The history of our Navy from its origin to the present day 1775-1897, vol. 2 (of 4)

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Title: The history of our Navy from its origin to the present day 1775-1897, vol. 2 (of 4)
Author: Spears, John Randolph
Language: English
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Superscripts are shown as ^x. Other notes will be found near the end of
this eBook.

THE HISTORY OF OUR NAVY

[Illustration: THE _CONSTITUTION_ AND _GUERRIÈRE_.

_From a French water-color drawing in the possession of Mr. W. C.
Crane._]

THE
HISTORY OF OUR NAVY

FROM ITS ORIGIN TO THE PRESENT DAY

1775–1897

BY
JOHN R. SPEARS

AUTHOR OF “THE PORT OF MISSING SHIPS,” “THE GOLD DIGGINGS
OF CAPE HORN,” ETC.

WITH MORE THAN FOUR HUNDRED ILLUSTRATIONS
MAPS AND DIAGRAMS

_IN FOUR VOLUMES_

_VOLUME II._

NEW YORK
CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS
1897

MANHATTAN PRESS
474 W. BROADWAY
NEW YORK

TO ALL WHO WOULD SEEK PEACE
AND PURSUE IT

CONTENTS

PAGE
CHAPTER I. TROUBLES ON THE EVE OF WAR. 1

A Fair Estimate of the Number of Americans Enslaved by the
Press-Gangs--A Braggart British Captain’s Work at Sandy Hook--A
Search for the _Guerrière_--Attack on the British Ship _Little
Belt_--A Feature of the Battle that was Overlooked--When the
_Constitution_ Showed her Teeth the British Ship Brailed its Spanker
and Headed for Safer Waters--An Eager Yankee Sailor who Couldn’t Wait
for an Order to Fire--War Unavoidable.

CHAPTER II. THE OUTLOOK WAS, AT FIRST, NOT PLEASING 20

The Silly Cry of “On to Canada!”--The Naval Forces of the United
States Compared with Those of Great Britain--The Foresight and Quick
Work of Captain Rodgers in Getting a Squadron to Sea--But he Missed
the Jamaica Fleet he was After, and when he Fell in with a British
Frigate, the Results of the Affair were Lamentable.

CHAPTER III. THE FIRST EXHIBIT OF YANKEE METTLE 33

Captain David Porter’s Ideas about Training Seamen--The Guns of the
_Essex_--Taking a Transport out of a Convoy at Night--A British
Frigate Captain who was Called a Coward by his Countrymen--Captain
Laugharne’s Mistake--A Fight that began with Cheers and ended in
Dismay for which there was Good Cause--Work that was Done by Yankee
Gunners in Eight Minutes--When Farragut Saved the Ship--An Attack on
a Fifty-gun Ship Planned.

CHAPTER IV. A RACE FOR THE LIFE OF A NATION 51

Story of the _Constitution’s_ Escape from a British Squadron off the
Jersey Beach--Four Frigates and a Liner were after her--For more
than two Days the Brave Old Captain Stood at his Post while the Ship
Tacked and Wore and Reached and Ran, and the tireless Sailors Towed
and Kedged and Wet the Sails to Catch the Shifting Air--Though once
Half-surrounded and once within Range, _Old Ironsides_ Eluded the
whole Squadron till a Friendly Squall Came to Wrap her in its Black
Folds and Carry her far from Danger.

CHAPTER V. THE _CONSTITUTION_ AND THE _GUERRIÈRE_ 71

The British Captain could scarcely Believe that a Yankee would be
Bold Enough to Attack him, and was Sure of Victory in Less than an
Hour, but when the Yankees had been Firing at the _Guerrière_ for
Thirty Minutes she was a Dismantled Hulk, Rapidly Sinking out of
Sight--“The Sea never Rolled over a Vessel whose Fate so Startled
the World”--Sundry Admissions her Loss Extorted from the Enemy--A
Comparison of the Ships.

CHAPTER VI. FOUGHT IN A HATTERAS GALE 104

When the Second Yankee _Wasp_ Fell in with the British _Frolic_--They
Tumbled about in the Cross Sea in a Way that Destroyed the British
“Aim,” but the Yankees Watched the Roll of their Ship, and when they
were Done they had Killed and Wounded Nine-tenths of the Enemy’s Crew
and Wrecked his Vessel--the _Frolic_ was a Larger Ship, carried more
Guns, and had all the Men she could Use, “Fine, Able-bodied Seamen,”
sure enough!

CHAPTER VII. BROUGHT THE _MACEDONIAN_ INTO PORT 120

Story of the Second Frigate Duel of the War of 1812--The _Macedonian_
was a new Ship, and had been Built with a full Knowledge of the
Yankee Frigates--Whipped, but not Destroyed--Estimating a Crew’s
Skill by the Number of Shots that Hit--Suppose the Armaments of
the Ships had been Reversed--Impressed Americans Killed when
Forced to Fight against their own Flag--“The Noblest Sight in
Natur’”--A First-rate Frigate, as a Prize, Brought Home by Brave
Decatur--Enthusiastic Celebrations of the Victory throughout the
United States.

CHAPTER VIII. WHEN THE _CONSTITUTION_ SANK THE _JAVA_ 152

The British had Plenty of Pluck, and Lambert was a skilful Seaman;
but his Gunners had not Learned to Shoot, while the Yankees were able
Marksmen--The _Java_ was Ruined beyond Repair--Proof that the British
Published Garbled Reports of Battles with the Americans--Though
Twice Wounded, Bainbridge Remained on Deck--Wide Difference in
Losses--Story of a Midshipman--When Bainbridge was a Merchant Captain.

CHAPTER IX. WHIPPED IN FOURTEEN MINUTES 178

The Remarkable Battle between the Yankee _Hornet_ and the British
_Peacock_--The British Ship was so Pretty she was Known as “The
Yacht,” but her Gunners could not Hit the Broadside of the _Hornet_
when the Ships were in Contact--As her Flag came Down a Signal of
Distress went Up, for she was Sinking--The Efforts of two Crews could
not Save her--“A Vessel Moored for the Purpose of Experiment could
not have been sunk Sooner”--Infamous Treatment of American Seamen
Repaid by the Golden Rule--Captain Greene, of the _Bonne Citoyenne_,
did not dare Meet the _Hornet_.

CHAPTER X. LOSS OF LAWRENCE AND THE _CHESAPEAKE_ 193

The Yankees had Won so Often that they were Underestimating the Enemy
and were Over-confident in Themselves--A Mixed Crew, Newly Shipped,
Untrained and Mutinous, Ten Per Cent. of them being British--The
Result was Natural and Inevitable--Chivalry a Plenty; Common-sense
Wanting--The “Shannons” were Trained like Yankees--A Fierce
Conflict--Significance of the Joy of the British over the _Shannon’s_
Victory.

CHAPTER XI. THE PRIVATEERS OF 1812 233

Property Afloat as a Pledge of Peace--Foreign Aggression had Taught
the Americans how to Build and Sail swift Cruisers--Odd Names--The
First Prizes--Commodore Joshua Barney and the _Rossie_--A Famous
Cruise--Some Rich Prizes were Captured, but only a Few of the
Privateers made Money--Beat off a War-ship that Threw Six Times her
Weight of Metal--A Battle in Sight of La Guayra.

CHAPTER XII. EARLY WORK ON THE GREAT LAKES 259

It was a beautiful Region unmarred by the Hand of Man in those
Days--The Long Trail to Oswego--The First Yankee War-ship on Fresh
Water--The British Get Ahead of us on Lake Ontario--Good Work of “The
Old Sow” at Sackett’s Harbor--A Dash into Kingston Harbor--The Story
of the Brilliant Work by which Jesse D. Elliott Won a Sword and the
Admiration of the Nation.

CHAPTER XIII. THE BATTLE ON LAKE ERIE 280

Building War-ships and Gun-boats in the Wilderness--Lifting the
Vessels over a Sand-bar--Fortunately the British Commander was
Fond of Public Entertainments--The two Squadrons and their Crews
Compared--The Advantage of a Concentrated Force was with the
British--On the Way to Meet the Enemy--“To Windward or to Leeward
they shall Fight To-day”--The Anglo-Saxon Cheer--The Brunt of
the Fight Borne by the Flag-ship--A Frightful Slaughter there
in Consequence--When Perry Worked the Guns with his own Hands,
and even the Wounded Crawled up the Hatch to Lend a Hand at the
Side-tackles--An Able First Lieutenant--Wounded Exposed to the Fire
when under the Surgeon’s Care--The Last Gun Disabled--Shifting
the Flag to the _Niagara_--Cheers that were Heard above the Roar
of Cannon--When the Wounded of the _Lawrence_ cried “Sink the
Ship!”--Driving the _Niagara_ through the British Squadron--The White
Handkerchief Fluttering from a Boarding-pike--“We have Met the Enemy,
and they are Ours.”

CHAPTER XIV. INCIDENTS OF THE BATTLE ON LAKE ERIE 326

Two of the Enemy’s Vessels that Tried to get Away--A Yankee
Sailor’s Reason for Wanting one more Shot--When Perry Returned
to the _Lawrence_--The Dead and Wounded--Effect of the Victory
on the People--Honors to the Victors--The Case of Lieutenant
Elliott--Ultimate Fate of some of the Ships.

CHAPTER XV. THE WAR ON LAKE ONTARIO 339

The Capture of York (Toronto) by the Americans--A Victory at
the Mouth of the Niagara River--British Account of the Attack
on Sackett’s Harbor--Tales of the Prudence of Sir James Yeo and
Commodore Chauncey--The Americans did somewhat Better than the
British, but Missed a great Opportunity--Small Affairs on Lake
Champlain during the Summer of 1813.

CHAPTER XVI. LOSS OF THE LITTLE SLOOP _ARGUS_ 356

She was Captured by the _Pelican_, a Vessel that was of slightly
superior Force--A Clean Victory for the British, but one that in no
Way Disheartens the Fiercest of the American Patriots--Ill-luck of
“the Waggon.”

CHAPTER XVII. THE LUCK OF A YANKEE CRUISER 372

There was never a more fortunate Vessel than the Clipper-schooner
_Enterprise_--As originally Designed she was the Swiftest and Best
All-around Naval Ship of her Class Afloat--Men she made Famous in
the West Indies--A Glorious Career in the War with the Mediterranean
Pirates--Even when the Wisdom of the Navy Department Changed her
to a Brig and Overloaded her with Guns so that she “Couldn’t Get
Out of her own Way,” her Luck did not Fail her--Her Fight with the
_Boxer_--Even a good Frigate could not Catch her.

CHAPTER XVIII. GUN-BOATS NOT WHOLLY WORTHLESS 388

Even in the worst View of them they are Worth Consideration--The
Best of them Described--The Hopes of those who, like Jefferson,
Believed in them--Reasons for their General Worthlessness that should
have been Manifest before they were Built--Promoted Drunkenness
and Debauchery--They Protected Yankee Commerce in Long Island
Sound--A Fight with a Squadron in Chesapeake Bay--When the Braggart
Captain Pechell Met the Yankees--Sailing-master Sheed’s Brave
Defence of “No. 121”--Commodore Barney in the Patuxent River--When
Sailing-master Travis of the _Surveyor_ made a good Fight--A Wounded
Yankee Midshipman Murdered--Men who made Fame in Shoal Water below
Charleston.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE
THE _CONSTITUTION_ AND _GUERRIÈRE_. (From a French water-color
drawing in the possession of Mr. W. C. Crane), _Frontispiece._

ENGLISH VESSEL OF ONE HUNDRED GUNS. (From an engraving by
Verico), 3

A FRIGATE WITH HER SAILS LOOSE TO DRY. (From a wood-cut in the
“Kedge Anchor”), 5

JOHN RODGERS. (From the portrait by Jarvis at the Naval
Academy), 9

THE _LITTLE BELT_ BREAKING UP AT BATTERSEA. (From an engraving
by Cooke of a drawing by Francia), 12

THE SECTION OF A FIRST-RATE SHIP. (From an old engraving), 17

A BRIGANTINE OF A HUNDRED YEARS AGO AT ANCHOR. (From a picture
drawn and engraved by Baugean), 22

AN ENGLISH ADMIRAL OF 1809. (From an engraving at the Navy
Department, Washington), 24

REPRESENTATION OF A SHIP-OF-WAR, DRESSED WITH FLAGS, AND YARDS
MANNED. (From the “Kedge Anchor”), 27

THE INTERNAL ARRANGEMENTS AND STOWAGE OF AN AMERICAN
SLOOP-OF-WAR. (From the “Kedge Anchor”), 28

GUNS SECURED FOR A GALE. (From the “Kedge Anchor”), 30

DAVID PORTER. (From an engraving by Edwin of the portrait by
Wood), 35

FIGHT OF THE _ESSEX_ AND THE _ALERT_. (From an old wood-cut), 41

AN ENGLISH THIRTY-GUN CORVETTE. (From an engraving by Merlo in
1794), 45

SIR JOHN THOMAS DUCKWORTH. (From an English engraving), 48

ISAAC HULL. (From an engraving at the Navy Department,
Washington, of the painting by Stuart), 54

THE _CONSTITUTION’S_ ESCAPE FROM THE BRITISH SQUADRON AFTER A
CHASE OF SIXTY HOURS. (From an engraving by Hoogland of the
picture by Corné), 57

TOWING A BECALMED FRIGATE. (From a picture drawn and engraved
by Baugean), 59

CHASE OF THE _CONSTITUTION_ OFF THE JERSEY COAST. (From the
painting by Inch at the Naval Academy, Annapolis), 65

THE _CONSTITUTION_ BEARING DOWN FOR THE _GUERRIÈRE_. (From an
old wood-cut), 71

ACTION BETWEEN THE _CONSTITUTION_ AND THE _GUERRIÈRE_.--I.
(From the painting by Birch at the Naval Academy, Annapolis), 77

ACTION BETWEEN THE _CONSTITUTION_ AND THE _GUERRIÈRE_.--II.
(From the painting by Birch at the Naval Academy, Annapolis), 81

THE _CONSTITUTION_ IN CLOSE ACTION WITH THE _GUERRIÈRE_. (From
an old wood-cut), 83

ACTION BETWEEN THE _CONSTITUTION_ AND THE _GUERRIÈRE_.--III.
(From the painting by Birch at the Naval Academy, Annapolis), 85

DIAGRAM OF THE _CONSTITUTION-GUERRIÈRE_ BATTLE, 87

ACTION BETWEEN THE _CONSTITUTION_ AND THE _GUERRIÈRE_.--IV.
(From the painting by Birch at the Naval Academy, Annapolis), 89

SIR JAMES RICHARD DACRES. (From an English engraving published
in 1811), 93

MEDAL AWARDED TO ISAAC HULL AFTER THE CAPTURE OF THE
_GUERRIÈRE_ BY THE _CONSTITUTION_, 102

JACOB JONES. (From an engraving by Edwin of the portrait by
Rembrandt Peale), 105

DIAGRAM OF THE _WASP-FROLIC_ BATTLE, 108

THE _WASP_ BOARDING THE _FROLIC_. (From an old wood-cut), 111

THE _WASP_ AND _FROLIC_. (From an original water-color by H.
Rich, at the Naval Academy, Annapolis), 113

JAMES BIDDLE. (From an engraving by Gimbrede of the portrait by
Wood), 115

MEDAL AWARDED TO JACOB JONES AFTER THE CAPTURE OF THE _FROLIC_
BY THE _WASP_, 118

CAPTURE OF THE _MACEDONIAN_. (From an engraving in Waldo’s
“Decatur”), 123

DIAGRAM OF THE BATTLE BETWEEN THE _UNITED STATES_ AND
_MACEDONIAN_, 127

BATTLE BETWEEN THE _UNITED STATES_ AND THE _MACEDONIAN_. (From
an engraving by Duthie of the drawing by Chappel), 129

THE BATTLE BETWEEN THE _UNITED STATES_ AND THE _MACEDONIAN_.
(Drawn by a sailor who was on the _UNITED STATES_. From the
original drawing at the Naval Academy, Annapolis), 135

STEPHEN DECATUR. (From the portrait by Thomas Sully at the
Naval Academy, Annapolis), 145

MEDAL AWARDED TO STEPHEN DECATUR AFTER THE CAPTURE OF THE
_MACEDONIAN_ BY THE _UNITED STATES_, 150

BILLET-HEAD OF THE _CONSTITUTION_. (From the original at the
Naval Institute, Annapolis), 153

DIAGRAM OF THE BATTLE OF THE _CONSTITUTION_ AND _JAVA_, 158

THE BATTLE BETWEEN THE _CONSTITUTION_ AND THE _JAVA_.--I. (“At
five minutes past three o’clock, as the _Java’s_ foremast
fell.” From an engraving by Havel, after a sketch by
Lieutenant Buchanan), 159

THE BATTLE BETWEEN THE _CONSTITUTION_ AND THE _JAVA_.--II.
(“At half-past four o’clock, as the _Constitution_ began to
make sail.” From an engraving by Havel, after a sketch by
Lieutenant Buchanan), 163

THE _JAVA_ SURRENDERING TO THE _CONSTITUTION_. (From an old
wood-cut), 167

MEDAL AWARDED TO WILLIAM BAINBRIDGE AFTER THE CAPTURE OF THE
_JAVA_ BY THE _CONSTITUTION_, 175

THE _HORNET_ BLOCKADING THE _BONNE CITOYENNE_. (From an old
wood-cut), 180

DIAGRAM OF THE _HORNET-PEACOCK_ BATTLE, 183

JOHN T. SHUBRICK. (From an engraving by Gimbrede), 185

THE _HORNET_ SINKING THE _PEACOCK_. (From an old wood-cut), 186

MEDAL AWARDED TO JAMES LAWRENCE, AFTER THE CAPTURE OF THE
_PEACOCK_ BY THE _HORNET_, 191

JAMES LAWRENCE. (From an engraving by Edwin of the portrait by
Stuart), 195

SIR PHILIP BOWES VERE BROKE, BART. (From a lithograph of the
portrait by Lane), 201

JAMES LAWRENCE. (From an engraving by Edwin), 205

THE _CHESAPEAKE_ AND _SHANNON_.--COMMENCEMENT OF THE BATTLE.
(From an engraving at the Navy Department, Washington), 207

THE _CHESAPEAKE_ AND _SHANNON_.--AFTER THE FIRST TWO BROADSIDES
FROM THE LATTER. (From an engraving at the Navy Department,
Washington), 211

DIAGRAM OF THE _CHESAPEAKE-SHANNON_ BATTLE, 213

“DON’T GIVE UP THE SHIP!”--DEATH OF CAPTAIN LAWRENCE. (From an
engraving by Hall of the picture by Chappel), 215

THE _CHESAPEAKE_ AND _SHANNON_.--THE _SHANNON’S_ MEN BOARDING.
(From an engraving at the Navy Department, Washington), 219

THE FIGHT ON THE _CHESAPEAKE’S_ FORECASTLE. (From a lithograph
in the “Memoir of Admiral Broke”), 223

THE _SHANNON_ TAKING THE _CHESAPEAKE_ INTO HALIFAX HARBOR.
(From an engraving at the Navy Department, Washington), 227

“IN MEMORY OF CAPTAIN JAMES LAWRENCE.” (From an old engraving), 231

SHIP’S PAPERS OF THE _WILLIAM BAYARD_ IN 1810, SIGNED BY
NAPOLEON. (From the original at the Naval Institute,
Annapolis), 236–7

BATTLE BETWEEN THE SCHOONER _ATLAS_ AND TWO BRITISH SHIPS,
AUGUST 5, 1812. (From a lithograph in Coggeshall’s
“Privateers”), 243

THE _ROSSIE_ AND THE _PRINCESS AMELIA_. (From a lithograph in
Coggeshall’s “Privateers”), 249

BATTLE BETWEEN THE SCHOONER _SARATOGA_ AND THE BRIG _RACHEL_.
(From a lithograph in Coggeshall’s “Privateers”), 255

JESSE D. ELLIOTT. (From a lithograph at the Navy Department,
Washington), 260

SACKETT’S HARBOR, 1814. (After an old engraving), 264

MAP, SCENE OF NAVAL OPERATIONS ON LAKE ONTARIO, 1812–1813, 266

CAPTAIN WOOLSEY. (From a painting at the Naval Academy,
Annapolis), 269

WILKINSON’S FLOTILLA. (From an old wood-cut), 272

DETROIT IN 1815. (After an old engraving), 274

CAPTURE OF THE BRITISH BRIGS _DETROIT_ AND _CALEDONIA_, OCTOBER
12, 1812. (From a wood-cut prepared under the supervision of
Lieutenant Jesse D. Elliott himself), 277

O. H. PERRY. (From an engraving by Forrest of the portrait by
Jarvis), 281

PORT OF BUFFALO IN 1815. (After a contemporary engraving),
284–5

MAP OF THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE, 293

PERRY AND HIS OFFICERS ON BOARD THE FLAG-SHIP _LAWRENCE_,
PREPARING FOR THE ENGAGEMENT. (From an old wood-cut), 303

DIAGRAM OF PERRY’S VICTORY--THE APPROACH. (After Ward’s “Naval
Tactics”), 304

THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE. (From an old engraving), 308

FIRST VIEW OF PERRY’S VICTORY. (From an engraving of a drawing
by Corné), 310

“PERRY’S SIEG.”--A GERMAN VIEW OF THE VICTORY ON LAKE ERIE.
(From an old engraving), 312

DIAGRAM OF PERRY’S VICTORY.--POSITIONS AT HEIGHT OF BATTLE, 314

SECOND VIEW OF PERRY’S VICTORY. (From an engraving of a drawing
by Corné), 316

PERRY TRANSFERRING HIS COLORS. (After the painting by Powell), 319

“WE HAVE MET THE ENEMY AND THEY ARE OURS.” (From the “Naval
Monument”), 324

STEPHEN CHAMPLIN. (From a painting at the Naval Academy,
Annapolis), 327

THE MEDAL AWARDED TO OLIVER H. PERRY AFTER HIS VICTORY ON LAKE
ERIE, 334

MEDAL AWARDED TO JESSE D. ELLIOTT, 335

MAP OF NIAGARA RIVER, 340

THE DEATH OF GENERAL PIKE. (From an old wood-cut), 342

THE NIAGARA RIVER AND SCENES FROM THE WAR OF 1812. (From an
engraving in Hinton’s “History of the United States”), 343

ISAAC CHAUNCEY. (From an engraving by Edwin of the portrait by
Wood), 345

CAPTAIN SIR JAMES LUCAS YEO. (From an engraving by Cook of the
portrait by Buck), 347

BUFFALO, N. Y., BURNED BY THE BRITISH, DECEMBER 30, 1813. (From
an old wood-cut), 354

THE _ARGUS_ BURNING BRITISH VESSELS. (From an old wood-cut), 361

THE _ARGUS_ CAPTURED BY THE _PELICAN_, AUGUST 14, 1813. (From
an engraving by Sutherland of the painting by Whitcombe), 365

THE _ENTERPRISE_ AND _BOXER_. (From a wood-cut in the “Naval
Monument”), 377

DIAGRAM OF THE _ENTERPRISE-BOXER_ BATTLE, 378

MEDAL AWARDED TO EDWARD R. MCCALL AFTER THE BATTLE BETWEEN THE
_ENTERPRISE_ AND THE _BOXER_, 385

OLD-TIME NAVAL GUNNERY. (From a wood-cut), 391

JOHN CASSIN. (From a lithograph at the Navy Department,
Washington), 399

JOSHUA BARNEY. (From an engraving of the painting by Chappel), 404

MAP OF CHESAPEAKE BAY, 411

THE FLAG OF FORT MCHENRY--AFTER THE BRITISH ATTACK IN 1814.
(From a photograph at the Naval Academy, Annapolis), 415

THE CAPTURE OF WASHINGTON. (From an old wood-cut), 416

THE HISTORY OF OUR NAVY

CHAPTER I

TROUBLES ON THE EVE OF WAR

A FAIR ESTIMATE OF THE NUMBER OF AMERICANS ENSLAVED BY THE PRESS
GANGS--A BRAGGART BRITISH CAPTAIN’S WORK AT SANDY HOOK--A SEARCH
FOR THE _GUERRIÈRE_--ATTACK ON THE BRITISH SHIP _LITTLE BELT_--A
FEATURE OF THE BATTLE THAT WAS OVERLOOKED--WHEN THE _CONSTITUTION_
SHOWED HER TEETH THE BRITISH SHIP BRAILED ITS SPANKER AND HEADED
FOR SAFER WATERS--AN EAGER YANKEE SAILOR WHO COULDN’T WAIT FOR AN
ORDER TO FIRE--WAR UNAVOIDABLE.

By base arts and promises intended to be broken--by sending, for
instance, one George Rose as a commissioner to Washington, ostensibly
to adjust the whole matter amicably, but in reality to gain time, the
British Prime Minister (the “impetuous Canning”) succeeded in getting
the _Chesapeake_ affair “put out to nurse.” The three American seamen
were “reprieved on condition of re-entering the British service; not,
however, without a grave lecture from Berkeley on the enormity of
their offence, and its tendency to provoke a war.” Berkeley himself was
called home. The British Minister told the American Government this was
done by way of reproval for Berkeley’s act in ordering the assault on
the _Chesapeake_. As a matter of fact, he was at once rewarded with a
more important command than that he had held--just as the commander of
the _Leander_ was promoted after having shot to death the man at the
tiller of an American coaster.

Not only was the _Chesapeake_ affair “put out to nurse,” it was
actually nursed to sleep. The people waited for the politicians to
adjust it, but waited in vain, waited and watched while the brutal
press-gangs continued their work. The results of these press-gang
assaults upon American seamen seem--as seems the patience of the
American people--almost incredible. But the figures are a matter of
undisputed record. The American Minister in London, during one period
of nine months, presented two hundred and seventy one petitions,
begging the release of that number of American impressed seamen.

The British Admiralty at one time reported 2,548 seamen in the service
who had refused to do duty on the ground that they were enslaved
American citizens.

[Illustration: English Vessel of One Hundred Cannons]

Lord Castlereagh admitted in a speech before Parliament on February
18, 1811, that “out of 145,000 seamen employed in the British service
the whole number of American subjects amounts to more than 3,300.” And
when the papers of the State Department at Washington were searched it
was found that the friends of the enormous number of 6,257 different
American citizens, impressed into the British service, had filed
protests there.

That more than two men would be so impressed without having a protest
filed, to every one for whom such a protest was filed, is a matter of
course. And what is the moderate conclusion drawn from these facts? It
is that more than twenty thousand free American men were forced into
the service of the British navy by the press-gangs. Their fate, save
in a few cases, is unrecorded, but we know that some met the perils of
the deep and were lost. Many were sent to the fever coasts of Africa
and there died. Some were flogged to death at the order of officers
who laughed at their tortures. And of the rest--the few--we shall read
farther on. For their cries to righteous heaven for help, and the wails
of mothers and wives and children left helpless by these aggressions,
were to be heard at last.

[Illustration: A Frigate with her Sails Loose to Dry.

_From a wood-cut in the “Kedge Anchor.”_]

A body of Massachusetts Tory merchants strove wickedly and falsely to
make the world believe that Massachusetts homes had not been invaded
by the press-gangs; a member of Congress stood in his place to say that
in spite of restrictions the nation had “profitably exported” goods
worth forty-five millions of dollars during one year, and asked if all
that trade was to be sacrificed in order to strike a blow for mere
sentiment; the faint-hearted pointed to the exhausted condition of the
national treasury, to the utter lack of trained soldiers, and to the
feebleness of the navy when it was compared with that of the nation
whose “naval supremacy was become a part of the law of nations.” But
all these were at last brushed aside by the indignant host that arose
to strike another blow for liberty--they were brushed aside so rudely,
that, in one place, at least, a mob violently assaulted the toady
element as represented by a Tory newspaper.

It happened that actual fighting occurred before war was declared, and
most significant was one feature of the first battle of the war of
1812. The British frigate _Guerrière_, of thirty-eight guns, commanded
then by Captain Samuel John Pechell, was one of the great host of
war-ships that hovered about the American coast in 1811, picking
able-bodied sailors from American ships, and in other ways annoying
American commerce. Captain Pechell’s contempt for the young republic
and his personal vanity were so great that he caused the name of his
ship to be painted in huge letters across his foretopsail. Like a
mine-camp bad man, he wanted every one to know who it was that tore
open the water and split the air off the American coast. He was looking
for trouble and his ship found enough of it, later on, although under
another commander. Pechell himself found it, also, but he did not stay
long to face it. In fact he fled from a very inferior force the moment
he smelled the burning powder.

On May 1, 1811, the American merchant brig, _Spitfire_, while en
route from Portland (formerly Falmouth), Maine, to New York, passed
the _Guerrière_, that was lying-to at Sandy Hook, and but eighteen
miles from New York City. The _Guerrière_, finding the brig bound in,
deliberately stopped her there within the waters of New York and took
off John Deguyo, an American citizen, who was a passenger.

At the time of this outrage the United States frigate _President_,
of forty-four guns, commanded by Captain John Rodgers, was lying
off Fort Severn, at Annapolis, Maryland. Captain Rodgers was at
Havre de Grace, her chaplain and purser were at Washington, and her
sailing-master was at Baltimore. That was in the days of stage coaches,
as the reader will recall, but in spite of the slowness with which
mails travelled--especially official mails--the _President_ tripped
her anchor at dawn on the morning of May 12th, and headed away for
the ocean, with her name painted on each of her three topsails. As a
poker-player might say, Captain Rodgers was holding three of a kind
to Captain Pechell’s ace high. That he had been sent to sea to look
for the _Guerrière_ and get John Deguyo from her does not admit of
a doubt, although he had not been specifically ordered to do so. He
had been ordered to cruise up and down the coast to “protect American
commerce,” and the facts of the _Guerrière’s_ assault upon the liberty
of John Deguyo had been communicated to him. The proper proceedings
in the matter should he fall in with the _Guerrière_ were left to his
discretion. That he assumed the responsibility gladly may be inferred
from what he said before sailing. He said that if he fell in with the
_Guerrière_ “he hoped he might prevail upon her commander to release
the impressed young man.”

Four days after leaving Annapolis (on May 16, 1811) the look-out
saw a man-of-war approaching, and the looked-for _Guerrière_ was
supposed to be at hand. But while yet too far away for her name to be
distinguished, the stranger wore around and headed away south. Still
supposing it was the _Guerrière_, Captain Rodgers made sail after her.
This was soon after the noonday meal. The _President_ steadily gained
on the stranger, but the wind was light, and a stern chase is a long
one. As night came on the stranger hauled to the wind and tacked, and
did various things, manifestly in the hope of evading the Yankee, but
all in vain, even though night and thick weather came on to help.

[Illustration: John Rodgers.

_From the portrait by Jarvis at the Naval Academy._]

Finally, at 8.20 o’clock the _President_, with her crew at quarters,
drew up close on the weather bow of the stranger, and Captain Rodgers
hailed from the lee rail:

“What ship is that?”

Instead of an answer, the stranger replied by hailing in turn:

“What ship is that?”

Captain Rodgers repeated his question, and to his intense surprise
he got for an answer a shot from the stranger that struck the
_President’s_ mainmast. Like an echo to this shot was one, fired
without orders, from the _President_. To this the stranger replied
with three shots in quick succession, and then with a broadside. At
that the impatient gunner who had fired from the _President_ without
orders had opportunity to try again under orders, and the rest of the
crew joined in. For ten minutes they loaded the guns with a rapidity
well worth noting, and fired with a deliberation and precision never to
be forgotten. And then the stranger almost ceased firing. Because she
was manifestly much inferior to the _President_ in armament, Captain
Rodgers ordered his men to cease firing, but no sooner had this order
been obeyed than the stranger opened once more, and his fire had to
be returned. The order was obeyed with such increasing good-will that,
in spite of darkness and growing wind and sea, one broadside knocked
the stranger helpless, so that she wore around stern on, where another
broadside might rake her fore and aft.

Now when Rodgers once more hailed he received a reply, but owing to his
position to windward he could not understand it, but it is recorded
that the captain pluckily said “no” when asked if he had struck.
However, Rodgers ran down under the stranger’s lee and hove to, where
he might be of service in case she should sink, and there he waited for
daylight.

During the night the two vessels drifted apart, but at 8 o’clock the
next morning the _President_ ranged up and sent Lieutenant Creighton on
board the stranger, to “regret the necessity which had led to such an
unhappy result,” and offer assistance, if any were needed.

It was then learned that she was the “twenty-gun corvette _Little
Belt_, Commander Arthur B. Bingham.” She had carried a crew of one
hundred and twenty-one all told, and of these no less than eleven were
killed, and twenty-one wounded--a list of casualties amounting to more
than one-fourth of all she carried, although, even by the British
account (see Allen) the time that elapsed between the first hail and
the last was but half an hour, while the time passed in actual combat
did not exceed fifteen minutes. On the _President_ one boy was slightly
hurt by a splinter.

[Illustration: The _Little Belt_ Breaking up at Battersea.

_From an engraving by Cooke of a drawing by Francia._]

In the controversy that followed this conflict the significance of the
figures--significance of the deadly fire of the Americans--was wholly
lost to sight. The whole affair was, of course, carefully investigated
by both Governments. The officers on each ship swore that the other
fired the first gun. The British captain’s statement, however, was
greatly weakened by his assertion that he had kept up the fight for
three-quarters of an hour and that he had really beaten off his bigger
opponent. So Allen, already quoted, says that “a gun was fired from
each ship, but whether by accident or design, or from which ship first,
remains involved in doubt.”

This fight occurred, as the reader remembers, when the two nations were
nominally at peace, but it was a blow--the first blow struck at the
press-gangs.

Another incident of similar import, though bloodless, occurred before
the end of the year 1811. The _Constitution_, Captain Isaac Hull,
had gone to Texel to carry specie for the payment of interest on the
American bonds held there, and when returning had called at Portsmouth
to enable Captain Hull to communicate with the American legation in
London. One night, while the captain was in London, a British officer
came on board the _Constitution_ to say that an American deserter was
on the British war-ship _Havana_, lying near by, and the _Constitution_
could have him by sending for him. So the executive officer,
Lieutenant Morris, sent a boat next morning, but it came back with a
notice that an order for the man must first be obtained from Admiral
Sir Roger Curtis. To this official then went Lieutenant Morris, when
the admiral calmly informed him that the man claimed to be a British
subject, and therefore he should not be returned.

It was fairly manifest that the British officials had for some reason
been playing with the temporary commander of the _Constitution_, but
Lieutenant Morris had his revenge within a day, for on the next night
a British sailor boarded the _Constitution_, admitted that he was a
deserter from the _Havana_, and said, when asked his nationality, that
he was “An American, sor.”

At that, word was sent the commander of the _Havana_ that a deserter
from his ship was on the _Constitution_, but when an officer from the
_Havana_ came after the man, Lieutenant Morris blandly informed him
that the man claimed to be an American and therefore he could not be
given up.

This threw the British naval people into a turmoil, and a little later
two British frigates shifted their berths and anchored where it was
probable that the _Constitution_ would, on getting under way, foul one
or the other.

Seeing they were laying a trap for him, Lieutenant Morris got up
anchor, and by the skill in handling a ship common among American
officers, dropped clear to a new berth.

Hardly was he at anchor again, however, before the two frigates once
more drew near and again anchored to trap the Yankee frigate.

The three ships were lying so when Captain Hull returned from London
that evening. That the Englishmen were intending to make trouble about
the sailor with a brogue seemed plain, but Captain Hull, remembering
the trick played on the _Chesapeake_, was not to be caught napping. He
cleared the ship for action, and, with battle-lanterns burning, guns
loaded, and extra ammunition at each gun, he made sail, got up his
anchor, and, slipping clear of the British frigates, put to sea. There
were two Britishers to the one Yankee, but the Yankee was ready to
fight.

As the _Constitution_ stood away down the roads the British frigates
made sail in chase. For a time the _Constitution_ carried a press of
canvas, but when it was seen that one of the enemy was dropping out of
sight Captain Hull backed his main-yard and waited for the other.

“If that fellow wants to fight we won’t disappoint him,” said the
captain.

As the enemy ranged up within hail Lieutenant Morris walked forward
along the gun-deck to encourage the men, and found that never did a
crew need encouragement less. Gun-captains were bringing their guns to
bear on the enemy, and their men, stripped to the waist in many cases,
were hauling on the side-tackles with a vigor that made the carriages
jump.

But they were to be disappointed. The Englishman came yapping up
till he saw the teeth of the silent Yankee turned upon him, when he
hesitated, turned, brailed in his spanker as a dog tucks its tail
between its legs, and ran back to his own enclosure.

And then there was the occasion when the _United States_, commanded
by Captain Stephen Decatur, of Tripoli fame, fell in with the British
ships _Eurydice_ and _Atalanta_ while cruising off Sandy Hook. Decatur
had his men at their guns, of course, though he had no reason for
trying either to force or to avoid a fight. But while he was exchanging
hails with one of the other ships an impatient gunner on the _United
States_ pulled his lanyard and sent a ball into one of the British
ships. It was unquestionably done by the man to force a fight, though
when he saw that it did not bring a single return shot he said he did
it accidentally, and the shot was so explained to the British captains.

[Illustration: The Section of a First-rate Ship.

_Being cut or divided by the middle from the stem to the stern, at one
view discovering the decks, guns, cabins, etc._]

This incident, like that of the _Constitution_ at Plymouth, is worth
mentioning to show the feeling of the American seamen regarding
the British theory and practice of impressment. And this feeling was
becoming well known to all informed and thinking persons in both
countries. It could now no longer be doubted that the American people
would fight to gain freedom for their countrymen enslaved in British
warships.

It is admitted that the politicians at Washington still talked as
loudly of free trade on the high seas as ever they had done; it is
admitted that “free trade” stood before “sailors’ rights” in the motto
of the day--but it is declared, nevertheless, that the sentiment of the
people, which alone can declare a war in this republic, was roused by
the outrages upon man, and not upon property.

Had the British been animated by any other feeling than “the spirit
of animosity and unconciliating contempt,” they could have averted
further trouble by definitely abandoning their hostile attitude toward
the young republic. They had opportunity to do this gracefully, for,
yielding to the sentiment of the humane element of their nation, the
Ministry had decided to once more disavow the _Chesapeake_ affair and
to return the men to the deck of the ship from which they had been
taken. Two only remained alive, one having been hanged and the other
having succumbed to the hardships to which he was subjected, but these
were in fact put on the _Chesapeake_ in Boston Harbor. Nevertheless,
instead of abandoning the practice which led to the outrage, the right
to continue it was reaffirmed. Indeed, every proposition made by the
portion of the nation that loved justice more than conquest excited
only derision among the nation’s rulers, and among the masses, too, for
that matter. War was inevitable, and on June 18, 1812, it was declared
to exist.

CHAPTER II

THE OUTLOOK WAS, AT FIRST, NOT PLEASING

THE SILLY CRY OF “ON TO CANADA!”--THE NAVAL FORCES OF THE UNITED
STATES COMPARED WITH THOSE OF GREAT BRITAIN--THE FORESIGHT AND
QUICK WORK OF CAPTAIN RODGERS IN GETTING A SQUADRON TO SEA--BUT HE
MISSED THE JAMAICA FLEET HE WAS AFTER, AND WHEN HE FELL IN WITH A
BRITISH FRIGATE, THE RESULTS OF THE AFFAIR WERE LAMENTABLE.

Although “vast multitudes” of the American people had “passionately
wished for” a declaration of war against Great Britain, that
declaration was, indeed, “a solemn and serious fact” to those who
stopped to consider what odds must be met. What those odds were will
be told further on, but in view of the fact that the naval supremacy
of England is about as pronounced at the end of the nineteenth century
as it was at the beginning, it is well worth while giving a glance at
the plans of the Americans in 1812. For the cry was “_on to Canada!_”
Canada was very likely to welcome an opportunity to join the republic,
but even if she did not do that she was but feeble, and the spirited
Yankee militia would overrun the whole region and take revenge for
the wrongs received at the hands of the English by annexing the whole
fair domain. The sea-power of Great Britain was overwhelming, of
course, but we had coast-defence vessels by the hundred--nearly three
hundred schooners carrying a big gun each, and these should defend the
principal American forts while the valiant militia slaughtered the
Canadians! The majority of the American people seriously believed that
the way to defend American citizens from the aggressions of the only
nation likely to abuse them was by building a navy for coast defence
only and marching to Canada when ready for offensive operations. But
if that must seem astonishing to every one who has rightly studied
the war of 1812, what can be said of the fact that this same theory
of protecting the United States from British aggression is still held
by as great a majority as ever? For it must not be forgotten that the
American assaults on Canada were as futile as the American militia were
worthless. There was but one fight made by the land forces alone of
which Americans are proud--that at New Orleans.

[Illustration: A Brigantine of a Hundred Years Ago at Anchor.

_From a picture drawn and engraved by Baugean._]

On a casual glance at the American sea-power in 1812 the lack of
confidence in it was merited. For of sea-going craft we had only 17,
carrying all told 442 guns and 5,025 men. Even of these ships two were
condemned as unfit for service as soon as they were inspected. And as
for the gun-boats, they were simply brushed aside the moment actual
hostilities began. But Great Britain had 1,048 ships to our 17; these
ships carried 27,800 guns to our 442 and 151,572 men to our 5,025. Of
course the majority of these ships were employed elsewhere than on the
American coast. But by the London _Times_ of December 28, 1812, the
British had, “from Halifax to the West Indies, seven times the force of
the whole American navy.” By a pennant sheet taken from the British
schooner _Highflyer_ in 1813 there were on the American coast on March
13th, 107 British ships rated as carrying 3,055 guns, among which were
12 ships of the line rated as seventy-fours. As a matter of fact these
ships actually carried at least ten per cent. more guns than their
rating indicated. That this preponderance was increased as time passed,
and that there was good reason for increasing it, will appear farther
on.

The faint-hearted, indeed, were not without reason when they spoke of
the declaration of war as “the dreaded and alarming intelligence.” But
if the reader wishes for a correct idea of the quality of the men who
in that day stood erect, facing the quarter-deck, and uncovered their
heads whenever the brawny quartermaster hoisted the old flag, he will
find it in the fact that they--the men of the American navy--were the
foremost among those who “passionately wished for” a war with this
power--a power that outnumbered them and out-weighed them on their own
coast as seven to one.

[Illustration: An English Admiral of 1809.

_From an engraving at the Navy Department, Washington._]

Nor was the power of the British navy found only in the number and size
of her ships and the number and size of the guns. “Since the year 1792
each European nation in turn had learned to feel bitter dread of the
weight of England’s hand. In the Baltic Sir Samuel Hood had taught the
Russians that they must needs keep in port when the English cruisers
were in the offing. The descendants of the Vikings had seen their whole
navy destroyed at Copenhagen. No Dutch fleet ever put out after the
day when, off Camperdown, Lord Duncan took possession of De Winter’s
shattered ships. But a few years before 1812 the greatest sea-fighter
of all time had died in Trafalgar Bay, and in dying had crumbled to
pieces the navies of France and Spain.” In spite of the infamous system
under which the British ships were manned, the personnel of the British
navy was--one is tempted to say it was beyond comparison better than
that of any other European nation. For the others felt “the lack of
habit--may it not even be said without injustice, of aptitude for the
sea.” The officers and men who gathered to crush the navy of the young
republic came from Aboukir and Copenhagen and Trafalgar Bay. They
were veterans in naval warfare--men who preferred short weapons as
the Romans did, men who preferred to fight with yard-arm interlocking
yard-arm, where short carronades were better than long guns of smaller
bore, and where even these might be made more effective through
loading with double shot. Luckily for us their long experience had
engendered prejudiced conservatism, their many victories had cultivated
an overweening confidence, and their bull-dog courage had made them
careless of the arts of seamanship.

As to the ability of the American crews who were to meet these
tar-stained, smoke-begrimed, cicatrice-marked veterans, enough will be
told in the descriptions of their battles, for they astounded the whole
world.

Nevertheless, the war at sea began in a fashion to discourage the
nation and humiliate the whole navy.

On the day (June 18, 1812) that war was declared, the effective part of
the American navy--the only American naval ships ready for a fight--lay
in New York Harbor, or else were at sea where they could not hear the
news. The ships in New York were the flag-ship _President_, rated
forty-four, Captain Rodgers; the _United States_, forty-four, Captain
Decatur; the _Congress_, thirty-eight, Captain Smith; the _Hornet_,
eighteen, Captain Lawrence, and the _Argus_, sixteen, Lieutenant
Sinclair. Nothing more discreditable to the administration of President
Madison than this fact can be told. He had seen for months that war
was inevitable and yet he had done nothing to gather in the ships and
prepare them for the fight. And Monroe was Secretary of State. But
for the earnest remonstrances of Captains Bainbridge and Stewart, who
repeatedly addressed the Department, every American warship would
have been kept in port for harbor defence.

[Illustration: Representation of a Ship-of-war, dressed with flags, and
yards manned.

1. American Ensign.
2. Ottoman-Greek
3. Norden.
4. Stralsund.
5. Greek.
6. Brandenburg.
7. Hanover.
8. Prussia.
9. Saxony.
10. Morocco.
11. Maltese.
12. Arabia.
13. Columbia.
14. Mexican.
15. Brazil.
16. Hayti.
17. Japan.
18. Mogul.
19. Buenos Ayres.
20. Spanish.
21. Tunis.
22. St. Domingo.
23. Old Sardinia.
24. Majorca.
25. Peru.
26. English (blue).
27. Venezuela.
28. Chili.
29. Normandy.
30. English (white).
31. French.
32. Tripoli.
33. Salee.
34. Old Portugal.
35. Algiers.
36. Senegal.
37. Oporto.
38. Central America.
39. English (red).
40. E. Russia.
41. Sandwich Islands.
42. American Jack.
o. Commodore’s Broad Pendant.

_Note._--Those which have no numbers affixed are the ship’s signals,
or, rather, the telegraphic numbers.

_From the “Kedge Anchor.”_]

[Illustration:

1. Paint-room.
2. General store-room.
3. Bread-room.
4. Coal-locker.
5. Tanks.
6. Casks.
7. Chain-locker.
8. Tier gratings.
9. Shot-locker.
10. Shell-room.
11. Spirit-room.
12. Bread-room.
13. Slop-room.
14. Marine stores.
15. Magazine.
16. Light-room.

The Internal Arrangements and Stowage of an American Sloop-of-War.

_From the “Kedge Anchor.”_]

But if the Administration had done nothing, Captain Rodgers, as
commodore of the squadron in New York, had done everything--he had
done so well that within one hour from the time that a messenger from
Washington arrived on board the _President_ with the declaration of war
and instructions to put to sea, the whole squadron except the _Essex_
was under sail, heading down New York Bay toward Sandy Hook.

This was on June 21, 1812. Commodore Rodgers was bound out to intercept
a big fleet of British merchantmen sailing home from Jamaica, convoyed
only by the thirty-six-gun frigate _Thalia_ and the eighteen-gun
corvette _Reindeer_. This fleet had left Jamaica, it was said, on the
20th, and it was sure to follow the Gulf Stream under very easy sail.
But when Rodgers was a short way out to sea an American brig reported
the fleet well down the stream (about due east of Boston and well off
shore) on June 17th. The fleet had sailed some days earlier than the
Americans had supposed. So the squadron hauled to the northeast in
pursuit.

At 6 o’clock on the morning of June 23d, when the squadron was
thirty-five miles southwest of Nantucket shoals, a sail was seen. It
was the thirty-three-gun frigate _Belvidera_, Captain Byron, that was
then lying in wait for a French privateer expected from New London,
Connecticut. At once the _Belvidera_ headed toward the American
squadron to examine them, but when at 6.30 A.M. she discovered their
character she wore around and headed away to the northeast with a
smacking breeze over the port quarter and studding-sails set.

At once the Yankees made sail in chase, with the _President_, the
swiftest of the squadron when sailing free, well in the lead. By 11
o’clock the _President_ was near enough to warrant clearing for action,
but a shift of wind helped the _Belvidera_ and she held her own until 2
P.M., when another shift favored the _President_, so that at 4.20 P.M.
the Britisher with her colors flying was within range.

Getting behind one of the long bow-chasers on the forecastle of the
_President_, Commodore Rodgers carefully sighted it, and pulling the
lanyard, fired the first shot of the war of 1812. It knocked the
splinters out of the stern of the flying enemy. The second shot was
fired from a bow-chaser on the deck below, and a third was fired on
the forecastle. Each of these reached its target. One passed through
the rudder-coat, and another, striking the muzzle of a stern-chaser,
broke into pieces, which killed two men, severely wounded two more, and
slightly wounded three others, including a lieutenant who was aiming
the gun.

[Illustration: Guns Secured for a Gale.

_From the “Kedge Anchor.”_]

Greatly elated at the accuracy of their fire, the men working the
_President’s_ bow-chaser on the lower deck aimed a fourth shot. A boy
with his leather box full of powder-cartridges arrived just as the
gunner was pulling his lanyard, and then when the hammer fell the gun
exploded and the flames from the splitting breech darted into the open
box of powder, setting it off as well.

The explosion knocked the men in all directions, disabled for the
moment every one of the bow-chasers, and bursting up the deck above, it
threw Commodore Rodgers so violently into the air that when he fell his
leg was broken. Of the men standing about the gun two were killed and
thirteen wounded.

At that moment the _Belvidera_ opened an effective fire with her
stern-chasers, and one of her projectiles came crashing into the
_President’s_ bows, and went bounding along the gun-deck, killing a
midshipman and wounding a number of seamen. For a time there was not
a little confusion on the _President_, but her crew soon got to work
again and began to make it warm on the _Belvidera_ once more. But the
mistake of yawing to fire broadsides was made. That “a whole broadside
battery will be much less likely to ‘disable a flying enemy’ than the
cool and careful use of one well-served gun,” has been amply proven.
The yawing gave the _Belvidera_ a gain in the race. That she would
have waited for a fight with the _President_ but for the presence of
the other ships is not doubted, but, as it was, Captain Byron saw that
something desperate must be done to escape, so he threw over his spare
anchors and boats and fourteen tons of water in casks. So lightened, he
was able to outsail the Yankee squadron and escape.

The _President_ lost three killed and nineteen wounded, and was
considerably cut up aloft. The _Belvidera_ lost two killed and
twenty-two wounded, Captain Byron being among the number. His rigging
was also cut up somewhat, but he made such a good running fight of it
that a painting, by a British artist, was made of the scene, that,
according to Allen’s history, is preserved to this day.

As for the American squadron, it vainly followed the Jamaica fleet to
within less than a day’s sail of the English Channel, and returned home
by the way of the Madeiras and Azores, reaching Boston after a cruise
of sixty-nine days, in which nothing had been accomplished, save only
that seven merchantmen were taken and an American ship recaptured.

CHAPTER III

THE FIRST EXHIBIT OF YANKEE METTLE

CAPTAIN DAVID PORTER’S IDEAS ABOUT TRAINING SEAMEN--THE GUNS OF THE
_ESSEX_--TAKING A TRANSPORT OUT OF A CONVOY AT NIGHT--A BRITISH
FRIGATE CAPTAIN WHO WAS CALLED A COWARD BY HIS COUNTRYMEN--CAPTAIN
LAUGHARNE’S MISTAKE--A FIGHT THAT BEGAN WITH CHEERS AND ENDED IN
DISMAY FOR WHICH THERE WAS GOOD CAUSE--WORK THAT WAS DONE BY YANKEE
GUNNERS IN EIGHT MINUTES--WHEN FARRAGUT SAVED THE SHIP--AN ATTACK
ON A FIFTY-GUN SHIP PLANNED.

During the time that Commodore Rodgers was making what was practically
a fruitless cruise with his squadron, Captain David Porter was doing
somewhat better with the little frigate _Essex_. Rarely has a naval
man had the benefit of such experiences as those through which Captain
Porter had passed. At the age of sixteen (1796), while in the West
Indies on the merchant-schooner _Eliza_, of which his father was
commander, he had stood at the rail with the rest of the crew and
fought off a British press-gang in such a determined assault that
several men were killed and wounded on both sides. A year later he was
twice impressed into the British navy, but escaped both times. Then he
joined the American navy as a midshipman, and, as already told, showed
himself a hero in helping to hold the prisoners on a captured French
frigate for three days, although they were in overwhelming numbers, and
he had to watch them during all the time without a moment’s sleep. In a
pilot-boat called the _Amphitrite_, that mounted but five one-pounder
swivels and carried fifteen men, he attacked a French privateer armed
with a long twelve-pounder and a number of swivels, and carrying forty
men. Moreover, the Frenchman was supported by a barge armed with
swivels and carrying thirty men. Such odds had rarely been taken, but
the impetuous onslaught of the Yankees carried the privateer after a
bloody resistance. She had lost seven killed and fifteen wounded, more
than half her crew, when she surrendered. Porter did not lose a man.
The barge escaped, but a merchant-prize they had captured was retaken.
After a variety of exploits only less daring than this, he was sent to
the Mediterranean Sea, and there continued to gain knowledge, skill,
and reputation until, by the grounding of the _Philadelphia_, he became
a prisoner to the Tripolitans.

When war was declared in 1812 he was in the _Essex_. She was undergoing
repairs in New York Harbor. It was fortunate for Porter that she was
not ready to sail with Rodgers, for the delay enabled him to make a
cruise alone. And this cruise, because of what it shows about the
American armament and American seamen, is worth describing in detail.

[Illustration: David Porter.

_From an engraving by Edwin of the portrait by Wood._]

The _Essex_ was rated as a thirty-two-gun frigate, but she carried
forty-six carriage-guns all told. As to her numbers of guns she was
greatly underrated, but as to the effectiveness of her armament she
was the most overrated ship in the little navy. She had originally
mounted twenty-six long twelve-pounders on her main deck, while her
forecastle and poop carried sixteen twenty-four-pounder carronades,
“but official wisdom changed all this.” The Navy Department took out
twenty-four of her main deck long twelves and put thirty-two-pounder
carronades there instead. Then the poop and forecastle were swept clear
of the twenty-four-pounder carronades and four long twelves and sixteen
thirty-two-pounder carronades were mounted there. Porter protested over
and again, but in vain.

To fully understand why Porter should have protested against this
armament one must know the character of the guns. This is a matter that
has been discussed at very great length by almost every one who has
written on the navy of any nation. But, for the aid of the uninformed
reader, it may be said that an average long thirty-two-pounder
was eight and a half feet long, and weighed 4,500 pounds, while a
thirty-two-pounder carronade was four feet long and weighed but 1,700
pounds. Being thick at the breech and long, the long gun had a long
range. That is, a heavy powder charge would act on the ball throughout
the length of the long bore and so hurl the ball over a long range.
The short gun being short, and thin at the breech, could stand only
about one-third of the charge of powder used in the long gun. Where the
long thirty-two burned seven pounds of powder and had a range, when
elevated one degree, of six hundred and forty yards (not counting the
ricochet leaps), the short thirty-two burned two and a half pounds of
powder and had a range of three hundred and eighty yards.

A short range means a small power to penetrate, not fully expressed by
the above figures. To make a carronade really effective the ship had
to be placed within two hundred yards of the enemy, and even at twenty
yards it was known that a thirty-two-pounder ball stuck in a ship’s
mast instead of crashing through it, and the long twelves could do
effective work when entirely beyond the range of the short thirty-two,
for they were made heavier in proportion to the size of the ball
than the long thirty-two, and had a range quite equal to that of the
larger calibre. But the long gun in that day was exceedingly heavy. It
needed a big carriage and big tackles, and a big crew. It was a hard
job to load and aim one of these long guns. The short gun, throwing
a ball of the same size, weighed, as shown, comparatively little and
could, therefore, be loaded and fired much more rapidly. When within
pistol-shot of the enemy this was an advantage, of course. Another
advantage of the short gun was in the fact that a battery of them did
not strain a ship as a battery of long guns would do. But when all was
said in favor of a short gun of big bore, the fact remained that in a
combat, a handy ship having long guns could remain out of range of the
ship having short guns and shoot it to pieces. The short-gun ship had
to close in on the other or suffer defeat. Had Porter’s petition for
his long twelves been granted he would have had a different story to
tell when he reached the Pacific.

But this chapter is to tell of his first cruise in the _Essex_. On July
2, 1812, he was off to sea in search of the British thirty-six-gun
frigate _Thetis_, which was bound to South America with specie. The
_Thetis_ escaped, but a few merchantmen were captured, and then on
the night of the 10th a fleet of seven merchantmen in convoy was
discovered. As it happened the moon was shining, but the sky was so
well overcast with clouds that the alternating shadows and lights
made it easy for Porter to pose the _Essex_ as a merchant-ship. Her
top-gallant masts were dropped part way down to conceal their height,
the lee braces and other running rigging were left slack, and the guns
were run in and ports closed. In this fashion Porter jogged with
the fleet, where in casual conversation he learned that a thousand
soldiers were there en route from Barbadoes to Quebec, and that the
thirty-two-gun frigate _Minerva_ was the sole guard.

After a time a ship-captain to whom Porter was talking became
suspicious, and started to signal the presence of a stranger to
the _Minerva_, but Porter threw open his ports and compelled the
merchantman to follow the _Essex_ out of the fleet. This manœuvre was
done without alarming any other one in the fleet. On boarding her, one
hundred and ninety-seven soldiers were found.

The merchantman was captured at 3 o’clock in the morning. Before
another could be overhauled daylight came. At that, Porter took in the
slack of his loose rigging, set up his masts and invited the _Minerva_
to come and try for victory. Captain Richard Hawkins, who commanded
her, thought best to tack and sail into the midst of his fleet, where,
in case he was attacked, the eight hundred and odd soldiers who were on
the transports could render him effective service by sweeping the decks
of the _Essex_ with their muskets, and by firing such cannon as the
transports carried. James, who is the standard naval historian in the
British navy, says of this affair:

“Had Captain Porter really endeavored to bring the _Minerva_ to
action we do not see what could have prevented the _Essex_, with her
superiority of sailing, from coming alongside of her. But no such
thought, we are sure, entered into Captain Porter’s head.”

David G. Farragut, of lasting fame, was a midshipman on the _Essex_,
and was keeping a journal. He wrote:

“The captured British officers were very anxious for us to have a
fight with the _Minerva_, as they considered her a good match for
the _Essex_, and Captain Porter replied that he should gratify them
with pleasure if his Majesty’s commander was of their taste. So we
stood toward the convoy, and when within gunshot hove to, and awaited
the _Minerva_; but she tacked and stood in among the convoy, to the
utter amazement of our prisoners, who denounced the commander as a
base coward, and expressed their determination to report him to the
Admiralty.”

But to further explain the difference between long and short guns, it
should be mentioned that the _Minerva_ carried on her main deck the
long twelves which Porter had wanted, and in a fight she would have
been able to riddle the _Essex_ while still far beyond the range of the
short thirty-twos with which the American was armed. At pistol range
the _Essex_ was much more powerful, and she carried, moreover, fifty
men more than the _Minerva_, though Captain Hawkins could not know
that, and, doubtless, would have been ashamed to offer that as a reason
for declining to fight.

[Illustration: Fight of the _Essex_ and the _Alert_.

_From an old wood-cut._]

Until August 13th the _Essex_ had no adventure. On that day, while
cruising along under reefed top-sails, a ship was seen to windward
that appeared to be a man-of-war. At this, drags were put over the
stern of the _Essex_ to hold her back, and then a few men were sent
aloft to shake out the reefs, and the sails were then spread to the
breeze exactly as a merchant-crew would have done it. The stranger
was entirely deceived by this, and she came bowling down toward the
_Essex_, which was now flying the British flag. The stranger having
fired a gun, the _Essex_ hove to until she had passed under her stern
to leeward. Having now the weather-gage, the _Essex_ suddenly filled
away her main-sails, cut away the drags, hauled down the British flag,
ran up the Stars and Stripes, and, throwing open her ports, ran out the
muzzles of her guns.

At the sight of these doings the Englishmen gave three cheers, and,
without waiting to get where their guns would bear effectively, they
blazed away with grape and canister.

The _Essex_ waited for a minute or two until her guns would bear, and
then gave the stranger a broadside, “tompions and all,” as Midshipman
Farragut wrote at the time. The effect on the stranger was stunning.
Her crew were actually stunned into inaction, and all of them but three
officers were severely reprimanded at the court-martial of the captain,
and several of the lower officers were dishonorably dismissed from the
service on a charge of cowardice. They tried to veer off and run away,
but “she was in the lion’s reach,” to again quote the youngster, and
within eight minutes the _Essex_ was alongside, when the stranger fired
a musket and then struck her flag.

The American officer who boarded her found that she was the corvette
_Alert_, Captain Thomas L. P. Laugharne, carrying eighteen short
thirty-twos and two long twelves, a very inferior force to that of the
_Essex_. And yet the result of this brief contest was of the greatest
significance. The British histories say the fight lasted fifteen
minutes. Doubtless this means from the time the _Alert’s_ crew cheered
so vigorously until they hauled down their flag. Farragut says that
it was eight minutes from the first broadside of the _Essex_ until
the flag came down, and this is not disputed. In eight minutes the
_Essex_ had shot the _Alert_ so full of holes that when the American
boat’s crew reached the beaten ship the water was seven feet deep in
her hold in spite of the utmost efforts of her crew to check the leaks!
Not a man was killed on the _Alert_, and only three were wounded. The
gunners of the _Essex_ aimed low--they shot to sink the enemy, and they
wellnigh succeeded. No one was hurt on the _Essex_.

For several days after this the _Essex_, having repaired the _Alert_,
cruised with her in tow, and then an incident occurred, the story of
which brings out very clearly another characteristic of the American
crews; that is to say, the care with which the green crews were trained
from the day they came on board.

The number of prisoners on the _Essex_ very greatly exceeded her crew
after the capture of the _Alert_, for the _Alert’s_ crew were added
to the soldiers and men from the transport, while the _Essex_ had put
out two prize crews. Knowing this, the prisoners formed a plan to take
the ship, the coxswain of the _Alert’s_ gig being the leader in the
conspiracy. Young Farragut happened to discover the plot on the night
it was to be executed. He was lying in his hammock and saw the coxswain
with a pistol in hand on the deck where the hammock was swinging. The
coxswain was looking around to see if all was in order for his men to
rise, and going to Farragut’s hammock, looked earnestly at the boy,
who had the wit to feign sleep. But the moment the coxswain was gone,
Farragut ran into the cabin and told Captain Porter, who sprang from
his berth, and running out of his cabin began to shout:

“Fire! Fire!”

A more distressful cry than that is never heard at sea. To the
prisoners it brought utter confusion. To the crew of the _Essex_
it meant only that they were to hasten to fire-quarters for a
night-drill--something to which they had been trained ever since
leaving New York. Captain Porter had even built fires that sent up
volumes of smoke through the hatches in order to make the crew face
what seemed to be a real fire, and so had steadied their nerves. Now
they promptly but coolly went to their quarters. It was then a simple
matter to turn them on the mutineers.

[Illustration: An English Thirty-gun Corvette.

_From an engraving by Merlo in 1794._]

Afterwards the prisoners were sent to St. John’s, Newfoundland, in the
_Alert_ as a cartel. She was not by the letter of the law a proper
cartel, for she was still at sea and quite likely to be captured,
but it is pleasant to observe that Admiral Sir John T. Duckworth
“generously sustained the agreement” made by Captain Laugharne. He
wrote:

“It is utterly inconsistent with the laws of war to recognize the
principle upon which this arrangement has been made. Nevertheless I
am willing to give a proof at once of my respect for the liberality
with which the captain of the _Essex_ has acted in more than one
instance toward the British subjects who had fallen into his hands; of
the sacred obligation that is always felt to fulfil the engagements
of a British officer, and of my confidence in the disposition of
his Highness, the Prince Regent, to allay the violence of war by
encouraging a reciprocation of that courtesy by which its pressure upon
individuals may be so essentially diminished.”

[Illustration: SIR JOHN THOMAS DUCKWORTH, K.B.

Vice Admiral of the White Squadron.]

There is still one more incident of this cruise worth describing. The
_Essex_ was chased by the British frigate _Shannon_ and another ship
when off St. George’s Bank. Captain Porter supposed that the speedier
ship of the two was the fifty-gun _Acasta_, a much more powerful ship
than the _Shannon_, and that a third ship he had seen with the two was
also in chase. As the largest ship was gaining, and a splendid breeze
for working the ship was blowing, Captain Porter planned a most
daring defence. Running until night was fully come, he called his crew
together and told them that he was going to tack ship, run alongside
the enemy, and board her while under full sail. According to Farragut,
Porter believed that the enemy would be sailing at the rate of eight
knots an hour, at least, while his ship would foul her while going at
not less than four knots. Nevertheless, the proposition was greeted
with enthusiastic cheers.

The cause of the enthusiasm may be found readily in Farragut’s account
of the crew. He says:

“Every day the crew were exercised at the great guns, small-arms,
and single-stick. And I may here mention the fact that I have never
been on a ship where the crew of the old _Essex_ was represented, but
that I found them to be the best swordsmen on board. They had been so
thoroughly trained as boarders that every man was prepared for such an
emergency, with his cutlass as sharp as a razor, a dirk made by the
ship’s armorer out of a file, and a pistol.” They had been drilled
until they had confidence in themselves as well as their leaders, and
it was not an overweening confidence, either.

So a kedge anchor with a cable attached was hoisted to the end of the
main-yard, where it could be readily dropped on the passing enemy as
the two crashed together and so hold her fast. At the proper hour the
_Essex_ tacked in search of the enemy, but failed to find her.

At the end of sixty days from the time he sailed, Porter was back
in port. He had captured nine prizes, with more than five hundred
prisoners, and retaken five American privateers and merchantmen.

The little American navy was beginning in a small way to do something
for the nation.

CHAPTER IV

A RACE FOR THE LIFE OF A NATION

STORY OF THE _CONSTITUTION’S_ ESCAPE FROM A BRITISH SQUADRON OFF
THE JERSEY BEACH--FOUR FRIGATES AND A LINER WERE AFTER HER--FOR
MORE THAN TWO DAYS THE BRAVE OLD CAPTAIN STOOD AT HIS POST WHILE
THE SHIP TACKED AND WORE AND REACHED AND RAN, AND THE TIRELESS
SAILORS TOWED AND KEDGED AND WET THE SAILS TO CATCH THE SHIFTING
AIR--THOUGH ONCE HALF-SURROUNDED AND ONCE WITHIN RANGE, _OLD
IRONSIDES_ ELUDED THE WHOLE SQUADRON TILL A FRIENDLY SQUALL CAME TO
WRAP HER IN ITS BLACK FOLDS AND CARRY HER FAR FROM DANGER.

As the story of the first cruise of the _Essex_ shows how thoroughly
the American seamen were drilled in that day, and, after a fashion,
somewhat of their skill in the use of weapons, so the story of an
adventure of another American war-ship--an adventure that occurred soon
after the _Minerva_ refused to fight the _Essex_--shows in a splendid
light their skill and unwearied strength as seamen. This adventure was
the escape of the _Constitution_, Captain Isaac Hull, from a British
squadron off the Jersey coast--somewhat to the south, indeed, of the
modern racing ground between English and American crack yachts, but
near enough to be worth mentioning.

The _Constitution_, after the Portsmouth incident, returned to
Chesapeake Bay and was there cleaned and coppered. Before this work was
done war was declared, but as soon as possible she was floated and a
new crew shipped. This crew numbered, including officers, etc., four
hundred and fifty. Of them Captain Hull wrote, at the time, to the
Secretary of the Navy:

“The crew are as yet unacquainted with a ship-of-war, as many have but
lately joined and have never been on an armed ship before.... We are
doing all that we can to make them acquainted with their duty, and in a
few days we shall have nothing to fear from any single-deck ship.”

That is to say, the crew contained many green hands instead of
experienced sailors like those on the British war-ships. But though
inexperienced they were intelligent--they could learn readily, and they
were to a man _willing_. A most important fact about the American crews
at that time was that even the landsmen were willing and able workers.
The experienced members of the crews, of course, fought with a will in
very many cases because of their hatred of the British press-gang. But
that does not account for all the excellent qualities of the American
crews. The Yankee was willing and able because he was the best-fed
naval seaman in the world. The humane system of treatment, made
imperative when the fathers of the nation were careful to provide that
canvas for pudding-bags be served out at proper intervals, had been
continued wherever American warships were found.

And it is worth noting in connection with this subject that when
American and English ship-captains met socially during the interval
between the Tripoli war and that of 1812 the English habitually sneered
at the American system that gave the men plenty of good food and good
pay, and prohibited an officer from striking a forecastleman, and
limited the punishment by the lash to a dozen strokes, which could only
be inflicted after a court-martial at that.

Leaving the capes of the Chesapeake on July 12, 1812, the
_Constitution_ beat her way slowly through light airs up the coast for
five days. Then on Friday, the 17th, at 2 P.M., “being in twenty-two
fathoms of water off Egg Harbor” (from twelve to fourteen miles
offshore) “four sail of ships were discovered from the mast-head, to
the northward and inshore--apparently ships-of-war.” Captain Hull
thought they were the American squadron under Commodore Rodgers, and so
held on his drifting course. Two hours later the lookout saw another
sail. The others were northwesterly from the _Constitution_, but this
one was in the northeast, and she was heading for the _Constitution_
under full sail. But the fact that she was under full sail must not be
taken as indicating that she was making any great headway. In fact, at
sundown she was still so far off that her signals could not be made out.

However, this ship in the northeast was manifestly alone, and so
Captain Hull stood for her. She might be a friend, but if she and the
others were of the enemy it would be safer to attack the single one.

At about this time the breeze shifted to the south, and, wearing
around, Captain Hull set studding-sails to starboard to help him along,
and then as the light was fading in the west he beat to quarters. And
thereafter with the men at their guns and peering through the ports for
glimpses of the stranger the two ships drew slowly toward each other.

But they did not get together. At 10 o’clock Captain Hull hoisted his
secret night-signal, by which American ships were to know each other,
and kept it up for an hour. The stranger being unable to answer, it was
plainly an enemy. Captain Hull had correctly concluded that the ships
inshore were also of the enemy. So he “hauled off to the southward and
eastward and made all sail.”

[Illustration: Isaac Hull.

_From an engraving, at the Navy Department, Washington, of the painting
by Stuart._]

As the event proved, the lone ship for which the _Constitution_ had
been heading was the _Guerrière_, Captain Dacres, while the squadron
in the northwest included the ship-of-the-line _Africa_, the frigates
_Shannon_, _Belvidera_, and _Eolus_, and the United States brig
_Nautilus_ that the squadron had captured a short time before. The
squadron was under Captain Philip Vere Broke, of the _Shannon_, and
it had been sent out from Halifax immediately after the squadron of
Commodore Rodgers had vainly chased the _Belvidera_.

Now, although Captain Hull headed the _Constitution_ offshore, he
did not by any means try to avoid the _Guerrière_. He held a course
enough to the eastward to enable her to draw near. What he wanted was
to draw her clear of the rest before he fought her. But in this he
was not successful. At 3.30 o’clock the next morning (July 18th) the
_Guerrière_ was but half a mile from the _Constitution_, and the two
were nearing each other hopefully, when the _Guerrière_ saw for the
first time the other ships spread out inshore in chase. At that Captain
Dacres made the private British signal, but it was not answered because
the captains inshore assumed that Dacres knew who they were--and that
misunderstanding led these captains to say unpleasant things to each
other afterwards.

Supposing that the failure to answer his signals was due to the ships
inshore being Yankees, Captain Dacres wore the _Guerrière_ around and
ran away from the _Constitution_ for some time before he discovered
his mistake. Meantime the ships inshore had had the benefit of enough
wind to bring them within dangerous distance of the _Constitution_, so
that when the wind failed the _Constitution_, as it did at 5.30 in the
morning, her condition was desperate. The _Guerrière_ having once more
entered the chase, there were four frigates and a ship of the line all
spread out in such fashion as would enable them to take advantage of
the slightest change in the direction of the wind, and three of them
were less than five miles away. It was then that the most famous race
between warships known to the annals of the American navy really began,
for up to that time Captain Hull had not tried to avoid the _Guerrière_.

Seeing now that he must fly from all, Captain Hull called away all
his boats, and running a line to them, sent them ahead, towing the
_Constitution_ away to southward. Although some little air was still
wafting on the enemy they very promptly imitated the example of the
_Constitution_. In fact, they did better, for the boats of the squadron
were concentrated on two ships, and what with their aid and the faint
zephyr blowing they gained rapidly on the _Constitution_. In fact,
at 6 o’clock the _Shannon_, which was in the lead, opened fire on the
_Constitution_, her captain being of the opinion that she was within
reach of the long guns.

The shot failed to reach, but the captain of the _Constitution_ “being
determined they should not get her without resistance on our part,
notwithstanding their force,” ordered one of the long twenty-four
pounders brought from the gun-deck up to the poop where it would bear
over the stern at the enemy. A long eighteen was brought from the
forecastle to do similar service, while two long twenty-fours were run
out of the cabin windows below.

[Illustration:

_Africa._
_Constitution._
_Shannon._
_Eolus._
_Guerrière._
_Belvidera._

The _Constitution’s_ Escape from the British Squadron after a Chase of
Sixty Hours.

_From an engraving by Hoogland of the picture by Corné._]

At 7 o’clock one of these long twenty-fours was tried on the _Shannon_,
but the ball fell short. It did some good, however, for it showed the
enemy that their boats were in danger, and so prevented their towing
fairly within gunshot.

But this by no means freed the _Constitution_. If they did not dare
tow up within range astern, they could with their superior forces tow
their vessels out on each side of her, and so far surround her as to
absolutely prevent her escape when a wind did come, and the situation
was apparently more nearly hopeless for the _Constitution_ than at any
time since the chase began.

In this emergency the wit of the “smart Yankee” executive officer of
the _Constitution_--Lieutenant Charles Morris--gave the ship a new
lease of life. Morris had had experience in towing a ship through
crooked channels by means of a light anchor carried ahead with a line
attached to haul on. This method of towing is called kedging. Dropping
a lead-line over the rail, Morris found that the water was but one
hundred and fifty-six feet deep, and suggested at once that they kedge
her along.

A few minutes later the _Constitution’s_ largest boat was rowing away
ahead with a small anchor on board, and stretching out a half mile of
lines and cables knotted together. When that anchor was dropped to the
bottom the men on the ship began to haul in on the line--to walk away
with it at a smart pace, and the speed of the _Constitution_, which at
best had been no more than a mile an hour, was at once trebled. She was
literally clawing her way out of trouble, clear of the enemy.

Meantime another kedge and a fresh line were made ready, so that by
the time the crew had tracked the ship to the first anchor a second
one was in the mud a half mile ahead and ready for them. In this way
a substantial gain was made on the enemy, who lagged under the slower
work of the men towing with small boats.

[Illustration: Towing a Becalmed Frigate.

_From a picture drawn and engraved by Baugean._]

Finally, at 9.10 A.M., a light air was seen on the oil-smooth water in
the south. The yards of the _Constitution_ were at once braced sharp up
to meet it, and by the time its breath had filled the sails the willing
crew had the boats alongside and hoisted out of the water--some to
the davits where they belonged, and some lifted by spare spars, rigged
over the rail, just clear of the water, where they could be dropped the
instant they were needed.

But if the wind gave the sailors who had been on deck all night long
a brief chance to rest, it was after all of more advantage to the
enemy than to the _Constitution_. For she had had to change her course
when the breeze came, and that change was sending her closer to the
_Guerrière_, instead of further away. Worse yet, it seemed to the
Yankees that their sails had no more than rounded full under the caress
of the zephyr than it failed them again, and once more the canvas
rattled and slapped the creaking spars.

The _Guerrière_ now began firing, and there was nothing to do but once
more to stretch out the lines with the kedge anchor and begin anew the
tracking the _Constitution_ ahead. For an hour the weary men stretched
out their tow-line and hauled it in and stretched and hauled again.
Captain Hull had lightened the ship by starting nine or ten tons of
water, and the _Constitution_ was just beginning to show a fair gain
once more over the enemy when Captain Byron of the _Belvidera_ saw
how it was that the Yankees were clawing away, and adopted the same
tactics.

Immediately this was done the boats from the fleet flocked with men to
her deck to help haul in on the line--flocked there with men who were
fresh and strong from the decks of the other ships, while the men of
the _Constitution_ were worn with the loss of sleep the night before
and the fierce efforts of the morning.

By 2 o’clock in the afternoon these fresh men had drawn the _Belvidera_
so near that she opened fire, and, although the shots fell short,
Captain Hull now supposed he would surely be captured, and so prepared
to make a good fight with the first ship in hope of disabling her
before the rest could come to help. But the _Belvidera_, not wishing
to risk her anchor-carrying boats within range of the _Constitution’s_
guns, was content to claw forward on the Yankee’s quarter just out
of range, while the _Shannon_ and _Eolus_ strove to help partially
surround the _Constitution_ once more.

The _Belvidera_ began kedging at 10.30 o’clock in the morning. The
_Constitution_ had been at it for an hour already. Steadily the two
crews labored at the heart-breaking task until 3 o’clock in the
afternoon, when once more a zephyr from the south roughened the oily
waves and then lifted first the royals of the _Constitution_ and then
the top-gallant sails. The heavy canvas of top-sails and courses
would not swell to its weight, but the kites could pull her. It was
a fitful, varying breath, but it lasted four hours, and during that
time the Americans actually held the braces by which the sails were
trimmed constantly in hand, while the brave old captain kept his eyes
on the weather-vane and jockeyed her along as a racing skipper handles
his yacht. It was a race for a stake such as has never been known
on any coast, for it was a race for the life of a nation. Had _Old
Ironsides_ been captured while Rodgers was making his fruitless cruise,
and imbeciles were leading worthless militia in a day-dream scheme of
conquest toward Canada, the result would have been deadly.

As night came on (it was at 7 o’clock) this breeze failed once more.
It then lacked less than an hour of a full day since the men had been
called to quarters. For twenty-three hours they had stood at their
guns, had made and taken in and trimmed sail, had lowered and rowed
away and hoisted up boats, had carried out anchors and hauled on the
cables till they gasped for breath. It had been a day to wear the life
out of any ordinary man, but, as John Paul Jones said on the deck of
the _Bonhomme Richard_, these could say now: “We have not yet begun
to fight.” In spite of weariness, the instant the zephyr failed them
these men once more dropped the boats and carried out the small
anchors with the long lines and began again to claw their way clear
of the enemy. Until 10.45 P.M. they worked with steady patience, and
then another teasing zephyr came to fill the sails of the ship, and the
boats except one were all hoisted clear of the water. During all this
time the _Guerrière_ and the _Belvidera_ had fairly held their own,
being aided by the men from the other ships. The _Shannon_ had dropped
back a deal, but the _Eolus_ was not by any means far enough away to be
ignored. But when the breeze came, the _Belvidera_ got enough of the
flaws of air to forge ahead, so that soon after daylight (at 4 o’clock)
on the morning of July 19th she was well forward on the lee beam of
the _Constitution_, and, tacking about, she stood for the Yankee. If
the _Constitution_ held fast as she was the _Belvidera_ was sure to
pass within easy gunshot astern and deliver a raking fire that would
play havoc with spars and sails. If the _Constitution_ tacked also, the
_Eolus_, off on the Yankee’s weather-quarter, would have a chance of
forging within gunshot. The _Constitution_ was cornered and a choice
had to be made.

Going about at 4.20 A.M. on the other tack, Captain Hull headed across
the bows of the _Eolus_. He was now steering out to sea, and to the
joy of the Americans the sails swelled under a faint improvement in
the breeze. An hour later they were crossing ahead of the _Eolus_
within range of long guns, but the Englishman did not open fire and
the _Constitution_ passed free. The _Eolus_ when in the wake of the
_Constitution_ tacked, and then Captain Hull had the satisfaction of
seeing the enemy once more all astern of him. It was not that he was
out of danger. There were four frigates--the _Belvidera_, the _Eolus_,
the _Guerrière_, and the _Shannon_--all after him, but he had escaped
being surrounded. The line-of-battle-ship and the smaller craft had
been left so far astern as to be out of the race.

For several hours after this the race was without incident, though
so far as the eye could judge the _Constitution_ gained slightly in
the faint-air race, but at 9 o’clock a strange sail arrived within
plain view to the southward. She was evidently bound to New York.
To decoy her (for she looked like a Yankee) the _Belvidera_ hoisted
American colors, but Captain Hull stopped that game by hoisting the
British ensign, whereat the merchantman braced up and escaped, while
the _Constitution_ slipped along with every thread drawing and the
green water between her and the enemy slowly widening, until at noon
the nearest one was estimated to be three and a half miles astern. The
wide-beam, shoal-draft ship had the best of the race in a light air,
as others have since had in races of less importance near the same
ground.

[Illustration: Chase of the _Constitution_ off the Jersey Coast.

_From the painting by Inch at the Naval Academy, Annapolis._]

The crew were now, for the first time, able to get some rest. Officers
and men alike stretched out on deck and slept as men may who for
thirty-six hours have worked for life, but the brave old sailor who
commanded the ship stood to his post. Throughout the afternoon the lead
of the _Constitution_ was slightly increased, but at 4 o’clock the wind
began to weaken, to the disadvantage of the flying Yankee, for she ran
out of the breeze, and the enemy held it for a time after she lost it,
and so drew up until within perhaps three miles. There was nothing to
do now but get out all the boats to a tow-line, for the water was too
deep for kedging.

And then came the last and most stirring event of the long race.
A heavy cloud appeared away to southward and eastward, the first
sign of one of the black squalls with which American coasters are
over-familiar. A fearsome spectacle they are to the unaccustomed,
nor do they lack weight of wind at any time, but to the men of the
_Constitution_ this squall was a Godsend.

Knowing very well what the Englishmen would think of the looks of the
squall, Captain Hull kept his boats at their towing and sent the men
about deck to the belaying pins, where sheets and tacks and halyards
were made fast, while others stretched out clew-lines and bunt-lines,
and downhauls. Standing so with everything in hand, he watched the
coming cloud until the frothing spoondrift was within a mile, and
the first faint breath of it was lifting the royals, and then to the
shrill pipe of the boatswain called the boats alongside. As they were
hooking on the tackles the blast struck the ship. Over she heeled as
if to go on her beam ends, lifting the boats to windward clear of the
water, while the men at the halyards and sheets let go all, and all
hands clapped on to the clew-lines and downhauls and boat-tackles. In
a moment the last sail had been clewed into a bunt, and the boats to
windward and leeward were snatched to the davits and spars rigged to
receive them.

Turning then, to look at the enemy, he saw the men climbing aloft and
with eager haste _furling_ everything, while their boats were left
to shift as they might in the foaming sea. They had supposed from
what they saw of the effect of the squall on the _Constitution_ that
it was even worse than it looked, and they snugged down their ships
accordingly.

And then, as the friendly rain and vapor of the squall veiled the wily
Yankee, he spread his sails--sails that had not been furled--to the
gale and “went off on an easy bowline at the rate of eleven knots an
hour.”

The race was won. At 7.30 P.M., when the squall had passed and the
enemy once more came in view, the leading ship, the _Belvidera_, was
not only a long way astern, but she had the wind in such fashion as to
be unable to hold up within two points of the course the _Constitution_
was steering. And yet in their mad efforts to overhaul the Yankee after
they felt the weight of the squall, the British captains had cut adrift
their small boats, that they might not be obliged to stop and pick them
up or be encumbered with the weight.

The winds proved light and baffling all night, but having observed
how much better the sails held the air while they were wet, Captain
Hull started his force-pumps at work to keep the lower sails wet,
and sent men to the highest yards to draw up water in buckets and
keep everything drenched to the highest thread. It was a plan that
worked admirably. In spite of the baffling zephyrs, the Yankee gained
all night, so that at daylight only the loftier sails of the enemy
were visible, and at 8.15 on the morning of Monday, July 20, 1812,
the British squadron gave it up and squared away for Sandy Hook,
leaving the triumphant _Constitution_ to head away to Boston to
obtain another supply of water in place of that she had started to
decrease her draft. From Friday afternoon until Monday morning the
British frigates, including the swift _Belvidera_ that had eluded
the _President_, were in chase of the Yankee clipper. Certainly they
showed “great perseverance, good seamanship, and ready invitation,” but
“the cool old Yankee” justified the praise which Lord Nelson gave us
when he said, in the Mediterranean, that “there is in the handling of
those transatlantic ships a nucleus of trouble for the navy of Great
Britain.”

[Illustration: The _Constitution_ Bearing Down for the _Guerrière_.

_From an old wood-cut._]

CHAPTER V

THE _CONSTITUTION_ AND THE _GUERRIÈRE_

THE BRITISH CAPTAIN COULD SCARCELY BELIEVE THAT A YANKEE WOULD BE
BOLD ENOUGH TO ATTACK HIM, AND WAS SURE OF VICTORY IN LESS THAN AN
HOUR, BUT WHEN THE YANKEES HAD BEEN FIRING AT THE _GUERRIÈRE_ FOR
THIRTY MINUTES SHE WAS A DISMANTLED HULK, RAPIDLY SINKING OUT OF
SIGHT--“THE SEA NEVER ROLLED OVER A VESSEL WHOSE FATE SO STARTLED
THE WORLD”--SUNDRY ADMISSIONS HER LOSS EXTORTED FROM THE ENEMY--A
COMPARISON OF THE SHIPS.

Having noted, in the stories of the actions hitherto described,
somewhat of the training, skill, and good-will of the American
seamen in the use of naval weapons, and their masterful knowledge
of seamanship, the time arrives for telling how one of these Yankee
frigates won the first signal victory of the war--the victory of the
_Constitution_ over the _Guerrière_. But it will add to the pleasure
of every American reader if the opinions which the British captain
expressed about his ship, both before and after the battle, be told
before the battle is described.

At the time the _Guerrière_ went into the fight she was commanded by
Captain James Richard Dacres. In the course of the cruise during which
the squadron under Broke chased the _Constitution_, Captain Dacres
dined on board the _Shannon_. While pacing the deck of the _Shannon_,
after dinner, and talking with Broke, Captain Dacres said emphatically
of his ship:

“I say, she looks beautiful; and more, she’d take an antagonist in half
the time the _Shannon_ could.”

On making full allowance for a captain’s disposition to boast unduly
of the qualities of his ship, it is still fair to say that Dacres
considered her at any rate equal to the _Shannon_, although the
_Shannon_ carried more guns.

To strengthen this conclusion it may be added that Captain Dacres sent
a challenge to Captain Rodgers of the _President_, which was a sister
ship to the _Constitution_. Further than that we have the words of
Captain Dacres when he was court-martialled for losing her: “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_ in a frigate of similar
force to the _Guerrière_.”

These assertions must appear to every reader to be a confession of
faith in his ship. Nor was Captain Dacres alone in his belief that she
was a good one.

“The _Guerrière_ is as fine a frigate as we can boast of,” said the St.
Christopher’s _Gazette_ in the same year, while lamenting her loss.

What the English newspapers thought of the _Constitution_ before this
battle with the _Guerrière_ is also worth repeating. The opinions they
expressed were, of course, a repetition of those expressed by British
naval officers, who had visited her at various times, but notably after
she had called at Portsmouth as related in a preceding chapter. They
spoke of her as “a bunch of pine boards,” and as “a fir-built ship with
a bit of striped bunting at her mast-head,” and “their opinions gave
rise to various excellent jokes that were uttered in and out of the
British Parliament at the commencement of the war.”

To these statements must be added the further fact that the boastful
captain of the _Guerrière_ had taken the trouble to notify the
Americans that his ship “was not the _Little Belt_,” referring to the
affair in which the _Little Belt_ was so severely pounded by a Yankee
frigate.

The _Constitution_ sailed from Boston on August 2, 1812. Captain
Hull had reported his escape from the British squadron in a modest
letter to the Navy Department, but he did not wait for further orders
from the Secretary. He conjectured that his narrow escape would so
frighten the timid officials, who had previously warned him in his
official instructions not to voluntarily engage any superior force,
that they would keep him lying inactive in port. In this conjecture
he was entirely right, for a few days after he had sailed, orders to
that effect did arrive. A good naval authority says that “had the
_Constitution_ been captured on the cruise, Hull would have been
hanged or shot for sailing without orders.” It has often been a
matter of consolation to American naval officers in these last years
of the nineteenth century to read of the incapacity and cowardice of
department officials in the early years of it.

Having taken the risk, Captain Hull coasted along to the north as
far as the entrance to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. On August 15th five
vessels were seen in a bunch, and on approaching them, four scattered
away, leaving the fifth, a brig, on fire. One was chased and found
to be an English merchantman in the hands of an American prize crew.
Before night the American brig _Adeline_ was overhauled and taken from
the British prize crew found on board of her. On the night of the
18th a third vessel was overhauled after a smart race, and this was
an unfortunate affair, for she proved to be the American privateer
_Decatur_, of fourteen guns, twelve of which had been thrown overboard
in her mad race with the _Constitution_.

From the captain of the _Decatur_ Captain Hull learned that a British
frigate had been seen the day before steering to the southward under
easy sail. On hearing that, Captain Hull crowded the canvas on the
_Constitution_ in chase of her.

There were light westerly breezes during the night and early morning
following, but as the day wore on the breeze canted to the northwest
and freshened until the _Constitution_, with all plain sail set, was
bowling along at little less than the speed she attained in her spurt
away from the fleet off Barnegat. Until after dinner nothing was seen,
but before the 2-o’clock bell was struck the lookout astride the
fore-royal-yard stirred the crew with the prolonged cry of

“Sail-ho!”

It is said that half the men about deck climbed into the rigging in
their eagerness to see the stranger, and within a few minutes their
curiosity was gratified, when it appeared plainly that she was a
large ship steering to the southwest. So, with sheets eased, the
_Constitution_ headed away for her, and by half-past 3 o’clock the
Yankee crew had not only learned that she was a British frigate, but
that her captain was ready to fight, for he set his flag and made no
effort to get away.

The first measure of strength between a British and an American
frigate--the battle between the _Guerrière_ and the _Constitution_--was
at hand.

Over on the _Guerrière_, Captain Dacres, when he first saw the
_Constitution_ boldly bearing down upon him, was doubtful about her
character, and he was good enough to consult in the matter with an
American prisoner whom he had on board--Captain Orne, of the American
brig _Betsey_, captured some time before. The American skipper said it
was a Yankee frigate that was coming. To this Captain Dacres replied
that he thought she came down too boldly for an American, but added:
“The better he behaves the more honor we shall gain by taking him.” A
little later, when the colors had been displayed, he called out to the
crew:

“There is a Yankee frigate; in forty-five minutes she is certainly
ours. Take her in fifteen and I promise you four months’ pay.”

This must have been said at about twenty minutes past 4 o’clock, for
it was at that time that the English officers hoisted flags to every
mast-head and opened fire, “more with a view to try the distance than
for any effectual attack.”

[Illustration: Action between the _Constitution_ and the
_Guerrière_.--I.

_From the painting by Birch, at the Naval Academy, Annapolis._]

At that Captain Hull began to shorten sail on the _Constitution_. The
breeze was steady and fresh, and the water fairly smooth. It was just
the kind of weather he would have chosen for such a battle. All the
light sails, including the top-gallant sails, were furled, the courses
were hauled up to the yards, and the royal-yards were sent down. Then
the top-sails were double-reefed, and as the men came down from the
top-sail-yards the drums beat to quarters. Not many of the crew had
ever been in battle, but “from the smallest boy in the ship to the
oldest seaman not a look of fear was seen.”

The enemy’s first shots fell short, but the second round passed over
the deck of the _Constitution_, though without doing any damage. A
deal of what a yachtsman would call jockeying for position followed.
The enemy squared away before the wind, and wore around until her port
(left side) battery would bear, and then, as the _Constitution_ was
coming down the wind and following close after her, she wore back till
her starboard (right side) battery would bear. As she turned from side
to side she fired on the _Constitution_. The _Constitution_ replied
with an occasional shot from a bow-gun. The enemy was twisting about
to avoid being raked by the _Constitution_, and was firing to cripple
the enemy’s rigging. But all that the twisting amounted to was to keep
the _Guerrière_ at “long balls”--out of range of the shorter guns of
the _Constitution_. To end that kind of work Captain Hull spread his
maintopgallant sail and foresail. Impelled by these, the _Constitution_
began to forge within close range, and the projectiles from the
_Guerrière_ began to come on board. One big shot through the forward
bulwarks knocked no end of splinters across the deck, and some of them
pierced several of a gun’s crew hard by. The men were eager to return
the fire, but Captain Hull paced the quarter-deck, saying nothing. A
rousing cheer from the British crew came over the water as they saw
that they had hulled the _Constitution_. Lieutenant Morris walked aft,
and said to Captain Hull:

“The enemy has opened fire and killed two of our men. Shall we return
it?”

[Illustration: Action between the _Constitution_ and the
_Guerrière_.--II.

_From the painting by Birch, at the Naval Academy, Annapolis._]

“Not yet, sir,” replied Captain Hull. The captain was waiting for a
shorter range. Twice more Lieutenant Morris, to ease the minds of the
impatient gunners, walked aft to ask permission to fire, and each
time received the same answer. The _Guerrière_ had meantime steered
away before the wind; the clipper stem of the Yankee was overreaching
the Englishman’s quarter only a few yards away from it; our guns were
brought to bear, and then stooping till “he split his knee-breeches
from waistband to buckle,” Captain Hull straightened up again to his
full height and shouted in a voice heard all over the ship:

“Now, boys; pour it into them!”

With a yell they obeyed. The broadside was as a single explosion.
The crash of the iron balls through the splintering timbers of the
_Guerrière_ came back as an echo, and as she rolled with the swell the
blood of the dead and wounded gushed from her scuppers. The Yankee
gunners had aimed as if feeling still the claws of the British cat in
their backs.

[Illustration: The _Constitution_ in Close Action with the _Guerrière_.

_From an old wood-cut._]

It was at 6.05 A.M. that this first broadside was fired from the
American ship. For fifteen minutes the roar of the cannon and the
rattle of musketry, and the crash of solid shot that struck home were
incessant. The ships were literally yard-arm to yard-arm, rising and
sinking over the long swells as they drove away before the wind. The
British in mad haste pulled their lanyards and fired the moment their
guns were primed. The Americans loaded in haste, but paused each time
until their gun-sights ranged on hull or spar, and then they fired.

At 6.20 A.M. a big round shot from the _Constitution_ crashed through
the mizzen-mast of the _Guerrière_, and away it went, over the rail to
starboard. Snatching off his hat, Captain Hull waved it above his head.

“Hurrah, my boys! we’ve made a brig of her!” he shouted.

[Illustration: Action between the _Constitution_ and the
_Guerrière_.--III.

_From the painting by Birch, at the Naval Academy, Annapolis._]

They had done more. The mast was still held by its rigging, and,
dragging in the water, it brought the _Guerrière_ around partly across
the wind. The _Constitution_ forged ahead, swung her yards, ported her
helm, and ranging across the enemy’s bows gave her a raking broadside.
The _Guerrière’s_ main-yard came tumbling down, shot through at the
mast. Then, swinging around before the wind, the Yankee brought
her port battery to bear and gave the _Guerrière_ a second raking.
So close together were the two ships now that the _Guerrière’s_
bowsprit came poking over the quarter-deck of the _Constitution_.
A man on the _Constitution_ reached out of a cabin port and placed
his hand on the enemy’s figure-head. The _Guerrière’s_ bowsprit
fouled the _Constitutions_ port mizzen rigging and the bow-chasers
of the _Guerrière_ began to play havoc with the cabin of the
_Constitution_, which was soon on fire from blazing wads.

[Illustration:

NOTE.--The accounts of the manœuvres differ widely, but it is agreed
that the real fighting began at 6 o’clock with the _Constitution_ on
the port quarter of the enemy. When fairly abeam, the mizzen-mast of
the _Guerrière_ fell over to port, according to Allen, and dragged
her nose up to the starboard side of the _Constitution_; when the
_Constitution_ drove clear the two remaining masts of the _Guerrière_
fell. The _Constitution_ after repairs to her rigging, returned at 7
o’clock.
]

As the men on the _Constitution_ ran to extinguish this fire Captain
Dacres on the _Guerrière_ called away boarders, intending to climb
along his bowsprit to reach the _Constitution’s_ quarter-deck, but when
he saw the men on the _Constitution_ ready to receive him he thought
differently about it. The Yankees then thought to board, and brave
Lieutenant Bush, of the marines, jumped on the rail for the honor of
leading the way, and there was shot dead by a British marine. For a
few moments the two ships hung together, sawing up and down, while
the bulk of each crew was massed for boarding and the topmen on each
ship poured a galling fire into the other. Lieutenant Morris was
shot through the body and Master Alwyn was but little less severely
wounded. Captain Hull climbed part way upon the rail, but a big Yankee
seaman dragged him back unceremoniously, and begged him not to do that
unless he first took “off them swabs”--pointing to the captain’s gold
epaulets. A sailor who fired a pistol at one of the enemy and missed
him, threw the pistol with better, though not fatal, aim. He hit
the fellow in the breast. And then the flag at the _Constitution’s_
mizzen-truck was shot down. The enemy cheered, but John Hogan shinned
up and replaced it, although a number of British marines fired at him
steadily all the time he was exposed.

At last the larger spread of canvas on the _Constitution_ pulled her
clear, and then, as she began to swing around into position to open
fire again, both the main and the foremast of the _Guerrière_ that had
been badly cut by the American shot went over the rail with a crash,
and there she lay a helpless hulk.

It was then exactly 6.23 o’clock, or about two hours since the firing
of the first gun from the _Guerrière_. But from the time that the
_Constitution_ fired her first broadside, it was less than thirty
minutes.

[Illustration: Action between the _Constitution_ and the
_Guerrière_.--IV.

_From the painting by Birch, at the Naval Academy, Annapolis._]

Veering off for a brief interval, the _Constitution’s_ crew made hasty
repairs to the rigging, and then came back with guns loaded. They found
the _Guerrière_ in the trough of the sea rolling her main-deck guns
under water with every passing swell.

The _Constitution_ had been at her less than thirty minutes, but all
three of her masts had been shot away, and were dragging over the rail
by such of the shrouds as had not been cut by the shot of the Yankees.
Her hull was knocked into a sieve by the Yankee round-shot. Thirty of
these projectiles had penetrated her more than four feet below the
water-line. The cool Yankee gunner had watched her rolling her side out
of water and then aimed his gun at the copper below the water-line. Out
of a crew of two hundred and seventy-two, twenty-three men were dead or
mortally hurt, and fifty-six were more or less severely wounded--more
than one-fourth of her crew had been hit in that brief time. On the
_Constitution_ seven men had been killed and seven wounded, while her
hull had scarcely been touched below the bulwarks.

The _Constitution_ was ready for an all-night battle. The _Guerrière_
was ready only for the torch. She was “a perfect wreck.” She could not
be carried into port and had to be burned.

There was no flag flying on the _Guerrière_ when the _Constitution_
returned to her, and so Third Lieutenant George Campbell Read was
sent off in a boat to hail her. Pulling under her lee quarter he
found Captain Dacres leaning over the rail, and asked him if he had
surrendered. According to the careful Maclay the following conversation
took place--when Captain Dacres replied:

“I don’t know that it would be prudent to continue the engagement 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 cannot decide, I will return aboard my ship and we will resume
the engagement,” said the American officer.

To this Captain Dacres called out somewhat excitedly: “Why, I am pretty
much _hors de combat_ already. I have hardly men enough left to work a
single gun, and my ship is in a sinking condition.”

“I wish to know, sir,” peremptorily demanded Lieutenant Read, “whether
I am to consider you a prisoner of war or an enemy. I have no time for
further parley.”

Captain Dacres replied with evident reluctance: “I believe now there
is no alternative. If I could fight longer I would, with pleasure;
but--I--must--surrender.”

[Illustration: Sir James Richard Dacres.

_From an English engraving published in 1811._]

Read continued:

“Commodore Hull’s compliments, and wishes to know whether you need the
assistance of a surgeon or surgeon’s mate?”

“Well, I should suppose you had on board your own ship business enough
for all your medical officers,” replied Dacres.

“Oh, no,” said Read, blithely, “we had only seven wounded, and they
were dressed half an hour ago.”

The end of it was that Captain Dacres was carried on board the
_Constitution_. He had been wounded, but was able to climb the
rope-ladder to her deck, and there he found Captain Hull awaiting
him. It was a notable meeting in more ways than one--physically among
the rest. For Hull was short, rotund, and jolly--very much like our
portraits of John Bull--while Dacres was tall, lank, and serious--not
much different from a typical New Englander. Hull helped the beaten
captain to the deck, saying heartily: “Dacres, give me your hand, I
know you are hurt.” A moment later Captain Dacres made a formal offer
of his sword, but Hull refused it.

“No, no,” he said, “I will not take a sword from one who knows so well
how to use it; but I’ll trouble you for that hat.”

This apparently incongruous remark was due to the fact that when Dacres
had met Hull socially before the war he had offered to bet a hat that
the _Guerrière_ would whip the _Constitution_ if they ever met, and
Hull accepted the bet.

It was on the afternoon of August 21, 1812, that the wreck of the
_Guerrière_ was fired and blown to the four winds of heaven by the
triumphant Yankees, and from that day to this the naval writers of
both England and America have been trying to tell how it was that
the _Guerrière_ was so badly beaten in so short a time. A half-dozen
different explanations may be found in the books of any great nation,
and all are very much alike, even though written by partisans. They
give the details of the battle, how the ships approached each other;
how they veered and wore; how the crews cheered; how they fired
the guns; how the splinters flew; how the blood flowed from the
scuppers--of one ship; how with great reluctance the one surrendered.
Then with one accord the writers set to work to examine the hulk of
the _Guerrière_. Was it sound or rotten? They counted the guns. How
many did each ship have in a broadside? They measured the calibres
of the guns. They weighed the projectiles. “Why, blow me, sir! The
_Constitution_ had long twenty-fours to our eighteens!” “All right, but
by gosh, our shot were seven per cent. under weight!” They considered
the gunpowder chemically to see whether or not it had deteriorated on
the _Guerrière_. They counted the crews. They considered every little
detail.

As we look back at a distance of eighty-five years upon the battle it
must seem to a candid student of naval matters that the excuses and the
explanations were hardly worthy of the great peoples engaged in making
them. Nevertheless, because it is the conventional thing, these details
shall be given here:

The _Constitution_ measured (Roosevelt’s account) 1,576 tons;
the _Guerrière_, 1,338. The _Constitution_ could fire 27 guns in
a broadside, throwing 684 pounds of metal (actual weight); the
_Guerrière_, 25 guns, throwing 556 pounds of metal. The _Constitution_
carried 456 men; the _Guerrière_ but 272. The _Constitution_ lost, as
already told, 7 killed and 7 wounded; while the _Guerrière_ lost 23
killed and 56 wounded--over one-fourth of her crew. The comparative
force of the ships rated by these standards, was as 100 to 70; the
comparative casualties were as 18 to 100. To this may be added that the
relative injury to the ships was as 100 to nothing.

Arguing from these figures the British writers say that the
_Constitution_ was “a seventy-four-gun ship of the line in disguise.”
“Why should not any American feel proud of that assertion?” For if
it be so, the old Quaker ship-builder of Philadelphia was not only
the greatest ship-builder in America, but in the whole world. When
the British officers called her so they confessed that when they had
called her “a bunch of pine boards” they were mistaken. They confessed
that they had been utterly incapable of judging the fighting worth of
the _Constitution_, although they had gone over her and examined her
carefully.

The British point to the fact that our most powerful projectiles came
from twenty-four pounders, while theirs were from eighteens. Here again
they confess their own inability to arm a ship. They had for twenty
years been fighting the navies of Europe. Out of the experience there
gained they had decided that the long eighteens were the best calibre
for the main-deck battery of a frigate. The last frigates launched
from British ship-yards previous to this battle were armed with long
eighteens. The British officers who inspected the _Constitution_ from
time to time before the war of 1812 ridiculed the idea of trying to
fight with long twenty-fours. The long twenty-fours were “too heavy!”
But when their best frigates had been defeated by the Yankees they
began to weigh the projectiles and learned that their defeat was due to
the much ridiculed twenty-fours.

If the British had carried their investigations into the size of the
shot a trifle further--to the mechanism of the guns, for instance--they
would have learned something of real significance. They would have
seen that the cannon of the _Constitution_ were _furnished with
sights_. The _Guerrière_ lost her masts not by accident, but because
_the cool Yankee gunners could aim their weapons accurately_.

But the most important--rather the most pleasing of all the
confessions in the British explanations after defeat is that relating
to the superior numbers of the American crews. The count showed 456
individuals on the _Constitution_, and 272 on the _Guerrière_. To
contend, as the British writers do contend, that the “superiority on
the American side “was” in number of men as--nine to five,” is to admit
that man for man, an American naval seaman, in spite of his lack of
experience, was the equal of the tar-stained, cicatrice-marked British
seaman; and that was a confession which Americans in those days (not
now) were most anxious to extort.

But the British writers did not stop at this confession. They went
further and admitted all the most boastful Yankee could have wished.
They said (_vide_ the British _Naval Chronicle_), that “the few on
board an American ship-of-war that are designated as _boys_ are as old
and stout as most men employed in our service.”

And the last of all is the confession of the same periodical that “had
the _Guerrière’s_ men been half as well skilled in the use of great
guns as the _Constitution’s_ were, the proportion of killed and wounded
would not have been so great nor one ship made a complete wreck of
while the other suffered no material injury in hull or rigging.”

Isaac did so maul and rake her
That the decks of Captain Dacre
Were in such a woful pickle
As if Death, with scythe and sickle,
With his sling or with his shaft
Had cut his harvest fore and aft.

Thus, in thirty minutes, ended
Mischiefs that could not be mended;
Masts and yards and ship descended
All to David Jones’s locker----
Such a ship, in such a pucker!

So sang the old-time Yankee rhymester of the ship that “was not the
_Little Belt_.”

The British Admiralty boards eventually threw aside their prejudices,
and adopted long twenty-fours with sights on them in place of unsighted
long eighteens. They have done even more than that, for when in these
last years the swift armored cruiser _New York_, with her eight-inch
rifles in turrets, was added to the American navy, giving us the most
powerful cruiser in the world, they at once laid down four armored
cruisers that were larger in displacement and carried more powerful
engines, thicker turrets, and a more powerful armament than the _New
York_.

During the night after the battle the boats were kept busy transferring
the prisoners from the wreck to the _Constitution_. Ten kidnapped
Americans were found among her crew, but the humane Dacres had
not compelled them to fight against their own flag. A sail was
seen steering south at twenty minutes past two o’clock, and the
_Constitution_ cleared for action, but the vessel passed on, and soon
disappeared. At daylight the lieutenant in charge of the wreck hailed
to say she had four feet of water in her hold and appeared to be in
danger of sinking, but she kept afloat until afternoon, when she was
set on fire, and at 3.15 P.M., on August 21, 1812, the flames reached
her magazine and she was blown to pieces. “A huge column of smoke arose
and stood for a long time in the calm atmosphere, and then slowly
crumbled to pieces, revealing only a few shattered planks to tell where
the proud vessel had sunk. The sea never rolled over a vessel whose
fate so startled the world.”

It is worth noting, perhaps, that the father of Captain Dacres of the
_Guerrière_ was the Captain James Richard Dacres who commanded the
schooner _Carleton_ on Lake Champlain at the time of the fight with
Arnold’s haymakers, and that both father and son became admirals in the
service.

As it happened, the _Constitution_ reached Boston most opportunely.
Detroit had been surrendered to the British without a single shot
having been fired in its defence. Fort Dearborn, too, that stood
where Chicago now stands, had been taken by the Indian allies of the
British and the garrison massacred. Instead of triumphantly wresting
Canada from the British Crown, as the foolish politicians in Congress
had proposed to do, the American militia had been beaten back and the
Canadians seemed in a fair way to annex all the United States domain
lying west of the longitude of Lake Erie. The people had hoped for
nothing from the navy. The Administration had even sent orders to
Captain Hull to remain in port, but Hull had sailed before the orders
arrived, and now returned with the crew of the _Guerrière_--the British
frigate that had sailed up and down the coast, kidnapping American
citizens and flaunting her identity in the face of all America by
painting her name across her foretopsail.

[Illustration: Medal Awarded to Isaac Hull, after the Capture of the
_Guerrière_ by the _Constitution_.]

The _Constitution_ appeared off Boston Light on August 30th, dressed
in fluttering bunting. Look-outs along shore saw and understood these
signals, and horsemen, wild with enthusiasm, galloped into the city.
Cannon roared from every fort as she sailed up the harbor, and flags
were flung to the breeze from every mast-head. The people in thousands
gathered at the long wharf to welcome her. A banquet was given to the
officers in Faneuil Hall, where the venerable John Adams, the first
advocate of a national navy in the old Colonial Congress, presided.
Congress voted a gold medal to Captain Hull and silver medals to the
commissioned officers, and $50,000 to the whole crew. A piece of
plate was given to Lieutenant Morris by his townsmen. The citizens of
Portland, Maine (Falmouth), gave a sword to their townsman, Lieutenant
Alexander Scammel Wadsworth. Virginia gave swords to Midshipmen Morgan
and Taylor. The people had looked upon the navy with doubt; they had
seen with anxious fear the _Constitution_ sail away. But now the whole
nation went wild, and the song of the exultant poet rang wherever the
people gathered:

Ye tars of Columbia, whose glory imparts
New charms to the blessings your valor secures,
Oh! high be your hopes and undaunted your hearts,
For the wishes and prayers of a nation are yours.

CHAPTER VI

FOUGHT IN A HATTERAS GALE

WHEN THE SECOND YANKEE _WASP_ FELL IN WITH THE BRITISH _FROLIC_--THEY
TUMBLED ABOUT IN THE CROSS SEA IN A WAY THAT DESTROYED THE BRITISH
“AIM,” BUT THE YANKEES WATCHED THE ROLL OF THEIR SHIP, AND WHEN
THEY WERE DONE THEY HAD KILLED AND WOUNDED NINE-TENTHS OF THE
ENEMY’S CREW AND WRECKED HIS VESSEL--THE _FROLIC_ WAS A LARGER
SHIP, CARRIED MORE GUNS, AND HAD ALL THE MEN SHE COULD USE, “FINE,
ABLE-BODIED SEAMEN,” SURE ENOUGH!

Of glorious memory was the little Yankee sloop-of-war _Wasp_. Though
carrying the rig of a ship--square sails on three masts, she was of
the size of one of the smaller schooners that in these days cruise
along the United States coast. She measured, that is to say, four
hundred and fifty tons. But being built to a different model, she stood
somewhat higher out of water than the schooners do. Her guns included
sixteen short thirty-twos and two long twelves. Her commander in 1812
was Captain Jacob Jones, a Delaware sailor who had worked his way up,
beginning as a midshipman under Captain Barry.

[Illustration: Jacob Jones.

_From an engraving by Edwin of the portrait by Rembrandt Peale._]

On October 13, 1812, the _Wasp_ sailed from Philadelphia, bound
eastward to lie in wait in the track of British merchantmen in the
voyages from the West Indies. She had on board one hundred and
thirty-seven men, including marines, but two of her sailors were lost
overboard in a gale of wind on the 15th. They were at work on the jib
at the time. The _Wasp_ in plunging down a wave buried her bowsprit
under water, and when she rose out of it the bowsprit was broken off
and the men carried away.

For two days the gale blew hard, making an ugly sea, and then on the
night of the 17th moderated somewhat, although the wind was still
properly called a gale. That night at half-past eleven o’clock several
lights were seen, showing that a number of vessels were weathering the
storm together, and Captain Jones hauled to the wind, where he could
keep his eye on them. When daylight came he found there were six large
merchantmen under the convoy of a big brig. Although the brig was
plainly as large as the _Wasp_, and some of the merchant ships carried
guns, Captain Jones reefed down his topsails to fighting trim, sent
his topgallant-yards down on deck and squared away for the fleet. As
was afterwards learned the ships were a part of a fleet of fourteen
bound from British Honduras to England, and the brig was the _Frolic_,
Captain Thomas Whinyates. The fleet had been separated by the storm
and the _Frolic_ had sprung her main-yard. She was making repairs when
morning came, but as the Yankee bore down on the fleet the _Frolic_,
under a fore-and-aft mainsail, fore-topsail and a jib, bore up to meet
her.

So heavy was the gale and so short the canvas under which the ships
had to work, that it was not until after 11 o’clock that they got
within fighting distance, but when there, the Englishman hoisted a
Spanish flag. This little trick did not deceive the Yankee, however,
for he held his course, and very soon the two vessels were within sixty
yards of each other and were steadily drawing nearer, both running
almost before the wind, but not quite, the Yankee having a little the
better of it, being a little to windward.

For a brief time they ran so in silence, and then Captain Jones stepped
to the rail and hailed. For an answer the Englishman hauled down his
Spanish flag, hoisted his red cross of St. George, and as the one came
down and the other fluttered aloft, fired a broadside--fired it just as
a fierce flaw of wind struck his sails to heel him over.

The Yankees waited till their vessel began to roll from the crest of a
wave toward the enemy and then fired a broadside in return.

It was a battle off Cape Hatteras in the tail end of a Hatteras gale.
The ships rolled and pitched over the heavy cross seas, and wallowed
through the hollows. The crews, as they loaded their guns, saw the long
rammers pointed to the clouds at one roll, and saw them dip in the
spoondrift that rose to the port sills at the next. The muzzles of the
guns were even dipped into the smother of it at times. The spray from
the wave-crests in great masses splashed over the bulwarks. The smoke
from the guns was snatched away by the gale, leaving clear targets for
the gunners, who, from the excitement of it all, swabbed, and rammed,
and fired--who shouted as they hauled out their guns to aim, and
cheered as they fired their iron hail across the tossing seas. The roar
and whizz of the gale were whelmed in the thunder of the broadsides and
the scream of projectiles.

[Illustration: Diagram of the WASP-FROLIC BATTLE.]

They swabbed, and rammed, and fired in frantic haste under the red
cross--fired the moment the muzzles of the guns were hauled out through
the bulwarks. Under the “gridiron flag” they loaded in haste and
then calmly waited till the roll of the ship was right to make each
projectile do its appointed work. The Englishman fired three broadsides
by count to two of the Yankees, but scarce a projectile from the enemy
struck the Yankee’s hull.

Nevertheless some damage was done by British projectiles. Within
four minutes after the first broadside a shot struck the _Wasp’s_
maintopmast not far above the cap and over it went like a tree before
a hurricane. The yards fell across the fore braces and “rendered
the head-yards unmanageable.” Ten minutes later (11.46 A.M.) the
mizzen-topgallant-mast was shot off and “at twenty minutes from the
beginning of the action every brace and most of the rigging was shot
away” on the _Wasp_.

But both vessels were driving along before the wind. The impulse of the
gale upon their rigging was strong enough to give them steerage way.
But the cutting away of the two masts on the _Wasp_ left her in such
plight that the enemy had only to wear ship and haul to the wind on the
port tack to escape. Some kinds of sea-fighters would have done that
quickly, but not those of the Anglo-Saxon blood.

The Englishmen held their course and blazed away. The _Wasp_ having
been squared away by the falling of the mainmast, drew forward and
somewhat across the bow of the enemy, and the distance between them
lessened until at last the men who were loading two of the broadside
guns of the _Wasp_ felt their rammers strike the bluff of the enemy’s
bows as they reached out to swab their guns. A moment later the ships
came together with a crash, and then as they wallowed together in the
trough of the sea two of the _Wasp’s_ guns pointed fairly through the
bow ports of the enemy and along her gun-deck. At that instant the
order to fire was given and it was obeyed before the waves could shift
the position. The slaughter of that raking fire was terrible.

With the send of the next wave the _Wasp_ forged ahead until the
bowsprit of the enemy fouled in the mizzen rigging of the _Wasp_ and
the two ships were held together in an embrace that seemed likely
to tear both to pieces. The men of the _Wasp_ had wished to board
the instant the ships collided, but were then held back to fire a
broadside. Now they would be restrained no longer. Without waiting
for orders one, Jack Lang, a brawny fellow from New Brunswick, New
Jersey, took his cutlass in his teeth, and grasping the rigging about
the bowsprit of the enemy swung himself upon that spar. Captain Jones,
of the _Wasp_, who wished to fire another broadside, bawled to him to
come down but Jack had been impressed in the British service--he had a
score of his own to settle--and he did not obey. And a dozen or more of
his shipmates were hurrying from their guns to join him. The enthusiasm
of the men could scarcely be restrained and the Captain let them have
their way, giving the order to board.

[Illustration: The _Wasp_ Boarding the _Frolic_.

_From an old wood-cut._]

Lieutenant Biddle jumped on the bulwarks to lead the boarders, but
because of the surging of his ship he got his feet caught among the
hammocks. Little Midshipman Baker, who was entitled to second place,
being too small to jump to the top as Biddle had done, saw Biddle’s
coat-tails flopping in the gale and grabbed hold of them to help
himself up. He got part way up when another surge of the ship threw
both of them violently back to the deck.

All this time Jack Lang was alone on the enemy, but Biddle soon
regained the top of the bulwarks, and then, followed by others, crossed
over the enemy’s bowsprit. He found Jack Lang standing alone on the
topgallant forecastle and looking away aft over the enemy’s deck.

At the wheel on the quarter deck stood a grizzled quarter-master,
bleeding from a wound, but firm in staying at his post. Beyond him in a
group at the taffrail stood three officers, two of whom were wounded.
And that was all. Not another living man could be seen, though there
were dead enough strewn about the deck, and the water that came in
through the scuppers, deeply reddened by their blood, swashed to and
fro over them and up the painted bulwarks at every roll.

The flag of the enemy was still flying, but as Lieutenant Biddle and
his men started aft the three officers at the taffrail threw down their
swords in token of surrender, while one buried his face in his hands
and turned away. So Lieutenant Biddle himself hauled down the flag and
reported the surrender of the ship to Captain Jones.

[Illustration: _From an original water color, by H. Rich at the Naval
Academy, Annapolis._]

When the Americans came to examine their prize they were astonished at
the result of their gunnery. The lower deck was simply covered over
with wounded men. The _Frolic_ had carried a crew of one hundred and
ten all told, and less than twenty of them remained unwounded. Captain
Whinyates and Lieutenant Frederick B. Wintle were among the wounded,
and another lieutenant and the master were among the killed. Whinyates
and Wintle were so badly wounded that they were obliged to lean on
the taffrail for support when the _Frolic_ was boarded. Only their
pluck kept them from going below. The masts of the _Frolic_ were so
badly cut that the mainmast broke off at the deck soon after the two
vessels drifted apart, and the foremast twelve feet above the deck. Her
hull was full of holes.

[Illustration: James Biddle.

_From an engraving by Gimbrede of the portrait by Wood._]

Because of the tremendous destruction wrought--because nine-tenths
of the enemy’s crew had been counted among the casualties, the time
required for this destruction is the most interesting fact of the
battle. The first broadside was fired at 11.32 A.M. Lieutenant Biddle
hauled down the enemy’s flag at 12.15. Just forty-three minutes had
elapsed, and the _Frolic_ was a wreck, with barely enough men left
unhurt to navigate a sound merchantman of her size into port. And that
was done while both ships were rolling and plunging about in a cross
sea!

It is particularly interesting to compare the _Wasp_ with the _Frolic_.
The facts are that the _Wasp_ measured 450 tons and the _Frolic_
467. The _Wasp_ could fire nine guns, throwing 250 pounds of metal
at a broadside, and the _Frolic_, ten guns throwing 274 pounds. This
is the lowest British estimate of her guns. Captain Jones after
looking carefully over his prize reported officially that she carried
twenty-two guns, throwing 292 pounds of metal. Jones had no reason
for misrepresenting the matter in his report. Captain Whinyates makes
no mention of guns in his. The _Wasp_ carried 135 men, and Allen, the
British historian, says they were “fine, able-bodied seamen.” It is
quite certain that they were as fine as any afloat. But to assert that
they were all experienced seamen is to tell a falsehood. They were an
ordinary Yankee crew.

The _Frolic_ carried 110 men and Allen says they were “worn down by
long service in a tropical climate.” No one need dispute this, even if
they did fire three broadsides to the Yankee’s two. The _Wasp_ had but
five men killed and five wounded, nearly all of whom were struck while
aloft. They tumbled from the tops and rigging like squirrels shot from
the limbs of a tree.

To sum it up, the two ships were as nearly equal in force as any two
ships meeting at sea were likely to be in those days. The British ship
was somewhat the more powerful, for she had “all the men we could use,”
as Captain Whinyates put it; and she carried more guns and threw more
metal than the American.

The fact is this victory made such a deep impression upon the minds
of the British officials that they were led to a most extraordinary
proceeding in order to modify the effect it was likely to have upon the
British public as a whole, and consequently upon the fortunes of the
political party then in power in Parliament. The report of the fight
was garbled before it was given out to the press. The account given
out said that “the _Wasp_ measured 434 tons and the _Frolic_ 384,” so
“the tonnage of the _Wasp_ gave her an immense advantage” in the heavy
sea-way. Allen, the British historian, prints the garbled reports of
the battle in the work already quoted, although the official registers
of ships would have given him the facts. Allen, however, but follows
James in this matter.

[Illustration: Medal Awarded to Jacob Jones, after the Capture of the
_Frolic_ by the _Wasp_.]

Having placed a prize crew on the _Frolic_, Captain Jones began the
work of repairing the damage done aloft with a view of overhauling
some of the merchantmen that had formed the convoy. As he began this
work a sail was seen rising above the horizon to windward and the crew
made haste with the work, at first, for they thought it might be one
of the convoy. But when the sails were fairly in view they gave over
the task, for it appeared that the ship was a big man-o’-war. A little
later still they learned that it was the _Poictiers_, a seventy-four,
commanded by Captain John Poer Beresford. The victory over the _Frolic_
was to be of no value to the United States save through its moral
influence. Both the _Frolic_ and the _Wasp_ were carried to Bermuda,
and it was there that the garbled report of the fight was written.

The _Wasp_ was taken into the British navy under the same name, but she
was lost at sea without having accomplished anything.

What the first American _Wasp_ did has already been related in the
story of the naval actions of the Revolution.

Captain Jones and his crew, having soon been exchanged, returned home,
where they were received with the honors due to “fine, able-bodied
seamen” who had thrashed an enemy in such thorough fashion. The
Congress voted $25,000 to them as a reward, and Captain Jones was soon
placed in command of the frigate _Macedonian_, which was captured from
the enemy, as will be told in the next chapter.

CHAPTER VII

BROUGHT THE _MACEDONIAN_ INTO PORT

STORY OF THE SECOND FRIGATE DUEL OF THE WAR OF 1812--THE _MACEDONIAN_
WAS A NEW SHIP, AND HAD BEEN BUILT WITH A FULL KNOWLEDGE OF THE
YANKEE FRIGATES--WHIPPED, BUT NOT DESTROYED--ESTIMATING A CREW’S
SKILL BY THE NUMBER OF SHOTS THAT HIT--SUPPOSE THE ARMAMENTS OF
THE SHIPS HAD BEEN REVERSED--IMPRESSED AMERICANS KILLED WHEN
FORCED TO FIGHT AGAINST THEIR OWN FLAG--“THE NOBLEST SIGHT IN
NATUR’”--A FIRST-RATE FRIGATE, AS A PRIZE, BROUGHT HOME BY BRAVE
DECATUR--ENTHUSIASTIC CELEBRATIONS OF THE VICTORY THROUGHOUT THE
UNITED STATES.

Of all the battles between American and British ships there was none
so often discussed, and none so well remembered among American seamen,
previous to and even after the civil war, as that between the _United
States_, commanded by Captain Stephen Decatur, and the _Macedonian_,
commanded by Captain John Surnam Carden. And the reasons for this were
that it was a well-fought battle, the victory for the Americans was
well won, and the _Macedonian_ was brought into port, and for many
years she carried the Stars and Stripes proudly--flaunted the flag
in the faces of British officers in a hundred different parts of the
world, and at the last was sent to the Naval Academy at Annapolis,
where, as a practice ship for the midshipmen, she not only strengthened
their muscles and increased their knowledge, but she stirred their
patriotic souls in a way that no other ship could have done.

On October 8, 1812, Commander Rodgers sailed from Boston with the
_President_, the _United States_, the _Congress_, and the _Argus_,
but the squadron separated four days later, the _President_ and the
_Congress_ taking one course, and the _United States_ and the _Argus_
another. A little later still the _Argus_ held to an easterly course,
while the _United States_ headed away for a cruise between the Azores
and the Canary Islands.

Meantime the British frigate _Macedonian_, a ship that was built of
oak, and had been afloat less than two years, had sailed from England,
bound south, and in the course of her voyage put in at Madeira for a
supply of the wine that in those days was as popular among drinking
people as the sparkling French wine is in this. While there Captain
Carden heard that the American frigate _Essex_ was expected to cruise
between the Madeiras and the Canaries, to intercept British commerce,
and at this the _Macedonian_ was headed for that ground to capture the
audacious Yankee.

On Sunday morning, October 25, 1812, the _United States_ was cruising
along under easy sail about half-way between the Azores and the Canary
Islands. It was a beautiful day. A stiff southeasterly breeze swept
through the rigging. The sunlit sea was flecked over with racing
white-caps and purpled in broad fields wherever the shadows of the
fluffy clouds fell upon it. It was just the kind of a day when a good
seaman could handle a frigate as a yachtsman might handle a catboat.

Very early in the day a sail was seen broad off on the weather beam,
and it was not very long after this that the lookout observed that she
was making sail in chase of the _United States_. This stranger was the
_Macedonian_, and her master was coming down the wind with the hope
that he was to encounter the _Essex_ of which he had heard. As the
_Macedonian_ made sail in chase, the _United States_ made sail to meet
her. Private signals were made on the _Macedonian_, to see whether
it really was an enemy and as these were not answered, the crew were
called to quarters and the ship cleared for action.

[Illustration: Capture of the _Macedonian_.

_Victory obtained by the U. S. ship United States of 44 guns over
his Britannic Majesty’s ship Macedonian of 38 guns. The action
continued 90 minutes, in which the United States had 6 men killed, 7
wounded--the Macedonian had 36 killed, 68 wounded._
]

As the ships approached each other their manœuvres became of great
interest to seamen, but a landsman finds them hard to follow. This
much, however, is plain, the _Macedonian_ came down with the wind.
She could choose her own position. She might have closed with the
_United States_ and brought every gun into action. Her first lieutenant
wanted to do this, but her captain, either from the belief that he
was fighting the _Essex_, that had short guns only, or because he
was afraid the Yankee would luff up to windward of him, or both (the
accounts differ), chose to hold on a course almost parallel with the
_United States_, and fight at long range.

Meantime, Captain Decatur had been trying to get to windward, but found
the _Macedonian_ too swift and handy to permit that. So he spread his
colors from every peak, and prepared to fight where he must.

Soon after 9 o’clock, Captain Carden ordered three of his long guns
fired at the _United States_. The balls skipped over the long waves and
fell into the sea harmless. A manœuvre to close the interval between
the ships followed. A broadside from the _United States_ was fired
back. Most of these fell short, but one whistled over the Englishman.
Some minutes of silence followed, during which the Yankees luffed and
the Englishman sagged off from the wind, and then the range having been
found, the gunners stripped off their shirts, and bare-headed, or with
handkerchiefs tied to keep their hair from their eyes, they began to
work their long batteries.

For a half hour thereafter that was as hot a fight as two such frigates
ever made. So swiftly did the Yankees work their guns that, not only
did they envelope their ship in smoke faster than the smart wind
could blow it away, but they led the Englishmen to believe that the
_United States_ was actually on fire; and this word was passed along
the gun-deck of the _Macedonian_ to encourage the men. They cheered at
it--all but six or seven did--as they had cheered at every round of
their guns.

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 jaws, sir.

If the second broadside didn’t make them “hold their jaw” others did.
Their cheers were a mockery, and in a rapidly increasing number of
cases were turned to shrieks and groans. The Yankees, peering through
the sights of their long twenty-fours, were hulling the _Macedonian_ at
every round, in spite of wind and rocking waves.

[Illustration: Diagram of the BATTLE BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND
MACEDONIAN.

THE M.-M. CO.

NOTE.--The _Macedonian_ had the weather-gauge, and held it until
after losing her mizzen-mast at about 10.25 A.M., when the _United
States_ forged ahead, tacked about, and returned to find the
_Macedonian_ with fore and main top-masts gone, and ready to
surrender.
]

“Our men kept cheering with all their might,” said Samuel Leech
(quoted by Maclay) who was one of the _Macedonian’s_ crew. “I cheered
with them, though I confess I scarcely knew what for. Grape-shot and
canister were pouring through our port-holes 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.

“The slaughter among the boys of the _Macedonian_ was one of the most
painful incidents of the battle. One of the lads supplying the sixth
and seventh guns had his leg taken off by a cannon-shot, while the
other was struck in the ankle by a grape-shot, and had to have the leg
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 (bag of powder) he was carrying, and as the agonized
lad lifted both hands, as if imploring relief, a cannon shot cut him in
two.

“A man named Aldrich had his hand taken off by a shot, and the next
instant another 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.

“Some of the men were so dreadfully mangled with splinters that the
surgeon pronounced their cases hopeless, and they were taken on deck
and thrown into the sea, where their groans, prayers, or imprecations
were quickly hushed by the surging waters.”

Over on the _United States_, matters were in no wise gloomy. One of the
boys, the son of a sailor, who had died in the ship, who was so young
that his name had not been put on the register of the crew, went to
Captain Decatur before the battle began and asked that it be added to
the list, regardless of his age. When asked why he was so urgent, he
said:

“So as I can draw my share of the prize-money, sir,” he said. The
captain laughed at the lad’s confidence in the ship, and ordered it
done. His name was John Kreamer, and he eventually reached the rank of
lieutenant.

As the battle raged, Captain Decatur walked about the gun-deck to see
for himself how everyone was working. It is recorded that he stopped at
one gun, and said:

“Aim at that yellow streak along her side. Her spars and rigging are
going fast enough. She must have a little more hulling.”

[Illustration: Battle Between the _United States_ and the _Macedonian_.

_From an engraving by Duthie of the drawing by Chappel._]

A little further on he heard a gunner say to a crew-mate after the
_Macedonian’s_ mizzen-topmast fell:

“Hey, Bill. We have made a brig of her.”

“Take good aim, my lad, and she will be a sloop,” said Captain Decatur.
And a sloop she became very soon after, for her main-topmast followed
the mizzen.

The injury done to the British ship was in proportion to the number
of casualties among her crew. Hardly had the battle opened in earnest
before the mizzen-topmast was cut by a round shot, and came crashing
down before the wind, to fall with its weight of yards and rigging into
the maintop and so hold fast the braces of the main yards. But for
almost half an hour Captain Carden kept his ship off at long range. He
has been accused of “timidity or bad judgment” for doing so. Certainly
he was not timid, and as for his judgment it was simply that of the
British Lords of Admiralty. He and they really believed the long
eighteens of the _Macedonian_ were superior to the long twenty-fours
of the _United States_. When this belief was knocked out of him by the
twenty-four-pound arguments, so to speak, of the Yankees, he endeavored
to close in. This has been called rash, but that is not a fair word.
The case was desperate. He would surely be whipped where he was, and
there might be hope at short range. He grasped at this chance as his
duty demanded and the instincts of a brave man directed. Putting up his
helm, he headed for the _United States_, end on, and ordered boarders
to be called away. His men were as brave as he was. They responded with
cheers, and some who were wounded even came rushing forward. But their
courage was all in vain.

As the _Macedonian_ turned, the Yankees braced their main-yards aback
to hold the _United States_ in waiting for the enemy and blazed away
with a raking fire. The bow-guns of the _Macedonian_ were quickly
disabled and she luffed up and fired with her broadside guns as they
were brought to bear. But the Yankee filled away and luffed when she
did, and eased away again as she eased away, all the time delivering
a fire that was fearfully destructive to the British crew. Then, once
more the _Macedonian_ was luffed and this time a shot cut her lee
fore-brace and the yard at once swung around until the sails came
aback and threw the Englishman off to leeward in such a position and
at such close range that the Yankee gunners fairly swept her decks
with their projectiles from both short and long guns. Her fore-topmast
was cut away at the cap. The main-topmast followed. The lower masts
were slashed and splintered, and the rigging and sails were rendered
almost wholly useless. Only the foresail remained serviceable and that
was badly torn. Every gun on the forecastle was disabled, and all
but two on the quarter-deck were in like condition, while two of the
main-deck battery were destroyed. The _Macedonian_ had become a wreck,
wholly unable to continue the fight, and at 11 o’clock the _United
States_ ceased firing. She had lost her mizzen-topgallant-mast, but was
otherwise so little hurt that she had forged up across the bows of the
_Macedonian_ so far that no guns would bear.

At this Captain Decatur eased off to give his sails a good full, and
the British crew, seeing him do so, cheered. They supposed another
frigate might have appeared and that the _United States_ was running.
But their hopes were vain. The _United States_, having made swift
repairs to braces and other rigging, tacked about and came back to the
wrecked Englishman. Captain Carden called a council of his officers.
The impetuous Lieutenant David Hope urged that they fight till she
sank, but more sensible councils prevailed, and as the _United States_
ranged across the stern of the _Macedonian_ the Englishmen hauled down
their flag.

The battle had lasted one hour and a half all told, but the actual
fighting, excluding the earlier shots fired “more to test the distance
than to do injury,” lasted only an hour.

Seeing the enemy’s flag hauled down, Captain Decatur sent Lieutenant
John B. Nicholson to take charge of her, and afterward visited her
himself. It was a mournful state of affairs that they found, even
though they were flushed with victory. The officers and crews were
fairly well acquainted with each other, for the _Macedonian_ had been
in Norfolk before the war when the _United States_ was there and
several visits had been exchanged. Lieutenant Nicholson on going into
the ward-room found the surgeon at work there.

“How do you do, Doctor?” he said.

The surgeon looked up quickly at the sound of a familiar voice, and
then, recognizing the lieutenant, said:

“I have enough to do. You have made wretched work with us.”

And Captain Decatur, in writing of the scene when he first boarded her,
speaks of the “fragments of the dead scattered in every direction,
the decks slippery with blood, one continuous agonizing yell of the
wounded. A scene so horrible of my fellow-creatures, I assure you,
deprived me of very much of the pleasure of victory.”

[Illustration: The Battle Between the _United States_ and the
_Macedonian_.

(Drawn by a sailor who was on the _United States_.)

_From the original drawing at the Naval Academy, Annapolis._]

To add to the horror of the spectacle, some of the crew, taking
advantage of the inevitable disorder, broke into the spirits-room and
quickly got hilariously drunk. And so, singing and shouting and
screaming, they went reeling about the decks, falling and smearing
themselves with blood, and rising to sing and shout again in drunken
glee, until enough of the American crew had come to confine them.

Nor does that tell all that the victors found to stir their feelings.
Among the dead were two whose story must not be forgotten, for they
were impressed Americans. As the Stars and Stripes first fluttered
from the gaff of the _United States_ (before the battle began) seven
of the seamen of the _Macedonian_ asked permission to speak to the
captain. The following is a list of these men as literally copied
from the muster-roll of the _Macedonian_--copied after the battle,
of course--together with the name of one other man whose case was of
interest in like fashion:

“Christopher Dodge, American, aged thirty-two, prest by the _Thisbe_,
late _Dedaigneuse_, shipped in the _Macedonian_ July 1, 1810.

“Peter Johnson, American, aged thirty-two, prest by the _Dedalus_,
entered August 24, 1810.

“John Alexander, of Cape Ann, aged twenty-nine, prest by the _Dedalus_,
entered August 25, 1810.

“C. Dolphin, of Connecticut, aged twenty-two, prest by the _Namur_,
late _Ceres_, entered August 4, 1810.

“Major Cook, of Baltimore, aged twenty-seven, prest by the _Royal
William_, late _Mercury_, entered September 10, 1810.

“William Thompson, of Boston, aged twenty, prest at Lisbon, entered
January 16, 1811, drowned at sea in boarding an American.

“John Wallis, American, aged twenty-three, prest by the _Triton_,
entered February 16, 1811 (killed in action in the _Macedonian_).

“John Card, American, aged twenty-seven, prest by the _North Star_,
entered April 13, 1811 (killed in action in the _Macedonian_).”

John Card, “as brave a seaman as ever trod a plank,” was spokesman
for the seven men, and on going to the mainmast asked that he and his
countrymen be not compelled to fight against their flag.

Carden drove them back to their places. Then he stationed midshipmen
with drawn swords at intervals, and marines with loaded muskets around
every hatch, and these he ordered to kill every man who attempted to
leave the guns or to pass below without authority. And so it happened
that when the victorious Americans boarded the _Macedonian_ they found
John Card and John Wallis dead beside the guns.

James says that Captain Carden allowed the Americans to go below. If a
deliberately written falsehood is ever creditable to a man this one is
certainly to the credit of James.

After a brief inspection of the _Macedonian_, Lieutenant Nicholson
carried Captain Carden over to the _United States_. Decatur, “wearing
an old straw hat and a plain suit of clothes which made him look more
like a farmer than a naval hero,” met him at the head of the ladder.
Stepping to the deck Carden offered his sword to Decatur in the usual
form.

“No, sir,” said Decatur; “I cannot receive the sword of a man who has
so bravely defended his ship. But I will receive your hand,” he added,
and shook hands cordially with the defeated captain.

Decatur is described as a man “five feet ten inches high, and had a
somewhat slender figure, a long face, prominent, restless eyes, dark
skin, and black hair.”

When the captors came to reckon the losses, they found their own were
trifling. The _United States_ carried four hundred and seventy-eight
people all told, out of which number Lieutenant John Messer Funk and
six seamen were killed, and five only were wounded. The ship had
lost her mizzen topgallant-mast, and some of her yards were slashed
a little. Her rigging was cut up somewhat, but only three round shot
struck her hull.

On the _Macedonian_ forty-three were killed, including two lieutenants,
while sixty-one were wounded, of whom one was the undaunted First
Lieutenant David Hope, who was severely hurt. So more than one-third of
her crew were in the list of casualties, in spite of the long range.
As already told, the ship was practically dismasted and more than one
hundred round shot had struck her hull, passing through her side below
the water-line--an exhibition of marksmanship not to be forgotten by
any naval seaman.

Inevitably a comparison of the forces of the two ships must be made.
The _United States_ (according to Roosevelt) fired twenty-seven guns
throwing 786 pounds of metal at a full broadside; the _Macedonian_
fired twenty-five guns throwing 547 pounds of metal. The crew of the
_United States_ numbered four hundred and seventy-eight and that of the
_Macedonian_ three hundred and one. James asserts that the _Macedonian_
carried an unusual percentage of boys, and that the _United States_
carried but one boy who was seventeen years old. Now, what could have
been the state of mind of the English officers when they reported at
home that all of the dozen and odd twelve-year and thirteen-year old
powder-monkeys on the _United States_ were seventeen years old or older?

Because we know just how many of the shot of the enemy struck the
Yankee ship, and approximately how many of our shot struck the enemy,
it will be of interest to return once more to the stock argument of
the British historians who continuously assert that their frigates were
whipped by the superior size of the Yankee guns. They point to the fact
that the _United States_ fired 786 pounds of metal at a broadside,
while the _Macedonian_ fired only 547 pounds. Therefore, they say, the
_United States_ whipped because of this preponderance. It was by no
means, if they are to be believed, because the Yankees were abler naval
seamen. But an unbiassed student of history is likely to point to the
record of shots striking each ship as furnishing figures very much more
significant than those relating to the preponderance in weight of metal
thrown. The British hulled the Yankee but three times. Suppose she had
had twenty-four pounders instead of eighteens. Those three shots would
then have made three holes (allowing for “windage”) each 5.657 inches
in diameter. The aggregate areas of the holes was 72.66 square inches.
Suppose the _United States_ had carried eighteen-pounders, she would
have made more than 100 holes in the _Macedonian_, each 5.141 inches in
diameter. The aggregate area of the 100 holes in the _Macedonian_ would
then have been 2073.39 square inches. So the real damage inflicted,
even had the armament been reversed, would have been as 2,073 is to 73.

Surely, this computation of the areas of the holes made is quite as
pertinent, to say the least, as the weighing of the shot. The combined
holes made by the _Macedonian_ equalled one hole eight inches wide and
nine long. The aggregate of those made by the _United States_ almost
equalled a single hole four feet square.

The truth is, none of the figures of the defeated ones or of those who
strive to explain away the figures which the defeated bring forward,
are of more than trifling importance. If any one wants to know of how
little importance was the difference between the long eighteen and the
long twenty-four, let him consider whether a modern rifle of half the
bore of either would not have been more serviceable, say than ten of
either. It was not the size of a hole that a gun could make, but the
number of holes that the crew behind it could make with it in an enemy.
The crew of the _United States_ made more than one hundred holes in the
British hulk and got but three in return. With this hard fact in mind,
what must a candid student say was the relative efficiency of the two
crews as naval seamen?

To make this matter of the relative efficiency in that day of
the English and American naval seamen still clearer, it is worth
considering the size of the target at which the Englishmen fired and
missed so often. The _United States_ stood as high out of water as
the second-story windows of ordinary dwellings in any of the large
American cities. She was as long as the combined fronts of, say seven
houses, standing in a solid row. Incredible as it may seem, it is
really a fact, that although the _Macedonian_ was no further away than
across the street from this big target, and fired repeatedly at that
range with the whole broadside, she only landed three shot in the
target. Now what kind of gunners were they that they couldn’t hit a
two-story house when firing at “half pistol-shot” range?

It was not for lack of practice either, for Executive Officer David
Hope, under the date of June 22, 1824, wrote that “in no ship in
the British service could there have been more attention paid to
the practical part of gunnery than was done to the crew of the
_Macedonian_. The men were not only well trained, but the greatest
attention was paid to every department relating to the guns.” That was
in 1812. They do things in different fashion in the British navy now,
and they know how to shoot guns and how to hit targets as well.

It is interesting at this point to recall a remark made by Captain
Carden of the _Macedonian_ when dining on board the _United States_ at
Norfolk before the war. He had been pointing out the superiority of
such frigates as the _Macedonian_ to any others afloat--had told how
much more rapidly and accurately their long eighteens could be handled
than the American’s long twenty-fours--how much more metal they would
drive into an enemy in a given time and how much handier in every way
the _Macedonian_ was than the _United States_, when he closed by saying:

“Besides, Decatur, though your ship may be good enough, and you are a
clever set of fellows, what practice have you had in war? There is the
rub!”

The truth is, as was said in telling of the _Constitution-Guerrière_
fight, the British Lords of Admiralty knew all about the size of the
_Constitution_, the _United States_ and all the rest of the American
ships. They knew the number and size of guns carried. The _United
States_ was launched at Philadelphia on July 10, 1797. She had been
afloat fifteen years when she whipped the _Macedonian_, and the
_Constitution_, her sister-ship, had been afloat but a few weeks less.
The British officers had often inspected them, and yet through their
obstinate faith in the superiority of their own knowledge they built
the _Macedonian_ in 1810, fully believing she was a fair match for any
frigate afloat! After the war of 1812 had taught them something they
built their frigates on “exactly the same plan” of the long-despised
model of Joshua Humphreys, the Philadelphia Quaker.

[Illustration: Stephen Decatur.

_From the portrait by Thomas Sully, at the Naval Academy, Annapolis._]

It is now proper to defend the British seamen as a class from a
charge made by every British historian--the charge that in this war
they deserted their flag in such great numbers to join the American
ships as enabled the American commanders to fill all the important
petty offices, such as that of gunner, or boatswain’s mate, etc.,
with experienced British men-o’-warsmen. They assert repeatedly that
from one-third to one-half of the crack American crews were British
subjects who had deserted from the British navy. They go further. They
quote from a letter written by Decatur who therein mentioned the fact
that many of his crew on the _United States_ had served under Nelson
and other famous British officers. This quotation is made to prove
conclusively to their minds that the efficient members of the American
crews were British subjects.

When the American student comes to examine the facts in this matter he
is sure to be either indignant or amused, but most likely he will be
amused. For the truth of the matter shows the most remarkable condition
of affairs known to the history of navies. It is literally true that
in some of the American crews from one-third to one-half the men had
served in British ships; _they were the American citizens who had
been made the victims of the British press-gangs_. What the British
writers call deserting was the escape of the slave to his own country.
The greatest number of British-born men in any American crew was
thirty-two. That number was in the _Chesapeake_ the day she was whipped.

But not to prolong this matter, the spirit of the British writers can
best be illustrated by a quotation from Allen’s “Battles of the British
Navy,” regarding the five impressed Americans who survived the battle
when the _Macedonian_ was captured. These men were invited to sign
articles on the _United States_, and they did so. Not another soul of
the captured crew was asked to do so. But Allen says:

“Every temptation, and even threats were used to induce the crew to
enter the American service, but the overtures were treated with the
_disdain they merited_.”

And this in the face of the fact that the _Macedonian_ had sailed with
eight “prest” American seamen.

As to the prize, she was a long way from her new home and she was
almost a wreck. How bad her condition was shall be told by quoting
the words of the Yankee-hating James when he says 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.”

The picture of the two ships rolling to the long, low swell of the
sunny sea while the Yankee tars hove up new spars, and set up new
back-stays and shrouds, and rove off new running gear, and bent on new
sails--while they knotted and spliced, parcelled and served, hoisted
and fitted, and whistled and sang at their work--that is something to
remain long in the mind of a sailor-man.

When, after two weeks of such work, the _Macedonian_ was put in charge
of First Lieutenant W. H. Allen (he who with a live coal snatched
from the galley-stove fired the only gun on the _Chesapeake_ when the
_Leopard_ attacked her) and on December 4, 1812, they anchored in New
London, after which they proceeded to New York by the Hell Gate passage.

Then quickly met our nation’s eyes
The noblest sight in natur’--
A first-rate frigate as a prize
Brought home by brave Decatur.

If the American people had heard of the triumph over the _Guerrière_
with enthusiastic delight, how shall we tell of their feelings when
Decatur brought a new British frigate into port. The full story of the
welcome extended to the Yankee crew would fill a decent volume. Among
the midshipmen was a son of Secretary of the Navy Paul Hamilton. He
had “served with signal bravery” and was sent with the _Macedonian’s_
flag to Washington. He arrived in the evening when, as it happened,
the official society people of the capital were attending a grand ball.
Going directly from the stagecoach to the place where the dancing was
going on, the lad wrapped the captured colors about his shoulders and
marched into the midst of the brilliant throng. The people went wild at
his coming with the news that he brought, and the men gathered him up
on their shoulders and cheered till the hall trembled. And then they
put him down on the floor and let him run, as he had wished to do all
the time, to the arms of his mother, who was there in the room. The
flag was handed to the wife of President Madison, who had been present
at the ball all the evening.

A ball was given at the “swellest hotel in New York,” Gibson’s, to
Decatur and his officers on the night of January 2, 1813, and on the
night of the 7th a banquet was given to the crew. The decorations at
the banquet were all wonderfully nautical, one feature being a model of
the _United States_ floating in a tank of grog. The men filed in and
took their places to the pipe of the boatswain’s whistle, while the
band played “Yankee Doodle.” The men cheered the band. An alderman made
“a handsome address” and the men cheered the alderman. The boatswain
replied and they cheered the boatswain. And then came the event of
the night. As the boatswain sat down, a ship’s sail forty-six by
thirty-six feet large, that had been spread at one end of the room, was
suddenly brailed up, revealing a huge picture of the three victories
that American ships had so far won. The crew gave one look, recognized
their own ship triumphant over the _Macedonian_, and leaping to their
chairs, and even upon the table before them, “they gave vent to three
savage yells of victory.”

[Illustration: Medal Awarded to Stephen Decatur, after the Capture of
the _Macedonian_ by the _United States_.]

The Congress gave Decatur a gold medal and each of his officers a
silver medal. States and municipalities hastened to vote swords,
resolutions and receptions. Lieutenant Allen was promoted. Eventually
the _United States_, the _Macedonian_ and the _Hornet_ were fitted
for sea and sailed through the Sound, but they met a British squadron
of two seventy-fours and a frigate, and were obliged to take refuge
in New London. Only the _Hornet_ succeeded in escaping the blockade
thereafter maintained, and what she did will be told further on.

As for the rest of the American squadron that sailed under Commodore
Rodgers with the _United States_, it should be said that Rodgers in
the _President_, with the _Congress_ as a consort, chased the British
frigate _Nymphe_ on October 10, 1812, but failed to catch her. The
Yankee frigates, it will be observed, did not prove faster than all
of the British frigates, as it had been hoped they would do. The two
captured a prize on the Banks of Newfoundland on October 18th that had
$200,000 in coin on board. Then they chased the frigate _Galatea_, and
failed to catch her, and eventually, on December 31st, came into Boston
after having taken nine prizes.

The _Argus_, next to the _United States_, won most glory. After parting
from the _United States_ she cruised eastward and captured six prizes,
one of which she took and manned while a British squadron was in chase
of her. The enemy arrived so near that they opened fire, but by cutting
away anchors and boats and starting some water, she escaped, although
the chase lasted during three days and three moonlight nights. She
reached home on January 3d.

CHAPTER VIII

WHEN THE _CONSTITUTION_ SANK THE _JAVA_

THE BRITISH HAD PLENTY OF PLUCK, AND LAMBERT WAS A SKILFUL SEAMAN;
BUT HIS GUNNERS HAD NOT LEARNED TO SHOOT, WHILE THE YANKEES
WERE ABLE MARKSMEN--THE _JAVA_ WAS RUINED BEYOND REPAIR--PROOF
THAT THE BRITISH PUBLISHED GARBLED REPORTS OF BATTLES WITH THE
AMERICANS--THOUGH TWICE WOUNDED, BAINBRIDGE REMAINED ON DECK--WIDE
DIFFERENCE IN LOSSES--STORY OF A MIDSHIPMAN--WHEN BAINBRIDGE WAS A
MERCHANT CAPTAIN.

On the morning of December 29, 1812, the _Constitution_, Commodore
William Bainbridge commanding, was cruising along the coast of Brazil
under short sail, about thirty miles to the southward and eastward of
the old city of Bahia (then called San Salvador). A gentle breeze, a
swirl, perhaps, of the southeast trades, was blowing from the north and
east, and the long, low swells of the sea were roughed and flecked over
with the tiny, white-capped waves that delight the eye of the sailor
in tropical seas. The _Constitution_ had sailed from Boston some weeks
before in company with the _Hornet_, bound on a long voyage for the
destruction of the enemy’s commerce, and the _Essex_ had sailed from
the Delaware at about the same date, intending to join these two in the
waters where the _Constitution_ was now cruising. Of the doings of the
three ships up to the day mentioned something will be told further on,
but at 9 o’clock on this morning the look-out on the _Constitution_
hailed the deck and announced two sails to the north and inshore. As
the event proved, the two sails were ships, one the British frigate
_Java_, Captain Henry Lambert, and the other the American merchant ship
_William_, that had been captured two weeks before that time. As the
crew of the _Constitution_ watched the two sails it was observed that
one of them was making sail in chase, while the other headed away on a
different course, and it was therefore plain that the coming ship was a
man-o’-war looking for a fight.

[Illustration: Billet-Head of the _Constitution_.

_From the original at the Naval Institute, Annapolis._]

An hour later the _Java_ was near enough to read signals, and she
spread to the breeze a variety of small flags--the private ones by
which the British ships were to recognize each other. These, of course,
could not be answered on the _Constitution_, but Commodore Bainbridge
a little later hoisted the American private signal. When this was not
answered, Commodore Bainbridge eased away his sheets and ran off to the
southeasterly to get further off shore, where he could have abundant
sea-room. This was done at about 11 o’clock. The _Java_ at once
headed after her, taking a course that would keep the weather-gauge,
and for two hours that was what a yachtsman would call a very pretty
ladies’-day race, with the honors (sad to relate, so far as a race is
to be considered) all with the _Java_. She was much the swifter vessel.

However, after his men had had their dinner and a comfortable smoke,
Commodore Bainbridge cleared the ship for action and hoisted the
American ensign to three prominent points, and his own pennant and the
Union Jack as well. By the time all was ready the enemy had arrived
within long range, and at fifty minutes past 1 o’clock he squared away
to run across the _Constitution’s_ stern and deliver a raking fire. At
that the _Constitution_ squared away also. So the _Java_ luffed up once
more on the port tack, followed by the _Constitution_, and then, at
exactly 2 o’clock, the firing began.

The _Java_ was estimated to be half a mile away. Whatever the exact
distance, it was almost the limit of range, for when the _Constitution_
opened fire, first with one gun and then with a broadside, the shots
from her long twenty-fours fell short. The enemy soon replied, and with
a better estimate of the distance, for her projectiles landed, and
killed and wounded several of the _Constitution’s_ crew. A continuous
fire followed--a fire that filled the air with a covering fog of smoke
that all but hid each ship from the eyes of the other crew.

Meantime the _Constitution_ was luffing up and the _Java_ running free
and forging steadily ahead. The ships were soon within musket range.
Commodore Bainbridge, a six-foot man, broad-shouldered and brawny,
was pacing the quarter-deck, watching the enemy. He was an excellent
target for the British marines, and they improved their opportunity.
A musket-ball struck him in the thigh and stopped his pacing. But it
had missed both bone and artery, and going to the wheel the commodore
leaned upon the frame and continued to command his ship.

Reaching forward until off the _Constitution’s_ port-bow and almost
clear of her guns, the _Java_ squared away to cross the bows of
the _Constitution_. The _Java_ was admirably handled, but the
_Constitution_, though not so swift, was in as able hands, and around
she too came in ample time to prevent a raking.

Both ships were now headed to the westward. To the eye they were in two
cumulous, lightning-ribbed clouds on the sea, drifting along before the
wind. They were now at a range where the short guns of both ships could
be used with thorough effect, and it was a hot fight for a few minutes
until the _Java_ again forged ahead, and then she once more tried as
before to cross the Yankee’s bows and rake her. Putting up her wheel
her stern swung away from the _Constitution_ while her bow turned down,
bringing her guns to bear diagonally across the _Constitution’s_ decks.
Instantly her gunners fired a broadside, and one big round-shot struck
the _Constitution’s_ wheel, knocking it to pieces and, worse yet,
driving a copper bolt deep into the leg of Commodore Bainbridge.

A brave old sailor-man was Commodore Bainbridge. The bullet in his
thigh was ample excuse for going below, and now he had received a
still more painful wound. But no thought of leaving the deck entered
his mind. The bolt was cut from the wound and a bandage applied, when
the commodore was again in the full swing of battle--indeed he had
directed the movements of his ship while the surgeon attended the wound.

The _Java_ was heading down across the _Constitution’s_ bows, but the
_Constitution_ was kept turning as rapidly as needed. Her wheel was
gone, but there was a tiller below decks with tackles to handle it, and
a line of midshipmen passed the word from the quarter-deck to the men
at the tackles.

Around came the two ships, and now as they stood to the eastward with
their yards braced on the port tack, their head sails began to show
clear of the towering smoke-clouds. “The _Java_ kept the weather-gauge
tenaciously, fore-reaching a little.” She could choose her position.
If the _Constitution_ tried to close the distance she would have to
point her bows well-nigh straight at the broadside of the _Java_ and
so receive a raking, perhaps half a dozen, before getting yard-arm to
yard-arm, but at last Commodore Bainbridge determined to take the risk
and close, happen what might. Sheeting home the fore- and main-sails
he put down his helm and stood up at pistol range on the _Java’s_ lee
beam. Had the gunnery of the _Java_ at this time been at all worthy
of the ship, the _Constitution_ would have suffered frightfully. But
the fact was the Englishmen blazed away like a “tenderfoot” when he
sees his first deer in the Adirondacks--they blazed away, not knowing
whether their guns were aimed at high heaven or the depths of the
earth. On the other hand, the American gunners in this battle were
not a little like a grizzled Adirondack guide out for meat. As the
_Constitution_ ranged up under the _Java’s_ lee every shot told.

[Illustration: DIAGRAM OF THE BATTLE OF THE CONSTITUTION AND JAVA.]

At this Captain Lambert of the _Java_ decided to board the
_Constitution_, and headed down toward the Yankee, who was thus brought
well under the _Java’s_ lee bow, and it was now the _Java’s_ turn to
take a raking. She got it with frightful effect, for she came end on
until her jib-boom fouled the mizzen rigging of the _Constitution_.
The Yankee topmen poured their fire into the gathering boarders on the
_Java_. The Yankee gunners hurled round-shot, grape and canister that
raked the _Java_ from stem to stern. The sails of the _Constitution_
were backed to hold her where she could continue the fire. The _Java’s_
bowsprit was shot away. It was the first of her spars to go and it
dropped under her bows at 3 o’clock precisely. Five minutes later her
foremast was chopped off by the Yankee round-shot, and it fell over the
lee bow. The _Constitution_ forereached off the _Java’s_ bows, wore
around, gave her broadsides from the fresh battery thus brought into
play, came back to give her a further broadside, and, as the enemy
swung around head on because of the drag of the wrecked foremast, the
_Constitution_ wore again and gave her the port broadside. The _Java’s_
main topmast came crashing down from aloft. The gaff and boom of the
spanker followed, and last of all, at five minutes before four o’clock
her mizzen-mast was cut down as the foremast had been, carrying her
last flag with it.

[Illustration: The Battle Between the _Constitution_ and the _Java_.--I.

(At five minutes past three o’clock as the _Java’s_ foremast fell.)

_From an engraving by Havel, after a sketch by Lieutenant Buchanan._]

A hearty Yankee “hurrah” rose from the deck of the _Constitution_. At
the sound of it John Cheever, a sturdy Marblehead seaman, who was lying
on deck apparently dead from a wound he had received, opened his eyes
and, calling to a shipmate, asked what the noise was for, and in reply
learned that the enemy had struck. Springing up on one hand he waved
the other above his head and gave three cheers. But the last one ended
with the death-rattle in his throat and he fell back dead.

In just sixty-five minutes from the time that Commodore Bainbridge
decided to risk the _Java’s_ raking fire he had her rolling on the long
seas a complete wreck.

And yet the pluck of the British crew was so great that their fire
was not wholly silenced until ten minutes later, a fact of which any
Anglo-Saxon, whatever his flag, may well feel proud.

Seeing that the enemy was silenced, and his flag nowhere in sight, the
_Constitution_ stood up to windward with every spar aloft in place,
“ship-shape and Bristol fashion.” She had received one shot through the
mizzen-mast, and some other spars had been clipped and grazed by the
_Java’s_ fire; some of her running rigging and of her shrouds and stays
had been slashed, but for practical purposes she was “fore and fit.” As
the British _Naval Chronicle_ put it, “the _Java_ sustained unequalled
injuries beyond the _Constitution_.”

Nevertheless, on returning to the _Java_ the British flag was found
waving from the stump mizzen-mast, and the _Constitution_ ranged up
to give her another raking broadside. As the _Java_ was then entirely
helpless the British flag was hauled down.

[Illustration: The Battle Between the _Constitution_ and the
_Java_.--II.

(At half-past four o’clock, as the _Constitution_ began to make sail.)

_From an engraving by Havel, after a sketch by Lieutenant Buchanan._]

It was not until an actual inspection of the wreck had been made that
the real state of affairs on the _Java_ could be realized by those
on the _Constitution_. As Lieutenant Parker from the _Constitution_
climbed on board he saw her decks strewn with the dead and wounded,
while the living were busy with the grewsome task of dropping the dead
over the rail. Captain Lambert, “her able and gallant commander,”
had been mortally wounded soon after three o’clock. The command had
then devolved on Lieutenant Chads, and to him was due the credit of
the obstinate struggle after the foremast fell. And he did it, too,
in spite of the fact that he was severely wounded. Like the fierce
Lieutenant David Hope of the _Macedonian_, he was anxious to fight
even after his ship was reduced to a helpless hulk. He had striven
with desperate energy to refit his ship with a jury-rig while the
_Constitution_ was making repairs to her running rigging--had spread a
sail to a part of the main-yard that was left in place and was working
on a jury foremast when the _Constitution_ returned. But labor was
vain. The cool precision of the Yankee gunners had literally cut the
ship to pieces. Her masts were down and her hull was a sieve.

[Illustration: The _Java_ Surrendering to the _Constitution_.

_From an old wood-cut._]

The conventional comparison of the forces and losses of the two ships
cannot be made in any way better than by quoting Roosevelt’s “The Naval
War of 1812.” He says:

“Her loss (the _Constitution’s_) amounted to 8 seamen and 1 marine
killed; the fifth lieutenant, John C. Alwyn, and 2 seamen, mortally;
Commodore Bainbridge and 12 seamen, severely, and 7 seamen and 2
marines, slightly wounded; in all 12 killed and mortally wounded,
and 22 wounded severely and slightly.... In this action both crews
displayed equal gallantry and seamanship.... The manœuvering on
both sides was excellent. Captain Lambert used the advantage which
his ship possessed in her superior speed most skilfully, always
endeavoring to run across his adversary’s bows and rake him when he
had fore-reached, and it was only owing to the equal skill which his
antagonist displayed that he was foiled, the length of the combat being
due to the number of evolutions. The great superiority of the Americans
was in their gunnery. The fire of the _Java_ was both less rapid and
less well directed than that of her antagonist; the difference of
force against her was not heavy, being about as ten to nine, and was
by no means enough to account for the almost five-fold greater loss
she suffered.... The comparative force and loss: the _Constitution_
measured 1,576 tons, threw 654 pounds of metal, carried 475 men, and
lost 34. The _Java_ measured 1,340 tons, threw 576 pounds of metal,
carried 426 men, and lost 150.

“In hardly another action of the war do the accounts of the respective
forces differ so widely; the official British letter makes their total
of men at the beginning of the action 377, of whom Commodore Bainbridge
officially reports that he paroled 378! The British state their loss
in killed and mortally wounded at 24; Commodore Bainbridge reports
that the dead alone amounted to nearly sixty! Usually I have taken
each commander’s account of his own force and loss, and I should do so
now if it were not that the British accounts differ among themselves,
and wherever they relate to the Americans are flatly contradicted by
the affidavits of the latter’s officers. The British first handicap
themselves by the statement that the surgeon of the _Constitution_ was
an Irishman and lately an assistant surgeon in the British Navy (“Naval
Chronicle,” xxix, 452); which draws from Surgeon Amos A. Evans a
solemn statement in the _Boston Gazette_ that he was born in Maryland
and was never in the British Navy in his life. Then Surgeon Jones, of
the _Java_, in his official report, after giving his own killed and
mortally wounded at twenty-four, says that the Americans lost in all
about sixty, and that four of their amputations perished under his own
eyes; whereupon Surgeon Evans makes the statement (“Niles’s Register,”
vi., p. 35), backed up by affidavits of his brother officers, that in
all he had but five amputations, of whom only one died, and that one
a month after Surgeon Jones had left the ship. To meet the assertions
of Lieutenant Chads that he began the action with but 377 men, the
_Constitution’s_ officers produced the _Java’s_ muster-roll, dated
November 17th, or five days after she had sailed, which showed 446
persons, of whom 20 had been put on board a prize. The presence of
this large number of supernumeraries on board is explained by the fact
that the _Java_ was carrying out Lieutenant-General Hislop, the newly
appointed Governor of Bombay, and his suite, together with part of the
crews of the _Cornwallis_ 74, and gun sloops _Chameleon_ and _Icarus_,
she also contained stores for those two ships.

“Besides conflicting with the American reports, the British statements
contradict one another. The official published report gives but
two midshipmen as killed, while one of the volumes of the “Naval
Chronicle” (vol. xxix., p. 452), contains a letter from one of the
_Java’s_ lieutenants, in which he states that there were five.
Finally, Commodore Bainbridge found on board the _Constitution_,
after the prisoners had left, a letter from Lieutenant H. D. Cornick,
dated January 1, 1813, and addressed to Lieutenant Peter V. Wood,
Twenty-second Regiment, foot, in which he states that sixty-five
of their men were killed. James (“Naval Occurrences”) gets around
this by stating that it was probably a forgery; but, aside from the
improbability of Commodore Bainbridge being a forger, this could not be
so, for nothing would have been easier than for the British lieutenant
to have denied having written it, which he never did.

“Taking all these facts into consideration, we find 446 men on board
the _Java_ by her own muster-list; 378 of these were paroled by
Commodore Bainbridge at San Salvador; 24 men were acknowledged by the
enemy to be killed or mortally wounded; 20 were absent in a prize,
leaving 24 unaccounted for, who were undoubtedly slain.

“The British loss was thus 48 men killed and mortally wounded, and 102
wounded severely and slightly.”

Maclay, who was entirely familiar with Roosevelt’s account, gives good
reasons for believing that Bainbridge’s estimate of the enemy’s loss
was accurate--60 killed and 101 wounded.

In a footnote, Mr. Roosevelt refers to Lord Dundonald’s “Autobiography
of a Seaman” for “an account of the shameless corruption then existing
in the Naval Administration of Great Britain.” Losses, according
to this British writer, were often “much greater than were ever
acknowledged.” Brenton, the British naval historian, also tells how the
letters of the commanders were garbled.

The charge that an American commodore committed forgery is but a mild
exhibit of the British temper of the early part of the century.

To complete the story of the _Constitution_ and _Java_ fight, it must
be told that all but two of the small boats in the two ships had been
destroyed--one on each ship remained. Little account is made in the
histories of the work of removing the wounded in these two small boats
from the _Java_ to the _Constitution_, and this is very likely the
proper way to treat the matter. There is enough sorrow in the world at
all times without recalling the sorrows long past. But one story of
the brave wounded must not be omitted. Among them was Edward Keele,
a British midshipman, mortally hurt. He was but thirteen years old,
and the _Java_ was his first ship. “He had suffered amputation of a
leg, and after the action was over inquired anxiously if the ship had
struck. Seeing one of the flags spread over him, he became very uneasy,
but being assured that _it was English_, he was satisfied;” and so he
died.

Among the mortally hurt on the _Constitution_ was Lieutenant John
C. Alwyn, already mentioned. He had been wounded in the shoulder in
the _Constitution’s_ fight with the _Guerrière_, and had not fully
recovered, although able to attend to his duties. As the _Java_ bore
down to board the _Constitution_, Alwyn led the men who were called aft
on the _Constitution_, and the moment the _Java’s_ jib-boom struck the
_Constitution’s_ mizzen-rigging he jumped up on the _Constitution’s_
quarter-deck hammock-netting to repel the enemy. Drawing a pistol, he
aimed it at the crowd on the enemy’s forecastle, when a musket ball
pierced the same shoulder that had been hurt in the other fight. The
shock knocked him back to the deck. Seeing him fall, a marine in the
_Constitution’s_ mizzen-top glanced over the crew of the _Java_ until
he distinguished an officer. His eyes fell upon Captain Lambert, and,
raising his musket, he shot the captain through the left breast.

Then the ships drifted apart, but Alwyn refused to leave the deck, and
continued at his post as his captain was doing. A few days later, when
a strange sail, plainly a man-o’-war, was seen and the ship was cleared
for action, Alwyn left his bed and took his post. The ship proved to
be the _Constitution’s_ consort, the _Hornet_, but the exertion which
Alwyn made at this time brought on an inflammation that ended his life.

Captain Lambert was one of the last wounded brought from the _Java_. He
was delirious at the time, but eventually recovered consciousness. On
learning this, Commodore Bainbridge took the sword of the dying captain
in hand, and, supported by two officers (for he was now unable to walk
alone), he hobbled to Lambert’s bedside, and placing the weapon in that
officer’s hand, told of his pleasure in returning the sword of one who
had so bravely and efficiently defended his ship.

A curious story of the transfer of the unhurt is also worth repeating,
even though it borders on the realm of superstitions. It is a matter
of record that a few nights before the battle Commodore Bainbridge
“dreamed that he had a long encounter with a British vessel and finally
captured her. On board were several officers, and among them a general.
It made such an impression on him that he entered the facts in his
journal, and spoke of them to his officers. After the engagement, as he
was standing on deck, surrounded by his officers, waiting to receive
the commander of the _Java_, he saw the boat carrying General Hislop
approach. Turning to Lieutenant Parker, he said:

“That is the man I saw in my dream!”

Having transferred all the living from the _Java_ to the
_Constitution_, a survey of the _Java’s_ hulk was made. The conclusion
was that, considering the great distance from the United States (a
sailing passage from Bahia to New York will commonly average sixty
days), and the serious injuries the _Java_ had received, it was useless
to think of carrying her home. So she was set on fire on the 31st day
of December, 1812, and when, at about three o’clock in the afternoon,
the fire reached her magazine, she was blown to pieces, leaving only
her splintered spars and deck to drift with the scud of the waves to
the evergreen shore.

A Yankee ballad maker celebrated the victory with a song that was for a
long time popular. The following is a stanza:

Come, lads, draw near, and you shall hear
In truth as chaste as Dian, O!
How Bainbridge true, and his bold crew,
Again have tamed the lion, O!
’Twas off Brazil, he got the pill,
Which made him cry _peccavi_, O!
But hours two, the _Java_ new,
Maintained the battle bravely, O!

[SPOKEN.]

But our gallant tars, as soon as they were piped to quarters,
gave three cheers, and boldly swore, by the blood of the
heroes of Tripoli, that, sooner than strike, they’d go to
the bottom, singing:

[SUNG.]

Tid re I, Tid re I, Tid re id re I do.

The Congress of the United States had on June 18, 1812, enacted “That
war be, and the same is hereby declared to exist between the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the dependencies thereof,
and the United States of America and their territories.” The incapable
administration of President Madison had decided to make the war on land
and keep the few ships of the navy in port. The indomitable officers
of the navy, led by Bainbridge, had modified this determination, but
only after long argument, so that the ships were permitted to go out
to battle. Hull, magnificent in his courage, had even sailed without
orders, even while orders to keep him in port were on the way. And the
result of it all was this:

In six months those few long-derided Yankee frigates had done more
than all the navies of Europe combined together had been able to do in
twenty years. They had, in single-ship actions, captured five English
men-o’-war, destroying at least three of them beyond repair, inflicting
losses that varied from one-third to four-fifths of the beaten crews,
and the longest action, from the first to the last gun, was less
than two hours. A tremendous loss--a loss such as no English ships
had inflicted on an enemy in any single-ship battle, and the extreme
brevity of each contest, were the astounding features of these actions.
Not in all the twenty years of steady sea-fighting between the years of
1792 and 1812 had the British navy suffered five such defeats as those
inflicted upon her by the Yankees during the six months that ended when
the mountainous bluffs of Brazil echoed to the explosion of the beaten
_Java_.

[Illustration: Medal Awarded to William Bainbridge after the Capture of
the _Java_ by the _Constitution_.]

After disposing of the hulk of the _Java_, Commodore Bainbridge
landed his prisoners, as told, on parole at San Salvador (now called
Bahia). He had sailed for the East Indies, but having failed to find
the _Essex_, and having found that the _Constitution_ was suffering
from decay in some parts as well as from the serious injury to her
mizzen-mast, he decided to return home. He sailed from Bahia on January
6, 1813 and reached Boston on February 27th. Scarce need it be said
that the people were wildly enthusiastic once more in their rejoicing.
There were processions and banquets. The Congress voted a gold medal
to Bainbridge and silver medals to his lieutenants, and $50,000 to the
crew.

The news of the defeat reached England on March 19, 1813. The London
_Times_ of the next day said regarding the victory of the Americans:

“This is an occurrence that calls for serious reflection--this and
the fact stated in our paper of yesterday, that Lloyd’s List contains
notices of upward of five hundred British vessels captured in seven
months by the Americans. Five hundred merchantmen and three frigates!
Can these statements be true? And can the English people hear them
unmoved? Any one who would have 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 American
flag would have been swept from the seas, the contemptible 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.”

It is worth telling, to illustrate the character of Bainbridge, that,
in 1796, he was returning from Europe in the merchant-ship _Hope_, of
which he was the captain. One day the _Hope_ was overhauled and boarded
by a British warship, and the boarding officers compelled a muster of
the crew. The mate’s name was McKinsey. He was an American, of course,
but the lieutenant at once decided that he was a Scotchman. However,
at the suggestion of Bainbridge, McKinsey entered a state-room, and
with pistols successfully defied the lieutenant, who then carried off
a common sailor. As the lieutenant left, Bainbridge declared that a
man should be taken from the first British merchantman met, to replace
the one taken. The lieutenant said Bainbridge would not dare to do so.
Five days later the _Hope_ fell in with a British brig, that had a
larger crew and eight guns to the _Hope’s_ four, and Bainbridge at once
carried out his threat, in spite of a stout resistance. He was one of
the greatest of American naval heroes.

CHAPTER IX

WHIPPED IN FOURTEEN MINUTES

THE REMARKABLE BATTLE BETWEEN THE YANKEE _HORNET_ AND THE BRITISH
_PEACOCK_--THE BRITISH SHIP WAS SO PRETTY SHE WAS KNOWN AS “THE
YACHT,” BUT HER GUNNERS COULD NOT HIT THE BROADSIDE OF THE _HORNET_
WHEN THE SHIPS WERE IN CONTACT--AS HER FLAG CAME DOWN A SIGNAL OF
DISTRESS WENT UP, FOR SHE WAS SINKING--THE EFFORTS OF TWO CREWS
COULD NOT SAVE HER--“A VESSEL MOORED FOR THE PURPOSE OF EXPERIMENT
COULD NOT HAVE BEEN SUNK SOONER”--INFAMOUS TREATMENT OF AMERICAN
SEAMEN REPAID BY THE GOLDEN RULE--CAPTAIN GREEN, OF THE _BONNE
CITOYENNE_, DID NOT DARE MEET THE _HORNET_.

The battle between the _Constitution’s_ consort _Hornet_ and the
British brig _Peacock_ was the sixth of the war and a most remarkable
illustration not only of the skill of the Yankee gunners but of their
willing--their eager energy when fighting against the slave-drivers
of the sea. It was fought off the mouth of the Demerara River, South
America, on February 24, 1813.

The _Hornet_ was what was called a sloop of war. She had been
originally rigged as a brig and was sent to the Mediterranean in that
fashion, but after the trouble with the African pirates was ended
she returned home and together with the _Wasp_ was changed into a
three-masted instead of two-masted rig. She was armed with eighteen
short thirty-twos and two long twelves.

Under the command of Master Commandant James Lawrence, she sailed from
Boston, as already told, in company with the _Constitution_, bound on
a cruise against British commerce in the East Indies, and the two came
down to the coast of Brazil, where the _Essex_ was expected to join
them. On reaching Bahia (San Salvador) the British war-ship _Bonne
Citoyenne_, Captain P. B. Greene, was found at anchor in the harbor.
The _Bonne Citoyenne_ was a ship of the same size as the _Hornet_
and she carried exactly the same number of guns, her broadside guns
being short thirty-twos, and her long guns nines. That is to say, if
the _Hornet’s_ shot were allowed to be of full weight (which to our
disgrace they were not) the _Hornet_ could throw just three pounds of
metal more than the _Bonne Citoyenne_ at a broadside. It is perhaps
worth noting that the _Bonne Citoyenne_ had fought for seven hours and
captured “a French frigate of the largest class” in 1809.

Finding her a fair match for the _Hornet_, Captain Lawrence sent her a
challenge to go outside and have a fight. Such challenges were common
and popular in those days. Both Lawrence and Commodore Hull gave their
word of honor that the _Constitution_ would not interfere, but Captain
Greene declined.

It eventually became apparent that he was really a coward, for the
_Constitution_, after destroying the _Java_, sailed from Bahia for
home on January 6, 1813, leaving the _Hornet_ blockading the _Bonne
Citoyenne_. And the _Hornet_ maintained the blockade until the 24th,
when a British seventy-four, the _Montagu_, arrived and the _Hornet_
had to fly.

[Illustration: The _Hornet_ Blockading the _Bonne Citoyenne_.

_From an old wood-cut._]

One gets a curious illustration of the character of one British
historian in James’s account of this matter. He who constantly called
the Americans cowards denies that the _Hornet_ blockaded the _Bonne
Citoyenne_ single-handed, and yet tells, on page 277, that the
_Constitution_ sailed for home on January 6, leaving the _Hornet_ to
cruise alone off the harbor for nearly three weeks.

Meantime, on the day of the _Constitution-Java_ fight, the American
ship _William_, that the _Java_ had taken, tried to make port at Bahia,
and fell into the hands of Captain Lawrence who took out her prize crew
and sent her on her way under her own.

However, having been driven off at last by a line-of-battle ship sent
from Rio Janeiro for the express purpose of raising the blockade, the
_Hornet_ cruised to the north along the coast of South America, and
having rounded Cape St. Roque, continued to keep along shore. Several
prizes were made, one being a brig called the _Resolution_ with $23,000
coin on board, but no incident of greater note occurred until off the
mouth of Demerara River.

Here on February 24th a British war-brig called the _Espiègle_, Captain
John Taylor, was seen at anchor in the mouth of the river. As that was
British territory there was every incentive to attack her, and as she
carried eighteen thirty-twos she was a fair match. Captain Lawrence
therefore went hunting her, but while following the channel around
Caroband Bank he “at half past three P.M. discovered another sail on
our weather-quarter edging down for us. At twenty minutes past four
she hoisted English colors, at which we discovered her to be a large
man-of-war brig--beat to quarters, cleared ship for action, and kept
close by the wind in order, if possible, to get the weather-gauge.” So
runs the report of Captain Lawrence.

The enemy was the British man-of-war brig _Peacock_, Captain William
Peake.

When the British brig was discovered the _Hornet_ was in less than
twenty-four feet of water, and although she stood off shore somewhat to
weather the enemy, the contest that followed was over good anchorage
ground from beginning to end. From 4.20 P.M. until 5.10 the two vessels
jockeyed for position, as yachtsmen would say, and then, seeing he had
won the position, Captain Lawrence brought the _Hornet_ around from the
port to the starboard tack and headed across the bows of the enemy, who
was still on the port tack. As the sails filled he flung the American
ensign to the breeze.

Silently but swiftly the two ships approached each other, sailing
almost in opposite directions for fifteen anxious minutes, and then at
5.25 o’clock “within half pistol shot,” both ships opened fire, not
with all their guns in one thunderous discharge, but gun after gun in
swift succession, as each one could be brought to bear--gun after gun
until ten on each had boomed.

From the Englishman ten shots flew high over the _Hornet’s_ deck. One
of them killed a man in the mizzentop and another slightly wounded two
men in the maintop. From the Yankee ten round shot were driven straight
into the _Peacock’s_ hull.

[Illustration: Diagram of the HORNET-PEACOCK BATTLE.]

In a moment the two ships had passed each other. The _Peacock_ at once
wore around before the wind to come to it on the other tack, while the
_Hornet_ squared away across the _Peacock’s_ stern, and in a jiffy the
Yankee’s bow was against the enemy’s quarter and the Yankee gunners
were shooting her literally full of holes. At this moment Captain Peake
of the _Peacock_ was killed. The Yankee gunners worked so swiftly that
the guns got heated and some of the men dipped up the water of the sea
in buckets to pour on the guns to keep them cool. The enemy were unable
to face the murderous blast and hauled down the flag at 5.39 o’clock.
The action had lasted from the first gun-fire until the flag came down
but fourteen minutes.

Captain Lawrence’s report said fifteen minutes. In explanation of the
difference Lawrence said his clerk got it down as fifteen by mistake,
and the time was so short at most that it was not worth while making an
alteration in the log. “I thought that was short enough,” said Lawrence.

Immediately after hauling down their flag the _Peacock’s_ mainmast
fell, and the enemy hoisted signals of distress. The crew of the
_Hornet_, under Lieutenant J. T. Shubrick, made haste to get out all
their boats and board the _Peacock_. Both ships came to anchor and
the Yankees found the water pouring through the big holes the shot of
the _Hornet_ had made in the _Peacock_. The crew were unable to save
her. For a few minutes everybody labored to plug the holes and work
the pumps and even at bailing with buckets. But the ship was mortally
wounded--the inflowing water was drowning her--and the men abandoned
the pumps to save the wounded. Four Englishmen jumped into a boat at
the stern and sneaked ashore in the night that was fast coming down.
The wounded were all saved, but within a brief time the water rose to
the port sills, flowed gently in across the deck and down she sank in
the smooth sea. “A vessel moored for the purpose of experiment could
not have been sunk sooner.”

[Illustration: John T. Shubrick.

_From an engraving by Gimbrede._]

As she sank, four of the men on deck scampered up the fore-rigging.
The big launch lying on the booms amidships was lifted clear by the
rising water, and into this scrambled the rest of the men on deck. The
ship was sinking so easily that there was no vortex to draw them down.
She found bottom in thirty-three feet of water, and the men in the
fore-rigging were saved. But three Americans and nine Englishmen who
were below were lost.

After taking the men from the rigging the launch was paddled over to
the _Hornet_, and it was learned then, that three of the _Peacock’s_
crew were impressed Americans, one of them being a relative of the wife
of Captain Lawrence.

[Illustration: The _Hornet_ Sinking the _Peacock_.

_From an old wood-cut._]

One of these men was Richard Thompson, of New Paltz, Ulster County,
New York. He testified under oath that he was taken from an American
merchant-ship in 1810 by the _Peacock’s_ press-gang. Thereafter he
was not allowed to write to his friends. When he and his two American
shipmates heard of the War of 1812, they asked Captain Peake to
treat them as prisoners of war. For this they were put in irons for
twenty-four hours, then taken on deck, stripped naked, “tied and
whipped, each one dozen and a half lashes, and put to duty.” As the
action with the _Hornet_ came on they again asked to be excused from
fighting against their flag, but Captain Peake drove them back to the
guns, and ordered the marines to keep an especial watch on them, and
shoot them at the first sign of flinching. And so one was killed by the
fire of his countrymen.

Hitherto nothing has been said of the treatment which British
prisoners, taken in this war, received at the hands of the Americans.
It was, and is not necessary, for an American to speak of the humanity
of his countrymen when dealing with prisoners of war. But because of
the infamous treatment which the three Americans had received on the
_Peacock_, it must be told that the crew of the _Hornet_, out of their
own money, provided every sailor from the _Peacock_ with two shirts, a
blue jacket and a pair of trousers. They did this because the _Peacock_
had gone down so suddenly the men could not save their clothes. Further
than this, the five surviving officers on reaching New York wrote a
letter dated March 27, 1813, to Lawrence, and had it published in the
papers in which they said:

“We, the surviving officers of his Britannic Majesty’s brig _Peacock_,
beg leave to return you our grateful acknowledgments for the kind
attention and hospitality we experienced during the time we remained on
board the United States sloop _Hornet_. So much was done to alleviate
the distressing and uncomfortable situation in which we were placed
when received on board the sloop you command, that we cannot better
express our feelings, than by saying, we ceased to consider ourselves
prisoners, and everything that friendship could dictate was adopted
by you and the officers of the _Hornet_, to remedy the inconveniences
we should otherwise have experienced from the unavoidable loss of the
whole of our property and clothes.”

And while this subject is in hand it may be worth while to make one
more quotation from England’s naval historian, James. In volume vi.
page 136, he says: “The manner in which the _Java’s_ men were treated
by the American _officers_ reflects upon the latter the highest
disgrace; the moment the prisoners were brought on board they were
handcuffed. Admitting that to have been justifiable as a measure of
precaution, what right had the poor fellows to be pillaged of almost
everything they possessed.” And this was written although James had
seen and read the letters of General Hyslop testifying to the extreme
pains taken by Commodore Bainbridge to see that no private property was
taken by any of the victors from the vanquished--indeed, that silver
plate that was lawful prize was left to its original owners.

The number of killed on the _Hornet_ by the enemy was one man, and
but two were wounded. However, two men were hurt by the accidental
explosion of a cartridge of whom one died. The _Peacock_ lost eight
killed and thirty wounded--that is to say as a result of the Yankee’s
fire the British lost thirteen times as many as the Yankees lost from
theirs. The most significant fact of this battle was this, that but one
of the British shot struck the _Hornet’s_ hull, and that one glanced
off the bow, merely indenting the plank, while the _Peacock_ was, as
told, shot under the water in fourteen minutes. The English historians
lay stress on the fact that the _Hornet_ had thirty-twos to the
_Peacock’s_ twenty-fours, just as they laid stress on the twenty-fours
of the _United States_ and the _Constitution_ as against the eighteens
carried by the British frigates they whipped. But the candid student
of history will observe that the _Hornet’s_ hull was scratched only by
a single shot. The _United States_ received but three shot in her hull
during the fight with the _Macedonian_. The hull of the _Constitution_
was scarcely touched in the fight with the _Guerrière_, and so runs the
whole record. Suppose the _Peacock_ had had sixty-four pounders instead
of twenty-fours. Of what avail would they have been when her gunners
could not hit the broadside of a ship “within half pistol-shot” range?

The conventional comparison of the ships shows that the _Hornet_
measured 480 tons, carried ten guns, throwing 270 pounds of metal in
a broadside, and had a crew of 135, of whom three were killed and
wounded. The _Peacock_ measured 477 tons, carried ten guns, throwing
210 pounds of metal at a broadside, and was worked by 122 men, of whom
thirty-eight were killed and wounded.

Captain Peake was exceedingly proud of his ship. James says that “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 covered with
white canvas ... and nothing could exceed in brilliancy the polish upon
the traversing bars and elevating screws.”

In polish the _Hornet_ was not to be compared with her.

Having sunk the _Peacock_, and cared for her crew, Captain Lawrence
set to work to fit his ship for another fight. The _Espiègle_ was in
plain view during the action, being but six miles away, and it was
natural to look for her. By 9 o’clock the _Hornet_ was ready for her,
but she did not come. The _Hornet’s_ crew had for some time been on a
short allowance of water. With the prisoners from the _Peacock_ (112),
the prize crew of the American ship _Hunter_ which the _Peacock_ had
captured (11), the crew of the British brig _Resolution_ (16), and the
_Hornet’s_ own crew (138 including eight sick in bed), there were 277
men on the _Hornet_. These figures are worth quoting for the reason
that the British historians, including Allen (revised edition printed
in 1890) say that the _Hornet_ had a crew of 163.

[Illustration: Medal Awarded to James Lawrence, after the Capture of
the _Peacock_ by the _Hornet_.]

On the morning of February 25, 1813, Captain Lawrence put all hands on
a half-ration of water and squared away for home. He reached Martha’s
Vineyard on March 19th, and sailed thence to New York, through the
Sound. He was received with the enthusiasm that had been accorded to
Hull, Decatur, and Bainbridge, and later a gold medal was voted by
the Congress to his nearest male relative, and silver medals to the
officers who had fought under him. Meantime, he was promoted to the
command of the _Chesapeake_, a most unfortunate promotion, for it cost
him his life.

CHAPTER X

LOSS OF LAWRENCE AND THE _CHESAPEAKE_

THE YANKEES HAD WON SO OFTEN THAT THEY WERE UNDERESTIMATING THE
ENEMY AND WERE OVERCONFIDENT IN THEMSELVES--A MIXED CREW, NEWLY
SHIPPED, UNTRAINED AND MUTINOUS, TEN PER CENT OF THEM BEING
BRITISH--THE RESULT WAS NATURAL AND INEVITABLE--CHIVALRY A PLENTY;
COMMON-SENSE WANTING--THE “SHANNONS” WERE TRAINED LIKE YANKEES--A
FIERCE CONFLICT--SIGNIFICANCE OF THE JOY OF THE BRITISH OVER THE
_SHANNON’S_ VICTORY.

Now coil up your nonsense ’bout England’s great Navy,
And take in your slack about oak-hearted Tars,
For frigates as stout, and as gallant crews have we,
Or how came her _Macedon_ decked with our Stars?
Yes--how came her _Guerrière_, her _Peacock_ and _Java_,
All sent broken-ribb’d to Old Davy of late?
How came it? Why, split me! than Britons we’re braver,
And that they shall feel too whenever we meet.

So sang the Yankee ballad-maker when filled with the haughty spirit
that precedes a fall. Surely, if ever a young nation had reason for
exultation and even for vainglorious songs young America had. During
eight months her tiny navy had not only maintained itself upon the high
seas where the enemy out-numbered it a hundred to one, but, as said,
it had won more victories in that time than all Europe had been able to
do in twenty years. Not only had the Americans showed the sturdy and
persistent courage of the ancestral stock; they had shown the ingenuity
of invention, the power of adaptation under unusual circumstances,
and the general progressiveness which the spirit of that stock
always develops when freed from Tory--that is to say, unreasonably
conservative--restraints. To the natural aptness for the sea which they
had in common with their cousins over the water, they had added such
characteristics as naturally grow out of self-government.

Unfortunately, however, along with much good from the ancestral stock,
they had also inherited not a little of the tendency to arrogant
self-esteem. As the unbroken series of victories over European navies
had made the British sailors feel themselves invincible, so the
practically unbroken, if short, series of victories of the Americans
over the British tars in the early months of the War of 1812, brought
them to a state of mind where they trusted in something else than the
unwearied vigilance and training that had made the crews of Hull,
Decatur, Bainbridge, Jones, and Lawrence, the wonder--literally the
wonder--of the whole world. Thereafter, defeat impended whenever an
American ship might fall in with a British ship whose commander had
not fallen into the prevailing slovenly habits of his navy.

[Illustration: James Lawrence.

_From an engraving by Edwin of the portrait of Stuart._]

As it happened, Lawrence, who had been the last to earn the applause
of his countrymen, was to be the victim of the growing vanity of his
navy. In the frigate _Chesapeake_ he sailed out of Boston to meet the
_Shannon_. As the people of Carrickfergus in the north of Ireland went
out on an excursion fleet to see Captain Burden of the British ship
_Drake_ thrash the life out of John Paul Jones in the American ship
_Ranger_, so the people of Boston flocked to the sea in all sorts of
craft and climbed to heights overlooking the water that they might see
Lawrence bring in the bold Captain Broke, who was cruising to and fro,
anxious for a combat. That they returned humiliated was due to the fact
that Lawrence went into the battle in the spirit of Dacres and Carden,
while Broke went into it in the spirit of Hull and Decatur.

When Lawrence returned from the cruise on the coast of South America
he applied to the Secretary of the Navy for the command of the
_Constitution_. After some correspondence his request was granted, and
then the order was recalled, and he was sent, very much against his
will, to the _Chesapeake_. His dislike for the _Chesapeake_ will be
very well understood by any sailor when it is recalled that she was
the unlucky ship of the navy. She had sailed from Boston under Captain
Evans, on December 13, 1812, and had arrived back on April 9, 1813. She
had captured five merchantmen, and had escaped when chased by a British
seventy-four and a frigate, but that was all she had done. On reaching
port there was trouble in her crew over the payment of the prize money,
and most of them left her, the two years for which they had shipped
being ended. Evans left her because of trouble with his eyes. It would
have been better for her new commander if more of the crew had left,
for of those who stayed not a few were foreigners, and these were under
the influence of a Portuguese boatswain’s mate. That a Portuguese, of
all nationalities, should have been trusted even with a petty office
shows to an American sailor the character of the crew whom Lawrence
found on board. Among other foreigners, too, were thirty-two of English
birth.

The exact day when Lawrence arrived is not recorded, but he did not
leave the _Hornet_ in New York until after May 10th, and that was in
the time of stage coaches. It was at about the middle of May that he
took command. A still further indication of the condition of affairs on
board is found in the fact that Acting-Lieutenant Pierce was allowed
to leave the ship, as Lawrence explained it, because of “his being at
variance with every officer in his mess.”

With a ship that, figuratively speaking, carried the flag of the
“Flying Dutchman,” and with the nucleus of a crew in a mutinous state
of mind over a failure to get the prize money to which they believed
themselves entitled, Lawrence began fitting out for sea. The wages
in the navy then were fair, and the glory of the flag undimmed, but
getting sailors for the _Chesapeake_ was the hardest work of the life
of her commander. Nor was it merely that she was an unlucky ship. It
must not be forgotten that hosts of American seafaring men were then by
force serving in the British navy, while more than two thousand of them
were then in Dartmoor prison in England, whither they had been sent
by such of the English captains as were humane enough not to compel
an American to fight against his flag. Of the few American seamen
who remained to man American ships not many were found to ship on a
man-o’-war. The privateers, of whom some stirring tales remain to be
told, had picked them off the streets. The crew which Captain Lawrence
obtained was precisely such a crew as a ship fresh from an English port
in those days would have had naturally--a crew that was swept up from
the streets as a whole, and yet contained a considerable number of
experienced, capable men. It was what a football expert would call a
scrub team. It was a crew that in six weeks might have been trained by
Lawrence to fight as one man, but Lawrence never had the opportunity to
train it.

The _Chesapeake_ was fitting for a voyage to the east, where she could
intercept British ships bound for the St. Lawrence, and thence to the
Greenland whale fishery. The _Hornet_, under Master Commandant James
Biddle, was to meet the _Chesapeake_ at Cape Canso.

Meantime a British ship-of-the-line, and the frigate _Shannon_, Captain
Philip Bowes Vere Broke (the ship that had chased the _Constitution_
for three days), had been blockading the port of Boston, but Broke,
who was looking for laurels in a single-ship fight with an American
frigate, sent the ship-of-the-line away, and alone maintained the
blockade.

[Illustration: Sir Philip Bowes Vere Broke, Bart.

_From a lithograph of the portrait by Lane._]

Meantime it should be told that Broke was showing himself one of the
ablest captains in the British navy. He may have hated the Yankees
but he did not despise them so much that he would not imitate them.
He had for seven years commanded the _Shannon_, and in that time, and
especially since war was declared by the United States, he had worked
with his crew as a Hull, or a Decatur, or a Lawrence would have done.
He called them his “Shannons.” He made them proud of their ship. He
fitted sights to his guns and he offered prizes to successful marksmen.
He tumbled empty casks into the sea, and then sailed around them while
his gunners fired at them. He trained his marines and other topmen
in the use of muskets until they could see through the sights before
pulling the trigger. He was as proud of them as they were of him and of
the ship, and the pride was justified on both sides.

Eventually opportunity offered, and he wrote a challenge to the
_Chesapeake_ to come out and fight--“ship to ship, to try the fortunes
of our respective flags.” Unfortunately this letter was a long time
in reaching Boston, and Lawrence never saw it. Had he received it he
would have set a date that would have given him sufficient time to
get his crew in hand. As it was, the report that a single British
frigate was cruising to and fro off Boston light, plainly waiting for
the _Chesapeake_, came to town and stirred the whole community into a
patriotic glow.

What was Lawrence to do under the circumstances? He had himself in the
_Hornet_ cruised off Bahia, daring the nerveless Captain Greene of the
_Bonne Citoyenne_ to come out “ship to ship, to try the fortunes of
our respective flags.” He had met the British _Peacock_ and shot her
gorgeous feathers out of sight. He had earned a glorious reputation for
bravery and skill. He had come to think lightly of the skill, though
not lightly of the valor of the enemy. There was but one thing that a
man like him could do. He rejoiced at the chance to meet the enemy once
more single-handed. Bainbridge and others advised him to wait until
he had trained his crew, but he was unable to endure the thought of
having the British deride him as he had derided Greene of the _Bonne
Citoyenne_.

Barely waiting to complete the number of his crew, he spread his
sails--indeed the last draft of men came on board and went directly to
sheets, halyards, and the capstan, without stowing away their clothes
and hammocks. The men did not know the officers even by sight. They did
not know each other. They did not know their places at either the ropes
or their guns. The _Chesapeake_ was going to sea in so nearly the same
condition as that in which she met the _Leopard_, that the unprejudiced
student must see the resemblance. It was the folly of pride to go to
meet any frigate in such fashion.

It was on the morning of June 1, 1813, that the _Chesapeake_ sailed.
A Nova Scotia negro, it is said, stood on the long wharf as the last
boatload of the _Chesapeake’s_ crew put off to board her, and called
out to a friend:

“Good-by, Sam. You is gwine to Halifax befo’ you comes back to
Bosting. Gib my lub to ’quirin’ friends, an’ tell ’em I’s very well.”

He was a wise prophet but a foolish darky. He told the truth and
narrowly escaped death at the hands of a mob for doing so.

[Illustration: James Lawrence

_From an engraving by Edwin._]

With such speed as was possible, Captain Lawrence spread his sails
to the breeze, spread everything from courses to royals and studding
sails, and drove away beyond the light. On his way out he hoisted a
great burgee containing the words “Free trade and sailors’ rights.”
As the reader will remember, “free trade” there had no reference
to tariffs or imports--the phrase meant that the Americans were
fighting for the right to trade on the high seas unmolested by British
press-gangs and Orders-in-Council. Then the crew were called into the
gangway, where Captain Lawrence began to talk to them to infuse some of
his own spirit into their breasts. But hardly had he begun when he was
interrupted by loud murmurs from the men who had been on the previous
cruise of the _Chesapeake_. Led by the “scoundrel Portuguese, who was
boatswain’s mate,” they _demanded_ their prize-money under penalty of
refusing to do duty. Not only was the crew raw and untrained; it was to
an astounding extent mutinous.

What ought to have been done at this moment--what a modern naval
officer would have done--may be a matter worth considering, but
Lawrence yielded to the mutineers by calling them into the cabin and
giving them checks for the prize-money due. Then they went forward and
First Lieutenant Augustus C. Ludlow, assisted by Second Lieutenant
George Budd (an officer of some experience) and Midshipmen William Cox
and Edward J. Ballard, acting as third and fourth lieutenants, strove
to get the crew into their places.

The _Chesapeake_, very brave in her display of colors, passed the
Boston light at about one o’clock in the afternoon and headed away
after the _Shannon_, that stood off shore, with a pleasant breeze until
3.40. Then the _Shannon_ clewed down and put a reef in her topsails,
and thereafter she filled and backed for an hour while the _Chesapeake_
was bearing down on her and preparing for battle. “Lawrence displayed
great skill and tactics when closing,” as the enemy testified, and at
5.50 P.M. luffed up and backed his mainyard within fifty yards of the
_Shannon’s_ weather-quarter instead of wearing down across the stern
and raking her as he might have done.

[Illustration: The _Chesapeake_ and _Shannon_.--Commencement of the
Battle.

_From an engraving at the Navy Department, Washington._]

That was magnificent for bravery--it was chivalrous to the highest
degree--so high as to be beyond the realm of common sense.

Up to this moment neither ship had fired a shot at the other,
and both crews stood at their guns in perfect silence. Lawrence,
“colossal in figure, with muscular power superior to most men,” paced
his quarter-deck “fatally conspicuous by his full-dress uniform.”
Broke, equally courageous and cool, stood upon his deck watching the
Yankee. He had foreseen the manœuvre that Lawrence would make and had
ordered William Windham, who commanded the fourteenth gun, counting
from forward on the weather side of the _Shannon_, to fire as soon
as he could see into the second of the ports on the lee-side of the
_Chesapeake_.

At precisely 5.50 P.M. Windham pulled the lanyard of his gun and the
battle was on. The other guns of the _Shannon_ were fired in quick
succession and the _Chesapeake_ replied with a full broadside. The
_Chesapeake_ forged ahead slightly and was luffed still more. Her
broadsides told with great effect, but the fire of the _Shannon_
was more rapid and had such a terrible effect that “the men in the
_Shannon’s_ tops could hardly see the deck of the American frigate
through the cloud of splinters, hammocks, and wreck that was flying
across it.” As seen from above “the deck was covered with a mist of
débris as the mist of spoondrift in a pelting gale.”

Warmed by the heat of battle, Broke was shouting “Kill the men!
Kill the men!” His well-trained sharp-shooters heard and obeyed.
Three quarter-masters were shot from the _Chesapeake’s_ wheel in
rapid succession, while Lawrence himself was struck in the leg by
a musket-ball. But Lawrence merely rested his weight against the
companionway and continued to direct the fight. First Lieutenant Ludlow
was mortally wounded, and was carried below. The storm of grape and
musket-balls was clearing the whole crew from the upper deck of the
_Chesapeake_.

Meantime, having luffed up to deaden her headway, the wind caught
the _Chesapeake_ aback, and she began to drift astern with her lee
quarter exposed to the broadside of the _Shannon_. The _Shannon’s_
fire was raking her. The brails of her spanker were shot away and the
wind caught and spread that sail and so swung her stern still nearer
to the _Shannon_. A hand-grenade thrown from the _Shannon_ landed in
the _Chesapeake’s_ lee quarter-deck arm-chest, where it exploded the
ammunition stored there. The flames spread in a huge flash through
the splinters and dust, clear to the forecastle, filling the air with
a cloud of smoke. The rigging of the _Chesapeake_ was badly cut. Her
boatswain and sailing-master were dead. There was no one forward
to see the orders of Captain Lawrence obeyed. The _Chesapeake_ was
drifting stern on into the _Shannon_, and ten minutes after the fight
began the two ships fouled.

[Illustration: The _Chesapeake_ and _Shannon_.--After the first two
broadsides from the latter.

_From an engraving at the Navy Department, Washington._]

At that Lawrence called for boarders, but the bugler, who was a negro
landsman, had hidden himself, frightened half to death. Still a few men
answered the call, but they were to try to repel boarders rather than
to board. A desperate hand-to-hand conflict followed at the rails of
the two ships. Brawny Boatswain Stevens, who boasted that he had served
under Rodney, lashed the ships together, though an American slashed
off his left arm with a cutlass as he took the last turn, and thus
inflicted a mortal wound.

[Illustration: Diagram of the CHESAPEAKE-SHANNON BATTLE.]

But the end was at hand. Lieutenant Law, of the British marines,
recognizing Lawrence, fired at him, and the ball pierced his abdomen. A
few minutes after he had been carried below he noticed that the fire
had slackened greatly. He at once “forgot the anguish of his wounds,
and having no other officer near, ordered John Dip, the surgeon’s mate
in attendance on him on deck to “_Tell the men to fire faster, and not
give up the ship_; the colors shall wave while I live.”

But that was an order that could not be obeyed. Captain Broke had
called his men to the rail to repel boarders, and quickly observed the
confusion following after Lawrence was carried below. Throwing down
his trumpet and drawing his sword, he shouted to his men the inspiring
order:

“Follow me!” And at 6.02 P.M. he stepped over the _Shannon’s_ rail to
the muzzle of one of the _Chesapeake_ s quarter-deck guns and thence
leaped to the deck of the _Chesapeake_. He was followed by twenty of
his men.

A few Americans, led by Parson Samuel Livermore, the ship’s chaplain,
made a “desperate but disorderly” resistance. The parson fired a pistol
at Broke but missed him, and before he could recover his extended arm,
the captain with a “backward stroke of his good and mighty Toledo
blade,” sliced it almost clear of his shoulder, and “felled the patriot
to the deck.” Then the boarders charged along the platforms (gangways)
on each side of the _Chesapeake_ leading to the forecastle deck.

[Illustration: “DON’T GIVE UP THE SHIP!”

Death of Captain Lawrence

_From an engraving by Hall of the picture by Chappel._]

Forty-four marines had been stationed on the upper deck under
Lieutenant James Brown. Of these men, fourteen were already dead,
including the lieutenant and a corporal, while two sergeants and
eighteen others were wounded. There were left nine marines under
a corporal on the forecastle, where some of the sailors remained
also. These met and held the dashing Broke and his men at bay until
reinforcements came. It was now indeed a desperate fight for the few
Americans. The _Chesapeake’s_ mizzen-topmen were firing on the boarders
with good aim. A long-nine was fired from the _Shannon_ at this top and
the charge cleared the top as a charge of bird-shot destroys a huddled
covey of quails. The fore and maintopmen of the _Shannon_ silenced the
maintopmen of the _Chesapeake_--silenced them in death. Then fresh men
came to the aid of Broke, who “was still leading his men with the same
brilliant personal courage he had all along shown. Attacking the first
American who was armed with a pike, he parried a thrust from it and cut
down the man; attacking another, he was himself cut down” with a blow
that laid open his skull and exposed his brain. He was saved by Gunner
Windham, who fired the first shot of the battle. Windham inflicted a
mortal wound on the American. But though this American was dying, he
still fought on. Clutching a bayonet, he strove to drive it into the
English commander, who in turn was trying to kill the American with a
dagger, but the American proved the stronger and would soon have ended
Broke when a British marine came to the rescue. In the excitement the
marine was about to bayonet his own commander, who was underneath the
American, but Broke called out:

“Pooh! Pooh! you fool! Don’t you know your captain?” So the American
was killed instead.

So stubborn was the resistance that the Englishmen would have been
repulsed but for the reinforcements, who when they came gave no
quarter. They killed every American on the forecastle.

Meantime word was carried below to the Americans that the British were
on the upper deck. Instantly the Portuguese mutineer took the gratings
from the hatch leading to the lower hold and climbed down, shouting “So
much for not paying men prize-money.”

[Illustration: The _Chesapeake_ and _Shannon_.--The _Shannon’s_ men
boarding.

_From an engraving at the Navy Department, Washington._]

He was followed by about all the foreigners. Lieutenant George Budd
and a dozen veteran American seamen started for the upper deck, but on
reaching it Budd was struck and knocked down the hatchway. The “novices
held back.” There were not enough veterans to conquer. The _Chesapeake_
swung around and broke clear of the _Shannon_, leaving no more than
sixty of the British on the _Chesapeake’s_ deck, but they had the
deck. Two volleys were fired down the hatches and the Americans were
entirely demoralized. Going aft, the British hauled down the American
flag at 6.05 o’clock and the battle was ended. They had captured the
_Chesapeake_ in just fifteen minutes.

On getting the flag down they hoisted it with a white flag to show
their victory, but by mistake the sailor doing the work got the white
flag under the Stars and Stripes. Seeing this, the men on the _Shannon_
opened fire again and killed and wounded a number of their own men,
including Lieutenant Thomas L. Watt.

On the weary road to Halifax Lawrence gradually lost strength and
became delirious. It is said that then he kept repeating over and over
again his last order on the quarter-deck of the _Chesapeake_, “Don’t
give up the ship.” He died before Halifax was reached. Captain Broke,
also wounded almost unto death, also became delirious, but before he
became so he startled the crews of both ships by ordering a Scotch
piper on the _Shannon_ to play “Yankee Doodle.” “Yankee Doodle” on a
Scotch bag-pipe would be startling, at least to Americans, under any
circumstances, but this time it was played at night and in a dense fog.
It is said that many of the people on both ships supposed at first
that one of the Yankee frigates had “happened along.”

The two ships arrived at Halifax on a Sunday morning. “There was a
great shout from the people, for they thought our prize was the 44-gun
frigate _President_, 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
humanity 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.” So wrote a British officer.

The body of Lawrence lay on the quarter-deck of the _Chesapeake_,
wrapped in an American flag. It was placed in a coffin and taken ashore
“in a twenty-oared barge, to minute strokes, followed by a procession
of boats at respectful distances. It was met by a regiment of British
troops and a band that played the ‘Dead March in Saul.’” The sword of
the American was placed on his coffin, which was then carried away by
six of the oldest naval officers in the port. The long procession that
followed included many of the wounded of both ships.

[Illustration:

_Broke._

The Fight on the _Chesapeake’s_ Forecastle.

_From a lithograph in the “Memoir of Admiral Broke.”_]

Six weeks later George Crowninshield, jr., a privateersman, and ten
other ship-masters, went to Halifax in the brig _Henry_ under a
flag of truce, and brought home the bodies of Captain Lawrence and
Lieutenant Ludlow, and they were interred in Trinity cemetery, in lower
Broadway, New York. The monument of the two men can be seen by the
curious wayfarer at the southeast corner of the old brown-stone pile.
On the end that faces Broadway are these words:

Neither the fury of battle, the anguish of a mortal wound, nor the
horrors of approaching death could subdue his gallant spirit. His
dying words were

“Don’t Give up the Ship.”

The report of the capture of the _Chesapeake_ which was published in
London immediately on the arrival of the news was a forged document.
Broke was lying delirious in his cabin from the time the _Shannon_
arrived in Halifax until after the brig that carried the news to
England had sailed. Yet a formal report, signed with his name, was
published in London immediately after the brig arrived. And it is this
forged document that forms the basis of the British accounts of the
fight.

The conventional comparison of the ships shows that the _Chesapeake_
carried forty-nine guns, throwing 540 pounds of metal at a broadside,
to the _Shannon’s_ fifty-two, throwing 547 pounds. Her crew numbered
340 to the _Shannon’s_ 330. The _Chesapeake_ lost forty-seven killed,
and ninety-nine wounded, while the _Shannon_ lost only twenty-four
killed and fifty-nine wounded. “Training and discipline won the
victory” over a “scrub” crew; but it should be kept in mind that this
crew was untrained because there had been no time to train it. If
Captain Lawrence had had the six weeks which the _Java_ had before
meeting the _Constitution_, it would not have been a “scrub” crew. And
it is worth noting that even this crew inflicted far more injury on
the _Shannon_ than either of the British frigates thus far captured
had inflicted on her American antagonist. The _Shannon_ was struck by
twelve eighteen-pound shot, thirteen thirty-two-pound shot and fourteen
bar shot.

“The Americans were filled with a profound gloom and an unreasonable
loss of confidence in their navy, while the English gave vent to
extravagant demonstrations of joy, simply because an English frigate
had captured an American of the same force.” Considering the course of
the naval war up to that time, however, an unprejudiced student must
say that the British joy was not unreasonable if the American gloom
was. The British made Broke a baronet and a Knight Commander of the
Bath. London gave him a sword and the “freedom of the city.” The Tower
guns were fired in honor of the victory. The joy which this lone
victory gave the British people is the strongest proof of their faith
in, and admiration for, American prowess. Broke saw no active service
after the battle. He died in 1841.

[Illustration: The _Shannon_ taking the _Chesapeake_ into Halifax
Harbor.

_From an engraving at the Navy Department, Washington._]

A song that was published in the British _Naval Chronicle_ some months
before the battle contained this stanza:

And as the war they did provoke,
We’ll pay them with our cannon;
The first to do it will be Broke.
In the gallant ship the Shannon.

The British Historians unite in asserting that this battle proved
conclusively that “if the odds were anything like equal, a British
frigate could always whip an American, and that in a hand-to-hand
conflict such would invariably be the case.”

A French historian, who is accepted as authority by all nations, says
of this action:

“Captain Broke had commanded the _Shannon_ for nearly seven years;
Captain Lawrence had commanded the _Chesapeake_ 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 obedience; 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 September 14, 1806, when he took command of his frigate,
Captain Broke began to prepare the glorious termination of the bloody
affair.”

Ye sons of old Neptune, whose spirits of steel
In tempests were hardened, by peril were tempered,
Whose limbs, whose limbs like the wild winds that sweep the bare
keel,
By fetters of tyrants shall never be hamper’d;
’Mid the storm and the flood
Still your honors shall bud,
And bloom with fresh fragrance though nurtured with blood;
For the tars of Columbia are lords of the wave,
And have sworn that the ocean’s their throne or their grave!

The chiefs who our freedom sustain’d on the land
FAME’S far-spreading voice has eterniz’d in story;
By the roar of our cannon now called to the strand
She beholds on the ocean their rivals in glory,
Her sons there she owns,
And her clarion’s bold tones
Tell of Hull and Decatur, of Bainbridge and Jones;
For the tars of Columbia are lords of the wave,
And have sworn that old ocean’s their home or their grave!

She speaks, too, of Lawrence, the merciful brave,
Whose body in death still his flag nobly shielded;
With his blood he serenely encrimsoned the wave,
And surrendered his life but his ship never yielded;
His spirit still soars
Where the sea-battle roars
And proclaims to the nations of earth’s farthest shores,
That the tars of Columbia are lords of the wave,
And have sworn that old ocean’s their home or their grave!

[Illustration: In Memory of Captain James Lawrence.

_From an old engraving._]

CHAPTER XI

THE PRIVATEERS OF 1812

PROPERTY AFLOAT AS A PLEDGE OF PEACE--FOREIGN AGGRESSION HAD TAUGHT
THE AMERICANS HOW TO BUILD AND SAIL SWIFT CRUISERS--ODD NAMES--THE
FIRST PRIZES--COMMODORE JOSHUA BARNEY AND THE _ROSSIE_--A FAMOUS
CRUISE--SOME RICH PRIZES WERE CAPTURED, BUT ONLY A FEW OF THE
PRIVATEERS MADE MONEY--BEAT OFF A WAR-SHIP THAT THREW SIX TIMES HER
WEIGHT OF METAL--A BATTLE IN SIGHT OF LA GUIRA.

Among the people of every civilized nation the possession of property
by an individual is, as has often been noted, a pledge of good
citizenship. His selfish interest in his property, bluntly speaking,
tends to make him behave himself becomingly. And one does not have
to study the stories of history very long to see that the same rule
applies in a way to nations. The possession of property liable to be
lost through war is a pledge of peace on the part of the nation owning
it. And of all such property there is none that makes a stronger
pledge of peace than the over-sea ship with its cargo. In these last
days of the nineteenth century, writers a-plenty have been found who,
forgetting or failing to see this fact, have urged that the United
States should agree with other nations that in case of war the private
property afloat belonging to the enemy should be exempted from capture
and destruction. They have urged that the nations who send ships to sea
be exempted from this pledge of peace. Or, to put the matter in another
way, they have urged the American people to declare to the aggressive
nations of the earth:

“If you wish to go to war with us we will promise you, as an inducement
to you to do so, that we will not harm your private property afloat.”

One has only to state the proposition clearly to show its absurdity.
The doctrines of the Prince of Peace are never so beautiful as when
they are in accord with one’s business interests--we are never so
horrified by the wickedness of war as when we consider the destruction
it would bring upon our property! Can we, indeed, view with complacency
the proposition to sink a ship with five hundred unprepared souls by
means of a torpedo, and yet shrink from the thought of preserving peace
by the threat of capturing and destroying all of the property of an
enemy that is found afloat after war is declared?

It is interesting to an American to observe that of all peoples of
the earth the British are the most urgent in their desire that the
nations shall agree to do away with this pledge of peace--the English,
who are dependent upon over-sea commerce for their bread, who have
greater interests on the high seas than any other people, and who are
the most aggressive of all people in grasping the territories of the
earth. It is interesting to an American because this British wish is
a tradition growing out of the damage done by American privateers to
British commerce in the wars for American independence and recognition
as a nation. As was said of the privateers of the first war, a full
volume would be needed to adequately describe all of the doings of
these “militia of the sea,” but space must be given here to a number
of actions fought by the privateers, not only because they were most
brilliant, but because they illustrate the character of the American
sailor of those days.

[Illustration: Ship’s Papers of the _William Bayard_ in 1810, signed by
Napoleon.

_From the original at the Naval Institute, Annapolis._]

No nation was ever as well fitted for a militia contest afloat as was
the American in June, 1812. For years her merchants had been harassed
by the oppressive legislation of England and France. The American
ship that went to sea, no matter what her cargo or destination, was
in danger from the cruisers of both nations at once. Even though her
voyage was one that must meet the approval of the European courts in
Admiralty, the ship was liable to be seized and carried into port until
a judge could pass upon the charge brought by her captors that she was
violating some law; and so her voyage would be ruined by delay. But
freight rates were high. To deliver one cargo was to pay for the ship,
and more too, in profits. The American merchants were enterprising and
willing to take risks. And so vessels were built for the trade, brigs
and schooners that for that day were marvels of speed. Their enormous
spars spread a cloud of canvas so great that as one drove along before
a smart gale the long, lean, deep-keeled hull was all but wholly hidden
from view--the canvass looked like a fog-cloud drifting swiftly over
sea. Better still was their pace when beating to windward, for with
yards sharp up and sails down flat, only the crack ships of the enemy
could keep them in sight for a day, and few, indeed, could overhaul
them. With these over-sparred ships the Yankee sailors were entirely
familiar. They carried enormous crews, and the men were proud of their
ships and of their own ability to make or take in sail.

When war was declared, there were a number of these in each of the
American ports. There were pilot-boats, also, built to race with each
other, blow high or blow low. The merchants had seen that war would
come. They had placed orders for more guns with the foundry, and
for more ammunition with the makers. They had laid in muskets and
cutlasses and provisions and spare sails. There was little if any
need for altering the sides of the ships--for piercing the bulwarks
with ports--for that was the day of West India pirates, and all ships
carried some guns; but amidships in most of them additional stanchions
were placed to brace the deck, and there the Long Tom of song and story
was mounted--the long, thick-breeched gun that would stand a heavy
charge of powder and throw a round ball, weighing sometimes as high as
thirty-two pounds, a mile and more, with but moderate elevation of the
muzzle.

The small pilot-boats carried anything they could stand under, or
get--a long-nine, with a few swivels and a crew of fifty or sixty men
who carried muskets and knew how to use them would do. If the men were
all seamen as well as good shots, so much the better, but if not, no
matter. The landsman who could see through the sights of a musket was
by no means refused. He was welcomed and called a marine. The haymaker
accustomed to a pitchfork was just the man to handle a boarding-pike.
And so the crews were quickly filled, and then it was up anchor and
away to sea for revenge, lawful plunder, and glory. Let the reader make
no mistake about the objects in view when they went to sea. The old
sailors were going to repay the scars of the British cat and press-gang
manacles that many of them wore; they were going for lawful prizes,
and they were inspired by the thought that they were to fight for the
honor of “the gridiron flag.” The very bravest fights of the whole
war--fights in which the Americans unquestionably won through superior
pluck--were the fights made by the crews like that of the _General
Armstrong_ and other American privateers.

That the owners of these privateers had something in mind besides
the gaining of wealth will appear at a glance over the list of names
of these privateers, of which 250 were commissioned during the war.
There were three named _Revenge_, one _Retaliation_, one _Orders in
Council_, one _Right of Search_, one _Rattlesnake_, one _Poor Sailor_,
one _Patriot_, one _Teaser_, one _Thrasher_, one _United We Stand_,
one _Divided We Fall_, one _Scourge_, one _Liberty_, one _True-Blooded
Yankee_, one _Castigator_, and so on. And there were others with names
significant in still other directions--the _Black Joke_, the _Frolic_,
and the _Flirt_, for instance; or the _Saratoga_, the _Yorktown_, the
_John Paul Jones_, the _Macedonian_, and the _Guerrière_.

The Congress declared, on June 18, 1812, that war existed between the
United States and England. How soon thereafter the first privateer got
away to sea is not recorded, but they were not far behind the squadron
of Commodore Rodgers, which sailed the day the news of the declaration
of war reached New York. The very first vessel captured in the war
was a ship bound from Jamaica to London, that was taken south of the
capes of the Chesapeake by a revenue cutter, but the first privateer
to bring in a prize was the schooner _Fame_, of Salem, Captain Webb,
that arrived home on July 9th, bringing with her a ship of nearly 300
tons, laden with square timber, and a brig of 200 tons, laden with tar.
The ship was armed with two four-pounders, but the _Fame_ swept up
alongside and carried her by boarding without the loss of a man.

On the next day after the arrival of the _Fame_, the schooner _Dash_,
of Baltimore, Captain Carroway, captured the first British vessel of
war taken--the schooner _Whiting_, Lieutenant Macey--which was lying in
Hampton Roads, Chesapeake Bay. Macey had not heard of the war, and the
_Dash_ took him unawares, and so without resistance.

From that time on the work of the privateers was driven with
astonishing vigor. By July 16th there were sixty-five of these
volunteers on the high sea, and almost every day one or another was
returning with a prize. The report of a fight with a British man-of-war
was not, naturally, long in reaching port. The _Dolphin_, Captain
Endicott, and the _Polly_, Captain Handy, both of Salem, Massachusetts,
were cruising to the eastward in the region to which Washington had
sent his first cruisers in 1775. On July 14, 1812, these two fell in
with a ship and a brig, which they supposed to be merchantmen, and
made sail for the ship, because she was the larger. On arriving almost
within gunshot, however, they saw she was a sloop-of-war, the _Indian_,
of twenty-two guns. Thereat they fled, with the _Indian_, blossoming
studding-sails, in pursuit of the _Polly_, and firing long bow-chasers
in the vain hope of reaching her. Eventually the breeze failed so far
that the _Indian_ manned her launch and a number of smaller boats, with
a four-pounder in the launch. These quickly came within musket shot,
and with three cheers made a brave dash at the Yankee. To this the
_Polly_ replied with muskets and with several of her broadside guns
loaded with langrage--langrage being a polite name for scrap-iron. The
launch was compelled to strike her colors, while the other boats made
haste back to the _Indian_. However, the launch was not captured, for
the _Indian_ had been drifting slowly within range, and the _Polly_ had
to take to her sweeps to escape. The attacking party numbered forty.

[Illustration: Battle between the Schooner _Atlas_ and two British
Ships, August 5, 1812.

_From a lithograph in Coggeshall’s “Privateers.”_]

Meantime the stanch privateer _Madison_, Captain Elwell, of Gloucester,
had happened along where the brig was lying-to, waiting for the return
of the _Indian_, and the brig was captured. She proved to be the
transport _Number 50_, a vessel of 290 tons, loaded with army supplies,
including 100 barrels of powder, 880 uniforms for the 104th British
Regiment, bales of fine cloth for officers’ wear, camp equipage, etc.,
in all valued at $50,000.

Within a few days the _Madison_, although armed with but one long
gun, captured a ship armed with twelve guns, and sent her into port,
and later still, the brig _Eliza_, of six guns. The _Teaser_, of
New York, Captain Dobson, had the luck to fall in with the American
ship _Margaret_, that had been captured by the British, She was sent
to Portland, where she and her cargo of “salt, earthenware, and
ironmongery” were valued at $50,000. In short, the privateers were
making light work of the coasters that flocked between the ports of the
British possessions at the north.

But the most interesting cruise of all that were made in the early
days of the war was that of Commodore Joshua Barney in the Baltimore
clipper-schooner _Rossie_, of fourteen guns and 120 men. The reader
will remember Barney. He was made a lieutenant in the American navy
on July 2, 1776, although then but seventeen years old. He was in
the _Andrea Doria_ when she whipped the _Racehorse_, and he commanded
the Pennsylvania cruiser _Hyder Ali_ when she met the _General Monk_,
of vastly superior force, and whipped her so badly that the British
historians never recover sufficiently from the shock the story gives
them to explain their conflicting statements about the battle.

When war was declared in June, 1812, Barney began fitting out the
schooner _Rossie_ at Baltimore; on July 12th he sailed away, and from
the time he cleared the capes of the Chesapeake he had such lively
times as must have reminded him forcibly of revolutionary days. On
July 22d he captured the American brig _Nymph_, that was violating the
non-importation act. The next day he successfully dodged a British
frigate that fired twenty-five shots at him. On July 30th he escaped
another British frigate by superior sailing. On July 31st he captured
the British ship _Princess Royal_, and burned her. Next day the ship
_Kitty_ became his prize, and was found worth sending in. The day after
this, August 2d, he captured four different vessels--the schooner
_Squid_, the brigs _Fame_, _Devonshire_, and _Two Brothers_. On the
last of these he placed sixty of his prisoners, and sent her as a
cartel to St. John, New Brunswick, but while still sailing along in
company with the _Two Brothers_, on August 3d, he fell in with and
captured the brigs _Henry_ and _William_ and the schooners _Racehorse_
and _Halifax_, and so added forty more prisoners to those on the _Two
Brothers_. The brig _Henry_ and the two schooners were sunk as not
worth sending to port, while the _William_ was sent to port. He had
taken eight vessels in two days.

With the cartel _Two Brothers_, that he sent to St. John, he despatched
a letter to Admiral Sawyer, commanding the Halifax Station, in which he
asked the admiral “to treat the prisoners well, and assured him very
coolly that he should soon send him another ship-load of captives for
exchange.”

Six days later (August 9th) he had a brush with the British ship
_Jenny_, of twelve guns, but she soon surrendered to his superior
force. Then he captured two more American ships that were violating
the non-importation law, and after forty-five days from the day he
left Baltimore he anchored at Newport, Rhode Island. He had captured
fourteen vessels, aggregating 2,914 tons in measurement, and one
hundred and sixty-six prisoners, the whole value of prizes and cargoes
being $1,289,000. Five only of the prizes were sent to port.

After resting in port until September 7th the Commodore sailed again.
On the 9th a British squadron of three ships vainly tried to overhaul
him, and on the 12th a British frigate chased him for six hours, and
then gave it up. On the 16th the _Rossie_ fell in with the British
ship _Princess Amelia_, an armed trader, and for an hour there was a
steady combat. The _Rossie_ was badly cut up in sails and rigging,
but her hull and spars escaped. She had seven men hurt--one severely.
The _Princess_ was badly cut alow and aloft, and had her captain, her
sailing-master, and a seaman killed, and seven wounded before she
surrendered.

On this same day the _Rossie_ fell in with three ships, and a
man-of-war brig that was too strong for her--at least the Commodore
hauled off after getting an eighteen-pound shot through the _Rossie’s_
quarter. But he hung about the fleet for three days trying to separate
them, though without success. Later, while cruising with the privateer
_Globe_, Captain Murphy, of Baltimore, the British schooner _Jubilee_
was taken, and the American ship _Merrimack_ was taken by Barney alone
for violating the non-importation law. He returned to Baltimore on
November 10th, having taken and destroyed shipping and cargoes to the
value of $1,500,000, with two hundred and seventeen prisoners.

[Illustration: The _Rossie_ and the _Princess Amelia_.

_From a lithograph in Coggeshall’s “Privateers.”_]

The _Globe_, while cruising alone before meeting the _Rossie_, had a
stirring time with the British letter-of-marque _Boyd_. It was on July
31st, and there was a gale blowing when the _Globe_ began the chase.
It was three hours before she got within range. Then she opened the
combat with her Long Tom amidships--a gun that could throw accurately
a nine-pound, round, cast-iron ball to a distance of, perhaps, half a
mile--a long nine, in short. The _Boyd_ replied with two long nines,
but fired wildly, and the _Globe_ was able to range up where her short
guns could bear. There were four of these on a side. The enemy carried
two more guns than the _Globe_, and worked them vigorously until the
_Globe_ ranged up where muskets were used. Then the _Boyd_ struck.
The kind of marksmanship exhibited is shown by the fact that no one
was hurt on either vessel. The _Boyd_ was sent in. On August 14th the
_Globe_ captured a schooner of four guns, loaded with mahogany, and
a few days thereafter brought to Hampton Roads “a large British ship
carrying twenty-two guns, richly laden, which she captured not far from
the Bermudas.”

Reports that give the values of some of the “richly laden” ships are
by no means lacking. The privateer _Paul Jones_, Captain Hazard, of
New York, before August 1st had captured fourteen British vessels in
the West Indies, and early in August took the _Hassan_, bound from
Gibraltar to Havana, “with wines and dry-goods, valued at $200,000.”
The _Hassan_ carried fourteen guns, but only twenty men. She held
out for half an hour. About the same time Captain Thomas Boyle, of
the Baltimore clipper _Comet_, captured the _Hopewell_, from Surinam
for London. She was valued at $150,000. To this prize Captain Boyle
added “the first-class British ship _Henry_, four hundred tons
burden, coppered to the bends, mounting four twelve-pounders, and six
six-pounders, bound from St. Croix for London,” with seven hundred
hogsheads of sugar, and thirteen pipes of old Madeira wine; this
vessel and cargo produced a clear profit to the captors of more than
$100,000. A little later, the _Saratoga_, of New York, Captain Riker,
captured the _Quebec_, from Jamaica, and she was valued at $300,000.
She was armed with sixteen guns, and carried a crew of fifty-two. And
then there was the ship _Richmond_, of fourteen guns, and twenty-five
men before the mast, “eight hundred tons burden, deeply laden with
West India produce, worth $200,000,” that was taken by the privateer
_Thomas_, and sent into Portsmouth.

While the privateers were out for the property they could capture,
their deeds were by no means untempered with generosity. The _Benjamin
Franklin_, Captain Ingersoll, of New York, took the _Industry_, valued
at $2,000, and brought her in. But on learning that she was the sole
property of a widow, the owner of the privateer delivered her over to
her captain.

It should not be inferred from these facts that all the privateers
prospered, or even that they generally did so. Privateering was quite
as much of a lottery as speculation in gold mines. In the first place,
a privateer cost a good deal of money, for that day. The _Governor
Tompkins_ cost $20,000. Under Captain Joseph Shumer she carried a
crew of one hundred and forty-three men with fourteen guns. Shumer
captured twenty vessels. She was then sold at auction for $14,500, and
under a new captain tried cruising but never made another capture.
The port of New York boasted of one hundred and twenty privateers
during this war. The _Scourge_, of nine guns and one hundred and ten
men, took twenty-seven prizes. The _Saratoga_, of sixteen guns and
one hundred and forty men, took twenty-two prizes. The _Prince de
Neufchâtel_, Captain J. Ordronaux, with seventeen guns and one hundred
and twenty-seven men, took eighteen prizes. The _Divided We Fall_, with
but three guns and fifty men, took sixteen prizes, while her sister
ship, _United We Stand_, got but one. Of the whole one hundred and
twenty, only forty-one got any prizes at all, and of the forty-one,
seven got but one prize each, and eleven but two. When court fees and
duties on the goods captured had been paid there was so little left
for the privateers and their crews that the ships capturing only two
prizes really made nothing for the owners. Only about one privateer in
five, sailing out of the port of New York, paid a cent of profit to
the owners. Many were lost altogether--were captured by the enemy, and
these were lost because the militia crews, like shore militia, became
panic-stricken at an inopportune time.

After recalling the fact that the London _Times_ said in March,
1813, that the Yankee privateers had captured five hundred British
ships in seven months, the story of the doings of these mosquitoes
during 1812 may very well conclude with the accounts of two battles
off the South American coast in the month of December of that year.
The first was that between the American brig _Montgomery_, Captain
Upton, of Boston, and the British war-brig _Surinam_, mounting guns
common to such brigs--eighteen short thirty-twos and two long nines--a
better armament, in fact, than the _Peacock_ had when defeated by the
_Hornet_, for the _Peacock_ had twenty-fours instead of thirty-twos.
On December 6th the _Montgomery_ got alongside of the _Surinam_ by
mistake, and, although armed with but ten six-pounders and two short
eighteens, she remained there for half an hour, when the _Surinam_
was glad to let her go. The _Surinam_ threw 297 pounds of metal at
a broadside, or eighteen pounds more than the _Hornet_ threw in
fighting the _Peacock_. The _Montgomery_ threw 48 pounds of metal at a
broadside--allowing that the American shot were of full weight.

[Illustration: Battle between the Schooner _Saratoga_ and the Brig
_Rachel_.

_From a lithograph in Coggeshall’s “Privateers.”_]

The facts above given are taken from Coggeshall’s “History of the
American Privateers,” written in 1856. The author, who was himself a
vigorous captain in the privateer service, ends his account of this
fight by quoting a stanza of what was a favorite song with the British
tars before that war:

Britannia needs no bulwarks,
No towers along the steep;
Her march is o’er the mountain waves,
Her home is on the deep.

The last privateer’s encounter of the year 1812 to be described
occurred on December 10th. The schooner _Saratoga_, Captain Charles
W. Wooster, after a voyage of twenty-four days, in which nothing was
seen, reached La Guayra, Venezuela, on December 9th. When she entered
port the Spanish commandante threatened to open the batteries on her
and she was obliged to leave. However, on beating up to windward she
met a British schooner with $20,000 worth of dry-goods on board, which
compensated for her ill-treatment ashore, and during the rest of the
day she lay-to in plain sight of the town. The next morning there was
a heavy fog on the water, but when at 9 o’clock this cleared off, the
_Saratoga_ was seen still in the offing, but preparing for battle with
a brig. The entire population of the town mounted to the house-tops
to watch the contest, and shortly before noon had the satisfaction
of seeing the _Saratoga_ open fire with her starboard bow gun. The
brig replied with vigor, and in a very short time both vessels were
buried out of sight in a thunderous cloud of smoke that was constantly
illuminated by flashes of flame--a cloud like that in which the
_Constitution_ and _Java_ fought.

For a few minutes this cloud swelled up in cumulous folds, and then the
flames and thunder ceased and the cloud drifted away down the breeze
leaving the two vessels in plain sight and the “gridiron flag” still
flying from the trucks of the _Saratoga_.

This was on the 10th. For three days the people waited and wondered,
and then a ship’s long boat came ashore. She brought the second mate
and twenty-five seamen of the brig--the _Rachel_, from Greenock,
mounting twelve long nines, manned by a crew of sixty, and carrying a
cargo invoiced at £15,000--$75,000 in gold.

CHAPTER XII

EARLY WORK ON THE GREAT LAKES

IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL REGION UNMARKED BY THE HAND OF MAN IN THOSE
DAYS--THE LONG TRAIL TO OSWEGO--THE FIRST YANKEE WAR-SHIP ON FRESH
WATER--THE BRITISH GET AHEAD OF US ON LAKE ONTARIO--GOOD WORK OF
“THE OLD SOW” AT SACKETT’S HARBOR--A DASH INTO KINGSTON HARBOR--THE
STORY OF THE BRILLIANT WORK BY WHICH JESSE D. ELLIOTT WON A SWORD
AND THE ADMIRATION OF THE NATION.

The student of American naval history who with weary toil reads through
the proceedings of the Congress for the year 1813, finds two paragraphs
marked “approved January 29,” that, because of the matters to which
they refer, stir him as not many other paragraphs of all the printed
proceedings of that legislative body from its first gathering down to
the present day are able to do. They are brief--the first contains
sixteen printed lines, and the last only seven. But in the first, gold
medals are awarded to Hull, of the _Constitution_, Decatur, of the
_United States_, and Jones, of the _Wasp_, for the astounding results
they achieved in their combats with the _Guerrière_, the _Macedonian_,
and the _Frolic_. And in the second the President of the United States
“is requested to present to Lieutenant Elliott, of the Navy of the
United States, an elegant sword, with suitable emblems and devices, in
testimony of the just sense entertained by Congress of his gallantry
and good conduct in boarding and capturing the British brigs _Detroit_
and _Caledonia_, while anchored under the protection of Fort Erie.”

[Illustration: _From a lithograph at the Navy Department, Washington._]

It was no small honor to have one’s name mentioned in connection with
Hull, Decatur, and Jones, but a few months later (July 13, 1813)
Elliott’s name once more appears in an act of Congress, this time in
connection with that of Lawrence. Lawrence and his men get $25,000
for the destruction of the _Peacock_; Elliott “and his officers and
companions” get $12,000 for the destruction of the _Detroit_.

The fight in which Lieutenant Jesse D. Elliott won these honors, if
compared gun for gun and man for man with the battles of the great
naval heroes with whom his name was mentioned, was but small and
unimportant. They fought with well-manned, fully equipped ships on the
high seas; he in row-boats on a fresh-water lake in the backwoods,
and armed with borrowed weapons. But when considered in its proper
light--when considered in its influence upon the Americans and on
the enemy, and especially when considered in its influence as the
forerunner of the great fresh-water battles where Perry and Macdonough
won glory, this was a most important conflict; for it fired the
hearts of the Yankee frontiersmen at a time when such disasters as the
surrender of Detroit to the British had made some kind of encouragement
most needful.

But before recounting the stirring events of the night when this Yankee
seaman earned his first honors, it is important to recount, as briefly
as may be, how it happened that Elliott, a salt-sea sailor, was found
on a fresh-water sea in the backwoods.

It is a delight to the student who loves nature to think of the
American frontier as it was in the days of 1812. For in those days
the forest stretched away from Maine along the swift St. Lawrence and
the green waters of the Great Lakes to end at the prairies of the
far West. It was a country as God made it and almost unmarred by the
bungling hand of man. The moose and the red deer, the wild turkey and
the partridge, roamed undisturbed at will, and the settlers who had
gathered at widely separated points must needs provide bounties on wolf
and panther and wild-cat scalps to protect their cattle and sheep,
their ducks and chickens. To go to the St. Lawrence River the traveller
found it most convenient to go up the Hudson to the head of navigation,
and then, after carrying his burden overland to Lake George, proceed by
the way of Lake Champlain. To the east of this there was no highway
through the vast forest. To the west lay the Adirondacks. To reach the
Great Lakes the traveller must needs leave the Hudson for the Mohawk,
and travel up its winding course in the shoal-draft scows called
batteaux that were pushed along by poles, just as the Big Sandy and Tug
Rivers in the Kentucky mountains are navigated at this day. At Little
Falls was a portage where the Indians and the Dutch used to compete for
the privilege of carrying goods around the broken water, and thereafter
the route as far as where Rome now stands was usually unimpeded. This
place reached, another portage must be made to Wood Creek, that flowed
toward Lake Ontario, and so at last the traveller saw from the bluffs
of Oswego the wide water before him. There were, indeed, roads along
these routes--trails, properly speaking, over which one could drive a
wagon in the dry months of summer and early fall, and a sled after the
snow came in winter. In the wet seasons these trails were practically
impassable.

Nevertheless, when the Congress discussed schemes for resenting British
aggression, the invasion of Canada was always mentioned first of all!

[Illustration: Sackett’s Harbor, 1814.]

To operate against Canada effectually it was necessary to have a naval
force on the great fresh-water lakes of Erie and Ontario. When the
British ship _Leopard_ attacked the _Chesapeake_ in order to impress
upon American minds that once an American citizen was impressed into
the British Navy he must remain there until the British Government
saw fit to release him, the American Congress was stirred so far as
to order a war-brig built on Lake Ontario. She was begun at Oswego
in 1808, and launched as the _Oneida_ in 1809, under the command of
Lieutenant Melancthon Woolsey, U. S. N. During this year also Sackett’s
Harbor was chosen as a naval station, and some military companies
were stationed there. Arsenals were established by New York State in
Champion Village and at Watertown, both not far from Sackett’s Harbor.
And thereafter the embargo acts of one kind and another gave sufficient
excuse to the people of that region to make very lively times, both
afloat and ashore, until, in 1812, the war came.

In fact war began here before it was declared at Washington. The
British merchant-schooner _Lord Nelson_ was found in American waters
and captured by the _Oneida_ on May 12th. She was condemned for
violating the Embargo Act. In June the British merchant-schooner
_Niagara_ was taken and sold for violating the revenue laws. These
seizures were revenged after the war began by an energetic Canadian
named Jones, who organized a party and captured two of a fleet of eight
American merchant-schooners trying to flee from Ogdensburg to Sackett’s
Harbor. The two were burned.

Meantime, it should be said that while the American shores were
sparsely settled, the Canadian side of the waters was very well
settled, Kingston being the chief naval and military post. And while
the Americans were building one slow brig to prepare for the inevitable
war, the British had built and armed a squadron of six vessels that
included the _Royal George_, of twenty-two guns, _Prince Regent_, of
sixteen guns, _Earl of Moira_, of fourteen guns, and three smaller ones
carrying fourteen, twelve, and four guns--in all eighty-four guns.
These were commanded by a Commodore Earle. It is worth noting here
that the British historians all speak of these vessels and their crews
as Canadians as distinguished from the British, and that the Canadian
seamen are everywhere denounced as cowards, just as the Yankee seamen
were. However, the distinction between “colonists” and the “British” is
made by English writers to this day.

[Illustration: SCENE OF Naval Operations on LAKE ONTARIO, 1812-’13.]

Commodore Earle decided in July to capture the _Oneida_, that was
lying in Sackett’s Harbor, and destroy the little fort there. Rumors
of his coming having reached the station, Woolsey, who still commanded
the _Oneida_, prepared to fight in spite of the overwhelming odds
against him. A long thirty-two had been sent up from the coast for the
_Oneida_ some time before, but it had proved too heavy for her, and it
had therefore been allowed to lie half-buried in the mud on the shore
of the bay, where, because it lay comfortably in the mud, it was known
as “The Old Sow.” This was placed in the fort on the bluff overlooking
the channel into the harbor, with a couple of sixes and a couple of
nines beside it. Next, the _Oneida_ was moored outside of Navy Point
where she could rake the channel, and then nothing more could be done
but fight it out as best they might.

On the morning of July 19, 1812, the British squadron appeared. It was
“a lovely Sabbath morning,” with a head-wind for the British, who came
beating up past Horse Island. By 8 o’clock they were within range and a
lake mariner, Captain William Vaughan, let drive with “The Old Sow” at
the _Royal George_. He didn’t have the range that time and the British
laughed and jeered loudly. On their getting nearer, however, the firing
from the shore began to tell. The _Royal George_ caught one shot below
the water-line and one higher up in the hull. The _Prince Regent_ and
the _Earl of Moira_ were struck. The shot from the ships all fell on
the beach, save one that landed in the yard of the old Sacket mansion,
where Sergeant Spies picked it up, and carrying it to Captain Vaughan,
he said:

“I have been playing ball with the red coats and have caught ’em out.
See if the British can catch back again.”

Captain Vaughan loaded the ball into the old gun. At that moment the
_Royal George_ was wearing around to fire a broadside and was stern on
to the fort. Taking careful aim Captain Vaughan fired, and the shot
“struck her stern, raked her completely, sent splinters as high as her
mizzen topsail-yard, killed fourteen men and wounded eighteen.” So said
a deserter. The British never published an account of their losses that
day, and the story is probably true, because Commodore Earle hauled off
while a Yankee band played “Yankee Doodle,” and the first battle of
Sackett’s Harbor was ended. “Nothing animate or inanimate on shore had
been injured in the least.”

The next attack was on the six schooners at Ogdensburg, that had
escaped the valiant Jones, of Canada. The British sent two vessels,
one of fourteen and one of ten guns, to Prescott, opposite Ogdensburg.
The Americans sent an Oswego-built schooner called the _Julia_, armed
with a long thirty-two and two long sixes, and manned with thirty men,
to convoy these schooners to Sackett’s Harbor. A big, open boat with
some sharpshooters went along. This squadron of two, mounting three
guns, “encountered and actually beat off, without losing a man,” the
two British ships that mounted twenty-four guns between them. The words
quoted are from James, the British historian, and his figures are given
as to the armament. It is therefore altogether probable that the two
beaten Britishers carried at least ten more guns than the figures given.

[Illustration: Captain Woolsey.

_From a painting at the Naval Academy, Annapolis._]

Thus Commander Woolsey added five small schooners to his fleet;
later in the autumn he added four more. Meantime, Commodore Isaac
Chauncey was appointed to command the forces on the Great Lakes; he
brought a gang of ship-carpenters to Sackett’s Harbor, and one hundred
experienced officers and seamen, besides guns, etc. The Commodore
arrived on October 6th. On November 26th he launched a ship built of
timber that stood in the forest when he arrived, and she was able to
carry twenty-four short thirty-twos. And that was neither the first nor
the last time that Yankee carpenters showed the world how to build a
ship in a hurry.

But while the carpenters worked, the Commodore went afloat with the
_Oneida_ and six armed schooners on October 8th. And then there was a
fight over at Kingston. Finding the _Royal George_ out at the False
Duck Islands the Commodore chased her into Kingston Harbor, and then
at 3 o’clock he decided to run in and see what sort of defences the
port had. Two of his schooners were off chasing merchantmen, but the
remaining four, carrying a long thirty-two each, went in ahead of the
_Oneida_. One, the _Pert_, had the misfortune to burst her big gun.
Her commander, Sailing-master Arundel, was badly hurt and four others
slightly. Arundel refused to leave the deck, but by accident fell
overboard and was drowned. The other schooners kept up a brisk fire on
the five batteries about the harbor, while the _Oneida_, which carried
only sixteen short twenty-fours, holding her fire, ranged up beside the
_Royal George_ and then gave it to her. In twenty minutes the British
had had enough of it, and chopping their rope cables they ran their
ship to the shore where the water was so shoal that the holes in her
hull couldn’t sink her and a big body of troops could defend her. Then
finding the shore batteries too heavy and the wind rising against his
course out of the harbor, Chauncey retreated. The _Royal George_ had
been well beaten and the schooner _Simeo_ sunk. And thereafter four
schooners sufficed to blockade the port of Kingston until the ice
relieved them of the task.

The expedition under General Wilkinson that left Sackett’s Harbor
at the beginning of October, 1813, to attack Montreal, is worth a
paragraph, because it shows how utterly futile it usually was and is
to give a sailor’s work to a landsman. Everything was ready on October
4th, but the order to start was not issued until the 12th, and the
order was not obeyed until the 17th. When they did finally get away
the huge flotilla of boats was not only overloaded, but the start
was made at night when one of the long, fierce storms of the region
was coming on. Fifteen large boats were lost that night, while every
soul afloat endured the greatest hardships from wind and sleet. After
waiting along-shore and among the islands for the storm to end, the
expedition pushed on and reached Grenadier Island on the 20th. They
went on eventually, beginning on the 29th, but the delays had given the
enemy every opportunity to gather to oppose the expedition. They passed
Prescott on the night of the 6th, but they came to grief when on the
11th they met the enemy at Chrysler’s farm, below Williamsburg. Instead
of capturing Montreal they built winter-quarters on Salmon River.

[Illustration: Wilkinson’s Flotilla.

_From an old wood-cut._]

Along with Commodore Chauncey came Lieutenant Jesse D. Elliott. He
had the confidence of the Commodore and was at once sent forward to
Buffalo, where he was “to purchase any number of merchant vessels or
boats that might be converted into vessels of war or gun-boats” and,
further, “to take measures for the construction of two vessels of three
hundred tons each, six boats of considerable size, and quarters for
three hundred men.”

In those days Black Rock was a village about two miles from Buffalo
on the road toward Niagara Falls, Main Street being then, as now, the
chief thoroughfare of Buffalo, while Black Rock was a settlement at
the head of Niagara River. It was at Black Rock that Elliott decided
to establish the navy-yard. At first thought this might seem to have
been a hazardous undertaking, because almost directly across the river
was a strong British post--Fort Erie, which is now chiefly celebrated
for having a fine beach, where Buffalo people go when overheated, as
New York people go to Coney Island. However, if the British might be
expected to try crossing to interfere with Elliott’s ship-building,
it was also possible for Elliott to keep a good watch on British
movements; and this he did.

[Illustration: Detroit in 1815.]

So it happened that when two brigs came down the lake from Detroit
and anchored under the guns of Fort Erie on October 8, 1812, Elliott
learned the fact instantly. One of these brigs was of Yankee build.
She was new and almost ready for service at Detroit, when that post
fell into the hands of the British, and was at once taken into their
service and called the _Detroit_ to commemorate their taking of the
town. The other brig was called the _Caledonia_. She was the property
of a British fur-buying company and had come from the upper lakes
(although the Americans did not know it at the time) loaded with fine
furs to the value of $200,000. What Elliott did know, when he saw the
two brigs, was that those two vessels were just what he wanted for use
on the lake, and that it would be very much better for the American
cause to go over and take them than to buy and build a score. And this
he determined to do.

As good fortune had it, a detachment of seamen that included an ensign
and forty-seven men and petty officers arrived at Black Rock on the
evening of the day when the brigs reached Fort Erie. These men were
unarmed, but Elliott was not without resource. At that time Winfield
Scott, of whom every school-boy has read, was a lieutenant-colonel
in command of troops at Black Rock, and to him Elliott applied for
arms and men with success. It is not uninteresting to note that when
application was made to the militia for arms for the expedition across
the river the order to obtain them read: “all the pistols, swords, and
sabres, you can borrow _at the risk of the lenders_.” Enough owners
of weapons willing to lend without making a claim on the Government
in case of loss were found, and the arms provided for the sailors. A
company of fifty soldiers under Captain Towson volunteered to help.
Two big boats were prepared in Shajackuda Creek, that empties into the
Niagara below Black Rock, and at midnight one hundred and twenty-four
men, all told, embarked.

Let it be kept in mind that the _Detroit_ was a well-built war-brig,
fully armed and manned, that the _Caledonia_ was well manned by the
hardy lake seamen accustomed to dealing with the savage Indians of
the far West, and that both vessels were anchored under the guns of
a strong military post, full of experienced men. There were three
batteries of great guns in place, besides field artillery that could
be brought to bear in a few minutes. To cut out these two vessels was
a task but little less hazardous than the attack which Decatur made on
the frigate _Philadelphia_ in the harbor of Tripoli.

One needs to see the mighty sweep of the Niagara River past Black Rock
to appreciate the task of the seamen under Elliott who had to row the
boats up stream from the creek and across to the Canadian shores.

[Illustration:

1. Buffalo.
2. Fort Erie.
3. Black Rock.
4. British batteries.
5. Sailors’ barracks.
6. Artillery encampment.
7. Squaw Island.
8. Strawberry Island.
9. Detroit aground.
10. Caledonia ashore.
11. Navy-yard.
12. British artillery.
13. Point of embarkation.

Capture of the British Brigs _Detroit_ and _Caledonia_, October 12,
1812.

_From a wood-cut prepared under the supervision of Lieutenant Jesse D.
Elliott himself._]

They embarked at midnight, and at 1 o’clock found themselves in the
current of the Niagara. For two hours thereafter they pulled with
steady stroke, and then as the anchor-watch on the _Detroit_ was noting
the hour of 3, a pistol-shot from a big boat that suddenly loomed
alongside, roused the crew from their over-strong feeling of security.
A volley of musketry followed and then over the rail tumbled fifty men,
led by Lieutenant Elliott, and the _Detroit_ was in American hands.
The surprise of the _Detroit_ was completely successful. A minute or
two later the other boat, under Sailing-master Watts, was beside the
_Caledonia_. Her more watchful crew were up and ready to greet these
men with a volley, but the attack was resistless and “in less than ten
minutes I had the prisoners all seized, the top-sails sheeted home, and
the vessels under weigh.” So wrote Lieutenant Elliott.

But though under sail the wind was too light to carry the brigs against
the current, and they could not reach the lake as they wished to do.
The British batteries opened a hot fire. Elliott replied with the guns
of the _Detroit_ as long as the ammunition lasted, while striving at
the same time to get her across to the American side. “For ten minutes
she went blindly down the current,” while the steady flashing of cannon
afloat and ashore illuminated the night, and people ran to and fro on
both sides of the river shouting and cheering. And then the _Detroit_
grounded on Squaw Island, opposite what is now the foot of Albany
Street, Buffalo. The Americans landed their prisoners, forty-six in
number, below the island, but before they could return some British
regulars had crossed over and captured the _Detroit_. The Yankees,
with a six-pounder field-piece on Squaw Island, drove them away, and
Winfield Scott and some troops took possession. But she was still
within reach of the British long guns, and during the remainder of
the night and all the next day she was under fire. Then the British
brought a war vessel, the _Lady Prevost_, to cover them while they were
to take her off, and so the Americans fired and destroyed her.

Meantime Elliott had carried the _Caledonia_ clear of all, and she was
the first member of the fleet that enabled the gallant Perry to write,
“We have met the enemy and they are ours.”

As already said, the fight, considered beside the salt-sea battles,
was only a trifling skirmish, but two British ships were captured, the
percentage of damage done to the British power afloat on Lake Erie was
tremendous, and as an example of dashing bravery the feat thrilled the
whole American nation. Not less marked was its effect upon the British,
for General Sir Isaac Brock, who commanded in that department, wrote:

“The event is particularly unfortunate and may reduce us to
incalculable distress. The enemy is making every exertion to gain a
naval superiority on both lakes, which, if they accomplish it, I do not
see how we can possibly retain the country.”

CHAPTER XIII

THE BATTLE ON LAKE ERIE

BUILDING WAR-SHIPS AND GUN-BOATS IN THE WILDERNESS--LIFTING THE
VESSELS OVER A SAND-BAR--FORTUNATELY THE BRITISH COMMANDER WAS
FOND OF PUBLIC ENTERTAINMENTS--THE TWO SQUADRONS AND THEIR CREWS
COMPARED--THE ADVANTAGE OF A CONCENTRATED FORCE WAS WITH THE
BRITISH--ON THE WAY TO MEET THE ENEMY--“TO WINDWARD OR TO LEEWARD
THEY SHALL FIGHT TO-DAY”--THE ANGLO-SAXON CHEER--THE BRUNT OF
THE FIGHT BORNE BY THE FLAG-SHIP--A FRIGHTFUL SLAUGHTER THERE
IN CONSEQUENCE--WHEN PERRY WORKED THE GUNS WITH HIS OWN HANDS,
AND EVEN THE WOUNDED CRAWLED UP THE HATCH TO LEND A HAND AT THE
SIDE-TACKLES--AN ABLE FIRST LIEUTENANT--WOUNDED EXPOSED TO THE FIRE
WHEN UNDER THE SURGEON’S CARE--THE LAST GUN DISABLED--SHIFTING
THE FLAG TO THE _NIAGARA_--CHEERS THAT WERE HEARD ABOVE THE ROAR
OF CANNON--WHEN THE WOUNDED OF THE _LAWRENCE_ CRIED “SINK THE
SHIP!”--DRIVING THE _NIAGARA_ THROUGH THE BRITISH SQUADRON--THE
WHITE HANDKERCHIEF FLUTTERING FROM A BOARDING-PIKE--“WE HAVE MET
THE ENEMY, AND THEY ARE OURS.”

This is the story of Perry’s victory. Oliver Hazard Perry, “a zealous
naval officer, twenty-seven years of age,” of the rank of master
commandant, was in command of a fleet of gun-boats at Newport,
Rhode Island, during all the glorious days when Hull, Decatur, and
Bainbridge were winning laurels on the high seas. It was a most irksome
service, at best, for the sole purpose of the gun-boats was that of
the quills of a porcupine, but when other men of the navy were abroad
showing teeth, the task assigned to Perry was beyond endurance. For
a time his appeals for a change were unheeded, but at last, when the
operations on Lake Ontario under Commodore Chauncey, and at the foot
of Lake Erie, under Lieutenant Elliott, had made an impression on the
Navy Department, Perry was ordered to go with “all of the best men of
his flotilla” to join Chauncey. It was on February 17, 1813, that his
orders reached him, and before night fifty of his men were on their way
to the west in sleds. Others followed, and on the 22d Perry himself,
with a brother of thirteen, who was eager for adventures, started over
the long road--a road so long that, though the sleighing was good, they
did not reach Sackett’s Harbor until March 3d. For two weeks Perry
remained there, awaiting an expected attack from the British that did
not come, and then he started on for what was then called Presqu’ Isle,
but is now the city of Erie, Pennsylvania.

[Illustration: _O. H. Perry_

_From an engraving by Forrest of the portrait by Jarvis._]

Erie had been chosen as the base of operations for gaining control
of Lake Erie for a variety of reasons, the chief being that it had a
harbor which was not easy of access by the enemy, that other parts of
the lake could be readily reached from it, and that supplies could be
sent to it conveniently from Pittsburg by the way of the Alleghany
River, that was navigable, after a fashion, to Lake Chautauqua, or
almost to within sight of Lake Erie. The construction of a small
squadron of gun-boats and two brigs had been commenced there under an
experienced fresh-water seaman, named Captain Daniel Dobbins.

Reaching Black Rock, at the head of the Niagara River, Perry inspected
the navy-yard that was then in charge of Lieutenant Petigru (Elliott
had returned to Sackett’s Harbor), and made note of the vessels there
that would be of use in the lake service, and then hastened forward,
travelling in a sleigh on what was then the usual highway of the
along-shore frontiersmen--the ice on Lake Erie. On the way he stopped
at a tavern, that then, and for many years afterward, stood just west
of Cattaraugus Creek (a famous smuggling resort in its day). Here
Captain Perry learned from his host, who had just returned from a trip
across the lake, that the British knew all about the ship-building at
Erie, and that they intended coming over to clear out the yard there.

[Illustration: Port of Buffalo in 1815.]

On reaching Erie, Captain Perry found that the keels of two twenty-gun
brigs had been laid at the mouth of Cascade Creek; two gun-boats were
nearly planked up at the mouth of Lee’s Run (“between the present Peach
and Sassafras Streets”), and the keel of a third was stretched on the
blocks. To defend these there was a company of sixty volunteers, while
Dobbins had also organized the ship-yard hands into a company. But
there were neither arms nor ammunition for a fight, and so Dobbins was
sent to Buffalo to get them, while Perry hastened to Pittsburg to hurry
on some additional carpenters coming from Philadelphia, to look after
the casting of cannon-balls, the forwarding of rope and canvas, and
other matters.

On returning to Erie, Perry found that the work had been pushed by the
master shipwright, Noah Brown, of New York City, and that Dobbins had
brought back a twelve-pounder gun and some arms. The work on the ship
was of particular interest, for white and black oak, and chestnut-trees
for frames and planking, and pine for the decks, were growing handy by.
A tree whose branches swayed to the fierce lake breezes of the morning,
was often an integral part of a war-ship when the sun went down at
night. The gun-boats were floated early in May, and on the 24th the two
brigs were launched.

But Perry did not see these brigs take the water. He had learned that
Commodore Chauncey’s sailors and the American soldiers were to attack
Fort George, near the mouth of the Niagara River. Getting into a
row-boat with four men, Captain Perry started for Buffalo on the night
of the 23d. There was a head-wind all night, but Perry reached Buffalo
the next evening, passing down the river within musket-shot of the
enemy. Perry reached a village near Grand Island, where he proposed
to go ahead on foot, until his sailors captured a horse on the public
common--“an old pacing one that could not run away, and brought him
in, rigged a rope from the boat into a bridle, and borrowed a saddle
without either stirrup, girth, or crupper.” On this Perry mounted,
and holding fast by the horse’s mane, ambled into the camp at the foot
of the river. In the attack on Fort George, on the morning of May 27,
1813, Perry was the most active man in the fleet, rowing hither and yon
in directing the landing parties, and constantly exposing himself to
the fire of the enemy. But the result of the battle was the complete
success of the Americans, and the British abandoned the whole Niagara
River.

The advantage of this success to Perry was at once manifest, for the
route from Shajackuda Creek up the Niagara River was opened, and
the vessels lying there, including the _Caledonia_ captured by the
brilliant dash of Elliott, were released.

Loading this little squadron of five vessels with all the stores at
Black Rock, Perry started on the morning of June 6, 1813, to “track”
them up the Niagara to Lake Erie. “Tracking” is a kind of work not
unfamiliar even now to canal and river sailors, and lake sailors in
those days knew all about it. A long line was stretched out from each
vessel along the shore, and then sailors and soldiers clapped on and
walked away with the rope. There were a few yoke of oxen to help, but
they had a current of from five to seven miles an hour to overcome, and
they were six days getting their vessels out of the river. Sailing
from Buffalo on the 13th, they dodged the enemy’s fleet of five
vessels, mounting forty-four guns, that hove in sight just as Erie was
reached, and so made their port in safety, bringing a cargo that was
indispensable.

Meantime Perry was so overworked that he was stricken with a bilious
remittent fever, but he did not by any means give way to it. The
newly arrived vessels were anchored in the bay off Cascade Creek, and
thereafter their crews were drilled under Perry’s personal supervision
“several hours each day” in the work of handling the guns and ships.
And so were all the men under Perry’s command. But the number of
the men was a matter of the greatest worry. The two brigs had been
launched, and they, with the three gun-boats, were soon fitted with
sails, rigging, and guns, but crews to man them were not to be had. To
add to the distress of the young commander the Government at Washington
sent him two orders (received on July 15th and 19th), to co-operate
with General Harrison, who commanded the American land forces not far
from Sandusky. Worse yet, word came that the British had a new and
powerful vessel, called the _Detroit_, about completed at Malden on
the Detroit River, and that Captain Robert H. Barclay, who had served
under Nelson at Trafalgar, had been placed in command of the British
fleet. A little later still Barclay actually appeared off Erie “to have
a proper look,” as a sailor might say, at what the Yankees had been
doing, and so prepare for clearing out the harbor.

Perry’s appeal for men became at this time stirring: “For God’s sake
and _yours_, and mine, send me men and officers, and I will have them
all in a day or two,” he wrote to Commodore Chauncey. He got some
men--“a motley set, blacks, soldiers, and boys.” The British historians
with one accord say that Perry’s men were all “picked men.” An American
can well afford to excuse them for thinking so when the result of the
fight this “motley set” made is considered; but it was a “scrub” crew.

However, by the end of July, having recruited among the landsmen of
the region a few men, Perry found that he had about three hundred
“effective officers and men, with which to man two twenty-gun brigs and
eight smaller vessels.”

Although an utterly inadequate force, Perry could no longer restrain
his anxiety to try the mettle of the enemy, and on Sunday, August 1,
1813, moved his vessels down to the bar that lies across the bay. He
found but four feet of water where six had previously existed, the
trend of the wind on this shoal-lake making such variations of depth
common. Perry had already provided means for lifting his new brigs
over the bar when the water was six feet deep, for they drew at least
eight feet, but now found the task greater than he had supposed.
However, after getting the smaller vessels over the bar and posting
them where they could make a good fight should the expected enemy
arrive, he set to work to lift the brigs over.

One of these brigs had been named the _Lawrence_. It was on June
1st of this year that Captain Lawrence sailed out of Boston in the
ill-fated _Chesapeake_ to meet the well-found _Shannon_, and was lost.
To commemorate the magnificent bravery of this officer, the Secretary
of the Navy had named one of the brigs the _Lawrence_. Perry chose that
one as his flagship. The other was called the _Niagara_. The crews of
the fleet set to work on the flag-ship first. Big scows built on a
model that would let them lie close alongside the _Lawrence_ from stem
to stern were filled with water until their decks were awash. Then they
were secured to the _Lawrence_ in such a way that they could not rise
without lifting her. Meantime the guns and all heavy weights had been
removed from the _Lawrence_, and the next task was to pump the water
out of the scows so that they would lift the man-of-war. When this was
done the _Lawrence_ was hauled forward on the bar until hard aground,
when the scows were once more filled and lowered and secured to the
ship, and a second lift taken, which fortunately carried her clean
over. The repetition of this work carried the _Niagara_ over as well,
and Perry at last had his fleet in deep water. It is easy to tell how
the work was done, but it was a job that kept the crews busy day and
night from Sunday the 1st until Thursday the 5th of August, 1813.

As good luck would have it, this time passed without a glimpse of the
enemy. The people of Port Dover, Canada, had felt the great honor which
the presence along-shore of a real British captain who had fought
under Nelson conferred upon them. Colonial people are stirred so to
this day. To show their appreciation of the honor, the Doverites must
needs give a banquet. And Captain Barclay was as fond of festivities
as Burgoyne was. Like Burgoyne, he missed an opportunity by attending
to festivities instead of to duty. While Perry’s men lifted and hauled
and strained to get the _Lawrence_ across the bar at Erie, Barclay was
standing, gorgeous with gold lace, before the much-honored people of
Dover and saying:

“I expect to find the Yankee brigs hard and fast on the bar when I
return, in which predicament it will be but a small job to destroy
them.”

He arrived one day too late, however. The _Niagara_ was over the
worst of the bar, and her crew were at the capstan heaving her afloat
when the bold skipper from Trafalgar and Dover appeared. The _Ariel_,
a schooner carrying four twelve-pounders and thirty-six men, and the
_Scorpion_, a gun-boat that carried thirty-five men and two guns, a
long thirty-two and a short one, were sent to meet the squadron and
hold it in check until the other ships could be made ready. But they
did not have a chance to hold anything except the wind, for Barclay,
seeing the Yankees all outside the bar, squared away for Malden, where
the new _Detroit_ was lying.

For several days Perry cruised to and fro across the lake looking for
the enemy, and then, on August 10th, came Lieutenant Jesse D. Elliott
with one hundred officers and superior men. There is no doubt about the
quality of these men, for some of them were from the _Constitution_.
They had seen the wreck of the _Guerrière_ rolling its guns under water
after they had finished shooting at her. Elliott was placed in command
of the _Niagara_, and the squadron was now in fair condition to offer
fight to the enemy, even though they had added their new brig _Detroit_
to their forces. So Perry determined to sail up the lake and join
forces with General Harrison.

In that day Put-in Bay, lying a little north and west of what is now
the city of Sandusky, Ohio, was counted one of the best harbors of
refuge on the lake. Properly speaking, it was no bay at all, but it
was in summer, as it is now, a lovely breadth of water surrounded by
a chain of islands, large and small. Here was a good anchorage in a
gale, and the main channel would admit easily the largest ship then
afloat on the lake. To Put-in Bay came Perry and his squadron on August
15th. Nothing was seen of the enemy, but near evening on the next day a
strange sail was seen dodging around what is now called Kelly’s Island,
and the _Scorpion_, that was out scouting, gave chase. A thunder-squall
came on about that time, and the schooner escaped among the islands.

[Illustration: BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE, SEPT. 10, 1813.]

The next day after this, August 17th, Perry took his squadron to the
point of the peninsula that forms Sandusky Bay and fired signal-guns to
apprise General Harrison, who was camped not far away, of the presence
of the American ships. On the night of the 19th General Harrison, his
staff, and a lot of soldiers and friendly Indians, came off to visit
the squadron and talk over plans for a descent upon Malden. Nothing
definite was decided on, however, for Harrison was not quite ready
to move, and so, on the 23d, the Harrison party having gone away,
Perry decided to have a look for himself at the new British ship at
Malden. But before he could carry out his purpose he was prostrated
by the bilious fever that had been upon him since he had brought the
five vessels out of Niagara River. And what was as bad, a very large
proportion of his men were in the same distressing condition. The fleet
surgeon, Dr. P. Usher Parsons, was himself so ill that he could not
walk, but was carried around on a cot to visit the sick, and there were
continually more than one hundred of the command prostrated.

This enterprise having been abandoned, the fleet anchored at Put-in
Bay once more on August 27th, and there a reinforcement of thirty-six
soldiers came on board from General Harrison to act as marines and
supply the places of the sick. But Perry remained sick for a week, and
it was not until September 1st that the squadron got away to look at
Malden. They got nothing more than a look, for the reason that Captain
Barclay kept his fleet under the protection of the shore batteries,
waiting for the completion of the _Detroit_. So Perry returned once
more to Put-in Bay, and there he remained until September 10, 1813, the
most famous date in the history of the Great Lakes, for then came the
battle known to every school-boy as “Perry’s Victory.”

Because this was a battle between squadrons, and the first of that
kind in American history, it is worth while considering in advance of
the story of the action, what each commander had under him. To begin
with the Americans: Perry had nine vessels--the brigs _Lawrence_,
_Niagara_, and _Caledonia_, the schooners _Ariel_, _Scorpion_,
_Somers_, _Porcupine_, and _Tigress_, and the sloop (single-masted
vessel) _Trippe_. The big new brigs were one hundred and ten feet long
and twenty-nine feet wide. They could have carried as merchantmen
three hundred tons say of coal or grain. The schooners could not have
carried more than from sixty to eighty tons of cargo, and the sloop
was the smallest of all. The big brigs were armed as salt-sea brigs
were--with two long twelves and eighteen short thirty-twos, and the
rest were armed with a heavy gun each, so that the squadron as a whole
in the battle threw, it is estimated, eight hundred and ninety-six
pounds of metal from fifty-four guns, of which the long guns threw two
hundred and eighty-eight pounds. On the day of battle, according to
the roll that drew prize-money, the total number of all the men and
boys who were connected with the fleet in any way was five hundred
and thirty-two. Of these, four hundred and sixteen (the highest
estimate) were on deck ready for the fray, and sixteen more (according
to Lossing), though on the sick-list, left their beds and went to
quarters--in all four hundred and thirty-two men, of whom one-fourth
were regular naval seamen, one-fourth were raw militia, and one-fourth
were lake sailors.

To oppose this fleet Captain Barclay had six vessels. The _Detroit_
was a new ship (three square-rigged masts) and was a trifle larger
than the _Lawrence_. She was armed with one long eighteen, two long
twenty-fours, six long twelves, eight long nines, a short eighteen,
and a short twenty-four. She was therefore more than a match, when at
long range, for any three of the American ships so far as weight of
metal was concerned. At short range the preponderance was against her.
With the _Detroit_ were the ship _Queen Charlotte_, a sixth smaller
in size than the _Lawrence_; the _Lady Prevost_, a big schooner (230
tons measurement); the brig _Hunter_, of the size of the _Caledonia_;
the little schooner _Chippeway_, and the big sloop (90 tons) _Little
Belt_. All told, this squadron could throw four hundred and fifty-nine
pounds of metal at a broadside from sixty-four guns, one hundred
and ninety-five pounds being from long guns. The “smart Yankees,”
although Erie was in days’ travel much farther from a base of supplies
than the British were, had created a fleet under the eyes of the
British, whose superiority “in long-gun metal was as three to two,
and in carronade metal greater than two to one.” So says Roosevelt,
an American writer. But it must be observed by every sailorman that
this preponderance in weight of metal thrown was to a great extent
nullified by the distribution of the American heavy long guns among the
little merchant-schooners which Perry had been forced to adopt. For the
small vessels formed very unstable platforms, and a discharge of the
big guns set them rolling in a way to destroy accurate marksmanship.
The British had nothing larger than a long twelve on their little
vessels, and therein was wisdom. As the British had a tonnage of 1,460
in six vessels to the American 1,671 in nine vessels, there was a
concentration of power in the British fleet of which Captain Barclay
was able to take advantage. Nor was that all that may be said of the
superiority of Barclay’s vessels, for four of the British fleet were
built for war-ships. The difference between a war-ship and an armed
merchantman was in those days as great as the difference between a
protected cruiser and an armed merchantman in these would be. The sides
of the man-of-war were made of frames set so close together as to
almost touch each other, and were covered with thick planks. Doubtless
the walls of Barclay’s four large vessels were more than a foot thick,
and so proof against grape-shot. Five of Perry’s vessels had planking
no more than two and a half inches thick--they could be set aleak by
a musket-ball. Worse yet, four of Barclay’s vessels had big thick
bulwarks, behind which the men were protected from grape-shot, while
all of Perry’s except the two brigs were without bulwarks--their guns
and crews were all in plain view and exposed to the fire of the enemy.

As to the number of men in the British fleet it is certain that they
had four hundred and fifty men on deck, “fore and fit,” for this number
is to be counted up from the prisoners taken with the killed, as
admitted by the British authorities. But there were undoubtedly more.
Captain Barclay, as appears by the order-books of the British, had in
all one hundred and fifty picked men from the British Navy, eighty
Canadian lake sailors, and two hundred and forty soldiers from the 41st
Regiment of the line, and the Newfoundland Rangers--making four hundred
and seventy men, to which sum must be added thirty-two officers known
to have been in the fleet. This makes five hundred and two. As only
four hundred and fifty can be counted among the prisoners paroled and
taken to Camp Portage, it is fair to suppose that a few of the British
crews went forward to help their wounded friends who were taken to
Erie, that some escaped to the woods, and that more were killed than
the British admit.

However it may be figured, the British had more men in the battle than
Perry had, and they were concentrated on six ships where they could
be of service, instead of scattered among nine vessels of which the
majority were slow cargo-carriers, and sure to lag behind when the
order to close with the enemy was given. Since Perry had enough men to
work his guns, it may be conceded that his inferiority of numbers was
a matter of no consequence whatever. But when the concentration of the
enemy’s power in his large ships is considered--when it is recalled
that the _Detroit_, for instance, had seventeen long guns with which to
batter the _Lawrence_ that had only two as she headed the dash into
battle--seventeen long guns that could and did cut her to pieces before
she could bring anything to bear save one long twelve--a candid student
of history must say that the British squadron in its power, either for
attack or defence against an attacking squadron, was, at the least,
equal to the American squadron.

Last of all, and most important of all, comes a comparison of the
commanders. To a certain extent this comparison has already been made.
As has been told, Barclay, who was thirty-seven years old, came from
Trafalgar. Perry, who was but twenty-seven, came from the Newport
navy-yard. And that is to say that in experience Barclay was at least
“hull down to windward” of the American commander. But experience is
only one of the requisites of a great naval commander. It may seem
presumptuous for a mere civilian to declare what the qualities of such
a commander are; nevertheless, for the sake of a comparison of the two
commanders in this battle, and for the sake of having some sort of a
lead for trying the depth of them, it may be said that the acknowledged
heroes of sea-warfare have shown:

Foresight and unwearied energy in preparing for battle; a bull-dog
courage in the face of personal danger; a John-Paul-Jones tenacity of
purpose--the good-will to fight while a plank with a gun floated; a
calmness of observation--an eye uninfluenced by excitement when viewing
the enemy; a judgment swift to take advantage of every emergency; the
ability to inspire the men with confidence.

To a civilian it seems that after personal or animal courage the most
important characteristic of a great commander in a squadron battle
is the ability to take swift advantage of emergencies, for this,
of course, implies his tenacity of purpose and his ability to see
clear-eyed.

What Oliver Hazard Perry had done to show whether he had foresight and
unwearied energy has already been told. Whether he exhibited, in spite
of youth and lack of experience, the other characteristics of a great
naval commander the reader shall be able to judge from the story of the
battle itself.

It was on September 10, 1813.

September the tenth full well I ween,
In eighteen hundred and thirteen,
The weather mild, the sky serene,
Commanded by bold Perry,
Our saucy fleet at anchor lay
In safety, moor’d at Put-in Bay;
’Twixt sunrise and the break of day,
The British fleet
We chanced to meet;
Our admiral thought he would them greet
With a welcome on Lake Erie.

Goaded by an impending lack of provisions into trying to open
communications with Long Point, where the British had their supplies
both for the Malden army and the fleet, Captain Barclay had determined
to sail down the lake and meet Perry if he must. It was for this that
Perry had been hoping, and “’twixt sunrise and the break of day the
lookout at the mast-head of the _Lawrence_, peering into the mists
at the north and west, saw the white canvas of the British fleet and
bawled in voice heard throughout the fleet,”

“Sail ho!”

It was a cry that brought the officers of the squadron quickly to the
decks of their vessels. A moment later signals were fluttering from the
mast-head of the flag-ship saying “Enemy in sight,” and then others
arose which said literally “Under way to get.”

The shrill whistle of the boatswains and the hoarse cry of “All hands
up anchor” followed.

At this time a gentle southwest wind was blowing from over the Ohio
wilderness, bringing a light rain-squall, but the rain quickly passed
away and the breeze shifted to northerly. And so the little squadron
had to resort to oars as well as sails in beating its way out of the
island-locked harbor. There had been no need of a conference among the
officers of the squadron this morning, for they had gathered on the
_Lawrence_ the night before for that purpose and had heard their young
leader end his instructions with the famous words of Nelson, “If you
lay your enemy close alongside you cannot be out of your place.”

[Illustration: Perry and his Officers on Board the Flag-ship
_Lawrence_, Preparing for the Engagement.

_From an old wood-cut._]

Reaching the open lake the enemy was seen five or six miles away--on
the horizon line--the new sails of the _Detroit_ gleaming silver-white
in the morning sun. The wind, although the day was now beautiful to the
eye, was variable--first from one quarter and then from another, and
not too much of it from any direction. Heading away toward the British
squadron, Perry strove as a yachtsman might do to get to windward, but
finding that some of the islands were in the way he determined in order
to end the jockeying and reach the enemy the sooner that he would
square away under the lee of the islands. As he gave this order his
sailing-master ventured to remonstrate:

“Then you will have to engage the enemy to leeward, sir,” he said.

“I don’t care,” replied Perry; “to windward or to leeward, they shall
fight to-day.”

[Illustration: PERRYS VICTORY.

The Approach.

Ward’s “Naval Tactics.”]

But before the order could be executed the wind shifted once more and
came in a light but fairly steady breeze from the south shore. The
Americans now had the weather-gage and could run down with free sheets
upon the enemy. At this the American ships were formed in line of
battle upon the plan decided on the night before, and all hands cleared
ship for action. This done, the purser brought up from the cabin a roll
of bunting, which he handed to Captain Perry. Calling the attention of
the men to it as they stood at their guns, Perry spread it out before
their eyes--a field of blue bunting more than eight feet square, on
which had been sewed in big white muslin letters the last words of the
dying Lawrence:

“Don’t give up the ship.”

“Shall I hoist it?” said Perry to his men, and with one voice they
shouted:

“Aye, Aye, Sir!”

A minute later it was run up fluttering to the main truck, and there it
remained until one of the most remarkable events known to the history
of naval warfare demanded that it be lowered.

By the time this flag was set 10 o’clock had come, and the enemy was
still a long way off, for the wind was very light. So Perry, thoughtful
for the comfort of his men, ordered food and the usual allowance of
grog served to all hands. This done, the mess kits were cleared away,
and then men drew water in buckets from over the rail and thoroughly
wet down the decks fore and aft, so that powder scattered in the haste
of battle might be made harmless. And when these were wet other men
went to and fro sprinkling clean sand, gathered from the lake shore,
thickly over the deck. It was to give the men at the guns a good
foothold, even when the deck should be flooded with blood.

Meantime Barclay hove to and was awaiting the American squadron, with
his ships in line as close together as possible without interfering
with each other. As Perry drew near he saw that he would have to change
the arrangement of his line in order to place his largest vessels
against the largest of the enemy. Barclay had stretched his squadron
in a line square across the wind with the big _Detroit_ at the head of
it, save that the little schooner _Chippeway_ was under the _Detroit’s_
bows. To meet these two came Perry with the _Lawrence_, supported by
the little schooners _Ariel_ and _Scorpion_. Astern of the _Detroit_
were the _Hunter_ of ten guns and the _Queen Charlotte_ of seventeen.
Perry sent the little brig _Caledonia_ of three guns against the
_Hunter_, but she was to be supported by the _Niagara_, carrying two
long twelves and eighteen short thirty-twos, that was primarily to
engage the _Queen Charlotte_. Last of all in the British line were the
fine schooner _Lady Prevost_ with thirteen guns, and the _Little Belt_
sloop of three. The four remaining vessels of Perry’s squadron, the
_Somers_, _Porcupine, igress_ and _Trippe_, carrying five heavy guns
between them, were assigned to the task of whipping these two that
carried sixteen smaller guns.

This disposition made, the American ships drifted on steadily and in
silence toward the enemy. It was a trying wait, but Perry paced the
full length of his deck, stopping here and there to speak cheerfully
to the men. At one gun the crew were all from _Old Ironsides_--the
_Constitution_. The most of them were stripped to the waist and had
tied long handkerchiefs around their heads to keep their hair from
falling across their faces. Perry gave them one look.

“I need not say anything to _you_,” he said; “you know how to beat
those fellows.”

At another place he recognized men he had worked with at Newport, and
said:

“Ah, here are the Newport boys; they will do their duty, I warrant.”

Wherever he addressed the men he was cheered heartily, and that was an
omen worth keeping in mind.

It was at 10.15 A.M. that everything was put in order for the battle,
but because the wind was light no less than an hour and a half was
passed in reaching the enemy. Indeed, even when 11.45 A.M. had come,
the flag-ships were still a mile apart, while the little gun-boats at
the tail of the American fleet had lagged far behind. A mile was a long
range for even the long guns of that day, but the mental strain of the
prolonged wait had proved too much for British impatience. A bugle rang
with the thrilling signal to begin action, a single long gun on the
_Detroit’s_ deck belched flame and smoke, and a round black ball came
skipping over the smooth water toward the Yankees. The battle was on!
Hearty cheers came with the boom of that gun.

[Illustration: The Battle of Lake Erie.

_From an old engraving._]

One must needs hear the thin quaver of “_Vive le_” this and “_Vive
le_” that, of some Latin race to fully appreciate the power of an
Anglo-Saxon cheer. It is significant of the power of the dominant race.
But this was a family feud--it was Anglo-Saxon against Anglo-Saxon, and
Perry’s men heard the bold shout with smiles.

A moment later another ball, better aimed, crashed through the bulwarks
of the Yankee flagship and some of the landsmen shivered. But Perry,
tall, broad-shouldered, clear-eyed, faced them from the quarter deck
and said “Steady boys, steady!”

And that was enough. Not a man flinched--not one man flinched on the
deck of the _Lawrence_ thereafter. Barclay was anxious to fight at long
range, of course, but Perry was for a contest yard-arm to yard-arm.
For ten minutes he held on his course without replying, but Stephen
Champlin, who commanded the little _Scorpion_, was eager, and so let
drive the first gun from the American side. As it happened, he also
fired the last shot of the battle. At 11.35 A.M. the _Lawrence_ was
near enough to the _Detroit_ to satisfy Perry, who opened fire with
the long twelve on the bow; the _Caledonia_, that was astern of him,
followed, while the _Niagara_, next in line, began to fire the long
twelve also, though it was at very long range. Meantime the _Scorpion_
and _Ariel_ were doing their best, of course. The squadrons became
fogged in with smoke--a smoke bank in which the darting flashes of the
guns tore long rifts, and which the variable breeze swayed hither and
yon as it swelled on the air.

[Illustration: First View of Perry’s Victory.

_From an engraving of a drawing by Corné._]

In a few minutes the advantage which the British commander held
in his concentration of power over the scattered weight of the
American metal--the gathering of his long guns on the large ships as
well--became apparent. For the _Lawrence_ was about as near to the
_Hunter_ and the _Queen Charlotte_ as she was to the _Detroit_, and all
three of these ships concentrated their fire upon her, while Perry made
sail to close in on the _Detroit_. Even the _Lady Prevost_ was able to
reach out with her three long guns to tear the life out of the Yankee
flagship.

How long could the American commander and his ship stand such pelting
as that? For more than two hours. At noon his short guns were still
unable to reach the _Detroit_, and he passed the word by trumpet down
his line ordering all the vessels to close as rapidly as possible with
the enemies to which they had been assigned. Every vessel got this
order--Elliott on the _Niagara_, himself passed it--and every officer
except Elliott obeyed it as well as the faint wind would permit.

But as the Americans closed in the three British ships--the _Detroit_,
the _Hunter_ and the _Queen Charlotte_--formed a crescent around one
side and the stern of the American flagship, the _Hunter_ taking a
place where she could fairly rake the _Lawrence_ aft and fore, and
the _Lawrence_ was supported only by the _Ariel_ and the _Scorpion_.
There were but seven long guns on the three American vessels actually
engaged, to thirty-two on the British vessels that were pelting the
Yankee flagship. But in spite of such hopeless odds, Perry drove his
ship into the thick of it until within half a musket shot of the
_Detroit_, and there worked his guns, both long and short, for life.

[Illustration: “Perry’s Sieg”--A German View of the Victory on Lake
Erie.

_From an old engraving._]

As he stood on the quarter-deck, cheering his men, his little brother
of thirteen stood beside him, wholly undismayed. The balls came
crashing through the bulwarks, hurling unfortunates as mangled corpses
across the deck, and driving the radiating splinters like jagged
arrows into those who stood near by. The blood of wounded and dead
splashed and flowed across the deck. The men pushed aside the limbs
and dismembered bodies of their shipmates when working the guns. The
surgeon’s assistants hurried to and fro, carrying the wounded below,
while here and there a wounded man with bandage on head or shoulder
came up to take again his station. The roar was incessant, the air a
grimy cloud filled with the débris of splintered bulwarks and spars and
shredded sails and hammocks, and of the down of cat-tails that the crew
had gathered and stowed with the hammocks in the bulwarks.

Lieutenant Yarnall, the executive officer, came aft, his face covered
with blood and his nose swelled enormously because a splinter had been
driven through it.

“All the officers in my division are cut down,” he said. “Can I have
others?”

He got others, and went forward. Two musket balls passed through the
hat of the lad beside Perry, and then a splinter darted through his
clothing, but still the lad did not flinch. And then, suddenly, he was
knocked across the deck, and for once the face of Perry paled, for he
supposed the boy was killed. As it happened, only a flying hammock
had struck him, and he was soon on his feet. At this moment Perry
turned once more to greet his first lieutenant. He had been wounded
twice since going forward. He was fairly drenched in his own blood
now, as well as that of others splashed over him, and the fuzz of
the cat-tails had gathered over his face in such masses as to almost
conceal his features. He was after more assistants, but Perry could
only say:

“I have no more officers to give you. You must try to make out by
yourself.”

[Illustration: PERRY’S VICTORY.

Positions at Height of Battle.

The ships were probably in about this position when Terry, on
finding the _Lawrence_ wrecked and the _Niagara_ coming up with a
fresh breeze on the dotted line, determined to shift his flag. The
whole fleet then drove away to the northwest, and Perry, with the
_Niagara_, ran through the British line, tangled it up and cut it to
pieces. He was aided by the other American vessels, who doubled up on
the British line, the _Caledonia_, _Ariel_, and _Scorpion_ gallantly
following the _Niagara_ through the line, while the others came up
to windward of it. It was this movement that Ward pronounces “most
masterly.”
]

Going forward, Yarnall did make out by himself. He aimed the guns with
his own hands and eyes thereafter. The time had come when Perry, too,
like John Paul Jones of old, found it necessary to work the guns.

The last of Perry’s assistants, the gallant Brooks, “remarkable for his
personal beauty,” was struck in the hip by a round shot and knocked
across the deck, where he begged, in his agony, that Perry would shoot
him. But Perry turned away to fight the guns from which Brooks had been
shot to death.

On the lower deck the scene was soon worse than on the gun-deck,
for more than half the crew had been carried there. Surgeon Parsons
could not work fast enough. The wounded were stretched out everywhere
awaiting their turn. And because the ship was of such shoal draft
the cannon balls of the enemy came crashing in among the wounded.
Midshipman Laub, with a tourniquet on his arm, had started to go on
deck again when a cannon-ball struck him in the chest and scattered
his remains across the deck and splashing against the opposite side of
the ship. An Indian, Charles Poughigh, was killed by another ball as
he lay on deck after having had his leg cut off. The wounded, who were
suffering the tortures of the surgeon’s knife, were tortured anew by
splinters ripped from the ship’s side by the merciless shot, while a
scared dog mingled its mournful howls with the crash and roar of battle
and the shrieks and groans of the dying.

[Illustration: Second View of Perry’s Victory.

_From an engraving of a drawing by Corné._]

And there was Perry on the upper deck, loading, aiming and firing
his guns, while his men dropped around him until at last not enough
remained on the quarter-deck to work one gun. Coming to the hatchway
Perry asked the surgeon to lend him a man to take a place at the gun.
One went, and then another and another, and those who went first were
cut down until not one remained below to help the surgeon. And then
came Perry to the hatch with a last call for help.

“There is not another man left to go,” said the surgeon.

“Are there none of the wounded, then, who can pull on a rope?” asked
Perry.

And at that appeal three men crawled up the hatchway ladder on their
hands and knees to grasp the ropes of the gun-tackles. These, aided
by Purser Hambleton and Chaplain Breeze, rolled the muzzle of the gun
out through the port, where Perry himself aimed and fired it. And that
was the last gun fired from the _Lawrence_. The next broadside from
the enemy left her with not a single gun that could be worked, and
it severely wounded Purser Hambleton, who was beside Perry. At that
Perry turned from the gun to look over the whole scene of battle. The
_Lawrence_ was a wreck. Her bowsprit and masts were almost wholly shot
away and her hull was riddled. Out of a crew of more than a hundred men
who had gone into the fight just fourteen remained unhurt. The remnants
of twenty who had been killed outright were scattered about the
deck. But the great blue burgee with “Don’t give up the ship” still
fluttered aloft in the smoke, and Perry was the man for the motto.

As the firing ceased on the _Lawrence_, Elliott, who had kept the
_Niagara_ clear of the battle during those two long hours, made sail
and, after ordering two of the near-by smaller vessels to new stations,
headed with a happily freshened breeze for the right of British line.
The eyes of Perry, turning from ship to ship, saw the _Niagara_, with
full, round sails and quickening pace, coming. She was headed to
pass more than a quarter of a mile from the disabled _Lawrence_, but
Perry saw in her the means of retrieving what had been lost by the
concentration of the enemy’s fire upon his own ship. Stripping off
the blue nankeen jacket he had worn all day he put on the epauletted
coat of his rank and ordered a boat lowered with four men in it on
the side of the _Lawrence_ that was in the lee of the iron storm. The
lad, Perry’s brother, entered the boat with the men. At the same time
the broad pennant of the flagship was hauled down, but the “gridiron
flag” of America was left flying where it had been throughout the long
conflict. Then, turning to his faithful lieutenant, he said:

“Yarnall, I leave the _Lawrence_ in your charge with discretionary
powers. You may hold out or surrender as your judgment and the
circumstances shall dictate.”

[Illustration: Perry Transferring his Colors.

_After the painting by Powell._]

Perry, although half surrounded by the enemy and within easy musket
range, had determined to shift his flag to the _Niagara_.

As he turned to go a quarter-master hauled down the big blue burgee
with the _Lawrence_ words of inspiration upon it and gave it to the
commander. Climbing then over the ship’s side to the boat, Perry stood
erect in the stern sheets, draped flag and pennant across his shoulders
and, still standing erect, ordered the men to pull away for the
_Niagara_.

Putting their oars against the ship’s side they pushed clear, and then,
catching the stroke, rowed out from behind the sheltering hulk. In a
moment the fleet saw through the haze what Perry was trying to do--the
Americans with aching anxiety for his fate--the British with a fierce
determination to destroy him. A hell of sulphurous flame and smoke
belched from the side of every British ship. Every gun of every sort
in their squadron that could be brought to bear was aimed at the tiny
craft. The round shot ploughed--the grape and canister and musket balls
rained about the craft, filling the air with spray and spoondrift--but
Perry, standing erect that he might inspire his squadron with his own
courage, faced it all--faced it until his men mutinied to save his life
and declared they would row no further unless he sat down. And when
a round shot crashed, at the last, through the side of the boat, he
pulled off his coat, plugged the hole with it, and so reached the side
of the _Niagara_.

The British had yelled as they fired; now the cheers of the Americans
rose triumphantly above the roar of battle. The shifting of his flag to
the _Niagara_ was the decisive movement of the battle. Perry saw his
opportunity, was quick to take advantage of it, and victory was at hand.

“How goes the day?” asked Lieutenant Elliott as Perry reached the
_Niagara’s_ deck. He had been too far away to see for himself.

“Bad enough,” replied Perry. “Why are the gun-boats so far astern?”

“I’ll bring them up,” said Elliott.

“Do so,” said Perry, and jumping into the boat Perry had left, Elliott
was rowed away to the lagging gun-boats. As Elliott shoved clear,
Perry’s pennant and the great blue burgee fluttered aloft, with signals
for closing in on the enemy. The flags were greeted with cheers from
every American ship but one. Over on the abandoned _Lawrence_, Yarnall,
having not one gun that he could fire, hauled down his flag to save
life. A shout arose from the nearby _Detroit_. The wounded on the lower
deck heard the ominous sound. They asked the cause, and when told that
the flag was coming down forgot all else in their patriotism and cried:

“Sink the ship! Sink the ship!”

But no such despair was felt in any other American ship. On the others
the crews, with dancing muscles, sprang to make sail or knelt with
clear eyes to look through the sights of the guns they were aiming
anew at the British ships. Putting up his helm, Perry squared away
and drove his ship through the British squadron, now bunched so that
he had the _Lady Prevost_ and the _Chippewa_ on the left and the
_Detroit_, the _Queen Charlotte_, and the _Hunter_ on his right, and
all of them but a few yards away as he passed. Into these he fired
broadsides, double-shotted, as each came in bearing of the guns. The
crew of the _Lady Prevost_ fled below, leaving only their captain,
Lieutenant Buchan, standing on the quarter-deck, leaning his wounded
face on his hands, and staring with insane eyes upon the scene. The
effect of the fire on the others was but little less disastrous. The
_Detroit_ and the _Queen Charlotte_, in trying to swing around to meet
the Yankee, fouled each other, and Perry, ranging ahead, rounded to and
raked them both. Every other American ship had by this time closed in,
and, like a fighter who gets his second wind, they were pounding the
enemy. It was more than flesh and blood--even the flesh and blood of
an Anglo-Saxon--could stand, and eight minutes after Perry had dashed
through the British line a man appeared at the rail of the British
flagship, and waved a white handkerchief tied to a boarding-pike in
token of surrender.

That was on September 10, 1813. Until another war came, the people
of Northwestern Ohio gathered in groups of hundreds and thousands
every year, on the 10th of September, on the islands of Put-in Bay
and wherever lakeside groves were found. They came dressed in holiday
attire. They brought baskets full of the best provisions that a
bountiful region afforded. They erected long tables in the shade and
spread their good things thereon. They built an elevated platform fit
for speakers, and those who had voices to sing stood up on the platform
around one sweet-faced girl dressed as Columbia, and sang the old songs
of Perry’s victory--sang songs that told how

He pulled off his coat
And he plugged up the boat
And away he went sailing through fire and smoke.

Sang

As lifts the smoke what tongue can fitly tell
The transports which those manly bosoms swell,
When Britain’s ensign down the reeling mast
Sinks to proclaim the desperate struggle past!
Electric cheers along the shattered fleet,
With rapturous hail, her youthful hero greet;
Meek in his triumph, as in danger calm.
With reverent hands he takes the victor’s palm;
His wreath of conquest on Faith’s altar lays,
To his brave comrades yields the meed of praise.

[Illustration: “We have met the Enemy and they are Ours.”

_From the “Naval Monument.”_]

And when they had sung their songs, one who could talk stood up to
tell anew the story of this, the first battle in which the Americans
had fought with a squadron, and the first battle in the history of the
world when the commander of a British squadron had been compelled to
haul down his flag. It was a story that young and old heard with rapt
and silent interest, until at its close they rose and with the thrill
of triumph in their veins, shouted to the immortal words in which Perry
announced his victory:

“We have met the enemy and they are ours; two ships, two brigs, one
schooner, and one sloop.”

CHAPTER XIV

INCIDENTS OF THE BATTLE ON LAKE ERIE

TWO OF THE ENEMY’S VESSELS THAT TRIED TO GET AWAY--A YANKEE
SAILOR’S REASON FOR WANTING ONE MORE SHOT--WHEN PERRY RETURNED
TO THE _LAWRENCE_--THE DEAD AND WOUNDED--EFFECT OF THE VICTORY
ON THE PEOPLE--HONORS TO THE VICTORS--THE CASE OF LIEUTENANT
ELLIOTT--ULTIMATE FATE OF SOME OF THE SHIPS.

Although victory was declared when, at 3 o’clock in the afternoon of
September 10, 1813, Captain Barclay of the British squadron ordered
a white flag displayed, the contest was not wholly ended, nor is the
story of it yet complete. The British schooner _Chippewa_ and the sloop
_Little Belt_ had been shunted off to the westward by the exigencies
of battle, and their commanders, taking advantage of the veiling cloud
of smoke, made sail in the hope of escaping back to the Detroit River.
Stephen Champlin, who commanded the _Scorpion_, and Thomas Holdup, in
command of the _Trippe_, went in chase and captured them, although it
was 10 o’clock at night before Champlin got back with the _Little
Belt_ in tow. And thus it happened that Champlin fired the last shot of
the battle.

[Illustration: Stephen Champlin.

_From a painting at the Naval Academy, Annapolis._]

One incident, occurring on the _Somers_, remains to be told. It was on
this vessel that Elliott came into the battle the second time, and he
says:

“I was directing the forward gun--the schooner having but two--and
after the enemy had struck ordered to cease firing, but the man at the
after gun having lost his fire by the intervening rigging, was in the
act of firing again. I struck him with the flat of my sword, saying:

“‘You scoundrel, do you mean to fire at him after he has struck?’

“‘Just this once more, Captain Elliott,’ said he.

“‘What do you want to fire for?’

“‘I want a little satisfaction just for myself. I was pressed nine
times in their service.’”

Meantime Perry prepared to receive the officers who were to come, and
in the usual form to offer their swords to him. Standing on the deck of
the _Niagara_ as the news of the surrender travelled from one American
ship to another, and listening to the cheers with which the words were
greeted, Perry heard, last of all, a faint response from the few men
still remaining on the battered _Lawrence_, from which the fleet had
been slowly drifting. Their cry came to him as an appeal to return to
her, and return he did, after informing the defeated officers that they
would be received there. Bringing the fleet to anchor, Perry entered
a boat and was carried to her side, and those of her crew who were
able to do so gathered at the gangway to receive him--gathered with
uncovered heads and in silence.

“It was a time of conflicting emotions when he stepped upon deck,”
wrote Surgeon Parsons. “The battle was won, and he was safe, but the
deck was slippery with blood, and strewn with the bodies of twenty
officers and men, seven of whom had sat at a table with us at our last
meal, and the ship resounded everywhere with the groans of the wounded.
Those of us who were spared and able to walk met him at the gangway
to welcome him on board, but the salutation was a silent one on both
sides; not a word could find utterance.

“And then came the officers of the British squadron, one from each
vessel. They were obliged to walk around dismounted guns and pick their
way over the dead to reach the victorious commander. But they had come
from scenes no less trying on their own decks, for he who came from the
_Detroit_ had seen a pet bear lapping the blood of those who had but a
brief time before been fondling it. One after another they presented
their swords, while Perry in a low and kindly voice declined to receive
them, and asked about the dead and wounded they had left behind. He
was particularly solicitous in his questions about Captain Barclay,
for Barclay had in Europe suffered the loss of an arm, and had been
otherwise mutilated in fighting the French, and now had been badly
wounded again--so badly that he lost the other arm.”

Until 9 o’clock at night the Americans were busy securing the
prisoners, burying the dead, and making repairs on the rigging of the
ships, but at that hour the sails were once more spread to the breeze,
and victor and vanquished sailed away to anchor in beautiful Put-in Bay
Harbor.

Here on the 12th the officers who had fallen were buried on South Bass
Island, three Americans and three Englishmen, side by side and with
equal honors, as they had shown equal manly qualities.

The number of dead among the Americans was twenty-seven (of whom
twenty-two were killed on the _Lawrence_), the wounded, ninety-six. The
British reported a loss of forty-one killed and ninety-four wounded.
The _Lawrence_, as told, was wellnigh a wreck above the water-line; the
_Detroit_ and the _Queen Charlotte_ were so much cut up in masts and
rigging that, in a blow two days later, the masts went over the rails
in spite of preventers, although both were at anchor in Put-in Bay.

On boarding the _Detroit_ the Americans found two Indians hiding in the
hold. They had been stationed aloft as sharpshooters, but when the
American great guns were brought to bear they had slid down the rigging
in terror. On being brought to the deck they expressed astonishment
because they were not tortured.

The unhurt prisoners were all placed on the _Porcupine_, and there fed
and served with an allowance of grog as soon as possible. The wounded
were put on the _Lawrence_ and sent to Erie under the care of Yarnall,
save that the officers were kept with Perry.

Perry’s despatch to General Harrison, it is worth telling, was written
with a pencil on the back of an old letter. Perry used his cap in lieu
of a table. When written, the despatch was entrusted to Midshipman
Dulany Forest. Forest had been wounded in a curious fashion. A
grape-shot struck the side of a port, glanced and struck a mast, and
glancing again, struck down Forest as he stood beside Perry. Perry
stooped and raised him up. He was unconscious for a moment, but quickly
recovered, and getting on his feet, pulled the projectile from the
inside of his clothing, through which it had penetrated, and put it in
his pocket, saying:

“I guess this is mine.”

Perry’s letter to the Secretary of the Navy is worth quoting, for it
was written when “a religious awe seemed to come over him at his
wonderful preservation in the midst of great and long-continued danger.”

It read:

“It has pleased the Almighty to give to the arms of the United States a
signal victory over their enemies on this lake. The British squadron,
consisting of two ships, two brigs, a schooner and a sloop, have
this moment surrendered to the force under my command, after a sharp
conflict.”

It was characteristic of the man to say “surrendered to the force under
my command,” rather than to say “surrendered to me.” And it is recorded
that when he had given the needed orders for the care of the prisoners
and the fleet, the reaction that followed the prolonged excitement
was so great that, utterly weary, he stretched himself among his dead
comrades on the deck of his ship, and with his sword still in hand,
went fast to sleep.

The news of the victory spread over the nation with marvellous
rapidity. The roar of the guns, conveyed by the water, was heard even
at Erie. People at Cleveland gathered on the water-front, and when the
last guns were fired cheered the name of Perry, because those last
reports were from the heaviest guns, and they knew that the heaviest
guns were on the American ships.

But while these men cheered, there were others who, living in the wild
region about the head of the lake, and seeing for themselves where
victory lay, instead of cheering, gathered their wives and little ones
around them and out of full hearts gave thanks to Almighty God for
his goodness. And they had good reason for so doing, for the capture
of the enemy’s fleet meant more to them than the taking of ships. It
meant that the inhuman Proctor, who, at the head of 5,000 mixed troops
and Indians, was awaiting the news at Malden, would be barred from
his intended incursion into Ohio--Proctor, who had looked on unmoved
while the Indians, under Tecumseh, slaughtered the prisoners after
the fall of Fort Miami. All the day of the battle on Lake Erie “women
with terrified children, and decrepit old men, sat listening with the
deepest anxiety, for they knew not but with the setting sun they would
be compelled to flee to the interior to escape the fangs of the red
blood-hounds who were ready to be let loose upon helpless innocency by
the approved servants of a government that boasted of its civilization
and Christianity.”

Perry had saved these from the terrors of the scalping-knife and the
stake. His victory “led to the destruction of the Indian Confederacy
and wiped out the stigma of the surrender at Detroit, thirteen months
before. When Proctor heard the news he fled for his life, and was
roundly denounced to his face for his cowardice by the brave and
disgusted Tecumseh.”

Little less heartfelt were the rejoicings of the whole nation over this
battle. “Illuminations, bonfires, salvos of artillery, public dinners,
orations, and songs were the visible indications of the popular
satisfaction, and it will not be forgotten that the most conspicuous
feature of every illumination was a transparency that read: “We have
met the enemy and they are ours.”

[Illustration: The Medal Awarded to Oliver H. Perry after his Victory
on Lake Erie.]

The Congress thanked Perry, and his men through him; voted gold medals
to him and Elliott, silver medals to all other commissioned officers,
swords to midshipmen and sailing-masters, and three months’ pay all
around. Perry was promoted from the rank of master commandant to that
of captain, his new commission bearing the date of the battle. State
legislatures and city councils expressed their patriotic rejoicings in
the usual fashion, Pennsylvania leading the way. There are portraits
and statues a-plenty of the hero, and while the art of printing
preserves the story of his deeds, his fame will remain untarnished
among his patriotic countrymen.

[Illustration: Medal Awarded to Jesse D. Elliott.]

The reader who understands somewhat of the handling of sailing-ships
will observe that the _Niagara_ did not take the prominent part in the
battle which her size and power warranted until after she was boarded
by Perry. Because of this Elliott has been accused of acting the part
of the jealous Frenchman who might have helped instead of hurting John
Paul Jones in the _Bonhomme Richard_-_Serapis_ fight. The officers
under Perry were furious against him. In the prolonged controversy that
followed, Elliott’s friends, to defend him, declared that the order
to keep the _Niagara_ half a cable length astern of the _Caledonia_
was imperative and was not rescinded; and that Perry had, in his
enthusiastic handling of his own ship, forgotten to handle the whole
squadron. Elliott, they said, was anxiously awaiting orders from Perry
during all the battle, and meantime worked his long guns until all the
projectiles were exhausted.

Elliott himself says in a pamphlet that he issued in 1844:

“Great stress has been laid on my not leaving my station in the line
at the battle of Lake Erie at an earlier moment; and in doing so why I
did not pass between the _Lawrence_ and the enemy. I’ll tell you. Where
two fleets are about to engage in battle, a knowledge of naval tactics
and evolutions must be resorted to. The line once formed, no captain
has a right to change without authority or a signal from the commanding
vessel.”

However, that Elliott erred in not obeying the order that he himself
helped to pass, cannot now be questioned by a sailorman, for the rule
of the sea is to obey the last order. But it is hard to believe on the
face of the facts that Elliott acted the part of a Landais, and when
it is recalled that Perry gave him hearty praise even after the other
officers began to murmur aloud, it is reasonably certain that he had at
the very worst earned a silver medal, and no one should grudge him the
gold one he received.

The English comments on this battle declared that it was a Canadian--a
local defeat, and not a defeat of the “Royal Navy.” They sneered at the
courage, as well as the capacity, of the Colonists. Allen’s history
in the latest edition declares that Perry had six hundred picked men.
The slur on the Canadians is no affair of ours, of course, but one who
knows the manly qualities of our neighbors at the North, cannot let it
pass.

It may be of interest to note that the captured ships were valued at
$225,000. Of this, Perry and Elliott got $7,140 each, while $5,000 was
voted by Congress to Perry in addition. The captains of gun-boats and
other officers got $2,295 each; midshipmen, $811 each; petty officers,
$447, and the men before the mast, $209 each.

At the end of the open-water season the ships of the squadron
rendezvoused at Erie, and eventually, after the war, the _Lawrence_,
the _Detroit_, and the _Queen Charlotte_ were sunk in Little Bay in the
east end of Presqu’ Isle at Erie, as worthless. The _Niagara_ followed
to the same Davy-Jones locker. Then the _Queen Charlotte_ and _Detroit_
were bought and raised, and used for a time as merchantmen. The end of
the _Detroit_ came at last when some hotel-keepers at Niagara Falls
bought her, put a live bear and some other animals on her, to make a
show for gaping fools, and sent her over the falls.

The guns from the fleet when last fired served a historical purpose.
When the Erie Canal was opened they were stretched along its route at
such intervals that the report of one, if fired, could be heard at the
next. And so, when the first boat was ready to make its triumphant
passage of the great waterway, these guns were fired one after another
to telegraph the news ahead, and so it happened that in just two hours
from the time when she left Buffalo it was known in New York that she
had started.

Said Washington Irving in writing of Perry’s victory soon after the
event:

“In future times, when the shores of Erie shall hum with busy
population; when towns and cities shall brighten where now extend the
dark and tangled forests; when ports shall spread their arms, and lofty
barks shall ride where now the canoe is fastened to the stake; when the
present age shall have grown into venerable antiquity, and the mists
of fable begin to gather around its history, then will the inhabitants
look back to this battle as one of the romantic achievements of the
days of yore. It will stand first on the page of their local legends,
and in the marvellous tales of the borders.”

CHAPTER XV

THE WAR ON LAKE ONTARIO

THE CAPTURE OF YORK (TORONTO) BY THE AMERICANS--A VICTORY AT THE
MOUTH OF THE NIAGARA RIVER--BRITISH ACCOUNT OF THE ATTACK ON
SACKETT’S HARBOR--TALES OF THE PRUDENCE OF SIR JAMES YEO AND
COMMODORE CHAUNCEY--THE AMERICANS DID SOMEWHAT BETTER THAN THE
BRITISH, BUT MISSED A GREAT OPPORTUNITY--SMALL AFFAIRS ON LAKE
CHAMPLAIN DURING THE SUMMER OF 1813.

While Perry was laboring at Erie to get his squadron ready, the
Americans on Lake Ontario, as has been intimated in what was said about
the capture of Fort George, were by no means idle. Plans were laid
for an assault on Toronto--then called York--to be followed by the
attack on Fort George at the mouth of Niagara River, and after that,
Kingston, the British naval station across from Sackett’s Harbor, was
to be assaulted. A force of 8,300 men was collected for this purpose at
Sackett’s Harbor in the spring of 1813, of whom 1,300 were sailors from
the squadron of Commodore Chauncey. The soldiers were under General
Dearborn, assisted by General Zebulon M. Pike. On April 22, 1813, 1,700
soldiers were embarked on the fourteen ships under Chauncey, the
flag-ship being the _Madison_, commanded by Lieutenant Elliott, who was
afterward to go to aid Perry.

[Illustration: _Map of_

NIAGARA RIVER]

The squadron sailed on the 25th, and after a stormy, sea-sick passage,
appeared off Toronto on the 27th, and the troops were landed under
command of Pike, Dearborn being too sick to go ashore. Pike was a
famous explorer in his day, and the famous Peak of Colorado perpetuates
his memory. As the boats were going ashore he observed that the
leaders were hesitating under fire from the British, and jumping into
a boat, he was quickly at the head of the procession and effected a
landing. The chief work of the navy here was to bombard the works
within reach, and the woods where a lot of Indians were in cover, but
it is worth telling that, as the American troops were advancing, Pike
ordered a bugler to sound a charge, and that the wild notes of this
instrument so terrified the red men that they fled with a horrified
yell in dismay--leaving the Yankees to advance to the tune of “Yankee
Doodle” unmolested by them. And to this must be added the fact that a
magazine in a block-house that the enemy despaired of holding was blown
up, and fifty-two Americans were killed and one hundred and eighty
wounded. As it happened, forty of the British also lost their lives by
the explosion. Pike was among the mortally wounded, but he had the
satisfaction of dying with the flag of the enemy under his head. A
large quantity of naval and military stores were taken here, besides
two hundred and ninety prisoners.

[Illustration: The Death of General Pike.

_From an old wood-cut._]

It is a pleasure to add that in spite of the antagonisms that grew out
of a war which the Americans were compelled to wage to protect their
seamen on the high seas, there is no city in the British domain where
Yankees are more cordially received than at Toronto.

[Illustration: The Niagara River and Scenes from the War of 1812.

_From an engraving in Hinton’s History of the United States._]

From Toronto the American squadron went to the head of the lake,
arriving on May 11th. Here the attack on Fort George, just inside
the mouth of Niagara River, was planned, and on the morning of May
27, 1813, the troops embarked before daylight to make the assault.
It is recorded that a heavy fog prevailed until after sunrise, when
it suddenly cleared away, revealing the squadron with flat-boats and
row-boats, covered with men, afloat on the dimpling waters. A fresh
breeze enabled the vessels to take their designated places with ease.
Three were stationed to care for a battery on the point. Two more were
placed to attack a fort near the landing-place at Two Mile Creek,
and three more were anchored close in at the landing to cover the
troops. The battery at the landing was bombarded so skilfully that
it was silenced, and then the boats loaded with troops, under the
management of Perry, quickly reached the shore, when the troops, led
by Winfield Scott, who lived to become the head of the regular army,
made an effectual landing. But that was only a beginning. Three times
the gallant Scott was repulsed by the superior numbers of the enemy
that met him as he charged up the slope before him, but after twenty
minutes of hard fighting, during which the ships raked the enemy with
their great guns, the enemy broke and fled. Then the Americans dashed
at Fort George itself. The enemy succeeded in blowing up one of their
magazines, but the Americans extinguished the burning trains leading
to two smaller ones, and Scott, with his own hands, hauled down the
British flag.

[Illustration: Isaac Chauncey.

_From an engraving by Edwin of the portrait by Wood._]

But while Chauncey was at the head of the lake, the British at Kingston
learned that Sackett’s Harbor had been left with only a small force
to defend it, and, to quote a British account of what they did in
consequence, “Sir George Prevost now allowed himself to be persuaded
to embark seven hundred and fifty troops on board the squadron for
the purpose of making an attack on Sackett’s Harbor; but to mar the
successful issue of the plan, he resolved to head the troops himself.”

On May 27th, the day when the Americans were taking Fort George at
the head of the lake, the British squadron with a fair wind sailed
across to Sackett’s Harbor, arriving at noon, when the fleet hove to
and prepared to send the troops on shore. Then “Sir George hesitated,
looked at the place, mistook trees for troops and block-houses for
batteries, and ordered the expedition to put back.”

Meantime, however, some Indians had made a dash ashore with canoes and
captured a squad of American soldiers, whom they carried off to the
British squadron. So Sir George tried again, and on the 29th made a
landing. The Americans were outnumbered and at first fled. A new ship
called the _General Pike_, a ship called the _Duke of Gloucester_,
captured at Toronto, and a barrack containing all the stores captured
at the same time, were fired. Then the Americans came back to fight,
“the British retired to their vessels, and the Americans, as soon as
they could credit their senses, hastened to stop the conflagration.”
The _Duke of Gloucester_ and the stores, however, were burned. The
above quotations are from “Military Occurrences between Great Britain
and the United States.”

[Illustration: CAPT^N. SIR JAMES LUCAS YEO.KN^T.]

Soon after his victory at Fort George, Chauncey returned to Sackett’s
Harbor. In the meantime Captain Sir James L. Yeo had been placed in
command of the British naval forces on Lake Ontario. Yeo, in the
frigate _Southampton_, had captured the little American twelve-gun brig
_Vixen_ in the West Indies, on November 22, 1812, but had lost both his
ship and his prize by running ashore on Concepcion Island in the Bahama
group. He had also sent a challenge to Captain Porter of the _Essex_,
as follows:

“Sir James Yeo presents his compliments to Captain Porter, of the
American frigate _Essex_, and would be glad to have a _tête-à-tête_,
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.”

It was Sir James who brought Sir George Prevost to Sackett’s Harbor and
carried him back again. Before Chauncey got back to Sackett’s Harbor,
Sir James was able to add a new ship, the _Wolfe_, a twenty-four-gun
sloop-of-war, to his squadron, and this made his force afloat superior
to that of the Americans. Following the failure at Sackett’s Harbor
he went cruising, captured two American supply-schooners, and landed
at Sodus Point, where he got six hundred barrels of flour. This
was in June. During that month the Americans captured a British
supply-schooner, and thereafter nothing was done until near the end of
July.

On July 21st the new American twenty-eight-gun ship _Pike_ was ready to
sail, and a schooner, the _Sylph_, had also been added to the squadron
at Sackett’s Harbor. With his whole force, Commodore Chauncey sailed to
the Niagara River, took on Scott and some regulars, and made another
assault on Toronto, where they destroyed eleven transports, burned
the barracks and carried off five cannon, a lot of flour, and some
ammunition. Returning to Niagara, Lieutenant Elliott and a hundred men
were sent to join Perry. This was done on August 3d. On August 7, 1813,
while the Americans lay at anchor at Niagara, Yeo’s squadron appeared.
The American squadron at this time numbered thirteen vessels, of which
three were built for men-of-war and had bulwarks to protect the men
at the guns from the grape-shot and musketry of the enemy. The rest
were schooners without bulwarks--merchant-schooners that had had guns
mounted on them. The Americans had 965 men on board, and their guns
threw 1,390 pounds of metal at a broadside, of which long guns threw
800 pounds.

Yeo had only six vessels, but these were all men-of-war and had high,
thick bulwarks. They were manned by not less than seven hundred and
seventy men, and their guns threw 1,374 pounds of metal, all but one
hundred and eighty being from short guns. Obviously at long range in
fine weather the Americans would have the advantage of force, while
at short range all but three of the Yankee vessels would be wellnigh
useless; and in rough weather the Yankee schooners would be wholly
useless.

On the 7th the squadrons jockeyed for place. At 1 o’clock next morning
a squall overturned the two American schooners _Hamilton_ and _Scourge_
because their big guns made them top-heavy. This reduced the American
weight of metal thrown to one hundred and forty-four pounds less than
the British. For two days more the two commanders jockeyed for place,
and it is obvious that if either had had the spirit of Perry when he
said “To windward or to leeward they shall fight to-day,” the fight
would have taken place. All the next day still (August 10, 1813) the
two squadrons filled and backed, but at 7 o’clock at night they got
together, the British to windward in a single column, the Yankees in
the lee in two columns, the big ships being in the lee line. Chauncey
hoped that Yeo would try to close on the schooners, and that they could
then slip through between the big ones and beat around to rake the
enemy when engaged with the regular American men-of-war.

At 11 o’clock the American schooners opened fire at long range. Fifteen
minutes later the British knight replied and “the action became general
and harmless.”

At 11.30 all the American schooners but the _Growler_ and _Julia_
squared away and passed to the lee of the big Americans. The two tacked
up ahead of the British squadron. But the British did not come down.
On the contrary, Yeo tacked after the two schooners and got them in
spite of a brilliant dash that they made to run through his line. When
too late, Chauncey tried to beat up to help his two schooners, but he
couldn’t beat fast enough to overtake Sir James Yeo. The next day the
two squadrons were in sight of each other, the British knight being to
windward, but he did not go hunting Yankee war-ships down wind nor did
Chauncey crowd sail to beat up. That night the wind grew so heavy that
two of the schooners had run to shelter and Chauncey with his seven
remaining vessels went to Sackett’s Harbor, reprovisioned his vessels
and came back again. The British had had the best of it, but Chauncey
was by no means crushed.

From August 13th until September 10th the two bold commodores chased
the wind, each very much surprised and disgusted that the other kept
out of the way “though so much superior in force.”

On the day after Perry’s victory the two squadrons did have a brush
at long range in a light breeze. It was a good day for the Yankee
schooners, and Sir James, by his own confession, sailed away after
a few shots had been fired. The Americans lost nothing. The British
lost four killed and seven wounded. Then on the 28th there was another
fight. It was on a very good day for a battle. The Americans made
the attack and came down handsomely on the enemy, who received them
warmly. The three leading American vessels were the new ship _Pike_
and the _Tompkins_ and _Asp_, the last being in tow of the _Pike_.
The _Madison_ and the _Sylph_ had each a little schooner in tow and
so were kept so far astern that they never got into the battle. The
three leaders fired away bravely, the _Pike_ taking the _Wolfe_, Yeo’s
flag-ship, as her special target. The Yankee _Tompkins_ lost her
foremast but the _Pike_ shot away the maintop-mast and mainyard of the
_Wolfe_ and killed so many men that Sir James squared away and made
all sail to escape from the three Yankee ships, the remainder of the
American fleet never getting within range. The Americans lost five in
killed and wounded. The British did not publish the reports of their
losses.

Having chased the British into Burlington Bay, Commodore Chauncey
missed the one great opportunity of his lifetime. Burlington Bay was
undefended. Had he sailed boldly in after the demoralized British,
there was every hope of a triumph as complete as that of Perry on Lake
Erie. But Chauncey did not sail in. He said he was afraid it would come
on to blow and he would be caught on a lee shore. That he was afraid
of something is undisputed. Chauncey, however, did now have command
of the lake and a few days later retook the _Julia_ and the _Growler_
that Yeo had captured at the head of the lake, and took also the
British schooners _Mary_, _Drummond_, and _Lady Gore_. These five were
transporting troops along the lake-shore. Yeo got his warships into
Kingston and Chauncey kept them there.

On the whole, the British had undisputed control of Lake Ontario during
forty-eight days. There was a sort of a contest for the control lasting
sixty-nine days, and the Americans held undisputed control for one
hundred and seven days of the open season of 1813. The British captured
the two schooners _Growler_ and _Julia_. The Americans retook these,
captured a ten-gun brig at Toronto (the _Gloucester_), and burned a
twenty-four-gun ship almost completed. They also destroyed army and
navy supplies and other public property far in excess of the damage the
British inflicted upon the Americans.

[Illustration: Buffalo, N. Y., Burned by the British, December 30, 1813.

_From an old wood-cut._]

There was also a small fight on Lake Champlain during the summer of
1813. The American naval force there was under Lieutenant Thomas
Macdonough, whose name first appears in American history in the story
of the Tripolitan war. Macdonough had two small sloops called the
_Growler_ and the _Eagle_. On June 3d he sent them, under Lieutenant
Smith, to the north end of the lake after three British gun-boats. The
gun-boats fled down the Sorel River, the outlet of the lake. Smith
bravely, but foolishly, followed them, and so got into a trap, for a
strong British land force came to help the gun-boats, and pelted the
American decks with musketry. The Americans had only carronades, while
the gun-boats had long twenty-fours. So the British kept out of range
of the Yankee short guns and kept up a fire from the long twenty-fours
until the _Eagle_ had a plank knocked off under water, when she sank
instantly. The _Growler_ had her main boom and forestay shot away,
and grounded. The British captured both and obtained for a time the
mastery of that lake. The Americans in this fight had one man killed
and nineteen wounded, who, with ninety-two unhurt men, fell into the
British hands.

On July 31st Colonel J. Murray, with 1,000 British troops, aided by
the captured sloops and the three gun-boats, assaulted Plattsburg and
marched thence to Saranac. All the public stores at both places were
burned and then Murray retreated.

How Lieutenant Thomas Macdonough not only prevented any further
incursions of that kind, but retrieved all the losses he had sustained
and shifted the account to the other side--how he fought and whipped a
superior force of the enemy, while a clarion-voiced rooster flapped its
wings and crowed for victory in the shot-frayed rigging--will be told
in the next volume.

CHAPTER XVI

LOSS OF THE LITTLE SLOOP _ARGUS_

SHE WAS CAPTURED BY THE _PELICAN_, A VESSEL THAT WAS OF SLIGHTLY
SUPERIOR FORCE--A CLEAN VICTORY FOR THE BRITISH, BUT ONE THAT IN NO
WAY DISHEARTENS THE FIERCEST OF THE AMERICAN PATRIOTS--ILL-LUCK OF
“THE WAGGON.”

The story of the American Navy during the first eighteen months of the
War of 1812 is by no means completed. There were battles which, in
spite of the fact that only small forces were involved, were really no
less significant in demonstrating the character of the sea-power of the
new American nation than were the great victories already described.
There was at least one defeat that was in one way most significant. And
there were other events that were matters of consideration then and are
now.

For instance there was the act of the Congress on January 2,
1813, when it was ordered that the Navy be increased by four
ships-of-the-line (rating at seventy-four guns), six frigates to rate
with the _Constitution_, and six sloops to rate with the _Hornet_,
that eventually thrashed the _Peacock_ so effectually. Tremendous,
comparatively speaking, as was this addition to the naval strength of
the nation, the real significance of the act was found in the change
of spirit in the national administration and legislature. For it was
but five months to the day since Captain Hull had sailed from Boston
_contrary to orders_ that were en route--had sailed on the cruise that
ended with the destruction of the boastful _Guerrière_. It was on
August 2, 1812, that the _Constitution_ sailed, and at that time the
Administration at Washington fully believed that to allow an American
frigate to go to sea was to insure that she would be captured and added
to the British Navy, and so, like the pusillanimous French Government
of the day, it preferred seeing the ships rot to taking the chances of
battle. But the magnificent courage and skill of the American naval
seaman, in spite of the pusillanimity of the politicians in power--in
spite of the fact that they received but half-hearted support from the
nation as a whole--had, in five months, shot under water the porcupine
policy in naval affairs and replaced the eagle on the American
coat-of-arms. And there the eagle remains to this day, albeit he lowers
his head with a tinge of shame when he looks for the gridiron flag
among the merchant fleets of the world.

As the reader will remember, the _United States_ sailed on the cruise
during which she captured the _Macedonian_ with Commodore John Rodgers
of the _President_, the _Congress_ and the _Argus_ being also of the
squadron. The _President_ proved unlucky on that voyage, for she
got nothing. Her hard luck continued in the cruise that followed.
In company with the _Congress_, Captain John Smith, the _President_
sailed from Boston on April 30, 1813. Two days later the little British
sloop-of-war _Curlew_, Captain Michael Head, was seen, but after a
protracted chase the _Curlew_ escaped. A little later the two frigates
separated and the _Congress_ cruised in the South Atlantic all the
summer and part of the fall, and finally returned to Portsmouth, New
Haven, having been at sea two hundred and nineteen days and taken four
merchant-ships. The _President_ cruised first on the Grand Banks, then
near the Azores, and from there sailed to the north and around the
Shetland Islands to the port of Bergen, where she stopped for supplies.
Sailing thence she eventually got back to the Nantucket Shoals on
September 23d. There she fell in with the British schooner _Highflyer_,
and by posing as a British frigate and sending a lieutenant dressed in
a British uniform on board of her, succeeded in getting the book of
private signals and instructions.

Meantime, while off North Cape in company with the American privateer
_Scourge_, Rodgers was chased by two British ships. He said in his
journal that the two were “a line-of-battle ship and a frigate.” The
British say that the two were the thirty-two-gun frigate _Alexandria_
(she carried long twelves for her main battery) and the sloop
_Spitfire_, of about twenty guns. There seems to be no reason for
doubting that Rodgers did make the mistake attributed to him. Others
made mistakes like that, as will appear farther on.

The book captured from the _Highfiyer_ proved valuable in a variety of
ways, but chiefly because it gave the numbers and stations of British
war-ships on the American coast, and so enabled American commanders
to avoid the British squadrons. A private circular from the British
Admiralty ordered the captains of all British war-ships to make special
efforts to capture the _President_.

Just why the British Navy should have felt such great animosity toward
this ship is hard to understand in this day. Certainly she was not
the most formidable of the American ships. In fact she had been so
overloaded with guns that she proved a poor sailer (witness the escape
of the _Belvidera_ and the _Curlew_), and eventually, she was hogged so
that she was captured (as will be told farther on) in a race where the
_Constitution_ would have escaped easily. Nevertheless, the Admiralty,
as said, were especially anxious to capture her, and the animosity of
the British nation against her was so great that even thirty years
after the war was over, the “British Naval Chronicle” still spoke of
her as “the waggon”--a term, by the way, that suggests the naval tar’s
contempt for hay-makers, and recalls the deeds of the Yankee hay-makers
when afloat in the war of the Revolution.

Quite different was the luck of the sloop _Argus_, the smallest of the
ships that sailed with Rodgers in that first Yankee squadron cruise of
the War of 1812. When she returned from that cruise, William H. Allen,
who had gained fame for his part in the capture of the _Macedonian_,
was placed in command of her. The reader will remember that it was
Allen who fired on the _Leopard_ when she attacked the _Chesapeake_ in
time of peace to re-impress some American seamen, carrying a coal from
the galley fire in his naked hand for the purpose for lack of matches.
With this incident in mind to indicate his character, the uninformed
reader will be prepared for the story of his fate which follows.

[Illustration: The _Argus_ Burning British Vessels.

_From an old wood-cut._]

The sailing orders which Allen, who now had the rank of
master-commandant, received, directed him to carry to France Mr.
William H. Crawford, the newly appointed American Minister to that
nation. The _Argus_ sailed on this errand from New York on June 18,
1813, and reached L’Orient twenty-three days later. Having refitted
his ship, Captain Allen emulated the famous deeds of John Paul Jones
and other Revolutionary heroes by sailing boldly into the English
Channel and thence around Land’s End into the Irish Sea. It was a
short but a brilliant cruise. The _Argus_ sailed on July 14, 1813.
Ship after ship was taken, some of them right under the cliffs of the
British coast. Some were sunk and some were burned. A few of the more
valuable were manned and sent to French ports. Indeed, so many prizes
were taken that the crew became worn out with the work. The _Argus_
was at sea but one month and yet twenty ships, valued at $2,500,000,
were taken in that time. Of course all hands had to be on deck, and at
work during every chase, and while each prize was disposed of. They
were far too successful for their own personal welfare. As in the days
when the _Reprisal_, under Captain Lambert Wickes, and the _Surprise_,
under Captain Gustavus Connyngham, so now the British ship-merchants
were filled with dismay and the insurance companies put up the rate
on war-risks to a fabulous per cent. Cruisers were sent hurriedly to
sea in search of the bold Yankee, and the _Argus_ must needs fight or
run very soon. Just one month from the day she sailed, the hour for a
choice between these two courses had arrived.

At 5 o’clock on August 14, 1813, the lookout saw a big British
brig coming down the wind under a full press of canvas. It was the
_Pelican_, Captain John Fordyce Maples. Maples had put into Cork three
days before, and had learned that a Yankee cruiser, of no great force,
was destroying the British coastwise trade, and he at once sailed in
search of the bold offender.

He was enabled to find the _Argus_ by what had seemed to the Americans
a continuance of their good-luck. The _Pelican_ came into view at
5 o’clock in the morning after the crew of the _Argus_ had been up
about all night chasing and destroying a vessel loaded with wine from
Oporto, Portugal. They had destroyed her by setting fire to her, and
the light of the flames had served as a beacon to guide the _Pelican_
to the scene.

Very soon it became apparent that the enemy was one of the largest of
the British war-brigs and therefore more than a match in force for the
American sloop. Captain Allen, in consideration of his position and the
condition of his crew--especially the condition of his crew--would have
been justified in crowding sail and leaving the slower Englishman. But
Allen was not that kind of a man.

The _Argus_ was promptly cleared for action, and the men, though in
many cases drunk with the wine of the captured wine-ship, and in all
cases weary from lack of sleep, took their stations. For an hour the
_Argus_ tacked and filled, trying to get up to windward of the enemy,
but without avail, and so shortened sail and at 6 o’clock wore around
before the wind with her port-guns bearing on the enemy, and at that
moment opened fire at a range of perhaps two hundred yards.

The _Pelican_ replied with a full broadside and at 6.04 A.M. a ball
struck Captain Allen, hurling him across the deck and tore off one leg.
It was a mortal wound, but Allen struggled up till he rested his weight
on his elbow and then continued to direct the battle until, after
four minutes, he fainted from loss of blood and was carried below.
Lieutenant William H. Watson then took command, but four minutes later
he, too, was cut down. A grape-shot struck his head and he was carried
below unconscious. Then came William Howard Allen to take command of
the quarter-deck and carry on the battle.

It had been a losing fight, thus far, and so it continued for the
reason that the British guns were served better than the American. The
rigging of the _Argus_ was already badly cut up. Nevertheless, when the
_Pelican_ strove to wear across the stern of the _Argus_, Lieutenant
Allen luffed up across the bows of the _Pelican_, where at short range
he was able to deliver a raking broadside. But the Yankee crew, instead
of cutting the life out of the enemy, merely fired into the air.

[Illustration: The _Argus_ Captured by the _Pelican_, _August 14, 1813_.

_From an engraving by Sutherland of the painting by Whitcombe._]

Then the after-sails of the unfortunate _Argus_ became unmanageable
because the braces were all shot away, and she swung around before
the wind so that the _Pelican_ was able to pass astern of her at 6.18
P.M. and rake her aft and fore. Holding this position by a skilful use
of her sails, the _Pelican_ fired broadside after broadside into the
helpless Yankee, for fifteen minutes, cutting the stern, the rudder,
and wheel-ropes to pieces, while the Americans could scarcely make a
reply. Then the _Pelican_ filled away and, running ahead, took a
position off the starboard bow of the _Argus_, and there raked her
with a fresh battery for ten minutes more, while the wind drifted the
_Argus_ down until she fell aboard the _Pelican_.

At that the British prepared to board, but the American flag was hauled
down and the fighting ceased.

Looking at the details of the fight from the present time, the most
remarkable fact in connection with it seems to be that the _Argus_
endured the raking fire of her antagonist from 6.18 P.M. until 6.45
P.M., although scarcely able to fire a gun in return. With men who were
either worn out, or drunk, or both, Lieutenant Allen stubbornly endured
the sulphurous and iron storm. That an American crew would do this
after the loss of the captain, and of the executive officer as well,
was a fact that did not escape the notice of the enemy at the time.
However much the report of the affair was exaggerated by the British
writers, the British authorities knew the real facts. It was a defeat,
but the Americans compelled respect even in this, that was, all things
considered, one of the most unfortunate defeats suffered at sea during
the war.

How it was particularly unfortunate appears from a consideration first
of the losses. The _Argus_ sailed with one hundred and thirty-seven
men, but had manned enough prizes to reduce her crew to one hundred and
four. The _Pelican_ carried one hundred and sixteen men, but since the
_Argus_ had enough men to handle her guns the superiority of numbers
on the _Pelican_ was a matter of no importance. But the _Argus_ had
ten killed and fourteen wounded, while the _Pelican_ lost but two
killed and five wounded. The _Argus_ was a much smaller vessel--she
measured but two hundred and sixty-eight tons to the _Pelican’s_
four hundred and sixty-seven, and she could fight with but ten guns,
throwing two hundred and ten pounds of metal at a broadside, to the
_Pelican’s_ eleven guns throwing two hundred and eighty pounds of
metal. Nevertheless, the difference in losses was much greater than
the difference in forces. It has been asserted that the American fire
proved ineffective because the powder used after the first few rounds
was from a lot taken from a prize that was bound to South America,
loaded with what is known in commercial circles as “export powder”--a
very inferior quality. If Captain Allen permitted this it shows he
was not well posted in the tricks of the British export trade of his
day. It is not denied that the _Pelican’s_ sides were full of dents
where the Yankee’s shot struck but did not penetrate. Still the most
reasonable explanation of the inferiority of the Americans’ fire is in
the fact that they had captured a wine-ship. By the modern standard
of morals it would be disgraceful to allow a ship’s crew to drink
of a captured cargo of wine. In that day the standard of morals was
different. Then, and for many years afterward, grog was served to all
hands at least once every day in every naval ship afloat in the world.
The men of the _Argus_ had been working as never before in their lives
for a month. It was entirely natural that some extra grog should be
allowed them when the wine was captured, and it was entirely natural
for the men to take too much.

A writer who lived at the time of the battle said of the result of it:

“We admit that the _Argus_ was taken by a British sloop-of-war whose
force was not materially greater than hers. It is one of those rare
accidents which sometimes occur in the course of worldly events, and
which, defying all calculation, and being in direct contradiction,
not only to the usual course of events, but to the ordinary effects
of known and acknowledged causes, are set down by the worldly as
resulting from chance; by the orthodox as the effect of a miracle. _We
will not stain the memory of gallant but unsuccessful men by stating
in extenuation of defeat that they were unskilful, negligent and
physically inferior to their opponents._” And that is a very proper
view to take of the whole matter. Even the British historian Allen says
“no disgrace attached to the vanquished.”

For the consolation of the American patriot, however, it is worth
comparing this fight with that between the _Hornet_ and the _Peacock_.
In the _Hornet-Peacock_ fight the American forces were just about as
much superior to the British as was the _Pelican_ to the _Argus_, for
the _Argus_ carried short twenty-fours as did the British _Peacock_.
But the _Hornet_ sank the _Peacock_ in fourteen minutes, while the
_Pelican_ was not able to subdue the _Argus_ until after forty-five
minutes. Worse yet, although firing at the closest range, the crew
of the _Pelican_ scarcely hurt the hull of the _Argus_--although
she drifted practically as an idle target for almost twice fourteen
minutes, the British gunners made so little impression on her hull
that no writer of the time thought it worth while to tell just what
they really did accomplish on her hull. And if the victories which the
second American _Wasp_ won over the _Frolic_, and the third American
_Wasp_ won over the British _Avon_, and the American _Peacock_ won
over the British _Epervier_ be considered, it is found that they, too,
outweighed the victory of the _Pelican_ as did that of the _Hornet_.

But if this fails to console the extreme American patriot--the “jingo”
of these days--he has only to consider the effect of this victory of
the British, together with that over the _Chesapeake_, upon the British
themselves. That the announcement of the victory of the _Shannon_
should have been cheered vociferously in Parliament; that the guns of
London Tower should have been fired to express the national jubilation;
that Broke should have been made a baronet; that the victory over the
little _Argus_ should have filled the nation anew with joy--where can
one find as flattering an acknowledgment of the prowess of the American
Navy as all this? The people whose “maritime supremacy had become a
part of the law of nations” were not now fighting either Frenchmen or
Spaniards.

The _Argus_ was at once taken by a prize-crew to Plymouth. Captain
Allen had had his leg amputated by his own surgeon when carried below.
On arrival at Plymouth, he was taken to the Mill Prison hospital, where
he died on August 18th. He was buried on August 21st, with the highest
military honors, because in his treatment of both the passengers and
the crews of all the ships he had captured, he had shown that he was a
typical American gentleman. His name was given to a street in New York
City to remind the wayfarer of his deeds.

CHAPTER XVII

THE LUCK OF A YANKEE CRUISER

THERE WAS NEVER A MORE FORTUNATE VESSEL THAN THE CLIPPER-SCHOONER
_ENTERPRISE_--AS ORIGINALLY DESIGNED SHE WAS THE SWIFTEST AND
BEST ALL-AROUND NAVAL SHIP OF HER CLASS AFLOAT--MEN SHE MADE
FAMOUS IN THE WEST INDIES--A GLORIOUS CAREER IN THE WAR WITH THE
MEDITERRANEAN PIRATES--EVEN WHEN THE WISDOM OF THE NAVY DEPARTMENT
CHANGED HER TO A BRIG AND OVERLOADED HER WITH GUNS SO THAT SHE
“COULDN’T GET OUT OF HER OWN WAY,” HER LUCK DID NOT FAIL HER--HER
FIGHT WITH THE _BOXER_--EVEN A GOOD FRIGATE COULD NOT CATCH HER.

If the reader would like to learn the story of the luckiest American
naval ship let him look up the details of the career of the little
cruiser _Enterprise_, for of all the vessels that have carried the
gridiron flag on the salt seas, or on any other seas, not one has had
the credit of as many victories as she. Modelled with the finest lines
known in the ship-yards of her day, she was launched in the year 1800,
rigged as a schooner, armed with twelve six-pounders, and was then sent
under Lieutenant John Shaw to the West Indies in search of the French
privateers that were preying there on American commerce. In a brief
time she had taken eight of these privateers. Among them were included
_l’Agile_, a vessel of practically the same weight of metal and of
almost an equal crew, whose captain was noted as the most daring of
his kind in that region, and the _Flambeau_, a larger vessel mounting
twelve nine-pounders to the _Enterprise’s_ twelve sixes, and carrying
a crew of one hundred and ten to the _Enterprise’s_ eighty-three. And
that this Frenchman was both brave and persistent is amply shown by the
fact that he did not surrender until forty out of his one hundred and
ten men had been killed and wounded, leaving but seventy able to fight.
A year later she was in the Mediterranean under Lieutenant Andrew
Sterrett, and on August 1st she fell in with the Tripolitan polacre
_Tripoli_, a vessel of fourteen guns and eighty men. So stubborn was
the resistance of this pirate that he would not surrender until twenty
of his men had been killed and thirty wounded out of the crew of
eighty. The _Enterprise_ did not lose a man. It was the _Enterprise_
that captured the ketch _Mastico_, rechristened the _Intrepid_, with
which Decatur entered Tripoli Harbor and burned the _Philadelphia_. And
so the story runs.

When the War of 1812 was declared the _Enterprise_ was still in
commission, but “official wisdom” had changed her so wofully that only
an expert would have recognized in her the trim, fleet-winged schooner
of 1801. Her tall and raking masts had been taken out and the squat
rig of a brig substituted, while to make her still more top-heavy her
armament had been changed from twelve sixes to fourteen short eighteens
and two long nines. Her crew was increased by the addition of forty
men, so she “became too slow to run without becoming strong enough to
fight.” That she “managed to escape capture” was “owing chiefly to
good-luck” and the fact that “the British possessed a class of vessels
even worse than our own,” and these were usually the ones that the
_Enterprise_ happened to meet.

At the opening of the war the _Enterprise_ was placed as a coast-guard
between Cape Ann and the Bay of Fundy to drive off the British
privateers that came hunting Yankee merchant-coasters. The reader
of American history must keep in mind that to the whelming force of
their regular navy which the British brought against the Yankees in
this war, as well as in that of 1776, there was a force of English
privateers numbering hundreds and carrying tens of thousands of armed
men. In driving off privateers the _Enterprise_ was very successful,
for the reason that the British privateers were rarely armed to fight
a war-ship. At first she was under Master-Commandant Johnston Blakely,
but he was promoted to the command of one of the new sloops built under
the act of January 2, 1813 (the _Wasp_), and then Lieutenant William
Burrows took charge of her.

At this time she was making Portsmouth, New Hampshire, her port of
call, and on September 4, 1813, she sailed for Monhegan, where a number
of privateers had been seen. The next forenoon, while approaching
Penguin Point, not far from Portland, Maine, a brig was seen. There
were men aloft, loosing her sails, while others were seen at the
capstan getting up anchor. Only a man-of-war was likely to carry such a
crew as that, and no American man-of-war was in that region except the
_Enterprise_, and so Burrows cleared for action. At this time his crew
numbered one hundred and two men.

Meantime the stranger fired four guns and set four British ensigns at
different points on her spars, and then she stood out to sea, plainly
eager for a fight with the _Enterprise_.

The stranger got under way at noon. A fresh breeze was blowing from the
southwest, and Lieutenant Burrows headed offshore to get a-plenty of
sea-room; and then to be prepared in case the stranger proved a faster
sailer and should overhaul him, while yet too near shore for a fair
fight, he ordered one of the stern ports enlarged from the mere window
that it was, to a port, of sufficient size to permit the use of one of
his long guns.

When the crew of the _Enterprise_ heard the orders for this work
passed, a distinct Yankee growl swept along the deck. Burrows had
been on board but three days and they did not know him--they thought
he meant to run instead of fight--and a midshipman was requested
by the men on the forecastle to go aft and say to the captain that
the men wanted to fight. The middie yielded so far as to tell the
executive officer, Lieutenant Edward Rutley McCall, what the men were
growling about, and he, knowing the men well, promptly quieted them by
explaining why the _Enterprise_ was apparently running away.

At 3 o’clock the desired offing was obtained, and then ensigns were set
on the _Enterprise_, the topmen ran aloft to furl the lighter sails;
came down again; manned the braces, and, tacking around, headed with
free sheets for the enemy that with her brave show of bunting was
coming on confident of victory. For twenty minutes thereafter the two
ships approached steadily, each holding her fire until within half
pistol-shot, when both cut loose almost at the same instant with a
broadside. It was a deadly fire on both sides, for men were struck on
the _Enterprise_ as well as on the enemy, and as it happened, those cut
down on the _Enterprise_ were working one of the quarter-deck guns.
The men had cheered on both ships as they fired and on both sides they
cheered as they began to reload their guns, Burrows joining in with
encouraging words. As the short-handed crew just under his eye grasped
the tackles to haul out the gun for the next round he ran to their aid,
grasped the tackle-fall with both hands, braced his foot against the
port-sill and threw his weight on the tackle with the men. And then
came a canister-shot from the enemy through the port, striking the
Yankee commander in the upper part of the leg by which he was braced,
and, glancing along the bone of the thigh, it buried itself in his
abdomen.

[Illustration: The _Enterprise_ and _Boxer_.

_From a wood-cut in the “Naval Monument.”_]

It was “a fearful wound,” but Burrows, despite his mortal agony,
refused to be carried below, “crying out that the colors must never be
struck.” However, Lieutenant McCall was obliged to take command, and
this was one of the few instances in history where a subordinate who
succeeded to the command of a ship because his superior was shot out
of it has done as well as his chief could have done. The fire on the
_Enterprise_ continued as vigorous and effective as before. Her sailing
proved, bad as it was, superior to that of the enemy, and on forging
ahead McCall eased her sheets, hauled down his foresail, ran down
across her bows, raked her with his port battery, and then luffing up
and backing his head-yards, he raked her again and again with the fresh
battery on the starboard side.

[Illustration: Diagram of the ENTERPRISE-BOXER BATTLE.

The wind was from the southwest.]

It is a story quickly told, but the enemy stood the fire, returning it
as best they might with such guns as would bear, until 3.45 P.M., when
an officer appeared on the top-gallant forecastle and shouted that
they had surrendered, but they could not haul down the colors because
all of them were nailed fast to the spars.

The next moment another officer, though of inferior grade, jumped up in
sight and, shaking his fists toward the _Enterprise_, shouted “no, no,
no!” and added “some pretty strong words of opprobrium.” However, his
superior ordered him down, while the Americans laughed heartily at the
scene the youngster had made.

Then men went aloft and with considerable labor ripped the ensigns from
the spars and brought them to the deck. It was now learned that the
beaten vessel was the British brig _Boxer_, Captain Samuel Blythe, and
that Blythe had ordered the flags nailed aloft, saying that they should
not be lowered while he lived; nor were they. At about the time that
Burrows was mortally hurt, Blythe was struck fair in the chest by an
eighteen-pound shot that almost cut him in two and killed him instantly.

Burrows happily lived until after the formal surrender. The sword of
the British commander was brought on board the _Enterprise_ and offered
to him. Grasping it with both hands, he said:

“I am satisfied. I die content.” A few minutes later he was dead.

The _Boxer_ having been carried into Portsmouth, she was there
inspected by Commodore Hull, and letters written by him to the
Secretary of the Navy and to Commodore Bainbridge give, with the
official report of Lieutenant McCall, all the accurate information we
have about the force of the _Boxer_ and the damage she sustained. As
to her guns, there is no dispute. She carried twelve short eighteens
and two long sixes, to the fourteen long eighteens and two long nines
on the _Enterprise_. The Americans, with short-weight shot, fired one
hundred and twenty-five pounds of metal to the British one hundred and
fourteen. Exactly what her crew numbered is not known. Commodore Hull
wrote to Commodore Bainbridge as follows on this subject:

“We find it impossible to get at the number of killed; no papers are
found by which we can ascertain it. I, however, counted upwards of
ninety hammocks, which were in her netting, with beds in them, besides
several beds without hammocks; and she has excellent accommodations
for all her officers below in staterooms; so that I have no doubt that
she had one hundred men on board. We know that she has several of the
_Rattler’s_ men on board.”

As everyone familiar with the old-time warship knows, only the
men before the mast and petty officers slept in hammocks. When
Commodore Hull estimated “that she had one hundred men on board,”
he unquestionably meant men before the mast and petty officers. In
corroboration of this is the fact that Captain Blythe was looking for
the _Enterprise_. He had sailed, only a few days before, from St.
Johns, “where great exertions were made by the Government officers,
as well as the magistrates of the place,” to man and equip her in a
perfect manner to fight the _Enterprise_. The victory of the British
frigate _Shannon_ over the Yankee _Chesapeake_ was then but two
months old, and Blythe was eager for the honors showered upon Broke.
That she sailed from St. Johns with plenty of men is a matter not to
be disputed. Moreover, a further reason for supposing that her crew
numbered at least one hundred men is found in the fact that James,
the oft-quoted British historian, says it numbered “sixty men and six
boys.” Recalling the fact that James said that the _Java_ had but three
hundred and seventy-seven men on board when her muster-roll showed four
hundred and twenty-six; that he systematically understates the British
force and overstates the American force in every instance where there
was any motive for doing so, and that Benton, the British historian,
distinctly says that the British naval authorities deliberately
understated British losses in many reports given to the public in those
days, it is simply fair to add fifty per cent. to the figures of James
in this account. However, it is asserted by the British that twelve
of their crew were on shore that morning, and that the four guns fired
when their flags were sent aloft and nailed to the mast were fired to
recall these twelve, who, however, failed to get on board. This is very
likely true. So from the one hundred and four, which all the American
accounts of that day say the _Boxer_ had, may be subtracted twelve,
leaving ninety-two as the crew of the _Boxer_.

All of this space seems to be worth giving to the subject only because
the British writers without exception twist like a flushed snipe
whenever they are started by a Yankee victory over the British, and
every well-informed American should have the facts at hand to bring
them down.

Of the _Boxer’s_ crew, the British admit that four were killed and
seventeen wounded. Lieutenant McCall in his report says that “from
information received from the officers of that vessel, it appears there
were between twenty and thirty-five killed.” The _Enterprise_ lost four
killed and eight wounded.

As to the damage done to the _Boxer_, it is worth while quoting the
words of Commodore Hull’s letter of September 10, 1813 (written by the
way, while Perry was winning glory on Lake Erie). He says:

“I, yesterday, visited the two brigs, and was astonished to see the
difference of injury sustained in the action.

“The _Enterprise_ has but one eighteen-pound shot in her hull, and
one in her main-mast, and one in her foremast; her sails are much cut
by grape-shot, and there are a great number of grape lodged in her
sides, but no injury done by them. The _Boxer_ has eighteen or twenty
eighteen-pound shot in her hull, most of them at the water’s edge, and
several stands of eighteen-pound grape stick in her side, and such a
quantity of small grape that I did not undertake to count them. Her
masts, sails, and spars are literally cut to pieces, several of her
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 proportion.”

The British historian Allen in his account of this fight says, on page
438, vol. ii.: “The two vessels were much disproportioned in every
way. The _Boxer_ measured one hundred and eighty-one, the _Enterprise_
two hundred and forty-five tons. The one was a fine roomy vessel, well
manned and equipped, the _Boxer_ a mere gun-brig, unfit for any other
purpose than to protect a convoy of coasters from the attack of a
French lugger. The result, therefore, cannot cause any surprise.”

As a matter of fact, the _Boxer_ was larger than the _Enterprise_ by
thirty-five tons burden, and Allen’s comment is worth quoting to show
how a popular British historian misrepresented the little Yankee brig
that was built as a schooner to carry a dozen six-pounders.

It was as fair a match as one will commonly find described in history.
The _Boxer_ was a few tons larger in size, and her officers had had
experience in naval battles. The Americans had more guns and more
men, with officers who had not had the experience of the enemy. The
_Enterprise_ was old and the _Boxer_ new. But while the number of shot
which the Americans could throw at a broadside were in number eight to
the British seven, the number of times the British hull was struck was
eighteen to the one shot the American hull received.

The report of the British court that tried the survivors of the crew
for the loss of the _Boxer_ said that the defeat of the _Boxer_ was due
to “a superiority of force, principally in the number of men, as well
as to _a greater degree of skill in the direction of her fire_, and to
the destructive effects of the first broadside.”

To this may be added what the London _Times_ said, editorially, on
October 22, 1813:

“But what we regret to perceive stated 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 too clearly
established that the Americans have some superior mode of firing; and
we cannot be too anxiously employed in discerning to what circumstances
that superiority is owing.”

Both Captain Blythe and Captain Burrows were buried in Portland with
the highest honors known on such occasions. Certainly, the gallant
efforts of the British captain deserved all the honors that could be
paid. A gold medal was voted by Congress to the nearest male relative
of the dead American captain, and it is very likely still cherished as
an heirloom in some South Carolina household, for Burrows was a native
of that State. He was the son of Lieutenant-Colonel Burrows, previously
of the American Marine Corps. He was but twenty-seven years of age when
killed.

[Illustration: Medal Awarded to Edward R. McCall After the Battle
Between the _Enterprise_ and the _Boxer_.]

After the battle, Master-Commandant James Renshaw was appointed to
command the _Enterprise_. In company with the brig _Rattlesnake_ she
cruised off the southern coast of the nation, where she proved so slow
that the _Rattlesnake_, although not a fast vessel, was often compelled
to sail under top-sails only, while the _Enterprise_ carried full sail.
And yet on several occasions the _Enterprise_ escaped from British
frigates, and did so once though chased for seventy hours. If anything
had been needed to confirm the old sailormen in their belief in the
luck of the _Enterprise_ this prolonged race would have done it. When
the frigate appeared and gave chase the two Yankees separated, and the
frigate chose to follow the _Enterprise_. During the three days that
the frigate thereafter followed the ill-sparred American, the wind
proved exceedingly variable and baffling, but it was without exception
baffling in each change for the British ship. Time and again she almost
overhauled the little _Enterprise_, but on each occasion the Yankee was
favored by a shift of wind, or a calm where the row-boats could tow
her, and at the last she got a breeze that placed her a long way fair
to windward of the enemy, and before the frigate’s flapping sails were
filled with it the _Enterprise_ beat fairly out of sight and escaped
altogether. It is certain that she was handled with consummate skill,
just as Hull handled the _Constitution_, but then the _Constitution_
was lucky, too.

The _Rattlesnake_ was lucky for a time after separating from the
_Enterprise_ on this occasion, but was captured by the British frigate
_Leander_ later in the war.

The _Enterprise_, having reached Charleston in safety, was there
employed as harbor guard until the end of the war.

So it happened that in spite of the risks taken by the bravest of
sea-commanders during four different wars (she was in the second
Mediterranean war), this the luckiest of ships known to the American
register, perished at last in an honored old age, worn out in the
service of the nation.

CHAPTER XVIII

GUN-BOATS NOT WHOLLY WORTHLESS

EVEN IN THE WORST VIEW OF THEM THEY ARE WORTH CONSIDERATION--THE BEST
OF THEM DESCRIBED--THE HOPES OF THOSE WHO, LIKE JEFFERSON, BELIEVED
IN THEM--REASONS FOR THEIR GENERAL WORTHLESSNESS THAT SHOULD
HAVE BEEN MANIFEST BEFORE THEY WERE BUILT--PROMOTED DRUNKENNESS
AND DEBAUCHERY--THEY PROTECTED YANKEE COMMERCE IN LONG ISLAND
SOUND--A FIGHT WITH A SQUADRON IN CHESAPEAKE BAY--WHEN THE BRAGGART
CAPTAIN PECHELL MET THE YANKEES--SAILING-MASTER SHEED’S BRAVE
DEFENCE OF “NO. 121”--COMMODORE BARNEY IN THE PATUXENT RIVER--WHEN
SAILING-MASTER TRAVIS OF THE _SURVEYOR_ MADE A GOOD FIGHT--A
WOUNDED YANKEE MIDSHIPMAN MURDERED--MEN WHO MADE FAME IN SHOAL
WATER BELOW CHARLESTON.

As has been mentioned incidentally a number of times in the course
of this history the Americans had, when war was declared to exist in
1812, a very large number of gun-boats--the quills, so to speak, of
the great American heraldic porcupine (_Erethizon Dorsatus dormant_).
Because in the days before the War of 1812 gun-boats--harbor-defence
vessels--constituted in the eyes of the majority of American
legislators the ideal navy for the American nation, it is worth
telling at some length just what these gun-boats were and what they
accomplished in the way of compelling the world to respect the American
flag. They are farther worth consideration because in these last days
of the nineteenth century a very great number of people in the nation
believe that if an enemy’s battle-ship should dare to threaten the
American metropolis, the courageous tugboat-men of the harbor would
arm their little vessels with torpedoes and, swarming down to Sandy
Hook, surround the audacious armor-clad, and by sheer force of numbers
run in and explode their dynamite where it would fill the enemy with
dismay, and his hull with water. Indeed, a noted orator has proposed
this kind of a defence before a rapturously applauding audience in the
metropolis, and some millions of his fellow-citizens read his words in
the next morning’s papers and, in their minds, patted themselves and
him approvingly upon the back as they did so.

The gun-boat of 1812, when built on the most approved plans, was fifty
feet long, eighteen feet wide, and four feet deep from deck-beams to
the top of the keel, but of the two hundred and fifty-seven of these
boats found in the harbors of the United States in June, 1812, nearly
all were but ten instead of eighteen feet wide. Each boat was provided
with two masts and schooner sails, and with from twenty to thirty long
oars, called sweeps. The crew of each varied from twenty to fifty, all
told, and each (that is of the best) was armed with a long thirty-two
pounder, the most efficient cannon of that day, which was mounted on
a circle so that it could be pointed to any part of the horizon. The
majority of the boats, however, were much smaller and carried smaller
guns.

The arguments in favor of these vessels as stated by the friends of the
system were as follows:

Frigates draw so much water and need so much sea-room for all manœuvres
that they are utterly helpless in the shoal waters of the American
harbors, while the gun-boats are moveable batteries, capable of going
anywhere in any harbor that has three feet of water in it.

The gun of the gun-boat was as efficient as any of the best guns of the
largest ship afloat, so forty gun-boats would have among them a more
efficient battery than the _Constitution_, or any other frigate afloat.

In a contest between forty gun-boats and a frigate, the boats would
have the broadside of the ship--say 1,500 to 2,000 square feet of
surface--for a target, but the boats would fight her end on, and so
each would present to her a target but ten feet wide (at most eighteen
feet wide) and but two feet out of water.

The gun-boats would be scattered around the frigate and so the gunners
would have to aim at the little targets separately.

The gun on the boat being low down near the water, had a better chance
of hitting the frigate (and at the water-line) than a high gun had of
hitting a low target.

[Illustration: Old-time Naval Gunnery.

_From a wood-cut._]

If a shot fired at the hull of a frigate happened to fly too high it
might still seriously injure the rigging and spars, but if a shot was
fired at the gun-boat and bounded over the hull it would do no damage
because the spars of the gun-boat were not for use in time of battle.

If a frigate lost her masts or her rudder she was helpless, but a
gun-boat, having many oars, could surely be managed as long as she
floated.

The gun-boats were cheap to build--seventy-five of them cost no more
than one good frigate, or say $4,000 each.

On the whole the building of gun-boats certainly was a plausible scheme
in the eyes of a landsman, especially as the first argument--as to the
depth of water and sea-room required for a frigate--was unanswerable.
But when the men who knew the sea looked upon the plan it made them
sick at heart. The mere idea of proposing to protect the lives and
liberties of the people of the nation from foreign aggression by
inviting the enemy to come into our harbors to fight, was enough to
make any patriot sick at heart. But that was only one point against the
system.

Considering the physical qualities of the supposed combatants, when
forty boats attacked a frigate the ship did, indeed, show a broadside
of 2,000 square feet, while the gun-boat was only ten feet wide and two
feet high out of water. Even at that the aggregate length of water-line
of all the boats when standing precisely end on to the frigate was four
hundred feet. But the boats could not and never did remain end on.
They had to fire over one bow or the other, so the target that each
presented was much more than ten feet wide and two high, and, what was
worse, the gunners of the high-decked frigate could look down on the
deck of the gun-boat.

Then the men on the gun-boats had to fight out on an open deck, as did
Perry’s men on Lake Erie, while those of a frigate fought behind thick
timber bulwarks. And because the gun-boats were built with thin plank,
a single shot could sink one, as happened to the sloop in the first
fight on Lake Champlain, during this war, while a frigate could still
float, as the brig _Boxer_ did after it had received many shot below
the water-line in the fight with the _Enterprise_.

More important still was the fact that even the best (widest) gun-boats
needed absolutely still water when making a fight--the swell of an
ordinary windy day in the lower bay of New York proved enough to
destroy their efficiency, while the narrow boats rolled so under the
recoil of their own guns even in smooth water that the crews had to
wait, after each discharge, for the rolling to cease before firing
again.

And then as to the cost, while it was perhaps true that the price of a
frigate would have built seventy-five boats, a frigate required a crew
of but four hundred or four hundred and fifty men, while a flotilla of
the forty boats needed to match a frigate required, on the whole, 2,000
men, including three commissioned officers to each boat. Besides, forty
gun-boats were never got together in a fleet to attack a frigate.

To all of this must be added the difficulty of finding forty gun-boat
captains who would act together in battle, and the trouble in caring
for the wounded when a ship had but four feet of head-room below its
deck, and the wretched quarters there afforded to the men who had to
man the boats.

And if there was lack of concert among the captains of the flotillas
in battle, there was a worse lack of discipline on the vessels at all
times. Captain Jacob Lewis, previously of the privateer _Bunker Hill_,
was made Commodore of the fleet in New York Harbor. He was as efficient
as any man of his experience could be, but his boats were manned by
river boatmen; men who, though afraid to go to sea, were yet anxious
to get the bounty and the good pay offered to naval seamen--waifs from
the streets of the metropolis. “The temptations to insubordination and
vice were much greater” in the gun-boats than in any other service. In
short, there was every opportunity for drunkenness and the lowest forms
of debauchery.

Nevertheless, in spite of the disreputable character of the gun-boat
service as a whole, some few of the boats did actually burn gunpowder
to the honor of the flag, and in some respects they were valuable, even
though they did not fire their big guns once.

For instance, there were several flotillas of them along the coast
from Newport, where Perry was in command early in the war, through
Long Island Sound to New York. These were kept travelling to and fro
convoying the coasting merchantmen, who were thus protected from
British privateers and, at times, even from frigates, as well as
from the attacks of British naval seamen in the small boats of the
blockading squadrons. Moreover, the knowledge that a fleet of boats
carrying a large gun each lay within a harbor, naturally kept the
British from bringing their big ships, which needed plenty of sea-room
for manœuvres, inside.

But the first encounter between gun-boats and a frigate demonstrated
the inefficiency of the boats. On June 20, 1813, the British frigates
_Junon_ and _Barossa_, with the sloop _Laurestinus_, were becalmed
in Hampton Roads. Seeing them helpless, Captain Tarbell, with a
fleet of gun-boats, rowed out to attack them. The bay was smooth,
and every condition favored the Yankee boats, but instead of having
forty gun-boats to attack one frigate, as the gun-boat theory had
proposed, Captain Tarbell had but fifteen. However, on arriving within
long range (he did not dare try short range because grape-shot would
sink a gun-boat), he anchored his fleet in the form of a crescent
around the _Junon_. But no sooner did he come to anchor than the
boats swung around with the tide, and he could not fire a gun at the
frigate without shooting away his own masts; so he up anchor again, and
swinging around almost broadside on to the frigate with his sweeps,
began blazing away. The first shot made some of his men wish they
hadn’t fired it, and the reason they wished so can be made plain even
to a landsman. The boats, as told, were perhaps fifteen feet wide. The
cannon each carried was a long thirty-two pounder. This gun was nine
feet long, weighed five thousand pounds, and was mounted amidships,
with its centre of gravity directly above the boat’s keel. In that
position, even when it was swung around to fire over either rail, it
did not materially interfere with the stability of the boat if the
water was smooth. But the instant it was fired it had to recoil and the
whole two and a half tons of iron was hurled with a tremendous thump
toward the rail of the boat, and over rolled the boat under the weight
and shock of the recoil until “all hands thought she was done for sure
enough.”

However, although the danger was imminent, no boat did actually turn
over in this fight. But the rolling that was started kept the crew busy
with the sweeps for several minutes before another shot could be fired.

Feeble as was the attack, Captain Sanders, of the _Junon_, made a
very hasty and ill-directed fire in return, and with the first breath
of wind strove to sail clear of the gun-boats. But Captain Sheriff, of
the _Barossa_, as soon as he had steerage way, stood for the gun-boats,
and by a well-directed fire soon disabled one and struck another, when
Captain Tarbell thought best to retreat.

The Americans lost one man killed and two wounded. No losses were
reported on the British ships, and it is certain that no material
damage was done to them, for the _Junon_ was in Delaware Bay a few days
later taking part in another fight with gun-boats.

The only American who at all distinguished himself in this fight was
Lieutenant William Bradford Shubrick, who was in the _Hornet_ when she
sank the _Peacock_. He commanded the gun-boat that approached nearest
to the enemy, covered the retreat of the flotilla, and towed off the
disabled boat, so saving it from capture. But he had had enough of
gun-boat service, and as soon as possible got himself transferred to
the _Constitution_, where he had a chance to see fighting of some
consequence.

Meantime, however, he participated in a fight on shore against a
landing party of British seamen, marines, and soldiers that ended in
one of the most brilliant victories for the Americans known to the
war--the victory of Craney’s Island, near Norfolk. This island had been
fortified with a battery of eighteen-pounders, but was not ordinarily
occupied by troops. It was merely a battery to be manned for the
defence of Norfolk, whenever occasion demanded.

The occasion arose when, on June 22, 1813, three British
seventy-four-gun ships-of-the-line, one sixty-four-gun ship, four
frigates, two sloops, and three transports anchored off the island,
and prepared to take possession. At that time the American frigate
_Constellation_ was blockaded at Norfolk (where she had been from
the first), and her commander, Captain John Cassin, sent one hundred
and fifty sailors and marines under Lieutenant H. B. Breckenridge to
defend the fort. Lieutenants Neale, Shubrick, and Sanders were under
Breckenridge. To whelm this tiny force the British came with seven
hundred (James says seven hundred, so there were probably more) men in
fifteen boats, the leader of the boats being a launch fifty feet long,
called the _Centipede_, which was in charge of Captain Hanchett, of the
_Diadem_, an illegitimate son of King George IV. The whole expedition
was under the command of Captain Samuel John Pechell, the braggart who,
in the _Guerrière_, painted her name on her foretop-sail, and then
cruised up and down the Yankee coast, and finally took John Deguyo, an
American citizen, from the American brig _Spitfire_ when she was within
the waters of New York Harbor on May 1, 1811.

[Illustration: _From a lithograph at the Navy Department, Washington._]

Captain Pechell had asserted his contempt for the American people when
in the _Guerrière_, still he was willing that Captain Hanchett should
command the first boat to attempt the landing at Craney’s Island. And
that was unfortunate, too, for it was Hanchett who got hurt.

The enemy came on with the customary dash of British landing parties,
but the Americans held their fire until the boats were within seventy
yards, and then the well-charged battery was turned loose. At the first
blast a round shot raked the _Centipede_, cutting off the legs of
several of the men at the oars, severely bruising the thigh of Captain
Hanchett, and sinking the boat. Two other big boats were sunk at the
same round, and two more a moment later, but it was so shallow there
that the thwarts of three of them were left above the water when they
struck bottom. The crews leaped overboard, splashing their way to the
other boats, and leaving behind dozens struggling in the throes of
death and with the agony of lesser wounds. Seeing the advance checked,
a party of the Americans, under Midshipman Josiah Tattnall, waded out
among the boats, cutlasses in hand. When he saw Tattnall coming Captain
Samuel John Pechell had had enough. He ordered a retreat, and led the
way to safety. His hosts followed in disorder, leaving forty prisoners
in the hands of the brave Tattnall, who was also able to drag three of
the boats ashore.

The comment which the British favorite historian makes on this
inglorious retreat of seven hundred men before one hundred and fifty
is the only one in his work whose meaning is not entirely clear. He
says it was “A defeat as discreditable to those who caused it as it
was honorable to those who suffered it. Unlike most other nations, the
Americans in particular, the British, when engaged in expeditions of
this nature, always rest their hopes of success upon valor rather than
on numbers.” What one would really like to know is whether James was
writing sarcastically about the manifest cowardice of Pechell, or was
he really of the belief that the Americans in this affair had failed
to show a proper spirit. For, of course, under an ordinary British
officer, not to mention a Chads or a Hope, the seven hundred British
would have whelmed the one hundred and fifty Americans, in spite of the
slender fortification.

As said, the British frigate _Junon_ got around to the Delaware
not long after her brush with the gun-boats in the Chesapeake. The
sixteen-gun sloop-of-war _Martin_ was with her, and the _Martin_
grounded on Crow’s Shoal. At that the _Junon_ anchored near the
_Martin_, and then came Lieutenant Samuel Angus with eight American
gun-boats carrying a thirty-two each and two larger vessels
(one-masted) to attack the _Martin_. The Americans were able to
accomplish nothing of consequence in their great gun attack, because
their powder was worthless. The British shot passed over them when
their shot fell short. Still, the truth is, the gun-boats were so
frail that the crews never had the heart to make a really vigorous
attack on a frigate. But when one of this flotilla happened to drift
clear of the rest and the British sent their ships’ boats to attack
it, the Yankees made a fight that any nation might be proud of. This
unfortunate gun-boat did not even have a name. It was “No. 121.” It
was commanded by Sailing-master William W. Sheed, and there was a crew
of twenty-five all told and one long thirty-two. The British force
numbered one hundred and forty men in seven boats, several of which
carried howitzers, under Lieutenant Philip Westphal. Sheed anchored his
craft, and as the boats approached opened fire with his big gun. The
first shot broke the carriage pintle, and the next ruined the carriage;
so the gun became useless. Nevertheless Sheed rallied his little crew
with small arms and fought the enemy until overpowered by sheer weight
of numbers. But before they were overpowered they killed seven of the
one hundred and forty British, and wounded thirteen. The Americans
had seven men wounded. Of like character was the defence which
Sailing-master Paine made with Gun-boat 160 in St. Andrew’s Sound,
near Savannah, when a tender and ten boats, loaded with men and small
cannon, attacked him. Paine had but sixteen men to resist nearly two
hundred, but he fought them off for twenty minutes and only surrendered
when the enemy at last thronged his deck. Paine was promoted for his
gallantry.

Captain Joshua Barney, who made himself famous first by thrashing
the British cruiser _General Monk_ with a very inferior force in
the Pennsylvania State cruiser _Hyder Ali_, during the war of the
Revolution, and who, in the early part of the War of 1812, made a
two-million dollar cruise against British commerce in a Baltimore
clipper, took command of a fleet of gun-boats in Chesapeake Bay in
1813. But nothing of consequence occurred under his command until June,
1814. Then on June 1st he went in chase of two British schooners, and
was fast overhauling them by the aid of long oars when a stiff breeze
came up from the south and the sea rose so that the gun-boats were
useless and he had to retreat. At that the schooners turned on him, but
he made such a good fight in spite of the sea, that the schooners were
glad to abandon the fight.

[Illustration: Joshua Barney.

_From an engraving of the painting by Chappel._]

On June 7th came a sloop-of-war and a razee to reinforce the enemy. The
razee is a style of ship of particular interest to Americans, because
it became a favorite with the British in the War of 1812. A razee was
a line-of-battle ship with her upper deck cut off. This reduced the
number of her guns to about sixty, or perhaps a few less, but the guns
left on her were of the heavy kind--long twenty-fours and thirty-twos.
The razee became a frigate--_i.e._, a two-deck ship--but with a
thickness of timbers and a weight of metal far greater than what the
Yankee frigates carried--the “bunches of pine boards” and “the waggons”
whose architecture and weight of metal had so amused British writers
before the war. Moreover, the razee, having been lightened by removing
the upper deck of guns, was said to be a very fast ship.

On the arrival of this addition to the British squadron in the
Chesapeake, Captain Barney had his gun-boats in the Patuxent River,
a branch of the Potomac. On the morning of June 8, 1814, a British
frigate, a brig, two schooners, and fifteen barges were seen coming up
the river looking for the Yankees. Captain Barney retreated two miles
in order to get into water where the frigate could not follow, and
then, at the mouth of St. Leonard’s Creek, anchored his boats in a line
across the river.

By 8 o’clock the enemy had arrived at the head of navigation for his
largest vessels, and having anchored there, the British barges, fifteen
in number, came up to attack Captain Barney. They had placed their
largest barge at the head of their line and armed her with iron-headed
rockets, which at one time were in great favor with the British. But
when Barney put his men into thirteen barges and started down the
river, the British thought best to retreat. A second attempt in the
afternoon was abandoned under like circumstances, but on the 9th they
really burned gunpowder.

“Twenty-one barges, one rocket boat, and two schooners, each mounting
two thirty-two-pounders, with 800 men, entered the creek with colors
flying, and music sounding its animating strains, and moved on with
the proud confidence of superiority. Barney’s force consisted of
thirteen barges, and 500 men--his sloop and two gun-vessels being left
at anchor above him, as unmanageable in the shoal water--but he did
not hesitate a moment to accept the challenge offered, and gave the
signal to meet the enemy, as soon as they had entered the creek. They
commenced the attack with their schooners and rockets, and in a few
minutes every boat was engaged; the Commodore in his barge with twenty
men, and his son, Major William B. Barney--who, in a small boat, acted
as his aid on the occasion--were seen rowing about everywhere in the
most exposed situations, giving the necessary orders to the flotilla;
the action was kept up for some time with equal vigor and gallantry,
but at length the enemy, struck with sudden confusion, began to give
way, and turning their prows, exerted all their force to regain the
covering ships. They were pursued to the mouth of the creek by the
flotilla with all the eagerness of assured victory; but here lay the
schooner of eighteen guns, beyond which it was impossible to pass
without first silencing her battery, and for this purpose the whole
fire of the flotilla was directed at her. She made an attempt to get
out of the creek, and succeeded so far as to gain the protection of
the frigate and sloop-of-war, but so cut to pieces, that, to prevent
her sinking, she was run aground and abandoned. The two larger vessels
now opened a tremendous fire upon our gallant little flotilla, during
which they threw not less than seven hundred shot, but without doing
much injury. The flying barges of the enemy having thus succeeded in
recovering their safe position under the heavy batteries of the ships,
the flotilla was drawn off, and returned to its former station up the
creek.

“That the enemy suffered severely in this engagement was too manifest
to be denied, even if their own subsequent conduct had not clearly
proved the fact. Several of their boats were entirely cut to pieces,
and both schooners were so damaged as to render them unserviceable
during the remainder of the blockade--they had a number of men killed,
and we have learned from an eye-witness of the fact, that the hospital
rooms of the flag-ship, were long afterward crowded with the wounded
in this engagement. On the part of the flotilla, not a man was
lost--one of the barges was sunk by a shot from the enemy, but she was
taken up again on the very day of the action, and two days afterward
was as ready as ever for service.

“On the first day of these repeated attacks, an incident occurred
which is well worthy of being recorded. One of the enemy’s rockets
fell on board one of our barges, and, after passing through one of the
men, set the barge on fire--a barrel of powder, and another of musket
cartridges, caught fire and exploded, by which several of the men were
blown into the water, and one man very severely burned, his face,
hands, and every uncovered part of his body, being perfectly crisped.
The magazines were both on fire, and the commander of the boat, with
his officers and crew, believing that she must inevitably blow up,
abandoned her, and sought safety among the other barges. At this moment
Major Barney, who commanded the cutter _Scorpion_, and whose activity
and intrepidity as aid to the Commodore in the last day’s action we
have already noticed, hailed his father and asked his permission to
take charge of the burning boat. The Commodore had already ordered
an officer upon that duty, but as his son volunteered to perform it,
he recalled his order and gave him the permission solicited. Major
Barney immediately put himself on board, and by dint of active labor
in bailing water into the boat and rocking her constantly from side to
side, he very soon succeeded in putting out the fire and saving the
boat.

“After the severe chastisement inflicted upon them for their last
attempt, the enemy made no farther effort to disturb the tranquillity
of the flotilla, but contented themselves with converting the siege
into a blockade, by mooring in the mouth of the creek, where they were
soon reinforced by another frigate. Having come to this resolution,
they turned their attention to the plunder of the surrounding country,
in which frequent experience had given them expertness. Tobacco,
slaves, farm-stock of all kinds, and household furniture, became the
objects of their daily enterprises, and possession of them in large
quantities was the reward of their achievements. What they could
not conveniently carry away, they destroyed by burning. Unarmed,
unoffending citizens were taken from their very beds--sometimes with
beds and all--and carried on board their ships, from which many of them
were not released until the close of the war.

“In this state of things, the Secretary of the Navy despatched a
hundred marines, under the command of Captain Samuel Miller, with three
pieces of cannon, to the assistance of Commodore Barney. The Secretary
of War also sent Colonel Wadsworth, with two pieces of heavy artillery,
and ordered about 600 of the regular troops to be marched to St.
Leonard’s Creek for the same purpose. The militia of Calvert County had
been already called out, but like most other troops of that class, they
were to be seen everywhere but just where they were wanted--whenever
the enemy appeared they disappeared; and their commander was never able
to bring them into action.

“Upon the arrival of Colonel Wadsworth, on June 24th, a consultation
was held between him and the Commodore, to which Captain Miller of the
Marines was invited; it was decided by these officers, that a battery
and furnace should be erected on the commanding height near the mouth
of the creek, upon which the colonel’s two eighteen-pounders should
be placed, and that, on the 26th before daylight, a simultaneous
attack should be made by the flotilla and battery upon the blockading
ships. The Commodore placed one of his best officers, Mr. Groghegan (a
sailing-master), and twenty picked men, under the command of Colonel
Wadsworth, for the purpose of working his two guns.

[Illustration: MAP OF CHESAPEAKE BAY, to Illustrate the Taking of
WASHINGTON by the British, August 14, 1814.]

“On the evening of the 25th, after dark, the Commodore moved with
his flotilla down the creek, and at early dawn of the 26th they were
gratified and cheered by the sound of the guns from the opening
battery on the height. The barges now seemed to fly under the rapid
strokes of the oar, and in a few minutes reached the mouth of the
creek, where they assumed the line of battle, and opened fire upon the
moored ships. Their position was eminently critical and hazardous,
but this in the view of the gallant souls on board only rendered it
the more honorable. They were within four hundred yards of the enemy;
and the mouth of the creek was so narrow as to admit no more than
eight barges abreast. The men were wholly unprotected by any species
of bulwark, and the grape- and canister-shot of the enemy, which were
poured upon them in ceaseless showers, kept the water around them in
a continual foam. It was a scene to appall the inexperienced and the
faint-hearted; but there were few of these among the daring spirits of
the flotilla. In this situation, the firing was kept up on all sides
for nearly an hour. The Commodore was then surprised and mortified to
observe that not a single shot from the battery fell with assisting
effect, and that the whole fire of the enemy was directed against his
boats. Shortly afterward the battery, from which so much had been
expected, became silent altogether, and the barges were hauled off
as a matter of consequent necessity. Three of our barges, under the
respective commands of Sailing-masters Worthington, Kiddall, and
Sellars, suffered very much in the action, and ten of their men were
killed and wounded.

“A few minutes after the flotilla had retired, it was perceived that
the enemy’s frigates were in motion, and in a little time the whole
blockading squadron got under way and stood down the river. One of the
frigates, it was observed, had four pumps constantly at work. This
movement on the part of the enemy spoke pretty plainly their opinion
of “Barney’s flotilla;” it was very evident that they had seen quite
as much of him as they desired to see. The way being thus unexpectedly
opened to him, the Commodore immediately left the creek, and moved up
the Patuxent River.

“On the night after the engagement the flotilla was anchored opposite
the town of Benedict, on the Patuxent. As they were moving up the
river, Captain Miller of the Marines went on board the Commodore’s
boat, and gave him the first information he had received from the
ineffective battery. It appears that Mr. Groghegan, on the evening
of the 25th, waited upon Colonel Wadsworth, to receive instructions
as to the place where the two guns were to be stationed; the colonel
replied to his inquiry in these words: “As you are to command and
fight them, place them where you please!” The officer immediately
set to work with his men, and began to construct his battery on the
summit of the hill which completely commanded the ships. He continued
at work all night and had nearly finished his platform when, about
1 A.M., Colonel Wadsworth came upon the ground, and after examining
the work, declared “that his guns should not be put there--that they
would be too much exposed to the enemy!” Having given this as his only
argument, he ordered a platform to be made in the rear of the summit.
As there could be no disputing his orders, he was obeyed, of course,
and the consequence was, that the guns, being placed on the declivity,
must either be fired directly into the hill, or be elevated, after the
manner of bombs, so high in the air as to preclude the possibility of
all aim, and rendered them utterly useless. At the very first fire,
the guns recoiled half way down the hill, and in this situation they
continued to be fired in the air, at random, until the colonel gave
orders to have them spiked and abandoned.”

[Illustration: The Flag of Fort McHenry--After the British Attack in
1814.

_From a photograph at the Naval Academy, Annapolis._]

The above quotations are from Mary Barney’s “Memoir of Commodore
Barney.” The British were driven away for the time, but they returned
in August, having determined to attack the American capital. Under
orders from Washington Captain Barney burned his fleet, and with his
men, some four hundred in number, joined the army assembled to defend
the capital. They made the best fight of any body of men there when
the final fight came, and Barney received a wound from which he never
fully recovered, although he lived several years longer. The new
forty-four-gun frigate _Columbia_ and the sloop-of-war _Argus_ were
burned on the stocks when Washington was taken by the British, besides
the old condemned _Boston_ and a lot of ship timber and naval stores.
This was, of course, an entirely legitimate destruction. Had the
gun-boats been one-half as efficient as their advocates supposed they
were, Washington would not have been captured.

[Illustration: The Capture of Washington.

_From an old wood-cut._]

A small-boat fight well worth a paragraph occurred on June 12, 1813,
in Chesapeake waters, when all the boats of the British frigate
_Narcissus_ were sent, under Lieutenant Cririe, to attack the little
United States schooner _Surveyor_, commanded by Sailing master William
S. Travis, who had but fifteen men and boys, all told, under him. The
_Surveyor_ was lying in York River at the time. The attack was made at
night, and the guns of the schooner were useless, because the enemy
came at her from points where broadside guns could not be made to
bear. Nevertheless, Mr. Travis defended his ship, holding his fire of
small-arms until the British were within a few yards. The one discharge
killed three of the enemy and wounded seven, a remarkably deadly fire
for night-work--but the British host came on, and before the American
weapons could be reloaded, the weight of numbers overpowered the
gallant little crew. Lieutenant Cririe was so impressed by the bearing
of the Americans that he returned the sword of Travis with a highly
complimentary letter.

A very interesting fight was made by the Mosquito fleet on July 14,
1813. The American schooners _Scorpion_ and _Asp_, of the Chesapeake
Bay defence fleet, each armed with three small guns, were chased by a
flotilla of boats from the British blockading squadron. The _Scorpion_
was fleet-winged and escaped up the bay, but the _Asp_ was too slow for
that, and took refuge in Yeocomico River. The British followed and
were beaten off, but they returned in fire-boats with about one hundred
men, and, enraged at this first failure, gave no quarter. The _Asp_
was commanded by Midshipman Sigourney. He was shot through the body at
the first attack, but remained on deck in a sitting posture to inspire
his men when the enemy returned. And when the enemy had killed or
driven overboard all the Americans except Sigourney, a British marine
deliberately put his musket to Sigourney’s head and fired, blowing his
brains out. Sigourney had served under Lawrence in the _Hornet_ when
she sank the _Peacock_, but it is unlikely that the Englishman knew
this fact. After setting fire to the _Asp_, the British went away,
and then the Americans returned on board and extinguished the fire
unmolested.

It is worth noting that on a considerable number of occasions during
this war the Englishmen gave no quarter--it is worth noting as showing
how greatly they were exasperated by their numerous defeats afloat.
Indeed, after Barney’s attack on the _Loire_ and _Narcissus_, British
sailors (who were, it must be remembered, commanded by Admiral Sir
George Cockburn), in their landing parties, not only robbed the
defenceless citizens, but assaulted the women who happened to fall
into their hands. And when they captured Washington, they not only
destroyed such property as might be destroyed legitimately, but they
repeated the universally execrated crime of Alexandria--they repeated
the crime of which the fanatical priests of Spain were guilty among
the civilized people of Yucatan--they deliberately burned the national
library. The Knighted Admiral with his own hands took part in this work
of destruction. Allen honors this British officer with a full-page
engraving, in his history of the British Navy, only fifteen others
being so distinguished in Volume II. of that work.

This is a chapter of small-boat fights, and it is of particular
interest to Americans because of the great courage and good fighting
ability usually displayed by the Yankee crews. The little schooner
_Alligator_ was one that made a good name. Under Sailing-master
Bassett, when lying at Cole’s Island, near Charleston, she was attacked
at night by six boats loaded with small cannon and seamen. She had
but forty men on board, but after a half hour’s fight they drove away
the enemy. The British did not report their loss, but one may get an
idea of their disorder when they fled, from the fact that one of the
attacking cutters was found aground on North Edisto next day, badly
cut up, and with the bodies of an officer and a common seaman lying
dead nearby. The others had been too much demoralized to care for the
wounded, and these two, after the boat drifted ashore, had left it,
vainly seeking help, and had died together.

Last of all will be told the story of Sailing-master Lawrence Kearny’s
attack on the men of the British frigate _Hebrus_, near Charleston. The
_Hebrus_ had sent a lot of men and boats ashore for water, and they had
landed out of gunshot from their frigate. So Kearny, with three barges,
went after the water-party. The Americans were seen afloat from the
_Hebrus_, and signals were at once set and guns fired to recall the
water-party. Two boats of that party got outside clear, but a shift
of wind enabled the Americans to get between the frigate and a large
tender that had been of the water-party.

At that the _Hebrus_ opened fire on the American barges and signalled
her two water-boats to return to the aid of the tender. And when her
water-boats failed to obey these signals she opened fire on them as
well. So near was the frigate at this time that a shot took off the
head of a man sitting beside Kearny, but he held fast on his course and
captured the tender (a schooner, armed with a carronade and six brass
swivels), the big launch of the _Hebrus_ and forty men, all of which
were carried off from under the guns of the enraged Englishman. Nor was
that all, for a few days later Kearny manned the captured launch with
twenty-five men, and rowing out alongside the tender (a schooner) of
the British ship _Severn_, he boarded her in spite of the resistance of
her crew of more than thirty men, and succeeded in taking her and her
crew into port also. “Handsomer exploits of the sort were not performed
in the war.”

And the story of the gun-boats is not completed, as will appear in the
account of the Navy’s part in the battle of New Orleans.

END OF VOL. II.

APPENDIX TO VOLUME II

PRIZE MONEY AND PAY IN 1812.

The act of April 22, 1800, provided for the distribution of prize money
in the sections given below, and it was under this law that the crews
of the American ships were paid in the War of 1812.

_Sec. 6. And be it enacted_, That the prize money, belonging to the
officers and men, shall be distributed in the following manner:

I. To the commanding officers of fleets, squadrons, or single ships,
three twentieths, of which the commanding officer of the fleet or
squadron shall have one twentieth, if the prize be taken by a ship or
vessel acting under his command, and the commander of single ships, two
twentieths; but where the prize is taken by a ship acting independently
of such superior officer, three twentieths shall belong to her
commander.

II. To sea lieutenants, captains of marines, and sailing masters, two
twentieths; but where there is a captain, without a lieutenant of
marines, these officers shall be entitled to two twentieths and one
third of a twentieth, which third, in such case, shall be deducted from
the share of the officers mentioned in article No. 3 of this section.

III. To chaplains, lieutenants of marines, surgeons, pursers,
boatswains, gunners, carpenters, and master’s mates, two-twentieths.

IV. To midshipmen, surgeon’s mates, captain’s clerks, schoolmasters,
boatswain’s mates, gunner’s mates, carpenter’s mates, ship’s stewards,
sailmakers, masters-at-arms, armourers, cockswains, and coopers, three
twentieths and an half.

V. To gunner’s yeomen, boatswain’s yeomen, quarter masters, quarter
gunners, sailmaker’s mates, serjeants and corporals of marines,
drummers, fifers, and extra petty officers, two twentieths and an half.

VI. To seamen, ordinary seamen, marines, and all other persons doing
duty on board, seven twentieths.

VII. Whenever one or more public ships or vessels are in sight, at the
time any one or more ships are taking a prize or prizes, they shall
share equally in the prize or prizes, according to the number of men
and guns on board each ship in sight.

No commander of a fleet or squadron shall be entitled to receive any
share of prizes taken by vessels not under his immediate command; nor
of such prizes as may have been taken by ships or vessels intended to
be placed under his command, before they have acted under his immediate
orders; nor shall a commander of a fleet or squadron, leaving the
station where he had the command, have any share in the prizes taken by
ships left on such station, after he has gone out of the limits of his
command.

_Sec. 7. And be it further enacted_, That a bounty shall be paid by the
United States, of twenty dollars, for each person on board any ship
of an enemy at the commencement of an engagement, which shall be sunk
or destroyed by any ship or vessel belonging to the United States, of
equal or inferior force, the same to be divided among the officers and
crew in the same manner as prize money.

_Sec. 8. And be it further enacted_, That every officer, seaman or
marine, disabled in the line of his duty, shall be entitled to receive
for life, or during his disability, a pension from the United States
according to the nature and degree of his disability, not exceeding one
half his monthly pay.

No change in the pay of the officers of the navy having been made
after the year 1799, the annual amount to which each officer in actual
service was entitled during the War of 1812 was:

A captain commanding a squadron of ships $1,200
A captain of a ship of 32 guns and upwards 1,200
A captain of a ship under 32 guns 900
A master commandant 720
A lieutenant commanding 600
A lieutenant 480
A surgeon 600
A sailing master, purser, and chaplain, each 480
A surgeon’s mate 360
A boatswain, gunner, sailmaker, or carpenter 240
A midshipman 228
A seaman 144

The following is a statement of the pay in the British navy during the
War of 1812:

In the British navy an admiral of the fleet receives £6 sterling per
diem, and is entitled to twelve servants at 32_s._ per month each; an
admiral receives £5 sterling per day, and is entitled to ten servants;
a vice-admiral, £4 sterling per day, and seven servants; a rear-admiral
or commodore with a captain under him, £3 sterling per day while his
flag is flying within the limits of his station; a captain of the
fleet receives £3 sterling per day, and is entitled to three servants
at 32_s._ per month each. Making these various allowances, the annual
amount of compensation to officers of the British navy, from the
admiral of the fleet down to the commander of a sloop or bomb, is:

Admiral of the fleet $15,624
Admiral 13,831 11
Vice-admiral 11,952 88
Rear-admiral or commodore with a captain under him 10,160
Captain of the fleet 5,122 67
Captain of a 1st rate, 800 to 900 men 3,272 87
Captain of a 2d rate, 650 to 700 men 2,864
Captain of a 3d rate, 600 to 650 men 2,455 11
Captain of a 4th rate, 350 to 450 men 2,045 33
Captain of a 5th rate, 280 to 300 men 1,636 44
Captain of a 6th rate, 125 to 175 men 1,432
Captain of a sloop, 100 men or less 1,227 55

All which is exclusive of indulgences and allowances not known in our
service.

INDEX

_Abby Bradford_, merchant-ship, capture of, by the _Sumter_, iv. 412;
captured by the frigate _Powhatan_, 413.

_Abellino_, Yankee privateer, captures prizes in the Mediterranean,
iii. 343.

_Acasta_, British gun-boat, attacks the _Constitution_, iii. 260.

Acquia Creek, Potomac River, capture of Confederate forts at, iv. 66,
81–83.

_Active_, British brig, captured by the _Hazard_, i. 206.

_Adams_, American frigate, changed to a corvette, iii. 54;
Captain Charles Morris in command of, 57;
on the coast of Africa, 58;
chased by the _Tigris_, 59;
scurvy on board, 60;
runs on a rock, 61;
attacked on the Penobscot, 62;
burned, _ib._

Adams, Captain H. A., disloyal conduct of, iv. 117.

Adams, John, member of first Marine Committee, i. 36.

Adams, Samuel, and the Boston tea-party, i. 12.

_Adelaide_, Federal transport, iv. 100.

_Adeline_, American brig, recaptured from the British, ii. 74.

_Admiral Duff_, British privateer, blown up by the _Protector_, i.
207.

_Adriana_, American brigantine, Ambassador to Holland sails on, iv.
153.

_Adventure_, British ship, burned by Paul Jones, i. 78.

_Africa_, British ship-of-the-line, ii. 55.

Africa, making the coast of, safe for American traders, iii. 340–358.

_Aiken_, Southern revenue cutter, converted into the Confederate
privateer _Petrel_, iv. 93.

_Alabama_, Confederate privateer, off Galveston, iv. 357;
known as _No. 290_, 430;
Captain Semmes appointed to command, 431;
cruises off the Azores, Martinique, Galveston, Cape Town, and the
East Indies, 432–436;
encounters the _Kearsarge_ at Cherbourg, 436;
comparison of their armaments, 437;
the fight, 438–441;
prizes taken by, 447.

_Alabama_ claims, iv. 430.

_Albatross_, Federal gun-boat, passes the batteries of Port Hudson,
iv. 358.

_Albemarle_, Confederate ironclad ram, iv. 456;
laid up at Plymouth, N.C., 457;
blown up by Lieutenant Cushing, 461.

Albemarle Sound, N.C., a Confederate privateer resort, iv. 94.

_Albert Adams_, Federal merchant-ship, captured by the _Sumter_, iv.
415.

Alden, Captain James, iv. 386.

Alden, Commander James, iv. 314.

_Alert_, British corvette, surrenders to the _Essex_, ii. 42;
attempt to rescue from Porter, 43, 44.

_Alert_, British cutter, captures the _Lexington_, i. 119, 120.

Alexander, Captain Charles, i. 66.

_Alexandria_, British frigate, ii. 359.

Alexandria, Red River, Admiral Porter’s squadrons arrive at, iv. 370.

_Alfred_, American flagship, sent to France, i. 130;
captured, 132, 133.

Algerian fleet sent after Yankee merchantmen, iii. 341.

Algerian Navy, strength of the, iii. 344.

Algerian pirates encouraged by England, i. 308, 309.

Algiers, Africa, tribute paid to by the United States, iii. 339;
by England, 340.

Algiers, Dey of, ransom paid to, i. 309, 310;
treatment of Americans by, iii. 340, 341.

Algiers, harbor defences of, iii. 345.

_Allen_, American gun-boat, iii. 141.

Allen, Captain William Henry, ii. 360;
carries the American Minister to France, 361;
sails into the English Channel, _ib._;
captures a wine ship from Portugal, 362, 363;
encounters the _Pelican_, 362–364;
his ship surrendered, 367;
dies in Mill Prison Hospital, 371.

Allen, Lieutenant William Howard, takes charge of the ship, ii. 364;
continues the fight, 367;
killed in an engagement with pirates, iii. 333.

_Alliance_, American frigate, detailed to carry Lafayette home, i.
232;
fouls the _Bonhomme Richard_, 234;
takes a valuable prize, 236;
fires into the _Bonhomme Richard_, 254;
flight of Paul Jones on the, 275;
cruises on the French coast, 297;
narrow escape of, 298;
sails from Havana with specie, _ib._;
attacked by the _Sybille_, 299;
sold, 303.

_Alligator_, American tender, surrendered to the British, iii. 235.

_Alligator_, American schooner, defeats an attack at Cole’s Island,
ii. 419.

Alvarado, Mexican port, Commodore Conner attempts to take, iii. 410;
captured by Lieutenant Charles G. Hunter, 428.

Alwyn, John C., Lieutenant in the _Java_ fight, mortally wounded, ii.
166, 171, 172.

American citizens in foreign countries, iii. 385, 386.

American commerce, English policy toward, i. 306, 307, 384;
protected by Portugal, 307;
menace to, iv. 412.

American cruisers in British waters, i. 112–133.

American flag, first salute given to, i. 69;
designed, 134;
first hoisted, 135;
first saluted by a foreign power, 138;
protected by Portugal, 307;
a shield for an infamous traffic, iii. 361;
a Chinese assault on, 380.

American frontier in 1812, ii. 262.

American Navy, first existence of, i. 1;
founders of, 37;
first ships of, in commission, 39–43;
resolutions of Congress founding it, 41;
first officers and first ships of, 39–43;
origin of the, 1–47;
first cruise of the, 48–62;
first squadron poorly manned and inefficient, 49–53;
along shore in 1776, 63–83;
mismanagement in, 159;
at the time of the Declaration of Independence, 300;
building a new navy, 303;
strength of, at commencement of hostilities with France, 315;
almost extinct, 396;
reduced to a peace footing, 398;
discreditable lack of, ii. 26;
increase of, 356;
development of, from 1815 to 1859, iv. 1–9;
personnel of the, in 1859, 24–26;
number of men who took part with the Southern States, 27;
value of men from Northern ports and the Great Lakes, 36;
a nautical curiosity shop, 37;
ferryboats as naval ships, _ib._;
first great naval expedition of the War of the Rebellion, 168;
modern, sketch of, 523–554;
in 1885, condition of, 523.

American prisoners in England, i. 122;
in Tripoli, 345, 358.

American seamen, impressment of, ii. 18;
courage and skill of, 357.

American sea-power in 1812, ii. 21.

American shipping and French cruisers, i. 314.

American squadron, career of the first, i. 60.

Ammen, Captain Daniel, at Port Royal, iv. 163;
Commander of the _Patapsco_, 480.

_Amphitrite_, American pilot-boat, attacks a French privateer, ii. 34.

_Amy_, American bark, Blackford, at Rio Janeiro, iv. 548.

_Anacostia_, Federal screw steamer, at Acquia Creek, iv. 81.

Anarchy in the West Indies and along the Spanish Main, iii. 325.

_Andrea Doria_, brig of first American Navy, i. 39;
in the first naval battle of the Revolution, 58;
ordered to sea, 64;
fight with brig _Racehorse_, 68, 69;
burned, 70.

Andrews, Major W. S. G., Commander of Fort Hatteras, iv. 107.

Anglo-Saxon aggressiveness, iii. 391.

Anglo-Saxon cheer, the, ii. 308.

Angostura, Venezuela, Commodore Perry arrives at, iii. 329.

Anthracite coal used by blockade-runners, iv. 55.

Antonio, Cape, Captain Kearny of the _Enterprise_ captures pirates
near, iii. 331.

_Aquidaban_, Brazilian rebel monitor, iv. 548.

Arbuthnot, Captain James, captured by the _Wasp_, iii. 93–96.

_Arcade_, Federal merchant-ship, captured by Confederate cruiser
_Sumter_, iv. 415.

_Archer_, captured by Captain Read of the _Tacony_, iv. 424.

_Argus_, American sloop, ii. 360;
carries the American Minister to France, 361;
cruises in the English Channel, _ib._;
too successful for her safety, 362;
encounters _Pelican_, 362, 363;
her sails become unmanageable, 364;
surrenders, 367;
contemporary view of the battle, 369;
taken by a prize crew to Plymouth, 371.

_Argus_, American frigate, captures six prizes, ii. 151.

_Argus_, American cruiser, in the attack on Tripoli, i. 374.

_Ariadne_, British man-of-war, captures the _Alfred_, i. 132, 133.

_Ariel_, American schooner, ii. 292.

_Arkansas_, Confederate ram, skirmish in the Yazoo River, iv. 342,
343;
machinery gets out of order, 343;
attacks Farragut’s squadron, 344.

Arkansas Post, naval force sent to help capture, iv. 351.

_Armada_, British liner, chases the _Wasp_, iii. 92.

Armament and construction of gun-boats, iv. 246.

Armament of battle-ships from 1812 to 1859, iv. 24.

Armor-plated ships, first use of, iv. 9, 10.

Armstrong, Commodore James, surrenders Pensacola Navy Yard to
Confederates, iv. 112;
suspended for five years, 113.

Arnold, Benedict, invades Canada, i. 84;
builds a fleet, 89;
fight on Lake Champlain, 92–94;
character of, as a fighter, 105.

Arsenals established in New York State, ii. 264.

_Asp_, American ship, ii. 352.

_Atalanta_, British brig, surrenders to the _Alliance_, i. 298.

_Atalanta_, British ship, captured by the _Wasp_, iii. 100.

_Atalanta_, British frigate, ii. 16.

_Atlanta_, formerly the _Fingal_, Confederate ironclad, iv. 488;
surrenders to the _Weehawken_, 489.

_Atlanta_, United States cruiser, iv. 533.

_Atlantic_, British letter-of-marque whaler, captured by Porter, iii.
9.
See _Essex, Jr._

Audience, an intensely interested, iii. 152.

_Augusta_, Federal ship, in Port Royal squadron, iv. 172.

_Augusta_, armed merchantman, attacked by the Confederate ironclad
_Palmetto State_, iv. 474.

Aulick, Captain James, sent to Japan in 1851, iii. 443;
recalled on false charges, _ib._

_Avon_, British brig-sloop, captured by the _Wasp_ (3), iii. 93–96.

_Aylwin_, American gun-boat, iii. 141.

Bache, Lieutenant G. M., iv. 369.

Badajos, rapacity of English veterans in the streets of, iii. 134.

_Bahama_, British merchant-ship, officers and crew of the _Alabama_
taken in the, to Terceira, iv. 431.

Bahama Islands, a resort for contraband traders in the Civil War, iv.
48.

Bahia, Brazil, Captain Bainbridge paroles his prisoners at, ii. 167,
175.

Bailey, Lieutenant-colonel Joseph, saves Admiral Porter’s squadron,
iv. 371–376;
receives thanks of Congress, 376.

Bailey, Captain Theodorus, at New Orleans, iv. 316;
commands first division of Farragut’s squadron, 324;
sent ashore to deliver Farragut’s letter, 338.

Bainbridge, Captain William, i. 316;
surrenders to the French frigate _Insurgent_, _ib._;
Captain of the _Voluntaire_ refuses to accept his sword, _ib._;
deceives the French officer, 317;
sent to Tripoli in charge of the _Essex_, 335;
chases a Tripolitan corsair, 341;
loses his ship on a reef, 343;
court-martialed, 344;
a prisoner in Tripoli, 345;
communicates with American fleet, 346;
a shot penetrates his prison, 368;
remonstrates with the Navy Department of Madison’s administration,
ii. 26;
cruising in Brazil, 152;
fight with the British frigate _Java_, 153–173;
wounded, 155;
conducts his ship while his wounds are being dressed, 156;
paroles 378 of the _Java’s_ crew, 167;
blows up the _Java_, 173;
his dream realized, 172, 173;
his character illustrated, 177;
insulted at Barcelona, iii. 311–313.

Bainbridge, Midshipman Joseph, his duel with the Secretary of Sir
Alexander Ball, iii. 307–311;
captures a Carthaginian privateer, iii. 65;
attacked and captured by the _Orpheus_ and _Shelburne_, 65, 66.

Baker, Captain Thomas H., iv. 89.

Baldwin, Lieutenant, i. 66.

Ball, Sir Alexander, iii. 307.

_Ballard_, American gun-boat, iii. 141.

Ballard, Midshipman Edward J., ii. 206.

_Baltimore_, American frigate, five men of the, impressed in the
British service, 401.

Bankhead, Captain J. P., at Port Royal, iv. 163.

Banks, General Nathaniel Prentiss, sent on expedition to Shreveport,
La., iv. 368.

_Banshee_, the first steel blockade-runner, iv. 57.

Barbary pirates encouraged by England, i. 307;
war with, 333, 334.

_Barclay_, British whaler, captured by Porter, iii. 8.

Barclay, Captain Robert H., appears off Erie, ii. 289;
fond of festivities, 291;
misses the American fleet, 292;
opposes Perry, 296;
superiority of his ships, 298;
determines to meet Perry, 302;
awaits the American squadron, 306;
fires the first gun, 308;
surrenders, 324, 326;
loses a second arm in the battle, 330.

Barnard, Captain Tim, iii. 187;
captures nineteen prizes, _ib._

Barney, Captain Joshua, sketch of, i. 209–215;
has command of the clipper-schooner _Rossie_, ii. 245;
captures by, 246–248;
commands a fleet in Chesapeake Bay in 1813, 403;
attacked by the British on the Patuxent River, 403–409;
Captain Samuel Miller and Colonel Wadsworth sent to his assistance,
409, 410;
moves up the Patuxent River, 413;
burns his fleet, 414;
wounded, 416.

Barney, Major William B., acts as aid to his father, ii. 406;
in command of cutter _Scorpion_, 408.

_Barossa_, British frigate, ii. 395.

Barreaut, Captain, chases American ships, i. 316;
recalled by Captain St. Laurent, 317–319.

Barriers on the Mississippi to prevent Farragut’s advance, iv. 320;
broken down by the _Itasca_, 323.

Barron, Captain James, sent to Tripoli in charge of the _President_,
i. 335;
with Stephen Decatur, iii. 318–322;
restored to active service, 323.

Barron, Captain Samuel, sent to Tripoli in charge of the
_Philadelphia_, i. 335.

Barron, Flag Officer Samuel, captured at Fort Hatteras, iv. 106.

Barry, Captain John, i. 39;
commands American brig _Lexington_, 63;
cruises off Virginia capes, 64;
encounters British tender _Edward_, 64;
sinks the _Effingham_, 188;
captures and destroys the schooner _Alert_, 189, 190;
appointed to the _Raleigh_, _ib._;
chases the Unicorn, 191;
loses the _Raleigh_, 194.

Bashaw of Tripoli, treachery of, i. 335, 336;
refuses to make a treaty, 340;
agrees to give up prisoners, 378.

Bassett, Lieutenant F. S., opinion of Commodore Hopkins, i. 61.

Batteaux, travelling in, ii. 263.

Battle of Bunker Hill, i. 26;
Champlain, 92–111;
of Fort Pillow, iv. 298;
of Grand Gulf, 367;
of Lake Erie, ii. 309–325;
of Lexington, i. 14;
of Memphis, iv. 298–307;
of New Orleans (in the Civil War), 326–340;
of Pittsburg Landing, 284.

Baton Rouge surrenders to Captain Craven of the _Brooklyn_, iv. 340.

_Baudara de Sangare_, a private vessel, captured by the _Shark_, iii.
332.

Baury, Lieutenant Frederick, iii. 81.

Bay Point. See _Fort Beauregard_.

Bazely, Lieutenant John, captures the _Lexington_, i. 119, 120.

_Beagle_, American ship, captures Cape Cruz, iii. 334.

_Beaufort_, Confederate gun-boat, takes crew off the _Congress_ after
she surrenders to the _Merrimac_, iv. 208.

_Beauregard_, Confederate ram, attacks the _Queen of the West_ at
Fort Pillow, iv. 301;
rammed and sunk by the _Monarch_, 302.

Bell, Henry H., iv. 314.

Belligerent ships, rules and orders regarding, issued by British
Government, iv. 411.

Belligerents, rights of, iv. 86.

Belmont, on the Mississippi, battle at, iv. 251;
the Confederates compel Grant to retreat, 252.

_Belvidera_, British frigate, encounters the _President_, ii. 29;
escapes, 32.

_Ben. Dunning_, Federal merchant-ship, captured by Confederate
cruiser _Sumter_, iv. 415.

Benham, Admiral A. E. K.,
prompt action of, at Rio Janeiro, iv. 548.

Bentham, Commander George, attacks the _General Armstrong_ in the
harbor of Fayal, iii. 187–199;
sets fire to the _Armstrong_, 200.

_Benton_ snag-boat, converted by Eads into an armored vessel, iv.
246–249.

_Benton_, Porter’s flagship before Vicksburg, iv. 363.

_Benton_, Federal gun-boat, Lieutenant-commander J. A. Greer, iv. 369.

_Berceau_, French frigate, fights with the _Boston_, i. 328;
returned to France, 330.

Beresford, Captain John Poer, recaptures the _Frolic_ from the
_Wasp_, ii. 118.

Berkeley, British minister at Washington, recalled and promoted, ii.
2.

Bermudas a basis for contraband trade during the Civil War, iv. 48.

_Betsey_, British bark, captured by Captain Alexander, i. 66.

Biddle, Captain Nicholas, i. 64;
commands the _Randolph_, 160;
attacks the _Yarmouth_, 162.

Biddle, James, Lieutenant on the _Wasp_ (No. 2), ii. 111;
leads the boarders, _ib._;
hauls down the flag of the _Frolic_, 112;
appointed to command the _Hornet_, iii. 272;
commands the _Macedonian_, 331;
sent to the Pacific Coast, 401;
sent to Japan to negotiate a treaty of peace, 440.

_Bienville_, Federal ship, in Port Royal squadron, iv. 172.

_Black Hawk_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 369.

_Black Prince_, purchased by Naval Committee, i. 39.

Black Rock, near Buffalo, Lieutenant Elliott establishes a navy yard
at, ii. 273.

_Black Snake_, British gun-boat, iii. 126.

Blake, Captain H. C., iv. 432.

Blakely, Master-commandant Johnston, ii. 375;
fights with the _Reindeer_ and the _Avon_, iii. 85–96;
captures the _Atalanta_, 100;
lost with his ship, 103.

Blockade-runner, legal status of, iv. 57, 58.

Blockade-runners, chiefly in the hands of the British, iv. 48;
reckless loading of, 61;
profits of, 63, 64.

Blockading the Southern ports, iv. 28–30;
no force available to blockade at the beginning of the war, 32;
lack of ships and men, 34;
Congress slow to appreciate the need of a navy, 35.

“Blood is thicker than water,” iii. 381, 382.

Blythe, Captain Samuel, attacks the _Enterprise_, ii. 375;
killed, 379;
buried at Portland, 385.

Board of Admiralty, i. 158.

Boggs, Commander Charles S., iv. 314.

_Bolton_, American bomb-brig, i. 56.

_Bonhomme Richard_, American ship, i. 227;
origin of the name, 228;
fitted out by Jones, 229;
mixed crew of, 230;
Richard Dale as master’s mate on, _ib._;
the _Alliance_ runs foul of, 234;
accident to, 235;
meets the _Serapis_, 243;
fight with the _Serapis_, 245–259;
comparative strength of the two ships, 265;
after the surrender, 269–272;
sinking of the ship, 272.

_Bonita_, American schooner, in attack on Alvarado, iii. 410.

_Bonne Citoyenne_, British war-ship, blockaded in the harbor of
Bahia, ii. 179;
cowardice of Captain Greene, 180.

_Borer_, American gun-boat, iii. 141.

_Boston_, American frigate, i. 286, 287.

_Boston_, American ship, fights the _Berceau_, Captain Senez, i. 328,
329.

Boston Port Bill, i. 13.

Boston, tea destroyed in harbor of, i. 13;
press-gang riots in, 395.

_Boston_, United States cruiser, iv. 533.

Boutelle, Mr., of the Federal Coast Survey, replaces the buoys at
Port Royal, iv. 171.

Bowling Green, Kentucky, Confederate position at, untenable after
surrender of Fort Henry, iv. 266.

_Boxer_, British brig, attacks the _Enterprise_, ii. 375;
surrenders, 379;
crew of, 382;
decision of the British court on the loss of the, 384.

_Bragg_, Confederate ship, captured at Fort Pillow, iv. 302.

Breckenridge, General, attacks the Federal forces at Baton Rouge, iv.
344.

Breese, Lieutenant-commander K. R., iv. 369.

Breeze, Chaplain, on the _Lawrence_ in the battle of Lake Erie, ii.
317.

British Government, attitude of the, toward African pirates, iii. 340.

British grab at the Valley of the Mississippi, iii. 229, 230.

British merchants and the American war, i. 112.

British Navy in American waters, i. 195.

British waters, rights of belligerents in, iv. 411.

Brock, Sir Isaac, his view of the English possession of America, ii.
279.

_Broke_, British gun-boat, iii. 143.

Broke, Captain Philip Vere, Commodore British squadron, ii. 55;
challenges Lawrence of the _Chesapeake_ to fight, “ship to ship,”
ii. 203, 204;
boards the _Chesapeake_, 214;
is wounded, 217;
becomes delirious, 221, 225;
made a baronet, 226;
death of, 229.

Brooke, Lieutenant John M., assigned to assist in designing an
ironclad, iv. 184.

_Brooklyn_, screw sloop, iv. 314.

_Brooklyn_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 386.

Brown, Lieutenant George, iv. 389.

Brown, Captain Isaac N., iv. 342;
skirmish with the Federal fleet in the Yazoo River, _ib._;
attacks Farragut’s squadron, 344;
supports Breckenridge at Baton Rouge, _ib._

Brown, Lieutenant James, ii. 217.

Browne, Lieutenant G. W., iv. 370.

Brownson, Captain Willard H., at Rio Janeiro, iv. 548;
on the coast of Mexico, 553.

Bruinsburg, Federal army crosses from, to Grand Gulf, iv. 364.

Bryant, Captain N. C., before Fort Pillow, iv. 290.

Buchanan, Flag Officer Franklin, iv. 188;
his difficulty in finding a crew, 195;
wounded, 210;
his report of the fight, _ib._;
Confederate fleet of, at Mobile, 380;
sends the _Tennessee_ into action, 399;
wounded, 402.

Budd, Lieutenant George, ii. 206, 218.

Bullock, Commander James D., supervises construction of the
_Alabama_, iv. 430.

Bunker Hill, battle of, i. 26.

_Bunker Hill_, American privateer, ii. 394.

Burleton, Admiral Sir George, chases the _Hornet_, iii. 282.

Burnside, General A. E., sent to capture Roanoke Island, iv. 109.

_Burrows_, American gun-boat, iii. 141.

Burrows, Lieutenant William, appointed to command the _Enterprise_,
ii. 375;
encounters the _Boxer_, 375–377;
is mortally wounded, 377;
receives the surrender of the _Boxer_, 379.

Bushnell, David, invents first American submarine torpedo boat, i.
164;
sketch of his life, 180–184.

Butler, General Benjamin F., sent to attack the forts on Hatteras
Islands, iv. 100;
his report at, 107;
occupies New Orleans, 338, 339;
his plan for blowing up Fort Fisher, 508–510.

_Byron_, Captain of, chased by the _President_, ii. 29–32.

_Cabot_, brig of first American Navy, i. 39;
commanded by Captain Elisha Hinman, i. 66;
fired by her captain, 163.

_Cairo_, armor-plated Federal gun-boat, built by Eads, iv. 245;
Captain N. C. Bryant commands, 290;
runs by torpedoes in the Yazoo River expedition, iv. 350.

Calbreth, Peter, one of the capturers of the _Margaretta_, i. 17.

Caldwell, Lieutenant C. H. B., iv. 314;
breaks barriers across the Mississippi, 323.

_Caleb Cushing_, Federal revenue cutter, cut out and burnt by the
_Archer_, iv. 424.

_Caledonia_, British brig, captured by Lieutenant Elliott, ii. 279.

California, a bone of contention between Americans and English, in
1842, iii. 387, 388;
operations that insured the acquisition of, iii. 387, 388.

Canada invaded by American troops, i. 84;
annexation of, agitated in 1812, ii. 20;
invasions of, for resenting British aggressions, ii. 263.

Canning, British prime minister, diplomacy of, in regard to the
_Chesapeake_ affair, ii. 1.

Canton, China, American fleet sent to, to protect American interests,
iii. 380.

Cape Cruz, South America, a pirate resort captured by the
_Greyhound_ and _Beagle_, iii. 334.

Carden, Captain John Surnam, i. 389;
cruel treatment of sailors, _ib._;
cruises in the Azores, ii. 121;
falls in with the _United States_, 122;
fight with, 125–134;
Decatur refuses to receive his sword, 139.

Caribbean Sea a nest for pirates, iii. 326.

Carleton, Sir Guy, his supplies captured by Paul Jones, i. 79;
confidence of, 85;
his fleet at St. John’s, 87;
fight on Lake Champlain, 92–94.

_Carleton_, British schooner, ii. 100.

_Carnation_, British brig, attacks the _General Armstrong_ in the
neutral port of Fayal, Azores, iii. 187–200.

Caroband Bank, South America, fight between the _Hornet_ and
_Peacock_ near, ii. 181.

_Caroline_, American schooner, attacks the British camp at Villeré’s
Plantation on the Mississippi, iii. 239;
is fired and abandoned, 240.

Carondelet, James B. Eads’s shipyard at, iv. 243.

_Carondelet_, armor-plated Federal gun-boat, built by Eads, iv. 245,
369;
goes aground outside Fort Henry, 265;
gets free, 266;
shells Fort Donelson, 268, 271;
disabled before Fort Donelson, 271;
gun bursts on, 272;
in Porter’s fleet before Vicksburg, 363.

Carronades, description and value of, ii. 36–38.

Carronades (short guns) out of use, iii. 141.

Carrying trade of the Mediterranean, England’s tribute to the Dey of
Algiers for, iii. 340;
after the War of 1812, _ib._

Cassin, Lieutenant Stephen, iii. 139.

_Castilian_, English brig-sloop, iii. 93.

_Catherine_, British ship, captured by Lieutenant Downes, iii. 10.

Cat-o’-ninetails used to enforce orders on British ships, i. 389.

_Catskill_, Federal ironclad, iv. 480.

_Cayuga_, Federal screw gun-boat, iv. 314.

_Centipede_, American gun-boat, iii. 141.

_Centipede_, British launch, ii. 398;
sunk, 400.

Ceremonies connected with first American fleet, i. 44–46.

_Ceres_, British man-of-war, captures the _Alfred_, i. 132, 133.

Chads, Lieutenant, in the fight with the _Constitution_, takes
command when Captain Lambert is mortally wounded, ii. 165.

Champlain, Lake, naval battle on, i. 92–100;
reflections on the battle, 105–111.

Champlin, Stephen, in the battle of Lake Erie, ii. 326;
fires the last shot of the battle, 327.

Chandeleur Islands, the British forces arrive at, to attack New
Orleans, iii. 230.

Chaplin, Lieutenant J. C., attacks the forts at Acquia Creek, iv. 82.

Charles City, Ark., attack on, by Federal gun-boats and an Indiana
regiment, iv. 307.

_Charleston_, United States cruiser, plans of, imported, iv. 531.

Charleston, S. C., defences of, iv. 467;
bombardment of, iv. 480–502.

_Charlton_, British whaler, captured by Porter, iii. 14.

_Charwell_, British brig, iii. 110.

Chase, Major W. H., and Colonel Lomax, capture the Pensacola Navy
Yard, iv. 112.

_Chasseur_, Baltimore clipper, attacks the _St. Lawrence_, British
war-schooner, iii. 204.

_Chatsworth_, American brigantine, slave-ship captured by Lieutenant
Foote, iii. 366.

Chauncey, Commodore Isaac, appointed to command the forces on the
Great Lakes, ii. 270;
attacks Kingston, _ib._;
attacks Toronto, 341;
attacks Fort George, 342;
returns to Sackett’s Harbor, 348;
makes another assault on Toronto, 349;
Sir James Yeo’s squadron appears, _ib._;
jockeying for position, 350;
Chauncey opens fire, 351;
returns to the attack, 352;
misses the great opportunity of his life, 353;
operations of, on Lake Ontario, iii. 113–129.

_Cherub_, British war-ship, accompanies the _Phœbe_ in the attack on
the _Essex_, iii. 25.

_Chesapeake_, American frigate, built, i. 312.

_Chesapeake_, Lawrence appointed to command of, ii. 197;
her crew, 198;
the ship reputed to be unlucky, 199;
is fitted out for a voyage to intercept British ships, 200;
is blockaded by the _Shannon_ in Boston Harbor, 203;
goes out to meet the _Shannon_, 1813, 204;
crew mutinous, 205;
closes down on the _Shannon_, 206;
the battle, 209;
the _Chesapeake_ is boarded, 214;
hand-to-hand fight, 217;
the ship is captured, 221;
taken to Halifax, 222;
comparison of the two ships, 229.

_Chickasaw_, Federal monitor, iv. 386.

_Chickasaw_, Federal gun-boat, shells Fort Gaines, and compels it to
surrender, iv. 405.

_Chicora_, Confederate ironclad, built at Charleston, iv. 473;
fires on the _Keystone State_ and captures her, 475.

_Chillicothe_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 369.

Chinese assault on the American flag, a, iii. 380.

Chinese war of 1856, American interests involved in, and fleet sent
to protect them, iii. 379–382.

_Chippeway_, British schooner, in battle of Lake Erie, ii. 297.

_Chubb_, British ship, disabled and surrenders to Macdonough, iii.
156.

_Chubb_, British gun-boat, iii. 143.

_Cincinnati_, armor-plated Federal gun-boat, built by Eads, iv. 245;
flagship of Commodore Foote before Fort Henry, 261;
Captain R. N. Stembel commands, 289;
throws the first shell into Fort Pillow, 293;
attacked by Confederate rains, _ib._;
the _Mound City_ goes to the rescue of, 294;
sinks, _ib._

_Circassian_, blockade-runner, captured off Havana by the Fulton
ferryboat _Somerset_, iv. 37.

Civilization promoted by Anglo-Saxon aggressiveness, iii. 391.

_Clarence_, merchant-ship, captured by Captain Maffitt, of the
cruiser _Florida_, iv. 424;
placed under command of Lieutenant Read, _ib._;
burnt, _ib._

Coaling stations, need of, by Federal war-ships in Southern waters,
iv. 161.

Cocke, Captain W. H., iii. 333;
fired on and killed by a Porto Rican fort, _ib._

Collier, Sir Ralph, K. C. B., iii. 260.

Collins, Captain Napoleon, at Port Royal, iv. 163;
commanding the _Wachusett_, captures the _Florida_ in Bahia Harbor,
iv. 424.

“Colonial Navy,” distinguished from temporary cruisers, i. 28, 29.

_Colorado_, United States screw frigate, launched, iv. 15.

_Columbia_, American frigate, attacks and bombards the Malay town of
Quallah Battoo, iii. 375–379.

_Columbia_, United States cruiser, iv. 534.

Columbiad, description of, iv. 119.

_Columbus_, successful cruise of Captain Whipple in the, i. 66.

_Columbus_, American ship-of-the-line, sent to Japan, iii. 440.

Columbus, Ky., Confederate position at, becomes untenable after
surrender of Fort Henry, iv. 266.

Columbus, on the Mississippi, Confederates evacuate, iv. 275.

_Comet_, American privateer, ii. 252.

Commander-in-chief of the Navy, title held by Commodore Hopkins only,
i. 62.

_Condor_, blockade-runner, wreck of, at Fort Fisher, iv. 511.

_Conestoga_, merchant-vessel, purchased by Commander Rodgers, iv. 241;
Captain Phelps appointed to command, 251.

_Confederacy_, American frigate, i. 287.

_Confederacy_, American packet, captured by the English, i. 298.

_Confiance_, British frigate, iii. 142;
flagship of Captain Downie in the battle of Lake Champlain, 153;
disabled and surrendered to the _Saratoga_, 165.

_Congress_, American galley, i. 89;
Arnold’s, flagship, 99;
covers retreat at Crown Point, 104;
burned by Arnold, 105.

_Congress_, American frigate, built, i. 312;
opens fire on the ironclad _Merrimac_ in Hampton Roads, iv. 200;
grounded, 207;
two Confederate gun-boats open fire on her, _ib._;
Lieutenant Pendergrast surrendered her to the _Merrimac_, 208;
hot shot fired at her by the _Merrimac_, 209;
her magazine explodes, 215.

Connecticut troops desert, i. 30.

Conner, Commodore David, lands a force at Point Isabel, iii. 409;
his fleet not fitted for shallow waters, 410;
his conduct of the seige of Vera Cruz, 418.

Connyngham, Captain Gustavus, i. 123;
captures prizes on the French coast, 124;
commission taken from him, 125;
takes command of the _Revenge_, 126;
his ship injured, 127;
refits in English port, 128;
gets provisions in an Irish port, _ib._;
sails for America, _ib._;
denounced as a pirate, 129;
cruel treatment of, in English prison, _ib._

_Constellation_, American frigate, built, i. 312;
Captain Thomas Truxton commands, 316, 319;
battle with French frigate _Insurgent_, 320;
discipline on board of, 322, 323;
battle with French frigate _Vengeance_, 323–325;
Captain Charles Gordon appointed to command in Decatur’s fleet,
iii. 343.

_Constitution_, United States frigate, built, i. 312;
flagship in the attack on Tripoli, 367;
called a “pine box” by Englishmen, 380;
Captain Isaac Hull disputes with the Captain of the British warship
_Havana_, ii. 13, 14;
is chased by two frigates, _ib._;
ship prepares for action, _ib._;
frigates retreat, 16;
her escape from a British squadron, 53–69;
“a bunch of pine boards,” 73;
fight with _Guerrière_, 76–95;
comparative strength of the two ships, 96;
return to Boston, 101;
cruising off Brazil, 152;
falls in with the _Java_, 153, 155–173;
attempt of the _Java_ to board, 158;
the London _Times_ on the victory, 176;
Lawrence applies for the command of, 197;
laid up at Boston, iii. 241;
goes to sea again, 242;
captures the war-schooner _Picton_, _ib._;
falls in with the British frigate _La Pique_, _ib._;
the British ship runs away, 243;
is chased by the _Junon_ and _Tenedos_, 244;
returns to Boston, 245;
captures the _Lord Nelson_, _ib._;
chases the _Elizabeth_ and captures the _Susan_, _ib._;
is chased by the _Elizabeth_ and _Tiber_, 246;
fight with the _Cyane_ and _Levant_, 247–256;
sails to Porto Praya, 260;
attacked by three British frigates, 261;
her fighting days over, 268;
plan of, iv. 537.

Continental Congress, effect on the, of the British vengeance on
Portland, i. 26.

Continental Naval Board, i. 158.

Contraband trade in the Civil War, iv. 48–52.

Cooke, Captain. See _Albemarle_.

_Coquette_, American merchant schooner, plundered by the Porto Rico
privateer _Palmira_, iii. 332.

Cornwallis, Lieutenant-general Lord, released from imprisonment in
exchange for Henry Laurens, iv. 154.

Corpus Christi, Texas, captured by Farragut, iv. 357.

_Cossack_, Federal transport, iv. 478.

Cottineau, Captain Denis Nicholas, i. 232.

Cotton-mills of the world shut down during the War of the Rebellion,
iv. 47.

_Countess of Scarborough_ attacks Paul Jones’s fleet off Flamborough
Head, i. 243;
surrender to the _Pallas_, 267.

_Couronne_, French ironclad, witnesses the _Alabama-Kearsarge_ fight,
iv. 438.

Couthouy, Lieutenant S. P., iv. 369.

Cox, William, midshipman on the _Chesapeake_, ii. 206.

Coxetter, Captain Louis M., iv. 91–93.

Craighead’s Point, shells thrown into Fort Pillow from, iv. 290.

Craney Island, Captain Tattnall fires and blows up the _Merrimac_ on,
iv. 236–237.

Craven, Captain Thomas Tunis, iv. 314;
sinks with his ship, 394.

Craven, Commander T. A. M., iv. 386.

Crawford, William H., American minister to France, ii. 361.

_Cricket_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 370.

Crosby, Lieutenant Pierce, iv. 315.

Crown Point, retreat of Benedict Arnold to, i. 103;
account of the roads and distances to, from New York, 109.

Crowninshield, George, Jr., privateersman, brings home the bodies of
Captain Lawrence and Lieutenant Ludlow, ii. 225.

_Croyable_, French gun-ship, captured off the Delaware, and renamed
the _Retaliation_, i. 316, 400.

Cruisers, Confederate, tales of the, iv. 407–451.

_Cuba_, Federal merchant-ship, captured by Confederate cruiser
_Sumter_, iv. 415.

_Cumberland_, Federal sailing sloop-of-war, opens fire on the
ironclad _Merrimac_, iv. 200;
is rammed by the _Merrimac_, 201;
in a sinking condition, 202;
continues firing as she goes down, 203.

Cumberland Head, Plattsburg Bay, Macdonough’s squadron at, iii. 149.

Dabney, John B., American consul at Fayal, iii. 187;
his report on the fight between the _Carnation_ and the _General
Armstrong_, 195, 196, 198–201.

Dacres, Captain James Richard, ii. 55;
surrenders to Captain Hull, 94.

Dahlgren, Rear-admiral John Adolph, his smooth-bore gun introduced,
iv. 489.

Dahlgren, Admiral John A. B., relieves Dupont of his command, iv. 489.

Dale, Commodore Richard, master’s mate on _Lexington_, i. 68;
escape of, from English prison, 123;
joins Paul Jones’s fleet, 230;
resourceful conduct of, 256, 260–262;
wounded, 266;
gallant conduct on the _Trumbull_, 295–297;
placed in command of squadron in the Mediterranean, 334.

Dartmoor Prison, Rev. Joseph Bates imprisoned in, iii. 294.

_Dartmouth_, merchant-ship, tea thrown from, in Boston Harbor, i. 13.

_Dash_, privateer of Baltimore, captures schooner _Whiting_ in
Chesapeake Bay, ii. 241.

_Dauphin_, American ship, captured by Algerian pirates, i. 309.

Dauphin Island, Mobile, iv. 379;
Federal troops landed on, 385.

“Davids,” torpedo boats, first used at Charleston, iv. 497;
derivation of name, 498.

Davis, Captain Charles, relieves Commodore Foote, iv. 289;
his inactivity, 293.

Davis, Captain Charles H., replaces the buoys at Port Royal, iv. 171.

Davis, Jefferson, proclamation inviting applications for letters of
marque, iv. 85.

Davis, Gunner’s Mate John, heroism of, iv. 110;
promoted and honored, 111.

Davyson, Captain Thomas, surrenders to the _Providence_, i. 282, 283.

Dead Sea, exploration of the, iii. 464.

_Deane_, American frigate, with the _Boston_, captures six prizes, i.
284, 287.

Deane, Silas, member of first Marine Committee, i. 36;
American commissioner to France with Franklin, i. 117.

De Camp, Commander John, iv. 314.

_Decatur_, American privateer, throws her guns overboard, ii. 75.

Decatur, Lieutenant James, in the attack on the city of Tripoli, i.
361;
killed by the Tripolitans, 362.

Decatur, Lieutenant Stephen, Jr., i. 346;
captures the _Mastico_, _ib._;
sails on the _Mastico_ to set fire to the _Philadelphia_, 348–361;
made a captain, 358;
in the attack on the city of Tripoli, 361;
his encounter with a Tripolitan captain, 363, 364;
falls in with the British ships _Eurydice_ and _Atalanta_, ii. 16;
cruises in the Azores in the _United States_, 121;
encounters the _Macedonian_, 122;
fights the second frigate battle of the War of 1812, 125–134;
his personal direction of the guns, 128;
surrender of the British frigate, 133;
ball given to Decatur and his officers in New York, 149;
gold medal given by Congress to, 150;
transferred to the _President_, iii. 212;
ordered to cruise in the East Indies, 215;
chased by the British fleet, 216;
lightens his ship, 217;
addresses his crew, 218;
attempts to retreat, 221;
ordered to cruise in the South Atlantic, 271;
his duelling experiences, 307–315;
his fatal duel with Commodore Barron, 318–321;
his death, 322;
a squadron under his command sent to Africa, 343;
his treaty with the Dey, 347–355;
compels the Dey to pay indemnity, 355;
goes to Tripoli and compels the Bashaw to settle, 357.

_Deerhound_, English yacht, witnesses the _Alabama-Kearsarge_ fight
off Cherbourg, France, iv. 438;
assists in picking up the crew of the _Alabama_, 441.

_Defence_, Connecticut cruiser, captures two transports, i. 203, 204.

_Defiance_, Confederate ironclad, abandoned by her crew at New
Orleans, iv. 337.

De Gama, Saldanha, Brazilian rebel admiral, iv. 548.

_De Kalb_, armor-plated Federal gun-boat, built by Eads, first
called the _St. Louis_, iv. 245;
takes part in capture of Arkansas Post, iv. 351.

_Delaware_, United States frigate, i. 316.

_Demologos_, Fulton’s first steam war-ship, iv. 4, 11.

Desertions from British ships, i. 394.

_De Soto_, Federal boat, added to Ellet’s command, iv. 351;
burned, 352.

_Detroit_, American brig, captured by the British, ii. 274;
recaptured by Lieutenant Elliott, 276;
runs aground on Squaw Island, 278;
British again capture her, _ib._;
the Americans destroy her, 279.

_Detroit_, United States cruiser, at Rio Janeiro, iv. 548;
fires on the _Guanabara_, 553.

_Diadem_, British frigate, strength and armament of, iv. 23.

Diamond Reef, near Cape Hatteras, iv. 165.

Dickenson, Captain James, attacks the _Hornet_, iii. 273;
is killed in the fight, 276.

_Diligence_, British schooner, sent to capture Captain Jeremiah
O’Brien, i. 23.

_Diligent_, English brig, surrenders to the _Providence_, i. 282, 283.

Discipline on board American frigate _Constellation_, i. 322.

Discord fomented by England between the States of the Union, i. 384.

_Divided We Fall_, American privateer, ii. 253.

_Dixie_, Confederate privateer, iv. 93.

_Dolphin_, American cutter, purchased by Franklin and other
commissioners, i. 117.

_Dolphin_, American privateer, ii. 242.

_Dolphin_, United States cruiser, iv. 531.

Donaldson, Commander Edward, iv. 389;
of the _Sciota_, 315.

“Don’t tread on me,” the significant motto, i. 2, 46.

Douglas, Hon. Captain George, iii. 247;
surrenders, 255.

Douglas, Lord Howard, his views on armor-clad ships, iv. 198.

Downes, Lieutenant John, sent on a cruise in the _Georgiana_, iii. 10;
captures by, 10, 11;
in the _Essex-Phœbe_ fight, 28;
is appointed to command the _Epervier_, 1815, 343;
attacks and overpowers the Malays at Quallah Battoo, 373, 374.

Downes, Commander John, iv. 480.

Downie, Captain George, iii. 144, 145;
at the battle of Lake Champlain, 153, 154;
killed, 165.

Drayton, Captain Percival, at Port Royal, iv. 163;
Captain of the _Hartford_, 386;
of the _Passaic_, 480.

Drayton, General Thomas F., at Port Royal, iv. 170.

_Druid_, British brig, attacked by the _Raleigh_, i. 131, 132.

_Drummond_, British gun-boat, iii. 143.

_Drummond_, British schooner, captured by Chauncey at Lake George,
ii. 353.

Drunkenness and debauchery promoted by gun-boats, ii. 394.

_D. Trowbridge_, Federal merchant-ship, captured by the _Sumter_,
iv. 415.

_Dublin_, British frigate, cruises off Callas, iii. 389.

_Duc de Lauzan_, American frigate, i. 287, 299.

Duckworth, Admiral Sir John T., on the cartel of the _Alert_, ii. 47.

Duddingstone, Lieutenant William, i. 4;
shot, 10.

Duelling in the American Navy, iii. 305–323;
at Gibraltar, 313, 314.

_Duke of Gloucester_, British ship captured by Americans at Toronto,
burned at the attack on Fort George, ii. 346.

Dummy monitor sent adrift by Porter’s men, iv. 357.

Dunmore, Lord, in Chesapeake Bay, i. 35.

Dunovant, Colonel R. M., at Fort Beauregard, iv. 170.

Dupont, Commander Samuel Francis, spikes the guns of San Blas, iii.
402;
takes command of a fleet to take possession of Port Royal, iv. 163.

Dynamite cruisers, construction of, iv. 542.

Eads, James B., ship-builder, takes a contract to build seven
ironclad gun-boats, iv. 242–244;
construction of, described, 245, 246;
Eads and Ericsson, 244.

_Eagle_, American sloop, in Macdonough’s squadron, ii. 354;
sunk by the British in the Sorel River, 355.

_Eagle_, American sloop, iii. 136, 138.

Earle, Commodore, attempts to capture the _Oneida_ and destroy
Sackett’s Harbor, ii. 266, 268.

_Eastport_, Confederate river steamer, captured by Lieutenant Phelps,
iv. 267.

_Eastport_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 369.

_Eben Dodge_, Federal merchant-ship, captured by Confederate cruiser
_Sumter_, iv. 415.

_Eclipse_, American merchant-ship, attacked and looted by Malays,
iii. 374–376.

_Edinburgh Review_ on the treatment of America by Great Britain, i.
384.

_Edwin_, American merchant-brig, captured by the Dey of Algiers, iii.
341, 351.

_Effingham_, American frigate, sunk, i. 188.

_Eliza_, merchant-schooner, David Porter’s first ship, ii. 33.

_Elizabeth_, British schooner, captured by Porter, iii. 4.

Ellet, Colonel Charles, Jr., converts seven river steamers into rams
on the Ohio River, iv. 298;
his part in the attack on Fort Pillow, 301.

Ellet, Colonel Charles R., sent by Porter to control the Mississippi
between Vicksburg and Port Hudson, iv. 351.

Elliott, Lieutenant Jesse D., sent to Buffalo to purchase vessels,
ii. 273;
capture of the _Detroit_, 276, 278, 279;
in command of the _Niagara_, 292;
brings up the gun-boats, 322;
criticized for inactivity, 335, 336;
acts as second to Commodore Barron in his duel with Decatur, iii.
319;
commands the _Ontario_ in an expedition against the Dey of Algiers
in 1815, 343.

Elliptical route plan condemned by Admiral Porter, iv. 101.

_Emily St. Pierre_, British merchant-ship, seized by United States
cruiser _James Adger_, iv. 58;
recaptured by her captain, _ib._

_Enchantress_, merchant-schooner, captured by Confederate privateer
_Jefferson Davis_, iv. 91.

_Endymion_, British frigate, attacks the _Prince de Neufchâtel_,
American privateer, iii. 202;
is defeated, 203;
assists in the capture of the _President_, 222.

England, greed of, in dealings with her colonies, i. 4;
tries to crush the new republic, 314.

English Navy of 1812 in American waters, ii. 25.

English officers offended by names given to Yankee ships, iii. 313.

English seaman in 1812, ii. 25.

Ensign, naval, first American, i. 46.

_Enterprise_, American brig, sent to South America to put down
piracy, iii. 331.

_Enterprise_, American schooner, captures the French privateer
_Seine_, i. 330;
sent to Tripoli in charge of Lieutenant Andrew Sterrett, 335;
battle with the war polacre _Tripoli_, 335;
the luckiest, naval ship of the War of 1812, ii. 372;
captures eight privateers, 373;
cruises in the Mediterranean, _ib._;
captures the _Tripoli_ and the ketch _Mastico_, _ib._;
changed to a brig and overloaded with guns, 374;
drives off English privateers under command of Master-commandant
Johnston Blakely, 375;
Lieutenant William Burrows takes charge of her, _ib._;
cruises for privateers, _ib._;
encounters the _Boxer_, _ib._;
her commander wounded, and Lieutenant McCall takes his place, 377,
378;
the _Boxer_ surrenders, 379;
after the battle Master-commandant James Renshaw appointed to
command, 386;
cruises off the southern coast, _ib._;
escapes from a British frigate, _ib._;
employed as harbor guard, 387.

_Enterprise_, American sloop, i. 89.

_Epervier_, British brig-sloop, captured by the _Peacock_, iii. 66–71;
taken into Savannah by Lieutenant John B. Nicholson, 76–78.

_Epervier_, American ship, lost at sea, iii. 354.

_Era_, Confederate steamer, captured by Federal fleet, iv. 352.

Erben, Captain Henry, at Fort Pillow, iv. 289.

_Ericsson_, a name given to the first monitor, iv. 215.

Ericsson, John, Swedish engineer, his screw propeller, iv. 10;
his boat the _Francis B. Ogden_, _ib._;
induced to come to America, 11;
plans the first screw steamship, 12;
Naval Board makes a contract with, for the _Monitor_, 191.

Erie, Pa., chosen as base of operations for gaining control of Lake
Erie, ii. 282;
ship-building at, 286.

_Espiègle_, British war-brig, chased by Captain Lawrence of the
_Hornet_, ii. 181;
again chased after sinking the _Peacock_, 190.

_Essex_, American frigate, sent to Tripoli, i. 335.

_Essex_, American frigate, ii. 33;
first cruise in War of 1812, 34–50;
British frigate _Minerva_ refuses to fight with, 39–41;
captures the _Alert_, 41–43;
crew of _Alert_ plan a rescue, 44;
chased by the _Shannon_, 47;
Farragut’s account of the crew, 49;
begins her second cruise, Oct. 8, 1812, iii. 1;
cruises off Port Praya, 2;
captures the brig _Nocton_, 2, 3;
dysentery among the crew, 4;
panic on board, 6;
painted and disguised, 8;
captures British whalers, _ib._;
refitted from the captured ships, 9;
captures the _Atlantic_ and the _Greenwich_, _ib._;
captures the _Charlton_, 13;
goes into the harbor of Nukahiva to refit, 18–21;
an incipient mutiny on, 21;
attacked by the _Phœbe_ and _Cherub_, 24–43;
losses of, 44;
sent to England to be added to the British Navy, 48;
her captures, 52;
amount of damage done to the enemy, _ib._

_Essex_, Federal armor-plated gun-boat, iv. 249;
in the battle of Port Henry, _ib._;
disabled, 262;
Flag Officer Foote’s warning to his crews about wasting shot, 261;
Commander Robert Townsend, 369.

_Essex Junior_, formerly the British whaler _Atlantic_, iii. 12;
in the fight between the _Phœbe_ and _Cherub_ against the _Essex_,
33–43;
is disarmed and sent to New York, 49.

_Estido_, Algerian brig, captured near Cape Palos by the American
Navy, iii. 348.

_Eurydice_, British frigate, ii. 16.

Evans, Surgeon Amos E., ii. 168.

_Experiment_, British frigate, captures the _Raleigh_, i. 194.

_Experiment_, American schooner, i. 330.

Exploring expeditions of the American Navy, iii. 464.

“Export powder,” an inferior quality of gunpowder, ii. 368.

_Fair American_, British brig, driven ashore by the _Hyder Ali_, i.
215.

Fairfax, Lieutenant D. M., takes Mason and Slidell off the _Trent_,
iv. 144–146.

Fairfax, Commander D. M., iv. 480.

Falcon, Captain Thomas Gordon, chased by the _Constitution_, iii. 247;
surrenders, 252.

Falmouth (now called Portland), Maine, attacked by British, i. 24–26,
32.

_Fame_, privateer of Salem, ii. 241.

_Fanny_, successful blockade-runner, iv. 63.

Farragut, Commodore David Glasgow, midshipman on the _Essex_, ii. 40;
his wit saves a rescue of the _Alert_ by her crew, 44;
his account of the crew of the _Essex_, 49;
as captain when only twelve years old, iii. 12, 13;
resumes his studies at Nukahiva, 19–21;
his account of the fight of the _Essex_ with the _Phœbe_ and
_Cherub_, 40–42;
in his home at Norfolk, Va., 1862, awaiting orders, iv. 311;
a member of the Naval Retiring Board, 313;
suggested by Porter as a suitable commander of the New Orleans
expedition, 313;
accepts the position, 314;
ships in his squadron, 314, 315;
disguises his ships, 317;
advances past the barriers, 324–330;
demands surrender of New Orleans from Mayor Monroe, 338;
pressed by the Administration to open up the Mississippi, 341;
his bold cruise practically fruitless, 342;
his fortune in the Gulf of Mexico, 357;
runs his squadron past the works of Port Hudson, _ib._;
captures Galveston and Corpus Christi, _ib._;
losses in his fleet, 358;
watches Confederates strengthen their works at Mobile, 384;
moves his fleet up to Fort Morgan, 389;
commences the battle, 392;
disregards the torpedoes, 396;
lashed to the mast, _ib._;
wins the battle when the _Tennessee_ surrenders, 403;
in his report gives special praise to members of his fleet, _ib._;
his place in history, 465.

Faunce, Captain John, iv. 99.

Federal Government, its great aim to strangle and starve the
Confederates, iv. 239.

Fernando de Noronha, Brazil, Porter visits and communicates with
Bainbridge at, iii. 3;
Captain Semmes allowed to make his headquarters there, iv. 527.

Ferryboats as successful naval ships, iv. 37.

_Finch_, British gun-boat, iii. 143;
disabled in the battle of Lake Champlain, 161.

_Fingal_, Scotch iron steamer, erected into a Confederate ironclad,
iv. 486;
renamed the _Atlanta_, 488.

Fitch, Colonel, attacks Charles City, Ark., iv. 307;
storms and captures it, 308.

Flag. See _American Flag_.

_Flag_, armed merchantman, attacked by the Confederate ironclad
_Palmetto State_, iv. 474.

_Flambeau_, French privateer, captured by the _Enterprise_, ii. 373.

Flamborough Head, naval fight between the _Serapis_ and _Bonhomme
Richard_ near, i: 243.

Flannen Islands, the _Alliance_, of Paul Jones’s fleet, captures a
valuable prize off the coast of, i. 236.

Flores, General José Maria, paroled by Commodore Stockton, iii. 397;
breaks his parole, _ib._

_Florida_, Confederate cruiser built at Liverpool, iv. 416;
her first voyages, 417;
Captain John Newland Maffitt appointed to command of, 418;
is fired at by Captain Preble of the _Winona_, 419;
escapes, _ib._;
blockaded by the _Cuyler_, 420;
runs the blockade, 423;
Captain Charles M. Morris appointed to command of, 424;
rammed by the _Wachusett_ and taken to the United States, _ib._;
scuttled at Newport News, 429.

_Fly_, schooner of first American Navy, i. 40.

Foote, Admiral Andrew Hull, Lieutenant on the American brig _Perry_,
sent to Africa to assist in putting down the slave traffic,
iii. 363;
his sincere desire to stop the traffic, 364;
captures the slave-ships _Martha_ and _Chatsworth_, 364–366;
the “original prohibitionist of the navy,” 367;
is sent to Canton to protect American interests, 380;
is fired on by the Chinese forts, _ib._;
bombards and captures the forts, 380, 381;
relieves Commander John Rodgers of his command on the Mississippi,
iv. 250;
assembles a fleet at Paducah, 255;
inspects the crews, 256;
seeming insolence of Captain Walke to, 266;
joins the expedition to Fort Donelson, 268;
is seriously wounded, 271;
again, 272;
is relieved by Captain Charles H. Davis, 289.

_Forest Queen_, Federal army transport, in Porter’s fleet before
Vicksburg, iv. 364.

Fort Beauregard, on Bay Point, Charleston, S. C., Confederate fort
at Port Royal, iv. 169, 467.

Fort Donelson, strength of, iv. 268;
arrival of the _Carondelet_, _ib._;
the _St. Louis_, _Louisville_, and _Pittsburg_ arrive before, 271;
all three ships disabled, _ib._;
the fleet at a disadvantage, 272;
surrendered to General Grant, _ib._

Fort Erie, the Coney Island of Buffalo, ii. 273.

Fort Fisher, N. C., capture of, iv. 503–518;
fortifications of, 505;
General Butler’s plan of capture, 508–514;
garrison of, 514.

Fort Gaines shelled by Federal gun-boat _Chickasaw_, iv. 405.

Fort George attacked by the Americans under Winfield Scott, ii.
342–344;
Scott hauls down the British flag, 344.

Fort Gregg, Charleston, S. C., iv. 467.

Fort Henry, Tennessee River, Foote assembles a fleet at Paducah to
attack, iv. 255;
troops under Grant proceed up the river, _ib._;
storm clears the river of torpedoes, 256;
attacked by Foote’s fleet, 261–266;
a victory for the gun-boats, 266;
its importance to both armies, _ib._

_Fort Hindman_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 370.

Fort Jackson, Confederate fortification on the Mississippi, iv. 318;
bombardment of, 322–324;
surrendered to Porter, 339.

Fort Johnson, Charleston, S. C., iv. 467.

Fort Morgan, iv. 385, 386, 389.

Fort Moultrie, Charleston, S. C., iv. 467.

Fort Pillow, Federal fleet advances to, iv. 289;
evacuated by Confederates, 298.

Fort Pinckney, Charleston, S. C., iv. 467.

Fort Ripley, Charleston, S. C., iv. 467.

Fort Sumter, five monitors open fire on, iv. 491;
bombarded and reduced to a wreck, 493.

Fort Wagner, Charleston, S. C., iv. 467, 469, 490.

Fort Walker, on Hilton Head, Confederate fort at Port Royal, iv. 169.

Fortress Monroe, the _Monitor_ retires to, after the fight with the
_Merrimac_, iv. 226.

_Forward_, American schooner, in attack on Alvarado, iii. 410.

_Forward_, filibuster craft, cut out by Lieutenant Brownson of the
United States frigate _Mohican_, iv. 553.

Foster, Lieutenant-commander J. P., iv. 369.

Foster, General John G., Captain Flusser appeals to him to go and
burn the Confederate ironclad _Albemarle_, iv. 454.

Fox, Augustus V., appointed assistant to Gideon Welles, Secretary of
the Navy, iv. 35.

_Fox_, Captain W. H. Cocke, iii. 333.

Foxardo affair, the unfortunate, iii. 337, 338.

France, United States Government abrogates all treaties with, July 7,
1798, i. 314.

_Francis B. Ogden_, Ericsson’s model boat, attains speed of ten miles
an hour, iv. 10;
Captain Stockton makes a trip on, _ib._

Franklin sails for France on the _Reprisal_, i. 114.

Franklin, Sir John, American expedition sent to search for the
remains of, iii. 464.

_Franklin_, American schooner, captures ten vessels and Governor
Wright of St. John’s, i. 203;
captures a quantity of war supplies, _ib._

_Freeborn_, Federal steamer, at Acquia Creek, iv. 81.

“Free trade” before “sailors’ rights,” the motto of Washington
politicians in 1812, ii. 18.

_Freely_, Confederate privateer, iv. 93.

Frémont, John C. (“the Pathfinder”), takes possession of San Diego,
iii. 394;
commands in the Mississippi Valley, iv. 241.

French cruisers destroy American shipping, i. 314.

French troops enter Mexico, iv. 367.

_Friendship_, American ship, attacked and looted by natives of
Sumatra, iii. 368.

_Frolic_, American sloop, built at Portsmouth, N. H., in 1814, iii.
64;
Master-commandant Joseph Bainbridge appointed to, 65:
sinks a Carthagenian privateer, _ib._;
encounters the British frigate _Orpheus_ and schooner _Shelburne_,
_ib._;
surrenders, 66.

_Frolic_, British brig, encountered by the _Wasp_, ii. 106;
captured by the _Wasp_, 107–112;
comparison between the ships, 116;
recaptured by the _Poictiers_, 118.

Frontier posts retained by England contrary to treaty, i. 383;
posts used as Indian headquarters, _ib._

Fry, Captain Joseph, capture of, iv. 308;
captured and executed by the Spaniards in the _Virginius_
expedition, _ib._

Fulton ferryboat _Somerset_ captures the blockade-runner _Circassian_
off Havana, iv. 37.

Fulton, naval plans of, iv. 3, 4;
his first steam war-ship, the _Demologos_, 4;
report of commissioners appointed to examine her, 7, 8;
blown to pieces, 9.

_Fulton 2d_, launched in 1887, iv. 11.

Gadsden, Christopher, member of first Marine Committee, i. 36.

_Gaines_, Confederate gun-boat, iv. 380.

_Galatea_, British frigate, chased by the _Congress_ and _President_,
ii. 151.

_Galena_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 389.

_Gallinipper_, American barge, captures a pirate schooner, iii. 335.

Galveston, Texas, blockaded by the _South Carolina_, iv. 44;
bombarded by Captain James Alden of the Federal frigate _South
Carolina_, 121;
the foreign consuls protest against the bombardment, 123;
captured by Farragut, 357;
is retaken by the Confederates, _ib._

Gamble, Lieutenant Peter, killed in the battle of Lake Champlain,
iii. 157.

_Gaspé_, captured by men armed with paving-stones, i. 9.

_Gazelle_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 370.

Geisinger, Midshipman David, placed in charge of the captured ship
_Atlanta_, iii. 100.

_General Armstrong_, American privateer schooner, iii. 186;
owned by New York men, _ib._;
under Captain Tim Barnard captures nineteen prizes, 187;
sails from New York under command of Captain Samuel C. Reid, _ib._;
arrives at Fayal and encounters the _Carnation_, _Plantagenet_, and
_Rota_, _ib._;
is attacked by boats from the three ships, but beats them off, 189;
scuttled and abandoned by her crew, 200.

_General Bragg_, Confederate gun-boat, rams the _Cincinnati_ at Fort
Pillow, iv. 293;
raked by the _Carondelet_, 294;
surrenders, 302.

_General Monk_, British ship, attacked and captured by the _Hyder
Ali_, i. 209–215.

_General Pike_, American ship, burned at the attack on Fort George,
ii. 346.

_General Price_, Federal ram, in Porter’s fleet before Vicksburg, iv.
364.

_General Rusk_, Confederate steamer, blockaded in Galveston by the
Federal frigate _Santee_, iv. 137.

_Georgiana_, British whaler, captured by Porter, iii. 8.

Gerdes, F. H., Federal coast surveyor at New Orleans, iv. 322.

German troops hired by England to fight in America, i. 32.

Ghent, terms and conditions of the treaty of, iii. 209.

Gherardi, Commander Bancroft, iv. 389.

_Gibraltar_, formerly the _Sumter_. See _Sumter_.

Gibraltar, duels between American and English officers at, iii.
311–313.

Gillis, Captain John P., iv. 99;
of the _Seminole_ at Port Royal, 163.

_Glasgow_, British sloop-of-war, fight with Commodore Hopkins’s
American squadron, i. 59.

_Globe_, American privateer, ii. 250.

“God Save the King,” American sailors on British ships compelled to
bare their heads when played, i. 394, iii. 291.

Godon, Captain S. W., at Port Royal, iv. 163.

_Golden Rocket_, captured by the _Sumter_, iv. 410.

Goldsborough, Flag Officer L. M., in charge of expedition sent
against Roanoke Island, iv. 109;
in charge of a large fleet sent to ram the _Merrimac_, 235.

Gordon’s Landing, Red River, fort at, attacked by Ellet, iv. 352.

Gorringe, Master H. H., iv. 370.

_Governor_, Federal transport, sinks off Cape Hatteras, iv. 166.

_Governor Tompkins_, American privateer, ii. 253.

_Governor Tryon_, British sloop, attacked by and strikes to the
American privateer _Thorn_, i. 209.

_Grampus_, American schooner, in fleet sent to punish pirates in
South America, iii. 331;
captures the _Pandrita_, 332.

Grand Gulf, Porter attacks fortifications of, and finds them
evacuated, iv. 367;
Grant makes it his base of supplies, _ib._

Grant, General Ulysses Simpson, attempts to dislodge Confederates
below Cairo, iv. 251;
attacks the Confederates at Belmont, 251, 252;
proceeds up the Tennessee, to attack Fort Henry, 255;
muddy roads prevents his taking part in the capture of the fort,
266;
at Fort Donelson, 268;
Captain Walker diverts the Confederates’ attention from him, 271;
Confederates surrender to him, 272;
fight with Confederates at Pittsburg Landing, 284;
arrives before Vicksburg, 351;
goes to New Carthage to surround Vicksburg, 363;
makes Grand Gulf his base of supplies, 367.

_Granville_, French privateer, in the fleet of Paul Jones, i. 234.

Graves, Admiral, destroys Portland, Maine, i. 24–26.

Grease as a protection on armor-plated ships, iv. 10.

Great Britain, sea-power of, in 1812, ii. 22;
European nations dread the power of, 23.

Greene, Lieutenant Charles H., iv. 386.

Greene, Captain P. B., blockaded in Bahia Harbor, ii. 179;
refuses Lawrence’s challenge, _ib._;
cowardice of, 180;
rescued by the _Montagu_, _ib._

Greene, Lieutenant S. D., executive officer of the _Monitor_, iv. 216;
takes charge of the guns in the turret, 219, 220;
takes command after Worden is disabled, 226;
his statement, 229, 230;
orders regarding the _Merrimac_, 235.

Greenpoint, Brooklyn, N. Y., the _Monitor_ constructed at, iv. 192.

_Greenwich_, British letter-of-marque whaler, captured by Porter,
iii. 9.

Greer, Lieutenant-commander James A., before Vicksburg, iv. 363, 369.

_Greyhound_, Captain John Porter, iii. 333.

_Growler_, American schooner, captured by the British, ii. 351;
recaptured by the Americans, 351.

_Growler_, American sloop, in Macdonough’s squadron, ii. 354;
grounded in the Sorel River, 355.

_Growler_, American sloop, iii. 135, 138.

_Guanabara_, Brazilian rebel warship at Rio Janeiro, iv. 548;
fired on by the United States cruiser _Detroit_, 553.

_Guerrière_, American frigate, built in 1814, iii. 64;
Decatur’s flagship in expedition sent against the Dey of Algiers,
346, 347.

_Guerrière_, British frigate, picking sailors from American ships,
ii. 6;
flees from an inferior force, 7;
stops the _Spitfire_, and takes off John Deguyo, an American
citizen, _ib._;
race with the _Constitution_, 55;
Captain Dacres in charge of, 55–60;
fight with the _Constitution_, 76–95;
surrendered and blown up, 95.

Gun-boats, the ideal navy, ii. 388;
description and build of, 389;
arguments in favor of, 390;
cheapness of, 392;
points against, _ib._;
cost of, 393;
difficulty of getting unanimity of captains in battle, 394;
lack of discipline on gun-boats, _ib._;
use of, in Long Island Sound, 395;
first encounter with gun-boats, _ib._;
uselessness again shown, 416.

Gunners of 1812 and 1861 compared, iv. 419.

Gunpowder, expedients for getting, by the United Colonies, i. 28.

Guns, penetrating power of long and short, iii. 142;
improvements made in, iv. 18–23.

Gwin, Lieutenant, supports Grant at Pittsburg Landing, iv. 284.

Hacker, Captain Hoysted, i. 79, 282, 283.

Haggerty, Captain F. L., at Port Royal, iv. 163.

_Halifax_, British war-ship, i. 406, 407.

Hallock, Captain William, i. 66.

Hambleton, Purser on the _Lawrence_ in the battle of Lake Erie, ii.
317.

_Hamilton_, American schooner, ii. 350.

Hamilton, Schuyler, suggests cutting through the trees of swamp from
the Mississippi to New Madrid, iv. 281.

Hampton Roads, the first point blockaded in the Civil War, iv. 40;
_Keystone State_ blockades, 45.

Hanchett, Captain, ii. 398.

Handy, Captain Robert, misunderstands signals, iv. 133, 134;
letter to Captain Pope, showing his fear of the _Manassas_, 136.

_Hannah_, a Providence packet, chased by the _Gaspé_, i. 5.

Harding, Captain Seth, surrenders to the _Orpheus_ and _Roebuck_, i.
298.

_Harriet Lane_, American revenue cutter, used as a war-ship, iv. 42;
Captain John Faunce, 99.

_Harriet Lane_, Federal frigate, captured in the Gulf of Mexico, iv.
357.

Harrison, Lieutenant Napoleon B., iv. 314.

_Hartford_, United States screw sloop, built, iv. 16;
flagship of Captain Farragut, 314;
set on fire by Confederate fire-raft, 329;
passes the batteries at Port Hudson, 358;
flagship of Rear-admiral Farragut, 386.

Hatteras, Cape, battle between the _Wasp_ and the _Frolic_ in the
tail of a gale off, ii. 107.

Hatteras, Fort, captured by Federal forces, iv. 106;
the first Union victory in the War of Secession, _ib._

Hatteras hurricane, a fleet of transports in a, iv. 166.

Hatteras Inlet, N. C., resort of the “Hatteras Pirates,” iv. 97.

_Hatteras_, merchant-steamer, captured and sunk by the _Alabama_ at
Galveston, iv. 432.

_Hawke_, American tender, captured by British off Long Island, i. 56.

Hawkins, Captain Richard, refuses to fight the _Essex_, ii. 39–41;
branded as a coward, 40.

Haymakers, Machias, attack of the, on the _Margaretta_, i. 21.

Haymakers and wood-choppers as Yankee seamen, iii. 82, 83, 86, 90, 95.

_Hazard_, American privateer, captured the British brig _Active_, i.
206.

Hazard, Captain, in the first naval battle of the Revolution, i. 57.

_Hebrus_, British frigate, ii. 420.

_Hector_, British letter-of-marque ship, captured by Lieutenant
Downes, iii. 10.

Heddart, Captain Francis, extracts from his account of the
_Serapis_-_Bonhomme Richard_ battle, i. 245, 257.

Henley, Midshipman John D., assists in the attack on the city of
Tripoli, i. 366.

_Henry Clay_, Federal army transport, in Porter’s fleet before
Vicksburg, iv. 364;
catches fire and sinks, _ib._

Hewes, Joseph, member of first Marine Committee, i. 36.

_Hibernia_, British transport, captured by Captain Hopkins, i. 281.

Hickman, on the Mississippi, evacuated by the Confederates, iv. 275.

_Highflyer_, British schooner, Captain Rodgers succeeds in getting
private signals from, ii. 23, 358.

Hillyar, Captain James, in the harbor of Valparaiso, iii. 25;
attempts to attack the _Essex_, but is scared off, 26;
attacks the _Essex_ in company with the _Cherub_, 30–43;
criticism on handling his ship, 46.

Hilton Head. See _Fort Walker_.

Hinman, Captain Elisha, i. 66;
sent to France for army supplies, 130;
his ship captured by the British, 133.

Hislop, Lieutenant-general, Governor of Bombay, on board the _Java_
in her fight with the _Constitution_, ii. 168;
Captain Bainbridge’s curious dream of, 172, 173.

Hoel, Lieutenant W. R., iv. 363, 370.

Hoffman, Lieutenant B. V., sent to take charge of the _Cyane_ when
she surrendered, iii. 252.

Hoke, General, advances on Plymouth, N. C., and captures it, iv. 455,
456.

Holdup, Thomas, in the battle of Lake Erie, chases and captures the
_Chippewa_ and _Little Belt_, ii. 326.

_Holland_, torpedo boat, launching of, iv. 543.

Holland, John P., inventor of submarine torpedo boats, iv. 542.

Honor, American Medal of, origin of, iv. 111.

Hope, Lieutenant David, horrible cruelty of, to sailors, i. 389;
wounded on the _Macedonian_, ii. 140;
his report on gunnery practice, 143.

Hopkins, Esek, Commander-in-chief of first American fleet, i. 42;
career of, 48;
dismissed from the service, 61;
dies near Providence, R. I., _ib._

Hopkins, Captain John Burrows, in command of the _Cabot_, i. 57.

Hopkins, Commodore Robert, receives his appointment through influence
of John Adams, i. 49;
sent to Chesapeake Bay in search of Lord Dunmore, 53;
goes to the Bahamas instead and attacks the British there, _ib._

Hopkins, Stephen, member of first Marine Committee, i. 36.

_Hornet_, sloop of first American Navy, i. 40.

_Hornet_, American sloop-of-war, blockades the British warship _Bonne
Citoyenne_ in Bahia Harbor, ii. 179;
raises the blockade on the approach of the _Montagu_, 180;
captures the _Resolution_, 181;
falls in with the _Peacock_, _ib._;
fight with the _Peacock_, 182–184;
encounters the _Penguin_, iii. 273;
the _Penguin_ surrenders, 274–280;
the _Hornet_ chased by the _Cornwallis_, but escapes, 282–284;
Captain Robert Henley appointed to command, 330;
detailed to South America to destroy pirates, 331.

Horses, wild, as weapons of offence, iii. 401.

_Housatonic_, Federal war-ship, attacked by the Confederate ironclad
_Palmetto State_, iv. 474.

Howard, Lieutenant Samuel, iv. 370.

Howe, Captain Tyringham, i. 59.

Huger, Captain Thomas B., at New Orleans, iv. 321;
mortally wounded, 332.

Hull, Lieutenant Isaac, cuts the privateer _Sandwich_ out of Puerto
Plata, i. 329;
tricky conduct of the officers of two British frigates to, ii. 15;
the frigates turn and retreat, 16;
his opinion of the crew of the _Constitution_, 52;
his escape from a British squadron, after standing at his post for
two days, 53–69;
race with the _Guerrière_, 55;
fight with and capture of the _Guerrière_, 76–95;
reception on returning to Boston, 101;
Congress votes a gold medal to, 103.

Humphreys, Joshua, American ship-builder, statement of, in regard to
new ships, i. 311;
his theories accepted, 312.

Hunt, William H., Secretary of the Navy, appoints a board of naval
officers, with Rear-admiral Rodgers at its head, iv. 527.

_Hunter_, American ship, captured by the _Peacock_, ii. 191;
taken in charge by the _Hornet_, _ib._

_Hunter_, British ship, attacked by privateers, i. 200.

_Hunter_, British brig, in battle of Lake Erie, ii. 296.

_Hussar_, Austrian war-ship, Martin Koszta, an American citizen taken
and detained on, iii. 385;
on demand of Captain Ingraham of the _St. Louis_ is given up, _ib._

Hutter, Midshipman, killed while assisting the Union wounded out of
the _Congress_, iv. 209.

_Hyder Ali_, American privateer, Captain Joshua Barney, attacks and
captures the _General Monk_, i. 212–215.

_Illinois_, United States battle-ship, iv. 534, 536.

Impressment, feeling of American seamen regarding the practice of,
ii. 18.

_Independence_, American privateer, Commander Thomas Truxton, cuts
out three big ships from the British fleet, i. 205.

_Indian Chief_, Confederate ship, iv. 499.

_Indiana_, United States battle-ship, iv. 534.

_Indianola_, Federal armored gun-boat, in attack on Port Hudson, iv.
352;
captured and sunk by the Confederates, _ib._

Indians, friendship of, cultivated by England to injure United
States, i. 383;
incited by British to attack pioneers, _ib._

Ingraham, Captain Duncan Nathaniel, demands the surrender of Martin
Koszta, an American citizen detained on the Austrian war-ship
_Hussar_, iii. 385;
medal presented to him by Congress, 386.

Inland navy an imperative necessity to reach the heart of the
Confederacy, iv. 241.

Inman, Lieutenant William, chases and captures a pirate schooner,
iii. 335.

_Insurgent_, French frigate, Captain Barreaut, captures the American
ship _Retaliation_, i. 316;
battle with the _Constellation_, 320–322;
surrenders, 321;
lost at sea, 330.

International law, a question of violation of, iv. 160.

_Intrepid_, formerly the _Mastico_, used as a fire-ship at the attack
on Tripoli, i. 371;
explodes, 378.

_Investigator_, Federal merchant-ship, captured by Confederate
cruiser _Sumter_, iv. 415.

_Iowa_, United States battle-ship, iv. 534, 536.

Ironclad warfare, superior activity of the Confederates in preparing
for, iv. 184.

Ironclads, the Confederate Government the first to construct, iv. 185;
the _Merrimac_ launched, 188;
Congress makes appropriation for construction of, 190;
dilatory action of Naval Board in making contracts for, 191;
first battle between, 220.

_Iroquois_, United States screw sloop, built, iv. 16.

_Iroquois_, Federal screw corvette, iv. 314.

Irving, Washington, on Perry’s victory on Lake Erie, ii. 338.

_Isaac Smith_, Federal war-ship, in the Port Royal fleet, iv. 164.

Island No. 10, strongly fortified by the Confederates, iv. 275;
Foote’s flotilla arrives in front of, 276;
capture of, delayed two weeks by Foote, 281;
Captain Walke successfully runs the gauntlet of batteries on, 282,
283;
the island captured, 283, 289;
has disappeared under action of the current, 284.

Isle-aux-Noix, British fort at, iii. 136, 139.

Isle St. Mary, Paul Jones lands on and surrounds the house of the
Earl of Selkirk, i. 147, 148.

_Itasca_, Federal screw gun-boat, iv. 314;
breaks down barriers placed across the Mississippi, 323;
Lieutenant-commander George Brown, 389.

_Ivy_, Confederate gun-boat, iv. 127.

James, Reuben, seaman, saves Decatur’s life, i. 364.

_James Adger_, American cruiser, captures the _Emily St. Pierre_, iv.
58;
the latter recaptured, _ib._

_Jamestown_, Confederate warship, captures several prizes in sight of
the _Monitor_, iv. 235.

Japan, condition of, in the sixteenth century, iii. 438;
experience with Christianity, _ib._;
Dutch trading at Nagasaki, _ib._;
introduction of Western civilization by the American fleet, 439;
Commodore M. C. Perry’s work in opening the ports of Japan, _ib._;
appointed to the Japan mission, 443;
Commodore Perry’s exhibition of power and dignity wins the respect
of, 444.

_Jason_, British transport, captured by Captain Hopkins, i. 281.

_Java_, British frigate, fight with the _Constitution_ off the coast
of Brazil, 155–173;
poor gunnery of, 157;
a complete wreck in sixty-five minutes, 162;
losses of, 169.

_Jefferson_, American brig, iii. 113.

_Jefferson Davis_, Confederate privateer, captures the _John Welsh_,
_Enchantress_, _S. J. Waring_, iv. 91;
_Mary Goodell_ and _Mary E. Thompson_, 92;
runs aground at St. Augustine and is lost, 93.

Jenkins, Captain Thornton A., iv. 386.

_Jersey_, the notorious prison-ship, sketch of, i. 221–226.

_John Adams_, Perry’s flagship on his cruise to South America, iii.
327.

_John Welsh_, merchant-brig, captured by Confederate privateer
_Jefferson Davis_, iv. 91.

Johnson, Captain Henry, in charge of brig _Lexington_, sent to
Europe, i. 117.

Johnson, Captain J. D., succeeds Admiral Buchanan on the _Tennessee_,
iv. 402;
surrenders his ship to Captain Le Roy, of the Federal steamer
_Ossipee_, 403.

Jones, Captain Jacob, encounters the _Frolic_ in a gale, ii. 106;
captures the _Frolic_, 107–117;
surrenders the _Wasp_ and the _Frolic_ to the frigate _Poictiers_,
118, 119;
rewarded with a gold medal from Congress, 119;
given command of the frigate _Macedonian_, 119, 143.

_Jones_, American brig, iii. 113.

Jones, John Paul, first independent command of, i. 64;
promoted to rank of captain, 73;
fight with the _Solebay_, 73–76;
outsails the British frigate _Milford_, 77;
sails into Canso Harbor, _ib._;
in Newport Harbor, 78;
in command of flagship _Alfred_, 79;
passes through British squadron off Block Island, _ib._;
captures brig _Mellish_, _ib._;
encounters and captures coal fleet in Canso Harbor, 80;
captures a British privateer, _ib._;
chased by the _Milford_, _ib._;
arrives in Boston, 82;
ordered back to the brig _Providence_, 83;
bad treatment of, by Congress, _ib._;
appointed to the gun-ship _Ranger_, 134;
sails to Nantes, 135;
reaches Quiberon Bay, 137;
sails from Brest to England, 138;
scuttles a merchant-brig, _ib._;
seizes the _Lord Chatham_, _ib._;
sails to Whitehaven, _ib._;
attempts to capture the _Drake_, 140;
descends on Whitehaven, 141;
his crew takes an earl’s silver, 142;
attacks the house of the Earl of Selkirk, 147;
returns the silver taken by his crew, 151, 152;
second and successful attempt to capture the _Drake_, 152;
generosity of, 155;
fought for honor, 158;
inactivity of, in France, 228;
fits out the _Bonhomme Richard_, 229;
Congress arranges to give him a fleet, 232;
the _Alliance_, _Pallas_, and _Vengeance_ put under his command,
232;
trouble with Captain Landais of the _Alliance_, 234;
his fleet sails from L’Orient augmented by the _Monsieur_ and
_Granville_, _ib._;
captures a brigantine, 235;
Landais refuses to attend a council of officers, 237;
proposes to attack Leith, _ib._;
delay and a windstorm prevent his landing, 240;
meets a fleet of merchantmen off Flamborough Head, 243;
the _Serapis_ bears down to meet him, _ib._;
attacks the _Serapis_, 245;
fight with the _Serapis_, 247–259;
character of, 265;
his account of events after the surrender, 269–272;
arrives at Texel, followed by a British squadron, 273;
flight of, 275;
made a hero of, at Paris, _ib._;
sails to America in the _Ariel_, 277;
honors on his arrival, _ib._;
denounced as a pirate by the British Government, _ib._;
misrepresented by English writers, _ib._;
his pride in being an American, 278.

Jones, Lieutenant Thomas ap Catesby, with a small flotilla, opposes
the British fleet at New Orleans, iii. 232–238;
he is cut down and his small force eventually surrenders, 236, 237;
sent in command of a squadron to the Pacific coast, 388;
strikes the first blow in the Mexican War, 390;
lands at and takes possession of Monterey, _ib._;
surrenders the town, _ib._;
appointed chief officer on the Confederate ironclad _Merrimac_, iv.
188;
takes command after Captain Buchanan is wounded, 209;
returns with the _Merrimac_ to Sewell’s Point, 213.

_Joseph_, British ship, captured by the _Surprise_, i. 124.

_Joseph H. Toone_, Federal schooner, iv. 129.

_Joseph Maxwell_, Federal merchant-ship, captured by Confederate
cruiser _Sumter_, iv. 415.

_Joseph Parke_, Federal merchant-ship, captured by Confederate
cruiser _Sumter_, iv. 415.

Jouett, Lieutenant James E., cuts out the _Royal Yacht_ from
Galveston Harbor, iv. 138, 139;
Lieutenant-commander of the _Metacomet_, 386.

_Judah_, Confederate privateer schooner, destroyed at Fort Pickens,
iv. 120.

_Julia_, American schooner, ii. 268;
captured by the British, 351.

_Junon_, British frigate, becalmed in Hampton Roads, attacked by
gun-boats, ii. 395;
chases the _Constitution_ off Cape Ann, iii. 244.

_J. W. Hewes_, merchant-ship, captured by Confederate privateers, iv.
97.

_Katahdin_, Federal screw gun-boat, iv. 315.

Kearny, Sailing-master Lawrence, attacks a party from the frigate
_Hebrus_, ii. 420;
captures the tender of the frigate _Severn_, 421.

Kearny, Brigadier-general Stephen W., goes to the assistance of
Commodore Stockton in Mexico, iii. 398;
is repulsed and wounded, _ib._;
marches to San Diego, _ib._

_Kearsarge_, American sloop-of-war, built, iv. 38.

_Kearsarge_, Federal armored frigate, meets the _Alabama_ in
Cherbourg Harbor, France, iv. 436;
comparison of their armament, 437;
description of the fight, 438–441;
the best gunnery of the Civil War, 441.

_Kearsarge_ (new), United States battle-ship, iv. 534, 536.

Kedge anchor, use of, on the _Essex_, ii. 49.

Kedging, method of, described, ii. 58.

_Kennebec_, Federal screw gun-boat, iv. 314;
Lieutenant-commander William P. McCann, 389.

Kennon, Captain Beverley, at New Orleans, iv. 321;
attacks the _Varuna_, 334;
surrenders, 335.

Kentucky, western, railroad communication with the East cut off from,
iv. 267.

_Keokuk_, Federal monitor, at Charleston, iv. 483, 485.

Kerr, Captain Robert, attacks the _Constitution_ at Porto Prayo, iii.
260.

_Keystone State_, armed merchantman, attacked by the Confederate
ironclad _Palmetto State_, iv. 474.

Kidnapped sailors ill-fed and poorly paid on British ships, i. 387.

Kilty, Captain A. H., before Fort Pillow, iv. 289;
aids the _Cincinnati_, 294.

_Kines_, Federal screw gun-boat, iv. 315, 358.

Kingston, Canada, chief naval and military post in 1812, ii. 265;
Commodore Chauncey attacks, 270.

Kirkcaldy, Scotland, anecdote of the parson of, on the approach of
Paul Jones’s squadron, i. 238.

Koszta, Martin, an American citizen, taken by the Austrian
authorities on board the war-ship _Hussar_, iii. 385.

_Lackawanna_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 389.

_Lady Gore_, British schooner, captured by Chauncey at Lake George,
ii. 353.

_Lady Prevost_, British war-vessel, fired and destroyed by the
Americans, ii. 279.

Lafayette, carried back to France in the _Alliance_, i. 232;
narrowly escapes capture, _ib._

_Lafayette_, Federal gun-boat, in Porter’s fleet surrounding
Vicksburg, iv. 363;
Lieutenant-commander J. P. Foster, 369.

Lake Erie, the battle of, ii. 309–325.

Lamb, Colonel William, commander of Fort Fisher, iv. 507.

Lambert, Captain Henry, surrenders to Captain Bainbridge of the
_Constitution_, ii. 155–173;
his attempt to board the _Constitution_, 158;
mortally wounded, 165;
Captain Bainbridge returns his sword, 172.

Lambert, Jonathan, proprietor of the island of Tristan d’Acunha, a
breeding resort for seals in the South Atlantic, iii. 270.

_Lancaster_, United States screw sloop, built, iv. 16.

_Lancaster_, Federal ram, sunk below Port Hudson, iv. 358.

Landais, Captain Pierre, placed in command of the _Alliance_ by
Congress, i. 232;
mutinous conduct of, 234;
fouls the _Alliance_ with the _Bonhomme Richard_, _ib._;
insolence of, 235;
captures a valuable prize, 236;
refuses to attend a council of officers, 237;
jealousy of, 241;
further insubordination of, 244;
fires into the _Bonhomme Richard_, 254;
treachery of, 267;
dismissed and settles in New York City, _ib._

Langdon, John, member of first Marine Committee, i. 36.

Langthorne, Lieutenant A. R., iv. 370.

_La Pique_, British frigate, encounters the _Constitution_ off
Porto Rico, iii. 242.

Lardner, Captain J. L., commands the _Susquehanna_ at Port Royal,
iv. 163.

Laugharne, Captain Thomas L. P., surrenders to Porter, ii. 42.

Laurens, Henry, American Ambassador to Holland, is removed from the
_Mercury_ by the Captain of the British ship _Vestal_, and
taken to St. Johns, Newfoundland, iv. 153;
taken to England and imprisoned in the Tower of London, 154;
exchanged for Lord Cornwallis, _ib._;
his case parallel to the _Trent_ affair, _ib._

_Lurestinus_, British frigate, ii. 395.

Law, Lieutenant of British marines, fires at Lawrence and wounds
him, ii. 213.

_Lawrence_, American brig, flagship of Commodore Perry, ii. 290;
in the battle of Lake Erie, 317;
Perry shifts his flag to the _Niagara_, 321;
sunk in Little Bay, 337.

Lawrence, Captain James, Midshipman on the _Constitution_, i. 348;
Captain of the _Hornet_, 403;
blockades the British warship _Bonne Citoyenne_ in Bahia Harbor,
ii. 179;
challenges Captain Greene, _ib._;
compelled to raise the blockade, 180;
recaptures the _William_, 181;
captures the _Resolution_, _ib._;
is chased by the _Peacock_, 182;
the _Peacock_ is beaten, 183;
Lawrence fits his ship for another fight, 190;
chases the _Espiègle_, _ib._;
put all hands on half rations and squares away for home, 191;
promoted to command the _Chesapeake_, 192;
sails out of Boston to meet the _Shannon_, 197;
has difficulty in getting a crew, 199;
is challenged by Captain Broke of the _Shannon_, 203;
sails out to meet the enemy, 204;
addresses his crew, 205;
mutinous spirit of his men, 206;
displays great skill in handling his ship, _ib._;
the _Chesapeake_ is damaged and begins to drift, 213;
Lawrence shot, _ib._;
dies, 221;
interred in Trinity Churchyard, 225.

Lay, John L., devises a torpedo boat, iv. 458;
used by Lieutenant Cushing to destroy the _Albemarle_, 459–461.

_Leander_ affair, the, i. 403, 404;
Captain Whitby court-martialed, 405.

Lear, Tobias, American Consul-general at Algiers 1812, iii. 340.

_Lee_, American galley, i. 89.

_Lee_, American schooner, i. 30, 197;
assists in capturing a British troop-ship, 203.

Lee, Captain F. D., Chief of Confederate torpedo corps, iv. 497.

Lee, Richard Henry, member of first Marine Committee, i. 36.

Lee, Rear-admiral S. Phillips, iv. 314;
in command of the Albemarle Station, 454.

_Leopard_ and _Chesapeake_, affair of the, i. 40.

Le Roy, Commander William E., iv. 389.

Letter of marque and a privateer, difference between, iii. 242.

_Levant_, British sloop-of-war, chased by the _Constitution_, iii.
247;
surrenders, 255.

Lewis, Captain Jacob, made Commodore of the American fleet in New
York Harbor, ii. 394.

_Lexington_, American brig, i. 63;
captured by British frigate _Pearl_, 66;
escapes, 68;
sent to Europe under Captain Johnson, 117;
captured by the cutter _Alert_, 119, 120;
fate of the crew of, 121, 122.

_Lexington_, merchant-vessel, purchased by Commander Rodgers for use
in Federal Navy, iv. 241;
Captain Stembel appointed to command, 251.

_Lexington_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 369.

Lexington, battle of, i. 14.

Lincoln’s proclamation blockading the Southern ports, iv. 28–30.

_Linnet_, British brig, at the battle of Lake Champlain, iii. 138,
142, 166;
surrenders, _ib._

Linzee, Captain, chased by the _Gaspé_, i. 5.

Little, Captain John, fights and captures the _Berceau_, i. 328.

_Little Belt_, British corvette, fires on the American frigate
_President_, ii. 10;
in battle of Lake Erie, 297.

Little Falls, N. Y., Indian and Dutch traders at, ii. 263.

_Little Rebel_, sunk by the Federals at Fort Pillow, iv. 302.

Livermore, Parson Samuel, ii. 214.

_Livingston_, Confederate gun-boat, iv. 127.

Lloyd, Captain Robert, assists in the attack on the _General
Armstrong_, iii. 194.

Lockyer, Captain, attacks Lieutenant Catesby Jones at New Orleans,
iii. 235.

Lomax, Colonel, captures the Pensacola Navy Yard, iv. 112.

_Lord Nelson_, British merchantman, captured by the _Oneida_, ii. 265.

Los Angeles, Cal., captured from the Mexicans by Commodore
Stockton, iii. 397;
recaptured, _ib._;
retaken by the Americans, 401.

_Lottery_, American ship, captured, iii. 204.

_Louisa Beaton_, American brigantine, engaged in the African slave
traffic, iii. 364.

_Louisa Hatch_, captured by the _Alabama_, iv. 427.

_Louisa Kilham_, Federal merchant-ship, captured by Confederate
cruiser _Sumter_, iv. 415.

_Louisiana_, American schooner, in the attack on New Orleans, iii.
240;
used as a powder-boat to blow up Fort Fisher, iv. 510.

_Louisville_, armor-plated Federal gun-boat, built by Eads, iv. 245;
disabled, 271;
in Porter’s fleet before Vicksburg, 363, 369.

_Lowell_, Confederate ship, sunk at Fort Pillow, iv. 301.

Lowry, Captain R. R., iv. 100.

_Loyal Convert_, British vessel, i. 90.

Ludlow, Lieutenant Augustus C., strives to get the crew in place, ii.
206;
mortally wounded, 210;
interred in Trinity Churchyard, 225.

_Ludlow_, American gun-boat, iii. 141.

Lynch, Confederate Commodore W. F., at Roanoke Island, iv. 109.

Lyons, Lord, British Minister to Washington, his instructions
relative to the _Trent_ affair, iv. 150–153.

McCall, Lieutenant Edward Rutley, in the _Boxer_ fight, ii. 376;
takes command after Captain Burrows is disabled, 378;
the _Boxer_ surrenders to him, 379.

McCann, Lieutenant William P., iv. 389.

McCauley, Commodore, disloyal conduct of, at the Norfolk Navy Yard,
iv. 72–74.

_McClellan_, Federal transport, iv. 135.

McDonald, Lieutenant James, succeeds Captain Dickenson in command,
iii. 276;
surrenders to Captain Biddle, 276–278.

Macdonough, Captain Thomas, i. 348;
in the attack on the city of Tripoli, 361;
sends the _Growler_ and _Eagle_ in pursuit of British gun-boats,
iii. 136;
repairs to Vergennes, Vt., _ib._;
in command of a squadron, 144, 145;
his careful preparations, 147–150;
his squadron assembled, 152;
an interested audience, _ib._;
the battle opened with a prayer, 154;
a sporting rooster, 155;
Macdonough is knocked senseless, 161;
he cleverly winds his ship, 164;
wins the battle of Lake Champlain, 166;
casualties and losses of, in the battle, 174;
anecdote of, 179–181;
the Legislature of New York donates him land, 182;
the Legislature of Vermont presents him with a farm, _ib._;
he is promoted, 183;
his victory served to bring the war to a close, 184.

_Macedonian_, British frigate, cruelty and flogging of sailors on, i.
389;
encounters the frigate _United States_, ii. 124;
battle with, 125–134;
a horrible scene of carnage, 134;
the crew breaks into the spirits-room, 136, 137;
American seamen found on board, 137, 138;
losses among the crew, 139;
the forces of the two ships, 140;
taken to New York, 148;
fitted for sea in the American service, 150.

_Machias_, Federal merchant-ship, captured by Confederate cruiser
_Sumter_, iv. 415.

Machias haymakers, attack of the, on the _Margaretta_, i. 21.

_McLane_, American steamer, grounded before Alvarado, Mexico, iii.
410.

Macomb, Major-general Alexander, opposed to Sir George Prevost at
Plattsburg, iii. 147, 169.

_McRae_, Confederate gun-boat, iv. 17.

_McRae_, Confederate cotton-clad steamer, iv. 321;
fight with the Federal steamer _Iroquois_, 332.

Madame Island, Paul Jones captured British vessels at, i. 78.

_Madison_, American privateer, ii. 245.

_Madison_, the flagship of Commodore Chauncey, ii. 341.

Madison, President, lack of an American Navy discreditable to the
Administration of, ii. 26.

Maffitt, Captain John Newland, authority on construction of
fortifications, iv. 170;
appointed to command of Confederate cruiser _Florida_, 418;
goes to Havana and Mobile to get a crew, _ib._;
his ship fired at by Captain Preble, of the _Winona_, 419;
is blockaded, but escapes, 423;
goes to Nassau, _ib._;
cruises between New York and Brazil, 424;
overhauls his ship, _ib._;
he is relieved by Captain Morris, _ib._

_Magnet_, British brig, iii. 128.

Mahan, Captain A. T., fortifications of Mobile described by, iv.
379–383.

Mahone, William, Southern politician, trickery of, iv. 74, 75.

_Maine_, United States cruiser, iv. 534.

Maitland, Captain, falls in with the _Constitution_, iii. 243;
afraid to engage the _Constitution_, _ib._

_Majestic_, British cruiser, iv. 534, 535.

_Majestic_, British razee, assists in the capture of the _President_
off Long Island, iii. 216.

Malayans, teaching, to fear the American flag, iii. 373–379.

Malden, Captain Barclay, his rendezvous before the battle of Lake
Erie, ii. 294.

Maley, Lieutenant William, i. 330.

_Manassas_, Confederate ram, formerly the _Enoch Train_, iv. 127;
remodelled and put in charge of Lieutenant Alexander F. Warley, 128;
strikes the _Richmond_ and causes a panic, 129–131; 321;
attacks the _Brooklyn_, 332;
sinks, 333.

_Manhattan_, Federal monitor, iv. 386.

Manly, Captain John, i. 30, 197;
surrenders the _Hancock_, 185.

Manners, Captain William, fights the _Wasp_, iii. 85;
severely wounded, 87;
killed, 88.

Maples, Captain John F., goes in search of the sloop _Argus_, ii. 362;
finds her by the light of the flames on a wine ship, 363;
captures the sloop, 363–367;
sends it by a prize crew to Plymouth, 371.

Marchand, Captain John B., iv. 389.

_Margaret and Jessie_, successful blockade-runner, iv. 63.

_Margaretta_, attack on the, by the Machias haymakers, i. 21.

_Maria_, British transport, captured by Captain Hopkins, i. 281.

_Maria_, Boston schooner, captured by Algerian pirates, i. 309.

Marine Committee of Congress, i. 158.

Marine Committee of United Colonies appointed, i. 36.

_Marquis de la Fayette_, French privateer, i. 297.

_Mars_, American privateer, fitted out by Captain Thomas Truxton,
cruises in English Channel, and captures numerous prizes, i.
205.

_Mars_, English privateer, captured by the _Alliance_, i. 297.

Marston, Captain John, iv. 200.

_Martha_, American slave-ship, captured by Lieutenant Foote, iii. 364.

_Martin_, British sloop, grounds on Crow’s Shoal, ii. 401.

_Mary_, British schooner, captured by Chauncey at Lake George, ii.
353.

_Mary_, British brig, cut out and fired by the _Wasp_, iii. 92.

_Mary E. Thompson_, merchantman, captured by Confederate privateer
_Jefferson Davis_, iv. 92.

_Mary Goodell_, merchantman, captured by Confederate privateer
_Jefferson Davis_, iv. 92.

_Mashonda_, frigate of Rais Hammida, Algerian Admiral, iii. 345–347;
captured by Captain Downes of the _Epervier_, 347.

Mason, James Murray, Confederate Commissioner to England, in company
with John Slidell, sails in the blockade-runner _Theodora_, iv.
141;
arrives at Cardenas, Cuba, and proceeds to Havana, _ib._;
sails in the _Trent_ for St. Thomas, 143;
is taken off the _Trent_ and carried into Boston, 147–149;
he and Slidell are released, 156.

_Mastico_, Tripolitan ketch, captured by Decatur, i. 346;
he sails in it to fire the _Philadelphia_, 348–356;
its name changed to the _Intrepid_, 358.
See _Intrepid_.

Mathews, Jack, an old man-of-war tar, on the ironclad _Essex_,
gallant conduct of, iv. 261;
death of, 265.

_Mattabesett_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 457.

Matterface, Lieutenant William, in the attack on the American ship
_General Armstrong_, iii. 194.

_Maurepas_, Confederate gun-boat, iv. 127.

Mayo, W. R., his report of the assault on Fort Fisher, iv. 520.

Medicines excluded by blockade of Southern ports, iv. 56.

Mediterranean, second war with African pirates in the, iii. 339–358.

_Medway_, British liner, captures the _Siren_, iii. 79.

_Medway_, British frigate, with Farragut’s fleet at New Orleans, iv.
323.

_Melampus_, British war-ship, i. 406, 407.

_Mellish_, British brig, captured by Paul Jones, i. 79.

Memphis, battle of, iv. 298–307;
railroad communication with, cut off, 266, 267.

_Memphis_, armed merchantman, attacked by the Confederate ironclad
_Palmetto State_, iv. 474.

_Mercedita_, armed merchantman, attacked by the Confederate ironclad
_Palmetto State_, iv. 474.

Mercer, Captain Samuel, iv. 99.

Merchants, British, sufferings by the American Revolution, i. 112,
113, 127.

_Mercury_, Dutch packet, Henry Laurens, Ambassador to Holland, sails
on, iv. 153;
the British frigate _Vestal_ overhauls her and takes Mr. Laurens
from, _ib._

_Merrimac_, United States screw frigate, launched, iv. 15;
the old frigate transformed into a floating fort, 186;
reconstructed, 186–188;
particulars of building, 187;
the best and heaviest guns placed on her, 188;
her engines in bad condition, _ib._;
named the _Virginia_, but not known in history by that name, 189;
starts on a trial trip, 197;
the _Congress_ and _Cumberland_ harmlessly open fire on her, 200;
she rams the _Cumberland_, 202;
opens fire on and silences the Federal batteries, 207;
attacks the _Congress_, which surrenders, _ib._;
comparison of her guns and armament with the _Monitor_, 217, 218;
Captain Worden tries to find a vulnerable spot, 222;
she runs aground twice, 223;
tries to ram the _Monitor_, 224;
attempts made to board the _Monitor_, 225;
fires at the _Minnesota_, _ib._;
steams back to Norfolk, 229;
leak discovered, 230;
the gunnery better than the _Monitor’s_, 232;
the _Merrimac_ overhauled at Norfolk, 234;
Commodore Tattnall relieves Buchanan in command, _ib._;
Tattnall takes the _Merrimac_ down to Hampton Roads, _ib._;
the _Monitor_ retreats from, 235;
blown up on Craney Island, 237.

Mervine, Captain, attempts to march on Los Angeles, but is driven
back, iii. 398.

_Metacomet_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 386.

Metsko Devantigers, Japanese reporters, iii. 455.

Mexican War, the navy’s part in the, iii. 424, 428, 429.

Mexico, Gulf of, naval operations in the, iii. 402–428;
Farragut’s operations in the, iv. 357.

Mexico, French troops enter, iv. 367.

_Miami_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 454.

_Milford_, British frigate, encounter with Paul Jones, i. 77.

Miller, Captain Samuel, assists Commodore Barney with his marines,
ii. 409, 410.

_Milwaukee_, Federal gun-boat, sunk by a torpedo, iv. 406.

_Minerva_, British frigate, Captain of, refuses to fight the _Essex_,
and is branded as a coward, ii. 39–41.

_Minerva_, English privateer, captured by the _Alliance_, i. 297.

_Minneapolis_, United States cruiser, iv. 534.

_Minnesota_, United States frigate, compared with Arnold’s
_Congress_, iv. 3.

_Minnesota_, American frigate, iv. 99.

Mississippi, the British grab at the Valley of the, iii. 229, 230.

_Mississippi_, Federal side-wheel steamer, iv. 314.

_Mississippi_, Federal gun-boat, goes aground in front of Port
Hudson, is fired and abandoned, iv. 358.

Mississippi squadron transferred to the Navy Department, iv. 349;
ships composing the, 245–249.

Mississippi River, blockade of the entrance to, iv. 124–126;
opening of the, by Federal Navy, 240.

Mississippi, Valley of, the British plan to get possession of, iii.
229, 230.

Mississippi Valley, practically all Confederate territory till opened
by the Federal Navy, iv. 240.

Mitchell, Lieutenant-commander J. G., iv. 369.

Mobile, Ala., Porter’s views on attack on, iv. 341.

Mobile, fortifications of, described by Mahan, iv. 379–383.

Mobile Bay, description of, iv. 377;
Confederate defences of, ashore and afloat, 379.

_Mohawk_, United States screw sloop, built, iv. 16;
Captain S. W. Godon, 163;
rescues the crew of the _Peerless_, 167.

_Mohican_, United States frigate, cuts out the steamer _Forward_ on
the coast of Mexico, iv. 553.

_Monarch_, Federal ram, in attack on Fort Pillow, iv. 301;
attacks and sinks the _Beauregard_, 302.

_Monitor_, Federal ironclad, iv. 191;
rapid work in constructing, 192;
particulars of building, 192–194;
her passage to Hampton Roads, 215;
commanded by Captain J. L. Worden, _ib._;
comparison of armament with that of the _Merrimac_, 217, 218;
the fight with the _Merrimac_, 220;
superiority of the _Monitor’s_ revolving turret, 221;
the _Merrimac_ tries to ram, 224, 225;
her pilot-house struck and her captain disabled, 225;
retires to Fortress Monroe, 226;
her gunnery was poor, 231;
the battle an unparalleled lesson in naval warfare, 233;
letter from the crew to Captain Worden, 233, 234;
bombards the batteries at Sewell’s Point, 235;
ordered to Beaufort, N. C., 237;
founders at sea in a gale, _ib._

Monitors, most efficient and safest style of coast-defence ships, iv.
194.

_Monongahela_, Federal gun-boat, passes the batteries of Port Hudson,
iv. 358;
Commander James H. Strong, 389.

Monroe, ----, Mayor of New Orleans, objects to surrendering the city
to Farragut, iv. 338.

_Monsieur_, French privateer, in the fleet of Paul Jones, i. 234;
captures a Holland ship, 235.

_Montagu_, British frigate, rescues the _Bonne Citoyenne_ from the
_Hornet_, ii. 180.

_Montauk_, Federal monitor, shells and burns the Confederate ironclad
_Nashville_, iv. 480.

Monterey, Cal., Captain Catesby Jones takes possession of, iii. 390;
the American fleet under Captain Sloat take possession of, 392.

_Montezuma_, American ship, i. 316.

_Montezuma_, British whaler, captured by Porter, iii. 8.

_Montgomery_, American brig, fight with the _Surinam_, ii. 254.

Montgomery, Captain J. E., at Fort Pillow, iv. 290;
retreats, 297.

Montgomery, John B., takes possession of settlement on San Francisco
Bay, iii. 392.

_Monticello_, Federal frigate, iv. 99.

_Montmorency_, Federal merchant-ship, captured by Confederate cruiser
_Sumter_, iv. 415.

Moore, Captain, i. 15;
killed on the _Margaretta_, i. 22.

_Moore_, Confederate cotton-clad steamer, iv. 321;
rams and sinks the _Varuna_, 334;
fired by the _Cayuga_ and _Oneida_, _ib._

_Morgan_, Confederate gun-boat, iv. 380.

Morris, Captain Charles, wit of, in an emergency, ii. 58;
shot through the body in the _Guerrière_ fight, 88;
placed in command of the _Adams_, iii. 57;
runs the blockade in the Chesapeake, 57, 58;
he cruises on the coast of Africa, 58;
goes in search of the Jamaica fleet, _ib._;
sails to Newfoundland, thence to Ireland, and after taking a few
prizes is chased by the _Tigris_, 59;
again chased for forty hours, 59, 60;
his crew attacked by scurvy, 60;
his ship is driven on a rock, _ib._;
attacked by a British fleet and compelled to burn his ship, 62;
appointed to command of the _Florida_, iv. 424;
during his absence on shore Captain Collins of the _Wachusett_
captures her and takes her to the United States, _ib._

Morris, Lieutenant George U., iv. 201;
attacks the _Merrimac_, _ib._;
his ship is rammed, 201, 202;
refuses to surrender, 202–204;
his gallantry commended, 204, 205.

Morris, Captain Henry W., iv. 314.

Morris Island, Charleston, iv. 467.

Morse, Jedidiah, his description of the South Carolina islands, iv.
31.

_Mosher_, unarmored Confederate boat, Captain Sherman commanding, iv.
321, 329;
fired at and sunk by the _Hartford_, _ib._

_Mosquito_, American ship, chases and captures a pirate brig, iii.
335.

Mottoes, naval, on men-of-war, iii. 30.

_Mound City_, armor-plated Federal gun-boat, built by Eads, iv. 245;
Captain A. H. Kilty commands, 289;
rammed by the _Van Dorn_, 294;
Confederate shell bursts her boiler, 307;
in Porter’s fleet before Vicksburg, 363;
Lieutenant A. R. Langthorne commands, 370.

Mowatt, Captain, attack of, on Portland, Maine, i. 24–26.

_Muckie_, bombarded and burned by the American frigate _Columbia_,
iii. 376–378.

Mugford, Captain James, captures a transport with 1,500 barrels of
powder, i. 203.

Mullany, Commander J. R. M., iv. 389.

Murphy, Lieutenant J. McLeod, iv. 363.

_Murray_, British gun-boat, iii. 143.

Murray, Captain Alexander, beats off two British gun-ships, i. 207.

Murray, Colonel J., with 1,000 British troops assaults Plattsburg and
Saranac, ii. 355;
burns the public stores at both places and then retreats, _ib._

_Nahant_, Federal ironclad, Commander John Downes, iv. 480;
at Charleston, 485.

_Naiad_, Federal merchant-ship, captured by Confederate cruiser
_Sumter_, 415.

_Nancy_, English merchantman, captured by the _Raleigh_ and _Alfred_,
i. 130.

_Nancy_, British brigantine, captured by the _Lee_, i. 197–199.

_Nantucket_, Federal ironclad, iv. 480.

Napier on the character of the veterans sent to America, iii. 134.

Napoleon III., Emperor of France, his views in regard to Texas and
Mexico modified by the surrender of New Orleans, iv. 340;
tries to persuade Texas to secede from the Confederacy, 368.

_Narcissus_, British frigate, attacks the American schooner
_Surveyor_, ii. 417.

Narragansett Indian impressed by the British, a, iii. 293.

_Nashville_, Confederate cruiser, blockaded in the Great Ogeechee
River, iv. 479;
attacked and burned by Captain Worden of the monitor _Montauk_, 480.

Natchez, Tenn., surrenders to Captain Craven of the _Brooklyn_, iv.
340.

National sea-power, curious chain of events that led to creation of,
i. 1, 2.

_Nautilus_, American cruiser, in the attack on Tripoli, i. 374.

_Nautilus_, East India Company’s cruiser, surrenders to the
_Peacock_, iii. 285.

Naval architecture, a point on, iii. 227.

Naval armament, means for furnishing United Colonies with, i. 35.

Naval calls, iii. 471.

Naval discipline, effect of, on raw recruits, iv. 250.

Naval forces of the United States compared with those of Great
Britain in 1812, ii. 21–23.

Naval officers, old-time, life led by, iii. 305–307;
American, work that they have had to do in out-of-the-way parts of
the world in times of peace, 359–386;
disloyalty of, at commencement of the Civil War, iv. 70.

Naval operations in the Gulf of Mexico, iii. 402–428.

Naval terms applied to war-ships, iii. 54.

Navy, British, in American waters, i. 195.

Navy, colonial, creation of a, i. 30.

Navy of the United Colonies, regulations of, i. 34.

Navy, the American, at the battle of New Orleans, iii. 229.

_Neapolitan_, Federal merchant-ship, captured by Confederate cruiser
_Sumter_, iv. 415.

Neilds, Ensign H. C., heroic conduct of, iv. 394.

_Neosho_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 370.

_Nereyda_, Peruvian cruiser, captured the American whalers _Walker_
and _Barclay_, iii. 7;
is dismantled by the _Essex_ and sent to the Viceroy of Peru, _ib._

_Netley_, British brig, iii. 111.

Neutral ports, violations of, iv. 427.

Neutrality laws observed by American naval officers, iii. 28, 29.

Neutrality, the law of, in open ports, iv. 44.

New Carthage, Grant crosses from, to surround Vicksburg, iv. 363.

_New Castle_, British frigate, attacks the _Constitution_, iii. 260.

_New Ironsides_, successful Federal ironclad, iv. 190, 480.

New Madrid, on Missouri River, captured by Pope, iv. 276.

New Orleans, British attack on, iii. 230;
blockaded by the _Brooklyn_, iv. 44;
attacked by Farragut’s squadron, 314–337;
Farragut demands the surrender of the city, 338;
General Butler takes possession of, 339.

New Providence taken by Commodore Hopkins, i. 56.

Newton, Isaac, first Assistant Engineer of the _Monitor_, iv. 216.

_New York_, United States cruiser, iv. 533.

_New Zealander_, British ship, captured by Porter, iii. 14.

_Niagara_, British merchantman, captured, ii. 265;
Elliott’s ship in battle of Lake Erie, 292.

_Niagara_, American ship, Perry shifts his flag from the _Lawrence_
to, ii. 321;
after the war is sunk in Little Bay, 337.

_Niagara_, United States screw frigate, launched, iv. 15.

Nichols, Lieutenant Edward T., iv. 315.

Nichols, Captain Samuel, first Captain of marines in American Navy,
i. 53.

Nicholson, Captain James, i. 187.

Nicholson, Lieutenant John B., sent by Decatur to take charge of the
_Macedonian_ when she surrendered, ii. 134;
carries the _Epervier_ into Savannah after her fight with the
_Peacock_, iii. 77;
transferred to the _Siren_, _ib._;
a story of sailors’ superstitions, 78, 79.

Nicholson, Commander J. W. A., iv. 386.

Nicholson, Captain Samuel, appointed to the American frigate
_Constitution_, i. 312.

“Ninety-day fleet, the,” iv. 39.

_Nipsic_, United States cruiser, thrown ashore at Samoa, iv. 554.

Noah, Mordecai M., American Consul at Tunis, demands indemnity for
seizure of the _Abellino_ prizes, iii. 355.

_Nocton_, British brig, captured by Porter, iii. 2;
recaptured by the _Belvidera_, 3.

_Nonita_, American schooner, in attack on Alvarado, iii. 410.

_Nonsuch_, American frigate, in Perry’s cruise to South America, iii.
327;
Perry makes it his flagship, _ib._;
the crew infected with yellow fever, 329.

Norderling, Mr., Swedish Consul at Algiers in 1815, iii. 348.

_Norfolk_, American ship, i. 316.

Norfolk Navy Yard, loss of the, iv. 66–83.

North, Lord, despair of, on hearing of the surrender of Lord
Cornwallis, i. 299.

Nukahiva, Marquesas Islands, Porter brings the _Essex_ and his fleet
of captured whalers here to refit, iii. 16;
a sailor’s paradise, 19;
an incipient mutiny at, 21–23.

_Nymphe_, British frigate, chased by the _President_ and _Congress_,
ii. 151.

Ocracoke Inlet, fort at, iv. 108.

_Octorara_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 386.

Ogdensburg, N. Y., British attack on, ii. 268.

“Old Glory” first hoisted, i. 135.

“Old Ironsides” (the _Constitution_), i. 312.

“Old Sow, The,” ii. 267.

Old-time naval officers, iii. 305–307.

_Old War Horse_, another name for the _Benton_, iv. 249.

Olney, Captain Joseph, i. 163.

“On to Canada,” the war-cry of 1812, ii. 20.

_Oneida_, American war-brig, ii. 264;
captures the _Lord Nelson_, 265;
Commodore Earle attempts to capture, 266.

_Oneida_, Federal screw corvette, iv. 314.

_Oneida_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 389.

_Ontario_, American sloop-of-war, sent against the Dey of Algiers in
1815, iii. 343.

Ontario, Lake, operations on, iii. 113–129.

Ordronaux, Captain J., attacked by the British frigate _Endymion_,
iii. 202–207.

_Oreto_, Confederate cruiser. See _Florida_.

_Orpheus_, British frigate, captures the _Confederacy_, i. 298.

_Orpheus_, British frigate, with the _Sherburne_, attacks and
captures the _Frolic_, iii. 65, 66.

_Osage_, Federal gun-boat, iv, 369;
sunk by a torpedo, 406.

_Ossipee_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 389.

_Ottawa_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 163.

_Ottawa_, Federal war-ship, attacked ironclad _Palmetto State_, iv.
474.

Otter Creek, Vt., Macdonough fortifies, iii. 137.

_Ouachita_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 369.

Owen, Lieutenant-commander E. K., iv. 363, 369.

_Ozark_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 370.

Pacific coast, naval operations on the, in 1842, iii. 389–428.

Pakenham, Sir Edward Michael, in command of the British forces to
attack New Orleans, reaches the Chandeleur Islands, iii. 230.

_Pallas_, American ship, i. 232;
_Countess of Scarborough_ surrenders to, 267.

_Palmetto State_, Confederate ironclad, iv. 473;
armament of, _ib._;
attacks the _Mercedita_, 474;
paroles her crew, 475.

_Palmira_, Porto Rico privateer, plunders American schooner
_Coquette_, and is captured by the _Grampus_, iii. 332.

Pamlico Sound, N. C., a rendezvous for Confederate privateers, iv. 94.

_Pandrita_, pirate ship, captured by the _Grampus_, iii. 332.

Paper blockade, Navy Department tries to establish, iv. 41.

Parker, Captain John, at Lexington, i. 14.

Parker, Lieutenant, in the _Java_ fight, ii. 165.

Parker, Lieutenant George, dies at sea, iii. 78;
a story of sailors’ superstition in connection with his death,
78, 79.

Parker, Lieutenant, the _Congress_ surrenders to, iv. 208.

Parsons, P. Usher, fleet surgeon in the battle of Lake Erie, ii. 294.

Pass à Loutre, Federal fleet retreat down the, iv. 137.

_Passaic_, Federal monitor, iv. 237, 480, 490.

_Patapsco_, Federal ironclad, iv. 480, 490.

Patterson, Master-commandant William T., attacks the British camp,
iii. 239;
sets fire to and abandons his ships, 240.

_Paul Jones_, American privateer, ii. 251.

Paulding, Captain Hiram, breaks up the nest of plotters against the
Federal Government, iv. 71.

Paving-stones used as missiles to capture the _Gaspé_, i. 9.

_Pawnee_, Federal frigate, iv. 99, 163.

_Peabody_, Federal transport, iv. 100.

_Peacock_, American corvette, meets the brig-sloop _Epervier_, iii.
66;
captures the sloop, 67–71;
cruises, 78;
attached to Decatur’s fleet, 271;
captures prizes and the cruiser _Nautilus_, 285.

_Peacock_, British brig, encounters the American sloop _Hornet_, ii.
181;
the battle, 183;
her captain killed, _ib._;
sinks, 184;
good treatment of the officers and men by the Americans, 187;
comparison of the ships, 190.

Peake, Captain William, attacks the _Hornet_, ii. 181;
is killed, 183;
proud of his ship, 190.

Pearce, Lieutenant John, iv. 370.

_Pearl_, British frigate, captures the _Lexington_, i. 68;
the latter escapes, _ib._

Pearson, Captain Richard, encounters the _Bonhomme Richard_, i. 243,
245;
surrenders, 259;
anecdote of, 262–264;
conduct of, 274;
treated as if he had won a victory, 275.

Pechell, Captain Samuel John, in charge of expedition sent against
Craney’s Island, ii. 398.

_Peerless_, Federal transport, lost near Cape Hatteras, iv. 167.

Peiho River, attack on Chinese forts in the, iii. 382.

_Pelican_, British frigate, goes in search of the American sloop
_Argus_, ii. 362;
attacks the _Argus_, 363, 364;
captures the sloop, 364–367;
takes her into Plymouth, 371.

_Pembina_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 163.

Pendergrast, American Flag Officer G. J., his proclamation, iv. 40.

Pendergrast, Lieutenant Austin, takes command of the _Congress_, iv.
208;
surrenders to Lieutenant Parker of the _Beaufort_, _ib._;
assists in transferring the wounded, 209;
escapes by swimming, _ib._

_Penguin_, British brig-sloop, is beaten by the _Hornet_, iii.
273–281.

_Penguin_, Federal gun-boat, at Port Royal, iv. 171.

_Pensacola_, United States screw sloop, iv. 16;
Captain Henry W. Morris, 314.

Pensacola Navy Yard surrendered to Confederates, iv. 112.

Perkins, Lieutenant-commander George H., iv. 386.

_Perry_, Federal brig, captures the _Savannah_, iv. 89.

Perry, Christopher Raymond, gallant conduct of, i. 296.

Perry, Commodore Matthew Calbraith, brother of Oliver H. Perry, sent
against the Mexican port of Frontera, iii. 410;
captures the Mexican fleet, _ib._;
captures Tabasco, 413;
conducts the operations during the siege of Vera Cruz, 424;
his early services, 435;
a Japanese poem dedicated to him, 437;
his work in opening the ports of Japan, 439;
appointed to the Japan mission, 443;
anchors off Uraga, _ib._;
reception by the Japanese, 444–447;
difficulty in opening negotiations, 449, 450;
the Japanese Governor accompanied by three reporters, 455;
permission from the Emperor to receive the President’s message,
_ib._;
the Emperor grants all that is asked, 457–463;
amusing features of the expedition, 463;
assigned to the _Fulton 2d_, iv. 11;
his opinion of her, _ib._

Perry, Oliver Hazard, in command of a fleet of gun-boats at Newport,
R. I., in 1812, ii. 280;
ordered to join Commodore Chauncey, 282;
inspects the navy yard at Black Rock, 283;
finds five ships being constructed at Erie, Pa., _ib._;
hastens to Pittsburg for cannon-balls, 285;
returns to Erie, 286;
starts for Buffalo in a row-boat, _ib._;
compels the British to abandon the Niagara River, 287;
stricken with fever through overwork, 288;
ordered to co-operate with General Harrison, _ib._;
his appeal for men, 289;
starts on an expedition with an inadequate force, _ib._;
chooses the _Lawrence_ as his flagship, 290;
gets his fleet in deep water, 291;
cruises on Lake Erie, 292;
is joined by officers and men from the _Constitution_, _ib._;
sails up the lake to join General Harrison, 292;
arrives at Put-in-Bay, 293;
confers with General Harrison, 294;
sickness, _ib._;
his fleet anchors in Put-in-Bay, _ib._;
sketch of Perry’s fleet, 295;
sketch of Barclay’s fleet, 296;
comparison of the commanders, 300;
his thoughtfulness for his men, 305;
the battle of Lake Erie commences, 309;
closes in on the British, 311;
loads and fires his own guns, 315;
his flagship a wreck, 317;
shifts his flag to the _Niagara_, 321;
the decisive movement, 322;
the British surrender, 324;
“We have met the enemy and they are ours!”, 325;
receives the swords of the British officers on the _Lawrence_, 328;
his letter to the Secretary of the Navy, 332;
results of his victory, 333;
promoted from rank of master-commandant to captain, 334;
his praise of Lieutenant Elliott, 336;
value of ships captured in the battle, 337;
his squadron at Erie, _ib._;
Washington Irving’s opinion of the victory, 338;
his duel with Captain Heath, iii. 317;
detailed to cruise in South American waters, 327;
sails up the Orinoco, _ib._;
demands compensation for American vessels, 329;
contracts yellow fever, _ib._;
dies while entering the Port of Spain, Trinidad Island, 330;
buried at Newport, R. I., _ib._

_Pert_, American schooner, ii. 270.

_Perthshire_, British merchantman, captured off Mobile, iv. 43;
released by the _Niagara_, _ib._;
claims compensation, 44.

_Petrel_, American schooner, in attack on Alvarado, iii. 410.

_Petrel_, Confederate privateer, iv. 93;
chases the _St. Lawrence_, which fires into and sinks her, 94.

Phelps, Captain S. S., appointed to command of the _Conestoga_, iv.
251;
convoys General Grant down the Mississippi, _ib._;
captures the Confederate steamer _Eastport_, 267;
takes command of her, _ib._;
before Fort Pillow, 290;
Lieutenant-commander of the _Eastport_, 369.

_Philadelphia_, American gondola, i. 90;
on Lake Champlain, 100.

_Philadelphia_, American frigate, sent to Tripoli, i. 335;
sunk on a reef, 343;
raised by the Tripolitans, 344;
boarded and fired by Decatur, 349–358.

_Phœbe_, British frigate, attempts to attack the _Essex_, iii. 25,
26;
is scared off, _ib._;
with the _Cherub_ makes another attack on the _Essex_, 30–43.

Pico Andres, Mexican Governor of Los Angeles, iii. 397;
breaks his parole, _ib._

_Picton_, British war-schooner, captured by the _Constitution_, iii.
242.

Pike, Zebulon M., explorer, at storming of Toronto, ii. 341;
killed by the explosion of a magazine, 342.

_Pinola_, Federal screw gun-boat, iv. 316.

Piracy discoveries at Cape Cruz, South America, iii. 335.

Pirate caves with the bones of dead in them, iii. 324, 325.

Piratical assaults on Yankee traders, iii. 366.

Pitcairn, Major, at Lexington, i. 14.

Pitchforks used by haymakers in their attack on the _Margaretta_, i.
21.

_Pittsburg_, armor-plated Federal gun-boat, built by Eads, iv. 245;
Captain Egbert Thompson commands, 290;
before Vicksburg, 363, 370.

Pittsburg Landing, fight at, iv. 284.

_Plantagenet_, British liner, assists in the attack on the _General
Armstrong_, iii. 188, 194, 196–198.

_Planter_, Confederate transport, turned over to the Federals by
Robert Small, a negro slave, iv. 501, 502.

Plattsburg Bay, operations of Macdonough in, iii. 145, 150.

“Playing ball with the red coats,” ii. 268.

_Plunger_, Holland submarine boat, iv. 545.

Po Adam, Malay chief, rescues Captain Endicott, iii. 370;
aids Captain Downes in his attack on Quallah Battoo, 374.

_Pocahontas_, Federal frigate, iv. 163.

_Poictiers_, British frigate, recaptures the _Frolic_ from the
_Wasp_, ii. 118.

_Policy_, British whaler, captured by Porter, iii. 8.

_Polk_, Confederate gun-boat, iv. 127.

_Polly_, American privateer, attacks the English sloop-of-war
_Indian_, ii. 242.

_Pomone_, British frigate, assists in the capture of the _President_,
iii. 222.

Pope, Captain John, his report on the retreat of the Federal fleet,
iv. 137;
captured New Madrid, 276;
fortifies the river, _ib._;
shuts Confederates in, _ib._

_Porcupine_, American schooner, in battle of Lake Erie, ii. 295.

_Porpoise_, American schooner, in fleet sent to South America to
punish pirates, iii. 331.

Port Hudson, Farragut runs his squadron past, iv. 357;
the _Albatross_, _Monongahela_, and _Kineo_ successfully pass the
batteries of, 358;
the _Mississippi_ and the _Lancaster_ fired and sunk below, _ib._

Porter, Midshipman David, assists Lieutenant Rodgers in charge of
captured French frigate _Insurgent_, i. 323;
sent to Tripoli, 335;
sent from the _Enterprise_ to take possession of the _Tripoli_,
335, 336;
lands and fires gun-boats in the port of Tripoli, 340;
surrenders to the Tripolitans, 343;
his experience and training, ii. 33, 34;
captures the corvette _Alert_, 42;
crew of, plan a rescue, 44;
receives an insulting challenge from Sir James Yeo, 348;
starts on a second cruise in the _Essex_, iii. 1;
cruises off Port Praya, 2;
captures the British brig _Nocton_, _ib._;
reaches Fernando de Noronha, 3;
Bainbridge directs him to pose as Sir James Yeo, _ib._;
captures the schooner _Elizabeth_, 4;
left free to choose his own course, _ib._;
rounds Cape Horn, _ib._;
dysentery among his crew, 5, 6;
encounters fearful storms, 6;
a panic on board, _ib._;
sails for Valparaiso, 7;
overhauls the _Nereyda_, throws her guns and arms overboard, _ib._;
disguises his ship, 8;
captures the British whalers _Barclay_, _Montezuma_, _Georgiana_,
and _Policy_, _ib._;
captures the whalers _Atlantic_ and _Greenwich_, _ib._;
forms a squadron, 10;
captures the whaler _Charlton_, the ships _Seringapatam_ and _New
Zealander_, 14;
captures the _Sir Andrew Hammond_, 16;
refits his ship at Nukahiva, _ib._;
the prisoners plan to capture the Yankee force, 21;
an incipient mutiny, _ib._;
he sails from Nukahiva, 23;
waits for the British frigate, the _Phœbe_, 24;
gives a reception to the officials of the city, 25;
the _Phœbe_ arrives and attempts to attack him, 25–28;
he challenges the _Phœbe_, 29;
a heavy squall interferes, 31;
the _Essex_ disabled and the enemy gives chase, _ib._;
Porter retires into neutral waters, 32;
Porter’s running gear disabled, 36;
he surrenders his ship, 43;
is sent to New York on the _Essex, Junior_, 49;
escapes in a fog, _ib._;
aids the defence of Baltimore, 53;
services, death, and burial, _ib._;
operating against the pirates of South America, iii. 333;
endeavors to get support of the local governments, _ib._;
compels a Porto Rico alcalde to show respect to American officers,
336;
court-martialed, _ib._;
is suspended and resigns his commission, _ib._

Porter, Commander David D., his idea of attacking New Orleans, iv.
313;
finds New Orleans fishermen good spies, _ib._;
arranges the expedition, _ib._;
commands the mortar fleet up the Mississippi River, 325;
placed in charge of the Mississippi squadron, 349;
tin-clads added to his squadron, _ib._;
tries to get in behind Vicksburg, 358;
is unsuccessful, 363;
attacks the fortifications of Grand Gulf, 367;
sent with General Banks’s expedition to Shreveport, La., 369;
arrives at Alexandria, 370;
captures the _Abby Bradford_ from the _Sumter_, 413;
disagreement with General Butler at Fort Fisher, 508.

Porter, Captain John, in command of the _Greyhound_ in South America,
iii. 333.

Porter, Confederate Navy Constructor J. L., assists in making the
working drawings for the _Merrimac_, iv. 185.

Porter, Captain William D., iv. 249;
in Commodore Foote’s fleet, 255;
severely scalded, 265.

Portland, Maine, atrocities of the British at, i. 24–26, 32;
influence of atrocities, 196.

_Port Royal_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 389;
capture of, 162–182.

_Portsmouth_, American frigate, in the bombardment of Chinese forts,
iii. 380–382.

_Potomac_, American frigate, attacks and punishes the Malays at
Quallah Battoo, iii. 373–375.

_Powhatan_, Federal frigate, captures the _Abby Bradford_ from the
_Sumter_, iv. 413.

_Preble_, American sloop. See _Rising Sun_.

Preble, Captain Edward, i. 26;
in command of the _Constitution_, 346;
attacks the city of Tripoli, 359;
Congress gives him a gold medal, 378.

Preble, Lieutenant George H., iv. 315.

_President_, American frigate, built, i. 312;
sent to Tripoli, 335;
encounters and is fired on by the corvette _Little Belt_, ii. 7;
Captain John Rodgers sent to look for the _Guerrière_, 8;
chases the British frigate _Belvidera_, 29–32;
the frigate escapes, 32;
mentioned, 121;
chases the _Nymphe_, 151;
chases the _Curlew_, 358;
a lieutenant of the _President_ boards the _Highflyer_, _ib._;
special efforts ordered to capture the _President_, 359;
termed “The Waggon” by the British, 360;
Decatur transferred to, iii. 212;
attacked by the British fleet, 216;
surrenders, 222;
is carried to the Bermudas, 226;
her dimensions, 227.

Press-gang riots in Boston, i. 395, 397.

Press-gangs, raised in England, i. 156;
methods of the, 386, 387;
number of Americans enslaved by the, ii. 2–4.

Prevost, Sir George, attacks Sackett’s Harbor, ii. 345;
mistakes trees for troops, 346;
in command of “Wellington’s Invincibles” at Plattsburg, iii. 147;
defeated, 169, 170;
dies of chagrin, 183.

_Price_, Confederate gun-boat, rams the _Cincinnati_, iv. 293;
disabled by the _Carondelet_, 294.

_Prince de Neufchâtel_, American privateer, ii. 253;
attacked by the British frigate _Endymion_, iii. 202–207.

_Prince of Orange_, British brig, captured by the _Surprise_, i. 124,
125.

_Prince Regent_, British ship, iii. 129.

_Princeton_, Ericsson’s first screw steamship, iv. 12;
Captain Stockton assigned to her, 14;
the “Peacemaker,” one of her guns, bursts, _ib._;
her success pronounced, _ib._

Pring, Captain, in the battle of Lake Champlain, iii. 166;
surrenders, _ib._

Prisoners, American, in England, bad treatment of, i. 122.

Prisons, British, iii. 288–304.

Privateer and a letter of marque, difference between, iii. 242.

Privateers, commissioned by Congress, i. 33;
authorized by General Court of Massachusetts, 196;
by Connecticut and Rhode Island, 197;
by General Washington, _ib._;
work accomplished by them up to 1777, 217;
another account of them, 220, 221;
captured prisoners from privateers on prison-ship _Jersey_, 221–226;
result of licensing of, iii. 324.

Privateers, American, capture sixteen English cruisers during the
Revolutionary War, i. 302.

Privateers in the War of 1812, only a few made money, ii. 233–258;
two hundred and fifty commissioned during the war, 240.

Proctor, General, his incursion into Ohio prevented by the result of
the battle of Lake Erie, ii. 333.

_Protector_, American gun-ship, blows up the British privateer
_Admiral Duff_, i. 207;
beats off the frigate _Thames_, _ib._

_Providence_, brig of first American Navy, i. 39, 57;
commanded by Captain John P. Rathburne, descends on New Providence,
Bahamas, 186.

_Quaker City_, armed merchantman, attacked by the Confederate
ironclad _Palmetto State_, iv. 474.

Quallah Battoo, Malays of, attacked by the American frigate
_Potomac_, iii. 373, 374;
bombarded by the _Columbia_, 376.

_Queen Charlotte_, British ship, in battle of Lake Erie, ii. 296;
sunk in Little Bay, 337.

_Queen of France_, American ship, i. 280, 281.

_Queen of the West_, Federal ram, at Fort Pillow, iv. 301;
sinks the _Lowell_, _ib._;
rammed by the _Beauregard_, _ib._;
sent to attack Port Hudson, 351;
abandoned by the Federals, 352.

_Racehorse_, British brig, captured by the _Andrea Doria_, i. 69.

Radford, Captain William, absent from duty, iv. 201.

_Rainbow_, British gun-ship, captures the _Hancock_, i. 185.

Rais Hammida, the terror of the Mediterranean, iii. 344, 346;
killed, 347.

_Raleigh_, American man-of-war, sent to France, i. 130;
attacks the _Druid_, 131;
loads her supplies, 132;
returns to America, 133;
captured, 194.

_Raleigh_, Confederate gun-boat, assists in taking crew off the
_Congress_, iv. 208.

_Randolph_, American frigate, i. 160;
blown up, 162.

Ransom paid to the Dey of Algiers, i. 309, 310.

Ransom, Lieutenant George M., iv. 315.

Rathbone, Captain John P., i. 186;
releases American prisoners, _ib._;
commands the _Queen of France_, 281.

_Rattlesnake_, American ship, captured by the _Leander_, ii. 387.

Ravenel, Dr. St. Julien, aids in fitting out torpedo boats, iv. 497.

_Razee_, a line-of-battle ship, ii. 403, iii. 56.

Read, Lieutenant Charles W., appointed to command the _Clarence_, iv.
424;
captures the _Tacony_ and burns the _Clarence_, _ib._;
captures the _Archer_ and cuts out the _Caleb Cushing_, _ib._;
captured, _ib._

Red River, Texas, blockaded, iv. 358.

Red River dam, iv. 372–374.

_Reefer_, American schooner, iii. 410.

Reid, Commodore George C., bombards and burns Malay towns, iii.
375–379.

Reid, Captain Samuel C., sails from New York Harbor, iii. 187;
arrives at Fayal, _ib._;
the brig _Carnation_, accompanied by the _Plantagenet_ and the
frigate _Rota_; enter the harbor, 188;
attacked in a neutral port, 189;
heavy loss of the enemy, _ib._;
the population gather to watch the issue, 190;
the _Carnation_ attacks with a fleet of boats, _ib._;
a fierce hand-to-hand fight, 192;
he scuttles and abandons his ship, 200;
returns home, 201;
is enthusiastically received and honored, _ib._;
his pedigree, _ib._;
originated the arrangement of the stars and stripes in the American
flag, _ib._;
dies in New York City, _ib._

Reilly, Lieutenant James, iii. 81.

_Reindeer_, British brig-sloop, captured by the _Wasp_ (No. 3), iii.
88;
armament of, 91;
the wounded of, sent to Plymouth, _ib._

Renshaw, Master-commandant James, on the _Enterprise_ after the
_Boxer-Enterprise_ battle, ii. 386.

_Reprisal_, American brig, captures a number of prizes, i. 70;
fight with the _Shark_, 71;
Franklin sails for France on the, 114;
close call of, 118;
ordered to leave France, 119;
founders, _ib._

_Resolute_, Federal steamer, at Acquia Creek, iv. 81.

_Resolution_, British brig, captured by the _Hornet_, ii. 181, 191.

_Retaliation_, American gun-ship, formerly the French ship
_Croyable_, i. 316, 330, 400.

_Revenge_, American sloop, i. 89.

_Revenge_, American man-of-war, i. 126;
takes numerous prizes, _ib._

Rhind, Commander A. C., iv. 480;
Commander of the _Louisiana_, 510.

Rhode Island, first naval fight in waters of, i. 2.

_Richmond_, United States screw sloop, iv. 16;
Captain Thornton A. Jenkins, 386.

Richmond, Va., railroad communication cut off from, iv. 267.

Ricot, Captain, in Paul Jones’s fleet, i. 232.

Rifled cannon introduced into the American Navy, iv. 20, 21.

_Rising Sun_, American sloop, renamed the _Preble_, iii. 136, 138,
140.

“River Defence Squadron,” Confederate, iv. 297.

_Roanoke_, United States screw frigate, launched, iv. 15.

Roanoke Island, expedition to, iv. 109.

Robertson, Lieutenant John Downie, in the battle of Lake Champlain,
iii. 165.

Robinson, Captain Isaiah, i. 69;
captures the _Racehorse_, _ib._

Rodgers, Rear-admiral John, with Midshipman David Porter and others,
sail the captured frigate _Insurgent_ with 173 French on her,
i. 323;
brings the ship safely into St. Kitts, _ib._;
ready to move his fleet in one hour, ii. 28;
starts to intercept a big fleet of merchantmen, 29;
chases the _Belvidera_, _ib._;
fires the first shot of the War of 1812, 30;
his leg broken, 31;
the frigate escapes him, 32;
cruises and captures merchantmen and recaptures an American ship,
_ib._;
challenged by the _Guerrière_, 72;
sails from Boston, 121;
chases the British frigate _Nymphe_, 151;
chases the _Curlew_, 358;
falls in with the British schooner _Highflyer_, and secures her
book of private signals and instructions, _ib._;
value and usefulness of the book, 359;
ordered to report to General Frémont, iv. 241;
buys and fits out merchant-vessels, _ib._;
relieved of his command, 250;
appointed head of Board of Naval Officers, 527.

Rodgers, Captain John, iv. 480.

Rodgers, Commander George W., killed on the _Catskill_, iv. 480, 491.

Rodgers, Captain R. C. P., at Port Royal, iv. 163.

Rodman, Captain United States Ordnance Department, his experience
with heavy guns, iv. 18, 20.

_Rodolph_, Federal wrecking steamer, sunk by a torpedo, iv. 406.

_Roebuck_, British frigate, captures the _Confederacy_, i. 298.

Roosevelt, Clinton, proposed steel-plated ship, iv. 9.

Rooster, a sporting, iii. 155.

_Rose_, British ship, captured by Lieutenant Downes, iii. 10;
sent to St. Helena as a cartel, 12.

_Rota_, British frigate, in the attack on the _General Armstrong_,
iii. 188–200.

Rowan, Captain Stephen C., iv. 99;
destroys the Confederate fleet at Roanoke Island, 110.

_Royal Savage_, American schooner, i. 89.

_Royal Yacht_, Confederate privateer, blockaded by the _Santee_ in
Galveston, iv. 138.

Russell, Lieutenant John H., iv. 314.

Russell, Lord, correspondence about the _Trent_ affair, iv. 150–152;
letter of, on the closing of Charleston Harbor, 471, 472.

_S. J. Waring_, merchantman, captured by Confederate privateer
_Jefferson Davis_, iv. 91.

_Sabine_, Federal sailing ship, rescues the crew of the _Governor_,
iv. 167.

Sackett’s Harbor, N. Y., chosen as a naval station, ii. 264;
attacked by the British, 345.

Sailors, kidnapped, cruelty to, on British ships, i. 387.

Sailor’s rights ignored by politicians, ii. 18.

St. Eustatius, Governor of, gives first salute to the American
flag, i. 69.

_St. James_, American privateer, beats off a British frigate, i. 206.

St. John’s, British fleet built at, i. 87.

St. Laurent, Captain, deceived by Captain Bainbridge, i. 317.

_St. Lawrence_, British liner, iii. 129.

_St. Louis_, Commodore Foote’s flagship, disabled, iv. 271;
Captain Henry Erben commands, 289.

_Sally_, purchased by first Marine Committee, i. 39.

Saltonstall, Captain Dudley, i. 46;
commands the _Trumbull_, 164;
captain of the _Warren_, 283.

Samoa, hurricane at, iv. 554.

Sand-bar, lifting vessels over a, ii. 289, 290.

San Diego, Cal., John C. Frémont takes possession of, iii. 394.

_Sandwich_, American privateer, cut out of Puerto Plata by Lieutenant
Isaac Hull, i. 329.

_San Jacinto_, American frigate, iii. 380.

_San Jacinto_, United States screw sloop, iv. 15;
Mason and Slidell, Confederate Commissioners, taken to Boston in,
148.
See _Mason, James Murray_.

San Juan de Ulloa, a castle on Gallega Reef, Vera Cruz,
fortification of, iii. 418.

Santa Anna, Mexican General, landed from the American fleet at Vera
Cruz, iii. 424;
the American Government negotiates with him to return to Mexico,
427;
escorted up the streets of Vera Cruz, _ib._;
is recognized by a squad of soldiers and saluted, _ib._;
again master of Mexican affairs, _ib._

_Santee_, Federal frigate, blockades Galveston, iv. 137.

Saranac River, the British retire from, iii. 136.

_Saratoga_, American frigate, i. 287;
captures the _Charming Molly_ and two other ships, 292;
lost in a hurricane, 293.

_Saratoga_, American privateer, ii. 253.

_Saratoga_, American corvette, iii. 137, 138;
Macdonough’s flagship in the battle of Lake Champlain, 155.

_Sassacus_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 456.

_Savannah_, American frigate, iii. 392.

_Savannah_, Confederate privateer, captures brig _Joseph_, iv. 88;
captured by Federal brig _Perry_, 89.

_Sciota_, Federal screw gun-boat, iv. 315.

_Scorpion_, American gun-boat, ii. 292.

_Scorpion_, American cutter, ii. 408.

_Scorpion_, American schooner, captured by the British, iii. 110.

Scott, Lieutenant-colonel Winfield, at Black Rock, ii. 275;
takes possession of Squaw Island, 278;
hauls down the British flag, 344.

_Scourge_, American privateer, ii. 253.

_Scourge_, American schooner, ii. 350.

_Seahorse_, American tender, makes a gallant fight against the
British fleet, iii. 233–235.

Sea-power, American, in 1812, ii. 21;
of Great Britain, 22.

Search, the right of, on the high seas, i. 387;
reaffirmed, ii. 19.

_Seine_, French privateer, captured by the American schooner
_Enterprise_, i. 330.

Selfredge, Lieutenant-commander T. O., iv. 369.

Selfredge, Lieutenant-commander T. O., Jr., at Fort Fisher, iv. 519.

Self-restraint of Americans, iii. 303.

Selkirk, Earl of, house of, surrounded by Paul Jones, i. 147, 148.

_Selma_, Confederate gun-boat, iv. 380.

Selman, Captain John, captures ten British vessels and Governor
Wright of St. John’s, i. 203.

_Seminole_, Federal frigate, iv. 163.

_Seminole_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 389.

Semmes, Commander Raphael, his ship capsizes and he loses half the
crew, iii. 417;
takes command of Confederate cruiser _Sumter_, iv. 408;
chases the _Brooklyn_, 409;
captures the _Golden Rocket_, 410;
takes five prizes into Cuba, 411;
takes the _Abby Bradford_ to Venezuela, 412;
the _Powhatan_ captures her, 413;
some of his captures, 415;
his ship sold to English blockade-runners, _ib._;
Brazil authorities allow him to use Fernando de Noronha as
headquarters, 427;
appointed to command of _Alabama_, 431;
ships his officers and men at Terceira, _ib._;
encounters the _San Jacinto_, 432;
captures the _Ariel_, _ib._;
goes to Galveston to intercept transports, _ib._;
captures the _Hatteras_, _ib._;
his reception at Cape Town, 434;
his gallantry, 435;
cruises in the East Indies, 436;
fight with the _Kearsarge_, 438–441;
rescued by the yacht _Deerhound_, 442;
his reception in England, 447.

_Seneca_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 163.

Senez, Captain Andre, surrenders to Captain Little of the _Boston_,
i. 328, 329.

Sentiment, a touching tale of, iii. 243, 244.

_Serapis_, British frigate, encounters the _Bonhomme Richard_, i. 243;
fight with the latter, 245–259;
surrenders, 259;
comparative strength of the two ships, 265.

_Seringapatam_, British ship, captured by Porter, iii. 14.

_Severn_, British ship, ii. 421.

Seward, William H., his reply to the despatch of the British
Government relative to the _Trent_ affair, iv. 154–156.

Sewell’s Point, Confederate batteries erected at, iv. 195.

Shajackuda Creek, Niagara River, expedition starts from, ii. 275;
route opened up by Perry, 287.

_Shannon_, British frigate, ii. 55;
blockades Boston, 200;
challenges the _Chesapeake_, 203;
captures her, 209–221;
arrives at Halifax, 222;
comparison of the two ships, 229.

_Shark_, American brig, captures five pirate vessels, iii. 331.

_Shark_, British sloop, fight of, with American brig _Reprisal_, i.
71.

Shaw, Lieutenant, captures the French privateer _Seine_, i. 330.

Sheed, William W., Sailing-master, attacks the British, ii. 402.

_Shelburne_, British schooner, assists in capturing the _Frolic_,
iii. 65.

_Shenandoah_, Confederate cruiser, destroys American whaling and
sealing fleets, iv. 447.

Sherman, Captain, “bravest man in the Confederate squadrons,” iv.
321, 329, 340.

Sherman, General Thomas W., commands a force against Port Royal, iv.
164.

Shipbuilder, the private, a factor in the sea power of a nation, iv.
38.

Shipbuilding after the Revolution, i. 304.

Ship-masts retained for use of the crown, i. 15.

Shirk, Lieutenant, supports Grant at Pittsburg Landing, iv. 284;
commander of Federal gun-boat _Tuscumbia_, iv. 363.

Shreveport, La., General Banks sent on expedition to, to frustrate
designs of Napoleon III., iv. 368.

Shubrick, Lieutenant J. T., boards the _Peacock_ and endeavors to
save the ship from sinking, ii. 184.

Shubrick, Commodore William Bradford, in command of the Pacific Coast
Squadron, iii. 401.

“Siege of Plattsburg,” a popular song, iii. 184.

_Silver Wave_, Federal Army transport, before Vicksburg, iv. 364.

_Simcoe_, British gun-boat, iii. 143.

_Simes_, British schooner, sunk, ii. 271.

Sinclair, Captain Arthur, sent to take charge of the American fleet
west of the Niagara, iii. 106;
sails into Lake Huron, 107;
destroys St. Joseph, _ib._;
destroys a block-house, 108;
returns to Detroit, 109.

_Sir Andrew Hammond_, British whaler, captured by Porter, iii. 16;
recaptured by the _Cherub_, 50.

_Sir George Prevost_, British gun-boat, iii. 143.

_Sir James Yeo_, British gun-boat, iii. 143.

_Sir Sidney Beckwith_, British gun-boat, iii. 143.

_Sir William Erskine_, British sloop, attacked and captured by the
American privateer _Thorn_, i. 209.

_Siren_, American brig, accompanies Decatur on his expedition to fire
the _Philadelphia_, i. 348–350;
John B. Nicholson placed in command of, iii. 78;
cruises on the coast of Africa, _ib._;
is captured, 79.

Slave traffic on the coast of Africa, iii. 360;
Admiral Foote’s efforts to stamp it out, 363–367.

Slavers, chasing, on the African coast, iii. 360–361.

Slavery, kidnapped sailors subjected to a state of, i. 387.

Slidell, John, Confederate commissioner to France. See _Mason, James
Murray_.

Sloat, Captain John Drake, takes possession of Monterey, California,
iii. 392;
gives up command of the squadron, 394.

Smith, Lieutenant Albert N., iv. 315.

Smith, Lieutenant Joseph B., attacked by the _Merrimac_, iv. 207;
stands by his ship until killed, 208.

Smith, Commander Melancthon, iv. 314.

Smith, Lieutenant Sydney, indiscreet zeal of, iii. 136.

_Solebay_, British frigate, fights with American brig _Providence_,
under Paul Jones, i. 74.

_Somers_, American brig, enters Vera Cruz harbor and fires the
_Creole_, iii. 417;
capsizes and drowns half her crew, _ib._

_Somers_, American schooner, captured by the British, iii. 111.

_Somers_, American schooner, in battle of Lake Erie, ii. 295.

_Somers_, overturned while chasing a blockade-runner, iii. 417.

Somers, Commandant Richard, assists in attack on the city of Tripoli,
i. 359–367;
blown up on the _Intrepid_, 378.

Somers, Captain, fights five duels in succession, iii. 315–317.

_Somerset_, Fulton ferryboat, captures the blockade-runner
_Circassian_, iv. 37.

Somerville, Captain Philip, assists in the attack on the _General
Armstrong_, iii. 194.

Sorel River, invaded by “Wellington’s Invincibles,” iii. 135.

Soulé, Pierre, Senator and Minister to Spain, iv. 338.

South Carolina islands, as described by Jedidiah Morse, iv. 31.

_Southampton_, British frigate, flagship of Sir James L. Yeo, ii. 348.

Southcombe, Captain, fights off nine British barges, iii. 204.

Southern States dependent on commerce for necessaries of life, iv. 46;
their lack of factories and mills before the Civil War, _ib._

_Southfield_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 454.

_Sparlin_, British sloop, captured by the _Thorn_, i. 209.

_Spitfire_, American merchantman, stopped by the _Guerrière_, ii. 7.

_Spitfire_, British sloop, ii. 359.

Spies, New Orleans fishermen as, iv. 313.

Sproats, David, inhuman conduct of, i. 224.

Spy service of Federal government not as good as the Confederate,
iv. 189.

Squaw Island, N. Y., the _Detroit_ grounds on, ii. 278.

Stanton, Edward, Secretary of War, his views of the victory of the
_Merrimac_, iv. 211–212.

_Star of the West_, Federal steamer, first shot of the Civil War
fired at, iii. 363;
taken by the Confederates, _ib._

Stars and Stripes first saluted by a foreign power, i. 138.

_State of Georgia_, Federal warship, iv. 237.

Steamboats under fire of heavy guns, iv. 252.

Steam-rams, first fight of, in history, iv. 307.

Stembel, Captain R. N., before Fort Pillow, iv. 289;
badly wounded, 294.

Sterrett, Lieutenant Andrew, sent to Tripoli, i. 335;
appointed to command the _Enterprise_, ii. 373;
captures the _Tripoli_, _ib._

_Stettin_, armed merchantman, attacked by the Confederate ironclad
_Palmetto State_, iv. 474.

Stevens, Captain T. H., at Port Royal, iv. 163.

Stevens, Robert L., invents first ironclad, iv. 9.

Stevens, Commander Thomas Holdup, iv. 386;
in charge of Federal fleet to carry Fort Sumter by storm, 494.

Stewart, Lord George, commander in the attack on the _Constitution_
at Porto Praya, iii. 260.

Stewart, Captain Charles, sails from Boston, iii. 242;
overhauls and captures the British war-schooner _Picton_, _ib._;
falls in with the British frigate _La Pique_, 243;
finds the British frigates _Junon_ and _Tenedos_ lying in wait for
him, 244;
escapes to Marblehead, _ib._;
returns to Boston, 245;
sails out of Boston while blockade squadron is off port, _ib._;
captures British merchant ship, _Lord Nelson_, _ib._;
chases the _Elizabeth_, but captures the _Susan_, 245;
chased by the frigates _Tiber_ and _Elizabeth_, 246;
escapes, _ib._;
encounters the frigate _Cyane_ and sloop-of-war _Levant_, 247;
opens fire on both ships, 249;
the _Cyane_ surrenders to, 252;
the _Levant_ surrenders to, 255;
sails to Porto Praya with his captures, 260;
the _Newcastle_, _Leander_, and _Acasta_ surprise him, 260;
the _Newcastle_ opens fire, 265;
the _Constitution_ sails away free, _ib._;
her last fight, 268.

Stivers, A. C., Chief Engineer of the _Monitor_, iv. 216.

Stockton, Captain Robert Field, succeeds Captain Sloat in command of
the Pacific Squadron, iii. 394;
lands and attacks Los Angeles, _ib._;
novel trick to deceive the enemy, _ib._;
organizes a state government, 397;
is succeeded by Commodore Shubrick, 401;
his trip on Ericsson’s _Francis B. Ogden_, iv. 10;
he induces Ericsson to come to America, 11;
assigned to the _Princeton_, 14.

Stoddert, Benjamin, Secretary of Navy, i. 334.

“Stone Fleet,” sinking of the, iv. 470.

_Stonewall Jackson_, Confederate ironclad, iv. 333;
rams the _Varuna_ and sinks her, 334;
is driven ashore by the _Oneida_ and _Cayuga_, _ib._

Stoney, Theodore D., Charleston citizen, builds, at his own expense,
a number of “Davids,” iv. 497.

Stringham, Flag Officer Silas H., assigned to command of Hatteras
Island expedition, iv. 99.

Strong, Commander James H., iv. 389.

Submarine torpedo vessel, principles and construction of a, i.
165–170;
experiments made to prove the nature and use of a, 172.

Sullivan’s Island, Charleston, S. C., iv. 469.

Sumatra, attack of natives of, on American ship _Friendship_, iii.
368.

_Sumter_, Confederate gun-boat, rams the _Cincinnati_ at Fort Pillow,
iv. 293;
surrenders, 302.

_Sumter_, Confederate ship, captured at Fort Pillow, iv. 302.

_Sumter_, Confederate cruiser, iv. 407;
Captain Semmes takes command of, 408;
captures the _Abby Bradford_, 412;
cruises in the Caribbean Sea, 413;
on the Brazil coast, 414;
is chased by _Iroquois_, _ib._;
goes to Spain and Gibraltar, 415;
expense of, to the Confederate Government, 416;
sold and converted into an English merchant-ship, _ib._;
runs the blockade of Charleston, _ib._;
name changed to the _Gibraltar_, _ib._;
lost in the North Sea, _ib._

_Superior_, American frigate, iii. 113.

Superiority of British naval crews, i. 60.

Superstition, sailors’, iii. 78, 79.

_Surprise_, American brig, renamed the _Eagle_, iii. 139.

_Surprise_, American cutter, i. 123;
captures the ship _Joseph_ and the brig _Prince of Orange_, 124;
detained in France by the British ambassador, 125.

_Surveyor_, American schooner, attacked and overpowered by the
British frigate _Narcissus_, ii. 417.

_Susquehanna_, American ship, sent to Japan in 1851, iii. 443.

_Susquehanna_, Federal frigate, iv. 163.

_Sylph_, American schooner, ii. 349.

Symonds, Sir William, his opinion of Ericsson’s _Francis B. Ogden_,
iv. 10.

Tabasco, Mexico, captured by Commodore M. C. Perry, iii. 414.

_Tacony_, captured by Captain Read of the _Clarence_, iv. 424.

_Tapanagouche_, British schooner sent to capture Captain Jeremiah
O’Brien, i. 23.

Tarbell, Captain, unsuccessfully attacks the becalmed British fleet
in Hampton Roads, ii. 395.

_Tartarus_, English brig-sloop, iii. 93.

Tattnall, Commodore Josiah, takes part in the English attack on
Chinese forts, iii. 382;
attacks the Castle of San Juan de Ulloa in the siege of Vera Cruz,
420–423;
commands a squadron of four vessels sent in to divert the attention
of the Mexicans, 424;
exchanges places with a brother officer on the _Constellation_, and
so saves his life, 354;
commands the Confederate fleet at Savannah, iv. 168;
his worthless flotilla, _ib._;
attacked by the Federal fleet and retires, 171;
destroys the _Merrimac_, 236, 237.

Tayloe, Lieutenant, killed while assisting the Union wounded out of
the _Congress_, iv. 209.

Taylor, Captain John, chased by Captain Lawrence of the _Hornet_, ii.
181.

Taylor, Thomas E., leading blockade-runner, iv. 57.

Tea destroyed in Boston Harbor, i. 13.

_Teaser_, privateer of New York, ii. 245.

_Teaser_, American blockade-runner, iv. 60.

_Tecumseh_, British gun-boat, iii. 145.

_Tecumseh_, Federal monitor, iv. 386;
sunk by a torpedo, 394.

_Tenedos_, British frigate, captures the American frigate
_President_, iii. 222;
goes in chase of the _Constitution_, 244.

_Tennessee_, Confederate ram, iv. 380.

Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers, how far navigable, iv. 240.

Tennessee opened up by the capture of Fort Henry, iv. 266;
railroad communication cut off from, 267.

Terceira, a Portuguese island, officers and crew of the _Alabama_
shipped from, iv. 431.

Terry, General Alfred H., at Fort Fisher, iv. 516.

Texas, Napoleon III. tries to persuade, to secede from the
Confederacy, iv. 367–368.

_Thalia_, British frigate, ii. 29.

_Thames_, British frigate, attacks American gun-ship _Protector_, i.
207.

Thatcher, Master Charles, iv. 370.

_Theodora_, Confederate blockade-runner, carries Mason and Slidell to
Cuba, iv. 141.

_Thetis_, British frigate, chased by Porter and escapes, ii. 38.

_Thomas_, American privateer, ii. 252.

_Thompson_, Confederate ram, sunk at Fort Pillow, iv. 302.

Thompson, Captain Egbert, before Fort Pillow, iv. 290.

Thompson, Captain Thomas, i. 130; sent to France for supplies, _ib._;
returns to America, 132–133.

_Thorn_, American privateer, attacks and strikes the _Governor Tryon_
and _Sir William Erskine_, i. 209;
captures the _Sparlin_, _ib._;
captured by the _Deane_, 284, 287.

_Ticonderoga_, American schooner, iii. 137–139.

_Tigress_, American schooner, in battle of Lake Erie, ii. 295;
captured by the British, iii. 109.

Tilghman, General Lloyd, surrenders Fort Henry to Commodore Foote,
iv. 265–266.

Tillinghast, Lieutenant T. G., iii. 81.

Tin-clads, light-draft steamers in Admiral Porter’s squadron, iv. 349.

Tiptonville, Pope shuts Confederates in by occupying, iv. 276.

_Toey-wan_, steamer chartered by Captain Tattnall in the attack on
Chinese forts, iii. 382–384.

Tombigbee Channel, Mobile, lined with torpedoes, iv. 406.

_Tom Bowline_, store-ship for Decatur’s fleet, iii. 271.

_Tompkins_, American ship, ii. 352.

Toronto, Canada, Americans plan to attack, ii. 339;
a force under General Dearborn sent to attack, 340;
stores and prisoners taken, 342.

Torpedo boat, the first one built, i. 164;
general principles and construction of a submarine vessel, 165.

Torpedoes made of whiskey demijohns, iv. 350.

Townsend, Commander Robert, iv. 369.

Trabangan, Malay settlement, natives of, capture the American
merchant-ship _Eclipse_ and kill Captain Wilkins, iii. 374–379.

“Tracking” up a river, ii. 287.

_Trajano_, Brazilian rebel warship, iv. 548.

_Transit_, New London merchant-ship, captured by Confederate
privateers, iv. 97.

Treaty of Ghent, terms and conditions of, iii. 209;
the real cause of the war ignored in the treaty, 210.

Tredegar Iron Mills, Richmond, Va., the only gun and engine factory
possessed by the South at the outbreak of the Civil War, iv. 46.

Trenchard, Lieutenant Stephen Decatur, wounded in a fight with
Chinese, iii. 382.

_Trent_, British mail steamer, Confederate Commissioners Mason and
Slidell taken from, iv. 148;
attitude of the British Government in regard to the seizure,
150–152;
instructions to Lord Lyons, 152, 153;
reply of Mr. Seward to the despatch of the British Government, iv.
154;
review of Mr. Seward’s reply, 154–158;
Commodore Smith’s comment on the reply, 156.

_Trenton_, United States cruiser, ashore at Samoa, iv. 554.

_Trepassy_, British brig, surrenders to the _Alliance_, i. 298.

Tribute, paid to Algerian pirates by America, iii. 339;
by England, 340.

Tripoli declares war against America, i. 333;
pays indemnity to United States, iii. 357.

_Tripoli_, war polacre, is beaten by the American schooner
_Enterprise_, i. 335.

Tripolitans, treachery of, i. 335, 336.

_Trippe_, American sloop, in battle of Lake Erie, ii. 295.

Trippe, Sailing-master John, at attack on city of Tripoli, i. 366.

Tristan d’Acunha, Island of, in the South Atlantic, Jonathan Lambert
pre-empts, iii. 270, 271;
a breeding resort for seals, _ib._;
Decatur makes it a rendezvous, _ib._

_True Briton_, captured by the _Randolph_, i. 160.

_Trumbull_, American galley, i. 89, 164.

_Trumbull_, American ship, captures two British transports, i. 164;
cruises along American coast with a crew of landsmen, 290;
is nearly disabled, 291;
attacked by three British ships and surrenders, 295–297.

Truxton, Captain Thomas, captures prizes in the Azores, i. 205;
cuts out three ships from the British fleet, _ib._;
fits out the _Mars_ and cruises in the English Channel, _ib._;
involves France in war with England, 206;
successfully beats off a British frigate, _ib._;
Captain of the _Constellation_, compels the French frigate
_Vengeance_ to fight, 323;
loses her in the night, 328.

_Truxton_, American brig, grounded before Tuspan, Mexico, and is
captured, iii. 410.

Tucker, John, Assistant Secretary of War, asks Commodore Vanderbilt
his terms for destroying the _Merrimac_, iv. 212.

Tucker, Captain Samuel, captures thirty British vessels, i. 203.

Tunis, brought to terms by the American fleet, i. 378, 379;
pays indemnity to United States for seizing the _Abellino_ prizes,
iii. 353.

_Tuscumbia_, Federal gun-boat in Porter’s fleet before Vicksburg, iv.
363.

Tybee Bar, Savannah, coal-ships ordered to go to, iv. 165.

_Unadilla_, Federal frigate, iv. 163;
attacked by the Confederate ironclad _Palmetto State_, 474.

_Underwriter_, Federal gun-boat, boarded and destroyed by John Taylor
Wood, iv. 452.

_Unicorn_, British frigate, captures the _Raleigh_, i. 194.

_United States_, American frigate, built, i. 312.

United States Astronomical Expedition to the Southern Hemisphere,
members of, iii. 464.

_United States_, frigate, falls in with the _Eurydice_ and
_Atalanta_, ii. 16;
cruises between the Azores and the Canary Islands, 121;
encounters the _Macedonian_, 122;
battle with, 125–134;
losses after the battle, 139;
comparison of the forces of the two ships, 140;
blockaded in New London, 150.

United States Government abrogates all treaties with France, i. 314.

_United We Stand_, American privateer, ii. 253.

Valcour Island, Lake Champlain, fight between Benedict Arnold and Sir
Guy Carleton at, i. 92–99.

Van Brunt, Captain G. I., iv. 99.

_Vandalia_, United States warship, sank at Samoa in a hurricane, iv.
554.

_Vandalia_, Federal sailing-ship, iv. 163;
sails from Hampton Roads with a fleet of coal schooners in charge,
165;
encounters a hurricane, 166.

Vanderbilt, Commodore Cornelius, asked for what sum he would destroy
the _Merrimac_, iv. 212.

_Van Dorn_, Confederate gun-boat, rams the _Mound City_ and disables
her, iv. 294.

_Varuna_, Federal screw corvette, iv. 314.

Vaughan, Captain William, at Sackett’s Harbor, ii. 267;
drives off the British, 268.

_Vengeance_, American brig, in Paul Jones’s fleet, i. 232.

_Vengeance_, French frigate, fight with the _Constellation_, i. 323;
surrenders, 327;
slips away in the night to Curaçao, 328;
returned to France, 330.

Vera Cruz, Mexico, siege and blockade of, by Americans, iii. 417–424;
the city captured, 424–427;
the navy’s part in the capture, 424.

Vergennes, Vt., Macdonough builds the _Saratoga_ there, iii. 137.

_Vesuvius_, United States dynamite cruiser, iv. 540.

Veterans of the Peninsular War sent to subjugate America, iii. 135.

Vicksburg, Admiral Farragut’s fleet arrives at, iv. 341;
moves made against, by way of the Yazoo River country, 350;
they failed, _ib._;
General Grant arrives before, 351;
Admiral Porter tries to get in behind, 358–363;
Grant surrounds, 363.

_Victor_, British gun-boat, captures the _Hancock_, i. 185.

_Vigilant_, Federal merchant-ship, captured by Confederate cruiser
_Sumter_, iv. 415.

_Vincennes_, American ship, sent to Japan in 1845, iii. 440.

_Vincennes_, Federal war-ship, iv. 129;
misunderstands signals, 133, 134.

_Viper_, American gun-boat, iii. 141.

_Virginia_, American frigate, grounded in Chesapeake Bay, i. 186.

_Virginia_, English frigate, i. 284.

_Virginia_, a name given to the reconstructed _Merrimac_, but not
used, iv. 189.

_Vixen_, American cruiser, in the attack on Tripoli, i. 374.

_Vixen_, American brig, captured by British frigate _Southampton_,
ii. 348.

_Vixen_, American steamer, in attack on Alvarado, iii. 410.

_Voluntaire_, French frigate, i. 316.

_Wabash_, United States screw frigate, iv. 15;
commanded by Captain Samuel Mercer, 99;
Captain C. R. P. Rodgers, commander, 163.

_Wachusett_, Federal frigate, captures the _Florida_, iv. 424.

Wadsworth, Captain Alexander Scammel, appointed to the
_Constellation_, iii. 327.

“Waggon, The,” a contemptuous term applied to the frigate _President_
by the British, ii. 360.

Wales, Captain R. W., fights a battle with the _Peacock_, iii. 68–71;
surrenders, 71;
his ship is carried into Savannah, 77.

Walke, Commander Henry, in charge of transport _Supply_, iv. 115;
disobeys orders, _ib._;
is court-martialed, 116;
appointed to command the _Taylor_, 250;
convoys General Grant down the Mississippi, 251;
in command of gun-boat _Taylor_, 251;
gallant conduct of, 252;
his timely aid, _ib._;
commands the _Carondelet_ in Commodore Foote’s fleet, 255;
his seeming insolence to Commodore Foote, 266;
commences the attack on Fort Donelson, 268;
diverts the Confederates’ attention from Grant, 271;
successfully runs the _Carondelet_ past the batteries of Island No.
10, 281;
resourcefulness of, 282;
passes six forts, under fire of fifty guns, 283;
aids the _Cincinnati_, 294.

_Walker_, American whaler, captured by the Peruvian cruiser
_Nereyda_, iii. 7.

“Wall-piece,” a gun used in capturing the _Margaretta_, i. 17.

_Wampanoag_, Federal ironclad, iv. 472, 473.

War of 1812, events which led up to, i. 383;
Great Britain fomented discord between the States of the Union, 384;
used every means to harass American commerce, _ib._;
impressed men by force to serve on English ships, 386;
used the press-gang in foreign ports, 387;
demanded right of search on the high seas, _ib._;
used nothing to enforce an order but the cat-o’-ninetails, 389;
American ships stripped of their crews, 397;
five men off the _Baltimore_ impressed in the British service, 401;
the affair of the _Leopard_ and _Chesapeake_, 402–413;
case of the _Spitfire_ and _Guerrière_, ii. 7;
tricky conduct of the officers of two British frigates, 15;
war declared, 28;
justified by the _Trent_ affair, iv. 140.

War-ship, the first submarine, i. 157;
the first Yankee, on fresh waters, ii. 264;
development of the, from 1815–1859, iv. 1–9.

Ward, Fleet Officer James H., his attack on the Acquia Creek
batteries, iv. 81;
killed, 82.

Ward, Samuel, Rhode Island delegate to Continental Congress, i. 31.

Warren, Fort, Mass., Mason and Slidell confined there, iv. 156.

_Warren_, American frigate, i. 280, 283.

Warrington, Master-commandant Lewis, iii. 66;
attacks and captures the _Epervier_, 66–71;
succeeds Porter in clearing the South American coast of pirates,
338.

_Washington_, American galley, i. 89; on Lake Champlain, 99.

Washington, George, and the Congress of the United Colonies, i. 27.

Washington, D. C., conduct of the British sailors at capture of, ii.
418, 419.

_Wasp_, schooner, of first American Navy, i. 40.

_Wasp_ (No. 2), American sloop-of-war, fight with the _Frolic_, ii.
107–117;
both the _Wasp_ and the _Frolic_ captured by the British frigate
_Poictiers_, 118, 119;
taken into the British navy and lost at sea, 119.

_Wasp_ (No. 3), American sloop-of-war, cuts her way through British
blockaders, iii. 81;
fights and captures the _Reindeer_, 86–88;
comparison of the two ships, 91;
cuts out the _Mary_ under the convoy of the _Armada_, and is chased
by the _Armada_, 92;
encounters the _Avon_, 93;
fights and disables her, 97;
the _Castilian_ and _Tartarus_ appear and chase the _Wasp_ off, 97;
captures two merchantmen and the _Atalanta_, 100;
mysterious end of, 102–104.

Waters, Captain Daniel, assists in capturing a British troop-ship, i.
203;
desperate fight with two British sloops-of-war, 209.

_Water Witch_, carries an exploring expedition to Parana, iii. 464.

_Water Witch_, Federal war-ship, iv. 129–133.

Watson, William H., Lieutenant, ii. 364;
is cut down and carried off unconscious, _ib._;
captures a pirate schooner off South America, iii. 335.

_Watt_, British privateer, fights with the _Trumbull_, i. 291.

_Webb_, Confederate ram, iv. 352.

_Weehawken_, Federal ironclad, iv. 480.

Weitzel, General, in command of troops at Fort Fisher, iv. 513.

Welles, Gideon, Secretary of the Navy, his account of the effect
that the raid of the _Merrimac_ had upon a cabinet meeting at
Washington, iv. 211.

Wellington, Duke of, on the character of the veterans sent to
America, iii. 134.

“Wellington’s Invincibles” invade the Sorel River, iii. 135;
sent to New Orleans under Sir Edward Packenham, iii. 230.

_Wellington_, British gun-boat, iii. 143.

Wells, Clark H., Lieutenant-Commander, iv. 389.

West India pirates, iii. 324.

Western waters, ships of the line of battle on, iv. 249.

_Westfield_, Federal ship, destroyed by the Confederates, iv. 357.

_West Wind_, Federal merchant-ship, captured by Confederate cruiser
_Sumter_, iv. 415.

Whaler, an armed British, transformed into a Yankee cruiser, iii. 9,
10.

Whaling fleet, British, taken by surprise, iii. 8–10.

Wheaton, Joseph, one of the capturers of the _Margaretta_, i. 16.

Whinyates, Captain Thomas, ii. 106;
encounters the _Wasp_ in a gale, _ib._;
gives battle to the _Wasp_, 107;
wounded, 112;
surrenders, 116;
his ship recaptured by the _Poictiers_, 118.

Whipple, Abraham, in command of boats attacking the _Gaspé_, i. 9;
commands American ship _Columbus_, 66;
in charge of the _Providence_, 281.

Whiskey demijohns for torpedoes, iv. 350.

White River, Ark., Federal operations on, iv. 307.

White Squadron, formation of, iv. 531–554.

_Whitehead_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 457.

Wickes, Captain Lambert, in the fight with the _Shark_, i. 71;
carries Franklin to France, 114;
captures prizes, _ib._;
goes on a cruise in the Bay of Biscay, _ib._;
captures fifteen prizes, 118.

Wilderness, building war-ships and gun-boats in the, ii. 286.

Wilkes, Captain Charles, stops the British steamer _Trent_ and takes
off Mason and Slidell, iv. 144–160;
sails into Boston, with his prisoners, 148, 149;
his conduct commended by Secretary of the Navy Welles, _ib._

Wilkinson, General, attempts to attack Montreal, ii. 271;
expedition fails, 272;
builds winter quarters on Salmon River, _ib._

_William_, American merchant-ship, captured by the _Java_, ii. 153;
recaptured by Captain Lawrence, of the _Hornet_, 181.

_William S. Robins_, merchant-ship, captured by Confederate
privateers, iv. 97.

Williams, Richard, reports to the British Government on the _Trent_
affair, iv. 150.

Williams, Captain John Foster, captures the British brig _Active_, i.
206;
fights and blows up the British privateer _Admiral Duff_, 207;
compels the frigate _Thames_ to haul off, _ib._

Williamson, Chief Engineer W. P., assists in the reconstruction of
the frigate _Merrimac_ into an ironclad, iv. 185–186.

_Will-o’-the-Wisp_, blockade runner, iv. 57;
description of, _ib._

_Wilmer_, American gun-boat, iii. 141.

Wilmington, N. C., a favorite resort of blockade-runners, iv. 41.

Wilson, Lieutenant-commander Byron, iv. 363–369.

_Winnebago_, Federal monitor, iv. 386.

_Winona_, Federal screw gun-boat, iv. 315.

_Wissahickon_, Federal screw gun-boat, iv. 315.

_Wolfe_, British sloop-of-war, ii. 348.

Wood, Lieutenant John Taylor, iv. 189;
boards and destroys the Federal gun-boat _Underwriter_, 452;
his statement on the retiring of the _Monitor_ from the fight, 230,
231.

Woodworth, Lieutenant S. E., iv. 364.

Woolsey, Lieutenant Melancthon, ii. 264.

Worden, Lieutenant John L., causes Fort Pickens to be reinforced, iv.
119;
arrested and held prisoner for seven months, _ib._;
Captain of the _Monitor_, 205;
begins the battle with the _Merrimac_, 219;
gets to close quarters, 222;
has his ship under good control, 212;
disabled, 225;
Lieutenant Greene succeeds him in command, 229;
transferred to a tug and taken to Washington, 230;
letter to him from his crew, 233;
Captain of the _Montauk_, 480.

Wright, Governor, of St. John’s, captured by Captain Selman, i. 203;
released, _ib._

_Wyalusing_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 457.

Wyer, Captain, captures four prizes in the Mediterranean, iii. 343.

Wyman, Captain R. W., at Port Royal, iv. 163.

Yankee squadron, first cruise of the, i. 48.

_Yarmouth_, British ship, attacked by the _Randolph_, i. 162.

Yarnall, Lieutenant, in the battle of Lake Erie, ii. 313;
Perry leaves him in charge, 318.

Yellow fever decimates the crews of the American ships before Vera
Cruz, iii. 418.

Yeo, Sir James L., placed in command of the British naval forces on
Lake Ontario, ii. 348;
captures the American brig _Vixen_ in the West Indies, _ib._;
sends an insulting challenge to Captain Porter of the _Essex_,
_ib._;
captures two schooners and supplies, _ib._;
meets Commodore Chauncey’s squadron, 349;
has some brushes with the enemy, 350–353;
operations on Lake Ontario, iii. 114–126.

_York_, Confederate privateer, iv. 93.

Yucatan, Mexico, governed by the Americans during the Mexican War,
iii. 414.

Transcriber’s Notes

Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made consistent when a
predominant preference was found in the original book; otherwise they
were not changed.

Simple typographical errors were corrected; unbalanced quotation
marks were remedied when the change was obvious, and otherwise left
unbalanced.

Illustrations in this eBook have been positioned between paragraphs
and outside quotations. In versions of this eBook that support
hyperlinks, the page references in the List of Illustrations lead to
the corresponding illustrations.

The illustrations on pages 236-237 and 284-285 were printed as two-page
spreads in the original book, but shown as wide illustrations in this
eBook.

The Transcriber copied the index from Volume IV. It was not checked
for proper alphabetization or correct page references. Most of the
references are to pages in the other three volumes of this series; all
four volumes are available at no charge at LibraryBlog:

In the original book, the index entries for "Biddle, Captain Nicholas"
referring to Volume II. actually refer to his nephew, "Biddle, James",
and some of those are in Volume III. In this ebook, those entries have
been corrected, but the index may contain other errors.

*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The history of our Navy from its origin to the present day 1775-1897, vol. 2 (of 4)" ***

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