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THE AM ERIC lie of th( FiliiL AND CORRECT ACCOUNT OF THB CHIEF NAVAL OCCURRENCES OF THE LATE WAR BETWEEN GREAT BRITAIN A.VD THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; PRECEDED BY - ' A CURSORY EXAMINATION , OF THB AMERICAN ACCOUNTS OF THEIR NAVAL ACTIONS FOUGHT PREVIOUS TO THAT PERIOD: ( t ' TO WHICH U ADDED , , AN APPENDIX; WITH PLATES. f By WILLIAM JAMES. r«\r#«^«#<#^«sr«^««^ . « Trutb is always brought to light by time and reflection ; while the lie of the day lives by bustle, noise, and precipitation." Murphy's Tacitus, B. ii. 39. ., "» \ * PRINTKD FOR T. EGERTOxV, WHITEHALL,. 1817. ' r .* ^ ' i If ■H-'..-.i--* ■- V*- :*1 r; ' ■ Xi. 1 . • .•; fi r H •- \ -^ ,1 t ■" f ■"» 15,5 ; i'-ii J«2/ce Gold, PrinUr, 103, ShoC'iaM, Loncioth . 'I ■^i TO SIR PHILIP BOWES VERE BROKE, BARONET, KNIGHT-COMMANDEU OP THE MOST HONORABLE ORDER OF THE BATH, AND CAPTAIN IN THE ROYAL NAVY; •WHO, ON THE FIRST OF JUNE, 1813, IN HIS MAJESTY'S FRIGATE SHANNON, CAPTURED, V AFTER A CLOSE ACTION OF FIFTEEN MINUTES, FOUGHT OFF BOSTON LIGHT-HOUSE, (bIMBKLF BiBADIHO the BOARDER!,) THE UNITED STATES FRIGATE CHESAPEAKE, OF THE SAME FORCE; 4 ... J. \^ THIS WORK V .. ■-. ;.-v: ^v. i .. >■ IS ■ . '- MOST EESPECTFULLY DEDICATED, • '■' '■/- -, ..* *>.'t^ BY ivf / S'.,V-iv"^': ■5-i THE AUTHOR. ■;«■ jt. ; ( .' i .i. •» ". ■ , p" '.! .; ■* ■;<■ ^ .> * < r g" = .' ■; ' '> ; H '/ i -■ i ,t <■ i* Tj ,3 iii»j i^;*,' ji" t j iimAH a.fi.T t»i -^-f ,«i:«; f^ij^-^via rM '^i^j^i'^:i%-&sm- ■m&^^^ V 4| ^ - * •*'*■. n PREFACE. / -■> ■■* X HE account that an American 44, had captured a British 49, gun frigate, reached the author, when a prisoner in the United States* An Englishman, early accustomed to regard the navy as the bulwark of his country, and not aware of any difference between the no- minal or rated, and the real force of a ship^ might well feel a degree of humiliation in the Guerriere's loss. The event naturally excited a spirit of inquiry ; truth and fiction separated by degrees; and, before the author effected his escape from the United States, he had learned duly to appreciate the tales of American victories, both by sea and land. " - ■^4i;i| t. Convinced that, the moment the actions between British and American ships could VI PBBPACB. be submitted to arithmetical calculation, the popular delusion respecting them would cease, the author, upon his arrival at Halifax, Nova Scotia, commenced transmitting to the editor of the Naval Chronicle, under the signa- ture of " Boxer," a series of letters on the subject. As these were written soon after the accounts had transpired, it was hardly possible to avoid some mistatements ; nor would a literary correspondence admit of very minute details. Subsequently, the au- thor published at Halifax, a pamphlet, enti- tuled, — " An Inquiry into the merits of the principal Naval Actions between Great Britain and theUnited States, &c.** — This was a decided improvement upon the letters ; but, as nearly all the British ships had left the station, and the dearth of materials been encreased by thq non-appearance in print of the British official accounts, in as many as twelve of the actions, much still remained to be done. The colonial public, however, gave the work a most flattering reception : in the short space of two months, nearly 2000 copies went off*; and the remainder^ PREFACE. VII about 500 in ' umber, the author brought with him to England. . ■ *^ * , A second edition, or, rather, an entirely new work, is now offered to the public. Not only have the details of each action been more fully and correctly stated, and the comparative force of the parties, more clearly exhibited; but many naval occurrences of the late war, not noticed in the Halifax edition, have been added : and, as the American historians have commenced attacking the British naval cha- racter, from the war of 1 77Q^ it was incum- bent upon the author to bestow a slight re« trospect upon the events of that early period. . To obviate the charge of partiality, so often alleged against histories of war-events, the published official accounts, American as well as British, are inserted in an Appendix. The plates are intended to illustrate the subject, not to ornament the work. Plate 1 shows the description of shot used by the Ame- ricans, during the whole of the late war ; at first, attempted to be concealed under thewords ^^ round and grape.'" Plates 2 and 3 explaii) / r viii VtlEFACE. themselFes, The author had intended to repre- sent, in a fourth plate, the profile-views of the British and American frigates, but wanted inte- rest to procure copies of the sheer-draughts: indeed, it becomes him to state tliat, his own assiduity alone, enabled him to give any plates at all. He might, it is true, have procured a drawing of the action between the Shannon and Chesapeake, or Pelican and Argus; but here he must have trusted to the pencil of another; and so little is generally thought due to the relative size and force of the ships, provided the piece, as a whole, produces a striking effect, that he has preferred being a plate deficient, to introducing one, calcu- lated to please the fancy, at the risk of entrapping the judgment, of his readers. i With respect to the general credit of his work, the author has spared no pains or ex*- pense, to render it worthy the subject upon which it treats. For the chief of his facts, not extracted from the official accounts and American naval histories, he is indebted to the feady communications of many distinguished PREFACB* IX liaval officers: the remaining facts are the result of his own observation and inquiries, as well while a prisoner, as since his escape, i Before the reader pronounces upon any harsh expression he may observe in the work, let him study, attentively, the grounds upon which it is uttered. National character is a sensitive thing ; and, surely, the existing peace between the two countries does not oblige us to let pass, unrefuted, the foulest asper- sions, or wholly to suppress the feelings of a just indignation. How little the Americans consult any punctilio of the kind, may be seen in a collection of libels upon both British navy and army, published as late as September last ; and dedicated to the ^' Honorable James Munro," on the eve of his becoming president of the United States. The high tone assumed by the American author, when speaking of the inientions of his government, coupled with the dedication of his work, is a convincing proof, that he was sanctioned in the perform- ance of it ; and that, had he thought the deck- plans, or sheer-draughts, of any of the Ame- / I I 1^ f&BFACiS. rican fhips of war, would further his object, (be American nary-board, when applied to on the subject, would not hare thought it expe* dient to withhold them from his sight. ^■^, In the separate details of each action, par* ticularly those of the late war, the author has endearoured at a methodical arrangement, something like the following : i ; - : ^' / - ^^ ' ».f,T-' Meeting of the ships. Details of the actiou. {British and American ac- counts compared together. " \ i ship's damages, — loss. do. do. American) British '^ship's guns, and compleO American) ment of men and boys.) Dimensions of the ships. do. do. Comparative force of the ships computed, and exhibited in 'a statement. Remarks prising out of that statement; illustrations, &c. do. .■s..'-A.ifyi:- do. t)v f-fif -^ The merits of the different actions might have been detailed in less than half the space they occupy in the present work, had not the American editors, by heaping falsehood upon falsehood, so often compelled the author, — not unfrequently by a tedious operation to both the «M • PREFACE. XI '"?•*«'■' reader and himself, — to remove the obstruction ere he could proceed. Yet he does not pledge himself to have remarked upon all the contra^ dictions and inconsistencies to be found in the American official accounts : much remains ^or the reader's discernment. Had the suppressed British letters duly appeared in the Gazette, there would have been something to counter** act, in the public mind, the baneful effects of the American accounts, so freely circulated, without a word of comment, by British jour^ nalists ; and the author would not now have to eradicate one impression, before he can hope to succeed with another. , ttAj.*ti There were a few boat*attacks and other spirited enterprises, performed upon the coast of the L^nited States, that are not recorded in these pages, t'he chief reason for omitting them was, the impossibility of getting at the relative force of the parties; without which, the details would comprise no more tlian what had been seen by the public. The same motives, added to the work's having already exceeded, by upwards of 130 pages, the liinits originally / I \ 211 PREFACS. assigned to it, induced the author to leave out of his plan, the numerous gallant actions fought by British packets and merchant-ships, with American privateers. It is the actions between the public cruizers on each side, — the higher classes especially, — that stand as conspicuous national events; and which ought, therefore, to be handed down to posterity in characters 'of truth. ^yi-T':- ^-^ ,V •--^-^^■^.^^..',,U i^v.. fh An earlier appearance of the present work, -might have rendered it more acceptable ; but the author had only to choose between, waiting till he had obtained the required information from officers dispersed all over the United Kingdom, and rashly committing to print, a mass of crude facts and imperfect details, upon so highly interesting a subject. Indeed, it was only in February last, that the full par- ticulars of the wanton attack made by the U. S. ship Peacock upon the honorable East India Company's cruizer Nautilus, appeared in an authenticated form ; and yet more recently, that the last American work on the occur- rences of the late war, arrived in this country. pi el FRBFACE. xiii Without the latter, the advantage of the re* ply, after an adversary has exhausted his eloquence in embellishing his own, and black- ening our cause, would have been lost : with« out the former, an important event of the late war, would only have reached the public, disfigured by American misrepresentation. . The question may be asked, — Have we not already, in the Annual Registers and other periodical works, faithful accounts of the naval events of the lai'e American war ? — ^In not one of them, are the actions between British and American ships correctly statv. !• Nor is it surprising, when we consider, that the editors, in the numerous cases in which the British official letters were not published, had hastily to glean their materials from the rumours of the day, or the official and other accounts of the Americans. Even here, had the authori- ties been cited, the antidote, in most cases, would have accompanied the poison ; but, very often, the latter was rendered more potent by the editor's remarks; and more so still, when t\ xW FIUBVAOS; the Judgment that dictated thfem, had beeome warped by the spirit of party* j ' - ,'oys, and lastly, the size in tons, of each opposing ship or fleet. The reasons for adopting this method, have been fully set forth In the first or introductory chapter* Another point of difference oon<* si^tS) in submitting to the reader's view, the enemy's official account of each action. It is seldom we see a French official account ; and then, the aid of a translator is required, to give it general currency i whereas an American official account no Sooner meets the eye of an Eng^^ lishman, than it finds its way to both his head and his heart. Ii exp< gin PREFACE. XT In a work like the present, the reader may expect some political discussions, upon the ori- gin of the late American war, the manner in which it was conducted by each party, and the merits of the treaty by which it terminated* If so, he will be disappointed : the author hai confined his attention to naval subjects ; and, should he have succeeded in exposing to ridi« cule, American bombast, and in Tindicating the character of British seamen, from that perti« nacious system of Cstlijehood and detraction, upon which the Americans have founded their novel pretensions to excel us in deeds of arms on the ocean, — he has accomplished his object. London, Jane Isi, 1817* "y*"' V. iii / .,*.. r.- , v.- CRHAtA. ! I ! i Page 8 line 89, dtU Neptnne her cbariotetfr. — — 90, ftr his read a. 35 — 14, /br 88 read 26. ' — — ^ IT, for four read two. — — • 19, /or 6 read 8. 68 — 8, /or 1780 read 1800. 141 — 10, for f^re read maio. S88 — 5, for squadron rea. J^idoM ti.ji Jjrrk Sir fbhUfhM t»/thtJa Abwv ^ay to f^iA; Jh rjr^vram TfhdarluJl. ,*!>' / .; ^ ,^ ^',i/■•^ ^i4!4. •w s- 1. Hzabw A.^ "Brk Str- ,J ! >>•»•«'»■' eHAPTJBH I. American naval hUtoriet — Their partiality — List „ &f several — Nature of a ship*s armament — Dif- ferent kinds of cannon in use — Their compara"^ , tive qualities — Advantages of large-sized shot — ^ Weight of less consequence than diameter — Ame- ricans of a contrary opinion — Its fallacy exposed — British and American shot in use' — Advantage of shifting guns — Definition of a ship's broad- ^^ side-weight of metal — Necessity of estimating the complement — Also the size in tons — British and xf American ships' rates — Deceptionupon the public I — New order in council — Difference in ships of , war, as to number of decks — Not a true criterion » ^f fi^^^ — ^^^ difference in rig, of size — Injunc- ^ ^on to the reader on the foregoing heads. -_. '*« XN a nork professing to exhibit correct ac- counts of the naval occurrences of a war, it would be an insult to the reader's understand- ing, to call for his decision upon exparte state- . ments. Yet, not one of the nuval histories pub- lished in the United States, pays any respect to the statements of an enemy. American otBcial accounts, however improbable or contradictory, are held too sacred to be doubted ; and even idle ^ / II 4\ NATAL OCCURRENCES BETWEEN liiM- I' rumour, and newspaper paragraphs, are often made the grounds of the most positive assertions, upon the most important points. The American details of their naral actions, will be extracted from four of their principal works on that subject. It knay be as well to give, at once, a summary of their respective title-pages; " The Naval History of the United States, from the commencement of the Revolutionary War to the present time; hy Thomas Clark; second edition; published at Philadelphia, January d» 1814." *' An IMPARTIAL and correct History of the War, &c.: carefully compiled from official do- cuments : by John Low, at New York, in 1815." *' Naval Monument, containing official and other accounts of the battles fought between the navies of the United States and Great Bri- tain, during the late war, &c. : by A. Bowbn^ at Boston, in 1816." '* Historical Sketchis of tfa^ late war be* tween the United States and Great Britain,^ &c. ; by John Lewis Thompson, at Philadel- phia; third edition ; 1816." One of these works, the " Naval Monument,** has a remarkably modest frontispiece. It re- presents America riding triumphant on th« waves, and Neptune, her charioteer, pointing, with his trident, to a cluster of American wor* f T I GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. a thies, fantastically stuck upon a tall monument ; whose foundation, by the bye, is not clearly dis-i cernible. Addison has described the design in a very few words. — ** One kind of burlesque," says he, ^' represents mean persons in the ac- coutrements of heroes.'' The •* Naval History of the United States" partakes rather of an official character; and Mr. Clark, in his first edition, did style himself,-^ ** U. States topographical engineer." He has^ evidently, been allowed access to all the public records. Both democrats and federalists lavishly^ praised his first edition; and the author has,! very judiciously, placed in front of his second^ under the imposing head of *' Criticism," seve- ral complimentary scraps. Among them, is ther following from the American ** Portefolio:" "This is a very interesting collection of facts and documents, no where else to be found in so convenient a form, on tl|e most important sub^ ject which now engrosses the attention of the American people. The naval history of a coun- try is a theme on which we all dwell with pecu- liar pleasure ; since our national pride cannot fail to receive its highest gratification from a series of brilliant and daring achievements. The author of the present work has, therefore, ren- dered a useful service, by enabling the public at large to become more familiar with our naval annals," '^ i-^- mu^ ,%.iU i< v* »i H ii iir^ ti r| A B 2 # m NATAL OCOUailENCES BETWEEN A third edition, and a dedication to the late American secretary of state, Mr. Munro, confer some authority upon the ** Sketches of the war." That, and the *• Naval History,** may be consi- dered as speaking the sentiments of the Ameri- can people, upon the great national subject that fills the pages of both. . The indulgence of the naval reader is now re- quested, while a few observations, chiefly cal-^ culated for such as are unacquainted with the subject, are submitted, upon the nature of a ship's armament, and upon what really consti- < tutes her force, — or power to do and resist in- jury, when contending with an enemy. . / That ships constructed for the purposes of war, mount guns or cannon, is well known. Guns have their cylinders of various diameters or^ calibers, from 2^ to 8 inches; and each gun is named from the weight of the shot, which its cylinder will admit to pass freely. Thus, a gun of a 2^ inch caliber, being capable of receiving and discharging an iron shot tjiat weighs half a pound, is called a half-pounder, or more com-^ munly, a swivel, from the way in which it is- usually mounted ; and a gun of an 8-inch ca- liber, discharging a stiot weighing sixty eight pounds, is called a 68-pounder. Between these extremes, are several gradations, each distin- guished in a similar manner. The gun which throws a shot of sixty eight •y ;. o ^amig ^ Bfeaas UREAT BRITAIN AND AMRRICA. V pounds weight, was invented in 1770, at Carron in Scotland ; and thence called a carronade. This gun is wliorler and lighter^ in proportion to its caliber, than any of the comm'^n kind. The carronade admits of variety in caliber, but not to so great an extent as the long gun; the cylinders of few of the former being below fourinches in diameter; the caliber of a 9-pounder. No long gun at present in our service throws a heavier shot than of thirty two pounds. There is, however, a kind of gun, still shorter than the carronade, the diameter of whose bore extends to thirteen inches. These guns are named mortars and howitzers ; and are designated ac- cording to the diameter of their bores, thus : ** A 13-inch mortar;" — " An 8-inch howitzer." They are chiefly employed to throw shells ; and, for that purpose, mounted on board peculiar vessels, called bomb- ships. Within these few years, a sort of medium-gun has been invented, for sea-service, called by us, Govet'Sy or Congreve^s gun. The Americans call their's a Columbiad; probably from its having been cast at the cannon-foundery situate in the district of Columbia, in the United States. The English short long-gun weighs about two- fifths less than a gun of the same caliber, of the common construction ; but a 68-pound-carro- nade weighs only one-sixth more than the lightest g- NATAL OCCUBRENCES BETWEEN m I t !i 4 i '^-potind gUD, and a 42-pound sarrona^eweighi considerably less than the lightest 18-pound gun. Owing to this circumstance, the carronade re« quires fewer hands to work it, and can be loaded •and pointed with more quickness and facility, than the long gun. The benefit to be derived from employing a species of cannon capable of throwing shot of so extraordinary a size, appears in the following extract from a celebrated trea- tise on gunnery : ^' The most important advantage of heavy bullets is this, that with the same velocity, they break out holes in all solid bodies, in a greater proportion than their weight: that is, for in- stance, a 24-pound shot will, with the same ve- locity, break out a hole in any wall, rampart or solid beam, in which it lodges, above eight times larger than will be made by a 3-pound shot ; for, its diameter being double, it will make a superficial fracture above four times slU great as the d-pounder, (more of a smaller hole being closed up by the springing of the solid body than of a great one,) and it will penetrate to more than twice the depth. By this means, the firmest walls of masonry are easily cut through their whole substance by heavy shot, which could never be effected by those of a smaller caliber ; and in ships, the strongest beams and masts are }icrebjr ffactured^ which ^ jgreat number of ■>" In penetratiag^olid bodies, thatbul- letwhich has but just forbe enough to go through^ will produce much greater effect, than a bullet which has a considerable velocity left, after it has got through/' (P. 307.) The Americans, it appears, have ^' accurately weighed together'' their shot and ours, of the same caliber ; and -one naval commander officially states, that a British 32-pound shot weighs one pound three-quarters more than an American one. This alleged difference in weight (rather less than one-eightoenth) the Americans ascribe, not to the diameter of their shot being smaller than ours of the same nominal weight, but to the tex- ture being looser, arising from some difference in the two methods of casting. Whenever the Americans do venture upon a calculation of comparative weight of metal, they take care to profit by this discovery. It is not worth enquiring, whether or not this alleged trifling variation in weight between American and British shot, doen exist ; or whe- ther it may not arise from a i^ew shot having been picked out on one side, and an old one, dented in the casting, or abraded by rust, on the other. Under the article already quoted from Rees's Encyclopedia, it is stated, that '* a hollow shot equal in diameter to a 68-pound shot, but weighing only forty pounds, fired from a suitable distance, penetrated a bulk*head, as GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. It ■t. thick as the sides of a first'^rate ; and afterwards striking against an oak post or stud, nine inches square, tore, shattered, and splintered it almost to pieces/' It has jttst appeared, that one advantage of a large shot, ia the size of the hole it makes in a ship's side ; and that the less the celerity of the shot in its passage through, the greater will be the damage. Were the exact weight, and not the diameter, of a shot to be taken, in proof of its destructive power, the above hollow shot, of eight inches diameter, filled with combustible matter till it weighed forty eight pounds, must be considered as less etfective than a solid iron shot of the same diameter, weighing sixty eight pounds; and that, precisely as 48 is to 68. Either the Americans mean this, or they mean no- thing. It is to be hoped, they will not again broach a principle so truly ridiculous. The only kinds of shot used in the British navy, are, round, grape, and case or canister, a smaller species of grape. But the Americans, both in their public, and private-armed vessels, employ, under the denomination of '* rodnd and grape," chain, bar, star, and double-headed shot; which, in close combat especially, enables them to unrig a ship, much more quickly than could be accomplished by the shot in general use. An accurate representation of these dis- ipantling shot may be seen in Plate I. I'm M ik NA.VAL OCCURRENCES BETWEEN Ti; I t... I 111 1 11 The editor of the " Naval History" says that, ' -— '* in an engagement between ship and ship, the efTect produced is, by the broadside, or the number of guns placed in battery on one side of a ship/' Mr. Clark should hare said — ** num- ber and description of guns ;" his present state- ment implying, that a 3 and a 32-pounder are productive of equal effect. The armed schooners of the United States often appear with their guns fitted in a manner, § that, one would think, requires only to bie known, to be generally adopted. For instance, a schooner of SO or .90 tons, upon which we should place six li2-pound carronades at least, would, as an American privateer, carry three long l*2-pounders, upon pivot-carriages; so as to be used upon either broadside. Thus, while numerically of only half her former force, she throws the same weight of metal in broad- side; and possesses the immense advantage of long guns over carronades of the same ca- liber. All the American public ships derive a par- tial benefit from using shifting guns upon their upper decks; for which they are pro^ vided with spare ports, exclusive of those at the bow and stern. These guns, as well as those placed on pivot-carriages, belong to the broadside-force ; and should be estimated ac- cordingly. Mr. Clark, by including, in his GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 13 > I statement of the force of oiir frigates, the shifting or boat-carronade which tbej usually carry, admits the correctness of this principle. . Standing bow or stern-chasers, or any other guns in the ship, for which no broadside-ports (in contra-distinction to the bow or bridle-port) are provided ; or which, from the construction of their carriages, cannot be fought, otherwise than through ports, will not be estimated. By a ship's broadside-weight of metal, is therefore to be understood, the united calibers, in pounds, of all the long guns and carronades, which she can "place in battery on one side of her;" whether those guns are stationed upon her decks# or in her tops. The guns of a ship are useless lumps of iron, without men to handle them. A ship that has not men enough for all her guns upon the broad-^ side, must either allot to each gun fewer hands than can properly work it, or fully man a part only of her guns, and leave the remainder un«< supplied. In either case, that ship's whole force or power is not brought into action. Suppose two ships, equal in guns, to engage ; one to have full crews for every gun upon her broadside, marines for her gangways and tops, seamen in abundance to trim sails, repair run* ning-rigging, clear away wrecks of spars,^ stop shot-holes ; in short, men for every possible ser«i vice in the ship. Let the other ship have men i 14 NATAL OCOURREKCEI BETWEEN enough to work two-third of her guns only, scarcely any to employ as marines, and so few for trimming sails and manoeuvering the ship, or for hastily repairing slight accidents in the rigging, that she can neither take a position to rake her opponent, nor prevent being raked herself; her disability encreasing, by every shot that is iired. Will any one pronounce this to be an equal match ? Yet, were a ship's force to be estimated from her guns only, the affirmative would be the answer, whatever absui'dity it might involve. ' Strictly speaking, every gun that cannot be manned, should be thrown out of the estimate.' None would be by this such sufferers in famey as the commanders of American privateers. One of their schooners, of ten heavy guns, might have captured, in quick succession, six merchant- ships, of twelve guns each ; every one of which would, of course, be pronounced ** superior'^ to hei>s^. Yet the whole six British crews, would not, perhaps, outnumber the single American crew. 4" Again ; when two ships grapple, of what con- sequence is an. equality in cannon P She that has most men, with arms in their hands, will inevitably carry her opponent, unless, indeed, the advantage is rendered of no avail by a de- ficiency in valor. This fact has been established repeatedly, in the engagements with our packets/ 6RBAT BRITAIN ANP AMERICA. IS armed transports, and even merchantpthips, as many a disappointed privateersman can testify. American editors, in their statements of ac- tions, conceal, not only the weight of metal^; but, invariably, the complements, on each side; a wart) that, as «* successful contributors to na- tional character,'' they dare not make the dis». closure. In the present work, a ship's complement will be addedto her broadside-weight of metal ; and^ as a British ship's complement always consists of a great proportion of boys; (and of very young ones, too;) while scarcely any are to be seen on board an American ship, it would be to consider men and boys as equal in effective* ness, not to enumerate them separately. The same distinction must be observed, when non-^ combatant-passengers are on board. Hitherto, estimates of the comparative force of ships hHv« been usually considered as com- plete, when the force in guns and men was accu- rately stated ; but, it is submitted, a disparity in size, especially if it amounts to any thing be- yond a fifth or a fourth, ought also to be in- cluded* For instance, the larger ship remains steadier in a rough sea; by which her guns are pointed with more effect, as, from the roomji- ness of her decks^ they are worked with more ease. Her additional length necessarily places, the men further apart ; thereby diminishing the m m rr w NATAL OCCUREENOB8 BETW^BUT ■M havoc made by the enemy's shot. The men hare another security, in the additional thickness of her sides, through which the shot have to pass; and the ship herself is, from the same cause, en- abled to withstand a longer and more furious cannoqade. Then, the encreased diameter of the masts, yards, and rigging, adds to the diffi- culty of destroying or disabling them ; and the stability of a ship's masts, after those of her adversary have fallen, generally decides the contest. , The advantage of thick sides has nof escaped the discernment of the Americans; and, lihe dis- cussion being confined to American ship<>i^ there could be noobject in withholding it from the pubn. lie, or in rendering it confused. Mr. Paul Hamil* ton, the American secretary of the navy, in his off', ficial letter, transmitting a '^ very valuable cOm*, munication'' from Captain Che^'^es Stewart of tlie United States' navy, explicitly says:—-*' Besides, a 76" (a ship then proposed to be so rated) ''* ia ^ built of heavier timber, is intrinsically much stronger, than a frigate in all her works ; and can sustain battering much longer, and with less injjury. A shot which would sink a frigate, might be received by a 76 with biit little injury, k might pass between wind and water through a frigate, when it would stick ui the frame of a 76."^(N. Chron. vol. xxix. p.i4e6.) This argument requires some ejiplanatiou. If OnBAT BRITAIN AND AMF.RIOA. 17 tl!? accounts of the Americans are to be cre- dited, we have no ship in the British navy, not «ven the Caledonia and her class, *^ built of hea- vier timber'' than the American 766, or 74s, as they are now rated. Consequently, one of the latter may have been *' built of heavier timber, and be intrinsically much stronger in all her works," than an American frigate ; as is notori- ously^ the case between a British 74 and a Britijsh frigate. The possession of the Pres|ident, how- ever, h&s decidedly proved, that the difference, if Btiy, in the size of scantling, between a British 74 and an American frigate, is in iavor of the latter. Yet, in answer to a charge in the British journals, that the large American frigates were 74s in disguise, Mr. Clark declaims a great deal about a British 74-gun ship's superiority in ** compactness and strength of sides.'' Between two British ships of war, the tonnage bears some proportion to the thickness of sides: and so it may between two American ships of war; but, between a British, and an American, ship df war, that rule generally fails. The fol- lowing table, the several items of which ane the result of actual measurement, will suffici- ently illustrate this : e V 18 NAVAL OCCURRENCES BETWEEN m BuUi. 1797 J 809 1816 1813 PrrMni riitrt. 54 560 46 ' I N«a«a. Preiid«ntt — An. S«a Domingo, '^ Hero, I X iicanderi • • • • ^ Eufotat, BV| • • • • I Tom. 13SS 1819! 1741 ! 1571 1084 lliickncii or lepiidei, including oMMtlv pUnk, limber, wid Ib- Md«i plHiik, ■( inid-iliip main- deck pori'iilt. Fi. 1 in. 8 5 5 fur«nio»t quart'* d«ck port-ailf. Ft. in. 1 5 fUi it Ol It The San Domingo was Admiral Warren^s flag- ship on the American station; and the Hero, recently built at Deptford, is esteemed one of the finest second-class 74s in the service. The Leander was constructed purposely to match the President, and her class ; and the Eurotas con- sidered strong enough to carry Congreve's 34- pounders upon the main-deck. The latter's top-sides will answer for tliose of Britisn 46-guli frigates, in general. »t£i/i It would appear, then, that British and Ame- rican builders difier in their ideas as to what is the due proportion between the thickness of a ship x>f war's top-sides, and her length, breadth, and tonnage. Derrick says:—** In tlie year 1744 or 1745, a general complaint was made of the ships in his majesty's navy, that their scant- lings were not so large and strong as they should ORBAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 10 be.''* Mr. Sepping's solid plan of building rises no higher than the level of the gan-deck. It may save the ship from sinking, but it will afibrd no additional shelter to the men at the guns.— True, no ship's side can resist a well- directed 18 or 24-pound shot, fired from a short distance; but may not a shot that is' nearly spent, pass through a side fifteen inches thick, when it would lodge in a side twenty inches thick ? Some persons may imagine, that a stout, com- pact side would act as an impediment io sailing; a point so essential in a ship of war. On the contrary, the American ships are, proverbially, swift sailers ; and the President, with such un- common topsides, one of the swiftest among them. The quality of sailing depends chiefly upon the form of a ship's bottom, aided by her length. The Americans had, according to Char- nock, discovered this, early in the war of 1776 ;t and they have now proved, clearly . that swift- sailing is not incompatible with the strongest construction. -• A ship's masts and yards are generally in pro- portion to her size ; but the lower-masts of Ame- rican ships, are invariably stouter in proportion to their lev ^h , than the lower-masts of British ships. A coiNparison of the main-masts of dif- ferent ships will explain this : * Derrick's Mem. of the R. Na?y, p. 130. f Charnock, M. Arch., toI. iii. p. 18. C 2 rt 96 kxTAL dCCURR£lVCES BEtWEElT* ::i! !(, M«in-muts. Br. 64. Am. 44 Br. 46* Am. S6 Br. • Am. 18 Br. te. Am. 14 Pt. fn. Ft. in. Pr. iti. Pt. ih. Pt. in. Pt. in. Pt. in. Ft. ih. L«n|Ui> 4... 100 101 6 MO 9S 4 73 75 9 MO 610 Diantet^r i.,i S9i 9 11 I9i t e 8 m l»i 1 30| It is tosy to cdnceiVe, that the smaller the mast, the lesswill be the difficulty of destroying it by shot ; but there are few persons ivho caii form an adequate idea of the state of a ship, with her mksts all gone ; engaged with another^ whoB^ masts are all standing. , Tb^ masts, in their fall, crush men, and dis« able guns. If the wreck haiigs over the side engaged, resistance is suspended; or, if a few guns can still be used, the flash from them sets -the wi«ck in flames^ and adds to the confusion. Hairing no locomotive |K>wer, no Aail to counter- iict thie Inotion Of the sea, the ship becomes an •ungovernable hulk, reeling from side to side, and dipping her guns at every roll. These, or a part of them, she may discharge at the enemy ; but, under such eircu'mstahces, how many shot will take effect? The othei' ship, benefiting by the pi'essnre of th« wind upon her sails, rides steady amidst the waVes ; and advances, turns, and retreats, at pleasure. H«r guns, she fires with precision ; and either sinkft her opponent, or compels her to surrender. ♦ Present ratet. Itii f. . i It r^mmwtfk my a fPW W' The application of the size in tons, as part of a ship's force, cannot be reasonably objected te by 'the Americans; because, as has appeared al- ready, British ships of greater tonnage than the American 44s, are exceeded by them, in thick- ness of topsides; and equalled, at least, in stoutness of spars. "■ ' * '^ ^To convey a better idea of a ship's size, than the tonnage alone may afford, the length on deck, and extreme breadth, of most, if not all, of the ships engaged, will be given; and, as the masts are such important auxiliaries in action, and the squareness of the yards may contribiite to shew the size of the ship, the length and dia- meter of the main-mast and main-yard, wi{l also, when obtainable, be added. Having endeavoured to explain the nature of a ship's armament ; as well as to point out, that ^11 accurate statement of ^ ship's force, ought tq GREAT BRITAIN AND AMBRICA. 23 ooiQpns0} her brmdaifle meial in poufidst both in long guns and mrron^dts ; her complement of men tmdboys; and her size in /o»s-— a clear, view of the subject demands afeiy obserTation^, upon the popular notion about the rate, the class or form, and the mode of rigr, of armed vessels in general. ^' Previous to the invention of carronades, a ship of war was designated, or rated^ according to the number oi guns she actually -mounted. At first, c^arrpnades, by two or four at a time, were intrp^f duced op board the frigates and higher classes : to receive which carropades, additional ports were Pi|t through the sides of the quarter-deck; tbe ports for long guns not answering for carro- nades, without considerable alteration. These earronades became, then, an addition to the ship's armament, not expressed or understood by her rate. As new ships were added to the navy, oarronade-ports were constructed by the builder, upon the forecastle, and all along tl^e quarter- deck; except where the interference of the main- rigging required a long gun; Thus, a ship was inade to mount as many as eight or ten pieces of cannon, more than were expressed as her actual armament. ;^ » This addition to a ship's rated armament might be illustrated by the re-equipment of most of his majesty's ships, built earlier than the year 1790. There was, however, in existence until very lately, a ship built as long ago as / ! ^-li •l! l| I' ..^ ?i*i , ^ NATAL 6«ct;iiiiE5rei:i ftCTtvislsw' '■I m 1767; which may best serve to establish the' point. The Southampton frigate, in every list of the British nafy from 1757 to 1702, is stated to have carried the following guns: twenty six 12-pounders upon the main-deck ; Aiurf^-pound- ers upon the quarter-deck ; and two 6-pounderB upon the forecastle; total 32 guns: precisely what she rated, in every list up to that announc- ing her loss, by shipwreck, in November 1812. But, at that period, the Southampton mounted, ilpon the quarter-deck and forecastle, ten car- i^nadcs, 24-pounders, a 12-pound boat-carro- nade, and four long 6s; making, with her twenty six long 128 upon the main-deck, 41 , instead of 32 guns, the number she rated, >* • The first British-built fHgate, of ^< 3^ guns,'' was, according to Charnock's lists, the Minerva, of 040 tons, built in 1780 ; and, up to the year 1702, the establishment of guns for that class was, — twenty eight 18-poundei*s upon the main- deck; eight 0-pounders upon the quarter-deck i- and two 12-pounders upon the forecastle; tot^; 38 guns. At present, the frigates of this class, encreased in size to 1080 tons, mount upon the quarter-deck and forecastle, fourteen carro- nades, 32-pounders, and two long Os ; making, with their main-deck battery, and boat-gun, 47, instead of 38 guns, the rated number. Previous to the Prince Regent's order in coun* cil, recently promulgated^ it would have puzzled 99 n, ORBAT BItltAIN AKD AMBRIC^t' ^ an^ one but of the naval department, to enoine- rate the gnne of a ship, from seeing her rate in the list. By people in general, the rate and actuall armament, were considered as sy nonimous terms i. and, therefore, in proportion as the two terms differed, was the deception upon the publte/ We read in Steel: — '' La Traave, 44, taken by the Andromache, 36/' The same list designates^ the former, as aBriiish ship, thus: ♦* Traave, 36." And what did the Andromache mount? — Ac-^ cording to the present admiralty-lists, 46 guns.( We read, also, of the capture of '* La Re*- nomm^e, 44 ;'* but, "when that ship, with an al- tered name, and three more gu^ks placed upon' her, is ^aptur«d from us, Mr. Steel calls her *^ Java, 118.^' The very same list contains the following statement: ^^ La Furieuse, 50, taken July 6, by the Bonne Citoyenne, 18;^' when a reference to Captain Mounsey's official letter *# would have i^ewn the editor, that La Furieuse,' although manned with a frigate's complement, and pierced for 48, mounted only HO guns*^ The thing, in all its parts, was gallant enough^^ without the aid of exaggeration. It was not the least inconvenience attending the rating system, that it had a partial applica- tion, even in oar own service. For instance, one of Steers ** 18-gun'* sloops, if a brig, or a cor-- 1. 1 -^♦- • f Nsf. Chroo. Tol. xxH. p. ^6, :ir Ml m IfA^AL OCCURRENCES BETWEEN yette-ship, mounted (without reckoning; the boat-carronade) no more guns than her rate ex- pressed; hut, if a deep-waisted ship, 26 or 2^ guns. ,, i;,.:;^,,jf,, • , . ..•..'u.u'iU'i.-t.rr ;JifAUM^;.:itl5 . To what m&y we, in a ^reat measifre, itnplite the national surprise at the capture of /a British frigate of ^' 49guns,^' bjan American one of ^'44 guns/' but the delusion created by the repeated victories of a British frigate of ** 38 guns" over a French frigate of '^ 44 guns'' P—rWas the pub* lie to know, that the first British frigate was stated at the guns she mounted, the second at the guns she rated ; and that the reverse of this occurred in the case of the American, and the French frigate; thus: British frigate, 49 guns, American frigate, 44 (instead of 56) guns ; Bri- tish frigate, 38 (instead of 46) guns, French frigate, 44 guns? , h. Foreigners, with almost pardonable acrimony, will often speak of this habit of contrasting the rate of our ships with the mounting of theirs; and how can an Englishman reply ? With what face can we blame the Americans, for having acted in the same manner towards us? ;^# . It is due to the gallantry of British seamen, and to the honorable character of British offir cers, to state, that most of the French ships of «( 44 guns" were larger, and far more numerously manned, than the *' 38 gun frigates' ' that cap- tured them ; and, partly on account of the dif? GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. «7 w ference between French and English measures, usually mounted heavier metal; upon the main* deck, especially. Were an officer, in his public letter, to state how many guns his own ship mounted, it would be infonning the lords of the admiralty, of what they are already supposed td^ know. He has only to describe the force of th«^ enemy's ship ; being well aware that a reference to the navy-office books, will procure, for any one who may desire to publish an account of the^ action, the true force of his ship. Nor does a British officer, if properly applied to, ever ro^ fuse to give the fullest information on the sub^ , ject. It is the editors and publishers of suchv ac^unts, and not the British officers, who de«< serve censure for imposing upon the public, 'i iri The variation between the rate, and mount- ing, of the ships of the British navy, was, as w# have seen, a gradual process ; attributable rathev to accident than design . Was that the case witb the ships in the American navy? mi ^^^| Hi An act of congress, dated the 27th of March^ 1794, authorised the building of '* four ships of 44 guns, and two of 36 guns;" and, in 1813, the following appeared in a Philadelphia newsi paper : V' i ■5-/Si *!^: VA7AL OiCemtRBVCCI JiJSTWEBS riff\frt^y ..% ;;ii'i 'm i^ ; ^' It afipcars iha.% tl|t fimt «t«iiiii«te rendered to eoagnefifi, wfuitfnr £rig«iMof IIkb oonmo^ size and dameiiMons* rated «t 06 aiid /i4 guas; aad that tiM Arat appiopmliona for ik» armamtnt, were £Mindfid upon this cstiflMi^* It also appeart tiiat, when their size a^ dimensions eame to be more otttuneif ooosiderod, duo ffeferenee being bad lo lAii^ ships thaf might have to cof^tejid with, it w»B defimed proper^ so tp aUer tksir 41^ msmiona^ uithmt ehmigitig Ihdr rtUes, as to ex» tend their spfaetw of ntilitj as much aa possible. ' '^* It was expected, from this alterationi that they would possesfij in an eminent degree^ the advantage of sailing ; that, ^separately, they would be tuperUr So uwy nngle European frigate of the usual dimemUme ; that, if assailedby number8,'tkry would be always able to lead a-faead ; that they could never be obliged to go into action but on their own terms, except in « calm ; and that, in heavy weather, they would be capable of engage %ng douhle-deek ships. • *' These are the principal advantages contem- plated from the change made in their dimeni- sions. Should they be realized, they will more than compensate for having materially swelled the body of expenditures." Here is an official document, pointing out the to Of of a Ad ■-■I » i\r .,?v in «II8AT BRfTAfK JLVD AMBmiOA. *< advantages'' ^ sending forth ships, of grtater size and force than theif rate implies ; evidently^ to opeflite as a ebeat or delusion upon the rest oftheworldi There was no '' European frigate of the ttSusl dimensions/' bot was known to b^ ft third stnaller^ and a third weaker^ than an American frig^ote ** of 44 guns.'' But why to rale " of 44 guns" ? Beeause the largest *' £uro))eati frigates" then mounUd that number; conse*> quentlj, a frigate *'qf44 guns" was apparently equal to a frigate " of ^ guns." The diffii*- rence between the raU and tnmmting wf stkp- posed to be a secret ; the above '' Jttpart of iht Hctetary at var^' not being suffered to see the light, till of late years, when some vf the ^< ad<- vantages^^ of the deception, had beeome, indeed^ »* realized*' ! , Happily, it was reserved for Britain to pludk the reil of deception from the rating system. Her gallant tars require not the aid cf fiction, to give a colour to their claims. The order i|i council expresses, *' that all the ressels in the navy shall in future be distinguished by the number of guns and carronades they actually mount, and not according to the erroneous de- nominations which had long since grown into use."— America, Surely, will not now have the face to continue her rating system. In verifioa* tioii of the old proverbi she will find it her iti» w t?*w "^I'Mif •?«#* %*}.' €l%-f*'.nf ■I § 80 NATAL OCCVRRBN0B9 BETWEEN terest to be honevt ; but it will not be forgotten — who set her the example* The rate, as we have seen/ is an arbitrary dis- tinction, liable to continual fluctuation. There is, between ships of war, another distinction, general and permanent. Thus we have, the three-decker, or ship with three whole battery- decks ; the two-decker, or ship with two whole battery-decks ; the one-decker, or frigate, and its variety, the corvette or cutter, with one whole battery-deck. . The corvette has simply one deck or battery, with sometimes two small spaces elevated from four to six feet above the level of the deck ; one situate aft, called the poop or round-house, the other forward, called the top-gallant-forecastle. Upon one or both of these short decks, two or three small guns are sometimes employed in action ; but, Ihere being no ramparts to protect the men, the station is always a dangerous one, especially within the range of musketry. ^ The top-gallant-forecastle, extended aft from the stem to the belfry, (a little abaft the fore- mast,) and the poop or round-house, from the stem to nearly the . centre of the ship, become the forecastle and quarter-deck. These are joined by a narrow platform, or range of planks, laid horizontally along the upper part of the ship's side, called th^ gangway ; a vacancy being left in the middle, which opens to the upper or ma GREAT BRtTAIN AND AMBRICA. 81 Diain^eck, and forms the waist. Ships of this construction are called deep-waisted ; and, if armed for war, and with but one whole deck, frigates. ' \'i' Vessels not deep-waisted, whether corvetteff, or such as hare two whole decks reaching from the stem to the stern, with or without a popp and top-gallant-forecastle, have also a quarter- deck and forecastle, of the same extent as if separated in the middle by the waist. But a ship of war's upper-deck, when of this fabric, is . usually called, the spar-deck. Of this des- cription, . are the upper-decks of the Majestic, and Saturn, razees; of the Leander, Newcastle,, and new Java ; and of the President, and the '^ large American frigates of her, class. None off these vessels are therefore deep-waisted, or fri- gate-built ships; although courtesy has gained for them the appellation of frigates. •«< .The frigate-class formerly descended very low. i It was only in the year 1760, that deep-waisted v^ ships, rating 18 guns and under, began to be classed as sloops ; and not until very lately, that ships rating 24 guns, were removed to the same station. Yet neither the French nor the Spaniards admit any intermediate class between a frigate- built ship, however small, and a single-decked flushrship ; both calling the one a frigate, and the other a corvette. , The Americans called the Cyane, rating 24 guns, a frigate ; and most of our I m MJlVAL OCCVARBMCEt BETWfiEV 4 mi m frig^e-bttilt 18 or 30-gun sloops, of the old mte, if tbcj happened to tire a few shot at an Amo- rican privateer, were simiJarly designated, m The quarter-deck and forecastle, with the deep-waist, are common to both regular two, and three*decked ships ; and all the latter, and most oi the former, hare also a poop or rotind-hoose ; but which) unlike that upon corvettes^ is oon- atmcted with ramparts and ports, similar to the quarter-deok. , Without enquiring which ship's deck is the longer of the two, or has placed apon it the greater number and weight of gam, the world icalls for proof, that ships of one denominatioii n^e not of equal ibrce. Upon the same principle, |»ersoiis imagine, that the ship of three decks, or batteries, mu-deckers, let us tid^e the Malta, with the £orce she mounted in 1812. To lieighten the contrast, a two-decked *' 44'' might be produced ; but, as that useless class is now !h I I GREAT BRITAIH AND AMBRICA. ditmitted the senrice, the two-decked 50, or pre- sent 68, gun ihip (not much better) will be op* posed to the Malta. ^^ Malta. Old 50.gttn ihip. . , , f tcarrom B8-0ndn.] Lower-deck .--.-{.«, .« \ 30 long S3 -> Upper-deck . • • . 38 — - 84 — (90 GoTeriX. 34 — Searr* 68 — 1—— 24 — 1 18 — Ppop 6 N 34 — ■) 33 long 34 pndr8» S3 13*— 8 carr. 34 — — ♦*♦ Total.... 94 gnns. 60 gonf. Comparative force of two two-deckers: Old 60- gun ship! 437 Malta. Broadside-metal in pounds < '^ *^ I carr. 178 153 Complement of men and boys. , Size in tons •1330 689 3355 114 541 343 1044 That a contest between two such ships, is not merely an ideal case, was proved on the 18th of August, 1798, when a British 50, the old Lean- der, under the command of the present Vice* admiral Sir Thomas Boulden Thompson, Bart, engaged, at close action, for six hours and a half, le Genereux, a ship very little inferior in weight of metal, and actually superior in num- ber of men, to the Malta. For the one-decked, or frigate-class, a ship as much a frigate as the new Leander, Newcastle, and new Java, will be produced. The Majestic, 1' {.'» Jl 34 NATAL OCCUHRENCEf BETWEIll ! -l>raS9 12 f orocaitle .... 1 28 carr.. 42 — -*• ' 1 -^ 18 Total.... d8 giMM. 33" gam. Comparative force dflwo frigates: Majestie. I. guns firoadside.metal in pounds i Ccanr Cotrtplechent of men and boys . . . , Sr2eitttot>s 460 606 OM24.gunih. ■1066 500 1642 84 -192 -ft38 Formidable as is the Mojestic^s^ for a frigate's, broadside, someof the new Ainericfin^* 44s'' mount two 33'poiinders upon tbeif main-decks, more than she does. There Would be some propriety 4n rating soeh ships, as the Mi^stic was rated, At -'58 guiis;" but, is it not a burlesque upoti |f, then, the reader wishes to understand tliprougbly the merits of the several disputed cases, the elucidation of which is the sole object of the present work, he mast not be biassed by ^bip's rates, number of decks, or other such equivocal distiiictions, but must give his whole attention to each ship's broaclside-weight of^ fite« talyt^ompkment of men and, boy s^ and me in tons, ';i* CHEAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. '** 4 III CHAPTER II. -.■'.■.■•■' »y I Wir of 1776 — i/. M. S. Glasgow and an American, squadron — Nimrod and an American armed ship — Beaver and Oliver Cromwell — Varmtnflh and Randolph — Cruel treatment of Britifhpri* soners of war — Ariadne and Ceres with the Ror^, leigh and Alfred — Levant and Greneral Hancock '-^DUigetit and Providence — Scrapie andScarho-i rough with squadron under Paul Jones-^Savage and Congress-^South Carolina American frigate -f— Anecdote of Captain Manly — Atalante and ■ Trepassy with tJie Alliance — Sybil and Afliance '-~(xross amount of British and American cap: tures. » X HE early pages of Mr. Clark's work, are de* Toted to the naval operations of the '^ revolu- tionary war.*' Almost every action in which a British armed ship was a party, is detailed vntK some circumstances to her disadvantage. As far as respects private-armed siiips, it is hard^ypos*^ sible, at this day, to come at the truth ; but, the proceedings of our public-armed ships being on record, from the earliest periods, the de- tails of actions in which they have been c6a- cerned, will not be so di0icult to procur«. \ i m t '■^Srh 98 NATAL OCCURRENCES BETWEEN ': i '.«: ;-;( ■ 1 i m rv". At page 26 of his first volume, Mr. Clark in- forms us, that an American fleet, consisting of, *' the Alfred, of 30 guns and 300 men; Colum- bus, of 28 guns and 300 men ; Andrew Doria, of 16 guns and 200 men ; Sebastian Cabot, of 14 guiis an^ 200 men; and Providence, of 12 guni ■^r Itfid 150 men,'' on their return from a successful expedition against the island of New Provi- dence, fen in with H. M. S. Glasgow, of^O s guiis, Captain Tyfingham Howe, in company with a tender.-*^' The Cabot,'' says Mr. Clark, *' Mng foremost of the squadron, bore down vpon her. After exchanging broadsides, lihe Cabot was so much damaged in her hallviWid tigging, by the superior weight of the enemy's metal, as to be obliged to abandon the contest, and refit. The Alfred came next alongside, and continued a close engagement for an hour and a half. During the action, the Alfred had her tiHeff and maib-brates shot away. At day- break, the Glasgow, making all the sail she MMild crowd, stood in for Newport. The Cabot Had four men killed, and seven wounded ; the Alfred six killed, and six wounded ; the Coluro* b«r one woundted. After this engagement th« Americlin fleet got safe into port. The escape ^ of the Glasgow excited much displeasiyre against tin eommodore." . Captftili Sehdmherg* states this aifair to hHV^ ♦ Schomberg'a Nat. Chronol. vol. I. p. 41t. -* hi r CMISAT BmiTAlN AKO AMRRICA. H h#p|ieiied cut (be ddi of April 1776; a4id that; se ^r from tbe Glugew eifeotttig her escape; she eooapelled this might j squadfioa of Amerieaif ships to *' sheer off,*' She was much ertppted is her masts and ri^ng; and had cme ibait killed, and three wounded. ' The Glasg;»w was 451 tmi», and oilrrled twenty long 9-potmden. The tender does not appeal) to have beea arnoed. llie Alfred and Columbfid miiat have had either 9 or 18-pound<»rs: the other thiee American veiwels, 6-pounder8. — ^WHaf toeans Mr. Clark, the», bj '* the superior Weight of the enemj^s metal'^ P-^-^A candid writer wdalcl hare saidr-r-*' die extraordinary precision of the eneny^s lire/' Some idea of what th« Glasgow' had to contend with, will appear by the num-* hers on each side : British force, 00 gnns, 160 men ; American force, 109 guns, 1150 m^h. ^ At page 39 of the same volume^ Mr. Claris says — " In the month of September (1776) Ca^-^ tain Baird, eoramander of a Massachusetts armed ship, engaged the Nimrod, a British sloot» of war, of 18 guns. After a severe action, tM Nimrod struck hm- colours ;*^ — and refers, for hi^ authority, to two American miseellani^, the Remembrancer, and PeniwylvaRia Packet. ^ Passing onrer the circumstance of the armedf ship's force being left to inference, it is sujficient to state, that neither this ^* severe acticin,'' noi* the Nimvod's capture, ^sm be jfbund in Schom- '^fl NATAL 0C0VRRBNCE8 BETWEEN li ^1 hergi-'--^ work Mr. Clark admits of authorit}r, by.referriiig to it so often. But, inthetiayj- )ist for 1777, (the year succeeding the alleged capture,) the Nimrod's name appears, for the first time; aod she is there stated to mount 14» instead of 18 guns. r At p, 51, we read,—'' On the 11th of May (1777) the British sloop of war Beaver, of 14 guns and 1$^5 men, fell in with an American privateer of superior force. After a sinart action of three quarters of an hour, the privateer struck' to the English vessel.*'—'* Schombetg's Naval Chronology^ vol. i. p. 436.''— The passage quoted rui|8tbus: ^' On the 18th of May, the Beaver sloop of war, of 14 guns and 125 menj com<^ manded l^y Captain Jones, being on a cruize olF $t.' Lucia, fell in with, and after a sinart action* of three quarters of an hour, captured the-01i«. ▼er Cromwell, American privateer, of 24 guns, 10 swivels, and 10 cohorns, and 150 men, com-*, manded by Captain Harman ; 20. of whom were killed, an^d as many wounded. The Beaver had three inen wounded.. She was taken into the service, and named the Beaver's prize." f ^-. At p* 78} Mr. Clark recounts the blowing^ up of the American 32-guQ frigate, the Randolph! while engaging the Yarmouth 04, at night ; having mistaken her for a ^' large sloop with only a square-sail set,"— *^ The Britisl^ ship^'^ t^ays the a^coupt, '' wa^ the Yarmouth of 64 i»i, •'^i' 6RBAT BRITAIN AND AMBRIOA. guns, eqinmanded by Captain Vincent. She wat very niuch disabled by the action. Her saihi were all torn to pieces in a most surprising man- ner. She had Ave men killed, and twelve wounded. AH the other vessels escaped from the Yarmouth; which continued a chase of several days after them." — ^For this, Schomberg is not cited, but an American miscellany of note, the '* Porie-folio" Captain Schomberg relates the same disastroliH event thus: — '* On the 7th of March, Captain Vincent, in the Yarmouth, of 64 guns, being on' i| cruize off the island of Antigua, about five o'clock in the evening, discovered and chased six sail. At nine. Captain Vincent came, up with the largest, which, upon being hailed, hoisted American colours^ and fired her broadside into the -Yarmouth: she' continued to engage for about twenty minutes, when on a sudden she blew up. Being very near to the Yarmouth, a great part of the wreck fell on board her, which cut her rigging and sails to pieces, killed five men, and wounded twelve, others. On the 12th,' Captain Vincent : being. i# chase, saw a large piece o{ a wreck with four men on it ; upon which he gaye up the chase, and bore' down to pick them up. They proved to be the only remain-^ ing part of the unfortunate crew'of the ship which. had. blown up, while engaging the Yar- mouth. These poor wretches had subsisted ool til ■ '■" II I' f,? 4i VATAI. OCCUMlinfCn BiBTVSBa Dodiisg but fain- water, wiiich thcf had caugbl in a pwoe of an old blanket. Captaia Vincent learnt frohn theii, that the liiip was the Ran- di»lpli9 American privateer, of 36 guns, and 306 }> U ' men The American acooswt, in the yerjnext para- graph to that stating the Yarmouth's ioss in tails and men, *' by the motion** says — *'*• There were 315 persons on board the Randolph, l^hen she blew ti^i it was fortunate for the Yarmouth that she was to- windward of her. Notwithstanding, she was covered with parts of the wreck. A large piece- of timber, six feet long, tfell on the poop. Another large fnece struck her fore-top^ gallant-sail.^' But, strange to saj, not a word is them of a single man4>n the Yarmouth's decks having been hurt by this shower of spars, *^ sit leetlong.'' To oomraemorate tha ^glorious event," a splendid oil-painting is still exhibited, shewing l)he Yarmouth, in size a three^eeker, engaging the Randolph. The Is^er^ oansorts, (although onei^f them^ the Mo«iltrie of ^0 guns, is admits ted to have been olosely engaged,) wmmf be seen Ihr off in the back-gnNind; the sail«4>f the %i aire pierced whh shbt^-holes ; a top-gallant-yard is breaking in two; and atop^gailant-mast fall* iag iipon tbe dedk. lii shoct, the Yarrooudi ap^ )p«arB to havQ^ by iar, the wonst of the actiom tin CASAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. ti So much for represehtingi that as having pra» ceded, which actuallf followed, and was the consequence of, the Randolph's destruction. According to a paragraph respecting the fit<« ting out of this Randolph, it would appear that '* British sailors'' were among the sufTerecs on this melancholy occasion. Mr. Clark says: — *' Thd difficulty of procuring American seamen, when thf( frigate mks fitting out^ obliged Captain Biddle to comply with l^e request of a numbev of British sailors, then prisoners, to be allowed to enter on board his vessel. Wlule bearing away for Charleston, the English sailors, in oon« junction with others of the crew, formed the de aUeged by Mr. Clark, «' an English frigate of 32 guns." At p. 96 is the following:—" In the month of May (177?) as the U. States' sloop of war Provi- dence, of 10 gans, Captain Hoisted Hacker, was cruizing off. Sandy Hook, .she fell in with the NAf AL OCCURRSNCES BETWEEN British sloop of war Diligent, of 12 guns. A ■evere action ensued, and lasted an hour and a half, when the British vessel struck to the Ame- rican. The Providence had four men killed, and ten wounded.'' According to Schoniberg*^ and Charnock^s lists, the Diligent mounted 10 guns, d-ponnderSk was allowed 45 men, and measured 89 tons. Mr. Clark, ill atiother part of his book, states the ibrce of the Providence at twelve 4-pounders, and 90 men; and captured American vessels of 12 guns, at that time, were from 198 to 220 tons. This, therefore, was no capture of a superior British Ibrce, as the statement implies. . At p. 105 is given a highlj exaggerated ac^ ooont of the kas of U. M. ships, the Serapis, of 44, and Scarborough, of 20 guns. These two ships, with 294, and 135 men, were captured, flccMPding to the official accounts, after a san- guinary action of neady four hours, by that no* tovioos rcnegado, FaulJones, in Le Bon Homme itichasd, of 40 guns, and 375 me»; the Alliance, of 36 guns, and 300 men ; le Pallas, of 32 guns, and 375 men; and the Vengeance brig, of 13 guns, and 70 men: altogether, 120 guns, and 1020 men, opposed to 64 guns, and 420 men. • At p. 125 is the following: — ** In September, the British sloop of war Savage, of 20 guns, and about 140 men, ci^ized along the southern coast of the Ignited States. . She had proceeded up the i >i I HaiAT BRITATH AND AMERICA. 47 Potowmae, and plundered General Washing- ^on's estate. On the Otb of September^ she was met off Charleston, by the privat«er Congfress, of tlie same force witli herself. The CongreMB was commanded by Captain Gedde>9. Major M'Lane, a ^ery distiagaished partizan- officer of the Amen< !ui army, had, with a part of his com>- roand, Tohinteered to serve as marines on board ifaer. As the crew of the Savage were all seamen, «he had considerably the advantage of the Con- gress, the greater part of whose orew were lands- men. At half past ten, the Congress commence 'firing her bow-chasers. At eleven, the action commenced with musketry; which, after mueh execution, was foUowed by a severe cannonade on boiA sides. The Savage, at the commencement of the e^tgiigemcnt, had the advantage. She then lay on the Congress' bows, and ra^ed her. But the latter succeeded in getting alongside the Savaj^, and soon disabled her so oiTectually ^at she could not mancftuvre. An hour after the commencement of the action, all the bracM and bow-lin6s of the Savage were shot away. •Not a rope was left to trim the sails with. Her •decks were cleared by the musketry of the Am^ vioans. The Congress continued alongside until accident obliged her to drop a-stern. The Sa«- .vage was then almost a wreck; her sails, rig« ^ng, and yards, were so much injured, thiat St was with the utmost difficulty sha could / .!!■ I ' ■ i- i m y^^tk^ NATAL OCCtlRRBNCfiS l^EtWEEN ^ change her position time enough to avoid being; raked. The cannonading soon recommenced, with greater vigour than ever. The quarter* deck and forecastle of the Savage were, in a «hort time, again nearly cleared; almost every man stationed in these places being either killed or wounded. Three guns on the main-deck of the Savage wel'e rendered useless. The fire ., from the guns of each ship, scorched the men :i^ opposed io them in the other. The mizen-mast of the Savage was shot away, and got entangled in the after-rigging of the Congress. The co- lours of both vessels were shot away, when the boatswain of the Savage appearefd forward with his hat off, calling for quarters. As ail the boats of > the Congress had been destroyed by shot, it was half an hour before any of her crew could board the Savage. She was found to be a com^ pl^te wreck. Her decks were covered with blood, and killed and wounded men. The victory wa», in a; great measure, due to the exertion and acti- ■ ;iijty.of Major M'Lane and his brave soldiers.'' . This very circumstantial account, to make it complete, wanted only, what the Americans are generally unwilling to cominunicate — the force of their own ship, fortunately, that appears in Schomberg, vol. ii. p. 57. He there says,—" Qa the 6th of September, Captain Charles Sterling, in^the Savage sloop of war, of 14 guns, and 125 iiisn,> being on a cruize off Charlestown, fell in iaa£A7. BRITAIN AND AM^BICA. 0f -jwitii* . and. was capturcyd, after . a furkius and bloody conflict, by th« Congress priyatie^irt .mounting 30. 12-pounders, and four 6-pounders, •witha complement of 215 men, commanded by .Captain Geddes. Captain Sterling did not sur- .render the king's ship, until his mis^n-mast was '.shot away, the main-mast in imminent danger lof falling overboard, sveral of the guns rendered .useless, 8 men kiUed,. and 26 wounded. Among :ihe former was the master, and among the latter iwere Captain Sterling, Lieutenant Shielfls, and .3 midshipmen." .^ Althotugh the Congress was more than doubly ^superior (o the Savage ; (whose 14 guns were only 6rpound6r8 ;) yet,, says t he* above candid histo- irian, '* the British .sloop of war was captured .by an American ship .of the same force, with .herself." - ,,u ■ At p. 138, is stated the capture, in the ^ontb .of December, 1782fof the American frigate South .Carc^ina,,Qf 40gufls. ^ehomberg^ the author cited, ^fidds, *'.tw^nty'dght of which were 42-poun The *' Naval History" contains, also, the ac- "* An Englifhman, born in Torbay. Naval Chron. toI. «&BAT BRITAllf Aifl> AMtRlCM* 51 counts of the capture of two of our sloops of war by the American frigate Alliance, '* of «I3 guns/' and of that ship's action with a British irigate of ** equal force ;" but as these actions are more circumstantially given in the *^ life of Commodore Barry/' vol.'ii. p. 1. of the Ameri« can Forte/olio, the latter will be consulted in preference. '^ The European reader will find it difficult to Comprehend, how Mr. Barry, admitted to have been " bom in Ireland," could be '*an Ameo rican hero;" or how an acknowledged traitor to bis country, could be '* the first of patriots and best of men." In American language, these tarms are synonimous; unless, indeed, a natiye of the United States becomes a traitor. In that case, tfcs words revert to -their original mean* ing, and no crime is so heinous. .« f The Alliance, *' of 36 guns," says the Gom«- modore's biographist, " sailed from L'Orient early in 1781, on a cruire; and, having taken many valuable prizes, on the 29th of May att event occurred that deserves notice. On * the preceding day two sail were discovered on the weather-bow standing for the Alliance. The strange sails were discovered to be a ship and a brig; the British flag was displayed, and having;, by means of their sweeps, got within hailing disiance, they respectively hailed, when it ap^ 'It 2 >"«• m NAVAL OCCCJftRENCES BETWEEJC :;!i ?,i • '! i m: I peared that the ship was his Britannic insyestj's ship of %var Atalante, Captain Edwards, carry- ing between 20 and 30 guns^ and her consort, the brig Trepasa, Captain Smith.*'-— Then, the action is detailed; and that <'^ three P. M. they both struck their colours.'' The time at which the tiring commenced is not stated ; but, *' about two o'clock, the commodore (Barry) was wounded in the shoulder by a grape-shot.'' i *> Soon after the commodore wks wounded 4iud left the deck^ one of his lieutenants went •to him while in the cockpit, and, represienting ^ ^fae shattered state of the sails and rigging, the number of killed and wounded, and the disad- ■vantages under which they laboured, from the want of wind, desired to know if the colours should be struck. :* No,' said he^ *• and if the ship can't be fought without, 1 will be carried on deck»' When the lieutenant made known to the cpew the determination of ih^ir brave com- mander, fresh spirit was infus ad into them, and they, one and all, resolvied to stick by him. m ■ ^' The Alliance hud 1 1 killed and 21 wounded ; mmong the latter, several of her officers; her rigging and spars much shattered, and severely iviounded in her hull. The enemy had the same number killed, and 30 wounded. We have been led'into the detail of this victory, as it was con« «idcred at the time of its achievement, a tnyoi^ «>x kft OREAT BRITAIN AND AMEJUqA-. 43i brilliant exploit, and as an uneqmv^ca) evi'-) dence of the unconquerable firiiiness and intre- piditji^ of the victor/^ H J J>n« jt-m ^ftrrnr In «;?of , Here, thien, the *' unconquerable intrepidil7"f of an Irishman- prevented the colours of an American ship from being struck. What re- nown, it may be asked, did the Americans gain^ by this? Sappo&^e, even, the Ameri<;an lieute^ nant and his men had, without requiring to be^ stimulated by their Irish commander, effected the conquest, was the capturte, or the defence, of these two sloops the most ^' brilliant eTsploit'*?. ' i$'cAoiii6fir^ records the event thus:-^**,,(^n the, 36th of May,, the Atalaqte sloop of w^r„ pf 1'^ guns, and 12^ men, commanded by Captain Edwards, and the Trepassey, of 14 guns, and 80 men, Captain Smith, bfing on % cruize oi^ the banks of Newfoundland, at noon on tha^ day, were attack^ by the Alliance, American frigate, of 40 guns, and S50 men. The sloops made a most determined and fesolute, defence^ at one o'clock, Captain Smith, of the Trepas-. sey, was kiUed. Lieutenant Ki ng, on whom the command devolved, continued the action with great gallantry for two hours longer. At this tin^e, the Trepilssey was s^ cpmplete wreck, with 5 men killed, and lO wounded, and the ship ungovemable; he was compelled to strike. Cap.i tain Edwards, in the Atalante, still maintained the action with uncommon bravery; but his an- T 11 ^4 IfATAL OCOIHIrRBffCES BETWBBN tagonist hating no longer any othhr to ooniehd with, compelled him ako to snrrend^, with tho loss of many men, and the ship dreadfully cut to pieces. Mr. Samuel Arden, her lieutenant, bebaTed With unexampled brayery, haring lost his right arm in the action ; the instant it was dressed, he resumed his station upon deck, and slnimftted the men to fight gallantly, where he continued till the ship struck .*'♦ ^ »J i>^<^ ^^*^ ^ Ambrig the frigates eaptui'ed from the Ameri- cans during the war of 1776, were two of 32 gun^^^ each, carrying long 18s and 12s; and one, the Bricole, sunk at Charleston in 1780, was pierced for 60, and mounted 44 guns, 24 And 38 'plunders. The Alliance itaounted 40 guns; donsi^ting, it is believed, of twenty-eight long 18'p6tinderH upon the main-^ck, and twelve long 12-pcunderB ilpon the qti&rter-d^k imd ibrecastle. The American^ fHgate, Cohfede- tacy, of 36 gutis, and 300 men, captiired in 1801, measured 959 tons; which may therefore be titatedasthe size of the Alliancet'^^^* f**^**^ The 'AtaUnte mounted 16 guns; 6^pounders, limd'mettiured 3€0 tons ; the Trepassey 14 gUns, 4-pounder8, and measured 187 tons. The fol- lowing, theti, will shew the relative force of the two captured sloops and tho American frigate ; htkd decide which party in this contest Was en- titled to honors: t Schomb. N. Chronol. vol. li. p, 59, • i-ryi iii Stft ORXAT BRITAIN 4ND AMBaiGAt 5S t.t f^ ^(|l«nte aii4 Trepaisef. AlHance. Broadiiide.meUl in pounds (all iQDg guns) ..76 300 ' Complement of m«n and bbyi .......^5 ^50*^ Size in tons l^.^:..-.:. 4. ..., 487 Wf^-^*- T 'irii* -sU 1 : i «tl» Hi>fi§i ir. ilt^ fM'jH r *■■■ The next '' brilliant exploit" of the same American frigate, 19 noted thus:— >": The Alli- ance left L'Orient in February, 179^, from which time shi continued cruizing with great success, till March of the following y^ar;; when, shortly after leaving Havannah, whither she had been ordered to bring to vthe L nited States a large quantity of specie, having 'in company the continental ship Luzerne^ of 20 guns, fCaptain Green, three frigates li^^re d^^covered right a-head, two leagues di^t^P^.. The American vessels were hove about ;. the enemy gave chase. iThe Lnserne not sailing so fast as the Alliance, the commodore ordered the captain to throw her guns overboard. A sail was then discovered on her weather-bow, bearing down upon them. The Alliance hove out a signal, which was an- swered: she proved to be a French ship of 50 guns. Relyin^t upon her assistance, the com- modore concluded to bring the headmost of the enemy's ships to action; after inspiriting his crew by an address, and going from gun to g^n, cautioning his men against too much haste, . and not to fire till ordered, he prepared for ac- tion. The enemy's ship Was of equal size with * Short of her proper complement by 70 mep, at least.. II .;l'i ii6' NAVAL OCCtJRliEN'OEA BfttWEBN^ f (^ III' r !■;■'■ \ t i\i^ m ihe Alliance : a severe engagement followed. It wag very soon perceptible that the Alliance was gaining the advantage. Most of the enemy's guns were silenced ; and after an action of fifty minutes, his ship was so severely damaged, that she hoisted a signal o£ distress, when her con- sorts joined hor. The loss on boiMd the Alliance was yery trifling; 3 killed, and- 11 wounded. The enemy^s loss was severe; 37 killed, and 50 wobnded. The other English iiigates were watching the movements of the French ship ; the 4;aptain of which, upon coming up with the Alliance, assigned as a reason for keeping aloof from the action, that he was apprehensive the AHiance had been taken, and that the engage«^| ment was only ^ decoy. Chase was made^ but the French ship being unable to keep up witk« \ihe American, it was given over.— ^A gentlematf,.^ of distinguished naval reputation; when in the Mediterranean with the American squadron, wat^ k introduced to Captain James Vashon, esquire,., now vice.'admiral of the red, the commander of ^ ths British frigate engaged with the Alliance.' Ill the course of conversatioki he made particular , enquiry after Captain Barry^ related the cir-i ,, cumstance of the action, and, with the frankn . ness of a generous enemy, confessed that he had never seen a ship so' ably fought as th« Alliance;, Ihat he had never before, to use his own wordF, .r^is^ u 'A: t dWEAT BIlfTAItt AUD AMCRf CA'. 61 »- 1' * received such a drubbing/ and that he was in- debted to the assistance of his consorts/'* Neither Schomherg^ nor any other British na** ▼a1 historian, mentions this engagement. By a little industry, however, the following facts have been obtained; and may be relied on. The ** three frigates" consisted of the Alarm of twenty -«ix long 12, and six long 6 poundenr,^ commanded by the late Sir Charles Cotton ;f the Sybili of twenty^^onr long 0, and four long 6 pounders, commanded by the present Admi* ral Vashon; and xhe Tobago of sixteen l<^ng 4-pounder8, commanded by the present Vico«> admiral Martin. It was to extricate the' Lu- zerne, of twenty long ^-pounders, that t^e Alli- ance bore down upon, and engaged, the Sybil? which ship was, in a manner, detached from her consorts. The action was fought within half- musket shot . distance ; and continued about* seventeen minutes, when the Alliance hauled on board Irer fore and main-tacks, and stood from* her antagonist; whose great inferiority of sail- ing rendered pursuit useless. The Alarm and Tobago were still at a considerable distance; and, so far from the Sybil being '* severely damaged/' and losing " 37 killed and 50 wounded,'^ she received very little injury in kuUi spars, or rigging, and lost but 2 men killed, and 7 or 8 wounded. If, therefore, Captaia •»» b^i& ♦ American Portefblio, toI. ii. p. 7. > r * -'ij ^V n #' ^§ DTA^TAL O€0IJIl»BN0BS BETWEBtt) f\'\\i< Vashon made any «ignaU it muit have been to acquaint his commanding officer, that the Sybil* alone, could mana|^the Alliance; thereby leav- ing the Alarm and rTobngo at liberty to devote their attention to the French 60, and the Ame-* Tican 20t gun &hip, the friend and consort of the f ugitiye American frigate^ 1 1 is almost need- less to add» that the statement of .this engage-* ment, as. given by Commodore Baery's bio- graphist, including the alleged constellation between "Captain James Vashon, esquire^** and the American *^ gentleman of distinguished n^val reput l . To enable the reader full^|r to appreciate the galltint performance of the officers and crew of the Sybil, h^re follows then 14 .f Ml -^.Ul^ ''smi Comparative force of the two ships': ' Sybil. Alliance. Broadside-met»I in pounds (all long gnni) ^.190 396 > Complementof men and boys.. .....3Q0 3^ >. ^e ill tons. .^.. ................... ....504 I 950 r, A superiority, in weight of metal, of more tlian three to one, and in complement, of more than three to two, failed to give success; yet the American statement of the Alliance's two actions, concludes thus: — ^^' We wish it to be nnderstood, that the gallantry of our seamen is not of recent date, but is coeval with our na« tional existence." • .... ^ 7^ It is not simply by partial and fabricated ac- •RBAT BRITAIN Alf9 AMBRICA. SIO counts of actions, that the Americans have reared from comparative insignificance, the «• Naval History of the revolutionary war;'* Mr. Clark devotes twenty pages of his book to a mere list of British captured vessels; while he compels the reader to wade through the whole» in search of the few captured American vessels, with the names of which his industry had sup- plied hiin. The writer's motives appear in the following comparative statement of the gross numbers of American and British armed vessels, captured or destroyed during the first American Wal*; as extracted from Schombergf vol. ▼. p. 11 and 52; iW American armed Teisels. I Britiih armed tresseti. No.iBS; gons, 1795. INo. 29; guns, 470. r^t ■;«>^vi>-'tto.i.Y^..i ! i •\ n'i w. i .i>'r. ^*' . 00 BTATAL 0CCIIRREN0E8 BBTWBElf ' % #1 , . ir ^".'tim .♦-I* ft; CHAPTER III. •M^'' ^m The Untied Siatet and France — Comtellation en", t' gaget and capturee V Imurgent'^A »laUmeni of ihe conkparative force of the ships — Consieiiaiion; engages la Vengeance — Is beaten off-^La Ven-^ i^ geance refitted — Encounters the Seine^-^Js cap^i ^*iiired'--^ialement of the comparative force ofthe^ it ships-^ Americans claim a mctory for Commo*^ { ^ore Truxton — Description of his medal presented, in consequence — French account of the engage*,. went with the American frigate -^ Remarks ^'' thereon — Leopard and Chesapeake— jimerican accounts of it — Statement of the comparative force of the vessels — Little Belt and President— Americans at Trijjoli — British deserters, X HE only naval occurrences that strictly come within the plan of the present work, are those that have taken place between the United States and Great Britain ; but, as the Americans still attach considerable importance to the two '* me- morable naval victories," they pretend to have gained over the French, a cursory examination of the American accounts of those actions, may not be an unprofitable digression. It will then be seen, whether America has displayed mor« QRBAT BRITAIN AMD AMERICA. 01 .*! moderation in recording her TictorieR over France, to whose treasure and fleeth she owed her independence, than she has in triumphing over us; to whom, it is admitted, she owes no extraordinary obligations. The '« Naval History" states that, on the 0th of February, 1709, the U. States' frigate Constellation, '' of 36 guns," fell in with " a large ship'' under French colours ; that an action ensued, which lasted *' one hour and a quarter*" when the enemy struck, and proved to be I'ln- surgent, *' of 40 guns, and 417 men." Another Americiin account fixes her complement at 340; but neither account mentions the nature of her armament. •( This *' brilliant victory" was echoed from one end of the union to the other; and a late American newspaper-puff, headed ** Record of glory," recalls it to the public attention. It is ,of little consequence, whether the Constellation rated of ** 36 guns;" or, as Mr. Clark has made her, in his list of the American navy for the very year of the action, '* of 44 guns:" the ques* tion is — what was her real force, as well as that of the frigate she captured ? ^ A lieutenant of the Constellation, while, dur- ing the late war, she was lying in Norfolk, Vir- ginia, blockaded by the British squadron, gave the following as her armament, at that period:-^ twenty-ei^ht long 18-pounders upon the main* 5'< / m JfAVAL OCCUKRBN€BS BETW££ll deck, twenty carronades, dd-pounders, and two (English) long 34-poanders, bored to carry a 32-poand shot, upon the quarter-deck and fore- castle; total 50 guns: exclusive of boat-carro^ nade^ and top-guns, if any. ■£*»■= W' «N**I O i ijf t i ^> 9^ But a gentleman who was frequently on board the Constellation, while she was in the West Indies, in the years 1799 and 1780, declares, that her main-deck battery then consisted, not of 18, but of 24 pounders. In confirmation of this^ a New-York paper, of the end of 1800, or beginning of 1801, (the precise date not recol- lectedj announced the arrival there from ft southern port, of the U. States' frigate ConsteU lation, for the purpose of *' exchanging her 246 for 18s.'' Therefore, long subsequently to both her '* victories," the Coiistellation mounted 94«pounders upon the main-deck. It is believed^ that the chief part of her spar-deck battery then consisted of long 12s, and that they were afterwards exchanged for carronades. To make allowance for that, ten of her twenty-two spar- deck guns will be considered as lodg 12s, and the remainder as 32-pound carronades. The complement of the Constellation was 440 at least ; and her size is described as about equal to that of tiie Endymion. At ail events, she could not well have been less than 1250 tons. ^'^■ The nature of I'Insurgent's guns no where ap* pears. For some years subsequent to 1799^ J'':: eaEAT BRITAIN AND AMXRICA; M M'hea a French frigate was captuved, witli IS-pounders upon the main-deck, itwasinra^ riably so expressed in the official aocoant. Tha generality of the French 40*gun frigates, carried 12-pounders; and were from 850 to 950 tons. To give eyerj advantage to the Americans, let us suppose that I'Insurgent mounted twenty-six long I S>pounders upon the main-deck, and four* teen long 9-pounders upon the quarter-deck and forecastle ; total *^ 49 guns.'' The difference be* tween an English and a French 18-pound shot; in diameter, is as 5,040 to 5,377; (inches and decimal parts;) and, in weight, as 18 to 20f pounds. So that, by adding one eighth to th^ nominal calibers of French guns, we have the weight of metal expressed in English pounds. The mean of the two American accounts of rinsurgent's complement is 379. Her tonnagsi may be stated at 950. ' iitf^ i.'-i . Comparative force of the two shipi: m Consiellation. )}roads|de.inetol tu pounds .. < I. gaps 396 carr. Complement of men and boys. Size in tons 102 588 410 1250 rinsnrgtalyj 71 *^ SS4 ^ 379 ' 950 1 ^^Had the Constellation captured, in one action^ two such ships as I'Insurgent, the Americans could not have boasted more than they did upon this occasion. A disclosure of the real strensfth ¥1 f #. I -.»" fU NAYikL OCCURRENrES BETWEEN f 1 |i J ' I i |:i''| of the parties, now shews, that the defence of the French frigate was highly creditable to her officers and crew. h The merchants of London, misled by the American statements, most of which were copied into the British journals, viewed the capture of rinsurgent as a victory gained by an American, over a French frigate, greatly superior; and, acting with their accustomed liberality, sub» scribed for a piece of plate to be presented to Commodore Truxton. Had the rate of, and actual number of guns mounted by, a ship^ meant the same thing, this '* memorable vie* tory'' would have passed oiF without notice. 4 .^ On the Ifrt of February, 1800, the Constella- tion fell in with, and engaged for upwards of "three hours, the French frigate la Vengeance. Each party, as is usual in undecided cases, ac- cused the other of *' shtiering off" At. all events, the Constellation had her main-mast shot away ; and was otherwise so greatly injured as to be compelled to bear up for Jamaica, to un- dergo the necessary repairs. Her loss in killed and wounded amounted to 89. La Vengeance was also much shattered, aiul lost a great many men. She afterw^irds put into Cura^oa, to get herself refitted. Commodore Truxton's account pf this engagement, being deemed RMnique piece of composition, will be found in the Appendii^. (Nos. I and 2.) ■'»-"? ^4*. . «-|^Jf*>i- PT: .J=^*!^ 4f F-sfj.'* .'l! i GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. ^ '! •* On the 20th of August /ollowing, H. M. S. Seine, Captain (now Rear-admiral Sir) David Milne, fell in with, and after along and sangui- nary action, captured, this same la Vengeance; just from Curapoa, where she had been com-» pie tely refitted. The Seine was much cut up; and sustained a lossof 13 killed, and 29 wounded. La Vengeance was shattered almost to pieces ; and, when carried into Jamaica, was thought not worth repairing. Her loss in the action, though not exactly ascertained, was known to have been very severe. /The Seine (captured from the French, June 29, 1798) mounted 42 guns: twenty-eight long 18-pounders upon the main-deck, and fourteen loi:^ 0-pounders upon the . quarter-deck and forecastle. Her established complement con- sisted of 284 men and boys; and she measured 1146 tons. ^iji La Vengeance mounted 52 guns: twenty weight long 18-pounders upon the main-deck ; sixteen long 12-pounders, and eight carronades, 42*4 pounders, upon the quarter deck and forecastle. Her complement was believed to be 453; butv as 291 men only were found on board, 390 will be an ample allowance. Captain Milne describes la Vengeance as " exactly of the di- mensions of the Fisgard,*^ taken from the French in 1797 ; and that ship was 1182 tons. n / mm firoadside-metal in pbiinds, \ LaVengemnce*'. 391 189 580 390 1182 60 BTAVaL OCCURiiENCES BETWEElt Comparative force 6fthe two shipi, Seine. 1. gnns, 315 carr. 00 315 Compkment of tb^ tod boyi, 284' SizeiDtoni, 1146 Here, evidently, a British frigate, of infenor. force, captured a ship, which an American fri- gate, of at least equal force, was unable to cap-- ture; demonstrating that British, was, in this, instance, more potent than American '* thunder/'. — ^*' Aye," say the Americans, " but la Ven* geance struck her flag to the Constellation, only our commodore did not happen to know it/'^-^' Accordingly, it was so voted ; and the honors of a conqueror,— a conqueror, too, over a ** far su- perior forcCf^'^-were conferred upon the asto^ nished Commodore Truxton. Nay, to silence; all doubts, and perpetuate the *' memorable victory," a medal was struck ; of which an en- graving may be seen in the first volume of the American Portefolio. Two ships are there re-, presented, dismasted and much cut up; one, a complete two-decker, similar to the Majestic or Saturn, razees ; the other, a small frigate. The reader may conjecture which ship is intended for the American. >. As if to place this mock triumph in a still more ridiculous point of view, the French first ii^ilte officei the C bad a a few in tim ing uj never lost al «^peri station ditring her fbi iO'winc action^ If SI their fi being i play o cans, p to exa consol unifori from it The describ Chesap sfMiiati< observs altoget ' M OllKAT ARIVAIM AND AMERICA. &I ti^ilteltiant asrared a distSliguistiied British naTal officer, that la Vengeance, when she encountered the Constellation, was laden with sugar, and iiad casks stowed between her main-deck guns ; a few only of which could be cleared for action in time ; that the American frigate kept hang- ing upon the quarter of la Vengeance, and never came iairly alongside ; that the latter lost all three masts ; and, fVom having an in- experienced crew, was compelled to remain stationary for the best part of three days; during whieh time the American frigate, with her fOre and mizen-^kiasts standing, lay in sight, ib-windwardy but made no attempt to renew the action. "' If silch is the behaviour of the Americans to their friends the French, we cannot complain of being unjustly dealt wil^. In the utmost die- play of their exaggerating talents, the Ameri- cans, perhaps, seek lesii to disparage others, than to exalt themselves; and '1 ought to be some consolation to us, that " the language of truth i# uniform and consistent ;" and that " to depart from it safely, requires memory and discretion/* The editor of the " Naval History" cannot describe even the ajBTair of the Leopard and Chesape^ike, without his accustomed misrepre-^ seutation. After nearly a page of preliminary^ observations, he says: — " The Chesapeake was altogether in an unprepared state ; her guns and F 2 f- Iil •ill- U (68 ITATAL OCCURRJSNCE8 BETWEEN decks were lumbiered ^ith sails, cables, &c« and her men were not at quarters till the commence- ment of the attack. No opposition was made. The British commander continued pouring his broadsides into the undefended ship for about thirty minutes; when the Chesapeake having received considerable damage in her hull, rig- ging, and spars, she struck. She had 3 men killed, and 18 wounded.'' I Commodore Barron's letter is not noticed by Mr. Clark ; although, on other occasions, Ame- rican official letters are deemed unquestionable authority. It bears date, June i23d, 1807; states the Chesapeake's departure from Hamp- ton roads; and then proceeds, as follows*.—* " Some tim6 afterwards, we observed one of the two Une-of -battle ships that lay off Cape Henry, to get under weigh, and stand to sea."< — After mentioning the coming up of the Leopard, " one of the two line-of -battle ships," and tht interchange of correspondence, the commodore says :-— '* About this time I * observed some ap- pearances of a hostile nature, and said to Cap- tain Gordon, tha.^ ic was possible they were serious, and requested him to have his men sent to their quarters." Then, after a few excuses about the lumbered state of his ship, he adds: '' Consequently, our resistance was but feeble. In about twenty minutes, I ordered the colours to be struck." „ ^^ i y ■ I GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 00 Here, we see the reason why Mr. Clark rejected this letter. First, the men were sent to quarters before the commencement of the attack; secondly, resistance was made; and thirdly, the action did not continue ** thirty minutes.'' .*'.o.i Now for the veracity of the commodore him- Belf. Captain Humphreys of the Leopard, in his letter, says, — '* At the expiration of ten mi- nutes from the first shot being fired,'' (between which and the second, there was an inter?al of two or three minutes,) '^ the pendant and ensign of the Chesapeake were lowered." In another part, he says,-— ;-^' a few shot were returned, but none struck this ship ;" — and, by a letter from one of the Leopard's officers, it appears,^* *' three broadsides only were fired.'' These three broadsides,' according to the items in the numerous " surveys" held upon the Chesapeake, lodged twenty two round shot in her hull ; irreparably injured the fore and main-masts; badly wounded the mizen-most; cut away thirteen lower shrouds and stays i shattered the fore-sail, main-sail, main-top-sailj and fore-top-mast stay-sail; injured and ren- dered unfit for service a spare fore- top-mast^ and another spare spar; and damaged two boats. — ^What a pity the Americans never gave such surveys during the late war! — In addition, as appears by her log-iiiinutes, the Chesapeake t 16 NATAL OCCURRBNCBA BETWBBV % li I! rflj I: if! had three feet and a half water in the hold.—* Three more luch broadsides would ha?e sunk hef. And yet, the '^ Naval Monument'' jeers MS for having done so little ii^jurj to the ship; ^Although sixty years are now elapsed since British 50-gun ships have been excluded from the line of battle, Commodore Barron found it convenient to make a '* line-of-hattle ship" of the. Leopard, as the Flnench captain, L^oielU^ had a 74 of the Leander; which ship bap* pened (odd enough) to be tke other **line-of-bat- tie ship" mentioned in the oommodore's letter. The Leoplird's armament, upon the lower and .upper.*dcoks, was precisely the same as . mounted by other ships of her class; for whieh see p. 93. Upon her quarter-deck and fore- castle, she mounted six carronades, 34-pouadierSj an 18'pound launch-tcarronade, a^d two long 9-pounders ; total 53 guns : being six short of her established number. The Leopard had her full complement on board; consisting of 318 men, and 25 boys: she had also on board, as passengers, 10 artillisry-men, and 3 midshipmen belonging to some of the ships on the coast. • The Chesapeake mounted, at this time^ twenty ^ght long ]$-pounders upon the main-deck, fourteen carronades, 32<^pounders, (leaving a vacant port on each side,) upon the quarter- deck; two carronades, 3i2-pounders, and two long 12-pounders,, (leavii^ three vacant ports on OEEAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 71 each side,) opon the forecastle ; total 46 guns. This was her peace-establishment. Her books bore the names of 440; but, among those, were 25 runnings and discharges : consequently, her actual complement con^tisted of 415; including 10 bojs or lads. There were also several pas- sengers on board, going to the Mediterranean. That the Chesapeake had, at least, five lieute* nants, appears by the signature of her ** 6th lieutenant" to several of the official documents relating to the action. Nine men to every gun in the ship, would be considered as an extraor* dinary large complement, even in times of war. Comparative force of the two ships. Broadiide.metal in Complement, pounds, < Leop«r4. I. guns, 405 carr. X men, I boys, SO 405 331 35 356 1044 Chesapeake. ^^ 256 520 ^ 405 10 —'^' ..Is 1135 Si^e in tons. Many ships may meet at sea, and not be so equally matched as the Leopard and Chesa- peake ; although the latter was a " 36-gun fri- gate,'' and the former a '^ 50*gun ship:" which agaia shems the fallacy of the old rating system. About tour years subsequent to this event, the Americans thought tit to retaliate upon us. If a *' line-of^battle ship" could attack a fri- i i* 72 NAVAL OCCURRENCES BETT EBN m 1?' gate, why not a frigate attack a sloop of war? The President therefore engaged the Little Belt; and the Little Belt engaged the President; and manfully too: which, added to a real and a very great disparity of force, constitutes the distin- guishing feature between the action of the Little Belt and President, and that of the Leopard and Chesapeake. A proof of the accuracy and fairness with which the Americans record transactions be- tween themselves and other nations, will be seen in the following extract from a Boston chronological work: — ** October 11, 1811, offer of reparation made by the British government, and accepted, respecting the affair between the Little Btit and President.'' The ** Naval History" details, very fully, the operations before Tripoli, from l&Ol, to the peace concluded in June, 1805, between the bashaw and the president .of the United States. Great credit is due to the officers and seamen belonging to the American ships, for the gal- lantry displayed on several occasions. It is fresh in the recollection of many officers of the British navy, how difficult it was, at this period, to keep the seamen from deserting to the Americans. The short peace of 1803 occa- sioned many of our ships to be paid off; and the nature of the service upon which the Americans were engaged, held forth a strong inducement i.y ORBAT BHITAIN AND AMERICA. 73 to the manly feelings of the British tar. It was not to raise his arm against his own country- men ; but against barbarians, whose foul deeds excited indignation in every generous breast. The Americans cannot deny, that the com- plements of their ships in the Tripolitan war, consisted chiefly of British seamen; supplied by a Scotch renegado at New York, and by nume- rous other crimps in the different sea-port towns of the United States : and that those complements were afterwards filled up, by similar means, at Cadiz and other ports of the xMediterranean. — Was not Commodore Preble, on account of being detected in some transaction of this sort, obliged to shorten his stay at Gibraltar, and to fix Syracuse, instead of Malta, for his next rendezvous? ^, To such as know the facility with which, either in the ships, or on the shores, of the United States, a deserter, or an emigrant, can obtain his naturalization, the term " American" re- quires an epithet to render it intelligible. Id recording the exploits of "Americans," it is but to lop off the qualifying adjunct — ** adopted," and every native reader feels a hero's blood flowing in his veins. On the other hand, should disgrace be attached to the deed, Mr. Clark, and his brother-writers, anticipating the reader's wishes, seldom fail to state, that the parties were not American, but British sailors. r ,."^.. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ^ .V .^ '/ /A Hiotographic Sciences Corporation 23 WeST MAIN STMiT WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) S72-4503 '^ m J o ^' fill Ii||: 1 t 1 N ■f ' 1 74 NATAL OCCURRBNCBS BCTWltlf -*!■ «"«■; -v>^HI^';a.;^;>^5 CHAPTER IV. ^im^.. Vntted States of America declare war against Great Britain — Send a squadron in pursuit of "^ the Jamaica-fleet — It falls in witht and chases^ the Belvidera — Engagement between that ship '*^ and tfie President — Belvidera escapes — Squa^ ^'^dron resumes its course after the convoy — Faih ■^ in overtaking it, and returns to Boston'^ ^'Surprise of the Whiting in Hampton road^^^ ^ ' Constitution is chased, and escapes — Capture *^ of the Nautilus — Emulous and Gossamer--^ '[■Alert attacks the Essex — Is captured — Force of ■ the two vessels — Tar and feathering of a British '^^^ seaman — Repotted challenge from Sir James *^ Lucas Yea to Captain Porter — Essex and a m*t, British frigat^"^-Essex and Shannon, "^ ' i 1 On the 18th of June, 1813, the United State$ of America declared war again&t Gr^at Brio taio; and orders were imua^diately dispatc^e4 frow Washington, for the squadron that had been previously asseuvbled :at ^ew York, to put to sea) tor the capture or destruction of Britytli vessels.; and particularly, in search of a home^ wardKbound Jaiuaica^fleet, of eighty ^ve $fal| GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 75 a then known to be weakly conyojed, and not far fk>in the American coast. • « On the 21st, which was as eilrly as aiiexpresb could arrive with the ordiers, sailed this Ameri- can squadron ; consisting of the President, Cem** modore Rodgers, United States, Commodore De» catur, Congress, Captain Smith, Essex, Captsuil Porter, Hornet, Lieutenant-commandaii't Law- rence, and Argns-) Lieutenant-commandant Sin^ clatr; mounting, altogether, upwards ol 1150 guns, and manned with 2000 choice seamen. The same American brig that ga^e Commo- dore Rodgers intelKgence (App. No. ^) of the Jamaica-fleet's being so near, had just been boarded by the British frigate Belvidera ; whose exact position, thereibre, was also pointed out. Chase was instantly made, in full hopes toeflfect these two important objects; and, on the morn- ing of the 2dd, a *' large sail" was seen in the N. E. standing to the S. W. This was H. M . S. Belvidera, of 947 tons, mounting 43 guns; namely, twenty six long 18s, fourteen carron- Tides, 32s, and two long 9s ; and inanned with 230 men and boys; her established number then being 274* '' Captain Byron, at first, stood towards the American squadron ; but, observing the ships suddenly to take in their studding-sails, and liaul up in chase of him^ frequently wetting si. 16 NAVAL OCCURRENCES BETWEEN their sails to profit by the lightness of the wind, a suspicion of their hostile intentions caused him to tack, and stand off. By way of assuring the stranger, that they were the ships of ^friendly power, the Americans hoisted their colours ; but their evident anxiety to close had betrayed them, and the Belvidera continued her course. As the leading ship of the squadron was fast approaching, Captain Byron, to prevent any question about who fired the first shot, ordered the priming to be wiped from every gun in the ship. Soon afterwards, the President fired those three well-directed shot, which occasioned the only loss the Belvidera sustained. (App. No. 5.) The Belvidera's guns were reprimed in an in- stant; and the fire returned from her four stern- chasers, two long 18s, and two 32-pound carron- ades; the only guns that would bear, or were fired at all: although the commodore's journal mentions, that the Belvidera fired her ^' four after main -deck guns on the starboard side.'' vThe full details of this interesting chase may be seen in the British and American accounts (Nos. 5. 6. and 7.) in the Appendix. The fact of '' the long bolts, breeching-hooks, and breechings, of guns and carronades, fre- quently breaking" on board the Belvidera, proves that there was some defect in the mode of securing them. This was not the fault of the GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 77 oncers and men: they every time repaired the accident as quickly as possible. Had the whole of the broadside-guns come into use, a repetition of such an accident would have been a serious evil; as it was, the Belvidera's captain got severely wounded. '. . The guns of the Belvidera were mostly pointed by her officers ; with what precision appears in the commodore's account of the damages which the President sustained. Her loss, exclusive of the 22 by the bursting of the gun, was 6 killed and wounded ; making 28 in all. For three days, the ships were employed in repairing the President's damages; a delay that, no doubt, saved the Jamaica-fleet ; the loss of which would have been a severe national blow. The Belvidera's officers insist, that the Presi- dent could have got alongside several times ; but that, just as they were about to fire their broad- side, she yawed across their stern, and fired her broadside. This occasioned her to lose wsky, until she resumed her course; when she gra- dually advanced to the same spot, and then re- peated the same extraordinary manoeuvre. Comparing the force of the Belvidera, with that of the President, (for which see her name in the Index y) even alone, it is hard to conjec- ture which party Captain Hull intended to com- pliment, when, in his letter (App. No. 4.) trans- mitting the log-extract, he said: ** I am confi- ill if iff:: i 'i '' ' ji r*' t "r h ;5 i l| iii i <»-^.L, VP NATAL OCOVRRBNOBS BETWiSBN dent, could the commodore h«ve got alongside the Btdvidera, she would have been his in less than one hmur." . " ^ After quitting the chase of the Belvidera, and irepairing the damages sustained by her fire, the American squadron proceeded in search of the convoy. On the 1st of July^ a little to the east- naard of Newfoundland-bank, the squadron fell in with a fleet of *' cocoa-nut-shells, shaddock* rkids, orange-peels, &c.'' and the commodore and his officers promised themselves a West* India desert to their next day's dinner. They longed in vain ; and, after being thus tantalized from the 1st to the 13th> they steered ibr Ma* deira; thence for the Azores; and finally ar- rived at Boston on the 99th of August. What ehcreased the misfbrtnne of the cruize, the scurvy broke out among tlie men ; and conferred additional value upon the times that were knon^ to be in «uch profusion on board the Jamaica ships. 1 To the discretion and prelnptitude of Captain Byron, on his iirst falling in with the American squadron ; to the skill of the Belvidera's oflicers and crew in pointing their guns, and working the ship ; «nd to their bravery and perseverance in defending -her, during a long Aiid arduous chase, while engaged with a force so greatly superior, is the nation indebted for the little mischief done to British commerce, by a formi* ,1- *>■ OWLEkT BRITAIN AND AMBRICA* 79 ^^. dable American squadron ; possessing the fangiiM hir advantlige of its hostile inttntioAS being ivholly unknown. *"''*' "' » On the 8th of July, H. M. schooner Whitings' Lieutenant Maxey, from Plymouth, with dis- patches for the American government, arrived in Hampton roads, ignorant of the war. As Lieutenant Maxey was proceeding on shore in his boat, the Dash privateer, Captain Garroway, bound on a cruize, got possession of hin ; and then ran alongside the Whiting; and, haying upwards of 80 men in crew, captured her« without opposition. The dispatches had been sunk. r The Whiting, was only 75 tons, mounting four oarronades, 1 2-pounders ; with a complement of 18 men and boys. Of these, a thiird were absent in the boat ; and those in the schooner had not the least suspicion of being in an enemy's waters. * The Dash mounted one heavy long gun upon a pivot^carriage. This, and a suppression of the principal circumstances, enabled the Ame- rican editors to state, with some degree of ex- ultation: —^" The British schooner mounts four guns, the Dash only one." — ^The Whiting was afterwards restored. On the 12th of July, the U. S. ship Consti- tution, Captain Isaac Hull, sailed from Chesa- '"■ 80 NAVAL OCCURRENCES BETWEEN f p-,|i peake-baj. ' On the 17th, in a caldor, ilhe fell in with H. M. ships, Africa 64, Shannon and Guerriere 46, Belvidera 42, and iBolus 38,* under the orders of Captain Broke, of the Shannon. Two of the frigates, (one the Belvi- dera,) assisted by the boats of the squadron, got, for a short time, within gun-shot ; but the Constitution, by hedging, and other skilful ma- nceuvres, effected her escape, after an anxious chase of sixty four hours. The Belvidera's situation, when chased, was far more critical ; owing to Captain Byron's ignorance of the war, and his having to sustain the fire of a ship of nearly double his own force. *.-. *»iiui^ On the 16th of July, the U. S. brig Nautilus, Lieutenant Crane, of 14 guns, and 106 men^ was captured by H. M. S. Shannon, and others. She was afterwards fitted with sixteen 24-pound carronades, and commissioned as a cruizer. > On the 30th of July, the American privateer* brig Gossamer, of 14 guns, and 100 men, sur- rendered to H. M. brig Emulous, Captain Mul-» caster, without firing a shot. This is introduced by way of illustrating the following remark of an American editor: — '* Instances of the bold and daring intrepidity of the crews of the pri- vate-armed vessels of the United States, are so * All according to the new 'rates ; which will be obserVed thl'oughout the work* # i:!i 4IRBAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. nutneirous, that the recital of them would swelL ^he work, &c." ■^•'-^ A$ y " '.*■■. Ti^afr^T--? -t.^T * _i ■ ' ^ On the Idth of August, 1812, H. M. S. Alert, Captain T. L. P. Laugharne, bore down upon the U. S. frigate Essex, Captain David Porter; mistaking lier for a vessel of less force. An ac- tion ensued, which continued, the American ac- count sajs, eight minutes; when the Alert, having seven feet water in the hold, and three men wounded, surrendered. Captain Porter sajs the Essex sustained no loss. 1 he British official account not having been published, these facts rest wholly on the American statements. The Alert mounted, according to the Ameri- can papers announcing her capture, twenty car- ronades, IS-pounders; and, according to the number paroled out of her, had a complement of 86 men and boys. ■Mr. Clark first gives the Alert '* 00 guns;*' but, in a subsequent page, she appears a»-^ ** ship Alert, guns mounted 26.^' And as to her complement, the *' Naval Monument,^' and the ** Sketches of the War/' have both made it 130. Although Captain Porter could not find room in his letter, to give the force of his prize, either in guns or , men, he could, to make the false assertion, that '* the Alert was out for the purpose of taking the Hornet." 4 The Essex, when subsequently capti|red, t^ / li I $t NAVAL OCCDfi|l£>C£8 JPPTWBEIf liiomit^d twenty four carronades, d2-poui|deni, and two long Id-pounders, upon the main-deck; sixteen carronades, 92-poundeFR, and four )ong 12-pounders, upon the quarter-deck apd fore- castle ; total 46 guns : a tolerable armament for a **32-gun frigate/' ^ Captain Porter, in his *' Journal of a Cruize,'^ 8;iy8 the Essex had, when lying in the Delaware, in October, 1812, a complement of 328 mei^; of whom eleven only rated as landsmen. ^r-T' < The Alert was originally a collier, named the Qxfqrd, purchased by government in 1804. Whether her original enaployment were not that for which she was best calculated, may appear from the following fact. The first time the *f y. $. ship of war Alert" was trusl^d at se<^^ YfuSg after the pe^ce ; w^en, as a store ship, she accompanied the frigate Uniti^d States to, the Mediterranean. The Anaerica^i papef^ jpc9fely remarked, that the Alert required every stf tch of' canvass set, to enable her to keep way wit|i. the IJj^it^ States, under hep* three top-saili^ During tfie fv^ur, h\ke remained as ^ block-ship ^t NevK> York; yet Mr. Clark, to give iinportaiice to h^v capture, says: — '''The Alert, upon herrieturntq. the United States/' from Newfoundland, whitheK; she had been sent by Captain Porter, as a c^rtel» *' was fitted out as a government- vessel." t^r^f %i Along with ih§ dino§nsiioiew pf the 41«rt ^n^d Uhti j^ ORBAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 83 Essex, will be giTen the Southampton's, because Captah) Porter's friends have contrived to con* nect her, in some degree, with the transactions of the Essex. . i . ■ {»-.-j f » .■ . I . • ' !• ! ■ T . The Southampton's armament has been fully described at page 24. Her force, for the rea- sons just given, will appear in the same state-^ ment with that of the Essex and Alert. , , , ^ 5«i* Campardtive force of the three ships, ♦• i^k&h'^m: Essex. Fr. In. 138 7 37 H Southampton. Ft. In. » 124 4 i 35 > A\ Alert. Essex. SoutharoptOQ. 36 '68 ^.^ 640 132 ^.'♦^^ — 676 — 300 J 325 200 , 3 ir "^ — 328 — 221 it 867 671 » Broadside-metai C I. guns, in pounds'^ I cAtr, ISb Kf-'VVittn^ ifrj. -—180 c,»pi.».„., {?;"; 'I im. .— 86 Size in tons, ^,|^^., 393 ' rifire i^S^ti the TSlue of the exploit whtoh Captain Porter did perform, as well as of that which he wotlld faaTC performed, had the Essex met, and capttired, the Southampton. ^^ Shortly atfter the declaration of war, Captain Ported iHliised a Biitish snbject, for refiisihg to Aght ijS^ittst his cdtintry. A New^ Yoidt p^|)er^ g2 y** 64 NAVAL OCCURRENCES BETWEEN of June 27, 1812, gives the following account of the transaction :— • * ^t ** The deposition states, that John Erving was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England; that he has resided within the United States since 1800, and has never been naturalized; that on the 14th of October, 1811, he entered on board the Essex, and joined her at Norfolk ; that Captain Porter, on the 25th of June, 1812, caused all hands to be piped on deck, to take the oath of allegiance to the United States, and gave them to understand, that any man who did not choose to do so should be discharged ; that when deponent heard his name called, he told the captain, that being a British subject he must refuse taking the oath ; on which the captain spoke to the petty -officers, and told them they must pass sentence upon him ; that they then put him into the petty launch, which lay alongside the frigate, and there poured a bucket of tar over him, and then laid on a quan- tity of feathers, having first stripped him naked from the wai>t; that they then rowed him ashore, stern foremost, and landed him. That he wandered about, from street to street, in this condition, until Mr. Ford took him into his shop, to save him from the crowd then begin- ipg to gather; that he staid there until the po- lice-magistrate took him away, and put Lim in the city-prison for protection, where he was k* » J ' GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 8.1 cleansed dnd clrtthed. None of the citizens mo- lested or insulted him. lie says he had a pro- tection, which he bought of a man in Salem, of the same name and description with himself, for four shillings and sixpence, which he got re- newed at the custom-house, Norfolk. He says he gave, as an additional reason to the captain, why he did not choose to fight against his coun- try, that, if he should be taken prisoner, he would certainly be hung." ' "* - This, having been copied into other papers, met the eye of Sir James Lucas Yeo, command- ing the Southampton, then attached to the Ja- maica-station. Persons acquainted with that officer, can judge of his feelings upon reading an account of the ill-treatment of a British sailor. ; Some expressions, marking his abhor- rence of the act, and his contempt for the au- thor, did very likely escape Sir James; and that, in the hearing of some of the American pri- soners then on board the Southampton.** Through this channel, which was none of the purest, the words probably became what they appeared in the '* Democratic Press," (a Phila- delphia paper,) of the 18th of September, 1812. Thus :— ** A passenger of the brig Lion, from Havannah to New York, captured by the fri- gate Southampton, Sir James Yeo, is requested to present his compliments to Captain Porter, eommander of the American frigate Essex, 'i' NATAL OCCURRBNGBS BBTWBEM vW». ■%.■ •:i*l il! i! liiji. 1 1 would be glad to have a Ule it Ute, any wbeire between the cape» Delaware and the Uavaonab, where he would h^ve the pleasure to brefik his own sword over his damned head, and put him down forward in irons/^ ?Ha?^« <♦* ^ ,'' Captain Poster, of th^ U. S. frigate Essex, present^ his copiplijnents to Sir James Yeu, comn^nnding his B. M. frigate Southampton, ' find accepts with pleasure his polite i»vitation. If agreeable to Sir James, Captain Porter would prefer meeting near the Pelaware, where Cap- tain P. pledges his honor to Sir James, that no American vessel shall interrupt their Ute ^ Ute, The Essex may be known by a flag, bearing the motto, *' Free trade and sailors' rights;" and ^fcen this is t»truck to the Siouthampton, Captain Porter will deserve the treatment promised by Sir James.'' , «, I^eaving Captain Porter's deserts out of the question, the whole of this farrago has been AClcribeiJ to some of the war-party, who wished to give the " gallant captain" an opportunity of publicly testifying his readiness to engage *' an equal force/' Although no such message was sent by Sir James Yeo, he cruized, for se- veral weeks, along the southern coast of the pnited. States, in hopeti of falling in with the ^sex, thjB nature of whose armament was fully knpwn to him. The Southampton was well m .nned, and all that her officers and crew MiXT BkfTAYk- AND AMEIli^A. i^ i^ahfecTj t^a^ the wexther-gsigd, oi^ an oppbriH' fifty of getting on board thte American, e^rly iii itke SLCtion,- ^'^-'''*^-^'*^ -^*-^- ■• ■ - '^^^^*^-' '"'' ' ' Captain Porter being a great fiivorite at Wasb-^ ington, Mr. Clark could do no less than giv^ insertion to anj little tale he might vrish to see recorded in the '' Naral History" of his coulitryl One of them is as follows :— ^* On the 30th of Aiigust, the Essex beings iii likt. 36" N. lotig. m" W. k British frigate was discovered standing towards her, Undef a^ presd of sail. I^Orter stood for her under easy sailj' witlrhis ship prepared for aetion ; and, dppre- B<^i^sive that she might hot find the Essex during the night, he hoisted a light. At 9, the British vessel made a signal : it consisted of two flaiihes, and a blue light. She was then, apparehtlyV iibout four miles distant. Porter stood for the point where she was seen until midnight, when^ perceiving nothing of her, he concluded it #ou1d be best to heave-to fbr her ^.itil morning, <)oii-i eluding she had done the same; but, to hist great surprise, and the mortification of his offi^ cers and crew, she was no longer in sight. Cap- tain Porter thought it to be not unlikely that this vessel was the Acastn, of 50 guns, sent out, accompanied by the Ringdove, of 22, to cruize for the Essex." It did not, perhaps, occur to Mr. Clark, that ships usually carry log-books, in which are en- / ^* 8S NATAL OCCCRRENCES BETWEEN u tered every day's proceedings, with the latitudf , longitude, &c. ; and that these can, at any time, be referred to, in case the false assertions of any historian, or paragraph-writer, may be worth the trouble of disproving. li Considering what a formidable man Captain Porter was« nothing less than the '' Acasta^ of 50 guns,'' and ** Ringdove, of 22," could be *' sent out to cruize for the Essex/' Unfortu- nately for her commander's fame, on the 30th of August, 1812, the day mentioned, the Acasta was cruizing in lat. 43^ N. long. 65** 16' W. ; and the Ringdove lying at single anchor in St. Thomas's. Was not the '* British frigate," thcs Rattler, of 16 guns ? .^ The next occasion upon which Captain Porter was bs^ulked of a battle, is recorded thus :-— ^^ '•^ On the 4th of September, the Essex being off the tail of St. George's bank, two ships of war were dii>covered to the southward, and. a brig to the northward. The brig was in chasA of a^i American merchant-sl^ip. Porter imme- diately cjiased the brig, which attempted to pass, and join the rest of the squadrqn. This he prevented, and compelled her to stand to the northward. He continued in phase of h^r» until a-breast of the American ship; when, the wind becoming light, she escaped by means of her sweeps. On shewing American coloi\rs, several signal- guns were fired by the ships to 1 i; * " ■ O-^BAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA.' 8& the southward. All sail was made by them in chase. At 4 P.M. they had gained the wake of the Erscx, and were coming up with her very fast. Calculating on making his escape by some manceu?re, during the night, he fired a gun to- windward. The two ships still conti- nued to gain on the Essex. The largest was considerably to-windward of the other, and about five miles a-stern of the Essex. Captain Porter determined to heave about, as soon as it grew dark ; and, in case he sht>uld not be able to pass her, he determined to fire a broadside ifkto her, and lay her on board. Every prepa- ' ration was made for this purpose. The crew, as soon as the plan was proposed to them, gave three cheers, and were iu high spirits. At 20 ipinutes after 7, the Essex hove about, and stood S. E, by S. until 30 minutes after 8, when she bore away S.W. without seeing any thing ipore of them. This was the more extraordi- nary, as a pistol was fired on board the Essex whOlawar^,- *< Wilhojit i\ie loto df a man.'* One of the alM^ye *' tw6 ibips of war*' wjii* th# Shaiinoii, Captain Broke; thre other the ftanter, a re-captured West IndiartidD, her priae, and bj no means a vessel to be niistak^ii for a *• »hip of war.** But the beit way to ex- pose the Essex, and her gallant commander, will be, to detail the occurrence in the ietf words of one of the Shannon's officers. ^ '^' * ** At noon, on the 4th of September, 181^, hi' lat. 39* 11' N. long. 7(f 22' W. the Shannon had in company the re-captured ship Pfiattter, wheii we saw a warlike-looking ship to the eastward, and Phased towards her under all sail before the wiiid ; but it headed us ffat a^back. We ob- served a merchant- ship close to this chase, as if in the act Gif speaking. The two ships then, having a fresh breeze aft, came doWn upon us, the merchantman close a-stern of the ship bf war ; which, at 4. 80. P.M. then about 10 or 13 miles distant, hauled up, atid inside private sig- niile ; too far to be comprehended', had she been a friend. The strange ship then made every exertion to escape, leaving her merchant-ship behind, as we did our's ; and having fbimd, by keeping her wind some time, that she sailed nearly equal to us, she slanted off free, a point or two, so as to bring us into her wake, without allowing us to gain upon her in distsmce, or but 6RSAT BRITiilir AN]» AMKEICA. 01 very slightly. Her object appeared to be, to get in between us and the land. On our losing sight of her at dark, she was still above 10 miles off. Being well aware that she would alter her course in the dark, and seeing her good ^tailing, there appeared no chance of getting hold of her; and her merchant-ship being now near us, we tacked and seized her, ilfitending to burn her directly, that the fugitive ship might see the flames ; but it became so named the Minerva ; and her people informed us, that the ship we had been chasing was the U. S. fri- gate Essex, Captain Porter, whom they had spoken the same day. During the night the ships lay-to ; and, to prevent separation, each kept bright lights up, and several blue-lights . were burnt." One of Mr. Clark's good-natured critics describes the object of such a work as his to be — '* to commemorate the glories of the Ameri- can age and nation ; to place some of its most illustrious heroes out of the reach of oblivion ; Htid'to consecrate their actions to imperishable fume." (N. Hist. vol. i. p. 1.) ! ! ! ^ m % iiii ' MW' ■|J 92 NATAL OCCURRENCES BETWEEN CHAPTER V. ^ ^^•'■ifti^l^. H-tr^ll* VjUf-Jf-f-iJIf^ O-.mpjI'f »« W:«f1^ w«'-k#ti t* Inactive state of the British navy since the battle of ^ Trafalgar — Its effects upon the officers and men I, "-^Polishing system reprobated — Scarcity of oak^ I timber and seamen-^Contract-ships — Impressed I crews — Foreigners and ineffective hands^'Atne- i rican navy considered — Their ships easily manned tr ^^Practical gunnery — American marines — Op- i posite feelings of British and American officers I towards each other — Guerriere falls in with^ 4 and engages the Constitution — Details of the ,i. action — Guerriere surrenders — Her damage^- I Final destruction — Loss of men-^Constitution's ^ damage — Loss-— 'Force of each ship particular* I ized — Statement of comparative force — Remarks ^ thereon — British and American frigates — Their , comparative dimensions and forced—The latter ,«, compared in force with other classes of British I ships — French frigates — Concluding remarks. . From the battle of Trafalgar to the peace of 1815, three-fourths of the British navy, at sea^ were constantly employed in blockading the fleets of their enemies. Of the remainder, such as escaped the dull business of convoying, cruized about; but the only hostile ships that -\ «. OR EAT BRITAIN AND AMIRICA. W in general crossed their tracks, were disguised neutrals; from whom no hard knocks could be expected. Once a year or so, the capture of a French frigate by a British one, gave a momen- tary fillip to the service. m A succession of insipid cruizes necessarily be- gat, among both officers and men, habits of inattention. The situation of gunner on board our ships, became almost a sinecure. A twenty years' war, of itself, was sufficient to wear out the strength of our seamen; but a laxity of discipline, in all the essentials of a man-of-war's- IQan^ produced a much more sensible effect. ;^ Instead of the sturdy occupation of handling the ship's guns, now seldom used but on sa- lutes, the men were taught to polish the travers- ing-bars, elevating-screws, copper on the bits, &c. by way of ornament to the quarter-deck. 3uch of the crew as escaped this menial office, (from the unnecessary wear it occasions, lately forbidden by an order of the board of admi- ralty,) were set to reeving and unreeving the top-sails, against time, preparatory to a match with any other of his majesty's ships that might happen to fall in company. Many were the noble exceptions to this, and many were the commanders who, despising what was either finical or useless, and still hop- ing to signalize themselves by some gallant ex- ploit, spared no pains^ consistent with their n / m : ill, ^ 111 ;;iiy.; 'I li: ili'ii :i*! ill If;'' iitttited iHeiafls, aAd iM ^straints of the s^i^vicf^; tty hfttie th«ir ^Mp»; a^ dt times, as men of weir ihodW b*, ih ftkri^r^ ol^e^^ e^en<^d his sway over th6 Eu- ropean continent, the British navy; that per^ p«tiNll blight iip6^ hi^ hopes, i^nired to be ejitehided also, ^itish Oak, and Britishr sea- Mi^; ^like' i^oA^e^ cohtraet-shi ps w^ve hastily bttitt t^, with S6ft wood and tight frames ; aiid ^h, ttkanned With ati ititpressed crew, chi^fl/ 6f rkw hatidd and' small boys, sent forth to assert th^ rights, and miinitaiiY the chafracter of Britenft^ tipoti th« Obtoii. In Jtiii^, 1S12, whcfn^ tlie war u4th Amerit!! commenced, the British na^y consisted of 746 ships, in oommissioii. Hild thes^ bcfeti cleared of all the fbreigners and iiiefl^^etive hafiids^ hownMiily ships would the retnttitid^ hate properly msntied ? '"' ' ' >^' i'T^ th«f lotlg dtiratiOB df the war^ and th6 ra- ])i^^ilcreai>(e of Ihe il«Vy, ilhay be added a third cdtts^ of^ tliig s«fardity of seaiii^ii: the eiiormocis eticrease of the atmy. Iii December, 1812, We' bad, kit ihegttlars alone, 2^9,149 men. How many frigates could have been manned, and well manned too, by draughts from the light dra- goons, and the light infaiitry regiments ? Nor is there a question,-~so inviting were the boun^ tiei»,^'-^hat prime seamen have enlisted in botb.*^ Tlie crews of our ships experienced a fourth redttCti^ft in- strength, by the establishment^ sho ipai abo t^e «ed , GREAT BfilTA IN AND AMBHICA* 1||L, about six years ago, of tbe buttalion-mariiies: a cQrps f mbodiecl for the purpose of acting on shore, i^ coiy unction with the seamen find marines of the ships. The battalion-marines, about apoo in q umber, consisted of the pick of t^e royal marines; which accordingly became ceduced to weak, under-sized men, and ?ery> young recruits. Marines ought to be among the s^piatest men in the ship; because, until engaged in close action, their station is at the guns; where great physical strength is required. Ex* cept on a few occasions in Canada, and the Cl^esapeake, the battalion-marines, although as fine ^ body of men as any in the two services,, l^^ye remained comparatively idle. . The Clinker- worm that, in the shape of neg? lect, had so loiig been preying upon the vitals of tlie British navy, could not exist among the few 8|iips composing the navy of the United States^ , America's half a dozen frigates claimed, the i^l^ole of her attention* These she bad con-f: strupted upon the most approved principles, both fqr ss|iiii^, ^nd |or war. Considering that thit: ramparts of a battery should have, for one ob?; j^t, the shelter of the men stationed at it, sh*^ had built up the sides of her ships in the moiil$ coiv^>^ct manner; and the utmost ingenuity had been exerted, apd expense .b^towed» in their., final equipment. :u:iii J With respect to seamen, America hiid> fotii / I 96 NAVAL OCCURRENCES BETWI^Efr M" f^: •J '' many yeain previous to the war^ been decoying the men from our ships, by every artful strata- gem. The best of these were rated as petty- officers. Many British seamen had entered on board American merchant-vessels; and the nu- merous non-intercourse and embargo bills, in existence at different periods, during the four years preceding the war, threw many mer- chant-sailors out of employment. So that the U. S. ships of war, in their preparations for active warfare, had to pick their complements from a numerous body of seamen. Highly to the credit of the naval administra- tion of the United States the men were taught the practical rules of gunnery ; and ten shot, with the necessary powder, were allowed to be lex- pended in play, to make one hit in earnest. ' ?' Very distinct from the American seamen, so called, are the American marines. They are chiefly made up of natives of the country ; and a deserter from the British would here be no acquisition. In the United States, every man may hunt or shoot among the wild animals of the forest. The young peasant, or back-woodmanj carries a rifled-barrel gun, the moment he can lift one to his shoulder ; and woe to the duck or deer that attempts to pass him, within fair range of his piece. To collect these expert marksmen, when of a proper age, officers are 8«nt into the western parts of the Union; and W ORBAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 97 to embody and finish drilKng them/ a marine- barrack is established near the city of Washing- ton : from which depdt, the ships are regularly supplied. • ''^ No one act of the little navy of the United States, had been at all calculated to gain the respect of the British. First, was seen the Chesapeake allowing herself to be beaten, with impunity, by a British ship, only nominkljy su- perior to her. Then, the huge frigate Priesident attacks, and fights for nearly three Quarters of an hour, the British sloop Little Bblt. And, even since the war, the same President, at the head of a squadron, makes a bungling btisiness of chasing the Belvidera. '^^ *• ^ » -^^^ ^ * i'*^^^-* While, therefore, a feeling towards America, bordering on contempt, had unhappily possessed the mind of the British naval officer, rendering him more than usually careless and. opiniative, the American naval officer, having been taught to regard his new foe with a portion of dread, sailed forth to meet him, with the whole of his energies roused. A moment's reflection assured Iiim, that his country's honour was now in his hands; and what, in the breast of man, could be a stronger incitement to ex^ traordinary exertions ? " Thus situated were the navies of tl^e twa countries, when H. M. S. Guerriere, with da- maged 'masts, a reduced complement, and in / NATAL QCCURRSNCBft BETWBBIf absolut^ need of that thorough refit, for nvbioh she was then, after a very long cruize, speecli^g to Halifax, encountered the V* Sf ^h^P Cpnsti* tut ion, seventeen days only from port, manned ^ith a full complement ; andi in <^11 r^p^cts, ^tted for war. .^,^n aption ensued, the full details of which are given in the different o0jci^l papers to be foiind in the Appendix. (Noe. 8. 0. 10. II. and IS^.) Captain Oacres s^s, the Constitu- lipn commenced returning his fire ** at twenty minutes past four;'' the American *' Particu* l^rs*' say, ^* at twenty miputes past five;" and that the Constitution hqvn that time *^ conti- nued to fire occasionally,'' until she closed the Guerriere ^ at Aye ifiinutes past six." Captain H^U says:—'' At five minutes before six P. M. being alongside, within pistol-slpot, we ^om' mmoei a l^avy fire from all our giins ;"— and he bus had art enough to compMte th« duration of the action from that time. Were his long !^4-p9UBders, wfiich, during the preceding thirty ^ve Qiiniftes, he *' continued to fire occasionally ^t the Guerriere,'' loaded with blank-cartridge? Why, if the Americfiii commander had no desire to keep at long shot until h^ had disabled hid opponet, did he not bear down sooner; he had the The Guerriere's established armament con-, sisted of twenty .-eight long 18-pounders upon; the main-deck ; sixteen carronades, 352-pounders,; a 12-pound launch-carronade, and two long; 9-pounders, upon the quarter-deck and fore-;, castle ; total 47 guns. The Guerriere, like most French ships, sailed very much by the head;. Lqd, to assist in giving her that trim, as well as to obviate the inconvenience of a round-house which intervened between the foremost and bridle ports on each side, and prevented the. < ' -# a^ CABAT BRITAIN AVD AMERICA. 1<95 gun stRtioned at the former port from being jBhifted to the latter, when required to be us^d 4n chase, two additional IS-poundors, 88 stand*- jng-bow-chase guns9 were taken on board at lialifax. These guns, not acting upon the broadside, will not be estimated as part of the bropxlside-force ; nor will the launch-carronade, because, owing to its own defects, or the want of some of its appendages, no use whatever was made oi it. When Captain Skeiie had the Guerriere, he had ports fitted upon her quarter* deck for two brass IS-pounders, given to him by the Duke of Manchester. Upon quitting the Guerriere, Captain Skene, of couilse^ took with Jiim his brass guns. The vacant ports led some of the Constitution's officers to suspect, that the Guerriere's people had, between the time of surrender and of taking possession, thrown two of her guns overboard. «{ < It is singular that Captain Hull's letter does not mention the force of the Guerriere. The ^' Parti^iulars'^ state, plainly enough,—-*' mount- ing 49 carriage-guns;" — ^but that was not in the official letter. The people, therefore, had a right to indulge their imaginations on the sub- ject; bearing in mind, no doubt, that the com- mander of their frigate Constitution, whqse size and ^irce they well knew, hdd spoken ofr— *^ so fine a ship as the Guerriere." Had the citizens, in general, given the Guerriere 60 guns, little \ , s .}. f i f ' 'M6 ilMAV MMRCrMCB §Ktifkiii m I'i li mm--& •tit^se t^iikl hikfii beeit crated; but ^bftt ibidl We tkf to '' tb^ sMate and boiisd of h^pre- •0etitatm»of tb« Uiiiied States ^f AmCJrica^ th congress assembled,'^ pmsiag a i^soliitidn, ex- 'presfling, tbat the Constitutiofn of "44 gunSf* ^ bad succeeded '* in attacking, tanqiiisbing, and capturing, tbe British frigate Guerriere, mount- ing 54 oarrtage-guns"?--^Tbe honorable moVer of this fHtming resolution prefaces it with,—*** Far; very for, be it from m^ to boast" ; — and then grcrely assures the hoase^ that '^ the facts stated in the resolution have been ascertained at the proper department, and the proofs are on the table"!! Of men and boys, the Guerriere had, origi- nally belonging to her, 903. The purser's stew- ard (whose business it is to iserre out the rations ef the ship) declares, that Lieutenant Pullman^ a lieutenant of marines^ three niidshipmen, and 83 seamen and marines, were absent from the ship in prizes; thai the Guerriere yictualled, on the morning of the action, exclusive of four of five women, and some prisoners, 264; that seven of these were Americans who had been in the ship some years; that Captain Dacres (highly to his credit) gave orders that they should go below; that they all did so, except one, sta^ tioned forward, who, not having heard the word pass, remained at his quarters; that 10 df the crew were boys ; most of them very young..-. •»• ,■■» -t' ■IS,- GaSAT BRITAIN AND AHBBICA. IM This account lUlows the Guerriereto have had at quarters, Sd9 officers and men, and 19 boys » but, as Captain Dacres has staled the absent men at 24, and the number of men at quartera at 244, his account will be deemed the most correct. Captain Hull prefers the number bn the '* quarter-bill"; and the <' Partieulars,^'^ without any ceremony, state,--—'' manned with 302 men." 1- The Constitution's officers used ev^ry art to^ inveigle Iha Guerriere's men into their semrice. Sixteen or eighteen, Americans and other fo- reigners, and about eight British, who had; been pressed in their way out to the United States, remaided at Boston, when the cartel sailed. Mo6t of the former, and two of the latter, had previously entered on board the Con-) stitution. With the above exception, the Guer- riere's surviving crew, and a fine set of men they were, returned to Halifax N. S. Several of them passed into the Shannon; where they found ample relief for their wounded pride, in the subsequent achievement of that ship. Captain Dacres, in his official letter, says: *: 1 feel it my duty to state, that the conduct of Captain Hull and his officers to our men, has been that of a brave enemy ; the greatest care being taken to prevent our men losing the smallest trifle.'' — Unfortunately, Captain Dacres had Uiade this declaration before he discovered / h n 108 ¥ NAVAL OCCURRENCES BETWEEN the insidious attempts of the American officers upon his men ; or that, when the latter, on re- moving fVom the Constitution, called for their bags, they were delivered up, nearly eihptied of their contents.v..-^.^ i'' The armament of the Constitution consisted of thirty long 24-pounders upon the main- deck, twenty four carronades, d2*pounders, and two long English 18s, bored to carry a 24-pound shot, (and therefore considered as 24s,) upon the quarter-deck and forecastle; total 66 guns. Except as to the improvement in the 18-pound- ers, this account of the Constitution's force is confirmed by the editor of the ** Naval His- tory ,'' as will be seen presently. The Constitu- tion had eight ports of a side upon her quarter- deck, a gangway-port, fitted to receive a shift- ing long gun or carronade, and five ports of a' side upon her forecastle. Between the quarter- deck and forecastle, were breech ing-rings and bolts, calculated fo|r four guns of a side ; if ne- cessary to mount them: which guns, by the ac- counts of her ofiicers, she mounted, when em- ployed in the Mediterranean. Although the Constitution did not, like the President and United States, carry guns in her tops, a deliberate contrivance for destruction Was resorted to, of which man^ were the victims onboard the Guerriere. Seven men werestrfi' tioned in each top; six of whom were employed GREAT BRITAIIf ANO AMERICA^ 109 in loading fbr him that was the b^t tnarkflman. Captain Dacres was wounded in the back hj one of these riflemen ; and, had the ball passed half an inch more in front, he, too, would have been numbered among the dead. ^ i The employment of nfied-barrel pieces in naval warfare, is certainly a great improvement. We use them in the army, but not in the navy. Robins, speaking of rifles, says: — ** The ex* actness to which those who are dexterous in the use of these pieces, attain, is indeed wonderful ; and that, at such distances, that if the bullets ,were fired from the common pieces, in which the customary aberration takes place, not one in twenty of them could ever be traced. > The Constitution's complement, when she sailed from Boston on the 3d of August, was about 476. On the 17th, Captain Hull re-cap- tured, from the Avenger sloop of war, the Ame- rican brig Adeline ; on board of which he placed a prize-master, and, it is understood, seven men. This leaves 468 ; the number stated by her own purser's steward to have been victualled, exclu- sive of a few prisoners, on the morning of the Rction, Among them, scarcely one was to be seen that would rate us a boy in the British service; yet three boys will be allowed. A ' great many of the Constitution's crew were re- cognized by Captain Dacres as British seamen, principally Irishmen. The Guerriere's people / 1 T « . ) aio GREAT BRITAIN AN» AMERICA. " ! * ibund amoog them seyeral old acqaRintaiices •ad vk\pmt^ie9. One fellow, who, after the ac- tion, was sittiqg under the half-deck, busily employed in making buck-shot cartridges to mangle his honorable couotrymen, had served iind«r the first lieutenant. He now went by a Jiew name ; but, on seeing his old commanding jofiMXir standing before him, a glow of shame over-spread his countenance. Were it possible ihat the Constitution'is ship's comiiaoy could, At thk time, have been inspected by the officers of tha British navy, generally, how many, be- sides the oommissioned officers and the riflemen, would have proved to be native Americans ? « The Guerriere was captured from the French on the 10th of July, 1806, by the Blanche, Cap- l»in Lavie. The following was the force of the two ships :— Guerriere, ttventy-eight long 18- poimders, and two 68-pou&d carronades (in the bridle-ports, iand therefore of no use in the broadside,) upon the main-deck, ten long 9- pounders, and tela carronades, d^-pounders, upon the quarter-deck and forecastle ; total 50 guns. Broadside-weight of metal, (allowing for difference between French and English cali- Her,) 514 lbs. ; oompliement of men and boys, in Rction, 317 ; i»ze in tons, 1084. — Blanche, twen- ty-^ht long 18-pounders upon the main-deck, leo long 9-pounder8, and eight carronades, 32* pounders, upon the quarter-deck and forecastle; the the in NATAI< OCOflRiilffOVa BETWBUf tit total, 46 guns. Bro«dside«w«ight of metal' 49d |)>8. ; fompievienC of men aad bojs, in ao* tion, 244; size in tons, 1036. — ^This it iotro** duoed, merely in answer to several statements of the Americans, to the effect, that the Guerriere, when c^ur^d from the French, was of much grei^ter forpe than we admitted her to be, when she was captured by the Constitution. The Constitution was built at Boston, and laifuched on the 81st of October, 1797, Shll cost 3031,718 dollars, 84 cents ; or, 6$,1U/* 14«r sterling. Her full dimensions, in hull, spars, and sails, were fbund in a small IVf.S. n^«oran-> dum-book, taken out of the Chesapeake frigate, (n prpof of its correctness, the dimensions of the President and Chesapeake, as there also given, agree exs^ptly with the measurements since taken of those ships. The only apparent difierence, except a triple in the height of decks, between the dimensious of the Constitution, and of the President, appears in the " length of gun-deck ;" which, in the former, is stated at " 175 feet,'', in the latter ** 174 feet, 10| inches :" a dilfer* §Qce, in fact, not worth noticing! Mr. Clarke stales the " gun-deck" of the three '' American 44>gun ships," to be *' about 176 feet ;" and, it is understood, they are all as nearly of one size, though dilTeriug somewhat in model, as their builders could make them. The Constitution having the same ^* keel for tonnage," and / M 110 ORBAT BRITAIN AND AMBRICA. '* breadth of beam" as the President, (lee p^ 31,) her tonnage, both American and EngKib, must be the same. Dimentiant of the two »htpi, *' Ouerriere, Ft In. Length of lower-deck^ from aft-part > of rabbit of Htem to fore part of 1 155 9 rabbit of uteni-post, J Breadth/extreme, 39 9 /length, ' 9fi 2 3i * (.diameter. : 'ft h Cofutitution* Pt In. o 173 3 44 4 104 . 3 5 95 1 9 ;( :h The Guerriere's spars are taken from those served out to the largest frigates of her class:' the Constitution's, partly from the assertions of her own, and partly from the observations of British officers. Her main-mast was 2 feet 10 6r 11 inches, in diameter, at the partners ; but it had four quarter-fishes, each 3^ inches thick, reaching from a little above the main-deck to the top ; hooped on after the mast was made : of course, adding to its strength, as well as bulk. The reader, therefore, may well conceive what impression the Guerriere's shot could make upon her opponent's masts. ^* Between French ships built in the Mediterra- nean, and in the ports of tlie Chami^l, there is nearly as much difference as between our oak m ORBAT IIIITAIN AUD AMBRICA. lid and fir-built Hhips. The Guerriere was built at i^. FOtient, upon a sudden emergencj ; and there* fore haitiljT run up, with halfoseasoned wood. Her timbers were, at last, in so decayed a state, that, hbd the Constitution succeeded in towing her into Boston, she would not have been worth the cost of repairing. By «* a fine ship" is meant, a ship possessing A>me extraordinary qualification, either of size or force, or of both. '* Fine'* is not an abso- lute, but a relative term. How, then, are we to judge of the officer who, sitting in the cabin of,' truly, so fine a ship as the Cohstif^ition, writes home to his government, that, with that ship under bis command, he has captured — ** sq Jine m thip ^9 tht GuerrieiiB?^ — Hitd the Guer- M0te captured the Constitution, then, indeed,, the' expression would have been correct ; nor^ could Captain Dacres well have said moreiv Comparative force of the two ships. Querriertf. CpnsUtutioD. Bh«diide.mettlin poundB,{J:j;;*'' If^ 364 384 — 517 — 768 Co-.pt.ment, {«-; ^ 465 3 -^263 — 468 Siae in tops, 1084 15SS / Three to two in weight of metal and si^, and' nearly double in men t A reasonable man w^ttl^l* I i *. 4 # 114 NAVAL OCCURRENCES BETWEEN 4 i^ 1 ! at least, have divided his praises between the stronger party, which had conquered, and the weaker party, which had so bravely resisted. Not so the Americans; yet, from the excuses they make, when their Mps are captured, it ii evident they do not deny the principle. ^ '* When we say to an American, — " Our fri- gates and your*s are not a match.'' — He^ very properly replies, — *' You did not think so once.-*': But what does this amount to ?-— Admitting we knew the force of the American 44-gun frigates, before the Guerriere's action, (which was only partially the case,) and yet considered that our 38-gun frigates were able to fight them, all that can be said is,<— we are now convinced, that an American and a British ship, in relative force as three to twe,.nre not equally matched. The facts are the same : it is the opinion only that has changed. Man. the Constitution wit^h 470 Turks, or Algerines ; and even then, she would hardly be pronounced, now that her ibrce is known, a match for the Guerriere. The truth is, the nsLme frigate had imposed upon the pub- lic ; and to that, and that only, must be at- tributed, the angry repinings of many of the British journalists, at the capture of the Guer- riere.. They, sitting safe at their desks, would have sent her, and every soul on board, to the bottom, with colours flying ; because her anta- gOBi»t Was-^*' a frigate" : whereas, had the Con- ^i'" "# I .* 0RBAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 115 stitution been called ** a 50-gun ship," a de- fence only half as honorable as the GUerriere's was, would have gained for her officers and crew universal applause. -Captain Hull, and the officers and crew of the Constitution, deserve much credit for what they did do ; first, for attacking a British fri- gate ikt all ; and next^ for conquering one, a third inferior in force. It was not for them to reject the reward presented by the ** senate and house of representatives/* because it expressed to be, for capturing a ship, '* mounting 54 carria^e^guns" ; when, in reality, she only mounted,' at most, 49. They, no doubt, smiled at the credulity of the donors ; and, without disputing the terms, pocketted the dollars. But are we to sit still, and hear our gallant seamen libelled, because it may suit the Americans to invent any falsehoods, no matter how flagrant, to force a valiant character upon themselves ? — Let him, who thinks so, pack himself off to the United States, and there join in defaming his countrymen. The editor of the "Naval History," who," seemingly, delights in mysterious language, says thus of the Guerriere's capture : — ** It has mani- fested the genuine worth of the American tar ; and that the vigorous co-operation of the coun- try is an 'he requires, to enable him to meet, even under disi^dvantageou^ circumstances, and i2 . (( / : I T J % fv r:- mil- m isr :i; *!•' ii ^10 NAVAL OCCURRFNCES BCT^i^JSlSlf to derive glory from the encouiiter wit|i, tb^ naval heroes of a nation which has so k>^ tnM^ the waves." In the midst of all this flummery) how came Mr. Clark to stumble upon 'Vdisadr vantageous circumstances"? On which tjido were they? Hf' f The Americans had reai^n, indeed,, to exult at the capture of a Qritish frigate. Wken, ,too^ it is known that, at the t^m^ of tj^e lijttl^ ffelt's aflfair, that shi^ and the Guerriere be- longed to one station, and were actuary seeking each other ; and that the Guerriere's O0icers, by language of defiance, and otherwise, subset quently made themselves extremely oboftl^99 to the Americans, the reader will readily i*on* ceive, that no frigate in the navy p,ou)d ^^*~ been so desirable a trQphj as the Pl^ they did take. There is no qi^estion, that our vanity re- ceived a wonnd ii| the loss of the Querriere, 3ut, poignant as were the national feeliogf^, re* ilecting men hailed the lS|t|i of August, I919,,a« the commencement of an sera of renovation to the navy of England. Through such a nia^s of ^hips, however, the progress of amendment would necessarily be slow. A real scarcity oi seaipen retarded tl^e operation ; and, finlortur nately, the clasu of ships, the least iii^^rested in prepa,rations to meet t^e Ameri^anf|> ihi^d th^ ^rst pick of the men. So that, eveiii|t,t|i|| cpn- • i COtEAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. lit elusidn o^ peace with tbe United States, not more than half our fngates had improtred in men, gunnery, or appointments -, and as to our 18-gun brigs, it would have taken another three yeada* war, to render them as effective, as their Implied Ibrce^ the character of the officers, and the lives of the men, imperiously demafided. , All author, whose book, says one of his cri- tics, '' owes nothing to fictioii, nothing to artful disposition of drapeiy, to affected attitude, or to gaiidy, over-heightened colouring, but is all matter of autlientic history,'^ — ^has subjoined to his account of the Guerriere's action, a disser- tation upon the comparative force of the old British «;8, (now 46,] and the American 44*gua ships. As it may be no less amusing than in- struotiire' to learn, by what species of logic the Americans have persuaded themselves, and would persuade the w^rld, that the force ol ^ the Americati 44-gun frigates an^ of the Bri* tish 39», is very nearly equal," Mr. Clark^s highly-applauded arguments upon the subject are here given in his^ own'' words : **"*• 1 «« Much having been said on the, disparity of force between the American 44-gun frigates and the Britii^ 38, the rates of the Constitution and Guerriere, it will, perhaps^ not be out of place here, to give a comparative view of the force of each* Both the American 44-gun ships and the British d8-gun ships are constructed on the ^v- 1 ■f: lis NAVAL OCCURRENCES BETWEEN same principles, and their guns are placed in the ^ same relative position, forming batteries of a - similar nature. The guns in each ship are placed on the main or gun-deck, the quarter* decH, and the forecastle. The gun-deck; which may be considered as the line of defence, is ^ about 176 feet long in the American 44-gun ships, and about 160 feet in the £nglish d8-gun ships. The line of defence, therefore, in the Anierican 44-gun ships, exceeds the English by about 16 feet. But, it is to be observed, that , the length of the liiie of defence by no means implies strength. This essentially consists in the number of guns that can be placed in bat- tery, with advantage in a given line, and the strength of the ramparts and parapets, in which light the sides of the ship may be considered. A line of defence of 200 feet, mounting 90 guns in battery, would b^ about one-fourth weaker, and produce an effect one-fourth less, than a line of defence of 150 feet long, mounting the iF.ame nuipber of guns. The. American 44-gun ships mount thirty 24-ppunders on the gun* deck, twenty four df^-pounder carronades, and two 18-pounders, on their quartertdeck and fore- castle, or upper deck^. The British 36*guii ships mount twenty eight 18-pOunderi5 on" their gun- deck, eighteen d'2-pound carronades, and two 18-pounders, on their quarter-deck' and fore- castle, besides a 24-pounder shifting gun. In (( rP GREAT BRITAIN AND AiMlBRIOA. 119 an engagement between ship and ship, the effect produced is by the broadside, or the number of guns placed in battery on one side of the ship ; so that only half the number of guns in a ship can be considered as placed in battery, in its length or line of defence. The number of guns, therefore, of the American 44-gun shipft, placed vin battery. in its line of defence, of 176 feet, will be 28. The number of guns in the English 38-guniihips, placed in battery in its line of defence, of idO feet, will be 24 ; but, a^ they carry a shifting gun, which may be placed in battery on either side, the number will actually be 25; so> that the number of guns in battery in the American 44-gun ships, will exceed those in the English 38-gun ships only one-tentb. But the Aiiierican line of defence is one-tenth longer, and consequently would be one-tenth weaker tban the English, if it had only the same number of guns in battery ; consequently, the force of each, when the line of defence, and number of guns placed in battery are consi- dered, is very nearly equal. • • - i # ** The American 44-gun ships carry 24- pounders on their gun-decks ; the English, 18- pounders. But, are not 18-pounders of suthcient weight of metal for the service of large frigates, and fully calculated to produce every effect that may be required in an engagement between fri- gates? — It has, moreover, been asserted by tha 190 KATAL 0CCUARBNGE8 BETWBBIT ,; - I -i n officers of the Constitution, that the shot of the Java's 18'pounders were onlj three pounds lighter than those of the American 24-pounderB, after accurately weighing them both ; so that, consequently, the difference in weight of metal was only one-eighth. ' ' ^ L 'Mt has been asserted in the British news- papers, that the American frigates were 74s in disguise. It has also been asserted by an Eng- lish naval commander, in his official letter, that the American 44-gun ships were built with the scantling of a 74. If, by this assertion, he meant to insinuate that the American 44-gun ships were of the same nature with a 74, or Uiips of the line, he has manifested an extreme want of candor, or want of professional know- ledge. 74-gun ships are all of the line; that is, they have guns moimted on two gun-decks» extending th«^ whole length of the ship, or its line of defence, besides those on the quarter* deck ard forecastle ; and, in addition to these, there are guns on tl^ poop. The length of the line of a 74 is about the same as that of the American 44-gun ship. A 74-gun ship mounts aboi|t 88 guns; consequently, the number of guns placed in battery in her line of defence, will be 44 guns ; and, in the American frigate of 44. guns, only 28 in the same line of de&nce; consequently, the strength of the line of defence of a 74, is not very far from f ii ^^i ) ' !■ W r'i| f ! 12d .NATAL OCCURRENCES BETWEB19 longer" than the d8-gun frigate, has occasioned Mm to say a great deal in depreciation of a long ?* line of defence." Among salt-water engineers, ^or navy -men, a long ship is considered to have an advantage over a short, one, as well from the additional room upon . her ■ decks, as from her ability to bring one or more guns, at either ex- treme of her ** line of defence," to bear diago- nally across her opponent. Of course, it is not meant to carry this principle ad injimtum^ but to confine it to ships, or floating batteries in general. Agreeably to Mr. Clark's doctrine, our old first-rates, of 165 feet gun-deck, were pre- ferable ships to our present first-rates, of f205 feet gun-deck ; and the old three-decked 80s, of 1 56 feet, to a two-decked 80, of 197 feet. ' In moderiate weather, the ship with most decks, or '* lines of defence," is certainly en- abled lo throw her shot more in a mass; and therefore with more destructive effect. On the other hand, blowing weather and a heavy sea, may compel her to. shut her lower-deck ports; and at a time, too, when a large frigate, from the additional height of her ports, could fight every gun she mounted. So that, tiaking all circumstances into consideration, the question of comparative force still resolves itself into — the relative broadside-weight of metal. — Does the editor of the " Naval History" pretend to say, that American ships do not carry *' shifting GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 13d h After Mr. Clark hsLS proved that the forte* of the American 44 and the British 38,^ is **Tei7 nearly equal/' he asks: — ** Are not l^-pounders of sufficient weight, of metal for the service of large frigates; and fully calculated to produce every effect that may be required in an engage- ment between frigates?" If, by " large fri^j gates," Mr. Clark means the American 44s, the answer to the first question is — ^o/ because the deck-beams, sides, and timbers, of the 44, are calculated to bear i24-pounders. - If, by ** large frigates," he means the preseiit British ,46s j (old38S)) the answer is, — i/es; because the'diecki beams, sides, and timbers of ^the latter, are cal- culated to bear only IS-poDnders.* This will api pear clearer by stating, that, while th^ 30 loi% 24-pounders, with their carriages complete^ placed upon the 44's main-deck, weigh 88 tons, 2 cwt, the28 long 18-pounders, With their car- riages complete, placed ^on the 38'8 or 46*s maifl-deck, weigh but 67 tons, 18 cwt. '»5 As to the second question, that is already an» swered f unless Mr; Clarke means to say, that the effect produced by an IS-pounder, is equal to the effect produced by a 24-pounder; or that the *^ effect required to be produced in an en*^ gagement between frigates" does not consist of destruction at all, but of something else ; which something he has not ventured to explain.'' '^' - With respect to the Java's shot weighing more, ./ '^ i ■i li4 NAVAL OCCUSRHKCIS ■ETWIBIV fi or the CbnstiftutroB's len^ Ihan the •noilAnal weigbt»» tJiat bas been ^lly aiisnvtvefl m i prei- eediog fagSe. (p. la.) WherieVer Mr. CJark can provev that Britisli 18, anil Atnerioan 24, pound shot, ftppreaich minrer, in diameter, tha* S.04& to Si »5^1, (inches atid decimal parts,) hit arguments will merit attention. A French |8-pound shot tveighs SO^ poands» English ; ivhieb is only a trifle beyond ^' three pounds lifter" thain a shot Weighing 24 poaMb £ng- lisbi and the Javat from which the shot in; ques- tion waiB taken, had been a French ship, and then recently fitted out for the first time. Might not some o^ the Ffenoh shot have be^n left oil bourd? lii that case, the reason for sielecting^ t0 be ** accurately iii^eighed/' one of thiem, in prefhrenoe to one of the £ngHsh IBs, is obvious. As to the American shot selected to be placed in the opposite scale, who knows but that the American commandeii order to be set apart, for this important service, one particular shot,— -the fisaalUst in the ship. -^^* ^^-^^ Insteaf* of proceeding to disprove Captain Carden's assertion that '' the American 44*«gun ships were built with the scantling of a 74,'^ Mr. Clark shifts his ground to the '' nature'^ of a 74 ; and gives his readers a happy definition of "a- ship of the line." The force of the American 44-gun frigates, will now be fairly compared with that of several *^ classes Americ possible mankii by Am( fieca rpnade^ dent, ^ of an I stitulio ers; ai Guerrii 32-poa other 1 gates, t a^sTwe] class. 44s, th the full gatfe ca nate p Th^ •tandai becausi na.vy^ session have ai st^tem< m^as^l ** % OBEAT BRITAIN AND AMBRICA. 1^ i* classes t>f British ships ; and, if to dianye th« Americans, be a hofMeless task, it maj yet be possible to convince the unprejudiced part of mankind, iha^ our three frigates were captured by American shipp;, equal in foripe to Biitish Q4s. Because the Constitution carried lighter car- ronades than either the United States or Presi- dent, Mr. Clark has selected her as his standard of an American 44-gan frigate. But the Con- stitution it as able as they are, tp ^ar^y 4d-ppb]|d« ers ; and the new Americaii<4l-gifl%^ frigate«», Guerriere and Java, are 8ta|i|(lit0 ^fljii^ kong 32-pounders upon their iil^Biid«<9||ift. ^^B 1^ other haiiid, neither of our t^nM gates, the Guerriere in particuvu*) wi6 ail'llf|ctiTe a$^well^manned, fuUy-e^uijqiieA^g^ipf t|^^^ class. As a mean in ^j0Bi ef the if tr^^^liperiGlii 44s, the United Staw ivjIU jfciff^^^j^^ the full dimensions or^iy||^ <^^ gate can jbe given, witti ^liuracy, by ear forfa- nate possession of the President. The Aritish 38-gun frigirte, selected as the standard of size, will be the Macedonian ; first, because she was one of the finest in the British navy^ and next, because she is now in the pos- session of the Amjsricans: who will therefore have an opportunity of submitting the folknving statement of her dimensions, to jkhe test of aptual m(^as|ireii|i^lit. / \i I «• v- '* >^' ■■y4 .« \v f 106 NATAL OCCURRENCES BETWEEN km m.' i :^ 1 i I m li' If 1 1 I 1 ^' I 11 / * r^: Comparative dimensions of the British 38, (or t new-rated 4QJ and the American ^i-gun frigate, 44. ; Ft. In.' J; 38. Ft. In. '•VBT'M^ Whig from for© jwrl of \ ,„_ q figure-head, to afl-parl of fifcrail,/ ^^ ^ 4 I •a B h3 «*>. .£ ^^ JM'-****', being from «ft.p«rt of) apron to fore-part of •tern-timber > 163 6 at the middle live, . J > 158 4 U extreme, beinr from fore-part of item atheight of main-deck, lo aft-part of itern-post, at height of wing- transonoi Iff lower-deck, being from aft-part of J . rabbit of «tera, lo fore part of rab- > 1 54 Q bitofttern-poit, - y of arluttlkeH, being from fore part ^ of fore-foot, lo aft part of »lcru- V post, J overall, or to outside of main-inraili, extreme^ or of frame, including the *> plauk at the bottom, f moulded, or of frame on\j. 179 7 173 3 . Depth in hold, being from under-side of lower-deck plank to limbei } of lower-deck, ^ midships, t forward, C quarter-deck, ) between main and ^ gangways, ^ •^ I forecastle, '3 ^ from underside of false keel, lo up-\ 3h per partof figure-hend, J from ditto, lo upper-part of fife-rail, from upper side of 'midship main deck port-sill, to water's edge load-watermark, f afore, Load-draught of water, i ^^^j^f^ t>. 204 182 9 140 4 156 Of 40 2 45 0' 39 6 ' 44 4'^ 38 10 43 8^ it 13 6 13 »; . /» S ^ 61 6 5 ] 6 7i I 6 8 6 7 11 . ,,4 6 6 6 34 4 39 ,^ 38 8 42 4 7 6 a 8 , 17 9 19 4'* 19 20 6 I « • GHBAT BRITAIN ANH AMERICA. 127 ^l Maio-deck beami, Ditto portf, J broad, or $ldedt \deep, or mouUeit r width of, \ distance between, 38. till »IH»' "• '? Topsidcfl, thickneu ( main>deckport-tilla, ®^» *' I quarter>deck do. 1 3 7 1 11 3 3 Main-uiait, Uaiiijard, Hi 92 {£ 3| 81 6 ..._,.„. « 44. I Ft. In. I 1 3 7 1 1 101 3 98 1 4i 5 5* 8 5 6 8i 11 #• f length, ^diameter, r length, ^diameter, Main- C Brit. frig. 7 pain, ") each in ciro •hroudi, I Am. do. pairs, (cumference,] In the diameter of the 44's main-tnagt, the quarter- fishes are included ; inasmuch as they contribule to the security of the mast in action. The fore and main-masts of our ships have only a small fish, or paunch, in front, to admit the yard, in its descent, to pass clear of the mast-hoops. The difference between these ships in the quantity and stoutness of rigging, is an iiuport-> ant consideration. Were the American ship to lose from her shrouds, a quantity of cordage equal to the whole over the mast-heads of the British ship, she would still have enough left to support her masts. '* - » I'he relative stoutness of top-sides cannot be fully expresjsed by feet and inches; for, while the timbers of the American 44 are placed as close together as they well can be, there is a / »tf' / * Including the quarter.fishes, see p. 112. "IT HmVAL OCOVajtBNVBB BltWBMT' i . Jr ■ ■ fff::.'l! I'Wil'i':;'!' ' r' I ':■■ Ji ■i'. - > u \ coiiiiller^li]tJ^«pace between each timber of the BhtMtMs'B. About three inches below the rnaMi- 4ick^poi»t^sil^, the Preaideiii's 8ic|ea«m t#enty- ttiro ificheifi through. In faut, ani ^m^ncan shm tiif'vrir istalmost a bemnf iffiiia j%. 9. tibe rin^-bolts for flif bfoeahlogtof llios^ glpus,. The reason th^ ringfr fHW >lwed tjiere^^and not nt the regular ports^ ii»,that the 1br|||)iing pai^ round each port«>timber lit the Ifif^; whUe^. m-^ € :?&' f long gu when ne of the t^ that -fig iig. 2.'s i decks, t The r gate, is the Ma iiaving f .ronade) .by their gate's c< and 21 1 The P subsequi she hadr actwr. tl Compare Broadside in pouii Complem' Size in toi What this? I GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 1129 long gan) being intended to be shifted there, when necessary. The reason of the upper decks of the two ships diflfering so little in width, is, that fig. 1. is, what is called, wall-sided , while fig. 2.'s sides fall in as they rise. Upon the main- decks, the due breadth of edch ship is preserved. The regular armament of a 38 or 46-gun fri- gate, is that of the Java. The armaments of the Macedonian and Guerriere (except as to Jiaving a 12, instead of an IS-pound boat car- ronade) were the same as the Java's, till altered .by their respective commanders. A 46 that placed her in our possession. Comparative force of the British 38, {old rate J and the American 44. British, (old rate^) 38. Broadside-metal f long guns, 26 1 in pounds, 1 carronades, £74 535 Complement. {-°; «|J Size in tons. 315 1081 American 44. 408 ' 462 ' 900 472 5 477 1533 What have the Americans to urge against this? Is it not clear, that the relative effi- i' * 130 NAVAL OCCURRSNCES BBTWEBIf ¥'■ ill ;; ciency or force of a British (old rate) 38, and an American 4^1 gun frigate, instead of being, as Mr. Clark sajs, '* verj nearly equal," is in the proportion (taking no advantag;e of frac- tions) oi two to three? When the Guerriere was captured from the French, she was pronounced, in reference to ships like the Blanche, *•* of the largest class^of frigates.'^ Take the Guerriere, as she then was, for a standard of the French *' 44-gun frigate" : her force was barely equal to that of the British frigate in the above comparative statement. What then becomes of the mass of groans and lamentations to be found in British newspapers, magazines, and registers, about the difference in the result of actions between British and French frigates, and British and American frigates ? It now appears, clearly, that, in the one case, the ships were about equally matched; in the other, not so by a full third. The relative force of the American 44-gun frigate and the higher classes of his majesty's ships, comes next to be considered. In the year in which the American 44s were built, (1797,) we had in commission, four or fiv^ two-decked ships, rating also of ''44 guns"; whi« ii, if the rate were any criterion, would be about equal in force to the American 44-gun frigates. But they were much inferior to the -old 50-gun ship; whose force, as we have GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 131 be gun the lave Keen, (p. 71,) did not equal even that of an American d6-gun frigate. . The gnns of the British 64^ and the 74 and 76, of the present ratess are here given together. British. A 64. Lower-deck^ 261ong£4-pr8. Upper-deck, 26 — 18 — Qr.-deckandC 2 — 9 — forecastle,^ 12 carr.dS — Poop, Total, 5 — 18 — 71 guns. 74. 28 long 32-prs. 28 — 18 — 8 — 12 — - I2carr.32 — 7 — 18 — 83 guns. 76. 28 long 32'-prs. 30 — 24 — 6 — 12 — 2carr.68 — 12 — 3*2 — 7 — 18 -- CIS |85 guns. If the " admiralty-office navj-list'^ is correct, such of bis majestj^s ships as mount guns upon the poop, are still under-rated. The force of the above 74 is precisely that of the San Domingo and Valiant, when on the American coast ; and the force of the 76 is that of the Bulwark, when on the same station. Deducting from the latter, the two 68-pound carronades, which were the captain's guns; and, from each ship one of the 18-pound carronades, as being a boat-gun, both the Valiant and Bulwark, to correspond with the order in council, should rate as 82s. The San Domingo, although built in 1810, is not in the list, having been broken up this twelvemonth. In the springof 1814, the new Leander, built of pitch-pine, and intended to match the large K 2 / r 14 132 NAVAL OCCURRBNCES BETWEEN [ff :;iir:f^ m ^^ V '! American frigates, arrived ou tlie Halifax sta^ tion. She then mounted thirty long 24-poimd< ers upon the main-deck; and twenty-four car- ronades, 42-pounders, and four long 24-pound- ers, upon the spar-deck ; total 58 guns ; besides an 18-pound boat-carronade. There was here no disguise whatever : the ship had two complete batteries of a side, reaching from stem to stern. The Leander was not the sort of frigate to en- tice the American 44s within gun-shot. The Americans proclaimed both her and the New- castle to be two-deckers; and who could say other- wise? With the reduction of two of her 24s, and two of her 42s; and using the remaining two upper-deck 24s as shifting guns, one on the forecastle, the other through the gangway-port* the Leander might have been constructed as a regular 54-gun frigate ; and yet fought the same number of guns upon the broadside, within one, that she does at present. The Leander still mounts no more than 58 guns, and a boat-car- ronade ; yet, in the ^' admiralty-office navy list" for March last, the Leander, Newcastle, Java, and ships of that class now building, rate of 60 guns ; while, in the same list, the Saturn, razee^ of much greater physical force, rates two guns fewer. . What created the greatest surprise at Halifax, when the Leander first arrived there, was the ap- pearance of her ship's company. People natu- rally expected to see a picked crew of British set- men. ' old an< very fc Leande tained pea red capture iicers c< a crew tion's; J of the F board tl topsidec general] rican ofl the Con Thin It is sai( the thin grape, t passage Leander is brou^ that str without than th come tc 44s; she determii at least, GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 133 men. Instead of which, they saw tall and short, old and joung ; and soon learnt that there were very few seamen in the ship. Nominally, ^^^ Leander was well manned, for her books con- tained the names of 485 ; but 44 of them ap- peared as — boys. During her first cruize, she captured the U. S. brig Rattlesnake ; whose of- iicers could not help smiling at the idea bf such a crew being sent out to oppose the Constitu- tion's; a sample of whose men, in the late crew of the Rattlesnake, 131 in number, was then on board the Leander. The flimsiness of that ship's, topsides, and the smallness of her scantling, generally, also took the attention of the Ame- rican officers ; most of whom had served on board the Constitution. sir. Thin sidesf however, have their advocates. It is said that, when a ship is closely engaged, the thinner her sides, provided they can resist grape, the less destructive will be the shot in its passage through. The case of this very same Leander, when so gallantly engaged at Algiers^ is brought forward. There, most of the shot that struck her, passed through both sides, without splintering; leaving a hole no larger than the shot itself. But, had the Leander come to action with one of the American 44s; she having the weather-gage, and being determined to preserve, for the first half-hour at least, that distance, at which her skill it? / s I I 'I 1 134 NATAL OCCURRENCES BETWEEN ) ,' '"'' ill n >l iMl l:'i i I \m i'l 111' !{' 1 i'*' r-- H 1'^ 1 :'- - i J ®^ gunnery could best display itself, the latterV 24-pound shot would have found their way through the Leander's sides, quite slow enough to splinter; while her 24-pound shot, or the greater part of them, would have lodged in the sides of the American ship. — Had the Algerines commenced firing when they ought, the Leander would have had splinters enough* Two other classes of newly -constructed fri« gates were also sent out upon the Amevitan sta- tion. The Severn, Liverpool, and Forth, dif- fered from the 388, in carrying 24s upon the main-deck, and four additional 32-pound car- ronades upon the quarter-deck and forecastle. They had about 350 men and boys; and mea- sured a little under 1260 tons. It is difficult to say, for what description of American fiig^te, these ships were intended. For a comparative' statement of their force, the £ndymion*s action may be consulted. The other class alluded to, consisted of the Majestic, Saturn, and Goliah, razees, or cut-down 74s. The force of the first- named of these newly-invented frigates has been already given. (See p. 34.) In broadside- weight of metal, they were far too formidable to be esteemed a match for any of the American frigates, except the new Guerriere and Java. Theiif crews were tolerable: the Saturn's, in- deed, was a remarkably fine one. GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 135 ! lean lava, iii- Compar alive force of the American 44, with the British 60, — 64,— 74,— awrf 76. / ,MV '. Britbh. .4*fyfH>- American 44. 'm. 64. 74. 76. Br. met. n.gun8^408 iopds. Icarr. 462 408 555 748 844 504 246 '264 332 900 912 — 801 — 1012 — 1176 Comple- i men, 472 ment, Iboys^ 5 441 462 55S 60S 44 29. 37 37 — 477 — 485 — 491 — 590 — 640 Size in tons, 1533 1571 1415 17J8 1925 Upon the face of this statement, the Ameri- can 44-gun-ship is inferior in force to the British 60. Nor, had the former met and en- gaged the Leander, should we have been allowed to say one word upon the quality of the men^ and the disproportion of boys, in the two com- plements, nor upon the difference in stoutness of scantling; of whivh the relative sizeyin tons is here a most fallacious criterion. ,^The President and the Africa were, at the first of the war, cruizing at no great distance apart. Had they met and engaged, here would have been a fair match. In broadside- weight of metal, the 64 is a trifle inferior; and, in bad weather, might, like the two-decked 44 or 50, be compelled to shut her lower-deck ports. In men, the 64 is also inferior, but has the advan- tage in boys. In size, no great disparity exists. It may therefore safely be atfirmed that^ except =^,l M Mil 136 NAVAL OCCURRENCES BETWEEN the new 608, the only class of ship in the British navy, to which an American 44-gun frigate is equal in force, is the 64. The 74 in the above comparative statement, if the boys are dismissed from the two comple- ments, does not appear to be so decidedly supe- rior to the American 44-gun i^hip, as to warrant the author of the " Naval History^' in exclaim- ing againfit the *' illiberality and absurdity of comparing the American 44-gun frigates to British 74s." It is believed that the American government, in publishing Captain Stewart's paper, (see p. 16,) wherein he states, that a 74-gun ship is a match for " three large fri gates,'' had for one object, to check the further progress of an opi- nion, then becoming prevalent throughout the United States, tliat an American 44-gun frigate was, in truth, not very unequal in force to a British 74. But Captain Stewart's 74 throws a broadside of 1612, instead of 1176 pounds, the force of the British 76, (with two 68-pound car- ronades added to her established armament,) and his *' large frigate," 680, instead of 900 pounds. So that the American estimate relates to ships differing widely in force from those, between which the present comparison is made. " It may serve to illustrate the remarks made at a preceding page (p. 17) upon Captain Stewart's argument about the difference in scantling be« GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 137 tfreen 748 and frigates, to mention, that the top- sides of the Independence 74, at the lower-deck port-sills, are stated to be thirty one inches . thick; while no British-built 74 measures, at that place, more than twenty six inches. ly n To complete the exposure of the Americans^ for having gasconaded so much at the capture of our 38, by their 44 gun frigates, it remains only to suppose a case, wherein an American 44 is captured by a British ship, as much supe- rior in force to her, as she was to the 38. The set of figures that would give that prov portion are — ^broadside-weight of metal, 1514; ^-complement, 722;—- size in tons, 2173. As; however, no ship in the British navy, except the Caledonia or Nelson, throws a broadside equal to 1514 pounds, the above-mentioned 76 will, 'V for argument's sake, be considered as possessing A the required superiority in force. Chance might have brought the President and Bulwark within sight of each other. But, where is the credulity to be persuaded, that the former would have staid to fight ; much more, have fought on, till her masts W6re all shot away, her hull shattered to pieces, and a third of her crew killed and wounded ? — Rather than miss the comparison, probability must be vio- lated, and such a case be supposed to have happened. / 138 NAVAL OCCURRENOBS BETWEEN i. \ii^'. m 4k ' To finish the comparison, we must also tap* pose, that the British, lost to all sense of shame, — bereft of reason, in fact^^do actually publish this capture of the American 44-gun ship by their 76, as a ** glorious victory,"— knight the conqueror, — make him free of cities, — escort him on his journeys with a body of troops,-— cheer him as he passes, — erect triumphal arches to him, — weigh down his sideboard with plate, — > strike ofT medals, adorned with emblematical devices,'— set sculptors, painters, and poets to work, to immortalize the ** brilliant exploit ;" — • and, finally, hang up, by way of sign, at every tenth public-house, a view of the action, re- versing the size o5 the ships.— ^What would the other nations of £urope say? — What would America say? t y k '.\ ' J' ^m • OBEAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA*. 139 h'^^r. . S »-<^^a i^i GH.1PTER VL y»,i' iith Ai* Frolic leaves Jamaica for Horduras — Sails thence with convoy — Hears of the American war — Encounters, and is disabled by, a severe gale of wind — Falls in with the Wasp — Sends convoy O'head — Details of the action — Frolic surren- ders — Re-capture of her, and capture of the Wasp — Frolic's and Wasp's damages, loss, and force — Statement of comparative force — Remarks thereon — Macedonian sails from England — Parts company witl her convoy — Falls in with the United States — Sustains an irreparable acci- dent at the onset — Details of the engagement — Damage, loss, and force, of each ship — Their relative size considered' — Commodore Chauncey's opinion of the frigate United States^Statement of comparative for ce-^^ Remarks thereon — Mace- donian and French captured frigates, XX* M. brig Frolic arrived in the West Indies in 1807, and continued cruizing there till the middle of 1812 ; when she left Fort Royal, Ja-. maica, to collect the homeward-bound trade at Honduras, and convoy them to England. She was, at this time, very short of complement ; 'iimSt ^'fi -t 140 NATAL OCCURRENCES BETWEEN and the majority of her crew in a debilitated state, owing to the length of time they had been on the station. Upwards of 40 would have been invalided, had the war with America been known, or even suspected. The Frolic left the bay of Honduras on the 12th of September, with about 14 sail under convoy; and, when off the Havannah, Captain Whinyates was infonned by a Guernsey ship, ,of the war with America, and the Iqss of the Guerriere. On the night of Friday, the 16th of October, the Frolic and her convoy encountered a violent gale of wind, in which they separated, and she had her main-yard broken in two places, and her main-top-mast badly sprung; besides much other damage. Her fore-top-mast also had been previously sprung. Six sail of the convoy had joined before dark the next evening ; and, on the following morn- ing, at daylight, whil« the Frolic's men were at work upon the main-yard, a sail hove in sight, which, at first, was taken for one of the missing convoy. Upon her nearing the Frolic, and not answering the signals, the main-yard was got / off the casks, and lashed to the deck ; and the Frolic hauled to the wind, under her close- reeved fore-top-sail, and boom-main-sail, to let the convoy get sufficiently a-head, to be out /of danger. Captain Whrnyates, having, two days beforci ♦ %* « f GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 141 passed a Spaiiibli convoy protected by a brig, hoisted Spanish colours, by way of decoy. An Koon as the stranger, which proved to be the U. S. sloop of war Wasp, Captain Jones, disco- vered that the ships of the convoy were ^ne miles right to-leeward, under all sail before the wind, she bore down upon thie Frolic. The Frolic fired the first broadside, and con- tinued to fire with such rapidity and precision, that, in about four minutes, the Wasp'tf fore-top- mast came down, and she received other consi- derable damage ; but, at that instant, the Fro- lic's gaff-head braces being shot away, and having no sail upon the main-mast, she became .unmanageable. The Wasp accordingly took a raking position, while the Frolic could not bring a gun to bear. After the Frolic had sus- tained considerable loss by the W^asp's fire, she fell on board the enemy; who, for upwards of 20 minutes, continued pouring in bis unre- turned broadsides, and did still more execution by his musketry. When resistance was quite at an end, the Americans boarded, and struck the Frolic's colours. Mr. Clark gives a more circumstakiaal ac- count of the action, than is contained in either official letter. (App. Nos. 13 and 14.) He begins by slating, that the merchant-ships were •well manned^- and that four of them mounted from 16 to 18 guns each ; but that, <' not with- ii *. . i '1? 142 NAVAL OCCURRENCES BETWEEN i\ Y v • %\ llil standing, Captain Jones resolved to attack them. The convoy made their escape under a press of sail. About 11 o'clock, the Frolic shewed Spanish colours. The M asp immediately ' displayed the American ensign and pendant. At 32 minutes past 11, the Wasp came down to-windward on the larboard side of the Frolic. When within about 60 yards she hailed. The frolic then hauled down Spanish colours, hoisted the British ensign, and opened a fire of cannon and musketry. This was instantly returned by the Wasp; and, nearing the enemy, the action became close and spirited. About four oi* five minutes after the commencement of the action^ the main-top-mast of the Wasp was shot away, and having Mien, with the main-top-sail-yard, across the larboard fore and fore- top-sail braces, rendered her head-yards unmanageable during the remainder of the engagement. In two or^ three minutes more, her gaff and mizen-top- ^ gallant-sail were shot away. She, however, kept up a close and constant fire. The sea was ML rough, that the muzzles of the Wasp's guns * were irequently under water. The Americans fired as the side of their ship was going down ; their shot, of courst; either struck the Frolic's lic had slackened so much, that Captain Jones gave up his intention of .boarding her, lest both vessels might be endan- gered by the roughness of the sea ; but, in the course of a few minutes more, not a brace of the Wasp was left : all had been shot away. Her rigging was so much torn to pieces, that Cap« tain Jones was afraid that her masts, being un- supported, would go by the board, and the Frolic thereby be enabled to escape ; he therefore re- solved to board, and at once decide the contest. With this intention he wore ship, and ran down upon the enemy ; the vessels struck each otl;ier ; the Wasp's side rubbed along the Frolic's bow; the jib-boom of the latter entered between the main and mizen rigging of the Wasp, directly over the heads of Captain Jones and his first lieutenant, Biddle, who were then standing to- cgether, near the capstan. The Frolic now lay in so good a position for being raked, that it was resolved not to board until another broad- side had been poured into her. So near were .the two vessels, that while the men were load- ing the guns, the rammers of the Wasp were pushed against the Frolic's sides; and two of her guns went through the bow-ports of the ,( Ill li i iiti t'I .! ti ll>ri i 11 1. i! i i ;hl 1 ,144 NAVAL OCCURRENCES BETWEEN .Frolic, and swept the whole length of her deck. About this time Jack Lang, a brave and intre- pid seamanof the Wasp, and who had once been .impressed by a British manM>f-war, jumped on a gun with his cutlass, and was springing on aboard the Frolic, when Captain Jones, desiring .to fire again before boardin^^, called him down ; but, probably, urged on by his impetuosity, he did not heRr the command of his captain, and was immediately on the bowsprit of the Frolic. .Lieutenant Biddle, perceiving the ardor and .enthusiasm of the Wasp's crew, mounted on the lianimoclL-clcth to board; the crew immediately followed ; but the lieutenant's feet being entan- .gled in the rigging of the Frolic's bowsprit, and Midshipman Baker, in his ardor to board, lay- ing hold of hi& coat, he fell back on the W^asp's deck; he directly sprang up, and, as the next swell of the sea brought the Frolic nearer, he. got on her bowsprit, where Lang and anothe- seaman were already. He passed them on the forecastle ; and was much surprised at not see- ing a single man alive . upon the Frolic's deck, except the seaman at the wheel, and three offi- .cers. The deck was slippery with blood, and strewed with dead bodies. As he went forward, the captain of the Frolic, and two other officers, /who were standing on the quarter-deck, threw down their swords, and made an inclination of ;their bcdies as a sign of submission. The co- GREAT BRITAIN AND AMBRICA. U5 )oai:s of the Frolic were Still flying; none of lier seamen, probably^ dared to go into the rigging tQ strike tbem, for fear of the musketry of the Wasp. . Lieutenant Biddle, himself, immedi- ^!^^J jumpcyd into the rigging, and hauled down the {iriti&h ensign. Possesssion was taken of the Frolic 43 minutes after the commencement of the action. She presented a most shocking spectacle: her berth-deck was crowded with dead,- wounded, and dying. Not above dO of her crew escaped unhurt." ■,j\t was very good of Mr. Clark to suggest, that Captain Jon^s resolved to?ittackthe ^^ four well- manned ships, armed with 16 or 18 guns each.'' Captain Jones had no such intention; or he would not have waited .till they were hull-down to-leeward, before he closed upon the Frolic. The mercantile knowledge of an American com- mander, was sufficient to inform him, that those ships would have forfeited their insurances, had they not obeyed the Frolic's signal to make the best of their way. There can be little doubt that a disabled American sloop of war would have called them to her protection, instead of engaging single handed, under circumstances so disadvantageous. i»<^ c^i The argument about the two methods of firing is ingenious ; but the disabled state of the Fro- lic before a < shot was fired, and her totally tinmmnageable state almost immediately after- > / ir 1 ' ili'i ' 146 NATAL OCCURRENCES BEtWBBf^ wards, accounts for the little execution she 4MJ Previous to the loss of Her boom-maiil-sai], b^ fire was very far fVom being *' ia^ifeotnal :'' iH wfts such as, could it have beeil ebntinued^ w6ci^d have captured the Wasp, in a quattei' of an hour more. Owing to the Frifkk and violent than that of the Wasp. Und6r siicb circumstances, it was difficult to point the gunn with precision ; but, highly to th^ credit 6f hef officers, the Frolic's men had been esierdsed. Mr. Biddle's family resides iu Phila^lphia^ within a doot or two of Mr. Clark^s publisher ; who therefore eould do no less than insert hit neighbour's aooount of the action» But, in justice to a gallant young man, H is bnt fkit te fttate, that Lieutenant Rodgers, of the Wasp- Was the first American officer on IxHird th^ Frolic. ^ Neither Captain Jones nor Lieutenant Biddle mentions a word about the crippled stat^ bf (he Frolic, previous to tlie engagement. Tfaatj among honorable men, it is customary, in offi-^ cial accounts, to do justice to an enemy, the Americans themselves have had an instance, in Captain Hillyar's letter, detailing the capture bf the Essex. He there particularly notices *' the very discouraging circumstance of her 9IIKAX BHITAIN ANjD AMI^lIC^. 147 » kavang lost her main-tdp-mast.'' (ApjjK Np« 71.) And Cdptain Tobin, of the Apdromache, in .hi« letter, detailing iho capture of la Traave, .mag- nanimously excuses her feeble resistance thus:--r ^' Indeed, such was the disabled state of hef iaastft previously to our meeting, that any fur^ ther opposition would have bieen the- extreme of rashpess/' (Nav. Chron. vol. xxx. p. 448.) ,{; The Ffolio was much shattered in her i^^l|{ and bolli her masts fell over the side* in a f^^ minutes after she surrendered. She; lost 15 men killed ; her first lieutenant and master, morr tally, and her commander and second lieute* nant, severely, wounded; also 43 of her men wounded severely and slightly: some of whom died afterwards. Not above 30 men remained on the Frolic's deck, unhurt : the remainder were below, attending the wouikled, and per- formitfg other duties there. .The only Officer not badly wounded was the purser. It was the musketry of the Americans that so augmented the loss, particularly among the wounded. Thf second lieutenant, Frederick B. Wintle, had two balls in him, besides being wounded by threes others'. The Wasp had a fttw shot in her hull, anc) one passed near the magazine ; yet, according to Mr* Clark, or Lieutenant Biddle rather, th^ Frolic fired too high. The Wasp's main-top* mast was shot away, and her three lower-mastf l2 '''■' / 148 NAVAL OCCimRBUCES BETWBBIT rr if ■- I i? were wounded ; but, owing to the goodness of the sticks, thej remained standing. Captain Jones says, lie had ** five killed and A\e wounded ;" (A pp. No. 14 ;) but some time after the Wasp and Frolic had been taken possession of by the Poictiers 74, two men were found dead in the Wasp's mizen-top, and one in the main-top •mast-stay-sail netting. When ques- tioned as to their loss, the Americans gave diffe- rent accounts ; and it is not likely that Captain Jones could speak positively on the subject, considering that both his own vessel and his prize were taken from him, in less than two hours after the action terminated. V i ' It is fortunate, that Captain Jones and Lieu- tenant Biddle did not apprize each other, how they meant to sirm the Frolic, in their letters home ; as the essential difference in their state- ments made even Americans waver. The real forc^e of the Frolic was sixteen carronades, 32- pounders, two long 6-pounders, and a 12-pound boat-carronade, mo^mted upon the top-gallant- forecastle ; total 19 guns. Her people had, somewhere in the West Indies, weighed up, out of shoal water, a 12-pound carronade ; which, during the action, remained lashed to the deck, under the top-gallant forecastle. Captain Jones converted the Frolic's two 6s, and this dis- mounted carronade, into *' four 12-pouriders upon the main-deck," and the single carronade •>£ ^12-» poundeiv, carronades;" making the Frolic's total force amount to *' 22 guns.'' Lieutenant Biddle correctly enumerated the whole of the guns, but made ** two long Os" of the 6s ; and, what must have been a wilful mistake, repre« sented the mounted and dismounted IS'-poiind carronades, as '^ 32-pound carronades,'' by giv- ing the Frolic 18, instead of 16, of the latter. The Frolic's complement, on going into ac- tion, consisted of 91 men, and 18 boy ; (most of them very young ;) together with one passenger, an invalided soldier ; total 110. Cuptain Jones knew his interest too well, to toiich upon the Frolic's complement. Her men, as stated be- fore, had been for some years in a West India clinlate; and upwards of 40 of them ought to have been invalided : none, in short, were in robust ' health. They, however, behaved eX'p* tremely well ; and continued cheering during the whole of the action. One of them, when desired by Lieutenant Biddle to strike the Fro- lic's colours, then lashed to the main-rigging, very properly replied,—*" As you have posses- sion of the brig, you may do it yourself.*' The Wasp mounted sixteen carronades, 32- pounders, and two brass long 12-pounders. She had also on board, two brass 4 or 6-.pounder8, which she usually carried in her tops ; but which had been brought on deck in the gale of the i96 NAVAL d€0URRBNCC8 BETWEEN f ! I it ■ n ( t ISih: They were mounted on small carriages; but not, it is belieyerl, used in the action. Al* lh Wid 00 waunded; the Abeille's» 7 killed,: .l^iid 112 iwounded. In the Naval Ciiron* >Yol»>xxxi. i pk;490, , iost of closing ivith the enemy; and that, owing to this cir- cumstance, the Macedonian was unable to bring the United States to close action, until tihe had received matetial damage;'' but very justly ac- quits Captain Garden, his officersand cK^w, of ^^ithe most distant wish to keep baok from the engagement." ( Commodone Decatur's astertion* that the Ma« cedonian was ''at no time within the complete efibot Off his musketry and grape," is untrue: ioFj hmg before the action ended, Mr. O'Brien, tbe Maoedon^**i^s surgeon, extracted from the right arm* pit of a midshipman, an icon shot, weighing twelve ounces; which was either a canister or '^ grape,'-' beyond dispute. AUhocigh, '.' lor the first haU'-Hour," the United Staites *' did not use her carronades," the disabled state of the Macedonian, belbre «hat half-4iour had elapsed, proves ihat she was within fair range of the AflMrican 24s; and it is at long sliot, chiefly, thai the ^' obvious superiority of gun- nery" shews itself. At such a safe distance, the *^ steady conduct" of the United States' / ^'f ( 'Q^y- 156 NAVAL 0CCURRBNCB9 BETWEEN' crew, might, as the comihandtsr says, w«il *' eqoal the precision of their fire/' " « Admitting that Captain Garden erred in the distance at which he chose to engage the United States, and the way in which he approached her^* the disabled masts, shattered hull, and slaaghtered crew, of the- Macedonian, -afford ample proofs that she waS' not surrendered, till all hopes were at an end. Captain Carden states the action to have lasted '* two hours and ten minutes ;" Commodore Decatur, ** an hour and a half.'' Captain Hull has taught us how to explain this. Commodore Decatur dated the commencement of the action from the time his opponent was within earronade-range : so that, by adding to his account, ** the first half-hcur," in which^ as he says, he did not use his carron- nades, we have two hours as the duration of the action; only ten minutes short of the time stated by Captain Carden. The damages of the Macedonian are very fully detailed in the British official account. For rendering her sea-worthy, and for after- wards conducting her home in safety, much credit is due to the Americak^ officers and crew. It is singular, no doubt, that the two ships, during a six week's passage across a wide %: ♦ See Clerk's " Essay on Naral Tactics," p. 24. 1 ^11 % GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 147 u rft 'I extent of sea, should not have met one oat of the many British cruizers a-float. ^,'The Macedonian lost in the action, 1 master's mate, the schoolmaster, boatswain, 31 petty- officers, seamen and marines, and 2 boys, killed ; H seamen mortally, 5 petty -officers and seamen dangerously, her first lieutenant, 1 midshipman, 23 petty-officers, seamen and marines, and 4 boys, severely; and her third lieutenant, 1 mas- ter's mate, and 30 petty-officers, seamen and marines, sUfhtly wounded: total, killed 36; wounded 68. The two accounts differ greatly as to the da- mage sustained by the United States. While Captain Garden sayp t *^ The enemy has suffered much in masts, rigging, and hull, both above and below water;" Commodore Decatur says: *^ The damage sustained by this ship was not such as to render her return into port neces- sary." The manner in which the action was fought, and the Macedonian's disabled state at the early part of it, afford no reasonable ground for supposing, that the damages of the United States were very important. — One of the officers writes as follows: — *^li is remarkable that, dur- ing an action of one hour and a half, and a fire which 1 believe was never equalled by any single deck, not an accident occurred, nor a rope-yarn of our gun-tackle strained. — All the guns on the quarter-deck and foreca%>t]e of the Mace<* / ' >v M' I ' 168 nxVXh «C0i;RR«lfCCS BETWeBW doAiAti n^eve dismoutiUd, or rendered uni«r- Ticeable.^' ** The loss of tk% United States is stated by Commodore Decatnr at no more than 5 killed, and 7 wounded. Among the latter is included, ^ Lieutenant Funk, wko died Anir hours after tke action^'' Mr. Clark, also, notices one of the seamen as having been mortally wounded ; which coiacides with Ca^ain Carden^i statement, that a lieutenant and six men had beeifr thrown over- board. Acoovding to the proportions betweeii the kilted and wounded, tbe American slightly wounded cannot have been enumerated ^-a cir- cumstance that receives confirmation from the ^t, that the American officers, when questioned on the subject of their loss, told each a different story. 4 The Macedonian's established armament wait the same as the Guerriere's; but, owing to some alterations made at the instance of her coammnder, she also naounted 49 guns : twenty eight lc>ng 18-pounders upon the main-deck, eighteen (instead of the customary sixteen) car- ronades, 32-pounders, a 13-pound launch-car- ronadfe, and two French brass 9-pounders, upon the quarter-deck and forecastle. The launch- carronade, being usually mounted upon an ele- vating carriage, to fire over all, becomes part of the broadside-£orce. .. So long as an enemy has a right to enumerate ORlllL^ JfUlTAIN ANb AMdlllt)A. Via the gim# of his uidversar^ as a part of her fofc«', h becomes of national iftiportanee that com- manders should be restrained from mounting oiv board their shif^^ any more guns than the estriMidhment allows; without, at least, furnish- hig and maintaining, at their own expensey the requisite number of additional' hands. "' The Macedonian vietualledy on the moro^ ing of the action, dOO souls^; consisting o| 270 men, 02 boys, and a band of eight fo" reigners, then lately reoeiyed out o{ the prison-* ship at Lisbon. The latter refused to %bt7 and were therefore put in the hold daring th» action. i)£ course, they will be excluded froa» the «$stimiate. No complement is given to the Macedonian, iti Commodore Decatur*s letter. i^ The band, as may be supposed, instantly de-» serted to the enemy: whose triumph now be- came a fit subject for the display of their mu- sical talents. Some of the Macedonian's f%> reigners, not of the band, also entered tne American service. Nor is it surprising, that many of the British deserted ; considering what powelrful inducements were held out to them. They were given sums of money; promised grants of lan^', ; and kept continually drunk, until carried into the country, beyond the coii-> troul of their officers. The law of honor I2 binding between nations, as well as individuals ; and, surely, there cannot be a grosser infraction / 100 Naval occuehbnoes between I;: of it, thtth insidious attempts to withdraw fram tlieir allegiance the subjects of an honorable ^nemy. 4 The United States mounted thirty long 24^ pounders, described as English ship-guns, upon the main-deck; sixteen carronades, 42-pound- ers, upon the quarter-deck ; a 12 or 18-pound carronade at her gangway-port on either side; (see plate 2. fig. 2, a.) six carronades, 42-pound- era, and two long 24-pounders, upon the fore- castle; making, with three howitzers, 6-pound* ers, one .in each top, 58 guns. It is probable^ owing to the conmiodore's complaint, that he could not reach the Macedonian with his car- ronades, that one of the forecastle. 24s, instead of the shifting carronade, was fought through the gangway-port, and the latter placed upon an elevating carriage, so as to fire over all, in the usual manner; thus presenting a broadside of 32 guns. The force of the United States has been so estimated at a preceding page; (p. 129;) but, as the British officers, when brought on hoard, found both the 24h stationed upon the forecastle, (a reference to the plate, will shew the^cility of transporting them from one end of the deck to the other,) the number of broadside-guns will, in the present instance, not be encreased beyond 31. ^'The top-guns, being considered as a masked or concealed battery, and the shifting carronade .as CABAT BRITAIN AND AMfiRICA. lei a ** bottt^guB," are necessarilj excluded from the American accounts. With tbo§e excep- tiotts, a New York paper of May, 1^13, men- tioiM the recent reduction of the frigate United Slates' armament *' from 54, to 48 guns:'' which conArme Captain Carden'a statement, 'as to the numWr of his opponent's gune; and as to their caliber, the correspondence, and other proceed^ ings, relatire to the New-London challenge, hare since placed that beyond a doubt. The complement of the United States was, as admitted by her officers^ 479. Only four boys were seen in the ship; and the Macedonian's officers^ it will be recollected, were upwards of •tx weeks on board. * Tbo crew consisted of picked seamen, all young and ¥igr dimensions are similar to those of the President and Constitution ; although her model may be somewhat different. Two statements of the comparative size of the Macedonian and United States, have ap- peared in the American prints. Both make the Macedonian's ** length on deck, 166 feet;'' that of the United States <' 176 feet." One statement makes the Macedonian's ** breadth of beam 42 feet 8 inches ;'^ and that of the United States ** 42 feet:" the other Rtatemv:.nt makes the '* Macedonian's " breadth of beam 48 feet 8 inches, tonnage 1325;* that of the United States '*• 48 feet, tonnage 1405." Admitting the '' 48" to be a typographical error, there are few Americans who will^ot still insist, that the two ships do not differ in length by more than 10 feet ; and that their extreme breadth is about the same. One could almost imagine, that the Macedonian had suddenly acquired the stretching qualities of her new masters. ' * Tho Macedonian's true American tonnage is 1031. ' OREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 163 It ' ' If, during her stay at New York, that was the case, she had, when subsequently seen at New- London, shrunk to her original size. In Octo- ber, 1813, the Macedonian, United States, and Hornet, each painted black, were, by an Eng- lisman, seen at anchor about five miles above New London. Owing to the three ships lying close together, and their being painted alike, a spectator, standing on the banks of the ri- ver, was enabled to form a tolerable idea of their relative size. It required, truly, no very steiidy gaze to discover, which was the late British, which the American frigate. Upon the same person afterwards seeing H. M. ships Nymph and Newcastle, also painted alike, an- chored, head and stern, in Halifax harbour, he was forcibly struck with the same appearance of disparity, in hull, spars, and rigging. How are we to understand Commodore De- catur, when he saysi '^ She (the Macedonian) is a frigate of the largest class*'? — Suppose the Newcastle, a frigate about the same size as the United States, had captured the Congress, a frigate about 50 tons larger than the Macedo- nian. Would Lord Stuart, in his official letter, have said : — ^* She (the Congress] is a frigate of the largest class" ? — Perhaps Commodore Deca- tur had some scruples about cousidering his ship as a frigate; and meant only to compare the Macedonian with some of the old British 38-gun M 2 /' 1 104 NATAL OCCUKAENCEI BITWEEV m^ clasH ; such as the Arethusa, Sea-horse, and le- Teral others. He certainly has not, in any part of his letter, styled the United States a '* fri« gate"; asCuptains Hull, Bainbridge, and Stew- art, in all their's, have not failed to style the Constitution. As a proof how much the Americans, in ex- pressing their opiniors, are governed by circum- stances, Commodore Chauncey, in a conversa^ tion respecting the capture of the President, held with some British naval officers, since the peace, declared, that he would much rather fight a battle in the frigate United States, be^^ cause her sides were stouter than the President^ and she would, he thought, stand a longer battering. Captain Carder therefore deserves credit for his moderation, when speaking of his opponent's scantling ; and the attempts of the Americans to equalize the two ships, in site, %3n now be lietter understood. Comparative force of tht two 9hip$» Broadjtide'inetsl in poun I ■ » « SisQ in tons. Macedonian. U. States. ,n. guns, 261 ''^Icarr. 300 384 492 — 561 — 376 f men, 270 I boys^ 99 474 4 — 292 — 47(J 1081 1533 Here, another case of " very nearly equal OREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 10A Ibrce/' turnft out to be a superiority oh the American side, of full one third. — Nay, a spe* cial committee determined, that the Macedo- nian was quii$ equal to the United States ; and^ an act of congress of the 28tb of June, 1798, having provided that,-— ^* if a vessel of superior, or equal force, shall be captured by a public- armed vessel of the United States, the forfeiture shall accrue wholly to the captors,^'— the amount of the Macedonian's valuation, 200^000 dollars, was paid over to Commodore Decatur^ his offi<* cers, and crew. The disparity in execution was, in this ac- tion, about the same as in the Guerriere's, Where ships are equal in Ibrce and gunnery, an accidental shot may disable one ship; so that she cannot manceuvre, nor bring more than a few guDS to bear; while her fortunate adver- sary plays round her; sweeping her decks at everv broadside. The relative execution, after that period, depends not more on the prowess of one party, than on the fortitude of the other. Should the disabled ship have been, fr<.vm the fir&t, instead of equally matched, the weaker of the two, her loss, both previous, and subsequent, to her disability, will be proportionably greater. If, not in force only, but in gunnery and equip- ment for war, she is decidedly inferior, is it ex- traordinary that, after a two hour's contest, the disparity in execution should be as great, as it / v^< ..■^.^ r*^< IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) /. ^ .^4^. V 1.0 I.I 21 12.5 ■so E 1^ m B2.2 us IS L» 12.0 I ip^i'-^l'-^ < 6" ► p^ ^^4 ^ .^ J> /: V /A Photographic Sdences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STtEET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) S72-4503 ^L^^^**^^ .^^ ^^^ ^V^ '^ 166 NAVAL OCCURRENCES BETWEEN f '1^ i ¥■: certainly was, in both this and the preceding frigate-action ? The Americans have admitted, that ''all the guns on the quarter-deck and forecastle of the Maced()nian, were dismounted/' while ''not an accident occurred'^ on board the United States. This forms the prominent feature of this action ; and is of itself sufficient to account for the inequality of loss. The " Naval Monument/' upon the authority of one of the officers of the frigate United States, says of the Macedonian, •*—" She is just such a ship as the English have achieved all their single-ship victories in. It was in such a ship that Sir Robert Barlow took the Africaine, that Sir Michael Seymour took the Brune, and afterwards the Niemen, that Captain Milne took the Vengeance, Captain Cooke the la Forte, Captain Lavie the Guerrlere, Captain Rowley the Venus ; and God knows how many others. She is in tonnage, men, and guns, just such a ship as the English prefer to all others; and have, till the Guerriere's loss, always thought a match for any singie-decHed ship afloat.'' (Nav. Mon. p. 24.)' ' '"^^^^ ■ ■• w^ ,imVf»m The fact is, none of the ships here named, carried 24-pounders upon the main-deck ; nor, except the Brune, Forte, and Guerriere, mounted more than 44 guns. If we deduct the ^* troops and artificers^' from 1' Africaine, and the *' las- ■rni eUEAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA: 167 cars'' from la Forte, none of the siiips had a greater complement than 320. In point of size, none, except la Vengeance (sed p. 65] and la Venus, exceeded the Chesapeake ; and that by a Had not the Americans, (and they were the only nation,) in dread of *' just such a ship, in tonnage, men, and guns,'' as the Macedo- nian, constructed a class of ships, which they called frigates, each, by their own account, ** su- perior to any European frigate of the usual di- mensions," — ''just such a. ship" as the Macedo- nian would still be *' a match for any single- decked ship afloat." — Let the Americans, for the future, send to sea, frigates no larger and heavier than the strongest we ever, '' in single- ship victories," took from the French, or from any other power; and we pledge ourselves, in case of war, to serve those frigates, twice out of three time$, as we did the Africaine, Brune, Niemen, Vengeance, Forte, Guerriere, Venus, and " €rod knows how many others," not for- getting the U. S. frigate Chesapeake. Mi Si ;. «* *a4^4 168 NATAL OCCURRBNCEf BBTWEBIT m iii iijiri.; iti.a.v^ CHAPTER VII. U|%.^-4?©- t'^rmti ■-T i' W 4' Java commissioned, and fitted for an East India Voyage — Departs from Spithead^^Captures an Atnerican merchant-man'-^Falls in with the Con^ stitution and Hornet-'^Chases and engages the former — Full details of the aetiow^-American dismantling skot^^ava's damages and loss-^ Final destruction — Constitution's damages and loss—^Force of the Java in guns, men, and size ''^Recapture of the Java's prize by the Homet^^ . American subterfuge exposed^^Foroe of the Con-^ i stitution in guns, men, and size — Dimensions of the two ships — Statement of comparative force • "^Remarks thereon •««' Amelia and VArethuse French frigate, ,, = < . ,,. _ .; , . , About the middle of August, the French prize-frigate, la Henomm^e, lying in Ports- month harbour, was commissioned as H. M . S. Java; and tile command of her given to Captain Henry Lambert, a distinguished officer. The Java was fitted for the East Indies ; and sailed from Spithead for that destination on the 12th of November; having on board a great quan« tity of naval stores, together with the following passengers: Lieutenant-general Hyslop, as go- vernor of Bombay, two military officers of his GREAT BRITAIN AND AMBR40A. 169 staff, seven persons (including servants) in civil situations; also one master and commander, two lieutenants, one marine-officer, four mid- shipmen, one clergyman, one assistant surgeon, and 76 petty-officers and seamen, chiefly marine* society boys, for ships on the East India sta- tion. Two outward-bound Indiamen took ad- vantage of her convoy. '^ — - ^ On the 12th of December, the Java cap- tured the American ship William ; and a mas- ter's mate and 19 men were placed on board, with directions to keep company. On the 24th, being in want of water. Captain Lambert iitood in for St. Salvador; and the two Indiamen, ra- ther than go so far out of their way, proceeded alone on their passage. On the 29th of December, when about ten leagues from the Brazil-coast, the Java, having her prize in tow, fell in with the U. S. ships Constitution, Commodore Bainbridge, and Hor- net, Captain Lawrence; the latter having just left St. Salvador in search of the Constitution, which was away in the offing. Having cast oif the prize, and ordered her to proceed to St. Sal- vador, 'the Java went in chase of the large ship to-leeward. The details of the action cannot be so well given, as in the very words of the Java's late first-lieutenant, when addressing the court- martial upon his trial for her loss. Lieutenant Chads' journal, ws|s verified on oath by every 'li'- mil . 5! i.1 170 NATAL OCCURRENCES BETWEEN witness examined upon the occasion. He pro- ceeds, as follows : *? *ii«»ti mm o«in , uoy»(ij r^ ' " My public letter is before this honorable court ; ( App. No. 22. ;) but, being written im- mediatelj after the action, and on board the enemy, it does not, nor indeed could the com- pass of a letter, contain the whole detail of so long an action ; and which detail, therefore, I now submit to this honorable court. ***^* f^^^' *' At 8 A. M. close in with the land, with wind at N. E. discovered a sail to the S. S. W. and another off the entrance of St. Salvador, cast off the prize in tow, and made all sail in chase of the vessel to leeward. At 10 made the private signal, which was not answered. At 11 hauled up, bringing the wind on our larboard quarter, took in all studding-sails, prepared for action, the stranger standing towards us under easy sail, and apparently a large frigate. At a little after noon, when about four miles distant, she made a signal, which was kept flying about ten minutes, when she tacked, and made sail from us, under all plain sail, running just good full; hauled up the same as the chase, but the breeze freshening, could not carry our royals ; we were going at least ten knots, and gaining very fast on the chase. At 1. SO. she hoisted American colours. At 1. 50. having closed with the enemy to about two miles, he shortened sail to his top-gallant-sails, jib, and spanker, and GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 171 luffed up to the wind ; hoisted our colours, and put ourselves under the same sail, and bore down on him> he being at this time about three points on our lee-bow. At 2. 10. when half a mile distant, he opened his fire from the lar* board-side, and gave us about two broadsides before we returned it, which was not done till within pistol-shot, on his weather-bow, witli our starboard guns. On the smoke clearing away, found him under all sail before the wind ; made sail after him. At 2. 25. engaged him with our larboard guns, received his starboard ; at 2.35. wore, and raked him close under his stern, giving him the weather-gage, which he did not take advantage of, but made sail free on the larboard tack ; luffed up, and gave him our starboard guns, raking, but rather distant ; made sail after him. At 2. 40. enemy shortened sail; did the same, and engaged him close to- windward. At 2. 59. he wore in the smoke, and was not perceived till nearly round, having just lost the head of our bowsprit, jib-boom, &c.; hove in stays, in the hopes of getting round quick and preventing our being raked, but the ship hung a long time, and we received a heavy raking broadside into our stern at about two cables' length distant ; gave him our lar- board guns on falling off; the enemy wore im- mediately ; did the same. | ..,*' At 2. 55. brought him to close action within u 1 ''' ' .11 m NAVAL OCOUftRENCES BETWEBU 4 pistol-shot, (at tkis time the master waswounded^ and carried below,) till 3. 5. ; when, finding the daj evidently gone, from all our rigging being cut to pieces, with our fore and main-masts badly wounded. Captain Lambert determined on boarding, as our only hope ; bore up, and should have succeeded in laying him a-breast of his main-chains, but from the unfortunate fall of our foremast, the remains of our bow- sprit passing over his stern, and catching his mizen-rigging, which was a great misfortune, as it brought us up to the wind, and prevented our raking him. Whilst under the enemy's stern, attempting to board, there was not a soul to be seen on his decks ; from which circum- stance, 1 am induced to believe there was a good prospect of success. This manoeuvre failing> we were left at the mercy of the enemy ; which he availed himself of, wearing across our bows, raking us, when our main^top-mast went, and wearing again, at 3. 2. under our stern. At 3. 30. our gallant captain was mortally wounded* and carried below. From this time, till our mizen-mast went, at 4. 15. he laid on our star- board-quarter, pouring in a tremendous galling 6re ; whilst, on our side, we could never get more than two or three guns to bear, and fre- quently none at all. After this we fell off, and the enemy shot a-head, which again gave us the chance of renewing the action, which was done GBEAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 175 with good spirits, broadside and broadside, Java very frequently on fire from firing through tht wreck, which lay on the side engaged, till 4.96. when the Constitution made sail, and got out of gun-shot, leaving us a perfect wreck, with our main-mast only standing, and main-yard gone in the slings ; cleared the wreck, and en- deavoured to get before the wind, by setting a sail from the stump of the fore-mast and bow<* sprit ; got the main- tack forward, the weather yard-arm remaining aloft; cleared away th« booms, and got a top- gallant-mast out, and commenced rigging it for a jury fore-mast, and a lower-steering-sail as a fore-sail ; but, bcf4»r« we could get this accomplished, we were obliged to cut away the main -mast, to prevent it» fall- ing in^board, from the heavy rolling of the ship. The enemy bore up to renew the actioft ; madt every preparation to receive him ; i«-loaded the guns with round and grape ; mastered at quaur* ters, and found 110 men mtssiog, six quarter- deck guns, four forecastle, disabled, and many of the main-deckers, with the wreck lying over them, the hull knocked to pieces; and the fore- mast, in billing, had passed through the fore- castle and main-decks ; all oujr masia and hor/" sprit gone, the ship making water, with one pump shot away, consulted now with lieute- nants Nerringham and Buchanan, when it was determined to engage him again, should he give * *■ il ! ,11 ' II 174 WAVAL OCCURRENCES BETWEEN US an opportunity of so doing with a probabi^ lity of disabling him, which was now our sole object ; but that it would be wasting lives re** sisting longer, should he resume a raking posi- tion, which unfortunately wa' the case ; and when close to us, and getting his broadside to bear, I struck, and hailed him, to say we had done so, at 5. 50. At 6, she took possession of us, and proved to be the American frigate Constitution. The next day I found our loss was 22 killed, and 102 wounded: two of whom are since dead. The Americans allowed they had 10 killed ; but differed very much about their wounded, which 1 found to be 44 severely, and four mortally ; the slight wounds I could not ascertain. ^ ^tt j*? t? •*^ *' Having in the detail stated the number of killed and wounded on both sides, and as my account differs from the one in the public pa- pers, and said to be the official report of Com** modore Bainbridge, 1 beg leave to state to the court the manner in which 1 obtained this know^ ledge. Being, of course, anxious to discover the loss sustained by the enemy, I directed Mr. Capponi, assistant-surgeon, to lend his as* sistance in dressing their wounded ; this he did, and reported to me the statement I have made. It having also been stated in the papers, that the Constitution was in a short time in a condi- tion tp conuneuce a second action, I must beg kl : 'Ml:! OllBAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 175 to observe, thnt I do not think such a statement could have been authorised by Commodore Bainbridge, for her rigging was much cut, and her masts severely wounded; so much so, as to oblige her to return to America, which she cer- tainly otherwise would not have done, for she was waiting only to be joined by the Essex on the coast of Brazil, when the further destination of this squadron, 1 was given to understand, was India. ni'. ' >?' • '* 1 will trouble the court with but one more remark. When the prisoners were removed from the Java, she was set fir^ to, although but 12 leagues distant from St. Salvador, with mode- rate weather ; the cause of which was, her shat- tered state, and not from any fear of taking her to a neutral port, as stated in Commodore Bain- bridge^s letter ; for he repaired to the same port with his own ship, carrying in a valuable prize, the Eleanor schooner, from London.'' ' Plate 1, displays a variety of the American ^' round and grape." (App. No. 25.) We all re- collect what imprecations were hurled against us by the American journalists, when they received an account, that '^ combustible materials had been thrown from the Shannon upon the Chesa- peake's decks," Upon that occasion, a celebrated paper, the *' United States Gazette," used the fol- lowing language : — ^* Against such modes of as- sault, no skill, no courage, no foresight^ c^n be. 176 NAVAL OCCURRENCES BETWEBN found to avail ; and it is no more dishonor thus to be overpowered, than it is to be beaten down by a thunderbolt. We speak with entire confidonce and certainty on this point, that, if the Bonne Citoyenne had accepted the challenge of Cap* tain Lawrence, and he had obtained a victory by the use of such means, we should have sick- ened at the sight of his laurels/' — And yet, at tbe very time of uttering this rhapsody, the Americans, by the aid of their star, chain, and barsliot, had crippled, and captured, three Bri- tiflk frigates, and two sloops of war ;— nay, the very ship whose capture they were thus trying to excuse, bad on board, and actually used, the very shot represented in the plate. -^Confronting a man with his own words^ is an admirable me- tbod ; for, if he is not past blushing, it shames, as well as convicts him. When ships engage at a short distance, less depends on the precision, than on the rapidity of firing; therefore, the ship, whose men are practised in gunnery, finds it to her interest to keep at long shot. Yet, as continually yawing away in the smoke, and avoiding close action, in the stronger «ihip especially, does not look well on paper, the commodore did right to com- plain of ** the enemy keeping at a much greater distance than he wished." — So far, however, from that having been the case, all the witnesses- examined at the court-martial concur in stating, ORBAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 177 that the Constitution avoided close action, till the Java was disabled : then she approached ; andj by successive raking fires, and the riflemen in her tops, committed nearly all the slaughter that occurred. (App. No. 22. and 26.) If any could have saved the Java, it was boarding ; and that was frustrated by the bow- sprit getting foul of the enemy's mizen rigging; and by the immediate fall of the fore-mast. The men were ready : so was the heroic boatswain/' with his one arm mutilated, the other bearing his pipe, to cheer up his gallant comrades, that they might ^'make a clean spring" upon the enemy's decks. ' In the falling of the Java's fore-mast upon the main -deck, and disabling the guns there, we see, at once, the advantage possessed by a ship having a sufficient space along the gang- way, to cover the men stationed at the main- deck gunS) over a ship having a waist, or large open space, extending nearly from side to side. (See PI. 2.) Both the British and American accounts agree, exactly, as to the time when the action com- menced ; but Commodore Bainbridge fixes its termination at the moment when the Constitu- tion hauled out of gun-shot to repair damages : who else would not have fixed it, at the striking of the Java's colours ? — The whole continuance of the action was^ three hours and 40 minutes. 1 178 NAVAL 0CCURRBNCB8 BETWKeiT »ff I The damage done to the Java has been fuily; detailed in Lieutenant Chads' address to the. court. Her loss in the action, amounting to 39. killed ; 2 mortally, 5 dangerously, 52 severely^ and 43 slightly, wounded, appears at the end of the ofllcial letter. (App. Nq; 22.) Captain Lambert fell by a l«fle-ball iired from. the Constitution's main-top.' The bullet en* tered bis left side, and lodged in the spin«. Ha: languished till the night of the 4th of January ; and, on the next day, was buried at St. Salva^ dor, with military honors. A mtdshipmao, named Edward Keele, only 16 years of age^ who was badly wounded, and had his leg amputated, enquired, soon after the action was over, if the ship had struck ; and, seeing a ship's colour spread over him, grew uneasy^ until he was con- vinced it was an English flag. This gallant youth died on the following day. The circumstanct of the boatswain, with a touniaquet on his arm, (which he knew must be amputated, as soon as the surgeon was ready,) returning to his quar- ters, as if nothing had happened, is a strong trait of heroism and devotion. ,^ <. v.^>- ^ Commodore Bainbridge, in his letter, says :<-^ *' The enemy bad 60 killed, and 101 wounded^ certainly ; but, by the enclosed letter, written on board this ship, (by one of the officers of the Java,) and accidentally found, it is evident that the enemy's wounded must have been much i\ en*. O&EAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 179 greater tlian as above stated, and who miiwl; hayt died of their wounds previonslj to their being removed. The letter states 00 killMgh repair. Then the citizens, and se- veral T^nglishmen also, saw clearly what she had sufffred in the Java's action. Lieutenant Chads mentions the damage done to her spars and rig- g^ing; and, in direct proof of the advantage of GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 181 stout iiiRsts, the Java's 18-pound shot had passcfd through two of the Constitution's lower-masts ; yet they were deemed sufficiently secure, with- out being fished. '^ '* f-.^ ■'*«*?4 ^^-^f* Commodore Bainbridge states the loss of the Constitution to have been '< 9 killed, and 25 wounded." That this is incorrect, appears as well from what Lieutenant Chads has stated, as from the following extract of a letter from Mr. Thomas Cooke Jones, late surgeon of the Java : — ** The Americans seemed very desirous not to allow any of our officers to witness the nature of their wounded, or compute their number. I ordered one of my assistants, Mr. Cs^poni, to attend when their assistant weat round ; and he enumerated 46, who were unable to stir from their cots, independent of the men who had re- ceived, what they called, *' slight hurtt'' Com- modore Bainbridge was severely wounded in the right thigh ; and four of their amputations perished under my own inspection. I have no- ticed these facts, that your readers may be con- vinced of the falsity of their official dispatches ; and to authorise their being received with some degree of scepticism." (Naval Chron. vol. xxix. p. 4l0.) -TS'JTi'SftJ T*- » ^ The American newspapers informed us that Lieutenant Aylwin, of the Constitution, died of his wounds on the 28th of January ; and it was reported in Philadelphia, that two or three of -■rk^iii: ^1 1» > f r Fli 1/ ?? It # IlllH ist irATl.L OCeOftRBVClt METWE^II Ihe men hiad ako died in the piUNUige bome. > It cannot escape the reader, that it is as much the interest oi the Americans, in actions in which they have been successfn], to under-rate their own, as to over-fate the British loss. This it wHs that suggested' to Mr. Clark the proprietor of shewn^, in appropriate columns, the « ships : and, wlieo it is k;(iown that the mea, owing to their awHwardaess^ inexperieooe, or some other ca^se, allowed two or three raking opportunities to pass, with- out firing more than h^U a dozen shot at the CdnstitutidD* the only surprise will be,|hat there wiks not a still greater disparity in the slaughter «m board ttie: two ships. . 4 When the Java was fitted, she. received on board, twenty-eight long IS^pounders upon the inain-deck; . sixteen /earronades, dSrppunderSy one launch-carronade, IB-pounder, and two long Q-poondersy upon the quarter-depk and £»recastle ; total, 47 guns. Not another gun of any description had the Java, when captured ; and the lavnch-carronade, owing to some accif dent, was not even used. Fojr that reason, pror bably, it was omitted in the statement of force, subjoined to Lieutenant Chads' letter. Deterr mined not to be out-done by Captain Hull, Commodore Bainbridge made his pri^-frigate of ** 49 guns" also; and the editors of the ^' Naval History," *' Naval Monumient," and ** Sketches of the War,^' have not scrupled to particularize those' '^49 guns." The two first agree in adding two to the sixteen 3f^>pound carronades, and in substituting " one shifting gun, a 24-pounder," for the launch-carronade ; but the two 9s, . Mr. Chirk (see p. 118) makes /^two 18*pounders," 1^ 184 NAVAL OOCURRENOBS BETWEEN ; 1 .' "^'l 4 ' 1 -^H: ;■■ 10 i I i ilil fi ^ Mr. Bowen *' two large las." So little, liowever, is consistency studied by American historians, that Mr. Clark, in another page of his work, says, — *' Java, guns mounted, 48."— -But the most ex^- traordinary statement of the Java's force, apr pears in the '* Sketches of the War."^*' The Java carried twenty eight S4'pounders on her gunrdeck.'^ — And this, too, in a third edition 1-^ Was there no American honest enough to set the editor right P' The Java's complement, on leaving Spithead, was 277 officers, seamen and marines, and 23 boys ; makinjg, with the 97 passengers, a total of 397. The mate and 19 men, placed on board the William, reduced this number to 377 ; which agrees exactly with Lieutenant Chads' account of '* ship's company and supernumeraries" prer sent in the action. h •' The whole number of prisoners received out of the Java amounted to 356 ; subsequently re- duced, by the death of the captain, one mid- shipman, Keele, (who, having died previous to the date of the surgeon's return, was included among the ^< killed,") and one able seaman, to 353. Yet Commodore Bainbridge, after having ^' liberated and given up to the governor of St. Salvador, nine Portuguese seamen," and allowed ^* to land, without any restraint, three passen- gers, private characters," actually paroled *^38 officers, aqd 323 petty-officers, seamen, inarinea. GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 185 and boys;" total 361, instead of 341, the num- ber of prisoners left, after deducting the 19 not parolied. How is this? ' Commodore Bainbridge, apparently, was here guilty of as gross a fraud as any to be found upon the records of the admiralty-courts, wherein his countrymen, during a \ongveig;no{ neutrality, had HO often shocked honest men by their hardihood. The only dilTereuce is, that the national officer expects as much to be implied from his honor,, as the merchant-captain or supercargo did from his oath. ... •. ' >* .. Now for the fact. The William prize-ship was re-captured by the Hornet, on the afternoon of the action ; arrived at St. Salvador on the same day that the Java did ; and the prize-crew were landed from the Hornet, at' the same time that the prisoners out of the Java were landed from the Constitution. The reader sees, then^ how it was. The Java's mate and 19 men were added to the above-ementioned 341 ; and the knowing commodore paroled, as he i^aid, 361 of the Java's crew. Not a word is there, in his letter, of any prisoners arriving from the Hornet,- or of the Java's prize having been re-captured at all ; although the William, at the date of the commodore^s letter, was lying at anchor in St^ Salvador, in company with the Constitution and Hornet. Aware that Captain Lawrence, in his official letter announcing the capture of the r "'■''^■iii? M 1 ■ fi •• -■"^' ij I li 186 NATAL OCdJR&BBTOSS BBTWEEIT fi Ijl i ifr r- ■ill - U m\:n i i • Peacock, would vaeiitHNi tke re-capiure of an American 'Sfaip o^QMtons, and therefore expose the trick, it was contrived that his letter should eomprise, onl^T' what occurred subsequently to the 0th of January, the day on which, as i^tated before, Ike Conetitutioa left St. Salvador for the United States* /(^pp. No.:29.) So that, after the commodora had^ by his ^* 00 killed," his 301 paroled) and la not paroled, proved thst the Java had 433 men, his Ibrbearing to state, in the oliicial letter^ that she had more than^' upwards of 400," added to his scrupulous exception of the '^ three passengers, pri^rate characiterB," es- tablished^ beyond power of contradiction, the modetty of the American officer^! > But, in truthy who were these " three passen- gers^ private characters," so generously ex- empted ^m parole?— No other, it would ap- pear, than three of the Java's seamen, who had been fools enough to enter the American ser- vice. To have deducted them froni the amount of prisoners received, would be making Oie Java's complement appear three men short of what it could, otherwise, he proved to have been. To have confessed the fact, would never do. Therefore^ all the Java's passengers, naval, mi- litary, and civil, were paroled as ^' officers, petty^fficers, seamen, marines and bc^s,'^ and the hiatus made by the three traitors, was cle- Tevly^filled up three nominal *' passengers, pri- .5^ 'i, 1.1 I i ' ' '1 OEVAT BRlTAIfr A1I0: AMJBRKA. 187 fftte^eliiniot'ers, whom the «Oi«aiQ4of»'* (ge- nerous man f) ** did not consider priionera of war, and permitted to land without any re- straint ;** and. of whom, of course, no farther account was taken. . , .. ' *>•!'■)•??■/,'. .-lo'^'x^'-rf *•*' Without searching the Java's crew for |)anes, Swedes, Italians, l^aniardf, or viay other- fo* reigners; or even regmrding the /' nine Portu- guese seamen'^ so politically >* given up to the governor at St. Salvador/^ it is still finr not to include, as part of llie JaVa's complement on going into action, the seven passengefs in/oivil situations. That will reduce the number to 370; comprising ^80 of her proper. crew, the three military officers^ and ail the supernume- rary naval officers and seamen on board. <^ To shew that the estimate is correct, the fol- lowing recapitulation may be pecessairy :•— 7^, Javt's proper crcw> including boys, 300 Deduct men sent on board prize^ SO - Add pusengen of eveiy description, *^ Total number on board, during action, ^^ Deduct killed, (see p. «84,) Total number landed from Java, Add prize-crew. €80 97 377 £4 353 20 . Total^o«aliveof the 397 originally on board, 373 . Deduct the ** 9 Porti^use and 3 private persons/' 1 2 ¥{ ffotil No. paroled by Commodore Bainbridge, 361 /" ■r^T I 186 * NATAL OCCURRBN0B8 BETWEEN The manner in which the Java's men were Created by the American officers, reflects upon the latter the highest disgrace. The moment the poor fellows were brought on board the Con- stitution, they were hand-cuffed, (a thing un- ^ known in our service, except upon urgent ne- cessity,) and pillaged of almost every thing. Trae, Lieuteivant-general Uyslop got back his valuable service of plate, and the other officers were treated civilly. Who would not rather that the governor's plate was, at t|iis very time, spread out upon Commodore Bainbridge's sideboard, than that British seamen, fighting bravely in their country's cause, should be put in fetters, and robbed of their little all? — What is all this mighty generosity but a political jug- gle, — a tub thrown to the whale? — Mr. Madison says to his officers: *' Never mind making an 'Ostentatious display of your generosity, where you know it will be proclaimed to the world. If you lose any thing by it, I'll take care con- gress shall recompense you, two-fold. Such con- duct on the part of an American officer of rank, will greatly tend to discredit the British state- ments as to any other acts of your's not so pro- per to be made public ; and will serve, besides, as an imperishable rscord of the national mag- nanimity and honor."*~One object the Consti- tution's officers missed by their cruelty. Three v»n^lyoftheJava's men would enter with them: the GRBAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 189 remainder treated with contempt their re-iterated promises of high pay, rich land, and liberty. Courage is an inherent principle in Britons ; but courage alone will not make a seaman, if to know the duties of one, for the mere purpose of navigating a ship, requires some experience, how much more is required when a ship has an enemy to contend with. That she may ma- noeuvre with success, (a most important opera- tion,) the sails must be trimmed with the utmost nicety ; and hot a moment lost in looking for a rope, or considering what to do. Great judg- ment and presence of mind is often necessary," to repair a temporary damage by shot, or delay the fall of a tottering mast* A proficiency in all this constitutes the able seaman. Others of the crew are required at the guns. There stand men who, every one knowing exactly what he has to do, load and fire their gun with quickness and precision. Here stand men who, except a few, mere novices at the business, are looking upon each other for instruction ; and, when they have succeeded in loading their gun, nine times out of ten, discharge it at random. »' - r- About forty or fifty of the Java^s men had seen service ; and, no doubt, were tolerable sea- men. At the head of these, was the gallant- boatswain; and among them, were many who eheered, while having their wounds dressed in the cockpit. But the remainder consisted of 190 ftkVAL orcvRttftircii MsTwiBur :!.fi newly *{>rc88ed landimen, or of ill-dispoMMl, weaklj bandt; the refuse of other ships. As to her sopernumenuriesy they, as stated before, were chiefly BNiriiie-society lads; rather an incum* brance» than a use, on board a ship of war. Du* ring the few weeks that intervened between the manning, and the capture, of the Java, ditciplin* ing theoiew at the guns was, in a manner, pre* vented, bjr the lumbered state of the ship. The miirines of the Java were not mnoh ern^ ployed itt the early part of the action, owing to the distance maintained by her opponent ; and towards the last, the ship's dismasted state con^ fined them toi her decks. Of the 34 marines there stationed, '^ 18,'' says the officer commanding thopi, ** w^re yety young recruits; the rest had been to sea before." Of what use are marines, acting ai sUch, unless good marksmen? A musket-htillet will not peHbrate a ship's side* To readi the enemy, (from the level of the deck, at leasts) it must catch him at the fleeting mo* ment of exposure ; as he hastily ascetids the rig- ging, or incautiously shews his head above the bulwarks. — Can *' very young recruits" hope to succeed at this? The Java's gallant commander, previous to his leaving Spithead, made several applicaticos for a more effective and better disposed crew ; fore- seeing, as he did, the probability of falling in with one of the lai^e American frigates. He was and €»BAT BRITAIN AND AMBRICA. 101 WM reminded of tke dHRctiltj of proouring men ? and told, that mi East India foyage would make seamen I The Java, thai manned, lefit England on tli« 13th of November ; and the official account of the Guerriere'e capture had reached tlie admi-' ralty mnce early in October. Let him who may think there was, at this time, in the British- navy^ a scarcity of frigates of ttie Java'ft clase, turn t6 the list for November, 1812; where he will per* haps be surprised to see, among the ship» in or* dinary, the fine 24-pounder frigate Endymioa ; , a ship as nearly e(|nal in force to the American frigate Constitution, as any Britoi^ could wish. - True, the EndymioB, accerding to the papers laid before parliament, in February, 1815, wtd ordered to be fitted in <*July, 18111;'' but sh^ was not got ready till the <' 18th of May, 1818.'* 9' Doubtless, a voyvge to the East Indies alid , back, with occBsional drilling at the giins^^ wmddha^e greatly idtered the character of tki^ Java's men ; and, had the Constitution then met .^ that ship, even witliout her^iinety seven paseen^ gers, the disparity iti force would not have been ^ so great. .^ With the change of the Constitution's com-* mander, a slight cbange occurred in her arma* ment; a single shifting 18-pound carronade having been substituted for two of her 338. This . shifting carronade she fought on either eide^ 9: i i . Si hi ; m ■ ik f ' !■■! ^il ' II' m '■ I lll'r. 'if-- • n {.4 j^' I 1 : : 192 NAVAL OCCUR&ENCES BETWEEN Ihproiigh the gangway-port, the same as the United States. (See p. 160.) A& a proof that the American commanders had the privilege of al- tering, in some degree, the armaments of their respective ships, the *' Report of a committee" on th^ American naval estabtishment, dated in January, 1B14, contains the following, as one of the "causes of the abuses complained of:'^ — VThe great latitude allowed commanders, in altering, repairing, and furnishing their ships." With the exception of the 18-pound carronade, considered probably as a boat-gun, the " Sketches pf the War" gives a similar account of the Con- fititution's force to that contained in Captain Chads' statement. But, most unaccountably, accuses that officer of " largely overrating" the Constitution's force. ** He reported,'' says the editor, *^ her force to be-rforty two long 24- pounders, sixteen carronades, 32-pounders, and one carronade, 18-pounder; being in all d9 guns."— Whence did the editor extract this ac- count ? Not an American newspaper that co- pied the letter, but gives, the lie to his assertion. , The Constitution, having none of her men absent in prizes, had on board her full comple- ment ; which, according to the statement of her first lieutenant, consii^ted of 485.. Admitting the regular establishment of the American 44- gun frigates to be no more than 475, *' the great latitude allowed the commanders in furnishing 'i GREAT BRITAIitr AND AMERICA* 103 ftlieir ships/^ enabled them to take on board supernumeraries; and the Guerriere's cap- ture, and Commodore Bainbridge's interest at Boston, gave the Constitution, among the seamen, ai decided preference. Only one boy was seen on board of her, and he was 17 years old ; older, no doubt, than half the Java's marines. However, to avoid as much as possible an over-estimate, the Constitution's complement, on commencing action with the Java^ will be considered as 477 men, and 3 boys. Some of the former had belonged to the Iphi- genia ; others to the Guetriere ; and 40 or 50 were recognised as English . It need hardly be addedy that the men, generally, were prime seamen; and the crew, altogether, a remarkably fine one. The Java, as stated before, was originally a French ship. She measured as follows :- — , :Vfiih 'Mil 'l«V->in. in,^ Length of lower-deck, from rabbit to rabbit> 152 of breadth, extreme, „ ^.;S9 H^ So trifling is the difference in size, between the Java and the other two captured frigates, that a reference to what has already appeared on the subject of comparative dimensions, will fully suffice. The circumstance related about the slight effect produced upon the Constitu- tion's masts by the Java's shot, can be better understood, now that the relative stoutness of the two main-masts has been shewn. (See p. 112.) o 9 1 i ' ■A h T '/! i >! r : • ^1 f ^' y I'i; i'!:: 1:94 NATAL OCCURRENCES BETWEB1| Comparative force of the two ships. Java. Broadside-metal in pounds^ ] ' 5""'* f men, Iboys, 261 274 — 535 347 23 — 370 1073 Constltutiml. 384 370 — 754.^ 477 3 *» — 480 1533 • Complement^ Size in tons, ; The only material difTerence obserrable be* tween the comparative force in this action, and tlie Constitution and Guerriere's, is, in the. corkplement ; but, when we consider that the; Guerriere's was an old, the Java's a new ship's company, with a much greater proportion of boys than appears in tbe above statement, that difference becomes merely nominiil. Taking into view the loss and damage sus- tained by the Constitution, and the obstinate defence of the Java, against so superior a force, such as may have been disappointed at fhe result of the other two frigate-«ictiOns-.with the Americans, will not deny, surely, thtit; in this of the Java and Constitution, the honor of the British flag was nobly maintained. ;i HiBefore quitting the Java entirely, it will tend to illustrate the subject, t6 bestow a few obser- vations upon the action between H.M. S. Amelia, Captain Irby, and the French frigate l'Arethuse» This action was fought on the night of th^ 7th of February, 1813, off VUks de Los, on tb^ ^.s ■^ :; ■ i ORJBAar. BBlTAiN AND AMBEICA. 105 Africatl 0Q4st. Caplain fiouTet^n btitcial accoiint has been received in England,, and a tmnslatiott of; it has app^^red in print. (Nav/ iChrotii^ vol. xii^i p. 293.) 1 The British and Frendh i»c»> dounts agrfee as to the time whentheaetion com-^ menced, but differ % trifle as ta the period of its duratiob : the meftn of the two fteedunts ^iLeh^ ^is at 3 hours and 26 minutes ; very little short of the Java's. As to the manner in which the action terminated, the two commanders d^Dsr materiallj. Ciiptain Irby says :— ** She (I'Are- thuse) bore up, having the adTartage> of being able to do so^ leairing us in an ungovernable state/^-4-Captain Bouvet fe^ :— '* We were no lon'gerin good condition, and theeneiny^ oroud- ing all sail, abandoned the field of battle to u8."-^It may be cor' ^1 ** o 3 '. I ■ J>''.' H ; :■ '( ■ / 1 ' ! ■ : ^■ i 1 . f^ r ' i Tr » •i {: P'l.. I ( 196 NAVAL OCCURRENCCS BETWCfSV * It is due to the veracity of a British officer to state, that " Captain Irby, in his dispatch to the admiralty,*" does.no/ mention PArethuse's con- sort, le Rubis, '' as being in sight just before the commencement of the action/' (Naval Chron. vol. xxix. p. dS3.) On the contrary, after detailing the proceedings of the 6tb, he says :•— '^ And the next morning, one of the frigates (I believe VArethuse) was just visible from the . The Amelia's armament was the same as the Java's. The British officers who were on board I'Arethuse, state that her main-deck guns were French 18s, not '' 24-pounders," as Captain Irby had been informed. The caliber of her carrOnades was not known. The carronades of la Traave, a fine44-gun frigate, captured in Oc* tober, 1813, consisted of sixteen IS-pounders.-— Admit I'Arethuse to have had the same ; and, adding one-eighth for the difference between French and £nglish caliber, her broadside- weight of metal would amount to 445 pounds ; but, as I'Arethuse's carronades may have been 24s or 32s, it is fair to consider the two ships as equal in guns, or broadside-weight of metal. ^ . The Amelia, like the Java, had a number of supernumeraries on board ; but, owing to the general sickness of the men. Captain Irby says: — >** We had barely our complement fit for dui^ , and they much enervated.'' A sickly old, and '* healthy, n^w ship's company, are about equal «( it ■ IT GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 197 in effectiveness. Captain fiouvet admits that he had in the action, an officer and boat's crew^ of le Rubis : say, in all, 340 men. Three dajs after the action, he took out of a Portuguese prize, in which the cUptain and crew of le Rubis had embarked after she became wrecked on the 6th, half that ship's complement; and the offi- cers of the Java have stated, that I'Arethuse had, when they fell in with her, about 400 as fine seamen as ever sailed out of France, ' L'Arethuse, therefore, was not filled with con* - scripts and raw hands, in number crowding each other ; but had a fair complement of experienced seamen, and good artillerists. Captain Bouvet particularly designates one of her officers as-—* * *' corpora] of marine-artillery." f Referring to the relative numbers of killed on board the Amelia, and even the Macedonian ^ instead of the Java ; and taking into considera- tion the decided superiority of the Macedonian's antagonist, and the equality in force between the Amelia and I'Arethuse, we cannot but see how. greatly the French crew excelled the American, i in the *^ precision of their fire." (App. No. 19.) Nor did Captain Irby's men perform badly ; as the killed of I'Arethuse sufficiently testify. The Amelia, like the Java, had been a French J ship, (la Proserpine,) and measured within » few tons of the Java ; and, as if still to continue the similitude, Captain Bouvet stated I'Arethuse ,f,' 'li hi * ^ i-i I f ill ! I 1/ i 4 Ids NAVAL OCCURRBTfCES BETWEEN to be a sister^ship to la Renomm^e, taken in 1811; which ship, unknown to him, was th« tdenticalJava. ':ti«^J^» ^ it is blear that the French captain, when he engaged the Amelia, had heard nothing of tk^ Java's loss. Previous to his leading France, he very probably; had of the Guerriere's. Withoot consideriifg these things, the British journals Were declaiming, at a fine rate, about the mvi spirit infused into the French marine, by the success of the Americans, ^ ,..u. ■ a r-The action of the Amelia and I'Arethnse should h^ve taught the Americans, not to OT^rw fate their abilities ; not to deal so much in the bombastic, when recounting their ^' brilliatil exploits upon the water." They might httv^ g«eii that, had Captain Bouvet kept odf at filst, and tried to fall his adv^sary*s masts ; or tveti been provided with some of those curious shot that felt out of the Java's foremast, the Amelial would, in all probability, have beea his. But l*Arethuse approached boldly, within pistof^ sbot ; slaughtered more, but disabled less, tMm the Constitution. There was no mai^oeuviing to avoid close action ; no yawing awsiy in thd smoke ; no unusual shot employed ; no rifld«let$ /picking off the British officers:-*-*' all,-- sayii CaptaiQ Irby^ "fell by fair fighdnjr '* - .•i/»^»' :i-i- m Mi in Hi. j ''I i «1U:AT BRITAIN A.WD AM£RfOA. t09 4 i CHAPTER VIII. T3^ British official account of the Peacock and tJot' ^ n^t^s action not published. — American details of .-A it — Captain Lawrence* s time corrected — Peacock sinks^^PEspeigle not in sight — American print of the action — Peacock*s loss—rHome^s damages ^ and loss — Peacock's force in guns and men — I Hornet's force in guns— ^Complement fixed— ^ Relative size of the Peacock and Hornet fully ^ considered — Statement of comparative force— ^ |. Hornet's challenge to the Bonne Citoyenne-^ Captair^ Greene's reply — Unhandsome behaviour of the commanders of the Constitution antf ^^ Hornet upon the occasion* Of the action between H. M . late brig Pea«- cock, and the U. S. fihip Hofnet, no British official accoiiilt has bfeen published, f^ortu- nately, a gross misstatement which appeared an the subject; in the New York " Commercial Advertiser,'' of the 16th of April, 1813, called fbrth a reply, in the same public manner, from the Peacock's late first lieutenant. (A pp. No. 30. This counter-st^ement must serve, in lieu of a British official account, to contrast with th# ■ \ ■ f 'i''* 'Jf;? ff t h' r At -i ! dOO NATAL OCCURRBNOES BETWEEN official letter of Captain Lawrence. (App* No. 29.) The action was fought on the 24th of Febru- ary, 1813, close to the entrance of the Demarara river; and continued, according to Captain Lawrence, '* less than 15 minutes;" but, '^ by Peacock's time, for 25 minutes ;" when the Bri- tish vessel, being totally cut to pieces, and in danger of sinking, hoisted a signal of distress at her fore-rigging. Shortly afterwards, the brig's main-mast went by the boards As a proof that the Peacock could do no more, however well disposed her officers and crew may have been, she sank, in a few minutes after the action; carrying down, according to Captain Lawrence, thirteen of her own, and three of the Hornet's crew ; but, of the former, four were afterwards saved by the enemy's boats. Another four of the Peacock's crew took to her stern-boat, just as the action ended ; and arrived in safety at Demarara. ^ ' Captain Lawrence states that H. M. brig I'Espiegle was *' about six miles in shore of him ; and could plainly see the whole of the action." But Lieutenant Wright's letter is equally posi- tive, '' that H. B. M. brig FEspeigle was not visible from the look>outs stationed at the Pea- cock's mast-beads, for some time previous to the action." (App. No. 30.) A court-martial has since been holden upon Captain John Taylor, (( II ■ GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 301 of TEspeigle, at the instance of the admiralty ; and one of the charges was, for *' failing in his dutj, when in pursuit of the Hornet American sloop, after the capture of the Peacock." Of this charge he was acquitted. In the engraving of this action, given in the '' Naval Monument," TEspeigle appears scarcely two miles from the spot ; and, although the Pea- cock is represented with part of her hull under water, the remainder shews as many ports as she had upon her whole side ! « ' Captain Peake, the gallant commander of the Peacock, was killed at the early, not *' the latter part" of the action. She lost, also, four seamen killed; her master, a midshipman, the carpenter, and captain's clerk, and 39 seamen and marines, wounded; of whom three died, soon after being removed to the Hornet ; total 38. The damages of the Hornet are represented as trifling. One shot went through the fore-mast, and the bowsprit was slightly injured ; but her hull suffered little or no injury. The American* acknowledge a loss of only two men killed, and three wounded. ^ The Peacock was originally armed with 32- po'ind carronades ; but Captain Peake, consider- ing her scantling as too slight to bear them, got 248 in exchange. She had two long sixes instead of *' nines"; and, admitting she had *' a 12-pouiid carronadeon her top-gallant-fore;* r J ( 909 VATAL OCeURRBNCBS B£TWBEll castle/' and a swivel or two, it is denied %h^ sb^ kad *' one fqilr or six-pounder/' '• , r i*; i: The Peaeook had long been the admiration of her Bttinevous Ttaitoni, lor, the tasteful ar- rangement of her.dei^ki and had obtained, j^ consequente, the natue of tho yatfhtd The breechings of the earronndes were lined with white oaHvans; the fthoMocker^ shifted fronfi their usual places ; . and nothing could . exceed* tn briltiancjj the polish upon the traversing- bars and elevating screwy. If carronades, \^. general, as mounted in the British sei^vice, are liable to turn iiiTboiIrd or upset, what must hav$ been the state of the Peacock's ciun evades aftejr the first broadside?-^ The captain of VE^peigle^ attached to the same station, wa$j at his.conrtr martial, found gniltj of '' neglecting to exerr cise the ship's comptany at tlie greUt guns." — A single discharge frooi the Peacock's carironades, ill exercise^ .would have betrayed the very defec*- ttvie.stdte of their fastenings; and our feelings might then have found some: relief in the skilly lis well ns gallantry j etinced in her defence* Captain Lawrence says: — " 1 find, by her quarter-bill, that her crew consisted of 134 men, four of whom were absent in a prize." The Peacock's officers declare that she had, " at th^ lime she engaged the Hornet, a complement of 132 men and boys;" which, without the four men fbat were absent, was one above h^r established GREAT BRITAIH AND AMERICA. SR)^ number. Of these, iieveiiteen Were bojs. When we consider that the Peacock had been long on a West India station, it cannot be surprising, that the chief part of the crew were convalescents ; although it is so^ that she should have had her full complement on board. > '^ Recording to the British lieutenant's letter, the Hornet mounted eighteen carronades, 32- pounders, and two long O-ponnders ; but several American papers have stated her long guns as twelves. In fixing the Hornet's complement of men in the action, there will not be much difficulty. Lieutenaitt Wright says she had 170 men ; and that is noir known to have been the establish- ment, exclusive of supernumeraries, of United States' vessels rating, like the Hornet, of " 18 guns." Captain Lawrence states, that his master arid seven men were absent in a prize ; and that h0 bustered, on the day aftei^ the action, " 370 souls, including the crew ()^f the American brig Hunter, of Portland, taken a few days before by the Peacock," ■ i>*HK m^o ^' -It Was very kind of Captain Lawrence to give the number of souh mustered. Relying ufion that, the^ following statement will shew, clearly, that the Hornet must have had, in her action with the Peacock, 165 men ; making, with the eight absent, a complement of 173; supernumeraries included. '^ / i^ W ' ii n': '■ •I m S04 NATAL OCCURRENCES BETWEEN , Peacock's complement ofmen and boyi. Killed in action, and died after removing, 8 1 Drownedj Escaped in the boat. 9 4 — 21 Peacock's surviving crev7» , Brig Hunters ship's company, exclusive ) „( of master and mate, 3 f. Hornet's original complement, 173 Absent in a prize, ' '§' ■ ) . r'i I 101 t ^^*i*;^J^it< ;>■/» Present in action. Killed and died of wounds. Drowned, f I Hornet's surviving crew, 16^ 2 3 ^ 5 *> i\ «■' t?' 160 I i Number of souls mustered, 270 The Hornet had three lieutenants, a lieute- nant of marines, and a great shew of midship- men. Her crew were all picked men ; many of whom hiftd belonged to her from the time she was commissioned. No boys were seen on board, yet two will be allowed. The exclusion of all men *' on the sick list,'' in both crews, would be much more in favour of the Peacock than the Hornet. The Peacock was built in 1807; upon the same model as the Frolic, and all the other •REAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. doS British 18-gun brigs. Captain Lawrence, sen^^ Bible that the Peacock would not rise up from the deep to confront him, says: — ** I should judge her to be about the tonnage of the Hornet. Her beam was greater by five inches, but her extreme length not so great by four feet." fw The first question that arises is ; — if the Pea- , cock sank so soon after the action, that several men were drowned in her, what time had the Hornefs people to measure her length and breadth? — The dimensions which the Peacock's carpenter, if asked for them, could have fur- nished the Hornet's commander, would have been precisely the same as those which will be presently given. . By dint of a little scrutiny into Americaa statements, the dimensions of the Hornet can be obtained with tolerable a^^curacy. Captain Bid- die, who commanded her when, at a subsequent day, she captured the Peng^uin, the Peacock's sister-brig, stated his pri^e to be *' two feet shorter upon deck," and to have *' greater breadth," than the Hornet. Fortunately, the American officers, anxious to shew what an ex- i traordinary large brig they had captufed, pub- lishr'^ in a New York paper, the Penguin's . "length on deck," and ** breadth of beam;" making the former *' 110 feet," the latter '' 31 feet 6 inches." — llie absurdity of this will be shewn, when we arrive at the Penguin's action: ^ m I :i I 1 ;. ( I III [ I t I $ ': i^oe NAY At OCCUftBEVCES BETWEEN at present, th^ figores are ail we walit.*— The Hornefs " length on deck," then, is admitted td be 112 feet. Let us take Captain Lawrence's ff five inches" as theidifTerence between the Hor^ net's breadth, and the **31 feet 6 inches," stated to have been the Penguin's breadth; although the expression '* greater breadth" would almost imply, that the excess was so triflings as to be ii6t worth computing. ; This would give for the Hornet's breadth, 31 feet: 1 inch; on)y d inch^es inore than that of the Wasp ; a ship six, instead <^'^ two, feet shorter upondeok than the Hornet.^ 97?These dimensions will make the Hornet 450 tbns onlj; whereas, one of tl^ lieutenants of the late U. S. ship Frolic, who had served in ithe same capacity on board the Hornet, de-< fdribed her as very little inferior in size to the Frolic ; and she is 539 tons. 3i: Mi iw^ Dimensions of the two vessels. Peacock^ brig. Ft. In. Length of deck; from rabbit to rabbitj, 1 00 3 Breadth^ extreme^ 30 7 Homet^hip. Ft. 112 31 In. 1 (^4 „(« Some opinion may be formed of the stoutness of the Hornet's scantling by that of the Wasp ; (see p. 152 ;) and the former's masts and yards are described as very little inferior in size to thof$e of the late American ship Frolic ; now the Florida in our service. ^ « * l^c OREAT BRITAIN AND AMRRUCA* ^7 ^^^^'^'kT6mparativefdrde'^(tf the two vMieh4 > nfi J »««« , Feacock. Broa^side-iJnletal l long giim^^ ' ' ' '*^ in pouudsj, 1 carronades, ]r99 tho'agh iii relative br^adside-ttvetal, exabtly as 3 i6 2f;) Wei^ " teijiJally b^ched^"' imprbving iipcin this, the editor of the " Naval Monuf ment*' says, J)lumiply," the Hornet shivered her ^jl^en^or antagonist to atomsi*^ »^ >'f 'nU ir>ili brio *" Previous to his actioil ' with ■ the Peacock^ Captain Lawrence ' fo6k advantage df amother fortunate event th^ occurred to the Hometi H. M. S. Bonne CitojenUe, Captain Pitt B; Greene, with half a million sterling on board* which she had brought fVom Rio de la Plata, was lying in St. Salvador, at the time the U. S.ship^ Constittitibh and Hornet were cruizing oiF the port. A king's packet, bound to England, was also detained there, by the presence of those ships. ^^' 1 ^' The Constitution and Hornet anchored in the harbour; and their respective commanders were frequently at the house of Mr. Hill, the Ameri>- !:• '4 ^OB NAVAL OCCURRENCES BETWEEBT ifl '.*« it!' m !0' can consul; a man of notorious Anti-briiisti feelings. The nature of the Bonne Citoyenne's cargo was well understood by all the Uierchants (of which the consul was one) at St. Sialvador ; and both Commodore Bainbridge and Captain Lawrence, as professional men, knew that the British commander dared not engage in a diffe- rent service, from that upon which he had been ordered. < The consul, and the two American command** ers, laid their heads together, to contrive some- thing that, without any personal risk to either, should contribute to the renown of their com- mon country. What so likely as a challenge to Captain Greene? — It could not be accepted; and then the refusal would be as good as a vic- tory to Captain Lawrence. Accordingly, a chal- lenge for the Hornet to meet the Bonne Citoy- enne, was offered by Captain Lawrence, through the American to the British consul, Mr. Frede- rick Landeman. (App. Nos. «32. and 33.) ^ i Without making the unpleasant avowal, that his government had, upon this occasion, re- duced the vessel he commanded from a king's cruizer to a merchant-ship, Captain Green trans- mitted, through the consular channel, an ani- mated reply; refusing a meeting ^^ upon terms so manifestly disadvantageous as those proposed by Commodore Bainbridge." (App. Nos. 34. and 35.) Indeed, it would appear, as if thd re- GABAt BRtTAiN AND AMERICA. 009 coibmodore had pttrposely itiserted the words, ** or not interfering/' lest Captain Greene should, contrary to expr tation, have accepted the challetige. For, had the two ships met by agreement, engaged, the Constitution looked on " without interfering," and the British ship been the conqueror, the pledge of " honor" on the part of both American commanders, would have been fulfilled: and can any one, for a , moment imagine, \hat Commodore Bainbridge woulcl have seen the Bonne Citoyenne carry off a United States ship of war, without attempting her rescue ?---it was more than his head was worth.— Where was the guarantee against re- capture, which always accompanies serioui pro- posals of this sort, when a stronger force, belong- ing to either party, is to preserve a temporary neutrality ?->— Let the commander of the Monta« gue 74, have made the same proposal to the Hornet, pledging his *' honor not to interfere-;" and see, bow deservedly he would have been ridir culed,.uot by Americans only, but by the whole of his countrymen. Commodore Bainbridge, in his public letter, says: *' The Bonne Citoyenne is a larger vessel, and of greater force in guns and men than the Hornet." — She is, certainly, a trifle larger ; but, it is believed, mounted tlie same number and description of guns, with the addition of a boatcarronade. Her complement was twenty- p I'. I At. a,' li / i: m W Ml' il :ili I i ■: ;,j [iff f :M in' 1! fl ht \l •t 1 I L! dio NAVAL OCCURftENCes BETWEEN ■t five men le8» than the Hornet's ; but her crew had been exefcised at the guns, were well disposed, und commanded by a gallant officer. Captain Lawrence's boast of his having block* «ded the Bonne Citoyenne, and a packet, until the Montague chased the Hornet oiT, was well l»lculated to exalt him in the opinion of his friends ; but what assurance had Captain Greene, :^ that Commodore Bainbridge, as well apprized bf the Bonne Citojenne's destination, as of the nature of her cargo, was not cruizing in the t offing. The British ship would have been a rich t prize, indeed ; and her commander most justly laughed at, had he become the dupe of so shallow an artifice. The blockade of the Bonne Citoy« , enne and packet by the Hornet, was a fine sub- ^ ject fwr the painter. Accordingly, the " Naval Monument^' tx)ntains a clumsy wood-cut, repre- senting the transaction in all its brilliancy. That the American consul at St. Salvador ^ l^bonlil have been ungenerous enough to reduce a British ol^cer to the necessity of refusing, , under any circumstances, to meet a ship of his ^ own class, creates no surprise whatever. But who could expect that two national officers, sEiware of the delicate situation in which a bro- ther-officer, though apolitical enemy, was placed, would have urged the unhandsome request; jsiuch more^ have triumphed aver the answer^ wiijcji they,k|iew it wa9 his duty to give? ■ Jr^^fT-:'x\f^ GREAT BEITiLIN AND AMERICA; ftll CHAPTER IX. . ,j Shannon and Tenedos reconnoitre Boiton'-^Cheia* . pea^egeis in tmperceived — President and Con». V gress avoid ifie blockading ships, and fspape If / sea-^Captain Broke detaches the Tenedos-^B^ : cUves on hoard twenty two Irish labourera-'-'Chal^ i ienges the Chesapeake, and stands close in to t Boston light-house— Chesapeake sails out, u^tlA- . ^ut receiving the challenge — 7%€ two ships tfg* gage — Details of the uction^-American specta* tors — Lieutenant Budd's o^seial lett^r-^Sham I non^s damages and loss-^Chesapeake's also-^ j Shannon's force, in guns and men — America^ . method of computing a ship's complement*^Che^ sapeake's force in guns — Names of her guns — • . Dismantling shoU^Effects of her langri^ge om •; the Shannon's wounded^^Cask of limc'-^a curi^ \ ous case on the subject — Chesapeake^ scomph" merU'^Diffiadty of ascertaining it — The number fivfid — Quafity of the drew — American remark^ i thereon— Dimensions of the two ships, in hull , and sparp—StatemevU of comparative fqrce^^ ,. JHemarhs thereon. / . %' On the 3d of April, 1813, H. M. S. Shannon, 46, Captain Broke, accompanied hy the Tene« 40S4 46, Captain Parker, reconnoitered the har« p3 , ■ . If. I ih .9 ! 7 !■ i : X . m -A did NATAL OCCURRENCES BETWEEN' bour of Boston, and discovered lying there, the V. S. frigate Congress ready for sea, President nearly so, and Constitution under rt'pair. On the 13th, the U. S. frigate Chesapeake, Captain Evans, got into Boston, through the eastern parage, unperceived by either of the British frigates ; and, on the 1st of May, foggy weather, ami a sudden favourable shift of wind, enabled the President, Commodore Rodgers, and Congress, Captain Smith, to avoid the Shannon and Tenedos, and escape to sea. The American accounts say, with a very grave air, that the British frigates sailed from the coast, purposely to avoid the commodore. ^ Having ascertained that the Chesapeake would soon be ready for sea agaiii, Captain Broke, on the fldth of May, took a supply of provisions and water from the Tenedos ; and detached her, with orders to Captain Parker, not to rejoin him before the 14th of June; the earliest date, at which, it was considered, the Constitution could be got ready to accompany the Chesapeake, should the latter wait in port for that purpose. On the 26th of May, the Shannon recaptured the brig Lucy, and on the 29th, the brig Wil- liam; both belonging to Halifax. A meeting with the Chesapeake being now Captain Brokers sole purpose, nothing but the circumstance of those vessels belonging to the port of Halifax, could induce him to weaken the Shannon's crew^ ^ i GREAT BRITAIN AND AMBRIOA; !I13 ^ r by sendi tig them in. The master of the Lucy; and five itecaptured men-of-war's-m^n, took her in oharge; and a midshipman and ibupiof the Shannon's meh^ the Williamw ^ja^ni^ Am., w^a i .-On the afternoon of the 30th^t6e Shhnnon fell in with the British privateer-brigi^ $|r Johii Sherbrooke. This vessel had on board fifty two Irish labourers, taken three days previoiib oot of the captured American privateer. Governor Plnmer; which vessel had captured the ship Duck, from Waterford to Buriuy Newfoundllind ; having on board these men as passengers. The commander of the Sir John Sherbrooke had per- suaded thirty of the latter to join his vessel; and the remaining twenty-two were now pressed into the Shannon. i' 'i^j■ Early on Monday morning, Captain Broke addressed tO' the coinmanding^officer of the Chesapeake, a letter of challenge; which, for candour, spirit^ and gentlemanly style, hat rarely been equalled. (App. No. 36.) This let* ter was confided to a Captain Slocuni, a dis^ charged prisoner; who immediately departed in his boat for Marblehead, a port a few miles north of Boston. At the same time, the Shannon, with c ■■<: V IS if M peak^i ^vte now seen tit anchor in President Roads, with royal yards across ; and apparently re^y for sea. She presently loosed her fore^top* sail ; and, shortly afterwards, all her top«>sails, mmI «bl»ct«d th^^m hoibe. But, from the wind be!H%i perfectly fair, and the ship Aot getting under way, the Shannon's people began to fear that she was not inclined to come out. dm\i •ir'jH->rf : The Ch^apeake cameddwn upon Ibe ^haiif noa's starboard-quarter, with threci ansigns fly-* ing : one at tbe mizen-royal-matt-head, one at the peak, and one in the starboard-main-riggmg* She had, aiiM), ilying at the fore, a hrge whiti^ flag, ittsGiibed with the words; — '* Frbe tra.db And SAiiLORs' BieHTS;" — apon a supposition, perhaps, that that favorite American motto ivonld paralize the efforts, ot damp the lergy, ef the Sbsinnon's men.^^The Shannon bad only an old rusty blue ensign at tbe peak ; nor was her outside appearance at all calculated to in* spire a belief, of the order and discipline that reigned within. Captain Broke thought, at on^ time, that the Chesapeake would pass tuider his stern, and engage hi«n upon tbe larboard^side ; he therefore onlered his mem,, a( she passed^ to lay down Hat, so as to ar'oid, in some degree;, the rakiog fire. But Captain Lawrenoe, either overlodking or waving this advantage, at 3Q minutes past 5, gallantly luffed up, within half-pistol-shot, upon the Shannon^s starboard (quarter. The Shannon's men had received orders, to fire as their guns would bear; and to aim prin* cipally at the. enemy's ports. The first and «3Bcond shot were discharged froin the aftermost 11 /■ t: 316 NATAL OCCURRENCES BETWEEN iK i - ■ i ^3r ■: t't i V H ■•■: :' I inaiii-deckguti,andquarter-deckcarronade;juKt as the Chesapeake, while rounding-to, brought her fore-mast in a line with the Shannon's mizen- mast. These two shot were distinctly heard before the Chesapeake commenced firing ; and, by the American account, both shot took effect ; killing and wounding several officers and men. The Chesapeake discharged her whole broad- side in return ; which was replied to by the Shannon's guns, as fast as the men could level them with precision. ■^-'- ; . In about seven minutes from the commence- ment of the action, the Chesapeake, having her jib-sheet and fore-top-sail-tie shot away, fell on ' board the Shannon ; the fluke of the letter's .waist anchor, (which, to assist in trimming the ship, had been stowed in the main-chains,) en- tering the former's quarter-gallery window. The shot from the Shannon's aftermost guns, now had a fair range along the Chesapeake's decks ; beating in the stern-ports, and sweeping the men from their quarters. The shot from the foremost guns, at the same time entering the ports from the main-mast aft, did considera- ble execution. 4* When about 10 minutes had elapsed, an open cask of musket-cartridges, standing upon the Chesapeake's ca|i)in-sky-light for the use of the marines, caught fire and blew up ; but did no injury whatever. Eren the spanker-boom, di« ORBAT BRITAIN AND AMBRICA. aiT tectljT in the way of the explosion, was barely singed. The Chesapeake's head had, by thi» time, fallen off; so that she lay close along- side the Shannon ; the latter's main^mast being^^ nearly in a line with her opponent's taiTrail . i i Captain Broke now saw that the Chesapeake's* quarter-deck division were deserting their guns^ He instantly called out— *^ Board !" and, ac» companied by the iiret lieutenant and 20 men, sprang upon the Chesapeake's quarter-deck. Here not an officer or man was to be seen. Upon her gangways, about 30 Americans made a slight resistance. These were instantly driyen towards the forecastle ; .where a few endeavoured to get down the fore-hatchway, but in their eagerness prevented each other ; a few fled over the bows, and reached the main-deck through the bridle-ports ; and the remainder laid down their arms, and submitted. Between 30 and 40 of the Shannon's marines quickly followed the fir^c boarding party. These kept dotvn the men who were ascending the main^hatchway; and answered a spirited fire, still continued from the main and mizen tops. The Chesapeake's fore-top was, in the mean time, stormed by Midshipman Smith and his top-men, about Ave in number ; who either destroyed or drove on deck, all the Americans there stationed. This gallant young man had deliberately passed along the Shannon's fore- y r ;^il ■4- 118 NATAL OCCURABNOBfl BETWBBW wi\ n I Hi It }] •f ' ■ ! 11 lit* :•:■ i'^ f\ * JP yard, wbick was braced up, to the Chesapeake*!, also braced up ; artd thence into her tbp. After those upbn tbe ferecaiitle had submitted^ Captain Broke ordered one of his men to stand sentiy over them ; and sent most of the others aft^ where the conflict was still, going on. He was in the act of giving them orders to answer the fire from the Chesapeake's main-top, when, the sentry called lustily out to him. Qn turning round, the captain found hiouielf opposed by three of the Americans ; who, seeing they were superior to the British then near them, had armed themselves a-fresh. Captain Broke par* ried the middle fellow's pike, And woUnded him in the face; but itistatitly redeived from the man on the pikemam's right, a blow with the butt-end o^ a musket, ^hibfa bared his scull, and nearly stunned himL^ Determined to finish the British commander, the third man cut him down witb his broad-sword ; aad, at that very instant, was himself cut. down by one of the Shannon's seameh. Captain Broke and his treacherous foe now lay side by side ; each, afk* though nearly powerless, sirvggling to ivgaia his sword ; when a marine dispatched the Ame- rican with his bayonet. Captain Broke was not the only sufierer upon this occasion ; one of hijB men was killed, asid two or three were woimded. Can it be wondered, if all that were concerned in this breach of faith, fell victims to the indig- •^i- '■*-*;,• -\^ « • :'■ =i ORBAT 9KITAI1I 41fB AIIBBlCAi fll9 oatiop of the ShaDiion's men ? It was m itoucli a« their commander could do, to save from their fury a young midshipman, who, having slid down a rope from the Che8apeake*s fore-top; begged his protection. Mr. Smith, who had ahio descended fVom the fore-top, and a seaman^ were at this time helping the captain on his legs. The seaman, while tying a handkerchief round his commander's head, called Out, (pointi- ing aft,) — ^*' There, sir, there goes up the old ensign over the Yankee colours." The captain saw it hoisting ; and was instantly led to the quarter-deck; where he seated himself upon pne of the carronade-{didc8. ^ > - . ( The gallant first lieutenant of the Shannon was struck on the head with a grape-i^hbt from one of that ship's fore-mast guns, while in the act of hoisting the British colours over the Ante^ ricanw Another gun was discharged, un4brtu«> nately, before the otiicer commanding that di^ vision, knew of the Chesapeake's surrender ^ and three or lour o£ the Shannon's men shared the lamented fate of Mr. Watt, liesides several being wounded. f. Even after the British colours were flying on board the Chesapeake, some of her men ke|)t firing up the main-hatchway, and killed a Eri4 tish marine. It was then, and not till then, that Lieutenant Falkiner, who was sitting on the booms, very properly directed three or ibuf- /' r^ if !^ ill 'I hi ; t V ml 11 V i' i w ii iii 220 NATAL OCCtJRliENOES BBTWEBN muskets that were ready, to be fired down. Captain Broke, from his seat upon the carro- nade-slide, told him to summon them to slir<- render, if thej desired quarter. He did so: they replied-^'^ We surrender;'* and all hostility ceased. Soon after this, Captain Broke*s senses failed him from loss of blood ; and, the Shan- non's jolly-boat arriving with a supply of men, (the two ships having separated, owing to the Chesapeake's quarter-gallery giving way,) he was carried on board bis own ship. "* ■ Between the discharge of the Hrst gun, and the period of Captain Broke's boarding, 11 mi- nutes only elapsed; and, in 4 minutes more, the Chesapeake was completely his. Hundreds of spectators from Boston, and the surrounding neighbourhood, holding their watches in their hands, were astonished at the ^eedy termina- tion of the firing; and the fact of the Shannon's first lieutenant having been killed^by a cannon- shot, as he wiBs hoisting the colours on boaid the Chesapeake, clearly proves, that the firing did not cease till the very moment of victory. ' ^ V What a happy circumstance it was that, during the whole of this doubly-auspicious day, no British cruizer, public or private^ came in sight. If we except a very numerous assem- blage of American pleasure-yachts, and a few gun-boats, the two frigates had the offing to themselves. At about 8 o'clock in the evening, en th /•^ ' OREA.T BRITAIN ANp AMERICA. HHX the prisoners , being divided, and properly se- cured, the British ship, and her :fiiie prize, liient their course for (lalifax ; where they amved in perfect safety on the Sunday, ^flpwing ; being the fifth day after the action.; ■> .,;;/ /;,. ,v ., > n^ . The " Report of the court of. inquiry on.thf toss of the Chesapeake'' (^PP* No. 40) grounjds a string of suppositious upon '' the cantious manner in which the enemy c&joeon board.''— Had the court tried to invest its proceedings with an air of ridicule, could ;it possibly . have succeeded better, than by making such an as- sertion? iiBrn ' . Let us see how the editor of the *' Naval History" describes the boiarding-attempt. He says : — ** The bugleman, who should have caUed .the boarders, as ordered by Captain Lawrence^ did not do his duty. The Shannon had sus- tained, so n^uch injury, that her commander^ Commodore Brooke, was preparing to repel any attempt of boarding from theChesapeake ; but, at this monientiBippke, perceiving the havoc, bis iire had qi^asioued on the deck Of the Chesa- peake, jumped on board her with about 2Q men. They woiild soon have been driven back, but all the officers on deck were either killed or wounded. The second lieutenant, Budd, who commanded the first division below, led up th^ boarders ; but only 15 or 20 men followed' him. With these he defended the ship until disabled r-^ 4 i 1. ' I M h J Ktf ii|i «i: tdd «fAYAL OCCURRENCES BBTWEEBT by a lyyHiiid. Lieatenant La^ow, thoagli ^vottoded, honied on deck, where he soon re^ ceiTed a mortal sabre-wound; 60 additional men beidg^ thrown on board from: the Shannon, the crew of the Chesapeake, who had no ofiicer to direct and rallj them, were overpowered. The Chesapeake, however, was not surrendered by an act of submission, but was taken posses^ tion af by ft force that overwhelmed all opposi- tion." (N. Hist. vol. i. p. 205.) - ^^ Jumped on board her with about 30 men/^ — ^This is a specimen of the '* cautious manner'' in which the British boarded^ After confessing that *^ the crew of the Cheiapeake,'' then consisting of, at least, 340 men, quite un- hurt, '* were orerpowered" by 80 British^ Mr. Clarke gravely adds :-^** The Chesapeakej how^ ever, was not surrendered by an act of submisi- sion, but was taken possession of by a force that overwhelmed all opposition'' \ '^ Aware of this inconsistency in Mr. Clarke's statement, the *' Sketches of the War*^ makes the 80 British ** 200." The same work assures its readers, that Captain Broke bearded, because he was <* apprehensive of the Shannon's sink- ing'* ; and ascribes the Ckcsapeake's not captur- ing her ** superior enemy" to the blowing up of the arm«chest. '< Mr. Budd, the Chesapeake's second lieutenant, iia^^ made his official letter nearly as short as M n OHBAt BRITAIN AND AMBftICA; ^fi3 die actibn. (App. No. 30.) H« givei bolli ** A, Ms. an^ '* P. Ms. before the oombat began ; but, afterwards, finds it his interest to be less precise. His assertion that the arm'^ chest *' was blown up by a band-grenade thrown from the enemy's ship/' is ntterly false. No band -grenade whatever wa» thro>vn from the Shannon ; aithoagh she had on board about a dozen in all, Mr. Budd wrote his letter- fifteen days after the action ; and most have made tho assertion, knowing it to be false. It is proba- ble, he to<^ the hint from the paragraphs about the *^ infernal machine/' ^. contained in the Boston papevs describing the action ; which pa- pers had* reached llalifax about two days before tbe dateof his letter. ^' The <^ court of inquiry'' makes a fine story of th4 firing down the hatchway. Not a word is there of the '^ magnanimous conquer^ foe'* having fired from below, in the first instance, and killed a British marine. Captain Broke will long have cause to remember the treatment he experienced firom this ** magnanimous con- quered foe.*' So far, indeed, from the conduct of the British being *' a most unwarrantable abuse of power after success," Lieutenant Cox 0f the Chesapeake, in the hearing of several English gentlemen, has since admitted, that he owed his lile to the forbearance of one of the Sbamnon's marines. When the American officers i ■ . J - • ^ P y ;^^. I *■• ? f 1^ »» dd4 NAVAL OCCUAREMCES BBTW££N 1 ^ ■' i- 1 ['4 i ; < f •M »i - i ', - « I } 4 ' / li ' hi <{ |, i 1? !! < > . '} ^''i J i ■ ■f .f l^,. ■ l!( 1 , i If ' H ' 1 jL, arrived on board thie Shannon, attd soque of them were finding out reasons for being ;*V taken so unaccountably/' their first lieutenant^ Ludlow, a gallant officer, and who fought hard in repeU ling the boarders, readily acknowledged^ th^% the Shannon had bieaten thiem heartily vnkd/airfy; >; Five shot passed through the Shannon; one en)y oelow the main-deck: several struck^ and most of them lodged in the starboard side, ranged in. :a line just; above the copper. A long iron bar was seen sticking out of her copper. Until her shot-holes were stopped, th<3 Shannon ms^de a good deal of water, upon the larboardi taotk; but, upon the other, not mOre than usual. The ^V Report'^ actually states, that the Shannon ** was reduced almost to a sinking cpndition.'' The Shannon's fore and main^rmasts were slightly injured by shot; her bowsprit* previ- ously sprung, and mizen-mast were badly wound- ed. No other spar was damaged. The Shan- non carried a pole mizen top-mast; which, from its shortness, may have given rise to the assertion* among the boat-spectators, that her '^ mizen- royal-mast was shot awiay.'' The' Shannon's rigging was very slightly injured. Notwith- standing these facts, the " Report" states the Shannon to have been *' much cut in her spars and rigging." ^ . The Shannon, besides her first lieutenant) lost the purser, captain's clerk, SlO seaiiifi« mjariafs* :1J OliteAT BUlTAtN AND AMERICA. 5235 atad ftupernumeraries, and 1 boj, killed; her: commander, boatswain, a midshipman^ and 56: seamen, marines, and supernumeraries, wounded ; of whom 24, including the captain and boat- swain, (the latter since dead,) were severely wounded ; total killed and wounded 83. Three of the Irish supernumerarie.s fell in the action. To say that these rough sons of Erin, amidst the- new and awful scene they were exposed to, be- haved gallantly, would be superfluous, consi- dering the land they came from. Perhaps their native valor received a slight stimulus, from the harsh treatment they had experienced, while on board the American privateer. The- Chesapeake was severely battered in her hull, on the starboard quarter particularly. A = shot parsed through one of her transoms; (equal in stoutness to a 64-gun ship's ;] and several shot entered the stern-windows* She had two main- deck guns, and one carronade, entirely disabled. One S^'-pound carronade was dismounted ; and several carriages and slides were broken. Yet, says the " Report," — *' the Chesapeake was com- paratively uninjured." Her three lower-masts, especially the main and mizen-masts, were badly wounded. The bowsprit received no injury; nor was a spar of any kind shot away. Her lower-rigging and stays were a good deal cut ; but neither masts nor rigging were so damaged, that they could Q ' !. fat t, Iff;' -Pi a26 NAVAL 0CCURRENCB8 VXTWJBSN not have been repaired, if necessary, without going into port. ; Dreadful was the slaughter on board the: Chesapeake. She lost her master, a lieutenanlb^ of marines, 3 midshipmen, and at least 56 petty- officers, seamen, and marines, killed ; her gallant commander and first lieutenant, also her second^ third, and fourth lieutenants, 4 midshipmen, and 106 petty-officers, seamenand marines, wounded ;( of whom, Captain Lawrence, Lieutenants Lud-' low and Brome, one or two midshipmen, and) several of the men, died of their wounds: totals killed 61 ; wounded, (some of them very slightly,) i 115; which comprises every one that reported: himself to the Shannon's surgeon, three days after the action. This makes the gross number of killed and wounded amount to 176. The Che-, sapeake's surgeon^ without, of course, noticing the very slightly wounded, writes from Hali- fax : *^ The whole number killed and wounded is estimated at about 160 to 170.'^ Lieutenant) Bndd (without, it would appear, havingp. any,r muster-roll in his possession,) gives the names of 47 killed, and 99 wounded. As the Americans talked much of an *' explosion/' the Shannon's surgeon was directed to examine their wounded : i when he could find only one man at all burnt;: and that was by the bursting of one of their .^ powder-horns at a forecastle gun ;-^ar enough from the Txplosion upon the quarter-deck. Afttrt Mr: Clatke has told ud of tbe Shafrindn's '* destructive broadsides/' and of^ three tnen be<* ing silocessiVely shot front the Chesapeake's whe^l, he adds: — ^*» The Chesapeaike had evi- dently the advantage.—- The gr^atei* part of the Atdericans were killed and wounded by the IBiritish boarders. The loss of the Shannon was piriticipally occasioned by the cannon of the Chteapeake."— And the " court of inquiry" has decreed, '* that the fire of the Chesapeake was much superior to that of the Shannon'' ! ^ The Shannon mounted twenty eight' long 18- ponnders upon the main-deck ; upon the quar- ter-deck, twelve carronades, 32'poanders, two long 9-pounders, a 12-pound launch carronade through the fore-most starboard port, and a Idng brass 6-pounder through the opposite one; alsb tSifti additional 12-pound carronad^s through' the stei^-poHs ; and, upon the forecastle, four can^otiades, 32-pounders, and two long 9-pound- ers; total, as the **Iteport" says,-^** 52 carriage gtnti:" besides a small swivel in the fore, and another in the main-top. The two stern-chaso catrotiaides had l^een frequently placed in the hold; where, as they were utterly useless in the broadside, and yet encreased the ship's nominal force, they had much better have remained. The Shannon, although she had, in all, 52 guns, (and those of five different calibers,) mounted, there- q2 / mm^ 338 NAVAL OCCURRENCES BETWEEN A M m- :r ■.■*i fore, no more than 35 guns upon her broadside, including her boat-gun. Captain Broke, in his letter of challenge, says, ** The Shannon mounts twentj-ibur guns upon her broadside, and one light boat-gun ; 18-pound- ers on her main-deck, and 33-pounder carron- ades on her quarter-deck and forecastle.^' If there is here any variation from the fact, it is that, instead of having, without her boat-gun, an upper broadside-battery of all *' 33-pound- ers,'' as the statement implies, the Shannon had, among them, two 9-pounders. Yet the editor of the American *' Portefolio,'' has had the assur- ance to complain of Captain Broke, for having «* under-rated his ship's force.'* The Shannon went into action with 376 offi* cers, seamen and marines, of her proper com-^ plement, 8 recaptured seamen, 33 Irish labour-, ers, who had been but forty eight hours in the ship, and 34 boys ; of whom about 13 were un-, der twelve years of age. 1 he. Irish supernum^-, raries had never been at sea, till they took pas- sage in the Duck ; ami only four of themi could iqfteak English. We must, however, add them to the Shannon's complement; which they there- fore swelled up to :i30. The Shannon's complement having been ori- ginally made up of draughts from di^erent ships, the men were^ at firbt^ very quaireibome among !!! GREAT BRITAIN AND AMBRIOA. 339 >»* themseWes; but Captain Brokers judioious plan ^of discipline, aided by his fatherly conduct, toon teconciled all parties, and made them, what in truth they were, a fine ship's company. The first Halifax account of the action esti- mated the Shannon's full complement at 336; including, by mistake, the midshipman and four men sent away in the brig William ; and who had re-joined their ship, upon her arrival in Hali- fax. Now that fact is explained, we have another instance of correctness in Captain Broke's letter of challenge. He stated the Shannon's comple- ment to consist of *' 330 men and boys:'' — yety toy the Americans, " he under-rated his ship's force." Lieutenant Budd, in his letter, says: — *'The Shannon had, in addition to her full complement, an officer and sixteen men belonging to the Belle Poule, and a part of the crew belonging to the Tenedos.'' (App. No. 39.) — It appears that Mr. Budd, while on board the Shannon, observed three or four of the seamen's hats with *' Tene- dos" written in front. I'his is easily accounted for, when it is known, that the two ships had been cruizing together for three months ; and had, of course, kept up a constant intercourse by i>oats. Suppose the U. S. frigate Congress, of the same force as the Chesapeake, had, at a subse- quent day, sailed out from Portsmouth, N. Hampshire, to fight the Tenedos, (which ship. ■ !•■' ; ii ;- V, ,. )1 • )| if) ■ $90 N4VA.L OCCURRENOfiS BETWEEN fiipgljr, blockaded lier for some weeks,) such another acute observer as Mr. Budd would, upon fteeing some of the Shannou's hats on the sea- men's heads, have declared that the Tenedos had, 'fin addition to her full complement, a part of the crew belonging to the Shannon/'-^ Admitting, also, that seven, not '* sixteen,^' of the Shannon's men, originally came from the Belle-Poule, what had that to do with the Shan- non's complement in an action fought seven years afterwards? So that, all the draughted men a ship may receive on board, when manning for sea, are — **^ in addition to her full comple- ment."— The Americans have another curious way of computing the complements of firitish ships; best illustrated by an anecdote. An American prisoner on parole near Halifax N. S. had the following conversation with an English- man of the neighbourhood: — *' Pray, what may be that frigate's complement?" pointing to one that had just anchored. '— ** About 302." — *« What number of oflSicers has she?' — " In all, about 63."—** Marines?"—*' About 50." The American, then, after a short pause, turning to one of his countrymen present, says, — '* They tell us the British don't half-man their ships, but 1 guess, our government would not think of giv- ing to a ship like that, a greater complement than 415." — May not some calculation of this sort have been submitted to the '* court of ii\- OREAT tfHirAIN AlfD AMERICA. 231 i^diry on the loss of the Chesapeake"?— The addition of the "03 officers/' without the ** ma^ lines/' to the Shannon's *' 330 men and boys/' anionnts to very little short of *' ^96;" the num* bet a^ppeatirfg in the '' Report,'' as the Shannon's Complement. . . After a wtiter in a Boston newspaper has in^ sisted, that the " native Americans*' on board the Chesapeake fought like heroes, and that the British part of the crew behaved treacherously, be very naturally asks — ** Can any of your cor*- respondents inform us, whether any Americans were on board the Shannon ?*' — Yes ; there were ) some, — ^in her hold; though not so many, by i^everal scores, as were in the Chesapeake's hold, in & very few seconds after the Shannon's 20 boa/ders sprang upon her quarter-deck. The Chesapeake mounted twenty-eight long IS-pounders upon the main-deck; sixteen car-f ronades^ d2-pounders, upon the quarter-deck; four carronades, 32-pounders, and a long Im- pounder, shifting gun, upon the forecastle. Such an upper battery is possessed by no 18- pounder frigate in the British navy. The Chesa- peake hady also, a 12-pound carronade ; but it is doubtful whether or not it was mounted in the action. A very simple, and well contrived ele- vating carriage, and another for boat-service, belonged^ to it ; but the carronade itself, quite !»' / IV '1.1 1. 1 i: ■t -l '■' ■: (I IfT V! k 111 < I hi i' j r> m 4? St 333 NAVAL OCCUBRENCR8 BBTWBBN 11 *•' perfect, was found disnfiounted ; and will not bt eitimated. The Chesapeake's proper armament, therefore, consisted of -50 guns; although, in the action, she had only 49 mounted. Of these, she fought 35 upon the broadside; the same as the- Shannon. The Chesapeake had a spare port on each side of her forecastle, between the bow-port, and that through which she fought her shifting 18-pounder. , The Chesapeake's guns had all names, en- graven on small squares of copper-plate. To give some idea of American taste in these mat- ters, here follow the names of her guns upon one broadside : — Main-deck ; '* Brother Jonathan, . True Blue, Yankee Protection, Putnam, Raging .Eaglet Viper, General Warren, Mad Anthony, America, Washington^ Liberty for Ever, Dread- nought, Defiance, Liberty or Death,'* — Forecastle ; '*' United Tars,*' shifting 18-pounder, '* Jump- ling Billy, Batler," carronades. Quarter-deck; •** Bull'dog, Spit/ire, Nancy Dawson, Revenge, Bunker's Hill, Pocohantas, Towser, Wilful Mur- der,'* carronades; total 35. An immense quantity of the dismantling shot represented in the plate ; as well of single iron bolts, crow-bars, broken marline-spikes, . old iron, &c, were taken out of the Chesapeake. . The whole mass, weighing nearly half a ton, was sold at auction in Halifax; and the greater " I GEEAT BRITAIN AND AMBRIOA. part has long since been converted into hone- shoes, plough-shares, and other articles of inno- cent utility. A desire to torment, as well as to destroy, must have influenced the Americans; or why were the Chesapeake's canister-shot made up with p.agular and jagged pieces of iron, broken gun-locks, copper nails, &c. ? Many of the Shanion's men suffered extremely by being so wounded; especially, during the tedious opera- tion of extracting such abominable stujff from different parts of their bodies. Among the Chesapeake's small-arms, were found several rifle-guns ; an additional proof that the Ameri- cans use them in their sea-flghts. A large cask of lime, with the head open, had been standing upon the Chesapeake's fore- castle, but was knocked to pieces by one of the -Shannon's shot. A bag of the same was found in the fore-top. Long after the Chesapeake ar- rived in Halifax, the remains of the lime were to be seen about the forecastle. For what pre- cise use this lime was intended, has never been fully explained. The following relation of a • circumstance, which took place before the use . of gunpowder was known, may perhaps assist • the reader in his conjectures. *' The French having invaded England, (Henry dd, 1217,) Hubert de Burgh, governor of ^ Dover Castle, discovering a fleet of 80 stout / -«■■. 99i NATAL OCCURRBKCES BETWEVN PI *< i h. 111 ^:. I* m [•■■ m. t( i< ; < flUfra standings over to tli« Icooit of Ki^, pttt^ «ea with 40 ships^ aUdhaTiiig gained iShe wiad of them, ran down several of the smaller diips, and 'closing with the others, nal*^ among other excuses for the Chesapeake^s^ loss) contains- some very amusing remarks about •* the cowardice of some of the crew who were not Americans.''-^'* There at-e no better sailors in the world," says the A m#»rican editori ** than^ oilr own; and it seems }iard that the war should bO' carried on for noth'ng^ but' British sailors:^ rights, (!!) and that those same sailors bhould' desert us in the moment of conflict. Cowardice- is a species of treason. If renegado English- men are permitted to fight under our Ikig, it becomes prudent not to mix our own people with them to be destroyed ; — for, at the critical moment when the boarders were called for, the foreigners all ran be;ow, while not a natives American shrank from the conflict." Yet the ORBilT BEITAIN AND AMBBieA. 930 nlune of the poor panic-struck bugleman, '^ WiU liam Brown/' does not appear in the agent's *'-list of British subjects, late belonging to the. Chesapeake." As, then, William Brown, unless he had misnamed himself, was certainly not & Portuguese, Dane, or Swede, the inference is pretty clear, that he was a ''native American/'* Another Boston editor attributes the success of the boarding-assault to *^ the bugleui^an's^ being killed early in the action :*' when, a folL^ twelvemonf h aftewards, a court-martia}^ held at New Lond'jn, '* on certain persons, officers on*' board the U. S. frigate Chesapeake, at the time of hercs^tureby the Shannon,'' finds — ^** William Brown, bugleman, guilty of cowardice; and sentences him to receive 300 lashes." (Nav. Chron. vol. xxxiii. p. 70*) i The Chesapeake's crew were reBafarkiibly^ stout, healthy young men ; especially when con* ^ trasted with the Shaiinon*s; most of whom were- rather below the middle stature, and a great ^ proportion old or elderly men. As one proof f of stoutness in the Chesapeake^s men, the hand<^v cuffs that had been placed upon her deck, ready- to secure the British crew, as soon as the Shan** - non was captured, caused, when applied to ths^ wrists of the Americans, many of them to wince with pain. » It requires a stout heart as well as a stout body, to bear the brunt of a boarding-assault^^ &40 NAVAL OCCURRENCES . BBTWEBlT Meft may, as the '^Report'* says, *' behave well at their quarlersj and fire on the enemy withv great rapidity and precision ;*' but it is the per- sonal conflict, the glittering broadsword, bran- dished aloft, that tries a seaman's valor. ^^ The effect this had upon the Chesapeake's^ crew, is made one of the ^' causes of complaint'l^ in the said '' Report." Thus : '' Against the crew generally ; that they deserted their quar • ters, and ran below, after the ships were foul, and the enemy boarded." Mr. Clarke, feeling, it to be his province to rebut this serious charge, says: — ;'^ Her (the Chesapeake's) commander was but very slightly acquainted with his crew; the greater part of whom were new recruits." *' She, as has been already observed* was but an indifferent vessel, and at the moment the Shan-, non appeared, was not in, complete order for an engagement. But Lawrence had himself chal- ■ lenged a British vessejl ; the sight of one riding in defiance before him, was too much for his pride: to bear* . He, in consequence, put to sea on the l«t of June, having hoisted a white flag with ' Free trade and sailors* rights,* — >He (Cap- tain Lawrence) addressed his men ia a short discourse, but it was received with no marks of^; approbation. Discontent was apparent sjimong a part of the crew, and complaints were mut- tered of not having received their prize-money. The boatswain, a Portuguese, was the principal • n GHEAT BRITAIN AND AMldnldA. 5U1 instigator of this dissatiifiictioii. Lawrend«» unacquainted with his ctew, resolved to rdmove the cause of their complaint* He ordered the purser to ^ve prize-checks to those who had received none.'' (Nav/Hist. vol. i. p.205») It is evident^ that Mr* Clarke attributes Cap- tain Lawrence's "beitig but Very slightly ac-» quaidtedwith his crew/' to the greater part of them being *< new recruits*" — In the American naval service, men enliiit for two years, and sign articles, the same as' in the merchant-service. We have seen that, in 1811, the Chesapeake re'* cruited for, and no doubt obtained^ a comple-^ ment of 443. The men's tferms of service would have about expired in April, 1813, when the Chesapeake arrived from a cruize. An intelli- gent English gentleman was at that time a resi^^ dent of Boston ; and the nature of his pursuits gave him a full opportunity of witnessing the manning and equipment of the United States' vessels then iu port. He declares that the greater part of the Chesapeake's crew, as was Very cus-> tomary in the service, re-entered; that) to fill up her complement, four houses of rendezvous were opened ; that the moment a man declared himself a candidate, he received a dollar, and accompanied an oiSioer to the ship; where he was examined as to his knowledge of seaman- ship, age, muscular strength, &c. by a board of officers, consisting of the master, surgeon, and R «# * I ♦^ • 04^ NAITAL OfiCVSLRWiQm BI^T^WIfSN if Qlhera ; that, i^ 4ppfo^, be signed th« $jrti- dcNi, and remained wheie be wa^ ; if i^ti^Qt^ returned bome vitd a. doUair iiv liit pocket ; tbat ^re^uentlj, 04it o^ five Uoal-loads oif men tha^ would go off to the sbip, in the eeiafi^ oH the day, three would come, back, not eligible. So much for Mr. Clarkei's <* new r6cr«ite.'^^^Tbe features of the American war Would have borne a yerj diflTerent aspect, could British ships have been manned in a similar way. During her last cruize the Chesapeake sent itt one prize, the Volunteer, '* said to be worth 150,000/. sterling." — It could, therefore, he only among the men who. belonged to her in that for- tunate cruise, that *' complaints were muttered of not having received their prize-money." And how could Captain Lawrence better " re- move the cause of ^leir complaint,'^ than by ordering *' the purser to give prize-ohecks to those who had received none" ? AU this clearly shews, that the nuyority of the Chesapeake's crew were the same she had been manned witlp since 1811 ; and, from the fastidiousness of her officers in filling up the deficiencies, and t|ie fine i^spearance of the captured men, it is highly probable that the Chesapeake, under C^itein Lawrence, haid full as good a crew as ehe ever sailed with. a < ' Not a word is there in the ** Report" about ** new recruits;" but the s^me object is at> was. GftBAT VRITAIW AND AMERICA. 343 tempted bj a statement^ that *' most of the offi- cers bad recently joined the ship, some only a few days preceding the engagement/' — Captain Lawreiftce ai^rived in the Hornet, from a ornize, on the 39th of March ; and Mr. Clarke says he was, *' shortly after his arrival at New York, appointed to the Chesapeake.'' That ship, we have seen, arrived at Boston about a fortnight afterwards; and, therefore. Captain Lawrence must have taken the command of her, within a day or two of that period. He probably brought with him some favorite officers. The Chesa^ peake's regular first lieutenant, Mr. Page, was left on shore sick ; but still she had one lieu- tenant more than the Shannon ; and where was there a braver man, or better officer, than hei^ first lieutenant in the action, Ludlow? He, poor fellow, died a few days after he was brought to Halifax : previous to which it was hoped that his valuable life would be saved. Has Mr. Clarke the effirontery to call the boatswain a Portuguese? — ^The Chesapeake'9 boatswain was brought in, mortally wounded ; and his name in the agent's book, is, *' Peter Adams." He was boatswain of the Constitu- tion, when she took the Guerriere ; and so far from being a *^ Portuguese," or even a British^ subject, was a native American. Mr. Clarke says the Chesapeake *' was but an indifferent vessel."-— ^Wouldibis government, had R 2 /■ .;■ « 5 . -; "' 1 ffl 344 NAVAL OCCURRENCEti BETWEElT ■r that been the case, have expended 150,000 dollart, pnljr a few months before she was captured, in thoroughly repairing her? — Captain Evans, in a letter to the secretary of the navy, gave the Chesapeake a very high character ; and the cap- ture of the Volunteer, was considered to have wiped off the " unlucky" from her name. Her men, therefore, would naturally be stimulated to make more " prize-money ;" and (what glee they must all have been in !) the very object of their wishes, ** the finert ship of her rate in the British navy," was beckoning to them to come and take her. According to Lieutenant Budd's letter, the Chesapeake *' proceeded on a cruize, a ship of war in sight, believed to be the British frigate Shannon." — Is Mr. Clarke aware of the re- sponsibility he attaches to Commodore Bain- bridge, the naval commanding-officer at Boston, by declaring, that the Chesapeake *' was not in complete order for an engagement" ?-— Fortu- nately for the commodore, it is too well known that, however different may be the case with British, American ships of war never *' proceed on a cruize," in ordinary cases even, till per- fectly ready. It is known, also, that their men are drilled at the guns, in harbour as well as at sea : consequently, they cannot be out of practice. The Shannon was built at Chatham in 1806. Two Shannons had previously been lost. One, GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 245 a 32-gun frigate, was built in 1796 ; and lont by shipwreck, in 1800. The other, of 30 guns, was built in 1803 ; and, in the same jear, struck the ground in a gale, and was wrecked under the batteries of Cape la Uogue. The seamen, in consequence, applied the term " unlucky'' to the present Shannon ; and she was not manned without the greatest difficulty ; and then only, by draughts from other ships. The fact of the Chesapeake, also, having been denominated ** an unlucky ship," is a strange coincidence. The Chesapeake was built in Norfolk, Virgi- nia, in 1797 ; and cost 320,677 dollars, 80 cents, or 61,209/. 8s. sterling. The American papers, announcing her launch, highly commended her model, strength, and workmanship. Dimensions of the two ships. Shannon. Qtesaf] teake. Ft. In. Ft In. Length of lower-deck, froml rabbit to rabbit, J 150 2 151 Breadth, extreme. 39 n| 40 11 Depth in hold. 12 11 13 9 Main-deck beams, ^^^^>orstded 1 * I deep, or moulded, Q 11 1 1 3| Main-mast, | !?"«*; * (.diameter. 92 2 3^ 93 2 4 6 M.in.u,p.,„..t, {^^i„^ 55 2 1 41 58 1 10 5i **"-^'-' ISjer. 81 6 1 7i 84 I 9 7| M.i„-,op.«il-y.rd, {J«;£J4,^ GO 9 1 Of 65 1 8 1| /M i j! 246 NAVAL OCCURRENCES BETWEEN '•n \t appears, therefore, that whatever difference existed between the two shipii, in point of size, was ill favor of the Chesapeake; yet the Ameri- cans would have had us believe, that the Shan- non was by far the larger ship. The Shannon is constructed somewhat differently frpm the Macedonian and her class, in having seven, in- stead of eight ports of a-side upon the quarter- deck i which occasioned Captain Broke to fit up the two gangways as ports, for the reception of his boat-guns. The Chesapeake has eight ports of a-side upon the quarter-deck, the same as the President; and a much larger forecast^, with an additional port on each side ; which gives her, in all, the same number of broadside- ports as the President. This may account for the Chesapeake's having formerly rated of 44 guns. Previous to her capture, the Chesapeake had undergone a very complete repair: since which she has returned from a long cruize off the Cape of Good Hope ; and although, as Mr. Clarke says, *' the worst ship in the navy of the United States,'' is now considered as one of the finest frigates of her class in the navy of Great Bri- tain. Mr. Low, the editor of the '* History of the War," was too well versed in figurative lan- guage, not to be ready with the very best anti- them to his friend's description of the Cbesa* peake. He therefore clills the Shannon — *' the best frigate in the British navy .^' if :1* P tfllBAT SRITAIN AND AMRAIfA. C&if/kpafAtke force of the hint ships. 247 Shannon. Broadtidcmetoi in pounds, [ J.'^*;"*' ^^ Complement, Size in tons. f nieiii t boys. — 538 3X)C) 24 — 330 lOGO CtiesatMaVe. J«0 — 690 384 7 — 391 113^ rj Yet, says the <* R»^H,"— <* the capture of tile U. S. frigate Chesapeake, by the iupeirior fmree of the British frigate Shannbtl" !-— Bat in not this Itingttage quitte consistent vrith that ■Bed at the capture of our thl«e frigates? If the Shatinoa and Cheftapeake were adihitted, by Americans^ to have been equally matched^ it would be gifing the lie to all their former assertioni ; and hUi-ling a host of '* faeces" front the very pinnacle Of fatlie, doWn to the level of ordinary men. It was beneath the dignity of Ametricans, after having captured so many British vessels of *' superior ibree,'* to attribute their defeat, in the present initance, to a ** superiority of force". Therefore, the Shannon's ** superiority" appears rather as a collateral circumstance; While the causes of the Chesapeake's capture are asserted to have been, ** the almoEtt unexampled early fall of Captain Lawrence, and all the prin- cipal officers; the bugleman's desertion of his quarters, and inability to sound his horn.^* ■^'i§i^ Ml 348 NAVAL OCCURRENCES BETWEEN yi' r( ' ( I ^U That <* all the principal officers" fell early, is false. The first lieutenant received the wound that disabled him, while making an effort to repel the boarders ; and neither the second, nor third lieutenant, was wounded, till the board- ing took place. True, the Chesapeake's com- mander was mortally wounded. In how many of our naval combats with the Americans, has that happened to us ? In using the word/' unex- ampled," perhaps the court confined its view to what generally occurred on board American vessels: then, indeed, no one can dispute the correctness of the expression. The excuse about *' the bugleman's desertion of his quarters^ and inability to sound his horn," wae a proper topic for Mr. Clarke and Mr. Low to expatiate upon, but cuts a very ridiculous figure in the solemn decree of a *' court of inquiry." The court first duly arranges some i/s^proha' hl^Si and might haves^ and then designates the whole an *' almost unexampled concurrence of disastrous circumstances." Were any of the Chesapeake's masts shot away ? Did either of our three frigates surrender with their roasts standing P—But, says the " Report,'*—" if the Chesapeake had not accidentally fallen on board the Shannon, and the Shannon's anchor got foul in the after quarter-port of the Chesapeake, tht^ Shannon must have very soon surrendered or sunk." Falling on board is then a " disastrous GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 949 circumstance"? It may be so, in the opinion of Americans; but Britons always consider the event that enables them to grapple and man^ fully oppose their enemy, as a fortunate, not a '* disastrous'' circumstance. Nor, had the ships kept clear, would the Shannon *' have very soon surrendered or sunk." — It was in practical gun- nery, wherein the Shannon's men so greatly ex- celled the common run of British crews. lo bravery, all are alike. Had the Chesapeake hauled up sooner, and kept at long shot, she would also have found her match. Masts might have fallen ; encreased slaughter ensued ; and the action been protracted to the length of the Java's, still a succession of firing, such as the Shannon's was, must have given her the victory. Had the two ships been dismasted, the con- queror might have been compelled to leave his trophy behind ; nay, his own safety would have been hazarded. The action took place within easy signal-distance of Boston-light-house; and there were lying in Boston, besides the Consti- tution, several gun-boats, a brig, and some .'jchooner privateers. The wind was fair. Even the Constitution, half rigged as she was, could have come out to the Chesapeake's rescue ; and the gun-boats, already in the bay, might, with their long 32s and 24s, (the wind being light,) have considerably injured the Shannon, from the moment she became disabled. Or, suppose that, 1. • ! IH 050 WATAL OCOtiyiRBUCES BBTWBEN mi mi <> during tbe aotioii, the wind hadthopped rornid, Mid blown m gale frooi the seaward ; one ship woald have been in the Tery month of her own harbour; which) without a stick standings she might have reached in lafetj: the other, em- bayed^ and clapeake surrendered to the Shannon; the former having a'Jd, the latter but 307, hands on board, including a large propor- tion of boys. The truth in, the destructive fire of the Shannon came wholly unexpected. It appalled the mnjority of the Chesapeake's crew ; OaiAT BRITAIN AND AMIAIOA* Ml caused the men, at the *' Report" says, " almost universally to desert their quarters ;** and then the sudden appearance of Captain Broke and the boarders, made the Chesapeake an easy conquest. Although the Chesapeake's first lieutenant, at Halifax, two days before the appearance of uti* favourable symptoms, when his wotiiids were perfectly easy, and he had no apprehension of danger, said, in the presence of several gentle- men : — *' When I thought myself supported by at least twenty of the Chesapeake's creWf to Resist the Shannon's boarders, 1 found they had all run below r— -although the '^Report** has stated that even a midshipman *< left his quarters;" and has charged '' the crew generally, that they deserted their quarters;" — ^yet the court-*^*' can- not perceive, that the national flag has suffered any dishonor from the capture of the U. S. frigate Chesapeake'' ! Whatever ** superiority of force'' existed, was clearly on the side of the Chesapeake. As Bri- tons, that we scorn to estimate; and even the American star and chain-shot, and hogshead of lime, shall not be allowed to disturb the equality and fkirness of the action. But Captain Broke did something more than capture a frigate of equal force : he sought and commenced the at- tack, close to an enemy's port, filled with armed vessels; and then, beat his ship in eleven^ and captured her injlfteen minutes. / 9d^ NATAL OCCURRENCES BETWEEN 'ii'mt>f> <' ..<(* CHAPTER X. ■ j.T , R -■. fffK ,11! us Commodore Rodgerf^s account of his chase off the North Cape^^The chasing ships identijied as the Alexandria and Spitfire — Beneficial effects of i( Captain CathcarCs gallantry — Dominica falls in ^with and engages the Decatur — No British offi- cial account of the action — Enemy's details of it-'^Loss and force of each vessel — Statement of comparative force-'-Boxer encounters the Enter" prize^-^Details of the action — No British official ^ account — Damage and loss of each vessel — Their relative force, in guns^ men, and size — •American accounts — Statement of comparative force -^ Remarks thereon, \ i - X HE U. S. frigates President and Congress, , left Boston upon a cruize on the 1st of May.; The Congress parted company; and the Presi-^ dent, towards the latter end of June, put into Bergen, in Norway; whence she departed on the t2d of July. Commodore Rodgers, having, gained information, that thirty sail of whalers^ under the protection of two brigs of war, would^ be at Archangel in the middle of July, bent his course for the North Cape, in the hopes of inter- GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 053 ccpting them. The commodore cruized about, till the 19th of July ; when, just as he expected to fall in with the fleet, the President was chased from her cruizing ground by—'' a line-of-battle ship and a frigate.'^ — Here are the commodore's own words, extracted from his official letter, dated ** Newport, September 27, 1813/' '* In this object the enemy had the good for- tune to disappoint me, by a line-of-battle ship ,and a frigate making their appearance off North Cape, on the 19th of July, just aa i was in mo- mentary expectation of meeting the enemy's convoy. On first discovering the enemy^'s two ships of war, not being able, owing to the hazi- ness of the weather, to ascertain their chariicter with precision, I stood towards them, until mak- ing out what they were, I hauled by the wind on the opposite tack to avoid them ; but, owing to faint, variable winds, calms, and euiire day- light, (the sun in that latitude, at that season, appearing at mjtl^^tght several degrees above the horizon,) they were enabled to continue the chase upwards of 80 hours; during which time, owing to different changes of the wind in their favor, they were brought quite as near as was desirable. At the time of meeting with the ene- my's two ships, ihe privateer Scourge, of New York, which I had fallen in with the day before, was in company; but their attention was so much engrossed by the President, tliat they per* / i 1 -'1 ^1 ^^^^^H ^^^^^H ^^^P ^^ff iXgrf < ' ifi mi 1 J' P h 1 M ■] 1 i'li ii i^ i:. mu A i If' 1;*' • Hi'' 4UiA NATAI» OOCURRENCBS lETWBBIir mitted the Scourge to eicape, without ajipearing to taHe anj notice of her.*^ '^ ( ^TheaboYe *' Une^of^biUttle fthip and frigate*' wese no other than the Alexandria, an oM fir frigate, of the same armament and size ae the ScMithampton, (see p. 83,) and the Spitfire sloop, (formerly a fire-ship,) armed chiefly with d4- pound oarronades. It may, perhaps, afford some satisfhetion to those of the President's officers, who differed in opinion from the commodore, as to the character of the two chasing ships, to see an extract from tho Alexandria's log-book, commencing at noon, and ending at midnight, on the 10th of July. Courses. Dlst. Lat. Long. Bearings, &e. at noon. S.Ci^li:. 144 71" 46' 10»I9'E. N.CapeS.72 £.117 miles 1 S 4 Do. weather. At «. saw a sail 8 3 3 3 S.B.lj>E. to-windwacd { dbierved her to lie a frigate, aud a large tchooner ia coippaoy. 4 2 ■ 9 H S. hy £. VWe. 41 6. 40. wore. 6 2 4 6. tacked. 7 4 4 8 fi 4 9 i () VV.iN. 9. 9II aail io cbaic* 10, 1 6 11 1 6 12 1 6 19. tloop ia companj. Among the prisoners on board the President,, at the time of the chase, were tlie master and mate of the snow Daphne, of Whitby. Accord- ing to the Journal of these men, published in liliKAT VHITAIN AND AlfB|IU>A* «M tk9i newapi^rsy tbej, as wt 11 •• dmnj of the President's officers and m^in, vert cQnvincedUiat the chasing ships were a small frigate and a sloop of war. Thejr d«9cribe» io a. ludicfons numoer, the poeparatioot on board the President, to resist the attack of thitt formidable squadron. Davisg each of the three days, a treble allowaaioe of grog was served out to the crew ; and an ivur uiense quantity of star» chain, and other kinds of dismantling shot, got upo« deck in readinesa for the action. U appears, also» that when the Eliza Swan, whaler, hove in sights a lew dayt afterwards, she was supposed to be a large ship of war ; aD4 the ceremony with the gf og jmd dismantling shot was repeated* AAer a Yerj^ cautious approach, the commodore most gladly discovered the chase to be a clump of a mer- chantman, and made prize of her accordingly. It wa^i then, indeed, the Alexandria and Spit- fire, and not a line-of-battle ship and frigate/' that, for 80 hours, cliased the U. S« ship Presi- dent, Commodore Rodgers; and which were, al: one time, *^ quite as near as was desirable'^ ! The prom)>titude and gallantry of Captain Cathcart, saved a fleet of 30 ships; but, considering that the force of the Alexandria and Spitfire, united, scarcely amounted to half the force of the Pre^ sideut, without reckoning the Scourge, with 10 guns, and at least 120 men, it must be pro- nounced a very fortunate circumstance, that the :: i 4: / f' (Jl1( . t' I 'Hi ff '.t If •■» iil; dM NAVAL OCCURRENCES BBTWKfiN gt^es on board the President possessed sucli extraordinary magnifying powers. On the 5th of August, H. M . schooner Domi- nica, having under convoy the Princess Char- lotte packet, from St. Thomas's, fell in with the privateer-schooner Decatur, off the southern coast of the United States. After a contest of three quarters of an hour, during which the boarders were twice repulsed, the Decatur's *^ whole crew" succeeded in getting upon the Dominica's deck. Here a desperate struggle ensued^ and continued for several minutes : at last, the British crew were overpowered by double their number. No otiicial account has appeared in ihe Gazette. The following details are extracted from a Charleston paper. ** A third aitempt was made by the captain of the Decatur to board. The jib-boom of the Decatur was run into the main>sail of the enemy. The fire from the artillery and musketry was terrible, and well supported on both sides. The Dominica, not being able to disengage herself, dropped along-side ; and it was in this position that Captain Diron ordered his whole crew to board, armed with pistols, sabres, &c. which order was executed with the promptness of light- ning. Mr. Vincent Safith, first prize-master, and quarter-master T. M asborn, were the two first on board the enemy : in doing which the prize?- tin ORBAT RRlTAIIf AND AMBIlfCA. Mf master received three wounds. The orew of (he enemj fought with as much courage and brttroiyft as that of the Decatur did, with Talor and ihtfe* piditj. Fire-arins now became useless, and the crews were fighting hand to hand with cutlasses, and throwing cold shot; when, the captain of the enemj and the principal officers being killed^ the deck covered with dead and wounded, the English colours were hauled down by the con- querors. In consequence of the ci ders given by the captain of the Decatur, the vessels were then separated; the rigging and sails being in the worst state possible. '* During the combat, which lasted an hour, the king's packet. Princess Charlotte, remained a silent spectator of the scene ; and, as soon as the vessels were disengaged from each other, kbe tacked, and stood to the southward. *' Killed and wounded on board the Decatur: killed 3; wounded Id; one of whom (the car* ])enter) since dead. On board the Dominica: killed 13; wounded 47; of whom 5 are since dead of their wounds : total, killed and wounded, 60. Among the killed are, G. W. Barrett^, com- mander; Mr. I. Sacker, master; Mr. D. Brown, purser; Mr. Archer and Mr. Parrey, midship- men. Wounded, Mr. I. Nichols, midshipman. The sargeon and one midshipman were the only officers on board who were not killed or wounded. The lieutenant was left on shore sick. Mm r i !l I I- f^9 NAVAt OCCtRRBNCE'? BETWBElf) te n 4'" i • V From the above statement," says the Charles^ toil editor, " it would appear, that this engage- ment has been the most bloody, and the loss in killed and wounded on the part of the enemy, in proportion to the number engaged, perhaps ^he greatest, of any action to be found in the re- cords of naval warfare. The surviving oflicers of the Dominica attribute the loss of their vessel to the superior skill of the Decatur's crew in the use of musketry, and the masterly manceuvering of that vessel, by which their carriage-guns were rendered nearly useless. Captain Barrett^ was a young man of not more than t\vi>nty five years of age. He had been \younded < arly in the ac- tion by two musket-ballN in the left arm; but he fought till the Inst moment, refusing to surren- der his vessel, although he was urged by the few survivors of liis crew to do so; declaring his deteruiinn^ion not to survwe her loss. One of the lieutenants of the Decatur received a severe sabre-wound in the hand from Captain Barrett(^, a few moments before lie fell. Captain Diron is a Frenchman, and most of the officers and crew of his ves^i>el are his countrymen. They have done themselves immortal honour by the humanity and attention displayed towards their prisoners after the victory ; which is spoken of in h'vj^h terras of approbation, by the surviving officers of the enemy's vessel.'* > " The crew of the Dominica, with the excep- GREAT BRITAIN AND AMBRICX. 250 tion of'eight or ten bojs, were iine-looking young men; but, to see them in the mangled state in which they arriTed, was enough to freeze the blood of one not accustomed to such sights, with horror. Among her crew is a small boy, not eleven years old, who was twice wounded, while contending for victory upon her deck.** Poor child! it would have suited thee better to be throwing dumps than " cold Khot,''-— to be gamboling in the nursery, than ** contending for victory" upon a ship's deck. The armament of the Dominica was, by the American account^ twelve carronades, 12-pound- ers, two long 6-pounder8, and a 32-pound car- ronade on a pivot ; total 15 guns ; together with a brass swivel. Her crew consisted of 67 men, and 10 boys. The Charleston paper gives 83 as her complement ; but the sentence of the court* martial expressly spates, that "" there remained only 15 of the Dominica's crew that were not either killed or wounded"; which number, with the unwounded purser and midshipman, and the enemy's airount of killed and wounded, makes 77. ■ - ' The Decatur mounted, according to the Charleston paper, six carronades, 12-ponnders, and one long 18-pounder, on a pivot; *' witli 103 men." The sentence of the court-martial,' relying upon the evidence adduced, declares slie bad on board "140 men." The Americans ar« a O !ll t ! 1 ' l,'l iii ./* ik IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I lASIM 12.5 ■ 50 "^^ MWK u litf ■UUU 18 1 1.25 1 1.4 IllJili ■^ 6" - ► vTf 7 ^;i -^i /^ Hiotographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14S80 (716) 872-4503 'ib^ 6 ^ fe ^ PU '9. 260 .NAVAL OCCURRENCES BETWEEN r Ml My < f:;i * ■ if ^fi '■ ■;'-i „« in the habit of excluding the officers^ when com- puting the complements of their own vessels. Admitting the same plan to have been adopted in this case, the diiferent prize-masters and other officers of the Decatur, might easily amount to 37. But, to be below, rather than above the es- timate, the mean of the two numbers will be taken. Boys are seldom admitted on board privateers; and in this vessel, in particular, the crew consisted chiefly of desperate characters, who had been enured to their business, on board French West-India pickaroons. Two boys will be an ample allowance. -' Both these schooners were captured by British cruizers, before the war terminated; and the Dominica was again taken into the service. The size of each vessel, therefore, is accurately oh* tained. Comparative force of the two schooners. . -"T?*- "mt Dominica. Broadside-metal S long guns, 6 , in pounds^ 1 carronades. rmen. Complement, ^^^^^^ Size in tons^ 104 "67 10 110 77 217 Decatur. 18 36 ISO 2 ^^f^ll 232 t Here, in weight of metal, the British vessel was doubly superior; but the Decatur's long IS-pounderhad caused considerable destruction, before the Dominica's shot could reach ; and. '' € OftEAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 261 subsequently, the latter's guns were rendered nearly useless, by the privateer's excellent manoeuvres. Boarding immediately fc^lowed. Against such odds every human eflbrt was una- vailable: still the enemy, with difficulty, cut his way through the little band, to the colours lashed in the schooner's rigging. •ifi ^he gallantry evinced on this occasion elicited praises from the enemy; but that enemy was a . Frenchman. So careful is the American naval historian not to indulge in this weakness, that he has substituted, — ^' The resistance of the ' English was desperate,'' for all the commenda- tory expressions used in the French details. Mr. Clatke has also left out of his account, that the Dominica had boys in her crew, as well as that ^ Captain Diron and most of his crew were French- # men. Indeed, so fearful is the editor, lest his readers should discover the first-published ac- count to hare been a translation, that he has substituted *' cannon" for " artillery," and made other alterations, to place it beyond a doubt, . . that an American commander and crew effected the Dominica's capture. i •'lifiut the editor of the " Sketchesof the War" has ^ proved himself the most able historian of any. He calls the action of the Dominica and Deca- tur—*' a brilliant attack made by a privateer ' upon Br^latge shop ofwar**/^^^^ No event," says he, (p. 203,) " probably^ in the imval annals, ( i ( i \ ' j [ \ 262 NAVAL OCCURRENCES BETWEEN f^ III m V. I U' I Hi|l 1:1 l!,l '■■ij'j I'' ■ ]furnishes. evidence of a more brtlliant and decisive victory, gained by a vessel, so infe- rior in size, strength, and arnoament, to ber antagonist/; >.) ^, a ;*; Captain Diron, to flatter the vanity of the Americans, and suit his own convenience, named his vessel the Decatur, and commissioned her at the port of Charleston. It is for the latter reason only, that the action appears in these pages.j, ^,:^..,, ,^^4^^^^^j,s |^^:^j iftest. ' , On the morning . of the 5th of September, while H. M. brig Boxer, was lying at anchor near Penguin Point, a few miles to the.eastward of Portland, in the United Stages, the Ameri- can brig Enterprise made her appearance. Cap- tain Blyth immediately got under weigh to engage her ; leaving his surgeon, two midship- men, and an army-officer, a passenger, oq shore at a place called Manhegan, ''shooting pigeons." -mm The action commenced about a quarter past 3 P. M. and in the very first broadside, an 18-r ^pounder shot passed through Captain Blyth's body, and shattered his left arm. The same broadside killed a marine and a seaman ; and . wpunded several others of the Boxer's crew. Almost immediately after the loss of her gallant commander, the Boxer's main-top-mast was shot away. , Th^enaWeji the Enterprise ^^^^^^^ ta[ke a ../^ GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 263* itiking position, and to maintain it till thie con-' test ended. No British official account of this- action has been published. y^n^yr \ f The Boxer was much cut up^iii hull and spars; and lost, besides her commhhder, 3 men' killed, and 17 men wounded, 4 of them mor- tally; total killed and wounded 21. ' ( The Enterprise suffered but little injury in her hull and spars. Her rigging and sails were' a. good deal cut. She lost 1 man killed, her commander, a midshipman, and 11 men wound- ed, the 2 first, and 1 man, mortally ; total killed and wounded 14. The American official- letter describes no ** slightly wounded." They may have amounted to a few more. ^ i The Boxer arrived- on the North American' station j with the usual armament of her class ;' but her commander obtained, at Halifax, two' additional carronades ; making her force; in the- action, twelve carronades, 18-potinders, and two long 6-pounders. Gun-brigs are not allowed' boat-carronades ; consequently, fourteen were> all the guns the Boxer mounted: The American' official account gives her no more; but Mr.^ Clarke, depending more upon " Niles' Weekly Register," quotes from that: — ** His Majesty's- Jine brig of war Boxer, of 18 guns ;'' and again says :-^^' Boxer, guns mounted 18." '^* The Boxer had, on leaving St. John, N. Bruns-* wick, a few days before the action, 71 men, 6' ■^ 264 NAVAL OCCURKENCE8 BETHVEEN : ■i i; 1 1 » *• ■ i ■ii *|i >! 'H ;' / ; . ■,:! 1 Iii,a . . i , i J ■ , '1 !* ■ 1 ;t i>' ] 'l-:--^ ■t :| !■• ■■ :■ i; t ((. '^ ',. !. 1 Mm J boys, and a passenger; total 78. Of these, 8 seaoien were absent in a prize ; and the passen- ger, surgeon, and 2 midshipmen, as stated be*, lore, on shore at Manhegan ; leaving a residue pf 60 men, and 6 boys, ■'■ m - The prisoners received from the Boxer, ac- cording to the American papers, amounted^ including the mortally wounded, to 62 ; making, with the 4 killed in the action, 66. To put this beyond a doubt, some American gentlemen sought for the party that had been left at Man- began. An Eastern paper gives the following ^ the substance of their information : — *' They (the party on shore) gave precisely the same ac- count of the force of the Boxer as the other officers, and without communication with them. ^The crew of the Boxer, at the time of the en^ gagement, according to their statement, con- sisted only of 66." The '* Particulars of the action," furnished a newspaper-editor by one of the Enterprise's officers, stated that, out of *^ 115 picked men^'^ the Boxer had, *' when the action commenced, 104." The official letter declared, that she had *' between 20 and 25 killed." (App. No. 45.) Captain Hull, next, wrote Commodore Bain- bridge, that he, having *■' counted upwards of 90 hammocks," (two are generally allowed for each man,) had no doubt she *' had 100 men on board;" but found it '* impossible to get (it OR£AT BRITAIN AKD AMERICA. 2e& if the number killed." To cbnTihce . the balk of the Americans, that the Doxer had btit 66 men and boys, ^as therefore a vain task. The few moderate men who attempted it, were scouted as traitors or lories ; and even Mr. Clailce, the historian, takes the safe side. Althongh he would not acknowledge Lieutenant M^CalPs letter, as any authority for the number of guns mounted by the Boxer, he considers it unques- tionable, as to the number of her killed. I The Enterprise mounted fourteen carronades, IS-pounders, and two long O-pounders. One American journal, besides giving that as her ibrce, states the guns, complement, and tonnage of the Boxer, with the utmost correctness. The complement of the Enterprise cannot be &xeiA with the same certainty as her guns. The com-' mander of the British schooner Fly, captured by the Enterprise about the 26th of August, and carried into Portsmouth, N. Hampshire, say» the latter sailed from that port in quest of the Boxer, Captain Burrows having received intel- ligence of her being On the coast, with part of her crew absent ; that she (the Enterprise) then added several volunteers to her original complex ment, which consisted of 113 men, and 3 boys. Some American papers stated the Enterprise's complement as high as 125 ; others as low as 102. The latter probably meant, exclusive of officers^ The U. S. brig Viper, of only 12 guns. 266 NAVAL OCCURRENCES BETWEEN \ ■; i 1 \ ■ ! ■'■''i, r 1 1 'lir m, \ r 4; . Mi m H .1 i!i!' had 03 men ; Nautilus, of 14 guns, 106 men ; Vixen, of the same force, 130 men ; Rattlesnake and Syren, of 16 guns each, 131 and 137 men. The two last-named brigs had each 2 lieute- nants, besides her commander ; and so had the Enterprise. To avoid over-rating the latter's complement, let it be fixed at, including volun- teers, 120 men, and 3 boys. < -» -^Tbe Enterprise was originally a schooner; and her full dimensions, in hull, spars, and sails, as a schooner, appear in the M.S. memorandum- book, before referred to. (See p. 111.) Soon after the late war commenced, the Enterprise was cut in two, lengthened, (so as to have one more port of a-side,) and altered to a brig, at Washington. The Nautilus, captured by the Shannon, was also originally a schooner ; and was altered to a brig without being lengthened. • By adding, therefore, to the Enterprise's origi- nal length, the distance between the fore-side of one of the Nautilus's ports, to the aft side of the next port, which isS feet 6 incites, we have the present length of the Enterprise. This makes her 245 tons;^ but several British officers who have seen the Enterprise, state that she is about 260 tons. The Nautilus's top-sides are nearly as stout as those of our first-class brigs :> ' while the Boxer had only one timber between ^ each port ; which made her top- sides pervious to ^ every grape-shot that ws^ firexl. The spars of the* ■i* GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 267 Enterprise. Ft. In..t» u 23 8 '' 1 10^ 50 0- s r .Enterprisie'will be considered as no larger, tTian those which .the Nautilus had, when capturedjt n , Dimensions of the two inVs. . , to nr^aoMw ^n i .u. ..<•.,- *» •' Ft. In. Length on deck^from rabbit to rabbity b4 4 Breadth, extrenie, 22 U M^ 5 length, 53 4 ain-mast, "i . ** ' i ei ' i diameter^ , • . I 5t f ft This is the proper plaice to give an extract from the American " Particulars :"— " At 3 P.M. tacked* and bore up for the enemy, taking him to be one of his majesty's brigs of the largest size"!. >:;--:-n, (vj 'j' ; ■ T f r" ' 'inm^m 'Vf^l ji None of the praises lavished upon the *'Jine brig of war Boxer,''- could gain her a place among the national vessels of the United States. She was put up to auction, and sold as a mer- chant-brig ; ibr which service only, (and that in peaceable times,) she was ever calculated* >i> Comparative force of the two brigs. Boxer. Broadside-metal in pounds, ] ' °""* "^ ' L carr. Complement, Size in tons, p , ^ ^ x?. , 6 108 y men, 1 boys. 60 6 m ^'^^■ ]t4 66 179 Enterprise. 9 126 — 135 120 3 123 245 •;V 868 NAVAL OCCURRENCES BETWEEN i 'f i ' i ili "t 11' i I' . . The superiority in weight of metal is triflinj^ ; that in number of men, two-fold. Gun -brigs are allowed but one lieutenant, one master's- mate, and two midshipmen. The absence of the two midshipmen, the shameful defection of the acting masterVmate, and three seamen, (App. No. 46.) and the fall of her brave com- mander by the first broadside, rendered the Boxer's situation, at the very onset of the en- gagement, peculiarly unfortunate. On the other hand, the Enterprise, after her commander was wounded, had still two lieutenants, and four or five midshipmen, left, to carry on the action. These circumstances considered, the disparity between the two crews, wds even greater than the numerical difference, already so great. "^^ ' None but a novice in American history, will be surprised at the following paragraph in Mr. Low's book : — " The President of the United States, having considered the Boxer as equal in force to the Enterprise, has ordered her to be delivered up for the benefit of the captors." i^i- /if... I t M:. ^^y L.^t v*- .!w * ' UK EAT BRITAIN AND AMBRICA. 269 n'lX h'. ■'' ' y >t*-^f ' :v^' 'r.t'*Sv" ....-.: tii m.. CHAPTER XI. ■W Pelican arrives at, and suddenly departs from Cork, in guest of the Argus — Discovers, engages, and ^;. captures her — Damage and loss of each vessel-^ ^ Pelican^s force in guns and men — American ac' l^f counts of both — Argus's force in guns-^^Disman' .:^f iling and other curious shot — Argus compared in equipment with British gun-brigs and brig' j.sloops — Complement of Argus — Depositions of ^^pher officers — Size of each vessel considered-^ . ff Arguses tonnage, by her officers' account — Cor- j^ rected in their favor — Statement of comparative force-^Remarks thereon. i|, * ilLT about 6 o'clock on the morning of the 13tk of August, H. M. brig Pelican arrived at Cork from a cruize. Before the sails were furled, Captain Maples received orders to put to sea again, in quest of an American sloop of war, which had been committing serious depreda- . tions in St. George's channel. By half-past 8, the Pelican was beating out of the liarbour, against a very strong breeze, blowing right in ; accompanied bj a heavy sea : a proof of the. earnestness of her officers and crew. ^^Fortunately, a fire of her own making disco« i ft70 NAVAL OCCURRENCES BETWEEN 'I fit' 111- m fif ^!i; vered the U. S. brig Argus, at 4 o'clock on the morning of the 14th, in lat. 52" 15' N. long. 5* 6(y W. She made no attempt to escape ; her commander being confident, as it afterwards appeared, of taking any British brig of war, in ** ten minutes.'* •At A.M. the Argus fired her broadside ; -which, with three cheers, was promptly returned by the Pelicaii ; and the action commenced, within range of musketry. (A pp. Nos. 42 and 43.) The firing continued with great spirit, for 45 minutes ; (the mean of the two statements ;) when the Argus was boarded on the starboard- bow, and instantly carried,' without even a shew of resistance ; although the master*s mate of the Pelican, who led the party, received his death from the fore-top, just as he stepped upon the enemy's gunwale. Of this no advantage was taken ; but the colours of the American ' sloop of war were immediately hauled down, by the few of her own crew tbat had not run below. ; '•>'^ .v».}.r .• . . ■ * ,t After having read the " Report of the court of inquiry on the loss of the Chesapeake,'* (App. No. 40,) the reader may naturally expect, that the sentence upon the loss of the Argus, contains a severe animadversion upon the pal- pable misbehaviour of her crew: instead of which we are told, (App. No. 44,) that ** every officer and man of the Argus, (with the (exception of h ft ' ORBAi BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 971 one man, and one boy,) made iise of every prac^ tical exertion to capture the British sloop of war Pelican*' ; and that ** every officer and man, with the exception before mentioned, displayed throughout the engagement, a zeal, activity, and spirit, in defence of the vessel and flag commit- ted to their protection". 'rjiThe American official account is remarkable for its precision. We have, — " 6.-6. 4. — tt. 8. — 6. 12.~6. 14.— 6. 18.— 6. 25.-6. 30.— 6. 38.— and 6. 47; and each of these trifling intervals is so crowded with circumstances, that the reader, unless he takes ihe trouble to sum up the figures, rises with a conviction that this *' gallant de- fence against superior size and metal,'* lasted two hours, instead of 47 minutes. ^i* i The writer's precision did not extend to the manner of the Argus-'*s surrender; nor to her force; nor to the Pelican's loss, or number of men, in the action ; but the letter contains an excuse for the'. capture, as novel as it is ridicu- lous; no other than 'Hhe fatigue which the crew of the Argus underwent, from a very rapid suc([;ession of captures." — This " rapid'* work consisted of twenty captures; all made on the same cruizing- ground, during a period of thirty- eight days. Nor was the labour of burning, an unprofitable one; for the American govern- ment allowed a compensation for every vessel dtfitrayed. — The ** court of inquiry," in its over ■ I 872 NXVAL OCCUHRENCES BETWEEN ■w. ) )i I! r- I . f \ !i \mm. aaxietj to save the imtional honor, has made a fiad blunder. Not satisfied with *' iatigae" only, it must needs add, '^exposure" ; which was cer- tainly very great, in the month of August. It was March when the court sat ; which may be regarded as some apology. 4 Lieutenant Watson particularly dwells on the unmanageable state of the Argus, in consequence of her " having tost the use of her after-sails." The reader, if be has not alreadv done it, is re- quested to apply this part of the American offi* cial account of the Argus's capture, to the case oi the Frolic, at the commenof ment of her en- gagement with the Wasp ; marking well the dif- ference, between what was carried away by shot during the action, and what had been carried away by a gale two days previous. (See p. 141.) On board the Pelican, two shot passed through the boatswain's and the carpenter's cabins. Her sides were filled with grape-shot ; and her rig- ging and sails injured mach. Her fore-mast, and main^ top-mast, were slightly wounded, and so were her royals; but no spar was seriously hurt. Two of her carronades were dismounted. She lost one seaman killed, besides the master*s mate, Mr. Young; and 5 seamen, slightly wound- ed; total 7: chiefly by the Argus's musketry and langridge; the latter to the torture of the wounded. Captain Maples had a narrow es- cape; a spent canister-shot striking, with some GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 270 degree :o£ force, one of his waistcoat-buttons, and then falling on the deck. The Argus was tolerably cut up in her hull. Both her lower-masts were wounded, although not badly; and. her fore-shrouds v>n one side nearly all destroyed: but, like the Chesapeake^ the. Argus had no spar shot away. Of her car* roiiadesr several were disabled. She lost in the •action, 6 seamen, killed ; her commander, two midshipmeU) the carpenter, and 3 seamen, mor- tally, her first lieutenant, and 5 seamen, severely^ and 8 others, slightly wounded ; total 34 : chiefly, if not wholly, by the cannon-shot of the Pelican. Like all the other brigs of her class, the Peli- can originally mounted 19 guns : sixteen car- ronades, 32-pounderSy two long 6-pouuders, and a 12-pound launch-carronade ; but, when at Jamaica, Captain Maples procured two brass 6s, as standing chace-guns. In the action, these were pointed through the bow-ports; and there- ^ fore could not be sed upon the broadside. Although that *^ faithful record of events," the.American **History of the War,*' was pub- ^ lished. three months after Lieutenant Watson's^ letter, giving the exact force of the Pelican in guns, had gone the round of the American jourr nals; and although the title-page of the work assures its readers, that the contents have been *' carefully compiled from official documents," /• Mr. -Low states tb^e^^Pelican's guns at—** twenty - .^ d74 NAVAL OCCUHRENCEB BETWEEW ■i 4 ' h %' lit It- 1 ; " M I ■^ I J' two 63-pound carronades, two long Os, and two swivels." — Mr. Clarke had previouslj made the Pelican's ** shot in pounds 660;'' but he had seen nothing American to contradict it, ' The Pelican returned from Jamaica, in the spring of 1813, with 116 men and bojs in complement. On the 20th of June, she received from the Salvador del M undo, at Plymouth, a draught of twelve men and boys; but, depart- ing suddenly the next day, left behind eight of her best men, absent on leave. In the course of July, while watering, and occasionally an- choring, on the north-coast of Ireland, she lost six more of her men by desertion ; and the se- cond lieutenant, who had gone on shore, had the misfortune to be absent, when the Pelican sailed from the coast. Her arrival at, and sud- den departure from Cork, upon the service which, in less than 48 hours afterwards, she so gallantly performed, has already been mentioned. It was no proof of that '* newly-acquired'^ cau- tion on our part, which the Americans, at this time, fancied was due to their prowess, that Captain Maples, with a complement (^ 101 men, (including only 1 lieutenant,) and 12 boys, sailed out to engage an American sloop of war, whose number of men, as re|>orted in all the public prints, was 140; and those picked sea- inen. On the day of leaving port, the Pelican pressed 2 men out of a brig; and at a quarter ^■# GkfeAt iiiititi^ Afrt) AfUBkitAi Jl'?^ pusrt t dii the moriljti^ t>f tlie adtibh^ Wbieti #ai about four hdnts befofts f b6 Afgud wa« iii hei!> po^MSsi()i), th^ pt€s8^ k thii'd fHdn, fVditfi fitidf her btig. The Pelktfll) ihitefttm, d6liiiift^tt<^cl ttcli^ With 104 tMn, ami Id b6y«! iU ^mtef ti( fi^ e:cttTt6rditiary qtl^Iity^ ftitd drf i^thet dittfilliliitir size ; and tdost of tbe ^htiet dfid(^ Id j^^ifiHfi of age. ^ Mr. Low, detef milled f d mfiin the Pdicttri (^ijUfil to th6 M-mnnfetit he hud glv6h her, iitdt^ ih^ she had '* 179 men, eleven Of them tOlUift^^' for the otdttfltkrn, froift ships at CO^k.^-^Wii h^re trace somo coftfUMd aceotin^, Of the drail^hi trhreh the PellcaUi fecfilved frOiA' the giterd-sfirip stt Plymotiih. ^The Argus ttootHited iSb gun^: e^k.^tlh cilr'' rotl^* Sketches of the War," could call the Dominica schooner a 'Marge sloop of war," he may be allowed to contrast the ** American gun-brig Argus," with the /* British «/o0/7 of war Pelican." This inge- nious plan has suggested the idea of extracting, from the '* Naval Pocket Gunner," a work sanc- tioned by the office of ordnance, the proportions of some articles of gunner's stores served out to British gun-brigs, and brig-sloops of the Peli- can's class, for '^ foreign service," in the way of comparison with the gunner's stores found on board the Argus, and sold at public auction..%> ^, Br, gun.brig. Br. brig-«loop. Argas. Ho. No. No. Muskets «5 40 84 Pistols fiO 20 32 Swords 80 60 96 Strong pikes andl Pole-axes j 40 45 52 After a steady action of three quarters of an W J¥ GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 377 hour, the Argushad more powder left, than, by the above little work, was originally served out to the Pelican; and the former's round, r grape, and canister, exclusive of bars of iron, old irOn, &c. weighed, at the sale, 22 cwt. The Argus's books contain the names, exclu- sive of runnings and discharges, of 157 persons; comprising 149 in "' complement," and 8 ** su- pernumeraries," 7 of them described as having entered, in April, from the U. S. frigate Chesa- peake; the other a ** deserter,*' at TOrient. The Argus had carried thither from New York, (which port she left on the 21st of June,) Mr. Crawford, the minister to France, and his suite ; but, as they all victualled themselves, their names de not appear on the brig's books. Besides thtt above 157 names, are those of 15 prisoners, taken out of a brig the day previous to the action. Tho Argus had captured twenty vessels; of which Captain Allen destroyed all but five. He gave up two to the prisoners; and manned in 3; of which two were recaptured, and the third got safe into France. The two lieutenants and mas- ter of the Argus agree in deposing, that, at the time of her '* capture," she had on board " 125 officers and mariners." The standing interroga- tories of the court of admiralty, should be varied a little, to apply to cases of capture after action. Taking the officer's depositions in a literal sense, the Argus commenced action with 131 men; .■;«■ r- ■or J t/ v% ^Av^h occ;iiRii9ifcm npTwi^mi lii I bOArd the thvf e yeswls (twq brigs suid 9 s«slH>Qiiep) 8«iit in, wUbout r^kooipg th« mep-stntad by the ^ritvsb i|ierch9i)tfi|l9«|er9 to hsive ei|ter^4 from their vesKels; and ^hioh, s^ftcir the unsiiooQ^sfMl 19911^ qf tkp ot 9inoi^g the creWjt but among the prisoners. Hoivevi^r, the QMmber sworn to bj the American Q^fDi^rs, fth^U be eonsidered ap referring to the numbly on bostrd %t th« qommenoement of the action. 1 Keeping pftO^ with bis other 98sertions on th^ Tflntive force of the Ai^ns und Pelican* Mr. Ia^w describes the complement of thd ^rmer thus: '♦ 94 men ^t for duty, 5 woh, the rent ^b- ient in pri?es/'^t must b^ve been upon som^ f stimat^^ of thi9 sort) tb»t th^ ^^ court of in« quiry*' declared, ** that the Pelican was de- cidedly superior to the Argus in the number of ber crew.*'-rNo men were found " sick" in the Argus; but the whole IH w«re at quarters in the a^ition ; and a Aner set of men never wa» secut Very few were les9 than sia? feet high ; and not a boy, in our way of rating them, wa» on board ; but 3 wiU be allowed. About la or 12 were believed to be British suldects: the Ameri-» 4^n officer^, in theif depositions, swore the crew t»9ntained none, to their hnowledge. This may be one reason of the tenderneip evinced by the eourt of intiuiry, 9» to the hehaviour of the men Ma ', ). •BEAT BRITAIN AND AMEBIOA. 879 Bi the moment of boarding. When the Argus'i men were brought on board the Pelican, then was seen the contrast between the bodil j strength and appearance of the two crews ; to whkh partj humiliating may be easily conceived. V After the prisoners had been divided, and & full third of the Pelican's cr^w placed on board the Argus, a strong breeze, and the unsupported state of the latter*s fore-mast, induced the pri^« master to bear up for Plymouth ; while the Peli* can proceeded to report her proceedings to tha admiral at Cork. In her way thither^ she fortiH nately fell in with the Leonidaa 46; which ship relieved Captain Maples of about 30 of hi* sturdy prisoners. 1 I'he Pelican was built in 18152 ; the Argus, at Boston, in 1802 or 3, expressly for a government^ vessel. The dimensions of the two brig»liert follow: . i ArgUB. Ft. Ip, 95 6 Length on decki from rabbit \ to rabbity Breadth extreme^ Main-mast^ / Pelican. Ft In. 100 flengtbj, . diametef^ f Iciigtbi idiameteri {length, diameter^ Main-yard^ ^ Main-top-mastj 30 68 I 54 9 s to 7 M| 38 11 1 42 O 9i| fl7 69 I 55 1 44 9 H 9i 'M: f. % ''1 >' 2^0 \ NAVAL OrrimRENCRS BETWEEN ' So much for Lieutenant Watson's account of the " superior size'* of the Argus. It is true, she was a trifle shorter, and full two feet narrower, than the Pelican; but the tauntness of her masts, and squareness of her jards, would make her appear on the water, if any thing, the larger vessel. As her tiller did not traverse on deck^ as on board our brigs, she carried her ports further aft than the Pelican; which enabled her to fight, through them, one more gun of a side. The age of the Argus, and the number of vessels of her class in the service, prevented her being purchased by government ; although her qualtii- cations as a cruizer, called forth the following exordium from the editor of the '* National In- telligencer'' :-^'' She is admitted to be one of the finest vessels in the service of her class ; and the model of such a vessel, is certainly inesti- mable.'^-— But this was previous to her capture. After Messrs. Clarke and Low have shewn the Argus to have been but 298 tons, (her American measurement,) one makes the Pelican ** 485 tons," the other '* 584 tons." Mr. Lowe has certainly improved upon Captain. X.6;W/<;. (A pp. No. 3.) He thought of his opponent's guns only : the former has exerted his ingenuity upon guns, men, and size ; and not of one ves- sel, but of both ; gaining as well by under-rating joo one side, as by over^rating on the other. M. GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 981 'g' Captain Maples states the Argus at 360 tons. So he must have been informed by some one belonging to her ; for, what is remarkable, her two lieutenants and master all swore, that she was "'■ about 350 tons.'' Of this, no advantage shall be taken, whatever surprise it may create in America; but the actual tonnage of the Argus, as measured by the dock-yard surveyors, be com- pared with the Pelican's. ' To every efficient purpose, the Argus was equal in size to the Pelican, and her top- ^ides were a trifle stouter; but the great addi- tional breadth of the latter, swells her tonnage far beyond the Argus*s. The reader must take this into his consideration, when he comes to the relative size in torn* ■4.. Comparative farce of the two brigs. .1 u Pelican. Broadside-metal in pounds, j *J^ ^' .Complement, Size in tons. /men, Iboys, 6 268 104 12 -274 -116 385 Argus. 12 216 122 3 -.228 -125 S16 Upon the face of this statement, the Argus, in broadside-weight of metal, was inferior to the Pelican by one sixth ; but, in complement, had rather the advantage : an advantage that would be greatly encreased, could we estimate ,/"■ ill NATAL OCOUKRBNCES VBTWEBlf :l '• I *• ■: -If :::' ff ^i ;;, W. '^ fi ■ In bj weight, instead of number. How, then, are we to account for losing only one man killed, during a close and furious cannonade of three quartei^s of an hour ? The compliment paid to the Argus's commander by Commodore Decatur, is a proof it could not have been for want of disciplining the crew. (App. No. 19.) It would appear, then, that the Americans perform best in gunnery, when they have high odds on their side. How consolitary it is, to compare the con- dition of the least damaged of our captured aloops, with that of the U. S. sloop Argus. — She had, to the last, every spar standing; and, if we subtract the loss in killed and wounded, and the boys, from each side, there were, at the very moment when the Argus's colours were struck to the Pelican, 98 young, athletic Americans, * opposed to 99 Britons, of various age and size. Nor was there, in this case, any frightened *' bugleman'' to make a scape-goat of; nor *' British subjects'' to ac- cuse of treachery ; nor could a deficiency of muskets, pistols, swords, or boarding-pikes, be . alleged. Really, it would gratify us to be in- formed, in what consists that ^' moral and phy- sical superiority' of the American, over the British sailor; the panegyrics upon which, for nearly these four years past, have so occupied the time, and so puzzled the brains, of the trans- atlantic philosophers. ■' ? .,"!* * * it$^ ■? i GREAT BRITAIN AMD AM BRIO A* d93 r'|ij*ir'' CHAPTER XII. .mfiu /' Description of Lake Erie — Captain Barclaif np^ pointed to the eommand'^Liat of his vessels-^ Building of ike skip Detroit-^Difficulhf and expense of equipping British vessels (m the lakes ''^Captain Barclay receives a small draught of seamen^^Is forced to engage the Anurictm . . Sfuadron-^Details of the action^-^Lawrence sur-^ tenders-^Tke American comnumder shifts hia fhkg'-'Lasjvence re-hoists her eoloufs — British squadron surrenders' — Damage and loss on each side — Force in gunSy men, and size-r^Statement ;tixf comparative force — Effrontery of the Boston citizem and American editors — Commodore Perfy\and the engravers— -Description of Lake Ontatio^^ir James Yeo and Commodore Chaun-* eey—^Foroe of their respective squadrons'-^Sir James captures the Growler and Julia — Ameri* can officer*s account of that ev^it — Statement of comparative force during each engagement — Commodore Chavncey convinced of his mistake. liAKE Erie is a lake of North America, situ- ated between 40* 50' and 43* N. lat. and be- tween 78^ 50' to 84'' W. long. It is about Qm miles long from £. to W. and 40 to 60 niile» 'broad. Its waters enter Lake Ontario bj the USA NAVAL 0CCURRBNCE8 BETW££N I 'I- wl ■■ I k r- V ili M. , ^s It "' river Niagara ; but the immense cataract of that name completely obstructs the navigation. The boundary line -between the Canadas and the States of America, runs through the centre of the lake. ' in May, 1813, Captain Robert Heriot Barclay ' was appointed to the command of the Britii^h flotilla on this lake ; an appointment which had been declined by Captain Mulcaster, on account of the exceedingly bad equipment of the ves- sels. With a lieutenant, and 19 rejected seamen of the Ontario squadron. Captain Barclay joined his command, towards the end of June; up to which date, the Lake Erie force consisted of the following vessels :— r. Gum. Complement. Toni. Caoadiani. Soldier*. Total 16 40 70 110 ^80 Sc. 12 30 46 7d 120 B. 10 SO 19 39 74 Sc. 3 6 9 15 55 Sip. 3 6 9 15 54 Sc. 1 6 7 13 32 45 108 160 268 615 Queen Charlotte, Lady Prevost, General HunteK Erie,* Little Belt, Chippewa. Total, . This was the state of his majesty's squadron on Lake Erie, twelve months after the declara- tion of war : not a seaman among them ; and, ' if we except the soldiers and provincial officers, * Not afterwards heard of. %■ I I GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 28.1 (the latter included among the Canadian!,) not one on board that could speak English! A single sloop of war of the Americans would have captured the whole. •«• All the before-mentioned vessels had been constructed to carry cargoes ; one was now built solely for war. She was named the Detroit, pierced for 18 guns, and measured 305 tons. Although ship-rigged, as was also the Queen Charlotte, she was many tons smaller than some American privateer-schooners. (See p. 36.) 'i The next difficulty was, to get guns for the^ new ship. . For this, a neighbouring fort (Am- hertsburg) was stripped ; and 19, of four different calibers, obtained. It will convey some idea of the difficulty and expense of hastily fitting ves- sels at this distance from home, to mention, that every round shot cost one shilling a pound for the carriage from Quebec to Lake Erie; that powder was ten times as dear as at home ; and that, for anchors, their weight in silver would be scarcely an over-estimate. ,«^f But, were the Americans on this lake any better off? — In five days an express reaches Wafiliington. It would, under the most favor- able circumstances as to weather and dispatch in office, take as many months to get an article ordered from England, o^ even permission to stir a peg out of the common routine of service. The American ves,sels were, therefore completely m a95 NAVAL - fvel, we learnt, that large^hmughts of seamen bad repeatedly marched to Lake £rie from the sea-> board. The best of riflemen were to be ob* ■*p ■w ORBAT BRITAIN AND AMBRfOA. 967 tained on the spot. What else was required, to render the American ships in these waters quite as effeotiTe as the best appointed ships on the ocean? . On the 9th of September^ Captain Barclay was Ijing, with his little squadron, in the port of Amherstburg, anxiously waiting the arrival of a promised supply of seamen. Almort smr* rounded by hostile shores ; his people on half* allowance of food ; not another day's fkwur in store ; a large body of Indians, (whose lricnd« ship would cease, with the least abridgement ia their accustomed supply,) close in his rear ;«*•* alike hopeless of succour and retreat,— Hirhat was Captain Barclay to do ? ImpelM by dread of famine, and, not improbable, of Indian trea-* chery too, he sailed o»t in the evening, to risk a battle with an enemy's deet, whose force ha knew was nearly doable his own. At day-light next morning, the enemy waa discovered to-leeward. The British coflmxinder bore up for htm. The wind almost instantly changed, and brought the enemy to-whidward. Tbuft had the American schooners, by a choico of distance, the full effect of their heavy long guns ; while the British carronadet dropped thesr high-priocd shot uselessly in the water. The Detroit, CapiMn Bar«ilay's ahip, wan closely engaged, for two hours, with the Law- rence, Commodore Perry's flag-ship, upportcd ,/" '^ ll k I . -' ^ .}' ht \n \l 'I :! II ■ J :\ f , ! • 288 NA^YAL OCCURRENCES HETWEEN ^ by the schooners Ariel and Scorpion. The Law« rence then struck her colours ; and the Detroit ceased firing ; but, having only one boat, and that cut to pieces, she could not take possession^ A short time before the Lawrence surrendered. Commodore Perry abandoned her, and repaired on board the Niagara ; which :brig, from keep- ing out of range of the Queen Charlotte's car- ronades, had sustained but little damage. As «Qon as the Niagara advanced towards the De-; troit, the Lawrence, which had now drifted out of reach of the latter 's guns, re-hoisted her co- lours. Commodore Perry, in his letter, attempts to gloss this over ; but his countrymen are the only persons who do not consider it as a shames ful proceeding. m The Detroit, Queen Charlotte, and Lawrence, all suffered greatly, in hulls, masts, and rigging. The other vessels of the two squadrons were not materially injured. Our loss was severe. "Every officer codi- manding vessels, and their .seconds," says Cap-, tain Barclay, *' wer^ either killed, or wounded so .severely, as to be unable to keep the deck.'' Captain Barclay had his remaining arm dread- fully shattered; and was otherwise severely wounded. The British loss in killed and wounded, amounted to 135. Commodore Perry escaped without a scratch ; and the only officers he lost, were a lieutenant dftl^At BltlYAlN ANI> A]^£RI6A. iB&^ of marines and a midshipman. His total los^'f amounted to 123. (App. No. 55.) » '*The guns of every vessel in the two fleets, are i fully specifiedln the statement annexed to th^ 4 British official account. It will there be seen,^^ that we had 63 guns ; of Which 34, including those on pivots, were fought upon the broadside; i The Detroit and Hunter had each guns of fbuir t different calibers. These guns were to be supplied^ t with proper shot, and levelled at the enemy, by f Canadians and soldiers, " totally unacquainted f with such service ;'' the few seamen dispersed' >^ among the vessels, having enough to do vo attend^ to the navigation of them. < g^ -?The complements of the six British vessel^% consisted of 50 seamen, (including officers and'i boys,) 85 Canadians of all sorts and sizes, and^^ 2lO soldiers of the Newfomidland and 41 st regi- ments; total 345. How sensibly the loss of sea- men was felt^ will appear by a reference to the ^, evidence of the officers examined at the court- martial. (App. No. 61.) There it also appears, that the matches and tubes supplied lo tht^ships^'r were so defective, *' that pistols were obliged lo't hejired at the guns to set them o^.'^— Never before,* surely, did any squadron go into action, so' wretchedly fitted out as Captain Barclay's ! Commodore Perry, in his letter to General'^" Harrison, says : — ** From the best information, *- we have more prisoners than we have men ' tj -^^'i %-iu Kh|. ! 1 NAVAL 0CCUREENCE8 BETWEEIT pn board our Tessels." (App. No. 57.) If this *' best information'^ had not turned out wboUj false, why, in a letter written two dsLjs after- wards, and commencing, *' 1, have caused the ]jrisoners taUen on the 10th instant to bte ^nided at Sandusky,'' has he omitted to specify the number ? — Not a wor^4 appears beyond the ex- torted admission, that there w^s " >0l nu^iber of Canadians among the prisoners, many of whom had families." (App. No. 69.) V The American vessels mounted 54. guns; of which 34, including those on pivots, were fought upon the broadside. The description of th^se guns, as given in Captain Barclay's statement, agrere, with, h^$_ skill in figiires, no doubt, ca^ de- monstrate that, although an American schooner, armed wi^h twelve long /t&o-poun^erSi wpuld b^, in i^umber of guns.^ five times supei;ior to a Frmch schooner^ armed, like the Porcupine, If 5' # GREAT^ BRITAIN AND AMERICA. m with ^oni long d2.poundidr and' one 24-poand eatrrdnadcf, each on a pivot-carriage, the French vessel would, ill reality, be double the fbrceof the American. What have the British done, that a case of theirs, in prini^iple the same, should be made aneiception?H "' ' *i!^ *«^ ^ 'CbmtBodore Perry, in his second letter to General Harrison, thanks him for the ** timely re-infof cement" of the men he sent oti board the squadron; and assures him that, '* without those men, the victory could not have been achieved." (^PP* ^^o* 60.) As the number of these men cannot be obtained, the complements of the American vessels must be estimated with- out them. The Lawrence and Niagara were each armed the same as the sloop of war Hot- net ; and still rate the same in the navy-li^s. Allow each brig to have had 20 men fewer thait the Hornet ; and their rea|)ective complements would be 150. The Growler and Julia schooners, of two guns, taken from the Americans on Lake Ontario, had 40 men each. Allow the Caledonia brig, and the remaining sisc schooners of Com. Perry's ^et, to have had no more than 40 men each; and we have, for the united complements of the nine American vessels, without reckon- ing General Harrison's "timely reinforcement," 560 men, chiefly picked sailors and riflemen. ^ < Tb« size of each of the British vessels has already appeared. Some opinion may be formed . u 2 d92 NATAL OCCURRENCES BETWEEN of the size of AmenGan brigt of war, by Com^ modore Cbauncey's letter respecting those built - under his orders on Lake Ontario. (App«' No. 65.) When the Lawrence and Niagara were launched, the American papers stated t^m to < be of the same size as the Hornet. Allow them ' to have been a few tons smaller, and call them 450 each. Of two American Lake Erie schooners, subsequently captured by us, one measured '96, the other 66 toOs. An average of 90 tons, for ttie Caledonia brig, and six schooners^ will be a very moderate allowance. ^^The Detroit engaged her three opponents, thei Lawrence, Ariel, and Scorpion, ' within pistols ^ shot distance ; so that the brig's heavy carro« nades produced their full eiTect. By way of excuse for that fine vessel, supported as she was, (surrendering to a forbe so inferior, the Americafi' commander says : — ** Finding their fire very de« ^ structive, owing to their long guns, and its being mostly directed at the Lawrence^ &c." (App. No. 58.) Who could infer from this, that one ship only had engaged the Lawrence; or that all the " long guns" in the British fleet, -^ except two 12s, and a few of smaller caliber, were mounted on board that single ship? It is not a little singular that, had the Somers made a fourth against the Detroit, and the Nia- gara, Caledonia, Porcupine, Tigress, and T iippe, been lying quietly at anchor in Put«iQ-bay, th« •.• GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. tm •broadside- weight of metal of the Lawrence, and her three assistants, would have equalled that of the whole of Captain Barclay's fleet ; and, had the Lawrence and Niagara been the only American vessels on the lake, a superiority, in broadside-weight of metal, of nearly one thirds would still have been on the American side. • % Comparative force of the two squadrons. Broadside-metal S 1* SW» ^ IP pounds, 1 canr. ' Complements^ Size in tons. British. 195 fi64 — 459 f ofllcen, •eamcB ft boyi 5Q \ Canadian! ft soldient g(^5 — 345 865 H' American*^ 4 256 672 580 928 1-^ 580 1530 Unabashed by this immense disparity, the hectoring of the Americans exceeded all bounds. Several years' experience had taught us, that Americans were not over-scrupulous in the way of commerce; that is, that, while they were, ostensibly, fair neutrals^ the cargo they were carrying would be enemy's property, their real destination a prohibited one, and all their pa- pers forgeries. But it was thought thac a state of open war would improve their morals ; that honor, or common honesty at least, would break out by starts among them ; and that this work of reformation would begin with the eastern l^ple ; as they were notoriously of a grave and m 394 KAYAL OCCURRENCES BETWEEN i I ! I i) ll!; I N U Mi III ■) It; 1^ i|: pious habit. That tw,o years of war had pro- duced not the slighest effect upon the ** Boston citizens," they themselves took care to ano nounce, by presenting to Commodore P^rry, it *\ mas^y service of plate,^^ engraven with the following words :-^^* A very superior British /orcet on Lake Erie, was entirely subdued by Com' modore O, H. Ferty,^^ ! ! After this, nothing said by the southerrt peo- ple, the government-editors, naval historians, &c. can create any surprise. The '* Naval Mo- nument'^ says :— " The victory of Commodore Perry was the result of skill, courage and enter- prise, against superior force. Both the quality ^nd amount of the force he had to contend with, ought to have given a triumph to the other side."— (Naval Mon. p. 89.) The ♦' preface'' out-americans even this. It tells us of *^ the bold Nelsonian measure of breaking through the line;'' and insists, that neither Ceesar in his famed letter, nor Nelson in his (by us thought) famed viotories, are at all to be compared with the American Nelson, or the Nelson of all NeU IBons, — Commodore Perry ! *%H {t would be an injustice to the '* History of the war j" pot to give equal publicity to Mr* Low'is^ eloquence on this same interesting occa^ sion, He s»ys, at p. 119,—" Hitherto we have seen the enemy beaten ship to ship, but now we were to witness them fleet to ^eet ; and a more GREAT BRITAIN AND AMRRIOA. 905 pro. k>slon an- rry, fe h tile British Com* decisive or splendid yictory was never achieved. Compared with this all fbhner naval victories lose their splendour; evCn the great Nelsori, were he Rliv^, must rank below Perrj. — Nelsoh never captured aH entire fleet ; Pelry has, and that with a fieH inferior in size, weight of metal, and number of men/'— Does th6 facetious Mr. -Low wslnt R precedent for the capture of ** afi etitirc fleiet'^ ?— Let him turn to hiis frietid Gul- iiver. Not one of his Lilliputian fleet eisoaped. ^ But Commodore Perry himself ; how has hfe behaved ih this busihess ? He calls his vic- tory a "signal" one. (App. Nb. 56.) Perhaps that #ord, siihitar to " clever,^ Rnd some others, has a different meaning in the United States from What it hals in England. Let that pass. Pa^s over alsd the concealment and equivocai<^ tion dbservabte in the commodore's details of the actionv (Al>pl^ No. 58.) We come, next, tb his letter to "Messrs. Murray, Draper, Pair^ man, and Webster.*' (App. Nb. 64.) These engravers shewed him two views of the engage- ment, wherein the British, are represented much larger, and more fully armed, than the American vessels ; yet he, Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, of the United States' navy, — the man whose " modesty" has been as extrava- gantly praisfd as his ** valor," — has " no hesita- tion in pronouncing them a correct representa- tion of the engagement." He does this, too, in a common newspaper-puff! ! * /' sv m 5296 NAVAL OCCURRENCES BETWEEN * Lake Ontario is also a lake of North America ; about 600 miles in circumference. On its south side, it receives 'the waters of Lake Erie, by means of the river Niagara; the navigation of which is interrupted, as already stated. Near the S.E. it receives the river Oswego ; and, on the N.E. its waters. enter the river Iroquois: which river, at Montreal, takes the name of St. Lawrence, and flows into the gulf of that name. The navigation of this river is effectually inter- rupted by rapids and shoals, situate a few miles above Quebec. Our principal port on this lake is Kingston ; that of the Americans Sackett's Har- bour. The statements in Commodore Chauncey's long letters, respecting the operations on this lake, (App. Nos. 50. and 52.) have given rise, among the Americans, to very erroneous opi- nions as to the relative merits of that officer and Sir James Lucas Yeo, sent oai to command against him, in the spring of 1813. Among Britons, Frenchmen, Spaniards, and Portuguese, gallantry and Sir James Lucas Yeo have long been associated terms. The fears of his friends were, not that he would decline fighting, but, lest his restrictive orders should not have been peremptory enough, to hinder him from attack- ing a force double his own. His ardor, like the gaHant Barclay's, required to be checked, not stimulated. .a The first enterprise in which Sir James engaged, is fully detailed in bis letter to Mr. Croker. V, ■ I" , GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 097 (App. No. 48.) At this time, Commodore ' Chauncey, with a superior force, was lying in Sackett*B-harbour ; waiting the equipment of i the new ship General Pike. Towards the end f of July, that fine ship being added to his squa- ll dron, the commodore left Sackett*s-harbour ; i and, on the 8th of August, Sir James discovered ^ liim, at anchor off Niagara. The occurrences < that attended this meeting, will be better un« derstood, when the force of each squadron is ^ known. I British squadron on Lake Ontario; from the Sih 1^*4^ ^f -^^g^*^^ ^0 the end of 1813. >i6a^./^i'iai*. ^ Leng fun». Cam. Gnm. ■ Compl*- Tom. m: ■ S4a •1 ♦l 2 18i 8 f3 2 13 1S8 2 2 9» 2 *1 3 68ft 4 2 6 SitiU 18i ^ Wolfe, 'Royal George, K Melville, B. . ^oira, Sc. '^ ■ Sidney Smith, Sc. ^' Berevford, Sc. 10 16 12 10 12 6 23 21 14 14 12 8 200 175 100 92 80 70 425 340 186 175 144 115 1385 ^^ Total, 48|l2 i 6 92 717 '^* Commodore Chauncey 's letter informs us what \esse1s he had with him. Their force in guns, ' complements, and size, will be taken, partly from the American accounts, and partly from the in- formation of British officers serving on the lakes, at the period of these operations. Sir James Yeo * describes the enemy's squadron as '' consisting of 13/' he should have said "' 14 sail.'' * On pivot-carriages. f One on ditto. r '.'.'•ji-i ri I 20S NATAL OCCURRBlfOBf BBTWBBlf 5 J li, iM »4 I t American squadron on Lake Ontario^ on tlie Sth 0/ Avguti, 1^13, * m Jii.' :c* 'til' General Pike^ Madison^ Oneida, B Long iiani. 1 Cam. Gant. Conp Tom. S9k 84t 18s 19i 9( Sit «4« I8i §28 t.1 € 1 20 i 16 28 25 18 400 210 116 820 590 287 •l 10! 8 19 108 214 •T ♦4 •s •2 »4 *4 24 S60 810 7 32 8 5 14 24 16 H 114 1193 2721 Hamilton) Sc. \ Scourge, Sc. J 9 other schooners, Total, The Pike is described as a rematjiably fine ship: the Americans themselves spoke of her, vrhen she was launched, as equal in size to a British d6*gub frigate. Sh^ carHed one of her 24s on the top-gallant fbreca^tte, the other on the poop ; both mouitted lipon circular carriages. Ohe of the Madisbn'il 18s tva^ similarly mounted. An attentive perusal of Commodore Chaun- cey's letter, (App. l^o. 50.) coupled with what iSir James says in his, (No. 49,) will shew which party was the most disposed to *' avoid an action.'^ At all events. Sir James's ** long and cowardly manoeuvring," as an American .historian calls it, enabled him to capture two schooners; having previously compelled two .others to founder, in their over-strained efforts to avoid his iire. * On piTot-carriageS. + One on ditto. § Two on dittos ms^;^mf im-t -t ■■imf^^^rm^'^o ^"»"*| %m^- ORBAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. ^Xt^ ' Th« <^ United States' Gazette'' of September 0, 1813, gave a letter from one of the G^«> neral Pike's officers. The writer, hafing pre- viously stated the American force at tavo ships; one brig, and eleven schooners, says :*~*' On the 10th, at midnight, we came within gun-shot, every one in high spirits. The schooners commenced the action with their long guns, Which did great execution. At half past 12, the con^modore fired his broadside, and gave three cheers, which was returned from the other ships,-— Mtf enemy closing fast. We lay by for our opponent, th^ orders having been given, not to fire until she came within pistol-shot, though the enemy kept up a constant fire. Every gun was pointed, every match ready in hand, and the red British ensign plainly to be descried by the light 6f the moon; when, to our utter astonishment, Me commodore wore, and stood S, E, leaving Sir James Lucas Yeo to exult in the capture of two schooners, and in our retreat; which was cer* tainly a very fortunate one for him.^' "i ■'{ No wonder, an order soon atiterwards issued from Washington, that no officer should write, with the intention of publication, accounts of the operations 'f' the fleet and army. Sir James could not have had his assertions more ably supported, than they were by the Pike's officer. The latter Was mistaken, however, as to any ''execution" having been done by the American V 1 ■ A -A 000 JfATAL OCCURREirCEt BETWBBIT '5 «quadron. The Growler and Julia eac^j mounted a long 32 and 12-pounder, on pivot-carriages, .with a complement of 40 men; which was under- stood to be that of each of the other schc oners ; except the two which had upset. The captured Schooners of course made no resistance ; although the American editors trumped up a story about their desperate defence; how they tore and ripped up the enemy, &c. .u,,a^ ,. , The Pike's officer has described two other chases; differing chiefly from the last, in no loss having been suffered, or even shot fired. He says: — " We proceeded directly for Sackett's Harbour; where we victualled; and put to sea, tHe next day after our arrival, August 14. — On the 16th, we discovered the enemy again ; again hurried to quarters ; again got clear of the enemy ^ hy dint of carrying sail; and returned to Sackett's harbour. — On the 18th we again fell in with the enemy steering for Kingston ; and we reached the harbour on the 19th. I'his is the result of two cruizes; the flrst of which, by proper guidance^ might have decided in our favor, the superiority on the lake, and consequently in Canada.'* , ^^.This is what many of the American editors called,^ — *' chasing the British commander, all round the lake." — Commodore Chauncey, al- though he had lost four of his fourteen vessels, appesired in September with eleven sail ; having brought out with him, the schooner Elizabeth, OftBAT BRITAIN AND AMBRICA« 301 il of about tlie same force as the Growler or Julian' and the new schooner S jlph ; mounting, at that time, four long d2s upon pivot-carriages, and four long 6s. This schooner was described by the Americans as upwards of 400 tons. She was afterwards converted into a brig. i The details of the action of the 11th of Sep4 tember, will be found in Sir James's and Com<*^ modore Chauncey's letters; (App. Nos. fil and 52.) The latter says: ** I got several broad** sides from this ship upon the enemy, which must have done him considerable injury, as many of the shot were seen to strike him, and people were observed over the sides plugging shot* holes." — ^The only shot received by the British fleet that wanted a plug, struck the Melville ; and that so far under water, that Captain Spits- bury had to run his guns in on one side, and out on the other, to enable him to stop it. '^ Another engagement took place on the 28th of September. Commodore Chauncey, having the weather-gage, kept his favourite distance ; and one of his shot carried away the Wolfe's main-top-mast; which, in its fall, brought down the mizen-top-mast and cross-jack-yard. It was this, and not, as Mr. Clarke says, " a manoeu« vre of the commodore's," that ^* threw the' British in confusion.'' Even with this great advantage, Commodore Chauncey would not Tenture within ^sirronadft^range. Mr. Clarke, in r' s -3 k- f , I*/ ^1 ,» aoA V4tliiti QfDOimiLBIiOSS SEirwBXW i; * ^escribing this actiom, speaks of the >'' Brifish frigate Wolfe^* ; upon whick he had preyioiisly liioanted ''36 guns/'-r^Only two shot ^m the Americans did any material damage ; the one already mentioned, and another that strnok the Royal George^s fbr^-top^mast ; which fell, upon her iinchoring. Mr. • Clarke says : ** Prudence forbad any further pursuit on the part of the Americans;'^ and the editor of the ^* Hiistory of the War*' adds: "The oommodore was obliged to give up the chase; his ship was making water so fast, that it required all his pumps to keep her clear; and others of his Tessels were much damaged. The General Pike suffered a consi- dlerable loss of men ; among whthat ** obliged the Qommodore to give up the chase J" The e&tct produced by Sir Jamesfs £ew long g^ns, gave a ^ecimen of what bis carronades would have 49lie^ had hii» opponent allowed them to be used. j, A3. Commodore Chauncey has asserted, thai Sir James *^ was so much superior in point of iarQ% both, in giins and men, andf heaves a r greater weight of shot/' the reader may desire to see a statement of the comparative force of tjbe two squadrons, in each of t^e actionis. The Growler and Julia had been converted into transr ports ; (and were afterwards re-captured as such ;) and their guns mounted upon Fort Henry at Kingston : they, therefore, became no accessioA to Sir Js^ip^-s's force upon the lake. The Sylf>b and Elizabeth, in Commodore Chaunoey's squar drpqi, replaced, the Growler, Julia, Hamilton, ajid Scourge. The force in guns of the two first-named vessels han already appeared: the Syjipli's complen^nt vs^tiy be stated at 70; the Eliz^betli's at the number found in each of. the captured schooners. dj * Comparative force of the two squadrons. ^** - • . . . . ^^It; American. British. American. Ill lit action. Broadside metal r 1. guns, 91 7 in pounds^ \cafr. 712 Complements, Size m tons^ 1699 1193 2721 British. lit, 2d, and Sd action!. 204 1170 JS74 , 717 1385 Sd and Sd actions. 95Q. ,^^,. 640 — 1596 . 1115, * 2817 ^ This is "heaving a greater weight of shot'! with a vengeance! — ^The immense disparity in long guns, accounts for Sir James's endeavouring to get the weather-gage; without which, his wary opponent would have hammered the British squadron to pieces ; and remained himself com- paratively uninjured. i* i i fi 3 M :,- M 904 NAtAL dCCURRENCeS BtJTWIStSr An event that occurred long subsequent tOi these transactions, leaves it doubtful, whether it' was Commodore Chauncey's wilful exaggeration, . or the highly-magnifying powers of the American' glasses, that occasioned him so far to over-rate, the size and force of the vessels composing the' British squadron.— A» soon as the proclamation^ of peace reached Sackett's Harbour, the com- modore, accompanied by some of his officers,' went to Kingston on a visit to Sir James. The ' latter was ill in bed ; but his first lieutenant, at ^ the request of Commodore Chauncey, took him' on bo^rd the several vessels of the squadron. - When he came to the Montreal, and was assured that she was his old opponent the Wolfe, he and * his officers testified their surprise, and appeared almost to doubt the lieutenant's word ; the com- modore himself declaring, that he took her for . a vessel of twice the size and force. The Ameri- cans were next, to their equal surprise, shewn the brigs Melville and Moira ; then named the Star and Charwell. Some one present, speaking ! of the events of 1813, observed, that the Pike alone, with the weather-gage, was a match for' the whole of the British squadron : — it could not be denied. ^ *#^ «RBAT BRfTAIH AMD AMfeRlCA. SOi I' 1- CHAPTER XIIL FMbt Uitvii Enghnd-^h joined at Rio Jantiit^ t hi^ ike iloops Chirub and Racoon^^The ikipi • mnrhm at Juan Fernandez — Captain HiHj^ ikife hears of Captain Porter*$ depredationo-^ Skhde the Racoon io the river Columbia; dmdi ■ with the Cherub, proceeds in search of the Esseat and sfuadron-^Phahe and CherUb arrive of Valparaiso: where thetf discover, and blockadei the Essex and E^sex Junior — Both Americam ehipstnake a feint of attacking the Fhsebe, when ahne^-^Fhabe chases them to the anchorage**^ Essex sails out-^Is attacked and captured'^ Details of the action^^Damages and loss onbeih sides-^Force of the respective vessels in gune^ men, andsize^—Statement of eomparatwe forec'^ Remarks on Captain Porter*s letter*^His iteai^ ment of Captain HilfyaP'-^Proceedings of the Cherub — Phoebe and Essex arrive at PlymoMK — Captain Porter's prizes. In March, 1813, H. M. Ship Phoebe 42, ac conoipanied by the Isaac Todd, letter of marque^^ left England, upon secret service ; which servicll afterwards proved to be,-— to destroy the United States' fur-establishment upon the river Cohim^ 1 it i. r 1,1' }i. It ■ A 300 JNAYAL aCOMIUl^N^fiS BEX^BBN. bia, N. W. coast of America. Towards the latter end of June, the two ships arrived at Rio Janeiro: whence, each taking on board six month's provisions; they sailed on the 9th of July^ in company with the sloops of war, Cherub and {UicoioD ; which had af rived there fr<»ni£ogt laiid since FebruaKy,.and were qow bouiid round Cup^ ljoro» ta protect the l^outhern whaler 6sh-> ery«^ The Isaac Todd parted company before l[|«ichi^g ^he, Falkland islaqds; and the three nHnaining ships arrived, in the middle of Sep- tember, at the island t heard of. the depredations of the Essex ; as well us of Capiain Po^ter^s having armed three of the whale-ships, his prices* This augmentation of force deter- mined Captain Hillyar, not to allow/the Che^nb and Bacoonto seek the Essex, as they had already ];iieen doing at th^ island of St, Catharine's s be therefore provisioned and stored the Racoon* for the.i$?]^viQe upon which the Phoebe had been or- dered ; and, with h^r and the Che,rub, set sail;from Jnf^n Fer^and^z, ^bo^Ut the 29tli of ^pten»b0r>in quest of the Essex and ^er three conipanions.^ On the 2d of October, a short distance to«, windward of Charles' kland, (ona of the Gali} p^g^Qs,) the Racoon parted company for Co»^ lumbia; and the Pboeibe and Cherub, after ex«^ Iiloring the gulph of Quyaquel^ Arrived at l4in%; for refresh men jtsi. in the middle. <^f pecemberij^ ^ dRiSAT SAlTAtN 4KD AMERICAN SOf .i li waft Aot until ttie 7th of February, 18149 that Captaih Uillyar was so fortunate as to gain a sight of the Essex. He found her, in company with the Esse:!^ Junior j of ijd guns and 60 men, and three of her prizes, at anchor in the port ef 'Valparaiso, South America* Captain Portei^ arrtred there, for the first time^ in March, 1813| tfad very month in which the Phtiebe left Eng'^ Ismdi-i-u most" satisfactory proofs that the lattet was not ^* sent into the Pacific for the Wpress purpose of seeking the Essex." (A pp. No. 73.)' • At Valparaiso, Captain Hilly ar took on board a Supply Y>f water and provisions; and conii menced the blockade of the American shipsi After he had lain off the port about a month ; and at a time when the Cherub was between three and four miles to-ieeward, the Essex, and Essex Junior, sailed out of the harbour together| and })ore down upon the Phoebe s weather-quar- ter; the Essex ^rtng' at her. Captain Hillyar, resolving to engage the two ships, instantly stood for them ; when they both put about, and raif for the anchorage : whither they were pursued by the Phoebe. This is an answer to all Captaiif Portef's hectoring about his having *^ endea- voured to provoke a challenge'^ ; and explains why the American officers forfeited the good opinion of the inhabitants of Valparaiso ; many of whom' witnessed the whole transaction. There aredoouiaeiits in existence; proving, on the oatb X 2 ;" i ^■"v., . J I r. ft U'h . I f: lis 1 ■■4 i U 90t HATAL OCCUmREWOBS BITWBBff of many nspectable rtsidenits of the place# that, when the Essex did so fire on the Phcabe, she was nearer the port than when she was captured. ^ On the 38th of March, the two American ships having appointed a rendesfoua at tha Marqueses, and arranged evaij thing for escap«> ing to sea the first opportunity, a fresh breeia from the southward drore the Essex out of tha harbour. To the surprise of the British conih manders, whose ships were both under closo* reeved top-sails, the Essex approached with top* gallant-sails set, over single*reeyed top-sails. On rounding the outer-point of the bay, she braced close up, in hopes to weather the British ships, and escape ; but, in the attempt, carried away h^r main-top-mast. Captain Forter now tried to regain the limits of the port: failing in that also, he dropped anchor, so near the shore, as to preclude the possibility of any ship pass- ing a-head of him. , The wind blowing strongly from the direction in which the Essex lay, the British ships, instead of *' having the choice of position/' were obliged, the moment they passed her stem, to wear, to avoid going on shore. About this time, a shot from the Essex passed through several folds of the Phoebe's main-sail, as it was hauling up; which rendered it unfit to set, with the strong wind then blowing. The main-stay was also out through by shot, and the jib-boom wounded* ORIAT BRITAtK Air» AlfiRiOA* teo Tlie Pb«be, hating enereaied her distance, by trearing, and lost th« use of her jib and main^ lail, did little- or no injury to the Esse v until •he closed her at 85 minutes past 5. Then the Mtion commenced, in earnest; and continued, without intermission, until 00 minutes past 6; When the Essex surrendered* -M The Cherub, when the action commenced, wttl ilMift the Phoebe's weather-beam ; and after* Wflrds used every exertion against the baffling windaand occasional calms, which followed the iieavy firing, to dose near the Essex: withou : which, her battery, conmsting, except '* the boatswain and oarpenter^s re- pott of damages," which accompanied the letter.^ i' The loss of the Essexy by Cai>tain Porter's ac- eoimt, consii^ed of >58 killed and mortally wounded r 39; severely, and 27 slightly wounded f and :31 missing: total 154» M'heri the Esstno wsm taken posscssioti of, only Si3 skilled, and ^ wonii^deds w^re found oil her decka ; a loss per* fectly r^con«il4Bfi¥le "jvith the injury^ hef 'hull hiul ■; J II':- ^Id NATAL OCOURRBlfOES BETWBBIC f^^^Uin«d in the action, according to Captain Hill jar's, not Captain Porter*&, description. ,}^!!fhe Phcebe mounted twenty six long 18- poundert^ upon the main-deck; twelve carron^ ^des^ 33-pounder8, an 18 and a 13-pound, launcb* ^rronade, (one on each side,) upon the quarter* ^ck ; aiid two carronades, dS-pounders. and four long 9*pounder8, upon the foreoistle; total 40 guns* She hud, also, one 3-pounder in the fqre-topf two d-poundersy (one on each side,) in tlie, mfiipi and one 8-pounder in the niizen<»top. ' The complement of the Phcebe, on leaving Engii land, consisted of 995 men and boys. So far from thes^ being ** picked men,'' the Phoebe, after het «e(vere losses in the action off Madagascar in 1811, 9iid by the climate at the reduction of Java, was eompleted, principally, with landsmen. In- cluding the yi^unteers ftom the Emily and Good Friends, tying at Valparaiso, the complement of thoPhcebe, in the action with the Essex, consisted ^878 men, and 32 boyst making exactly 900. ^^Tho .armament of the Cherub consisted of eighteen camonades, itS^iiounders, upon the mainodeck; aix cartoniidet, 18-pounders, and a l3rpound launch carronade, upon the quarter- deck; and two long Oi^poundevs upon thefore- Qfi»tle; total 37 gunl. Sfae had» on the day of tlie action^ 103 men^ and 10 boys; whicb wae bet full complement. Caplain Plorter has given kera£oitt|il«fl»cntof 180/Apiiik«dnMa;" 4 #«Birr MIIVAIV A«P AMIIIiCA. SIS Tlie JBmn^$ wrmtmtnt hu fimdy appe«r«4f (fee p. 80:) itpnl^ ramwint to utatt, that a qiian* titj of bor Aod chain-khot, and aeveral HAWf w«re found on board of ber. Her conipkment, as it was just previous to her leaving the Deia* ware in October, l^ljt, bas also appeared. Ao* fording to Captain Porter's '* Journal,'' be l«ft behind, 9 men sick; wbicb reduced bis crew to 319. Upon ber arrival in the Pacific, the Esstx re-captured the crews of some American wbale# ships; and, during six months, captured tea other whalers, under the British flag; but partlj owned, and chiefly manned, by Americans. The united crews of these Anglo>american ships, amounted to '*S0!^''; many of whom, as the ^Journal" states, entered on board the Essex* As soon as the near approach of the Phcebe was bringing the engagement to a conclusion, and '^ Lieutenant*commandant Downes** had taken away, in his boat, all the wounded Briti$h tuSfjectt of the erew, Captain Porter *' directed those who could swim, to jump overboard* and endeavor to gain the shore :" the distance of which did not exceed three-quarters of a mile. He gave tki* precipitate order, because *' the flames were bursting up eaeh hatchway :" when not a trace of fire could be discovered by tha teptoni; except some slight marks about the imuni-deek^ siiipposed to have originated from th» M explosioiH'' not of *' a large quanUty of • !| Br m ) i i, f '•f- $11 t^AtAt'i^cuRiliBlNriii Hisi^ieir tiittitk! ediiseq|ti«ii<^^ of ft* tatii Hilhfiir b^Iielwd that l^y amoaiited 4# SCI ok* 30 $ i>uti if the ^^Essex'^ a«w, in •g^nerali lelt as great ft dislike to fall^intothci hands of the British, as the «rew of the Hornet, mhen «^ was in dabger of being captured by the €dl:n-> wailis 74, there can be little ^donbt, that the majority of the unwounded nlen that remtiiiiedi in the Essex, Were sacb as either could fltot swim, or " W6re incapacitate- by Kqtiori - ' * ^^ Captain Porter^ in his lettei^, written threi^ Unonlhs after the action, fixe^ the Bssex^s vdm* plement lit 1155 ; but h^ inf<»riBed - ' Captaiar Nillyan Within two days after his captur^l that he had upwards of HGO Tictualled ; ancF| Ht' a subsequent day, thht he went into actioa with 26di 'His clerk furnished a list: of 9i&h names ; but one of the > Essex's oncers «bseriied 10 Optaiii^ HiUyar,.4bat tbeie \i;emHMB[Tpal ineil i P'l. AHBAT BRITAIir AND AMttLt6M, M$ list, none such appeared. ^"^ <»^ ?iii*<}<»i£j f>^lh thiit pare of Captain Pother's ktter, Wliere 4ie$ iff describing hi^ loss **' after th^ G1 6^ev^^^tie mmy ^%ieitiding oJiaet^jW^t^ i^'tbat remained 4}f my whole trej^l'tifter ih4 justion, capable of doitig doty r and many dC tkmm 8^ v.er«ly ] wooiided, i^me of Whc lit hilV^ since died. The enemy still contitilf^ his frre{ imdmy brave| thongli wnfortunate compattflons, iumtedili falling 9}xintme,^i posite gun to be fired, 4osiiew:theviiW«i4rt^^di^ no furthei' resistance : but they did not desist: fiAir fnen viere killed by my fddje, .and pihert ii$ (liferent parts of t^e ship/' ^ > Without 'th« means of enumera^tfg fhbiS <* sti|l fallings" or the "others killed, in^diifedr^t pairts of the ship/' itiis account Jeayes^,?}, ^nd .'^ many of them severely wounded /''as tlje nuni-, tier of ** mien, including officers," remaining ia the sliip, when possession was taken. But, what were the niimber of prisoners' received ?^ LejQkviog.oqt the 16, saved from drowning, and the 4% folund on board wounded, 103 men, with- out a scratch about them, were taken from &il|»^ tain Porter's ship ! ' * It is of little consequence, whether the creii^ of the Essex consisted of 20 men inore or less ; l^ut^ aft some numbeit must be stated, Imt com*^ .* f K;;! |i ' ^ul i' < 1 m i * T^F' 9l§ NATAt OCeiTRRWrClS BBTVBBII pteineiit will be fix^d at 865 ; ineluding^^d bd|tii^ properly so called. t According to ike representation o£ the three sllipst in Captain Porter's drawing of the en^ gageinent, the Essex is about 400 tons less than tbe Phoebe^ and about equal in size to the :€he* vifb. Fortunately, baying the Essex in our poe* session^ we have something better to trust to^ than the di$aU£rated pencil, or pen, of Captain l^a^id Porter. The dimensions of the Essex have appeared alreadj. ; ($ee p. S3.) Those of the Phcebe and Cberub areiiere giyen-:-*^ Lengiti of lower-deck, from nbbiti '*•' to rabbit, Braadah, extremej i Fhabe* Chemh. ^ tt, la. Tom. ft. Za. 14t 9 108 4 311 a 4U .S9 7i ' Th^ Phoebe having been pronounced, in Ame- tica, ** of superior force to the Essex," her force, singly, will be shewn ; as well as that of herself ^ lUid the Cherub, jointly. » . CmnpofoiiVi forte of ike ships. tf Phoebe. " Pfc«*e««"' Br