A CONGREVE ROCKET AMONG ALGERINE PIRATES.--ARRIVAL AT
GIBRALTAR.--ARRESTED AND IN PRISON.
Two or three minutes elapsed after the order was given, and as all
on board the Washington had heard it, we were anxiously awaiting the
result. Suddenly there was a loud hissing and a swish through the air,
and we saw something which left a trail of smoke behind it taking a
curving course from the Warwick to the Algerine vessel. It was well
aimed, as it went aboard the Algerine just over her stern and seemed to
rake her from one end to the other.
Exactly what those Algerines thought I don't know, and even if I did
know I wouldn't understand it, as I've no knowledge of their language.
We couldn't see that anybody was hurt by the rocket, but everybody
on board that craft must have been badly scared. They yelled and ran
hither and yon, and about twenty of them jumped overboard, thinking
perhaps that if they got drowned in the ocean they might be saved from
death by the terrible missile which had just been thrown upon them.
While they were in a very lively state of excitement another rocket
went on board, and this added to the confusion which was certainly bad
enough before. Captain Dawson signaled to Mr. Johnson to stop firing,
and no more rockets were thrown.
From a remark that the captain made afterwards I think he was sorry
he didn't follow up his advantage and completely destroy the Algerine
corsair. He might have done so, possibly, but on the other hand he
would have received considerable damage from his adversary. My belief
is that he did just right in sailing away and holding his course for
Gibraltar, closely followed by the Warwick.
We had no further trouble after meeting this fellow, though we saw two
or three of his kindred at a distance before we reached the straits. We
learned afterwards that a good many of them were out cruising on the
Atlantic in search of prizes, but they were scattered considerably in
order to cover as much ground as possible. We went through the straits
at a lucky moment it turned out, as there were nearly always two or
three of the corsairs hanging about that region, and rarely going more
than twenty or thirty miles away from the entrance to the Mediterranean.
We steered into Gibraltar in fine style, and anchored in the harbor
which lies in the bay between the town which bears the name of the
rock and the Spanish town of Algeciras. The health officer boarded us
almost immediately as we dropped anchor, the Washington being first
to reach the harbor anchorage. It did not require long for him to
ascertain that we were all well on board and entitled to a clean bill
of health. Our captain told him about the Warwick, and as soon as he
was through with us he went directly on board of what we may call our
prize.
He gave a clean bill of health in the Warwick's case as well as in
our own, and she was fully entitled to it, as there was no disease on
board, the suffering which the crew had undergone having come wholly
from a lack of food.
After the health officer had visited us he went ashore, and it was not
long before the story of the Warwick, the sufferings of the people on
board of her, and her relief by the American ship that came into port
with her, became known in Gibraltar. The captain of the port came off
to visit both ships, a very unusual thing for him to do, and he made
arrangements to take our captain with him to call upon the Governor
of Gibraltar the next day. When the call was made the governor was
very civil to Captain Dawson, and said he had performed an act of
humanity which deserved high recognition when all its circumstances
were considered. He said he should report the circumstances to his
government, and hoped that Captain Dawson and our second mate would
be suitably rewarded. The captain thanked him for his good wishes,
and said he trusted entirely to the generosity of a government whose
maritime power was the greatest in the world.
Then he told about the affair with the Algerine pirate, to which the
governor listened attentively. He laughed heartily over the incident
of the rockets, which were, he said, the invention of Sir William
Congreve, and this was the first time he had known of their use in
actual warfare. He also laughed over Captain Dawson's description of
the consternation created among the piratical crew when the rocket was
let loose among them, and especially when the captain told about the
jumping overboard. He said he should mention this matter in his next
report, as it might prove of great importance to the government.
I may add here for the reader's information that these rockets were
intended to explode and hurl leaden balls and scraps of iron among the
enemy. They were particularly calculated to frighten horses and break
up cavalry operations generally, and when tried in actual warfare
they were nearly as destructive among infantry. They were first
tried successfully in warfare and with fatal effect at the attack on
Copenhagen in 1807.
One great advantage of these rockets is that they make no recoil
against the stand from which they are fired; the largest rocket can
therefore be discharged without danger from the smallest boat, and
consequently, in naval attacks on fortresses and cities, a flotilla of
rocket boats is generally used. The great disadvantage of this missile
is the uncertainty of its course. It was a very lucky circumstance
that we were enabled to throw the two rockets that were sent from the
Warwick directly on board the Algerine; but we were very near her, and
thus had a much better aim than if she had been farther away.
Since I quit the sea and sat down to write this narrative I have read
somewhere that the Duke of Wellington was invited to witness a trial of
the Congreve rocket soon after it was invented and perfected. The duke
was on horseback, surrounded by a large and handsomely uniformed staff;
the group was assembled at the top of a small hill which commanded a
view of the plain where the experiments were to take place.
A few rockets had been let off, and the duke seemed well satisfied
with their performance. Finally one rocket, at its discharge, took an
erratic course, and came directly into the midst of the distinguished
party, where it fizzed and sputtered while darting here and there, and
then, dashing off to one side, exploded. If the explosion had taken
place directly in the group, some of the officers would probably have
been killed or wounded; as it was the horses were frightened, and fully
one-half the party were thrown to the ground and had to walk home,
or wait till their horses were caught and brought to them. From that
moment the Duke of Wellington was never favorable to the use of the
Congreve rocket.
But I am getting away from my story. As the news spread about Gibraltar
of the saving of the Warwick and those whom we found on board of
her, the officers and crew of the Washington became the objects of
considerable attention. Captain Dawson did not neglect to take the
proper steps for obtaining his claim for salvage; he employed a lawyer
of Gibraltar to attend to the matter, and it is proper to say that the
lawyer did his duty faithfully. The claim was considerably reduced
by the court, but nevertheless it was a handsome compensation, and
everybody concerned on our side of the affair felt well rewarded for
his trouble. A special award was made to Mr. Johnson and the six men
who went with him on board the Warwick; this was done, we understood,
at the instance of the Governor of Gibraltar, who seemed rather more
kindly disposed toward us than was usually the case with English
officers toward Americans at that time.
When any of the crew of the Washington obtained liberty to go on shore
they were treated kindly, and very often, too, by the British sailors
and landsmen. One effect of the hospitality of Gibraltar was that those
of our crew who were not abstemious from drink generally returned to
the ship much the worse for their excursion.
One afternoon several of us, including Haines and myself, had
permission to go ashore. It was very hot that day, and we found it
rather fatiguing work to walk about.
About dusk we concluded it was time to go on board again, and went
down to the quay for that purpose. There we fell in with some English
sailors, most of whom had been drinking heavily, and they began to
treat us very uncivilly. Of course we resented, and the result was a
row. It was necessary for the police to interfere; but before they
could do so there was a general fight in which the chances were about
even. I had the misfortune to be knocked down, and so hard was the blow
that I was virtually insensible. The last I remember of the struggle I
was seized by the collar and arms and dragged roughly away.
On coming to my senses I found myself in a guard-house, along with
Haines and two other men from the Washington, with a sentry on duty to
prevent our getting away. Haines had been rubbing my limbs and trying
in other ways to restore me, and was very much delighted when I was
able to speak. He had a swollen face, so that he was able to see out of
but one eye, and that not very well.
One of my first questions was as to what they were going to do with us.
"I'm sure I don't know," said Haines; "I've been pumping the sentry,
and all I can make out is that we've been disorderly, and can't stir
till an officer comes to take charge of us."
We were hungry and thirsty, and asked for water and something to eat.
The sentry called another soldier, who brought us some water, but
said it would take money to buy anything else. We gave the fellow a
shilling, and he went off to return presently with some fruit, which
probably cost him a penny or two, as fruit is very cheap in Gibraltar.
The rest of the money he pocketed, or perhaps divided with our guard,
as we didn't see it again or get anything for it.
It was along in the evening when this happened, and we had to stay
in the guard-house until morning, sleeping on the floor, and using
our jackets for pillows. The next morning we were taken to what I
supposed was the office of the chief of police, or the commandant of
the port, I couldn't make out which. A man in uniform looked at us,
but asked no questions, and in less than five minutes he ordered us
taken on board the receiving-ship in the harbor. This was one of the
king's ships that had been pronounced unseaworthy, and was used as a
storehouse, prison, or anything else that was required of her; she was
especially used to receive sailors till they were drafted off to one of
the war-ships that needed men.
[Illustration: HE BROUGHT HIS GLASS TO BEAR UPON THE OBJECT. Page 141.]
"They're going to take us to serve the king," said Haines; "they want
men, and don't care how they get 'em."
"But the king hasn't anything to do with us," I replied; "we're
Americans, and not his subjects anyhow."
"Avast there, my lad," said Haines, "what do you think the king or his
officers care about that? Don't you remember our little affair in the
early part of the voyage with that British man-of-war?"
"Oh, certainly I do," I replied; "but the officer who came aboard did
not try to take anybody away that he knew was an American."
"Yes, that's true," Haines replied; "and the trouble with him was,
from a British point of view, that he was too particular, and also
that he lost his head over the captain's rum-bottle. Not one officer
in twenty, so far as I've known, would hesitate at taking just as many
men as he wanted, whether they were British born or not. You see, that
officer wasn't right in his head when he got drunk so easily at a time
when he should have stayed sober.
"It looks to me very much," Haines continued, "as though they intended
to impress us in punishment for our disorderly conduct. I presume
that's what they do when Americans come ashore and give any sort of a
reason for being arrested; off they go to the king's receiving-ship,
and whenever wanted they are drafted into one of his Majesty's
men-of-war. But make yourself easy, my lad, we won't have any trouble;
as soon as they find that we belong to the crew of the Washington that
little affair of the Warwick will set everything right."
While he spoke an officer appeared; what he was I don't know, but he
had uniform enough on him for a general or an admiral, at least.
He spoke to the officer in charge of us, and called him to one side.
There was quite an earnest talk between them, but of course we don't
know what it was. Anyhow, it was something in our favor, as we were
taken back to where we spent the night, and our keeper treated us very
civilly after the heavily uniformed officer went away.
He asked if we would like some breakfast, and on our saying we would he
gave an order to one of the soldiers to bring us something to eat. In
less than a quarter of an hour we had a big pan of beef-stew before us,
along with a large loaf of bread, and as much coffee as we wanted to
drink. It was a real good breakfast, and every one of us felt a great
deal better after we had eaten it.
That it was the intention to impress us into the British service I have
not the least doubt, and Haines was correct when he suggested that the
affair of the Warwick would save us. I heard afterward that not a few
American sailors who became drunk and disorderly while on shore at
Gibraltar and other British ports had been sent to jail over night and
to a receiving-ship in the morning. They had no chance of escape, and
in the course of time, and very short at that, found themselves serving
on British ships-of-war.
At the time of which I write no fewer than four thousand impressed
Americans were serving on British ships; that number had been reported
through the consuls and other representatives of the United States
abroad, and it is probable that two or three thousand more were unable
to make their situations known. They were not allowed to send letters
to their friends; and when in port, whether in British ports or
not, they were never allowed ashore, lest they might escape, or at
all events send a communication that would call attention to their
impressment.
We had quite a talk on the subject as we sat and lay around after our
breakfast, waiting to see what would next turn up. Haines predicted
that in less than ten years the United States would have another war
with Great Britain, and it would grow out of this very business of the
impressment of American sailors. It is said that at one time a British
officer who was taking some men from an American vessel remarked to the
captain of it,--
"I wonder that the Americans permit this sort of thing to go on. Great
Britain wouldn't stand it an hour, and I think the same can be said of
every nation on the continent of Europe."
Well, we wouldn't have stood it an hour either if we had had a navy
like that of Great Britain. She had a thousand sail, and we had less
than twenty war-ships, taking all kinds and descriptions together.
"I'll tell you a bit of my experience," said Haines, "in this
impressing business, and you can see just how it is. It's no wonder
that the relations between the United States and Great Britain are what
they are when the sort of thing I'm going to tell you about can go on.
"I was going out to Havana in the brig Julia in the latter part of
1798," said Haines, "and there were several sail of us under convoy of
the twenty-gun sloop-of-war Baltimore. We were in sight of the Moro
Castle, at the entrance of the port of Havana, and a dandy port it
is--room enough for a thousand sail inside, but only one can go in or
out at a time. Captain Phillips of the Baltimore made signal for us
to crowd sail as hard as we could to get into port; it seemed that he
had seen an English squadron away to the windward, and knew they would
capture us if they could, as they were blockading Havana. In fact, they
did take three of us; but the rest got in all right, and among 'em was
the Julia.
"After he had signaled to his convoy, Captain Phillips bore up to speak
to the English commodore, who was in the Carnatic, seventy-four, and
he had four other war-ships with her, one of 'em a big feller with
ninety-eight guns.
"When Captain Phillips got near the Carnatic, the English captain,
his name was Loring, invited the American to go and visit him aboard.
Captain Phillips went, and what do you suppose the Englishman told him
when he got him there?"
"I can't guess, I'm sure. What was it?"
"Why, he said he intended to take out of the Baltimore all the men who
had no American protection papers. Captain Phillips protested, and said
it was an outrage on his nation and flag, and he would surrender his
ship if Captain Loring insisted upon doing as he had threatened. You
see, there were only twenty American guns on the Baltimore against more
than three hundred on the British fleet. Then he went back to his ship,
where he found an English officer mustering his crew."
"What did he do then?"
"He took the muster-roll out of the officer's hand, ordered the officer
to leeward, and sent the men to their quarters. Then he consulted
an American legal gentleman who happened to be on board, and as his
instructions were that on no account should any vessel of any nation
except France be molested, even to prevent the capture of his convoy,
he decided to surrender. He ordered the Baltimore's flag hauled down,
and told the English captain to do what he pleased with the ship. The
Englishman sent on board and took away fifty-five of the Baltimore's
crew, but very soon he returned fifty of them, and said he had a number
of Americans on the Carnatic that he'd be glad to trade for an equal
number of Englishmen."
"Did the American captain make the trade with him?"
"No, he didn't; he waited for the Englishman to send a prize-crew to
take possession of the Baltimore; but evidently the British captain was
afraid of getting into trouble, as he sailed away without another word.
When he had gone Captain Phillips put up the Baltimore's flag again,
and went about his business. And if they'd treat a ship-of-war in that
way, do you suppose they'd have any fine feelings about a merchantman?"
We all assented to his view of the case, and then Haines said we owed
what navy we then had to the Algerine pirates. "If it hadn't been for
them," said he, "we wouldn't have any navy now, I believe."
"Surely the pirates did not present us with any ships-of-war!" I
exclaimed in surprise.
"Oh, no, 'twasn't that way at all. Just cast anchor a bit and I'll tell
you how it was."