1815
CONCLUDING OPERATIONS
_President_ captured by Captain Hayes' squadron--Successful cutting-out
expeditions of the Americans--Privateer brig _Chasseur_ captures
St. Lawrence schooner--_Constitution_ captures_ Cyane_ and
_Levant_--Escapes from a British squadron--The _Hornet_ captures the
_Penguin_, and escapes from a 74--The _Peacock_ and the
_Nautilus_--Summary--Remarks on the war--Tables of comparative
loss, etc.--Compared with results of Anglo-French struggle.
The treaty of peace between the United States and Great Britain was
signed at Ghent, Dec. 24, 1814, and ratified at Washington, Feb. 18,
1815. But during these first two months of 1815, and until the news
reached the cruisers on the ocean, the warfare went on with much
the same characteristics as before. The blockading squadrons continued
standing on and off before the ports containing war-ships with the
same unwearying vigilance; but the ice and cold prevented any attempts
at harrying the coast except from the few frigates scattered along
the shores of the Carolinas and Georgia. There was no longer any
formidable British fleet in the Chesapeake or Delaware, while at
New Orleans the only available naval force of the Americans consisted
of a few small row-boats, with which they harassed the rear of the
retreating British. The _Constitution_, Capt. Stewart, was already
at sea, having put out from Boston on the 17th of December, while
the blockading squadron (composed of the same three frigates she
subsequently encountered) was temporarily absent.
The _Hornet_, Capt. Biddle, had left the port of New London, running
in heavy weather through the blockading squadron, and had gone into
New York, where the _President_, Commodore Decatur, and _Peacock_,
Capt. Warrington, with the _Tom Bowline_ brig were already assembled,
intending to start on a cruise for the East Indies. The blockading
squadron off the port consisted of the 56-gun razee _Majestic_, Capt.
Hayes, 24-pounder frigate _Endymion_, Capt. Hope, 18-pounder frigate
_Pomone_, Capt. Lumly, and 18-pounder frigate _Tenedos_, Capt. Parker.
[Footnote: Letter of Rear-Admiral Hotham, Jan 23, 1815.] On the
14th of January a severe snow-storm came on and blew the squadron
off the coast. Next day it moderated, and the ships stood off to
the northwest to get into the track which they supposed the Americans
would take if they attempted to put out in the storm. Singularly
enough, at the instant of arriving at the intended point, an hour
before daylight on the 15th, Sandy Hook bearing W.N.W. 15 leagues,
a ship was made out, on the Majestic's weather-bow, standing S.E.
[Footnote: Letter of Capt. Hayes, Jan. 17, 1815.] This ship was
the unlucky _President_. On the evening of the 14th she had left
her consorts at anchor, and put out to sea in the gale. But by a
mistake of the pilots who were to place boats to beacon the passage
the frigate struck on the bar, where she beat heavily for an hour
and a half, [Footnote: Letter of Commodore Decatur, Jan. 18, 1815.]
springing her masts and becoming very much hogged and twisted.
[Footnote: Report of Court-martial, Alex. Murray presiding. April
20, 1815.] Owing to the severity of her injuries the _President_
would have put back to port, but was prevented by the westerly gale.
[Footnote: Decatur's letter, Jan. 18th.] Accordingly Decatur steered
at first along Long Island, then shaped his course to the S.E., and
in the dark ran into the British squadron, which, but for his unfortunate
accident, he would thus have escaped. At daylight, the _President_,
which had hauled up and passed to the northward of her opponents,
[Footnote: Decatur's letter. Jan. 18th.] found herself with the
_Majestic_ and _Endymion_ astern, the _Pomona_ on the port and the
_Tenedos_ on the starboard quarter. [Footnote: James, vi, 529.]
The chase now became very interesting. [Footnote: Letter of Capt.
Hayes.] During the early part of the day, while the wind was still
strong, the _Majestic_ led the _Endymion_ and fired occasionally
at the _President_, but without effect. [Footnote: Letter of Commodore
Decatur.] The _Pomona_ gained faster than the others, but by Capt.
Hayes' orders was signalled to go in chase of the _Tenedos_, whose
character the captain could not make out [Footnote: James, vi, 529.];
and this delayed her several hours in the chase. [Footnote: Log of
_Pomona_, published at Bermuda, Jan. 29th, and quoted in full in
the "Naval Chronicle," xxxiii. 370.] In the afternoon, the wind
coming out light and baffling, the _Endymion_ left the _Majestic_
behind, [Footnote: Letter of Captain Hayes.] and, owing to the
_President's_ disabled state and the amount of water she made in
consequence of the injuries received while on the bar, gained rapidly
on her, [Footnote: Letter of Decatur.] although she lightened ship
and did everything else that was possible to improve her sailing.
[Footnote: Letter of Decatur.] But a shift of wind helped the
_Endymion_, [Footnote: Cooper, ii, 466.] and the latter was able
at about 2.30, to begin skirmishing with her bow-chasers, answered
by the stern-chasers of the _President_. [Footnote: Log of _Pomona_.]
At 5.30 the _Endymion_ began close action, [Footnote: Letter of Capt.
Hayes.] within half point-blank shot on the _President's_ starboard
quarter, [Footnote: James, vi, 530.] where not a gun of the latter
could bear. [Footnote: Letter of Decatur.] The _President_ continued
in the same course, steering east by north, the wind being northwest,
expecting the _Endymion_ soon to come up abeam; but the latter warily
kept her position by yawing, so as not to close. [Footnote: Letter
of Decatur.] So things continued for half an hour during which the
_President_ suffered more than during all the remainder of the combat.
[Footnote: Cooper, 470.] At 6.00 the _President_ kept off, heading
to the south, and the two adversaries ran abreast, the Americans
using the starboard and the British the port batteries. [Footnote:
Log of _Pomone_.] Decatur tried to close with his antagonist, but
whenever he hauled nearer to the latter she hauled off [Footnote:
Report of Court-martial.] and being the swiftest ship could of course
evade him; so he was reduced to the necessity of trying to throw
her out of the combat [Footnote: Letter of Commodore Decatur.] by
dismantling her. He was completely successful in this, and after
two hours' fighting the _Endymion's_ sails were all cut from her
yards [Footnote: Letter of Capt. Hayes.] and she dropped astern,
the last shot being fired from the _President_. [Footnote: Log of
_Pomone_.] The _Endymion_ was now completely silent, [Footnote: Log
of _Pomone_.] and Commodore Decatur did not board her merely because
her consorts were too close astern [Footnote: Report of Court-martial.];
accordingly the _President_ hauled up again to try her chances at
running, having even her royal studding-sails set, [Footnote: James,
vi, 538.] and exposed her stern to the broadside of the _Endymion_,
[Footnote: Letter of Commodore Decatur.] but the latter did not fire
a single gun. [Footnote: Log of the _Pomone_.] Three hours afterward,
at 11, [Footnote: Letter of Capt. Hayes.] the _Pomone_ caught up
with the _President_, and luffing to port gave her the starboard
broadside [Footnote: Log of the _Pomone_.]; the _Tenedos_ being two
cables' length's distance astern, taking up a raking position.
[Footnote: Decatur's letter.] The _Pomone_ poured in another broadside,
within musket shot, [Footnote: Log of _Pomone_.] when the _President_
surrendered and was taken possession of by Capt. Parker of the
_Tenedos_. [Footnote: James, vi, 531.] A considerable number of the
_President's_ people were killed by these two last broadsides.
[Footnote: Letter of Commodore Decatur, March 6, 1815; deposition
of Chaplain Henry Robinson before Admiralty Court at St. Georges,
Bermuda, Jan. 1815.] The _Endymion_ was at this time out of sight
astern. [Footnote: Letter of Decatur, Jan. 18th.] She did not come
up, according to one account, for an hour and three quarters,
[Footnote: Log of _Pomone_.] and according to another, for three
hours [Footnote: Letter of Decatur, Mar. 6th.]; and as she was a
faster ship than the _President_, this means that she was at least
two hours motionless repairing damages. Commodore Decatur delivered
his sword to Capt. Hayes of the _Majestic_, who returned it, stating
in his letter that both sides had fought with great gallantry.
[Footnote: Letter of Capt. Hayes.] The _President_ having been taken
by an entire squadron, [Footnote: Admiral Hotham's letter, Jan. 23rd.]
the prize-money was divided equally among the ships. [Footnote:
Bermuda "Royal Gazette," March 8, 1815.] The _President's_ crew all
told consisted of 450 men, [Footnote: Depositions of Lieut. Gallagher
and the other officers.] none of whom were British. [Footnote:
Deposition of Commodore Decatur.] She had thus a hundred more men
than her antagonist and threw about 100 pounds more shot at a broadside;
but these advantages were more than counterbalanced by the injuries
received on the bar, and by the fact that her powder was so bad that
while some of the British shot went through both her sides, such a
thing did not once happen to the _Endymion_, [Footnote: Bermuda
"Royal Gazette," Jan. 6, 1818.] when fairly hulled. The _President_
lost 24 killed and 55 wounded [Footnote: Decatur's letter.]; the
_Endymion_, 11 killed and 14 wounded. [Footnote: Letter of Capt.
Hope, Jan. 15, 1815.] Two days afterward, on their way to the Bermudas,
a violent easterly gale came on, during which both ships were dismasted,
and the _Endymion_ in addition had to throw over all her spar-deck
guns.[Footnote: James, vi, 534.]
[Illustration: The capture of the _President_: an engraving
published in London in 1815 from a painting done under the
supervision of an officer in the _Endymion_. From left to right:
HMS _Majestic_, USS _President_, HMS _Pomone_, HMS _Endymion_,
HMS _Tenedos_. (Courtesy Beverley R. Robinson Collection, U.S.
Naval Academy Museum)]
As can been seen, almost every sentence of this account is taken
(very nearly word for word) from the various official reports, relying
especially on the log of the British frigate _Pomone_. I have been
thus careful to have every point of the narrative established by
unimpeachable reference: first, because there have been quite a number
of British historians who have treated the conflict as if it were
a victory and not a defeat for the _Endymion_: and in the second
place, because I regret to say that I do not think that the facts
bear out the assertions, on the part of most American authors, that
Commodore Decatur "covered himself with glory" and showed the "utmost
heroism." As regards the first point, Captain Hope himself, in his
singularly short official letter, does little beyond detail his own
loss, and makes no claim to having vanquished his opponent. Almost
all the talk about its being a "victory" comes from James; and in
recounting this, as well as all the other battles, nearly every
subsequent British historian simply gives James' statements over
again, occasionally amplifying, but more often altering or omitting,
the vituperation. The point at issue is simply this: could a frigate
which, according to James himself, went out of action with every
sail set, take another frigate which for two hours, according to
the log of the _Pomone_, lay motionless and unmanageable on the waters,
without a sail? To prove that it could not, of course needs some
not over-scrupulous manipulation of the facts. The intention with
which James sets about his work can be gathered from the triumphant
conclusion he comes to, that Decatur's name has been "sunk quite
as low as that of Bainbridge or Porter," which, comparing small
things to great, is somewhat like saying that Napoleon's defeat by
Wellington and Blucher "sunk" him to the level of Hannibal. For the
account of the American crew and loss, James relies on the statements
made in the Bermuda papers, of whose subsequent forced retraction
he takes no notice, and of course largely overestimates both. On
the same authority he states that the _President's_ fire was "silenced,"
Commodore Decatur stating the exact reverse. The point is fortunately
settled by the log of the _Pomone_, which distinctly says that the
last shot was fired by the _President_. His last resort is to state
that the loss of the _President_ was fourfold (in reality threefold)
that of the _Endymion_. Now we have seen that the _President_ lost
"a considerable number" of men from the fire of the _Pomone_. Estimating
these at only nineteen, we have a loss of sixty caused by the _Endymion_,
and as most of this was caused during the first half hour, when the
_President_ was not firing, it follows that while the two vessels
were both fighting, broadside and broadside, the loss inflicted was
about equal; or, the _President_, aiming at her adversary's rigging,
succeeded in completely disabling her, and incidentally killed 25
men, while the _Endymion_ did not hurt the _President's_ rigging
at all, and, aiming at her hull, where, of course, the slaughter
ought to have been far greater than when the fire was directed aloft,
only killed about the same number of men. Had there been no other
vessels in chase, Commodore Decatur, his adversary having been thus
rendered perfectly helpless, could have simply taken any position
he chose and compelled the latter to strike, without suffering any
material additional loss himself. As in such a case he would neither
have endured the unanswered fire of the _Endymion_ on his quarter
for the first half hour, nor the subsequent broadsides of the _Pornone_,
the _President's_ loss would probably have been no greater than that
of the _Constitution_ in taking the _Java_. It is difficult to see
how any outsider with an ounce of common-sense and fairmindedness
can help awarding the palm to Decatur, as regards the action with
the _Endymion_. But I regret to say that I must agree with James
that he acted rather tamely, certainly not heroically, in striking
to the _Pomone_. There was, of course, not much chance of success
in doing battle with two fresh frigates; but then they only mounted
eighteen-pounders, and, judging from the slight results of the
cannonading from the _Endymion_ and the two first (usually the most
fatal) broadsides of the _Pomone_, it would have been rather a long
time before they would have caused much damage. Meanwhile the
_President_ was pretty nearly as well off as ever as far as fighting
and sailing went. A lucky shot might have disabled one of her
opponents, and then the other would, in all probability, have undergone
the same fate as the _Endymion_. At least it was well worth trying,
and though Decatur could not be said to be disgraced, yet it is
excusable to wish that Porter or Perry had been in his place. It
is not very pleasant to criticise the actions of an American whose
name is better known than that of almost any other single-ship captain
of his time; but if a man is as much to be praised for doing fairly,
or even badly, as for doing excellently, then there is no use in
bestowing praise at all.
This is perhaps as good a place as any other to notice one or two
of James' most common misstatements; they really would not need
refutation were it not that they have been reechoed, as usual, by
almost every British historian of the war for the last 60 years.
In the first place, James puts the number of the _President's_ men
at 475; she had 450. An exactly parallel reduction must often be
made when he speaks of the force of an American ship. Then he says
there were many British among them, which is denied under oath by
the American officers; this holds good also for the other American
frigates. He says there were but 4 boys; there were nearly 30; and
on p. 120 he says the youngest was 14, whereas we incidentally learn
from the "Life of Decatur" that several were under 12. A favorite
accusation is that the American midshipmen were chiefly masters and
mates of merchant-men; but this was hardly ever the case. Many of
the midshipmen of the war afterward became celebrated commanders,
and most of these (a notable instance being Farragut, the greatest
admiral since Nelson) were entirely too young in 1812 to have had
vessels under them, and, moreover, came largely from the so-called
"best families."
Again, in the first two frigate actions of 1812, the proportion of
killed to wounded happened to be unusually large on board the American
frigates; accordingly James states (p. 146) that the returns of the
wounded had been garbled, under-estimated, and made "subservient
to the views of the commanders and their government." To support
his position that Capt. Hull, who reported 7 killed and 7 wounded,
had not given the list of the latter in full, he says that "an equal
number of killed and wounded, as given in the American account, hardly
ever occurs, except in cases of explosion"; and yet, on p. 519, he
gives the loss of the British _Hermes_ as 25 killed and 24 wounded,
disregarding the incongruity involved. On p. 169, in noticing the
loss of the _United States_, 5 killed and 7 wounded, he says that
"the slightly wounded, as in all other American cases, are omitted."
This is untrue, and the proportion on the _United States_, 5 to 7,
is just about the same as that given by James himself on the
_Endymion_, 11 to 14, and _Nautilus_, 6 to 8. In supporting his theory,
James brings up all the instances where the American wounded bore
a larger proportion to their dead than on board the British ships,
but passes over the actions with the _Reindeer_, _Epervier_, _Penguin_,
_Endymion_, and _Boxer_, where the reverse was the case. One of James'
most common methods of attempting to throw discredit on the much
vilified "Yankees" is by quoting newspaper accounts of their wounded.
Thus he says (p. 562) of the _Hornet_, that several of her men told
some of the _Penguin's_ sailors that she lost 10 men killed, 16
wounded, etc. Utterly false rumors of this kind were as often indulged
in by the Americans as the British. After the capture of the
_President_ articles occasionally appeared in the papers to the effect
that some American sailor had counted "23 dead" on board the _Endymion_,
that "more than 50" of her men were wounded, etc. Such statements
were as commonly made and with as little foundation by one side as
by the other, and it is absurd for a historian to take any notice
of them. James does no worse than many of our own writers of the
same date; but while their writings have passed into oblivion, his
work is still often accepted as a standard. This must be my apology
for devoting so much time to it. The severest criticism to which it
can possibly be subjected is to compare it with the truth. Whenever
dealing with purely American affairs, James' history is as utterly
untrustworthy as its contemporary, "Niles' Register," is in matters
purely British, while both are invaluable in dealing with things
relating strictly to their own nation; they supplement each other.
On Jan. 8th General Packenham was defeated and killed by General
Jackson at New Orleans, the Louisiana and the seamen of the _Carolina_
having their full share in the glory of the day, and Captain Henly
being among the very few American wounded. On the same day
Sailing-master Johnson, with 28 men in two boats, cut out the
British-armed transport brig _Cyprus_, containing provisions and
munitions of war, and manned by ten men. [Footnote: Letter of
Sailing-master Johnson, Jan. 9, 1815.] On the 18th the British
abandoned the enterprise and retreated to their ships; and Mr. Thomas
Shields, a purser, formerly a sea-officer, set off to harass them
while embarking. At sunset on the 20th he left with five boats and
a gig, manned in all with 53 men, and having under him Sailing-master
Daily and Master's Mate Boyd. [Footnote: Letter of Thomas Shields
to Com. Patterson, Jan. 25, 1815.] At ten o'clock P.M. a large barge,
containing 14 seamen and 40 officers and men of the 14th Light Dragoons,
was surprised and carried by boarding after a slight struggle. The
prisoners outnumbering their captors, the latter returned to shore,
left them in a place of safety, and again started at 2 A.M. on the
morning of the 22d. Numerous transports and barges of the enemy could
be seen, observing very little order and apparently taking no
precautions against attack, which they probably did not apprehend.
One of the American boats captured a transport and five men; another,
containing Mr. Shields himself and eight men, carried by boarding,
after a short resistance, a schooner carrying ten men. The flotilla
then re-united and captured in succession, with no resistance, five
barges containing 70 men. By this time the alarm had spread and they
were attacked by six boats, but these were repelled with some loss.
Seven of the prisoners (who were now half as many again as their
captors) succeeded in escaping in the smallest prize. Mr. Shields
returned with the others, 78 in number. During the entire expedition
he had lost but three men, wounded; he had taken 132 prisoners, and
destroyed eight craft whose aggregate tonnage about equalled that
of the five gun-vessels taken on Lake Borgne.
On Jan. 30, 1815, information was received by Captain Dent, commanding
at North Edisto, Ga., that a party of British officers and men, in
four boats belonging to H.M.S. _Hebrus_, Capt. Palmer, were watering
at one of the adjacent islands. [Footnote: Letter of Lawrence Kearney
of Jan. 30, 1815 (see in the Archives at Washington, "Captains'
Letters," vol. 42, No. 100).] Lieut. Lawrence Kearney, with three
barges containing about 75 men, at once proceeded outside to cut
them off, when the militia drove them away. The frigate was at anchor
out of gunshot, but as soon as she perceived the barges began firing
guns as signals. The British on shore left in such a hurry that they
deserted their launch, which, containing a 12-pound boat carronade
and six swivels, was taken by the Americans. The other boats--two
cutters, and a large tender mounting one long nine and carrying 30
men--made for the frigate; but Lieut. Kearney laid the tender aboard
and captured her after a sharp brush. The cutters were only saved
by the fire of the _Hebrus_, which was very well directed--one of
her shot taking off the head of a man close by Lieut. Kearney. The
frigate got under way and intercepted Kearney's return, but the
Lieutenant then made for South Edisto, whither he carried his prize
in triumph. This was one of the most daring exploits of the war,
and was achieved at very small cost. On Feb. 14th a similar feat
was performed. Lieutenant Kearney had manned the captured launch
with 25 men and the 12-pound carronade. News was received of another
harrying expedition undertaken by the British, and Captain Dent,
with seven boats, put out to attack them, but was unable to cross
the reef. Meanwhile Kearney's barge had gotten outside, and attacked
the schooner _Brant_, a tender to H. M. S. _Severn_, mounting an
18-pounder, and with a crew of two midshipmen, and twenty-one marines
and seamen. A running fight began, the _Brant_ evidently fearing
that the other boats might get across the reef and join in the attack;
suddenly she ran aground on a sand-bank, which accident totally
demoralized her crew. Eight of them escaped in her boat, to the
frigate; the remaining fifteen, after firing a few shot, surrendered
and were taken possession of. [Footnote: Letter of Captain Dent,
Feb. 16th (in "Captains' Letters," vol. 42, No. 130). Most American
authors, headed by Cooper, give this exploit a more vivid coloring
by increasing the crew of the _Brant_ to forty men, omitting to
mention that she was hard and fast aground, and making no allusion
to the presence of the five other American boats which undoubtedly
caused the _Brant's_ flight in the first place.]
I have had occasion from time to time to speak of cutting-out
expeditions, successful and otherwise, undertaken by British boats
against American privateers; and twice a small British national
cutter was captured by an overwhelmingly superior American opponent
of this class. We now, for the only time, come across an engagement
between a privateer and a regular cruiser of approximately equal
force. These privateers came from many different ports and varied
greatly in size. Baltimore produced the largest number; but New York,
Philadelphia, Boston, and Salem, were not far behind; and Charleston,
Bristol, and Plymouth, supplied some that were very famous. Many
were merely small pilot-boats with a crew of 20 to 40 men, intended
only to harry the West Indian trade. Others were large, powerful
craft, unequalled for speed by any vessels of their size, which
penetrated to the remotest corners of the ocean, from Man to the
Spice Islands. When a privateer started she was overloaded with men,
to enable her to man her prizes; a successful cruise would reduce
her crew to a fifth of its original size. The favorite rig was that
of a schooner, but there were many brigs and brigantines. Each was
generally armed with a long 24 or 32 on a pivot, and a number of
light guns in broadside, either long 9's or short 18's or 12's. Some
had no pivot gun, others had nothing else. The largest of them carried
17 guns (a pivotal 32 and 16 long 12's in broadside) with a crew
of 150. Such a vessel ought to have been a match, at her own distance,
for a British brig-sloop, but we never hear of any such engagements,
and there were several instances where privateers gave up, without
firing a shot, to a force superior, it is true, but not enough so
to justify the absolute tameness of the surrender. [Footnote: As
when the _Epervter_, some little time before her own capture, took
without resistance the _Alfred_, of Salem, mounting 16 long nines
and having 108 men aboard.] One explanation of this was that they
were cruising as private ventures, and their object was purely to
capture merchant-men with as little risk as possible to themselves.
Another reason was that they formed a kind of sea-militia, and, like
their compeers on land, some _could_ fight as well as any regulars,
while most would _not_ fight at all, especially if there was need
of concerted action between two or three. The American papers of
the day are full of "glorious victories" gained by privateers over
packets and Indiamen; the British papers are almost as full of instances
where the packets and Indiamen "heroically repulsed" the privateers.
As neither side ever chronicles a defeat, and as the narration is
apt to be decidedly figurative in character, there is very little
hope of getting at the truth of such meetings; so I have confined
myself to the mention of those cases where privateers, of either
side, came into armed collision with regular cruisers. We are then
sure to find some authentic account.
The privateer brig _Chasseur_, of Baltimore, Captain Thomas Boyle,
carried 16 long 12's, and had, when she left port, 115 men aboard.
She made 18 prizes on her last voyage, and her crew was thus reduced
to less than 80 men; she was then chased by the _Barossa_ frigate,
and threw overboard 10 of her long 12's. Afterward eight 9-pound
carronades were taken from a prize, to partially supply the places
of the lost guns; but as she had no shot of the calibre of these
carronades each of the latter was loaded with one 4-pound and one
6-pound ball, giving her a broadside of 76 lbs. On the 26th of
February, two leagues from Havana, the _Chasseur_ fell in with the
British schooner _St. Lawrence_, Lieut. H. C. Gordon, mounting twelve
12-pound carronades, and one long 9; her broadside was thus 81 lbs.,
and she had between 60 and 80 men aboard. [Footnote: Letter of Captain
Thomas Boyle, of March 2, 1815 (see Niles and Coggeshall); he says
the schooner had two more carronades; I have taken the number given
by James (p. 539). Captain Boyle says the _St. Lawrence_ had onboard
89 men and several more, including a number of soldiers and marines
and gentlemen of the navy, as passengers; James says her crew amounted
to 51 "exclusive of some passengers," which I suppose must mean at
least nine men. So the forces were pretty equal; the _Chasseur_ may
have had 20 men more or 10 men less than her antagonist, and she
threw from 5 to 21 lbs. less weight of shot.] The _Chasseur_ mistook
the _St. Lawrence_ for a merchant-man and closed with her. The mistake
was discovered too late to escape, even had such been Captain Boyle's
intention, and a brief but bloody action ensued. At 1.26 P.M., the
_St. Lawrence_ fired the first broadside, within pistol shot, to
which the _Chasseur_ replied with her great guns and musketry. The
brig then tried to close, so as to board; but having too much way
on, shot ahead under the lee of the schooner, which put her helm
up to wear under the _Chasseur's_ stern. Boyle, however, followed
his antagonist's manoeuvre, and the two vessels ran along side by
side, the _St. Lawrence_ drawing ahead, while the firing was very
heavy. Then Captain Boyle put his helm a starboard and ran his foe
aboard, when in the act of boarding, her colors were struck at 1.41
P.M., 15 minutes after the first shot. Of the _Chasseur's_ crew 5
were killed and 8 wounded, including Captain Boyle slightly. Of the
_St. Lawrence's_ crew 6 were killed and 17 (according to James 18)
wounded. This was a very creditable action. The _St. Lawrence_ had
herself been an American privateer, called the _Atlas_, and was of
241 tons, or just 36 less than the _Chasseur_. The latter could thus
fairly claim that her victory was gained over a regular cruiser of
about her own force. Captain Southcombe of the _Lottery_, Captain
Reid of the _General Armstrong_, Captain Ordronaux of the _Neufchatel_,
and Captain Boyle of the _Chasseur_, deserve as much credit as any
regularly commissioned sea-officers. But it is a mistake to consider
these cases as representing the _average_; an ordinary privateer
was, naturally enough, no match for a British regular cruiser of
equal force. The privateers were of incalculable benefit to us, and
inflicted enormous damage on the foe; but in fighting they suffered
under the same disadvantages as other irregular forces; they were
utterly unreliable. A really brilliant victory would be followed
by a most extraordinary defeat.
[Illustration: Captain Charles Stewart: a study painted by Thomas
Sully in 1817 for use as the model for the bust of Stewart on the
Congressional Gold Medal awarded to him for the capture of the _Cyane_
and _Levant_. (Courtesy U.S. Naval Academy Museum)]
[Illustration: _Constitution_ vs. _Cyane_ and _Levant_: an engraving
published in the U.S. Military Magazine for December 1840 of a painting
by Thomas Birch. From left to right: _Levant_, _Constitution_, _Cyane_.
(Courtesy Beverley R. Robinson Collection, U.S. Naval Academy Museum)]
After the _Constitution_ had escaped from Boston, as I have described,
she ran to the Bermudas, cruised in their vicinity a short while,
thence to Madeira, to the Bay of Biscay, and finally off Portugal,
cruising for some time in sight of the Rock of Lisbon. Captain
Stewart then ran off southwest, and on Feb. 20th, Madeira bearing
W. S. W. 60 leagues, [Footnote: Letter of Captain Stewart to the
Secretary of the Navy, May 20, 1815.] the day being cloudy, with
a light easterly breeze, [Footnote: Log of _Constitution_, Feb. 20,
1815.] at 1 P.M. a sail was made two points on the port bow; and
at 2 P.M., Captain Stewart, hauling up in chase, discovered another
sail. The first of these was the frigate-built ship corvette _Cyane_,
Captain Gordon Thomas Falcon, and the second was the ship sloop
_Levant_, Captain the Honorable George Douglass. [Footnote: "Naval
Chronicle," xxxiii, 466.] Both were standing close hauled on the
starboard tack, the sloop about 10 miles to leeward of the corvette.
At 4 P.M. the latter began making signals to her consort that the
strange sail was an enemy, and then made all sail before the wind
to join the sloop. The _Constitution_ bore up in chase, setting her
top-mast, top-gallant, and royal studding-sails. In half an hour
she carried away her main royal mast, but immediately got another
prepared, and at 5 o'clock began firing at the corvette with the
two port-bow guns; as the shot fell short the firing soon ceased.
At 5.30 the _Cyane_ got within hail of the _Levant_, and the latter's
gallant commander expressed to Captain Gordon his intention of engaging
the American frigate. The two ships accordingly hauled up their courses
and stood on the starboard tack; but immediately afterward their
respective captains concluded to try to delay the action till dark,
so as to get the advantage of manoeuvring. [Footnote: "Naval Chronicle,"
xxxiii, 466.] Accordingly they again set all sail and hauled close
to the wind to endeavor to weather their opponent; but finding the
latter coming down too fast for them to succeed they again stripped
to fighting canvas and formed on the starboard tack in head and stern
line, the _Levant_ about a cable's length in front of her consort.
The American now had them completely under her guns and showed her
ensign, to which challenge the British ships replied by setting their
colors. At 6.10 the _Constitution_ ranged up to windward of the _Cyane_
and _Levant_, the former on her port quarter, the latter on her port
bow, both being distant about 250 yards from her [Footnote: Testimony
sworn to by Lieutenant W. B. Shubrick and Lieutenant of Marines
Archibald Henderson before Thomas Welsh. Jr., Justice of the Peace,
Suffolk St., Boston, July 20, 1815. The depositions were taken in
consequence of a report started by some of the British journals that
the action began at a distance of 1/4 of a mile. All the American
depositions were that all three ships began firing at once, when
equidistant from each other about 250 yards, the marines being engaged
almost the whole time.]--so close that the American marines were
constantly engaged almost from the beginning of the action. The fight
began at once, and continued with great spirit for a quarter of an
hour, the vessels all firing broadsides. It was now moonlight, and
an immense column of smoke formed under the lee of the _Constitution_,
shrouding from sight her foes; and, as the fire of the latter had
almost ceased, Captain Stewart also ordered his men to stop, so as
to find out the positions of the ships. In about three minutes the
smoke cleared, disclosing to the Americans the _Levant_ dead to leeward
on the port beam, and the _Cyane_ luffing up for their port quarter.
Giving a broadside to the sloop, Stewart braced aback his main and
mizzen top-sails, with top-gallant sails set, shook all forward,
and backed rapidly astern, under cover of the smoke, abreast the
corvette, forcing the latter to fill again to avoid being raked.
The firing was spirited for a few minutes, when the _Cyane's_ almost
died away. The _Levant_ bore up to wear round and assist her consort,
but the _Constitution_ filled her top-sails, and, shooting ahead,
gave her two stern rakes, when she at once made all sail to get out
of the combat. The _Cyane_ was now discovered wearing, when the
_Constitution_ herself at once wore and gave her in turn a stern
rake, the former luffing to and firing her port broadside into the
starboard bow of the frigate. Then, as the latter ranged up on her
port quarter, she struck, at 6.50, just forty minutes after the
beginning of the action. She was at once taken possession of, and
Lieut. Hoffman, second of the _Constitution_, was put in command.
Having manned the prize, Captain Stewart, at 8 o'clock, filled away
after her consort. The latter, however, had only gone out of the
combat to refit. Captain Douglass had no idea of retreat, and no
sooner had he rove new braces than he hauled up to the wind, and
came very gallantly back to find out his friend's condition. At 8.50
he met the _Constitution_, and, failing to weather her, the frigate
and sloop passed each other on opposite tacks, exchanging broadsides.
Finding her antagonist too heavy, the _Levant_ then crowded all sail
to escape, but was soon overtaken by the _Constitution_, and at about
9.30 the latter opened with her starboard bow-chasers, and soon
afterward the British captain hauled down his colors. Mr. Ballard,
first of the _Constitution_, was afterward put in command of the
prize. By one o'clock the ships were all in order again.
The _Constitution_ had been hulled eleven times, more often than
in either of her previous actions, but her loss was mainly due to
the grape and musketry of the foe in the beginning of the fight.
[Footnote: Deposition of her officers as before cited.] The British
certainly fired better than usual, especially considering the fact
that there was much manoeuvering, and that it was a night action.
The Americans lost 3 men killed, 3 mortally, and 9 severely and
slightly, wounded. The corvette, out of her crew of 180, had 12 men
killed and 26 wounded, several mortally; the sloop, out of 140, had
7 killed and 16 wounded. The _Constitution_ had started on her cruise
very full-handed, with over 470 men, but several being absent on a
prize, she went into battle with about 450. [Footnote: 410 officers
and seamen, and 41 marines, by her muster-roll of Feb. 19th. (The
muster-rolls are preserved in the Treasury Department at Washington.)]
The prizes had suffered a good deal in their hulls and rigging, and
had received some severe wounds in their masts and principal spars.
The _Cyane_ carried on her main-deck twenty-two 32-pound carronades,
and on her spar-deck two long 12's, and ten 18-pounder carronades.
The _Levant_ carried, all on one deck, eighteen 32-pound carronades
and two long 9's, together with a shifting 12-pounder. Thus, their
broadside weight of metal was 763 pounds, with a total of 320 men,
of whom 61 fell, against the _Constitution's_ 704 pounds and 450
men, of whom 15 were lost; or, nominally, the relative force was
100 to 91, and the relative loss 100 to 24. But the British guns
were almost exclusively carronades which, as already pointed out
in the case of the Essex and in the battle off Plattsburg, are no
match for long guns. Moreover, the scantling of the smaller ships
was, of course, by no means as stout as that of the frigate, so that
the disparity of force was much greater than the figures would indicate,
although not enough to account for the difference in loss. Both the
British ships were ably handled, their fire was well directed, and
the _Levant_ in especial was very gallantly fought.
[Illustration of the action between the _Constitution_ and the
_Cyane_ and the _Levant_ from 6.05 to 6.40.]
As regards the _Constitution_, "her manoeuvring was as brilliant
as any recorded in naval annals," and it would have been simply
impossible to surpass the consummate skill with which she was
handled in the smoke, always keeping her antagonists to leeward,
and, while raking both of them, not being once raked herself. The
firing was excellent, considering the short time the ships were
actually engaged, and the fact that it was at night. Altogether the
fight reflected the greatest credit on her, and also on her adversaries.
[Footnote: There is no British official account of the action. James
states that the entire British force was only 302 men of whom 12
were killed and 29 wounded. This is probably not based on any authority.
Captain Stewart received on board 301 prisoners, of whom 42 were
wounded, several mortally. Curiously enough James also underestimates
the American loss, making it only 12. He also says that many attempts
were made by the Americans to induce the captured British to desert,
while the _Constitution's_ officers deny this under oath, before
Justice Welsh, as already quoted, and state that, on the contrary,
many of the prisoners offered to enlist on the frigate, but were
all refused permission--as "the loss of the _Chesapeake_ had taught
us the danger of having renegades aboard." This denial, by the way,
holds good for all the similar statements made by James as regards the
_Guerrièrre_, _Macedonian_, etc. He also states that a British
court-martial found various counts against the Americans for harsh
treatment, but all of these were specifically denied by the American
officers, under oath, as already quoted.
I have relied chiefly on Captain Stewart's narratives; but partly
(as to time, etc.) on the British account in the "Naval Chronicle."]
The merits of this action can perhaps be better appreciated by comparing
it with a similar one that took place a few years before between a
British sloop and corvette on the one side, and a French frigate on
the other, and which is given in full by both James and Troude. Although
these authors differ somewhat in the account of it, both agree that
the Frenchman, the _Nereide_, of 44 guns, on Feb. 14, 1810, fought
a long and indecisive battle with the _Rainbow_ of 26 and _Avon_ of
18 guns, the British sloops being fought separately, in succession.
The relative force was almost exactly as in the _Constitution's_
fight. Each side claimed that the other fled. But this much is sure:
the _Constitution_ engaging the _Cyane_ and _Levant_ together, captured
both; while the _Nereide_, engaging the _Rainbow_ and _Avon_ separately,
captured neither.
The three ships now proceeded to the Cape de Verds, and on March 10th
anchored in the harbor of Porto Praya, Island of San Jago. Here a
merchant-brig was taken as a cartel, and a hundred of the prisoners
were landed to help fit her for sea. The next day the weather was
thick and foggy, with fresh breezes. [Footnote: Log of _Constitution_,
March 11, 1815.] The first and second lieutenants, with a good part
of the people, were aboard the two prizes. At five minutes past twelve,
while Mr. Shubrick, the senior remaining lieutenant, was on the
quarter-deck, the canvas of a large vessel suddenly loomed up through
the haze, her hull being completely hidden by the fog-bank. Her
character could not be made out; but she was sailing close-hauled,
and evidently making for the roads. Mr. Shubrick at once went down
and reported the stranger to Captain Stewart, when that officer coolly
remarked that it was probably a British frigate or an Indiaman, and
directed the lieutenant to return on deck, call all hands, and get
ready to go out and attack her. [Footnote: Cooper, ii, 459.] At that
moment the canvas of two other ships was discovered rising out of
the fog astern of the vessel first seen. It was now evident that
all three were heavy frigates. [Footnote: Letter of Lieutenant Hoffman,
April 10, 1815.] In fact, they were the _Newcastle_, 50, Captain
Lord George Stewart; _Leander_, 50, Captain Sir Ralph Collier, K.C.B.,
and _Acasta_, 40, Captain Robert Kerr, standing into Porto Praya,
close-hauled on the starboard tack, the wind being light northeast
by north. [Footnote: Marshall's "Naval Biography," ii, 535.] Captain
Stewart at once saw that his opponents were far too heavy for a fair
fight, and, knowing that the neutrality of the port would not be
the slightest protection to him, he at once signalled to the prizes
to follow, cut his cable, and, in less than ten minutes from the
time the first frigate was seen, was standing out of the roads, followed
by Hoffmann and Ballard. Certainly a more satisfactory proof of the
excellent training of both officers and men could hardly be given
than the rapidity, skill, and perfect order with which every thing
was done. Any indecision on the part of the officers or bungling
on the part of the men would have lost every thing. The prisoners
on shore had manned a battery and delivered a furious but ill-directed
fire at their retreating conquerors. The frigate, sloop, and corvette,
stood out of the harbor in the order indicated, on the port tack,
passing close under the east point, and a gunshot to windward of
the British squadron, according to the American, or about a league,
according to the British, accounts. The Americans made out the force
of the strangers correctly, and their own force was equally clearly
discerned by the _Acasta_; but both the _Newcastle_ and _Leander_
mistook the _Cyane_ and _Levant_ for frigates, a mistake similar
to that once made by Commodore Rodgers. The _Constitution_ now crossed
her top-gallant yards and set the foresail, main-sail, spanker, flying
jib, and top-gallant sails; and the British ships, tacking, made
all sail in pursuit. The _Newcastle_ was on the _Constitution's_
lee quarter and directly ahead of the _Leander_, while the _Acasta_
was on the weather-quarter of the _Newcastle_. All six ships were
on the port tack. The _Constitution_ cut adrift the boats towing
astern, and her log notes that at 12.50 she found she was sailing
about as fast as the ships on her lee quarter, but that the _Acasta_
was luffing into her wake and dropping astern. The log of the _Acasta_
says, "We had gained on the sloops, but the frigate had gained on
us." At 1.10 the _Cyane_ had fallen so far astern and to leeward
that Captain Stewart signalled to Lieutenant Hoffman to tack, lest
he should be cut off if he did not. Accordingly the lieutenant put
about and ran off toward the northwest, no notice being taken of
him by the enemy beyond an ineffectual broadside from the sternmost
frigate. At 2.35 he was out of sight of all the ships and shaped
his course for America, which he reached on April 10th. [Footnote:
Letter of Lieutenant Hoffman, April 10, 1815.] At 1.45 the _Newcastle_
opened on the _Constitution_ firing by divisions, but the shot all
fell short, according to the American statements, about 200 yards,
while the British accounts (as given in Marshall's "Naval Biography")
make the distance much greater; at any rate the vessels were so near
that from the _Constitution_ the officers of the _Newcastle_ could
be seen standing on the hammock nettings. But, very strangely, both
the 50-gun ships apparently still mistook the _Levant_, though a
low, flush-decked sloop like the _Hornet_, for the "_President_,
_Congress_, or _Macedonian_," Captain Collier believing that the
_Constitution_ had sailed with two other frigates in company. [Footnote:
Marshal, ii, 533. ] By three o'clock the _Levant_ had lagged so as
to be in the same position from which the _Cyane_ had just been rescued;
accordingly Captain Stewart signalled to her to tack, which she did,
and immediately afterward all three British ships tacked in pursuit.
Before they did so, it must be remembered the _Acasta_ had weathered
on the _Constitution_, though left considerably astern, while the
_Newcastle_ and _Leander_ had about kept their positions on her lee
or starboard quarter; so that if any ship had been detached after
the _Levant_ it should have been the _Leander_, which had least chance
of overtaking the American frigate. The latter was by no means as
heavily armed as either of the two 50's, and but little heavier than
the _Acasta_; moreover, she was shorthanded, having manned her two
prizes. The _Acasta_, at any rate, had made out the force of the
_Levant_, and, even had she been a frigate, it was certainly carrying
prudence to an extreme to make more than one ship tack after her.
Had the _Newcastle_ and _Acasta_ kept on after the _Constitution_
there was a fair chance of overtaking her, for the _Acasta_ had
weathered on her, and the chase could not bear up for fear of being
cut off by the _Newcastle_. At any rate the pursuit should not have
been given up so early. Marshall says there was a mistake in the
signalling. The British captains certainly bungled the affair; even
James says (p. 558): "It is the most blundering piece of business
recorded in these six volumes." As for Stewart and his men, they
deserve the highest credit for the cool judgment and prompt, skilful
seamanship they had displayed. The _Constitution_, having shaken
off her pursuers, sailed to Maranham, where she landed her prisoners.
At Porto Rico she learned of the peace, and forthwith made sail for
New York, reaching it about the middle of May.
As soon as he saw Captain Stewart's signal, Lieutenant Ballard had
tacked, and at once made for the anchorage at Porto Prayo, which he
reached, though pursued by all his foes, and anchored within 150
yards of a heavy battery. [Footnote: Letter of Lieutenant Ballard.
May 2, 1815.] The wisdom of Captain Stewart's course in not trusting
to the neutrality of the port, now became evident. The _Acasta_ opened
upon the sloop as soon as the latter had anchored, at 4.30. [Footnote:
_Newcastle's_ log, as given by Marshall and James.] The _Newcastle_,
as soon as she arrived, also opened, and so did the _Leander_, while
the British prisoners on shore fired the guns of the battery. Having
borne this combined cannonade for 15 minutes, [Footnote: Ballard's
letter.] the colors of the _Levant_ were hauled down. The unskilful
firing of the British ships certainly did not redeem the blunders
previously made by Sir George Collier, for the three heavy frigates
during 15 minutes' broadside practice in smooth water against a
stationary and unresisting foe, did her but little damage, and did
not kill a man. The chief effect of the fire was to damage the houses
of the Portuguese town. [Footnote: James, vi, 551. ]
After the capture of the _President_, the _Peacock_, Captain Warrington,
the _Hornet_, Captain Biddle, and _Tom Bowline_, brig, still remained
in New York harbor. On the 22d of January a strong northwesterly
gale began to blow, and the American vessels, according to their
custom, at once prepared to take advantage of the heavy weather and
run by the blockaders. They passed the bar by daylight, under storm
canvas, the British frigates lying to in the southeast being plainly
visible. They were ignorant of the fate of the _President_, and
proceeded toward Tristan d'Acunha, which was the appointed rendezvous.
A few days out the _Hornet_ parted company from the two others; these
last reached Tristan d'Acunha about March 18th, but were driven off
again by a gale. The _Hornet_ reached the island on the 23d, and
at half-past ten in the morning, the wind being fresh S.S.W., when
about to anchor off the north point, a sail was made in the southeast,
steering west. [Footnote: Letter from Captain Biddle to Commodore
Decatur, Mar. 25, 1815.] This was the British brig-sloop _Penguin_,
Captain James Dickenson. She was a new vessel, having left port for
the first time in September, 1814. While at the Cape of Good Hope
she had received from Vice-Admiral Tyler 12 marines from the _Medway_,
74, increasing her complement to 132; and was then despatched on
special service against a heavy American privateer, the _Young Wasp_,
which had been causing great havoc among the homeward-bound Indiamen.
[Illustration: Master Commandant James Biddle: a contemporary portrait
by Jacob Eichholz painted after Biddle's promotion to captain (Courtesy
U.S. Naval Academy Museum)]
[Illustration: _Hornet_ vs. _Penguin_: a lithograph published in
Liverpool, circa 1816. (Courtesy Beverley R. Robinson Collection,
U.S. Naval Academy Museum)]
[Illustration of the action between _PENGUIN_ and _HORNET_ from
1.40 to 2.02.]
When the strange sail was first seen Captain Biddle was just letting
go his top-sail sheets; he at once sheeted them home, and the stranger
being almost instantly shut out by the land, made all sail to the
west, and again caught sight of her. Captain Dickenson now, for the
first time, saw the American sloop, and at once bore up for her. The
position of the two vessels was exactly the reverse of the _Wasp_
and _Frolic_, the Englishman being to windward. The _Hornet_ hove
to, to let her antagonist close; then she filled her maintop-sail
and continued to yaw, wearing occasionally to prevent herself from
being raked. At forty minutes past one the _Penguin_, being within
musket-shot, hauled to the wind on the starboard tack, hoisted a
St. George's ensign and fired a gun. The _Hornet_ luffed up on the
same tack, hoisting American colors, and the action began with heavy
broadsides. The vessels ran along thus for 15 minutes, gradually
coming closer together, and Captain Dickenson put his helm aweather,
to run his adversary aboard. At this moment the brave young officer
received a mortal wound, and the command devolved on the first
lieutenant, Mr. McDonald, who endeavored very gallantly to carry
out his commander's intention, and at 1.56 the _Penguin's_ bowsprit
came in between the _Hornet's_ main- and mizzen-rigging on the
starboard side. The American seamen had been called away, and were
at their posts to repel boarders, but as the British made no attempt
to come on, the cutlass men began to clamber into the rigging to go
aboard the brig. Captain Biddle very coolly stopped them, "it being
evident from the beginning that our fire was greatly superior both
in quickness and effect." There was a heavy sea running, and as the
_Hornet_ forged ahead, the _Penguin's_ bowsprit carried away her
mizzen shrouds, stern davits, and spanker boom; and the brig then
hung on her starboard quarter, where only small arms could be used
on either side. An English officer now called out something which
Biddle understood, whether correctly or not is disputed, to be the
word of surrender; accordingly he directed his marines to cease firing,
and jumped on the taffrail. At that minute two of the marines on
the _Penguin's_ forecastle, not 30 feet distant, fired at him, one
of the balls inflicting a rather severe wound in his neck. A discharge
of musketry from the _Hornet_ at once killed both the marines, and
at that moment the ship drew ahead. As the vessels separated the
_Penguin's_ foremast went overboard, the bowsprit breaking short
off. The _Hornet_ at once wore, to present a fresh broadside, while
the _Penguin's_ disabled condition prevented her following suit,
and having lost a third of her men killed and wounded (14 of the
former and 28 of the latter), her hull being riddled through and
through, her foremast gone, main-mast tottering, and most of the
guns on the engaged side dismounted, she struck her colors at two
minutes past two, twenty-two minutes after the first gun was fired.
Of the _Hornet's_ 150 men, 8 were absent in a prize. By actual
measurement she was two feet longer and slightly narrower than her
antagonist. Her loss was chiefly caused by musketry, amounting to
1 marine killed, 1 seaman mortally, Lieutenant Conner very severely,
and Captain Biddle and seven seamen slightly, wounded. Not a round
shot struck the hull, nor was a mast or spar materially injured,
but the rigging and sails were a good deal cut, especially about
the fore and main top-gallant masts. The _Hornet's_ crew had been
suffering much from sickness, and 9 of the men were unable to be at
quarters, thus reducing the vessels to an exact equality. Counting
in these men, and excluding the 8 absent in a prize, we get as
COMPARATIVE FORCE.
No. Weight
Tonnage. Guns. Metal. Crew. Loss.
_Hornet_ 480 10 279 142[1] 11
_Penguin_ 477 10 274 132 42
[Footnote 1: This number of men is probably too great; I have not
personally examined the _Hornet's_ muster-roll for that period.
Lieutenant Emmons in his "History," gives her 132 men; but perhaps
he did not include the nine sick, which would make his statement
about the same as mine. In response to my inquiries, I received a
very kind letter from the Treasury Department (Fourth Auditor's
office), which stated that the muster-roll of the _Hornet_ on this
voyage showed "101 officers and crew (marines excepted)." Adding
the 20 marines would make but 121 in all. I think there must be
some mistake in this, and so have considered the _Hornet's_ crew
as consisting originally of 150 men, the same as on her cruises
in 1812.
The _Penguin_ was in reality slightly larger than the _Hornet_,
judging from the comparisons made in Biddle's letter (for the original
of which see in the Naval Archives, "Captains' Letters," vol. 42, No.
112). He says that the _Penguin_, though two feet shorter on deck
than the _Hornet_, had a greater length of keel, a slightly greater
breadth of beam, stouter sides, and higher bulwarks, with swivels
on the capstan and tops, and that she fought both her "long 12's"
on the same side. I have followed James, however, as regards this;
he says her long guns were 6-pounders, and that but one was fought
on a side.]
Or, the force being practically equal, the _Hornet_ inflicted fourfold
the loss and tenfold the damage she suffered. Hardly any action of
the war reflected greater credit on the United States marine than
this; for the cool, skilful seamanship and excellent gunnery that
enabled the Americans to destroy an antagonist of equal force in
such an exceedingly short time. The British displayed equal bravery,
but were certainly very much behind their antagonists in the other
qualities which go to make up a first-rate man-of-warsman. Even James
says he "cannot offer the trifling disparity of force in this action
as an excuse for the _Penguin's_ capture. The chief cause is * * *
the immense disparity between the two vessels in * * * the effectiveness
of their crews." [Footnote: After the action but one official account,
that of Captain Biddle, was published; none of the letters of the
defeated British commanders were published after 1813. As regards
this action, every British writer has followed James, who begins
his account thus: "Had the vessel in sight to windward been rigged
with three masts instead of two, and had she proved to be a British
cruiser, Captain Biddle would have marked her down in his log as a
'frigate,' and have made off with all the canvas he could possibly
spread. Had the ship overtaken the _Hornet_ and been in reality a
trifle superior in force, Captain Biddle, we have no doubt, would
have exhausted his eloquence in lauding the blessings of peace before
he tried a struggle for the honors of war." After this preface (which
should be read in connection with the _Hornet's_ unaccepted challenge
to the _Bonne Citoyenne_, a ship "a trifle superior in force") it
can be considered certain that James will both extenuate and also
set down a good deal in malice. One instance of this has already
been given in speaking of the _President's_ capture. Again, he says,
"the _Hornet_ received several round shot in her hull," which she
did--a month after this action, from the _Cornwallis_, 74; James
knew perfectly well that not one of the _Penguin's_ shot hit the
_Hornet's_ hull. The quotations I have given are quite enough to
prove that nothing he says about the action is worth attending to.
The funniest part of his account is where he makes Captain Biddle
get drunk, lose his "native cunning," and corroborate his (James')
statements. He does not even hint at the authority for this.]
The _Penguin_ was so cut up by shot that she had to be destroyed.
After the stores, etc., had been taken out of her, she was thoroughly
examined (Captain Biddle, from curiosity, taking her measurements
in comparison with those of the _Hornet_). Her destruction was
hastened on account of a strange sail heaving in sight; but the latter
proved to be the _Peacock_, with the _Tom Bowline_ in company. The
latter was now turned to account by being sent in to Rio de Janeiro
as a cartel with the prisoners. The _Peacock_ and _Hornet_ remained
about the island till April 13th, and then, giving up all hopes of
seeing the _President_, and rightly supposing she had been captured,
started out for the East Indies. On the 27th of the month, in lat.
38°30' S. and long. 33° E.,[Footnote: Letter of Captain Biddle, June
10th, and extracts from her log.] the _Peacock_ signalled a stranger
in the S.E., and both sloops crowded sail in chase. The next morning
they came down with the wind aft from the northwest, the studding-sails
set on both sides. The new 22-gun sloops were not only better
war-vessels, but faster ones too, than any other ships of their rate;
and the _Peacock_ by afternoon was two leagues ahead of the _Hornet_,
At 2 P.M. the former was observed to manifest some hesitation about
approaching the stranger, which instead of avoiding had rather hauled
up toward them. All on board the _Hornet_ thought her an Indiaman,
and "the men began to wonder what they would do with the silks,"
when, a few minutes before four, the _Peacock_ signalled that it
was a line-of-battle ship, which reversed the parts with a vengeance.
Warrington's swift ship was soon out of danger, while Biddle hauled
close to the wind on the port tack, with the _Cornwallis_, 74, bearing
the flag of Admiral Sir George Burleton, K.C.B., [Footnote: James,
vi, 564.] in hot pursuit, two leagues on his lee quarter. The 74
gained rapidly on the _Hornet_, although she stopped to pick up a
marine who had fallen overboard. Finding he had to deal with a most
weatherly craft, as well as a swift sailer, Captain Biddle, at 9 P.M.,
began to lighten the _Hornet_ of the mass of stores taken from the
_Penguin_. The _Cornwallis_ gained still, however, and at 2 A.M. on
the 29th was ahead of the _Hornet's_ lee or starboard beam, when the
sloop put about and ran off toward the west. Daylight showed the
74 still astern and to leeward, but having gained so much as to be
within gunshot, and shortly afterward she opened fire, her shot
passing over the Hornet. The latter had recourse anew to the lightening
process. She had already hove overboard the sheet-anchor, several
heavy spare spars, and a large quantity of shot and ballast; the
remaining anchors and cables, more shot, six guns, and the launch
now followed suit, and, thus relieved, the _Hornet_ passed temporarily
out of danger; but the breeze shifted gradually round to the east,
and the liner came looming up till at noon she was within a mile,
a shorter range than that at which the _United States_ crippled and
cut up the _Macedonian_; and had the _Cornwallis'_ fire been half
as well aimed as that of the _States_, it would have been the last
of the _Hornet_. But the 74's guns were very unskilfully served,
and the shot passed for the most part away over the chase, but three
getting home. Captain Biddle and his crew had no hope of ultimate
escape, but no one thought of giving up. All the remaining spare
spars and boats, all the guns but one, the shot, and in fact every
thing that could be got at, below or on deck, was thrown overboard.
This increased the way of the _Hornet_, while the _Cornwallis_ lost
ground by hauling off to give broadsides, which were as ineffectual
as the fire from the chase-guns had been. The _Hornet_ now had gained
a little, and managed to hold her own, and shortly afterward the
pluck and skill of her crew [Footnote: It is perhaps worth noting
that the accounts incidentally mention the fact that almost the entire
crew consisted of native Americans, of whom _quite a number had served
as impressed seamen on board British war-ships_. James multiplies
these threefold and sets them down as British.] were rewarded. The
shift in the wind had been very much against them, but now it veered
back again so as to bring them to windward; and every minute, as it
blew fresher and fresher, their chances increased. By dark the
_Cornwallis_ was well astern, and during the night the wind kept
freshening, blowing in squalls, which just suited the _Hornet_, and
when day broke the liner was hull down astern. Then, on the morning
of the 30th, after nearly 48 hours' chase, she abandoned the pursuit.
The _Hornet_ was now of course no use as a cruiser, and made sail
for New York, which she reached on June 9th. This chase requires
almost the same comments as the last chase of the _Constitution_.
In both cases the American captains and their crews deserve the very
highest praise for plucky, skilful seamanship; but exactly as Stewart's
coolness and promptitude might not have saved the _Constitution_
had it not been for the blunders made by his antagonists, so the
_Hornet_ would have assuredly been taken, in spite of Biddle's
stubbornness and resource, if the _Cornwallis_ had not shown such
unskilful gunnery, which was all the more discreditable since she
carried an admiral's flag.
The _Peacock_ was thus the only one left of the squadron originally
prepared for the East Indies; however, she kept on, went round the
Cape of Good Hope, and cruised across the Indian Ocean, capturing
4 great Indiamen, very valuable prizes, manned by 291 men. Then she
entered the Straits of Sunda, and on the 30th of June, off the fort
of Anjier fell in with the East India Company's cruiser _Nautilus_,
Lieut. Boyce, a brig of 180 (American measurement over 200) tons,
with a crew of 80 men, and 14 guns, 4 long 9's and ten 18-pound
carronades. [Footnote: "History of the Indian Navy," by Charles
Rathbone Low (late lieutenant of the Indian Navy), London, 1877,
p. 285.] Captain Warrington did not know of the peace; one of the
boats of the _Nautilus_, however, with her purser, Mr. Bartlett,
boarded him. Captain Warrington declares the latter made no mention
of the peace, while Mr. Bartlett swears that he did before he was
sent below. As the _Peacock_ approached, Lieut. Boyce hailed to ask
if she knew peace had been declared. Captain Warrington, according
to his letter, regarded this as a ruse to enable the brig to escape
under the guns of the fort, and commanded the lieutenant to haul
down his colors, which the latter refused to do, and very gallantly
prepared for a struggle with a foe of more than twice his strength.
According to Captain Warrington, one, or, by the deposition of Mr.
Bartlett, [Footnote: As quoted by Low.] two broadsides were then
interchanged, and the brig surrendered, having lost 7 men, including
her first lieutenant, killed and mortally wounded, and 8 severely
or slightly wounded. Two of her guns and the sheet-anchor were disabled,
the bends on the starboard side completely shivered from aft to the
forechains, the bulwarks from the chess-tree aft much torn, and the
rigging cut to pieces. [Footnote: Letter of Lieut. Boyce to Company's
Marine Board, as quoted by Low.] The _Peacock_ did not suffer the
slightest loss or damage. Regarding the affair purely as a conflict
between vessels of nations at war with each other, the criticism
made by Lord Howard Douglass on the action between the _President_
and _Little Belt_ applies here perfectly. "If a vessel meet an enemy
of even greatly superior force, it is due to the honor of her flag
to try the effect of a few rounds; but unless in this gallant attempt
she leave marks of her skill upon the larger body, while she, the
smaller body, is hit at every discharge, she does but salute her
enemy's triumph and discredit her own gunnery." [Footnote: "Naval
Gunnery," p. 3.] There could not have been a more satisfactory
exhibition of skill than that given by Captain Warrington; but I
regret to say that it is difficult to believe he acted with proper
humanity. It seems impossible that Mr. Bartlett did not mention that
peace had been signed; and when the opposing force was so much less
than his own it would have been safe at least to defer the order
"haul down your flag" for a short time, while he could have kept
the brig within half pistol-shot, until he could have inquired into
the truth of the report. Throughout this work I have wherever possible
avoided all references to the various accusations and recriminations
of some of the captains about "unfairness," "cruelty," etc., as in
most cases it is impossible to get at the truth, the accounts flatly
contradicting one another. In this case, however, there certainly
seems some ground for the rather fervent denunciations of Captain
Warrington indulged in by Lieut. Low. But it is well to remember that
a very similar affair, with the parties reversed, had taken place
but a few months before on the coast of America. This was on Feb.
22d, after the boats of the _Erebus_, 20, and _Primrose_, 18, under
Captains Bartholomew and Phillot, had been beaten off with a loss
of 30 men (including both captains wounded), in an expedition up
St. Mary's River, Ga. The two captains and their vessels then joined
Admiral Cockburn at Cumberland Island, and on the 25th of February
were informed officially of the existence of peace. Three weeks
afterward the American gunboat, No. 168, Mr. Hurlburt, sailed from
Tybee Bar, Ga., bearing despatches for the British admiral. [Footnote:
Letter from Com. Campbell to Sec. of Navy, Mar. 29, 1815. including
one from Sailing-master John H. Hurlburt of Mar. 18, 1815, preserved
in the Naval Archives, in vol. 43, No. 125, of "Captains' Letters."
See also "Niles' Register," viii, 104, 118, etc.] On the same day
in the afternoon she fell in with the _Erebus_, Captain Bartholomew.
Peace having been declared, and having been known to exist for over
three weeks, no effort was made to avoid the British vessel; but
when the gunboat neared the latter she was suddenly hailed and told
to heave to. Mr. Hurlburt answered that he had dispatches for Admiral
Cockburn, to which Captain Bartholomew responded, with many oaths,
that he did not care, he would sink her if she did not send a boat
aboard. When Mr. Hurlburt attempted to answer some muskets were
discharged at him, and he was told to strike. He refused, and the
_Erebus_ immediately opened fire from her great guns; the gunboat
had gotten so far round that her pivot-gun would not bear properly,
but it was discharged across the bows of the _Erebus_, and then Mr.
Hurlburt struck his colors. Although he had lain right under the
foe's broadside, he had suffered no loss or damage except a few ropes
cut, and some shot-holes in the sails. Afterward Captain Bartholomew
apologized, and let the gunboat proceed.
This attack was quite as wanton and unprovoked as Warrington's, and
Bartholomew's foe was relatively to himself even less powerful;
moreover, while the _Peacock's_ crew showed great skill in handling
their guns, the crew of the _Erebus_ most emphatically did not. The
intent in both cases was equally bad, only the British captain lacked
the ability to carry his out.
Summary.
The concluding operations of the war call for much the same comments
as those of the preceding years. The balance of praise certainly
inclines toward the Americans. Captain John Hayes' squadron showed
great hardihood, perseverance and judgment, which were rewarded by
the capture of the _President_; and Decatur's surrender seems decidedly
tame. But as regards the action between the _President_ and _Endymion_
(taking into account the fact that the former fought almost under
the guns of an overwhelming force, and was therefore obliged to expose
herself far more than she otherwise would have), it showed nearly
as great superiority on the side of the Americans as the frigate
actions of 1812 did--in fact, probably quite as much as in the case
of the _Java_. Similarly, while the _Cyane_ and _Levant_ did well,
the _Constitution_ did better; and Sir George Collier's ships certainly
did not distinguish themselves when in chase of _Old Ironsides_. So
with the _Hornet_ in her two encounters; no one can question the
pluck with which the _Penguin_ was fought, but her gunnery was as
bad as that of the _Cornwallis_ subsequently proved. And though the
skirmish between the _Peacock_ and _Nautilus_ is not one to which
an American cares to look back, yet, regarding it purely from a
fighting stand-point, there is no question which crew was the best
trained and most skilful.
LIST OF SHIPS BUILT IN 1815.
Name. Rate. Where Built. Cost.
_Washington_ 74 Portsmouth $235,861.00
_Independence_ 74 Boston 421,810.41
_Franklin_ 74 Philadelphia 438,149.40
_Guerrière_ 44 " 306,158.56
_Java_ 44 Baltimore 232,767.38
_Fulton_ 30 New York 320,000.00
_Torpedo_ "
These ships first put to sea in this year. For the first time in
her history the United States possessed line-of-battle ships; and
for the first time in all history, the steam frigate appeared on
the navy list of a nation. The _Fulton_, with her clumsy central
wheel, concealed from shot by the double hull, with such thick scantling
that none but heavy guns could harm her, and relying for offensive
weapons not on a broadside of thirty guns of small calibre, but on
two pivotal 100-pounder columbiads, or, perhaps, if necessary, on
blows from her hog snout,--the _Fulton_ was the true prototype of
the modern steam ironclad, with its few heavy guns and ram. Almost
as significant is the presence of the _Torpedo_. I have not chronicled
the several efforts made by the Americans to destroy British vessels
with torpedoes; some very nearly succeeded, and although they failed
it must not be supposed that they did no good. On the contrary, they
made the British in many cases very cautious about venturing into
good anchorage (especially in Long Island Sound and the Chesapeake),
and by the mere terror of their name prevented more than one harrying
expedition. The _Fulton_ was not got into condition to be fought
until just as the war ended; had it continued a few months, it is
more than probable that the deeds of the _Merrimac_ and the havoc
wrought by the Confederate torpedoes would have been forestalled by
nearly half a century. As it was, neither of these engines of war
attracted much attention. For ten or fifteen years the _Fulton_ was
the only war-vessel of her kind in existence, and then her name
disappears from our lists. The torpedoes had been tried in the
Revolutionary War, but their failure prevented much notice from being
taken of them, and, besides, at that time there was a strong feeling
that it was dishonorable to blow a ship up with a powder-can concealed
_under_ the water, though highly laudable to burn her by means of
a fire-raft floating _on_ the water--a nice distinction in naval
ethics that has since disappeared. [Footnote: James fairly foams at
the mouth at the mere mention of torpedoes.]
AMERICAN VESSELS DESTROYED, ETC.
By Ocean Cruisers.
Name. Guns. Tonnage. Remarks.
_President_ 52 1,576 captured by squadron.
--- -----
52 guns 1,576 tons.
BRITISH VESSELS DESTROYED, ETC.
a.--By Privateers.
Name. Guns. Tonnage. Remarks.
_Chasseur_ 12 240 by privateer _St. Lawrence_.
b.--By Ocean Cruisers
_Cyane_ 34 659 by _Constitution_.
_Levant_ 20 500 retaken.
_Penguin_ 19 477 by _Hornet_.
--- -----
85 guns 1,876 tons.
20 500 (subtracting _Levant_).
65 guns, 1,376 tons.
In summing up the results of the struggle on the ocean it is to be
noticed that very little was attempted, and nothing done, by the
American Navy that could _materially_ affect the result of the war.
Commodore Rodgers' expedition after the Jamaica Plate fleet failed;
both the efforts to get a small squadron into the East Indian waters
also miscarried; and otherwise the whole history of the struggle on
the ocean is, as regards the Americans, only the record of individual
cruises and fights. The material results were not very great, at
least in their effect on Great Britain, whose enormous navy did not
feel in the slightest degree the loss of a few frigates and sloops.
But morally the result was of inestimable benefit to the United States.
The victories kept up the spirits of the people, cast down by the
defeats on land; practically decided in favor of the Americans the
chief question in dispute--Great Britain's right of search and
impressment--and gave the navy, and thereby the country, a world-wide
reputation. I doubt if ever before a nation gained so much honor
by a few single-ship duels. For there can be no question which side
came out of the war with the greatest credit. The damage inflicted
by each on the other was not very unequal in amount, but the balance
was certainly in favor of the United States, as can be seen by the
following tables, for the details of which reference can be made to
the various years:
AMERICAN LOSS. BRITISH LOSS.
Caused: Tonnage. Guns. Tonnage.[1] Guns.
By Ocean Cruisers 5,984 278 8,451 351
On the Lakes 727 37 4,159 212
By the Army 3,007 116 500 22
By Privateers -- -- 402 20
------ ---- ------ ----
Total, 9,718 431 13,512 605
[Footnote 1: The tonnage can only be given approximately, as that
of the vessels on Lake Champlain is not exactly known, although we
know about what the two fleets tonned relatively to one another.]
In addition we lost 4 revenue-cutters, mounting 24 guns, and, in
the aggregate, of 387 tons, and also, 25 gun-boats, with 71 guns,
and, in the aggregate, of nearly 2,000 tons. This would swell our
loss to 12,105 tons, and 526 guns; [Footnote: This differs greatly
from the figures given by James in his "Naval Occurrences" (App. ccxv).
He makes the American loss 14,844 tons, and 660 guns. His list includes,
for example, the "_Growler_ and _Hamilton_, upset in carrying sail
to avoid Sir James' fleet"; it would be quite reasonable to put down
the loss of the _Royal George_ to the credit of the French. Then he
mentions the _Julia_ and _Growler_, which were recaptured; the _Asp_,
which was also recaptured; the "_New York_, 46, destroyed at Washington,"
which was _not_ destroyed or harmed in any way, and which, moreover,
was a condemned hulk; the "_Boston_, 42 (in reality 32), destroyed
at Washington," which had been a condemned hulk for ten years, and
had no guns or anything else in her, and was as much a loss to our
navy as the fishing up and burning of an old wreck would have been;
and 8 gun-boats whose destruction was either mythical, or else which
were not national vessels. By deducting all these we reduce James'
total by 120 guns, and 2,600 tons; and a few more alterations (such
as excluding the swivels in the _President's_ tops, which he counts,
etc.), brings his number down to that given above--and also affords
a good idea of the value to be attached to his figures and tables.
The British loss he gives at but 530 guns and 10,273 tons. He omits
the 24-gun ship burnt by Chauncy at York, although including the
frigate and corvette burnt by Ross at Washington; if the former is
excluded the two latter should be, which would make the balance still
more in favor of the Americans. He omits the guns of the _Gloucester_,
because they had been taken out of her and placed in battery on the
shore, bur he includes those of the _Adams_, which had been served
in precisely the same way. He omits all reference to the British
14-gun schooner burnt on Ontario, and to all 3 and 4-gun sloops and
schooners captured there, although including the corresponding American
vessels. The reason that he so much underestimates the tonnage,
especially on the lakes, I have elsewhere discussed. His tables of
the relative loss in men are even more erroneous, exaggerating that
of the Americans, and greatly underestimating that of the British;
but I have not tabulated this on account of the impossibility of
getting fair estimates of the killed and wounded in the cutting-out
expeditions, and the difficulty of enumerating the prisoners taken
in descents, etc. Roughly, about 2,700 Americans and 3,800 British
were captured; the comparative loss in killed and wounded stood much
more in our favor.
I have excluded from the British loss the brigs _Detroit_ and
_Caledonia_, and schooner _Nancy_ (aggregating 10 guns and about
500 tons), destroyed on the upper lakes, because I hardly know whether
they could be considered national vessels; the schooner _Highflyer_,
of 8 guns, 40 men, and 209 tons, taken by Rodgers, because she seems
to have been merely a tender; and the _Dominica_, 15, of 77 men, and
270 tons, because her captor, the privateer _Decatur_, though nominally
an American, was really a French vessel. Of course both tables are
only approximately exact; but at any rate the balance of damage and
loss was over 4 to 3 in our favor.] but the loss of the revenue-cutters
and gun-boats can fairly be considered to be counterbalanced by the
capture or destruction of the various British Royal Packets (all
armed with from 2 to 10 guns), tenders, barges, etc., which would
be in the aggregate of at least as great tonnage and gun force, and
with more numerous crews.
But the comparative material loss gives no idea of the comparative
honor gained. The British navy, numbering at the onset a thousand
cruisers, had accomplished less than the American, which numbered
but a dozen. Moreover, most of the loss suffered by the former was
in single fight, while this had been but twice the case with the
Americans, who had generally been overwhelmed by numbers. The
_President_ and _Essex_ were both captured by more than double their
force simply because they were disabled before the fight began,
otherwise they would certainly have escaped. With the exceptions
of the _Chesapeake_ and _Argus_ (both of which were taken fairly,
because their antagonists, though of only equal force, were better
fighters), the remaining loss of the Americans was due to the small
cruisers stumbling from time to time across the path of some one
of the innumerable British heavy vessels. Had Congressional forethought
been sufficiently great to have allowed a few line-of-battle ships
to have been in readiness some time previous to the war, results
of weight might have been accomplished. But the only activity ever
exhibited by Congress in materially increasing the navy previous to
the war, had been in partially carrying out President Jefferson's
ideas of having an enormous force of very worthless gun-boats--a
scheme whose wisdom was about on a par with some of that statesman's
political and military theories.
Of the twelve [Footnote: Not counting the last action of the
_Constitution_, the _President's_ action, or the capture of the _Essex_,
on account of the difficulty of fairly estimating the amount of credit
due to each side. In both the first actions, however, the American
ships seem to have been rather more ably fought than their antagonists,
and, taking into account the overwhelming disadvantages under which
the _Essex_ labored, her defence displayed more desperate bravery
than did that of any other ship during the war.] single-ship actions,
two (those of the _Argus_ and _Chesapeake_) undoubtedly redounded
most to the credit of the British, in two (that of the _Wasp_ with
the _Reindeer_, and that of the _Enterprise_ with the _Boxer_), the
honors were nearly even, and in the other eight the superiority of
the Americans was very manifest. In three actions (those with the
_Penguin_, _Frolic_, and _Shannon_) the combatants were about equal
in strength, the Americans having slightly the advantage; in all
the others but two, the victors combined superiority of force with
superiority of skill. In but two cases, those of the _Argus_ and
_Epervier_, could any lack of courage be imputed to the vanquished.
The second year alone showed to the advantage of the British; the
various encounters otherwise were as creditable to the Americans
at the end as at the beginning of the war. This is worth attending
to, because many authors speak as if the successes of the Americans
were confined to the first year. It is true that no frigate was taken
after the first year, but this was partly because the strictness
of the blockade kept the American frigates more in port, while the
sloops put out to sea at pleasure, and partly because after that
year the British 18-pounder frigates either cruised in couples, or,
when single, invariably refused, by order of the Board of Admiralty,
an encounter with a 24-pounder; and though much of the American success
was unquestionably to be attributed to more men and heavier guns,
yet much of it was not. The war itself gives us two instances in
which defeat was owing solely, it may be said, to inferiority of
force, courage and skill being equal. The _Wasp_ was far heavier
than the _Reindeer_, and, there being nothing to choose between them
in any thing else, the damage done was about proportionate to this
difference. It follows, as a matter of course, that the very much
greater disproportion in loss in the cases of the _Avon_, _Epervier_,
etc., where the disproportion in force was much less (they mounting
32's instead of 24's, and the victors being all of the same class),
is only to be explained by the inferiority in skill on the part of
the vanquished. These remarks apply just as much to the _Argus_.
The _Reindeer_, with her 24's, would have been almost exactly on a
par with her, and yet would have taken her with even greater ease
than the _Peacock_ did with her 32's. In other words, the only effect
of our superiority in metal, men, and tonnage was to increase somewhat
the disparity in loss. Had the _Congress_ and _Constellation_, instead
of the _United States_ and _Constitution_, encountered the _Macedonian_
and _Java_, the difference in execution would have been less than
it was, but the result would have been unchanged, and would have
been precisely such as ensued when the _Wasp_ met the _Frolic_, or
the _Hornet_ the _Penguin_. On the other hand, had the _Shannon_ met
the _Constitution_ there would have been a repetition of the fight
between the _Wasp_ and _Reindeer_; for it is but fair to remember
that great as is the honor that Broke deserves, it is no more than
that due to Manners.
The Republic of the United States owed a great deal to the excellent
make and armament of its ships, but it owed still more to the men
who were in them. The massive timbers and heavy guns of _Old Ironsides_
would have availed but little had it not been for her able commanders
and crews. Of all the excellent single-ship captains, British or
American, produced by the war, the palm should be awarded to Hull.
[Footnote: See "Naval Tactics," by Commander J. H. Ward, and "Life
of Commodore Tatnall," by Charles C. Jones, Jr.] The deed of no other
man (excepting Macdonough) equalled his escape from Broke's five
ships, or surpassed his half-hour's conflict with the _Guerrière_.
After him, almost all the American captains deserve high praise--Decatur,
Jones, Blakely, Biddle, Bainbridge, Lawrence, Burrows, Allen, Warrington,
Stewart, Porter. It is no small glory to a country to have had such
men upholding the honor of its flag. On a par with the best of them
are Broke, Manners, and also Byron and Blythe. It must be but a
poor-spirited American whose veins do not tingle with pride when
he reads of the cruises and fights of the sea-captains, and their
grim prowess, which kept the old Yankee flag floating over the waters
of the Atlantic for three years, in the teeth of the mightiest naval
power the world has ever seen; but it is equally impossible not to
admire Broke's chivalric challenge and successful fight, or the
heroic death of the captain of the _Reindeer_.
Nor can the war ever be fairly understood by any one who does not
bear in mind that the combatants were men of the same stock, who
far more nearly resembled each other than either resembled any other
nation. I honestly believe that the American sailor offered rather
better material for a man-of-warsman than the British, because the
freer institutions of his country (as compared with the Britain of
the drunken Prince Regent and his dotard father--a very different
land from the present free England) and the peculiar exigencies of
his life tended to make him more intelligent and self-reliant; but
the difference, when there was any, was very small, and disappeared
entirely when his opponents had been drilled for any length of time
by men like Broke or Manners. The advantage consisted in the fact
that our _average_ commander was equal to the best, and higher than
the average, of the opposing captains; and this held good throughout
the various grades of the officers. The American officers knew they
had redoubtable foes to contend with, and made every preparation
accordingly. Owing their rank to their own exertions, trained by
practical experience and with large liberty of action, they made
every effort to have their crews in the most perfect state of skill
and discipline. In Commodore Tatnall's biography (p. 15) it is
mentioned that the blockaded _Constellation_ had her men well trained
at the guns and at target practice, though still lying in the river,
so as to be at once able to meet a foe when she put out to sea. The
British captain, often owing his command to his social standing or
to favoritism, hampered by red tape, [Footnote: For instance, James
mentions that they were forbidden to use more than so many shot in
practice, and that Capt. Broke utterly disregarded this command.]
and accustomed by 20 years' almost uninterrupted success to regard
the British arms as invincible, was apt to laugh at all manoeuvring,
[Footnote: Lord Howard Douglass, "Naval Gunnery," states this in
various places.--"Accustomed to contemn all manoeuvring."] and scorned
to prepare too carefully for a fight, trusting to the old British
"pluck and luck" to carry him through. So, gradually he forgot how
to manoeuvre or to prepare. The _Java_ had been at sea six weeks
before she was captured, yet during that time the entire exercise
of her crew at the guns had been confined to the discharge of six
broadsides of blank cartridges (James, vi, 184); the _Constitution_,
like the _Java_, had shipped an entirely new and raw crew previous
to her first cruise, and was at sea but five weeks before she met
the _Guerrière_, and yet her men had been trained to perfection.
This is a sufficient comment on the comparative merits of Captain
Hull and Captain Lambert. The American prepared himself in every
possible way; the Briton tried to cope with courage alone against
courage united to skill. His bad gunnery had not been felt in
contending with European foes [Footnote: Lord Howard Douglass; he
seems to think that in 1812 the British had fallen off absolutely,
though not relatively to their European foes.] as unskilful as
himself. Says Lord Howard Douglass (p. 3): "We entered with too
much confidence into a war with a marine much more expert than any
of our European enemies * * * there was inferiority of gunnery as
well as of force," etc. Admiral Codrington, commenting on the
_Epervier's_ loss, says, as before quoted, that, owing to his being
chosen purely for merit, the American captain was an overmatch for
the British, unless "he encountered our best officers on equal terms."
The best criticism on the war is that given by Capitaine Jurien de
la Gravière. [Footnote: "Guerres Maritimes," ii, p. 269, 272, 274
(Paris, 1847).] After speaking of the heavier metal and greater number
of men of the American ships, he continues: "And yet only an enormous
superiority in the precision and rapidity of their fire can explain
the difference in the losses sustained by the combatants.* * * Nor
was the skill of their gunners the only cause to which the Americans
owed their success. Their ships were faster; the crews, composed
of chosen men, manoeuvred with uniformity and precision; their captains
had that practical knowledge which is only to be acquired by long
experience of the sea; and it is not to be wondered at that the
_Constitution_, when chased during three days by a squadron of five
English frigates, succeeded in escaping, by surpassing them in
manoeuvring, and by availing herself of every ingenious resource
and skilful expedient that maritime science could suggest. * * *
To a marine exalted by success, but rendered negligent by the very
habit of victory, the Congress only opposed the best of vessels and
most formidable of armaments. * * *" [Footnote: The praise should
be given to the individual captains and _not_ to Congress, however;
and none of the American ships had picked crews. During the war the
_Shannon_ had the only crew which could with any fairness be termed
"picked," for her men had been together seven years, and all of her
"boys" must have been well-grown young men, much older than the boys
on her antagonist.]
It is interesting to compare the results of this inter-Anglian warfare,
waged between the Insular and the Continental English, with the results
of the contest that the former were at the same time carrying on
with their Gallo-Roman neighbors across the channel. For this purpose
I shall rely on Troude's "Batailles Navales," which would certainly
not give the English more than their due. His account of the comparative
force in each case can be supplemented by the corresponding one given
in James. Under drawn battles I include all such as were indecisive,
in so far that neither combatant was captured; in almost every case
each captain claimed that the other ran away.
During the year 1812 to 1815 inclusive, there were eight actions
between French and English ships of approximately equal force. In
three of these the English were victorious.
In 1812 the _Victorious_, 74, captured the _Rivoli_, 74.
COMPARATIVE FORCE.
Broadsides, Metal, lbs.
Troude. James.
_Victorious_ 1,014 1,060
_Rivoli_ 1,010 1,085
In 1814 the _Tagus_ captured the _Ceres_ and the _Hebrus_ captured
the _Etoile_.
Broadsides, Metal, lbs.
Troude. James.
_Tagus_ 444 467
_Ceres_ 428 463
_Hebrus_ 467 467
_Etoile_ 428 463
The _Ceres_, when she surrendered, had but one man wounded, although
she had suffered a good deal aloft. The fight between the 74's was
murderous to an almost unexampled degree, 125 English and 400 French
falling. The _Hebrus_ lost 40 and the _Etoile_ 120 men.
Five actions were "drawn."
In 1812 the _Swallow_ fought the _Renard_ and _Garland_. The former
threw 262, the latter 290 lbs. of shot at a broadside.
In 1815 the _Pilot_, throwing 262 lbs., fought a draw with the
_Egerie_ throwing 260.
In 1814 two frigates of the force of the _Tagus_ fought a draw with
two frigates of the force of the _Ceres_; and the _Eurotas_, with
24-pounders failed to capture the _Chlorinde_, which had only
18-pounders. In 1815 the _Amelia_ fought a draw with the _Arethuse_,
the ships throwing respectively 549 and 463 lbs., according to the
English, or 572 and 410 lbs., according to the French accounts. In
spite of being superior in force the English ship lost 141 men, and
the French but 105. This was a bloodier fight than even that of the
_Chesapeake_ with the _Shannon_; but the gunnery was, nevertheless,
much worse than that shown by the two combatants in the famous duel
off Boston harbor, one battle lasting four hours and the other 15
minutes.
There were a number of other engagements where the British were
successful but where it is difficult to compare the forces. Twice
a 74 captured or destroyed two frigates, and a razee performed a
similar feat. An 18-gun brig, the _Weasel_, fought two 16-gun brigs
till one of them blew up.
The loss of the two navies at each other's hands during the four
years was:--
English Ships. French Ships.
1 16-gun brig 3 line-of-battle ships
1 12-gun brig 11 frigates
1 10-gun cutter 2 26-gun flûtes
2 16-gun brigs
1 10-gun brig
many gun-boats, etc.
Or one navy lost three vessels, mounting 38 guns, and the other 19
vessels, mounting 830 guns.
During the same time the English lost to the Danes one 14-gun brig,
and destroyed in return a frigate of 46 guns, a 6-gun schooner, a
4-gun cutter, two galliots and several gun-brigs.
In the above lists it is to be noticed how many of the engagements
were indecisive, owing chiefly to the poor gunnery of the combatants.
The fact that both the _Eurotas_ and the _Amelia_, though more
powerfully armed and manned than the _Hebrus_, yet failed to capture
the sister ships of the frigate taken by the latter, shows that heavy
metal and a numerous crew are not the only elements necessary for
success; indeed the _Eurotas_ and _Amelia_ were as superior in force
to their antagonists as the _Constitution_ was to the _Java_.
But the chief point to be noticed is the overwhelming difference
in the damage the two navies caused each other. This difference was,
roughly, as five to one against the Danes, and as fifty to one against
the French; while it was as four to three in favor of the American.
These figures give some idea of the effectiveness of the various
navies. At any rate they show that we had found out what the European
nations had for many years in vain striven to discover--a way to
do more damage than we received in a naval contest with England.