There was another famous American sailor who came out of New Jersey, who
was perhaps of as much value to his country as any other naval
commander, although he was not the hero of any great sea fights.
This was Robert F. Stockton, who was born in Princeton, and who entered
the navy early in life. He became an excellent officer and a great
fighter. His disposition to do battle showed itself not only in leading
men into action, but in doing a great deal of fighting himself. He
distinguished himself in several naval combats during the war with
Algiers. He commanded the "Spitfire" during this war, and, besides
taking one of the enemy's vessels in an ordinary naval combat, he
captured an Algerine brig, one might almost say, with his own hands.
With as many men as a small boat could carry, he left his vessel, rowed
to this brig, and at the head of his bold sailors boarded her,
vanquished the crew, and carried her off as a prize.
He was afterwards transferred to a larger vessel, and was stationed for
a time at Gibraltar. There was a very bad feeling at that time between
the American naval officers and those of Great Britain. The War of 1812
was over; but the British were not inclined to treat the officers of the
United States Navy with the respect which the latter thought was due to
them. Stockton was not a man to stand still and allow himself to be
treated disrespectfully; and whenever he received anything that seemed
like an insult from a British officer, he was ready to fight that
officer, whoever he might be. It is said that at one time he challenged
all the officers in Gibraltar to meet him in single combat, one after
another, and he actually did engage in duels with several of them.
During the British war and the Algerine war, Stockton distinguished
himself in various ways, both on land and sea. But in 1821 he undertook
a very important enterprise in Africa. Many naval vessels had gone from
the United States to Africa, but none of them on an errand such as this.
Our gallant Jersey captain did not sail to pay tribute, bombard cities,
sink vessels, humble African potentates, or to shed African blood; he
went on an errand of charity and humanity.
He sailed from America in the interests of the Colonization Society, and
his object was to make arrangements on the west coast of Africa for the
establishment of a colony, to be composed of negroes who had been slaves
in the United States, but who had obtained their freedom. There were
many humane people in the United States who believed that the negroes
who had been set free from slavery would be much happier and more likely
to prosper in their native land, or in the land of their ancestors, than
in the United States.
In company with an agent of this society, Stockton sailed for the west
coast of Africa in command of an armed schooner called the "Alligator;"
and when he arrived at his destination, he took upon himself nearly all
the difficult work of selecting territory suitable for the purposes
desired, of buying land from the savage natives, of making them
understand the character of the settlers who were coming to Africa and
of the powerful nation who intended to protect them. He made treaties of
commerce and friendship with the ignorant Africans, who, until he came,
scarcely knew what was meant by a treaty.
The performance of these complicated and difficult duties required a man
of courage and diplomatic ability, who could take things as they came,
and who was always ready to act promptly in sudden emergencies. Stockton
proved himself to be that man, and he established in the native land of
the negro a country to which the Africans who had once been slaves in
the United States might freely go, carrying with them all that they had
learned of civilization in this country, and where they might live
without fear of reënslavement by the warlike tribes, whose principal
business in life then was to capture their fellow-countrymen, and sell
them into slavery.
This new country, which was called Liberia, was at first a colony of the
United States. It grew and prospered, and in 1847 it became an
independent nation, and soon after was recognized as such by Great
Britain and the United States; and since then it has made treaties with
most of the European countries.
Thus was established the new nation of Liberia, and it is not likely
that there was a man in the United States who could have accomplished
this great work better than the fighting sailor from Princeton.
After having finished the Liberian business on land, Stockton did some
work at sea more in the line of a naval commander. While sailing along
the coast, the "Alligator" was sighted by a Portuguese war vessel, the
"Marianna Flora," who mistook her for a pirate, and determined to
capture her. But when the "Marianna" got near enough, and opened fire on
the supposed pirate, she found that the work she had undertaken was very
different from what she had expected. To speak figuratively, the
"Alligator" lashed her tail, opened her jaws, and began to fight with
such fury, that in twenty minutes the "Marianna" was beaten and
captured. Stockton put her under the command of one of his own officers
with an American crew, and sent her away as a prize to America.
The government of Portugal, when it heard what had happened, declared,
that, as their country and the United States were not at war, our Jersey
sailor had no right to take one of their vessels; but, as it was
asserted on the other side that one of their vessels had first tried to
take his, there seemed to be a good deal of justice in what had been
done. However, the matter was settled by his exoneration from all blame
in the matter, and the return of the "Marianna" to Portugal.
Some time later, the "Alligator" fell in with a French slave ship and
captured her; and it is stated that the legal proceedings which
followed this capture established the point of international law, that
war vessels of all nations have a perfect right to capture a slave ship,
wherever it may be found. This was the first step in the work of
breaking up the slave trade, which was then carried on by many of the
civilized nations of the world.
In later cruises, Stockton sailed about in the West Indies, capturing
several slavers, and also making a vigorous war on pirates and
freebooters, who at that time made the vicinity of these islands very
dangerous for peaceable vessels.
In 1838 our commander was made a captain. There was no war now in which
he might engage, but his mind was very busily occupied in regard to the
proper construction of war vessels. In 1841 the United States Navy did
not possess a single steamship. They were all old-style sailing vessels.
Several steamers had been planned: one had blown up, and two others were
still on the stocks. But Captain Stockton did not believe that if these
were finished they would be effective as vessels of war. One great
reason for this was the fact that their engines were situated so near
the upper deck, that a shot from an enemy might easily destroy them, and
so render the vessel worthless. Another objection was that they were
side-wheelers, and it would be a very easy thing for a cannon ball to
knock an exposed side-wheel into a worthless condition.
Stockton's idea was to put the engines and machinery deep down in the
vessel, below the water line, where it would be almost impossible to
injure them, and to have the ship moved by means of a submerged screw
in the stern, instead of by paddle wheels. The naval constructors and
authorities opposed this new-fangled scheme; but our New Jersey sailor
was an energetic man in whatever he had to do, and he fought the naval
constructors as vigorously as he ever fought a pirate. Consequently he
got authority from Congress to build a war ship after his own plan, and
arm it with cannon, which he thought would be much better than the guns
then in use in the navy.
Under Stockton's directions, there was built at Philadelphia a vessel of
war, which he named the "Princeton," and which was constructed according
to his plans. On her deck were two great guns of wrought iron, which
were also devised by him; and each of these carried a two hundred and
twenty-five pound shot,--much heavier than those then used in naval
warfare.
Great public interest was excited in the "Princeton," the first
steamship of our navy, and on her trial trip she was found to be an
excellent seagoing vessel. She went to Washington, and there started out
on an excursion, during which her great guns were to be tried. There was
a very distinguished company on board,--officers of the army and navy,
and several members of the Cabinet, and other guests.
It was found, however, that the ship was much superior to her great
guns; for when one of them, named the "Peacemaker," was fired, it
exploded, killing several people, among whom were the secretary of war,
the secretary of the navy, and the father-in-law of the President;
while others, including Captain Stockton, were wounded.
This terrible event shocked the whole nation; but although there were no
more wrought-iron cannon made, the building of naval steamships, which
began with Stockton's "Princeton," went steadily on, growing and
improving, until it reached the high point shown by the swift and
powerful ironclad men-of-war which now fly the stars and stripes.
In 1846 Stockton found himself on the coast of California, with the rank
of commodore, and in command of a squadron. Since he had started from
the United States, war had been declared with Mexico; and when he
arrived, the towns of Monterey and San Francisco had been taken by
Commodore Sloat, who had preceded him. A state of war exactly suited
Stockton's disposition; and as there was no more immediate need of
fighting on the seacoast, he organized a little army of marines and
sailors from his ships, which was afterwards joined by a body of
adventurers and hunters of the United States, and also by
Lieutenant-Colonel Frémont, an officer of the United States Army, who
had been sent into that region to explore the country, and who had
already done some fighting with the little band under his command.
Los Angeles, the Mexican capital of California, was attacked and taken.
Commodore Stockton now declared himself the conqueror of California, and
organized a provisional government for the captured territory,
appointing John C. Frémont as governor.
At the same time, however, there was another Jerseyman in the field
intent upon the capture of California. This was General Stephen Kearney,
an army officer who had made a wonderful march across the plains and
mountains towards the coast. After he arrived on the scene, there were
several battles with the Mexican forces and with the Indians; but the
contest ended in a complete victory for the land forces commanded by
Kearney from Newark, and the naval forces by Stockton from Princeton,
under whom Frémont held his position.
But now arose a dispute between the general and the commodore. When
Kearney arrived at Los Angeles, he would not recognize the authority of
Frémont, who had been appointed governor by Stockton, because he
considered that an army officer is higher in rank than one in the navy;
and he took the governorship himself. A court-martial was convened for
the purpose of deciding the question, and it was settled that Kearney
was of the higher rank, and he therefore retained the governorship. But
between the two Jerseymen the United States obtained the land of gold.
A year or two after this, Commodore Stockton resigned from the navy, and
subsequently went to Congress as a senator from New Jersey. But although
no longer in the navy, he did not cease to work for the benefit of the
brave sailors he had so often commanded and led; and he obtained the
passage of a bill abolishing the punishment of flogging in the navy,
thus adding another great gift to his country and civilization.
When the country which had been captured from Mexico was discovered to
be not only a fertile and pleasant land, but a land filled with rich
treasures of gold, the true value of the gift made to the United States
by our two Jerseymen became known and appreciated; and the names of
Stockton and Kearney, with that of the brave Frémont, will ever be
associated with that State whose principal water portal is well called
the "Golden Gate."
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