Transcriber’s Note: Italic text is enclosed in _underscores_; boldface
text is enclosed in =equals signs=. Additional notes will be found near
the end of this ebook.
THE HISTORY OF OUR NAVY
[Illustration: CHASING A SLAVER, OFF THE AFRICAN COAST.
_From a photograph, in the possession of Mr. Edward Trenchard, of the
painting by Melbye._]
THE
HISTORY OF OUR NAVY
FROM ITS ORIGIN TO THE PRESENT DAY
1775–1897
BY
JOHN R. SPEARS
AUTHOR OF “THE PORT OF MISSING SHIPS,” “THE GOLD DIGGINGS
OF CAPE HORN,” ETC.
WITH MORE THAN FOUR HUNDRED ILLUSTRATIONS
MAPS AND DIAGRAMS
_IN FOUR VOLUMES_
_VOLUME III._
NEW YORK
CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS
1897
COPYRIGHT, 1897, BY
CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS
MANHATTAN PRESS
474 W. BROADWAY
NEW YORK
TO ALL WHO WOULD SEEK PEACE
AND PURSUE IT
CONTENTS
PAGE
CHAPTER I. WHEN PORTER SWEPT THE PACIFIC 1
The Story of the Second Cruise of the Famous Little Frigate
_Essex_--Around Cape Horn and Alone in the Broad South
Sea--Capture of a Peruvian Picaroon--Disguising the _Essex_--The
British Whaling Fleet Taken by Surprise--An Armed Whaler
Transformed into a Yankee Cruiser--The Sailorman’s Paradise
among the Nukahiva Group--When Farragut was a Midshipman--An
Incipient Mutiny among the Sailors who Wanted to Remain among
the Islands--Farragut as a Captain at Twelve.
CHAPTER II. PORTER’S GALLANT ACTION AT VALPARAISO 24
A Generous Reception for a Predatory British Frigate--Hillyar’s
Lucky Escape--Hillyar’s Explicit Orders--When the _Essex_ had
Lost her Top-mast the _Phœbe_ and the _Cherub_ Attacked the
Yankee in Neutral Water--It was a Two-to-one Fight and the Enemy
had Long Guns to our Short--The British had to Get Beyond the
Range of the _Essex_--Magnificent Bravery of the Yankee Crew
when under the Fire of the Long Range British Guns--The _Essex_
on Fire--Fought to the Last Gasp--Porter’s Interrupted Voyage
Home--The Men who were Left at Nukahiva in Sorry Straits at Last.
CHAPTER III. TALES OF THE YANKEE CORVETTES 54
A Little Lop-sided Frigate Rebuilt into a Superior
Sloop-of-war--Overland (almost) to Escape the Blockade--Her Luck
as a Cruiser--A Marvellous Race with a British Frigate over a
Course Four Hundred Miles Long--Saved by a Squall--Cornered
in the Penobscot--The Gallant Fight of the Yankee Crew
against Overwhelming Numbers--Building a New Navy--The
Short-lived Portsmouth Corvette _Frolic_--One Broadside was
Enough--Captured by the Enemy--Swift and Deadly Work of the Crew
of the Yankee _Peacock_ when they Met the _Epervier_--Distinctly
a Lucky Ship--Fate of the _Siren_ After the Coffin Floated.
CHAPTER IV. MYSTERY OF THE LAST WASP 80
A Typical New England Yankee Crew--Youthful Haymakers and
Wood-choppers--Sea-sick for a Week--From Flails to Cutlasses,
from Pitchforks to Boarding-pikes, from a Night-watch at a
Deer-lick to a Night Battle with the British--After British
Commerce in British In-shore Waters--Met by the British
Sloop-of-war _Reindeer_--Magnificent Pluck of the British
Captain with a Crew that was “The Pride of Plymouth”--Shot
to Pieces in Eighteen Minutes--A Liner that could not Catch
her--Wonderful Night Battle with the _Avon_--Shooting Men from
the Enemy’s Tops as Raccoons are Shot from Tree-tops--The
Enemy’s Water-line Located by Drifting Foam--Not Captured but
Destroyed--The Mystery.
CHAPTER V. ON THE UPPER LAKES IN 1814 105
An Expedition into Lake Huron--The British had the Best of it in
the End--Gallant Action of a British Commander at the Head of
the Niagara River--Cautious Captain Chauncey as a Knight of the
Whip-saw, Adze, and Maul--His Equally Prudent Opponent--British
Torpedoes that Failed--When a Thousand Men Supported by Seven
Ships Armed with One Hundred and Twenty-one Cannon “with Great
Gallantry” Routed Three Hundred Yankees at Oswego--Supplies
the British did not Get--A Naval Flotilla Caught in Big Sandy
Creek--Chauncey Afloat on the Lake--Gallant Young American
Officers--Line-of-battle Ships that were Never Launched.
CHAPTER VI. TO DEFEND THE NORTHERN GATEWAY 132
Character of the Red-coated Invaders--“Shamed the Most Ferocious
Barbarians of Antiquity”--Work of the Youthful Yankee Lieutenant
Macdonough to Stay the Tide on Lake Champlain--Ship-building
at Otter Creek--A British Attempt against the New Vessels
Repulsed--The British Ship-builders at Isle-Aux-Noix--A
Comparison of Forces Before the Battle--Macdonough’s Foresight
in Choosing the Battle-ground--Macdonough as a Seaman.
CHAPTER VII. MACDONOUGH’S VICTORY ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN 151
Thousands Gathered on the Hill-tops Overlooking the Scene--The
British Chose to Make a Long-range Fight--Influence of the First
British Broadside on a Sporting Rooster--Macdonough’s First
Shot--A Reeling Blow from the Enemy’s Flagship--Fighting against
Tremendous Odds--Too Hot for One Yankee Ship--The _Saratoga’s_
Guns Dismounted--The Swarming British Gun-boats--“Winding Ship”
when Defeat Impended--The British Failure when Imitating the
Movement--The Stubborn Bravery of a British Captain--When the
Firing Ceased and the Smoke Drifted down the Gale--A Measure
of the Relative Efficiency of the two Forces--Two Yankee
Squadron Victories Compared--A Stirring Tale of Macdonough’s
Youth--Reward for the Victors--Results of the Victory.
CHAPTER VIII. SAMUEL C. REID OF THE _GENERAL ARMSTRONG_ 186
Story of the Desperate Defence of America’s Most Famous
Privateer--She was Lying in Neutral Water when Four Hundred
Picked British Seamen in Boats that were Armed with Cannon came
to Take her by Night--Although she had but Ninety Men, and
there was Time to Fire but One Round from her Guns, the Attack
was Repelled with Frightful Slaughter--Scuttled when a British
Ship came to Attack her--The Cunning Omissions and Deliberate
Misstatements of the British Historians Examined in Detail--The
Honorable Career of Captain Reid in After Life--A Picked Crew
of British Seamen After the _Neufchâtel_--A Three-to-one Fight
where the Yankees Won--Other Brave Militiamen of the Sea.
CHAPTER IX. A YANKEE FRIGATE TAKEN BY THE ENEMY 209
They Completely Mobbed “The Waggon” and so Got her at Last--The
First Naval Contest After the Treaty of Peace was Signed--The
_President_, when Running the Blockade at New York, Grounded
on the Bar, and, although she Pounded Over, she Fell in with
the Squadron--A British Frigate Thoroughly Whipped, but Two
more Overtook her--A Point on Naval Architecture--A Treaty that
Humiliates the Patriot.
CHAPTER X. THE NAVY AT THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS 229
The British Grab at the Valley of the Mississippi--Stopped at
Lake Borgne by the Yankee Gun-boats under Lieutenant Thomas
Ap Catesby Jones--The British Came Five to One in Numbers and
Almost Four to One in Weight of Metal--Defending the _Seahorse_
with Fourteen Men against One Hundred and Seventy-five--The
Full British Force Driven upon Two Gun-boats--A Most Heroic
Defence that Lasted, in Spite of Overwhelming Odds, more than
One Hour--Indomitable Sailing-master George Ulrich--A Fight, the
Memory of which still Helps to Preserve the Peace--Work of the
_Caroline_ and the _Louisiana_.
CHAPTER XI. ONCE MORE THE _CONSTITUTION_ 241
She was a Long Time Idle in Port--A Touching Tale of
Sentiment--Away at Last--Captain Stewart’s Presentiment--Found
Two of the Enemy as he had Predicted--A Battle where the Yankee
Showed Mastery of the Seaman’s Art--Captain Stewart Settled a
Dispute--Caught Napping in Porto Praya--Swift Work Getting to
Sea--A Most Remarkable Chase--Three British Frigates in Chase
of Two Yankee Chose to Follow the Smaller when the Two Split
Tacks--Astounding Exhibit of Bad Marksmanship--A Cause of
Suicide--The Poem that Saved _Old Ironsides_.
CHAPTER XII. IN THE WASTES OF THE SOUTH ATLANTIC 270
The Story of a Battle--The _Hornet_ and the _Penguin_ in the
Shadows of Tristan d’Acunha--As Fair a Match as is Known to
Naval Annals--It Took the Yankees Ten Minutes to Dismantle the
Enemy and Five more to Riddle his Hull--The British Captain’s
Forceful Description of the Yankee Fire--A Marvellous Escape
from a Liner--The _Peacock_ in the Straits of Sunda--When the
Lonely Situation of this Sloop is Considered did Warrington Show
a Lack of Humanity?--If he Did, What did the British Captain
Bartholomew Show?
CHAPTER XIII. IN BRITISH PRISONS 288
A Typical Story of the Life of an American Seaman who was
Impressed in 1810 and Allowed to Become a Prisoner when War was
Declared--Luck in Escaping a Flogging--Letters to his Father
Destroyed--British Regard for the Man’s Rights when the American
Government Took up the Case--A Narragansett Indian Impressed--To
Dartmoor Prison--Mustered Naked Men in the Snows of Winter and
Kept them in Rooms where Buckets of Water Froze Solid--Murder
of Prisoners Six Weeks After it was Officially Known that the
Treaty of Peace had been Ratified--Notable Self-restraint of the
Americans--Smoothed Over with a Disavowal.
CHAPTER XIV. STORIES OF THE DUELLISTS 305
Traditions of Personal Combats that Illustrate, in a Way, a
Part of the Life Led by the Old Time Naval Officers--When an
Englishman did not Get “a Yankee for Breakfast”--They were
Offended by the Names of the Yankee Ships--Somers was Able to
Prove that he was not Devoid of Courage--The Fate of Decatur,
the Most Famous of the Navy’s Duellists.
CHAPTER XV. AMONG THE WEST INDIA PIRATES 324
A Breed of Cowardly Cutthroats Legitimately Descended from the
Licensed Privateers and Nourished under the Peculiar Conditions
of Climate, Geography, and Governmental Anarchy Prevailing
Around and in the Caribbean Sea--Commodore Perry Loses his Life
Because of them--William Howard Allen Killed--Pirate Caves with
the Bones of Dead in them--Porto Rico Treachery--The Unfortunate
Foxardo Affair--Making the Coasts of Sumatra and Africa Safe for
American Traders.
CHAPTER XVI. DECATUR AND THE BARBARY PIRATES 339
Supposing the British would Sweep the American Navy from the
Seas during the War of 1812, the Dey of Algiers went Cruising
for Yankee Ships, and Got One, while Tunis and Tripoli Gave up
to the British the Prizes that a Yankee Privateer had Made--The
Algerian was Humbled After he had Lost Two War-ships, and the
others Made Peace on the Yankees’ Terms without the Firing of a
Gun--Bravery of the Pirate Admiral and his Crew.
CHAPTER XVII. LED A HARD LIFE AND GOT FEW THANKS 359
Work that Naval Men have had to Do in Out-of-the-way Parts
of the World in Times of Peace--Chasing Slavers on the
African Coast when Slave-owners Ruled the Yankee Nation--The
American Flag a Shield for an Infamous Traffic--Capture of the
_Martha_ and the _Chatsworth_--Teaching Malayans to Fear the
Flag--Stories of Piratical Assaults on Yankee Traders, and the
Navy’s Part in the Matter--A Chinese Assault on the American
Flag--“Blood is Thicker than Water”--A Medal Well Earned by a
Warlike Display in Time of Peace.
CHAPTER XVIII. IN THE WAR WITH MEXICO 387
Thomas Ap Catesby Jones, the Hero of Lake Borgne, Struck the
First Blow of the War--Operations along the Pacific Coast that
Insured the Acquisition of California--Stockton and “Pathfinder”
Frémont Operate Together--Wild Horses as Weapons of Offence--The
_Somers_ Overturned while Chasing a Blockade Runner--Josiah
Tattnall Before Vera Cruz--When Santa Anna Landed--The Yankee
Sailors in a Shore Battery--The Hard Fate of One of the Bravest
American Officers.
CHAPTER XIX. EXPEDITION IN AID OF COMMERCE 434
Commodore Matthew C. Perry and the First American Treaty
with Japan--An Exhibition of Power and Dignity that Won the
Respect of a Nation that had been Justified in its Contempt for
Civilized Greed--Services of Naval Officers that are not Well
Known and have never been Fully Appreciated by the Nation.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
CHASING A SLAVER OFF THE AFRICAN COAST. (From a photograph, in
the possession of Mr. Edward Trenchard, of the painting by
Melbye), _Frontispiece_.
MAP SHOWING CAPTAIN PORTER’S CRUISE IN THE PACIFIC, 1813, 5
JOHN DOWNES. (From an oil-painting at the Naval Academy,
Annapolis), 11
THE _ESSEX_ AND HER PRIZES AT NUKAHIVA IN THE MARQUESAS
ISLANDS. (From an engraving by Strickland of a drawing by
Captain Porter), 17
MAP OF THE HARBOR IN WHICH THE _ESSEX_ AND HER PRIZES LAY.
(After a drawing by Captain Porter), 20
A MARQUESAN WAR-CANOE. (From an engraving by Strickland of a
drawing by Captain Porter), 22
FIGHT OF THE _ESSEX_ WITH THE _PHŒBE_ AND _CHERUB_. (From an
engraving by Strickland of a drawing by Captain Porter), 37
A MARQUESAN “CHIEF WARRIOR.” (From an engraving by Strickland
of a drawing by Captain Porter), 51
UNITED STATES RAZEE _INDEPENDENCE_ AT ANCHOR. (From the “Kedge
Anchor”), 56
CHARLES MORRIS. (From a photograph owned by Mr. C. B. Hall), 57
UNITED STATES SHIP-OF-WAR _COLUMBUS_ AT ANCHOR. (From the
“Kedge Anchor”), 63
LEWIS WARRINGTON. (From an engraving by Gimbrede of the
painting by Jarvis), 67
DIAGRAM OF THE _PEACOCK-EPERVIER_ BATTLE, 68
THE _PEACOCK_ AND THE _EPERVIER_. (From a wood-cut in the
“Naval Monument”), 69
THE _PEACOCK_ AND THE _EPERVIER_. (From an engraving by
Strickland of a drawing by Birch), 73
MEDAL AWARDED TO LEWIS WARRINGTON AFTER THE CAPTURE OF THE
_EPERVIER_ BY THE _PEACOCK_, 77
JOHNSTON BLAKELEY. (From an engraving by Gimbrede), 82
THE _WASP_ AND _REINDEER_. (From a wood-cut in the “Naval
Monument”), 87
MEDAL AWARDED TO JOHNSTON BLAKELEY AFTER THE CAPTURE OF THE
_REINDEER_ BY THE _WASP_, 90
THE _WASP_ AND _AVON_. (From a wood-cut in the “Naval
Monument”), 94
DIAGRAM OF THE _WASP-AVON_ BATTLE, 96
SCENE OF NAVAL OPERATIONS ON LAKE HURON, 1814, 108
THE ATTACK ON FORT OSWEGO, LAKE ONTARIO, MAY 6, 1814. (From an
engraving, published in 1815, by R. Havel, after a drawing of
Lieutenant Hewett, Royal Marines), 118–119
ONE OF THE UNLAUNCHED LAKE VESSELS. (From a photograph), 130
NEAR SKENESBOROUGH ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN. (From an old engraving in
the collection of Mr. W. C. Crane), 133
THOMAS MACDONOUGH. (From an engraving by Forrest of the
portrait by Jarvis), 140
MAJOR-GENERAL ALEXANDER MACOMB. (From an engraving by Longacre
of the portrait by Sully), 146
THE BATTLE OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN. (From an old wood-cut), 155
THE BATTLE OF PLATTSBURG. (From an old wood-cut), 157
MACDONOUGH’S VICTORY ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN. (From an engraving in
the “Naval Monument”), 159
BATTLE OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN, 1814, 162
THE BATTLE OF PLATTSBURG. (From an engraving of the picture by
Chappel), 167
MACDONOUGH’S VICTORY ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN. (From an engraving by
Tanner of the painting by Reinagle), 171
MEDAL AWARDED TO THOMAS MACDONOUGH AFTER HIS VICTORY ON LAKE
CHAMPLAIN, 182
STEPHEN CASSIN’S MEDAL, 183
THE _GENERAL ARMSTRONG_ AT FAYAL, 191
FIGHT BETWEEN THE BRIG _CHASSEUR_ AND THE SCHOONER _ST.
LAWRENCE_ OFF HAVANA, FEBRUARY 26, 1815. (From a lithograph
in Coggeshall’s “Privateers”), 205
COMMODORE STEPHEN DECATUR, 213
THE _PRESIDENT_ ENGAGING THE _ENDYMION_, WHILE PURSUED BY THE
BRITISH SQUADRON. (From a wood-cut in the “Naval Monument”),
219
CAPTURE OF THE _PRESIDENT_ BY A BRITISH SQUADRON. (From a rare
lithograph), 223
SIR EDWARD MICHAEL PACKENHAM. (From an etching by Rosenthal of
a print in the collection of Mr. Clarence S. Bement), 231
MAP SHOWING MOUTHS OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER, 234
CHARLES STEWART. (From a painting by Sully, at the Naval
Academy, Annapolis), 243
THE _CONSTITUTION’S_ ESCAPE FROM THE _TENEDOS_ AND _JUNON_.
(From an old wood-cut), 244
DIAGRAM OF THE BATTLE OF THE _CONSTITUTION_ WITH THE _CYANE_
AND _LEVANT_, 249
ACTION OF THE _CONSTITUTION_ WITH THE _CYANE_ AND _LEVANT_.
(From an aquatint by Strickland), 253
MEDAL AWARDED TO CHARLES STEWART AFTER THE BATTLE OF THE
_CONSTITUTION_ WITH THE _CYANE_ AND _LEVANT_, 258
CHARLES STEWART (AND THE BATTLE OF THE _CONSTITUTION_ WITH
THE _CYANE_ AND _LEVANT_). (From a lithograph at the Naval
Academy, Annapolis), 263
THE _HORNET_ AND _PENGUIN_. (From an old wood-cut), 274
THE _HORNET_ AND _PENGUIN_. (From a wood-cut in the “Naval
Monument”), 277
MEDAL AWARDED TO JAMES BIDDLE FOR THE CAPTURE OF THE _PENGUIN_
BY THE _HORNET_, 280
THE _HORNET’S_ ESCAPE FROM THE _CORNWALLIS_. (From a wood-cut
in the “Naval Monument”), 283
DARTMOOR PRISON. (From a wood-cut of a contemporary engraving),
294
DARTMOOR PRISON. (From an old broadside, with notes by one of
the prisoners), 297
DARTMOOR PRISONERS OF 1812. (From a copy of a daguerreotype at
the Naval Academy, Annapolis), 301
UNITED STATES SLOOP-OF-WAR _ALBANY_ UNDER SAIL. (From the
“Kedge Anchor”), 328
A SHIP-OF-WAR’S CUTTER. (From the “Kedge Anchor”), 330
LASHING UP HAMMOCKS. (From the “Kedge Anchor”), 332
A SHIP-OF-WAR’S LAUNCH. (From the “Kedge Anchor”), 334
SAILOR’S MESS-TABLE. (From the “Kedge Anchor”), 337
A TYPICAL BARBARY CORSAIR. (From an engraving by Newton after a
drawing by J. Charnock), 342
DECATUR’S SQUADRON AT ANCHOR OFF THE CITY OF ALGIERS, JUNE 30,
1815. (From an engraving by Monger and Jocelin), 349
DECATUR AND THE ALGERIAN, 352
RETURN OF BAINBRIDGE’S SQUADRON FROM THE MEDITERRANEAN IN 1815.
(From an engraving by Leney of a drawing by M. Corné), 356
THE ACTION AT QUALLAH BATTOO, FEBRUARY 6, 1832. (From an
aquatint by Smith of a drawing made on board the _Potomac_ in
the offing), 371
BOMBARDMENT OF MUCKIE AND LANDING OF A FORCE TO BURN THE TOWN.
(From an engraving by Osborne in “The Flagship,” published,
1840, by D. Appleton & Co.), 377
“BLOOD IS THICKER THAN WATER.”--JOSIAH TATTNALL GOING TO
THE ASSISTANCE OF THE ENGLISH GUN-BOATS AT PEIHO RIVER.
(From a painting, by a Chinese artist, owned by Mr. Edward
Trenchard), 383
SCENE OF NAVAL OPERATIONS ON THE PACIFIC COAST, 389
JOHN B. MONTGOMERY. (From a photograph), 392
R. F. STOCKTON. (From an engraving by Hall of a painting on
ivory by Newton, 1840), 393
PERRY’S EXPEDITION CROSSING THE BAR AT THE MOUTH OF THE TABASCO
RIVER. (From a lithograph designed and drawn on stone by
Lieutenant H. Walke, U. S. N.), 395
THE NAVAL EXPEDITION UNDER COMMODORE PERRY ASCENDING THE
TABASCO RIVER AT THE DEVIL’S BEND. (From a lithograph
designed and drawn on stone by Lieutenant H. Walke,
U. S. N.), 399
S. F. DUPONT. (From a photograph), 402
THE TABASCO EXPEDITION ATTACKED BY THE MEXICANS FROM THE
CHAPPARAL. (From a lithograph designed and drawn on stone by
Lieutenant H. Walke, U. S. N.), 403
SCENE OF NAVAL OPERATIONS IN GULF OF MEXICO, 406
LANDING OF PERRY’S EXPEDITION AGAINST TABASCO. (From a
lithograph designed and drawn on stone by Lieutenant H.
Walke, U. S. N.), 407
COMMODORE PERRY’S EXPEDITION TAKING POSSESSION OF TUSPAN. (From
a lithograph of a drawing by Lieutenant H. Walke, U. S. N.),
411
MATTHEW CALBRAITH PERRY. (From an oil-painting at the Naval
Academy, Annapolis), 414
CAPTURE OF TABASCO BY PERRY’S EXPEDITION. (From a lithograph
designed and drawn on stone by Lieutenant H. Walke,
U. S. N.), 415
BRIG-OF-WAR LIKE THE _SOMERS_ UNDER FULL SAIL. (From the “Kedge
Anchor”), 419
THE _MISSISSIPPI_ GOING TO THE RELIEF OF THE _HUNTER_ IN A
STORM OFF VERA CRUZ. (From a lithograph designed and drawn on
stone by Lieutenant H. Walke, U. S. N.), 421
NAVAL BOMBARDMENT OF VERA CRUZ, MARCH, 1847. (From a lithograph
published in 1847 by N. Currier), 425
THE UNITED STATES NAVAL BATTERY DURING THE BOMBARDMENT OF VERA
CRUZ ON THE 24TH AND 25TH OF MARCH, 1847. (From a lithograph
designed and drawn on stone by Lieutenant H. Walke,
U. S. N.), 429
THE BATTLE OF VERA CRUZ.--NIGHT SCENE. (From an engraving by
Thompson of a drawing by Billings), 431
THE _MISSISSIPPI_ IN A CYCLONE ON HER JAPAN CRUISE. (From a
wood-cut in Perry’s “Narrative” of this trip), 440
THE _MISSISSIPPI_ AT JAMESTOWN, ST. HELENA. (From a lithograph
in Perry’s “Narrative”), 441
VIEW OF URAGA. YEDDO BAY. (From a lithograph in Perry’s
“Narrative”), 445
A JAPANESE JUNK. (From a lithograph in Perry’s “Narrative”),
448
COMMODORE PERRY’S FIRST LANDING AT GORAHAMA. (From a lithograph
in Perry’s “Narrative ”), 451
COMMODORE PERRY DELIVERING THE PRESIDENT’S LETTER TO THE
JAPANESE REPRESENTATIVES. (From a lithograph in Perry’s
“Narrative”), 453
A JAPANESE FISH-PRESENT. (From a wood-cut in Perry’s
“Narrative”), 456
THE IMPERIAL BARGE AT YOKOHAMA. (From a wood-cut in Perry’s
“Narrative”), 457
THE FINAL PAGE OF THE FIRST TREATY WITH JAPAN. (From a
facsimile of the original), 458
COMMODORE PERRY MEETING THE IMPERIAL COMMISSIONERS AT YOKOHAMA.
(From a lithograph in Perry’s “Narrative”), 459
JAPANESE WRESTLERS AT YOKOHAMA. (From a lithograph in Perry’s
“Narrative”), 461
COMMODORE’S PENNANT, 1812–1860. (From a pennant at the Naval
Institute, Annapolis), 464
THE UNITED STATES BRIG _PORPOISE_ IN A SQUALL. (From a picture
drawn and engraved by W. J. Bennett, in 1844), 465
THE UNITED STATES FRIGATE _HUDSON_ RETURNING FROM A CRUISE,
WITH A FAIR WIND. (From a picture drawn and engraved by W. J.
Bennett), 467
THE HISTORY OF OUR NAVY
CHAPTER I
WHEN PORTER SWEPT THE PACIFIC
THE STORY OF THE SECOND CRUISE OF THE FAMOUS LITTLE FRIGATE
_ESSEX_--AROUND CAPE HORN AND ALONE IN THE BROAD SOUTH SEA--CAPTURE
OF A PERUVIAN PICAROON--DISGUISING THE _ESSEX_--THE BRITISH WHALING
FLEET TAKEN BY SURPRISE--AN ARMED WHALER TRANSFORMED INTO A YANKEE
CRUISER--THE SAILORMAN’S PARADISE AMONG THE NUKAHIVA GROUP--WHEN
FARRAGUT WAS A MIDSHIPMAN--AN INCIPIENT MUTINY AMONG THE SAILORS
WHO WANTED TO REMAIN AMONG THE ISLANDS--FARRAGUT AS A CAPTAIN AT
TWELVE.
Of great renown in the annals of the American Navy is the name of
Porter, for the deeds of Captain David Porter with the little frigate
_Essex_ fill a large space in the story of the War of 1812; while those
of David D. Porter, the son of Captain David Porter, during the Civil
War, of which the story will be told farther on, raised him to the
highest rank.
The second cruise of the _Essex_ began on October 28, 1812, when she
sailed from the Delaware bound across the ocean to Port Praya, Cape
de Verde, to meet the _Constitution_ and the _Hornet_ and join in a
cruise against British commerce in the far East. Her luck in winds
having made the passage longer than anticipated, she arrived after the
_Constitution_ and _Hornet_ had sailed for Brazil. Having replenished
his stores at Port Praya, Captain Porter stood away toward the coast
of Africa from Port Praya in order to deceive the people as to his
destination, and then ran away toward the island of Fernando de
Noronha, where he expected once more to meet his consorts. This passage
was without event until December 11, 1812, when at 2 o’clock in the
afternoon a sail was seen to windward. Thereat the British signals
captured from the _Alert_ in the first cruise were displayed, but
they failed to bring the stranger, which was soon seen to be a large
brig, toward the _Essex_. So Porter stood up toward the brig, and by
nightfall was near enough to see that she was flying British colors;
and a little later she displayed night-signals. When Porter was seen to
be unable to answer these, the crew of the brig crowded on all sail and
manœuvred with skill to escape, but at 9 o’clock at night the _Essex_
was alongside, and after a volley of musketry from the Yankee, the brig
struck. She proved to be the British packet, _Nocton_, of ten guns
and thirty-one men. Her cargo included $55,000 in coin. The coin was
taken out and the brig sent toward home under a prize-crew of seventeen
men, but she was recaptured by the swift-sailing _Belvidera_ when near
Bermuda.
The _Essex_ reached Fernando de Noronha on December 14th, and there
found a letter from Commodore Bainbridge. As this port was frequented
by British men-of-war this letter was signed with the name of the
captain of a British ship, the _Acasta_--Bainbridge having caused the
Brazilian authorities of the island to believe that the _Constitution_
and the _Hornet_ were the _Acasta_ and the _Morgiana_--and directed
Porter to pose as Sir James Yeo, of the _Southampton_, on reaching the
island. Because of this diplomacy--because Porter took a letter which
Bainbridge had written to him under the name of Sir James Yeo--British
writers have said he was guilty of conduct unbecoming to a gentleman
and officer!
The letter was double; there was one letter in common ink that meant
very little, and on the back of this was another in lime-juice that
directed Porter to meet the _Constitution_ and _Hornet_ off Cape Frio.
To Cape Frio, a lofty and most picturesque point on the Brazilian
coast, went Porter, and there he lay under short sail, filling and
backing, on the day when Bainbridge, with the _Constitution_, won the
memorable victory over the British frigate _Java_. He remained cruising
off the Brazilian coast for several days, capturing the British
schooner _Elizabeth_ meantime, and eventually put into St. Catharine’s,
where he learned what had happened off Bahia, including the fact that
the British ship-of-the-line _Montagu_ had driven the _Hornet_ off to
the north.
So Porter was left free to choose his own course. It was characteristic
of the man that he should have decided, in spite of the fact that
the Spaniards, who controlled the west coast of South America, were
practically allies of Great Britain, that he would round the Horn and
destroy the British shipping in the southern Pacific. He could not hope
for a really friendly reception in any port there, but he was confident
that he could live off the enemy. Sailing from St. Catharine’s on
January 26, 1813, he found an enemy on board his ship next day which
we, in this era of the medical science, can scarcely appreciate. A form
of dysentery appeared among the crew that was apparently contagious,
or was, at least, caused by conditions that threatened the whole crew.
It was especially dangerous from the fact that he was bound around the
Horn, where the weather would compel the closing of ports, hatches,
and companion-ways, and so prevent ventilating the ship. But the
commonsense of the captain served where the knowledge of medicine
failed, for he adopted what would now be called rigorous sanitary
measures; he kept the ship and crew absolutely clean and so stopped the
epidemic and preserved the health of the crew in a way unheard of, in
those days of scurvy and ship fever.
[Illustration: MAP SHOWING CAPTAIN PORTER’S CRUISE IN THE PACIFIC,
1813.]
The ship made the Horn in February, the end of the southern summer
season--the season of the fiercest gales in that region. The weather
became frightful. The seas broke over the little frigate continually,
gun-deck ports were broken in fore and aft, extra spars were swept
overboard, and boats were knocked to pieces at the davits by the waves.
At one time the boatswain was so terrified by the assaults of the sea
that he shouted:
“The ship’s side is stove in. We are sinking!” and for a brief time
there was a panic among some of the crew.
“This was the only instance in which I ever saw a regular good seaman
paralyzed by fear of the perils of the sea,” wrote Midshipman Farragut.
However, early in March the _Essex_ anchored at Mocha Island, where
an abundance of hogs and horses were found running wild. The crew
had a good time hunting both, and a large quantity of the meat of
each was salted down for future use. From here the _Essex_ sailed to
Valparaiso, where it was learned that Chili had declared herself free
of Spain.
Sailing from Valparaiso on March 20, 1813, Porter fell in with the
American whaler _Charles_, of Nantucket, and learned that a Spanish
ship of the coast had captured the American whalers _Walker_ and
_Barclay_ off Coquimbo, only two days before.
At this, Porter headed for the scene of the trouble, and the next
morning (March 26th) saw a sail.
“Immediately, from her appearance and the description I had received
of her, I knew her to be one of the picaroons that had been for a
long time harassing our commerce,” wrote Porter in his journal. So
he hoisted British colors and sailed up beside the stranger and
learned that she was the Peruvian cruiser _Nereyda_, of fifteen guns.
Her commander being deceived by the British flag, boasted of having
captured the two Yankee whalers. Then Porter got from him a list of the
British ships in those waters, with a description of each, so far as
the Peruvian could remember. This done, Porter disclosed the character
of the _Essex_ to the astonished Peruvian, threw overboard all the guns
and arms of his corsairs, and wrote a letter to the Viceroy of Peru
telling why this was done, after which the _Nereyda_ was allowed to go.
Porter’s next work was in “disguising our ship, which was done by
painting in such a manner as to conceal her real force and exhibit in
its stead the appearance of painted guns, etc.; also by giving her the
appearance of having a poop, and otherwise so altering her as to make
her look like a Spanish merchant-vessel.”
The sailormen were still at this work when a sail was seen that,
when captured, proved to be the British whaler _Barclay_. With this
vessel in company the _Essex_ sailed to the Galapagos group, where,
on April 29th, the British whaler _Montezuma_, with 1,400 barrels of
whale oil on board, was taken. On the same day the whalers _Georgiana_
and _Policy_ were overhauled. The wind having failed, Porter got out
his boats to attack these two vessels. When the boats drew near the
_Georgiana_ her crew gave three cheers at the sight of the American
flag and one of them shouted, “We are all Americans.” And that was very
near the truth, for she was a British whaler, licensed as a letter of
marque, and had a pressed crew of whom the majority were Americans.
The _Policy_ surrendered also without a fight. As the _Georgiana_ was
pierced for eighteen guns, and was a smart sailer, Porter transferred
the ten guns carried by the _Policy_ to her, which, with the six she
already had on board, made her quite a respectable cruiser. She was
manned by forty-one men under Lieutenant Downes. It was estimated
that the three ships taken, with their cargoes, were worth $500,000;
but their real value to Porter was in the fact that they carried an
abundance of spare canvas, cordage, etc., so that he was able to fit
out the _Essex_ with new sails, running gear, and standing rigging
wherever needed, and provide liberally for future needs.
On May 28th another sail was seen, but as night came on she was lost
to view. Next morning, however, she was sighted from the _Montezuma_,
and after a long chase was taken by the _Essex_. This prize was the
letter-of-marque whaler _Atlantic_, mounting eight eighteen-pounders,
and reputed as the fastest ship in those waters. She was commanded by a
man named Weir, “who had the pusillanimity to say that ‘though he was
an American-born he was an ‘Englishman at heart,’” so wrote Midshipman
Farragut.
That same evening another vessel was seen, and late at night she
was captured also. She proved to be the letter-of-marque whaler
_Greenwich_, a ship that had sailed from England under convoy of the
ill-fated _Java_. She was full of ship-stores and provisions of every
kind, and had on board, moreover, one hundred tons of water and eight
hundred large tortoises, sufficient to furnish all the ships with fresh
provisions for a month.
“The little squadron now consisted of the _Essex_, forty-six guns
and two hundred and forty-five men; the _Georgiana_, sixteen guns
and forty-two men; the _Greenwich_, ten guns and fourteen men; the
_Atlantic_, six guns and twelve men; the _Montezuma_, two guns and ten
men; the _Policy_ and the _Barclay_ of ten and seven men, respectively;
in all, seven ships carrying eighty guns and three hundred and forty
men.” The prisoners numbered eighty. As the number of prizes as well as
prisoners proved burdensome, Captain Porter sailed on June 8th for the
mainland, and reached Guayaquil Bay on the 19th. Here some provisions
were obtained, and while lying here the _Georgiana_, with her crew of
forty men, was sent on a cruise under Lieutenant Downes. The character
of Downes was well illustrated on this cruise. Near James Island two
British ships were found and secured without a fight. They were the
_Catherine_, of eight guns and twenty-nine men, and the _Rose_, of
eight guns and twenty-one men. Securing his fifty prisoners on the
_Georgiana_, Downes sent ten of his men to each craft taken, and sailed
on. That same night another ship was overhauled, and her captain,
instead of surrendering when called on to do so, ordered his guns
cleared for action.
[Illustration: John Downes.
_From an oil-painting at the Naval Academy, Annapolis._]
Downes had but twenty men with which to handle his ship, work his guns,
and guard his prisoners, but he promptly opened fire, and after the
fifth broadside the enemy surrendered. She proved to be the British
letter-of-marque _Hector_, of eleven guns and twenty-five men. She had
lost in the fight her maintopmast and most of her standing and running
rigging, and two of her crew were killed and six dangerously wounded.
On manning the _Hector_ with ten men Downes had but ten left with which
to guard more than seventy prisoners, care for the wounded, and work
the ship. In this emergency he threw overboard the guns of the _Rose_,
destroyed most of her cargo, and made a cartel of her to which to send
the prisoners. Then he returned to Guayaquil Bay, from which the _Rose_
sailed for St. Helena.
At Guayaquil a part of the armament and crew of the _Georgiana_
were transferred to the larger and swifter _Atlantic_, which was
rechristened _Essex Junior_, and the latter was ordered to convoy a
part of the fleet of prizes to Valparaiso.
It is worth telling, because of the fame he afterward earned, that
Midshipman Farragut was placed on the _Barclay_ as prize-master--was
made the captain of the ship. Her original captain had agreed to act as
navigator, but he was greatly angered, for some reason, at the order
to go to Valparaiso, and when outside he backed the maintopsail and
refused to fill away and follow the _Essex Junior_, declaring “that he
would shoot any man who dared to touch a rope without his orders.” Then
he went below to get his pistols.
He afterward said he did it merely to scare the lad, but if that were
so he failed, for Farragut called an able American seaman, and told him
to have the main-sails filled away. This was done, and then Farragut
told the obdurate captain “not to come on deck unless he wished to be
thrown overboard,” and the captain remained below until Farragut made a
report of the affair to Lieutenant Downes, of the _Essex Junior_, and
the Britisher agreed to submit quietly to Farragut as captain. Farragut
was at this time but twelve years old. Not many boys of twelve would be
fit for such a responsible position at that age, and fewer still have
had opportunity to show their metal.
The _Greenwich_ was made a store-ship, and the _Essex_, with her
and the _Georgiana_ as consorts, sailed on another cruise, leaving
Guayaquil on July 9, 1813. On July 13th, when off Banks Bay, three
ships were seen. They separated as soon as the Americans were sighted,
whereupon the _Essex_ went in chase, leaving the _Georgiana_ and
_Greenwich_ behind. Seeing this, one of the strangers came about
and stood for the _Greenwich_. At that the _Greenwich_ backed her
main-yard, brought a number of men from the _Georgiana_ on board, and
sailed boldly to meet the stranger.
While these two were approaching each other the _Essex_ overhauled
the vessel she was pursuing, and found it was the British whaler
_Charlton_ of ten guns and twenty-one men. Her captain informed Porter
that the stranger approaching the _Greenwich_ was the _Seringapatam_,
a ship of 357 tons, carrying fourteen guns and forty men. She not
only outweighed the metal of the _Greenwich_, but had a larger crew,
and was the most dangerous ship in those waters. Nevertheless Porter
saw serenely the two ships engage in battle, nor was his confidence
in his officers and men misplaced, for, after a brief conflict, the
_Seringapatam_ hauled down her flag. A little later, however, she
suddenly made sail and strove to escape. The _Greenwich_ at once opened
fire on her and kept it up until the British flag was lowered again.
It is likely, however, that the _Seringapatam_ would have escaped
but for the rapid approach of the _Essex_, for she could outsail the
_Greenwich_.
Meantime the third ship, the _New Zealander_, of eight guns and
twenty-three men, was taken by the _Essex_. On overhauling the papers
of the _Seringapatam_ it appeared that, although she had no commission
either as privateer or letter of marque, she had captured one American
whaler, trusting to have the capture legalized by a commission she was
expecting to arrive. As his act was really one of piracy the captain
was sent to the United States for trial, but he was not convicted.
The other prisoners were put on the _Charlton_ and sent under parole to
Rio Janeiro. The guns of the _New Zealander_ were transferred to the
_Seringapatam_, giving her a battery of twenty-two, though this was of
no great use, save for one broadside, for the reason that she had only
men enough to work her sails. Then the _Georgiana_ was loaded with a
full cargo of oil, manned with such of the crew of the _Essex_ as had
served their full time and also wished to go home (most of those whose
time was up re-shipped in the _Essex_), and on July 25th she sailed for
the United States.
The _Essex_ with the other three headed for Albemarle Island, and
on July 28th sighted another British whaler. It was a region and a
season of light airs and calms, but the _Essex_ rigged a drag that
when dropped in the water from the spritsail-yard was hauled aft by a
line running through a block on the end of an outrigger aft, and this,
although laborious, gave the ship a speed of two knots per hour. As the
whaler got out boats to tow his ship, Porter sent a couple of boats
of musketeers to drive them on board again. So she was headed off and
then other boats were sent to board her. The stranger then hauled down
her flag, but before the boats could get alongside a breeze came. At
that she hoisted her colors, fired on the Yankee boats and escaped, for
the _Essex_ did not get the wind until too late. Porter was greatly
mortified for the reason that this was the first ship that had escaped
him.
However, on September 15th, while cruising among the Galapagos Islands,
a whaler was seen cutting in a whale. The _Essex_ was disguised by
sending down the small yards, and succeeded in getting within four
miles of her before she took alarm, and then by making sail Porter
overhauled her. It was now learned that she was the _Sir Andrew
Hammond_, of twelve guns and thirty-one men, and that she was the ship
that had run away on July 28th. Luckily for the _Essex_ she had ample
stores of excellent beef, pork, bread, wood, and water.
Returning now to Banks Bay, the appointed rendezvous, the _Essex_ was
joined by the _Essex Junior_. Lieutenant Downes brought the news from
Valparaiso that several English frigates had been sent to hunt the
_Essex_. At this Porter determined to go to the Marquesas Islands,
where he could give the _Essex_ a thorough overhauling in safety. He
had cleared those waters of the British whalers and letters of marque,
and determined to fit his ship for a battle with equal force before
sailing for home. He reached Nukahiva with his squadron on October
23d, built a fort to protect the harbor, and immediately began taking
down the masts of the _Essex_ in order to make everything aloft--spars
and rigging--as sound as possible. In November the _New Zealander_
was sent home with a full cargo of oil, but, unfortunately for the
Americans, both she and the _Georgiana_, sent previously, were
recaptured when almost in port by British blockaders. They were very
rich prizes for the British tars.
[Illustration: The _Essex_ and her Prizes at Nukahiva in the Marquesas
Islands.
_From an engraving by Strickland of a drawing by Captain Porter._]
Nukahiva lies in the tropical climate of the South Pacific--a climate
where the sea and the air dance together under an unclouded sun; where
the wanton waves tumble and roll invitingly on the beeches; where
seemingly the wind-driven light splashes the swaying fronds of the
cocoanut-palms; where the air of night is soft and sweet and wooing;
where nature asks no labor in return for her bounties; where the
thoughts of the people run only to war and love. It was to Jack the
ideal country--a paradise on earth.
There were several tribes on Nukahiva. The sailors made friends with
those living close at hand, and subdued those, from farther away who
came to make trouble. And thereafter they worked upon the ships by day,
and at night, by turns, frolicked with the friendly natives.
Says Farragut in his journal:
“During our stay at this island the youngsters--I among the
number--were sent on board the vessel commanded by our chaplain for
the purpose of continuing our studies away from temptation.”
[Illustration: Map of the Harbor in which the _Essex_ and her Prizes
lay.
_After a drawing by Captain Porter._]
The prisoners, having liberty as well as the crews, not only went
looking for temptation but they got together and planned to get in a
lot of native canoes and carry the _Essex Junior_ by assault, when,
the _Essex_ being dismantled, they hoped to capture the entire Yankee
force. A traitor revealed the plot, however, and the prisoners were
thereafter kept well in hand.
And then came an incipient mutiny. The sailormen had enjoyed life with
their friends, the Nukahivas, so much that when, in December, Porter
determined to go in search of an enemy worthy of the ship, they first
grumbled, and then some of them, under the lead of an Englishman named
Robert White, talked of refusing to go at all.
This talk reached flood-tide when on Sunday, December 9, 1813, a lot
of the men from the _Essex_ visited the _Essex Junior_, when White
openly boasted that the crew would refuse to get the anchor at the word
from Captain Porter. But White was very much mistaken. His words were
reported to Porter, who, next morning, mustered the men on the port
side of the deck and then, with a drawn sword lying across the capstan
before him, said:
“All of you who are in favor of weighing the anchor when I give the
order, pass over to the starboard side.”
[Illustration: A Marquesan War-canoe.
_From an engraving by Strickland of a drawing by Captain Porter._]
They all passed across the deck promptly. Then he called out White,
and asked him about his Sunday boasting. White denied having made the
boast, but a number of the crew testified to what he had said, and at
that Porter turned on the fellow and said in a burst of anger:
“Run, you scoundrel, for your life.”
“And away the fellow went over the starboard gangway.” So Farragut
tells the story. He was picked up by one of the ever-present native
canoes and carried ashore.
After all it was a lucky affair for him, for the cruise of the _Essex_
was drawing to a close, and had he remained in her he would have been
hanged, very likely, by his countrymen as a traitor.
Having addressed the men briefly, praising their good qualities and
telling them he “would blow them all to eternity before they should
succeed in a conspiracy,” he ordered them to man the capstan, a fiddler
began to play “The Girl I Left Behind Me,” the “anchor fairly flew to
the bows,” the sails were spread, and the _Essex_ and _Essex Junior_
sailed away, leaving Lieutenant John Gamble with twenty-one men, to
look after the _Seringapatam_, the _Sir Andrew Hammond_, and the
_Greenwich_ until Porter could return for them.