THE ARMED SHIP AMERICA
OR
WHEN WE SAILED FROM SALEM
[Illustration: “IT WAS WITH DIFFICULTY THAT WE COULD MAKE OUR WAY TO THE
HEAD OF THE DOCK.”]
THE
ARMED SHIP AMERICA
OR
WHEN WE SAILED FROM SALEM
BY
JAMES OTIS
AUTHOR OF
“THE CRUISE OF THE COMET,” “THE BOYS OF
FORT SCHUYLER,” “JENNY WREN’S
BOARDING-HOUSE,” ETC.
Illustrated by
J. W. KENNEDY
[Illustration]
BOSTON
DANA ESTES & COMPANY
1900
_Copyright, 1900_
BY DANA ESTES & COMPANY
Colonial Press:
Electrotyped and Printed by C. H. Simonds & Co.
Boston, Mass., U. S. A.
“In the United States every possible encouragement should be given to
privateering in time of war with a commercial nation. We have tens
of thousands of seamen that without it would be destitute of the
means of support, and useless to their country. Our national ships
are too few in number to give employment to one-twentieth part of
them, or retaliate the acts of the enemy. By licensing private-armed
vessels, the whole naval force of the nation is truly brought to
bear on the foe; and while the contest lasts, that it may have the
speedier termination, let every individual contribute his mite, in the
best way he can, to distress and harass the enemy, and compel him to
peace.”--_From a letter written by Thomas Jefferson, July 4, 1812._
NOTE.
A package of manuscript, the pages of which had evidently been cut from
an old ledger or journal, each leaf yellowed by time and worn as if
with much use, lately came into the possession of him who, rightfully
or wrongfully, claims to be the author of the yarn spun between these
covers. Both sides of the paper were covered with writing in a boyish
hand, and much of the subject matter related to private affairs such
as could be of no especial interest to the general reader. All that
had reference to the cruise of the private-armed ship _America_, and
the doings of the writer, Nathan Crowninshield, and his comrade, Simon
Ropes, has been preserved herein. It is set down very nearly as it
was written eighty years ago, by the lad from Salem, who, at the time
of preparing the manuscript, was living on Staten Island in New York
Bay. That it is a true and faithful account of the eventful cruise, we
know full well, since the more important happenings have been verified
by documents to be found in the custom-houses at Salem, Boston, and
Portland, Maine.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER PAGE
I. AN OPPORTUNITY 13
II. UNDER WAY 28
III. OMENS 43
IV. GHOSTS 59
V. THE PRISONERS 74
VI. A STERN CHASE 89
VII. A LIVELY SCRIMMAGE 105
VIII. CHEERING INFORMATION 120
IX. THE OUTBREAK 134
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
“IT WAS WITH DIFFICULTY THAT WE COULD MAKE OUR
WAY TO THE HEAD OF THE DOCK.” _Frontispiece_
“THE OLD GUNNER STRAIGHTENED HIMSELF UP, SURVEYING
BOTH SIMON AND ME.” 30
“‘I AM NOT ASKING YOU LADS TO TELL TALES OUT OF
SCHOOL,’ THE CAPTAIN SAID.” 46
“SUDDENLY I SAW, RISING OUT FROM THE FORECASTLE
HATCHWAY, A WHITE MASS.” 62
“‘WE DON’T COUNT ON GIVING A DOUBLE PORTION TO ANY
ONE OF YOU THIS NOON.’” 87
“WHAT A CHEER WENT UP FROM OUR MEN.” 131
“WE DIVIDED OURSELVES INTO TWO WATCHES.” 135
“IN ANOTHER INSTANT THE BOARDING PIKE WOULD HAVE
FOUND ITS WAY THROUGH MY BODY.” 140
THE ARMED SHIP AMERICA;
OR,
WHEN WE SAILED FROM SALEM.
CHAPTER I.
AN OPPORTUNITY.
It is not my intention to claim that Simon Ropes, son of that famous
mariner, Captain Joseph Ropes, or myself, Nathan Crowninshield, nephew
and cousin of the well-known Salem firm of ship-owners, the Messrs.
George Crowninshield and Sons, bore any important part in the war
between the United States and Great Britain which was begun in the
year 1812; but that we two lads did all which might be expected from
youngsters of our age is a fact that can be proven by more than one
sailing-master or seaman hailing from the Massachusetts coast.
It is near to eight years since Simon Ropes and I signed articles for a
cruise on board the private-armed ship _America_.
Then Simon, who was the elder, had just turned fifteen years, and I was
three months his junior.
Why we were allowed to ship on board such a famous craft as the
_America_, should be set down first in this tale, which I am writing
simply in order that, after we have grown to be old men, it may be
possible for us to recall more minutely the events in which we bore
some little share than if we trusted solely to memory.
If, perchance, this poor attempt at what a clerkly mind might fashion
into a most entertaining story should at any time come into the
possession of others, it is well that I repeat why it has been written,
lest strangers think I did it simply for the self-glorification of
Simon and myself, instead of which the tale has been preserved, if it
so chance it be preserved any length of time, for the purpose of making
public the doings of all on board that armed ship hailing from Salem,
which wrought so much injury to British shipping.
The _America_ was built in Salem, in 1804, and should have been given
some other name because of the fact that many have since believed her
to be the same craft which made a cruise in 1802, when the United
States was at war with France.
Our ship was Salem built, of three hundred and fifty tons burthen,
carrying twenty guns, and with a complement of from one hundred and
fifty to one hundred and seventy-five men.
She was then, and I believe of a verity is now, the fastest ship
afloat, being credited with having brought into port, during this last
war, one million, one hundred thousand dollars’ worth of property; with
having destroyed nearly as much more, and netting her owners, between
September of 1812 and April, 1815, six hundred thousand dollars.
She is owned by the Messrs. George Crowninshield and Sons, the senior
member of which firm is my uncle, a whole-souled, generous man, as
all who know him can testify, and none better than myself; for from
the time my father, Captain Benjamin Crowninshield, died, which was
in 1810, Uncle George cared for the widow and son of his brother more
tenderly than the majority of men care for their own.
It was in August of the year 1812 when the _America_ was overhauled and
made ready for a privateering cruise. Previous to that time she had
been in the merchant service, and earned for herself much credit, it
being stated by those who sailed her that there was nothing afloat to
which she could not show her heels.
When the people of the United States had finally discovered that
patience ceased to be a virtue, that the time was arrived when we
as a nation should protect our own seamen against Great Britain’s
press-gangs, my uncle and cousins decided that the good ship _America_
should take part in the struggle, by teaching the Britishers a much
needed lesson at the same time that she brought in many dollars to her
owners.
Captain Joseph Ropes, Simon’s father, was allowed to be the most
skilful navigator and the ablest sailing-master in the United States.
In view of what has been done since then by privateersmen from
Portland and Baltimore, it would seem as if that which has just been
set down is a rash statement, and yet must I hold to it, for when the
war broke out Captain Joseph could have commanded any vessel, outside
the navy, which struck his fancy.
We of Salem believed, and this belief was afterward proven to be
correct, that the _America_ was by long odds the finest craft of her
kind afloat, and therefore the people along the Massachusetts coast
took it for granted that she would be commanded by Captain Ropes.
The ship was well worthy such a master, and certain it was she would
never come to grief through any carelessness or misjudgment of his.
Therefore, when it was announced that Captain Ropes would sail the
_America_, no one in or around Salem expressed surprise, or even
intimated that a better choice could have been made.
While the ship was being fitted for sea, Simon and I, as may be
supposed, were constantly on board of her, watching the men as they
put in place the twenty formidable-looking guns, and listening to the
yarns told by old Joshua Seabury, who had, during the war with Tripoli,
proven himself as good a gunner as he was seaman, than which no greater
praise could be bestowed.
“Master Josh,” we lads designated him, and very careful were we to tack
on the “Master” since the day he flogged Daniel Kelley with a rope’s
end, for daring to call him “Josh.”
A good friend to Simon and me was the gunner, and, before he had been
given the charge of superintending the arming of the _America_, he
spent much time with us two lads, spinning yarns of his adventures with
the Tripolitan pirates.
There was not another lad in Salem allowed to come over the rail of
the _America_ while Master Josh was aboard, and even though one of us
was the nephew of the owner, and the other the son of the captain,
we two would have been denied the privilege but for the fact of our
friendliness with the old gunner.
We little dreamed, during the early days of the war, that through the
old man’s friendship we would become members of the famous ship’s crew,
for where there were so many eager to sign articles it did not seem
likely Captain Ropes would lumber his craft with green lads.
From the first hour the work of arming the ship was begun, Simon and I
watched keenly every portion of the work, and I question if a single
block was put in place, if the smallest rope or hawser was stretched,
without our knowledge. When Master Josh desired to send word ashore,
either Simon or I was selected as the messenger. In case any trifling
task within our power was to be performed, the old sailor called upon
us for assistance, as if we were in duty bound to render it, and
right proud were we of such distinction, for it was a distinction
to be ordered here or there by a man who had fought the Tripolitan
pirates,--a man who had borne his share in the destruction of the
_Philadelphia_ when she lay beneath the guns of Tripoli.
Well, this condition of affairs, so far as we two lads were concerned,
went on throughout the month of August, and until the ship was so
far in readiness for the cruise that the water and provisions were
being put on board. Then Simon and I were literally astounded by a
proposition which the old gunner made as if it was the natural outcome
of events.
We two lads were lounging around the gun-deck after the day’s work had
come to a close. Master Josh was seated on a small-arms-chest smoking
his pipe and enjoying a well-earned rest before turning in.
Simon, believing we had earned the right to hear a yarn from the old
gunner, began leading up to the subject by asking questions concerning
the destruction of the _Philadelphia_, knowing full well that once we
could get Master Josh warmed up to the affair, he would hold to it so
long as we might be able to listen.
On this night the scheme was not a success, much to our disappointment.
He answered Simon’s questions curtly, while his mind seemed to be far
away from that which he ordinarily was only too willing to hold forth
on, and I was beginning to feel as if we had been in a certain measure
defrauded of our rights, when Master Josh said suddenly, startling me
almost out of my wits by the boldness of the idea:
“Are you two lads countin’ on shippin’ aboard this ’ere craft?”
“Do you mean Nathan and me?” Simon asked, in astonishment.
“Ay, lad, and why not ‘Nathan and me’?”
“Why not?” Simon repeated. “Do you allow that my father would take
on two boys, when able seamen are tumbling over each other in their
eagerness to ship aboard the _America_?”
“Well, what of that?” and the old man puffed vigorously at his pipe.
“I reckon we would stand little chance against those who are begging
Captain Ropes for permission to ship aboard this craft,” I said, and
for the hundredth time there came into my heart the thought that, if
we might be allowed to join the crew, it was possible we could show
ourselves worthy the great honour; but yet I realised how hopeless was
such an ambition.
“How old was your father when he first went to sea?” Master Josh asked
of Simon.
“Nearly three years younger than I am now.”
“An’ I allow some captain gave him a chance, else he never’d earned the
name he’s made.”
“That goes without saying,” Simon replied, as if in bewilderment, for
he failed to understand what the old man was driving at.
“Then it stands to reason he should do as good a service for his own
son; an’ if George Crowninshield can’t serve his nephew a friendly turn
at a time when everything is to be gained, things have come to a pretty
pass.”
Simon and I stared at the old man in silence, for it seemed much as if
he had taken leave of his senses.
From the moment it was known that the _America_ would be armed as a
privateer, the ablest seamen from far and near were coming into Salem
with the hope of being allowed to ship on board her, and one could not
walk the length of the town without hearing on this corner or on that
speculations as to who would be the lucky men when the articles were
ready for the signing.
The old gunner smoked on, as if the subject had come to an end so far
as he was concerned, and, the hope which had been so often in my heart
growing stronger, I ventured to ask, but with a certain hesitation as
if I were simply proving my folly:
“Do you suppose, Master Josh, that it would be of any use for Simon and
me to beg of Captain Ropes or Uncle George that we be allowed to go on
this cruise?”
“Do you suppose, Nathan Crowninshield, that Captain Ropes or Uncle
George would get down on their knees an’ beg you two to come on this
’ere cruise, if it so be you never let on that you was achin’ for the
chance?” Master Josh asked, mockingly.
I caught at the words eagerly, believing, as I afterward came to know
was the truth, that in them lay a suggestion to us.
The old man had no mind to openly advise us lads to apply for a berth
aboard the _America_, but would have been well pleased for us to do so.
Instead of continuing the conversation, Master Josh smothered the fire
in the bowl of his pipe with his thumb, and, without giving further
heed to us, walked forward, leaving Simon and me staring at each other
as we tried to put into shape the thoughts aroused by his words, which
were forming themselves in our minds.
How long we sat there gazing at each other like a couple of stupids I
know not, but after a certain time it flashed across me that we were
showing ourselves dull indeed by not following the advice contained in
the old man’s words, and moving closely to Simon, as if fearing some
one might overhear and make sport of us for having such high and mighty
notions, I whispered:
“Surely it can do no harm if we apply for berths on board this ship?”
“Are you so puffed up as to believe that we might be allowed to sign
articles?” Simon asked, in a scornful tone, and, now grown bold because
of increased hope, I said, as if having weighed well the matter,
although of a verity it had come only with Master Josh’s speech:
“There’s an old saying, that if nothing be ventured nothing can be
gained, and surely we shall be in no serious condition if your father
and my uncle refuse permission for us to become members of the crew.”
“We are like to gain their laughter and scorn; but nothing more,” Simon
replied.
“Well, and surely that is not so serious a matter. In these times two
men will hardly give many hours to making sport of a couple of lads,
and, as Master Josh has said, they will never ask us to join the crew
unless we show a desire.”
“I am not of the mind to make such a simple of myself,” Simon replied,
doggedly; whereat, nettled by his words, I said, bravely:
“If you but come with me I will do the talking, and afterward, if it so
be your pleasure, you may deny that there was in your mind any idea we
might be taken on.”
He looked at me for a moment as if questioning whether I was in my
right mind, and then said, in the tone of one who would drive a sharp
bargain:
“If you make the request known this night, Nathan Crowninshield, I will
stand by your side while the words are spoken, and take upon myself
such blame as may follow; but it must be done before we go to bed, for
I’ll not try to sleep while there’s any prospect of such a possibility.”
“By those words you are admitting there is a chance that we be allowed
to ship.”
“Perhaps so.”
“Then come with me, and we’ll have the matter settled at once. I am
ready to do even more than make a simple request, on the possibility
that we might leave port on board this ship.”
“My father was to be in your uncle’s counting-room to-night, so I heard
him tell mother, and if your courage holds good, we two may be laughed
at by all the clerks in the Crowninshields’ office before an hour has
passed.”
Simon could have pursued no wiser course, had he wished to urge me on
to such a step; for by his tone I understood him to intimate that I was
afraid to make the attempt, and without further parley I cried:
“Follow me, unless it so be you are afraid! I count on asking
permission from the captain and owner of this ship to sail in her, when
she goes forth to work destruction upon British craft.”
Then, perhaps, fearing lest the courage should ooze out at my fingers’
ends, I went rapidly on deck, over the rail, and headed straight for
the office of the owners.
Under almost any other circumstances I would not have dared to enter
that portion of the counting-room where my Uncle George transacted the
more private business of the concern; but at this time I was made bold
by desperation, knowing full well that a delay of five minutes or more
might serve to shake the resolution I had formed.
My Uncle George and Captain Ropes were holding what I could well fancy
was a private consultation on matters concerning the ship, and both
looked up in surprise, not unmixed with anger, when we two lads stood
before them.
I knew from the expression on my uncle’s face that it was in his mind
to say something harsh concerning our intrusion; and, feeling as if I
had destroyed what little chance we might have had by such a display of
rudeness, I blurted out the request which was formed in my mind, before
either of the gentlemen had time to speak.
“We have come to ask that we be allowed to ship on board the _America_,
and do so because of certain words just let fall by Master Josh,” I
said, using every effort to speak distinctly, and at the same time
rapidly. “My excuse for thus venturing here unbidden is that I dared
not wait longer lest I lack the courage to make the request.”
“What has Joshua Seabury been saying to you?” my uncle asked, sharply.
“Why should he above all others think that two boys may be allowed to
call themselves members of an armed ship’s crew?”
Being thus called upon to defend myself, as it were, I repeated in
substance the few words the old man had spoken, laying considerable
stress upon the fact that Captain Ropes was three years younger than
Simon and me when he first went to sea, and urging that, if Master Josh
would take us under his tuition, we should beyond a question pay our
footing, even though we might not earn the smallest wages.
Because of the fear--I might almost say the belief, that our request
would be treated with disdain, and thinking another opportunity to make
our wishes known might not present itself, I succeeded in stating our
case fairly well, as I believed.
Before having concluded with all the arguments which presented
themselves to my mind, I saw Captain Ropes look at his son in a
friendly fashion, and then glance inquiringly at my uncle, whereat the
latter, observing the mute question, answered:
“Two lads like those would simply be so much useless lumber aboard the
ship, eh, captain?”
My heart sank at what I believed was the beginning of a refusal; but
rose very suddenly when Simon’s father replied, with an air which told
that he considered our request in a certain degree important:
“Unless we count on setting some of the men to do boy’s duty, we are
like to need a few lads, Master Crowninshield.”
“Ay; but you want such as have had some experience.”
“If old Joshua Seabury cares to take these two lads under his wing,
I’ll answer for it they will be experienced before we get well settled
down to our work,” the captain replied, grimly, and Simon furtively
kicked me, as if to say that fortune was smiling upon us.
“I question much if your mother would give her permission for you to
join the _America’s_ crew, Nathan,” my uncle said, after a brief pause.
“She is willing, sir, that I become a sailor, as was my father before
me, and surely could not refuse her permission if I should have such
opportunity of serving an apprenticeship as would come under the
command of a sailor like Captain Ropes.”
“You have turned that nicely, my lad,” Simon’s father said, with a
chuckle, “and if it so be Master Crowninshield is willing to trust you
aboard the _America_, my boy shall go, too; but I give you both fair
warning that you will be treated the same as any lads whom I had never
seen.”
“We ask for nothing more than that, sir,” Simon said, quickly, and I
understood, although the formal permission had not really been given,
that we two boys were favoured far above many able seamen of Salem,
inasmuch as we would leave port on board the staunchest and swiftest
privateer afloat.
Well, not to make too many words of what is in fact a short story, it
is enough for me to say that, when Simon Ropes and I went to bed that
night, it was with the knowledge that on the following morning we might
present ourselves to the old gunner as lads belonging to the _America_,
under his charge.
It is true my mother wept some while I gleefully told her of the good
fortune which was mine; but never a word did she speak against the
project, for again and again had we talked of the day when I should set
off to follow in my father’s footsteps.
She must have realised that in a lifetime I might never hope to have
such an opportunity of becoming a sailor as now presented itself,
and while I doubt not that her heart trembled as she thought of our
engaging in a regular battle, no remonstrance was made against it.
Simon Ropes and I did not give words to the exultation both felt, when
we parted for the night.
Already had we begun to realise the responsibilities which would be
ours. Even now we understood somewhat of the sorrow that must come when
we parted with our mothers, and had a vague idea that when we left
Salem it might be never to return.
Therefore it was we gave token of our joy only by a silent clasp of the
hand.
I am not ashamed to set it down that my pillow was wet with tears that
night, as I lay thinking of the many days which must pass before I
should see my home again, if indeed I ever did, and I dwelt much longer
on my mother’s grief and my own loneliness, when we should be parted,
than on the glory which might be mine in case I lived to be clasped in
her loving arms again.