One day in the following February, two English war vessels appeared in
the harbor of Valparaiso. The _Essex_ was lying quietly at anchor, and
many of her crew were on shore.
The British vessels bore down upon the _Essex_ in a very hostile manner.
Captain Porter was afraid they would attack him. They had no right to do
this, for Chili was not at war with either England or America.
One of these British vessels was a frigate called the _Phoebe_. The
other was a sloop named the _Cherub_. The _Phoebe_ approached the
_Essex_ until she was within fifteen feet of her side.
Captain Porter, standing on the deck, hailed, saying: "If you touch a
single yardarm, I shall board you instantly!" The _Phoebe_ passed by
with no reply.
After this, the British vessels anchored at the entrance of the harbor.
They could thus keep the _Essex_ a prisoner.
The vessels remained in this position for several weeks. On the 28th of
March, a furious gale sprang up. The cables of the _Essex_ gave way,
and she began to drift out toward the English vessels. Captain Porter
now made a desperate effort to escape. He set all sails and made for the
open sea.
Suddenly something snapped. The main top-mast came crashing down,
carrying sails, rigging, and some of the crew into the water. In this
disabled condition escape was impossible. The _Essex_ was driven toward
the shore and was finally brought to anchor within pistol shot of the
beach.
The _Essex_ had but four guns that would shoot as far as the cannon of
the English. The _Phoebe_ and the _Cherub_ took a position out of range
of nearly all the _Essex_ guns, and then poured broadside after
broadside into the unfortunate vessel.
Captain Porter and his gallant crew fought against these odds until one
hundred and twenty-four of the men had been killed or wounded. Then the
_Essex_ surrendered.
During all this dreadful battle there was no braver officer than the
little midshipman, David Farragut. Sometimes he was carrying messages
for the captain; again, he was bringing powder for the guns.
Once when going down the hatchway a wounded man fell upon him. David
barely escaped being crushed to death.
Captain Porter was so pleased with his conduct that he mentioned his
bravery in his official dispatches to the government.
After the surrender the wounded were removed to shore. David offered his
services to the surgeons. He worked early and late, preparing bandages
and waiting upon the injured men.
In speaking of this afterward, he said, "I never earned Uncle Sam's
money so faithfully."
The British put all the American prisoners on board an unarmed vessel,
and made them promise that they would not take up arms against the
English until they had been exchanged for an equal number of English
prisoners.
After this the Americans were allowed to sail for the United States.
They arrived in the harbor of New York on July 7, 1814.