DAVID AND I VISIT OUR OLD HOME.--RETURN TO BOSTON, AND MEET BILL
AND JOE.--BILL'S ADVENTURE ON THE CHESAPEAKE.--AN "UNLUCKY" SHIP.
Along in the spring of 1808, David and I arrived in Boston; he from
a voyage to Sweden, and I from one to China. The owners of our ships
announced that they would be laid up for the present, and as soon as
anything could be found for us to do they would give us employment. So
we determined in our period of idleness to visit our old home. We had
been prosperous, and saved a fair amount of money, most of which we had
sent to our parents.
Having reached the office of second mate on first-class ships, we
thought it beneath our dignity to walk all the way to Pembroke; and
so we took passage in a wagon that had recently come to Boston from
Concord, the capital of New Hampshire, with a load of butter, cheese,
and other things produced in the country. The wagoner was taking back
a light load of goods, the proceeds of the sale of the articles
I mentioned, and had plenty of room for two passengers. We could
have gone by stage-coach, and saved several hours in time; but the
difference between the stage fare and that of the wagon was enough to
make us decide upon the slower mode of conveyance.
We received a hearty welcome from all our friends. I am glad to say
we found everybody well; and those whom we had left as boys and girls
were mostly grown to be men and women. My parents told how they had
missed me greatly, and longed to see me back again. My mother was so
surprised when I walked unannounced into the house that she came near
fainting. Tears came into my father's eyes, and he greeted me with a
choking voice; but very quickly the voice cleared up, and he said he
felt like capering about the room. Everybody complimented us on our
healthy appearance, our bronzed faces, and our well-developed figures,
which had been hardened and toughened by our sea-faring life. We were
the heroes of the time and place, and were kept busy narrating our
adventures to all our old friends.
We remained at home about two weeks, and then, fearful lest we might
miss a good opportunity of going to sea again, we returned to Boston in
the same way as we had come from that city, and with the same wagoner.
We went straight to our former boarding-house, and as we approached
saw, just outside the door, the familiar forms and faces of our old
friends, Bill and Joe. There was a hearty greeting all around; and you
may be sure that the evening and the next day were spent in telling the
adventures which each had passed through since we were last together.
The most interesting of all the stories was that of my old friend, Bill
Haines, which I will endeavor to give as nearly as possible in his own
words.
"You remember that affair of the Chesapeake, don't you?" said Haines.
"Of course I do," I replied; "and pretty nearly everybody in the
country knows about it."
"Well, I was in that little brush," said Haines, "and I can probably
tell you a good deal more than you know about it.
"I went down the coast from New York to the Potomac River along in the
early part of February, 1807. When we got to Washington the crew of
the coaster was paid off and discharged; the captain said he was going
to lie up there, he didn't know for how long. I went to looking around
for something, but there wasn't a craft I could ship on, leastways,
not a merchant craft. I heard that the Chesapeake, thirty-eight guns,
which was then lying at Washington, was going to be sent out to the
Mediterranean to fight the Barbary coast pirates, and sure enough, she
was put into commission on the 22d day of February.
"Captain Gordon was put in command of the ship, and Commodore Barron
was selected to hoist a broad pennant in her as commander of the
squadron. As soon as the orders had been issued they began enlisting
a crew, and I was one of the men who enlisted. They had a good set of
officers all around, and no doubt the crew was a good one, but it was
very green when we dropped down the Potomac about the 4th of June and
anchored in Hampton Roads. When we left the navy-yard at Washington we
had only twelve guns on board and a part of our stores, and we stayed
in Hampton Roads about three weeks completing our armament, and taking
on provisions, water, ammunition, and other necessary things."
"You seem to have taken things very leisurely," I remarked, as Haines
paused for a moment.
"Yes, that's so," was the reply; "but then in time of peace you don't
do things in a hurry on a man-of-war. Although the ship was put in
commission on the 22d of February, it wasn't until the 22d of June that
we got underway from Hampton Roads, bound to the Mediterranean.
"I must go back a little and say that, while we were enlisting the
crew, the British minister complained to the navy department that we
had taken in three deserters from his Majesty's ship, Melampus. The
Melampus had been lying in Hampton Roads, and they claimed that three
of her men got away from her and enlisted on the Chesapeake."
"Didn't our government do anything about it?" I asked.
"Yes," Haines replied; "they told Commodore Barron what the British
minister had said, and the commodore told Captain Gordon to look into
the matter and report."
"Did he find that they really had three British deserters enlisted for
the Chesapeake?"
"Well, yes, they did," said Haines; "the three men were actually
deserters from the Melampus, but they all claimed to be impressed
Americans who were serving unwillingly on the British ship, and had
taken the first opportunity that offered to escape from their unjust
and illegal detention.
"One of the men was said to be a native of the eastern shore of
Maryland, a part of the country that Captain Gordon came from. He
made a careful investigation, the captain did, and was satisfied with
the truth of the man's story. Another of the alleged deserters was a
colored man, and there was hardly any chance to doubt the truth of his
assertion, that he was a native born American, and a victim of the
British system of impressment.
"The story of the third sailor was not entirely clear, but it
was pretty well established, and Captain Gordon made his report
accordingly. It went through the customary channels, and was afterwards
sent to the British minister, who appears to have been satisfied, as
nothing more was said on the subject. The story had circulated around
on the ship, but had been pretty well forgotten when we sailed for the
Mediterranean.
"When we went out to sea we encountered a British fleet of four ships
that had been lying around there for several months, watching some
French frigates which had taken shelter near Annapolis. One of them
was the Melampus, from which the three seamen already mentioned had
deserted; another was the Bellona, seventy-four guns; and another was
the Leopard, fifty guns. The Leopard really carried fifty-six guns,
which made her a much more powerful craft than the Chesapeake.
"When we hove anchor and put to sea, the Leopard did the same thing;
and as she was several miles farther down the bay, she was a good
distance ahead of us when we got into open water.
"We got off Cape Henry a little after noon, and as we passed the cape
we saw the Leopard a few miles to windward, heading off to sea with a
very light wind. A good breeze came up in a little while, and both the
Leopard and the Chesapeake got it and held directly off the land. When
the Chesapeake tacked, the Leopard did likewise, but nobody thought
there was anything unusual or suspicious in the movements of the
British beggar. Sailors who had been around Hampton Roads a good deal
said that the British cruisers were in the habit of standing out that
way, just to keep themselves in practice.
"I think it was about three o'clock, when both ships were about eight
miles from land. The Chesapeake tacked to windward again, and the
Leopard wore around and came down upon our weather quarter; when she
was within a hundred yards of us she hailed and told Commodore Barron
that she had dispatches for him. There was nothing suspicious in this,
as it was a common thing for the British officers to put dispatches on
board any of the American war-ships bound for Europe. Both vessels hove
to, and a boat from the Leopard came alongside the Chesapeake.
"When the officer from the Leopard reached the Chesapeake's deck,"
Haines continued, "he was shown into the cabin, where Commodore Barron
received him. Then the English lieutenant produced an order, signed by
Vice-Admiral Berkley, and addressed to all the captains on ships under
his command, directing them, if they fell in with the Chesapeake at
sea and out of the waters of the United States, to show her commander
this order to search for deserters, and proceed to search for them. At
the same time he presented a note from the commander of the Leopard
addressed to the commander of the Chesapeake, referring to the order of
the vice-admiral, and hoping that every question about the deserters
might be adjusted in a manner that the harmony between the two
countries should remain undisturbed."
"That was an impertinent piece of business," I remarked; "What did
Commodore Barron say in answer to the demand?"
"He said he knew of no such deserters as described, and that the
recruiting officers had been particularly instructed by the government
not to accept any deserters from the English ships."
"I suppose that the demand was for the three men from the Melampus, was
it not?" David inquired.
"No, not altogether," said Haines, "as they were after men from other
ships, who were supposed to have joined the Chesapeake while she lay at
Hampton Roads. There was one man in particular, who had run away from
the British man-of-war Halifax, who met his old captain on the street
in Norfolk one day and insulted him. The captain put a spy on the man's
track, and claimed that he was on board the Chesapeake at the time of
the affair with the Leopard; he was the one the English officers were
particularly anxious to get hold of.
"The English lieutenant remained on board the Chesapeake about half
an hour, when a signal of recall was hoisted on the Leopard and he
returned, carrying the answer of Commodore Barron. As soon as he had
gone Commodore Barron sent for Captain Gordon, and told him to get the
gun-deck clear, but this work had already been commenced an hour before
without reference to the Leopard.
"After giving this order Commodore Barron went on deck to examine the
Leopard; he then discovered the state of preparation on board the
English ship, and that the latter was in a condition to fight at any
moment. The Leopard was lying on the Chesapeake's weather quarter, her
guns trained, matches burning, people at their quarters, and everything
ready to begin a heavy fire; while the Chesapeake was littered and
lumbered, her crew had not yet exercised their guns, and they'd only
been mustered at quarters three times altogether. The men were busy
coiling away cables and moving some cabin furniture and other things,
which were all standing aft, and there was a good deal of baggage on
the gun-deck.
"Some of the lieutenants had been suspicious of the movements of the
Leopard from the beginning, and were pushing the work of clearing the
gun-deck as fast as possible. All the guns were loaded and shotted,
but while this was being done it was found that there were not enough
rammers, wads, matches, gun-locks, and powder-horns.
"Things were in this way when the Leopard's boat pulled back to her. As
soon as her people were out of her she was dropped astern, and almost
as soon as the lieutenant reached her deck the Leopard's commander
hailed the Chesapeake. Commodore Barron answered that he didn't
understand the hail, and it was repeated two or three times. Then the
Leopard fired a shot ahead of the Chesapeake; and I don't think it was
more than twenty seconds after that shot was fired when she gave us a
full broadside."
"Did we fire back with our broadside?" I asked.
"Commodore Barron gave the orders to fire, but there wasn't a gun
ready. The gunner had been ordered to fill the powder-horns with
priming powder, but when they were wanted it was found that he had
neglected to do so. After a while some priming powder was brought, but
there were no matches lighted, and the loggerheads were not hot enough.
While we were trying to fire one of the guns the Leopard kept pouring
broadsides into us, and we couldn't reply, because everything was in
confusion."
"Didn't we fire a gun at all? I had an impression we did," I remarked.
"Yes, we fired one gun, and only one, but it wasn't until after
Commodore Barron had ordered the flag hauled down. Just as the ensign
reached the taffrail one gun was fired from the second division of the
ship, and it was discharged by means of a coal brought from the galley
in the fingers of Lieutenant Allen, the officer of the division."
"Of course the Leopard stopped firing as soon as our colors were
lowered, and Commodore Barron immediately sent a boat on board the
British ship to say that the Chesapeake was at the disposal of the
English captain. The latter sent two of his officers to muster the
American crew, and the three men who were claimed to be deserters from
the Melampus, and one from the Halifax, were taken away. Commodore
Barron then sent another note to the captain of the Leopard, saying
that he was ready to give up his ship. The latter declined to take
possession of the Chesapeake and sailed away, and there was nothing for
us to do but return to Hampton Roads.
"Three of our crew were killed on the spot, and eighteen were wounded,
eight of them badly and ten slightly. Twenty-one round shot struck
the Chesapeake's hull, and her lower rigging was badly cut up by
grape-shot. She was in no condition to go to sea; we went to Norfolk
and in a few days a part of the crew was discharged. I was one of those
sent away, and so you see my voyage up the Mediterranean was a very
short one.
"One of these days, and it won't be a very long time either, we'll have
to go to war with England, and just show her what our ships can do in
fighting trim. The Leopard had a great advantage over us in having a
perfectly trained crew, while ours had had no training at all. Give us
a chance, and we'll teach the British a lesson they won't forget very
soon."
I may as well continue the history of this affair by telling how it
turned out. The unfortunate deserters were taken to Halifax, where
they were tried by a court-martial and sentenced to be hung. The three
Americans were reprieved, on condition that they should re-enter the
British service. The deserter from the Halifax, who was really an
English subject, was hung. One of the three Americans who had been
impressed into the Melampus died in the British service; the other two,
after five years of captivity, were restored to the deck of the ship
from which they had been taken.
There was great excitement all through the country when the news of the
affair between the Leopard and Chesapeake became known. For a while
local politics were forgotten, and all party lines were set aside.
Meetings were held in all the leading cities, in which the feelings
of the public were expressed in very vigorous language. There was an
almost universal demand for an immediate declaration of war against
Great Britain.
[Illustration: HE WAS JUST FAIRLY STOWED AWAY WHEN HAINES CAME. Page
225.]
Our government complained to the British government, and the latter
promptly replied by half apologizing for the occurrence and declaring
that the British admiral had exceeded his orders. He was removed
from the command of the squadron in American waters, ostensibly as a
punishment for his conduct, but not long afterwards he was given a
similar command on a more important station. Captain Humphreys of the
Leopard was also removed, and the British government appropriated a sum
of money for the families of those who had been killed on board the
Chesapeake.
Always after this the Chesapeake seems to have been an unlucky ship.
When the war broke out she went on an extensive cruise; she left
Boston toward the close of February, 1813, passed the Canary and Cape
Verde Islands, crossed the Equator, and cruised for six weeks in the
South Atlantic Ocean. She then went to the coast of South America,
sailed through the West Indies, and up the coast of the United States
to Boston again. During all that long cruise she met only three
ships-of-war, and captured only four merchant ships. When she was going
into Boston Harbor in a gale she lost a topmast, and several men, who
were aloft at the time, went overboard with it and were drowned.
After she came back to Boston Captain Lawrence was assigned to command
her. He accepted with great reluctance, on account of her "unlucky"
reputation, not because he had any superstitions on that account, but
because it was impossible to infuse into the crew the spirit that
promises success.
The Chesapeake was refitted for sea, and while she was refitting,
the British man-of-war Shannon appeared off Boston. She carried
thirty-eight guns, the same as the Chesapeake, and on the first of
June, Captain Broke, who commanded her, sent a challenge to Captain
Lawrence, asking him to meet the Shannon, ship to ship, and try the
fortunes of their respective flags. He offered to send all other ships
beyond the power of interference, and to meet the Chesapeake at any
point which Captain Lawrence might name within certain limits.
The challenge reached Boston after the Chesapeake had sailed, and the
letter was placed in the hands of Commodore Bainbridge, who commanded
the station. When the Chesapeake got outside, the Shannon was seen
lying off Boston Lighthouse under easy sail, with all colors displayed.
Captain Lawrence understood this as a challenge, and when the pilot
boat which was sent out to reconnoiter returned with the assurance that
the Shannon was alone, he determined to accept it.