While David Farragut was at a port in the Mediterranean, he was summoned
to America to take his examination for the lieutenancy. He was then
eighteen years of age.
In November, 1820, he arrived in New York, where he passed his
examination successfully. He did not receive any appointment, however,
for some time, as there were no vacancies in the navy. The next two
years were spent with the Porter family at Norfolk, Virginia.
In 1822, he sailed for a short time on a sloop of war, that was cruising
about the Gulf of Mexico. On his return to America, he learned that
Captain Porter was fitting out a fleet to cruise against the pirates of
the West Indies.
These robbers had small, fast-sailing ships. They would attack unarmed
merchant vessels, seize all the valuables they could carry away, and
destroy the remainder. Sometimes they killed the crew; at other times
they put them ashore on some desert island.
For years, Americans and English had been waging war against these
pirates, but without success. With their small boats the robbers would
run into the shallow bays and creeks, where no other vessels could
follow them; and so they had grown bolder and bolder every year.
Ever since peace had been declared with England, Captain Porter had been
a commissioner of the navy, and had made no sea voyages. But now he
offered to resign his position, and drive the pirates from the sea. He
said he would do this upon one condition. He must have a fleet of small
vessels that could follow the pirates into their lurking places.
The government accepted his offer, and gave him orders to fit out such a
fleet as he chose. He bought eight small schooners similar to those used
by the pirates. To these were added five large rowboats or barges, which
were called the Mosquito Fleet. David Farragut was assigned to one of
the vessels named the _Greyhound_.
This fleet of Captain Porter's had many encounters with the pirates. At
one time, when the _Greyhound_ was off the southern coast of Cuba, some
of the crew went on shore to hunt game, and were fired upon from the
thicket by pirates. The Americans returned this fire without effect, and
then went back to their ship.
Young Farragut was ordered to take a party of men to capture the
pirates, and at three o'clock the next morning they set out in the
barges.
After landing, David and his men tried to go around to a point at the
rear of the place where the pirates were supposed to be. This was no
easy thing to do. They had to cut their way through thickets of cactus,
thorny bushes, and trailing vines. Their shoes were cut from their feet
with walking over the sharp rocks; and the heat was so intense that some
of the men fainted.
At last they found the pirate camp. It was deserted. The robbers had
seen the _Greyhound_ and the barges, and had fled to some other hiding
place. In the camp, which was protected by several cannon, there were
some houses a hundred feet long. There was also an immense cave filled
with all kinds of goods taken from plundered vessels.
The sailors burned the houses, and carried the plunder and cannon to
their boats. The prize that David himself took away was a monkey, which
he had captured after a fierce struggle.
As the sailors were returning to their boats, they heard a great noise
in the thicket behind them, and thought that the pirates had come back
to attack them. David Farragut made a speech to his men. He urged them
to stand their ground and fight bravely. Imagine their surprise and
amusement at finding their foes to be thousands of land crabs, making
their way through the briars!
This was only one of many encounters that the Mosquito Fleet had with
the pirates. Through all the time, the American sailors suffered much
from yellow fever and exposure. David Farragut afterward said: "I never
owned a bed during my cruise in the West Indies, but lay down to rest
wherever I found the most comfortable berth."
The pirates were finally driven from the seas. Their boats were burned
or captured, and their camps destroyed.
While on this cruise, David got leave of absence to visit his sister in
New Orleans. She was the only one of the family still living at the old
home. It was hard for her to recognize in the stranger the boy who had
left home so long before.
When young Farragut was on his way to the north and within sight of
Washington, he was taken ill with yellow fever. He had nursed many a
poor sailor, and had hitherto escaped the disease.
After a short time spent in a Washington hospital, he was able to
return home. Soon afterward, he was married in Norfolk, Virginia, to
Susan Marchant. But it was nearly two years before he was entirely well,
and strong enough to resume his duties in the navy. In the meanwhile, he
and his bride spent much time with the family of Captain Porter.