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._]