the world. Our officers and crew are young and ambitious. They fight
with more cheerfulness than they do any other duty. Captain Blakeley
is a brave and discreet officer, as cool and collected in action as at
table.”
In those old days of sailing, given the weather-gage and the breeze
that suited her best qualities, a handy vessel could boldly sail into
view of a powerful fleet of the enemy, and she could actually present
the tableau of an agile wolf following at the heels of a very angry
herd of bulls, any one of which could toss her into the air or grind
her under foot. So spry a sailer was the _Wasp_ that she could slip
away from even a towering seventy-four, given her best weather.
After a protracted and tedious stay in L’Orient, the little sloop
made her way to sea on the 27th of August. On the 30th she captured
the British brig _Lettice_, and on the next day the British brig _Bon
Accord_.
The morning of the 1st of September dawned bright and clear. There was
just the breeze that enabled the _Wasp_ to show her finest form. Very
early the lookout discovered a fleet of ten sail to the windward, away
in advance. Plunging up and down lazily, scarcely moving in the light
breeze, was a huge line-of-battle ship, and close to her was a bomb
vessel.
The Yankee captain audaciously came down before the wind. In full sight
of H. M. S. _Armada_, the seventy-four, and the other armed consort,
Blakeley cut out the brig _Mary_. She was laden with brass and iron
cannon and military stores from Gibraltar to England. As she was a slow
sailer she was set on fire, after the prisoners had been removed.
Endeavor was made to take another of the convoy. The consternation and
rage of the commander of the ship of line can well be imagined. There
was not breeze enough for his great vessel to make headway by tacking,
but the wind, changing a few points, enabled him to creep down towards
the American, whereupon Blakeley swung about leisurely, and soon left
the ponderous Englishman hull down.
When he had shaken off his pursuer he resumed his course, and at
half-past six in the evening sighted four vessels at almost the same
moment; two were to starboard and two off the larboard bow, the latter
being farthest to windward. He picked out the nearest, a brig, and set
all sail to come within gunshot of her.
At seven the chase commenced making signals with flags, and soon after
with lanterns and rockets. It was past nine o’clock and quite dark when
the _Wasp_ came up within hailing distance.
To quote from a British account of the affair, dated Cork, September
7th: “The Englishman spoke first, and demanded to know who the silent
on-comer was. The ‘Yankee,’ in reply,” says the account, “called
through his trumpet, ‘Heave to, and I’ll let you know who I am.’ At the
same time a gun was fired by the _Avon_, and the most sanguinary action
commenced, which continued until eleven o’clock, when the American
sheared off and said, ‘This is the _Wasp_.’” Then the British account,
for some reason, adds: “She appeared to be in a sinking state and glad
to get away.”
In Captain Blakeley’s letter to the Secretary of the Navy he mentions
circumstances which may throw some light upon the actual happenings.
After an hour’s sharp interchange of broadsides it was imagined that
the _Avon_ had struck, and orders were given to cease firing. Blakeley
hailed, but received no answer. Suddenly the Britisher opened up with
his guns again. It was twelve minutes past ten when he was hailed the
second time. The enemy had suffered greatly, and had made no return
to his last two broadsides. A cutter was lowered away, and as it was
leaving the side of the _Wasp_ to board the prize a second brig was
discovered a little distance astern standing down before the freshening
breeze. The crew were again sent to quarters, and everything was made
ready for another action. A few minutes later the two other sail which
had been off to windward were discovered also coming down towards
the _Wasp_. The braces of the latter had been shot away, and it was
necessary to keep off the wind until others might be rove. Blakeley did
not endeavor to hasten. It was his intention to draw the second and
foremost brig away from her companions and engage her as soon as they
had reached a good distance from the others. To his surprise, however,
the brig, which, from the English account, we make out to be the
_Castilian_, hauled her wind as soon as she came within range, fired
one broadside, and retraced her course to join her consorts, who were
gathered about the _Avon_.
To Blakeley’s disappointment, he had to give up taking the prize,
whose name and forces he did not know, as it had been impossible to
distinguish the answer to his first hail.
The _Wasp_ was struck by four shot in the hull, each of which shot was
thirty-two pounds in weight, being one and three-quarter pounds heavier
than any the American carried.
For a long time the fate of the vessel which she had been fighting was
not known, but she sank a few hours after the action. The loss on board
the _Wasp_ was two killed and one wounded. From the English account,
the loss on board the _Avon_ was nine killed and thirty-three wounded.
As she was sinking, the _Tartarus_, a sloop of war, came up and took
on board forty of her crew.
[Illustration: THE “WASP’S” FIGHT WITH THE “AVON”]
In the list of the vessels of the American navy in commission during
the war of 1812 the name of the _Wasp_ is starred, with one or two
others bearing the same mark, and, looking at the bottom of the page,
we see this short comment, “Lost at sea.” This was the sad fate of the
gallant little craft which caused John Bull so much trouble in her
short career. It was never known what became of her. Some authorities
on the British side stated that she had sunk from the injuries received
in her action with the _Avon_; but of course we have the report of
Captain Blakeley sent by a vessel spoken off the Western Isles.
In speaking of the disappearance a contemporary writes: “The most
general impression is that she [the _Wasp_] was lost by one of those
casualties incident to the great deep which have destroyed so many
gallant vessels in a manner no one knows how.”
A strange circumstance, however, gives rise to a supposition. A British
frigate put into Lisbon in a shattered condition. She reported having
fallen in with a vessel and having engaged her through the better part
of the night. She had made out that her antagonist was much smaller
than herself, and evidently an American. She had not surrendered, and
had disappeared suddenly, “as if the sea had swallowed her.” This may
have been the _Wasp_.
The fact remains, however, that no trace of her or any of her crew was
ever found after she spoke the vessel at the Western Isles. The first
_Wasp_, captured with her prize (the British sloop _Frolic_) by an
English ship of the line, was also lost at sea, after being refitted
and commissioned in the English service.
Johnston Blakeley was an Irish-American. He was born in Ireland (in
the village of Seaford, in the county of Down). When he was but two
years old his father, John Blakeley, emigrated to America and took
up his residence in Philadelphia, from whence he moved to the South.
He had the misfortune to lose all of his children with the exception
of Johnston, whom he sent to New York for his education. This was in
the year 1790; but the young man, although he studied law with the
intention of becoming a member of the bar, gave up all idea of it
shortly after his father’s death. He left the University of North
Carolina, at which he was a student, and succeeded in getting a
midshipman’s warrant when he was nineteen years of age, much older than
the average run of reefers.
Blakeley was a favorite with all who knew him, and his loss was mourned
by all his countrymen.
XV
THE BATTLE OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN
[September 11th, 1814]
[Illustration: MEDAL PRESENTED BY CONGRESS TO CAPTAIN THOMAS MACDONOUGH]
The first Thomas Macdonough was a major in the Continental army,
and his three sons also possessed desires for entering the service
of their country. The oldest had been a midshipman under Commodore
Truxton, but being wounded in the action between the _Constellation_
and _L’Insurgent_, he had to retire from the navy owing to the
amputation of his leg. But his younger brother, Thomas Macdonough, Jr.,
succeeded him, and he has rendered his name and that of Lake Champlain
inseparable; but his fearlessness and bravery were shown on many
occasions long before he was ordered to the lakes.
In 1806 he was first lieutenant of the _Siren_, a little sloop of war
in the Mediterranean service. On one occasion when Captain Smith,
the commander of the _Siren_, had gone on shore, young Lieutenant
Macdonough saw a boat from a British frigate lying in the harbor row
up to an American brig a short distance off, and afterwards put out
again with one more man in her than she had originally. This looked
suspicious, and Macdonough sent to the brig to ascertain the reason,
with the result that he found that an American had been impressed by
the English captain’s orders. Macdonough quietly lowered his own boat,
and put after the heavy cutter, which he soon overhauled. Although
he had but four men with him, he took the man out of the cutter and
brought him on board the _Siren_. When the English captain heard,
or rather saw, what had occurred--it was right under the bow of his
frigate that the affair took place--he waxed wroth, and, calling away
his gig, he rowed to the _Siren_ to demand an explanation.
The following account of the incident is quoted from the life of
Macdonough in Frost’s _Naval Biography_:
“The Englishman desired to know how Macdonough dared to take a man from
one of His Majesty’s boats. The lieutenant, with great politeness,
asked him down into the cabin; this he refused, at the same time
repeating the same demand, with abundance of threats. The Englishman
threw out some threats that he would take the man by force, and said he
would haul the frigate alongside the _Siren_ for that purpose. To this
Macdonough replied that he supposed his ship could sink the _Siren_,
but as long as she could swim he should keep the man. The English
captain said to Macdonough:
“‘You are a very young man, and a very indiscreet young man. Suppose I
had been in the boat--what would you have done?’
“‘I would have taken the man or lost my life.’
“‘What, sir! would you attempt to stop me, if I were now to attempt to
impress men from that brig?’
“‘I would; and to convince yourself I would, you have only to make the
attempt.’
“On this the Englishman went on board his ship, and shortly afterwards
was seen bearing down in her in the direction of the American vessel.
Macdonough ordered his boat manned and armed, got into her himself, and
was in readiness for pursuit. The Englishman took a circuit around the
American brig, and returned again to the frigate. When Captain Smith
came on board he justified the conduct of Macdonough, and declared his
intention to protect the American seaman.”
Although Macdonough was very young, and his rank but that of a
lieutenant, people who knew him were not surprised to hear that he
had been appointed to take command of the little squadron on Lake
Champlain. These vessels were built of green pine, and almost without
exception constructed in a hurried fashion. They had to be of light
draught, and yet, odd to relate, their general model was the same as
that of ships that were expected to meet storms and high seas.
Macdonough was just the man for the place; as in the case of Perry, he
had a superb self-reliance and was eager to meet the enemy.
Lake Champlain and the country that surrounds it were considered
of great importance by the English, and, descending from Canada,
large bodies of troops poured into New York State. But the American
government had, long before the war was fairly started, recognized the
advantage of keeping the water communications on the northern frontier.
The English began to build vessels on the upper part of the lake, and
the small force of ships belonging to the Americans was increased as
fast as possible. It was a race to see which could prepare the better
fleet in the shorter space of time.
In the fall of the year 1814 the English had one fairly sized frigate,
the _Confiance_, mounting 39 guns; a brig, the _Linnet_; a sloop,
_Chubb_, and the sloop _Finch_; besides which they possessed thirteen
large galleys, aggregating 18 guns. In all, therefore, the English
fleet mounted 95 guns. The Americans had the _Saratoga_, sloop of war,
26 guns; the _Eagle_, 20; the _Ticonderoga_, 17; the _Preble_, 7; and
ten galleys carrying 16; their total armament was nine guns less than
the British.
By the first week in September, Sir George Prevost had organized
his forces, and started at the head of fourteen thousand men to the
southward. It was his intention to dislodge General Macomb, who was
stationed at Plattsburg, where considerable fortifications had been
erected. A great deal of the militia force had been drawn down the
State to the city of New York, owing to the fears then entertained
that the British intended making an attack upon the city from their
fleet. It was Sir George’s plan to destroy forever the power of the
Americans upon the lake, and for that reason it was necessary to
capture the naval force which had been for some time under the command
of Macdonough. The English leader arranged a plan with Captain Downie,
who was at the head of the squadron, that simultaneous attacks should
be made by water and land. At eight o’clock on the morning of September
11th news was brought to Lieutenant Macdonough that the enemy was
approaching. As his own vessels were in a good position to repel an
attack, he decided to remain at anchor, and await the onslaught in a
line formation. In about an hour the enemy had come within gunshot
distance, and formed a line of his own parallel with that of the
Americans. There was little or no breeze, and consequently small
chance for manoeuvring. The _Confiance_ evidently claimed the honor
of exchanging broadsides with the _Saratoga_. The _Linnet_ stopped
opposite the _Eagle_, and the galleys rowed in and began to fire at the
_Ticonderoga_ and the _Preble_.
Macdonough wrote such a clear and concise account of the action that it
is best to quote from it:
“... The whole force on both sides became engaged, the _Saratoga_
suffering much from the heavy fire of the _Confiance_. I could perceive
at the same time, however, that our fire was very destructive to her.
The _Ticonderoga_, Lieutenant-Commandant Cassin, gallantly sustained
her full share of the action. At half-past ten the _Eagle_, not being
able to bring her guns to bear, cut her cable, and anchored in a more
eligible position, between my ship and the _Ticonderoga_, where she
very much annoyed the enemy, but unfortunately leaving me exposed to a
galling fire from the enemy’s brig.
“Our guns on the starboard side being nearly all dismounted or
unmanageable, a stern-anchor was let go, the bower-cable cut, and the
ship winded with a fresh broadside on the enemy’s ship, which soon
after surrendered. Our broadside was then sprung to bear on the brig,
which struck about fifteen minutes afterwards. The sloop which was
opposed to the _Eagle_ had struck some time before, and drifted down
the line. The sloop which was with their galleys had also struck.
Three of their galleys are said to be sunk; the others pulled off. Our
galleys were about obeying with alacrity the signal to follow them,
when all the vessels were reported to me to be in a sinking state. It
then became necessary to annul the signal to the galleys, and order
their men to the pumps. I could only look at the enemy’s galleys going
off in a shattered condition; for there was not a mast in either
squadron that could stand to make sail on. The lower rigging, being
nearly all shot away, hung down as though it had just been placed over
the mast-heads.
“The _Saratoga_ had fifty-nine round shot in her hull; the _Confiance_
one hundred and five. The enemy’s shot passed principally just over our
heads, as there were not twenty whole hammocks in the nettings at the
close of the action, which lasted, without intermission, two hours and
twenty minutes.
“The absence and sickness of Lieutenant Raymond Perry left me without
the assistance of that able officer. Much ought fairly to be attributed
to him for his great care and attention in disciplining the ship’s
crew, as her first lieutenant. His place was filled by a gallant young
officer, Lieutenant Peter Gamble, who, I regret to inform you, was
killed early in the action.”
The English had begun the action as if they never doubted the result
being to their advantage, and before taking up their positions in the
line parallel to Macdonough’s, Downie had sailed upon the waiting
fleet bows on; thus most of his vessels had been severely raked before
they were able to return the fire. As soon as Sir George Prevost saw
the results of the action out on the water, he gave up all idea of
conquest, and began the retreat that left New York free to breathe
again. The frontier was saved. The hills and the shores of the lake had
been crowded with multitudes of farmers, and the two armies encamped on
shore had stopped their own preparations and fighting to watch.
Sir George Prevost had bombarded the American forts from the opposite
side of the River Saranac, and a brigade endeavored to ford the river
with the intention of attacking the rear of General Macomb’s position.
However, they got lost in the woods, and were recalled by a mounted
messenger just in time to hear the cheers and shouts of victory arise
from all about them.
In the battle the _Saratoga_ had twenty-eight men killed and
twenty-nine wounded, more than a quarter of her entire crew; the
_Eagle_ lost thirteen killed and twenty wounded; the _Ticonderoga_,
six killed and six wounded; the _Preble_, two killed; and the galleys,
three killed and three wounded. The _Saratoga_ was hulled fifty-five
times, and had caught on fire twice from the hot shot fired by the
_Confiance_. The latter vessel was reported to have lost forty-one
killed outright and eighty-three wounded. In all, the British loss was
eighty-four killed and one hundred and ten wounded.
Macdonough received substantial testimonials of gratitude from the
country at large, the Legislature of New York giving him one thousand
acres of land and the State of Vermont two hundred. Besides this, the
corporations of Albany and New York City made him the present of a
valuable lot, and from his old command in the Mediterranean he received
a handsome presentation sword.
XVI
THE LOSS OF THE “PRESIDENT”
[January 15th, 1815]
In recording the actions of the war of 1812 that gave lustre to our
navy and added to the records of its heroes, we have already included
two in which the results were defeat and capture of American ships. The
_Essex_ and the _Chesapeake_ are here referred to, the latter being the
only case in which the opposing forces approached an equality. There is
one other action still to be touched upon, which, though disastrous,
cannot but reflect honor upon those connected with it.
Stephen Decatur, the idol of the American service, had been given the
command of the frigate _President_, which had been refitting in the
harbor of New York.
On the evening of the 14th of January, 1815, he sailed into the lower
bay, intending to make his way to sea under cover of the night, as it
was known that a heavy squadron of the English had been hovering along
the coasts of New Jersey and Long Island.
In leaving the harbor near Sandy Hook, owing to some mistake of the
pilot, the _President_ grounded heavily on a sand-bar, and for an hour
and a half she struck continually in her efforts to escape, breaking
several of her rudder-braces and straining her seams so badly that
she commenced to leak very fast. Decatur determined to return to the
harbor, as he suspected, what was afterwards proved to be true, that
the _President_ had carried away part of her false keel, and was badly
hogged (_i. e._, broken and bent near her keelson). Owing to a strong
wind rising, it was found impossible to put the _President_ about, and
the tide being at the flood, it became necessary to force her over the
bar at all hazards. By ten o’clock that night she had succeeded in
freeing herself, and shaped her course along the shore of Long Island,
steering southeast by east.
Shortly after daybreak three ships were discovered ahead. The
_President_ hauled her wind and passed two miles to the northward of
them. As the morning mist disappeared, it was discovered that four
ships were in chase--one on each quarter and two astern. The leading
ship, from the height of her towering masts, was made out to be a
razee. She commenced firing, but at such a distance that the shot fell
short.
At twelve the steady breeze which had been blowing became light and
baffling. The _President_, despite her crippled condition, had left the
large vessel far behind, but the next ship astern was proving herself a
faster sailer, and was gradually gaining--creeping up with every puff
of wind. The _President_ sat deep in the water, and plunged downward
into the sea as if she had been waterlogged. Immediately all hands were
occupied in lightening the ship, starting the water in the butts,
cutting away the anchors, throwing overboard provisions, cables, spare
boats, and every article to be gotten at, while the men aloft were
hoisting buckets and keeping the sails wet from the royals down.
At three o’clock the large ship, which had been joined by a brig,
came up rapidly. It was the _Endymion_, mounting 50 guns, and she
commenced to fire as she neared with her forward battery, while Decatur
replied with his stern-chasers. Thus it continued for two hours, when
the Englishman obtained a position on the starboard quarter at less
than point-blank range, and maintained it so cleverly that neither
the _President’s_ stern nor quarter guns would bear. For half an
hour the vessels sailed on, firing occasional guns, and keeping back
their broadsides, the Englishman wishing, no doubt, to capture the
_President_ without crippling her, while Decatur hoped to be able to
close, as he had had his boarders waiting for some time. It became
evident, however, that the Englishman did not wish close quarters;
and as it was growing dusk, Decatur made up his mind to alter his
course farther to the south, for the purpose of bringing the enemy
abeam. Meanwhile the ships astern were approaching, and would soon be
within range. For two hours and a half longer the Englishman and the
_President_ sailed side by side, and the action gave cause for some
pretty writing and press controversy afterwards, as all unfinished
international contests will.
However, there is no question whatever that the _President_ during the
running fight completely disabled her antagonist, and at last left her
drifting round and round helplessly before eight o’clock had passed.
It was growing dark, but the other ships of the squadron could be made
out by their signal-lights, and to lower a boat to take possession of
the _Endymion_ was impossible. One more attempt Decatur made to avoid
capture, and to accomplish this he sailed close to the _Endymion_ and
exposed himself to a raking fire, being within range for over half an
hour, but not a shot was heard. The Englishman had been placed entirely
out of the combat.
At eleven it had lightened considerably, and two fresh ships of the
enemy had crawled up within gunshot. They were the _Pomone_ and the
_Tenedos_, heavy frigates. When within musket-shot the _Pomone_
opened fire on the larboard bow, and the _Tenedos_ swung across the
_President’s_ wake, taking a raking position on her quarter.
With a breaking heart the gallant Decatur saw that there was nothing
for it but surrender. One-fifth of his crew had been killed or wounded,
the ship was crippled aloft and leaking badly, and he hauled down his
flag.