V V ^. \> .v^ V^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I I.I Itt m itt ly Mt Si u 140 1I& 1-25 lU liA ^^V ^j" ^^ // FholDgFaphic Sdmoes Q^poiiation 23 WIST MAW STMIT WnSTH,N.Y. 14SM (71«)«73-4S03 CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICMH Collection de m Canadian Instituta for Historical IMicroraproductions / Institut Canadian da microraproductions historiquas Technical and Bibliographic Notas/Nota* tachniquaa at bibliographiquaa Tha Instituta haa attamptad to obtain tha baat original copy availabia for filming. 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Additional comments:/ Commentaires supplAmantaires: Wrinkled pages may film slightly out of focus. This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est filmA au taux da rAduction indiquA ci-dassous. 10X 14X 18X 22X 26X »X y 12X 16X 20X 24X 28X 32X Th« copy filmad h«r« haa baan raproducad thanka to tha ganaroaity of: Soott Library, York Univaraity Toronto Tha imagaa appaaring hara ara tha baat quality poaaibia conaidaring tha condition and lagibiiity of tha original copy and in kaaping with tha filming contract apacifleationa. Original copiaa in printad papar eovara ara filmad baginning with tha front covar and anding on tha laat paga with a printad or illuatratad impraa- aion, or tha back covar whan appropriata. All othar original copiaa ara filmad baginning on tha firat paga with a printad or illuatratad impraa- aion, and anding on tha laat paga with a printad or illuatratad impraaaion. Tha laat racordad frama on aach microficha ahall contain tha aymbol — ► (moaning "CON- TINUED"), or tha aymbol V (moaning "END"), whichavar appliaa. IMapa. plataa, charta, ate, may ba filmad at diffarant raduction ratioa. Thoaa too larga to ba antiraly includad in ona axpoaura ara filmad baginning in tha uppar laft hand comar, laft to right and top to bottom, aa many framaa aa raquirad. Tha following diagrama illuatrata tha mathod: L'axamplaira film* fut raproduit grica i la g*n4roait« da: Soott Library, York Univanity Toronto Laa imagaa auivantaa ont At* raproduitaa avac la plua grand aoin, compta tanu da la condition at da la nattatA da l'axamplaira film*, at an conformiti avac laa conditiona du contrat da filmaga. Laa axamplairaa originaux dont la couvartura an papiar aat ImprimAa aont filmte an commandant par la pramiar plat at an tarminant soit par la damlAra paga qui comporta una amprainta d'impraaaion oi: d'illuatration, soit par la sacond plat, aalon la caa. Toua laa autraa axamplairaa originaux aont filmte an commandant par la pramlAra paga qui comporta una amprainta d'impraaaion ou d'illuatration at an tarminant par la dami*ra paga qui comporta una talki amprainta. Un daa aymbolaa auivanta apparattra sur la damidra imaga da chaqua microficha, salon la caa: la symbola — ^ signifia "A SUIVRE", la aymbola ▼ aignifia "FIN". Laa cartaa, planchaa, tablaaux, ate, pauvant Atra fiimia A daa taux da reduction diff«rants. Loraqua la documant aat trop grand pour Atra raproduit an un aaul clich«, il aat film« A partir da I'angia aupAriaur gaucha, da gaucha h droita, at da haut an baa. an pranant la nombra d'imagaa nteaaaaira. Laa diagrammaa suivants illuatrant la m4thoda. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 #.-.^^^^ ''ii^ ,^ .* f: ^^' %•■ ^«l? ^%^ 4 ■*'' ^ t H r:.^ 4 »*( <■'.' •*: ,,p. # "•«•■ ■M' . W'f.' « ♦ .■>#■' ,% •■ '•-' 5^' t" f^i Jl^- )» •*■ fe" ^. **,. * ^^ NAVAL HISTORY -* «« -i^ « or THE ■^ M' ^^- '!t...^M: >i' ^^ UNITED STATE%. V*- ^•/t. > t^^ /•'^ •i^^'-i ♦•' /■, :\ '«■ .*" f ■J^, >^ ^.S: 4^i^ ^t-r- ^^'M if^ ^4*'. #^; j' . '-r 'V '^-■■ -^ -■*;■' '»^ ■^«fe? # ■^- i- %-*^ .-v^ ■A ■* » .*. 1^ -X- !• :-4" t.- m^ l\ '*t . y',-<. *l^ . (|!^'' ; -ff- V \ -^ 'Ti^ f -Tw. •*- j^ ^* ' * /; 1 pL /^ r " '* ■*' 1f.. i>. * '' \ * '^%t**- % t *■*■ • 4- ^■ i "■■ m .^ .\ * ji.... •.,:^ .', ..•.»«.,*«*. •.(»,■ /^ # f-*!. ^ .*;■ I, a ff. '.■*•■ f •:% »f .*?■■• \\ 4. -i * ••*■' n :!S ■ 10. * '01 "^'' .iipv ■'Mi- ":%.- .#.. ^^ «■■ t » •^ i . ^. #■■ . " ;:!»' ..!».»»i,^J>M[!' ??*W^''3i¥' f^ ♦iSfd^* m * Qi -^ ? 1 p i fc - 1^ # "*. ! \ I . V . .,. ,d ■^ • ■ *■ *'.. ■§■'■ .■4 THE t k WF M. #v HISTORY OF THE NAVY . ^ .:s^ • -^^;' «>^ ^ ^ UNITED STATES 1/ V *" '^ ^- 'i^' \ ^■'^j- M'- or z-^--. -y »-t vV y- ^. '#" AMERICA. ^^5 ^ >» # 5^-^ ut4- **. BY J.«FENIMORE COOPER. ^^5 * ■% , ft * \' ~i '|N TWO VOLS. t.-rJk . V : i > * ! 'li ' -5^^ >.'^' i- -•', Vol. I. - • J-, ■ •i.J.vi -.\%",-t^ ^ ip^ %■ <^ ;;i^ ||li((8)ielp •>,♦■ :^ -*.,.:' . r^I ._ ■•4 m' .•<-»: .ii. • ^. ■ V ■ • pi.' if-' -#j » ' At.. ii .-.i^ ■r. » V > '.• Entered accordinjf to the act of Congress, in the year 1839, by .> *« J. FENIMORE COOPER, In the Clerk's ofBce of the District Court of the United States, in and for the Northern District of New York. vi H ■i^'' ^ -%''• J .-\% '■* -■' '^' ^¥:. <.F .* ■^^ i I' •*■.*'■ I. AaUMXAD AND C0.,PalNTBR8. ,,»«• ,%. *^ •1^ :^' 'M- r ^ A k » t *V-.'.i'%» . t W i. ■* "'*► % 44v \lf - 1^ -» I f5^ (tV >"j -»!' LA- THIS WORK, AN IMPUriQT KKM^ Ot TBI '^>. ^^ SERVICES, PRIVATIONS, HAZARDS AND SUFFERINGS OF THEMSELVES AND THEIR PREDECESSORS, 'r IS orriRBO AS a tribute or PRO^rovMO respect, »J- -« THE OFFICERS OF THE NAVY, IMCLVDINO THOSE OF THE MARINE CORPS, • ■ ■ \t", ^'■\ •■'%'/ ; -' ■ / . "I' BY ONE, ^ . . % ? WHO IS fVIXT SBlfSIILE OF ALL THEIR CLAIMS ON THE REPUBLIC •* .i FOR ORATITVDE AND PROTECTION. "'4r ■ft* .' " ,.,^>,^''. -i Tl £, "' "■^>?'J ^^ m ^•^ »^; ■%.■ ' * -i. ^4 •#■ f*.-- ^^ ■ (■ »\i . ■■''i'^ct."' i>.*. ^tv-^-V # 'flUi • V » . i ■■ If" (<^* •*'^. \H 1"^ r \\ ■^, ■ «■ * . • *' -" , ,-il^^ (Jti*' < / 1 N * IJ^ ^ ,H. ■^v |M ;*■;^ '^ " 'tV'".m.- • I ^>' .v» "♦ i W ¥*■'■- L^i- .fi. * , f •» f PREFACE. If ■■■ i ^^^^9 4* ■^r"": ^-^r' While biographies of naval men are usually replete with interest, on account of the hazards and stirring in- cidents of the sea, few general records of nautical events have been found to attract attention, bb;yond the value that is attached to naked facts. If such has been the case with most of the histories of even the marine of Great Britain, a service that admits of the unity and interest that belong to the operations of flecfts, still more may it be looked for in the records of the isolated and simpler incidents of a navy like that of the United States. The difficulty of overcoming this great ob- stacle has been foreseen from the commencement of this work, and some attempts, that are connected with the arrangements of the subject, have been made to obviate it. The writer is far from flattering himself with entire success, for a history of detached combats is, in truth, a series of episodes, the mind scarcely be- coming concentrated on one, when it is required to give its attention to another, while the connecting ma- terials, according to the ordinary practice, are merely a dry detail of documents. -^.- > 11 '^ >-j^ •a <• A. ■% .1 ^. ■it*ii vui PREFACE. -^ In order to overcome, in some measure, this beset- ,,i ting difficulty, as little reference as possible is made to ' documents, in the body of the work. The first, and great desideratum of history, is truth; the second, just reflections on it. If the dif- ficulty of obtaining truth for the more important lead- ing events of the world be universally admitted, this difficulty is increased when the subject by its essen- '. tial character, requires an infinity of detail. Bat- tles, whether by sea or land, are never seen by the contending parties, from the same point of view, and their descriptions are usually more conflicting than ^ any other portions of history. Of course, a work that contains little more than a narrative of combats, is pe- culiarly liable to errors. Great anxiety has been felt to remove, as much as possible, this objection from the present book, and, while the writer is far from flatter- ing himself with entire success, he trusts his honest endeavours have not been altogether useless. That there are many omissions is highly probable, but in no instance can he reproach himself with the commission of intentional faults of any kind. Authorities being of so much moment to the histo- rian, it was intended to quote them, but it was soon found that it would require nearly as much room to cite these names, and all the minute circumstances by means of which information has been gleaned, as to relate the events themselves. It is hoped that the best authorities have been consulted, and many officers of the highest rank and reputation have consented to add their oral information to that which was to be ob- /'^ l^' :^' Si- %i i ,.i •ii ^* ,f J'* ; • A t * ^•' VI ''■■%- ". .--%* *J' y. >.. '."&■ '*:■ PREFACE. #-'?^.^'i» '^• ^ tained from official reports, public documents, and other sources. To the latter gentlemen, the writer wishes to make his public acknowledgments, for the liberality, pa- ^ tience and clearness with which they have favoured him with their explanations. Witnesses of what they have related, their accounts have been given with a caution, modesty and fairness that lend a double value to their authority. Much liberal assistance has also been received from the Department, and from the eminent citizen at its head. To James E. De Kay, M. D., the writer is under peculiar obligations, for the friendly and handsome manner in which he put at the disposal of the latter, many notes taken with care, and which have proved of the greatest service, in the course of the investigations. To the library of the American Philosophical Society, in Philadelphia, the writer is equally indebted for much valuable and inter- esting matter, and he would be wanting in sensibility were he not publicly to express his gratitude for the generous manner in which its stores ol'information have been thrown open to him. To the City Library of Philadelphia, also, though established on a principle that allowed him more claim to ask for aid, he is under great obligations, its shelves usually supplying the re- quired authorities when other sources have failed. He desires also to mention his obligations to the Naval Chronicle of Mr. Goldsborough, in which book he has found much accurate and useful matter. Some of the greatest writers of the age have im- paired the dignity of their works, by permitting the % 'If. ■f A' ■^ ♦■'- ^■V * ■^%^: •*r W PREFACK. peculiarities of style that have embellished their hgnter labours, to lessen the severity of manner that more properly distinguishes narratives of truth. This dan- ger has been foreseen, in the present instance, though the nature of the subject, which seldom rises to the level of general history, offers a constant temptation to offend. A middle course has been adopted, which it is hoped, while some defects of execution may proba- bly be detected, will be found on the whole to be suit- ed to a recital of facts, in the familiar form that, in a measure, the incidents have demanded. Without some concessions to details, sufficient interest could not have been secured, while those that were too minute might have thrown discredit on the truth. It will be seen that some vessels are rated in this work differently from what the public has been accus- tomed to consider accurate. Every mode of rating is liable to some objections, and nothing is more fallacious than to estimate the power of a ship by the number of her guns. Two great elements of force enter into the composition of a vessel of war : the ability to annoy, and the ability to endure. A ship of one thousand tons burthen, armed with one heavy gun, might resist, for a long time, a dozen vessels of thirty tons, each armed with the same species of gun. This advantage would arise from the greater ability of the large vessel to endure. On the other hand, the same ship, armed with one heavy gun, would probably capture a similar ?i(»sel armed with twenty very light guns, her ability to annoy being the greatest. A 32, according to the old mode of rating, carries 26 twelves on her gun- t 'J ■ .• T ■ '-:^ ! » V #•. ^^- ^ PRErAOE. '^" ^.-■■':;V»^i- :m deatf llnd a 36 carries 26 eighteens on her gun-deck, both vessels often possessing the same armaments on their quarter-decks and forecastles. Here are two ships of the same number of guns, but of very unequal ^, ^. force, the one being a twelve-pounder frigate, and the other an eighteen- pounder frigate. With a view to give an accurate idea of comparative forces, the old English mode of rating has been carried through the American navy, in this work, in order to make one vessel properly compare with another. Thus the "New- York frigate was properly called a 36, while the Adams was improperly called a 32, her true rate having been that of a 28, &c. &c. Some apparent discrepancies, however, will be seen in this book. The ^ Enterprise, for instance, is at first called a 12, and » subsequently a 14. The difference is owing to altera- tions in the piercing of the vessel, and in the nature of her armament, as this schooner underwent repairs. Other small vessels were similarly altered. With these few explanations, a task that has long been meditated, but which, after all, has been hur- riedly accomplished, is submitted to the world, with quite as much apprehension as hope. ff 1^^ V, ^.'' ^*i^ ■**. M K ^ «••*. /■kV ■s^». -.#, % '■m? V.;. iTi :i.« ti'. ■■t *.i-' -^ ':«» i'Vu. •r:^: ^i't t- It- ■^ V\ :i^- ,?. ll". 4. ■% wfe. ♦ M <*•- v^ ■)i .»X' .«• IH* .!f •I ^• 4- ..:^;•:--a '. ;»;i .^''^ INTRODUCTION. (~ - - ' ■ >■ ;',^/:&' ^i.? • J 1- ipv -> *L,', 1 i /;. -t^..Ki^ As in a ' 'n>^..5rV'if-?iKVf, In the years 1812, 1813, and 1814, the republic expended considerably more than $50,000,000, on its current military operations, without reference to the large sums that were lubsequcntly paid on the same account. This war lasted but- V^9 yS^^9 aud ^ight months, and during the first season its 4v il I ii ^■.2r ■^' x^ ^:^^' ■:^' <=% its ' iirtRODuoTioir. operations were very limited. Thus 930,000,000 more were paid on account of military charges, in the two years of peace that immediately succeeded, making a total of $80,000,000. It is known that even this large sum ^lls ma- terially short of the truth. During the «ame five years, the money expended on the navy amounted to only $30,000,000, although the peculiar nature of the service on the lakes in- volved an enormous and an unusual expenditure, and a war with Algiers occurred, during which the country maintain- ed afloat a much larger force than it had ever previously employed. In addition, the greatest part of this expendi- lure, was the cost of new constructions. It follows, that America expended nearly two dollars on her army, and its military operations, in the war of 1812, for every dollar expended on her navy, including the expense of building most of the costly vessels of the service. Had the fact been precisely reversed, it is probable that the proportions required by true policy would have been better observed, and there can be but little doubt that the country would have reaped the advantage, for, no serious invasion of Amer- ica will ever be attempted in the face of a strong fleet, aAer the country shall be provided with docks and arsenals, by means of which accidental reverses can be remedied. By ^'■ dividing the large sum expended on the army and navy, between the years 1812 and 1816, inclusively, $40,000,000 would have fallen to the share of each branch of the ser- . V. vice, which would have given $8,000,000 a year to the navy. This sum would be amply sufiicient to maintain a" . force of twenty sail of the line, with a suitable number "m 'A. iidif I I XVI IlfTBODUOTIOir. *- of small vessels, to cruise in company. Against such a fleet, no European power could have attempted an invasion of a coast so distant from its own resources. This fs an outline of the facts of 1812. Those of the present day, in no degree impair the principle, though the introduction of steam may modify its application. Nor can it be objected that these statements are liable to the deduc- tions which practice is usually found to make in estimates, since they are, in truth, results and not premises. The only departure ijrom a known fact, is to transfer a portion of the actual current expenditure of the country, a quarter of a cen- tury since, from one branch of its public service to another. It may be taken as a rule, that wherever there is money, men will not be wanting. But the government of the United States has never resorted to the most obvious means of manning a large marine. Until the effort shall be properly made, it is weak to assume the impossibility of the measure. The number of actual seamen necessary in a large ship is much smaller than is commonly supposed, and it is probable that there was not a moment, during the year 1814, when the public and private armed vessels of the country, did not contain people enough of all sorts, with a proper addition of landsmen, to man a fleet of sufficient strength to have swept the American seas. The impressed American sea- men, who were put into the prisons of England, after the declaration of war in 1812, would, of themselves, have fur- nished nearly all the petty officers and seamen of ten sail of the line, and had only those ten sail of the line existed a few years previously, it is probable not one of these men would ".I iiTTRODDcrnoir. XTii have been the subject of the outrage by which he was depriv- ed of liberty. Whenever the government of the United States shall be engaged in a war with any great naval power, and shall see fit to withhold commissions from privateers, grant- ing, at the same time, the proceeds of all prizes to the offi- cers and men of their public cruisers, it will be found that adventurers will not be wanting. In the contest of 1818, the vessels of war were directed to destroy the ships they took, because the enemy was known so closely to infest the coast, that it was almost impossible to get a prize in, whereas a strong force would put an end to all sorts of blockades. Most of the prizes taken by Capt Porter in the Pacific, and which made the attempt to get to America, traversed the immense distance between Valparaiso, or the Marquesas, and the American coast in safety, to fall into the hands of their enemy, when a few days, or a few hours run from port. It should be remembered, that, in political measures, as in all the other interests of life, weak- ness is the parent of misfortune, while the results of energy and force, are in an arithmetical proportion to their means. There can be no reasoning more unsound, than to assume that the consequences of a defective policy, are to be taken as the premises of a wise policy. A careful review of these facts and principles, must satisfy all who study the subject, that the United States of America have never resorted to the means necessary to develope, or even, in a limited sense, to employ their own naval resources. As a consequence, they have never yet eajoyed the advantage of possessing a powerful marine in a* ^^ -ji ■I » i.1*!f ( \ *• ' xviii . ufTRODooTioir. , a lime of war, or have felt its influence in sustaining their negotiations, and in supporting their national rights, in a time of peace. As yet, the ships of America have done little more than show the world what the republic might do with its energies duly directed, and its resources properly developed, by demonstrating the national aptitude for this species of warfare. p.' n^ --'• ;, But the probationary period of the American marine . is passing away, and the body of the people are begin- ning to look forward to the appearance of their fleets on the ocean. It is no longer thought there is an unfitness in the republic's possessing heavy ships ; and the opinion of the country, in this as in other respects, is slowly rising to the level of its wants. Still many lingering prejudices re- main in the public mind, in connexion with this all-impor- tant subject, and some that threaten the service with se- rious injury. Of these, the most prominent are, the mode in which the active vessels are employed; a ne- glect of the means of creating seamen for the public ser- vice ; the fact that there is no force in commission on the American coast ; the substitution of money for pride and self-respect, as the aim of military men ; and the impairing of discipline and lessening the deference for the justice of the state, by the denial of rank. ; • .... (^i,-; > Vfeilf^i ■<« Under the present system of employing the public ves- sels, none of the peculiar experience that belongs to the higher objects of the profession is obtained. While ships may be likened to regiments, as regards the necessity of ma- nosuvring together, there is one important feature in which .>fc,r..4 IlTTRODVOTIOir. they are totally dissimilar. It may be pretty safely thought that one disciplined regiment \vill march as far, endure as m.uch, and occupy its station as certainly as another, but no such calculation can be made on ships. The latter are machines, and their qualities may be improved by human ingenuity, when their imperfections have been ascertained by experiment. Intelligent comparisons, are the first step in this species of improvement. ■ — -■ It will be clear to the dullest mind, that the evolutions of a fleet, and, in a greater or less degree, its success, must be dependent on the qualities of its poorest vessels ; since its best cannot abandon their less fortunate consorts to the enemy. ' The naval history of the world abounds with in- stances, in which the efforts of the first sea captains of their respective ages, have been frustrated by the defects of a portion of the ships under their command. To keep a number of vessels in compact order, to cause them to pre- serve their weatherly position in gales and adverse winds, and to bring them all as near as possible up to the stand- ard that shall be formed by the most judicious and careful commander, is one of the highest aims of naval expe- rience. On the success of such efforts depend the results of naval evolutions more frequently than on any dexterity in fighting guns. An efficient fleet can no more be formed, without practice in squadrons, than an efficient army with- out evolutions in brigades. By not keeping ships in squa- drons, there will also be less emulation, and consequently less improvement. .•->-.'. '>■ ^ 'v;"^ ^ -,<;«!>. i*<-ri^# v.- ^-v;^ .#, Under the present system, three principal stations are m '^^ -4 t: m X' XX IlfTMkDOOTIOII* mtintained; two in tho Atlantic, and one in the Mediterra- nean. On neither of thege stations would the presence of a vessel larger than a sloop of war be necessary, on ordinary occasions, provided a force of heavy ships could periodically and unexpectedly appear on all. It is seldom that a single ship of the line is required on any service, and it is certain that a solitary two-decked vessel could have no great influence on those important interests which it is the practice of the rest of Christendom to refer to the agencies of fleets. By putting in commission six or eight two-decked ships, and by caus- ing them to appear, from time to time, on all the more important stations this side of the two great southern capes, the country, at no material additional cost, would obtain the several objects of practice in fleets, of comparative trials of the qualities of the most important class of ves- sels in the navy, of a higher state of discipline, and of a vast improvement in the habits of subordination, on the part of commanders, a defect that all experience shows is peculiar to the desultory mode of service now in use, and which has produced more naval disasters in the world, than probably any other one cause. In a word, the prin- cipal ends of a navy can no more be obtained, by the services of single ships, than wars can be decided by armies cut up into battalions. Small vessels are as indis- pensable, for lower schools of practice, as company drills in an army; but squadrons alone can produce the highest class of oflicers, the steadiest discipline, or the desired objects. < In addition to this neglect of accustoming the service to the use of the particular sort of force necessary to render • V '$- > li: m V lirTRODUOTIOIt. XXI V V a marine eflfective for groat ends, the history of the vrorld cannot probably supply a parallel to that forgetfulness which the American government has manitestod of all the known incentives of human exertions, n the managoment of the navy. A portion of the inducements, that, under other forms of government, are freely used for this purpose, un- der a system like that of the United States, are necessarily withheld, as they are believed to be opposed to the govern- ing principles of the institutions. To this class of incen- tives belong all those rewards that are connected with personal and hereditary social rank. That the power to confer honours of this nature, is a vast increase to the influence of a government, is incontrovertible ; and in dis- carding it for objects that are thought to be of still greater importance, the utmost care should be taken not to neglect its substitutes. The man who, refusing to adopt re- medies that he believes unsuited to his constitution, is dis- creet, when he carries his system so far as to forget to look for others to supply their places, becomes careless and culpable. .• " -^ -*-- Next to personal reputation, military rank is the highest stimulus of a military life. Its possession enters into all the day dreams of the young aspirant for fame and honours, is inseparable from self-respect, and is indissolubly con- nected with discipline. With these indisputable truths in full view, they who have had the care of graduating and regulating this important interest, for the American ma- rine, have simply selected that part of the system of the mother country, that did not conflict with popular institu- *; \. #♦ f * .T'fJ I w -.. i . |^ .. xxH IITTRODDOTIOir. tions, without adverting to its fitness for the peculiar stat« of things to which it was to be applied. This was like re- jecting the heart of the fruit because it was unhealthy, and carefully preserving the rind. But a few explanations will render our meaning more clear. . .«. . The nature of the English government is no secret. A territorial aristocracy, promotion, in both the army and the navy, is the inevitable fruit of favour, or of personal power. In the army, the mode of purchasing rank has been adopt- ed, by means of which the affluent are at all times enabled to secure the most desirable stations for their children ; but, professional knowledge being indispensable to a sea-officer, a different plan was introduced into the marine. Accord- ing to this system, the name of a boy was entered on the books of a ship, and after he had been thus rated a cer- tain number of years, it was competent for the admiralty to raise him, at pleasure, as high as the rank of captain, when his career became more regular. As this rank of captain, however, afforded most of the opportunities for acquiring reputation and money, it was the first great object of all aspirants, and it ^ited the policy of such a form of go- vernment to make the intermediate steps, between the con- dition of probation, and that when the officer obtained his permanent relative rank for life, as few as possible. Thus were found in the British navy but two commissions between the midshipman and the captain ; that of a lieutenant, and that of a master and commander. When the narrow po- litical system under which these probationary ranks were established was in full activity, the sons of men of influ- ¥f ^ INTRODUOTIOir. XXUl ence oAen passed through the stations of lieutenant and master commandant, in two or three years. Nothing was more common than to find captains in command of fri- gates, who had served but eight or ten years in the navy, with lieutenants to take care of their ships, who had passed double the time under that one commission alone. Although this system, so far as the regulation of the ranks is concerned, was adopted entire into the American service, nothing can be more unsuited to our state of society, to policy, and to the actual wants of the navy. For many years, all the promotions of the American ma- rine, were limited to three! Even at this day, with full ex- perience of the evils of a system of incentives so meagre, and of a concentration of rank so destructive of self-respect and discipline, the life of the American naval officer is cheered by only four promotions, two of which are little more than the changes that nature herself demands, by transferring the officer from the duty of a boy, to duty more becoming a man. — ^ "^ v He who lives without the inspiriting view of preferment constantly before his eyes, literally lives without hope, and necessarily without ambition. It is a singular fact, that in a country where so many social consequences of the last im- portance are justly traced to the elasticity of a hope of ad- vancement that is denied to no American, this cruel neglect should have been manifested to the interests and character of a branch of the public service which all admit to be of the last importance. As events are stronger than the human will, the evil consequences of this indifference to the feel- ■m % (hs« '^m: Vm*t^ . ■t. XXIV IlfTRODDCTIOir. iiigs and rights of the navy, are easily to be traced; facts having forced from the government substitutes for the legitimate incentives of military life, that are dangerous to the military character. Money has been made to supply the place of ambition, and a new pay-bill is thought to be a sufficient corrective of all the evils of a great moral neglect, and of a most crying injustice ! It is time that America began to think for herself on a subject as important as that of her marine, and to frame a system of discipline and incentives, of resources and prac- tice, better suited to her political, social and moral condi- tion, than the factitious and exclusive state of things which has so long served her for a model. Personal influence availing nothing in procuring promotion, in the American marine, all its officers are obliged to pass through the same stages of probationary service, and, with the exception of the cases in which the expediency of rewarding suc- cess prevails, each individual is obliged to pass an equal portion of his life in the same rank. A wise policy would impress the government with the importance of add- ing as many stimulants to this period of professional life as comports with convenience; but an examination of facts will show that, while practice has exacted concessions to necessity, the opportunity of adding the incentives of pro- motions has been strangely neglected. Thus it is that we find the lower ranks of the service separated in practice, by stations unknown to the laws, while the commission is withheld from the individual who temporarily performs the duty. fi.h- ■ % ^ i- v .•^ supply *-' m'ik' Vi IITTRODUOTIOir. ■i"^ XXV It is not easy fully to impress on the minds of civilians the immense results that are dependent on a due division of military rank. The commission, which represents the power of the state, in a short time gets to be the substitute for personal qualities, and produces that prompt and nearly passive obedience which are indispensable to the success of military movements. The common man, or the officer, who at any moment is required to risk his life under the orders of another, has need to strengthen his habits of submission, by all the auxiliaries which human inge- nuity can devise, without injustice. To prevent a resort to abject dread, nations have introduced the substitute of respect. Equality of rank is uniformly destructive of sub> ordination, and it should be one of the aims of a wise admi- nistration of the navy, to place in a ship as many different grades of officers, as may comport with simplicity and convenience. A regiment has always six, and sometimes seven distinct classes of commissioned officers, in its fight- ing department ; and there is no reason why a ship should not be equally well protected against the evils of insubordi- nation, though it is usual to limit the number to three. The moral effect of a frequent recurrence of promotions, also, is incalculable. Each step is an incentive to exertion and improvement, and a corrector of habits. When young men, in particular, are condemned to pass fifteen or twenty years in the same rank, the spirit grows weary, the charac- ter loses its elasticity, the ambition is deadened, and the duty that, with a proper attention to these details, might be ren- dered attractive, becomes monotonous and discouraging. Vol. I.— 3 4/ '''%1 *• iJ -I-' :#' jftls' -# ■^ i \i^:P-' XXVI IITTRODiraTIOir. By minute divisions of rank, those personal sensibilities which are apt to seek relief in personal quarrels, are as- suaged by the habitual deference that is paid to the com-* \ mission. The whole history of the navies of the world furnishes very few instances of duels between sea-officers of diiferent ranks, while, unhappily, too many cases may be found of meetings between equals. - .■'*::< .• • ,' ; • While the American service, without the same motive, has adopted the naked system of the English, for the infe- rior stations of the marine, it has stopped at the rank of captain, where, in truth, the great incentives and rewards of the British navy really commence. In England, while there are only two commissions below that of a captain, there are nine superior. In addition to these different mili- tary commissions, must be enumerated several professional dignities, with the incentives offered by knighthood and social rank. • ^ w.^;, ,. , . . ,; , > The rank of a captain in the navy never can be a suffi- cient inducement to attract the highest talents, in a country in which every species of preferment is open to competi- tion. Hope has, hitherto, kept the service together, the want of fleets furnishing an apparent apology for trusting to the future. To pretend, however, to manage fleets with officers of the same rank as the commanders of single ves- sels, infers as great an absurdity as to pretend to manage ships with no other rank than that of a midshipman. There is, indeed, a greater connexion between rank and discipline, as applied to fleets, than between rank and discipline, as applied to ships. In the latter case, there is the constant 1 > ■'' 'St":'. *■■ ^ .n w >- .. ^^p : - -"^v-. ♦ V , ,V^^; "% IirTRODUOTlOir. '' ^ ,.■.'. t. xxvii #' personal inspection of the superior to aid authority ; while in the former, obedience arises purely from deference to the commission, and the obligations of duty. It is as much the nature of man to pay respect to the instructions of one clothed with an authority superior to his own, as it is to cavil at the opinions and instructions of his equals. It is idle to expect the implicit and confiding obedience on the one hand, and the self-relying exercise of authority on the other, that are indispensable to certain and combined mili- tary operations, without imparting to the superior all the power that habitually attaches itself to the possession of professional rank. . . ' , : , " i^'* : -^^ There is a necessary denial of some of the cheapest and most available incentives to public service, in republican forms of government. Personal rank is withheld, on a general and wise principle ; but to increase this compara- tive feebleness, by denying professional rank, is to add wil- fully to those peculiar defects of a political system, that wisdom would teach us to repair by all practicable means. It is a rule of morals, that a high class of service must meet a high scale of rewards, and that a low scale of rewards will produce a low class of service. In addition to the considerations of policy, come the claims of justice. There is no stronger hold on the services of its citizens, than a perfect reliance on the justice of a state. It is the quality that most binds a man to his coun- try; which most elevates that country in the eyes of the world ; which, in truth, renders it the most worthy of re- spect, obedience and love. If the community that ceases % iJPK iJii,: +• -* 1 1 ,« ) XXVUl IirTRODUCTlOW. to protect the characters, persons and property of its mem< bers, loses all moral claim to their allegiance, so does the state that denies the rewards due to its servants, weaken its \ right to expect extraordinary and profitable exertions. It may, moreover, be laid down as a safe rule, that the mili- tary man who does not desire military rank, is deficient in that generous ambition which courts responsibility and is willing to encounter danger. *. - v - • ■>:-■ i 'F' >? The claims of justice cannot be dispensed with, in the case of the navy, with the same impunity as in most other instances connected with the public service. Seamen go abroad ; they appear in their professional stations before the observation of foreign states, and are placed in constant contrast with the servants of other systems. Republicanism itself is brought into disrepute, in denying the just rewards of long services to officers, by attaching to it the weakness of a neglect of incentives, an ignorance on the subject of the general laws of discipline, and the odium of injustice. It is by forgetting the latter quality, more through the indif- ference of a divided power, than from any other cause, that republics have obtained their established character of being ungrateful. They are ungrateful because they neglect those means of security that are connected with a just system of reward^', which other states respect from apprehension. ' The necfc-^sity of creating higher rank in the navy, on account of its influence on other services, more especially when acting in concert with American fleets, has often been pointed out. The answer to this practical argument, has usually been a high pretension in behalf of the republic, I ) -'H' "^.. ■i' -f w IITTEODUOTIOir,;^ XXIX to act agreeably to its own policy, and a right to insist that any notion of superiority that it may choose to attach to the station of a captain in its own navy, shall be recognised by the agents of other governments. This extravagant idea can be supported by neither usage, reason, nor common sense. In the first place, all international questions should be settled by the general consent of states, and not by the peculiar policy of any particular community. As well might America pretend to say that its charges d'affaires shall have the rank of ambassadors at foreign courts, as to say that its captains, under any circumstances, shall have the rank of admirals on foreign stations. It is true, a nation has a right to say that a rank equivalent to that of an ad- miral shall exist in its marine, under another appellation; but it has no right to say that a rank recognised by itself as merely that of a captain, shall be entitled to receive the honours and to claim the authority of an admiral, among other people. The usages of nations must control this interest, as well as all others that equally affect different states; and, as there is nothing new, or peculiar, in cap« tains occasionally commanding squadrons, under the tem- porary title of commodores, among all the naval powers of Christendom, other people may object to America's attaching a new importance to an old commission. The pretension might as well be set up in behalf of a lieutenant as in behalf of a captain ; and foreign services will be as likely to object to the one as to the other. It is no answer to say, that we attach the consideration of an admiral to the commission of a captain, since the fact is not so. If it 3* %' m '\' ■i, : 1 I XXX HfTRODUCTIOir. ■M" were, the question would be altogether unworthy of con- troversy, for it would be a discussion merely about a name. If a captain were in reality an admiral, there would be no sufficient reason for calling him a captain, since it would be rejecting all the moral aid that is associated with establish- ed language, without a corresponding object. There can be no more certain sign of the ignorance of a people, or of their unfitness for self-government, than the practice of con- founding the substance with the reality, and an enlightened nation should not hesitate to use the name when it pos- sesses the thing. Other people have a right to insist on this frankness, as it is the simplest means of preventing mis- takes, and is answering the plainest ends of language. He is no friend of liberty, who is not the friend of sincerity; and the politician who is afraid of simplicity and frankness, manifests his distaste for truth. Without gradations in military rank there would be no subordination or discipline. There can be no equality in an army or navy. One must always command, and the rest must obey. It is true it might be possible to establish a system, by which all the officers of a fleet should have the same titular rank, commanding according to seniority; but no good could come of it. In the first place, the appella- tion would not, at once, indicate the relative station of the individual, as at present, and much would be lost in time and simplicity. There would be no general rule by which to regulate pay and emoluments, and the laws to this effect would become complicated and difficult of interpretation. Foreigners would not know whom to address as the supe- •\v ■>! ftv. ♦i. K-^ I *■ IITTROOUOTlOir. ,. XXXI rior and whom to address as the inferior, nor vrould the government of the country itself be able to understand its own arrangements, without a constant recurrence to re- cords and registers. There is the same reason for calling the commander of a ship a captain, as there is for calling its disbursing officer a purser, and its medical officer a sur- geon. These terms explain their own meaning, which is one of the great ends of language. What is true of a cap- tain, is equally true of an admiral. The substitution of the term commodore for that of admiral is liable to the same objection as the substitution of the term lieutenant for that of captain. It does not mean what is expressed. A com- modore fills a brevet rank of the highest utility, fpr it enables the government to avail itself of the peculiar talents of any active partisan captain, by detaching him for tem- porary service, with a small squadron, usually of light ships, placing it in the power of those who control naval movements, to overlook seniority, in the search of peculiar merit. He exists as a beneficial exception, and in converting the rank into the rule, an authority that is highly useful to the department is lessened. Admirals are as necessary to fleets, as captains to ships. The thing must exist, under some appellation or other, and if the old term brings with it additional dignity, respect, authority, and adds fresh in- centives to exertions, it is utter imbecility to discard it. There is no more fitness in calling the commander of a fleet a captain, or even a commodore, than in styling the first magistrate of the republic, a justice of the peace. It is often asserted that the superior ranks have been withheld from the American marine, because there exists no t • ). xxxu UrTRODUOTIOir. corresponding military titles in a community that is sensi- tively jealous of every appearance of superiority. Generals can be tolerated, because generals abound in common life; but admirals will not be tolerated, because admirals cannot argue before courts, and hope to escape ridicule. This, indeed, would be subjecting the policy of a great nation, and that too in one of its highest interests, to the envious and absurd feelings of a village rivalry. The objection is unworthy of a reply, and that it is false, is proved by the ex- cessive number of another peculiar rank that does actually exist, the navy fast tending towards becoming a service of commodores ! Indeed, one of the evils of withholding the superior rank of admiral, is the disposition it creates to con- vert the brevet and peculiar station of commodore into a permanent and common station, defeating its object. The propriety of adopting for the navy, a brevet rank corresponding to that of the army, has been frequently dis- cussed, and, in one instance, it was seriously recommend :-^ to Congress, by the department. While there is a peculiar fitness in an American army's receiving brevet rank, it is a mode of preferment entirely unsuited to all navies. The American army is unavoidably broken up into small de- tachments; commands of companies, where brevet rank be- comes available; but the lieutenant who held the brevet rank of commander would still be obliged to act as a lieu- tenant, since ships' companies must be entire. The acting appointments that now exist, are the best substitutes for brevet rank in a marine, if it be thought they ought not to be replaced by commissions. ^* ' " ■: v*"^' The necessity of possessing a powerful marine, appears X •* S I VV '!< vK.; ^, l*»: M'"^' llfTRODUCTlOir. xxxiii now to be generally conceded. While all parties are ready to admit the expediency of creating a formidable naval force, however, there is a division of sentiment as to the method and the means. Those who reason for the future from the past, are disposed to limit the national efforts, should another war occur with England, to predatory hostilities directed against her commerce; while the bolder and more original thinkers believe that the time has come when America is as fully able to protect all her interests at sea, as any other naval power of Christendom. They contend, that nothing is wanting but the will, and the necessary preparations. There is an opinion becoming prevalent that the use of steam will supersede the old mode of conducting naval warfare. Like most novel and bold propositions, this new doctrine has obtained advocates, who have yielded their convictions to the influence of their imaginations, rather than to the influence of reflection. That the use of steam will materially modify naval warfare, is probably true; but it cannot change its general character. No vessel can be built of sufficient force and size, to transport a sufficiency of fuel, provisions, munitions of war, and guns, to contend with even a heavy frigate, allowing the last to bring her broadside to bear. It may be questioned if the heaviest steam vessel of war that exists could engage a modern two- decked ship even in a calm, since the latter, in addition to possessing much greater powers of endurance, could proba- bly bring the most guns to bear, in all possible positions. Shot-proof batteries might indeed be built, that, propelled by '*\ti. X r^ifKt * ■ * XXXIV IRTRODDOTIOir. ■: %. Steam, would be exceedingly formidable for harbour de- fence, but it is illusory to suppose that vessels of that des- cription can ever bo made to cruise. Even in estimating the power of steam-vessels in calms, as opposed to single ships of no great force, there is much exaggeration, as his- torical facts will amply prove. The wars of this country afford several instances of frigates carrying eighteen poun- ders, lying exposed to the cannonade of fifteen or twenty gun-boats, for two or three hours, and yet, in no instance, has any such vessel been cither captured or destroyed. It is a heavy sea-steamer that can bring six guns to bear at a time, and yet frigates have resisted twenty guns, advan- tageously placed, for hours. It may be said, that steamers would dare to approach nearer than gun-boats, and that, by obtaining more favourable positions, they will be so much the more formidable. There is but one position in which a ship can be assailed, without the means of resist- ance, and that is directly ahead, and from a situation near by. Large ships can hardly be said to be defenceless, even under these circumstances; as the slightest variation in their position, would always admit of their bringing three or four heavy guns to bear. The expedients of seamen offer a variety of means of changing the direction of a ship's head in calms, even did not the sea itself perform that office for them. Nothing, for instance, would be easier than to rig, temporarily, wheels to be propelled by hand, out of the stern or bow ports, or even on the quarter, that would bring a large ship's forward, or after guns, to bear, in a way to beat off, or destroy, a steamer. a ■^1 *>• ■ ~*A INTRODUOTIOir. XXXV 7^ /> ,^ ii I U- < 4- There are certain great principles that are unchangeable, and which must prevail under all circumstances. Of this class, is the well established fact, that a ship which pos- sesses the efficiency which is contained in the double power to annoy and to endure, must, in all ordinary circumstances, prevail over a ship that possesses but one of these advan- tages, and that too, in a smaller degree. Steam may be, and most probably will be made a powerful auxiliary of the present mode of naval warfare, but it is by no means likely to supplant it. Fleets may be accompanied by steamers, but their warfare will be conducted by the present classes of heavy ships, since it is not possible to give sufficient powers of annoyance, or endurance, to vessels propelled by steam, to enable them to lie under the batteries of the latter. Even as active cruisers, the efficiency of steam-vessels is probably overrated, on account of the consumption of fuel, though it remains to be proved by experience, whether their employment may not induce a change in the armaments of light vessels of war. The history of the war of 1812, shows that ships have often cruised months without having fallen in with convoys, and it is certain that no steamer, in the present state of science, can remain at sea thirty days, with efficiency as a steamer. In a word, while the introduction of steam into na- val warfare, will greatly modify maritime operations, it is, by no means, likely to effect the revolution that is sup- posed. In those portions of the art of seamanship that it will influence, steam will meet steam, and, in the end, it will be found that the force of fleets will be required, in settling the interests of states, as to-day. Perhaps the greatest t^ ■*/ r* < m »«v'ij ■-» ) ' ^^ ./ XXXVl INTRODUCTION. agency of this new application of a steam-power is yet to be seen, in the adoption of an invention of an officer of high rank in our own navy, that of the steam-prow. For the pur- poses of harbour-defence this idea promises more than any other, though it is by no means certain that the resources of seamen may not yet discover the means of resisting even this threatening means of destruction. Another of the provisions necessary to the efficiency of a marine, that has been neglected by the American govern- ment, is the construction of dry docks. It is hardly ex- ceeding the bounds of a just discrimination to say that the state which possesses a fleet of twenty heavy ships, with a sufficient number of dry docks, is better provided with the means of carrying on an active and vigorous naval war, than the state which may possess double the number of ships, and no dry docks. Indeed, a constant examination of the copper of vessels, to say nothing of injuries received in battle, is necessary to sailing well; and, as has been said already, a fleet composed of vessels of unequal qualities, is at once reduced to the level of its poorest ships. The great extent of the American coast requires an unusual provision of this nature. Crippled vessels are compelled to make the first port, and no important naval station should be without at least one dock capable of receiving any thing that floats. The consideration of all these subjects, will teach any re^ fleeting man how little has yet been done for this great na- tional interest, through the agency of foresight, precaution and wisdom, while so much has been done by circum- stances. " . . . ■*" "^K '#■':, * ■>>* ■ft:' '.fT- .m,. . Jti MdatWKia. •aik. ■Vr ' ■ ll ~ /■ 4 'K ¥. J*-. iSls^ ''Sfc^v . ^ .ssr NAVAL HISTORY OF TIIB %i- UNITED STATES. :¥■ ' M ■n| CHAPTER I. ■¥■ %' The empire of Great Britain, much the most powerful state of modern times, has been gradually and progressively advancing to its present high degree of maritime prosperity, and its actual condition ought to be considered the result of moral instead of physical causes, though the latter is pro- bably the more prievalent opinion. Notwithstanding the insular position of its seat of authority, its naval ascendency is of comparatively recent date; Spain, and even the dimin- utive communities of Portugal and Holland, manifesting as great, if not a greater spirit of lofty nautical enterprise, during the century and a half that succeeded the important discovery of the western hemisphere, and that of a passage by sea to India. While these three nations were colonizing extensively, and laying the foundations of future states, the seamen of England expended their energies in predatory ex- peditions that were rapacious in their objects and piratical in spirit. Familiar political causes, beyond a question, had ■^ Vol. I— 4 ii: .♦ /l ■■*r ■AXtf 'V » w? # 38 NAVAL HISTORY. ' i'-v ,#! an influence in bringing about these results; for, while the accession of the House of Hapsbourg to the throne of Spain and the Indies, created a power able to cope with Europe, as it then existed, England, driven entirely from her conti- nental possessions, had Scotland for a troublesome neigh- bour, and Ireland for a discontented and turbulent sub- ject, to check her efforts abroad. It is probable, too, that the civil contests, in which England was so long engaged, had a serious effect on her naval advancement, and the struggle that succeeded the dethronement of the family of Stuart, could not fail to lessen exertions that were directed to interests without the territory more immediately in dis- pute. As a consequence of all these causes, or of that por- tion of them which was in existence at the commencement of the seventeenth century, when England seriously com- menced the business of colonization, Spain, France and Portugal were already in possession of what were then con- sidered the most favourable regions on the American con- tinent When, indeed, the experiment was finally and successfully made, individual enterprise, rather than that of the government, achieved the object; and for many years the power of the crown was exercised with no other aim than to afford an ill-regulated, and frequently an insufficient protection. It was Englishmen, and not England, that founded the country which is now known as the United States of America. It would exceed the proper bounds of a work of this nature, were we to enter into a detailed account of the events connected with the settlements in Virginia and Mas- sachusetts. The first permanent establishment was made in the former colony, during the year 1607, and that at Plymouth followed in 1620. Nothing could be less alike than the motives which influenced the adventurers in these two enterprises, out of which has virtually arisen, within ■** m^ Sf • 4 *. ■4, I^fl^^' 4. /TO.''' ■*« ■3^' ■Kfc '¥' ir ITAVAL HISTORY. the short space of little more than two centuries, a Republic that has already taken its place among the great powers of Christendom, and which has only to be true to itself and to its predominant principles, to stand foremost in the ranks of nations. Those who cast their fortunes on the fertile shores of the waters of the Chesapeake sought worldly advance- ment for themselves, and affluence for their posterity, while the Pilgrims, as it has become usual to term the parent stock of New England, landed in quest of an asylum, where they might erect their altars, undisturbed by the temporal power that profaned the rites of the church in the old world. Natural affinities attracted like to like, and for quite a cen- tury the emigrants from Europe partook of the distinctive traits of the original colonists ; the one portion of the coun- try being distinguished for the gay and reckless usages of successful pecuniary adventure, and the other for the more sobered and reflecting habits of severe moral training, and an industry that was stimulated by necessity and tempered by prudence. The distinction did not end here. If the one carried liberality and thoughtlessness to the verge of indis- cretion, the other substituted fanaticism and bigotry for the mild and affectionate tenets of Christianity. It is not easy to say what might have been the consequences of the prox- imity of two establishments influenced by characters and modes of thinking so antagonist, had not the conquest of the Dutch territories of New York bound them together, by the means of a people who came from England at a later day, and who brought with them most of the national traits, less influenced by exaggerations and accidents. The result has been an amalgamation that is fast wearing off asperities, and which promises, at no distant period, to pro- duce a homogeneity of character that it is not usual to find in any great and numerous people. « . The vessels employed in the earliest communications be- •, -. *: if" "W' • * m ^■j 40 NAVAL HISTOBV. tween the colonies and the mother country, were small, varying from fifty to two hundred tons in burthen. The expedition to Plytnouth was first attempted in the May Flower, a barque of one hundred and eighty tons, and the Speedwell of sixty tons ; but the latter proving leaky, after twice returning to port to refit, was abandoned, and the voyage w^as made in the former vessel alone. That to Virginia under Newport, consumed four months, a delay that was owing to its steering south until the trades were struck, a practice which prevailed among most of the navigators to the new world, for a long time subsequently to the discoveries of Columbus, who had himself been favoured by those constant winds. The May Flower sail, ed from Plymouth, in England, on the 6th of September, and, after a stormy passage, made Cape Cod on the 9th of November. As it had been the intention of those on board to go further south, it is probable that they met with south- west winds and currents, with a north-easterly set, in the American seas. The first conflict that took place between the colonists and any of their civilized neighbours, occurred in 1613, when an expedition from Virginia, under the orders of Capt. Samuel Argal, arriving on the coast of Nova Scotia, made an attack. on the new French post of St. Sauveur, which was reduced without difficulty. Argal had eleven vessels with him, most of which, however, were quite small, and his armament amounted in the whole to fourteen light guns. The French were entirely without artillery. The avowed object of this enterprise was fishing, but the arma- ment has induced a suspicion that the end actually effected was also kept in view. Whatever might have been the inten- tion in fitting out the first force under Cupt. Argal, it is quite certain, that, on his return to Virginia, he was formally sent against the French in Acadie, with three vessels, better v-~ ^ ;*"*■. ■ '.i^t » .'■ .ij& :*.- *JiL. •■■( -4^ /■ VAVAL HISTORY. «i % 'V>- prepared, and that he laid waste the whole of their posses* sions. Both of these occurrences took place in a time of profound peace, and grew out of a pretension in the Eng- lish, to the possession of the whole coast, as far north as the 46th degree of latitude. if*: •'■. < ;,^!;' On his return to Virginia, Capt. Argal entered the bay of New York, and demanded possession of that territory also, under the plea that it had been discovered by an English- man. Hendrick Christaens, whom Argal styled "a pre- tended Dutch Governor," had no force to resist such a claim, and was compelled to submit. On the return to Vir- ginia, one of the three vessels employed in this expedition was lost, and another having been driven as far east as the Azores, prooeeded to England, while Capt. Argal alone got into the Chesapeake. The prisoners taken on this occasion narrowly escaped being executed as pirates ! This was the first warlike maritime expedition attempted by the American colonists, if a few parties sent in boats against the savages be excepted. The Dutch were not dis- possessed by the useless attempt on their settlement, which appears to have been viewed more as a protest than a con- quest, for they continued to increase and to govern them- selves for near half a century longer. The first decked vessel built within the old United States, of which we have any account, was constructed by Schipper Adrian Block, on the banks of the Hudson, and probably within the pre- sent limits of New York, during the summer of 1614. This vessel De Laet terms a " yacht," and describes as having been of the dimensions of thirty-eight feet keel, forty-four and a half feet on deck, and eleven feet beam. In this "yacht" Block passed through Hell Gate, into the Sound, and steering eastward, he discovered a small island, which he named after himself; going as far as Cape Cod, by the way of the Vineyard passage. ."J ; 4* ' ' #• - >• - •* ■ t»- ^" , W ^. W' ' .V <» '^C^ iii!. 42 NAVAL HISTORY. t i!< According to the same authority, the Dutch at New Amsterdam, who had constructed a fort, and reiyiforced their colony, soon after built many more small vessels, sloops and periaguas, opening a trade with the savages, by means of the numerous bays, sounds, and rivers of their territory. It was also in 1614 that the celebrated Capt. John Smith arrived from England, and sailed on a coasting voyage, with the double purpose of trade and discovery. He went himself in a boat, having a crew of only eight men, and the profits, as well as the discoveries, abundantly rewarded the risks. It may serve to give the reader a more accurate idea of the condition of trade in this part of the worlcl* if we state that in 1615 the English alone had one hundred and seventy vessels engaged in the Newfoundland fisheries, while the French, Portuguese, and Spaniards had altogether about three hundred. v > : " Many attempts were made about this time to discover a north-west passage to China; the well known expedition in which Baffin was employed, occurring in 1616. After the settlement at Plymouth the English colonies began to increase regularly in population and resources, while the Dutch, at New York became firmly established. The Swedes also commenced a settlement in the Delaware, and the entire coast, from Acadie to North Carolina, was more or less occupied, from point to point. There was a good ileal of trade with the Indians, with whom wampum was exchanged against peltries. As early as in 1629 the New England Company employed five ships of respectable size, in the trado with the colonv. Most of these vessels were armed, and all took colonists in their outward pass- ages. The May Flower appears to have been retained in this business for many years, after her first voyage. A SM. ■3t|Kt, •-<';. * , ■^■. NAVAL HISTORY. 48^ small ship was built at or near Boston, in 1633, which was one of the first vessels, if not the first vessel of any size, con- structed in New England. But the progress of the colony of Massachusetts-Bay, in navigation, was so rapid, that in 1639 laws were passed to encourage the fisheries, which may be considered as the elementary school of American nautical enterprise. The fishetmen during the season, and the shipwrights at all times, were exempted from military duty, a great privilege in an infant community that was surrounded by savages. Among those who gave an im- pulse to trade and navigation in this colony, was the cele- brated Hugh Peters, subsequently executed for treason in England, who actually caused a vessel of three hundred tons burthen jto be constructed at Salem, in 1641. Within twenty years after the settlement of Plymouth, ship-building and navigation began to occupy much of the attention of New England, and as every vessel of any size carried many light guns, the navigation of the period had most of the characteristics of an armed trade. In addition to the ships and barks that crossed tlie ocean, many decked boats, or small sloops, were used on the coast, especially by those who dealt with the Indians for skins. The first engage- ment that probably eVgr occurred between inhabitants of the American colonies, and enemies afloat^ was a conflict between John Gallop, who was engaged in a trade of this nature, in a sloop of twenty tons, and some Narragansett Indians, who had seized upon a small vessel belonging to a person of the name of Oldham, known to have been simi- larly occupied. As this, in a certain sense, may be deemed the earliest sea-fight of the nation, we consider it worthy to be related. Some time in May, 1636, Gallop, in his little sloop, manned by two men and two boys, himself included, was standing along the Sound, near Plum Island, when he was compelled \ '% 44 NAVAL HISTORY. fr.\. to bear up by stress of weather, for a refuge, to leeward, among the islands that form a chain between Long Island and Connecticut. On nearing the land, he discovered a vessel very similar to his own, in size and equipments, which was immediately recognised as the pinnace of Mr. ^ Oldham, who had sailed with a crew of two white boys 4 \: ' and two Narragansett Indians. Gallop hailed on nearing the othp ' craft, but got no answer, and, on running still l^ nearer, no less than fourteen Indians were discovered lying p. on her deck. A canoe, conveying goods, and manned by In- dians, had also just started for the shore. Gallop now began *'■ to suspect that Oldham had been overpowered by the sa- vages; a suspicion that was confirmed by, the Indians slip- ping their cable, and running off before the wind, or in the direction of Narragansett-Bay. Satisfied that a robbery had been committed, Gallop made sail in chase, and run- ning alongside of the pinnace, in a spirited manner, he fired ll^^ a volley of duck-shot at the savages. The latter had swords, spears, and some fire-arms, and they attempted a resistance, but Gallop soon drove them below to a man. Afiaid to board in the face of such odds, Gallop now had recourse to kT a novel expedient to dislodge his enemies. As the pinnace was drifting with no one to manage her, she soon fell to leeward, while the sloop hauled by the wind. As soon as the two vessels were far enough asunder, Gallop put his helm up, and ran directly down on the weather quarter of the pinnace, striking her with so much violence as to come near forcing her over on her side. The shock so much ,^ alarmed the Indians, who were on an element and in a craft they did not understand, that six of them rushed frantically on deck, and leaped into the sea, where they were all drowned. The sloop again hauled off, when Gallop lashed an anchor to her bows in such a manner, that by running down on the pinnace a second time, he forced the flukes i ',* ' ••r^'t^l. \ s , k :>»:■ NAVAL HISTORY. 45 through the sides of the latter, which are represented as having been made of boards. Th** ♦wo vessels were now fast to each other, and the crew ot the sloop began to fire ihrough the sides of the pinnace, into her hold. Finding it impossible, however, to drive his enemies up, Gallop loosen- ed his fasts, and hauled up to windward a third time, when four or five more of the Indians jumped overboard and shared the fate of those who had preceded them. One Indian now appeared on deck and offered to submit. Gallop ran alongside, and received this man in the sloop, when he was bound hands and feet, and put into the hold. Another soon followed this example, and he was also received on board the sloop and bound, but, fearful that if two of his wily foes were permitted to commune together, they would liberate themselves, the second prisoner was thrown into the sea. But two Indians now remained in the pinnace. They had got into a small apartment below, and being armed, they showed a disposition to defend themselves, when Gallop removed all the goods that remained into his own sloop, stripped the pinnace of her sails, took her in tow, and hauled up for the islands again. But the wind increas- ing, the pinnace was cut adrift, and she disappeared in the direction of Narragansett Bay, where it is probable she was stranded in the course of a few hours. On board the pinnace. Gallop found the body of Mr. Old- ham. The head had been cleft, the hands and legs were much mangled, and the flesh was still warm. The corpse was thrown into the sea. Thus terminated this extraordinary conflict, in which Gallop appears to have shown as much conduct as cou- rage, and which in itself illustrates the vast superiority that professional skill gives on an element that requires practice to be rendered successfully available. As it was of the last importance to create a respect for the English name, that might protect small parties while trading with the sa- #. '« %.^# « • 46 NAVAL HISTORV. C ^' vages, the report of the conqueror on this occasion induced the government of Massachusetts to send an expedition against the offenders, under Mr. Endecott, one of the assist- ants, which did the Indians much injury in the destruction of their dwellings and crops, though the savages themselves took to flight. This expedition, however, was followed up by others that met with greater success. The French in Acadie, also, gave rise to two or three unimportant armaments, which led to no results worthy of being recorded. Notwithstanding the frequency of the Indian conflicts, and the repeated visits to the settlements of the French, the first regular cruisers employed by the American colonists tippear to have owed their existence to misunderstandings with the Dutch of the New Netherlands. The colony of New Haven had so far increased as to cause a vessel of one hundred and fifty tons to be built in Rhode Island, as early as the year 1646, but this ship was lost at sea on her first pas- sage. Shortly after, a small cruiser, carrying ten guns, and forty men, was employed by the united colonies of Hartford and New Haven, to cruise in Long Island Sound, with a view to prevent the encroachments of the Dutch, and to keep open the communication with the settlements they had made on the opposite shore. In 1654, orders were received from Parliament to treat the Dutch as enemies, but both communities were still too young and feeble to engage in a warfare that was not considered of paramount necessity. Nothing eflective appears to have been done under these instructions. At a later day, or in 1665-6, Connecticut kept another small vessel cruising off" Watch-Hill, in order to prevent the Narragansett Indians from crossing to attack the Montauk tribe, which had been taken under the protection of the colony. ^ , In 1645, a ship of some size was built at Cambridge, I-M NAVAL HISTORY. 47 J$, Mossachusetts, and receiving an armament of fourteen guns, and a crew of thirty men, she sailed for the Canary Isles. This vessel fell in with a rover, supposed to belong to Bar* bary, of twenty guns, and seventy men, when an action took place that continued the entire day. The rover receiving some serious injury to her rudder, the New England ship was enabled to escape. Although the conflict between Gal- lop and the Narragansetts is, in one sense, entitled to the precedency, this action may be set down as the first regular naval combat in which any American vessel is known to have been engaged. ' • An important change occurred, in 1664, in the situation of the American colonies, by the capture of New Nether- lands from the Dutch. The vessels employed on this ser- vice were under the orders of Sir Robert Carr, while Colo- nel Richard Nicoll commanded the troops. No resistance was made. In consequence of this accession of territory, and the submission of the Swedish settlements on the Dela- ware, the English colonies now had entire possession of the coast, between the Bay of Fundy and the Floridas. It had been computed, in 1660, that the English settlements con- tained about eighty thousand souls, and this increase of numbers now made a total of more than one hundred thou- sand inhabitants of European extraction. New England paid the most attention to navigation, however ; and it ap- pears by Hutchinson, that in 1676, or just a century before the declaration of independence, the following vessels had been constructed in Boston, or its vicinity, and then belong- ed to the ports of that neighbourhood, viz : .-?r^ 30 vessels between 100 and 250 tons. ;'•" 200 vessels between 50 and :00 tons. '^'' 200 vessels between 30 and 60 tons. 300 vessels between 6 and 10 tons. Most of the small vessels were employed in the fisheries. ►.*; (h^ '^ ' M , ■^ 46 NAVAL HISTORY. •*• and the ordinary communications between the settlements on the coast were kept up by water. The principal build- ing stations were Boston, Charlestown, Salem, Ipswich, Salisbury, and Portsmouth, and there were at that early day, even, thirty master shipwrights. While the English were thus occupying the coast, the French were gradually extending themselves along the chain of Great Lakes in the interior, drawing a belt around the territories of their rivals. In the course of events of this nature, de la Salle launched a vessel of ten tons on Lake Ontario, in 1078, which was the first decked boat that ever sailed on those waters. The following year, he caused a vessel of sixty tons to be launched on Lake Erie.* In 1080, according to Trumbull, Connecticut possessed twenty-four vessels, with a total of 1050 tons, trading be- tween that colony and Boston, Newfoundland, the West Indies, &c. &c. The succeeding year, ibrty-nine vessels entered the harbour of Portsmouth alone. The well known navigation act, a law to confine the carrying trade to Eng- lish ships, had been passed as early as 1051, but it had been little regarded by the colonists; and this year Edmund Randolph came a second time to Boston, where he made a vigorous but unsuccessful effort to enforce the obnoxious sta- tute. In Massachusetts, in particular, this law had been almost a dead letter from the first, though the Dutch in New Netherlands had thought it necessary to insert a clause in their articles of capitulation, to permit them to trade with Holland for six months after the surrender. The buccaneers began to commit depredations in the American seas, about the year 1000; and piracies on a smaller scale, were not infrequent at a much earlier , * ■ • The seeo.id vessel is differently stated to have been of ten and of sixty torn. We have chosen what has appeared to be the best authority. V *^ Vfit?- pe la jr *'r44 NAVAL HISTORY. 41) day. These buccaneers were originally, mere outlaws in the West India Islands. Compelled at length to unite, they assembled at the Tortugas, and began to plunder such ves- sels as approached the shore; most of their robberies being committed "by means of open boats. The Spanish vessels, in particular, became the objects of their assaults; and en- couraged by success, they began to venture farther from the land. Their numbers rapidly increased, and ere long they ventured to make descents on the coasts, more especially on those of the Spanish settlements, in quest of plunder. It is a mark of the peculiar character of the age, that these free- booters often commenced their enterprises with prayer ! — They spent their ill-gotten wealth as profligately as it had been obtained, and like more powerful bodies of men, were finally destroyed by the excesses engendered by their own prosperity. We do not know that there is authority for believing these freebooters ever had any material connexion with the English continental possessions, though Jamaica, at one pe- riod, was thronged by them. There are, however, too many traditions on the coast, not to suspect that some of the ex- cesses, to which the loose condition of the western world gave rise, were less ostentatiously committed by those who irequcnted the country. The same odium was not then at- tached to piratical acts, as in our own times; and what even we ourselves have seen done on the land, by men styled heroes, was then committed on the water, almost without comment. The first authentic account we possess of a regular at- tempt to suppress piracy on the American coast, is found in Winthrop's Journal, and it occurred as early as in the year 1632. A bark of thirty tons burthen had been launched the year previous, at Mislick, which was called the Blessing of the Bay, and which was converted into a cruiser for the oc- VoL. I.— 5 '•»; ■I*. K '^n:: •*r^ M.'x^tit:,^'^: :* .^ •;y|>. !#*#»' VAVAL HISTORY. casion to which we allude. Information had reached the go- vernment of the colony that one David Bull, who had fifteen more Englishmen with hifn, had committed divers acts of piracy among the fishermen at the eastward, and that he also had plundered a settlement on shore. This expedition, however, was suspended in consequence of intelligence having been received that the people of the coast had manned several pinnaces and shallops, and gone in quest of the ma- rauders themselves. Several months elapsed before any thing conclusive could be ascertained concerning Bull and his party, and in January, 1633, another fruitless expedition, that had been sent after them, returned, as did a third in May. One of the proofs of a lawless disposition adduced against Bull, is to be found in a report of his conduct, wherein it is stated that, at the hour when the people of other ships wore accustomed to assemble for prayer, his fol- lowers would meet on deck, to sing songs and utter sense- less phrases. It is probable that this party was composed of fur-traders from Virginia, and that their conduct appear- ed to the puritans of the east so light, in general, that some trifling excesses were misconstrued into piracy. Another insignificant affair that occurred at the New Netherlands was turned into piracy; a Capt. Stone having been seized, and bound over to appear at the Admiralty Court in England; but the proceedings were dropped in consequence of the belief that the whole transaction would turn out to be little more than a mere assault. This oc- curred also in 1633 ; and there is some reason to believe that the exaggerations of the puritans had misled them, from the fi\ct that this Capt. Stone was arrested for adultery before he left the colony, and that the grand jury returned the bill ignoramus. It appears by the Journal of Governor Winthrop, that in 1642, one Edward Bedall, of Boston, used the Diving Beii, i! w ^"'^r P^:.,. » ^* .ii;io}* fM t i', i. .1 4 ! ;» :.'^, " .*. *flF^, i ■•% '■ ' >% NAVAL mSTORV. 51 * to weigh a vessel called the Mary Rose, which had sunk the previous year. Bedall made use of two tubs, ** upon which were hanged so many weights (GOO lbs.) as would sink them to the ground." The experiment succeeded perfectly, and the guns, ballast, goods, hull, &c., were all transported into shoal water, and recovered. The first instance of a diving bell's being used, was at Cadiz, we believe, in the presence of Charles Vth; the notion, so pre- valent in this country, that it was an invention of Sir William Phipps', being an error. Towards the close of the seventeenth century, the ship- ping of the American c6lonies had so far increased, as to supply the mother country with many transports, and to con- duct no small part of the trade between the t^vo great divi- sions of the empire. The Whale Fishery at Nantucket, appears to have been established in 1690 ; and in 1606, it is said that the ship{>ing of New York amounted to 40 square rigged vessels, 62 sloops, and 60 boats. In consequence of the great number of privateers that sailed out of Acadie, the general court of Massachusetts sent an expedition against Port Royal, in 1600. The forces were commanded by Sir William Phipps, and amounted to between 700 and 800 men, who were embarked in eight small vessels. This expedition sailed on the 28th of April, and returned on the 30th of May, having been suc- cessful. The good fortune that attended this enterprise, in- duced the government of Massachusetts to attempt another against a place as important as Quebec. Sir William Phipps* • Sir William Phipps was bom at Pemaquid, in 1650. Until eighteen years of age, he was principally employed in agricultural pursuits, and subsequently he was apprenticed to a ship-wright. When of age, he built a ship at Sheepscote; he afterwards followed the sea, and hearing of a Spanish wreck near the Bahamas, he gave such accounts of it in ':••« I; S iait,;] 1^ <>..-! , . : -*^ 52 NAVAL HISTORY. 7i again commanded, having between 30 and 40 vessels, the largest of which was of 44 guns and 200 men, and the whole number of the troops and seamen employed was about 2000. These forces reached Quebec October the 5th, 1690, and landed October the 8th. The force disembarked was about 12 or 1300 men, but it was repulsed without much fighting. On their return to Boston, the ships were dispersed by, a gale, and little credit was gained by the undertaking. The Falkland, a fourth rate, was launched in the Piscata- qua, in 1690, and was the first ship of the line ever built in America. " Much alarm existed along the American coast, about this time, from an apprehension of the French, who were un- England, that be was sent out with a frigate, .to obtain its treasure. In this affair, he was unsuccessfuL The Duke of Albermale, however, sent him out a second time, (1687,) when be brought home near £300,000, of which his own share amounted to £16,000. This transaction brought him into notice, and he was Knighted by James II. He had been made High Sheriff of New England previously, and he was made Gover- nor of his native colony in 1691) but having had a quarrel in 1693, with a Capt. Short, of the Nonsuch frigate, about the extent of his Vice Admi- ralty jurisdiction, he had-that officer arrested and sent to England. On the representation of Capt. Short, the Governor was summoned to Eogland in person, to answer for his conduct in this affair, and having jus- tified himself, he was about to return to his government, when he was seized with a malignant fever, and died in London. Some accounts place his death in 1694, and others in 1695 ; we believe the latter to be the most correct. He is said to have been honest, well-meaiup^ and reli- gious, though passionate and imperious. He was uneducated of course, not knowing how to read and write, until he had become a man; but ac- quaintance with the world, considerable native abilities, and a restless en- terprise had early brought him into conspicuous stations, where he usually acquitted himself with credit. The popular American opinion, that the Mulgrave family, of which the present head is the Marquess of Normanby, is descended from Sir William Phipps, is a mistake. r \\ '*fti' ¥: ■ * . *j w 1i KAVAL HISTORY. ' •m- <#- derstood to be cruising in those seas. We learn, indeed, from the whole history of that period, how nearly balanced were the naval powers of Europe, England, France, Spain and Holland, all standing in awe of each other, on the high seas. ' ' , ^ ' v^ ' , •i« ^ '1 .' ■5* mm- >. ,-'■4',.-.- : ,V t '#. ■4'' '>- 4^ , .?^ '^ 'W jPSi,- « f rr «.: ir *!*■ "4 ^A ^ 64 KAVAI. HISTOEY. CHAPTER II. \ ^. The close of the seventeenth century found the Ameri- can coast, in a great measure, occupied from the Bay of Fundy to the Savannah river. The war, which terminated with the peace of Ryswick, had greatly alarmed the colo- nists, and many small cruisers and galleys had been built and armed, at different ports, principally with a view to cruise against the privateers that sailed out of Acadie and the West Indies, but no action appears to have occurred at sea. The two expeditions of Sir William Phipps, were the most important military operations that had then taken place in the colonies, if the Indian wars be excepted ; and they led to nothing worthy of commemoration, in a naval point of view. The royal cruisers that occasionally ap- peared in the American seas, at that remote period, were usually light frigates, of a class between the present sloops and two-and-thirties, and in point of armament, and even size, were probably unequal to contending with the largest of the former. We have seen that one of Sir William Phipps' ships, in the expedition against Quebec, carried 44 guns and 200 men, a disproportion between the crew and the armament, that proves the latter to have been exceed- ingly light. In that age, the importance of metal was not appreciated ; and the decks of vessels were crowded with 1 I I -.&/.: ' •?: I \ s NAVAL HISTORY. ff|»< ^' guns, which did so little execution, that great naval battles frequently continued days at a time, without producing decisive results. The close of the sevent'^enth century was also the period when the piracies had got to be the most serious, and when Kidd was guilty of those acts that have since given him a notoriety that would seem to be altogether disproportioned to his deeds. During the wars of that day, the seas had been much infested with a species of privateers, that often committed aggressions, and even piracies, on neutral ves- sels. Most of these rovers were English ; and it is said that they sombtime*; plundered their own countrymen. New York was not entirely exempt from the suspicion of having equipped several vessels of this description, and very un- pleasant surmises affected the characters of some distin- guished men of the colony, the governor, Fletcher, among others. In appreciating such charges, it is necessary to remember the character of the age, there being no disgrace attached to adventures in private armed ships, and the tran- sition from fighting for plunder, and plundering unlawfully, is very trifling, in remote seas, where testimony is not easily obtained, and the law is impotent. That which men can practice with impunity, they are apt to undertake, when tempted by cupidity; and that which is frequent, ceases to shock the sense of right. It is by no means probable that either Governor Fletcher, or any distinguished colonist, deliberately engaged in piratical adventures, but it is quite possible that such men may have been concerned in the equipment of private cruisers, that subsequently committed acts that the laws condemned. It is possible, that when such vessels have returned, a rigid inquiry into the origin of the plunder they brought with them, was not always made. Such, in some measure, was the case with Kidd, whose subsequent notoriety appears to have been as much ■i V TT ' r*- -;*^" -*• 56 NAVAL HISTORY. > ) owing to ihe Scht with which he sailed, sanctioned by- government, and supported by men of character, and to some striking incidents that accompanied his return, as to any extraordinary excesses as a pirate. The facts of his case appear to have been as follows : — Much odium having been cast on the colony of New York, in consequence of the number of piracies that had been committed by rovers sailing from the port of that name, the government in England deemed it necessary to take serious measures to repress the evil. This duty was in particular confided to the Earl of Bellamont, who had been appointed the governor of several of the col(Niies. Mr. Robert Livingston happening to be in England at the time when the subject was under discussion, and being a man of influence in the colony of New York, he was conferred with, as to the most advisable means of putting an end to the practice. Mr. Livingston advised that a cruiser of force should be sent out expressly to seize all lawless rovers, and he introduced to Lord Bellamont, Capt. Wm. Kidd, whom he recommended as a seaman qualified to be put at the head of such an adventure. Capt. Kidd was said to have a knowledge of the pirates, and of their places of resort; and at the same time, to be a man on whose integrity and ser- vices full reliance might be placed. The first proposition was to employ a king^s ship of 30 guns and 150 men on this service; but the war requiring all the regular cruisers, it is a proof of the spirit of the times, that the matter was referred to private enterprise, although the sanction of government was not only promised, but obtained. Mr. Livingston took one-fifth of the shares, and became the usual security for the lawfulness of Kidd's proceedings. The Lord Chancellor, and several other distinguished noble- men, took shares in the adventure also, and the crown reserved to itself a tenth of the proceeds, as a proof that it • * ,*• * W''-*^ :( ' ii' ift^ NAVAL HISTORY. 57 approved of the enterprise. Kidd received his commission and his orders from the Earl of Bellamont, whom he fol- lowed to America for that purpose, sailing from Plymouth in England, April 1696, for New York. There is much reason for thinking that Capt. Kidd was not guilty of any illegal act himself, until he found that his more legitimate enterprise was not likely to be successful. In the endy how- ever, he went to tho *^ st 1. of the Cape of Gc : ^ Hope, where he certainly cuminl. . piracies, though tO what extent is now questionable. He was accused of ravaging the sea between Madagascar and the coast, from Babel- mandel to Malabar, and of committing the usual excesses, though it is probable that there was much exdggeration mixed up with the histories and rumours of the day. Some accounts confine his piracies to a single ship, though it is more than probable that he had a disposition to the voca- tion, and that he was easily diverted from the object with which he had sailed, even if he did not contemplate piracy on quitting port. After an absence of about three years, Kidd returned to the American coast, first appearing off the east end of Long Island. About thirty miles to the westward of Montauk, protected from the ocean by the southern branch of the island just mentioned, is a capacious bay that obtains its name from another small island, which is so placed as to defend it against the north-east gales. The latter island contains about three thousand acres of land, and ever since the country has been settled, or for two centuries, it has been the property of an honourable family of the name of Gardiner, which has given its name to both the island and the bay. The latter has an anchorage that has long been known to seamen, and into Gardiner*s Bay, Kidd sailed on this occasion. Anchoring near the island, he landed, and buried some treasure ; entrusting Mr. Gardi- ner with his secret, and making the life of the latter tho :* , 4 ■# '^fy '}^'^ # * .«• %, ^ •■?*■ NAVAL HISTORY. n # pledge of his fidelity. This effected, the pirate again sailed, and made similar deposits on other parts of the coast. After a short interval, Kidd paid and discharged his crew, and it is said burned his ship. He appeared in Bos- ton in 1699, and was immediately seized by the order of Governor Bellamont. Among his papers was found a record, containing lists of his several deposits, which it is probable he held in reserve for his own share of the booty, when he had made his peace with those in power with the remainder. The authorities, however, were inflexible, and commissioners w^ere immediately sent in quest of the buried booty. When these persons presented themselves to Mr. Gardiner, as soon as assured that Kidd was iii confinement, that gentleman led them to the spot where the box was con- cealed, and it was recovered. The papers of the Gardiner family show that the contents of the box were bags of gold dust, bags of gold bars, the latter to a considerable amount, coined gold and silver, silver bars, precious stones, silver lamps, &c., &c., in all to the amount of near twenty thousand dollars. Most, if not all, of the other deposits were also obtained. Kidd was sent to England, tried and condemned. He was not executed, however, until May the 9th, 1701. It followed, almost as a matter of course, that suspicion rested on those who were concerned in sending Capt. Kidd to sea. The usual profligacy of party was exhibited by an attempt to impeach several noblemen concerned in the afl!air, and one or two men of note in the colony of New York were also involved in legal proceedings, in conse- quence of these piracies ; but nothing was ever established against any of the accused, though Governor Fletcher fell into disgrace at home. The known fact that Kidd buried treasure, gave rise to rumours that he had buried much that was never discovered. With the blindness usual in matters «; \*T. :%kiP ^> I ■^-.: ^m. NAVAL HISTORY. "J!»- 59 \*,. of this sort, it vias believed that he secreted his gold in spots that he had probably never visited, and to this day it is not an unfrequent thing for diggings to be made on the coast, under the influence of dreams that have been occasioned by meditating on the subject, and in the hope of finding some of the long lost riches. The same year that Kidd was sent to England, seven pirates were executed in Charleston, South Carolina, that coast having been much infested with these robbers. In 1701 the population of the American colonies was estimated at 262,000, while the Newfoundland fisheries were said to employ 121 vessels, 2,700 men, and nearly 8,000 tons. , . •; *t -r^r Another war soon occurring, the troubles on the coast were revived, and as the colonics grew in importance, the mother country not only extended her care towards them, in a greater degree, but the people of the provinces themselves, felt a disposition to participate more largely in the struggles. Still, so little heed was taken against the ordinary dangers, that the port of New York, in 1705, was totally without defence, or so nearly so, that a solitary French privateer entered it, and caused the greatest consternation. ^fc^^v The Spaniards, with whom England was at war, con- ceiving that South Carolina properly belonged to the Flo- ridas, undertook an expedition against Charleston, in 1706, with four ships of war and a galley, commanded by a French admiral. A commission of vice-admiral was immediately given to Lieut. Col. Rhett, a gentleman who possessed the public confidence. Mr. Rhett hoisted his flag in the Crown galley, and several ships that happened to be in port, were hastily manned and armed. In the mean time the enemy had arrived and surrounded the place, but meeting with some repulses on shore, Mr. Rhett got under way to engage the hostile squadron, when the latter retired with precipita- 4 m ■ ^. ,>-■ >• 1 60 haval history. tion. Tlio Spaniards arc said to have lost near half their men in this unsuccessful undertaking. Hearing of a large enemy's ship on the coast, a few days after the fleet had disappeared, Mr. Rhett went in quest of «. her with two small vessels, and succeeded in capturing her, and in bringing in 00 prisoners. From an early day the possession of Port Royal in Acadie, appears to have been a favourite object with tho colonists, most probably from the great interest they felt in the fisheries. We have already seen that expeditions were sent against this place, in the earlier wars, while we are now to find no less than three undertaken, with the same object, in the war of 1702-12. The first of these expeditions was set on foot in 1707, being almost purely of colonial origin. It sailed in May, in 23 transports and whale boats, under the convoy of the Deptford man of war, Capt. Stuck- ley, accompanied by the Province, galley, Capt. Southack. This expedition effected nothing. The second attempt was not made until the year 1709, when an enterprise on a larger scale was planned. According to Trumbull, the colonies east of Connecticut were now ordered to raise 1,200 men, for this undertaking, and to provide transports, pilots, and. provisions for three months, while Connecticut itself, and the more southern provinces were to send a force of 1,500 men, by land, against Montreal. The maritime part of the expedition was abandoned, after waiting three months in the port of Boston for the British ships that were to convoy it, and to aid in subduing the place. The attack on Montreal was also given up, for want of the expected ' co-operation. The third attempt was made in 1710, when a Col. Nicholson, of the English service, wns entrusted with the command. On this occasion the preparations were made conjointly by the crown and ihe provinces, the latter furnishing the transports and several cruisers. The fleet t ■# i^. '^, *t ■v ."«?' re it 'v* It' NAVAL HISTORY. 61 consisted, in all, of 3tt sail ; viz. three fuurth'rates, two fifth- rates, five frigates, a bomb ketch, the Province, galley, and 34 transports. In these vessels were embarked a regi- ment of marines, and five regiments of provincials. The expedition sailed from Boston on the 18th of September, ar- rived ofif Port Royal on the 24th, and on the Ist of October the place submitted. Its name was changed to Annapolis, by which appellation it is yet known. 3timulated by this success, a still more important attempt was got up in 1711, against the French possessions on the banks of the St Law- rence. England now appeared disposed to put forth her power in earnest, and a fleet of 15 sail, 12 of which were sent directly from England, and 3 of which had been stationed on the coast, was put under the orders of vice- admiral Sir Hoveden Walker, for that purpose. In this fleet were several ships of the line, and it was accompanied by 40 transports and 6 store vessels. Five of the veteran regiments that had served under Marlborough, were sent out with the fleet, and two regiments raised in New "Eng- land being added to them, the land forces amounted to between 6,000 and 7,000 men. After considerable delay, the fleet sailed on the 30th of July, 1711, when the Governor of Massachusetts ordered a fast to be observed every Thursday, until the result should be known. On the 14th of August the ships entered the St Lawrence, and on the 18th the admiral, in order to col- lect his transports, put into the bay of Gasp^. Here he remained until the 20th, when the fleet proceeded. On the 20th the ships were off soundings, out oi sight of land, and enveloped in a fog, with a gale at E. S. £. The fleet now brought to with the ships' heads to the southward. Not- withstanding this precaution it was soon discovered that the whole of them were in imminent jeopardy among the rocks, islands, and currents of the north-shore, which was, Vol. I.— 6 >i ,* Ji. VP'f i I- f 03 ITAVAL HISTORT. ^ moreover, a lee shore. Some of the veiieli saved them* selves by anchoring, among which was the Edgar, 70, the admiral's own ship; but eight transports were lost, together with a thousand people, and the expedition was abandoned The admiral now dismissed the provincial troops and ves- sels, and sailed for England with the remainder of the fleet. These signal disasters led to loud complaints and to bitter recriminations between the English and the American officers. To the latter was attributed a fatal loss of time, in raising their levies and making other preparations, which brought the expedition too late in the season, and they were also accused of furnishing incompetent pilots. It is proba- ble that the first accusation was not without foundation, since it has been a known national failing to defer all mili- tary preparations to the latest possible moment, since the country has been peopled ; though the last was no doubt unmerited, as there could be no motive for supplying any other than the best pifots that the colonies possessed. On the part of the Americans, the admiral, and the English commanders in general, were snid to be opinionated and indisposed to take advice; a charge quite as likely to be true, as it also accords with national character, and more especially with the superciliousness with which the English were known to regard thw provincials. The admiral threw the responsibility of having hove-to the fleet on the pilots, who,an their turn, declared that it was done contrary to. their advice. Some French pilots are said, by Charlevoix, to have warned the admiral of his danger also, but he equally disregarded their information. It is in favour of the provincials, that none of their own vessels, one small victual- ler excepted, were lost, and that the crew of this victualler was saved. Many of the pilots were sent to England to be examined before the Privy Council, but no investigation into the aflair took place. The loss of the admiral's pa- ^" # .s: 1 1 "Hi- ^ KAVAL HISTORY. 68 r # 'Ml pers is thought to have put an end to the contemplated in- quiry, the Edgar having been, blown up, by accident, at Plymouth, shortly after her return, by which event 400 men lost their lives; thus terminating a most disastrous expedi- tion by a dire calamity. It ought to be mentioned, that the colonies met the charge of delay, by showing that the orders, to raise troops, and to make the other requisite pre- parations, were received only sixteen days before Sir Hove- den Walker arrived in port with his fleet. As late as the year 1718, Trumbull enumerates the shipping of Connecticut at only 2 brigs, 20 sloop* and a number of smaller craft. The seamen he estimates at 120! On the other hand, the commerce of Massachusetts, as ap- pears by the Custom-house returns, taken between the years 1714 and 1717, employed 25,406 tons of shipping, 402 vessels, and 8403 sea-faring persons. The first schooner, a description of vessel now so much in use in America as almost to be deemed national, is said to have been built at Cape Ann, by Captain Henry Robinson, in 1714. Her name has been unfortunately lost. The pirates rather increased than diminished after the peace of 1718, frequenting the American coast much more than had been their practice in the preceding century. They had reached to New Providence, whence they pro- ceeded both north and south, in their predatory excursions. Samuel Bellamy, in the ship Whidah, of 28 guns and 180 men, was one of the most formidable of these T n'^hooters, and he even had the audacity to come off the cou:. of New England, in 1717, where he made several prizes. At length he was wrecked, with his captured vesselr, on Cape Cod, and most of the gang were lost. More than a hundred bodies washed ashore, and six of those who escaped were seized, tried at Boston and exe?.uted. The following year, the celebrated Captain Woods Rogers, so well known for #^ ^> Mf^'- m. I*: *• ,; 64 <' 4 ■•% • y ,\ NAVAL 'HISTORY. his exploits on the Spanish Main, was sent against New Providence, with a small squadron of King's ships, carrying a proclamation of pardon to all those who would abandon their lawless practices, and return to honest industry. The island was captured without resistance, and possession taken for the English crown. Most of the freebooters accepted of the amnesty, though a party of ninety, under the com- mand of one Yane, seized a sloop, and made their escape. One gang, about thirty in number, repaired to the coast of the Carolinas, where they established themselves near the mouth of Cape Fear River, and continued their depreda- tions. Mr. Wm. Rhett, who has already been mentioned for his gallantry and enterprise, was sent out against them by Governor Johnson of North Carolina, in a vessel of some force. This officer captured a sloop commanded by Steed Bonnet, and manned by thirty of the freebooters. Shortly after, the Governor himself went in person against the re- mainder, and falling in with another sloop, a desperate en- gagement took place, in which, it would seem, it was the intention not to give quarter, as nearly all in the sloop were slain. Those who escaped death in the action, were imme- diately tried, and, with the exception of one man, hanged. These severe blows did much towards clearing the coast of freebooters, though we find that a gang of twenty-five more were taken into Rhode Island in 1723, by a British sloop of war, and sentenced to be hanged. How many were exe- cuted, is not known. The peculiar condition of America, where land of the greatest fertility abounded, while manual labour was diffi- cult to be obtained, early introduced the traffic in slaves into the colonies, though it speaks favourably for the people of the country, that they generally received this species of succour with reluctance ; and a long period elapsed before the trade became important. It would exceed our proper ■ ,.fT . >le I of [re lor -V vaVal history. 65 office were we to enter into a continuous history of this branch of American commerce, and we shall confine our remarks, therefore, to the few facts that were connected with its navigation. The first negro slaves brought into the country, were landed from a Dutch man of war, at James Town, in 1620.* Where these poor Africans were obtained is not now known, but they were most probably the victims of per-* fidy. The increase among the blacks was very slow, how- ever; for thirty years later the whites o*" Virginia were said to outnumber the negroes, in the proportion of fifty to one; and even when the colony had been settled seventy years the slaves were not at all numerous.! Thb first American vessel engaged in the slave trade, of which we have any account, sailed from Boston, for the coast of Guinea, in 1645, having been fitted out by Thomas Keyser and James Smith.| The last of these worthies was a member of the church. To the credit of the people of Boston, their sense of right revolted at the act, the parties concerned were arraigned, and the slaves were ordered to be restored to their native country at the public expense. Redemptioners were also early introduced into the coun- try as servants, as well as the prisoners taken in the battles of the civil wars. Thus the John and Sarah, which arrived at Boston in 1652, brought with her freight for the Scotch prisoners taken at Dunbar.§ Many of the Royalists taken at the battle of Worcester were also transported and sold into servitude. The leaders of the insurrection of Penrud- dock shared the same fate. Many of the prisoners taken in Monmouth's rebellion were sentenced to transportation in turn. Indeed, at this period, England appeared to think » Beverly. f Bancroft. i Bancroft. ^ S Suffolk County Recorda, as given by Bancroft. 6 , ^^- "/' /' I J«r "f *^ .■■*;^.- ^ y * ,4^. .#> If AVAL HISTORY. ^ America the best receptacle of her discontented, whether in religion or politics. As late as 1724, the importation of slaves into the Caro- lines amounted to but 439 souls. The trade was entirely in British ships. At a later day, however, Rhode Island, and some of the other colonies, engaged extensively in this traffic. -^t'^ *'•" ■-^■•■iM*-^:-^?--'-^^.. We turn with satisfaction to the whale fisheries. The commencement of this manly, lucrative and hardy pursuit dates from an early period in the history of the country. The whale frequenting the American seas, at that time, the people of the coasts kept boats, organised themselves into gangs, and whenever a spout was seen, they would launch in pursuit. This irregular system prevailed many years, until sloops, and other small crafl, began to be employed in the offing. These vessels would range the coast, as far south as the West Indies, and north to Davis' Straights. They occasionaly crossed to the Azores, where a rich booty was sometimes obtained in the spermaceti. ' ~ The whale fishery on a larger scale, dates from about the middle of the eighteenth century, when Massachusetts in particular, engaged extensively in the enterprise. This colony alone is said to have had no less than three hundred vessels employed in the northern and southern whale fishe- ries previous to the war of the Revolution. Her vessels led the way to the South Atlantic, to the African coast, and to the Pacific Ocean. ' " ^« ; =, , In 1731, Pennsylvania owned 6000 tons of shipping, and Massachusetts near 38,000, of which about one half were in the European trade; vhile the entrances into New York in 1737 reached to 211 sail, and its clearances to 220. About the same time Philadelphia had 211 of the former, and 215 of the latter. At this period in the history of the country (1739,) Newport had a hundred sail of shipping of different sizes. .-J ' i ■ 1 " %i NAVAL HISTORY. 67 After the war which was terminated by the peace of Utrecht, most of the maritime colonies employed a species ofguarda-costas, small armed Vessels, that were maintained for the suppression of piracies, and for the general protec- tion of the coasts. Some of these vessels were commanded by young officers, who afterwards rose to more or less dis- tinction, either at home, or in the British service. Among others was Lieut. Wooster, afterwards Captain Wooster, who commanded the armed vessel employed by Massachusetts. This gentleman was subsequently killed at Danbury, during the Revolution, holding the rank of a Brigadier General in the militia of his native state. i*i^^ ' ; - England declared war in 1789 against Spain, and the American Colonies became the seat of many of her prepara- tions and levies. Natives of the country were much em- ployed in the different expeditions, and it is well known that the estate which has since acquired so much celebrity on account of its having been the property of Washington, obtained the appellation of Mount Vernon from the circum- stance that an elder brother, from whom that great man inherited it, had served in the celebrated attack against Carthagena, under the admiral of that name. In 1741, the colonies supplied many of the transports sent against Cuba. The year 1744 became memorable in the history of the colonies, by a declaration of another war against France. By this time the importance of all the American provinces, whether English, French, or Spanish, were certain to ren- der them, more or less, the seat of the contests; and the great European states interested, were now found seriously exhibiting their power in the Western hemisphere. . The short duration of the war, probably, alone prevented Aaier- ica from being the scene of those severe struggles that were deferred a few years by the peace of Aix la Chspelle. Short as was the contest, however, it afforded the colonists %' .^^i f »<•" ■ *'-1 «iie. .-jiki 4' m ■*<= ;^f- ^^ 68 NAVAL HISTORV. an opportunity of manifesting both their spirit and their re- sources, by an expedition against Louisbourg. The French had long been aware of the importance of a port that commanded the entrance of the St. Lawrence, as Gibraltar commands the approach to the Mediterranean, and vast sums of money had been expended on the fortifi- cations of Louisbourg. It is said that no less than $6,000,000 were appropriated to this object, and a quarter of a century had been consumed in the preparations. The place was so formidable as to be termed a second Dunkirk. So conscious had Massachusetts become of her strength, however, that no sooner was the declaration of war known, than Gover- nor Shirley laid propositions before both the English ministry and the colonial legislature, for the reduction of this great naval and military station. The General Court of Massa- chusetts, at first, was afraid to embark in so serious an en- terprise without assurances of support from home, as Eng- land was then uffectionately termed, but the people of the colony getting a knowledge of the Governor's wishes, seconded him so strongly with petitions, that the measure was finally carried by a majority of one. Connecticut, Rhode Island and New Hampshire lent their aid, and by the 25th of March, 1745, the expedition was ready to sail. Not a British soldier was employed, and when the fleet left Boston, it was with very uncertain hopes of being supported by any of the King's ships. The land forces, all levies of New England, no other colony joining in the enterprise, were led by Col. William Pepperel, of Kittery, in Maine, and the fleet wa? commanded by CapL Edward Tyng, of the Massachusetts colonial ma- rine. The naval part of these forces consisted principally of vessels equipped, or hired, for this especial service. There appear to have been twelve in all, besides the transports, the largest carrying but 20 guns. The land forces amounted ■■-*" !•) • <** » '^. NAVAL HISTORY. m to 4070 men. From the various and contradictory accounts of this armament we gather the following list of the colonial cruisers engaged in the expedition, viz: Ships, Massachu- setts, 20, Commodore Tyng; Caesar, 20, Captain Snelling; — Snows, Shirley, 20, Captain Rouse; Prince of Orange, 16, Captain Smethurst; — Brig Boston Packet, 16, Captain Fletcher; and Sloops, ^ 12, Donahue ; 8, Saunders; Bosch; — a Ship hired by Rhode Island, 20, Captain GrifTen, and two vessels of 16 guns each, belonging to Con- necticut. .;■■"•■■.■.. '.' , r •' ji '• .;.: .-; ^ s'':- - h is a circumstance worthy of being mentioned, as char- acteristic of the manners of the day, and of the habitual thrift of the New England colonists, that Governor Shirley, in his written instructions, lays great stress on an order for the ships to go well provided with cod-lines, in order to subsist the troops and seamen, as much as possible, on the products of the sea. The fleet reached Canseau on the 4th of April, where it remained some weeks, to be joined by the levies of New Hampshire and Connecticut, as well as to allow time for the ice to dissolve in the neighbourhopd of Cape Breton. For the first time, probably, in the history of the colonies, large military preparations had been made in season, and the result triumphantly showed the benefits of this unwonted alacrity. Here also Commodore Warren, of the British navy, joined the expedition, with a part of the West India squadron, in which seas, and on the American coast, he had long commanded. This excellent and efficient officer, than whom there was not a braver in the British marine, brought with him the Superb, 60, and three ships of forty guns; his broad pennant flying in the former. Of course, he assumed the command of the naval operations, though great distrust appears to have existed between him and Colonel Pepperel to the last. After a conference with the latter, he went off Louisbourg, which he blockaded. 'Ml' ., ■m'^ r 70 WAVAL HISTORY. ■,fli ■ I ^ Louisbourg was invested by land on the 30th of April, and after a vigorous siege of forty-seven days, during which time a severe, cannonade was carried on, the place sub- mitted. After th" surrender the' French flags were kept flying for some time, by which rust two East India men and a South Sea ship, all richly laden, were decoyed into the mouth of the harbour and captured. The value of these three vessels has been estimated as high as $3,000,000. While cruising ofi'the port. Commodore Warren captured, with no great resistance, the French man of war Vigilant, 60, with troops and supplies for the garrison This import- ant event, no doubt, was of great moment to the result of the siege. Although the naval part of the colonial expedition could have been of no great account after the arrival of Commo- dore Warren,* it took the sea with creditable vigour, as soon as Louisbourg had submitted. The Shirley, G>^lley, 20, Capt Rouse, or as the vessel is sometimes calhi, the Snow, Shirley, captured eight French vessels, and, in one instance, she brought in two after an obstinate and gallant resistance. For this exploit, that oflicer received the commission of a captain in the King's service. . •' > v^ No less than 400 privateers are said to have been out from the colonies in this war, but the number is so incredible as to give rise to the conjecture that the estimate includes letters of marque and boats on the coast. Nothing worthy of much notice occurred in Amercia, however, during this short war, besides the capture of Louisbourg, and this place was restored to the French, at the peace. I W * It bu been pretended that the Vigilant 60, was captured by the co- loiual ship Massachusetts 30, Com. Tyng; but this statement, besides be- ing highly improbable in itself, is not properly sustained by the histories oftheday. v ,,.^- , ....... ,.>. ;. _ .,^^ ^.s^,^y,_. ^„. ■^^^.^} -"■f*^". ■^ r' f^ ■■#■ 'A i ■i»^ NAVAL HISTORY. *^ / Previous, however, to this event, the French menaced the whole of the American coast, from Cape Breton to the Delaware, with two serious invasions, both of which were fortunately defeated; the first by the elements, and the. second by the victory obtained by Admirals Anson and Warren in 1747. The peace did not take place until the following year, when Acadie was finally ceded to the British crown and took the name of Nova Scotia. The general interest felt in the fisheries, and the desire to. ^^ extend' the commerce of the country, caused a company in Philadelphia to undertake the discovery of a North West Passage. With this object the schooner Argo, Captain ' Swaine, sailed for Hudson's Bay, March 4th, 1753. After an absence of several months the Argo returned to Phila- delphia, having effected little more than obtaining a better . knowledge of the coast, and of the inletc of the great bays. The following year the attempt was repeated with still less success, the vessel having lost three of her people in an en- counter with, the Indians. v>!4fv • -#; >.r-. ^■,,' ' »■ ,:■ - ■-':'* •K-. <-:l " \'}' ■i,''"'';.' 5'«I^. :f: < < 4'; m t.j\ s.*t;>'<~ ^'■?^<^-y • iir^ .n- -r'^fiT ../ ■ . 'r ■ "-i ■•» *" >•- ■ .** ■ * . ■ - ■ i-i > ir AVAL HISTORY. ... .■ "■ f .#' ■ J "' \ •'•'.•■ ' . ' ^ '. '■-.''^ f" - ' U '; ' ■ *^ ' ■ '" ;■■': ■;: i 1 1. " ■•*^:"" '■ . '': '<^ : V ^' ■■•';■■ ' CHAPTER III. ^ ': / ^ The peace of Aix la Chapelle found the navigation of the American colonies in a very flourishing condition. More than a century had elapsed since the settlements had passed ^ the ordeal of their infant struggles, and although distant from each other, and labouring under the disadvantages of a scattered population^ they were fast rising to the dignity and power of states. The necessity of maintaining all their more important communications by water, had a direct tendency to encourage a disposition to the sea, and although ^-- without a regular warlike marine, their mercantile tonnage probably equalled that of the mother country, when con- * • sidered in reference to population. The number of soi^ in all the provinces, at that period, did not much exceed a million, if the Indians be excluded from the computation. Of the tonnage it is not easy to speak with accuracy, though we possess sufficient authority by which to form some general estimates. The year of the peace, 500 vessels are said to have cleared from the single port of Boston, and 430 entered ; this was exclusively of coasters; and fishing vessels. At Portsmouth, New Hampshire, there were 121 clearances and 73 entries, besides 200 coasting vessels in regular employment. The trade of New York and Phil- adelphia was less than that of Boston, but still respectable. Thus in 1749, or the year succeeding that of the peace, the %■ f- i-i) m J?*^..**! •11 » -# • NAVAL HISTORY. \J 98 m clearances at Philadelphia were 291, and the entries 303; while Boston, during the same period, had 604 clearances and 489 entries. In 1750, a year in which the navigation had sensibly diminished, the clearances of the former port were 286, and the entries 232. Many ports, which have since lost most of their navigation, then enjoyed a respect- able trade, among which may be mentioned Newport, Rhode Island, and Perth Amboy in New Jersey, ' The settlements extended nowhere to any great distance from the ocean, the entire population being virtually ranged along the coast, of which the Amerrcan colonies then pos- sessed rather more in extent than that of the entire coast of the Island of Great Britain. Some of the writers of the ^day boast that the tonnage and guns employed in privateers out of the colonies, during the late war, exceeded the ton- nage and guns of the royal navy of England, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Although many of the clearances and entries just enumerated, were, unquestionably, those of ves- sels owned by the mother country, there is no doubt that a very fair proportion belonged to the provinces. The num- h|tf||^coasting and fishing vessels, in particular, was already ^^^P Massachusetts alone owning nearly one vessel, of saMvdescription or other, for each hundred inhabitants. Up to this period, the common white oak of the forest was the wood principally used in naval constructions, though the chestnut was also found serviceable in particular parts of the frames. The white oak of North America varies very much in quality, according to the latitude, and other circumstances ; that which grows in the southern dis- tricts, as well as that which grows near the sea, being gen- erally more esteemed than that which is found further north, or remote from the coast. The trees, moreover, which have been left in the open lands, have a value that does not belong to those which have acquired all their pro- VoL. I.— 7 j *#• -m. ^ "^^ ^ 'M -i' 74 If AVAL HISTORT. S- perties in the shades of the forest. But a new era in ship building was at hand, through the introduction of a wood that greatly abounded in the more southern maritime regions of British America. In 17.50, a vessel called the Live Oak arrived in Charleston, South Carolina, having been built of the invaluable timber, after which she was named, which was now discovered to be one of the best materials for naval architecture known. The Live Oak is said to have been the first vessel la which this wood was ever used. It also, about this time, became a practice among the gnntry of the American provinces, to cause their sons to be entered as midshipmen in the royal navy. Occasionally an American had been transferred from the colonial marine to that of the king, but, hitherto, very few boys had been regularly entered or rated in the service, with a view to adopting it as a profession. The circumstance that Wash- ington was intended for such a life is generally known, and we now look back at the tender affection of his mother, which alone prevented it, as to a Providentisfl interference in behalf of the nation. Many of those who were thus rated in the English marine rose to high stations, and have been, or still are, classed among the ablest anl useful of^cers in the employment of the British We might even point to a painful notoriety that a few ob- tained, by their activity against the land of their birth, during the war of the Revolution. The tranquillity established by the treaty of Aix la Cha- pelle, like that produced by the peace of Utrecht, was of but short continuance. Disputes early commenced between the English and French provinces, in relation to their boun- daries; and an inland war actually broke out between them in 1754, though the peace of Europe was not imme- diately disturbed by this remote and local contest. This singular state of things continued throughout 1755, and U9 laicu m •■■■t » T \ * » ^1 %. ■^. • VAVAL HUilORY. 7» the campaign of that year was one of the most import- ant that had then occurred on the American continent. Both nations reinforced their troops from Europe, and strong squadrons were employed to protect the convoys ; but there being no technical hostilities, commissions were not issued to letters of marque and privateers. After many ineffectual attempts at an accommodation, however, the King of Great Britain made a formal dccla. ation of war on the 17th of May, 1756. Such was the commencement of the struggle that in America is familiarly called "the old French war." Al- though this contest was of the last importance to the colo- nies, by driving the French from their part of the conti- nent and by leaving the savages without an ally, its events were more properly connected with the movements of armies, than with any naval operations of magnitude, so far as the latter belong to the subject of this work. The beginning of the war was disastrous, but in the end, the celebrated £arl of Chatham succeeded in infusing a por- tion of his own energy into the councils of the King, and from that moif ent the most brilliant success rewarded his efforts. * ' An expedition against Louisbourg was attempted in 1757, under Admiral Holbourn, but it was abandoned on ascer- taining that, besides ifs regular garrison and important works, the place was defended by a fleet of 17 sail of the line, which was moored in the harbour. We learn the growing importance of the colonies in the forces employ- ed on this occcasion; Louisbourg having a garrison of 6000 regulars, while the army destined to attack it, mus- tered something like 1^,000 English troops, besides provin- cials. The failure apipaars to have arisen out of the supe- riority of the French in ships. It is worthy of mention, that, while the English fleet was J< *: # .?>,-'■ ■t .r«i 76 *. Vt NAVAL mSTORV. ■♦ • cruising off Loulsbourg it met with n heavy gnle, in which one of its ships, the Tilbury, was wrecked, and more than two hundred of her crew were drowned. The remainder fell into the honds of the French, who, with the humanity and courtesy of a great and polished nation, sent the suf- ferers to Halifax, under the protection of a flag of truce. Although Spain became a party to the war in 1702, on the side of France, it did not materially vary the nature of the exertions of the colonies, which were mainly directed to the reduction of the Canadas, by means of expeditions in- land. Martinique and the Havanna were both captured, but the fleets employed by the English were on a scale too large to require the aid of the light vessels of the provinces. Many Americans served in these enterprises, both by land and by water, but, as is always the case, when there is me- tropolitan power to claim the glory, the credit due their exertions was absorbed in the renown of the mother country. . * Peace was signed on the 10th of February, 1663, and from that day France ceased to claim any portion of the American Continent north of Louisiana, with the excep- tion of two insigniflcant fishing stations, near the outlet of the St. Lawrence. The conquests of this war were an in- cipient step towards the eventual independence of the colo- nies, since the latter found themselves without any enemy in their vicinity, to cause them to lean on England for suc- cour, or to divert their policy from those domestic mea- sures which were more immediately connected with their internal prosperity. The northern colonies gained much credit by their ex- ertions in the late war, having raised a respectable army, but less mention is made of their pri^^tcers than might have been supposed, from which we are led to infer, that the en- terprises of this nature did not attract as much attention as t¥ "ttV-- f f^; '^ m^ r» r f ■ •>t M 4^ ' f. ITAVAL RISTORT. \ 77 those which had characterized the earlier struggles of the country. -.l^w. . • .« . . At the close of this great contest, the original Ameri- can colonies, or those which have since constituted the United States, without including the Floridas and Louisi- ana, are supposed to have contained more than 1;200,000 souls, exclusively of Indians. Censuses were actually taken in one or two of the provinces. That of Massachu.'ietts gave a return a little exceeding 246,000; including 6000 people of colour. That of Maryland, taken in 1766, gave a total of 107,208 whites, a number considerably exceeding the estimates after the peace. - This war, while, on the part of the colonists, it was so much confined to expeditions by land, afforded, notwith- standing, some instances of hardihood and gallantry on the part of the privateers, of which, as usual, more or less wore at sea. One of these actions deserves to be noticed, as it was among the most obstinate of which we possess any authentic accounts. It was in January 1758, that the priva- teer Thurloe, 14, Captain Mantle, fell in with the French privateer Les Deux Amis, 10, Captain Felix. The Thurloe had a crew of 84 men, and Les Deux Amis a crew of 08. Perceiving the superiority of his antagonist in guns, the Frenchman endeavoured to escape, but finding this im- possible, he ran him atwhart hawse, and made a noble effort to carry him by boarding. He was met by a resolu- tion equal to his own, and for more than two hours these small vessels are said to have remained foul of each other, their crews contending for victory, with all the implements of destruction known to the warfare of the day. The Thurloe alone, is said to have thrown no fewer than 300 powder-flasks, and 72 stink-pots on board her enemy, besides making a liberal use of her guns and small arms. The Deux Amis struck, probably subdued by the guns of her 7* ;* ■A: . ■^i ^1 '^ 9' s- ft' NAVAL HISTORY. adversary, but not until she had rendered the combat one of the bloodiest in naval annal:?, by the obstinacy of her re- sistance. The Thurloe had 12 men killed, and 25 wound- ed; Les Deux Amis had more than 80 of her people in the same situation. ' " , ■ .■ . . i^ >• ^« -^ Although the history of this action is liable to the distrust that accompanies all accounts that are not subjected to tho investigation of official forms and official scrutiny, it ap- pears to be given with a particularity, in the accounts of the day, that renders it worthy of credit. Immediately after the peace of 1763, commenced that legislative usurpation on the part of the mother country, which twenty years later terminated in the independence of the colonies. It would exceed the proper limits of a work of this character, to enter into the details of that eventful period, or minutely to trace the progress of a sys- tem of encroachments that gradually undermined the alle- giance of a people, whose confiding affection still resists the animosities of two wars, and, the jealousies and compe- tition of commerce. America, at the period of which we write, had that men- tal dependence on the mother country, which the province is known to feel for the metropolis; exaggerating its virtues, palliating its defects, and substituting its own images for reason and truth. The temporary alienation that succeeded was the work of time, and it required more than ten years of progressive innovations, on the part of the parliament of Great Britain, before the more daring and far-sighted of the American leaders could bring the body of the people up to the point of open resistance. All this time, however, the provinces were rapidly increasing in numbers, in resources, and in a spirit of nationality, as opposed to the ancient sen- timent, which identified the children of the colonists with a land that they still loved to term "home." As the causes which led to the great results that followed lay deeper than I f iy'-'; .aa^._ . ■ NAVAL HISTORY, w I I it was usual for the writers of the day to consider, a passing word on so grave a subject may not be thrown away. In the age when the American colonies were founded, ^ and received their different charters from the crown, the prerogative of the King of England was active, the monarch effectually ruling the empire, checked by the other branches of the government. The relation between a prince and his subjects is simple, and, when not diverted from its legitimate direction, it is fostering and paternal. Under such circum- 3tances, and especially when there exist no unusual sources of irritation, the several parts of an extended empire may be governed equitably and on a common principle of justice. V^ The monarch of one portion of the territories is the monarch of another, and he is supposed equally to respect the rights and interests of all. But, when the revolution of 1668 put the House of Hanover on the throne, a svstem of ministerial responsibility was established, that gradually reduced the power of the crown, until the ministers, who, in effect, form the executive of Great Britain, got to be the creatures of parliament, instead of the real servants of the prince. It is true, that the king named his cabinet, or rather its head; but he was compelled to name those that parliament selected, or the latter stopped tlie supplies. This was effectually substi- tuting the power of parliament, in all the more important relations of the empire, for that of the king; and, as parlia- ment was composed of the representation, direct and indirect, of a small part of the territory nominally subject to the British Crown, it followed as a consequence, that this portion of the empire, by extending its legislation unduly over the others, was substituting a new and dangerous master, for a prince who might be supposed to know no difference in his affection for his subjects. While, however, this was probably the principle that lay at the root of the difficulties with America, few saw it in 4v: ; »*K «' A,' ^'' 80 VAVAL HISTORY. n-- theory; f^cts invariably preceding opinion in a country as purely practical as this. Legislative usurpation, in the abstract, was resisted ; while few perceived the difference between a legislation that was effectually checked by the veto of an independent monarch, bearing an equal relation to all the parts of a vast empire, and a legislation that not only held this, but all the other material powers of the crown, directly or indirectly, in subjection. Empires may be held together when the several parts are ruled by a central power that has a common, just, and obvious interest in all; but nothing short of force can compel the possessors of one detached territory to be subservient to the interests of the possessors of the seat of authority. This great obstacle, then, lay at the root of ihe difficulties, and, keeping out of view the questions of the day, which arose as consequences rather than as causes, it is now clear that the connexion could not have been perpetuated, while so small a fragment of the empire controlled so absolutely the great and moving power of the state. Among the offensive measures adopted by parliament was a du' on stamps, and another on tea. By the first, vessels could not regularly proceed to sea, unless furnished with the required stamps; yet so strong was the opposition that ships actually ventured on the ocean without the necessary papers; nor is it known that any serious consequences re- sulted from so bold a step. In the end, the stamp-officers having resigned, and no one being willing to incur the odium of filling their places, the courts of justice them- selves, transacted business without regard to those forms that the acts of parliament had rendered necessary. This tax was finally abandoned, and substitutes were sought for, that were believed to be more manageable. Fresh attempts to enforce the navigation act, which had virtually become a dead letter, were made in 1768, and a *»■ 'vV^' 'ir -^i ■^:. '■0f^ r ^-;.- .M-:- '# i^' NAVAL HISTORY. sloop from Madeira, loaded with wine, was actually seized in Boston, and placed under the guns of the Romney man of war. A mob followed, and the public officers were driven to seek protection in the castle. Great Britain had never maintained a body of troops in her colonies, except to protect them against the French and Indians. These soldiers had hitherto been principally kept on remote frontiers ; but regiments were now sent to Bos- Ion, evidently with a view to enforce the assumed ascen- dency of the British Parliament. This step added greatly to the discontent, and eventually was the direct cause of the commencement of hostilities. The first overt act of resistance that took place in this celebrated struggle, occurred in 1772, in the waters of Rhode Island. A vessel of war had been stationed on the coast to enforce the laws, and a small schooner, with a light armament and twenty seven men, called the Gasp6, was employed as a tender, to run into the shallow waters of that coast. On the 17th of June, 1772, a Providence packet, that plied between New York and Rhode Island, named the Hannah, and commanded by a Captain Linzee, hove in sight of the man of war, on her passage up the bay. The Hannah was ordered to bring to, in order to be CAiMTiined; but her master refused to copiply; and being fovoured by a fresh southerly breeze, that was fast sweepintj liim out of gun-shot, the Gasp6 was signalled to follow. For five and twenty miles the chase continued, under u press of sail, when the Hannah coming up with a bar, with which her master was familiar, and drawing less water than the schooner, Captain Linzee led the latter on a shoal where she struck. The tide falling, the Gasp6 sewed, and was not in a condition to be removed for several hours. The news of the chase was circulated on th3 arrival of the Hannah at Providence. A strong feelincr was excited "A. ■l^^ 'W^' .^ 82 NAVAL HISTORy. among the population, and towards evening tiie town drum- mer appeared in the streets, assembling the people in the ordi- nary manner. When a crowd was collected, this man led his followers in front of a shed that stood near one of the stores, when one disguised as an Indian suddenly appeared on the roof, and proclaimed a secret expedition for that night, in- viting all of " stout hearts" to assemble on the wharf, pre- cisely at nine, disguised like himself. At the appointed hour, most of the men in the place collected at the spot de- signated, when sixtyvfour were selected for the bold under- taking that was in view. ■ This party embarked in eight of the launches of the dif- ferent vessels lying at the wharves, and taking with them a quantity of round paving stones, they pulled down the river in a body. The commander of these men is supposed to have been a Captain Whipple, who afterwards held a oom- mission iu the service of Congress, but none of the names were publicly mentioned at the time. On nearing the Gasp^, about two in the morning, the boats were hailed by jf^ a sentinel on deck. This man was driven below by a volley of the stones. The commander of the Gasp6 now appeared, and warning the boats off, he fired a pistol at them. This discharge was returned from a musket, and the officer was shot through the thigh. By this time, the crew of the Gasp^ had assembled, and the party from Providence boarded. ^ The conflict was short, the schooner's people being soon knocked down and secured. All on. board were put into the boats, and the Gaspd was set on fire. Towards morn- ing she blew up. This bold step naturally excited great indignation in the British officers, and all possible means were taken to dis- cover the offenders. The Government at home offered a reward of £1000 sterling for the leader, and £600 to any person who would discover the other parties, with the \?' M #' M it]' >f* ra* 'ifk 7*-* ; NAVAL HISTORY. m \f promise of a pardon should the informer be an accomplice. But the feeling of the times was too high for the ordinary means of detection, no evidence having ever been obtained sufficient even to arraign a solitary individual, notwithstand- ing a Commission of Inquirji, under the Great Seal of Eng- land, sat with that object, from January to June, during the year 1773. • ' Although this affair led to no immediate results, it doubt- less had its influence in widening the breach between the opposing parties, and it is worthy of refmark, that in it was shed the first blood that flowed in the struggle for American Independence ; the whole transaction being as direct a re- sistance to oppression, as the subsequent, and better known fight at Lexington. The year 1773 is memorable in American history, for the resistance made by the colonists to the duty on tea. By .^^ means of some management on the part of the British min- istry, in permitting the East India Company to export their t,teas free of charges, it was now possible to sell the article ^*at a lower rate in America, subject to the duty, than it ^ could have been sold previously to the imposition of the tax. • Fancying that this circumstance would favour the views of all the parties in Europe, for the warehouses of the com- pany were glutted in consequence of the system of non-im- portation adopted by the colonists, several cargoes were sent to different ports, including New York, Philadelphia, Charleston and Boston. The inhabitants of the two former places compelled the ships to return to London, without un- loading, while the people of Charleston caused their vessel to be discharged, and the tea to be stored in damp cellars, where it finally spoiled. Three ships loaded with the offensive article had been sent to Boston, and the inhabitants succeeded in persuading their masters to consent to return to London, without dis- r-i. fi4. r-n t^ 64 # ' ^^* \ NAVAL HISTORY. charging, but the consignees refused to release them from their charter-parties, while the authorities denied the neces- sary clearances. The governor even withheld the permit necessary to pass the fort. This conduct produced great excitement, and preparations were made to destroy the tea, under an apprehension that it might be gradually and clan- destinely landed. Suddenly, in the dusk of the evening, a party disguised as Indians, and which has been differently represented as composed of twenty men up to eighty, ap- peared in the streets, marching swiftly in the direction of the wharves. It was followed by a mob, and proceeded to one of the tea-ships, which it boarded, and of which it took poEiOssion without resistance. The hatches were broken ope ;, and the chests of tea were struck on deck, staved, and tlieir contents were thrown into ihe water. The whole pro- ceedir gs were conducted in the most /rderly manner, and with little or no noise, the labourers seldom speaking. So much mystery attended this affair, that it is not easy, even at this remote day, to ascertain all the particulars ; and, although the names of the actors have been mentioned ' openly of late, for a long period apprehensions are said to have been entertained, by some engaged — men of wealth — that they might yet be made the subjects of a prosecution for damages, by the East India Company. Three hundred and forty two chests o( lea were destroyed, which was probably rhe cargo of a single ship, the two others quitting the port soon after. This daring act was followed by the Boston Port Bill, a political measure that wa equrTy high-handed, since it denied the people of the town all direct r-^.rticipation in commerce. This sudden v iixk, in twenty days notice, to the trade of a place that had seen, the previous year, 411 clearances, and 587 entries, to and from foreign ports, pro- duced much distress in the town itself, and greater indig- '4 i^ -r •a m^ r .f- M 1 I ■ A % # \ ' I V^' NAVAL HISTORY. ^ ■ # 85 ^ t.'ii \- *% * . l m r hp Jl^ sfniip:^ nation throughout the country. It had been the misfortune of England, never to understand the character of the people ^p'. of the American colonies; for, accustomed to dependencies that had been humbled by conquest, she had not yet learned '■ to appreciate the spirit of those who were rapidly shooting i'^ up into political manhood by their own efforts, and who had only placed themselves in the situation they occupied, be- cause they had founa the liberty of England herself, insuf- 4' dcient for their opinions and wants. The people now began seriously to prepare for an appeal to force, and they profited by the liberty that was still left them, to organize military corps, with a view to recover that which they had lost. A Congress of representatives from the different colonies convened, and a system of organiza- ^ tion and concert was adopted, that served to unite as many as possible in the struggle that was fast approaching. Towards the close of the year 1774, various steps were taken in different parts of the country, that had a direct bearing on the civil war that was known to be at hand. jflpi. Laws had been passed in England, prohibiting the exporta- %■ tion of arms and military supplies to America, and the can- ' ' non and powder of Ihe crown were seized at various points, either by the local governments, or by private individuals. Twenty-six guns, of different calibres, were found on Fort Island and carried to Providence, and the people of Rhode Island, are said to have got possession, in the whole, of quite forty guns, by these bold measures. Af Portsmouth, New Hampshire, a body of 400 men proceeded to the castle, at '* the harbour's mouth, kept the garrison in check, and break- ing open the magazine, they carried ofTone hui^red barrels of powder. "^ "" %. ,. While means like these were used to collect the neces- sary military equipments, provisions, as well .as arms, were collected in different parts of the country, in readiness for a Vol. I.— 8 .'■ ■'h ■^;r ,.*? . X,:'-']:. 'if:» V # ''W* VI 66 If AVAL HISTORY. i campaign. Among other d^pdts of this nature, one had been made at Concord, a small town at the distance of eighteen miles from Boston, and General Oage, who commanded the British forces in America, deemed it essential that it should be destroyed. A strong detachment was sent on this ser- vice, and it fell in with a small body of American minute- men at Lexington. These militia were dispersed by a volley, in which a few men were killed. This affair has always been considered the commencement of the War of the Revolution; and justly, as the hostilities which were then commenced did not cease, until the Independence of the Colonies was acknowledged by treaty. The British proceeded to Concord, where they effected their object, though not without resistance. The people now began to collect in force, and as soon as the British resumed their march on their return to Boston, they were assailed by the former, from behind the walls and fences. So vigorously were the troops pressed on this occasion, that it is thought they must have surrendered, had they not been met by a strong reinforcement, commanded by Lord Percy, which enabled them to halt and recover their breath. As soon as the march was begun again, however, the provincials renewed the attack, and the British did not succeed in gaining a place of security, until they reached Charlestown neck. In this affair the loss of the Americans has been ascertained to have amounted to 50 killed, 34 wounded, and 4 missing; that of the British to 73 killed, 174 wounded, and 26 prisoners. The intelligence of this important event circulated like a raging fire throughout the country, and it everywhere was received as a call to battle. Reserve was thrown aside; the population flew to arms, and the military stores of the crown were seized wherever they could be found. An irregular body of 20,000 men appeared before Boston, with incredible \t^: I ( .■J» •^ ^'* vr ••■»/•* •iV'*? I I '►> \% V* NAVAL HISTORY. . ♦ iT rapidity, and formed a line confining the royal army to the occupation of the town. With a view to reduce their enemy to still narrower limits, Breed's Hill, a height that commands the inner harbour of Boston, was seized, and a redoubt commenced. This step brought on the combat that has since been termed the Battle of Bunker's Hill, one of the '^ most extraordinary conflicts of modem times, and which may be said to have given birth to American Indepen- dence. Washington was now appointed Commander in Chief by the Congress of the United Colonies, and the war commenced under the usual laws of civilized nations, with the exception of the formality of a declaration. .,,> ■*:■ i. '^ i ^ Jt \tt0- v'y; •.-' ■■<<•• ■■**-.. '^-^ ■*'■-. v« ■si'. 4 n •'«■#' ■ ftS'l 68 NAVAL HISTORY. , 1 , \ -'»;. CHAPTER IV. . f yr-' The thirteen United Colonies that now commenced a struggle with the mother country, not to obtain a political independence, for few thought of so great a change when blood was first shed, but to regain rights that were inherent in the governing principles of the institutions under which they had long lived, and which were assured to them for- mally in a variety of ways, possessed but scanty means to contend with a power like that of Britain. Their popula- tion was less than three millions, their pecuniary resources of no great amount, ^nd their military preparations were insignificniii. But the fire of true patriotism had been kindled, and that which in other nations is eflbcted by means of laboured combinations and political management, the people of America were bent on doing of their own volun- tary motion and united efforts. The colonies of New Eng- land, in particular, which possessed a population i.:;ined to liberty ; hardy, simple, ingenious and brave, rose as it might be to a man, and as this was the part of the country in which the flame broke out, thither we must first direct our atten- tion in order to find the earliest evidences of its intensity. On the ocean, the preparations for the struggle were even smaller than those which had been made on the land. Congress had done nothing, and the provisions for naval defence w'lich, from time to time., had existed among the «^' *w^ ■?^ , 1 ^ NAVAL HISTORY. 89 .^ jn- t different colonies, had never amounted to more than main- taining a few guarda-costas, or to the temporary exertions for some expedition. As soon as the struggle commenced in earnest, however, the habits of the people, their aptitude for sea service, and the advantages of both a public and a private nature, that were to be obtained from successful cruising, induced thousands to turn longing eyes to an ele- ment that promised so many flatteri esults. Nothing but the caution of Congress, which b wa indisposed at first to act as if general warfare, inst' ' of a redress of grievances, was its object, prevei ed a wing towards the private cruisers, that would probably have given the com- merce of England a heavier and a more sudden blow, than it had ever yet received. But a different policy was pursued, and the orders to capture, first issued, were confined to vessels bringing stores and supplies to the British forces in America. It was as late as the 10th of Nov. 1775, before Massachusetts, the colony which was the seat of war, and which may be said to have taken the lead in the revolt, es- tablished courts of admiralty, and enacted laws for the en- couragement of nautical enterprises. Washington followed this example by granting commissions to vessels to cruise in the vicinity of Boston, with the object already stated. But a due examination of the practical measures of that day, will render it necessary to separate the subject into three branches ; viz, one that refers solely to the exertions of private, and frequently of unauthorized adventures; another that shall speak of the proceedings of the different colonies; and a last, which more properly comprises the theme of this work, that shall refer to the policy pursued by Congress, in behalf of the entire nation. In making these distinctions, we shall be compelled to use brevity, as but few authentic documents now exist for authorities, and because the sameness and unimportance of m^^ny of the details de- 8* ■^, ■vA^V- fi-:k/y IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I Jl 125 US ' Z U£ 12.0 u 11.25 iu m 1.6 FhotogFaphic Sciences Corporalion 23 WiST MAIN STRUT WIUTIII,N.Y. MSM (716)t72-4S03 '^ 4r ^^ *5* ^ ,#^- H U VAVAL RISTdRY. prive the subject of any interest beyond that which is con- nected with a proper understanding of the true condition of the country. The first nautical enterprise that succeeded the battle of Lexington, was one purely of private adventure. The in- telligence of this conflict was brought to Machias in Maine, on Saturday the 0th of May, 1775. An armed schooner called the Margaretta, in the service of the crown, was lying in port, with two sloops under her convoy, that w#e loading with lumber on behalf of the King's government. Those who brought the news were enjoined to be silent, a plan to capture the Margaretta having been immediately projected among some of the more spirited of the inhabitants. The next day being Sunday, it was hoped that the officers of the latter might be seized while in church, but the scheme failed in consequence of the precipitatioh of those engaged. Capt. Moore, who commanded the Margaretta, saw the as- sailants, and, with his officers, escaped through the windows of the church to the shore, where they were protected by the guns of the schooner. The alarm was now taken, springs were got on the Margaretta's cables, and a few harmless shot were fired over the town, by way of intimi- dation. After a little delay, however, the schooner dropped down below the town, to a distance exceeding a league. Here she was followed, summoned to surrender, and fired on from a high bank, which her own shot could not reach. The Margaretta again weighed, and running into the bay at the confluence of the two rivers, anchored. The following morning, which was Monday, the 11th of May, four young men took possession of one of the lumber sloops, and bringing her along side of a wharf, they gave three cheers as a signal for volunteers. On explaining that their intentions were to make an attack on the Margaretta, a party of about thirty-five athletic men was soon col- -'•r "^" ^ X /^ VAVAL BISTORT. •1 M ■' ■ i*^ \k ■I ■■ ■ e«tdd. Afrnfng tfteniiefves with fire-arms, pitck-forks, and axes, and throwing a small stock of provisions into the sloop, these spirited freemen made sail on their craft, with a light breeze at north-west When the Margaretta observed the approach of the sloop she weighed and crowded sail to avoid a conflict, that was every way undesirable, as her commander was not yet apprised of all the facts that had occurred near Boston. In jibing, the schoonor carried a\i^ay her main-boom, but continuing to stand on, she ran into Holmes' Bay, and took a spar out of a vessel that was then lying there. While these repairs were making, the sloop hove in sight, and the Margaretta stood out to sea, in the hope of avoiding her. The wind now freshened, and the sloop proved to be the better sailer, with the wind on the quart which consequently put an end to the expeditions we have classed among the unauthorized. The colony of Massachusetts had recourse to energetic measures for annoying the enemy on the coast, and for procuring military supplies. Many small vessels were fitted out by that as well as by other colonies, and ships were sent in different directions with a view to purchase the stores that could not be seized. The want of powder, in particular, was so severely felt, that all practicable means were adopted with a desire to obtain it Among others, Greneral Washington borrowed . two schooners of Massachusetts and sent them into the gulf of St Lawrence, under the orders of Captain Brough- ton, to intercept two brigs, that were known to be bound to Quebec, with military stores. The brigs were not seen, but ten other English vessels were captured by Captain Brough- ton, and all released as not coming within the hostilities meditated by Congress. That body, however, was by no means blind to the im- portance of naval means of defence, without which no war can ever be conducted with credit and success by a country situated like America; and we now have properly arrived at the point where it is necessary to advert to the acts and legislation of the General Grovernment on this interesting subject. Soon after he assumed the command of the troops before Boston, General Washington, who so deeply felt the want of munitions of war of nearly every description, issued several commissions to different small vessels, giving their com- manders instructions to cruise in or near Massachusetts Bay, in order to intercept the British store ships. The first vessel that got to sea under this arrangement, was the schooner Lee, Captain John Manly, which sailed from Marblehead near the close of November. On the :"% 'i <*.elaware, Montgomery, VAVAL WSTOIir. 28— Rhode Island. 24 — Massachusetts. 24 — Pennsylvania. 24— New York. M ^ I These vessels aj^ar to have been judiciously appointed in order to effect the object in view. The resources of America did not admit of the construction of ships of a size fit to contend with the fleets of England, and had the colo- nies been in a condition even to make such an exhibition of their power, H^ie time necessary to organize a proper ma« rine, the want of navy yards, and the impossibility of pro- curing in season, naval stores of the required quality, would have prevented them from attempting it. The ships ordered were large enough to resist the small cruisers of the crown, and were well adapted to destroy convoys, and to capture transports and store-ships. We are not, however, to esti- mate their force by the manner of rating, as compared with similar rates in our own time, the art of ship-building and the mode of equipping vessels of war, having undergone great changes since the commencement of the American Re- volution. Frigates, at that day, were usually vessels varying from six hundred to a thousand tons, and rarely carried on their main deck batteries, guns of a metal heavier than eighteen pounders. There was usually no spar-deck, but the forecastle and quarter deck were connected by gang- ways, with gratings to cover a part, or even all of the in- termediate space. The armaments above were light sixes, nines, or twelves, according to the respective rates, but were commonly of trifling amount. Carronades had not then been invented, though they first came into use during this war. This gun obtains its name from the cir- cumstance of its having been been first made at the village of Carron, in Scotland, a place celebrated for its foundries. & ,*.■'* # i 'H ■■-'' !** V ■_,;■*" ■^■ J^ it*mtMik>^\p»mmm*^t III iin«w>i*MWMfaatMi '♦n ..V »' h :'il •#r IVAVAL HBTORY. VI r. as the bayonet derivei its appellation from BayootMr in France. We believe it was first used with effect, in the battle between Lord Rodney and the Comte de Grasset when it was found to be an arm of more efficiency than had been generally anticipated. For some time its use was con- fined to the English, nor did it make its way into the Ameri- can marine» untilthe commencement of the present century, or the very dose of the last. Most of the ships mentioned in the list we have given, were armed with nines and twelves, having sixes, and even fours, on their quarter>^ decks and forecastles. Vi e beUeve there was no eighteen pounder frigate constructed under tife laws of 177ft. Bad as was the condition of the Colonies, as respects naval stores, and the munitions of war, the country might be said to be e^en worse off for persons suited to form a navy list There was no lack of competent naviga- tors, or of brave seamen, but the high moral qualities which are indispensable to the accomplished officer, were hardly to be expected atjnong those who had received all their training in the rude and imperfect schools of the merchant service. Still, as a whole, the merchant seamen of America were of a class superior to those of most other nations; the very absence of a regular marine, which induced young men of enterprise to incur the dangers of the seas in this mode in preference to remaining on shore, ar^^ the moral superiority of the level of the population, producing such a result. It has been said that the gentry of the country had begun to place their sons in the British marine, previously to the commencement of this war; but, while many instan- ces occurred in which Americans threw up their commis- sions in the British army, in preference to serving against their native land, very few of those who had taken service in the navy, followed their example. The second nature that the seaman acquires in time, appears to have drawn the cord too tight to suffer it to be snapped even by the Vol. I— 9 <» * \<- ' "^Sbv" '<»-sm,~Ji.J>, tm ^w ^r7w ^^T^ 98 NAVAL HMTOBT. violent struggles of a civil wir, and most of the young men who were born in the colonies, and who found themselves arrayed against their proper country, on board the ships of the king, continued to serve with the undiminished zeal and singleness of purpose, that is apt to distinguish the fidelity of a seaman to his flag.* The Committee of Congress, to which the duties of a Navy Department were assigned, was compelled, in consequence of these diflSoulties, to select the new corps of officers, principally, from such conspicuous persons among the masters and mates of merchant ships as the country afforded; a few of those who had been trained in the English marine, but who had left it previously to the struggle, excepted. The result was such as might have been anticipated. While many gallant and suitable men were chosen, some of the corps had little to recommend them besides their practical knowledge of seamanship. These were valuable qualities, certainly, but the habits of subordination, the high feelings of personal pride and self- respect that create an esprit de corpsy and the moral courage and lofty sentiments that come in time, to teach the trained officer to believe any misfortune preferable to professional dis'* grace, were not always to be expected under such circum- stances. In short, 'a service <:reated in this informal manneri must necessarily depend more on accidental and natural qualities for its success, than on that acquired chariacter which has been found to be so competent a substitute, and which is altogether indispensable when there is a demand for the complicated and combined movements that can alone render any arm efficient throughout a series of years. It is true, that the colonies had possessed an irregular school for the training of officers, in their provincial crui- sers, or guarda-QfMtas, but it was neither sufficiently ex- I 't^^ I * We dkn discover but a single instance of an American's quitting the Snglish navy on account of the war, though it is probable more occurred. 'r«- 'D. •«V' KAVAL HISTORT. 90 ti i ^1 tended, nor sufficiently disciplined, to afford the supply that was now demanded by the extraordinary exigencies of the times. The documents connected with the early history of the navy of the oouhtry, were never kept with suffioient method, and the few that did exist have become much scattered and lost, in consequence of there having been no regular navy department ; the authority of this branch of the government having been exercised throughout the whole war, by Com- mittees and Boards, the members of which have probably retained many documents of interest, as vouchers to authen- ticate their own proceedings. Among other defects it has become impossible to estab- lish, in all cases, who did and who did not actually serve in the marine of the United States, officers so frequently pass- ing from the privateers into the public vessels, and from the public vessels to the privateers, as to leave this important branch of our subject involved in much obscurity. Before we enter more fully into the details on which reliance can be placed, it may be well, also, to explain that the officers in the navy of the Confederation derived their authority from different sources, a circumstance that adds to the diffi- culties just mentioned. In a good many instances Congress made the appointments by direct resolutions of its own, as will appear in the case of the officers first named. Subse- quently, the Marine Committee possessed this power; and, in the end, not only did the diplomatic agents of the Go- vernment abroad exercise this high trust, but even the com- manders of squadrons and of ships were put in possession of blank commissions to be filled at their particular discretion. It will easily be Understood, how much this, looseness in managing an interest of so much mooient, increases thew embarrassment in obtaining the truth. The brave men who acted under the authority of Wash- ington, at the commencement of the contest, were not in the -'*•,, A^'if:l,A % 100 WAVAL HISTORT. ntvy, ai ii evident from the oircumitance that aeveral o( them obtained rank in the aervice, ai the reward of their conduct, while cruising in the sort of semi-official veaaelt that have already been mentioned. It has been said, that the first regular legislation of Congress, in reference to a marine, with a view to resist the aggressions of the British Parliament, dates from a resolution of that body, passed the 18th of October, 1775. This resolution directed a com- mittee of three, Messrs. Deane, Langdon and Gadsden, to fit out two swift sailing vessels, the one of ten, and the other of fourteen guns, to cruise to the eastward, to intercept the suppliea and transports intended for the British army at Boston. Under this law it is believed that a brig called the Lexington, and a sloop named the Providence were equipped; though it does not appear that either went on the particular duty named in the resohition. On the 80th of the same month, the committee was increased to seven, and a ship of 36 guns, and another of 20, were ordered to be provided. Under this law ihe Alfred and Columbus were purchased, though neither was of the force implied by the highest rate named. The first of these ships is said to have had a main- deck battery of 20 nines, while her armament on the quar- ter-deck and forecastle, varied in the course of her service, from ten guns to two. At the end of her career she carried no guns above. Less is known of the Columbua|but she is believed to have had a gun deck battery of 18 ninaa. Both were clumsy and crank ships, and neither proved to be a very good sailer. On the 18th of December, of the same year. Congress directed thirteen ships of war to be built, and the next day the Marine Committee was increased, so as to contain one member from .each colony; all the proceedings that have yet been mentioned, having been directed rather to a redress of grievances, than to independence. It will aid in understanding how complicated the busio V, ,.jrL- ,.^,I ■M, r If AVAL HISTORT. * 101 nesi of the navy became, if we here give a brief outline of the various modes that were adopted in managing iti affain. To the committee last named, very extensive powers wf(re given; but in November, 1776, a *< Cdntinental Navy Board," of three competent persons, was established as subordinate to this committee; and soon after, this "Navy Board'* was divided into two; one being termed the '* East- ern Board," and the other the " Board of the Middle Dis- trict." A large portion of the executive functions of the "Marine Committee" devolved on these two "Boards." In October, 1779, this mode of proceeding was changed, and a " Board of Admiralty" was established, consisting of three commissioners who were not in Congress, and two that were. Of this board any three were competent to act In January, 1781, James Reed was appointed, by special resolution, to manag ■• • ' By this resolution, or law, it would appear that two brigs, the Andrea Doria, and the Cabot, had been purchased, most probably by the Marine Committee, previously to its passage. Of the precise force of the latter vessel no authen- tic account can be found, but it is thought to have been 16 sixes. It appears by a letter of Paul Jones, however, that the armament of the Doria was 14 fours, and the Cabot may have been of the same force. The equipment of all the vessels mentioned, as well as of two or three more of less size, was going on in the autumn of 1775, the appointment of their officers was made at the close of the year, and the first ensign ever shown by }^ »i- ' r^ \ ( y* t^ ',5- V * V ^, •«#;.* t ? r NAVAL RldTOHir. 108 a regular American man of war, was hoisted in the Dela- ware, on board the Alfred, by the hands of Paul Jones, sometime about the last of December. This event could not have occurred previously to the vote appointing a commander in chief, as we are expressly told that the flag was shown when that officer first impaired on board his ship. What that ensign was, is not now certainly known, but it is thought to have been a device representing a pine tree, with a rattlesnake about to strike, coiled at its root, with the motto " don't tread on me." It is certain that such a flag was used, at the commencement of the Revolution, and on board some of the vessels of war, though whether this was the flag worn by the Alfred is not quite so clear. Most of the privateers of the period either wore the arms of the colony from which they sailed, and by which they were authorized to cruise, or they also showed devices of their own, according to the conceits of the different cap- ;:ins and owners. It was not until 1777, that Congress formally adopted the present national colours. . The first regular cruisers that ever got to sea under the new government were the Hornet 10, and Wasp 8, a sloop and a schooner that had been equipped by the Marine Com- mittee in Baltimore, and which sailed in November, to join the squadron under Commodore Hopkins, in the Delaware. This passage, however, cannot properly be called a cruise. For the first of these we must refer to the Lexington 14, a little brig, the command of which had been given to John Barry, a ship-master of Philadelphia, of credit and skill. By other statements, the squadron under the orders of Com- modore Hopkins, got out before the Lexington; but we are disposed to believe that this is an error; not only because the sailing of the Lexington appears to be asserted on the most probable authority, but because it is more reasonable to believe, that, as between vessels fitted in the same place, and nQar the same time, a single cruiser could precede a ■'^ "^^ f^' i^ 104 KAVAL HISTORT. squadron. The Lexington was purchased earlier than the Alfred, and, in the nature of things, was more readily equipped. The honour has long been claimed for Capt. Barry, and, on as close an examination of the facts, as our means will allow, we believe it to be his due. The Lex- ington must have left the Gapes of the Delaware late in January, or early in February, 1770, and her orders were to cruise to the southward. ,^ The plans of Congress had changed between W6 time when the vessels were ordered and that on which they were ready for service. Commodore Hopkins was accord-* ingly directed, also, to proceed to the southward, with a view to act against the naval force, which was then rava^ ging the coast of Virginia, under Lord Dunmore. The squadron had got into the Bay, and rendezvoused under Cope Henlopen, early in February. It consisted of the Alfred 24, Columbus 20, Doria 14, Cabot 14, Providence 12, Hornet 10, Wasp 8, and Fly despatch vessel. With this force Commodore Hopkins got to sea on the 17th of February. On the night of the 10th, as the squadron was steering south with a fresh breeze, the Hornet and Fly parted company, and did not join again during the cruise. No vessel of any importance was met until the ships reached Abaco, in the Bahamas, where the squadron had been or- dered to rendezvous. Here Commodore Hopkins determined to make a descent on New Providence, where it was under- stood a considerable amount of military stores were col- lected. For this purpose, a body of 300 men, marines and landsmen, under the command of Capt. Nichols, the senior marine officer of the service, were put into two sloops, with the hope of surprising the place. As the squadron approached the town, however, an alarm was given, when the sloops were sent in, with the Providence 12, and Wasp 8, to cover the landing. This duty was handsomely performed, and Capt Nichols got complete possession of the forts, and entire ^"^: ' -vl> •■. r. ^ - ■IV, m. ^T^l'.- . -<' '^.•^-' NAVAL HISTORY. l(ff Cabot lost 23 men killed and wounded, and one man on board the Columbus lost an arm while in chase. The result of this first essay of the American navy, when announced, caused much exultation in the country. The affair was represented as a sort of victory, in which three light vessels of war had been taken, and one of force com- pelled to ruUi A short time, however, served to correct these.OBprs, dnd public opinion probably went as far in the opposi^ettreme, where it would seem to have been perma- nently fixed, by subsequent historians. The g/eat error of Commodore Hopkins was in sufiering so small a vessel as th6 Cabot to run close along side of a shif) of the Glasgow's furce, when the first attack should have been made by the Alfred. Had the Cabot delivered two or th^ree as efficient broadsides from a favourable position, as the first she fired, while the Glasgow was occi^ied by a heavier ship, it is highly probable the enemy would have been capturedJ^* Commodore Hopkins betrayed no want of spirit, but hi^ crew and vessel were much inferior to the regularly and loqg-trained people of a cruiser, and to a ship properly con- structed for war. The lightness of the wind, and the ob- scurity of a night action, contributed to the disasters, as, in such circumstances, when the ship broached to, it required time to get her under the command of her helm again. The reason for not continuing the chase was suffi- cient, and it is now known that the English squadron did come out of Newport as soon as the Glasgow appeared,- and there can be little doubt that Commodore Hopkins would have lost all his dull sailing vessels^ had he gone much farther in pursuit. It ought to be added, thatUhe small pox, then a malady of fatal effect, had broken out in the ships while they were at New Providence, and it proba- bly had an influence on their efficiency. The Doria, in particular, was known to be nearly useless, from the num- ber of cases she had on board. Pi: .y4- ■ r 106 ■■i^-\ HAVAL HltTORT. This was hardly the feeling of the country, notwithstand- ing, for nations are seldom just under disgrace, imaginary or real. Commodore Hopkins was left in command some time longer, it is true, and he carried the squadron to Rhoide Island, a few weeks after his arrival, but he never made another cruise in the navy. On the 16th of October, Con- gress passed a vote of censure on him, for not performing the duties on which he had been sent to the southward, and on the 2d of January, 1777, by a vote of that body, he was formally dismissed from the service. No commander in chief was subsequently appointed, though such a measure was {^commended to the national legislature by a commit- tee of its own body, August 24th, 1781. As an offset to the escape of the Glasgow, the^ Lexington, Capt Barry, a small brig with an armament of 16 four pounders, fell in with the £dward, an armed tender of the ''Liverpool, on the 17th of April, off the capes of Virginia, and after a close and spirited action of near an hour, ca^ tured her. The Lexington had four of her crew killed and ' wounded, while the Edward was cut nearly to pieces, and met with a very heavy comparative ioss in men. It may better connect the history of this little brig, if we add here, that she went to the West Indies the following October, under the command of Capt. Hallock, and on her return was captured near the spot where i^he had taken the Liverpool's tender, by the Pearl frigate. It was blow- ing fresh at the time« and, after taking out of his prize a few officers, and putting a crew on board her, the com- mander of the Pearl ordered her to follow his own ship. Tlvit night the Americans rose, and overpowering the prize crew, they carried the brig into Baltimore. The Lexington was immediately recommissioned, under the orders of Capt. Johnston, and in March of the succeeding year, she sailed for Europe, where we shall soon have ooeasion to note her movements. i^S)i' V WAVAL HISTORY. _. 100 CHAPTER V. « Whek the American squadron had got into Newport it became useless, for a time> from a want of men. Many of the seamen had entered for the cruise only, and Congress having authorized the capture of ail British vessels in March, so many persons were now induced to go on board the privateers, that crews were not to be obtained. It is « singular feature of the times, too, that the sudden chedt to navigation, and the delay in authorizing general captures, had driven a great many of the seamen into the army. It is also easy to imagine that the service was out of favour, after the affair with the Glasgow, for by events as trifling as this, are Jlhe opinions of ordinary men usually influenced. It has been said that the vessels were carried to Provi- dence, Rhode Island, and soldiers had to be borrowed from the' army, in order to effect even this. At Providence, courts martial, the usuieil attendants of military misfortunes, were assembled to judge the delinquents. Capt. Whipple, of the Columbus was tried for not aiding the Alfred in the action with the Glasgow, and seems to have been acquitted. Capt. Hazard, of the Providence, was cashiered, though it does not appear on what charge. ^ The day after the dismissal of her former commander, or May the 10th, 1770, Paul Jones was directed by Com- modore Hopkins to take charge of the Providence, and to carry the borrowed soldiers to New York, there to enlist a Vol. L— 10 - . 'M- 110 If AVAL MISTORy. -I n- regular orow, and return to the station. This duty having been successfully performed, the sloop was hove out, cleaned, refitted, armed and manned for a cruise. On the 18th of June, Capt. Jones sailed from Newport with a con- voy loaded with military stores, which he saw into Long Island Sound, a service attended with risk on account of the numerous cruisers of the enemy. While thus employed, Capt. Jones covered the escape of a brig from St. Domingo, laden also with military stores, and bound to New York. This brig.was soon uAer bought into the servjce, and be- came the Hamden 14. After performing this duty, the Providence was employed iu cruising between Boston and the 'Delaware, and she even ran as far south as Ber- muda. On the 1st of September, ivhile on the latter ser- vice, this little sloop made five sail, one of which was mis- taken for a large merchantman. On getting near the latter vesiel, she proved to be a light English frigate, and a fast sailer. After a chase of four hours by the wind, and in a cross sea, the enemy had so far gained on the Providence as to be within musket shot, on her lee-quarter. The stran- ger had opened with her chase guns from the first, and the Providence now returned the fire with her light four poun- ders, showing her colours. Perceiving that capture, or some bold expedient must soon determine his fate, Capt. Jones kept edging away, until he had got rather on tAa lee bow of the enemy, when the Providence suddenly went off dead before the wind, setting every thing that would draw. This unexpected mancBUvre brought the two vessels within pistol shot, but the English ship having been taken com- pletely by surprise, before she could get her light sails set, the sloop was nearly out of reach of grape. The Provi- dence sailed the best before the wind, and in less than an hour she had drawn quite beyond the reach of shot, and finally escaped. This affair has been represented as an en- gagement of several hours with the Solebay 28, but, as has , '^,\ 'M -t% ■^- KAVAL HISTORr. Ul i-: I an vV been said, it was little more than a clever artifice, in which Capt Jones discovered much steadiness and address. Not a shot touched the Providence, though the Solebay fired a hundred. Capt Jones now went to the eastward, where he made several prizes. Here he was chased by the Milford S3, and finding he could easily outsail her, he kept just out of gun shot for several hours, the enemy, who measured his dis* tance badly, firing most of the time. This afiair has also been exaggerated into a running fight. Afler this chase the Providence went upon the coast, off Canseau, and did much damage to the enemy's fishermen, taking no less than twelve sail. Having made sixteen prizes, in all, some of which were valuable, Capt. Jones re- turned to Newport. Ere the return of the Providence, independence was de- clared, and Congress had set about a more regular organi- zation of the navy. October the 3d, it ordered another frigate and two cutters to be built; and November the 0th, a law was passed, authorizing the construction of three 74's, five more frigates, a sloop of war, and a packet In January qf the succeeding year, another frigate and another sloop of war, were commanded. Eight of the prizes were also directed to be taken into the servico, in the course of the years 1776 and 1777, while, as the war proceeded, di- vers small vessels were directed to be built, or purchased. But the most important step taken by Congress, at this time, was a law regulating the rank of the different officers, which had hitherto been very uncertain, and had led to many disputes. By a resolution passed, April the 17th, 1776, Congress had declared that rank should not be regulated by the date of the original appointments, reserving to itself the power to say who should command, when it had ascertain- ed who were disposed to serve. But it had now declared the nation independent of the King of Great Britain, and It f M MAVAL nsTa&r. <;' *'■ thert wai a long and blood/^Mrar in perapeotive, before that independence could be rebognised. It wai time to reduce the confused elements of the service to order, and to quiet the disputes and claims of individuals, by an exercise of sovereign power. A resolution was accordingly passed on the 10th of October 1776, directing that the captains in the navy should take rank in the following order, viz: 1. James Nicholson, 2. John Manly, 3. Hector McNiel, 4. Dudley Saltonstall, 5. Nicholas Kddle, 6. Thomas Thompson, 7. John Barry, 8. Thomas Read, 0. Thomas Grennall, 10. Charles Alexander, 1 1. Lambert Wickes, 12. Abraham Whipple, 18. John R Hopj^ns, 14. John Hodge, 15. William Hallock, 10. Hoysted Hacker, 17. Isaiah Robinson, 18. John Paul Jones, 10. James Josiah, 20. Elisha Hinman, 21. Joseph Olney, 22. Jamea Robinson, 28. John Young, 24. Elisha Warner. The Marine Committee was empowered to arrange the rank of the inferior officers. At this time Commodore Hopkins was commander-in-chief, and he continued to serve in that capacity until the commencement of the fol- lowing January, when Capt. Nicholson became the senior officer of the navy, though only with the rank of captain. When the law regulating rank was passed, the, vessels of the navy, in service, or in the course of construction, were as follows; the word building, which is put after most of them, referring as well to those which had just been launch- ed as to those that were still on the stocks; a few of the for- mer, however, were nearly ready for sea. List of vessels in the United States Navy, October, 1776. Hancock, 82, building at Boston. Randolph, 32, do. Philadelphia. •V •i( <«*■■ //.w VAVAI. HISTOKf 11 Raleigh, 88, *>. Portsmouth, N. H. Washington, sa. do< Philadelphia. Warren, 82, do. Rhode Island. Trumbull, 88, do. Connecticut Effingham, 88, do. Philadelphia. Congresi, 88, do.' Poughkeepsie, N. Y. Virginia, ^ 88, do. Maryland. Providence, 88, do. Rhode Island. Boston, 84, do. Boston. Delaware, 84, do. Philadelphia. Montgomery, 84, do.' Poughkeepsie. Alfred, 34, in service • Columbus, 80, do. Reprisal, 10, . do. Cabot, 16, do. Hamden, 14, do. Lexington, 14, do. Andrea Doria , 14, do. '" Providence, 18, do. Sachem, 10, do. Independence , 10, do. Wasp, 8, do. , Musquito, 4, do. Fly, — do. To these vessels, many of which never got to sea, must be added several small cruisers, that were employed by the American Commissioners in Europe; the histories of which will be given in their proper places; and the vessel that parted company from Commodore Hopkins' squadron, on its way to New Providence. This vessel, the Hornet, suf- fered much before she got in, and it is believed she was employed very little afterwards. When the squadron, under Commodore Hopkins, broke up, all the ships did not remain idle, but the Columbus 80, made a cruise, under Capt Whipple, to the eastward, and 10* .-«.•, 114 R AVAt HlSTCNir. took « few prizes. The Andrea Doria 14, Capt. Biddle^ went in the lame direction, also, and wai tven more luc- ceuful than the Providence in annoying the enemy. Thia veiiel, a little brig, carrying 14 fours, actaally took two armed transports filled with soldiers, and made prises of so many merchantmen, that, it is affirmed on plausible autho- rity, when she got back into the Delaware, but five of the common men who composed her original crew were in her; the rest having been put in the prizes, and their places sup- plied by volunteers from among the prisoners. Capt. Biddle gained much credit for this cruise, and on his return, he was appointed to the command of the Randolph 32, then recent- ly launched. One of the transports, however, was retaken by the Cerberus frigate. While the (Jnited States' cruisers were thus active in intercepting the British transports on the high seas, the colony cruisers and privateers were busy in the same way in-shore. Boston had been evacuated by the enemy on the 17th of March, of this year; but vessels continued to arrive from England until midsummer ; the fact not having been known in England in time to prevent their steering towards the wrong port. No less than thirty sail fell into the hands of the Americans, in consequence of these mistakes. As one of the occurrences of this nature was, in a measure, con- nected with a circumstance just related in the cruise of the Doria, it may be properly given here. i The Connecticut colony brig Defence 14, Capt. Harding, left Plymouth, Massachusetts, eorly on the morning of the 17th of June, and, on working out into the bay, a desultory firing was heard to the northward. The Defence crowded sail in the direction of the cannonading, and about dusk, she fell in with four light American schooners, which had been in a running fight with two British transports, that had proved too heavy for them. The transports, after beating dflf the schooners, had gone into Nantasket Roads and an- -s. )/■ )-:/ ■*'' %. ITAVAL HUTMY. 116 if- s % ''" .. chor«d. One of the schooners was the Lee 8, Capt Wtttrs, in the service of Massachusetts, the little cruiser that had so successfully begun the maritime warfare under Capt. Manly. The three others were privateers. After laying his plans with the commanders of 'the schooners, Capt. Harding stood into the roads, and about eleven o'clock, at night, he anchored between the trans- ports, within pistol shot. The schooners followed, but did not approach near enough to be of much service. Some hailing now passed, and Capt. Harding ordered the enemy to strike. A voice from the largest English vessel, answered, *'Ay, ay — I'll strike," and a broadside was immediately poured into the Defence. A sharp action, that lasted more than an hour, followed, when both the English vessels struck. These transports contained near two hundred soldiers of the same corps as those shortly after taken by the Doria, and on board the largest of them was Lieut. Col. Campbell, who commanded the regiment In this close and sharp conflict the Defence was a good deal cut up aloft, and had nine men wounded. The trans- ports lost eighteen killed, and a large number wounded. Among the slain was Major Menzies, the ofiicer who had answered the hail, as just stated. The next morning the Defence, with the schooners in company, saw a sail in the bay, and gave chase. The stranger proved to be another transport, with more than a hundred men of the same regiment on board. Thys did about five hundred men, of one of the best corps in the British army, fall into the hands of the Americans, by means of these light cruisers. It should be remembered that, in this stage of the war, every capture of this nature was of double importance to the cause, as it not only weak- ened the enemy, but checked his intention of treating the American prisoners as rebels, by giving Jhe colonists the means of retaliation, as well as of exchange. Col. Campbell * i .■^- n :^;:C ^ i . f ■;i*^. '4t- € •*■. U6 NAVAL HISTORY. ^ ■« ». i^ fj l^^' V WM subsequently made use of by Washington, to compel the English to extend better treatment to the Americans who had fallen into their hands. To return to the vessels left at Rhode Island: — When Capt. Jones came in from his last cruise in the Providence, a project was formed to send a small squadron under his orders to the coast of Nova Scotia, with the double view of distressing the British trade, and of liberating about a hun- dred Americans who were said to be confined in the coal pits of that region. For this purpose the Alfred 24, Ham- den 14, and Providence 12, were put under the orders of Capt. Jones; but not having men enough for all three, that officer selected the two first for his purpose. While clear- ing the port, the Hamden got on a ledge of rocks, and had to be left behind. The crew of the Hamden were now transferred to the Providence, and in the month of Novem- ber Capt. Jones got to sea, with both vessels rather short manned. A few days out, the Alfred made one or two small captures, and soon after she fell in with, and took, after a short combat, the armed ship Mellish, loaded with- sup- plies for the army that was then assembling in Canada, to form the expedition under Gen. Burgoyne. On board this vessel, in addition to many other articles of the last import- ance, were ten thousand suits of uniform clothes, in charge of a company of soldiers. It was said, at the time, that the Mellish was the most valuable English ship that had then fallen jnto the hands of the Americans. Of so much im- portance did Capt. Jones consider this capture, that he an- nounced his intention to keep his prize in sight, and to sink her in preference to letting her fall into the enemy's hands again. This resolution, however, was changed by circum- stances. The Providence had parted company in the night, and having taken a letter of marque, from Liverpool, the Alfred 'was making the best of her way to Boston, with a view to f> ■w ■■^' '■^ « •■♦%' J'^:^- r -.d ^~' '^- NAVAL HISTORY. 119 she took several vessels more, and amoi||; the rest a king'g packet that plied between Falmouth and Lisbon. When the cruise was up, Capt. Wickes went into Nantes, taking his prizes with him. The complaints of the English now be- came louder, and the American commissioners were se- cretly admonished of the necessity of using more reserve. The prizes were directed to quit France, though the Reprisal, being leaky, was suffered to remain in port in order to refit. The former were taken into the offing, and sold, the state of the times rendering these informal proceedings necessary. Enormous losses were the consequences, while it is not im- probable that the gains of the purchasers had their influence in blinding the local authorities to the character of the transaction. The business appears to have been managed with dexterity, and the proceeds of the sales, such as they were, pi'oved of great service to the agents of government, by enabling them to purchase other vessels. In April the Lexington 14, Capt. Johnston, arrived, and the old difficulties were renewed. But the commissioners of the government at Paris, who had been authorized to equip vessels, appoint officers, and do other matters, to an- noy the enemy, now planned a cruise that surpassed any thing of the sort that had yet been done in Europe under the American flag. Capt. Wickes was directed to proceed to sea, with his own vessel and the Lexington, and to go directly oft' Ireland, in order to intercept a convoy of linen ships that was expected to sail about that time. A cutter of ten guns, called the Dolphin, that had been detained by the commissioners to carry despatches to America, was divert- ed from her original destination and placed under the orders of Capt. Wickes, to increase his force. The Dolphin was commanded by Lieut. S. Nicholson, a brother of the senior captain, and a gentleman who subsequently died himself at the head of the service. Capt. Wickes, in command of this light squadron, sailed * t^ ■* %■ h- ■■*.- X', ♦. ..*" 120 NAVAL HISTORY. '» from Nantes about the commencement of June, going first into the Bay of Biscay, and afterwards entirely around Ire- land, sweeping the sea before him of every thing that was not of a force to render an attack hopeless. The linen ships were missed, but many vessels were taken or destroy- ed. As the American cruisers approached the French coast, on their return, a line of battle ship gave chase, and follow- ed them nearly into port. The Lexington and Dolphin appear to have escaped without much difficulty, by sepa- rating, but the Reprisal was so hard pressed, as to be obliged to saw her bulwarks, and even to cut away some of her timbers ; expedients that were then much in favour among the seamen of the day, though their utility may be questioned. This was the first exploit of the kind in the war, and its boldness and success seem to have produced so much sen- sation in England, that the French government was driven to the necessity of entirely throwing aside the mask, or of taking some more decided step in relation to these cruisers. Not being yet prepared for war, it resorted to the latter ex- pedient. The Reprisal and Lexington were ordered to be seized and held, until security was given that they would quit the European seas, while the prizes were commanded to leave France without delay. The latter were accordingly taken outside the port, and disposed of to French merchants, in the same informal manner, and with the same loss, as in the previous cases, while the vessels of war prepared to re- turn home. In September the Lexington, a small brig armed with four pounders, sailed from Morlaix, in which port she had taken refuge in the chase, and next day she fell in with the British man-of-war-cutter Alert, Lieut. Bazely, a vessel of a force a trifle less than her own, when an engagement took place. The lightness of the vessels, and the roughness of the water, rendered the fire, on both sides, very ineffective, and ♦v NAVAL HISTORY. 121 after an action of two hours and a half, the Lexington had expended nearly all her powder, without subduing her gal- lant opponent. The Alert, however, had suffered so much aloft, as to enable the brig to leave her. Notwithstanding this advantage, so much activity was shown on board the English vessel, that, after a chase of four hours, she was enabled to get along side of the Lexington again, while the latter was herself repairing damages. A one-sided battle now occurred, the Lexington not having it in her power to keep up a fire of any moment, and after receiving that of his persevering antagonist for another hour, Capt. Johnston was compelled to strike, to save the lives of his crew. Thus closed the brief history of the gallant little cruiser that is said to have first carried the American flag upon the ocean. Her career was short, but it was not without credit and usefulness. When taken, she had been in service about one year and eight months, in which time she had had three commanders. Captains Barry, Hallock, and Johnston ; had fought two severe battles with vessels of war; was twice taken, and once recaptured, besides having several times engaged armed ships, and made many prizes. The English commander received a good deal of credit for the persever- ing gallantry with which he lay by, and captured this brig. The fate of the Reprisal, a vessel that had even been more successful than her consort, was still harder. This ship also sailed for America, agreeably to the conditions made with the French government, and foundered on the banks of Newfoundland, all on board perishing with the exception of the cook. In Capt. Wickes the country lost a gallant, prudent, and efficient officer, and one who promised to have risen high in his profession had his life been spared. To the untimely loss of the Reprisal, and the unfortunate capture of the Lexington, must be attributed the little 6clat that attended the services of these two vessels in Europe. They not only preceded all the other national cruisers in Vol. L— 11 .;% ■ , ^.• 122 NAVAL HISTORY. -^' A, the European seas, but they did great positive injury to the commerce of the enemy, besides exciting such a feeling of insecurity in the English merchants, as to derange their plans, and to produce other revolutions in the course of trade, that will be adverted to in the close of the chapter. It being our intention to complete the account of the pro- ceedings of the American commissioners at Paris, so far as they were connected with naval movements, during the years 1770 and 1777, we come next to the affair of Capt. Conyngham, which, owing to some marked circumstances, made more noise than the cruises of the Reprisal and Lex- ington, though the first exploits of the latter were anterior as to time, and of not less consequence in their effects. While the commissioners* were directing the movements of Capt. Wickes, in the manner that has been mentioned, they were not idle in other quarters. A small frigate was building at Nantes, on their account, and we shall have occasion hereafter to speak of her services and loss, under the name of the Queen of France. Some time in the spring of 1777, an agent was sent to Dover by the American commissioners, where he purchased a fine fast-sailing Eng- lish built cutter, and had her carried across to Dunkirk. Here she was privately equipped as a cruiser, and named the Surprise. To the command of this vessel, Capt. Gusta- vus Conyngham was appointed, by filling up a blank com- mission from John Hancock, the President of Congress. This commission bore date March 1st, 1777, and it would seem, as fully entitled Mr. Conyngham to the rank of a captain in the navy, as any other that was ever issued by the same authority. Having obtained his officers and crew ia Dunkirk, Capt.' Conyngham sailed on a cruise, about the 1st of May, and on the 4th he took a brig called the Joseph. On the 7th, when within a few leagues of the * Dr. Franklin and Silas Deane. ^ \ 1 1 P'. •^ -*- # Jp NATAL HISTORY. 123 coast of Holland, the Surprise ran along side of the Har- 'wick packet, the Prince of Orange, Tvhich she boarded and took with so little previous alarm, that Capt. Conynghun), on stepping upon the deck of his prize, walked coolly down into her cabin, where he found her master and his passen- gers at breakfast. The mail for the north of Europe being on board the Prince of Orange, Capt. Conyngham believed his acquisition to be of sufficient importance to return to port, and accordingly he reappeared at Dunkirk in a day or two. By referring to the dates, it will be seen, though both the Reprisal and the Lexington, especially the first, had cruis- ed in the European seas prior to the sailing of the Surprise, that the latter vessel performed the exploit just mentioned, shortly before Capt Wickes sailed on his cruise in the Irish and English channels. Coming as it did so soon after the capture of the Lisbon packet, and occurring on one of the great thoroughfares between England and the continent, coupled with the fact that the cutter had been altogether equipped in a French port, the loss of the Prince of Orange appears to have attracted more attention, than the transactions before described. The remonstrances of the English ambassador were so earnest, that Capt. Conyngham and his crew were imprisoned, the cutter was seized, and the prizes were liberated. On this occasion, the commis- sion of Capt. Conyngham was taken from him, and sent to Versailles, and it seems never to have been returned. So completely was the E[.glish government deceived by this demonstration of an intention on the part of the French ministry to cause the treaty to be respected, that two sloops of war were actually sent to Dunkirk to carry Capt. Co- nyngham and his people to England, that they might be tried as pirates. When the ships reached Dunkirk, the birds had flown, as will be seen in the succeeding events. The commissioners had the capture of some of the trans- ports with Hessian troops on board, in view, and they were ':^\.. # % \ , : A-^;(!0<1 ' ^•' -wK ♦• *.. 124 KAVAL IIISTORT. no sooner notified of the seizure of the Surprise, than Mr. Hodge, an agent who was of great service to the cause, was directed to procure another cutter. One was pur- i chased accordingly at Dunkirk, and was fitted, with all despatch, for a cruise. Means were found to liberate Capt. ('onyngham and his people, and this second vessel, which was called the lie vengo, sailed from Dunkirk on the 18th of July, or about the time that Capt. Wickes returned from his cruise with the three other vessels. A new commission liad been obtained for Capt. Conyngham, previously to putting to sea, which bore date May 2nd, 1777. As this second commission was dated anterior to the seizure of the old one, there is no question that it was also one of those in blank, which had been confided to the commissioners to fill at their discretion. The Revenge proved exceedingly successful, making prizes daily, and generally destroying them. Some of the most valuable, however, were ordered into Spain, where many arrived; their avails proving of great moment to the agents of the American government in Europe. It is even aillrmcd that the money advanced to Mr. Adams for travel- ling expenses, when he landed in Spain from the French frigate La Sensible, a year or two later, was derived from this source. ;v Having suflered from a gale, Capt. Conyngham disguised the Revenge, and took her into one of the small English ports, where he actually refitted without detection. Short- ly after, he obtained supplies in Ireland, paying for them by bills on his agents in Spain. In short, after a cruise of almost unprecedented success, so far as injury to the Eng- lish merchants was concerned, the Revenge went into Fer- rol, refitted, and finally sailed for the American seas, where it would disturb the order of events too much, to follow her, at this moment. • • ,, -, The characters of the Surprise and Revenge appear «•' \. . •4- -* f tj '^-^ tf If AVAL HISTORT. 125 ear novor to have been properly understood. In all " the accounts of the day, and in nearly, if not in quite all Oi the subsequent histories, these vessels are spoken of as priva- teers, authorized to act by the commissioners at Paris. It is not clear that the commissioners sent private-armed vessels to sea at nil, though the act may have come within the scope of their powers. That the two cutters com- manded by Capt. Conyngham were public vessels, however, is proved in a variety of ways. Like the Dolphin 10, Lieut. Nicholson, an officer who may be said to have almost passed his life in the navy, the Surprise and Revenge were bought and equipped by agents of the diplomatic commis- sioners of the United States, on public account, and the commissions granted to Capt. Conyngham were gifts of personal authority, and not powers conceded to particular vessels. It is known that Dr. Franklin, at a later day, and with an especial object in view, granted temporary com- missions in the navy, but there is no evidence that either of those bestowed on Capt. Conyngham possessed this con- ditional character. The Revenge was finally given up to the Navy Board, in Philadelphia, and was sold on public account. It is certainly competent for a government to consider its public vessels as it may see fit, or to put them in the several classes of vessels of war, revenue cruisers, packets, troop-ships, transports, or any thing else, but it would, at least, be a novelty, for it to deem any of its own active cruisers privateers. The very word would infer a contradiction in terms. Paul Jones speaks of his desire to obtain Capt. Conyngham as a member of a court martial, as late as 1770, and in a remonstrance against the treat- ment shown to Capt. Conyngham, then a prisoner of war, made by Congress, through its Secretary, Charles Thomp- son, of the date of July 1770, that officer is termed, " Gus- tavus Conyngham, a citizen of America, late commander of an armed vessel in the service of said States, and taken "*"w'; ->!;. 11* ■ ■*' 4 1W NAVAL HISTORY. Hero the dis- ' ■K on board a private armed cutter," &c. &c. tinction between public and private armed vessels is une- quivocally made, and the fact, that Capt. Conyngham had served in both, is as clearly established, it being admitted that he was acting in a privateer at the precise moment when captured. The latter circumstance, in no degree af- fected the rank of Capt. Conyngham, officers of the navy quite frequently serving in private armed ships, after the first two or three years of the war, in consequence of there not having been public vessels to afford them employment. That there was some irregularity in giving Capt. Conyngham two commissions for the same rank, and bearing different dates, is true, but this arose from necessity; and want of regularity and system was a fi'ilt of the times, rather than of those who conducted the aiTui^s of the American marine, during the Revolution. Thsre can be no reasonable doubt that both the Surprise and the Revenge were public vessels of war, and that Gustavus Conyngham was a captain in the navy of the United States of America, in virtue of two commissions granted by a competent authority; and that, too, subsequently to the declaration of independence, or after the country claimed all the political rights of sovereign power. The sensation produced among the British merchants, by the different cruises in the European seas, that have been recorded in this chapter, is stated, in the diplomatic correspondence of the day, to have been greater than that produced, in the previous war, by the squadron of the cele- brated Thurot. Insurance rose to an enormous height, and, in speaking of the cruise of Capt. Wickes in particu- lar, Mr. Deane observes in one of his letters to Robert Morris, that it *' eflectually alarmed England, prevented the great fair at Chester, occasioned insurance to rise, and even deterred the English merchants from shipping goods in English bottoms, at any rate, so that in a few weeks, /orty sail of French skips were loading in the Thames on % i' # .** NAVAL HISTORY. 197 B- id ;d nt if- /y er of im ng ik, jm .'lit irs sre the VU8 tes a the ed ♦ ••* »' ■# >■ > freight; an instance never before known." In the same letter, this commissioner adds, — " In a word, Cunningham (Conyngham) by his first and second bold expeditions, is become the terror of all the eastern coast of England and Scotland, and is more dreaded than Thurot was, in the late war." Insurance, in some instances, rose as high as twenty- five per cent., and it is even affirmed that there was a short period when ten per cent, was asked between Dover and Calais, a distance of only seven leagues. Having now related the principal maritime events that were connected with the policy and measures of the commissioners in France, during the years 1776 and 1777, we shall return to the American seas, and resume the thread of our narrative, where it has been interrupted, or towards the middle of the former year. We shall shortly have occasion, however, to revert to the subject that we are now temporarily quitting, this quarter of the world having been the theatre of still more interesting incidents connected with the navy, at a later day. Before returning to the year 1776, and the more chronological order of events, however, one other fact may be well recorded here. With a view to increase the naval force of the country, the commissioners had caused a frigate of extra- ordinary size, and of peculiar armament and construction for that period, to be laid down at Amsterdam. This ship had the keel and sides of a two decker, though frigate built, and her main deck armament was intended to con- sist of thirty-two pounders. Her name was the Indien. But in consequence of the apprehensions of the Dutch govern- ment, and the jealousy of that of England, Congress was induced, about this time, to make an offering of the In- dien to Louis XYL, and she was equipped and got ready for sea, as a French vessel of war. In the end, the manner in which this frigate was brought into the service of qne of the new American States, and her fate, will be shown. -i ,Ml y ' * / t t *2 "(rt * *■ '. A .. VAVAL Hll^ir. • * V * > 4 . r»'5t' CHAPTER VI. '•r-. -ijn We shall now return nearer home, by reverting to events that will require the time to be carried back more than a twelvemonth. In renewing this branch of the subject, it may be well to take a brief notice of the state of the regular marine of the country, in the spring of the year 1776, or soon after the law for capturing all British vessels had passed, and at a moment when the independence of the country was seriously contemplated, though not yet for- mally declared. None of the vessels ordered to be built, by the laws of the previous year, were yet launched, and every public cruiser of any size that was actually afloat had been bought into the service. Of these, the largest were little suited to war, as they were necessarily selected from among the merchant vessels of the country, while the smaller had been chosen principally from among the privateers. Copper, for ships, was just coming into use, and it is not believed that a single cruiser of the United States possessed the great advantage of having this material on its bottom, until a much later day. Philadelphia being the seat of government, the largest town in the country, and naturally strong in its defences, more than usual attention was paid to the means of pre- venting the enemy from getting possession of it by water. Thirteen galleys had been provided for this purpose, as well as a heavy floating battery, and several fire rafts. An officer of the name of Hazlewood was put in command, with the 'i'- * * V '\ ■l #■■ J^^^L ** >« , \ !:■'■ •* -f * i^^'i, ..f?' t§ » t ^ ^'.^ it ar ..^x,. or >»• ad he 1 >r- ■-1.'. he ler ',.' ito • f^ ar, i lilt '*.-- en as ler ng 1 est es, re- er. \ ell ' ;er ^*»?-.''' <•.«■ •flF' .1 120 title of commodore, his commission having been issued by the State of Pennsylvania. Similar arrangements were made in the Chesapeake, whore a gentleman of the name of Bar- ron, the father of two officers who have subsequently risen to high I ank in the service, received the same commission from the State of Virginia. James Nicholson, who so shortly after became the senior captain of the navy, filled a corres- ponding station in the colony of Maryland, and performed some acts that did him credit. Most of the colonies had their respective cruisers at sea, or on their own coasts, while the ocean literally began to swarm with privateers from all parts of the country ; though the New England States took the lead in this particular species of warfare. Robert Morris, in one of his official letters of a date a little later than this precise time, remarks that the passion for privateering was so strong in this part of the country, that even agriculture was abandoned, in order to pursue it. The English evacuated Boston on the 17th of March of this year, retiring to Halifax with their fleet and army. From this place, they directed their movements for a short period, or until they were enabled, by the arrival of powerful rein- forcements, to choose the points which it was believed would be the most advantageous to possess for the future manage- mentof the war. Charleston, South Carolina, was soon selecS ed for this purpose, and preparations for a descent on that coast were made as early as April, or immediately after the eva- cuation of Boston. It is not improbable that this step was held in view, when the British quitted New-England, as the occupation of that town would enable the English govern- ment to overrun all the southern colonies. Luckily, some despatches, that were intercepted by Com. Barron, of the Virginia State service, betrayed this design to the people of Charleston, who were not slov^ in making their preparations to meet the enemy. '■f"^>.. t ft ' 4l'. 130 '1i^^ . ■^'^' •* - .*K X f- ■" ■- XAVAL mRoRY. 1 IM: In furtherance of this plan,'*which is even said to have emanated from the British ministry itself, though some as- cribe the attack that occurred to the officers immediately in command, the main object being a seoure footing in the southern States at any eligible point that might offer, a squadron consisting of several sail, under the orders of Com. Sir Peter Parker, arrived on the coast of North Caro- lina as early as May. Here it was joined by a fleet of transports from Halifax, having on board nearly three thou- sand troops, at the head of whom was Lieutenant General, afterwards Sir Henry, Clinton. On the 4th of June this imposing force appeared off Charleston Bar, and made immediate preparation for a de- scent and an attack by sea ; buoying out the channel for the latter purpose, without delay. A portion of the troops were landed on Long Island, which is separated from Sulli- van's Island by a narrow channel that is fordable in certain states of the tide, with a view to pass over and take a strong work made of palmetto logs that the Americans had erected for the defence of their harbour, and which it was thought might easily be reduced from the rear. Happily for the Americans, a long continuance of easterly winds drove the water up into the passage between the two islands, convert- ing the channel into a ditch that effectually kept the forces of Gen. Clinton from crossing. On the 7th, the frigates passed the bar, and on the 10th, a fifty gun ship succeeded, with great difficulty, in accomplishing the same object. The delay occasioned by the want of water, and the inde- cision of the English general, who acted with less vigour than his associate in command, was eagerly improved by the Americans, and a considerable force collected in and about the town, though the fort on Sullivan's island, which was subsequently named after its gallant commander, Col. Moultrie, did not admit of much enlargement or addi- tional fortifying. This work contained twenty-six guns, ■tt '^, ■fe. NAVAL HISTORY. 131 eighteen and twenty-six pounders, and it was garrisoned by about four hundred men, of whom more than three hundred were regulars. Other troops were at hand to watch the party on Long Island, and to resist any attempt to land. Major Gen. Lee, of the United States' service, commanded in chief on the side of the Americans. Preparations, however, were made to save the garrison, though it appears to have been the opinion of Col. Moultrie, that he could have maintained the island even had the enemy crossed and landed. On the 28th of June, Sir Peter Parker, being joined by an- other fifty, and having completed his preparations, moved his ships to their respective stations, in order to commence the attack. Between ten and eleven in the forenoon, the Thun- der began to throw shells at the fort, to cover the approach of the other vessels, though without much effect. The shells were well directed, and many fell in the centre of the fort ; but they were received in a morass, and the fuses were extinguished. But few exploded. The Bristol 50, Sir Peter Parker's own ship, the Experiment 50, which had joined but a day or two before, both vessels of two decks, the Active 28, and the Solebay 28, anchored in front of the fort, with springs on their cables; while the Acteon 28, Siren 28, and Sphinx 20, endeavoured to get into positions between the island and the town, with a view to enfilade the works, to cut off the communications with the main body of the American forces, and to intercept a retreat. The latter vessels got entangled among the shoals, and all three took the ground. In the confusion, the Sphinx and Siren ran foul of each other, by which accident the former lost her bowsprit. The Acteon stuck so fast, that all the efibrts of her crew to get her afloat proved unavailing ; but the other two succeeded m getting oflf in a few hours. In consequence of these mis- takes and accidents, the three vessels named were of little or no use to the British during the engagement. Of the vessels that came up in front, the Active 26, led. 4-. •v.^*r ^1^ .f^ 132 NAVAL HISTORY. ■ *r.- As she di:ew near, the fort fired a few guns, as if to try the range of its shot, but the battle did not properly begin until the frigate had anchored and delivered her broadside. The other vessels followed, when they all commenced as severe and well supported a fire, as was probably ever kept up for so long a period, by ships of their force. ■ The. cannonade began in earnest about twelve o'clock, and it was miiintained throughout a long summer's after- noon, and, with short intervals, until nine o'clock at night, with undaunted resolution, on both sides. The fire of the ships was rapid; that of the fort deliberate, but of deadly aim. The first, owing to the peculiar nature of the wood of which the works were composed, did but little injury, while the heavy shot sent from the fort, passed through and through the sides of the enemy's ships. At one period, the garrison had nearly expended its ammunition, and its fire ceased for so long a time, that it was the impression of the enemy it had evacuated the works.* A fresh supply arriving, how- ever, this error of the English was soon corrected, the fire that was renewed being, if possible, more destructive than that which had preceded the pause. In the heat of the engagement the springs of the Bristol's cable were cut. * Some curious errors appeu* in Sir Peter Parker's report of this affair, arising out of the distance at which he was placed, and the confusion of a hot conflict. Among other things he says that larg^ parties were driven out of the fort by the fire of the ships, and that they were replaced by reinforcements from the main land. He also says that a man was hanged on a tree, in the rear of the fort, by a party that was entering it. Nothing of tho sort occurred. Colonel Moultrie explains the affair of the man in the tree, by saying that a shot took a soldier's coat and carried it into the branches of a tree, where it remuned suspended during the rest of the day. So far from any confusion or disorder having existed in the fort, when General Lee visited the works during the height of the action, the offi- cers lud aside their pipes in order to receive him with a proper respect. Twelve hundred shot were picked up in and about the fort, after the affair, besides many sheila. ' r ""> ■*" ■ \y '•'.t* A m .#■" > ,'»r- NAVAL BISTORT. 188 and the ship swung round, with her stern to the embrasures. That deadly deliberate fire, which had distinguished the garrison throughout the day, now told with awful eflect on this devoted vessel. In this scene of slaughter and destruc- tion, the old seaman who commanded the British squadron, displayed the high resolution which has distinguished so many other officers of his name in the same service^ during the last oentury. At one time, he is said to have stood almost alone on the quarter deck of his ship, bleeding, but deliver- ing his orders calmly and with discretion. By the applica- tion of a new spring, the vessel was extricated from this awkward position, and her firing was renewed. ^ But no courage or perseverance on the part of the assail- ants could overcome the cool resolution of the garrison, and when night set in Sir Peter Parker made the signal for the ships to retire. All the vessels effected their retreat but the Acteon, which remained too firmly grounded to be moved. From this frigate the enemy withdrew her people next morning, when they set the ship on fire, leaving her with her gUns loaded and colours fiying. She was immedi- ately boarded by the Americans, who hauled down her en- sign, fired a few shot at the retreating ships, and leA her. In a short time her magazine exploded. This was the most hotly contested engagement of the kind that ever took place on the American coast, and it goes fully to prove the important military position that ships cannot withstand forts, when the latter are properly con- structed, armed and garrisoned. General Moultrie, in his Memoirs, states that he commenced the battle with only twenty-eight rounds of powder. The supplies received during the fight amounted to but seven hundred pounds in gross, which, for guns of so heavy calibre, would scarcely make a total of thirty-five rounds. He is of opinion that the want of powder alone prevented th^ Americans from destroying the men of war. t7"i> >; Vol. I.— 12 •"■■■. ^'.' . '' '\y.>.r ■ '• ^r 4 ■'W';.* 134 NAVAX. HISTORY. 4 On this occasion the Americans had only thirty-six killed and wounded, while the loss of the British was about two hundred men. The two fifty gun ships sufiered most, the Bristol having the (Commodore himself, Captain Morris, who died of his injuries, and sixty-nine men wound- ed, besides forty killed. Among the former was Lord William Campbell, a brother of the Duke of Argyle, who had recently been governor of South Carolina, in which province he had married, and who had taken a command on the Bristol's lower gun deck, with a view to animate her men. The Experiment suffered little less than the Bristol, several of her ports having been knocked into one, and sevepty-nine of her officers and crew were killed and wounded. Among the latter was her commander. Captain Scott. The frigates, attracting less of the attention of the garrison, escaped with comparatively little loss. A short time after this signal discomfiture, the British temporarily abandoned their design on Charleston, carrying off the troops, which had been perfectly useless during the opera- tions. .nC'^i* ■ ' Quitting the south for the present, we will now return to the north, to mention a few of the lighter incidents that oc- curred at different points on the coast Soon after the Bri- tish left Boston, a Captain Mugford obtained the use of a small armed vessel belonging to government, called the Franklin, and getting to sea, he succeeded in capturing the Hope, a ship that had on board fifteen hundred barrels of powder, and a large quantity of entrenching tools, gun car- riages, and other stores. This vessel was got into Boston, in sight of the British squadron. Attempting another cruise immediately afterwards. Captain Mugford lost his life in maiung a gallant and successful effort to repel some of the enemy's boats, which had endeavoured to carry the Frank- lin and a small privateer that was in company, by boarding. On the 6th of July, or two days after the declaration of #' -:!> ^ * * HISTORY-. f,-' \ * 13ft ■*'■ >^.-:' r*f'*- independence, the Sachem, 10, Captain Robinson, sailed ■from the Delaware on a cruise. The Sachem was sloop rigged, and one of the lightest cruisers in the service. When a few days out she fell in with an English letter of marque, a Jamaica-man, and captured her, after a sharp contest Both vessels are said to have suffered severely in this affair, and to have had an unusual number of their people killed and wounded. Captain Robinson was now compelled to return to refit, and arriving at Philadelphia with his prize, the Marine Committee%ewarded him for his success by giving him the command of the Andrea Doria, 14, then recently returned from her cruise to the eastward under Captain Biddle, which officer had been transferred to the Randolph, 32. . The Doria sailed shortly after for St. Eustatia, to bring home some arms; and it is said that the first salute ever paid to the American flag, by a regular government, was fired in return for the salute of the Doria, when she went into that island. For this indiscretion the Dutch governor was subsequently displaced. On her return passage, off the western end of Porto Rico, the Doria made an English vessel of war, bearing down upon her with a disposition to engage. On ranging up abeam, the enemy commenced the action by firing a broad- side, which was immediately returned by the Doria. A very sharp contest of two hours followed, when the Eng- lishman struck. The prize proved to be the Racehorse, 12, Lieut. Jones, who had been sent by his admiral to cruise expressly for his captors. Lidut. Jones was mortally wounded, and a very large proportion of the Racehorse's officers and crew were either killed or wounded. The Doria lost twelve men, including all the casualties. Captain Robinson and his prize got safely into Philadelphia, in due season. The Doria never went to sea agjiin, being shortly after burned by the Americans to prevent her falling into *».; :m • '■ ' ^ 'Sl'tf'; R(^-. 186 KAVAL KIST\ ' -7 148 NAVAL HISTORT. State of Massachusetts. Capt. Waters, like his predo* cessor, Capt. Manly, was received into the navy, on the recommendation of Washington, a commission to that effect having been granted'by Congress, March 18th, 1777. Much enterprise and gallantry were exhibited in the en« counters between the American privateers and heavily armed merchant-ships of the enemy, at this period, and England appears to have been so completely taken by sur- ' prise, that they were of almost daily occurrence. The dif- ferent colonies, also, fitted out more cruisers, principally vessels purchased for that purpose, and some of them were commanded by officers who also bore commissions in the service of Congress, or of the United States of America, as the confederation was called after the declaration of inde- pendence. South Carolina, on the 16th February, 1776, had three of these vessels; a ship of 26 nine pounders; a ' brig of 18 sixes ; and a schooner jf 12 sixes. One of these cruisers drove a sloop of war from her convoy, and cap- tured four transports loaded with stores. Massachusetts was never without several cruisers, and Pennsylvania, from time to time, had more or less. Virginia had her little marine, too, as has been already mentioned, though its. attention was principally directed to the defence of her ' numerous rivers and bays. Some of the English accounts of this period state that near a hundred privateers had been fitted out of New-Eng- land, alone, in the first two years of the war, and the num- ber 01 bcamen in the service of the crown, employed against the new States of America, was computed at 26,000. The colonies obtained many important supplies, colonial ,' as well as military, and even manufactured articles of ordi- ^ nary use, by means of their captures, scarce a day passing that vessels of greater or less value did not arrive in some one of the ports of their extensive coast. By a list published in the Remembrancer, an English work of credit, it appears » ' » ^ : \ "■; ..7 '■..', % »■ •' » .-^ WAVAL HISTORY. >4(, 148 •^H^' * ]tr- r'm^ 'ff>. ^^^ '*".• ■^- r^ •-;>■• * /" * '*•■ that 342 sail of English vessels had been taken by American cruisers in 1770, of whioh number 44 had been recaptured, 18 had been released, und 4 were burned. On the other hand, the Amerteans met with their disas- ters; many privateers were taken, principally by the fast- sailing frigates of the enemy, and valuable merchantmen fell into their hands, from time to time. In short, the war became very destructive to both parties, in a commercial sense, though it was best supported by the colonists, as the rise in colonial produce, in a measure, compensated them for thoir losses. ^,. -! ..i't: % * n m mFmrn .% 144 HAVAL HISTORr. .m ■i^'''. '^ V ■■% W' ^^v ''•■ '; .. .*.'u--. i' ; A ■'0^'--'' ■;, ^,.p',, ,■■:■ 'f .yv f .-H. ,^- ... ... _,.;.. ■s . .. CHAPTER VII. '^W^""' -x>. • ^.. ^. \. The year 1777 opened with new prospects on the Ame- rican cause. The hardy movements of Washington in New Jersey had restored the drooping confidence of the nation, and great efforts were made to follow up the advan- tage that had been so gloriously obtained. Most of the vessels authorized by the laws of 1775 had been built and equipped, during the year 1776, and America may now be said, for the first time, to have something like a regular navy, although the service was still, and indeed continued to be throughout the war, deficient in organization, system and unity. It could scarcely be deemed a regular service*^^ at all, for after the first efibrt, connected with its creation, the business of repairing losses, of increasing the force, and of perfecting that which had been so hastily commenced, was either totally neglected, or carried on in a manner so desultory and inefficient, as soon to leave very little of method or order in the marine. As a consequence, officers were constantly compelled to seek employment in private armed ships or to remain idle, and the discipline did not advance as would otherwise have been the case, during the heat of an active war. To the necessities of the nation, however, and not to its foresight and prudence, must be at- tributed this state of things, the means of raising and main- taining troops being obtained with difficulty, and the cost of many ships entirely exceeding its resources. It is probable that had not the public armed vessels been found useful in i» ^'-..f not the ion, at- ain- stof / ■%■ NAVAL BISTQRY. *^^. 145 conveying, as well as in convoying the produce by means of which the loans obtained in Europe were met, and perhaps indispensable in keeping up the diplomatic communica- tions with that quarter of the worlds the navy would have been suffered to become extinct, beyond its employment in the bays and rivers of the country. This, however, is anti- cipating events, for at the precise moment in the incidents of the war, at which we have now arrived, the exertions of the republic were perhaps at their height, as respects its naval armaments. ' ::^:! '^V-'V^' f •'f. ''■-.';■-'■. .< •.:■;•■>-•.• ./:»• •* One of the first, if not the very first of the new vessels that got to sea, was the Randolph 32. It has been said that Capt. Biddle had been appointed to this ship, on his return from his successful cruise in the Andrea Doria 14. The Randolph was launched at Philadelphia in the course of the season of 1776, and sailed on her first cruise early in 1777. Discovering a defect in his masts, as well as a disposition to mutiny in his people, too many of whom were volunteers from among the prisoners, Capt. Biddle put into Charleston for repairs. As soon as the ship was refitted, he sailed again, and three days out, he fell in with and captured four Jamaica-men, one of which, the True Briton, had an arma- ment of 20 guns. With these prizes, the Randolph returned to Charleston, in safety. Here she appears to have been blockaded, by a superior English force, during the remain- der of the season. The state authorities of South Carolina were so much pleased with the zeal and deportment of Capt. Biddle, and so much elated with their own success against Sir Peter Parker, that they now added four small vessels of war of their own, the Gen. Moultrie 18, the Polly 16, the Notre Dame 16, and the Fair American 14, to his command, with which vessels i i company, and under his orders, Capt. Biddle sailed in quest of the British ships, the Carrysfort 32, the Perseus 20, the Hinchinbrook 16, and a privateer, which had been .ruising off Charleston for some Vol. I.— 13 ^ f p\ ■m\ ;:?v' ^ ■^■■mPi' i. %:.. th- •* ■'^■■ h- « m:- 146 NATAL HISTORY. time. The American squadron, however, had been detained so long by foul winds, that no traces of the enemy were to be discovered when it got into the offing. For the further history of the Randolph, we are unhappily indebted to the British accounts. '•.,».";' By a letter from Capt. Vincent, of his Britannic Majesty's ship Yarmouth 64, dated March 17th, 1778, we learn that, on the 7 th of that month, while cruising to the eastward of Barbadoes, he made six sail to the south-west, standing on a wind. The Yarmouth bore down on the chases, which proved to be two ships, three brigs,'and a schooner. About nine o'clock in the evening she succeeded in ranging up on the weather quarter of the largest and leading vessel of the strangers ; the ship next in size, being a little astern and to leeward. Hoisting her own colours, the Yarmouth ordered the ship near her to show her ensign, when the American flag was run up, and the enemy poured in a broadside. A smart action now commenced, and was maintained with vigour for twenty minutes, when the stranger blew up. The two ships were so near at the time, that many fragments of the wreck struck the Yarmouth, and, among other things, an American ensign, rolled up, was blown in upon her fore- castle. This flag was not even singed. The vessels in company now steered different ways, and the Yarmouth gave chase to two, varying her own course for that pur- pose. But her sails had suffered so much in the short action, that the vessels chased soon run her out of sight. In this action the Yarmouth, by the report of her own commander, had 5 men killed and 12 wounded. On the 12th, while cruising near the same place, a piece of wreck vf&z disco- vered, with four men on it, who were making signals for relief. These men were saved, and when they got on board the Yarmouth, they reported themselves as having belonged to the United States' ^hip Randolph 32, Capt. Biddle, the vessel that had blown up in action with the Englishman on M ft •*i. K* # 4 "0"- KAVAL HISTORY. 147 ihe night of the 7th of the same month. They had been floating ever since on the piece of wreck* without any other sustenance than a little rain water. They stated that they were a month out of Charleston. We regard with admiration the steadiness and spirit with which, according to the account of his enemy, Capt. Biddle commenced this action, against a force so vastly his supe- rior ; and, although victory was almost hopeless, even had all his vessels behaved equally well with his own ship, we find it difficult, under the circumstances, to suppose that this gallant seaman did not actually contemplate carrying his powerful antagonist, most probably by boarding.* ns * Nicholas Biddle was descended from one of those respectable fami- lies that first peopled West-Jersey, in the last quarter of the seventeenth century. He was the sixth son of William Biddle, of that colony, who 1. '^. removed to the city of Philadelphia previously to lus birth, and ^i.\ this child was bom, in 1750. Young Biddle went to sea at thirteen, "^ i iMm that early ag^ appears to have devoted himself to the calling with ardour and perseverance. After several voyages, and suffering much in the way of shipwreck, he went to England, and by means of letters, was rated as a midshipman on board a British sloop of war, commanded by Captain, afterwards Admiral, Sterling. It is a singular fact in the life of this remarkable young man, that he subsequently entered on board one of the vessels sent towards the North Pole, under the Hon. Capt. Phipps, where he found Nelson, a volunteer like himself. Both were made cock- swains by tlie commodore. This was in 1773, and the difficulties with the American colonies were coming to a head. In 1775, Mr. Biddle returned home, prepared to share his country's fortunes, in weal or woe. ' The first employment of Mr. Biddle, in the public service, was in com- mand of a galley, called the Camden, fitted out by the colony for the de- fence of the Delaware. From this station he was transferred to the service of Congress, or put into the regular marine, as it then existed, and given the command of the brig Andrea Dona 14. In this vessel he does not appear to have had much share in the combat with the Glasgow, though present in the squadron, and in the expedition against New-Providence. His successful cruise to the eastward, in the Doria, has been related in the body of the work, and on his return he wns appointed to the Randolph 32, the vessel in which he perished. In the action with the Yarmouth, Capt. Biddle was severely wounded in *VS .iiit. .j-Jti !;*■ »!■• ■*% ^. 148 KAVAL HtSTORT. ■■* t ■#- In March, 1777, the United States' brig Cabot, Capt. Olney, was chased ashore, on the coast of Nova Scotia, by the British frigate M ilford, which pressed the Cabot so hard that there was barely time to get the people out of the brig. Capt. Olney and his crew retreated into the woods, and subsequently they made their escape by seizing a schooner, in which they arrived safe at home. The enemy, after a long trial, got the Cabot off, and she was subsequently taken into the British navy. Shortly after this loss, or on the 19th of April, the Trum- bull 28, Capt. Saltonstall, fell in with, off New York, and captured, after a smart action, two armed transports, with stores of value on board. In this affair the enemy suffered severely in casualties, and the Trumbull herself had 7 men killed and 8 wounded. The Hancock 32, Capt Manly, with the Boston 24, Capt. Hector McNiel, in company, fell in with the Rainbow 44, Sir George Collier, accompanied by the Victor brig. It would seem that Capt. Manly had at first intended to en- gage the enemy, but the Boston making sail to escape, the Hancock was compelled to imitate her example. The the thigh, and he is said to have been seated In a chair, with the surgeon examining his hurt, when his ship blew up. His death occurred at the early age of twenty-seven, and he died unmarried, though engaged, at the time, to a lady in Charleston. Thertf is little question that Nicholas Biddle would have risen to high rank and great consideration, had his life been spared. Ardent, ambi- tious, fearless, intelligent, and persevering, he had all the qualities of a great naval captain, and, though possessing some local family influence perhaps, he rose to the station he filled at so early an age, by personal merit. For so short a career, scarcely any other had been so brilliantt for though no victories over regular cruisers accompanied his exertions, he had ever been successful until the fatal moment when he so gloriously fell. His loss was greatly regretted in the midst of the excitement and vicissitudes of a revolution, and can scarcely be appreciated by those who do not understand the influence that such a character can produce on a small and infant service. . , .. ,r. . ■II. • , ' I « iV A i n ^i- 'A- i: ITAVAL HISTORY. 140 Rainbow pursued the latter, when that ship, after a long and arduous chase, in which much seamanship was displayed on both sides, was compelled to surrender. Capt Manly was tried for the 1o^ of his ship, and honourably acquitted, while Capt. McNiel was dismissed the service for quitting the Hancock. The Hancock had previously captured the British frigate Fox 28, after a sharp contest, which vessel was in company on this occasion, and was recaptured by the Flora 32, though we regret that it is not in our power to furnish any authentic details of the action in which the Fox was taken. The occupation of Philadelphia by the British army in this year, wrought a material change in the naval arrangements of the country. Up to this time, the Delaware had been a safe place of retreat for the different cruisers, and ships had been constructed on its banks in security and to advantage. The largest town in the United States, Philadelphia offered unusual facilities for such objects, and many public and pri- vate armed cruisers had been equipped at her wharves, pre- viously to the appearance of the British forces, under Sir William Howe. That important event completely altered this state of things, and the vessels that were in the stream at the time, were cbmpelled to move higher up the river, or to get to sea in the best manner they could. Unfortunately, several of the ships constructed, or purchased, under the laws of 1775 were not in a situation to adopt the latter ex- pedient, and they were carried to different places that were supposed to offer the greatest security. - ^ ': Asa part of the American vessels and galleyis were above, and a part below the town, the very day after reaching the capital, the English commenced the erection of batteries to intercept the communications between them. Aware of the consequences, the Delaware 24, Capt. Alexander, and Andrea Doria 14, seconded by some other vessels, belonging to the navy, and to the state of Pennsylvania, moved in front 13* "■ii r- 'I v4 :f, 190 NAVAL HISTORT. of these works, and opened a cannonade, with a view (o destroy them. The Delaware was so unfortunately placed, that when the tide fell, she took the ground, and her guns became unmanageable. Some field pieces were brought to bear on her, while in this helpless situation, and she neces- sarily struck. The other vessels were compelled to retire. As the command of the river was' now indispensable to the British, they turned their attention at once to the de- struction of the American works below the town. An unsuccessful land attack was made by the Hessians, on Red Bank, and this was soon followed by another on Fort Mifflin, which, as it was entrusted to the shipping, comes more properly within our observation. With a view to effect the reduction, or abandonment of Fort Mifflin, the British assembled a squadron of ships of a light draught of water, among which was the Augusta 64, which had been partially stripped, and fitted in some measure as a floating battery. As soon as the troops advanced against Red Bank, as stated, the ships began to move, but some chevaux de frise anchored in the river, had altered its channel, and the Augusta, and the Merlin sloop of war, got fast, in unfavourable positions. Some firing between the other vessels and the American works and galleys now took place, but was soon put a stop to by the approach of night. The next day the action was renewed with spirit, the Roebuck 44, Isis 32, Pearl 32, and Liverpool 28, being present, in addition to the Augusta and Merlin. P'ire ships were ineffectually employed by the Americans, but the cannonade became heavy. In the midst of the firing, it is said, that some pressed hay, which had been secured to the quarter of the Augusta, to render her shot-proof, took fire, and the ship was soon in flames. It now became necessary to withdraw the other vessels, in order to escape the effects of the explosion, in so narrow a passage, and the attack was abandoned. The Augusta blew up, and the Merlin having been set fire to by the ,'/ '% m- . ., f^j ?l& v_.,;^«: HAVAt HISTORY. !■■)* 161 ■/ ^'British, shared the same fate. A number of the crew of the Augusta were lost in that ship, the conflagration being so rapid as to prevent their removal. A second and better concerted attack, however, shortly after, compelled the Americans to evacuate the works, when the enemy got command of the river from the capes to the town. This state of things induced the Americans to dijstroy the few sea vessels tint - lined below Philade'"H«n. among which were the t . ". hr \ndrea Doria 14, a. schooner Wasp 8, and it is believed the Hornet 10, though the galleys, by following the Jersey shore, were enabled to escape above. While these important movements were occurring in the middle states, the Raleigh, a line twelve pounder frigate, that had been constructed in New Hampshire, under the law of 1775, was enabled to get to sea for the first time. She was commanded by Capt. Thompson, the officer who appears as sixth on the line, and sailed in company with the Alfred 24, Capt. Hinman. These two ships went to sea, short of men, bound to France, where military stores were in waiting to be transported to America. The Raleigh and Alfred had a good run off the coast, and they made several prizes of little value during the first few days of their passage. On the 2d of Sept. they overtook and captured a snow, called the Nancy, which had been left by the outward bound Windward Island fleet, the previous day. Ascertaining from his prisoners the position of the West Indiamen, Capt. Thompson made sail in chase. The fleet was under the charge of the Camel, Druid, Weasel and Grasshopper, the first of which is said to have had an armament of twelve pounders. The following day, or Sept. 3d, 1777, the Raleigh made the convoy from her mast heads, and by sunset was near enough to ascertain that there were sixty sail, a» well as the positions of the men of war. Capt. Thompson had got the signals of the fleet from his prize, and he now signalled the Alfred, as if belonging to the con- •4- t. 153 NAVAL HISTORY. '\1 K> t •* voy. After dark he spoke his consort, and directed her commK.nder to keep near him, it being his intention to run in among the enemy, and lay the commodore aboard. At this time, the two American ships were to windward, but nearly astern. In the course of the night the wind shifted to the north- ward, and the convoy hauled by the wind, bringing the American ships to leeward. At daylight the wind had freshened, and it became necessary to carry more sail than the Alfred, (a tcndor>sided ship) could bear. Here occurred one of those instances of the unfortunate consequences which must always follow the employment of vessels of unequal qualities in the same squadron, or the employment of officers not trained in the same high school. The Alfred would not bear her canvass, and while the Raleigh fetched handsomely into the fleet, under double-reefed topsails, the former fell to leeward more than a league. Capt. Thompson did not dare to shorten sail, lest his character might be suspected, and despairing of being supported by the Alfred, he stood boldly in among the British ships alone, and hove his ship to, in order to permit the merchantmen astern to draw more ahead of him. ■■; ■■\, ■■ ,:■■'•'>■ ^v •-. '. , "- \.-''. '^v"-;::-'-^'-^;!!&^:;' m^'-L'^ . When his plan was laid, Capt. Thompson filled away, and stood directly through the convoy, lufling up towards the vessel of war that was most to windward. In doing this he spoke several of the merchantmen, to which he gave orders how to steer, as if belonging himself to the fleet, repeating all the commodore's signals. Up to this moment the Raleigh appears to have escaped detection, nor had she had any signs of preparation about her, as her guns were housed, and her ports lowered. " /. . ^ ^..•r^vA^ Having obtained a weatherly position, the Raleigh now ran along side of the vessel of war, and when within pistol shot, she hauled up her courses, run out her guns, set her ensign, and commanded the enemy to strike. So completely 4: ^•;s'- ti ?\-.'.* M ITAVAL HISTORT. 158 was this vessel taken by surprise, that the order threw her into groat confusion, and even her sails got aback. The Raleigh seized this favourable moment to pour in a broad- side, which was feebly returned. The enemy were soon driven from their guns, and the Raleigh fired twelve broad- sides into the English ship in twenty minutes, scarcely re- ceiving a shot in return. A heavy swell rendered the aim uncertain, but it was evident that the British vessel suffered severely, and this the more so, as she was of inferior force. A squall had come on, and at first it shut in the two ships engaged. When it cleared away, the convoy was seen steering in all directions, in the utmost confusion, but the vessels of war, with several heavy well armed West India- men, tacked and hauled up for the Raleigh, leaving no doubt of their intentions to engage. The frigate lay by her adver- sary until the other vessels were so near, that it became absolutely necessary to quit her, and then she ran to lee- ward and joined the Alfred. Here she shortened sail, and waited for the enemy to come down, but it being near dark, the British commodore tacked and hauled in among his con- voy again. The Raleigh and Alfred kept near this fleet for several days, but no provocation could induce the ves- sels of war to come out of it, and it was finally abandoned. The ship engaged by the Raleigh, proved to be the Druid 30. She was much cut up, and the official report of her commander, made her loss six killed, and twenty-six wounded. Of the latter, five died soon after the action, and among the wounded was Capt Carteret. The Druid was unable to pursue the voyage and returned to England. In this aflfair, Capt. Thompson discovered a proper spirit, for he might easily have cut out of the fleet half a dozen merchantmen, but he appears to have acted on the princi- ple that vessels of war should first seek vessels of war. The Raleigh had three men killed and wounded in the engage- ment, and otherwise sustained but little injury. « 4 104 If AVAL HISTORr. The commerce of England suflered a loss of 467 sail of merchantmen, during the year 1777, some of which were of great value, though the government kept a force of about seventy sail of men of war on the American coast alone. Manly American privateers fell into their hands however, and a scarcity of men began to be felt, in consequence of the numbers that were detained in the English prisons. It was on the 14th of Juno of this year, that Congress finally established the stars and stripes as the flag of the nation. During this year, Bushnel made several unsuccessful at- tempts to blow up the ships of the enemy by means of tor- pedoes, a species of warfare that it can hardly be regretted has so uniformly failed. . ' '• •■ .V- > '1 . ,/ ■'-,■■ -^^•■.r<.: ; . ., ■■ . •(■ \/ A \ L ^^■■'^'^' ■■ t'^ -^ • .,->;■' -.. <> ^'.:,:-3-'x.it^^;.-'^. ',*.■.'■ "'*-i.- . '^c' * -t^ 7,:j;" ■■■• '• ' -r: i • . . vs ( ., .-, r . ^r'^■ * 'i.*. > .;•■< ^ C. • • ■', .< l,f ,,-'••' ■ s.l'-l^. ic,• ;.«!' '4*?^ •:-^-ii-: , ^t^' If . i-.- 1 5 ., . .JH-- ^^v. '# NAVAL HISTORY. 16S \i •4?- CHAPTER VIII. ■« The year 1778 opened with cheerful prospects for the great cause of American Independence. The capture of fiurgoyne, and the growing discontents in Europe, render* ing a French alliance, and a European war, daily nore probable. These results, in truth, soon after followed, and from that moment, the entire policy of the L^nited States, as related to its marine, was changed. Previous to this great event, Congress had often turned its attention towards the necessity of building or purchasing vessels of force, in order to interrupt that absolute control which the enemy possessed, in the immediate waters of the country, and 'which even superseded the necessity of ordinary costly blockades, as two or three heavy frigates had been able, at any time since the commencement of the struggle, to com- mand the entrance of the different bays and sounds. The French fleet, soon after the war between England and France broke out, appeared in the American seas, and, in a measure, relieved the country from a species of war- fare that was particularly oppressive to a nation that was then so poor, and which possessed so great an extent of coast. ' •'-. '"-'^ '■ ", , ■: '■ • "■■ ■'■' ' ■■ • • . ..' --'■> r-^: ■* As the occupation of New York and Philadelphia pre- vented several of the new frigates from getting to sea at all, or occasioned their early loss. Congress had endea- voured to repair lliese deficiencies by causing other vessels to be built, or purchased, at points where they would be out of danger from any similar misfortune. Among these ships ■* "W .h^^\> .'^ IM iTAVAi. liHrroiiy. ■'' : ' were the Alliance 32, Confederacy 82, Deane 32, (afterwards called the Hague,) and Queen of France 28, all frigate«built, and the Ranger, Gates, and Saratoga sloopi of war. To these were added a few other vessels, that were either bought, or borrowed in Europe, which will be mentioned in their proper places. The Alliance, which, as her name in- dicates, was launched about the time the treaty was made with France, was the favourite ship of the American navy, and it might be added, of the American nation, during the war of the Revolution ; filling some such space in the public mind, as has since been occupied by her more celebrated successor, the Constitution. She was a beautiful and an exceedingly fast ship, but, as will be seen in the sequel, was rendered less efficient than she might otherwise have proved, by the mistake of placing her under the command of a French officer, who had entered the service, with a view to pay a compliment to the new allies of the republic. This unfortunate selection produced mutinies, much discon- tent among the officers, and, in the end, grave irregulari- ties. The Alliance was built at Salisbury, in Massachu- setts, a place, that figured as a building station, even in the seventeenth century. ,. : . „< The naval op. -ations of the year open with a gallant little exploit, achieved by the United States sloop Provi- dence 12, Capt. Rathbone. This vessel carried only four pounders, and, at the time, is said to have had a crew of but fifty men on board. Notwithstanding this trifling force, Capt. Rathbone made a descent on the Island of New Provi- dence, at the head of twenty-five men. He was joined by a few American prisoners, less than thirty, it is said, and, while a privateer of sixteen guns, with a crew of near 50 men, lay in the harbour, he seized the forts, got possession of the stores, and eflectually obtained command of the place. All the vessels in port, six in number, fell into his hands, and an attempt of the armed population to overpower iX ><■ ■ « ^- .■ -ii> NAVAL HISTORY. 167 '.» him, was put down, by a menace to burn the town. A British sloop of war appeared off the harbojr, while the Americans were in possession, but, ascerttining that an enemy was occupying the works, she retir jd, after having been fired on. The following day, the people assembled in such force, as seriously to threaten the safety of his party and vessel, and Copt. Rathbone caused the guns of the fort to be spiked, removed all the ammunition and smoll arms, burned two of his prizes, and sailed with the remainder, without leaving a man behind him. In his daring little enterprise, the Americans held the place two entire days. Capt. John Barry, whose spirited action off th^j cap'^jj of Virginia, in the Lexington 14, has been n.entione ^ and whose capture of the Edward, on that occasion, is worthy of note, as having been the first of any vessel of war, tha; was ever made by a regular American cruiser ip I'.ttle, was placed on the regulated list of October, 1776 as the seventh captain, and appointed to the command of the Effingham 28, then building at Philadelphia. The Effing- ham was one of the vessels that had been taken up the Delaware, to escape from the British army; and this gallant officer, wearied with a life of inactivity, planned an expedi- tion down the stream, in the hope of striking a blow at some of the enemy's vessels anchored off, or below the town. Manning four boats, he pulled down with the tide. Some alarm was given when opposite th" town, but dashing ahead, the barges got past without inju- j . Off Port Penn lay an enemy's schooner of ten guns, and four transports, with freight for the British armv, The schooner was boarded and carried, without loss, and the transports fell into the hands of the Americans also. Two cruisers ap- pearing soon after in the river, however, Capt. Barry des- troyed his prizes, and escaped by land, without losing a man. Following the order of time, we now return to the Vol. I 14 4- f iMt^si-i 156 VAVAL HISTORY. movremcnts of the two ships under the command of Gapt. Thompson, the Raleigh and the Alfred. After taking in military stores in France, these vessels sailed for America, making a circuit to the southward, as was then quite usual with cruisers thus employed, in order to avoid the enemy's vessels of force, and to pick up a few prizes by the way. They sailed from TOrient in February, 1778, and on the 9th of March, were chased by the British ships Ariadne and Ceres, which succeeded in getting along side of the Alfred, and engaging her, while the Raleigh was at a dis- tance. Believing a contest fruitless, after exchanging a few broadsides, the Alfred struck, and the Raleigh, though hard pressed, in the chase that succeeded, made her escape. Capt. Thompson was blamed in the journals of the day, for not aiding his consort on this occasion; and he appears to have been superseded in the command of his ship, to await the result of a trial. The British accounts state the force of the Alfred, at the time of her capture, at twenty nine-pounders, which will give us a more accurate idea of the real character of a vessel that filled so prominent a situation in the navy, at its formation. Twenty nine-pounders, would not probably raise her above the rate of an English twenty gun ship, even allowing her to have had a few sixes on her quarter- deck and forecastle; and this, probably, was the true class of both the Alfred and Columbus, ships that figure as twenty-eights, and even as thirty-twos, in some of the earlier accounts of the war. But, it should always be remembered, that a disposition to exaggerate the power of the country, by magnifying the force of the ships, a practice peculiar to an infant and aspiring ))cople, was a fault of the popular ac- counts of not only the Revolution, but of a still later period in the history of the United States. ^* Among the frigates ordered by the act of 1776, was one called the Virginia 28, which had been laid down in Mary- ^'k lone Lry- HAVAL HISTORT. 159 land. To this vessel was assigned Capt. James Nicholson, the senior captain on the list, an officer who had already discovered conduct and spirit in an affair with one of the enemy's tenders off Annapolis, while serving in the local marine of Maryland. The great embarrassments which attended most of the public measures of the day, and a vigi- lant blockade, prevented the Virginia from getting to sea, until the spring of this year, when, having received her crew and equipments, she made the attempt on the 30th of March. The frigate appears to have followed another vessel down the Chesapeake, under the impression that the best pilot of the bay was in charge of her. About three in the morning, however, she struck on the middle ground, over which she beat with ^e loss of her rudder. The ship was immedi- ately anchored. Day discovered two English vessels of war at no great distance, when Capt. Nicholson got ashore with his papers, and the ship was taken possession of by the enemy. An inquiry, instituted by Congress, acquitted Capt. Nicholson of blame. The peculiarity of a com- mander's abandoning his vessel under such circumstances, gave rise to some comments at the time, but the result ren- ders it probable that considerations of importance, that were not generally known, induced the step. A trial was not deemed necessary, and Capt. Nicholson subsequently fought two of the most remarkable combats of the war, though successful in neither. But merit in warfare is not always to be measured by success, and least of all, in a profession that is liable to so many accidents and circumstances that lie beyond the con- trol of man. An unexpected shift of wind, the sudden loss of an important spar, or the unfortunate injury occasioned by a single shot, may derange the best devised schemes, or enfeeble the best appointed ship; and it is in repairing these unexpected damages, in the steadiness, and order, and sub- mission to authority, with which casualities are met, as well >.! *i$ m' «, 'h '^ ^ i'^}i 160 IfAVAL HISTORY. .>t' I <■„* as in the greater effect of their attack, that the trained offi- cers and men manifest their vast superiority over the hurried and confused movements of those who are wanting in these high qualities of discipline. Leaving the ocean for a moment, we will now turn our attention to the proceedings of the enemy again, in the De- laware. Early ia May, an expedition left Philadelphia, under the command of Major Maitland, and ascended that river with ^ view to destroy the American shipping, which had been cnrried up it to escape the invading and success- ful army of the enemy. The force consisted of the schoon- ers Viper and Pembroke; the Hussar, Cornwallis, Ferret and Philadelphia galleys; four gun boats, and eighteen flat boats, under the orders of Capt. Henry, of the navy. The 2nd battalion of the light-infantry, and two field pieces composed the troops. Ascending the stream to a point above Bristol, the troops landed, under cover of the guns of the flotilla, without opposition. Indeed, there does not ap- pear to have been any force to oppose the British on this occasion, or, if any, one of so little moment, as to put a serious contest out of the question. The Washington 32, and Efilngham 28, both of which had been built at Phil- adelphia, but had never got to sea, were burned. These ships had not yet received their armaments. At this point several other vessels were destroyed, privateers and merchantmen, and the party proceeded to Croswell creek* where the privateer Sturdy Beggar 18, and eight sail of other vessels were set on fire and consumed. The next day the British ascended to Bile's Island, and burned six more craft, foui of which were pierced for guns. On des- cending by land lo Bristol, a ship and a brig were destroy- ed. After this, four new ships, a neW brig, and an. old schooner were burned by the galleys^ the party returning to Philadelphia that night, without losing a man. By thig coup de main, the Americans lost two more of the frigates -V^%:.:-^' t.K^- W ':S[^c.'-^%.^. ^-^ yfj I; '■ ■ '^^^ ' 1t :%- •^ '• •t NAVAL HISTORY. 161 HI to lis > authorized by the law of 1775; and though it is not now easy to ascertain facts so minute, it is believed that two or three of the smallest of the cruisers that appear on the list of the navy, at its formation, were destroyed by the Eng- lish on this occasion. The Hornet, Sachem, Independence and Musquito, are not to be traced subsequently to this period, and if not burned when this expedition occurred, it is probable that they all were burned with the Wasp, in 1777. To compensate for these losses, not a single frigate of the enemy had yet been brought into port, though the Fox 28, had been captured. About this time the celebrated Paul Jones, whose conduct as a lieutenant in the Alfred, and in command of that ship, as well as in that of the Providence 12, had attracted much attention, appeared in the European seas in command of the Ranger 18. Qo cautious had the American government got to be, in consequence of the British remonstrances, that orders were given to the Ranger to conceal her armament while in France. This vessel, which is described as having been both crank and slow, was not thought worthy of so good an officer, by the marine committee, and it had pro- mised him a better ship; but the exigencies of the service did not admit of its fulfilment of the engagement, and Capt. Jones, after a long delay, had been induced to take this command, in preference to remaining idle. It is said, how- ever, that he came to Europe in the hope of obtaining the Indien, but that vessel had been presented to the King of France previously to his arrival. After going into Brest to refit, Capt. Jones sailed from that port on the 10th of April, 1778, on a cruise in the Irish Channel. As the Ranger passed along the co&sl, she made several prizes, and getting as high as Whitehaven, Capt. Jones determined, on the 17th, to make an at'ompt to burn the colliers that were crowded in that narrow port. The weather, however, prevented the execution of this project, 14* ^ ■». ■^ "#^jfir ■^ «>.■ *■<.. ■' 162 NAVAL HISTORY. > <*« and the ship proceeded as high as Glentine bay, on the coast of Scotland, where she chased a revenue vessel without success. Quitting the Scottish coast, the Ranger next crossed to Ireland, and arriving off Carrickfergus, she was boarded by some fishermen. From these men Capt. Jones ascertained that a ship which lay anchored in the roads was the Drake sloop of war, Capt. Burden, a vessel of a force about equal to that of the Ranger, and he immediately conceived a plan to run in and take her. Preparations were accordingly made, and darkness was only waited for, to make the attempt. It blew fresh in the night, but when the proper hour had arrived, tl)c Ranger stood for the roads, having accurately obtained the bearings of her enemy. The orders of Capt. Jones w^ere to overlay the cable of the Drake, and to bring up on her bows, where he intended to secure his own ship, and abide the result. By some mistake, the anchor was not let go in season, and instead of fetching up in the desired position, the Ranger could not be checked until she had drifted on the quarter of, and at distance of half a cable's length from, the Drake. Perceiving that his object was de- feated, Capt. Jones ordered the cable to be cut, when the ship drifted astern, and, making sail, she hauled by the wind again as soon as possible. The gale increased, and it was with difficulty that the Ranger weathered the land, and re- gained the channel. Capt. Jones now stood over to the English coast, and be- lieving the time more favourable, he attempted to execute his former design on the shipping in the port of Whitehaven. Two parties landed in the night ; the forts were seized and the guns were spiked; the few look-outs that were in the works being confined. In effecting this duty, Capt. Jones was foremost in person, for, having once sailed out of the port, he was familiar with the situation of the place, ^n r.'5»/ fcWi'!': #fl^' ti NAVAL HISTORY. 163 accident common to both the parties into which the expedi- tion had been divided, came near defeating the enterprise in the outset. They had brought candles in lanterns, for the double purpose of lights and torches, and, now that they were about to be used as the latter, it was found that they were all consumed. As the day was appearing, the party under Mr. Wallingford, one of the lieutenants, took to its boat without effecting any thing, while Capt. Jones sent to a de- tached building and obtained a candle. He boarded a large ship, kindled a fire in her steerage, and by placing a barrel of tar over the spot, soon had the vessel in flames. As this ship lay in the midst of more than a hundred others, high and dry, the tide being out, Capt. Jones flattered himself with the hope of signally revenging the depredations that the enemy had so freely committed on the American coast. But, by this time, the alarm was effectually given, and the entire population appeared on the adjacent high ground, or were seen rushing in numbers towards the shipping. The latter were easily driven back by a show of force, and re- maining a sufficient time, as he thought, to make sure of an extensive conflagration, Capt. Jones took to his boats and pulled towards his ship. Some guns were fired on the re- tiring boats without effect ; but the people of the place suc- ceeded in extinguishing the flames before the mischief be- came very extensive. v •, ' The hardihood and character of this attempt produced a great alarm along the whole English coast, and from that hour, even to this, the name of Jones is associated, in the minds of the people of Whitehaven, with audacity, destruc- tion, and danger. While cruising, with the utmost hardihood, as it might be in the very heart of the British waters, with the coasts of the three kingdoms frequently in view at the same moment, Capt. Jones, who was a native of the country, decided to make an attempt to seize the Earl of Selkirk, who had a seat i!*- .'flfc. 164 If AVAL HISTOJRT. on St. Mary's Isle, near the point \rhere the Dee flows into the channel. A party landed, and got possession of the 1. ouse, but its master was absent. The officer in command oi the boats so far forgot himself as to bring away a quantity of the family plate, although no other injury was done, or any insult oflered. This plate, the value of which did not exceed a hundred pounds, was subsequently purchased of the crew by Capt. Jones, and returned to Lady Selkirk, with a letter expressive of his regrets at the occurrence. After the landing mentioned, the Rangeronce more steered % towards Ireland, Capt. Jones still kc;:ping in view his design on the Drake, and arrived off Carrickfergus again, on the 24th. The commander of the latter ship sent out an officer, in one of his boats, to ascertain the character of the stranger. ^ By means of skilful handling, the Ranger was kept end-on to the boat, and as the officer in charge of the latter could merely see the ship's stern, although provided with a glass, he suffered himself to be decoyed alongside, and was taken. From the prisoners, Capt. Jones iearned that intelligence of his descents on Whitehaven and St. Mary's Isle had reached Belfast, and that the people of the Drake had weighed the anchor he had lost in his attempt on that ship. ' ; Under these circumstances, Capt. Jones believed that the commander of the Drake would not long defer coming out in search of his boat; an expectation that was shortly real- ized, by the appearance of the English ship under way. The Ranger now filled and stood off the land, with a view to draw her enemy more into the channel, and there lay to, in waiting for the latter to come on. Several small vessels accompanied the Drake, to witness the combat, and many volunteers had gone on board her, to assist in capturing the American privateer, as it was the fashion of the day to term the vessels of the young republic. The tide being un- favourable, the Drake worked out of the roads slowly, and night was approaching before she drew near the Ranger. -•*Nt NAVAL HISTORY. im 1 1, IP' The Drake, as she got nigher, hailed, and received the name of her antagonist, by way of challenge, with a request to come on. As the two ships were standing on in this manner, the Drake a little to leeward and astern, the Ran* ger put her helm up, a manceuvre that the enemy imitated, and the former gave the first broadside, firing as her guns bore. The wind admitted of but few changes, but the battle was fought running free, under easy canvass. It lasted nn hour and four minutes, when the Drake called for quarter, her ensign being already down. The English ship was much cut up, both in her hull and aloft, and Captain Jones computed her loss at about forty men. Her captain and lieutenant were both desperately wounded, and died shortly after the engagement. The Ranger suffered much less, having Lieut. Wallingford and one man killed, and six wounded. The Drake was not only a heavier ship, but she had a much stronger crew than her antagonist. She had also two guns the most. After securing her prize and repairing damages, the Ran« ger went round the north of Ireland, and shaped her course for Brest. She had several chases, but arrived safely at her port, with the Drake, on the 8th of May. Whatever may be thought of the conduct of Capt. Jones, in turning a local knowledge acquired in his youth, in the manner mentioned, to such an account, there can be no doubt that the course pursued by the enemy on the Ameri- can coast, would have fully justified the act in any other officer in the service; and it is due to Capt. Jones, to say, that he bad, personally, been so much vilified by the British press, as quite naturally to have weakened any remains of national attachment that he may formerly have entertained. The natives of Great Britain, that served on the American side, in this great contest, were not essentially in a position different from that of those who had been born in the colo- nies. The war, in one sense, was a civil war, and the con- ^ifMi * - k 166 NAVAL HISTORY. duct of all who took part in it, was to be measured by the merits of the main question. The Englishman actually es- tablished in the colonies, when the struggle commenced, was essentially in the situation of the native; and if the latter had a moral right to resist the encroachments of the British Parliament, it was a right that extended to the former, since it was not a question of birth place that was ai issue, but one of local and territorial interests. By transferring himseli* to England, the native of America would have avoided the injuries, and shared in the advantages of the ofiensive policy; and by transferring himself to America, the native of England became the subject of its wrongs. Both steps were legal, and it follows as a legitimate conse- quence of such premises, that all the moral as well as legal rights dependent on their exercise were carried with them. Mr. Silas Talbot, of Rhode Island, who had been a seaman in his youth, had taken service in the army, and October 10th, 1777, he had been raised to the rank of a Major, to reward him for a spirited attempt to set fire to one of the enemy's cruisers in the Hudson. In the autumn of the present year, (1778) Major Talbot headed another expedition against the British schooner Pigot, 8, then lying in the eastern passage between Rhode Island and the main land, in a small sloop that had two light guns, and which was manned by 60 volunteers. Major Talbot carried the schooner without loss, and for his conduct and gallantry was promoted to be a Lieut. Colonel. The Pigot had 45 men, and one heavy gun in her bows, besides the rest of her armament. The following year this officer was transferred to the navy, Congress passing an especial resolution to that eflfect, with directions to the marine committee to give him a ship on the first occasion. It does not appear, however, that it was in the power of the committee, to appoint CapL Talbot to a government vessel, at that period of the war, and he is believed to have served, subsequently, in a private ♦■ i*M If AVAL HISTORY. 107 t ^ armed ship. The commander of the Pigot showed groat bravery, actually fighting alone on deck, in his shirt, when every man of his crew had run below. It has already been intimated, that the appearance of a French fleet, in July, 1778, off Newport, materially changed the character of the war, so far as the American marine was concerned. On this occasion, the enemy destroyed the following ships at, or near Newport, to prevent their falling into the hands of the French, viz : the Juno, 32 ; Or- pheus, 32; Cerberus, 32; Lark, 32; Flora, 32; and Fal- con, 18. It will give some idea of the condition of the American marine at that time, if we state that a month previously to the arrival of the French, the following vessels were lying at Boston. They appear to have composed most of the disposable naval force of the United States, in the American seas, viz: Warren, 32, Capt. John Hopkins; Raleigh, 32, Capt. Thompson; Deane, (afterwards Hague,) 32, Capt. S. Nicholson; Tyrannicide, 14, colony cruiser, Capt. Harding; Independence, 14, Capt. Hazard; Sampson, 20; Hancock, 20, (formerly Weymouth, a packet:) and Speedwell, 10. The four last were colony cruisers, or privateers. Of this force, Capt. Thompson was the senior officer. Several private armed ships were cruising off the eastern coast, at the same time, among which was the Mars, 24, Capt. Truxtun. ■ ;,> :'■■ .. ..: ^-,!-''' ■ '^.>.-./ --_.,: > It has been said that many officers of the navy, previ- ously to the period of the war at which we have now arrived, had been compelled to seek service in thie priva- teers, for want of more regular employment, and among others was Capt. Daniel Waters. While in command of the private armed ship Thorn, 16, out of Boston, Capt. Wa- ters engaged the letter of marque. Governor Tryon, 16, Capt. Stebbins, and the Sir William Erskine, 18, Capt. Hamilton, both full manned. After a sharp action of two hours, the Tryon struck, and the Erskine made sail to es- ;>'*■■ ^#- 16R NAVAL HISTOnr. I r cape. Instead of stopping to take possession of his prize, Capt. Waters pursued the Erskine, and getting along side, compelled her to surrender also. Throwing a crew on hoard this ship, the two vessels now went in quest of the Tryon, which had profited by the situation of the Thorn, to endeavour to escape. Favoured by the night, this vessel succeeded in getting oH) and the next day the Erskine was sent into port. The Thorn had now but 60 men left, and in a few days, she fell in with the Sparlin, 18, with 07 men, which she succeeded in taking after a fight of near an hour. The Thorn, and both her prizes, arrived safely in Boston. In consequence of the investigation connected with the loss of the Alfred, or, at the time that Capt. Thompson was relieved from the command of the Raleigh 32, that ship was given to Capt. Barry. Under the orders of this new commander, the Raleigh sailed from Boston on the 25th of September, at six in the morning, having a brig and a sloop under convoy. Tho wind was fresh at N. W., and the frigate run olf N. E. At twelve, two strange sail were seen to leeward, distant fifteen or sixteen miles. Orders were given to the convoy to haul nearer to the wind, and to crowd all the sail it could carry, tho strangers in chase. After dark the Raleigh lost sight of the enemy, as by this time the two ships were ascertained to be, and the wind became light and variable. The Raleigh now cleared for action, and kept her people at quarters all night, having tacked towards the land. In the morning it proved to be hazy, and the strangers were not to be seen. The Raleigh was still standing towards the land, which she shortly after made ahead, quite near. • About noon, the haze clearing away, the enemy were seen in the southern board, and to windward, crowding sail in chase. The weather became thick again, and the Raleigh lost sight of her two pursuers, when she hauled off to the eastward. That night no more was seei) of the enemy, and at day light Capt. Barry took I .''* •■ NAVAL HISTORY. 169 ie is, re in every thing, with a view to conceal the position of the ship, which was permitted to drift under bare poles. Find- ing nothing visible at 0, A. M., the Raleigh crowded sail once more, and stood S. £. by S. But at half past 1), the two ships were again discovered astern, and in chase. The Raleigh now hauled close upon a wind, heading N. W., with her larboard tacks aboard. The enemy also came to the wind, all three vessels carrying '^ard with a staggering breeze. The Raleigh now fairly outsailed the strangers, running 11 knots 2 fathoms, on a dragged bowline. Unfortunately, at noon the wind model ated, when the leading vessel of the enemy overhauled the Raleigh quite fast, and even the ship astern held way with her. At 4, P. M., the Raleigh tacked to the westward, with a view to dis- cover the force of the leading vessel of the enemy, and, about the same time she made several low islands, the names of which were not known. At 5, P. M., the leading- vessel of the enemy having nearly closed, the Raleigh edged away and crossed her fore foot, brailing her mizzen, and taking in her staysails. The enemy showed a battery of 14 guns of a side, including both decks, and set St. George's ensign. In passing, the Raleigh delivered her broadside, which was returned, when the stranger came up under the lee quarter of the former, and the action became steady and general. At the second fire, the Raleigh unfortunately lost her fore-top-mast, and mizzen-top-gallant mast, which gave the enemy a vast advantage in manoeuvring throughout the remainder of the affair. Finding the broadside of the Ra- leigh getting to be too hot for him, notwithstanding, the enemy soon shot ahead, and, for a short time, while the peo- ple of the former ship were clearing the wreck, he engaged to windward, and at a distance. Ere long, however, the Eng- lish vessel edged away and attempted to rake the Raleigh, when Capt. Barry bore up, and bringing the ships along side each other, he endeavoured to board, a step that the Vol. I.— 15 % ,i*'-S ito NAVAL IIISTORY. € *# Other, favoured by all hia canvass, and his superiority of sail' ing in a light breeze, easily avoided. By this time, the second ship had got so near as to render it certain she would very soon close, and, escape by flight being out of the question in the crippled condition of the frigate, Capt. Barry called a council of his officers. It was determined to make an attempt to run the ship ashore, the land being within a few miles of them. The Raleigh accordingly wore round, and stood for the islands already mentioned, her antagonist sticking to her in the most gallant manner, both ships main- taining the action with spirit. About midnight, however, the enemy hauled ofT, and left the Raleigh to pursue her course towards the land. The engagement had lasted seven hours, much of the time in close action, and both vessels had suffered materially, the Raleigh, in particular, in her spars, rigging and sails. The darkness, soon after, concealing his ship, Capt. Barry had some hopes of getting ofT among the islands, and was in the act of bending new sails, for that purpose, when the enemy's vessels again came in sight, closing fast. The Raleigh immediately opened a brisk fire from four stern guns, and every human effort was made to force the ship towards the land. The enemy, how- ever, easily closed again, and opened a heavy fire, which was returned by the Raleigh until she grounded, when the largest of the enemy's ships immediately hauled off, to avoid a similar calamity, and, gaining a safe distance, both vessels continued their fire, from positions they had taken on the Raleigh's quarter. Capt. Barry finding that the island was rocky, and that it might be defended, determined to land, and to burn his ship; a project that was rendered practica- ble by the fact that the enemy had ceased firing, and an- chored at the distance of about a mile. A large party of men landed, and the boats were about to return for the re- mainder, when it was discovered that, by the treachery of a petty officer, the ship had surrendered. ^^i^- . w « . ' *y vv 1'.- M:»^-. *M.y, -Mt VAVAL HISTOIir. HI W -■\' M The officers and men on the island escaped, but the ship was got off, and placed in the British navy. The two ships that took the Raleigh were the Experiment, 50, Capt. WaU lace, and the Unicorn, 22. The latter mounted 28 guns, and was the ship that engaged the Ruleigh so closely, so long, and so obstinately. She was much cut up, losing her masts after the action, and had 10 men killed, besides many wound- ed. The Americans had 25 men killed and wounded in the course of the whole affair. Capt. Barry gained great credit for his gallantry on this occasion. He escaped to the main, with a considerable portion of his crew, though not without great suffering, and a new ship was given to him on the first opportunity. Thus terminated the year 1778, so far as it was connect- ed with the services of the regular marine, though like all that had preceded, or which followed it, in this war, it gave rise to many handsome exploits among the colony cruisers and privateers, some of which we may have occasion to mention in a separate chapter, that will be devoted to that branch of the subject. ,., • ^1.1 .'•'■.- * ' '.'..'• '-.■■!> -- V.,' l ,■ ■i '■•7'^ ■-•,■'•''''• '■■ V- •:•.;-.,% ■w >M i y 't XT« IfA'.AL HISTORY. ;iv.i:.^..,?;> ;'^'''>H.,.'' ■'■^■■' - ■*•■ ■■; . • ,'•' ■• • ■ ■ ::..'.-;^o^. >^ ,. ,-M^<.-' * T i;.; '>/", '•■'■. ■. ■ .. . *.' . ■ * 1 ' » . - . '. . " I ' ■ * \\ CHAPTER IX. ^ The year 1779 opens with the departure of the Alliance, 32, for France. It has already been stated that the com- mand of this ship had been given to a Capt. Landais, who was said to be a French officer of gallantry and merit. Unfortunately thu prejudices of the seamen did not an- swer to the complaisance of the marine committee in this respect, and it was found difficult to obtain a crew willing to enlist under a French captain. When General Lafayette, after a detention of several months on the road, in conse- quence of severe illness, reached Boston near the close of 1778, in order to embark in the Alliance, it was found that the frigate was not yet manned. Desirous of rendering themselves useful to their illustrious guest, the government of Massachusetts offered to complete the ship's comple- ment by impressment, an expedient that had been adopted on more than one occasion during the war ; but the just- minded and benevolent Lafayette would not consent to the measure. Anxious to sail, however, for he was intrusted with important interests, recourse was had to a plan to man the ship, which, if less objectionable on the score of prin- ciple, was scarcely less objectionable in every other point of view. The Somerset, 64, had been wrecked on the coast of New-England, and part of her crew had found their way to Boston. By accepting the proffered services of these ITAVAL HISTORY. 173 men, those of some volunteers from among the prisoners, and those of a few French seamen that were also found in Boston after the departure of their fleet, a motley number was raised in sufficient time to enable the ship to sail on the 11th of January. With this incomplete and mixed crew, Lafayette trusted himself on the ocean, and the result was near justifying the worst forebodings that so ill-advised a measure could have suggested. After a tempestuous passage, the Alliance got within two days' run of the English coast, when her officers and pas- sengers, of whom there were many besides Gen. Lafayette and his suite, received the startling information that a con- spiracy existed among the English portion of the crew, some seventy or eighty men in all, to kill the officers, seize the vessel, and carry the latter into England. With a view to encourage such acts of mutiny, the British Parlia- ment had passed a law to reward all those crews that should run away with American ships; and this temptation was too strong for men whose service, however voluntary it might be in appearances, was probably reluctant, and which had been compelled by circumstances, if not by direct coercion. 1 The intentions of the mutineers appear to have been of the most ruthless and blood-thirsty character. By the ori- ginal plan, the cry of " Sail-ho !" was to be raised about day-light on the morning of the 2d of February, when, as it was known that the officers and passengers would imme- diately appear on the quarter-deck, the attempt was to com- mence by seizing them in a body. The mutineers were di- vided into four parties, of which one was to get possession of the magazine, the second of the wardroom, the third of the cabin, and the fourth of the upper-deck aft. In the event of resistance by the officers at the latter point, the four nine- pound guns on the forecastle were to be pointed aft, and to sweep the quarter-deck. • With this view, a gunner's mate, who was a rinsleadcr, privately put i 15* guns charge -1p- .v.*!*:,, dims::,,. 174 KAVAL HISTORY. of cannister-shot. Some fire-arms had also been secretly obtained by a sergeant of marines, Tvho belonged to the mutiny. .,.:-• ..^v::- >:\: /^ -s ^■< v'^'-'- '-'■/■'■ -.v> On the night of the 1st of February, the execution of this plot was postponed until four o'clock of the afternoon of the ad, instead of the hour of day-light, as had been previously arranged. It had been determined to put Capt. Landais, who was exceedingly oflfensive to the conspirators, into a boat, without food, water, oars or sails, heavily ironed, and to turn him loose on the ocean. The gunner, carpenter, and boatswain were to have been killed on the spot. The marine officer and surgeon were to have been hanged, quartered, and their bodies cast into the sea. The sailing-master was to have been seized up to the mizzen-mast, scarified, cut into morsels and thrown overboard. To each of the lieutenants was to have been offered the option of navigating the ship into the nearest British port, or of walking a plank. The passengers were to have been confined, and given up as prisoners, in England. With these fell intentions in their hearts, the conspirators fortunately decided to defer the execution of their plot until the hour last named. ? Among the r.rew of the Alliance, was a seaman of more than usual knowledge of his calling, and of great decency of exterior. By his accent, this man, though regularly en- tered as a volunteer and an American, was supposed to be an Irishman, and the mutineers were desirous of obtain- ing his assistance, under the impression that he might di- rect them, and take sufficient charge of the ship to prevent the lieutenants from deceiving them as to their position, should the latter consent to navigate her into England. To this person, then, in the course of the morning of the very day set for the execution of their murderous plan, the mutineers revealed their conspiracy, and invited him to take a conspi- cuous part in it. The seaman was in fact an American, who bad lived a long time in Ireland, where he had acquired li ■■^1 i;* rr- '% NAVAL HISTORY. Its w ■ t I the accent of the nation, but where he had lost none of the feelings of country and kindred. Affecting to listen to the proposition with favour, he got most of their secrets out of the mutineers, using the utmost prudence and judgment in all his proceedings. It was near three o'clock in the after- noon, before this new ringleader could manage to get into the cabin unseen, where he made Capt. Landais and Gen. Lafayette acquainted with all he knew. Not a moment was to be lost. The officers and other passengers were apprised of what was going on, such men as could certainly be relied on were put on their guard, and a few minutes before the time set for the signal to be given, the gentlemen rushed in a body on deck, with drawn swords, where the American and French seamen joined them, armed. The leading mu- tineers were instantly seized. Between thirty and forty of the English were put in irons, it being thought impolitic to arrest any more, for at this inopportune moment a large vessel hove in sight, and was soon made out to be an ene- my's twenty gun ship. As is usual in such cases, some of the ringleaders betray- ed their companions, on a promise of pardon, when all the previous arrangements were revealed. Believing the mo- ment unfavourable to engage even rn inferior force, Capt. Landais, after a little manoeuvring, | ermittcd the ship in sight to escape. On the 6th of Febriaiy, the Alliance ar- rived safely at Brest. This is the only instance tha' I as ever tru/.;pired, of a plan to make a serious mutiny, under the flag of the United States of America.* A few cases of momentary revolts have occurred, which principally arose from a defective mode of enlistments, and in all of which the authority of the officers has prevailed, after short and insignificant conte'sts. It may • English prisoners who had enlisted in the nav/, were frequently troublesome, but no other direct mutiny was plotted. W .•4'v 176 NAVAL HISTORY. VI be added, as a just source of national pride, that, in nearly every emergency, whether on board ships of war, or on board of merchant vessels, the native American has been found true to the obligations of society; and it is a singular proof of his disposition to submit to legal authority, however oppressive or unjust may be its operation in his particular case, that in many known instances in which English sea- men have revolted against their own officers, and in their own navy, the impressed and injured American has prefer- red order, and submission to even the implied obligations of a compelled service, to rushing into the dangers of revolt and disobedience. In opposition to this respectable charac- teristic, may be put in high relief, the well ascertained fact, that when left in captured vessels, or placed in situations where the usages of mankind tolerafe resistance, these very men have required as vigilant watching as any others, it being probable that more American ships have been re- taken from their prize crews by American seamen left on board them, within the last sixty years, than have been re- taken by the seamen of all the remaining captured vessels of Christendom. Quiet, prudent, observing, hardy, and bold, the American seaman is usually ready to listen to reason, and to defer to the right; traits that make him perhaps the most orderly and submissive of all mariners, when properly and legally commanded, and the most dangerous when an occasion arises for him to show his promptitude, intelligence, and spirit. On reaching Brest, the mutineers were placed in a French gaol, and, after some delay, were exchanged as prisoners of war, without any other punishment ; the noble minded Lafayette, in particular, feeling averse to treating foreigners as it would have been a duty to treat natives under the cir- cumstances. We shall next revert to the more regular warfare of the period at which we have now arrived. ., ■\\ £ .X., . ;ri!iiii.iv u NAVAL HISTORY. 177 ■ % ■'4f. '<' f 4r One of the first nautical engagements of the year 1779, occurred to the Hampden, 22, a ship that sailed out of Mas- sachusetts, though it is believed on private account. The Hampden was i^ruising in the Atlantic, lat. 4?°, long. 28°, when she made a strange sail to windward. A small armed schooner was in company with the Hampden, and a signal was made by tha latter, for the former to join. Night com- ing on, however, the two vessels separated, when the Hamp- den stood towards the stranger alone. At day-light, the American and the Englishman were a long gun-shot apart, when the former crowded sail, and at seven in the morning, drawing up under the lee quarter of the chase, gave him a broadside. Until this moment, the stranger had kept all his guns housed, but he now showed thirteen of a side, and de- livered his fire. It was soon perceived on board the Hamp- den that they were engaged with a heavy ship, and one of a force altogether superior to their own. Still, hoping that she might be badly manned, and receiving no material dam- age at the commencement of the fight, the commander of the Hampden determined to continue the action. A hot engagement followed, which lasted three hours, within pistol shot, when the Hampden v. as compelled to haul off, being in momentary danger of losing her masts. The American lost a Capt. Pickering killed, — but whether he was a marine officer, or her commander, does not appear, — and had twenty men killed and wounded. The Indiaman was much injured also, though her loss was never ascertained. This was one of the most closely contested actions of the war, both sides appearing to have fought with perseverance and gal- lantry. On the 18th of April, the U. S. ships Warren, 32, Capt. J. B. Hopkins, Queen of France, 28, Capt. Olney, and Ranger, 18, Captain Simpson, sailed from Boston, on a cruise in company ; Capt. Hopkins being the senior officer. When a ;se vessels captured a British priva- '■'-»^, days port, .SE -'« .4' ;*. ... ,;v.:'v. ■:t . • "*.- i r ^ \ » 178 NAVAL HISTORY. •ilA .^'^ teer of 14 guns, from the people of which they ascertained that a small fleet of armed transports and store-ships had just sailed from New-York, bound to Georgia, with supplies for the enemy's forces in that quarter. The three cruisers crowded sail in chase, and off Cape Henry, late in the day, they had the good fortune to come up with nine sail, seven of which they captured, with a trifling resistance. Favoured by the darkness, the two others escaped. The vessels taken proved to be, his Britannic Majesty's ship Jason, 20, with a crew of 150 men ; the Maria armed ship, of 16 guns, and 84 men; and the privateer schooner Hiberni:i, 8, with a crew of 45 men. The Maria had a full cargo of flour. In addi- tion to these vessels, the brigs Patriot, Prince Frederick, Bachelor John, and schooner Chance, all laden with stores, fell into the hands of the Americans. Among the prisoners were twenty-four British officers, who were on their way to join their regiments at the south.* The command of the Queen of France was now given to Capt. Rathburne, when that ship sailed on another cruise in company with the Ranger, and the Providence, 28, Capt. Whipple ; the latter being the senior officer. In July, this squadron fell in with a large fleet of English merchantmen, that was convoyed by a ship of the line, and some smaller cruisers, and succeeded in cutting out several valuable prizes, of which eight arrived at Boston, their estimated value exceeding a million of dollars. In the way of pecu- niary benefits, this was the most successful cruise made in the war. Capt. Manl\ vas ^ .inpelled to seek service in a? privateer called the Cumberland, owinrr 'o the want of ships in the navy. In thi v essel he was captured by the Pomona fri- gate, and, obtaining his exchange, he went on a cruise in W ■•A ■ ;/ • A Col. Campbell was the highest in rank, and if this v/ere the officer •iL, ' of the same name and rank taken off Boston, in 1776, he was twice made a prisoner on board transports, during thia war, w ,y\ v.. A 4, ' I ■ I NAVAL HISTORY. 179 the Jason private armed ship, in which vessel, in July of the present year, he was attacked by two of the enemy's privateers, one of 18, and the other of 10 guns, when, run- ning boldly between them, the Jason poured in her fire, larboard and starboard, with so much effect, that both sur- rendered. Quitting the American seas, we will once more return to the other hemisphere. . Paul Jones had obtained so much celebrity for his cruise in the Ranger, that he remained in France, after the de- parture of his ship for America, in the hope of receiv- ing a more important command, the inducement, indeed, which had originally brought him to Europe. Many dif- ferent projects to this effect had been entertained and aban- doned, during the years 1778 and 1779, by one of which a descent was to have been made on Liverpool, with a body of troops commanded by Lafayette. All of these plans, how- ever, produced no results, and after many vexatious repulses in his applications for service, an arrangement was finally made to give this celebrated officer employment that was as singular in its outlines, as it proved to be inconvonicnt, not to say impracticable, in execution. , --, ,^ By a letter from M. de Sartine, the minister of the ma- rine, dated February 4th, 1779, it appears that the King of France had consented to purchase and put at the disposi- tion of Capt. Jones, the Duras, an old Indiaman of some size, then lying at I'Oricnt. To this vessel were added three "nore that were procured by means of M. le Ray de Chaumontj a banker of eminence connected with the court, and who acted on the occasion, under the orders of the French ministry. Dr. Franklin, who, as minister of the United States, was supposed, in a legal sense, to direct the whole affair, added the Alliance, 32, in virtue of the au- thority that he held from Congress. The vessels that were thus chosen, formed a little squadron, composed of the Du- )f ftiififii i.'^Mri. *ll^ ''^m- ^ 160 NAVAL HISTORY. t ras, Alliance, Pallas, Cerf, and Vengeance. The Pallas was a merchantman bought for the occasion; the Ven- geance a small brig that had also been purchased expressly for the expedition; the Cerf was a fine large cutter, and, with the exception of the Alliance, the only vessel of the squadron fitted for war. All the ships but the Alliance were French built, and they were placed under the American flag, by the following arrangement. The officers received appointments, which were to re- main valid for a limited period only, from Dr. Franklin, who had held blank commissions to be filled up at his own discretion, ever since his arrival in Europe, v hile the ves- sels were to show the American ensign, and tk other. In short, the French ships were to be considered as Ameri- can ships, during this particular service, and when it was terminated, they were to revert to their former owners. The laws and provisions of the American navy were to govern, and command was to be exercised, and to descend, agreeably to its usages. Such officers as already had rank in the American service, were to take precedence of course, agreeably to the dates of their respective commissions, while the new appointments were to be regulated by the new dates. By an especial provision, however, Capt. Jones was to be commander-in-chief, a post he would have been entitled to fill by his original commission, Capt. Landais of the Alliance, the only other regular captain in the squadron, being his junior. The joint right of the American minister and of the French government, to instruct the commodore, and to direct the movements of the squadron^was also recognised. ^ • : ■ .V From what source the money was actually obtained by which this squadron was fitted out, is not exactly known, nor is it now probable that it will ever be accurately ascer- tained. Although the name of the king was used, it is not impossible that private adventure was at the bottom of the W }:*■, •**. > " •.,>■!» .■ «•» «\ « » . NAVAL HISTORY. 181 x\ Ml*. i..* enterprise, though it seems certain that the government >vas so far concerned as to procure the vessels, and to a certain extent to use its stores. Dr. Franklin expressly states, that he made no advances for any of the ships employed. As every thing connected with this remarkable enterprise has interest, we shall endeavour to give the reader a better idea of the materials, physical and moral, that composed the force of Commodore Jones, in his memorable cruise. After many more vexatious delays, the Duras, her name having been changed to that of the Bon Homme Richard, in compliment to Dr. Franklin, was eventually equipped and manned. Directions had been given to cast the proper number of eighteen pounders, but, it being ascertained that there would not be time to complete this order, some old twelves were procured in their place. With this material change in the armament, the Richard, as she was familiarly called by the seamen, got ready for sea. She was, properly, a single decked ship, or carried her armament on one gun deck, with the usual additions on the quarter deck and forecastle; but Commodore Jones, with a view to attacking some of the larger convoys of the enemy, caused twelve ports to be cut in the gun room below, where six old eighteen pounders were mounted, it being the intention to fight all the guns on one side, in smooth water. The height of the ship admitted of this arrangement, though it was foreseen that these guns could not be of much use, except in very moderate weather, or when engaging to leeward. On her main, or proper gun deck, the ship had twenty eight ports, the regular construction of an English 38, agreeably to the oid mode of rating. Here the twelve- pounders were placed. On the quarter deck, forecastle, and in the gangways, were mounted eight nines, making in all a mixed and rather light armament of 42 guns. If the six eighteens were taken away, the force of the Bon Homme Richard, so far as her guns were concerned, would have Vol. I.— 16 . . i 'V *^,, 183 If AVAL BISTORT. d AJiS" * See Note A, end of rolume. ^tS.' , * k »- *"r- *: r . 4y\ been about equal to that of a 82 gun frigate. The vessel was clumsily constructed, having been built many years be- fore, and had one of those high old fashioned poops, that caMsed the sterns of the ships launched in the eurly part of tho eightu'onlh ceujwry to resemble towers. To manage a vessel of this singular armament and doubt- ful construction, Commodore Jones was compelled to re- f ceivc on board a crew of a still more equivocal composition. A few Americans were found to fill the stations of sea offi- cers, on the quarter dock and forward, but the remainder of the people were a mixture of English, Irish, Scotch, Portu- guese, Norwegians, Germans, Spaniards, Swedes, Italians . and Malays, with occasionally a man from one of the islands. To keep this motley crew in order, one hundred and thirty- five soldiers were put on board, under the command of some officers of inferior rank. These soldiers, or marines, were recruited at random, and were not much less singularly m'xed, as to countries, than the regular crew. As the squadron was about to sail, M. Le Ray appeared at I'Ori nc, and presented an agreement, or concordat as it ^van termed, for the signature of all the commanders. To . this singular compact, which, in some respects, reduced a naval expedition to the level of a partnership. Commodore Jones ascribed much of the disobedience among his cap- tains, of which he subsequently complained. It will be found in the appendix.* On the 10th of June 1779, the ships sailed from the an- chorage under the Isle of Groix, off TOrient, bound to the southward, with i few transports and coasters under their convoy. The transports and coasters were seen into their several places of destination, in the Garonne» Loire, and other ports, but not without the commencement of that course of disobedience of orders, unseaman-like conduct, and ne- ^ 'A'- •VV^-: ¥if^ i^^.. .*■■ *£'• ^ih :>■ '"!»f- t \ ^K >u .ypi^ f^ ■^-> • '^, '*f ,.««,»- ^* ■'■>*■ ' . :.■ '-IT NAVAL HISTORY. lia gleet, which so signally marked the whole career of this ill assorted force. While lying to, off the coast, the Alliance, by palpable mismanagement, got foul of the Richard, and lost her mizzen mast; carrying away, at the same time, the head, cut-water, and jib-boom of the |(itter. It now be- came necessary to return to port to refit. While steering northerly again, the Cerf cutter was sent in chase of a strange sail, an' parted company. The next morning she engaged a si . English cruiser of 14 guns, and after a sharp conflict 'no,'^ than an hour, obliged her to strike, but was corr lo abandon her prize in consequence of the appearance ot a vessel of superior force. The Cerf, with a loss of several men killed and wounded, now made the best of her way to TOrient. On the 22nd, three enemy's vessels of war came in sight of the squadron, and, having the wind, they ran down in a line abreast, when, most probably deceived by the height and general appearance of the Richard, they hauled up, and, by carrying a press of sail, escaped. On th*^ 30th, the Alliance and Pallas parted company with the Richard, leaving that ship with no other consort than the Vengeance brig. On reaching the Penmarks, the desig- nated rendezvous, the missing vessels did not appear. On the 29th, the Vengeance having made the best of her way for the roads of Groix by permission, the Richard fell in with two more of the enemy's cruisers, which, after some indications of an intention to come down, also ran, no doubt under the impression that the American frigate was a ship of two decks. On this occasion Commodore Jones ex- pressed himself satisfied with the spirit of his crew, the people manifesting a strong wish to engage. On the last of the month, the Richard returned to the roads from which she had sailed, and anchored. The Alliance and Pallas came in also. ;iv. JT .■* M IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 ^^ ta I.I itt m 12.2 i£ 12.0 111 u u 6" Photographic ScMices CorpcHHlion ^ m ^ <> ^^ ^\ ^r\\ 23 WIST MAIN STMIT WnSTIR.N.Y. MSM (716)S72-4S03 '^ ,^ \ ^ % 6^ •••^ 184 KAVAL HISTORT. Another delay occurred. A court was convened to in- quire into the conduct of Capt. Landais of the Alliance, and of other officers, in running foul of the Richard, and both ships underwent repairs. Luckily a cartel arrived from England, at this impment, bringing with her more than a hundred exchanged American seamen, most of whom join- ed the squadron. This proved to be a great and important accession to the composition of the crew of not only the Richard, but. to that of the Alliance, the latter ship having been but little better off than the former in this particular. Among those who came from the English prisons, was Mr. Richard Dale, who had been taken as a master's mate, in the Lexington, 14. This young officer did not reach France in the cartel, however, but escaped from Mill prison earlier, and joined the Richard. Commodore Jones had now be- come sensible of his merit, and in reorganising his crew, he had him promoted, and rated him as his first lieutenant. The Richard had now nearly a hundred Americans in her, and, with the exception of the commodore himself and one midshipman, all her quarter-deck sea-oificers were of the number. Many of the petty officers too, were of this class. In a letter written August the 11th, Commodore Jones states the crew of the Richard, all told, at 380 souls, inclu- ding 137 marines, or soldiers. On the 14th of August, 1779, the squadron sailed a second time from the roads of Groix, having the French privateers Monsieur and Granville in company, and under the orders of Commodore Jones. On the 18th a valuable prize was taken, and some difficulties arising with the commander of the Monsieur in consequence, the latter parted company in the night of the 19th. This was a serious loss in the way of forcd, that ship having mounted no less than forty guns. •A prize was also taken on the 2l8t. On the 23d, the ships were off Cape Clear, and, while towing the Richard's head round in a calm, the crew of a boat manned by £n- ^IV ■f'- ^iw^ ■*'; *^' V V*-:' ■ .a ,-% ^' 0- 1^" HAVAL HISTORY. 185 * / .x^. ■^ gtishmen, cut the tow-line, and escaped. Mr. Cutting Lunt, the sailing master of the ship, manned another boat, and taking with him four soldiers, he pursued the fugitives. A fog coming oq» the latter boat was not able to find the ships again, and her people fell into the haiMs of the enemy. Through this desertion and its immediate consequences, the Richard lost twenty of her best men. The day after the escape of the boat, the Cerf was sfsnt close in to reconnoitre, and to look for the missing people, and owing to some circumstance that has never been ex- plained, but which does not appear to have left any re- proach upon her commander, this vessel never rejoined the squadron. A gale of wind followed, during which the Alliance and Pallas separated, and the Granville parted company with a prize, according to orders. The separation of the Pallas is explained by the fact that she had broken her tiller; but that of the Alliance can only be imputed to the unofficerlike, as well as unseamanlike, conduct of her commander. On the morning of the 27th, the brig Vengeance was the only ves- sel in company with the commodore. On the morning of the 31st of August, the Bon Homme Richard, being off Cape Wrath, captured a large letter of marque bound from London to Quebec, a circumstance that proves the expedients to which the English ship-masters were then driven to avoid capture, this vessel having ac- tually gone north-about to escape the cruisers on the beaten track. While in chase of the letter of marque, the Alliance hove in sight, having another London ship, a Jamaica-man, in company as a prize. Capt. Lahdais, of the Alliance, an officer, who, as it has since been ascertained, had been obliged to quit the French navy on account of a singularly unfortunate tamper, now began to exhibit a disorganizing and mutinous spirit, pre- tending that as his ship was the only real American vessel .cW.^^ 16» ■0. ■ *=. .A m -n 199 VAVAL HISTORt. in the squadron, he was superior to the orders of the com- modore, and that he would do as he pleased with that frigate. i In the afternoon a strange sail was milde, and the Richard showed the Alliance's number, with an order to chase. In< stead of obeying this signal, Capt. Landais wore and laid the head of his ship in a direction opposite to that necessary to execute the order! Several other signals were disobeyed in an equally contemptuous manner, and the control of Com. Jones over the movements of this vessel, which, on the whole, ought to have been the most efficient in the squadron, may be said to have ceased. Com. Jones now shaped his course for the second rendez- vous he had appointed, in the hope of meeting the missing ships. On the 2d of September, the Pfillas rejoined, having captured nothing. Between this date and the 13th of Sep- tember, the squadron continued its course round Scotland, the ships separating and rejoining constantly, and Capt. Landais assuming powers over the prizes, as well as over his own vessel, that were altogether opposed to discipline and to the usages of every regular marine. On the last day named, the Cheviot Hills were visible. Understanding that a twenty gun ship with two or three man-of-war cutters were lying at anchor off Leith, in the Frith of Forth, Com. Jones now planned a descent on that town. At this time the Alliance was absent, and the Pallas and Vengeance having chased to the southward, the ne- cessity of communicating with those vessels produced a fatal delay to a project which had been admirably con- ceived, and which there is re to think might have suc- ceeded. After joining his twv. ^jbordina^, and giving his orders. Com. Jones beat into the Frith, and continued work- ing up towards Leith, until the 17th, when, being just out of gun shot of the town, the boats were got out and manned. The troops to be landed were commanded by M. de Cha- ' ii Jh . \i\ ^1 i!!*t / -^, VAVAL HISTORY. 187 ' ,> ' milliard, while Mr. Dale, of the Richard, was put at the head of the seamen. The latter had received his orders, and was just about to go into his boat, when a squall struck the ships, and was near dismasting the commodore. Finding himself obliged to fill his sails, Com. Jones endeavoured to keep the ground he had gained, but the weight of the wind finally compelled all the vessels to bear up, and a severe gale succeeding, they were driven into the North Sea, where one of the prizes foundered. It is not easy to say what would have been the result of this dashing enterprize, had the weather permitted the at- tempt. The audacity of the measure might have insured a victory; and in the whole design we discover the decision, high moral courage, and deep enthusiasm of the officer who conceived it. It was the opinion of Mr. Dale, a man of singular modesty, great simplicity of character, and pru- dence, that success would have rewarded the effort. Abandoning this bold project with reluctance. Com. Jones appears to have meditated another still more daring ; but his colleagues, as he bitterly styled his captains in one of his letters, refused to join in it It is worthy of remark, that when Com. Jones laid this second scheme, which has never been explained, before the young sea-officers of his own ship, they announced their readiness as one man to second him, heart and hand. The enterprize was dropped, however, in consequence of the objections of Capt. Cottineau, of the Pallas, in particular, an officer for vvhose judgment the commodore appears to have entertained much respect. The Pallas and Vengeance even left the Richard, proba- bly with a view to prevent the attempt to execute this name- less scheme, aiHllhe commodore was compelled to follow his captains to the southward, or to lose them altogether. Off Whitby the ships last named joined again, and on the 21st, the Richard chased a collier ashore between Flamborough Head and the Spurn. The next day the Richard appeared # ifs c«y^^^ ;■'■-•#■; Jk>^.. i^^kj ■*' 188 WAVAL HISTORY. ^•Jr- in the mouth of the Humber, with the Vengeance in com- pany, apd several vessels were talien or destroyed. Pilots were enticed on board, and a knowledge of the state of things in-shore was obtained. It appeared that the whole coast was alarmed, and that many persons were actually burying their plate. Some twelve or thirteen vessels in all had now been taken by the squadron, and quite as many more destroyed ; and coupling these facts with the appear- ance of the ships on the coast and in the Frith, rumour had swelled the whole into one of its usual terrific tales. Per- haps no vessels of war had ever before excited so much local alarm on the coast of Great Britain. Under the circumstances, Com. Jones did not think it prudent to remain so close in with the land, and he stood out towards Flamborough Head. Here two large sail were made, which next day proved to be the Alliance and the Pallas. This was on the 23d of September, and brings us down to the most memorable event in this extraordinary cruise. The wind was light at the southward, the water smooth, and many vessels were in sight steering in different direc- tions. About noon, his original squadron, with the excep- tion of the Cerf and the two privateers, being all in com- pany. Com. Jones manned one of the pilot boats he had de- tained, and sent her in chase of a brig that was lying to, to windward. On boaid this little vessel were put Mr. Lunt, the second lieutenant, and fifteen men, all of whom were out of the ship for the rest of the day. In consequence of the loss of the two boats off Cape Clear, the absence of this party in the pilot boat, and the number of men that had been put in prizes, the Richard was now left 'mm only one sea- lieutenant, and with but little more than three hundred souls on board, exclusively of the prisoners. Of the latter, there were between one and two hundred in the ship. The pilot boat had hardly left the Bod Homme Richard, \ > >«- I -I ■<' 1 * 'M %i ' 4'<:'(. ^t. .#• # :% • '.p. -k haval histort. 160 W It ■..'■'•,- :■ .<: if. when the leading ships of a fleet of more than forty sail were seen stretching out from behind Flamborough Head, on a bowline, evidently with the intention of turning down towards the Straits of Dover. From previous intelligence this fleet was immediately known to contain the Baltic ships* under the convoy of the Serapis 44, Capt. Richard Pearson, and a hired ship that had been put into the King's service, called the Countess of Scarborough. The latter was com- manded by Capt. Fiercy, and mounted 22 guns. As the interest of the succeeding details will chiefly centre in the Serapis and the Richard, we will give a more minute ac- count of the a .itual force of the former. At the period of which we are now writing, forty-fours were usually built on two decks. Such, then, was the con- struction of this ship, which was new, and had the reputa- tion of being a fast vessel. On her lov/er gun-deck she mounted 20 eighteen-pound guns ; on her upper gun-deck, 20 nine-pound guns; and on her quarter-deck and fore- castle, 10 six-pound guns; makmg an armament of 50 gunr in the whole. She had a regularly trained man-of-war's crew of 320 souls, 15 of whom, however, were said to have been Lascars. When the squadron made tliis convoy, the men of war were in-shore astern and to leeward, probably with a view to keep the merchantmen together. The bailifls of Scarbo- rough, perceiving the danger into which this little fleet was running, had sent a boat oflfto the Serapis to apprise her of the presence of a hostile force, and Capt. Pearson flred two guns, signalling the leading vessels to come under his lee. These orders were disregarded, however, the headmost ships standing ||p^^until they were about a league from the land. * Com. Jones having ascertained the character of the fleet in sight, showed a signal for a general chase, another to recall the lieutenant in the pilot boat, and crossed royal '■¥. ■■ -1 ;1 1 190 «9 KAYAL HISTORY. yards on board the Richard. These signs of hostility alarmed |he nearest English ships, >vhich hurriedly tacked together, fired alarm guns, let fly their top-gallant sheets, and made other signals of the danger they were in, while they now gladly availed themselves of the presence of the ships of war, to run to leeward, or sought shelter closer in with the land. The Serapis, on the contrary, signalled the Scarbo- rough to follow, and hauled boldly out to sea, until she had got far enough to windward, when she tacked and stood in- ': shore again, to cover her convoy. The Alliance being much the fastest vessel of the Ameri- can squadron, took the lead in the chase, speaking the Pallas as she passed. It has been proved that Capt. Lan- dais told the commander of the latter vessel on this occasion, that if the stranger proved to be a fifty, they had nothing to . do but to endeavour to escape. His subsequent conduct fully donfirmed this opinion, for no sooner had he run down near enough to the two English vessels of war, to ascertain their force, than he hauled up, and stood off from the land ' again. All this was not only contrary to the regular order of battle, but contrary to the positive command of Commo- dore Jones, who had kept the signal to form a line abroad, which should have brought the Alliance astern of the Richard, and the Pallas in the van. Just at this time, the Pallas spoke the Richard and inquired what station she should take, and was also directed to form the line. But the extraordinary movements of Capt. Landais appear to have produced some indecision in the commander of the Pallas, as he too soon after tacked and stood off from the land. Capt. Cottineau, however, was a brave man, and subsequently did his duty in the action, n0d this manoeuvre has been explained by the Richard's hauling up suddenly for the land, which induced him to think that her crew had mutinied and were running away with the ship. Such was the want of confidence that prevailed in a force so singu- \)\ A ^■ 1* •" ■' ' t *5 I* '%.. I ..Jtil^M.- 'f t SSf''^^7 t-. M ■■% •■^sr *^ r. \ r .11:',. * t iriVAL HISTORY. 101 larly composed, and such >vere the disadvantages under which this celebrated combat was fought I % So far, however, from meditating retreat or mutiny, the people of the Bon Homme Richard had gone cheerfully to their quarters, although ev^ry man on board was conscious of the superiority of the force with which they were about to contend ; and the high unconquerable spirit of the com- mander appears to have communicated itself to the crew. It was now getting to be dark, and Commodore Jones was compelled to follow the movement's of the enemy by the aid of a night glass. It is pr jbable that the obscurity which prevailed added to the indecision of the commander of the Pallas, for from this time until the moon rose, objects at a distance were distinguished with difficulty, and even after the moon appeared, with uncertainty. The Richard, how- ever, stood steadily on, and about half past seven, she came up with the Serapis, the Scarborough being a short diitance to leeward. The American ship was to windward, and as she drew slowly near, Capt. Pearson hailed. The answer was equivocal, and both ships delivered their entire broad- sides nearly simultaneously. The water being so smooth, Com. Jones had relied materially on the eighteens that were in the gun-room ; but at this discharge two of the six that were fired bursted, blowing up the deck above, and killing or wounding a large proportion of the people that were stationed below. This disaster caused : li ^he heavy guns to be instantly deserted, for the men had no longer sufficient confidence in their goodness to use them. It, at once, reduced the broadside of the Richard to about a third less than that of her opponent, not to include the disadvan- tage of the mamMr in which the metal that remained was distributed amonp light guns. In short, the combat was now between a- twelve-pounder and an eighteen-pounder frigate ; a species of contest in which, it has been said, we know not with what truth, the former has never been M'', ■:Mi^. r^Sl 'j}-ltiJi- ?«t- I., .)» 'L . 193 NAVAL HISTORY. t known to prevail. Com. Jones informs us himself, that air .'\ bis hopes, after this accident, rested on the twelve-pounders that were under the command of his first lieutenant. •< The Richard, having backed her topsails, exchanged se- vera 1 broadsides, when she filled again and shot ahead of the Serapis, which ship luffed across her stern and came up on the weather quarter of her antagonist, taking the wind out of her sails, and, in her turn, passing ahead. All this time, which consumed half an hour, the cannonading was j^" ' close and furious. The Scarborough now drew near, but it is uncertain whether she fired or not. On the side of the Americans it is affirmed that she raked the Richard at least once ; but, by the report of her own commander, it would ' < appear that, on account of the obscurity and the smoke, he was afraid to discharge his guns, not knowing which ship ^: might be the friend, or which the foe. Unwilling to lie by, '^ \ and ttf be exposed to shot uselessly, Capt. Piercy edged away « from the combatants, exchanged a broadside or two, at a %- great distance, with the Alliance, and shortly afterwards was engaged at close quarters by the Pallas, which ship compelled him to strike, after u creditable resistance of about an hour. Having disposed of the inferior ships, we can confine our- selves to the principal combatants. As the Serapis kept her , luff, sailing and working better than the Richard, it was the intention of Capt. Pearson to pay broad off across the latter's , forefoot, as soon as he had got far enough ahead; but mak- ing the attempt, and finding he had not room, he put his helm hard down to keep clear of his adversary, when the double movement brought the two ships nearly in a line, the Serapis leading. By these uncertain evolutions, the English ship lost some of her way, while the American, having kept her sails trimmed, not only closed, but actually ran aboard of her antagonist, bows on, a little on her weather quarter The wind being light, much time was consumed ^n- w • r • •V NAVAL HISTORY. 193 4 3fkL. in these diflferent manceuvrcs, and near an hour had elapsed between the firing of the first guns, and the moment when the vessels got foul of each other in the manner just described. The English now thought that it was the intention of the Americans to board them» and a few minutes passed in the uncertainty which such an expectation would create ; but the positions of the vessels were not favourable for either party to pass into the opposing ship. There being at this moment a perfect cessation of the firing, Capl. Pearson de- manded, "Have you struck your colours?" "1 have not yet begun to fight," was the answer. The yards of the Richard were braced aback, and, the sails of the Serapis being full, the ships separated. As soon as far enough asunder, the Serapis put her helm hard down, laid all aback forward, shivered her after-sails, and wore short round on her heel, or was box-hauled, with a view, most probably, of luffing up athwart the bow of her enemy, in order to again rake her. In this position the Richard would have been fightfhg her starboard, and the Serapis her larboard guns ; but Com. Jones, by this time, was con- scions of the hopelessness of success against so much heavier metal, and after having backed astern some distance, he filled on the other tack, luffing up >vith the intention of meeting the enemy as she came to the wind, and of lay- ing her athwart hause. In the smoke, one party or the other miscalculated the distance, for the two vessels came i, foul Bgain, the bowsprit of the English ship passing over the poop of the American. As neither had much way, the collision did but little injury, and Com. Jones, with his own hands, immediately lashed the enemy's head-gear to his mizzen-mast. The pressure on the after sails of the Serapis, which vessel was nearly before the wind at the time, brought her hull round, and the two ships gradually fell close along- side of each other, head and stern, the jib-boom of the Se- rapis giving way with the strain. A spare anchor of the VoL.1.— 1? r.' . "*;,. ^i'-:# -?>': M % 104 If AVAL HISTORY. I !■ English iblp now hooked in the quarter of the American, and additional lashings were got out on board the latter to se* cure her in |his position. Capt. Pearson, who was as much aware of his advantage in a regular combat as his opponent could be of his own disadvantage, no sooner perceived the vessels foul, than he dropped an anchor, in the hope that the Richard would drift clear of him. But such an expectation was perfectly futile, as the yards were interlocked, the hulls were pressed close against each other, there were lashings fore and aft, and even the ornamental work aided in holding the ships toge- then When the cable of the SSerapis took the strain, the vessels slowly tended, with the bows of the Serapii and the stern of the Richard to the tide. At this instant the Eng- lish made an attempt to board, but were repulsed without loss. All this time the battle raged. The lower ports of the Serapis having been closed, as the vessel swung, to prevent boarding, they were now blown off, in order to allow the guns to be run out; and cases actually occurred in which the rammers had to be thrust into the ports of the opposite ship in order to be entered into the muzzles of their proper guns. It is evident that such a conflict must have been of short duration. In effect, the heavy metal of the Serapis, in one or two discharges, cleared all before it, and the main- deck guns of the Richard were in a great measure aban- doned. Most of the people went on the upper-deck, and a great number collected on the forecastle, where they were safe from the fire of the enemy, continuing to fight by throw- ing grenades and using muskets. In this stage of the combat, the Serapis w )s tearing her antagonist to pieces below, almost without resistance from her enemy's batteries, only two guns on the quarter-deck, and three or four of the twelves, being worked at all. To the former, by shifting a gun from the larboard side. Com. Jones .'* .^•■i ♦.1^^- I/- I / '«i •. it,- $>: v» NAVAL HISTORY. 106 M. '¥ '-.,* ■ucceeded in adding a third, ail of which wert used with eflect, undet his immediate inspection, to the close of the action. He could not muster force enough to get over a second gun. But the combat' would now have soon termi- nated, had it not been for the courage and activity of the people alofu Strong parties had been placed in the tops, and, at the end of a short contest, the Americans had driven every man belonging to the enemy below ; after which they kept up so animated a fire, on the quftrtor-deck of the Sorapis in particular, as to drive nearly every man off it, that was not shot down. Thus, while the English had the battle nearly all to them- selves below, their enemies had the control above the uppers deck. Having cleared the tops of the Serapis, some A me- rican seamen lay out on the Richard's main-yard, and be- gan to throw hand-gren:^des upon the two upper decks of the English ship ; the men on the forecastle of their own vessel seconding these efforts, by casting the same combus- tibles through the ports of the Serapis. At length one man, in particular, became so hardy as to take his post on the extreme end of the yard, whence, provided with a bucket filled with combustibles, and a match, he dropped the gre- nades with so much precision that one passed through the main-hatchway. The powder-boys of the Serapis had got more cartridges up than were wanted, and, in their hurry, they had carelessly laid a row of them on the main-deck, in a line with the guns. The grenade just mentioned set fire to some loose powder that was lying near, and the flash passed from cartridge to cartridge, beginning abreast of the main-mast and running quite aft. The effect of this explosion was awful. More than twenty men were instantly killed, many of them being left with no- thing on them but the collars and wristbands of their shirts, and the waistbands of their duck trowsers ; while the official returns of the ship, a week after the action, show that there '^ • .^■■ i'M .A^- , '{- 19G li^-- ITAVAL HISTORV. '*-.^ ^- 'were no Ipss than thirty-eight wounded on board, still alive, who had been injured in this manner, and of whom thirty were said to have been then in great danger. Capt. Pearson described this explosion as having destroyed nearly all the men at the five or six aftermost guns. On the whole, near sixty of the Serapis' people must have been instantly dis- abled by this sudden blow. The advantage thus obtained, by the coolness and intre- pidity of the topmen, in a great measure restored the chances of the combat, and, by lessening the fire of the enemy, ena- bled Com. Jones to increase his. In the same degree that it encouraged the crew of the Richard, it diminished the hopes of the people pf tb3 Serapis. One of the guns under the immediate inspection of Com. Jones had been pointed some time against the main-mast of his enemy, while the two others hud seconded the fire of the tops, with grape and cannister. Kept below decks by this double attack, where a scene of frightful horror was present in the agonies of the wounded, and the effects of the explosion, the spirits of the English began to droop, and there was a moment when a trifle would have induced them to submit. From this de- spondency they were temporarily raised, by one of those unlookcd for events that ever accompany the vicissitudes of battle. After exchanging the ineffective and distant broadsides already mentioned, with the Scarborough, the Alliance had kept standing off and on, to leeward of the two principal ships, out of the direction of their shot, when, about half past eight, she appeared crossing the stern of the Serapis and the bow of the Richard, firing at such a distance as to render it impossible to say, which vessel would sufier the most. As soon as she had drawn out of the range of her own guns, her helm was put up, and she ran down near a mile to leeward, hovering about, until the firing had ceased between the Pallas and Scarborough, w'hen she came within t' \u^ 1« . I ■ ■'ntr.' .,•'«*. Ai^■ i'fZ. VKVkL HISTORY. 107 ilV hail and spoke both of these vessels. Capt. Cottiaeau of the Pallas earnestly entreated Capt Landais to take possession of his prize, and allow him to go to the assistance of the Richard, or to stretch up to windward in the Alliance him- self, and succour the commodore. After some delay, Capt. Landais took the important duty of assisting his consort, into his own hands, and making two long stretches, under his topsails, he api)eared, about the time at which we have arrived in the narration of the combat, directly to windward of the two ships, with the head of the Alliance to the westward. Here the latter ship once more opened her fire, doing equal damage at least, to friend and foe. Keeping away a'^Iittle, and still continuing her fire, the Alliance was soon on the larboard quarter of the Richard, and, it is even affirmed, that her guns were discharged until she had got nearly, abeam. Fifty voices now hailed to tell the people of the Alliance that they were firing into the wrong ship, and three lan- terns were shown, in a line, on the off side of the Richard, which was the regular signal of recognition for a night ac- tion. An officer was directed to hail, and to order Capt. Landais to lay the enemy aboard, and the question being put whether the order was comprehended, the answer was in the affirmative. ^^ ■ ' ^ ' ' rv* r ' -V : .^, .1 As the moon had been up some time, it was impossi- ble not to distinguish between the vessels, the Richard being all black, while the Serapis had yellow sides, and the impression seems to have been general in the former vessel, that they had been attacked intentionally. At the discharge of the first guns of the Alliance, the people left one or two of the twelves on board the Richard, which they had begun to fight again, saying that the Englishmen in the Alliance had got possession of the ship, and were helping the enemy. It appears that this discharge dismounted a ;: . •. • - : - " 17* ;-::-^ •- ^^- -:.;■,.:■ ■ ^ «> •M^ -;^ vy. 1 f ■m 108 NAVAL HISTORT. gun or two, extinguished several lanterns on the main deck, and did a good deal of damage aloft. The Alliance hnuled off to some distance, keeping always on the offside of the Richard, and soon after she re-appear- ed edging down on the larboard beam of her consort, hauling up athwart the bows of that ship and the stern of her antagonist. On this occasion, it is affirmed that her fire re-commenced, when, by possibility, the shot could only reach the Serapis through the Richard. Ten or twelve men appear to have been killed and wounded on the forecas- tle of the latter ship, which was crowded at the time, and among them was an officer of the name of Caswell, who, with his dying breath, maintained that he had received his wound by the fire of the friendly vessel. After crossing the bows of the Richard, and the stern of the Serapis, delivering grape as she passed, the Alliance ran off to leeward, again standing off and on, doing nothing, for the remainder of the combat. The fire of the Alliance added greatly to the leaks of the Richard, which ship, by this time, had received so much water through the shot-holes, as to begin to settle. It is even affirmed by many witnesses, that the most dangerous shot-holes on board the Richard, were under her larboard bow, and larboard counter, in places where they could not have been received from the fire of the Serapis. This evi- dence, however, is not unanswerable, as it has been seen that the Serapis luffed up on the larboard-quarter of the Richard in the commencement of the action, and, forging ahead, was subsequently on her lurboard-bow, endeavouring to cross her fore foot. It is certainly possible that shot may have struck the Richard in the places mentioned, on these occasions, and that, as the ship settled in the water from other leaks, the holes then made may have suddenly increased the danger. On the other hand, if the Alliance did actually fire while on the bow and quarter of the Richard, as appears by Ijg; ! . Vv ^1. ■4 '- \< ■'■ .' >' ■'. '. 'v I' ..' ■'I ■ - " ,i ' i \ i I '-'^ *. ,'■ .»» p, . ': 1 \ ; 'J. '- -.-.♦ . ' \ NAVAL HISTORY. 4- 100 a mass of uncontradicted testimony, the dangerous shot- holes may very well have come from that ship. Let the injuries have been received from what quarter they might, soon after the Alliance had run to leeward, an alarm was spread in the Richard, that the ship was sinking. Both vessels had been on fire several times, and some diffi- culty had been experienced in extinguishing the flames, but here was a new enemy to contend with, and as the infor- mation came from the carpenter, whose duty it was to sound the pump-wells, it produced a good deal of conster- nation. The Richard had more than a hundred English prisoners on board, and the master at arms, in the hurry of the moment, let them all up from below, in order to save their lives. In the confusion of such a scene at night, the master of a letter of marque, that had been taken off* the north of Scotland, passed through a port of the Richard into one of the Serapis, when he reported to Capt. Pearson, that a few minutes would probably decide the battle in his favour, or carry his enemy down, he himself having been Uberated in order to save his life. Just at this instant the gunner, who had little to occupy him at his quarters, came on deck, and not perceiving Com. Jones, or Mr. Dale, both of whom were occupied with the liberated prisoners, and be- lieving the master, the only other superior he had in the ship, to be dead, he ran up on the poop to haul down the colours^ Fortunately the flag-staff had been shot away, and, the ensign already hanging in the water, he had no other means of letting his intention to submit be known, than by calling out for quarter. Capt. Pearson now hailed to inquire if the Richard demanded quarter, and was answered by Com. Jones himself, in the negative. It is probable that the reply was not heard, or, if heard, supposed to come from an unauthorized source, for encouraged by what he had learned from the escaped prisoner, by the cry, and by the confusion that prevailed in the Richard, , .,./. ,-, J?.,v J^ 'tiRvh r ^:-m >) ^■ 200 % KAVAL HISTORY. the English captain directed his boarders to be called away, and, as soon Ai mustered, they were ordered to take posses- sion of the prize. Some of the men actually got od the gunwale of the latter ship, but finding boarders redcfy to repel boarders, they made a precipitate retreat. All this time, the top-men were not idle, and the enemy were soon driven below again with loss. •. ». , .i \ ■. r ji ~, In the mean while, Mr. Dale, who no longer had a gun that could be fought, mustered the prisoners at the pumps, turning their consternation to account, and probably keep- ing the Richard afloat by the very blulider that had come so near losing her. The ships were now on fire again, and both parties, with the exception of a few guns on each side, ceased fighting, in order to subdue this dangerous enemy. In the course of the combat, the Serapis is said to have been set on fire no less than twelve times, while, towards its close, as will be seen in the sequel, the Richard was burning all the while. As soon as order was restored in the Richard, after the call for quarter, her chances of success began to increase, while the English, driven under cover, almost to a man, appear to have lost, in a great degree, the hope of victory. Their fire materially slackened, while the Richard again brought a few more guns to bear; the main-mast of the Serapis began to totter, and her resistance, in general, to lessen. About an hour after the explosion, or between three hours and three hours and a half after the first gun was fired, and between two hours and two hours and a half after the ships were lashed together, Capt. Pearson hauled down the colours of the Serapis with his own hands, the men re- fusing to expose themselves to the fire of the Richard's tops. As soon as it was known that the colours of the English had been lowered, Mr. Dale got upon the gunwale of the Richard, and laying hold of the main brace pendant, he swung himself on board the Serapis. On the quarter deck ii %\ '#••'' i\ M 'I /it>= '. ^;. ,1., t ' "■H '^ If AVAL HISTORY. 201 . » ■ , , • <• 1 1 1 V of the latter lie found Cap! Pearson, almost alone, that gallant officer having maintained his post, throughout the whole of this close and murderous conflict. Just as Mr. Date addressed the English captain, the first lieutenant of the Serapis came up from below to inquire if the Richard had struck, her fire having entirely ceased. Mr. Dale now' gave the English ofiicer to understand that he was mistaken in the position of things, the Serapis having struck to the Richard, and not the Richard to the Serr< pis. Cajit. Pear< son confirming this^ account, his subordinate acquiesced, offering to go below and silence the guns that were still playing upon the American ship. To this Mr. Dale would not consent, but both the English officers were imme- diately passed on board the Richard. The firing was then stopped below. Mr. Dale had been closely follow- ed to the quarter-deck of the Serapis, by Mr. Mayrant, a midshipman, and a party of boarders, and as the former struck the quarter deck of the prize, he was run through the thigh, by a boarding pike, in the hands of a man in the waist, who was ignorant of the surrender. Thus did the close of this remarkable combat, resemble its other features in sin- gularity, blood being shed and shot fired, while the boarding officer was in amicable discourse with his prisoners ! As soon as Capt. Pearson was on board the Richard, and Mr. Dale had received a proper number of hands in the prize. Com. Jones ordered the lashings to be cut, and the vessels to be separated, hailing the Serapis, as the Richard drifted from along side of her, and ordering her to follow his own ship. Mr. Dale, now had the head sails of the Se- rapis braced sharp aback, and the wheel put down, but the vessel refused both her helm and her canvass. Surprised and excited at this circumstance, the gallant lieutenant sprang from the binnacle on which he had seated himself, and fell at his length on the deck. He had been severely wounded in the leg, by a splinter, and until this moment had ^% ^ *.^- -Ifr ^ 202 KAVAL'^ISTORY. t ^fc been ignorant of the injury. He was replaced on the bin* nacle, when the master of the Serapis came up dnd ac- quainted him with the fact that the ship was anchored.' By this time, Mr. Lunt, ^he second liedtenant, who had been absent in the pilot boat, had got along side, and was 'on board the prize. To this officer Mr. Dale now consigned the charge of the Serapis, the cable was cut, and the ship ' followed the Richard, as ordered. Although this protracted and bloody combat had now ended, neither the danger nor the labours of the victors were over. The Richard was both sinking and on fire. The flames had got within the ceiling, and extended so far that they menaced the magazine, while all the pumps, in con- stant use, could barely keep the water at the same level. Had it depended on the exhausted people of the two com- batants, the ship must have soon sunk, but the other vessels of the squadron sent hands on board the Richard, to assist at the pumps. So imminent did the danger from the fire become, that all the powder was got on deck, to prevent an explosion. In this manner did the night of the battle pass, with one gang always at the pumps, and another contend- ing with the flames, until about ten o'clock in the forenoon of the 24th, when the latter were got under. After the action, eight or ten Englishmen in the Richard, stole a boat from the Serapis, and ran away with it, landing at Scarbo- rough. Several of the men were so alarmed with the con- dition of their ship, as to jump overboard and swim to the other vessels. When the day dawned, an examination was made into the condition of the Richard. Abaft, on a line with the guns of the Serapis that had not been disabled by the explosion, the timbers were found to be nearly all beaten in, or beaten out, for in this respect there was little difference between the two sides of the ship; and it was said that her poop and upper decks would have fallen into the gun-room, but for a few fut- '?• -i :^ ."^l .."i -^ w > , •f li 'W^f-ttj^.- ■•^*.'.. ■>• w**?*^:- i^i? I i\ .^. iM... 1^ f. 1 h- ■■'^ h. e. i. » I ■r- !• r;-*' i-^e" % NAVAL HISTORY. 20S tocks that had been missed. Indeed, so largo was the vacuum, that most of the shot fired from this part of the Serapis, at the close of the action, must have gone through the Richard without touching any thing. The rudder was cut from the stern-post, and the transoms were nearly driven out of her. All the after part of the ship, in particular, that was belowv the quarter-deck, was torn to pieces, and nothing had saved those stationed on the quarter-deck, but the impossibility of elevating guns that almost touched their object. The result of this examination was to convince every one of the impossibility of carrying the Richard into port, in the event of its coming on to blow. Com. Jones was advised to remove his wounded while' the weather continued moderate, and he reluctantly gave the order to commence. The fol> lowing night and the morning of the succeeding day were employed in executing this imperious duty, and about nine o'clock, the officer of the Pallas, who v/as in charge of the ship, with a party at the pumps, finding that the water had reached the lower-deck, reluctantly abandoned her. About ten, the Bon Homme Richard wallowed heavily, gave a roll, and settled slowly into the se^, bows foremost, ,, ,,^ v- The Serapis suffered much less than the Richard, the guns of the latter having been so light, and so soon silenced; but no sooner were the ships separated, than her main-mast fell, bringing down with it the mizzen-top-mast. Though jury-masts were erected, the ship drove about, nearly help- less, in the North Sea, until the 6th of October, when the remains of the squadron, with the two prizes, got into the Texel, the port to which they had been ordered to repair. In the combat between the Richard and the Serapis, an unusual number of lives was lost, though no regular authen- tic report appears to have been given by either side. Capt Pearson states the loss of the Richard at about 300 in killed and wounded ; a total that would have included very nearly all hands, and which was certainly a great exaggeration. r' -^^ft ->•- ■'l&XM '■\: 204 If AVAL HISTORY. r. or, at least, a great mistake. According to a muster-roll of the officers and people of the Richard, excluding the ma- rines, which is still in existence, 42 men were killed, or died of their wounds shortly after the battle, and 41 were wound- ed. This would make a total of 83, for this portion of the crew, which, on the roll, amounted to 227 souls. But many ; of the persons named on this list arc known not to have been in the action at all; such as neither of the junior lieu- tenants, and some thirty men that were with them, besides those absent in prizes. As there were a few volunteers on -^ board, however, who were not mustered, if we set down 200 as the number of the portion of the regular crew that was in the action, we shall probably not bo far from the truth. By estimating the soldiers that remained o\. board at 120, and observing the same proportion for their casualties, we shall get 49 as the result, which will make a total of ^' 132, as the entire loss of the Richard. It is known, how- '- ever, that, in the commencement of the action, the soldiers, or marines, suffered out of proportion to the rest of the crew, and general report having made the gross loss of the Richard 160 men, we are .disposed to believe that it was not far from the fact. Capt. Pearson reported a part of his loss at 117 men, admitting, at the same time, that there were many killed and wounded whose names he could not discover. It is probable that the loss of the two ships, in men, was about - equal, and that nearly or quite half of all those who were engaged, were either killed or woundied. Com. Jones, in a private letter, written some time after the occurrence, gives an opinion, however, that the loss of the Richard was less than that of the Serapis. That two vessels of so much force should lie lashed together more than two hours, mak- ing use of. artillery, musketry, and all the other means of annoyance known to the warfare of the day, and not do even greater injury to the crews, strikes us with astonish- r> . ^ \ ■ \ KAVAL HISTOnr. 906 mont ; but tho fact must be ascribed to the peculiarities of the combat, which, by driving most of the English under cover so early in the battle, and by driving the Americans above the line of fire of their enemies, in a measure protect- ed each party from the missiles of tho other. As it was, it proved a murderous and sanguinary conflict, though iti duration would probably have been much shorter, and its character still more bloody, but for these unusual circum- stances.* ft * The writer has given the particulars of this celebrated sea-fight in detail, on account of the gvtuX interest that has always been attached to the subject, no less than from a desire to correct many of the popular errors that have so long existed in connexion with its incidents. In fram- ing his own account, he has followed what to him have appeared to be the best authorities. Scarcely any two of jthe eye-witnesses agpree in all* their facts, but by dint of examination, the writer has been enabled to discover, as he believes, where the weigfht of credible testimony and pro- bability lies, and has used it accordingly. Com. Dale, a witness every way entitled to respect, so far as his position enabled him to note occurrences, was kind enough while living to describe to the writer the manosuvres of the ships, which it is hoped have now been given in a way that will ren- der them intelligible to seamen. There are but two leading circumstances of this sort that, to the writer, appear doubtful. The Alliance thrice p- proached, each time firing into both the combatants; but the accounts, or rather testimony, — for there are many certificates given by the oflicers not only of the Richard, but of the Alliance herself, Pallas, &c., — is so obscure and confused, that it is diflicult to get at the truth of the .nanner, order, and exact time in which these attacks were made. With ;he view to give no opinion as to the precise time of the last firing of the Alliance, 'the writer has condensed the account of all her proceedings into one, though he inclines to think that the second attack of this ship may have occurred a little later in the contest than would appear from the manner in which it is told in the narrative. The word may is used from uncertainty, most of the testimony, perhaps, placing the occurrence in the order of time given in the text. Capt. Pearson says, or is made to say, in his official report, that the Alliance " kept sailing ronnd us the whole action, and raking us fore and aft," &c. This statement is contra* dieted by the formal certificates of nearly every officer in the Richard, by persons on board the Alliance, by spectators in boats, as well as by officers of the other vessels near. The first lieutenant and master of Vol. I.— 18 - -t- -.^'V '.•'"r iiM W ' '. '■• J- ' i:^ '.,^' . M r *• 906 W AVAL HMTOmT. the Alliance henelf adnit that they were nercr on the off tide of tk« Serapia at all, and of courae their ship never could have gone round her. They also say that they engaged the Scarborough, at very long ihot, fbr a ihort timet a fact that Capt. Piercy Af the Scarborough corroborate*. They add, moreover, that their ship was a long time aloof fVom the com- bat, and that the only fired three broadsides, or parta of broadsides, at the Richard and Serapis. From the testimony, there is little doubt that the Alliance did materially more injury to the Richard than to the Serapist though, aa Capt. Pearson could not have known this fact at the time, it is highly probable that her proxitnity may have influenced that officer in inducing him to lower his flag. The second point is the fact whether the Scarborough raked the Rich- ard before she was herself engaged with the other ships. The writer ia of opinion that she did, while he admits that the matter is involved in doubt. \\ w % ,N ,*• #• ^".■.. 1^' W^ ■$I»:^ ^, «*.' h U ) • t ■ V - fly. •-■■■, f m V :'i* *i> "k. ',« ,v-. ■•sSi *^ If. br «. n- at i&t • It in b- ia in ^^^k"' J'- ^' ^p*'-- *. R?'- V" 'f ■ , ^-*-. ■AVAL HUTOEY. *v 207 »^ 'm- ;f ft >: CHAPTER X. > H The arrival of. Paul Jones in Holland, with his prizes, excited a great deal of interest in the diplomatic world. The English demanded that the prisoners should be released, and that Jones himself should be given up as a pirate. The Dutch government, though well disposed to favour the Ame- ricans, was not prepared for war, and it was induced to temporize. A long correspondence followed, which termi- nated in one of those political expedients that are so com- mon, and in which the pains and penalties of avowing the truth are avoided by means of a mystification. The Sera- pis, which had been re-masted and equipped, was transferred to France, as was the Scarborough, while Com. Jones took command of the Alliance, Capt. Landais having been sus- pended, and was ordered to quit Holland. It would seem that there were two parties in Holland : that of the prince, and that of the people. With the latter the American cause was popular; but the former employed an admiral at the Texel, who, after a vexatious course, finally succeeded in forcing the Alliance to put to sea, in th6 face of a fleet of enemies, which was anxiously awaiting her appearance. The Alliance went to sea on the 27th of December, 1779, and reached the roads of Groix again, in safety, on the 10th of February, 1780. She passed down the Channel, was near enough to the squadron in the Downs to examine its force, was several times chased, and made a short cruise in the Bay of Biscay, after having touched in t^ ..#.. Jth 'iif ik^^^ fmS • -&UA> >-^-v- ^ (J*. f It %^tf n "^^ S^'^ 908 ITAVAt HMTURr. Spain. Capt. Conyngham, who had been captured in a privateer, had joined the Alliance, and went round to ]*Orient in the ship. Ahhough it will bo anticipating the events of another year, we shall finish the history of this vessel, so far as she was connected with the officer who first commanded her, Capt. Landais. This gentleman had been sent for to Paris, to account for his conduct to the American minit^er, and subsequently his claim to command the Alliance was refer- red to Mr. Arthur Lee, who was on the spot, and who had long been in Europe as a conspicuous agent of the govern- ment. The decision of this commissioner restored Capt. Lan- dais to the Alliance, on the ground that his command having been given to him by the highest authority of the country, a vote of congress, he could not legally be deprived of it by any subordinate authority. In June, Capt. Landais sailed in the ship for America, where she was given to an officer better fitted to show her excellent qualities, and who, in the end, succeeded in redeeming her character. During the passage home, Capt. Landais was deposed from the com> mand, under the idea that he was insane, and soon after he was discharged from the navy. It is thought that the ab- sence of Com. Jones, alone, prevented his receiving severer punishment. Com. Jones, anxious to get back to America, took com- mand of the Ariel 20, a little ship that the king of France lent to his allies, to aid in transporting military supplies; and, in this vessel, with a portion of the officers and men who had belonged to the Richard, he sailed from under Groix on the 7th of September. The Ariel encountered a severe gale, when a day or two out, in which she came near being lost. The ship was so pressed upon by the wind that her lower-yard-arms frequently dipped, and though an anchor was let go, she refused to tend to it. In order to keep her from foundering, the fore-mast was cut away, and .•**, a A. y- I ^^'\ NAVAL HISTORY. SOO i the hoel of the main-mait having worked out of the step, that spar followed, bringing down with it the mizzen-mast. Returning to L'Orient to reht, the Ariel sailed a second time for America, on thu 18th of December. During the passage, she foil in with an enemy of about her own size, in '^ the night, and after much conversation, a short combat fol- lowed, when the English ship intimated that she had struck, but taking advantage of her position, she made sail and escaped. Some unaccountable mistake was made by, or an extraordinary hallucination appears to have come over, Com. Jones, in reference to this affair, for, in his journal, he speaks of his enemy as having been an English twenty-gun ship called the Triumph, and the result as a victory. The Triumph, if such was truly the name of the English ship, was probably a letter of marque, unable to resist a vessel of war of any force, and, though not free from the imputation of treachery, she escaped by out-manoeuvring t^e Ariel.** On the 18th of February, 1781, after an absence of more than three years, Paul Jones reached Philadelphia in safety .f » ■' * Private communication of the late Com. Dale, to the writer. f John Paul was born on the 6th of July, 1747, at Arbig^land, on the Frith of Solway, in the kingdom of Scotland. His father was the gardener of Mr. Craik, a gentleman of that vicinity. At the age of twelve, the boy was apprenticed to a ship-master in the Virginia trade, and he made his appearance in America, in consequence, when in his thirteenth year. An elder brother had married and settled in Virpnia, and from this time young Paul appears to have had views of the same sort. The failure of his master induced him to give up the indentures of the apprentice, and we soon find the latter on board a slaver. The master and mate of the vessel he was in dying, Paul took charge of her, and brought her into port; and from that time he appears to have sailed in command. About the year 1770, he caused a man named Mung^ Maxwell to be flogged for misconduct, and the culprit made a complaint of ill-treatment, menacing a prosecution. The complaint was rejected by the local authorities (West Indies) as frivo- lous; but, not long after, Maxwell went to sea in another ship, and died rather suddenly. When the fact became known, the enemies of Paul circulated a report that the death of this man was owing to the ill-treat- 18* m ite M ■ , ■■ -' - ■ * .. . ■« V. I-* h 210 IVAVAL BISTORT. -\^ W ^S^'' #... %" i :- ;■■ Before we return to the American seas, and to the more regular incidents of the year 1770, we will add that, after an inquiry into the conduct of Capt. Jones, as it was con- >^ected with all his proceedings in Europe, Congress gave ;^' ■ ■• • • ■ . • .. ■•■ ''^"S ^ ■■'f?.- ment he had received when punished by his former commander. AUhoug:h this rumour was completely disproved in the end, it raised a prejudice af^nst the young seaman, and, at a later day, when he became conspicu- ^ ous, it was used against him, for political effect, by those who ought to have been superior to injustice of no low a character. T Mr. Paul was soured at this ill-treatment, and, in a manner, abandoned :_ his native country. In 1773, his brother ^ied, and he went to Virginia to % settle, with the intention of quitting the seas. Here, for some reason that is unknown, he added the name of Jones to his two others. The, hostilities of 1775, however, brought him forward again, and he was the ,. senior lieutenant ever commissioned regularly, in the service of Congress. As this was before the declaration of independence, the relative rank was not established; but in October, 1776, his name appears on the list as the eighteenth captain. His first cruise was in the Alfred 24, Capt. Saltonstall, the ship that bore the broad pennant of Com. Hopkins, and his first engagement was that with the Glasgow. From the AlH-ed, he wis transferred to the sloop Pro- vidence 12, as her captain, lie then commanded the Alfred 24. In 1777 he was appointed to the Hanger 18, a crank, clumsy ship, with a gun- deck, but no armament above, and a dull sailer. In 1778, aflcr the cruise in the Irish Channel, in which he took the Drake, he gave up the com- mand of the Ranger, and in 1779, obtained that of the squadron, under the celebrated concordat. His subsequent movements, until the peace, are to be traced in the text. In 1782, Capt. Jones w.as launched in the America 74, and the same day delivered her up to the Chevalier de Martigne, the late commander of the Kagnifique, the ship she was now to replace. After this he made a cruise in the French fleet, as a volunteer, in which situation he was found by the peace. In November, 1783, he sailed for France with a commission to negotiate for the recovery of prize-money in different parts of Europe. In 1787, he returned to America on business, but was back again in Europe in the course of tite same season. He now went to the north on biLsiness connected with his prizes. About this time he received some proposals to enter the Russian navy, and in the spring of 1788, he obtained the rank of rear-admiral accordingly. Shortly after, he was placed in an important command against the Turkii, in which situation ^yoi Sf* *' '■ ■ s^-.- 1 s^ Tt' «,.»■"■■ ■^ f '■- NAVAL HISTORY. 211 him a vote of thanks, and, by a formal rosohuion, bestowed Oil him the command of the America 74, the only one of the six ships of that class that was ever laid down under the law of 1776. In order to dispose of this branch of the subject a^ he is said to have rendered material services. But personal hostility .drove him from Russia in 1789. He returned to Paris, retaining his rank, ^ and pensioned. From this time tie remained in France and the adjacent countries of Europe, until his death, which occurred at Paris, on the 18th of July, 1792. A commission appointing him the agent of the American government to treat with Algiers, arrived after he was dead. That Paul Jones was a remarkable man, cannot justly be questioned. ' He had a respectable English education, and, after his ambition had been ^"Awakened by success, he appears to have paid attention to the intellec- tual parts of his profession. In his enterprises are to be discovered much of that boldness of conception that marks a great naval captain, though his most celebrated battle is probably the one in which he evinced no other very high quality than that of an invincible resolution to conquer. Most of the misfortunes of tlie Bon Homme Richard, however, may be very fairly attributed to the insubordination of his captains, and to the bad equipment of his own vessel. The expedient of running tlie Serapis aboard was one like himself, and it was the only chance for victory that was left. Paul Jones was a man rather under than above the middle size, and his countenance has been described as possessing much of that sedateness that marks deep enthusiasm. There is no doubt that his eminence arose from the force of his convictions, rather than from his power of combining, though his reasoning faculties were respectable. His associations in Paris appear to have awakened a taste which, whenever it comes late in life, is almost certain to come attended with exaggeration. Personally he would seem to have been vain: a very excusable foible in one of his education and previous habits, that was suddenly exposed to the flattery and seduc- tions of Parisian society. He never married, though he was not averse to the sex, as appears from his letters, po>^tic effusions, and gallantries. An affectation of a literary taste, that expended itself principally in homage to those he admired, formed indeed on^ of his principal weaknesses. In battle, Paul Jones was brave; in enterprise, haidy and original; in victory, mild and generous; in motives, much disposed to disinterested- ness, though ambitious of renown and covetous of distinction; in his pe- cuniary relations, liberal; in his aifections, natural and sincere; and in his temper, except in those cases which assailed his reputation, just and for- giving. He wanted the quiet aeif-respect of a man capable of meeting A' . ■ #, m •■'m •t-«■. ^S.'' . .*■' '^l^iei '*■*, #»' :'4 NAVAL HISTORY. 213 fV V ■*- ¥' ^' ^ John Foster Williams, .and the Active 18, a vessel that is supposed to have belonged to the king. The combat lasted half an hour, and was determined in favour of the Hazard. 'iA|k The Active is said to have had 33 killed and wounded, and , the Hazard 8. Shortly after this handsome affair, Capt. » IWilliams was appointed to the ship Protector, 20, belonging to the same state, and in June he hud a severe action with ^ne of those heavy letters of marque, it was much the cus- tom to send to sea, at the period of which we are writing, called the Duff; a ship said to have been quite equal in force to the Protector. After a sharp contest of more than an hour, Jlhe Duff blew up. The Protector succeeded in saving 55 *6f her crew, having had 6 of her own people killed and wounded in the battle. Taking and manning many prizes, the Protector had a narrow escape from capture, by falling in with the enemy's frigate Thames 38, from which ship, however, she escaped, after a sharp running fight, in which the Thames was much crippled aloft. On returning to port, Capt. Williams, who bore a high reputation as an offi- cer and a seaman, was immediately engaged in the expedi- tion that it is our duty to record next, and which proved to be much the most disastrous affair in which American sea- men were ever engaged. ■; 4 . The enemy having established a post on the Penobscott, ^ and placed a strong garrison in it, the state of Massachu- setts determined to drive them from its territory, without calling upon Congress for assistance. As the country was then nearly a wilderness, it is probable a feeling of pride induced this step, it being worthy of remark, that, after General Gage was expelled from Boston, the enemy had, in no instance, attempted to maintain any other post than this, which lay on a remote and uninhabited frontier, within the territories of New England. For this purpose, Massachu- setts made a draft of 1500 of her own militia, and got an order for the U. S. ship, Warren 32, Capt. Saltonstall, the .tJt^* M % 214 ■■#-.^^ *■■■ -:* VKVAL HIirrORT. ^m^ Diligent 14, Capt. Brown, and the Providence 12, Capt. Hacker, to join the expedition, these being the only regular cruisers employed on the occasion. Three vessels belong- ing to Massachusetts were also put under the orders of Capt. Saltonstall, and a force consisting of thirteen priva- teers was added. In addition there were many transports , and store-vessels. Gen. Lovel commanded the brigade. This armament made its appearance off the Penobscott ^ on the 25th of July. While the militia were making their descent, the Warren, and another vessel of some force, en- gaged the enemy's works. The cannonading was severe, and the Warren is said to have had 30 men killed and wounded, in the action with the batteries, and in landing the troops. The latter duty, however, was successfully per- formed by General Lovel, with a loss of about a hundred '^ men, including all arms. Finding it impossible to carry the place with his present force, the commanding officer now sent for reinforcements. On the 13th of August, while ■waiting for a return of the messenger, information was re- ceived from the Tyrannicide, the look-out vessel, that Sir George Collier, in the Rainbow 64, accompanied by four other vessels of war, was entering the bay. The troops immediately re-embarked, and a general, hurried and confused flight ensued. The British squadron, consisting of five vessels of war, quickly appeared, and a pursuit up the river was commenced, and continued for a long distance. The enemy soon got near enough to use their chase guns, and the fire was returned by the Americans. It was un- doubtedly the wish of Capt. Saltonstall, to reach the shallow waters before he was overtaken, but, finding this impracti- cable, he run his ship ashore, and set her on fire. Others followed this example, and most of the vessels were des- troyed, though three or four fell into the hands of the enemy. . fi Cnpt. Saltonstall was much, and, in some respects, per- ■«fc,*Vl *& ^ .'V, ■^y ..<*" "% .4: «^' . ■-. ^ . ,i^ ," .j^ ^R )t. »r 4b,-*4^# W t '' V 1 'ts .iC . . W' • "'■ mi ;n- 8 re, w f*;^^. nd H ■ .»". ? fe-^ 1 'm- :er ■^.. ■ ' iile '/ Bi I by V ' •■ k' 'he ^^^ ■ ;.• 1 nd I of m the ' »^ ce. 'A' i ■*• ns, -: un- OW 's^. cli-'. If*- . ' ^ ers es- ■•:»'" *• y the v'^'.^ er- .^ HAVAL niSTORT. '. . ^: w 219 haps, justly censured, for this disaster, though it is to be feared that it arose more from that habit of publicity, which is peculiar to all countries much influenced by popular feeling, than from any other cause. Had a due regard Ij^en paid to sftcrecy, time might have been gained to effect the object, in that remote region, before ft sufficient ftirce could lave been collected to go against the assailants. In a mili- try sense, the principal faults appear to have been a mis- calculation of. means, at the commencement, and a neglect to raise such batteries, as might have protected the shipping against the heavy vessels of the enemy. It could not surely have been thought that privateers, armed with light guns, ■ could resist two-deckers, and the fact, that the English had '^ a fleet of such vessels on the coast was generally known. - The Warren, the largest vessel among the Americans, was a common frigate of thirty-two guns, and had a main-deck battery of twelve pounders. Whatever might have been attempted by a regular force, was put out of the question by the insubordination of the privateers-men, each vessel seeking her own safety, as her captain saw best. The troops and seamen that landed, found themselves in the centre of a wilderness, and taking diflerent directions, their sufferings, before they reached the settlements, were of the severest kind. It is a fact, worthy of being recorded, that, on this occasion, the Warren being short of men at the commencement of the expedition, and finding it difficult to obtain them by enlistment, in consequence of the sudden demand for seamen, Capt. Saltonstall made up the deficiency by impressment. The disastrous result of this expedition inflicted a severe blow on American nautical enterprises. Many privateers and state vessels, that had been successful against the enemy's commerce, were either captured or destroyed. Among the vessels blown up, was the Providence 12, one of the first cruisers ever sent to sea by the United States, and # '-"#• u\' ^%^^ m^ ■ r^. ''^r i ^: 'J ■*i'.i->. -'^■ 216 ITAVAL HISTORY. which had become noted for exploits greatly exceeding her force. As far as can now be ascertained, we find reason to believe, that this little cruiser was both sloop-rigged and ■ brig-rigged, in the course of her service. She had been a , privateer out of Rhode Island, at the commencement of the war, and- was bought of her original commander, Capt. Whipple,* who was himself admitted into the service, as the first commander of the Columbus 20, and who subsequently^' was numbered as the twelfth captain, on the regulated list ' of 1776. '.-'Ti?''* * This officer is supposed to have commanded at the burningf of the Gasp^ in 1772. * ''-•::<' -1^ .%' ■,^ J^- *r r^H*l«M*=. \i ^k % NAVAL HISTORY. m I • ■ ..v-.i"'i- I '^m ';;v:^ - ^ .^ • •■ ..^-■fv-rv-' , ^.^j . ., The English government, by this time, found the system of privateering so destructive to their navigation, that it had come to the determination of refusing to exchange any more of the seamen that fell into their power. By acting on this policy, they collected a large body of prisoners, sending them to England in their return ships, and sensibly affected the nautical enterprises of the Americans, who, of - -• 'i. I ' .' ' *■- - .. ' • s ■ '„.. ' ' i: /, ' . ., ■ '\i' " • This ship is supposed to have been a small frigate built at Nantes, by the American commissioners in France. i.-fi. Vol. I 19 !<:<. m- ,4^- ' ^i&,. A- «it If AVAL HISTORT. ^' course, had but a limited number of officers and men fit to act on the ocean. v ,, , ,,/ By the fall of Charleston, too, the force of the regular American marine, small as it had always been, was still more reduced. Of the frigates, the Alliance 32, the Hague (late Deane) 32, Confederacy 32, Trumbull 28, and a ship or two bought or borrowed in Europe, appear to be all that were left, while the smaller cruisers, like the pitcher that is broken by going too often to the well, had not fared much better. In consequence of all these losses, the advanced state of the war, and the French alliance, which had brought the fleets of France upon the American coast. Congress appears to have thought any great efforts fur increasing the ma- rine unnecessary at the moment. The privateers and state cruisers were out and active as usual, though much reduced in numbers, and consequently in general efficiency. In con- trast to these diminished effnrts we find the British Parlia- ment authorizing the ministry to keep no less than 85,000 men employed in the English navy, including the marines. The first action of moment that occurred this year be- tween any United Slates' vessel and the enemy, notwith- standing, has the reputation of having been one of the most holly and obstinately contested combats of the war. June 2d, 1780, the Trumbull 28, then under the command of Capt. James Nicholson, the senior officer of the navy, while cruising in lat. 35° 54', long. 66° W., made a strange sail to windward from the mast-heads. The Trumbull immediately furled all her canvass, in the hope of drawing the stranger down upon her before she should be seen. At eleven, the stranger was made out to be a large ship, steering for the , Trumbuirs quarter; but soon hauling more astern, sail was got on the American ship to close. After some manoeuvring, in order to try the rate of sailing and to get a view of the stranger's broadside, the Trumbull took in her light sails, v* * / JU NAVAL HISTORY. 81» r:f hauled up her courses, the chase all this time h ^raying no desire to avoid an action, but standing directly ,jr her ad- versary. When near enough, the Trumbull filled, and, out- sailing the stranger, she easily fetched to windward of her. The chase now fired three guns, showed English colours, and edged away, under short sail, evidently with an inten- tion to pursue her course. Capt. Nicholson harangued his men, and then made sail to bring his ship up with the enemy. When about a hun- dred yards distant, the English ship fired a broadside, and the action began in good earnest. For two hours and a half the vessels lay nearly abeam of each other, giving and receiving broadsides without intermission. At no time were they a hundred yards asunder, and more than once the yards nearly interlocked. Twice was the Trumbull set on fire by the wads of her enemy, and once the enemy suffered in the same way. At last the fire of the Englishman slack- ened sensibly, until it nearly ceased. Capt. Nicholson now felt satisfied that he should make a prize of his antagonist, and was encouraging his people with that hope, when a report was brought to him, that the main- mast was tottering, and that if it went while near the enemy, his ship would probably be the sacrifice. Anxious to secure the spar, sail was made, and the Trumbull shot ahead again, her superiority of sailing being very decided. She was soon clear of her adversary, who made no effort to molest her. The vessels, however, were scarcely musket-shot apart, when the main and mizzen top-masts of the Trumbull went over the side, and, in spite of every effort to secure them, spar after spar came down, until nothing was left but the fore-mast. Under such circumstances, the enemy, who had manifested no desire to profit by her advantage, went off on her proper course. Before she was out of sight, her main- top-mast was also seen to fiill. It was afterwards ascertained that the ship engaged by '^ . «'■ ;»./■ f--/ In .;«&.. 420 KAVAL HISTORY. •fe the Trumbull was a letter of marque called the Wntt, Capt. Coulthard, a vessel of size, that had been expressly fitted to fight her way. Her force is not mentioned in the English accounts, but her commander, in his narrative of the afl'air, in which he claims the victory, admits his loss to have been 92 men, in killed and wounded. Capt. Nicholson estimates her force at 34 or 30 guns, mostly twelve-pounders ; and he states that of the Trumbull to have been 24 twelve- pounders and 6 sixes, with 109 souls on board when the action commenced. The Trumbull lost 39, in killed and wounded, among the former of whom were two of her lieu- tenants. ' In the way of a regular cannonade, this combni is general- ly thought to have been the severest that was tbnght in the war of the Revolution. There is no question of the supe- riority of the Watt in every thing but sailing, she having been essentially the largest and strongest ship, besides carrying more guns and men than her opponent. Owing to the difficul- ty of obtaining seamen, that has been so often mentioned, the Trumbull's crew was compoi id, in a great degree, of raw hands, and Capt. Nicholson states particularly that many of his people were suffering under sea-sickness when they went to their guns. This action was not followed by another, of any import- ance, in which a government cruiser was concerned, until the month of October, when the U. S. sloop of war Saratoga 16, Capt. Young, fell in with and captured a ship and two brigs, the former of which, and one of the latter, were well armed. The conflict with the ship, which was called the Charming Molly, was conducted with a spirit and prompti- tude that are deserving of mention. Running alongside, Capt. Young delivered his fire, and threw fifty men on the enemy's decks, when a fierce but short struggle ensued, that ended in the capture of the British ship. Lieut. Joshua Barney, afterwards so distinguished in the service, led the =/./; > ■A- niiln'i I »»Oi.M«»— »<*■« L* - """ ! . 'Mmr- .^a^i^^x y - ^pl KAVAL HISTORY. boarders on this occasion ; and the crew that he overcame \ 4# is said to have been nearly double in numbers to his own , party. After malcing these and one other capture, the Saratoga made sail for the capes of the Delaware, with the intention of convoying her prizes into port. The following day, how- ever, the convoy was chased by the Intrepid 74, Capt. Molloy, which ship retook all the prizes, but was unable to get the Saratoga under her guns. It is said, and we find ' • no evidence to contradict it, that the Saratoga never re- turned to port, the vessel foundering, and her crew perish- ing at sea, unheard of. The brevity of the regular naval annals of the three last years of the war, compels us to compress their incidents into a single chapter, as it is our aim, except in extraordinary instances, not to blend the exploits of the private armed ships with those of the public cruisers. ) ' ■ It has been stated already that Capt. Landais was dis- missed from the service soon after his return home, when the command of the Alliance 32 was given to Capt. John Barry, the officer who had made so gallant a resistance in the Raleigh, not long previously. In February, 1781, Capt. Barry sailed from Boston for France, in command of this favourite ship, with Colonel i^aurens on board, which well known and much regretted young officer was charged with an important mission to the French court. On the outward passage the Alliance captured a small priva- teer, called the Alert, but no event of any moment occurred. After landing Mr. Laurens, the frigate sailed from I'Orient on a cruise, with the Marquis de la Fayette 40, in company, bound to America with stores. Three days afterwards, or on the 2d of April, 1781, they fell in with and captured two Guernsey privateers, one of which, the Mars, is said to have been a heavy vessel of 26 guns and 112 men, and the other, the Minerva, to have had an armament of 10 guns, and a 19* '*' ;■»■ ^>^ ^.^"i. 1 "^ I. #■• \ 322 ITAVAL HISTORY. crow of r»5 souls. Neither of these cruisers appears to have made any resistance. •' , . i After this success, the Alliance parted company with her consort and the prizes, and continued to cruise until the 28th of May, when she made two sail, that were standing directly for her. It was late in the day, and the strangers, when near enough to remain in sight during the darkness, hauled up on the same course with the Alliance, evidently with a view to defer the action until morning. At day-light on the succeeding day, it was nearly a dead calm, and when the mist cleared away, the two strangers were seen at no great distance, with English colours flying. They were now distinctly made out to bo a sloop of war that rated 10 guns, and a brig of 14. The sea was perfectly smooth, and there being no wind, the two light cruisers of the enemy were enabled to sweep up, and to select their positions, while the Alliance lay almost a log on the water, without steerage way. Owing to these circumstances, it «vas noon before the vessels were near enough to hail, when the action commenced. For more than an hour the Alli- ance fought to great disadvantage, the enemy having got on her quarters, where only a few of the aftermost guns would bear on them. The advantage possessed by the English ves- sels, in consequence of the calm, at one time, indeed, gave iheir people the greatest hopes of success, for they had the fight principally to themselves. While things were in this unfortunate state, Capt. Barry received a grape-shot through his shoulder, and was carried below. This additional and disheartening calamity added to the disadvantages of the Americans, who were suffering under the close fire of two spirited and persevering antagonists. Indeed, so confident of success did the enemy now appear to be, that when the ensign of the Alliance was shot away, this fact, coupled with the necessary slackness of her fire, induced their people to quit their guns, and to give three cheers for victory. This i :■ ' *- KAVAL HISTORY. S23 occurred nt a moment when a light breeze struck the Al- liance's sails, and she came fairly under steerage way. A sinf;le broadside from a manageable ship changed the entire state of the combat, and sent the enemy to their guns, again, vv' th the conviction that their work yet remained to be done. Alter a manly resistance, both the English vessels, in the end, were compelled to haul down their colours. The prizes proved to be the Atalanta 16, Capt. Edwards, with a crew of 130 men, and the Trepassy 14, Capt. Smith, with a crew of 80 men. Both vessels were much cut up, and they sustained a joint loss of 41 men in kill- ed and wounded. Nor did the Alliance escape with im- punity, having had 11 killed and 21 wounded, principally by the fire of her enemies, while they lay on her quarters and across her stern. C'apt. Barry made a cartel of the Tre- passy, and sent her into an English port with the prisoners, but the Atlanta was retaken by the enemy's squadron that was cruising off Boston, while attempting to enter that harbour. Fortune now became capricious, and we are compelled to present the other side of the picture. Among the ships built late in the war, was the Confederacy 32. This vessel had been launched in 1778, at, or near Norwich, in Connec- ticut, and the command of her was given to Capt. Setli Harding, the officer who commanded the Defence 14, in the action in Nantasket Roads with the two transports cap- tured in 1776. Capt. Harding had been commissioned in the navy, in which his first command appears to have been this ship. The Confederacy sailed for Europe in 1779, with Mr. Jay, the minister to Spain, on board, and was suddenly dismasted, a little to the eastward of Bermuda. Spar fol- lowed spar, in this calamity, until the ship lay a log on the water, with even her bowsprit gone. This misfortune must probably be atlribi.Uod, like so many similar, that have suc- ceeded it, to the rigging's having slackened, after having '"'ft. I .1. -*:. .Ji^-, ». ^.. J.. M it' 324 vi: NAVAL HISTORT. been set up in cold weather at home, when the ship got into a warm latitude. . ' After several anxious weeks, the Confederacy got into Martinique, where Mr. Jay obtained a passage in the French frigate I'Aurore, and the American vessel remained to refit. From that time to the commencement of the present year, the Confederacy was employed, like most of the large ves- sels of the service, in that stage of the war, in keeping open the communications between the country and the different ports were supplies were obtained, and in transporting stores. Early in 1781, she went to Cape Francois, and, on the 22nd of June, while on her return, with clothing and other supplies on board, and with a convoy in charge, she was chased by a large ship, which succeeded in getting along side of her. Capt. Harding had gone to quarters, and was about to open his fire, when the en^my ran out a lower tier of guns, and, a frigate being in company a short distance astern, he struck. Several of the convoy were also taken. The British stated the armament of the Confederacy to have been, when taken, 28 twelves, and 8 sixes, or 36 guns. Quitting this unlucky vessel, we shall now return to the oiJy other frigate that was built in Connecticut, during the war. Capt. Nicholson continued in command of the Trumbull, after his severe conflict with the Watt, and we find him at sea again in that ship, in the summer of 1781. She left the Delaware on the eighth of August, with a crew short of 200 men, of which near 50 were of the questionable materials to be found among the prisoners of war. She had a convoy of twenty eight sail, and a heavy privateer was in company. Off the capes, the Trumbull made three British cruisers astern. Two of the enemy's cruisers, one of which was a frigate, stood for the Trumbull, which ship, by hauling up, was enabled to gain the wind of them. Night was near, and it blew heavily. The merchantmen began to diverge .V. w NAVAL HISTORY. ■.f. 225 from the course, though, by carrying easy sail, the Trum- bull was enabled to keep most of them ahead, and in their stations. While standing on in this manner, hoping every thing from the darkness, a squall carried away the Trum- bull's fore-top-mast, which, in falling, brought down with it the main-top-gallant mast. As the weather was thick and squally, the vessels in company of the Trumbull took advan- tage of the obscurity and scattered, each making the best of her way, according to her particular rate of sailing. The Trumbull herself was compelled to bear Up, in order to carry the canvass necessary to escape, but with the wreck over her bows, and a crew that was not only deficient in numbers, but which was raw, and in part disaffected, her situation became in the last degree, embarrassing, indeed, her condition has been described as being so peculiarly dis- tressing, as almost to form an instance of its own, of the difficulties that sometimes accompany naval warfare. About 10 o'clock at night, the British frigate Iris* 32, one of the vessels in chase; closed with the Trumbull, which ship, on account of the heaviness of the weather, had not yet been able to clear the wreck. In the midst of rain and squalls, in a tempestuous night, with most of the forward hamper of the ship over her bows, or lying on the fore-castle, with one of the arms of the fore-topsail yard run through her foresail, and the other jammed on deck, and with a disor- ganized crew, Capt. Nicholson found himself compelled to go to quarters, or to strike without resistance. He preferred %^-^, • The Iris had been the United States ship Hancock 32, Capt. Manly, and was captured by the Rainbow 44, Sir George Collier, with the Victor 16, in sight, and Flora 32, in chase of her prize, the Fox. The Hancock, or Iris, proved to be one of the fastest ships on the American station, and made the fortunes of ail who commanded her. Capt. Manly is thought to have lost her, in consequence of having put her out of trim, by starting her water, while chased. The -ship, in the end, fell into the hands of the Frcncli in the West Indies. U-. f .m ^. 1:' > ^•^ 226 H^.^. WAVAt HISTORY. i^j^ the first, but the English volunteers, instead of obeying the order, went below, extinguished the lights, and secreted themselves. Near half of the remainder of the people imi- tated this example, and Capt. Nicholson could not muster fifty of even the diminished crew he had, at the guns. The battle that followed, might almost be said to have been fought by the officers. These brave men, sustained by a party of the petty officers and seamen, managed a few of the guns, for more than an hour, when the General Monk 18, coming up, and joining in the fire of the Iris, the Trumbull submitted. In this singular combat, it has even been asserted that at no time were 40 of the Trumbull's people at their quarters. It was probably owing to this circumstance that her loss was so small, for the ship herself is said to have been extensively cut up. She had five men killed and eleven wounded. Among the latter were two of the lieutenants, and Mr. Alexander Murray, a gentleman of Maryland, who had been educated to the seas, and had been in the action with the Watt, but who was then serving as a volunteer, and who, after com> manding several private cruisers, entered the navy, and subsequently died at the head of the service in 1821. Mr. Murray was particularly distinguished in this aflfair, and the conduct of Capt. Nicholson* met with much applause. The * As the family of Capt. Nicholson may be said to be naval, it is due to our subject to give some account of it. The ancestor of this officer emi- grated from Berwick-upon-Tweed, at the commencement of the eighteenth century, and established himself in Maryland, where he obtained a grant called Nicholson's Manor, near the passage through the Blue Ridge which is still known as Nicholson's Gap. This property was subsequently sold, and an estate was purchased on the Eastern Shore, where James Nichol- son was born in 1737. James Nicholson was the second son of a numerous family, and he was sent to England for his education. He returned home young, however, and chose the sea as a profession. In 1762, in common with many Ame- ricans, he assisted at the siege of the Havana. In ^763, he married. '.i^'- > /^ ft'.. di m: ■;. '^--yj ■4 - NAVAL HISTORV. -"W 227 Iris suffered more than could have been expected under such circumstances, and reported seven men killed and wounded. i.^-:-u.j'f ■? , . .. ;' - .■■■,■' a ;-;.--=:-■% .;. -yx *''''■ .'^ When the war broke out, in 1775, Mr. Nicholson was residing on the Eastern Shore, and he was immediately appointed to the command of a vessel called the Defence, that was equipped by the Colony of Maryland, and in which cruiser he was active and useful. His appointment as cap- tain of the Virginia 28, took place June 6th, 1776, and when the rank was arranged on the 10th of October, of the same year, he was put at the head of the list of captains. At this time Com. Hopkins was commander-in- chief, but when he was dismissed, Capt. Nicholson became the senior of- ficer of the navy, a station that he held to its dissolution. The Virginia being blockaded, Capt, Nicholson and his cfew joined the army under Washington, and were present, in the darkest moment of the war, at the battle of Trenton. The manner in which the Virginia was lost has been related. The two battles fought by Com. Nicholson while in command of the Trumbull 28, were sanguinary and hotly contested. In both cases the crews were, in a great degree, composed of landsmen; and in the last ac- tion, none but a man of the highest notions of military honour would have thought resistance necessary. To say nothing of the condition of his ship, the Iris (Hancock) was one of the largest frigates built by the Ame- ricans in the Revolution, and the Trumbull was one of the smallest. The Monk was a heavy sloop of war, for that day, as is known from her sub- sequently falling into the hands of the Americans. '' , ' i.'; .,•-:' Com. Nicholson was not exchanged until near the close of the war, and there being no ship for him, he never went to sea again in service. He subsequently settled in New-York, where he held a respectable civil ap- pointment under the general government. He died September 2d, 1804, leaving three daughters, one of whom married Albert Gallatin, ex-secre- tary of the treasury, &c. &c. &c. Samuel and John, the brothers of James Nicholson, were both captains in the navy of the Revolution, and the former died at the head of the ser- vice, in 1811. Com. S. Nicholson had four sons in the navy, and his brother John, three. Indeed, the third generation of this family, as in the case of the Perrys, are now in the service. In the whole, fifteen gentlemen of tliis name and family have served since 1775, of whom two have actually worn broad pennants, and a third died just as he was appointed to one. In addition, several officers of distinction were near relatives. Com. Mur- ray having been a cousin-german of Com. Nicholson, and Capt. Gordon his nephew. ' '*!»»•_■ >■*"' m^ ^•■•f 228 NAVAL HISTORY. ^i As affording some relief to the loss of the Trumbull, we now come to a handsome exploit that occurred soon after, which ought, perhaps, properly, to take its place among the deeds of the private cruisers, but which is of sufficient im- portance to be mentioned here, and this so much the more, as a portion of those engaged belonged to the regular ser- vice of the country. A private cruiser called the Congress had been fitted out in Philadelphia, in the course of the summer, and in September she was cruising on the coast of the Carolinas and Georgia. The Congress had an arma- ment of 20 guns, according to the American accounts, and of 24 according to the English, and she was commanded by Capt. Geddes. Few of her people were seamen, of which there was now a great scarcity in the country, but her com- plement was made up, in a great degree, of landsmen. ..> On the morning of the 6th of September, cruising to the eastward of Charleston, the Congress made a sail, to which she gave chase. The stranger was soon discovered to be a cruiser, and at first showed a disposition to engage, but, after some manoeuvring she stood off. At half past ten the Congress began to fire her bow guns, and at eleven being close up on the enemy's quarter, she opened a heavy fire of musketry, which did a good deal of execution. Drawing ahead, the Congress now delivered her broadside, and it was returned with spirit. At first the enemy got a cross fire upon the Congress, and the latter ship meeting with an ac- cident, fell astern to refit. But soon closing again, the combat was renewed with fresh vigour, and the Congress having got her enemy fairly under her guns, in less than an hour, left her a nearly unmanageable wreck on the water. Notwithstanding his condition, the Englishman showed no disposition to submit, and the Congress ran so close along side, that the men were said to be reciprocally burned by the discharges of the guns. The quarter-deck and fore- castle of the enemy had scarcely a man left on it, and his mm •.*- y ■^- t'^ ,* NAVAL HISTORY. % 329 fire began to slacken in consequence of several of his guns having been dismounted. In this stage of the engagement shot were even thrown by hand and did execution. At length the mizzen-mast of the English ship fell, and the main-mast threatening to follow it, her boatswain appeared on the forecastle, with his hat in his hand, and called out that his commander had struck. The prize proved to be the British sloop of war Savage 16, Capt. Stirling. The accounts of the respective force of the vessels engaged in this warm contest, differ essentially ; and, as is usual in such matters, it is probable that the truth lies between them. There is little question of the superiority of the Congress in guns, metal and men ; but when it is remembered that the conqueror was a private armed ship, with a raw crew, and that the captured vessel was a regular cruiser that had been long actively employed, it would not be just to withhold from Capt. Geddes and his people, the credit of having performed a handsome naval exploit. As in other things, there is a discrepancy also in the account of the losses of the two ships. The Congress is said, by Capt. Stirling, to have had about fifty men killed and wounded ; and by the American accounts, to have lost only thirty. The former makes the loss of the Savage eight killed, and twenty-four wounded ; while the Americans raise it as high as to a total of fifty- four. There is a reason to question the accuracy of the published English account of this affair, to be found in the fact, that Capt. Stirling, while he does not state that he was short-handed, tells us that he had but forty men left at their quarters when he struck. By adding this number to the thirty-two killed, or disabled by wounds, we get a total of but seventy-two for the crew of a frigate-built sloop of war, a fact that requires explanation to receive credit, and which, if true, would have so fairly entered into the relation of the defeat, as an extenuating circumstance. Official ac- counts of defeats so often undergo changes and mutilations Vol. I.— 20 • '^ M m 230 NAVAL HISTORY. .Av^:. between the hands of the writer and their publication, that we are not necessarily to attribute wilful misrepresentation to a gallunt but unfortunate officer, because the documents laid before the world do not always rigidly coincide with probability, or the truth as it has been derived from other sources. The Savage was re-captured by a British frigate, and taken into Charleston. Capt. Geddes got much credit for this affair ; and, at a later day, we find his name among those of the captains of the navy. We have now reached the year 1782, which was virtu- ally the last of the war of the Revolution, though some events will remain to be recorded in the early part of the year 1783. In the commencement of this year, the Deane 32, made a successful cruise, in which she took several pri- vate armed vessels of the enemy. By some accounts, three of her prizes were sloops of war, viz. the Regulator 18, the Swallow 16, and the Jackall 14; bit we think it pro- bable, that there may have been some mistake as to their characters. On this otxasion, the Deane was commanded by Capt. Samuel Nicholson. The favourite ship, the Alliance* 32, Capt. Barry, was much employed this year, her superior sailing making her a vessel in constant demand. Among other services that she performed, this ship was sent to the Havana for specie, whence she sailed, in company with the Luzerne, a ship load- ed with supplies. Shortly after quitting port, some enemy's vessels fell in with them, and gave chase. While running from this force, a large sail was seen on the Alliance's weather bow, which was soon made out to be a French 50, of two decks. Exchanging signals, arid supposing that the French vessel would sustain him, Capt. Barry immediately * One of Uie tnulitions of the service states that the Alliance was chased this year, by an enemy's two-decker, and that she ran 15 knots by the log, with the wind abeam, in making her escape ! A* ^. ■*. ^ '*♦-.- NAVAL HISTORY. m wore round, and brought the leading vessel of the enemy to action; the others manoeuvring in a way to engage the attention of the fifty. The latter, however, kept her wind ; and after a sharp fight of more than half an hour, the English ship engaged with the Alliance, finding herself hard pushed, made signals to her consorts to join, when Capt. Barry hauled off. The Alliance now stood for the French ship, and speaking her, it was determined to bring the enemy to action again, in company. On naking sail in chase, however, it was soon found that the fifty was too dull a sailer to give the least hope of overtaking the enemy, and the attempt was abandoned. In this action, the Alliance had 3 killed and 1 1 wounded ; while it is said that the loss of the enemy was very heavy. Some statements place the latter as high as 87 men ; but no accounts can be discovered, that give a very clear his- tory of this affair. Even the name of the English ship ap- pears to be lost. One of the enemy, by some of the ac- counts, was said to be a ship of the line, and the ship en- gaged by the Alliance, a heavy sloop of war. The command of the Hague, one of the two frigates now left in the American marine, was given to Capt. Manly, after her return from the cruise under Capt. Nichol- son ; and this officer, who had virtually begun the mari- time war, on the part of the United States, in a manner closed it, by an arduous and brilliant chase, in which he escaped from several of the enemy's ships in the West In- dies, after being for a considerable time under the guns of a vastly superior force. This occurrence may be said to have brought the regular naval warfare of the United States to an end, so far as the government cruisers were concerned, peace haying been made early in 1783. .'> i- 11232 NAVAL HISTORY. 'V ■ •\ V / ■' '.V CHAPTER XII. Although wc have introduced a few of the prominent actions in which the privateers were concerned in this war, it has been as exceptions. Most of the accounts of such conflicts are of a questionable nature, depending principally on the rumours of the day, as they were written out for the newspapers, though it is known that many of the exploits of this description of vessels were of a brilliant kind, and every way entitled to respect. Indeed, the private cruisers of America have always had a character superior to those of other countries; a fact thai is owing to the greater degree of relative respectability that is attached to the profession of a seaman in this country, than it is usual to find elsewhere, and to the circumstance that the public marine has never been sufficiently large to receive all of those who would willingly take service in it, when the nation has been en- gaged in war. ':^i ' Privateering, in the abstract, is a profession of which reason and good morals can scarcely approve ; for what- ever may be its legality, its aim is to turn the waste and destruction of war, to the benefit of avarice. But circum- stances may, and in the two contests that have taken place between Great Britain and the United States, these circumstances did offer so many apologies for engaging in the pursuit, as almost to raise it to the dignity of a more approved warfare. Without regular fleets, borne upon by .- Ji.-ik - J .jft^iiil^: Mf ,* NAVAL HISTORY. 288 a powerful nation that claimed to command the ocean, and unable to assail t' .. enemy in any other manner, most of the American seamen have found themselves reduced to the necessity cf choosing between idleness, during struggles that involved the dearest rights of the country, or of en* gaging in this mode of endeavouring to bring their enemies to terms. It is due to these brave men to say, that, as a rule, their conduct while afloat, has generally coincided with the sentiments here attributed to them; American pri- vateering having in all ages, been as little stigmatized by acts of oppression and rapine, as the conduct of most re- gular marines. In many instances, during the war of the Revolution, the private armed cruisers displayed an honourable chivalry, by engaging vessels of war, that sufficiently shows the spirit of their commanders ; and we find them nearly always ready, when occasions have offered, to quit their more peculiar oc- cupation, that of assailing the enemy's commerce, in order to lend their aid in any of the regular military expedi- tions of the country, that required it. In short, in this war, the officer and the common man, appear equally to have passed, at need, from the deck of the public, to that of the private cruiser, knowing little difference between ships that carried the ensign of the republic, and which, in their eyes, were engaged in the san>e sacred cause. As respects the service of the colonial or state cruisers, there would be less reason to regard the accounts with dis- trust, but their records are scattered in so many different offices, and the marines themselves were so irregular, that it is almost impossible to obtain authentic details, at this distant day. In many instances, these vessels did excellent service ; and, in addition to a few tliat have already been incorporated in this work, among the more regular inci- dents of the war, we shall add the accounts of one or two of their actions, as they have been obtained from the best 20* I' % ■-.rr^j'iii^! ■ &At:> 4r S34 fTAVAL HISTORY. authorities that now offer, considering them entitled to pre- cedence, before we give an outline of the service perform- ed by the private armed cruisers. In March 1782, the Delaware was much infested by barges and small cruisers of the enemy, which not unfre- quently made prizes of vessels belonging to the Americans, as well as molesting the people who dwelt near the water. With a view to keep the navigation open against these marauders, at least, the state of Pennsylvania deter- mined to fit out a cruiser or two, at its own expense, and with such materials as could be hastily collected. With this object, a small ship called the Hyder Ally was purchased. So suddenly did the local government come to its resolution, that the vessel just named, when bought, had actually dropped down the river, on an outward- bound voyage, loaded with ilour. She was brought back, her cargo was discharged, and an armament of sixteen six-pounders was put upon her. So little, however, was this ship ready for war, that she had to be pierced in or- der to receive her guns. Indeed so pressing was the emergency, that the merchants of Philadelphia anticipat- ed the passage of the law to authorize the purchase and equipment of this ship, by advancing funds for that purpose ; and the act bad not actually gone through all its legal forms, until after the exploit we are about to record had been performed! The commissioners entrusted with the duty of preparing the ship, selected Lieut. Joshua Barney, of the United States navy, as her commander, a young offi- cer of great decision of character and personal bravery, who had already distinguished himself in subordinate sta- tions, on board of different cruisers of the general govern- ment, but who, like so many more of the profession, was obliged frequently to choose between idleness, or a service less regular than that to which he properly belonged. A crew of 110 men was put on board the Hyder Ally; WTf' -* ,^M^ y)--' ,¥ NAVAL HISTORY. 285 and within a fortnight after he was appointed to command her, Cupt. Barney sailed. It was not the intention of the state of Pennsylvania, that their ship should go to sea, but merely that she should keep the navigation of the river and bay open, and drive off privateers, and other small cruisers. On the 8th of April, the Hyder Ally got into the bay with a considerable convoy of outward-bound merchantmen. The whole fleet had anchored in the roads ofT Cape May, in waiting for a wind to get to sea, when two ships and a brig, one of the former a frigate, were seen rounding the Cape, evidently with a view to attack them. Capt. Barney immediately run up a signal for the convoy to trip, and to stand up the bay again, the wind being to the southward. This order was principally obeyed, and in a few minutes, the merchant vessels, with one exception, >vere running off before the wind, with every thing set that would draw, the Hyder Ally covering their retreat, under easy sail. The vessel that remained, endeavoured to get to sea, by hauling close round the cape, but grounded and fell into the hands of the enemy. Another vessel got on the shoals, and was taken by a boat from the nearest of the English cruisers. An extensive shoal, called the " Over Falls," forms two channels, in the lower part of the Delaware Bay, and while the convoy passed up the easternmost of these chan- nels, or that which is known as the " Cape May Channel," the frigate stood towards the western, which offered a bet- ter chance to head the fugitives at the point where the two united, and which had the most water. The remaining ship and the brig, stood on in the direction of the Hyder Ally. It was not long before the brig, which proved to be a British privateer out of New York, called the Fair Ameri- can, came up with the Hyder Ally, when the latter offered her battle. But, firing a broadside, the privateer kept aloof, and continued up the bay. Capt. Barney declined to return this fire, holding himself in reserve for the ship astern. ^. '^ •^i* _^tiJ < 'l # 286 NAVAL HISTORT. * ,*■ Q large sloop of war, which was fast coming up. When the latter got quite near, the Hyder Ally, which had kept close to the shoal, lufTed and threw in her broadside, and imme- diately righting her helm, keeping away again. The ene- my stood boldly on, and just as his forward guns were beginning to bear, the two vessels being within pistol shot, the Hydor Ally attempted to luff athwart his hawse, when the jib-boom of the English ship ran into her forerigging, and the two vessels got foul. It is said that Capt. Barney obtained this advantage by deceiving his enemy, having given an order to port the helm, in a loud voice, when se- cret instructions had been given to the quarter-master at the wheel, to put his helm hard a-starboard. The Hyder Ally now opened a severe raking fire, and in less than half an hour from the commencement of the action, the stranger struck, the ships remaining foul of each other. .<. , •-, . The frigate, which had not actually got into the western channel, perceiving the state of things, changed her course, with a view to get round to the combatants, and Capt. Bar- ney had no time to lose. Throwing his first lieutenant, with a party, on board the prize, he ordered her to continue up the bay, while he covered the retreat with his own ship. In the mean while, the brig had run aground above, in chase of the convoy. There is some reason to suppose that the commander of the frigate did not know the result of tha action, for he made signals to the prize, and anchored about sunset, leaving the Hyder Ally, which had been kept a long distance astern of the other vessels, with a view to divert his attention, to proceed to Philadelphia without further molestation. Up to this moment, Capt. Barney did not even know the name of his prize. He now made sail, however, and run- ning along side of her, for the first time he learned he had captured his Britannic Majesty's ship. General Monk, 18, Capt. Rogers. This vessel had formerly been the American !', '.;^_.*^,.^ *i * If AVAL HISTORY. 237 privateer, General Washington, and having fallen into the power of Admiral Arbuthnot, he had taken her into the king's service, given her a new name, and promoted a fa- vourite officer to her command. The Monk mountei' twenty nines, and is said to have had a crew of 136 men. Capt. Rogers reported his loss at killed, and 20 wounded; but Capt. Barney stated it at 20 killed, and 36 wounded. It is probable that the latter account is nearest the truth, as the commander of a captured vessel has not always as good an opportunity as his captor, to ascertain his own loss. The Hyder Ally had 4 killed, and 11 wounded. This action has been justly deemed one of the most bril- liant that ever occurred under the American flag. It was fought in the presence of a vastly superior force that was not engaged; and the ship taken, was in every essential re- spect, superior to her conqueror. The disproportion in metal, between a six pounder and a nine pounder, is one- half; and the Monk, besides being a heavier and a larger ship, had the most men. Both vessels appeared before Philadelphia, a few hours after the action, bringing with them even their dead ; and most of the leading facts were known to the entire community of the place.* ' j ^ * A biography of the life of Capt. Rogers has appeared; and, in this work, it is asserted th?^ the armament of the General Monk was of nine-pound earronades, and that the guns were so light, that they were dismounted by ihe i icoils. The defeat is imputed to this cause. In the subsequent actioi. mentioned in the text, the Monk, then the General Washington, is sale to have suffered a disadvantage, in consequence of her nines being sixes bored out to the former calibre, the guns not having weight enough to bear the recoil. This is a professional fact, that might well enough occur. It is, therefore, probable that, when taken, the Monk had these same nines, and that some may have been dismoimted by the recoil. But, on the other hand, the Monk could have lost near half her g^ns, in this way, and still have been equal to the Hyder Ally; and the fact appears to be ceilain, that the combat was settled by the bold manoeuvre of Capt. Barney. It is mentioned, moreover, in this same biography, that Capt. Rogers had been two years very actively employed in the Monk, when ^ i '^* >*:' .*:. '*;. 338 NAVAL HISTORY. The steadiness with which Capt. Barney protected his convoy, the gallantry and conduct with which he engaged, and the perseverance with which he covered the retreat of his prize, are all deserving of high praise. Throughout the whole affair, this officer discovered the qualities of a great naval captain ; failing in no essential of that distinguished character. The Monk, her old name having been restored, was ta- ken into the service of the State of Pennsylvania,* and ^ •"? •) she was taken; and it will be admitted as singular, that he did not under- stand the power of his guns by that time. Reduced charges, too, would hare obviated the difficulty in a combat in which the ships touched each other. Carronades were scarcely known in 1782, and the Monk received her outfit in 1779. Besides, she would have carried much heavier car- ronades, had she carried any, the weight of an eighteen-pound carron- ade being about the same as that of a six-pounder. The biographer has, no doubt, confounded the light nines with carronades of that calibre, the latteiypun being much in use when he wrote. * The biographer of Com. Barney has assumed that, as the Gen. Wash- ington was employed on duty in behalf of the United States, Mr. Barney was made a captain in the navy. By the instructions published in this biography, it appears that the commissioners of Pennsylvania put the ship at the disposition of Mr. Robert Morris, in order to transport specie from the Havana to this country. This fact alone would not have made Mr. Barney a captain in the navy; or the master of every merchantman who is employed by government might claim that rank. It does not make a man a captain in the navy, to command a frigate even, as that duty may be performed by a gunner, at need. The commission is necessary to make a captain; and this, Mr. Barney, however deserving of it, does not appear to have ever possessed until it was given to him in 1794, although he remained a lieutenant in the service to the close of the war. The Gen. Washington was employed by tlie United States down to the peace, it is true; but this no more puts a ship on the list, than an officer of a mer- chantman i ' put on the list by his vessel's being hired as a transport. Government may put its officers in merchant-ships, and they will remain its officers; or it may put its ships temporarily under the charge of mer- chant-officers, and the latter will not be in the navy. It may hire, borrow, or forcibly employ vessels, without necessarily placing either the ships or their irA ''.'4'^ w NAVAL HISTORt. 289 was shortly after sent on duty in behalf of the United States, to the West Indies. During this cruise, Capt. Bar- ney had a warm engagement with an English armed brig, supposed to have been a privateer, of about an equal force, but she escaped from him, the meeting occurring in the night, and the enemy manoeuvring and sailing particu- larly well. The name of her antagonist is not known. In this affair, the Washington received some damage in her spars, but met with no serious loss. Massachusetts and South Carolina were the two states that most exerted themselves, in order to equip cruisers of their own. As early as September, 1776, one of the vessels of the former is said to have captured an English sloop of war, after a sharp action; but we can discover no more than general and vague accounts of the affair. Among the vessels of Massachusetts was one named after the state itself, and a brig called the Tyrannicide. The latter was a successful cruiser, and made many Cap- tures, but she was lost in the unfortunate affair in the Pe- nobscott. It is believed that the Tyrannicide was built expressly for a cruiser. But the favourite officer of this service appears to have been Capt. John Foster Williams, who commanded a brig called the Hazard, in 1779. In this vessel, in addition to the action already related with the Active, Capt. Williams performed many handsome ex- officers on its regular lists. It does appear, however, that the United States in the end owned the Washington; probably through some subsequent arrangement with Pennsylvania; she being sold-on public account. There is no question that Capt. Barney ought to have been presented with the commission of a captain in the American navy, for the capture of the Monk; and it is probably owing to the state of the war, then known to be so near a close, and to the general irreg^arities of the service, that he was not; but we can find no evidence that Congress ever acquitted itself of this duty. .-'■'.■ 'v ;« r ;^/ ;-!., 242 NAVAL HISTORY. '# *% constructed during the war of 1812, and she is described as ^ having been a particularly fast vessel ; but her service ap- pears to have been greatly disproportioned to her means. She cost the state a large sum of money, and is believed to have returned literally nothing to its treasury. Her loss excited much comment. . ? • "i; ; :.■'-, - ;>v . rv^>_ >,,; » Admiral Arbuthnot reports among the "rebel ships of war" taken or sunk at the capture of Charleston, " the Bri- cole, pierced for 60, mounting 44 guns, twenty-four and eighteen pounders," &c. As there never was a vessel of this name in the navy of the United States, it is probable that this ship was another heavy frigate obtained by the State of South Carolina, in Europe. Although this state had the means to equip a better marine than common, it had neither vessels, building yards, nor seamen of any great moment. Most of its vessels were purchased, and its seamen were principally obtained from places out of its limits. Com. Gillon and Capt. Joyner being both natives of Holland. We shall now briefly allude to a few private armed crui- sers, and close the narrative of the naval events connected with the Revolution. Of the general history of this part of the warfare of the period, the reader will have obtained some idea from our previous accounts ; but it may be well htfre, to give a short but more connected summary of its dutlines. - . • - The first proceedings of Congress in reference to assail- #*i " ing the British commerce, as has been seen, were reserved and cautious. War not being regularly declared, and an ; accommodation far from hopeless, the year 1775 was suffered to pass away without granting letters of marque and reprisal; for it was the interest of the nation to pre- serve as many friends in England as possible. As the breach widened, this forbearing policy was abandoned, and the summer of 1776 let loose the nautical enterprise of the country upon the British commerce. The effect at first was ^ f -^• -. i f 1 I \ 1 s I ■ ■••>■■■ -' 1 f' s r^'' l^*^ KAVAL HISTORY. vSk ■•-• i^ 248 astounding. Never before had England found an enemy so destructive to her trade, and, during the two first years of the privateering that followed, something like eight hundred sail of merchantmen were captured; After this period, the efforts of the Americans necessarily lessened, while the pre- cautions of the enemy increased. Still, these etiterprises proved destructive to the end of the war ; and it is a proof of the efficiency of this class of cruisers to the last, that small privateers constantly sailed out of the English ports, with a view to make money, by recapturing their own ressels ; the trade of America, at that time, offering but few inducements to such undertakings. • t: ' < r^' ^*' i ■ >- . .^ Among the vessels employed as private cruisers, the Holker, the Black Prince, the Pickering, the Wild Cat, the Vengeance, the Marlborough, in addition to those else- where named, were very conspicuous. The first sailed under different commanders, and with almost uniform suc- cess. The Marlborough is said to have made twenty-eight prizes in one cruise, and other vessels were scarcely less fortunate. Many sharp actions occurred, and quite as often to the advantage of these cruisers as to that of their enemy. In repeated instances they escaped from British ships of war, under unfavourable circumstances, and there is no question, that in a few cases, they captured them. To this list ought also to be added the letters of marque, which, in many cases, did great credit to themselves and the country. Capt. Murray, since so well known to the service, made one of the most desperate defences on record, in one of these vessels, near the close of the war ; and Capt. Truxtun, whose name now occupies so high a station among those of the naval captains of the republic, made' another, in the St. James, while conveying an Ame- rican agent to France, which was so highly appreciated that it probably opened the way to the rank that he subse- quently filled. ,/,;:,3&' *r 244 NAVAL HISTORY. The English West-India trade, in particular, sufTered largely by the private warfare of the day. Two and fifty sail, engaged in this branch of commerce, are stated to have been taken as early as February, 1777. The whole number of captures made by the Americans in this contest, is not probably known, but six hundred and fifty prizes are said to have been got into port. Many of the remainder were ransomed, and some were destroyed at sea. There can be no minute accuracy in these statements, but the in- jury done the commerce of Great Britain was enormous ; and there is no doubt that the constant hazards it run, had a direct influence in obtaining the acknowledgment of the independence of the United States of America, which great event took place on the 20th of January, 1783. i Thus terminated the first war in which America was en- gaged as a separate nation, after a struggle that had endured seven years and ten months. Orders of recall were imme- diately given to the different cruisers, and the commissions of all privateers and letters of marque were revoked. The proclamation announcing a cessation of hostilities, and that the country was in a state of peace, was made on the 11th of April, when the war finally terminated at all points. \\ ^' o- '/ • ■ '6 S NAVAL HISTORY. 245 \ i« ' . *.' -' " r .-,■".*'> t.. '..-.< ": I.V'ip CHAPTER XIII. ft -r w Before we proceed to give an account of the state in virliich the war left the American marine, a brief review of its general condition, throughout, and at the close of the struggle, may be found useful. When the law of 1775 was passed, directing the con- struction of the first frigates, for the twenty-eights and twenty-fours are included in this class, different building stations were selected, at points thought to be least exposed to the enemy. The vessel that was laid down in New Hampshire, was said to have been put into the water in sixty days from the time the work commenced. But all this activity was of little avail, the want of gun's, anchors, rigging, or some material article, interfering with the rapid equipment of nearly every one of the thirteen ships. The vessel just mentioned was the Raleigh, and her career can be traced in our previous pages. The two ships constructed in Massachusetts, the Hancock and Boston, got to sea; for this part of the country was little annoyed by the enemy after the evacuation of Boston ; and their fortunes are also to be found in our pages. The Rhode Island ships were the Warren and Providence. These vessels are described as having been the most indif- ferent of the thirteen. They were launched in 1776, and their services and fates have been given. The Montgomery and Congress were the vessels ordered to be built in New York. These ships, it is believed, were 21* ^:* 'Pi<* • d46 NAVAL HISTORr. . ' Of the sloops of war and smaller vessels it is now difli- cult to give a complete and authentic account. Several were employed by the commissioners in France, which it ■:Jt:-Jr». k^ ♦ ITAVAL HISTORY. 247 is impossible to trace. Congress occasionally borrowed vessels of the states, and generally with their officers and crews on board. Of this class of vessels was the General Washington, (late General Monk,) which unquestionably belonged to the state of Pennsylvania, when first equipped, though she appears to have been subsequently transferred to the General Government, by which she was employed as a packet, as late as the year 1784, when she was sold on public account. Under such circumstances, and with the defective mate* rials that are now to be obtained, the difficulty uf making a perfect list of the vessels that were in the navy during the war of the Revolution is fully felt, and yet, without some such record, this book will have an air of incompletenes. One, that has been corrected with care, is accordingly given, and as nothing is admitted into it, without authority, it is believed to be correct as far as it goes; its defects being those of omission, rather than positive errors. An- nexed to the name of each vessel is her fate, as an Ameri- can cruiser, so far as the facts can be ascertained. List of vessels of war, in the American navy between the years 1775, and 1783. Alliance 32, sold after the peace and converted into an In- diaman.* - . ' • Deane (Hague) 32. > . Virginia 28, taken by a British squadron near the capes of the Chesapeake, before getting to sea, 1778. Confederacy 32, taken by a ship of the line, off the capes of Virginia, June 22d, 1781. Hancock 32, taken in 1777, by Rainbow 40, and Victor 16. Flora 32, retook her prize. Randolph 32, blown up in action with the Yarmouth 64, in 1778. ■ . . v., it' «.:5 * Her wreck still lies on the island opposite to Philadelphia! :v'"-i-j«t' '■ * ^'■ 948 NAVAL HISTORY. i r Raleigh 32, taken by the Experiment 50, and Unicorn 23, 1778. ;..■.":»!. : ■' . .,.,v ; Washington 32, destroyed in the Delaware by the British army,' 1778, without getting to sea. ,. • ^ ,. Warren 32, burned in the Penobscott in 1779, to prevent her falling into the enemy's hands. Queen of France 28, captured at Charleston in 1780. . - . Providence 28, do, do. do. Trumbull 28, taken by the Iris 32, and General Monk 18, 1781. Effingham 28, burned by the enemy in the Delaware, 1778, without getting to sea. Congress 28, destroyed in the Hudson, 1777, to prevent her falling into the enemy's hands, without getting to sea. Alfred 24, captured by the Ariadne and Ceres, in 1778. Columbus 20. Delaware 24, captured by the British army in the Dela- ware, in 1777. Boston 24, captured at Charleston, in 1780. Montgomery 24, destroyed in the Hudson, without getting to sea, 1777. Hamden 14. Reprisal 16, foundered at sea, 1778. Lexington 14, taken by the British cutter Alert, in the chan- nel, 1778. Andrea Doria 14, burned in the Delaware, 1777, to prevent her falling into the enemy's hands. Cabot 16, driven ashore by the Milford 32, in 1777, and abandoned. Ranger 18, captured at Charleston by the British army, 1780. 4s Saratoga 16, lost at sea in 1780; never heard of. Diligent 14, burned in the Penobscott, 1778. Gates 14. Hornet 10. I \ I •# 1-fA; W 'm m -A- t I ll ITAVAL HISTORY. 340 Surprise 10, aoized by the French government, in 1777, Revenge 10, sold in 1780. Providence 12, taken in .the Penobscott in 1779. ^ .shot proof, or bulwarks that were lowered and hoisted in a minute. The quarter-deck ran four feet forward of the main-mast, and the forecastle came well aft. The gang- ways were wide, and on the kvel of the quarter-deck and foreeastle. The ship had only single quarter galleries, and no stem gtiltry. She had 50 feet 6 inches beam, over all, and her inboard leng^, on the upper gun- deck, was 183 feet 6 inches. " Yet this ship, though the largett of seventy- fours in the world, had, when the lower battery was sunk, the air of a deli- cate frigate; and no person, at the distance of a mile, could have imagined she had a second battery." Unfortunately her intended armament is not given. \ -a* ' M *'.. NAVAL HISTORY. 2&1 w VV' and 1770, the Revolution must have been checked in the outset.* In addition to the direct benefits conferred by the cap- tures, the marine was of incalculable advantage in bringing Europe in contact with America, by showing the flag and ships of the new country in the old world. Notwithstand- ing the many obstacles that were to be overcome, the high maritime spirit of the nation broke through all restraints; and, in defiance of an enemy that almost possessed ubiqui- ty, as well as an overwhelminr power, the conflict between Britain and her despised anu oppressed colonies had not continued a twelve-month, when the coasts of the former country were harassed and agitated by the audacity and enterprise of the American cruisers. Insurant > rose to a height hitherto unknown, and for the first tii j in her his- tory, England felt the effects which » people thorouhly imbued with a love of maritime adventuie, could produce on a nation so commercial. The activity and merit of the brave men who first car- ried the war into the enemy's seas, have not been fully ap- preciated by the present age. Foremost ought to be placed the name of Wickes, who led the way, and who appears to have performed the duty confided t9 him, with discretion, '^ The following anecdote rests on the authority of the secretary of the marine committee of Congress, the body that discharged the duties that are now performed by the navj. " : r-»rtment. The committee was in se- cret session, deliberating on thv- ^ auns of obtaining certain small articles that were indispensable to the equipment of vessels of war, but which articles were not to be had ia the country, when a clamour for admit- tance at the door, interrupted the proceedings. Admittance was denied, but the intruder insisted on entering. The door was finally opened, when a gentleman appeared, with an inventory of the stores found in the Nancy, the first V .'ssel taken by Capt. Manly, and among which were the very articles wanted. Mr. Adams, when the fact was ascertained, arose and said with earnestness: — "We must succeed — Providence is with us — we must succeed!" %*> ,-, ^^i^ ■'-■:■ ^1 , **M*««P» ^ i-V,< » '?,..• li. X*»-' 4 'Wi; 252 '-'?w •v NAVAL HISTOllf.; 'r spirit and steadiness. The untimely fate of this gallant offi- cer, who had obtained the respect and confidence of the American commissioners, probably was the reason that he docs not occupy as much of the public mind as his services merit. m , -..i^-'y:; Capt. Conyngham, also, to his other claims, adds that of suffering. He fell into the hands of the enemy, after his return to the American seas, while cruising in a small pri- vate armed vessel, and was sent to England in irons, with a threat to treat him as a pirate. His imprisonment was long and severe ; nor was his liberty obtained, until monthtv* of bitter privation had been passed in a gaol. ^^ ■'^' ' The naval names that have descended to us, from this war, with the greatest reputation, are those of Jones, Bar- ry, Barney, Biddlc, Manly, Nicholson, Wickes, Rathburne, Conyngham, and Hacker. To these may be added that of Williams, who was in the service of Massachusetts. Other officers greatly distinguished themselves, either in subordinate situations on board vessels of war, or on board the other cruisers. Many of the latter subsequently rose to high stations in the national marine, and we shall have occasion to allude to their conduct in our subsequent pages. ^ ' ' The nature of the warfare, unquestionably trammelled the national efforts in this contest. The circumstance that -^^ only six out of thirteen new cruisers that were laid down under the law of Oct. 1775, ever got to sea, shows theTdif- ficulties with which the country had to contend on account of so many of its ports having been occupied by invading armies, of a force and discipline that no power of the young republic could then withstand. No less than six of these vessels fell into the enemy's hands, by means of their lan4^~ forces, or were destroyed by the Americans themselves^ Ij^"^" prevent such a result. In New York, the British held the port, of all others, which would have been of the greatest 'V %^ ■■^■i *,-' >'\* fi,? -* \\ ■ '>'l*ii ^. ^- .^" NAVAL HISTORY. '.it. 253 service to the country, in a naval war, as its central posi- tion, many natural advantages, difficulty of being blockaded on account of a double outlet, and resources, will always render it the centre of maritime operations, iiok every strug- gle for the command of the American seas. But the greatest obstacles with which the young marine had to contend, were a total absence of system, a looseness of discipline, and a want of vessels of force. The irregulari- ties of the service, it is true, grew out of the exigencies of the times, but their evi's were incalculable. Hank, that great source of contention in all services in which it is not clear- ly defined and rigidly regulated, appears to have created endless heart-burnings. The dissensions of the officers, na- turally communicated themselves to the men ; and, in time, this difficulty was added to the others which existed in ob- taining crews. It is a singular fact, that, with the excep- tion perhaps of that favourite ship the Alliance, we can- not find that any frigate-built vessel left the country, after the first year or two of the war, with a full crew on board of her ; and even those with which they did sail, were either composed, in a good measure, of landsmen, or the officers had been compelled to resort to the dangerous expedient of seeking for volunteers among the prisoners. We have seen that the Alliance herself, with her precious freight, was near being the sacrifice of this ill-judged, not to say unjust policy. The Trumbull, when taken, was fought prin- cipally by her officers; and, at the very moment when con- fidence was of the last importance to success, the vessels of Paul Jones's squadron appear to have distrusted each other, and to have acted with the uncertainty of such a feeling. To the lightness of the metal used during this war, is to be ascribed the duration of the combats. Ii has been seen, that the Pon Homme Richard had a few elghteen-pounders mounted in her gun room; and there are occasional allu- sions in the accounts of the day, that would induce us to Vol. I.— 22 * '1 \ , >? l--\ m 254 NAVAL HISTORY. 4 W '■\\- believe that some of the larger vessels built for the service, had a few guns of this calibre* mixed in with their more regular armaments; but, strictly speaking, there was not a ship in the American navy, during the whole war of the Revolution, that was properly any thing more than a twelve-pounder frigate. The America 74, would have been an exception, of course, could she properly be said to have belonged to the service, but she was transferred to France previously to being put into the water. The Bon Homme Richard had the dimensions of, and was pierced for a thirty-eight, but her regular and only efficient batte- ries, were composed of twelves and nines. The Indien, or South Carolina, as she was subsequently called, was pro- bably as heavy a frigate as then floated, but she sailed in the service of the single state of South Carolina, and never belonged to the marine of the country. No correct estimate can be ever made of the merits of the gallant seamen, whose acts have been recorded in these pages, without keeping in constant view, all the disadvantages under which they served. With vessels, quite often imperfectly equipped; frequently with such guns, ammunition and stores, as are known to be disposed of to nations, the necessities of which supersede caution; with crews badly, often dangerously composed, and without the encouragement that power can proffer to success, these faithful men went forth upon an ocean that was cover- ed with the cruisers of their enemy, to contend with foes every way prepared for war, who were incited by all tl It can awaken ambition, and who met them with the confidence that is the inseparable companion of habit and a consciousness of force. ^ While pointing out the claims of the seamen of the Revo- lution to that honourable place in history which it is our aim to contribute in securing to them, there is another corps, one that has so long been associated with navies as to be 1*: Jifi. y-^^^' 1^ *^#fe % i %. f ^4 ,..;■:, ITAVAL HISTORY. 255 •!>i *■ t H 'm4 W f-hi^ f! 1 'i' : *:.. -V i^>. *► almost necessarily included in their renown, which is entitled , to a distinct notice in our pages. It is so mu^h a matter of course, to identify the marines with the ship in which they serve, that we have not hitherto thought it necessary to digress from the course of events to speak particularly of this body of men. The corps, however, is so necessary to the military character of every service, has ever been so ef- ficent and useful, not only in carrying on the regular routine of duty, but in face of the enemy, and was so all-important to the security of the ships, during the period of - hich we #huve been writing, that we have reserved a place for a brief account of its organization in this chapter. In order that the general reader may more clearly comprehend this branch of the subject, however, and obtain a better idea of the composition of the crew of a vessel of war, a paragraph will be devoted to a few explanations. The men of a public armed ship are divided into two distinct bodies ; the portion of the people that do the ordi- nary duty of the vessel, which includes the petty officers, seamen, ordinary seanlen, landsmen and boys, and the ma- rines. The former pass under the general name of sailors, while the latter are always known by their own distinctive appellation. The marines are strictly infantry soldiers, who are trained to serve afloat ; and their discipline, equipments, spirit, character, and esprit de corps, are altogether those of an army. The marines impart to a ship of war, in a great degree, its high military character. They furnish all the guards and sentinels ; in battle they repel, or cover the assaults of boarders ; and, at all times, they sustain and protect the stern and necessary discipline of a ship by their organization, distinctive charac^/)r, training, and we might add, nature. It is usual to place one of these soldiers on board a ship of war for each gun, though the rule is not absolute. It is not, however, to be understood by this, that '■A •>,*. -S- :.^. Hsi.. 356 KAVAL HISTORr. 't the marines arc regularly dispersed in the ship, by placing; them at the guns, as, unless in cases that form exceptions, they act together, under their own officers, using the mus- ket and bayonet as their proper weapons. t v'. '4,*^:^' Aware of the importance of such a Iwdy of men, on the yth of November, 1775, or before any regular cruiser had yet got to sea. Congress passed a law establishing a marine corps. By this law, the corps was to consist of two battal- ions of the usual size, and to be commanded by a colonel. A resolution passed on the 30th of the same month, directing that these two battalions should not be drafted from the army before Boston, but regularly enlisted for the war. It does not appear that this law was ever carried into com- plete effect; the great difficulty which existed in obtaining men for the arn)y, no less than the impracticability of getting so many of the vessels to sea, most probably contributing to defeat its objects. On the 25th of June, 1776, notwith- standing, the corps received something like the contemplated organization, and officers were appointed to serve in it. That there were marines in the squadron of Com. Hopkins, is known from the fact of their having been landed at New Providence, where they were the assailing force ; but even the greater portion of the sea-officers, employed on that occasion, had merely letters of appointment, and, it is to be presumed, that such was also the case with the gentlemen of this arm. We give the following list of the officers of the marine corps, who were appointed in June, 1775, as containing the names of those who properly formed the nucleus of this important and respectable part of the navy» !^^; Officers of Marines appointed June 25th, 1775. Samuel Nichols, Major. Andrew Porter, Captain. , Joseph Hardy, do. Samuel Shaw, do. • - ' -^ Benj. Deane, do. \ H-A i* ,/ ^ ■Vi, 4 'm- / -*< ■'t .i-f. KAVAL HISTORY. 357 Robert Mullin, Captain. John Stewart, do. Daniel Henderson, First Lieutenant. .^i 4. W' David Love, do. Franklin Read, do. Peregrine Brown, do. Thomas Barnell, do. James McClure, Second Lieutenant. William Gilmore, doi • Abel Morgan, ' ' • uO» Hugh Montgomery, do. ' Richard Harrison, do. Other nominations followed, from time to time, though it is believed that in many cases, officers commanding ships, •were empowered to give letters of appointment. In short, the irregularity and want of system that prevailed in the navy generally, extended in a degree to a branch of it that is usually so trained, so methodical and certain. ' t At no period of the naval history of the world, is it proba- ble that marines were more important than during the war of the Revolution. In many instances they preserved the vessels to the country, by suppressing the turbulence of their ill assorted crews, and the effect of their fire, not only then, but in all the subsequent conflicts, under those cir- cumstances in which it could be resorted to, has usually been singularly creditable to their steadiness and disci- pline. The history of the navy, even at that early day, as well as in these latter times, abounds with instances of the gallantry and self devotion of this body of soldiers, and we should be unfaithful to our trust, were we not to add, that it also furnishes too many proofs of the forgetfulness of its merits by the country. The marine incurs the same risks from disease and tempests, undergoes the same privations, suffers the same hardships, and sheds his blood in the same battles as the seaman, and society owes him the same re- 22* ''•,!0- .V' ■**•« m^ 258 vU NAVAL HISTORY. fr '* t i^^ ' ;'^; wards. While on ship-board, necessity renders him in a certain sense, the subordinate, but nations ought never to overlook the important moral and political truth, that the highest lessons they can teach arc those of justice ; and no servant of the public should pass a youth of toil and danger, without the consciousness of possessing a tenour to a cer- tain and honourable reward, that is dependent only on him- self. That this reward has hitherto been as unwisely as it has been unfairly withheld, from all connected with the navy, it is our duty ac iiistorians to state, and in no instance has this justice been more signally denied, than in the case of the honourable and gallant corps of which we are par- ticularly writing. Before the thread of the historical incidents is resumed, it is proper that we allude to one other branch of our sub- ject. There may be sufficient interest connected with the first vessel of war th?* ever carried the American flag on the ocean, to render it important that no error be committed in registering her name. On this point it is, perhaps, too late to pretend to entire accuracy, for three reasons; the want of documents, the conflicting testimony, and the cir- cumstance that the journals of the day abstained from alluding to movements that required secrecy to insure suc- cess. The first notice that is taken of the squadron of Com. Hopkins, in the papers of the town from which it sailed, was to record its return to port. It has been said that the Lexington i4, was the cruiser entitled to the honour just mentioned, but it has been admitted, at the same time, that the claim in behalf of this little brig, is met by one jn favour of all the vessels of the squadron of Mr. Hopkins. It is even uncertain that the Lexington and Providence were purchased previously to the Cabot and Doria, although there are, perhaps, more reasons for believing that they were, than that they were not. If the authority of Paul Jones is to be deemed conclusive, the vessels of the squad- * t. \^ NAVAL HISTORY. 250 ron in which he first sailed, composed the entire naval force of the country, at that precise time; but Com. Jones makes many mistakes in his allusions, and, in this particular, he is known to have been in error. His correspondence is en- titled to great respect as authority, though like all authority of this nature, its facts are to be received with caution, and collated with care. There is reason to think that the Providence made at least one cruise under Capt. Whipple, as a privateer, out of Rhode Island, before she was pur- chased into the navy, nor does there appear to be any evi- dence that a single vessel of war was ever built for the re- gular service of the general government of the country, or the United American Colonies, previously to those autho- rized by the law of October, 1775. Of these, it is impos- sible to say which was first got into the water, though there is proof that the Raleigh 32, was one of those earliest launched. It remains only to say that the navy of the Revolution, like its army, was disbanded at the termination of the strug- gle, literally leaving nothing behind it, but the recollections of its services and sufiferings. A :W .■r> xj.!. ^^.i 200 If AVAL HISTORY. 'i*.v;v. •' fc CHAPTER XIV. ...,,\.j' •'..V'^^^ .i. 7 At r# rti The peace of 1783 found the finances of the new republic altogether unequal to the support of a niarine. Most of the public cruisers, as has been seen, had fallen into the hands of the enemy, or had been destroyed, and the few that re- mained were sold. The Alliance, which appears to have been the favourite ship of the service to the very last, was reluctantly parted with ; but a survey being held on her, she was also disposed of in June, 1785, in preference to en- countering the expenses of repairs. Although the United Slates now kept no vessels of war, several of the states, themselves, with the consent of Con- gress, which was necessary by the articles of confedera- tion, had small cruisers of their own, that did the duties of guarda-costas and revenue cutters. A i this period in the history of the country, it will be remembered that each state had its own custom-houses, levied its own duties, and pur- sued its own policy in trade, with the single exception that it could not contravene any stipulation by treaty that had been entered into by Congress. After the peace, the trade of the United States revived, as a matter of course, though it had to contend with many difficulties, besides the impoverished condition of the coun- try. It has been a matter of question, what vessel first carried the American flag into the Chinese seas, but there can be 4f; 4 « I NAVAL HISTORY. 861 • .'(, I \ \ no doubt that it was the ship Empress of China, Capt. Green, which sailed from New- York, the 22d of Febru- ary, 1784, and returned to the same port on the 11th of May, 1785. This vessel, however, did not make a direct voyage, touching in Europe, on her outward-bound pas- sage; and the honour of going direct belongs to the Enter- prise, Capt. Dean, a sloop of 80 tons, built in Albany, which went and returned in 1785. It ought to be mention- ed, to the credit of the English factory at Canton, that, not- withstanding the jealousies and interests of trade, which, perhaps, oftener lead to unprincipled acts, than any other one concern of life, struck with the novelty and boldness of the experiment, it received these adventurers with kind- ness and hospitality. In 1787, the Alliance frigate, con- verted into an Indiaman, went to Canton, under the com- mand of Capt. Thomas Read, formerly of the navy. This officer took a new route, actually going to the southward of New-Holland, in consequence of the season of the year, which had brought him into the unfavourable monsoons^. Notwithstanding this long circuit, the noble old ship made the passage in very tolerable time. Capt. Read discovered some islands to the eastward of New-Holland. The period between the peace and the year 1788, was one of troubles, insurrections in the states, and difficul- ties growing out of the defective political organization of the country. To these grievances may be added the em- barrassments arising from the renewal of the claims of the British merchants, that had been suspended by the war. All these circumstances united to produce uncertainty and distress. Discreet men saw the. necessity of a change of system, and the results of the collected wisdom of the nation were offi)red to the world in a plan for substituting the con- stitution of an identified government, in the place of the articles of association, and of creating what has since been popularly termed the Union, in lieu of the old Confederation. « m ^^ 263 ■Hk* MAVAL HISTORY. '■■f '. The scheme was adopted, and in April, 1789, the new go> vernment went into operation, with Washington at its head, as President. ' ' ' ' ' '^ '» The entire military organization underwent many im- portant alterations, by this change of government. The President became the commander-in-chief of both the army and navy, and he possessed the civil power of appointing their officers, subject only to the approbation of a senate, which was also instituted on this occasion, and to a few subordinate regulations of congress. In addition to this high trust, was confided to him one of still heavier responsibili- ties, by which he could dismiss any civil or military officer, the judges excepted, however high his rank, or long his ser- vices. The supplies were raised directly by the federal power, without the intervention of the states ; and the entire government, within the circle of its authority, became as direct and efficient, as that of any other polity which pos- sessed the representative form. The beneficial consequences of these fundamental altera- tions were visible, in all the departments of the country. It was deemed premature, nevertheless, to think of the re-esta- blishment of a marine ; for, oppressed with debt, and men- aced with a renewal of the war with England, the administra- tion of Washington was cautiously, and with the greatest pru- dence, endeavouring to extricate the country from the vari- ous entanglements that were perhaps inseparable from its peculiar condition, and to set in motion the machinery of a new and an entirely novel mode of conducting the affairs of a state. While Washington, and his ministers, appeared to be fully sensible of the importance of a navy, the poverty ,;. of the treasury alone, would have been deemed an insuper- ' able objection to encountering its expense. Still, so evident was the connexion between an efficient {rovernment and a permanent and strong marine, in a country like this, that when Paul Jones first heard of the change, he prepared to >^ :-^4 * :M '> .«• ji- '1 M '4i ;f-' 4 ♦ ^•. . -*. / NAVAL HISTORY. 308 b.; « - ^: 1^ j^. V ff '•* w >^: i return to Amorica, in the confident hope of being again employed. mr , - ' In the mean time, the Dcy of Algiers, discovering that a new country had started into existence, which possessed merchant vessels and no cruisers, as a matter of course bl-' gan to prey on its commerce. On the 25th of July, 1785, the schooner Maria, belonging to Boston, was seized, out- side of the Straits of Oibraltar, by a corsair, and her crew were carried into slavery. This unprovoked piracy, — though committed under the forms of a legal government, the act deserves this reproacli, — was followed, on the 30th of the same month, by the capture of the ship Dolphin, of Philadelphia, Capt. O'Brien, who, with all his people, was made to share the same fate. On the 0th of July, 1790, or a twelvemonth after the organization of the federal govern- ment, there still remained in captivity, fourteen of the unfor- tunate persons who had been thus seized. Of course, five bitter years had passed in slavery, because, at the period named, the United States of America, the country to which they belonged, did not possess sufficient naval force to com- pel the petty tyrant at the head of the Algerine government to do justice! In looking back at events like these, we feel it difficult to persuade ourselves that the nation was really so powerless, and cannot but suspect that in the strife of ^oarties, the struggles of opinion, and the pursuit of gain, the sufferings of the distant captive were overlooked or for- gotten. One of the first advantages of the new system, was connected with the measures taken by the administration of Washington to relieve these unfortunate persons. A long and weary negotiation ensued, and Paul Jones was appoint- ed, in 1792, to be an agent for effecting the liberation of the captives. At the same time, a commission was also sent to him, naming him consul at the regency of Algiers. This celebrated man, for whose relief these nominations were -Hil, 'y*.^ % Mid. ". J|%L . _^. - I •. 204 If AVAL HISTOi. < probably made, was dead before tlie arrival of the diftercnt commissions at Paris. A second agent was named in the person of Mr. Barclay; but tMd genlleman also died before ^e could enter on the duties of the office. '. ' > *'' Algiers and Portugal had long been at war, and, though the latter government seldom resorted to active measures against the town of its enemy, it was very useful to the rest of the Christian world, by maintaining a strong force in the Straits of Gibraltar, rendering it difficult for any rover to find her way out of the Mediterranean. Contrary to ail ex- pcctation, this war was suddenly terminated in 1703, through the agency of the British consul at Algiers, and, as it was said, without the knowledge of the Portuguese government. This peace, or truce, allowed the Algerine rovers to come again into the Atlantic, and its consequences to the American com- merce were soon apparent. A squadron consisting of four ships, three xebccks, and a brig, immediately passed the straits, and by the Uth of October, 1703, four more Ameri- can vessels had fallen into the hands of these lawless bar- barians. At the same lime, the Dey of Algiers, who had commenced this quarrel without any other pretence than a demand for tribute, refused all accommodation, even me- nacing the person of the minister appointed by the Ameri- can government, should he venture to appear within his dominions ! During the first cruise of the vessels mentioned, they captured ten Americans, and mddc one hundred and five additional prisoners. These depredations had now reached a pass when further submission became impossible, without a total abandonment of those rights that it is absolutely requisite for every inde- pendent government to maintain. The cabinet took the subject into grave deliberation, and on the 3d of March, 1794, the President sent a message to CongreSs, communi- the facts connected with 1 M - V t i- ^' calmg Algerine dcpredf .*.: •MAMkabidlt«*«^M«iriftMi m'' • Vf 4 4 ^ KAVAL HISTORY. 305 tions, and on the 27th of the same month, a law was ap- proved by the executive, authorizing the construction, or the purchase of six frigates, or of such other naval force, that should not be inferior to that of the six frigates named, as the President might sec fit to order, provided no vessel should mount less than 32 guns. This law had a direct re- ference to the existing difficulty with Algiers, and it con- tained a paragraph ordering that all proceedings under its provisions should cease, in the event of an accommodation of the quarrel with that regency. Notwithstanding this limit to the action of the law, the latter may be considered the first step taken towards the establishment of the present navy, as some of the ships that were eventually constructed under it are still in use, and some of the officers who were appointed to them, passed the remainder of their lives in the service. , , , t The executive was ho sooner authorized to proceed by the law of the 27th of March, 1704, than measures were taken to build the vessels ordered. The provision of the first paragraph was virtually followed, and the six frigates were laid down as soon as possible. These vessels were the Constitution 44, laid down at Boston. President 44, United States 44, Chesapeake 38, Constellation 38, Congress 38, New York. Philadelphia. Portsmouth, Va. Baltimore. Portsmouth, N. H. The most capable builders in the country were consulted, the models of Mr. Joshua Humphreys, of Philadelphia, being those accepted. On this occasion, an important and re- cent improvement in ship building was adopted, by which frigates were increased in size and in efficiency, by so far lengthening them, as to give to ships on one deck, the metal that had formerly been distributed on two. The three ships first mentioned in the foregoing list, were of this class of Vol. I.— 23 'W', ■?£'' I 266 ■ ' - ■'^-^ ■ The rank of the subordinate officers eventually appoint- ed to these ships, was determined by that of the different commanders, the senior lieutenant of Capt. Barry's ves- sel taking rank of all the other first lieutenants, and the junior officers accordingly. All these preparations, however, were suddenly suspend- ed by the signing of a treaty with Algiers, in Nov. 1706. By a provision of the law, the work was not to be prose- cuted, in the event of such a peace, and the President im- mediately called the attention of Congress to the subject. A new net was passed, without delay, ordering the comple- tion and equipment of two of the forty-fours, and of one of the thirty-eights, while it directed the work on the remaining three ships to be stopped, and the perishable portion of their materials to be sold. A sum which had also been voted for the construction of some galleys, but no part of which had yet been used, was applied to the equipment of those ves- sels ordered to be launched.* >, ■■'- , i • .. - -:■ ,,' ";.■...: :' . '. : : ' ;'. -.-. ' : • The reader will obtain some idea of the spirit which may prevail in a nation, when it neglects to use, or does not possess, the means of causing its rights and character to be respected, by the tone of the following ar- ticle, which is extracted from a journal of the date of 1798, and which would seem to be as much in unison with the temper of that day, as one of an opposite character would comport witl) the spirit of our own times. Algiers will not extort tribute, ag^in, from America, but other rights, not less dear to national honour, national character, and national interests, may be sacrificed to a temporising spirit, should not the navy be enlarged, and made the highest aim of national policy. f '"■'■■.' , ,r ' , " Crescent Frigate. ^ ■ \ •« PoRTSMorTH, Jak. 20th. "On Thursday morning about sunrise, a gun was discharged from the Crescent frigate, as a signal for getting under way; and at 10, A. M., she cleared the harbour, with a fine leading breeze. Our best wishes follow Captain Newman, his oflftccrs and men. May they arrive in safety at the . I I M AVAL HISTORr. 260 The President, in his annual speech to Congress, Decem- ber 1796, strongly recommended laws for the gradual in- crease of the navy. It is worthy of remark, that, as appears by documents published at the time, the peace obtained from the Dey of Algiers cost the government of the United States near a million of dollars, a sum quite sufficient to have kept the barbarian's port hermetically blockaded until he should have humbly sued for permission to send a craft to sea. v • While these events were gradually leading to the for- mation of a navy, the maritime powers of Europe became involved in what was nearly a general war, and their meti- sures of hostility against each other, had a direct tendency to trespass on the privileges of neutrals. It would exceed the limits of this work to enter into the history of that sys- tem of gradual encroachments on the rights of the American people, which distinguished the measures of both the two great belligerents, in the war that succeeded the French Revolution; or the height of audacity to which the cruisers of France, in particular, carried their depredations, most place of their destination, and present to the Dey of Algiers, one of the finest specimens' of elegant naval architecture which was ever borne on the Piscataqua's waters. " Bhw cU ye wim/s thatJiV. the prosperous sail. And hushed in pence oe eoary adverse gale. "The Crescent is a piedent 'rora the United States to the Dey, as com- pensation for delay i.) hoc fulfilling our treaty stipulations in proper time. " Richard O'Brier, Esq., who was ten years a prisoner at Algiers, took passage in the above frigate, and is to reside at Algiers as Consul General of the United States to all the Barbary states. •• The Crescent has many valuable presents on board for the Dey, and when she sailed was supposed to be worth at least three hundred thousand dollars. "Twenty-six barrels of dollars constituted a part of her cargo. '< It is worthy of remark, that the captain, chief of the officers, and many of the privates of the Crescent fr'.«, have been prisoners at Al- giers." 23* -.i- m r- 270 NAVAL HISTORY. % h' probably mistaking the amount of the influence of tiieir own country, over the great body of the American nation. Not only did they capture British ships within our waters, but they actually took the same liberties with Americans also. All attempts to obtain redress of the French government failed, and unable to submit any longer to such injustice, the government, iri April 1798, recommended to Congress a plan of armament and defence, that it was hoped would have the effect to check these aggressions, and avert an open conflict. Down to this period, the whole military defence of the country, was intrusted to one department, that of war ; and a letter from the secretary of this branch of the govern- ment, to the chairman of a committee to devise means of protection and defence, was the form in which this high in- terest was brought before the nation, through its represen- tatives. Twenty small vessels were advised to be built, and, in the event of an open rupture, it was recommended to Congress to authorize the President to cause six ships of the line to be constructed. This force was in addition to the six frigates authorized to be built, by the law of 1794. The United States 44, Constitution 44, and Constellation 38, had been got afloat the year previous. These three ships are all still in the service, and during the last forty years, neither has ever been long out of commission. The United States was the first vessel that was got into the water, under the present organization of the navy. She was launched at Philadelphia, on the 10th of July, 1797, and the Constellation followed her on the 7th of September. Congress acted so far, on the recommendation of the se- cretary of war, as to authorize the President to cause to be built, purchased, or hired, twelve vessels, none of which were to exceed twenty-two guns, and to see that they were duly equipped and manned. To effect these objects $950,000 were appropriated. This law passed the 27th of April, 1798, and on the 30th, a regular navy department was formally M NAVAL HISTORY. 271 created. Benjamin Stoddart, of Georgetown, in the Dis- trict of Columbia, was the first secretary put at the head of this important branch of the government, entering on his duties in June of the same year. After so long and so extraordinary a forgetfulncss of one of the most important interests of the nation, Congress now seemed to be in earnest; the depredations of the French having reached a pass that could no longer be submitted to with honour. On the 4th of May, a new appropriation was made for the construction of galleys and other small vessels, and on the 28th of the same month, the President was em- powered to instruct the commanders of the public vessels to capture and send into port all French cruisers, whether public or private, that might be found on the coast, having committed, or which there was reason to suppose might commit, any depredations on the commerce of the country; and, to recapture any American vessels that might have already fallen into their hands. Additional laws were soon passed for the condemnation of such prizes, and for the safe keeping of their crews. In June, another law was passed, authorizing the President to accept of twelve more vessels of war, should they be offered to him by the citizens, and to issue public stock in payment. By a clause in this act, it was provided that these twelve ships, as well as the twelve directed to be procured in the law of the 27th of April of the same year, should consist of six not ex- ceeding 18 guns, of twelve between 20 and 24 guns, and of six of not less than 32 guns. The cautious manner in which the national legislature proceeded, on this occasion, will re- mind the reader of the reserve used in 1775 and in 1776 ; and we trace distinctly, in both instances, the moderation of a people averse to war, no less than a strong reluctance to break th"; ties of an ancient but much abused amity. Down to this moment, the old treaty of alliance, formed between France and the United States during the war of the ./'3' M,. ..i^i. 't.- -'%■ •'I^J (it 372 KAVAL HISTORY. ■ifi- Revolution, and some subsequent conventions, were legally in existence ; but Congress by law solemnly abrogated them all, on the 7(h of July, 1798, on the plea that they had been repeatedly disregarded by France, and that the latter coun- try continued, in the face of the most solemn remonstrances, to uphold a system of predatory warfare on the commorco of the United States. It will be seen that an express declaration of war was avoided in all these measures, nor was it resorted to, at all, throughout this controversy, although war, in fact, existed from the moment the first American cruisers ap- peared on the ocean. On the 9th of July, 1798, another law passed, authorizing the American vessels of war to cap- ture French cruisers wherever they might be found, and empowering the President to i:;sue commissions to private armed vessels, conveying to them the same rights as re- garded captures, as had been given to the public ships. By this act, the prizes became liable to condemnation, for the benefit of the captors. * On the 11th of July, 1798, a new marine corps was esta- blished by law, the old one having dissolved with the navy of the Revolution, to which it had properly belonged. It contained 881 officers, non-commissioned officers, musicians and privates, and was commanded by a major. On the 16th of the same month, a law was passed to construct three more frigates. This act was expressed in such terms as to enable the government immediately to complete the ships commenced under the law of 1794, and which had been f Sfi^pei.ded under that of 1796. The whole force authorized hy law, on the IQ' of July, consequently, consisted of twelve irigates ; twelve ships of a force between 20 and 24 guns, inclusive ; and six smaller sloops, besides galleys and reve- nue cutters ; making a total of thirty active cruisers. Such is the history of the legislation that gave rise to the present American marine, and which led to what is com- W I m ■■T^ ;s,.. '%^'! - - J-.1, ■■< ^im^^^ mm Rlli itfiu/^f! ^v'' V m -# WAVAL HISTORY. 273 '0 monly called the quasi war against France. There appears to have been no enactments limiting the number of the of> ficers, who were appointed according to the wants of the service, though their stations and allowances were duly regulated by law. While the government of the United States was taking these incipient and efficient steps to defend the rights and character of the nation, the better feeling of the country was entirely in its favour. Families of the highest social and political influence pressed forward to offer their sons to the service, and the navy being the favourite branch, nearly all of those who thus presented themselves, and whose ages did not preclude the probationary delay, had their names en- rolled on the list of midshipmen. Young and intelligent sea- men were taken from the merchant service, to receive the rank of lieutenants, and the commanders and captains were either chosen from among those who had seen service in the war of the Revolution, or who by their experience in the charge of Indiamen, and other vessels of value, were accustomed to responsibility and command. It may be well to add, here, that the seamen of the nation joined heartily in the feeling of the day, and that entire crews were frequently entered for frigates in the course of a few hours. Want of men was hardly experienced at all in this contest ; aad we deem it a proof that seamen can always be had in a war that offers active service, by voluntary enlistments, provided an outlet be nol offered to enterprise through the medium of private cruisers. Although commissions were granted to privateers and letters of marque, on this occasion, compara- tively few of the former were taken out, the commerce of France offering but slight inducements to encounter the expense. During the year 1797, or previously to the commence- ment of hostilities between the United States and France, the exports of the former country amounted to 857,000,000, ^^'^ 974 ^ t- ITAVAL HISTORY. fy , >• and the shipping had increased to quite 800,000 tons, while the population, making an estimate from the census of 1800, had risen to near 5,000,000. The revenue of the year v/m •8,209,070. V / . '. f' \f '* ile as # # ■# ' WAVAL BISTORT. m 97S [■v.. ■ ' * t-# CHAPTER XV. u Although three of the frigates were launched in 1707, neither was quite ready for service when the necessities of the country required that vessels should be sent to sea. The want of suitable spars and guns, and other naval stores, fit for ships of size, had retarded the labour on the frigates, while vessels had been readily bought for the sloops of war, which, though deficient in many of the qualities and conveniences of regular cruisers, were made to answer the exigencies of the times. Among others that had been thus provided, was an Indiuman, called the Ganges. Retaining her name, this vessel was brought into the service, armed and equipped as a 24, and put under the command of Capt. Richard Dale, who was ordered to sail on a cruise on the 22d of May. This ship, then, was the first man of war that ever got to sea under the present organization of the navy, or since the United States have existed under the constitution. Capt. Dale was instructed to do no more than pertains generally to the authority of a vessel of war, that is cruising on the coast of the country to which she belongs, in a time of peace ; the law that empowered seizures not passing until a few days after he had sailed. His cruising ground extended from the east end of Long Island to the capes of Virginia, with a view to cover, as much as possible, the three import- ant ports of Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New- York, and, in anticipation of the act of the 28th of May, Capt. Dale was directed to appear off the capes of the Delaware on the 12th •.^, 'F-"' .A'. 876 4 ITAVAL HISTORY. .FAi of June, to receive new orders. On that day, instraclions / were accordingly sent to him to f-apture all French cruisers that were hovering on the coast v/lth hostile views on the Air^erican commerce, and to recapture any of their prizes he might happen to fall in with. The Constellation 38, Capt. Truxtun, and the Delaware 20, Capt. Decatur, next went to sea, early in June, under the last of the foregoing urders, and with directions to cruise to the southward of Cape Ffenry, as far as the coast of Florida. When a few days out, the Delaware fell in with the French privateer schooner Le Croyable 14, with a crew of 70 men. Being satisfied that this vessel had already made several prizes, and that she was actually cruising on soundings, in search of more, Capt. Decatur took her, and sent her into the Delaware. As the law directing the capture of all armed French vessels passed soon after her arrival, Lo Croyable was condemned, and bought into the navy. She was called the Retaliation, and the command of her was given to Lieut. Bainbridgc. Le Croyable was, consequently, not only the first capture made, in what it is usual to term the French war of 1708, but she was the first vessel ever taken by the present navy, or under the present form of government. The activity employed by the administration, as well as by the navy, now astonished those who had so long been accustomed to believe the American people disposed to submit to any insult, in preference to encountering the losses of a war. The United States 44, Capt. Barry, went to sea, early in July, and proceeded to cruise to the east- ward. This ship carried out with her many young gentle- men, who have since risen to high rank and distinction in the service.* But the law of the 9th of that month, occur- * The first lieutenant of the United States on this cruise, was Mr, Ross; second lieutenant, Mr. MuUony; third lieutenant, Mr. James Barron; ,> W: ■Ai' ,4^*/.. k- NAVAL HISTORY. 277 ring immediately afterwards, the government altered its policy entirely, and determined to send at once, n strong t'urco among the West India islands, where the enemy abounded, and where the commerce of the country was most exposed to his depredations. On the 11th, instruc- tions were sent to Capt. Bnrry, who now hoisted a broad pennant, to go off Capo Cod, with the Delaware 20, Capt. Decatur, whore vould find the Herald 18, Capt. Sever, that officer pre ring active service in a small vessel, < .» waiting for the 1 1 to to which he had been appointed, and then to proceet .ct tly to the West Indies, keeping to windward. That well known frigate, the Constitution 44, had been launched at Boston, Sept. 20th, 1707; and she first got under way, July 20lh of this year, under Capt. Samuel Nicholson, who, in August, with four revenue vessels in com- pany, was directed to cruise on th' coast, to the southward of Cape Henry * These revenue vessels were generally brigs, between one hundred and fifty and two hundred tons measurement, with armaments varying from ten to four- teen guns, and crews of from fifty to seventy men. At the close of the year, many of them were taken into the navy, and we find some of their oflicers, soon after the commencement of the contest, in the command of frigates. The celebrated Preble is first seen in actual service, as the commander of one of these revenue vessels, though his rank was that of a lieut. com., and he had been previously attached to the Constitution, as one of her officers. Early in August, the Constellation 38, Capt. Truxtun, and fourth lieutenant, Mr. Charles Stewart. Among the midshipmen wei'e Decatur, Somers, Caldwell, &c. &c. Messrs. Jacob Jones and Crane, joined her soon after. * It is said that the Constitution would have been the first vessel ever got into the water under the new organization, had she not stuck in an abortive attempt to launch her, at an earlier day. Vol. I 24 •V - t'- *>#■ \ '^<^'^ \ \ \ ^ ^ ^ ^ > > IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // A^ A* ^J>. ^ 1.0 I.I 11.25 _ J21 US ■tt lii 12.2 lii 12.0 lU 1.4 11.6 ^ ^ y Photographic Sdences Corporation 23 WIST MAIN STMIT WnSTIR.N.Y. MSM (716) •72-4503 \ 4 y %■ .''"felt ■4, >*, '.1^-. i It* 378 HAVAL HISTORY. .H >'^'- the Baltimore 20, Capt Phillips, went to the Havana, and brought a convoy of sixty sail in safety to the United States; several French cruisers then lying in the port, ready to follow the merchantmen, but for this force, the presence of which prevented ^em from appearing outside the cas< tie. By the close of the year, the following force was at sea ; most of the vessels being either in the West Indies, or employed in convoying betv;een the islands and the United States. ■■'■?'• , ./.;ufc4W> ■"-. ..v. vr^: .■"•■■. United States' Ships at sea, during the year 1798, viz: •i\r ^W.f^ ♦United States 44, Com. Barry. '^■ ♦Constitution 44, Capt. Nicholson. > ♦Constellation 38, Capt. Truxtun. George Wash- ington 24, Capt. Fletcher. ♦Portsmouth 24, Capt M'Niel. M!' ,i(. s; ?\\ ■i'\ ':£ ^ Revenue vessels. Merrimack 24, Capt. Brown^;/ ' '• Ganges 24, Capt. Tingey. ^ ' A:; Montezuma 20, Capt. Murray. Baltimore 20, Capt. Phillips. :- Delaware 20, Capt. Decatur. Herald 18, Capt. Russel. Richmond 18, Capt. S. Barrom ?^ ♦Norfolk 18, Capt. Williams. - ^. ♦Pinckney 18, Capt. Hayward. ^ Retaliation 14, Lieut. Com. Bainbridge. '■ ♦Pickering, 14, Lieut. Com. Preble. ♦Eagle 14, " Campbell. ♦Scammel 14, « Adams. * ♦Gov. Jay 14, " Leonard. ♦Virginia 14, « Bright, ^' ♦Diligence 12, " Brown. ♦South Carolina 12, « Payne. ^ ♦Gen. Greene 10, " Price. m^ -^ <" *,■ h .. AvJff f/ ■■■»• *\\ f ;'*- .»-'. .uT* % fi^ frAVAL HISTORT., t;.. ■;** 370 Of these vessels, those marked with an asterisk, were built expressly for the public service, while the remainder, with the exception of the Retaliation, captured from the French, were purchased. The vessels rating 20 and 24 guns, were old fashioned sloops, with gun decks, and car- ried, in general, long nines and sixes. The smaller vessels were deep waisted, like the modern corvette, and carried light long guns. Even the frigates had, as yet, no carro- nades in their armaments, their quarter-deck and forecas- tie batteries being long twelves and nines. The carro- nade was not introduced into the service, until near the close of this contest. ; : ^■. , . / - %"> Besides the vessels named in the foregoing list, many more were . already laid down ; and so great was the zeal of the commercial towns, in particular, that no less than two frigates, and five large sloops were building by subscription, in the different principal ports of the country. In addition to this force, must be enumerated eight large galleys, that were kept on the southern coast, to defend their inlets. - ' ■■ '' : ^ ;^ The sudden exhibition of so many cruisers in the West Indies, appears to have surprised the British, as well as the common enemy ; and, while the men of war of Great Bri- tain, on the whole, treated their new allies with sufficient cordiality, instances were not wanting, in which a worse feeling was shown, and a very questionable policy pursued towards them. The most flagrant instance of the sort that took place, occurred in the autumn of this year, off the port of Havana, and calls for a conspicuous notice, in a work of this character. - • -^ ^ ' ^?^:/ On the morning of the 16th November, 1798, a squadron of British ships was made from the United States sloop of war, Baltimore 20, Capt. Phillips, then in charge of a con- voy, bound from Charleston to the Havana. At the time, the Moro was in sight, and knowing that the English ¥ ^'i ;■ ^W -*?• •M -"?«:, A'- >J^. :-'4.; 880 NAVAL HISTORY. Ht- ■^ '%■> ■ cruisers in those seas, were in the habit of pursuing a vexa- tious course towards the American merchantmen, Capt. Phillips, as soon as he had ascertained the characters of the strangers, made a signal to his convoy to carry sail hard, in order to gain their port, bearing up in the Baltimore, at the same time, to speak the English commodore. The latter was in the Carnatick 74, with the Queen 08, Thunderer 74, Maidstone 32, and Greyhound 32, in company. The English ships cut oif three of the convoy, and captured them, proba- ; * biy under the plea of a blockade, or, some of their own con- structions of the rights of colonial trade. When the Baltimore joined the Carnatick, Capt. Loring, the commander of the latter ship, and the senior officer of the squadron, invited Capt. Phillips to repair on board his vessel. On complying with this invitation, a conversation ensued between the two offi- cers, in which Capt. Loring informed his guest that he in- 1\ tended to take all the men out of the Baltimore, that hdd ' ^^ not regular American protections. Capt. Phillips protested against such a violation of his flag, as an outrage on the dignity of the nation to which he belonged, and announced his determination to surrender his ship, should any such proceedings be insisted on. Capt. Phillips now returned on board the Baltimore, where he found a British lieutenant in the act of mustering the crew. Taking the muster roll from his hand, Capt. Phillips ordered the Carnatick's officer to walk to leeward, and sent his bwn people to their quarters. The American commander now found himself in great doubt, as to the propriety of the course he ought to pursue. Having a legal gentleman of some repu- tation on board determined, however, to consult him, and - to be influence his advice. The following facts appear to have been submitted to the consideration of this gentleman. The Baltimore had sailed without a commission on board her, or any paper whatever, signed by the President of the "' United States, and under instructions that " the vessels of ■4 ^, ^ ^ ''^A *vw m^ '<-" ,P»^ i^> (^; /i» 4^-, Jt* *'^V.^>5V>- '^' ■Af 1^ ITAVAL HISTORY. ^% 381 every other nation (France excepted,) are on no account to be molested; and I wish particularly to impress on your mind, that should yoa ever see an American vessel captur- ed by the armed ship of any nation at war, with whom we are at peace, you cannot lawfully interfere to prevent the capture, for it is to be taken for granted, that such nation will compensate for such capture, if it should prove to have been illegally made." We have quoted the whole of this clause, that part which is not, as well as that which is, per- tinent to the point that influenced Capt. Phillips, in order that the reader may understand the spirit that prevailed in the councils of the nation, at that time. There may be some question how far a belligerent can, with propriety, have any authority over a vessel that has been regularly admitted into the convoy of a national cruiser, for it is just as reasonable to suppose that a public ship of one nation would not protect an illegality, by countenancing such a fraud, as to suppose that a public ship of another would not do violence to right in her seizures; and an appeal to the justice of America to deliver up an offending ship might be made quite as plausibly, as an appeal to the justice of Eng- land to restore an innocent ship. The papers of a vessel under convoy, at all events, can properly be examined no- where but under the eyes of the commander of the convoy, or of his agent, in order that the ship examined may have the benefit of his protecting care, should the belligerent feel dis- posed to abuse his authority. It will be observed, however, that Capt. Phillips had trusted more to the sailing of his con- voy, than to any principles of international law ; and when we inquire further into the proceedings of the British com- mander, it will be seen that this decision, while it may not have been as dignified and firm as comported with his official station, was probably as much for the benefit of the inter- ests he was deputed to protect, as any other course might have been. - ' 24* :«" ^ ■%. -^ jf.y 383 NAVAL HISTORY. Whatever may be thought of the rights of belligerents in regard to ships, there can be no question that the conduct of the British officer, in insisting, under the circumstonces, on tailing any of the Baltimore's men, was totally unjusti- fiable. The right of impressment is a national, and not an international right, depending solely on municipal regula- tions, and in no manner on public law; since the latter can confer no privileges, that, in their nature, are not reciprocal. International law is founded on those principles of public good which are common to all forms of government, and it is not to be tolerated that one particular community should set up usages, arising out of its peculiar situation, with an attempt to exercise them at the expense of those general rules which the civilized world has recognised as necessa- ry, paramount, and just. No principle is better settled than the one which declares that a vessel on the high seas, for all the purposes of personal rights, is within the protection of the. laws of the country to which she belongs; and Eng- land has no more authority to send an agent on board an American vessel, so situated, to reclaim a deserter, or a subject, than she can have a right to send a sheriff's officer to arrest a thief. If her institutions allow her to insist on the services of a particular and limited class of her own sub- jects, contrary to their wishes, it is no affair of other na- tions, so long as the exercise of this extraordinary regula- tion is confined to her own jurisdiction; but when she attempts to extend it into the legal jurisdictions of other communities, she not only invades their privileges by vio- lating a conventional right, but she offends their sense of justice by making them parties to the commission of an act that is in open opposition to natural equity. In the case before us, the British commander, however, did still more, for he reversed all the known and safe principles of evi- dence, by declaring that he should put the accused to the proofs of their innocence, and, at once, assume that every V.1 w- m .^ .V A- I v^^ V I' * \\ Q e -rf «^V -'4. NAVAL HISTORY. 383 man in the Baltimore was an Englishman, who should fail to establish the fact that he was an American. Capt. Phillips, after taking time to deliberate, determined to submit to superior force, surrender his ship, and to refer the matter to his own government. The colours of the Bal- timore were accordingly lowered; Capt. Loring was in- formed that the ship was at his disposal, and fifty-five of the crew were immediately transferred to the Carnatick. After a short delay, however, fifty of these men were sent back, and only five were retained. . .' . -i-i ■'..•• Capt. Loring now made a proposition to Capt. Phillips, that was as extraordinary as any part of his previous con- duct, by stating that he had a number of Americans in his squadron, whom he would deliver up to the flag of their country, man for man, in exchange for as many English- men. These Americans, it is fair to presume, had been impressed, and the whole of these violent outrages on neu- tral rights, were closed by a proposal to surrender a cer- tain number of American citizens, who were detained against their will, and in the face of all law, to fight battles in which they had no interest, if Capt. Phillips would weaken his crew by yielding an equal number of English- men, who had taken voluntary service under the American fiag, for the consideration of a liberal bounty and ample pay. It is scarcely necessary to say that this proposition was rejected ; the American commander possessing no more au- thority to give up any portion of his legal crew, in this manner, than he had to insist on the services of the Ameri- cans wKbm he might receive in exchange. The British squadron now made sail, carrying with them the five men and the three ships. Nothing remained for Capt. Phillips but to hoist his colours again, and to proceed on his cruise. On his return to America, this oflicer hastened to Philadel- phia, and laid the whole transaction before the government, fih "yC'^'- .^., ,^ 384 NAVAL HISTORY. and on the 10th January, 1700, he was dismissed from the navy without trial. " .- / ' We look back on this whole transaction with mortifica- tion, regret and surprise. We feel deep mortification that, aAer the experience of the contest of the Revolution, the American character should have fallen so low, that an oflicer of any nation might dare to commit an outrage as violent as that perpetrated by the commander of the Carnatick, for it is fair to presume that no man would incur its responsibility with his own government, who did not feel well assured that his superiors would think the risk of a conflict with America, more than compensated by the advantage that would be thus obtained in manning the English fleets ; ef- fectually proving that the prevalent opinion of the day must have been, that America was so little disposed to in- sist on her rights, that in preference to putting her com- merce in jeopardy, she would not only yield her claim to protect seamen under her flag generally, but under that pennant which is supposed more especially to represent na- tional dignity and national honour. This opinion was un- deniably unfounded, as regards the great majority of the Annerican people, but it was only too true, in respect to a portion of them, who collected in towns, and sustained by the power of active wealth, have, in all ages and in all countries, been enabled to make their particular passing in- terests temporarily superior to those eternal principles on which nations or individuals can alone, with any due reli- ance, trust for character and security. In 1708, the contest with France was so much the more popular with the mer- cantile part of the community, because it favoured trade with England ; and some now living may be surprised to learn, that a numerous and powerful class in the country, were so blinded by their interests, and perhaps misled by prejudices of a colonial origin, as actually to contend that Great Britain had a perfect right to seize her seamen *% M wVv^' m^ «J-r .,>*.c; . ■^, 4. ^.. *«■-- ' XN ":*V m ^* .•iS4*- •_ ;t > .wil % ^ ■/\ ' >> lis* '■»4 »'^ " i J If AVAL HISTORV. wherever she could find them; a privilege that could be no more urged with reason, than to insist that Great Britain had an equal right to exercise any other municipal power that conflicted with general principles, on the plea of pri- vate necessity. An act of spirited resistance at that mo- ment might have put a stop to the long train of similar aggressions that followed, and which, after an age of for- bearance, finally produced all the evils of the very warfare that seems to have been so much apprehended. On this branch of the subject, no more need be said at present, thau to add that while the British government did not appear disposed to defend the principle involved in the act of its officer, the American so far forgot what was due to its real interests, as not to insist on an open and signal reparation of the wrong. The conduct of the commander of the Baltimore ought, in a measure, to be judged by the spirit of the day in which the event occurred, and not by the better feelings and sound- er notions that now prevail on the same subject. Still, he appears to have fallen into one or two material errors. The inference put on the words "no account" in his instruc- tions, was palpably exaggerated and feeble ; since it would equally have led him to yield his ship, itself, to an attack from an inferior force, should it have suited the views of the commander of any vessel h^\X a Frenchman to make one; and the case goes to shov. the great importance of possessing a corps of trained and instructed officers to com- mand vessels of war, it being as much a regular qualifica- tion in the accomplished naval captain, to be able to make distinctions that shall render him superior to sophisms of this nature, as to work his ship. The circumstance that there was no commission, or anv paper signed by the President of the United States, in the Baltimore, though certainly very extraordinary, and going to prove the haste with which the armaments of 1798 were i^ -^ 986 NAVAL HISTORY. made, ought to have had no influence on the decision of Capt. Phillips, in the presence of a foreign ship. Thit officer would not have hesitated about defending his convoy, under his instructions alone, against a Frenchman; and, by a similar rule, he ought not to have hesitated about defending his people against an Englishman, on the same authority. Any defect in form, connected with his papers, was a ques' ■ tion purely national, no foreign officer having a right to enter into the examination of the matter at all, so long as (here was sufficient evidence to establish the national cha- racter of the Baltimore, which, in extremity, might have been done by the instructions themselves; and we see in the doubts of Capt. Phillips on this head, the deficiencies of a man educated in a merchantman, or a service in which clearances and registers are indispensable to legality, in- stead of the decision and promptitude of an officer taught \ from youth to rely on the dignity and power of his govern- ment, and the sanctity of his flag. The commissions of her . officers do not give to a ship of war her national character, but they merely empower those who hold them to act in their several stations; the nationality of the vessel depend- ,^ ing on the simple facts of the ownership and the duty ofb^ which she is employed. Nations create such evidence of this interest in their vessels as may suit themselves, nor can foreigners call these provision in question, so long as they answer the great ends for wh^ they were intended. Diflfercnt opinions have been entertained of the propriety '^ of the course taken by Capt. Phillips, without reference to ^ the grounds of his submission. By one set of logicians he is justifled in yielding without resistance, on account of th#g j, overwhelming force of the English ; and by another con- demned, on the plea that a vessel of war should never strike her colours with her guns loaded. We think both of these distinctions false, as applied to this particular case ; and the latter, as applied to most others. When the commander of a •Ir w* f :S[ m- tf'-- Ir ■*?•« ■»^ ^' *•«■ Sk i w* i , 4 f >«#■ a -f: Sri •■^v. ITAVAL HISTORY. 967 veuel of war sees no means of escape from capture, nothing is gained, either to his nation or himself, by merely firing a broadside and hauling down his colours. So far from being an act of spirit, it is the reverse, unless we concede some- thing to the force of prejudice, since it is hazarding the lives of others, without risking his own, or those of his crew ; for, to pretend that Capt. Phillips should not only have dis- charged his guns, but have stood the fire of the Carnatick, is to affirm that an officer ought to consummate an act of injustice in others, by an act of extreme folly of his owot We think, however, that Capt. Phillips erred in not resisting in a manner that was completely within his power. When he took the muster-roll from the hands of the English lieute- nant, and called his people to quarters, he became master of his own ship, and might have ordered the Carnatick's boat to leave it, with a message to Capt. Loring, expressive of his determintion to defend himself. The case was not one of war, in which there was a certainty that, resisting, he would, be assailed, hut an efiort on the part of the com- mander of a ship belonging to a friendly power, to push ag- gression to a point that no one but himself could know. An attempt to board the Baltimore in boats might have been resisted, and successfully even, when credit instead of dis- credit would have been reflected on the service ; and did the Carnatick open her fir^^all question of blame, as re- spects Capt. Phillips, would lave been immediately settled. It may bo 9iuch doubted if the British officer would have had recourse to so extreme a measure, under such circum- stances; and if he had, something would have been gained, by at once placing the open hostility of a vastly superior force, between submission and disgrace. . < ^ Neither was the course pursued by the government free from censure. It is at all times a dangerous, and in scarce- ly no instance a necessary, practice, to cashier an officer ^'imS^ ^■?^'- •pi. '.m '. ./ "T*- i«i|ii *f ' I -< !f 286 NAVAL HISTORY. without trial. Cases of misconduct so flagrant, may cer* tainly occur, as to justify the executive in resorting to the prompt use of the removing power; as for cowardice in the open field, in presence of the commander-in-chief, when dis- grace in face of the army or fleet, might seem as appro- priate as promotion for conduct of the opposite kind ; but, as a rule, no military man should suffer this heavy penally without having the benefit of a deliberate and solemn inves- tigation, and the judgment of those who, by their expe- rience, may be supposed to be the most competent to decide on his conduct. The profession of an officer is the business of a life, and tho utmost care of his interests and character, is the especial duty of thoso who are called' to preside over his destinies, in a civil capacity. In the case before us, we learn the danger of precipitation and misconception in such matters, the reason given by the secretary for the dismissal of Capt. Phillips being contradicted by the facts, as they are now understood. In the communication of that functionary to tho degraded officer, the latter was charged with " tame submission to the orders of the British lieutenant, on board your own ship ;*' whereas, it is alleged on the part of Capt. Phillips, that he did not permit the English officer to muster his crew, but that the act was performed while he himself was on board the Carnatick. ' • "^ ■ . ' „ ; As recently as the year ISJfO, an attempt was made to revive an investigation of this subject, and to restore Capt. Phillips to his rank. It is due tu that officer to say, many of the facts were found to be much more in his favour than had been generally believed, and that the investigation, while it failed in its principal object, tended materially to relieve his name from the opprobrium under which it had previously rested. Although many still think he erred in judgment, it is now the general impression that his mistakes were the results of a want of experience, and perhaps of the ^: w -#=" •A »- ■.*' ,^ ■^■' ''^^ . f. f // KAVAb HItTOftY. 869 opinions of the day, rathor thnn of any want of a suitable disposition to defend the honour of the flag. The punish- ment inflictjcd on him, appears to have been as unnccessa- rily severe, as it was indiscreet in its manner; and if we may set down the outrage os a fault of the times, wo may also add to the same calaluguo of errors, most of the other distinctive features of the entire proceedings. ■ It has been stated that the privateer Le Croyable 14, captured by the Delaware 20, had been taken into the ser- vice, under the name of the Retaliation. In November, 1798, or about the time that the Carnatick impressed the men of the Baltimore, the Montezuma 20, Capt. Murray, Norfolk 18, Capt. Williams, and Retaliation 12, Lieut. Com. Bain- bridge, were cruising in company off Guadaloupe, when three sails were made to the eastward, and soon after two more to the Wv^^tward. Capt. Murray, who was the senior officer, was led to suppose, from circumstances, that the vessels in the eastern board were British, and speaking the Retaliation, he ordered Lieut. Bainbridge to reconnoitre them, while, with the Norfolk in company, he gave chase, hinMelf, in the Montezuma, to the two vessels to the west- ward. The Retaliation, in obedience to these orders, imme- diately hauled up towards the three strangers, and getting near enough for signals, she made her own number, with a view to ascertain if they were Americans. Finding that he was not understood, Lieut. BainbriHge mistook the strangers for English cruisers, knowing that several were on the sta- tion, and unluckily permitted them to approach so near, that when their real characters were ascertained, it was too late to escape. The leading ship, a French frigate, was an un- commonly fast sailer, and she was soon near enough to open her fire. It was not long before another frigate came up, when the Retaliation was compelled to lower her flag. Thus did this unlucky vessel become the first cruiser taken by both parties, in this war. The frigates by which the Vol. I— 25 i ;M "4 ■ .Av. . *■ 7' .;% • 290 MAVAL Hiavonr. If- . f;*! 'SI* Ketaliation was captured, proved to be the Volontaire 36, and the Insurgente 32, the former carrying 44, and the lat- latter 40 guns. Mr. Bainbridge was put on board the Vo- lontaire, while the Insurgente, perceiving that the schooner was safe with the former, continued to carry sail in chase of the Montezuma and Norfolk. As soon as a prize crew could be thrown into the Retaliation, the Volontaire crowded sail to join her consort. The chase now became exceed- ingly interesting, the two American vessels being fully aware, by the capture of the schooner, that they had to deal with an enemy. The Insurgente was one of the fastest ships in the world, and her commander an officer of great skill and resolution. The two American vessels were small for their rates, and, indeed, were overrated, the Montezuma being a little ship of only 347 tons, and the Norfolk a brig of 200. Their armaments were merely nines and sixe%; shot that would be scarcely regarded in a conflict with fri- gates. The officers of the Volontaire collected on the fore- castle of their ship to witness tbe chase, and the Insurgente being, by this time, a long way ahead, Capt. St. Laurent, the commander of the Volontaire, asked Mr. Bainbridge, who was standing near him, what might be the force of the two American vessels. With great presence of mind, Mr. Bainbridge answered without hesitation, that the ship car- ried 28 twelves, and the brig 20 nines. As this account quite doubled the force of the Americans, Capt. St. Laurent, who was senior to the commander of the Insurgent^ imme- diately threw out a signal to the latter to relinquish the chase. This was an unmilitary order, even admitting the fact to have been as stated, for the Insurgente would have been fully able to employ two such vessels until the Volon- taire could come up: but the recent successes of the English had rendered the French cruisers wary, and the Americans and English, as seamen, were probably identified in the minds of the enemy. The signal caused as much surprise n^ * . t^* * J •■ ^■ > i m #."- M'-^' "'^m^r % VATAL HISTORY. 291 ii -1* .,/ -^ i>^ \ ..#■'■ K'jr -.4» >v "x^^' ''^' mK- to Capt. Murray, in the Monlezuma, as to Capt Barreault, of the Insurgente, for the latter, an excellent and spirited officer, had got so near his chases as to have made out their force, and to feel c<*rtain of capturing both. The signal was obeyed, however, and the Moutezunia and Norfolk escaped. ^'^t ^,4.^ti^ When the two French vessels joined each other, Capl. Barreault naturally expressed his surprise at having been recalled under such circumstances. An explanation fol- lowed, when the ruse that had been practised by Mr. Bain- bridge was discovered. It is to the credit of the French officers, that, while they were much vexed at the results of this artifice, they never visited the offender with their dis- pleasure. ii It is one of the curious incidents of this singular contest, that a proposition was made to Mr. Bainbridge, by the governor of Guadaloupe, into which place the two French, frigates went with their prize, to restore the Retaliation, a vessel captured from ihe French themselves, and to liberate her crew, provided he would stipulate that the island should remain neutral during the present state of things. This pro- position Mr. Bainbridge had no authority to accept, and the termination of a long and prevaricating negotiation on the part of the governor, whose object was probably to enrich his particular command, or himself, by possessing a mono- poly of the American trade for a time, was to send the Retaliation back to America as a cartel ; for, now that the United States had taken so bold a stand, the French go- vernment appeared even less anxious than our own, to break out into open war. On the arrival of Mr. Bainbridge in this country, his conduct received the approbation of the administration, and he was immediately promoted to the rank of master commandant, and appointed to the Norfolk 18, one of the vessels he had saved from the enemy by his presence of mind. ^~ - *■ '^ I**" **■■' ■■W-' -^» M' "A. M' f' Si02 VAVAL HISTORY. The efforts of the governpr of Guadaloupe to obtain a neutrality for his own island, had been accompanied by some acts of severity towards his prisoners, into which he had suffered himself to be led) apparently with the hope that, it might induce Mr. Bainbridge to accept his propositions; and that officer now reported the whole of the proceedings to his own government. The result was an act authorizing retaliation on the persons of Frenchmen, should there be any recurrence of similar wrongs. This law gave rise to some of the earliest of those disgraceful party dissensions which, in the end, reduced the population of the whole coun- try, with very few exceptions, to be little more than par- tisans of either French or English aggressions. The United States 44, and Delaware 20, captured the privateers Sans Pareil 16, and Jaloux 14, in the course of the autumn, and sent them in. \ Thus terminated the year 1708, though the return of the Retaliation did not occur until the commencement of 1700, leaving the United States with a hastily collected, an imper- fectly organized, and unequally disciplined squadron of ships, it is tfue.; but a service that contained the germ of all that is requisite to make an active, an efficient and a glorious marine. > ...,- Vru- \ }'--. -.!4 _ « . .' ' i " '■i'i;- 1 u' • :."'.' # : ;^ '• ': - '• ■.;:■';--. ^.,:^;r., ;, ■^^ H V , '; . /- - .. •'r# * ,. .: .i«i:.4 S'* :--^f.- ■*?■ '■ '( ■■ »* I •■ ?-'% ' ) ,i^^-i•,-i'^ ■-..'.■•:.fr' v>^V?^l!*.^ '*,.^t -• '«•!«.. **:■ 1 ^ * ,_. "J ' iy^^m 'V-i ' ^^ .f!^'-" i* \.'*<« MAVAL HUTMr. /'/ jV.'S '•ti' ,i^ f- ^■^ ,. " i". .*sr! # '^/Jis CHAPTER XVI. .-X..-''" ■ ^HH year 1700 opened with no departure from the policy laid down by the government, and the building and equip- ments of the different ships in various parts of the country, were pressed with as much diligence as the public resources would then allow. In the course of this season, many ves- sels were launched, and most of them got to sea within the year. Including all, those that were employed in 1798, those that were put in commission early in the ensuing year, and those that were enabled to quit port nearer to its close, the entire active naval force of the United States, in 1790, would seem to have been composed of the following vessels, viz: United States 44, Delaware 20, Constitution 44, Baltimore 20, Congress 38, Patapsco 20, Constellation 88, Maryland 20. Essex 32, Herald 18, General Greene 28, Norfolk 18, Boston 28, Richmond 18, Adams 28, Pinckney 18, John Adams 28, Warren 18, Portsmouth 24, Eagle 14, Connecticut 24. .„ Pickering 14, Ganges 24, ■* Augusta 14, Geo. Washington 34, Scammel 14, Merrimack 24, Enterprise 12. 26« ^^ ■M v» ^^^ .'3#^ i^^ ^■' 294 NAVAL HMTORr. To these must be added a few revenue vessels, though most of this description of cruisers appear to have been kept on the coast throughout this year. As yet, the greatest confusion and irregularity prevailed in the rating, no uni- form system appearing to have been adopted. The vessels built by the different cities, and presented to the public, in particular, were rated too high, from a natural desire to make the offering as respectable as possible ; and it does not appear to have been thought expedient, on the part of the government, prematurely to correct the mistakes. But the department itself was probably too little instructed to detect the discrepancies, and some of them continued to exist as long as the ships themselves. It may help the reader in appreciating the characters of the different ves- sels, if we explain some of these irregularities, as a speci- men of the whole. \ \ The United States and Constitution, as has been else- where said, were large ships, with batteries of 30 twenty- four pounders on their gun-decks, and were appropriately rated as forty-fours. The Congress and Constellation were such ships as the English were then in the practice of ra- ting as thirty-eights, being eighteen-pounder. frigates, of the largest size. The Essex was the only ship in the navy that was properly rated as a' thirty-two, having a main-deck battery of 26 twelves, though she was a large vessel of her class. The John Adams, General Greene, Adams and Boston, were such ships as the British had been accustomed to rate as twenty-eights, and the two latter were small ships of this denomination. The George Washington, though she appears as only a twenty-four, while the Boston figured as a thirty-two, was, as near as can now be ascertained by the offi- cially reported tonnage, more than a fourth larger than the latter ship. Indeed, it may be questioned if the Boston ought to have been rated higher than a twenty-four, the Connecticut which was thus classed, being thirty tons lar- nt ;f ■,-*.»■ ■^-: 5^" ■k'r 1 ■a '^< ■'^T. M / !•'■ HAVAL BISTORT. 20ft \ • ■k '%:■■ '• \ .|j-. e n e ■*, ;«, •1»rv ger. It ought, however,, to be remarked, that difierences in the rule of measuring tonnage, had prevailed in difierent colonies among the shipwrights, as they are known still to exist in different nations, and it is probable that some con- fusion may have entered into these reports, in consequence of the want of uniformity. It may be added, that the smaller vessels generally were light of their respective rates, and were by no means to be estimated by those of similar rates, at the present day. - i At the close of the vcar 1708, the active force in the West-Indies had been distributed into four separate squad- rons, in the following manner. One squadron under Com. Barry, who was the senior officer of the service, cruised to windward, running as far south as Tobago, and consisted of the vessels about to be named, viz: United States 44, Com. Barry. > : ; .^4^ Constitution 44, Capt. Nicholson. • m^^ }:'0' George Washington 24, " Fletcher, ■^'m /, ■> i* Merrimack Portsmouth Herald Pickering ..; Eagle Scammel l Diligence « t^' A Brown. 24, « M'Niell. 18, Master Com. Russel. 14, Lieut. Com. Preble. 14, « Campbell. 14, " Adamsi 12, « Brown. This force was now kept actively employed, the ships passing from point to point, with orders to make a general rendezvous at Prince Rupert's Bay. This squadron made several captures, principally of privateers, and as none of them were accompanied by incidents deserving of particu- lar mention, they may be recorded together, though occur- ring at different periods. The United States 44, Com. Barry, captured I'Amour de la Patrie 6, with 80 men, and le Tar- tuffe 8, with 60 men. The Merrimack 24, Capt Brown, . .#■ :'^ i4. 1^, 4?^ >.> ■•'^ .^- ".'.■-l-.. 4 «v- 206 HAVAL HMTOET. la Magicienne 14, with 63 men, and le Bonaparte. The Portsmouth 24, Capt. M'Niell, le Fripon, and TAmi 6, with 16 men. The Eagle 14, Capt. Campbell, le Bon Pdre 6, with 52 men. A second squadron, under the orders of Capt Truxtun, had its rendezvous at St. Kitts, and cruised as far to lee- ward as Porto Rico. It consisted of the Constellafton 38, Com. Truxtun. ' ^ '.: ; .i-i* Baltimore 20, Capt Phillips. X- *::. \' . Richmond 18, •♦ S. Barron. ^ "^ ," Norfolk 18, " Williams. 1/. • -:- Virginia 14, " Bright ..^. .> *• The Baltimore took I'Esperance, and was present at the capture of la Sirdne 4, with 36 men. This ship was put under the command of Capt Barron, soon after the dis- missal of Capt Phillips from the service, and before the close of the season was commanded by Capt Cowper. The Constellation took la Diligente and I'Union. A small force under the orders of Capt Tingey, watched the passage between Cuba and St Domingo. It consisted of the , "^ V' "'■ Ganges 24, Capt Tingey. 1-, Pinckney 18, •• Hay ward. South Carolina 12, " Payne. The Ganges took le Vengeur 6, la Rabateuse, I'Eugene, and I'Esperance 8. The Delaware 20, Capt Decatur, with the revenue vttl- sels Governor Jay 14, and General Greene 10, was directed to cruise in the vicinity of the Havana, to protect the trade on the coast of Cuba. The Delaware captured the Marsuin 10, and the same ship, later in the season, under the orders <^ Capt Baker, took le Renard and TOcean. The Mon- tezuma 20, Capt Murray, after the capture of the Retalia- tion, and the return of the Norfolk 18, to America, cruised some time alone, taking a small privateer of six guns. •.* f.i ;Ste* •^ :4^ ■ i ^. ,»^5 : • ¥»> ■^'. .«!W:««|t'i*pi^(C*' ^v <'/■ % VAVAL HISTORY. 297 ^} ''•* i 5» I- d e , n '8 1- % -^ E;.--r^ ■ Although the year commenced with this disposition of the vessels, many changes occurred, as the new ships were got to sea, and particularly on account of the great mistake of shipping the crews for a term as short as one year. It . followed, of course, that the vessels which sailed in July and August 1708, for the West India station, if called there by no other cause, were compelled to return home in the sum< mer of 1799, to discharge their crews, and to obtain others in their places. It was fortunate that the spirit of the times, the absence of privateers, and an abundance of men, in some measure, remedied this defect, and that the delays it caused were not as material as might have been otherwise appro- bended. ">. • h On the 9th of February, the Constellation 38, Com. Trux- tun, was cruising on her prescribed ground, Nevis, bearing W. S. W., distant five leagues, when she made a large ship in the southern board. The Constellation being to wind- ward at the moment. Com. Truxtun ran down towards tl)e stranger, who now set American colours, when the private signals were shown. As the chase was unable to answer, he seemed to think further disguise unnecessary, for he hoisted the French ensign, and fired a gun to windward, by way of a challenge, keeping under easy sail, to invite the contest. This was the first opportunity that had occurred since the close of the Revolution, for an American vessel of war to get along side of an enemy, of a force likely to run- c&r a combat certain, and the officers 'and men of the Con- stellation displayed the greatest eagerness to engage. On the other hand, the stranger betrayed no desire to disappoint his enemy, waiting gallantly for her to come down. When the Constellation had got abeam of the French frigate, and so near as to have been several times hailed, she opened h^ fire, which was returned promptly and with spirit. The Constellation drew gradually ahead, both ships maintaining a fierce cannonade. The former sufifered most in her sails ■>■*' ..* :^it,' f .f-W K I, ' ^ ■^#- 2S6 * i# MAVAL HUTORT. .ii^ and rigging, and vrhile under the heaviest of the fire of her iiitagonist, the fore-top-mast was badly wounded* quite near the .lower cap. The fore-top was commanded by Mr.' David Porter, a midshipman of great promise, and finding that his hails to communicate this important circumstance were dis- regarded, in the heat of the combat, this young officer took on himself the responsibility of cutting the stoppers and of lowering the yard. By thus relieving the spar of the pres- sure of the sail, he prevented the fall of the top-mast and all its hamper. In the mean time the weight and effect of the fire were altogether in favour of the Constellation, and not- withstanding the injury received in her fore-top-mast, that ship was soon able to throw in two cr three raking broad- sides, which decided the combat After maintaining a close contest, in this manner, of about an hour, the Constel- lation shot out of the smoke, wore round, and hauling athwart her antagonist's stern was ready again with every gliin to rake her, when the enemy struck. The prize proved to be the French frigate I*fiisurgente, Capt. Barreault, the vessel that has already been mention- ed, as having captured the Retaliation, and chasing the Montezuma and Norfolk, and one of the fastest ships in the world. She was much cut up, and had sustained a loss of 70 men, in killed and wounded; 29 of the former, and 41 of the latter. The Constellation, besides the loss of the foretop- nfast, which had to be shifted, was much damaged alp£L suffering no material injury in her hull, however, and MH only 3 atien wounded. Among the latter, was Mr. James M*Donough, a midshipman, who had a foot shot off. Early in the combat, one of the men flinched from his gun, and he warinstantly killed by the third lieutenant, to whose di- Xision he belonged. The Insurgente*s armament consisted of 40 guns, French twelves, on her main deck battery, and her compliment of men was 400. She was a ship a little heavier than a regu- t. V ^. h :^. J iu #; ■^t^ l-Vi :4 ^' 1:m ^,^^N ^'■tSi- . . .*■ Jt-' # f ■ -^ ■VV-*''*''' *" - w ^V:*M!i,rt W^ m ITAVAL HISTORY. ■h lar 82, which would probably have been her rate in (^ i -1^ »«>«lita *W 800 NAVAL HISTORY. .' I. tagonist was sought, and the neatness and despatch with which the battle was won. The Insurgente struck about half past three in the after- noon, and Mr. Rodgers,* the first lieutenant of the Constel- lation, together with Mr. Porter,t and eleven men, were thrown on board her, to take possession, and to superin- tend the removal of the prisoners. It now began to blow, and when the darkness rendered it necessary to defer the duty, 173 of the prize's crew were still in her. The wind continued to rise, and, notwithstanding every cfibrt, the ships separated in the darkness. The situation of Mr. Rodgers was now exceedingly cri- tical. The vessel was still covered with the wreck, while the wounded, and even the dead were lying scattered about her decks, and the prisoners early discovered a disposition to rise. The gratings had been thrown overboard by the people of the Insurgente after she struck, and no handcuflfs could be found. Fortunately, Mr. Rodgers was a man of great personal resolution, and of herculean strehgth, while Mr. Porter, though young and comparatively slight, was as good a second, in such trying circumstances, as any one could desire. As soon as it was* ascertained that the pri- soners could not bo got out of the ship that night, they were all sent into the lower hold, the fire-arms were secured, and a sentinel was placed at each hatchway, armed to the teeth, with positive orders to shoot every man who should attempt to appear on deck, without permission. In this awkwafd situation, Mr. Rodgers and his party continued three .4ays, unable to sleep, compelled to manage a frigate, and to watch their prisoners, with the utmost vigilance, as the latter were constantly on the look-out for an opportu- nity to re-take^e ship. At the end of that time, they car- ^' '■^■, * Late Com. Rodgera. t Com. Porter. *: ^. '. •>♦■, fb "If <^ >* '•■:* , \>;''' ■w A^ ■i '¥ s,il. VAVAL HISTORY. 301 ried the Insurgente, in triumph, into St. Kitts, where they found that the Constellation had already arrived. Mr. Rodgers and Mr. Cowper, the first and second lieu- tenants of the Constellation, were soon after promoted to be captains, great irregularity existing in the service, at that day, on subjects of this nature. The rank of master com- mandant had been established, but the government ap- peared to think that it was still organizing a marine, and that it was empowered to exercise its discretion, in trans- ferring officers at will, from one grade tu another, so long as no one was reduced from a former station. Capt. Rod- gers was appointed to the Maryland 20, and Capt. Cowper to the Baltimore 20. One of the effects of the victory of the Constellation was to render the navy still more popular, and the most respectable families of the nation discovered greater anxiety than ever to get their sons enrolled on its lists. The new ships were put into the water as fast as possible, and, as soon as manned and equipped, il^ere sent on the different cruising grounds. L'ln- surgente was taken into the service as a thirty-six, the confi- mand of her was given to Capt. Murray, late of the Monte- zuma 20, and she was permitted to cruise with a roving commission.'- i^a'- ••*•*• In the mean time, the care of the government appeared to extend itself, and it began to cast its eyes beyond the hazards of the American seas. ^i^ ■ 0'^'-.' ;|wyV.t the close of the year, the Congress 38, Capt. Sever, and Essex 32, Capt. Preble, sailed with orders to convoy vessels as far as Batavia. The former of these vesfgls met with an accident to which all new ships are liable on quit- ting America in the winter. Her rigging having been set up in cold weather, it became slack wheq^e got into th« gulf stream, where she also encountered a strong southerly gale, and she lost not only all her masts, but her bowsprit. The main-mast went while Mr. Bosworth, the fourth lieu- Vol. I.— 26 $1 * * '^,- # "i^tif* ^' ^iii ■«« k» . f 803 ITAVAL HISTOlir. tenant, was aloft, endeavouring to lower the main>top-mait, by which accident that officer was lost. The crew of the top were all happily saved.* The Congress returned to port, for repairs, but Capt. Preble proceeded on his cruise, carrying the pennant, for the first time, in a regular cruiser, to the eastward of the Capo of Good Hope. The active measures resorted to by the American go- vernment having better disposed that of France to nego- tiate, and pledges having been given that new ministers would be received with more respect than had been showii to the last sent, who had met with insults and neglect, the United States 44, Com. Barry, sailed from Newport, Rhode Island, on the 3d of November, having on board envoys to the French Directory. Notwithstanding these measures to obtain peace. Congress proceeded in the legis- lation necessary to establish a marine. Many of the laws for the government of the navy were amended, and new regulations were introduced as substitutes for such of the old ones as were found defective. The appropriation for the support of the navy, during the year 1800, the marine corps included, amounted to $2,482,953 90. » ^ r^'; r* •; v The new year consequently opened with increased efforts to continue the singular war that had now existed eighteen months. Many acquisitions were made to the navy, and the following is a list of the vessels that appear to have been * A similar accident was near occurring to the United States 44, in her first cruise, under Com. Barry. After the ship got into the g^lf stream, the rigfging slackened, when she was scudding ten knots in a gale, and rolling nearly gunwale to. While all on board were trembling for the masts, Mr. James Barron, the third lieutenant, proposed to Com. Barry to set up the rigging, confidently declaring his ability to do so. This bold oifer was accepted, and Mr. Barron got purchases on every other shroud, and by swaying together at the call, under the vigilant superintendence of the officers, this delicate undertaking was accomplished with success, and the ship's masts were saved. It ought to be remembered that few of the masts in this war were made, but that they were mostly single sticks. ■m' f ■'' ITAVAL HISTORY. 808 ■*^». employed in the course of the season, principally in the West Indies, viz : United States 44, Portsmouth ii, Conslitution 44, Merrimack 24, President 44f Delaware 20, ',, Constellation 38, Baltimore 20, Congress 38, ,^. Maryland 20, ; Chesapeake 36, , ,; Patapsco 20, Philadelphia 36, Herald 16, New- York 36, Norfolk 16, • ,- Insurgedte 30, Richmond 16, Essex Wf Pinckney 16, Gen. Greene 28, Warren 16, Adams . jpi t^ • Eagle . 14, John Adams 28, Pickering 14, Boston 26, Augusta 14, Geo. Washington 24, Scmmel 14, Connecticut 24, : ' Enterprise . 12, Ganges 24, , , Experiment 12. Trumbull 24, By this time, the revenue vessels, with the exception of one or two, appear to have been retained at home, and in the foregoing list, no mention is made of galleys. Laws had been previously passed for the construction of six seventy-fours, and contracts were already made for the collection of the necessary materials. The cruising portion of the vessels were distributed in two principal squadrons, the one on the St. Domingo sta- tion under the orders of Com. Talbot, whose broad pennant was flying in the Constitution 44, and the other on the Gua- daloupe station, under the orders, first of Com. Truxtun, in the Constellation 38, and next under the orders of Com. Decatur, in the Philadelphia 36. The force of the former varied from seven to twelve vessels, while the latter, in April, consisted of thirteen sail. , , % ■"■•^1 ^*v 1; V. .1 ^^t %■ #• *- ' i l!'. ^ t 304 NAVAL HISTORY. Notwithstanding this exhibition of a respectable and ac- tive force, the great facilities ofTcred by the islands, and the strong temptations that were to be found in the American West-India trade, then one of the most considerable of the country, induced the enemy to be constantly on the alert, and the sens were still swarming with French cruisers, principally privateers. Guadaloupe, in particular, was dis- tinguished for the number of captures made by its Vessels ; and it was for this reason that we now find the heaviest American squadron cruising in that vicinity. On the 1st of February, 1800, the Constellation 38, Com. Truxtun, was again oflT the island of Guadaloupe, alone, Basseterre bearing east five leagues, when a sail was seen to the south-east, steering westward. Com. 'tVuxtun at first supposed the ship in sight to be a large English merchant- man, from Martinico, of which he had some knowledge, and, unwilling to be drawn to leeward of his cruising ground, he hoisted English colours, by way of inducing her to run down and speak him. This invitation being disre- garded, sail was madt; in chase, the Constellation gaining fast on the stranger. As the latter drew nearer, the ship to windward was discovered to be a French vessel of war; when the English colours were hauled down, and the Con- stellation cleared for action. The chase was now distinctly made out to be a heavy frigate mounting 52 guns. As her metal was in all probability equal to her rate, the only circumstance to equalize this disparity against the Constel- lation, was the fact that the stranger was very deep, which was accounted for by a practice of sending valuable articles to France, at that time, in the ships of war, as the safest means of transmission. Com. Truxtun was not discou- raged by his discovery, but continued to carry every stitch of canvass that would draw. Towards noon, however, the wind became light, and the enemy had the advantage in sail- ing. In this manner, with variable breezes, and a smooth •f'"' .'<■ .:<1^ ^ '.^, , t>' NAVAL HISTORY. 305 sea, the chase continued until noon on the 2d, when the wind freshened, and the Constellation again drew ahead. By the middle of the afternoon, the wind had every appear- ance of standing, and the chase was rising fast. It was eight in the evening, nevertheless, before the two ships were within speaking distance of each other, the stranger having come up to the wind a little, and the Constellation doubling on her weather quarter. Com. Truxtun was about to speak the enemy, when the latter opened a fire from his stern and quarter guns. In a few moments the Constella- tion, having drawn still more on the weather quarter of the chase, poured in a broadside, and the action began in ear- nest. It was a little past eight when the firing commenced, and it was maintained with vigour until near one in the morning, the two ships, most of the time, running free, side by side, when the stranger hauled up, and drew out of the combat. Orders were given on board the Constellation to brace up in chase; but, at this moment, a report was brought to Com. Truxtun that the main-mast was supported almost solely by the wood, every shroud having been shot away, and many of them cut so repeatedly as to render the use of stoppers impossible. At that time, as has been said al- ready, masts were usually, in the American navy, of single sticks, and the spars, when they gave way, went altogether. Aware of this danger. Com. Truxtun ordered the men from the guns, to secure this all-important mast, with the hope of getting alongside of his enemy again, and, judging by the feebleness of her resistance for the last hour, with the certainty of taking lier, could this object be effected. But no exertions could obviate the calamity, the mast coming by the board within a few minutes after the enemy had sheered off. All the topmen, including Mr. Jarvis, the niidsliipman in command aloft, went over the side with the spars, and, that gallant young officer, who had refused to abandon his post, with all but one man, was lost. 20* '^H- * ••#-, 4 1 I S06 ■^ KAVAL HISTORY. The Constellation was no longer in a situation to resume the action, and her enemy was in a far worse condition, with the exception that she still retained spars enough to enable her to escape. Finding it impossible to reach any friendly port to windward, as soon as the wreck was clear of his ship. Com. Truxtun bore up for Jamaica, where he arrived in safety. In this close and hard fought action, the Constellation had 14 men killed and 25 wounded, 11 of the latter dying of their injuries. Her antagonist afterwards got into Cura^oa, dis- masted, and in a sinking condition, reporting herself to have had 50 of her people killed, and 110 wounded, in an engage- ment with the Constellation, that had lasted five hours within pistol-shot This statement is now known to be essentially true, and it enables us to form a comparative estimate of the merits of the action. The French vessel proved to be la Vengeance, Capt. Pitot. The armament of the Constellation had been changed since her action with the Insurgente, and her main-deck battery now consisted of 28 eighteens, and she had 10 twen- ty-four-pound carronades on her quarter-deck, which were among the first, if not the very first guns of this description ever introduced into the American navy. Her crew was composed of 310 souls. It is said that the force of la Vengeance has been ascer- tained to have been 28 eighteens, 16 twelves, and 8 forly- two-pound carronades. Her crew has been variously stated as having been between 400 and 500 men. The metal was all according to the French mode of weighing, which adds one pound to every twelve.* • Various statements have been given of the construction of laVei^geance, as well as of her armament. The papers of the day contain an account of a Mr. James Howe, who was a prisoner on board her during the action, and who is said to have brought in with him a certificate from Capt. Pitot, that he and the other prisoners on board, 36 in number, refused to fight 4 ■If- 0.. ^ f', **' #*' %t. J J0 ^' ne >n. to ny sar he '?: . lad leir iis- ave ge- thin ally e of ) be iged eck ven- vere tion was cer- )rty- ited was idds ance, intof ction, itot, fight %. •^^ .% i •* r' : '^! NAVAL BISTORT. 307 There is no question that the Constellation engaged a materially superior force, or any doubt that she would have brought la Vengeance into port, but for the loss of the mast. It is even said, that la Vengeance did strike her colours three times, during the action, but finding that the Constel- lation continued her fire, they were re-hoisted. If such an event occurred, it must have arisen from the fact that it was not perceived in the obscurity of the night. Com. Truxtun gained a great name by this action, and, on his return to America for repairs, he was appointed to the President 44, then fitting for sea. Congress gave him a gold medal for his good conduct, and the gallantry of Mr. Jarvis was approved in a solemn resolution. The Constel- lation was now given to Capt. Murray, who had just re- turned from a short cruise in the Insurgente, and that officer went in her to the West Indies, where she joined the squadron under Com. Talbot. against their country, when the ships engaged. According to the state- ment of this witness, la Vengeance carried on her g^n-deck 32 eighteens, 2 of w^hich were mounted aft; on her quarter-deck, 4 long twelves and 12 thirty-six-pound brass carronades; and on her forecastle, 6 twelves; making in all 54, and a broadside of 26, guns. Her crew is stated at 400 men, including a good many passengers, all of whom were mustered at quar- ters. La Vengeance was described by Mr. Howe to have suffered severely, having received 186 round shot in her hull. The slaughter on board yeas terrible. , i ^ This account has much about it that is probable. The presence of Mr. Howe was authenticated by the certificate; the stern-guns ag^ee with Com. Truxtun's account of the commencement of the action; and the armament is very much what would have been used by a heavy French frigate of the day, on board of which carronades had been introduced. A report that she was a ship on two decks, which was current at the time, may very well have arisen from the circumstance of her carrying so many guns on her quarter-deck and forecastle; but it is probable that Com. Truxtun would have reported her as a two-decker, had such been the fact. Tlie number of the crew is a circumstance in which a passenger might very well be mistaken; and it is well known the French were in the prac- tice of over-manning, rather than of under-manning tlieir ships. ■^'^Hft*" ^■Mmuuui,Msm^..mf^m^^ ,—, 'Try 308 NAVAL HISTORY. The latter officer had been cruising for some months on the St. Domingo station, and about this time he planned an ex- pedition that was quite in character with his own pdrsonal'/ enterprises during the war of the Revolution. It was ascertained that a valuable French letter of marque, was lying in Port Platte, a small harbour on the Spanish side of the Island of St. Domingo, and as she was a '•""'' dangerous ship on account of her sailing. Com. Talbot de- termined to attempt cutting her out. This vessel had been the British packet the Sandwich, and she only waited to com- plete a cargo of coffee, to make a run for France. The legality of the enterprise was more than questionable, but the French picaroons received so much favour in the Spanish colonies, that the American officers were less scru- pulous than they might otherwise have been. ,. % . As soon as it was determined to make the effort, Mr. fftill, the first lieutenant of the Constitution went in, at night, in one of the frigate's' cutters, and reconnoitered. Com. Talbot was compelled to defer the expedition, for want of a proper craft to avoid suspicion, when fortunately one was found by accident. An American sloop called the Sally had been employed on the coast of the island, under circumstances that rendered her liable to detention, and she was brought out of one of the small French ports, by a boat of the frigate. This sloop had recently left Port Platte, with an intention of soon returning there, and she, at once, afforded all the facilities that could be desired. Com. Talbot, accordingly, threw a party of seamen and marines into the Sally, and giving the command to Mr,. Hull, that officer was directed to proceed on the duly without further delay. The sloop was manned at sea, to escape de- tection, and she sailed at an hour that would enable her to reach Port Platte, about noon of the succeeding day. In the course of the night, while running down for her port, under easy sail, a shot suddenly flew over the Sally, and, soon ^.m «*■ -1^ r.^^ • (.. iJjrW N-K * NAVAL HISTORY. 309 after, an English frigate ranged up along side. Mr. Hull hove to, and when the boarding lieutenant got on the sloop's deck, where he found so large a party of men, and offi- cers in naval uniforms, he was both startled and surprised. He was told the object of the expedition, however, and ex- pretHed his disappointment, as his own ship was only waiting to let the Sandwich complete her cargo, in order to cut her out also ! '~ The Sally's movements were so well timed, as to permit her to arrive off the harbour's mouth at the proper hour. The Sandwich was lying with her broadside bearing on the approach, and there was a battery at no great distance to protect her. As soon as near enough (o be seen, Mr. Hull sent most of his people below, and getting an anchor ready over the stern, to bring the sloop up with, he stood directly for the enemy's bows. So admirably was every thing ar- ranged, that no suspicion was excited, the Sally ran the Sandwich aboard, the Constitution's people went into her, and carried her without the loss of a man. At the same moment, Capt. Carmick landed with the marines, entered the battery, and spiked the guns. Notwithstanding a great commotion on shore, the Amer- icans now went to work to secure their prize. The Sand- wich was stripped to a girtline, and every thing was below. Before sunse^she had royal yards across, her guns scaled, her new crew quartered, and soon after she weighed, beat out of the harbour, and joined the frigate. No enterprise of the sort was ever executed with greater steadiness, or discipline. Mr. Hull gained great credit by the neatness with which he fulfilled his orders, and it was not possible for an officer to have been better sustained; the absence of loss, in all cases of surprise, in which the assail- ed have the means of resistance, being one of the strongest proofs not only of the gallantry and spirit, but of the cool- ness of the assailants. f . '*(,_ *v 310 KAVAL HISTORY. ^ -Si-, In the end, however, this capture, which was clearly illegal, cost the Constitution dear. Not only was the Sand- wich given up, but all the prize money of the cruise went to pay damages. V -^' \^ Early in May the Chesapeake 38, went to sea, under the command of Capt S. Barron. Her first duty was to con- vey a quantity of specie from Charleston to Philadelphia, j^'j^ after which she proceeded to cruise between the coast and >^" the West. India islands. The Insurgente 36, had been given to Capt. Fletcher, when Capt. Murray was transferred to the Constellation, and in July she sailed on a cruise, with instructions to keep between longitudes 66° and 68°, and to run as far south as 30° N. L. After this ship left the capes of Virginia, no au- thentic accounts, with the exception of a few private letters sent in by vessels spoken at sea, were ever received of her. She had been ordered to cruise a short time in the latitude and longitude mentioned, after which her comman- der was left at liberty to pursue his own discretion, provided he returned to Annapolis within eight weeks. Thirty-eight years have elapsed and no further tidings of any belonging to this ill-fated ship have ever reached their friends. The Pickering 14, Capt. Hillar, also sailed in August, for the Guadaloupe station, and never returned. As in the case of the Insurgente, all on board perished, no information that could be relied on ever having been obtained of the man- ner in which these vessels were lost. Vague rumours were set afloat at the time, and it was even affirmed that they had run foul of each other in a gale, a tale that was substan- tiated by no testimony, and which was probably untrue, as the Pickering was sent to a station, which the Insurgente, under discretionary orders, would be little apt to seek, since it was known to be already filled with American cruisers. These two ships swelled the list oi' vessels of war that had been lost in this manner to three, viz: the Saratoga 16, the ■^^ .Jfc.v 4' '■» f^ .^p ••^ A .- ^ » -V* r »f T ■'■' . •^.. -<**■ ,'*■ '* ■•'.<•, % NAVAL HISTORY. 811 Insurgente 36, and the Pickering 14; to which may be added the Reprisal 16, though the cook of the latter sloop was saved. « " •« '. • The nature of the warfare, which was now confined principally to chases and conflicts with small fast sailing pri- vateers, and a species of corsair that went by the local name of picaroons, or with barges that ventured no great distance at sea, soon satisfied the government that, to carry on the service to advantage, it required a species of vessel different from the heavy, short, sloop of twenty, or twenty-four guns, of which so many were used in the beginning of the con- test. Two schooners had been built with this view, and each of them fully proved their superiority over the old clumsy cruiser, that had been inherited, as it might be, from the Revolution. One of these vessels was called the Experiment, and the other the Enterprise, and they were rated at twelve guns. The modern improvements, how- ever, did not extend to the armaments of even these schooners, the old fashioned six pounder being still used, where an 181b. carronade would now be introduced. The Enterprise, Lieut. Com. Shaw, was very active this year, capturing la Citoyenne, privateer, of 6 guns and 47 men; la Seine 6, and 57 men; I'Aigle 10, and 78 men; la Pauline 6, and 40 men; and la Guadaloup^enne 7, and 45 men. Most of these vessels resisted, though neither was of a force to aflford- much hope of success. La Citoyenne had 4 killed and 11 wou ded before she struck; la Seine made an ob- stinate resistance, holding out until she had 24 of her crew killed and wounded, which was near half her complement; and TAigle lost 12 men, among whom was her first lieu- tenant, in an action of fifteen minutes. In the last affair the Enterprise had three men killed and wounded. Near the close of her cruise, the Enterprise made a strange sail a long distance to windward, late in the day, and hauled up for her. Night coming on, the chase was lost 'i': f5» f^' V*' h ?■■- I **- ITAVAL HISTORY. sight of in tho darkness, when the schooner hove to, to keep her station. When the day dawned the stranger, a t brig, was seen to windward as before, and nearly in the position in which she had last been observed. Both vessels now discovered a disposition to close. At noon the Enter- prise made the American i;ignal, which was not answered, the brig showing English colours. The signals that had been established between the English and American com- mandeis were next shown, but the stranger could not re- ply. Believing the brig to be an enemy of a force at least equal to his own, Lieut. Com. Shaw, now set his ensign as a challenge to come down, but, instead of complying, the chase immediately hauled his wind. The Enterprise im- mediately began turning to windward on short tacks, and ; sailing uncommonly fast, it was soon apparent that the ene- ^ my would be overhauled. As soon as the French were satisfied that escape was im- possible, they cleared for action, and, waiting until the En- terprise was within half a mile to leeward, they began to fire. Instead of returning a gun, Lieut. Com. Shaw kept the schooner under all her canvass, and, about half an hour after the brig had opened on him, he tacked in her wake, and ranged up handsomely under her lee, within pistol shot. As her guns bore the Enterprise now poured in a close and destructive fire, which lasted for a little more than an 1 .ur, when the brig's fore-top-mast being shot away, and the vessel otherwise seriously injured, she struck. The prize was the Flambeau privateer. She mounted 14 guns, and had more than 100 men. Her loss was very heavy, about half her crew having been killed and wounded. The Enterprise had 3 men killed and 7 wounded. This little affair was considered one of the warmest combats of the war, and it is seldom that so sharp a conflict occurs between vessels of so small a force. Lieut. Shaw was justly applauded for his activity while in y^ k m "• i*;* WAVAL HISTORY. ^* '.» vv- S18 ..f. command of this schooner, recapt 'ig eleven American vessels, besides taking those just mentioned, in a cruise of only eight months. It was a proof of the greater efficiency of this description of vessel than any other, in a warfare of such a nature, that the Enterprise, a schoonor of only 165 tons, carrying an armament of 12 light guns, and with a crew that varied from 60 to 75 men, destroyed more of the enemy's privateers, and afforded as much protection to the trade of the country, as any frigate employed in the war. In March, the Boston 28, Capt. Little, being near the Point of St. Marks, having a merchant brig in tow, on her way to Port-au-Prince, nine barges were discovered pulling towards the vessels, coming from the small island of Go- naives, with every appearance of hostile intentions. The barges were large, as usual, pulled 20 oars, and contained from 30 to 40 men each. As soon as their characters wore properly made out, the guns of the Boston were housed, and the ship was otherwise disguised. This stratagem succeeded so far as to draw the barges within gunshot; but discover- ing their mistake before they got as near as could have been wished, they turned, and began to retreat. The Boston now cast off her tow, made sail in chase, ran out her guns, and opened her fire. For two hours, she was enabled to keep some of the barges within reach of her shot, and three of them, with all their crews, were sunk. The remainder did not escape without receiving more or less injury. After this punishment of the picaroons, who were often guilty of the grossest excesses, the Boston, having been home to refit, was directed to cruise a short time, previous- ly to going on the Guadaloupe station again, between the American coast and the West-India islands. While in the discharge of this duty, November, 1800, in lat. 22° 50' N., and long. 61" W., she made a French cruiser, which, in- stead of avoiding her, evidently sought an encounter. Both Vol. I.— 27 •Hi;. f I i «• -»*■ 814 WAVAL HMTORT. parties being willing, the ships were soon in close action, when, after a plain, hard-fought combat of two hours, the enemy struck. The prize proved to be the French corvette le Berceau, Capt. Senes, mounting 24 guns, and with a crew a little exceeding 200 men. The Berceau was much cut up, and shortly after the action, her fore and main masti went. Her loss in killed and wounded was never ascer- tained, but from the number of the latter found in her, it was probably between 30 and 40 men. Among the former were her first lieutenant, master, boatswain and gunner. The Boston mounted eight more light guns than the Berceau, and had about an equal number of men. She had 4 killed and 11 wounded. Among the latter was her purser, Mr. Young, who died of his injuries. The Bercoau was a singularly fine vessel of her class, and had the reputation of being one of the fastest ships in the French marine. Like the combat between the Constellation and Tlnsurgente, the superiority of force was certainly in favour of the American ship, on this occasion, but the execution was every way in proportion to the difference. The year 1800 was acively employed on both sides in the West-Indies, for while the force of the French in ves- sels of war seemed to decrease, as those of England and America increased, the privateers still abounded. A great many American merchantmen were captured, and the re- captures also amounted to a number that it is now difficult to ascertain, but which is known to have been large. Most of the privateers were small schooners, filled with men, suf- ficient to subdue a letter of marque by boarding ; but, as they offered no resistance to any of the cruisers except the smallest, a brief catalogue of the prizes taken by the differ- ent large vessels, will at once give an idea of the nature of the service that was performed by the West-India squadrons during this year. The Baltimore 20, Capt. Cowper, took la Brilliante Jeunesse 12, with a crew of 02 men, and « C f •*.. NAVAL HISTORY. m a yosRel whose name is not known; the Merrim; 84, Capt. Brown, the Phenix 14, with 128 men; tho ( I'x'c- ticut 24, Capt. Tryon, le Piige 2, with 50 men, rUnit^ I, with fiO men, and le Chou Chou ; the Boston 28, Capt. Lit- tle, la Fortune, I'Heureux, and an open boat ; Pickering 14, Capt. Hillar, la Voitigeuse 10, with 6 men, the Fly, and I' Ac- tive 12, with 60 men ; Boston 32, in company with different vessels, the Flying Fish, la Gourde, le Pelican, and TEspoir ; Herald 18 and Augusta 14, la Mutine 6, with 60 men ; John Adams 28, Capt. Cross, le Jason, with 50 men, la Decade; the Trumbull 24, Capt. Jewett, la Peggie, la Vengeance 10, and la Tullie ; Enterprise 12, Lieut. Com. Sterrott, TAmour de la Patrie 6, with 72 men; the Patapsco 18, Capt. Ged- des, la Dorade 6, with 40 men ; the Adams 28, Capt. Mor- ris, I'Heureuse Rencontre 4, with 50 men, le Gambeau, 4 swivels and 16 men, la Renomm^e, the Dove, and le Mas- sena 6, with 49 men. Several of the frigates also made prizes of diflferent small privateers, barges and boats; and many vessels were chased on shore, and either destroyed by boats, or were bilged in striking. The privateers taken and brought into port, during the years 1798, 1799 and 1800, amounted in all to, rather more than fifty sail. To these must be added sevcnl letters of marque. But few merchant ships were taken, the French venturing but little on the ocean, except in fast-sfliling armed vessels. Still, some valuable prizes of this nature were made, and several ships of the class were driven ashore among the islands. The constant changes that occurred among the com- manders of the different vessels, render it difficult to give clear accounts of the movements of both. These changes were owing to the rapidity and irregularities of the promo- tions in an infant service, officers who went out at the com- mencement of the season lieutenants, in many instances, returning home captains, at its close. In short, the officers, * • 1 :*^i ;V> i; (■ •■*©>• %. 316 WAVAL HISTORY. like the crows, were constantly passing from vessel to ves- sel, several serving in two or three ships in as nnany years. The Experiment 12, made her first cruise under the com- mand of Lieut. Com. Maley, and was much employed in convoying through the narrow passoges, where the vessels were exposed to attacks from large barges manned from the shores. About the close of the year 1709, or at the commencement of 1800, this schooner was becalmed in the Bight of Lcogane, with several sail of American merchant- men in company and under convoy. While the little fleet lay in this helpless condition, a good, deal scattered, ten of the barges mentioned, filled with negroes and mulattoes, came out against it. The barges contained from 30 to 50 men each, who were armed with muskets, cutlasses and pikes, and in some of the boats were light guns and swivels. As the Experiment was partially disguised, the enemy came within reach of her grape before the assault was made, when Lieut. Com. Malcy ran out his guns and opened his Are. This was the commencement of a long conflict, in which the barges were beaten oK It was not in the power of the Experiment, however, to prevent the enemy from seizing two of her convoy, which had drifted to such a dis- tance as to be beyond protection. A third vessel was also boarded, but from her the brigands were driven by grape, though not until they had murdered her master and plun- dered the cabin. ;, , The barges went twice to the shore, landed their killed and vkrounded, and took on board reinforcements of men. The second attack they made was directed especially at the Experiment, there being no less than three divisions of the enemy, each of which contained three heavy barges. But, after a protracted engagement, which, with the intermis- sions, lasted seven hours, the enemy abandoned further de- signs on this convoy, and retreated in disorder. The Ex- periment endeavoured to follow, by means of her sweeps, ii P U ssasa ■^ IfAYAI. HlSTOlir. 317 but finding that some of the more distant of the barges threatened two of her convoy, that had drifted out of gun- shot, she was obliged to give up the chase. In ^his arduous and protracted engagement the Experi- ment was fought with spirit, and handled with skill. The total absence of wind gave the enemy every advantage; but, notwithstanding their vast superiority in numbers, they did not dare to close. Two of the barges were sunk, and their loss in killed and wounded was known to have been heavy, while the Experiment had but two wounded, one of • whom was Lieut. David Porter. Shortly after this affair, the command of the Experiment was given to Lieut Charles Stewart, late of the United States 44. Not long after he had got upon his station, this officer fell in with, and took, after a slight resistance, the French privateer les Deux Amis, of 6 guns, and between 40 and 50 men. The Deux Amis was sent in. r •, About a month after this occurrence, while cruising on her station, the Experiment made two sail, which had the appearance of enemy's cruisers. The Frenchmen were a brig of 18 guns, and a three-masted schooner of 16, and they gave chase to the American. Lieut. Com. Stewart, having soon satisfied himself of the superior sailing of his own vessel, manoeuvred in a way to separate the enemy, and to keep them at a distance until after dark. At length, finding that the Frenchmen had given up the chase, and that the brig was ahead of the schooner about a league, he cleared for action, closed with the latter, by running up on her weather quarter, and gave her a broadside. The at- tack was so vigorous and close, that the enemy struck in a few minutes. Throwing his first lieutenant, Mr. David Por- ter, into the prize, Lieut. Com. Stewart immediately made sail after the brig; but she had gained so much ahead, dur- ing the time lost with the schooner, that she was soon aban- 27* A'' <^^' ., i-i iJIIijiLi ^ _-_ i;A.v.^T, «*; t i ij S" ,-t>. 318 irAVAL HISTORY. ^ doned, and the Experiment returned to her prize, which she carried into St. Kitts. Mr. Stewart probably owed his suc- cess to the boldness of his manoeuvres, as the brig was of a force sufficient to capture him in a few minutes. ^ The vessel taken by the Experiment, proved to be the French man-of-war schooner la Diane, Lieut. Perradeau, of 14 guns, and about 60 men. She was bound to France, with General Rigaud on board; and in addition to her regular crew, 30 invalid soldiers had been put in her, having % served their times in the islands. Her commander had been the first lieutenant of Tlnsurgente, and the prize-officer of the Retaliation. Returning to her station, the Experiment now had a com- bat that was of a less agreeable nature. A suspicious sail had been made in the course of the day, and chase was given until dark. Calculating the courses and distances, Lieut Com. Stewart ordered the Experiment to be kept in the required direction until midnight, when, if he did not close with the stranger, he intended to give up the chase. At that hour, the schooner was hauled by the wind, accordingly; but, in a few minutes, a sail was seen quite near, and to windward. The Experiment went to quarters, ran :ip under the stranger's lee, and hailed. Finding the other vessel in- disposed to give an answer, Lieut. Com. Stewart ordered a gun fired into him, which was returned by a broadside. A sharp action now commenced, but, it blowing heavily, and the schooner lying over, it was found impossible to depress the guns sufficiently to hull the enemy. Planks were cut and placed beneath the trucks of the gun-carriages, when the shot of the Experiment told with so much effect, that her antagonist struck. Mr. Porter, the first lieutenant of the Experiment, was now directed to take possession of the prize, but, on getting alongside, he was refused permission to board. As soon as this was known in the schooner, the boat was directed to pull out of the line of fire, with a view ^ ■^ •nairu'in" Mil 1» # NAVAL HISTORY. 310 to recommence the action, when the stranger hailed to say he submitted. • • . . . • ; . This vessel proved to be a privateer called the Louisa Bridger, out of Bermuda, with an armament of 8 nine- pounders, and a crew of between 40 and 50 men. She wait much cut up, and had four feet water in her hold when she surrendered. Her captain was among the wounded. As soon as the nature of this unfortunate mistake was known, every aid was afforded the privateer, the Experi- ment lying by her all next day, to assist in repairing her damages. The Experiment received a good deal of in-tt jury in her rigging, and had one man killed, and a boy wounded. ; H*«ii» - Active negotiations had commenced, and in the autumn of 1800 the hopes of peace became so strong, that the efforts to increase the navy were sensibly relaxed, and the sailing of many ships, that had been intended for distant stations, was suspended. In May of this year, however, the George Washington 24,f Capt. Bainbridge, was ordered to sail with tribute to the Dey of Algiers. We now look back with wonder at the fact, that a maritime people, like those of the United States, should consent to meet the unjust demands of a power as insignificant as that of Algiers, with any other answer than a close blockade, and a vigorous f In giving' the rates of vessels, except in flagrant instances, such as those in which the Chesapeake and Philadelphia are called forty-fours, and the Adams, John Adams, and Boston, thirty-twos, we follow the irre- gular rule which appears to have been laid down in the service at the time. The George Washington was much nearer a thirty-two in size, than most of the twenty-eights of xhe navy, though in the oificial reports she is called a twenty-four. The tonnage of tliis ship was 624 tons, while that of the Boston was only ^30. She had been an Indiaman, and when sold out of service, in 1803, returned to her old employment. The pro- per rate of this ship would have made her nearer a twenty-eight, than any thing else. Her last service was to carry tribute to the Mediterranean, under Lieut. Com. Shaw. ■ft-, ■t .rAjtii;* :'# I ' 'f ftl y i tH 320 HAVAL HISTORT. war. No better school for the education of an efficient corps of officers could have been desired, than a contest with all Barbary, should the latter invite it, nor would the expense have greatly exceeded that connected with the support of the small naval force, that nearly all parties now appeared to admit was indispensable to tiie country. Opinion had probably as much connexion with this want of spirit, as expediency or policy, for it would be easy to show, not only in this but in all other cases, that there is no more certain means for a nation to invite aggressions, than by making undue concessions, or no surer method of obtaining justice than by insisting on its rights. The great maritime nations of Europe, with England at their head, influenced by motives peculiarly their own, had long been in (he practice of bribing the Barbary States to respect the laws of nations, and it was perhaps too soon to expect that America, a country that had so recently been a colony, should step boldly out of the circle of its habits, and set the first example of self-respect and wisdom. It was reserved for that little marine, which was just struggling into exist- ence, under all the unfavourable circumstances of a hurried organization, defective vessels, a want of arsenals, docks, and system, to bring the nation up to the level of its own manliness and independence, at a later day, and to teach the true policy of the country to those whose duty it was to direct it. The George Washington arrived in the port of Algiers in September, and feeling that he had come on a duty that, at least, entitled him to the hospitalities of the Dey, Capt. Bainbridge ran in and anchored under the mole. As soon as the tribute, or presents, whichever it may suit the tone of diplomacy to term them, were put into the hands of the consul, a request was made to Capt. Bainbridge to place his ship at the disposal of the Dey, with a sole view to the conve- nience and policy of that prince. It appears that the Sultan * ^f- .j^j ^^ 4 ££ ns/r>- -A*^ % NAVAL HISTORY. 321 had taken offence with the regency of Algiers, on account of a treaty it had lately concluded with France, a power with which the Ottoman Porte was then at war, and his anger was to be deprecated by a timely application of presents. The good offices of Capt. Bainbridge were now solicited in conveying these offerings, with a suitable agent, to Constantinople. As soon as apprised of his wish, Capt. Bainbridge sought an audience with the Dey, and having ob- tained one, he expressed his regret at not being able to com- ply with his request, as it would be disregarding the orders of his superiors at home. The Dey now gave his guest to un- derstand that both he and his ship were in his power, and his request was put more in the shape of a demand. A long and spirited altercation ensued, until influenced by the representations of the consul, Mr. O'Brien, the certainty that his ship would be otherwise seized and sent by force, the apprehension of a war, and the knowledge that near two hundred sail of merchantmen were exposed in those seas, Capt. Bainbridge entered into stipulations on the subject. He consented to carry the agent and presents of Algiers, on condition that peace should be maintained, that the Dey should deem the act one of friendly concession on the part of the United States, and not one of right, and that, on his return from Constantinople, no further demands should be preferred. When the ship was about to sail from Algiers a new difficulty arose on the subject of the flag; the Dey in- sisting that his own should be hoisted at the main, while that of the United States should be shown forward. In maintaining this claim, he affirmed that it was a compli- ment always paid him by the English, French and Spanish captains, who had been employed on similar service in his behalf. After a strong remonstrance, Capt. Bainbridge yielded in appearance, but as he refused to make any pledges on the subject, as soon as he was beyond the reach Mt.,. II I itii 1 I W^ 322 NAVAL HMTORT. \i I -- I i'- f of the guns of the works, he set his own ensign as usual. Under these circumstances, the George Washington sailed. At this distance of time from the event, a dispassionate opinion may perhaps be formed concerning the propriety of the course pursued by the officer in command of the George Washington. On the one hand was the war with France, which might have rendered the management of a war with Algiers more difficult than common, and the probability that the latter would ensue in the event of a refusal. But, if France was at war with America, she was also at war with England, and the appearance of the George Washington in the Mediterranean was a proof that cruisers might be em- ployed in that sea, although the nation was without ports, or arsenals. As opposed to the general hazards of war, and the particular risks incurred by the crew of the George Washington, were those common and enduring principles of honour and right, by maintaining which nations, in the end, assert their claims in the promptest, cheapest, and most efficient manner. It is the peculiar province of the officers and men of a vessel of war to incur risks equally of life and liberty, and as no man manifested more of the true spirit, in this respect, than Capt. Bainbridge, on all other occasions, the consideration of his own peculiar danger, or that of his crew, probably had no influence on his decision. The question then is, whether an officer in his situation ought to have taken the responsibility of producing a war by a refusal to comply with the demand of the Dey, or whether his duty pointed out the course pursued by Capt. Bainbridge. No one can hesitate about saying that the first should be the decision of a commander of a vessel of war, in our own time. But Capt. Bainbridge was not before Algiers in an age when America was as ready as she is to- pay to assert all those great principles of right which na- tions must maintain with their blood and treasure, if they are to be maintained at all. He had himself just been em- i ■T If (' 1 » L WttMM . ...: -Ay. ; .iV, , _ . iiUi ;&,5iiL.. '$. 'f.. As,/".- ■^ - ^ •.."ft V r^r^-. '^^ K AVAL HISTORY. ployed in transporting tribute to Algiers, under a solemn law of his country, and it would have been a violent pre- sumption indeed, to suppose that a government, which had so far neglected the just feelings of national pride, and the first and simplest principles of policy, as to expend in tribute the money that would nearly, if not quite, extort justice by force, would look with favour on an act that should produce a war, on a naked point of honour. We dislike the decision of Capt. Bainbridge, while we distinctly see, that in requiring him to have acted otherwise, we require him to have been in advance of the opinion of his day, and of the policy of his government.* > v It is understood that Capt. Bainbridge was much influ- enced by the advice and opinions of Mr. O'Brien, the con- sul. This gentleman had been one of the first prisoners taken by Algiers in 1785, and he had passed many weary years in captivity, almost abandoned by hope, and appar- ently, though riot really, forgotten by his country. He had probably little faith in the existence of that patriotism which is ready to sacrifice immediate interest to future good, and saw in perspective a piratical warfare, and captivities like his own, which, unrelieved by any feelings of humanity, would be nearly allied to despair. This gentleman is not to be censured; for bitter experience had taught him how little is the care taken of individual rights, by popular governments, when the evil does not present itself to the senses of bodies of men, and how strong is the desire to shrink from responsibility in those who are subject to th'- - judgment and clamour. This is the weak side of liit * It has been conjectured that Capt. Bainbridge consented to go to Constantinople, with the view to show the American flag to the Ottoman Porte, and to open the way for a treaty, and a trade in the Black Sea; but we know of no evidence of the truth of this supposition. It ought to be added, moreover, that the ships of the greatest powers of Europe, often performed offices like that required of Capt. Bainbridge, for the Dey, and that he was perfectly aware of the fact. .^„J '^-^^ Hl»- ■,•* I , ;. IlilHMiiiiii > M ■ 324 NAVAL HISTORY. polity, and were it not redeemed by so much that is supe- rior to the effects of all other systems, it is one that would totally unfit a nation to maintain the respect of mankind. Mr. O'Brien, too, had been educated as a ship-master, and probably reasoned more like the agent of a commercial house, than the agent of a government that wanted none of the elements of greatness but the will. That neither he nor Capt. Bainbridgc, frank seamen, discovered much of the finesse of diplomacy, is evident ; for a practised negotiator, detecting the necessity of submission, would have antici- pated the final demand, and averted the more disagreeable features of compulsion, by apparently conceding that to soli- citation, which was finally yielded to menace. When the Americans, feeble, scattered colonists, without military stores, posts, fortified towns or navy, determined to resist the usurpations of the British Parliament, they were influenced by those lofty principles of right, which are cer- tain to lead to greatness. It i& not pretended that the taxa- tion of England bore heavily on America in practice, but the resistance grew out of the maintenance of a principle; and the result of sacrificing immediate interests to the true and elevating policy of the right, is before the world. Even many of the well-disposed, who belonged to the school of those who are for consulting temporary good, and whose po- litical wisdom too often savours of the expedient, thought the contest premature; but, happily, a better temper prevailed in the country, and the nation escaped the risks of losing its spirit under the gradual operation of usage, as might have attended delay. Immediate good was sacrificed to the great objects of a more liberal policy, and we now find that Eng- land, so far from persevering in a wish to tax colonies over which she does not possess the right, even hesitates about taxing those which, in the way of principle, lie at her mercy by conquest. It was the 19th of October, 1800, when the Geo. Wash- .. fif #•■ I »■; .^ > ■ *'-;■ ITAVAL HISTORT. 325 ■1^ ■«i'5t ington left Algiers. She entered the Bosphorus with a fresh breeze at the southward, and on approaching the Darda- nelles, where are two castles that command the passage, and where ships are obliged to exhibit passports in order to proceed, Capt. Bainbridge felt some embarrassment as to the course he ought to take. He had no firman, his coun- try was scarcely known at the Ottoman Porte, and he might be delayed weeks, negotiating for permission to go up to the town. From this dilemna he relieved himself by the happy and prompt expedient of a seaman. The castles stand nearly opposite each other, on the European and Asiatic shores, and guns carrying stone balls, that weigh, in some instances, eight hundred pounds, are pointed in a manner to command the channel. These guns, however, are stationary like mortars, and become nearly useless the moment a ship is out of their regulated range. The rest of the defences, at that time, were very immaterial. The width of the Bosphorus, here, a little exceeds three thou- sand feet. As his ship approached the castle, Capt. Bain- bridge hauled up his courses, clewed up his top-gallant- sails, and made the usual preparations for anchoring. When nearly up with them, she commenced firing a salute, which was instantly returned from the shore, and, at this moment, when the vessel was partly concealed in smoke, sail was made, and before the Turks recovered from their surprise, being totally unprepared for a thing so unusual, sht. was beyond their reach. Capt. Bainbridge now pursued his way to Constantinople, where he arrived as much unexpected as he was unan- nounced and unknown. The George Washington anchored the 9th of November, in the outer harbour, where she was soon visited by an officer, to demand under what flag she sailed. The usual reply was given, and the officer took his leave. An hour or two afterwards he returned, to say that his government had never heard of such a nation as Vol. I.— 28 ;.,A'ta't. 4 '>^ ^ .0- 326 NAVAL HISTORY. ,.-..,. ' / # ■#*" •■ the United States of Americu, and to request some more explicit answer. The officer was now sent back with the Information that the George Washington belonged to the "New World," which was received as satisfactory, the Turkish government extending to strangers much of that polished hospitality for which it is justly esteemed. The George Washington remained at Constantinople until the 30th of December, when she again sailed for Algiers, which port she reached on the 21st of January, 1801. Though much solicited to do so, Capt. Bainbridge now refused to carry his ship within the mole, but kept her out of the reach of the batteries. The Dey made a new request that he would return to Constantinople with his agent, and, though the old threats were not exactly resorted to, the ship being beyond his reach, war was still held in perspective as the alternative. Capt. Bainbridge, however, peremptorily refused to put himself and ship again at the orders of the Dey. Having borrowed some ballast, Capt. Bainbridge was about to have it landed in lighters, when the Dey, affecting to be indignant at his want of confidence, forbade the light- ermen to undertake the job, announcing at the same time, unless the ballast was returned, that he would declare war. The consul again so earnestly entreated Capt. Bainbridge to comply, that the latter, on receiving a solemn stipulation that no more should be said on the subject of a new voyage to Constantinople, took the George Washington into the mole, and landed the ballast, which consisted of a number of old guns. Capt. Bainbridge soon after had an audience with the Dey, when the latter got into such a rage as to threaten personal violence. Fortunately, the Capudan t^acha had become pleased with the manly conduct and fine personal appearance of the American officer, while the latter was at Constantinople, and, at parting, be had given him a firman T '** '^i ^^:^ \ ^.Bikv «i!(i^rMki 4- .&i^.. ♦. ^. ■f^v, 4 ITAVAL HISTORY. 327 i:i . ' * of protection. This paper was now presented, and it im- msdiately changed the savage ferocity of n barbarian into expre!'^" js of friendship and offers of service. From that moment the tone of the Dey was altered ; and the man, whom a minute before he had threatened with irons, was converted into a person of influence and authority. Such was the effect of Asiatic despotism and a ruthless discipline. A good opportunity now offered to relieve some of the mortification which Capt. Bainbridge had experienced, by affording him an occasion to be the instrument of rescuing many christians from slavery. One of the causes of quar- rel between the Regency and the Porte, as has been stated, was the separate peace made by the latter with France. To expiate for that crime, the Dey had been compelled to cut down the flag-staff of the French consul, to declare war against his country, and to condemn him and flfty or sixty of his countrymen to slavery. Notwithstanding the war which still existed between America and France, Capt. Bainbridge interfered in behalf of these unfortunate people, and, profiting by the unexpected influence of his firman, he obtained a stipulation from the Dey, that all who could get out of his dominions within eight-and-forty hours, might go away, while those who could not, should be slaves. No other vessel offering, the George Washington was employed in this grateful oflice, and by great exertions she went to sea within the stipulated time, carrying with her all the French in Algiers. The passengers were landed at Alicant, and the ship returned home, where the conduct of her comman- der, throughout these novel and trying circumstances, met with the fullest approbation of the government, and he was immediately transferred to a much finer ship, the Essex 32. While these events were taking place in the Mediterra- nean, the negotiations for peace with France had been go- ing on at Paris, and a treaty to that effect was ratified by the Senate on the 3d of February, 1801. All the necessary »■ 4 'W- ■:Ami^-, ■lat: 828 ITAVAL HISTORY. »,' : ,>fK-* forms having been complied with on both sides, the Herald 18, Capt. Russel, was sent to the West Indies, with orders of recall fur the whole force. ' '' v Thus ended the short and irregular struggle with France, in which the present marine of the United States was founded, most of the senior officers now in service having commenced their careers as midshipmen during its eX' istence. •■./, w ^> )rald ders If AVAL HISTORY. 330 v;y/ nee, was nng ex- m CHAPTER XVII. 'mi ^^ (%>!, Evert form of government has evils peculiar to itself. In a democracy there exists a standing necessity for re* ducing every thing to the average comprehension, the high intelligence of a nation usually conceding as much to its ignorance, as it imparts. One of the worst consequences of this compromise of knowledge, in a practical sense, is to be found in the want of establishments that require foresight and liberality to be well managed, for the history of every democracy has shown that it has been deficient in the wisdom which is dependent on those expenditures which foster true economy, by anticipating evils and avoiding the waste of precipitation, want of system, and a want of know- ledge. The new government of the Union was now to ex- perience evils of this nature, that are perhaps inseparable from popular power, and to contend with the cry of ex- travagance, as extravagance is usually viewed by those who have not sufficient information to understand that, as in ordinary transactions, the highest pay commands the best services, so in public things, the expenditures made in a time of peace are the surest means of obtaining economy in a ti-Tne of war. The commencement of the year 1801, was distinguished by a change of administration, for the first time since the adoption of the constitution; Mr. Jefferson and his political friends, who were usually known by the name of the repub- 28* .t- 'u / 380 ITAVAL HISTORY. ^^.' .'."> lican party, expelling the federalists from power, with Mr. Adams at their head, by a large majority of the electoral votes. One of the charges brought against the federalists was an undue love for unnecessarily largo and expensive establishments, in imitation of the English school of politi- cians, while the republicans were accused of a wish to de- ceive the ignorant, by pretending to a nakedness of legisla- tion and an absence of precautionary measures, which, while they would save money at the moment, might involve the country in eventual ruin, and which would unfit the people for the great exertions certain to be required in the hour of danger. In this controversy, as is commonly the case, both par- ties maintained principles that were false, and insisted on measures, which, if not utterly impracticable, were at least impolitic. The federalists held the doctrine that the people ought to be taxed, if it were merely to accustom them to pay for the support of government ; and the democrats, or republicans, applied to the management of political interests the notion that all that was necessary was to provide for the demands of the day, virtually leaving the future to attend to its own wants. The first theory was like that which would prescribe periodical depletion to the young soldier, in order that he might be ready to shed hi^ blood in the hour of trial; while the other may be likened to the folly of the agriculturist who should expect a crop, without taking the precaution to sow the seed. In addition to the extremes into which political struggles are apt to push political controversialists, Mr. Jefferson is known to have been averse to most of the measures taken by his predecessor against France, and he probably entered into the exercise of his duties, with a strong disposition to erase as many of the evidences of their existence as possi- ble, frotn the statutes of the nation. A president of the United States, however, is little more than an executive f!?- m' ^,-', ■^ Sjv, K,-*- ^^ ■'^ •.-p. WK'-i v,-" ■■■m.. m •0- NAVAL HISTORY. 335 gerated at the time, so far as the vessels alone were con- cerned. At the peace with France, the cruising vessels in service were thirty-four in number, and of these, fourteen of the best were retained. No frigate, unless the Geo. Wash* ington could be considered one, was sold, and this ship had been purchased into the service, and not built for the public. As regards force, materially more than half, perhaps four- fifths, was preserved, the eight largest frigates retained being more than strong enough to contend with all the ves- sels sold. This was not the opinion of the- day, however, for interested political clamour was directed by ignorance, and most men counted one gun as another, without refer- ence to its weight, or its disposition in the vessel. The most impolitic of the measures of the government, and it was one of which it soon had reason to repent, was the law suspend- ing the construction of the six ships, to carry not less than seventy-four guns each, authorized by the act of 1798.* The recklessness of political opposition soon made itself apparent, in its usual inconsiderate and acrimonious forms; a recommendation that emanated from the government, for the establishment of dry-docks, one of the first and most important measures in the formation of a serviceable ma- rine, meeting with all the ridicule that ignorance and hosti- lity could invent, even from those who professed to be the strongest friends of the navy. Profiting by the most vulgar association that a want of knowledge could connect with the word "dry," the papers of the day kept ringing the changes on this tunc, virtually accusing the administration of wish- ing to have a navy on shore! It is, however, just to add, that the views of the president extended a little beyond the common practice, his recommendation going so far as to advise docks for the preservation, as well as for the repairs, • The materials collected for these vessels, principally live-oak timber, were to have been preserved; but much of the latter was subsequently used in the construction of smaller ships, and frequently to great waste. *5%-^ *l' * «&. ..^ii.^- % J^*'^ ^ m \ri: 838 NAVAL BISTORT. t^ of ships. Thus did the gallant little service, vrhich already 1^ merited so much from the nation, and which is so insepara- bly connected with all the great considerations of national character, national rights, and even of national existence, find itself compelled to struggle through its infancy, equally assailed by its nominal friends, who were injuring its vitals while loudest in their professions of amity, and distrusted by those who, having made the cry of economy a stalking horse in their way to power, shrunk from the heavy charges that this, like all other complete means of national defence, must unavoidably entail on the public. Still it preserved its spirit, and finding itself relieved from the association of those who were never worthy to wear its livery, and be- lieving, with truth, that in passing a peace without dissolu- tion, it saw a flattering perspective of service before it, the gallant corps that remained, prepared itself to enter on its new duties with the confidence and zeal of men who felt that they had fairly embarked in an honourable profession for life. This period may be deemed that whieb produced the crisis in the fate of the American navy. At the peace of 178.3, the service had been entirely disbanded, and even the preparations commenced in 1794, had been suspended when peace was made with Algiers, leaving little besides the name of a marine behind them. The relations of the coun- try with Tripoli, one of the Barbary powers, doubtless, had its influence on the fortunes of the service at this particular moment, the government feeling the necessity of being in readiness to resist the aggressions of another of those semi- pirates who then infested the Mediterranean. '^ In the mean time, the proper officers proceeded to carry out the conditions of the recent treaty entered into with France, agreeably to the conditions of which, all the ves- sels of war captured on either side were to be restored. The Insurgente having been lost, this stipulation became .^-.. W^' 4,- 'i^' i:'-^ w iSSk m NAVAL HISTORY. 387 ^/ .#.* m^ ^■-. impracticable as regarded her; but le Berceali,' and la Vengeance, the small cruiser taken by the TrdmbuU, were returned to the French. In the whole, eighty prizes had been brought into the American ports, and of these, three were the vessels of war already mentioned. Most of the remainder were privateers. Of the l'>tter, eight were acquitted as illegal captures, one, le Croyable, was retaken, and the remaining sixty-eight were condemned and sold. The loss of American shipping in this war was consider- able ; but fewer vessels were taken, in proportion, after hos- tilities had commenced on the side of this country, than had been previously seized. No vessel of war but the Retalia- tion, fell into the hands of the French, under any circum- stances. On the whole, the country was satisfied with the results of the exertions it had made during this irregular and informal contest, and a strong feeling was awakened in favour of a permanent navy. Whatever may have been the private opinions of the new president on this important branch of national policy, — and it is believed they were neither as liberal, nor as far-sighted, as comported with his views in general, though they were far from merit- ing all the reproaches they received, — he put at the head of the department, Mr. Robert Smith, of Maryland, a gentleman who rendered himself justly popular with the service, who continued for the long space of nine years to serve its interests with zeal and intelligence, and who has left behind him, in the breasts of all who then composed the navy, a feeling that while their interests were in his care, they were intrusted to one well disposed to serve the coun- try and themselves. , v^v» - ,^ >. . In the war with France, very few privateers went to sea, that country having little trade to suffer by such enterprises, ^ thou);h scarcely a merchantman sailed without an arma- ' ment, and a crew at least double that she would have car- VoL. I.— 29 «" •*;■, :"^^- •'V.*:. «n' c .'fc-' ■Wliii l i 1''^ r ,^' *;■ 838 NAVAL BISTORT. \ .:^, \rr k 'rS, ■* ried in a iime of peace. The years 1798, 1709 and 1800, "were Virtually years of a general maritime Avar, and the English navy, that great drain of seamen for the entire ^» v^ivilized world, was as actively employed as at any pre- vious or subsequent period of its teeming history. Notwith- standing these circumstances, the American government, while it suffered many inconveniences from the shortness of the enlistments, found no difficulty in obtaining men during this struggle, although a number but little short often thou- sand must have been constantly employed during the year 1800. At that time, the tonnage of the country was about half what it is to-day, as was also the total number of seamen. The enemy was very active, a fact that is proved by the circumstance that more French privateers were taken and destroyed by the vessels of the American navy alone, in the West-Indies, than the country sent cruisers to sea, at any period of the war. Including the revenue vessels employed in 1798 and 1799, America had at sea forty-two different cruisers during the three years of this contest; and their captures, limiting them to the vessels that were actually taken into port, amounted within two to double this number; and of these, considerably more than half were privateers of the enemy. Still we find the trade but little interrupted, after the armaments were made. In 1797, when America had not a vessel of war in commission, the exports of the country amounted to a little more than $57,000,000; in 1798, when the coast was cleared of the French privateers, and the war was carried first into the West-Indies, these ex- ports reached to $61,327,411; in 1799, to $78,665,628; and in 1900, to $70,971,780. Some fluctuations in trade probably produced the diminution of the latter year, as the American coast was then nearly unapproached by the French. This truth, indeed, quite clearly appears by the revenue on im- ports, which, in the same three years, was as follows: 1798, $7,106,061; 1799, $0,610,449; 1800, $9,080,933. 4' -1^: k\ S- ■'"*, ;t?« .# NAVAl. HISTORY. # 880 This war, like every maritime contest, in whicK America has been engaged with any civilized nation, was also dis- tinguished by many obstinate actions between letters of marque and cruisers of the enemy. The papers of the day are full of accounts of this nature, and, although they ar .- not altogether free from the suspicion of exaggerations, or worn the boastfu! representations of most similar ex parte state- n<^nts, it is known that some are essentially true. Among • ^r combats of this i \:::-'^^ 'vas one which deserves to be mentioned, not only on account of the general gallantry of the defence, but of the presence of mind displayed at a most critical moment by a young man of Philadelphia, un- der age, who, we regret to add, wa^s lost at sea, in the suc- ceeding voyage, and, becau.se the facts are derived from a source that put them beyond dispute. In the course of the year 1800, a lightly armed letter of marque brig, belonging to Philadelphia, called the Louisa, was standing into Gibraltar, when several privateers came out of Algesiras, as was the practice of the French in that day, to cut her off from her port. A long and desultory action ensued, in the course of which one latine-rigged vessel full of men pressed the Louisa hard, and made several bold efforts to board, in all of which, however, she was frustrated. The crew of the Louisa consisted of only a few men, and when their captain fell, with a shot through his shoulder, and the mate went below for a moment to lay him in the cabin, believing that the battle was over, they deserted their guns in a body, going down into the fore- castle, with the exception of the man at the wheel. At that moment the enemy was at a little distance, kee^^ing up his fire, and, it was thought, making preparations for a fresh attempt to board. With a view to meet this effort, the quarter-deck guns of the brig had been properly loaded and trained, but when the mate, after an absence of only three or four minutes, re-appeared on deck, one passenger ex- •4- f* ' - •« ^■*'^. m •-* . >.■ 840 If AVAL HISTORY. oopted, there was not a soul to sustain him, while the enemy Vas luffing up under his lee quarter, with his forecastle crowded, and a long bowsprit lined with boarders, ready to take the leap. He knew if the latter gained the brig's decks, resistance would be out of the question, even if all on board were at their stations. This was a critical instant for so young a man; but be was a seaman of Phila- delphia, the port that then furnished the readiest, the best, and many of the bravest mariners that sailed out of Amer- ica. He ran to the fore-scuttle and summoned the people up, "to get a last shot at the Frenchmen, before they should get out of their reach!'' Such an appeal admitted of no delay. The men rushed on deck with cheers, were instantly ordered to their guns, and were in time to meet the enemy. A raking fire was poured in, the bowsprit was swept of its boarders, the privateer tacked and hayled off, and the brig was permitted to proceed without further molestation. The Louisa entered the roads of Gibraltar in triumph, the engagement having been witnessed by thou- sands on the rock. , ., ,. ■f' „ * • 4 , ,'l .)•,-.. V, «■. /••-'V'^':- ,t* » «• \ . IW ^^mi- ".'* ' » MAVAL HUTORr. *,''.»* •*, m CHAPTER XVIII. ■■ -f* . NAVAL HISTOKY. 348 one The ided ene- t of rice re- ' !ven epiy. . . ihip, ow- ere- pro- lOUt ient. )< , IS a • ■-"* ; i^',.... delay on your part cannot but be prejudicial to youf interests." Shortly after, tho Bashaw informed the American coqaul at Tripoli, that he would wait six months for a present in . money, and if it did not arrive within that time, he would formally declare war ajainst the United States. Jussuf Caramalli was as good as his word. No tidings of the money having reached Tripoli, the flag-staflf of the Ameri- can consulate was cut down on the 14th of May, 1801, and war was proclaimed in the act. While Tripoli went so directly to work, difficulties exist- ed with the other states of Barbary. Algiers complained that the tribute was in arrears, and Tunis found fault with the quality of various articles that had been sent to her, by way of bribing her not to seize American vessels. Certain planks and oars were too short, and guns of a particular description were much wanted. Morocco was also dis- trusted, although the prince of that country had not yet deigned to intimate his wishes. Timid as was the policy of the United States, and dis- graceful as was that of all Christendom, at that period, in reference to the Barbary powers, the former was too much flushed with its recent successes against France, and too proud of its infant marine, to submit to all these exac- tions without resistance. Before it was known that Tripoli had actually declared war, a squadron was ordered to be fitted for the Mediterranean, with a view to awe the differ- ent sovereigns of Barbary, by its presence. The vessels selected for this purpose consisted of the President 44, Capt. J. Barron, Philadelphia 38, Capt. S. Barron, Essex 92, Capt. Baiubridge, and Enterprise 12, Lieut. Com. Sterrett. At the head of this force was Capt. Dale, an officer whose career we have had frequent occasion to notice, in the course of past events, and who now hoisted his broad pennant in the President 44. , . . >1 u *- M4 NAVAL HISTORY. The instructions given to Com. Dale, directed him to proceed to Gibraltar, where ho could ascertain the state of things among the distrusted regencies, when he was to be governed by circumstances. Had either power declared war, he was to act against it, under certain restrictions; otherwise he was to go off Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, in succession, to deliver presents and promises at each place, and in the event of his succeeding in maintaining the peace, he was to make the circuit of the Mediterranean, in the course of the summer, re-appear off the ports of Tripoli,Tunis and Algiers, and the peace still continuing, he was ordered to sail for home in October. Should either of the regencies have commenced hostilities, however, he had discretionary authority as to the disposition of the ships, but was ordered to leave the Mediterranean on the 1st of December, at the latest, it having been deemed unsafe to cruise in that sea in the winter. -"'V v. ^ ■. .;:•■:. ,•,.:" ';v!c,»%r\< Soon after these orders were received, the ships rendez- voused in Hampton Roads, and sailed for their place of des- tination. On the 1st of July they anchored at Gibraltar, where they found the Tripolitan admiral, a rencgndo of the name of Lisle, in a ship of 26 guns, with a brig of 16, in company. There is no question that the timely appearance of the American squadron prevented these two vessels from getting irto the Atlantic, where they might have struck a severe blow at the commerce of the country. The admiral, however, protested there was no war, though the informa- tion derived from other sources, induced Com. Dale to dis- trust his sincerity. The Essex was sent along the north shore to collect the American trade, and to give it convoy, the Philadelphia was ordered to cruise in the straits to watch the two Tripolitans, while the President and Enterprise shaped their course towards Algiers, as ordered. The latter, however, soon parted company from the President onduty._ .v^ '■ ;>-^ ■ ;^^'- ' . 'I , T % # ■■%■ ^■ %f :r.> % ^ |v ^P NAVAL HISTORY. 845 The appearance ofr* ship of the President's force at Al- giers and Tunis, had an extromoly quieting effect on the resentments of their two princes; and Mr. O'Brien, the consul at the former regency, gave it as his opinion, that the arrival of the squadron in the Mediterranean, had more weight in preserving the peace, than if the George Wash- ington, which vessel was soon expected, had come in with the tribute. > • >; '■■ ■ . On the 1st of August, while running for Malta, the En- terprise 12, Lieut. Com. Sterrett, fell in with and spoke a pokcre-rigged ship of H guns and 80 men, belonging to Tripoli, that was known to be out on a cruise against the American commerce. Running close along side, an action was commenced within pistol shot, and it continued with little intermission for three hours, when th' Turk submitted. During the combat, however, the Tri . lUian struck three several times, twice rc-hoisting ^'s colours, and'O ening his fire again, when he thought an adv intage might ue obtain- ed by attacking the Americans unprepared. Irritated by this treachery, on the last occasion the Enterprise resumed her fire with an intention to sink her opponent, but after some further though fruitless resistance, the Turkish cap- tain appeared in the waist of his ship, and threw his ensign into the sea, bending his body and supplicating for quarter by signs, when the fire of the schooner was stopped. ' The name of the captured ship was the Tripoli, and that of her rais, or commander, Mahomet Sous. Although the Turks showed co;< ;•; o, or desperation would be a better term, this first trial of skill with their trans-atlantic enemies was far from creditable to them. The Enterprise raked her enemy renealedly, and the consequences were dread- fully apparent in the result, 60 of the corsair's people having been killed and wounded in the battle. The ship herself was a wreck, and her mizzen-mnst was shot away. On the other hand, the Enterprise sustained but little injury ,.*- ^' 41 >^'' ^^.,. '»\ # Vi - 346 11 ?v NAVAL HISTORY. > ■ m even aloft, and had not a man hurt Neither did she suficr materially in her hull. The instructions of Lieut. Sterrett did not permit him to carry the Tripoli in, and Lieut. David Porter took posses- , sion, and proceeded to dismantle her. Her armament was thrown overboard, and she was stripped of every thing but one old sail, and a single spar, that were left to enable her to reach port. After attending to the wounded, the prize was abandoned, and it is understood a long time elapsed before she got in. When her unfortunate rais appeared in Tripoli, even his wounds did not avail him. He was placed on a Jack Ass, paraded through the streets, and re- ceived the bastinado. The effect of this punishment appears to have been different from what was expected, for it is said the panic among the sailors became so great, in con- sequence, that it was found difficult to obtain men for the corsairs that were then fitting for sea. One thing is certain, that, though this war lasted three years, and in the end be- came both spirited and active, very few Tripolitan cruisers ventured from port during its continuance; or if they quitted^ port, they were cautious to an extreme about venturing from the land. By a message of Mr. Jefferson's, sent to congress on the 8th of December, 1801, we learn the reasons why the powers given in the instructions to Com. Dale, did not ex- tend to captures. In alluding to the action between the Enterprise and the Tripoli, after relating the facts, the pre- sident adds — ''Unauthorized by the constitution without the sanction of congress, to go beyond the line of defence, the vessel, being disabled from committiiig further hostilities, was liberated with its crew. The legislature will doubtless consider, whether, by authorizing measures of offence also, it will place our force on an equal footing with that of its adversaries." It must be admitted that thij was carrying the doctrine *■ iU •^> % jlf ■•*■ NAVAL HISTORY. ^.4- 't 347 yi: of literal construction to extremes. While, in the nature ^'^ of things, it may require the consent of two independent , sovereignties to change the legal relations of the people of different countries, from those of a state of warfare to those of a slate of peace, it is opposed to reason and practice to say it is not competent for either of these sovereignties, singly, to change these relations from those of a state of peace to those of a state of war. The power to commence hostili- ties, as it belongs to states, depends on international law, and in no degree on the subordinate regulations of particu- lar forms of government. It is both an affirmative and a negative right: the first, as it is used by the party that de- clares the war; and the latter, as it vests the nation assail- ed with all the authority and privileges of a belligerent. It surely cannot be contended that the American citizen who should aid a hostile force sent against his country, would not be guilty of treason, because congress had not yet de- clared war, though the enemy had; and it is equally falla- cious to maintain that one nation can carry on war, clothed with all the powers of a belligerent, without, by the very act, vesting its enemy with the same rights. The provision of the constitution which places the authority to declare war in congress, can only allude to the exercise of the af- firmative authority; and to advance a contrary doctrine, is to impair that absolute and governing principle of reci- procity on which all international law depends. As it would be possible for a nation in Europe to declare war against a nation in America many weeks before the fact could be known to the party assailed, the former, if the doctrine of Mr. Jefferson were true, would evidently be enjoying a privilege all that time, to the disadvantage of the latter, that is equally opposed to common sense and justice. The error of this opinion was in supposing that, by curtailing and dividing the powers of their servants, the people of the United States meant to limit the rights of the nation. What '^^, ,«^: .% 1^^ ■'^ ^^% • i'f ■i Vv *# 348 1 \ .'.^^ ^ 4 ■"li. NAVAL HISTORY. renders the course of the executive still more singular, is the fact that Com. Dale had established a blockade, and ac- tually captured neutrals that were entering Tripoli, as will be presently seen. y^;. . =• - ■ ^;.. ••* 'V *i '• ^^'w, ' 5 The President appeared off Tripoli on the 24th of August, when an ineffectual attempt was made to establish a truce. Remaining eighteen days in the vicinity of the town, and discovering no movement in or about the port. Com. Dale ran down the coast some distance, when he crossed over to Malta, in order to water his ship. As soon as this necessa- ry duty was performed, the President returned to Tripoli, and on the 30th of August, she overhauled a Greek ship bound in, with a cargo of merchandise and provisions. On board this vessel was an officer and 20 Tripolitan soldiers, besides 20 other subjects of the regency. All these persons were taken on board the frigate, and an attempt was made, by means of this lucky capture, to establish a system of ex- change. The negotiations were carried on through Mr. Nissen, the Danish consul, a gentleman whose name, by means of his benevolence, philanthropy and probity, has be- come indissolubly connected with the history of the Ameri- can marine. ■ < ■'■'■:■ V ' , It was soon discovered that the Bashaw cared very little about his subjects, as he declared that he would not ex- change one American for all the soldiers. There was a little of the arts of the negotiator in this, however, as he agreed, in the end, to give three Americans for all the sol- diers, the officer included, and three more for eight of the merchants, disclaiming the remaining six merchants as his subjects. Com. Dale appears to have become disgusted with this unworthy mode of bargaining, for he sent his pri- soners on board the Greek again, and allowed the ship to go into Tripoli, relinquishing his claim on the merchants altogether, as non-combatants, and consenting to take the three Americans for the soldiers. . ^ ,. % "••*f --t ^ .t^ ^%, .l>'!)l •¥'■'• if M: '*li; lit ■ ;*-** ■ .i; ': ''1' ^^■ •,**•'»' f* 4 ■i^- -4- ft**"' VAVAL HISTORT. ...'V. 349 ' Finding it necessary to go down to Gibraltar, the com- modore now left Tripoli, and proceeded direct to the for- mer place. He was soon succeeded by the Essex, which also appeared off the different Barbary ports. In the mean time, the two Tripolitan cruisers at Gibral- tar, on its being ascertained that it was impossible for them to get out while they were so closely watched, were dis- mantled, and their crews were privately sent across to Teutan in boats, to find their way home by land; just men enough being left to take care of the ships, and to navigate them, should an opportunity occur to get to sea. The Bashaw complained loudly of the blockade, as an inno- vation on the received mode of warfare, and the govern- ments of Algiers and Tunis, which appeared to distrust the precedent, manifested a disposition to join in the protest. The Dey of Algiers even went so far as to ask passports for the crews of the two vessels at Gibraltar, with a view to aid his neighbour; but the request was denied. While passing, in the manner described, from one port to ahother, an accident occurred, by which the President came near being lost. She had gone into Mahon, and the pilot; miscalculating his draught of water, struck a rock : on the starboard hand of that narrow passage, in quitting* the harbour. The ship had five or six knots way on her, at the time, and she ran up three or four feet before her mo- tion was lost. It was a breathless instant, and the first impression was very general, that she must infallibly go down. Rolling heavily, the hull settled off towards the passage, slid from the rock, and again floated. These are moments that prove the training of the sea-officer, as much as the more brilliant exploits of battle. The commodore instantly appeared on dev-k, and issued his orders with coolness and discretion. The ship stood through the nar- row outlet, and having g )t room, she was brought to the wind, until the extent of the danger could be ascertain- VoL. I.— 30 ^ ■■*^.; ** ^. ■>.| 4 w ■V .*■ '^^z # U-l 350 VAVAL HISTORY. j^'Ltt .' ed. On sounding the pumps, no more than the usual quantity of water was found, and confidence began to be restored. Still it was deemed imprudent to run off the land, as the working of so large a ship, in a heavy sea, might open seams that were yet tight. But the elements were against the vessel, for heavy weather set in, and that night it blew a gale of wind. Under the circumstances, Com. Dale decided to run for Toulon, as the most eligible port in which to repair his damages. This place was reach- ed in safety, when the ship was stripped, lightened^ hove out and examined. ^**\, * ' As soon as a vie\y was obtained of the stem as low as its junction with the keel, every one became conscious of the danger that the vessel had run. A large piece for- ward had been literally twisted off, and a part of the keel, for several feet, was broomed like a twig. Nothing saved the ship but the skilful manner in which the wood-ends had been secured. Instead of the ends of the planks having been let into a rabbetting grooved in the stem itself, they had been fastened into one made by the junction of the apron- piece and the stem, so that when the piece was wrenched off, the seams of the wood-ends remained tight. The French officers, who discovered great science and mechanical skill in making the repairs, expressed their delight at the mode of fastening that had been adopted, which it is believed was then novel, and they were so much pleased with the model of the frigate generally, that they took accurate measure- ments of all her lines.* ♦ On this occasion, the President was hove out on one side only. In order to fasten, caulk and copper underneath the keel, the following in- genious plan was adopted: A deep punt, or scow, was sunk, by means of ballast, until its upper edge was brought nearly a-wash. This scow had three compartments, one in the centre to hold the ballast, and one in each end to contain a workman. When suiHciently down in the water, the scow was floated beneath the keel, and m the workman stood erect. ^■ :s'i ««•- -•"#, # k~ J0: ^ %. ity\ »■ ■ 4W # ■■■■■■ J iS*U*.. :«!'■.. *. " ,.p ''"-^■f^- , ^ ' #^ : '' ,'<' 1 ■ t*^''..!^ ■ •■%•. ■ ' ' 'A :|l ' . ^ >^- ^: 4 NAVAL HISTORY. %' / ' 351 i. .^, ^ ■ 4* Ml •, ■•it's It has been said that the return of Com. Dale's squadron was ordered to take place on the 1st of December, at the latest, but discretionary powers appear to have been subse- ^ quently given to him, as he left the Philadelphia and Essex behind him, and proceeded home with his own ship and the "r Enterprise. The practice of entering men for only a twelve- month still prevailed, and it was often imperative on vessels vfr, to quit stations at the most unfortunate moments. The Phila- .'tf. * delphia was left to watch the Tripolitans, making Syracuse in Sicily her port of resort, while the Essex was kept at the Straits, to blockade the two vessels at Gibraltar, and guard the passage into the Atlantic. Both ships gave con- voys when required. ,.. Thus ended the first year of the war with Tripoli. Al- though little had been effected towards bringing the enemy to terms, much was done in raising the tone and discipline of the service. At Gibraltar, Malta, and other ports, the finest cruisers of Great Britain were constantly met, and the American ships proving to be entirely their equals, in construction, sailing and manoeuvring, a strong desire was soon excited to render them, in all other respects, as good as those that w^ere then deemed the model-ships of the world. A similar opportunity had occurred while cruising in the West-Indies; but then a large proportion of the ves- '1^ sels employed were of inferior qualities, and some of the * officers were unfit to hold commissions in any service. All the purchased ships had now been sold, and the reduction law had cleared the lists of those who would be likely to lessen the ambition, or alarm the pride of an aspiring and sensitive marine. Each day added to the knowledge, tone, esprit de corps and seamanship of the younger officers ; and and had Hufficient room to use his limbs and his tools, it is evident that he could execute his.task as readily as any ordinary shipwright on a staging-, who was obliged to work above his own head. H ■V* ■I 352 ■*, NAVAL HISTORY. as these opportunities continued to increase throughout the whole of the Mediterranean service, the navy rapidly went on improving, until the commander of an American ship was as ready to meet comparisons, as the commander of any vessel of war that floated. -. -m'M.*' > '• •" ■m' ■ i ■i If.'-^ ^1 Wtr-- 'K - t-! 'r m: It I. 7t if '*3f^V^-r- .:if>v' ' w 'v. 81- - # ■■j.1 ^ ■ ■ -'V ■:*: i '!' i^ J .1^ «A. e It P >f ■'■.'«'> ^Vv ^■^ ! <^ ' WAVAL HISTORY. 353 i;- ■P- CHAPTER XIX. Early in the year 1802, congress enacted laws that ob- viated all the constitutional scruples of the executive, and v«rhich fully authorized the capture and condemnation of any Tripolitan vessels that might be found. It is worthy of re- mark, that this law itself did not contain a formal declara- tion of war, while it provided for all the contingencies of such a state of things, even to empowering the president to issue commissions to privateers and letters of marque ; and it may be inferred from the fact, that it was supposed the act of the enemy was sufficient to render the country tech- nically a belligerent. One of the sections of this law, how- ever, was of great service to the navy, by enabling crews to be shipped for two years. As the President and Enterprise had returned home, and the time of service of the people of the two ships that were left in the Mediterranean was nearly up, preparations were now made to send out a relief squadron. For this service the following ships were commissioned, viz. the Chesapeake 38, Lieut. Chauncey, acting captain; Constellation 38, Capt. Murray ; New- York 36, Capt. James Barron ; John Adams 28, Capt. Rodgers ; Adams 28, Capt. Campbell ; and Enter- prise 12, Lieut. Com. Sterrett. Com. Truxtun was selected to command this squadron, and he had proceeded to Nor- folk for that purpose, when a question arising about allow- 30* ■§< I" ^ ^^ ^ ^n A '»>■. * ■yJ''» '*r.' ''** n f ■<*. 354 NAVAL HISTORY. 'U ing him a captain in the flag-ship, ho was induced to resign.* Com. Morris was appointed to succeed Com. Truxtun, and shortly after he hoisted his broad pennant in the Chesapeake. • ThomM Truxtun, who Mrill appear no more in our pages, was borh on Long Island, New-York, February the 17th, 1755, and went early to sea. At the commencement of the Revolution, he entered on board a heavily armed privateer, in the capacity of a lieutei ant, and was frequently en- gaged with the enemy's letters of marque .>nd privateers. In 1777, he commandt ' a private cruiser, called the independence, with success, and shortly afler, he was transferred tu lUe Mars, a ship of some force, in which he made many captures. In 1782, he sailed for France, in the let- ter of marque St. James, with an American agent on board, and had a combat with a heavier vessel, that had been expressly sent out of New- York to capture him, which ship he beat off with loss. Capt. Truxtun commanded Indiamen after the peace of 1783, and in 1794, he was com- missioned in the navy, as the fifth captain, and ordered to superintend the construction of the Constellation 38, then just laid down at Baltimore. In this ship he went to sea, in the war against Franf:e, and in 1799, he cap- tured I'Insilrgente 36. The following year, he h«d the well-known and bloody combat with la Vengeance; and soon after, he was transferred to the President 44. In this vessel. Com. Truxtun made cruises in the West-Indies until the war ended. Com. Truxtun twice commanded on the Guadalou] station; previously to quitting the Constellation, and subsequently to his hoisting his broad pennant in the President. At one time, he had as many as ten vevela under his orders; a force that he directed with zeal, efficiency and discretion. He was a good seaman, and a very brave man. To him be- longs the credit of having fought the first battle under the present organ- ization of the navy, in which he acquitted himself skilfully and with suc- cess. The action with la Vengeance has always been considered one of the w.'irmest combats between frigates that is on record; and there is not the smallest doubt that he would have brought his enemy into port, but for the loss of his mai.i-mast. Congress awarded him a gold medal for his conduct on that occasion. It is said Com. Truxtun did not intend to resign his commission in the navy, in 1802, but simp^ the command of the squadron to which he had been appointed. The construction put upon his communication by the department, however, was opposed to this idea, and he consequently re- tired to private life. After his resignation, Com. Truxtun filled one or two civil offices. He died in 1822, aged 67. -H^ ■••g;-**;-''*:,/ ? ik «' ? '■4s: ^. i*^ ^ # .1;^^ NAVAL HISTORY. 9S5 The vessels fitting for the Mediterranean being in dif- ferent states of forwardness, and there existing a necessity for the immediate appearance of some of them in that sea, they did not sail in a squadron, but as each was ready. The Enterprise was the first that left home, sailing in February, and she was followed, in March, by the Constellation. The Chesapeake did not get out until April, and the Adams fol- lowed her in June. The two other ships were detained until September. There was, however, one other vessel at sea, all this time, to which it will be necessary to make a brief allusion. Shortly after his accession to office, in 1801, Mr. Jeflfer- son appointed Mr. Robert R. Livington minister to France, and the Boston 28, Capt. M'Niell, was directed to carry the new envoy to his place of destination. This duty perform- ed, the ship had been ordered to join the squadron in the Mediterranean, for service in that sea. The departure of the Boston was so timed as to bring her on the station un- der both commands, that of Com. Dale, and that of Com. Morris. This cruise has become memorable in the service, on account of the eccentricities of the officer in command of the ship. After encountering a heavy gale of wind in the Bay of Biscay,.in which he discovered perfect seaman- ship, and the utmost coolness, under circumstances particu- larly trying, Capt. M'Niell landed his passengers, and pro- ceeded to the Mediterranean. Here he cruised for some time, avoiding his senior officers, whenever he could, pass- ing from port to port, appearing off Tripoli, and occasion- ally affi)rding a convoy. After a time, the Boston returned home, and was put out of commission, her commander quit- ting the service under the reduction law.* The Essex and Philadelphia also returned home, as soon as relieved. * The eccentricities of Capt. M'Niell have become traditional in the ser- vice. While at Sicily, during this cruise, a band belonging to one of the regiments quartered at Messina, was sent on board the ship, and lie 4-* ^'■ ■f :^'-^' v< %^ 366 *; •,i^ #' >l^i. % .*.;■ 'i 850 . it os- for want of water, when Tripoli was again left without any force before it. The Chesapeake 38, Act. Capt. Chauncey, wearing the broad pennant of Com. Morris, reached Gibraltar May 2fith, 1802, where she found the Essex 32, Capt. Bainbridge, still blockading the Tripolitan cruisers. The latter vessel was sent home, and the Chesapeake, which had need of repairs, having sprung her main-mast, continued in the straits, for the purposes of refitting, and of watching the ene* my. Com. Morris also deemed it prudent to observe the movements of the government of Morocco, which had manifested a hostile disposition. The arrival of the Adams 284 Capt. Campbell, late in July, however, placed the flag- ship at liberty, and she sailed with a convoy to various ports on the north shore, having the Enterprise in company. This long delay below, of itself, almost defeated the possi- bility of acting efficiently against the town of Tripoli that summer, since, further time being indispensable to collect the different vessels and 10 make the necessary preparations, it would bring the ships before that place too late in the sea- son. The fault, however, if fault there was, rested more with those who directed the preparations at home, than with the commanding officer, as this delay at Gibraltar would seem to have been called for, by circumstances. The Chesapeake, following the north shore, and touching at many ports, anchored in the roads of Leghorn, on the 12th of October. At Leghorn the Constellation was met, which ship shortly after returned home, in consequence of a dis- cretionary power that had been left with the commodore.* * While the ships lay at Leghorn, it blew a g^Ie. The officers of the Constellation were on the quarter-deck, just at dusk, and they observed a boat of the Enterprise goings off to the schooner, carrying sail in a way that was thought dangerous; At that moment, the gentlemen were sum- moned to their supper, and while at table, an alarm was given, of a ^lan overboard. A man, in fact, was found hanging to the rudder chains, and '».■ <. il* iSk":; ■^: >'* *4* . ;h'>' .<■:. 360 t'< f, ■:;;^ NAVAL HISTORY. Orders were now sent to the different vessels of the squad- ron to rendezvous at Malta, whither the commodore pro- ceeded with his own ship. Here, in the course of the month of January, 1803, were assembled the Chesapeake 38, Act Capt. Chauncey; New York 36, Capt. J. Barron; John Adams 28, Capt. Rodgers, and Enterprise 12, Lieut. Com. Sterrett. Of the remaining vessels that had been put under the orders of Com. Morris, the Constellation 38, Capt. Murray, had gone into a Spanish port to repair some dama- ges received in a gale of wind, and she shortly after sailed for home; the Boston 28, Capt. M'Niell had not joined, and the Adams 28, Capt. Campbell was cruising off Gibraltar. On the 30th of January, 1803, the ships first named left Malta, with an intention to go off Tripoli, but a severe gale coming on, which lasted eleven days, the commodore was induced to bear up, and to run down to Tunis, where it i^M understood the presence of the squadron would be useful. On the 11th of March he left Tunis, touched at Algiers, and anchored again at Gibraltar on the 23d of.the month. The reason assigned for carrying the ships below, when it had been the original design to appear off the enemy's he was got in, nearly exhausted. All he could utter was " Stetrett's boat." This recalled the boat that hfid been seen, and three cutters immediately left the ship, to search for the rest of the crew. Lieutenants went in the boats, viz., the present Com. Stewart, the present Com. J. Jones, and the regretted Caldwell. The night was vecy dark, it blew furiously, and the object was almost hopeless. The boats pulled off in different directions, and Mr. Jones picked up a man, outside the ship. Mr. Caldwell, afler a long pull, found no one. Mr. Stewart went a mile to leeward, and found a man swimming towards the Melora, and on returning, against the wind and sea, he met another senseless, floating with his arms over an oar. Thus were three men almost miraculously saved, but the midshipman, Mr. Innes, and three others were drowned. The last man picked up was found, by the boat's accidentally hitting the oar that kept him from sinking! The circumstance proves the usefulness of exertions, at such a moment, how- ever hopeless they may appear. ":>. * 'i^ .*■■ J ^■ .P ■V i ^^^ '^/(f; * :'^ •■% ■^ ^^ ■ ■■'■». W ■•A ■' t* K- .•; 'K '4* t ^^;-' ,j: *s^- 5 f • '! * lik. # "j^- .^ ^■^ ■V »i. ■.."^.'^ .■4*^ ^^ nd, he ITAVAL HISTORY. 861 port, was the want of provisions, and to make the transfers and arrangements dependant on shifting the pennant of the commanding officer, from the Chesapeake to the New York, the former ship having been ordered home by the navy de- partment. The squadron was now reduced to the New York 36, the Adams 28, the John Adams 28, and the Enterprise 12. Act. Capt. Chauncey accompanied the commodore to the first of these vessels, and Capt. Barron was transferred to the Chesapeake. The Adams was des- patched with a convoy, with orders to go off Tripoli, as sooa,as the first duty was performed. On the lOlh of April the New York, John Adams and Enterprise sailed,. to touch at Malta, on their way to the enemy's port. While making this passage, just as the music had Been beating to grog, a heavy explosion was heard near the cock-pit of the flag-ship, and the lower part of the vessel was immediately filled with smoke. It was an appall- ing moment, for every man on board was aware that a quan- tity of powder, not far from the magazine, must have ex- ploded, that fire was necessarily scattered in the passages, that the ship was in flames, and that, in all human proba- bility, the magazine was in danger. Act. Capt. Chauncey was passing the drummer when the explosion occurred, and he ordered him to beat to quarters. The alarm had not been given a minute, when the men were going steadily to their guns, and other stations, under a standing regula- tion, which directed this measure in the event of a cry of fire, as the most certain means of giving the officers en- tire command of the ship, and of preventing confusion. The influence of discipline was well exhibited on this trying occasion; for, while there is nothing so fearful to the sea- man as the alarm of fire, the people went to their quarters, as regularly as in the moments of confidence. The sea being smooth, and the weather moderate, the Vol. I.— 31 ■X: ■--^ /n ■ -5*= i,*-; t:' % .^■M ,JU. «■' »■• 302 HAVAL HISTORY. 1^ » »; commodore himself now issued an order to hoist ont the boats. This command, which had been given under the in- fluence of the best feelings of the human heart, was most unfortunately timed. The people had no sooner left the guns to execute it, thaj the jib-boom, bow-sprit, sprit-sail- yard, knight-heads, and every spot forward was lined with men, under the idea of getting as far as possible from the magazine. Some even leaped overboard and swam for the nearest vessel. The situation of the ship was now exceedingly critical. With a fire known to be kindled near the magazine, and a crew in a great measure disorganized, the chances of escape were much diminished. But Act. Capt. Chauncey rallied a few followers, and reminding them that they might as well be blown up through one deck as three, he led the way be- low, into passages choked with smoke, where the danger was rapidly increasing. There, by means of wetted blank- ets, taken from the purser's store-room, and water thrown by hand, he began to contend with the fire, in a spot where a spark scattered even by the efforts made to extinguish the flames, might, in a single instant, have left nothing of all on board, but their names. Mr. David Porter, the first lieutenant, who meets us in so many scenes of trial and danger, had ascended from the ward-room, by means of a stern ladder, and he and the other officers, seconded the noble efforts of their intrepid commander. The men were got in from the spars forward, water was abundantly sup- plied, and the ship was saved. This accident is supposed to have occurred in conse- quence of a candle's having been taken from a lantern, while the gunner was searching some object in a store- room that led from the cock-pit. A quantity of marine cartridges, and the powder horns used in priming the guns, and it is thought some mealed powder, exploded. Two doors leading to the magazine passage were forced open. 'ai**A:.'i;-_;,''^^.-i^_- . S Ai. AM! ife tinVP' : ■;X' " NAVAL HISTORY. 363 * 'f and nearly all the adjoining bulkheads were blown down. Nineteen officers and men were injured, of whom, four- teen died. The sentinel at the magazine passage, was driven quite through to the filling-room door. After the panic caused by quitting the guns to hoist out the boats, all the officers and people of the ship, appear to have behaved well. The order to hoist out the boats, might be explained by natural affection ; but we have recorded the whole transaction, as it is replete with instruction to the young officer, on the subjects of system, submission to or- ders, and the observance of method.* The ships appear to have been detained some time at Malta, by the repairs that were rendered necessary in con- sequence of the accident just mentioned. On the 9d of May, however, the John Adams wa^ sent off Tripoli, alone, with orders to blockade that port. Shortly after this ship reached her station, she made a sail in the offing, which •he intercepted. This vessel proved to be the Meshouda, one of the cruisers that had been so long blockaded at Gibraltar, and which was now endeavouring to get home under an assumed character. She had been sold by the bashaw to the emperor of Morocco, who had sent her to Tunis, where she had taken in supplies, ani was now stand- ing boldly for the h^i 'i:)ur of Tripoli. The reality of the transfer was doubted, but as she was attempting to evade a ;-^ legal blockade, the Meshouda was detained. About the close of the mohth. Com. Morris hove in sight, * It is a tradition of the service, we kncr.' not on what foundation, that, when an order was given to a quarter-master to hoist the signal of «* a fire on board," in the hurry of the moment he bent on a wrong flag, »nd a signal for "a mutiny on board," was shown. Capt. Rodgers of the John Adams, observing an alarm in the New York, and smoke issuing from her ports, beat to quarters, and ranged up under the stern of the commodore, with his guns trained, in rt tidiness to fire. The threatened consummation to a calamity that was already sufficiently grave, was pre- vented by explanations. > jy- #•- ■I' I' n ' ^''•■ ''^. 384 NAVAL HISTORT. in the New York, with the Adams and Enterprise in com- pany. As the flag-ship nearcd the coast, several small vescels, convoyed by a number of gun boats, were dis- covered close in with the land, making the best of their way towards the port. Chase was immediately given, and find- ing themselves cut off from the harbour, the merchant ves- sels, eleven in all, took refuge in Old Tripoli, while the gun boats, by means of their sweeps, were enabled to pull under the batteries of the town itself. No sooner did the vessels, small iatine-rigged coasters loaded with wheat, get into Old Tripoli, than preparations were made to defend them. A large stone building stood on a bank some twelve or fifteen feet from the shore, and it was occu^-icd by .1 considerable body of soldiers. In the course] of the night breast-works were erected on each side of this building, by means of the sacks of wheat which composed the cargoes of the feluccas. The latter were hauled upon the beach, high and dry, im- mediately beneath the building, and a large force was brought from Tripoli to man the breast-works. Mr. Porter, the first lieutenant of the flag-ship, volunteer- ed to go in that night, with the boats of the squadron, and destroy the enemy's craft; but, unwilling to expose his peo- ple under so much uncertainty, the commodore decided to wait for day-light, in order that the ships might co-operate, and in the hope of intimidating the Tripolitans by a show of all his force. Mr. Porter, however, went in alone and reconnoilered in the dark, receiving a heavy fire from the musketry of the troops when discovered. Next morning, the offer of Mr. Porter was accepted, and sustained by Lieut. James Lawrence of the Enterprise, and a strong party of oflicers and men from the other ships, he went boldly in, in open day. As the boats pulled up within reach of musketry, the enemy opened a heavy fire, which there was very little opportunity of returning. Notwith- standing the great superiority of the Turks in numbers, the ■#: '■- -• ''. >i. ' m *■ •^v^ #^ «M •i. • j^ -jlT- % '^^ ,^. 'H . . . . .-.M'Jt. . . U. . -js ■* .i*"^' ITAVAL HISTORY. 36;> party landed, set fire to the feluccas, and regaining their boats, opened to the right and left, to allow the shot of the ships to complete the worL The enemy now appeared as desperately bent on preserving their vessels, as their assail* ants, a few minutes before, had been bent on destroying them. Regardless of the fire of the ships, they rushed on board the feluccas, succeeded in extinguishing the flames, and, in the end, preserved them. This attack was made in the most gallant manner, and reflected high credit on all engaged. The parties were so near each other, that the Turks actually threw stones at the Americans, and their fire was sharp, heavy and close. The loss of the enemy could never be ascertained, but a good many were seen to fall. Of the Americans, 13 or 15 were killed and wounded; and among the latter, was Mr. Porter, who received a slight wound in the right, and a musket ball through the left thigh, while advancing to the attack, though he continued to command to the last. Mr. Lawrence was particularly distinguished, as was Mr. John Downes, one of the midshipmen of the New York.* Com. Morris determined to follow up this attack on the wheat vessels, by making one on the gun-bqats of the ene- my. The harbour of Tripoli is formed by an irregularly shaped indentation of the coast, which opens to the north. The greatest depth is about a mile and a half, and the width may be a little more. On its western side, this indentation runs off at an angle of about 25 degrees with the coast, while on the eastern, the outline of the bay melts into that of the main shore much less perceptibly, leaving the an- chorage within, a good deal exposed to northeast winds. But at the point where the western angle of the bay unites * It i,i worthy of remark, that this is the fifth instance in which we have had occasion to record the g-ood conduct of Lieut. David Porter, in four years, and the third time he was wounded. 31* :X^ •f i» ■^. *fiir?m., i^ M i.:mu:J:^m, it4 ■-;.;* ^.- 1 w I w 01^' 366 NAVAL HISTORY. with the main coast, there is a small rocky peninsula that stretches off in a northeast direction a considerable dis- tance, forming a sort of natural mole, and, at the end of this again, an artificial mole has been constructed in a line extending nearly east-south-east. It is scarcely necessary to add, that the real port is behind this mole, in which there is water for galleys, and where vessels are sufficiently pro- tected from any winds. The town, which is small, crowd- ed, and walled, stretches along the shore of this port, for less than a mile, then retires inland about a thousand feet, and following the general direction of the wall along the har- bour, it strikes the sea again at the distance of about a quarter of a mile from the angle at the point of junction between the bay and the coast. Of course, the town extends the latter distance along the open sea. The shore, however, is rocky, though low, and rocks lie in sight at some distance from the beach. On one of these rocks, in front of the end of the town that lies exposed to the sea, a work has been built some distance off in the water, which is called the French Fort. On the natural mole are batteries, one of which is in two tiers; at the end of the ar- tificial mole is another, and several are distributed along the walls of the place. Near the south-eastern angle of the town, and immedi- ately on the shore of the port, stands the Bashaw's castle; the entrance into the inner harbour, or galley mole, lying necessarily between it and the mole-head ; the distance be- tween the two being about a quarter of a mile. The advanc- ed peninsula, which forms what we have termed the natural m< '0, is surrounded by broken rocks, which show them- selves above the water, but which suddenly cease within pistol shot of Its batteries. At a distance of a few hundred feet, however, the line of these rocks re-appears, stretching ofTin a north-easterly direction, about a mile further. These rocks are broken, and have many small passages between >■:, *-■ ^" ^m f^'^W^ (T- • t NAVAL HISTORr. 367 them, through which it is possible for boats to pull. They form a sort of breakwater to the bay, and the eastern por- tion of the latter being covered with shoals, the two to- gether make a tolerably safe anchorage within. A little east of south, from the north-easterly extremity of the rocks, stands fort English, dii?tant rather more than a mile, on an angle of the coast, that may be said to form the eastern point of th^ bay, though it is by no means as much advanced as the western. The main entrance is be- tween the end of the rocks and the shoals towards fort English, the water being deep, and the passage near half a mile wide. Thus a vessel coming from sea, would steer about south-west in entering, and would be exposed to a raking fire from the castle, the mole, and all the adjacent batteries, and a cross fire from fort English. There is, how- ever, an entrance by the passage between the natural mole and the rocks, or through the open space already mention- ed. This is called the western, or the little entrance ; it may be six or eight hundred feet in width; and vessels using it are obliged to pass close to the batteries of the na- tural and the artificial moles. As they round the mole- head, they open those of the castle and of the town also. In addition to the fixed batteries of the place, were the gun boats and galleys. These boats were large vessel* of their class, latine-rigged, capable of going to sea on emergen- cies, as one of their principal occupations had been to convoy along the coast. Several that were subsequently examined by the American officers, had a brass gun 11^ feet long, with a bore to receive a shot that weigihed 29 pounds, mounted in the bows, besides two brass howit- zers aft. The guns were fine pieces, and weighed 6600 pounds. When not otherwise engaged, the gun-boats were commonly moored just within the rocks, and without the artificial mole, where they answered the purpose of addi- tional batteries to command the entrance. By this dispo- i ■#.•; '•*■ .. 4 ...jtjL^. ^4 ■■v~ /; I"' V i 368 l> NAVAL HISTORY. W- sition of his means of defence, the Bashaw could, at all times, open a fire of heavy guns afloat, on any vessel that ven- tured close in, in addition to that of his regular works. There were two or three light cruisers moored in the upper part of the harbour, that could be of little use ex- cept as against attacks within the rocks, and two galleys. On emergencies, the smaller vessels could take shelter be- hind the rocks, where they were nearly protected from flre. At the time of which we are writing, the gun boats were stationed well out, near the rocks and the mole, in a man- ner to admit of their giving and receiving a fire; and on the afternoon of the 28th of May, the preparations hav- ing been previously made, a signal was shown from the New York, for the John Adams to bear down upon the enemy and commence an attack. Capt. Rodgers obeyed the order with promptitude, taking a position within reach of grape, but, owing to the lightness of the wind, the two other ships were unable to second her, as was intended. In consequence of these unforeseen circumstances, the at- tack proved a failure, in one sense, though the boats soon withdrew behind the rocks, and night brought the affair to an end. It is believed that neither party suflfered much on this occasion. The next day Com. Morris made an attempt to negotiate a peace, through the agency of M. Nissen, the Danish con- sul, a gentleman who, on all occasions, appears to have been the friend of the unfortunate, and active in doing good. To this proposal the Bey listened, and one of his ministers was empowered to meet the American comman- der on the subject. Having received proper pledges for his safe return, Com. Morris landed in person, and each party presented • its outlines of a treaty. The result was an abrupt ending of the negotiation. This occurred on the 8th of June, and, on the 10th, the New York and Enterprise left the station, for Malta. At t 'm ^^. '*». . i».:i V If AVAL HISTORY. 369 the latter place, Com. Morris received intelligence concern- ing the movements of the Algerine and Tunisian corsairs, that induced him to despatch the Enterprise, with orders to Capt. Rodgers to raise the blockade of Tripoli, and to join him, as soon as circumstances would permit, at Malta. After the departure of the flag ship, the John Adams 28, Capt. Rodgers, and the Adams 28, Capt. Campbell, com- posed the force left before the enemy's port. The speedy return of the Enterprise 12, which was then commanded by Lieut. Com. Hull, who had succeeded Lieut. Com. Ster- rett, added that light vessel to the squadron. Some move- ments in the harbour, on the evening of the 21st of June, in- duced Capt. Rodgers, the senior officer present, to suspect that it was intended to get a cruiser to sea that night, or to cover the return of one to port. With a view to defeat either of these plans, the Adams was sent to the westward, the Enterprise to the eastward, while the John Adams re- mained in the offing. On the following morning, about 7 o'clock, the Enter- prise was seen to the southward and eastward, with a signal flying of an enemy. At that moment, the John Ad- ams was a few leagues out at sea, and it was 8 o'clock before the two vessels could speak each other. Capt. Rodgers now found that a large ship belonging to the Ba- shaw, had run into a deep narrow bay, about seven leagues to the eastward of Tripoli, where she had taken a very fa- vourable position for defence, and anchored with springs on her cable. At the same time, it was ascertained that nine gun-boats were sweeping along the shore, to aid in defend- ing her, while, as usual, a large body of cavalry was hover- ing about the coast, to resist any attack by means of boats. The ship was known to be the largest of the Bey's remain- ing corsairs, mounting 22 guns, and she was very full of men. Capt. Rodgers owed the opportunity that now offered to ,^ jft- ^ w "^,- ■^ ^ :P' ^#i imk "V- ^ '» -i > * m 370 <». If AVAL HISTORY. **^. > li"\ • V If.. ^ r ' ' Hi ■4» ♦ ^ attack his enemy, to the steadiness and gallantry of Lieut. Com. Hull, who, on making his adversary at day-light, had cut him off from the town, with a spirit that did infinite credit to that officer. Tha Tripolitan was treble the force of the Enterprise, and had he chosen to engage the schoon- er, Mr. Hull would, probably, have been obliged to sacrifice his little vessel, in order to prevent his enemy from getting into port. Jjt The dispositions of Capt. Rodgers were soon made. He stood in, with the Enterprise in company, until the John Adams was within point-blank shot of the enemy, when she opened her fire. A smart cannonade was maintained on both sides, for forty-five minutes, when the people of the corsair abandoned their guns, with so much precipitation, that great numbers leaped overboard, and swam to the shore. The John Adams was now in quarter-less-five, by the lead, and she wore with her head off shore. At the same time, the Enterprise was ordered to occupy the at- tention of the enemy on the beach, while boats could be got out to take possession of the abandoned ship. But a boat returning to the corsair, the John Adams tacked and re- newed her fire. In a few minutes the colours of the corsair were hauled down, and all her guns were discharged ; those which were pointed towards the Americans, and those which were pointed towards the land. At the next moment she blew up. The explosion was very heavy, and it tore the hull of the Tripolitan entirely to pieces. The two after-masts were forced into the air, to twice their usual height, with all the yards, rigging, and hamper attached. The cause of this explosion is unknown, though it might have been thought intentional, were it not for the fact that the people of the boat that had returned to her, were blown up in the ship, none having left her after their arrival. As the shot of the John Adams was seen to hull the enemy repeatedly, t ■4. \. .¥" 1 1 ■M. '*' iit^i ;'J^ . s'a-u/ rtki -ta 'f. *|^ ^ * * v,*- WAVAL HISTORY. 371 the corsair is also supposed to have sustained a severe loss before her people first abandoned her. The John Adams and Enterprsie attempted to cut off the division of gun boats, but found the water shoal too far to seaward of them, to render the fire of their guns eflective. Knowing the whole coast intimately, the latter were enabled to escape. The ships bprore Tripoli, in obedience to the orders <:.{ Com. Morris, jw sailed for Malta to join that officer, wlioa the whole sq 'ron proceeded to different ports in Italy, together. Fro rhorn, the John Adams was sent down to the straits wii, . convoy; the Adams to Tunis and Gibral- tar, and the Enterprise back to Malta, in quest of des- patches. Soon after, the New York, herself, went below, touching at Malaga, where Com. Morris found letters of recall. The command was left temporarily, with Capt. Rodgers, who hoisted a broad pennant in the New York, while Com. Morris took charge of. the Adams, to proceed to America. Capt. Cn mpbell, late of the Adams, was trans- ferred to the John Adams. Com. Morris reached home on the 21st of November, 1803; and the government, which professed great dissatis- faction at the manner in which he had employed the force intrusted to his discretion, demanded the usual explanations. These explanations not proving satisfactory, a Court* of Inquiry was convened, by order of the department, dated March 10th, 1804, and the result was an opinion that this officer had not discovered due diligence and activity in an- noying the enemy, on various occasions, between the 8th of January, 1803, and the period of the expiration of his command. In consequence of the finding of the Court • This court consisted of Capt. S. Barron, President; Capt. Hugh G. Campbell, and Lieut. John Caisin. Walter Jones, jun. Esquire, Judg^e Advocate. ' t-^"^ V4 * % .ii-„'::.,-,.v. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ^Z- i< ^ 1.0 I.I La 12.8 ■40 ^^ 12.5 u l«0 2.0 U& P i '-^ U4 ^ 6" ► Hiotographic Sciences Carpomtion 23 WIST MAIN STRieT WfUTIR.N.Y. MSM (716)t73-4S03 '<^ .^O y -r- *;f m-i, I * 379 .-# ITAYAt HI8T0RT. V '■ [• of Inqwry, the president dismissed Com. Morris from the novy. ^ Whatever may be thought of the justice of the opinion of 0. the court, there can be little question that the act of the ex: ecutive, in this instance, was precipitate and wrong. The power of removal from office is given to the president to be exercised only on important occasions, and for the pub- lic good; and it has been much questioned, whether the power itself is salutary, in the cases of military men. The civilian who does net do his duty, must be replaced imme- diately, or the office virtually becomes vacant, but no such pressing necessity exists in the army and navy, as subordi- nates are always ready temporarily to discharge the duties of their superiors. In the navy, this necessity is still less striking than in the army, since officers of the same rank are never wanting to fill vacancies. But there is a far higher consideration, why no military man should ever be deprived of his commission, except in very extraordinary instances, unless by a solemn trial and a formal finding of a court. His profession is the business of a life ; his conduct is at all times subject to a severe and exacting code, and dismission infers disgrace. So general, indeed, is the opinion that every officer is entitled to be tried by his peers, that greater disgrace is apt to attach itself to an arbitrary dismission, by an exercise of executive power, than to a sentence of a court itself, since the first ought only to proceed from conduct so flagrantly wrong, as to supersede even the necessity of trial. There was another motive that ought to have weighed with the go- vernment, before it resorted to the use of so high a power. The gentlemen who composed the Court of Inquiry on Com. Morris, were his juniors in rank, %nd one was his inferior. Although the characters of these officers were above sus- picion, as to motives, the accused, on general principles, had a perfect right to the benefit of the exception, and was fV rf K. "f> w % •H VAVAI. HIST(«r. ^ 378 entitled to demand all the forms of, (he service, ^fore he was finally condemned. It has, more or less, been a leading defect of the civil administration of the military affairs of the American go* vernment, that too little of professional feeling has pre- sided in its councils, the men who are elevated to political power, in popular governments, seldom entering fully into the tone and motives of those who are alive to the sensibilities of military pride. One of the consequences of this influence of those who have merely the habits of civilians, on the fortunes of men so differently educated, is to be traced in the manner in which the executive au- thority just alluded to has been too often wielded ; presenting on one side ex parte decisions that have been more charac- terized by precipitation and petulance, than by dignity, justice, or discretion; and on the other, by a feebleness that has too often shrunk from sustaining true discipline, by re- fusing to confirm the decisions of courts that have deliber- ately heard and dispassionately sentenced. The death of Com. Barry,* the resignations of Com. * John Barry was a native of the county of Wexfonl, Ireland, where he was bom in 1745. He came to America a youth, having adopted the life of a seaman as a profession. Circumstances early brought him into notice, and he was one of the first officers appointed to a command in the navy of the united colonies. He is also supposed to have been the first regular officer who g^t to sea on a cruise, though this honour lies between him and Com. Hopkins. In command of the Lexington 14, he took the Edward tender, after a smart action, in 1776. In 1777, he performed a handsome exploit in the Delaware, at the head of four boats, carrying an enemy's man-of-war schooner without the loss of a man. For a short time, he also served with the army, during the eventful campugn in New Jer- sey. In 1778, he made a most gallant resistance against a superior force, in the Raleigh 32, losing hii^ship, but saving most of his crew. In 1781, in the Alliance 32, he took the Atalanta and Trepassy, after a bloody combat, in which he was severely wounded. In 1782, he fought a close battle with an English ship in the West Indies, being driven oif by a superior force that was in sight. At the establishment of the new marine, Vol. I.— 33 . m % t '^ '*'»■ '^^ ^74 NAVAL HISTORY. Dale,* and Com. Truxtun, with t^e dismissals of Codi. under the present government in 1794, Capt Barry was named the senior «: officer, in which station he died. ' Com. Bany, as an officer and a man, ranked very high. His affection to his adopted country was never doubted, and was put to the proof, as the British government is said to have bid high to detach him from its service, during the Revolution. He died childless and greatly respected, Sept. 18tb, 1803, in the city of PhiUulelphia, where he had made his home, / • • . from the time*of his arrival in the country, and where he had married. * Richard Dale was bom in the year 1757, n a short cHstance from Nor< folk in the colony of Virginia. He went to sea young, and .7as mate of a vessel in 1775. After serving a short time irreg^ularly, Mr. Dale joined the United States brig Lexington in July 1776, as a midslupman. IVhen the Lexington was taken by the Pearl, Mr. Dale was left in the brig, and , he was active in her recapture. The succeeding year ho sailed, as a mas« . ter's mate, in the Lexington; was in her, in her cruise round Ireland, and , was captured in her by the Alert, after a long action. BIr. Dale escaped from Mill prison in February 1778, was retaken in London, and sent baok> to confinement. For an entire year he remained a captive, when he escaped a second time, and succeeded in reaching France. Here he joined the celebrated squadron fitting under Paul Jones, an officer who soon dia> covered his merit, and made him first lieutenant of hio own ship, the Bon Homme Richard. The conduct of Mr. Dale in that capacity, is recorded in the text. After the cruise in the squadron he went through the British channel with his commander in the Alliance 32, and subsequently came to America with him in the Ariel 20, in 1780. Mr. Dale was not yet twenty three years old, and he appears now to have first obtained the commission \ of a lieutenant in the navy from the government at home, that under which he had previously acted having been issued in Europe. Mr. Dale was appointed first lieutenant of the Trumbull 28, in which slup he served in her action with the Iris and Monk, when the Trumbull was taken. He was made a prisoner a second time, of course, but he was shortly after ex- changfed. Mr. Dale does not appear *n have served any more, in public vessels, duringthewar of the Revoi but in 1794, he was commissioned as the fourth captain, in the presv. larine. Capt Dale commanded the Gan- ges 20, the first vessel that went to sea under the new organization. He continued but a short time m this sV ;; ^, getting a furlough in 1799, to make an East India voyage. In 1801, he made the cruise in the Mediterranean which has been related in the body of this work, as commander of the squadron, and the following year he resigned. ' ^*. I ■; \ #■ .i«E.,*t- ••ti ' * % ^v # ^ *■ V > 'f •% KAVAL HISTORV. 875* Slorris,* and Capt. M'Niell, reduced the Hst of t^ptains tO'Oine, the number named in the reduction law, for that act does not appear to have been rigidly regarded from the moment of its passage. After the death of Com. Barry, Few men passed youths more chequered with stirring incidents than Com. Dale, and few men spent the evening of their days more tranquilly. On quitting the navy, he remained in Philadelphia, in the enjoyment of a spotless name, a competency, and a tranquil mind, up to the hour of bis death, which event occurred February 24th, 1826, in thd 69th year of his age. "* Com. Dale had the reputation of being both a (food officer and a (pod seaman. He was cool, brave, modest, and just. Notwithstanding his short service in the present marine, he has left belund him a character that all respected, wlule none envy. i . ij , * Richard Valentine Morris belonged to one of the historical families of the country, which has been seated a century and a half at Morrissania, in West Chester county, New York. He was the youngest son of Lewis Morris, of Morrissania, who was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and he early adopted the sea as a profession. Without haring had an opportunity of seeing much service, the g^at influence and fair pretenuons of his family, caused him to be appointed to the sta- tion of the ninth captun in the new navy, his commission having been dated June 7th, 1798. Capt. Morris was probably the youngest man, among those originally named to the rank he held, but he acquitted himself with credit, in the command of the Adams 28, during the war with France. At the reduction of the navy, in 1801, Capt. Morris was retuned as the fifth in rank, and his selection to command the Mediterranean squadron was due to his place on the list; the age and state of health of the few officers above him, rendering them indisposed to actual service of the na- ture on which he was sent. The fault of Com. Morris in managing the force entrusted to him, was merely one of judgment, for neither his zeal nor his courage was ever ques- tioned. Had he been regularly tried by a court martial, a reprimand, in all probability, would have been the extei\t of the punishment; and it is due to his character, to add, that his dismissal from the navy has usually been deemed a high-handed political measure, rather than a military condem- nation. He lived respected, and died in his original position in life, while attending the legislature at Albany, in 1814. He was considered a good oflicer, in general, and was a seaman of very fair pretensions. '^f A 876 NAVAL HISTORr. '*it. .*, Com. S. Nicholson, who first appears in our histo/y as the commander of the Dolphin 10, during the cruise of Capt. Wickes in the Irish and English channels, became the senior officer of the service, making the second metnber of the same family who had filled that honourable station. '^ t " . .. ' ''v ■ X: ii\ • '% if ^^m.: # m ffva r'L APPENDIX ■■■*. w ■y^ An. -* NOTB A. AGKEEMEOT' Between Capt. John Paul Jone$ and the Officers of the Squadron. [Truislation.] ' Agreement between Messrs. John Paul Jones, Captain of the Bon Homme Richard ; Pierre Landais, Captain of the Alliance; Dennis Nicolas Cottineau, Captain of the Pallas; Joseph Varage, Captain of the Stag (le Cerf ) ; and Philip Nicolas Ricot, Captain of the Vengeance ; composing a squadron, that shall be commanded by the oldest officer of the highest grade, and so on in succession, in case of death or retreat. None of the said commanders, whilst they are not separated from the said squadron, by order of the minister, shall act but by virtue of the brevet which they shall have obtained from the United States of America ; and it is agreed that the flag of the United States shall be displayed. The division of prizes to the superior officers and crews of said squadron, shall be made agreeably to the American laws ; but it is agreed, that the proportion of the whole, coming to each vessel of the squadron, shall be regulated by the minister of the marine de< ■v.-/ - :■'; ,> . ' 32* .■ - . ••> ' ' T ' V - ■*-*. its APPBITDIX. rt partment of France, and the minister plenipotentiary of the United States of America. A copy of the American laws shall be annexed to the present agreement, after having been certified by the commander of the Bon Homme Richard ; but as the said laws cannot foresee nor de- termine as to what may concern the vessels and subjects of other nations, it is expressly agreed, that whatever may be contrary to them shall be regulated by the minister of the French marine, and the minister of the United States of America. It is likewise agreed, that the orders given by the minister of the French marine, and the minister plenipotentiary of the United States, shall be executed. Considering the necessity there is for preserving the interests of each individual, the prizes that shall be taken shall be remitted to the orders of Monsieur le Ray de Chaumont, Honorary Intendant of the Royal Hotel of Invalids, who has furnished the expenses of the ^armament of said squadron. \\ It is agreed, that M. le Ray de Chaumbnt be requested not to give up the part of the prizes coming to all the crews, and to each indi> vidual of the said squadron, but to their order, and to be responsible for the same in his own proper name. Whereas the said squadron has been formed for the purpose of injuring the common enemies of France and America, it has been agreed that such armed vessels, whether French or American, may be associated therewith, as by common consent shall be found suit* able for the purpose, and that they shall have such proportion of the prizes which shall be taken, as the laws of their respective countries allow. In case of the death of any one of the before mentioned comman- ders of vessels, he shall be replaced agreeably to the order of the tariff, with liberty, however, to choose whether he will remain in his own ship, or give up to the next in order the command of the vacant ship. It has moreovet been agreed, that the commander of the Stag (le Cerf) shall be excepted from the last article of this present agree- ment, because, in case of a disaster to M. de Varage, he shall be if ■ '^(oiiU ..t %■ ■* -fv- ^^ in ife: .% \ . APPENDIX. 870 repFaced by his second in command, and so on by the other officers of his cutter, the Stag (le Cerf.) J. P. Jones, P. Landais, De Cottineau, Vabaob, P. RiCOT, Le Rat de Chaumont. (Sparke's Diplomatic Correspondence, page 205, vol. iii.) (P^\ ■d to, in the course of the war, the writer, with a view to this work, personally weighed a quantity of shot, both Eng- lish and American, and made a note of the tesnlts. It was found that the old shot, or those with which the ships were supplied at the commencement of the war of 1812, were comparatively lighter than those which had been cast at a later day ; but in no instance was an American shot even then found of full weight. On the other hand, the English shot were uniformly of accurate weight. Some of the Ameri- ■ ;»; " ™-*' 8^ APPBITDIX. on 83 pound thot, weighed but 80 pounds; and a gentleman present on the occasion, assured the writer that, a few years earlier, he had . met with many which did QPiinuch exceed 20 pounds. The heaviest weighed was II pounds 8 ounces. An average of four, all of which were of the later eastiaigi, gave 80 pounds 11 ounces. The average of the 18 pound shot was about 17 pounds ; but, it was un< derstood, wkthis examination occurred several years after the peace, that the shot, as well as the guns, were then materially better thalh they had been previous to and during the war. The reader will bear in mind that twelve French pounds make nearly thirteen English. Thus, while the gun»deck batteries of Tin* aurgente were nominally twelves, the shot weighed about 18 pounds. On the other hand, the gun^deck batteries of the Constellation were ., nominally twenty, But the eighteen.pound shot of the Vengeance must have weighed nearly 191 English pounds, while those of the Constellation did not probably weigh 17 pounds, if indeed they weighed more than 16 pounds. It has bem asserted that the English shot were over-weight, but the writer weighed a good many himself, and he found them oil sur* prisingly accurate. NotbC. tAtt of the Officer* cf the Navy, hefore the Peace Eetahlishment Law (f 1901, was passed. CAPTAINS. y John Barry, Thomas Truxtun, Samuel Nicholson, James Sever, . Silas Talbot, Stephen Decatur, Richard Dale, Christopher R. Perry, i^^j^. APrXITDIX. nt id. tt of le ^• e, H :e i. « 2 /* Richard V. Morris, Alexander Murray, Daniel M'Niell, Thomas Tingey, Patrick Fletcher, George Cross, Samuel Barron, Moses Brown, Moses Tryon, Richard Derby, George Little, John Rodgers, Edward Preble, John Mullowil|r, ilames Barron, Thomas Baker, Henry Geddes, *• Thomas Robinson, Williiim Bainbridge» Hugh G. Campbell. MASTERS COMMANDANT. Cyrus Talbot, Charles C. Russell, David Jewett, Benjamin Hillar, William Cowper, ^^ John A. Spotswood. Richard Law, Jr. LIEVTENA David Ross, Charles Stewart, Richard C. Beale, Isaac Hull, ' Archibald M'Elroy, Andrew Sterrett, Thomas Wilkey, David Phipps, Josias M. Speake, Joseph Strout, Francis H. Ellison, Ambrose Shirly, John Shaw, M. Simmons Bnnbury, John M'Rea, Isaac Chauncey, Robert W. Hamilton, John Cruft, Samuel Chase, ,-r..;. ^'■ NTS. . ' , Wilson Jacobs, John Ballard, John Warner, Zachariah Rhodes, * , James Burns, Samuel Hey ward, John Archer, Killian H. Van Rensselaer, John Davidson, Henry Seton, Richard Marner, Thomas Laing, Isaac B. Hichbom, Robert Has well, Samuel Phillips, William Smith, ^ > John Rush, Robert Palmer, William Flag, -M-^ .^^ w m John Smith, \ Jeiemiah Fenner, Samuel PArker, John Mi^, Cornelius ODriKoll, Edward Meade, Fre^lpi Banning, Richard Somers, Stephen Decatur, Jn Joaeph Saundera^ ■' Mark Fernald, William Peterkin, John H, Jones, John Carson, Joseph Ingraham, George Cox, Gerald Byrne, Jonathan Titcomb, Jr. Edward Boss, James P. Watson, Robert Wells, Samuel Brookes, John H. Dent, Thomas Robinson, Jr. Miles King, John Latimer, John Cowper, L. S. Daubeney, James Campbell, John T.K. Cox, Abraham Ludlow, William C. Jenks, David Porter, Benjamin F. Knapp, Robt. Harrison, Wm. Penrose, ^' APPIlTDfX. Charles Jewett, John Cassin, Saml. M*Cutchen, \ Jos. E. Collins, f James Murdock, Richd. Clark, • 41 Aomas B. Davis, Samuel EVans, John Love, George G. Lee, Charles Gordon, John W. Whidbie, Richd. H. L. Lawson, Thos. N. Gautier, Godrrey Wood, Wm. Wells, Stephen Clough, Edwd. Wyer, George W. Tew. Jos. Beale, Henry Vandyke, James Smith, John Galven, John M. Claggett, Phil. C. Wederstrandt, Joshua Blake, Seymour Potter, Edwd. Brock, Redmond M'Clannan, Joseph Tarbell, John Foot, Wm. Crispin, James R. Caldwell, Wm. Davis, • Lewis C. Bailey, Jacob Jones. ■n i «j»- * ■fX^ j^wi.' k • %- ■ rA ^ APPENDIX. 982 ■ AILIIfO MASTIBi. * Nathanial Harraden, June* Trant, itshua Johnaopi Lemuel Little, Benj. Sayer, Nathl. Stanwood, Loudon Bayley, William Glovtr, William Knight, > , Edward Ballard,^ Levi Barden, ^ George A. Hallowell, Shubael Downes, John King, Jaraea F. Ooelete, Rich. €. Brandt, Thos. Rodgen, Samuel Plummer, William Wesoott, Josiah Hazard, Moses Durkham, Neils C. Rang. # « XIDSHIPMBir. James Macdonough, John W. Duncan, Joseph Bush, Wm. M. Livingstcn, William Morrell, Sybrand Van Schaick, ' Thomas Burrows, George W. Reed, Robert C. Pugh, George Boyd, George Calder, John Gault, Arthur Sinclair, Samuel Douglass, Benj. Carpender, ' > Daniel M'Niell, Jr. Jacob R.Valk, James Roache, Richard Thomas, Robert Warren, Abner Woodruff, ■". Michael Carroll, Theodore Hunt, Humphry Magratb, William Lewis, William Fleming, James Lawrence, Christ. Gadsden, Jr. Arnold Whipple, Thomas Ellis, Benjamin Smith, John Gallaway, Charles V. S. Carpenter, James T. Leonard, Joshua Herbert, ^ Th. R. Hardenburgh, Joseph Murdock, William Rhodes, James Decatur, Samuel Ling, Charles Ludlow, John T. Ellsworth, '* Thomas Truxtun, jr. Henry Morrison, Samuel Elbert, Joseph Maxwell, . *'■... "*.■■-.■■. •■ . ; ' ,"' . ■ - ' J^ * •: ' - ■■''■,' ,■. .•- *'^0-^',: ' ■,■'■■■ . ■', *#v * >^ «1 .■^-imtV^lliMIMK'lllillllM^.^ : '■■' / ■%^h '%. 4 364 APPENDIX. Peter Bonnetheau, Maurice Simons, Thomas Deveau, Aaron F. Cook, Hugh K. Toler, ' Daniel Polk, Edward Ford, Kennith M'Kcnzie, Charles Morris, <• John Dubose, Benjamin Yancy, " William M. Miller, Walter Winter, Daniel C. Heath, ' George W. Coffin, John Trippe, Edward N. Cox, Oliver H. Perry, Thomas Gordon, Robert Henley, Joseph Bainbridge, Isaac Cox, William Hartigan, Archibald Frazer, John M. P. Gardner, Owen Smith, George Williamson, I. T. Clark, Abel Lincoln, Joseph Cordis, Benjamin Conant, Joseph Richardson, James Dick, ,', William M. Crane, Joseph Wil listen, John S. Webb, Elias Willis, % ■«*-. ,'t Simon Hart, ' . Joseph Willitson, Habijah Savage, James E. West, Richard B. Randolph Joseph Prince, Henry Somes, David Service, ,' ^ George Pierce, Timothy Pickering, Lewis W. Henop, Joseph Gantt, . John E. Fisher, ' William Giddeons, Robert Stewart, William Ingraham, William Neilson, Joseph B. Hennessey, James P. Hunt, Samuel G. Blodgett, \, Robert L. Tilghman, Wm. Whitesides, Charles Miles, James Gibbon, Alex. Harrison, Samuel BuUen, . John G. Norwood, Fred. N. Hudson, John Kiddall, Archibald B. Lord, Thomas Jones, ^noch Brown, William M'Hatton, Franklin Reid, Daniel Murray, John Garlick, George W. Spottswood, \1 t mh \\ *' ^' .^-" "*>: M K, .%■ . - w- ^ . . •'• ■ ■■'■■:;■■■ , ^-.i ^ i ' APPBVDIX. , 385 Richard Gantt, /> George Jewett, V L. Warfield, ,\ * : ^ John N. Chester, .■''' John F. Fox, ^jw^ Charles Bulkley, m William Dunn, ; * , " Edward O'Brien, S. Leonard, , \v : " Samuel Angus, John Longley, Caleb Allen, Benjamin Shattuok, . -f Robert Flinn, v f? James Mulne, J. B.Wilkinson, >^ «,-■ : Jona. P. Hitchcock, William F. Gist, / ?* ,. Thomas N. Willis, , George Dabney, ' William B. Suggs, • Keyran Walsh, James Cox, jf ^ Philip Henop, li^i Thomas Homan, Francis Patton, <^w ^' Henry Wadsworth, James Penrose, . ) John Livingston, Daniel Sim, Geo. A. Marcellin, Samuel Conant, . ,; / Benj. B. Provoost, James H. Adams, <' Joseph Dorr, Samuel Stubbs, %, . - ■ »■ , George Tryon, , William Scellend, Owen Tudor, John Shattuck, Matthew Talcott, ./ John Rowe, ' , - Thomas Robinson, George W. Ridgely, Thomas Randall, . John Polk, i >, r< Samuel Clements, John Wood, David Deacon, Joseph Field, Ralph Izard, William Butler, : John D, Henley, Charles Read, - George H. Geddes, Louis M'T William Smith, Joseph B. Wharton, Charles Wilson, , James Hite, Clem. Lindsey, Reuben Broiighton, John Legg, William Campbell, Jr. John Goodwin, Jr. ^ . Charles G. Cannon, Jonathan Bulkley, / James S. Higinbotham, William Kean, ' William Blake, William Burrows, Thomas M. Rogers Westwood T. Mason, Vol. L— 33 • ' in 's*'"* »% , ■■^, ,^' . "H^fmim ■45.. ».« 2- '- • 386 ^ -I. ''«: *. * tl- ;t APPBITDIX. . >>A ^- P .► Edward Bennett, P. L. Ogilvio, i Charles W. Jonest ^ ^ Lewis Warrington, Octavius A. Page, Allen J. Green, James Rogers, Darius Dunn, William Gregory, John Tapley, ^ Phineas Stone, v' ,, Daniel Brown, > George Parker, George Merrill, Robert Dorsey, Johnston Blakcley, Shinkin Moore, Henry Page, Winlock Clarke, Charles Moore, Thomas Macdonough, John Witherspoon, Charles Chilton, John D. Stoat, Clem. Biddle, Jr. James Biddle, Edward Biddle, William Griffith, Thomas T. Beall, William T. Nicholls, Abijah J. Henton, Foster Perkins, George W. Steinhauer, William Duncanson, James Eakin, Thomas Hughes, Stephen Cassin, ' 1 y. * William Henderson, Charles Coombes, Archibald M'Call, John Stevens, Robert C. Rosseter, Ephraim Blaines, John Hartley, Alfred Hazard, ^ • John Rawling, v Robert M«Connell, " Benjamin Page, Wm. W. Barker, Thomas F. Pennington, Peter Ferrall, William H. Smith, Isaac Whitlock, Joseph Tuffs, Jesse V. Lewis, Peter E. Bentley, Seymour Hooe, George Gray, ' Richardson Taylor, Mordecai Gist, Henry Bettner, Thomas O. Anderson, Thomas Hunt, Matthew French, ,.$^ Richard Carson, # '" Samuel Child, James Harmum, Jr. William Whistler, Edward Trenchard, Wm. M'Intosh, . John Smith, George Mitchell, Sloss H. Grinnel, Archibald K. Kearney, \ fj, ■'■■': ^. i-\. -::^f T-: .^.. .>SJi •A # -,-* :.* ..■ I - ,' I 'Wk ^ s?- \ Henry Geddes, Jr. Jonathan Thoro, ' : ■• Robert Miller, William Thornton, John Rowand, David Bycrs, William H. Allen, Joseph Stickney, John Nicholson, John Palmer, Robert N. Page, Philip C. Blake, George Levely, A. D. Wain Wright, Samuel Proctor, Charles Neyle, John Cochran, Edward Giles, M. T. Woolsey, Daniel S. Dexter, Wilson Elliott, Calvin Stevens, John Pemberton, Alexander Laws, Edward Attwood, Robert T. Spence, Philip Moses, George D. Evans, Leroy Opie, James Ferguson, Marshall Glenn, John Harris, Charles Morris, Jr. John Goodwin, James Biggs, John Patton, Thomas Swai-twout, *i> APPEITDIX. 387 '4^ John Orde Creighton, Jacob Vickery, Richard Harrison, James Renshaw, Walter Lawrence, Samuel Aldrick, James Bry den, " Andrew H. Yoorhees, Henry P. Casey, ^^ John Wood, . > Sidney Smith, Ezra Mantz, ' James Nicholson, << Charles Robinson, Isaac B. Forman, Wm. Miller, , ^ Wm. H. Thorn, Walter Boyd, John M. Haswell, John D. Henley, Edward Randolph, Daniel T. Patterson, Charles Angier, James Mackay, , James Saunders, Sewall Handv, Robert Innes, Benjamin Fendall, Benjamin Turner, John Davis, Benjamin F. Stoddert, Bernar.i Henry, Montg. Newman, Wallace Wormly, Lawrence Keen, William Cutbush, John Brown, *».■;. J :1jW'- € - r f .. i>,!^ & ifmmimmSli '\ ■f .".■•Jr v^; ^.^ % fi ^ 4M Samuel Allen, " Jon. C. Shaw, Lloyd NicoU, ,k -^ Geo. S. Hackley, Richard B. Baker, Jno. Provaiat, Wm. Smith, ^^ Jos. Israel, & ' C&, George Mann, Wm. M. Smith, Samuel Cooper, Charles Clarke. '*'■■ ■# %.r- ■V **>' ;l ■ *. *.W List of Officers retained on the Peace EttoMiehment. %:■ We have set opposite to every name, the ultimate station each individual attiined as far as cifi be ascertained, and as a means of showing the average fortunes, of those who have been engaged in the hardy service of the sea. " ' 'v*^ John Barry • Samuel Nicholson Richard Dale Thomas Truxtun • Richard V. Morris Alexander Murray Samuel Barron .,mi* John Rodgers Edward Preble James Barron William Bainbridge Hugh G. Campbell jf*. GAPTAinS. died at the head of the navy, in 1803. do. do. do. in 1811. resigned in 1802. do. in 1802. dismissed without trial, in 1804. died at the head of the service, in 1821. died 1810. died at the head of the service, in 1838. died in 1807. at the head of the service, Nov. 1838. died in 1833. died in 1820. ^'• i^ ^> m ■*-■ . I ''■ .' y. Charles Stewart Isaac Hull • Andrew Sterrett John Shaw • John M*Rea • Isaac Chauncey LIEUTENANTS. • second on the list of captains, Nov. 1838. • third do. do. do. - resigned a master commandant, in 1 805. • died a captain, in 1823. . resigned 1803. . ' '. • fourth on the list of captains, Nov. 1838. ■ 'It'' Jf ir ' , jKj.'- #' ■-*•. ' ' ■«■, ■,-,-.f t "^''" '*««5 K »' ,< ' i *v? - ■ "y" ■^#.' I. * '' 4'. . ? '»» ■ ^VJ#' ;acb IS of 4 in .M i.^^ r 1. 321. 338. 38. B38. « B05. 838. ■# ^ •m 'm:^P\x #■• v^*-^^ Robert W. Hamilton ^John Ballard w, John Rush ^^ « John Smith • Freeborn Banning Richard Somers - Stephen Decatur - Greorge Cox - John H. Dent Thomas Robinson, Jr. John Cowper John T. R. Cox - William C. Jenks • David Porter JohnCassin • Samuel EVans George G. Lee Charles Gordon • Richard H. L. Lawson Grodfrey Wood Edward Wyer Geo. W. Tew Henry Vandyke - John M. Claggett • Phil. C. Wederstrandt Joshua'BIake Joseph Tarbell James R. Caldwell Lewis C. Bailey • ■ 'taiii' • . ■ Jacob Jones • ^. -■% Wm. Henry Allen Samuel Angus Thos. O. Anderson 33* \»::#: APPBITDIX. 889 re<^igned 1802. resigned l(M)l. « resigned 1802. ^ died a captain, in 1815. resigned 1802. killed in battle, a master com., in 1604. killed in a duel, a captain, in 1820. resigned, a master commandant, in 1808. died, a captain, in 1823. resigned, a maste j commandant, in 1809. reigned in 1801. r^igneJIln 1804. «^ dismi8sethinl804. resigned, a captain, in 1826 died, a captain, in 1822 «%, ' ' died, a captain, in 1824. ' ^^.^ resigned in 1805. ' ^t' died, a captain, in l8l7 , - ' resigned in 1804. .^ resigned in 1802. « *< resigned in 1805. * ' " died on the Mediterranean station, 1803. killed in a duel, in 1803. , : lost in the Bay of Gibraltar, 1801. " resigned, a master commandant, 1810. resigned in 1806. , died, a captain, in 1815. killed in battle, in 1804. dropped subsequently, under the reduc tion law. fifth on the list of captains, Nov. 1838 KIDSHIPMEN. killed in battle, a master com., 1814. dismissed and subsequently pensioned captain, in 1824. resigned, a lieutenant, 1807. ^^ '#■ ■t^ ; J ■<■% . * .fw- ^.>- .m- 89f0 William Butler Joseph Bainbridge William Burrows William Blake Samuel G. Blodgett Clement Biddle James Biddle P. C. Blake Edward Bennett Johnston Blakely Thomas T. Beall Walter Boyd " Peter E. Bentley James Biggs E. R. Blaine Thos. Brown J/.* Michael B. Carroll George Calder Edward N. Cox - Aaron F. Cook • William Campbell William M. Crane Stephen Cassin J. Orde Creighton H. P. Casey William Cutbush Henry J. Cobb J. P. D. H. Craig Richard Carey lS * ' • '■ Mr •■ Charles Coomb Winlock Clark James Decatur William Duncanson John Dorsey Daniel S. Dexter John Davis • %v * APPIVDIX. ^' resigned 1807. « died, a captain, in 1824t killed in battle, a lieut. com., in 1819. did not join, and was dropped. ■')•'■ i^v- drowned, a lieutenant, in 1810. resigned 1804. ninth captain, November, 1838. resigned 1804. f '-• died, a lieutenant, in 1810. ■ - lost at sea, a mast, com., in 1814. resigned 1803. disniissed in 1810. .;^' , r resigned 1802. -Sj^i^ i*, ' re8^gned 1803. * i>; f ^i-. resigned in 1804. v^ died, a captain, in 1828. *'**> resigned a master commandant. ' \ i resigned 1802. resigned, a lieutenant, in 1809. permitted to retire, in 1801. '-N^* resigned 1802. ■ "^ ' ' eighth captain, November, 1838. fideenth captain, in 1888. , ' died, a captain, in 1838. retired in 1805. . ' * resigned 1805. resigned 1803. ■ • A ' retired in 1805. retired under peace establishment law, in 1801. died in 1804. drowned, a lieutenant, in 1810. ' killed in battle, a lieutenant, in 1604. dropped from list, killed in battle, in 1804. • ^ died, a master and commander, 1818. died, a lieutenant, in 1818. 4 , ,«. f .•: ■• ,.^ _■-, t .* f. "tf^ , ^P ^ yf;i (Kv # ■^ M 13. fi -s *>:: *■-. ^* ly^^ ^£^'- *• law, 4. 18. '^'.^-^ •-■^v . .','1* ' ; ' » * t%* w*. F* David Deacon George Dabney - John Downea^: m». Samuel Elbert « . John Gallaway James Gibbon J. M. P. Gardner Sloss H. Grinnell Ed. Giles • Allen J. Green Jno. Goodwin, Jr. Geo. H. Geddes Wm. Gregory .Jas. S. Higginbotham Alex. C. Harrison Bernard Henry George Hackley - James Height Sewai Handy Thos. R. Hardenburgh Philip Henop A. J. Hinton John D. Henley ■ Seymour Hooe Alfred Hazard John Hartley John Montresor Haswell Theodore Hunt Daniel C. Heath • Robert Henley Ralph Izard Joseph Israel Robert Innes A. K. Kearney Charles Ludlow mM* 1 ' 891 V- m^ J^PPBITDIX. .^ twenty-first captain, November, 1838. resigned 1805. twolAh captain, November, 1838. died, a lieutenant, in 1812. died in 1804. burnt in Richmond theatre, a lieutenant, in 1811. died, a master commandant, in 1815. retired, a lieutenant, in 1807. % resigned 1804. resigned 1803. died in 1804. resigned, a lieutenant, in 1811 did not accept. ^< died, a lieutenant, in 1 808. died, a lieutenant, in 1809. *- ;' resigned, a lieutenant, in 1812. ^ * ^ died in 1805. , ^si . • resigned 1802. « , h resigned 1804. ^ ^^ did not join, and was dropped, resigned 1801. i -^i *^. ^ ^ i ^ subsequently discharged under reduction law. . - died, a captain, in 1835. i^ resigned 1801. dismissed in 1809. i-esigned 1802. * . -j^ resigned, a lieutenant, in 1810. resigned, a master commandant, in 1811. resigned, a lieutenant, in 1805. died, a captain, in 1828. resigned, a lieutenant, in 1810. ^. killed in battle, in 1804. drowned on service, in 1802. resigned, a lieutenant, in 1808. resigned, a mastercommandant, in 1813. # <* .-■* <«*. ¥ ^^ *- 809 . * Jamea T. Leonard James Lawrence • William Livingston A. B. Lord • Daniel M'Niell, Jr. il Joseph Murdock • Louis M*Lane ^ William Miller -.v^ Joseph Maxwell a Charles Mills Daniel Murray Geo. A. Marcellin Charles Morris, Jr. Charles Moore George Merrill Archibald M'Call • William M resigned 1808. ..^, ^i.'^>f_ eleventh captain, November, 1838. %■% i'' T*^ ^] *■ ' ^ •V*' ■' , - ..# V m • C^ ■'- -.^••t .4. •JJ' • i- fc '«llt'Vi*P', '1^^ !tary i^: Pi" ■ .{ J^: \\ *.' 'V' J. ^ •■' ^ 4 A' "^l *« .#: 'f' ^, \ ,.r# ■^ U «fe' &* »?= "t r . *- I ,1 , tv'^ '*^i* ^^ It ■ ■%: I*? George Parker #•- ' Stephen Proctor • States Rutledge • CharM G. Ridgely Heathcote J. Reed George W. Reed - Charles Reed Benj. Franklin Read Jos. Richardson • John Rowe • James Renshaif • Charles Robinson • Benjamin Smith - Arthur Sinclair • Robert Stewart William Scallen - John Shattuck G. W. Spottswood Maurice Simons • Daniel Simms John Shore • H. Savage • W. P. Smith Sidney Smith Thomas Swartwout, Jr. Robert T. Spence Simon Smith W. M. Smith Richard Thomas • John Trlppe Rob. L. Tilghman William Thorn - Edward Trenchard Jonathan Thorn • Benjamin Turner - Jacob R. Valk Jacob Vickery •. '•^ # ^^-^'. 'H APflft DtX. ^. %. ' 308 - *■■(■■ died at sea, a master com., in 1614. resigned 1803. • < drowned in Bay df Gibraltar, ItOO. \ killed in battle, a lieutenant, in 1604. resigned ii^ U04. ^ dnyirned, a lieutenant, in 1818. ieventh captain, November, 1888. resi ;nltll03. died, a captaiq, in 1888. entered marine oprps. * twentieth captain, November, 1838. ' This list contains the names of the officers who were left in the service, after various changes, and it will be seen that, of even them, many soon after resigned. Officers, however, were retained, whose names do not appear here, but who declined. Among these was Com. Talbot, dec. dec. Of twenty-three medical gentlemen retained, but one. Dr. Cow- dery, now the oldest surgeon, is still in service. Of thirty-cne of- ficers of the marine corps, all have left it, or are dead, and we can trace the public career of but one, who is still living, the present Brig. Gen. Fenwick, of the artillery. ■J,' -■•*'>": , ■^^ Non. — ^In describing^ Tripoli the author wu unable to procure an ac- curate chart, though he has since been more ■uccessful. On examination* he finds that his distances are a trifle too great. The town is also a little larger in some directions than he had supposed. But the chart given will correct these mistakes. -^'■■.'-^ ' ''7. Ml:. ^•^ t 'v :?•* BNO or VOL. i."*w, £^ •e -m ^-> J*i V y J ■• .f . •%* .^,, '-'rV 4 . 4 ?^- ^i*'!/ ^%' *, #% .-^ -A^ntt"- -, ^: ^ •. •i •^% H- . s - ** ^ %. i^^- » v%-¥ ■ v«' - f^ «. f. {-. . % ^,' ^^$L-# ''A-- ■-> •;. -• »..■•»# m^