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[Illustration: BATTLE OF MOBILE BAY--FARRAGUT'S VICTORY.]
STORIES OF OUR NAVAL HEROES
EVERY CHILD CAN READ
EDITED BY REV. JESSE LYMAN HURLBUT, D.D.
ILLUSTRATED
[Illustration]
THE JOHN C. WINSTON CO.
PHILADELPHIA
COPYRIGHT, 1908, BY
THE JOHN C. WINSTON CO.
PREFACE
WE live in a land of heroes. If there is any one thing for which a true
son of America is always ready, it is for a deed of heroism. We have
among us heroes of the workshop, of the railroad, of field, forest, and
city, heroes of land and heroes of water, heroes in war and heroes in
peace. When the time comes for any deed of valor to be done, the
American ready and able to do it will not be found wanting. It is not
glory the gallant son of our land is seeking. It is to do his duty in
whatever situation he is placed, whether high or low, on quarter-deck or
forecastle. He does not stop to think of fame. To act bravely for his
fellows or his country is the thing for him to do, and he does it in
face of every peril.
The history of the United States is full of the names of heroes. They
stand out like the stars on our flag. It is not our purpose to boast.
The world has had its heroes in all times and countries. But our land
holds a high rank among heroic nations, and deeds of gallant daring have
been done by Americans which no men upon the earth have surpassed.
This book is the record of our heroes of the sea, of the men who have
fought bravely upon the ocean for the honor of the Stars and Stripes,
the noble tars who have carried their country's fame over all waters and
through all wars. Look at Paul Jones, the most gallant sailor who ever
trod deck! He was not born on our soil, but he was a true-blue American
for all that. Look at Perry, rowing from ship to ship amid the rain of
British shot and shell! Look at Farragut in the Civil War, facing death
in the rigging that he might see the enemy! Look at Dewey in the war
with Spain, on the bridge amid the hurtling Spanish shells! These are
but types of our gallant sailors. They have had their equals in every
war. We have hundreds to-day as brave. All they wait for is opportunity.
When the time comes they will be ready.
If all our history is an inspiration, our naval history is specially so.
It is full of thrilling tales, stories of desperate deeds and noble
valor which no work of fiction can surpass. We are sure that all who
take up this book will find it vital with interest and brimming with
inspiration. Its tales deal with men who fought for their land with only
a plank between them and death, and none among us can read the story of
their deeds without a thrill in the nerves and a stir in the heart, and
without a wish that sometime they may be able to do as much for the land
that gave them birth. This is a book for the American boy to read, and
the American girl as well; a book to fill them with the spirit of
emulation and make them resolve that when the time comes they will act
their part bravely in the perilous work of the world.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
PAGE
FIRST SEA FIGHT OF THE REVOLUTION.
The Burning of the "Gaspee" in Narragansett Bay 1
CHAPTER II
A BRITISH SCHOONER CAPTURED BY FARMERS.
Captain Jerry O'Brien Leads the Patriots of 1775 11
CHAPTER III
BENEDICT ARNOLD, THE SOLDIER-SAILOR.
A Novel Fight on Lake Champlain 21
CHAPTER IV
CAPTAIN PAUL JONES.
The Greatest of America's Naval Heroes 32
CHAPTER V
HOW PAUL JONES WON RENOWN.
The First Great Fight of the American Navy 44
CHAPTER VI
CAPTAIN BUSHNELL SCARES THE BRITISH.
The Pioneer Torpedo Boat and the Battle of the Kegs 60
CHAPTER VII
CAPTAIN BARRY AND HIS ROWBOATS WIN A VICTORY OVER
THE BRITISH.
A Gallant Naval Hero of Irish Blood 70
CHAPTER VIII
CAPTAIN TUCKER HONORED BY GEORGE WASHINGTON.
The Daring Adventures of the Hero of Marblehead 81
CHAPTER IX
THE LAST NAVAL BATTLE OF THE REVOLUTION.
The Heroic Captain Barney in the "Hyder Ali"
Captures the "General Monk" 90
CHAPTER X
THE MOORISH PIRATES OF THE MEDITERRANEAN.
OUR NAVY TEACHES THEM A LESSON IN HONOR 99
CHAPTER XI
THE YOUNG DECATUR AND HIS BRILLIANT DEEDS AT TRIPOLI.
How Our Navy Began and Ended a Foreign War 108
CHAPTER XII
THE GALLANT OLD "IRONSIDES" AND HOW SHE CAPTURED THE
"GUERRIERE."
A Famous Incident of the War of 1812 126
CHAPTER XIII
A FAMOUS VESSEL SAVED BY A POEM.
"Old Ironsides" Wins New Glory 140
CHAPTER XIV
THE FIGHT OF CAPTAIN JACOB JONES.
The Lively Little "Wasp" and How She Stung the
"Frolic" 155
CHAPTER XV
CAPTAIN LAWRENCE DIES FOR THE FLAG.
His Words, "Do not give up the ship," Become the
Famous Motto of the American Navy 166
CHAPTER XVI
COMMODORE PERRY WHIPS THE BRITISH ON LAKE ERIE.
"We have met the enemy and they are ours" 176
CHAPTER XVII
COMMODORE PORTER GAINS GLORY IN THE PACIFIC.
The Gallant Fight of the "Essex" Against Great Odds 189
CHAPTER XVIII
COMMODORE MACDONOUGH'S VICTORY ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN.
How General Prevost and the British Ran Away 201
CHAPTER XIX
FOUR NAVAL HEROES IN ONE CHAPTER.
Fights with the Pirates of the Gulf and the Corsairs
of the Mediterranean 210
CHAPTER XX
COMMODORE PERRY OPENS JAPAN TO THE WORLD.
A Heroic Deed Without Bloodshed 220
CHAPTER XXI
CAPTAIN INGRAHAM TEACHES AUSTRIA A LESSON.
Our Navy Upholds the Rights of an American in a
Foreign Land 231
CHAPTER XXII
THE "MONITOR" AND THE "MERRIMAC."
A Fight which Changed all Naval Warfare 239
CHAPTER XXIII
COMMODORE FARRAGUT WINS RENOWN.
The Hero of Mobile Bay Lashes Himself to the Mast 252
CHAPTER XXIV
A RIVER FLEET IN A HAIL OF FIRE.
Admiral Porter Runs by the Forts in a Novel Way 268
CHAPTER XXV
THE SINKING OF THE "ALBEMARLE."
Lieutenant Cushing Performs the most Gallant Deed of
the Civil War 278
CHAPTER XXVI
HOW THE "GLOUCESTER" REVENGED THE SINKING OF THE
"MAINE."
Deadly and Heroic Deeds in the War with Spain 288
CHAPTER XXVII
THE GREAT VICTORY OF MANILA BAY.
Dewey Destroys a Fleet Without Losing a Man 294
CHAPTER XXVIII
HOBSON AND THE SINKING OF THE "MERRIMAC."
An Heroic Deed Worthy of the American Navy 304
CHAPTER XXIX
SAMPSON AND SCHLEY WIN RENOWN.
The Greatest Sea Fight of the Century 313
CHAPTER I
THE FIRST SEA FIGHT OF THE REVOLUTION
THE BURNING OF THE "GASPEE" IN NARRAGANSETT BAY
DOES it not seem an odd fact that little Rhode Island, the smallest of
all our states, should have two capital cities, while all the others,
some of which would make more than a thousand Rhode Islands, have only
one apiece? It is like the old story of the dwarf beating the giants.
The tale we have to tell has to do with these two cities, Providence and
Newport, whose story goes back far into the days when Rhode Island and
all the others were British colonies. They were capitals then and they
are capitals still. That is, they were places where the legislature met
and the laws were made.
I need not tell you anything about the British Stamp Act, the Boston
Tea-party, the fight at Lexington, and the other things that led to the
American Revolution and brought freedom to the colonies. All this you
have learned at school. But I am sure you will be interested in what we
may call the "salt-water Lexington," the first fight between the British
and the bold sons of the colonies.
There was at that time a heavy tax on all goods brought into the
country, and even on goods taken from one American town to another. It
was what we now call a revenue duty, or tariff. This tax the Americans
did not like to pay. They were so angry at the way they had been treated
by England that they did not want that country to have a penny of their
money. Nor did they intend to pay any tax.
Do you ask how they could help paying the tax? They had one way of doing
so. Vessels laden with goods were brought to the coast at night, or to
places where there was no officer of the revenue. Then in all haste they
unloaded their cargoes and were away again like flitting birds. The
British did not see half the goods that came ashore, and lost much in
the way of taxes.
We call this kind of secret trade "smuggling." Providence and Newport
were great smuggling places. Over the green waters of Narragansett Bay
small craft sped to and fro, coming to shore by night or in secret
places and landing their goods. It was against the law, but the bold
mariners cared little for laws made in England. They said that they were
quite able to govern themselves, and that no people across the seas
should make laws for them.
The British did their best to stop this kind of trade. They sent armed
vessels to the Bay, whose business it was to chase and search every
craft that might have smuggled goods in its hold, and to punish in some
way every smuggler they found.
Some of these vessels made themselves very busy, and sailors and
shoremen alike were bitter against them. They would bring in prizes to
Newport, and their sailors would swagger about the streets, bragging of
what they had done, and making sport of the Yankees. They would kidnap
sailors and carry them off to serve in the King's ships. One vessel came
ashore at Newport, whose crew had been months at sea, trading on the
African coast. Before a man of them could set foot on land, or see any
of the loved ones at home, from whom they had been parted so long, a
press-gang from a British ship-of-war seized and carried off the whole
crew, leaving the captain alone on his deck.
We may be sure that all this made the people very indignant. While the
rest of the country was quiet, the Newporters were at the point of war.
More than once they were ready to take arms against the British.
In July, 1769, a British armed sloop, the _Liberty_, brought in two
prizes as smugglers. They had no smuggled goods on board, but the
officers of the _Liberty_ did not care for that. And their captains and
crews were treated as if they were prisoners of war.
That night something new took place. The lookout on the _Liberty_ saw
two boats, crowded with men, gliding swiftly toward the sloop.
"Boat ahoy!" he shouted.
Not a word came in reply.
"Boat ahoy! Answer, or I'll fire!"
No answer still. The lookout fired. The watch came rushing up on deck.
But at the same time the men in the boats climbed over the bulwarks and
the sailors of the _Liberty_ found themselves looking into the muzzles
of guns. They were taken by surprise and had to yield. The Americans had
captured their first prize.
Proud of their victory, the Newporters cut the cables of the sloop and
let her drift ashore. Her captives were set free, her mast was cut down,
and her boats were dragged through the streets to the common, where they
were set on fire. A jolly bonfire they made, too, and as the flames went
up the people cheered lustily.
That was not all. With the high tide the sloop floated off. But it went
ashore again on Goat Island, and the next night some of the people set
it on fire and it was burned to the water's edge. That was the first
American reply to British tyranny. The story of it spread far and wide.
The King's officers did all they could to find and punish the men who
had captured the sloop, but not a man of them could be discovered.
Everybody in the town knew, but no one would tell.
This was only the beginning. The great event was that of the _Gaspee_.
This was a British schooner carrying six cannon, which cruised about
the Bay between Providence and Newport, and made itself so active and so
offensive that the people hated it more than all those that had gone
before. Captain Duddingstone treated every vessel as if it had been a
pirate, and the people were eager to give it the same dose they had
given the _Liberty_.
Their time came in June, 1772. The _Hannah_, a vessel trading between
New York and Providence, came in sight of the _Gaspee_ and was ordered
to stop. But Captain Linzee had a fine breeze and did not care to lose
it. He kept on at full speed, and the _Gaspee_ set out in chase.
It was a very pretty race that was seen that day over the ruffled waters
of the Bay. For twenty-five miles it kept up and the _Hannah_ was still
ahead. Then the two vessels came near to Providence bar.
The Yankee captain now played the British sailors a cute trick. He
slipped on over the bar as if there had been a mile of water under his
keel. The _Gaspee_, not knowing that the _Hannah_ had almost touched
bottom, followed, and in a minute more came bump upon the ground. The
proud war-vessel stuck fast in the mud, while the light-footed Yankee
slid swiftly on to Providence, where the story of the chase and escape
was told to eager ears.
Here was a splendid chance. The _Gaspee_ was aground. Now was the time
to repay Captain Duddingstone for his pride and insolence. That night,
while the people after their day's work were standing and talking about
the news, a man passed down the streets, beating a drum and calling out:
"The _Gaspee is aground_. Who will join in to put an end to her?"
There was no lack of volunteers. Eight large boats had been collected
from the ships in the harbor, and there were soon enough to crowd them
all. Sixty-four men were selected, and Abraham Whipple, who was
afterward one of the first captains in the American navy, took command.
Some of the men had guns, but their principal weapons were paving stones
and clubs.
It was about two o'clock in the morning when this small fleet came
within hail of the _Gaspee_. She was fast enough yet, though she was
beginning to lift with the rising tide. An hour or two more might have
set her afloat.
A sentinel who was pacing the deck hailed the boats when they came near.
"Who comes there?" he cried.
A shower of paving stones that rattled on the deck of the _Gaspee_ was
the only answer. Up came the captain and crew, like bees from a hive
that has been disturbed.
"I want to come on board," said Captain Whipple.
"Stand off. You can't come aboard," answered Captain Duddingstone.
He fired a pistol. A shot from one of the guns on the boats replied. The
British captain fell with a bullet in his side.
"I am sheriff of the County of Kent," cried one of the leaders in the
boats. "I am come for the captain of this vessel. Have him I will, dead
or alive. Men, to your oars!"
On came the boats, up the sides of the vessel clambered the men, over
the rails they passed. The sailors showed fight, but they were soon
knocked down and secured. The proud _Gaspee_ was in the hands of the
despised Yankees.
As the captors were tying the crew, a surgeon who was in the boats was
called on deck.
"What do you want, Mr. Brown?" he asked.
"Don't call names, man," cried Brown. "Go into the cabin. There is a
wounded man there who may bleed to death."
The surgeon was needed, for Captain Duddingstone was bleeding freely.
The surgeon, finding no cloth for bandages, tore his own shirt into
strips for this purpose, and soon had the bleeding stopped. The captain
was gently lowered into one of the boats and rowed up to Providence.
The wounded man away, the captors began their work. Rushing through the
vessel, they made havoc of furniture and trappings. There were some
bottles of liquor in the captain's cabin, and some of the men made a
rush for these; but the surgeon smashed them with the heels of his
boots. That was not the time or place for drunken men.
This done, the _Gaspee_ was set on fire, and was soon wrapped in flames.
The men rowed their boats some distance out, and there rested on their
oars, watching the flames as they shot up masts and rigging. Not until
the loaded guns went off, one after another, and in the end the magazine
was reached and the ship blew up, did they turn their prows towards
home. Never again would the _Gaspee_ trouble American ships.
When word of what had been done reached England, there was fury from the
King down. Great rewards were offered for any one who would betray any
of the party, but not a name was told. For six long months a court of
inquiry sat, but it could not get evidence enough to convict a single
man. The Americans were staunch and firm and stood for each other like
brothers tried and true.
Not until the colonies threw off the royal yoke and were battling for
freedom was the secret told. Then the men of the long-boats did not
hesitate to boast of what they had done. It was the first stroke of
America in the cause of liberty, and the work of the men of Providence
gave new heart to the patriots from Maine to Georgia.