Transcriber’s Note: Italic text is enclosed in _underscores_. Additional
notes will be found near the end of this ebook.




THE HISTORY OF OUR NAVY




[Illustration: JOHN PAUL JONES.

_From a mezzotint of the painting by Notté._]




                                  THE
                          HISTORY OF OUR NAVY

                   FROM ITS ORIGIN TO THE PRESENT DAY

                               1775–1897

                                   BY
                             JOHN R. SPEARS

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

               WITH MORE THAN FOUR HUNDRED ILLUSTRATIONS
                           MAPS AND DIAGRAMS

                           _IN FOUR VOLUMES_

                              _VOLUME I._

                                NEW YORK
                        CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS
                                  1897




                          COPYRIGHT, 1897, BY
                        CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS


                            MANHATTAN PRESS
                            474 W. BROADWAY
                                NEW YORK




                      TO ALL WHO WOULD SEEK PEACE
                             AND PURSUE IT




PREFACE


This work is to tell the story of the American navy from the time
when the fathers of the nation first conceived the idea of sending
warships to sea “at the expense of the Continent” down to this year
of our Lord 1897. It seems to me that the memory of what the naval
heroes of the nation have done is worth preserving if only as a mark
of gratitude--gratitude to the men whose sole incentive was patriotism
and whose only greed was for honor. It seems worth while to tell anew
the story of these men who had a noble ambition. It may help to prevent
their race becoming extinct. But if that appeal does not secure the
attention of the reader, let me say that self-interest demands that he
heed the lessons in the story of the navy.

Because naval officers and their friends are very properly jealous
of their rights in the matter of titles and rank, it is necessary to
explain that officers have very often held one rank on the naval list
while entitled to a higher one by courtesy. Farragut was a midshipman
under Porter, and yet, for a time, while in command of a captured ship,
was by courtesy called captain. Lieutenant Macdonough was entitled to
the title of commodore while in command on Lake Champlain. I have in
nearly all instances used the title which courtesy demanded, but, for
reasons which I hope will be apparent, the title of actual rank seemed
proper at times.

To sum it all up, I am bound to say I have tried to tell the story
accurately, interestingly, and usefully. If there are errors, they
are unpardonable blunders; if the story lacks interest or usefulness,
the fault is entirely with the writer. Any story of the navy--even
this one--should rouse the enthusiasm of the patriot because of the
stirring character of the deeds that must be described; and I believe
that when the reader has considered it well, he will conclude, as I do,
that because of the growth of civilization and the spread of the pure
doctrines of Christianity throughout the world, and the progress in
the arts of making guns and armor-plate in the United States, we shall
continue to pursue, for many years, our daily vocations in peace.

                                                              J. R. S.




CONTENTS

                                                                    PAGE
 CHAPTER I. ORIGIN OF THE AMERICAN NAVY                                1

 The Curious Chain of Events that Led to the Creation of
 a National Sea Power--The _Gaspé_ Captured by Men Armed
 with Paving-stones--Tea Destroyed in Boston--The Battle of
 Lexington and the Attack of the Machias Haymakers on the
 _Margaretta_--British Vengeance on Defenceless Portland and
 its Effect on the Continental Congress--The “Colonial Navy”
 Distinguished from the Temporary Cruisers--The First Officers
 and the First Ships of the American Navy--John Paul Jones
 and the First Naval Ensign--The Significant “Don’t Tread on
 me”--Putting the First American Naval Ships in Commission.


 CHAPTER II. FIRST CRUISE OF THE YANKEE SQUADRON                      48

 A Fairly Successful Raid on New Providence, but they Let a
 British Sloop-of-war Escape--Character of the First Naval
 Commander-in-chief and of the Material with which he had
 to Work--Esek Hopkins, and his Record as Commander of the
 Fleet--Crews Untrained and Devoid of _Esprit de Corps_--Good
 Courage, but a Woeful Lack of other Needed Qualities--Hopkins
 Dismissed for Disobedience of Orders.


 CHAPTER III. ALONG SHORE IN 1776                                     63

 Brilliant Deeds by the First Heroes of the American Navy--Why
 Nicholas Biddle Entered Port with but Five of the Original
 Crew of the _Andrea Doria_--Richard Dale on the sleek
 _Lexington_--The _Racehorse_ Captured in an even Fight--Captain
 Lambert Wickes in the _Reprisal_ Beats off a Large Vessel--John
 Paul Jones in his Earlier Commands--A Smart Race with the
 Frigate _Solebay_--Sixteen Prizes in Forty-seven Days in Cape
 Breton Region--Poking Fun at the Frigate _Milford_--The Valuable
 _Mellish_--An Able Fighter who Lacked Political Influence.


 CHAPTER IV. HE SAW “THE COUNTENANCE OF THE ENEMY”                    84

 The Story of Arnold’s Extraordinary Fight against Overwhelming
 Odds on Lake Champlain--A Thousand Sailors, of whom Seven-tenths
 were Picked Men, Armed with the Heaviest Guns, were Pitted under
 a Courageous Leader against 700 Yankees, chiefly Haymakers,
 Poorly Armed and with Insufficient Ammunition--Savages with
 Scalping Knives Aided the British--A Desperate Struggle at the
 End--The Best All-around Fighter under Washington.


 CHAPTER V. UNDER THE CRAGS OF THE “TIGHT LITTLE ISLE”               112

 The Saucy Yankee Cruisers in British Waters--When Franklin
 Sailed for France--Wickes in the _Reprisal_ on the Irish
 Coast--Narrow Escape from a Liner--A Plucky English
 Lieutenant--Harsh Fate of the Americans in the British
 Prison--Starved by Act of Parliament--Deeds of the Gallant
 Connyngham--Well-named Cruisers--A Surprise at a Breakfast
 Table--Taking Prizes Daily--Why Forty French Ships Loaded in the
 Thames--Insurance Rates never before Known.


 CHAPTER VI. JOHN PAUL JONES AND THE _RANGER_                        134

 The First Ship that Carried the Stars and Stripes--Dash at a
 Convoy that Failed--When the Dutch were Browbeaten--The _Ranger_
 Sent on a Cruise in English Waters--A Ship Taken off Dublin--The
 Raid on Whitehaven--When one Brave Man Cowed more than a
 Thousand--The Whole Truth about Lord Selkirk’s Silverware,
 with the Noble Lord’s Expression of Gratitude when he Got it
 Back--How Captain Jones Missed the _Drake_ at First, but Got her
 Later on in a Fair and Well-fought Battle.


 CHAPTER VII. THE FIRST SUBMARINE WARSHIP                            157

 It was Small and Ineffective, but it Contained the Germ of a
 Mighty Power that is as yet Undeveloped--When Nicholas Biddle
 Died--He was a Man of the Spirit of an Ideal American Naval
 Officer--Fought the Ship against Overwhelming Odds till Blown
 out of the Water--The Loss of the _Hancock_--An American
 Captain Dismissed for a Good Reason--Captain Rathburne at New
 Providence--Loss of the _Virginia_--Captain Barry’s Notable
 Exploit--With Twenty-seven Men to Help him, he Captured a
 Schooner of Ten Guns by Boarding from Small Boats in Broad
 Daylight, although the Schooner was Manned by 116 Sailors and
 Soldiers.


 CHAPTER VIII. PRIVATEERS OF THE REVOLUTION                          196

 A Tale of the American Patriots who Went Afloat outside
 of the Regular Navy--Their Part in Driving the British
 from Boston--Remarkable Work of the _Lee_--Truxton as a
 Privateer--Daring Capt. John Foster Williams--When Capt. Daniel
 Waters, with the _Thorn_ of Sixteen Guns, Whipped Two Ships
 that Carried Thirty-four Guns between them--Great was Joshua
 Barney--The Story of the most Famous State Cruisers of the
 Revolution--Won against Greater Odds than were Encountered by
 any Successful Sea Captain of the War--British Account of the
 Work of American Privateers--The Horrors of the _Jersey_ Prison
 Ship.


 CHAPTER IX. JOHN PAUL JONES AND THE _BONHOMME RICHARD_              227

 A Condemned Indiaman, Ill-shaped and Rotten, Fitted as a
 Man-o’-war--A Disheartening Cruise with Incapable and Mutinous
 Associates--Attempt to Take Leith, and the Scotch Parson’s
 Prayer--Meeting the _Serapis_--When John Paul Jones had “not yet
 Begun to Fight”; when he had “Got her now”; when he would not
 “Surrender to a Drop of Water”--Ready Wit of Richard Dale--Work
 of a Bright Marine--A Battle Won by Sheer Pluck and Persistence.


 CHAPTER X. AFTER THE _SERAPIS_ SURRENDERED                          260

 Richard Dale too Bright for the British Lieutenant--A Fair
 Estimate of Captain Pearson of the _Serapis_--The Treachery
 of Landais--Remarkable Escape from Texel--Honors for the
 Victor--“The Fame of the Brave Outlives him; his Portion is
 Immortality.”


 CHAPTER XI. THE YEAR 1779 IN AMERICAN WATERS                        280

 Lucky Raids of British Transports and Merchantmen--Disastrous
 Expedition to the Penobscot--The _Trumbull’s_ Good Fight
 with the _Watt_--The First Yankee Line-of-battle-ship--When
 Nicholson, with a Wrecked Ship and Fifty Men, Fought for an Hour
 against Two Frigates, each of which was Superior to the Yankee
 Ship--Captain Barry’s Exasperating Predicament in a Calm--The
 Last Naval Battle of the Revolution.


 CHAPTER XII. BUILDING A NEW NAVY                                    303

 When England, in her Efforts to Wrest Commerce from the
 Americans, Incited the Pirates of Africa to Activity, she
 Compelled the Building of the Fleet that was, in the End, to
 Bring her Humility of which she had never Dreamed--Deeds of the
 Barbary Corsairs--American Naval Policy as Laid down by Joshua
 Humphreys--The Wonderful New Frigates--Troubles with the French
 Cruisers on the American Coasts--Trick of a Yankee Captain to
 Save a Ship--A Midshipman who Died at his Post--Capture of the
 _Insurgent_--A Long Watch over the French Prisoners--Escape of
 a Twice-beaten Ship--The Valiant Senez--Story of Isaac Hull and
 the Lucky _Enterprise_.


 CHAPTER XIII. WAR WITH BARBARY PIRATES                              333

 A Squadron under Richard Dale Sent to the Mediterranean--The
 Dey of Algiers became Friendly, but the Bashaw of Tripoli
 Showed Fight--Fierce Battle between the Schooner _Enterprise_
 and the Treacherous Crew of the Polacre _Tripoli_--Slaughter
 of the Pirates--Tripoli Blockaded--Grounding and Loss of the
 _Philadelphia_.


 CHAPTER XIV. DECATUR AND THE _PHILADELPHIA_                         345

 Story of the Brave Men who Disguised a Ketch as a Merchantman
 and Sailed into the Harbor of Tripoli by Night, Drew up
 alongside the Captured _Philadelphia_, and then, to the Order
 “Boarders Away!” Climbed over the Rail and through the Ports,
 and with Cutlass and Pike Drove the Pirates into the Sea or to a
 Worse Fate--“The most Bold and Daring Act of the Age.”


 CHAPTER XV. HAND-TO-HAND WITH THE PIRATES                           359

 A Fight against Odds of Three Gunboats to One--Decatur and
 Macdonough Leading the Boarders--Cold-blooded Murder and the
 Vengeance that Followed--When Reuben James Won Fame--Eleven
 against Forty-three in a Hand-to-hand Struggle, and the
 Remarkable Result--The Handy _Constitution_--Fired their Gun
 as the Boat Sank under them--When Somers and his Mates Went to
 their Death in a Fireship--End of the War with the Pirates.


 CHAPTER XVI. WHY WE FOUGHT IN 1812                                  383

 A Stirring Tale of the Outrages Perpetrated on American
 Citizens by the Press-gangs of the British Navy--Horrors of
 Life on Ships where the Officers Found Pleasure in the Use
 of the Cat--Doomed to Slavery for Life--Impressed from the
 _Baltimore_--A British Seaman’s Joke and its Ghastly Result--The
 British Admiralty’s Way of Dealing with Deliberate Murder in
 American Waters--Assault of the _Leopard_ on the _Chesapeake_
 to Compel American Seamen to Return to the Slavery they had
 Escaped--Building Harbor-defence Boats to Protect American
 Seamen from Outrage on the High Seas--Other Good Reasons for
 Going to War.


 APPENDIX                                                            415




LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

                                                                    PAGE
  JOHN PAUL JONES. (From a mezzotint of the painting by Notté),
                                                          _Frontispiece_

  AN EARLY AMERICAN FLOATING BATTERY,                                  1

  COMMODORE ESEK HOPKINS. (From a French engraving of the
    portrait by Wilkinson),                                            3

  THE FIRST NAVAL FLAGS,                                               4

  DESTRUCTION OF THE SCHOONER _GASPÉ_, 1772. (From an engraving
    by Rogers of the painting by McNevin),                             7

  THE STATE HOUSE AT NEWPORT, SHOWING THE _GASPÉ_ AFFAIR. (From
    an engraving in Hinton’s “History of the United States”),         10

  THE “BOSTON TEA-PARTY.” (From an old engraving),                    13

  A BRITISH ARMED SLOOP. (From a very rare engraving, showing
    the first lighthouse erected in the United States--on Little
    Brewster Island, Boston Harbor),                                  19

  A BRIG OF WAR LOWERING A BOAT. (From a picture drawn and
    engraved by Baugean),                                             29

  THE ADMIRALTY SEAL,                                                 33

  THE FOUNDERS OF THE AMERICAN NAVY. (Drawn by I. W. Taber--the
    portraits from engravings),                                       37

  VESSEL OF WAR SALUTING, WITH THE YARDS MANNED. (From an old
    French engraving),                                                40

  FACSIMILE OF A LETTER FROM ABRAHAM WHIPPLE TO GENERAL LINCOLN
    DURING THE SIEGE OF CHARLESTON. (From the original at the
    Lenox Library),                                                   42

  NICHOLAS BIDDLE. (From an engraving by Edwin),                      45

  A FRIGATE CHASING A SMALL BOAT. (From an old French engraving),
                                                                      48

  A LETTER FROM ESEK HOPKINS. (From the original at the Lenox
    Library),                                                         50

  A CORVETTE. (From an old French engraving),                         52

  COMMODORE ESEK HOPKINS. (From a very rare English engraving),
                                                                      55

  AN ENGLISH “SEVENTY-FOUR” AND A FRIGATE COMING TO ANCHOR. (From
    an old engraving),                                                59

  JOHN BARRY. (From an engraving of the portrait by Chappel),         65

  FACSIMILE OF ACCOUNT BETWEEN DUDLEY SALTONSTALL AND ELISHA
    HINMAN. (From the original at the Lenox Library),                 67

  ST. PIERRE, MARTINIQUE. (From an old engraving),                    70

  JOHN PAUL JONES. (From an engraving by Longacre of the portrait
    by C. W. Peale),                                                  75

  BURLINGTON BAY ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN. (From an old engraving in the
    collection of Mr. W. C. Crane),                                   83

  SIR GUY CARLETON. (From an engraving by A. H. Ritchie),             86

  GEN. BENEDICT ARNOLD. (Drawn from life at Philadelphia by Du
    Simitier),                                                        88

  THE _ROYAL SAVAGE_. (After an old painting),                        90

  THE BATTLE OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN,                                       92

  PLAN OF THE ACTION OF OCTOBER 12, 1776,                             93

  MAP OF THE FIGHT ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN, 1776,                           94

  THE FIGHT ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN, OCTOBER 13, 1776. (From a
    contemporary English engraving),                                  97

  A VIEW ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN, SHOWING THE FIGHT OF 1776. (From
    Hinton’s “History of the United States”),                        101

  BROADSIDE DESCRIBING THE ENGAGEMENT ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN. (From a
    copy at the Lenox Library),                                  106–109

  THE _PHŒNIX_ AND THE _ROSE_ ENGAGING THE FIRESHIPS ON THE
    HUDSON RIVER. (From a lithograph of the painting by Serres
    after a sketch by Sir James Wallace),                            115

  JOHN BAZELEY. (From an engraving by Ridley of a miniature by
    Langdon),                                                        120

  JOHN PAUL JONES’S COMMISSION,                                      136

  MAP OF THE BRITISH ISLES. (Showing Captain Jones’s two voyages
    and the route of the _Reprisal_),                                139

  AN ENGLISH CARICATURE OF JOHN PAUL JONES. (Published in London,
    October 22, 1779),                                               143

  “PAUL JONES THE PIRATE.” (From an old engraving in the
    collection of Mr. W. C. Crane),                                  149

  MAP OF THE AMERICAN COAST,                                         161

  SIGNATURES OF JOHN MANLY AND HECTOR MCNEIL,                        181

  FACSIMILE OF A LETTER FROM THOMAS THOMPSON TO CAPTAIN MCNEIL.
    (From the original at the Lenox Library),                      183–4

  A TYPICAL NASSAU FORT--FORT FINCASTLE. (From a photograph by
    Rau),                                                            187

  AN ENGLISH FRIGATE OF FORTY GUNS. (From an engraving by
    Verico),                                                         191

  “A PROCLAMATION.” (From the copy at the Lenox Library),            198

  “AN ORDINANCE ASCERTAINING WHAT CAPTURES ON WATER SHALL BE
    LAWFUL.” (From the copy at the Lenox Library),                   202

  ALEXANDER MURRAY. (From an engraving by Edwin of the painting
    by Wood),                                                        208

  JOSHUA BARNEY. (From an engraving by Gross after a miniature by
    Isabey),                                                         210

  FIGHT OF THE _HYDER ALI_ WITH THE _GENERAL MONK_, 1782. (From a
    painting by Crépin at the Naval Academy, Annapolis),             213

  A RELIC OF TWO REVOLUTIONARY CAPTAINS--BILL OF LADING FOR JOHN
    BARRY SIGNED BY JOSHUA BARNEY. (From the original at the
    Lenox Library),                                                  216

  “THE HOWES ASLEEP IN PHILADELPHIA”--A CARICATURE DRAWN FORTH BY
    THE DOINGS OF REVOLUTIONARY PRIVATEERS,                          219

  THE BRITISH PRISON SHIP _JERSEY_. (From an old wood-cut),          221

  A PERMIT TO VISIT ONE OF THE PRISON SHIPS. (From the original
    at the Lenox Library),                                           223

  MAP OF THE WALE BOGT AND ITS VICINITY,                             225

  A RELIC OF THE PRISON SHIPS: ENTRANCE TO THE VAULT OF THE
    _MARTYRS_. (From an old wood-cut),                               226

  RICHARD DALE. (From an engraving by Dodson after the portrait
    by Wood),                                                        231

  PIERRE LANDAIS. (From a copy, at the Lenox Library, of a
    miniature),                                                      236

  LEITH PIER AND HARBOR. (From an old engraving),                    239

  JOHN PAUL JONES. (From an engraving by Guttenberg, after a
    drawing by Notté, in the collection of Mr. W. C. Crane),         242

  THE ENGAGEMENT BETWEEN THE _BONHOMME RICHARD_ and _SERAPIS_.
    (From an engraving by Hamilton of a drawing by Collier),         246

  DIAGRAM OF THE _SERAPIS-BONHOMME RICHARD_ BATTLE,                  249

  THE _SERAPIS_ AND THE _BONHOMME RICHARD_. (From an engraving by
    Lerpinière after a drawing by Fitler),                           252

  PAUL JONES CAPTURING THE _SERAPIS_. (From an engraving of the
    picture by Chappel),                                             258

  CAPT. SIR RICHARD PEARSON. (From an engraving by Cook),            261

  JOHN PAUL JONES. (After a rare engraving),                         263

  SIGNATURE OF RICHARD DALE. (From a letter at the Lenox
    Library),                                                        266

  A LETTER FROM PIERRE LANDAIS. (From the original at the Lenox
    Library),                                                        268

  JOHN PAUL JONES. (From a miniature recently found [1897] in a
    cellar at the Naval Academy),                                    269

  JOHN PAUL JONES (IN COCKED HAT). (From a very rare engraving at
    the Navy Department, Washington),                                271

  JOHN PAUL JONES. (From an engraving by Chapman in the
    collection of Mr. W. C. Crane),                                  273

  JOHN PAUL JONES’S MEDAL,                                           276

  JOHN PAUL JONES AND THE _SERAPIS_ FIGHT. (From an engraving in
    the collection of Mr. W. C. Crane),                              278

  A LETTER FROM JOHN PAUL JONES TO THOMAS JEFFERSON. (From the
    original at the Lenox Library),                                  279

  SIGNATURE OF HOYSTED HACKER. (From a letter at the Lenox
    Library),                                                        283

  SIR GEORGE COLLIER’S VICTORY IN PENOBSCOT BAY, 1779. (From a
    very rare engraving at the Lenox Library),                       285

  MAP OF THE ATTACK ON THE PENOBSCOT FORT. (From a contemporary
    map at the Lenox Library),                                     288–9

  SIGNATURE OF SAMUEL NICHOLSON. (From a letter at the Lenox
    Library),                                                        290

  JAMES NICHOLSON. (After a miniature in the possession of Miss
    Josephine L. Stevens),                                           296

  AN OLD NAVAL ORDER. (From the original at the Lenox Library),
                                                                     301

  A MEDITERRANEAN CORSAIR ANCHORING. (From a picture drawn and
    engraved by Baugean),                                            306

  JOHN BARRY’S COMMISSION AS COMMANDER OF THE _UNITED STATES_.
    (From the original at the Naval Academy, Annapolis),             313

  A FRENCH VESSEL OF 118 GUNS, A CENTURY AGO. (From an engraving
    by Canali),                                                      318

  DIAGRAM OF THE _INSURGENT-CONSTELLATION_ BATTLE,                   321

  A FRENCH VESSEL OF 120 GUNS. (From an engraving by Orio),          322

  MEDAL AWARDED TO THOMAS TRUXTON,                                   325

  PORTRAIT OF TRUXTON AND PRESIDENT ADAMS’S LETTER TO HIM. (From
    a lithograph at the Naval Academy, Annapolis),                   326

  TRUXTON’S MEDAL AND THE CONGRESSIONAL RESOLUTION AWARDING IT TO
    HIM,                                                             327

  THE _SALLY_ ATTACKED BY A SEA-SERPENT OFF THE SHORE OF LONG
    ISLAND. (From a French engraving),                               331

  A FRENCH CUTTER OF 16 GUNS. (From an engraving by Merlo),          332

  BENJAMIN STODDERT. (From a painting at the Navy Department,
    Washington),                                                     334

  “CAPTAIN STERRETT IN THE _ENTERPRISE_, PAYING TRIBUTE TO
    _TRIPOLI_.” (From an old wood-cut),                              337

  A SCHOONER-OF-WAR, LIKE THE _ENTERPRISE_. (From a wood-cut in
    the “Kedge Anchor”),                                             339

  MAP OF THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA,                                      340

  WILLIAM BAINBRIDGE. (From an engraving by Edwin),                  341

  STEPHEN DECATUR. (From an engraving by Osborn of the portrait
    by White),                                                       347

  BURNING OF THE FRIGATE _PHILADELPHIA_ BY DECATUR. (From an old
    wood-cut),                                                       352

  THE BLOWING UP OF THE FRIGATE _PHILADELPHIA_. (From an
    engraving in Waldo’s “Decatur”),                                 355

  A PIECE OF THE _PHILADELPHIA’S_ STERN. (From the original piece
    at the Naval Institute, Annapolis),                              358

  EDWARD PREBLE. (From an engraving by Kelly of the picture in
    Faneuil Hall, Boston),                                           360

  DECATUR AVENGING THE MURDER OF HIS BROTHER. (From an engraving
    in Waldo’s “Decatur”),                                           363

  REUBEN JAMES SAVING DECATUR’S LIFE. (From an engraving of the
    picture by Chappel),                                             365

  JOHN TRIPPE. (After a French engraving),                           367

  THE BATTLE OF TRIPOLI, AUGUST 3, 1804. (From the painting by
    Corné, 1805, at the Naval Academy, Annapolis),                   369

  MAP OF THE HARBOR OF TRIPOLI,                                      372

  THE EXPLOSION OF THE _INTREPID_. (From an old engraving),          375

  PREBLE’S MEDAL,                                                    379

  “THE PRESS-GANG IMPRESSING A YOUNG WATERMAN ON HIS MARRIAGE
    DAY.” (From an English engraving, illustrating an old song),
                                                                     386

  ANOTHER VIEW OF THE “YOUNG WATERMAN” AND THE PRESS-GANG. (From
    an English engraving),                                           388

  A FLOGGING SCENE. (“The Point of Honor.” A sailor about to be
    flogged is saved by a comrade’s confession.) (From a drawing
    by George Cruikshank),                                           391

  THE UNITED STATES FRIGATE _ESSEX_. (From a lithograph at the
    Naval Academy, Annapolis),                                       393

  CAPT. HENRY WHITBY, R. N. (From an engraving by Page),             405

  CAPT. SALUSBURY PRYCE HUMPHREYS, R. N. (From an English
    engraving),                                                      411

  TAKING DESERTERS FROM THE _CHESAPEAKE_,                            413




[Illustration: An Early American Floating Battery.]




THE HISTORY OF OUR NAVY




CHAPTER I

ORIGIN OF THE AMERICAN NAVY

  THE CURIOUS CHAIN OF EVENTS THAT LED TO THE CREATION OF A
    NATIONAL SEA POWER--THE _GASPÉ_ CAPTURED BY MEN ARMED WITH
    PAVING-STONES--TEA DESTROYED IN BOSTON--THE BATTLE OF LEXINGTON AND
    THE ATTACK OF THE MACHIAS HAYMAKERS ON THE _MARGARETTA_--BRITISH
    VENGEANCE ON DEFENCELESS PORTLAND AND ITS EFFECT ON THE CONTINENTAL
    CONGRESS--THE “COLONIAL NAVY” DISTINGUISHED FROM THE TEMPORARY
    CRUISERS--THE FIRST OFFICERS AND THE FIRST SHIPS OF THE AMERICAN
    NAVY--JOHN PAUL JONES AND THE FIRST NAVAL ENSIGN--THE SIGNIFICANT
    “DON’T TREAD ON ME”--PUTTING THE FIRST AMERICAN NAVAL SHIPS IN
    COMMISSION.


Of all the dates in American history not yet so commemorated, there is
none so well worthy of recognition as a national holiday as the 22d
of December; for it was on December 22, 1775, that the American navy
came into existence. And there is no part of the story of the American
nation of more thrilling interest than that including the events which
compelled the establishment of this branch of the public service, nor
is there any part of the nation’s story as a whole that so stirs the
patriotic pride of the American people as that which tells of the deeds
of the heroes whose names have been inscribed upon the American naval
registers.

It is a grateful task to recount once more how it was that an American
navy was demanded for the preservation of American liberties, and what
has been accomplished by that navy since the day when Commodore Esek
Hopkins received his commission, and then stood by on the deck of his
flagship while John Paul Jones flung to the breeze the broad folds of
the flag that bore as a symbol the picture of a rattlesnake coiled to
strike, with the significant and appropriate motto,

                          “DON’T TREAD ON ME.”

[Illustration: Commodore Esek Hopkins.

_From a French engraving of the portrait by Wilkinson._]

The salt-water Lexington, that is to say, the first fight afloat of
the Revolutionary war, occurred on the night of June 17, 1772, in
the waters of Rhode Island, and the fact that it was in Rhode Island
will be recalled later on. The war of Great Britain against France
for dominion in America, “though crowned with success, had engendered
a progeny of discontents in her colonies.” “Her policy toward them
from the beginning had been purely commercial.” And that is to say
that the English, even in their dealings with their own colonies,
were animated solely by greed. The stamp act; the levying of taxes on
intercolonial commerce; the imposition of duties on glass, pasteboard,
painters’ colors, and tea, “to be collected on the arrival of the
articles in the colonies”; worse yet, the “empowering of naval officers
to enforce the acts of trade and navigation,” grew out of “the spirit
of trade which always aims to get the best of the bargain,” regardless
of right.

[Illustration: The First Naval Flags.]

It was through this empowering of naval officers to enforce the acts
of trade and navigation that the first sea-fight of the Revolution
occurred. A vessel of war--presumably a ship--had been stationed in
the waters of Rhode Island, with a schooner of 102 tons burden, called
the _Gaspé_, armed with six three-pounders, to serve as a tender.
The _Gaspé_ was under the command of Lieut. William Duddingstone.
Duddingstone was particularly offensive in his treatment of the
coasting vessels, every one of which was, in his view, a smuggler. He
had a crew of twenty-seven men.

On June 17, 1772, a Providence packet, named the _Hannah_ and commanded
by Captain Linzee, came in sight of these two war-vessels while she was
on her regular passage from New York to Providence. As the _Hannah_
ranged up near the war-vessels she was ordered to heave to in order
that her papers might be examined, but Captain Linzee being favored by
a smart southerly wind that was rapidly carrying him out of range of
the man-of-war guns, held fast on his course.

At this the schooner _Gaspé_ was ordered to follow and bring back the
offending sloop, and with all sail drawing, she obeyed the order. For a
matter of twenty-five miles that was as eager and as even a race as any
sailorman would care to see, but when that length of course had been
sailed over, the racers found themselves close up at the Providence
bar. The Yankee knew his ground as well as he knew the deck of his
sloop, but the captain of the _Gaspé_ was unfamiliar with it. A few
minutes later the shoal-draft _Hannah_ was crossing the bar at a point
where she could barely scrape over, and the deeper-draft _Gaspé_, in
trying to follow at full speed, was grounded hard and fast.

To make matters still worse for the _Gaspé_, the tide had just begun
to run ebb; not for many hours could her crew hope to float her.

Leaving the stranded schooner to heel with the falling tide, Captain
Linzee drove on with the wind to Providence, where he landed at the
wharf and spread the story of his trouble with the coast guard. Had it
happened in the days before the French war, or before the persistent
efforts of the British ministry to levy unjust taxes on the colonies
had roused such intense opposition in New England, this affair would
have been considered as a good joke on a revenue cutter, and that
would have been the end of it so far as the people of Providence were
concerned.

Now, however, the matter was taken in a most serious light. As the sun
went down, the town drummer appeared on the streets, and with the long
roll and tattoo by which public meetings were called he gathered the
men of the town under a horse-shed that stood near one of the larger
stores overlooking the water. While yet the people were coming to the
rendezvous, a man disguised as an Indian appeared on the roof and
invited all “stout hearts” to meet him on the wharf at nine o’clock,
disguised as he was.

[Illustration: Destruction of the Schooner _Gaspé_, 1772.

_From an engraving by Rogers of the painting by McNevin._]

As one may readily believe, nearly every man of Providence came to the
pier at the appointed hour. From this crowd sixty-four men were
selected. They chose as their commander, so tradition asserts, Abraham
Whipple, who, later on, became one of the first-made captains of the
American navy, and then all embarked in eight long-boats gathered from
the different vessels lying at the wharves, and pulled away for the
_Gaspé_.

That was a most remarkable expedition in the matter of armament, for,
although there were a few firearms in the boats, the crews depended
for the most part on a liberal supply of round paving-stones that they
carried for weapons of offense.

It was at two o’clock in the morning when this galley-fleet arrived in
sight of the stranded _Gaspé_. The tide had turned by this time, and
the schooner had begun to right herself somewhat. A sentinel, pacing
to and fro with some difficulty, saw the approaching boats and hailed
them. A shower of paving-stones was the most effective if not the only
reply he received, and he tumbled down below precipitately. The rattle
and crash of the paving-stones on the deck routed the crew from their
berths, and, running hastily on deck, the captain of the _Gaspé_ fired
a pistol point-blank at his assailants.

At that a single musket was fired from the boats, by whom will never
be told, and the captain dropped with a bullet in his thigh. Then the
boats closed about the stranded vessel and their crews swarmed over the
rails. The sailors of the _Gaspé_ strove to resist the onslaught, but
they were quickly knocked down and secured.

As soon as this was done the schooner was effectually fired, and her
captors, with their prisoners, pulled away; but they remained within
sight until the early dawn appeared, when the schooner blew up, and the
boats were rowed hastily home with the tide.

[Illustration: The State House at Newport, Showing the _Gaspé_ Affair.

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

The indignation of the British officials over this assault on a naval
vessel was so great that a reward of £1,000 was offered for the leader
of the expedition, with £500 more and a free pardon to any one of the
offenders who would turn informer. But, “notwithstanding a Commission
of Inquiry, under the great seal of England, sat with that object,
from January to June, during the year 1773,” not enough evidence was
obtained to warrant the arrest of a single man.

Although it was not an affair of the sea, strictly speaking, it is
worth recalling here that within six months after this Commission
of Inquiry had failed to learn the names of the men, disguised as
Indians, who had burned the _Gaspé_, another party of men in another
colony disguised themselves as Indians, and helped amazingly in making
the history of the times. It was on the night of Friday, the 17th of
December, 1773, as the reader will remember. The ship _Dartmouth_,
laden with tea, was lying at her wharf in Boston. She had been lying
there since the 28th of the preceding month, and during all those days
the people of Boston had labored unceasingly to get her away to sea
without discharging her cargo. It is even recorded that “the urgency of
the business in hand overcame the sabbatarian scruples of the people,”
and that in Boston! Meetings too great for “the Cradle of Liberty”
(Faneuil Hall) were adjourned to the Old South Meeting-House. The
people were “determined not to act (in offense) until the last legal
method of relief should have been tried and found wanting.” But at
last, on the night of this 17th day of December, as the great throng
of more than seven thousand people waited in and about “the church
that was dimly lighted with candles,” a messenger arrived from the
British Governor to say that the last legal resource had failed. The
Governor had refused to allow the ship to go. And “then, amid profound
stillness, Samuel Adams arose and said, quietly but distinctly, ‘this
meeting can do nothing more to save the country.’”

A war-whoop was heard a moment later without the church, and fifty men,
disguised as Indians, just as Captain Whipple’s men were when they
fired the _Gaspé_--disguised as Indians because Captain Whipple’s men
had successfully eluded the British detectives--these fifty citizens of
Boston ran away to the wharf where the _Dartmouth_ lay.

One John Rowe had asked during the meeting earlier in the evening, “Who
knows how tea will mingle with salt water?” He had now his opportunity
to learn, for when the Indians reached the ship they quickly brought
her cargo on deck, and smashing open the chests with hatchets, tumbled
the tea over the rail, while a vast host stood by in the moonlight and
silently watched the work.

There was a significance in the silence of the work that might have
been, but was not, heeded by those in authority, for it portrayed the
feelings and the character of the men engaged in it, and foreshadowed
the grim determination of the people during the conflict that was fast
coming on.

[Illustration: The “Boston Tea-Party.”

_From an old engraving._]

Then followed, as the reader will remember very well, the Boston
Port Bill closing that port. Then followed the bill by which any
magistrate, soldier, or revenue officer, accused of murder in
Massachusetts, was to be taken to England for trial--a bill justly
stigmatized as an act to encourage the soldiery in shooting down
peaceful citizens. Then followed other acts equally or still more
unjust and tyrannous that need not be mentioned here, the indignation
of the colonists growing deeper as their distress under the oppression
increased, until war was inevitable. And on the 19th of April, 1775,
when the profane Pitcairn discharged his “elegant pistol” at the
minute-men of the veteran Capt. John Parker on the village green in
Lexington, war came.

Now, it was because of the stir caused by the story of this battle at
Lexington that the second sea-fight of the Revolution occurred.

The reader must keep steadily in mind that not only were churches
lighted by candles in those days, but mails were carried up and down
the country by stage coaches and on horseback and by the oft-times
slower water route--in sloops and schooners. The fight at Lexington
occurred on April 19th, but the news of it did not reach Machias,
Maine, until Saturday, the 9th of the following month. On that day word
was brought by sea to Machias, telling how the British troops had fired
on the minute-men, whose present offense was that they had refused to
obey when Pitcairn had shouted, “Disperse, ye villains! Damn you, why
don’t you disperse?” How some had been killed and others wounded by
this first onslaught; how the minute-men had at first retreated and
then gathered anew for the attack; how the British were first brought
to a stand and then started in a retreat so swift that when at last
they were rescued by fresh troops from Boston they fell to the ground
with “their tongues hanging out of their mouths like those of dogs
after a chase”--when all this was related in Machias, Maine, it stirred
the men of the town to do a stroke against the oppressive ministry on
their own account.

There was at this time in the port of Machias an armed schooner called
the _Margaretta_, Captain Moore, in the service of the crown, with two
unarmed sloops in convoy which were loading with lumber, according to
the American account, for the British in Boston, but an English account
speaks of the schooner as “a mast ship,” _i.e._, a vessel loading with
logs suitable for the masts of a warship. As the reader will remember,
the grants of land from the crown in those days, always retained for
the use of the crown all trees suitable for masts of ships that might
be found on the land.

On hearing of the fight at Lexington the bolder spirits of the town,
considering that affair as the beginning of war, determined to capture
the king’s schooner _Margaretta_. Their first plan turned on the fact
that the day after the news arrived was Sunday. The news was kept
secret among those who laid the plan, and Captain Moore came ashore to
attend church on Sundays as usual. Then these men started to capture
him at the church, but their haste and excitement alarmed Captain
Moore, and he jumped through the church window and fled to the beach,
where he was protected by his schooner’s guns.

On reaching his schooner, Captain Moore fired several shots over the
town to intimidate the people; but not liking the looks of things on
shore after the firing, he got up his anchor and dropped down-stream
for a league, where he came to anchor foolishly under a high bank. The
townspeople who had followed him, quickly took places on this bank, and
a man named Foster called on him to surrender, but Captain Moore got
his anchor again and ran out into the bay, apparently unmolested by
those who had summoned him to surrender.

It looked as if the proposed capture would not be made. But on Monday
morning (May 11, 1775) two of the young men of the town, Joseph Wheaton
and Dennis O’Brien, met on the wharf, when Wheaton proposed taking
possession of one of the lumber sloops, raising a crew of volunteers
and going after the _Margaretta_. Peter Calbreth and a man named Kraft
happened along and agreed to join in, and the four went on board the
sloop and took possession.

Three rousing cheers were given over the success of their effort, and
that brought a crowd to the wharf--among the rest, Jeremiah O’Brien,
“an athletic gallant man,” to whom, as to a village leader, Wheaton
explained the project.

“My boys, we can do it,” said Jeremiah with enthusiasm, and at that
every one in the throng skurried off for arms.

The equipment which they brought together for that cruise is worth
describing in detail. They had twenty guns, of which one is described
as a “wall-piece.” It was a musket too heavy to hold offhand when
fired; it needed a wall, so to speak, to support its weight when it was
aimed. For all these guns they had but sixty bullets and sixty charges
of powder--three loads for each weapon. In addition they carried
thirteen pitchforks and twelve axes (a formidable weapon in the hands
of a Maine man). For food they carried a few pieces of pork, a part of
a bag of bread, and a barrel of water.

Out of a throng of volunteers thirty-five of the most athletic were
selected to go, and, this done, they hoisted sail and boldly headed
away before a northwest breeze to capture the _Margaretta_.

It should be noted here that these sloops were single-masted vessels,
as was the one in the Providence affair. They were in form and rig very
much like the one-masted vessels employed at the time of this writing
(1897) in carrying brick from the yards on the Hudson River to New York
City, but they were not nearly as large as the brick-carriers, though
they probably stood as high out of water, if not higher. A “sloop of
war” was a very different vessel, as will appear further on.

Captain Moore saw the sloop coming from afar, and realized that the
crowd upon her deck meant trouble for him. So, being still anxious
to avoid a conflict (just why he was anxious does not appear), he up
anchor and once more ran away. But luck was against him--perhaps his
frustrated state of mind brought him ill-luck. At any rate, although
the wind was in the northwest and he was bound south, he got up his
mainsail with the boom to starboard, and soon found himself obliged to
jibe it over to port. With a fresh breeze that was a task needing care,
and yet, when he came to swing the boom across, he let it go on the
run, and it brought up against the backstays with such a shock that it
was broken short off in the wake of the rigging.

[Illustration: A British Armed Sloop

_From a very rare engraving, showing the first lighthouse erected in
the United States--on Little Brewster Island, Boston Harbor._]

Rendered desperate by this accident, Captain Moore now turned to a
merchant schooner that he saw at anchor not far away, and bringing to
alongside of her, he robbed her of her boom to replace his own and
again headed for the open sea, and then, to still further aid his
flight, cut adrift every one of his boats.

But it was all in vain, for the sloop was much the swifter vessel, and
Captain Moore was at last compelled to fight.

The _Margaretta_ was armed with four six-pounders and twenty
swivels--short and thick guns firing a one-pound ball, and mounted on
swivels placed on the vessel’s rail. It was an armament that should
have been more than sufficient to repel the Machias men armed with
pitchforks and axes. Moreover, the crew of the _Margaretta_ outnumbered
that of the sloop. But there was a difference in the character of the
two crews--a difference for which abundant cause will be shown further
on--and the issue of the contest was never for a moment in doubt after
the haymakers had gone afloat.

The first discharge of guns on the schooner killed one man on the
sloop. A man of the name of Knight on the sloop returned the fire,
using the wall-piece. He was probably from the backwoods and a moose
hunter, for he was bright enough and skilful enough to pick off the
man at the schooner’s helm. And that shot drove everybody off the
schooner’s quarter-deck, so she was left, as a sailor might say, to
take charge of herself.

Then the schooner broached to, the sloop crashed into her, and the men
from Machias, with swinging axes and poised pitchforks, climbed over
her rail.

It is said for Captain Moore that at this point he fought gallantly,
throwing hand-grenades “with considerable effect,” but he was quickly
shot to death, and then his crew surrendered.

In all, twenty men were killed and wounded in this fight, showing that
it was a desperate conflict when once the two crews got within range
of each other, man to man, for twenty was more than one-fourth of all
engaged in it. The crew of the _Margaretta_ numbered forty, all told.

On the _Margaretta_ the captors found two wall-pieces, forty cutlasses,
forty boarding axes, two boxes of hand-grenades, forty muskets, and
twenty pistols, with an ample supply of powder and shot.

When one with a full knowledge of the naval tar’s contempt for “a
haymaker’s mate” recalls the story of this Machias fight, he cannot
help thinking that some of the crew of the _Margaretta_ must have
suffered as much in mind as they did from their wounds after being
impaled on the two-pronged pikes--the pitchforks of these Yankee
haymakers.

Not only was the fight between the _Margaretta’s_ crew and the
haymakers interesting in itself; it was followed by consequences of
the most important nature in connection with the establishment of the
American navy.

The commander of the haymakers, elected in good American fashion after
they were afloat, was Jeremiah O’Brien. Having secured the _Margaretta_
and his prisoners, Captain O’Brien shifted the cannon and swivels,
with the ammunition and small arms, from the captured schooner over to
his fleeter sloop, and set forth in search of more prizes and glory.
Straightway the efforts of the British naval authorities to punish him
for his assault on the _Margaretta_ gave him the opportunity to acquire
both. Two schooners, the _Diligence_ and the _Tapanagouche_, were sent
from Halifax to bring the obstreperous Irish-Yankee in for trial. But
Captain O’Brien was a sailorman as well as a haymaker. By skilfully
handling his sloop he separated the cruisers, and then captured them
one at a time by the bold dash that had succeeded in the assault on the
_Margaretta_. This done, Captain O’Brien, with his prizes, sailed into
Watertown, Massachusetts, where the provincial legislature was sitting,
and delivered up everything to the colonial authorities.

Such brave deeds as these did not go unrewarded in those days. Captain
O’Brien received a commission from the colony, and, with the three
vessels well refitted, he was sent once more to sea to cruise for
vessels bringing supplies to the British troops.

As said, not only was this an interesting fight, but it was one with
far-reaching consequences. The deeds of Captain O’Brien, followed
by others of a like nature performed by men who were stirred by his
example, so exasperated Admiral Graves, the British commander-in-chief
on the coast, that he sent a squadron of four vessels under Captain
Mowat to take revenge in such a manner as would fill, as he supposed,
the hearts of the people of the whole coast with terror. Portland (then
called Falmouth), Maine, was the port selected for destruction.

The British account of what was done after Captain Mowat’s fleet
arrived before the town, shall be given for a reason that will appear
further on in this history. The “Annual Register” for 1776 (Dodsley’s,
London), in its “Retrospective view of American affairs in the year
1775,” says (page 34):

“About 9 o’clock in the morning, a canonade was begun, and continued
with little intermission through the day. About 3,000 shots besides
bombs and carcases, were thrown into the town, and the sailors landed
to compleat the destruction, but were repulsed with the loss of a
few men. The principal part of the town, (which lay next the water)
consisting of about 130 dwelling houses, 278 stores and warehouses,
with a large new church, a new handsome courthouse, with the public
library, were reduced to ashes; about 100 of the worst houses being
favored by the situation and distance, escaped destruction, though not
without damage.”

In Allen’s “Battles of the British Navy,” the “new edition revised and
enlarged” and published by George Bell & Sons, London, in 1893 (note
that it was published in 1893), we get a modern British view of this
important assault. On page 227 it says:

“Lieutenant Mowat’s instructions were tempered with moderation. He was
directed to confine his operations to certain enumerated towns which
had rendered themselves conspicuous by open acts of hostility.”

The town was destroyed on the 16th day of October, and in Maine. Under
instructions that, to an Englishman’s mind, tempered with moderation,
“a thousand unoffending, men women and children were thus turned out of
doors” just as the fierce Maine winter was coming down upon them.

It should be told here that among the children who were thus obliged to
seek shelter in brush and bark huts was a lad of fourteen years, named
Edward Preble, of whom something will be told further on.

Meantime the Congress of the thirteen United Colonies had been in
session at Philadelphia, resolving itself into a committee of the
whole, from day to day, to consider “the state of trade in the
colonies.” Patriots by the thousand had answered the cries of distress
at Lexington by gathering with their muskets about Boston. The battle
of Bunker Hill, the most glorious defeat recorded in the annals of
American warfare, had been fought and lost, because the supplies of
gunpowder, brought by the colonists in the old-fashioned cowhorns, had
failed them. Of missiles there was apparently no lack--they would have
used pebbles from the beach had no others been available and powder
abundant. But the want of gunpowder became chronic, and in considering
the state of trade in the colonies the Congress found that of all
branches of that trade the one needing their most careful attention
was the trade in gunpowder. It was a trade that did not thrive under
the circumstances; but there was one source of supply that did not
escape the attention of such able-minded as well as able-bodied
citizens as Capt. Jeremiah O’Brien and his ilk afloat. That source was
in the supply ships that provided for the British forces, and in the
smaller cruisers that waited on the great ships of the British fleet.
The sailormen of the coast pointed to the supplies afloat, and the
legislators adopted the views of the sailormen. Massachusetts, Rhode
Island, and Connecticut provided small cruisers on their own account
and sent them out seeking the enemy’s supply ships, which, because the
rebellious colonies had theretofore no sort of a navy, came to Boston
and other ports in the king’s possession, unarmed and without convoy.
The far-sighted Washington, who had been placed in command of the
heterogeneous forces about Boston, took hold of this matter and brought
it to the attention of the Congress. In the mind of Washington it was
an expedient well worth trying, but apparently he regarded it only as a
temporary expedient. For during the summer and early fall of 1775, when
the need of gunpowder became and remained most urgent, the colonies
were fighting only for their rights as British subjects, as the reader
remembers, and not for national independence. A few long-headed
leaders undoubtedly saw the drift of current events, but with every
address to the throne there was sent a protestation of loyalty.

The earliest reference to this temporary expedient for getting
gunpowder which is found in the printed reports of the doings of the
Congress is in the minutes for Thursday, October 5, 1775. It was then
resolved to inform General Washington that the Congress had “received
certain intelligence of the sailing of two north country built brigs,
of no force, from England on the 11th of August last, loaded with arms,
powder and other stores for Quebec without convoy, which it being
of importance to intercept,” Washington was requested to “apply to
the Council of Massachusetts-Bay for the two armed vessels in their
service,” and send them “at the expense of the continent” after the
brigs. Moreover, he was informed that “the Rhode Island and Connecticut
vessels of force will be sent directly to their assistance.” Further
still, it was resolved that “the general be directed to employ the said
vessels and others, if he judge necessary.” That was a very important
set of resolutions in connection with the history of the navy. And the
same may be said of the resolutions of Friday, October 13th, when it
was provided that “a swift vessel to carry ten carriage guns and a
proportionable number of swivels, with eighty men, be fitted out with
all possible despatch for a cruise of three months,” and, further,
“that another vessel be fitted out for the same purposes.” Deane,
Langdon, and Gadsden were chosen as a committee of the Congress to look
after the fitting out of the vessels. Further than that, on Monday,
October 30, 1775, it was resolved that the second vessel previously
ordered should “carry fourteen guns and a proportionate number of
swivels and men,” while two other ships, “one to carry not exceeding
twenty guns and the other not exceeding thirty-six guns,” were to be
chartered for the same purpose--to cruise “eastward” to intercept the
British store-ships.

[Illustration: A Brig of War Lowering a Boat.

_From a picture drawn and engraved by Baugean._]

How under the resolutions of October 5th Captain Manly of the schooner
_Lee_ was sent “eastward”; how he captured a large brigantine loaded
with munitions of war; how, in consequence of this capture, “a long,
lumbering train of wagons, laden with ordnance and military stores, and
decorated with flags, came wheeling into camp”--Washington’s camp--the
next day after a host of Connecticut troops had deserted the cause, and
“it was feared their example would be contagious”; how “such universal
joy ran through the whole camp as if each one grasped victory in his
own hands,”--all are parts of a story that may not be wholly omitted
here; but the resolutions of the Congress did not provide, properly
speaking, for an American navy. They only provided temporary means
for obtaining supplies. The Congress was not yet ready to take the
important step of establishing a navy as a branch of the public service.

But the thought of a colonial navy was abroad--it was even then
officially before the Congress, although it had not been acted upon.
Officially, the subject of establishing a colonial navy came from
Rhode Island, where Capt. Abraham Whipple and his paving-stones
had conquered the schooner _Gaspé_. On August 26, 1775, the two
houses of the Rhode Island legislature concurred in ordering their
representatives in the Congress to propose the establishment of a
navy “at the expense of the continent.” So cautious were the members
of the Congress in handling the matter that, when, on October 3d, one
of the Rhode Island delegates--presumably Samuel Ward, who was their
leader--called the attention of the Congress to the proposal of his
legislature, they did not even mention the matter definitely in the
minutes of the day. The minutes read: “One of the delegates for Rhode
Island laid before the Congress a part of the instructions given
them,” etc. “The proposal met great opposition,” and even the briefest
consideration of the matter had to go over to a later day. “In the
Congress at Philadelphia, so long as there remained the dimmest hope of
favor to its petition, the lukewarm patriots had the advantage.”

But a time was coming when they were to change their feelings in this
matter radically and in a day. They had ordered the forces afloat and
ashore “carefully to refrain from acts of violence which could be
construed as open rebellion,” but before the end of the year they had
taken such a long step toward the Declaration of Independence that to
turn back was impossible.

It was on October 31st that the change of sentiment was wrought. One
cannot help wishing that what a newspaper man in these days would call
“a crackerjack reporter” might have been present to describe the stir
in the Congress when, on that day, one messenger arrived to announce
that the British king had succeeded in hiring 20,000 of “the finest
troops in Europe”--Germans--to fight against the colonists, while a
second messenger followed with the story of the desperate plight of
the people of Falmouth, who had been driven from their homes to face a
Maine winter by the assault of the infamous Mowat. But if we lack the
picture we have the record of what was done in consequence of the news
then received.

Though stirred as never before since they had come together, the
members of the Congress moved with judicial moderation, and it was
not until Saturday, November 25th, that they resolved to make an
aggressive fight at sea. On this day they adopted a preamble that
eloquently told how “orders have been issued ... under colour of which
said orders the commanders of his majesty’s said ships have already
burned and destroyed the flourishing and populous town of Falmouth,
and have fired upon and much injured several other towns within the
United Colonies, and dispersed at a late season of the year, hundreds
of women and children, with a savage hope that those may perish
under the approaching rigours of the season who may chance to escape
destruction from fire and sword.” And then they resolved that all armed
British vessels, and all “transport vessels in the same service,” “to
whomsoever belonging,” with their cargoes, that might fall into the
hands of the colonists, “shall be confiscated.” Further than that,
commissions not only for the captains of the colonial cruisers, but for
the commanders of privateers as well, were ordered to be issued under
proper regulations. The colonies were recommended to “erect courts of
justice” to dispose of the prizes to be so captured, and a scheme for
distributing prize money to the crews of both cruisers and privateers
was approved.

[Illustration: The Admiralty Seal.]

Three days later--on November 28, 1775--the minutes contain the first
adopted “Rules for the Regulation of the Navy of the United Colonies,”
and that was the first occasion on which the term navy of the United
Colonies appears in the minutes of the proceedings.

Very curious and well worth the study of any one interested in history
are those first rules adopted for the American navy--a navy not yet
actually in existence. But for the present purpose it is necessary
to note only the thoughtfulness of the Congress for the comfort of
the members of the crews--especially the comfort of the men before
the mast. A remarkably large space in the printed report of these
regulations relates to the feeding of the men, and if to this space
be added that devoted to the regulations for the care of the sick and
wounded, together with what was ordered for the preservation of the
property rights of the sailors, then more than one-half of all that
was decided upon was in the interest of the men in the forecastle. The
bearing of this policy on the future of the American navy will appear
further on, but it may be said here that it was not for nothing that
grave legislators were concerned to provide that “a proportion of
canvas for pudding-bags, after the rate of one ell for every sixteen
men,” should be served out at proper intervals.

Thereafter the making of a navy went on more rapidly. Within a week
word came that Lord Dunmore, with a fleet in the Chesapeake Bay,
was aiding the Tories there to engage in trade with the West Indies,
contrary to the colonial regulations, and, worse yet, was stirring up
a race war. In consequence of this the Congress resolved, on December
5th, that all the vessels engaged in the trade established by Dunmore,
with their cargoes, should be seized when possible and held “until the
further order of this Congress.” And that is a matter of importance,
because it was the first warrant of the Congress permitting the capture
of merchant ships of the enemy when engaged in another traffic than the
carrying of supplies to the enemy’s military or naval stations.

Next (on December 11th) the Congress ordered that “a committee be
appointed to devise ways and means for furnishing these colonies with
a naval armament.” The alacrity with which that committee acted was
something phenomenal, for in two days they brought in their report,
“which being read and debated,” was adopted. They had determined to
build “five ships of 32 guns, five of 28 guns, three of 24 guns,
making in the whole thirteen.” These were to be constructed, one in
New Hampshire, two in Massachusetts, one in Connecticut, two in Rhode
Island, two in New York, four in Pennsylvania, and one in Maryland.
They were expected to go afloat “by the last of March next,” and the
cost was not to be “more than 66,666⅔ dollars each, on an average,
allowing two complete suits of sails for each ship.” So far as the
committee could see, there would be but one difficulty in the way of
sending all these ships to sea well found for the service, and that
was in the lack of canvas and gunpowder. They would need 7,500 pieces
of canvas for the sails and 100 tons of powder for the magazines, and
there was not any of either in the market.

In the meantime the marine committee appointed under the resolution
of October 13th to fit out two vessels to “cruise eastward” after
the king’s transports, had been increased in number, and in December
consisted of Silas Deane, Christopher Gadsden, John Langdon, Stephen
Hopkins, Joseph Hewes, and Richard Henry Lee. John Adams, who was
an enthusiastic supporter of the project to create a navy from the
moment it was discussed, had been at first a member of this committee,
but because of other duties he left it, and Gadsden took the place.
The names of these men are well worth remembering, for they were the
originators of the American navy. While the Congress was preparing to
build the navy these men had labored faithfully, and with success, to
provide one ready made out of the ships that could be purchased along
the coast.

[Illustration:

  Christopher Gadsden.      John Langdon.      Richard Henry Lee.

  Stephen Hopkins.          Joseph Hewes.      Silas Dean.

The Founders of the American Navy.]

[Illustration: Vessel of War Saluting, with the Yards Manned.

_From an old French engraving._]

The Congress had, on November 2d, placed $100,000 at their disposal.
With this they went about buying ships and supplies for them. A London
packet called the _Black Prince_ came into port under command of
that Captain John Barry who, later on, was a captain in the American
navy. She was of good scantling, and was considered a vessel worthy
of becoming the flagship of the new fleet. The committee purchased
her, and, after renaming her the _Alfred_, after Alfred the Great,
they mounted twenty nine-pounders on deck, with four (it is said)
smaller guns--presumably four-pounders--on the forecastle and poop.
Another merchant ship, called the _Sally_, was purchased and renamed
_Columbus_, for the great explorer, after which she received eighteen
or twenty (authorities vary) nine-pounders. She is said to have been
crank (top-heavy) and of small value. Two brigs were purchased and
renamed the _Andrea Doria_, for the famous Genoese sailor, and the
_Cabot_, for the early explorer of North America. These are set down
as carrying fourteen four-pounders each. A third brig was purchased in
Providence and named for that town, because, according to John Adams,
that town was “the residence of Governor Hopkins and his brother Esek,
whom we appointed the first Captain.” She carried twelve guns--sixes
or fours. In addition to these, the committee obtained a sloop of ten
guns, called the _Hornet_, and an eight-gun schooner named the _Wasp_.
These were purchased and equipped in Baltimore, and then brought around
to Philadelphia. The _Fly_, an eight-gun schooner, completed the list.

While the committee were gathering this fleet at Philadelphia, the
Congress showed its appreciation of the work in hand by voting that the
crews should be engaged to serve until January 1, 1777--practically
for one year. They further voted $500,000 of the continental currency
to the use of the naval committee.

Then, on Tuesday, December 19th, the Congress still further showed
their appreciation of the situation of affairs by resolving “that the
Committee of Safety of Pennsylvania be requested to supply the armed
vessels, which are nearly ready to sail, with four tons of gunpowder
at the continental expense”; and, further, “that the said committee be
requested to procure and lend the said vessels as many stands of small
arms as they can spare, not exceeding 400.”

[Illustration: Facsimile of a Letter from Abraham Whipple to General
Lincoln during the Siege of Charleston.

_From the original at the Lenox Library._]

The Pennsylvania people had already agreed to furnish these
necessaries; the resolutions of the Congress were only in the nature of
vouchers, and, twenty-four hours later, the first American fleet was
found and fitted for service. Only the crews for the ships were needed,
and these the committee had provided ready for the occasion, so all
that was then required to man the ships was for the Congress to confirm
the appointment of the officers. And this was done on the memorable
date, Friday, December 22, 1775. The resolutions of the Congress shall
be given in full, because it was upon this legal warrant that the
American navy was founded. They were as follows:

“The committee appointed to fit out armed vessels, laid before congress
a list of the officers by them appointed agreeable to the powers to
them given by Congress, viz:

Esek Hopkins, esq. comander in chief of the fleet--

Dudley Saltonstall, Captain of the _Alfred_.

Abraham Whipple, Captain of the _Columbus_.

Nicholas Biddle, Captain of the _Andrea Doria_.

John Burrow Hopkins, Captain of the _Cabot_.

First lieutenants, John Paul Jones, Rhodes Arnold, ---- Stansbury,
Hoysted Hacker, Jonathan Pitcher.

Second Lieutenants, Benjamin Seabury, Joseph Olney, Elisha Warner,
Thomas Weaver, ---- McDougall.

Third Lieutenants, John Fanning, Ezekiel Burroughs, Daniel Vaughn.

_Resolved_, That the Pay of the Comander in-chief of the fleet be 125
dollars per calender month.

_Resolved_, That commissions be granted to the above officers agreeable
to their rank in the above appointment.

_Resolved_, That the committee for fitting out armed vessels, issue
warrants to all officers employed in the fleet under the rank of third
lieutenants.

_Resolved_, That the said committee be directed (as a secret committee)
to give such instructions to the commander of the fleet, touching the
operations of the ships under his command, as shall appear to the said
committee most conducive to the defence of the United Colonies, and to
the distress of the enemy’s naval forces and vessels bringing supplys
to their fleets and armies, and lay such instructions before the
Congress when called for.”

The thirteen United Colonies had at last a naval fleet, armed,
equipped, and manned, and legally authorized to sail away on the secret
expedition the committee had planned. But before Commodore Hopkins
might up anchor and spread his canvas to the breeze there was one
ceremony to be performed which, though not mentioned in any colonial
law, was (and it still is) considered of the utmost importance. He must
“put his ships in commission”--must “pipe all hands on deck,” and then
“hoist in their appropriate places the national colors and the pennant
of the commanding officer,” after which he must address the crew and
“read to them the order by virtue of which he assumes command.”

That is a most impressive ceremony, and it was now to be performed for
the first time in the American naval fleet.

Important--even thrilling as was the occasion, there is no known
record by which the date on which this ceremony was performed may be
definitely located. But it is unquestioned that the naval committee of
the Congress had, on this December 22d, secured the crews as well as
the ships for a fleet, and that the crews were then on board awaiting
the coming of properly authorized officers. There is, therefore,
no reason to doubt that as soon as the Congress had passed the
resolutions above quoted, and the commissions therein mentioned had
been signed, the commodore and his officers immediately went on board
to take formal possession.

[Illustration: Captain Nicholas Biddle.

_From an engraving by Edwin._]

But whatever the date, it is recorded that it was on a beautiful winter
day when the commodore and his officers made their way to the foot of
Walnut Street, Philadelphia, where a ship’s long-boat awaited them. A
great throng of patriots gathered along shore on the arrival of the
officers, and the shipping along the whole river front was not only
decorated with bunting, but decks and rails and rigging were occupied
by enthusiastic spectators.

Pushing off and rowing away through the floating ice, Commodore
Hopkins reached the ladder at the side of the _Alfred_, and, followed
by all his officers, mounted to the deck. The shrill whistle of the
boatswain called the crew well aft in the waist of the ship. The
officers gathered in a group on the quarterdeck. A quartermaster made
fast to the mizzen signal halliards a great yellow silk flag bearing
the picture of a pine tree with a coiled rattlesnake at its roots, and
the impressive motto “Don’t Tread on Me.” This accomplished, he turned
toward the master of the ship, Capt. Dudley Saltonstall, and saluted.

And then, at a gesture from the captain, the executive officer of the
ship, the immortal John Paul Jones, eagerly grasped the flag halliards,
and while officers and seamen uncovered their heads, and the spectators
cheered and cannon roared, he spread to the breeze the first American
naval ensign.

The grand union flag of the colonies, a flag of thirteen stripes,
alternate red and white, with the British jack in the field, and the
pennant of the commander-in-chief, were then set, and the resolutions
of the Congress read. The first American naval fleet was in commission.




[Illustration: A Frigate Chasing a Small Boat.

_From an old French engraving._]




CHAPTER II

FIRST CRUISE OF THE YANKEE SQUADRON

  A FAIRLY SUCCESSFUL RAID ON NEW PROVIDENCE, BUT THEY LET A
    BRITISH SLOOP-OF-WAR ESCAPE--CHARACTER OF THE FIRST NAVAL
    COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF AND OF THE MATERIAL WITH WHICH HE HAD TO
    WORK--ESEK HOPKINS, A LANDSMAN, SET TO DO A SAILOR’S WORK--CREWS
    UNTRAINED AND DEVOID OF “ESPRIT DE CORPS”--GOOD COURAGE, BUT A
    WOEFUL LACK OF OTHER NEEDED QUALITIES--HOPKINS DISMISSED FOR
    DISOBEDIENCE OF ORDERS.


The career of Commodore Esek Hopkins as commander-in-chief of the
American navy lasted for a year and ten days. If it was not a glorious
career it was at least an instructive one, and the candid student is
likely to conclude that, under the circumstances, it was creditable
to his reputation. He was badly handicapped from the beginning in a
variety of ways, but in spite of this he accomplished something.

As already noted, Commodore Hopkins received his appointment chiefly
through the influence of John Adams, and because he was the brother of
the capable Governor of Rhode Island. The student of American history
should keep in mind that the colonists were still monarchists in 1775,
and that they followed the monarchial system of appointing favorites
to office. That is to say, the man who had the most influence, who
had what politicians call a “pull,” got the appointment, regardless,
usually, of his fitness for the place. Commodore Hopkins had been a
brigadier-general in the Rhode Island militia by appointment of his
brother. He had served in various capacities at sea, but it is likely
that training had made him a soldier rather than a sailor, and no
greater mistake can be made by executive authority than to appoint a
soldier to do a sailorman’s work.

Further than this, the vessels under the command of Hopkins were all
built for carrying cargoes and not for fighting--they were not as swift
or as handy as fighting ships of the same size. Worse yet, they were
manned by crews brought together for the first time--men who were not
only unacquainted with each other, and therefore devoid of _esprit de
corps_, but who were unaccustomed, for the most part, to the discipline
necessary on a man-of-war and untrained in the use of great guns. When
compared with the crews of the British warships they were more inferior
in these two respects than were the raw militia around Boston when
compared with the British regulars. The raw militia could at least
shoot well.

[Illustration: A Letter from Esek Hopkins.

_From the original at the Lenox Library._]

With these facts in mind it is worth while comparing the American
ships with the British naval forces on the coast. As said, Commodore
Hopkins had eight vessels, of which two only were ships, and the others
were brigs or smaller, and all were lubberly merchantmen. All told,
this squadron mounted just 114 guns, of which the largest was a cannon
that could throw a round cast-iron ball weighing nine pounds. Even of
these there were less than fifty. And the powder to load them and the
muskets with which the seamen had been armed were all borrowed from the
commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Yet this puny squadron, “poor and contemptible, being for the greater
part no better than whale boats,” as a British authority truly says,
was to go to sea to make war--against what force does the reader
suppose? A navy of 112 ships, carrying 3,714 guns, of which force no
less than seventy-eight ships, carrying 2,078 guns, were either already
on the American coast or under orders to go there.

[Illustration: A Corvette.

_From an old French engraving._]

Nor does a comparison of the number of guns--114 against 2,078--give
an idea of the utter inefficiency of the American sea power; for,
while the best of the American guns was but a nine-pounder, at
least a fourth of the guns on the British ships--at least 500 of
them--were eighteen-pounders or heavier. For every nine-pounder in
the American ships there were at least ten of double that size in
the British, not to mention the 1,500 and more guns in the fleet that
included six-pounders, nine-pounders, and twelve-pounders. “Poor and
contemptible” were just the words for describing the comparative merits
of the American warships. And in the matter of experience and training
the American crews were but little better than their ships and guns. As
will appear further on, there were to be fights between British ships
manned by experienced, thoroughly disciplined crews of full numbers
against Yankee ships that were manned for the greater part by _seasick
landsmen_, and short-handed at that.

The secret orders that had been given to Commodore Hopkins commanded
him to go in search of Lord Dunmore, who had been making so much
trouble along the shores of Chesapeake Bay as to cause Washington to
write that “if this man is not crushed before spring he will become
the most formidable enemy America has.” The ships were to gather at
Cape Henlopen, and sail thence for the Chesapeake. But the Delaware
River was full of ice, and it was not until February 17, 1776, that the
squadron finally passed out to sea. Then, on the night of the 19th,
while running along with a fresh breeze, the _Hornet_ and the _Fly_
became separated from the others, and did not again join the squadron.

It appears from the meagre record that Hopkins did not enter the
Chesapeake at all. Instead of that he sailed away to the Bahama
Islands, because he had learned that a large quantity of military
supplies were stored at New Providence, with only a few men to guard
them. He was determined to capture the supplies.

On reaching Abaco, Hopkins divided his forces by sending 300 men
under Capt. Samuel Nichols, in ten small sloops found at Abaco, to
capture New Providence. Hopkins supposed the force would surprise the
garrison, but the commander was found ready to repel an attack, and the
_Providence_ and the _Wasp_ had to be sent over to assist the men in
landing.

It was at this point that a branch of the American naval personnel,
of which too little notice has been taken by historians, first made a
record for gallantry. Captain Nichols was the first captain of marines
in the American naval service, the organization of the marine corps
having been ordered by the Congress on November 10, 1775.

Under cover of the guns of the _Providence_ and the _Wasp_, Captain
Nichols and his marines landed on the beach, and then “behaved with
a spirit and steadiness that have distinguished the corps from that
hour down to the present moment.” They carried the forts by assault.
“A hundred cannon and a large quantity of stores fell into the hands
of the Americans,” but because the Governor had been apprised of the
coming of the Americans, he succeeded in sending away in a small
coaster 150 barrels of powder.

It is worth noting that Commodore Hopkins not only loaded his vessels
with these stores, but that the stores made a heavy cargo for them, and
they were deep in the water when they turned toward home. It should
be further noted that the Governor of the island “and several of the
more prominent inhabitants” were carried away for use as hostages to
compel the British authorities to modify the harsh treatment American
prisoners were receiving.

[Illustration: Commodore Esek Hopkins.

_From a very rare English engraving._]

New Providence was taken in the middle of March, 1776. Elated by the
success of his expedition, Commodore Hopkins set sail for the north on
the 17th of that month. How much more elated he and his crews would
have felt could they have known that at four o’clock on that morning
the British were hurriedly, and in great confusion, leaving Boston
through fear of an assault by the troops of Washington, may be easily
imagined.

Two weeks later the American fleet had arrived off the east end of Long
Island, where, on April 4th, the tender _Hawke_, of six guns, and the
bomb-brig _Bolton_, of twelve guns, were captured. And then followed
a conflict that well-nigh ruined the reputation of the first American
fleet commander. It began soon after midnight on the morning of April
6th.

With a gentle breeze, the fleet, well scattered out--too well, in
fact--was washing along over the smooth sea between Block Island and
the Rhode Island shore. Only those who have floated and dreamed in the
soft light of a warm night on these waters can fully appreciate the
influences of sea and air over a sailor on such an occasion, but it
was, last of all, a night for thoughts of bloodshed. Suddenly a large
strange ship appeared in the midst of the fleet. From the way the
narrative reads one is forced to the conclusion that the lookouts were
all at least half asleep. The stranger was heading for the flagship
_Alfred_, but before she could close in, the crew of the little brig
_Cabot_, Capt. John Burrows Hopkins, woke up, and, ranging alongside,
they hailed her.

For a reply the stranger fired a broadside, and so began the first
naval battle of the first American squadron.

The brave captain of the _Cabot_ returned the fire, in spite of the
great superiority of the stranger, and still bravely stood to his duty,
even after a second broadside from the stranger had partly disabled his
brig, killed a number of his crew, and wounded himself.

The _Alfred_, the flagship, soon came ranging up beside the stranger
and opened fire, whereat the stranger turned his attention to her; and
then came the _Providence_, Captain Hazard, who secured a position on
the lee quarter (they were all close hauled) of the enemy, where she
opened an effective fire.

By this time the _Cabot_ was drifting out of range, but the _Andrea
Doria_ came up to take her place. For an hour thereafter the stranger
maintained the unequal contest, while the fleet drifted along over the
smooth sea. At one time a shot from the stranger cut away the tiller
ropes of the Yankee flagship, leaving her to broach to where she could
not use her own guns. At that the stranger raked her fore and aft with
a number of broadsides. But when repairs had been made the _Alfred_
closed in once more, and then, at about two o’clock in the morning, the
stranger found it too hot, and, putting up his helm, he squared away
for Newport and safety.

Commodore Hopkins pursued the stranger until after daylight. The
course lay along the Rhode Island coast, and the people of the region,
awakened by the roar of the guns, came hurrying to the cliffs to look
away over the smooth water, where one ship, badly cut up aloft, was
still able to keep ahead of the fleet that followed, and fired at
frequent intervals upon the pursued.

But the ships of the American fleet were cargo-carriers deeply loaded
with the spoils of New Providence, and the stranger was a man-o’-war
well formed and fitted for the sea. So the chase ended when it was
found that the stranger steadily gained, and the distance from Newport
was growing so short as to warrant the belief that the cannonading
would call out the British fleet then lying there. So the Yankee fleet
“hauled its wind,” captured a small tender that had been in company
with the stranger, and then made port at New London.

[Illustration: An English “Seventy-Four” and a Frigate Coming to Anchor.

_From an old engraving._]

When there Commodore Hopkins learned that the stranger he had
encountered was the British sloop-of-war _Glasgow_, Capt. Tyringham
Howe, a full-rigged ship (three masts), carrying twenty guns, and a
crew of 150, all told. She had lost one man killed and three wounded,
while the American loss had been in all twenty-four killed and wounded,
of whom the little brig _Cabot_ lost four killed and seven wounded.

Nothing more is needed to show the superiority of the British naval
crews over the American, at this time, than the above statement of
casualties. How that superiority was overcome at the last will appear
later on; but if all British warships in the contests that followed
this one had been handled as Captain Howe handled the _Glasgow_ the
story of the American navy would not have appealed to patriotic
American pride as it now does.

As for the effect of this fight upon the American people it should be
said they were at first elated because it was told that the American
fleet had driven off an enemy of superior strength. But when the real
facts became known their elation was turned to anger that was really
as little founded in reason as their joy had been. Commodore Hopkins
and his men had shown unquestioned bravery. Considering their lack of
knowledge and experience, they had done well enough. They had captured
and brought into port military supplies that were badly needed and
could be obtained only by capture from the enemy. Unfortunately, the
Americans overlooked this, and thought only of the escape of the
valiant _Glasgow_.

The career of the first American squadron, as a squadron, practically
came to an end when it arrived at New London, although it did
afterwards sail thence as a squadron around to Narragansett Bay after
the British left Newport. What remains to be told of the career of
Commodore Hopkins will occupy brief space. In the month of June the
Congress investigated his case. His good friend John Adams defended
him successfully. It was decided that he had exceeded his orders in
going east of Long Island, for he had been directed to “annoy the
enemy’s ships upon the coast of the Southern States,” but he was merely
relieved of his command temporarily. On October 16th his case was
considered once more, and a vote of censure was carried. On October
19th he was directed to take “command of the fleet formerly put under
his care,” but he was very dilatory in getting ready for sea, and so
he was once more summoned before Congress. This summons he refused to
obey, and on January 2, 1777, he was dismissed from the service.

According to Lieut. F. S. Bassett, U. S. N., Hopkins, after the war
of the Revolution, “resided near Providence, R. I., and was several
times a member of the General Assembly for that State, and died there
on February 26, 1802, aged eighty-four years. He was, when made
commander-in-chief, fifty-seven years old, and, Bancroft says, old and
incompetent. His portraits show him to be a man of vigor, and he was
influential in the political affairs of his own State. His bravery was
never called into question, but he was doubtless not a good seaman, and
was incompetent to command the navy.”

His title of commander-in-chief was intended to rank him with
Washington, the commander-in-chief of the army. The title was never
again conferred on an American naval man.




CHAPTER III

ALONG SHORE IN 1776

  BRILLIANT DEEDS BY THE FIRST HEROES OF THE AMERICAN NAVY--WHY
    NICHOLAS BIDDLE ENTERED PORT WITH BUT FIVE OF THE ORIGINAL CREW
    OF THE _ANDREA DORIA_--RICHARD DALE ON THE SLEEK _LEXINGTON_--THE
    _RACEHORSE_ CAPTURED IN AN EVEN FIGHT--CAPTAIN LAMBERT WICKES IN
    THE _REPRISAL_ BEATS OFF A LARGER VESSEL--JOHN PAUL JONES IN HIS
    EARLIER COMMANDS--A SMART RACE WITH THE FRIGATE _SOLEBAY_--SIXTEEN
    PRIZES IN FORTY-SEVEN DAYS IN CAPE BRETON REGION--POKING FUN AT
    THE FRIGATE _MILFORD_--THE VALUABLE _MELLISH_--AN ABLE FIGHTER WHO
    LACKED POLITICAL INFLUENCE.


A more cheerful story of the feats of Yankee sailormen is found on
turning to the record made by individual vessels during the period
when Commodore Hopkins was at the head of the navy list. For instance,
there was the brig _Lexington_ (of significant name), under the command
of Capt. John Barry, who had brought the _Alfred_, when she was the
merchant ship _Black Prince_, into Philadelphia and sold her to the
Congress. While Commodore Hopkins was in New London explaining how the
British ship _Glasgow_ had escaped, Captain Barry was cruising off the
Virginia capes; and on April 17, 1776, fell in with a tender called
the _Edward_, armed with six or eight guns and carrying a crew of
thirty-five men under command of Lieutenant Boucher. The lack of skill
of the Americans at this time and the bravery of the English are both
conclusively shown by the fact that the _Edward_ held out for an hour,
although the _Lexington_ carried sixteen guns and twice as many men as
the tender.

May 10, 1776, should be a memorable one in the history of the navy, for
on that day John Paul Jones first received an independent command. He
was placed in charge of the _Providence_ and sent to carry troops to
New York. What he subsequently accomplished with his little twelve-gun
brig will be told further on.

On May 16th the _Andrea Doria_, Capt. Nicholas Biddle, was ordered to
sea. For four months she cruised between the capes of the Delaware and
the coast of Maine, and during that time she captured ten prizes, all
but one of which reached port safely. Two of these transports had 400
British troops on board. The British frigate _Cerebus_ recaptured one
of these transports, and the prisoners managed to retake the other, but
they were again captured and taken in. When Captain Biddle at last
brought his little brig into port he had but five of his original crew
on board. The others had all been sent away in prizes and their places
supplied by volunteers from the vessels captured.

[Illustration: _John Barry_

_From an engraving of the portrait by Chappel._]

As will appear further on, Nicholas Biddle was one of the most heroic
men known to the American naval register. He was one who knew his duty,
and no odds of force against him deterred him in doing it.

The next of the squadron to get to sea was the brig _Cabot_, of
fourteen guns. She sailed under Capt. Elisha Hinman the latter part of
May, and was gone until October 5th. She sent in seven prizes during
this time.

Even the crank old _Columbus_ made a successful cruise. Under the
command of Capt. Abraham Whipple, whose paving-stones had captured the
_Gaspé_, she took four prizes while at sea between May and August.

Meantime the schooner _Wasp_, under Capt. Charles Alexander, took the
British bark _Betsey_ on May 9th, while in October, under Lieutenant
Baldwin, she captured three more prizes.

[Illustration: Facsimile of Account between Dudley Saltonstall and
Elisha Hinman.

_From the original at the Lenox Library._]

A notable event of the year was the adventure of the _Lexington_ under
Capt. William Hallock. She was returning from the West Indies loaded
with powder and other military stores, when she was captured by the
British frigate _Pearl_. There was such a high sea running at the
time that the captain of the _Pearl_ decided, after taking four or five
men out of the _Lexington_, not to transfer the rest of her crew to his
own ship. So he placed her in charge of a prize crew, with orders to
follow the _Pearl_.

As night came on, the gale increased and the sea became more
boisterous. The prize officers, thinking no danger was to be
apprehended from the prisoners under such circumstances, slacked up in
their vigilance, and eventually both the prize captain and the officer
of the deck went below for a comforting toddy. At that the watchful
Yankees knocked the British sailor from the tiller and the guards to
the deck, secured the companionway against the exit of the officers,
and, putting up the helm, headed away for Baltimore, where they arrived
safely.

A leading spirit in this recapture was Master’s Mate Richard Dale, who
afterwards, as the executive officer of the _Bonhomme Richard_, under
John Paul Jones, won lasting honor.

Another stirring event of this year was the fight between the Yankee
brig _Andrea Doria_ and the British brig _Racehorse_. It was the
more stirring for the reason that the _Racehorse_ had been sent out
expressly to capture the Yankee, and it was a fair and even match,
ship for ship.

The _Andrea Doria_ was under command of Capt. Isaiah Robinson. Captain
Robinson, in the sloop _Sachem_, had, on July 6th, two days after the
colonies had declared their independence of Great Britain, captured a
British vessel of six guns and brought her into port. For his success
in this he was transferred to the brig _Andrea Doria_, and sent to the
Dutch port of St. Eustatius to get arms and ammunition for the American
army. It is worth mentioning, perhaps, that he received a salute from
the governor of the port (the first salute the flag ever received from
a foreign power), although the governor was afterward removed from
office at the request of the British, for firing it. Having taken in
his cargo, Captain Robinson steered for home, but off the western end
of Porto Rico fell in with the _Racehorse_, and during the next two
hours the sun-lit tropical seas were the scene of what was probably the
first even sea contest of the Revolution. It ended in the surrender of
the _Racehorse_ after her captain, Lieutenant Jones, had been mortally
wounded. The _Andrea Doria_ lost four killed and eight wounded. The
loss on the _Racehorse_ was “considerably greater.”

Captain Robinson brought both vessels safely into the Delaware, but
there the career of the little _Andrea Doria_ came to an end, for,
before she could get to sea again, she had to be burned to prevent her
falling into the hands of the enemy, who captured Philadelphia about
that time.

[Illustration: St. Pierre, Martinique.

_From an old engraving._]

Another West India fight was still more to the glory of the young
American navy, even though the enemy was not captured. The American
brig _Reprisal_ sailed for Martinique early in the summer of 1776,
and on the way captured and sent home a number of prizes. But when
just outside of the port to which she was bound she fell in with the
British sloop-of-war _Shark_, of sixteen guns. Not only was the _Shark_
the larger vessel; the _Reprisal_, because of the number of prizes
sent home, was short-handed. Nevertheless, when the _Shark_ ranged up
alongside of the Yankee and opened fire the Yankee fought back. The
firing of the great guns brought the people of the port by hundreds
to the heights overlooking the sea. And it was a spectacle well worth
their coming, too, for the vigor of the Yankee defence compelled the
_Shark_ to haul off for repairs.

The _Reprisal_, during this cruise, was commanded by Capt. Lambert
Wickes. As will appear further on, it was he who first flaunted the
American flag in British waters and took British ships within sight of
the British coasts.

The _Shark_ afterward came into port and demanded of the authorities
that the _Reprisal_ be surrendered as a pirate. Of course the
authorities (they were Frenchmen) refused.

How valuable all the prizes that have been mentioned were to the
struggling colonists cannot be told here, but the reader will remember
that at this time the American forces were wholly dependent on foreign
sources for both powder and great guns. The Congress had, indeed, taken
steps to manufacture muskets of “three-quarters of an inch bore, and of
good substance at the breech, the barrel to be three feet eight inches
long, the bayonet to be 18 inches in the blade.” But there was no
factory for making these weapons, and the individual gunsmiths employed
could do very little toward supplying an army. There was, in short,
no sort of military supplies that was not lacking among the American
forces and no sort that these captures of the Yankee naval vessels did
not to a greater or less extent supply.

And what was of equal importance to the American success was the
injury done to the enemy. During the year 1776 the Yankees captured
342 vessels, all told, “of which forty-two were recaptured, eighteen
released, and five burned.”

But the story of the fortunes of the navy during the first year of its
existence is not yet completed. The early adventures of John Paul Jones
are yet to be told.

It is to the credit of Commodore Hopkins that at the end of the cruise
of his fleet he appreciated and admired the first lieutenant of the
service. As already told, he ordered Lieutenant Jones to the command
of the twelve-gun brig _Providence_ on May 10, 1776. Having no blank
commissions, Commodore Hopkins wrote the new commission on the back of
the old one that Jones had received as a lieutenant from the Congress.

For a time the _Providence_ was used for carrying troops and convoying
merchantmen along shore, and so successful was her new captain in
eluding the vigilant cruisers of the enemy that he attracted the notice
of Congress, and was promoted to the rank of captain, of which act he
received notice on August 8, 1776.

With the notice that he had been promoted came orders to cruise for
prizes “between Boston and the Delaware.” Captain Jones was now
fighting, not for the commercial privileges of oppressed colonists,
but for a new nation struggling for recognition. There is no doubt
that since July 4, 1776, he had performed his duty with a better heart
than before that date, because there was greater honor in helping to
establish a nation than in seeking justice for a colony, and with
men of his class honor is all of life. In his eager search for the
enemy after his promotion, Captain Jones stretched the territory that
had been assigned to him so that he reached the neighborhood of the
Bermudas.

Here on September 1, 1776, the lookout discovered a fleet of five ships
well to windward. Jones believed that they were merchantmen, and began
beating up to the largest of the fleet, but on getting closer she was
found to be a frigate--the _Solebay_, of twenty-eight guns. At that
Jones put his brig on the other tack, and for nearly four hours kept
beyond range, though the frigate steadily gained upon him, and was at
the last within less than a hundred yards, and a little on the brig’s
lee quarter. The frigate had meantime been firing at intervals with her
bow guns, though without effect.

But now the time had come when she could yaw around, and with a
single broadside cut the little brig to pieces. Any man would have
been justified in surrendering at once to save life, and only a man
of extraordinary bravery and resources would have thought of doing
otherwise. But Jones was the man for the occasion.

Fortunately, the weather was precisely to his liking--the sea was
level, and yet there was a fresh breeze to fill the sails rap-full.

Easing his vessel away from the wind a little to give her more headway
and bring her more directly under the bows of the frigate, where
she would be in less danger of a broadside, Captain Jones, in a low
voice, passed the word to stand by to square away before the wind
and set studdingsails high and low on both sides. Very quickly, but
without attracting attention, the crew led out the weather-braces and
the spanker-brails, and placed the coils of the lee-braces ready for
veering away. The studdingsails in stops were brought to the rails, and
halliards and sheets made fast. This done, a man with a lighted match
was placed at each of the cannon on the lee side, while a quartermaster
bent the grand union flag to the signal halliards.

[Illustration: John Paul Jones.

_From an engraving by Longacre of the portrait by C. W. Peale._]

The critical moment of the day was come, and with thrilling nerves the
crew leaped to obey the orders that followed in swift succession. The
helm was put hard up, and as the spanker was brailed in to the mast,
the quartermaster hoisted the colonies’ flag to the truck. The little
brig turned like a yacht square down across the frigate’s bows, and the
men at the guns fired what was at once a salute to their flag and a
raking blast to the frigate. And then, out of the white cloud of smoke
rolling away over her rails, rose the filmy studding-sails to catch the
helpful gale.

So sure had the crew of the _Solebay_ been of their prize that the
sudden dash and attack from the brig threw them into a confusion from
which they did not recover until the _Providence_ was beyond the reach
of the grapeshot with which most of their guns were loaded. Moreover,
the _Providence_ now had the heels of it, and drew steadily away. The
_Solebay_ fired over 100 round shot, all told, but not one took effect.

Captain Jones now headed his brig off to the coast of Nova Scotia,
where he hove to, one day, to give his men a change in diet by
catching codfish. While engaged in this very pleasant occupation the
British frigate _Milford_ came down on him, and the _Providence_ again
had to run. But Jones soon found that he could easily outsail the
_Milford_, so to play with the enemy he shortened sail and allowed her
to gain. Like a fat hound on the trail, she began to bark--to fire when
a long way off, and with no more damage to the _Providence_ than a
dog’s bark would have been.

“He excited my contempt so much by his continual firing at more than
twice the proper distance that when he rounded to to give a broadside,
I ordered my marine officer to return the salute with only a single
musket,” said Captain Jones in his report of the affair to the marine
committee of the Congress.

The next day Captain Jones sailed into Canso Harbor. It should be
kept in mind at this point that the Congress had, on March 23,
1776, resolved “that the inhabitants of these colonies be permitted
to fit out armed vessels to cruise on the enemies of these United
Colonies”--the restriction that made prizes of the enemy’s men-of-war
and transports only was entirely removed. The Congress had been driven
to this step, of course, by the many outrages committed on the colonial
coast by the British cruisers. Acting under this authority, and
remembering these outrages, Captain Jones found in Canso three English
schooners. He burned one, sunk another, and loaded a third with the
cargoes of the other two.

Next day he took small boats well armed and his flagship, and
went after nine dismantled British vessels--ships, brigs, and
schooners--lying at Madame Island, on the east side of the Bay of
Canso. Finding the crews of these vessels on shore, Captain Jones
promised to leave them enough of their fleet to take them home if
they would help him fit the rest for sea. They agreed to this, and on
September 26, 1776, Captain Jones got away with three large and deeply
laden prizes. The ship _Adventure_ he burned in the harbor.

After a cruise of forty-seven days, all told, he was again in Newport
Harbor, having meantime captured sixteen prizes, besides destroying
“many small vessels” and giving the people of Nova Scotia and Cape
Breton a taste of the fear that had been felt on the Yankee coast. But
he did not destroy the homes of those people as the homes of Portland,
Maine, had been destroyed.

Meantime Captain Jones had learned, while on the Cape Breton coast,
that a hundred American prisoners were kept at work as convicts in
the coal mines there, and on reaching his home port he proposed an
expedition to liberate the prisoners and capture the coal fleet which
was appointed to sail from Cape Breton to New York (then in the hands
of the British). Commodore Hopkins, who was still at the head of the
navy, approved the plan, and put Captain Jones in command of the
flagship _Alfred_, and ordered the _Providence_, Capt. Hoysted Hacker,
to go with him.

On November 2, 1776, these two vessels got under way, and on the
night of the 3d passed safely through the British squadron off Block
Island. The cruise was without incident until off the east coast of
Cape Breton, where, on November 13th, they fell in with, and after a
brisk action captured, two British vessels, of which one was the brig
_Mellish_, of ten guns and carrying 150 men. On boarding her she was
found to be loaded down with supplies for Sir Guy Carleton, who had,
during the summer and early fall, been moving heaven and earth to build
a fleet on Lake Champlain to sweep away the little American squadron
there and so open the trail that led to Albany, the head of navigation
on the Hudson. Sir Guy had already been driven back by the surpassing
bravery and ability of Benedict Arnold, as will be told further on, and
because of this defeat (it was practically a defeat) he was still more
in need of the supplies than he would have been if successful in his
plans.

Among other goods of the greatest value, the cargo of the _Mellish_
included 10,000 complete uniforms.

On the same day a large fishing vessel was captured, from which
sufficient provisions were taken to replenish the American stores, that
were already growing scanty.

The next day, during a violent northwest gale, the _Providence_ was
separated from the flagship, and she sailed away for Newport; but
Captain Jones held fast to his original purpose.

Entering Canso once more, he burned an English transport and a
warehouse filled with oil and whalers’ supplies. Continuing his voyage
along the coast, he fell in with the coal fleet. It was under the
protection of a British frigate, but the air was “dull,” as the people
of that coast say--it was a foggy day, and Captain Jones captured three
of the largest of the fleet.

Two days later he fell in with a British privateer from Liverpool, out
for a cruise after merchant ships belonging to the Americans. His hope
of prize money was soon dispelled by the guns of Captain Jones, and his
ship was added to the Yankee fleet. As she was pretty well armed, she
was manned with Yankees under Lieutenant Saunders.

Finding now that the harbors adjacent to the coal mines were blocked
with ice; finding, moreover, that, with the addition of 150 prisoners
to the number of men on board, he was short of both food and water,
Captain Jones felt obliged to steer for home instead of trying to
rescue the Americans in the coal mines.

The little fleet kept well together until off the Georges Bank, when,
late in the afternoon, the British frigate _Milford_, that had chased
the _Providence_ in the last voyage, was discovered. Knowing the speed
of the _Milford_, Captain Jones at once laid his plan for escape. His
own ship, the _Alfred_, could outsail the frigate, but the prizes could
not. The frigate was sure to overtake them, though not until after
dark. So the captain of each of the prizes was instructed to hold fast
on the course on which they were then sailing all night, regardless of
any signals they might see from the flagship, and then, when day should
come, to make the best course possible to port.

When this order was fully understood Captain Jones waited calmly for
the early nightfall of the season. The _Milford_ was steadily gaining,
but the _Alfred_, with shortened sail, remained with the prizes as
if to protect them. But when night was fully come the _Alfred_, with
signals aloft for her prizes to follow, went off on the other tack,
and the _Milford_ promptly followed, while the prizes, except the
privateer under Lieutenant Saunders, kept on as before.

So, when daylight came, all of the prizes but the privateer were out
of sight. The privateer was, therefore, retaken. During the afternoon
a snowstorm came up. The _Milford_ was still in chase of the _Alfred_,
but the Yankee, “amid clouds and darkness and foaming surges, made her
escape.”

The _Alfred_ arrived safely in Boston on December 15, 1776, but she had
water and provisions for only two days left. When there her crew had
the satisfaction of learning that all the other prizes had arrived in
safety.

The importance of the _Mellish_ as a prize was far greater, of course,
than her mere money value, because of the uniforms she carried. These
were at once forwarded to Washington’s men at Trenton. So great,
indeed, had been the value of this transport, that Captain Jones had
determined to sink her if at any time he deemed her in great danger of
recapture by the enemy, because her loss would “distress the enemy more
than can be easily imagined.” The service which John Paul Jones had
rendered the colonies during the fall of 1776 was greater than that of
any other man who had been afloat.

Nevertheless, on reaching port, instead of finding rewards and
promotions awaiting him, “he was mortified by degradation and
injustice.” Commodore Hopkins, though about to be dismissed from the
service, was still commander-in-chief of the navy. Jealous of the
growing fame of John Paul Jones, he placed Captain Hinman in command of
the _Alfred_ and ordered Jones back to the little brig _Providence_.
Nor was that the worst of the trouble that Captain Jones had to face.
The politicians in Congress had kept the distribution of rank in their
own hands--they had, in fact, declared on April 17, 1776, that rank
should not be regulated by the date of original appointments, but at
the discretion of the Congress. So it was that the men in the navy
who had influence in Congress could get promotion regardless of the
quality of their services, while men without influence had to suffer.
While John Paul Jones was on the high seas gathering supplies for the
American army the Congress made out a new list of naval captains, and
Jones, who had been the first of the lieutenants after a list of five
captains, found himself the eighteenth in the new list of captains,
although none of those ahead of him had rendered more distinguished
services than he or showed greater ability as a commander, and but
three or four at most had done as well. And John Paul Jones always
wrote the word rank with a capital R.




CHAPTER IV

HE SAW “THE COUNTENANCE OF THE ENEMY”

  THE STORY OF ARNOLD’S EXTRAORDINARY FIGHT AGAINST OVERWHELMING ODDS
    ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN--A THOUSAND SAILORS, OF WHOM SEVEN-TENTHS WERE
    PICKED MEN, ARMED WITH THE HEAVIEST GUNS, WERE PITTED UNDER A
    COURAGEOUS LEADER AGAINST 700 YANKEES, CHIEFLY HAYMAKERS, POORLY
    ARMED AND WITH INSUFFICIENT AMMUNITION--SAVAGES WITH SCALPING
    KNIVES AIDED THE BRITISH--A DESPERATE STRUGGLE AT THE END--THE BEST
    ALL-AROUND FIGHTER UNDER WASHINGTON.


If the naval Lexington--the first battle of the Revolution afloat--was
fought on the bar at Providence, Rhode Island, the naval Bunker Hill,
a battle wherein glory and renown were gained in defeat, was fought on
Lake Champlain. Not only was the moral effect of this battle quite as
great in the courage it gave the Americans, and the pause for thought
it gave the enemy; it served to head off a victorious invading British
army bound for Albany and the subjugation of northern New York.

[Illustration: Burlington Bay on Lake Champlain.

_From an old engraving in the collection of Mr. W. C. Crane._]

The American troops had invaded Canada, some under Benedict Arnold
going through the Maine woods, and some under Montgomery going by way
of Lake Champlain. The two bodies had united under the walls of
Quebec, and there Montgomery had died and Arnold had bled in vain. The
terrors of the fierce Canadian winter and the distress of disease had
aided the British forces in driving the Americans back, until at last,
in the fall of 1776, Sir Guy Carleton, at the head of the British, was
lodged at St. John’s, at the north end of Lake Champlain, while Crown
Point was the advance post of the Americans.

It will be remembered that at this time the waves of this beautiful
lake lapped the unbroken wilderness, no matter what the direction of
the wind might be. St. John’s, Crown Point, and Ticonderoga were but
military posts, and there was not even a woodsy road for wagons on
either side of the lake north of Crown Point.

Sir Guy Carleton was confident in the belief that the revolted colonies
would soon be subjugated, and he was full of ambition to have a part
of the glory that would cover the British officers in their hour of
triumph. His plan was to pass Lakes Champlain and George with the ample
forces at his command, and then slash his way through the wilderness
to Albany. Once there, the king’s ships could come to meet him, the
American territory would be cut in two at the Hudson, and then the end
would come.

There was, indeed, when he arrived at the north end of Lake Champlain,
but one reason why he did not press on in this victorious career. He
could not pass over the lake for want of boats. The Americans, in their
retreat, had carried off or destroyed every boat on the lake.

[Illustration: Sir Guy Carleton.

_From an engraving by A. H. Ritchie._]

But Sir Guy Carleton was a man of energy as well as ambition. At his
request three ships were sent over from England in such shape that
they might be taken to pieces on reaching the outlet of Lake Champlain.
This done, the parts were transported over the wilderness road to St.
John’s, and there set up and launched in the lake. Meantime a British
naval officer had been busy in superintending the building of a fleet
of smaller vessels at St. John’s--a fleet on which not only the sailors
from the king’s ships at Montreal worked, but the soldiers of the army;
and even the farmers from the Canadian settlements were forced to turn
to. Carleton himself was ever present to force on the work.

Fortunately, the task he had set was a long as well as a hard one. With
all the men and means at his command, he could not get ready to sail
until well on into the month of October. But when he was ready his was
a fleet fit to terrify as well as astonish the farmers that, for the
most part, composed the American forces, then under command of General
Gates, at Ticonderoga and Crown Point. The _Inflexible_, that carried
the flag of the fleet, was a ship of 300 tons, and carried eighteen
twelve-pounders. There was one schooner called the _Maria_, with
fourteen guns, and another, the _Carleton_, of twelve guns. There was
a huge scow very appropriately call the _Thunderer_, for she was armed
with six twenty-four-pounders and twelve six-pounders, besides several
brass howitzers. There was a gondola of seven guns. There were twenty
gunboats with one carriage gun each, the guns varying in size from
nine to twenty-four-pounders. In all, the British flotilla included
twenty-five vessels, that were armed with eighty-nine first-class guns
of that day, and abundantly supplied with ammunition.

[Illustration: General Arnold.

Drawn from Life at Philadelphia by Du Simitier.]

To Benedict Arnold was given the task of preparing a flotilla to stop
the invasion of Sir Guy Carleton. Benedict Arnold was an army officer
and in command, under Gates, of militia who were, as said, for the most
part farmers. But Arnold was a man of infinite resource, energy, and
courage. Some shipwrights and sailmakers were brought from the American
coast, and with such materials as were at hand he set to work to build
a navy for the defence of the lake. He had, fortunately, seen service
at sea, and the task was not wholly beyond his experience.

When the month of October arrived Arnold was afloat with a fleet of
fifteen vessels--the twelve-gun schooner _Royal Savage_, the ten-gun
sloop _Enterprise_, the eight-gun schooner _Revenge_, the eight-gun
galley _Trumbull_, the eight-gun galley _Congress_, the eight-gun
galley _Washington_, the six-gun galley _Lee_, the five-gun gondola
_Spitfire_, the five-gun gondola _Connecticut_, the three-gun gondola
_New Haven_, the three-gun gondola _Providence_, the three-gun gondola
_Philadelphia_, the three-gun gondola _Jersey_, the three-gun gondola
_New York_, and the three-gun gondola _Boston_.

Two or three of the names of the vessels built for the impending strife
may be worth noting. The British named one of their medium-sized
vessels the _Loyal Convert_. Arnold named the largest of his the _Royal
Savage_. Carleton named another for himself, but Arnold, less vain,
went to the leaders of the American army and to the towns of the nation
for the names of his ships.

[Illustration: The _Royal Savage_.]

On the whole, the American fleet mounted eighty-eight guns to the
eighty-nine of the British fleet, but they were inferior in weight
of metal thrown, the largest being eighteen-pounders to the British
twenty-four-pounders, while they needed 811 men for a full complement,
but had only 700. And these were, from a man-o’-warman’s point of view,
“a miserable set; indeed, the men on board the fleet in general are not
equal to half their number of good men.” It was not that they lacked
good will or bravery; it was that they were landsmen and untrained in
the work before them.

On the other hand, Sir Guy Carleton’s fleet was manned by a thousand
men, among whom were “eight officers, nineteen petty officers and 670
picked seamen” from the British warships in the St. Lawrence, besides
the soldiers of the expedition. The quotation is from Schomberg’s
“History of the British Navy.” In addition to the regular crews, the
British fleet was supported by a host of Iroquois Indians.

Just south of the present site of Plattsburg lies Valcour Island. The
bay on the west side of which Plattsburg stands is enclosed by a long
cape called Cumberland Head.

At daybreak on the morning of Wednesday, October 11, 1776, Benedict
Arnold’s little fleet lay at anchor in a line across the north end of
the strait between Valcour Island and the mainland. It was a clear,
cold morning. A strong northerly wind was sweeping through this narrow
valley between the Green Mountains and the ever-beautiful Adirondacks.
It was just the kind of a day that Sir Guy Carleton wanted for his
passage over the lake, and, soon after sunrise, his fleet came snoring
along under full sail past Cumberland Head.

[Illustration: THE BATTLE OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN.]

Because Arnold’s little fleet lay well behind the forest on Valcour
Island, Sir Guy and his fleet drove past without discovering that any
one was there; but when they had opened out the view from the south
between Valcour Island and the mainland, they saw that they were
exposing their rear to the Americans. At this it was down helm and haul
their tacks and get out oars on the smaller vessels, but the wind was
so strong that it was not until after ten o’clock that the head of the
fleet, which included the schooner _Carleton_ and the gunboats, arrived
within the channel where the American fleet lay.

[Illustration: The Action of October 11, 1776.

A. Plan of action. B. _Congress_ galley and five gondolas.]

In the meantime Arnold had taken the gondola _Congress_ as his
flagship--no doubt because she was furnished with oars, and, as a
double-ender, could be easily handled--and with two other gondolas
and the schooner _Royal Savage_, went down wind to meet the enemy. He
reached them at eleven o’clock, and the battle opened with a broadside
from the British schooner _Carleton_.

[Illustration: Fight on Lake Champlain, 1776:

  A. American fleet. B. Gunboats. C. Schooner _Carleton_. D. Ship
  _Inflexible_. E. Anchorage of British fleet during the night. F.
  Radeau _Thunderer_. G. Gondola _Loyal Convert_. H. Schooner _Maria_,
  with Carleton on board.
]

In a brief time the whole of the British fleet of gunboats and gondolas
got into line, and Arnold was obliged to beat back to the support of
the remainder of his vessels. In making this retreat the schooner
_Royal Savage_ was disabled by the shot of the enemy, and before
repairs could be made she grounded hard and fast on Valcour Island.
There she was fired, and then abandoned by her crew, who escaped to the
woods on the island, where some of them met a worse fate than death in
the fleet, for Sir Guy Carleton had sent his Indians into the woods on
both sides of the narrow water where the action was held, and these, of
course, tortured as well as killed such prisoners as happened to fall
into their hands.

Giving little, if any, heed to the abandoned American schooner, the
British squadron pressed into the narrow sound. The _Inflexible_,
because she was a square-rigged vessel, could not be handled there, nor
could the formidable scow, but the swarms of gondolas and gunboats were
as easily managed as the American vessels.

By the time Arnold, with the _Congress_, had formed his line the
British were “within musket shot”--they were but forty or fifty yards
away, and were veering to and fro to bring, now this broadside and now
that to bear on the American squadron, while the Americans, meeting
turn with turn and manœuvre with manœuvre, fought back without yielding
a boat’s length. The cannon, huge for the day and place, belched flame
and smoke. The round shot bounded along the water to bury themselves
in the soft-wood hulls of the ships or cut away the oars with which
the hulls were managed, or flew wild to sink at last harmless. The
grapeshot drove through the air in death-dealing squalls. The roar of
the conflict filled the valley and was echoed back from the mountains.
The smoke clouds drifted into the evergreen forests on both shores of
the little sound. The breath of hell mingled with the fragrant odors of
balsams and spruce and hemlock. The forest spit flames and lead back
at the Americans. Cry answered to cry and the yell of defiance to the
war-whoop of the savage. Arnold himself, on the deck of the _Congress_,
led in the thickest of the fight, cheering to the men as they worked at
the guns, and at frequent intervals stooping over a gun to aim and fire
it with his own hands.

The region around the scene of that battle is in these days the health
resort of thousands in the summer season. We who see it now can hardly
realize that it was the chosen haunt of Death on that bleak October day
of 1776.

There is a paragraph in a report by Lieutenant Hadden, of the British
forces, that relates to one branch of the British forces, and is worth
quoting. He says:

“These savages under Major Carleton moved with the fleet in their
canoes which were very regularly ranged. On the day of the battle, the
rebels having no land force, the savages took post on the mainland and
on Valcour Island. Thus being upon both flanks they were able to
annoy them in the working of their guns. This had the effect of now
and then obliging the rebels to turn a gun that way, which danger the
savages avoided by getting behind trees.”

[Illustration: The Fight on Lake Champlain, October 13, 1776.

1. (On right) Ship _Inflexible_. 2. Schooner _Carleton_. 3. Schooner
_Maria_. 4. _Congress_ galley run ashore, with other vessels blowing
up. 5. _Washington_ galley striking. 6. Gunboat coming up.

_From an English engraving published December 22, 1776._]

And as for the result of the day’s work, the quaint words of Arnold
himself shall tell it:

“At half past 12 the engagement became general and very warm. Some
of the enemy’s ships and all their gondolas beat and rowed up within
musket shot of us. They continued a very hot fire with round and
grapeshot until 5 o’clock when they thought proper to retire to about
six or seven hundred yards distance, and continued the fire till dark.”

The fleet of the enemy, though manned by picked men--by men known not
only for their bravery, but for their skill in handling the guns--was
obliged to draw off to get beyond the range of the smaller guns on the
American fleet.

The _Congress_, Arnold’s flagship, was hulled by the British round shot
no less than twelve times during the afternoon, and seven of these
projectiles passed through her at the water-line. But the crew, farmers
though they were, plugged her up and fought on as before. General
Waterbury, who was on the _Washington_, fought her until he was the
only officer left on deck--her captain, lieutenant, and master having
all been killed. The _Washington_, like the _Congress_, was full of
holes when the fight ended. The _Philadelphia_, Captain Grant, sank
within an hour after firing ceased.

On the whole, the American loss for the day was reported at “about
sixty,” while that of the British was less than forty. Two of the
British gunboats were sunk and one was blown up.

The Americans had checked the enemy in his advance along the lake, and
had damaged him materially, but they had suffered more than he had,
and, what was worse, had used up nearly all their ammunition. “Being
sensible that with his inferior and crippled force all resistance would
be unavailing” on the morrow if they remained where they were, Arnold
determined to slip away to the shelter of the American post either at
Crown Point or at Ticonderoga.

The night came on dark and stormy and with a northerly gale driving
over the lake. So the fleet up anchor, and “one following a [shaded]
light on the stern of the other,” they slipped through the enemy’s
line that lay across the south end of the channel, with Arnold on the
_Congress_ bringing up the rear, because that was the post of danger,
and at daylight on the morning of Thursday, October 12th, they were
ten miles away and under the lee of Schuyler Island.

[Illustration: A View on Lake Champlain Showing the Fight of 1776.

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

At this point the fleet came to anchor and began to make such repairs
as were possible. Two gondolas were sunk because they were past remedy,
and when the patching of the rest had been carried far enough to enable
them to float without too much pumping, the fleet started on. Meantime,
however, the wind shifted to the south, and the progress, depending on
the oars, was necessarily slow.

But, although the wind retarded the American fleet, it had retarded
the British as much, if not more. The British had discovered that the
Americans were gone as soon as daylight came on Thursday morning, but
so slow was the progress of the square-rigged _Inflexible_ against the
head-wind that it was not until Friday that the British were able to
overtake the Americans.

The Americans were at this time just south of the narrow water at Split
Rock. Arnold, with the _Congress_ and the _Washington_ and four smaller
(three-gun) boats, was guarding the rear, and until noon there was an
anxious race to escape to the shelter of Crown Point--anxious because
the choice of the British fleet--the uninjured _Inflexible_, with the
schooners _Carleton_ and _Maria_--were in the van of the chase, and
Arnold’s rowboats were together no match for the least of these.

But at noon, while yet some leagues from Crown Point, the tired crews
of the flying boats had to drop their sweeps and take to the guns, for
the British ships were upon them. The wind had shifted to the north
once more, and the British vessels, of course, got it first.

No more desperate conflict is recorded in naval annals than that of
Arnold that day.

At the first broadside of the enemy the shattered _Washington_ was so
injured that surrender was unavoidable. Nevertheless Arnold ranged
up within musket-shot of the big _Inflexible_ and continued to fight
while the farmer crews of the four gondolas stood to their guns and
faced the storm of shot and grape from the twelve-gun and fourteen-gun
schooners--faced the storm unflinchingly until one-third of Arnold’s
crew had been killed, his boat reduced to a wreck, and resistance could
no longer damage the enemy.

But, though beaten, the indomitable Americans were not conquered. They
would never give up the ships. By Arnold’s order the small galleys
were run ashore in a creek near by and there fired, Arnold, in the
_Congress_, covering their retreat until their crews were safe on
shore, when he ran the _Congress_ ashore also, and then stood guard
while his crew fired her, “remaining on board of her until she was in
flames, lest the enemy should get possession and strike his flag, which
was kept flying to the last.”

When the _Congress_ was so well on fire that she could not be saved,
Arnold himself leaped overboard, waded ashore, formed his men in an
orderly line, and marched away over a woodsy trail. He escaped the
savages that were sent ashore seeking scalps, and safely reached Crown
Point.

The best all-around fighter under George Washington was Benedict
Arnold. As a leader in actual combat he was simply unequalled. Words
cannot now be found to adequately express the pity of it when it is
remembered that injustice and disappointment at the last drove him mad.

Although this fight on Lake Champlain was ordered on the American
side by an army officer, and the crews were chiefly landsmen, it was
unquestionably an exhibit of the early sea power of the United States,
for the ships were built at the national expense and the crews were in
the national service.

[Illustration:

_A Description of the Engagement on Lake_ CHAMPLAIN.

  Copy _of a_ LETTER _from General Sir_ GUY CARLETON _to Lord_
    GEORGE GERMAIN, _Principal Secretary of State for the_ American
    _Department_.

                                  _On board the Maria off Crown-Point,
                                           October 14, 1776._

My Lord,

The rebel fleet upon Lake Champlain has been entirely defeated in two
actions; the first on the 11th instant, between the island of Valcour
and the main; and the second on the 13th, within a few leagues of
Crown-Point.

We have taken Mr. Waterburg, the second in command, one of their
brigadier-generals, with two of their vessels, and ten others have been
burnt and destroyed; only three of fifteen sail, a list of which I
transmit, having escaped. For further particulars I refer your Lordship
to Lieutenant Dacres, who will be the bearer of this letter, and had
a share in both actions, particularly the first, where his gallant
behaviour in the Carleton schooner, which he commanded, distinguished
him so much as to merit great commendation: and I beg to recommend him
to your Lordship’s notice and favour: at the same time I cannot omit
taking notice to your Lordship of the good service done, in the first
action, by the spirited conduit of a number of officers and men of the
corps of artillery, who served the gun-boats, which, together with the
Carleton, sustained for many hours the whole fire of the enemy’s fleet,
the rest of our vessels not being able to work up near enough to join
effectually in the engagement.

The rebels, upon the news reaching them of the defeat of their
naval force, set fire to all the buildings and houses in and near
Crown-Point, and retired to Ticonderoga.

The season is so far advanced, that I cannot yet pretend to inform your
Lordship whether any thing farther can be done this year.

                               I am, &c.

                                                         GUY CARLETON.


_List of the Rebel Vessels on_ Lake Champlain, _before their Defeat_.

  _Schooners_
    Royal Savage, 8 six-pounders and 4 four-pounders--Went
        on shore, was set fire to, and blown up.
    Revenge, 4 six-pounders and 4 four-pounders--Escaped.

A sloop, 10 four-pounders----Escaped.

  _Row-Gallies_
    Congress, 2 eighteen-pounders in the bow, 2 twelve and
        2 two-pounders in stern, and 6 six-pounders in the sides--
        Blew up.
    Washington, same force----Taken.
    Trumble, ditto----Escaped.

  The Lee, a cutter, 1 nine-pounder in the bow, 1 twelve-pounder in
    the stern, and 4 six-pounders in sides----Run into a bay, and not
    known whether destroyed.

  _Gondolas_
    Boston, 1 eighteen-pounder in the bow, 2 twelve-pounders
        in sides----Sunk.
    Jersey, ditto----Taken.
    One, name unknown, same force----Run on shore.
    Five ditto, ditto----Blown up.


_Other Vessels not in the Action._

  A schooner, 8 four-pounders--Sent from their fleet for provisions.

  A galley, said to be of greater force than those mentioned
    above----Fitting out at Ticonderoga.

                                                                 G. C.
]

[Illustration:

                                                                [_Over_]


COPY _of a_ LETTER _from Captain_ DOUGLAS, _of the Isis_, _to Mr._
STEPHENS, _Secretary to the Admiralty._

                                         _Quebec, 21st October, 1776._

Having for the space of six weeks attended the naval equipment for the
important expedition on Lake Champlain, I on the 4th instant saw, with
unspeakable joy, the re-constructed ship, now called the Inflexible,
and commanded by Lieutenant Schank, her rebuilder, sail from St.
John’s, twenty-eight days after her keel was laid, towards the place of
rendezvous; taking in her 18 twelve-pounders beyond the shoal which is
on this side the Isle aux Noix, in her way up.

The prodigies of labour which have been effected since the rebels
were driven out of Canada, in creating, re-creating, and equipping a
fleet of above thirty fighting vessels of different sorts and sizes,
and all carrying cannon, since the beginning of July, together with
the transporting over land, and afterwards dragging up the two rapids
of St. Terese and St. John’s, thirty long-boats, the flat bottomed
boats, a gondola weighing about thirty tons, and above four hundred
batteaus, almost exceed belief. His Excellency the Commander in Chief
of the army, and all the other generals, are of the opinion, that the
sailors of his Majesty’s ships and transports have (far beyond the
usual limits of their duty) exerted themselves to the utmost on this
great and toilsome occasion; nor has a man of that profession uttered
a single word expressive of discontent, amidst all the hardships they
have undergone, so truly patriotic are the motives by which they are
actuated.--To crown the whole, above two hundred prime seamen of the
transports, impelled by a due sense of their country’s wrongs, did
most generously engage themselves to serve in our armed vessels during
the expedition, and embarked accordingly. Such having then been our
unremitting toils, I am happy beyond expression in hereby acquainting
my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, that the destruction of almost
the whole of the rebel fleet, in two several battles on the eleventh
and thirteenth instant, is our reward. I have recived a letter from
Captain Pringle, of the Lord Howe armed ship, who commands the officers
and seamen on the Lake, and who bestows the highest encomiums on their
behaviour in both engagements. The rebels did by no means believe
it possible for us to get upon Lake Champlain this year; were much
surprized at the first fight of the van of our force; but ran into
immediate and utter confusion the moment a three-masted ship made her
appearance, being a phenomenon, they never so much as dreamt of. Thus
have his Majesty’s faithful subjects here, (contrary to a crude but
prevailing idea) by straining every nerve in their country’s cause,
out-done them in working as much as in fighting. The ship Inflexible,
with the Maria and Carleton schooners, all reconstructions, did the
whole of the second day’s business, the flat-bottomed radeau called
the Thunderer, and the gondola called the Loyal Convert, with the
gun-boats, not having been able to keep up with them. The said gondola
was taken from the rebels the day the siege of Quebec was raised.--The
loss we have sustained, considering the great superiority of the
insurgents, is very small, consisting of between thirty and forty
men killed and wounded, seamen, soldiers, artillery-men, and all;
eight whereof were killed outright, and six wounded, on board of the
Carleton.--As to farther particulars, I must refer you to Lieutenant
Dacres, who, in justice due to his merit, for the part he bore in
destroying the rebel fleet, I am happy in sending upon this occasion
to their Lordships in the Stag transport, as also in thereby complying
with the General’s desire, who, for the same reason, is pleased to
honour him with the conveyance of his dispatches.

Printed for R. SAYER and J. BENNETT, Map, Chart, aj

_Facsimile of a copy of the original broadside at the Lenox Library._]

[Illustration:


_A List of his Majesty’s Naval Force on_ Lake Champlain.

  Ship Inflexible, Lieutenant Schank, 18 twelve-pounders.

  Schooner Maria, Lieutenant Starke, 14 six-pounders.

  Schooner Carleton, Lieutenant Dacres, 12 six-pounders.

  Radeau Thunderer, Lieutenant Scott; 6 twenty-four, 6 twelve-pounders;
    2 howitzers.

  Gondola Loyal Convert, Lieutenant Longcroft, 7 nine-pounders.

  Twenty gun-boats, each a brass field-piece, some twenty-fours to
    nines, some with howitzers.

  Four long-boats, with each a carriage-gun, serving as armed tenders.

  Twenty-four long-boats with provisions.


_A List of the Seamen detached from his Majesty’s Ships and Vessels in
the River St. Lawrence, to serve on Lake Champlain._

                                         _Seamen._
                    Isis                     100
                    Blonde                    70
                    Triton                    60
                    Garland                   30
                    Canceaux                  40
                    Magdalen                  18
                    Brunswick                 18
                    Gaspee                    18
                    Treasury arm’d Briggs     90
                    Fell                      30  } _Province armed
  _Lately wreck’d_  Charlotte                  9  } Vessels_
                    Voluntiers from no ship    9
                    Do. from the Transports  214
                                             ---
                                     _Total_ 670

           _Exclusive of 8 officers, and 19 petty officers._


COPY _of a_ LETTER _from Captain_ THOMAS PRINGLE.

                                 _On board the Maria, off Crown-Point,
                                      the 15th of October, 1776._

It is with the greatest pleasure that I embrace this opportunity of
congratulating their Lordships upon the victory compleated the 13th
of this month, by his Majesty’s fleet under my command, upon Lake
Champlain.

Upon the 11th I came up with the rebel fleet commanded by Benedict
Arnold: they were at anchor under the island of Valicour, and formed
a strong line extending from the island to the West side of the
continent. The wind was so unfavourable, that for a considerable time
nothing could be brought into action with them but the gun-boats; the
Carleton schooner, commanded by Mr. Dacres, (who brings their Lordships
this,) by much perseverance at last got to their assistance; but as
none of the other vessels of the fleet could then get up, I did not
think it by any means adviseable to continue so partial and unequal a
combat; consequently, with the approbation of his Excellency General
Carleton, who did

Print Seller, No. 53, FLEET-STREET. Price ONE SHILLING.]

[Illustration:

me the honor of being on board the Maria, I called off the Carleton
and gun-boats, and brought the whole fleet to anchor in a line as near
as possible to the rebels, that their retreat might be cut off; which
purpose was, however, frustrated by the extreme obscurity of the night;
and in the morning the rebels had got a considerable distance from us
up the Lake.

Upon the 13th I again saw eleven sail of their fleet making off to
Crown-Point, who, after a chace of seven hours, I came up with in the
Maria, having the Carleton and Inflexible a small distance a-stern;
the rest of the fleet almost out of sight. The action began at twelve
o’clock, and lasted two hours; at which time Arnold, in the Congress
galley, and five gondolas, ran on shore, and were directly abandoned
and blown up by the enemy; a circumstance they were greatly favoured
in, by the wind being off shore, and the narrowness of the Lake. The
Washington galley struck during the action, and the rest made their
escape to Ticonderoga.

The killed and wounded in his Majesty’s fleet, including the artillery
in the gun-boats, do not amount to forty; but, from every information I
have yet got, the loss of the enemy must indeed be very considerable.

Many particulars which their Lordships may wish to know, I must, at
present, take the liberty of referring you to Mr. Dacres for; but as I
am well convinced his modesty will not permit him to say how great a
share he had in this victory, give me leave to assure you, that during
both actions nothing could be more pointedly good than his conduct. I
must also do the justice the officers and seamen of this fleet merit,
by saying that every person under my command exerted themselves to act
up to the character of British seamen.


_A circumstantial and authentic Account of the_ ROADS _and_ DISTANCES
_from_ NEW-YORK, _to_ CROWN-POINT.

                                                  Miles.
  From New-York to King’s Bridge                    15
       King’s Bridge to Conklin’s                   22
       Conklin’s to Croton’s River                  12
       Croton’s River to Peekskill                  10
       Peekskill to Rogers in Highlands              9
       Rogers in Highlands to Fishskills            11
       Fishskills to Poughkeepsie                   14
       Poughkeepsie to Staatsborough                11
       Staatsborough to Rhynbeck                     6
       Rhynbeck to Ryer Shermerhorns                10
       Ryer Shermerhorns to Rininston’s Manor       14
       Rininston’s Manor to Claverack                7
       Claverack to Kenderhook                      14
       Kenderhook to Halfway-house                  10
       Halfway-house to Albany                      10
       Albany to Saratoga                           36
       Saratoga to Fort Edward                      20
       Fort Edward to Lake George                   14
       Lake George to Ticonderoga                   30
       Ticonderoga to Crown Point                   15
                                                   ---
                                    In all         290
]

Of the results of the fight a few words must be written, because
their value to the Americans was well-nigh inestimable under the
circumstances. The American fleet had fought to the last gasp. It was
well-nigh exterminated, but it had not suffered in vain. It taught
the British that the Americans were not only willing, but they were
able fighters. In spite of the tremendous odds against them, at the
last they had proved themselves as unyielding as the rocks that echoed
back the roar of the conflict. Their stubborn wills bade the ambitious
Carleton pause and consider. If, with a shattered hulk, they had kept
the three best British vessels on the lake at bay until the gondolas
were aground and on fire, and if they were then still able to make such
a murderous fight as enabled them to fire and burn the last ship with
its flag flying till burned away, what would they not do in resisting
the British were an attack made on Ticonderoga?

The thought was cooling to the ardor of even Carleton. Worse yet,
should he succeed in taking Ticonderoga, these unyielding Yankees
would contest every rod of the long wilderness route with a skill that
excelled that of Carleton’s best men. And that settled the question
that had arisen in Carleton’s mind--the question of the advisability of
continuing on his course. As a most excellent account of this fight,
which appeared in Dodsley’s (London) “Annual Register” says, “the
strength of the works, the difficulty of approach, the countenance
of the enemy, and the ignorance of their number, with other cogent
reason, prevented this design from taking place.”

Having looked upon “the countenance of the enemy,” Sir Guy Carleton
changed his mind. He decided to return to Canada. The most glorious
defeat in the annals of the American navy had saved the nation from an
invasion that would have severed it in twain, and probably whelmed its
forces in utter defeat.




CHAPTER V

UNDER THE CRAGS OF THE “TIGHT LITTLE ISLE”

  THE SAUCY YANKEE CRUISERS IN BRITISH WATERS--WHEN FRANKLIN SAILED
    FOR FRANCE--WICKES IN THE _REPRISAL_ ON THE IRISH COAST--NARROW
    ESCAPE FROM A LINER--A PLUCKY ENGLISH LIEUTENANT--HARSH FATE
    OF THE AMERICANS IN THE BRITISH PRISON--STARVED BY ACT OF
    PARLIAMENT--DEEDS OF THE GALLANT CONNYNGHAM--WELL-NAMED CRUISERS--A
    SURPRISE AT A BREAKFAST TABLE--TAKING PRIZES DAILY--WHY FORTY
    FRENCH SHIPS LOADED IN THE THAMES--INSURANCE RATES NEVER BEFORE
    KNOWN.


Signal as has been the value of the services of the little vessels of
the infant navy of the United States in their operations along the
American coast and upon the woodsy waters of the highway from the
north during the year of the nation’s birth, the American sailors had
really only just begun to fight, and it was not until they carried
the fight into the very harbors of Great Britain that they taught the
British merchants, who had been supporting the British ministry in its
oppression of the colonies, a lesson they were slow to learn. For the
British merchants had looked upon the war in America as a blessing
upon their business interests. It would be somewhat expensive in the
way of taxation, but it would ruin their competitors, the enterprising
colonists. It is in the spirit of trade and tradesmen of all classes
to view with complacency the little expenses that ruin competitors.
But some of the British merchants who rubbed their hands and smiled
with satisfaction as they heard of the retreat of Washington across
New Jersey in 1776, were to wring them in distress because of wounds
in their pockets before the end of 1777--because of ships that were
snatched away from under the very crags of what they were pleased to
term their “tight little isle.”

“In the meantime the irruption of the _Phœnix_ and the _Rose_ into
the waters of the Hudson had roused a belligerent spirit along its
borders.” These were the first British warships to sail up the Hudson
in the Revolutionary war, and their advent was in July, 1776. The
Americans had no ships to send against them, and they commonly remained
at anchor out of reach of shore batteries. It was because of their
presence that it was proposed to stretch an iron chain across the river
at Anthony’s Nose. Other obstructions were prepared, but the only thing
done in the way of going afloat to attack them was when some rafts were
brought down the river chained between a couple of old sloop hulls,
the whole of which were covered with dry fat, pine, tar, turpentine,
etc. These were fired and let drift with the tide, but as a substitute
for the modern torpedoes they were not successful.

The war was, indeed, carried across the stormy Atlantic in the autumn
of 1776, though only a small beginning was made that year. To Capt.
Lambert Wickes was given the honor of commanding the first American
naval ship to cross the Atlantic. Captain Wickes, while in command
of the sixteen-gun brig _Reprisal_, had, as already told, made such
a good fight when attacked by the British sloop-of-war _Shark_ off
Martinique that he beat her off and escaped. For this he was chosen to
carry Franklin, who had been appointed American commissioner to France,
across to Nantes.

Not only did Wickes carry his passenger safely into port; he captured
two prizes on the way and sent them into port also. And then, after
refitting in Nantes, he went on a cruise in the Bay of Biscay, where
he captured two more prizes, of which one was the king’s mail packet
plying between Falmouth and Lisbon, it being the custom in those days
for the British government to employ swift brigs of the navy on the
regular mail routes.

[Illustration: The _Phœnix_ and the _Rose_ Engaging the Fireships on
the Hudson River.

_From a lithograph of the painting by Serres after a sketch by Sir
James Wallace._]

France and England were at peace at that time, but by carrying the
prizes out to sea, after they had been successfully brought to port,
they were readily sold to French merchants, and the money was placed in
the hands of Franklin and the other American commissioner, Silas Deane.

What with the enthusiasm that arose when he saw two prizes taken under
his own eyes, and the satisfaction arising from having his scanty means
augmented by the price of the prizes, Franklin joined heartily with the
other commissioners in urging upon the Congress the advisability of
keeping a naval force on the European side of the water, with French
ports as a base of action. “We have not the least doubt but that two or
three of the Continental frigates sent into the German Ocean, with some
less swift-sailing cruisers, might intercept and seize a great part of
the Baltic and northern trade.” So wrote Franklin.

The Congress had been building some frigates, but instead of sending
one of them the brig _Lexington_, armed with sixteen long four-pounders
(a brig of which something was told in a former chapter), was sent
across, under command of Capt. Henry Johnson. Meantime the American
commissioners purchased a ten-gun cutter called the _Dolphin_,
which they placed under the command of Lieut. Samuel Nicholson, who
afterwards died at the head of the American navy.

The _Lexington_ arrived out in April, 1777. In June this fleet of
two small brigs and one “single-sticker” sailed out of Nantes, under
command of Captain Wickes, to prey upon British commerce.

It had been the boast of the British sailor, and it was still his
boast, that

                “Not a sail but by permission spreads.”

He sang his boast over his grog; but he was mistaken. Captain Wickes,
after a brief cruise in the Bay of Biscay, sailed north to intercept a
fleet loaded with linen on the Irish coast. He missed the linen ships,
but he sailed twice around Ireland, and captured fifteen prizes, which
were sent into port.

On coming back to the French coast the little fleet fell in with a
British ship of the line--a big three-decker--that at once gave chase.
The three Americans separated, and the Englishman followed the flagship
_Reprisal_.

That was a close call for the _Reprisal_. Her crew at the last felt so
hard pressed that they threw their guns overboard to lighten her, and
“sawed her bulwarks and even cut away some of her timbers; expedients
that were much in favor among the seamen of the day.” She arrived
safely at the last, but the sawing of her timbers was a mortal wound,
as will appear further on.

Not in years had the British commerce received such a blow, although
this was only a trifle to what followed. A storm was raised in France
by the British agents. The two countries were nominally at peace,
and the French king was not yet ready for war. So the _Reprisal_ and
the _Lexington_ were ordered to leave France, “while the prizes were
ordered to leave port.”

As to the prizes, they were taken out of port and sold as others had
been sold. The _Reprisal_ sailed for America, but in a storm off the
banks of Newfoundland she foundered, no doubt because her frames had
been weakened by the sawing when she was fleeing before the British
ship of the line. One man, the cook, was picked from the wreckage by a
passing vessel.

[Illustration: _Engraved by Ridley from a Miniature by Tho^s. Langdon._

IOHN BAZELY _ESQ^R._ _Vice Admiral._

of the Red Squadron]

The _Lexington_ was captured on September 20, 1777. She had refitted at
Morlaix, whither she had gone when chased by the line-of-battle ship.
When ordered to sail she had not a full supply of powder on board, but
was, nevertheless, forced to go. She sailed on September 18th, and when
two days outside of the port she fell in with the man-of-war cutter
_Alert_, commanded by Lieutenant Bazely, and Bazely was one of the
fighters of whom British seamen have a right to be proud. His cutter
was smaller than the _Lexington_, and she had but ten cannon to the
_Lexington’s_ sixteen. The wind was strong and the sea was rough for
such light vessels, but Bazely forced a fight, and for two hours and
a half held his own. At the end of that time, however, his rigging
had been so badly hurt that he had to stop fighting and make repairs.
Seeing this, the _Lexington_, having expended all but a trifle of her
ammunition, made sail for home, and she would have got away had any
one but the plucky Bazely commanded the _Alert_. Bazely made repairs,
overhauled the _Lexington_, and again opened fire. The _Lexington_ held
on her course for an hour without being able to reply, and in the hope
that the wind would carry away some of the cutter’s sails. But the
cutter was well found, and the _Lexington_ was carried into Plymouth.
Lieutenant Bazely lived to become an admiral, and there is no doubt he
earned his promotion.

The fate of the _Lexington’s_ crew, because like that of every American
cruiser of those days, shall be told somewhat in detail. They were
thrown into jail without trial on a charge of high treason, and there
they were deliberately starved. On one occasion they were glad to
kill and eat a dog that strayed into their yard. The conduct of the
prison officials in their bearing toward the prisoners was insufferably
brutal.

Because the assertion that the prisoners were deliberately starved
may seem to some readers an exaggeration, the proof of the statement
shall be given from an English source. It may be found on page 152 of
the “Annual Register for the Year 1781,” published by G. Robinson,
Paternoster Row, London. In reporting the proceedings of Parliament for
June 20th of that year it says:

“A petition was presented to the house by Mr. Fox from the American
prisoners in Mill Prison, Plymouth, setting forth that they were
treated with less humanity than the French and Spaniards; that they had
not a sufficient allowance of bread, and were very scantily furnished
with clothing. A similar petition was presented to the house of peers
by the Duke of Richmond. It appeared upon inquiry that the American
prisoners were allowed half a pound of bread less per day than French
or Spanish prisoners. Several motions were grounded on these petitions,
but those proposed by the lords and gentlemen of the opposition were
determined in the negative, and others to exculpate the government in
this business were resolved in the affirmative.”

Neither the French nor the Spanish were fully fed, but by the
deliberate vote of Parliament the Americans received half a pound of
bread less per man each day than did the French and Spanish.

At one time prisoners escaped by tunnelling under the prison walls, and
in London got on board a vessel bound for Dunkirk. But a press-gang
found them and dragged them back to the jail. Among their number was
Master’s Mate Richard Dale. A year after he was recaptured he procured
a British uniform. How he got it he would never tell, not even when the
war was over, and it is therefore not unlikely that a woman brought it
to him. With that on, he walked out of the jail in open day and escaped.

Meantime another American cruiser had been at work on the British
coasts with notable results. The American commissioners in France had
purchased a fast cutter, which they equipped as a man-of-war. They
named her the _Surprise_, and that proved to be a very appropriate
name. Capt. Gustavus Connyngham was placed in charge of her, his
commission being one of the blank ones which had been given to the
commissioners to fill out at their own discretion. It was dated March
1, 1777, and Captain Connyngham got away to sea on May 1st, but he
had a deal of trouble before he found himself fairly afloat. To avoid
complications with the French government he was obliged to send
ashore all his cannon and warlike supplies and load his vessel with
merchandise for Norway. In this way he left port. Then, when well
outside, he met by appointment a vessel that had his equipment and
crew, and effected a transfer. But the government had suspected that
he was going to do this, and had compelled him to give bonds not to do
it. Two men were hired to sign the bond, but one of them found he had
made a bad bargain, even though he had signed it with his eyes open,
for when the first prize made by the _Surprise_ came in he was haled
away to the Bastile, while the prize, in which he was to have a share,
no doubt, was given up to the English without legal process. The names
of the bondsmen are recorded simply as “Allen and Hodge.” Hodge was the
chief unfortunate, but he was released after six weeks.

The prize was the ship _Joseph_. She was captured the third day out.
Four days later (May 7th), while cruising off the coast of Holland, the
_Surprise_ fell in with the British packet brig _Prince of Orange_,
carrying the mail to the north of Europe, and having a number of
passengers on board.

It is likely that no ship’s company were ever more completely surprised
than were the people on the _Prince of Orange_. It was early in the
forenoon when the _Surprise_ came alongside and carried the packet
by boarding. Not a gun was fired, and so little noise was made that
not a soul below decks knew that anything out of the usual course was
occurring until the Yankee captain coolly walked down the companionway
and found the captain of the _Prince of Orange_ and his passengers
eating breakfast very comfortably.

Because of the mails on board this packet Captain Connyngham decided to
carry his prize into port at once.

It will be remembered that the capture of this mail packet happened
but a few weeks after the capture of the Lisbon packet. So, as may be
supposed, the arrival of the _Surprise_, with the _Prince of Orange_
as a prize, created a tremendous excitement among the English. The
British ambassador at Paris demanded that Connyngham and his crew be
surrendered for trial as pirates, and threatened to leave the country
if the demand was not complied with. As the French government was not
yet ready for war, and the firm attitude of the English compelled
seeming compliance with the demand, Connyngham was arrested and his
commission taken away from him. The British ambassador sent for
two sloops-of-war to come over and convoy the _Surprise_ and the
_Prince of Orange_ across to England. For a time it looked as if the
audacious Americans would really be hanged as pirates by the infuriated
Englishmen.

But in those days much time was required for completing matters of
diplomacy, and the American commissioners, with their agents, were
working day and night not only to save Captain Connyngham, but to send
him once more on a cruise against the enemy. Another swift cutter was
procured and secretly armed with fourteen six-pounders and twenty
swivels, while a crew of 106 men was shipped. The new man-of-war was
very properly named the _Revenge_, and before the sloops-of-war had
arrived from England Captain Connyngham had, “with some address and
intrigue,” been released from prison and supplied with a new commission
and sent away to sea.

It was on July 18, 1777, that the _Revenge_ left port, and she was the
fifth ship of the American navy to cruise in England’s home waters.
If the _Surprise_ had astonished the British seafaring folks, the
_Revenge_ astounded them. And it must not be forgotten that the little
fleet of three vessels under Captain Wickes had already gone to sea on
the same errand.

It is recorded that the _Revenge_ “proved a remarkably successful
vessel, taking prizes daily,” which were, for the most part, sent
to Spanish ports and sold. The means so obtained were of the utmost
value to the American commissioners already in Europe and to those
who came after, while the damage inflicted on the British marine was,
as already intimated, something to make the British merchant wonder
whether, after all, his investments for the ruin of American rivals
were likely to prove profitable. Nor was the injury felt alone by those
British merchants whose ships happened to be captured. The insurance
rates on all British ships rose at one period to twenty-five per cent.,
and ten per cent. was demanded for the simple voyage from Dover to
Calais. Worse yet, the fear of the Yankee cruisers became so great that
shipments in British vessels were so far abandoned that “_forty sail of
French ships_ were loading in the Thames on freight; an instance never
before known.” An escort was asked for and received for British ships
in the trade with Ireland, “something that had never been known even in
the wars with France.”

But the best of the story of Captain Connyngham’s cruise remains to
be told. Having been considerably injured by a gale, the captain felt
obliged to go into port for repairs. To return to a French port was
extremely dangerous because the whole French coast was closely watched
and because even were he found safely in port he would be very likely
delivered over to the English, so he sought safety in audacity and
found it. Disguising his cutter as best he might with the paint and
materials in store, he entered an English port (the name of which
is not recorded), thoroughly refitted, and sailed away unsuspected.
Some time later he entered an Irish port and got a full supply of
provisions, paying for them with drafts on his agent in Spain. Later
still he refitted at Ferrol, and then sailed for America.

It is not uncommon for people to speak in these days of such deeds as
Captain Connyngham’s as if they were something of the past that might
never be repeated. They do not realize that every class graduated
from the Naval Academy at Annapolis contains men of equal bravery and
resources--men needing only the opportunity to show their metal.

It must be noted here that the British ministry chose to make a
distinction between the two ships fitted out wholly in the French
ports (the _Surprise_ and the _Revenge_) and those that had come over
from America; they made a distinction in spite of the fact that these
two were fitted out by the American commissioners of the American
government that had maintained itself for a year. The _Surprise_ and
the _Revenge_ were denounced as pirates, and Connyngham as a pirate
commander.

Unfortunately for Connyngham, he was captured in a privateer early
the following year after his cruise on the English coast. What
treatment he then received cannot be given in detail here, but if the
British authorities were willing to starve the prisoners from the
_Lexington_, which was then conceded to be a lawful ship of war, one
may rest assured that it would have been kinder to Connyngham to hang
him out of hand. He would, indeed, have been hanged but for the fear
of retributive justice being meted out to prisoners in the hands of
the Americans. So, to put it bluntly, they tortured whom they dared
not kill, until the Congress, on July 17, 1778, passed a resolution
formally demanding the reason why he was “treated in a manner contrary
to all the dictates of humanity and the practice of civilized nations.”
And yet, in spite of the pitiful sufferings of Connyngham and the other
American seamen in British prisons, it was not until July 15, 1779,
that Congress resolved to “cause the crews of vessels captured from the
enemy to be confined on board prison ships and supplied and treated,
in all respects, in the same manner as the crews of vessels belonging
to these United States, and captured by the enemy, are supplied and
treated.”

The story of the early doings of the American navy concludes with the
loss of the first American flagship, the _Alfred_.

It will be remembered that the Congress had, late in 1775, ordered
quite a fleet of small frigates built at different points along the
coast--thirteen in all. Of the whole number, six never got to sea, for
they were captured in port by the victorious British. Among those that
finally carried the flag was the _Raleigh_, a thirty-two-gun vessel,
built at Portsmouth, and a very fair ship for that time she proved to
be. Toward the end of August, 1777, the Marine Committee ordered the
_Raleigh_, under the command of Capt. Thomas Thompson, and the original
flagship _Alfred_, which was still under the command of Capt. Elisha
Hinman, to sail for France to procure supplies for the American army.

The two ships had been at sea only a few days, when, on September 2d,
they fell in with a small English merchantman called the _Nancy_, that
surrendered without a stroke. From her captain they learned that she
had gone adrift the day before from a big fleet bound to the Windward
Islands under convoy of one twenty-gun ship, two fourteen-gun brigs,
and one sixteen-gun sloop.

On learning this Captain Thompson carefully noted the positions of the
different men-of-war in the squadron, and learned the code of signals
in use in the fleet, the necessary flags for signalling having been
taken from the _Nancy_. He then headed away in pursuit.

At noon on the 3d he had overhauled the fleet, and from that time
until daylight of the 4th he was busy trying to cut out some of the
merchantmen without exciting suspicion. By signalling to the _Alfred_
with the captured code, he succeeded in concealing his character
effectually; but on the morning of the 4th he gave up the hope of
getting a merchantman, and sought a fight instead. Leaving the
_Alfred_, that was too slow for the enterprise, behind, he steered with
closed ports right through the fleet until in an advantageous position
on the weather side of one of the brigs, the _Druid_, when he opened up
his ports, set his flag, and fired a broadside into the unsuspecting
Britisher.

The effect of the broadside upon the other ships of the fleet was
picturesque. Everywhere the pipe of the boatswain to call all hands was
heard. On every ship the men ran to and fro to crowd on sail, while
every tiller was thrown up or down as every ship strove to get as far
away from every other ship as possible. For no one knew what minute
another supposed cargo-carrier would prove to be a Yankee warship.

Meantime Captain Thompson fired volley after volley into the _Druid_,
receiving only a feeble fire in return, until the brig was so well
wrecked that she had to return to England. Her loss, according to
Captain Carteret, who commanded her, was six killed and twenty-six
wounded, he himself being among the severely wounded.

But, although badly cut up, the _Druid_ did not surrender; and when the
other two warships, with several of the best-armed merchantmen who had
recovered from the panic, drew near, the _Raleigh_ squared away and
returned to the _Alfred_.

Rightly considered, it was not an exploit to excite the pride of the
American naval officer, for the _Raleigh_ had more guns than the two
brigs together, and should have been almost a match for all three of
the warships. American sailors had not yet reached the efficiency as
man-o’-warsmen that afterwards made them famous.

However, the two American ships reached France, and loaded their
supplies. On returning they took the southern route, hoping to meet
some British merchant ships. They met, instead of merchantmen, two
British men-of-war--the _Ariadne_ of twenty guns and the _Ceres_ of
fourteen.

It happened that the two Americans were at the time (it was on March
9, 1778) far apart, the _Raleigh_ being hull down to leeward. The two
Britishers came down on the _Alfred_, and without making very much
of a fight she surrendered. Seeing this, the _Raleigh_ up helm and
sailed for home, where, on his arrival, the captain was very properly
relieved from the command of the ship. What John Paul Jones would have
accomplished had he been in command of the _Raleigh_ that voyage,
instead of Thompson, may be inferred from what he did when a command
was given him, as will be told in the next chapter.




CHAPTER VI

JOHN PAUL JONES AND THE _RANGER_

  THE FIRST SHIP THAT CARRIED THE STARS AND STRIPES--DASH AT A CONVOY
    THAT FAILED--WHEN THE DUTCH WERE BROWBEATEN--THE _RANGER_ SENT ON
    A CRUISE IN ENGLISH WATERS--A SHIP TAKEN OFF DUBLIN--THE RAID ON
    WHITEHAVEN--WHEN ONE BRAVE MAN COWED MORE THAN A THOUSAND--THE
    WHOLE TRUTH ABOUT LORD SELKIRK’S SILVERWARE, WITH THE NOBLE LORD’S
    EXPRESSION OF GRATITUDE WHEN HE GOT IT BACK--HOW CAPTAIN JONES
    MISSED THE _DRAKE_ AT FIRST, BUT GOT HER LATER ON IN A FAIR AND
    WELL-FOUGHT BATTLE.


A most important date in the history of the United States is June
14, 1777, for on that day it was in Congress “_Resolved_, That the
flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate
red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white, in a blue
field, representing a new constellation.” In the annals of the navy
it is also important, from the fact that on that day Capt. John Paul
Jones was appointed to the eighteen-gun ship _Ranger_, which had been
built at Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Repairing at once to his post,
Captain Jones, in placing his ship in commission, hoisted with his
own hand the new-made flag of the Union, and that was the first
occasion on which “old glory” was spread to the breeze on an American
naval ship. Thereafter every effort was made to get away to sea, but
the difficulties which the struggling Americans had to overcome in
obtaining supplies were so great that the _Ranger_ did not sail until
November 1st.

The destination of the _Ranger_ was Nantes, France, and her mission in
European waters was to carry on the work begun in such famous fashion
by the _Reprisal_, the _Lexington_, the _Surprise_, and the _Revenge_.

On the way over Captain Jones, when not far from the Azores, sighted
a fleet of ten well-guarded merchantmen. The warships were too heavy
for the _Ranger_, and the merchant ships kept so close to their
protectors that it was impossible to cut one of them out of the fleet.
The _Ranger_ was not swift enough for such a purpose. The Yankee
ship-builder had not yet learned the art of building men-of-war.

After leaving the convoy nothing happened save the capture of two small
English brigs in the fruit trade, and on December 2d the _Ranger_ was
at anchor in the harbor of Nantes, then one of the most flourishing of
French ports.

[Illustration: _From the Original in possession of Col. John H.
Sherburne, Author of “The Life and Character of John Paul Jones.”_]

At that time the American commissioners in France were Benjamin
Franklin, Silas Deane, and Arthur Lee. The commissioners had been
secretly building a fine frigate in Holland--the finest afloat it
was to be--but the able British minister at Amsterdam discovered the
ownership of the new vessel and made such a vigorous protest that the
Dutch were obliged to refuse to let the Americans have her.

That was a great disappointment to Captain Jones, but he cheerfully
obeyed the orders of the commissioners, who decided that “after
equipping the _Ranger_ in the best manner for the cruise you shall
proceed with her in the manner you shall judge best for distressing the
enemies of the United States, by sea or otherwise, consistent with the
laws of war.”

Accordingly on February 10, 1778, the _Ranger_ sailed from Nantes,
having in convoy several American merchant ships that were bound home,
and that were to be placed in charge of a French squadron then lying in
Quiberon Bay (Brest) and bound eventually for America; for France had
by this time acknowledged the United States as an independent nation,
and had decided to openly aid the Americans in their fight for liberty.

On reaching Quiberon Bay he had the great satisfaction of seeing the
French admiral salute the American flag after the _Ranger_ had, under
the custom of such occasions, saluted the French flag. It was an honor
especially gratifying for the reason that this was the first occasion
on which a foreign power saluted the Stars and Stripes.

Having overhauled his rigging and taken on additional supplies, Captain
Jones sailed from Brest on April 10, 1778, and steered across to the
coast of England. Passing between the Scilly Islands and Cape Clear,
he overhauled a brig loaded with flax bound from Ireland to Ostend. As
she was of small value he scuttled her, and to save himself the bother
of prisoners, sent her crew ashore in their boat, for the capture was
made in plain view of the land. This was done on April 14th. Three days
later he was off Dublin, where he seized the ship _Lord Chatham_ and
sent her to Brest.

Thereafter he headed away to Whitehaven, that is found a short distance
south of the Clyde. It was a port with which Jones was entirely
familiar, for there he had passed his childhood. It was his intention
to burn the shipping which, as he knew, thronged the harbor. He arrived
off the harbor at ten o’clock at night of the same day he captured
the _Lord Chatham_, but a gale of wind prevented his landing, so he
cruised on to the north. The next day (April 18th) the _Ranger_ chased
a revenue cutter that escaped him, but on the 19th he sank a coasting
schooner loaded with barley.

[Illustration: Map of the BRITISH ISLES AND THE COAST OF FRANCE.

  Showing first and second voyages of Capt. John Paul Jones, and the
    route of the Reprisal.
]

Thereafter he continued his cruise to the north. The weather prevented
an attack on a fleet of merchantmen with a man-of-war at Lochryan, so
the _Ranger_ was headed across to the Bay of Carrickfergus, Ireland,
at the head of which lies the city of Belfast. A fisherman picked up
outside told Captain Jones that the man-of-war _Drake_, a ship that
mounted twenty guns and was a larger ship and carried more men than the
_Ranger_, lay at anchor inside.

All this was learned on April 21st. That night Captain Jones undertook
capturing the _Drake_ as she lay at anchor. Waiting until night had
fully come, he stood up the bay, in spite of a freshening gale, until
he saw the _Drake_ lying at anchor and rolling gently to the swell.
At that the _Ranger_ was brought up into the wind almost beneath the
jibboom of the _Drake_, and then Captain Jones ordered his anchor let
go.

Had his order been obeyed instantly, the _Ranger_ would have swung
to her cable down across the cable of the enemy and then yardarm to
yardarm fair alongside.

Knowing nothing of the presence of an American man-of-war in those
waters, the crew of the _Drake_ would have been found in their hammocks
and the _Ranger_ would have carried her by boarding, with little if any
loss of life.

Unfortunately, the _Ranger’s_ anchor was not dropped at the word, and
when, at last, it did catch in the mud, Captain Jones found himself
between the _Drake_ and a lee shore and too far astern for effective
firing. The _Ranger_ was, in fact, in almost as bad a situation as
that in which Jones had intended to place the _Drake_. To remain was
to invite destruction, so the _Ranger’s_ cable was cut the instant
she brought a strain upon it, and she was headed out into the bay for
another attempt at the same manœuvre, leaving the anchor watch of the
_Drake_ to wonder what possessed the crew of what they supposed was an
especially ill-managed merchantman.

However, the second attempt was not made. The weather came on fierce
and cold, and the next morning, from his deck in the North Channel,
Captain Jones saw the hills on both shores white with snow. So he
headed away for another attempt on the shipping at Whitehaven.

Because the attempt on Whitehaven has been more persistently
misrepresented by British writers than any other act of the
Revolutionary war it is necessary to give not only the exact facts,
but the reasons which influenced Jones as an American naval officer
in making the descent. To fully appreciate his motives, it is only
necessary to recall but a few incidents of the British onslaught upon
the Americans--to recall the burning of Portland, Maine, by Captain
Mowatt, who “dispersed at a late season of the year, hundreds of
helpless women and children, with a savage hope that those may perish
under the approaching rigours of the season, who may chance to escape
destruction from fire and sword”--to recall that among the accounts
which Sir Guy Carleton turned in for audit to the British Parliament
was one item of “five gross of scalping knives,” which he distributed
to the savages under his command for use on the unfortunate Americans
that they might fall upon, and which were used for scalping women and
children as well as prisoners of war.

John Paul Jones went ashore on the British coast to burn the British
shipping and no more. He was determined to “put an end, by one good
fire of shipping, to all the burnings in America.” He was also
determined to capture an earl to hold as a hostage, and compel a brutal
enemy to treat captured Americans as civilized nations have always
treated prisoners of war. He missed the earl, and his men took the
earl’s silver plate to the value of £500, which plate Jones purchased
afterwards with his own money, and returned to the earl with a manly
letter.

[Illustration: An English Caricature of John Paul Jones.

(“From an original drawing taken from the Life on board the Serapis.”)

_Published in London, October 22, 1779._]

In view of the barbarities of which the English had been guilty in
America, and of the retaliation which self-defence as well as
justice demanded, John Paul Jones, after his cruise along the coast,
might well and righteously have used the words which a titled British
robber of the helpless used when brought before Parliament to answer
for his crimes: “By God, at this moment I stand astonished at my own
moderation.”

After one hundred years have passed away it is safe to say that every
American who reads of the events of the American Revolution stands
astonished at the moderation of the fathers.

As to the facts of the descent on Whitehaven, they may be soon told.
Lowering two boats after the _Ranger_ had arrived, Captain Jones
ordered fifteen men, armed with cutlasses and pistols, into each. Then
he placed Lieutenant Wallingsford in charge of one, and took the other
himself. Unfortunately, one of the crew, a man named David Freeman,
had shipped with the express purpose of serving the English whenever
opportunity offered.

It is said that 220 vessels, great and small, lay in Whitehaven harbor,
of which 150 were on the south side, where the town stood, and the
remainder were on the north. Nearly if not quite all had been left
aground by the ebb tide--the tide that prevented Jones reaching the
shipping until daylight. Wallingsford was sent to fire the shipping at
the north, while Jones landed at the town.

Whitehaven was guarded at that time by two forts of fifteen guns
each. With his single boat’s crew Jones ran to the nearest one. The
sentinels, greatly alarmed, fled into the guard-house, where Jones
locked them in. Then he spiked the guns. At the other fort, a quarter
of a mile away, he was equally successful.

Turning, then, to see the flames rising from the ships across the
harbor, he found that nothing had been done to them. Lieutenant
Wallingsford’s failure to obey orders has been variously accounted for,
but whatever his error may have been, he wiped it out by fighting for
the flag till he died in the battle of two days later.

Seeing his plan partly frustrated, Captain Jones hastened back to the
water-front, and with his own hands built a fire on a large vessel
in the midst of the fleet, using a brand which he had snatched from
the breakfast fire in the kitchen of a nearby house. To increase the
flames, he broke open and spilled a barrel of tar over the light-wood
he was firing.

Meantime the deserter had been alarming the town. “The inhabitants
began to appear in thousands.” There must have been not less than 1,200
sailors alone among the 150 ships lying there. As the flames mounted
in air above the burning ship the men of the town came down _en masse_,
but Jones stood between them and the fire, and, with pistol in hand,
“ordered them to retire, which they did with precipitation.” Men in a
crowd numbering hundreds fell over each other to get out of range. A
more amusing instance of the power of a resolute man over a mob will
rarely be found in history.

For fifteen minutes John Paul Jones, single-handed, held at bay
more than a thousand men. Then he entered his boat and rowed away,
leaving the townsmen to fight the fire and shed tears of gratitude
over the deserter who had saved them from destruction at the hands of
fifteen men armed with cutlasses and flint-locked, single-barrelled,
shoot-if-you-are-lucky pistols!

When Jones was well out in the bay the people found a couple of cannon
which Jones had overlooked. These they loaded and fired. And Jones,
recalling the time when a frigate had chased his brig in the Canadian
waters, fired a pistol in return.

From Whitehaven Jones sailed over to the Isle of St. Mary, landed with
a force of men, and surrounded the house of the Earl of Selkirk. It was
the avowed object of this landing to carry away the earl, “and to have
detained him until, through his means, a general and fair exchange of
prisoners, as well in Europe as in America, had been effected.” It
was to ameliorate the condition of the Americans, held in jail and
deliberately starved, that Captain Jones landed.

[Illustration:

  _Pub. by_ A. PARK, _47 Leonard S^t._      _Tabernacle Walk, London._

“Paul Jones the Pirate.”

_From an old engraving in the collection of Mr. W. C. Crane._]

Finding that the earl was not at home, the men in the landing party
called on their commander to take the silverware from the castle as
fair plunder and but a just revenge for the acts of British sailors in
America, who had not only looted the homes of the rich, but had driven
off the one cow and the one pig of the laborer. Captain Jones permitted
them to do so. The following is the British account of the affair,
taken from Dodsley’s “Annual Register” (London) for 1778. On page 177
it says:

“Edinburgh, April 27. The following are the particulars of the
plundering of Lord Selkirk’s house by the crew of the _Ranger_,
American privateer.

“On the 23d of April, about ten o’clock in the morning, 30 armed men
came in a boat from a privateer of 20 guns, and pretending at first to
be a press gang, the men surrounded the house, and the officers entered
and desired to see the heads of the family. As Lord Selkirk was then at
London, Lady Selkirk made her appearance. They soon made known to her
who they really were; said they meant to have seized Lord Selkirk’s
person had he been at home, and to have carried him off, but all they
now asked was to have the plate of the house. As there could be no
thought of resistance, this was at once complied with; and having taken
possession of it they walked off and reimbarked. They behaved civily,
and only the officers presumed to enter the house, and happily her
ladyship did not suffer from the alarm.”

With this British account of this affair in mind, let the reader turn
back and read the British account of the burning of Portland (then
Falmouth), Maine, and so compare the American deed with that of the
British.

The silver taken was of the real value of £500, but when it was sold
for the benefit of the crew Jones bought it and returned it at his own
expense--at a cost of £1,000, all told--to the noble Lord. In August,
1789, years after the plate was returned, the earl was constrained
to write Jones that, “notwithstanding all the precautions you took
for the easy and uninterrupted conveyance of the plate,” there were
considerable delays; nevertheless, it arrived safely. “I intended to
have put an article in the newspapers about your having returned it,”
he adds, but his good intentions miscarried. However, if he did not
publicly acknowledge the honor of the American naval captain who
had spent $5,000 to return the plate, he privately “mentioned it to
many people of fashion,” so reads his letter. The British historians
deliberately omit mentioning that Jones returned the silver.

After the descent upon the Isle of St. Mary’s the _Ranger_ still
lingered on that coast. Captain Jones knew very well that many cruisers
were already under orders to seek him; but they were still far away,
and he must needs try conclusions with the _Drake_ that he had tried to
take over in the bay near Belfast.

On the morning of April 24, 1778, he hove to off the bay, and then
filled and backed until well along in the afternoon. The commander of
the _Drake_, seeing a stranger outside, sent a young officer in a small
boat to see what she was. Captain Jones handled his ship so skilfully
that her stern was kept toward the coming boat until she was directly
under the _Ranger’s_ counter. Then the officer was induced to come on
board, and not until he had climbed up the ladder and reached the deck
did he know that he was on a Yankee cruiser.

Finding his officer did not return, the commander of the _Drake_ got
under way. Meantime signal fires had been built on every hilltop
along both coasts, and the black columns of smoke were rising high in
air. Moreover, a fleet of five excursion boats crowded with curious
spectators was seen following the British man-of-war. But the wind was
light and the tide against him, and it was not until an hour before
sunset that the _Drake’s_ captain was able to bring his ship within
fighting range of the Yankee. Finally he found himself under the lee
quarter of the _Ranger_ and but a pistol-shot away. There he hoisted
his colors. Captain Jones at once ran up the Stars and Stripes.

“What ship is that?” said a voice on the _Drake_.

“It is the American continental ship _Ranger_. We are waiting for you.
The sun is but little more than an hour from setting. It is therefore
time to begin,” replied Captain Jones. Then turning to the man at the
wheel, Captain Jones ordered the helm hard up. The _Ranger_ wore slowly
around, and the _Drake_ followed her motion until they were drifting
broadside to broadside and yardarm to yardarm fair before the wind.

And then Captain Jones opened the battle with a broadside. The enemy
replied in kind, and as fair a fight as naval annals record was begun.
But after a little the fore and main topsail-yards of the _Drake_ were
cut in two at the masts and hung useless. The mizzen-gaff was shot
away and dropped. The jib fell and dragged overboard in the water. The
rigging and sails were in tatters. Worse yet, blood was trickling
from her scuppers because of the dead and wounded on her deck. Among
the dead at the last was her commander, Captain Burden, who was killed
by a musket-ball through his brain. Among the wounded was the first
lieutenant, and he was mortally hurt.

The flag first spread on the _Drake_ was shot away, but they raised
another. This, too, was shot away, and falling overboard, it dragged in
the water. A little later, and just as the sun was going down behind
the Irish hills, a cry for quarter was raised on the _Drake_, and the
battle came to an end.

The _Ranger_ in this fight had eighteen guns. The _Drake_ carried
twenty. The _Ranger’s_ crew numbered 123. The _Drake_ had 151 men
on her books, and, in addition to these, had taken on a number of
volunteers from the shore, who had been anxious to help whip the
Yankees. These raised the number of her crew to 160 by the lowest
account and 190 by the highest. The _Ranger_ lost two killed, including
Lieutenant Wallingsford, and six wounded. The _Drake_ lost forty-two
killed and wounded. It is fair to say that the British account of the
battle in Allen’s history says the loss was but twenty-four. But Allen
probably counted only those killed and wounded among the ship’s regular
crew and ignored the volunteers, while the Americans counted the
corpses and men under the surgeon’s care.

The odds had been against him, but the honors remained with John Paul
Jones.

After the battle a merchant brig happened along, and a prize crew was
put on board of her. Then the fishermen who had been captured when the
_Ranger_ first arrived on the coast were not only released, but enough
gold was given them to pay for all their losses, together with a sail
from the _Drake’s_ outfit as a notice to the shore people that the
Yankee had won. They went away cheering the generosity of John Paul
Jones.

And while speaking of the generosity of this American naval captain,
it should be told that, in fitting out the _Ranger_ on the American
side, he advanced to the American government several thousand dollars
(continental currency) of his own money, and that he bore all the
expense of fitting and refitting her on the French coasts before her
cruise. In all, he spent some £1,500 sterling of his own money, and
because of the poverty of the American government he had to wait a long
time to get it back again.

It was very well written of this cruise that “the news of the brilliant
achievements of Paul Jones electrified France and appalled England.”

Just how much England was appalled by the American demonstrations
on her coast may be inferred from a statement of the number of men
“raised” (_i.e._, gathered in by press gangs) for her navy. In 1774 she
“raised” 345 men. In 1777 she “raised” 37,458, and in 1778 the number
was 41,847.




CHAPTER VII

THE FIRST SUBMARINE WARSHIP

  IT WAS SMALL AND INEFFECTIVE, BUT IT CONTAINED THE GERM OF A MIGHTY
    POWER THAT IS AS YET UNDEVELOPED--WHEN NICHOLAS BIDDLE DIED--HE WAS
    A MAN OF THE SPIRIT OF AN IDEAL AMERICAN NAVAL OFFICER--FOUGHT HIS
    SHIP AGAINST OVERWHELMING ODDS TILL BLOWN OUT OF THE WATER--THE
    LOSS OF THE _HANCOCK_--AN AMERICAN CAPTAIN DISMISSED FOR A
    GOOD REASON--CAPTAIN RATHBURNE AT NEW PROVIDENCE--LOSS OF THE
    _VIRGINIA_--CAPTAIN BARRY’S NOTABLE EXPLOIT--WITH TWENTY-SEVEN MEN
    TO HELP HIM, HE CAPTURED A SCHOONER OF TEN GUNS BY BOARDING FROM
    SMALL BOATS IN BROAD DAYLIGHT, ALTHOUGH THE SCHOONER WAS MANNED BY
    116 SAILORS AND SOLDIERS.


One of the most striking features of the American naval service during
the war of the Revolution was its irregularity. There was a navy
continuously in existence, but the services rendered by individual men
and ships were extremely irregular. It has already been told how John
Paul Jones, after his successful cruise to the Cape Breton waters,
had to remain idle for many months. After his famous cruise in the
_Ranger_ he was again idle until the king of France furnished him a
ship. Captain Gustavus Connyngham, who gained such a reputation in
the _Surprise_ and the _Revenge_ on the British coasts, was actually
obliged to seek service in a privateer, after his return to port, for
lack of other employment. Jones had an excellent offer to do this also,
but he refused on the ground that he was not fighting for money, but
for the “Honour of the American flag.” If men like Jones and Connyngham
were left to shift for themselves, and without pay at that, it follows
that others were treated in like manner.

The cause of this condition of affairs is readily found by the student
in the method of caring for the navy adopted by the Congress. It was a
method in keeping with a deal of the work done then. First, there was a
Marine Committee of the Congress to buy ships and send them on a single
“cruise eastward.” Later, there was a Marine Board, part congressmen
and part plain citizens, “but no two of whom shall be from the same
State.” There was a “Continental Naval Board.” There was a “Board of
Admiralty.” There were naval agents. The powers and duties of all
these were changed so often that no one can follow them in less space
than a large volume, and a more wearying volume than that would be is
difficult to imagine. There was, in short, an utter lack of system in
naval affairs throughout the whole Revolution. Worse yet, the Congress
was as lacking in funds as in system.

The first result of this state of affairs was to prevent the
development of an _esprit de corps_ among the officers. As already
told, Capt. Thomas Thompson of the _Raleigh_ ran away and left the
_Alfred_ to her fate when the _Ariadne_ and _Ceres_ overhauled her.
When John Paul Jones was towing the _Drake_ into Brest he saw a sail,
and left the _Drake_ for a time to examine the stranger. While he was
away the American officer in the _Drake_ tried to carry her off to
another port, hoping to get her fitted out and sent on a cruise with
himself in command, independent of Captain Jones. The list of offences
of this class--the clashing of officers where they would in this day
stand shoulder to shoulder--is distressingly long.

Another very serious result of the mismanagement was in the effect on
the common sailors. It was very difficult to get men for the national
ships, because the life on the privateers was more to their liking, and
the chances of getting prize money very much greater.

And all this is worth relating because the men of the navy won glory
and were indispensable to the ultimate victory of a growing nation, in
spite of it. The record of the naval men as a whole was as brilliant as
the congressional management was inefficient, and that is a condition
of affairs that has since been known in the navy.

To return to the American coast and give an account of the more
interesting naval doings there during the time that the old flag was
winning glory in Europe, it is found that considerable losses were
sustained, though the story is not by any means wholly depressing.

For instance, there is the story of Capt. Nicholas Biddle. “Liberty
never had a more intrepid defender” than Nicholas Biddle. It will
be remembered that he was one of the original captains of the navy,
and was appointed to the brig _Andrea Doria_, in which he gained
reputation. So, when the first of the thirty-two-gun frigates, which
Congress ordered in 1775, was completed, Captain Biddle was placed
in command. She was called the _Randolph_, and she sailed from
Philadelphia in February, 1777. Off Hatteras she sprung her masts in a
gale, and put into Charleston for repairs. Then she sailed again, and
within a week brought in six prizes, including a twenty-gun ship called
the _True Briton_. Unfortunately, a blockading squadron appeared off
Charleston at this time, and until March, 1778, he was held there.

[Illustration: MAP OF THE AMERICAN COAST,

  Showing Principal Battles and Forts during the Revolutionary and
    French Wars.
]

Meantime, however, his success had fired the hearts of the South
Carolinians, and while he was there he had the satisfaction of seeing
them fit out four State cruisers carrying, all told, sixty-four guns.
This work completed, Captain Biddle, with the State fleet as consorts,
sailed out to look for the blockading squadron, but it had sailed away.

So Captain Biddle took his little squadron down along the Caribbean
coasts. Here, east of the Barbadoes, they happened to fall in with the
British ship-of-the-line _Yarmouth_, Captain Vincent.

To properly understand what followed, it must be known that a
ship-of-the-line was built of such heavy timbers that nothing smaller
than a twelve-pounder could seriously damage its hull. The only guns
in Biddle’s squadron that could hope to penetrate her hull were
Biddle’s own, and his ship had but thirty-two guns to the _Yarmouth’s_
sixty-four, and they were smaller at that; so Captain Biddle signalled
the State cruisers to run for it while he, in spite of the vast
superiority of the enemy, sailed boldly up to her, broadside to
broadside.

Better yet, for one full hour he was able to maintain the contest
with his thirty-two small guns against sixty-four large ones. He was
wounded, but he refused to allow his men to carry him below, and while
he was thus directing the battle from the quarter-deck, the powder in
the _Randolph’s_ magazine was in some way fired, and the ship was
literally blown out of the water. Pieces of the wreck, in flames, fell
on the _Yarmouth_, while an American ensign, rolled up ready to be sent
aloft, in case the one flying should be shot away, fell, unsinged, upon
her forecastle.

It was at 10 o’clock on the morning of March 7, 1778, that this
disaster occurred. The _Randolph_ had on board 315 men at the time. The
people of the _Yarmouth_ supposed that all hands had perished, and made
sail after the rest of the Yankee squadron, though without success.
On March 12th the _Yarmouth_ happened back over the very water where
the fight had taken place, and there found a piece of the _Randolph_
floating about with four seamen upon it, who were, of course, picked
up. Captain Vincent of the _Yarmouth_ reported five men killed and
twelve wounded.

The little brig _Cabot_, of fourteen guns, that made such a brave fight
in the first cruise of the first squadron, came to grief on the coast
of Nova Scotia. She was in command of Capt. Joseph Olney. The British
frigate _Milford_, with which John Paul Jones had had so much fun,
happened along, and as the _Cabot_ was even slower than she, Captain
Olney ran her ashore to keep her from the enemy. The crew barely had
time to get ashore, but they fired the _Cabot_ before leaving. Once
on shore, they were, of course, afoot and friendless in the enemy’s
country, but Captain Olney and his men captured a schooner and returned
home in her.

This occurred in March, 1777. On April 9th, following, Capt. Dudley
Saltonstall, in the _Trumbull_ of twenty-eight guns, captured two
British transports off New York harbor that were laden with military
stores for the British army, and so more than retrieved the loss of
the _Cabot_. The _Trumbull_ lost seven killed and eight wounded. The
only record of the loss on the transports says that “the enemy suffered
severely.”

The year 1777 was noted for the building of the first American
submarine torpedo boat. David Bushnell, of Saybrook, Connecticut (he
moved to Peekskill, New York, later), a most ingenious mechanical
engineer, devised a turtle-shaped cask large enough to hold a man
and carry a torpedo containing 150 pounds of powder, with mechanism
to fasten it to the wooden bottom of a ship and to fire it when so
fastened. Because this was the first attempt to use a submarine vessel
for the purposes of war, and because Bushnell’s invention, fearsome as
it was, is not even yet developed to anything like the degree of which
it is capable, the description which he wrote of the thing is well
worth giving in full, as follows:


    “GENERAL PRINCIPLES AND CONSTRUCTION OF A SUBMARINE VESSEL,
      COMMUNICATED BY DAVID BUSHNELL, OF CONNECTICUT, THE INVENTOR,
      A LETTER OF OCTOBER, 1787, TO THOMAS JEFFERSON, THEN MINISTER
      PLENIPOTENTIARY OF THE UNITED STATES AT PARIS.

  “The external shape of the submarine vessel bore some resemblance
  to two upper tortoise shells of equal size, joined together; the
  flue of entrance into the vessel being represented by the openings
  made by the swells of the shells at the head of the animal. The
  inside was capable of containing the operator, and air sufficient
  to support him thirty minutes, without receiving fresh air. At the
  bottom opposite to the entrance was fixed a quantity of lead for
  ballast; at one edge, which was directly before the operator, who
  sat upright, was an oar for rowing forward or backward; at the other
  edge was a rudder for steering. An aperture, at the bottom, with its
  valve, was designed to admit water for the purpose of descending,
  and two brass forcing-pumps served to eject the water within, when
  necessary for ascending. At the top there was likewise an oar, for
  ascending or descending, or continuing at any particular depth. A
  water-gauge or barometer determined the depth of descent; a compass
  directed the course, and a ventilator within supplied the vessel
  with fresh air, when on the surface. The entrance into the vessel
  was elliptical, and so small as barely to admit one person. This
  entrance was surrounded by a broad elliptical iron band, the lower
  edge of which was let into the wood whereof the body of the vessel
  was made, in such a manner as to give its utmost support to the body
  of the vessel against the pressure of the water. Above the upper edge
  of this iron band there was a brass crown or cover, resembling a hat
  with its crown and brim, which shut water-tight upon the iron band.
  The crown was hung to the iron band with hinges, so as to turn over
  sideways when opened. To make it perfectly secure when shut, it might
  be screwed down upon the band by the operator, or by a person without.

  “There were in the brass crown three round doors, one directly in
  front and one on each side, large enough to put the hand through.
  When open they admitted fresh air. Their shutters were ground
  perfectly tight into their places with emery, and were hung with
  hinges and secured in their places when shut. There were likewise
  several glass windows in the crown for looking through and for
  admitting light in the daytime, with covers to secure them. There
  were two air-pipes in the crown; a ventilator which drew fresh air
  through one of the air-pipes, and discharged it into the lower part
  of the vessel.

  “The fresh air introduced by the ventilator expelled the impure air
  through the other pipe. Both air-pipes were so constructed that they
  shut themselves, whenever the water rose near their tops, so that no
  water could enter through them. They opened themselves immediately
  after they rose above the water. The vessel was chiefly ballasted
  with lead fixed to its bottom. When this was not sufficient, a
  quantity was placed within, more or less, according to the weight
  of the operator. Its ballast rendered it so solid that there was no
  danger of its oversetting. The vessel, with all its appendages and
  the operator, was of sufficient weight to settle it low in the water.
  About two hundred pounds of the lead at the bottom for ballast, could
  be let down forty or fifty feet below the vessel. This enabled the
  operator to rise instantly to the surface of the water in case of
  accident.

  “When the operator desired to descend, he placed his foot upon the
  top of a brass valve, depressing it, by which he opened a large
  aperture in the bottom of the vessel, through which the water entered
  at his pleasure. When he had admitted a sufficient quantity, he
  descended very gradually. If he admitted too large a quantity, in
  order to obtain an equilibrium, he ejected as much as was necessary
  by the two brass forcing-pumps which were placed at each end.
  Whenever the vessel leaked, or he desired to ascend to the surface,
  he also made use of these forcing-pumps. When the skilful operator
  had obtained an equilibrium, he could row upward or downward, or
  continue at any particular depth, with an oar placed near the top
  of the vessel, formed upon the principle of the screw, the axis of
  the oar entering the vessel. By turning the oar in one direction he
  raised the vessel, by turning it the other way he depressed it. A
  glass tube, eighteen inches long and one inch in diameter, standing
  upright, its upper end closed, and its lower end, which was open,
  screwed into a brass pipe, through which the external water had a
  passage into the glass tube, served as a water-gauge or barometer.

  “There was a piece of cork, with phosphorus on it, put into the
  water-gauge, condensing the air within, and bearing the cork on its
  surface. By the light of the phosphorus, the ascent of the water
  in the gauge was rendered visible, and the depth of the vessel
  ascertained by a graduated scale.

  “An oar formed on the principle of the screw was fixed in the fore
  part of the vessel; its axis entered the vessel, and, being turned
  in one direction, rowed the vessel forward; but being turned in the
  other, rowed backward. It was constructed to be turned by the hand
  or foot.

  “A rudder to the hinder part of the vessel, which commanded it with
  the greatest ease, was made very elastic, and might be used for
  rowing forward. The tiller was within the vessel, at the operator’s
  right hand, fixed at a right angle on an iron rod which passed
  through the vessel.

  “A compass marked with phosphorus directed the course above and under
  water.

  “The internal shape of the vessel, in every possible section of it,
  verged toward an ellipsis, as near as the design would allow; but
  every horizontal section, although elliptical, was yet as near to a
  circle as could be admitted.

  “The body of the vessel was made exceedingly strong; a firm piece of
  wood was framed parallel to the conjugate diameter, to prevent the
  sides from yielding to the great pressure of the incumbent water in a
  deep immersion. This piece of wood was also a seat for the operator.

  “Every opening was well secured. The pumps had two sets of valves.
  The aperture at the bottom for admitting water was covered with a
  plate perforated full of holes, to receive the water and prevent
  anything from closing the passage or stopping the valve from
  shutting. The brass valve might likewise be forced into its place
  with a screw. The air-pipes had a kind of hollow sphere fixed round
  the top of each, to secure the air-pipe valves from injury. These
  hollow spheres were perforated full of holes for the passage of air
  through the pipes; within the air-pipes were shutters to secure them,
  should any accident happen to the pipes or the valves on their tops.
  All the joints were exactly made, and were water-tight.

  “Particular attention was given to bring every part necessary to
  performing the operation, both within and without the vessel, before
  the operator, so that everything might be found in the dark. Nothing
  required the operator to turn to the right hand or the left.


    “DESCRIPTION OF A MAGAZINE AND ITS APPENDAGES DESIGNED TO BE
      CONVEYED BY THE SUBMARINE VESSEL TO THE BOTTOM OF A SHIP.

  “In the fore part of the brim of the crown of the vessel was a
  socket, and an iron tube passing through the socket; the tube stood
  upright, and could slide up and down six inches. At the top of the
  tube was a wood-screw, fixed by means of a rod, which passed through
  the tube and screwed the wood-screw fast upon the top of the tube. By
  pushing the wood-screw up against the bottom of a ship, and turning
  it at the same time, it would enter the planks. When the wood-screw
  was firmly fixed, it could be cast off by unscrewing the rod which
  fastened it upon the top of the tube.

  “Behind the vessel was a place, above the rudder, for carrying a
  large powder magazine. This was made of two pieces of oak timber,
  large enough, when hollowed out, to contain an hundred and fifty
  pounds of powder, with the apparatus used in firing it. A rope
  extended from the magazine to the wood-screw above mentioned; when
  the wood-screw was fixed, and to be cast off from its tube, the
  magazine was to be cast off likewise, leaving it hanging to the
  wood-screw. It was lighter than water, that it might rise up against
  the object to which the screw and itself were fastened.

  “Within the magazine was a clock, constructed to run any proposed
  length of time under twelve hours; when it had run out its time, it
  unpinioned a strong lock, resembling a gun-lock, which gave fire to
  the powder. This apparatus was so pinioned that it could not possibly
  move till, by casting off the magazine from the vessel, it was set in
  motion.

  “The skilful operator could swim so low on the surface as to approach
  very near a ship in the night without fear of being discovered,
  and might, if he chose, approach the stem or stern with very little
  danger. He could sink very quickly, keep at any necessary depth, and
  row a great distance in any direction he desired without coming to
  the surface. When he rose to the surface he could soon obtain a fresh
  supply of air, and, if necessary, he might then descend again and
  pursue his course.


  “EXPERIMENTS MADE TO PROVE THE NATURE AND USE OF A SUBMARINE VESSEL.

  “The first experiment I made was with about two ounces of powder,
  which I exploded four feet under water, to prove to some of the first
  personages in Connecticut that powder would take fire under water.

  “The second experiment was made with two pounds of powder, enclosed
  in a wooden bottle, and fired under a hogshead, with a two-inch oak
  plank between the hogshead and the powder; the hogshead was loaded
  with stones, as deep as it could swim. A wooden pipe, descending
  through the lower head of the hogshead and through the plank into the
  powder contained in the bottle, was primed with powder. A match put
  to the priming exploded the powder with a great effect, rending the
  plank into pieces, demolishing the hogshead, and casting the stones
  and ruins of the hogshead, with a body of water, many feet into
  the air, to the astonishment of the spectators. This experiment was
  likewise made for the satisfaction of the gentlemen above mentioned.

  “I afterwards made many experiments of a similar nature, some with
  large quantities of powder.

  “In the first essays with the submarine vessel, I took care to prove
  its strength to sustain the great pressure of the incumbent water,
  when sunk deep, before I trusted any person to descend much below the
  surface; and I never suffered any person to go under water without
  having a strong piece of rigging made fast to it, until I found him
  well acquainted with the operations necessary for his safety. After
  that I made him descend and continue at particular depths without
  rising or sinking; row by the compass; approach a vessel; go under
  her, and fix the wood-screw into her bottom, etc., until I thought
  him sufficiently expert to put my design into execution. I found,
  agreeably to my expectations, that it required many trials to make a
  person of common ingenuity a skilful operator. The first I employed
  was very ingenious, and made himself master of the business, but was
  taken sick in the campaign of 1776, at New York, before he had an
  opportunity to make use of his skill, and never recovered his health
  sufficiently afterwards.

  “After various attempts to find an operator to my wish, I sent one
  who appeared more expert than the rest from New York, to a fifty-gun
  ship, lying near Governor’s Island. He went under the ship and
  attempted to fasten the wood-screw into her bottom, but struck, as he
  supposes, a bar of iron. Not being well skilled in the management of
  the vessel, in attempting to move to another place, he lost the ship,
  and after seeking her in vain for some time he rowed some distance
  and rose to the surface of the water, but found daylight had advanced
  so far, that he durst not renew the attempt. On his return from the
  ship to New York, he passed near Governor’s Island, and thought he
  was discovered by the enemy; he cast off the magazine, as he imagined
  it retarded him in the swell, which was very considerable.

  “After it had been cast off one hour, the time the internal apparatus
  was set to run, it blew up with great violence.

  “Afterwards, there were two attempts made in Hudson’s River, above
  the city, but they effected nothing. Soon after this the enemy went
  up the river, and pursued the vessel which had the submarine boat on
  board, and sunk it with their shot. Though I afterwards recovered
  the vessel, I found it impossible to prosecute the design any
  further. I had been in a bad state of health from the beginning of my
  undertaking, and was now very ill. The situation of public affairs
  was such, that I despaired of obtaining the public attention and
  assistance necessary. I therefore gave over the pursuit for that time
  and waited for a more favorable opportunity, which never arrived.

  “In the year 1777, I made an attempt from a whale-boat against the
  _Cerberus_ frigate, then lying at anchor between Connecticut River
  and New London, by throwing a machine against her side by means
  of a line. The machine was loaded with powder to be exploded by a
  gun-lock, which was to be unpinioned by an apparatus, to be turned
  by being brought alongside of the frigate. This machine fell in with
  a schooner at anchor, astern of the frigate, and concealed from
  my sight. By some means or other it was fired, and demolished the
  schooner and three men, and blew the only one left alive overboard,
  who was taken up very much hurt.

  “After this, I fixed several kegs under water charged with powder, to
  explode upon touching anything as they floated along with the tide.
  I set them afloat in the Delaware, above the English shipping at
  Philadelphia, in December, 1777. I was unacquainted with the river
  and obliged to depend upon a gentleman very imperfectly acquainted
  with that part of it, as I afterwards found. We went as near the
  shipping as we durst venture. I believe the darkness of the night
  greatly deceived him, as it did me. We set them adrift, to fall with
  the ebb upon the shipping. Had we been within sixty rods, I believe
  they must have fallen in with them immediately, as I designed; but as
  I afterwards found, they were set adrift much too far distant, and
  did not arrive until after being detained some time by the frost;
  they advanced in the daytime in a dispersed situation and under great
  disadvantages.

  “One of them blew up a boat with several persons in it, who
  imprudently handled it too freely, and thus gave the British that
  alarm which brought on the ‘Battle of the Kegs.’ The above vessel,
  magazine, etc., were projected in the year 1771, but not completed
  until the year 1775.

                                                        “D. BUSHNELL.”

The man who handled the submarine boat in New York harbor was Sergeant
Ezra Lee, and the ship mentioned was the sixty-four-gun liner _Eagle_.
It is a great pity that a full record of Bushnell’s experiments and of
the experiences of Sergeant Ezra Lee, who handled the strange craft,
was not made for the benefit of subsequent inventors, because much
useless labor would have been saved. For instance, every inventor who
has since worked on the idea has had to learn for himself that it is
utterly impossible to see through the water after he has been once
submerged, while other matters of little less importance have been
worked out over and again.

The attack on the _Cerberus_ mentioned above was described by the
British captain as follows:

  “Wednesday night, being at anchor to the westward of New London, in
  Black Point Bay, the schooner I had taken, at anchor close by me,
  astern, about eleven o’clock at night, we discovered a line towing
  astern that came from the bows; we immediately conjectured that it
  was somebody that had veered himself away by it, and began to haul
  in; we then found that the schooner had got hold of it (who had
  taken it for a fishing line), gathered it near fifteen fathom, which
  was buoyed up by little bits of sticks at stated distances, until
  he came to the end, at which was fastened a machine, which was too
  heavy for one man to haul up, being upwards of 100 cwt.; the other
  people of the boat turning out, assisted him, got it upon deck, and
  were unfortunately examining it too curiously, when it went off like
  the sound of a gun, blew the boat to pieces, and set her in a flame,
  killed the three men that were in the stern; the fourth, who was
  standing forward, was blown into the water; I hoisted out the boat,
  and picked him up much hurt; as soon as he could recollect himself,
  he gave me the following description, as near as he could remember.
  It was two vessels shaped like a boat, about twenty inches long, and
  a foot broad, secured to each other at the distance of four feet, by
  two iron bars, one at each end, and an iron tube or gun-barrel in the
  centre, which was loose (as he had himself turned it round with his
  hand); they swam one over the other, the upper one keel upwards; the
  lower swam properly, but was so under water as just to keep the upper
  one a few inches above the surface; to the after iron bar hung a flat
  board, to which was fixed a wheel about six inches in diameter, and
  communicated itself to one on the upper side of the boat, of a lesser
  diameter; opposite to these was another wheel, on the flat of the
  under one or loaded vessel, which had likewise communication with
  the wheels of the upper boat; it was covered with lead, and the keel
  heavily loaded in order to keep it down in the water.

  “The fatal curiosity of the seamen (who unfortunately had been
  bred in working in iron) set this wheel agoing, which it did with
  great ease backwards and forwards, and during their looking at it,
  which was about five minutes from the time of its being first put in
  motion, it burst. Upon examining round the ship after this accident,
  we found the other part of the line on the larboard side buoyed up in
  the same manner, which I ordered to be cut away immediately for fear
  of hauling up another machine, which I concluded was fast at the end,
  and might burst when near the ship.

  “The mode these villains must have taken to have swiftered the
  ship, must have been to have rowed off in the stream a considerable
  distance ahead of the ship, leaving one of their infernals in shore,
  and floating the other at the distance of the line, which, from the
  quantity that we have got on board (near 70 fathoms), and what the
  man tells me they saved in the schooner, which was upwards of 150
  fathoms more, must have been near 500 fathom; they at the length of
  this line put the other in the water, and left it for the tide to
  float down, which in this place runs very strong.

  “As the ingenuity of these people is singular in their secret modes
  of mischief, and as I presume this is their first essay, I have
  thought it indispensably my duty to return and give you the earliest
  information of the circumstances, to prevent the like fatal accident
  happening to any of the advanced ships that may possibly be swiftered
  in the same manner, and to forbid all seamen from attempting hauling
  the line, or bringing the vessel near the ship, as it is filled with
  that kind of combustible that burns though in the water.

                                           “I am, sir, etc.,
                                                       “J. SYMONS.”

David Bushnell was born in Saybrook (now Westbrook), Connecticut, in
the year 1742. He entered Yale College in 1771, and graduated in 1775.
During his collegiate career he turned his attention to submarine
warfare, and after leaving college devoted his time and patrimony
entirely to the subject. He was noted for his studious habits, great
inventive genius, and eccentricity. The unfortunate issue of his
projects rendered him very dejected. Disappointed by his failures and
the neglect of the government, he went to France at the close of the
war, where he remained for a number of years, when he returned and
settled in Georgia, under the assumed name of Dr. Bush, desiring thus
to conceal his identity and connection with the early efforts of his
life. There he was placed at the head of one of the most respectable
schools in the State, but subsequently engaged in the practice of
medicine, by which he amassed a considerable fortune. He was much
beloved and respected by all who knew him, and died at the age of
ninety years, in the year 1826. By his will his proper name became
known; his executors were required to make inquiries in the town of
Saybrook for persons of the blood and family of Bushnell, and whoever
in the opinion of the executors was found to be most worthy, on the
score of moral worth, should be regarded as the sole legatee. But
should none of the kindred be found to fulfil the condition set forth
in the will, the estate was to be transferred to Franklin College,
Georgia. Legatees were found in Connecticut.

[Illustration: Signatures of John Manly and Hector McNeil.]

The loss of the American frigate _Hancock_ of thirty-two guns followed
the capture of the two valuable transports off New York. It was in May
that the _Hancock_, under Capt. John Manly (he who in the Massachusetts
schooner _Lee_ worked such havoc on the British store-ships off Boston
in 1775), sailed from Boston on a cruise, having in company the
_Boston_ of twenty-four guns under Capt. Hector McNeil. When four days
out they overhauled a strange sail, and Captain Manly, after a bit of
veering to and fro to determine the enemy’s speed and power, gave him
a broadside. At this the stranger tried to run for it, and with stern
chasers strove to disable the _Hancock’s_ rigging. But the _Hancock_
was then one of the swiftest American ships, and Captain Manly held his
fire until alongside, when he gave him a broadside.

Although manifestly of inferior strength, the enemy fought back bravely
for an hour, and then, the _Boston_ having arrived within range, he
struck his colors. It proved to be the frigate _Fox_ of twenty-eight
guns, Captain Fotheringham. The _Hancock_ lost eight in killed and
wounded, and the _Fox_ thirty-two.

Having placed a prize crew on the _Fox_, Captain Manly made the mistake
of sailing too close to Halifax, the principal British naval station
in America. Here, on June 1st, he fell in with three British ships,
the _Rainbow_ of forty-four guns, commanded by Sir George Collier; the
frigate _Flora_ of thirty-two guns, and the sloop-of-war _Victor_ of
eighteen guns.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

                                                                [_Over_]

Facsimile of a Letter from Thomas Jefferson to Captain McNeil.]

When the enemy was discovered the _Boston_ was well out to sea, and
having the weather gauge, she down with her helm and sailed away.
The _Hancock_ and the _Fox_ were close in shore, and they were soon
hard pressed. Manly, seeing himself deserted, at once began throwing
overboard all unnecessary weights, and so lightened his ship that he
was in a fair way to escape, when the wind failed him, although the
enemy still held enough to draw within easy range and in a position
to rake. He was thus under the guns of the _Rainbow_ of forty-four
guns and the _Victor_ of twenty, and could not turn his ship in any
direction. Of course he surrendered.

Meantime the _Flora_ had recaptured the _Fox_, although the prize crew,
few as they were in number, made a good fight.

It was the belief of Captain Manly that had the _Boston_ come down to
engage the _Flora_ and so pitched the _Victor_ against the _Fox_, he
would have been able to account for the _Rainbow_, and when the affair
came before Congress Captain Manly’s view prevailed, and Captain McNeil
was dismissed from the service for running away.

On the theory that ships are sent to sea to fight to the last gasp, the
fate of Captain McNeil was merited, even though one prominent naval
historian tries to justify his conduct. Had a Biddle or a John Paul
Jones had the _Boston_, one can well believe that the whole British
squadron would have been carried into port.

As for Manly, it must be told that, in spite of the record he had made
when he was in the service of Massachusetts--a record that had induced
Congress to put him third on the list of captains when it made its
first revision of the list--he was permitted to leave the navy for the
privateer service after he was exchanged and returned to port.

The naval record for 1778 opens in January, when, on the 27th, in the
_Providence_, armed with twelve four-pounders, Capt. John P. Rathburne
descended on New Providence island in the Bahamas. He landed at 11
o’clock at night with twenty-five men (half of his crew) and released
thirty odd American prisoners confined on shore. Then he captured Fort
Nassau with its cannon and ammunition and 300 stand of muskets. At
daylight he captured, without a fight, an armed vessel of sixteen guns,
together with five merchantmen and another fort. A British sloop-of-war
(ship) having appeared off the port, she was fired on from the shore,
when she made haste to sail away.

After holding the place two days and getting all the portable munitions
of war on board and spiking the cannon, Captain Rathburne burned two of
the prizes and carried four home.

The loss of one of the new American frigates which the Congress had
ordered, the _Virginia_, of twenty-eight guns, followed. She was coming
down Chesapeake Bay and grounded at night. In the morning two British
warships were seen near by, and her commander, Capt. James Nicholson,
with his crew, took to the boats and escaped ashore. The congressional
inquiry that followed cleared Nicholson of blame. It is said that he
went ashore not to escape a fight, but because of very important papers
he was carrying.

[Illustration: A Typical Nassau Fort--Fort Fincastle.

_From a photograph by Rau._]

The next exploit of note was that of Capt. John Barry, who, while in
command of the brig _Lexington_, had had an honorable career. It will
be remembered that the command of the _Effingham_, then building in the
Delaware, was given to him and that the British captured Philadelphia
before the ship could get away to sea. To keep the ship out of the
British hands she was moved up the river to White Hill, New Jersey,
and by order of Mr. Hopkinson of the Navy Board was sunk. Barry and
Hopkinson had a very loud dispute over the sinking of the _Effingham_,
for Barry was confident that, with the ten guns already on board and
the thirteen guns on the frigate _Washington_ that was in company
with her, a good fight could be made against any of the force the
British were able to send. Hopkinson became personal in his remarks,
and Barry’s Irish blood got hot, and some things not quite courteous
were said in return; but Barry, to his great disgust, had to sink the
ship, and afterwards, on the order of Congress, withdraw the offensive
remarks, although time had proved him entirely right in the matter of
sinking the ship.

However, while charges were pending against him in this matter, he
led a boat expedition down the river, carrying four rowboats manned
by twenty-seven men, all told, past the British ships and soldiers
at Philadelphia, and arrived safely off Port Penn, which was then in
the hands of the Americans. On the opposite side of the river lay two
ships, the _Mermaid_ and the _Kitty_, with two others not named, laden
under convoy of the large schooner _Alert_ armed with ten guns. The
ships were loaded with food supplies for the British at Philadelphia.

The run past Philadelphia had been made at night, of course, and so
Port Penn was reached in broad daylight. But in spite of the fact that
the British were already astir and the Americans in plain view, Barry
with his gallant band made a dash at the schooner, and before the
British could rally for a defence clambered over the rail, cutlass in
hand.

At that the British dropped everything and fled below, leaving Barry to
put on the hatches and keep them there. In view of the many occasions
on which the British historians charge the American sailors with
cowardice it must be told here that this “wild Irishman” with his
twenty-seven men beat down under the hatches one major, two captains,
three lieutenants, ten soldiers, and 100 seamen and marines--he
captured 116 armed men with just twenty-seven.

When he had secured them he stripped and burned the transports, and
carried the schooner over to Port Penn. This was on February 26, 1778.

The British sent a frigate and a sloop-of-war down the river to
recapture the schooner, and so, finding he could not get her away to
sea, Barry was obliged to destroy the vessel, which he did by pointing
his guns down her hatch and shooting holes through her bottom. But he
had in the meantime for two months patrolled the lower Delaware and
cut off the British supplies to such an extent that there was actual
suffering in the British camp. He gave them a taste, at least, of what
Washington’s brave hosts were suffering that winter at Valley Forge.
He returned to White Hill by travelling through the forest that then
surrounded Philadelphia.

Having by this effort once more commanded the attention of the
authorities, he was sent to the _Raleigh_ at Boston, and on September
25, 1778, sailed away with two merchant ships in convoy. Three days
later he was a wanderer in the unbroken forests of Maine.

The little fleet got to sea early in the morning. At noon two sails
were seen in the south, and Captain Barry, after signalling the
convoy to steer close-hauled, ran down for a look at the strangers.
Because the wind was light it took him the whole of the afternoon to
learn their character, but at sundown he found they were two English
frigates. At this Captain Barry ordered the merchantmen back to port,
cleared his ship for action, and thereafter for forty-eight hours
engaged in a game of hide-and-seek with the enemy wherein he had, now
and again, the darkness of night, the horizon, and sundry fog-banks to
conceal him.

[Illustration: An English Frigate of Forty Guns.

_From an engraving by Verico._]

On sending the merchantmen toward port Barry took that course himself,
until the darkness wholly enveloped the enemy, when he again resumed
his course. At dawn next day he found himself in a fog, and during the
forenoon nothing could be seen, but at noon the fog disappeared, and
then the enemy were again seen to the south on a course parallel to
Barry’s.

Seeing this, Barry came up close-hauled and crowded on all sail, while
the enemy came on in like dress until 3 or 4 o’clock, when another fog
shut them from view. Then Barry headed away eastwardly with a free
wind, and ran so until daylight on the 27th, when he furled the canvas
and let her drift under bare poles until 6 o’clock, while he searched
the horizon for the frigates.

Having seen nothing, Captain Barry made sail, and held a course to the
southeast until 9.30, when he again saw the enemy. At this he came up
to the wind, tacked about, and heading away to the northwest with “a
staggering breeze,” the _Raleigh_ made “11 knots and 2 fathoms on a
dragged bowline,” per hour.

That was a pace that the Englishmen could not hold, and the _Raleigh_
soon dropped them behind the horizon, but at noon the _Raleigh_ ran
out of the streak of wind, as a sailor might say, while the enemy were
still holding it.

The leader of the frigates rapidly overhauled the _Raleigh_ after that,
and at 4 in the afternoon the _Raleigh_ tacked to the west to see what
the force of the leader was. Captain Barry hoped he might make a good
fight with her single-handed before the other could come up, and at 5
in the afternoon “the _Raleigh_ edged away, brailing her mizzen and
taking in her staysails.” Crossing the enemy’s bows, the _Raleigh_
dropped down abreast of him, and set the American ensign. The frigate,
showing fourteen guns on a side, hoisted the king’s flag, and then the
_Raleigh_ gave her a broadside. She replied swiftly, and at the second
fire had the good fortune to carry away the _Raleigh’s_ foretopmast
and mizzen-topgallantmast. She was now able to outsail the _Raleigh_,
and so shot ahead to get clear of the too hot fire of the Yankee, and
then began to fire at long range while Captain Barry was clearing away
the wreck aloft. Once the wreckage was down, however, Barry bore up
and strove to get alongside and board, but with her superior canvas
the frigate avoided this. Meantime the other ship was coming near,
and Captain Barry, finding he could not, in his crippled condition,
maintain a fight with two, decided to run his ship ashore on some
islands that were visible, for the fight was made off the coast of
Maine.

And then night came on with a still fading breeze. The _Raleigh_, with
all sail set, headed for the coast. The frigates followed, and until
midnight the two ships drifted along with the red flames spurting from
their sides, and the nearing cliffs echoing to the thunder of the
conflict.

At 12 o’clock the enemy hauled off for a brief interval, but the
other ship having come up, the two renewed the conflict, and then the
_Raleigh_ grounded.

The enemy now took positions on the _Raleigh’s_ quarter. Captain Barry
kept the four stern chasers working, but lowered his boats forward and
went ashore with a lot of his men to fortify the island on which he had
grounded, being determined to fire his ship and resist capture in any
event. But while he was away a frightened petty officer hauled down the
flag.

The _Raleigh_ was eventually put into the British navy, but Captain
Barry and his men on the island escaped to the mainland. The ship
that made so good a fight against the _Raleigh_ was the _Unicorn_, of
twenty-eight guns. Her consort was the _Experiment_, of fifty. The
Americans lost twenty-five killed and wounded, and the _Unicorn_ ten
killed and an unknown number of wounded--probably twenty-five or thirty.

On the whole, the years 1777 and 1778 were disastrous, and the record
was, in a sense, to the discredit of the American navy. Two captains
were, indeed, dropped from the naval list for failing to support the
flag, and where they failed the record was in part only made good by
the heroism of the others. Of the thirteen frigates which the Congress
decided to build in December, 1775, but four remained. Some were lost
at sea, as already described, and the rest fell into the hands of the
British through the operations of the land forces.

But if we compare the American forces with those of the English, the
wonder is that the Americans were able to keep the flag afloat at all,
for the British navy in American waters in 1778 numbered eighty-nine
ships mounting 2,576 guns, while the Americans had fourteen ships
mounting 332 guns. And what is of more importance, the British ships
were at this time manned by crews that were disciplined, while, as
already noted, the Yankee ships were to a very great extent manned
by landsmen. A time was to come when, in the matter of training, the
superiority was to be on the other decks, but in 1778 it was all in
favor of the British.




CHAPTER VIII

PRIVATEERS OF THE REVOLUTION

  A TALE OF THE AMERICAN PATRIOTS WHO WENT AFLOAT OUTSIDE
    OF THE REGULAR NAVY--THEIR PART IN DRIVING THE BRITISH
    FROM BOSTON--REMARKABLE WORK OF THE _LEE_--TRUXTON AS A
    PRIVATEER--DARING CAPT. JOHN FOSTER WILLIAMS--WHEN CAPT. DANIEL
    WATERS, WITH THE _THORN_ OF SIXTEEN GUNS, WHIPPED TWO SHIPS THAT
    CARRIED THIRTY-FOUR GUNS BETWEEN THEM--GREAT WAS JOSHUA BARNEY--THE
    STORY OF THE MOST FAMOUS STATE CRUISERS OF THE REVOLUTION--WON
    AGAINST GREATER ODDS THAN WERE ENCOUNTERED BY ANY SUCCESSFUL
    SEA CAPTAIN OF THE WAR--BRITISH ACCOUNT OF THE WORK OF AMERICAN
    PRIVATEERS--THE HORRORS OF THE _JERSEY_ PRISON SHIP.


Great as was the influence of the burning of Falmouth (Portland),
Maine, in driving the Continental Congress into providing a continental
navy, the whole story of the results of that infamous act has not
yet been told. The “indignation against the commissioned pirates and
licensed robbers” was not felt in the halls of the Congress alone. “The
General Court of Massachusetts passed an act encouraging the fitting
out of armed vessels,” and one for “erecting a court to try and condemn
all vessels that should be found infesting” the American coast. This
act was passed on November 10th, and John Adams declared it one of the
most important documents in our history.

Connecticut and Rhode Island immediately followed the example of
Massachusetts, and on March 23, 1776, the Congress provided for private
armed vessels under the continental flag.

Of the very early deeds of these privateers only meagre details
are found recorded, but it appears that Washington, when he found
the troops under his command, in the fall of 1775, were well-nigh
absolutely destitute of powder, determined to supply them from
the transports that were continually bringing munitions of war
to the British forces in Boston and to the British ships in the
harbor. Accordingly, he caused several small vessels to be armed
and sent afloat in Massachusetts Bay and along shore to intercept
the transports. He did this without waiting for authority from the
Congress, and the vessels sailed as Massachusetts cruisers.

[Illustration: _From the copy at the Lenox Library._]

Of the number sent, it is said that all but one proved to be manned
by incapable officers or mutinous crews, which is not quite true, but
the one, the schooner _Lee_, of eight small guns, Capt. John Manly,
redeemed any failure of the rest by the capture of the brigantine
_Nancy_, already noted. “This was an ordnance ship,” says Dodsley’s
“Annual Register,” of London, for 1776. She “contained, besides a
large mortar upon a new construction, several pieces of fine brass
cannon, a large quantity of small arms and ammunition, with all manner
of tools, utensils, and machines necessary for camps and artillery,
in the greatest abundance. The loss of this ship was much resented in
England.” As a matter of fact, she carried 2,000 muskets, 8,000 fusees,
31 tons of musket bullets, 3,000 solid shot for twelve-pounders, and
two six-pounder cannon, besides gunpowder, etc. The mortar was of
thirteen-inch calibre, and afterward exploded. She was brought into
Cape Ann Roads on November 29, 1775. On December 8th the _Lee_ took
three more transports that were less valuable to the Americans, but
the loss hurt the British rather more. For, insignificant as were the
vessels captured when considered as a part of the whole fleet employed
against the colonies, one need only glance at the state of affairs in
Boston to understand why the loss of one ordnance ship was “resented
in England,” and why the taking of three other transports was a still
more serious matter. Boston was cut off from the back country. All
supplies had to come from over the water. “Toward the end of the
season Government went to a vast expense in sending out provisions and
necessaries of all sorts,” says the British authority just quoted.
“The want of fresh provisions had caused much sickness there. ... No
less than 5,000 oxen, 14,000 of the largest and fattest sheep and a
vast number of hogs were purchased and sent out alive.” They also sent
out coal and even kindling wood, not to mention vegetables. But the
winds were against them. The live stock died on board before they got
away from the home coasts, “so that the channel was everywhere strowed
with the carcasses of these animals.” The vegetables “fermented and
perished.” On top of all these losses the capture of even such small
vessels as schooners of a hundred tons was a serious loss, for the
whole British force in Boston was hungry, while houses had to be torn
down to supply fuel.

To add to the mortification of the enemy, some of the captures were
made within sight of British frigates which, through the failure
of the wind or the action of the tide, were unable to interfere. A
British account of one of these audacious attacks that in the end was
frustrated will illustrate the character of the Yankee privateer.

“On the 23d of November a small fleet of transports under convoy of
the frigate _Tartar_ arrived off Boston, and with the exception of two
safely entered the port. The ship _Hunter_ and a brig, owing to a shift
in the wind, were obliged to anchor outside the harbor, which being
observed by two American privateers that had been following the convoy,
they in the most daring manner attacked and boarded them, setting them
on fire. A signal was immediately made for the _Raven_ to weigh anchor
and go in chase, but Lieutenant John Bourmaster, who had been appointed
to protect Boston Lighthouse, then under repair, and who was in command
of an armed transport, on observing the privateers fire upon the
_Hunter_, set sail and reached the transports in time to save them from
destruction.”

Among the little cruisers that saw the most service was the _Franklin_
schooner. Under Capt. John Selman she went with the _Lynch_ to the
St. Lawrence River to intercept the two transports mentioned in the
report of the doings of the Congress on October 5, 1775, wherein it was
resolved that “a letter be sent to General Washington to inform him
that Congress having received certain intelligence of the sailing of
two north country built brigs, of no force, from England on the 11th
of August last, loaded with arms, powder and other stores, for Quebec,
without convoy, which it being of importance to intercept,” etc., the
general was to send two cruisers after them.

[Illustration: _From the copy at the Lenox Library._]

Captain Selman failed to find the brigs, but “missing them, they took
ten other vessels and Governor Wright of St. John’s. All these vessels
were released as we had waged a ministerial war and not one against our
most gracious sovereign.”

They changed their tactics after their most gracious sovereign was
pleased to send Hessians to crush them.

The _Franklin_ was thereafter stationed in and near Massachusetts Bay,
and early in the spring of 1776, under Capt. James Mugford, captured a
transport having 1,500 barrels of powder in her hold, besides other war
supplies.

It is recorded that Capt. Samuel Tucker, while in command of
Massachusetts cruisers, captured no less than thirty vessels belonging
to the enemy.

The most brilliant achievement of this mosquito fleet during 1776 was
on June 17th. The Connecticut cruiser _Defence_, Captain Harding, heard
a cannonading to the north of Plymouth, and cruising in that direction,
met the schooner _Lee_, now under Capt. Daniel Waters, and three other
privateers. They had had a running fight with two big transports that
had gone into Nantasket Roads. So the Yankees determined to follow them
there. At 11 o’clock at night Captain Harding ran in between the two
transports and came to anchor. He was but a dozen yards from each of
them. Having everything ready, he hailed and ordered both of them to
strike.

“Aye, aye--I’ll strike,” said a voice from one of them, and then a
broadside was fired from it into the _Defence_. The _Defence_ replied,
but the enemy held out for an hour. When they surrendered it was found
that the two contained 200 regular soldiers of the Seventy-first
Regiment. Major Menzies, who had been in command, was the one to answer
the hail by saying he would strike, and then firing. He was killed with
seventeen others during the battle. The next morning another transport
with 100 more men of the same regiment was captured.

But if this was counted daring work by the British authorities, there
were other deeds to come which were unquestionably shocking to the
British merchants, for, following the example set by the _Revenge_ and
the _Surprise_ of the regular navy, the privateers went seeking prizes
on the coasts and in the very harbors of Great Britain herself. In
daring, these privateers quite equalled Connyngham and John Paul Jones.
A British account of one of these descents says:

“An American privateer of twelve guns came into this road (Guernsey)
yesterday morning, tacked about on firing of the guns from the Castle,
and just off the Island took a large brig bound for this port which
they have since carried into Cherbourg. She had the impudence to
send her boat in the dusk of the evening to a little island off here
called Jetto and unluckily carried off the lieutenant of Worthley’s
Independent Company, here, with the adjutant, who were shooting rabbits
for their diversion. The brig they took is valued at seven thousand
pounds.”

It is unfortunate that the log-books and diaries kept on most of these
cruisers have disappeared, for many a stirring tale of adventure has
thus been lost. Nevertheless, authentic details of some of the deeds
done are by no means wanting. For instance, there was one Thomas
Truxton of whom the British heard to their sorrow in after years.
He was in command of the privateer _Independence_, of New York, in
1777. Going to the Azores, he captured a number of small prizes,
and then had the luck to fall in with the convoy from the Windward
Islands. There were frigates to protect the fleet, but Truxton cut out
three big ships, of which one was armed and manned better than the
_Independence_, save only for the difference in captains.

Returning to port, he fitted out the _Mars_ with twenty odd guns and
made a cruise in the English Channel. Here his prizes were numerous,
and it is said that those he sent into Quiberon Bay “in a great measure
laid the foundation of Lord Stormonth’s remonstrance to the French
Court, against the admission into her ports of our armed vessels and
cruisers”--a remonstrance that was not heeded, and so the French became
involved in war with England to the great advantage of the colonies.

Later still, while _en route_ to France in the _St. James_ of twenty
guns, he beat off a ship of thirty-two guns that had been sent out
expressly to capture him. A good story is told of this fight. A ball
had passed through her side and lodged in her mainmast. “A fine
forecastle man named Jack Sutton, perceiving the ball the moment it
struck the mast, seized it, ran with it to a gunner, and said: ‘Here,
gunner, take this shot, write post paid upon it, and send it back to
the rascals.’”

Capt. John Foster Williams was another daring privateer. In 1778,
in the _Hazard_, that mounted fourteen four-pounders and two
three-pounders, he captured the brig _Active_, that mounted eighteen
six-pounders, six smaller guns, and ten one-pounder swivels. The fight
lasted forty minutes, and the _Active_ lost thirty-three in killed and
wounded to the _Hazard’s_ eight.

In May, 1779, he was placed in the twenty-gun ship _Protector_,
belonging to Massachusetts, and in June he fought the British
privateer _Admiral Duff_, an equal ship, yardarm to yardarm, for an
hour, when the enemy took fire and blew up. Only fifty-five of her
crew were picked up. Returning from this cruise, he fell in with the
thirty-two-gun frigate _Thames_, and after a running fire compelled her
to haul off.

And then there was Capt. Alexander Murray. In the _Revenge_, of
eighteen guns, in 1780, he beat off two ships of the British navy, of
which one mounted eighteen and the other sixteen guns. This was at
the capes of the Chesapeake. Afterwards he took a cargo of tobacco
from Richmond, Virginia, in a ship that had only five six-pounders
for armament. At sea he fell in with a privateer of fourteen guns and
100 men. Murray, having so few guns, shifted them across the deck as
occasion required, and blazed away. His ship, owing to the superior
number of guns of the enemy, was eventually so cut up aloft that only
the mainmast and bowsprit remained standing; nevertheless, Captain
Murray beat off the enemy in spite of four desperate attempts to carry
him by boarding.

[Illustration: Alexander Murray.

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

Greater still was the renown of Capt. Daniel Waters. Captain Waters was
sent to sea by General Washington in the _Lee_, as already mentioned
in this chapter. In 1778, while in command of the privateer _Thorn_,
of sixteen guns, he amply justified the confidence the general had
manifested in him by his fight with two English sloops-of-war. One
was the _Governor Tryon_, of sixteen guns, Captain Stebbins, and the
other the _Sir William Erskine_, of eighteen guns, Captain Hamilton.
After two hours of such desperate fighting as was shown but rarely,
the _Tryon_ struck and the _Erskine_ hauled off. But Captain Waters
would not let the _Erskine_ escape. He set more sail, overhauled her,
and compelled her to strike. As night came on the _Tryon_ managed to
escape, but Captain Waters manned the _Erskine_ and sent her in. He had
but sixty men left in the _Thorn_. Nevertheless, when he fell in with
the _Sparlin_, of eighteen guns and ninety-seven men, next day, he gave
battle and captured her also.

If any further proof be wanted of the fact that it is the heart of the
commander and not the number of his men or the weight of his metal
that wins in a sea-fight, it will be found in the tale of the American
privateer _Hyder Ali_ and the British ship _General Monk_. Capt.
Joshua Barney commanded the _Hyder Ali_, and he had had a lot of good
training before he became the hero of the story now to be told. He had
had (through accident) command of a ship when but seventeen years old,
and acquitted himself with honor. He had sailed in the _Hornet_ in the
first American naval squadron. He had seen exciting service in the
_Wasp_ under Captain Alexander. He had captured a British privateer
while commanding the little sloop _Sachem_. He was in the _Andrea
Doria_ when she fought the _Racehorse_. He had been captured while
bringing in a prize, and had survived the frightful ill-treatment the
prisoners on the prison ship _Jersey_ received. He escaped thence, and
while in command of a cargo ship, had beaten off the _Rosebud_, Captain
Duncan, a ship of sixteen guns, by firing a crowbar at her, and so
cutting away all her headgear and disabling her foremast.

[Illustration: _From an engraving by Gross after a miniature by
Isabey._]

And so the 8th of April, 1782, arrived. On that day he took command
of the _Hyder Ali_, of the Pennsylvania State service, and started
to convoy a fleet of merchantmen from Philadelphia out to sea. The
_Hyder Ali_ carried sixteen six-pounders and 110 men. At the capes the
fleet found the British frigate _Quebec_, the brig _Fair American_, of
sixteen guns, and the brig _General Monk_, Captain Rogers, carrying
“only (_sic_) sixteen carronades, twelve-pounders, and two long
six-pounders” (so says Allen). The _Quebec_ could not get around the
shoals, and had no part in the affray. The _Fair American_ went hunting
the convoy, and the _General Monk_ came after the _Hyder Ali_.

As the Englishman approached, Captain Barney saw his immense
superiority in men and metal, but determined to make a fight. Calling
his officers and men around him, he said:

“If I direct you to prepare for boarding you are to understand me as
meaning that you are to remain at your guns, and be ready to fire the
moment the word is given. If on the contrary I order you to give him a
broadside, you are to consider me as calling for boarders, and to hold
yourselves ready to board as soon as we gain a proper position.”

A little later the Englishman ranged up within a dozen yards or less,
and in a loud voice demanded that the _Hyder Ali_ strike her colors.

“Hard a port your helm--do you want him to run aboard us?” bawled
Captain Barney to the man at the wheel of the _Hyder Ali_.

“The ready witted seaman understood his cue and clapped his helm hard
a starboard. The enemy’s jib boom caught in the fore rigging of the
_Hyder Ali_ and there remained entangled during the short but glorious
action that ensued. The _Hyder Ali_ thus gained a raking position of
which she availed herself to its utmost benefit. More than twenty
broadsides were fired in twenty-six minutes and scarcely a shot missed
its effect; entering in at the starboard bow and making their way out
through the port quarter. In less than half an hour from the firing
of the first broadside the British flag waved its proud folds no longer
in the breeze.”

[Illustration: Fight of the _Hyder Ali_ with the _General Monk_, 1782.

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

This quotation is from a “Biographical Memoir” of Barney, made from his
private papers by Mary Barney. Having captured the _Monk_, Barney stood
up the Delaware, drove the _Fair American_ ashore, and easily escaped
the frigate. A comparative statement of the forces of the combatants is
worth giving. The British ship carried a crew of 136 men; the American,
110. The British ship was armed with sixteen twelve-pounders and two
long sixes--she could throw 102 pounds of metal at a broadside; the
American carried sixteen six-pounders--she could throw forty-eight
pounds of metal at a broadside. The British had more than twice the
metal and they had a much greater number of men--men, too, who had long
been fighting together, while the American crew had not been on board a
month.

The comparison of losses is equally significant. The _Monk_ lost twenty
men killed and thirty-three wounded--fifty-three out of 136. The _Hyder
Ali_ lost four killed and eleven wounded. The first lieutenant, purser,
surgeon, boatswain, and chief gunner were among the _Monk’s_ killed,
and her captain was severely wounded.

It is said that the _General Monk_ had captured sixty American vessels
in two years.

[Illustration: A Relic of Two Revolutionary Captains: Bill of Lading
for John Barry Signed by Joshua Barney.

_From the original at the Lenox Library._]

Did space permit, many other brave deeds of the privateers might be
given. Of especial interest, though of small moment in their immediate
effect upon the war, was the work done in whaleboats along the coast
and especially upon Long Island Sound. The adventures of these
brave--they were often even reckless--men lived in the tales told at
the firesides long after the Revolution, and stirred the hearts that in
another war were to emulate the deeds of this one, and with a success
that astounded the natural enemy of the struggling young nation.

But if all the tales may not be repeated here, something may be told of
what these Yankee privateers accomplished. In the following quotation
from Dodsley’s “Annual Register” for 1778 is found a statement made in
Parliament regarding this work up to the end of 1777. It says:

“The number of vessels belonging to Great Britain and Ireland, taken
by ships of war and privateers belonging to the said colonies, amount
to 733.--That of that number, it appears that 47 have been released,
and 127 retaken; but that the loss on the latter, for salvage, interest
on the value of the cargo, and loss of a market, must have been very
considerable.--That the loss of the remaining 559 vessels, which have
been carried into port, appears, from the examination of merchants, to
amount at least to 2,600,000 l.--That of 200 ships anually employed in
the African trade, before the commencement of the present civil war,
whose value, upon an average, was about 9,000 l. each, there are not
now forty ships, employed in that trade, whereby there is a diminution
in this branch of comerce of 160 ships, which at 9,000 l. each, amount
to a loss of 1,440,000 l. per annum.--That the price of insurance to
the West Indies and North America, is increased from two, and two and
a half, to five per cent with convoy; but without convoy, and unarmed,
the said insurance has been made at fifteen per cent. But generally
ships in such circumstances cannot be insured at all.--That the price
of a seaman’s wages is raised from one pound ten shillings, to three
pounds five shillings per month.--That it appears to this committee,
that the present diminution of the African trade, the interruption
of the American trade to the West Indies, and the captures made of
the West-India ships, have greatly distressed the British colonies in
the West Indies. That the numbers of American privateers, of which
authentic accounts have been received, amount to 173; and that they
carried 2,556 guns, and at least 13,840 seamen, reckoning 80 men in
each ship.--And that, of the above privateers, 34 have been taken,
which carried 3,217 men, which is more than 94 men to each vessel.”

[Illustration: “The Howes Asleep in Philadelphia.”--A Caricature Drawn
forth by the Doings of Revolutionary Privateers.

  (The cow represents British commerce; while the American cuts off
  her horns, a Hollander milks her, the Frenchman and Spaniard help
  themselves to the milk, the British merchant wrings his hands
  in despair, and the British Lion sleeps through it all. In the
  background are the two Howes asleep, and the _Eagle_ high and dry,
  the rest of the fleet being nowhere visible.)
]

To this may be added a statement from the London “Remembrancer” (vol.
v), which says that “the number of English vessels employed in the
West India trade, captured by American cruisers, amounted on the
1st February, 1777, to two hundred and fifty sail: value of their
cargoes, about ten millions of dollars. In the course of one week
fourteen English vessels were carried into Martinique. So overstocked
was the market of this island, by these privateers, that English silk
stockings, which had usually sold for two or three dollars, were
disposed of for _one_ dollar. Sailors went from door to door, offering
their prize goods for sale; nor could they dispose of Irish linens for
more than _two dollars per piece_. Other goods sold in proportion.
_Of a fleet of sixty vessels, from Ireland, for the West Indies,
thirty-five were captured by American privateers!_”

Still another British account of the distress occasioned by the
privateers, written from Grenada, says:

“We are happy if we can get anything for money by reason of the
quantity of vessels that are taken by American privateers. A fleet
of vessels came from Ireland a few days ago. From sixty vessels that
departed from Ireland not above twenty-five arrived in this and
neighboring islands, the others, it is thought, being all taken by the
American privateers. God knows if this American war continues much
longer we shall all die with hunger. There was a Guineaman that came
from Africa with 450 negroes, some thousand weight of gold dust and a
great many elephant teeth; the whole cargo being computed to be worth
twenty thousand pounds sterling, taken by an American privateer, a brig
mounting fourteen cannon, a few days ago.”

[Illustration: The British Prison Ship _Jersey_.

_From an old wood-cut._]

A brief reference to the prison ship in which the privateers were
confined when captured by the enemy on the American coast will serve
very well to close this chapter. The reference may be brief, because
it is so notorious in the annals of civilized warfare as to be known
to every schoolboy. The special jail of the privateers was the
dismantled man-o’-war hulk _Jersey_. As consorts she had four other
hulks, but the _Jersey_ was the receiving ship. If the unfortunates
captured and taken to England were, by the deliberate and publicly
debated act of Parliament, fed with an allowance of bread that was
half a pound less per day than was allowed to the hated Frenchmen, one
would naturally expect still worse treatment for those who were kept by
jailers unrestrained by the sentiments of the humane portion of their
countrymen.

The _Jersey_ was at first anchored near the city of New York. She
leaked constantly, and her hold, where the prisoners were confined,
was damp and rotten. They had no means for cleaning themselves or the
hold. The careless were herded with those who would have been careful.
The damnable conditions there bred the ship-fever and other diseases.
Instead of disinfecting the hulk the authorities moved it over to
Wallabout Bay, where the Brooklyn Navy Yard is now located. This was
done to keep the contagion from spreading to the city. Then a regiment
of renegade Americans was quartered in most comfortable fashion within
sight of this prison ship, and the terrors of the ship were then
deliberately increased. The food of the prisoners consisted of the
bread and meat that had been ordered for the British forces, but was
condemned as unfit for human beings. And the quantity was very scant at
that.

[Illustration: A Permit to Visit One of the Prison Ships.

_From the original at the Lenox Library._]

The sick were placed in bunks where the snow could sift down through
hatchways and in through open seams on to the one blanket allowed for
covering. To the ravages of disease were added the horrors of frozen
limbs, and living men saw their own feet drop off because of this
treatment.

At night the prisoners were driven to their bunks with curses and the
cry of “Down, rebels, down!” In the morning they were turned out with
other imprecations and the words “Rebels, turn out your dead!”

And there were dead a-plenty to turn out every day in the year. The
British jailers would point to the well-kept renegades and offer to
send any prisoner who would join them to enjoy the same comforts, but
the love of home and of liberty was so strong in the hearts of these
men that they chose death instead of such a release from prison--more
than ten thousand Americans chose death by lingering torture on the
British prison ships in New York rather than dishonor.

David Sproats was the chief keeper of the prison ships. He boasted
that he had killed more “rebels” than all the king’s armies had done.
To aggravate his offences, he offered to exchange the sick and dying
privateersmen in his charge for an equal number of British regulars
who could pass inspection as fit for service, and because Washington
refused to thus aid in recruiting the waning forces of the enemy the
horrors of the prison ships were increased. And because of this
refusal the English writers say to this day that if any American died
on the prison ship it was his own fault, or the fault of the American
authorities who refused to make an exchange!

[Illustration: MAP OF THE WALE BOGT AND ITS VICINTY.

AT THE TIME OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR]

[Illustration: A Relic of the Prison Ships: Entrance to the Vault of
the _Martyrs_.

_From an old wood-cut._]

If those Englishmen who wonder why it is that American schoolboys,
when playing games of “war,” invariably speak of the “enemy” as “the
British”--if those wondering English wish to learn why this is so, let
them read with candid minds the true story of the American struggle for
life and liberty.




CHAPTER IX

JOHN PAUL JONES AND THE _BONHOMME RICHARD_

  A CONDEMNED INDIAMAN, ILL-SHAPED AND ROTTEN, FITTED AS A
    MAN-O’-WAR--A DISHEARTENING CRUISE WITH INCAPABLE AND MUTINOUS
    ASSOCIATES--ATTEMPT TO TAKE LEITH, AND THE SCOTCH PARSON’S
    PRAYER--MEETING THE _SERAPIS_--WHEN JOHN PAUL JONES HAD “NOT YET
    BEGUN TO FIGHT”; WHEN HE HAD “GOT HER NOW”; WHEN HE WOULD NOT
    “SURRENDER TO A DROP OF WATER”--READY WIT OF RICHARD DALE--WORK OF
    A BRIGHT MARINE--A BATTLE WON BY SHEER PLUCK AND PERSISTENCE.


The one sea-fight of the American struggle for liberty that is of
unfailing interest was that in which John Paul Jones, in the _Bonhomme
Richard_, whipped the British frigate _Serapis_. And the student need
not go far to seek the reason for this interest, because it is found
in the fact that it was the man that won, and neither the ship nor the
crew. It was won in spite of such obstacles as no other man has ever
been obliged to face at sea. It was a victory typical of the ultimate
success of the American cause, for it was a victory that was literally
dragged out of the breakers of destruction.

John Paul Jones reached Brest, France, after his brilliant cruise
in the _Ranger_, on May 8, 1778. It was not until February 4, 1779,
that he was again ordered in command of a ship. The delay was due,
of course, to the utter lack of funds to the account of the American
commissioners in France. France, however, was at war with England, and
to the French court Jones applied, time and again, but without success
until after he happened to read one of Franklin’s old “Almanacks”
containing “Poor Richard’s Maxims.” Therein he read that wise saying:
“If you wish to have any business done faithfully and expeditiously, go
and do it yourself.”

This is worth telling, first, because Jones acted on this advice, and
on going to Paris was so well received that he got a ship. It is also
worth telling because the maxim made such a deep impression on Jones
that, having been placed in command of a ship, he changed her name
to “Poor Richard,” which, when translated into French, is _Bonhomme
Richard_. That the _Bonhomme Richard_ will float in history so long as
a record of sails exists scarce need be said.

A most remarkable vessel was this that was transferred to the use of
the American commander. On reaching L’Orient, where she was lying, he
found her a huge, wall-sided merchantman that had ended her usefulness
as an India trader, and was now to be transferred to another use, just
as worn-out ships in these days become coal barges in the Atlantic
coasting trade. She had an enormously high poop and an enormously high
forecastle. Her masts were short, her sails were squat, and her bows
and stern were as blunt as those of an Erie Canal boat. But, worst of
all, she was so old that the life was out of all of her timbers, and
some of them were wholly rotten.

Nevertheless, this energetic sailorman set about fitting her for a
warship where a man of ordinary enthusiasm would have hesitated about
trusting himself afloat offshore in her. What labor fitting her for sea
implied may be inferred from the fact that, after a look at her, “he
hastened to Bordeaux to order the casting of the cannon.”

As an Indiaman the ship had carried guns on her main deck. The guns had
been removed, and Jones went to Bordeaux to get eighteen-pounders to
put there, but finding it would take too long to provide them, he was
forced to content himself with twelve-pounders. On the forecastle and
the quarterdeck he mounted nine-pounders--four forward and four aft.
Then, as the ship stood high out of water, he went down on the deck
below the main and had six ports cut through on each side, and for
these he procured six eighteen-pounders, which were installed, three on
each side, leaving three empty ports on each side--ports which, though
empty, served the purpose of making the enemy think his ship more
powerful than it really was. As the event showed, it was not even as
powerful as Jones supposed it was. But, worst of all among the perils
of such a voyage as was proposed (had Jones been a man to calculate
perils), was that found in the heterogeneous character of his crew
when shipped. American naval ships have since had as curious mixtures
as this one did, but it is worth noting that, besides Americans, it
contained men from England, Ireland, and Scotland; from Norway, France,
Spain, Portugal, Malta, and the Portuguese Islands; from Africa, India,
and the Malayan Peninsula. With such a crew as this, and short-handed
at that, Captain Jones had to go to sea; but, as will be told further
on, he got some recruits of a stamp worth having. Meantime, while
fitting out the _Bonhomme Richard_, he was joined by Master’s Mate
Richard Dale, who had escaped from the terrors of the British prison.
Dale shipped with Jones as master’s mate, but he was what would be
called in the slang of these days a “hustler,” and before the ship
sailed the discriminating eye of the master had picked him out for
first lieutenant. Next to Jones, the credit of the great fight that
followed was due to the unwearied zeal and the undaunted courage of
this man.

[Illustration: _From an engraving by Dodson after the portrait by
Wood._]

Meantime arrangements had been making to give Captain Jones a fleet
instead of a single ship. The Congress had built a frigate of
thirty-two guns--she carried thirty-six, however, all told--which,
because of the recently formed alliance between France and the United
States, was named the _Alliance_. As a further compliment to the French
one Pierre Landais, a French naval lieutenant, was placed in command of
her. It was a pleasant thing to compliment France, but disastrous to
appoint Landais, for he had a vein of insanity in him due to brooding
over his previous failure to gain promotion in the service of his own
country. The _Alliance_ was detailed to carry Lafayette home to France
after his service in America, and this duty she performed, although
she was narrowly saved from capture when a number of Englishmen in her
crew mutinied--a crime, by the way, for which no penalty was inflicted,
because of the noble generosity of Lafayette. The _Alliance_ was
ordered to sail under Captain Jones. To these was added a merchant ship
called the _Pallas_, commanded by Capt. Denis Nicholas Cottineau. She
was armed with thirty-two guns. Then a brig, called the _Vengeance_,
Captain Ricot (also a Frenchman), was secured, and then the squadron
was completed with a man-o’-war cutter carrying eighteen small guns.

It was at first intended that Lafayette, with a considerable force
of soldiers, should go with the fleet and make a flying assault upon
Liverpool, but this project was abandoned because the French meditated
a more formidable assault upon the somewhat “tight little isle.” Then a
general cruise against British commerce was proposed and carried out.

But before any detail of this cruise is given a paragraph must be
inserted here from a letter of instructions which Franklin, as the head
of the American commissioners in France, sent to Captain Jones. When
considered in connection with the act of Parliament by which American
prisoners in England were starved, it is worth printing in italics:

“_As many of your officers and people have recently escaped from
English prisons, you are to be particularly attentive to their
conduct toward the prisoners which the fortune of war may throw into
your hands, lest the resentment of the more than barbarous usage by
the English in many places toward the Americans, should occasion a
retaliation and imitation of what ought rather to be detested and
avoided for the sake of humanity and for the honor of our country._”

It was on February 4, 1779, that Captain Jones was ordered to the
_Bonhomme Richard_. It was not until June 19th that he was able to sail
with his little fleet. He had a right to suppose that his troubles
were now at an end, but as a matter of fact they were only begun.
Capt. Pierre Landais was, from the start, mutinous. He had claimed
superiority of rank, and this not being allowed, he was determined to
thwart his chief in every way possible. On the first night out he ran
the _Alliance_ foul of the _Bonhomme Richard_ by steering across her
bows, carrying away his own mizzenmast and a lot of the headgear of
the _Bonhomme Richard_. At this a return to port became necessary, and
it was two months before the investigation by the authorities and the
repairs were completed.

Unfortunate as this mishap appeared at the time, it proved in the end a
blessing, for while lying in port 119 Americans came over from England
through an exchange of prisoners, and more than 100 of them shipped
with Captain Jones. In the fight that was to come not a man of these
could have been spared.

When, on August 14, 1779, the fleet once more sailed from L’Orient,
it had been augmented by the _Monsieur_ and the _Granville_, two very
good French privateers. But, although they added to the number of
guns, they were a source of trouble. When four days out the _Monsieur_
captured a Holland ship that was in the hands of a British crew. The
captain of the _Monsieur_ appropriated this as the private property of
his ship instead of the property of the squadron. When Jones interfered
the two privateers left the squadron. As they were Frenchmen many of
their countrymen in the fleet sympathized with them, and discontent was
thus spread in the crews.

On August 21st a brigantine was captured and sent to L’Orient. On the
23d, off Cape Clear, the _Bonhomme Richard_, during a calm, was set
toward some rocks by a current. When some rowboats were lowered with a
line to tow her clear some Englishmen in one of them cut the tow-line
and made a successful dash for shore. Sailing Master Lunt pursued them
in another boat, was lost in a fog, and was finally obliged to go
ashore. He was, of course, sent to Mill prison.

On the 24th Captain Landais came on board the flagship, and in a
most insolent manner accused Captain Jones of losing the men through
incapacity. He declared that “he was the only American in the squadron
and was determined to follow his own opinion in chasing when and
where he thought proper, and in every other matter that concerned the
service.”

And he did it, too. Had he done no worse Captain Jones would have been
thankful.

[Illustration: Pierre Landais.

_From a copy, at the Lenox Library, of a miniature._]

On the 26th the squadron separated in a gale, only the _Vengeance_
and a captured brigantine remaining in sight of the flagship, but on
September 1st, while the flagship was chasing a vessel near the Flannen
Islands, the _Alliance_ was sighted with a prize she had taken. The
prize proved very valuable, for she was well loaded with all sorts of
rigging and stores that were in route to Quebec for use in fitting out
a fleet on the American lakes.

On September 2d the _Pallas_ was sighted, and two days later a Shetland
pilot was taken, and Captain Jones called a council of his captains to
consider the news obtained from him. Captain Landais refused to attend
this, even when a written order to do so was sent him. However, he
continued with the squadron that then sailed down the east coast of
Scotland, until September 8th, when his vessel disappeared once more.

The squadron now consisted of but two vessels beside the flagship--the
_Vengeance_ and the _Pallas_. The _Cerf_ had disappeared in the gale.
On the 13th the Cheviot Hills were descried, and on nearing the coast
next day a ship and a brig were captured. From the crews of these it
was learned that there was no land battery to defend Leith, and that
the only armed vessel in the firth or bay on which it stands carried
but twenty guns.

Captain Jones called the captains of the other two ships on board and
proposed an attack on Leith. “It is a matter of the utmost importance
to teach the enemy humanity by some exemplary stroke of retaliation,”
he said. He explained that they could at once capture some people of
note to hold as hostages, and could so alarm the nation that public
attention would be drawn to the north and away from the south coast,
where the French were really preparing to invade. The French captains
hesitated and argued half the night away, until Jones proposed to levy
a heavy contribution on both Leith and Edinburgh that lay just behind
Leith. Then they agreed with enthusiasm, but they had really lost their
opportunity.

Returning to their ships, the captains made sail for Leith. The
little squadron succeeded in entering the firth, and got as far as
Kirkcaldy. They had, meantime, been seen from the coasts roundabout,
and especially from the heights of Edinburgh, so that the country-side
was in a terrible state of alarm. But luck was against the fleet, and
the only result of the attempt on Leith that is worth mention is a good
story of the parson of the Kirkcaldy Church.

[Illustration: Leith Pier and Harbor.

_From an old engraving._]

The tide had run well out as the fleet approached Kirkcaldy. Some
of the women of the town, at the first alarm of the coming of “the
pirate,” ran to the parson for protection. In answer to their cries
he picked up the armchair in his study, and with it ran down to the
low-water mark on the beach. He was in a perspiration when he got there
and very much out of breath, but as his flock gathered around him he
plumped himself down in his chair, facing the sea, and appealed to
Almighty God as follows:

“Now, Lord, dinna ye think it is a shame for ye to send this vile
pirate to rob our folk o’ Kirkcaldy? For ye ken they are puir enough
already, and hae naething to spare. They are all fairly guid, and it
wad be a pity to serve them in sic a wa’. The wa’ the wind blows, he’ll
be here in a jiffy, and wha kens what he may do? He is nane too guid
for onything. Muckle’s the mischief he has done already. Ony pocket
gear they hae gathered thegither, he will gang wi’ the whole o’t, and
maybe burn their houses, tak’ their cla’es, and strip them to their
sarks! And wae’s me! Wha kens but the bluidy villain may tak’ their
lives? The puir women are maist frightened out o’ their wuts, and the
bairns skreeking after them. I canna tho’t it! I canna tho’t it! _I
hae been long a faithfu’ servant to ye, Lord_; but gin ye dinna turn
the wind about, and blow the scoundrel out o’ our gate, I’ll nae stir
a foot, but just sit here until the tide comes in and drowns me. _Sae
tak’ your wull o’t, Lord!_”

While the parson prayed came one of the sudden squalls down from the
mountains. The squalls are common enough at that season, but the
parson’s flock, on seeing the bay flecked over with the white foam
ripped by a contrary wind from the tiny waves, with one accord shouted
that the parson’s prayer had been answered. The parson was so proud of
his prayer that he wrote it out for his admirers, and so it has been
preserved for the amusement of posterity.

As the old parson told the Lord, “the pirate” would have been upon
them all “in a jiffy”--had he not been delayed by the argument with
his captains, he would have reached Leith before the wind came out of
the west. It seems singular at the first look that Jones should have
consulted the captains at all, but it must be told that he was obliged
to do so because the jealous Landais had, before sailing, succeeded in
getting the French minister to order such consultations when matters
of great importance were in hand. The squadron was sailing under the
American flag, but it had French orders.

On leaving the Firth of Forth the French captains became mutinous
through fear of the British fleet sure to be sent from the south when
the tale of the attempt on Leith was told there. They gave the captain
until the 22d to make sail for other waters, and threatened to leave
him if he did not do so. But they thought better of it afterwards.

The _Pallas_ did, indeed, disappear on the 22d while the squadron was
near Flamborough Head, but on the morning of the 23d the flagship, with
the _Vengeance_, fell in with her at daylight and found the _Alliance_
with her.

It should be told, by the way, that on the 22d, while the _Bonhomme
Richard_ was lying close in shore, she was accosted by a man in a
small boat who said he had been sent by a member of Parliament living
near the coast to ask for some powder and bullets for defence against
“the pirate Jones,” who was known to be on the coast. The _Bonhomme
Richard_ had been mistaken for a British warship. Captain Jones sent a
barrel of powder ashore with a message of regret saying that he had no
projectiles of proper size.

[Illustration: _From an engraving by Guttenberg, after a drawing by
Notté, in the collection of Mr. W. C. Crane._]

But the day of all days in the career of John Paul Jones, the 23d of
September, 1779, was now at hand. At noon, as the four vessels of
the squadron were jogging along to the north, they saw with mingled
feeling of consternation and hope a fleet that numbered forty-two ships
come around Flamborough Head. If this was a war fleet the fate of the
squadron under the American flag was sealed, and he who was called in
British state papers “the pirate Jones, a rebel subject and criminal
of the state,” would hang at Execution Dock. If it was a merchant
fleet under an ordinary convoy the condition of affairs would be
different--it would be a most exhilarating condition of affairs. There
was a light breeze at the time, and the big fleet was well inshore. As
Captain Jones, after a prolonged examination, concluded that he had
merchantmen in a convoy of two frigates before him, he saw a small boat
pull hastily off to the larger of the two frigates and a man mounted
from it to her deck. A moment later three signal flags were fluttering
from the maintruck of the frigate and a gun was fired to windward--a
signal to the merchantmen to seek safety in flight.

In wild confusion the merchantmen obeyed, scattering hither and yon;
but the frigates, one of which was the _Serapis_, Captain Pearson,
of fifty guns, and the other the _Countess of Scarborough_, Captain
Piercy, of twenty-two six-pounders, bravely bore down to meet the
enemy, in spite of the fact that the Yankee fleet numbered four to
their two. The captains of these two English ships were so far worthy
foes of any naval commander that ever sailed.

Captain Jones now had what appeared an opportunity to not only capture
two good warships of the enemy without a too severe fight, but, with
good luck, some of the convoy. But once more the insubordination of
Landais on the _Alliance_ became manifest, and well-nigh fatally. He
not only refused to obey the signal of the flagship to fall in line,
but he sailed up near the _Pallas_ and said to her captain:

“If it is a ship of more than fifty guns we have nothing to do but to
run away.”

Fortunately, Captain Cottineau saw that more glory was to be obtained
by fighting the enemy than in quarrelling with the flag officer, and he
gallantly sailed to meet the smaller British frigate.

The _Alliance_ was held aloof. The _Vengeance_ was too far away to take
part in the battle.

In the movements of the fighting ships that followed, the wind was so
light that they merely drifted over the oil-smooth water. The sun sank
out of sight behind the hills and daylight faded away into darkness so
that even the lofty towers of canvas were seen only as the faintest
shadows. But each side was hunting for the other, and eventually, in
the profound silence of a night at sea, the _Bonhomme Richard_ and the
_Serapis_ drew near each other. When but ten yards away from each other
a voice from the _Serapis_ demanded:

“What ship is that?”

“I can’t hear what you say,” replied Jones, wishing to get nearer
before opening fire. For a moment the ships drifted on in silence as
before, and then the voice was heard once more through the night:

“What ship is that? Answer, or I shall be under the necessity of firing
into you.”

Instead of answering the hail, Captain Jones in a low voice passed
the word to fire, and the next instant the spurting flames from the
American guns were answered, as it were, in the same breath by those of
the British, and the night battle was begun. It was then exactly seven
o’clock.

At the first fire two of the three eighteen-pounders in the lower-deck
broadside of the _Bonhomme Richard_ burst. “We could see that as we
sighted for our next broadside, because we could see how they hove
up the gun-deck above them,” wrote Capt. Francis Heddart, who was a
midshipman on the _Serapis_ during the fight. And the midshipman and
his men noted with glee that thereafter none of these, the heaviest
guns on the Yankee’s ship, was fired. The crews of the two guns that
burst were all either killed or seriously wounded, and the men on that
deck were called up to the main deck to help work the guns there. And
most remarkable results followed on this move.

[Illustration: The Engagement between the _Bonhomme Richard_ and
_Serapis_.

_From an engraving by Hamilton of a drawing by Collier._]

The _Serapis_ had entered the fight close-hauled on the port tack and
to leeward. The _Bonhomme Richard_, running free, sailed across the
enemy’s bow and then came to the wind, while the enemy veered off a
little, and thereafter for one hour the two ships drifted side by side,
drawing slowly nearer to each other, while the men, with desperate
energy, worked their guns. But there was a vast difference in the guns.
“We had ten eighteen-pounders in each battery below,” wrote an officer
of the _Serapis_ afterward. “I do not see why any shot should have
failed.”

And no shot of that battery did fail during the first hour, and when
they failed later it was because they had shot the six ports of the
_Bonhomme Richard_ into one huge chasm, not only on the side of her
next to them, but on the further side as well, so that when they fired
some of the battery the balls passed clear and fell into the sea
beyond. There was not a splinter of the American ship left in front of
them. They had not only cut away the walls of the _Bonhomme Richard_;
they had practically cleared her lower gundeck. There was no one left
there save only a few marines that guarded the line of boys passing
cartridges from the magazine up to the guns on the upper deck.

Nor was that the worst effect the English fire had had upon the
_Bonhomme Richard_. Taking advantage of the rolling of the vessels in
the long gentle swell, the English had been able to send a half dozen
of their eighteen-pound shot into the _Bonhomme Richard_ below the
water-line, and she was “leaking like a basket.”

By this time the _Serapis_, having the wind of the _Bonhomme Richard_,
drew ahead, intending to lie across the latter’s bows and rake her.
But the captain miscalculated his distance, got too far down in front,
yawed off, and then putting his helm alee, came to the wind fair in
front of the _Bonhomme Richard_. A minute later the _Bonhomme Richard_
ran her jibboom over the stern of the _Serapis_, and then, because no
great gun would bear on either side, the fire, save for an occasional
musket shot, ceased.

For a moment the two ships hung together in silence, and then the
voice of Captain Pearson was heard asking if the American ship had
surrendered. And John Paul Jones replied:

“I have not yet begun to fight.”

By the shifting of sails the two ships drifted apart. Once more the
commander of the _Serapis_ strove to get into position to rake, but as
the _Serapis_ wore around, the _Bonhomme Richard_ forged ahead. Jones
was determined to keep close to the enemy, and soon the jibboom of the
_Serapis_ fouled the starboard mizzen rigging of the _Bonhomme Richard_.

[Illustration: DIAGRAM OF THE SERAPIS-BONHOMME RICHARD BATTLE

  _Note._--At 7.30 o’clock, when John Paul Jones said, “I have not yet
  begun to fight,” the bow of his ship was against the stern of the
  _Serapis_. He then backed his sails and went astern while the enemy,
  with full sails, went ahead until, say, 7.45, when the _Serapis_
  backed her foretopsail and wore around, bow from the wind, and came
  back. Meantime Jones had filled away, and the two ships got together
  at, say, 8.10 o’clock just where they had first touched. They then
  drifted westerly until 9 o’clock, when the _Serapis_ anchored.
]

Turning to Carpenter Stacy, who was near at hand, Jones ordered a
hawser brought. When it came he helped with his own hands to lash
the jibboom of the _Serapis_ fast to the mizzenmast of the _Bonhomme
Richard_. While doing this the hawser fouled in some way and Stacy
began to curse.

“Don’t swear, Mr. Stacy,” said Jones. “In another moment we all may be
in eternity, but let us do our duty.”

They did their duty, and the ships were held hard and fast, and John
Paul Jones emphasized his faith in what had been done by saying:

“Well done, my brave lads. We have got her now.”

And so they had in one way. One anchor of the _Serapis_ dropped over
on the _Bonhomme Richard_, and was secured where it would help to hold
her, and more lashings were passed elsewhere. Even when the _Serapis_
anchored she could not get away. But in the sense of capturing the
_Serapis_, never was such a triumphant cry raised with a less hope of
accomplishing the result.

The ships now lay with their starboard sides together. During the last
half hour or so the crew of the _Serapis_ had been working their port
battery. When they ran across to work their starboard guns they were
unable to open their ports amidships because the ships were touching
each other, so they fired through their own closed ports, blowing the
port-lids off.

On the _Bonhomme Richard_ the men were no less determined. Their
remaining guns were fought even with cheerful vigor. Lieut. Richard
Dale used to tell how, on going down on the gundeck, he saw a gun’s
crew of his men racing with a crew over in the _Serapis_ to see which
would get loaded first. The ships were side to side and the guns were
muzzle-loaders. Each crew, to get its charge set home, had to poke
its long-handled rammer through the enemy’s port before it could be
inserted into the gun’s bore.

“Fair play, you damned Yankee,” roared an English gunner, poking his
rammer through the Yankee’s port.

“Mind your eye, Johnny Bull,” replied the Yankee, following the same
movement.

Alas! the “Johnny Bull” had been a trifle ahead of the “damned Yankee,”
and firing his gun, he dismounted that on the _Bonhomme Richard_.

The British were, in fact, soon quite as successful in their handling
of the main-deck battery as they had been with that on the lower deck.
Every twelve-pounder but one on the _Bonhomme Richard_ was silenced in
one way and another, and so, too, were the little nine-pounders on the
forecastle. There were then but two cannon left in service on the
_Bonhomme Richard_, the two nine-pounders on the fighting side of the
quarter-deck.

[Illustration: The _Serapis_ and the _Bonhomme Richard_.

_From an engraving by Lerpinière after a drawing by Fitler._]

John Paul Jones had been working these two with his own hands, loading
one with double shot to cut down the enemy’s mainmast, and the other
with grape and canister to sweep away the crew on her deck.

In this desperate strait and when just in the act of ordering another
nine-pounder brought from the off side that he might use it on the crew
of the _Serapis_, his chief surgeon came up from below to announce that
the water was coming in so fast as to float the wounded, and to ask
that the ship be surrendered before she sank with all hands.

Turning on the surgeon with perfect self-possession, Captain Jones
replied, as if astounded at the request:

“What, Doctor! Would you have me strike to a drop of water? Here, help
me get this gun over.”

The doctor ran back to the wounded without delay, but Jones got the gun
over, and he served it, too.

A squad of twenty marines under Colonel de Chamilard had fled from the
quarter-deck, where they had been stationed to pick off the enemy’s gun
crews.

The enemy made an attempt to board. John Paul Jones, with a few men,
pikes in hand, stopped him. The moonlight was now bright, and seeing
this man before them--this “pirate”--they quailed.

Meantime matters had been going from bad to worse below decks on the
_Bonhomme Richard_. Not only was she steadily filling with water; the
blazing wads from the enemy’s guns had set her afire in several places.
These fires spread rapidly in spite of the efforts of some men sent
below.

And then came the _Alliance_ under Captain Landais. Sailing across
the bow of the _Bonhomme Richard_ and the stern of the _Serapis_, of
course, as they lay together, he fired a broadside. The forecastle of
the _Bonhomme Richard_ received the greater part of the projectiles,
and Midshipman Caswell was killed, while ten or a dozen seamen were
killed and wounded. Private signals were set, and a score of voices
yelled to the _Alliance_ that they were firing into the wrong ship;
but coming down on the broadside of the _Bonhomme Richard_, she fired
again, so that the cry arose:

“The _Alliance_ has been captured by the British and is now attacking
us.”

It is likely that this was the only moment when John Paul Jones thought
of yielding, but as the _Alliance_ drew off he continued the fight not
only against the enemy, but against the fire and water in his own ship.

And more to be feared were the fire and water. The ship was filling,
and when the carpenter tried the water, he found it five feet deep
in her hold, while the fire was rapidly approaching the magazine.
On coming from the well, he said disconsolately that the ship would
sink. At that the Master at Arms liberated the prisoners, two or
three hundred in number, who were confined below, and told them to
save themselves. The struggle and confusion that followed as these
men came from their quarters were frightful. Here were, indeed, many
more English subjects running free than all the crew of the _Bonhomme
Richard_ who were below decks. There were almost as many as the entire
crew. Then the gunner, who had heard the remark about sinking and had
seen the prisoners liberated, ran to the poop-deck, and in a panic of
fear strove to find the signal halliards that he might haul down the
flag in token of surrender. He was shouting as he ran:

“Quarter! for God’s sake, quarter! Our ship is sinking”; but John Paul
Jones heard the words, and turning around, he hurled an empty pistol
at the man’s head, fractured his skull by the blow, and knocked him
headlong down the hatch.

“Do you call for quarter?” shouted Captain Pearson, who had heard the
cry.

“Never!” replied John Paul Jones.

“Then I’ll give you none,” replied Pearson, and the fight went on,
while Jones sent his resourceful lieutenant, Richard Dale, below to see
why the cartridges of powder were no longer coming up, for neither he
nor Dale at this moment knew that the prisoners had been released.

But when he saw the condition of affairs below, Dale, instead of
quailing, with ready wit told the prisoners that the _Serapis_ was
just sinking and their only hope of life was in keeping the _Bonhomme
Richard_ afloat. At this the whole mob of them went to the pumps and to
fighting the fire. They worked in gangs till they dropped from sheer
exhaustion, when other gangs took their places.

There was one of them--a captain of a captured ship--who did not
believe the story. He climbed through the ports to the _Serapis_ and
told of the hopeless condition of the American crew. But his story was
discredited because of an extraordinary occurrence on the _Serapis_. As
the ships lay together the mainyard of the _Bonhomme Richard_ stretched
fair over the main hatch of the _Serapis_. Noticing this fact, a bright
marine in the maintop of the _Bonhomme Richard_ took advantage of it.
The marines in the tops had been of the utmost service in clearing the
decks of the enemy already, but this man, with a leather bucket of hand
grenades and a candle, climbed out on the mainyard until over the hatch
of the _Serapis_, and then, securing his bucket to the sheet-block, he
began dropping the lighted grenades into her hold.

The hand grenade is a shell near the weight of a baseball. The first
one he dropped exploded on a great heap of gun cartridges that had
accumulated along the lower deck behind the guns. A tremendous
explosion followed.

“It was awful! Some twenty of our men were fairly blown to pieces.
There were other men who were stripped naked, with nothing on but the
collars of their shirts and wristbands. Farther aft there was not so
much powder, perhaps, and the men were scorched or burned more than
they were wounded. I do not know how I escaped, but I do know that
there was hardly a man forward of my guns who did escape.” So wrote
Captain Heddart, already quoted. The explosion also set the _Serapis_
on fire.

[Illustration: Paul Jones Capturing the _Serapis_.

_From an engraving of the picture by Chappel._]

That was the decisive moment of the battle. While the British had been
disabling all but three or four of the guns on the upper deck of the
_Bonhomme Richard_, the men in the tops of the Yankee ship and the
murderous fire of the nine-pounders, which Jones himself had worked,
had gradually driven all the men off the upper deck of the _Serapis_.
That Captain Pearson had escaped injury is a marvel, for he had with
undaunted courage directed the battle from the quarter-deck. But as the
smoke of the great explosion rose through his hatches, he found himself
practically alone, while Jones, with a cocked pistol in hand, was
rallying his men successfully to increase the fire of his upper-deck
guns.

As the British commander saw the fight, he was now without men, and the
other Yankee frigate had but a short time before fired a broadside from
which some balls entered the _Serapis_. Captain Pearson knew nothing
of the treachery on the _Alliance_. He knew nothing (and this was to
his discredit) of the real state of affairs on the lower decks of the
_Bonhomme Richard_. Going to his flag that had been nailed to the mast,
he tore it down with his own hands.

A moment later John Paul Jones saw that the flag was down, and with
such feelings of relief as can scarcely be imagined, gave the order
“cease firing.”




CHAPTER X

AFTER THE _SERAPIS_ SURRENDERED

  RICHARD DALE TOO BRIGHT FOR THE BRITISH LIEUTENANT--A FAIR
    ESTIMATE OF CAPTAIN PEARSON OF THE _SERAPIS_--THE TREACHERY OF
    LANDAIS--REMARKABLE ESCAPE FROM TEXEL--HONORS FOR THE VICTOR--“THE
    FAME OF THE BRAVE OUTLIVES HIM; HIS PORTION IS IMMORTALITY.”


As soon as the flag was dragged down on the _Serapis_, John Paul
Jones ordered Lieut. Richard Dale on board of her to take charge, but
before he could do so the mainmast of the _Serapis_ came crashing
down, pulling the mizzentopmast with it. Then Dale jumped on the rail
of his own ship, grasped the brace of the yard from which the lucky
hand-grenade had been dropped, and swung himself down on the deck of
the _Serapis_. A few of his crew followed him.

“As he made his way aft he saw a solitary person leaning on the
tafferil in a melancholy posture, his face resting upon his hands. It
was Captain Pearson. He said to Dale,

“‘The ship has struck.’ While hurrying him on [the _Bonhomme Richard_]
an officer came from below and observed to Captain Pearson, that the
ship alongside was going down.

“‘We have got three guns clear, sir, and they’ll soon send her to the
devil.’

“The captain replied,

“‘It’s too late, sir. Call the men off. The ship has struck.

“‘_I’ll go below, sir, and call them off immediately_,’ and he was
about to descend when Dale, interfering, said,

“‘_No, sir, if you please you’ll come on board with me._’”

The above is quoted from the “British Journal” of an old date. Dale
was of the opinion that, once that officer got below, he would have
disregarded the surrender--that he would have used the three guns to
send the _Bonhomme Richard_ “to the devil,” as he had proposed to do.
That he might have done so is not doubted.

[Illustration: CAPTAIN SIR RICH^D. PEARSON KN^T.

_Lieutenant Governor of Greenwich Hospital_]

And then came John Paul Jones to receive the sword of the defeated
Pearson. According to the older accounts of this fight, Pearson said,
as he handed his sword to his conqueror:

“It is painful to deliver up my sword to a man who has fought with a
halter around his neck.”

To this, it is said, Jones replied:

“Sir, you have fought like a hero; and I make no doubt your sovereign
will reward you in the most ample manner.”

[Illustration: John Paul Jones.

_After a rare engraving._]

In the present era of intense desire for arbitration instead of
war a historian of this battle has written that “The story that
Captain Pearson said, in giving up his sword, that it added to his
mortification to give up his sword to a man who fought with a rope
around his neck, is an idle fabrication, and a slur on Captain Pearson.”

Whether Captain Pearson said it or not cannot now be definitely
determined, but the reader shall judge for himself, further on, whether
the story is “a slur on” him or not.

The fight occurred so close inshore as to be plainly visible from the
bluff overlooking the sea, and hundreds of people from the country-side
gathered there to gaze upon the scene. For a time, of course, there was
nothing distinguishable but the flash of the guns through the night,
but after an hour the moon rose out of the sea, and then two ships,
locked in the embrace of death, stood out in the midst of a cloud of
smoke. That these spectators looked on confidently rejoicing in the
prospect of a victory for their own ship, need not be doubted. How they
rejoiced as they thought that their shores were now to be rid of the
“pirates” is easily imagined; but who shall picture their consternation
when a boatload of their countrymen escaped ashore and told the direful
facts?

To show the spirit in which English historians have always written
about any matter in which the American navy had part, it is worth
noting that Allen (“Battles of the British Navy”), ignoring the
presence of tens of thousands of Hessians in the British forces in
America, tries to throw contempt on the crew of the _Bonhomme Richard_
by calling them “hirelings,” and even stigmatizes the established fact
of the treachery of Landais as an “absurd” charge.

A brief statement of the comparative strength of the two ships is
essential. The _Bonhomme Richard_ entered the fight with forty-two
guns, which could throw 557 pounds of projectiles at a discharge; the
_Serapis_ carried fifty, throwing 600 pounds. After the first broadside
the _Bonhomme Richard_ had no eighteen-pounders in action, while the
_Serapis_ had twenty. The crew of the American ship had been reduced
to 304 by the drafts made in manning prizes, and of these no more than
one-third were Americans. The _Serapis_ carried 320, chiefly picked
men. So effective had been the work of the crew of the _Serapis_ that
at the end of an hour any ordinary man would have surrendered the
_Bonhomme Richard_; but John Paul Jones was of different character
from ordinary men. With a tenacity of purpose that has never been
surpassed, he continued the fight and won. The number of killed on
each ship was forty-nine. The _Serapis_ had sixty-eight wounded and
the _Bonhomme Richard_ sixty-seven, among whom were John Paul Jones
himself and Richard Dale. Jones was hit in the head, and the wound
afterwards seriously affected his eyes, but he said nothing about it
in his report. Dale was wounded by a splinter during the fight, but
did not even know it until after the fight was over. While sitting on
the binnacle of the _Serapis_ and giving orders to get her under way,
he found she did not move when her sails were full. He did not then
know she was anchored. Jumping up to see what was the matter, he fell
at full length on the deck. His blood had cooled by this time, and the
wound disabled him then.

[Illustration: Signature of Richard Dale.

_From a letter at the Lenox Library._]

The smaller British ship that was protecting the convoy, the _Countess
of Scarborough_, is lost to sight during the remarkable conflict
between the _Serapis_ and the _Bonhomme Richard_, but she was forced
into battle by the gallant Captain Piercy of the _Pallas_, and for
two hours she maintained it. Then she surrendered. The _Pallas_ was
superior to her in guns and crew, but, on the whole, not to the extent
that British historians would have their readers believe, for the
_Pallas_ was a merchant ship modelled to carry cargo only, while the
_Countess of Scarborough_ was built as a man-of-war.

Of the treachery of Captain Landais a brief space will suffice because,
as already said, his disappointments while in the French service
had made him partially insane. That he fired into the _Bonhomme
Richard_ was proved beyond any doubt by his own men, some of whom (the
Americans) refused to fire the guns at his order. It was proved by his
own officers (Frenchmen at that) that he said he would have “thought it
no harm if the _Bonhomme Richard_ had struck, for it would have given
him an opportunity to retake her and to take the _Serapis_.” A sane
man would have been executed for such treachery as his, of course, but
he was very properly dismissed only. He settled down in New York City
after the war, where he lived on an income of $100 a year, derived from
prize money that he had obtained. It was his habit to take a walk on
lower Broadway every day when the weather and his health permitted. He
was a curious figure there, for he “never appeared abroad with his
old-fashioned cocked hat in its legitimate station,” but “carrying
it forever in his hand, as a mark of homage and respect to, and in
commemoration of the cruel death of his beloved sovereign.”

[Illustration: A Letter from Pierre Landais.

_From the original at the Lenox Library._]

[Illustration: John Paul Jones.

_From a miniature, recently found (1897) in a cellar at the Naval
Academy._]

To return to the story of what happened immediately after the
conclusion of the battle between the _Bonhomme Richard_ and the
_Serapis_, the facts may best be given in the words of John Paul Jones
himself. In his report he says:

“I had yet two Enemies to encounter far more formidable than the
britons, I mean fire and Water. the _Serapis_ Was attacked only by the
first, but B. _h._ R. Was assailed by both, there was five feet Water
in the hould, and tho’ it Was moderate from Explosion of so much gun
powder, yet the three pumps that remained could with difficulty only
keep the Water from gaining. the fire broke out in Various parts of
the Ship in spite of all the Water that Could be thrown (immediately)
to quench it, and at length broke out as low as the powder magazine
and within a few inches of the powder. in that dilema I took out the
powder upon deck ready to be thrown overboard at the last extremity,
and it Was ten O’clock A.M. the next day the 24 before the fire Was
entirely extinguished. With respect to the Situation of the B. _h._ R.
the rudder Was cut Entirely off the stern frame and transoms Were
almost Entire Cut away, the timbers by the lower Deck especially from
the mainmast to the stern, being greatly decayed With age, were mangled
beyond my power of description, and a person must have been an Eye
Witness to form a Just idea of the tremendous scene of carnage, Wreck
and Ruin that Every Where appeared. humanity cannot but Recoil from the
prospect of such finished horror and Lament that War should produce
such fatal consequences.

“After the Carpinters as well as Captain De Cottineau and other men of
Sense had well examined and Surveyed the Ship (which was not finished
before five in the Evening) I found every person to be convinced
that it was Impossible to keep the B. _h._ R. afloat So as to reach a
port if the Wind should increase it being then only a very moderate
breeze. I had but little time to remove my Wounded, which now became
unavoidable and which Was effected in the Course of the night and
next morning. I was determined to keep the B. _h._ R. afloat and, if
possible, to bring her into port for that purpose the first Lieutenant
of the _Pallas_ continued on board with a party of men to attend the
pumps with boats in Waiting ready to take them on board in Case the
water should gain on them too fast the Wind augmented in the Night
and the next day on the 25, So that it was Impossible to prevent the
good old ship from Sinking. they did not abandon her till after nine
o’clock. the Water was then up to the Lower deck, and a little after
ten I saw With inexpressible grief the last glimpse of the B. _h._ R.”

[Illustration: John Paul Jones.

_From a very rare engraving at the Navy Department, Washington._]

The _Bonhomme Richard_ had gone into the fight with a great American
ensign, four times as long as it was broad, floating in the breeze. It
was shot away during the conflict and lay floating over the stern for
a time, but it was rescued. And when it was seen that the old ship was
past saving, the battle-torn flag was hoisted to its old place, and
with that fluttering in the brisk air the famous old ship sank out of
sight.

[Illustration: John Paul Jones.

_From an engraving by Chapman in the collection of Mr. W. C. Crane._]

When John Paul Jones arrived at Texel on October 3d a British squadron
was close behind him. Sending in to the Dutch admiral, he asked
permission to anchor in the harbor. The Dutch were not then at war
with the English, and their admiral, influenced by the attitude of
the Dutch court, which was not friendly to the Americans, refused the
permission, but later he grudgingly granted it, and the Americans
arrived in after a narrow escape.

The conduct of Captain Pearson of the _Serapis_ on arrival in Texel
must be noted because it helps to portray that of his conqueror. When
the plate, linen, etc., that had been taken from the _Serapis_ were
offered to him by John Paul Jones, he refused to accept it from Jones,
but said he would take it if offered by Captain Cottineau of the
_Pallas_. “Paul Jones magnanimously overlooked this vulgar subterfuge,
and returned it through Cottineau.” In view of this undisputed fact, is
it really a slur on Captain Pearson to suppose that he said what he is
charged with saying when he surrendered his sword? The British, through
their ambassador, demanded that the _Serapis_ and her consort be
returned and that the Americans be delivered up as pirates. The Holland
court did not yield that far, though they compelled John Paul Jones to
go to sea in the face of a blockading squadron, and because the request
of the British was refused, war was declared against Holland. And so
the victory of the _Bonhomme Richard_ was far-reaching in its effects.

To offset the manifest advantages which accrued to the Americans
through this fight, and especially to counteract the fear and
depression which it occasioned throughout England and Scotland, the
British ministry adroitly chose to treat Pearson as well as if he had
obtained a victory. He was made a knight, and some London merchants
were induced to give him silver plate worth £100. Piercy was promoted,
and got silver worth £50. When John Paul Jones heard of Pearson’s luck
he said:

“He has deserved it; and if I should have the good fortune to fall in
with him again, I will make him a lord.”

The flight of John Paul Jones from Texel in the _Alliance_ was
characteristic of the man, for instead of taking the long route around
the north of the British Islands he boldly headed for the narrow
Straits of Dover, leaving port in a howling gale. He passed so close to
Dover that he counted the warships in the Downs, and he counted those
at Spithead also. He sailed from Texel on December 27, 1779, and he
reached Corruna on January 16th. It is worth noting that throughout
this extraordinary passage he kept the American flag flying.

[Illustration: John Paul Jones’s Medal.]

On reaching Paris, John Paul Jones was the hero of the day. The
American commissioners paid him every honor. The king (Louis XVI) gave
him a gold-hilted sword appropriately inscribed and the Grand Cross of
the Order of Military Merit. When he appeared in the queen’s box at
the opera the whole audience rose up to cheer. Later in the evening
a laurel wreath was suspended above his head, but he left his seat
then--“an instance of modesty which is to this day held up as a model
to French schoolboys.”

In the autumn of 1780 Jones sailed to America in the _Ariel_ with
supplies for the American army. He was the honored guest of the
greatest men of the nation. The Congress passed resolutions in his
honor three times. It gave him a gold medal, and it placed him at the
head of the navy, which was an honor that he had fully earned and which
was to him a greater satisfaction than all other honors.

[Illustration: John Paul Jones.

_From an engraving in the collection of Mr. W. C. Crane._]

Meantime the British government denounced John Paul Jones as a pirate
and put a price upon his head. It offered ten thousand guineas for him,
dead or alive, and that sum then was equal to more than $100,000 now.

It is to the glory of this naval captain that it was so. The English
writers to this day deliberately misrepresent the man. They strive
to distinguish him from all other heroes of the American Revolution
because he was born in Scotland. They pretend to admire those who were
born in the colonies. But in so distinguishing Jones they ignore the
fact that the heroic General Montgomery, who perished before the icy
walls of Quebec, was born in Ireland, as was Commodore John Barry,
another American hero. The truth is that John Paul Jones entered the
American navy in December, 1775, when every man in the service was a
citizen of Great Britain. He became a citizen of the United States when
the new nation was born. At the end of the war he could make the proud
boast that “I have never borne arms under any but the American flag,
nor have I ever borne or acted under any commission but that of the
Congress of America.”

“I have ever looked out for the Honour of the American flag,” he writes
at another time, and when, at the last, he wrote his will in the face
of death, he described himself, although he had been loaded with
honors, simply as “John Paul Jones, a citizen of the United States.”

“The fame of the brave outlives him; his portion is immortality.”

[Illustration: A Letter from John Paul Jones to Thomas Jefferson.

_From the original at the Lenox Library._]




CHAPTER XI

THE YEAR 1779 IN AMERICAN WATERS

  LUCKY RAIDS ON BRITISH TRANSPORTS AND MERCHANTMEN--DISASTROUS
    EXPEDITION TO THE PENOBSCOT--THE _TRUMBULL’S_ GOOD FIGHT WITH THE
    _WATT_--THE FIRST YANKEE LINE-OF-BATTLE-SHIP--WHEN NICHOLSON,
    WITH A WRECKED SHIP AND FIFTY MEN, FOUGHT FOR AN HOUR AGAINST TWO
    FRIGATES, EACH OF WHICH WAS SUPERIOR TO THE YANKEE SHIP--CAPTAIN
    BARRY’S EXASPERATING PREDICAMENT IN A CALM--THE LAST NAVAL BATTLE
    OF THE REVOLUTION.


While John Paul Jones was moving heaven and earth to get away to sea
with his famous _Bonhomme Richard_, the American naval ships in home
waters were by no means idle, even though British successes, with
combined land and naval forces, had seriously reduced the fleet.
On March 18, 1779, a squadron consisting of the frigate _Warren_,
thirty-two guns, Capt. John Burroughs Hopkins; the _Queen of France_,
twenty-eight guns, Capt. Joseph Olney, and the famous old _Ranger_, of
eighteen guns (she that whipped the _Drake_), under Captain Simpson,
sailed from Boston. A few days later a privateer was captured. From her
crew it was learned that a fleet of armed transports and storeships
had sailed with supplies from New York for the British army in the
South.

How the Yankee squadron crowded on sail in pursuit of this fleet; how
the ships of the fleet were sighted two days later, jogging along at
the ordinary pace of the slowest; and how they came to the wind or
squared away or tacked or wore ship in a confused effort to escape at
the sight of the Yankees would have been something worth seeing by any
one interested in ocean races.

There were nine of the transports, and seven were taken. These included
the _Jason_, twenty guns; the _Maria_, sixteen guns; the _Hibernia_,
eight guns, and four unarmed transports. Captain Campbell and twenty
other English army officers were in the fleet _en route_ to join their
regiments, and these were by no means an unimportant part of the
capture when one recalls the treatment Americans were receiving from
the British when captured.

The Captain Hopkins who had this good luck was a son of Esek Hopkins,
the first American naval captain. He carried his prizes into port at
once.

Then, in May the frigate _Queen of France_, under Capt. John P.
Rathbourne; the _Ranger_, under Simpson, and the _Providence_
(twenty-eight guns), under Capt. Abraham Whipple, went on a cruise.
Whipple, it will be remembered, was the leader of the party disguised
as Indians who, with paving stones as their chief weapons, captured
and destroyed the schooner _Gaspé_ in the first salt-water conflict
of the war (1772). Captain Rathbourne was he who, in the little brig
_Providence_, captured New Providence Island on January 27, 1778, with
six vessels that were in the harbor.

For two months this squadron did nothing, but early in July they fell
in with a great fleet of merchantmen escorted by a ship-of-the-line
(seventy-four guns) and a number of frigates. Notwithstanding the
efficiency of this guard, the Yankees cut out eleven of the merchant
ships and carried them into port. It is recorded that the cargoes of
these ships were worth over a million dollars in gold, and that this
cruise was financially the most profitable of the war.

Meantime there was a fight between brigs that shows at once the
wonderful courage and endurance of the Anglo-Saxon seaman, no matter
on which side of the Atlantic his home is found, and the further fact
that in 1779 the Yankee sailor was becoming somewhat skilled as a
man-o’-war’sman. The American brig _Providence_, Capt. Hoysted Hacker,
fell in with the English brig _Diligent_, Capt. Thomas Davyson, May
7th. At the end of an hour the _Diligent_ struck her colors, but
she had lost twenty-seven in killed and wounded out of her crew of
fifty-three before she did so. The _Providence_ lost only four killed
and ten wounded.

The _Diligent_ was at once taken into the American service, but
disaster overtook the squadron in which she sailed. The enemy had
established a fort on the Penobscot for convenience as a base for
operating against Massachusetts. Accordingly 1,500 militia were sent
with a fleet of transports and privateers to capture it. With this
fleet went the frigate _Warren_, Capt. Dudley Saltonstall; the brig
_Diligent_, and the old brig _Providence_, that had seen service from
the first.

[Illustration: Signature of Hoysted Hacker.

_From a letter at the Lenox Library._]

The expedition reached the Penobscot on July 25, 1779, and found not
only a fort, but three warships, aggregating forty-nine guns, ready
for a fight. An attack was made, but the Americans were repulsed. They
then began the slower process of reducing the works by siege, but on
August 13th a British fleet of one ship-of-the-line (sixty-four guns),
three frigates of thirty-two guns each, three sloops-of-war aggregating
forty-eight guns, and a brig of fourteen guns, appeared.

At this the privateers scattered, each captain seeking safety as he
thought best, regardless of the safety of the others. The American
naval fleet, with the transports, retreated up the river, where all
were destroyed to prevent the enemy getting them. It was a very heavy
blow to the American naval forces.

Among the English squadron was the frigate _Virginia_ that had grounded
in the Chesapeake while trying to get to sea for the first time in
1778, when her commander, Captain Nicholson, abandoned her to the enemy.

[Illustration: _From a very rare engraving at the Lenox Library._]

While the British were approaching the Penobscot on this expedition,
this Captain Nicholson, in the thirty-two-gun frigate _Deane_
(sometimes called the _Hague_), and Capt. Samuel Tucker, in the
twenty-four-gun _Boston_, sailed on a cruise. They captured six prizes,
including a privateer of twenty guns, another of eighteen, and a
merchantman armed with sixteen guns. The eighteen-gun privateer was the
_Thorn_. After returning to port, Captain Tucker took the _Boston_
to Charleston, and when that place surrendered he was made prisoner,
but was soon after exchanged for the captain of the _Thorn_, whom he
had captured earlier in the year. Returning to Boston, he was ordered
to take command of the captured _Thorn_, and in the cruise that he then
made he took seven vessels. As he had captured thirty vessels before
he entered the navy, it is likely that Captain Tucker took more prizes
during the Revolution than any other commander.

When Charleston fell, there were lost with the _Boston_, just
mentioned, the frigate _Providence_, of twenty-eight guns; the _Queen
of France_, of equal metal, and the _Ranger_, in which John Paul Jones
captured the _Blake_. Thereafter, of all the ships that the Congress
had built or purchased and placed in service, only six remained in the
American navy. These were the _Alliance_, of thirty-two guns, in which
Landais had tried to betray John Paul Jones; the _Confederacy_ and the
_Deane_, of equal metal; the _Trumbull_, of twenty-eight guns; the _Duc
de Lauzan_, of twenty guns, and the _Saratoga_, of eighteen. Worse
yet, at the end of 1779 both officers and men were scarce because the
British, knowing that the supply of American seamen was limited, had
refused to exchange sailor prisoners in order that they might so keep
the American forces reduced. And of the seamen available for the
navy not a small proportion preferred to sail in privateers because of
the chances of great gains found in them.

[Illustration]

[Illustration: _From a contemporary map at the Lenox Library._]

Because of this condition of affairs it happened that when Capt. James
Nicholson sailed in the _Trumbull_ on the last day of May, 1780, for a
cruise along the American coast his crew contained more landsmen--men
and boys who had never been outside of any harbor--than of seamen. With
such a mob as this in place of a crew, he fell in with a big British
privateer on June 2d.

[Illustration: Signature of Samuel Nicholson.

_From a letter at the Lenox Library._]

Nicholson had his sails trimmed like a merchantman’s, and the
privateer drew near to inspect, but soon saw that the _Trumbull_ was
a man-o’-war. At that, although he carried thirty-four guns to the
Yankee’s twenty-eight, he made sail to escape. But Nicholson was after
him with a swifter ship, and fight he had to. A right stubborn fight
it was, too. It began at a range of 100 yards, and it was soon carried
on with yardarms interlocked. The blazing gun-wads of the enemy were
several times blown through the open parts of the _Trumbull_, and she
was twice set on fire. But at the end of three hours, and just when
the enemy’s fire had slacked away to the point of surrendering, the
_Trumbull’s_ mainmast went by the board, dragging the fore topmast and
the mizzen after it, and there she lay helpless.

The privateer might have riddled her then, but he had had enough, and
was glad to get away.

It was learned afterward that the enemy was the _Watt_, a privateer
especially designed and fitted to whip any American frigate. She lost
ninety in killed and wounded. The _Trumbull_ lost thirty-nine in killed
and wounded.

Perhaps the most curious fact about this fight was this, that a very
large proportion of the _Trumbull’s_ crew were suffering from the worst
stage of seasickness when she opened fire. The _Trumbull_ made port,
but was unable to see service again until August of the next year.

Meantime the _Saratoga_, under Capt. James Young, sailed from
Philadelphia in October, 1780, and on the 8th fell in with three
vessels. By hoisting English colors, the largest, a heavily armed ship,
was decoyed alongside, where she reported herself as a merchantman
called the _Charming Molly_, from Jamaica. At this the _Saratoga_
hoisted the American flag, gave her a broadside, and crashing
alongside, threw grapnels over her rail and rigging and held her fast.

The first lieutenant of the _Saratoga_, at this time, was Joshua
Barney, whose exploit in the _Hyder Ali_ has already been described.
At the head of a party of fifty boarders Barney climbed over the rail
of the merchantman, and after a sharp fight cleared her deck. Then it
was learned that she carried ninety men. She was manned by a prize crew
under Barney, and sent in. The _Saratoga_ then made sail after the
other two, who had been fleeing down the wind to escape. It is not hard
for a sailorman to picture their hopeless race as the long Yankee, with
a cloud of canvas aloft and the white foam roaring away from her bows,
came a-whooping after them. It was a hopeless race because they were
only brigs, the one carrying fourteen and the other four guns. They
were taken without resistance, and manned and sent toward port.

Nevertheless, that was a most disastrous cruise for the _Saratoga_.
With her prizes she sailed for the Delaware, but she fell in with
the _Intrepid_, a ship of seventy-four guns, on duty there. Ordering
her prizes to scatter, she made all sail, and with success, for
she got away. But she found an enemy more powerful even than a
ship-of-the-line. She found, doubtless, an October hurricane, for
she was never heard of after she disappeared from the view of the
_Intrepid’s_ lookouts. The prizes, too, were all recaptured.

So five warships only were left to carry the American flag. Another
was building at Portsmouth, New Hampshire--the _America_, a
seventy-four-gun ship-of-the-line. John Paul Jones was assigned to her,
but before she was launched, the French ship-of-the-line _Magnifique_
was wrecked in the Massachusetts Bay, and the Congress, to show its
appreciation of what the French had done to help the United States,
presented the _America_, while still on the ways, to the French king.

That act was crushing to John Paul Jones; but when all was ready for
the launching, he hoisted the flags of both nations, and so sent her
into the water. And that was the last service he rendered his adopted
country. No other ship fit for the head man of the navy remained
afloat, and the Congress could not build another like the _America_.
And then came the end of the war, when Jones entered the Russian
service, subject to a call at any time from the American Congress, and
without sacrificing his American citizenship, and there he became a
rear admiral. Leaving that service, he was appointed American consul to
Algiers, a most important post, as will appear further on; but before
the slow mail brought his commission he died in Paris on July 18, 1792.

To return once more to the frigate _Trumbull_, it must be said that if
any doubt as to his courage or persistency was created in the minds of
the American people when he abandoned the grounded _Virginia_ without
firing a gun in her defence, Captain Nicholson redeemed himself in his
last battle in the _Trumbull_, even though he lost her.

The _Trumbull_ sailed in August, 1781, as an escort for a fleet of
twenty-eight merchantmen. If her crew was inefficient when she fought
the privateer _Watt_, it was now well-nigh the worst conceivable
for the occasion; for in numbers she lacked 200 men of a full
complement--she had less than half the number needed to work and fight
the ship--while of the hundred and odd men she did carry, many were
landsmen, and a lot more were Englishmen, who, on learning that she
was certain to go to sea short-handed, shipped in her in the hope of
finding opportunity for a mutiny. This was not an unusual circumstance
during the Revolution, for the British Parliament had passed an act
offering a large bounty to her “loyal subjects” who, after making
oath to support the American Constitution, should be able to carry an
American ship into a British port.

When off the capes of the Delaware this worse than half-manned
_Trumbull_, in a gale lost her fore topmast and main topgallantmast--a
misfortune unquestionably due to the misconduct of her English crew.
She was then not only worse than half-manned, but she was worse than
half-found in sails.

While in this condition (and it should be remembered that the
_Trumbull_ carried but twenty-eight guns) the British frigate _Iris_
(formerly the American frigate _Hancock_), of thirty-two guns, ranged
up on one side of her, and another British ship, name unknown, on the
other.

Instead of surrendering, as he would have been justified in doing,
Captain Nicholson cleared the ship for action, and the battle
began. And then at the first broadside the Englishmen to a man, by
preconcerted action, fled to the hold and succeeded in frightening the
landsmen into following them, so that but fifty men were left to fight
the enemy.

[Illustration: _After a miniature in the possession of Miss Josephine
L. Stevens._]

But among those fifty were Richard Dale from the deck of the _Bonhomme
Richard_, and one Christopher Raymond Perry, who will be heard of
later, and the summons to surrender was scorned. Never before had such
a fight as this occurred--a fight wherein fifty men in a crippled ship
of twenty-eight guns struck back at a thirty-two-gun ship carrying
seven times as many men and helped by another ship that was itself
undoubtedly more than a match for a cripple. And yet for an hour James
Nicholson, Richard Dale, and Christopher Raymond Perry kept their men
at the guns. Sixteen men were killed and wounded out of the valiant
fifty. Even then the flag was still flying. There is no telling how
long the desperate conflict would have continued; but a third British
ship, the _General Monk_, came into the fight and in a position to rake
the American at short range. It was a case then of surrender or sink,
and the flag of the _Trumbull_ was hauled down.

In March of 1781 the _Alliance_, under Capt. John Barry, was found in a
most exasperating position off the British coast. She had sailed from
Boston in February, and after taking a privateer called the _Alert_,
reached L’Orient safely. There she was joined by a French privateer of
forty guns, called the _Marquis de la Fayette_. Sailing on March 31st,
they captured the British privateers _Mars_, of twenty-six guns, and
the _Minerva_, of ten, the two carrying crews aggregating 167 men. Then
the _Alliance_ went on alone, and on May 28th fell in with two smaller
vessels that boldly attacked her.

It had been a quiet day, but as the two smaller vessels approached,
the _Alliance_ lost the wind altogether, while the others, with the
aid of big oars, came on, took safe positions at short range under
her quarters, and opened fire. Captain Barry could bring only three
nine-pounders to bear on each of the enemy, while they were delivering
heavy broadsides of eight and seven guns, respectively. Captain Barry
was so badly wounded by a grapeshot that he was carried below; but just
when the surrender of the _Alliance_ seemed inevitable a breeze filled
her sails, and swinging around, she ran in between the two enemies,
and with broadsides from her eighteen-pounders quickly brought down
their flags. One was the sixteen-gun brig _Atalanta_, and the other the
fourteen-gun brig _Trepassy_. They lost ten killed and thirty wounded
between them. The _Trepassy_ was sent to England with prisoners, and
the _Atalanta_ to the United States, but she was recaptured off Boston.
The _Alliance_ reached port safely.

A little later (June 22, 1781) the _Confederacy_ was captured by
the English. She was employed as a government packet to keep open
communication with France, but while returning home laden with military
supplies a two-decker and a frigate, the _Orpheus_ and the _Roebuck_,
overtook her, and her commander, Capt. Seth Harding, had to strike his
colors.

The last naval action (the _General Monk_ was captured later by a
privateer) of the Revolutionary war was fought by the _Alliance_, Capt.
John Barry. He had sailed from Havana with a large quantity of specie
for the United States. This was March 7, 1782. She had the _Duc de
Lauzan_ in company. When not long out of port three British frigates
were encountered. The Yankees started to run for it, and the _Lauzan_,
a slow sailer, was ordered to throw her guns overboard.

However, a French ship of fifty guns hove in sight on the weather bow,
and at that Captain Barry waited for the leading English frigate,
supposing the Frenchman would join in, of course. A fight that brought
glory to Barry and credit to the Englishman followed, but at the end
of fifty minutes the Englishman had out signals of distress. As the
Frenchman held aloof, Captain Barry was compelled to let the Englishman
haul off under cover of his consorts.

The English ship was the _Sybille_ (sometimes written _Sibyl_), of
thirty-eight guns--a heavier ship than the _Alliance_. She lost
thirty-seven killed and fifty wounded, while that of the _Alliance_ was
three killed and eleven wounded.

The significant feature of this fight is in the wide margin between the
two lists of killed and wounded. The Yankees had at last learned to
handle cannon effectively. But now the end of the war had come.

Four months before this last naval fight of the American Revolution
Lord North, the British premier, on hearing of the surrender of Lord
Cornwallis at Yorktown, had strode up and down his room with his arms
frantically waving above his head, while he cried:

“Oh, God! it is all over. It is all over. It is all over.”

The “most accursed, wicked, barbarous, cruel, unjust, and diabolical”
war known to the history of the English-speaking people was over, and
during the latter end of March, 1782, “Lord North bowed to the storm
and resigned.”

On July 4, 1776, when the Congress declared the independence of the
colonies, the American navy consisted of twenty-five vessels, all
sizes counted, mounting 422 guns. Thereafter other ships were built,
and some were purchased and some were captured from the enemy and put
into service. But because the enemy at all times had more than five
guns afloat and in service on the American coast to every one that the
Americans mustered in the naval list, the American ships, one by one,
fell into the hands of the enemy, or were destroyed to save them from
such a fate, or were lost at sea. When the war ended but three naval
ships, bearing eighty-four guns between them, remained. The American
navy had almost perished, but, like Arnold’s fleet on Lake Champlain,
it had given the Englishman an opportunity to see the face of the
enemy. Even as in the fight which the _Bonhomme Richard_ waged, it won
victory even when it was so shattered as to all but disappear while yet
the smoke of battle hung over the water. For without the aid of the sea
power the war of the Revolution would have failed. From that glorious
day before Boston when the hearts of the Continentals were fired by the
long wagon-train, loaded with war material, captured by an American
cruiser from the enemy, until the last service of the _Alliance_ in
bringing specie from Havana, there was never a time when the sea power
did not render helpful and glorious service to the struggling patriots
ashore.

[Illustration: An Old Naval Order.

_From the original at the Lenox Library._]

In the 800 ships that were captured from the enemy were found the
materials that succored the life of the nation. Not one American
cruiser was captured by English privateers, while sixteen English
cruisers were taken by American privateers, which were manned in
many cases for the most part by boys and haymakers, while in many an
American victory the odds in weight of metal and number of men were
greatly in the favor of the British. By their daring and persistence
the Yankee cruisers made Yankee prowess known throughout Europe and
even to the yeomanry of England.




CHAPTER XII

BUILDING A NEW NAVY

  WHEN ENGLAND, IN HER EFFORTS TO WREST COMMERCE FROM THE AMERICANS,
    INCITED THE PIRATES OF AFRICA TO ACTIVITY, SHE COMPELLED
    THE BUILDING OF THE FLEET THAT WAS, IN THE END, TO BRING
    HER HUMILITY OF WHICH SHE HAD NEVER DREAMED--DEEDS OF THE
    BARBARY CORSAIRS--AMERICAN NAVAL POLICY AS LAID DOWN BY JOSHUA
    HUMPHREYS--THE WONDERFUL NEW FRIGATES--TROUBLES WITH THE FRENCH
    CRUISERS ON THE AMERICAN COASTS--TRICK OF A YANKEE CAPTAIN TO
    SAVE A SHIP--A MIDSHIPMAN WHO DIED AT HIS POST--CAPTURE OF THE
    _INSURGENT_--A LONG WATCH OVER THE FRENCH PRISONERS--ESCAPE OF A
    TWICE-BEATEN SHIP--THE VALIANT SENEZ--STORY OF ISAAC HULL AND THE
    LUCKY _ENTERPRISE_.


It is with feelings of distress and shame, not unmingled with
indignation, that the patriotic American of these days reads such parts
of the history of his country as have a bearing upon the navy during
the years that followed the Revolutionary war.

No sooner was the war over than all the men that remained in the naval
service were paid off and turned adrift on the beach, while every ship
that remained--even the _Alliance_, that had well demonstrated her
efficiency--was sold. The people of the new nation were so fearful
of a monarchial form of government, and of everything that in the
old world pertained to it, that they went to the remarkable length
of sacrificing the one weapon that could defend them from old-world
encroachment--the navy--lest scheming politicians use it to enslave
their own people.

But while the politicians wrangled over the chaotic conglomeration
that, at the time, was called the general government, the business men
made haste to retrieve the losses brought upon them by the war, and
as there had been but two sources of income worth mention before the
war--the commerce of the seas and agriculture--it was to them that the
energies of the people were applied. It was an along-shore nation. The
salt air fanned its most populous cities. So familiar were the people
with the ocean, that every one spoke of the time when he should be
rich as “when my ship comes home.” So to the sea went hosts of people
seeking fortune. The merchant with his capital, the land-owner with his
timber, and the mechanic with his skill and muscle, united to build
and man ships for the ocean-carrying trade, and so well did they work
together that ships the equal of any other, in some cases the superior
of any in the world, were sent down the ways. Men who had learned to
be aggressive while afloat with the flag in war-time were placed
in command of these ships, and the contest for supremacy in trade,
which had had so great a part in bringing on the Revolutionary war,
was renewed with an energy and an independence of action of which the
people as colonists had not dreamed. Even so small a craft as an Albany
sloop was sailed away from New York for Canton, China. She had only a
page-map from a school geography for a chart of the world, but she made
her port and made home again, and she was the first sail to make the
direct passage from New York to China waters.

The British merchants with dismay saw their own ships passed by and the
Yankees chosen by shippers of cargoes--chosen because both safer and
swifter. And when the British merchant complained, he found (as he has
always found) his government ready to listen and to act in his behalf.

What that government was willing to do to aid the British merchants
was so discreditable that the story of it well-nigh staggers belief,
although the proofs are, in fact, beyond doubt.

On the Mediterranean coast of Africa were found a number of small
Mohammedan states ruled by vassals of the Turk. For time out of mind
these petty rulers had levied a blackmail tribute from every seafaring
nation that traded in the Mediterranean Sea, and even sailed in their
cruisers out upon the Atlantic to capture ships that were not intending
to enter the enclosed waters. When one recalls how much superior the
power of England was to that of all these pirates combined, it seems
astounding that even she should have contributed to the blackmail, but
the reason for her doing so may be found in the debates of Parliament
of that day. Said Lord Sheffield in 1784:

[Illustration: A Mediterranean Corsair Anchoring.

_From a picture drawn and engraved by Baugean._]

“It is not probable that the American States will have a very free
trade in the Mediterranean. It will not be to the interest of any of
the great maritime powers to protect _them_ from the Barbary States. If
they know their interests, they will not encourage the Americans to be
carriers. _That the Barbary States are advantageous to maritime powers
is certain._”

In short, England deliberately encouraged these infamous pirates
because they harassed the ships of other nations, and on the payment of
a small tribute, which was kept small because of her great navy, they
left hers wholly unmolested.

But the mere avowal of this policy in the hall of Parliament was by no
means all that she did. For some time previous to 1793 Portugal had
maintained her rights upon the sea as against these pirates by keeping
a strong fleet at the Strait of Gibraltar--a fleet that pounced upon
every Barbary corsair that appeared. It was not for the protection of
her own commerce only that this was done. By an understanding with the
United States the American flag was protected and American merchantmen
furnished with convoys when needed.

Under the protection thus afforded, the American merchantmen swarmed
into the profitable trade on the east side of the Atlantic. English
merchants viewed the increasing numbers of American ships there with
dismay, and English diplomacy, as said, at once intervened.

Taking advantage of a general agreement among the so-called Christian
powers, under which England was to be allowed to act for all in certain
minor matters when negotiating with the Barbary powers, the British
government instructed the British agent at Algiers to bargain secretly
for a truce between the Dey and the government of Portugal. The truce
was to last a year, and in consideration of allowing the Portuguese
ships to trade free of blackmail, the Portuguese blockade was to be
removed from the Strait of Gibraltar, and it was further provided that
“the Portuguese Government _should not afford protection to any nation
against Algerian cruisers_.”

The only nation that had been protected by Portuguese men-of-war
was the American. This truce, which was arranged by the British
consul-general at Algiers, Mr. Charles Logie, was deliberately planned
to turn the pirates against American ships. Worse yet, it was done
without even consulting Portugal, and in secret so that the pirates
could get away before the Americans could possibly be warned. And once
it was made, British influence at the Portuguese court prevented its
abrogation.

As early as July 25, 1785, the Boston schooner _Maria_, Capt. Isaac
Stevens, had been captured by Algerian pirates near Gibraltar, and on
the 30th of the same month the ship _Dauphin_, Capt. Richard O’Brien,
was also taken. Thus twenty-one American citizens were made slaves to
the Arabs. Because of the Portuguese blockade of the strait no other
American ship had been captured, but the moment British diplomacy
had freed the pirates from that restraint, the Dey sent his corsairs
seeking the American flag. There is no doubt in reasonable minds that a
special search was made, at the request of the British agent, for the
Stars and Stripes. In one cruise of the pirate squadron eleven vessels
were captured and 112 American seamen were reduced to slavery.

Did the American nation declare war at once? It did not. It could not.
There was not a warship afloat bearing the American flag.

Having no ships of war, Congress was forced to buy the freedom of these
enslaved Americans. The men captured in 1785 were ransomed for $59,496
(coin). For the 112 captured at the instigation of the British agent,
a far greater ransom was paid. The Congress had refused to build a
navy for the protection of Americans when abroad, but now they were
compelled to buy the release of enslaved Americans by building the
_Crescent_, “one of the finest specimens of elegant naval architecture
which was ever borne on the Piscataqua’s waters.” They had to arm and
fit her for sea. They had to freight her with “twenty-six barrels of
silver dollars and many valuable presents for the Dey,” and then send
her to Algiers, where ship and cargo were given in exchange for the
enslaved Americans.

“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 ($992,463.25), a sum quite
sufficient to have kept the barbarian’s port hermetically sealed until
he should have humbly sued” for peace, had it been expended in building
suitable warships. And so would have been saved the noble lives and the
property afterwards lost on the African coast.

But out of the national humiliation sprang a new navy. The people who
had called every legislator that spoke for the honor of the flag a
blatant demagogue; the people who had feared naval tyrants, who had
feared taxation, and who had argued that a small navy was worse than
none--the peace-at-any-price men had been in a great majority. Now the
publication of these facts opened the eyes of enough to make a majority
the other way. Nevertheless, so little regard had the members of
Congress for the honor of the nation that “the resolution of the House
of Representatives, that a naval force adequate to the protection of
the commerce of the United States ought to be provided, passed by a
majority of two votes only.”

However, pass it did, and was approved on March 27, 1794.

At that time the ablest shipbuilder in the United States was Joshua
Humphreys, a Quaker, who for thirty years had been laying down keels
at Philadelphia. Going to General Knox, the Secretary of War, he made
a notable statement. The number of ships which the United States could
support, he said, would always be less than the number in any of the
large European navies. It was therefore necessary that such ships as
we did have should be fast-sailing enough to either fight or run at
will, and when they chose to fight they must be equal, ship for ship,
to anything afloat. To accomplish this they must be longer and broader
than the existing type and yet not so high out of water. On this model
they would carry, he said, as many guns on one deck as the others
carried on two; could fight them there to better advantage; and, what
was more, the improved model would give much more stability--would
allow so much more canvas to be spread aloft that, blow high or blow
low, the Yankee could show her teeth or her heels, as occasion demanded.

Not only were Humphreys’ theories accepted then; they have prevailed
in the American navy to this day. However, this is not to say that the
theories of Mr. Humphreys have always been realized in practice.

Six frigates were ordered laid down on this model: the _Constitution_,
of forty-four guns; the _President_, of forty-four; the _United
States_, of forty-four--all sister ships--and the _Chesapeake_, the
_Congress_, and the _Constellation_, all of thirty-six guns each.

The _United States_ was built by Humphreys, at Philadelphia, and he
sent her afloat on July 10, 1797. The _Constitution_, the famous “Old
Ironsides,” was built by Cloghorne & Hartly, of Boston, and she floated
on October 21, 1797--just 100 years ago. And she is still afloat to
bear the flag. Capt. Samuel Nicholson had charge of her (Congress had
provided for officers and men), and on the day she was to be launched
he proposed to hoist the flag with his own hands. But instead of doing
so at once on reaching the yard that morning, he gave orders that
no one else should do it, and then went away to breakfast. That was
an error fatal to his ambition. When he was out of sight one Samuel
Bentley, a shipwright, bent the flag to the halliards, and, with the
help of another man, hoisted her to the mizzen-truck. Captain Nicholson
swore like a pirate, it is said, but the flag was up and he would not
haul it down again.

[Illustration: John Barry’s Commission as Commander of the _United
States_.

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

Later a dozen smaller ships were ordered built or purchased, besides
galleys, schooners, and brigs. And then came a time when it was
absolutely necessary to use them. The Revolution was on in France, and
the European powers, with England in the lead, were trying to crush the
new republic. In fighting back, the French cruisers had played havoc
with American ships carrying legitimate goods to European ports--had
captured and condemned many American merchantmen laden with American
products not contraband of war, simply because those ships were _en
route_ to ports of nations at war with France. So retaliation became
absolutely necessary, disagreeable as it might be to fight a former
ally.

It should be noted here that the United States government did not
actually declare war against France, but on July 7, 1798, all treaties
in existence between the governments were declared abrogated, and
meantime, on May 28, 1798, the American cruisers were authorized “to
capture any French vessel found near the coast preying upon American
commerce.” It was under the act of May 28, 1798, as strengthened by
that of July 7th of the same year, that the American ships went hunting
the Frenchmen. But while there was an actual state of war on the ocean,
there was never a time when the American State Department was not
striving to negotiate a permanent peace with the discordant elements
that, in those days of the French Revolution, ruled at Paris.

When hostilities began the American navy had in all twenty-two ships,
mounting 456 guns and carrying 3,484 men, ready for battle; they were
made ready before the end of the year.

As originally organized in the war for freedom, the American navy had
held but a few puny merchantmen--thin-walled, crank, and slow. But
now, though still comparatively few in number, the ships of the nation
were “fore and fit,” and, better yet, they were manned by men who had
smelled the sulphurous breath of an enemy’s guns. Officers and men
from the old cruisers and privateers came forward to volunteer in such
numbers that a ship’s complement was filled in some cases in half a
day. Meantime some new blood, the sons of the officers and seamen of
the other war, and others, too, came, eager to take the chances of war,
and some were accepted.

Even before the treaties were abrogated two ships were sent to
sea--the _Constellation_, under Capt. Thomas Truxton, who had made
fame as a privateer, and the _Delaware_, under Stephen Decatur,
Sr., father of the Decatur who made fame later on. The French ship
_Croyable_, of fourteen guns, was found off the Delaware. She had
taken several American ships, so she was sent into Philadelphia, and
not long afterward came out again under the American flag, and bearing
the appropriate name _Retaliation_. She was commanded by William
Bainbridge, an able officer. But luck was not with her.

Early on the morning of November 20, 1798, while cruising with the
_Montezuma_ and the _Norfolk_, two small fleets were seen. The
_Retaliation_ went looking at one fleet and the other two at the other.
When too near for comfort the _Retaliation_ found she had two French
frigates before her, and one, the _Insurgent_, of thirty-six guns,
quickly overhauled her when she strove to fly.

Captain Bainbridge, after surrendering, was taken on board the second
Frenchman, the _Volontaire_. Her captain refused to accept his sword,
and after the proper civilities of the occasion he was allowed to go
to the topgallant forecastle with the other officers to watch the
_Insurgent_ chasing the _Montezuma_ and _Norfolk_. It was a mighty
cheering spectacle to the French, for the _Insurgent_, with her great
spread of canvas bellying to the wind, was overhauling the Yankees hand
over fist. But just when the _Insurgent_ was expected to open fire
Captain St. Laurent of the _Volontaire_ turned to Bainbridge and said:

“Pray, sir, what is the force of those vessels?”

“The ship carries twenty-eight twelve-pounders and the brig twenty
nine-pounders,” replied Bainbridge in a matter-of-fact way.

That was double their real weight of metal, and it was a weight that
outmatched the _Insurgent_. Greatly alarmed, Captain St. Laurent, who
was the senior French officer, ordered the _Insurgent_ recalled.

When she got back within hail her captain shouted:

“Sir, if it had not been for your signal I should have had those
vessels in ten minutes more.”

“Citizen Captain, you do not know, sir, what vessels you were chasing.
Your ship is not able to contend with a force of twenty-eight
twelve-pounders and twenty nine-pounders,” said Captain St. Laurent.

At that the _Insurgent’s_ captain chopped the air violently with his
hands and replied:

“Sir, they have nothing heavier than _sixes_, and do you suppose that
this ship could have anything to fear from such guns?”

[Illustration: A French Vessel of 118 Guns, a Century Ago.

_From an engraving by Canali._]

“Did you not say, sir,” demanded St. Laurent, turning on Bainbridge,
“that the ship carried twenty-eight twelve-pounders and the brig twenty
nine-pounders?”

“Yes, sir,” replied Bainbridge, cheerfully, “and if I had thought at
that moment that I could have saved the ships, by telling you that they
carried twenty-four-pounders, I would have done so.”

Three months later the fighting captain of the _Insurgent_ (his name
was Barreaut) had an opportunity to show his metal, and it is fair to
say that he took advantage of it nobly.

At noon on February 9, 1799, while the _Constellation_, Captain
Truxton, was cruising between Nevis and St. Kitts at the northeast
corner of the Caribbean Sea, the lookout discovered a sail to leeward.
There was a fresh breeze from the northeast, and squaring away before
it, the _Constellation_ spread studding-sails, and with the white foam
roaring away from the bow and a swirling wake dragging astern, she went
swooping down to reconnoitre. But no sooner had sail been spread than a
black squall came down with the wind, and all hands had to turn to, as
if for life, to shorten sail.

There were lively lads aloft on the Yankee ships of those days, for the
crews, down to the powder monkeys, were inspired by a sense of honor.
They stripped the _Constellation_ in time to save her spars, but the
other ship lost her main-topmast, and when the squall had passed, it
was seen that she had changed her course, hoping to reach port at St.
Eustatius.

But the _Constellation_ was soon upon her. She hoisted American colors,
but could not answer a private signal, and a little later sent up the
French flag and fired a gun in defiance.

Later still (it was at 3.15 o’clock), when the _Constellation_, with
her canvas above the topsails furled, came bowling down, the enemy
hailed, but no reply was made. Captain Truxton was not yet ready, but
when he had arrived within ten yards just off the enemy’s weather
quarter and the hail was repeated, Captain Truxton answered with a full
broadside.

The fire was instantly returned, and then the enemy shoved his helm
hard down, intending to luff up yardarm to yardarm and board the
_Constellation_. In that move lay his only hope for victory, for he
carried a hundred men more than the _Constellation_. But Captain
Truxton was not to be caught. The _Constellation_ being unhurt aloft,
was able not only to steer clear of the crippled Frenchman, but to pass
across his bows and rake him.

Then the _Constellation_ dropped down on the starboard side and gave
the Frenchman other broadsides, and following up the advantage of
superior sailing power, she once more crossed his bows and raked
again. Again she passed alongside, firing as she went, and this was so
effective that every eighteen-pounder in the main-deck battery of the
Frenchman was dismounted, leaving him nothing but twelve-pounders for
continuing the fight. Nevertheless, the Frenchman held fast his colors
until the _Constellation_ once more drew ahead in a position to rake.
The fight was then absolutely hopeless and the Frenchman struck.

[Illustration: DIAGRAM OF THE INSURGENT-CONSTELLATION BATTLE.]

It was then learned that she was the _Insurgent_, Captain Barreaut.

The _Constellation_ carried forty-eight guns, throwing 848 pounds of
metal at one discharge, while the _Insurgent_ carried forty guns,
throwing 791 pounds of metal. The _Constellation’s_ crew numbered
309, and the _Insurgent’s_ just 100 more. The battle lasted one hour
and fourteen minutes. The French lost twenty-nine killed and forty-one
wounded, the _Constellation_ two killed and three wounded.

[Illustration: A French Vessel of 120 Guns.

_From an engraving by Orio._]

One gets a remarkable picture of the discipline on board the
_Constellation_ when reading, in the report of the battle, that one
of the two men killed was shot dead by Lieut. Andrew Sterrett for
deserting his post at the first fire.

More interesting still is the story of the _Insurgent_ during the three
days after the battle. Lieut. John Rodgers and Midshipman David Porter,
with eleven men, were sent on board to take charge, and supervise the
transfer of prisoners. While yet 173 of the French crew remained in her
the two ships were separated by a West India hurricane. These thirteen
Americans were left to face the gale and 173 of the enemy. Worse yet,
all the hatch gratings, hand-cuffs, and shackles had been thrown
overboard after striking colors. But Rodgers and Porter were the men
for the occasion. They drove the prisoners below the hatches and placed
one resolute, well-armed man at each hatchway with orders to kill any
one who strove to get out. With the others they worked the ship for
three days and two nights. They did not sleep or rest during that time,
but they brought the ship into St. Kitts, where the _Constellation_,
with an anxious crew, awaited them.

Still more to the honor of the flag was the fight between the
_Constellation_ and the _Vengeance_ on Sunday night, February 2, 1800,
for the Frenchman was in every way superior, and Captain Truxton
compelled him to fight.

It was after a long chase that the _Constellation_ drew up on the
weather quarter of the enemy at a distance of fifty or sixty yards. The
ship had already been cleared for action, and now the battle lanterns
were lighted, the crew were ordered to preserve perfect silence, and
Captain Truxton stepped to the lee rail and hailed. For a reply the
enemy opened fire with such guns as he could bring to bear, and some
of the shot struck home. But Truxton was not yet in a position to suit
him, and the _Constellation_ forged ahead, with her crew standing in
perfect silence at their stations, peering out at the red flash of the
enemy’s guns in the night, and shrinking back as the shot came in and
here and there knocked a man dead or struggling across the deck. The
wounded were instantly borne below, while the quarter-masters sanded
the blood, but no man spoke a word.

As the time passed, the strain upon them became greater. The Captain
noticed that the men were flinching more and more, and sternly ordered
them to stand to their posts until they got the word, and then to aim
at the hull and fire deliberately, but to load swiftly. And the men
obeyed that order.

Reaching the vantage point where every gun would bear, the order to
fire was given, and echoing from the crash of the balls in the enemy’s
hull came such shrieks and cries as told of the havoc wrought there.

Thereafter until 12.30 o’clock that night the crew of the
_Constellation_ loaded as quickly as possible and fired as deliberately
as if but practising with the battery at a target. So swift was their
work that the guns got heated, and men crawled out the ports and dipped
up water with buckets to cool them off. But at midnight the fire of
the enemy, that had been slacking away, died out entirely. The victory
seemed won--it was, in fact, won over and again, for the French flag
had been lowered twice during the fight (some historians say three
times), but the _Constellation_ people did not see it because of the
smoke, and, under the circumstances, the Frenchmen felt compelled to
fight on. But when they could fight no more and victory was assured for
the American flag, the captain of the _Constellation_ found that her
main standing rigging had been wholly shot away. He called all hands to
send up preventers, but before the work could be done the mast fell,
carrying Midshipman James Jarvis and several men overboard, all but one
of whom were lost. Jarvis might have escaped before the mast went, but
chose to remain at his post and face death.

[Illustration: Medal Awarded to Thomas Truxton.]

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

Having lost her mainmast, the _Constellation_ was so badly crippled
that the enemy slipped away in the night to Curaçao. She was the
_Vengeance_, Capt. A. M. Pitot. She carried fifty-two guns, throwing
1,115 pounds of shot, while the _Constellation_ at this time carried
fifty guns, throwing 826 pounds of shot. The crew of the _Vengeance_
numbered 330 to 310 on the _Constellation_. She lost fifty killed
and 110 wounded, while the _Constellation_ lost fourteen killed and
twenty-five wounded. Her ability to escape was hard luck for the
Yankees, for she was carrying a very valuable cargo, including a lot of
specie.

If there is any one feature of this battle better worth remembering
than any other it is the escape of the _Vengeance_ after she was twice
whipped--her escape through continuing the fight. For it proves, as
John Paul Jones proved in the _Bonhomme Richard_, that a ship is never
hopelessly defeated until she is sunk or wholly disabled.

Another interesting battle was that between the _Boston_, Capt.
John Little, and the _Berceau_, Capt. André Senez, who was, during
the American Revolution, a midshipman under Count D’Estaing in
the operations that enabled Washington to complete the capture of
Cornwallis. The _Boston_ was a larger ship, with more men and more
and heavier guns than the enemy, but when she ranged up within ten
yards of the _Berceau_ and Captain Little demanded that she surrender,
the valiant Senez replied “Never!” This was at about 4 o’clock in the
afternoon of October 12, 1800. The _Boston_ opened fire, and with cries
of “Vive la Republique!” the Frenchmen replied, and so effective was
their fire and so determined was their commander that the battle raged
for twenty-two hours, save for the intermissions during which the
_Boston_ had to haul off and repair rigging. But at 2 P.M. of the 13th
the _Berceau_ was practically shot to pieces and she had to surrender.

The dash of Lieut. Isaac Hull, when he cut the valuable privateer
_Sandwich_ out of Puerto Plato, was characteristic of the man who
distinguished himself in later years. The privateer was lying in
position to rake anything entering port, and she was protected by
a good shore battery. But filling the Yankee sloop _Sally_ with
seamen and marines from the _Constitution_ (Hull was then her first
lieutenant), he entered the harbor at night, sent the marines ashore,
where they spiked the fort guns, while he with his sailors boarded and
carried the privateer and sailed her out of port and sent her home. But
though a brave, it proved to have been an illegal capture, and full
restitution was made to the owners.

The adventures of the twelve-gun schooner _Enterprise_, Lieutenant
Shaw--notably that when she fought the letter of marque _Seine_ that
would not surrender until twenty-four had been killed and disabled
out of a crew of fifty-four--were of the most stirring character. In
six months she captured eight Frenchmen and recaptured four American
ships the French had taken. The _Experiment_, Lieut. William Maley, was
handled in like fashion. Both vessels often met and whipped superior
forces, but space is lacking to give the story of their deeds.

This high-seas war with France began on May 28, 1798. It came to an
end when, on February 3, 1801, a treaty of peace was ratified by the
American Senate. Nearly three years had passed away. By it peace was
assured for the future, and as for the past, all government vessels
captured on either side were to be restored. By this provision the
Americans returned the _Berceau_, the _Vengeance_, and a smaller
cruiser. The _Insurgent_ was lost at sea. Seventy-six French ships, in
addition, such as privateers and armed merchantmen, carrying together
500 guns, had been captured, and these were retained. No American
warship was captured by the French except the _Retaliation_, which was
originally taken from them.

[Illustration: “The _Sally_ Attacked by a Sea-Serpent off the Shore of
Long Island.”

_From a French engraving._]

The patriotic American does not care to dwell on this trouble with
a people that had rendered such great aid when the nation was
struggling for life against the oppressor. The significant features
of such conflicts as took place were found in the efficiency and good
discipline of the crews of the American ships and the development of an
_esprit de corps_ unknown during the Revolution. The pride and dignity
of the new nation were stirring the blood of its naval seamen.

[Illustration: A French Cutter of 16 Guns.

_From an engraving by Merlo._]




CHAPTER XIII

WAR WITH BARBARY PIRATES

  A SQUADRON UNDER RICHARD DALE SENT TO THE MEDITERRANEAN--THE
    DEY OF ALGIERS BECAME FRIENDLY, BUT THE BASHAW OF TRIPOLI
    SHOWED FIGHT--FIERCE BATTLE BETWEEN THE SCHOONER _ENTERPRISE_
    AND THE TREACHEROUS CREW OF THE POLACRE _TRIPOLI_--SLAUGHTER
    OF THE PIRATES--TRIPOLI BLOCKADED--GROUNDING AND LOSS OF THE
    _PHILADELPHIA_.


The story of the first conflict with the pirates of the Mediterranean
Sea follows that of the small war with France. It was a conflict made
necessary, as already explained, because, in the supposed interests
of her trade, a civilized nation sicked on the Barbary whelps to tear
the peaceful passer-by. Not only did the British agent negotiate a
treaty by which the pirates would be turned loose into the Atlantic,
especially to prey on American commerce; a British subject named Lisle
was admiral of the Tripolitan fleet when the Bashaw of Tripoli, seeing
the success of the Dey of Algiers in levying blackmail on the United
States, declared war against us.

[Illustration: Benjamin Stoddert.

_From a Painting at the Navy Department, Washington._]

On May 20, 1801, the Secretary of the Navy (Congress had established a
Navy Department on April 30, 1798, with Benjamin Stoddert as Secretary)
ordered a “squadron of observation” to the Mediterranean. Capt. Richard
Dale was placed in command, and it consisted of the _President_, Capt.
James Barron; the _Philadelphia_, Capt. Samuel Barron; the _Essex_,
Capt. William Bainbridge; and the twelve-gun schooner _Enterprise_,
that had done such effective work against the French in the West
Indies. She was now under Lieut. Andrew Sterrett, the officer who
shot a sailor on the _Constellation_ for leaving a gun in time of
battle. Under Sterrett was David Porter, who had shown his metal on the
captured _Insurgent_ and elsewhere.

When this fleet appeared off Algiers the Dey found his wrath, which
presents had not appeased, suddenly changed to effusive friendship
for the Americans, but the Bashaw of Tripoli was not so easily awed.
However, it was not until August 1st that a fight occurred. On that
day, while cruising off Malta, the _Enterprise_ fell in with the war
polacre _Tripoli_, carrying fourteen guns and eighty men. By no means
a cheap enemy at any time, she eventually proved a most treacherous
one. After the battle had raged for two hours at point-blank range,
the _Tripoli’s_ flag was lowered. Lieutenant Porter put off in a boat
to take possession, while the crew of the _Enterprise_ in great part
turned to repairing damages to their rigging. Thereat the corsairs
opened a murderous fire and hoisted the red flag again. The men of
the _Enterprise_ quickly returned to their guns, and after a fierce
conflict the corsairs, seeing that in fair fight they were worsted,
once more hauled down their flag in order to catch the Yankees somewhat
off guard. The ruse succeeded again, and Porter was on his way to take
possession, when the corsairs renewed battle more vigorously than ever.

[Illustration: “Captain Sterrett in the _Enterprise_, Paying Tribute to
_Tripoli_.”

_From an old wood-cut._]

“Sink the damned, treacherous creatures to the bottom!” said Sterrett.
Exasperated by the treachery they had seen, the crew started in to obey
the order with a will, and the corsair captain saw his fate before
him. Not only did he then haul down his flag, but he brought it to
the gangway, and throwing it into the sea, he bowed his head to the
deck and begged for quarter. Out of eighty men the corsair had lost
twenty killed and twenty-eight wounded. The _Enterprise_ did not lose
a man. Congress gave Sterrett a sword and every other member of the
crew a month’s pay because of “the aforesaid heroic action.” When the
commander of the corsair reached Tripoli he was paraded through the
streets on a donkey and bastinadoed for surrendering.

[Illustration: A Schooner-of-war, Like the _Enterprise_.

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

Following--though, of course, not because of--this action a good many
changes were made in the American squadron--changes such as increasing
its force and putting in new commanders two or three times; but
eventually it appeared that, although here was a good squadron for
open-sea fighting, the Americans were not armed for battering down a
city so well fortified as Tripoli, and the Bashaw refused to make a
treaty. A weary blockade of the port followed. There were conflicts of
small moment with gunboats that tried to steal away to sea, and even
the land forces were bombarded at times. A party under Porter once
landed and fired some gunboats that had been hauled out on the beach,
and on this occasion the Arabs fought by throwing handfuls of sand in
the faces of the Americans, hoping to blind them.

[Illustration: Scene of Naval Operations IN THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA.]

Finally, the 31st of October, 1803, came on, and it was a memorable day
in the history of the American navy. The frigate _Philadelphia_, Capt.
William Bainbridge, that had been maintaining the blockade off Tripoli,
had been blown away from her station by a furious gale, and, while
returning during the morning of the 31st, saw a corsair stealing into
port. The Yankee brig _Vixen_, that had helped hold the station, was
nowhere in sight, and the _Philadelphia_ made sail in chase. There was
a fine breeze blowing, and the _Philadelphia_ gained rapidly, but the
corsair hugged the coast, and Captain Bainbridge found he was getting
into shoal water. Had he been provided with accurate charts he would
have seen he was in worse than shoaling waters, for he was running
among reefs, the channels of which were well known to the corsairs.

[Illustration: William Bainbridge.

_From an engraving by Edwin._]

By 11 o’clock, with only her topsails and courses set, the
_Philadelphia_ was bowling along at eight knots an hour. The bow guns
were already throwing shot at the flying corsair and almost reaching
him, while the walls of the city rose scarcely three miles away. The
three men who were in the chains heaving the lead had called eight
fathoms of water with drawling regularity for some time, when one man
suddenly cried out seven fathoms, and fifteen seconds later another but
six and a half.

Instantly the helm was thrown hard over and the ship came up to the
wind, headed for the open sea, and then with a shock that threw many of
her crew to the deck, she struck the reef. The bow rose six feet out of
the water, while the cordage and masts creaked and groaned under the
tremendous strain.

For a moment the crew looked about in silence, and then the voice of
the captain was heard calling for lead-lines over the bow and stern.
It was found that there was but twelve feet of water forward and
seventeen aft. A boat was lowered and a party sent to sound around the
ship. They found that she had left the channel when the helm was put
down. Thereat every sail was set aback; anchors and guns were thrown
overboard forward or run aft to reduce the load at the bow. Even the
foremast was cut away, but all to no purpose. She was hard and fast
ashore.

Meantime the enemy’s gunboats had come out and opened fire on the
grounded frigate. The Americans replied with such few guns as could be
brought to bear, but eventually the tide ebbed, and the _Philadelphia_
keeled over until nothing could be done in her defence. So the magazine
was flooded, the pumps were disabled, holes were bored through her
bottom, and at 5 o’clock her flag was hauled down.

For some time the Tripolitans held aloof, fearing the sort of treachery
they were accustomed to among themselves, but as night fell they
boarded and plundered everything and everybody in sight. Even the
clothing was stripped from many of the crew.

In all, 315 men surrendered. Among the officers was Lieutenant Porter,
already mentioned; Jacob Jones, James Biddle, and James Renshaw, who,
though now prisoners, were to help make history in notable fashion in
another war to come.

Two days later a strong wind from the north piled the water of the
Mediterranean high on the reef. The stern of the _Philadelphia_
floated, anchors and cables were put out astern, and having stopped up
the holes the Americans had bored, and having brought a strain on the
cables, the corsairs hauled her off, and she was towed to an anchorage
under the Bashaw’s castle. And more than that, the Tripolitans
succeeded in getting up and replacing the guns, anchors, and most of
the shot that had been thrown overboard to lighten her.

That Bainbridge was eventually honorably acquitted when tried by
court-martial for losing his ship, scarcely need be said.




CHAPTER XIV

DECATUR AND THE _PHILADELPHIA_

  STORY OF THE BRAVE MEN WHO DISGUISED A KETCH AS A MERCHANTMAN AND
    SAILED INTO THE HARBOR OF TRIPOLI BY NIGHT, DREW UP ALONGSIDE THE
    CAPTURED _PHILADELPHIA_, AND THEN, TO THE ORDER “BOARDERS AWAY!”
    CLIMBED OVER THE RAIL AND THROUGH THE PORTS, AND WITH CUTLASS AND
    PIKE DROVE THE PIRATES INTO THE SEA OR TO A WORSE FATE--“THE MOST
    BOLD AND DARING ACT OF THE AGE.”


With 315 American prisoners, including twenty-two officers, to hold
for ransom, and with a swift and most substantial thirty-six-gun
frigate added to his fleet, the Bashaw of Tripoli had gained a decided
advantage over the Americans. He was so pleased over it that on a
festival day that followed the accident, he brought the officers
before him where his court was assembled in gala attire and, after a
proper greeting, the Americans were liberally sprinkled with ottar
of roses and other perfumes and were served with coffee and sherbet.
Later, however, they were confined in filthy dungeons and otherwise
ill treated. But, in spite of dungeons, through the aid of Mr. N. C.
Nissen, the Danish consul at Tripoli, who was unremitting in kind
attentions to the Americans, Bainbridge was able to communicate with
the American fleet, and on December 5, 1803, he sent a letter, written
with lime juice (which becomes legible when heated), in which he
proposed that the _Philadelphia_ be destroyed as she lay at anchor by
the Americans, who might come into the harbor at night in a schooner,
and, after firing her, get away again. The suggestion was adopted, and
it was carried out in a fashion that made the name of Decatur famous in
the annals of the American navy.

At this time Stephen Decatur, Jr., was a lieutenant of the navy and in
command of the famous schooner _Enterprise_. On December 23, 1803, he
fell in with a Tripolitan ketch named the _Mastico_, that was carrying
a lot of female slaves to the Sultan of Turkey, and very quickly
captured her. This prize he carried to Syracuse, where the American
fleet, under Capt. Edward Preble, was at anchor.

It is worth recalling here that Capt. Edward Preble, who was now in
command of the _Constitution_, had, as a boy of fourteen years, been
driven from his home at Portland (Falmouth), Maine, when that town was
destroyed by the infamous Mowat at the beginning of the war of the
Revolution.

[Illustration: Stephen Decatur.

_From an engraving by Osborn of the portrait by White._]

At Syracuse the project of destroying the _Philadelphia_ by means
of a small vessel well manned was mentioned to Decatur. He eagerly
asked to be allowed to undertake the work with his schooner, the
_Enterprise_, but the matter was not at once decided on. Later Lieut.
Charles Stewart, who commanded the brig _Siren_, asked for the place,
but Preble had decided meantime that Decatur should do it and that the
captured ketch _Mastico_ should be employed because she was of a rig
that could more easily enter the harbor of Tripoli without attracting
attention.

Accordingly, the ketch was taken into the service as a tender and a
picked crew of sixty-two volunteers put on board, with a faithful
Malta man for pilot. In addition to these, there were a dozen young
officers from the _Enterprise_ and from the flagship _Constitution_,
among whom were two midshipmen of whom the world was to hear later
on--James Lawrence and Thomas Macdonough. Macdonough was then but
twenty years old, while Lawrence was but sixteen. Decatur himself was
only twenty-four.

Having everything in readiness, the _Mastico_ sailed on February 9,
1804, for Tripoli, with the brig _Siren_ in company to lie in wait off
the harbor and pick up the crew of the _Mastico_ should they be obliged
to take to the small boats at any time.

Running across to Tripoli, the expedition arrived by night, but a
furious gale defeated the hope of success and all but swamped the
_Mastico_. For six days she rolled to the waves, her crew in distress
for lack of food and of any sleeping accommodations whatever, and
because of the vermin the slaves had left behind. But on the 16th of
February the weather moderated to a breeze that would just serve
their purpose, and they stood in for the harbor, overhauling their
combustibles on the way and finding everything dry and fit.

When night drew on, the men were divided into five crews, of which
three were to fire as many different parts of the ship, one was to hold
her upper deck, and one to remain in and guard the ketch. Meantime
seven more volunteers had been taken from the _Siren_. When night had
fully come the little ketch parted from the brig, and at 9 o’clock was
sailing into the harbor by the channel in which the _Philadelphia_ had
been lost.

All the crew but six well-disguised men were hidden below or stretched
out on deck in the shadow of the bulwarks, as soon as the city’s lights
came well in view, and with a failing wind the ketch thereafter drifted
toward the great hulk of the _Philadelphia_, which was soon brought
plainly in view in the moonlight. Her ports were aglow with lights, and
her crew were seen to be at least awake if not alert.

Drawing near at about 10 o’clock, the pilot, at Decatur’s order,
steered the ketch so as to foul the _Philadelphia’s_ rigging at the
bowsprit. Then a sentinel hailed the ketch. The Malta pilot replied
that the ketch had lost all her anchors during the gale and wished to
make fast to the cables of the _Philadelphia_ until others could be
procured on shore. Then an officer asked what brig was off shore, for
he had seen the _Siren_ in spite of precautions. The pilot replied that
it was the English war-brig _Transfer_, which had been purchased at
Malta for the Tripolitans and, fortunately, was due to arrive.

As the pilot talked, many of the Tripolitans gathered at the
_Philadelphia’s_ rail and ports to peer over at the ketch. So when,
at last, the chains at the _Philadelphia’s_ bow were almost within
grasp the wind failed, and the next instant a cat’s-paw caught the
ketch aback; she began to drift toward the broadside of the big ship,
where all these Tripolitans would have a fair view of her deck. It
was a moment of great peril, but without the least flurry two of
the disguised sailors got into a small boat and carried a line to a
ring-bolt on the man-o’-war’s bow. Then the disguised men on board
the ketch began hauling in, while those lying in the shadow of the
bulwarks, trusting to the depth of the shadow, lent their aid by
hauling hand over fist as they lay there.

Meantime the Tripolitans had sent a small boat with a line by which
they intended to swing the ketch astern of the _Philadelphia_, but the
Yankees in the small boat, with great presence of mind, took it from
them and carried it to the ketch, “to save the gentlemen the trouble,”
as they explained in broken Maltese.

During all this time the pilot had been entertaining the Tripolitan
officer with a high-colored description of the ketch’s cargo--had
really entertained him until the men hauling on the bow line had
brought the ketch within ten yards of the big ship, when unhappily the
tension on the line from the stern drew the ketch broadside on to the
_Philadelphia_, where the eyes of the idle spectators could fall on
the men who were lying on the ketch’s deck eagerly hauling in on the
bow line. One fair look was enough, and in an instant the ship was
resounding with the cry,

“Americano! Americano!”

The moment for action had come. Springing to their feet, the Americans
ran away with the line. A Tripolitan climbed over the _Philadelphia’s_
bows and cut the line loose, but the momentum already gained was great
enough to land the ketch fair in place, where grapnels were thrown out,
and with that Decatur cried, “Boarders away!” and sprang for the rail
of the _Philadelphia_.

By the side of Decatur stood Midshipmen Morris and Laws. Laws, to be
the first at the enemy, strove to get through a port, but his pistols
caught and held him for a moment, while Decatur slipped just enough to
give Morris the honor of being first, and then came Decatur and all
the rest with swinging cutlasses to clear the deck.

[Illustration: Burning of the Frigate _Philadelphia_ by Decatur.

_From an old wood cut._]

The Tripolitans had been fairly caught napping and, while never a word
was spoken, the quarter-deck was cleaned in a trice. Then the Americans
formed instantly in a line athwartship and charged silently forward.
Whelmed by the fierce onslaught, the Tripolitans fled for life, and the
rapid sound of bodies falling into the water alongside told whither
many were fleeing. Others ran below, where some met death from the
cutlasses and pikes of sailors who had climbed through the ports, and
others hid to meet a worse fate a brief time later.

So swift and thorough was the work of the American boarders that in ten
minutes the last show of resistance was ended. And then a single rocket
drew its line of flame high in air to tell the anxious friends without
the bar that the _Philadelphia_ was captured.

Even while the rocket mounted, the three crews that had been assigned
to fire the ship were passing up the combustibles from the ketch, and
never was a work of destruction more completely done than that which
followed.

Midshipman Morris, he who had first reached the enemy, was in charge
of the crew that fired the cockpit, the lowest attainable point in the
ship. He did his work effectually, but so swiftly had those worked on
the deck above him that when he followed his men up they barely had
time to escape.

On reaching the upper deck the flames were found pouring from the
portholes on both sides and flaring up to lap the tar-soaked shrouds
and stays. Decatur was there, waiting for those from the cockpit. When
they came he paused but a moment to see that the fire was effectually
set, and then over the rail tumbled every man jack of the expedition,
Decatur himself being the last to leave the burning ship. Indeed, the
ketch was then drifting clear, and he had to jump to reach her. He had
been on board but twenty-five minutes, all told.

With poles and oars the Americans now strove to get away, but in some
way the ketch swung around under the stern of the big ship with boom
afoul, her sail flapping against the ship’s sides, and, at the last,
with the flames pouring through the ship’s cabin windows into the cabin
of the ketch, where all the ammunition of the expedition was stored,
covered over with sail-cloth only. The peril was imminent, but it was
averted when some one discovered that the forgotten line from the stern
was still fast.

When that was cleared, and with their big oars, eight on a side, the
crew began to sweep the ketch away toward the sea, the flames on the
_Philadelphia_ reached her tarred rigging at the rail. Running thence
to the masthead, they made such giant torches as illuminated the whole
bay and exposed the fleeing ketch as if in the light of day.

The Tripolitans hastened to their guns. The ketch was still well
within range, for the _Philadelphia_ lay but a quarter of a mile from
the fort, and in a few moments heavy shot were bounding and splashing
over the smooth water on every side. But, whether from anger or mere
excitement, the barbarian aim was bad, and only one shot reached the
little vessel, and that merely passed through a sail.

And then to the roar of the cannon on the beach was added that of the
guns of the _Philadelphia_, which, heated by the fierce flames of deck
and frames, began to discharge themselves. But not all of them were
fired so. Only a few had been noted when the wondering spectators saw
the great hull suddenly burst open, with huge sheets of flame spurting
from between the parting timbers. The masts with their flaming rigging
shot up a hundred and fifty feet into the air. All eyes were for a
moment dazzled with the blazing light, and then came a shock and
roar that made the earth and sea shudder. The fire had reached the
well-filled magazine.

The waves from the explosion came out to rock the triumphant Americans
in their little ketch, now rapidly reaching their shipmates and safety.

[Illustration: The Blowing up of the Frigate Philadelphia

  _The U. S. Frigate Philadelphia while blocking the harbour of
  Tripoli; strikes upon a rock. In this situation she surrenders. Com.
  Decatur obtains leave to attempt to recover or destroy her, & with 70
  volunteers sails for the ship. He reaches her & though moored under
  the Bashaw’s Batteries & surrounded by his Navy, he with his men rush
  on board & boldly attack & conquer the crew of near 1000 men. Finding
  her recovery impossible, they set her on fire, which soon produces a
  terrible explosion, while Decatur & his crew safely escape from the
  harbour, amid a tremendous fire from the enemies batteries & ships._
]

Not one American lost his life and but one was wounded. Of the
Tripolitans more than twenty were certainly killed by the boarders,
while many wounded ones jumped overboard, and many cowards sneaked to
hiding places below, where the flames ended them.

To reward those who had participated in this feat, which Lord Nelson,
it is said, called “the most bold and daring act of the age,” Congress
made Decatur a captain and gave him a sword, and to each of the others
two months’ pay. And, because of this adventure, the name of the ketch
was changed to _Intrepid_.

To show his feelings in the matter, the Bashaw of Tripoli placed the
American prisoners in a cold, damp apartment in the castle, where their
only light was from an iron grating in the ceiling, and he did not
release them from it until compelled to make peace.

[Illustration: Piece of the _Philadelphia’s_ Stern.

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




CHAPTER XV

HAND-TO-HAND WITH THE PIRATES

  A FIGHT AGAINST ODDS OF THREE GUNBOATS TO ONE--DECATUR AND MACDONOUGH
    LEADING THE BOARDERS--COLD-BLOODED MURDER AND THE VENGEANCE THAT
    FOLLOWED--WHEN REUBEN JAMES WON FAME--ELEVEN AGAINST FORTY-THREE
    IN A HAND-TO-HAND STRUGGLE, AND THE REMARKABLE RESULT--THE HANDY
    _CONSTITUTION_--FIRED THEIR GUN AS THE BOAT SANK UNDER THEM--WHEN
    SOMERS AND HIS MATES WENT TO THEIR DEATH IN A FIRESHIP--END OF THE
    WAR WITH THE PIRATES.


After the destruction of the _Philadelphia_ the war against the
Tripolitans was carried on with increased vigor. A number of gunboats,
carrying one long heavy gun each, and two barges, carrying a big
thirteen-inch brass mortar each, were “generously loaned us by his
Sicilian majesty.” With these and the force already in hand a number
of attacks were made on the city of Tripoli by Captain Preble, who
was still in command of the American forces. The first of these, and
the most notable as a battle, took place on the afternoon of August
3, 1804. Six gunboats, in two divisions, were sent in to attack the
enemy’s fleet. Master Commandant Richard Somers, of whom a remarkable
story will be told further on, led one division, and young Stephen
Decatur, now a captain, the other. Of the six gunboats only three
succeeded in weathering the point and getting at the enemy; but one of
these carried Stephen Decatur, and another Stephen’s brother, Lieut.
James Decatur. The Tripolitan fleet numbered nine gunboats, each at
least as well manned and armed as any of the American boats, but the
Yankees dashed at the head of the fleet with hearty cheers. Stephen
Decatur’s boat was the first to open the fire. Its long gun had been
loaded with a thousand musket-balls in a bag, in lieu of the ordinary
projectiles, and it was fired at point-blank range. A moment later
the Yankee boat was beside the enemy, and Decatur led the way to her
quarter-deck. The Tripolitans retreated forward, where a wide, open
hatch protected them, after a fashion, from direct assault; but a
narrow gangway was found on each side of the hatch--a gangway where men
might advance in single file--and over these narrow paths the Yankees
charged. Decatur was first on one side and Midshipman Thomas Macdonough
on the other--the Macdonough who was to win still greater fame on Lake
Champlain. It was a bloody but a brief fight, and the Tripolitans fled
over the rail, save eight who tumbled down the hatch and were made
prisoners.

[Illustration: _From an engraving by Kelly of the picture in Faneuil
Hall, Boston._]

When an examination was made they found the Tripolitan captain dead,
with fourteen bullets from the great gun through him.

Meantime Lieut. James Decatur had, with equal ardor, attacked another
of the Tripolitans, and her commander, seeing the great power of the
Americans, determined to try to do by treachery what he could not hope
to do open-handed. He hauled down his flag after the first fire had
been received, and then waited the coming of Lieut. James Decatur to
take possession--waited with a loaded pistol at hand. As Decatur stood
at the rail ready to board and take possession, the Tripolitan shot him
dead, the bullet passing through his head. As the Tripolitan had hoped,
the Americans were thrown into confusion by the unexpected attack, and
he was able to haul off.

But he did not escape. In some way Stephen Decatur heard that his
brother had been murdered. He was towing his captured gunboat to a
place of safety, but he cast her off, and, seconded by his crew, who
were thoroughly aroused by the story, he went after the assassin.

[Illustration: Decatur avenging the murder of his brother.

  _Com. Decatur whilst bearing a prize from the harbour, hears of
  the treacherous murder of his brother by a Turk; (the Turk having
  surrendered) in a moment changes his course, and with 10 men for
  his crew seeks his enemy--rushes on board--and after a desperate
  struggle, with numbers far superior, kills the Turk--captures his
  enemy’s boat--& again retreats from the harbour._
]

A round of grapeshot and musketry was poured into the fleeing
barbarian, and then Decatur led the boarders, and himself selected
the captain for his own victim. A most desperate hand-to-hand fight
followed, for the Tripolitan was a more powerful man than the
American. Decatur lunged at him with a boarding pike. The Mussulman
parried the blow, caught the weapon, and wrenching it away, lunged at
Decatur. Decatur had drawn his sword, and with this he parried the
thrust, but his sword broke short off at the hilt. The Tripolitan
lunged again, and Decatur, although he parried the blow, was wounded
in the chest and arm, and a moment later the two were clasped in a
wrestling struggle for life.

At this another Mussulman aimed a blow at Decatur’s head from behind.
It was apparently all over with the gallant American, for no other
American was within reach save one, a seaman, Reuben James, and both of
his arms were disabled. But James leaped in, and with his head caught
the blow aimed at Decatur.

And then the Tripolitan threw Decatur to the deck, and Yankees and
Mussulmans thronged in and piled themselves over the two leaders.

As it happened, each of the leaders fell, with one arm free and one
pinned by the men on top. The Tripolitan with his free arm drew a long
knife, Decatur a pocket pistol. For a moment each felt the other’s ribs
to locate the heart, but Decatur was first by a fraction of a second,
and his pistol-ball did faithful work, killing the Mussulman instantly.

[Illustration: Reuben James Saving Decatur’s Life.

_From an engraving of the picture by Chappel._]

Then the Americans cleared the enemy from over their captain, and
when he reached his feet the victory was won, for the Mussulmans fled
over the rail as usual. It is comforting to know that the brave Reuben
James recovered from the wounds he had received, and lived to serve
the nation more than forty years. It was his boast that he was in “ten
fights and as many skrimmedges,” and it was his custom to celebrate the
anniversary of each with enthusiasm. A jolly old tar was Reuben James.

Of equal bravery were the men on the third American gunboat. She was
commanded by Sailing Master John Trippe and Midshipman John D. Henley.
Ranging up beside the enemy, these two officers and nine men got on
board of her, and then the two boats separated, leaving these eleven
men to face the whole barbarian crew, with no chance of retreat and
small hope of timely assistance.

But Trippe and Henley were just the men to lead such a forlorn hope.
Pikes and swords in hand, the eleven charged the enemy, Trippe and
Henley singling out the Tripolitan captain, knowing that victory was
assured if they could cut him down. But he was a magnificent specimen
of humanity, and it is said that he had sworn on the Koran to win
victory or die.

Fighting with the energy born of fanaticism, he wounded Trippe no less
than eleven times, and at last Trippe went down with one knee on the
deck, but while in this position he caught the Tripolitan with breast
unguarded and thrust him through with a pike. And that ended one of
the most remarkable fights recorded in the annals of the navy. For
Trippe and his ten men killed fourteen of the Tripolitans, and made
the remainder, twenty-two in number, prisoners. The number of the enemy
wounded was only seven. The Americans struck to kill in that fight.
Besides Trippe, a boatswain’s mate and two marines were wounded, but
none was killed among the Americans.

[Illustration: John Trippe.

_After a French engraving._]

Meantime Master Commandant Somers, finding he could not sail his boat
inside of the reef by the route Decatur had taken, went down wind to
the opposite end of the reef, and for a time faced five of the enemy’s
boats. The other American gunboats came in later, and the enemy was
driven off. The _Constitution_ (the flagship) and the smaller vessels
of the American fleet sailed close under the enemy’s batteries,
silencing them over and again, and bombarding the city. That the
batteries were not permanently silenced was due to the fact that the
Tripolitans had 25,000 soldiers within, and these remanned the guns of
each battery as soon as the American ships ceased firing at it.

So well did the Americans show their power here in hand-to-hand fights
that thereafter the Tripolitans would never engage them in that way.
And the manner in which the _Constitution_ was handled must also be
mentioned, for she was sailed boldly into the harbor, and there sail
was taken in or made as if it were a mere exhibition of skill in a
friendly port, while her guns were handled with the precision of
peaceful target practice. The admiration of all foreigners was excited,
but the time when American naval crews were to compel the respect of
all foreign powers had not yet arrived.

In the subsequent attacks on the city, there were many incidents of
interest to American readers. A heavy shot penetrated the castle one
day where the American prisoners were confined. It covered Captain
Bainbridge with the débris of the wall and snatched the clothes off the
bed on which he was lying.

While one of the American gunboats was firing on a shore battery, a hot
shot penetrated her magazine and she was blown up. At the moment of the
explosion Midshipman Robert T. Spence and a gun’s crew were loading the
big gun on the bow. As it happened, the explosion did not injure either
them or their gun, although it opened wide the bottom of the boat. And
so it came to pass that, as the smoke cleared away, spectators saw
Spence and his men still at work loading the gun. And not only did
they complete their work; as the boat sank under them they gave three
cheers for the flag, and fired their last shot at the enemy, with the
rising water wetting their feet.

[Illustration: The Battle of Tripoli, August 3, 1804.

_From the painting by Corné, 1805, at the Naval Academy, Annapolis._]

Spence was not able to swim, but he got hold of a big oar, and so kept
afloat with eleven others until picked up, when he and the others saved
turned to and continued the fight.

The story of the most stirring and the most unfortunate attack on the
city remains to be told. Captain Preble, “desirous of annoying the
enemy by all means,” decided to send a fireship among their shipping.
The ketch _Intrepid_, that had served so well in the attack upon the
captured _Philadelphia_, was selected for the sacrifice. A hundred
barrels of powder in bulk and 150 fixed shells and a lot of old iron
were placed in a bin amidships, and from this a pipe led to a room well
aft, where a huge mass of combustibles was placed. It was intended to
handle the ketch as a blockade runner and so get her into the midst of
the enemy’s shipping. She was then to be fired in the after-room, and
the blaze there, it was supposed, would be fierce enough to prevent
the Tripolitans extinguishing it. Meantime a train regulated to burn
fifteen minutes would be running through the pipe to the magazine. Two
swift rowboats were placed on the ketch, and in these her crew hoped to
escape to the smaller vessels that would be in waiting to pick them
up.

[Illustration: Map of the HARBOR OF TRIPOLI,

  Showing where the Philadelphia grounded and where burned and where
  Intrepid was blown up.
]

The glory which Decatur and his men had won in their attacks on
the _Philadelphia_ had inspired the whole force of the fleet, and
volunteers a-plenty were eager to man the ketch. Of those who offered,
Master Commandant Richard Somers was chosen to command, while
Midshipman Henry Wadsworth was made second, with ten seamen for a crew.
In addition to these was a stowaway--Midshipman Joseph Israel. He had
pleaded in vain for permission to go, and so hid on board. He was
discovered, but was then allowed to go.

Every man of the crew knew very well the great danger of the venture,
and Somers and his officers declared they would not be taken alive.
Somers, before starting, took off a ring he wore and, breaking it into
three pieces, gave one to Decatur, another to Master Commandant Charles
Stewart, his most intimate friends. He kept the third himself. The two
pieces given away were to be preserved as mementoes if he failed to
return. The seamen of the crew disposed of their effects as if facing
certain death.

It was on the night of September 4, 1804, that the attempt was made.
A fog lay low over the water, and a fair wind filled the sails as the
ketch, at 8 o’clock, left the flagship and sailed away silently into
the night.

A little later the _Argus_, the _Vixen_, and the _Nautilus_, all small
cruisers, stood over toward the channel in order to cover the retreat
of the ketch, for three Tripolitan gunboats had anchored there during
the afternoon and were likely to make trouble for the ketch’s crew. The
_Nautilus_ led the way for the guarding fleet, and she held the ketch
in view until so near the channel that there was danger that she (the
_Nautilus_) would be discovered, when she hauled her wind to await the
event of the expedition.

Her crew soon saw the ketch fade away in the night, but so intense was
their interest that many climbed over the rail to get down with their
ears to the water that they might hear the sooner any sound coming from
her.

In the rigging of the _Nautilus_, not far above deck, Midshipman
Ridgeley was able, with the aid of a powerful glass, to follow the
ketch into the channel. He saw her glide as a shadow between the
gunboats there. At this moment a signal gun was fired from the shore.
It was followed by the rapid firing of every cannon on that side of the
harbor. Immediately there was a commotion among the three gunboats in
the channel, and at that the light of a lantern in the hands of one who
ran was seen passing along the deck of the ketch.

[Illustration: The Explosion of the _Intrepid_.

_From an old engraving._]

This light paused over the midship hatch to drop out of sight an
instant later, and then a hell of flame burst up to the sky, where the
light had disappeared.

A shock followed that made the ships beyond the bar quiver until tiny
waves spread away over the smooth water. And with the shock came a roar
that deafened. And then, as the echoes of the roar died away among the
distant hills, the patter and splash of shells and splintered timbers
were heard on every side, while cries as of fear and distress arose
from the city--cries that were followed by absolute silence.

All night long the Americans cruised to and fro about the channel,
firing guns and rockets at intervals, hoping against despair to find
a survivor. When morning came to give a fair view of the harbor, one
of the enemy’s gunboats was missing, and the Tripolitans were hauling
three others, badly shattered, out on the beach. The ketch and all who
sailed in her--the “men, whose names ought to live in the recollection
and affections of a grateful country, and whose conduct ought to be
regarded as an example to future generations”--had been blown to pieces.

Richard Somers, finding that his venture was discovered, and the crew
of a Tripolitan gunboat coming on board, had deliberately fired the
mine, and, Samson-like, had destroyed himself with the enemy.

Fragments of the wreck and a number of bodies of white men were picked
up in the harbor. The bodies were viewed by Captain Bainbridge, but
none was definitely recognized.

Other attacks on the city followed. The Congress gave Preble a gold
medal, each of his officers and midshipmen a sword, and all others of
the crew a month’s pay because of their good work there. The force
was increased by other ships until there were five frigates, a brig,
three schooners, a sloop, and a dozen or so gunboats and bomb barges in
the fleet, making the most powerful squadron that had ever assembled
under the flag. For that day and place it was an impressive display of
the sea power. In the meantime a formidable uprising had taken place
in the Bashaw’s dominions, and the capital of his chief province was
captured by the leader of the revolt with the aid of the Americans.
So the Bashaw became alarmed and eventually offered to deliver up all
prisoners for a ransom of $60,000 and to agree never again to trouble
American commerce. This offer was accepted, and peace followed. The
fleet then sailed to Tunis, whose ruler, stimulated by the British
consul-general, had expelled the American agent. To him terms of peace
were dictated under the muzzles of the guns of the fleet. And that
was a matter of wonder to the nations of Europe, for never had such a
thing been done before. So closes the story of the American navy’s work
during the period between the Revolution and the War of 1812.

[Illustration: Preble’s Medal.]

As it appears in the perspective of a hundred years, that was in many
ways a most important epoch. It was, first of all, the time in which
the ruling policy of the American navy, as regards the construction of
ships, was formed--the policy under which it was determined to build
only as many ships as might be necessary to defend the nation and
its commerce from aggressors, but each ship to be the most powerful
possible for its size. Every device and model that seemed likely to add
to the efficiency of these vessels was tried, regardless of expense.
The eager enterprise of the new nation and the ships this enterprise
set afloat excited endless derision from the British officers of that
day. The _Constitution_ was called “a pine box” by some Englishmen who
inspected her. They had to learn by hard experience their error.

The foreign commerce of the nation, through the influence of this
new fleet, was not only freed from the evils which the Mediterranean
pirates had brought upon it, but also from those for which the French
anarchists were responsible. Indeed, that commerce grew until the
increase of the tariff collected from imports amounted to several
times the cost of the whole American navy.

But valuable as were these gains, they were, perhaps, together of
less importance than was the effect of the deeds of the naval heroes
upon the people of the new republic. In the war of the Revolution
we had, indeed, won liberty, but we still dragged the slave-chains
of colonists. Without having known what it was to be freemen we had
established a government of and by the people and we found ourselves
in unfamiliar quarters. We had placed ourselves, so to speak, on the
quarterdeck without having mastered the art of navigation, and while
quartered in the cabin, we had the manners of the forecastle and
smelled of bilgewater. Our new uniforms did not fit us well, but there
was no form of training that could so quickly swell the muscles until
they would fill the garments of liberty as a righteous foreign war. The
war with the Barbary pirates was of all wars most righteous. It stirred
the indignation of the most sluggish patriot to read of the deeds of
these black hounds of the sea, while the signal valor of those who
fought under the American flag leavened the spirit of the whole nation.
As the stories of the deeds of those who fought afloat for liberty had
prepared the way for manning the new fleet which aggression compelled
us to build, so the stories of the deeds of the heroes of the new navy
nerved the nation for the conflict that was already at hand. Small as
were the numbers of the crews who carried the flag overseas in this
epoch, it is safe to say that they, and they alone, strengthened the
heart of the people until it was possible to resist the shock of 1812.




CHAPTER XVI

WHY WE FOUGHT IN 1812

  A STIRRING TALE OF THE OUTRAGES PERPETRATED ON AMERICAN CITIZENS
    BY THE PRESS-GANGS OF THE BRITISH NAVY--HORRORS OF LIFE ON SHIPS
    WHERE THE OFFICERS FOUND PLEASURE IN THE USE OF THE CAT--DOOMED
    TO SLAVERY FOR LIFE--IMPRESSED FROM THE _BALTIMORE_--A BRITISH
    SEAMAN’S JOKE AND ITS GHASTLY RESULT--THE BRITISH ADMIRALTY’S WAY
    OF DEALING WITH DELIBERATE MURDER IN AMERICAN WATERS--ASSAULT OF
    THE _LEOPARD_ ON THE _CHESAPEAKE_ TO COMPEL AMERICAN SEAMEN TO
    RETURN TO THE SLAVERY THEY HAD ESCAPED--BUILDING HARBOR-DEFENCE
    BOATS TO PROTECT AMERICAN SEAMEN FROM OUTRAGE ON THE HIGH
    SEAS--OTHER GOOD REASONS FOR GOING TO WAR.


There were many causes operating through weary years to force the
American nation to declare war against the British in 1812, which the
reader will recall readily, of course. Great Britain retained the
frontier posts which she had agreed to surrender when the war of the
Revolution came to an end. She used these posts as headquarters for
Indian tribes, whose friendship she cultivated that she might use them
to the injury of the United States. She even incited them to attack the
American pioneers, and furnished them with guns and scalping knives
when night assaults on peaceful settlers were to be made. Although
all Europe was submerged in a turmoil of blood, she turned aside from
the great interests there to foment discord between the States of the
American Union, seeking thereby to disrupt the nation in the hope that
a part--the New England part, at that--would return to the colonial
relationship. Remembering the prodigious growth of American shipping
and the consequent complaints of her own shipowners, she used every
means to harass American commerce. To detail all of the evils she
heaped upon the decks of American ships is unnecessary, but the reader
will remember that a time came when she ordered that every American
ship carrying cargo to any part of Europe must call first at a port in
England, land the cargo, pay duty on it, and then carry it away again,
subject to such regulations as seemed most beneficial to her.

As the _Edinburgh Review_ for November, 1812, said, “the spirit of
animosity and unconciliating contempt pervaded the whole proceedings
of the government” toward the Americans. And although “they are
descended from our loins--they speak our language--they have adopted
our laws--they retain our usages and manners--they read our books--they
have copied our freedom--they rival our courage; yet _they are
less popular and less esteemed among us than the base and bigoted
Portuguese, or the ferocious and ignorant Russians_.”

That the retention of the frontier posts, the inciting of the Indians
to night attacks on the frontiersmen, and the interferences with
American oversea trade were separately sufficient causes of war and,
combined, more than sufficient, will not now be seriously disputed,
if the advocate of peace will stop to consider what ought to be done
were any one of these uncalled-for aggressions attempted now. And yet
so great was the American antipathy to another war, so great was the
American desire to hold a neutral position as to the wars of Europe,
that neither the one nor the other nor all together were sufficient to
nerve them to strike the blow. Still another and a stronger incentive
was needed, if war was to be declared--a grievance that would appeal to
the heart of the whole people. And not only was this incentive found;
it was continually present and crying aloud for vengeance.

[Illustration: “The Press-gang impressing a Young Waterman on his
Marriage Day.”

_From an English engraving, illustrating an old song._]

To fully appreciate this, the chief cause of the War of 1812 between
the United States and England, one must first know well how the crews
of the British naval ships of that day were recruited and what manner
of life these crews led when in actual service. As to the manner of
recruiting, the facts are, no doubt, well known to almost every
reader. Gangs of men, under the lead of petty officers, and commonly
piloted by a crimp, were sent ashore in home ports by the captain
who found his ship short-handed. These gangs went to the resorts of
seamen in the port where the ship happened to lie, and there took
by force every English-speaking sailor they could find and carried
him on board the warship. Failing to find a resource in the sailors’
boarding-houses, they knocked down any able-bodied man encountered in
the street, and he was then carried instantly to the ship. Failing in
getting enough men in this fashion--as, for instance, when the ship
was in a foreign port or on the high seas--it was the custom, the
every-day custom, to send the press-gang, on board any ship where it
was supposed that English-speaking sailors might be found, and there
take and carry off all such sailors.

The life that the crews so recruited led cannot, of course, be
described here in full detail. The reader will readily imagine that
the officers who snatched a man away from his home without even the
poor privilege of telling his wife and children of his fate would not
show any great care for the feelings or comfort of the man when on
board the ship. But any picture of the life there which an American,
at the end of the nineteenth century, might base on the mere fact that
sailors were kidnapped, would be wholly inadequate, for the reason that
no American of these days, unacquainted with the facts, could imagine
such a degraded state of slavery. That the crews were ill-fed; that
they were worked to the limit of their endurance; that the pay was as
nothing (it is on record that one kidnapped man received £14 2s. 6d.
for serving two and a half years); that the kidnapped men were not
allowed to go ashore and were not allowed to write letters to their
families where any effort was likely to be made for their release--all
these conditions are, or were, a matter of course. It was in the
matter of preserving what the officers called discipline--in keeping
these unfortunate slaves in subjugation--that the real brutality of
the British naval officers appeared. For the officers, who depended
on clubs and manacles to recruit their crews, made no appeal to them
save through their fears--used nothing to enforce an order but the
cat-o’-ninetails. One undenied description of the flogging of a man on
a British man-o’-war--a man-o’-war well known later on in the annals
of the American navy--shall serve as an illustration of the ordinary
punishments inflicted there.

[Illustration: Another View of the “Young Waterman” and the Press-gang.

_From an English engraving._]

In the year 1811 the British frigate _Macedonian_ was commanded by
Capt. John S. Carden, and his executive officer was one David Hope.
“It was a peculiar feature of the brutal punishment of flogging that
officers and men who at first sickened and fainted at the sight of it
gradually grew indifferent and in some instances acquired a craving
for the bloody ordeal and took a fiendish delight in superintending
it. David Hope was one of these. He took the exquisite delight of a
connoisseur in the art of flogging, being especially fond of seeing
the tender flesh of boys lacerated and torn.” One day a midshipman on
the _Macedonian_ named Gale, “a rascally, unprincipled fellow,” lost a
handkerchief. A sailor found it on the deck, and as it was unmarked,
kept it. Gale saw it in the sailor’s possession, and the sailor was
court-martialled, convicted of theft, and sentenced to be flogged
through the fleet--to receive 300 lashes from the cat--and to serve one
year in prison.

On the day appointed the _Macedonian’s_ launch was put into the water
and rigged, under the supervision of this David Hope, with a frame
on which the bare-backed sailor was lashed. A surgeon, to keep watch
that the man was kept alive, boarded the launch with the boatswain and
the boat’s crew, and then all hands were called to man the rail and
rigging, where all could view the torture.

This done, the lash was applied to the man’s back until “the flesh
resembled roasted meat burned nearly black before a scorching fire.”

Then the launch was sent to another ship and to another and another,
where fresh boatswains applied the lash anew to the raw back of the
man, the doctor standing by and seeing that the man remained conscious
to suffer the torment. When 220 blows had been given the doctor ordered
the whipping stopped. The sailor begged to have the other eighty blows
given that he might be done with it, but this was refused. He was
carried back to the _Macedonian_ and cared for until he had recovered
his strength, when the remaining eighty were given to him, and then he
was flung into prison.

[Illustration: A Flogging Scene. (“The Point of Honor”--a Sailor about
to be Flogged is Saved by a Comrade’s Confession.

_From a drawing by George Cruikshank._]

Just before the War of 1812 a deserter from a British ship slipped on
board the United States frigate _Essex_. When an officer with a gang
came for him he was, of course, surrendered. On asking, then, that
he be allowed to go below for his clothes, permission was granted, but
instead of getting his clothing he ran to the carpenter’s bench, picked
up an axe, and deliberately chopping off his left hand, he carried it
on deck and threw it at the feet of the British lieutenant, saying he
would cut off his foot also before he would serve again in the British
navy. As he was no longer able to do duty as a sailor the lieutenant
left him.

[Illustration: The United States Frigate _Essex_.

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

Lest these stories seem to the humane reader to exaggerate the horrors
of life on a British naval ship, the following facts from the London
“Annual Register” for 1781 (page 41 of “Principal Occurrences”) will be
found conclusive: The total number of men “raised” for the navy, 1776
to 1780, was 170,928. Of these, 1,243 only were killed by the enemy,
while 18,545 “died,” and 42,069 _deserted_. More than ten per cent.
of all who were “raised” “died,” while almost one-fourth of them all
succeeded in deserting, in spite of the rigors of the imprisonment into
which they were carried.

It is necessary to give figures relating to the Revolutionary period
instead of the era of the War of 1812, because British officials have
absolutely refused to publish any such statistics since 1800.

What bearing all these facts have on the War of 1812 between the
United States and Great Britain, if not plain already, will very soon
appear. Animated by the belief that “our maritime supremacy is in fact
a part of the law of nations,” and by the further belief that “America
certainly cannot pretend to wage war with us; she has no navy to do it
with,” the British naval officers kidnapped English-speaking sailors
wherever they were found, even when these sailors were confessedly
born citizens of the United States. The British government did,
indeed, rule that where an American (natural-born) had a certificate
from the American government attesting his nativity--where he could,
by documentary evidence, prove his nativity--he might be excused by
the British “recruiting” gangs, but the rule was, in fact, a mere
diplomatic subterfuge for use should policy at any time require a
“disavowal.” In actual practice the only judge of a man’s citizenship
was the recruiting officer of the short-handed ship, and the
lithe-limbed Yankee sailor was just the kind of a man the British
press-gang was looking for. In fact, the British periodicals of that
day continuously scoffed at these citizenship papers, and it was
asserted in Parliament, as well as by the press, that the American
naval officers, as well as naval officials stationed on shore,
deliberately issued false papers at every opportunity--in short, that
the Americans, as a nation, were liars, perjurers, and forgers.

As early as 1747, when Massachusetts was a colony in most peaceful
relations with the home government, a press-gang caused a bloody riot
on the streets of Boston, where press-gangs were “already stigmatized
as barbarous by public opinion.” Indeed, one of the irritations leading
to the hostilities begun in 1775 was the work of the press-gang. The
war of the Revolution forever settled the question of the _right_ of
the British government to impress an American, but instead of stopping
such violations of the rights of a free-minded people it rather
increased them. For the hatred and contempt which the British felt
toward the Americans as a people during that war was intensified by
the result of it. It was the personal pleasure of the British officer
to get these Yankees where he could make them feel his power. It is on
record (see “Life of Elder Joseph Bates”) that the British officers
were particular to see that these Americans took off their hats when
the band played “God Save the King,” and that a common form of address
was “Here, you damned Yankee scoundrel,” do this or that. That the
“damned Yankee scoundrel” was triced up and flogged on the slightest
provocation by these officers, who confessedly enjoyed seeing flesh
creep under the lash, scarcely need be said.

No sooner was the war of the Revolution over and American merchant
ships free to sail to British ports than the outrages began on the
American seamen. It was literally true that the United States had
no navy and could not wage war with England. We did not have even
one ship-of-war left to carry the flag, and the party that ruled the
nation then was utterly opposed to building one. It called itself
the party of the people--it was fearful lest something or somebody
enslave the people--but when the friends of American seamen, shanghaied
into the barbarous slavery of a British warship, protested, this
“liberty-loving” party pigeon-holed the documents. But let us be just
in this matter. It was the liberty-loving party that did at last
declare war. The opposition preferred to trust in “the humanity” and
“sense of justice” which the offending nation was supposed to possess.

So the press-gangs worked on merrily. Not only was the American walking
in the street of a foreign city in immediate danger; the American ships
on the high seas were stopped and stripped of their crews. The British
ships even lay to off New York, Boston, and other American ports to
intercept American merchantmen, from which seamen were taken until they
were so short-handed that they were lost. The American seamen were
left to face death by shipwreck, as they were disciplined to death on
the decks of British naval warships. And because they were lithe and
quick-witted--because they more readily devised means for escape from
this slavery than others--they were transferred to the ships doing
duty on the coasts of Africa and in the East Indies, just as American
prisoners captured during the war of the Revolution were sent to and
compelled to serve on those stations.

As the _Edinburgh Review_ for November, 1812, admitted, “they were
dispersed in the remotest quarter of the globe, and not only exposed to
the perils of service, but _shut out, by their situation, from all hope
of ever being reclaimed_.” They were doomed to slavery for life.

How the indignation was of slow growth--so slow, indeed, that it needed
the outrages of the Barbary pirates to stir it even to the feeblest
blaze--has already been told in the story of the origin of the new
navy. But at last a majority of two was found for a resolution of the
Congress declaring that a seaside nation ought to have a navy, and
so a navy was built--a navy so small in numbers as to be absolutely
insignificant when compared with that whose “supremacy is in fact a
part of the law of nations.” It was built of American oak, manned
by American seamen, and sent afloat with the American flag flying
from every mast. It did good--it did the best kind of work--but when
the Barbary pirates were cowed it was reduced “to a peace footing.”
There was never an effort made with it to resent the enslaving of
American seamen. So the aggressions increased continually. And the
politicians talked. They talked about the illegal confiscation of
American ships under the decrees and orders of the French and English
governments--they were more concerned about the dollars than the
liberties of the people--and finally when war seemed inevitable, they
seriously discussed the advisability of abandoning the seacoast to
the expected invaders! The chatter about no European enemy being able
to find a permanent footing on the broad American soil, where so many
millions of freemen were to be ready with squirrel rifles and shotguns
to repel him, was quite as common at the beginning of the nineteenth
century as it is at the end of it. The word “jingo” was not in use in
those days. But the men who asserted that government existed solely in
order that the power of the whole people should be exerted to protect
every individual in all his rights wherever in the wide world he might
find himself, heard plenty of equally opprobrious epithets applied to
them. And the utmost that was done for the sake of national honor was
the building of a lot of boats for “harbor-defence.”

And then came a day when, to the injury that had been done unceasingly,
was added insult, the memory of which to this day brings the hot blush
of shame as well as the flood-tide of indignation to the brow of every
American patriot.

It was on the 16th of November, 1798. As the reader will remember,
this nation was then actually at war with France, although no formal
declaration of war had been made. The French ship _Croyable_, of
fourteen guns, had been captured, taken into the American service
under the name of _Retaliation_, and recaptured by the French ship
_Insurgent_. Because of these troubles a fleet of sixty American
merchant ships had gathered at Havana to await a convoy, and the
_Constellation_, Capt. Thomas Truxton, and the _Baltimore_, Capt. Isaac
Phillips, were sent to bring them home.

This service having been performed in satisfactory manner, the
_Baltimore_ was sent alone to convoy a smaller fleet from Charleston
back to Havana.

On November 16, 1798, while _en route_ on this passage, the convoy
fell in with a British squadron consisting of two seventy-four-gun
ships-of-the-line, one ninety-eight-gun ship-of-the-line, and two
thirty-two-gun frigates. Because both Great Britain and the United
States were then at war with France, the two nations were, of course,
allies at this time. Nevertheless, knowing that the British ships were
sure to be anxious for more sailors, Captain Phillips signalled his
fleet to square away before the wind, and so get out of reach, while he
bore up to have a talk with the Englishmen.

On arriving near the flagship--the _Carnatic_, Captain Loring--Captain
Phillips pulled over to her in his gig. He was received with the usual
civilities, and then was coolly informed that every man on board the
_Baltimore_ who did not carry the government certificate that he was an
American citizen would be impressed into the British service.

A ship of the American navy was to be treated as merchant ships had
been treated.

Captain Phillips protested, and said he would surrender his ship
first. Then he returned to the _Baltimore_, where he found a British
lieutenant already on deck and mustering the crew.

No form of protest was of any avail. Everything said or done excited
only the contemptuous smile of the lieutenant, and in the end, being
overpowered by the great ship-of-the-line squadron, Captain Phillips
had the humiliation of seeing five of his men impressed in the British
service.

Meantime Captain Loring had taunted Captain Phillips with the statement
that there were already a number of impressed American citizens in the
_Carnatic’s_ crew.

And all that the American government did in the matter was to dismiss
the unfortunate Phillips from the service--dismiss him as a scapegoat
for the scurvy sins of those really responsible for the disgrace
that had fallen upon the navy. For Phillips very well knew how the
administration had pigeon-holed the complaints of the friends of
kidnapped seamen--knew very well that the Navy Department could not be
depended on to support him in resenting such aggression.

In one respect Phillips deserved his punishment--he had sworn to defend
the flag, and he did not fire a gun. Not only should he have cleared
his ship for action; it was his duty to fight, Nicholas-Biddle fashion,
until the last plank was shot from under his feet.

Humiliated as every patriot was when the story of this outrage was
spread over the nation, greater and lingering shame was in store. Not
only did the outrages on American commerce increase as the years passed
on; a still heavier blow was to fall on the face of American manhood.
A British ship was to shoot an American ship to pieces in order to
recapture four impressed Americans who had succeeded in escaping from
the slavery they had endured--the British frigate _Leopard_ was to
assault the _Chesapeake_ on the high seas in time of peace.

But before that attack another was made that was less aggravating than
the one on the _Baltimore_, only because it was the second of its
kind--because, being the second, the American people may be supposed
to have been somewhat accustomed to their humiliation. This was on
June 12, 1805. Lieut. James Lawrence--he had his revenge afterward
in the _Hornet_-_Peacock_ fight--was carrying a small gunboat to the
Mediterranean to help in the war with the pirates. Off Cadiz he had the
misfortune to fall in with the British fleet under Admiral Collingwood,
when three of his men were taken from him. That the administration at
Washington (it was during Mr. Jefferson’s second term) rested easily
under the outrage is plain from the fact that only the briefest mention
of it is made in any history. The impressment of Americans was such a
common, such an every-day, occurrence that the fact of three taken from
a national ship was, to use a newspaper reporter’s expression, worth
only a three-line jotting.

And another three-line jotting is devoted to what is called the
_Leander_ affair. A British squadron was cruising off Sandy Hook on
what is, in these years, the favorite American ground for yacht races.
They were lying in wait, as was their custom, for American ships, from
which they could gather in seamen. When a little American sloop came
along on April 25, 1806, “a shot was recklessly fired from one of them,
the _Leander_.” It is fair to suppose that this shot was fired as a
joke on the sloop’s crew. If one recalls the undisputed character of
such men as Lieutenant Hope of the _Macedonian_, already described,
one may readily believe that the average British officer of that day
would have thought it a good joke to scare a sloop’s crew by firing a
cannon-ball across her deck. The gunner on the _Leander_, to make the
joke as laughable as possible, aimed carefully. His shot killed the man
at the tiller.

When the people of New York learned the facts through the return of
the sloop, the local excitement was very great. All the vessels in the
harbor hoisted their flags at half-mast on the day the body was buried,
while the Tammany Society attended the funeral in a body. So Mr.
Jefferson’s government felt constrained to protest. At that, Captain
Whitby, who commanded the _Leander_, was taken through the form of a
court-martial, unanimously acquitted of wrong-doing _and promoted_.

The crowning outrage, however, came in the year 1807. Early in that
year a squadron of British warships had congregated in the mouth of
Chesapeake Bay to blockade some Frenchmen lying at Annapolis. The
American Congress had granted an appropriation meantime (though with
stingy hand) for enough seamen to man the frigate _Chesapeake_, that
was to be sent out under Capt. Charles Gordon to the Mediterranean,
where she was to take the place of the _Constitution_. She was to carry
Commodore James Barron with her (his real title was captain), and he
was to command at the Mediterranean station.

[Illustration: Capt Henry Whitby. R.N.]

The _Chesapeake_ was partly fitted out at Washington, and then she
dropped down to Norfolk to complete her preparations for sea, and ship
enough men to fill her crew. While she was still lying at Washington
seven men applied at the recruiting station in Norfolk, who said they
were American citizens--who made oath to that statement, in fact, and
were permitted to sign as members of the crew of the _Chesapeake_,
and they were sent on to join the ship then at Washington. Soon after
this it appeared that three of the men had deserted from the British
warship _Melampus_ and four from the _Halifax_. Just how the fact that
they were deserters became known is not definitely stated, but from
the details given and from the manifest ill-temper of the British
officers in the doings that followed, it is reasonable to suppose that
at least one of these seven men met some of the British officers on
shore, and feeling safe under the American flag, ventured to reply,
in disrespectful manner, to remarks made by the officers. There is,
indeed, no doubt the officers were defied and, so, deeply offended.

In those days one Erskine represented the British government at
Washington. He tried to have the seven deserters returned to the
ships from which they came. Now, in spite of the fact that the
British officers were in those days diligently engaged in kidnapping
American-born sailors from American ships, the American Navy Department
had issued strict orders to the recruiting officers “to enlist no
British subjects known to be such.” And, further, it must be said
that there was no law authorizing an American commander to deliver
up deserters from foreign navies when found in American ships.
Nevertheless, an investigation was made as to the antecedents of the
seven men, and then it was discovered that the British officials were
wholly unable to prove that any one of them was a British subject.
More important still, it was proved that instead of having voluntarily
shipped in the British navy, the three men who had deserted from the
_Melampus_ had been kidnapped from an American merchant ship in the
Bay of Biscay. Two of them were natives of Maryland, and one, although
born in South America, had come to Massachusetts when a child and had
there become a lawful citizen of the United States. The names of the
three were William Ware, Daniel Martin, and John Strachan, and all were
colored. As to the four from the _Halifax_, it was not proved where
they were born except as they swore they were of American birth, but
very likely three of them were of English birth, for they deserted
the _Chesapeake_ and disappeared. The fourth appears in history
both as Jenkin Ratford and as John Wilson. He was a white man and,
unfortunately for himself, he remained on the ship.

Because the three men were definitely proved to be American citizens,
and because there was nothing to disprove Ratford’s oath that he too
was one, the Navy Department refused to surrender the men, and the
diplomatic correspondence was closed. The American authorities having
received no protest after the decision was rendered, supposed that the
matter was dropped altogether.

And that was a very grave error on the part of the American
authorities. For so great was the arrogance of the British naval
officers, and so strong was their contempt for the American government
and people, that they determined to take the men by force from the deck
of the _Chesapeake_ as soon as she had passed out to sea, and an order
was issued by Admiral Berkeley commanding any British captain who found
the _Chesapeake_ at sea to board her, whether she would permit it or
not, and take the men.

Naturally that order was kept secret, and Captains Barron and Gordon
(Barron, by the fact of his rank, was the responsible official) had no
idea that any real ill feeling existed, let alone that any intention to
assault the ship was meditated. There was, indeed, some grumbling by
British officers at Norfolk, and the officers of the _Chesapeake_ heard
of it, but there was not enough in it to excite their suspicions.

And so the 22d day of June, 1807, arrived, and the _Chesapeake_ was,
after a most remarkable fashion, ready for sea. She set her pennant,
got up her anchor, and with her decks littered with baggage, chicken
coops--what not--and her rammers, wads, matches, and powder-horns
stowed no one knew where, she sailed away.

Meantime, while yet the _Chesapeake’s_ anchor had not been gotten, the
crew of the big British fifty-gun ship _Leopard_ had made sail and gone
to sea slowly--so slowly that she kept the _Chesapeake_ constantly in
sight.

At 3 o’clock in the afternoon the _Leopard_ brought to near the
_Chesapeake_ and hailed her, saying that the officers and crew wished
to send letters by her to friends in Europe. It was a common practice
for warships as well as merchantmen to carry letters in that fashion,
and the _Chesapeake_ backed her mainyards and waited for the boat from
the _Leopard_. When the boat came, a British lieutenant climbed to the
deck of the _Chesapeake_, and then, instead of producing a package of
letters, he drew forth a written demand from his captain for the return
of the sailors alleged to be British subjects. With this demand he also
presented a copy of the circular issued by his admiral which ordered
any British ship falling in with the _Chesapeake_ to take the so-called
deserters from her by force if necessary. Captain Barron was very much
surprised, but he refused to deliver up the men.

Meantime the _Leopard_ had worked into the most advantageous position
for attacking the _Chesapeake_, and with her ports open, cannon out,
and matches lighted, she awaited the issue of the demand.

The lieutenant returned to his ship. Captain Humphreys of the _Leopard_
mounted the rail and shouted:

“Commodore Barron must be aware that the orders of the admiral must be
obeyed.”

No reply was made to this, and the words were repeated. A shot was
fired across the bows of the _Chesapeake_. Another one was fired in
like manner, and then a whole broadside was discharged directly at the
American ship.

Being wholly unprepared for action, the _Chesapeake_ could make no
reply, and for twelve minutes (some accounts say fifteen) she lay
there helpless while the British seamen worked their guns. Her masts,
rigging, and sails were shot to pieces. Three men were killed and
eighteen wounded, Captain Barron being among the wounded.

[Illustration: CAPT^N. SALUSBURY PRYCE HUMPHREYS. R.N.]

It was deliberate, cold-blooded murder, done to compel three American
citizens to return to the slavery on a British ship into which they had
been kidnapped. And it succeeded in its object.

Being, as said, wholly unprepared, no defence was made, and when
Captain Barron saw that his crew were being killed uselessly, he hauled
down his flag. Lieut. William H. Allen, on the _Chesapeake_, did manage
to fire one gun by means of a coal carried in his bare hands from
the galley fire, and the ball hulled the _Leopard_, but the flag was
already down to the rail, and it was done only as a matter of honor.

So the crew of the _Chesapeake_ were mustered on deck, the triumphant
lieutenant returned, the four “deserters” were bundled over the rail
into the British boat, and the _Chesapeake_ was left, with her dead and
wounded, to work her riddled sails in the course back to Norfolk.

The _Leopard_ sailed on. The unfortunate Jenkin Ratford was hanged at
the fore yardarm, and the three who were acknowledged to be kidnapped
American citizens were sentenced to receive 500 lashes from the cat.

And what does the uninformed reader suppose the political leaders
of the American republic did about it? They tore the Eagle from the
American coat-of-arms and substituted the Porcupine--they asked the
British government to disavow the act of Admiral Berkeley, and they
ordered the building of 188 more gunboats for harbor defence!

[Illustration: Taking Deserters from the _Chesapeake_.]




APPENDIX TO VOLUME I

                 PAY OF NAVAL SEAMEN IN THE FIRST YEAR
                OF THE NAVY AS A NATIONAL ORGANIZATION.


Commander-in-chief, $125 a month. Officers of a ship of twenty guns
and upward: captain, $60; lieutenant, $30; master, $30; surgeon, $25;
chaplain, $20; midshipman, $12; gunner, $15; seaman, $8.

Officers of a ship of ten to twenty guns: captain, $48; lieutenant,
$24; master, $24; surgeon, $21.66; midshipman, $12; gunner, $13;
seaman, $8.

The pay of the following was the same in any class of cruisers:
armorer, $15; sailmaker, $12; yeoman, $9; quartermaster, $9;
quarter-gunner, $8; coxswain, $9; cook, $12.

Commanders were allowed $4 and $5 a week for rations, and lieutenants,
captains of marines, surgeons, and chaplains, $4.

Prize money coming to the officers and seamen of the Continental
navy was divided in shares: captains, 6; first lieutenant, 5; second
lieutenant, 4; surgeon, 4; master, 3; steward, 2; mate, 1½; gunner, 1½;
boatswain, 1½; gunner’s mate, 1½; sergeant, 1½; privates, 1.

Maclay notes that the first system of uniforms was adopted for the
Continental navy on the 5th of September, 1776, when the Marine
Committee decided that the uniform for the officers of the navy should
be as follows: Captains, a coat of blue cloth with red lapels, slashed
cuffs, a stand-up collar, flat yellow buttons, blue breeches, and a
red waistcoat with yellow lace. The uniform for lieutenants consisted
of a blue coat with red lapels, a round cuff faced, a stand-up collar,
yellow buttons, blue breeches, and a plain red waistcoat. Masters were
to have a blue coat with lapels, round cuffs, blue breeches, and a
red waistcoat; while midshipmen had a blue coat with lapels, a round
cuff faced with red, a stand-up collar, with red at the buttons and
buttonholes, blue breeches, and a red waistcoat. The marines were to
have a green coat faced with white, round cuffs, slashed sleeves and
pockets, with buttons around the cuff, a silver epaulet on the right
shoulder, skirts turned back, buttons to suit the facings, white
waistcoat and breeches edged with green, black gaiters and garters. The
men were to have green shirts “if they can be procured.”




INDEX


  _Abby Bradford_, merchant-ship, capture of, by the _Sumter_, iv. 412;
    captured by the frigate _Powhatan_, 413.

  _Abellino_, Yankee privateer, captures prizes in the Mediterranean,
        iii. 343.

  _Acasta_, British gun-boat, attacks the _Constitution_, iii. 260.

  Acquia Creek, Potomac River, capture of Confederate forts at, iv. 66,
        81–83.

  _Active_, British brig, captured by the _Hazard_, i. 206.

  _Adams_, American frigate, changed to a corvette, iii. 54;
    Captain Charles Morris in command of, 57;
    on the coast of Africa, 58;
    chased by the _Tigris_, 59;
    scurvy on board, 60;
    runs on a rock, 61;
    attacked on the Penobscot, 62;
    burned, _ib._

  Adams, Captain H. A., disloyal conduct of, iv. 117.

  Adams, John, member of first Marine Committee, i. 36.

  Adams, Samuel, and the Boston tea-party, i. 12.

  _Adelaide_, Federal transport, iv. 100.

  _Adeline_, American brig, recaptured from the British, ii. 74.

  _Admiral Duff_, British privateer, blown up by the _Protector_, i.
        207.

  _Adriana_, American brigantine, Ambassador to Holland sails on, iv.
        153.

  _Adventure_, British ship, burned by Paul Jones, i. 78.

  _Africa_, British ship-of-the-line, ii. 55.

  Africa, making the coast of, safe for American traders, iii. 340–358.

  _Aiken_, Southern revenue cutter, converted into the Confederate
        privateer _Petrel_, iv. 93.

  _Alabama_, Confederate privateer, off Galveston, iv. 357;
    known as _No. 290_, 430;
    Captain Semmes appointed to command, 431;
    cruises off the Azores, Martinique, Galveston, Cape Town, and the
        East Indies, 432–436;
    encounters the _Kearsarge_ at Cherbourg, 436;
    comparison of their armaments, 437;
    the fight, 438–441;
    prizes taken by, 447.

  _Alabama_ claims, iv. 430.

  _Albatross_, Federal gun-boat, passes the batteries of Port Hudson,
        iv. 358.

  _Albemarle_, Confederate ironclad ram, iv. 456;
    laid up at Plymouth, N.C., 457;
    blown up by Lieutenant Cushing, 461.

  Albemarle Sound, N.C., a Confederate privateer resort, iv. 94.

  _Albert Adams_, Federal merchant-ship, captured by the _Sumter_, iv.
        415.

  Alden, Captain James, iv. 386.

  Alden, Commander James, iv. 314.

  _Alert_, British corvette, surrenders to the _Essex_, ii. 42;
    attempt to rescue from Porter, 43, 44.

  _Alert_, British cutter, captures the _Lexington_, i. 119, 120.

  Alexander, Captain Charles, i. 66.

  _Alexandria_, British frigate, ii. 359.

  Alexandria, Red River, Admiral Porter’s squadrons arrive at, iv. 370.

  _Alfred_, American flagship, sent to France, i. 130;
    captured, 132, 133.

  Algerian fleet sent after Yankee merchantmen, iii. 341.

  Algerian Navy, strength of the, iii. 344.

  Algerian pirates encouraged by England, i. 308, 309.

  Algiers, Africa, tribute paid to by the United States, iii. 339;
    by England, 340.

  Algiers, Dey of, ransom paid to, i. 309, 310;
    treatment of Americans by, iii. 340, 341.

  Algiers, harbor defences of, iii. 345.

  _Allen_, American gun-boat, iii. 141.

  Allen, Captain William Henry, ii. 360;
    carries the American Minister to France, 361;
    sails into the English Channel, _ib._;
    captures a wine ship from Portugal, 362, 363;
    encounters the _Pelican_, 362–364;
    his ship surrendered, 367;
    dies in Mill Prison Hospital, 371.

  Allen, Lieutenant William Howard, takes charge of the ship, ii. 364;
    continues the fight, 367;
    killed in an engagement with pirates, iii. 333.

  _Alliance_, American frigate, detailed to carry Lafayette home, i.
        232;
    fouls the _Bonhomme Richard_, 234;
    takes a valuable prize, 236;
    fires into the _Bonhomme Richard_, 254;
    flight of Paul Jones on the, 275;
    cruises on the French coast, 297;
    narrow escape of, 298;
    sails from Havana with specie, _ib._;
    attacked by the _Sybille_, 299;
    sold, 303.

  _Alligator_, American tender, surrendered to the British, iii. 235.

  _Alligator_, American schooner, defeats an attack at Cole’s Island,
        ii. 419.

  Alvarado, Mexican port, Commodore Conner attempts to take, iii. 410;
    captured by Lieutenant Charles G. Hunter, 428.

  Alwyn, John C., Lieutenant in the _Java_ fight, mortally wounded, ii.
        166, 171, 172.

  American citizens in foreign countries, iii. 385, 386.

  American commerce, English policy toward, i. 306, 307, 384;
    protected by Portugal, 307;
    menace to, iv. 412.

  American cruisers in British waters, i. 112–133.

  American flag, first salute given to, i. 69;
    designed, 134;
    first hoisted, 135;
    first saluted by a foreign power, 138;
    protected by Portugal, 307;
    a shield for an infamous traffic, iii. 361;
    a Chinese assault on, 380.

  American frontier in 1812, ii. 262.

  American Navy, first existence of, i. 1;
    founders of, 37;
    first ships of, in commission, 39–43;
    resolutions of Congress founding it, 41;
    first officers and first ships of, 39–43;
    origin of the, 1–47;
    first cruise of the, 48–62;
    first squadron poorly manned and inefficient, 49–53;
    along shore in 1776, 63–83;
    mismanagement in, 159;
    at the time of the Declaration of Independence, 300;
    building a new navy, 303;
    strength of, at commencement of hostilities with France, 315;
    almost extinct, 396;
    reduced to a peace footing, 398;
    discreditable lack of, ii. 26;
    increase of, 356;
    development of, from 1815 to 1859, iv. 1–9;
    personnel of the, in 1859, 24–26;
    number of men who took part with the Southern States, 27;
    value of men from Northern ports and the Great Lakes, 36;
    a nautical curiosity shop, 37;
    ferryboats as naval ships, _ib._;
    first great naval expedition of the War of the Rebellion, 168;
    modern, sketch of, 523–554;
    in 1885, condition of, 523.

  American prisoners in England, i. 122;
    in Tripoli, 345, 358.

  American seamen, impressment of, ii. 18;
    courage and skill of, 357.

  American sea-power in 1812, ii. 21.

  American shipping and French cruisers, i. 314.

  American squadron, career of the first, i. 60.

  Ammen, Captain Daniel, at Port Royal, iv. 163;
    Commander of the _Patapsco_, 480.

  _Amphitrite_, American pilot-boat, attacks a French privateer, ii. 34.

  _Amy_, American bark, Blackford, at Rio Janeiro, iv. 548.

  _Anacostia_, Federal screw steamer, at Acquia Creek, iv. 81.

  Anarchy in the West Indies and along the Spanish Main, iii. 325.

  _Andrea Doria_, brig of first American Navy, i. 39;
    in the first naval battle of the Revolution, 58;
    ordered to sea, 64;
    fight with brig _Racehorse_, 68, 69;
    burned, 70.

  Andrews, Major W. S. G., Commander of Fort Hatteras, iv. 107.

  Anglo-Saxon aggressiveness, iii. 391.

  Anglo-Saxon cheer, the, ii. 308.

  Angostura, Venezuela, Commodore Perry arrives at, iii. 329.

  Anthracite coal used by blockade-runners, iv. 55.

  Antonio, Cape, Captain Kearny of the _Enterprise_ captures pirates
        near, iii. 331.

  _Aquidaban_, Brazilian rebel monitor, iv. 548.

  Arbuthnot, Captain James, captured by the _Wasp_, iii. 93–96.

  _Arcade_, Federal merchant-ship, captured by Confederate cruiser
        _Sumter_, iv. 415.

  _Archer_, captured by Captain Read of the _Tacony_, iv. 424.

  _Argus_, American sloop, ii. 360;
    carries the American Minister to France, 361;
    cruises in the English Channel, _ib._;
    too successful for her safety, 362;
    encounters _Pelican_, 362, 363;
    her sails become unmanageable, 364;
    surrenders, 367;
    contemporary view of the battle, 369;
    taken by a prize crew to Plymouth, 371.

  _Argus_, American frigate, captures six prizes, ii. 151.

  _Argus_, American cruiser, in the attack on Tripoli, i. 374.

  _Ariadne_, British man-of-war, captures the _Alfred_, i. 132, 133.

  _Ariel_, American schooner, ii. 292.

  _Arkansas_, Confederate ram, skirmish in the Yazoo River, iv. 342,
        343;
    machinery gets out of order, 343;
    attacks Farragut’s squadron, 344.

  Arkansas Post, naval force sent to help capture, iv. 351.

  _Armada_, British liner, chases the _Wasp_, iii. 92.

  Armament and construction of gun-boats, iv. 246.

  Armament of battle-ships from 1812 to 1859, iv. 24.

  Armor-plated ships, first use of, iv. 9, 10.

  Armstrong, Commodore James, surrenders Pensacola Navy Yard to
        Confederates, iv. 112;
    suspended for five years, 113.

  Arnold, Benedict, invades Canada, i. 84;
    builds a fleet, 89;
    fight on Lake Champlain, 92–94;
    character of, as a fighter, 105.

  Arsenals established in New York State, ii. 264.

  _Asp_, American ship, ii. 352.

  _Atalanta_, British brig, surrenders to the _Alliance_, i. 298.

  _Atalanta_, British ship, captured by the _Wasp_, iii. 100.

  _Atalanta_, British frigate, ii. 16.

  _Atlanta_, formerly the _Fingal_, Confederate ironclad, iv. 488;
    surrenders to the _Weehawken_, 489.

  _Atlanta_, United States cruiser, iv. 533.

  _Atlantic_, British letter-of-marque whaler, captured by Porter, iii.
        9.
    See _Essex, Jr._

  Audience, an intensely interested, iii. 152.

  _Augusta_, Federal ship, in Port Royal squadron, iv. 172.

  _Augusta_, armed merchantman, attacked by the Confederate ironclad
        _Palmetto State_, iv. 474.

  Aulick, Captain James, sent to Japan in 1851, iii. 443;
    recalled on false charges, _ib._

  _Avon_, British brig-sloop, captured by the _Wasp_ (3), iii. 93–96.

  _Aylwin_, American gun-boat, iii. 141.


  Bache, Lieutenant G. M., iv. 369.

  Badajos, rapacity of English veterans in the streets of, iii. 134.

  _Bahama_, British merchant-ship, officers and crew of the _Alabama_
        taken in the, to Terceira, iv. 431.

  Bahama Islands, a resort for contraband traders in the Civil War, iv.
        48.

  Bahia, Brazil, Captain Bainbridge paroles his prisoners at, ii. 167,
        175.

  Bailey, Lieutenant-colonel Joseph, saves Admiral Porter’s squadron,
        iv. 371–376;
    receives thanks of Congress, 376.

  Bailey, Captain Theodorus, at New Orleans, iv. 316;
    commands first division of Farragut’s squadron, 324;
    sent ashore to deliver Farragut’s letter, 338.

  Bainbridge, Captain William, i. 316;
    surrenders to the French frigate _Insurgent_, _ib._;
    Captain of the _Voluntaire_ refuses to accept his sword, _ib._;
    deceives the French officer, 317;
    sent to Tripoli in charge of the _Essex_, 335;
    chases a Tripolitan corsair, 341;
    loses his ship on a reef, 343;
    court-martialed, 344;
    a prisoner in Tripoli, 345;
    communicates with American fleet, 346;
    a shot penetrates his prison, 368;
    remonstrates with the Navy Department of Madison’s administration,
        ii. 26;
    cruising in Brazil, 152;
    fight with the British frigate _Java_, 153–173;
    wounded, 155;
    conducts his ship while his wounds are being dressed, 156;
    paroles 378 of the _Java’s_ crew, 167;
    blows up the _Java_, 173;
    his dream realized, 172, 173;
    his character illustrated, 177;
    insulted at Barcelona, iii. 311–313.

  Bainbridge, Midshipman Joseph, his duel with the Secretary of Sir
        Alexander Ball, iii. 307–311;
    captures a Carthaginian privateer, iii. 65;
    attacked and captured by the _Orpheus_ and _Shelburne_, 65, 66.

  Baker, Captain Thomas H., iv. 89.

  Baldwin, Lieutenant, i. 66.

  Ball, Sir Alexander, iii. 307.

  _Ballard_, American gun-boat, iii. 141.

  Ballard, Midshipman Edward J., ii. 206.

  _Baltimore_, American frigate, five men of the, impressed in the
        British service, 401.

  Bankhead, Captain J. P., at Port Royal, iv. 163.

  Banks, General Nathaniel Prentiss, sent on expedition to Shreveport,
        La., iv. 368.

  _Banshee_, the first steel blockade-runner, iv. 57.

  Barbary pirates encouraged by England, i. 307;
    war with, 333, 334.

  _Barclay_, British whaler, captured by Porter, iii. 8.

  Barclay, Captain Robert H., appears off Erie, ii. 289;
    fond of festivities, 291;
    misses the American fleet, 292;
    opposes Perry, 296;
    superiority of his ships, 298;
    determines to meet Perry, 302;
    awaits the American squadron, 306;
    fires the first gun, 308;
    surrenders, 324, 326;
    loses a second arm in the battle, 330.

  Barnard, Captain Tim, iii. 187;
    captures nineteen prizes, _ib._

  Barney, Captain Joshua, sketch of, i. 209–215;
    has command of the clipper-schooner _Rossie_, ii. 245;
    captures by, 246–248;
    commands a fleet in Chesapeake Bay in 1813, 403;
    attacked by the British on the Patuxent River, 403–409;
    Captain Samuel Miller and Colonel Wadsworth sent to his assistance,
        409, 410;
    moves up the Patuxent River, 413;
    burns his fleet, 414;
    wounded, 416.

  Barney, Major William B., acts as aid to his father, ii. 406;
    in command of cutter _Scorpion_, 408.

  _Barossa_, British frigate, ii. 395.

  Barreaut, Captain, chases American ships, i. 316;
    recalled by Captain St. Laurent, 317–319.

  Barriers on the Mississippi to prevent Farragut’s advance, iv. 320;
    broken down by the _Itasca_, 323.

  Barron, Captain James, sent to Tripoli in charge of the _President_,
        i. 335;
    with Stephen Decatur, iii. 318–322;
    restored to active service, 323.

  Barron, Captain Samuel, sent to Tripoli in charge of the
        _Philadelphia_, i. 335.

  Barron, Flag Officer Samuel, captured at Fort Hatteras, iv. 106.

  Barry, Captain John, i. 39;
    commands American brig _Lexington_, 63;
    cruises off Virginia capes, 64;
    encounters British tender _Edward_, 64;
    sinks the _Effingham_, 188;
    captures and destroys the schooner _Alert_, 189, 190;
    appointed to the _Raleigh_, _ib._;
    chases the Unicorn, 191;
    loses the _Raleigh_, 194.

  Bashaw of Tripoli, treachery of, i. 335, 336;
    refuses to make a treaty, 340;
    agrees to give up prisoners, 378.

  Bassett, Lieutenant F. S., opinion of Commodore Hopkins, i. 61.

  Batteaux, travelling in, ii. 263.

  Battle of Bunker Hill, i. 26;
    Champlain, 92–111;
    of Fort Pillow, iv. 298;
    of Grand Gulf, 367;
    of Lake Erie, ii. 309–325;
    of Lexington, i. 14;
    of Memphis, iv. 298–307;
    of New Orleans (in the Civil War), 326–340;
    of Pittsburg Landing, 284.

  Baton Rouge surrenders to Captain Craven of the _Brooklyn_, iv. 340.

  _Baudara de Sangare_, a private vessel, captured by the _Shark_, iii.
        332.

  Baury, Lieutenant Frederick, iii. 81.

  Bay Point. See _Fort Beauregard_.

  Bazely, Lieutenant John, captures the _Lexington_, i. 119, 120.

  _Beagle_, American ship, captures Cape Cruz, iii. 334.

  _Beaufort_, Confederate gun-boat, takes crew off the _Congress_ after
        she surrenders to the _Merrimac_, iv. 208.

  _Beauregard_, Confederate ram, attacks the _Queen of the West_ at
        Fort Pillow, iv. 301;
    rammed and sunk by the _Monarch_, 302.

  Bell, Henry H., iv. 314.

  Belligerent ships, rules and orders regarding, issued by British
        Government, iv. 411.

  Belligerents, rights of, iv. 86.

  Belmont, on the Mississippi, battle at, iv. 251;
    the Confederates compel Grant to retreat, 252.

  _Belvidera_, British frigate, encounters the _President_, ii. 29;
    escapes, 32.

  _Ben. Dunning_, Federal merchant-ship, captured by Confederate
        cruiser _Sumter_, iv. 415.

  Benham, Admiral A. E. K.,
    prompt action of, at Rio Janeiro, iv. 548.

  Bentham, Commander George, attacks the _General Armstrong_ in the
        harbor of Fayal, iii. 187–199;
    sets fire to the _Armstrong_, 200.

  _Benton_ snag-boat, converted by Eads into an armored vessel, iv.
        246–249.

  _Benton_, Porter’s flagship before Vicksburg, iv. 363.

  _Benton_, Federal gun-boat, Lieutenant-commander J. A. Greer, iv. 369.

  _Berceau_, French frigate, fights with the _Boston_, i. 328;
    returned to France, 330.

  Beresford, Captain John Poer, recaptures the _Frolic_ from the
        _Wasp_, ii. 118.

  Berkeley, British minister at Washington, recalled and promoted, ii.
        2.

  Bermudas a basis for contraband trade during the Civil War, iv. 48.

  _Betsey_, British bark, captured by Captain Alexander, i. 66.

  Biddle, Captain Nicholas, i. 64;
    commands the _Randolph_, 160;
    attacks the _Yarmouth_, 162.

  Biddle, James, Lieutenant on the _Wasp_ (No. 2), ii. 111;
    leads the boarders, _ib._;
    hauls down the flag of the _Frolic_, 112;
    appointed to command the _Hornet_, iii. 272;
    commands the _Macedonian_, 331;
    sent to the Pacific Coast, 401;
    sent to Japan to negotiate a treaty of peace, 440.

  _Bienville_, Federal ship, in Port Royal squadron, iv. 172.

  _Black Hawk_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 369.

  _Black Prince_, purchased by Naval Committee, i. 39.

  Black Rock, near Buffalo, Lieutenant Elliott establishes a navy yard
        at, ii. 273.

  _Black Snake_, British gun-boat, iii. 126.

  Blake, Captain H. C., iv. 432.

  Blakely, Master-commandant Johnston, ii. 375;
    fights with the _Reindeer_ and the _Avon_, iii. 85–96;
    captures the _Atalanta_, 100;
    lost with his ship, 103.

  Blockade-runner, legal status of, iv. 57, 58.

  Blockade-runners, chiefly in the hands of the British, iv. 48;
    reckless loading of, 61;
    profits of, 63, 64.

  Blockading the Southern ports, iv. 28–30;
    no force available to blockade at the beginning of the war, 32;
    lack of ships and men, 34;
    Congress slow to appreciate the need of a navy, 35.

  “Blood is thicker than water,” iii. 381, 382.

  Blythe, Captain Samuel, attacks the _Enterprise_, ii. 375;
    killed, 379;
    buried at Portland, 385.

  Board of Admiralty, i. 158.

  Boggs, Commander Charles S., iv. 314.

  _Bolton_, American bomb-brig, i. 56.

  _Bonhomme Richard_, American ship, i. 227;
    origin of the name, 228;
    fitted out by Jones, 229;
    mixed crew of, 230;
    Richard Dale as master’s mate on, _ib._;
    the _Alliance_ runs foul of, 234;
    accident to, 235;
    meets the _Serapis_, 243;
    fight with the _Serapis_, 245–259;
    comparative strength of the two ships, 265;
    after the surrender, 269–272;
    sinking of the ship, 272.

  _Bonita_, American schooner, in attack on Alvarado, iii. 410.

  _Bonne Citoyenne_, British war-ship, blockaded in the harbor of
        Bahia, ii. 179;
    cowardice of Captain Greene, 180.

  _Borer_, American gun-boat, iii. 141.

  _Boston_, American frigate, i. 286, 287.

  _Boston_, American ship, fights the _Berceau_, Captain Senez, i. 328,
        329.

  Boston Port Bill, i. 13.

  Boston, tea destroyed in harbor of, i. 13;
    press-gang riots in, 395.

  _Boston_, United States cruiser, iv. 533.

  Boutelle, Mr., of the Federal Coast Survey, replaces the buoys at
        Port Royal, iv. 171.

  Bowling Green, Kentucky, Confederate position at, untenable after
        surrender of Fort Henry, iv. 266.

  _Boxer_, British brig, attacks the _Enterprise_, ii. 375;
    surrenders, 379;
    crew of, 382;
    decision of the British court on the loss of the, 384.

  _Bragg_, Confederate ship, captured at Fort Pillow, iv. 302.

  Breckenridge, General, attacks the Federal forces at Baton Rouge, iv.
        344.

  Breese, Lieutenant-commander K. R., iv. 369.

  Breeze, Chaplain, on the _Lawrence_ in the battle of Lake Erie, ii.
        317.

  British Government, attitude of the, toward African pirates, iii. 340.

  British grab at the Valley of the Mississippi, iii. 229, 230.

  British merchants and the American war, i. 112.

  British Navy in American waters, i. 195.

  British waters, rights of belligerents in, iv. 411.

  Brock, Sir Isaac, his view of the English possession of America, ii.
        279.

  _Broke_, British gun-boat, iii. 143.

  Broke, Captain Philip Vere, Commodore British squadron, ii. 55;
    challenges Lawrence of the _Chesapeake_ to fight, “ship to ship,”
        ii. 203, 204;
    boards the _Chesapeake_, 214;
    is wounded, 217;
    becomes delirious, 221, 225;
    made a baronet, 226;
    death of, 229.

  Brooke, Lieutenant John M., assigned to assist in designing an
        ironclad, iv. 184.

  _Brooklyn_, screw sloop, iv. 314.

  _Brooklyn_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 386.

  Brown, Lieutenant George, iv. 389.

  Brown, Captain Isaac N., iv. 342;
    skirmish with the Federal fleet in the Yazoo River, _ib._;
    attacks Farragut’s squadron, 344;
    supports Breckenridge at Baton Rouge, _ib._

  Brown, Lieutenant James, ii. 217.

  Browne, Lieutenant G. W., iv. 370.

  Brownson, Captain Willard H., at Rio Janeiro, iv. 548;
    on the coast of Mexico, 553.

  Bruinsburg, Federal army crosses from, to Grand Gulf, iv. 364.

  Bryant, Captain N. C., before Fort Pillow, iv. 290.

  Buchanan, Flag Officer Franklin, iv. 188;
    his difficulty in finding a crew, 195;
    wounded, 210;
    his report of the fight, _ib._;
    Confederate fleet of, at Mobile, 380;
    sends the _Tennessee_ into action, 399;
    wounded, 402.

  Budd, Lieutenant George, ii. 206, 218.

  Bullock, Commander James D., supervises construction of the
        _Alabama_, iv. 430.

  Bunker Hill, battle of, i. 26.

  _Bunker Hill_, American privateer, ii. 394.

  Burleton, Admiral Sir George, chases the _Hornet_, iii. 282.

  Burnside, General A. E., sent to capture Roanoke Island, iv. 109.

  _Burrows_, American gun-boat, iii. 141.

  Burrows, Lieutenant William, appointed to command the _Enterprise_,
        ii. 375;
    encounters the _Boxer_, 375–377;
    is mortally wounded, 377;
    receives the surrender of the _Boxer_, 379.

  Bushnell, David, invents first American submarine torpedo boat, i.
        164;
    sketch of his life, 180–184.

  Butler, General Benjamin F., sent to attack the forts on Hatteras
        Islands, iv. 100;
    his report at, 107;
    occupies New Orleans, 338, 339;
    his plan for blowing up Fort Fisher, 508–510.

  _Byron_, Captain of, chased by the _President_, ii. 29–32.


  _Cabot_, brig of first American Navy, i. 39;
    commanded by Captain Elisha Hinman, i. 66;
    fired by her captain, 163.

  _Cairo_, armor-plated Federal gun-boat, built by Eads, iv. 245;
    Captain N. C. Bryant commands, 290;
    runs by torpedoes in the Yazoo River expedition, iv. 350.

  Calbreth, Peter, one of the capturers of the _Margaretta_, i. 17.

  Caldwell, Lieutenant C. H. B., iv. 314;
    breaks barriers across the Mississippi, 323.

  _Caleb Cushing_, Federal revenue cutter, cut out and burnt by the
        _Archer_, iv. 424.

  _Caledonia_, British brig, captured by Lieutenant Elliott, ii. 279.

  California, a bone of contention between Americans and English, in
        1842, iii. 387, 388;
    operations that insured the acquisition of, iii. 387, 388.

  Canada invaded by American troops, i. 84;
    annexation of, agitated in 1812, ii. 20;
    invasions of, for resenting British aggressions, ii. 263.

  Canning, British prime minister, diplomacy of, in regard to the
        _Chesapeake_ affair, ii. 1.

  Canton, China, American fleet sent to, to protect American interests,
        iii. 380.

  Cape Cruz, South America, a pirate resort captured by the
        _Greyhound_ and _Beagle_, iii. 334.

  Carden, Captain John Surnam, i. 389;
    cruel treatment of sailors, _ib._;
    cruises in the Azores, ii. 121;
    falls in with the _United States_, 122;
    fight with, 125–134;
    Decatur refuses to receive his sword, 139.

  Caribbean Sea a nest for pirates, iii. 326.

  Carleton, Sir Guy, his supplies captured by Paul Jones, i. 79;
    confidence of, 85;
    his fleet at St. John’s, 87;
    fight on Lake Champlain, 92–94.

  _Carleton_, British schooner, ii. 100.

  _Carnation_, British brig, attacks the _General Armstrong_ in the
        neutral port of Fayal, Azores, iii. 187–200.

  Caroband Bank, South America, fight between the _Hornet_ and
        _Peacock_ near, ii. 181.

  _Caroline_, American schooner, attacks the British camp at Villeré’s
        Plantation on the Mississippi, iii. 239;
    is fired and abandoned, 240.

  Carondelet, James B. Eads’s shipyard at, iv. 243.

  _Carondelet_, armor-plated Federal gun-boat, built by Eads, iv. 245,
        369;
    goes aground outside Fort Henry, 265;
    gets free, 266;
    shells Fort Donelson, 268, 271;
    disabled before Fort Donelson, 271;
    gun bursts on, 272;
    in Porter’s fleet before Vicksburg, 363.

  Carronades, description and value of, ii. 36–38.

  Carronades (short guns) out of use, iii. 141.

  Carrying trade of the Mediterranean, England’s tribute to the Dey of
        Algiers for, iii. 340;
    after the War of 1812, _ib._

  Cassin, Lieutenant Stephen, iii. 139.

  _Castilian_, English brig-sloop, iii. 93.

  _Catherine_, British ship, captured by Lieutenant Downes, iii. 10.

  Cat-o’-ninetails used to enforce orders on British ships, i. 389.

  _Catskill_, Federal ironclad, iv. 480.

  _Cayuga_, Federal screw gun-boat, iv. 314.

  _Centipede_, American gun-boat, iii. 141.

  _Centipede_, British launch, ii. 398;
    sunk, 400.

  Ceremonies connected with first American fleet, i. 44–46.

  _Ceres_, British man-of-war, captures the _Alfred_, i. 132, 133.

  Chads, Lieutenant, in the fight with the _Constitution_, takes
        command when Captain Lambert is mortally wounded, ii. 165.

  Champlain, Lake, naval battle on, i. 92–100;
    reflections on the battle, 105–111.

  Champlin, Stephen, in the battle of Lake Erie, ii. 326;
    fires the last shot of the battle, 327.

  Chandeleur Islands, the British forces arrive at, to attack New
        Orleans, iii. 230.

  Chaplin, Lieutenant J. C., attacks the forts at Acquia Creek, iv. 82.

  Charles City, Ark., attack on, by Federal gun-boats and an Indiana
        regiment, iv. 307.

  _Charleston_, United States cruiser, plans of, imported, iv. 531.

  Charleston, S. C., defences of, iv. 467;
    bombardment of, iv. 480–502.

  _Charlton_, British whaler, captured by Porter, iii. 14.

  _Charwell_, British brig, iii. 110.

  Chase, Major W. H., and Colonel Lomax, capture the Pensacola Navy
        Yard, iv. 112.

  _Chasseur_, Baltimore clipper, attacks the _St. Lawrence_, British
        war-schooner, iii. 204.

  _Chatsworth_, American brigantine, slave-ship captured by Lieutenant
        Foote, iii. 366.

  Chauncey, Commodore Isaac, appointed to command the forces on the
        Great Lakes, ii. 270;
    attacks Kingston, _ib._;
    attacks Toronto, 341;
    attacks Fort George, 342;
    returns to Sackett’s Harbor, 348;
    makes another assault on Toronto, 349;
    Sir James Yeo’s squadron appears, _ib._;
    jockeying for position, 350;
    Chauncey opens fire, 351;
    returns to the attack, 352;
    misses the great opportunity of his life, 353;
    operations of, on Lake Ontario, iii. 113–129.

  _Cherub_, British war-ship, accompanies the _Phœbe_ in the attack on
        the _Essex_, iii. 25.

  _Chesapeake_, American frigate, built, i. 312.

  _Chesapeake_, Lawrence appointed to command of, ii. 197;
    her crew, 198;
    the ship reputed to be unlucky, 199;
    is fitted out for a voyage to intercept British ships, 200;
    is blockaded by the _Shannon_ in Boston Harbor, 203;
    goes out to meet the _Shannon_, 1813, 204;
    crew mutinous, 205;
    closes down on the _Shannon_, 206;
    the battle, 209;
    the _Chesapeake_ is boarded, 214;
    hand-to-hand fight, 217;
    the ship is captured, 221;
    taken to Halifax, 222;
    comparison of the two ships, 229.

  _Chickasaw_, Federal monitor, iv. 386.

  _Chickasaw_, Federal gun-boat, shells Fort Gaines, and compels it to
        surrender, iv. 405.

  _Chicora_, Confederate ironclad, built at Charleston, iv. 473;
    fires on the _Keystone State_ and captures her, 475.

  _Chillicothe_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 369.

  Chinese assault on the American flag, a, iii. 380.

  Chinese war of 1856, American interests involved in, and fleet sent
        to protect them, iii. 379–382.

  _Chippeway_, British schooner, in battle of Lake Erie, ii. 297.

  _Chubb_, British ship, disabled and surrenders to Macdonough, iii.
        156.

  _Chubb_, British gun-boat, iii. 143.

  _Cincinnati_, armor-plated Federal gun-boat, built by Eads, iv. 245;
    flagship of Commodore Foote before Fort Henry, 261;
    Captain R. N. Stembel commands, 289;
    throws the first shell into Fort Pillow, 293;
    attacked by Confederate rains, _ib._;
    the _Mound City_ goes to the rescue of, 294;
    sinks, _ib._

  _Circassian_, blockade-runner, captured off Havana by the Fulton
        ferryboat _Somerset_, iv. 37.

  Civilization promoted by Anglo-Saxon aggressiveness, iii. 391.

  _Clarence_, merchant-ship, captured by Captain Maffitt, of the
        cruiser _Florida_, iv. 424;
    placed under command of Lieutenant Read, _ib._;
    burnt, _ib._

  Coaling stations, need of, by Federal war-ships in Southern waters,
        iv. 161.

  Cocke, Captain W. H., iii. 333;
    fired on and killed by a Porto Rican fort, _ib._

  Collier, Sir Ralph, K. C. B., iii. 260.

  Collins, Captain Napoleon, at Port Royal, iv. 163;
    commanding the _Wachusett_, captures the _Florida_ in Bahia Harbor,
        iv. 424.

  “Colonial Navy,” distinguished from temporary cruisers, i. 28, 29.

  _Colorado_, United States screw frigate, launched, iv. 15.

  _Columbia_, American frigate, attacks and bombards the Malay town of
        Quallah Battoo, iii. 375–379.

  _Columbia_, United States cruiser, iv. 534.

  Columbiad, description of, iv. 119.

  _Columbus_, successful cruise of Captain Whipple in the, i. 66.

  _Columbus_, American ship-of-the-line, sent to Japan, iii. 440.

  Columbus, Ky., Confederate position at, becomes untenable after
        surrender of Fort Henry, iv. 266.

  Columbus, on the Mississippi, Confederates evacuate, iv. 275.

  _Comet_, American privateer, ii. 252.

  Commander-in-chief of the Navy, title held by Commodore Hopkins only,
        i. 62.

  _Condor_, blockade-runner, wreck of, at Fort Fisher, iv. 511.

  _Conestoga_, merchant-vessel, purchased by Commander Rodgers, iv. 241;
    Captain Phelps appointed to command, 251.

  _Confederacy_, American frigate, i. 287.

  _Confederacy_, American packet, captured by the English, i. 298.

  _Confiance_, British frigate, iii. 142;
    flagship of Captain Downie in the battle of Lake Champlain, 153;
    disabled and surrendered to the _Saratoga_, 165.

  _Congress_, American galley, i. 89;
    Arnold’s, flagship, 99;
    covers retreat at Crown Point, 104;
    burned by Arnold, 105.

  _Congress_, American frigate, built, i. 312;
    opens fire on the ironclad _Merrimac_ in Hampton Roads, iv. 200;
    grounded, 207;
    two Confederate gun-boats open fire on her, _ib._;
    Lieutenant Pendergrast surrendered her to the _Merrimac_, 208;
    hot shot fired at her by the _Merrimac_, 209;
    her magazine explodes, 215.

  Connecticut troops desert, i. 30.

  Conner, Commodore David, lands a force at Point Isabel, iii. 409;
    his fleet not fitted for shallow waters, 410;
    his conduct of the seige of Vera Cruz, 418.

  Connyngham, Captain Gustavus, i. 123;
    captures prizes on the French coast, 124;
    commission taken from him, 125;
    takes command of the _Revenge_, 126;
    his ship injured, 127;
    refits in English port, 128;
    gets provisions in an Irish port, _ib._;
    sails for America, _ib._;
    denounced as a pirate, 129;
    cruel treatment of, in English prison, _ib._

  _Constellation_, American frigate, built, i. 312;
    Captain Thomas Truxton commands, 316, 319;
    battle with French frigate _Insurgent_, 320;
    discipline on board of, 322, 323;
    battle with French frigate _Vengeance_, 323–325;
    Captain Charles Gordon appointed to command in Decatur’s fleet,
        iii. 343.

  _Constitution_, United States frigate, built, i. 312;
    flagship in the attack on Tripoli, 367;
    called a “pine box” by Englishmen, 380;
    Captain Isaac Hull disputes with the Captain of the British warship
        _Havana_, ii. 13, 14;
    is chased by two frigates, _ib._;
    ship prepares for action, _ib._;
    frigates retreat, 16;
    her escape from a British squadron, 53–69;
    “a bunch of pine boards,” 73;
    fight with _Guerrière_, 76–95;
    comparative strength of the two ships, 96;
    return to Boston, 101;
    cruising off Brazil, 152;
    falls in with the _Java_, 153, 155–173;
    attempt of the _Java_ to board, 158;
    the London _Times_ on the victory, 176;
    Lawrence applies for the command of, 197;
    laid up at Boston, iii. 241;
    goes to sea again, 242;
    captures the war-schooner _Picton_, _ib._;
    falls in with the British frigate _La Pique_, _ib._;
    the British ship runs away, 243;
    is chased by the _Junon_ and _Tenedos_, 244;
    returns to Boston, 245;
    captures the _Lord Nelson_, _ib._;
    chases the _Elizabeth_ and captures the _Susan_, _ib._;
    is chased by the _Elizabeth_ and _Tiber_, 246;
    fight with the _Cyane_ and _Levant_, 247–256;
    sails to Porto Praya, 260;
    attacked by three British frigates, 261;
    her fighting days over, 268;
    plan of, iv. 537.

  Continental Congress, effect on the, of the British vengeance on
        Portland, i. 26.

  Continental Naval Board, i. 158.

  Contraband trade in the Civil War, iv. 48–52.

  Cooke, Captain. See _Albemarle_.

  _Coquette_, American merchant schooner, plundered by the Porto Rico
        privateer _Palmira_, iii. 332.

  Cornwallis, Lieutenant-general Lord, released from imprisonment in
        exchange for Henry Laurens, iv. 154.

  Corpus Christi, Texas, captured by Farragut, iv. 357.

  _Cossack_, Federal transport, iv. 478.

  Cottineau, Captain Denis Nicholas, i. 232.

  Cotton-mills of the world shut down during the War of the Rebellion,
        iv. 47.

  _Countess of Scarborough_ attacks Paul Jones’s fleet off Flamborough
        Head, i. 243;
    surrender to the _Pallas_, 267.

  _Couronne_, French ironclad, witnesses the _Alabama-Kearsarge_ fight,
        iv. 438.

  Couthouy, Lieutenant S. P., iv. 369.

  Cox, William, midshipman on the _Chesapeake_, ii. 206.

  Coxetter, Captain Louis M., iv. 91–93.

  Craighead’s Point, shells thrown into Fort Pillow from, iv. 290.

  Craney Island, Captain Tattnall fires and blows up the _Merrimac_ on,
        iv. 236–237.

  Craven, Captain Thomas Tunis, iv. 314;
    sinks with his ship, 394.

  Craven, Commander T. A. M., iv. 386.

  Crawford, William H., American minister to France, ii. 361.

  _Cricket_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 370.

  Crosby, Lieutenant Pierce, iv. 315.

  Crown Point, retreat of Benedict Arnold to, i. 103;
    account of the roads and distances to, from New York, 109.

  Crowninshield, George, Jr., privateersman, brings home the bodies of
        Captain Lawrence and Lieutenant Ludlow, ii. 225.

  _Croyable_, French gun-ship, captured off the Delaware, and renamed
        the _Retaliation_, i. 316, 400.

  Cruisers, Confederate, tales of the, iv. 407–451.

  _Cuba_, Federal merchant-ship, captured by Confederate cruiser
        _Sumter_, iv. 415.

  _Cumberland_, Federal sailing sloop-of-war, opens fire on the
        ironclad _Merrimac_, iv. 200;
    is rammed by the _Merrimac_, 201;
    in a sinking condition, 202;
    continues firing as she goes down, 203.

  Cumberland Head, Plattsburg Bay, Macdonough’s squadron at, iii. 149.


  Dabney, John B., American consul at Fayal, iii. 187;
    his report on the fight between the _Carnation_ and the _General
        Armstrong_, 195, 196, 198–201.

  Dacres, Captain James Richard, ii. 55;
    surrenders to Captain Hull, 94.

  Dahlgren, Rear-admiral John Adolph, his smooth-bore gun introduced,
        iv. 489.

  Dahlgren, Admiral John A. B., relieves Dupont of his command, iv. 489.

  Dale, Commodore Richard, master’s mate on _Lexington_, i. 68;
    escape of, from English prison, 123;
    joins Paul Jones’s fleet, 230;
    resourceful conduct of, 256, 260–262;
    wounded, 266;
    gallant conduct on the _Trumbull_, 295–297;
    placed in command of squadron in the Mediterranean, 334.

  Dartmoor Prison, Rev. Joseph Bates imprisoned in, iii. 294.

  _Dartmouth_, merchant-ship, tea thrown from, in Boston Harbor, i. 13.

  _Dash_, privateer of Baltimore, captures schooner _Whiting_ in
        Chesapeake Bay, ii. 241.

  _Dauphin_, American ship, captured by Algerian pirates, i. 309.

  Dauphin Island, Mobile, iv. 379;
    Federal troops landed on, 385.

  “Davids,” torpedo boats, first used at Charleston, iv. 497;
    derivation of name, 498.

  Davis, Captain Charles, relieves Commodore Foote, iv. 289;
    his inactivity, 293.

  Davis, Captain Charles H., replaces the buoys at Port Royal, iv. 171.

  Davis, Jefferson, proclamation inviting applications for letters of
        marque, iv. 85.

  Davis, Gunner’s Mate John, heroism of, iv. 110;
    promoted and honored, 111.

  Davyson, Captain Thomas, surrenders to the _Providence_, i. 282, 283.

  Dead Sea, exploration of the, iii. 464.

  _Deane_, American frigate, with the _Boston_, captures six prizes, i.
        284, 287.

  Deane, Silas, member of first Marine Committee, i. 36;
    American commissioner to France with Franklin, i. 117.

  De Camp, Commander John, iv. 314.

  _Decatur_, American privateer, throws her guns overboard, ii. 75.

  Decatur, Lieutenant James, in the attack on the city of Tripoli, i.
        361;
    killed by the Tripolitans, 362.

  Decatur, Lieutenant Stephen, Jr., i. 346;
    captures the _Mastico_, _ib._;
    sails on the _Mastico_ to set fire to the _Philadelphia_, 348–361;
    made a captain, 358;
    in the attack on the city of Tripoli, 361;
    his encounter with a Tripolitan captain, 363, 364;
    falls in with the British ships _Eurydice_ and _Atalanta_, ii. 16;
    cruises in the Azores in the _United States_, 121;
    encounters the _Macedonian_, 122;
    fights the second frigate battle of the War of 1812, 125–134;
    his personal direction of the guns, 128;
    surrender of the British frigate, 133;
    ball given to Decatur and his officers in New York, 149;
    gold medal given by Congress to, 150;
    transferred to the _President_, iii. 212;
    ordered to cruise in the East Indies, 215;
    chased by the British fleet, 216;
    lightens his ship, 217;
    addresses his crew, 218;
    attempts to retreat, 221;
    ordered to cruise in the South Atlantic, 271;
    his duelling experiences, 307–315;
    his fatal duel with Commodore Barron, 318–321;
    his death, 322;
    a squadron under his command sent to Africa, 343;
    his treaty with the Dey, 347–355;
    compels the Dey to pay indemnity, 355;
    goes to Tripoli and compels the Bashaw to settle, 357.

  _Deerhound_, English yacht, witnesses the _Alabama-Kearsarge_ fight
        off Cherbourg, France, iv. 438;
    assists in picking up the crew of the _Alabama_, 441.

  _Defence_, Connecticut cruiser, captures two transports, i. 203, 204.

  _Defiance_, Confederate ironclad, abandoned by her crew at New
        Orleans, iv. 337.

  De Gama, Saldanha, Brazilian rebel admiral, iv. 548.

  _De Kalb_, armor-plated Federal gun-boat, built by Eads, first
        called the _St. Louis_, iv. 245;
    takes part in capture of Arkansas Post, iv. 351.

  _Delaware_, United States frigate, i. 316.

  _Demologos_, Fulton’s first steam war-ship, iv. 4, 11.

  Desertions from British ships, i. 394.

  _De Soto_, Federal boat, added to Ellet’s command, iv. 351;
    burned, 352.

  _Detroit_, American brig, captured by the British, ii. 274;
    recaptured by Lieutenant Elliott, 276;
    runs aground on Squaw Island, 278;
    British again capture her, _ib._;
    the Americans destroy her, 279.

  _Detroit_, United States cruiser, at Rio Janeiro, iv. 548;
    fires on the _Guanabara_, 553.

  _Diadem_, British frigate, strength and armament of, iv. 23.

  Diamond Reef, near Cape Hatteras, iv. 165.

  Dickenson, Captain James, attacks the _Hornet_, iii. 273;
    is killed in the fight, 276.

  _Diligence_, British schooner, sent to capture Captain Jeremiah
        O’Brien, i. 23.

  _Diligent_, English brig, surrenders to the _Providence_, i. 282, 283.

  Discipline on board American frigate _Constellation_, i. 322.

  Discord fomented by England between the States of the Union, i. 384.

  _Divided We Fall_, American privateer, ii. 253.

  _Dixie_, Confederate privateer, iv. 93.

  _Dolphin_, American cutter, purchased by Franklin and other
        commissioners, i. 117.

  _Dolphin_, American privateer, ii. 242.

  _Dolphin_, United States cruiser, iv. 531.

  Donaldson, Commander Edward, iv. 389;
    of the _Sciota_, 315.

  “Don’t tread on me,” the significant motto, i. 2, 46.

  Douglas, Hon. Captain George, iii. 247;
    surrenders, 255.

  Douglas, Lord Howard, his views on armor-clad ships, iv. 198.

  Downes, Lieutenant John, sent on a cruise in the _Georgiana_, iii. 10;
    captures by, 10, 11;
    in the _Essex-Phœbe_ fight, 28;
    is appointed to command the _Epervier_, 1815, 343;
    attacks and overpowers the Malays at Quallah Battoo, 373, 374.

  Downes, Commander John, iv. 480.

  Downie, Captain George, iii. 144, 145;
    at the battle of Lake Champlain, 153, 154;
    killed, 165.

  Drayton, Captain Percival, at Port Royal, iv. 163;
    Captain of the _Hartford_, 386;
    of the _Passaic_, 480.

  Drayton, General Thomas F., at Port Royal, iv. 170.

  _Druid_, British brig, attacked by the _Raleigh_, i. 131, 132.

  _Drummond_, British gun-boat, iii. 143.

  _Drummond_, British schooner, captured by Chauncey at Lake George,
        ii. 353.

  Drunkenness and debauchery promoted by gun-boats, ii. 394.

  _D. Trowbridge_, Federal merchant-ship, captured by the _Sumter_,
        iv. 415.

  _Dublin_, British frigate, cruises off Callas, iii. 389.

  _Duc de Lauzan_, American frigate, i. 287, 299.

  Duckworth, Admiral Sir John T., on the cartel of the _Alert_, ii. 47.

  Duddingstone, Lieutenant William, i. 4;
    shot, 10.

  Duelling in the American Navy, iii. 305–323;
    at Gibraltar, 313, 314.

  _Duke of Gloucester_, British ship captured by Americans at Toronto,
        burned at the attack on Fort George, ii. 346.

  Dummy monitor sent adrift by Porter’s men, iv. 357.

  Dunmore, Lord, in Chesapeake Bay, i. 35.

  Dunovant, Colonel R. M., at Fort Beauregard, iv. 170.

  Dupont, Commander Samuel Francis, spikes the guns of San Blas, iii.
        402;
    takes command of a fleet to take possession of Port Royal, iv. 163.

  Dynamite cruisers, construction of, iv. 542.


  Eads, James B., ship-builder, takes a contract to build seven
        ironclad gun-boats, iv. 242–244;
    construction of, described, 245, 246;
    Eads and Ericsson, 244.

  _Eagle_, American sloop, in Macdonough’s squadron, ii. 354;
    sunk by the British in the Sorel River, 355.

  _Eagle_, American sloop, iii. 136, 138.

  Earle, Commodore, attempts to capture the _Oneida_ and destroy
        Sackett’s Harbor, ii. 266, 268.

  _Eastport_, Confederate river steamer, captured by Lieutenant Phelps,
        iv. 267.

  _Eastport_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 369.

  _Eben Dodge_, Federal merchant-ship, captured by Confederate cruiser
        _Sumter_, iv. 415.

  _Eclipse_, American merchant-ship, attacked and looted by Malays,
        iii. 374–376.

  _Edinburgh Review_ on the treatment of America by Great Britain, i.
        384.

  _Edwin_, American merchant-brig, captured by the Dey of Algiers, iii.
        341, 351.

  _Effingham_, American frigate, sunk, i. 188.

  _Eliza_, merchant-schooner, David Porter’s first ship, ii. 33.

  _Elizabeth_, British schooner, captured by Porter, iii. 4.

  Ellet, Colonel Charles, Jr., converts seven river steamers into rams
        on the Ohio River, iv. 298;
    his part in the attack on Fort Pillow, 301.

  Ellet, Colonel Charles R., sent by Porter to control the Mississippi
        between Vicksburg and Port Hudson, iv. 351.

  Elliott, Lieutenant Jesse D., sent to Buffalo to purchase vessels,
        ii. 273;
    capture of the _Detroit_, 276, 278, 279;
    in command of the _Niagara_, 292;
    brings up the gun-boats, 322;
    criticized for inactivity, 335, 336;
    acts as second to Commodore Barron in his duel with Decatur, iii.
        319;
    commands the _Ontario_ in an expedition against the Dey of Algiers
        in 1815, 343.

  Elliptical route plan condemned by Admiral Porter, iv. 101.

  _Emily St. Pierre_, British merchant-ship, seized by United States
        cruiser _James Adger_, iv. 58;
    recaptured by her captain, _ib._

  _Enchantress_, merchant-schooner, captured by Confederate privateer
        _Jefferson Davis_, iv. 91.

  _Endymion_, British frigate, attacks the _Prince de Neufchâtel_,
        American privateer, iii. 202;
    is defeated, 203;
    assists in the capture of the _President_, 222.

  England, greed of, in dealings with her colonies, i. 4;
    tries to crush the new republic, 314.

  English Navy of 1812 in American waters, ii. 25.

  English officers offended by names given to Yankee ships, iii. 313.

  English seaman in 1812, ii. 25.

  Ensign, naval, first American, i. 46.

  _Enterprise_, American brig, sent to South America to put down
        piracy, iii. 331.

  _Enterprise_, American schooner, captures the French privateer
        _Seine_, i. 330;
    sent to Tripoli in charge of Lieutenant Andrew Sterrett, 335;
    battle with the war polacre _Tripoli_, 335;
    the luckiest, naval ship of the War of 1812, ii. 372;
    captures eight privateers, 373;
    cruises in the Mediterranean, _ib._;
    captures the _Tripoli_ and the ketch _Mastico_, _ib._;
    changed to a brig and overloaded with guns, 374;
    drives off English privateers under command of Master-commandant
        Johnston Blakely, 375;
    Lieutenant William Burrows takes charge of her, _ib._;
    cruises for privateers, _ib._;
    encounters the _Boxer_, _ib._;
    her commander wounded, and Lieutenant McCall takes his place, 377,
        378;
    the _Boxer_ surrenders, 379;
    after the battle Master-commandant James Renshaw appointed to
        command, 386;
    cruises off the southern coast, _ib._;
    escapes from a British frigate, _ib._;
    employed as harbor guard, 387.

  _Enterprise_, American sloop, i. 89.

  _Epervier_, British brig-sloop, captured by the _Peacock_, iii. 66–71;
    taken into Savannah by Lieutenant John B. Nicholson, 76–78.

  _Epervier_, American ship, lost at sea, iii. 354.

  _Era_, Confederate steamer, captured by Federal fleet, iv. 352.

  Erben, Captain Henry, at Fort Pillow, iv. 289.

  _Ericsson_, a name given to the first monitor, iv. 215.

  Ericsson, John, Swedish engineer, his screw propeller, iv. 10;
    his boat the _Francis B. Ogden_, _ib._;
    induced to come to America, 11;
    plans the first screw steamship, 12;
    Naval Board makes a contract with, for the _Monitor_, 191.

  Erie, Pa., chosen as base of operations for gaining control of Lake
        Erie, ii. 282;
    ship-building at, 286.

  _Espiègle_, British war-brig, chased by Captain Lawrence of the
        _Hornet_, ii. 181;
    again chased after sinking the _Peacock_, 190.

  _Essex_, American frigate, sent to Tripoli, i. 335.

  _Essex_, American frigate, ii. 33;
    first cruise in War of 1812, 34–50;
    British frigate _Minerva_ refuses to fight with, 39–41;
    captures the _Alert_, 41–43;
    crew of _Alert_ plan a rescue, 44;
    chased by the _Shannon_, 47;
    Farragut’s account of the crew, 49;
    begins her second cruise, Oct. 8, 1812, iii. 1;
    cruises off Port Praya, 2;
    captures the brig _Nocton_, 2, 3;
    dysentery among the crew, 4;
    panic on board, 6;
    painted and disguised, 8;
    captures British whalers, _ib._;
    refitted from the captured ships, 9;
    captures the _Atlantic_ and the _Greenwich_, _ib._;
    captures the _Charlton_, 13;
    goes into the harbor of Nukahiva to refit, 18–21;
    an incipient mutiny on, 21;
    attacked by the _Phœbe_ and _Cherub_, 24–43;
    losses of, 44;
    sent to England to be added to the British Navy, 48;
    her captures, 52;
    amount of damage done to the enemy, _ib._

  _Essex_, Federal armor-plated gun-boat, iv. 249;
    in the battle of Port Henry, _ib._;
    disabled, 262;
    Flag Officer Foote’s warning to his crews about wasting shot, 261;
    Commander Robert Townsend, 369.

  _Essex Junior_, formerly the British whaler _Atlantic_, iii. 12;
    in the fight between the _Phœbe_ and _Cherub_ against the _Essex_,
        33–43;
    is disarmed and sent to New York, 49.

  _Estido_, Algerian brig, captured near Cape Palos by the American
        Navy, iii. 348.

  _Eurydice_, British frigate, ii. 16.

  Evans, Surgeon Amos E., ii. 168.

  _Experiment_, British frigate, captures the _Raleigh_, i. 194.

  _Experiment_, American schooner, i. 330.

  Exploring expeditions of the American Navy, iii. 464.

  “Export powder,” an inferior quality of gunpowder, ii. 368.


  _Fair American_, British brig, driven ashore by the _Hyder Ali_, i.
        215.

  Fairfax, Lieutenant D. M., takes Mason and Slidell off the _Trent_,
        iv. 144–146.

  Fairfax, Commander D. M., iv. 480.

  Falcon, Captain Thomas Gordon, chased by the _Constitution_, iii. 247;
    surrenders, 252.

  Falmouth (now called Portland), Maine, attacked by British, i. 24–26,
        32.

  _Fame_, privateer of Salem, ii. 241.

  _Fanny_, successful blockade-runner, iv. 63.

  Farragut, Commodore David Glasgow, midshipman on the _Essex_, ii. 40;
    his wit saves a rescue of the _Alert_ by her crew, 44;
    his account of the crew of the _Essex_, 49;
    as captain when only twelve years old, iii. 12, 13;
    resumes his studies at Nukahiva, 19–21;
    his account of the fight of the _Essex_ with the _Phœbe_ and
        _Cherub_, 40–42;
    in his home at Norfolk, Va., 1862, awaiting orders, iv. 311;
    a member of the Naval Retiring Board, 313;
    suggested by Porter as a suitable commander of the New Orleans
        expedition, 313;
    accepts the position, 314;
    ships in his squadron, 314, 315;
    disguises his ships, 317;
    advances past the barriers, 324–330;
    demands surrender of New Orleans from Mayor Monroe, 338;
    pressed by the Administration to open up the Mississippi, 341;
    his bold cruise practically fruitless, 342;
    his fortune in the Gulf of Mexico, 357;
    runs his squadron past the works of Port Hudson, _ib._;
    captures Galveston and Corpus Christi, _ib._;
    losses in his fleet, 358;
    watches Confederates strengthen their works at Mobile, 384;
    moves his fleet up to Fort Morgan, 389;
    commences the battle, 392;
    disregards the torpedoes, 396;
    lashed to the mast, _ib._;
    wins the battle when the _Tennessee_ surrenders, 403;
    in his report gives special praise to members of his fleet, _ib._;
    his place in history, 465.

  Faunce, Captain John, iv. 99.

  Federal Government, its great aim to strangle and starve the
        Confederates, iv. 239.

  Fernando de Noronha, Brazil, Porter visits and communicates with
        Bainbridge at, iii. 3;
    Captain Semmes allowed to make his headquarters there, iv. 527.

  Ferryboats as successful naval ships, iv. 37.

  _Finch_, British gun-boat, iii. 143;
    disabled in the battle of Lake Champlain, 161.

  _Fingal_, Scotch iron steamer, erected into a Confederate ironclad,
        iv. 486;
    renamed the _Atlanta_, 488.

  Fitch, Colonel, attacks Charles City, Ark., iv. 307;
    storms and captures it, 308.

  Flag. See _American Flag_.

  _Flag_, armed merchantman, attacked by the Confederate ironclad
        _Palmetto State_, iv. 474.

  _Flambeau_, French privateer, captured by the _Enterprise_, ii. 373.

  Flamborough Head, naval fight between the _Serapis_ and _Bonhomme
        Richard_ near, i: 243.

  Flannen Islands, the _Alliance_, of Paul Jones’s fleet, captures a
        valuable prize off the coast of, i. 236.

  Flores, General José Maria, paroled by Commodore Stockton, iii. 397;
    breaks his parole, _ib._

  _Florida_, Confederate cruiser built at Liverpool, iv. 416;
    her first voyages, 417;
    Captain John Newland Maffitt appointed to command of, 418;
    is fired at by Captain Preble of the _Winona_, 419;
    escapes, _ib._;
    blockaded by the _Cuyler_, 420;
    runs the blockade, 423;
    Captain Charles M. Morris appointed to command of, 424;
    rammed by the _Wachusett_ and taken to the United States, _ib._;
    scuttled at Newport News, 429.

  _Fly_, schooner of first American Navy, i. 40.

  Foote, Admiral Andrew Hull, Lieutenant on the American brig _Perry_,
        sent to Africa to assist in putting down the slave traffic,
        iii. 363;
    his sincere desire to stop the traffic, 364;
    captures the slave-ships _Martha_ and _Chatsworth_, 364–366;
    the “original prohibitionist of the navy,” 367;
    is sent to Canton to protect American interests, 380;
    is fired on by the Chinese forts, _ib._;
    bombards and captures the forts, 380, 381;
    relieves Commander John Rodgers of his command on the Mississippi,
        iv. 250;
    assembles a fleet at Paducah, 255;
    inspects the crews, 256;
    seeming insolence of Captain Walke to, 266;
    joins the expedition to Fort Donelson, 268;
    is seriously wounded, 271;
    again, 272;
    is relieved by Captain Charles H. Davis, 289.

  _Forest Queen_, Federal army transport, in Porter’s fleet before
        Vicksburg, iv. 364.

  Fort Beauregard, on Bay Point, Charleston, S. C., Confederate fort
        at Port Royal, iv. 169, 467.

  Fort Donelson, strength of, iv. 268;
    arrival of the _Carondelet_, _ib._;
    the _St. Louis_, _Louisville_, and _Pittsburg_ arrive before, 271;
    all three ships disabled, _ib._;
    the fleet at a disadvantage, 272;
    surrendered to General Grant, _ib._

  Fort Erie, the Coney Island of Buffalo, ii. 273.

  Fort Fisher, N. C., capture of, iv. 503–518;
    fortifications of, 505;
    General Butler’s plan of capture, 508–514;
    garrison of, 514.

  Fort Gaines shelled by Federal gun-boat _Chickasaw_, iv. 405.

  Fort George attacked by the Americans under Winfield Scott, ii.
        342–344;
    Scott hauls down the British flag, 344.

  Fort Gregg, Charleston, S. C., iv. 467.

  Fort Henry, Tennessee River, Foote assembles a fleet at Paducah to
        attack, iv. 255;
    troops under Grant proceed up the river, _ib._;
    storm clears the river of torpedoes, 256;
    attacked by Foote’s fleet, 261–266;
    a victory for the gun-boats, 266;
    its importance to both armies, _ib._

  _Fort Hindman_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 370.

  Fort Jackson, Confederate fortification on the Mississippi, iv. 318;
    bombardment of, 322–324;
    surrendered to Porter, 339.

  Fort Johnson, Charleston, S. C., iv. 467.

  Fort Morgan, iv. 385, 386, 389.

  Fort Moultrie, Charleston, S. C., iv. 467.

  Fort Pillow, Federal fleet advances to, iv. 289;
    evacuated by Confederates, 298.

  Fort Pinckney, Charleston, S. C., iv. 467.

  Fort Ripley, Charleston, S. C., iv. 467.

  Fort Sumter, five monitors open fire on, iv. 491;
    bombarded and reduced to a wreck, 493.

  Fort Wagner, Charleston, S. C., iv. 467, 469, 490.

  Fort Walker, on Hilton Head, Confederate fort at Port Royal, iv. 169.

  Fortress Monroe, the _Monitor_ retires to, after the fight with the
        _Merrimac_, iv. 226.

  _Forward_, American schooner, in attack on Alvarado, iii. 410.

  _Forward_, filibuster craft, cut out by Lieutenant Brownson of the
        United States frigate _Mohican_, iv. 553.

  Foster, Lieutenant-commander J. P., iv. 369.

  Foster, General John G., Captain Flusser appeals to him to go and
        burn the Confederate ironclad _Albemarle_, iv. 454.

  Fox, Augustus V., appointed assistant to Gideon Welles, Secretary of
        the Navy, iv. 35.

  _Fox_, Captain W. H. Cocke, iii. 333.

  Foxardo affair, the unfortunate, iii. 337, 338.

  France, United States Government abrogates all treaties with, July 7,
        1798, i. 314.

  _Francis B. Ogden_, Ericsson’s model boat, attains speed of ten miles
        an hour, iv. 10;
    Captain Stockton makes a trip on, _ib._

  Franklin sails for France on the _Reprisal_, i. 114.

  Franklin, Sir John, American expedition sent to search for the
        remains of, iii. 464.

  _Franklin_, American schooner, captures ten vessels and Governor
        Wright of St. John’s, i. 203;
    captures a quantity of war supplies, _ib._

  _Freeborn_, Federal steamer, at Acquia Creek, iv. 81.

  “Free trade” before “sailors’ rights,” the motto of Washington
        politicians in 1812, ii. 18.

  _Freely_, Confederate privateer, iv. 93.

  Frémont, John C. (“the Pathfinder”), takes possession of San Diego,
        iii. 394;
    commands in the Mississippi Valley, iv. 241.

  French cruisers destroy American shipping, i. 314.

  French troops enter Mexico, iv. 367.

  _Friendship_, American ship, attacked and looted by natives of
        Sumatra, iii. 368.

  _Frolic_, American sloop, built at Portsmouth, N. H., in 1814, iii.
        64;
    Master-commandant Joseph Bainbridge appointed to, 65:
    sinks a Carthagenian privateer, _ib._;
    encounters the British frigate _Orpheus_ and schooner _Shelburne_,
        _ib._;
    surrenders, 66.

  _Frolic_, British brig, encountered by the _Wasp_, ii. 106;
    captured by the _Wasp_, 107–112;
    comparison between the ships, 116;
    recaptured by the _Poictiers_, 118.

  Frontier posts retained by England contrary to treaty, i. 383;
    posts used as Indian headquarters, _ib._

  Fry, Captain Joseph, capture of, iv. 308;
    captured and executed by the Spaniards in the _Virginius_
        expedition, _ib._

  Fulton ferryboat _Somerset_ captures the blockade-runner _Circassian_
        off Havana, iv. 37.

  Fulton, naval plans of, iv. 3, 4;
    his first steam war-ship, the _Demologos_, 4;
    report of commissioners appointed to examine her, 7, 8;
    blown to pieces, 9.

  _Fulton 2d_, launched in 1887, iv. 11.


  Gadsden, Christopher, member of first Marine Committee, i. 36.

  _Gaines_, Confederate gun-boat, iv. 380.

  _Galatea_, British frigate, chased by the _Congress_ and _President_,
        ii. 151.

  _Galena_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 389.

  _Gallinipper_, American barge, captures a pirate schooner, iii. 335.

  Galveston, Texas, blockaded by the _South Carolina_, iv. 44;
    bombarded by Captain James Alden of the Federal frigate _South
        Carolina_, 121;
    the foreign consuls protest against the bombardment, 123;
    captured by Farragut, 357;
    is retaken by the Confederates, _ib._

  Gamble, Lieutenant Peter, killed in the battle of Lake Champlain,
        iii. 157.

  _Gaspé_, captured by men armed with paving-stones, i. 9.

  _Gazelle_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 370.

  Geisinger, Midshipman David, placed in charge of the captured ship
        _Atlanta_, iii. 100.

  _General Armstrong_, American privateer schooner, iii. 186;
    owned by New York men, _ib._;
    under Captain Tim Barnard captures nineteen prizes, 187;
    sails from New York under command of Captain Samuel C. Reid, _ib._;
    arrives at Fayal and encounters the _Carnation_, _Plantagenet_, and
        _Rota_, _ib._;
    is attacked by boats from the three ships, but beats them off, 189;
    scuttled and abandoned by her crew, 200.

  _General Bragg_, Confederate gun-boat, rams the _Cincinnati_ at Fort
        Pillow, iv. 293;
    raked by the _Carondelet_, 294;
    surrenders, 302.

  _General Monk_, British ship, attacked and captured by the _Hyder
        Ali_, i. 209–215.

  _General Pike_, American ship, burned at the attack on Fort George,
        ii. 346.

  _General Price_, Federal ram, in Porter’s fleet before Vicksburg, iv.
        364.

  _General Rusk_, Confederate steamer, blockaded in Galveston by the
        Federal frigate _Santee_, iv. 137.

  _Georgiana_, British whaler, captured by Porter, iii. 8.

  Gerdes, F. H., Federal coast surveyor at New Orleans, iv. 322.

  German troops hired by England to fight in America, i. 32.

  Ghent, terms and conditions of the treaty of, iii. 209.

  Gherardi, Commander Bancroft, iv. 389.

  _Gibraltar_, formerly the _Sumter_. See _Sumter_.

  Gibraltar, duels between American and English officers at, iii.
        311–313.

  Gillis, Captain John P., iv. 99;
    of the _Seminole_ at Port Royal, 163.

  _Glasgow_, British sloop-of-war, fight with Commodore Hopkins’s
        American squadron, i. 59.

  _Globe_, American privateer, ii. 250.

  “God Save the King,” American sailors on British ships compelled to
        bare their heads when played, i. 394, iii. 291.

  Godon, Captain S. W., at Port Royal, iv. 163.

  _Golden Rocket_, captured by the _Sumter_, iv. 410.

  Goldsborough, Flag Officer L. M., in charge of expedition sent
        against Roanoke Island, iv. 109;
    in charge of a large fleet sent to ram the _Merrimac_, 235.

  Gordon’s Landing, Red River, fort at, attacked by Ellet, iv. 352.

  Gorringe, Master H. H., iv. 370.

  _Governor_, Federal transport, sinks off Cape Hatteras, iv. 166.

  _Governor Tompkins_, American privateer, ii. 253.

  _Governor Tryon_, British sloop, attacked by and strikes to the
        American privateer _Thorn_, i. 209.

  _Grampus_, American schooner, in fleet sent to punish pirates in
        South America, iii. 331;
    captures the _Pandrita_, 332.

  Grand Gulf, Porter attacks fortifications of, and finds them
        evacuated, iv. 367;
    Grant makes it his base of supplies, _ib._

  Grant, General Ulysses Simpson, attempts to dislodge Confederates
        below Cairo, iv. 251;
    attacks the Confederates at Belmont, 251, 252;
    proceeds up the Tennessee, to attack Fort Henry, 255;
    muddy roads prevents his taking part in the capture of the fort,
        266;
    at Fort Donelson, 268;
    Captain Walker diverts the Confederates’ attention from him, 271;
    Confederates surrender to him, 272;
    fight with Confederates at Pittsburg Landing, 284;
    arrives before Vicksburg, 351;
    goes to New Carthage to surround Vicksburg, 363;
    makes Grand Gulf his base of supplies, 367.

  _Granville_, French privateer, in the fleet of Paul Jones, i. 234.

  Graves, Admiral, destroys Portland, Maine, i. 24–26.

  Grease as a protection on armor-plated ships, iv. 10.

  Great Britain, sea-power of, in 1812, ii. 22;
    European nations dread the power of, 23.

  Greene, Lieutenant Charles H., iv. 386.

  Greene, Captain P. B., blockaded in Bahia Harbor, ii. 179;
    refuses Lawrence’s challenge, _ib._;
    cowardice of, 180;
    rescued by the _Montagu_, _ib._

  Greene, Lieutenant S. D., executive officer of the _Monitor_, iv. 216;
    takes charge of the guns in the turret, 219, 220;
    takes command after Worden is disabled, 226;
    his statement, 229, 230;
    orders regarding the _Merrimac_, 235.

  Greenpoint, Brooklyn, N. Y., the _Monitor_ constructed at, iv. 192.

  _Greenwich_, British letter-of-marque whaler, captured by Porter,
        iii. 9.

  Greer, Lieutenant-commander James A., before Vicksburg, iv. 363, 369.

  _Greyhound_, Captain John Porter, iii. 333.

  _Growler_, American schooner, captured by the British, ii. 351;
    recaptured by the Americans, 351.

  _Growler_, American sloop, in Macdonough’s squadron, ii. 354;
    grounded in the Sorel River, 355.

  _Growler_, American sloop, iii. 135, 138.

  _Guanabara_, Brazilian rebel warship at Rio Janeiro, iv. 548;
    fired on by the United States cruiser _Detroit_, 553.

  _Guerrière_, American frigate, built in 1814, iii. 64;
    Decatur’s flagship in expedition sent against the Dey of Algiers,
        346, 347.

  _Guerrière_, British frigate, picking sailors from American ships,
        ii. 6;
    flees from an inferior force, 7;
    stops the _Spitfire_, and takes off John Deguyo, an American
        citizen, _ib._;
    race with the _Constitution_, 55;
    Captain Dacres in charge of, 55–60;
    fight with the _Constitution_, 76–95;
    surrendered and blown up, 95.

  Gun-boats, the ideal navy, ii. 388;
    description and build of, 389;
    arguments in favor of, 390;
    cheapness of, 392;
    points against, _ib._;
    cost of, 393;
    difficulty of getting unanimity of captains in battle, 394;
    lack of discipline on gun-boats, _ib._;
    use of, in Long Island Sound, 395;
    first encounter with gun-boats, _ib._;
    uselessness again shown, 416.

  Gunners of 1812 and 1861 compared, iv. 419.

  Gunpowder, expedients for getting, by the United Colonies, i. 28.

  Guns, penetrating power of long and short, iii. 142;
    improvements made in, iv. 18–23.

  Gwin, Lieutenant, supports Grant at Pittsburg Landing, iv. 284.


  Hacker, Captain Hoysted, i. 79, 282, 283.

  Haggerty, Captain F. L., at Port Royal, iv. 163.

  _Halifax_, British war-ship, i. 406, 407.

  Hallock, Captain William, i. 66.

  Hambleton, Purser on the _Lawrence_ in the battle of Lake Erie, ii.
        317.

  _Hamilton_, American schooner, ii. 350.

  Hamilton, Schuyler, suggests cutting through the trees of swamp from
        the Mississippi to New Madrid, iv. 281.

  Hampton Roads, the first point blockaded in the Civil War, iv. 40;
    _Keystone State_ blockades, 45.

  Hanchett, Captain, ii. 398.

  Handy, Captain Robert, misunderstands signals, iv. 133, 134;
    letter to Captain Pope, showing his fear of the _Manassas_, 136.

  _Hannah_, a Providence packet, chased by the _Gaspé_, i. 5.

  Harding, Captain Seth, surrenders to the _Orpheus_ and _Roebuck_, i.
        298.

  _Harriet Lane_, American revenue cutter, used as a war-ship, iv. 42;
    Captain John Faunce, 99.

  _Harriet Lane_, Federal frigate, captured in the Gulf of Mexico, iv.
        357.

  Harrison, Lieutenant Napoleon B., iv. 314.

  _Hartford_, United States screw sloop, built, iv. 16;
    flagship of Captain Farragut, 314;
    set on fire by Confederate fire-raft, 329;
    passes the batteries at Port Hudson, 358;
    flagship of Rear-admiral Farragut, 386.

  Hatteras, Cape, battle between the _Wasp_ and the _Frolic_ in the
        tail of a gale off, ii. 107.

  Hatteras, Fort, captured by Federal forces, iv. 106;
    the first Union victory in the War of Secession, _ib._

  Hatteras hurricane, a fleet of transports in a, iv. 166.

  Hatteras Inlet, N. C., resort of the “Hatteras Pirates,” iv. 97.

  _Hatteras_, merchant-steamer, captured and sunk by the _Alabama_ at
        Galveston, iv. 432.

  _Hawke_, American tender, captured by British off Long Island, i. 56.

  Hawkins, Captain Richard, refuses to fight the _Essex_, ii. 39–41;
    branded as a coward, 40.

  Haymakers, Machias, attack of the, on the _Margaretta_, i. 21.

  Haymakers and wood-choppers as Yankee seamen, iii. 82, 83, 86, 90, 95.

  _Hazard_, American privateer, captured the British brig _Active_, i.
        206.

  Hazard, Captain, in the first naval battle of the Revolution, i. 57.

  _Hebrus_, British frigate, ii. 420.

  _Hector_, British letter-of-marque ship, captured by Lieutenant
        Downes, iii. 10.

  Heddart, Captain Francis, extracts from his account of the
        _Serapis_-_Bonhomme Richard_ battle, i. 245, 257.

  Henley, Midshipman John D., assists in the attack on the city of
        Tripoli, i. 366.

  _Henry Clay_, Federal army transport, in Porter’s fleet before
        Vicksburg, iv. 364;
    catches fire and sinks, _ib._

  Hewes, Joseph, member of first Marine Committee, i. 36.

  _Hibernia_, British transport, captured by Captain Hopkins, i. 281.

  Hickman, on the Mississippi, evacuated by the Confederates, iv. 275.

  _Highflyer_, British schooner, Captain Rodgers succeeds in getting
        private signals from, ii. 23, 358.

  Hillyar, Captain James, in the harbor of Valparaiso, iii. 25;
    attempts to attack the _Essex_, but is scared off, 26;
    attacks the _Essex_ in company with the _Cherub_, 30–43;
    criticism on handling his ship, 46.

  Hilton Head. See _Fort Walker_.

  Hinman, Captain Elisha, i. 66;
    sent to France for army supplies, 130;
    his ship captured by the British, 133.

  Hislop, Lieutenant-general, Governor of Bombay, on board the _Java_
        in her fight with the _Constitution_, ii. 168;
    Captain Bainbridge’s curious dream of, 172, 173.

  Hoel, Lieutenant W. R., iv. 363, 370.

  Hoffman, Lieutenant B. V., sent to take charge of the _Cyane_ when
        she surrendered, iii. 252.

  Hoke, General, advances on Plymouth, N. C., and captures it, iv. 455,
        456.

  Holdup, Thomas, in the battle of Lake Erie, chases and captures the
        _Chippewa_ and _Little Belt_, ii. 326.

  _Holland_, torpedo boat, launching of, iv. 543.

  Holland, John P., inventor of submarine torpedo boats, iv. 542.

  Honor, American Medal of, origin of, iv. 111.

  Hope, Lieutenant David, horrible cruelty of, to sailors, i. 389;
    wounded on the _Macedonian_, ii. 140;
    his report on gunnery practice, 143.

  Hopkins, Esek, Commander-in-chief of first American fleet, i. 42;
    career of, 48;
    dismissed from the service, 61;
    dies near Providence, R. I., _ib._

  Hopkins, Captain John Burrows, in command of the _Cabot_, i. 57.

  Hopkins, Commodore Robert, receives his appointment through influence
        of John Adams, i. 49;
    sent to Chesapeake Bay in search of Lord Dunmore, 53;
    goes to the Bahamas instead and attacks the British there, _ib._

  Hopkins, Stephen, member of first Marine Committee, i. 36.

  _Hornet_, sloop of first American Navy, i. 40.

  _Hornet_, American sloop-of-war, blockades the British warship _Bonne
        Citoyenne_ in Bahia Harbor, ii. 179;
    raises the blockade on the approach of the _Montagu_, 180;
    captures the _Resolution_, 181;
    falls in with the _Peacock_, _ib._;
    fight with the _Peacock_, 182–184;
    encounters the _Penguin_, iii. 273;
    the _Penguin_ surrenders, 274–280;
    the _Hornet_ chased by the _Cornwallis_, but escapes, 282–284;
    Captain Robert Henley appointed to command, 330;
    detailed to South America to destroy pirates, 331.

  Horses, wild, as weapons of offence, iii. 401.

  _Housatonic_, Federal war-ship, attacked by the Confederate ironclad
        _Palmetto State_, iv. 474.

  Howard, Lieutenant Samuel, iv. 370.

  Howe, Captain Tyringham, i. 59.

  Huger, Captain Thomas B., at New Orleans, iv. 321;
    mortally wounded, 332.

  Hull, Lieutenant Isaac, cuts the privateer _Sandwich_ out of Puerto
        Plata, i. 329;
    tricky conduct of the officers of two British frigates to, ii. 15;
    the frigates turn and retreat, 16;
    his opinion of the crew of the _Constitution_, 52;
    his escape from a British squadron, after standing at his post for
        two days, 53–69;
    race with the _Guerrière_, 55;
    fight with and capture of the _Guerrière_, 76–95;
    reception on returning to Boston, 101;
    Congress votes a gold medal to, 103.

  Humphreys, Joshua, American ship-builder, statement of, in regard to
        new ships, i. 311;
    his theories accepted, 312.

  Hunt, William H., Secretary of the Navy, appoints a board of naval
        officers, with Rear-admiral Rodgers at its head, iv. 527.

  _Hunter_, American ship, captured by the _Peacock_, ii. 191;
    taken in charge by the _Hornet_, _ib._

  _Hunter_, British ship, attacked by privateers, i. 200.

  _Hunter_, British brig, in battle of Lake Erie, ii. 296.

  _Hussar_, Austrian war-ship, Martin Koszta, an American citizen taken
        and detained on, iii. 385;
    on demand of Captain Ingraham of the _St. Louis_ is given up, _ib._

  Hutter, Midshipman, killed while assisting the Union wounded out of
        the _Congress_, iv. 209.

  _Hyder Ali_, American privateer, Captain Joshua Barney, attacks and
        captures the _General Monk_, i. 212–215.


  _Illinois_, United States battle-ship, iv. 534, 536.

  Impressment, feeling of American seamen regarding the practice of,
        ii. 18.

  _Independence_, American privateer, Commander Thomas Truxton, cuts
        out three big ships from the British fleet, i. 205.

  _Indian Chief_, Confederate ship, iv. 499.

  _Indiana_, United States battle-ship, iv. 534.

  _Indianola_, Federal armored gun-boat, in attack on Port Hudson, iv.
        352;
    captured and sunk by the Confederates, _ib._

  Indians, friendship of, cultivated by England to injure United
        States, i. 383;
    incited by British to attack pioneers, _ib._

  Ingraham, Captain Duncan Nathaniel, demands the surrender of Martin
        Koszta, an American citizen detained on the Austrian war-ship
        _Hussar_, iii. 385;
    medal presented to him by Congress, 386.

  Inland navy an imperative necessity to reach the heart of the
        Confederacy, iv. 241.

  Inman, Lieutenant William, chases and captures a pirate schooner,
        iii. 335.

  _Insurgent_, French frigate, Captain Barreaut, captures the American
        ship _Retaliation_, i. 316;
    battle with the _Constellation_, 320–322;
    surrenders, 321;
    lost at sea, 330.

  International law, a question of violation of, iv. 160.

  _Intrepid_, formerly the _Mastico_, used as a fire-ship at the attack
        on Tripoli, i. 371;
    explodes, 378.

  _Investigator_, Federal merchant-ship, captured by Confederate
        cruiser _Sumter_, iv. 415.

  _Iowa_, United States battle-ship, iv. 534, 536.

  Ironclad warfare, superior activity of the Confederates in preparing
        for, iv. 184.

  Ironclads, the Confederate Government the first to construct, iv. 185;
    the _Merrimac_ launched, 188;
    Congress makes appropriation for construction of, 190;
    dilatory action of Naval Board in making contracts for, 191;
    first battle between, 220.

  _Iroquois_, United States screw sloop, built, iv. 16.

  _Iroquois_, Federal screw corvette, iv. 314.

  Irving, Washington, on Perry’s victory on Lake Erie, ii. 338.

  _Isaac Smith_, Federal war-ship, in the Port Royal fleet, iv. 164.

  Island No. 10, strongly fortified by the Confederates, iv. 275;
    Foote’s flotilla arrives in front of, 276;
    capture of, delayed two weeks by Foote, 281;
    Captain Walke successfully runs the gauntlet of batteries on, 282,
        283;
    the island captured, 283, 289;
    has disappeared under action of the current, 284.

  Isle-aux-Noix, British fort at, iii. 136, 139.

  Isle St. Mary, Paul Jones lands on and surrounds the house of the
        Earl of Selkirk, i. 147, 148.

  _Itasca_, Federal screw gun-boat, iv. 314;
    breaks down barriers placed across the Mississippi, 323;
    Lieutenant-commander George Brown, 389.

  _Ivy_, Confederate gun-boat, iv. 127.


  James, Reuben, seaman, saves Decatur’s life, i. 364.

  _James Adger_, American cruiser, captures the _Emily St. Pierre_, iv.
        58;
    the latter recaptured, _ib._

  _Jamestown_, Confederate warship, captures several prizes in sight of
        the _Monitor_, iv. 235.

  Japan, condition of, in the sixteenth century, iii. 438;
    experience with Christianity, _ib._;
    Dutch trading at Nagasaki, _ib._;
    introduction of Western civilization by the American fleet, 439;
    Commodore M. C. Perry’s work in opening the ports of Japan, _ib._;
    appointed to the Japan mission, 443;
    Commodore Perry’s exhibition of power and dignity wins the respect
        of, 444.

  _Jason_, British transport, captured by Captain Hopkins, i. 281.

  _Java_, British frigate, fight with the _Constitution_ off the coast
        of Brazil, 155–173;
    poor gunnery of, 157;
    a complete wreck in sixty-five minutes, 162;
    losses of, 169.

  _Jefferson_, American brig, iii. 113.

  _Jefferson Davis_, Confederate privateer, captures the _John Welsh_,
        _Enchantress_, _S. J. Waring_, iv. 91;
    _Mary Goodell_ and _Mary E. Thompson_, 92;
    runs aground at St. Augustine and is lost, 93.

  Jenkins, Captain Thornton A., iv. 386.

  _Jersey_, the notorious prison-ship, sketch of, i. 221–226.

  _John Adams_, Perry’s flagship on his cruise to South America, iii.
        327.

  _John Welsh_, merchant-brig, captured by Confederate privateer
        _Jefferson Davis_, iv. 91.

  Johnson, Captain Henry, in charge of brig _Lexington_, sent to
        Europe, i. 117.

  Johnson, Captain J. D., succeeds Admiral Buchanan on the _Tennessee_,
        iv. 402;
    surrenders his ship to Captain Le Roy, of the Federal steamer
        _Ossipee_, 403.

  Jones, Captain Jacob, encounters the _Frolic_ in a gale, ii. 106;
    captures the _Frolic_, 107–117;
    surrenders the _Wasp_ and the _Frolic_ to the frigate _Poictiers_,
        118, 119;
    rewarded with a gold medal from Congress, 119;
    given command of the frigate _Macedonian_, 119, 143.

  _Jones_, American brig, iii. 113.

  Jones, John Paul, first independent command of, i. 64;
    promoted to rank of captain, 73;
    fight with the _Solebay_, 73–76;
    outsails the British frigate _Milford_, 77;
    sails into Canso Harbor, _ib._;
    in Newport Harbor, 78;
    in command of flagship _Alfred_, 79;
    passes through British squadron off Block Island, _ib._;
    captures brig _Mellish_, _ib._;
    encounters and captures coal fleet in Canso Harbor, 80;
    captures a British privateer, _ib._;
    chased by the _Milford_, _ib._;
    arrives in Boston, 82;
    ordered back to the brig _Providence_, 83;
    bad treatment of, by Congress, _ib._;
    appointed to the gun-ship _Ranger_, 134;
    sails to Nantes, 135;
    reaches Quiberon Bay, 137;
    sails from Brest to England, 138;
    scuttles a merchant-brig, _ib._;
    seizes the _Lord Chatham_, _ib._;
    sails to Whitehaven, _ib._;
    attempts to capture the _Drake_, 140;
    descends on Whitehaven, 141;
    his crew takes an earl’s silver, 142;
    attacks the house of the Earl of Selkirk, 147;
    returns the silver taken by his crew, 151, 152;
    second and successful attempt to capture the _Drake_, 152;
    generosity of, 155;
    fought for honor, 158;
    inactivity of, in France, 228;
    fits out the _Bonhomme Richard_, 229;
    Congress arranges to give him a fleet, 232;
    the _Alliance_, _Pallas_, and _Vengeance_ put under his command,
        232;
    trouble with Captain Landais of the _Alliance_, 234;
    his fleet sails from L’Orient augmented by the _Monsieur_ and
        _Granville_, _ib._;
    captures a brigantine, 235;
    Landais refuses to attend a council of officers, 237;
    proposes to attack Leith, _ib._;
    delay and a windstorm prevent his landing, 240;
    meets a fleet of merchantmen off Flamborough Head, 243;
    the _Serapis_ bears down to meet him, _ib._;
    attacks the _Serapis_, 245;
    fight with the _Serapis_, 247–259;
    character of, 265;
    his account of events after the surrender, 269–272;
    arrives at Texel, followed by a British squadron, 273;
    flight of, 275;
    made a hero of, at Paris, _ib._;
    sails to America in the _Ariel_, 277;
    honors on his arrival, _ib._;
    denounced as a pirate by the British Government, _ib._;
    misrepresented by English writers, _ib._;
    his pride in being an American, 278.

  Jones, Lieutenant Thomas ap Catesby, with a small flotilla, opposes
        the British fleet at New Orleans, iii. 232–238;
    he is cut down and his small force eventually surrenders, 236, 237;
    sent in command of a squadron to the Pacific coast, 388;
    strikes the first blow in the Mexican War, 390;
    lands at and takes possession of Monterey, _ib._;
    surrenders the town, _ib._;
    appointed chief officer on the Confederate ironclad _Merrimac_, iv.
        188;
    takes command after Captain Buchanan is wounded, 209;
    returns with the _Merrimac_ to Sewell’s Point, 213.

  _Joseph_, British ship, captured by the _Surprise_, i. 124.

  _Joseph H. Toone_, Federal schooner, iv. 129.

  _Joseph Maxwell_, Federal merchant-ship, captured by Confederate
        cruiser _Sumter_, iv. 415.

  _Joseph Parke_, Federal merchant-ship, captured by Confederate
        cruiser _Sumter_, iv. 415.

  Jouett, Lieutenant James E., cuts out the _Royal Yacht_ from
        Galveston Harbor, iv. 138, 139;
    Lieutenant-commander of the _Metacomet_, 386.

  _Judah_, Confederate privateer schooner, destroyed at Fort Pickens,
        iv. 120.

  _Julia_, American schooner, ii. 268;
    captured by the British, 351.

  _Junon_, British frigate, becalmed in Hampton Roads, attacked by
        gun-boats, ii. 395;
    chases the _Constitution_ off Cape Ann, iii. 244.

  _J. W. Hewes_, merchant-ship, captured by Confederate privateers, iv.
        97.


  _Katahdin_, Federal screw gun-boat, iv. 315.

  Kearny, Sailing-master Lawrence, attacks a party from the frigate
        _Hebrus_, ii. 420;
    captures the tender of the frigate _Severn_, 421.

  Kearny, Brigadier-general Stephen W., goes to the assistance of
        Commodore Stockton in Mexico, iii. 398;
    is repulsed and wounded, _ib._;
    marches to San Diego, _ib._

  _Kearsarge_, American sloop-of-war, built, iv. 38.

  _Kearsarge_, Federal armored frigate, meets the _Alabama_ in
        Cherbourg Harbor, France, iv. 436;
    comparison of their armament, 437;
    description of the fight, 438–441;
    the best gunnery of the Civil War, 441.

  _Kearsarge_ (new), United States battle-ship, iv. 534, 536.

  Kedge anchor, use of, on the _Essex_, ii. 49.

  Kedging, method of, described, ii. 58.

  _Kennebec_, Federal screw gun-boat, iv. 314;
    Lieutenant-commander William P. McCann, 389.

  Kennon, Captain Beverley, at New Orleans, iv. 321;
    attacks the _Varuna_, 334;
    surrenders, 335.

  Kentucky, western, railroad communication with the East cut off from,
        iv. 267.

  _Keokuk_, Federal monitor, at Charleston, iv. 483, 485.

  Kerr, Captain Robert, attacks the _Constitution_ at Porto Prayo, iii.
        260.

  _Keystone State_, armed merchantman, attacked by the Confederate
        ironclad _Palmetto State_, iv. 474.

  Kidnapped sailors ill-fed and poorly paid on British ships, i. 387.

  Kilty, Captain A. H., before Fort Pillow, iv. 289;
    aids the _Cincinnati_, 294.

  _Kines_, Federal screw gun-boat, iv. 315, 358.

  Kingston, Canada, chief naval and military post in 1812, ii. 265;
    Commodore Chauncey attacks, 270.

  Kirkcaldy, Scotland, anecdote of the parson of, on the approach of
        Paul Jones’s squadron, i. 238.

  Koszta, Martin, an American citizen, taken by the Austrian
        authorities on board the war-ship _Hussar_, iii. 385.


  _Lackawanna_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 389.

  _Lady Gore_, British schooner, captured by Chauncey at Lake George,
        ii. 353.

  _Lady Prevost_, British war-vessel, fired and destroyed by the
        Americans, ii. 279.

  Lafayette, carried back to France in the _Alliance_, i. 232;
    narrowly escapes capture, _ib._

  _Lafayette_, Federal gun-boat, in Porter’s fleet surrounding
        Vicksburg, iv. 363;
    Lieutenant-commander J. P. Foster, 369.

  Lake Erie, the battle of, ii. 309–325.

  Lamb, Colonel William, commander of Fort Fisher, iv. 507.

  Lambert, Captain Henry, surrenders to Captain Bainbridge of the
        _Constitution_, ii. 155–173;
    his attempt to board the _Constitution_, 158;
    mortally wounded, 165;
    Captain Bainbridge returns his sword, 172.

  Lambert, Jonathan, proprietor of the island of Tristan d’Acunha, a
        breeding resort for seals in the South Atlantic, iii. 270.

  _Lancaster_, United States screw sloop, built, iv. 16.

  _Lancaster_, Federal ram, sunk below Port Hudson, iv. 358.

  Landais, Captain Pierre, placed in command of the _Alliance_ by
        Congress, i. 232;
    mutinous conduct of, 234;
    fouls the _Alliance_ with the _Bonhomme Richard_, _ib._;
    insolence of, 235;
    captures a valuable prize, 236;
    refuses to attend a council of officers, 237;
    jealousy of, 241;
    further insubordination of, 244;
    fires into the _Bonhomme Richard_, 254;
    treachery of, 267;
    dismissed and settles in New York City, _ib._

  Langdon, John, member of first Marine Committee, i. 36.

  Langthorne, Lieutenant A. R., iv. 370.

  _La Pique_, British frigate, encounters the _Constitution_ off
        Porto Rico, iii. 242.

  Lardner, Captain J. L., commands the _Susquehanna_ at Port Royal,
        iv. 163.

  Laugharne, Captain Thomas L. P., surrenders to Porter, ii. 42.

  Laurens, Henry, American Ambassador to Holland, is removed from the
        _Mercury_ by the Captain of the British ship _Vestal_, and
        taken to St. Johns, Newfoundland, iv. 153;
    taken to England and imprisoned in the Tower of London, 154;
    exchanged for Lord Cornwallis, _ib._;
    his case parallel to the _Trent_ affair, _ib._

  _Lurestinus_, British frigate, ii. 395.

  Law, Lieutenant of British marines, fires at Lawrence and wounds
        him, ii. 213.

  _Lawrence_, American brig, flagship of Commodore Perry, ii. 290;
    in the battle of Lake Erie, 317;
    Perry shifts his flag to the _Niagara_, 321;
    sunk in Little Bay, 337.

  Lawrence, Captain James, Midshipman on the _Constitution_, i. 348;
    Captain of the _Hornet_, 403;
    blockades the British warship _Bonne Citoyenne_ in Bahia Harbor,
        ii. 179;
    challenges Captain Greene, _ib._;
    compelled to raise the blockade, 180;
    recaptures the _William_, 181;
    captures the _Resolution_, _ib._;
    is chased by the _Peacock_, 182;
    the _Peacock_ is beaten, 183;
    Lawrence fits his ship for another fight, 190;
    chases the _Espiègle_, _ib._;
    put all hands on half rations and squares away for home, 191;
    promoted to command the _Chesapeake_, 192;
    sails out of Boston to meet the _Shannon_, 197;
    has difficulty in getting a crew, 199;
    is challenged by Captain Broke of the _Shannon_, 203;
    sails out to meet the enemy, 204;
    addresses his crew, 205;
    mutinous spirit of his men, 206;
    displays great skill in handling his ship, _ib._;
    the _Chesapeake_ is damaged and begins to drift, 213;
    Lawrence shot, _ib._;
    dies, 221;
    interred in Trinity Churchyard, 225.

  Lay, John L., devises a torpedo boat, iv. 458;
    used by Lieutenant Cushing to destroy the _Albemarle_, 459–461.

  _Leander_ affair, the, i. 403, 404;
    Captain Whitby court-martialed, 405.

  Lear, Tobias, American Consul-general at Algiers 1812, iii. 340.

  _Lee_, American galley, i. 89.

  _Lee_, American schooner, i. 30, 197;
    assists in capturing a British troop-ship, 203.

  Lee, Captain F. D., Chief of Confederate torpedo corps, iv. 497.

  Lee, Richard Henry, member of first Marine Committee, i. 36.

  Lee, Rear-admiral S. Phillips, iv. 314;
    in command of the Albemarle Station, 454.

  _Leopard_ and _Chesapeake_, affair of the, i. 40.

  Le Roy, Commander William E., iv. 389.

  Letter of marque and a privateer, difference between, iii. 242.

  _Levant_, British sloop-of-war, chased by the _Constitution_, iii.
        247;
    surrenders, 255.

  Lewis, Captain Jacob, made Commodore of the American fleet in New
        York Harbor, ii. 394.

  _Lexington_, American brig, i. 63;
    captured by British frigate _Pearl_, 66;
    escapes, 68;
    sent to Europe under Captain Johnson, 117;
    captured by the cutter _Alert_, 119, 120;
    fate of the crew of, 121, 122.

  _Lexington_, merchant-vessel, purchased by Commander Rodgers for use
        in Federal Navy, iv. 241;
    Captain Stembel appointed to command, 251.

  _Lexington_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 369.

  Lexington, battle of, i. 14.

  Lincoln’s proclamation blockading the Southern ports, iv. 28–30.

  _Linnet_, British brig, at the battle of Lake Champlain, iii. 138,
        142, 166;
    surrenders, _ib._

  Linzee, Captain, chased by the _Gaspé_, i. 5.

  Little, Captain John, fights and captures the _Berceau_, i. 328.

  _Little Belt_, British corvette, fires on the American frigate
        _President_, ii. 10;
    in battle of Lake Erie, 297.

  Little Falls, N. Y., Indian and Dutch traders at, ii. 263.

  _Little Rebel_, sunk by the Federals at Fort Pillow, iv. 302.

  Livermore, Parson Samuel, ii. 214.

  _Livingston_, Confederate gun-boat, iv. 127.

  Lloyd, Captain Robert, assists in the attack on the _General
        Armstrong_, iii. 194.

  Lockyer, Captain, attacks Lieutenant Catesby Jones at New Orleans,
        iii. 235.

  Lomax, Colonel, captures the Pensacola Navy Yard, iv. 112.

  _Lord Nelson_, British merchantman, captured by the _Oneida_, ii. 265.

  Los Angeles, Cal., captured from the Mexicans by Commodore
        Stockton, iii. 397;
    recaptured, _ib._;
    retaken by the Americans, 401.

  _Lottery_, American ship, captured, iii. 204.

  _Louisa Beaton_, American brigantine, engaged in the African slave
        traffic, iii. 364.

  _Louisa Hatch_, captured by the _Alabama_, iv. 427.

  _Louisa Kilham_, Federal merchant-ship, captured by Confederate
        cruiser _Sumter_, iv. 415.

  _Louisiana_, American schooner, in the attack on New Orleans, iii.
        240;
    used as a powder-boat to blow up Fort Fisher, iv. 510.

  _Louisville_, armor-plated Federal gun-boat, built by Eads, iv. 245;
    disabled, 271;
    in Porter’s fleet before Vicksburg, 363, 369.

  _Lowell_, Confederate ship, sunk at Fort Pillow, iv. 301.

  Lowry, Captain R. R., iv. 100.

  _Loyal Convert_, British vessel, i. 90.

  Ludlow, Lieutenant Augustus C., strives to get the crew in place, ii.
        206;
    mortally wounded, 210;
    interred in Trinity Churchyard, 225.

  _Ludlow_, American gun-boat, iii. 141.

  Lynch, Confederate Commodore W. F., at Roanoke Island, iv. 109.

  Lyons, Lord, British Minister to Washington, his instructions
        relative to the _Trent_ affair, iv. 150–153.


  McCall, Lieutenant Edward Rutley, in the _Boxer_ fight, ii. 376;
    takes command after Captain Burrows is disabled, 378;
    the _Boxer_ surrenders to him, 379.

  McCann, Lieutenant William P., iv. 389.

  McCauley, Commodore, disloyal conduct of, at the Norfolk Navy Yard,
        iv. 72–74.

  _McClellan_, Federal transport, iv. 135.

  McDonald, Lieutenant James, succeeds Captain Dickenson in command,
        iii. 276;
    surrenders to Captain Biddle, 276–278.

  Macdonough, Captain Thomas, i. 348;
    in the attack on the city of Tripoli, 361;
    sends the _Growler_ and _Eagle_ in pursuit of British gun-boats,
        iii. 136;
    repairs to Vergennes, Vt., _ib._;
    in command of a squadron, 144, 145;
    his careful preparations, 147–150;
    his squadron assembled, 152;
    an interested audience, _ib._;
    the battle opened with a prayer, 154;
    a sporting rooster, 155;
    Macdonough is knocked senseless, 161;
    he cleverly winds his ship, 164;
    wins the battle of Lake Champlain, 166;
    casualties and losses of, in the battle, 174;
    anecdote of, 179–181;
    the Legislature of New York donates him land, 182;
    the Legislature of Vermont presents him with a farm, _ib._;
    he is promoted, 183;
    his victory served to bring the war to a close, 184.

  _Macedonian_, British frigate, cruelty and flogging of sailors on, i.
        389;
    encounters the frigate _United States_, ii. 124;
    battle with, 125–134;
    a horrible scene of carnage, 134;
    the crew breaks into the spirits-room, 136, 137;
    American seamen found on board, 137, 138;
    losses among the crew, 139;
    the forces of the two ships, 140;
    taken to New York, 148;
    fitted for sea in the American service, 150.

  _Machias_, Federal merchant-ship, captured by Confederate cruiser
        _Sumter_, iv. 415.

  Machias haymakers, attack of the, on the _Margaretta_, i. 21.

  _McLane_, American steamer, grounded before Alvarado, Mexico, iii.
        410.

  Macomb, Major-general Alexander, opposed to Sir George Prevost at
        Plattsburg, iii. 147, 169.

  _McRae_, Confederate gun-boat, iv. 17.

  _McRae_, Confederate cotton-clad steamer, iv. 321;
    fight with the Federal steamer _Iroquois_, 332.

  Madame Island, Paul Jones captured British vessels at, i. 78.

  _Madison_, American privateer, ii. 245.

  _Madison_, the flagship of Commodore Chauncey, ii. 341.

  Madison, President, lack of an American Navy discreditable to the
        Administration of, ii. 26.

  Maffitt, Captain John Newland, authority on construction of
        fortifications, iv. 170;
    appointed to command of Confederate cruiser _Florida_, 418;
    goes to Havana and Mobile to get a crew, _ib._;
    his ship fired at by Captain Preble, of the _Winona_, 419;
    is blockaded, but escapes, 423;
    goes to Nassau, _ib._;
    cruises between New York and Brazil, 424;
    overhauls his ship, _ib._;
    he is relieved by Captain Morris, _ib._

  _Magnet_, British brig, iii. 128.

  Mahan, Captain A. T., fortifications of Mobile described by, iv.
        379–383.

  Mahone, William, Southern politician, trickery of, iv. 74, 75.

  _Maine_, United States cruiser, iv. 534.

  Maitland, Captain, falls in with the _Constitution_, iii. 243;
    afraid to engage the _Constitution_, _ib._

  _Majestic_, British cruiser, iv. 534, 535.

  _Majestic_, British razee, assists in the capture of the _President_
        off Long Island, iii. 216.

  Malayans, teaching, to fear the American flag, iii. 373–379.

  Malden, Captain Barclay, his rendezvous before the battle of Lake
        Erie, ii. 294.

  Maley, Lieutenant William, i. 330.

  _Manassas_, Confederate ram, formerly the _Enoch Train_, iv. 127;
    remodelled and put in charge of Lieutenant Alexander F. Warley, 128;
    strikes the _Richmond_ and causes a panic, 129–131; 321;
    attacks the _Brooklyn_, 332;
    sinks, 333.

  _Manhattan_, Federal monitor, iv. 386.

  Manly, Captain John, i. 30, 197;
    surrenders the _Hancock_, 185.

  Manners, Captain William, fights the _Wasp_, iii. 85;
    severely wounded, 87;
    killed, 88.

  Maples, Captain John F., goes in search of the sloop _Argus_, ii. 362;
    finds her by the light of the flames on a wine ship, 363;
    captures the sloop, 363–367;
    sends it by a prize crew to Plymouth, 371.

  Marchand, Captain John B., iv. 389.

  _Margaret and Jessie_, successful blockade-runner, iv. 63.

  _Margaretta_, attack on the, by the Machias haymakers, i. 21.

  _Maria_, British transport, captured by Captain Hopkins, i. 281.

  _Maria_, Boston schooner, captured by Algerian pirates, i. 309.

  Marine Committee of Congress, i. 158.

  Marine Committee of United Colonies appointed, i. 36.

  _Marquis de la Fayette_, French privateer, i. 297.

  _Mars_, American privateer, fitted out by Captain Thomas Truxton,
        cruises in English Channel, and captures numerous prizes, i.
        205.

  _Mars_, English privateer, captured by the _Alliance_, i. 297.

  Marston, Captain John, iv. 200.

  _Martha_, American slave-ship, captured by Lieutenant Foote, iii. 364.

  _Martin_, British sloop, grounds on Crow’s Shoal, ii. 401.

  _Mary_, British schooner, captured by Chauncey at Lake George, ii.
        353.

  _Mary_, British brig, cut out and fired by the _Wasp_, iii. 92.

  _Mary E. Thompson_, merchantman, captured by Confederate privateer
        _Jefferson Davis_, iv. 92.

  _Mary Goodell_, merchantman, captured by Confederate privateer
        _Jefferson Davis_, iv. 92.

  _Mashonda_, frigate of Rais Hammida, Algerian Admiral, iii. 345–347;
    captured by Captain Downes of the _Epervier_, 347.

  Mason, James Murray, Confederate Commissioner to England, in company
        with John Slidell, sails in the blockade-runner _Theodora_, iv.
        141;
    arrives at Cardenas, Cuba, and proceeds to Havana, _ib._;
    sails in the _Trent_ for St. Thomas, 143;
    is taken off the _Trent_ and carried into Boston, 147–149;
    he and Slidell are released, 156.

  _Mastico_, Tripolitan ketch, captured by Decatur, i. 346;
    he sails in it to fire the _Philadelphia_, 348–356;
    its name changed to the _Intrepid_, 358.
    See _Intrepid_.

  Mathews, Jack, an old man-of-war tar, on the ironclad _Essex_,
        gallant conduct of, iv. 261;
    death of, 265.

  _Mattabesett_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 457.

  Matterface, Lieutenant William, in the attack on the American ship
        _General Armstrong_, iii. 194.

  _Maurepas_, Confederate gun-boat, iv. 127.

  Mayo, W. R., his report of the assault on Fort Fisher, iv. 520.

  Medicines excluded by blockade of Southern ports, iv. 56.

  Mediterranean, second war with African pirates in the, iii. 339–358.

  _Medway_, British liner, captures the _Siren_, iii. 79.

  _Medway_, British frigate, with Farragut’s fleet at New Orleans, iv.
        323.

  _Melampus_, British war-ship, i. 406, 407.

  _Mellish_, British brig, captured by Paul Jones, i. 79.

  Memphis, battle of, iv. 298–307;
    railroad communication with, cut off, 266, 267.

  _Memphis_, armed merchantman, attacked by the Confederate ironclad
        _Palmetto State_, iv. 474.

  _Mercedita_, armed merchantman, attacked by the Confederate ironclad
        _Palmetto State_, iv. 474.

  Mercer, Captain Samuel, iv. 99.

  Merchants, British, sufferings by the American Revolution, i. 112,
        113, 127.

  _Mercury_, Dutch packet, Henry Laurens, Ambassador to Holland, sails
        on, iv. 153;
    the British frigate _Vestal_ overhauls her and takes Mr. Laurens
        from, _ib._

  _Merrimac_, United States screw frigate, launched, iv. 15;
    the old frigate transformed into a floating fort, 186;
    reconstructed, 186–188;
    particulars of building, 187;
    the best and heaviest guns placed on her, 188;
    her engines in bad condition, _ib._;
    named the _Virginia_, but not known in history by that name, 189;
    starts on a trial trip, 197;
    the _Congress_ and _Cumberland_ harmlessly open fire on her, 200;
    she rams the _Cumberland_, 202;
    opens fire on and silences the Federal batteries, 207;
    attacks the _Congress_, which surrenders, _ib._;
    comparison of her guns and armament with the _Monitor_, 217, 218;
    Captain Worden tries to find a vulnerable spot, 222;
    she runs aground twice, 223;
    tries to ram the _Monitor_, 224;
    attempts made to board the _Monitor_, 225;
    fires at the _Minnesota_, _ib._;
    steams back to Norfolk, 229;
    leak discovered, 230;
    the gunnery better than the _Monitor’s_, 232;
    the _Merrimac_ overhauled at Norfolk, 234;
    Commodore Tattnall relieves Buchanan in command, _ib._;
    Tattnall takes the _Merrimac_ down to Hampton Roads, _ib._;
    the _Monitor_ retreats from, 235;
    blown up on Craney Island, 237.

  Mervine, Captain, attempts to march on Los Angeles, but is driven
        back, iii. 398.

  _Metacomet_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 386.

  Metsko Devantigers, Japanese reporters, iii. 455.

  Mexican War, the navy’s part in the, iii. 424, 428, 429.

  Mexico, Gulf of, naval operations in the, iii. 402–428;
    Farragut’s operations in the, iv. 357.

  Mexico, French troops enter, iv. 367.

  _Miami_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 454.

  _Milford_, British frigate, encounter with Paul Jones, i. 77.

  Miller, Captain Samuel, assists Commodore Barney with his marines,
        ii. 409, 410.

  _Milwaukee_, Federal gun-boat, sunk by a torpedo, iv. 406.

  _Minerva_, British frigate, Captain of, refuses to fight the _Essex_,
        and is branded as a coward, ii. 39–41.

  _Minerva_, English privateer, captured by the _Alliance_, i. 297.

  _Minneapolis_, United States cruiser, iv. 534.

  _Minnesota_, United States frigate, compared with Arnold’s
        _Congress_, iv. 3.

  _Minnesota_, American frigate, iv. 99.

  Mississippi, the British grab at the Valley of the, iii. 229, 230.

  _Mississippi_, Federal side-wheel steamer, iv. 314.

  _Mississippi_, Federal gun-boat, goes aground in front of Port
        Hudson, is fired and abandoned, iv. 358.

  Mississippi squadron transferred to the Navy Department, iv. 349;
    ships composing the, 245–249.

  Mississippi River, blockade of the entrance to, iv. 124–126;
    opening of the, by Federal Navy, 240.

  Mississippi, Valley of, the British plan to get possession of, iii.
        229, 230.

  Mississippi Valley, practically all Confederate territory till opened
        by the Federal Navy, iv. 240.

  Mitchell, Lieutenant-commander J. G., iv. 369.

  Mobile, Ala., Porter’s views on attack on, iv. 341.

  Mobile, fortifications of, described by Mahan, iv. 379–383.

  Mobile Bay, description of, iv. 377;
    Confederate defences of, ashore and afloat, 379.

  _Mohawk_, United States screw sloop, built, iv. 16;
    Captain S. W. Godon, 163;
    rescues the crew of the _Peerless_, 167.

  _Mohican_, United States frigate, cuts out the steamer _Forward_ on
        the coast of Mexico, iv. 553.

  _Monarch_, Federal ram, in attack on Fort Pillow, iv. 301;
    attacks and sinks the _Beauregard_, 302.

  _Monitor_, Federal ironclad, iv. 191;
    rapid work in constructing, 192;
    particulars of building, 192–194;
    her passage to Hampton Roads, 215;
    commanded by Captain J. L. Worden, _ib._;
    comparison of armament with that of the _Merrimac_, 217, 218;
    the fight with the _Merrimac_, 220;
    superiority of the _Monitor’s_ revolving turret, 221;
    the _Merrimac_ tries to ram, 224, 225;
    her pilot-house struck and her captain disabled, 225;
    retires to Fortress Monroe, 226;
    her gunnery was poor, 231;
    the battle an unparalleled lesson in naval warfare, 233;
    letter from the crew to Captain Worden, 233, 234;
    bombards the batteries at Sewell’s Point, 235;
    ordered to Beaufort, N. C., 237;
    founders at sea in a gale, _ib._

  Monitors, most efficient and safest style of coast-defence ships, iv.
        194.

  _Monongahela_, Federal gun-boat, passes the batteries of Port Hudson,
        iv. 358;
    Commander James H. Strong, 389.

  Monroe, ----, Mayor of New Orleans, objects to surrendering the city
        to Farragut, iv. 338.

  _Monsieur_, French privateer, in the fleet of Paul Jones, i. 234;
    captures a Holland ship, 235.

  _Montagu_, British frigate, rescues the _Bonne Citoyenne_ from the
        _Hornet_, ii. 180.

  _Montauk_, Federal monitor, shells and burns the Confederate ironclad
        _Nashville_, iv. 480.

  Monterey, Cal., Captain Catesby Jones takes possession of, iii. 390;
    the American fleet under Captain Sloat take possession of, 392.

  _Montezuma_, American ship, i. 316.

  _Montezuma_, British whaler, captured by Porter, iii. 8.

  _Montgomery_, American brig, fight with the _Surinam_, ii. 254.

  Montgomery, Captain J. E., at Fort Pillow, iv. 290;
    retreats, 297.

  Montgomery, John B., takes possession of settlement on San Francisco
        Bay, iii. 392.

  _Monticello_, Federal frigate, iv. 99.

  _Montmorency_, Federal merchant-ship, captured by Confederate cruiser
        _Sumter_, iv. 415.

  Moore, Captain, i. 15;
    killed on the _Margaretta_, i. 22.

  _Moore_, Confederate cotton-clad steamer, iv. 321;
    rams and sinks the _Varuna_, 334;
    fired by the _Cayuga_ and _Oneida_, _ib._

  _Morgan_, Confederate gun-boat, iv. 380.

  Morris, Captain Charles, wit of, in an emergency, ii. 58;
    shot through the body in the _Guerrière_ fight, 88;
    placed in command of the _Adams_, iii. 57;
    runs the blockade in the Chesapeake, 57, 58;
    he cruises on the coast of Africa, 58;
    goes in search of the Jamaica fleet, _ib._;
    sails to Newfoundland, thence to Ireland, and after taking a few
        prizes is chased by the _Tigris_, 59;
    again chased for forty hours, 59, 60;
    his crew attacked by scurvy, 60;
    his ship is driven on a rock, _ib._;
    attacked by a British fleet and compelled to burn his ship, 62;
    appointed to command of the _Florida_, iv. 424;
    during his absence on shore Captain Collins of the _Wachusett_
        captures her and takes her to the United States, _ib._

  Morris, Lieutenant George U., iv. 201;
    attacks the _Merrimac_, _ib._;
    his ship is rammed, 201, 202;
    refuses to surrender, 202–204;
    his gallantry commended, 204, 205.

  Morris, Captain Henry W., iv. 314.

  Morris Island, Charleston, iv. 467.

  Morse, Jedidiah, his description of the South Carolina islands, iv.
        31.

  _Mosher_, unarmored Confederate boat, Captain Sherman commanding, iv.
        321, 329;
    fired at and sunk by the _Hartford_, _ib._

  _Mosquito_, American ship, chases and captures a pirate brig, iii.
        335.

  Mottoes, naval, on men-of-war, iii. 30.

  _Mound City_, armor-plated Federal gun-boat, built by Eads, iv. 245;
    Captain A. H. Kilty commands, 289;
    rammed by the _Van Dorn_, 294;
    Confederate shell bursts her boiler, 307;
    in Porter’s fleet before Vicksburg, 363;
    Lieutenant A. R. Langthorne commands, 370.

  Mowatt, Captain, attack of, on Portland, Maine, i. 24–26.

  _Muckie_, bombarded and burned by the American frigate _Columbia_,
        iii. 376–378.

  Mugford, Captain James, captures a transport with 1,500 barrels of
        powder, i. 203.

  Mullany, Commander J. R. M., iv. 389.

  Murphy, Lieutenant J. McLeod, iv. 363.

  _Murray_, British gun-boat, iii. 143.

  Murray, Captain Alexander, beats off two British gun-ships, i. 207.

  Murray, Colonel J., with 1,000 British troops assaults Plattsburg and
        Saranac, ii. 355;
    burns the public stores at both places and then retreats, _ib._


  _Nahant_, Federal ironclad, Commander John Downes, iv. 480;
    at Charleston, 485.

  _Naiad_, Federal merchant-ship, captured by Confederate cruiser
        _Sumter_, 415.

  _Nancy_, English merchantman, captured by the _Raleigh_ and _Alfred_,
        i. 130.

  _Nancy_, British brigantine, captured by the _Lee_, i. 197–199.

  _Nantucket_, Federal ironclad, iv. 480.

  Napier on the character of the veterans sent to America, iii. 134.

  Napoleon III., Emperor of France, his views in regard to Texas and
        Mexico modified by the surrender of New Orleans, iv. 340;
    tries to persuade Texas to secede from the Confederacy, 368.

  _Narcissus_, British frigate, attacks the American schooner
        _Surveyor_, ii. 417.

  Narragansett Indian impressed by the British, a, iii. 293.

  _Nashville_, Confederate cruiser, blockaded in the Great Ogeechee
        River, iv. 479;
    attacked and burned by Captain Worden of the monitor _Montauk_, 480.

  Natchez, Tenn., surrenders to Captain Craven of the _Brooklyn_, iv.
        340.

  National sea-power, curious chain of events that led to creation of,
        i. 1, 2.

  _Nautilus_, American cruiser, in the attack on Tripoli, i. 374.

  _Nautilus_, East India Company’s cruiser, surrenders to the
        _Peacock_, iii. 285.

  Naval architecture, a point on, iii. 227.

  Naval armament, means for furnishing United Colonies with, i. 35.

  Naval calls, iii. 471.

  Naval discipline, effect of, on raw recruits, iv. 250.

  Naval forces of the United States compared with those of Great
        Britain in 1812, ii. 21–23.

  Naval officers, old-time, life led by, iii. 305–307;
    American, work that they have had to do in out-of-the-way parts of
        the world in times of peace, 359–386;
    disloyalty of, at commencement of the Civil War, iv. 70.

  Naval operations in the Gulf of Mexico, iii. 402–428.

  Naval terms applied to war-ships, iii. 54.

  Navy, British, in American waters, i. 195.

  Navy, colonial, creation of a, i. 30.

  Navy of the United Colonies, regulations of, i. 34.

  Navy, the American, at the battle of New Orleans, iii. 229.

  _Neapolitan_, Federal merchant-ship, captured by Confederate cruiser
        _Sumter_, iv. 415.

  Neilds, Ensign H. C., heroic conduct of, iv. 394.

  _Neosho_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 370.

  _Nereyda_, Peruvian cruiser, captured the American whalers _Walker_
        and _Barclay_, iii. 7;
    is dismantled by the _Essex_ and sent to the Viceroy of Peru, _ib._

  _Netley_, British brig, iii. 111.

  Neutral ports, violations of, iv. 427.

  Neutrality laws observed by American naval officers, iii. 28, 29.

  Neutrality, the law of, in open ports, iv. 44.

  New Carthage, Grant crosses from, to surround Vicksburg, iv. 363.

  _New Castle_, British frigate, attacks the _Constitution_, iii. 260.

  _New Ironsides_, successful Federal ironclad, iv. 190, 480.

  New Madrid, on Missouri River, captured by Pope, iv. 276.

  New Orleans, British attack on, iii. 230;
    blockaded by the _Brooklyn_, iv. 44;
    attacked by Farragut’s squadron, 314–337;
    Farragut demands the surrender of the city, 338;
    General Butler takes possession of, 339.

  New Providence taken by Commodore Hopkins, i. 56.

  Newton, Isaac, first Assistant Engineer of the _Monitor_, iv. 216.

  _New York_, United States cruiser, iv. 533.

  _New Zealander_, British ship, captured by Porter, iii. 14.

  _Niagara_, British merchantman, captured, ii. 265;
    Elliott’s ship in battle of Lake Erie, 292.

  _Niagara_, American ship, Perry shifts his flag from the _Lawrence_
        to, ii. 321;
    after the war is sunk in Little Bay, 337.

  _Niagara_, United States screw frigate, launched, iv. 15.

  Nichols, Lieutenant Edward T., iv. 315.

  Nichols, Captain Samuel, first Captain of marines in American Navy,
        i. 53.

  Nicholson, Captain James, i. 187.

  Nicholson, Lieutenant John B., sent by Decatur to take charge of the
        _Macedonian_ when she surrendered, ii. 134;
    carries the _Epervier_ into Savannah after her fight with the
        _Peacock_, iii. 77;
    transferred to the _Siren_, _ib._;
    a story of sailors’ superstitions, 78, 79.

  Nicholson, Commander J. W. A., iv. 386.

  Nicholson, Captain Samuel, appointed to the American frigate
        _Constitution_, i. 312.

  “Ninety-day fleet, the,” iv. 39.

  _Nipsic_, United States cruiser, thrown ashore at Samoa, iv. 554.

  Noah, Mordecai M., American Consul at Tunis, demands indemnity for
        seizure of the _Abellino_ prizes, iii. 355.

  _Nocton_, British brig, captured by Porter, iii. 2;
    recaptured by the _Belvidera_, 3.

  _Nonita_, American schooner, in attack on Alvarado, iii. 410.

  _Nonsuch_, American frigate, in Perry’s cruise to South America, iii.
        327;
    Perry makes it his flagship, _ib._;
    the crew infected with yellow fever, 329.

  Norderling, Mr., Swedish Consul at Algiers in 1815, iii. 348.

  _Norfolk_, American ship, i. 316.

  Norfolk Navy Yard, loss of the, iv. 66–83.

  North, Lord, despair of, on hearing of the surrender of Lord
        Cornwallis, i. 299.

  Nukahiva, Marquesas Islands, Porter brings the _Essex_ and his fleet
        of captured whalers here to refit, iii. 16;
    a sailor’s paradise, 19;
    an incipient mutiny at, 21–23.

  _Nymphe_, British frigate, chased by the _President_ and _Congress_,
        ii. 151.


  Ocracoke Inlet, fort at, iv. 108.

  _Octorara_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 386.

  Ogdensburg, N. Y., British attack on, ii. 268.

  “Old Glory” first hoisted, i. 135.

  “Old Ironsides” (the _Constitution_), i. 312.

  “Old Sow, The,” ii. 267.

  Old-time naval officers, iii. 305–307.

  _Old War Horse_, another name for the _Benton_, iv. 249.

  Olney, Captain Joseph, i. 163.

  “On to Canada,” the war-cry of 1812, ii. 20.

  _Oneida_, American war-brig, ii. 264;
    captures the _Lord Nelson_, 265;
    Commodore Earle attempts to capture, 266.

  _Oneida_, Federal screw corvette, iv. 314.

  _Oneida_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 389.

  _Ontario_, American sloop-of-war, sent against the Dey of Algiers in
        1815, iii. 343.

  Ontario, Lake, operations on, iii. 113–129.

  Ordronaux, Captain J., attacked by the British frigate _Endymion_,
        iii. 202–207.

  _Oreto_, Confederate cruiser. See _Florida_.

  _Orpheus_, British frigate, captures the _Confederacy_, i. 298.

  _Orpheus_, British frigate, with the _Sherburne_, attacks and
        captures the _Frolic_, iii. 65, 66.

  _Osage_, Federal gun-boat, iv, 369;
    sunk by a torpedo, 406.

  _Ossipee_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 389.

  _Ottawa_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 163.

  _Ottawa_, Federal war-ship, attacked ironclad _Palmetto State_, iv.
        474.

  Otter Creek, Vt., Macdonough fortifies, iii. 137.

  _Ouachita_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 369.

  Owen, Lieutenant-commander E. K., iv. 363, 369.

  _Ozark_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 370.


  Pacific coast, naval operations on the, in 1842, iii. 389–428.

  Pakenham, Sir Edward Michael, in command of the British forces to
        attack New Orleans, reaches the Chandeleur Islands, iii. 230.

  _Pallas_, American ship, i. 232;
    _Countess of Scarborough_ surrenders to, 267.

  _Palmetto State_, Confederate ironclad, iv. 473;
    armament of, _ib._;
    attacks the _Mercedita_, 474;
    paroles her crew, 475.

  _Palmira_, Porto Rico privateer, plunders American schooner
        _Coquette_, and is captured by the _Grampus_, iii. 332.

  Pamlico Sound, N. C., a rendezvous for Confederate privateers, iv. 94.

  _Pandrita_, pirate ship, captured by the _Grampus_, iii. 332.

  Paper blockade, Navy Department tries to establish, iv. 41.

  Parker, Captain John, at Lexington, i. 14.

  Parker, Lieutenant, in the _Java_ fight, ii. 165.

  Parker, Lieutenant George, dies at sea, iii. 78;
    a story of sailors’ superstition in connection with his death,
        78, 79.

  Parker, Lieutenant, the _Congress_ surrenders to, iv. 208.

  Parsons, P. Usher, fleet surgeon in the battle of Lake Erie, ii. 294.

  Pass à Loutre, Federal fleet retreat down the, iv. 137.

  _Passaic_, Federal monitor, iv. 237, 480, 490.

  _Patapsco_, Federal ironclad, iv. 480, 490.

  Patterson, Master-commandant William T., attacks the British camp,
        iii. 239;
    sets fire to and abandons his ships, 240.

  _Paul Jones_, American privateer, ii. 251.

  Paulding, Captain Hiram, breaks up the nest of plotters against the
        Federal Government, iv. 71.

  Paving-stones used as missiles to capture the _Gaspé_, i. 9.

  _Pawnee_, Federal frigate, iv. 99, 163.

  _Peabody_, Federal transport, iv. 100.

  _Peacock_, American corvette, meets the brig-sloop _Epervier_, iii.
        66;
    captures the sloop, 67–71;
    cruises, 78;
    attached to Decatur’s fleet, 271;
    captures prizes and the cruiser _Nautilus_, 285.

  _Peacock_, British brig, encounters the American sloop _Hornet_, ii.
        181;
    the battle, 183;
    her captain killed, _ib._;
    sinks, 184;
    good treatment of the officers and men by the Americans, 187;
    comparison of the ships, 190.

  Peake, Captain William, attacks the _Hornet_, ii. 181;
    is killed, 183;
    proud of his ship, 190.

  Pearce, Lieutenant John, iv. 370.

  _Pearl_, British frigate, captures the _Lexington_, i. 68;
    the latter escapes, _ib._

  Pearson, Captain Richard, encounters the _Bonhomme Richard_, i. 243,
        245;
    surrenders, 259;
    anecdote of, 262–264;
    conduct of, 274;
    treated as if he had won a victory, 275.

  Pechell, Captain Samuel John, in charge of expedition sent against
        Craney’s Island, ii. 398.

  _Peerless_, Federal transport, lost near Cape Hatteras, iv. 167.

  Peiho River, attack on Chinese forts in the, iii. 382.

  _Pelican_, British frigate, goes in search of the American sloop
        _Argus_, ii. 362;
    attacks the _Argus_, 363, 364;
    captures the sloop, 364–367;
    takes her into Plymouth, 371.

  _Pembina_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 163.

  Pendergrast, American Flag Officer G. J., his proclamation, iv. 40.

  Pendergrast, Lieutenant Austin, takes command of the _Congress_, iv.
        208;
    surrenders to Lieutenant Parker of the _Beaufort_, _ib._;
    assists in transferring the wounded, 209;
    escapes by swimming, _ib._

  _Penguin_, British brig-sloop, is beaten by the _Hornet_, iii.
        273–281.

  _Penguin_, Federal gun-boat, at Port Royal, iv. 171.

  _Pensacola_, United States screw sloop, iv. 16;
    Captain Henry W. Morris, 314.

  Pensacola Navy Yard surrendered to Confederates, iv. 112.

  Perkins, Lieutenant-commander George H., iv. 386.

  _Perry_, Federal brig, captures the _Savannah_, iv. 89.

  Perry, Christopher Raymond, gallant conduct of, i. 296.

  Perry, Commodore Matthew Calbraith, brother of Oliver H. Perry, sent
        against the Mexican port of Frontera, iii. 410;
    captures the Mexican fleet, _ib._;
    captures Tabasco, 413;
    conducts the operations during the siege of Vera Cruz, 424;
    his early services, 435;
    a Japanese poem dedicated to him, 437;
    his work in opening the ports of Japan, 439;
    appointed to the Japan mission, 443;
    anchors off Uraga, _ib._;
    reception by the Japanese, 444–447;
    difficulty in opening negotiations, 449, 450;
    the Japanese Governor accompanied by three reporters, 455;
    permission from the Emperor to receive the President’s message,
        _ib._;
    the Emperor grants all that is asked, 457–463;
    amusing features of the expedition, 463;
    assigned to the _Fulton 2d_, iv. 11;
    his opinion of her, _ib._

  Perry, Oliver Hazard, in command of a fleet of gun-boats at Newport,
        R. I., in 1812, ii. 280;
    ordered to join Commodore Chauncey, 282;
    inspects the navy yard at Black Rock, 283;
    finds five ships being constructed at Erie, Pa., _ib._;
    hastens to Pittsburg for cannon-balls, 285;
    returns to Erie, 286;
    starts for Buffalo in a row-boat, _ib._;
    compels the British to abandon the Niagara River, 287;
    stricken with fever through overwork, 288;
    ordered to co-operate with General Harrison, _ib._;
    his appeal for men, 289;
    starts on an expedition with an inadequate force, _ib._;
    chooses the _Lawrence_ as his flagship, 290;
    gets his fleet in deep water, 291;
    cruises on Lake Erie, 292;
    is joined by officers and men from the _Constitution_, _ib._;
    sails up the lake to join General Harrison, 292;
    arrives at Put-in-Bay, 293;
    confers with General Harrison, 294;
    sickness, _ib._;
    his fleet anchors in Put-in-Bay, _ib._;
    sketch of Perry’s fleet, 295;
    sketch of Barclay’s fleet, 296;
    comparison of the commanders, 300;
    his thoughtfulness for his men, 305;
    the battle of Lake Erie commences, 309;
    closes in on the British, 311;
    loads and fires his own guns, 315;
    his flagship a wreck, 317;
    shifts his flag to the _Niagara_, 321;
    the decisive movement, 322;
    the British surrender, 324;
    “We have met the enemy and they are ours!”, 325;
    receives the swords of the British officers on the _Lawrence_, 328;
    his letter to the Secretary of the Navy, 332;
    results of his victory, 333;
    promoted from rank of master-commandant to captain, 334;
    his praise of Lieutenant Elliott, 336;
    value of ships captured in the battle, 337;
    his squadron at Erie, _ib._;
    Washington Irving’s opinion of the victory, 338;
    his duel with Captain Heath, iii. 317;
    detailed to cruise in South American waters, 327;
    sails up the Orinoco, _ib._;
    demands compensation for American vessels, 329;
    contracts yellow fever, _ib._;
    dies while entering the Port of Spain, Trinidad Island, 330;
    buried at Newport, R. I., _ib._

  _Pert_, American schooner, ii. 270.

  _Perthshire_, British merchantman, captured off Mobile, iv. 43;
    released by the _Niagara_, _ib._;
    claims compensation, 44.

  _Petrel_, American schooner, in attack on Alvarado, iii. 410.

  _Petrel_, Confederate privateer, iv. 93;
    chases the _St. Lawrence_, which fires into and sinks her, 94.

  Phelps, Captain S. S., appointed to command of the _Conestoga_, iv.
        251;
    convoys General Grant down the Mississippi, _ib._;
    captures the Confederate steamer _Eastport_, 267;
    takes command of her, _ib._;
    before Fort Pillow, 290;
    Lieutenant-commander of the _Eastport_, 369.

  _Philadelphia_, American gondola, i. 90;
    on Lake Champlain, 100.

  _Philadelphia_, American frigate, sent to Tripoli, i. 335;
    sunk on a reef, 343;
    raised by the Tripolitans, 344;
    boarded and fired by Decatur, 349–358.

  _Phœbe_, British frigate, attempts to attack the _Essex_, iii. 25,
        26;
    is scared off, _ib._;
    with the _Cherub_ makes another attack on the _Essex_, 30–43.

  Pico Andres, Mexican Governor of Los Angeles, iii. 397;
    breaks his parole, _ib._

  _Picton_, British war-schooner, captured by the _Constitution_, iii.
        242.

  Pike, Zebulon M., explorer, at storming of Toronto, ii. 341;
    killed by the explosion of a magazine, 342.

  _Pinola_, Federal screw gun-boat, iv. 316.

  Piracy discoveries at Cape Cruz, South America, iii. 335.

  Pirate caves with the bones of dead in them, iii. 324, 325.

  Piratical assaults on Yankee traders, iii. 366.

  Pitcairn, Major, at Lexington, i. 14.

  Pitchforks used by haymakers in their attack on the _Margaretta_, i.
        21.

  _Pittsburg_, armor-plated Federal gun-boat, built by Eads, iv. 245;
    Captain Egbert Thompson commands, 290;
    before Vicksburg, 363, 370.

  Pittsburg Landing, fight at, iv. 284.

  _Plantagenet_, British liner, assists in the attack on the _General
        Armstrong_, iii. 188, 194, 196–198.

  _Planter_, Confederate transport, turned over to the Federals by
        Robert Small, a negro slave, iv. 501, 502.

  Plattsburg Bay, operations of Macdonough in, iii. 145, 150.

  “Playing ball with the red coats,” ii. 268.

  _Plunger_, Holland submarine boat, iv. 545.

  Po Adam, Malay chief, rescues Captain Endicott, iii. 370;
    aids Captain Downes in his attack on Quallah Battoo, 374.

  _Pocahontas_, Federal frigate, iv. 163.

  _Poictiers_, British frigate, recaptures the _Frolic_ from the
        _Wasp_, ii. 118.

  _Policy_, British whaler, captured by Porter, iii. 8.

  _Polk_, Confederate gun-boat, iv. 127.

  _Polly_, American privateer, attacks the English sloop-of-war
        _Indian_, ii. 242.

  _Pomone_, British frigate, assists in the capture of the _President_,
        iii. 222.

  Pope, Captain John, his report on the retreat of the Federal fleet,
        iv. 137;
    captured New Madrid, 276;
    fortifies the river, _ib._;
    shuts Confederates in, _ib._

  _Porcupine_, American schooner, in battle of Lake Erie, ii. 295.

  _Porpoise_, American schooner, in fleet sent to South America to
        punish pirates, iii. 331.

  Port Hudson, Farragut runs his squadron past, iv. 357;
    the _Albatross_, _Monongahela_, and _Kineo_ successfully pass the
        batteries of, 358;
    the _Mississippi_ and the _Lancaster_ fired and sunk below, _ib._

  Porter, Midshipman David, assists Lieutenant Rodgers in charge of
        captured French frigate _Insurgent_, i. 323;
    sent to Tripoli, 335;
    sent from the _Enterprise_ to take possession of the _Tripoli_,
        335, 336;
    lands and fires gun-boats in the port of Tripoli, 340;
    surrenders to the Tripolitans, 343;
    his experience and training, ii. 33, 34;
    captures the corvette _Alert_, 42;
    crew of, plan a rescue, 44;
    receives an insulting challenge from Sir James Yeo, 348;
    starts on a second cruise in the _Essex_, iii. 1;
    cruises off Port Praya, 2;
    captures the British brig _Nocton_, _ib._;
    reaches Fernando de Noronha, 3;
    Bainbridge directs him to pose as Sir James Yeo, _ib._;
    captures the schooner _Elizabeth_, 4;
    left free to choose his own course, _ib._;
    rounds Cape Horn, _ib._;
    dysentery among his crew, 5, 6;
    encounters fearful storms, 6;
    a panic on board, _ib._;
    sails for Valparaiso, 7;
    overhauls the _Nereyda_, throws her guns and arms overboard, _ib._;
    disguises his ship, 8;
    captures the British whalers _Barclay_, _Montezuma_, _Georgiana_,
        and _Policy_, _ib._;
    captures the whalers _Atlantic_ and _Greenwich_, _ib._;
    forms a squadron, 10;
    captures the whaler _Charlton_, the ships _Seringapatam_ and _New
        Zealander_, 14;
    captures the _Sir Andrew Hammond_, 16;
    refits his ship at Nukahiva, _ib._;
    the prisoners plan to capture the Yankee force, 21;
    an incipient mutiny, _ib._;
    he sails from Nukahiva, 23;
    waits for the British frigate, the _Phœbe_, 24;
    gives a reception to the officials of the city, 25;
    the _Phœbe_ arrives and attempts to attack him, 25–28;
    he challenges the _Phœbe_, 29;
    a heavy squall interferes, 31;
    the _Essex_ disabled and the enemy gives chase, _ib._;
    Porter retires into neutral waters, 32;
    Porter’s running gear disabled, 36;
    he surrenders his ship, 43;
    is sent to New York on the _Essex, Junior_, 49;
    escapes in a fog, _ib._;
    aids the defence of Baltimore, 53;
    services, death, and burial, _ib._;
    operating against the pirates of South America, iii. 333;
    endeavors to get support of the local governments, _ib._;
    compels a Porto Rico alcalde to show respect to American officers,
        336;
    court-martialed, _ib._;
    is suspended and resigns his commission, _ib._

  Porter, Commander David D., his idea of attacking New Orleans, iv.
        313;
    finds New Orleans fishermen good spies, _ib._;
    arranges the expedition, _ib._;
    commands the mortar fleet up the Mississippi River, 325;
    placed in charge of the Mississippi squadron, 349;
    tin-clads added to his squadron, _ib._;
    tries to get in behind Vicksburg, 358;
    is unsuccessful, 363;
    attacks the fortifications of Grand Gulf, 367;
    sent with General Banks’s expedition to Shreveport, La., 369;
    arrives at Alexandria, 370;
    captures the _Abby Bradford_ from the _Sumter_, 413;
    disagreement with General Butler at Fort Fisher, 508.

  Porter, Captain John, in command of the _Greyhound_ in South America,
        iii. 333.

  Porter, Confederate Navy Constructor J. L., assists in making the
        working drawings for the _Merrimac_, iv. 185.

  Porter, Captain William D., iv. 249;
    in Commodore Foote’s fleet, 255;
    severely scalded, 265.

  Portland, Maine, atrocities of the British at, i. 24–26, 32;
    influence of atrocities, 196.

  _Port Royal_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 389;
    capture of, 162–182.

  _Portsmouth_, American frigate, in the bombardment of Chinese forts,
        iii. 380–382.

  _Potomac_, American frigate, attacks and punishes the Malays at
        Quallah Battoo, iii. 373–375.

  _Powhatan_, Federal frigate, captures the _Abby Bradford_ from the
        _Sumter_, iv. 413.

  _Preble_, American sloop. See _Rising Sun_.

  Preble, Captain Edward, i. 26;
    in command of the _Constitution_, 346;
    attacks the city of Tripoli, 359;
    Congress gives him a gold medal, 378.

  Preble, Lieutenant George H., iv. 315.

  _President_, American frigate, built, i. 312;
    sent to Tripoli, 335;
    encounters and is fired on by the corvette _Little Belt_, ii. 7;
    Captain John Rodgers sent to look for the _Guerrière_, 8;
    chases the British frigate _Belvidera_, 29–32;
    the frigate escapes, 32;
    mentioned, 121;
    chases the _Nymphe_, 151;
    chases the _Curlew_, 358;
    a lieutenant of the _President_ boards the _Highflyer_, _ib._;
    special efforts ordered to capture the _President_, 359;
    termed “The Waggon” by the British, 360;
    Decatur transferred to, iii. 212;
    attacked by the British fleet, 216;
    surrenders, 222;
    is carried to the Bermudas, 226;
    her dimensions, 227.

  Press-gang riots in Boston, i. 395, 397.

  Press-gangs, raised in England, i. 156;
    methods of the, 386, 387;
    number of Americans enslaved by the, ii. 2–4.

  Prevost, Sir George, attacks Sackett’s Harbor, ii. 345;
    mistakes trees for troops, 346;
    in command of “Wellington’s Invincibles” at Plattsburg, iii. 147;
    defeated, 169, 170;
    dies of chagrin, 183.

  _Price_, Confederate gun-boat, rams the _Cincinnati_, iv. 293;
    disabled by the _Carondelet_, 294.

  _Prince de Neufchâtel_, American privateer, ii. 253;
    attacked by the British frigate _Endymion_, iii. 202–207.

  _Prince of Orange_, British brig, captured by the _Surprise_, i. 124,
        125.

  _Prince Regent_, British ship, iii. 129.

  _Princeton_, Ericsson’s first screw steamship, iv. 12;
    Captain Stockton assigned to her, 14;
    the “Peacemaker,” one of her guns, bursts, _ib._;
    her success pronounced, _ib._

  Pring, Captain, in the battle of Lake Champlain, iii. 166;
    surrenders, _ib._

  Prisoners, American, in England, bad treatment of, i. 122.

  Prisons, British, iii. 288–304.

  Privateer and a letter of marque, difference between, iii. 242.

  Privateers, commissioned by Congress, i. 33;
    authorized by General Court of Massachusetts, 196;
    by Connecticut and Rhode Island, 197;
    by General Washington, _ib._;
    work accomplished by them up to 1777, 217;
    another account of them, 220, 221;
    captured prisoners from privateers on prison-ship _Jersey_, 221–226;
    result of licensing of, iii. 324.

  Privateers, American, capture sixteen English cruisers during the
        Revolutionary War, i. 302.

  Privateers in the War of 1812, only a few made money, ii. 233–258;
    two hundred and fifty commissioned during the war, 240.

  Proctor, General, his incursion into Ohio prevented by the result of
        the battle of Lake Erie, ii. 333.

  _Protector_, American gun-ship, blows up the British privateer
        _Admiral Duff_, i. 207;
    beats off the frigate _Thames_, _ib._

  _Providence_, brig of first American Navy, i. 39, 57;
    commanded by Captain John P. Rathburne, descends on New Providence,
        Bahamas, 186.


  _Quaker City_, armed merchantman, attacked by the Confederate
        ironclad _Palmetto State_, iv. 474.

  Quallah Battoo, Malays of, attacked by the American frigate
        _Potomac_, iii. 373, 374;
    bombarded by the _Columbia_, 376.

  _Queen Charlotte_, British ship, in battle of Lake Erie, ii. 296;
    sunk in Little Bay, 337.

  _Queen of France_, American ship, i. 280, 281.

  _Queen of the West_, Federal ram, at Fort Pillow, iv. 301;
    sinks the _Lowell_, _ib._;
    rammed by the _Beauregard_, _ib._;
    sent to attack Port Hudson, 351;
    abandoned by the Federals, 352.


  _Racehorse_, British brig, captured by the _Andrea Doria_, i. 69.

  Radford, Captain William, absent from duty, iv. 201.

  _Rainbow_, British gun-ship, captures the _Hancock_, i. 185.

  Rais Hammida, the terror of the Mediterranean, iii. 344, 346;
    killed, 347.

  _Raleigh_, American man-of-war, sent to France, i. 130;
    attacks the _Druid_, 131;
    loads her supplies, 132;
    returns to America, 133;
    captured, 194.

  _Raleigh_, Confederate gun-boat, assists in taking crew off the
        _Congress_, iv. 208.

  _Randolph_, American frigate, i. 160;
    blown up, 162.

  Ransom paid to the Dey of Algiers, i. 309, 310.

  Ransom, Lieutenant George M., iv. 315.

  Rathbone, Captain John P., i. 186;
    releases American prisoners, _ib._;
    commands the _Queen of France_, 281.

  _Rattlesnake_, American ship, captured by the _Leander_, ii. 387.

  Ravenel, Dr. St. Julien, aids in fitting out torpedo boats, iv. 497.

  _Razee_, a line-of-battle ship, ii. 403, iii. 56.

  Read, Lieutenant Charles W., appointed to command the _Clarence_, iv.
        424;
    captures the _Tacony_ and burns the _Clarence_, _ib._;
    captures the _Archer_ and cuts out the _Caleb Cushing_, _ib._;
    captured, _ib._

  Red River, Texas, blockaded, iv. 358.

  Red River dam, iv. 372–374.

  _Reefer_, American schooner, iii. 410.

  Reid, Commodore George C., bombards and burns Malay towns, iii.
        375–379.

  Reid, Captain Samuel C., sails from New York Harbor, iii. 187;
    arrives at Fayal, _ib._;
    the brig _Carnation_, accompanied by the _Plantagenet_ and the
        frigate _Rota_; enter the harbor, 188;
    attacked in a neutral port, 189;
    heavy loss of the enemy, _ib._;
    the population gather to watch the issue, 190;
    the _Carnation_ attacks with a fleet of boats, _ib._;
    a fierce hand-to-hand fight, 192;
    he scuttles and abandons his ship, 200;
    returns home, 201;
    is enthusiastically received and honored, _ib._;
    his pedigree, _ib._;
    originated the arrangement of the stars and stripes in the American
        flag, _ib._;
    dies in New York City, _ib._

  Reilly, Lieutenant James, iii. 81.

  _Reindeer_, British brig-sloop, captured by the _Wasp_ (No. 3), iii.
        88;
    armament of, 91;
    the wounded of, sent to Plymouth, _ib._

  Renshaw, Master-commandant James, on the _Enterprise_ after the
        _Boxer-Enterprise_ battle, ii. 386.

  _Reprisal_, American brig, captures a number of prizes, i. 70;
    fight with the _Shark_, 71;
    Franklin sails for France on the, 114;
    close call of, 118;
    ordered to leave France, 119;
    founders, _ib._

  _Resolute_, Federal steamer, at Acquia Creek, iv. 81.

  _Resolution_, British brig, captured by the _Hornet_, ii. 181, 191.

  _Retaliation_, American gun-ship, formerly the French ship
        _Croyable_, i. 316, 330, 400.

  _Revenge_, American sloop, i. 89.

  _Revenge_, American man-of-war, i. 126;
    takes numerous prizes, _ib._

  Rhind, Commander A. C., iv. 480;
    Commander of the _Louisiana_, 510.

  Rhode Island, first naval fight in waters of, i. 2.

  _Richmond_, United States screw sloop, iv. 16;
    Captain Thornton A. Jenkins, 386.

  Richmond, Va., railroad communication cut off from, iv. 267.

  Ricot, Captain, in Paul Jones’s fleet, i. 232.

  Rifled cannon introduced into the American Navy, iv. 20, 21.

  _Rising Sun_, American sloop, renamed the _Preble_, iii. 136, 138,
        140.

  “River Defence Squadron,” Confederate, iv. 297.

  _Roanoke_, United States screw frigate, launched, iv. 15.

  Roanoke Island, expedition to, iv. 109.

  Robertson, Lieutenant John Downie, in the battle of Lake Champlain,
        iii. 165.

  Robinson, Captain Isaiah, i. 69;
    captures the _Racehorse_, _ib._

  Rodgers, Rear-admiral John, with Midshipman David Porter and others,
        sail the captured frigate _Insurgent_ with 173 French on her,
        i. 323;
    brings the ship safely into St. Kitts, _ib._;
    ready to move his fleet in one hour, ii. 28;
    starts to intercept a big fleet of merchantmen, 29;
    chases the _Belvidera_, _ib._;
    fires the first shot of the War of 1812, 30;
    his leg broken, 31;
    the frigate escapes him, 32;
    cruises and captures merchantmen and recaptures an American ship,
        _ib._;
    challenged by the _Guerrière_, 72;
    sails from Boston, 121;
    chases the British frigate _Nymphe_, 151;
    chases the _Curlew_, 358;
    falls in with the British schooner _Highflyer_, and secures her
        book of private signals and instructions, _ib._;
    value and usefulness of the book, 359;
    ordered to report to General Frémont, iv. 241;
    buys and fits out merchant-vessels, _ib._;
    relieved of his command, 250;
    appointed head of Board of Naval Officers, 527.

  Rodgers, Captain John, iv. 480.

  Rodgers, Commander George W., killed on the _Catskill_, iv. 480, 491.

  Rodgers, Captain R. C. P., at Port Royal, iv. 163.

  Rodman, Captain United States Ordnance Department, his experience
        with heavy guns, iv. 18, 20.

  _Rodolph_, Federal wrecking steamer, sunk by a torpedo, iv. 406.

  _Roebuck_, British frigate, captures the _Confederacy_, i. 298.

  Roosevelt, Clinton, proposed steel-plated ship, iv. 9.

  Rooster, a sporting, iii. 155.

  _Rose_, British ship, captured by Lieutenant Downes, iii. 10;
    sent to St. Helena as a cartel, 12.

  _Rota_, British frigate, in the attack on the _General Armstrong_,
        iii. 188–200.

  Rowan, Captain Stephen C., iv. 99;
    destroys the Confederate fleet at Roanoke Island, 110.

  _Royal Savage_, American schooner, i. 89.

  _Royal Yacht_, Confederate privateer, blockaded by the _Santee_ in
        Galveston, iv. 138.

  Russell, Lieutenant John H., iv. 314.

  Russell, Lord, correspondence about the _Trent_ affair, iv. 150–152;
    letter of, on the closing of Charleston Harbor, 471, 472.


  _S. J. Waring_, merchantman, captured by Confederate privateer
        _Jefferson Davis_, iv. 91.

  _Sabine_, Federal sailing ship, rescues the crew of the _Governor_,
        iv. 167.

  Sackett’s Harbor, N. Y., chosen as a naval station, ii. 264;
    attacked by the British, 345.

  Sailors, kidnapped, cruelty to, on British ships, i. 387.

  Sailor’s rights ignored by politicians, ii. 18.

  St. Eustatius, Governor of, gives first salute to the American
        flag, i. 69.

  _St. James_, American privateer, beats off a British frigate, i. 206.

  St. John’s, British fleet built at, i. 87.

  St. Laurent, Captain, deceived by Captain Bainbridge, i. 317.

  _St. Lawrence_, British liner, iii. 129.

  _St. Louis_, Commodore Foote’s flagship, disabled, iv. 271;
    Captain Henry Erben commands, 289.

  _Sally_, purchased by first Marine Committee, i. 39.

  Saltonstall, Captain Dudley, i. 46;
    commands the _Trumbull_, 164;
    captain of the _Warren_, 283.

  Samoa, hurricane at, iv. 554.

  Sand-bar, lifting vessels over a, ii. 289, 290.

  San Diego, Cal., John C. Frémont takes possession of, iii. 394.

  _Sandwich_, American privateer, cut out of Puerto Plata by Lieutenant
        Isaac Hull, i. 329.

  _San Jacinto_, American frigate, iii. 380.

  _San Jacinto_, United States screw sloop, iv. 15;
    Mason and Slidell, Confederate Commissioners, taken to Boston in,
        148.
    See _Mason, James Murray_.

  San Juan de Ulloa, a castle on Gallega Reef, Vera Cruz,
        fortification of, iii. 418.

  Santa Anna, Mexican General, landed from the American fleet at Vera
        Cruz, iii. 424;
    the American Government negotiates with him to return to Mexico,
        427;
    escorted up the streets of Vera Cruz, _ib._;
    is recognized by a squad of soldiers and saluted, _ib._;
    again master of Mexican affairs, _ib._

  _Santee_, Federal frigate, blockades Galveston, iv. 137.

  Saranac River, the British retire from, iii. 136.

  _Saratoga_, American frigate, i. 287;
    captures the _Charming Molly_ and two other ships, 292;
    lost in a hurricane, 293.

  _Saratoga_, American privateer, ii. 253.

  _Saratoga_, American corvette, iii. 137, 138;
    Macdonough’s flagship in the battle of Lake Champlain, 155.

  _Sassacus_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 456.

  _Savannah_, American frigate, iii. 392.

  _Savannah_, Confederate privateer, captures brig _Joseph_, iv. 88;
    captured by Federal brig _Perry_, 89.

  _Sciota_, Federal screw gun-boat, iv. 315.

  _Scorpion_, American gun-boat, ii. 292.

  _Scorpion_, American cutter, ii. 408.

  _Scorpion_, American schooner, captured by the British, iii. 110.

  Scott, Lieutenant-colonel Winfield, at Black Rock, ii. 275;
    takes possession of Squaw Island, 278;
    hauls down the British flag, 344.

  _Scourge_, American privateer, ii. 253.

  _Scourge_, American schooner, ii. 350.

  _Seahorse_, American tender, makes a gallant fight against the
        British fleet, iii. 233–235.

  Sea-power, American, in 1812, ii. 21;
    of Great Britain, 22.

  Search, the right of, on the high seas, i. 387;
    reaffirmed, ii. 19.

  _Seine_, French privateer, captured by the American schooner
        _Enterprise_, i. 330.

  Selfredge, Lieutenant-commander T. O., iv. 369.

  Selfredge, Lieutenant-commander T. O., Jr., at Fort Fisher, iv. 519.

  Self-restraint of Americans, iii. 303.

  Selkirk, Earl of, house of, surrounded by Paul Jones, i. 147, 148.

  _Selma_, Confederate gun-boat, iv. 380.

  Selman, Captain John, captures ten British vessels and Governor
        Wright of St. John’s, i. 203.

  _Seminole_, Federal frigate, iv. 163.

  _Seminole_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 389.

  Semmes, Commander Raphael, his ship capsizes and he loses half the
        crew, iii. 417;
    takes command of Confederate cruiser _Sumter_, iv. 408;
    chases the _Brooklyn_, 409;
    captures the _Golden Rocket_, 410;
    takes five prizes into Cuba, 411;
    takes the _Abby Bradford_ to Venezuela, 412;
    the _Powhatan_ captures her, 413;
    some of his captures, 415;
    his ship sold to English blockade-runners, _ib._;
    Brazil authorities allow him to use Fernando de Noronha as
        headquarters, 427;
    appointed to command of _Alabama_, 431;
    ships his officers and men at Terceira, _ib._;
    encounters the _San Jacinto_, 432;
    captures the _Ariel_, _ib._;
    goes to Galveston to intercept transports, _ib._;
    captures the _Hatteras_, _ib._;
    his reception at Cape Town, 434;
    his gallantry, 435;
    cruises in the East Indies, 436;
    fight with the _Kearsarge_, 438–441;
    rescued by the yacht _Deerhound_, 442;
    his reception in England, 447.

  _Seneca_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 163.

  Senez, Captain Andre, surrenders to Captain Little of the _Boston_,
        i. 328, 329.

  Sentiment, a touching tale of, iii. 243, 244.

  _Serapis_, British frigate, encounters the _Bonhomme Richard_, i. 243;
    fight with the latter, 245–259;
    surrenders, 259;
    comparative strength of the two ships, 265.

  _Seringapatam_, British ship, captured by Porter, iii. 14.

  _Severn_, British ship, ii. 421.

  Seward, William H., his reply to the despatch of the British
        Government relative to the _Trent_ affair, iv. 154–156.

  Sewell’s Point, Confederate batteries erected at, iv. 195.

  Shajackuda Creek, Niagara River, expedition starts from, ii. 275;
    route opened up by Perry, 287.

  _Shannon_, British frigate, ii. 55;
    blockades Boston, 200;
    challenges the _Chesapeake_, 203;
    captures her, 209–221;
    arrives at Halifax, 222;
    comparison of the two ships, 229.

  _Shark_, American brig, captures five pirate vessels, iii. 331.

  _Shark_, British sloop, fight of, with American brig _Reprisal_, i.
        71.

  Shaw, Lieutenant, captures the French privateer _Seine_, i. 330.

  Sheed, William W., Sailing-master, attacks the British, ii. 402.

  _Shelburne_, British schooner, assists in capturing the _Frolic_,
        iii. 65.

  _Shenandoah_, Confederate cruiser, destroys American whaling and
        sealing fleets, iv. 447.

  Sherman, Captain, “bravest man in the Confederate squadrons,” iv.
        321, 329, 340.

  Sherman, General Thomas W., commands a force against Port Royal, iv.
        164.

  Shipbuilder, the private, a factor in the sea power of a nation, iv.
        38.

  Shipbuilding after the Revolution, i. 304.

  Ship-masts retained for use of the crown, i. 15.

  Shirk, Lieutenant, supports Grant at Pittsburg Landing, iv. 284;
    commander of Federal gun-boat _Tuscumbia_, iv. 363.

  Shreveport, La., General Banks sent on expedition to, to frustrate
        designs of Napoleon III., iv. 368.

  Shubrick, Lieutenant J. T., boards the _Peacock_ and endeavors to
        save the ship from sinking, ii. 184.

  Shubrick, Commodore William Bradford, in command of the Pacific Coast
        Squadron, iii. 401.

  “Siege of Plattsburg,” a popular song, iii. 184.

  _Silver Wave_, Federal Army transport, before Vicksburg, iv. 364.

  _Simcoe_, British gun-boat, iii. 143.

  _Simes_, British schooner, sunk, ii. 271.

  Sinclair, Captain Arthur, sent to take charge of the American fleet
        west of the Niagara, iii. 106;
    sails into Lake Huron, 107;
    destroys St. Joseph, _ib._;
    destroys a block-house, 108;
    returns to Detroit, 109.

  _Sir Andrew Hammond_, British whaler, captured by Porter, iii. 16;
    recaptured by the _Cherub_, 50.

  _Sir George Prevost_, British gun-boat, iii. 143.

  _Sir James Yeo_, British gun-boat, iii. 143.

  _Sir Sidney Beckwith_, British gun-boat, iii. 143.

  _Sir William Erskine_, British sloop, attacked and captured by the
        American privateer _Thorn_, i. 209.

  _Siren_, American brig, accompanies Decatur on his expedition to fire
        the _Philadelphia_, i. 348–350;
    John B. Nicholson placed in command of, iii. 78;
    cruises on the coast of Africa, _ib._;
    is captured, 79.

  Slave traffic on the coast of Africa, iii. 360;
    Admiral Foote’s efforts to stamp it out, 363–367.

  Slavers, chasing, on the African coast, iii. 360–361.

  Slavery, kidnapped sailors subjected to a state of, i. 387.

  Slidell, John, Confederate commissioner to France. See _Mason, James
        Murray_.

  Sloat, Captain John Drake, takes possession of Monterey, California,
        iii. 392;
    gives up command of the squadron, 394.

  Smith, Lieutenant Albert N., iv. 315.

  Smith, Lieutenant Joseph B., attacked by the _Merrimac_, iv. 207;
    stands by his ship until killed, 208.

  Smith, Commander Melancthon, iv. 314.

  Smith, Lieutenant Sydney, indiscreet zeal of, iii. 136.

  _Solebay_, British frigate, fights with American brig _Providence_,
        under Paul Jones, i. 74.

  _Somers_, American brig, enters Vera Cruz harbor and fires the
        _Creole_, iii. 417;
    capsizes and drowns half her crew, _ib._

  _Somers_, American schooner, captured by the British, iii. 111.

  _Somers_, American schooner, in battle of Lake Erie, ii. 295.

  _Somers_, overturned while chasing a blockade-runner, iii. 417.

  Somers, Commandant Richard, assists in attack on the city of Tripoli,
        i. 359–367;
    blown up on the _Intrepid_, 378.

  Somers, Captain, fights five duels in succession, iii. 315–317.

  _Somerset_, Fulton ferryboat, captures the blockade-runner
        _Circassian_, iv. 37.

  Somerville, Captain Philip, assists in the attack on the _General
        Armstrong_, iii. 194.

  Sorel River, invaded by “Wellington’s Invincibles,” iii. 135.

  Soulé, Pierre, Senator and Minister to Spain, iv. 338.

  South Carolina islands, as described by Jedidiah Morse, iv. 31.

  _Southampton_, British frigate, flagship of Sir James L. Yeo, ii. 348.

  Southcombe, Captain, fights off nine British barges, iii. 204.

  Southern States dependent on commerce for necessaries of life, iv. 46;
    their lack of factories and mills before the Civil War, _ib._

  _Southfield_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 454.

  _Sparlin_, British sloop, captured by the _Thorn_, i. 209.

  _Spitfire_, American merchantman, stopped by the _Guerrière_, ii. 7.

  _Spitfire_, British sloop, ii. 359.

  Spies, New Orleans fishermen as, iv. 313.

  Sproats, David, inhuman conduct of, i. 224.

  Spy service of Federal government not as good as the Confederate,
        iv. 189.

  Squaw Island, N. Y., the _Detroit_ grounds on, ii. 278.

  Stanton, Edward, Secretary of War, his views of the victory of the
        _Merrimac_, iv. 211–212.

  _Star of the West_, Federal steamer, first shot of the Civil War
        fired at, iii. 363;
    taken by the Confederates, _ib._

  Stars and Stripes first saluted by a foreign power, i. 138.

  _State of Georgia_, Federal warship, iv. 237.

  Steamboats under fire of heavy guns, iv. 252.

  Steam-rams, first fight of, in history, iv. 307.

  Stembel, Captain R. N., before Fort Pillow, iv. 289;
    badly wounded, 294.

  Sterrett, Lieutenant Andrew, sent to Tripoli, i. 335;
    appointed to command the _Enterprise_, ii. 373;
    captures the _Tripoli_, _ib._

  _Stettin_, armed merchantman, attacked by the Confederate ironclad
        _Palmetto State_, iv. 474.

  Stevens, Captain T. H., at Port Royal, iv. 163.

  Stevens, Robert L., invents first ironclad, iv. 9.

  Stevens, Commander Thomas Holdup, iv. 386;
    in charge of Federal fleet to carry Fort Sumter by storm, 494.

  Stewart, Lord George, commander in the attack on the _Constitution_
        at Porto Praya, iii. 260.

  Stewart, Captain Charles, sails from Boston, iii. 242;
    overhauls and captures the British war-schooner _Picton_, _ib._;
    falls in with the British frigate _La Pique_, 243;
    finds the British frigates _Junon_ and _Tenedos_ lying in wait for
        him, 244;
    escapes to Marblehead, _ib._;
    returns to Boston, 245;
    sails out of Boston while blockade squadron is off port, _ib._;
    captures British merchant ship, _Lord Nelson_, _ib._;
    chases the _Elizabeth_, but captures the _Susan_, 245;
    chased by the frigates _Tiber_ and _Elizabeth_, 246;
    escapes, _ib._;
    encounters the frigate _Cyane_ and sloop-of-war _Levant_, 247;
    opens fire on both ships, 249;
    the _Cyane_ surrenders to, 252;
    the _Levant_ surrenders to, 255;
    sails to Porto Praya with his captures, 260;
    the _Newcastle_, _Leander_, and _Acasta_ surprise him, 260;
    the _Newcastle_ opens fire, 265;
    the _Constitution_ sails away free, _ib._;
    her last fight, 268.

  Stivers, A. C., Chief Engineer of the _Monitor_, iv. 216.

  Stockton, Captain Robert Field, succeeds Captain Sloat in command of
        the Pacific Squadron, iii. 394;
    lands and attacks Los Angeles, _ib._;
    novel trick to deceive the enemy, _ib._;
    organizes a state government, 397;
    is succeeded by Commodore Shubrick, 401;
    his trip on Ericsson’s _Francis B. Ogden_, iv. 10;
    he induces Ericsson to come to America, 11;
    assigned to the _Princeton_, 14.

  Stoddert, Benjamin, Secretary of Navy, i. 334.

  “Stone Fleet,” sinking of the, iv. 470.

  _Stonewall Jackson_, Confederate ironclad, iv. 333;
    rams the _Varuna_ and sinks her, 334;
    is driven ashore by the _Oneida_ and _Cayuga_, _ib._

  Stoney, Theodore D., Charleston citizen, builds, at his own expense,
        a number of “Davids,” iv. 497.

  Stringham, Flag Officer Silas H., assigned to command of Hatteras
        Island expedition, iv. 99.

  Strong, Commander James H., iv. 389.

  Submarine torpedo vessel, principles and construction of a, i.
        165–170;
    experiments made to prove the nature and use of a, 172.

  Sullivan’s Island, Charleston, S. C., iv. 469.

  Sumatra, attack of natives of, on American ship _Friendship_, iii.
        368.

  _Sumter_, Confederate gun-boat, rams the _Cincinnati_ at Fort Pillow,
        iv. 293;
    surrenders, 302.

  _Sumter_, Confederate ship, captured at Fort Pillow, iv. 302.

  _Sumter_, Confederate cruiser, iv. 407;
    Captain Semmes takes command of, 408;
    captures the _Abby Bradford_, 412;
    cruises in the Caribbean Sea, 413;
    on the Brazil coast, 414;
    is chased by _Iroquois_, _ib._;
    goes to Spain and Gibraltar, 415;
    expense of, to the Confederate Government, 416;
    sold and converted into an English merchant-ship, _ib._;
    runs the blockade of Charleston, _ib._;
    name changed to the _Gibraltar_, _ib._;
    lost in the North Sea, _ib._

  _Superior_, American frigate, iii. 113.

  Superiority of British naval crews, i. 60.

  Superstition, sailors’, iii. 78, 79.

  _Surprise_, American brig, renamed the _Eagle_, iii. 139.

  _Surprise_, American cutter, i. 123;
    captures the ship _Joseph_ and the brig _Prince of Orange_, 124;
    detained in France by the British ambassador, 125.

  _Surveyor_, American schooner, attacked and overpowered by the
        British frigate _Narcissus_, ii. 417.

  _Susquehanna_, American ship, sent to Japan in 1851, iii. 443.

  _Susquehanna_, Federal frigate, iv. 163.

  _Sylph_, American schooner, ii. 349.

  Symonds, Sir William, his opinion of Ericsson’s _Francis B. Ogden_,
        iv. 10.


  Tabasco, Mexico, captured by Commodore M. C. Perry, iii. 414.

  _Tacony_, captured by Captain Read of the _Clarence_, iv. 424.

  _Tapanagouche_, British schooner sent to capture Captain Jeremiah
        O’Brien, i. 23.

  Tarbell, Captain, unsuccessfully attacks the becalmed British fleet
        in Hampton Roads, ii. 395.

  _Tartarus_, English brig-sloop, iii. 93.

  Tattnall, Commodore Josiah, takes part in the English attack on
        Chinese forts, iii. 382;
    attacks the Castle of San Juan de Ulloa in the siege of Vera Cruz,
        420–423;
    commands a squadron of four vessels sent in to divert the attention
        of the Mexicans, 424;
    exchanges places with a brother officer on the _Constellation_, and
        so saves his life, 354;
    commands the Confederate fleet at Savannah, iv. 168;
    his worthless flotilla, _ib._;
    attacked by the Federal fleet and retires, 171;
    destroys the _Merrimac_, 236, 237.

  Tayloe, Lieutenant, killed while assisting the Union wounded out of
        the _Congress_, iv. 209.

  Taylor, Captain John, chased by Captain Lawrence of the _Hornet_, ii.
        181.

  Taylor, Thomas E., leading blockade-runner, iv. 57.

  Tea destroyed in Boston Harbor, i. 13.

  _Teaser_, privateer of New York, ii. 245.

  _Teaser_, American blockade-runner, iv. 60.

  _Tecumseh_, British gun-boat, iii. 145.

  _Tecumseh_, Federal monitor, iv. 386;
    sunk by a torpedo, 394.

  _Tenedos_, British frigate, captures the American frigate
        _President_, iii. 222;
    goes in chase of the _Constitution_, 244.

  _Tennessee_, Confederate ram, iv. 380.

  Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers, how far navigable, iv. 240.

  Tennessee opened up by the capture of Fort Henry, iv. 266;
    railroad communication cut off from, 267.

  Terceira, a Portuguese island, officers and crew of the _Alabama_
        shipped from, iv. 431.

  Terry, General Alfred H., at Fort Fisher, iv. 516.

  Texas, Napoleon III. tries to persuade, to secede from the
        Confederacy, iv. 367–368.

  _Thalia_, British frigate, ii. 29.

  _Thames_, British frigate, attacks American gun-ship _Protector_, i.
        207.

  Thatcher, Master Charles, iv. 370.

  _Theodora_, Confederate blockade-runner, carries Mason and Slidell to
        Cuba, iv. 141.

  _Thetis_, British frigate, chased by Porter and escapes, ii. 38.

  _Thomas_, American privateer, ii. 252.

  _Thompson_, Confederate ram, sunk at Fort Pillow, iv. 302.

  Thompson, Captain Egbert, before Fort Pillow, iv. 290.

  Thompson, Captain Thomas, i. 130; sent to France for supplies, _ib._;
    returns to America, 132–133.

  _Thorn_, American privateer, attacks and strikes the _Governor Tryon_
        and _Sir William Erskine_, i. 209;
    captures the _Sparlin_, _ib._;
    captured by the _Deane_, 284, 287.

  _Ticonderoga_, American schooner, iii. 137–139.

  _Tigress_, American schooner, in battle of Lake Erie, ii. 295;
    captured by the British, iii. 109.

  Tilghman, General Lloyd, surrenders Fort Henry to Commodore Foote,
        iv. 265–266.

  Tillinghast, Lieutenant T. G., iii. 81.

  Tin-clads, light-draft steamers in Admiral Porter’s squadron, iv. 349.

  Tiptonville, Pope shuts Confederates in by occupying, iv. 276.

  _Toey-wan_, steamer chartered by Captain Tattnall in the attack on
        Chinese forts, iii. 382–384.

  Tombigbee Channel, Mobile, lined with torpedoes, iv. 406.

  _Tom Bowline_, store-ship for Decatur’s fleet, iii. 271.

  _Tompkins_, American ship, ii. 352.

  Toronto, Canada, Americans plan to attack, ii. 339;
    a force under General Dearborn sent to attack, 340;
    stores and prisoners taken, 342.

  Torpedo boat, the first one built, i. 164;
    general principles and construction of a submarine vessel, 165.

  Torpedoes made of whiskey demijohns, iv. 350.

  Townsend, Commander Robert, iv. 369.

  Trabangan, Malay settlement, natives of, capture the American
        merchant-ship _Eclipse_ and kill Captain Wilkins, iii. 374–379.

  “Tracking” up a river, ii. 287.

  _Trajano_, Brazilian rebel warship, iv. 548.

  _Transit_, New London merchant-ship, captured by Confederate
        privateers, iv. 97.

  Treaty of Ghent, terms and conditions of, iii. 209;
    the real cause of the war ignored in the treaty, 210.

  Tredegar Iron Mills, Richmond, Va., the only gun and engine factory
        possessed by the South at the outbreak of the Civil War, iv. 46.

  Trenchard, Lieutenant Stephen Decatur, wounded in a fight with
        Chinese, iii. 382.

  _Trent_, British mail steamer, Confederate Commissioners Mason and
        Slidell taken from, iv. 148;
    attitude of the British Government in regard to the seizure,
        150–152;
    instructions to Lord Lyons, 152, 153;
    reply of Mr. Seward to the despatch of the British Government, iv.
        154;
    review of Mr. Seward’s reply, 154–158;
    Commodore Smith’s comment on the reply, 156.

  _Trenton_, United States cruiser, ashore at Samoa, iv. 554.

  _Trepassy_, British brig, surrenders to the _Alliance_, i. 298.

  Tribute, paid to Algerian pirates by America, iii. 339;
    by England, 340.

  Tripoli declares war against America, i. 333;
    pays indemnity to United States, iii. 357.

  _Tripoli_, war polacre, is beaten by the American schooner
        _Enterprise_, i. 335.

  Tripolitans, treachery of, i. 335, 336.

  _Trippe_, American sloop, in battle of Lake Erie, ii. 295.

  Trippe, Sailing-master John, at attack on city of Tripoli, i. 366.

  Tristan d’Acunha, Island of, in the South Atlantic, Jonathan Lambert
        pre-empts, iii. 270, 271;
    a breeding resort for seals, _ib._;
    Decatur makes it a rendezvous, _ib._

  _True Briton_, captured by the _Randolph_, i. 160.

  _Trumbull_, American galley, i. 89, 164.

  _Trumbull_, American ship, captures two British transports, i. 164;
    cruises along American coast with a crew of landsmen, 290;
    is nearly disabled, 291;
    attacked by three British ships and surrenders, 295–297.

  Truxton, Captain Thomas, captures prizes in the Azores, i. 205;
    cuts out three ships from the British fleet, _ib._;
    fits out the _Mars_ and cruises in the English Channel, _ib._;
    involves France in war with England, 206;
    successfully beats off a British frigate, _ib._;
    Captain of the _Constellation_, compels the French frigate
        _Vengeance_ to fight, 323;
    loses her in the night, 328.

  _Truxton_, American brig, grounded before Tuspan, Mexico, and is
        captured, iii. 410.

  Tucker, John, Assistant Secretary of War, asks Commodore Vanderbilt
        his terms for destroying the _Merrimac_, iv. 212.

  Tucker, Captain Samuel, captures thirty British vessels, i. 203.

  Tunis, brought to terms by the American fleet, i. 378, 379;
    pays indemnity to United States for seizing the _Abellino_ prizes,
        iii. 353.

  _Tuscumbia_, Federal gun-boat in Porter’s fleet before Vicksburg, iv.
        363.

  Tybee Bar, Savannah, coal-ships ordered to go to, iv. 165.


  _Unadilla_, Federal frigate, iv. 163;
    attacked by the Confederate ironclad _Palmetto State_, 474.

  _Underwriter_, Federal gun-boat, boarded and destroyed by John Taylor
        Wood, iv. 452.

  _Unicorn_, British frigate, captures the _Raleigh_, i. 194.

  _United States_, American frigate, built, i. 312.

  United States Astronomical Expedition to the Southern Hemisphere,
        members of, iii. 464.

  _United States_, frigate, falls in with the _Eurydice_ and
        _Atalanta_, ii. 16;
    cruises between the Azores and the Canary Islands, 121;
    encounters the _Macedonian_, 122;
    battle with, 125–134;
    losses after the battle, 139;
    comparison of the forces of the two ships, 140;
    blockaded in New London, 150.

  United States Government abrogates all treaties with France, i. 314.

  _United We Stand_, American privateer, ii. 253.


  Valcour Island, Lake Champlain, fight between Benedict Arnold and Sir
        Guy Carleton at, i. 92–99.

  Van Brunt, Captain G. I., iv. 99.

  _Vandalia_, United States warship, sank at Samoa in a hurricane, iv.
        554.

  _Vandalia_, Federal sailing-ship, iv. 163;
    sails from Hampton Roads with a fleet of coal schooners in charge,
        165;
    encounters a hurricane, 166.

  Vanderbilt, Commodore Cornelius, asked for what sum he would destroy
        the _Merrimac_, iv. 212.

  _Van Dorn_, Confederate gun-boat, rams the _Mound City_ and disables
        her, iv. 294.

  _Varuna_, Federal screw corvette, iv. 314.

  Vaughan, Captain William, at Sackett’s Harbor, ii. 267;
    drives off the British, 268.

  _Vengeance_, American brig, in Paul Jones’s fleet, i. 232.

  _Vengeance_, French frigate, fight with the _Constellation_, i. 323;
    surrenders, 327;
    slips away in the night to Curaçao, 328;
    returned to France, 330.

  Vera Cruz, Mexico, siege and blockade of, by Americans, iii. 417–424;
    the city captured, 424–427;
    the navy’s part in the capture, 424.

  Vergennes, Vt., Macdonough builds the _Saratoga_ there, iii. 137.

  _Vesuvius_, United States dynamite cruiser, iv. 540.

  Veterans of the Peninsular War sent to subjugate America, iii. 135.

  Vicksburg, Admiral Farragut’s fleet arrives at, iv. 341;
    moves made against, by way of the Yazoo River country, 350;
    they failed, _ib._;
    General Grant arrives before, 351;
    Admiral Porter tries to get in behind, 358–363;
    Grant surrounds, 363.

  _Victor_, British gun-boat, captures the _Hancock_, i. 185.

  _Vigilant_, Federal merchant-ship, captured by Confederate cruiser
        _Sumter_, iv. 415.

  _Vincennes_, American ship, sent to Japan in 1845, iii. 440.

  _Vincennes_, Federal war-ship, iv. 129;
    misunderstands signals, 133, 134.

  _Viper_, American gun-boat, iii. 141.

  _Virginia_, American frigate, grounded in Chesapeake Bay, i. 186.

  _Virginia_, English frigate, i. 284.

  _Virginia_, a name given to the reconstructed _Merrimac_, but not
        used, iv. 189.

  _Vixen_, American cruiser, in the attack on Tripoli, i. 374.

  _Vixen_, American brig, captured by British frigate _Southampton_,
        ii. 348.

  _Vixen_, American steamer, in attack on Alvarado, iii. 410.

  _Voluntaire_, French frigate, i. 316.


  _Wabash_, United States screw frigate, iv. 15;
    commanded by Captain Samuel Mercer, 99;
    Captain C. R. P. Rodgers, commander, 163.

  _Wachusett_, Federal frigate, captures the _Florida_, iv. 424.

  Wadsworth, Captain Alexander Scammel, appointed to the
        _Constellation_, iii. 327.

  “Waggon, The,” a contemptuous term applied to the frigate _President_
        by the British, ii. 360.

  Wales, Captain R. W., fights a battle with the _Peacock_, iii. 68–71;
    surrenders, 71;
    his ship is carried into Savannah, 77.

  Walke, Commander Henry, in charge of transport _Supply_, iv. 115;
    disobeys orders, _ib._;
    is court-martialed, 116;
    appointed to command the _Taylor_, 250;
    convoys General Grant down the Mississippi, 251;
    in command of gun-boat _Taylor_, 251;
    gallant conduct of, 252;
    his timely aid, _ib._;
    commands the _Carondelet_ in Commodore Foote’s fleet, 255;
    his seeming insolence to Commodore Foote, 266;
    commences the attack on Fort Donelson, 268;
    diverts the Confederates’ attention from Grant, 271;
    successfully runs the _Carondelet_ past the batteries of Island No.
        10, 281;
    resourcefulness of, 282;
    passes six forts, under fire of fifty guns, 283;
    aids the _Cincinnati_, 294.

  _Walker_, American whaler, captured by the Peruvian cruiser
        _Nereyda_, iii. 7.

  “Wall-piece,” a gun used in capturing the _Margaretta_, i. 17.

  _Wampanoag_, Federal ironclad, iv. 472, 473.

  War of 1812, events which led up to, i. 383;
    Great Britain fomented discord between the States of the Union, 384;
    used every means to harass American commerce, _ib._;
    impressed men by force to serve on English ships, 386;
    used the press-gang in foreign ports, 387;
    demanded right of search on the high seas, _ib._;
    used nothing to enforce an order but the cat-o’-ninetails, 389;
    American ships stripped of their crews, 397;
    five men off the _Baltimore_ impressed in the British service, 401;
    the affair of the _Leopard_ and _Chesapeake_, 402–413;
    case of the _Spitfire_ and _Guerrière_, ii. 7;
    tricky conduct of the officers of two British frigates, 15;
    war declared, 28;
    justified by the _Trent_ affair, iv. 140.

  War-ship, the first submarine, i. 157;
    the first Yankee, on fresh waters, ii. 264;
    development of the, from 1815–1859, iv. 1–9.

  Ward, Fleet Officer James H., his attack on the Acquia Creek
        batteries, iv. 81;
    killed, 82.

  Ward, Samuel, Rhode Island delegate to Continental Congress, i. 31.

  Warren, Fort, Mass., Mason and Slidell confined there, iv. 156.

  _Warren_, American frigate, i. 280, 283.

  Warrington, Master-commandant Lewis, iii. 66;
    attacks and captures the _Epervier_, 66–71;
    succeeds Porter in clearing the South American coast of pirates,
        338.

  _Washington_, American galley, i. 89; on Lake Champlain, 99.

  Washington, George, and the Congress of the United Colonies, i. 27.

  Washington, D. C., conduct of the British sailors at capture of, ii.
        418, 419.

  _Wasp_, schooner, of first American Navy, i. 40.

  _Wasp_ (No. 2), American sloop-of-war, fight with the _Frolic_, ii.
        107–117;
    both the _Wasp_ and the _Frolic_ captured by the British frigate
        _Poictiers_, 118, 119;
    taken into the British navy and lost at sea, 119.

  _Wasp_ (No. 3), American sloop-of-war, cuts her way through British
        blockaders, iii. 81;
    fights and captures the _Reindeer_, 86–88;
    comparison of the two ships, 91;
    cuts out the _Mary_ under the convoy of the _Armada_, and is chased
        by the _Armada_, 92;
    encounters the _Avon_, 93;
    fights and disables her, 97;
    the _Castilian_ and _Tartarus_ appear and chase the _Wasp_ off, 97;
    captures two merchantmen and the _Atalanta_, 100;
    mysterious end of, 102–104.

  Waters, Captain Daniel, assists in capturing a British troop-ship, i.
        203;
    desperate fight with two British sloops-of-war, 209.

  _Water Witch_, carries an exploring expedition to Parana, iii. 464.

  _Water Witch_, Federal war-ship, iv. 129–133.

  Watson, William H., Lieutenant, ii. 364;
    is cut down and carried off unconscious, _ib._;
    captures a pirate schooner off South America, iii. 335.

  _Watt_, British privateer, fights with the _Trumbull_, i. 291.

  _Webb_, Confederate ram, iv. 352.

  _Weehawken_, Federal ironclad, iv. 480.

  Weitzel, General, in command of troops at Fort Fisher, iv. 513.

  Welles, Gideon, Secretary of the Navy, his account of the effect
        that the raid of the _Merrimac_ had upon a cabinet meeting at
        Washington, iv. 211.

  Wellington, Duke of, on the character of the veterans sent to
        America, iii. 134.

  “Wellington’s Invincibles” invade the Sorel River, iii. 135;
    sent to New Orleans under Sir Edward Packenham, iii. 230.

  _Wellington_, British gun-boat, iii. 143.

  Wells, Clark H., Lieutenant-Commander, iv. 389.

  West India pirates, iii. 324.

  Western waters, ships of the line of battle on, iv. 249.

  _Westfield_, Federal ship, destroyed by the Confederates, iv. 357.

  _West Wind_, Federal merchant-ship, captured by Confederate cruiser
        _Sumter_, iv. 415.

  Whaler, an armed British, transformed into a Yankee cruiser, iii. 9,
        10.

  Whaling fleet, British, taken by surprise, iii. 8–10.

  Wheaton, Joseph, one of the capturers of the _Margaretta_, i. 16.

  Whinyates, Captain Thomas, ii. 106;
    encounters the _Wasp_ in a gale, _ib._;
    gives battle to the _Wasp_, 107;
    wounded, 112;
    surrenders, 116;
    his ship recaptured by the _Poictiers_, 118.

  Whipple, Abraham, in command of boats attacking the _Gaspé_, i. 9;
    commands American ship _Columbus_, 66;
    in charge of the _Providence_, 281.

  Whiskey demijohns for torpedoes, iv. 350.

  White River, Ark., Federal operations on, iv. 307.

  White Squadron, formation of, iv. 531–554.

  _Whitehead_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 457.

  Wickes, Captain Lambert, in the fight with the _Shark_, i. 71;
    carries Franklin to France, 114;
    captures prizes, _ib._;
    goes on a cruise in the Bay of Biscay, _ib._;
    captures fifteen prizes, 118.

  Wilderness, building war-ships and gun-boats in the, ii. 286.

  Wilkes, Captain Charles, stops the British steamer _Trent_ and takes
        off Mason and Slidell, iv. 144–160;
    sails into Boston, with his prisoners, 148, 149;
    his conduct commended by Secretary of the Navy Welles, _ib._

  Wilkinson, General, attempts to attack Montreal, ii. 271;
    expedition fails, 272;
    builds winter quarters on Salmon River, _ib._

  _William_, American merchant-ship, captured by the _Java_, ii. 153;
    recaptured by Captain Lawrence, of the _Hornet_, 181.

  _William S. Robins_, merchant-ship, captured by Confederate
        privateers, iv. 97.

  Williams, Richard, reports to the British Government on the _Trent_
        affair, iv. 150.

  Williams, Captain John Foster, captures the British brig _Active_, i.
        206;
    fights and blows up the British privateer _Admiral Duff_, 207;
    compels the frigate _Thames_ to haul off, _ib._

  Williamson, Chief Engineer W. P., assists in the reconstruction of
        the frigate _Merrimac_ into an ironclad, iv. 185–186.

  _Will-o’-the-Wisp_, blockade runner, iv. 57;
    description of, _ib._

  _Wilmer_, American gun-boat, iii. 141.

  Wilmington, N. C., a favorite resort of blockade-runners, iv. 41.

  Wilson, Lieutenant-commander Byron, iv. 363–369.

  _Winnebago_, Federal monitor, iv. 386.

  _Winona_, Federal screw gun-boat, iv. 315.

  _Wissahickon_, Federal screw gun-boat, iv. 315.

  _Wolfe_, British sloop-of-war, ii. 348.

  Wood, Lieutenant John Taylor, iv. 189;
    boards and destroys the Federal gun-boat _Underwriter_, 452;
    his statement on the retiring of the _Monitor_ from the fight, 230,
        231.

  Woodworth, Lieutenant S. E., iv. 364.

  Woolsey, Lieutenant Melancthon, ii. 264.

  Worden, Lieutenant John L., causes Fort Pickens to be reinforced, iv.
        119;
    arrested and held prisoner for seven months, _ib._;
    Captain of the _Monitor_, 205;
    begins the battle with the _Merrimac_, 219;
    gets to close quarters, 222;
    has his ship under good control, 212;
    disabled, 225;
    Lieutenant Greene succeeds him in command, 229;
    transferred to a tug and taken to Washington, 230;
    letter to him from his crew, 233;
    Captain of the _Montauk_, 480.

  Wright, Governor, of St. John’s, captured by Captain Selman, i. 203;
    released, _ib._

  _Wyalusing_, Federal gun-boat, iv. 457.

  Wyer, Captain, captures four prizes in the Mediterranean, iii. 343.

  Wyman, Captain R. W., at Port Royal, iv. 163.


  Yankee squadron, first cruise of the, i. 48.

  _Yarmouth_, British ship, attacked by the _Randolph_, i. 162.

  Yarnall, Lieutenant, in the battle of Lake Erie, ii. 313;
    Perry leaves him in charge, 318.

  Yellow fever decimates the crews of the American ships before Vera
        Cruz, iii. 418.

  Yeo, Sir James L., placed in command of the British naval forces on
        Lake Ontario, ii. 348;
    captures the American brig _Vixen_ in the West Indies, _ib._;
    sends an insulting challenge to Captain Porter of the _Essex_,
        _ib._;
    captures two schooners and supplies, _ib._;
    meets Commodore Chauncey’s squadron, 349;
    has some brushes with the enemy, 350–353;
    operations on Lake Ontario, iii. 114–126.

  _York_, Confederate privateer, iv. 93.

  Yucatan, Mexico, governed by the Americans during the Mexican War,
        iii. 414.




Transcriber’s Notes


New original cover art included with this eBook is granted to the
public domain.

Superscripts are represented by ^x.

Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made consistent when a
predominant preference was found in the original book; otherwise they
were not changed.

Simple typographical errors were corrected; unbalanced quotation
marks were remedied when the change was obvious, and otherwise left
unbalanced.

Possibly archaic spellings in quoted text have not been changed.

Text uses both “£” and “l.” to indicate the British pound.

Illustrations in this eBook have been positioned between paragraphs
and outside quotations. In versions of this eBook that support
hyperlinks, the page references in the List of Illustrations lead to
the corresponding illustrations.

Pages 269-272: John Paul Jones’ quoted report contains several
sentences beginning with lowercase letters and some mid-sentence
phrases beginning with capital letters.

The Transcriber copied the index from Volume IV. It was not checked
for proper alphabetization or correct page references. Most of the
references are to pages in the other three volumes of this series; all
four volumes are available at no charge at Project Gutenberg:

  Volume   I: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/71794
  Volume  II: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/71795
  Volume III: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/71796
  Volume  IV: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/71797

In the original book, the index entries for "Biddle, Captain Nicholas"
referring to Volume II. actually refer to his nephew, "Biddle, James",
and some of those are in Volume III. In this ebook, those entries have
been corrected, but the index may contain other errors.