, the frigate was dismantled, the 
 stores landed, workshops built, the rats which had 
 become so numerous as to endanger the safety of the 
 ship smoked out, and extensive repairs begun. 
 
 The island of Nukahiva is traversed by valleys 
 which were inhabited by tribes hostile to one another, 
 and in consequence of his friendly relations with the 
 natives in the vicinity of the bay Captain Porter an 
 tagonized the others, which enmity soon became so 
 serious that the Americans were compelled to unite 
 with their neighbors in an expedition against the com 
 mon enemy. After several sharp encounters peace 
 was restored. Young Farragut wrote: During our 
 stay at this island the youngsters I among the num 
 ber were sent on board the vessel commanded by our 
 chaplain for the purpose of continuing our studies, 
 away from temptation. In November the New Zea- 
 lander was sent to the United States with a full cargo 
 of oil, and both this vessel and the Georgiana were re 
 captured while nearing port. Availing themselves of 
 the liberty given them, the prisoners planned to attack 
 the Essex Junior in canoes from the shore, cut her 
 cables and get out of gunshot before being discovered. 
 This done, they hoped to be masters of the situation, 
 for the Essex was dismantled, and none of the other 
 vessels were of sufficient force to cope with them. The 
 plot, fortunately, was revealed to Captain Porter, and 
 thenceforth the prisoners were placed in greater se 
 curity. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE HEROIC DEFENSE OF THE ESSEX. 
 
 THE Essex had now comp]etely destroyed British 
 commerce in this part of the world, for the vessels that 
 had not been captured did not dare to leave port, while 
 American merchant ships received ample protection. 
 Finding that there were no more English merchant 
 men to be captured, and desirous of meeting an enemy 
 worthy of his ship, Captain Porter determined to sail 
 early in December in search of some of the British 
 cruisers that had been sent out to intercept him. When 
 it was rumored about the squadron that they were to 
 sail in a short time, several of the men expressed dis 
 satisfaction, and some of the seamen in the prizes were 
 loud in their murmurings. The discontent finally be 
 came so pronounced that there was danger of mutiny, 
 and the prompt and decisive manner in which Captain 
 Porter met the emergency is graphically described by 
 Farragut as follows : "On the 9th of December, when, 
 as was the custom on Sunday, many of our men visited 
 the Essex Junior, and I suppose from having received 
 some intimation that the ship was about to sail dissat 
 isfaction was expressed, as the sailors were loath to 
 give up the demoralizing pleasures of the island. On 
 Monday morning, December 10th, I saw that all was 
 not right. Captain Porter took his cutlass in his hand, 
 which he laid on the capstan. He then, though shak 
 ing with anger, addressed the crew, who had been mus 
 tered on the port side of the deck, with forced compo 
 sure. All of you who are in favor of weighing the 
 anchor when I give the order pass over to the starboard 
 
 (561) 
 
562 THE HEROIC DEFENSE OF THE ESSEX. 1813. 
 
 side ; you who are of a different determination stay on 
 the larboard side. All of them, to a man, walked over 
 to the starboard. He then called up a man named 
 Robert White, an Englishman, and said to him in a 
 severe tone : How is this ? Did you not tell them on 
 board the Essex Junior that the crew of this ship 
 would refuse to weigh anchor ? The man tremblingly 
 replied, No, sir. You lie, you scoundrel! said the 
 captain. Where is the list of men who visited the 
 Essex Junior on Sunday ? He then made several of 
 them step forward, and put the question to them one 
 after the other, Did you not hear of this thing on 
 board the Essex Junior f Yes, sir, was the response. 
 Then turning to White, he exclaimed, Run, you 
 scoundrel, for your life ! and away the fellow went over 
 the starboard gangway. I believe Captain Porter would 
 have killed the man at the moment if he had caught 
 him, but it was equally evident he did not make any 
 great exertion to do so. White got into a passing 
 canoe, and we never saw him again. Captain Porter 
 then addressed the men in a hearty manner, praising 
 their good conduct, and holding up to reprobation such 
 miserable villainies. At the same time he gave them 
 to understand that he always intended to act summa 
 rily when such disgraceful affairs came to his notice, 
 and intimated to them that he would blow them all to 
 eternity before they should succeed in a conspiracy. 
 Having delivered this address, he wheeled around and 
 ordered them to man the capstan, and the music to 
 play The Girl I left Behind me. The fiddle struck 
 up, the anchor fairly flew to the bows, and we made 
 sail and stood out to sea." 
 
 A garrison of twenty men, under Lieutenant John 
 M. Gamble, of the marines, and Midshipmen Feltus 
 and Clark, was left at the island in charge of the 
 prizes Seringapatam, Sir Andrew Hammond and 
 Greenwich. The Essex and the Essex Junior on the 
 12th of December sailed for the coast of South Amer- 
 
1814. ON THE VERGE OF BATTLE. 563 
 
 ica, where they arrived early in January, 1814. After 
 taking in water at San Maria, and looking into the port 
 of Concepcion, they reached Valparaiso on the 3d of 
 February, where Captain Porter learned that the Brit 
 ish 36-gun frigate Phoebe, Captain James Hillyar, had 
 arrived on the coast in search of the Essex, and he de 
 termined to await her at Valparaiso. On the 7th of 
 February Captain Porter gave a reception to the offi 
 cials of Valparaiso and other citizens and their families. 
 On the following morning, while the men were busy 
 taking down the awnings, bunting and other decora 
 tions used at the reception, the Essex Junior, which 
 had been cruising in the offing to keep a lookout for 
 the expected British frigates, signaled "two enemy s 
 ships in sight." At this moment half of the Essex s crew 
 was at liberty on shore, while the frigate itself was in 
 some disorder from the festivities of the night before. 
 Captain Porter fired a gun and hoisted the recall cor 
 net for "all boats and men to return." The strangers 
 proved to be the Phoebe, and, contrary to Captain 
 Porter s expectation, the 18-gun ship-sloop Cherub, 
 Captain Tucker, in company. When these ships ap 
 peared off the harbor "the mate of an English mer 
 chantman which was lying in port went immediately 
 on board the Phosbe and told Captain Hillyar that half 
 of our men were on shore, and that the Essex would 
 fall an easy prey." 1 Hearing this, Captain Hillyar, 
 with the Cherub, ran into the harbor on a wind, but by 
 the time the enemy was within gunshot the Essex was 
 fully prepared for action. On the Phcebe came, with 
 her crew at quarters, and, doubling the Essex s quar 
 ter, Captain Hillyar put his helm down aod luffed up 
 on her starboard bow, bringing the frigates within fif 
 teen feet of each other. At this critical moment Cap 
 tain Hillyar, who had exchanged friendly visits with 
 the American commander several years before when 
 
 1 Farragut s journal. 
 
564- TnE HEROIC DEFENSE OF THE ESSEX. 1814. 
 
 hey were in the Mediterranean, appeared on an after 
 gun, and said : " Captain Hillyar s compliments to Cap 
 tain Porter, and hopes he is well." Porter replied: 
 "Very well, I thank you; but I hope you will not 
 come too near, for fear some accident might take place 
 which would be disagreeable to you," and with a wave 
 of his trumpet the kedge anchors went up to the yard 
 arms, ready to grapple the enemy. Captain Hillyar 
 braced back his yards, and remarked that if he did 
 fall aboard he begged to assure the American captain 
 it would be entirely accidental. " Well," said Porter, 
 "you have no business where you are. If you touch a 
 rope yarn of this ship I shall board instantly." He 
 then hailed the Essex Junior, and told Lieutenant 
 Downes to be prepared to repel the enemy. "When 
 the Phoebe was close alongside," wrote Farragut, "and 
 all hands were at quarters, the powder boys stationed 
 with slow matches ready to discharge the guns, the 
 boarders, cutlass in hand, standing by to board in the 
 smoke, as was our custom, an intoxicated youth saw, 
 or imagined that he saw, through the port some one 
 in the PJicebe grinning at him. My fine fellow, I ll 
 stop your making faces, he exclaimed, and was just 
 about to fire his gun, when Lieutenant M Knight saw 
 the movement and with a blow sprawled him on the 
 deck. Had that gun been fired, I am convinced that 
 the Phosbe would have been ours." In getting out of 
 her dangerous position the Phcebe passed her jib-boom 
 over the Es serfs deck, thus exposing herself to a raking 
 fire from the entire broadside of the American frigate, 
 while the Essex Junior held a raking position under 
 her stern, "so that in fifteen minutes we could have 
 taken or destroyed her." 1 The fact that Captain Hill 
 yar believed the Essex to be unprepared for action, to 
 gether with this extraordinary manoeuvre, is strong 
 evidence that he intended to attack her in spite of the 
 
 1 Captain Porter to the Secretary of the Navy, July 13, 1814. 
 
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1814. THE ESSEX BLOCKADED AT VALPARAISO. 565 
 
 neutrality of the port, and his subsequent conduct 
 leaves no room for doubt on this point. 
 
 After remaining in port several days, the Phoebe 
 and the Cherub got to sea and blockaded the harbor. 
 One night Captain Porter headed a boat party against 
 the Phoebe, who pulled with muffled oars toward the 
 enemy and came so close that the Englishmen could be 
 heard conversing on the forecastle, from which conver 
 sation it was discovered that the attack was expected 
 and that the men were lying at their quarters. This 
 necessitated an abandonment of the attack, and the 
 boats returned without being discovered. On the 27th 
 of February, the Cherub being about three miles to 
 leeward, Captain Hillyar ran close in, hoisted a flag 
 bearing the motto, u God and country, British sail 
 ors best rights : traitors offend both," and fired a gun 
 to windward. Captain Porter hoisted a flag at his 
 mizzenmast bearing the motto, "God, our country, 
 and liberty : tyrants offend them," and in five minutes 
 he had the Essex standing down the harbor under top 
 sails and jib ; but as the frigates were getting within 
 range and the Essex had already opened fire, the 
 Phoebe put about, set her studding sails, and ran down 
 to her consort. This breach of good faith on the part 
 of Captain Hillyar aroused much indignation among 
 the Americans, and but one satisfactory explanation 
 of it can be found, that he had received strict orders 
 not to attack the Essex in single combat. 
 
 For six weeks the Phoebe and the Cherub mounted 
 guard over the Essex. Learning that the British 38- 
 gun frigate Tagus and two other frigates had sailed in 
 search of the Essex, and that the Raccoon was expect 
 ed at Valparaiso in a short time, Captain Porter deter 
 mined to get to sea in spite of the blockade, and ap 
 pointed a rendezvous with the Essex Junior ; but on 
 the 28th of March, in a heavy gale from the south, the 
 Essex parted her port cable and dragged her starboard 
 anchor to sea. The enemy at this time was close in to 
 
566 THE HEROIC DEFENSE OF THE ESSEX. 1814. 
 
 the western side of the bay, and Captain Porter deter 
 mined to run the blockade by passing to windward. 
 He took in his topgallant sails, which were set over 
 single-reefed topsails, and braced up for this purpose. 
 The attempt seemed to be successful, but scarcely had 
 the topgallant sails been clewed down when, just as 
 the ship was rounding Point of Angels, a squall struck 
 her, causing her to heel nearly gunwale under, and 
 although the topsail halyards were immediately let go 
 the yards became jammed and would not fall. A mo 
 ment later the main topmast gave way under the strain 
 and went over the side, carrying the men who were on 
 the main topgallant yard into the sea, where they were 
 lost. In view of this disaster, Captain Porter endeav 
 ored to regain his anchorage, but owing to the crip 
 pled condition of his ship, he was unable to do so. He 
 then ran into a small bay and anchored about three 
 quarters of a mile to leeward of the battery on the east 
 side of the harbor, and let go his anchor "within pis 
 tol-shot of the shore." 1 Soon the Phcebe and the Cher 
 ub, bedecked with flags, were seen coming down, evi 
 dently with the intention of engaging in spite of the 
 neutrality of the place, and, notwithstanding the dis 
 abled condition of his frigate, Captain Porter made 
 every preparation for a desperate resistance. Springs 
 were put on the cables, and American colors hoisted at 
 the gaff, at the fore and mizzen masts, and at the cap 
 of the mainmast. 
 
 At 3.54 P. M. the Phoebe, having selected a position 
 under the Essex s stern, while the Cherub took one on 
 her starboard bow, opened at long range. The Phoebe s 
 fire proved very destructive, as the Essex had scarcely 
 a long gun that would bear, but the Cherub soon found 
 her position too close for her, upon which she ran 
 around to the Essex s stern and opened a raking fire. 
 
 1 Official report of Captain Porter. James, vol. vi, p. 152, says " with 
 in half a mile of the shore." 
 
1814. CAUTIOUS ATTACK OF THE ENGLISH. 567 
 
 With much difficulty three long 12-pounders were got 
 aft and run out of the stern ports, and were fired with 
 such skill that in half an hour both the British ships 
 hauled out of range. In this short cannonade Captain 
 Hillyar reported that the Phcebe "lost the use of her 
 mainsail, jib and mainstay," while James adds, " Her 
 jib-boom was also badly wounded, and her fore, main 
 and mizzen stays shot away," and, as Captain Hillyar 
 quaintly remarked, appearances were a little inau 
 spicious." In the first half hour of the fight the acting 
 sailing-master, Edward Barnewell, and the boatswain, 
 Edward Linscott, of the Essex, got springs on her 
 cables three different times to enable her to bring her 
 broadside to bear, but each time they were shot away. 
 The frigate also had received many injuries, while sev 
 eral men had been killed or wounded. 
 
 At thirty-five minutes past five the British ships, 
 having been out of range over an hour, again advanced 
 to the attack. Availing themselves of the Essex s mis 
 fortune, they took positions off her starboard quarter, 
 out of reach of her carronades, and where the stern 
 guns could not be brought to bear, and opened a 
 heavy fire. Finding that it was impossible to re 
 turn the enemy s fire, Captain Porter determined to 
 become the assailant, and ordered the cables to be 
 cut. It was then discovered that nearly all the run 
 ning rigging had been carried away, the flying-jib 
 halyards being the only ropes in a condition to hoist 
 sail. After many fruitless attempts to make sail, 
 the jib was set and gradually brought the Essex s 
 formidable broadside into play. The frigate then 
 opened a heavy fire, with such effect that in a few mo 
 ments the Cherub took herself out of the reach of the 
 carronades, and did not again come into close quarters, 
 Captain Tucker preferring to fight at long range, 
 where he could fire at the Essex with impunity. The 
 PJicebe also, now that the Essex could bring her short 
 guns into play, thought better of her ardor, and, avail- 
 
 39 
 
568 THE HEROIC DEFENSE OF THE ESSEX. 1814. 
 
 ing herself of the comparatively uninjured state of her 
 rigging, stood off at long range. 
 
 It is interesting in this connection to call to mind 
 the statement of Sir Howard Douglas in reference to 
 American commanders preferring to fight at long range. 
 " The United States commanders so circumspectly and 
 cautiously adapted their tactics to the superior power 
 of their armaments, that, even when opposed to very 
 inferior numbers and quality of ordnance, they would 
 neither approach nor permit us to join in close battle 
 until they had gained some decisive advantage from 
 the superior faculties of their long guns in distant can 
 nonade, and from the intrepid, uncircumspect, and often 
 very exposed approach of assailants who had long 
 been accustomed to contemn all manoeuvring, and who 
 only considered how to rush soonest into yardarm ac 
 tion. Such, unquestionably, was the character of these 
 proceedings [L e., naval operations between the United 
 States and Great Britain]. The uncircumspect gal 
 lantry of our [English] commanders led our ships un 
 guardedly into snares which wary caution had spread." * 
 
 By this time the Essex was severely damaged, 
 many of her carronades were dismounted, and the 
 slaughter had become horrible. One gun was manned 
 three times, and fifteen men were killed at it. Seeing 
 that the enemy would not come to close quarters, 
 where he could fire in return, Captain Porter deter 
 mined to run his ship aground, and, having destroyed 
 her, escape to the shore with his men. Accordingly 
 she was headed for the land, but while she was still 
 half a mile away the wind shifted and payed her 
 head down on the Phoebe, when she was again exposed 
 to raking broadsides. During this manoeuvre the 
 enemy cautiously followed at long range, careful to 
 keep out of reach of the carronades. At this moment 
 Master-Commandant Downes, from the Essex Junior, 
 
 1 Sir Howard Douglas on Naval Gunnery, p. 533. 
 
1814. DESPERATE CONDITION OF THE ESSEX. 569 
 
 which vessel, according to orders, had regained the 
 port, being useless against men-of-war, came aboard 
 for orders, and after a hurried consultation it was de 
 cided to anchor, in hope that the wind would carry 
 the enemy out of range, and the hawser was bent to 
 the sheet anchor and let go. This had the effect of 
 bringing the frigate around, but at the next moment 
 the cable parted, again leaving her at the enemy s 
 mercy. To add to their disasters, an explosion now 
 occurred below decks, and soon afterward smoke and 
 flames were bursting from the hatchway. As the fire 
 was near the magazine, threatening to blow up the 
 ship at any moment, Captain Porter gave those who 
 wished to incur the risk permission to swim ashore. 
 A number availed themselves of this, and some gained 
 the land, but many were drowned. The greater part 
 of the crew preferred sharing with him the fate of the 
 ship. 
 
 Further resistance w r as now a useless waste of life, 
 for the Essex was being hulled at every shot, while she 
 could not strike a blow in return. Captain Porter 
 summoned a council of war, but it was found that 
 Lieutenant Stephen Decatur M Knight was the only 
 surviving officer in the ship. Lieutenant James P. 
 Wilmer, while getting the sheet anchor from the 
 bow, had been knocked overboard by a splinter and 
 drowned ; Acting- Lieutenant John Gf. Cowel was mor 
 tally wounded ; and Midshipman William H. Oden- 
 heimer had also been carried overboard by a huge 
 splinter. Edward Barnewell, acting sailing-master, 
 after receiving serious wounds on the face and chest, 
 had been carried below. The steerage, wardroom, 
 berth deck and cockpit were crowded with the man 
 gled dead and wounded, and many of the latter were 
 killed while the surgeon was attending them. Of the 
 two hundred and fifty-five souls of the ship s company 
 only seventy-five, including officers, were fit for duty. 
 In the face of these awful facts, Captain Porter had no 
 
5YO THE HEROIC DEFENSE OF THE ESSEX. 1814. 
 
 alternative but to surrender, and at 6.20 p. M., 1 after an 
 heroic defense of two hours and twenty minutes, the 
 order was given. In his official report Captain Porter 
 praised the gallantry of rill his officers, and especially 
 of Lieutenants M Knight and Wilmer ; Acting-Lieu 
 tenants Odenheimer and Cowel ; Samuel B. Johnston, 
 of the marines ; Midshipmen George W. Isaacs, David 
 G. Farragut and Henry W. Ogden ; Acting-Midshipmen 
 James Terry, James R. Lyman and Samuel Dusenbury ; 
 Acting-Sailing-Master Edward Barnewell ; Master s- 
 Mate William Pierce ; Acting-Purser M. W. Bostwick ; 
 and the boatswain, Edward Linscott. Ac ting- Surgeon 
 Richard K. Hoffman, Acting Surgeon s-Mate Alexander 
 Montgomery and the chaplain, D. P. Adams, also were 
 highly commended. "The defense of the Essex" said 
 Captain Hillyar in his official report, " taking into con 
 sideration our superiority of force, the very discour 
 aging circumstance of her having lost her main topmast 
 and being twice on fire, did honor to her brave defend 
 ers, and most fully evinced the courage of Captain Por 
 ter and those under his command. Her colors were 
 not struck until the loss in killed or wounded was so 
 awfully great, and her shattered condition so seriously 
 bad, as to render further resistance unavailing." 
 
 The Essex, mounted forty short 32-pounders and six 
 long 12-pounders, giving her a total of forty-six guns 
 and twelve hundred and fifty-seven pounds actual 
 weight of metal. The PJicebe, according to English 
 accounts, carried twenty-six long 18-pounders, four 
 long 9-pounders, fourteen short 32-pounders, one short 
 18-pounder, and one short 12-pounder, making in all 
 forty- six guns and nine hundred and eighty- two pounds 
 of metal ; besides this, she carried four swivels in her 
 tops. The Cherub carried eighteen short 32-pounders, 
 six short 18-pounders, two long 6-pounders and one 
 
 1 Official report of Captain Porter ; also official report of Captain Hill 
 yar. The latter says that the firing began " a little past 4." 
 
1814. COMPARATIVE FORCES AND LOSSES. 571 
 
 short 12-pounder, giving a total of twenty-seven guns 
 and seven hundred and eight pounds of metal. Out of 
 her complement of two hundred and fifty-five men the 
 Essex had fifty-eight killed, sixty-six wounded and 
 thirty- one missing, probably drowned in attempting to 
 swim ashore ; making a total of one hundred and fifty- 
 five. The PTicebe lost four killed, including First- 
 Lieutenant William Ingram, and seven wounded out 
 of her crew of three hundred. The Cherub s crew 
 numbered one hundred and twenty-one, and she had 
 one killed and three wounded. 
 
 Comparative force and loss. 
 
 Guns. Lbs. Crew. Killed. Wounded. Missing. Total. 
 
 Essex : 46 1,257 255 58 66 31 155 ) Time 
 British : 73 1,690 421 5 10 15 \ 2h. 20m. 
 
 As this action was fought at long range, the British 
 selecting their distance so as to keep out of reach of 
 the Essex s short guns, it would be more accurate to 
 give only the long guns of the opposing forces : 
 
 Comparative forces at long range. 
 
 Guns. Lbs. Crew. Killed. Wounded. Missing. Total. 
 
 Essex : 6 72 255 58 66 31 155 ) Time 
 British : 38 624 421 5 10 15 f 2h. 20m. 
 
 The Essex was literally cut to pieces, and had she 
 been at a distance from port she would have sunk. The 
 Pkcebe received seven heavy shot between wind and 
 water, and one about three feet under water, while her 
 main and mizzen masts and her sails and rigging were 
 seriously injured. The Cherub received several shot in 
 the hull, some of her lower shrouds were cut through, 
 and her main-topmast stay and most of her running 
 rigging were carried away. 
 
 No one can question Captain Hillyar s gallantry, 
 for his record as a naval officer during the preceding 
 ten years was highly creditable ; but another phase of 
 his conduct forces itself upon our attention. We have 
 
572 
 
 THE HEROIC DEFENSE OF THE ESSEX. 
 
 1814. 
 
 seen that on the day of the battle he did not hesitate 
 to violate the neutrality of the port. This fact, to 
 gether with the attendant and subsequent circum 
 stances of his so nearly fouling the Essex when she 
 was anchored in the harbor, February 8th, compels us 
 to believe that on that occasion he intended to attack 
 the Essex while, as he supposed, most of her crew was 
 on shore, and that he was only deterred from such 
 attack when he unexpectedly found her in perfect 
 readiness to receive him. Captain Hillyar has left a 
 stain upon his record by his attack on the Essex in a 
 neutral port, and when she was u so near the shore 
 that some of the shot even struck among the citizens." 1 
 
 City of Valparaiso. 
 
 In striking contrast is the course pursued by Captain 
 Porter. When the Plicebe so nearly fouled the Essex 
 with the intention of attacking, as Captain Porter and 
 his officers fully believed the American commander 
 had it in his power to rake the Plicebe with his entire 
 broadside, while the Essex Junior held a commanding 
 position astern, and the Cherub was too far away to 
 
 1 Washington Irving, Spanish Papers, voi. ii, p. 111. 
 
1814. THE RETURN HOME, 573 
 
 render assistance ; but, in spite of these circumstances, 
 Captain Porter respected the neutrality of the port and 
 forebore. In the action of the 28th of March, Captain 
 Porter proved himself an officer of rare ability and 
 consummate courage. The noble defense of the Essex 
 against such overwhelming odds has but few equals in 
 the annals of naval history. He fought like a lion at 
 bay, and his officers poured out their life s blood at his 
 bidding, while the men sacrificed life and limb rather 
 than surrender. 
 
 The Essex Junior, by an agreement between Cap 
 tain Porter and Captain Hillyar, was made a cartel and 
 sent to the United States with the survivors. Arriving 
 off Sandy Hook, July 5, 1814, the ship was brought to 
 by the British razee Saturn, Captain Nash. The Eng 
 lish commander questioned Captain Hillyar s authority 
 to enter into such an arrangement, and in the delay 
 that ensued Captain Porter informed the British lieu 
 tenant in charge that if the ship was detained he would 
 consider himself released from his parole and again a 
 prisoner of war. As they were not allowed to proceed 
 immediately, Captain Porter with a few men quietly 
 got into a boat on the leeward side of the Essex Junior 
 and pulled some distance toward the shore before he 
 was discovered. As soon as the escape was made 
 known the Saturn bore down on the fugitives, but just 
 before she reached them a dense fog settled over the 
 water, completely enveloping the Americans, so that, 
 by changing her course, the boat succeeded in eluding 
 her pursuers, and although at one time she was so near 
 as to distinguish voices on board the Saturn, she made 
 her escape. After rowing all night the party landed 
 at Babylon, Long Island, where Captain Porter was 
 taken for a spy, and so strange and incredible seemed 
 the account he gave of himself to the people of that 
 village that it was some time before he was released. 
 The travel-worn adventurers now secured a horse and 
 wagon, by which means they journeyed to Brooklyn, 
 
574 THE HEROIC DEFENSE OF THE ESSEX. 1814. 
 
 and thence to New York. At the latter place Captain 
 Porter found his comrades, the Essex Junior having 
 been allowed to enter the harbor. The few survivors 
 of the gallant three hundred and nineteen that sailed 
 in the Essex October 28, 1812, were met with every 
 demonstration of joy. The people took the horses 
 from Captain Porter s carriage and hauled him to his 
 lodgings, and an entertainment was given to the crew 
 of the Essex at Tammany Hall. At Philadelphia Cap 
 tain Porter was received by the mayor and a military 
 escort. The great throng of people took the horses 
 from the carriage and drew the hero to the Mansion 
 House, where the sailors took him on their shoulders 
 and carried him in. 
 
 Scarcely had the Essex disappeared below the hori 
 zon, December 12, 1813, when the savages on the island 
 of Nukahiva became troublesome and showed signs of 
 hostility, and at last Lieutenant John M. Gamble found 
 it necessary to land and overpower them. On the 28th 
 of February, 1814, one of the marines, John Wetter, 
 was drowned, which reduced their force to twenty-one, 
 all told, and a week afterward four of the men seized a 
 whaleboat and deserted. On the 12th of April, two 
 weeks after the capture of the Essex at Valparaiso, 
 Lieutenant Gamble rigged the Seringapatam and the 
 Sir Andrew Hammond, with the intention of burning 
 the Greenwich and leaving his lonely prison ; but by 
 this time the survivors had become mutinous, and as a 
 precaution against them all the arms were collected in 
 the Greenwich. On the 7th of May Lieutenant Gamble 
 had occasion to go aboard the Seringapatam, when six 
 mutineers rose upon him, wounded him in the foot 
 with a pistol-shot, and, having placed him in a canoe, 
 sailed away with the ship, thus reducing the number of 
 survivors on the island to eight. On the 9th of May 
 the savages made a fierce assault, and in repelling them 
 Midshipman William W. Feltus was killed and three of 
 the other Americans were wounded, and on the follow- 
 
1814. THE SURVIVORS AT NUKAHIVA. 575 
 
 ing night the wretched survivors put to sea in the Sir 
 Andrew Hammond. When day broke it was found 
 that there were but four able men in the ship, Lieuten 
 ant Gamble included, only six cartridges left, and not 
 a shot to be found. After seventeen anxious days they 
 reached the Sandwich Islands, where they were cap 
 tured by the Cherub, and in this ship they remained 
 seven months longer ; they finally reached New York, 
 via Rio de Janeiro, late in August, 1815, having been 
 absent two years and ten months. 
 
 In his cruise of seventeen months Captain Porter 
 proved himself to be an officer of great ability. During 
 the long period the Essex kept the sea he had not 
 drawn a dollar from the national treasury ; he had cap 
 tured four thousand tons of shipping, captured or re 
 captured nearly four hundred prisoners, and annihilated 
 British commerce in that part of the globe. Nor was 
 this all: for, had the Essex failed to appear in the 
 Pacific, many American whalers, which had not even 
 heard of the declaration of war as whalers kept the 
 sea from one to four years at a time would have been 
 taken or destroyed by the British privateers that Cap 
 tain Porter seized. The timely warning given by the 
 Essex enabled them to secure places of safety, so that 
 only one was captured. 
 
 From a pecuniary point of view, also, this was a 
 most successful cruise. The pay of our naval officers 
 and seamen at that time was inadequate, so that prize 
 money was a very considerable item. The pay table 
 was as follows : For a captain of a squadron, $1,200 ; 
 for a captain of a ship mounting more than thirty- two 
 guns, $1,200 ; for a captain of a ship carrying thirty- 
 two guns or less, $900 ; for a master-commandant, $720 ; 
 for a lieutenant in command, $600 ; for a lieutenant, - 
 $480 ; for a surgeon, $600 ; for sailing-masters, pursers 
 and chaplains, $400 ; for surgeon s mate, $360 ; for boat 
 swains, gunners, sailmakers and carpenters, $240 ; for 
 midshipmen, $228. The pay for officers in our navy 
 
576 THE HEROIC DEFENSE OF THE ESSEX. 1814. 
 
 to-day is : Rear-admirals, $6,000 ; commodores, 5,000 ; 
 captains, $4,500 ; commanders, $3,500 ; lieutenant- com 
 manders (first four years), $2,800 ; (after four years), 
 $3,000; lieutenants, $1,800 to $2,600; ensigns, $1,200 
 to $1,400 ; naval cadets, $500 to $950 ; paymasters, sur 
 geons and engineers, $1,700 to $4,400 ; chaplains, $2,500 
 to $2,800 ; boatswains, gunners, carpenters and sail- 
 makers, $1,200 to $1,800 ; the maximum pay of the boat 
 swains, carpenters, etc., being fifty per cent greater 
 than a "captain of a squadron" got early in the cen 
 tury. But even our modern pay table is far short of 
 the sum paid by almost every European naval power, 
 and is entirely inadequate to meet the heavy expenses 
 to which our officers are necessarily subjected. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE NAVAL WAE IN 1814. 
 
 BY 1814 the enemy had stationed nearly a hundred 
 line-of -battle ships and frigates of the largest class on 
 the coast of the United States, which made it exceed 
 ingly hazardous for our cruisers to get to sea, and al 
 most impossible to send in prizes. No feature of the 
 naval War of 1812 brings out in stronger light the skill 
 and daring of the American commanders than the man 
 ner in which they put to sea in the face of English 
 squadrons. Under the law of 1812 the corvette Adams, 
 which had been blockaded in the Potomac, was altered 
 to a sloop of war, and lengthened so as to carry twenty- 
 six guns. Tiring of the inglorious blockade, her com 
 mander, Captain Charles Morris, who had been first 
 lieutenant in the Constitution during her action with 
 the Guerriere, and had been promoted for gallantry on 
 that occasion, determined to run the blockade, and on 
 the night of January 18th, which came on cloudy, bois 
 terous and with frequent snow squalls, he got under 
 way with a strong northwest wind. In order to pass 
 the British ships at Hampton Roads before daylight it 
 was necessary for the Adams to maintain a high rate 
 of speed all night, and as the beacon lights in the bay 
 had been removed (for the further annoyance of the 
 enemy) this was a feat involving no little danger. 
 Hardly was she well under way when Captain Morris 
 found that the two men whom he had engaged as pilots 
 were not equal to their task, for they soon lost their 
 bearings and differed in opinion as to the whereabouts 
 of the corvette and the direction in which she was head- 
 
 (57?) 
 
578 THE NAVAL WAR IN 1814. 1814. 
 
 ing. The Adams was blindly rushing through the 
 water at twelve knots an hour, and this speed made it 
 impossible to obtain correct soundings. About eleven 
 o clock a light suddenly appeared directly ahead, and 
 to avoid running ashore the ship was sent about in the 
 hope of getting into deeper water, but she ran into 
 shoal water and struck ground several times. The 
 heavy swells, however, lifted her over, and in a few 
 minutes she again sounded deep water. Fearing that 
 the corvette had sustained serious injury, Captain Mor 
 ris called his lieutenants together for consultation. 
 The officers, wrapped in their greatcoats, assembled 
 aft, and in the nickering light of a ship s lantern and 
 amid flurries of snow they held a midnight council of 
 war. The unanimous opinion was that, in spite of the 
 perils of the situation, it was better to continue in the 
 attempt to run the blockade than to remain in a monot 
 onous imprisonment, and accordingly the ship was 
 again put under sail, and soon she was bowling down 
 the bay at the rate of twelve and a half knots an hour. 
 About one o clock in the morning she passed Lynn- 
 haven, where two of the British ships were just distin 
 guishable in the darkness, but they evidently did not 
 discover the Adams, and she passed out to sea. 
 
 Following the suggestion of the Secretary of the 
 Navy, Captain Morris headed eastward, with the view 
 of cruising near the Canary and Cape de Yerde Islands. 
 On the 25th of March he captured the Indiaman Wood- 
 bridge^ but while he was taking possession of her two 
 British frigates hove in sight and compelled him to 
 abandon his prize. Cruising along the western coast 
 of Africa, from Cape Mount to Cape Palmas, he took 
 three brigs one laden with wine and fruit, one with 
 fish, and one with palm oil and ivory. The first two 
 were destroyed, and the third, having been relieved of 
 her cargo, was given up to her master, and the prisoners 
 being released on parole were put aboard her. Captain 
 Morris then sailed westward and ran into Savannah for 
 
1814. CHASE OP THE ADAMS. 579 
 
 supplies. Sailing again on the 8th of May, he came 
 across a Jamaica convoy near the Matanilla Reef, but 
 finding the escort too heavy he sheered off, after which 
 he shaped his course northeast, and on the 3d of July 
 made the coast of Ireland. On the 4th of July, off the 
 mouth of the river Shannon, the Adams was chased by 
 the British frigate Tigris, and before sunset the enemy 
 had proved herself to be the better sailer of the two and 
 was almost within gunshot. In the night it fell calm, 
 and Captain Morris, who had materially aided in the es 
 cape of the Constitution from Captain Broke s squadron 
 (July, 1812), ordered his boats out under the command 
 of First-Lieutenant Alexander Scammel Wadsworth, 
 who also had been in the Constitution under Captain 
 Hull, and began towing, so that by morning the enemy 
 was six miles astern. This lead enabled the Adams to 
 make her escape, although she was compelled to sacri 
 fice her anchors and some guns that had been taken 
 from prizes. 
 
 On the 19th of July the Adams was chased by two 
 frigates, one of which for forty hours was just out of 
 gunshot, in which time the vessels covered four hun 
 dred miles without perceptibly increasing or diminish 
 ing the distance between them. On the second night 
 of the chase Captain Morris took advantage of a squall, 
 and by changing his course lost sight of the enemy. 
 
 After these narrow escapes the Adams made for 
 America. Approaching Newfoundland she experienced 
 continuously moist weather, which, together with the 
 lack of fresh provisions, brought on scurvy, so that by 
 the 25th of July several of the men died from it, thirty 
 were unfit for duty, and the entire ship s company was 
 aifected. By the 16th of August the sick list was in 
 creased to fifty-eight, and Captain Morris found it im 
 perative to return to the nearest American port, and 
 changed his course for the coast of Maine. At four 
 o clock on the morning of August 17th, while the Adams 
 was making from ten to eleven knots an hour in a dense 
 
580 THE NAVAL WAR IN 1814. 1814. 
 
 fog, the lookout announced breakers ahead, and a mo 
 ment later the ship ran upon a ledge of rocks. Notwith 
 standing the speed at which she was rushing through 
 the water, the shock was not severe, but, fearing the 
 worst, Captain Morris released the prisoners in the hold. 
 It was found that the ship was resting on a slippery 
 rock, and that she had been raised six feet, and on the 
 following morning, when the sun dispelled the fog, a 
 towering cliff was seen rising out of the water less than 
 a hundred yards ahead. On the return of flood tide 
 the ship was floated off, and on manning the pumps it 
 was found that the leaks were not serious. Being 
 ignorant of the coast, Captain Morris determined to 
 put to sea again, and on the same day he discovered 
 that he was near Mount Desert, instead of being near 
 Portland, as he had supposed. At this moment the 
 English l(3-gun brig-sloop Rifleman hove in sight, and 
 the Adams gave chase, but the heavy pressure of sail 
 caused the ship to leak so seriously that Captain Mor 
 ris was compelled to abandon the pursuit, and the 
 Rifleman escaped and brought the news of the pres 
 ence of the Adams in these waters to a British squad 
 ron that was assembling, under the command of Admi 
 ral Griffith, for the purpose of making an attack on 
 Machias. Hearing that the Adams had retreated up 
 the Penobscot, the British land and naval force fol 
 lowed and destroyed her near Hampden. But Cap 
 tain Morris and his officers and crew escaped to the 
 shore, and, breaking up into small parties, marched by 
 different routes to Portland. 
 
 In this cruise of more than seven months Captain 
 Morris captured ten merchantmen, carrying in all one 
 hundred and sixty- one guns. The officers of the 
 Adams, besides the captain, were Alexander Scammel 
 Wadsworth, John R. Madison, Foxhall A. Parker, 
 Thomas A. Beatty, lieutenants ; Samuel E. Watson, 
 lieutenant of marines ; William S. Rogers, purser ; 
 Gerard Dayers, surgeon, and William Williamson, 
 
1814. ATTACK ON THE ALLIGATOR. 531 
 
 assistant surgeon ; and Gr. B. McCulloch, sailing-mas 
 ter. 
 
 Soon after this Captain Morris was ordered to com 
 mand the 36-gun frigate Congress, then in Piscataqua, 
 some miles above Portsmouth, but peace was declared 
 before he could get to sea. 
 
 On the 29th of January, when the small schooner 
 Alligator, Sailing-Mas ter Basset, was lying abreast of 
 Cole s Island, a British frigate appeared outside the 
 breakers, and, anticipating a boat attack in the night, 
 Mr. Basset made dispositions for a sturdy defense. At 
 7.30 p. M. six boats were discovered pulling with muffled 
 oars toward the schooner, and on being hailed, the boat 
 party discharged a musket, upon which the Americans 
 opened with grape and musketry. Availing himself of 
 a light breeze, Mr. Basset cut his cables and managed 
 to prevent the boats from coming alongside, but at the 
 same time he held them within reach of his musketry. 
 The Alligator soon grounded, but fortunately the 
 English withdrew before they learned of the mishap. 
 The American loss was two killed and two wounded, 
 one of the latter being the pilot, Robert Hatch ; that 
 of the enemy was much greater. Mr. Basset was pro 
 moted for his gallantry on this occasion. On the fol 
 lowing 1st of July, this little schooner, while lying in 
 Port Royal Sound, in South Carolina, was capsized, 
 carrying down with her twenty-one men, among whom 
 were Midshipmen Joseph Brailesford and Robert Roger- 
 son. The schooner was subsequently raised. On Feb 
 ruary 22d the schooner Ferret, Lieutenant Lawrence 
 Kearny, was wrecked on the breakers of Stono Inlet, 
 but all her people were saved. In June, while stationed 
 off Charleston, in command of the schooner Nonsuch, 
 Lieutenant Kearny was chased by a frigate, and only 
 escaped capture by throwing overboard eleven guns. 
 
 The Constitution, since her action with the Java, 
 had been blockaded in Boston, but on the 1st of Janu 
 ary, 1814, she eluded the British squadron and got to 
 
582 THE NAVAL WAR IN 1814. 1814. 
 
 sea. Captain Stewarfc ran down to the West Indies, 
 where he fell in with the British 36-gun frigate Pique, 
 but in the night the enemy succeeded in effecting his 
 escape by running through Mona Passage. Having 
 captured the English 14-gun schooner Picton, Captain 
 Stewart made for port, and while approaching Boston 
 he was chased into Marblehead by the British frigates 
 Tenedos and Junon, but from that place he soon after 
 ward ran to Boston. In this cruise the Constitution 
 captured four prizes, aggregating twenty-four guns and 
 seventy-six men. 
 
 After the lamented death of Lieutenant Burrows the 
 command of the Enterprise was intrusted to Lieuten 
 ant James Renshaw, and in the winter of 1813- 14 this 
 brig, in company with the Rattlesnake , Master-Com 
 mandant John O. Creighton, made an extended cruise 
 southward, during which the Enterprise was three 
 times chased by a superior force, but she succeeded in 
 making her escape. While off the coast of Florida 
 Lieutenant Renshaw overhauled the English privateer 
 Mars, of fourteen guns, half the crew of which, as soon 
 as the Enterprise was known to be a war vessel, took 
 to the boats and made for the land. Ignorant of the 
 stranger s force, Lieutenant Renshaw ranged alongside 
 and poured in a broadside, which induced the enemy 
 to strike, he having sustained a loss of four men killed 
 or wounded. On the 25th of April the Rattlesnake 
 and the Enterprise, being pursued by an English frig 
 ate, separated. The enemy made after the Enterprise, 
 and for seventy hours held her in chase, frequently get 
 ting within gunshot. On the morning of the 27th, just 
 as the enemy was again at long range, it fell calm, 
 whereupon Lieutenant Renshaw sent his boats ahead 
 and towed his vessel out of gunshot. About two hours 
 afterward a breeze sprang up, which placed the Enter 
 prise to the windward, and, making the most of this 
 favorable circumstance, she succeeded in running her 
 pursuer out of sight. In this exciting chase the Enter- 
 
1814. LOSS OF THE FROLIC. 533 
 
 prise lost all but one of her guns. On returning to 
 the United States Lieutenant Renshaw was transferred 
 to the Rattlesnake, while the Enterprise was sent to 
 Charleston to act as a coast guard, in which service she 
 was employed for the remainder of the war. 
 
 The Rattlesnake soon got to sea again, and while 
 cruising in latitude 40 North, longitude 33 West, she 
 was chased by a British frigate, and only escaped by 
 the sacrifice of all but two of her guns. On the 22d of 
 June, while near Cape Sable, she fell in with the Brit 
 ish 50-gun ship Leander, and being between land and 
 her powerful foe, she was captured, although Lieuten 
 ant Renshaw kept his colors flying until the enemy 
 was hulling him at every shot. In this cruise the Rat 
 tlesnake took eight prizes. 
 
 Of the six new sloops ordered by Congress, January 
 2, 1813, the Frolic, Master-Commandant Joseph Bain- 
 bridge, was the first to get to sea. Sailing from Ports 
 mouth, 1ST. H., she made for the West Indies, and at 
 daylight on the 20th of April, while fifteen miles north 
 west of Matanzas, Cuba, 1 she fell in with the 36-gun 
 frigate Orpheus, Captain H. Pigot, and the 12-gun 
 schooner Slielburne. After a chase of sixty miles, 
 during which the Frolic threw overboard all her guns, 
 shot and every other heavy article, she was captured. 2 
 
 In the summer of 1813 Captain Joshua Barney, 
 
 1 Official report of Captain Pigot. 
 
 2 In reference to this surrender James says : " We should not have 
 hesitated to call a French or even a British captain ? who had acted as Mas 
 ter-Commandant Joseph Bainbridge, of the United States navy, did in this 
 
 instance, a ." Taking James at his word, we turn to volume ii, pages 
 
 354, 355, and find him referring to the French privateer Bordelais as an 
 extraordinarily fine ship of twenty-four guns, striking her colors to a 
 British 46-gun frigate " without, as it appears, making any resistance " 
 certainly without provoking any comment from James. Again, at page 95, 
 volume i, he speaks of the British 24-gun ship Hymna surrendering to a 
 French squadron, but in James first edition, by a mistake, it was repre 
 sented to have been made to a 44-gun frigate a mistake, however, which 
 did not provoke the application of any expressive blank to the British com 
 mander. 
 
 40 
 
584 THE NAVAL WAR IN 1814. 1814. 
 
 famous in the Revolution for the Hyder Ally and Gen 
 eral Moiik affair, was requested to take command of 
 the flotilla of gunboats then fitting out at Baltimore for 
 the defense of Chesapeake Bay and its tributary waters. 
 The work of building the boats occupied the summer 
 of 1813 and the following winter, and on the 1st of 
 June, 1814, Captain Barney left the Patuxent with the 
 sloop Scorpion, two gunboats, and several barges, in 
 pursuit of two British schooners. As the wind was 
 light the Americans, by making a free use of their 
 sweeps, were fast overhauling the chase, when a strong 
 breeze sprang up from the south, and, as gunboats were 
 useless in rough water, Captain Barney signaled a re 
 treat. The English turned upon their pursuers and 
 threatened to cut off one of the gunboats, upon which 
 the Scorpion and several barges put back, and after 
 exchanging a few shot drove off the schooners. The 
 flotilla then anchored three miles up the river. On the 
 7th of June, the enemy having been re-enforced by a 
 razee and a sloop of war, Captain Barney moved up 
 the Patuxent to the mouth of St. Leonard Creek. On 
 the morning of the 8th, a frigate, a brig, two schooners 
 and fifteen barges were observed moving up the Patux 
 ent, apparently for the purpose of attacking the flotilla. 
 Captain Barney retreated two miles up St. Leonard 
 Creek, where the larger English vessels could not fol 
 low him, and anchored his flotilla in a line across the 
 stream. By 8 A. M. the enemy reached the creek, where 
 the frigate, brig and schooners anchored, while their 
 barges were manned and sent up the creek to attack 
 the flotilla. At the head of their line was a large boat 
 from which they discharged Congreve rockets. Cap 
 tain Barney put all his men in his thirteen barges and 
 dropped down to meet them, but, without awaiting the 
 attack, the British barges retreated to their ships. In 
 the afternoon they again advanced, with the same re 
 sult. On the afternoon of the 9th they once more en 
 tered the creek, this time with twenty barges and a 
 
1814. SPIRITED ATTACK OF BARNEY S GUNBOATS. 585 
 
 strong re-enforcement of men, but after a sharp skir 
 mish they retreated for the third time. On the 11 th, 
 twenty-one barges, with two schooners in tow, advanced 
 to a fourth attack. Captain Barney s entire available 
 force was his thirteen barges ; his sloops and two gun 
 boats, being unmanageable in the shallow water, had 
 been left farther up the creek. After another sharp 
 fight the British were again compelled to retreat, and 
 the Americans pursued them until they were under 
 cover of their frigate. 
 
 By this time batteries had been erected along the 
 shores of the creek and manned by a considerable body 
 of militia under Colonel Wadsworth. Captain Samuel 
 Miller, of the marines, also joined the flotilla. On the 
 26th of June Captain Barney, learning that only two 
 of the English vessels the 38-gun frigate Loire and 
 the 32-gun frigate Narcissus were stationed at the 
 mouth of St. Leonard Creek, moved down with his flo 
 tilla to attack, and after a vigorous cannonade of two 
 hours the British frigates were compelled to retreat. 
 In this spirited affair the Americans lost two barges, 
 and thirteen of their number were killed or wounded. 
 The Loire received several dangerous shot in her hull, 
 but, owing to the protection her sides afforded, she did 
 not lose a man. Soon after this the British left the 
 Patuxent and began a series of outrages on the inhab 
 itants of the surrounding country which has left an 
 indelible stain on the pages of English history. In 
 August the enemy renewed their attacks on Captain 
 Barney s flotilla, both with a view of destroying it and 
 as affording a pretext for sending forward large bodies 
 of troops, their real design being an attack on Wash 
 ington. In accordance with instructions he had re 
 ceived from Washington, Captain Barney, on the 22d 
 of August, burned his flotilla, hastened with all his 
 men to aid in the defense of the capital, and took quar 
 ters in the marine barracks. During the English attack 
 on that city his men conducted themselves with com- 
 
586 THE NAVAL WAR IN 1814. 1814. 
 
 mendable steadiness, and for this service he received a 
 sword from the city of Washington. 
 
 By the capture of Washington the navy lost the 44- 
 gun frigate Columbia and the 18-gun sloop Argus, 
 both of which were burned on the stocks, besides which 
 the condemned Boston and all the naval stores there 
 collected were destroyed. It is remarkable that the 
 British, in all their incursions on our territory, suc 
 ceeded in destroying only two of the national cruisers. 
 Strenuous exertions were made by Captain Rodgers with 
 the crew of the new 44-gun frigate Guerriere, assisted 
 by Lieutenants Henry S. Newcomb, James Ramage, 
 Forrest and Robert Field Stockton, at Philadelphia ; 
 by Captain Perry, of the new 44-gun frigate Java, at 
 Baltimore ; and by Captain Porter, to intercept the 
 British vessels in their retreat. But such was the haste 
 of the enemy that the necessary guns and ammunition 
 could not be procured in time. Several skirmishes re 
 sulted from these efforts, and various attempts were 
 made with fire-ships, but with no important result. 
 
 In September the British made an attack on Balti 
 more, but were repelled. On this occasion the Ameri 
 can seamen rendered invaluable service. Eighty men 
 of the Guerriere, under Lieutenant H. S. Newcomb, 
 manned Fort Covington, while Sailing- Master Webster, 
 with fifty men of the flotilla, worked the 6- gun battery 
 Babcock with creditable steadiness and skill. The 
 barges, under Midshipman Solomon Rutter, won much 
 applause for the manner in which they repelled the 
 enemy s assaults. Captain Spence also distinguished 
 himself in this affair. 
 
 On the 12th of June the boats of the 32-gun frigate 
 Narcissus, Captain John R. Lumley, under the com 
 mand of Lieutenant John Cririe, with Lieutenant of 
 Marines Patrick Savage, were sent up York River to 
 attack the United States schooner Surveyor, mounting 
 six 12-pound carronades and having on board only six 
 teen men. The vessel was boarded and carried in the 
 
1814. THE YORK RIVER EXPEDITION. 587 
 
 face of a severe fire of musketry, but at a loss to the 
 British of three men killed and six wounded. The de 
 fense of the American vessel was so gallant that Lieu 
 tenant Cririe returned the American commander s 
 sword, paying him many compliments. 
 
 About three o clock on the morning of October 
 6, 1814, Sailing-Master Paine, while convoying some 
 coasting vessels from Savannah to St. Mary s in gun 
 boat No. 160, was attacked in St. Andrew s Sound by 
 a tender and ten boats. Mr. Paine had only sixteen 
 men of his crew of thirty fit for duty, and was over 
 powered after a stubborn defense in which he and two 
 of his crew were badly wounded. While in command 
 at North Edisto, January, 1815, Captain John H. Dent 
 ordered Lieutenant Lawrence Kearny to take three 
 barges and attack a party of English officers and 
 men who had come ashore from the British cruiser 
 Cerberus, Captain Palmer, for the purpose of getting 
 a supply of water. The Americans made a dash at 
 the enemy, and, notwithstanding a galling fire from 
 the cruiser, they captured the tender, which was armed 
 with a carronade and six brass swivels, and a launch, 
 which were taken into South Edisto. About forty 
 prisoners were made. A man who was standing beside 
 Lieutenant Kearny had his head taken off by one of 
 the Cerberus round shot. Shortly after this Lieuten 
 ant Kearny put out in the captured launch with twenty- 
 five men, and carried off a tender belonging to the 
 cruiser Severn with about thirty-five men. 
 
 The second of the six new sloops to get to sea was 
 the Peacock, Master-Commandant Lewis Warrington. 
 Sailing from New York on the 12th of March, the Pea 
 cock went as far south as the Great Isaacs, and then 
 skirted along the coast of Florida to Cape Canaveral. 
 On Friday morning, April 29th, in latitude 27 47 
 North, longitude 80 9 West, three merchant ships and 
 a large brig of war were descried to windward. On 
 making out the Peacock, the merchantmen drew away, 
 
588 THE NAVAL WAR IN 1814. 1814. 
 
 while their escort bore down to reconnoiter. The Pea 
 cock then showed English colors and allowed the stran 
 ger to approach, and at 9 A. M. the brig signaled the mer 
 chant vessels, and soon afterward they were hurrying 
 away in different directions. In the meantime the Pea 
 cock was rapidly nearing her foe, and at 9.40 A. M. she 
 hauled down the English colors and ran up her own. 
 By 10 A. M. the vessels were within half gunshot, but 
 neither of them had opened fire. Master-Commandant 
 Warrington now manoeuvred to secure a raking posi 
 tion, but the enemy avoided this by putting up his helm 
 until close on the Peacock ] s bow, when, hauling up to 
 the wind, he fired his starboard broadside, and the 
 Americans replied with their port battery. At the 
 first fire the Peacock received two 32-pound shot in the 
 quarter of her foreyard, which disabled the fore and 
 fore-topsail for the remainder of the action. This mis 
 hap compelled Master-Commandant Warrington to 
 forego manoeuvring and to rely entirely on his gun 
 nery. Orders were now given to load with star and 
 bar shot, with a view to crippling the enemy s rigging, 
 so that he could not profit by the Peacock s disabled 
 foreyard. In a few minutes the American foreyard 
 gave way and the antagonists drew closer, which ren 
 dered their fire very destructive. About 10.40 A. M. 
 the enemy lost his head sails, and at the same time his 
 main boom, having been shot through, fell upon the 
 wheel. This brought the wind on his beam, exposing 
 him to a raking fire from the Peacock, but the latter 
 had too much headway to avail herself of the advan 
 tage except by throwing in two or three shot. Then 
 hauling close under his opponent s lee, Master-Comman 
 dant Warrington poured in a hot fire, which was 
 chiefly directed at the enemy s hull, and soon her 
 main topmast went over. At 11 A. M. she attempted to 
 wear around so as to bring a fresh broadside to bear, 
 and this brought the vessels so close that the British 
 commander was heard urging his men to attempt 
 
1814. PEACOCK-EPERVIER FIGHT. 539 
 
 boarding; but, says James, "the British crew de 
 clined a measure so fraught with danger." The battle 
 had now lasted forty-five minutes, and the brig struck. 
 On being boarded, the stranger was found to be the 
 British brig- sloop Epermer, Captain Richard Wales. 
 
 The Peacock, like all the new sloops, mounted 
 . twenty short 32-pounders and two long 12-pounders, 1 
 making twenty-two guns and three hundred and nine 
 pounds to the broadside. The Epermer, according to 
 James, mounted sixteen short 32-pounders and two 
 short 18-pounders, making a total of eighteen guns and 
 two hundred and seventy-four pounds to the broadside. 
 Out of her crew of one hundred and sixty men the 
 Peacock had but two wounded, while of the Epermer s 
 crew, which numbered one hundred and twenty-eight, 
 eight were killed, including First-Lieutenant Hackett, 
 and fifteen wounded. 2 During this brilliant action 
 the Peacock did not receive a shot in her hull, 
 the only considerable injury being that to her fore- 
 yard. " In fifteen minutes after the enemy struck," 
 wrote Master Commandant Warrington, " the Peacock 
 was ready for another action in every respect but her 
 foreyard, which was sent down, fished, and had the 
 foresail set again in forty-five minutes." The Eper- 
 mer was cut to pieces, there being but one gun that 
 was not disabled on the engaged side, while five feet of 
 water was in her hold. Her fore rigging, stays and 
 main boom were shot away, her bowsprit badly wound 
 ed, and her foremast cut nearly in two and left totter 
 ing, while her main topmast was over the side. Her 
 hull was pierced with forty-five shot holes on the port 
 side, twenty of which were within a foot of the water 
 line. The one hundred and twenty thousand dollars in 
 specie found in her was removed to the Peacock. Every 
 
 1 Emmons Statistical History of the United States Navy, p. 58. 
 
 2 Official report of Master-Commandant Warrington ; also James 
 History of the British Navy, vol. vi, p. 1GO. 
 
590 THE NAVAL WAR IN 1814. 1814. 
 
 exertion was now made to keep the prize afloat, and 
 by sunset the most dangerous shot holes were plugged 
 and the brig put under sail. 
 
 Comparative force and loss. 
 
 Guns. Lbs. Crew. Killed. Wounded. Total. 
 
 Peacock: 22 309 160 22) Time 
 
 Epervier: 18 274 128 8 15 23 i 45m. 
 
 Master-Commandant Warrington wrote : "The Eper 
 vier is one of their finest brigs, and is well calculated 
 for our service. She sails extremely well." She was 
 built in 1812, and it is said that when she left London 
 " the betting was three to one that she would take an 
 American sloop of war or a small frigate." Both ves 
 sels were of the same measurements, except that the 
 Epervier w T as eleven feet shorter. 
 
 This action adds another to the long list of instances 
 in which American gunnery proved its superiority 
 over that of the English. It hardly seems credible 
 that in a hotly contested action of forty-five minutes, 
 at close quarters and in smooth water, there could 
 have been such a vast difference in damage between 
 vessels both of which sought an engagement, yet such 
 difference is admitted on both sides. These vessels 
 were admirably matched, there being only thirty-five 
 pounds in favor of the Peacock s broadside. The 
 Epermer s gunnery must have been execrable, while 
 the Peacock fired with wonderful accuracy. Master- 
 Commandant Warrington wrote that the fire from the 
 divisions commanded by Second-Lieutenant Henly and 
 Midshipman Philip F. Yoorhees was terrible, and 
 was directed with the greatest precision and coolness. 
 Sir Edward Codrington, in a private letter, speaking 
 of this affair, says : " It seems that the Peacock, Ameri 
 can sloop of war, of what size I know not, has taken 
 our Epervier. But the worst part of our story is, that 
 our sloop was cut to pieces, and the other scarcely 
 scratched ! I do not know the captain or his character 
 
1814. A NAVAL STRATAGEM. 591 
 
 in the service ; but I well know that the system of 
 favoritism and borough influence prevails so very much 
 that many people are promoted and kept in commands 
 that should be dismissed from the service. And while 
 such is the case, the few Americans chosen for their 
 merit may be expected to follow up their successes, 
 except where they meet with our best officers on equal 
 terms. It is said that that fellow - s people showed 
 no spirit until he was wounded and carried below. 
 Something of the same sort attaches to the name of 
 Captain - , whose ship did not do as well as her 
 reputed discipline promised. 
 
 The Epermer was placed under the command of 
 Lieutenant John B. Nicholson, first lieutenant of the 
 Peacock, with orders to make for the nearest American 
 port, and, knowing that the coast was swarming with 
 British cruisers, Master-Commandant Warrington de 
 termined to accompany his prize. On the afternoon 
 of the following day April 30th when the two vessels 
 were abreast of Amelia Island, a frigate was discov 
 ered bearing down on them. At the request of Lieu 
 tenant Nicholson, whose vessel was nearest to the ene 
 my, the captured crew of the Epermer was transferred 
 to the Peacock, while he with sixteen men remained in 
 the brig., The Epermer then steered southward close 
 inshore, with the intention of making St. Mary s, while 
 the Peacock stood temptingly out to sea, across the 
 frigate s course. By this plan it was hoped to draw 
 the enemy in chase of the swift-sailing Peacock, thus 
 enabling the crippled Epermer to escape.* The ruse 
 was successful, and on the following day the Peacock, 
 having lured the enemy far enough away from the 
 Epermer, put on more sail and soon left the British 
 commander to soliloquize at his leisure on the " singu 
 lar ingenuity of these people," as Captain Symond, of 
 the English navy, expressed it. While endeavoring 
 to reach Savannah, the Epermer fell in with another 
 frigate, and as the wind was light the enemy manned 
 
592 THE NAVAL WAR IN 1814. 1814. 
 
 his boats and sent them against her. The situation of 
 the brig was now critical, for Lieutenant Nicholson had 
 but sixteen men with whom to repel the attack. Ow 
 ing to this deficiency in numbers a stratagem was re 
 sorted to. Waiting until the British boats were quite 
 near, he suddenly ran out his guns, and, using his 
 trumpet as if his vessel was full of men, gave the or 
 der to yaw and fire a broadside. This unexpected 
 readiness to fight induced the boats to postpone the 
 attack until re-enforcements came up ; but while they 
 were waiting for this a breeze sprang up and carried 
 the fipermer out of danger before the frigate could 
 pick up her boats. On the 1st of May the Epermer 
 reached Savannah, and three days later the Peacock 
 arrived. Congress voted Master-Commandant War- 
 rington a gold medal, to each of his officers a silver 
 one, and to each of the midshipmen and sailing-mas 
 ters a sword. The colors of the Epermer are preserved 
 in the Naval Institute Building at Annapolis. Lieu 
 tenant Nicholson spoke in high terms of the conduct 
 of Midshipmen Thomas Greener and Rodgers, who were 
 in the prize with him. The Epermer was sold for fifty- 
 five thousand dollars. 
 
 On the 4th of June the Peacock sailed on another 
 cruise against the enemy. Eunning across the Grand 
 Banks, she stationed herself in St. George s Channel, 
 off the coast of Ireland, where she captured several 
 valuable prizes and caused great anxiety among British 
 merchants.. In order to elude his numerous pursuers, 
 Master Commandant Warrington changed his cruising 
 ground to the Bay of Biscay and the coast of Portugal, 
 but not meeting an enemy of equal force he stood 
 across the Atlantic, and on the 29th of October arrived 
 in New York. In this cruise of one hundred and 
 forty -seven days the Peacock captured fourteen mer 
 chant vessels, valued at four hundred and ninety-three 
 thousand dollars, together with one hundred and fifty 
 men. 
 
1814. DEATH OF CAPTAIN PARKER. 593 
 
 After bringing the Epermer into Savannah. Lieu- 
 tenant Nicholson was transferred to the 16-gun brig 
 Siren. After the war broke out this brig, under the 
 command of Master-Commandant Joseph Bainbridge, 
 cruised a short time in the Gulf of Mexico, and then 
 came north to Boston, when Bainbridge was placed in 
 command of the Frolic, while George Parker, who had 
 been first lieutenant in the Constitution during her 
 action with the Java, was put in command of the 
 Siren. Early in June the Siren sailed from Boston in 
 company with the privateer Grand TurJc, with orders 
 to cruise off the coast of Africa. When the ship was 
 off the Canary Islands Captain Parker died, and his 
 body was committed to the deep ; but scarcely had the 
 ship got under way again when his coffin, which was 
 improperly constructed, was seen floating on the sur 
 face of the ocean. Lieutenant Nicholson, who suc 
 ceeded to the command of the Siren, being undecided 
 as to what course to take, called the men together and 
 asked whether they desired to continue the cruise 
 under his command or to return to port. With three 
 hearty cheers they expressed their desire to continue 
 the cruise, and returned to their quarters. The Siren 
 approached the African coast during the night and de 
 scried a large sail, but was unable to make out whether 
 it was a vessel of war or a merchantman. While she 
 was cautiously approaching, the stranger suddenly set 
 all sail and gave chase. She proved to be a British 
 frigate, and Lieutenant Nicholson made sail to es 
 cape. By hanging out false lights on floating casks, 
 and extinguishing his own lights and altering his 
 course, he baffled his pursuer, and by daybreak the 
 enemy was nowhere to be seen. A few days afterward, 
 while passing an English vessel in the Senegal River, 
 the Siren hailed, and on receiving an insolent reply 
 poured in a broadside. But the current separated the 
 ships, and while Nicholson was attempting to beat up 
 the stream again the fort opened such a heavy fire that 
 
594 THE NAVAL WAR IN 1814. 1814 
 
 it became necessary to abandon the attack. After cap 
 turing and destroying the English ships Barton and 
 Adventure, the Siren, on the 12th of July, fell in with 
 the English 74-gun ship of the line Medway, Captain 
 Augustus Brine, and after a chase of eleven hours, in 
 which all the Siren s guns, cables and shot w r ere thrown 
 overboard, she was overtaken, and both vessels sailed 
 for the Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 The Wasp, Master-Commandant Johnston Blakeley, 
 was the third of the new sloops to get to sea. Sailing 
 from Portsmouth, N. H., on the 1st of May, she made 
 directly for the English Channel, where so many of our 
 cruisers had operated with success. At 4.15 A. M. on 
 June 28th, while the ship was in latitude 48 36 North, 
 longitude 11 15 West, and the weather was cloudy 
 with a light breeze from the northeast, two sails were 
 descried about three points off the lee beam, and as the 
 Wasp was carrying all sail for the stranger a third 
 vessel appeared off the weather beam. Master-Com 
 mandant Blakeley immediately changed his course to 
 reconnoiter the latter, and by 10 A. M. she hoisted Eng 
 lish colors and a private signal, diagonal yellow and 
 blue. At 12.30 p. M. she gave another signal, diagonal 
 blue and white, at the foremast, and fired a gun ; but 
 as Blakeley did not recognize these he cleared for bat 
 tle. A little after 1.15 P. M. the Wasp changed her 
 course so as to weather the enemy, but the latter frus 
 trated this by tacking also, and finding that he would 
 not gain this advantage, Master-Commandant Blakeley, 
 at 1.50 P. M., signified his readiness to begin the action 
 by hoisting his colors and firing a gun to windward. 
 The stranger promptly accepted the challenge and bore 
 down to engage. At 3. 15 P. M. 1 the Englishman, being 
 sixty yards off the Wasp s port and weather quarter, 
 opened fire with a boat carronade from her forecastle. 
 After receiving the fire of this gun five times without 
 
 1 Log of the Wasp. 
 
1814. THE WASP-REINDEER ACTION. 595 
 
 replying, the Wasp, at 3.26 p. M., put her helm down, 
 luffed up, and opened with her after carronades. After 
 ten minutes steady fire the enemy s rigging was seen 
 to be cut to pieces, and five minutes later his bowsprit 
 fouled the Wasp s port quarter. Master-Commandant 
 Blakeley then poured in a heavy raking broadside, 
 which swept the enemy s decks fore and aft, the Ameri 
 can sharpshooters in the meantime picking off the Brit 
 ish officers whenever they showed themselves on deck. 
 Finding that his ship was fast becoming a wreck, the 
 British commander called upon his crew to board, and 
 while gallantly leading them he was killed by two 
 bullets from the marksmen in the Wasp s maintop. 
 Having easily repelled the boarders, Blakeley called 
 upon his men to board, which was done with but feeble 
 resistance on the part of the British, and at 3.45 P. M. 
 nineteen minutes from the time the Wasp opened fire 
 the British flag was lowered. The prize was found to 
 be the English brig sloop Reindeer, Captain R. William 
 Manners. 
 
 The Wasp carried the same armament as the Pea 
 cock twenty short 32-pounders and two long 12-pound- 
 ers, making a total of twenty-two guns and three hun 
 dred and nine pounds weight of metal to the broadside. 
 The Reirideer, a sister ship to the Epermer, carried six 
 teen short 24-pounders, two short 6-pounders and one 
 short 12-pounder in all nineteen guns and two hun 
 dred and four pounds of metal to the broadside. Out 
 of her crew of one hundred and seventy-three the 
 Wasp lost eleven killed and fifteen wounded, Midship 
 men Henry S. Langdon, Jr., and Frank Toscan dying 
 two months later from their wounds. The Reindeer s 
 crew numbered one hundred and eighteen, of whom 
 twenty -five were killed and forty two wounded, Cap 
 tain Manners among the former. One of the English 
 men had a ramrod fired into his head, and before it 
 could be extracted it was sawed off close to the skull. 
 The man recovered. First-Lieutenant Richard Jones, 
 
596 THE NAVAL WAR IN 1814. 1814. 
 
 Lieutenant Thomas Chambers and Master s- Mate Mak 
 thew Mitchell were wounded. 
 
 Comparative force and loss. 
 
 Guns. Lbs. Crew. Killed. Wounded. Total. 
 
 Wasp : 22 309 173 11 15 26 j Time 
 
 Reindeer : 19 204 118 25 42 67 \ 19m. 
 
 An English writer says : "In a line with her ports 
 the jReindcer was literally cut to pieces, her upper 
 works, boats and spare spars were one complete wreck. 
 Her masts were both badly wounded, particularly her 
 foremast, which was left in a tottering state," and on 
 the following day, in spite of all efforts, it went by the 
 board. Finding his prize too shattered to keep afloat, 
 Master-Commandant Blakeley blew her up. The Wasp 
 did not escape with the little injury that was generally 
 the lot of American cruisers in this war, but as com 
 pared with her antagonist she fared extremely well. 
 Six round shot and many grape struck her hull, one 
 24-pound ball went through the center of her foremast, 
 and the rigging was somewhat damaged. This action 
 reflects most creditably on Blakeley, not only for the 
 masterly handling of his ship but for the magnificent 
 discipline pervading the entire company. We have 
 seen how the men quietly stood by their guns full 
 eleven minutes without flinching, while the enemy de 
 liberately fired upon them at close range ; but when the 
 order was given the rapidity and precision of their gun 
 nery, as seen in the results, was wonderful, clearly 
 showing that they had been long and carefully trained. 
 First and Third Lieutenants James Reilly and Freder 
 ick Baury, who were engaged also in the action with 
 the Guerriere and the Java, conducted themselves with 
 great gallantry, and the same was said of Second-Lieu 
 tenant T. G. Tillinghast, who served as second lieutenant 
 in the Enterprise during her action with the Boxer. On 
 the other hand, Captain Manners was deserving of much 
 credit for his personal gallantry and good discipline in 
 
1814. THE WASP-REINDEER ACTION. 597 
 
 the Reindeer. James says: "The British crew had 
 long served together, and were called the pride of Plym 
 outh." Manners was first wounded in the calf of his 
 leg, and soon afterward a canister shot passed through 
 both his thighs, but he refused to be taken below. 
 Finally two musket balls crashed through his skull, 
 and, placing one hand on his forehead and with the 
 other convulsively brandishing his sword, he exclaimed, 
 U O God!" and dropped lifeless on his own deck. 
 The London Times, commenting on this action, says : 
 "It seems fated that the ignorance, incapacity and 
 cowardice of the Americans by land should be continu 
 ally relieved in point of effect on the public mind by 
 their successes at sea. To the list of their captures, 
 which we can never peruse without the most painful 
 emotions, is now to be added that of his Majesty s ship 
 Reindeer, taken after a short but most desperate action 
 by the United States sloop of war Wasp" The author 
 of one of the best histories of the navy of Great Britain 
 Captain Brenton has neglected to mention the action 
 at all. For this brilliant affair Congress voted Master- 
 Commandant Blakeley a gold medal, and to each of his 
 officers a silver one ; also a sword to each of the mid 
 shipmen and sailing-masters. The Reindeer s flag is 
 now in the Naval Institute Building at Annapolis. 
 
 After burning his prize and placing some of his 
 wounded prisoners aboard a Portuguese vessel, Master- 
 Commandant Blakeley made sail for L Orient, where 
 he arrived on the 8th of July. Remaining in port until 
 the 27th of August, he again put to sea, on the 30th 
 captured a brig, and on the following day took the 
 merchant ship Bon Accord. On the morning of Sep 
 tember 1st a squadron of ten sail was made out to lee 
 ward, and on closer inspection they proved to be mer 
 chantmen convoyed by a 74-gun ship of the line, the 
 Armada, and a bomb vessel. As the ships were sailing 
 in open order, the Wasp managed to cut out one of 
 them, which proved to be the brig Mary, laden with 
 
598 THE NAVAL WAR IN 1814. 1814. 
 
 brass cannon taken from the Spaniards and stores from 
 Gibraltar. Blakeley burned her, but on attempting to 
 repeat his audacious attack he was driven oif by the 
 ship of the line. 
 
 About half past six o clock that evening the Wasp, 
 being in latitude 47 30 North, longitude 11 West, 
 two sails were discovered off the starboard bow, and 
 shortly afterward two more off the port, and all sail 
 was immediately made to bring up with the first 
 strangers. By 7 P. M. it was quite dark, and it could 
 be seen that one of the vessels was making signals with 
 lanterns and rockets, and an hour later Blakeley an 
 swered them with a blue light on his forecastle. By 
 this time the ship that made the signals had separated 
 from the others. Singling her out, the Wasp rapidly 
 approached her, and at 8.38 p. M. the chase fired two 
 shot from her stern guns, but still held on her course 
 to the southwest. By 9.20 P. M. the Wasp had brought 
 the stranger under her lee guns, when the chase hailed, 
 "What ship is that?" Master-Commandant Blakeley 
 replied by asking, " What brig is that 3 " The stranger 
 responded, "His Majesty s brig - ." Owing to the 
 strong breeze whistling through the rigging the name 
 could not be made out. The chase then repeated his 
 first hail, upon which Blakeley seized a trumpet and 
 ordered her to heave to and she would know. The hail 
 again came from the stranger and received the same 
 reply. Sailing- Master James E. Carr now went to the 
 forecastle and for the third time ordered the chase to 
 heave to, but, instead of doing this, she set her port 
 fore-topmast studding sails to escape. 
 
 At 9.29 P. M. Blakeley ordered a 12-pound bow gun 
 to be fired, which drew a broadside from the chase. 
 The Wasp then ran under her lee bow, to prevent her 
 escape in the darkness, and opened with star and bar 
 shot. This soon crippled the enemy in his rigging by 
 cutting away the slings of the gaff, which, falling with 
 the boom mainsail, covered the quarter-deck guns on 
 
1814. THE WASP SINKS THE AVON. 599 
 
 the port side. Seeing that the chase could not escape 
 him, Blakeley loaded with round shot and fired at her 
 hull, and the cannonading then became close and 
 heavy on both sides. In a few minutes the enemy s 
 mainmast fell by the board, leaving her unmanageable, 
 and her fire then gradually slackened, while that from 
 the Wasp was maintained with unabated vigor. By 
 10 P. M. the stranger s fire had ceased altogether, when 
 Blakeley hailed to know if she had surrendered. As 
 the only reply was a few straggling shot, the Wasp 
 reopened her broadsides, and at 10.12 P. M., the enemy 
 having been silent for some time, Blakeley again 
 hailed. This time he received an answer in the affirma 
 tive, and the Wasp was about to lower a boat when 
 suddenly another ship loomed up out of the darkness, 
 just astern, and rapidly drew near. The boat was in 
 stantly ordered back, the men returned to their quar 
 ters, and every preparation was made to receive a sec 
 ond enemy, while the Wasp stood off to reconnoiter ; 
 but at 10.36 p. M. two more vessels were discovered 
 standing toward the Wasp. As her braces had been 
 cut away, the Wasp kept off the wind until new ones 
 could be rove, and then stood away with the second 
 stranger in chase. After exchanging a few shot, how 
 ever, the latter hauled off to rejoin her consorts. Mas 
 ter-Commandant Blakeley then continued his cruise, 
 not having been able to learn the name or fate of his 
 opponent ; but when last seen she was firing guns and 
 making signals of distress. It was afterward known 
 that the vessel that engaged the Wasp was the British 
 18-gun brig sloop Avon, Captain John James Arbuth- 
 not, while the second vessel was the British 18-gun brig 
 Castilian, Captain Brainer, and the other two were in 
 her company. The Avon made repeated signals of dis 
 tress, and the Castilian tacked and stood toward her. 
 At 11.55 P. M. Captain Brainer was informed by Captain 
 Arbuthnot that the Avon was sinking fast, upon which 
 the Castilian immediately hoisted out her boats to 
 
 41 
 
600 THE NAVAL WAR IN 1814. 1814. 
 
 save the people ; and at 1 A. M. on the 2d, just as the 
 ]ast boat had pushed off from the Avon, the British 
 brig went down head foremost. 
 
 The Wasp s armament has just been given. The 
 Avon mounted sixteen short 32-pounders and two long 
 6-pounders, making eighteen guns, with two hundred 
 and sixty-two pounds of metal to a broadside, while her 
 crew is given at one hundred and seventeen, of which 
 number First- Lieu tenant John Prendergast and nine 
 men were killed, and her commander, Second-Lieuten 
 ant John Harvey, Midshipman John Travers and twenty- 
 nine seamen were wounded. The Wasp s complement 
 in this action or in her engagement with the Reindeer 
 is not definitely known. In the first action it was ap 
 proximated at one hundred and seventy -three, eleven 
 of whom were killed and fifteen wounded. This would 
 leave her at the time of her fight with the Avon, about 
 one hundred and sixty-two, out of which number she 
 lost two killed and one wounded. 1 
 
 Comparative force and loss. 
 
 Guns. Lbs. Crew. Killed. Wounded. Total. 
 
 Wasp : 22 309 163 2 1 3 ) Time 
 
 Avon : 18 262 117 10 32 42 f 43m. 
 
 In this night action the Wasp received only four 
 round shot in her hull. Her foremast was peppered 
 with grapeshot, while the only considerable injury she 
 had sustained was in her rigging. Lieutenants James 
 Reilly and T. Tillinghast and Midshipmen Frederick 
 Baury were again highly commended by Master- Com 
 mandant Blakeley for their gallantry. 
 
 Johnston Blakeley and his gallant crew never ascer 
 tained the name of their foe, for the Wasp never re 
 turned to port. On the 12th of September she cap 
 tured and scuttled the Three Brothers, on the 14th 
 she destroyed the Bacchus, and on the 21st, being in 
 
 1 Official report of Master-Commandant Blakeley. 
 
1814. FATE OF THE WASP. 601 
 
 latitude 33 12 North, longitude 14 56 West, she 
 overhauled the Atalanta, of eight guns, making in all 
 fifteen vessels, or two thousand eight hundred and 
 sixty tons of shipping, valued at two hundred thou 
 sand dollars, captured by the Wasp. All but two of 
 these merchantmen were destroyed at sea. The Ata- 
 lanta (formerly the privateer Siro\ of Baltimore, hav 
 ing a valuable cargo, was sent to the United States in 
 charge of Midshipman David Geisinger and a prize 
 crew, and arrived at Savannah in October. This is the 
 last direct intelligence ever received from the Wasp. 
 After many months of anxious waiting, a further gleam 
 of light, from an unexpected quarter, was thrown upon 
 the doom of this vessel. It will be remembered that 
 on the capture of the Essex in the harbor of Valpa 
 raiso, the American officers were released on parole 
 and were taken aboard the Phoebe. Among these offi 
 cers were Acting-Lieutenant M Knight and Mr. Lyman, 
 master s mate. The Phasbe, having landed her prison 
 ers at Rio de Janeiro, proceeded on her cruise, while 
 the above-mentioned gentlemen, as the shortest way of 
 reaching the United States, took passage in the Swed 
 ish bark Adonis, bound for England. Many months 
 rolled by, but no tidings of Lieutenant M Knight or his 
 companion reached America. Their friends became 
 anxious, and inquiries were set on foot, which revealed 
 the following strange coincidence, while an extract 
 from the log of the Adonis discloses the sad fate of 
 these officers and gives us a last look at the ill-fated 
 Wasp. "August 23d. Left Rio de Janeiro : Stephen 
 Decatur M Knight and James Lyman, passengers for 
 England. October 9th. In latitude 18 35 North, longi 
 tude 30 10 West, sea account, at eight o clock in the 
 morning, discovered a strange sail giving chase to us and 
 fired several guns, she gaining very fast. At half past ten 
 o clock hove to, and was boarded by an officer dressed 
 in an English doctor s uniform ; the vessel also hoisted 
 an English ensign. The officer proceeded to examine 
 
602 THE NAVAL WAR IN 1814. 1814. 
 
 my ship s papers, etc., likewise the letter-bags, and 
 took from one of them a letter to the victualing office, 
 London. Finding I had two American officers as pas 
 sengers, he immediately left the ship and went on 
 board the sloop of war ; he shortly afterward returned, 
 took the American gentlemen with him, and went a 
 second time on board the sloop. In about half an 
 hour he returned again with Messrs. M Knight and 
 Lyman, and they informed me that the vessel was the 
 United States sloop of war Wasp, commanded by Cap 
 tain Blakeley, or Blake, last from France, where she 
 had refitted ; had lately sunk the Reindeer, English 
 sloop of war, and another vessel, which sunk without 
 their being able to save a single person or learn the 
 vessel s name ; that Messrs. M Knight and Lyman had 
 now determined to leave me, and go aboard the Wasp, 
 paid me their passage in dollars, at 5s. 9d. (exchange), 
 and, having taken their luggage on board the Wasp, 
 they made sail to the southward. Shortly after they 
 left I found that Lieutenant M Knight had left his 
 writing-desk behind, and I immediately made signal 
 for the Wasp to return, and stood toward her ; they, 
 observing my signal, stood back, came alongside, and 
 sent their boat aboard for the writing-desk ; after 
 which they sent me a log line and some other presents, 
 and made all sail in a direction for the line, and, I have 
 reason to suppose, for the convoy that passed on Thurs 
 day previous." 
 
 Many years have passed since the 9th of October, 
 1814, but no tidings, direct or indirect, have been re 
 ceived from the Wasp, and none ever can come until 
 the sea shall give up its dead. The Wasp that took 
 the Frolic in 1812, and afterward was captured by the 
 British ship of the line Poictiers and was taken into 
 the English service, also was supposed to have found 
 ered at sea, not having been heard from since she left 
 port for a cruise in the spring of 1814. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 BATTLES OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN AND LAKE BOKGNE. 
 
 THE first abdication of Napoleon Bonaparte relieved 
 England of immediate fear of her inveterate enemy, and 
 enabled her to detail a large body of troops for service 
 in America. Having lost the control of Lake Erie and 
 Lake Ontario, the English turned their attention to 
 Lake Champlain, which, with the Richelieu and Hud 
 son Rivers, afforded an almost uninterrupted water 
 course from Montreal to New York. The importance 
 of this highway was seen early in the war, but as the 
 Americans began hostilities by striking the Canadas on 
 their western boundary, the control of the Great Lakes 
 was of the first importance. Now the struggle for the 
 control of Lake Champlain began in earnest. 
 
 At the beginning of the War of 1812 the Ameri 
 cans had two vessels on this lake, the sloops Growler 
 and Eagle, carrying ten short 12-pounders and fifty 
 men each, but on the 3d of June, 1813, while chasing 
 an English gunboat, they were caught in a swift cur 
 rent at Isle-Aux-Noix and were captured, which gave 
 the enemy undisputed control of Lake Champlain. 
 With a view of recovering it, Master- Commandant 
 Thomas Macdonough, the American commander on the 
 lake, began the construction of the ship Saratoga, the 
 schooner Eagle and several gunboats, in Otter Creek. 
 At the same time the Ticonderoga, which had been de 
 signed for a steamboat, was altered and pierced for 
 seventeen guns. The Eagle was launched nineteen 
 days after her keel was laid. 
 
 Before these vessels could get to sea, Captain Pring, 
 
BATTLES OF LAKES CHAMPLAIN AND BORGXE. 1814. 
 
 the commander of the British .naval forces on the lake, 
 appeared off Otter Creek, May 14th, with eight galleys 
 and a bomb sloop, and for an hour kept up a heavy 
 fire. Macdonough, who had been informed of the in 
 tended attack, had landed the guns of his vessels and 
 formed them in a battery, and succeeded in repelling 
 the enemy. Soon afterward the American squadron 
 sailed out of Otter Creek and anchored off Plattsburg. 
 By August, 1814, the enemy had collected a formidable 
 army of ten thousand to fifteen thousand men in Mont 
 real, under the command of Sir George Prevost. The 
 English naval force on the lake also had been increased 
 by the construction of the brig Linnet and ten gun 
 boats. Captain George Downie, a veteran officer of 
 the British navy, arrived to assume command of the 
 naval operations. By the middle of August Sir George 
 Prevost crossed the frontier at the head of twelve thou 
 sand troops to attack Plattsburg. This place was 
 defended by three thousand men, including Izard s in 
 valids and the militia of New York and Yermont, 
 under Brigadier - General Alexander Macomb. Sir 
 George moved leisurely down Lake Champlain toward 
 Plattsburg, driving General Macomb s skirmishers 
 before him, and on the 3d of September Captain 
 Downie appeared on the lake. 
 
 The American naval force on Lake Champlain at 
 this time consisted of the Saratoga (flagship), mount 
 ing eight long 24-pounders, six short 42-pounders and 
 twelve short 32-pounders ; the Eagle, Lieutenant Rob 
 ert Henley, eight long 18-pounders and twelve short 
 32-pounders ; the Ticonderoga, Lieutenant Stephen 
 Cassin, eight long 12-pounders, four long 18-pounders 
 and five short 32-pounders ; the Preble, Lieutenant 
 Charles A. Budd, seven long 9-pounders ; ten galleys, 
 mounting six long 24-pounders, four long 12-pounders 
 and six short 18-pounders ; giving a total of eighty-six 
 guns and (deducting seven per cent for deficiency in 
 the weight of American shot) nineteen hundred and 
 
1814. 
 
 MACDONOUGII S LINE OF BATTLE. 
 
 605 
 
 four pounds of metal. The British squadron consisted 
 of the Confiance (flagship), mounting thirty-one long 
 24-pounders and six short 32-pounders ; the Linnet, 
 Captain Daniel Pring, sixteen long 12-pounders ; the 
 Chubb (formerly the Eagle], Lieutenant McGhie, one 
 long 6-pounder and ten short 18-pounders ; the Finch 
 (formerly the Growler], Lieutenant William Hicks, four 
 long 6-pounders and seven short 18-pounders ; and 
 twelve gunboats, mounting three long 24-pounders, five 
 long 18-pounders, eight short 32-pounders and one 
 short 18-pounder ; making a total of ninety-two guns 
 with nineteen hundred pounds of metal. 
 
 About sunrise on the morning of September llth 
 the American guard boat announced the approach of 
 the hostile squadron. Master-Commandant Macdon- 
 ough, after assembling his 
 
 crew on the main deck of 
 
 the Saratoga for prayers, 
 
 formed a double line of 
 
 battle running north from 
 
 Crab Island. The outer 
 
 or eastern line formed by 
 
 the Eagle, the Saratoga, 
 
 the Ticonderoga and the 
 
 PrebleY&n. from shallow 
 
 water off Crab Island to 
 
 the shoals at Cumberland 
 
 Head, which made it im 
 
 possible for the British 
 
 vessels of heavy draft to 
 
 double either end. The 
 
 second line, formed by the 
 
 gunboats, was anchored 
 
 about forty yards west of 
 
 the first line. By this arrangement not only were the 
 
 enemy prevented from flanking the American line, but 
 
 the distance from Cumberland Head to Crab Island 
 
 was so short, that Captain Downie could not draw out 
 
 D iagra m of the battle, NO. i. 
 
606 BATTLES OF LAKES CHAMPLAIN AND BORGNE. 1814. 
 
 the fall length of his line of battle unless he formed it 
 outside of the bay, where he would be out of range, or 
 inside, where all the American short guns could play 
 with eifect. 
 
 Just as eight bells was striking in the Saratoga, or 
 shortly after 8 A. M., the upper sails of the British 
 squadron were discovered moving along the eastern 
 side of Cumberland Head, the intervening trees con 
 cealing their hulls and force. The first vessel that 
 rounded the point and came into full view was the 
 Finch, and she was followed by the others in quick 
 succession, when the enemy hove to, waiting for his 
 gunboats to come up before beginning the attack. In 
 the mean time the officers of both squadrons were scan 
 ning each other through their glasses, anxious to dis 
 cover the strength and dispositions for defense of their 
 opponents. Captain Downie quickly formed his plan 
 of battle, and on the arrival of the tardy gunboats he 
 ordered them to attack the southern end of the Amer 
 ican line, while the Chubb and the Linnet were directed 
 to double the northern end of the line, evidently in the 
 belief that there was sufficient water for that purpose. 
 The Confiance and the Finch were to attack the Sara 
 toga and the Ticonderoga. 
 
 On the English came, giving repeated cheers, and 
 with their flags defiantly flapping in the fresh northerly 
 breeze. Lieutenant Henley, of the Eagle, who had 
 first seen blood in the Constellation- Vengeance fight 
 (on which occasion Captain Truxtun remarked, "That 
 stripling is destined to be a brave officer") began a 
 rapid discharge of his long 18-pounders as soon as the 
 enemy entered the bay, but as the shot fell short he 
 desisted. Master-Commandant Macdonough, having 
 carefully made his final preparations, calmly awaited 
 the ordeal. In the lull, ominous of approaching storm, 
 while the Americans stood silently by their guns in 
 momentary expectation of the order to fire, a rooster in 
 the Eagle, startled by the cannonading, suddenly flew 
 
1814. AN AUSPICIOUS OPENING. 
 
 upon a gun and gave a prolonged crow. The happy 
 omen drew tremendous cheering from the American 
 squadron, which was echoed and re-echoed by the hills 
 around the bay. Soon afterward the British galleys 
 opened, but Macdonough restrained a general fire until 
 they were in full range. In the mean time he person 
 ally trained a long 24-pounder on the advancing Confi- 
 ance, and when she seemed to be within reach he fired. 
 The shot struck her outer hawse hole and passed the 
 length of her deck, killing or wounding several men 
 and carrying away the wheel. This was the signal for 
 all the American long guns to open, and it was fol 
 lowed by a rapid discharge of artillery along the Amer 
 ican line. Captain Downie intended to anchor and 
 bring up athwart the Saratoga s hawse, and for this 
 purpose he had his two anchors hanging from the port 
 bow ready to drop at the word ; but before the Con- 
 fiance came within short range both anchors were 
 shot away. This caused some confusion in Captain 
 Downie s plans, so that, instead of bringing up where 
 he wished, he anchored about three hundred yards off 
 the Saratoga s beam. 
 
 By this time (9 A. M.) the Chubb and the Linnet 
 had become hotly engaged with the Eagle. The Chubb 
 attempted to run across the head of the American line 
 so as to rake, but soon found that it could not be done, 
 on account of the shoals ; and Lieutenant Henley, 
 taking advantage of the confusion and the exposed 
 position of the Chubb, poured in a full broadside, 
 which carried away her main boom, and killed or 
 wounded nearly half of her people. Thus crippled, 
 the Chubb drifted down between the opposing lines of 
 battle toward the Saratoga. Observing this, Macdon 
 ough trained a bow gun on her, and after one shot the 
 Chubb struck and was taken possession of by Midship 
 man Charles T. Platt, who brought her under the Sara- 
 toga s stern out to the west of the line of battle. Mr. 
 Platt afterward passed three times though the line of 
 
608 BATTLES OF LAKES CHAMPLAIN AND BORGNE. 1814. 
 
 the enemy s fire in an open boat, carrying orders. The 
 Linnet now anchored in a favorable position off the 
 Eagld s bow and opened a heavy fire. 
 
 The Finch, with the twelve gunboats, by this time 
 had engaged the southern end of the line, so that the 
 action had become general. The English flagship, how 
 ever, reserved her fire until anchored, when she dis 
 charged a full, double- shotted broadside into the Sara 
 toga. The effect of the sixteen long 24-pounders, de 
 liberately aimed in smooth water, at point-blank range, 
 was terrific. The shock threw many of the Saratoga s 
 men prostrate on the deck, and forty were killed or 
 wounded, among the former being First-Lieutenant 
 Peter Gamble, who was killed while on his knees in 
 the act of sighting a gun by a shot that entered the 
 port, splitting the quoin and driving a portion of it 
 against his breast, but without breaking his skin. Re 
 covering from this first blow of the enemy, the men 
 returned to their guns, and from that time the firing 
 was close and rapid. About fifteen minutes later, a 
 shot from the Saratoga struck the muzzle of one of 
 the Confiancds 24-pounders, hurled the gun out of its 
 carriage, and threw it against Captain Downie, who was 
 standing behind it, hitting him upon the right groin. 
 Although he showed signs of life, he never spoke again. 
 " No part of his skin was broken ; a black mark, about 
 the circumference of a small plate, was the only visible 
 injury. His watch was found flattened, with the hands 
 pointing to the hour, minute and second at which the 
 fatal blow was given." The command then devolved 
 upon First- Lieu tenant Robertson, who continued the 
 battle with skill and firmness. 
 
 Although the Americans had gained some advantage 
 over the smaller vessels, yet all knew that the day 
 would be decided by the flagships, and for an hour the 
 furious cannonading was maintained all along the line, 
 neither side being able to turn the tide of battle. About 
 this time the Finch, crippled by the Ticonderoga, 
 
1814 DESPERATE ATTACKS ON THE TICONDEROGA. 09 
 
 drifted over to Crab Island, where, being fired upon 
 by a gun manned by the invalids of the hospital, she 
 surrendered. On the other hand, the British gunboats 
 had compelled the Preble to cut her moorings and run 
 inshore, where she anchored and did not again come 
 into action. Encouraged by this success, these gun 
 boats proceeded against the Ticonderoga and made 
 several attempts to carry her by boarding. Some of 
 these assaults were so desperate that the galleys got 
 within a boat-hook s length of the schooner, and the 
 men rose from the sweeps in readiness to spring ; but 
 Lieutenant Cassin, unmindful of the storm of grape and 
 canister, coolly directed the defense from the taffrail 
 and finally drove the enemy off. In the Ticonderoga 
 at this time was Midshipman Hiram Paulding, then 
 only seventeen years old, son of one of the captors 
 of Major Andre and afterward rear-admiral. In this 
 action he commanded a division of guns, and when the 
 British galleys attacked the Ticonderoga it was discov 
 ered that the matches for firing the guns were useless. 
 Seeing the urgency of the occasion, young Paulding 
 flashed his pistol at the vent of the cannon and dis 
 charged it. While First-Lieutenant John Stansbury, 
 of the Ticonderoga, went forward to superintend some 
 work, he was knocked overboard by a cannon ball, 
 which passed through him. Two days later his body 
 rose to the surface near his ship. 
 
 All this time the battle at the other end of the line 
 had been raging with unabated fury. The Linnet had 
 secured a very advantageous position off the Eagles 
 starboard bow, where the latter could bring but few 
 guns to bear either on the Linnet or on the Confiance. 
 Finding his springs shot away, Lieutenant Robert 
 Henley sheeted home his topsails, stood about, ran 
 down to the western side of the American line, and an 
 chored between the Saratoga and the Ticonderoga. 
 This brought the Eagle s fresh (port) broadside into 
 full play on the Confiance, but it also enabled the Lin- 
 
610 BATTLES OF LAKES CHAMPLAIN AND BORGNE. 1814. 
 
 net to turn the American line. Captain Pring promptly 
 availed himself of this opportunity, and soon was off 
 the Saratoga s bow, raking her from stem to stern. 
 As gun after gun became disabled, the firing between 
 the flagships gradually diminished, until now only a 
 few cannon were worked. Aboard the Saratoga nearly 
 all the carronades had been rendered useless by being 
 overcharged, the men loading with two round shot, 
 besides two stands of grape, the last protruding from 
 the muzzle of the gun. Now that the Linnet was rak 
 ing her with impunity, the situation of the Saratoga 
 was critical, and, to add to her accumulating disasters, 
 the navel bolt of the last carronade on the engaged side 
 broke, and the gun flew from its carriage and tumbled 
 down the main hatch. This left her with nearly every 
 gun in her starboard battery dismounted, while the 
 Confiance and the Linnet were still keeping up an 
 effective fire. 
 
 In this desperate extremity, when by all human cal 
 culations the day was lost, the shrewd forethought of 
 Thomas Macdonough came to his aid. When arrang 
 ing his line of battle he had taken the precaution to 
 anchor his vessels far enough apart, so that, should the 
 starboard battery of any ship become disabled, her com 
 mander, by tripping his bow anchor and then dropping 
 a stern anchor, could swing his vessel around in the 
 northerly breeze and bring a fresh broadside to bear on 
 the enemy without breaking the line of battle or over 
 lapping the ship astern. The time had now come when 
 the Saratoga must either surrender or bring some guns 
 to bear. Accordingly Macdonough, with the aid of 
 Sailing- Master Brum, manned the capstan and tripped 
 the bower anchor, and let go his stream anchor over the 
 stern. But, unfortunately, the wind had gone down, 
 so that the ship remained motionless. The American 
 commander, however, had anticipated this difficulty, 
 and before the action opened had dropped two kedges 
 broad off each side of his bow and brought the lines 
 
1814. 
 
 A CRITICAL MOMENT. 
 
 611 
 
 attached to them to his quarters. The men now hauled 
 on the kedge line and slowly brought the vessel around, 
 but during all this time the Linnet was pouring in 
 broadsides, and now, as the Saratoga exposed her stern, 
 the Confiance raked. In performing this manoeuvre 
 Sailing-Master Brum was knocked senseless by a huge 
 splinter. After several minutes of this exposure Mac- 
 donough succeeded in bringing his ship around, and 
 his port battery came into play. The Americans 
 then rushed to their guns and fired with the vigor of 
 long-pent vengeance. The 
 Confiance being subjected 
 to the fire of this fresh 
 broadside, the few remain 
 ing guns of her port bat 
 tery were soon disabled. 
 Seeing the success of the 
 Saratoga s manoeuvre, the 
 British commander at 
 tempted to imitate it. He 
 hove in his bow cables un 
 til he tripped anchor, but 
 further than this his ship 
 would not move, and Lieu 
 tenant Robertson helpless 
 ly saw his ship becoming a 
 wreck without being able 
 to strike a blow in return. 
 
 1 r\ r*f\ i -i Diagram of the battle. No. 2. 
 
 At 10.30 A. M. he ordered 
 
 the flag to be hauled down. The Saratoga then gave 
 her undivided attention to the Linnet, which brig had 
 been maintaining a most exasperating fire on the Amer 
 ican flagship, and, after braving the Saratoga s broad 
 sides for fifteen minutes, Captain Pring also surren 
 dered. In the latter part of the action the British 
 gunboats had been driven a mile eastward, and when 
 it was seen that the Confiance and the Linnet had 
 struck, they made all sail, and as not a vessel in 
 
612 BATTLES OF LAKES CHAM PLAIN AND BORGNE. 1814. 
 
 either squadron was in a condition to pursue, they 
 escaped. 
 
 Master-Commandant Macdonough, whose conspicu 
 ous gallantry throughout this battle had maintained 
 the spirits of his men, and whose sagacity and skill had 
 turned defeat into victory, now penned the following 
 modest dispatch to the Secretary of the Navy : "The 
 Almighty has been pleased to grant us a signal victory 
 on Lake Champlain, in the capture of one frigate, one 
 brig and two sloops of war of the enemy." Macdon 
 ough, whom we remember as one of the party that so 
 daringly captured the frigate Philadelphia in the 
 harbor of Tripoli, had repeatedly assisted in the work 
 ing of the guns and was twice thrown across the deck 
 by splinters. At one time, while he was bending over 
 his favorite gun in the act of sighting it, a shot cut the 
 spanker boom in two, causing a part of the heavy tim 
 ber to fall on his back and knocking him senseless to 
 the deck, so that it was some minutes before he recov 
 ered consciousness. Soon afterward a shot took off the 
 head of the captain of a gun near by and hurled the 
 ghastly missile against Macdonough, covering him with 
 blood, and knocking him to the other side of the ship, 
 where he fell senseless in the scuppers between, two 
 guns. He quickly recovered and again returned to his 
 post. When asked how it was that he escaped without 
 serious injury, while all his officers had been killed or 
 wounded, he replied : There is a power above which 
 determines the fate of man." Macdonough was pro 
 moted to the rank of captain, and the State of New 
 York granted him a thousand acres of land on Cum 
 berland Head, overlooking the scene of his splen 
 did victory. Lieutenant Henley was advanced to 
 the rank of master-commandant, and Congress award 
 ed gold medals to Macdonough, Henley and Cassin, 
 and silver ones to all the commissioned officers and 
 to the nearest male relatives of Lieutenants Gamble 
 and Stansbury, who fell in the battle. Swords also 
 
V^~ OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
s 
 
 3?- 
 
 *1 
 
 8 S^ 
 
 "<>> CO GJ 
 
 ^H ~t^ f!5 
 
 5 Is 
 
 e 2 -^ 
 
 ^ 1 
 
 r^> " C 
 
 g C 
 
 (V, J_i ^ 
 
 ^2 M 
 
 S a 
 
 c S 
 
1814. COUNTING THE LOSSES. 613 
 
 were given to each of the midshipmen and sailing- 
 masters. 
 
 In this sanguinary action of two hours and thirty 
 minutes the Saratoga lost twenty-eight men killed and 
 twenty-nine wounded ; the Eagle, thirteen killed and 
 twenty wounded ; the Ticonderoga, six killed and six 
 wounded ; the Preble, two killed ; the galleys, three 
 killed and three wounded ; making a total American 
 loss of fifty-two killed and fifty-eight wounded. The 
 first lieutenant of the Eagle, Joseph Smith, afterward 
 rear-admiral, was severely wounded, but continued at 
 his post. Sailing- Master Eogers Carter and Midship 
 man James M. Baldwin died from their injuries. Sail- 
 ing-Master Elie A. F. La Vallette, who commanded the 
 first and second divisions of guns, was knocked sense 
 less. A new glazed hat was presented to. one of the 
 American sailors before the battle, and after the action 
 he discovered that a cannon ball had made a semicir 
 cular cut in its side and crown. The British loss was : 
 The Confiance, forty-one killed and sixty wounded ; 
 the Linnet, ten killed and fourteen wounded ; the 
 Chubb, six killed and sixteen wounded ; the Finch, 
 two wounded ; total, fifty-seven killed and ninety-two 
 wounded. It is admitted, however, that Captain 
 Pring s official report was liable to error, as he did 
 not have a favorable opportunity for learning the 
 casualties. The American figures of the enemy s loss, 
 which were collected "from the best information re 
 ceived from British officers, from my own observation, 
 and from various lists found on board the Confiance," 1 
 are apparently more reliable. They place the British 
 loss at eighty-four killed, one hundred and ten wounded 
 and three hundred and sixty-seven prisoners. 2 Among 
 the killed were Captain Downie, Captain Alexander 
 Anderson, of the marines, Midshipman William Gunn, 
 
 1 Letter from Mr. Beale, the purser, to Macdonough, September 13, 
 1814. 
 
 2 Emmons Statistical History of the United States Navy, p. 59. 
 
BATTLES OF LAKES CHAMPLAIN AND BORGNE. 1814. 
 
 of the Confiance, Lieutenant William Paul and Boat 
 swain Charles Jackson, of the Linnet. The wife of 
 the steward of the Confiance also was killed by a heavy 
 shot, which struck her while she was attending to the 
 wounded in the cockpit. Midshipman William Lee, of 
 the Confiance, wrote : 1 1 The havoc on both sides was 
 dreadful. I don t think there are more than five of 
 our men, out of three hundred, but what are killed or 
 wounded. Never was a shower of hail so thick as the 
 shot whistling about our ears. Were you to see my 
 jacket, waistcoat and trousers, you would be astonished 
 how I escaped as I did, for they are literally torn all to 
 rags with shot and splinters. The upper part of my 
 hat was also shot away. There is one of our marines 
 who was in the Trafalgar action with Lord Nelson, who 
 says it was a mere flea bite in comparison with this." 
 
 Comparative force and loss. 
 
 Guns. Lbs. Crew. Killed. Wounded. Total. 
 
 American : 86 1,904 850 52 58 110 ) Time 
 British : 92 1,900 1,000 84 110 194 I" 2h. 20m. 
 
 By the second broadside nearly all the hammocks 
 and rigging of the Saratoga were cut away, and dur 
 ing the action she received fifty-five round shot in her 
 hull, and was twice set on fire by hot shot from the 
 Confiance. Midshipman Lee, of the Confiance, in a 
 letter to his brother, wrote: "Our masts, yards and 
 sails were so shattered that one looked like so many 
 bunches of matches and the other like a bundle of 
 rags." The Eagle received thirty-nine round shot 
 mostly 24-pounders in the hull, and four heavy shot 
 in her lower masts, while her sides were peppered with 
 grape. The Confiance was demolished ; one hundred 
 and five round shot were counted in her side. In his 
 official report Macdonough spoke in the highest terms of 
 Lieutenant Peter Gamble, Sailing-Masters La Vallette 
 and Brum, Captain Young, of the marines, George 
 Beale, the purser, who assisted at the great guns, 
 
1814. THE NEW ORLEANS EXPEDITION. 015 
 
 Midshipmen John B. Montgomery, W. L. Monteith, 
 John H. Graham, Williamson, Charles T. Platt and 
 Samuel Thwing, Acting - Midshipman Baldwin and 
 Master s-Mate Joshua Justin. Master-Commandant 
 Henley, of the Eagle, especially commended Lieuten 
 ant Joseph Smith, Acting-Lieutenants William Am 
 brose Spencer and Loomis, and Midshipmen Chamber 
 lain, William McChesney and Henry Tardy. The 
 galleys were admirably handled, especially those un 
 der the command of Sailing- Masters Conover, H. M. 
 Breese and Robins. u The absence and sickness of 
 Lieutenant Raymond Perry left me without the serv 
 ices of that excellent officer. Much ought fairly to be 
 attributed to him for his great care and attention in 
 disciplining the ship s crew as her first lieutenant." 1 
 
 While the naval battle was in progress the British 
 army made an assault on the American lines, but was 
 repelled with loss, and, on learning of Downie s defeat, 
 Sir George Prevost abandoned the invasion and re 
 treated to Canada, leaving most of his artillery, stores 
 and provisions in the hands of the Americans. The 
 colors of the Confiance, the Linnet and the CTiubb 
 are preserved in the Naval Institute Building at An 
 napolis. 
 
 The enemy, baifled at Lake Ontario, Lake Erie and 
 Lake Champlain, now determined to strike an unex 
 pected blow at some southern section of the country. 
 New Orleans was decided upon, and a formidable fleet 
 and army were collected for the expedition. It might 
 be difficult at first to understand why such a distant 
 and apparently unimportant point as New Orleans 
 should be attacked, but the British minister undoubt 
 edly had in view the original plan of the French, viz.: 
 the consolidation of the Canadas, the valleys of the Ohio 
 and the Mississippi and the province of Louisiana in 
 one vast domain, thereby cutting off the seaboard States 
 
 1 Official report of Master-Commandant Macdonough. 
 42 
 
616 BATTLES OF LAKES CHAMPLAIN AND BORGNE. 1814. 
 
 from the West. Negotiations for peace had been in 
 progress for some time, and a treaty was actually 
 signed by the commissioners at Ghent on the 14th of 
 December. Yet, when the announcement of peace be 
 tween the United States and England was momentarily 
 expected, the British ministry launched this most for 
 midable army of the war against the isolated port of 
 New Orleans. 
 
 The object of this coup de main was to secure in 
 the pending negotiations a British holding at the 
 mouth of the Mississippi, which, once firmly estab 
 lished, would enable Great Britain to control the navi 
 gation of that mighty river and the enormous tract of 
 country drained by its confluents. This was not an 
 idle fancy on the part of the British ministers, for they 
 well knew that, could they but once get a firm grip on 
 the throat of this vast river system, the entire territory 
 drained by it was under their control. How great was 
 the danger at this point, and how feeble the force to 
 protect, will be seen in the remainder of this chapter. 
 
 On the 12th of December, when the enemy s fleet, 
 under Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane, appeared off 
 Lake Borgne, the American naval force on this lake, 
 commanded by Lieutenant Thomas ap Catesby Jones, 
 consisted of gunboat No. 156, five guns, forty-one men, 
 Lieutenant Jones ; gunboat No. 23, five guns, thirty- 
 nine men, Lieutenant Isaac McKeever ; gunboat No. 162, 
 five guns, thirty-five men, Lieutenant Robert Spedden ; 
 gunboat No. 5, five guns, thirty-six men, Sailing-Mas- 
 ter Jonathan D. Ferriss ; gunboat No. 163, three guns, 
 twenty-one men, Sailing-Master George Uhlrich ; sloop 
 Seahorse, one gun, fourteen men, Sailing-Master Rob 
 ert Johnson ; sloop Alligator, one gun, eight men, 
 Sailing-Master Sheppard ; total, twenty-five guns, one 
 hundred and ninety-four men. On the night of the 
 12th of December, forty-two launches, armed with 
 24-, 18- and 12-pound carronades, and three unarmed 
 gigs, conveying altogether about nine hundred and 
 
1814. THE HEROIC DEFENSE AT MALHEUREUX. 617 
 
 eighty seamen and marines, entered the lake for the 
 purpose of attacking the American flotilla. Observing 
 their approach, Lieutenant Jones dispatched the Sea 
 horse, Sailing-Master Johnson, to destroy some stores 
 that were collected at St. Louis Bay, while he, with the 
 gunboats, retired to Les Petites Coquilles. At 4 p. M. 
 the enemy sent three barges after the Sealiorse, but 
 Mr. Johnson made such excellent use of his single 6- 
 pounder that the enemy put back for re-enforcements, 
 and in the mean time the Seahorse was anchored to se 
 cure the support of a 6-pounder on shore. The enemy 
 soon returned to the attack with a much larger force, 
 and, as James says, " it appears that, after sustaining a 
 very destructive fire for nearly half an hour, the boats 
 were repulsed" the second time. Seeing that the 
 sloop and stores must eventually fall a prey to the 
 overwhelming force that was advancing to the third 
 attack, Mr. Johnson burned them with his sloop and 
 retreated by land. The Alligator, on the same day, 
 was captured while endeavoring to follow the gun 
 boats. 
 
 Lieutenant Jones now made every preparation to 
 receive the attack on his flotilla. His gunboats were 
 judiciously anchored in a line across the narrow pas 
 sage of Malheureux ; but about three o clock in the 
 morning of the 14th, gunboats Nos. 156 and 163 were 
 forced out of line by the swift current and carried a 
 hundred yards down the pass, where they were beyond 
 the support of those above them. Before they could 
 be returned to their positions the British barges, car 
 rying forty-two guns and about a thousand men, ac 
 cording to the official report of the British commander, 
 Captain Lockyer, were discovered advancing to the 
 attack. Arriving within gunshot of the stray gun 
 boats, three barges made a dash at No. 156, but her 
 crew fired with such deliberation that two of the barges 
 were sunk and the third retreated. About noon the 
 enemy sent an overwhelming force against this gun- 
 
618 BATTLES OF LAKES CHAMPLAIN AND BORGNE. 1814. 
 
 boat, and, after a desperate resistance, captured her. 
 In these attacks Lieutenant Jones was dangerously 
 wounded, so that the command fell to Midshipman 
 Parker, who continued the action with spirit. The 
 English then turned the guns of gunboat No. 156 on 
 gunboat No. 163, which was soon captured by their 
 barges. Shortly afterward gunboat No. 162 met a 
 similar fate, but not without a gallant fight, in which 
 her commander, Mr. Spedden, was seriously wounded. 
 By 12.30 P. M. Nos. 5 and 23 were also taken. 
 
 This little affair was most creditable to Lieutenant 
 Jones and his men. Had not his gunboats been sepa 
 rated just before the engagement, thus enabling the 
 enemy to attack them separately, the result might 
 have been far more serious to the English. As it was, 
 Captain Lockyer reported his losses as being "ex 
 tremely severe " three midshipmen and fourteen sea 
 men killed, and one captain, five lieutenants, three 
 master s mates, seven midshipmen and sixty-one sea 
 men (in all, seventy-seven) wounded. The American 
 loss was six killed and Lieutenant Jones and thirty- 
 four men wounded. 1 
 
 Comparative force and loss. 
 
 Guns. Men. Killed. Wounded. Total. 
 
 American : 23 172 6 35 41 
 
 British : 42 980 17 77 94 
 
 The only vessels in this region now remaining to 
 the Americans were the Louisiana, Lieutenant C. B. 
 Thompson, purchased for the emergency and armed 
 with sixteen long 24-pounders, and the 14-gun schoon 
 er Carolina. On the night of December 23d, when the 
 British army was encamped near the river, the Caro 
 lina, Master-Commandant Daniel T. Patterson, quietly 
 worked up the Mississippi and took a position on the 
 left flank of the British army. " A little before eight 
 
 1 Official report of Surgeon Marshall. 
 
1814. A MIDNIGHT ATTACK. 619 
 
 o clock," says an Englishman who was in the expedi 
 tion, " the attention of some was drawn to a large ves 
 sel which seemed to be stealing up the river until she 
 came opposite to the British stations, when her an 
 chor was dropped and her sails were leisurely furled. 
 Various were the opinions entertained of this stranger. 
 She was hailed, but no answer was returned ; all idea 
 of sleep, however, was now laid aside, and several 
 musket shots were fired, of which not the slightest no 
 tice was taken, until at length, all her sails being 
 fastened and her broadsides swung toward our camp, 
 a voice was distinctly heard exclaiming, Give them 
 this in honor of America ! The flashes of her guns in 
 stantly followed, and a shower of grapeshot swept 
 down numbers among the British troops. An incessant 
 cannonade was then kept up, which could not be 
 silenced, for our people had no artillery, and a few 
 rockets that were discharged deviated so much from 
 their object as to afford only amusement for the ene 
 my. Under such circumstances, therefore, all were or 
 dered to leave their fires and shelter themselves under 
 the dikes, where they lay each as he could find room, 
 listening in painful silence to the iron hail among the 
 boats and to the shrieks and groans of those that were 
 wounded. The night was dark as pitch, the fires 
 were all extinguished, and not an object was visible, 
 except during momentary flashes of the guns, when a 
 straggling fire called attention toward our piquets, as if 
 some still more dreadful scene was about to open ; nor 
 was it long before suspense was cut short by a tre 
 mendous yell and a semicircular blaze of musketry, 
 which showed that our position was surrounded by a 
 superior force, and that no alternative remained but 
 to surrender or drive back the assailants. The first of 
 these plans was instantly rejected, for our troops, rush 
 ing from their lurking places and dashing through 
 their bivouac, under heavy discharges from the vessel, 
 lost not a moment in attacking the foe without the 
 
620 BATTLES OF LAKES CHAMPLAIN AND JBORGNE. 1814. 
 
 slightest attention to order or the rules of disciplined 
 warfare. The combat, which was left to individual 
 valor and skill, lasted till three in the morning, and 
 though the enemy was finally repulsed, no less than 
 five hundred of our finest troops and best officers were 
 left on the field. The rest then retired to their former 
 hiding-places, to be out of reach of their enemy on the 
 river, which, when daylight appeared, was discovered 
 to be a fine schooner of eighteen guns, crowded with 
 troops. In the cold dikes, however, our men were 
 compelled to remain the whole ensuing day, without 
 fire and without food, for whenever the smallest num 
 ber began to steal away from shelter the vessel opened 
 her fire." 
 
 On the morning of the 27th the enemy opened on 
 the Carolina with hot shot and shell, and the current 
 was so strong that the schooner could not be brought 
 out of range, not even by warping. After returning 
 the cannonade with the only gun that could be brought 
 to bear, she was abandoned and fired. The gallantry 
 of Lieutenants Otho Norris and Charles E. Crowley and 
 Sailing- Master Halter was highly spoken of by Master- 
 Commandant John D. Henley. The loss in the Caro 
 lina was seven killed or wounded. On the 28th of 
 December the Louisiana, Master-Commandant John 
 Dandridge Henley, greatly harassed the advance of the 
 British army, throwing about eight hundred shot ; and 
 during the great battle of New Orleans (January 8, 
 1815) this vessel rendered valuable service by covering 
 the flank of the American army. While thus engaged 
 Henley was wounded. Midshipman Philibert handled 
 one gun in particular so as to attract attention. When 
 the English retreated, Master-Commandant Patterson 
 sent several boat parties to annoy them. Thomas 
 Shields, a purser, in command of six boats and fifty 
 men, captured one of the enemy s barges with forty 
 officers and men of the Fourteenth Light Dragoons and 
 fourteen seamen, and soon afterward Mr. Shields cap- 
 
1815. A DISASTROUS EXPEDITION. 021 
 
 tured another barge, a transport schooner and five 
 boats, which gave him eighty-three additional prison 
 ers. A few of them were retaken, but seventy-three 
 prisoners were secured. Sailing-Master Johnson also 
 destroyed a transport and captured some of the fugi 
 tives. Among the officers that especially distinguished 
 themselves in this campaign were Master- Commandant 
 Patterson, Master-Commandant Henley, Lieutenants 
 Jones, Charles C. B. Thompson, Isaac McKeever, Rob 
 ert Spedden, Thomas Cunningham, Otho Norris, Charles 
 E. Crowley, and Major Daniel Carmick of the marine 
 corps. Major Carmick was wounded in the fight of 
 the 28th of December. 
 
 In this expedition of overwhelming disasters the 
 British were routed and driven back to their ships with 
 the loss of two thousand to three thousand men, while 
 the American loss during the entire expedition did not 
 exceed two hundred. " There never was a more com 
 plete failure," wrote Admiral Sir Edward Codrington 
 to his wife. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE CONSTITUTION ON THE AFRICAN COAST. 
 
 THE career of the 44-gun frigate Constitution^ so 
 far as has been narrated in these pages, is sufficiently 
 remarkable to stamp her as an extraordinary ship. 
 Her last cruise in the War of 1812, however, although 
 probably not as well known, was the one in which she 
 achieved her greatest triumph and performed her most 
 brilliant service. On the return of Captain Charles 
 Stewart from his cruise in the West Indies, April 23, 
 1814, Old Ironsides was blockaded in Boston by a 
 powerful British squadron, and did not get to sea again 
 until the 17th of the following December, when she 
 skillfully gave the enemy the slip and was once again 
 cruising in blue water. It was not long before the 
 officers of the blockading squadron at that time con 
 sisting of the 50-gun ship Newcastle^ Captain Lord 
 George Stuart, the 40-gun frigate Acasta, Captain 
 Kerr, and the 18-gun brig Arab, Captain Henry Jane- 
 learned that the dreaded Constitution had escaped 
 their vigilance. All English ships, whether cruisers or 
 merchantmen, were now instructed to speak to every 
 craft they met and spread the news that "the Consti 
 tution is again cruising," and in a wonderfully short 
 time, by means of this marine telegraph, the news was 
 wafted to every corner of the Atlantic, and thereafter 
 British ships of the line maintained a double look 
 out, and their smaller frigates sailed in couples, while 
 their sloops of war stood away from every sail that 
 bore the least resemblance to the Constitution. 
 
 (622) 
 
1815. OFF THE ROCK OF LISBON. (323 
 
 After running down to Bermuda, where, on the 24th 
 of December, the Constitution captured the merchant 
 ship Lord Nelson, Captain Stewart stood across to the 
 Madeiras, and then for several days cruised within 
 sight of the Rock of Lisbon. On the 18th of February 
 chase was given to a large sail, but scarcely had the 
 Constitution got well under way when another stran 
 ger was descried to leeward, and, changing his course 
 for the latter, Captain Stewart soon overhauled the 
 British merchant ship Susan. By that time the first 
 sail, which proved to be the British 74-gun ship of the 
 line Elizabeth, had disappeared, but arriving at Lis 
 bon a few hours afterward she learned that the Consti 
 tution was off the coast, and immediately put to sea in 
 search of her. By one of the strange coincidences of 
 sea life, Captain Dacres, who commanded the Guerriere 
 when she was captured by the Constitution in 1812, also 
 happened to be in the vicinity of Lisbon at this time in 
 command of the 88-gun frigate Tiber, of the same force 
 as the Guerriere. At the court-martial convened to 
 try him for the loss of the Guerriere Captain Dacres 
 said : " It is my earnest wish, and would be the happi 
 est moment of my life, to be once more opposed to the 
 Constitution with them [the Guerriere s crew] under 
 my command, in a frigate of similar force to the Guer 
 riere" Profiting by his experience with American 
 44-gun frigates, Captain Dacres had brought the crew 
 of the Tiber to a high degree of efficiency, and had pre 
 pared his frigate especially with the view of meeting a 
 ship of the Constitution s rate, and it seemed as if his 
 desire to meet Old Ironsides were about to be grati 
 fied. Boarding a merchantman, he learned that the 
 Constitution was in the vicinity, and speaking to sev 
 eral merchant ships "who had seen the American 
 frigate only a few hours before," he kept in the Con 
 stitution s track and gradually drew up with her. 
 
 On the 19th of February Captain Stewart was hold 
 ing a course from the coast of Spain southward toward 
 
624 THE CONSTITUTION ON THE AFRICAN COAST. 1815. 
 
 Madeira, with the Elizabeth and the Tiber only a 
 few hours behind him. About noon of this day a 
 group of officers gathered at the starboard gangway 
 of the American frigate, and were commenting on 
 their ill luck in failing to meet an enemy of equal 
 force in their cruise of several weeks in European 
 waters. Overhearing them, Captain Stewart, who was 
 a believer in presentiments, bade the officers to be 
 of good cheer, and said: "I assure you, gentlemen, 
 that before the sun again rises and sets you will be 
 engaged in battle with the enemy, and it will not be 
 with a single ship." * 
 
 The 20th of February dawned cloudy and thick, 
 with a choppy sea and a moisture-laden breeze from 
 the northeast. The Constitution at this time was 
 bowling along under short canvas and keeping a sharp 
 lookout for the enemy, the island of Madeira bearing 
 about one hundred and eighty miles to the southwest 
 by west. The day wore on with little or no change 
 in the weather and with nothing to arouse interest or 
 suspicion, and the men off duty, glad to escape the 
 disagreeable moisture of the atmosphere, were cosily 
 stowed away in their quarters below. The usual rou 
 tine of the ship went on ; the cooks, stewards and cabin 
 boys were busy with the midday mess, while several 
 of the officers, in spite of their affected contempt for 
 superstition, were discussing their chances of meeting 
 an enemy. About one o clock in the afternoon the 
 lookout on the fore-topsail yard hailed the deck, say 
 ing that he had just caught a glimpse of a large 
 sail through a break in the fog, about two points 
 off the port bow. In a moment the welcome tidings 
 spread through the ship, and the watch below came 
 tumbling up on deck into the chilly air to get a look 
 at the object of general interest, while an officer with 
 a spyglass climbed the dripping rigging to get a 
 __ _ | 
 
 1 Richard Watson Gilder, flours at Home, vol. x, p. 275. 
 
1815. IN HOT PURSUIT. 025 
 
 better view of the stranger. Captain Stewart was 
 fully aware that the enemy had been advised of his 
 escape, and that an unusually strong force had been 
 dispatched against him, but that intrepid officer de 
 termined to run down to the stranger and see what 
 she was. The sharp orders to make all sail were given 
 and carried out with rapidity, and soon the frigate was 
 bearing down under a cloud of canvas and dashing 
 through the water at eight knots. In three quarters of 
 an hour the lookout reported another sail, ahead of the 
 first, apparently cruising in her company. By this time 
 the stranger first discovered was quite near, but being 
 painted with double yellow sides and false ports in the 
 waist, she had the appearance of a double-decked 
 ship, and Lieutenant Ballard told Captain Stewart that 
 she must be at least a 50-gun ship. The latter replied 
 that she looked too small to be a ship of that class, 
 but might be an old 44 on two decks. "However," 
 he added, "be this as it may, you know I promised 
 you a fight before the setting of to-morrow s sun, and 
 if we do not take it now that it is offered, we can 
 scarcely have another chance. We must flog them 
 when we catch them, whether she has one gun-deck 
 or two ! " 
 
 The Constitution now exercised greater deliberation 
 in her movements, as on account of the hazy weather 
 the strangers were not far off when first discovered. 
 By 2 P. M. the sails were made out to be full-rigged 
 ships, standing close hauled on the starboard tack. 
 The three ships continued on this course until 4 p. M., 
 when the Constitution had gained so much as to be 
 nearly within range of the sternmost vessel, and it was 
 now seen that the strangers were ships of war, one a 
 frigate and the other a large sloop of war, but as both 
 of them were ship rigged it was difficult to determine 
 their exact force. About this time the weathermost 
 ship signaled her consort and then stood away to lee 
 ward, so as to bring up with her, while the Constitu- 
 
626 THE CONSTITUTION ON THE AFRICAN COAST. 1815. 
 
 tion, with her studding sails bent, rapidly came up 
 with them. But at 4.30 P. M., just as the frigate 
 was about to open fire, her main royal mast gave 
 way, and this mishap compelled Captain Stewart to 
 abandon the chase. The magnificent discipline main 
 tained in the Constitution was never shown to better 
 advantage than in the way this damage was repaired. 
 Men were quickly sent up the rigging, the wreck 
 was cleared away, and in an incredibly short time an 
 other spar had been sent up and rigged, and a little 
 after 5 P. M. the fretful frigate was again bounding 
 after the chase. But the delay caused by this acci 
 dent had enabled the strangers to come together, so 
 that Captain Stewart lost the opportunity of attack 
 ing them separately ; and seeing the two ships four 
 miles ahead, close hauled on the starboard tack, wait 
 ing for the American to approach, Captain Stewart 
 cleared for action and beat to quarters. At 5.45 P. M. 
 the enemy endeavored to secure the weather gage, 
 but after ten minutes trial of speed they gave over the 
 attempt and formed their two ships in a line of battle, 
 east and west, about half a cable s length apart, while 
 the Constitution bore down from the north to engage. 
 At 6 P. M. she hauled up her courses and showed her 
 colors, upon which the enemy shook out their flags. 
 By this time the fog had rolled aside so that the moon 
 light enabled the combatants to make each other out 
 distinctly. 
 
 At five minutes past six the Constitution, being 
 about three hundred yards abeam of the sternmost 
 ship, opened fire from the long guns of her port bat 
 tery. Both British ships promptly responded with 
 their starboard guns, and for fifteen minutes there was 
 a deafening roar of artillery, the Constitution concen 
 trating her -fire on the sternmost vessel. By 6.20 P. M. 
 such dense volumes of smoke had collected around the 
 ships that it was impossible to aim accurately, so that 
 the Constitution ceased firing, and, rapidly drawing 
 

 
 1815. THE BATTLE IN THE MOONLIGHT. 027 
 
 ahead, ranged abeam of the foremost ship, and having 
 reloaded with a double-shotted broadside, she belched 
 forth a torrent of round, grape and canister with great 
 effect. This was a staggering blow, and the enemy s 
 ship quivered as 
 if she had struck 
 a rock, but be 
 fore this broad 
 side could be re 
 peated the stern- 
 most ship was 
 observed luffing 
 up so as to take 
 
 a raking posi- Diagram of the battle. 
 
 firm nprnQ f"ho ^, ^ e Constitution-, the black ship is the Cyane, 
 
 and the shaded ship is the Levant. 
 
 Constitutions 
 
 stern. Mindful of his danger, Captain Stewart sud 
 denly braced his main and mizzen topsails flat to 
 the mast, shook all forward, let go his jib sheet, and 
 quietly but swiftly backed, under cover of the smoke, 
 abreast the rear ship. This manoeuvre was executed 
 in beautiful style. The yards swung around almost 
 as soon as the order was issued, the ship checked her 
 course, trembled for a moment, and then began back 
 ing. As if by magic the Constitution had dropped 
 astern, and almost before the enemy was aware of 
 it was alongside of the sternmost ship, with every gun 
 of her formidable battery reloaded and double-shotted. 
 Again the quiet order was passed along the divis 
 ions, and the next instant a murderous discharge of 
 iron tore its way into the British frigate. Captain 
 Stewart now maintained a heavy and rapid fire on this 
 vessel until 6.35 P. M., when, observing the headmost 
 ship luffing athwart his course to rake, he filled away 
 under topsails, and, shooting ahead, crossed the wake 
 of the foremost ship and secured a raking position 
 before the smoke from the last cannonading had suffi 
 ciently cleared away to enable the English to discover 
 
628 THE CONSTITUTION ON THE AFRICAN COAST. 1815. 
 
 the whereabouts of their nimble foe. The Americans 
 now fired their starboard broadside, raking the En 
 glishman fore and aft, and before he could recover 
 from the dreadful effects of this blow the Americans 
 had again loaded and poured in a second raking broad 
 side. About this time a heavy shot from the enemy 
 killed two men in the Constitutions waist, crashed 
 through a boat in which two tigers were chained and 
 lodged in the head of a spar in the chains. 
 
 At 6.38 P. M. the sternmost Englishman was seen to 
 be wearing with a view of raking the Constitution, but 
 she wore after him so quickly that before the English 
 man could follow the mano3uvre the Constitution had 
 crossed his wake and poured in a raking broadside. 
 Before this fire could be repeated the sternmost ship 
 had so far followed the movement as to bring the two 
 ships side by side. She then opened with her port 
 battery, while Captain Stewart used his starboard guns, 
 and in this position the two ships maintained a running 
 fire until 6.50 P. M., when the Englishman hoisted a 
 light and fired a gun as a signal of surrender. Lieu 
 tenant Beekman Yerplank Hoffman, of the Constitu 
 tion, was immediately sent aboard to take possession, 
 and he found the prize was the British 32-gun frigate 
 Cyane, Captain Gordon Falcon. After an hour spent 
 in removing and securing prisoners, the Constitution 
 at 8 P. M. filled away in chase of the second ship, which 
 during this time had made off to leeward, improving the 
 opportunity to repair damages and splice rigging ; but 
 at 8.15 P. M., observing the American frigate again bear 
 ing down on her, and still being ignorant of the fate of 
 her consort, she close hauled her starboard tacks, and 
 with topgallant sails and colors set stood for her pow 
 erful antagonist. At 9.05 P. M. the ships passed each 
 other and exchanged broadsides, but before the smoke 
 had cleared away Captain Stewart wore short around, 
 crossed the enemy s wake and raked, upon which the 
 Englishman crowded all sail to escape. The Ameri- 
 
1815. A DOUBLE VICTORY. 029 
 
 cans promptly luffed up, hauled aboard their tacks, 
 set the spanker and flying jib, and were after him in 
 close pursuit. At 9.30 p. M. the Constitution opened 
 with her starboard chase gun with a view of crippling 
 the enemy in his rigging, and by 10 P. M. she had gained 
 position close on to the Englishman s port quarter, and 
 seeing that the American was about to reopen his 
 dreaded broadside, the enemy surrendered. Lieuten 
 ant William Brandford Shubrick was ordered to take 
 possession, and soon sent back word that this ship 
 was the British sloop of war Levant ; , Captain George 
 Douglas. 
 
 The Constitution on this cruise carried thirty-one 
 long 24-pounders and twenty short 32-pounders ; in all, 
 fifty-one guns and six hundred and forty-four pounds 
 actual weight of metal to the broadside, allowing for de 
 ficiency in the weight of American shot ; her crew num 
 bered four hundred and fifty-six. 1 The Cyane is a 
 frigate-built ship, mounting thirty-four carriage guns, 
 viz., twenty-two 32-pound carronades on the main 
 deck, eight 18-pound carronades on the quarter-deck, 
 two 18-pound carronades and two long 9-pounders on 
 the forecastle, and, from the best information I could 
 obtain, carrying a complement of one hundred and 
 seventy-five men." 2 James does not give the armament 
 carried by the Cyane on this occasion, merely refer 
 ring to her force in 1809, nearly six years before. 
 Moreover, the British official reports of this action have 
 not been published. Lieutenant Hoffman, who took 
 charge of the Cyane immediately upon her surrender 
 and for sixty days afterward was in her, describes her 
 force as above. This gives the Cyane thirty-four guns, 
 with four hundred and fifty -one pounds of metal to the 
 broadside. "The Levant mounted eighteen 32-pound 
 carronades, two long 9-pounders and one 12-pound 
 
 1 Ernmons Statistical History of the United States Navy, p. 58. 
 
 2 Official report of Lieutenant Hoffman. 
 
630 THE CONSTITUTION ON THE AFRICAN COAST. 1815. 
 
 carronade, with one hundred and thirty-eight men on 
 board," * giving her twenty-one guns, aggregating three 
 hundred and three pounds of metal to the broadside. 
 The Constitution s loss was four killed and ten 
 wounded. 2 She sustained but little damage in her 
 rigging, her principal injuries being in the hull. In 
 her action with the Guerriere she was hulled three 
 times, in that with the Java four times and in this 
 engagement thirteen times. The Cyane lost twelve 
 killed and twenty- six wounded, 3 besides which every 
 brace and bowline was cut away, her main and mizzen 
 masts were left in a tottering state, other principal 
 spars were wounded, there were several shot in the 
 hull, nine or ten between wind and water, five carron- 
 ades were disabled and most of her standing and 
 running rigging was carried away. The Levant lost 
 twenty- three killed and sixteen wounded. 
 
 Comparative force and loss. 
 
 Guns. Lbs. Crew. Killed. Wounded. Total. 
 
 Constitution: 51 644 456 4 10 14 
 
 Cyane and Levant : 55 754 313 35 42 77 
 
 The boldness of the Constitution s attack on what 
 in the hazy weather appeared to be " two frigates" 
 (when Sir George Collier s squadron sighted the Consti 
 tution, the Cyane and the Levant, shortly afterward, 
 the last two were recorded in the Leander s log as 
 "apparently frigates"), the marvelous celerity of her 
 manoeuvres, the precision of her fire and the perfect 
 order and coolness pervading her entire company, from 
 the time the enemy was sighted to the close of the 
 battle, reflects the highest honor on Captain Stew 
 art. The patriotism of the American crew is shown 
 
 1 Official report of Lieutenant Henry E. Ballard, who was put in com 
 mand of the Levant after her surrender and continued there for twenty 
 days. 
 
 2 Official report of Captain Stewart. 
 
 3 Official report of Lieutenant Hoffman. 
 
1815. PATRIOTISM OF THE AMERICAN CREW. 
 
 in the case of a sailor named John Lancey, of Cape 
 Ann, who was carried below horribly mutilated and 
 writhing in his death agonies. When the surgeon in 
 formed him that his end was near, the poor fellow 
 gasped, " Yes, sir, I know it, but I only want to hear 
 that the other ship has struck." Soon afterward he 
 heard the cheers for the surrender of the Levant, 
 when, unmindful of his injuries, he raised his head, 
 and, waving the stump of his arm, expended his last 
 vitality in three feeble cheers. 
 
 It is related that after the battle, when Captain 
 Stewart was sitting in his cabin conversing with one 
 of the British commanders, a midshipman came in to 
 say that the officer of the deck wished to know if the 
 men could have their grog. As the usual time for 
 grog had passed before the action took place, Captain 
 Stewart replied, " The men have had their grog al 
 ready, haven t they?" "No, sir," replied the mid 
 shipman ; "it was mixed ready for serving just before 
 the battle began, but the forecastle men and other 
 older sailors of the crew said they didn t want any 
 Dutch courage on board and capsized the grog- tub in 
 the lee scuppers." The English officer asked, with as 
 tonishment, if it were possible that there were men in 
 the American navy who would "spill their grog like 
 that." About the same time the two British captains 
 got into a dispute about the result of the fight, each 
 imputing the defeat to the other, and contending that 
 if such and such an evolution had been practiced by 
 one or the other the Constitution would have had to 
 surrender. "Gentlemen," said Stewart, "there is no 
 use in getting warm about it ; it would have been all 
 the same whatever you might have done. If you 
 doubt that, I will put you all on board again and you 
 can try it over." 
 
 The Americans made all haste to repair damages 
 
 1 Richard Watson Gilder in Hours at Home. 
 43 
 
632 THE CONSTITUTION ON THE AFRICAN COAST. 1815. 
 
 and secure prisoners, for they well knew that the seas 
 were swarming with British cruisers sent out expressly 
 to intercept them, and by 1 A. M. on the 21st, or three 
 hours after the Levant surrendered, the Constitution 
 was ready for another action. On the following day the 
 vessels made sail for the nearest neutral port, and on 
 the 10th of March anchored in Port Praya, where they 
 found the Susan. 
 
 Captain Stewart now decided to employ the Susan 
 as a cartel in which he could send his prisoners to Eng 
 land. About noon on the day after his arrival in Port 
 Praya, while the men were busy transferring the pris 
 oners, the officer of the deck, Lieutenant Shubrick, 
 was attracted by an exclamation from one of the Brit 
 ish midshipmen, and noticing that he was reprimanded 
 in an undertone by an English lieutenant, Lieutenant 
 Shubrick became suspicious of foul play or some con 
 spiracy. But at this moment a quartermaster directed 
 his attention to the entrance of the harbor, where a 
 heavy fog had settled over the sea, but in the lighter 
 haze above the sails of a large ship were visible. This 
 apparition evidently was the cause of the midship 
 man s exclamation, and Captain Stewart was immedi 
 ately notified of the approach of a stranger. As the 
 mists shifted a little the sails of two more vessels, 
 apparently heavy men-of-war, were discovered stand 
 ing into the roads. After the experience of the Essex 
 at Valparaiso, Captain Stewart well knew that English 
 commanders could not be trusted to respect the rights 
 of neutral ports that were not sufficiently fortified to 
 enforce them. The defenses of Port Praya were im 
 potent against a first-rate frigate, and should the sails 
 descried in the offing prove to be those of English men- 
 of-war, the position of the Constitution was critical in 
 the extreme. The capture of no American frigate 
 would have caused so much rejoicing in England as 
 that of the Constitution, for Old Ironsides had done 
 more to level British pride than any other ship. 
 
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1815. OLD IRONSIDES CORNERED. 533 
 
 If Stewart did not get out of the harbor before the 
 approaching strangers closed the entrance, the favor 
 ite ship of the United States navy was lost. Realizing 
 the danger, the American commander sent his crew to 
 quarters, hurried the prisoners below, cut his cables, 
 and set the topsails, and in seven minutes from the time 
 of the first alarm he had the frigate under way. Sig 
 nals were made to the Cyane and the Levant to follow, 
 which orders Lieutenants Hoifman and Ballard pre 
 cipitately obeyed, and they also were soon standing 
 down the harbor after the Constitution. So great was 
 the haste, that some prisoners who had been landed to 
 facilitate the transfer were left behind. Discovering 
 the strange sails in the offing, and surmising them to 
 be English, these prisoners rushed to a battery and 
 began firing guns to give warning. 
 
 At this time the wind was fresh from the northeast, 
 while the strangers were approaching the harbor from 
 the south. Captain Stewart therefore hugged the north 
 shore, hoping to get to sea to the windward of them ; 
 and just as the American vessels were clearing East 
 Point the strangers came within long range. At this 
 moment they discovered the Americans, and crowded 
 on all sail to intercept them, so that it now became a 
 question of sailing. The Constitution crossed her top 
 gallant yards, and set her foresail, mainsail, spanker, 
 flying jib and topgallant sails, while the first cutter 
 and gig towing astern were cut adrift. The Cyane 
 and Levant followed in quick succession, while the 
 English luifed up, close hauled their tacks, and settled 
 down to a long and determined pursuit. 
 
 In order that we may more intelligently follow this 
 remarkable chase, we must understand that the hostile 
 squadron consisted of the British 50-gun frigate Lean- 
 der, Captain Sir George Collier ; the 50-gun frigate 
 Newcastle, Captain Lord George Stuart ; and the 40- 
 gun frigate Acasta, Captain Kerr. These vessels, espe 
 cially the Newcastle and the Acasta, had been block- 
 
634: THE CONSTITUTION ON THE AFRICAN COAST. 1815. 
 
 ading the Constitution in Boston at the time of her es 
 cape, December 17, 1814, and how they came to be 
 in this out-of-the-way part of the globe instead of on 
 the New England coast is best told in the words of 
 James : " On the 19th of December, two days after 
 the escape of the Constitution, the Leander sailed 
 from Halifax, bound off Boston, and on the 24th fell 
 in with the Newcastle and Acasta. By their captains, 
 it appears, Sir George was informed that the Consti 
 tution had sailed from Boston and the Congress 
 from Portsmouth, N. EL, and that the President 
 was to join those ships from the Delaware. Unfortu 
 nately, although it had been published over and over 
 again in the Halifax papers, neither of these captains 
 appears to have been aware that the Congress had 
 some months before been dismantled and laid up at 
 Portsmouth, and that the President was not lying in 
 the Delaware but in New York. On turning to the 
 Newcastle s log, to see who it was that had been play 
 ing off such a hoax upon Lord George, we find that on 
 the 22d, while the Newcastle and the Acasta were lying 
 at anchor in Cape Cod Bay, the 18-gun brig sloop 
 Arab, Captain Henry Jane, joined company, with 
 intelligence that the Constitution had sailed from 
 Boston on the 17th instant. Not another word is 
 there. This, however, was quite enough to hasten the 
 two ships in getting under way, and to make their 
 captains wish, no doubt, that they had kept under 
 way in front of the port which they had been ordered 
 to watch. This story about the sailing of the Ameri 
 can squadron, whether derived in the first instance 
 from fishermen, cattle-dealers or any other of the cun 
 ning New England folk, was credited by Sir George 
 Collier, and away went the Leander, the Newcastle 
 and the Acasta, in search of the Constitution and the 
 4 two other heavy frigates that sailed in her com 
 pany. On the 4th of January, when off the Western 
 Isles, the three ships fell in with a brig prize belong- 
 
1815. A BLIND CHASE. 335 
 
 ing to the American privateer Perry, and, having 
 chased under American colors, were taken for an 
 American squadron. The consequence was, that the 
 prize master of the brig voluntarily came on board the 
 Leander and pretended to take that ship for the 
 President, the Newcastle for the Constitution and the 
 Acasta not for the Congress but for the Macedonian. 
 In short, the fellow would have said or sworn to any 
 thing that he thought would ingratiate himself with 
 his hearers. Marshall says : * Nothing could have 
 happened better than this farcical interview with the 
 American privateersman. On the contrary, looking 
 to the serious impression it appears to have made on 
 board the Leander, we should rather say nothing 
 could have happened worse." Thus, by a strange series 
 of blunders these heavy British frigates had blindly 
 followed the Constitution across the Atlantic into this 
 distant quarter of the globe and now had her under 
 their guns. 
 
 At the time the American vessels gained an offing 
 it was still so foggy that it was impossible to see the 
 hulls of the strangers or to make out their force or 
 nationality. All the ships, however, had every stitch 
 of canvas set, to royal studding sails, and were 
 rushing through the water at ten knots. The Acasta, 
 by laying her head close to the wind, succeeded in 
 weathering the Cyane and the Levant, but the splendid 
 sailing qualities of the Constitution enabled Captain 
 Stewart to hold his own. Observing that he was 
 drawing away from his prizes, and that the enemy 
 must soon close on them, he at 1.10 p. M. signaled the 
 Cyane, the sternmost vessel, to tack to the northwest, 
 hoping to divide the enemy s force. Lieutenant Hoff 
 man tacked as desired ; but, to the surprise of all, 
 none of the pursuing ships were detailed after her. 
 Taking advantage of their neglect, the Cyane continued 
 on this course until she had run the enemy out of sight, 
 when she made for the United States, arriving in New 
 
636 THE CONSTITUTION ON THE AFRICAN COAST. 1815. 
 
 York April 10th. At 2.30 p. M. the Newcastle had gained 
 a position off the Constitutions lee quarter and began 
 firing by division. Her shot splashed the water within 
 a hundred yards of the American frigate, but did not 
 reach her. By 3 P. M. the Levant had fallen behind 
 the Constitution, and was in the same danger from 
 which the Cyane had so strangely been allowed to 
 escape. Captain Stewart now signaled the Levant to 
 head northwest also, hoping that this might draw off 
 at least one of his pursuers. But, to the astonishment 
 of every man in the Constitution, all the pursuing ships 
 followed her about ! Availing himself of this unex 
 pected opportunity, Captain Stewart soon ran the ene 
 my out of sight, and early in May he returned to 
 Boston. Finding that the entire squadron had concen 
 trated its attentions on his ship, Lieutenant Ballard 
 changed his course to due west so as to regain port. 
 In this he was successful, and he anchored under the 
 guns of the fort before the enemy could get within 
 gunshot. The Cyane had now escaped, the Constitu 
 tion was out of sight, and the Levant had gained a 
 neutral port, where, according to the laws of nations, 
 she was protected from further attack. But Sir George 
 Collier ordered the Newcastle and the Acasta to run 
 in and fire on the Levant, and, after a few minutes 
 doubt as to the real intentions of the English com 
 mander, Lieutenant Ballard was compelled to surren 
 der, and the Acasta took possession. " The next morn 
 ing," says James, " Sir George Collier went ashore to 
 communicate with the governor in consequence of the 
 damage done to the houses of the town by the shot 
 from the Acasta and Newcastle" 
 
 The escape of the Constitution and Cyane from this 
 powerful squadron and the extraordinary manoeuvres 
 of the British ships have given rise to many conflicting 
 explanations among English writers. One account 
 says that " no British ship tacked after the Cyane, Sir 
 George rightly judging that she would reach the neu- 
 
1815. BLUNDER OF THE BRITISH COMMANDER. 637 
 
 tral port before either of the British ships could get 
 within gunshot of her." But this " neutral port " ex 
 planation does not hold good, for a few hours after 
 ward Sir George ordered the Newcastle and the Acasta 
 to run in and fire on the Levant when her jib boom ex 
 tended over a land battery in this same "neutral 
 port," showing that the English commander had no 
 scruples whatever about the neutrality of the place. Ac 
 cording to a published letter of Thomas Collier, " the 
 midshipman, Mr. Morrison, whose duty it was to make 
 the signal, did, by mistake, hoist the general signal." 
 In another statement, which bears the signature of 
 the Leander s first lieutenant, it is said "that in 
 making the signal the Acasta s distinguishing pen 
 nants got foul, and before they could be cleared the 
 Newcastle mistook it for a general signal." 1 Mar 
 shall further says: " Sir George Collier, confiding in 
 the zeal and judgment of the captains under his or 
 ders, had previously informed them that, whenever 
 a certain flag was hoisted with any signal to either 
 of them, they were at liberty to disregard the signal, 
 if they considered that by following the order con 
 veyed thereby the object in view was not so likely to 
 be attained as by acting in contrariety thereto. The 
 flag alluded to was entered pro tempore in the signal 
 books under the designation of the optional flag. But 
 upon its being hoisted with the Newcastle s pennants, 
 as above stated, that ship made answer by signal the 
 flags are not distinguishable. Other British writers 
 declare that Sir George did not give the order for all 
 the ships to tack after the Levant. 
 
 Such diversity of opinion, especially when there 
 are, as James frankly admits, " three distinct and posi 
 tive explanations made on the highest English authori 
 ties, of Sir George Collier s blunders, yet each of the 
 three flatly contradicts the others," naturally leads to 
 
 1 Marshall s History of the British Navy, vol. ii, p. 527. 
 
638 THE CONSTITUTION ON THE AFRICAN COAST. 1815. 
 
 deeper investigation on our part. In an extract from 
 James History of the British Navy already given, we 
 have seen that Sir George Collier was under the im 
 pression that he was following the Constitution, the 
 President and the Macedonian or Guerriere, three 44- 
 gun frigates, across the Atlantic. That he was still 
 acting under this impression on the day of the chase in 
 question is shown by the Leander^ s (Sir George Collier s 
 flagship) log, which describes all three ships as u appar 
 ently frigates," and this is further emphasized by the 
 Leander*s first lieutenant, John McDougall, who re 
 corded the following note: "Weather very thick and 
 hazy ; took the two sternmost ships for frigates, the 
 headmost, from appearance, a much larger ship, for the 
 Guerriere, who, we understood, had long 32-pounders 
 on her main deck." After the disastrous experience of 
 the Macedonian, the Java and the first Guerriere with 
 American 24-pounder 44- gun frigates, British command 
 ers had been cautious in seeking engagements. But the 
 Newcastle and the Leander, especially the latter, had 
 been fitted out with the express purpose of coping 
 with the American 44-gun frigate, for the London 
 Times of March 17, 1814, said the Leander " has been 
 built and fitted out exactly upon the plan of the large 
 American frigates." This fact, together with the gen 
 eral order of the Admiralty restraining British 18- 
 pounder frigates from engaging American 24-pounder 
 ships and according to the statement of Lieutenant 
 McDougall of the Leander, we have seen that officers 
 of the English flagship actually supposed that the ship 
 they were chasing carried 32-pounders on the main 
 deck renders it exceedingly probable that Sir George 
 did not dare to detach the Acasla after the Cyane (a 
 supposed 44-gun American frigate) without sending 
 the Newcastle to aid her ; and as this would have left 
 the Leander alone to cope with the two remaining 
 American 44-gun frigates, as the Constitution and Le 
 vant were supposed to be, Sir George determined to 
 
1815. SUICIDE OF SIR GEORGE COLLIER. (339 
 
 keep his vessels within supporting distance of one an 
 other. Ten years afterward, on being reminded of this 
 chase, Sir George Collier committed suicide. 
 
 In this brilliant cruise Captain Stewart proved him 
 self an officer of rare ability. His action with the 
 Cyane and the Levant, and his masterly escape from 
 the British squadron, called for all the qualities of a 
 great commander, while his unhesitating attack on 
 what appeared, in the heavy weather, to be two frig 
 ates, the beautiful style in which the Constitution was 
 put through the most difficult manoeuvres and the neat 
 ness with which he captured a superior force, have 
 ranked him as one of the most remarkable naval offi 
 cers of his day. Congress awarded him a sword and 
 a gold medal. Lieutenant Hoffman, in his official re 
 port, commended the gallantry of Midshipmen Joseph 
 Cross, James W. Delany and James F. Curtis. The 
 colors of the Cyane and the Levant are preserved in 
 Naval Institute Building at Annapolis. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE EAST INDIA SQUADKON. 
 
 No better evidence can be had of the dread the Eng 
 lish felt for the American frigate than the manner in 
 which the blockading squadron off Boston hastened 
 across the Atlantic to the coast of Africa in chase of the 
 Constitution as soon as it was known that Old Ironsides 
 had got to sea. Satisfied that the most effective way of 
 attacking the enemy was by sending light squadrons 
 into distant seas, and encouraged by the success of the 
 Essex in the Pacific Ocean, the Government decided to 
 send the 44-gun frigate President, Captain Stephen 
 Decatur, and the sloops of war Peacock, Captain Lewis 
 Warrington, and Hornet, Master-Commandant James 
 Biddle, with the store ship Tom Bowline, into the 
 Indian Ocean and to cruise in the East Indies. This 
 was the cruise that had been marked out for the Con 
 stitution, the Essex and the Hornet when that squad 
 ron sailed from New York in October, 1812. These 
 vessels failed to meet at the appointed rendezvous, so 
 that the plan, so far as the Indian Ocean was con 
 cerned, was not carried out, but each ship added new 
 luster to the fame of the navy the Constitution and 
 the Hornet sinking the Java and the Peacock, while 
 the Essex made her extraordinary cruise in the Pacific. 
 
 The port of New York, in which Captain Decatur s 
 vessels lay, was so closely blockaded, however, that 
 it was impossible for the squadron to get to sea, and 
 it became necessary for the ships to sail singly. Leav 
 ing instructions for the Peacock (new) and the Hornet 
 to rendezvous at Tristan d Acunha, Captain Decatur, on 
 
 (640) 
 
1815. CHASE OF THE PRESIDENT. 
 
 the night of January 14th, 1815, left his anchorage off 
 Staten Island and stood down the Narrows. For twenty- 
 four hours a heavy gale had been blowing, which, it was 
 thought, had driven the blockading ships to the south, 
 and Captain Decatur had strong hopes of getting to sea 
 before they could regain their cruising ground. The 
 night w r as dark and boisterous, and everything seemed 
 to favor his attempt ; but at 8 P. M., as the President 
 was rapidly approaching Sandy Hook, the pilot, owing 
 to the absence of beacon lights, ran the ship aground. 
 Strenuous efforts were made to float the frigate off, 
 but as she was heavily laden for a long cruise, it was 
 nearly two hours before she was again got into deep 
 water. In the mean time she thumped violently on 
 the bar, and was so strained and l hogged " as seri 
 ously to impair her sailing qualities and seaworthiness. 
 A portion of her false keel was displaced, her rudder 
 braces were broken, and the ship was otherwise so in 
 jured as to render a return to port imperative ; but this, 
 owing to the strength and direction of the wind, was 
 impossible, and at 10 P. M. she was forced over the bar. 
 After running fifty miles along the shore of Long 
 Island, Captain Decatur headed southeast by east, sup 
 posing that the enemy would be some distance to the 
 south, and the frigate held this course for the re 
 mainder of the night, but in the gray dawn of the fol 
 lowing day, Sandy Hook bearing sixty-five miles north 
 west by west, three sails were discovered not more than 
 two miles ahead, and shortly afterward a fourth loomed 
 up on the weather quarter. These were soon recog 
 nized as Captain John Hayes blockading squadron. 
 Captain Decatur immediately ordered his helm down, 
 hauled close to the wind on the starboard tack and 
 headed for the eastern end of Long Island. The stran 
 gers quickly put about in pursuit, and the vessels 
 spread every inch of canvas that would draw. It 
 soon became apparent that the enemy was gaining, 
 and Captain Decatur began to relieve his ship of boats, 
 
642 THE EAST INDIA SQUADRON. 1815. 
 
 spars, cables, anchors and finally provisions, while the 
 sails, from the royals down, were saturated with water 
 so as to hold the wind better. As the President still 
 lost ground, her water was pumped out, after which 
 every article that did not pertain to her armament was 
 sacrificed. But in spite of these extreme measures the 
 enemy still crept up. The effects of the injuries that 
 the frigate had sustained while aground were painfully 
 apparent. By 11 A. M. the enemy s leading ship, the 
 Majestic, opened fire, but Captain Decatur did not re 
 spond, and soon he had the satisfaction of seeing her 
 shot fall short. By 3 P. M. the second of the pursuing 
 ships, the Endymion, Captain H. Hope, a 24-pounder 
 38-gun frigate, had gained so much as to be within 
 long range and was far in advance of her consorts. 
 Two hours later she w T as on the Presidents starboard 
 quarter, within half-point blank shot, in which posi 
 tion the latter could not bring a gun to bear, neither 
 stern chasers nor quarter guns, while the Englishman 
 kept up a galling fire, and the American commander 
 saw his men falling around him and his ship shattered 
 by every shot, while an overwhelming force was close 
 in his wake. 
 
 In such an extremity the alternative was either to 
 surrender or to turn suddenly upon the Endymion, 
 destroy or take her by boarding, and, after scuttling 
 the President and transferring her crew to the swifter 
 Endymion, make sail and escape before the other 
 ships came up. The latter plan was bold and hazard 
 ous, for, even if they should succeed in capturing the 
 Endymion, the time required might enable the other 
 vessels to close. But to the spirited Decatur any at 
 tempt, however forlorn, was preferable to surrender. 
 Accordingly a howitzer, heavily loaded, was pointed 
 down the hatchway, so as to put a hole through the 
 bottom of the ship when the time came for abandoning 
 her, then, assembling his men, most of whom had 
 served under him many years, Captain Decatur ad- 
 
1815. " WE LL GO ON BOARD OF THEM!" 
 
 dressed them : " My lads, that ship is coming up with 
 us. As our ship won t sail, we ll go on board of them, 
 every man and boy of us, and carry her into New 
 York. All I ask of you is to follow me. This is a 
 favorite ship of the country. If we allow her to be 
 taken, we shall be deserted by our wives and sweet 
 hearts. What ! let such a ship as this go for nothing ! 
 T would break the heart of every pretty girl in New 
 York." The daring of their leader found a ready re 
 sponse in the breasts of the men, and with one accord 
 they gave three hearty cheers and returned to their 
 guns. Captain Decatur now waited until the Endym- 
 ion was close upon him, when he suddenly put the 
 President about so as to run alongside. But either the 
 cheers from the American crew or former experience 
 with American frigates rendered the British command 
 er exceedingly cautious, for the moment he saw the 
 President coming around he also went about so as to 
 maintain his distance. At dusk, Captain Decatur ran 
 off the Englishman s port beam and opened a tre 
 mendous fire, still hoping to disable him before the 
 other ships came up. The two frigates soon came 
 within musket-shot, and one of the President s shot 
 crashed through the enemy s quarter-deck and entered 
 the deck below. 
 
 It was not long before Captain Decatur lost the val 
 uable services of his first lieutenant, Fitz Henry Babbitt, 
 who was standing near the wardroom hatch when a 32- 
 pound shot struck him just below the right knee, and, 
 falling down the hatchway into the wardroom, he frac 
 tured his leg in two places and his skull. He survived 
 his injuries nearly two hours with great fortitude, and 
 to the last calmly dictated his parting messages, request 
 ing that his watch might be sent to his brother, and 
 taking from his neck the miniature of the young lady 
 to whom he was engaged, desired that it be delivered 
 to his mother. Second-Lieutenant John Templer 
 Shubrick was now ordered on deck to take the trum- 
 
644 THE EAST INDIA SQUADRON. 1815. 
 
 pet, and as this officer was walking aft in compliance 
 with the order he passed Lieutenant Archibald Ham 
 ilton, and, being a fellow-townsman, asked him in a 
 cheerful manner how he was getting along. Before a 
 reply could be made Lieutenant Hamilton was cut 
 nearly in two by a 24-pound shot. He " was a young 
 officer of great merit, equally distinguished by beauty 
 of person and the rarest excellence of character, and 
 whose cheerful, happy temperament endeared him to 
 all who knew him. Alike the pride of the ball-room 
 and of the quarter-deck, he carried everywhere the 
 same sunny and joyous demeanor. c Carry on, boys ! 
 carry on ! was the favorite exclamation with which in 
 festive scenes he was wont to excite his companions to 
 mirth, and in scenes of danger to exertion. He was in 
 the act of uttering this animating exclamation when he 
 was killed." He was the son of Paul Hamilton, ex- 
 Secretary of the Navy. He had been in the United 
 States-Macedonian fight, and had the honor of bear 
 ing the colors of the British frigate to Washington. 
 
 Captain Decatur himself, while standing on a shot- 
 box to get a better view of the enemy, was struck on 
 the chest by a huge splinter and thrown senseless to 
 the deck. This was a blow that fell upon every man 
 in the ship, for Decatur had become the idol of his 
 crew, and when it was rumored that he was wounded 
 the greatest anxiety was expressed. Decatur, however, 
 soon recovered, and, declining all assistance, walked 
 back to his station, and at sight of him the men gave 
 three cheers. But soon afterward Captain Decatur 
 was again wounded, this time by a splinter that struck 
 his head and covered his face with blood. He refused 
 to go below, and continued in command. 
 
 In the mean time the British frigate had been suf 
 fering heavily, and by 8 P. M. her fire had perceptibly 
 diminished, and there were intervals of several minutes 
 before she discharged a gun. Never was a ship s bat 
 tery served better than the Presidents on this occa- 
 
Captain Decatur wounded. 
 
^ OF THB 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
1815. HEROIC DEFENSE OF THE PRESIDENT. 645 
 
 sion, and never was the fire from the marines more accu 
 rate than that of those under Lieutenant Levi Twiggs. 
 Decatnr described it as " incomparable." The English 
 man s rigging was completely wrecked and nearly every 
 gun in his port battery had been disabled. About this 
 time Lieutenant Edward F. Howell, who commanded 
 the fifth division of guns on the Presidents quarter 
 deck, remarked to Midshipman Emmett, as he leaned 
 over the side so as to get a better view of the Endy 
 mion, "Well, we ve whipped that ship, at any rate." 
 Just then Howell saw the flash of a gun from the bow 
 of the British frigate, and quickly added, "No, there 
 she is " and before he could utter the word "again" 
 a grapeshot struck his forehead, killing him instantly. 
 This was the last gun the Endymion fired. 
 
 Finding that the Endymion was incapable of mak 
 ing further resistance, and that the other British vessels 
 were drawing near, Captain Decatur, at 8.30 P. M., re 
 sumed his course under all sail, from royal studding 
 sails down. In doing this the President for some time 
 exposed herself to a raking fire from the Endymion, 
 but the latter did not discharge a single gun, showing 
 how completely she was disabled, and that she must 
 have surrendered had not the President been compelled 
 to abandon her. The running action with the Endym 
 ion had lasted two hours and a half, and, although 
 the President had been severely injured in her rigging, 
 Captain Decatur was still in hopes of effecting his es 
 cape under cover of night. At 9 P. M. it clouded over, 
 and, availing himself of this, he changed his course to 
 the south, hoping that by this means he could elude 
 his pursuers. The frigate continued on this tack for 
 two hours with no signs of the enemy, and all began to 
 congratulate themselves on their escape, but at half 
 past eleven the clouds blew away, and revealed the 
 English ships in the bright moonlight. Unfortunately, 
 they had been able to follow the chase by getting occa 
 sional glimpses of her through the clouds. In his offi- 
 
646 THE EAST INDIA SQUADRON. 1815. 
 
 cial report Captain Decatur said : "Two fresh ships of 
 the enemy, the 38-gun frigates Pomone and Tenedos, 
 had come up. The Pomone had opened her tire on the 
 port bow, within musket shot, the other, about two 
 cables length astern, taking a raking position on our 
 quarter, and the rest, with the exception of the Endym- 
 ion, within gunshot. Thus situated, with about one 
 fifth of my crew killed and wounded, my ship crippled, 
 and a more than fourfold force opposed to me, with 
 out a chance of escape, I deemed it my duty to sur 
 render." But " the Pomone tired a second broadside," l 
 which killed a " considerable number" of men in the 
 President, upon which Captain Decatur cried: "She 
 means to sink us ! To your quarters, my lads, and re 
 new your fire ! " Before this could be done, however, 
 the Tenedos ranged up on the President s starboard 
 bow, and, hailing, was answered : "The American frig 
 ate President. We have surrendered." Captain Parker, 
 of the Tenedos, immediately sent a boat and took pos 
 session at 11.30 P. M. 
 
 In this chase the President sustained a loss of 
 twenty-four killed and fifty-six wounded ; three of her 
 five lieutenants, Babbitt, Hamilton and Howell, being 
 among the killed. The remains of these young officers, 
 on the following day, were sewed in heavily shotted 
 canvas, and, being wrapped in American flags, were 
 placed on a gun slide in the lee gangway. Captain 
 Decatur read the burial service, and the bodies were 
 consigned to the sea. Among the wounded were Mid 
 shipmen Richard Dale (son of Richard Dale, of the 
 Bonhomme Richard), who lost a leg, and Benjamin 
 Brewster, Sailing-Master James Rogers and Master s- 
 Mate Parker. The loss in the Endymion was eleven 
 killed and fourteen wounded. 2 This disparity in killed 
 and wounded was owing to the Americans directing 
 
 1 James History of the British Navy, vol. vi, p. 240. 
 
 2 Official report of Captain H. Hope, of the Endymion. 
 
1815. THE KILLED OR WOUNDED. 647 
 
 their fire chiefly at the Englishman s rigging, with a 
 view of throwing Mm out of the chase. As the Presi 
 dent had been captured by a squadron and not by a 
 single ship, Captain Decatur surrendered his sword to 
 the senior officer, Captain John Hayes, of the Majestic, 
 who returned it, saying that u he felt proud in return 
 ing the sword of an officer who had defended his ship 
 so nobly." Captain Decatur especially commended the 
 gallantry of Lieutenants Shubrick and John Gallagher, 
 Lieutenant Twiggs, of the marines, Midshipman Rob 
 ert B. Randolph and Henry Robinson, who was serving 
 as a volunteer chaplain. Among the midshipmen in 
 the President in this affair were William Carmichael 
 Mcholson (afterward commodore, then but fifteen years 
 old, son of Captain John Nicholson, of the navy dur 
 ing the Revolution), and Irvine Shubrick, brother of 
 Second-Lieutenant John Templer Shubrick. 
 
 Some English writers have endeavored to show that 
 this was a single-ship action between the President and 
 the Endymion, but their own records do not support 
 this view, as the following will show. Captain Brenton, 
 in his Naval History of England, says: "It would be 
 unfair to the memory of that excellent man, Captain 
 Decatur, to say this was an equal action. It might, 
 perhaps, have ended in a drawn battle had not the 
 Pomone decided the contest." Rear -Admiral H. 
 Hotham, in reporting the capture to Vice- Admiral 
 Cochrane, admits that the President was captured by 
 a squadron, when he says: "I have the honor to ac 
 quaint you with the capture of the United States ship 
 President, on the 15th instant, by the following force, 
 viz. : the Majestic, Captain Hayes ; the Tenedos, Cap 
 tain Hyde Parker ; the Endymion, Captain Hope ; the 
 Pomone, Captain Lumley which I had collected off 
 the bar of New York, under the direction of Captain 
 Hayes." Several years afterward while some English 
 officers were discussing the chase at a dinner at which 
 
 Admiral Cochrane was present, and were endeavoring 
 44 
 
648 THE EAST INDIA SQUADRON. 1815. 
 
 to show that the President was captured by the En- 
 dymion alone, the bluff old admiral bluntly remarked, 
 "the President was completely mobbed." 
 
 On the arrival of the President with her captors at 
 the Bermudas, the Gazette of that place published an 
 article in which it was intimated that the President 
 was not captured by the squadron, but by the En- 
 dymion alone. Through the highly honorable interfer 
 ence of the governor and the British officers of the 
 squadron the editor was compelled to retract. The 
 editor of the Bermuda Gazette, in his paper of March 
 15, 1815, further said that Captain Decatur had con 
 cealed sixty-five of his men in the President s hold for 
 the purpose of rising on the prize crew and recovering 
 the ship. These published reports so incensed the 
 American officers that Midshipman Randolph, of the 
 President, on the following day met the editor in 
 King s Square and gave him a severe caning. Captain 
 Decatur, in a letter to the Secretary of the Navy, says : 
 "I have the honor to inclose you my parole, by which 
 you will perceive the British admit that the President 
 was captured by the squadron." 
 
 Although this affair can not be considered in the 
 light of a single- ship action between the President and 
 the Endymion, yet a comparison of their forces will be 
 interesting. The President carried thirty long 24- 
 pounders and twenty- two short 42-pounders in all, 
 fifty-two guns, with seven hundred and sixty-five actual 
 pounds of metal to the broadside. The Endymion 
 mounted thirty long 24-pounders and twenty short 32- 
 pounders in all, fifty guns, aggregating six hundred 
 and eighty pounds of metal to the broadside. The lat 
 ter ship, as we have seen, was compelled to drop out of 
 the chase, while the Pomone and the Tenedos completed 
 the capture. Two days afterward, in a heavy gale, the 
 Endymion was obliged to throw overboard her quar 
 ter-deck and forecastle guns, at the same time cutting 
 away her bowsprit, fore and main masts and mizzen 
 
1815. COMPARATIVE FORCES. 649 
 
 topmast. The President in the same gale lost her 
 lower masts and several of her guns. 
 
 Comparative force and loss. 
 
 Guns. Lbs. Killed. Wounded. Total. 
 
 President: 52 765 24 56 80) Time 
 
 Endymion : 50 680 11 14 25 f 2h. 30m. 
 
 Not having heard of the President s capture, Cap 
 tain Warrington, of the Peacocti, with the Hornet and 
 the Tom Bowline, sailed from JSTew York on the 22d 
 of January, eight days after the departure of Captain 
 Decatur. The three vessels passed the bar about day 
 light, and, although a hostile squadron was descried 
 to the south, a favorable wind enabled them to clear it 
 and get to sea. A few days out, the Hornet, Master- 
 Commandant Biddle, became separated from the other 
 vessels and made directly for Tristan d Acunha, the 
 rendezvous appointed by Captain Decatur, and arrived 
 there on the 23d of March. As Captain Biddle (having 
 been promoted to that rank February 28, 1815) was 
 about to anchor off the northern end of the island, a 
 sail was discovered, and the Hornet was immediately 
 put under topsails and stood out to reconnoiter. The 
 stranger rapidly came down before the wind, and at 
 1.40 P. M., being nearly within musket-shot, hauled her 
 wind on the starboard tack, hoisted an English flag 
 and fired a gun, upon which the Hornet promptly 
 luffed up, showed her colors and responded with a 
 broadside. For fifteen minutes the vessels maintained 
 a heavy cannonading ; the Hornet, using star-and-bar 
 shot, soon crippled the enemy s rigging, and this was 
 followed up with round and grape shot. From the 
 time the firing began the vessels had been drawing 
 closer together, until at 1.55 P. M. the enemy made an 
 attempt to board, and succeeded in passing his bow 
 sprit between the Hornet s main and mizzen rigging on 
 the starboard quarter, and had ample opportunity to 
 gain the Hornet s deck, but for some reason he did not 
 
650 THE EAST INDIA SQUADRON. 1815. 
 
 carry out his design. The American seamen immedi 
 ately went aft and begged for permission to board, but 
 Captain Biddle, aware of the advantage he had gained, 
 was unwilling to relinquish it. At this moment a 
 heavy swell caused the vessels to separate, and car 
 ried away the HorneVs mizzen shrouds, stern davits 
 and spanker boom, while the enemy lost his bowsprit 
 and swung around on the HorneVs port quarter. Im 
 mediately afterward the Englishman s foremast fell, 
 the wreck covering the port guns so that they could 
 not be used. The Hornet then wore round to bring her 
 fresh broadside into play, when, at 2.02 p. M., the sur 
 viving officer of the British brig, Lieutenant James 
 M Donald, called out that they had surrendered. Cap 
 tain Biddle ordered his men to cease firing, and, going 
 to the taffrail, asked if they had struck ; but by way 
 of answer two British seamen fired at him and at the 
 man at the wheel. " Captain Biddle was struck on the 
 chin, and the ball, passing round the neck, went off 
 through the cape of his surtout, wounding him severely 
 but not dangerously ; the man at the wheel escaped, 
 but the Englishmen who fired did not, for they were 
 observed by two of our marines, who shot them dead." 1 
 It was with the greatest difficulty the American crew 
 was restrained from firing again. The enemy now 
 hailed the second time, saying that he had surren 
 dered, and that the ship was the British brig-sloop 
 Penguin, Captain James Dickinson. 
 
 The Penguin was shorter than the Hornet in deck 
 measurement by two feet, but she had a greater length 
 of keel, greater breadth of beam, thicker sides and high 
 er bulwarks. The latter carried eighteen short 32- 
 pounders and two long 12-pounders ; total, twenty guns, 
 with two hundred and seventy-nine pounds actual 
 weight of metal to the broadside. The Penguin car 
 ried sixteen short 32-pounders, two long 12-pounders 
 
 1 Private journal of an officer in the Peacock. 
 
1815. THE HORNET CAPTURES THE PENGUIN. (551 
 
 and one short 12-pounder, with swivels on the capstan 
 and in the tops, 1 making nineteen guns, with two hun 
 dred and seventy-four pounds of metal to the broad 
 side. Out of her complement of one hundred and 
 thirty- two men the Hornet lost one killed and eleven 
 wounded, among the latter being Captain Biddle and 
 Lieutenant Conner. The Penguins loss was ten killed 
 and twenty-eight wounded, 2 among the former being 
 Captain Dickinson and one of the boatswains who had 
 served under Nelson. One hundred and eighteen pris 
 oners were taken from her, to which add the number 
 they admit as killed, viz., ten (Captain Biddle reports 
 fourteen), and we get the Penguirts crew one hundred 
 and twenty-eight. Of these, twelve men were super 
 numerary marines from the 74-gun ship Medway. 
 Captain Biddle spoke in highest terms of the gallantry 
 of Lieutenants David Conner, John T. Newton, Isaac 
 Mayo, Acting-Lieutenant W. L. Brownlow, of the ma 
 rines, and Sailing- Master Edward Homey. 
 
 Comparative force and loss. 
 
 Guns. Lbs. Crew. Killed. Wounded. Total. 
 
 Hornet: 20 279 132 1 11 12 ) Time 
 
 Penguin : 19 274 128 10 28 38 \ 22m. 
 
 The officers of the Penguin relate that in the action 
 a 32- pound shot came in at an after port, carried away 
 "six legs," killed the powder-boy of the division, cap 
 sized the opposite gun on the starboard side, passed 
 through another port, and, spending itself on the sea 
 beyond, " sank in sullen silence." Each of the Eng 
 lish midshipmen lost a leg. The Penguin had been 
 dispatched by Vice-Admiral Charles Tyler, of the 74- 
 gun ship Medway, to capture the American privateer 
 Young Wasp, which had recently been off the island, 
 and, after capturing a richly laden Indiaman and land- 
 
 1 Official report of Captain Biddle. James, vol. vi, p. 261, says " 16 
 carronades, 32-pounders, and two sixes." 
 
 2 Official report of Lieutenant M Donald. 
 
(352 THE EAST INDIA SQUADRON. 1815. 
 
 ing the prisoners, had sailed away. The prisoners 
 brought the news of the Young Wasp s exploit to 
 Vice-Admiral Tyler, who detached twelve marines from 
 his own ship to assist in taking the audacious priva 
 teer. Special instructions were given to Captain Dick- 
 enson as to the way he should capture the Young 
 Wasp, and emphasis was laid on the desirability of 
 getting " close enough." Fearing that he might fright 
 en off the supposed privateer, Captain Dickenson ap 
 proached the Hornet head on, so as not to reveal his 
 broadside. At the time of her surrender the Penguin 
 " was a perfect wreck " ; 1 " she was completely riddled 
 by our shot, her foremast and bowsprit both gone, and 
 her mainmast so crippled as to be incapable of being 
 secured," 2 and, after taking out a few stores, the 
 Americans scuttled her. Captain Biddle reported that 
 the Hornet " did not receive a single round shot in her 
 hull, nor any material wound in her spars. The rigging 
 and sails were very much cut ; but, having bent a new 
 suit of sails and knotted and secured our rigging, we are 
 now completely ready in all respects for any service." 
 
 Scarcely had the prisoners been secured when two 
 strange sails hove in sight, and as they rapidly bore 
 down they were made out to be vessels of war. Cap 
 tain Biddle hastily cleared for action and stood out to 
 reconnoiter, but after an exchange of signals he dis 
 covered them to be the Peacock and the Tom Bowline. 
 The latter was now made a cartel and sent to Rio de 
 Janeiro with the prisoners. After the action the Pea 
 cock and the Hornet remained at Tristan d Acunha, in 
 the vain hope of meeting the President, until April, 
 when Captains Warrington and Biddle determined to 
 cruise in the Indian Ocean without their flagship, and, 
 having aboard supplies for an extended voyage, they 
 set sail, on the 13th of April, for the East Indies. 
 
 1 Official report of Lieutenant M Donald. 
 3 Official report of Captain Biddle. 
 
1815. IN THE INDIAN OCEAN. $53 
 
 After doubling the Cape of Good Hope they pro 
 ceeded on an uneventful cruise until the 27th of April, 
 when, at seven o clock on the morning of this day, 
 in latitude 38 30 South, longitude 33 East, a large 
 sail was made out to the southeast. Chase was im 
 mediately given, but, as the wind continued light 
 throughout the day, it was nearly sunset before the hull 
 of the stranger could be seen. She was now thought to 
 be an East India merchantman, and the Americans 
 had reason to congratulate themselves. An officer in 
 the Hornet wrote : " The seamen declared they would 
 have the berth deck carpeted with East India silk, sup 
 posing her an Indiaman from India ; while the officers, 
 under the impression she was from England, were mak 
 ing arrangements how we should dispose of the money, 
 porter, cheese, etc. We were regretting that our ship 
 did not sail faster, as the Peacock would certainly cap 
 ture her first and would take out many of the best 
 and most valuable articles before we should get up." 
 
 During the night and the following morning it was 
 calm, the chase all this time standing northward, but 
 about noon of the 28th, a breeze springing up from the 
 north, the Peacock and the Hornet set studding sails 
 on both sides and rapidly came down on the stranger. 
 At 2.45 P. M., Captain Biddle, who was six miles astern 
 of his consort, noticed that the Peacock seemed a little 
 sLy of the chase, and, believing that she was an un 
 usually large and heavily armed Indiaman, and that 
 the Peacock was waiting for the Hornet to come up so 
 that they might attack together, Captain Biddle took 
 in his starboard studding sails and ran down to his 
 consort. Captain Warrington was more cautious than 
 the American privateersman, who ran down on a ship 
 of the line under the impression that she was a mer- 
 chantship, and ordered her to strike, and who, when 
 the Englishman ran out his guns, gracefully submitted 
 to the inevitable by saying, "Well, if you won t sur 
 render, I will." 
 
654 THE EAST INDIA SQUADRON. 1815. 
 
 At 3.22 p. M., when the Hornet was eight miles 
 from the stranger, the Peacock signaled "a ship of the 
 line " and turned to escape, while the stranger wore in 
 pursuit. Upon this the American sloops separated, 
 and the enemy selected the Hornet. Fully sensible 
 of the honor thus bestowed upon him, Captain Biddle 
 made every effort to show "a clean pair of heels." He 
 took in all his studding sails and hauled close to the 
 wind, but before sunset the stranger proved herself to 
 be a remarkably fast sailer and very weatherly. By 
 9 P. M. she had gained considerably, and as she could 
 keep the chase in sight all night, it became necessary 
 to lighten the Hornet. Accordingly, Captain Biddle 
 threw overboard twelve tons of kentledge, part of his 
 shot, some of the heavy spars, cut away the sheet 
 anchor and cable and started the wedges of the mast. 
 
 By 2 A. M. of the 29th the enemy had gained still 
 more, having now reached a position rather forward of 
 the HorneVs lee beam, so that Captain Biddle was 
 compelled to go about. By daylight the stranger was 
 within gunshot on the lee quarter, and at 7 A. M. she 
 hoisted English colors and opened from her bow guns. 
 As the shot went over the Hornet, Captain Biddle was 
 compelled to part with his remaining anchors, cables, 
 launch, six guns, a quantity of shot, and every heavy 
 article that could possibly be spared. This had the 
 desired effect, and soon he had the satisfaction of see 
 ing the enemy s shot gradually fall short. But at 11 
 A. M. the Englishman began to creep up again and 
 soon reopened with effect. Captain Biddle now threw 
 overboard all but one of his guns, nearly all his shot, 
 all the extra spars, muskets, cutlasses, forge and bell, 
 cut away the topgallant forecastle, and literally stripped 
 his ship, both above and between decks, of every mova 
 ble article, while the men were ordered to lie down on 
 the quarter-deck in order to trim the ship and increase 
 her speed. But still the enemy kept within range. 
 
 "At this time the shot and shells were whistling 
 
Chase of the Hornet by the Cormvallis. 
 
1815. WONDERFUL ESCAPE OF THE HORNET. 655 
 
 about our ears, and not a person on board had the 
 most distant idea that there was a possibility of escape. 
 We all packed our things and waited until the enemy s 
 shot would compel us to heave to and surrender. Many 
 of our men had been impressed and imprisoned for 
 years in their horrible service and hated them and their 
 nation with the most deadly animosity, while the rest 
 of the crew, horror-struck with the narration of the suf 
 ferings of their shipmates who had been in the power 
 of the English, and now equally flushed with rage, 
 joined heartily in execrating the present authors of our 
 misfortune. Captain Biddle mustered the men and 
 told them he was pleased with their conduct during the 
 chase, and hoped still to perceive that propriety of con 
 duct which had always marked their character and that 
 of the American tar generally ; that we might soon 
 expect to be captured, etc. Not a dry eye was to be 
 seen at the mention of the capture of the poor little 
 Hornet." 1 
 
 The stranger continued his cannonading, but owing 
 to his " unskillful firing" 2 only three shot came aboard 
 the Hornet. One struck the jib-boom, another struck 
 the starboard bulwark just forward of the gangway, 
 and a third fell on the main deck immediately over the 
 head Of one of the men who had been disabled in the 
 action with the Penguin, where he was lying in his rot 
 very ill with his wounds. The shot was near coming 
 through the deck, and it threw innumerable splinters 
 all around him and struck down a small paper, the 
 American Ensign, which he had hoisted over his head. 
 The wind, which up to this time had been unfavorable 
 for the Hornet, now shifted to the southeast, and then 
 freshened up from the west. This, by sunset, enabled 
 the Hornet to put the enemy four miles astern west 
 ward, and during the following night the weather be- 
 
 1 Private journal of one of the Hornet s officers. 
 8 James History of the British Navy, vol. vi, p. 266. 
 
056 THE EAST INDIA SQUADRON. 1815. 
 
 came cloudy and squally. Occasionally the ship of 
 the line was seen, but by daylight of the 30th she was 
 fully twelve miles behind. At 9.30 A. M. she took in 
 her studding sails, and by 11 A. M. she had faded from 
 view, and the Hornet made for the United States. The 
 stranger was afterward known to have been the British 
 ship of the line Cornwallis, bearing the flag of Eear- 
 Admiral Sir George Burlton. 
 
 After dropping the Cornwallis out of sight, the 
 Peacock continued her cruise in the Indian Ocean, and 
 caused great damage to British commerce. At four 
 o clock in the afternoon of June 30th, while in the 
 Straits of Sunda, she fell in with the British cruiser 
 Nautilus, Lieutenant Charles Boyce, and on coming 
 within hail Lieutenant Boyce asked if the Americans 
 knew that peace had been declared, which was answered 
 in the negative, and, having no assurance of it further 
 than the Englishman s statement, Captain Warring- 
 ton insisted on a surrender. As the Nautilus was 
 near the fort of Anjiers and had her crew at quarters, 
 Captain Warrington had reason to suspect that this 
 might be a ruse on the part of the British commander 
 to escape from the Peacock and gain the cover of the 
 fort. Just at this moment several men from the fort 
 boarded the Peacock, but "very improperly omitted 
 mentioning that peace existed," 1 and, as the Americans 
 were in momentary expectation of an engagement, the 
 men were hurried below and secured. A gun was then 
 fired at the Nautilus to induce her to surrender. This 
 brought out an entire broadside from the brig, to 
 which the Peacock responded, killing six and wound 
 ing eight men, upon which the Nautilus struck. No 
 injury was sustained by the Peacock. The prize car 
 ried ten short 18-pounders and four long 9-pounders in 
 all, fourteen guns, with one hundred and eight pounds 
 of metal to the broadside, and had a crew of thirty-nine 
 
 1 Official report of Captain Warrington. 
 
1815. THE PEACOCK-NAUTILUS ACTION. (J5T 
 
 European officers and seamen and forty marines and 
 lascars ; the total on board, including some European 
 invalid soldiers, being about one hundred. 1 Lieuten 
 ant Boyce received a grapeshot wound at the first 
 broadside, and soon afterward a 32-pound shot shat 
 tered his right knee joint and splintered his thigh bone. 
 His first lieutenant, Robert Mayston, was also wounded. 
 The Nautilus was severely damaged ; her bends on 
 the starboard side were shivered from the fore chains 
 aft, and the bulwarks were much injured from the 
 chesstree aft, while the lower masts and tiller were 
 injured, and the boom and mainsail were perforated 
 with grapeshot. The launch and cutter were cut to 
 pieces, two guns were disabled, and the iron stock, 
 ring and fluke of the sheet anchor were shot away. 
 Four 32-pound shot were taken out of her, one of them 
 being lodged under the counter, near the water line. 
 
 Comparative force and loss. 
 
 Guns. Lbs. Killed. Wounded. Total. 
 
 Peacock: 22 309 
 
 Nautilus: 14 108 6 8 14 
 
 It is reasonable to suppose that Captain Warring- 
 ton, at such a distance from home, must have been in 
 doubt as to the truth of the rumors of peace. Had 
 they been false, he would have been regarded as being 
 very " simple" in allowing the Nautilus to escape his 
 grasp. When the rumors of peace were confirmed he 
 carefully repaired the Nautilus and returned her to 
 the English. The Peacock arrived in New York on the 
 30th of October, having secured five thousand dollars 
 in specie, besides many valuable cargoes. 
 
 In the autumn of 1814 the Government fitted out 
 two flying squadrons to cruise in the West Indies. 
 The first of the squadrons, under command of Captain 
 Porter, consisted of the schooners or brigantines Fire- 
 
 1 C. R. Low s History of the Indian Navy, vol. i, p. 285. 
 
658 THE BAST INDIA SQUADRON, 1815. 
 
 fly (flagship) ; Spark, Master-Commandant Gamble ; 
 Torch, Master-Commandant Chauncey ; /Spitfire, Cap 
 tain Cassin ; and Flambeau, Master-Commandant J. B. 
 Nicholson. The second squadron, under command of 
 Captain Perry, consisted of the brigs Boxer, Lieutenant 
 John Porter ; Saranac, Lieutenant Elton ; Chippewa, 
 Lieutenant G. Campbell Read ; and Escape or Prome 
 theus, Lieutenant Joseph J. Mcholson. The squadron 
 was ordered to destroy every prize that fell into its 
 hands, and not to attempt to bring any captures into 
 port except under extraordinary circumstances. But 
 the war terminated before the vessels could put to sea, 
 the treaty being ratified February 18, 1815. 
 
 Commenting on the Treaty of Ghent, the London 
 Times of December 30, 1814, says: "We have retired 
 from the combat with the stripes yet bleeding on our 
 backs. Even yet, however, if we could but close the 
 war with some great naval triumph the reputation of 
 our maritime greatness might be partially restored. 
 But to say that it has not hitherto suffered in the esti 
 mation of all Europe, and, what is worse, of America 
 herself, is to belie common sense and universal experi 
 ence. Two or three of our ships have struck to a 
 force vastly inferior ! JN"o ; not two or three, but many 
 on the ocean and whole squadrons on the lakes ; and 
 the numbers are to be viewed with relation to the com 
 parative magnitude of the two navies. Scarcely is there 
 an American ship of war which has not to boast a vic 
 tory over the British flag ; scarcely one British ship in 
 thirty or forty that has beaten an American. With 
 the bravest seamen and the most powerful navy in the 
 world, we retire from the contest when the balance of 
 defeat is so heavy against us." And this was written 
 before the Times had heard of the capture of the Cyane 
 and the Levant by the Constitution, the disabling of 
 the Endymion by the President, or the brilliant vic 
 tory of the Hornet over the Penguin. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 EEUBEN JAMES. 
 
 REUBEN JAMES was a typical American tar. He 
 was born in Delaware, entered upon a sailor s life when 
 a boy, was captured in 1797 by a French privateer and 
 suffered great hardships. On his liberation he shipped 
 in the Constellation in 1799, and was in the battles be 
 tween that frigate and the Insurgent and the Ven 
 geance. In 1804 he sailed for the Mediterranean in 
 the 44-gun frigate United States, and was one of the 
 iirst to volunteer under Lieutenant Decatur when he 
 destroyed the Philadelphia in the harbor of Tripoli, 
 and he remained under Decatur s command in all the 
 fierce hand-to-hand encounters off Tripoli. When he 
 recovered from his wounds, Decatur asked him what he 
 could do for him. At that time Reuben was a quarter 
 gunner, and taking off his hat he said, after a pause : 
 "Nothing, sir, but to let somebody else hand out the 
 hammocks to the men when they are piped down." 
 
 He followed Decatur from the Enterprise to the 
 Constitution and to the Congress. He crossed the At 
 lantic in a gunboat commanded by Master-Commandant 
 James Lawrence, when he again joined his old com 
 mander. He was in the United States during her ac 
 tion with the Macedonian, and was in the President 
 when she was captured by a British squadron in Jan 
 uary, 1815, on which occasion he was three times 
 wounded before he would allow himself to be carried 
 below. He followed Decatur to the Algerian war in 
 
 (659) 
 
660 APPENDIX. 
 
 1815, and was in the new 44-gun frigate Guerriere when 
 she captured the MasUouda off the coast of Africa. In 
 the long peace that followed he was constantly cruis 
 ing in United States vessels in the Mediterranean, the 
 West Indies and the Pacific Ocean, and, to use his own 
 expression, he had seen " ten fights and as many scrim 
 mages." In the autumn of 1836 he went to Washing 
 ton to get a pension, and as he was suffering from an 
 old musket-ball wound, his limb was amputated in 
 order to save his life. With characteristic indifference 
 to danger or suffering, the old tar, when informed that 
 the operation was about to be performed, merely re 
 marked that it was not quite ship-shape to put him 
 under jury masts until in harbor, and the day after, 
 when his symptoms became alarming, his only request 
 was that the surgeon, Dr. Foltz, should "ease him off 
 handsomely." Reuben was a heavy drinker, and when 
 it became necessary to administer stimulants he was 
 asked whether he preferred brown stout or brandy 
 toddy, and replied, "Doctor, suppose you give me 
 both." But Reuben s time had not come yet. He sur 
 vived several years, although his body* was riddled 
 with bullets and scarred with saber cuts. 
 
 END OF VOLUME I. 
 
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