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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-14 19:57:19 -0700 |
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| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-14 19:57:19 -0700 |
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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/32273-h.zip b/32273-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..0791f82 --- /dev/null +++ b/32273-h.zip diff --git a/32273-h/32273-h.htm b/32273-h/32273-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c01bd1a --- /dev/null +++ b/32273-h/32273-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,9959 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" /> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> + <title> + The Project Gutenberg eBook of Stories of Our Naval Heroes, by Rev. Jesse Lyman Hurlbut, ed.. + </title> + <style type="text/css"> + + p {margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + text-indent: 1.25em; + margin-bottom: .75em; + } + img {border: 0;} + .tnote {border: dashed 1px; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; padding-bottom: .5em; padding-top: .5em; + padding-left: .5em; padding-right: .5em;} + ins {text-decoration:none; border-bottom: thin dotted gray;} + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + clear: both; + } + hr { width: 33%; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + clear: both; + } + + table {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;} + + body{margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + } + + .pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ + /* visibility: hidden; */ + position: absolute; + left: 92%; + font-size: smaller; + text-align: right; + } /* page numbers */ + .copyright {text-align: center; font-size: 70%;} + .blockquot{margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 10%; text-align: justify;} + + .bbox {border: solid 2px; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; padding-bottom: .5em; padding-top: .5em; + padding-left: .5em; padding-right: .5em;} + + .center {text-align: center;} + .smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + + .caption {font-weight: bold; font-size: 80%; font-variant: small-caps;} + + .figcenter {margin: auto; text-align: center;} + + .figleft {float: left; clear: left; margin-left: 0; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: + 1em; margin-right: 1em; padding: 0; text-align: center;} + + .figright {float: right; clear: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; + margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0; padding: 0; text-align: center;} + + .unindent {margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; + } + .right {text-align: right;} + .poem {margin-left: 30%; margin-right: 10%; text-align: left;} + .hang1 {text-indent: -3em; margin-left: 3em;} + .cap:first-letter {float: left; clear: left; margin: -0.2em 0.1em 0; margin-top: 0%; + padding: 0; line-height: .75em; font-size: 300%; text-align: justify;} + .cap {text-align: justify;} + + </style> + </head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Stories of Our Naval Heroes, by Various + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Stories of Our Naval Heroes + Every Child Can Read + +Author: Various + +Editor: Jesse Lyman Hurlbut + +Release Date: May 6, 2010 [EBook #32273] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STORIES OF OUR NAVAL HEROES *** + + + + +Produced by Emmy, Tor Martin Kristiansen and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive) + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 311px;"> +<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="311" height="500" alt="Cover" title="" /> +</div> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> +<img src="images/endpapers.jpg" width="600" height="484" alt="Endpapers" title="" /> +</div> +<div class='tnote'><b>Transcriber's Note:</b> Clicking on the captions of +the some of the illustrations will show a larger version for more detail.</div> + + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"><a name="frontis" id="frontis"></a> +<img src="images/i-008.jpg" width="600" height="347" alt="Battle of Mobile Bay—Farragut's Victory." title="" /> +<a href="images/i-008-big.jpg"><span class="caption">Battle of Mobile Bay—Farragut's Victory.</span> +</a></div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_i" id="Page_i">[i]</a></span></p> + + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 311px;"> +<img src="images/title.jpg" width="311" height="500" alt="Title page" title="" /> +</div> +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>STORIES OF</h2> +<h1>OUR<br /> +NAVAL HEROES</h1> + +<h3>EVERY CHILD CAN READ</h3> + +<h3>EDITED BY</h3> +<h2>REV. JESSE LYMAN HURLBUT, D.D.</h2> + +<div class='center'>ILLUSTRATED<br /> + +<br /><br /><br /> + +THE JOHN C. WINSTON CO.<br /> +PHILADELPHIA<br /> +</div> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_ii" id="Page_ii">[ii]</a></span></p> + + + + +<div class='copyright'> +<span class="smcap">Copyright, 1908, by<br /> +The John C. Winston Co.</span><br /> +</div> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[iii]</a></span></p> + +<h2>PREFACE</h2> + + +<div class='cap'>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.</div> + +<p>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 +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[iv]</a></span>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.</p> + +<p>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.</p> + +<p>If all our history is an inspiration, our naval +history is specially so. It is full of thrilling +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[v]</a></span>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.</p> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[vii]</a></span></p> + +<h2>CONTENTS</h2> + + + + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="Contents"> +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><br />CHAPTER I</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">First Sea Fight of the Revolution.</span></td><td align='right'><small>PAGE</small></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>The Burning of the "Gaspee" in Narragansett Bay</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><br />CHAPTER II</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">A British Schooner Captured by Farmers.</span></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Captain Jerry O'Brien Leads the Patriots of 1775</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_11">11</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><br />CHAPTER III</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Benedict Arnold, the Soldier-Sailor.</span></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>A Novel Fight on Lake Champlain</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_21">21</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><br />CHAPTER IV</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Captain Paul Jones.</span></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>The Greatest of America's Naval Heroes</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_32">32</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><br />CHAPTER V</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">How Paul Jones Won Renown.</span></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[viii]</a></span>The First Great Fight of the American Navy</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_44">44</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><br />CHAPTER VI</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Captain Bushnell Scares the British.</span></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>The Pioneer Torpedo Boat and the Battle of the Kegs</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_60">60</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><br />CHAPTER VII</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Captain Barry and His Rowboats Win a Victory Over the British.</span></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>A Gallant Naval Hero of Irish Blood</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_70">70</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><br />CHAPTER VIII</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Captain Tucker Honored by George Washington.</span></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>The Daring Adventures of the Hero of Marblehead</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_81">81</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><br />CHAPTER IX</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Last Naval Battle of the Revolution.</span></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>The Heroic Captain Barney in the "Hyder Ali" Captures the "General Monk"</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_90">90</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><br />CHAPTER X</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Moorish Pirates of the Mediterranean.</span></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[ix]</a></span>Our Navy Teaches them a Lesson in Honor</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_99">99</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><br />CHAPTER XI</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Young Decatur and His Brilliant Deeds at Tripoli.</span></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>How Our Navy Began and Ended a Foreign War</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_108">108</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><br />CHAPTER XII</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Gallant Old "Ironsides" and How She Captured the "Guerriere."</span></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>A Famous Incident of the War of 1812</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_126">126</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><br />CHAPTER XIII</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">A Famous Vessel Saved by a Poem.</span></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>"Old Ironsides" Wins New Glory</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_140">140</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><br />CHAPTER XIV</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Fight of Captain Jacob Jones.</span></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>The Lively Little "Wasp" and How She Stung the "Frolic"</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_155">155</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><br />CHAPTER XV</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Captain Lawrence Dies for the Flag.</span></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">[x]</a></span>His Words, "Do not give up the ship," Become the Famous Motto of the American Navy</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_166">166</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><br />CHAPTER XVI</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Commodore Perry Whips the British on Lake Erie.</span></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>"We have met the enemy and they are ours"</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_176">176</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><br />CHAPTER XVII</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Commodore Porter Gains Glory in the Pacific.</span></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>The Gallant Fight of the "Essex" Against Great Odds</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_189">189</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><br />CHAPTER XVIII</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Commodore MacDonough's Victory on Lake Champlain.</span></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>How General Prevost and the British Ran Away</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_201">201</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><br />CHAPTER XIX</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Four Naval Heroes in One Chapter.</span></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Fights with the Pirates of the Gulf and the Corsairs of the Mediterranean</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_210">210</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><br />CHAPTER XX</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Commodore Perry Opens Japan to the World.</span></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi">[xi]</a></span>A Heroic Deed Without Bloodshed</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_220">220</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><br />CHAPTER XXI</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Captain Ingraham Teaches Austria a Lesson.</span></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Our Navy Upholds the Rights of an American in a Foreign Land</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_231">231</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><br />CHAPTER XXII</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The "Monitor" and the "Merrimac."</span></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>A Fight which Changed all Naval Warfare</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_239">239</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><br />CHAPTER XXIII</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Commodore Farragut Wins Renown.</span></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>The Hero of Mobile Bay Lashes Himself to the Mast</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_252">252</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><br />CHAPTER XXIV</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">A River Fleet in a Hail of Fire.</span></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Admiral Porter Runs by the Forts in a Novel Way</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_268">268</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><br />CHAPTER XXV</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Sinking of the "Albemarle."</span></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xii" id="Page_xii">[xii]</a></span>Lieutenant Cushing Performs the most Gallant Deed of the Civil War</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_278">278</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><br />CHAPTER XXVI</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">How the "Gloucester" Revenged the Sinking of the "Maine."</span></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Deadly and Heroic Deeds in the War with Spain</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_288">288</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><br />CHAPTER XXVII</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Great Victory of Manila Bay.</span></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Dewey Destroys a Fleet Without Losing a Man</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_294">294</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><br />CHAPTER XXVIII</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Hobson and the Sinking of the "Merrimac."</span></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>An Heroic Deed Worthy of the American Navy</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_304">304</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><br />CHAPTER XXIX</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Sampson and Schley Win Renown.</span></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>The Greatest Sea Fight of the Century</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_313">313</a></td></tr> +</table></div> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER I</h2> + +<h3>THE FIRST SEA FIGHT OF THE REVOLUTION</h3> + +<h3><span class="smcap">The Burning of the "Gaspee" in Narragansett Bay</span></h3> + +<div class='cap'>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.</div> + +<p>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.</p> + +<p>I need not tell you anything about the British +Stamp Act, the Boston Tea-party, the fight<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span> +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.</p> + +<p>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.</p> + +<p>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.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span></p> + +<p>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.</p> + +<p>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.</p> + +<p>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<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span> +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.</p> + +<p>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.</p> + +<p>In July, 1769, a British armed sloop, the +<i>Liberty</i>, brought in two prizes as smugglers. +They had no smuggled goods on board, but the +officers of the <i>Liberty</i> did not care for that. +And their captains and crews were treated as +if they were prisoners of war.</p> + +<p>That night something new took place. The +lookout on the <i>Liberty</i> saw two boats, crowded +with men, gliding swiftly toward the sloop.</p> + +<p>"Boat ahoy!" he shouted.</p> + +<p>Not a word came in reply.</p> + +<p>"Boat ahoy! Answer, or I'll fire!"</p> + +<p>No answer still. The lookout fired. The +watch came rushing up on deck. But at the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span> +same time the men in the boats climbed over +the bulwarks and the sailors of the <i>Liberty</i> +found themselves looking into the muzzles of +guns. They were taken by surprise and had +to yield. The Americans had captured their +first prize.</p> + +<p>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.</p> + +<p>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.</p> + +<p>This was only the beginning. The great +event was that of the <i>Gaspee</i>. This was a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span> +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 <i>Liberty</i>.</p> + +<p>Their time came in June, 1772. The <i>Hannah</i>, +a vessel trading between New York and +Providence, came in sight of the <i>Gaspee</i> 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 <i>Gaspee</i> set out in chase.</p> + +<p>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 <i>Hannah</i> +was still ahead. Then the two vessels came +near to Providence bar.</p> + +<p>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 <i>Gaspee</i>, not knowing that the <i>Hannah</i> +had almost touched bottom, followed, and +in a minute more came bump upon the ground. +The proud war-vessel stuck fast in the mud,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span> +while the light-footed Yankee slid swiftly on +to Providence, where the story of the chase +and escape was told to eager ears.</p> + +<p>Here was a splendid chance. The <i>Gaspee</i> +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:</p> + +<p>"The <i>Gaspee is aground</i>. Who will join in +to put an end to her?"</p> + +<p>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.</p> + +<p>It was about two o'clock in the morning +when this small fleet came within hail of the +<i>Gaspee</i>. 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.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span></p> + +<p>A sentinel who was pacing the deck hailed +the boats when they came near.</p> + +<p>"Who comes there?" he cried.</p> + +<p>A shower of paving stones that rattled on +the deck of the <i>Gaspee</i> was the only answer. +Up came the captain and crew, like bees from +a hive that has been disturbed.</p> + +<p>"I want to come on board," said Captain +Whipple.</p> + +<p>"Stand off. You can't come aboard," answered +Captain Duddingstone.</p> + +<p>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.</p> + +<p>"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!"</p> + +<p>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 <i>Gaspee</i> was in the hands of the despised +Yankees.</p> + +<p>As the captors were tying the crew, a surgeon +who was in the boats was called on deck.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span></p> + +<p>"What do you want, Mr. Brown?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"Don't call names, man," cried Brown. "Go +into the cabin. There is a wounded man there +who may bleed to death."</p> + +<p>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.</p> + +<p>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.</p> + +<p>This done, the <i>Gaspee</i> 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<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span> +blew up, did they turn their prows towards +home. Never again would the <i>Gaspee</i> trouble +American ships.</p> + +<p>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.</p> + +<p>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.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER II</h2> + +<h3>A BRITISH SCHOONER CAPTURED BY FARMERS IN 1775</h3> + +<h3><span class="smcap">Captain Jerry O'Brien Leads the Patriots of 1775</span></h3> + +<div class='cap'>HOW would any of you like to go back to +the days when people had only tallow +candles to light their houses, and the +moon to light their streets, when they traveled +on horseback or by stage, and got their news +only when it happened to come? In these days +of the electric light, the railroad train, and the +telegraph that old way of living would not +seem living at all.</div> + +<p>Yet that was the way people lived in 1775 +when the Revolution began. It took weeks for +news to travel then, where it takes seconds +now. Thus the fight at Lexington, which +began the Revolution, took place on April 19th, +but it was May 9th, more than half a month +later, before the news of it reached the little<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span> +town of Machias, on the coast of Maine. We +should hardly call that fast time. It must have +taken several naps on the way.</p> + +<p>But when the news came, it found the people +ready for it. A coasting schooner put into the +port and brought the story of how the patriots +had fought and bled at Lexington and Concord, +and of how the British were shut up in +Boston town, and the country was at war. The +news was received with ringing cheers.</p> + +<p>If any of my readers had been at Machias +that day I know they would have felt like +striking a blow for liberty. At any rate, that +is how the people of Machias felt, and it did +not take them long to show it.</p> + +<p>They had some reason not to like the King +and his men. All the tall, straight trees in +their woods were kept to make masts for the +King's ships, and no woodman dared set axe to +one of these pine trees except at risk of going +to prison. Just then there were two sloops in +their harbor loading with ship-timber, and an +armored schooner, the <i>Margaretta</i>, was there +as a good looker-on.</p> + +<p>When the men on the wharf heard the story +of Lexington, their eyes fell on the <i>Margaretta</i>.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span> +Here was a chance to let King George +know what they thought about his robbing +their woods.</p> + +<p>"Keep this a secret," they said to the sailors. +"Not a word of it to Captain Moore or his +men. Wait till to-morrow and you will see +some sport."</p> + +<p>That night sixty of the countrymen and +townsmen met at a farmhouse nearby and laid +their plans. It was Saturday. On Sunday +Captain Moore and his officers would go to +church. Then they could gather at the wharf +and might take the schooner by surprise.</p> + +<p>But it is often easier to make a plot than to +keep it a secret, and that lesson they were to +learn. The captain and his officers went to the +little village church at sound of the morning +bell; the <i>Margaretta</i> lay lazily floating near +the shore; and the plotters began to gather, +two or three at a time strolling down towards +the shore, each of them carrying some weapon.</p> + +<p>But in some way Captain Moore discovered +their purpose. What bird in the air whispered +to him the secret we do not know, but he suddenly +sprang to his feet, called to his officers +to follow him, and leaped like a cat through the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span> +church window, without waiting to go round +by the door. We may be sure the old-fashioned +preacher and the pious people in the pews +looked on with wide-open eyes.</p> + +<p>Down the street like a deer sped the captain. +After him came his officers. In their rear +rushed the patriots, some carrying old muskets, +some with scythes and reaping-hooks.</p> + +<p>It was a hot flight and a hot chase. Luckily +for Captain Moore the guard on the schooner +was wide-awake. He saw the countrymen +chasing his captain, and at once loaded and +fired a gun, whose ball went whistling over the +head of the men of Maine. This was more +than they looked for; they held back in doubt; +some of them sought hiding places; before +they could gain fresh courage, a boat put off +from the schooner and took the captain and his +officers on board.</p> + +<p>Captain Moore did not know what was +wrong, but he thought he would frighten the +people, at any rate. So his cannon thundered +and balls came hurtling over the town. Then +he drew up his anchor and sailed several miles +down the bay, letting the anchor fall again +near a high bank. Some of the townsmen followed,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span> +and a man named Foster called from +the bank, bidding him surrender. But the +captain laughed at him, raised his anchor once +more, and ran farther out into the bay.</p> + +<p>It looked as if the whole affair was at an end +and the <i>Margaretta</i> safe. But the men of +Machias were not yet at the end of their rope. +There lay the lumber sloops, and where a +schooner could go a sloop could follow.</p> + +<p>Early Monday morning four young men +climbed to the deck of one of the sloops and +cheered in a way that soon brought a crowd to +the wharf. One of these was a bold, gallant +fellow named Jeremiah O'Brien.</p> + +<p>"What is in the wind?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"We are going for the King's ship," said +Wheaton, one of the men. "We can outsail +her, and all we want is guns enough and men +enough to take her."</p> + +<p>"My boys, we can do it," cried O'Brien in +lusty tones, after hearing the plan.</p> + +<p>Everybody ran off for arms, but all they +could find in the town were twenty guns, with +enough powder and balls to make three shots +for each. Their other weapons were thirteen +pitchforks and twelve axes. Jerry O'Brien<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span> +was chosen captain, thirty-five of the most +athletic men were selected, and the sloop put +off before a fresh breeze for the first naval +battle of the Revolution.</p> + +<p>It is likely that there were a few sailors +among them, and no doubt their captain knew +how to handle a sloop. But the most of them +were landsmen, chiefly haymakers, for Machias +lay amid grassy meadows and the making +of hay was its chief business. And there were +some woodsmen, who knew well how to swing +an axe. They were all bold men and true, +who cared more for their country than for the +King.</p> + +<p>When Captain Moore saw the sloop coming +with its deck crowded with men he must have +wondered what all this meant. What ailed +these countrymen? Anyhow, he would not +fight without knowing what he was fighting +for, so he raised his anchor, set his sails, and +made for the open sea. But he had hardly +started when, in going about in the strong +wind, the main boom swung across so sharply +that it struck the backstays and broke short off.</p> + +<p>I fancy if any of us had been close by then +we would have heard ringing cheers from the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span> +Yankee crew. They felt sure now of their +prize, though we cannot see why, for the <i>Margaretta</i> +had twenty-four cannon, four throwing +six-pound balls and the rest one-pound +balls. Muskets and pitchforks did not seem of +much use against these. It had also more men +than the sloop.</p> + +<p>We cannot see why Captain Moore showed +his heels instead of his fists, for he soon proved +that he was no coward. But he still seemed +to want to get away, so he drew up beside a +schooner that lay at anchor, robbed it of its +boom, lashed it to his own mast and once more +took to flight. But the sloop was now not far +behind, and soon showed that it was the better +sailer of the two. In the end it came so close +that Captain Moore was forced to fight or yield.</p> + +<p>One of the swivel guns was fired, and then +came a whole broadside, sending its balls hurtling +over the crowded deck of the sloop. One +man fell dead, but no other harm was done.</p> + +<p>Only a single shot was fired back, but this +came from a heavy gun and was aimed by an +old hunter. It struck the man at the helm of +the schooner. He fell dead, letting the rudder +swing loose.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span></p> + +<p>The <i>Margaretta</i>, with no hand at her helm, +broached to, and in a minute more the sloop +came crashing against her. At once there +began a fierce battle between the British tars +and the haymakers of Maine, who sprang +wildly and with ringing cheers for the schooner's +deck. Weapons of all sorts now came into +play. Cutlasses, hand-grenades, pistols and +boarding pikes were used by the schooner's +men; muskets, pitchforks, and axes were skilfully +handled by the crew of the sloop. Men +fast fell dead and wounded; the decks grew red +with blood; both sides fought fiercely, the men +of Machias striving like tigers to gain a footing +on the schooner's deck, the British tars +meeting and driving them back.</p> + +<p>Captain Moore showed that it was not fear +that made him run away. He now fought +bravely at the head of his men, cheering them +on and hurling hand-grenades at the foe.</p> + +<p>But in a few minutes the end came. A +bullet struck the gallant captain and he fell +dead on his deck. When they saw him fall the +crew lost heart and drew back. The Yankees +swarmed over the bulwarks. In a minute more +the <i>Margaretta</i> was theirs.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span></p> + +<p>The battle, though short, had been desperate, +for twenty men lay killed and wounded, more +than a fourth of the whole number engaged.</p> + +<p>As Bunker Hill showed British soldiers that +the Yankees could fight on land, so the capture +of the <i>Margaretta</i>, the first naval victory of +the Americans, showed that they could fight at +sea. The <i>Margaretta</i> was very much the +stronger, in men, in guns, and in her trained +officers and skilled crew. Yet she had been +taken by a party of landsmen, with muskets +against cannon and pitchforks against pistols. +It was a victory of which the colonists could +well be proud.</p> + +<p>But Captain O'Brien was not yet satisfied. +He had now a good sloop under his feet, a +good crew at his back, and the arms and ammunition +of his prize. He determined to go +a-privateering on his own account.</p> + +<p>Taking the <i>Margaretta</i> to the town, he +handed over his prisoners and put the cannon +and swivels of the schooner on his swifter +sloop, together with the muskets, pistols, powder, +and shot which he found on board. Then +away he went, with a bold and daring crew, in +search for prizes and glory.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span></p> + +<p>He soon found both. When the news of +what he had done reached Halifax, the British +there sent out two schooners, with orders to +capture the insolent Yankee and bring him to +port and to prison. But Captain O'Brien +showed that he knew how to handle a sloop as +well as a pitchfork. He met the schooners +sent to capture him, and by skilful sailing managed +to separate them. Then he made a bold +dash on each of them and in a little time captured +them both.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER III</h2> + +<h3>BENEDICT ARNOLD, THE SOLDIER-SAILOR</h3> + +<h3><span class="smcap">A Novel Fight on Lake Champlain</span></h3> + +<div class='cap'>WAS it not a dreadful pity that Benedict +Arnold should disgrace himself forever +by becoming a traitor to his +country? To think of his making himself the +most despised of all Americans, when, if he +had been true to his flag, he might have been +ranked among our greatest heroes. For Arnold +was one of the best and bravest fighters +in Washington's army. And he could fight as +hard and well on water as on land, as you will +learn when you read of what he did on Lake +Champlain.</div> + +<p>I am sure all my readers must know where +this lake is, and how it stretches down in a +long line from Canada far into New York +State. Below Lake Champlain extends Lake +George, and not very far from that is the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span> +Hudson River, which flows down to the City +of New York.</p> + +<p>If the British could only have held that line +of water they would have cut the colonies in +two, and in that way they might soon have +brought the war to an end. This was what +they tried to do in the fall of 1776, but they +did not count on Arnold and his men.</p> + +<p>Let us tell what brought this about. General +Arnold and General Montgomery had +marched through the wilderness to Quebec in +the winter before. But there they met with +bitter weather and deadly disease and death +from cold and cannon. The brave Montgomery +was killed, the daring Arnold fought in +vain, and in the end the invading army was +forced to march back—all that was left of it.</p> + +<p>As the Americans went back, Sir Guy Carleton, +the British commander, followed, and +made his camp at St. John's, at the north end +of Lake Champlain. The nearest American +post was at Crown Point, far down towards +the foot of the lake. Not far south of this, +near the head of Lake George, was the famous +old French fort Ticonderoga, which Arnold +and Ethan Allen had captured from the British<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span> +the year before. I tell you all this that you +may know how the land lay. A glance at a +good map will help.</p> + +<p>I think it very likely that some of you may +have visited those beautiful lakes, and seen the +towns and villages on their shores, the handsome +dwelling on their islands, and the broad +roads along their banks; everything gay and +smiling.</p> + +<p>If you had been there in 1776 you would +have seen a very different sight. Look right +or left, east or west, nothing but a wilderness +of trees would have met your eyes. As for +roads, I fancy an Indian trail would have been +the best to be found. And no man that wished +to keep his scalp on his head would have +thought of living on island or shore.</p> + +<p>The only good road southward was the liquid +one made by nature, and this road Carleton +decided to take. He would build a strong fleet +and carry his army down the lake, while the +Indians that came with him could paddle +downward in their canoes.</p> + +<p>At this time there was not a vessel on the +lakes, but Carleton worked hard, and soon had +such a fleet as these waters had never seen.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span> +Three of his ships were built in England in +such a way that they could be taken to pieces, +carried through the wilderness to St. John's, +and there put together again. The smaller +vessels were built on the spot, soldiers, sailors, +and farmers all working on them.</p> + +<p>It was well on in October before his task +was finished. Then he had a fleet of twenty-five +vessels in all, twenty of them being gunboats, +but some of them quite large. Their +crews numbered a thousand men, and they carried +eighty-nine cannon.</p> + +<p>You may well suppose that the Americans +knew what was going on, and that they did +not fold their hands and wait. That is not, +and never was, the American way. If the +British could build, so could the Yankees, and +Benedict Arnold was ordered to build a fleet, +and to have it ready for fighting the British +when it would be needed.</p> + +<p>Arnold had been at sea in his time and knew +something of what he was about. His men +were farmers who had taken up arms for their +country, but he sent for a few shipbuilders +from the coast and went to work with all his +might.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span></p> + +<p>When October came he had fifteen vessels +afloat. There were two schooners and one +sloop, the others being called galleys and gondolas—no +better than large rowboats, with +three to six guns each.</p> + +<p>Arnold had about as many guns as Carleton, +but they were smaller, and he had not +nearly so many men to handle them. And his +men were farmers instead of sailors, and knew +no more about a cannon than about a king's +crown. But the British ships were manned +by picked seamen from the warships in the +St. Lawrence River, and had trained naval +officers.</p> + +<p>I fear if any of us had been in Arnold's +place we would have wanted to go home. It +looked like folly for him and his men to fight +the British fleet with its skilled officers and +sailors and its heavy guns. It was like meeting +a raft of logs with one of chips.</p> + +<p>But Arnold was not a man who stopped to +count the cost when fighting was to be had. +As soon as he was ready he set sail boldly up +the lake, and on the morning of October 11, +1776, he drew up his little fleet across a narrow +channel between Valcour Island and the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span> +west shore of the lake. He knew the British +would soon be down.</p> + +<p>It was a fine, clear, cool morning, with a +strong wind from the north, just the kind of +day Carleton had been waiting for. So, soon +after sunrise, his fleet came sweeping on past +Valcour Island. But all the sailors saw was a +thicket of green trees, and they had got well +south of the island before they looked back and +saw the American fleet.</p> + +<p>Here was an ugly situation. It would never +do to leave the Americans in their rear. Down +went the helms, round swept the sails, out came +the oars, and soon the British fleet was making +a struggle against the wind which had seemed +so fair a few minutes before. So strong was +the breeze that ten o'clock had passed before +they reached the channel in which the Americans +lay. Arnold came eagerly to meet them, +with the <i>Royal Savage</i>, his largest vessel, and +three of his gondolas. One of these, the <i>Congress</i>, +he had made his flagship. Soon the +waters of that quiet bay rang with the roar of +cannon and the shouts of fighting men, and +Arnold, having drawn the fire of the whole +British fleet, was obliged to hurry back.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span></p> + +<p>In doing so he met with a serious loss. The +<i>Royal Savage</i>, pierced by a dozen balls, ran +ashore on the island. As she could not be got +off, the crew set her on fire and escaped to the +woods. They might better have leaped into +the lake, for the woods were full of Indians +whom Carleton had sent ashore; and to be a +prisoner to Indians in those days was a terrible +fate.</p> + +<p>When he got back to his fleet, Arnold +formed his line to meet the British, who came +steadily on until within musket shot. Then a +furious battle began, broadside meeting broadside, +grape-shot and round-shot hurtling +through the air, the thick smoke of the conflict +drifting into the woodland, while from the +forest came back flame and bullets as the Indians +fought for their British friends.</p> + +<p>Arnold, on the deck of the <i>Congress</i>, led in +the thickest of the fight, handling his fleet as +if he had been an admiral born, cheering the +men at the guns, aiming and firing a gun at +intervals himself, and not yielding a foot to +the foe. Now and then a gun was fired at the +Indians, forcing them to skip nimbly behind +the trees.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span></p> + +<p>For six long hours the battle kept up at close +quarters. This is what Arnold says about it in +few words: "At half-past twelve the engagement +became general and very warm. Some +of the enemy's ships and all their gondolas +beat and rowed up within musket shot of us. +They continued a very hot fire with round and +grape-shot until five o'clock, when they thought +proper to retire to about six or seven hundred +yards distance, and continued the fire till dark."</p> + +<p>Hot as their fire was, they must have found +that of the Americans hotter, for they went +back out of range of the Yankee guns, but kept +within range of their own.</p> + +<p>Arnold's vessels were in a bad plight. Several +of them were as full of holes as a pepper +bottle, and one sank soon after the fight ended. +But two of the British gunboats had been sunk +and one blown up. The worst for the Americans +was that nearly all their powder was +gone. They could not fight an hour more.</p> + +<p>Perilous as was the situation, Admiral Arnold +was equal to it. The night came on dark +and stormy, with a hard gale from the north. +This was just what he wanted. Up came the +anchors and away went the boats, one after<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span> +the other in a long line, each showing a light +to the vessel that followed, but hiding it from +British eyes. In this way they slipped unseen +through the British line, Arnold in the <i>Congress</i> +taking the post of danger in the rear.</p> + +<p>When morning dawned the British lookouts +gazed for the American fleet, it was nowhere +to be seen. It had vanished in the night +and now was ten miles down the lake, where +it was drawn up near shore for repairs.</p> + +<p>Two of the gondolas proved to be past mending, +and were sunk. The others were patched +up until they could be kept afloat without too +much pumping, and the fleet started on, hoping +to gain the shelter of Crown Point or Ticonderoga. +The wind had changed to the south, +and they had to take to their oars. This kept +them back, but it gave the British quite as much +trouble. That day passed away and the next +day, Friday, dawned before the pursuers came +in sight. And now a chase began with oar +and sail, and continued till noon, when Crown +Point was still some leagues away. By this +time the British cannon balls began to reach +the American boats, and the tired rowers were +forced to turn to their guns and fight.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span></p> + +<p>Never did sea-hero fight more gallantly than +did the soldier Arnold that day. The first +British broadside ruined the gondola <i>Washington</i> +and forced it to surrender. But Arnold +in the little <i>Congress</i> drew up beside the <i>Inflexible</i>, +a 300-ton ship with eighteen 12-pounder +cannon, and fought the ship with his +little gunboat as if they had been of equal +strength. Inspired by his example, the other +boats fought as bravely.</p> + +<p>Not until a third of his men were dead and +his boat a mere wreck did he give up the fight. +But not to surrender—no such thought came +into his mind. By his order the galleys were +run ashore in a creek nearby and there set on +fire. With the three guns of the shattered +<i>Congress</i> he covered their retreat until their +crews were safe on shore.</p> + +<p>Then, reckless of the British shot, he ran the +<i>Congress</i> ashore also and stood guard at her +stern while the crew set her on fire. The men +by his orders sought the shore, but Arnold +stood by his flag to the last, not leaving until +the flames had such hold that he was sure no +Briton's hand could strike his flag. It would +float until it went up in flames.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span></p> + +<p>Then he sprang into the water, waded +ashore, and joined his men, who greeted him +with cheers.</p> + +<p>The savages were swarming in the woods, +eager for scalps, but Arnold was not troubled +by fear of them. Forming his men into order, +he marched them through the woods, and +before night reached safety at Crown Point.</p> + +<p>Thus ended one of the noblest fights the +inland waters of America ever saw. The +British were victors, though at a heavy cost. +Arnold had fought until his fleet was annihilated; +and not in vain. Carleton sailed back +to St. John's and made his way to Canada. He +had seen enough of Yankee pluck. Thus Arnold, +though defeated, gained by his valor the +fruit of victory, for the British gave up their +plan of holding the lake.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER IV</h2> + +<h3>CAPTAIN PAUL JONES</h3> + +<h3><span class="smcap">The Greatest of America's Naval Heroes</span></h3> + +<div class='cap'>ONCE upon a time there lived in Scotland a +poor gardener named John Paul, who +had a little son to whom he gave the +same name. The rich man's garden that the +father took care of was close by the sea, and +little John Paul came to love blue water so +much that he spent most of his time near it, +and longed to be a sailor.</div> + +<p>He lived in his father's cottage near the sea +until he was twelve years old. Then he was +put to work in a big town on the other side of +the Solway Firth. This town was called +Whitehaven. It was a very busy place, and +ships and sailors were there in such numbers +that the little fellow, who had been put in a +store, greatly liked to go down to the docks +and talk with the seamen who had been in so +many different lands and seas and who could<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span> +tell him all about the wonderful and curious +places they had seen, and about their adventures +on the great oceans they had sailed +over.</p> + +<p>In the end the boy made up his mind to go +to sea. He studied all about ships and how to +sail them. He read all the books he could get, +and often, when other boys were asleep or in +mischief, he was learning from the books he +read many things that helped him when he +grew older. At last he had his wish. When +he was only thirteen years old, he was put as a +sailor boy on a ship called the <i>Friendship</i>.</p> + +<p>The vessel was bound to Virginia, in America, +for a cargo of tobacco, and the young +sailor greatly enjoyed the voyage and was +especially delighted with the new country +across the sea. He wished he could live in +America, and hoped some day to go there +again.</p> + +<p>When this first voyage was over, he returned +to Whitehaven and went back to the +store. But soon after, the merchant who +owned the store failed in business, and the boy +was out of a place and had to look out for himself. +This time he became a real seaman. For<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span> +many years he served as a common sailor. He +proved such a good one that before he was +twenty years old he was a captain. This was +how he became one: While the ship in which +he was sailing was in the middle of the Atlantic +Ocean, a terrible fever broke out. The captain +died. The mate, who comes next to the captain, +died; all of the sailors were sick, and some +of them died. There was no one who knew +about sailing such a big vessel, except young +John Paul. So he took command and sailed +the ship into port without an accident, and the +owners were so glad that they made the young +sailor captain of the ship which he had saved +for them.</p> + +<p>John Paul was not the only one of his family +who loved America. He had a brother who +had crossed the ocean and was living in Virginia, +on the banks of the Rappahannock River. +This was the same river beside which George +Washington lived when a boy. The young +captain visited his brother several times while +he was sailing on his voyages, and he liked the +country so much that, when his brother died, +he gave up being a sailor for a while, and went +to live on his brother's farm.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span></p> + +<p>When he became a farmer, he changed his +name to Jones. Why he did so nobody knows. +But he ever after bore the name of John Paul +Jones. He made this one of the best known +names in the history of the seas.</p> + +<p>I doubt if he was a very good farmer. He +was too much of a sailor for that. So, when +the American Revolution began, he was eager +to fight the British on the seas. There was no +nation at that time so powerful on the sea as +England. The King had a splendid fleet of +ships of war—almost a thousand. The United +States had none. But soon the Americans got +together five little ships, and sent them out as +the beginning of the American navy, to fight +the ships of England.</p> + +<p>John Paul Jones was made first lieutenant of +a ship called the <i>Alfred</i>. He had the good +fortune to hoist for the first time on any ship, +the earliest American flag. This was a great +yellow silk flag which had on it the picture of a +pine tree with a rattlesnake coiled around it, +and underneath were the words: "Don't tread +on me!"</p> + +<p>Then the grand union flag of the colonies +was set. This had thirteen red and white<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span> +stripes, like our present flag, but, instead of +the stars, in the corner it had the British +"union jack." Thus there was a link on the +flag between the colonies and England. They +had not quite cut apart.</p> + +<div class="figleft" style="width: 323px;"> +<img src="images/i-057.jpg" width="323" height="500" alt="John Paul Jones." title="" /> +<span class="caption">John Paul Jones.</span> +</div> + +<p>Jones had first been offered the command of +the <i>Providence</i>, a brig that bore twelve guns +and had a crew of one hundred men. But he +showed the kind of man he was by saying that +he did not know enough to be a captain, and +was hardly fit to be a first lieutenant. That +was how he came to be made first lieutenant of +the <i>Alfred</i>. Congress took him at his own +price.</p> + +<p>But Commodore Hopkins, who commanded +the fleet, was wise enough to see that Jones +knew more about his work than most of the +captains in the service. So he ordered him to +take command of the <i>Providence</i>, the snug +little brig that had first been offered to him.</p> + +<p>The new captain was set at work to carrying +troops and guarding merchant vessels along +the shore, and he did this with wonderful skill. +There were British men-of-war nearly everywhere, +but Jones managed to keep clear of +them. He darted up and down Long Island<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span> +Sound, carrying soldiers and guns and food to +General Washington. So well did he do his +work that Congress made him a captain. This +was on August 8, 1776, a month and more +after the "Declaration of Independence." He +had a free country now to fight for, instead of +rebel colonies.</p> + +<p>The <i>Providence</i> was a little vessel, but it was +a fast sailer, and was wonderfully quick to +answer the helm. That is, it turned very +quickly when the rudder was moved. And it +had a captain who knew how to sail a ship. +All this brought the little brig out of more +than one tight place.</p> + +<p>I must tell you about one of these escapes, in +which Captain Jones showed himself a very +sharp sea-fox. He came across a fleet of vessels +which he thought were merchant ships, +and had a fancy he might capture the largest. +But when he got close up he found that this +was a big British frigate, the <i>Solebay</i>.</p> + +<p>Away went the <i>Providence</i> at full speed, and +hot-foot after her came the <i>Solebay</i>. For four +hours the chase was kept up, the frigate +steadily gaining. At last she was only a hundred +yards away. Now was the time to surrender.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span> +Nearly any one but Paul Jones would +have done so. A broadside from the great +frigate would have torn his little brig to pieces. +But he was one of the "never surrender" kind.</p> + +<p>What else could he do? you ask. Well, I +will tell you what he did. He quietly made +ready to set all his extra sails, and put a man +with a lighted match at each cannon, and had +another ready to hoist the union flag.</p> + +<p>Then, with a quick turn of the helm, the +little brig swung round like a top across the +frigate's bows. As she did so all the guns on +that side sent their iron hail sweeping across +the deck of the <i>Solebay</i>. In a minute more +the studding sails were set on both sides, like +broad white wings, and away went the <i>Providence</i> +as swift as a racer, straight before the +wind and with the American flag proudly +flying. The officers and men of the frigate +were so upset by the sudden dash and attack +that they did not know what to do. Before +they came to their senses the brig was out of +reach of their shot. Off like a bird she went, +now quite outsailing her pursuer. The <i>Solebay</i>, +fired more than a hundred iron balls after +her, but they only scared the fishes.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span></p> + +<p>It was not long before Captain Jones found +another big British ship on his track. He was +now off the coast of Nova Scotia, and as there +was nothing else to do, he let his men have a +day's sport in fishing for codfish. Fish are +plenty in those waters, and they were pulling +them up in a lively fashion when a strange sail +rose in sight.</p> + +<p>When it came well up Captain Jones saw it +was a British frigate, and judged it time to pull +in his fishing lines and set sail on his little craft. +Away like a deer went the brig, and after her +like a hound came the ship. But it soon proved +that the deer was faster than the hound, and so +Captain Jones began to play with the big frigate. +He took in some of his sails and kept +just out of reach.</p> + +<p>The <i>Milford</i>, which was the name of the +British ship, kept firing at the <i>Providence</i>, but +all her shot plunged into the waves. It was +like the hound barking at the deer. And every +time the <i>Milford</i> sent a broadside, Paul Jones +replied with a musket. After he had all the +fun he wanted out of the lumbering frigate, he +spread all sail again and soon left her out of +sight.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span></p> + +<p>We cannot tell the whole story of the cruise +of the <i>Providence</i>. In less than two months it +captured sixteen vessels and burned some +others. Soon after that Jones was made captain +of the <i>Alfred</i>, the ship on which he had +raised the first flag. With this he took a splendid +prize, the brig <i>Mellish</i>, on which were ten +thousand uniforms for the British soldiers. +Many a ragged soldier in Washington's army +thanked him that winter for a fine suit of warm +clothing.</p> + +<p>Let us tell one more fine thing that Captain +Jones did in American waters before he crossed +the ocean to the British seas. Sailing along +the coast of Canada he came upon a fleet of +coal vessels, with a British frigate to take care +of them. But it was foggy and the coalers +were scattered; so that Jones picked up three of +them while the frigate went on with her eyes +shut, not knowing that anything was wrong.</p> + +<p>Two days afterward he came upon a British +privateer, which was on the hunt for +American vessels. But when the <i>Alfred</i> came +up, before more than a few shots had been +fired, down came its flag.</p> + +<p>Captain Jones now thought it time to get<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span> +home. His ship was crowded with prisoners, +he was short of food and water, and he had +four prizes to look after, which were manned +with some of his crew.</p> + +<p>But he was not to get home without another +adventure; for, late one afternoon, there came +in sight the frigate <i>Milford</i>, the one which he +had saluted with musket balls. He could not +play with her now, for he had his prizes to +look after, and while he could outsail her, the +prizes could not.</p> + +<p>So he told the captains of the prizes to keep +on as they were, no matter what signals he +made. Night soon came, and the <i>Alfred</i> sailed +on, with two lanterns swinging in her tops. +Soon she changed her course and the <i>Milford</i> +followed. No doubt her captain thought that +the Yankee had lost his wits, to sail on with +lanterns blazing and make it easy to keep in +his track.</p> + +<p>But when morning dawned the British captain +found he had been tricked. The <i>Alfred</i> +was in sight, but all the prizes were gone except +the privateer, whose stupid captain had +not obeyed orders. The result was that the +privateer was recaptured. But the <i>Alfred</i><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span> +easily kept ahead. That afternoon a squall of +snow came upon the sea, and the Yankee craft, +"amid clouds and darkness and foaming +surges, made her escape."</p> + +<p>In a few days more the <i>Alfred</i> sailed into +Boston. There his ship was given another captain, +and for six months he had nothing to do. +Congress was full of politicians who were +looking out for their friends, and the best +seaman in the American navy was left sitting +at home biting his thumb nails and whistling +for a ship.</p> + +<p>I have not told you here the whole story of +our greatest naval hero. I have not told you +even the best part of his story, that part which +has made him famous in all history, and put +him on a level with the most celebrated sea +fighters of all time.</p> + +<p>The exploits of Paul Jones cover two seas, +those of America and those of England, and +in both he proved himself a brilliant sailor +and a daring fighter. I think you will say this +from what you have already read. His deeds +of skill and bravery on our own coast were +wonderful, and if they had stood alone would +have given him great fame. But it was in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span> +the waters and on the shores of England that +he showed the whole world what a man he +was; and now, when men talk of the great +heroes of the sea, the name of John Paul Jones +always stands first. This is the story we have +next to tell, how Captain Jones crossed the +ocean and bearded the British lion in his den.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER V</h2> + +<h3>HOW PAUL JONES WON RENOWN</h3> + +<h3><span class="smcap">The First Great Fight of the American Navy</span></h3> + +<div class='cap'>YOU have been told how Captain Paul Jones +lost his ship. He was given another in +June, 1777. This was the <i>Ranger</i>, a +frigate carrying twenty-six guns, but it was +such a slow old tub that our captain was not +well pleased with his new craft. He did not +want to run away from the British; he wanted +a ship that was fit to chase an enemy.</div> + +<p>We have one thing very interesting to tell. +On the very day that Jones got his new ship +Congress adopted a new flag, the American +standard with its thirteen stars and thirteen +stripes. As soon as he heard of the new flag, +Captain Jones had one made in all haste, and +with his own hands he ran it up to the mast-head +of the <i>Ranger</i>. So she was the first ship +that ever carried the "Stars and Stripes." Is<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span> +it not interesting that the man who first raised +the pine-tree flag of the colonies was the first +to fling out to the breeze the star-spangled flag +of the American Union?</p> + +<p>Captain Jones was ordered to sail for France, +but it took so long to get the <i>Ranger</i> ready for +sea that it was winter before he reached there. +Benjamin Franklin and other Americans were +there in France and were having a fine new +frigate built for Paul Jones. But when England +heard of it such a protest was made that +the French government stopped the work on +the ship, and our brave captain had to go to +sea again in the slow-footed <i>Ranger</i>.</p> + +<p>He had one satisfaction. He sailed through +the French fleet at <ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'Quileron'">Quiberon</ins> Bay and saluted +the French flag. The French admiral could +not well help returning his salute. That was +the first time the Stars and Stripes were saluted +by a foreign power.</p> + +<p>What Captain Jones proposed to do was the +boldest thing any American captain could do. +England was invading America. He proposed +to invade England. That is, he would cruise +along the British coast, burning ships and +towns, and thus do there what the British had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span> +done along the American coast. He wanted +to let them find how they liked it themselves.</p> + +<p>It was a daring plan. The British channel +was full of war-vessels. If they got on the +track of his slow ship he could not run away. +He would never think of running from one +ship, but there might be a fleet. However, +Paul Jones was the last man in the world to +think of danger; so he put boldly out to sea, +and took his chances.</p> + +<p>It was not long before he had all England in +a state of alarm. News came that this daring +American warship was taking prize after +prize, burning some and sending their crews +ashore. He would hide along the English +coast from the men-of-war that went out in +search, and then suddenly dart out and seize +some merchant ship.</p> + +<p>The English called Captain Jones a pirate +and all sorts of hard names. But they were +very much afraid of him and his stout ship. +And this voyage of his, along the shores +of England, taught them to respect and fear +the American sailors more than they had ever +done before.</p> + +<p>After he had captured many British vessels,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span> +almost in sight of their homes, he boldly sailed +to the north and into the very port of Whitehaven, +where he had "tended store," as a boy, +and from which he had first gone to sea. He +knew all about the place. He knew how many +vessels were there, and what a splendid victory +he could win for the American navy, if +he could sail into Whitehaven harbor and capture +or destroy the two hundred vessels that +were anchored within sight of the town he +remembered so well.</p> + +<p>With two rowboats and thirty men he +landed at Whitehaven, locked up the soldiers +in the forts, fixed the cannon so that they could +not be fired, set fire to one of the vessels that +were in the harbor, and so frightened all the +people that, though the gardener's son stood +alone on the wharf, waiting for a boat to take +him off, not a man dared to lay a hand on +him. With a single pistol he kept back a thousand +men.</p> + +<p>Then he sailed across the bay to the house +of the great lord for whom his father had +worked as a gardener. He meant to run away +with this nobleman, and keep him prisoner +until the British promised to treat better the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span> +Americans whom they had taken prisoners. +But the lord whom he went for was "not at +home," so all that Captain Jones's men could +do was to carry off from the big house the +silverware of the earl. Captain Jones did not +like this; so he took the things from his men +and returned them to Earl Selkirk, with a letter +asking him to excuse his sailors.</p> + +<p>Not long afterward one of the British men-of-war +which were in the hunt for Captain +Jones, found him. This was the <i>Drake</i>, a +larger ship than the <i>Ranger</i> and carrying more +men. But that did not trouble Paul Jones, and +soon there was a terrible fight. The sails of +the <i>Drake</i> were cut to pieces, her decks were +red with blood, and at last her captain fell +dead. In an hour after the fight began, just +as the sun was going down behind the Irish +hills, there came a cry for quarter from the +<i>Drake</i>, and the battle was at an end. Off went +Captain Jones, with his ship and his prize, for +the friendly shores of France, where he was +received with great praise.</p> + +<p>Soon after this the French decided to help +the Americans in their war for independence. +After some time Captain Jones was put in command<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span> +of five ships, and back he sailed to +England to fight the British ships again.</p> + +<p>The vessel in which he sailed was the biggest +of the five ships. It had forty guns and +a crew of three hundred sailors. Captain +Jones thought so much of the great Dr. Benjamin +Franklin, who had written a book of +good advice, under the name of "Poor Richard," +that he named his big ship for Dr. Franklin. +He called it the <i>Bon Homme Richard</i>, which +is French for "good man Richard." But the +<i>Bon Homme Richard</i> was not a good boat, +if it was a big one. It was old and rotten and +leaky, and not fit for a warship, but its new +commander made the best he could of it.</p> + +<p>The little fleet sailed up and down the English +coasts, capturing a few prizes, and greatly +frightening the people by saying that they +had come to burn some of the big English sea +towns. Then, just as they were about sailing +back to France, they came—near an English +cape, called Flamborough Head—upon an +English fleet of forty merchant vessels and +two war ships.</p> + +<p>One of the war ships was a great English +frigate, called the <i>Serapis</i>, finer and stronger<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span> +in every way than the <i>Bon Homme Richard</i>. +But Captain Jones would not run away.</p> + +<p>"What ship is that?" called out the Englishman. +"Come a little nearer, and we'll tell +you," answered plucky Captain Jones.</p> + +<p>The British ships did come a little nearer. +The forty merchant vessels sailed as fast as +they could to the nearest harbor, and then the +warships had a terrible battle.</p> + +<p>At seven o'clock in the evening the British +frigate and the <i>Bon Homme Richard</i> began to +fight. They banged and hammered away for +hours, and then, when the British captain +thought he must have beaten the Americans, +and it was so dark and smoky that they could +only see each other by the fire flashes, he called +out to the American captain: "Are you beaten? +Have you hauled down your flag?"</p> + +<p>And back came the answer of Captain John +Paul Jones: "I haven't begun to fight yet!"</p> + +<p>So they went at it again. The two ships +were now lashed together, and they tore each +other like savage dogs in a fight.</p> + +<p>The rotten old <i>Richard</i> suffered terribly. +Two of her great guns had burst at the first +fire, and she was shot through and through<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span> +by the <i>Serapis</i> until most of her timbers above +the water-line were shot away. The British +rushed on board with pistols and cutlasses, and +the Americans drove them back. But the +<i>Richard</i> was on fire; water was pouring in +through a dozen shot holes; it looked as if she +must surrender, brave as were her captain and +crew. There were on board the old ship nearly +two hundred prisoners who had been taken +from captured vessels, and so pitiful were their +cries that one of the officers set them free, +thinking that the ship was going to sink and +that they ought to have a chance for their +lives. These men were running up on +deck, adding greatly to the trouble of Captain +Jones; for he had now a crowd of enemies on +his own ship. But the prisoners were so +scared that they did not know what to do. +They saw the ship burning around them and +heard the water pouring into the hold, and +thought they would be carried to the bottom. +So to keep them from mischief they were set +to work, some at the pumps, others at +putting out the fire. And to keep the ship +from blowing up, if the fire should reach the +magazine, Captain Jones set men at bringing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span> +up the kegs of powder and throwing them into +the sea. Never was there a ship in so desperate +a strait, and there was hardly a man on +board, except Captain Jones, who did not want +to surrender.</p> + +<p>But the British were not having it all their +own way. The American tars had climbed the +masts and were firing down with muskets +and flinging down hand grenades, until all +the British had to run from the upper deck. +A hand grenade is a small, hollow iron ball +filled with powder, which explodes when +thrown down and sends the bits of iron flying +all around, like so many bullets.</p> + +<p>One sailor took a bucketful of these and +crept far out on the yard-arm of the ship, and +began to fling them down on the gun-deck of +the <i>Serapis</i>, where they did much damage. +At last one of them went through the open +hatchway to the main deck, where a crowd of +men were busy working the great guns, and +cartridges were lying all about and loose +powder was scattered on the floor.</p> + +<p>The grenade set fire to this powder, and in a +second there was a terrible explosion. A +great sheet of flame burst up through the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span> +hatchway, and frightful cries came from below. +In that dreadful moment more than +twenty men were killed and many more were +wounded. All the guns on that deck had to +be abandoned. There were no men left to +work them.</p> + +<p>Where was Captain Jones all the time, and +what was he doing? You may be sure he was +busy. He had taken a gun and loaded it with +double-headed shot, and kept firing at the +mainmast of the <i>Serapis</i>. Every shot cut a +piece out of the mast, and after a while it came +tumbling upon the deck, with all its spars and +rigging. The tarred ropes quickly caught +fire, and the ship was in flames.</p> + +<p>At this moment up came the <i>Alliance</i>, one +of Captain Jones's fleet. He now thought that +the battle was at an end, but to his horror the +<i>Alliance</i>, instead of firing at the British ship, +began to pour its broadsides into his own. He +called to them for God's sake to quit firing, +but they kept on, killing some of his best men +and making several holes under water, +through which new floods poured into the ship. +The <i>Alliance</i> had a French captain who hated +Paul Jones and wanted to sink his ship.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span></p> + +<p>Both ships were now in flames, and water +rushed into the <i>Richard</i> faster than the pumps +could keep it out. Some of the officers begged +Captain Jones to pull down his flag and surrender, +but he would not give up. He thought +there was always a chance while he had a deck +under his feet.</p> + +<p>Soon the cowardly French traitor quit firing +and sailed off, and Paul Jones began his old +work again, firing at the <i>Serapis</i> as if the battle +had just begun. This was more than the +British captain could bear. His ship was a +mere wreck and was blazing around him, so +he ran on deck and pulled down his flag with +his own hands. The terrible battle was at an +end. The British ship had given up the fight.</p> + +<p>Lieutenant Dale sprang on board the +<i>Serapis</i>, went up to Captain Pearson, the British +commander, and asked him if he surrendered. +The Englishman replied that he had, +and then he and his chief officer went aboard +the battered <i>Richard</i>, which was sinking even +in its hour of victory.</p> + +<p>But Captain Jones stood on the deck of his +sinking vessel, proud and triumphant. He +had shown what an American captain and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span> +American sailors could do, even when everything +was against them. The English captain +gave up his sword to the American, +which is the way all sailors and soldiers do +when they surrender their ships or their +armies.</p> + +<p>The fight had been a brave one, and the English +King knew that his captain had made a +bold and desperate resistance, even if he had +been whipped. So he rewarded Captain Pearson, +when he at last returned to England, by +making him a Knight, thus giving him the +title of "Sir." When Captain Jones heard of +this he laughed, and said: "Well, if I can meet +Captain Pearson again in a sea fight, I'll make +him a lord."</p> + +<p>The poor <i>Bon Homme Richard</i> was such an +utter wreck that she soon sank beneath the +waves. But, even as she went down, the stars +and stripes floated proudly from the mast-head, +in token of victory.</p> + +<p>Captain Jones, after the surrender, put all +his men aboard the captured <i>Serapis</i>, and then +off he sailed to the nearest friendly port, with +his great prize and all his prisoners. This +victory made him the greatest sailor in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span> +whole American war, and the most famous of +all American seamen.</p> + +<p>Captain Jones took his prize into the Dutch +port of Texel, closely followed by a British +squadron. The country of Holland was not +friendly to the Americans, and though they +let him come in, he was told that he could not +stay there. So he sailed again, in a howling +gale, straight through the British squadron, +with the American flag flying at his peak. +Down through the narrow Straits of Dover he +passed, coming so near the English shore that +he could count the warships at anchor in the +Downs. That was his way of showing how +little he feared them. The English were so +angry at Holland because it would not give up +the Americans and their prizes that they declared +war against that country.</p> + +<p>When Captain Jones reached Paris he was +received with the greatest honor, and greeted +as one of the ablest and bravest of sea-fighters.</p> + +<p>Everybody wished to see such a hero. He +went to the King's court, and the King and +Queen and French lords and ladies made much +of him and gave him receptions, and said so +many fine things about him that, if he had been<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span> +at all vain, it might have "turned his head," as +people say. But John Paul Jones was not +vain.</p> + +<p>He was a brave sailor, and he was in France +to get help and not compliments. He wished +a new ship to take the place of the old <i>Richard</i>, +which had gone to the bottom after its great +victory.</p> + +<p>So, though the King of France honored him +and received him splendidly and made him +presents, he kept on working to get another +ship. At last he was made captain of a new +ship, called the <i>Ariel</i>, and sailed from France. +He had a fierce battle with an English ship +called the <i>Triumph</i>, and defeated her. But +she escaped before surrendering, and Captain +Jones sailed across the sea to America.</p> + +<p>He was received at home with great honor +and applause. Congress gave him a vote of +thanks, "for the zeal, prudence and intrepidity +with which he had supported the honor of the +American flag"—that is what the vote said.</p> + +<p>People everywhere crowded to see him, and +called him hero and conqueror. Lafayette, +the brave young Frenchman who came over +to fight for America, called him "my dear<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span> +Paul Jones," and Washington and the other +leaders in America said, "Well done, Captain +Jones!"</p> + +<p>The King of France sent him a splendid reward +of merit called the "Cross of Honor," +and Congress set about building a fine ship for +him to command. But before it was finished, +the war was over; and he was sent back to +France on some important business for the +United States.</p> + +<p>Here he was received with new honor, for +the French knew how to meet and treat a brave +man; and above all they loved a man who had +humbled the English, their ancient foes. Captain +Jones had sailed from a French port and +in a French ship, and they looked on him +almost as one of their own. But all this did +not make him proud or boastful, for he was +not that kind of man.</p> + +<p>In later years Paul Jones served in Russia +in the wars with the Turks. But the British +officers who were in the Russian service refused +to fight under him, saying that he was a +rebel, a pirate, and a traitor. This was because +he had fought for America after being +born in Scotland. So, after some hard fighting,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span> +he left Russia and went back to France, +where he died in 1792.</p> + +<p>In all the history of sea fighting we hear of +no braver man, and the United States, so long +as it is a nation, will be proud of and honor the +memory of the gallant sailor, John Paul Jones.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER VI</h2> + +<h3>CAPTAIN BUSHNELL SCARES THE BRITISH</h3> + +<h3><span class="smcap">The Pioneer Torpedo Boat and the Battle of the Kegs</span></h3> + +<div class='cap'>MANY of us, all our lives, have seen vessels +of every size and shape darting to +and fro over the water; some with sails +spread to the wind, others with puffing pipes +and whirling wheels.</div> + +<p>And that is not all. Men have tried to go +under water as well as on top. Some of you may +have read Jules Verne's famous story, "Twenty +Thousand Leagues under the Sea." That, of +course, is all fiction; but now-a-days there are +vessels which can go miles under the water +without once coming to the top.</p> + +<p>We call these submarine boats, and look upon +them as something very new. You may be +surprised to learn that there was a submarine +boat as long ago as the War of the Revolution.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span> +It was not a very good one, and did not do the +work it was built for, but it was the first of its +kind, and that is something worth knowing.</p> + +<p>Those of you who have studied history will +know that after the British were driven out of +Boston they came to New York with a large +army, and took possession of that city. Washington +and his men could not keep them out, +and had to leave. There the British lay, with +their army in the city and their fleet in the bay +and river, and there they stayed for years.</p> + +<p>There was an American who did not like to +see British vessels floating in American waters. +He knew he could not drive them away, but he +thought he might give them some trouble. This +was a Connecticut man named David Bushnell, +a chap as sharp as a steeltrap, and one of the +first American inventors.</p> + +<p>What Bushnell did was to invent a boat that +would move under water and might be made to +blow up an enemy's ship. As it was the first of +this kind ever made, I am sure you will wish to +know what it was like and how it was worked.</p> + +<p>He called it <i>The American Turtle</i>, for it +looked much like a great swimming turtle, big +enough to hold a man and also to carry a torpedo<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span> +loaded with 150 pounds of gunpowder. +This was to be fastened to the wooden bottom +of a ship and then fired off. It was expected +to blow a great hole in the bottom and sink +the vessel.</p> + +<p>Of course, the boat was air-tight and water-tight, +but it had a supply of fresh air that would +last half an hour for one man. There was an +oar for rowing and a rudder for steering. A +valve in the bottom let in the water when the +one-man crew wanted to sink his turtle-like +boat, and there were two pumps to force the +water out again when he wanted to rise.</p> + +<p>There were windows in the top shell of the +turtle, air pipes to let out the foul air and take +in fresh air, small doors that could be opened +when at the surface, and heavy lead ballast to +keep the turtle level. In fact, the affair was, +for the time, very ingenious and complete.</p> + +<p>A very important part of it was the torpedo, +with its 150 pounds of powder. This was carried +outside, above the rudder. It was so made +that when the boat came under a vessel the man +inside could fasten it with a screw to the vessel's +bottom, and row away and leave it there. +Inside it was a clock, which could be set to run<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span> +a certain time and then loosen a sort of gunlock. +This struck a spark and set fire to the +powder, and up—or down—went the vessel.</p> + +<p>You can see that Dave Bushnell's invention +was a very neat one; but, for all that, luck went +against it. He first tried his machine with +only two pounds of powder on a hogshead +loaded with stones. The powder was set on +fire, and up went the stones and the boards of +the hogshead and a body of water, many feet +into the air. If two pounds of powder would +do all this, what would one hundred and fifty +pounds do?</p> + +<p>In 1776 the <i>Turtle</i> was sent out against a +big British ship named the <i>Eagle</i>, anchored in +New York Bay. The man inside rowed his +boat very well under water, and after some +time found himself beneath the King's ship. +He now tried to fasten the torpedo to the bottom, +but the screw struck an iron bar and +would not go in. Then he moved to another +place, but now he lost the ship altogether. He +could not find her again, and he had to row +away, for he could not stay much longer under +water.</p> + +<p>There is a funny story told about the man<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span> +in the <i>Turtle</i>. He was a queer fellow named +Abijah Shipman, but called by his companions +"Long Bige."</p> + +<p>As he entered the craft and was about to +screw down its cover, he opened it again and +asked for a chew of tobacco. All those present +felt in their pockets, but none of the weed was +on hand.</p> + +<p>"You will have to go without it, old chap," +said General Putnam, who was present. "We +Continental officers can't afford even a plug of +tobacco. To-morrow, after you have sent the +<i>Eagle</i> on her last flight, we will try and raise +you a whole keg of the weed."</p> + +<p>"That's too bad," growled Bige. "Tell you +what, Gineral, if the old <i>Turtle</i> don't do her +duty, it's all along of me goin' out without +tobacco."</p> + +<p>After he had gone Putnam and his officers +watched anxiously for results. Time passed. +Morning was at hand. The <i>Eagle</i> rode unharmed. +Evidently something had gone +wrong. Had the torpedo failed, and was +"Long Bige" resting in his wrecked machine +on the bottom of the bay? Putnam swept the +waters near the <i>Eagle</i> with his glass. Suddenly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span> +he exclaimed. "There he is." The top +of the <i>Turtle</i> had just emerged, some distance +from the ship.</p> + +<p>Abijah, fearing that he might be seen, had +cast off the torpedo that he might go the faster. +The clock had been set to run an hour, and at +the end of that time there was a thundering +explosion near the fleet, hurling up great volumes +of water into the air.</p> + +<p>Soon there were signs of fright in the ships. +The anchors were raised, sails were set, and +off they went to safer quarters down the bay. +They did not care to be too near such dangerous +affairs as that.</p> + +<p>Boats were sent out to the aid of the <i>Turtle</i> +and it was brought ashore at a safe place. On +landing Abijah gave, in his queer way, the +reasons for his failure.</p> + +<p>"It's just as I said, Gineral; it went to pot +for want o' that cud of tobacco. You see, I'm +mighty narvous without my tobacco. When I +got under the ship's bottom, somehow the +screw struck the iron bar that passes from the +rudder pintle, and wouldn't hold on anyhow I +could fix it. Just then I let go the oar to feel +for a cud, to steady my narves, and I hadn't<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span> +any. The tide swept me under her counter, +and away I slipped top o' water. I couldn't +manage to get back, so I pulled the lock and +let the thunder-box slide. That's what comes +of sailing short of supplies. Say, can you raise +a cud among you <i>now</i>?"</p> + +<p>Later on, after the British had taken the city +of New York, two more attempts were made to +blow up vessels in the river above the city. But +they both failed, and in the end the British +fired upon and sunk the <i>Turtle</i>. Bushnell's +work was lost. The best he had been able to +do was to give them a good scare.</p> + +<p>But he was not yet at the end of his schemes. +He next tried to blow up the <i>Cerberus</i>, a British +frigate that lay at anchor in Long Island +Sound. This time a schooner saved the frigate. +A powder magazine was set afloat, but it struck +the schooner, which lay at anchor near the +frigate. The schooner went to pieces, but the +<i>Cerberus</i> was saved.</p> + +<p>The most famous of Bushnell's exploits took +place at Philadelphia, after the British had +taken possession and brought their ships up +into the Delaware River.</p> + +<p>One fine morning a number of kegs were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span> +seen floating down among the shipping. What +they meant nobody knew. The sailors grew +curious, and a boat set out from a vessel and +picked one of them up. In a minute it went off, +with the noise of a cannon, sinking the boat +and badly hurting the man.</p> + +<p>This filled the British with a panic. Those +terrible kegs might do frightful damage. They +must be some dreadful invention of the rebels. +The sailors ran out their guns, great and small, +and began to batter every keg they saw with +cannon balls, until there was a rattle and roar +as if a mighty battle was going on. Such was +the famous "Battle of the Kegs."</p> + +<p>This was more of Dave Bushnell's work. +He had made and set adrift those powder kegs, +fixing them so that they would explode on +touching anything. But he did not understand +the river and its tides. He intended to have +them get among the ships at night, but it was +broad day when they came down, and by that +time the eddying waters had scattered them +far and wide. So the powder kegs were of no +more account than the torpedoes. All they did +was to give the British a scare.</p> + +<p>Philadelphia had a poet named Francis<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span> +Hopkinson, who wrote a poem making fun of +the British, called "The Battle of the Kegs." +We give a few verses of this humorous poem:</p> + +<div class='poem'> +'Twas early day, as poets say,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Just as the sun was rising;</span><br /> +A soldier stood on a log of wood<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And saw the sun a-rising.</span><br /> +<br /> +As in amaze he stood to gaze<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">(The truth can't be denied, sir),</span><br /> +He spied a score of kegs, or more,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Come floating down the tide, sir.</span><br /> +<br /> +A sailor, too, in jerkin blue,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The strange appearance viewing,</span><br /> +First "dashed" his eyes in great surprise,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then said: "Some mischief's brewing.</span><br /> +<br /> +"These kegs, I'm told, the rebels hold,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Packed up like pickled herring;</span><br /> +And they've come down to attack the town<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In this new way of ferrying."</span><br /> + + +* * * * * * * *<br /> + + +The cannons roar from shore to shore,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The small arms make a rattle;</span><br /> +Since wars began, I'm sure no man<br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span><span style="margin-left: 1em;">E'er saw so strange a battle.</span><br /> +<br /> +The fish below swam to and fro,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Attacked from every quarter.</span><br /> +"Why sure," thought they, "the devil's to pay<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">'Mong folks above the water."</span><br /> +<br /> +From morn to night these men of might<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Displayed amazing courage;</span><br /> +And when the sun was fairly down,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Retired to sup their porridge.</span><br /> +<br /> +Such feats did they perform that day,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Against those wicked kegs, sir,</span><br /> +That years to come, if they get home,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They'll make their boasts and brags, sir.</span><br /> +</div> + +<p>And so it went on, verse after verse, with +not much poetry in it, but a good deal of fun. +The British did not enjoy it, for people did not +like to be laughed at then any more than now.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER VII</h2> + +<h3>CAPTAIN BARRY AND HIS ROWBOATS WIN A VICTORY OVER THE BRITISH</h3> + +<h3><span class="smcap">A Gallant Naval Hero of Irish Blood</span></h3> + +<div class='cap'>THE heroes of our navy were not all +Americans born. More than one of +them came from British soil, but a footprint +on the green fields of America soon +turned them into true-blue Yankees. There +was John Paul Jones, the gallant Scotchman. +And there was John Barry, a bold son of +green Erin.</div> + +<p>I have told you the story of Jones, the +Scotchman, and now I must tell you that of +Barry, the Irishman.</p> + +<p>John Barry was a merchant captain who +was made commander of the <i>Lexington</i> in +1776. The next year he was appointed to the +<i>Effingham</i>, a new frigate building at Philadelphia. +The British captured that city before<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span> +the ship was ready for sea, and the <i>Effingham</i>, +the <i>Washington</i>, and some other vessels were +caught in a trap. They were taken up the +river to Whitehill, above the city, and there +they had to stay. Captain Barry, you may be +sure, was not much pleased at this, for he was +one of the men who love to be where fighting +is going on.</p> + +<p>Soon orders came from the Navy Board to +sink the <i>Effingham</i>. This made Barry's Irish +blood very hot. I fancy he said some hard +things about the members of the board, and +swore he would do nothing of the kind. If the +British wanted the American ships let them +come and take them. He had guns enough to +give them some sport and was disposed to +try it.</p> + +<p>When the members of the Navy Board +heard of what he said, they were very angry, +and in the end he had to sink the ship and had +to apologize for his strong language. But +time proved that he was right and the Navy +Board was wrong.</p> + +<p>By this time Captain Barry was tired +enough of being penned up, and he made up his +mind by hook or crook to get out of his cage.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span> +He was burning for a fight, and thought that +if he could get down the river he might give +the British a taste of his mettle.</p> + +<p>So, one dark night he set out with four boats +and twenty-seven men. He rowed down the +river past the ships in the stream and the soldiers +on shore. Some of the soldiers saw his +boats, and a few shots were fired, but they got +safely past, and by daybreak were far down +the broad Delaware.</p> + +<p>Barry kept on until he reached Port Penn, +down near the bay, where the Americans had +a small fort. Here there was a chance for the +work he wanted, for across the river he saw +a large schooner flying the British flag. It +was the <i>Alert</i>, carrying ten guns, and with it +were four transports laden with food for the +army at Philadelphia.</p> + +<p>This was a fine opportunity for the bold +Irish captain. It took courage to attack a +strong English vessel with a few rowboats, +but of courage Barry had a full supply.</p> + +<p>The sun was up, and it was broad day when +the American tars set out on their daring +enterprise. The <i>Alert</i> had a wide-awake name, +but it must have had a sleepy crew; for before<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span> +the British knew there was anything wrong, +Barry and his men had rowed across the +stream and were clambering over the rail, cutlass +and pistol in hand.</p> + +<p>The British sailors, when they saw this +"wild Irishman" and his daring tars, cutting +and slashing and yelling like madmen, dropped +everything and ran below in fright. All that +keep them there.</p> + +<p>In this easy fashion, twenty-eight Americans +captured a British ten-gun vessel with a hundred +and sixteen men on board. There had +been nothing like that in all the war.</p> + +<p>The transports had to surrender, for they +were under the guns of the <i>Alert</i>, and Barry +carried his five prizes triumphantly to Port +Penn, where he handed his captives over to +the garrison.</p> + +<p>And now the daring captain made things +lively for the foe. He sailed up and down the +river and bay, and cut off supplies until the +British army at Philadelphia began to suffer +for food.</p> + +<p>What was to be done? Should this Yankee +wasp go on stinging the British lion? General +Howe decided that this would never do, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span> +sent a frigate and a sloop-of-war down the +river to put an end to the trouble.</p> + +<p>Captain Barry, finding these water-hounds +sharp on his track, ran for Christiana Creek, +hoping to get into shallow water where the +heavy British ships could not follow. But the +frigate was too fast, and chased him so closely +that the best he could do was to run the +schooner ashore and escape in his boats.</p> + +<p>But he was determined that they should not +have the <i>Alert</i> if he could help it. Turning +two of the guns downward, he fired through +the ship's bottom, and in a minute the water +was pouring into her hold.</p> + +<p>The frigate swung round and fired a broadside +at the fleeing boats; but all it brought back +was a cheer of defiance from the sailors, as +they struck the land and sprang ashore. Here +they had the satisfaction of seeing the schooner +sink before a British foot could be set on her +deck.</p> + +<p>The war vessels now went for the transports +at Port Penn. Here a battery had been built +on shore, made of bales of hay. This was attacked +by the sloop-of-war, but the American +sharpshooters made things lively for her. They<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span> +might have beaten her off had not their captain +fallen with a mortal wound. The men now lost +heart and fled to the woods, first setting fire +to the vessels.</p> + +<p>Thus ended Barry's brave exploit. He had +lost his vessels, but the British had not got +them. The Americans were proud of his daring +deed, and the British tried to win so brave +a man to their side. Sir William Howe offered +him twenty thousand pounds in money and the +command of a British frigate if he would +desert his flag. But he was not dealing now +with a Benedict Arnold.</p> + +<p>"Not if you pay me the price and give me +the command of the whole British fleet can you +draw me away from the cause of my country," +wrote the patriotic sailor.</p> + +<p>Barry was soon rewarded for his patriotism +by being made captain of an American frigate, +the <i>Raleigh</i>. But ill-luck now followed him. +He sailed from Boston on September 25, 1778, +and three days afterward he had lost his ship +and was a wanderer with his crew in the vast +forests of Maine.</p> + +<p>Let us see how this ill-fortune came about. +The <i>Raleigh</i> had not got far from port before<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span> +two sails came in sight. Barry ran down to +look at them, and found they were two English +frigates. Two to one was too great odds, and +the <i>Raleigh</i> turned her head homewards again. +But when night shut out the frigates she wore +round and started once more on her former +course.</p> + +<p>The next day opened up foggy, and till noon +nothing was to be seen. Then the fog lifted, +and to Barry's surprise there were the British +ships, just south of his own. Now for three +hours it was a hot chase, and then down came +another fog and the game was once more at +an end.</p> + +<p>But the <i>Raleigh</i> could not shake off the +British bull-dogs. At about nine o'clock the +next morning they came in sight again and the +chase was renewed. It was kept up till late +in the day. At first the <i>Raleigh</i> went so fast +that her pursuers dropped out of sight. Then +the wind failed her, and the British ships came +up with a strong breeze.</p> + +<p>At five o'clock the fastest British frigate was +close at hand, and Barry thought he would try +what she was good for before the other +came up.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span></p> + +<p>In a few minutes more the two ships were +hurling iron balls into each other's sides, while +the smoke of the conflict filled the skies. Then +the fore-topmast and mizzen-topgallantmast +of the <i>Raleigh</i> were shot away, leaving her in +a crippled state.</p> + +<p>The British ship had now much the best of +it. Barry tried his best to reach and board her, +but she sailed too fast. And up from the south +came the other ship, at swift speed. To fight +them both with a crippled craft would have +been madness, and, as he could not get away, +Barry decided to run his ship ashore on the +coast of Maine, which was close at hand.</p> + +<p>Night soon fell, and with it fell the wind. +Till midnight the two ships drifted along, with +red fire spurting from their sides and the +thunder of cannon echoing from the hills.</p> + +<p>In the end the <i>Raleigh</i> ran ashore on an +island near the coast. Here Barry fought for +some time longer, and then set his ship on fire +and went ashore with his men. But the British +were quickly on board, put out the fire, and +carried off their prize. Barry and his men +made their way through the Maine woods till +the settlements were reached.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span></p> + +<p>In 1781 Captain Barry was sent across the +ocean in the <i>Alliance</i>, a vessel which had taken +part in the famous battle of the <i>Bon Homme +Richard</i> and the <i>Serapis</i>. Here the gallant +fellow fought one of his best battles, this time +also against two British ships.</p> + +<p>When he came upon them there was not a +breath of wind. All sail was set, but the +canvas flapped against the yards, and the vessel +lay</p> + +<div class='center'> +"As idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean."<br /> +</div> + +<p>The British vessels were a brig and a sloop-of-war. +They wanted to fight as badly as did +Captain Barry, and, as they could not sail, they +got out sweeps and rowed up to the American +frigate. It was weary work, and it took them +six hours to do it.</p> + +<p>Then came the hails of the captains and the +roar of cannon, and soon there was a very +pretty fight, with the <i>Alliance</i> in a dangerous +situation. She was too heavy to be moved +with sweeps, like the light British vessels, so +they got on her quarters and poured in broadsides, +while she could reply only with a few +guns.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span></p> + +<p>Barry raged like a wild bull, bidding his +men fight, and begging for a wind. As he did +so, a grape-shot struck him in the shoulder and +felled him to the deck. As he was carried +below, a shot carried away the American flag. +A lusty cheer came from the British ships; +they thought the flag down and the victory +theirs. They soon saw it flying again.</p> + +<p>But the <i>Alliance</i> was in sore straits. She +was getting far more than she could give, and +had done little harm to her foes. At length a +lieutenant came down to the wounded captain.</p> + +<p>"We cannot handle the ship and are being +cut to pieces," he said. "The rigging is in +tatters and the fore-topmast in danger, and the +carpenter reports two serious leaks. Eight or +ten of our people are killed and more wounded. +The case seems hopeless, sir; shall we strike +the colors?"</p> + +<p>"No!" roared Barry, sitting bolt upright. +"Not on your life! If the ship can't be fought +without me, then carry me on deck."</p> + +<p>The lieutenant went up and reported, and +the story soon got to the men.</p> + +<p>"Good for Captain Barry," they shouted. +"We'll stand by the old man."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span></p> + +<p>A minute later a change came. A ripple of +water was seen. Soon a breeze rose, the sails +filled out, and the <i>Alliance</i> slipped forward and +yielded to her helm.</p> + +<p>This was what the brave Barry had been +waiting for. It was not a case of whistling for +a wind, as sailors often do, but of hoping and +praying for a wind. It came just in time to +save the <i>Alliance</i> from lowering her proud +flag, or from going to the bottom with it still +flying, as would have suited her bold captain +the better.</p> + +<p>Now she was able to give her foes broadside +for broadside, and you may be sure that her +gunners, who had been like dogs wild to get +at the game, now poured in shot so fast and +furious that they soon drove the foe in terror +from his guns. In a short time, just as Captain +Barry was brought on deck with his +wound dressed, their flags came down.</p> + +<p>The prizes proved to be the <i>Atlanta</i> and the +<i>Trepassy</i>. That fight was near the last in the +war. At a later date Captain Barry had the +honor of carrying General Lafayette home to +France in his ship.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER VIII</h2> + +<h3>CAPTAIN TUCKER HONORED BY GEORGE WASHINGTON</h3> + +<h3><span class="smcap">The Daring Adventures of the Hero of Marblehead</span></h3> + +<div class='cap'>CAPTAIN SAMUEL TUCKER was a +Yankee boy who began his career by +running away from home and shipping +as a cabin-boy on the British sloop-of-war +<i>Royal George</i>. It was a good school for a +seaman, and when his time was up he knew +his business well.</div> + +<p>There was no war then, and he shipped as +second-mate on a merchant vessel sailing from +Salem. Here he soon had a taste of warlike +life and showed what kind of stuff was in him. +The Mediterranean Sea in those days was infested +by pirates sailing from the Moorish +ports. It was the work of these to capture +merchant ships, take them into port, and sell +their crews as slaves.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span></p> + +<p>On Tucker's first voyage from Salem two +of these piratical craft, swift corsairs from +Algiers, came in sight and began a chase of +the merchantman.</p> + +<p>What could be done? There was no hope +to run away from those fleet-footed sea-hounds. +There was no hope to beat them off +in a fight. The men were in a panic and the +captain sought courage in rum, and was soon +too drunk to handle his ship.</p> + +<p>Tucker came to the rescue. Taking the +helm, he put it hard down and headed straight +for the pirates. It looked as if he was sailing +straight for destruction, but he knew what he +was about. The Yankee schooner, if it could +not sail as fast, could be handled more easily +than the Algerines, with their lateen sails; and +by skilful steering he got her into such a position +that the pirates could not fire into him +without hurting one another.</p> + +<p>Try as they would, Mate Tucker kept his +vessel in this position, and held her there until +the shades of night fell. Then he slipped away, +and by daylight was safe in port. You may +see from this that Samuel Tucker was a bold +and a smart man and an able seaman.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span></p> + +<p>After that he was at one time an officer in +the British navy and at another a merchant +captain. He was in London when the Revolution +began. His courage and skill were so well +known that he was offered a commission in +either the army or the navy, if he was willing +to serve "his gracious Majesty."</p> + +<p>Tucker forgot where he was, and rudely replied, +"Hang his gracious Majesty! Do you +think I am the sort of man to fight against my +country?"</p> + +<p>Those were rash words to be spoken in London. +A charge of treason was brought against +him and he had to seek safety in flight. For a +time he hid in the house of a country inn-keeper +who was his friend. Then a chance came to +get on shipboard and escape from the country. +In this way he got back to his native land.</p> + +<p>It was not only the English who knew Captain +Tucker's ability. He was known in America +as well. No doubt there were many who +had heard how he had served the pirate Moors. +He had not long been home when General +Washington sent him a commission as captain +of the ship <i>Franklin</i>, and ordered him to get to +sea at once.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span></p> + +<p>The messenger with the commission made +his way to the straggling old town of Marblehead, +where Tucker lived. Inquiring for him +in the town, he was directed to a certain house.</p> + +<p>Reaching this, the messenger saw a roughly-dressed +and weather-beaten person working in +the yard, with an old tarpaulin hat on his head +and a red bandanna handkerchief tied loosely +round his neck.</p> + +<p>The man, thinking him an ordinary laborer, +called out from his horse:</p> + +<p>"Say, good fellow, can you tell if the Honorable +Samuel Tucker lives here or hereabouts?"</p> + +<p>The workman looked up with a quizzical +glance from under the brim of his tarpaulin +and replied:</p> + +<p>"Honorable, honorable! There's none of +that name in Marblehead. He must be one of +the Salem Tuckers. I'm the only Samuel +Tucker in this town."</p> + +<p>"Anyhow, this is where I was told to stop. +A house standing alone, with its gable-end to +the sea. This is the only place I've seen that +looks like that."</p> + +<p>"Then I must be the Tucker you want, honorable +or not. What is it you have got to say +to him?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span></p> + +<p>He soon learned, and was glad to receive the +news. Early the next morning he had left +home for the port where the <i>Franklin</i> lay, and +not many days passed before he was out at sea.</p> + +<p>The <i>Franklin</i>, under his command proved +one of the most active ships afloat. She sent in +prizes in numbers. More than thirty were +taken in 1776—ships, brigs, and smaller vessels, +including "a brigantine from Scotland +worth fifteen thousand pounds."</p> + +<p>These were not all captured without fighting. +Two British brigs were taken so near Marblehead +that the captain's wife and sister, hearing +the sound of cannon, went up on a high hill +close by and saw the fight through a spy-glass.</p> + +<p>The next year Captain Tucker was put in +command of the frigate <i>Boston</i>, and in 1778 he +took John Adams to France as envoy from the +United States.</p> + +<p>It was a voyage full of incidents. They +passed through days of storm, which nearly +wrecked the ship. Many vessels were seen, and +the <i>Boston</i> was chased by three men-of-war.</p> + +<p>She ran away from these, and soon after +came across a large armed vessel, which Captain +Tucker decided to fight. When the drum<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span> +called the men to quarters, Mr. Adams seized a +musket and joined the marines.</p> + +<p>The captain requested him to go below. +Finding that he was not going to obey, Tucker +laid a hand on his shoulder and said firmly:</p> + +<p>"Mr. Adams, I am commanded by the Continental +Congress to deliver you safe in France. +You must go below."</p> + +<p>Mr. Adams smiled and complied. The next +minute there came a broadside from the stranger. +There was no response from the <i>Boston</i>. +Other shots came, and still no reply. At length +the blue-jackets began to grumble. Looking +them in the eyes, Tucker said, in quizzical +tones:</p> + +<p>"Hold on, lads. I want to get that egg +without breaking the shell."</p> + +<p>In a few minutes more, having got into the +position he wished, he raked the enemy from +stem to stern with a broadside. That one sample +was enough. She struck her flag without +waiting for a second. Soon after the envoy +was safely landed in France.</p> + +<p>Numbers of anecdotes are told of Captain +Tucker, who was a man much given to saying +odd and amusing things.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span></p> + +<p>Once he fell in with a British frigate which +had been sent in search of him. He had made +himself a thorn in the British lion's side and +was badly wanted. Up came Tucker boldly, +with the English flag at his peak.</p> + +<p>He was hailed, and replied that he was Captain +Gordon, of the English navy, and that he +was out in search of the <i>Boston</i>, commanded +by the rebel Tucker.</p> + +<p>"If I can sight the ship I'll carry him to New +York, dead or alive," he said.</p> + +<p>"Have you ever seen him?"</p> + +<p>"Well, I've heard of him; they say he is a +tough customer."</p> + +<p>While talking, he had been manœuvering to +gain a raking position. Just as he did so, a +sailor in the British tops cried,—</p> + +<p>"Look out below! That is Tucker himself."</p> + +<p>The Englishman was in a trap. The <i>Boston</i> +had him at a great disadvantage. There was +nothing to do but to strike his flag, and this he +did without firing a gun.</p> + +<p>When Charleston was taken by the British, +the <i>Boston</i> was one of the vessels cooped up +there and lost. Captain Tucker was taken +prisoner. After his exchange, as he had no<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span> +ship, he took the sloop-of-war <i>Thorn</i>, one of +his former prizes, and went out cruising as a +privateer.</p> + +<p>After a three weeks' cruise, the <i>Thorn</i> met +an English ship of twenty-three guns.</p> + +<p>"She means to fight us," said the captain to +his men, after watching her movements. "If +we go alongside her like men she will be ours +in thirty minutes; if we can't go as men we +have no business there at all. Every man who +is willing to fight go down the starboard gangway; +all others can go down the larboard." +Every soul of them took the starboard.</p> + +<p>He manœuvered so that in a few minutes +the vessels lay side by side. The Englishman +opened with a broadside that did little damage. +The <i>Thorn</i> replied with a destructive fire, and +kept it up so hotly that within thirty minutes a +loud cry came from the English ship:</p> + +<p>"Quarters, for God's sake! Our ship is sinking. +Our men are dying of their wounds."</p> + +<p>"How can you expect quarters while your +flag is flying?" demanded Captain Tucker.</p> + +<p>"Our halliards are shot away."</p> + +<p>"Then cut away your ensign staff, or you'll +all be dead men."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span></p> + +<p>It was done and the firing ceased. A dreadful +execution had taken place on the Englishman's +deck, more than a third of her crew +being dead and wounded, while blood was +everywhere.</p> + +<p>And so we take our leave of Captain Tucker. +He was one of the kind of sailors that everyone +likes to read about.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER IX</h2> + +<h3>THE LAST NAVAL BATTLE OF THE REVOLUTION</h3> + +<h3><span class="smcap">The Heroic Captain Barney in the "Hyder Ali" Captures the "General Monk"</span></h3> + +<div class='cap'>YOU must think by this time that we had +many bold and brave sailors in the Revolution. +So we had. You have not been +told all their exploits, but only a few among +the most gallant ones. There is one more story +that is worth telling, before we leave the Revolutionary +times.</div> + +<p>If you are familiar with American history +you will remember that Lord Cornwallis surrendered +to General Washington in October, +1781. That is generally looked on as the end +of the war. There was no more fighting on +land. But there was one bold affair on the +water in April, 1782, six months after the work +of the armies was done.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span></p> + +<p>This was in Delaware Bay, where Captain +Barry had taken a war vessel with a few rowboats. +The hero of this later exploit was Captain +Joshua Barney, and he was as brave a +man as John Barry.</p> + +<p>Captain Barney had seen service through the +whole war. Like John Paul Jones, an accident +had made him a captain of a ship when he was +a mere boy. He was only seventeen, yet he +handled his ship with the skill of an old mariner. +War broke out soon afterward and he +became an officer on the <i>Hornet</i>, though still +only a boy. Soon after he had some lively service +in the <i>Wasp</i>, and captured a British privateer +with the little sloop <i>Sachem</i>.</p> + +<p>Then he had some bad fortune, for he was +taken prisoner while bringing in a prize vessel, +and was put on the terrible prison-ship +<i>Jersey</i>. Few of the poor fellows on that vessel +lived to tell the story of the frightful way in +which they were treated. But young Barney +managed to escape, and went to sea again as +captain of a merchant vessel. In this he was +chased by a British war-vessel, the <i>Rosebud</i>. +Shall I tell you the way that Captain Barney +plucked the petals of the <i>Rosebud</i>? He fired<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span> +a crowbar at her out of one of his cannon. +This new kind of cannon-ball went whirling +through the air and came ripping and tearing +through the sails of the British ship. After +making rags of her sails, it hit her foremast +and cut out a big slice. The Americans now +sailed quietly away. They could laugh at John +Bull's <i>Rosebud</i>.</p> + +<p>On the 8th of April, 1782, Captain Barney +took command of the <i>Hyder Ali</i>. This was a +merchant ship which had been bought by the +State of Pennsylvania. It was not fit for a +warship, but the State was in a hurry, so eight +gun-ports were cut on each side, and the ship +was mounted with sixteen six-pounder cannon. +Then she set sail from Philadelphia in charge +of a fleet of merchant vessels.</p> + +<p>On they went, down the Delaware river and +bay, until Cape May was reached. Here Captain +Barney saw that there was trouble ahead. +Three British vessels came in sight. One of +these was the frigate <i>Quebec</i>. The others were +a brig, the <i>Fair American</i>, and a sloop-of-war, +the <i>General Monk</i>.</p> + +<p>Before such a fleet the <i>Hyder Ali</i> was like a +sparrow before a hawk. Captain Barney at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span> +once signaled his merchant ships to make all +haste up the bay. Away they flew like a flock +of frightened birds, except one, whose captain +thought he would slip round the cape and get +to sea. But the British soon swallowed up him +and his ship, so he paid well for his smartness.</p> + +<p>On up the bay went the other merchantmen, +with the <i>Hyder Ali</i> in the rear, and the British +squadron hot on their track. The frigate sailed +into a side channel, thinking it would find a +short-cut and so head them off. Captain Barney +watched this movement with keen eyes. +The big ship had put herself out of reach for +a time. He knew well that she could not get +through that way, and laid his plans to have +some sport with the small fish while the big fish +was away.</p> + +<p>The brig <i>Fair American</i> was a privateer and +a fast one. It came up with a fair breeze, soon +reaching the <i>Hyder Ali</i>, which expected a fight. +But the privateer wanted prizes more than +cannon balls, and went straight on, firing a +broadside that did no harm. Captain Barney +let her go. The sloop-of-war was coming fast +behind, and this was enough for him to attend +to. It had more guns than his ship and they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span> +were double the weight—twelve-pounders to +his six-pounders. As the war sloop came near, +Barney turned to his helmsman, and said:</p> + +<p>"I want you to go opposite to my orders. If +I tell you to port your helm, you are to put it +hard-a-starboard. Do you understand?"</p> + +<p>"Aye, aye!" answered the tar.</p> + +<p>Up came the <i>General Monk</i>, its captain +thinking to make an easy prize, as the <i>Fair +American</i> had been let go past without a shot. +When about a dozen yards away the British +captain hailed:</p> + +<p>"Strike your colors, or I will fire!"</p> + +<p>"Hard-a-port your helm," roared Barney to +the man at the wheel. "Do you want her to +run aboard us?"</p> + +<p>The order was heard on board the enemy, +and the captain gave orders to meet the expected +movement. But hard-a-starboard went +the helm, and the <i>Hyder Ali</i> swung round in +front of the enemy, whose bowsprit caught and +became entangled in her fore-rigging.</p> + +<p>This gave the American ship a raking position, +and in a moment the grim tars were hard +at work with their guns. Broadsides were +poured in as fast as they could load and fire,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span> +and every shot swept from bow to stern. The +Englishman, though he had double the weight +of metal, could not get out of the awkward +position in which Barney had caught him, and +his guns did little harm. In less than half an +hour down went his flag.</p> + +<p>It was none too soon. The frigate had seen +the fight from a distance, and was making all +haste to get out of its awkward position and +take a hand in the game. Barney did not even +wait to ask the name of his prize, but put a +crew on board and bade them make all haste +to Philadelphia.</p> + +<p>He followed, steering now for the <i>Fair +American</i>. But the privateer captain had seen +the fate of the <i>General Monk</i> and concluded +that he had business elsewhere. So he ran +away instead of fighting, and soon ran ashore. +The <i>Hyder Ali</i> left him there and made all +haste up stream. The frigate had by this time +got out of her side channel, and was coming +up under full sail. So Captain Barney crowded +on all sail also and fled away after his prize.</p> + +<p>If the frigate had got within gunshot it +would soon have settled the question, for it +could have sunk the <i>Hyder Ali</i> with a broadside.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span> +But it was not fast enough, and after a +speedy run the victor and her prize drew up +beside a Philadelphia wharf.</p> + +<p>Never had the good people of the Quaker +City gazed on such a sight as now met their +eyes. Nothing had been done to remove the +marks of battle. The ships came in as they +had left the fight. Shattered bulwarks, ragged +rents in the hulls, sails in tatters and drooping +cordage told the story of the desperate battle.</p> + +<p>And the decks presented a terrible picture. +Blood was everywhere. On the <i>General Monk</i> +were stretched the dead bodies of twenty men, +while twenty-six wounded lay groaning below. +The <i>Hyder Ali</i> had suffered much less, having +but four killed and eleven wounded.</p> + +<p>In all the Revolutionary War there have been +few more brilliant actions; and his victory gave +Joshua Barney a high standing among the +naval commanders of the young Republic.</p> + +<p>Shall we take up the story of the gallant Barney +at a later date? Thirty years after his victory +over the <i>General Monk</i>, there was war +again between Americans and Britons, and +Commodore Barney, now an old man, took an +active part.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span></p> + +<p>He started out in the early days of the war +with no better vessel than the schooner <i>Rossie</i>, +of fourteen guns and 120 men. He soon had +lively times. The <i>Rossie</i> was a clipper, and he +could run away from an enemy too strong to +fight, though running away was not much to +his taste.</p> + +<p>In his first cruise he was out forty-five days, +and in that time he captured fourteen vessels +and 166 prisoners.</p> + +<p>In a month's time he was at sea again. Now +he got among British frigates and had to trust +to the heels of his little craft. But in spite of +the great ships that haunted the seas, new +prizes fell into his hands, one being taken after +an hour's fight. In all, the vessels and cargoes +taken by him were worth nearly $3,000,000, +though most of this wealth went to the bottom +of the sea.</p> + +<p>The next year (1813) he was made commodore +of a fleet of gunboats in Chesapeake +Bay. Here for a year he had very little to do. +Then the British sailed up the Chesapeake, intending +to capture Washington and Baltimore, +Barney did not hesitate to attack them, and did +considerable damage, though they were much +too strong for his small fleet.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span></p> + +<p>At length there came from the frightened +people at Washington the order to burn his +fleet, and, much against his will, he was forced +to consign his gunboats to the flames. With +his men, about four hundred in all, he joined +the army assembled to defend the capital.</p> + +<p>These sailor-soldiers made the best fight of +any of the troops that sought to save Washington +from capture; but during the fight Commodore +Barney received a wound that brought +his fighting days to an end. Fortunately there +was little more fighting to do, and peace reigned +over his few remaining years of life.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER X</h2> + +<h3>THE MOORISH PIRATES OF THE MEDITERRANEAN</h3> + +<h3><span class="smcap">Our Navy Teaches Them a Lesson in Honor</span></h3> + +<div class='cap'>I SUPPOSE all the readers of this book know +what a pirate is. For those who may not +know, I would say that a pirate is a sea-robber. +They are terrible fellows, these +pirates, who live by murder and plunder. In +old times there were many ship-loads of them +upon the seas, who captured every merchant +vessel they met with and often killed all on +board.</div> + +<p>There have been whole nations of pirates, +and that as late as a hundred years ago. By +looking at an atlas you will see at the north of +Africa the nations of Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli. +The people of these nations are called +Moors, and they used to be great sea-robbers. +They sent out fast vessels in the Mediterranean<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span> +Sea, and no merchant ship there was safe. +Hundreds of such ships were taken and robbed. +Their crews were not killed, but they were sold +as slaves, which was nearly as terrible.</p> + +<p>Would you not think that the powerful nations +of Europe would have soon put a stop to +this? They could have sent fleets and armies +there and conquered the Moors. But instead +of that, they paid them to let their ships alone.</p> + +<p>Not long after the Revolution these sea-robbers +began to make trouble for the United +States. The new nation, you should know, had +no navy. After it was done fighting with the +British, it was so poor that it sold all its ships. +But it soon had many merchant ships, sailing +to all seas, which were left to take care of themselves +the best way they could.</p> + +<p>What did the pirates of Algiers care for this +young nation across the Atlantic, that had rich +merchant ships and not a war vessel to protect +them? Very little, I fancy. It is certain that +they soon began to capture American ships and +sell their sailors for slaves. In a short time +nearly two hundred American sailors were +working as slaves in the Moorish states.</p> + +<p>The United States did not act very bravely.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span> +Instead of sending out a fleet of warships, it +made a treaty with Algiers and agreed to pay +a certain sum of money every year to have its +vessels let alone. While the treaty lasted, more +than a million dollars were paid to the Dey of +Algiers. If that much had been spent for +strong frigates, the United States would not +have had the disgrace of paying tribute to the +Moors. But the natives of Europe were doing +the same, so the disgrace belonged to them also.</p> + +<p>The trouble with the Moors got worse and +worse, and the Dey of Algiers became very +insolent to Americans.</p> + +<p>"You are my slaves, for you pay me tribute," +he said to the captain of an American frigate. +"I have a right to order you as I please."</p> + +<p>When the other pirate nations, Tunis and +Tripoli, found that Algiers was being paid, +they asked for tribute, too. And they began to +capture American ships and sell their crews into +slavery. And their monarchs were as insolent +as the Dey.</p> + +<p>The United States at that time was young +and poor. It had not been twenty years free +from British armies. But it was proud, if it +was poor, and did not like to have its captains<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span> +and consuls ordered about like servants. So +the President and Congress thought it was time +to teach the Moors a lesson.</p> + +<p>This was in 1801. By that time a fleet of +war vessels had been built, and a squadron of +these was sent to the Mediterranean under +Commodore Richard Dale. This was the man +who had been in Paul Jones's great fight and +had received the surrender of the captain of +the <i>Serapis</i>. He was a bold, brave officer, but +Congress had ordered him not to fight if he +could help it, and therefore very little was +done.</p> + +<p>But there was one battle, the story of which +we must tell. Commodore Dale had three +frigates and one little schooner, the <i>Enterprise</i>. +All the honor of the cruise came to this little +craft.</p> + +<p>She was on her way to Malta when she came +in sight of a low, long vessel, at whose mast-head +floated the flag of Tripoli. When this +came near, it was seen to be a corsair which had +long waged war on American merchantmen.</p> + +<p>Before Captain Sterrett, of the <i>Enterprise</i>, +had time to hail, the Moors began to fire at his +ship. He was told not to fight if he could help<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span> +it, but Sterrett decided that he could not help +it. He brought his schooner within pistol shot +of the Moor, and poured broadsides into the +pirate ship as fast as the men could load and +fire. The Moors replied. For two hours the +battle continued, with roar of cannon and rattle +of muskets and dense clouds of smoke.</p> + +<p>The vessels were small and their guns were +light, so that the battle was long drawn out.</p> + +<p>At last the fire of the corsair ceased, and a +whiff of air carried away the smoke. Looking +across the waves, the sailors saw that the flag +of Tripoli no longer waved, and three hearty +American cheers rang out. The tars left their +guns and were getting ready to board their +prize, when up again went the flag of Tripoli +and another broadside was fired into their +vessel.</p> + +<p>Their cheers of triumph turned to cries of +rage. Back to their guns they rushed, and +fought more fiercely than before. They did not +care now to take the prize; they wished to send +her, with her crew of villains, to the bottom of +the sea.</p> + +<p>The Moors fought as fiercely as the Americans. +Running their vessel against the <i>Enterprise</i>,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span> +they tried again and again to leap on +board and finish the battle with pistol and cutlass; +but each time they were driven back.</p> + +<p>The men at the guns meanwhile poured in +two more broadsides, and once more down +came the flag of Tripoli.</p> + +<p>Captain Sterrett did not trust the traitors +this time. He bade his men keep to their +guns, and ordered the Tripolitans to bring +their vessel under the quarter of the <i>Enterprise</i>. +They had no sooner done so than a +throng of the Moorish pirates tried to board +the schooner.</p> + +<p>"No quarter for the treacherous dogs!" was +the cry of the furious sailors. "Pour it into +them; send the thieves to the bottom!"</p> + +<p>The <i>Enterprise</i> now drew off to a good position +and raked the foe with repeated broadsides. +The Moors were bitterly punished for +their treachery. Their deck ran red with blood; +men and officers lay bleeding in throngs; the +cries of the wounded rose above the noise of +the cannon. The flag was down again, but no +heed was paid to that. The infuriated sailors +were bent on sending the pirate craft to the +bottom.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span></p> + +<p>At length the corsair captain, an old man +with a flowing white beard, appeared at the +side of his ship, sorely wounded, and, with a +low bow, cast his flag into the sea. Then Captain +Sterrett, though he still felt like sinking +the corsair, ordered the firing to stop.</p> + +<p>The prize proved to be named the <i>Tripoli</i>. +What was to be done with it? Captain Sterrett +had no authority to take prizes. At length +he concluded that he would teach the Bashaw +of Tripoli a lesson.</p> + +<p>He sent Lieutenant David Porter, a daring +young officer who was yet to make his mark, +on the prize, telling him to make a wreck of +her.</p> + +<p>Porter was glad to obey those orders. He +made the captive Tripolitans cut down their +masts, throw all their cannon and small arms +into the sea, cut their sails to pieces, and fling +all their powder overboard. He left them only +a jury-mast and a small sail.</p> + +<p>"See here," said Porter to the Moorish captain, +"we have not lost a man, while fifty of +your men are killed or wounded. You may go +home now and tell this to your Bashaw, and say +to him that in the time to come the only tribute<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span> +he will get from the United States will be a +tribute of powder and balls."</p> + +<p>Away drifted the wrecked hulk, followed by +the jeers of the American sailors, who were +only sorry that the treacherous pirate had +not been scuttled and sent to the bottom of the +sea.</p> + +<p>When it reached Tripoli the Bashaw was +mad with rage. Instead of the plunder and the +white slaves he had looked for, he had only a +dismantled hulk.</p> + +<p>The old captain showed him his wounds and +told him how hard he had fought. But his +fury was not to be appeased. He had the white-bearded +commander led through the streets +tied to a jackass—the greatest disgrace he +could have inflicted on any Moor. This was +followed by five hundred blows with a stick.</p> + +<p>The Moorish sailors declared that the Americans +had fired enchanted shot. This, and the +severe punishment of the captain of the <i>Tripoli</i>, +so scared the sailors of the city that for a year +after the fierce Bashaw found it next to impossible +to muster a ship's crew. They did +not care to be treated as the men on the <i>Tripoli</i> +had been.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span></p> + +<p>Such was the first lesson which the sailors +of the new nation gave to the pirates of the +Mediterranean. It was the beginning of a +policy which was to put an end to the piracy +which had prevailed for centuries on those +waters.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER XI</h2> + +<h3>THE YOUNG DECATUR AND HIS BRILLIANT DEEDS AT TRIPOLI</h3> + +<h3><span class="smcap">How Our Navy Began and Ended a Foreign War</span></h3> + +<div class='cap'>IN the ship <i>Essex</i>, one of the fleet that was +sent to the Mediterranean to deal with +the Moorish pirates, there was a brave +young officer named Stephen Decatur. He was +little more than a boy, for he was just past +twenty-one years of age; but he had been in the +fight between the <i>Enterprise</i> and the <i>Tripoli</i>, +and was so bold and daring that he was sure +to make his mark.</div> + +<p>I must tell you how he first showed himself +a true American. It was when the <i>Essex</i> was +lying in the harbor at Barcelona, a seaport of +Spain. The <i>Essex</i> was a handsome little vessel, +and there was much praise of her in the +town, people of fashion came to see her and +invited her officers to their houses and treated +them with great respect.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span></p> + +<p>Now there was a Spanish warship lying in +the port, of the kind called a xebec, a sort of +three-masted vessel common in the Mediterranean +Sea.</p> + +<p>The officers of this ship did not like to see so +much respect given to the Americans and so +little to themselves. They grew jealous and +angry, and did all they could to annoy and +insult the officers of the <i>Essex</i>. Every time one +of her boats rowed past the xebec it would be +challenged and ugly things said.</p> + +<p>The Americans bore all this quietly for a +while. One day Captain Bainbridge, of the +<i>Essex</i>, was talked to in an abusive way, and +said little back. Another time a boat, under +command of Lieutenant Decatur, came under +the guns of the xebec, and the Spaniards on +the deck hailed him with insulting words. This +was more than young blood could stand, and +he called to the officer of the deck and asked +him what that meant, but the haughty Spaniard +would give him no satisfaction.</p> + +<p>"Very well," said Decatur. "I will call to +see you in the morning. Pull off, lads."</p> + +<p>The next morning Decatur had himself +rowed over to the xebec, and went on board.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span> +He asked for the officer who was in charge the +night before.</p> + +<p>"He has gone ashore," was the reply.</p> + +<p>"Well, then," said Decatur, in tones that +every one on board could hear, "tell him that +Lieutenant Decatur, of the frigate <i>Essex</i>, calls +him a cowardly scoundrel, and when he meets +him on shore he will cut his ears off."</p> + +<p>There were no more insults after that. Decatur +spoke as if he meant what he said, and the +officers of the xebec did not want to lose their +ears. But the United States Minister to Spain +took up the matter and did not rest until he +got a full apology for the insults to the Americans.</p> + +<p>I have told this little story to let you see +what kind of a man Stephen Decatur was. But +this was only a minor affair. He was soon to +make himself famous by one of the most brilliant +deeds in the history of the American navy.</p> + +<p>In October, 1802, a serious disaster came to +the American fleet. The frigate <i>Philadelphia</i> +was chasing a runaway vessel into the harbor +of Tripoli, when she got in shoal water and +suddenly ran fast aground on a shelf of rock.</p> + +<p>Here was an awkward position. Captain<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span> +Bainbridge threw overboard most of his cannon +and his anchors, and everything that would +lighten the ship, even cutting down his foremasts; +but all to no purpose. She still clung +fast to the rock.</p> + +<p>Soon a flock of gunboats came down the +harbor and saw the bad fix the Americans were +in. Bainbridge was quite unable to fight them, +for they could have kept out of the way of his +guns and made kindling wood of his vessel. +There was nothing to do but to surrender. So +he flooded the powder magazine, threw all the +small arms overboard, and knocked holes in +the bottom of the ship. Then he hauled down +his flag.</p> + +<p>The gunboats now came up like a flock of +hawks, and soon the Moors were clambering +over the rails. In a minute more they were in +every part of the ship, breaking open chests +and storerooms and plundering officers and +men. Two of them would hold an officer and +a third rob him of his watch and purse, his +sword, and everything of value he possessed. +The plundering did not stop till the captain +knocked down one of the Moors for trying to +rob him of an ivory miniature of his wife.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span></p> + +<p>Then the Americans were made to get into +the gunboats and were taken ashore. They +were marched in triumph through the streets, +and the men were thrown into prison. The +officers were invited to supper by the Bashaw, +and treated as if they were guests. But as +soon as the supper was over, they, too, were +taken to the prison rooms in which they were +to stay till the end of the war.</p> + +<p>The Tripolitans afterwards got the <i>Philadelphia</i> +off the rocks during a high tide, +plugged up the holes in her bottom, fished up +her guns and anchors, and fitted her up for +war. The Bashaw was proud enough of his +fine prize, which had not cost him a man or a +shot, and was a better ship than he had ever +seen before.</p> + +<p>When the American commodore learned of +the loss of the <i>Philadelphia</i> he was in a bad +state of mind. To lose one of his best ships in +this way was not at all to his liking, for he was +a man who did not enjoy losing a ship; and to +know that the Moors had it and were making +a warship of it was a hard thing to bear.</p> + +<p>From his prison Captain Bainbridge wrote +letters to Commodore Preble, which the Moors<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span> +read and then sent out to the fleet. They did +not know that the letters had postscripts written +in lemon-juice which only came out when +the sheet of paper was held to the heat of a fire. +In these the captain asked the commodore to +try and destroy the captured ship.</p> + +<p>Commodore Preble was a daring officer, and +was ready enough for this, if he only knew how +it could be done. Lieutenant Decatur was then +in command of the <i>Enterprise</i>, the schooner +which had fought with the <i>Tripoli</i>. He asked +the commodore to let him take the <i>Enterprise</i> +into the harbor and try to destroy the captured +ship. He knew he could do it, he said, if +he only had a chance. At any rate, he wanted +to try.</p> + +<p>Commodore Preble shook his head. It could +not be done that way. He would only lose his +own vessel and his men. But there was a way +it might be done. The Moors might be taken +by surprise and their prize burned in their +sight. It was a desperate enterprise. Every +man who took part in it would be in great danger +of death. But that danger did not give +much trouble to bold young Decatur, who was +as ready to fight as he was to eat.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span></p> + +<p>What was the commodore's plan, do you +ask? Well, it was this. Some time earlier the +<i>Enterprise</i> had captured the <i>Mastico</i>, a vessel +from Tripoli. Preble gave this craft the new +name of the <i>Intrepid</i> and proposed to send it +into the harbor. The Moors did not know of +its capture and would not suspect it, and thus +it might get up close to the <i>Philadelphia</i>.</p> + +<p>Decatur was made commander and called +for volunteers. Every man and boy on the +<i>Enterprise</i> wanted to go; and he picked out +over seventy of them. As he was about to +leave the deck, a boy came up and asked if he +couldn't go, too.</p> + +<p>"Why do you want to go, Jack?"</p> + +<p>"Well, Captain, you see, I'd kind o' like to +see the country."</p> + +<p>This was such a queer reason that Decatur +laughed and told him he might go.</p> + +<p>One dark night, on February 3, 1804, the +<i>Intrepid</i> left the rest of the fleet and set sail +for the harbor of Tripoli. The little <i>Siren</i> went +with her for company. But the weather proved +stormy, and it was not until the 15th that they +were able to carry out their plan.</p> + +<p>About noon they came in sight of the spires<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span> +of the city of Tripoli. Decatur did not wish +to reach the <i>Philadelphia</i> until nightfall, but +he was afraid to take in sail, for fear of being +suspected; so he dragged a cable and a number +of buckets behind to lessen his speed.</p> + +<p>After a time the <i>Philadelphia</i> came in sight. +She was anchored well in the harbor, under the +guns of two heavy batteries. Two cruisers +and a number of gunboats lay near by. It was +a desperate and dangerous business which Decatur +and his tars had taken in hand, but they +did not let that trouble them.</p> + +<p>At about ten o'clock at night the <i>Intrepid</i> +came into the harbor's mouth. The wind had +fallen and she crept slowly along over the +smooth sea. The <i>Siren</i> stayed behind. Her +work was that of rescue in case of trouble. +Straight for the frigate went the devoted crew. +A new moon sent its soft lustre over the waves. +All was still in city and fleet.</p> + +<p>Soon the <i>Intrepid</i> came near the frigate. +Only twelve men were visible on her deck. The +others were lying flat in the shadow on the +bulwarks, each with cutlass tightly clutched +in hand.</p> + +<p>"What vessel is that?" was asked in Moorish +words from the frigate.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span></p> + +<p>"The <i>Mastico</i>, from Malta," answered the +pilot in the same tongue. "We lost our anchors +in the gale and were nearly wrecked. +Can we ride by your ship for the night?"</p> + +<p>The permission asked was granted, and a +boat from the <i>Intrepid</i> made a line fast to the +frigate, while the men on the latter threw a +line aboard. The ropes were passed to the +hidden men on the deck, who pulled on them +lustily.</p> + +<p>As the little craft came up, the men on the +frigate saw her anchors hanging in place.</p> + +<p>"You have lied to us!" came a sharp hail. +"Keep off! Cut those lines!"</p> + +<p>Others had seen the concealed men, and the +cry of "Americanos!" was raised.</p> + +<p>The alarm came too late. The little craft +was now close up and a hearty pull brought +her against the hull of the large ship.</p> + +<p>"Boarders away!" came the stirring order.</p> + +<p>"Follow me, lads," cried Decatur, springing +for the chain-plates of the frigate. Men and +officers were after him hot-foot. Midshipman +Charles Morris was the first to reach the deck, +with Decatur close behind.</p> + +<div class="figright" style="width: 324px;"> +<img src="images/i-139.jpg" width="324" height="500" alt="Decatur at Tripoli." title="" /> +<span class="caption">Decatur at Tripoli.</span> +</div> + +<p>The surprise was complete. There was no<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span> +resistance. Few of the Moors had weapons, +and they fled from the Americans like frightened +sheep. On all sides the splashing of water +could be heard as they leaped overboard. In a +few minutes they were all gone and Decatur +and his men were masters of the ship.</p> + +<p>They would have given much to be able to +take the noble frigate out of the harbor. But +that could not be done, and every minute made +their danger greater. All they could do was +to set her on fire and retreat with all speed.</p> + +<p>Not a moment was lost. Quick-burning material +was brought from the <i>Intrepid</i>, put in +good places, and set on fire. So rapidly did the +flames spread that the men who were lighting +fires on the lower decks had scarcely time to +escape from the fast-spreading conflagration.</p> + +<p>Flames poured from the port-holes, and +sparks fell on the deck of the smaller vessel. +If it should touch the powder that was stored +amidships, death would come to them all. With +nervous haste they cut the ropes, and the <i>Intrepid</i> +was pushed off. Then the sweeps were +thrust out and the little craft rowed away.</p> + +<p>"Now, lads, give them three good cheers," +cried Decatur.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span></p> + +<p>Up sprang the jack-tars, and three ringing +cheers were given, sounding above the roar of +the flames and of the cannon that were now +playing on the little vessel from the batteries +and gunboats. Then to their sweeps went the +tars again, and drove their vessel every minute +farther away.</p> + +<p>As they went they saw the flames catch +the rigging and run up the masts of the doomed +frigate. Then great bursts of flame shot out +from the open hatchways. The loaded guns +went off one after another, some of them firing +into the town. It was a lurid and striking +spectacle, such as is seldom seen.</p> + +<p>Bainbridge and his fellow-officers saw the +flames from their prison window and hailed +them with lusty cheers. The officers of the +<i>Siren</i> saw them also, and sent their boats into +the harbor to aid the fugitives, if necessary. +But it was not necessary. Not a man had been +hurt. In an hour after the flames were seen, +Decatur and his daring crew came in triumph +out of the bay of Tripoli.</p> + +<p>Never had been known a more perfect and +successful naval exploit. All Europe talked +of it with admiration when the news was received.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span> +Lord Nelson, the greatest of England's +sailors, said, "It was the boldest and +most daring act of the ages." When the tidings +reached the United States, Decatur, young +as he was, was rewarded by Congress with the +title of captain.</p> + +<p>We are not yet done with the <i>Intrepid</i>, in +which Decatur played so brilliant a part. She +was tried again in work of the same kind, but +with a more tragic end.</p> + +<p>A room was built in her and filled with +powder, shot, and shells. Combustibles of various +kinds were piled around it, so that it could +not fail to go off, if set on fire. Then, one +dark night, the fire-ship was sent into the harbor +of Tripoli, with a picked crew under another +gallant young officer, Lieutenant Richard +Somers.</p> + +<p>They were told to take it into the midst of +the Moorish squadron, set it <ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'one'">on</ins> fire and escape +in their boats. It was expected to blow up and +rend to atoms the war vessels of Tripoli.</p> + +<p>But the forts and ships began to fire on it, +and before it reached its goal a frightful disaster +occurred. Suddenly a great jet of fire +was seen to shoot up into the sky. Then came<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span> +a roar like that of a volcano. The distant spectators +saw the mast of the <i>Intrepid</i>, with blazing +sail, flung like a rocket into the air. Bombs +flew in all directions. Then all grew dark and +still.</p> + +<p>In some way the magazine had been exploded, +perhaps by a shot from the enemy. +Nothing was ever seen again of Somers and +his men. It was the great tragedy of the war. +They had all perished in that fearful explosion.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Now let us turn back to the story of Decatur, +of whom we have some more famous work +to tell.</p> + +<p>In August, 1804, the American fleet entered +the harbor of Tripoli and made a daring attack +on the fleet, the batteries, and the city of the +Bashaw. In addition to the war vessels of the +fleet, there were six gunboats and two bomb +vessels, all pouring shot and shell into the city +which had so long defied them.</p> + +<p>The batteries on shore returned the fire, and +the gunboats of the Bashaw advanced to the +attack. On these the fleet now turned its fire, +sweeping their decks with grape and canister +shot. Decatur, with three gunboats, advanced<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span> +on the eastern division of the Moorish gunboats, +nine in all.</p> + +<p>Decatur, you will see, was outnumbered +three to one, but he did not stop for odds like +that. He dashed boldly in, laid his vessel +alongside the nearest gunboat of the enemy, +poured in a volley, and gave the order to board. +In an instant the Americans were over the bulwarks +and on the foe.</p> + +<p>The contest was short and sharp. The captain +of the Tripolitans fell dead. Most of his +officers were wounded. The men, overcome by +the fierce attack, soon threw down their arms +and begged for quarter. Decatur secured them +below decks and started for the next gunboat.</p> + +<p>On his way he was hailed from one of his +own boats, which had been commanded by his +brother James. The men told him that his +brother had captured one of the gunboats of +the enemy, but, on going on board after her flag +had fallen, he had been shot dead by the treacherous +commander. The murderer had then +driven the Americans back and carried his boat +out of the fight.</p> + +<p>On hearing this sad news, Decatur was filled +with grief and rage. Bent on revenge, he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span> +turned his boat's prow and swiftly sped towards +the craft of the assassin. The instant +the two boats came together the furious Decatur +sprang upon the deck of the enemy. At his +back came Lieutenant McDonough and nine +sturdy sailors. Nearly forty of the Moors +faced them, at their head a man of gigantic +size, his face half covered with a thick black +beard, a scarlet cap on his head, the true type +of a pirate captain.</p> + +<p>Sure that this was his brother's murderer, +Decatur rushed fiercely at the giant Moor. The +latter thrust at him with a heavy boarding pike. +Decatur parried the blow, and made a fierce +stroke at the weapon, hoping to cut off its +point.</p> + +<p>He failed in this and his cutlass broke off at +the hilt, leaving him with empty hands. With +a lusty yell the Moor thrust again. Decatur +bent aside, so that he received only a slight +wound. Then he seized the weapon, wrested +it from the hands of the Moor, and thrust +fiercely at him.</p> + +<p>In an instant more the two enemies had +clinched in a wrestle for life and death, and +fell struggling to the deck. While they lay<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span> +there, one of the Tripolitan officers raised his +<ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'scimetar'">scimitar</ins> and aimed a deadly blow at the head +of Decatur.</p> + +<p>It seemed now as if nothing could save the +struggling American. Only one of his men +was near by. This was a sailor named Reuben +James, who had been wounded in both arms. +But he was a man of noble heart. He could +not lift a hand to save his captain, but his head +was free, and with a sublime devotion he thrust +it in the way of the descending weapon.</p> + +<p>Down it came with a terrible blow on his +head, and he fell bleeding to the deck, but before +the Tripolitan could lift his weapon again to +strike Decatur, a pistol shot laid him low.</p> + +<p>Decatur was left to fight it out with the giant +Moor. With one hand the huge wrestler held +him tightly and with the other he drew a dagger +from his belt. The fatal moment had arrived. +Decatur caught the Moor's wrist just as +the blow was about to fall, and at the same +instant pressed against his side a small pistol +he had drawn from his pocket.</p> + +<p>A touch of the trigger, a sharp report, and +the body of the giant relaxed. The bullet had +pierced him through and he fell back dead.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span> +Flinging off the heavy weight, Decatur rose to +his feet.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile his few men had been fiercely +fighting the Tripolitan crew. Greatly as they +outnumbered the Americans, the Moors had +been driven back. They lost heart on seeing +their leader fall and threw down their arms.</p> + +<p>Another gunboat was captured and then the +battle ended. The attack on Tripoli had proved +a failure and the fleet drew off.</p> + +<p>I know you will ask what became of brave +Reuben James, who offered his life for his captain. +Was he killed? No, I am glad to say he +was not. He had an ugly cut, but he was soon +well again.</p> + +<p>One day Decatur asked him what reward he +should give him for saving his life. The +worthy sailor did not know what to say. He +scratched his head and looked puzzled.</p> + +<p>"Ask him for double pay, Rube," suggested +one of his shipmates.</p> + +<p>"A pocket full of dollars and shore leave," +whispered another.</p> + +<p>"No," said the modest tar. "Just let somebody +else hand out the hammocks to the men +when they are piped down. That's something +I don't like."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span></p> + +<p>Decatur consented; and afterwards, when +the crew was piped down to stow hammocks, +Reuben walked among them as free and independent +as a millionaire.</p> + +<p>That is all we have here to say about the +Tripolitan war. The next year a treaty of +peace was signed, and Captain Bainbridge and +the men of the <i>Philadelphia</i> were set free from +their prison cells.</p> + +<p>In 1812, when war broke out with England, +the gallant Decatur was given the command +of the frigate <i>United States</i>, and with it he +captured the British frigate <i>Macedonian</i>, after +a hard fight.</p> + +<p>Poor Decatur was shot dead in a duel in +1820 by a hot-headed officer whom he had offended. +It was a sad end to a brilliant career, +for the American Navy never had a more gallant +commander.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER XII</h2> + +<h3>THE GALLANT "OLD IRONSIDES" AND HOW SHE CAPTURED THE "GUERRIERE"</h3> + +<h3><span class="smcap">A Famous Incident of the War of 1812</span></h3> + +<div class='cap'>WHEN did our country win its greatest +fame upon the sea? I think, when you +have read the story of the War of +1812, you will say it was in that war. It is +true, we did not do very well on land in that +war, but the glory we lost on the shore we +made up on the sea.</div> + +<p>You should know that in 1812 England was +the greatest sea-power in the world. For years +she had been fighting with Napoleon, and every +fleet he set afloat was badly whipped by British +ships. Is it any wonder that the people of that +little island were proud of their fleets? Is it +any wonder they proudly sang—</p> + +<div class='poem'> +"Britannia needs no bulwarks,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">No towers along the steep;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Her march is o'er the mountain waves,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Her home is on the deep."</span><br /> +</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span></p> + +<p>They grew so vain of their lordship of the +sea that they needed a lesson, and they were +to get one from the Yankee tars. As soon as +war began between England and the United +States in 1812, a flock of British war-hawks +came flying bravely across the seas, thinking +they would soon gobble up the Yankee sparrows. +But long before the war was over, they +quit singing their proud song of "Britannia +rules the waves," and found that what they +thought was a Yankee sparrow was the American +eagle.</p> + +<p>There were too many great things done on +the ocean in this war for me to name them all, +so I will have to tell only the most famous. +And first of all I must give you the story of the +noble old <i>Constitution</i>, or, as she came to be +called, <i>Old Ironsides</i>.</p> + +<p>The <i>Constitution</i> was a noble ship of the old +kind. That royal old craft is still afloat, after +more than a hundred years of service, and after +all her companions have long since sunk in the +waves or rotted away. She was built to fight +the French in 1798. She was Commodore +Preble's flagship in the war with the Moorish +pirates. And she won undying fame in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span> +War of 1812. So the story of the <i>Constitution</i> +comes first in our list of the naval conquerors +of that war.</p> + +<p>I fancy, if any of you had been living at that +time, you would have wanted to fight the British +as badly as the Americans then did. For +the British had for years been taking sailors +from American ships and making them serve +in their own men-of-war. Then, too, they had +often insulted our officers upon the seas, and +acted in a very insolent and overbearing way +whenever they had the opportunity. This made +the Americans very angry and was the main +cause of the war.</p> + +<p>I must tell you some things that took place +before the war. In 1811 a British frigate +named the <i>Guerriere</i> was busy at this kind of +work, sailing up and down our coast and carrying +off American sailors on pretence that +they were British. Just remember the name +of the "<i>Guerriere</i>." You will soon learn how +the <i>Constitution</i> paid her for this shabby work.</p> + +<p>I have also a story to tell about the <i>Constitution</i> +in 1811. She had to cross the Atlantic in +that year, and stopped on some business in the +harbor of Portsmouth, an English seaport.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span></p> + +<p>One night a British officer came on board and +said there was an American deserter on his +ship, the <i>Havana</i>, and that the Americans could +have him if they sent for him.</p> + +<p>Captain Hull, of the <i>Constitution</i>, was then +in London, so Lieutenant Morris, who had +charge of the ship, sent for the man; but when +his messenger came, he was told that the +man said he was a British subject, and therefore +he should not be given up. They were +very sorry, and all that, but they had to take +the man's word for it. Morris thought this +very shabby treatment but he soon had his +revenge. For that very night a British sailor +came on board the <i>Constitution</i>, who said he +was a deserter from the <i>Havana</i>.</p> + +<p>"Of what nation are you?" he was asked.</p> + +<p>"I'm an American, sor," said the man, with +a strong Irish accent.</p> + +<p>Lieutenant Morris sent word to the <i>Havana</i> +that a deserter from his ship was on the <i>Constitution</i>. +But when an officer from the <i>Havana</i> +came to get the deserter, Morris politely +told him that the man said he was an American, +and therefore he could not give him up. +He was very sorry, he said, but really the man<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span> +ought to know to what country he belonged. +You may be interested to learn that Lieutenant +Morris was the man who had been first to +board the <i>Philadelphia</i> in the harbor of Tripoli.</p> + +<p>This was paying John Bull in his own coin. +The officers in the harbor were very angry +when they received this answer. Next, they +tried to play a trick on the Americans. Two +of their warships came up and anchored in +the way of the <i>Constitution</i>. But Lieutenant +Morris got up anchor and slipped away to a +new berth. Then the two frigates sailed up +and anchored in his way again. That was the +way matters stood when Captain Hull came on +board in the evening.</p> + +<p>When the captain was told what had taken +place, he saw that the British were trying to +make trouble about the Irish deserter. But he +was not the man to be caught by any trick. He +loaded his guns and cleared the ship for action. +Then he pulled up his anchor, slipped round +the British frigates, and put to sea.</p> + +<p>He had not gone far before the two frigates +started after him. They came on under full +sail, but one of them was slow and fell far +behind, so that the other came up alone.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span></p> + +<p>"If that fellow wants to fight he can have +his chance," said Captain Hull, and he bade his +men to make ready.</p> + +<p>Up came the Englishman, but when he saw +the ports open, the guns ready to bark at +him across the waves, and everything in shape +for a good fight, he had a sudden change of +mind. Round he turned like a scared dog, and +ran back as fast as he had come. That was a +clear case of tit for tat, and tat had it. No +doubt, the Englishman knew that he was in the +wrong, for English seamen are not afraid to +fight.</p> + +<p>Home from Plymouth came the <i>Constitution</i> +and got herself put in shape for the war that +was soon to come. It had not long begun +before she was off to sea; and now she had a +remarkable adventure with the <i>Guerriere</i> and +some other British ships. In fact, she made a +wonderful escape from a whole squadron of +war vessels. She left the Chesapeake on July +12, 1812, and for five days sailed up the coast. +The winds were light and progress was very +slow. Then, on the 17th, the lookout aloft +saw four warships sailing along close in to the +Jersey coast.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span></p> + +<p>Two hours afterward another was seen. +This proved to be the frigate <i>Guerriere</i>, and it +was soon found that the others were British +ships also. One of them was a great ship-of-the-line. +It would have been madness to think +of fighting such a force as this, more than six +times as strong as the <i>Constitution</i>, and there +was nothing to do but to run away.</p> + +<p>Then began the most famous race in American +naval history. There was hardly a <ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'breadth'">breath</ins> +of wind, the sails hung flapping to the masts; +so Captain Hull got out his boats and sent them +ahead with a line to tow the ship. When the +British saw this they did the same, and by putting +all their boats to two ships they got ahead +faster.</p> + +<p>I cannot tell the whole story of this race, but +it lasted for nearly three days, from Friday +afternoon till Monday morning. Now there +was a light breeze and now a dead calm. Now +they pulled the ships by boats and now by +kedging. That is, an anchor was carried out +a long way ahead and let sink, and then the +men pulled on the line until the ship was +brought up over it. Then the anchor would be +drawn up and carried and dropped ahead again.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span></p> + +<p>For two long days and nights the chase kept +up, during which the <i>Constitution</i> was kept, by +weary labor, just out of gunshot ahead. At +four o'clock Sunday morning the British ships +had got on both sides of the <i>Constitution</i>, and it +looked as if she was in a tight corner. But +Captain Hull now turned and steered out to +sea, across the bows of the <i>Eolus</i>, and soon had +them astern again.</p> + +<p>The same old game went on until four o'clock +in the afternoon, when they saw signs of a +coming squall. Captain Hull knew how to deal +with an American squall, but the Englishmen +did not. He kept his men towing until he saw +the sea ruffled by the wind about a mile away. +Then he called the boats in and in a moment +let fall all his sails.</p> + +<p>Looking at the British, he saw them hard +at work furling their sails. They had let all +their boats go adrift. But Captain Hull had +not furled a sail, and the minute a vapor hid +his ship from the enemy all his sails were +spread to the winds and away went the Yankee +ship in rapid flight. He had taught his foes a +lesson in American seamanship.</p> + +<p>When the squall cleared away the British<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span> +ships were far astern. But the wind fell again +and all that night the chase kept up. Captain +Hull threw water on his sails and made every +rag of canvas draw. When daylight came only +the top sails of the enemy could be seen. At +eight o'clock they gave up the chase and turned +on their heels. Thus ended that wonderful +three days chase, one of the most remarkable +in naval history.</p> + +<p>And now we come to the greatest story in +the history of the "Old Ironsides." In less than +a month after the <i>Guerriere</i> had helped to chase +her off the Jersey coast, she gave that proud +ship a lesson which the British nation did not +soon forget. Here is the story of that famous +fight, by which Captain Hull won high fame:</p> + +<p>In the early morning of August 19, while +the old ship was bowling along easily off the +New England coast, a cheery cry of "Sail-ho!" +came from the lookout at the mast-head.</p> + +<p>Soon a large vessel was seen from the deck. +On went the Yankee ship with flying flag and +bellying sails. The strange ship waited as if +ready for a fight. When the <i>Constitution</i> drew +near, the stranger hoisted the British flag and +began to fire her great guns.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span></p> + +<p>It was the <i>Guerriere</i>. When he saw the +Stars and Stripes, Captain Dacres said to his +men:</p> + +<p>"That is a Yankee frigate. She will be ours +in forty-five minutes. If you take her in fifteen, +I promise you four months pay."</p> + +<p>It is never best to be too sure, as Captain +Dacres was to find.</p> + +<p>The <i>Guerriere</i> kept on firing at a distance, +but Captain Hull continued to take in sail and +get his ship in fighting trim, without firing a +gun. After a time Lieutenant Morris came up +and said to him:</p> + +<p>"The British have killed two of our men. +Shall we return their fire?"</p> + +<p>"Not yet," said Captain Hull. "Wait a +while."</p> + +<p>He waited until the ships were almost touching, +and then he roared out:</p> + +<p>"Now, boys; pour it into them!"</p> + +<p>Then came a roaring broadside that went +splintering through the British hull, doing +more damage than all the <i>Guerriere's</i> fire.</p> + +<p>Now the battle was on in earnest. The two +ships lay side by side, and for fifteen minutes +the roar of cannon and the rattle of musketry<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span> +filled the air, while cannon balls tore their way +through solid timber and human flesh.</p> + +<p>Down came the mizzen-mast of the <i>Guerriere</i>, +cut through by a big iron shot.</p> + +<p>"Hurrah, boys!" cried Hull, swinging his +hat like a schoolboy; "we've made a brig of +her."</p> + +<p>The mast dragged by its ropes and brought +the ship round, so that the next broadside +from the <i>Constitution</i> raked her from stem to +stern.</p> + +<p>The bowsprit of the <i>Guerriere</i> caught fast +in the rigging of the <i>Constitution</i>, and the +sailors on both ships tried to board. But soon +the winds pulled the <i>Constitution</i> clear, and as +she forged ahead, down with a crash came the +other masts of the British ship. They had +been cut into splinters by the Yankee guns. A +few minutes before she had been a stately +three-masted frigate; now she was a helpless +hulk. Not half an hour had passed since the +<i>Constitution</i> fired her first shot, and already +the <i>Guerriere</i> was a wreck, while the Yankee +ship rode the waters as proudly as ever.</p> + +<p>Off in triumph went the "Old Ironsides," and +hasty repairs to her rigging were made. Then<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span> +she came up with loaded guns. The <i>Guerriere</i> +lay rolling like a log in the water, without +a flag in sight. Not only her masts were +gone, but her hull was like a sieve. It had +more than thirty cannon-ball holes below the +water-line.</p> + +<p>There was no need to fire again. Lieutenant +Read went off in a boat.</p> + +<p>"Have you surrendered?" he asked Captain +Dacres, who was looking, with a very long +face, over the rail.</p> + +<p>"It would not be prudent to continue the engagement +any longer," said Dacres, in gloomy +tones.</p> + +<p>"Do you mean that you have struck your +flag?"</p> + +<p>"Not precisely. But I do not know that it +will be worth while to fight any more."</p> + +<p>"If you cannot make up your mind I will go +back and we will do something to help you."</p> + +<p>"I don't see that I can keep up the fight," +said the dejected British captain. "I have +hardly any men left and my ship is ready to +sink."</p> + +<p>"What I want to know is," cried Lieutenant +Read, "whether you are a prisoner of war or<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span> +an enemy. And I must know without further +parley."</p> + +<p>"If I could fight longer I would," said Captain +Dacres. Then with faltering words he +continued, "but-I-must-surrender."</p> + +<p>"Then accept from me Captain Hull's compliments. +He wishes to know if you need the +aid of a surgeon or surgeon's mate."</p> + +<p>"Have you not business enough on your own +ship for all your doctors?" asked Dacres.</p> + +<p>"Oh, no!" said Read. "We have only seven +men wounded, and their wounds are all +dressed."</p> + +<p>Captain Dacres was obliged to enter Read's +boat and be rowed to the <i>Constitution</i>. He had +been wounded, and could not climb very well, +so Captain Hull helped him to the deck.</p> + +<p>"Give me your hand, Dacres," he said, "I +know you are hurt."</p> + +<p>Captain Dacres offered his sword, but the +American captain would not take it.</p> + +<p>"No, no," he said, "I will not take a sword +from one who knows so well how to use it. But +I'll trouble you for that hat."</p> + +<p>What did he mean by that, you ask? Well, +the two captains had met some time before the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span> +war, and Dacres had offered to bet a hat that +the <i>Guerriere</i> would whip the <i>Constitution</i>. +Hull accepted the bet, and he had won.</p> + +<p>All day and night the boats were kept busy +in carrying the prisoners, well and hurt, to the +<i>Constitution</i>. When daylight came again it +was reported that the <i>Guerriere</i> was filling with +water and ready to sink.</p> + +<p>She could not be saved, so she was set on +fire. Rapidly the flames spread until they +reached her magazine. Then came a fearful +explosion, and a black cloud of smoke hung +over the place where the ship had floated. +When it moved away only some floating planks +were to be seen. The proud <i>Guerriere</i> would +never trouble Yankee sailors again.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER XIII</h2> + +<h3>A FAMOUS VESSEL SAVED BY A POEM</h3> + +<h3><span class="smcap">"Old Ironsides" Wins New Glory</span></h3> + +<div class='cap'>"<i>OLD IRONSIDES</i> was a noble old ship, +and a noble old ship was she." Come, +I know you have not heard enough +about this grand old ship, so let us go on with +her story. And the first thing to tell is how she +served another British ship as she had served +the <i>Guerriere</i>.</div> + +<p>Four months after Captain Hull's great victory, +the <i>Constitution</i> was in another sea and +had another captain. She had sailed south +and was now off the coast of Brazil. And +William Bainbridge had succeeded Isaac Hull +in command.</p> + +<p>It was almost the last day of the year. +Chilly weather, no doubt, in Boston from which +she had sailed; but mid-summer warmth in +those southern waters. It certainly felt warm<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span> +enough to the men on deck, who were "spoiling +for a fight," when the lookout aloft announced +two sails.</p> + +<p>The sailors who had been lounging about the +deck sprang up and looked eagerly across the +waves, as the cheerful "Sail-ho!" reached their +ears. Soon they saw that one of the vessels +was coming their way as fast as her sails could +carry her. The other had sailed away on the +other tack.</p> + +<p>The vessel that was coming was the <i>Java</i>, +a fine British frigate. As she drew near she +showed signals. That is, she spread out a +number of small flags, each of which had some +meaning, and by which British ships could talk +with each other. Captain Bainbridge could +not answer these, for he did not know what +they meant. So he showed American signals, +which the captain of the <i>Java</i> could not understand +any better.</p> + +<p>Then, as they came nearer, they hoisted their +national flags, and both sides saw that they +were enemies and that a fight was on hand.</p> + +<p>Captain Bainbridge was not like Captain +Hull. He did not wait till the ships were side +by side, but began firing when the <i>Java</i> was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span> +half a mile away. That was only wasting +powder and balls, but they kept on firing until +they were close at hand, and then the shots +began to tell.</p> + +<p>A brave old fellow was the captain of the +<i>Constitution</i>. A musket ball struck him in the +thigh as he was pacing the deck. He stopped +his pacing, but would not go below. Then a +copper bolt went deep into his leg. But he had +it cut out and the leg tied up, and he still kept +on deck. He wanted to see the fight.</p> + +<p>Hot and fierce came the cannon balls, +hurtling through sails and rigging, rending +through thick timbers, and sending splinters +flying right and left. Men fell dead and blood +ran in streams, but still came the heralds of +death.</p> + +<p>We must tell the same story of this fight as +of the fight with the <i>Guerriere</i>. The British +did not know how to aim their guns and the +Americans did. The British had no sights on +their cannon and the Americans had. That +was why, all through the war, the British lost +so heavily and the Americans so little. The +British shot went wild and the American balls +flew straight to their mark.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span></p> + +<p>You know what must come from that. After +while, off went the <i>Java's</i> bowsprit, as if it had +been chopped off with a great knife. Five +minutes later her foremast was cut in two and +came tumbling down. Then the main topmast +crashed down from above. Last of all, her +mizzen-mast was cut short off by the plunging +shot, and fell over the side. The well-aimed +American balls had cut through her great +spars, as you might cut through a willow stick, +and she was dismantled as the <i>Guerriere</i> had +been.</p> + +<p>The loud "hurrahs" of the Yankee sailors +proved enough to call the dead to life. At any +rate, a wounded man, whom everyone thought +dead, opened his eyes and asked what they were +cheering about.</p> + +<p>"The enemy has struck," he was told.</p> + +<p>The dying tar lifted himself on one arm, +and waved the other round his head, and gave +three feeble cheers. With the last one he fell +back dead.</p> + +<p>But the <i>Java's</i> flag was not down for good. +As the <i>Constitution</i> came up with all masts +standing and sails set, the British flag was +raised to the stump of the mizzen-mast. When<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span> +he saw this, Bainbridge wore his ship to give +her another broadside, and then down came her +flag for good. She had received all the battering +she could stand. In fact, the <i>Constitution</i> +had lost only 34 men, killed and wounded, while +the Java had lost 150 men. The <i>Constitution</i> +was sound and whole; the <i>Java</i> had only her +mainmast left and was full of yawning rents. +<i>Old Ironsides</i> had a new feather in her cap.</p> + +<p>Like the <i>Guerriere</i>, the <i>Java</i> was hurt past +help. It was impossible to take her home; so +on the last day of 1812, the torch was put to +her ragged timbers and the flames took hold. +Quickly they made their way through the +ruined ship. About three o'clock in the afternoon +they reached her magazine, and with a +mighty roar the wreck of the British ship was +torn into fragments. To the bottom went the +hull. Only the broken masts and a few shattered +timbers remained afloat.</p> + +<p>Such is war: a thing of ruin and desolation. +Of that gallant ship, which two days before +had been proudly afloat, only some smoke-stained +fragments were left to tell that she had +ever been on the seas, and death and wounds +had come to many of her men.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span></p> + +<p>After her fight with the <i>Java</i> the <i>Constitution</i> +had a long, weary rest. You will remember +the <i>Bon Homme Richard</i>, a rotten old hulk +not fit for fighting, though she made a very +good show when the time for fighting came. +The <i>Constitution</i> was much like her; so rotten +in her timbers that she had to be brought home +and rebuilt.</p> + +<p>Then she went a-sailing again, under Captain +Charles Stewart, as good an officer as Hull +and Bainbridge; but it was more than two +years after her last battle before she had another +chance to show what sort of a fighter +she was.</p> + +<p>It is a curious fact that some of the hardest +fights of this war with England took place +after the war was at an end. The treaty of +peace was signed on Christmas eve, 1814, but +the great battle at New Orleans was fought +two weeks afterward. There were no ocean +cable then to send word to the armies that all +their killing was no longer needed, since there +was nothing to fight about.</p> + +<p>It was worse still for the ships at sea. Nobody +then had ever dreamed of a telegraph +without wires to send word out over the waste<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span> +of waters, or even of a telegraph with wires. +Thus it was that the last battle of the old +<i>Constitution</i> was fought nearly two months +after the war was over.</p> + +<p>The good old ship was then on the other side +of the ocean, and was sailing along near the +island of Madeira, which lies off the coast of +Africa. For a year she had done nothing except +to take a few small prizes, and her stalwart +crew were tired of that sort of work. +They wanted a real, big fight, with plenty of +glory.</p> + +<p>One evening Captain Stewart heard some of +the officers talking about their bad luck, and +wishing they could only meet with a fellow of +their own size. They were tired of fishing for +minnows when there were whales to be caught.</p> + +<p>"I can tell you this, gentlemen," said the +captain, "you will soon get what you want. +Before the sun rises and sets again you will +have a good old-fashioned fight, and it will not +be with a single ship, either."</p> + +<p>I do not know what the officers said after +the captain turned away. Very likely some of +them wondered how he came to be a prophet +and could tell what was going to take place.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span> +I doubt very much whether they believed what +he had said.</p> + +<p>At any rate, about one o'clock the next day, +February 20, 1815, when the ship was gliding +along before a light breeze, a sail was seen far +away in front. An hour later a second sail was +made out, close by the first. And when the +<i>Constitution</i> got nearer it was seen that they +were both ships-of-war. It began to look as if +Captain Stewart was a good prophet, after all.</p> + +<p>It turned out that the first of these was the +small British frigate <i>Cyane</i>. The second was +the sloop-of-war <i>Levant</i>. Neither was a match +by itself for the <i>Constitution</i>, but both together +they thought themselves a very good match.</p> + +<p>It was five o'clock before the Yankee ship +came up within gunshot. The two British +ships had closed together so as to help one another, +and now they all stripped off their extra +sails, as a man takes off his coat and vest for a +fight.</p> + +<p>Six o'clock passed before the battle began. +Then for fifteen minutes the three ships hurled +their iron balls as fast as the men could load +and fire. By that time the smoke was so thick +that they had to stop firing to find out where<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span> +the two fighting ships were. The <i>Constitution</i> +now found herself opposite the <i>Levant</i> and +poured a broadside into her hull. Then she +sailed backward—a queer thing to do, but Captain +Stewart knew how to move his ship stern +foremost—and poured her iron hail into the +<i>Cyane</i>. Next she pushed ahead again and +pounded the <i>Levant</i> till that lively little craft +turned and ran. It had enough of the <i>Constitution's</i> +iron dumplings to last a while.</p> + +<p>This was great sailing and great firing, but +Captain Stewart was one of those seamen who +know how <ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'a'">to</ins> handle a ship, and his men knew +how to handle their guns. There were never +better seamen than those of the <i>Old Ironsides</i>.</p> + +<p>The <i>Levant</i> was now out of the way, and +there was only the <i>Cyane</i> to attend to. Captain +Stewart attended to her so well that, just +forty minutes after the fight began, her flag +came down.</p> + +<p>Where, now, was the <i>Levant</i>? She had run +out of the fight; but she had a brave captain +who did not like to desert his friend, so he +turned back and came gallantly up again.</p> + +<p>It was a noble act, but a foolish one. This +the British captain found out when he came<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span> +once more under the American guns. They +were much too hot for him, and once more he +tried to run away. He did not succeed this +time. Captain Stewart was too much in love +with him to let him go, and sent such warm +love-letters after him that his flag came gliding +down, as his comrade's had done.</p> + +<p>Captain Stewart had shown himself a true +prophet. He had met, fought with, and won +two ships of the enemy. No doubt after that +his officers were sure they had a prophet for a +captain.</p> + +<p>That evening, when the two British captains +were in the cabin of the <i>Constitution</i>, a midshipman +came down and asked Captain Stewart +if the men could not have their grog.</p> + +<p>"Why, didn't they have it?" asked the captain. +"It was time for it before the battle +began."</p> + +<p>"It was mixed for them, sir," said the midshipman, +"but our old men said they didn't +want any 'Dutch courage,' so they emptied the +grog-tub into the lee scuppers."</p> + +<p>The Englishmen stared when they heard +this. It is very likely their men had not fought +without a double dose of grog.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span></p> + +<p>We have not finished our story yet. Like a +lady's letter, it has a postscript. On March +10, the three ships were in a harbor of the +Cape de Verde Islands, and Captain Stewart +was sending his prisoners ashore, when three +large British men-of-war were seen sailing +into the harbor.</p> + +<p>Stewart was nearly caught in a trap. Any +one of these large frigates was more than a +match for the <i>Constitution</i>, and here were +three in a bunch. But, by good luck, there +was a heavy fog that hid everything but +the highest sails; so there was a chance of +escape.</p> + +<p>Captain Stewart was not the man to be +trapped while a chance was left. He was what +we call a "wide-awake." There was a small +chance left. He cut his cable, made a signal to +the prize vessels to do the same, and in ten +minutes after the first British vessel had been +seen, the American ship and its prizes were +gliding swiftly away.</p> + +<p>On came the British ships against a stiff +breeze, up the west side of the bay. Out slipped +the Yankee ships along the east side. Captain +Stewart set no sails higher than his top sails,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span> +and these were hidden by the fog, so the British +lookouts saw nothing. They did not dream +of the fine birds that were flying away.</p> + +<p>Only when Stewart got his ship past the +outer point of the harbor did he spread his +upper sails to the breeze, and the British lookouts +saw with surprise a cloud of canvas suddenly +bursting out upon the air.</p> + +<p>Now began a close chase. The <i>Constitution</i> +and her prizes had only about a mile the start. +As quick as the British ships could turn they +were on their track. But those were not the +days of the great guns that can send huge balls +six or seven miles through the air. A mile then +was a long shot for the largest guns, and the +Yankee cruisers had made a fair start.</p> + +<p>But before they had gone far Captain Stewart +saw that the <i>Cyane</i> was in danger of being +taken, and signaled for her to tack and take +another course. She did so and sailed safely +away. For three hours the three big frigates +hotly chased the <i>Constitution</i> and <i>Levant</i>, but +let the <i>Cyane</i> go.</p> + +<p>Captain Stewart now saw that the <i>Levant</i> +was in the same danger, and he sent her a +signal to tack as the <i>Cyane</i> had done. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span> +<i>Levant</i> tacked and sailed out of the line of the +chase.</p> + +<p>What was the surprise of the Yankee captain +and his men when they saw all three of +the big British ships turn on their heels and set +sail after the little sloop-of-war, letting the +<i>Constitution</i> sail away. It was like three great +dogs turning to chase a rabbit and letting a +deer run free.</p> + +<p>The three huge monsters chased the little +<i>Levant</i> back into the island port, and there for +fifteen minutes they fired broadsides at her. +The prisoners whom Captain Stewart had +landed did the same from a battery on shore. +And yet not a shot struck her hull; they were +all wasted in the air.</p> + +<p>At length Lieutenant Bullard, who was +master of the prize, hauled down his flag. He +thought he had seen enough fun, and they +might hurt somebody afterwhile if they kept +on firing. But what was the chagrin of the +British captains to find that all they had done +was to take back one of their own vessels, while +the American frigate had gone free.</p> + +<p>The <i>Constitution</i> and the <i>Cyane</i> got safely +to the American shores, where their officers<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span> +learned that the war had ceased more than +three months before. But the country was +proud of their good service, and Congress gave +medals of honor to Stewart and his officers.</p> + +<p>That was the last warlike service of the gallant +<i>Old Ironsides</i>, the most famous ship of the +American Navy. Years passed by and her +timbers rotted away, as they had done once +before. Some of the wise heads in the Navy +Department, men without a grain of sentiment, +decided that she was no longer of any use and +should be broken up for old timber.</p> + +<p>But if they had no love for the good old ship, +there were those who had; and a poet, Oliver +Wendell Holmes, came to the rescue. This is +the poem by which he saved the ship:</p> + +<div class='center'>THE OLD IRONSIDES.</div> + +<div class='poem'> +Ay, tear her tattered ensign down!<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Long has it waved on high,</span><br /> +And many an eye has danced to see<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That banner in the sky;</span><br /> +Beneath it rung the battle shout,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And burst the cannon's roar;</span><br /> +The meteor of the ocean air<br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span><span style="margin-left: 1em;">Shall sweep the clouds no more!</span><br /> +<br /> +Her deck, once red with heroes' blood,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Where knelt the vanquished foe,</span><br /> +When winds were hurrying o'er the flood<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And waves were white below,</span><br /> +No more shall feel the victor's tread<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Or know the conquered knee;</span><br /> +The harpies of the shore shall pluck<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The eagle of the sea!</span><br /> +<br /> +O! better that her shattered hulk<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Should sink beneath the wave;</span><br /> +Her thunders shook the mighty deep,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And there should be her grave;</span><br /> +Nail to the mast her holy flag,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Set every threadbare sail,</span><br /> +And give her to the god of storms,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The lightning and the gale.</span><br /> +</div> + +<p>There was no talk of destroying the <i>Old +Ironsides</i> after that. The man that did it +would have won eternal disgrace. She still +floats, and no doubt she will float, as long as +two of her glorious old timbers hang together.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER XIV</h2> + +<h3>THE FIGHT OF CAPTAIN JACOB JONES</h3> + +<h3><span class="smcap">The Lively Little "Wasp" and How She Stung the "Frolic"</span></h3> + +<div class='cap'>NO doubt most of my readers know very +well what a wasp is and how nicely it +can take care of itself. When I was a +boy I found out more than once how long and +sharp a sting it has, and I do not think many +boys grow up without at some time waking up +a wasp and wishing they had left it asleep.</div> + +<p>The United States has had three <i>Wasps</i> and +one <i>Hornet</i> in its navy, and the British boys +who came fooling in their way found that all +of them could sting. I will tell you about the +time one of our <i>Wasps</i> met the British <i>Frolic</i> +and fought it in a great gale, when the ships +were tossing about like chips on the ocean +billows.</p> + +<p>Not long after the <i>Constitution</i> had her<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span> +great fight with the <i>Guerriere</i>, a little sloop-of-war +named the <i>Wasp</i> set sail from Philadelphia +to see what she could find on the broad +seas. This vessel, you should know, had three +masts and square sails like a ship. But she +was not much larger than one of the sloops we +see on our rivers to-day, so it was right to call +her a sloop. For captain she had a bold sailor +named Jacob Jones.</p> + +<p>The first thing the <i>Wasp</i> found at sea was +a mighty gale of wind, that blew "great guns" +for two days. The waves were so big and +fierce that one of them carried away her bowsprit +with two men on it. The next night, after +the wind had gone down a little, lights shone +out across the waves, and when daylight came +Captain Jones saw over the heaving billows six +large merchant ships. With them was a +watch-dog in the shape of a fighting brig.</p> + +<p>This brig was named the <i>Frolic</i>. It had been +sent in charge of a fleet of fourteen merchantmen, +but these had been scattered by the gale +until only six were left. The <i>Frolic</i> was a good +match for the <i>Wasp</i>, and seemed to want a +fight quite as badly, for it sailed for the American +ship as fast as the howling wind would<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span> +let it. And you may be sure the <i>Wasp</i> did not +fly away.</p> + +<p>Captain Jones hoisted his country's flag like +a man. He was not afraid to show his true +colors. But the <i>Frolic</i> came up under the +Spanish flag. When they got close together +Captain Jones hailed,—</p> + +<p>"What ship is that?"</p> + +<p>The only answer of the British captain was +to pull down the Spanish flag and run up his +own standard, stamped with the red cross of +St. George. And as the one flag went down +and the other went up, the <i>Frolic</i> fired a broadside +at the <i>Wasp</i>. But just then the British +ship rolled over on the side of a wave, and its +balls went whistling upward through the air. +The Yankee gunners were more wide-awake +than that. They waited until their vessel rolled +down on the side of a great billow, and then +they fired, their solid shot going low, and tearing +into the <i>Frolic's</i> sides.</p> + +<p>The fighting went that way all through the +battle. The British gunners did not know their +business and fired wild. The Yankees knew +what they were about, and made every shot +tell. They had sights on their guns and took<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span> +aim; the British had no sights and took no aim. +That is why the Americans were victors in so +many fights.</p> + +<p>But I think there was not often a sea-fight +like this. The battle took place off Cape Hatteras, +which is famous for its storms. The +wind whistled and howled; the waves rose into +foaming crests and sank into dark hollows; +the fighting craft rolled and pitched. As they +rolled upward the guns pointed at the clouds. +As they rolled downward the muzzles of the +guns often dipped into the foam. Great masses +of spray came flying over the bulwarks, +sweeping the decks. The weather and the +sailors both had their blood up, and both were +fighting for all they were worth. It was a +question which would win, the wind or the +men.</p> + +<p>As fast as the smoke rose the wind swept it +away, so that the gunners had a clear view of +the ships. The roar of the gale was half +drowned by the thunder of the guns, and the +whistle of the wind mingled with the scream of +the balls, while the sailors shouted as they ran +out their guns and cheered as the iron hail +swept across the waves.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span></p> + +<p>In such frantic haste did the British handle +their guns, that they fired three shots to the +Yankees' two. The latter did not fire till they +saw something to fire at. As a result, most of +British balls went whistling overhead, and +pitching over the <i>Wasp</i> into the sea, while most +of the Yankee balls swept the decks or bored +into the timbers of the <i>Frolic</i>.</p> + +<p>But you must not think that the shots of the +<i>Frolic</i> were all wasted, if they did go high. +One of them hit the maintopmast of the <i>Wasp</i> +and cut it square off. Another hit the mizzen-topgallantmast +and toppled it into the waves. +In twenty minutes from the start "every brace +and most of the rigging of the <i>Wasp</i> were shot +away." The <i>Wasp</i> had done little harm above, +but a great deal below.</p> + +<p>The <i>Frolic</i> could have run away now if she +had wanted to. But her captain was not of +the runaway kind. The fire of the <i>Wasp</i> had +covered his deck with blood, but he fought +boldly on.</p> + +<p>As they fought the two ships drifted together +and soon their sides met with a crash. +Then, as they were swept apart by the waves, +two of the <i>Wasp's</i> guns were fired into the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span> +bow-ports of the <i>Frolic</i> and swept her gun-deck +from end to end. Terrible was the +slaughter done by that raking fire.</p> + +<p>The next minute the bowsprit of the <i>Frolic</i> +caught in the rigging of the <i>Wasp</i>, and another +torrent of balls was poured into the +British ship. Then the Yankee sailors left +their guns and sprang for the enemy's deck. +The captain wanted them to keep firing, but he +could not hold them back.</p> + +<p>First of them all was a brawny Jerseyman +named Jack Lang, who took his cutlass between +his teeth and clambered like a cat along the +bowsprit to the deck. Others followed, and +when they reached the deck of the <i>Frolic</i> they +found Jack Lang standing alone and looking +along the blood-stained deck with staring eyes.</p> + +<p>Only four living men were to be seen, and +three of these were wounded. One was the +quartermaster at the wheel and the others were +officers. Not another man stood on his feet, +but the deck was strewn with the dead, whose +bodies rolled about at every heave of the waves.</p> + +<p>When the men came running aft the three +officers flung down their swords to show that +they had surrendered, and one of them covered<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span> +his face with his hands. It hurt him to give up +the good ship. Lieutenant Biddle, of the +<i>Wasp</i>, had to haul down the British flag.</p> + +<p>Never had there been more terrible slaughter. +Of the 110 men on the <i>Frolic</i> there were +not twenty alive and unhurt, while on the <i>Wasp</i> +only five were dead and five wounded. The +hull of the <i>Frolic</i> was full of holes and its +masts were so cut away that in a few minutes +they both fell.</p> + +<p>Thus ended one of the most famous of American +sea-fights. It was another lesson that +helped to stop the English from singing</p> + +<div class='center'> +"Britannia rules the waves."<br /> +</div> + +<p>But the little <i>Wasp</i> and her gallant crew +did not get the good of their famous victory. +While they were busy repairing damages a sail +appeared above the far horizon. It came on, +growing larger and larger, and soon it was +seen to be a big man-of-war.</p> + +<p>The game was up with the <i>Wasp</i> and her +prize, for the new ship was the <i>Poictiers</i>, a +great seventy-four ship-of-the-line. She snapped +up the <i>Wasp</i> and the <i>Frolic</i> and carried<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span> +them off to the British isle of Bermuda, where +the victors found themselves prisoners.</p> + +<p>A few words will finish the story of the +<i>Wasp</i>. She was taken into the British navy; +but she did not have to fight for her foes, for +she went down at sea without doing anything. +So she was saved from the disgrace of fighting +against her country.</p> + +<p>Captain Jones and his men were soon exchanged, +and Congress voted them a reward +of $25,000 for their gallant fight, while the +brave captain was given the command of the +frigate <i>Macedonian</i>, which had been captured +from the British. It was Captain Stephen Decatur, +the hero of Tripoli, that captured her, +in the good ship <i>United States</i>.</p> + +<p>Would you like to hear about the other +<i>Wasps</i>? There were two more of them, you +know. They were good ships, but ill luck came +to them all. The first <i>Wasp</i> did her work in +the Revolution, and had to be burned at Philadelphia +to keep her from the British when they +took that city. The second one, as I have just +told you, was lost at sea, and so was the third. +You may see that bad luck came to them all.</p> + +<p>The third <i>Wasp</i> was, like the second, a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span> +sloop-of-war, but she was a large and heavy +one. And though in the end she was lost at +sea and followed the other <i>Wasp</i> to the bottom, +she did not do so without sending some +British messengers there in advance.</p> + +<p>I will tell you the story of this <i>Wasp</i>, and +how she used her sting, but it must be done in +few words.</p> + +<p>She was built at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, +and sailed on May 1, 1814, her captain +being Johnston Blakeley; her crew a set of +young countrymen who were so unused to the +sea that most of them were seasick for a week. +Their average age was only twenty-three years, +so they were little more than boys. Yet the +most of them could hit a deer with a rifle, and +they soon showed they could hit a <i>Reindeer</i> +with a cannon. For near the end of June they +came across a British brig named the <i>Reindeer</i>, +and in less than twenty minutes had battered +her in so lively a fashion that her flag +came down and she was a prize.</p> + +<p>The crew of the <i>Reindeer</i> were trained seamen, +but they did not know how to shoot. The +Americans were Yankee farmer-lads, yet they +shot like veteran gunners. I am sure you will<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span> +think so when I tell you that the British could +hardly hit the <i>Wasp</i> at all, though she was less +than sixty yards away. But the Yankees hit +the <i>Reindeer</i> so often that she was cut to pieces +and her masts ready to fall. In fact, after she +was captured, she could not be taken into port, +but had to be set on fire and blown to pieces.</p> + +<p>But I must say a good word for the gallant +captain of the <i>Reindeer</i>. First, a musket ball +hit him and went through the calves of both +legs, but he kept on his feet. Then a grape-shot—an +iron ball two inches thick—went +through both his thighs. The brave seaman +fell, but he rose to his feet again, drew his +sword, and called his men to board the <i>Wasp</i>. +He was trying to climb on board when a musket +ball went through his head. "O God!" he +cried, and fell dead.</p> + +<p>This fight was in the English Channel, +where Blakeley was doing what John Paul +Jones had done years before. Two months +after the sinking of the <i>Reindeer</i> the <i>Wasp</i> +had another fight. This time there were three +British vessels, the <i>Avon</i>, the <i>Castilian</i>, and +the <i>Tartarus</i>, all of them brig-sloops like the +<i>Reindeer</i>. These vessels were scattered, chasing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span> +a privateer, and about nine o'clock at night +the <i>Wasp</i> came up with the <i>Avon</i> alone. They +hailed each other as ships do when they meet +at sea. Then, when sure they were enemies, +they began firing, as ships do also in time of +war. For forty minutes the fight kept up, and +then the <i>Avon</i> had enough. She was riddled +as the <i>Reindeer</i> had been. But the <i>Wasp</i> did +not take possession; for before a boat could be +sent on board, the two comrades of the <i>Avon</i> +came in sight.</p> + +<p>The <i>Wasp</i>, after her battle with the <i>Avon</i>, +could not fight two more, so she sailed away +and left them to attend to their consort. They +could not save her. The <i>Wasp</i> had stung too +deeply for that. The water poured in faster +than the men of all three ships could pump +it out, and at one o'clock in the morning down +plunged the <i>Avon's</i> bow in the water, up went +her stern in the air, and with a mighty surge +she sank to rise no more. But the gallant +<i>Wasp</i> had ended her work. She took some +more prizes, but the sea, to whose depths she +had sent the <i>Reindeer</i> and <i>Avon</i>, took her also. +She was seen in October, and that was the +last that human eyes ever saw of her.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER XV</h2> + +<h3>CAPTAIN LAWRENCE DIES FOR THE FLAG</h3> + +<h3><span class="smcap">His Words, "Do Not Give Up the Ship," Become the Famous Motto of the American Navy</span></h3> + +<div class='cap'>THE United States navy had its <i>Hornet</i> as +well as its <i>Wasps</i>. And they were well +named, for they were all able to sting. +The captain of the <i>Hornet</i> was a noble seaman +named James Lawrence, who had been a midshipman +in the war with Tripoli. In the War +of 1812 he was captain in succession of the +<i>Vixen</i>, the <i>Wasp</i>, the <i>Argus</i>, and the <i>Hornet</i>.</div> + +<p>The <i>Hornet</i> was a sloop-of-war. I have told +you what that means. She had three masts, +and carried square sails like a ship, but she +was called a sloop on account of her size. She +had eighteen short guns and two long ones. +The short guns threw thirty-two pound and +the long ones twelve pound balls.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span></p> + +<p>Of course you have not forgotten the fight +of the <i>Constitution</i> with the <i>Java</i>. When the +<i>Constitution</i> went south to Brazil at that time +the <i>Hornet</i> went with her, but they soon parted.</p> + +<p>In one of the harbors of Brazil Captain Lawrence +saw a British ship as big as the <i>Hornet</i>. +He waited outside for her, but she would not +come out. He had found a coward of a captain, +and he locked him up in that harbor for +two months.</p> + +<p>Then he got tired and left. Soon after he +came across the <i>Peacock</i>, a British man-of-war +brig. The <i>Peacock</i> was as large as the <i>Hornet</i> +and its captain was as full of fight as Captain +Lawrence. He was the kind of man that our +bold Lawrence was hunting for. When two +men feel that way, a fight is usually not far off. +That was the way now. Soon the guns were +booming and the balls were flying.</p> + +<p>But the fight was over before the men had +time to warm up. The first guns were fired at +5.25 in the afternoon, and at 5.39 the British +flag came down; so the battle lasted just fourteen +minutes. Not many victories have been +won so quickly as that.</p> + +<p>But the <i>Hornet</i> acted in a very lively fashion<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span> +while it lasted. Do you know how a hornet +behaves when a mischievous boy throws a stone +at its nest? Well, that is the way our <i>Hornet</i> +did. Only one ball from the <i>Peacock</i> struck +her, and hardly any of her men were hurt. But +the <i>Peacock</i> was bored as full of holes as a +pepper-box, and the water poured in faster +than all hands could pump it out. In a very +short time the unlucky <i>Peacock</i> filled and sank. +So Captain Lawrence had only the honor of +his victory; old ocean had swallowed up his +prize.</p> + +<p>But if Captain Lawrence got no prize money, +he won great fame. He was looked on as another +Hull or Decatur, and Congress made him +captain of the frigate <i>Chesapeake</i>. That was +in one way a bad thing for the gallant Lawrence, +for it cost him his life. In another way +it was a good thing, for it made him one of the +most famous of American seamen.</p> + +<p>I have told you the story of several victories +of American ships. I must now tell you the +story of one defeat. But I think you will say +it was a defeat as glorious as a victory. For +eight months the little navy of the young Republic +had sailed on seas where British ships<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span> +were nearly as thick as apples in an orchard. +In that time it had not lost a ship, and had won +more victories than England had done in +twenty years. Now it was to meet with its +first defeat.</p> + +<p>When Captain Lawrence took command of +the <i>Chesapeake</i>, that ship lay in the harbor of +Boston. Outside this harbor was the British +frigate <i>Shannon</i>, blockading the port.</p> + +<p>Now you must know that the American people +had grown very proud of their success on +the sea. They had got to think that any little +vessel could whip an English man-of-war. So +the Bostonians grew eager for the <i>Chesapeake</i> +to meet the <i>Shannon</i>. They were sure it would +be brought in as a prize, and they wanted to +hurrah over it.</p> + +<p>Poor Lawrence was as eager as the people. +He was just the man they wanted. The +<i>Chesapeake</i> had no crew, but he set himself to +work, and in two weeks he filled her up with +such men as he could find.</p> + +<p>It was a mixed team he got together, the +sweepings of the streets. There were some +good men among them, but more poor ones. +And they were all new men to the ship and to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span> +the captain. They had not been trained to +work together, and it was madness to fight a +first-class British ship with such a crew. Some, +in fact, were mutineers and gave him trouble +before he got out of the harbor.</p> + +<p>But the <i>Shannon</i> was a crack ship with a +crack crew. Captain Broke had commanded +her for seven years and had a splendidly +trained set of men. He had copied from the +Americans and put sights on his guns, had +taught his men to fire at floating marks in the +sea, and had trained his topmen to use their +muskets in the same careful way. So when +Captain Lawrence sailed on June 1, 1813, he +sailed to defeat and death.</p> + +<p>Captain Broke sent a challenge to the <i>Chesapeake</i> +to come out and fight him ship to ship. +But Lawrence did not wait for his challenge. +He was too eager for that, and set sail with a +crew who did not know their work, and most of +whom had never seen their officers before.</p> + +<p>What could be expected of such mad courage +as that? It is one thing to be a brave man; +it is another to be a wise one. Of course you +will say that Captain Lawrence was brave; but +no one can say he was wise. Poor fellow, he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span> +was simply throwing away his ship and his +life.</p> + +<p>It was in the morning of June 1 that the +<i>Chesapeake</i> left the wharves of Boston. It +was 5.50 in the afternoon that she met the +<i>Shannon</i> and the battle began.</p> + +<p>Both ships fired as fast as they could load, +but the men of the <i>Shannon</i> were much better +hands at their work, and their balls tore the +American ship in a terrible manner. A musket-ball +struck Lawrence in the leg, but he +would not go below. The rigging of the <i>Chesapeake</i> +was badly cut, the men at the wheel were +shot, and in ten minutes the two ships drifted +together.</p> + +<p>Men on each side now rushed to board the +enemy's ship, and there was a hand-to-hand +fight at the bulwarks of the two ships. At this +moment Captain Lawrence was shot through +the body and fell with a mortal wound. He +was carried below.</p> + +<p>As he lay in great pain he noticed that the +firing had almost ceased. Calling a surgeon's +mate to him, he said, "Tell the men to fire +faster, and not give up the ship; the colors +shall wave while I live."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span></p> + +<p>Unfortunately, these words were spoken in +the moment of defeat. Captain Broke, followed +by a number of his men, had sprung to +the deck of the <i>Chesapeake</i>, and a desperate +struggle began. The Americans fought stubbornly, +but the fire from the trained men in the +<i>Shannon's</i> tops and the rush of British on +board soon gave Broke and his men the victory. +The daring Broke fell with a cut that +laid open his skull, but in a few moments the +Americans were driven below.</p> + +<p>The <i>Chesapeake</i> was taken in just fifteen +minutes, one minute more than the <i>Hornet</i> had +taken to capture the <i>Peacock</i>.</p> + +<p>The British hauled down the American flag, +and then hoisted it again with a white flag to +show their victory. But the sailor who did the +work, by mistake got the white flag under the +Stars and Stripes.</p> + +<p>When the gunners in the <i>Shannon</i> saw the +Yankee flag flying they fired again, and this +time killed and wounded a number of their own +men, one of them being an officer.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> +<img src="images/i-198.jpg" width="600" height="349" alt=""Don't Give up the Ship!"" title="" /> +<a href="images/i-198-big.jpg"><span class="caption">"Don't Give up the Ship!"</span></a> +</div> + +<p>The gallant Lawrence never <ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'know'">knew</ins> that his +ship was lost. He lived until the <i>Shannon</i> +reached Halifax with her prize, but he became<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span> +delirious, and kept repeating over and over +again his last order—"<i>Don't give up the ship!</i>"</p> + +<p>With these words he died. With these words +his memory has become immortal. "Don't give +up the ship!" is the motto of the American +navy, and will not be forgotten while our great +Republic survives. So Captain Lawrence +gained greater renown in defeat than most men +have won in victory.</p> + +<p>The capture of the <i>Chesapeake</i> was a piece +of wonderful good fortune for the British, to +judge by the way they boasted of it. As Captain +Pearson had been made a knight for losing +the <i>Serapis</i>, so Captain Broke was made a +baronet for taking the <i>Chesapeake</i>. A "baronet," +you must know, is a higher title than a +"knight," though they both use the handle of +"Sir" to their names.</p> + +<p>The work of the <i>Shannon</i> proved—so the +British historians said—that, "if the odds were +anything like equal, a British frigate could +always whip an American, and in a hand-to-hand +conflict such would invariably be the +case."</p> + +<p>Such things are easy to say, when one does +not care about telling the truth. Suppose we<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span> +give now what a French historian, who believed +in telling the truth, said of this fight,—</p> + +<p>"Captain Broke had commanded the <i>Shannon</i> +for nearly seven years; Captain Lawrence +had commanded the <i>Chesapeake</i> for but a few +days. The <i>Shannon</i> had cruised for eighteen +months on the coast of America; the <i>Chesapeake</i> +was newly out of harbor. The <i>Shannon</i> +had a crew long accustomed to habits of strict +obedience; the <i>Chesapeake</i> was manned by men +who had just been engaged in mutiny. The +Americans were wrong to accuse fortune on +this occasion. Fortune was not fickle, she was +merely logical."</p> + +<p>That is about the same as to say that the +<i>Chesapeake</i> was given away to the enemy. +After that there were no more ships sent out of +port unfit to fight, merely to please the people. +It was a lesson the people needed.</p> + +<p>The body of the brave Lawrence was laid on +the quarter-deck of the <i>Chesapeake</i> wrapped in +an American flag. It was then placed in a coffin +and taken ashore, where it was met by a regiment +of British troops and a band that played +the "Death March in Saul." The sword of +the dead hero lay on his coffin. In the end his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span> +body was buried in the cemetery of Trinity +Church, New York. A monument stands to-day +over his grave, and on it are the words:</p> + +<p>"Neither the fury of battle, the anguish of +a mortal wound, nor the horrors of approaching +death could subdue his gallant spirit. His +dying words were</p> + +<div class='center'> +'Don't give up the ship!'"<br /> +</div> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER XVI</h2> + +<h3>COMMODORE PERRY WHIPS THE BRITISH ON LAKE ERIE</h3> + +<h3>"<span class="smcap">We Have Met the Enemy and They Are Ours</span>"</h3> + +<div class='cap'>IN the year 1813, when war was going on +between England and the United States, +the whole northern part of this country +was a vast forest. An ocean of trees stretched +away from the seaside in Maine for a thousand +miles to the west, and ended in the broad prairies +of the Mississippi region.</div> + +<p>The chief inhabitants of this grand forest +were the moose and the deer, the wolf and the +panther, the wild turkey and the partridge, the +red Indian and the white hunter and trapper. +It was a very different country from what we +see to-day, for now its trees are replaced by +busy towns and fertile fields.</p> + +<p>But in one way there has been no change. +North of the forest lands spread the Great<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span> +Lakes, the splendid inland seas of our northern +border; and these were then what they are now, +vast plains of water where all the ships of all +the nations might sail.</p> + +<p>Along the shores of these mighty lakes +fighting was going on; at Detroit on the west; +at Niagara on the east. Soon war-vessels +began to be built and set afloat on the waters +of the lakes. And these vessels after a time +came together in fierce conflict. I have now to +tell the story of a famous battle between these +lake men-of-war. There was then in our navy +a young man named Oliver Hazard Perry. He +was full of the spirit of fight, but, while others +were winning victories on the high seas, he +was given nothing better to do than to command +a fleet of gunboats at Newport, Rhode +Island.</p> + +<p>Perry became very tired of this. He wanted +to be where fighting was going on, and he kept +worrying the Navy Department for some active +work. So at last he was ordered to go to +the lakes, with the best men he had, and get +ready to fight the British there. Perry received +the order on February 17, 1813, and +before night he and fifty of his men were on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span> +their way west in sleighs; for the ground was +covered deep with snow.</p> + +<p>The sleighing was good, but the roads were +bad and long; and it took him and his men two +weeks to reach Sackett's Harbor, at the north +end of Lake Ontario. From that place he went +to Presque Isle, on Lake Erie, where the fine +City of Erie now stands. Then only the seed +of a city was planted there, in a small village, +and the forest came down to the lake.</p> + +<p>Captain Perry did not go to sleep when he +got to the water-side. He was not one of the +sleepy sort. He wanted vessels and he wanted +them quickly. The British had warships on +the lake, and Perry did not intend to let them +have it all to themselves.</p> + +<p>When he got to Erie he found Captain Dobbins, +an old shipbuilder, hard at work. In the +woods around were splendid trees, white and +black oak and chestnut, for planking, and pine +for the decks. The axe was busy at these +giants of the forest; and so fast did the men +work, that a tree which was waving in the +forest when the sun rose might be cut down +and hewn into ship-timber before the sun set. +In that way Perry's fleet grew like magic out<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span> +of the forest. While the ships were building, +cannon and stores were brought from Pittsburgh +by way of the Allegheny River and its +branches. And Perry went to Niagara River, +where he helped capture a fine brig, called the +<i>Caledonia</i>, from the British.</p> + +<p>Captain Dobbins built two more brigs, one +of which Perry named the <i>Niagara</i>. The other +he called <i>Lawrence</i>, after Captain Lawrence, +the story of whose life and death you have just +read.</p> + +<p>Have any of you ever heard the story of the +man who built a wagon in his barn and then +found it too wide to go out through the door? +Perry was in the same trouble. His new ships +were too big to get out into the lake. There +was a bar at the mouth of the river with only +four feet of water on it. That was not deep +enough to float his new vessels. And he was +in a hurry to get these in deep water; for he +knew the British fleet would soon be down to +try to destroy them.</p> + +<p>How would you work to get a six-foot vessel +over a four-foot sand bar? Well, that +doesn't matter; all we care for is the way Captain +Perry did it. He took two big scows and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span> +put one on each side of the <i>Lawrence</i>. Then +he filled them with water till the waves washed +over their decks. When they had sunk so far +they were tied fast to the brig and the water +was pumped out of them. As the water went +out they rose and lifted the <i>Lawrence</i> between +them until there were several feet of water +below her keel. Now the brig was hauled on +the bar until she touched the bottom; then she +was lifted again in the same way. This second +time took her out to deep water. Next, the +<i>Niagara</i> was lifted over the bar in the same +manner.</p> + +<p>The next day the British, who had been +taking things very easily, came sailing down to +destroy Perry's ships. But they opened their +eyes wide when they saw them afloat on the +lake. They had lost their chance by wasting +their time.</p> + +<p>Perry picked up men for his vessels wherever +he could get them. The most of those to +be had were landsmen. But he had his fifty +good men from Newport and a hundred were +sent him from the coast. Some of these had +been on the <i>Constitution</i> in her great fight with +the <i>Guerriere</i>.</p> + +<div class="figleft" style="width: 384px;"> +<img src="images/i-207.jpg" width="384" height="600" alt="Oliver H. Perry." title="" /> +<span class="caption">Oliver H. Perry.</span> +</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span></p> + +<p>Early in August all was ready, and he set +sail. Early in September he was in Put-in Bay, +at the west end of Lake Erie, and here the +British came looking for him and his ships.</p> + +<p>Perry was now the commodore of a fleet of +nine vessels,—the brigs <i>Lawrence</i>, <i>Niagara</i> +and <i>Caledonia</i>, five schooners, and one sloop. +Captain Barclay, the British commander, had +only six vessels, but some of them were larger +than Perry's. They were the ships <i>Detroit</i> and +<i>Queen Charlotte</i>, a large brig, two schooners, +and a sloop. Such were the fleets with which +the great battle of Lake Erie was fought.</p> + +<p>I know you are getting tired of all this description, +and want to get on to the fighting. +You don't like to be kept sailing in quiet waters +when there is a fine storm ahead. Very well, +we will go on. But one has to get his bricks +ready before he can build his house.</p> + +<p>Well, then, on the 10th of September, 1813, +it being a fine summer day, with the sun shining +brightly, Perry and his men sailed out +from Put-in Bay and came in sight of the British +fleet over the waters of the lake.</p> + +<p>What Captain Perry now did was fine. He +hoisted a great blue flag, and when it unrolled<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span> +in the wind the men saw on it, in white letters, +the dying words of Captain Lawrence, "Don't +give up the ship!" Was not that a grand signal +to give? It must have put great spirit into +the men, and made them feel that they would +die like the gallant Lawrence before they would +give up their ships. The men on both fleets +were eager to fight, but the wind kept very +light, and they came together slowly. It was +near noon before they got near enough for +their long guns to work. Then the British +began to send balls skipping over the water, +and soon after the Americans answered back.</p> + +<p>Now came the roar of battle, the flash of +guns, the cloud of smoke that settled down and +half hid everything. The Americans came on +in a long line, head on for the British, who +awaited their approach. Perry's flagship, the +<i>Lawrence</i>, was near the head of the line. It +soon plunged into the very thick of the fight, +with only two little schooners to help it. The +wind may have been too light for the rest of +the fleet to come up. We do not know just +what kept them back, but at any rate, they +didn't come up, and the <i>Lawrence</i> was left to +fight alone.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span></p> + +<p>Never had a vessel been in a worse plight +than was the <i>Lawrence</i> for the next two hours. +She was half surrounded by the three large +British vessels, the <i>Detroit</i>, the <i>Queen Charlotte</i>, +and the brig <i>Hunter</i>, all pouring in their +fire at once, while she had to fight them all. +On the <i>Lawrence</i> and the two schooners +there were only seven long guns against thirty-six +which were pelting Perry's flagship from +the British fleet.</p> + +<p>This was great odds. But overhead there +floated the words, "Don't give up the ship"; +so the brave Perry pushed on till he was close +to the <i>Detroit</i>, and worked away, for life or +death, with all his guns, long and short.</p> + +<p>Oh, what a dreadful time there was on Perry's +flagship during those sad two hours. The +great guns roared, the thick smoke rose, the +balls tore through her sides, sending splinters +flying like sharp arrows to right and left. Men +fell like leaves blown down by a gale. Blood +splashed on the living and flowed over the dead. +The surgeon's mates were kept busy carrying +the wounded below, where the surgeon dressed +their wounds.</p> + +<p>Captain Perry's little brother, a boy of only<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span> +thirteen years, was on the ship, and stood beside +him as brave as himself. Two bullets went +through the boy's hat; then a splinter cut +through his clothes; still he did not flinch. +Soon after, he was knocked down and the captain +grew pale with fear. But up jumped the +boy again. It was only a flying hammock that +had struck him. That little fellow was a true +sailor boy, and had in him plenty of Yankee +grit.</p> + +<p>I would not, if I could, tell you all the horrors +of those two hours. It is not pleasant reading. +The cannon balls even came through the vessel's +sides among the wounded, and killed +some of them where they lay. At the end of +the fight the <i>Lawrence</i> was a mere wreck. Her +bowsprit and masts were nearly all cut away, +and out of more than a hundred men only fourteen +were unhurt. There was not a gun left +that could be worked.</p> + +<p>Most men in such a case would have pulled +down their flag. But Oliver Perry had the +spirit of Paul Jones, and he did not forget the +words on his flag—"Don't give up the ship."</p> + +<p>During those dread two hours the <i>Niagara</i>, +under Lieutenant Elliott, had kept out of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span> +fight. Now it came sailing up before a freshening +breeze.</p> + +<p>As soon as Perry saw this fresh ship he +made up his mind what to do. He had a boat +lowered with four men in it. His little brother +leaped in after them. Then he stepped aboard +with the flag bearing Lawrence's motto on +his shoulder, and was rowed away to the +<i>Niagara</i>. As soon as the British saw this +little boat on the water, with Perry standing +upright, wrapped in the flag he had fought +for so bravely, they turned all their guns and +fired at it. Cannon and musket balls tore the +water round it. It looked as if nothing would +save those devoted men from death.</p> + +<p>"Sit down!" cried Perry's men. "We will +stop rowing if you don't sit down."</p> + +<p>So Perry sat down, and when a ball came +crashing through the side of the boat he took +off his coat and plugged up the hole.</p> + +<p>Providence favored him and his men. They +reached the <i>Niagara</i> without being hurt. The +British had fired in vain. Perry sprang on +board and ordered the men to raise the flag.</p> + +<p>"How goes the day?" asked Lieutenant +Elliott.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Bad enough," said Perry. "Why are the +gunboats so far back?"</p> + +<p>"I will bring them up," said Elliott.</p> + +<p>"Do so," said Perry.</p> + +<p>Elliott jumped into the boat which Perry +had just left, and rowed away. Up to the mast-head +went the great blue banner with the +motto, "Don't give up the ship." Signals were +given for all the vessels to close in on the +enemy, and the <i>Niagara</i> bore down under full +sail.</p> + +<p>The <i>Lawrence</i> was out of the fight. Rent +and torn, with only a handful of her crew on +their feet, and not a gun that could be fired, +her day was done. Her flag was pulled down +by the few men left to save themselves. The +British had no time to take possession, for the +<i>Niagara</i> was on them, fresh for the fray, like a +new horse in the race.</p> + +<p>Right through the British fleet this new ship +went. Three of their ships were on one side of +her and two on the other, and all only a few +yards away. As she went her guns spoke out, +sweeping their decks and tearing through their +timbers.</p> + +<p>The <i>Lawrence</i> had already done her share<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span> +of work on these vessels, and this new pounding +was more than they could stand. The +other American vessels also were pouring their +shot into the foe. Flesh and blood could not +bear this. Men were falling like grass before +the scythe. A man sprang up on the rail of +the <i>Detroit</i> and waved a white flag to show +that they had surrendered. The great fight +was over. The British had given up.</p> + +<p>Perry announced his victory in words that +have become historic: "We have met the +enemy and they are ours."</p> + +<p>This famous despatch was written with a +pencil on the back of an old letter, with his hat +for a table. It was sent to General Harrison, +who commanded an army nearby. Harrison +at once led his cheering soldiers against the +enemy, and gave them one of the worst defeats +of the war.</p> + +<p>When the news of the victory spread over +the country the people were wild with joy. +Congress thanked Perry and voted gold medals +to him and Elliott, and honors or rewards to +all the officers and men. But over the whole +country it was thought that Elliott had earned +disgrace instead of a gold medal by keeping so<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span> +long out of the fight. He said he had only +obeyed orders, but people thought that was a +time to break orders.</p> + +<p>Perry was made a full captain by Congress. +This was then the highest rank in the navy. +But he took no more part in the war. Six +years later he was sent with a squadron to +South America, and there he took the yellow +fever and died. Thus passed away one of the +most brilliant and most famous officers of the +American navy.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER XVII</h2> + +<h3>COMMODORE PORTER GAINS GLORY IN THE PACIFIC</h3> + +<h3><span class="smcap">The Gallant Fight of the "Essex" Against Great Odds</span></h3> + +<div class='cap'>ANY of you who have read much of American +history must have often met with +the names of Porter and Farragut. +There are no greater names in our naval history. +There was Captain David Porter and +his two gallant sons, all men of fame. And the +still more famous Admiral Farragut began his +career under the brave old captain of the War +of 1812.</div> + +<p>I am going now to tell you about David +Porter and the little <i>Essex</i>, a ship whose name +the British did not like to hear. And I have +spoken of Farragut from the fact that he began +his naval career under Captain Porter.</p> + +<p>Captain Porter was born in 1780, before the +Revolution had ended. His father was a sea-captain;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span> +and when the boy was sixteen years +old, he stood by his father's side on the schooner +<i>Eliza</i> and helped to fight off a British press-gang +which wanted to rob it of some of its +sailors. The press-gang was a company of +men who seized men wherever they found them, +and dragged them into the British navy, where +they were compelled to serve as sailors or marines. +It was a cruel and unjust way of getting men, +and the Americans resisted it wherever +they could. In this particular fight several +men were killed and wounded, and the press-gang +thought it best to let the <i>Eliza</i> alone.</p> + +<p>When the lad was seventeen he was twice +seized by press-men and taken to serve in the +British navy, but both times he escaped. Then +he joined the American navy as a midshipman.</p> + +<p>Young Porter soon showed what was in him. +In the naval war with France he was put on a +French prize that was full of prisoners who +wanted to seize the ship. For three days Porter +helped to watch them, and in all that time +he did not take a minute's sleep.</p> + +<p>Afterward, in a pilot-boat, with fifteen men +the boy hero attacked a French privateer with +forty men and a barge with thirty men. Porter,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span> +with his brave fifteen, boarded the privateer +and fought like a hero. After more than half +its crew were killed and wounded the privateer +surrendered. In this hard fight not one of +Porter's men was hurt.</p> + +<p>That was only one of the things which young +Porter did. When the war with the pirates of +Tripoli began, he was there, and again did +some daring deeds. He was on the <i>Philadelphia</i> +when that good ship ran aground and was +taken by the Moors, and he was held a prisoner +till the end of the war. Here you have an outline +of the early history of David Porter.</p> + +<p>When the War of 1812 broke out, he was +made captain of the <i>Essex</i>. The <i>Essex</i> was a +little frigate that had been built in the Revolution. +It was not fit to fight with the larger +British frigates, but with David Porter on its +quarter-deck it was sure to make its mark.</p> + +<p>On the <i>Essex</i> with him was a fine little midshipman, +only eleven years old, who had been +brought up in the Porter family. His name +was David G. Farragut. I shall have a good +story of him to tell you later on, for he grew +up to be one of the bravest and greatest men +in the American navy.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span></p> + +<p>On July 2, 1812, only two weeks after war +was declared, Porter was off to sea in the +<i>Essex</i>, on the hunt for prizes and glory. He +got some prizes, but it was more than a month +before he had a chance for glory. Then he +came in sight of a British man-of-war, a sight +that pleased him very much.</p> + +<p>Up came the <i>Essex</i>, pretending to be a merchant +ship and with the British flag flying. +That is one of the tricks which naval officers +play. They think it right to cheat an enemy. +The stranger came bowling down under full +sail and fired a gun as a hint for the supposed +merchantman to stop. So the <i>Essex</i> backed +her sails and hove to until the stranger had +passed her stern.</p> + +<p>Porter was now where he had wanted to get. +He had the advantage of the wind—what +sailors call the "weather-gage." So down +came the British flag and up went the Stars +and Stripes: and the ports were thrown open, +showing the iron mouths of the guns, ready to +bark.</p> + +<p>When the English sailors saw this they +cheered loudly and ran to their guns. They +fired in their usual hasty fashion, making much<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span> +noise but doing no harm. Porter waited till +he was ready to do good work, and then fired +a broadside that fairly staggered the British +ship.</p> + +<p>The Englishman had not bargained for such +a salute as this, and now tried to run away. +But the <i>Essex</i> had the wind, and in eight minutes +was alongside. And in those eight minutes +her guns were busy as guns could be. +Then down came the British flag. That was +the shortest fight in the war.</p> + +<p>The prize was found to be the corvette <i>Alert</i>. +A corvette is a little ship with not many guns. +She was not nearly strong enough for the +<i>Essex</i>, and gave up when only three of her +men were wounded. But she had been shot so +full of holes that she already had seven feet of +water in her hold and was in danger of sinking. +It kept the men of the <i>Essex</i> busy enough +to pump her out and stop up the holes, so that +she should not go to the bottom. Captain +Porter did not want to lose his prize. He came +near losing it, and his ship too, in another way, +as I have soon to tell.</p> + +<p>You must remember that he had taken other +prizes and sent them home with some of his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span> +men. So he had a large number of prisoners, +some of them soldiers taken from one of his +prizes. There were many more British on +board than there were Americans, and some of +them formed a plot to capture the ship. They +might have done it, too, but for the little midshipman, +David Farragut.</p> + +<p>This little chap was lying in his hammock, +when he saw an Englishman come along with +a pistol in his hand. This was the leader in +the plot who was looking around to see if all +was ready for his men to break out on the +Americans.</p> + +<p>He came up to the hammock where the boy +lay and looked in at him. The bright young +fellow then had his eyes tight shut and seemed +to be fast asleep. After looking a minute the +man went away. The instant he was out of +sight up jumped the lad and ran to the captain's +cabin. You may be sure he did not take many +words to tell what he had seen.</p> + +<p>Captain Porter knew there was no time to +be lost. He sprang out of bed in haste and ran +to the deck. Here he gave a loud yell of "Fire! +Fire!"</p> + +<p>In a minute the men came tumbling up from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span> +below like so many rats. They had been +trained what to do in case of a night-fire and +every man ran to his place. Captain Porter +had even built fires that sent up volumes of +smoke, so as to make them quick to act and to +steady their nerves.</p> + +<p>While the cry of fire roused the Americans, +it scared the conspirators, and before they +could get back their wits the sailors were on +them. It did not take long to lock them up +again. In that way Porter and Farragut saved +their ship.</p> + +<p>The time was coming in which he would +lose his ship, but the way he lost it brought him +new fame. I must tell you how this came +about. When the <i>Constitution</i> and the <i>Hornet</i>, +as I have told you in another story, were in +the waters of Brazil, the <i>Essex</i> was sent to +join them. You know what was done there, +how the <i>Constitution</i> whipped and sunk the +<i>Java</i>, and the <i>Hornet</i> did the same for the +<i>Peacock</i>.</p> + +<p>There was no such luck for the <i>Essex</i>, and +after his fellow-ships had gone north Captain +Porter went cruising on his own account. In +the Pacific Ocean were dozens of British whalers<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span> +and other ships. Here was a fine field for +prizes. So he set sail, went round the stormy +Cape Horn in a hurricane, and was soon in the +great ocean of the west.</p> + +<p>I shall not tell you the whole story of this +cruise. The <i>Essex</i> here was like a hawk +among a flock of partridges. She took prize +after prize, until she had about a dozen valuable +ships.</p> + +<p>When the news of what Porter was doing +reached England, there was a sort of panic. +Something must be done with this fellow or +he would clear the Pacific of British trade. So +a number of frigates were sent in the hunt for +him. They were to get him in any way they +could.</p> + +<p>After a long cruise on the broad Pacific, the +<i>Essex</i> reached the port of Valparaiso, on the +coast of Chile, in South America. She had +with her one of her prizes, the <i>Essex Junior</i>. +Here Porter heard that a British frigate, the +<i>Phoebe</i>, was looking for him. That pleased +him. He wanted to come across a British war-vessel, +so he concluded to wait for her. He +was anxious for something more lively than +chasing whaling ships.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span></p> + +<p>He was not there long before the <i>Phoebe</i> +came, and with her a small warship, the +<i>Cherub</i>.</p> + +<p>When the <i>Phoebe</i> came in sight of the <i>Essex</i> +it sailed close up. Its captain had been told +that half the American crew were ashore, and +very likely full of Spanish wine. But when he +got near he saw the Yankee sailors at their +guns and ready to fight. When he saw this he +changed his mind. He jumped on a gun and +said:—</p> + +<p>"Captain Hillyar's compliments to Captain +Porter, and hopes he is well."</p> + +<p>"Very well, I thank you," said Porter. "But +I hope you will not come too near for fear some +accident might take place which would be disagreeable +to you."</p> + +<p>"I had no intention of coming on board," +said Captain Hillyar, when he saw the look of +things on the deck of the <i>Essex</i>. "I am sorry +I came so near you."</p> + +<p>"Well, you have no business where you are," +said Porter. "If you touch a rope yarn of this +ship, I shall board instantly."</p> + +<p>With that the <i>Phoebe</i> wore round and went +off. It was a neutral port and there was a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span> +good excuse for not fighting, but it was well +for Porter that he was ready.</p> + +<p>A few days later he heard that some other +British ships were coming from Valparaiso and +he concluded to put to sea. He didn't want to +fight a whole fleet. But the wind treated him +badly. As he sailed out a squall struck the +<i>Essex</i> and knocked her maintopmast into the +sea. Porter now ran into a small bay near at +hand and dropped anchor close to the shore.</p> + +<p>Here was the chance for the <i>Phoebe</i> and the +<i>Cherub</i>. They could stand off and hammer the +<i>Essex</i> where she could not fire back. They +had over thirty long guns while the <i>Essex</i> had +only six, and only three of these could be used. +The rest of her guns were short ones that +would not send a ball far enough to reach the +British ships.</p> + +<p>The <i>Essex</i> was in a trap. The British began +to pour solid iron into her at the rate of nearly +ten pounds to her one. For two hours this +was kept up. There was frightful slaughter +on the <i>Essex</i>. Her men were falling like dead +leaves, but Porter would not yield.</p> + +<p>After this went on for some time there came +a change in the wind, and the <i>Essex</i> spread<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span> +what sail she had and tried to get nearer. But +the <i>Phoebe</i> would not wait for her, but sailed +away and kept pumping balls into her.</p> + +<p>Soon the wind changed again. Now all +hope was gone. The American crew was being +murdered and could not get near the British. +Porter tried to run his ship ashore, intending +to fight to the last and then blow her up.</p> + +<p>But the treacherous wind shifted again and +he could not even reach the shore. Dead and +wounded men lay everywhere. Flames were +rising in the hold. Water was pouring into +shot holes. The good ship had fought her last +and it was madness to go on. So at 6.20 +o'clock, two and a half hours after the fight +began, her flag came down and the battle was +over.</p> + +<p>The story of the cruise of the <i>Essex</i> and her +great struggle against odds was written for +us by her young midshipman—David Farragut. +President Roosevelt, in his Naval History +of the War of 1812, says the following +true words about Captain Porter's brave fight:</p> + +<p>"As an exhibition of dogged courage it has +never been surpassed since the time when the +Dutch Captain Keasoon, after fighting two<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span> +long days, blew up his disabled ship, devoting +himself and all his crew to death, rather than +surrender to the hereditary foes of his race." +Porter was the man to do the same thing, but +he felt he had no right to send all his men to +death.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER XVIII</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">COMMODORE MacDONOUGH'S VICTORY ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN</span></h3> + +<h3><span class="smcap">How General Prevost and the British Ran Away</span></h3> + +<div class='cap'>THE United States is a country rich in +lakes. They might be named by the +thousands. But out of this host of lakes +very few are known in history, and of them all +much the most famous is Lake Champlain.</div> + +<p>Do you wish to know why? Well, because +this lake forms a natural waterway from +Canada down into the States. If you look on +a map you will see that Lake Champlain and +Lake George stretch down nearly to the Hudson +River and that their waters flow north into +the great St. Lawrence River. So these lakes +make the easiest way to send trade, and troops +as well, down from Canada into New York and +New England.</p> + +<p>Now just let us take a look back in history.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span> +The very first battle in the north of our country +was fought on Lake Champlain. This was +in 1609, when Samuel de Champlain and his +Indian friends came down this lake in canoes +to fight with the Iroquois tribes of New +York.</p> + +<p>Then in 1756 the French and Indians did +the same thing. They came in a fleet of boats +and canoes and fought the English on Lake +George. Twenty years afterward there was +the fierce fight which General Arnold made on +this lake, of which I have told you. Later on +General Burgoyne came down Lakes Champlain +and George with a great army. He never +went back again, for he and his army were +taken prisoners by the brave Colonials. But +the last and greatest of all the battles on the +lakes was that of 1814. It is of this I am now +about to tell you.</p> + +<p>You should know that the British again tried +what they had done when they sent Burgoyne +down the lakes. This time it was Sir George +Prevost who was sent, with an army of more +than 11,000 men, to conquer New York. He +didn't do it any more than Burgoyne did, for +Lieutenant Thomas MacDonough was in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span> +way. I am going to tell you how the gallant +MacDonough stopped him.</p> + +<p>MacDonough was a young man, as Perry +was. He had served, as a boy, in the war with +Tripoli. In 1806, when he was only twenty +years old, he gave a Yankee lesson to a British +captain who wanted to carry off an American +sailor.</p> + +<p>This was at Gibraltar, where British guns +were as thick as blackbirds; but the young lieutenant +took the man out of the English boat +and then dared the captain to try to take him +back again. The captain blustered; but he did +not try, in spite of all his guns.</p> + +<p>In 1813 MacDonough was sent to take care +of affairs on Lake Champlain. No better man +could have been sent. He did what Perry had +done; he set himself to build ships and get +guns and powder and shot and prepare for +war. The British were building ships, too, for +they wanted to be masters of the lake before +they sent their army down. So the sounds of +the axe and saw and hammer came before the +sound of cannon on the lake.</p> + +<p>MacDonough did not let the grass grow +under his feet. When he heard that the British<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span> +were building a big frigate, he set to work +to build a brig. The keel was laid on July +29, and she was launched on August 16—only +eighteen days! There must have been +some lively jumping about in the wildwoods +shipyard just then.</p> + +<p>The young commander had no time to waste, +for the British were coming. The great war +in Europe with Napoleon was over and England +had plenty of ships and men to spare. +A flock of her white-winged frigates came +sailing over the ocean and swarmed like bees +along our coast. And an army of the men +who had fought against Napoleon was sent to +Canada to invade New York. It was thought +the Yankees could not stand long before veterans +like these.</p> + +<p>Down marched the British army and down +sailed the British fleet. But MacDonough was +not caught napping. He was ready for the +British ships when they came.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> +<img src="images/i-234.jpg" width="600" height="339" alt="Battle of Lake Champlain—MacDonough's Victory." title="" /> +<a href="images/i-234-big.jpg"><span class="caption">Battle of Lake Champlain—<ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'McDonough's'">MacDonough's</ins> Victory.</span></a> +</div> + +<p>And now, before the battle begins, let us +give a few names and figures; for these are +things you must know. The Americans had +four vessels and ten gunboats. The vessels +were the ship <i>Saratoga</i>, the brig <i>Eagle</i>, the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span> +schooner <i>Ticonderoga</i>, and the sloop <i>Preble</i>. +The British had the frigate <i>Confiance</i>, larger +than any of the American ships, the brig <i>Linnet</i>, +the sloops <i>Chubb</i> and <i>Finch</i>, and thirteen +gunboats. And the British were better off for +guns and men, though the difference was not +great. Such were the two fleets that came together +on a bright Sunday on September 11, +1814, to see which should be master of Lake +Champlain.</p> + +<p>The American ships were drawn up across +Plattsburg Bay, and up this bay came the British +fleet to attack them, just as Carleton's vessels +had come up to attack Arnold forty years +before.</p> + +<p>At Plattsburg was the British army, and +opposite, across Saranac River, lay a much +smaller force of American regulars and militia. +They could easily see the ships, but they were +too busy for that, for the soldiers were fighting +on land while the sailors were fighting on +water. Bad work that for a sunny September +Sunday, wasn't it?</p> + +<p>MacDonough had stretched his ships in a +line across the bay, and had anchors down at +bow and stern, with ropes tied to the anchor<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span> +chains so that the ships could be swung round +easily. Remember that, for that won him the +battle.</p> + +<p>It was still early in the day when the British +came sailing up, firing as soon as they came +near enough. These first shots did no harm, +but they did a comical thing. One of them +struck a hen-coop on the <i>Saratoga</i>, in which +one of the sailors kept a fighting cock. The +coop was knocked to pieces, and into the rigging +flew the brave cock, flapping his wings +at the British vessels and crowing defiance to +them, while the sailors laughed and cheered.</p> + +<p>But the battle did not fairly begin until the +great frigate <i>Confiance</i> came up and dropped +anchor a few hundred yards from the <i>Saratoga</i>. +Then she blazed away with all the guns +on that side of her deck.</p> + +<p>This was a terrible broadside, the worst any +American ship had felt in the whole war. +Every shot hit the <i>Saratoga</i> and tore through +her timbers, sending splinters flying like hail. +So frightful was the shock that nearly half +the crew were thrown to the deck. About forty +of them did not get up again; they were either +killed or wounded. <ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'Afew'">A few</ins> broadsides like that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span> +would have ended the fight, for it would have +left the <i>Saratoga</i> without men.</p> + +<p>On both sides now the cannon roared and +the shots flew, but the British guns were the +best and the Americans had the worst of it. +The commodore was knocked down twice. The +last time he was hit with the head of a man +that had been shot off and came whirling +through the air.</p> + +<p>"The commodore is killed!" cried the men; +but in a trice he was up again, and aiming and +firing one of his own guns.</p> + +<p>This dreadful work went on for two hours. +All that time the two biggest British vessels +were pelting the <i>Saratoga</i>, and the other +American ships were not helping her much. +Red-hot <ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'shot'">shots</ins> were fired, which set her on fire +more than once.</p> + +<p>At the end MacDonough had not a single +gun left to fire back. It looked as if all was up +with the Americans, all of whose ships were +being battered by the enemy. But Commodore +MacDonough was not yet at the end of his +plans. He now cut loose his stern anchor and +bade his men pull on the rope that led to the +bow anchor. In a minute the ship began to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span> +swing round. Soon she had a new side turned +to the foe. Not a gun had been fired on this +side. When the British captain saw what the +Americans were doing he tried the same thing. +But it did not work as well with him. The +<i>Confiance</i> began to swing round, but when +she got her stern turned to the Americans she +stuck fast. Pull and haul as they might, the +sailors could not move her another inch.</p> + +<p>Here was a splendid chance for the men on +the <i>Saratoga</i>. They poured their broadsides +into the stern of the <i>Confiance</i> and raked her +from end to end, while her position was a helpless +one. The men fled from the guns. The +ship was being torn into splinters. No hope +for her was left. She could not fire a gun. +Her captain was dead, but her lieutenant saw +that all was over, and down came her flag.</p> + +<p>Then the <i>Saratoga</i> turned on the brig <i>Linnet</i> +and served her in the same fashion.</p> + +<p>That ended the battle. The two sloops had +surrendered before, the gunboats were driven +away by the <i>Ticonderoga</i>, and the hard fight +was done. Once more the Americans were +victors. Perry had won one lake. MacDonough +had won another.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span></p> + +<p>And that was not the whole of it. For as +soon as the American soldiers saw the British +flag down and the Stars and Stripes still afloat, +they set up a shout that rang back from the +Vermont hills.</p> + +<p>Sir George Prevost, though he had an army +of veterans twice as strong as the American +army of militia, broke camp and sneaked away +under cover of a storm.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER XIX</h2> + +<h3>FOUR NAVAL HEROES IN ONE CHAPTER</h3> + +<h3><span class="smcap">Fights With the Pirates of the Gulf and the Corsairs of the Mediterranean</span></h3> + +<div class='cap'>WE have so far been reading the story of +legal warfare; now let us turn to that +of the wild warfare of the pirate ships. +Pirates swarmed during and after the War of +1812, and the United States had its hands full +in dealing with them. They haunted the Gulf +of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, and they +went back to their old bad work in the Mediterranean. +They kept our naval leaders busy +enough for a number of years.</div> + +<p>The first we shall speak of are the Lafittes, +the famous sea-rovers of the Gulf of Mexico. +Those men had their hiding places in the lowlands +of Louisiana, where there are reedy +streams and grassy islands by the hundreds,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span> +winding in and out in a regular network. +From these lurking places the pirate ships +would dash out to capture vessels and then +hurry back to their haunts.</p> + +<p>The Lafittes (Jean and Pierre) had a whole +fleet of pirate ships, and were so daring that +they walked the streets of New Orleans as if +that city belonged to them, and boldly sold their +stolen goods in its marts, and nobody meddled +with them.</p> + +<p>But the time came when they were attacked +in their haunts and the whole gang was broken +up. This was near the end of the war, when +the government had some ships to spare. After +that they helped General Jackson in the celebrated +battle of New Orleans, and fought so +well that they were forgiven and were thanked +for their services.</p> + +<p>When the War of 1812 was over many of +the privateers became pirates. A privateer, +you know, is something like a pirate. He robs +one nation, while a pirate robs all. So hundreds +of those men became sea-robbers.</p> + +<p>After 1814 the seas of the West Indies were +full of pirates. There was no end of hiding +places among the thousand islands of these<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span> +seas, where the pirates could bring their prizes +and enjoy their wild revels. The warm airs, +the ripe fruits and wild game of those shores +made life easy and pleasant, and prizes were +plentiful on the seas.</p> + +<p>When the war ended the United States +gained a fine trade with the West Indies. But +many of the ships that sailed there did not come +home again, though there were no hurricanes +to sink them. And some that did come home +had been chased by ships that spread the +rovers' black flag. So it was plain enough that +pirates were at work.</p> + +<p>For years they had it their own way, with +no one to trouble them. The government for +years let them alone. But in time they grew +so daring that in 1819 a squadron of warships +was sent after them, under Commodore Perry, +the hero of Lake Erie. Poor Perry caught +the yellow fever and died, and his ships came +home without doing anything.</p> + +<p>After that the pirates were let alone for two +years. Now-a-days they would not have been +let alone for two weeks, but things went more +slowly then. No doubt the merchants who sent +cargoes to sea complained of the dreadful doings<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span> +of the pirates, but the government did not +trouble itself much, and the sea-robbers had +their own way until 1821.</p> + +<p>By that time it was felt that something must +be done, and a small fleet of pirate hunters was +sent to the West Indies. It included the famous +sloop-of-war <i>Hornet</i>, the one which had +fought the <i>Peacock</i>, and the brig <i>Enterprise</i>, +which Decatur had been captain of in the +Moorish war.</p> + +<p>The pirates were brave enough when they +had only merchant ships to deal with, but they +acted like cowards when they found warships +on their track. They fled in all directions, and +many of their ships and barges were taken. +After that they kept quiet for a time, but soon +they were at their old work again.</p> + +<p>In 1823 Captain David Porter, he who had +fought so well in the <i>Essex</i>, was sent against +them. The brave young Farragut was with +him. He brought a number of barges and +small vessels, so that he could follow the sea-robbers +into their hiding places.</p> + +<p>One of these places was found at Cape Cruz, +on Porto Rico. Here the pirate captain and +his men fought like tigers, and the captain's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span> +wife stood by his side and fought as fiercely as +he did. After the fight was over the sailors +found a number of caves used by the pirates. +In some of them were great bales of goods, and +in others heaps of human bones. All this told +a dreadful story of robbery and murder.</p> + +<p>Another fight took place at a haunt of pirates +on the coast of Cuba, where Lieutenant Allen, +a navy officer, had been killed the year before +in an attack on the sea-robbers.</p> + +<p>Here there were over seventy pirates and +only thirty-one Americans. But the sailors +cried "Remember Allen!" and dashed so +fiercely at the pirate vessels, that the cowardly +crews jumped overboard and tried to swim +ashore. But the hot-blooded sailors rowed in +among them and cut fiercely with their cutlasses, +so that hardly any of them escaped. +Their leader, who was named Diabolito, or +"Little Devil," was one of the killed.</p> + +<p>In this way the pirate hordes were broken +up, after they had robbed and murdered among +the beautiful West India islands for many +years. After that defeat they gave no more +trouble. Among the pirates was Jean Lafitte, +one of the Lafitte brothers, of whose doings you<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span> +have read above. After the battle of New +Orleans he went to Texas, and in time became +a pirate captain again. As late as 1822 his +name was the terror of the Gulf. Then he +disappeared and no one knew what had become +of him. He may have died in battle or have +gone down in storm.</p> + +<p>But the pirates of the West Indies and the +Gulf were not the only ones the United States +had to deal with. You have read the story of +the Moorish corsairs and of the fighting at +Tripoli. Now I have something more to tell +about them; for when they heard that the +United States was at war with England, they +tried their old tricks again, capturing American +sailors and selling them for slaves.</p> + +<p>They had their own way until the war was +over. Then two squadrons of war vessels were +sent to the Mediterranean, one under Commodore +Bainbridge, who had commanded the <i>Constitution</i> +when she fought the <i>Java</i>, and the +other under Commodore Decatur, the gallant +sailor who had burned the <i>Philadelphia</i> in the +harbor of Tripoli.</p> + +<p>Decatur got there first, and it did not take +him long to bring the Moors to their senses.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span> +The trouble this time was with Algiers, not +with Tripoli. Algiers was one of the strongest +of the Moorish states.</p> + +<p>On the 15th of June, 1815, Decatur came in +sight of the most powerful of the Algerine +ships, a forty-six gun frigate, the <i>Mashouda</i>. +Its commander was Rais Hammida, a fierce +and daring fellow, who was called "the terror +of the Mediterranean." He had risen from the +lowest to the highest place in the navy, and had +often shown his valor in battle. But his time +for defeat had now come.</p> + +<p>When the Moorish admiral found himself +amid a whole squadron of American warships, +he set sail with all speed and made a wild dash +for Algiers. But he had faster ships in his +track and was soon headed off.</p> + +<p>The bold fellow had no chance at all, with +half-a-dozen great ships around him, but he +made a fine fight for his life. He did not save +either his ship or his life, for a cannon ball cut +him squarely in two; and when his lieutenant +tried to run away, he came across the brig +<i>Epervier</i>, which soon settled him. But the +<i>Mashouda</i> had made a good fight against big +odds, and deserved praise.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span></p> + +<p>After that another Algerian ship was taken, +and then Decatur sailed for Algiers. When +he made signals the captain of the port came +out. A black-bearded, high and mighty fellow +he was.</p> + +<p>"Where is your navy?" asked Decatur.</p> + +<p>"It's all right," said the Algerian, "safe in +some friendly port."</p> + +<p>"Not all of it, I fancy," said Decatur. "I +have your frigate <i>Mashouda</i> and your brig <i>Estido</i>, +and your admiral Hammida is killed."</p> + +<p>"I don't believe it," said the Algerian.</p> + +<p>"I can easily prove it," said Decatur, and he +sent for the first lieutenant of the <i>Mashouda</i>.</p> + +<p>When the captain of the port saw him and +heard his story, he changed his tone. His +haughty manner passed away, and he begged +that fighting should cease until a treaty could +be made on shore.</p> + +<p>"Fighting will not cease until I have the +treaty," said Decatur, sternly; "and a treaty +will not be made anywhere but on board my +ship."</p> + +<p>And so it was. The captain of the port came +out next day with authority to make a treaty. +But the captain did not want to return the property<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span> +taken from the American ships, saying +that it had been scattered among many hands.</p> + +<p>"I can't help that. It must be returned or +paid for," said Decatur.</p> + +<p>Then the captain did not want to pay $10,000 +for a vessel that had been captured, and he +wanted tribute from the United States. He +told Decatur what a great man his master, +"Omar the Terrible," was, and asked for a +three hours truce.</p> + +<p>"Not a minute," said Decatur. "If your +ships appear before the treaty is signed by the +Dey, and the American prisoners are on board +my ship, I shall capture every one of them."</p> + +<p>The only concession Decatur would make +was to promise to return the <i>Mashouda</i>. But +this was to be taken as a gift from the Americans +to the Dey, and as such it must not appear +in the treaty. The Algerian, finding that +all his eloquence was wasted on the unyielding +Yankee, hurried ashore with the treaty, arranging +to display a white flag in case of its +being signed.</p> + +<p>An hour after he left an Algerian man-of-war +was seen out to sea, and the American vessels +got ready for action. But before anything<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span> +was done the captain of the port came out with +a white flag. He brought the treaty and the +prisoners. That ended the trouble with Algiers. +When the ten freed captives reached +the deck some knelt down and gave thanks to +God, while others hastened to kiss the American +flag.</p> + +<p>Then Decatur sailed to Tunis and Tripoli +and made their rulers come to terms. From +that day to this no American ship has been +troubled by the corsairs of Barbary.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER XX</h2> + +<h3>COMMODORE PERRY OPENS JAPAN TO THE WORLD</h3> + +<h3><span class="smcap">An Heroic Deed Without Bloodshed</span></h3> + +<div class='cap'>THERE are victories of peace as well as of +war. Of course, you do not need to be +told that. Everybody knows it. And +it often takes as much courage to win these +victories as it does those of war. I am going +now to tell you of one of the greatest victories +ever won by an American naval hero, and without +firing a gun.</div> + +<p>Not far away from the great empire of China +lies the island empire of Japan. Here the map +shows us three or four large islands, but there +are many hundreds of small ones, and in and +out among them flow the smiling blue waters +of the great Pacific Ocean.</p> + +<p>The people of Japan, like the people of China, +for a long time did not like foreigners and did +not want anything to do with them. But that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span> +was the fault of the foreigners themselves. For +at first these people were glad to have strangers +come among them, and treated them kindly, +and let missionaries land and try to make +Christians of them. But the Christian teachers +were not wise; for they interfered with the +government as well as with the faith of the +people.</p> + +<p>The Japanese soon grew angry at this. In +the end they drove all the strangers away and +killed all the Christian converts they could find. +Then laws were made to keep all foreigners out +of the country. They let a Dutch ship come +once a year to bring some foreign goods to the +seaport of Nagasaki, but they treated these +Dutch traders as if they were of no account. +And thus it continued in Japan for nearly three +hundred years.</p> + +<p>The Japanese did not care much for the +Dutch goods, but they liked to hear, now and +then, what was going on in the world. Once a +year they let some of the Dutch visit the capital, +but these had to crawl up to the emperor +on their hands and knees and crawl out backward +like crabs. They must have wanted the +Japanese trade badly to do that.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span></p> + +<p>When a vessel happened to be wrecked on +the coast of Japan, the sailors were held as +prisoners and there was much trouble to get +them off; and when Japanese were wrecked and +sent home, no thanks were given. They were +looked upon as no longer Japanese.</p> + +<p>The Russians had seaports in Siberia, which +made them near neighbors to Japan, so they +tried to make friends with the Japanese. But +the island people would have nothing to do +with them. Captain Golownin, of the Russian +navy, landed on one of the islands; but he was +taken prisoner and kept for a long time and +treated cruelly. That was the way things went +in Japan till 1850 had come and passed.</p> + +<p>It took the Yankees to do what the Dutch +and the Russians had failed in doing. After +the war with Mexico, thousands of Americans +went to California and other parts of the Pacific +coast, and trading ships grew numerous on +that great ocean. It was felt to be time that +Japan should be made to open her ports to the +commerce of the nations, and the United States +tried to do it.</p> + +<p>Captain Matthew Calbraith Perry was selected +for this great work. Captain Perry was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span> +a brother of Oliver H. Perry, the hero of Lake +Erie. He was a lieutenant in that war, but he +commanded a ship in the war with the pirates +and the Mexican war. In 1852 he was given +the command of a commodore and sent out with +a fine squadron to Japan. He took with him a +letter from the President to the Tycoon, or +military ruler, of Japan.</p> + +<p>On the 8th of July, 1853, the eyes of many +of the Japanese opened wide when they saw +four fine vessels sailing grandly up the broad +Bay of Yeddo, where such a sight had never +been seen before. As late as 1850 the ruler of +Japan had sent word to foreign nations that +he would have nothing to do with them or their +people, and now here came these daring ships.</p> + +<p>These ships were the steam frigates <i>Mississippi</i> +and <i>Susquehanna</i>, and the sailing ships +<i>Saratoga</i> and <i>Plymouth</i> of the United States +Navy, under command of Commodore Perry.</p> + +<p>Have you ever disturbed an ant-hill, and +seen the ants come running out in great haste +to learn what was wrong? It was much like +that on the Bay of Yeddo. Thousands of +Japanese gathered on the shores or rowed out +on the bay to gaze at this strange sight. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span> +great steamships, gliding on without sails, +were a wonderful spectacle to them.</p> + +<p>As the ships came on, boats put out with +flags and carrying men who wore two swords. +This meant that they were of high station. +They wanted to climb into the ships and order +the daring commodore to turn around and go +back, but none of them were allowed to set foot +on board.</p> + +<p>"Our commodore is a great dignitary," they +were told. "He cannot meet small folk like +you. He will only speak with one of your +great men, who is his equal."</p> + +<p>And so the ropes which were fastened to the +ships were cut, and those who tried to climb on +board were driven back, and these two-sworded +people had to row away as they had come.</p> + +<p>This made them think that the American +commodore must be a very big man indeed. +So a more important man came out; but he was +stopped too, and asked his business. He +showed an order for the ships to leave the harbor +at once, but was told that they had come +there on business and would not leave till their +business was done.</p> + +<p>After some more talk they let this man come<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span> +on board, but a lieutenant was sent to talk with +him as his equal in rank. He said he was the +vice-governor of the district, and that the law +of Japan forbade foreigners to come to any +port but that of Nagasaki, where the Dutch +traders came.</p> + +<p>The lieutenant replied that such talk was not +respectful; that they had come with a letter +from the President of the United States to the +Emperor of Japan; and that they would deliver +it where they were and nowhere else. And it +would be given only to a prince of the highest +rank.</p> + +<p>Then he was told that the armed boats that +were gathering about the ship must go away. +If they did not they would be driven away with +cannon. When the vice-governor heard this +he ordered the boats away, and soon followed +them himself. He was told that if the governor +did not receive the letter the ships would +go up the bay to Yeddo, the capital, and send +it up to the Emperor in his palace.</p> + +<p>The next day the governor of the district +came. Two captains were sent to talk with +him. He did not want to receive the letter +either, and tried every way he could to avoid<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span> +taking it. After some talk he asked if he +might have four days to send and get permission +of the Tycoon, who was the acting but not +the real emperor of Japan.</p> + +<p>"No," he was told. "Three days will be +plenty of time, for Yeddo is not far off. If the +answer does not come then, we will steam up +to the city, and our commodore will go to the +Emperor's palace for the answer."</p> + +<p>The governor was frightened at this, so he +agreed upon the three days and went ashore.</p> + +<p>During those three days the ships were not +idle. They sent parties in boats to survey the +bay. All along the shores were villages full +of people, and fishing boats and trading vessels +were on the waters by hundreds. There were +forts on shore, but they were poor affairs, with +a few little cannon, and soldiers carrying +spears. And canvas was stretched from tree +to tree as if it would keep back cannon-balls. +The sailors laughed when they saw this.</p> + +<p>The governor said that they ought not to +survey the waters; it was against the laws of +Japan. But they kept at it all the same. The +boats went ten miles up the bay, and the +<i>Mississippi</i> steamed after them. Government<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span> +boats came out, and signs were made for them +to go back; but they paid no attention to these +signs.</p> + +<p>When the three days were ended the good +news came that the Emperor would receive the +letter. He would send one of his high officers +for it. An answer would be returned through +the Dutch or the Chinese. Commodore Perry +said this was an insult, and he would not take +an answer from them, but would come back +for it himself.</p> + +<p>So, on the 14th of July the President's letter +was received. It was written in the most beautiful +manner, on the finest paper, and was in +a golden box of a thousand dollars in value. +It asked for a treaty of commerce between the +two countries, and for kind treatment of American +sailors.</p> + +<p>So far none of the Japanese had seen the +Commodore, and they thought he must be a +very great man. Now he went ashore with +much dignity, with several hundred officers and +men, and with bands playing and cannon roaring. +There were two princes of the empire to +receive him, splendidly dressed in embroidered +robes of silk.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span></p> + +<p>The Commodore was carried in a fine sedan-chair, +beside which walked two gigantic negroes, +dressed in gorgeous uniform and armed +with swords and pistols. Two other large, +handsome negroes carried the golden letter +case.</p> + +<p>A beautiful scarlet box was brought by the +Japanese to receive this. It was put in the box +with much ceremony, and a receipt was given. +Then the interpreter said:</p> + +<p>"Nothing more can be done now. The letter +has been received and you must leave."</p> + +<p>"I shall come back for the answer," said +Commodore Perry.</p> + +<p>"With all the ships?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, and likely with more."</p> + +<p>Not another word was said, and the Commodore +rose and returned to the ship. The +next day he sailed up the bay until only eight +or ten miles from the capital. On the 16th, the +Japanese officials were glad to see the foreign +ships, with their proud Commodore, sailing +away. The visit had caused them great anxiety +and trouble of mind.</p> + +<p>Commodore Perry did not come back till +February of the next year. Then he had a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span> +larger fleet; nine ships in all. And he went +farther up the bay than before and anchored +opposite the village of Yokohama. This village +has now grown into a large city.</p> + +<p>The Emperor's answer was ready, but there +was much ceremony before it was delivered. +There were several receptions, and at one of +these the presents which Commodore Perry +had brought were delivered. These were fine +cloths, firearms, plows, and various other articles. +The most valuable were a small locomotive +and a railroad car. These were run in a +circular track that was set up, and the Japanese +looked on with wonder. Also a telegraph wire +was set up and operated. This interested the +Japanese more than anything else, but they +took care not to show any surprise.</p> + +<p>In the Emperor's reply, he agreed that the +American ships should be supplied with provisions +and water, and that shipwrecked sailors +should be kindly treated. And he also agreed +to open to American ships another port besides +that of Nagasaki, where the Dutch were received. +The Commodore was not satisfied with +this, and finally two new ports were opened to +American commerce. And the Americans were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span> +given much more freedom to go about than was +given to the Dutch or the Chinese. They +refused to be treated like slaves.</p> + +<p>When it was all settled and the treaties were +exchanged, Commodore Perry gave an elegant +dinner on his flagship to the Japanese princes +and officials. They enjoyed the American food +greatly, but what they liked most was champagne +wine, which they had never tasted before. +One little Japanese got so merry with +drinking this, that he sprang up and embraced +the Commodore like a brother. Perry bore +this with great good-humor.</p> + +<p>But just think of the importance of all this! +For three centuries the empire of Japan had +been shut like a locked box against the nations. +Now the box was unlocked, and the people of +the nations were free to come and go. For +treaties were soon made with other countries, +and the island empire was thrown open to the +commerce of the world.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER XXI</h2> + +<h3>CAPTAIN INGRAHAM TEACHES AUSTRIA A LESSON</h3> + +<h3><span class="smcap">Our Navy Upholds the Rights of an American in a Foreign Land</span></h3> + +<div class='cap'>NOW I have a story to tell you about how +this country looks after its citizens +abroad. It is not a long story, but it is a +good one, and Americans have been proud of +Captain Ingraham ever since his gallant act.</div> + +<p>In 1848 there was a great rebellion in Hungary +against Austria. Some terrible fighting +took place and then it was put down with much +cruelty and slaughter. The Austrian government +tried to seize all the leaders of the Hungarian +patriots and put them to death, but +several of them escaped to Turkey and took +refuge in the City of Smyrna. Among these +was the celebrated Louis Kossuth, and another +man named Koszta.</p> + +<p>Austria asked Turkey to give these men up,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span> +but the Sultan of Turkey refused to do so. +Soon after that Koszta came to the United +States, and there in 1852 he took the first step +towards becoming an American citizen. He +was sure that the United States would take +care of its citizens. And he found out that it +would.</p> + +<p>The next year he had to go back to Smyrna +on some business. That was not a safe place +for him. The Austrians hated him as they did +all the Hungarian patriots. They did not ask +Turkey again to give him up, but there was an +Austrian warship, the <i>Huszar</i>, in the harbor, +and a plot was made to seize Koszta and take +him on board this ship. Then he could easily +be carried to Austria and put to death as a +rebel.</p> + +<p>One day, while Koszta was sitting quietly in +the Marina, a public place in Smyrna, he was +seized by a number of Greeks, who had been +hired to do so by the Austrian consul. They +bound him with ropes and carried him on board +the <i>Huszar</i>.</p> + +<p>It looked bad now for poor Koszta, for he +was in the hands of his enemies. It is said +that the Archduke John, brother of the Emperor<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span> +of Austria, was captain of the ship. By +his orders iron fetters were riveted on the +ankles and wrists of Koszta, and he was locked +up in the ship as one who had committed a +great crime.</p> + +<p>But a piece of great good fortune for the +prisoner happened, for the next day the <i>St. +Louis</i>, an American sloop-of-war, came sailing +into the harbor. Captain Duncan N. Ingraham, +who had been a midshipman in the War +of 1812, was in command.</p> + +<p>He was just the man to be there. He was +soon told what had taken place, and that the +prisoner claimed to be an American, and he at +once sent an officer to the <i>Huszar</i> and asked if +he could see Koszta. He was told that he +might do so.</p> + +<p>Captain Ingraham went to the Austrian ship +and had an interview with the prisoner, who +told him his story, and said that he had taken +the first step to become a citizen of the United +States. He begged the captain to protect him.</p> + +<p>Captain Ingraham was satisfied that Koszta +had a just claim to the protection of the American +flag, and asked the Austrians to release +him. They refused to do so, and he then wrote<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span> +to Mr. Brown, the American consul at Constantinople +and asked him what he should do.</p> + +<p>Before he could get an answer a squadron +of Austrian warships, six in number, came +gliding into the harbor, and dropped anchor +near the <i>Huszar</i>. It looked worse than ever +now for poor Koszta, for what could the little +<i>St. Louis</i> do against seven big ships? But +Captain Ingraham did not let that trouble him. +In his mind right was stronger than might, and +he was ready to fight ten to one for the honor +of his flag.</p> + +<p>While he was waiting for an answer from +Consul Brown he saw that the <i>Huszar</i> was +getting ready to leave the harbor. Her anchor +was drawn up and her sails were set. Ingraham +made up his mind that if the <i>Huszar</i> left, +it would have to be over the wreck of the <i>St. +Louis</i>. He spread his sails in a hurry and +drove his sloop-of-war right in the track of the +Austrian ship. Then he gave orders to his +men to make ready for a fight.</p> + +<p>When Archduke John saw the gun-ports of +the <i>St. Louis</i> open he brought his ship to a +standstill and Captain Ingraham went on +board.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span></p> + +<p>"What do you intend to do?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"To sail for home," said the Austrian. +"Our consul orders us to take our prisoner to +Austria."</p> + +<p>"You must pardon me," said Captain Ingraham, +"but if you try to leave this port with +that American I shall be compelled to resort to +extreme measures."</p> + +<p>That was a polite way of saying that Koszta +should not be taken away if he could prevent it.</p> + +<p>The Austrian looked at the six ships of his +nation that lay near him. Then he looked at +the one American ship. Then a pleasant smile +came on his face.</p> + +<p>"I fear I shall have to go on, whether it is +to your liking or not," he said, in a very polite +tone.</p> + +<p>Captain Ingraham made no answer. He +bowed to the Archduke and then descended +into his boat and returned to the <i>St. Louis</i>.</p> + +<p>"Clear the ship for action!" he ordered. The +tars sprang to their stations, the ports were +opened, and the guns thrust out. There was +many a grim face behind them.</p> + +<p>The Archduke stared when he saw these<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span> +black-mouthed guns. He was in the wrong +and he knew it. And he saw that the American +meant business. He could soon settle the +little <i>St. Louis</i> with his seven ships. But the +great United States was behind that one ship, +and war might be behind all that.</p> + +<p>So the Archduke took the wisest course, +turned his ship about, and sailed back. Then +he sent word to Ingraham that he would wait +till Consul Brown's answer came.</p> + +<p>The Consul's reply came on July 1. It +said that Captain Ingraham had done just +right, and advised him to go on and stand for +the honor of his country.</p> + +<p>The daring American now took a bold step. +He sent a note to the Archduke, demanding the +release of Koszta. And he said that if the +prisoner was not sent on board the <i>St. Louis</i> +by four o'clock the next afternoon, he would +take him from the Austrians by force of arms.</p> + +<p>A refusal came back from the Austrian ship. +They would not give up their prisoner, they +said. Now it looked like war indeed. Captain +Ingraham waited till eight o'clock the next +morning, and then he had his decks cleared for +action and brought his guns to bear on the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span> +<i>Huszar</i>. The seven Austrian ships turned +their guns on the <i>St. Louis</i>. The train was +laid; a spark might set it off.</p> + +<p>At ten o'clock an Austrian officer came on +board the <i>St. Louis</i>. He began to talk round +the subject. Ingraham would not listen to him. +It must be one thing or nothing.</p> + +<p>"All I will agree to is to have the man given +into the care of the French consul at Smyrna +till you can hear from your government," he +said. "But he must be delivered there or I +will take him. I have stated the time at four +o'clock this afternoon."</p> + +<p>The Austrian went back. When twelve +o'clock came a boat left the <i>Huszar</i> and was +rowed in shore. An hour later the French +consul sent word to Captain Ingraham that +Koszta had been put under his charge. Captain +Ingraham had won. Soon after, several +of the Austrian ships got under way and left +the harbor. They had tried to scare Captain +Ingraham by a show of force, but they had +tried in vain.</p> + +<p>When news of the event reached the United +States everybody cheered the spirit of Captain +Ingraham. He had given Europe a new idea<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span> +of what the rights of an American citizen +meant. The diplomats now took up the case +and long letters passed between Vienna and +Washington. But in the end Austria acknowledged +that the United States was right, and +sent an apology.</p> + +<p>As for Koszta, the American flag gave him +life and liberty. Since then American citizenship +has been respected everywhere.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[239]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER XXII</h2> + +<h3>THE "MONITOR" AND THE "MERRIMAC"</h3> + +<h3><span class="smcap">A Fight Which Changed All Naval Warfare.</span></h3> + +<div class='cap'>THE story I am now going to tell you +takes us forward to the beginning of the +great Civil War, that terrible conflict +which went on during four long years between +the people of the North and the South. Most +of this war was on land, but there were some +mighty battles at sea, and my story is of one +of the greatest of these.</div> + +<p>You should know that up to 1860 all ocean +battles were fought by ships with wooden sides, +through which a ball from a great gun would +often cut as easily as a knife through a piece +of cheese. Some vessels had been built with +iron overcoats, but none of these had met in +war. It was not till March, 1862, that the first +battle between ships with iron sides took place.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span></p> + +<p>The <i>Constitution</i>, you may remember, was +called the <i>Old Ironsides</i>, but that was only a +nickname, for she had wooden sides, and the +first real Ironsides were the <i>Monitor</i> and the +<i>Merrimac</i>.</p> + +<p>Down in Virginia there is a great body of +salt water known as Hampton Roads. The +James River runs into it, and so does the Elizabeth +River, a small stream which flows past +the old City of Norfolk.</p> + +<p>When the Civil War opened there was at +Norfolk a fine United States navy yard, with +ships and guns and docks that had cost a great +deal of money. But soon after the war began +the United States officers in charge there ran +away in a fright, having first set on fire everything +that would burn. Among the ships +there was the old frigate <i>Merrimac</i>, which was +being repaired. This was set on fire, and +blazed away brightly until it sank to the bottom +and the salt water put out the blaze. That +was a very bad business, for there was enough +left of the old <i>Merrimac</i> to make a great deal +of trouble for the United States.</p> + +<p>What did the Confederates do but lift the +<i>Merrimac</i> out of the mud, and put her in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[241]</a></span> +dry dock, and cut away the burnt part, and +build over her a sloping roof of timbers two +feet thick, until she looked something like +Noah's ark. Then this was covered with iron +plates four inches thick. In that way the first +Confederate iron-clad ship was made.</p> + +<p>The people at Washington knew all about +this ship and were very much alarmed. No one +could tell what dreadful damage it might do if +it got out to sea, and came up Chesapeake Bay +and the Potomac River to the national capital. +It might be much worse than when the British +burnt Washington in 1814, for Washington +was now a larger and finer city.</p> + +<p>Something had to be done, and right away, +too. It would not do to wait for a monster +like the <i>Merrimac</i>. So Captain John Ericsson, +a famous engineer of New York, was ordered +to build an iron ship-of-war as fast as he could. +And he started to do so after a queer notion +of his own.</p> + +<p>That is the way it came about that the two +iron ships were being built at once, one at Norfolk +and one at New York. And there was a +race between the builders, for the first one finished +would have the best chance. There was a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[242]</a></span> +lively rattle of hammers and tongs at both +places, and it turned out that they were finished +and ready for service only a few days apart.</p> + +<p>It was <ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'necesary'">necessary</ins> to tell you all this so that +you might know how the great fight came to be +fought, and how Washington was saved from +the iron dragon of the South. Now we are +done with our story of ship-building and must +go on to the story of battle and ruin.</p> + +<p>On the morning of March 8, 1862, the sun +came up beautifully over the broad waters of +Hampton Roads. The bright sunbeams lit up +the sails of a row of stately vessels stretched +out for miles over the smiling bay. There were +five of these: the steam frigates <i>St. Lawrence</i>, +<i>Roanoke</i>, and <i>Minnesota</i>; the sailing frigate +<i>Congress</i>; and the sloop-of-war <i>Cumberland</i>. +They were all wooden ships, but were some of +the best men-of-war in the United States navy.</p> + +<p>All was still and quiet that fine morning. +There was nothing to show that there was any +trouble on board those noble ships. But there +was alarm enough, for their captains knew +that the <i>Merrimac</i> was finished and might +come at any hour. Very likely some of the +officers thought that they could soon decide<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[243]</a></span> +matters for this clumsy iron monster. But I +fancy some of them did not sleep well and had +bad dreams when they thought of what might +happen.</p> + +<p>Just at the hour of noon the lookout on the +<i>Cumberland</i> saw a long black line of smoke +coming from the way of Norfolk. Soon three +steamers were seen. One of these did not look +like a ship at all, but like a low black box, +from which the smoke puffed up in a thick +cloud.</p> + +<p>But they knew very well what this odd-looking +craft was. It was the <i>Merrimac</i>. It +had come out for a trial trip. But it was a new +kind of trial its men were after: the trial by +battle.</p> + +<p>Down came the iron-clad ship, with her +sloping roof black in the sunlight. Past the +<i>Congress</i> she went, both ships firing. But the +great guns of the <i>Congress</i> did no more harm +than so many pea-shooters; while the shot of +the <i>Merrimac</i> went clear through the wooden +ships, leaving death in their track.</p> + +<p>Then the iron monster headed for the <i>Cumberland</i>. +That was a terrible hour for the men +on the neat little sloop-of-war. They worked<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[244]</a></span> +for their lives, loading and firing, and firing as +fast as they could, but not a shot went through +that grim iron wall.</p> + +<p>In a few minutes the <i>Merrimac</i> came gliding +up and struck the <i>Cumberland</i> a frightful blow +with her iron nose, tearing through the thick +oaken timbers and making a great hole in her +side. Then she backed off and the water +rushed in.</p> + +<p>In a minute the good ship began to sink, +while the <i>Merrimac</i> poured shot and shell into +her wounded ribs.</p> + +<p>"Do you surrender?" asked one of the officers +of the <i>Merrimac</i>.</p> + +<p>"Never!" said Lieutenant Morris, who commanded +the <i>Cumberland</i>. "I'll sink alongside +before I pull down that flag."</p> + +<p>He was a true Yankee seaman; one of the +"no surrender" kind.</p> + +<p>Down, inch by inch, settled the doomed ship. +But her men stuck grimly to their guns, and +fired their last shot just as she sank out of +sight. Then all who had not saved themselves +in the boats leaped overboard and swam ashore, +but a great many of the dead and wounded +went down with the ship.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[245]</a></span></p> + +<p>She sank like a true Yankee hero, with her +flag flying, and when she struck bottom, with +only the tops of her masts above water, "Old +Glory" still fluttered proudly in the breeze.</p> + +<p>That was the way it went when iron first +met wood in naval warfare. The victor now +turned to the <i>Congress</i> and another fierce battle +began. But the wooden ship had no chance. +For an hour her men fought bravely, but her +great guns were of no use, and a white flag was +raised. She had surrendered, but the Confederates +could not take possession, for there were +batteries on shore that drove them off. So +they fired hot shot into the <i>Congress</i> and soon +she was in a blaze.</p> + +<p>It was now five o'clock in the afternoon, and +the <i>Merrimac</i> steamed away with the Confederate +flag flying in triumph. She had finished +her work for that day. It was a famous trial +trip. She would come back the next and sink +the vessels still afloat—if nothing hindered.</p> + +<p>For hours that night the <i>Congress</i> blazed +like a mighty torch, the flames lighting up the +water and land for miles around. It was after +midnight when the fire reached her magazine +and she blew up with a terrific noise, scattering<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[246]</a></span> +her timbers far and near. The men on the +<i>Merrimac</i> looked proudly at the burning ship. +It was a great triumph for them. But they +saw one thing by her light they did not like so +well. Off towards Fortress Monroe there lay +in the water a strange-looking thing, which +had not been there an hour before. What +queer low ship was that? And where had it +come from?</p> + +<p>The sun rose on the morning of Sunday, +March 9, and an hour later the <i>Merrimac</i> was +again under way to finish her work. Not far +from where the <i>Congress</i> had burnt lay the +<i>Minnesota</i>. She had run aground and looked +like an easy prey. But close beside her was the +floating thing they had observed the night before, +the queerest-looking craft that had ever +been seen.</p> + +<p>Everybody opened their eyes wide and stared +as at a show when they saw this strange object. +They called it "a cheese box on a raft," and +that was a good name for its queer appearance. +For the deck was nearly on a level with the +water, and over its centre rose something like +a round iron box. But it had two great guns +sticking out of its tough sides.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[247]</a></span></p> + +<p>It was the <i>Monitor</i>, the new vessel which +Captain Ericsson had built and sent down to +fight the <i>Merrimac</i>. But none who saw this +little low thing thought it could stand long before +the great Confederate iron-clad. It looked +a little like a slim tiger or leopard before a +great rhinoceros or elephant. The men on the +<i>Merrimac</i> did not seem to think it worth minding, +for they came steaming up and began +firing at the <i>Minnesota</i> when they were a mile +away.</p> + +<p>Then away from the side of the great frigate +glided the little <i>Monitor</i>, heading straight +for her clumsy antagonist. She looked like no +more than a mouthful for the big ship, and +men gazed at her with dread. She seemed +to be going straight to destruction.</p> + +<p>But the brave fellows on the <i>Monitor</i> had +no such thoughts as that.</p> + +<p>"Let her have it," said Captain Worden, +when they came near; and one of the great +eleven-inch guns boomed like a volcano. The +huge iron ball, weighing about 175 pounds, +struck the plates of the <i>Merrimac</i> with a thundering +crash, splitting and splintering them +before it bounded off. The broadside of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[248]</a></span> +<i>Merrimac</i> boomed back, but the balls glanced +away from the thick round sides of the turret +and did not harm.</p> + +<p>Then the turret was whirled round like a +top, and the gun on the other side came round +and was fired. Again the <i>Merrimac</i> fired back, +and the great battle was on.</p> + +<p>For two hours the iron ships fought like two +mighty wrestlers of the seas. Smoke filled the +turret so that the men of the <i>Monitor</i> did not +know how to aim their guns. The <i>Merrimac</i> +could fire three times to her one, but not a ball +took effect. It was like a battle in a cloud.</p> + +<p>"Why are you not firing?" asked Lieutenant +Jones of a gun captain.</p> + +<p>"Why, powder is getting scarce," he replied, +"and I find I can do that whiffet as much harm +by snapping my finger and thumb every three +minutes."</p> + +<p>Then Lieutenant Jones tried to sink the +<i>Monitor</i>. Five times the great iron monster +came rushing up upon the little Yankee craft, +but each time it glided easily away. But when +the <i>Merrimac</i> came up the sixth time Captain +Worden did not try to escape. The <i>Monitor</i> +waited for the blow. Up rushed the <i>Merrimac</i><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[249]</a></span> +at full speed and struck her a fierce blow. But +the iron armor did not give way, and the great +ship rode up on the little one's deck till she +was lifted several feet.</p> + +<p>The little <i>Monitor</i> sank down under the <i>Merrimac</i> +till the water washed across her deck; +then she slid lightly out and rose up all right +again, while the <i>Merrimac</i> started a leak in its +own bow. At the same moment one of the +<i>Monitor's</i> great guns was fired and the ball +struck the <i>Merrimac</i>, breaking the iron plates +and bulging in the thick wood backing.</p> + +<p>Thus for hour after hour the fight went on. +For six hours the iron ships struggled and +fought, but neither ship was much the worse, +while nobody was badly hurt.</p> + +<p>The end of the fight came in this way: There +was a little pilot-house on the deck of the +<i>Monitor</i>, with a slot in its side from which Captain +Worden watched what was going on, so +that he could give orders to his men. Up +against this there came a shell that filled the +face and eyes of the captain with grains of +powder and splinters of iron, and flung him +down blind and helpless. Blood poured from +every pore of his face.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[250]</a></span></p> + +<p>The same shot knocked an iron plate from +the top of the pilot-house and let in the daylight +in a flood. When the light came pouring +in Captain Worden, with his blinded eyes, +thought something very serious had happened, +and gave orders for the <i>Monitor</i> to draw off to +see what damage was done.</p> + +<p>Before she came back the <i>Merrimac</i> was far +away. She was leaking badly and her officers +thought it about time to steam away for home.</p> + +<p>That was the end of the great battle. +Neither side had won the victory, but it was a +famous fight for all that. For it was the first +battle of iron-clad ships in the history of the +world. Since then no great warship has been +built without iron sides. Only small vessels +are now made all of wood.</p> + +<p>That was the first and last battle of the +<i>Monitor</i> and the <i>Merrimac</i>. For a long time +they watched each other like two bull-dogs +ready for a fight. But neither came to blows. +Then, two months after the great battle, the +<i>Merrimac</i> was set on fire and blown up. The +Union forces were getting near Norfolk and +her officers were afraid she would be taken, so +they did what the Union officers had done +before.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[251]</a></span></p> + +<p>The <i>Monitor</i> had done her work well, but +her time also soon came. Ten months after +the great battle she was sent out to sea, and +there she went to the bottom in a gale. Such +was the fate of the pioneer iron-clads. But +they had fought a mighty fight, and had taught +the nations of the world a lesson they would +not soon forget.</p> + +<p>In that grim deed between the first two iron-clad +ships a revolution took place in naval war. +The great frigates, with their long rows of +guns, were soon to be of little more use than +floating logs. More than forty years have +passed since then, and now all the great war-vessels +are clad in armor of the hardest steel.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[252]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER XXIII</h2> + +<h3>COMMODORE FARRAGUT WINS RENOWN</h3> + +<h3><span class="smcap">The Hero of Mobile Bay Lashes Himself to the Mast</span></h3> + +<div class='cap'>AN old friend of ours is David G. Farragut. +We met him, you may remember, years +ago, on the old <i>Essex</i>, under Captain +Porter, when he was a boy of only about ten +years of age. Young as he was, he did good +work on that fine ship during her cruise in the +Pacific and her last great fight.</div> + +<p>When the Civil War began Farragut had +got to be quite an old boy. He was sixty years +of age and a captain in the navy. He had +been born in the South and now lived in Virginia, +and the Confederates very much wanted +him to fight on their side.</p> + +<p>"Not after fighting fifty years for the old +flag," he said. "And mind what I tell you; +you fellows will catch much more than you<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[253]</a></span> +want before you get through with this business."</p> + +<p>And so Farragut reported for duty under +the old flag.</p> + +<p>Very soon the ships of the government were +busy all along the coast, blockading ports and +chasing blockade runners, and fighting wherever +they saw a chance.</p> + +<p>One such chance, a big one, came away down +South. For there was the large City of New +Orleans, which the British had tried to take +nearly fifty years before; and there was the +Mississippi River that led straight to it. But +strong forts had been built along that river +and armed boats were on its waters, and the +Yankees of the North might find it as hard to +get there as the British did.</p> + +<p>Now I have to speak of another brave man +and good seaman, David D. Porter. He was +a son of the captain of the old <i>Essex</i>, and a life-long +friend of David G. Farragut.</p> + +<p>Porter was sent down to help blockade the +Mississippi in the summer of 1861, and while +there he found out all about the forts and the +ships on the river. Then he went to Washington +and told the Secretary of the Navy all he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[254]</a></span> +had learned, and asked him to send down a +fleet to try to capture the city.</p> + +<p>"Where can I find the right man for a big +job like that?" asked the Secretary.</p> + +<p>"Captain Farragut is your man," said Porter. +"You have him now on committee work, +where a man like him is just wasted, for you +have not half as good a seaman on any of your +ships."</p> + +<p>And in that way the gallant Farragut was +chosen to command the fleet to be sent to capture +the great city of the South. Porter, you +see, did not ask for a command for himself, but +for his friend.</p> + +<p>When the fleet was got ready it numbered +nearly twenty vessels, but most of them were +gunboats, and none of them were very large. +The Mississippi was not the place for very +large ships. Farragut chose the sloop-of-war +<i>Hartford</i> for his flagship and sailed merrily +away for the mighty river. He did not forget +his friend Porter. For twenty mortar boats +were added to the fleet, and Porter was given +command of these.</p> + +<p>A mortar, you should know, is a kind of a +short cannon made to throw large shells or<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[255]</a></span> +balls. It is pointed upward so as to throw them +high up into the air and then let them fall +straight down on a fort. Porter's mortar boats +were schooners that carried cannons of this +kind.</p> + +<p>When Farragut had sailed his fleet into the +river, he made ready for the great fight before +him. Of course, he had no iron-clads, for the +<i>Monitor</i> had just fought its great battle and +no other iron-clads had been built. So he +stretched iron chains up and down the sides of +his ships to stop cannon balls. Then bags of +coal and sand were piled round the boilers and +engines to keep them safe, and nets were hung +to catch flying splinters, which, in a fight at +sea, are often worse than bullets.</p> + +<p>But the most interesting thing done was to +the mortar boats. These were to be anchored +down the stream below the forts, and limbs of +trees full of green leaves were tied on their +masts, so they could not be told from the trees +on the river-bank. As they went up the river +they looked like a green grove afloat.</p> + +<p>Now let us take a look at what the Confederates +were doing. They were not asleep, you +may be sure. They had built two strong forts,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[256]</a></span> +one on each side of the river, just where +it made a sharp bend. One of these was +named Fort Jackson and the other Fort St. +Philip. There were more than a hundred +cannon in these forts, but most of them were +small ones.</p> + +<p>They had also stretched iron cables across +the river, with rafts and small vessels to hold +them up. These were to stop the fleet from +going up the river, and to hold it fast while the +forts could pour shot and shell into it. They +had also many steamboats with cannon on +them. One of these, the <i>Louisiana</i>, was covered +with iron. Another was a ram, called the +<i>Manassas</i>. This had a sharp iron beak, to ram +and sink other vessels. And there were great +coal barges, filled with fat pine knots. These +were meant for fire-ships. You will learn farther +on how these were to be used.</p> + +<p>You may see from this that Farragut had +some hard work before him. Even if he got +past the chains and the forts, all his ships +might be set on fire by the fire-ships. But the +bold captain was not one of the kind that +mind things like that. Now let us go on to +the story of the terrible river fight, which has<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[257]</a></span> +long been one of the most famous battles of +the war.</p> + +<p>Porter's mortar boats were anchored under +the trees on the river-bank, two miles below +the forts. With their green-clad masts they +looked like trees themselves. At ten o'clock in +the morning of April 18, 1862, the first mortar +sent its big shell whizzing through the air. +And for six days this was kept up, each of the +mortars booming out once every ten minutes. +That made one shot for every half-minute.</p> + +<p>Two days after the mortars began, a bold +thing was done. The gunboat <i>Itasca</i> set out in +the darkness of the night and managed to get +between the shore and the chain. Then it ran +up stream above the chain till it got a good +headway. It now turned round and came down +at full speed before the strong current.</p> + +<p>Fort Jackson was firing, and balls were rattling +all about the bold <i>Itasca</i>, but she rushed +on through them all. Plump against the chain +she came, with a thud that lifted her three feet +out of the water. Then the chain snapped in +two and away went the <i>Itasca</i> down stream. +The barrier was broken and the way to New +Orleans lay open before the fleet.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[258]</a></span></p> + +<p>On the 23d of April Farragut gave his orders +to the captains of the fleet. That night +they were to try to pass the forts and fight +their way to New Orleans. At two o'clock in +the morning came the welcome order, "All +hands up anchor!" and at three o'clock all was +ready for the start.</p> + +<p>The night was dark, but on the banks near +Fort Jackson there was a blazing wood fire, +that threw its light across the stream. And +Porter's bombs were being fired as fast as the +men could drop the balls into them, so that +there was a great arch of fiery shells between +the mortar boats and the forts.</p> + +<p>The gunboat <i>Cayuga</i> led the way through +the broken barrier. After her came the <i>Pensacola</i>, +one of the large vessels. All this time +the forts had kept still, but now they blazed +out with all their guns, and the air was full of +the booming of cannon and the screeching of +shells from forts and ships.</p> + +<p>Great piles of wood were kindled on the +banks, and the fire-ships up stream were sent +blazing down the river as the steam vessels +came rushing up into the fire of the forts. +Never had the Mississippi seen so terrible a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[259]</a></span> +night. The blazing wood and flashing guns +made it as light as day, and the roar was like +ten thunderstorms.</p> + +<p>Soon the <i>Hartford</i> came on, with Farragut +on her deck. So thick was the smoke that she +ran aground, and before she could get off a +fire-ship came blazing down against her side, +pushed by a tug-boat straight on to her. In a +minute the paint on the ship's side was in a +blaze and the flames shot up half as high as +the masts. The men at the guns drew back +from the scorching heat.</p> + +<p>"Don't flinch from that blaze, boys," cried +Farragut. "Those who don't do their duty +here will find a hotter fire than that."</p> + +<p>For a brief time the good ship was in great +danger. But a shower of shells sent the daring +tug-boat to the bottom, and the fire-ship +floated away. Then a hose-pipe spurted water +on the flames. The fire was put out and the +<i>Hartford</i> was saved.</p> + +<p>That was only the beginning of the great +battle. From that time on, fire and flame, +boom and roar, death and destruction, were +everywhere. The great shells from the mortars +dropped bursting into the forts. The huge<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[260]</a></span> +wood piles blazed high on the banks. Ships +and forts hurled a frightful shower of shells +at each other. Blazing fire-ships came drifting +down. The foremost boats were fiercely fighting +with the Confederate craft. The hindmost +boats were fighting with the forts. The uproar +seemed enough to drive the very moon +from the sky.</p> + +<p>But soon victory began to hold out her hand +to the Union fleet. For all the ships passed +the forts, some of the Confederate vessels were +driven ashore and others fled up stream; and in +a little while only three of them were left, and +these were kept safe under the guns of the +fort. The battle had been fought and won, +and the triumphant fleet steamed up the river +to New Orleans. The forts were still there, +but what could they do, with Union forces +above and below? Four days after the fight +they were surrendered to Porter and his mortar +fleet.</p> + +<p>There was one final act to the great Mississippi +battle. For as Commander Porter, in his +flagship, lay near Fort Jackson, down on him +came the iron-clad <i>Louisiana</i>, all in a blaze. +But just before she reached his vessel she blew<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[261]</a></span> +up; and that was the end of the <i>Louisiana</i> and +the fight. The river was open and New Orleans +was captured. Thus ended the greatest +naval battle of the Civil War.</p> + +<p>Two years and more afterward Farragut +fought another great battle. This was in the +Bay of Mobile, then a great place for blockade-runners. +These were swift vessels that +brought goods from Europe to the South. The +Union fleet did all it could to stop them, but +they could not be stopped at Mobile from outside, +so Farragut was told to fight his way +inside the bay. And that is what he did.</p> + +<p>Mobile Bay is like a great bell, thirty miles +long and fifteen miles wide. There are two +islands at the mouth, so that the entrance is +not more than a mile wide. And on each of +these islands was a strong fort, which had +been built by the government before the war. +The Confederates had taken possession of +these forts and had big guns in them.</p> + +<p>The first thing to do was to pass the forts. +No chain could be put across the channel here, +but there was something worse, for nearly two +hundred torpedoes were planted in the water +near the forts. Some of these were made of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[262]</a></span> +beer-kegs and some of tin; and they were +planted so thickly that it was not easy to get +in without setting them off. Then, when the +fort and the torpedoes were passed, there were +the ships. Three of these were small gunboats, +of not much account. But there was a great +iron-clad ship, the <i>Tennessee</i>, which was twice +as strong as the <i>Merrimac</i>. It was covered +with iron five or six inches thick, and carried a +half-dozen big guns.</p> + +<p>Franklin Buchanan, who had been captain +of the <i>Merrimac</i>, was admiral of the <i>Tennessee</i>.</p> + +<p>But Admiral Farragut—he was an admiral +now—had his iron-clad vessels, too. Four monitors +like the old <i>Monitor</i> of Hampton Roads, +had been built and sent him, and these, with +his wooden vessels, made nearly twenty ships.</p> + +<p>Such was the fleet with which Farragut set +out for his second great victory, early in the +morning of August 5, 1864. It was six o'clock +when the ships crossed the bar and headed in +for Fort Morgan.</p> + +<p>On they went, bravely, firing at the fort. +But not a shot came back till the leading ships +were in front of its strong stone walls. Then<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[263]</a></span> +there began a terrible roar, and a storm of iron +balls poured out at the ships. If the guns had +been well aimed, dreadful work might have +been done, but the balls went screaming +through the air and hardly touched a ship. +And the fierce fire from the ships drove many +of the men in the fort from their guns.</p> + +<p>But now there is a terrible tale to tell, a tale +of death and destruction, of the sinking of a +ship with her captain and nearly all her crew +on board.</p> + +<p>This was the monitor <i>Tecumseh</i>. It was +steered straight out where the torpedoes lay +thick. Suddenly there came a dull roar. The +bow of the iron-clad was lifted like a feather +out of the water. Then it sank till it pointed +downward like a boy diving, and the stern was +lifted up into the air. In a second more the +good ship went down with a mighty plunge.</p> + +<p>But with this there is also one fine story, the +story of a gallant man. This was Captain +Craven, of the <i>Tecumseh</i>. He and the pilot +were in the pilot-house and both sprang for +the opening. But there was room only for one. +The brave captain drew back.</p> + +<p>"After you, pilot," he said.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[264]</a></span></p> + +<p>The pilot escaped, but the noble captain, +with ninety-two of his men, sank to the depths.</p> + +<p>A boat was sent to pick up the swimmers, +with a gallant young ensign, H. C. Neilds, in +charge. Out they rowed where the waters +were being torn and threshed with shot and +shell. The ensign was only a boy, but he had +the spirit of a Perry. He saw that his flag +was not flying, and he coolly raised it in the +face of the foe, and then sat down to steer.</p> + +<p>Brave men were there by the hundreds, but +none were braver than their admiral, their immortal +Farragut. The smoke blinded his eyes +on deck, so he climbed to the top of the mainmast, +and there, lashed to the rigging, he went +in through the thick of the fire. Shells +screeched past him, great iron balls hustled +by his ears, but not a quiver came over his +noble face. He had to be where he could +see, he said. Danger did not count where +duty called.</p> + +<p>On past the forts went ships and monitors, +heedless of torpedoes or of the fate of the <i>Tecumseh</i>. +Only one captain showed the white +feather. The <i>Brooklyn</i> held back.</p> + +<p>"What is the matter?" screamed Farragut.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[265]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Torpedoes," was the only word that reached +his ears.</p> + +<p>The gallant admiral then used a strong +word. It was not a word to be used in polite +society. But we must remember that battle +was raging about him and he was in a fury.</p> + +<p>"Damn the torpedoes!" he cried. "Follow +me!"</p> + +<p>Straight on the good ship sailed, right for +the nest of torpedoes, with the admiral in the +shrouds.</p> + +<p>In a minute more the <i>Hartford</i> was among +them. They could be heard striking against +her bottom. Their percussion caps snapped, +but not one went off. Their tin cases had +rusted and they were spoiled. Only one of +them all went off that dreadful day of battle. +That saved many of the ships.</p> + +<p>The fort and the torpedoes were passed, but +the Confederate ships remained. It did not +take long to settle for the gunboats, but the +iron-clad <i>Tennessee</i> remained. Putting on all +steam, this great ship ran down on the Union +fleet. Through the whole line it went and on +to the fort. But it was as slow as a tub and +the ships were easily kept out of its way.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[266]</a></span></p> + +<p>Then, when the men were at breakfast, back +again came the <i>Tennessee</i>. They left their +coffee and ran to their guns. It was like the +old story of the <i>Merrimac</i> and the wooden +ships in Hampton Roads.</p> + +<p>But Farragut did not wait to be rammed by +the <i>Tennessee</i>. If ramming was to be done he +wanted to do it himself. So all the large vessels +steamed head on for the iron-clad, butting +her right and left. They hit one another, too, +and the <i>Hartford</i> came near being sunk. Then +came the monitors, as the first <i>Monitor</i> had +come against the <i>Merrimac</i>. There were three +of these left, but one did the work, the <i>Chickasaw</i>. +She clung like a burr to the <i>Tennessee</i>, +pouring in her great iron balls, and doing so +much damage that soon the great ship was like +a floating hulk. It could not be steered nor its +guns fired.</p> + +<p>For twenty minutes it stood this dreadful +hammering, and then its flag came down. The +battle was won.</p> + +<p>"It was the most desperate battle I ever +fought since the days of the old <i>Essex</i>," said +Farragut.</p> + +<p>The figure of the brave admiral in the rigging,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[267]</a></span> +fighting his ship amid a cyclone of shot +and shell, made him the hero of the American +people. It was like Dewey on the bridge in +Manila Bay in a later war. There was no +rank high enough in the navy to fit the glory +he had won, so one was made for him, the rank +of admiral. There was rear-admiral and vice-admiral, +but admiral was new and higher still. +Only two men have held this rank since his +day, his good friend and comrade, David D. +Porter, and the brave George Dewey.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[268]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER XXIV</h2> + +<h3>A RIVER FLEET IN A HAIL OF FIRE</h3> + +<h3><span class="smcap">Admiral Porter Runs by the Forts in a Novel Way</span></h3> + +<div class='cap'>OF course you know what a tremendous +task the North had before it in the Civil +War. The war between the North and +the South was like a battle of giants. And in +this vast contest the navy had to do its share, +both out at sea and on the rivers of the country. +One of its big bits of work was to cut off the +left arm of the Confederacy, and leave it only +its right arm to fight with.</div> + +<p>By the left arm I mean the three states west +of the Mississippi River, and by the right arm, +the eight states east of that great river. To +cut off this left arm the government had to get +control of the whole river, from St. Louis to +the Gulf, so that no Confederate troops could +cross the great stream.</p> + +<p>You have read how Farragut and Porter<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[269]</a></span> +began this work, by capturing New Orleans +and all the river below it. And they went far +up the river, too. But in the end such great +forts were built at Vicksburg and Port Hudson +and other points that the Confederate government +held the river in a tight grasp.</p> + +<p>In this way the Confederacy became master +of the Mississippi for a thousand miles. We +are to see now how it was taken from their +grasp.</p> + +<p>James B. Eads, the engineer who built the +great railroad bridge over the Mississippi at +St. Louis, made the first iron-clads for the +West. There were seven of these. They were +river steamers, and were covered with iron, but +it was not very thick. Two others were afterward built, +making nine in all.</p> + +<p>Each of these boats had thirteen guns, and +they did good work in helping the army to capture +two strong Confederate forts in Kentucky. +Then they went down the Mississippi to an +island that was called Island No. 10. It was +covered with forts, stretching one after another +all along its shore.</p> + +<p>A number of mortar boats were brought +down and threw shells into the forts till they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[270]</a></span> +were half paved with iron. But all that did +no good. Then Admiral Foote was asked to +send one of the boats down past the forts.</p> + +<p>That was dreadfully dangerous work, for +there were guns enough in them to sink twenty +such boats. But Captain Walke thought he +could take his boat, the <i>Carondelet</i>, down, and +the admiral told him he might try.</p> + +<p>What was the <i>Carondelet</i> like, do you ask? +Well, she was a long, wide boat, with sloping +sides and a flat roof, and was covered with iron +two and a half inches thick. Four of her guns +peeped out from each side, while three looked +out from the front door, and two from the +back door of the boat.</p> + +<p>Captain Walke did not half expect to get +through the iron storm from the forts. To +make his boat stronger, extra planks were laid +on her deck and chain cables were drawn +tightly across it. Then lumber was heaped +thickly round the boiler and engines, and ropes +were wrapped round and round the pilot-house +till they were eighteen inches thick.</p> + +<p>After that a barge filled with bales of hay +was tied fast to the side that would catch the +fire of the forts. Something was done also to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[271]</a></span> +stop the noise of the steam pipes, for Captain +Walke thought he might slip down at night +without being seen or heard.</p> + +<p>On the night of April 10, 1862, the boat +made its dash down stream. It started just as +a heavy thunderstorm came on. The wind +whistled, the rain poured down in sheets, and +the men in the forts hid from the storm. They +were not thinking then of runaway gunboats.</p> + +<p>But something nobody had thought of now +took place. The blazing wood in the furnaces +set fire to the soot in the chimneys, and in a +minute the boat was like a great flaming torch. +As the men in the forts sprang up, the lightning +flashed out on the clouds, and lit up "the +gallant little ship floating past like a phantom."</p> + +<p>The gunners did not mind the rain any more. +They ran in great haste to their guns, and soon +the batteries were flaming and roaring louder +than the thunder itself.</p> + +<p>Fort after fort took it up as the <i>Carondelet</i> +slid swiftly past. The lightning and the blazing +smoke-stack showed her plainly to the gunners. +But the bright flashes blinded their eyes +so that they could not half aim their guns. And +thus it was that the brave little <i>Carondelet</i><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[272]</a></span> +went under the fire of fifty guns without being +harmed.</p> + +<p>Soon after that Island No. 10 was given up +to the Union forces. Then the gunboats went +farther down the river, and had two hard fights +with Confederate boats, one at Fort Pillow and +one at Memphis. Both these places were captured, +and in that way the river was opened +all the way from St. Louis to Vicksburg.</p> + +<p>The City of Vicksburg is in the State of Mississippi, +about two hundred miles above New +Orleans. Here are high river banks; and these +were covered thick with forts, so that Vicksburg +was the strongest place along the whole +stream.</p> + +<p>There were also strong forts at Port Hudson, +about seventy-five miles below Vicksburg; +and these seventy-five miles were all the Confederates +now held of the great stream. But +they held these with a very strong hand and +were not to let go easily.</p> + +<p>There were some great events at Vicksburg; +and I must tell about a few of these next.</p> + +<p>After New Orleans was taken Farragut took +his ships up the river, running past the forts. +He could easily have taken Vicksburg then, if<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[273]</a></span> +he had had any soldiers. But he had none, and +it took a great army of soldiers, under General +Grant, to capture it a year afterward.</p> + +<p>David D. Porter, who had helped Farragut +so well in his great fight, was put in command +of the Mississippi fleet. He had a number of +iron-clad boats under him, some of them having +iron so thin that they were called tin-clads.</p> + +<p>Commodore Porter had plenty to do. Now +he sent his boats up through the Yazoo +swamps, then they had a fight on the Arkansas +River; and in this way he was kept busy.</p> + +<p>In February, 1863, he sent two of his boats, +the <i>Queen of the West</i> and the <i>Indianola</i>, down +past the Vicksburg forts. That was an easy +run. There was plenty of firing, but nobody +was hurt. But after they got below they found +trouble enough.</p> + +<p>First, the <i>Queen of the West</i> ran aground +and could not be got off. Then the <i>Indianola</i> +had a hole rammed in her side by a Confederate +boat and went to the bottom. So there +wasn't much gained by sending these two boats +down stream.</p> + +<p>But a curious thing took place. The Confederates +got the <i>Queen of the West</i> off the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[274]</a></span> +mud, and tried to raise the <i>Indianola</i> and stop +its leaks.</p> + +<p>While they were hard at work at this they +heard a frightful roar from the Vicksburg batteries. +Looking up stream they saw a big +boat coming down upon them at full speed. +When they saw this they put the two big guns +of the <i>Indianola</i> mouth to mouth, fired them +into each other to ruin them, and then ran +away. But weren't they vexed afterward when +they learned that the boat that scared them was +only a dummy which Porter's men had sent +down the river in a frolic.</p> + +<p>After that, the river batteries did not give +the ships much trouble. When the right time +came Porter's fleet ran down the river through +the fire of all the forts. One boat caught fire +and sank, but all the rest passed safely through. +This was done to help General Grant, who was +marching his army down, to get below Vicksburg.</p> + +<p>I suppose all readers of American history +know about the great event of the 4th of July, +1863. On that day Vicksburg was given up +to the Union forces, with all its forts and all +its men. Five days afterward Port Hudson<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[275]</a></span> +surrendered. Porter and his boats now held +the great river through all its length.</p> + +<p>But there is something more to tell about +Admiral Porter, who was a rear-admiral now.</p> + +<p>In the spring of 1864 General Banks was +sent with an army up the Red River. He was +going to Shreveport, which is about four hundred +miles above where the Red River runs +into the Mississippi. Porter went along with +his river fleet to help.</p> + +<p>Now, no more need be said about Banks and +his army, except that the whole expedition +was only a waste of time, for it did no good; +and there would be nothing to say about Porter +and his fleet, if they had not gotten into a bad +scrape which gave them hard work to get out.</p> + +<p>The boats went up the river easily enough, +but when they tried to come down they found +themselves in a trap. For after they had gone +up, the river began to fall and the water came +to be very low.</p> + +<p>There are two rapids, or small falls, on this +part of the Red River, which show only at low +water. They showed plainly enough now; and +there were twelve of the boats above them, +caught fast.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[276]</a></span></p> + +<p>What was to be done? If they tried to run +down the falls they would be smashed into +kindling wood. It looked very much as if they +would have to be left for the Confederates, or +set on fire and burned.</p> + +<p>By good luck there was one man there who +knew what to do. He was a lieutenant-colonel +from Wisconsin, named Joseph Baily. He had +been a log-driver before the war and knew +what was done when logs got jammed in a +stream.</p> + +<p>When he told his plan he was laughed at by +some who thought it very foolish, but Porter +told him to go ahead. So, with 2,000 soldiers +from Maine, who knew all about logging, he +went into the woods, chopped down trees, and +built a dam below the falls.</p> + +<p>The men worked so hard that it took them +only eight days to build the dam; which was +wonderfully quick work. A place was left open +in the center, and there four barges loaded with +brick were sunk.</p> + +<p>When the dam was finished it lifted the +water six feet higher, and down in safety went +three of the steamers, while the army shouted +and cheered. But just then two of the sunken<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[277]</a></span> +barges were carried away, and the water +poured through the break in a flood.</p> + +<p>The gunboat <i>Lexington</i> was just ready to +start. Admiral Porter stood on the bank +watching.</p> + +<p>"Go ahead!" he shouted.</p> + +<p>At once the engines were started and the +<i>Lexington</i> shot down the foaming rapid. +There were no cheers now; everybody was +still.</p> + +<p>Down she went, rolling and leaping on the +wild waters; but soon she shot safe into the +still pool below. All the other vessels were +also safely taken down.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[278]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER XXV</h2> + +<h3>THE SINKING OF THE "ALBEMARLE"</h3> + +<h3><span class="smcap">Lieutenant Cushing Performs the Most Gallant Deed of the Civil War</span></h3> + +<div class='cap'>NOW I am going to tell you about one of +the most gallant deeds done in the navy +during the whole Civil War. The man +who did it was brave enough to be made admiral +of the fleet, yet he did not get even a gold +medal for his deed. But he is one of our +heroes. It is all about an iron-clad steamer, +and how it was sent to rest in the mud of a +river-bottom.</div> + +<p>The Confederate government had very bad +luck with its iron-clads. It was busy enough +building them, but they did not pay for their +cost. The <i>Merrimac</i> did the most harm, but it +soon went up in fire and smoke.</p> + +<p>Then there were the <i>Louisiana</i> at New Orleans, +and the <i>Tennessee</i> at Mobile. Farragut +made short work of them. Two were built at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[279]</a></span> +Charleston which were of little use. The last +of them all was the <i>Albemarle</i>, whose story I +am about to tell.</p> + +<p>The Roanoke River, in North Carolina, was +a fine stream for blockade-runners. There was +a long line of ships and gunboats outside, but +in spite of them these swift runaways kept +dashing in, loaded with goods for the people. +Poor people! they needed them badly enough, +for they had little of anything except what they +could raise in their fields.</p> + +<p>But the gunboats kept pushing farther into +the river, and gave the Confederates no end of +trouble. So they began to build an iron-clad +which they thought could drive these wooden +wasps away.</p> + +<p>This iron-clad was a queer ship. Its keel +was laid in a cornfield; its bolts and bars were +hammered out in a blacksmith shop. Iron for +its engines was picked up from the scrap heaps +of the iron works at Richmond. Some of the +Confederates laughed at it themselves; but they +deserved great credit for building a ship under +such difficulties as these.</p> + +<p>It was finished in April, 1864, and nobody +laughed at it when they saw it afloat. It was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[280]</a></span> +like the <i>Merrimac</i> in shape, and was covered +with iron four inches thick. They named it +the <i>Albemarle</i>.</p> + +<p>Very soon the <i>Albemarle</i> showed that it was +no laughing matter. It sunk one gunboat and +made another run away in great haste. Then +it had a fight with four of them at once and +drove one of these lame and limping away. +The others did not come too near. After that +it went back to the town of Plymouth and was +tied up at the wharf.</p> + +<p>There was another iron-clad being built, and +the <i>Albemarle</i> was kept waiting, so that the +two could work together. That was a bad +thing for the <i>Albemarle</i>, for she never went out +again.</p> + +<p>This brings us back to the gallant deed I +spoke of, and the gallant fellow who did the +deed. His name was William B. Cushing. He +was little more than a boy, just twenty-one +years old, but he did not know what it meant +to be afraid, and he had done so many daring +things already that he had been made a lieutenant.</p> + +<p>He wanted to try to destroy the <i>Albemarle</i>, +and his captain, who knew how bold a fellow<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[281]</a></span> +he was, told him to go ahead and do his +best.</p> + +<p>So on a dark night in October, 1864, brave +young Cushing started up the river in a steam +launch, with men and guns. At the bow of this +launch was a long spar, and at the end of this +spar was a torpedo holding a hundred pounds +of dynamite. There was a trigger and a cap +to set this off, a string to lower the spar and +another to pull the trigger. But it was a +poor affair to send on such an expedition as +that.</p> + +<p>And this was not the worst. Some of the +newspapers had found out what Cushing was +going to do, and printed the whole story. And +some of these newspapers got down South and +let out the secret. That is what is called "newspaper +enterprise." It is very good in its right +place, but it was a sort of enterprise that nearly +spoiled Cushing's plans.</p> + +<p>For the Confederates put lines of sentries +along the river, and stationed a lookout down +the stream, and placed a whole regiment of soldiers +near the wharf. And logs were chained +fast around the vessel so that no torpedo spar +could reach her. And the men on board were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[282]</a></span> +sharply on the watch. That is what the newspapers +did for Lieutenant Cushing.</p> + +<p>Of course, the young lieutenant did not know +all this, and he felt full of hope as his boat went +up stream without being seen or heard. The +night was very dark and there were no lights +on board, and the engines were new and made +no noise.</p> + +<p>So he passed the lookout in the river and the +sentries on the banks without an eye seeing +him or his boat.</p> + +<p>But when he came up to the iron-clad his +hopes went down. For there was the boom of +logs so far out that his spar could not reach +her.</p> + +<p>What was he to do? Should he land at the +wharf and take his men on board, and try to +capture her where she lay?</p> + +<p>Before he had time to think it was too late +for that. A sentry on board saw the launch +and called out:</p> + +<p>"Boat ahoy!" There was no answer.</p> + +<p>"What boat is that?" Still no answer.</p> + +<p>Then came a musket shot, and then a rattle +of musketry from the river bank. A minute +after lights flashed out and men came running<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[283]</a></span> +down the wharf. The ship's crew tumbled up +from below. All was haste and confusion.</p> + +<p>Almost any man would have given it up for +lost and run for safety. But Cushing was not +of that kind. It did not take him a second to +decide. He ran the launch out into the stream, +turned her round, and dashed at full speed +straight for the boom.</p> + +<p>A storm of bullets came from the deck of the +<i>Albemarle</i>, but he heeded them no more than +if they had been snowflakes. In a minute the +bow of the launch struck the logs.</p> + +<p>They were slippery with river slime and the +light boat climbed up on them, driving them +down under the water. Over she went, and +slid into the water inside the boom.</p> + +<p>Cushing stood in the bow, with the trigger-string +in his hand. He lowered the torpedo +under the hull of the iron-clad, lifted it till he +felt it touch her bottom, and then pulled the +string.</p> + +<p>There came two loud reports. A hundred-pounder +gun was being fired from the ship's +side right over his head. Along with it came +a dull roar from under the water. The dynamite +torpedo had gone off, tearing a great hole<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[284]</a></span> +in the wooden bottom. In a minute the ill-fated +<i>Albemarle</i> began to sink.</p> + +<p>The launch was fast inside the boom, and the +wave from her torpedo was rushing over her, +carrying her down.</p> + +<p>"Surrender," came a voice from above.</p> + +<p>"Never! Swim for your lives, men," cried +Cushing, and he sprang into the flowing +stream.</p> + +<p>Two or three bullets had gone through his +clothing, but he was unhurt, and swam swiftly +away, his men after him.</p> + +<p>Only Cushing and one of the men got away. +The others were captured, except one who was +drowned. Boats were quickly out, a fire of +logs was made on the wharf, which threw its +light far out over the stream, but he reached +the shore unseen, chilled to the bone and completely +worn out.</p> + +<p>A sentry was pacing on the wall of a fort +over his head, men passed looking for him, but +he managed to creep to the swamp nearby and +hide in the mud and reeds.</p> + +<p>There he lay till the break of day. Then he +crawled on till he got into a cornfield nearby. +Now for the first time he could stand up and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[285]</a></span> +walk. But just as he got to the other side of +the field he came face to face with a man.</p> + +<p>Cushing was not afraid. It was a black face. +In those days no Union soldier was afraid of +a black face. The slaves would do anything +for "Massa Linkums' sojers." The young +lieutenant was almost as black as the slave +after his long crawl through the mud.</p> + +<p>Cushing told him who he was, and sent him +into the town for news, waiting in the cornfield +for his return. After an hour the messenger +came back. His face was smiling with +delight.</p> + +<p>"Good news, Massa," he said. "De big iron +ship's gone to de bottom suah. Folks dar say +she'll neber git up agin."</p> + +<p>"Mighty good," said Cushing. "Now, old +man, tell me how I can get back to the ships."</p> + +<p>The negro told him all he could, and with a +warm "Good-bye" the fugitive took to the +swamp again. On he went, hour by hour, +forcing his way through the thick bushes and +wading in the deep mud. Thus he went on, +mile after mile, until at length, at two o'clock +in the afternoon, he found himself on the banks +of a narrow creek.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[286]</a></span></p> + +<p>Here he heard voices and drew back. Looking +through the bushes he saw a party of seven +soldiers just landing from a boat. They tied +the boat to the root of a tree and went up a +path that led back from the river. Soon they +stopped, sat down, and began to eat their dinner. +They could see their boat from where +they sat, but they were too busy eating to think +of that.</p> + +<p>Here was Cushing's chance. It was a desperate +one, but he was ready to try anything. +He lowered himself quietly into the stream, +swam across, and untied the boat. Then he +noiselessly pushed it out and swam with it +down stream. As soon as he was out of sight +of the soldiers he climbed in and rowed away +as fast as he could. What the soldiers thought +and said when they missed their boat nobody +knows. He did not see them again.</p> + +<p>It was a long journey. The creek was +crooked and winding. Night came on before +he reached the river. Then he paddled on till +midnight. Ten hours of hard toil had passed +when he saw the dark hull of a gunboat nearby.</p> + +<p>"Ship ahoy!" he cried.</p> + +<p>"Who goes there?" called the lookout.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[287]</a></span></p> + +<p>"A friend. Take me up."</p> + +<p>A boat was lowered and rowed towards him. +The officer in it looked with surprise when he +saw a mud-covered man, with scratched and +bleeding face.</p> + +<p>"Who are you?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"Lieutenant Cushing, or what is left of him."</p> + +<p>"Cushing!—and how about the <i>Albemarle</i>?"</p> + +<p>"She will never trouble Uncle Sam's ships +again. She lies in her muddy grave on the +bottom of the Roanoke."</p> + +<p>Cheers followed this welcome news, and +when the gallant lieutenant was safe on board +the <i>Valley City</i> the cheers grew tenfold.</p> + +<p>For Lieutenant Cushing had done a deed +which was matched for daring only once in the +history of our navy, and that was when Decatur +burned the <i>Philadelphia</i> in the harbor of +Tripoli.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[288]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER XXVI</h2> + +<h3>HOW THE "GLOUCESTER" REVENGED THE SINKING OF THE "MAINE"</h3> + +<h3><span class="smcap">Deadly and Heroic Deeds in the War With Spain</span></h3> + +<div class='cap'>IF you look at a map of the country we dwell +in, you will see that it has a finger pointing +south. That finger is called Florida, and +it points to the beautiful island of Cuba, which +spreads out there to right and left across the +sea of the South.</div> + +<p>The Spaniards in Cuba were very angry +when they found the United States trying to +stop the war which they had carried on so +mercilessly. They thought this country had +nothing to do with their affairs. And in Havana, +the capital city of the island, riots broke +out and Americans were insulted.</p> + +<p>Never before in the history of the United +States navy had there been so terrible a disaster +as the sinking of the <i>Maine</i> by a frightful<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[289]</a></span> +and deadly explosion in the harbor of Havana, +Cuba, on February 15, 1898, and never was +there greater grief and indignation in the +United States than when the story was told.</p> + +<p>Do you know what followed this dreadful +disaster? But of course you do, for it seems +almost yesterday that the <i>Maine</i> went down +with her slaughtered crew. Everybody said +that the Spaniards had done this terrible deed +and Spain should pay for it. We all said so +and thought so, you and I and all true Americans.</p> + +<p>Before the loss of the <i>Maine</i> many people +thought we ought to go to war with Spain, and +put an end to the cruelty with which the Cubans +were treated. After her loss there were +not many who thought we ought not to. Our +people were in a fury. They wanted war, and +were eager to have it.</p> + +<p>The heads of the government at Washington +felt the same way. Many millions of dollars +were voted by Congress, and much of this was +spent in buying ships and hiring and repairing +ships, and much more of it in getting the army +ready for war.</p> + +<p>For Congress was as full of war-feeling as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[290]</a></span> +the people. President McKinley would have +liked to have peace, but he could no more hold +back the people and Congress than a man with +an ox-chain could hold back a locomotive. So +it was that, two months after the <i>Maine</i> sank +in the mud of Havana harbor, like a great +coffin filled with the dead, war was declared +against Spain.</p> + +<p>Now, I wish to tell you how the loss of the +<i>Maine</i> was avenged. I am not going to tell +you here all about what our navy did in the +war. There are some good stories to tell about +that. But just here we have to think about the +<i>Maine</i> and her murdered men, and have to tell +about how one of her officers paid Spain back +for the dreadful deed.</p> + +<p>As soon as the telegraph brought word to the +fleet at Key West that "War is declared," the +great ships lifted their anchors and sped away, +bound for Cuba, not many miles to the south. +And about a month afterward this great fleet +of battleships, and monitors, and cruisers, and +gunboats were in front of the harbor of Santiago, +holding fast there Admiral Cervera and +his men, who were in Santiago harbor with the +finest warships owned by Spain.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[291]</a></span></p> + +<p>There were in the American fleet big ships +and little ships, strong ships and weak ships; +and one of the smallest of them all was the +little <i>Gloucester</i>. This had once been a pleasure +yacht, used only for sport. It was now +a gunboat ready for war. It had only a few +small guns, but these were of the "rapid-fire" +kind, which could pour out iron balls almost +as fast as hailstones come from the sky in a +storm.</p> + +<p>And in command of the <i>Gloucester</i> was Lieutenant +Wainwright, who had been night officer +of the <i>Maine</i> when that ill-fated ship was +blown up by a Spanish mine. The gallant lieutenant +was there to avenge his lost ship.</p> + +<p>I shall tell you later about how the Spanish +ships dashed out of the harbor of Santiago +on the 3d of July and what happened to them. +Just now you wish to know what Lieutenant +Wainwright and the little <i>Gloucester</i> did on +that great day, and how Spain was made to +pay for the loss of the <i>Maine</i>.</p> + +<p>As soon as the Spanish ships came out, the +<i>Gloucester</i> dashed at them, like a wasp trying +to sting an ox. She steamed right across the +mouth of the harbor until she almost touched<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[292]</a></span> +one of the great Spanish ships, all the time +firing away like mad at its iron sides.</p> + +<p>The brave Wainwright saw two little boats +coming out behind these big ones. These were +what are called torpedo-boats.</p> + +<p>Do you know what this means? A torpedo-boat +is little, but it can dart through the water +with the speed of the wind. And it carries +torpedoes—iron cases filled with dynamite—which +it can shoot out against the great warships. +One of these could tear a gaping hole +in the side of a battleship and send it, with all +on board, to the bottom. A torpedo-boat is the +rattlesnake of the sea. It is little, but it is +deadly.</p> + +<p>But Lieutenant Wainwright and the men of +the <i>Gloucester</i> were not afraid of the <i>Furor</i> +and the <i>Pluton</i>, the Spanish torpedo-boats. As +soon as they saw these boats they drove their +little vessel toward them at full speed. The +<i>Gloucester</i> came under the fire of one of the +Spanish forts, but she did not mind that any +more than if boys were throwing oyster-shells +at her.</p> + +<p>Out from her guns came a torrent of balls +like water from a pump. But the water drops<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[293]</a></span> +were made of iron, and hit hard. The <i>Furor</i> +and <i>Pluton</i> tried to fire back, but their men +could not stand that iron rain. For twenty +minutes it kept on, and then all was over with +the torpedo-boats. They tried to run ashore, +but down to the bottom they both went. Of all +their men only about two dozen were picked up +alive. The rest sank to the bottom of the bay.</p> + +<p>Thus Wainwright and his little yacht +avenged the <i>Maine</i>, and the dreadful tragedy +in Havana harbor was paid for in Santiago +Bay.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[294]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER XXVII</h2> + +<h3>THE GREAT VICTORY OF MANILA BAY</h3> + +<h3><span class="smcap">Dewey Destroys a Fleet Without Losing a Man</span></h3> + +<div class='cap'>GEORGE DEWEY was a Green Mountain +boy, a son of the Vermont hills. Many +good stories are told of his schoolboy +days, and when he grew up to be a man everybody +that knew him said that he was a fine +fellow, who would make his mark. And they +were right about him, though he had to wait +a long time for the chance to show what he +would do.</div> + +<p>Dewey was sent to the Naval Academy at +Annapolis, Maryland, and when the Civil War +began he was a lieutenant in the navy. He +was with Farragut on the Mississippi, and did +some gallant deeds on that great river.</p> + +<p>When the war with Spain began Dewey was +on the Chinese coast with a squadron of American<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[295]</a></span> +ships. He had been raised in rank and +was Commodore Dewey then. A commodore, +you should know, was next above a captain and +next below an admiral.</p> + +<p>Commodore Dewey had four fine ships, the +cruisers <span class="smcap">Olympia</span>, <span class="smcap">Baltimore</span>, <span class="smcap">Raleigh</span>, and <span class="smcap">Boston</span>. +He had also two gunboats and a despatch-boat, +making seven in all.</p> + +<p>These vessels were at Hong Kong, a British +seaport in China. They could not stay there +after war with Spain was declared, for Hong +Kong was a neutral port, and after war begins +fighting ships must leave neutral ports. But +Dewey knew where to go, for under the ocean +and over the land there had come to him a telegram +from Washington, more than ten thousand +miles away, which said, "Seek the Spanish +fleet and capture or destroy it." Dewey did +not waste any time in obeying orders.</p> + +<p>He knew where to seek the Spanish fleet. A +few hundred miles away to the east of China +lay the fine group of islands called the Philippines, +which then belonged to Spain. In Luzon, +the biggest of these islands, was the fine large +City of Manila, the centre of the Spanish power +in the East. So straight across the China Sea<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[296]</a></span> +Dewey went at all speed towards this seaport +of Spain.</p> + +<p>On the morning of Saturday, April 30, 1898, +the men on the leading ship saw land rising in +the distance, green and beautiful, and farther +away they beheld the faint blue lines of the +mountains of Luzon. Down this green tropical +coast they sped, and when night was near +at hand they came close to the entrance of +Manila Bay.</p> + +<p>Here there were forts to pass; and the ships +were slowed up. Dewey was ready to fight +with ships, but he did not want to fight with +forts, so he waited for darkness to come before +going in. He thought that he might then pass +these forts without being seen by the men in +them.</p> + +<p>They waited until near midnight, steaming +slowly along until they came to the entrance to +the bay. The moon was in the sky, but gray +clouds hid its light. They could see the two +dark headlands of the harbor's mouth rising +and, between them, a small, low island. On +this island were the forts which they had to +pass.</p> + +<p>As they came near, all the lights on the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[297]</a></span> +ships were put out or hidden, except a small +electric light at the stern of each ship, for the +next one to see and follow.</p> + +<p>Steam was put on, and the ships glided +swiftly and silently in, like shadows in the +darkness. All was silent in the Spanish forts. +The sentinels seemed fast asleep.</p> + +<p>Some of the ships had passed before the +Spaniards waked up. Then a rocket shot up +into the air, and there came a deep boom and +a flash of flame. A shell went whizzing +through the darkness over the ships and +plunged into the water beyond.</p> + +<p>Some shots were fired back, but in a few +minutes it was all over and Dewey's squadron +was safe in Manila Bay. The gallant American +sailors had made their way into the lion's +den.</p> + +<p>The Bay of Manila is a splendid body of +water, running many miles into the land. The +City of Manila is about twenty miles from the +harbor's mouth, and the ships had to go far in +before its distant lights were seen, gleaming +like faint stars near the earth.</p> + +<p>But it was not the city Dewey was after. He +was seeking the Spanish fleet. When the dawn<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[298]</a></span> +came, and the sun rose behind the city, he saw +sails gleaming in its light. But these were +merchant vessels, not the warships he had come +so far to find.</p> + +<p>The keen eyes of the commodore soon saw +the ships he was after. There they lay, across +the mouth of the little bay of Cavite, south of +the city, a group of ships-of-war, nine or ten +in number.</p> + +<p>This brings us to the beginning of the great +naval battle of the war. Let us stop now and +take a look around. If you had been there I +know what you would have said. You would +have said that the Americans were sure to win, +for they had the biggest ships and the best +guns. Yes, but you must remember that the +Spaniards were at home, while the Americans +were not; and that makes a great difference. +If they had met out on the open sea Dewey +would have had the best of the game. But +here were the Spanish ships drawn up in a line +across a narrow passage, with a fort on the +right and a fort on the left, and with dynamite +mines under the water. And they knew all +about the distances and soundings and should +have known just how to aim their guns so as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[299]</a></span> +to hit a mark at any distance. All this the +Americans knew nothing about.</p> + +<p>When we think of this it looks as if Dewey +had the worst of the game. But some of you +may say that the battle will tell best which side +had the best and which the worst. Yes, that's +true; but we must always study our players +before we begin our game.</p> + +<p>George Dewey did not stop long to think +and study. He was there to take his chances. +The minute he saw the Spanish ships he went +for them as a football player goes for the line +of his opponents.</p> + +<p>Forward went the American squadron, with +the Stars and Stripes floating proudly at every +mast-head. First of all was the flagship +<i>Olympia</i>, with Dewey standing on its bridge. +Behind came the other ships in a long line.</p> + +<p>As they swept down in front of the city the +great guns of the forts sent out their balls. +Then the batteries on shore began to fire. Then +the Spanish ships joined in. There was a terrible +roar. Just in front of the <i>Olympia</i> two +mines exploded, sending tons of water into +the air. But they had been set off too soon, and +no harm was done.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[300]</a></span></p> + +<p>All this time the American ships swept +grandly on, not firing a gun; and Dewey stood +still on the bridge while shot and shell from the +Spanish guns went hurling past. He was +there to see, and danger did not count just +then.</p> + +<p>As they drove on an old sea-dog raised the +cry, "Remember the <i>Maine</i>!" and in a minute +the shout ran through the ship. Still on went +the <i>Olympia</i>, like a great mastiff at which curs +are barking. At length Dewey spoke,—</p> + +<p>"You may fire when you are ready, Captain +Gridley," he said. Captain Gridley was ready +and waiting. In an instant a great eight-inch +shell from the <i>Olympia</i> went screaming +through the air.</p> + +<p>This was the signal. The <i>Baltimore</i> and the +<i>Boston</i> followed, and before five minutes had +passed every ship was pouring shot and shell +on the Spanish squadron and forts. Great guns +and small guns, slow-fire guns and rapid-fire +guns, hand guns and machine guns, all +boomed and barked together, and their shot +whistled and screamed, until it sounded like a +mighty carnival of death.</p> + +<p>Down the Spanish line swept the American<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[301]</a></span> +ships. Then they turned and swept back, firing +from the other side of the ships. Six times, +this way, they passed the Spanish ships, while +the air was full of great iron balls and dense +clouds of smoke floated over all.</p> + +<p>You will not ask which side had the best of +the battle after I tell you one thing. The Americans +had been trained to aim and fire, and the +Spaniards had not. Here overhead flew a +Spanish shell. There another plunged into the +water without reaching a ship. Hardly one of +them reached its mark. Not an American was +killed or wounded. A box of powder went off +and hurt a few men, and that was all.</p> + +<p>But the Spanish ships were rent and torn +like deer when lions get among them, and their +men fell by dozens at a time. It was one of the +most one-sided fights ever seen.</p> + +<p>Admiral Montojo, of the Spanish fleet, could +not stand this. He started out with his flagship, +named the <i>Reina Cristina</i>, straight for +the <i>Olympia</i>, which he hoped to cut in two. +But as soon as his ship appeared all the American +ships turned their guns on it, and riddled +it with a frightful storm of iron.</p> + +<p>The brave Spaniard saw that his ship would<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[302]</a></span> +be sunk if he went on. He turned to run back, +but as he did so a great eight-inch shell struck +his ship in the stern and went clear through to +the bow, scattering death and destruction on +every side. It exploded one of the boilers. It +blew open the deck. It set the ship on fire. +White smoke came curling up. The ship fought +on as the fire burned, but she was past hope.</p> + +<p>Two torpedo-boats came out, but they could +not stand the storm any better than the <i>Reina +Cristina</i>. In a few minutes one of them was +cut through and went like a stone to the bottom. +The other ran in faster than she had +come out and went ashore.</p> + +<p>For two hours this dreadful work went on. +Then Dewey thought it was time to give his +men a rest and let them have some breakfast, +so he steamed away. Three of the Spanish +ships were burning like so much tinder, and it +was plain that the battle was as good as won.</p> + +<p>A little after eleven o'clock the American +ships came back fresh as ever, all of them with +the Stars and Stripes afloat. The Spanish flag +was flying too, but nearly every ship was in +flames. But the Spaniards were not whipped +yet. They began to fire again, and so for another<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[303]</a></span> +hour the fight went on. At the end of +that time the guns were silenced, the flags had +gone down, and the battle was won.</p> + +<p>That was the end of the most one-sided victory +in the history of the American navy. All +the Spanish ships were on fire and had sunk in +the shallow bay. Hundreds of their men were +dead or wounded. The American ships were +nearly as good as ever, for hardly a shot had +struck them, and only eight men were slightly +hurt. The Spaniards had fired fast enough, but +they had wasted nearly all their shot.</p> + +<p>When the people of the United States heard +of this great victory they were wild with delight. +Before that very few had heard of +George Dewey; now he was looked on as one +of our greatest naval heroes. "Dewey on the +bridge," with shot and shell screaming about +him, was as fine a figure as "Farragut in the +shrouds" had once been.</p> + +<p>Congress made him a rear-admiral at once, +and soon after they made him an admiral. +This is the highest rank in the American navy. +Only Farragut and Porter had borne it before.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[304]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER XXVIII</h2> + +<h3>HOBSON AND THE SINKING OF THE "MERRIMAC"</h3> + +<h3><span class="smcap">An Heroic Deed Worthy of the American Navy</span></h3> + +<div class='cap'>SOME of us know what a dark night is +and some of us don't. Those who live +in cities, under the glare of the electric +light, hardly ever see real darkness. One must +go far into the country, and be out on a cloudy +night, to know what it means to be really in +the dark. Or to be out at sea, with not a light +above or below.</div> + +<p>It was on such a night that a great black +hulk moved like a sable monster through the +waters off the coast of Cuba. This was the +night of June 3, 1898. There was a moon +somewhere in the sky, but thick clouds lay over +it and snuffed out its light. And on the vessel +not a light was to be seen and not a sound could +be heard. It was like a mighty beast gliding +on its prey.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[305]</a></span></p> + +<p>This vessel was the <i>Merrimac</i>, which had +carried a load of coal to the American fleet that +lay outside of Santiago de Cuba. Inside the +harbor there were four fine Spanish ships-of-war. +But these were like foxes run into their +hole, with the hunters waiting for them outside.</p> + +<p>The harbor of Santiago is something like a +great, mis-shipen water-bottle, and the passage +into the harbor is like the neck of the +bottle. Now, if you want to keep anything +from getting out of a bottle you drive a cork +into its neck. And that is just what the Americans +were trying to do. The <i>Merrimac</i> was +the cork with which they wanted to fasten up +the Spanish ships in the water-bottle of Santiago.</p> + +<p>The captain of the <i>Merrimac</i> was a young +officer named Richard P. Hobson, who was +ready to give his life, if he must, for his country. +Admiral Sampson did not like to send +anyone into such terrible danger, but the daring +young man insisted on going, and he had +no trouble in getting seven men to go with him.</p> + +<p>Most of the coal had been taken out of the +<i>Merrimac</i>, but there was enough left to sink<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[306]</a></span> +her to the bottom like a stone. And along both +sides there had been placed a row of torpedoes, +filled with gunpowder and with electric wires +to set them off when the right time came.</p> + +<p>Hobson was to try to take the ship to the +right spot, and then to blow holes in her sides +with the torpedoes and sink her across the +channel. Would not he and his men sink with +her? Oh, well, they took the chances on that.</p> + +<p>Lieutenant Hobson had a fine plan laid out; +but the trouble with fine plans is that they do +not always work in a fine way. He was to go +in to where the channel was very narrow. +Then he was to let the anchor fall and swing +the ship round crossways with the rudder. +Then he would touch the button to fire the torpedoes. +When that was done they would all +jump overboard and swim to the little boat that +was towed astern. They expected the <i>Merrimac</i> +would sink across the channel and thus +cork it up.</p> + +<p>That was the plan. Don't you think it was +a very good one? I am sure Lieutenant Hobson +and Admiral Sampson thought so, and felt +sure they were going to give the Spaniards a +great deal of trouble.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[307]</a></span></p> + +<p>It was about three o'clock when the <i>Merrimac</i> +came into the mouth of the channel. +Here it was pitch dark and as still as death. +But the Spaniards were not asleep. They had +a small picket-boat in the harbor's mouth, on +the lookout for trouble, and its men saw a +deeper darkness moving through the darkness.</p> + +<p>They thought it must be one of the American +warships and rowed out and fired several +shots at it. One of these hit the chains of the +rudder and carried them off. That spoiled +Hobson's plan of steering across the channel. +You see, as I have just told you, it does not +take much to spoil a good plan.</p> + +<p>The alarm was given and the Spaniards in +the forts roused up. They looked out and saw +this dark shadow gliding swiftly on through +the gloom. They, too, thought it must be an +American battleship, and that the whole fleet +might be coming close behind to attack the +ships in the harbor.</p> + +<p>The guns of Morro Castle and of the shore +batteries began to rain their balls on the <i>Merrimac</i>. +Then the Spanish ships joined in and +fired down the channel until there was a terrible +roar. And as the <i>Merrimac</i> drove on, a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[308]</a></span> +dynamite mine under the water went off behind +her, flinging the water into the air, but +not doing her any harm.</p> + +<p>The cannonade was fierce and fast, but the +darkness and the smoke of the guns hid the +<i>Merrimac</i>, and she went on unhurt. Soon the +narrow part of the channel was reached. Then +the anchor was dropped to the bottom and the +engines were made to go backward. The helm +was set, but the ship did not turn. Hobson +now first learned that the rudder chains were +gone and the ship could not be steered. The +little picket-boat had spoiled his fine plan.</p> + +<p>There was only one thing left to do. He +touched the electric button. In a second a dull +roar came up from below and the ship pitched +and rolled. A thousand pounds of powder had +exploded and blown great jagged holes in the +ship's sides.</p> + +<p>Hobson and his men leaped over the side +into the water. Those who were slow about it +were flung over by the shock. Down plunged +the <i>Merrimac</i> beneath the waves, while loud +cheers came from the forts. The Spanish gunners +were glad, for they thought they had +sunk a great American battleship.</p> + +<div class="figright" style="width: 325px;"> +<img src="images/i-339.jpg" width="325" height="500" alt="Hobson Blowing up the Merrimac." title="" /> +<span class="caption">Hobson Blowing up the Merrimac.</span> +</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[309]</a></span></p> + +<p>But it does not matter to us what the Spaniards +thought. All we want to know is what +became of Lieutenant Hobson and his daring +men. Their little boat had been carried away +by a Spanish shot, and they were swimming in +the deep waters without knowing what would +be their fate. On one side was the sea; on the +other were the Spaniards: they did not know +which would be the worst.</p> + +<p>"I swam away from the ship as soon as I +struck the water," said Hobson, "but I could +feel the eddies drawing me backward in spite +of all I could do. That did not last long, +however, and as soon as I felt the tugging +cease I turned and struck out for the float, +which I could see dimly bobbing up and down +over the sunken hull."</p> + +<p>The float he spoke of was a sort of raft +which lay on the ship's deck, with a rope tied +to it so as to let it float. The rope pulled one +side of it a little under the water, so that the +other side was a little above the water.</p> + +<p>This was a good thing for Hobson and his +men, for Spanish boats were soon rowing out +to where the ship had gone down. The eight +men got under the high side of the raft, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[310]</a></span> +held on to it by putting their fingers through +the crevices.</p> + +<p>"All night long we stayed there with our +noses and mouths barely out of the water," says +Hobson.</p> + +<p>They were afraid to speak or move, for fear +they would be shot by the men in the boats. +It was that way all night long. Boats kept +rowing about, some of them very close, but +nobody thought of looking under the raft. The +water felt warm at first, but after a while it +felt cold, and their fingers ached and their teeth +chattered.</p> + +<p>One of the men, who thought he could not +stand this any longer, left the raft and started +to swim ashore. Hobson had to call him back. +He came at once, but the call was heard on +the boats and they rowed swiftly up. But they +did not find the hiding place of the men and +rowed away again.</p> + +<p>After daylight came Hobson saw a steam-launch +approaching from the ships. There +were officers in it, and when it came near he +gave it a hail. His voice seemed to scare the +men on board, for they backed off in great +haste.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[311]</a></span></p> + +<p>They were still more surprised when they +saw a number of men clamber out from under +the float. The marines in the launch were +about to fire, but the officers would not let them.</p> + +<p>Then Hobson swam towards the launch and +called out in Spanish:</p> + +<p>"Is there an officer on board?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," came the reply.</p> + +<p>"I have seven men to surrender," said Hobson.</p> + +<p>He now swam up and was seized and lifted +out of the water. One of the men who had +hold of him was Admiral Cervera, the commander +of the Spanish fleet.</p> + +<p>The admiral gave an odd look at the queer +kind of fish he had caught. Hobson had been +in the engine-room of the <i>Merrimac</i> and was +covered with oil, coal-dust, and soot. But he +wore his officer's belt, and when he pointed to +that the admiral smiled and bade him welcome.</p> + +<p>Then the men were taken on board the +launch, where they were well treated. They +had come very near death and had escaped.</p> + +<p>Of course, you want to read the rest of this +story. Well, they were locked up in Morro +Castle. This was a fine old fort on the cliff at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[312]</a></span> +the harbor's mouth, where they could see the +great shells come in from the ships and explode, +and see the Spanish gunners fire back.</p> + +<p>Admiral Cervera was very kind to them and +sent word to Admiral Sampson that they were +safe, and that he would exchange them for +Spanish prisoners.</p> + +<p>They were not exchanged until July 7, and +by that time Admiral Cervera's ships had all +been destroyed and he was a prisoner himself.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[313]</a></span></p> +<h2>CHAPTER XXIX</h2> + +<h3>SAMPSON AND SCHLEY WIN RENOWN</h3> + +<h3><span class="smcap">The Greatest Sea Fight of the Century</span></h3> + +<div class='cap'>I HAVE told you what Hobson did and what +Wainwright did at Santiago. Now it is +time to tell all about what the ships did +there; the story of the great Spanish dash for +liberty and its woeful ending.</div> + +<p>Santiago is the second city of Cuba. It lies +as far to the east as Havana does to the west, +and is on the south of the island, while Havana +is on the north. Like Havana, it has a fine +harbor, which is visited by many ships.</p> + +<p>Well, soon after the war with Spain began, +our naval captains were in trouble. They had +a riddle given them for which they could not +find the answer. There was a squadron of +Spanish warships at sea, and nobody knew +where to look for them. They might fire into +the cities along the coast and do no end of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[314]</a></span> +damage. Maybe there was not much danger +of this; but there is nothing sure in war, and +it does not take much to scare some people.</p> + +<p>The navy wanted to be on the safe side, so +one part of the fleet was put on the lookout +along our coast; and another part, under Commodore +Schley, went around the west end of +the island of Cuba; and a third part, under Admiral +Sampson, went to the east. They were +all on the hunt for the Spanish ships, but for +days and days nothing of them was to be seen.</p> + +<p>After they had looked into this hole and +into that hole along the coast, like sea-dogs +hunting a sea-coon, word came that the Spanish +ships had been seen going into Santiago +harbor. Then straight for Santiago went all +the fleet, with its captains very glad to have +the answer to the riddle.</p> + +<p>Never before had the United States so splendid +a fleet to fight with. There were five fine +battleships, the <i>Iowa</i>, the <i>Indiana</i>, the <i>Massachusetts</i>, +the <i>Oregon</i>, and the <i>Texas</i>. Then +there was the <i>New York</i>, Admiral Sampson's +flagship, and the <i>Brooklyn</i>, Commodore +Schley's flagship. These were steel-clad cruisers, +not so heavy, but much faster than the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[315]</a></span> +battleships. Besides these there were monitors, +and cruisers, and gunboats, and vessels +of other kinds, all spread like a net around the +mouth of the harbor, ready to catch any big +fish that might swim out. Do you not think +that was a pretty big crowd of ships to deal +with the Spanish squadron, which had only +four cruisers and two torpedo-boats?</p> + +<p>But then, you know, the insider sometimes +has a better chance than the outsider. It is +not easy to keep such a crowd of vessels together +out at sea. They run out of coal, or +get out of order, or something else happens. +If the insider keeps his eyes wide open and +waits long enough his chance will come.</p> + +<p>Admiral Cervera, the Spanish commander, +was in a very tight place. Outside lay the +American ships, and inside was the American +army, which kept pushing ahead and was likely +to take Santiago in a few days. If he waited +he might be caught like a rat in a trap. And +if he came outside he might be caught like a +fish in a net. He thought it all over and he +made up his mind that it was better to be a +fish than a rat, so he decided to come out of +the harbor.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[316]</a></span></p> + +<p>He waited till the 3d of July. On that day +there were only five of the big ships outside—four +of the battleships and the cruiser <i>Brooklyn</i>. +And two of the battleships were a little +out of order and were being made right. Admiral +Sampson had gone up the coast with the +<i>New York</i> for a talk with the army general, +so he was out of the way.</p> + +<p>No doubt the Spanish lookouts saw all this +and told their admiral what they had seen. So, +on that Sunday morning, with every vessel +under full steam, the Spaniards raised their +anchors and started on their last cruise.</p> + +<p>Now let us take a look at the big ships outside. +On these everybody was keeping Sunday. +The officers had put on their best Sunday +clothes, and the men were lying or lounging +idly about the deck. Of course, there were +lookouts aloft. Great ships like these always +have their lookouts. A war-vessel never quite +goes to sleep. It always keeps one eye open. +This Sunday morning the lookouts saw smoke +coming up the harbor, but likely enough they +thought that the Spaniards were frying fish +for their Sunday breakfast.</p> + +<div class="figleft" style="width: 331px;"> +<img src="images/i-349.jpg" width="331" height="500" alt="The Fighting Top of the Texas." title="" /> +<a href="images/i-349-big.jpg"><span class="caption">The Fighting Top of the Texas.</span></a> +</div> + +<p>And so the hours went on until it was about<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[317]</a></span> +half-past nine. Then an officer on the <i>Brooklyn</i> +called to the lookout aloft:</p> + +<p>"Isn't that smoke moving?"</p> + +<p>The answer came back with a yell that made +everybody jump:</p> + +<p>"There's a big ship coming out of the harbor!"</p> + +<p>In a second the groups of officers and men +were on their feet and wide-awake. The Spaniards +were coming! Nobody now wanted to be +at home or to go a-fishing. There were bigger +fish coming into their net.</p> + +<p>"Clear the ship for action!" cried Commodore +Schley.</p> + +<p>From every part of the ship the men rushed +to their quarters. Far down below the stokers +began to shovel coal like mad into the furnaces. +In the turrets the gun-crews hurried +to get their guns ready. The news spread like +lightning, and the men made ready like magic +for the terrible work before them.</p> + +<p>It was the same on all the ships as on the +<i>Brooklyn</i>, for all of them saw the Spaniards +coming. Down past the wreck of the <i>Merrimac</i> +sped Cervera's ships, and headed for the +open sea. First came the <i>Maria Teresa</i>, the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[318]</a></span> +admiral's flagship. Then came the <i>Vizcaya</i>, +the <i>Oquendo</i>, and the <i>Cristobal Colon</i>, and +after them the two torpedo-boats.</p> + +<p>"Full speed ahead! Open fire!" roared the +commodore from the bridge of the <i>Brooklyn</i>, +and in a second there came a great roar and a +huge iron globe went screaming towards the +Spanish ships.</p> + +<p>It was the same on the other ships. Five +minutes before they had been swinging lazily +on the long rolling waves, everybody at rest. +Now clouds of black smoke came pouring from +their funnels, every man was at his post, every +gun ready for action, and the great ships were +beginning to move through the water at the +full power of the engines. And from every +one of them came flashes as of lightning, and +roars as of thunder, and huge shells went +whirling through the air toward the Spanish +ships.</p> + +<p>Out of the channel they dashed, four noble +ships, and turned to the west along the coast. +Only the <i>Brooklyn</i> was on that side of the +harbor, and for ten minutes three of the Spanish +ships poured at her a terrible fire.</p> + +<p>But soon the <i>Oregon</i>, the <i>Indiana</i>, the <i>Iowa</i>,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[319]</a></span> +and the <i>Texas</i> came rapidly up, and the Spanish +gunners had new game to fire at.</p> + +<p>You might suppose that the huge iron shells, +whirling through the air, and bursting with a +frightful roar, would tear and rend the ships +as though they were made of paper.</p> + +<p>But just think how it was at Manila, where +the Spaniards fired at the sea and the sky, and +the Americans fired at the Spanish ships. It +was the same here at Santiago. The Spaniards +went wild with their guns and wasted +their balls, while the Americans made nearly +every shot tell.</p> + +<p>It was a dreadful tragedy for Spain that day +on the Cuban coast. The splendid ships which +came out of the harbor so stately and trim, +soon looked like ragged wrecks. In less than +half an hour two of them were ashore and in +a fierce blaze, and the two others were flying +for life. The first to yield was the <i>Maria +Teresa</i>, the flagship of the admiral. One shell +from the <i>Brooklyn</i> burst in her cabin and in a +second it was in flames. One from the <i>Texas</i> +burst in the engine-room and broke the steam-pipe. +Some burst on the deck; some riddled +the hull; death and terror were everywhere.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[320]</a></span></p> + +<p>The men were driven from the guns, the +flames rose higher, the water poured in through +the shot holes, and there was nobody to work +the pumps. All was lost, and the ship was run +ashore and her flag pulled down.</p> + +<p>In very few minutes the <i>Oquendo</i> followed +the flagship ashore, both of them looking like +great blazing torches. The shells from the +great guns had torn her terribly, many of her +crew had been killed, and those who were left +had to run her ashore to keep her from going +to the bottom of the sea.</p> + +<p>In half an hour, as you may see, two of the +Spanish ships had been half torn to pieces and +driven ashore, and only two were still afloat. +These were the <i>Vizcaya</i> and the <i>Cristobal +Colon</i>. When the <i>Maine</i> was sent to Havana, +before the beginning of the war, a Spanish +warship was sent to New York. This was the +<i>Vizcaya</i>. She was a trim and handsome ship +and her officers had a hearty welcome.</p> + +<p>It was a different sort of welcome she now +got. The <i>Brooklyn</i> and the <i>Oregon</i> were after +her and her last day had come. So hot was the +fire that her men were driven from their guns +and flames began to appear.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[321]</a></span></p> + +<p>Then she, too, was run ashore and her flag +was hauled down. It was just an hour after +the chase began and she had gone twenty miles +down the coast. Now she lay blazing redly +on the shallow shore and in the night she blew +up. It was a terrible business, the ruin of +those three fine vessels.</p> + +<p>There was one more Spanish ship, the <i>Cristobal +Colon</i>. (This is the Spanish for Christopher +Columbus.) She was the fastest of +them all, and for a time it looked as if Spain +might save one of her ships.</p> + +<p>But there were bloodhounds on her track, +the <i>Brooklyn</i>, six miles behind, and the <i>Oregon</i>, +more than seven miles away.</p> + +<p>Swiftly onward fled the deer, and swiftly +onward followed the war-hounds. Mile by +mile they gained on the chase. About one +o'clock, when she was four miles away, the +<i>Oregon</i> sent a huge shell whizzing from one +of her great 13-inch guns. It struck the water +just behind the <i>Colon</i>; but another that followed +struck the water ahead.</p> + +<p>Then the <i>Brooklyn</i> tried her eight-inch guns, +and sent a shell through the <i>Colon's</i> side, above +her belt of steel. For twenty minutes this was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[322]</a></span> +kept up. The <i>Colon</i> was being served like her +consorts. At the end of that time her flag was +pulled down and the last of the Spanish ships +ran ashore. She had made a flight for life of +nearly fifty miles.</p> + +<p>This, you see, is not the story of a sea-fight; +it is the story of a sea-chase. Much has been +said about who won the honor at Santiago, +but I think any of you could tell that in a few +words. It was the men who ran the engines +and who aimed the guns that won the game. +The commanders did nothing but run after the +runaway Spaniards, and there is no great +honor in that. What else was there for them +to do? They could not run the other way.</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<div class='tnote'><h3>Transcriber's Notes:</h3> +<p>Obvious punctuation errors repaired.</p> + +<p>The remaining corrections made are indicated by dotted lines under the corrections. Scroll the mouse over the word and the original text will <ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'apprear'">appear</ins>.</p></div> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Stories of Our Naval Heroes, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STORIES OF OUR NAVAL HEROES *** + +***** This file should be named 32273-h.htm or 32273-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/2/2/7/32273/ + +Produced by Emmy, Tor Martin Kristiansen and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Stories of Our Naval Heroes + Every Child Can Read + +Author: Various + +Editor: Jesse Lyman Hurlbut + +Release Date: May 6, 2010 [EBook #32273] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STORIES OF OUR NAVAL HEROES *** + + + + +Produced by Emmy, Tor Martin Kristiansen and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive) + + + + + + + + +[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. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +A BRITISH SCHOONER CAPTURED BY FARMERS IN 1775 + +CAPTAIN JERRY O'BRIEN LEADS THE PATRIOTS OF 1775 + + +HOW would any of you like to go back to the days when people had only +tallow candles to light their houses, and the moon to light their +streets, when they traveled on horseback or by stage, and got their news +only when it happened to come? In these days of the electric light, the +railroad train, and the telegraph that old way of living would not seem +living at all. + +Yet that was the way people lived in 1775 when the Revolution began. It +took weeks for news to travel then, where it takes seconds now. Thus the +fight at Lexington, which began the Revolution, took place on April +19th, but it was May 9th, more than half a month later, before the news +of it reached the little town of Machias, on the coast of Maine. We +should hardly call that fast time. It must have taken several naps on +the way. + +But when the news came, it found the people ready for it. A coasting +schooner put into the port and brought the story of how the patriots had +fought and bled at Lexington and Concord, and of how the British were +shut up in Boston town, and the country was at war. The news was +received with ringing cheers. + +If any of my readers had been at Machias that day I know they would have +felt like striking a blow for liberty. At any rate, that is how the +people of Machias felt, and it did not take them long to show it. + +They had some reason not to like the King and his men. All the tall, +straight trees in their woods were kept to make masts for the King's +ships, and no woodman dared set axe to one of these pine trees except at +risk of going to prison. Just then there were two sloops in their harbor +loading with ship-timber, and an armored schooner, the _Margaretta_, was +there as a good looker-on. + +When the men on the wharf heard the story of Lexington, their eyes fell +on the _Margaretta_. Here was a chance to let King George know what +they thought about his robbing their woods. + +"Keep this a secret," they said to the sailors. "Not a word of it to +Captain Moore or his men. Wait till to-morrow and you will see some +sport." + +That night sixty of the countrymen and townsmen met at a farmhouse +nearby and laid their plans. It was Saturday. On Sunday Captain Moore +and his officers would go to church. Then they could gather at the wharf +and might take the schooner by surprise. + +But it is often easier to make a plot than to keep it a secret, and that +lesson they were to learn. The captain and his officers went to the +little village church at sound of the morning bell; the _Margaretta_ lay +lazily floating near the shore; and the plotters began to gather, two or +three at a time strolling down towards the shore, each of them carrying +some weapon. + +But in some way Captain Moore discovered their purpose. What bird in the +air whispered to him the secret we do not know, but he suddenly sprang +to his feet, called to his officers to follow him, and leaped like a cat +through the church window, without waiting to go round by the door. We +may be sure the old-fashioned preacher and the pious people in the pews +looked on with wide-open eyes. + +Down the street like a deer sped the captain. After him came his +officers. In their rear rushed the patriots, some carrying old muskets, +some with scythes and reaping-hooks. + +It was a hot flight and a hot chase. Luckily for Captain Moore the guard +on the schooner was wide-awake. He saw the countrymen chasing his +captain, and at once loaded and fired a gun, whose ball went whistling +over the head of the men of Maine. This was more than they looked for; +they held back in doubt; some of them sought hiding places; before they +could gain fresh courage, a boat put off from the schooner and took the +captain and his officers on board. + +Captain Moore did not know what was wrong, but he thought he would +frighten the people, at any rate. So his cannon thundered and balls came +hurtling over the town. Then he drew up his anchor and sailed several +miles down the bay, letting the anchor fall again near a high bank. Some +of the townsmen followed, and a man named Foster called from the bank, +bidding him surrender. But the captain laughed at him, raised his anchor +once more, and ran farther out into the bay. + +It looked as if the whole affair was at an end and the _Margaretta_ +safe. But the men of Machias were not yet at the end of their rope. +There lay the lumber sloops, and where a schooner could go a sloop could +follow. + +Early Monday morning four young men climbed to the deck of one of the +sloops and cheered in a way that soon brought a crowd to the wharf. One +of these was a bold, gallant fellow named Jeremiah O'Brien. + +"What is in the wind?" he asked. + +"We are going for the King's ship," said Wheaton, one of the men. "We +can outsail her, and all we want is guns enough and men enough to take +her." + +"My boys, we can do it," cried O'Brien in lusty tones, after hearing the +plan. + +Everybody ran off for arms, but all they could find in the town were +twenty guns, with enough powder and balls to make three shots for each. +Their other weapons were thirteen pitchforks and twelve axes. Jerry +O'Brien was chosen captain, thirty-five of the most athletic men were +selected, and the sloop put off before a fresh breeze for the first +naval battle of the Revolution. + +It is likely that there were a few sailors among them, and no doubt +their captain knew how to handle a sloop. But the most of them were +landsmen, chiefly haymakers, for Machias lay amid grassy meadows and the +making of hay was its chief business. And there were some woodsmen, who +knew well how to swing an axe. They were all bold men and true, who +cared more for their country than for the King. + +When Captain Moore saw the sloop coming with its deck crowded with men +he must have wondered what all this meant. What ailed these countrymen? +Anyhow, he would not fight without knowing what he was fighting for, so +he raised his anchor, set his sails, and made for the open sea. But he +had hardly started when, in going about in the strong wind, the main +boom swung across so sharply that it struck the backstays and broke +short off. + +I fancy if any of us had been close by then we would have heard ringing +cheers from the Yankee crew. They felt sure now of their prize, though +we cannot see why, for the _Margaretta_ had twenty-four cannon, four +throwing six-pound balls and the rest one-pound balls. Muskets and +pitchforks did not seem of much use against these. It had also more men +than the sloop. + +We cannot see why Captain Moore showed his heels instead of his fists, +for he soon proved that he was no coward. But he still seemed to want to +get away, so he drew up beside a schooner that lay at anchor, robbed it +of its boom, lashed it to his own mast and once more took to flight. But +the sloop was now not far behind, and soon showed that it was the better +sailer of the two. In the end it came so close that Captain Moore was +forced to fight or yield. + +One of the swivel guns was fired, and then came a whole broadside, +sending its balls hurtling over the crowded deck of the sloop. One man +fell dead, but no other harm was done. + +Only a single shot was fired back, but this came from a heavy gun and +was aimed by an old hunter. It struck the man at the helm of the +schooner. He fell dead, letting the rudder swing loose. + +The _Margaretta_, with no hand at her helm, broached to, and in a minute +more the sloop came crashing against her. At once there began a fierce +battle between the British tars and the haymakers of Maine, who sprang +wildly and with ringing cheers for the schooner's deck. Weapons of all +sorts now came into play. Cutlasses, hand-grenades, pistols and boarding +pikes were used by the schooner's men; muskets, pitchforks, and axes +were skilfully handled by the crew of the sloop. Men fast fell dead and +wounded; the decks grew red with blood; both sides fought fiercely, the +men of Machias striving like tigers to gain a footing on the schooner's +deck, the British tars meeting and driving them back. + +Captain Moore showed that it was not fear that made him run away. He now +fought bravely at the head of his men, cheering them on and hurling +hand-grenades at the foe. + +But in a few minutes the end came. A bullet struck the gallant captain +and he fell dead on his deck. When they saw him fall the crew lost heart +and drew back. The Yankees swarmed over the bulwarks. In a minute more +the _Margaretta_ was theirs. + +The battle, though short, had been desperate, for twenty men lay killed +and wounded, more than a fourth of the whole number engaged. + +As Bunker Hill showed British soldiers that the Yankees could fight on +land, so the capture of the _Margaretta_, the first naval victory of the +Americans, showed that they could fight at sea. The _Margaretta_ was +very much the stronger, in men, in guns, and in her trained officers and +skilled crew. Yet she had been taken by a party of landsmen, with +muskets against cannon and pitchforks against pistols. It was a victory +of which the colonists could well be proud. + +But Captain O'Brien was not yet satisfied. He had now a good sloop under +his feet, a good crew at his back, and the arms and ammunition of his +prize. He determined to go a-privateering on his own account. + +Taking the _Margaretta_ to the town, he handed over his prisoners and +put the cannon and swivels of the schooner on his swifter sloop, +together with the muskets, pistols, powder, and shot which he found on +board. Then away he went, with a bold and daring crew, in search for +prizes and glory. + +He soon found both. When the news of what he had done reached Halifax, +the British there sent out two schooners, with orders to capture the +insolent Yankee and bring him to port and to prison. But Captain O'Brien +showed that he knew how to handle a sloop as well as a pitchfork. He met +the schooners sent to capture him, and by skilful sailing managed to +separate them. Then he made a bold dash on each of them and in a little +time captured them both. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +BENEDICT ARNOLD, THE SOLDIER-SAILOR + +A NOVEL FIGHT ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN + + +WAS it not a dreadful pity that Benedict Arnold should disgrace himself +forever by becoming a traitor to his country? To think of his making +himself the most despised of all Americans, when, if he had been true to +his flag, he might have been ranked among our greatest heroes. For +Arnold was one of the best and bravest fighters in Washington's army. +And he could fight as hard and well on water as on land, as you will +learn when you read of what he did on Lake Champlain. + +I am sure all my readers must know where this lake is, and how it +stretches down in a long line from Canada far into New York State. Below +Lake Champlain extends Lake George, and not very far from that is the +Hudson River, which flows down to the City of New York. + +If the British could only have held that line of water they would have +cut the colonies in two, and in that way they might soon have brought +the war to an end. This was what they tried to do in the fall of 1776, +but they did not count on Arnold and his men. + +Let us tell what brought this about. General Arnold and General +Montgomery had marched through the wilderness to Quebec in the winter +before. But there they met with bitter weather and deadly disease and +death from cold and cannon. The brave Montgomery was killed, the daring +Arnold fought in vain, and in the end the invading army was forced to +march back--all that was left of it. + +As the Americans went back, Sir Guy Carleton, the British commander, +followed, and made his camp at St. John's, at the north end of Lake +Champlain. The nearest American post was at Crown Point, far down +towards the foot of the lake. Not far south of this, near the head of +Lake George, was the famous old French fort Ticonderoga, which Arnold +and Ethan Allen had captured from the British the year before. I tell +you all this that you may know how the land lay. A glance at a good map +will help. + +I think it very likely that some of you may have visited those beautiful +lakes, and seen the towns and villages on their shores, the handsome +dwelling on their islands, and the broad roads along their banks; +everything gay and smiling. + +If you had been there in 1776 you would have seen a very different +sight. Look right or left, east or west, nothing but a wilderness of +trees would have met your eyes. As for roads, I fancy an Indian trail +would have been the best to be found. And no man that wished to keep his +scalp on his head would have thought of living on island or shore. + +The only good road southward was the liquid one made by nature, and this +road Carleton decided to take. He would build a strong fleet and carry +his army down the lake, while the Indians that came with him could +paddle downward in their canoes. + +At this time there was not a vessel on the lakes, but Carleton worked +hard, and soon had such a fleet as these waters had never seen. Three +of his ships were built in England in such a way that they could be +taken to pieces, carried through the wilderness to St. John's, and there +put together again. The smaller vessels were built on the spot, +soldiers, sailors, and farmers all working on them. + +It was well on in October before his task was finished. Then he had a +fleet of twenty-five vessels in all, twenty of them being gunboats, but +some of them quite large. Their crews numbered a thousand men, and they +carried eighty-nine cannon. + +You may well suppose that the Americans knew what was going on, and that +they did not fold their hands and wait. That is not, and never was, the +American way. If the British could build, so could the Yankees, and +Benedict Arnold was ordered to build a fleet, and to have it ready for +fighting the British when it would be needed. + +Arnold had been at sea in his time and knew something of what he was +about. His men were farmers who had taken up arms for their country, but +he sent for a few shipbuilders from the coast and went to work with all +his might. + +When October came he had fifteen vessels afloat. There were two +schooners and one sloop, the others being called galleys and +gondolas--no better than large rowboats, with three to six guns each. + +Arnold had about as many guns as Carleton, but they were smaller, and he +had not nearly so many men to handle them. And his men were farmers +instead of sailors, and knew no more about a cannon than about a king's +crown. But the British ships were manned by picked seamen from the +warships in the St. Lawrence River, and had trained naval officers. + +I fear if any of us had been in Arnold's place we would have wanted to +go home. It looked like folly for him and his men to fight the British +fleet with its skilled officers and sailors and its heavy guns. It was +like meeting a raft of logs with one of chips. + +But Arnold was not a man who stopped to count the cost when fighting was +to be had. As soon as he was ready he set sail boldly up the lake, and +on the morning of October 11, 1776, he drew up his little fleet across a +narrow channel between Valcour Island and the west shore of the lake. +He knew the British would soon be down. + +It was a fine, clear, cool morning, with a strong wind from the north, +just the kind of day Carleton had been waiting for. So, soon after +sunrise, his fleet came sweeping on past Valcour Island. But all the +sailors saw was a thicket of green trees, and they had got well south of +the island before they looked back and saw the American fleet. + +Here was an ugly situation. It would never do to leave the Americans in +their rear. Down went the helms, round swept the sails, out came the +oars, and soon the British fleet was making a struggle against the wind +which had seemed so fair a few minutes before. So strong was the breeze +that ten o'clock had passed before they reached the channel in which the +Americans lay. Arnold came eagerly to meet them, with the _Royal +Savage_, his largest vessel, and three of his gondolas. One of these, +the _Congress_, he had made his flagship. Soon the waters of that quiet +bay rang with the roar of cannon and the shouts of fighting men, and +Arnold, having drawn the fire of the whole British fleet, was obliged to +hurry back. + +In doing so he met with a serious loss. The _Royal Savage_, pierced by a +dozen balls, ran ashore on the island. As she could not be got off, the +crew set her on fire and escaped to the woods. They might better have +leaped into the lake, for the woods were full of Indians whom Carleton +had sent ashore; and to be a prisoner to Indians in those days was a +terrible fate. + +When he got back to his fleet, Arnold formed his line to meet the +British, who came steadily on until within musket shot. Then a furious +battle began, broadside meeting broadside, grape-shot and round-shot +hurtling through the air, the thick smoke of the conflict drifting into +the woodland, while from the forest came back flame and bullets as the +Indians fought for their British friends. + +Arnold, on the deck of the _Congress_, led in the thickest of the fight, +handling his fleet as if he had been an admiral born, cheering the men +at the guns, aiming and firing a gun at intervals himself, and not +yielding a foot to the foe. Now and then a gun was fired at the Indians, +forcing them to skip nimbly behind the trees. + +For six long hours the battle kept up at close quarters. This is what +Arnold says about it in few words: "At half-past twelve the engagement +became general and very warm. Some of the enemy's ships and all their +gondolas beat and rowed up within musket shot of us. They continued a +very hot fire with round and grape-shot until five o'clock, when they +thought proper to retire to about six or seven hundred yards distance, +and continued the fire till dark." + +Hot as their fire was, they must have found that of the Americans +hotter, for they went back out of range of the Yankee guns, but kept +within range of their own. + +Arnold's vessels were in a bad plight. Several of them were as full of +holes as a pepper bottle, and one sank soon after the fight ended. But +two of the British gunboats had been sunk and one blown up. The worst +for the Americans was that nearly all their powder was gone. They could +not fight an hour more. + +Perilous as was the situation, Admiral Arnold was equal to it. The night +came on dark and stormy, with a hard gale from the north. This was just +what he wanted. Up came the anchors and away went the boats, one after +the other in a long line, each showing a light to the vessel that +followed, but hiding it from British eyes. In this way they slipped +unseen through the British line, Arnold in the _Congress_ taking the +post of danger in the rear. + +When morning dawned the British lookouts gazed for the American fleet, +it was nowhere to be seen. It had vanished in the night and now was ten +miles down the lake, where it was drawn up near shore for repairs. + +Two of the gondolas proved to be past mending, and were sunk. The others +were patched up until they could be kept afloat without too much +pumping, and the fleet started on, hoping to gain the shelter of Crown +Point or Ticonderoga. The wind had changed to the south, and they had to +take to their oars. This kept them back, but it gave the British quite +as much trouble. That day passed away and the next day, Friday, dawned +before the pursuers came in sight. And now a chase began with oar and +sail, and continued till noon, when Crown Point was still some leagues +away. By this time the British cannon balls began to reach the American +boats, and the tired rowers were forced to turn to their guns and +fight. + +Never did sea-hero fight more gallantly than did the soldier Arnold that +day. The first British broadside ruined the gondola _Washington_ and +forced it to surrender. But Arnold in the little _Congress_ drew up +beside the _Inflexible_, a 300-ton ship with eighteen 12-pounder cannon, +and fought the ship with his little gunboat as if they had been of equal +strength. Inspired by his example, the other boats fought as bravely. + +Not until a third of his men were dead and his boat a mere wreck did he +give up the fight. But not to surrender--no such thought came into his +mind. By his order the galleys were run ashore in a creek nearby and +there set on fire. With the three guns of the shattered _Congress_ he +covered their retreat until their crews were safe on shore. + +Then, reckless of the British shot, he ran the _Congress_ ashore also +and stood guard at her stern while the crew set her on fire. The men by +his orders sought the shore, but Arnold stood by his flag to the last, +not leaving until the flames had such hold that he was sure no Briton's +hand could strike his flag. It would float until it went up in flames. + +Then he sprang into the water, waded ashore, and joined his men, who +greeted him with cheers. + +The savages were swarming in the woods, eager for scalps, but Arnold was +not troubled by fear of them. Forming his men into order, he marched +them through the woods, and before night reached safety at Crown Point. + +Thus ended one of the noblest fights the inland waters of America ever +saw. The British were victors, though at a heavy cost. Arnold had fought +until his fleet was annihilated; and not in vain. Carleton sailed back +to St. John's and made his way to Canada. He had seen enough of Yankee +pluck. Thus Arnold, though defeated, gained by his valor the fruit of +victory, for the British gave up their plan of holding the lake. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +CAPTAIN PAUL JONES + +THE GREATEST OF AMERICA'S NAVAL HEROES + + +ONCE upon a time there lived in Scotland a poor gardener named John +Paul, who had a little son to whom he gave the same name. The rich man's +garden that the father took care of was close by the sea, and little +John Paul came to love blue water so much that he spent most of his time +near it, and longed to be a sailor. + +He lived in his father's cottage near the sea until he was twelve years +old. Then he was put to work in a big town on the other side of the +Solway Firth. This town was called Whitehaven. It was a very busy place, +and ships and sailors were there in such numbers that the little fellow, +who had been put in a store, greatly liked to go down to the docks and +talk with the seamen who had been in so many different lands and seas +and who could tell him all about the wonderful and curious places they +had seen, and about their adventures on the great oceans they had sailed +over. + +In the end the boy made up his mind to go to sea. He studied all about +ships and how to sail them. He read all the books he could get, and +often, when other boys were asleep or in mischief, he was learning from +the books he read many things that helped him when he grew older. At +last he had his wish. When he was only thirteen years old, he was put as +a sailor boy on a ship called the _Friendship_. + +The vessel was bound to Virginia, in America, for a cargo of tobacco, +and the young sailor greatly enjoyed the voyage and was especially +delighted with the new country across the sea. He wished he could live +in America, and hoped some day to go there again. + +When this first voyage was over, he returned to Whitehaven and went back +to the store. But soon after, the merchant who owned the store failed in +business, and the boy was out of a place and had to look out for +himself. This time he became a real seaman. For many years he served as +a common sailor. He proved such a good one that before he was twenty +years old he was a captain. This was how he became one: While the ship +in which he was sailing was in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, a +terrible fever broke out. The captain died. The mate, who comes next to +the captain, died; all of the sailors were sick, and some of them died. +There was no one who knew about sailing such a big vessel, except young +John Paul. So he took command and sailed the ship into port without an +accident, and the owners were so glad that they made the young sailor +captain of the ship which he had saved for them. + +John Paul was not the only one of his family who loved America. He had a +brother who had crossed the ocean and was living in Virginia, on the +banks of the Rappahannock River. This was the same river beside which +George Washington lived when a boy. The young captain visited his +brother several times while he was sailing on his voyages, and he liked +the country so much that, when his brother died, he gave up being a +sailor for a while, and went to live on his brother's farm. + +When he became a farmer, he changed his name to Jones. Why he did so +nobody knows. But he ever after bore the name of John Paul Jones. He +made this one of the best known names in the history of the seas. + +I doubt if he was a very good farmer. He was too much of a sailor for +that. So, when the American Revolution began, he was eager to fight the +British on the seas. There was no nation at that time so powerful on the +sea as England. The King had a splendid fleet of ships of war--almost a +thousand. The United States had none. But soon the Americans got +together five little ships, and sent them out as the beginning of the +American navy, to fight the ships of England. + +John Paul Jones was made first lieutenant of a ship called the _Alfred_. +He had the good fortune to hoist for the first time on any ship, the +earliest American flag. This was a great yellow silk flag which had on +it the picture of a pine tree with a rattlesnake coiled around it, and +underneath were the words: "Don't tread on me!" + +Then the grand union flag of the colonies was set. This had thirteen red +and white stripes, like our present flag, but, instead of the stars, in +the corner it had the British "union jack." Thus there was a link on the +flag between the colonies and England. They had not quite cut apart. + +[Illustration: JOHN PAUL JONES.] + +Jones had first been offered the command of the _Providence_, a brig +that bore twelve guns and had a crew of one hundred men. But he showed +the kind of man he was by saying that he did not know enough to be a +captain, and was hardly fit to be a first lieutenant. That was how he +came to be made first lieutenant of the _Alfred_. Congress took him at +his own price. + +But Commodore Hopkins, who commanded the fleet, was wise enough to see +that Jones knew more about his work than most of the captains in the +service. So he ordered him to take command of the _Providence_, the snug +little brig that had first been offered to him. + +The new captain was set at work to carrying troops and guarding merchant +vessels along the shore, and he did this with wonderful skill. There +were British men-of-war nearly everywhere, but Jones managed to keep +clear of them. He darted up and down Long Island Sound, carrying +soldiers and guns and food to General Washington. So well did he do his +work that Congress made him a captain. This was on August 8, 1776, a +month and more after the "Declaration of Independence." He had a free +country now to fight for, instead of rebel colonies. + +The _Providence_ was a little vessel, but it was a fast sailer, and was +wonderfully quick to answer the helm. That is, it turned very quickly +when the rudder was moved. And it had a captain who knew how to sail a +ship. All this brought the little brig out of more than one tight place. + +I must tell you about one of these escapes, in which Captain Jones +showed himself a very sharp sea-fox. He came across a fleet of vessels +which he thought were merchant ships, and had a fancy he might capture +the largest. But when he got close up he found that this was a big +British frigate, the _Solebay_. + +Away went the _Providence_ at full speed, and hot-foot after her came +the _Solebay_. For four hours the chase was kept up, the frigate +steadily gaining. At last she was only a hundred yards away. Now was the +time to surrender. Nearly any one but Paul Jones would have done so. A +broadside from the great frigate would have torn his little brig to +pieces. But he was one of the "never surrender" kind. + +What else could he do? you ask. Well, I will tell you what he did. He +quietly made ready to set all his extra sails, and put a man with a +lighted match at each cannon, and had another ready to hoist the union +flag. + +Then, with a quick turn of the helm, the little brig swung round like a +top across the frigate's bows. As she did so all the guns on that side +sent their iron hail sweeping across the deck of the _Solebay_. In a +minute more the studding sails were set on both sides, like broad white +wings, and away went the _Providence_ as swift as a racer, straight +before the wind and with the American flag proudly flying. The officers +and men of the frigate were so upset by the sudden dash and attack that +they did not know what to do. Before they came to their senses the brig +was out of reach of their shot. Off like a bird she went, now quite +outsailing her pursuer. The _Solebay_, fired more than a hundred iron +balls after her, but they only scared the fishes. + +It was not long before Captain Jones found another big British ship on +his track. He was now off the coast of Nova Scotia, and as there was +nothing else to do, he let his men have a day's sport in fishing for +codfish. Fish are plenty in those waters, and they were pulling them up +in a lively fashion when a strange sail rose in sight. + +When it came well up Captain Jones saw it was a British frigate, and +judged it time to pull in his fishing lines and set sail on his little +craft. Away like a deer went the brig, and after her like a hound came +the ship. But it soon proved that the deer was faster than the hound, +and so Captain Jones began to play with the big frigate. He took in some +of his sails and kept just out of reach. + +The _Milford_, which was the name of the British ship, kept firing at +the _Providence_, but all her shot plunged into the waves. It was like +the hound barking at the deer. And every time the _Milford_ sent a +broadside, Paul Jones replied with a musket. After he had all the fun he +wanted out of the lumbering frigate, he spread all sail again and soon +left her out of sight. + +We cannot tell the whole story of the cruise of the _Providence_. In +less than two months it captured sixteen vessels and burned some others. +Soon after that Jones was made captain of the _Alfred_, the ship on +which he had raised the first flag. With this he took a splendid prize, +the brig _Mellish_, on which were ten thousand uniforms for the British +soldiers. Many a ragged soldier in Washington's army thanked him that +winter for a fine suit of warm clothing. + +Let us tell one more fine thing that Captain Jones did in American +waters before he crossed the ocean to the British seas. Sailing along +the coast of Canada he came upon a fleet of coal vessels, with a British +frigate to take care of them. But it was foggy and the coalers were +scattered; so that Jones picked up three of them while the frigate went +on with her eyes shut, not knowing that anything was wrong. + +Two days afterward he came upon a British privateer, which was on the +hunt for American vessels. But when the _Alfred_ came up, before more +than a few shots had been fired, down came its flag. + +Captain Jones now thought it time to get home. His ship was crowded +with prisoners, he was short of food and water, and he had four prizes +to look after, which were manned with some of his crew. + +But he was not to get home without another adventure; for, late one +afternoon, there came in sight the frigate _Milford_, the one which he +had saluted with musket balls. He could not play with her now, for he +had his prizes to look after, and while he could outsail her, the prizes +could not. + +So he told the captains of the prizes to keep on as they were, no matter +what signals he made. Night soon came, and the _Alfred_ sailed on, with +two lanterns swinging in her tops. Soon she changed her course and the +_Milford_ followed. No doubt her captain thought that the Yankee had +lost his wits, to sail on with lanterns blazing and make it easy to keep +in his track. + +But when morning dawned the British captain found he had been tricked. +The _Alfred_ was in sight, but all the prizes were gone except the +privateer, whose stupid captain had not obeyed orders. The result was +that the privateer was recaptured. But the _Alfred_ easily kept ahead. +That afternoon a squall of snow came upon the sea, and the Yankee craft, +"amid clouds and darkness and foaming surges, made her escape." + +In a few days more the _Alfred_ sailed into Boston. There his ship was +given another captain, and for six months he had nothing to do. Congress +was full of politicians who were looking out for their friends, and the +best seaman in the American navy was left sitting at home biting his +thumb nails and whistling for a ship. + +I have not told you here the whole story of our greatest naval hero. I +have not told you even the best part of his story, that part which has +made him famous in all history, and put him on a level with the most +celebrated sea fighters of all time. + +The exploits of Paul Jones cover two seas, those of America and those of +England, and in both he proved himself a brilliant sailor and a daring +fighter. I think you will say this from what you have already read. His +deeds of skill and bravery on our own coast were wonderful, and if they +had stood alone would have given him great fame. But it was in the +waters and on the shores of England that he showed the whole world what +a man he was; and now, when men talk of the great heroes of the sea, the +name of John Paul Jones always stands first. This is the story we have +next to tell, how Captain Jones crossed the ocean and bearded the +British lion in his den. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +HOW PAUL JONES WON RENOWN + +THE FIRST GREAT FIGHT OF THE AMERICAN NAVY + + +YOU have been told how Captain Paul Jones lost his ship. He was given +another in June, 1777. This was the _Ranger_, a frigate carrying +twenty-six guns, but it was such a slow old tub that our captain was not +well pleased with his new craft. He did not want to run away from the +British; he wanted a ship that was fit to chase an enemy. + +We have one thing very interesting to tell. On the very day that Jones +got his new ship Congress adopted a new flag, the American standard with +its thirteen stars and thirteen stripes. As soon as he heard of the new +flag, Captain Jones had one made in all haste, and with his own hands he +ran it up to the mast-head of the _Ranger_. So she was the first ship +that ever carried the "Stars and Stripes." Is it not interesting that +the man who first raised the pine-tree flag of the colonies was the +first to fling out to the breeze the star-spangled flag of the American +Union? + +Captain Jones was ordered to sail for France, but it took so long to get +the _Ranger_ ready for sea that it was winter before he reached there. +Benjamin Franklin and other Americans were there in France and were +having a fine new frigate built for Paul Jones. But when England heard +of it such a protest was made that the French government stopped the +work on the ship, and our brave captain had to go to sea again in the +slow-footed _Ranger_. + +He had one satisfaction. He sailed through the French fleet at Quiberon +Bay and saluted the French flag. The French admiral could not well help +returning his salute. That was the first time the Stars and Stripes were +saluted by a foreign power. + +What Captain Jones proposed to do was the boldest thing any American +captain could do. England was invading America. He proposed to invade +England. That is, he would cruise along the British coast, burning ships +and towns, and thus do there what the British had done along the +American coast. He wanted to let them find how they liked it themselves. + +It was a daring plan. The British channel was full of war-vessels. If +they got on the track of his slow ship he could not run away. He would +never think of running from one ship, but there might be a fleet. +However, Paul Jones was the last man in the world to think of danger; so +he put boldly out to sea, and took his chances. + +It was not long before he had all England in a state of alarm. News came +that this daring American warship was taking prize after prize, burning +some and sending their crews ashore. He would hide along the English +coast from the men-of-war that went out in search, and then suddenly +dart out and seize some merchant ship. + +The English called Captain Jones a pirate and all sorts of hard names. +But they were very much afraid of him and his stout ship. And this +voyage of his, along the shores of England, taught them to respect and +fear the American sailors more than they had ever done before. + +After he had captured many British vessels, almost in sight of their +homes, he boldly sailed to the north and into the very port of +Whitehaven, where he had "tended store," as a boy, and from which he had +first gone to sea. He knew all about the place. He knew how many vessels +were there, and what a splendid victory he could win for the American +navy, if he could sail into Whitehaven harbor and capture or destroy the +two hundred vessels that were anchored within sight of the town he +remembered so well. + +With two rowboats and thirty men he landed at Whitehaven, locked up the +soldiers in the forts, fixed the cannon so that they could not be fired, +set fire to one of the vessels that were in the harbor, and so +frightened all the people that, though the gardener's son stood alone on +the wharf, waiting for a boat to take him off, not a man dared to lay a +hand on him. With a single pistol he kept back a thousand men. + +Then he sailed across the bay to the house of the great lord for whom +his father had worked as a gardener. He meant to run away with this +nobleman, and keep him prisoner until the British promised to treat +better the Americans whom they had taken prisoners. But the lord whom +he went for was "not at home," so all that Captain Jones's men could do +was to carry off from the big house the silverware of the earl. Captain +Jones did not like this; so he took the things from his men and returned +them to Earl Selkirk, with a letter asking him to excuse his sailors. + +Not long afterward one of the British men-of-war which were in the hunt +for Captain Jones, found him. This was the _Drake_, a larger ship than +the _Ranger_ and carrying more men. But that did not trouble Paul Jones, +and soon there was a terrible fight. The sails of the _Drake_ were cut +to pieces, her decks were red with blood, and at last her captain fell +dead. In an hour after the fight began, just as the sun was going down +behind the Irish hills, there came a cry for quarter from the _Drake_, +and the battle was at an end. Off went Captain Jones, with his ship and +his prize, for the friendly shores of France, where he was received with +great praise. + +Soon after this the French decided to help the Americans in their war +for independence. After some time Captain Jones was put in command of +five ships, and back he sailed to England to fight the British ships +again. + +The vessel in which he sailed was the biggest of the five ships. It had +forty guns and a crew of three hundred sailors. Captain Jones thought so +much of the great Dr. Benjamin Franklin, who had written a book of good +advice, under the name of "Poor Richard," that he named his big ship for +Dr. Franklin. He called it the _Bon Homme Richard_, which is French for +"good man Richard." But the _Bon Homme Richard_ was not a good boat, if +it was a big one. It was old and rotten and leaky, and not fit for a +warship, but its new commander made the best he could of it. + +The little fleet sailed up and down the English coasts, capturing a few +prizes, and greatly frightening the people by saying that they had come +to burn some of the big English sea towns. Then, just as they were about +sailing back to France, they came--near an English cape, called +Flamborough Head--upon an English fleet of forty merchant vessels and +two war ships. + +One of the war ships was a great English frigate, called the _Serapis_, +finer and stronger in every way than the _Bon Homme Richard_. But +Captain Jones would not run away. + +"What ship is that?" called out the Englishman. "Come a little nearer, +and we'll tell you," answered plucky Captain Jones. + +The British ships did come a little nearer. The forty merchant vessels +sailed as fast as they could to the nearest harbor, and then the +warships had a terrible battle. + +At seven o'clock in the evening the British frigate and the _Bon Homme +Richard_ began to fight. They banged and hammered away for hours, and +then, when the British captain thought he must have beaten the +Americans, and it was so dark and smoky that they could only see each +other by the fire flashes, he called out to the American captain: "Are +you beaten? Have you hauled down your flag?" + +And back came the answer of Captain John Paul Jones: "I haven't begun to +fight yet!" + +So they went at it again. The two ships were now lashed together, and +they tore each other like savage dogs in a fight. + +The rotten old _Richard_ suffered terribly. Two of her great guns had +burst at the first fire, and she was shot through and through by the +_Serapis_ until most of her timbers above the water-line were shot away. +The British rushed on board with pistols and cutlasses, and the +Americans drove them back. But the _Richard_ was on fire; water was +pouring in through a dozen shot holes; it looked as if she must +surrender, brave as were her captain and crew. There were on board the +old ship nearly two hundred prisoners who had been taken from captured +vessels, and so pitiful were their cries that one of the officers set +them free, thinking that the ship was going to sink and that they ought +to have a chance for their lives. These men were running up on deck, +adding greatly to the trouble of Captain Jones; for he had now a crowd +of enemies on his own ship. But the prisoners were so scared that they +did not know what to do. They saw the ship burning around them and heard +the water pouring into the hold, and thought they would be carried to +the bottom. So to keep them from mischief they were set to work, some at +the pumps, others at putting out the fire. And to keep the ship from +blowing up, if the fire should reach the magazine, Captain Jones set men +at bringing up the kegs of powder and throwing them into the sea. Never +was there a ship in so desperate a strait, and there was hardly a man on +board, except Captain Jones, who did not want to surrender. + +But the British were not having it all their own way. The American tars +had climbed the masts and were firing down with muskets and flinging +down hand grenades, until all the British had to run from the upper +deck. A hand grenade is a small, hollow iron ball filled with powder, +which explodes when thrown down and sends the bits of iron flying all +around, like so many bullets. + +One sailor took a bucketful of these and crept far out on the yard-arm +of the ship, and began to fling them down on the gun-deck of the +_Serapis_, where they did much damage. At last one of them went through +the open hatchway to the main deck, where a crowd of men were busy +working the great guns, and cartridges were lying all about and loose +powder was scattered on the floor. + +The grenade set fire to this powder, and in a second there was a +terrible explosion. A great sheet of flame burst up through the +hatchway, and frightful cries came from below. In that dreadful moment +more than twenty men were killed and many more were wounded. All the +guns on that deck had to be abandoned. There were no men left to work +them. + +Where was Captain Jones all the time, and what was he doing? You may be +sure he was busy. He had taken a gun and loaded it with double-headed +shot, and kept firing at the mainmast of the _Serapis_. Every shot cut a +piece out of the mast, and after a while it came tumbling upon the deck, +with all its spars and rigging. The tarred ropes quickly caught fire, +and the ship was in flames. + +At this moment up came the _Alliance_, one of Captain Jones's fleet. He +now thought that the battle was at an end, but to his horror the +_Alliance_, instead of firing at the British ship, began to pour its +broadsides into his own. He called to them for God's sake to quit +firing, but they kept on, killing some of his best men and making +several holes under water, through which new floods poured into the +ship. The _Alliance_ had a French captain who hated Paul Jones and +wanted to sink his ship. + +Both ships were now in flames, and water rushed into the _Richard_ +faster than the pumps could keep it out. Some of the officers begged +Captain Jones to pull down his flag and surrender, but he would not give +up. He thought there was always a chance while he had a deck under his +feet. + +Soon the cowardly French traitor quit firing and sailed off, and Paul +Jones began his old work again, firing at the _Serapis_ as if the battle +had just begun. This was more than the British captain could bear. His +ship was a mere wreck and was blazing around him, so he ran on deck and +pulled down his flag with his own hands. The terrible battle was at an +end. The British ship had given up the fight. + +Lieutenant Dale sprang on board the _Serapis_, went up to Captain +Pearson, the British commander, and asked him if he surrendered. The +Englishman replied that he had, and then he and his chief officer went +aboard the battered _Richard_, which was sinking even in its hour of +victory. + +But Captain Jones stood on the deck of his sinking vessel, proud and +triumphant. He had shown what an American captain and American sailors +could do, even when everything was against them. The English captain +gave up his sword to the American, which is the way all sailors and +soldiers do when they surrender their ships or their armies. + +The fight had been a brave one, and the English King knew that his +captain had made a bold and desperate resistance, even if he had been +whipped. So he rewarded Captain Pearson, when he at last returned to +England, by making him a Knight, thus giving him the title of "Sir." +When Captain Jones heard of this he laughed, and said: "Well, if I can +meet Captain Pearson again in a sea fight, I'll make him a lord." + +The poor _Bon Homme Richard_ was such an utter wreck that she soon sank +beneath the waves. But, even as she went down, the stars and stripes +floated proudly from the mast-head, in token of victory. + +Captain Jones, after the surrender, put all his men aboard the captured +_Serapis_, and then off he sailed to the nearest friendly port, with his +great prize and all his prisoners. This victory made him the greatest +sailor in the whole American war, and the most famous of all American +seamen. + +Captain Jones took his prize into the Dutch port of Texel, closely +followed by a British squadron. The country of Holland was not friendly +to the Americans, and though they let him come in, he was told that he +could not stay there. So he sailed again, in a howling gale, straight +through the British squadron, with the American flag flying at his peak. +Down through the narrow Straits of Dover he passed, coming so near the +English shore that he could count the warships at anchor in the Downs. +That was his way of showing how little he feared them. The English were +so angry at Holland because it would not give up the Americans and their +prizes that they declared war against that country. + +When Captain Jones reached Paris he was received with the greatest +honor, and greeted as one of the ablest and bravest of sea-fighters. + +Everybody wished to see such a hero. He went to the King's court, and +the King and Queen and French lords and ladies made much of him and gave +him receptions, and said so many fine things about him that, if he had +been at all vain, it might have "turned his head," as people say. But +John Paul Jones was not vain. + +He was a brave sailor, and he was in France to get help and not +compliments. He wished a new ship to take the place of the old +_Richard_, which had gone to the bottom after its great victory. + +So, though the King of France honored him and received him splendidly +and made him presents, he kept on working to get another ship. At last +he was made captain of a new ship, called the _Ariel_, and sailed from +France. He had a fierce battle with an English ship called the +_Triumph_, and defeated her. But she escaped before surrendering, and +Captain Jones sailed across the sea to America. + +He was received at home with great honor and applause. Congress gave him +a vote of thanks, "for the zeal, prudence and intrepidity with which he +had supported the honor of the American flag"--that is what the vote +said. + +People everywhere crowded to see him, and called him hero and conqueror. +Lafayette, the brave young Frenchman who came over to fight for America, +called him "my dear Paul Jones," and Washington and the other leaders +in America said, "Well done, Captain Jones!" + +The King of France sent him a splendid reward of merit called the "Cross +of Honor," and Congress set about building a fine ship for him to +command. But before it was finished, the war was over; and he was sent +back to France on some important business for the United States. + +Here he was received with new honor, for the French knew how to meet and +treat a brave man; and above all they loved a man who had humbled the +English, their ancient foes. Captain Jones had sailed from a French port +and in a French ship, and they looked on him almost as one of their own. +But all this did not make him proud or boastful, for he was not that +kind of man. + +In later years Paul Jones served in Russia in the wars with the Turks. +But the British officers who were in the Russian service refused to +fight under him, saying that he was a rebel, a pirate, and a traitor. +This was because he had fought for America after being born in Scotland. +So, after some hard fighting, he left Russia and went back to France, +where he died in 1792. + +In all the history of sea fighting we hear of no braver man, and the +United States, so long as it is a nation, will be proud of and honor the +memory of the gallant sailor, John Paul Jones. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +CAPTAIN BUSHNELL SCARES THE BRITISH + +THE PIONEER TORPEDO BOAT AND THE BATTLE OF THE KEGS + + +MANY of us, all our lives, have seen vessels of every size and shape +darting to and fro over the water; some with sails spread to the wind, +others with puffing pipes and whirling wheels. + +And that is not all. Men have tried to go under water as well as on top. +Some of you may have read Jules Verne's famous story, "Twenty Thousand +Leagues under the Sea." That, of course, is all fiction; but now-a-days +there are vessels which can go miles under the water without once coming +to the top. + +We call these submarine boats, and look upon them as something very new. +You may be surprised to learn that there was a submarine boat as long +ago as the War of the Revolution. It was not a very good one, and did +not do the work it was built for, but it was the first of its kind, and +that is something worth knowing. + +Those of you who have studied history will know that after the British +were driven out of Boston they came to New York with a large army, and +took possession of that city. Washington and his men could not keep them +out, and had to leave. There the British lay, with their army in the +city and their fleet in the bay and river, and there they stayed for +years. + +There was an American who did not like to see British vessels floating +in American waters. He knew he could not drive them away, but he thought +he might give them some trouble. This was a Connecticut man named David +Bushnell, a chap as sharp as a steeltrap, and one of the first American +inventors. + +What Bushnell did was to invent a boat that would move under water and +might be made to blow up an enemy's ship. As it was the first of this +kind ever made, I am sure you will wish to know what it was like and how +it was worked. + +He called it _The American Turtle_, for it looked much like a great +swimming turtle, big enough to hold a man and also to carry a torpedo +loaded with 150 pounds of gunpowder. This was to be fastened to the +wooden bottom of a ship and then fired off. It was expected to blow a +great hole in the bottom and sink the vessel. + +Of course, the boat was air-tight and water-tight, but it had a supply +of fresh air that would last half an hour for one man. There was an oar +for rowing and a rudder for steering. A valve in the bottom let in the +water when the one-man crew wanted to sink his turtle-like boat, and +there were two pumps to force the water out again when he wanted to +rise. + +There were windows in the top shell of the turtle, air pipes to let out +the foul air and take in fresh air, small doors that could be opened +when at the surface, and heavy lead ballast to keep the turtle level. In +fact, the affair was, for the time, very ingenious and complete. + +A very important part of it was the torpedo, with its 150 pounds of +powder. This was carried outside, above the rudder. It was so made that +when the boat came under a vessel the man inside could fasten it with a +screw to the vessel's bottom, and row away and leave it there. Inside it +was a clock, which could be set to run a certain time and then loosen a +sort of gunlock. This struck a spark and set fire to the powder, and +up--or down--went the vessel. + +You can see that Dave Bushnell's invention was a very neat one; but, for +all that, luck went against it. He first tried his machine with only two +pounds of powder on a hogshead loaded with stones. The powder was set on +fire, and up went the stones and the boards of the hogshead and a body +of water, many feet into the air. If two pounds of powder would do all +this, what would one hundred and fifty pounds do? + +In 1776 the _Turtle_ was sent out against a big British ship named the +_Eagle_, anchored in New York Bay. The man inside rowed his boat very +well under water, and after some time found himself beneath the King's +ship. He now tried to fasten the torpedo to the bottom, but the screw +struck an iron bar and would not go in. Then he moved to another place, +but now he lost the ship altogether. He could not find her again, and he +had to row away, for he could not stay much longer under water. + +There is a funny story told about the man in the _Turtle_. He was a +queer fellow named Abijah Shipman, but called by his companions "Long +Bige." + +As he entered the craft and was about to screw down its cover, he opened +it again and asked for a chew of tobacco. All those present felt in +their pockets, but none of the weed was on hand. + +"You will have to go without it, old chap," said General Putnam, who was +present. "We Continental officers can't afford even a plug of tobacco. +To-morrow, after you have sent the _Eagle_ on her last flight, we will +try and raise you a whole keg of the weed." + +"That's too bad," growled Bige. "Tell you what, Gineral, if the old +_Turtle_ don't do her duty, it's all along of me goin' out without +tobacco." + +After he had gone Putnam and his officers watched anxiously for results. +Time passed. Morning was at hand. The _Eagle_ rode unharmed. Evidently +something had gone wrong. Had the torpedo failed, and was "Long Bige" +resting in his wrecked machine on the bottom of the bay? Putnam swept +the waters near the _Eagle_ with his glass. Suddenly he exclaimed. +"There he is." The top of the _Turtle_ had just emerged, some distance +from the ship. + +Abijah, fearing that he might be seen, had cast off the torpedo that he +might go the faster. The clock had been set to run an hour, and at the +end of that time there was a thundering explosion near the fleet, +hurling up great volumes of water into the air. + +Soon there were signs of fright in the ships. The anchors were raised, +sails were set, and off they went to safer quarters down the bay. They +did not care to be too near such dangerous affairs as that. + +Boats were sent out to the aid of the _Turtle_ and it was brought ashore +at a safe place. On landing Abijah gave, in his queer way, the reasons +for his failure. + +"It's just as I said, Gineral; it went to pot for want o' that cud of +tobacco. You see, I'm mighty narvous without my tobacco. When I got +under the ship's bottom, somehow the screw struck the iron bar that +passes from the rudder pintle, and wouldn't hold on anyhow I could fix +it. Just then I let go the oar to feel for a cud, to steady my narves, +and I hadn't any. The tide swept me under her counter, and away I +slipped top o' water. I couldn't manage to get back, so I pulled the +lock and let the thunder-box slide. That's what comes of sailing short +of supplies. Say, can you raise a cud among you _now_?" + +Later on, after the British had taken the city of New York, two more +attempts were made to blow up vessels in the river above the city. But +they both failed, and in the end the British fired upon and sunk the +_Turtle_. Bushnell's work was lost. The best he had been able to do was +to give them a good scare. + +But he was not yet at the end of his schemes. He next tried to blow up +the _Cerberus_, a British frigate that lay at anchor in Long Island +Sound. This time a schooner saved the frigate. A powder magazine was set +afloat, but it struck the schooner, which lay at anchor near the +frigate. The schooner went to pieces, but the _Cerberus_ was saved. + +The most famous of Bushnell's exploits took place at Philadelphia, after +the British had taken possession and brought their ships up into the +Delaware River. + +One fine morning a number of kegs were seen floating down among the +shipping. What they meant nobody knew. The sailors grew curious, and a +boat set out from a vessel and picked one of them up. In a minute it +went off, with the noise of a cannon, sinking the boat and badly hurting +the man. + +This filled the British with a panic. Those terrible kegs might do +frightful damage. They must be some dreadful invention of the rebels. +The sailors ran out their guns, great and small, and began to batter +every keg they saw with cannon balls, until there was a rattle and roar +as if a mighty battle was going on. Such was the famous "Battle of the +Kegs." + +This was more of Dave Bushnell's work. He had made and set adrift those +powder kegs, fixing them so that they would explode on touching +anything. But he did not understand the river and its tides. He intended +to have them get among the ships at night, but it was broad day when +they came down, and by that time the eddying waters had scattered them +far and wide. So the powder kegs were of no more account than the +torpedoes. All they did was to give the British a scare. + +Philadelphia had a poet named Francis Hopkinson, who wrote a poem +making fun of the British, called "The Battle of the Kegs." We give a +few verses of this humorous poem: + + 'Twas early day, as poets say, + Just as the sun was rising; + A soldier stood on a log of wood + And saw the sun a-rising. + + As in amaze he stood to gaze + (The truth can't be denied, sir), + He spied a score of kegs, or more, + Come floating down the tide, sir. + + A sailor, too, in jerkin blue, + The strange appearance viewing, + First "dashed" his eyes in great surprise, + Then said: "Some mischief's brewing. + + "These kegs, I'm told, the rebels hold, + Packed up like pickled herring; + And they've come down to attack the town + In this new way of ferrying." + + * * * * * + + The cannons roar from shore to shore, + The small arms make a rattle; + Since wars began, I'm sure no man + E'er saw so strange a battle. + + The fish below swam to and fro, + Attacked from every quarter. + "Why sure," thought they, "the devil's to pay + 'Mong folks above the water." + + From morn to night these men of might + Displayed amazing courage; + And when the sun was fairly down, + Retired to sup their porridge. + + Such feats did they perform that day, + Against those wicked kegs, sir, + That years to come, if they get home, + They'll make their boasts and brags, sir. + +And so it went on, verse after verse, with not much poetry in it, but a +good deal of fun. The British did not enjoy it, for people did not like +to be laughed at then any more than now. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +CAPTAIN BARRY AND HIS ROWBOATS WIN A VICTORY OVER THE BRITISH + +A GALLANT NAVAL HERO OF IRISH BLOOD + + +THE heroes of our navy were not all Americans born. More than one of +them came from British soil, but a footprint on the green fields of +America soon turned them into true-blue Yankees. There was John Paul +Jones, the gallant Scotchman. And there was John Barry, a bold son of +green Erin. + +I have told you the story of Jones, the Scotchman, and now I must tell +you that of Barry, the Irishman. + +John Barry was a merchant captain who was made commander of the +_Lexington_ in 1776. The next year he was appointed to the _Effingham_, +a new frigate building at Philadelphia. The British captured that city +before the ship was ready for sea, and the _Effingham_, the +_Washington_, and some other vessels were caught in a trap. They were +taken up the river to Whitehill, above the city, and there they had to +stay. Captain Barry, you may be sure, was not much pleased at this, for +he was one of the men who love to be where fighting is going on. + +Soon orders came from the Navy Board to sink the _Effingham_. This made +Barry's Irish blood very hot. I fancy he said some hard things about the +members of the board, and swore he would do nothing of the kind. If the +British wanted the American ships let them come and take them. He had +guns enough to give them some sport and was disposed to try it. + +When the members of the Navy Board heard of what he said, they were very +angry, and in the end he had to sink the ship and had to apologize for +his strong language. But time proved that he was right and the Navy +Board was wrong. + +By this time Captain Barry was tired enough of being penned up, and he +made up his mind by hook or crook to get out of his cage. He was +burning for a fight, and thought that if he could get down the river he +might give the British a taste of his mettle. + +So, one dark night he set out with four boats and twenty-seven men. He +rowed down the river past the ships in the stream and the soldiers on +shore. Some of the soldiers saw his boats, and a few shots were fired, +but they got safely past, and by daybreak were far down the broad +Delaware. + +Barry kept on until he reached Port Penn, down near the bay, where the +Americans had a small fort. Here there was a chance for the work he +wanted, for across the river he saw a large schooner flying the British +flag. It was the _Alert_, carrying ten guns, and with it were four +transports laden with food for the army at Philadelphia. + +This was a fine opportunity for the bold Irish captain. It took courage +to attack a strong English vessel with a few rowboats, but of courage +Barry had a full supply. + +The sun was up, and it was broad day when the American tars set out on +their daring enterprise. The _Alert_ had a wide-awake name, but it must +have had a sleepy crew; for before the British knew there was anything +wrong, Barry and his men had rowed across the stream and were clambering +over the rail, cutlass and pistol in hand. + +The British sailors, when they saw this "wild Irishman" and his daring +tars, cutting and slashing and yelling like madmen, dropped everything +and ran below in fright. All that keep them there. + +In this easy fashion, twenty-eight Americans captured a British ten-gun +vessel with a hundred and sixteen men on board. There had been nothing +like that in all the war. + +The transports had to surrender, for they were under the guns of the +_Alert_, and Barry carried his five prizes triumphantly to Port Penn, +where he handed his captives over to the garrison. + +And now the daring captain made things lively for the foe. He sailed up +and down the river and bay, and cut off supplies until the British army +at Philadelphia began to suffer for food. + +What was to be done? Should this Yankee wasp go on stinging the British +lion? General Howe decided that this would never do, and sent a frigate +and a sloop-of-war down the river to put an end to the trouble. + +Captain Barry, finding these water-hounds sharp on his track, ran for +Christiana Creek, hoping to get into shallow water where the heavy +British ships could not follow. But the frigate was too fast, and chased +him so closely that the best he could do was to run the schooner ashore +and escape in his boats. + +But he was determined that they should not have the _Alert_ if he could +help it. Turning two of the guns downward, he fired through the ship's +bottom, and in a minute the water was pouring into her hold. + +The frigate swung round and fired a broadside at the fleeing boats; but +all it brought back was a cheer of defiance from the sailors, as they +struck the land and sprang ashore. Here they had the satisfaction of +seeing the schooner sink before a British foot could be set on her deck. + +The war vessels now went for the transports at Port Penn. Here a battery +had been built on shore, made of bales of hay. This was attacked by the +sloop-of-war, but the American sharpshooters made things lively for her. +They might have beaten her off had not their captain fallen with a +mortal wound. The men now lost heart and fled to the woods, first +setting fire to the vessels. + +Thus ended Barry's brave exploit. He had lost his vessels, but the +British had not got them. The Americans were proud of his daring deed, +and the British tried to win so brave a man to their side. Sir William +Howe offered him twenty thousand pounds in money and the command of a +British frigate if he would desert his flag. But he was not dealing now +with a Benedict Arnold. + +"Not if you pay me the price and give me the command of the whole +British fleet can you draw me away from the cause of my country," wrote +the patriotic sailor. + +Barry was soon rewarded for his patriotism by being made captain of an +American frigate, the _Raleigh_. But ill-luck now followed him. He +sailed from Boston on September 25, 1778, and three days afterward he +had lost his ship and was a wanderer with his crew in the vast forests +of Maine. + +Let us see how this ill-fortune came about. The _Raleigh_ had not got +far from port before two sails came in sight. Barry ran down to look at +them, and found they were two English frigates. Two to one was too great +odds, and the _Raleigh_ turned her head homewards again. But when night +shut out the frigates she wore round and started once more on her former +course. + +The next day opened up foggy, and till noon nothing was to be seen. Then +the fog lifted, and to Barry's surprise there were the British ships, +just south of his own. Now for three hours it was a hot chase, and then +down came another fog and the game was once more at an end. + +But the _Raleigh_ could not shake off the British bull-dogs. At about +nine o'clock the next morning they came in sight again and the chase was +renewed. It was kept up till late in the day. At first the _Raleigh_ +went so fast that her pursuers dropped out of sight. Then the wind +failed her, and the British ships came up with a strong breeze. + +At five o'clock the fastest British frigate was close at hand, and Barry +thought he would try what she was good for before the other came up. + +In a few minutes more the two ships were hurling iron balls into each +other's sides, while the smoke of the conflict filled the skies. Then +the fore-topmast and mizzen-topgallantmast of the _Raleigh_ were shot +away, leaving her in a crippled state. + +The British ship had now much the best of it. Barry tried his best to +reach and board her, but she sailed too fast. And up from the south came +the other ship, at swift speed. To fight them both with a crippled craft +would have been madness, and, as he could not get away, Barry decided to +run his ship ashore on the coast of Maine, which was close at hand. + +Night soon fell, and with it fell the wind. Till midnight the two ships +drifted along, with red fire spurting from their sides and the thunder +of cannon echoing from the hills. + +In the end the _Raleigh_ ran ashore on an island near the coast. Here +Barry fought for some time longer, and then set his ship on fire and +went ashore with his men. But the British were quickly on board, put out +the fire, and carried off their prize. Barry and his men made their way +through the Maine woods till the settlements were reached. + +In 1781 Captain Barry was sent across the ocean in the _Alliance_, a +vessel which had taken part in the famous battle of the _Bon Homme +Richard_ and the _Serapis_. Here the gallant fellow fought one of his +best battles, this time also against two British ships. + +When he came upon them there was not a breath of wind. All sail was set, +but the canvas flapped against the yards, and the vessel lay + + "As idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean." + +The British vessels were a brig and a sloop-of-war. They wanted to fight +as badly as did Captain Barry, and, as they could not sail, they got out +sweeps and rowed up to the American frigate. It was weary work, and it +took them six hours to do it. + +Then came the hails of the captains and the roar of cannon, and soon +there was a very pretty fight, with the _Alliance_ in a dangerous +situation. She was too heavy to be moved with sweeps, like the light +British vessels, so they got on her quarters and poured in broadsides, +while she could reply only with a few guns. + +Barry raged like a wild bull, bidding his men fight, and begging for a +wind. As he did so, a grape-shot struck him in the shoulder and felled +him to the deck. As he was carried below, a shot carried away the +American flag. A lusty cheer came from the British ships; they thought +the flag down and the victory theirs. They soon saw it flying again. + +But the _Alliance_ was in sore straits. She was getting far more than +she could give, and had done little harm to her foes. At length a +lieutenant came down to the wounded captain. + +"We cannot handle the ship and are being cut to pieces," he said. "The +rigging is in tatters and the fore-topmast in danger, and the carpenter +reports two serious leaks. Eight or ten of our people are killed and +more wounded. The case seems hopeless, sir; shall we strike the colors?" + +"No!" roared Barry, sitting bolt upright. "Not on your life! If the ship +can't be fought without me, then carry me on deck." + +The lieutenant went up and reported, and the story soon got to the men. + +"Good for Captain Barry," they shouted. "We'll stand by the old man." + +A minute later a change came. A ripple of water was seen. Soon a breeze +rose, the sails filled out, and the _Alliance_ slipped forward and +yielded to her helm. + +This was what the brave Barry had been waiting for. It was not a case of +whistling for a wind, as sailors often do, but of hoping and praying for +a wind. It came just in time to save the _Alliance_ from lowering her +proud flag, or from going to the bottom with it still flying, as would +have suited her bold captain the better. + +Now she was able to give her foes broadside for broadside, and you may +be sure that her gunners, who had been like dogs wild to get at the +game, now poured in shot so fast and furious that they soon drove the +foe in terror from his guns. In a short time, just as Captain Barry was +brought on deck with his wound dressed, their flags came down. + +The prizes proved to be the _Atlanta_ and the _Trepassy_. That fight was +near the last in the war. At a later date Captain Barry had the honor of +carrying General Lafayette home to France in his ship. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +CAPTAIN TUCKER HONORED BY GEORGE WASHINGTON + +THE DARING ADVENTURES OF THE HERO OF MARBLEHEAD + + +CAPTAIN SAMUEL TUCKER was a Yankee boy who began his career by running +away from home and shipping as a cabin-boy on the British sloop-of-war +_Royal George_. It was a good school for a seaman, and when his time was +up he knew his business well. + +There was no war then, and he shipped as second-mate on a merchant +vessel sailing from Salem. Here he soon had a taste of warlike life and +showed what kind of stuff was in him. The Mediterranean Sea in those +days was infested by pirates sailing from the Moorish ports. It was the +work of these to capture merchant ships, take them into port, and sell +their crews as slaves. + +On Tucker's first voyage from Salem two of these piratical craft, swift +corsairs from Algiers, came in sight and began a chase of the +merchantman. + +What could be done? There was no hope to run away from those +fleet-footed sea-hounds. There was no hope to beat them off in a fight. +The men were in a panic and the captain sought courage in rum, and was +soon too drunk to handle his ship. + +Tucker came to the rescue. Taking the helm, he put it hard down and +headed straight for the pirates. It looked as if he was sailing straight +for destruction, but he knew what he was about. The Yankee schooner, if +it could not sail as fast, could be handled more easily than the +Algerines, with their lateen sails; and by skilful steering he got her +into such a position that the pirates could not fire into him without +hurting one another. + +Try as they would, Mate Tucker kept his vessel in this position, and +held her there until the shades of night fell. Then he slipped away, and +by daylight was safe in port. You may see from this that Samuel Tucker +was a bold and a smart man and an able seaman. + +After that he was at one time an officer in the British navy and at +another a merchant captain. He was in London when the Revolution began. +His courage and skill were so well known that he was offered a +commission in either the army or the navy, if he was willing to serve +"his gracious Majesty." + +Tucker forgot where he was, and rudely replied, "Hang his gracious +Majesty! Do you think I am the sort of man to fight against my country?" + +Those were rash words to be spoken in London. A charge of treason was +brought against him and he had to seek safety in flight. For a time he +hid in the house of a country inn-keeper who was his friend. Then a +chance came to get on shipboard and escape from the country. In this way +he got back to his native land. + +It was not only the English who knew Captain Tucker's ability. He was +known in America as well. No doubt there were many who had heard how he +had served the pirate Moors. He had not long been home when General +Washington sent him a commission as captain of the ship _Franklin_, and +ordered him to get to sea at once. + +The messenger with the commission made his way to the straggling old +town of Marblehead, where Tucker lived. Inquiring for him in the town, +he was directed to a certain house. + +Reaching this, the messenger saw a roughly-dressed and weather-beaten +person working in the yard, with an old tarpaulin hat on his head and a +red bandanna handkerchief tied loosely round his neck. + +The man, thinking him an ordinary laborer, called out from his horse: + +"Say, good fellow, can you tell if the Honorable Samuel Tucker lives +here or hereabouts?" + +The workman looked up with a quizzical glance from under the brim of his +tarpaulin and replied: + +"Honorable, honorable! There's none of that name in Marblehead. He must +be one of the Salem Tuckers. I'm the only Samuel Tucker in this town." + +"Anyhow, this is where I was told to stop. A house standing alone, with +its gable-end to the sea. This is the only place I've seen that looks +like that." + +"Then I must be the Tucker you want, honorable or not. What is it you +have got to say to him?" + +He soon learned, and was glad to receive the news. Early the next +morning he had left home for the port where the _Franklin_ lay, and not +many days passed before he was out at sea. + +The _Franklin_, under his command proved one of the most active ships +afloat. She sent in prizes in numbers. More than thirty were taken in +1776--ships, brigs, and smaller vessels, including "a brigantine from +Scotland worth fifteen thousand pounds." + +These were not all captured without fighting. Two British brigs were +taken so near Marblehead that the captain's wife and sister, hearing the +sound of cannon, went up on a high hill close by and saw the fight +through a spy-glass. + +The next year Captain Tucker was put in command of the frigate _Boston_, +and in 1778 he took John Adams to France as envoy from the United +States. + +It was a voyage full of incidents. They passed through days of storm, +which nearly wrecked the ship. Many vessels were seen, and the _Boston_ +was chased by three men-of-war. + +She ran away from these, and soon after came across a large armed +vessel, which Captain Tucker decided to fight. When the drum called the +men to quarters, Mr. Adams seized a musket and joined the marines. + +The captain requested him to go below. Finding that he was not going to +obey, Tucker laid a hand on his shoulder and said firmly: + +"Mr. Adams, I am commanded by the Continental Congress to deliver you +safe in France. You must go below." + +Mr. Adams smiled and complied. The next minute there came a broadside +from the stranger. There was no response from the _Boston_. Other shots +came, and still no reply. At length the blue-jackets began to grumble. +Looking them in the eyes, Tucker said, in quizzical tones: + +"Hold on, lads. I want to get that egg without breaking the shell." + +In a few minutes more, having got into the position he wished, he raked +the enemy from stem to stern with a broadside. That one sample was +enough. She struck her flag without waiting for a second. Soon after the +envoy was safely landed in France. + +Numbers of anecdotes are told of Captain Tucker, who was a man much +given to saying odd and amusing things. + +Once he fell in with a British frigate which had been sent in search of +him. He had made himself a thorn in the British lion's side and was +badly wanted. Up came Tucker boldly, with the English flag at his peak. + +He was hailed, and replied that he was Captain Gordon, of the English +navy, and that he was out in search of the _Boston_, commanded by the +rebel Tucker. + +"If I can sight the ship I'll carry him to New York, dead or alive," he +said. + +"Have you ever seen him?" + +"Well, I've heard of him; they say he is a tough customer." + +While talking, he had been manoeuvering to gain a raking position. Just +as he did so, a sailor in the British tops cried,-- + +"Look out below! That is Tucker himself." + +The Englishman was in a trap. The _Boston_ had him at a great +disadvantage. There was nothing to do but to strike his flag, and this +he did without firing a gun. + +When Charleston was taken by the British, the _Boston_ was one of the +vessels cooped up there and lost. Captain Tucker was taken prisoner. +After his exchange, as he had no ship, he took the sloop-of-war +_Thorn_, one of his former prizes, and went out cruising as a privateer. + +After a three weeks' cruise, the _Thorn_ met an English ship of +twenty-three guns. + +"She means to fight us," said the captain to his men, after watching her +movements. "If we go alongside her like men she will be ours in thirty +minutes; if we can't go as men we have no business there at all. Every +man who is willing to fight go down the starboard gangway; all others +can go down the larboard." Every soul of them took the starboard. + +He manoeuvered so that in a few minutes the vessels lay side by side. +The Englishman opened with a broadside that did little damage. The +_Thorn_ replied with a destructive fire, and kept it up so hotly that +within thirty minutes a loud cry came from the English ship: + +"Quarters, for God's sake! Our ship is sinking. Our men are dying of +their wounds." + +"How can you expect quarters while your flag is flying?" demanded +Captain Tucker. + +"Our halliards are shot away." + +"Then cut away your ensign staff, or you'll all be dead men." + +It was done and the firing ceased. A dreadful execution had taken place +on the Englishman's deck, more than a third of her crew being dead and +wounded, while blood was everywhere. + +And so we take our leave of Captain Tucker. He was one of the kind of +sailors that everyone likes to read about. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE LAST NAVAL BATTLE OF THE REVOLUTION + +THE HEROIC CAPTAIN BARNEY IN THE "HYDER ALI" CAPTURES THE "GENERAL MONK" + + +YOU must think by this time that we had many bold and brave sailors in +the Revolution. So we had. You have not been told all their exploits, +but only a few among the most gallant ones. There is one more story that +is worth telling, before we leave the Revolutionary times. + +If you are familiar with American history you will remember that Lord +Cornwallis surrendered to General Washington in October, 1781. That is +generally looked on as the end of the war. There was no more fighting on +land. But there was one bold affair on the water in April, 1782, six +months after the work of the armies was done. + +This was in Delaware Bay, where Captain Barry had taken a war vessel +with a few rowboats. The hero of this later exploit was Captain Joshua +Barney, and he was as brave a man as John Barry. + +Captain Barney had seen service through the whole war. Like John Paul +Jones, an accident had made him a captain of a ship when he was a mere +boy. He was only seventeen, yet he handled his ship with the skill of an +old mariner. War broke out soon afterward and he became an officer on +the _Hornet_, though still only a boy. Soon after he had some lively +service in the _Wasp_, and captured a British privateer with the little +sloop _Sachem_. + +Then he had some bad fortune, for he was taken prisoner while bringing +in a prize vessel, and was put on the terrible prison-ship _Jersey_. Few +of the poor fellows on that vessel lived to tell the story of the +frightful way in which they were treated. But young Barney managed to +escape, and went to sea again as captain of a merchant vessel. In this +he was chased by a British war-vessel, the _Rosebud_. Shall I tell you +the way that Captain Barney plucked the petals of the _Rosebud_? He +fired a crowbar at her out of one of his cannon. This new kind of +cannon-ball went whirling through the air and came ripping and tearing +through the sails of the British ship. After making rags of her sails, +it hit her foremast and cut out a big slice. The Americans now sailed +quietly away. They could laugh at John Bull's _Rosebud_. + +On the 8th of April, 1782, Captain Barney took command of the _Hyder +Ali_. This was a merchant ship which had been bought by the State of +Pennsylvania. It was not fit for a warship, but the State was in a +hurry, so eight gun-ports were cut on each side, and the ship was +mounted with sixteen six-pounder cannon. Then she set sail from +Philadelphia in charge of a fleet of merchant vessels. + +On they went, down the Delaware river and bay, until Cape May was +reached. Here Captain Barney saw that there was trouble ahead. Three +British vessels came in sight. One of these was the frigate _Quebec_. +The others were a brig, the _Fair American_, and a sloop-of-war, the +_General Monk_. + +Before such a fleet the _Hyder Ali_ was like a sparrow before a hawk. +Captain Barney at once signaled his merchant ships to make all haste up +the bay. Away they flew like a flock of frightened birds, except one, +whose captain thought he would slip round the cape and get to sea. But +the British soon swallowed up him and his ship, so he paid well for his +smartness. + +On up the bay went the other merchantmen, with the _Hyder Ali_ in the +rear, and the British squadron hot on their track. The frigate sailed +into a side channel, thinking it would find a short-cut and so head them +off. Captain Barney watched this movement with keen eyes. The big ship +had put herself out of reach for a time. He knew well that she could not +get through that way, and laid his plans to have some sport with the +small fish while the big fish was away. + +The brig _Fair American_ was a privateer and a fast one. It came up with +a fair breeze, soon reaching the _Hyder Ali_, which expected a fight. +But the privateer wanted prizes more than cannon balls, and went +straight on, firing a broadside that did no harm. Captain Barney let her +go. The sloop-of-war was coming fast behind, and this was enough for him +to attend to. It had more guns than his ship and they were double the +weight--twelve-pounders to his six-pounders. As the war sloop came near, +Barney turned to his helmsman, and said: + +"I want you to go opposite to my orders. If I tell you to port your +helm, you are to put it hard-a-starboard. Do you understand?" + +"Aye, aye!" answered the tar. + +Up came the _General Monk_, its captain thinking to make an easy prize, +as the _Fair American_ had been let go past without a shot. When about a +dozen yards away the British captain hailed: + +"Strike your colors, or I will fire!" + +"Hard-a-port your helm," roared Barney to the man at the wheel. "Do you +want her to run aboard us?" + +The order was heard on board the enemy, and the captain gave orders to +meet the expected movement. But hard-a-starboard went the helm, and the +_Hyder Ali_ swung round in front of the enemy, whose bowsprit caught and +became entangled in her fore-rigging. + +This gave the American ship a raking position, and in a moment the grim +tars were hard at work with their guns. Broadsides were poured in as +fast as they could load and fire, and every shot swept from bow to +stern. The Englishman, though he had double the weight of metal, could +not get out of the awkward position in which Barney had caught him, and +his guns did little harm. In less than half an hour down went his flag. + +It was none too soon. The frigate had seen the fight from a distance, +and was making all haste to get out of its awkward position and take a +hand in the game. Barney did not even wait to ask the name of his prize, +but put a crew on board and bade them make all haste to Philadelphia. + +He followed, steering now for the _Fair American_. But the privateer +captain had seen the fate of the _General Monk_ and concluded that he +had business elsewhere. So he ran away instead of fighting, and soon ran +ashore. The _Hyder Ali_ left him there and made all haste up stream. The +frigate had by this time got out of her side channel, and was coming up +under full sail. So Captain Barney crowded on all sail also and fled +away after his prize. + +If the frigate had got within gunshot it would soon have settled the +question, for it could have sunk the _Hyder Ali_ with a broadside. But +it was not fast enough, and after a speedy run the victor and her prize +drew up beside a Philadelphia wharf. + +Never had the good people of the Quaker City gazed on such a sight as +now met their eyes. Nothing had been done to remove the marks of battle. +The ships came in as they had left the fight. Shattered bulwarks, ragged +rents in the hulls, sails in tatters and drooping cordage told the story +of the desperate battle. + +And the decks presented a terrible picture. Blood was everywhere. On the +_General Monk_ were stretched the dead bodies of twenty men, while +twenty-six wounded lay groaning below. The _Hyder Ali_ had suffered much +less, having but four killed and eleven wounded. + +In all the Revolutionary War there have been few more brilliant actions; +and his victory gave Joshua Barney a high standing among the naval +commanders of the young Republic. + +Shall we take up the story of the gallant Barney at a later date? Thirty +years after his victory over the _General Monk_, there was war again +between Americans and Britons, and Commodore Barney, now an old man, +took an active part. + +He started out in the early days of the war with no better vessel than +the schooner _Rossie_, of fourteen guns and 120 men. He soon had lively +times. The _Rossie_ was a clipper, and he could run away from an enemy +too strong to fight, though running away was not much to his taste. + +In his first cruise he was out forty-five days, and in that time he +captured fourteen vessels and 166 prisoners. + +In a month's time he was at sea again. Now he got among British frigates +and had to trust to the heels of his little craft. But in spite of the +great ships that haunted the seas, new prizes fell into his hands, one +being taken after an hour's fight. In all, the vessels and cargoes taken +by him were worth nearly $3,000,000, though most of this wealth went to +the bottom of the sea. + +The next year (1813) he was made commodore of a fleet of gunboats in +Chesapeake Bay. Here for a year he had very little to do. Then the +British sailed up the Chesapeake, intending to capture Washington and +Baltimore, Barney did not hesitate to attack them, and did considerable +damage, though they were much too strong for his small fleet. + +At length there came from the frightened people at Washington the order +to burn his fleet, and, much against his will, he was forced to consign +his gunboats to the flames. With his men, about four hundred in all, he +joined the army assembled to defend the capital. + +These sailor-soldiers made the best fight of any of the troops that +sought to save Washington from capture; but during the fight Commodore +Barney received a wound that brought his fighting days to an end. +Fortunately there was little more fighting to do, and peace reigned over +his few remaining years of life. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +THE MOORISH PIRATES OF THE MEDITERRANEAN + +OUR NAVY TEACHES THEM A LESSON IN HONOR + + +I SUPPOSE all the readers of this book know what a pirate is. For those +who may not know, I would say that a pirate is a sea-robber. They are +terrible fellows, these pirates, who live by murder and plunder. In old +times there were many ship-loads of them upon the seas, who captured +every merchant vessel they met with and often killed all on board. + +There have been whole nations of pirates, and that as late as a hundred +years ago. By looking at an atlas you will see at the north of Africa +the nations of Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli. The people of these nations +are called Moors, and they used to be great sea-robbers. They sent out +fast vessels in the Mediterranean Sea, and no merchant ship there was +safe. Hundreds of such ships were taken and robbed. Their crews were not +killed, but they were sold as slaves, which was nearly as terrible. + +Would you not think that the powerful nations of Europe would have soon +put a stop to this? They could have sent fleets and armies there and +conquered the Moors. But instead of that, they paid them to let their +ships alone. + +Not long after the Revolution these sea-robbers began to make trouble +for the United States. The new nation, you should know, had no navy. +After it was done fighting with the British, it was so poor that it sold +all its ships. But it soon had many merchant ships, sailing to all seas, +which were left to take care of themselves the best way they could. + +What did the pirates of Algiers care for this young nation across the +Atlantic, that had rich merchant ships and not a war vessel to protect +them? Very little, I fancy. It is certain that they soon began to +capture American ships and sell their sailors for slaves. In a short +time nearly two hundred American sailors were working as slaves in the +Moorish states. + +The United States did not act very bravely. Instead of sending out a +fleet of warships, it made a treaty with Algiers and agreed to pay a +certain sum of money every year to have its vessels let alone. While the +treaty lasted, more than a million dollars were paid to the Dey of +Algiers. If that much had been spent for strong frigates, the United +States would not have had the disgrace of paying tribute to the Moors. +But the natives of Europe were doing the same, so the disgrace belonged +to them also. + +The trouble with the Moors got worse and worse, and the Dey of Algiers +became very insolent to Americans. + +"You are my slaves, for you pay me tribute," he said to the captain of +an American frigate. "I have a right to order you as I please." + +When the other pirate nations, Tunis and Tripoli, found that Algiers was +being paid, they asked for tribute, too. And they began to capture +American ships and sell their crews into slavery. And their monarchs +were as insolent as the Dey. + +The United States at that time was young and poor. It had not been +twenty years free from British armies. But it was proud, if it was poor, +and did not like to have its captains and consuls ordered about like +servants. So the President and Congress thought it was time to teach the +Moors a lesson. + +This was in 1801. By that time a fleet of war vessels had been built, +and a squadron of these was sent to the Mediterranean under Commodore +Richard Dale. This was the man who had been in Paul Jones's great fight +and had received the surrender of the captain of the _Serapis_. He was a +bold, brave officer, but Congress had ordered him not to fight if he +could help it, and therefore very little was done. + +But there was one battle, the story of which we must tell. Commodore +Dale had three frigates and one little schooner, the _Enterprise_. All +the honor of the cruise came to this little craft. + +She was on her way to Malta when she came in sight of a low, long +vessel, at whose mast-head floated the flag of Tripoli. When this came +near, it was seen to be a corsair which had long waged war on American +merchantmen. + +Before Captain Sterrett, of the _Enterprise_, had time to hail, the +Moors began to fire at his ship. He was told not to fight if he could +help it, but Sterrett decided that he could not help it. He brought his +schooner within pistol shot of the Moor, and poured broadsides into the +pirate ship as fast as the men could load and fire. The Moors replied. +For two hours the battle continued, with roar of cannon and rattle of +muskets and dense clouds of smoke. + +The vessels were small and their guns were light, so that the battle was +long drawn out. + +At last the fire of the corsair ceased, and a whiff of air carried away +the smoke. Looking across the waves, the sailors saw that the flag of +Tripoli no longer waved, and three hearty American cheers rang out. The +tars left their guns and were getting ready to board their prize, when +up again went the flag of Tripoli and another broadside was fired into +their vessel. + +Their cheers of triumph turned to cries of rage. Back to their guns they +rushed, and fought more fiercely than before. They did not care now to +take the prize; they wished to send her, with her crew of villains, to +the bottom of the sea. + +The Moors fought as fiercely as the Americans. Running their vessel +against the _Enterprise_, they tried again and again to leap on board +and finish the battle with pistol and cutlass; but each time they were +driven back. + +The men at the guns meanwhile poured in two more broadsides, and once +more down came the flag of Tripoli. + +Captain Sterrett did not trust the traitors this time. He bade his men +keep to their guns, and ordered the Tripolitans to bring their vessel +under the quarter of the _Enterprise_. They had no sooner done so than a +throng of the Moorish pirates tried to board the schooner. + +"No quarter for the treacherous dogs!" was the cry of the furious +sailors. "Pour it into them; send the thieves to the bottom!" + +The _Enterprise_ now drew off to a good position and raked the foe with +repeated broadsides. The Moors were bitterly punished for their +treachery. Their deck ran red with blood; men and officers lay bleeding +in throngs; the cries of the wounded rose above the noise of the cannon. +The flag was down again, but no heed was paid to that. The infuriated +sailors were bent on sending the pirate craft to the bottom. + +At length the corsair captain, an old man with a flowing white beard, +appeared at the side of his ship, sorely wounded, and, with a low bow, +cast his flag into the sea. Then Captain Sterrett, though he still felt +like sinking the corsair, ordered the firing to stop. + +The prize proved to be named the _Tripoli_. What was to be done with it? +Captain Sterrett had no authority to take prizes. At length he concluded +that he would teach the Bashaw of Tripoli a lesson. + +He sent Lieutenant David Porter, a daring young officer who was yet to +make his mark, on the prize, telling him to make a wreck of her. + +Porter was glad to obey those orders. He made the captive Tripolitans +cut down their masts, throw all their cannon and small arms into the +sea, cut their sails to pieces, and fling all their powder overboard. He +left them only a jury-mast and a small sail. + +"See here," said Porter to the Moorish captain, "we have not lost a man, +while fifty of your men are killed or wounded. You may go home now and +tell this to your Bashaw, and say to him that in the time to come the +only tribute he will get from the United States will be a tribute of +powder and balls." + +Away drifted the wrecked hulk, followed by the jeers of the American +sailors, who were only sorry that the treacherous pirate had not been +scuttled and sent to the bottom of the sea. + +When it reached Tripoli the Bashaw was mad with rage. Instead of the +plunder and the white slaves he had looked for, he had only a dismantled +hulk. + +The old captain showed him his wounds and told him how hard he had +fought. But his fury was not to be appeased. He had the white-bearded +commander led through the streets tied to a jackass--the greatest +disgrace he could have inflicted on any Moor. This was followed by five +hundred blows with a stick. + +The Moorish sailors declared that the Americans had fired enchanted +shot. This, and the severe punishment of the captain of the _Tripoli_, +so scared the sailors of the city that for a year after the fierce +Bashaw found it next to impossible to muster a ship's crew. They did not +care to be treated as the men on the _Tripoli_ had been. + +Such was the first lesson which the sailors of the new nation gave to +the pirates of the Mediterranean. It was the beginning of a policy which +was to put an end to the piracy which had prevailed for centuries on +those waters. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE YOUNG DECATUR AND HIS BRILLIANT DEEDS AT TRIPOLI + +HOW OUR NAVY BEGAN AND ENDED A FOREIGN WAR + + +IN the ship _Essex_, one of the fleet that was sent to the Mediterranean +to deal with the Moorish pirates, there was a brave young officer named +Stephen Decatur. He was little more than a boy, for he was just past +twenty-one years of age; but he had been in the fight between the +_Enterprise_ and the _Tripoli_, and was so bold and daring that he was +sure to make his mark. + +I must tell you how he first showed himself a true American. It was when +the _Essex_ was lying in the harbor at Barcelona, a seaport of Spain. +The _Essex_ was a handsome little vessel, and there was much praise of +her in the town, people of fashion came to see her and invited her +officers to their houses and treated them with great respect. + +Now there was a Spanish warship lying in the port, of the kind called a +xebec, a sort of three-masted vessel common in the Mediterranean Sea. + +The officers of this ship did not like to see so much respect given to +the Americans and so little to themselves. They grew jealous and angry, +and did all they could to annoy and insult the officers of the _Essex_. +Every time one of her boats rowed past the xebec it would be challenged +and ugly things said. + +The Americans bore all this quietly for a while. One day Captain +Bainbridge, of the _Essex_, was talked to in an abusive way, and said +little back. Another time a boat, under command of Lieutenant Decatur, +came under the guns of the xebec, and the Spaniards on the deck hailed +him with insulting words. This was more than young blood could stand, +and he called to the officer of the deck and asked him what that meant, +but the haughty Spaniard would give him no satisfaction. + +"Very well," said Decatur. "I will call to see you in the morning. Pull +off, lads." + +The next morning Decatur had himself rowed over to the xebec, and went +on board. He asked for the officer who was in charge the night before. + +"He has gone ashore," was the reply. + +"Well, then," said Decatur, in tones that every one on board could hear, +"tell him that Lieutenant Decatur, of the frigate _Essex_, calls him a +cowardly scoundrel, and when he meets him on shore he will cut his ears +off." + +There were no more insults after that. Decatur spoke as if he meant what +he said, and the officers of the xebec did not want to lose their ears. +But the United States Minister to Spain took up the matter and did not +rest until he got a full apology for the insults to the Americans. + +I have told this little story to let you see what kind of a man Stephen +Decatur was. But this was only a minor affair. He was soon to make +himself famous by one of the most brilliant deeds in the history of the +American navy. + +In October, 1802, a serious disaster came to the American fleet. The +frigate _Philadelphia_ was chasing a runaway vessel into the harbor of +Tripoli, when she got in shoal water and suddenly ran fast aground on a +shelf of rock. + +Here was an awkward position. Captain Bainbridge threw overboard most +of his cannon and his anchors, and everything that would lighten the +ship, even cutting down his foremasts; but all to no purpose. She still +clung fast to the rock. + +Soon a flock of gunboats came down the harbor and saw the bad fix the +Americans were in. Bainbridge was quite unable to fight them, for they +could have kept out of the way of his guns and made kindling wood of his +vessel. There was nothing to do but to surrender. So he flooded the +powder magazine, threw all the small arms overboard, and knocked holes +in the bottom of the ship. Then he hauled down his flag. + +The gunboats now came up like a flock of hawks, and soon the Moors were +clambering over the rails. In a minute more they were in every part of +the ship, breaking open chests and storerooms and plundering officers +and men. Two of them would hold an officer and a third rob him of his +watch and purse, his sword, and everything of value he possessed. The +plundering did not stop till the captain knocked down one of the Moors +for trying to rob him of an ivory miniature of his wife. + +Then the Americans were made to get into the gunboats and were taken +ashore. They were marched in triumph through the streets, and the men +were thrown into prison. The officers were invited to supper by the +Bashaw, and treated as if they were guests. But as soon as the supper +was over, they, too, were taken to the prison rooms in which they were +to stay till the end of the war. + +The Tripolitans afterwards got the _Philadelphia_ off the rocks during a +high tide, plugged up the holes in her bottom, fished up her guns and +anchors, and fitted her up for war. The Bashaw was proud enough of his +fine prize, which had not cost him a man or a shot, and was a better +ship than he had ever seen before. + +When the American commodore learned of the loss of the _Philadelphia_ he +was in a bad state of mind. To lose one of his best ships in this way +was not at all to his liking, for he was a man who did not enjoy losing +a ship; and to know that the Moors had it and were making a warship of +it was a hard thing to bear. + +From his prison Captain Bainbridge wrote letters to Commodore Preble, +which the Moors read and then sent out to the fleet. They did not know +that the letters had postscripts written in lemon-juice which only came +out when the sheet of paper was held to the heat of a fire. In these the +captain asked the commodore to try and destroy the captured ship. + +Commodore Preble was a daring officer, and was ready enough for this, if +he only knew how it could be done. Lieutenant Decatur was then in +command of the _Enterprise_, the schooner which had fought with the +_Tripoli_. He asked the commodore to let him take the _Enterprise_ into +the harbor and try to destroy the captured ship. He knew he could do it, +he said, if he only had a chance. At any rate, he wanted to try. + +Commodore Preble shook his head. It could not be done that way. He would +only lose his own vessel and his men. But there was a way it might be +done. The Moors might be taken by surprise and their prize burned in +their sight. It was a desperate enterprise. Every man who took part in +it would be in great danger of death. But that danger did not give much +trouble to bold young Decatur, who was as ready to fight as he was to +eat. + +What was the commodore's plan, do you ask? Well, it was this. Some time +earlier the _Enterprise_ had captured the _Mastico_, a vessel from +Tripoli. Preble gave this craft the new name of the _Intrepid_ and +proposed to send it into the harbor. The Moors did not know of its +capture and would not suspect it, and thus it might get up close to the +_Philadelphia_. + +Decatur was made commander and called for volunteers. Every man and boy +on the _Enterprise_ wanted to go; and he picked out over seventy of +them. As he was about to leave the deck, a boy came up and asked if he +couldn't go, too. + +"Why do you want to go, Jack?" + +"Well, Captain, you see, I'd kind o' like to see the country." + +This was such a queer reason that Decatur laughed and told him he might +go. + +One dark night, on February 3, 1804, the _Intrepid_ left the rest of the +fleet and set sail for the harbor of Tripoli. The little _Siren_ went +with her for company. But the weather proved stormy, and it was not +until the 15th that they were able to carry out their plan. + +About noon they came in sight of the spires of the city of Tripoli. +Decatur did not wish to reach the _Philadelphia_ until nightfall, but he +was afraid to take in sail, for fear of being suspected; so he dragged a +cable and a number of buckets behind to lessen his speed. + +After a time the _Philadelphia_ came in sight. She was anchored well in +the harbor, under the guns of two heavy batteries. Two cruisers and a +number of gunboats lay near by. It was a desperate and dangerous +business which Decatur and his tars had taken in hand, but they did not +let that trouble them. + +At about ten o'clock at night the _Intrepid_ came into the harbor's +mouth. The wind had fallen and she crept slowly along over the smooth +sea. The _Siren_ stayed behind. Her work was that of rescue in case of +trouble. Straight for the frigate went the devoted crew. A new moon sent +its soft lustre over the waves. All was still in city and fleet. + +Soon the _Intrepid_ came near the frigate. Only twelve men were visible +on her deck. The others were lying flat in the shadow on the bulwarks, +each with cutlass tightly clutched in hand. + +"What vessel is that?" was asked in Moorish words from the frigate. + +"The _Mastico_, from Malta," answered the pilot in the same tongue. "We +lost our anchors in the gale and were nearly wrecked. Can we ride by +your ship for the night?" + +The permission asked was granted, and a boat from the _Intrepid_ made a +line fast to the frigate, while the men on the latter threw a line +aboard. The ropes were passed to the hidden men on the deck, who pulled +on them lustily. + +As the little craft came up, the men on the frigate saw her anchors +hanging in place. + +"You have lied to us!" came a sharp hail. "Keep off! Cut those lines!" + +Others had seen the concealed men, and the cry of "Americanos!" was +raised. + +The alarm came too late. The little craft was now close up and a hearty +pull brought her against the hull of the large ship. + +"Boarders away!" came the stirring order. + +"Follow me, lads," cried Decatur, springing for the chain-plates of the +frigate. Men and officers were after him hot-foot. Midshipman Charles +Morris was the first to reach the deck, with Decatur close behind. + +[Illustration: DECATUR AT TRIPOLI.] + +The surprise was complete. There was no resistance. Few of the Moors +had weapons, and they fled from the Americans like frightened sheep. On +all sides the splashing of water could be heard as they leaped +overboard. In a few minutes they were all gone and Decatur and his men +were masters of the ship. + +They would have given much to be able to take the noble frigate out of +the harbor. But that could not be done, and every minute made their +danger greater. All they could do was to set her on fire and retreat +with all speed. + +Not a moment was lost. Quick-burning material was brought from the +_Intrepid_, put in good places, and set on fire. So rapidly did the +flames spread that the men who were lighting fires on the lower decks +had scarcely time to escape from the fast-spreading conflagration. + +Flames poured from the port-holes, and sparks fell on the deck of the +smaller vessel. If it should touch the powder that was stored amidships, +death would come to them all. With nervous haste they cut the ropes, and +the _Intrepid_ was pushed off. Then the sweeps were thrust out and the +little craft rowed away. + +"Now, lads, give them three good cheers," cried Decatur. + +Up sprang the jack-tars, and three ringing cheers were given, sounding +above the roar of the flames and of the cannon that were now playing on +the little vessel from the batteries and gunboats. Then to their sweeps +went the tars again, and drove their vessel every minute farther away. + +As they went they saw the flames catch the rigging and run up the masts +of the doomed frigate. Then great bursts of flame shot out from the open +hatchways. The loaded guns went off one after another, some of them +firing into the town. It was a lurid and striking spectacle, such as is +seldom seen. + +Bainbridge and his fellow-officers saw the flames from their prison +window and hailed them with lusty cheers. The officers of the _Siren_ +saw them also, and sent their boats into the harbor to aid the +fugitives, if necessary. But it was not necessary. Not a man had been +hurt. In an hour after the flames were seen, Decatur and his daring crew +came in triumph out of the bay of Tripoli. + +Never had been known a more perfect and successful naval exploit. All +Europe talked of it with admiration when the news was received. Lord +Nelson, the greatest of England's sailors, said, "It was the boldest and +most daring act of the ages." When the tidings reached the United +States, Decatur, young as he was, was rewarded by Congress with the +title of captain. + +We are not yet done with the _Intrepid_, in which Decatur played so +brilliant a part. She was tried again in work of the same kind, but with +a more tragic end. + +A room was built in her and filled with powder, shot, and shells. +Combustibles of various kinds were piled around it, so that it could not +fail to go off, if set on fire. Then, one dark night, the fire-ship was +sent into the harbor of Tripoli, with a picked crew under another +gallant young officer, Lieutenant Richard Somers. + +They were told to take it into the midst of the Moorish squadron, set it +on fire and escape in their boats. It was expected to blow up and rend +to atoms the war vessels of Tripoli. + +But the forts and ships began to fire on it, and before it reached its +goal a frightful disaster occurred. Suddenly a great jet of fire was +seen to shoot up into the sky. Then came a roar like that of a volcano. +The distant spectators saw the mast of the _Intrepid_, with blazing +sail, flung like a rocket into the air. Bombs flew in all directions. +Then all grew dark and still. + +In some way the magazine had been exploded, perhaps by a shot from the +enemy. Nothing was ever seen again of Somers and his men. It was the +great tragedy of the war. They had all perished in that fearful +explosion. + + * * * * * + +Now let us turn back to the story of Decatur, of whom we have some more +famous work to tell. + +In August, 1804, the American fleet entered the harbor of Tripoli and +made a daring attack on the fleet, the batteries, and the city of the +Bashaw. In addition to the war vessels of the fleet, there were six +gunboats and two bomb vessels, all pouring shot and shell into the city +which had so long defied them. + +The batteries on shore returned the fire, and the gunboats of the Bashaw +advanced to the attack. On these the fleet now turned its fire, sweeping +their decks with grape and canister shot. Decatur, with three gunboats, +advanced on the eastern division of the Moorish gunboats, nine in all. + +Decatur, you will see, was outnumbered three to one, but he did not stop +for odds like that. He dashed boldly in, laid his vessel alongside the +nearest gunboat of the enemy, poured in a volley, and gave the order to +board. In an instant the Americans were over the bulwarks and on the +foe. + +The contest was short and sharp. The captain of the Tripolitans fell +dead. Most of his officers were wounded. The men, overcome by the fierce +attack, soon threw down their arms and begged for quarter. Decatur +secured them below decks and started for the next gunboat. + +On his way he was hailed from one of his own boats, which had been +commanded by his brother James. The men told him that his brother had +captured one of the gunboats of the enemy, but, on going on board after +her flag had fallen, he had been shot dead by the treacherous commander. +The murderer had then driven the Americans back and carried his boat out +of the fight. + +On hearing this sad news, Decatur was filled with grief and rage. Bent +on revenge, he turned his boat's prow and swiftly sped towards the +craft of the assassin. The instant the two boats came together the +furious Decatur sprang upon the deck of the enemy. At his back came +Lieutenant McDonough and nine sturdy sailors. Nearly forty of the Moors +faced them, at their head a man of gigantic size, his face half covered +with a thick black beard, a scarlet cap on his head, the true type of a +pirate captain. + +Sure that this was his brother's murderer, Decatur rushed fiercely at +the giant Moor. The latter thrust at him with a heavy boarding pike. +Decatur parried the blow, and made a fierce stroke at the weapon, hoping +to cut off its point. + +He failed in this and his cutlass broke off at the hilt, leaving him +with empty hands. With a lusty yell the Moor thrust again. Decatur bent +aside, so that he received only a slight wound. Then he seized the +weapon, wrested it from the hands of the Moor, and thrust fiercely at +him. + +In an instant more the two enemies had clinched in a wrestle for life +and death, and fell struggling to the deck. While they lay there, one +of the Tripolitan officers raised his scimitar and aimed a deadly blow +at the head of Decatur. + +It seemed now as if nothing could save the struggling American. Only one +of his men was near by. This was a sailor named Reuben James, who had +been wounded in both arms. But he was a man of noble heart. He could not +lift a hand to save his captain, but his head was free, and with a +sublime devotion he thrust it in the way of the descending weapon. + +Down it came with a terrible blow on his head, and he fell bleeding to +the deck, but before the Tripolitan could lift his weapon again to +strike Decatur, a pistol shot laid him low. + +Decatur was left to fight it out with the giant Moor. With one hand the +huge wrestler held him tightly and with the other he drew a dagger from +his belt. The fatal moment had arrived. Decatur caught the Moor's wrist +just as the blow was about to fall, and at the same instant pressed +against his side a small pistol he had drawn from his pocket. + +A touch of the trigger, a sharp report, and the body of the giant +relaxed. The bullet had pierced him through and he fell back dead. +Flinging off the heavy weight, Decatur rose to his feet. + +Meanwhile his few men had been fiercely fighting the Tripolitan crew. +Greatly as they outnumbered the Americans, the Moors had been driven +back. They lost heart on seeing their leader fall and threw down their +arms. + +Another gunboat was captured and then the battle ended. The attack on +Tripoli had proved a failure and the fleet drew off. + +I know you will ask what became of brave Reuben James, who offered his +life for his captain. Was he killed? No, I am glad to say he was not. He +had an ugly cut, but he was soon well again. + +One day Decatur asked him what reward he should give him for saving his +life. The worthy sailor did not know what to say. He scratched his head +and looked puzzled. + +"Ask him for double pay, Rube," suggested one of his shipmates. + +"A pocket full of dollars and shore leave," whispered another. + +"No," said the modest tar. "Just let somebody else hand out the hammocks +to the men when they are piped down. That's something I don't like." + +Decatur consented; and afterwards, when the crew was piped down to stow +hammocks, Reuben walked among them as free and independent as a +millionaire. + +That is all we have here to say about the Tripolitan war. The next year +a treaty of peace was signed, and Captain Bainbridge and the men of the +_Philadelphia_ were set free from their prison cells. + +In 1812, when war broke out with England, the gallant Decatur was given +the command of the frigate _United States_, and with it he captured the +British frigate _Macedonian_, after a hard fight. + +Poor Decatur was shot dead in a duel in 1820 by a hot-headed officer +whom he had offended. It was a sad end to a brilliant career, for the +American Navy never had a more gallant commander. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +THE GALLANT "OLD IRONSIDES" AND HOW SHE CAPTURED THE "GUERRIERE" + +A FAMOUS INCIDENT OF THE WAR OF 1812 + + +WHEN did our country win its greatest fame upon the sea? I think, when +you have read the story of the War of 1812, you will say it was in that +war. It is true, we did not do very well on land in that war, but the +glory we lost on the shore we made up on the sea. + +You should know that in 1812 England was the greatest sea-power in the +world. For years she had been fighting with Napoleon, and every fleet he +set afloat was badly whipped by British ships. Is it any wonder that the +people of that little island were proud of their fleets? Is it any +wonder they proudly sang-- + + "Britannia needs no bulwarks, + No towers along the steep; + Her march is o'er the mountain waves, + Her home is on the deep." + +They grew so vain of their lordship of the sea that they needed a +lesson, and they were to get one from the Yankee tars. As soon as war +began between England and the United States in 1812, a flock of British +war-hawks came flying bravely across the seas, thinking they would soon +gobble up the Yankee sparrows. But long before the war was over, they +quit singing their proud song of "Britannia rules the waves," and found +that what they thought was a Yankee sparrow was the American eagle. + +There were too many great things done on the ocean in this war for me to +name them all, so I will have to tell only the most famous. And first of +all I must give you the story of the noble old _Constitution_, or, as +she came to be called, _Old Ironsides_. + +The _Constitution_ was a noble ship of the old kind. That royal old +craft is still afloat, after more than a hundred years of service, and +after all her companions have long since sunk in the waves or rotted +away. She was built to fight the French in 1798. She was Commodore +Preble's flagship in the war with the Moorish pirates. And she won +undying fame in the War of 1812. So the story of the _Constitution_ +comes first in our list of the naval conquerors of that war. + +I fancy, if any of you had been living at that time, you would have +wanted to fight the British as badly as the Americans then did. For the +British had for years been taking sailors from American ships and making +them serve in their own men-of-war. Then, too, they had often insulted +our officers upon the seas, and acted in a very insolent and overbearing +way whenever they had the opportunity. This made the Americans very +angry and was the main cause of the war. + +I must tell you some things that took place before the war. In 1811 a +British frigate named the _Guerriere_ was busy at this kind of work, +sailing up and down our coast and carrying off American sailors on +pretence that they were British. Just remember the name of the +"_Guerriere_." You will soon learn how the _Constitution_ paid her for +this shabby work. + +I have also a story to tell about the _Constitution_ in 1811. She had to +cross the Atlantic in that year, and stopped on some business in the +harbor of Portsmouth, an English seaport. + +One night a British officer came on board and said there was an American +deserter on his ship, the _Havana_, and that the Americans could have +him if they sent for him. + +Captain Hull, of the _Constitution_, was then in London, so Lieutenant +Morris, who had charge of the ship, sent for the man; but when his +messenger came, he was told that the man said he was a British subject, +and therefore he should not be given up. They were very sorry, and all +that, but they had to take the man's word for it. Morris thought this +very shabby treatment but he soon had his revenge. For that very night a +British sailor came on board the _Constitution_, who said he was a +deserter from the _Havana_. + +"Of what nation are you?" he was asked. + +"I'm an American, sor," said the man, with a strong Irish accent. + +Lieutenant Morris sent word to the _Havana_ that a deserter from his +ship was on the _Constitution_. But when an officer from the _Havana_ +came to get the deserter, Morris politely told him that the man said he +was an American, and therefore he could not give him up. He was very +sorry, he said, but really the man ought to know to what country he +belonged. You may be interested to learn that Lieutenant Morris was the +man who had been first to board the _Philadelphia_ in the harbor of +Tripoli. + +This was paying John Bull in his own coin. The officers in the harbor +were very angry when they received this answer. Next, they tried to play +a trick on the Americans. Two of their warships came up and anchored in +the way of the _Constitution_. But Lieutenant Morris got up anchor and +slipped away to a new berth. Then the two frigates sailed up and +anchored in his way again. That was the way matters stood when Captain +Hull came on board in the evening. + +When the captain was told what had taken place, he saw that the British +were trying to make trouble about the Irish deserter. But he was not the +man to be caught by any trick. He loaded his guns and cleared the ship +for action. Then he pulled up his anchor, slipped round the British +frigates, and put to sea. + +He had not gone far before the two frigates started after him. They came +on under full sail, but one of them was slow and fell far behind, so +that the other came up alone. + +"If that fellow wants to fight he can have his chance," said Captain +Hull, and he bade his men to make ready. + +Up came the Englishman, but when he saw the ports open, the guns ready +to bark at him across the waves, and everything in shape for a good +fight, he had a sudden change of mind. Round he turned like a scared +dog, and ran back as fast as he had come. That was a clear case of tit +for tat, and tat had it. No doubt, the Englishman knew that he was in +the wrong, for English seamen are not afraid to fight. + +Home from Plymouth came the _Constitution_ and got herself put in shape +for the war that was soon to come. It had not long begun before she was +off to sea; and now she had a remarkable adventure with the _Guerriere_ +and some other British ships. In fact, she made a wonderful escape from +a whole squadron of war vessels. She left the Chesapeake on July 12, +1812, and for five days sailed up the coast. The winds were light and +progress was very slow. Then, on the 17th, the lookout aloft saw four +warships sailing along close in to the Jersey coast. + +Two hours afterward another was seen. This proved to be the frigate +_Guerriere_, and it was soon found that the others were British ships +also. One of them was a great ship-of-the-line. It would have been +madness to think of fighting such a force as this, more than six times +as strong as the _Constitution_, and there was nothing to do but to run +away. + +Then began the most famous race in American naval history. There was +hardly a breath of wind, the sails hung flapping to the masts; so +Captain Hull got out his boats and sent them ahead with a line to tow +the ship. When the British saw this they did the same, and by putting +all their boats to two ships they got ahead faster. + +I cannot tell the whole story of this race, but it lasted for nearly +three days, from Friday afternoon till Monday morning. Now there was a +light breeze and now a dead calm. Now they pulled the ships by boats and +now by kedging. That is, an anchor was carried out a long way ahead and +let sink, and then the men pulled on the line until the ship was brought +up over it. Then the anchor would be drawn up and carried and dropped +ahead again. + +For two long days and nights the chase kept up, during which the +_Constitution_ was kept, by weary labor, just out of gunshot ahead. At +four o'clock Sunday morning the British ships had got on both sides of +the _Constitution_, and it looked as if she was in a tight corner. But +Captain Hull now turned and steered out to sea, across the bows of the +_Eolus_, and soon had them astern again. + +The same old game went on until four o'clock in the afternoon, when they +saw signs of a coming squall. Captain Hull knew how to deal with an +American squall, but the Englishmen did not. He kept his men towing +until he saw the sea ruffled by the wind about a mile away. Then he +called the boats in and in a moment let fall all his sails. + +Looking at the British, he saw them hard at work furling their sails. +They had let all their boats go adrift. But Captain Hull had not furled +a sail, and the minute a vapor hid his ship from the enemy all his sails +were spread to the winds and away went the Yankee ship in rapid flight. +He had taught his foes a lesson in American seamanship. + +When the squall cleared away the British ships were far astern. But the +wind fell again and all that night the chase kept up. Captain Hull threw +water on his sails and made every rag of canvas draw. When daylight came +only the top sails of the enemy could be seen. At eight o'clock they +gave up the chase and turned on their heels. Thus ended that wonderful +three days chase, one of the most remarkable in naval history. + +And now we come to the greatest story in the history of the "Old +Ironsides." In less than a month after the _Guerriere_ had helped to +chase her off the Jersey coast, she gave that proud ship a lesson which +the British nation did not soon forget. Here is the story of that famous +fight, by which Captain Hull won high fame: + +In the early morning of August 19, while the old ship was bowling along +easily off the New England coast, a cheery cry of "Sail-ho!" came from +the lookout at the mast-head. + +Soon a large vessel was seen from the deck. On went the Yankee ship with +flying flag and bellying sails. The strange ship waited as if ready for +a fight. When the _Constitution_ drew near, the stranger hoisted the +British flag and began to fire her great guns. + +It was the _Guerriere_. When he saw the Stars and Stripes, Captain +Dacres said to his men: + +"That is a Yankee frigate. She will be ours in forty-five minutes. If +you take her in fifteen, I promise you four months pay." + +It is never best to be too sure, as Captain Dacres was to find. + +The _Guerriere_ kept on firing at a distance, but Captain Hull continued +to take in sail and get his ship in fighting trim, without firing a gun. +After a time Lieutenant Morris came up and said to him: + +"The British have killed two of our men. Shall we return their fire?" + +"Not yet," said Captain Hull. "Wait a while." + +He waited until the ships were almost touching, and then he roared out: + +"Now, boys; pour it into them!" + +Then came a roaring broadside that went splintering through the British +hull, doing more damage than all the _Guerriere's_ fire. + +Now the battle was on in earnest. The two ships lay side by side, and +for fifteen minutes the roar of cannon and the rattle of musketry +filled the air, while cannon balls tore their way through solid timber +and human flesh. + +Down came the mizzen-mast of the _Guerriere_, cut through by a big iron +shot. + +"Hurrah, boys!" cried Hull, swinging his hat like a schoolboy; "we've +made a brig of her." + +The mast dragged by its ropes and brought the ship round, so that the +next broadside from the _Constitution_ raked her from stem to stern. + +The bowsprit of the _Guerriere_ caught fast in the rigging of the +_Constitution_, and the sailors on both ships tried to board. But soon +the winds pulled the _Constitution_ clear, and as she forged ahead, down +with a crash came the other masts of the British ship. They had been cut +into splinters by the Yankee guns. A few minutes before she had been a +stately three-masted frigate; now she was a helpless hulk. Not half an +hour had passed since the _Constitution_ fired her first shot, and +already the _Guerriere_ was a wreck, while the Yankee ship rode the +waters as proudly as ever. + +Off in triumph went the "Old Ironsides," and hasty repairs to her +rigging were made. Then she came up with loaded guns. The _Guerriere_ +lay rolling like a log in the water, without a flag in sight. Not only +her masts were gone, but her hull was like a sieve. It had more than +thirty cannon-ball holes below the water-line. + +There was no need to fire again. Lieutenant Read went off in a boat. + +"Have you surrendered?" he asked Captain Dacres, who was looking, with a +very long face, over the rail. + +"It would not be prudent to continue the engagement any longer," said +Dacres, in gloomy tones. + +"Do you mean that you have struck your flag?" + +"Not precisely. But I do not know that it will be worth while to fight +any more." + +"If you cannot make up your mind I will go back and we will do something +to help you." + +"I don't see that I can keep up the fight," said the dejected British +captain. "I have hardly any men left and my ship is ready to sink." + +"What I want to know is," cried Lieutenant Read, "whether you are a +prisoner of war or an enemy. And I must know without further parley." + +"If I could fight longer I would," said Captain Dacres. Then with +faltering words he continued, "but-I-must-surrender." + +"Then accept from me Captain Hull's compliments. He wishes to know if +you need the aid of a surgeon or surgeon's mate." + +"Have you not business enough on your own ship for all your doctors?" +asked Dacres. + +"Oh, no!" said Read. "We have only seven men wounded, and their wounds +are all dressed." + +Captain Dacres was obliged to enter Read's boat and be rowed to the +_Constitution_. He had been wounded, and could not climb very well, so +Captain Hull helped him to the deck. + +"Give me your hand, Dacres," he said, "I know you are hurt." + +Captain Dacres offered his sword, but the American captain would not +take it. + +"No, no," he said, "I will not take a sword from one who knows so well +how to use it. But I'll trouble you for that hat." + +What did he mean by that, you ask? Well, the two captains had met some +time before the war, and Dacres had offered to bet a hat that the +_Guerriere_ would whip the _Constitution_. Hull accepted the bet, and he +had won. + +All day and night the boats were kept busy in carrying the prisoners, +well and hurt, to the _Constitution_. When daylight came again it was +reported that the _Guerriere_ was filling with water and ready to sink. + +She could not be saved, so she was set on fire. Rapidly the flames +spread until they reached her magazine. Then came a fearful explosion, +and a black cloud of smoke hung over the place where the ship had +floated. When it moved away only some floating planks were to be seen. +The proud _Guerriere_ would never trouble Yankee sailors again. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +A FAMOUS VESSEL SAVED BY A POEM + +"OLD IRONSIDES" WINS NEW GLORY + + +"_OLD IRONSIDES_ was a noble old ship, and a noble old ship was she." +Come, I know you have not heard enough about this grand old ship, so let +us go on with her story. And the first thing to tell is how she served +another British ship as she had served the _Guerriere_. + +Four months after Captain Hull's great victory, the _Constitution_ was +in another sea and had another captain. She had sailed south and was now +off the coast of Brazil. And William Bainbridge had succeeded Isaac Hull +in command. + +It was almost the last day of the year. Chilly weather, no doubt, in +Boston from which she had sailed; but mid-summer warmth in those +southern waters. It certainly felt warm enough to the men on deck, who +were "spoiling for a fight," when the lookout aloft announced two sails. + +The sailors who had been lounging about the deck sprang up and looked +eagerly across the waves, as the cheerful "Sail-ho!" reached their ears. +Soon they saw that one of the vessels was coming their way as fast as +her sails could carry her. The other had sailed away on the other tack. + +The vessel that was coming was the _Java_, a fine British frigate. As +she drew near she showed signals. That is, she spread out a number of +small flags, each of which had some meaning, and by which British ships +could talk with each other. Captain Bainbridge could not answer these, +for he did not know what they meant. So he showed American signals, +which the captain of the _Java_ could not understand any better. + +Then, as they came nearer, they hoisted their national flags, and both +sides saw that they were enemies and that a fight was on hand. + +Captain Bainbridge was not like Captain Hull. He did not wait till the +ships were side by side, but began firing when the _Java_ was half a +mile away. That was only wasting powder and balls, but they kept on +firing until they were close at hand, and then the shots began to tell. + +A brave old fellow was the captain of the _Constitution_. A musket ball +struck him in the thigh as he was pacing the deck. He stopped his +pacing, but would not go below. Then a copper bolt went deep into his +leg. But he had it cut out and the leg tied up, and he still kept on +deck. He wanted to see the fight. + +Hot and fierce came the cannon balls, hurtling through sails and +rigging, rending through thick timbers, and sending splinters flying +right and left. Men fell dead and blood ran in streams, but still came +the heralds of death. + +We must tell the same story of this fight as of the fight with the +_Guerriere_. The British did not know how to aim their guns and the +Americans did. The British had no sights on their cannon and the +Americans had. That was why, all through the war, the British lost so +heavily and the Americans so little. The British shot went wild and the +American balls flew straight to their mark. + +You know what must come from that. After while, off went the _Java's_ +bowsprit, as if it had been chopped off with a great knife. Five minutes +later her foremast was cut in two and came tumbling down. Then the main +topmast crashed down from above. Last of all, her mizzen-mast was cut +short off by the plunging shot, and fell over the side. The well-aimed +American balls had cut through her great spars, as you might cut through +a willow stick, and she was dismantled as the _Guerriere_ had been. + +The loud "hurrahs" of the Yankee sailors proved enough to call the dead +to life. At any rate, a wounded man, whom everyone thought dead, opened +his eyes and asked what they were cheering about. + +"The enemy has struck," he was told. + +The dying tar lifted himself on one arm, and waved the other round his +head, and gave three feeble cheers. With the last one he fell back dead. + +But the _Java's_ flag was not down for good. As the _Constitution_ came +up with all masts standing and sails set, the British flag was raised to +the stump of the mizzen-mast. When he saw this, Bainbridge wore his +ship to give her another broadside, and then down came her flag for +good. She had received all the battering she could stand. In fact, the +_Constitution_ had lost only 34 men, killed and wounded, while the Java +had lost 150 men. The _Constitution_ was sound and whole; the _Java_ had +only her mainmast left and was full of yawning rents. _Old Ironsides_ +had a new feather in her cap. + +Like the _Guerriere_, the _Java_ was hurt past help. It was impossible +to take her home; so on the last day of 1812, the torch was put to her +ragged timbers and the flames took hold. Quickly they made their way +through the ruined ship. About three o'clock in the afternoon they +reached her magazine, and with a mighty roar the wreck of the British +ship was torn into fragments. To the bottom went the hull. Only the +broken masts and a few shattered timbers remained afloat. + +Such is war: a thing of ruin and desolation. Of that gallant ship, which +two days before had been proudly afloat, only some smoke-stained +fragments were left to tell that she had ever been on the seas, and +death and wounds had come to many of her men. + +After her fight with the _Java_ the _Constitution_ had a long, weary +rest. You will remember the _Bon Homme Richard_, a rotten old hulk not +fit for fighting, though she made a very good show when the time for +fighting came. The _Constitution_ was much like her; so rotten in her +timbers that she had to be brought home and rebuilt. + +Then she went a-sailing again, under Captain Charles Stewart, as good an +officer as Hull and Bainbridge; but it was more than two years after her +last battle before she had another chance to show what sort of a fighter +she was. + +It is a curious fact that some of the hardest fights of this war with +England took place after the war was at an end. The treaty of peace was +signed on Christmas eve, 1814, but the great battle at New Orleans was +fought two weeks afterward. There were no ocean cable then to send word +to the armies that all their killing was no longer needed, since there +was nothing to fight about. + +It was worse still for the ships at sea. Nobody then had ever dreamed of +a telegraph without wires to send word out over the waste of waters, or +even of a telegraph with wires. Thus it was that the last battle of the +old _Constitution_ was fought nearly two months after the war was over. + +The good old ship was then on the other side of the ocean, and was +sailing along near the island of Madeira, which lies off the coast of +Africa. For a year she had done nothing except to take a few small +prizes, and her stalwart crew were tired of that sort of work. They +wanted a real, big fight, with plenty of glory. + +One evening Captain Stewart heard some of the officers talking about +their bad luck, and wishing they could only meet with a fellow of their +own size. They were tired of fishing for minnows when there were whales +to be caught. + +"I can tell you this, gentlemen," said the captain, "you will soon get +what you want. Before the sun rises and sets again you will have a good +old-fashioned fight, and it will not be with a single ship, either." + +I do not know what the officers said after the captain turned away. Very +likely some of them wondered how he came to be a prophet and could tell +what was going to take place. I doubt very much whether they believed +what he had said. + +At any rate, about one o'clock the next day, February 20, 1815, when the +ship was gliding along before a light breeze, a sail was seen far away +in front. An hour later a second sail was made out, close by the first. +And when the _Constitution_ got nearer it was seen that they were both +ships-of-war. It began to look as if Captain Stewart was a good prophet, +after all. + +It turned out that the first of these was the small British frigate +_Cyane_. The second was the sloop-of-war _Levant_. Neither was a match +by itself for the _Constitution_, but both together they thought +themselves a very good match. + +It was five o'clock before the Yankee ship came up within gunshot. The +two British ships had closed together so as to help one another, and now +they all stripped off their extra sails, as a man takes off his coat and +vest for a fight. + +Six o'clock passed before the battle began. Then for fifteen minutes the +three ships hurled their iron balls as fast as the men could load and +fire. By that time the smoke was so thick that they had to stop firing +to find out where the two fighting ships were. The _Constitution_ now +found herself opposite the _Levant_ and poured a broadside into her +hull. Then she sailed backward--a queer thing to do, but Captain Stewart +knew how to move his ship stern foremost--and poured her iron hail into +the _Cyane_. Next she pushed ahead again and pounded the _Levant_ till +that lively little craft turned and ran. It had enough of the +_Constitution's_ iron dumplings to last a while. + +This was great sailing and great firing, but Captain Stewart was one of +those seamen who know how to handle a ship, and his men knew how to +handle their guns. There were never better seamen than those of the _Old +Ironsides_. + +The _Levant_ was now out of the way, and there was only the _Cyane_ to +attend to. Captain Stewart attended to her so well that, just forty +minutes after the fight began, her flag came down. + +Where, now, was the _Levant_? She had run out of the fight; but she had +a brave captain who did not like to desert his friend, so he turned back +and came gallantly up again. + +It was a noble act, but a foolish one. This the British captain found +out when he came once more under the American guns. They were much too +hot for him, and once more he tried to run away. He did not succeed this +time. Captain Stewart was too much in love with him to let him go, and +sent such warm love-letters after him that his flag came gliding down, +as his comrade's had done. + +Captain Stewart had shown himself a true prophet. He had met, fought +with, and won two ships of the enemy. No doubt after that his officers +were sure they had a prophet for a captain. + +That evening, when the two British captains were in the cabin of the +_Constitution_, a midshipman came down and asked Captain Stewart if the +men could not have their grog. + +"Why, didn't they have it?" asked the captain. "It was time for it +before the battle began." + +"It was mixed for them, sir," said the midshipman, "but our old men said +they didn't want any 'Dutch courage,' so they emptied the grog-tub into +the lee scuppers." + +The Englishmen stared when they heard this. It is very likely their men +had not fought without a double dose of grog. + +We have not finished our story yet. Like a lady's letter, it has a +postscript. On March 10, the three ships were in a harbor of the Cape de +Verde Islands, and Captain Stewart was sending his prisoners ashore, +when three large British men-of-war were seen sailing into the harbor. + +Stewart was nearly caught in a trap. Any one of these large frigates was +more than a match for the _Constitution_, and here were three in a +bunch. But, by good luck, there was a heavy fog that hid everything but +the highest sails; so there was a chance of escape. + +Captain Stewart was not the man to be trapped while a chance was left. +He was what we call a "wide-awake." There was a small chance left. He +cut his cable, made a signal to the prize vessels to do the same, and in +ten minutes after the first British vessel had been seen, the American +ship and its prizes were gliding swiftly away. + +On came the British ships against a stiff breeze, up the west side of +the bay. Out slipped the Yankee ships along the east side. Captain +Stewart set no sails higher than his top sails, and these were hidden +by the fog, so the British lookouts saw nothing. They did not dream of +the fine birds that were flying away. + +Only when Stewart got his ship past the outer point of the harbor did he +spread his upper sails to the breeze, and the British lookouts saw with +surprise a cloud of canvas suddenly bursting out upon the air. + +Now began a close chase. The _Constitution_ and her prizes had only +about a mile the start. As quick as the British ships could turn they +were on their track. But those were not the days of the great guns that +can send huge balls six or seven miles through the air. A mile then was +a long shot for the largest guns, and the Yankee cruisers had made a +fair start. + +But before they had gone far Captain Stewart saw that the _Cyane_ was in +danger of being taken, and signaled for her to tack and take another +course. She did so and sailed safely away. For three hours the three big +frigates hotly chased the _Constitution_ and _Levant_, but let the +_Cyane_ go. + +Captain Stewart now saw that the _Levant_ was in the same danger, and he +sent her a signal to tack as the _Cyane_ had done. The _Levant_ tacked +and sailed out of the line of the chase. + +What was the surprise of the Yankee captain and his men when they saw +all three of the big British ships turn on their heels and set sail +after the little sloop-of-war, letting the _Constitution_ sail away. It +was like three great dogs turning to chase a rabbit and letting a deer +run free. + +The three huge monsters chased the little _Levant_ back into the island +port, and there for fifteen minutes they fired broadsides at her. The +prisoners whom Captain Stewart had landed did the same from a battery on +shore. And yet not a shot struck her hull; they were all wasted in the +air. + +At length Lieutenant Bullard, who was master of the prize, hauled down +his flag. He thought he had seen enough fun, and they might hurt +somebody afterwhile if they kept on firing. But what was the chagrin of +the British captains to find that all they had done was to take back one +of their own vessels, while the American frigate had gone free. + +The _Constitution_ and the _Cyane_ got safely to the American shores, +where their officers learned that the war had ceased more than three +months before. But the country was proud of their good service, and +Congress gave medals of honor to Stewart and his officers. + +That was the last warlike service of the gallant _Old Ironsides_, the +most famous ship of the American Navy. Years passed by and her timbers +rotted away, as they had done once before. Some of the wise heads in the +Navy Department, men without a grain of sentiment, decided that she was +no longer of any use and should be broken up for old timber. + +But if they had no love for the good old ship, there were those who had; +and a poet, Oliver Wendell Holmes, came to the rescue. This is the poem +by which he saved the ship: + + + THE OLD IRONSIDES. + + Ay, tear her tattered ensign down! + Long has it waved on high, + And many an eye has danced to see + That banner in the sky; + Beneath it rung the battle shout, + And burst the cannon's roar; + The meteor of the ocean air + Shall sweep the clouds no more! + + Her deck, once red with heroes' blood, + Where knelt the vanquished foe, + When winds were hurrying o'er the flood + And waves were white below, + No more shall feel the victor's tread + Or know the conquered knee; + The harpies of the shore shall pluck + The eagle of the sea! + + O! better that her shattered hulk + Should sink beneath the wave; + Her thunders shook the mighty deep, + And there should be her grave; + Nail to the mast her holy flag, + Set every threadbare sail, + And give her to the god of storms, + The lightning and the gale. + +There was no talk of destroying the _Old Ironsides_ after that. The man +that did it would have won eternal disgrace. She still floats, and no +doubt she will float, as long as two of her glorious old timbers hang +together. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +THE FIGHT OF CAPTAIN JACOB JONES + +THE LIVELY LITTLE "WASP" AND HOW SHE STUNG THE "FROLIC" + + +NO doubt most of my readers know very well what a wasp is and how nicely +it can take care of itself. When I was a boy I found out more than once +how long and sharp a sting it has, and I do not think many boys grow up +without at some time waking up a wasp and wishing they had left it +asleep. + +The United States has had three _Wasps_ and one _Hornet_ in its navy, +and the British boys who came fooling in their way found that all of +them could sting. I will tell you about the time one of our _Wasps_ met +the British _Frolic_ and fought it in a great gale, when the ships were +tossing about like chips on the ocean billows. + +Not long after the _Constitution_ had her great fight with the +_Guerriere_, a little sloop-of-war named the _Wasp_ set sail from +Philadelphia to see what she could find on the broad seas. This vessel, +you should know, had three masts and square sails like a ship. But she +was not much larger than one of the sloops we see on our rivers to-day, +so it was right to call her a sloop. For captain she had a bold sailor +named Jacob Jones. + +The first thing the _Wasp_ found at sea was a mighty gale of wind, that +blew "great guns" for two days. The waves were so big and fierce that +one of them carried away her bowsprit with two men on it. The next +night, after the wind had gone down a little, lights shone out across +the waves, and when daylight came Captain Jones saw over the heaving +billows six large merchant ships. With them was a watch-dog in the shape +of a fighting brig. + +This brig was named the _Frolic_. It had been sent in charge of a fleet +of fourteen merchantmen, but these had been scattered by the gale until +only six were left. The _Frolic_ was a good match for the _Wasp_, and +seemed to want a fight quite as badly, for it sailed for the American +ship as fast as the howling wind would let it. And you may be sure the +_Wasp_ did not fly away. + +Captain Jones hoisted his country's flag like a man. He was not afraid +to show his true colors. But the _Frolic_ came up under the Spanish +flag. When they got close together Captain Jones hailed,-- + +"What ship is that?" + +The only answer of the British captain was to pull down the Spanish flag +and run up his own standard, stamped with the red cross of St. George. +And as the one flag went down and the other went up, the _Frolic_ fired +a broadside at the _Wasp_. But just then the British ship rolled over on +the side of a wave, and its balls went whistling upward through the air. +The Yankee gunners were more wide-awake than that. They waited until +their vessel rolled down on the side of a great billow, and then they +fired, their solid shot going low, and tearing into the _Frolic's_ +sides. + +The fighting went that way all through the battle. The British gunners +did not know their business and fired wild. The Yankees knew what they +were about, and made every shot tell. They had sights on their guns and +took aim; the British had no sights and took no aim. That is why the +Americans were victors in so many fights. + +But I think there was not often a sea-fight like this. The battle took +place off Cape Hatteras, which is famous for its storms. The wind +whistled and howled; the waves rose into foaming crests and sank into +dark hollows; the fighting craft rolled and pitched. As they rolled +upward the guns pointed at the clouds. As they rolled downward the +muzzles of the guns often dipped into the foam. Great masses of spray +came flying over the bulwarks, sweeping the decks. The weather and the +sailors both had their blood up, and both were fighting for all they +were worth. It was a question which would win, the wind or the men. + +As fast as the smoke rose the wind swept it away, so that the gunners +had a clear view of the ships. The roar of the gale was half drowned by +the thunder of the guns, and the whistle of the wind mingled with the +scream of the balls, while the sailors shouted as they ran out their +guns and cheered as the iron hail swept across the waves. + +In such frantic haste did the British handle their guns, that they fired +three shots to the Yankees' two. The latter did not fire till they saw +something to fire at. As a result, most of British balls went whistling +overhead, and pitching over the _Wasp_ into the sea, while most of the +Yankee balls swept the decks or bored into the timbers of the _Frolic_. + +But you must not think that the shots of the _Frolic_ were all wasted, +if they did go high. One of them hit the maintopmast of the _Wasp_ and +cut it square off. Another hit the mizzen-topgallantmast and toppled it +into the waves. In twenty minutes from the start "every brace and most +of the rigging of the _Wasp_ were shot away." The _Wasp_ had done little +harm above, but a great deal below. + +The _Frolic_ could have run away now if she had wanted to. But her +captain was not of the runaway kind. The fire of the _Wasp_ had covered +his deck with blood, but he fought boldly on. + +As they fought the two ships drifted together and soon their sides met +with a crash. Then, as they were swept apart by the waves, two of the +_Wasp's_ guns were fired into the bow-ports of the _Frolic_ and swept +her gun-deck from end to end. Terrible was the slaughter done by that +raking fire. + +The next minute the bowsprit of the _Frolic_ caught in the rigging of +the _Wasp_, and another torrent of balls was poured into the British +ship. Then the Yankee sailors left their guns and sprang for the enemy's +deck. The captain wanted them to keep firing, but he could not hold them +back. + +First of them all was a brawny Jerseyman named Jack Lang, who took his +cutlass between his teeth and clambered like a cat along the bowsprit to +the deck. Others followed, and when they reached the deck of the +_Frolic_ they found Jack Lang standing alone and looking along the +blood-stained deck with staring eyes. + +Only four living men were to be seen, and three of these were wounded. +One was the quartermaster at the wheel and the others were officers. Not +another man stood on his feet, but the deck was strewn with the dead, +whose bodies rolled about at every heave of the waves. + +When the men came running aft the three officers flung down their swords +to show that they had surrendered, and one of them covered his face +with his hands. It hurt him to give up the good ship. Lieutenant Biddle, +of the _Wasp_, had to haul down the British flag. + +Never had there been more terrible slaughter. Of the 110 men on the +_Frolic_ there were not twenty alive and unhurt, while on the _Wasp_ +only five were dead and five wounded. The hull of the _Frolic_ was full +of holes and its masts were so cut away that in a few minutes they both +fell. + +Thus ended one of the most famous of American sea-fights. It was another +lesson that helped to stop the English from singing + + "Britannia rules the waves." + +But the little _Wasp_ and her gallant crew did not get the good of their +famous victory. While they were busy repairing damages a sail appeared +above the far horizon. It came on, growing larger and larger, and soon +it was seen to be a big man-of-war. + +The game was up with the _Wasp_ and her prize, for the new ship was the +_Poictiers_, a great seventy-four ship-of-the-line. She snapped up the +_Wasp_ and the _Frolic_ and carried them off to the British isle of +Bermuda, where the victors found themselves prisoners. + +A few words will finish the story of the _Wasp_. She was taken into the +British navy; but she did not have to fight for her foes, for she went +down at sea without doing anything. So she was saved from the disgrace +of fighting against her country. + +Captain Jones and his men were soon exchanged, and Congress voted them a +reward of $25,000 for their gallant fight, while the brave captain was +given the command of the frigate _Macedonian_, which had been captured +from the British. It was Captain Stephen Decatur, the hero of Tripoli, +that captured her, in the good ship _United States_. + +Would you like to hear about the other _Wasps_? There were two more of +them, you know. They were good ships, but ill luck came to them all. The +first _Wasp_ did her work in the Revolution, and had to be burned at +Philadelphia to keep her from the British when they took that city. The +second one, as I have just told you, was lost at sea, and so was the +third. You may see that bad luck came to them all. + +The third _Wasp_ was, like the second, a sloop-of-war, but she was a +large and heavy one. And though in the end she was lost at sea and +followed the other _Wasp_ to the bottom, she did not do so without +sending some British messengers there in advance. + +I will tell you the story of this _Wasp_, and how she used her sting, +but it must be done in few words. + +She was built at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and sailed on May 1, 1814, +her captain being Johnston Blakeley; her crew a set of young countrymen +who were so unused to the sea that most of them were seasick for a week. +Their average age was only twenty-three years, so they were little more +than boys. Yet the most of them could hit a deer with a rifle, and they +soon showed they could hit a _Reindeer_ with a cannon. For near the end +of June they came across a British brig named the _Reindeer_, and in +less than twenty minutes had battered her in so lively a fashion that +her flag came down and she was a prize. + +The crew of the _Reindeer_ were trained seamen, but they did not know +how to shoot. The Americans were Yankee farmer-lads, yet they shot like +veteran gunners. I am sure you will think so when I tell you that the +British could hardly hit the _Wasp_ at all, though she was less than +sixty yards away. But the Yankees hit the _Reindeer_ so often that she +was cut to pieces and her masts ready to fall. In fact, after she was +captured, she could not be taken into port, but had to be set on fire +and blown to pieces. + +But I must say a good word for the gallant captain of the _Reindeer_. +First, a musket ball hit him and went through the calves of both legs, +but he kept on his feet. Then a grape-shot--an iron ball two inches +thick--went through both his thighs. The brave seaman fell, but he rose +to his feet again, drew his sword, and called his men to board the +_Wasp_. He was trying to climb on board when a musket ball went through +his head. "O God!" he cried, and fell dead. + +This fight was in the English Channel, where Blakeley was doing what +John Paul Jones had done years before. Two months after the sinking of +the _Reindeer_ the _Wasp_ had another fight. This time there were three +British vessels, the _Avon_, the _Castilian_, and the _Tartarus_, all of +them brig-sloops like the _Reindeer_. These vessels were scattered, +chasing a privateer, and about nine o'clock at night the _Wasp_ came up +with the _Avon_ alone. They hailed each other as ships do when they meet +at sea. Then, when sure they were enemies, they began firing, as ships +do also in time of war. For forty minutes the fight kept up, and then +the _Avon_ had enough. She was riddled as the _Reindeer_ had been. But +the _Wasp_ did not take possession; for before a boat could be sent on +board, the two comrades of the _Avon_ came in sight. + +The _Wasp_, after her battle with the _Avon_, could not fight two more, +so she sailed away and left them to attend to their consort. They could +not save her. The _Wasp_ had stung too deeply for that. The water poured +in faster than the men of all three ships could pump it out, and at one +o'clock in the morning down plunged the _Avon's_ bow in the water, up +went her stern in the air, and with a mighty surge she sank to rise no +more. But the gallant _Wasp_ had ended her work. She took some more +prizes, but the sea, to whose depths she had sent the _Reindeer_ and +_Avon_, took her also. She was seen in October, and that was the last +that human eyes ever saw of her. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +CAPTAIN LAWRENCE DIES FOR THE FLAG + +HIS WORDS, "DO NOT GIVE UP THE SHIP," BECOME THE FAMOUS MOTTO OF THE +AMERICAN NAVY + + +THE United States navy had its _Hornet_ as well as its _Wasps_. And they +were well named, for they were all able to sting. The captain of the +_Hornet_ was a noble seaman named James Lawrence, who had been a +midshipman in the war with Tripoli. In the War of 1812 he was captain in +succession of the _Vixen_, the _Wasp_, the _Argus_, and the _Hornet_. + +The _Hornet_ was a sloop-of-war. I have told you what that means. She +had three masts, and carried square sails like a ship, but she was +called a sloop on account of her size. She had eighteen short guns and +two long ones. The short guns threw thirty-two pound and the long ones +twelve pound balls. + +Of course you have not forgotten the fight of the _Constitution_ with +the _Java_. When the _Constitution_ went south to Brazil at that time +the _Hornet_ went with her, but they soon parted. + +In one of the harbors of Brazil Captain Lawrence saw a British ship as +big as the _Hornet_. He waited outside for her, but she would not come +out. He had found a coward of a captain, and he locked him up in that +harbor for two months. + +Then he got tired and left. Soon after he came across the _Peacock_, a +British man-of-war brig. The _Peacock_ was as large as the _Hornet_ and +its captain was as full of fight as Captain Lawrence. He was the kind of +man that our bold Lawrence was hunting for. When two men feel that way, +a fight is usually not far off. That was the way now. Soon the guns were +booming and the balls were flying. + +But the fight was over before the men had time to warm up. The first +guns were fired at 5.25 in the afternoon, and at 5.39 the British flag +came down; so the battle lasted just fourteen minutes. Not many +victories have been won so quickly as that. + +But the _Hornet_ acted in a very lively fashion while it lasted. Do you +know how a hornet behaves when a mischievous boy throws a stone at its +nest? Well, that is the way our _Hornet_ did. Only one ball from the +_Peacock_ struck her, and hardly any of her men were hurt. But the +_Peacock_ was bored as full of holes as a pepper-box, and the water +poured in faster than all hands could pump it out. In a very short time +the unlucky _Peacock_ filled and sank. So Captain Lawrence had only the +honor of his victory; old ocean had swallowed up his prize. + +But if Captain Lawrence got no prize money, he won great fame. He was +looked on as another Hull or Decatur, and Congress made him captain of +the frigate _Chesapeake_. That was in one way a bad thing for the +gallant Lawrence, for it cost him his life. In another way it was a good +thing, for it made him one of the most famous of American seamen. + +I have told you the story of several victories of American ships. I must +now tell you the story of one defeat. But I think you will say it was a +defeat as glorious as a victory. For eight months the little navy of the +young Republic had sailed on seas where British ships were nearly as +thick as apples in an orchard. In that time it had not lost a ship, and +had won more victories than England had done in twenty years. Now it was +to meet with its first defeat. + +When Captain Lawrence took command of the _Chesapeake_, that ship lay in +the harbor of Boston. Outside this harbor was the British frigate +_Shannon_, blockading the port. + +Now you must know that the American people had grown very proud of their +success on the sea. They had got to think that any little vessel could +whip an English man-of-war. So the Bostonians grew eager for the +_Chesapeake_ to meet the _Shannon_. They were sure it would be brought +in as a prize, and they wanted to hurrah over it. + +Poor Lawrence was as eager as the people. He was just the man they +wanted. The _Chesapeake_ had no crew, but he set himself to work, and in +two weeks he filled her up with such men as he could find. + +It was a mixed team he got together, the sweepings of the streets. There +were some good men among them, but more poor ones. And they were all new +men to the ship and to the captain. They had not been trained to work +together, and it was madness to fight a first-class British ship with +such a crew. Some, in fact, were mutineers and gave him trouble before +he got out of the harbor. + +But the _Shannon_ was a crack ship with a crack crew. Captain Broke had +commanded her for seven years and had a splendidly trained set of men. +He had copied from the Americans and put sights on his guns, had taught +his men to fire at floating marks in the sea, and had trained his topmen +to use their muskets in the same careful way. So when Captain Lawrence +sailed on June 1, 1813, he sailed to defeat and death. + +Captain Broke sent a challenge to the _Chesapeake_ to come out and fight +him ship to ship. But Lawrence did not wait for his challenge. He was +too eager for that, and set sail with a crew who did not know their +work, and most of whom had never seen their officers before. + +What could be expected of such mad courage as that? It is one thing to +be a brave man; it is another to be a wise one. Of course you will say +that Captain Lawrence was brave; but no one can say he was wise. Poor +fellow, he was simply throwing away his ship and his life. + +It was in the morning of June 1 that the _Chesapeake_ left the wharves +of Boston. It was 5.50 in the afternoon that she met the _Shannon_ and +the battle began. + +Both ships fired as fast as they could load, but the men of the +_Shannon_ were much better hands at their work, and their balls tore the +American ship in a terrible manner. A musket-ball struck Lawrence in the +leg, but he would not go below. The rigging of the _Chesapeake_ was +badly cut, the men at the wheel were shot, and in ten minutes the two +ships drifted together. + +Men on each side now rushed to board the enemy's ship, and there was a +hand-to-hand fight at the bulwarks of the two ships. At this moment +Captain Lawrence was shot through the body and fell with a mortal wound. +He was carried below. + +As he lay in great pain he noticed that the firing had almost ceased. +Calling a surgeon's mate to him, he said, "Tell the men to fire faster, +and not give up the ship; the colors shall wave while I live." + +Unfortunately, these words were spoken in the moment of defeat. Captain +Broke, followed by a number of his men, had sprung to the deck of the +_Chesapeake_, and a desperate struggle began. The Americans fought +stubbornly, but the fire from the trained men in the _Shannon's_ tops +and the rush of British on board soon gave Broke and his men the +victory. The daring Broke fell with a cut that laid open his skull, but +in a few moments the Americans were driven below. + +The _Chesapeake_ was taken in just fifteen minutes, one minute more than +the _Hornet_ had taken to capture the _Peacock_. + +The British hauled down the American flag, and then hoisted it again +with a white flag to show their victory. But the sailor who did the +work, by mistake got the white flag under the Stars and Stripes. + +When the gunners in the _Shannon_ saw the Yankee flag flying they fired +again, and this time killed and wounded a number of their own men, one +of them being an officer. + +[Illustration: "DON'T GIVE UP THE SHIP!"] + +The gallant Lawrence never knew that his ship was lost. He lived until +the _Shannon_ reached Halifax with her prize, but he became +delirious, and kept repeating over and over again his last +order--"_Don't give up the ship!_" + +With these words he died. With these words his memory has become +immortal. "Don't give up the ship!" is the motto of the American navy, +and will not be forgotten while our great Republic survives. So Captain +Lawrence gained greater renown in defeat than most men have won in +victory. + +The capture of the _Chesapeake_ was a piece of wonderful good fortune +for the British, to judge by the way they boasted of it. As Captain +Pearson had been made a knight for losing the _Serapis_, so Captain +Broke was made a baronet for taking the _Chesapeake_. A "baronet," you +must know, is a higher title than a "knight," though they both use the +handle of "Sir" to their names. + +The work of the _Shannon_ proved--so the British historians said--that, +"if the odds were anything like equal, a British frigate could always +whip an American, and in a hand-to-hand conflict such would invariably +be the case." + +Such things are easy to say, when one does not care about telling the +truth. Suppose we give now what a French historian, who believed in +telling the truth, said of this fight,-- + +"Captain Broke had commanded the _Shannon_ for nearly seven years; +Captain Lawrence had commanded the _Chesapeake_ for but a few days. The +_Shannon_ had cruised for eighteen months on the coast of America; the +_Chesapeake_ was newly out of harbor. The _Shannon_ had a crew long +accustomed to habits of strict obedience; the _Chesapeake_ was manned by +men who had just been engaged in mutiny. The Americans were wrong to +accuse fortune on this occasion. Fortune was not fickle, she was merely +logical." + +That is about the same as to say that the _Chesapeake_ was given away to +the enemy. After that there were no more ships sent out of port unfit to +fight, merely to please the people. It was a lesson the people needed. + +The body of the brave Lawrence was laid on the quarter-deck of the +_Chesapeake_ wrapped in an American flag. It was then placed in a coffin +and taken ashore, where it was met by a regiment of British troops and a +band that played the "Death March in Saul." The sword of the dead hero +lay on his coffin. In the end his body was buried in the cemetery of +Trinity Church, New York. A monument stands to-day over his grave, and +on it are the words: + +"Neither the fury of battle, the anguish of a mortal wound, nor the +horrors of approaching death could subdue his gallant spirit. His dying +words were + + 'Don't give up the ship!'" + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +COMMODORE PERRY WHIPS THE BRITISH ON LAKE ERIE + +"WE HAVE MET THE ENEMY AND THEY ARE OURS" + + +IN the year 1813, when war was going on between England and the United +States, the whole northern part of this country was a vast forest. An +ocean of trees stretched away from the seaside in Maine for a thousand +miles to the west, and ended in the broad prairies of the Mississippi +region. + +The chief inhabitants of this grand forest were the moose and the deer, +the wolf and the panther, the wild turkey and the partridge, the red +Indian and the white hunter and trapper. It was a very different country +from what we see to-day, for now its trees are replaced by busy towns +and fertile fields. + +But in one way there has been no change. North of the forest lands +spread the Great Lakes, the splendid inland seas of our northern +border; and these were then what they are now, vast plains of water +where all the ships of all the nations might sail. + +Along the shores of these mighty lakes fighting was going on; at Detroit +on the west; at Niagara on the east. Soon war-vessels began to be built +and set afloat on the waters of the lakes. And these vessels after a +time came together in fierce conflict. I have now to tell the story of a +famous battle between these lake men-of-war. There was then in our navy +a young man named Oliver Hazard Perry. He was full of the spirit of +fight, but, while others were winning victories on the high seas, he was +given nothing better to do than to command a fleet of gunboats at +Newport, Rhode Island. + +Perry became very tired of this. He wanted to be where fighting was +going on, and he kept worrying the Navy Department for some active work. +So at last he was ordered to go to the lakes, with the best men he had, +and get ready to fight the British there. Perry received the order on +February 17, 1813, and before night he and fifty of his men were on +their way west in sleighs; for the ground was covered deep with snow. + +The sleighing was good, but the roads were bad and long; and it took him +and his men two weeks to reach Sackett's Harbor, at the north end of +Lake Ontario. From that place he went to Presque Isle, on Lake Erie, +where the fine City of Erie now stands. Then only the seed of a city was +planted there, in a small village, and the forest came down to the lake. + +Captain Perry did not go to sleep when he got to the water-side. He was +not one of the sleepy sort. He wanted vessels and he wanted them +quickly. The British had warships on the lake, and Perry did not intend +to let them have it all to themselves. + +When he got to Erie he found Captain Dobbins, an old shipbuilder, hard +at work. In the woods around were splendid trees, white and black oak +and chestnut, for planking, and pine for the decks. The axe was busy at +these giants of the forest; and so fast did the men work, that a tree +which was waving in the forest when the sun rose might be cut down and +hewn into ship-timber before the sun set. In that way Perry's fleet grew +like magic out of the forest. While the ships were building, cannon and +stores were brought from Pittsburgh by way of the Allegheny River and +its branches. And Perry went to Niagara River, where he helped capture a +fine brig, called the _Caledonia_, from the British. + +Captain Dobbins built two more brigs, one of which Perry named the +_Niagara_. The other he called _Lawrence_, after Captain Lawrence, the +story of whose life and death you have just read. + +Have any of you ever heard the story of the man who built a wagon in his +barn and then found it too wide to go out through the door? Perry was in +the same trouble. His new ships were too big to get out into the lake. +There was a bar at the mouth of the river with only four feet of water +on it. That was not deep enough to float his new vessels. And he was in +a hurry to get these in deep water; for he knew the British fleet would +soon be down to try to destroy them. + +How would you work to get a six-foot vessel over a four-foot sand bar? +Well, that doesn't matter; all we care for is the way Captain Perry did +it. He took two big scows and put one on each side of the _Lawrence_. +Then he filled them with water till the waves washed over their decks. +When they had sunk so far they were tied fast to the brig and the water +was pumped out of them. As the water went out they rose and lifted the +_Lawrence_ between them until there were several feet of water below her +keel. Now the brig was hauled on the bar until she touched the bottom; +then she was lifted again in the same way. This second time took her out +to deep water. Next, the _Niagara_ was lifted over the bar in the same +manner. + +The next day the British, who had been taking things very easily, came +sailing down to destroy Perry's ships. But they opened their eyes wide +when they saw them afloat on the lake. They had lost their chance by +wasting their time. + +Perry picked up men for his vessels wherever he could get them. The most +of those to be had were landsmen. But he had his fifty good men from +Newport and a hundred were sent him from the coast. Some of these had +been on the _Constitution_ in her great fight with the _Guerriere_. + +[Illustration: OLIVER H. PERRY.] + +Early in August all was ready, and he set sail. Early in September he +was in Put-in Bay, at the west end of Lake Erie, and here the British +came looking for him and his ships. + +Perry was now the commodore of a fleet of nine vessels,--the brigs +_Lawrence_, _Niagara_ and _Caledonia_, five schooners, and one sloop. +Captain Barclay, the British commander, had only six vessels, but some +of them were larger than Perry's. They were the ships _Detroit_ and +_Queen Charlotte_, a large brig, two schooners, and a sloop. Such were +the fleets with which the great battle of Lake Erie was fought. + +I know you are getting tired of all this description, and want to get on +to the fighting. You don't like to be kept sailing in quiet waters when +there is a fine storm ahead. Very well, we will go on. But one has to +get his bricks ready before he can build his house. + +Well, then, on the 10th of September, 1813, it being a fine summer day, +with the sun shining brightly, Perry and his men sailed out from Put-in +Bay and came in sight of the British fleet over the waters of the lake. + +What Captain Perry now did was fine. He hoisted a great blue flag, and +when it unrolled in the wind the men saw on it, in white letters, the +dying words of Captain Lawrence, "Don't give up the ship!" Was not that +a grand signal to give? It must have put great spirit into the men, and +made them feel that they would die like the gallant Lawrence before they +would give up their ships. The men on both fleets were eager to fight, +but the wind kept very light, and they came together slowly. It was near +noon before they got near enough for their long guns to work. Then the +British began to send balls skipping over the water, and soon after the +Americans answered back. + +Now came the roar of battle, the flash of guns, the cloud of smoke that +settled down and half hid everything. The Americans came on in a long +line, head on for the British, who awaited their approach. Perry's +flagship, the _Lawrence_, was near the head of the line. It soon plunged +into the very thick of the fight, with only two little schooners to help +it. The wind may have been too light for the rest of the fleet to come +up. We do not know just what kept them back, but at any rate, they +didn't come up, and the _Lawrence_ was left to fight alone. + +Never had a vessel been in a worse plight than was the _Lawrence_ for +the next two hours. She was half surrounded by the three large British +vessels, the _Detroit_, the _Queen Charlotte_, and the brig _Hunter_, +all pouring in their fire at once, while she had to fight them all. On +the _Lawrence_ and the two schooners there were only seven long guns +against thirty-six which were pelting Perry's flagship from the British +fleet. + +This was great odds. But overhead there floated the words, "Don't give +up the ship"; so the brave Perry pushed on till he was close to the +_Detroit_, and worked away, for life or death, with all his guns, long +and short. + +Oh, what a dreadful time there was on Perry's flagship during those sad +two hours. The great guns roared, the thick smoke rose, the balls tore +through her sides, sending splinters flying like sharp arrows to right +and left. Men fell like leaves blown down by a gale. Blood splashed on +the living and flowed over the dead. The surgeon's mates were kept busy +carrying the wounded below, where the surgeon dressed their wounds. + +Captain Perry's little brother, a boy of only thirteen years, was on +the ship, and stood beside him as brave as himself. Two bullets went +through the boy's hat; then a splinter cut through his clothes; still he +did not flinch. Soon after, he was knocked down and the captain grew +pale with fear. But up jumped the boy again. It was only a flying +hammock that had struck him. That little fellow was a true sailor boy, +and had in him plenty of Yankee grit. + +I would not, if I could, tell you all the horrors of those two hours. It +is not pleasant reading. The cannon balls even came through the vessel's +sides among the wounded, and killed some of them where they lay. At the +end of the fight the _Lawrence_ was a mere wreck. Her bowsprit and masts +were nearly all cut away, and out of more than a hundred men only +fourteen were unhurt. There was not a gun left that could be worked. + +Most men in such a case would have pulled down their flag. But Oliver +Perry had the spirit of Paul Jones, and he did not forget the words on +his flag--"Don't give up the ship." + +During those dread two hours the _Niagara_, under Lieutenant Elliott, +had kept out of the fight. Now it came sailing up before a freshening +breeze. + +As soon as Perry saw this fresh ship he made up his mind what to do. He +had a boat lowered with four men in it. His little brother leaped in +after them. Then he stepped aboard with the flag bearing Lawrence's +motto on his shoulder, and was rowed away to the _Niagara_. As soon as +the British saw this little boat on the water, with Perry standing +upright, wrapped in the flag he had fought for so bravely, they turned +all their guns and fired at it. Cannon and musket balls tore the water +round it. It looked as if nothing would save those devoted men from +death. + +"Sit down!" cried Perry's men. "We will stop rowing if you don't sit +down." + +So Perry sat down, and when a ball came crashing through the side of the +boat he took off his coat and plugged up the hole. + +Providence favored him and his men. They reached the _Niagara_ without +being hurt. The British had fired in vain. Perry sprang on board and +ordered the men to raise the flag. + +"How goes the day?" asked Lieutenant Elliott. + +"Bad enough," said Perry. "Why are the gunboats so far back?" + +"I will bring them up," said Elliott. + +"Do so," said Perry. + +Elliott jumped into the boat which Perry had just left, and rowed away. +Up to the mast-head went the great blue banner with the motto, "Don't +give up the ship." Signals were given for all the vessels to close in on +the enemy, and the _Niagara_ bore down under full sail. + +The _Lawrence_ was out of the fight. Rent and torn, with only a handful +of her crew on their feet, and not a gun that could be fired, her day +was done. Her flag was pulled down by the few men left to save +themselves. The British had no time to take possession, for the +_Niagara_ was on them, fresh for the fray, like a new horse in the race. + +Right through the British fleet this new ship went. Three of their ships +were on one side of her and two on the other, and all only a few yards +away. As she went her guns spoke out, sweeping their decks and tearing +through their timbers. + +The _Lawrence_ had already done her share of work on these vessels, and +this new pounding was more than they could stand. The other American +vessels also were pouring their shot into the foe. Flesh and blood could +not bear this. Men were falling like grass before the scythe. A man +sprang up on the rail of the _Detroit_ and waved a white flag to show +that they had surrendered. The great fight was over. The British had +given up. + +Perry announced his victory in words that have become historic: "We have +met the enemy and they are ours." + +This famous despatch was written with a pencil on the back of an old +letter, with his hat for a table. It was sent to General Harrison, who +commanded an army nearby. Harrison at once led his cheering soldiers +against the enemy, and gave them one of the worst defeats of the war. + +When the news of the victory spread over the country the people were +wild with joy. Congress thanked Perry and voted gold medals to him and +Elliott, and honors or rewards to all the officers and men. But over the +whole country it was thought that Elliott had earned disgrace instead of +a gold medal by keeping so long out of the fight. He said he had only +obeyed orders, but people thought that was a time to break orders. + +Perry was made a full captain by Congress. This was then the highest +rank in the navy. But he took no more part in the war. Six years later +he was sent with a squadron to South America, and there he took the +yellow fever and died. Thus passed away one of the most brilliant and +most famous officers of the American navy. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +COMMODORE PORTER GAINS GLORY IN THE PACIFIC + +THE GALLANT FIGHT OF THE "ESSEX" AGAINST GREAT ODDS + + +ANY of you who have read much of American history must have often met +with the names of Porter and Farragut. There are no greater names in our +naval history. There was Captain David Porter and his two gallant sons, +all men of fame. And the still more famous Admiral Farragut began his +career under the brave old captain of the War of 1812. + +I am going now to tell you about David Porter and the little _Essex_, a +ship whose name the British did not like to hear. And I have spoken of +Farragut from the fact that he began his naval career under Captain +Porter. + +Captain Porter was born in 1780, before the Revolution had ended. His +father was a sea-captain; and when the boy was sixteen years old, he +stood by his father's side on the schooner _Eliza_ and helped to fight +off a British press-gang which wanted to rob it of some of its sailors. +The press-gang was a company of men who seized men wherever they found +them, and dragged them into the British navy, where they were compelled +to serve as sailors or marines. It was a cruel and unjust way of getting +men, and the Americans resisted it wherever they could. In this +particular fight several men were killed and wounded, and the press-gang +thought it best to let the _Eliza_ alone. + +When the lad was seventeen he was twice seized by press-men and taken to +serve in the British navy, but both times he escaped. Then he joined the +American navy as a midshipman. + +Young Porter soon showed what was in him. In the naval war with France +he was put on a French prize that was full of prisoners who wanted to +seize the ship. For three days Porter helped to watch them, and in all +that time he did not take a minute's sleep. + +Afterward, in a pilot-boat, with fifteen men the boy hero attacked a +French privateer with forty men and a barge with thirty men. Porter, +with his brave fifteen, boarded the privateer and fought like a hero. +After more than half its crew were killed and wounded the privateer +surrendered. In this hard fight not one of Porter's men was hurt. + +That was only one of the things which young Porter did. When the war +with the pirates of Tripoli began, he was there, and again did some +daring deeds. He was on the _Philadelphia_ when that good ship ran +aground and was taken by the Moors, and he was held a prisoner till the +end of the war. Here you have an outline of the early history of David +Porter. + +When the War of 1812 broke out, he was made captain of the _Essex_. The +_Essex_ was a little frigate that had been built in the Revolution. It +was not fit to fight with the larger British frigates, but with David +Porter on its quarter-deck it was sure to make its mark. + +On the _Essex_ with him was a fine little midshipman, only eleven years +old, who had been brought up in the Porter family. His name was David G. +Farragut. I shall have a good story of him to tell you later on, for he +grew up to be one of the bravest and greatest men in the American navy. + +On July 2, 1812, only two weeks after war was declared, Porter was off +to sea in the _Essex_, on the hunt for prizes and glory. He got some +prizes, but it was more than a month before he had a chance for glory. +Then he came in sight of a British man-of-war, a sight that pleased him +very much. + +Up came the _Essex_, pretending to be a merchant ship and with the +British flag flying. That is one of the tricks which naval officers +play. They think it right to cheat an enemy. The stranger came bowling +down under full sail and fired a gun as a hint for the supposed +merchantman to stop. So the _Essex_ backed her sails and hove to until +the stranger had passed her stern. + +Porter was now where he had wanted to get. He had the advantage of the +wind--what sailors call the "weather-gage." So down came the British +flag and up went the Stars and Stripes: and the ports were thrown open, +showing the iron mouths of the guns, ready to bark. + +When the English sailors saw this they cheered loudly and ran to their +guns. They fired in their usual hasty fashion, making much noise but +doing no harm. Porter waited till he was ready to do good work, and then +fired a broadside that fairly staggered the British ship. + +The Englishman had not bargained for such a salute as this, and now +tried to run away. But the _Essex_ had the wind, and in eight minutes +was alongside. And in those eight minutes her guns were busy as guns +could be. Then down came the British flag. That was the shortest fight +in the war. + +The prize was found to be the corvette _Alert_. A corvette is a little +ship with not many guns. She was not nearly strong enough for the +_Essex_, and gave up when only three of her men were wounded. But she +had been shot so full of holes that she already had seven feet of water +in her hold and was in danger of sinking. It kept the men of the _Essex_ +busy enough to pump her out and stop up the holes, so that she should +not go to the bottom. Captain Porter did not want to lose his prize. He +came near losing it, and his ship too, in another way, as I have soon to +tell. + +You must remember that he had taken other prizes and sent them home with +some of his men. So he had a large number of prisoners, some of them +soldiers taken from one of his prizes. There were many more British on +board than there were Americans, and some of them formed a plot to +capture the ship. They might have done it, too, but for the little +midshipman, David Farragut. + +This little chap was lying in his hammock, when he saw an Englishman +come along with a pistol in his hand. This was the leader in the plot +who was looking around to see if all was ready for his men to break out +on the Americans. + +He came up to the hammock where the boy lay and looked in at him. The +bright young fellow then had his eyes tight shut and seemed to be fast +asleep. After looking a minute the man went away. The instant he was out +of sight up jumped the lad and ran to the captain's cabin. You may be +sure he did not take many words to tell what he had seen. + +Captain Porter knew there was no time to be lost. He sprang out of bed +in haste and ran to the deck. Here he gave a loud yell of "Fire! Fire!" + +In a minute the men came tumbling up from below like so many rats. They +had been trained what to do in case of a night-fire and every man ran to +his place. Captain Porter had even built fires that sent up volumes of +smoke, so as to make them quick to act and to steady their nerves. + +While the cry of fire roused the Americans, it scared the conspirators, +and before they could get back their wits the sailors were on them. It +did not take long to lock them up again. In that way Porter and Farragut +saved their ship. + +The time was coming in which he would lose his ship, but the way he lost +it brought him new fame. I must tell you how this came about. When the +_Constitution_ and the _Hornet_, as I have told you in another story, +were in the waters of Brazil, the _Essex_ was sent to join them. You +know what was done there, how the _Constitution_ whipped and sunk the +_Java_, and the _Hornet_ did the same for the _Peacock_. + +There was no such luck for the _Essex_, and after his fellow-ships had +gone north Captain Porter went cruising on his own account. In the +Pacific Ocean were dozens of British whalers and other ships. Here was +a fine field for prizes. So he set sail, went round the stormy Cape Horn +in a hurricane, and was soon in the great ocean of the west. + +I shall not tell you the whole story of this cruise. The _Essex_ here +was like a hawk among a flock of partridges. She took prize after prize, +until she had about a dozen valuable ships. + +When the news of what Porter was doing reached England, there was a sort +of panic. Something must be done with this fellow or he would clear the +Pacific of British trade. So a number of frigates were sent in the hunt +for him. They were to get him in any way they could. + +After a long cruise on the broad Pacific, the _Essex_ reached the port +of Valparaiso, on the coast of Chile, in South America. She had with her +one of her prizes, the _Essex Junior_. Here Porter heard that a British +frigate, the _Phoebe_, was looking for him. That pleased him. He wanted +to come across a British war-vessel, so he concluded to wait for her. He +was anxious for something more lively than chasing whaling ships. + +He was not there long before the _Phoebe_ came, and with her a small +warship, the _Cherub_. + +When the _Phoebe_ came in sight of the _Essex_ it sailed close up. Its +captain had been told that half the American crew were ashore, and very +likely full of Spanish wine. But when he got near he saw the Yankee +sailors at their guns and ready to fight. When he saw this he changed +his mind. He jumped on a gun and said:-- + +"Captain Hillyar's compliments to Captain Porter, and hopes he is well." + +"Very well, I thank you," said Porter. "But I hope you will not come too +near for fear some accident might take place which would be disagreeable +to you." + +"I had no intention of coming on board," said Captain Hillyar, when he +saw the look of things on the deck of the _Essex_. "I am sorry I came so +near you." + +"Well, you have no business where you are," said Porter. "If you touch a +rope yarn of this ship, I shall board instantly." + +With that the _Phoebe_ wore round and went off. It was a neutral port +and there was a good excuse for not fighting, but it was well for +Porter that he was ready. + +A few days later he heard that some other British ships were coming from +Valparaiso and he concluded to put to sea. He didn't want to fight a +whole fleet. But the wind treated him badly. As he sailed out a squall +struck the _Essex_ and knocked her maintopmast into the sea. Porter now +ran into a small bay near at hand and dropped anchor close to the shore. + +Here was the chance for the _Phoebe_ and the _Cherub_. They could stand +off and hammer the _Essex_ where she could not fire back. They had over +thirty long guns while the _Essex_ had only six, and only three of these +could be used. The rest of her guns were short ones that would not send +a ball far enough to reach the British ships. + +The _Essex_ was in a trap. The British began to pour solid iron into her +at the rate of nearly ten pounds to her one. For two hours this was kept +up. There was frightful slaughter on the _Essex_. Her men were falling +like dead leaves, but Porter would not yield. + +After this went on for some time there came a change in the wind, and +the _Essex_ spread what sail she had and tried to get nearer. But the +_Phoebe_ would not wait for her, but sailed away and kept pumping balls +into her. + +Soon the wind changed again. Now all hope was gone. The American crew +was being murdered and could not get near the British. Porter tried to +run his ship ashore, intending to fight to the last and then blow her +up. + +But the treacherous wind shifted again and he could not even reach the +shore. Dead and wounded men lay everywhere. Flames were rising in the +hold. Water was pouring into shot holes. The good ship had fought her +last and it was madness to go on. So at 6.20 o'clock, two and a half +hours after the fight began, her flag came down and the battle was over. + +The story of the cruise of the _Essex_ and her great struggle against +odds was written for us by her young midshipman--David Farragut. +President Roosevelt, in his Naval History of the War of 1812, says the +following true words about Captain Porter's brave fight: + +"As an exhibition of dogged courage it has never been surpassed since +the time when the Dutch Captain Keasoon, after fighting two long days, +blew up his disabled ship, devoting himself and all his crew to death, +rather than surrender to the hereditary foes of his race." Porter was +the man to do the same thing, but he felt he had no right to send all +his men to death. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +COMMODORE MACDONOUGH'S VICTORY ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN + +HOW GENERAL PREVOST AND THE BRITISH RAN AWAY + + +THE United States is a country rich in lakes. They might be named by the +thousands. But out of this host of lakes very few are known in history, +and of them all much the most famous is Lake Champlain. + +Do you wish to know why? Well, because this lake forms a natural +waterway from Canada down into the States. If you look on a map you will +see that Lake Champlain and Lake George stretch down nearly to the +Hudson River and that their waters flow north into the great St. +Lawrence River. So these lakes make the easiest way to send trade, and +troops as well, down from Canada into New York and New England. + +Now just let us take a look back in history. The very first battle in +the north of our country was fought on Lake Champlain. This was in 1609, +when Samuel de Champlain and his Indian friends came down this lake in +canoes to fight with the Iroquois tribes of New York. + +Then in 1756 the French and Indians did the same thing. They came in a +fleet of boats and canoes and fought the English on Lake George. Twenty +years afterward there was the fierce fight which General Arnold made on +this lake, of which I have told you. Later on General Burgoyne came down +Lakes Champlain and George with a great army. He never went back again, +for he and his army were taken prisoners by the brave Colonials. But the +last and greatest of all the battles on the lakes was that of 1814. It +is of this I am now about to tell you. + +You should know that the British again tried what they had done when +they sent Burgoyne down the lakes. This time it was Sir George Prevost +who was sent, with an army of more than 11,000 men, to conquer New York. +He didn't do it any more than Burgoyne did, for Lieutenant Thomas +MacDonough was in the way. I am going to tell you how the gallant +MacDonough stopped him. + +MacDonough was a young man, as Perry was. He had served, as a boy, in +the war with Tripoli. In 1806, when he was only twenty years old, he +gave a Yankee lesson to a British captain who wanted to carry off an +American sailor. + +This was at Gibraltar, where British guns were as thick as blackbirds; +but the young lieutenant took the man out of the English boat and then +dared the captain to try to take him back again. The captain blustered; +but he did not try, in spite of all his guns. + +In 1813 MacDonough was sent to take care of affairs on Lake Champlain. +No better man could have been sent. He did what Perry had done; he set +himself to build ships and get guns and powder and shot and prepare for +war. The British were building ships, too, for they wanted to be masters +of the lake before they sent their army down. So the sounds of the axe +and saw and hammer came before the sound of cannon on the lake. + +MacDonough did not let the grass grow under his feet. When he heard that +the British were building a big frigate, he set to work to build a +brig. The keel was laid on July 29, and she was launched on August +16--only eighteen days! There must have been some lively jumping about +in the wildwoods shipyard just then. + +The young commander had no time to waste, for the British were coming. +The great war in Europe with Napoleon was over and England had plenty of +ships and men to spare. A flock of her white-winged frigates came +sailing over the ocean and swarmed like bees along our coast. And an +army of the men who had fought against Napoleon was sent to Canada to +invade New York. It was thought the Yankees could not stand long before +veterans like these. + +Down marched the British army and down sailed the British fleet. But +MacDonough was not caught napping. He was ready for the British ships +when they came. + +[Illustration: BATTLE OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN--MACDONOUGH'S VICTORY.] + +And now, before the battle begins, let us give a few names and figures; +for these are things you must know. The Americans had four vessels and +ten gunboats. The vessels were the ship _Saratoga_, the brig _Eagle_, +the schooner _Ticonderoga_, and the sloop _Preble_. The British had +the frigate _Confiance_, larger than any of the American ships, the brig +_Linnet_, the sloops _Chubb_ and _Finch_, and thirteen gunboats. And the +British were better off for guns and men, though the difference was not +great. Such were the two fleets that came together on a bright Sunday on +September 11, 1814, to see which should be master of Lake Champlain. + +The American ships were drawn up across Plattsburg Bay, and up this bay +came the British fleet to attack them, just as Carleton's vessels had +come up to attack Arnold forty years before. + +At Plattsburg was the British army, and opposite, across Saranac River, +lay a much smaller force of American regulars and militia. They could +easily see the ships, but they were too busy for that, for the soldiers +were fighting on land while the sailors were fighting on water. Bad work +that for a sunny September Sunday, wasn't it? + +MacDonough had stretched his ships in a line across the bay, and had +anchors down at bow and stern, with ropes tied to the anchor chains so +that the ships could be swung round easily. Remember that, for that won +him the battle. + +It was still early in the day when the British came sailing up, firing +as soon as they came near enough. These first shots did no harm, but +they did a comical thing. One of them struck a hen-coop on the +_Saratoga_, in which one of the sailors kept a fighting cock. The coop +was knocked to pieces, and into the rigging flew the brave cock, +flapping his wings at the British vessels and crowing defiance to them, +while the sailors laughed and cheered. + +But the battle did not fairly begin until the great frigate _Confiance_ +came up and dropped anchor a few hundred yards from the _Saratoga_. Then +she blazed away with all the guns on that side of her deck. + +This was a terrible broadside, the worst any American ship had felt in +the whole war. Every shot hit the _Saratoga_ and tore through her +timbers, sending splinters flying like hail. So frightful was the shock +that nearly half the crew were thrown to the deck. About forty of them +did not get up again; they were either killed or wounded. A few +broadsides like that would have ended the fight, for it would have left +the _Saratoga_ without men. + +On both sides now the cannon roared and the shots flew, but the British +guns were the best and the Americans had the worst of it. The commodore +was knocked down twice. The last time he was hit with the head of a man +that had been shot off and came whirling through the air. + +"The commodore is killed!" cried the men; but in a trice he was up +again, and aiming and firing one of his own guns. + +This dreadful work went on for two hours. All that time the two biggest +British vessels were pelting the _Saratoga_, and the other American +ships were not helping her much. Red-hot shots were fired, which set her +on fire more than once. + +At the end MacDonough had not a single gun left to fire back. It looked +as if all was up with the Americans, all of whose ships were being +battered by the enemy. But Commodore MacDonough was not yet at the end +of his plans. He now cut loose his stern anchor and bade his men pull on +the rope that led to the bow anchor. In a minute the ship began to +swing round. Soon she had a new side turned to the foe. Not a gun had +been fired on this side. When the British captain saw what the Americans +were doing he tried the same thing. But it did not work as well with +him. The _Confiance_ began to swing round, but when she got her stern +turned to the Americans she stuck fast. Pull and haul as they might, the +sailors could not move her another inch. + +Here was a splendid chance for the men on the _Saratoga_. They poured +their broadsides into the stern of the _Confiance_ and raked her from +end to end, while her position was a helpless one. The men fled from the +guns. The ship was being torn into splinters. No hope for her was left. +She could not fire a gun. Her captain was dead, but her lieutenant saw +that all was over, and down came her flag. + +Then the _Saratoga_ turned on the brig _Linnet_ and served her in the +same fashion. + +That ended the battle. The two sloops had surrendered before, the +gunboats were driven away by the _Ticonderoga_, and the hard fight was +done. Once more the Americans were victors. Perry had won one lake. +MacDonough had won another. + +And that was not the whole of it. For as soon as the American soldiers +saw the British flag down and the Stars and Stripes still afloat, they +set up a shout that rang back from the Vermont hills. + +Sir George Prevost, though he had an army of veterans twice as strong as +the American army of militia, broke camp and sneaked away under cover of +a storm. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +FOUR NAVAL HEROES IN ONE CHAPTER + +FIGHTS WITH THE PIRATES OF THE GULF AND THE CORSAIRS OF THE +MEDITERRANEAN + + +WE have so far been reading the story of legal warfare; now let us turn +to that of the wild warfare of the pirate ships. Pirates swarmed during +and after the War of 1812, and the United States had its hands full in +dealing with them. They haunted the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean +Sea, and they went back to their old bad work in the Mediterranean. They +kept our naval leaders busy enough for a number of years. + +The first we shall speak of are the Lafittes, the famous sea-rovers of +the Gulf of Mexico. Those men had their hiding places in the lowlands of +Louisiana, where there are reedy streams and grassy islands by the +hundreds, winding in and out in a regular network. From these lurking +places the pirate ships would dash out to capture vessels and then hurry +back to their haunts. + +The Lafittes (Jean and Pierre) had a whole fleet of pirate ships, and +were so daring that they walked the streets of New Orleans as if that +city belonged to them, and boldly sold their stolen goods in its marts, +and nobody meddled with them. + +But the time came when they were attacked in their haunts and the whole +gang was broken up. This was near the end of the war, when the +government had some ships to spare. After that they helped General +Jackson in the celebrated battle of New Orleans, and fought so well that +they were forgiven and were thanked for their services. + +When the War of 1812 was over many of the privateers became pirates. A +privateer, you know, is something like a pirate. He robs one nation, +while a pirate robs all. So hundreds of those men became sea-robbers. + +After 1814 the seas of the West Indies were full of pirates. There was +no end of hiding places among the thousand islands of these seas, where +the pirates could bring their prizes and enjoy their wild revels. The +warm airs, the ripe fruits and wild game of those shores made life easy +and pleasant, and prizes were plentiful on the seas. + +When the war ended the United States gained a fine trade with the West +Indies. But many of the ships that sailed there did not come home again, +though there were no hurricanes to sink them. And some that did come +home had been chased by ships that spread the rovers' black flag. So it +was plain enough that pirates were at work. + +For years they had it their own way, with no one to trouble them. The +government for years let them alone. But in time they grew so daring +that in 1819 a squadron of warships was sent after them, under Commodore +Perry, the hero of Lake Erie. Poor Perry caught the yellow fever and +died, and his ships came home without doing anything. + +After that the pirates were let alone for two years. Now-a-days they +would not have been let alone for two weeks, but things went more slowly +then. No doubt the merchants who sent cargoes to sea complained of the +dreadful doings of the pirates, but the government did not trouble +itself much, and the sea-robbers had their own way until 1821. + +By that time it was felt that something must be done, and a small fleet +of pirate hunters was sent to the West Indies. It included the famous +sloop-of-war _Hornet_, the one which had fought the _Peacock_, and the +brig _Enterprise_, which Decatur had been captain of in the Moorish war. + +The pirates were brave enough when they had only merchant ships to deal +with, but they acted like cowards when they found warships on their +track. They fled in all directions, and many of their ships and barges +were taken. After that they kept quiet for a time, but soon they were at +their old work again. + +In 1823 Captain David Porter, he who had fought so well in the _Essex_, +was sent against them. The brave young Farragut was with him. He brought +a number of barges and small vessels, so that he could follow the +sea-robbers into their hiding places. + +One of these places was found at Cape Cruz, on Porto Rico. Here the +pirate captain and his men fought like tigers, and the captain's wife +stood by his side and fought as fiercely as he did. After the fight was +over the sailors found a number of caves used by the pirates. In some of +them were great bales of goods, and in others heaps of human bones. All +this told a dreadful story of robbery and murder. + +Another fight took place at a haunt of pirates on the coast of Cuba, +where Lieutenant Allen, a navy officer, had been killed the year before +in an attack on the sea-robbers. + +Here there were over seventy pirates and only thirty-one Americans. But +the sailors cried "Remember Allen!" and dashed so fiercely at the pirate +vessels, that the cowardly crews jumped overboard and tried to swim +ashore. But the hot-blooded sailors rowed in among them and cut fiercely +with their cutlasses, so that hardly any of them escaped. Their leader, +who was named Diabolito, or "Little Devil," was one of the killed. + +In this way the pirate hordes were broken up, after they had robbed and +murdered among the beautiful West India islands for many years. After +that defeat they gave no more trouble. Among the pirates was Jean +Lafitte, one of the Lafitte brothers, of whose doings you have read +above. After the battle of New Orleans he went to Texas, and in time +became a pirate captain again. As late as 1822 his name was the terror +of the Gulf. Then he disappeared and no one knew what had become of him. +He may have died in battle or have gone down in storm. + +But the pirates of the West Indies and the Gulf were not the only ones +the United States had to deal with. You have read the story of the +Moorish corsairs and of the fighting at Tripoli. Now I have something +more to tell about them; for when they heard that the United States was +at war with England, they tried their old tricks again, capturing +American sailors and selling them for slaves. + +They had their own way until the war was over. Then two squadrons of war +vessels were sent to the Mediterranean, one under Commodore Bainbridge, +who had commanded the _Constitution_ when she fought the _Java_, and the +other under Commodore Decatur, the gallant sailor who had burned the +_Philadelphia_ in the harbor of Tripoli. + +Decatur got there first, and it did not take him long to bring the Moors +to their senses. The trouble this time was with Algiers, not with +Tripoli. Algiers was one of the strongest of the Moorish states. + +On the 15th of June, 1815, Decatur came in sight of the most powerful of +the Algerine ships, a forty-six gun frigate, the _Mashouda_. Its +commander was Rais Hammida, a fierce and daring fellow, who was called +"the terror of the Mediterranean." He had risen from the lowest to the +highest place in the navy, and had often shown his valor in battle. But +his time for defeat had now come. + +When the Moorish admiral found himself amid a whole squadron of American +warships, he set sail with all speed and made a wild dash for Algiers. +But he had faster ships in his track and was soon headed off. + +The bold fellow had no chance at all, with half-a-dozen great ships +around him, but he made a fine fight for his life. He did not save +either his ship or his life, for a cannon ball cut him squarely in two; +and when his lieutenant tried to run away, he came across the brig +_Epervier_, which soon settled him. But the _Mashouda_ had made a good +fight against big odds, and deserved praise. + +After that another Algerian ship was taken, and then Decatur sailed for +Algiers. When he made signals the captain of the port came out. A +black-bearded, high and mighty fellow he was. + +"Where is your navy?" asked Decatur. + +"It's all right," said the Algerian, "safe in some friendly port." + +"Not all of it, I fancy," said Decatur. "I have your frigate _Mashouda_ +and your brig _Estido_, and your admiral Hammida is killed." + +"I don't believe it," said the Algerian. + +"I can easily prove it," said Decatur, and he sent for the first +lieutenant of the _Mashouda_. + +When the captain of the port saw him and heard his story, he changed his +tone. His haughty manner passed away, and he begged that fighting should +cease until a treaty could be made on shore. + +"Fighting will not cease until I have the treaty," said Decatur, +sternly; "and a treaty will not be made anywhere but on board my ship." + +And so it was. The captain of the port came out next day with authority +to make a treaty. But the captain did not want to return the property +taken from the American ships, saying that it had been scattered among +many hands. + +"I can't help that. It must be returned or paid for," said Decatur. + +Then the captain did not want to pay $10,000 for a vessel that had been +captured, and he wanted tribute from the United States. He told Decatur +what a great man his master, "Omar the Terrible," was, and asked for a +three hours truce. + +"Not a minute," said Decatur. "If your ships appear before the treaty is +signed by the Dey, and the American prisoners are on board my ship, I +shall capture every one of them." + +The only concession Decatur would make was to promise to return the +_Mashouda_. But this was to be taken as a gift from the Americans to the +Dey, and as such it must not appear in the treaty. The Algerian, finding +that all his eloquence was wasted on the unyielding Yankee, hurried +ashore with the treaty, arranging to display a white flag in case of its +being signed. + +An hour after he left an Algerian man-of-war was seen out to sea, and +the American vessels got ready for action. But before anything was done +the captain of the port came out with a white flag. He brought the +treaty and the prisoners. That ended the trouble with Algiers. When the +ten freed captives reached the deck some knelt down and gave thanks to +God, while others hastened to kiss the American flag. + +Then Decatur sailed to Tunis and Tripoli and made their rulers come to +terms. From that day to this no American ship has been troubled by the +corsairs of Barbary. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +COMMODORE PERRY OPENS JAPAN TO THE WORLD + +AN HEROIC DEED WITHOUT BLOODSHED + + +THERE are victories of peace as well as of war. Of course, you do not +need to be told that. Everybody knows it. And it often takes as much +courage to win these victories as it does those of war. I am going now +to tell you of one of the greatest victories ever won by an American +naval hero, and without firing a gun. + +Not far away from the great empire of China lies the island empire of +Japan. Here the map shows us three or four large islands, but there are +many hundreds of small ones, and in and out among them flow the smiling +blue waters of the great Pacific Ocean. + +The people of Japan, like the people of China, for a long time did not +like foreigners and did not want anything to do with them. But that was +the fault of the foreigners themselves. For at first these people were +glad to have strangers come among them, and treated them kindly, and let +missionaries land and try to make Christians of them. But the Christian +teachers were not wise; for they interfered with the government as well +as with the faith of the people. + +The Japanese soon grew angry at this. In the end they drove all the +strangers away and killed all the Christian converts they could find. +Then laws were made to keep all foreigners out of the country. They let +a Dutch ship come once a year to bring some foreign goods to the seaport +of Nagasaki, but they treated these Dutch traders as if they were of no +account. And thus it continued in Japan for nearly three hundred years. + +The Japanese did not care much for the Dutch goods, but they liked to +hear, now and then, what was going on in the world. Once a year they let +some of the Dutch visit the capital, but these had to crawl up to the +emperor on their hands and knees and crawl out backward like crabs. They +must have wanted the Japanese trade badly to do that. + +When a vessel happened to be wrecked on the coast of Japan, the sailors +were held as prisoners and there was much trouble to get them off; and +when Japanese were wrecked and sent home, no thanks were given. They +were looked upon as no longer Japanese. + +The Russians had seaports in Siberia, which made them near neighbors to +Japan, so they tried to make friends with the Japanese. But the island +people would have nothing to do with them. Captain Golownin, of the +Russian navy, landed on one of the islands; but he was taken prisoner +and kept for a long time and treated cruelly. That was the way things +went in Japan till 1850 had come and passed. + +It took the Yankees to do what the Dutch and the Russians had failed in +doing. After the war with Mexico, thousands of Americans went to +California and other parts of the Pacific coast, and trading ships grew +numerous on that great ocean. It was felt to be time that Japan should +be made to open her ports to the commerce of the nations, and the United +States tried to do it. + +Captain Matthew Calbraith Perry was selected for this great work. +Captain Perry was a brother of Oliver H. Perry, the hero of Lake Erie. +He was a lieutenant in that war, but he commanded a ship in the war with +the pirates and the Mexican war. In 1852 he was given the command of a +commodore and sent out with a fine squadron to Japan. He took with him a +letter from the President to the Tycoon, or military ruler, of Japan. + +On the 8th of July, 1853, the eyes of many of the Japanese opened wide +when they saw four fine vessels sailing grandly up the broad Bay of +Yeddo, where such a sight had never been seen before. As late as 1850 +the ruler of Japan had sent word to foreign nations that he would have +nothing to do with them or their people, and now here came these daring +ships. + +These ships were the steam frigates _Mississippi_ and _Susquehanna_, and +the sailing ships _Saratoga_ and _Plymouth_ of the United States Navy, +under command of Commodore Perry. + +Have you ever disturbed an ant-hill, and seen the ants come running out +in great haste to learn what was wrong? It was much like that on the Bay +of Yeddo. Thousands of Japanese gathered on the shores or rowed out on +the bay to gaze at this strange sight. The great steamships, gliding on +without sails, were a wonderful spectacle to them. + +As the ships came on, boats put out with flags and carrying men who wore +two swords. This meant that they were of high station. They wanted to +climb into the ships and order the daring commodore to turn around and +go back, but none of them were allowed to set foot on board. + +"Our commodore is a great dignitary," they were told. "He cannot meet +small folk like you. He will only speak with one of your great men, who +is his equal." + +And so the ropes which were fastened to the ships were cut, and those +who tried to climb on board were driven back, and these two-sworded +people had to row away as they had come. + +This made them think that the American commodore must be a very big man +indeed. So a more important man came out; but he was stopped too, and +asked his business. He showed an order for the ships to leave the harbor +at once, but was told that they had come there on business and would not +leave till their business was done. + +After some more talk they let this man come on board, but a lieutenant +was sent to talk with him as his equal in rank. He said he was the +vice-governor of the district, and that the law of Japan forbade +foreigners to come to any port but that of Nagasaki, where the Dutch +traders came. + +The lieutenant replied that such talk was not respectful; that they had +come with a letter from the President of the United States to the +Emperor of Japan; and that they would deliver it where they were and +nowhere else. And it would be given only to a prince of the highest +rank. + +Then he was told that the armed boats that were gathering about the ship +must go away. If they did not they would be driven away with cannon. +When the vice-governor heard this he ordered the boats away, and soon +followed them himself. He was told that if the governor did not receive +the letter the ships would go up the bay to Yeddo, the capital, and send +it up to the Emperor in his palace. + +The next day the governor of the district came. Two captains were sent +to talk with him. He did not want to receive the letter either, and +tried every way he could to avoid taking it. After some talk he asked +if he might have four days to send and get permission of the Tycoon, who +was the acting but not the real emperor of Japan. + +"No," he was told. "Three days will be plenty of time, for Yeddo is not +far off. If the answer does not come then, we will steam up to the city, +and our commodore will go to the Emperor's palace for the answer." + +The governor was frightened at this, so he agreed upon the three days +and went ashore. + +During those three days the ships were not idle. They sent parties in +boats to survey the bay. All along the shores were villages full of +people, and fishing boats and trading vessels were on the waters by +hundreds. There were forts on shore, but they were poor affairs, with a +few little cannon, and soldiers carrying spears. And canvas was +stretched from tree to tree as if it would keep back cannon-balls. The +sailors laughed when they saw this. + +The governor said that they ought not to survey the waters; it was +against the laws of Japan. But they kept at it all the same. The boats +went ten miles up the bay, and the _Mississippi_ steamed after them. +Government boats came out, and signs were made for them to go back; but +they paid no attention to these signs. + +When the three days were ended the good news came that the Emperor would +receive the letter. He would send one of his high officers for it. An +answer would be returned through the Dutch or the Chinese. Commodore +Perry said this was an insult, and he would not take an answer from +them, but would come back for it himself. + +So, on the 14th of July the President's letter was received. It was +written in the most beautiful manner, on the finest paper, and was in a +golden box of a thousand dollars in value. It asked for a treaty of +commerce between the two countries, and for kind treatment of American +sailors. + +So far none of the Japanese had seen the Commodore, and they thought he +must be a very great man. Now he went ashore with much dignity, with +several hundred officers and men, and with bands playing and cannon +roaring. There were two princes of the empire to receive him, splendidly +dressed in embroidered robes of silk. + +The Commodore was carried in a fine sedan-chair, beside which walked two +gigantic negroes, dressed in gorgeous uniform and armed with swords and +pistols. Two other large, handsome negroes carried the golden letter +case. + +A beautiful scarlet box was brought by the Japanese to receive this. It +was put in the box with much ceremony, and a receipt was given. Then the +interpreter said: + +"Nothing more can be done now. The letter has been received and you must +leave." + +"I shall come back for the answer," said Commodore Perry. + +"With all the ships?" + +"Yes, and likely with more." + +Not another word was said, and the Commodore rose and returned to the +ship. The next day he sailed up the bay until only eight or ten miles +from the capital. On the 16th, the Japanese officials were glad to see +the foreign ships, with their proud Commodore, sailing away. The visit +had caused them great anxiety and trouble of mind. + +Commodore Perry did not come back till February of the next year. Then +he had a larger fleet; nine ships in all. And he went farther up the +bay than before and anchored opposite the village of Yokohama. This +village has now grown into a large city. + +The Emperor's answer was ready, but there was much ceremony before it +was delivered. There were several receptions, and at one of these the +presents which Commodore Perry had brought were delivered. These were +fine cloths, firearms, plows, and various other articles. The most +valuable were a small locomotive and a railroad car. These were run in a +circular track that was set up, and the Japanese looked on with wonder. +Also a telegraph wire was set up and operated. This interested the +Japanese more than anything else, but they took care not to show any +surprise. + +In the Emperor's reply, he agreed that the American ships should be +supplied with provisions and water, and that shipwrecked sailors should +be kindly treated. And he also agreed to open to American ships another +port besides that of Nagasaki, where the Dutch were received. The +Commodore was not satisfied with this, and finally two new ports were +opened to American commerce. And the Americans were given much more +freedom to go about than was given to the Dutch or the Chinese. They +refused to be treated like slaves. + +When it was all settled and the treaties were exchanged, Commodore Perry +gave an elegant dinner on his flagship to the Japanese princes and +officials. They enjoyed the American food greatly, but what they liked +most was champagne wine, which they had never tasted before. One little +Japanese got so merry with drinking this, that he sprang up and embraced +the Commodore like a brother. Perry bore this with great good-humor. + +But just think of the importance of all this! For three centuries the +empire of Japan had been shut like a locked box against the nations. Now +the box was unlocked, and the people of the nations were free to come +and go. For treaties were soon made with other countries, and the island +empire was thrown open to the commerce of the world. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +CAPTAIN INGRAHAM TEACHES AUSTRIA A LESSON + +OUR NAVY UPHOLDS THE RIGHTS OF AN AMERICAN IN A FOREIGN LAND + + +NOW I have a story to tell you about how this country looks after its +citizens abroad. It is not a long story, but it is a good one, and +Americans have been proud of Captain Ingraham ever since his gallant +act. + +In 1848 there was a great rebellion in Hungary against Austria. Some +terrible fighting took place and then it was put down with much cruelty +and slaughter. The Austrian government tried to seize all the leaders of +the Hungarian patriots and put them to death, but several of them +escaped to Turkey and took refuge in the City of Smyrna. Among these was +the celebrated Louis Kossuth, and another man named Koszta. + +Austria asked Turkey to give these men up, but the Sultan of Turkey +refused to do so. Soon after that Koszta came to the United States, and +there in 1852 he took the first step towards becoming an American +citizen. He was sure that the United States would take care of its +citizens. And he found out that it would. + +The next year he had to go back to Smyrna on some business. That was not +a safe place for him. The Austrians hated him as they did all the +Hungarian patriots. They did not ask Turkey again to give him up, but +there was an Austrian warship, the _Huszar_, in the harbor, and a plot +was made to seize Koszta and take him on board this ship. Then he could +easily be carried to Austria and put to death as a rebel. + +One day, while Koszta was sitting quietly in the Marina, a public place +in Smyrna, he was seized by a number of Greeks, who had been hired to do +so by the Austrian consul. They bound him with ropes and carried him on +board the _Huszar_. + +It looked bad now for poor Koszta, for he was in the hands of his +enemies. It is said that the Archduke John, brother of the Emperor of +Austria, was captain of the ship. By his orders iron fetters were +riveted on the ankles and wrists of Koszta, and he was locked up in the +ship as one who had committed a great crime. + +But a piece of great good fortune for the prisoner happened, for the +next day the _St. Louis_, an American sloop-of-war, came sailing into +the harbor. Captain Duncan N. Ingraham, who had been a midshipman in the +War of 1812, was in command. + +He was just the man to be there. He was soon told what had taken place, +and that the prisoner claimed to be an American, and he at once sent an +officer to the _Huszar_ and asked if he could see Koszta. He was told +that he might do so. + +Captain Ingraham went to the Austrian ship and had an interview with the +prisoner, who told him his story, and said that he had taken the first +step to become a citizen of the United States. He begged the captain to +protect him. + +Captain Ingraham was satisfied that Koszta had a just claim to the +protection of the American flag, and asked the Austrians to release him. +They refused to do so, and he then wrote to Mr. Brown, the American +consul at Constantinople and asked him what he should do. + +Before he could get an answer a squadron of Austrian warships, six in +number, came gliding into the harbor, and dropped anchor near the +_Huszar_. It looked worse than ever now for poor Koszta, for what could +the little _St. Louis_ do against seven big ships? But Captain Ingraham +did not let that trouble him. In his mind right was stronger than might, +and he was ready to fight ten to one for the honor of his flag. + +While he was waiting for an answer from Consul Brown he saw that the +_Huszar_ was getting ready to leave the harbor. Her anchor was drawn up +and her sails were set. Ingraham made up his mind that if the _Huszar_ +left, it would have to be over the wreck of the _St. Louis_. He spread +his sails in a hurry and drove his sloop-of-war right in the track of +the Austrian ship. Then he gave orders to his men to make ready for a +fight. + +When Archduke John saw the gun-ports of the _St. Louis_ open he brought +his ship to a standstill and Captain Ingraham went on board. + +"What do you intend to do?" he asked. + +"To sail for home," said the Austrian. "Our consul orders us to take our +prisoner to Austria." + +"You must pardon me," said Captain Ingraham, "but if you try to leave +this port with that American I shall be compelled to resort to extreme +measures." + +That was a polite way of saying that Koszta should not be taken away if +he could prevent it. + +The Austrian looked at the six ships of his nation that lay near him. +Then he looked at the one American ship. Then a pleasant smile came on +his face. + +"I fear I shall have to go on, whether it is to your liking or not," he +said, in a very polite tone. + +Captain Ingraham made no answer. He bowed to the Archduke and then +descended into his boat and returned to the _St. Louis_. + +"Clear the ship for action!" he ordered. The tars sprang to their +stations, the ports were opened, and the guns thrust out. There was many +a grim face behind them. + +The Archduke stared when he saw these black-mouthed guns. He was in the +wrong and he knew it. And he saw that the American meant business. He +could soon settle the little _St. Louis_ with his seven ships. But the +great United States was behind that one ship, and war might be behind +all that. + +So the Archduke took the wisest course, turned his ship about, and +sailed back. Then he sent word to Ingraham that he would wait till +Consul Brown's answer came. + +The Consul's reply came on July 1. It said that Captain Ingraham had +done just right, and advised him to go on and stand for the honor of his +country. + +The daring American now took a bold step. He sent a note to the +Archduke, demanding the release of Koszta. And he said that if the +prisoner was not sent on board the _St. Louis_ by four o'clock the next +afternoon, he would take him from the Austrians by force of arms. + +A refusal came back from the Austrian ship. They would not give up their +prisoner, they said. Now it looked like war indeed. Captain Ingraham +waited till eight o'clock the next morning, and then he had his decks +cleared for action and brought his guns to bear on the _Huszar_. The +seven Austrian ships turned their guns on the _St. Louis_. The train was +laid; a spark might set it off. + +At ten o'clock an Austrian officer came on board the _St. Louis_. He +began to talk round the subject. Ingraham would not listen to him. It +must be one thing or nothing. + +"All I will agree to is to have the man given into the care of the +French consul at Smyrna till you can hear from your government," he +said. "But he must be delivered there or I will take him. I have stated +the time at four o'clock this afternoon." + +The Austrian went back. When twelve o'clock came a boat left the +_Huszar_ and was rowed in shore. An hour later the French consul sent +word to Captain Ingraham that Koszta had been put under his charge. +Captain Ingraham had won. Soon after, several of the Austrian ships got +under way and left the harbor. They had tried to scare Captain Ingraham +by a show of force, but they had tried in vain. + +When news of the event reached the United States everybody cheered the +spirit of Captain Ingraham. He had given Europe a new idea of what the +rights of an American citizen meant. The diplomats now took up the case +and long letters passed between Vienna and Washington. But in the end +Austria acknowledged that the United States was right, and sent an +apology. + +As for Koszta, the American flag gave him life and liberty. Since then +American citizenship has been respected everywhere. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +THE "MONITOR" AND THE "MERRIMAC" + +A FIGHT WHICH CHANGED ALL NAVAL WARFARE. + + +THE story I am now going to tell you takes us forward to the beginning +of the great Civil War, that terrible conflict which went on during four +long years between the people of the North and the South. Most of this +war was on land, but there were some mighty battles at sea, and my story +is of one of the greatest of these. + +You should know that up to 1860 all ocean battles were fought by ships +with wooden sides, through which a ball from a great gun would often cut +as easily as a knife through a piece of cheese. Some vessels had been +built with iron overcoats, but none of these had met in war. It was not +till March, 1862, that the first battle between ships with iron sides +took place. + +The _Constitution_, you may remember, was called the _Old Ironsides_, +but that was only a nickname, for she had wooden sides, and the first +real Ironsides were the _Monitor_ and the _Merrimac_. + +Down in Virginia there is a great body of salt water known as Hampton +Roads. The James River runs into it, and so does the Elizabeth River, a +small stream which flows past the old City of Norfolk. + +When the Civil War opened there was at Norfolk a fine United States navy +yard, with ships and guns and docks that had cost a great deal of money. +But soon after the war began the United States officers in charge there +ran away in a fright, having first set on fire everything that would +burn. Among the ships there was the old frigate _Merrimac_, which was +being repaired. This was set on fire, and blazed away brightly until it +sank to the bottom and the salt water put out the blaze. That was a very +bad business, for there was enough left of the old _Merrimac_ to make a +great deal of trouble for the United States. + +What did the Confederates do but lift the _Merrimac_ out of the mud, and +put her in the dry dock, and cut away the burnt part, and build over +her a sloping roof of timbers two feet thick, until she looked something +like Noah's ark. Then this was covered with iron plates four inches +thick. In that way the first Confederate iron-clad ship was made. + +The people at Washington knew all about this ship and were very much +alarmed. No one could tell what dreadful damage it might do if it got +out to sea, and came up Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac River to the +national capital. It might be much worse than when the British burnt +Washington in 1814, for Washington was now a larger and finer city. + +Something had to be done, and right away, too. It would not do to wait +for a monster like the _Merrimac_. So Captain John Ericsson, a famous +engineer of New York, was ordered to build an iron ship-of-war as fast +as he could. And he started to do so after a queer notion of his own. + +That is the way it came about that the two iron ships were being built +at once, one at Norfolk and one at New York. And there was a race +between the builders, for the first one finished would have the best +chance. There was a lively rattle of hammers and tongs at both places, +and it turned out that they were finished and ready for service only a +few days apart. + +It was necessary to tell you all this so that you might know how the +great fight came to be fought, and how Washington was saved from the +iron dragon of the South. Now we are done with our story of +ship-building and must go on to the story of battle and ruin. + +On the morning of March 8, 1862, the sun came up beautifully over the +broad waters of Hampton Roads. The bright sunbeams lit up the sails of a +row of stately vessels stretched out for miles over the smiling bay. +There were five of these: the steam frigates _St. Lawrence_, _Roanoke_, +and _Minnesota_; the sailing frigate _Congress_; and the sloop-of-war +_Cumberland_. They were all wooden ships, but were some of the best +men-of-war in the United States navy. + +All was still and quiet that fine morning. There was nothing to show +that there was any trouble on board those noble ships. But there was +alarm enough, for their captains knew that the _Merrimac_ was finished +and might come at any hour. Very likely some of the officers thought +that they could soon decide matters for this clumsy iron monster. But I +fancy some of them did not sleep well and had bad dreams when they +thought of what might happen. + +Just at the hour of noon the lookout on the _Cumberland_ saw a long +black line of smoke coming from the way of Norfolk. Soon three steamers +were seen. One of these did not look like a ship at all, but like a low +black box, from which the smoke puffed up in a thick cloud. + +But they knew very well what this odd-looking craft was. It was the +_Merrimac_. It had come out for a trial trip. But it was a new kind of +trial its men were after: the trial by battle. + +Down came the iron-clad ship, with her sloping roof black in the +sunlight. Past the _Congress_ she went, both ships firing. But the great +guns of the _Congress_ did no more harm than so many pea-shooters; while +the shot of the _Merrimac_ went clear through the wooden ships, leaving +death in their track. + +Then the iron monster headed for the _Cumberland_. That was a terrible +hour for the men on the neat little sloop-of-war. They worked for their +lives, loading and firing, and firing as fast as they could, but not a +shot went through that grim iron wall. + +In a few minutes the _Merrimac_ came gliding up and struck the +_Cumberland_ a frightful blow with her iron nose, tearing through the +thick oaken timbers and making a great hole in her side. Then she backed +off and the water rushed in. + +In a minute the good ship began to sink, while the _Merrimac_ poured +shot and shell into her wounded ribs. + +"Do you surrender?" asked one of the officers of the _Merrimac_. + +"Never!" said Lieutenant Morris, who commanded the _Cumberland_. "I'll +sink alongside before I pull down that flag." + +He was a true Yankee seaman; one of the "no surrender" kind. + +Down, inch by inch, settled the doomed ship. But her men stuck grimly to +their guns, and fired their last shot just as she sank out of sight. +Then all who had not saved themselves in the boats leaped overboard and +swam ashore, but a great many of the dead and wounded went down with the +ship. + +She sank like a true Yankee hero, with her flag flying, and when she +struck bottom, with only the tops of her masts above water, "Old Glory" +still fluttered proudly in the breeze. + +That was the way it went when iron first met wood in naval warfare. The +victor now turned to the _Congress_ and another fierce battle began. But +the wooden ship had no chance. For an hour her men fought bravely, but +her great guns were of no use, and a white flag was raised. She had +surrendered, but the Confederates could not take possession, for there +were batteries on shore that drove them off. So they fired hot shot into +the _Congress_ and soon she was in a blaze. + +It was now five o'clock in the afternoon, and the _Merrimac_ steamed +away with the Confederate flag flying in triumph. She had finished her +work for that day. It was a famous trial trip. She would come back the +next and sink the vessels still afloat--if nothing hindered. + +For hours that night the _Congress_ blazed like a mighty torch, the +flames lighting up the water and land for miles around. It was after +midnight when the fire reached her magazine and she blew up with a +terrific noise, scattering her timbers far and near. The men on the +_Merrimac_ looked proudly at the burning ship. It was a great triumph +for them. But they saw one thing by her light they did not like so well. +Off towards Fortress Monroe there lay in the water a strange-looking +thing, which had not been there an hour before. What queer low ship was +that? And where had it come from? + +The sun rose on the morning of Sunday, March 9, and an hour later the +_Merrimac_ was again under way to finish her work. Not far from where +the _Congress_ had burnt lay the _Minnesota_. She had run aground and +looked like an easy prey. But close beside her was the floating thing +they had observed the night before, the queerest-looking craft that had +ever been seen. + +Everybody opened their eyes wide and stared as at a show when they saw +this strange object. They called it "a cheese box on a raft," and that +was a good name for its queer appearance. For the deck was nearly on a +level with the water, and over its centre rose something like a round +iron box. But it had two great guns sticking out of its tough sides. + +It was the _Monitor_, the new vessel which Captain Ericsson had built +and sent down to fight the _Merrimac_. But none who saw this little low +thing thought it could stand long before the great Confederate +iron-clad. It looked a little like a slim tiger or leopard before a +great rhinoceros or elephant. The men on the _Merrimac_ did not seem to +think it worth minding, for they came steaming up and began firing at +the _Minnesota_ when they were a mile away. + +Then away from the side of the great frigate glided the little +_Monitor_, heading straight for her clumsy antagonist. She looked like +no more than a mouthful for the big ship, and men gazed at her with +dread. She seemed to be going straight to destruction. + +But the brave fellows on the _Monitor_ had no such thoughts as that. + +"Let her have it," said Captain Worden, when they came near; and one of +the great eleven-inch guns boomed like a volcano. The huge iron ball, +weighing about 175 pounds, struck the plates of the _Merrimac_ with a +thundering crash, splitting and splintering them before it bounded off. +The broadside of the _Merrimac_ boomed back, but the balls glanced away +from the thick round sides of the turret and did not harm. + +Then the turret was whirled round like a top, and the gun on the other +side came round and was fired. Again the _Merrimac_ fired back, and the +great battle was on. + +For two hours the iron ships fought like two mighty wrestlers of the +seas. Smoke filled the turret so that the men of the _Monitor_ did not +know how to aim their guns. The _Merrimac_ could fire three times to her +one, but not a ball took effect. It was like a battle in a cloud. + +"Why are you not firing?" asked Lieutenant Jones of a gun captain. + +"Why, powder is getting scarce," he replied, "and I find I can do that +whiffet as much harm by snapping my finger and thumb every three +minutes." + +Then Lieutenant Jones tried to sink the _Monitor_. Five times the great +iron monster came rushing up upon the little Yankee craft, but each time +it glided easily away. But when the _Merrimac_ came up the sixth time +Captain Worden did not try to escape. The _Monitor_ waited for the blow. +Up rushed the _Merrimac_ at full speed and struck her a fierce blow. +But the iron armor did not give way, and the great ship rode up on the +little one's deck till she was lifted several feet. + +The little _Monitor_ sank down under the _Merrimac_ till the water +washed across her deck; then she slid lightly out and rose up all right +again, while the _Merrimac_ started a leak in its own bow. At the same +moment one of the _Monitor's_ great guns was fired and the ball struck +the _Merrimac_, breaking the iron plates and bulging in the thick wood +backing. + +Thus for hour after hour the fight went on. For six hours the iron ships +struggled and fought, but neither ship was much the worse, while nobody +was badly hurt. + +The end of the fight came in this way: There was a little pilot-house on +the deck of the _Monitor_, with a slot in its side from which Captain +Worden watched what was going on, so that he could give orders to his +men. Up against this there came a shell that filled the face and eyes of +the captain with grains of powder and splinters of iron, and flung him +down blind and helpless. Blood poured from every pore of his face. + +The same shot knocked an iron plate from the top of the pilot-house and +let in the daylight in a flood. When the light came pouring in Captain +Worden, with his blinded eyes, thought something very serious had +happened, and gave orders for the _Monitor_ to draw off to see what +damage was done. + +Before she came back the _Merrimac_ was far away. She was leaking badly +and her officers thought it about time to steam away for home. + +That was the end of the great battle. Neither side had won the victory, +but it was a famous fight for all that. For it was the first battle of +iron-clad ships in the history of the world. Since then no great warship +has been built without iron sides. Only small vessels are now made all +of wood. + +That was the first and last battle of the _Monitor_ and the _Merrimac_. +For a long time they watched each other like two bull-dogs ready for a +fight. But neither came to blows. Then, two months after the great +battle, the _Merrimac_ was set on fire and blown up. The Union forces +were getting near Norfolk and her officers were afraid she would be +taken, so they did what the Union officers had done before. + +The _Monitor_ had done her work well, but her time also soon came. Ten +months after the great battle she was sent out to sea, and there she +went to the bottom in a gale. Such was the fate of the pioneer +iron-clads. But they had fought a mighty fight, and had taught the +nations of the world a lesson they would not soon forget. + +In that grim deed between the first two iron-clad ships a revolution +took place in naval war. The great frigates, with their long rows of +guns, were soon to be of little more use than floating logs. More than +forty years have passed since then, and now all the great war-vessels +are clad in armor of the hardest steel. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +COMMODORE FARRAGUT WINS RENOWN + +THE HERO OF MOBILE BAY LASHES HIMSELF TO THE MAST + + +AN old friend of ours is David G. Farragut. We met him, you may +remember, years ago, on the old _Essex_, under Captain Porter, when he +was a boy of only about ten years of age. Young as he was, he did good +work on that fine ship during her cruise in the Pacific and her last +great fight. + +When the Civil War began Farragut had got to be quite an old boy. He was +sixty years of age and a captain in the navy. He had been born in the +South and now lived in Virginia, and the Confederates very much wanted +him to fight on their side. + +"Not after fighting fifty years for the old flag," he said. "And mind +what I tell you; you fellows will catch much more than you want before +you get through with this business." + +And so Farragut reported for duty under the old flag. + +Very soon the ships of the government were busy all along the coast, +blockading ports and chasing blockade runners, and fighting wherever +they saw a chance. + +One such chance, a big one, came away down South. For there was the +large City of New Orleans, which the British had tried to take nearly +fifty years before; and there was the Mississippi River that led +straight to it. But strong forts had been built along that river and +armed boats were on its waters, and the Yankees of the North might find +it as hard to get there as the British did. + +Now I have to speak of another brave man and good seaman, David D. +Porter. He was a son of the captain of the old _Essex_, and a life-long +friend of David G. Farragut. + +Porter was sent down to help blockade the Mississippi in the summer of +1861, and while there he found out all about the forts and the ships on +the river. Then he went to Washington and told the Secretary of the Navy +all he had learned, and asked him to send down a fleet to try to +capture the city. + +"Where can I find the right man for a big job like that?" asked the +Secretary. + +"Captain Farragut is your man," said Porter. "You have him now on +committee work, where a man like him is just wasted, for you have not +half as good a seaman on any of your ships." + +And in that way the gallant Farragut was chosen to command the fleet to +be sent to capture the great city of the South. Porter, you see, did not +ask for a command for himself, but for his friend. + +When the fleet was got ready it numbered nearly twenty vessels, but most +of them were gunboats, and none of them were very large. The Mississippi +was not the place for very large ships. Farragut chose the sloop-of-war +_Hartford_ for his flagship and sailed merrily away for the mighty +river. He did not forget his friend Porter. For twenty mortar boats were +added to the fleet, and Porter was given command of these. + +A mortar, you should know, is a kind of a short cannon made to throw +large shells or balls. It is pointed upward so as to throw them high up +into the air and then let them fall straight down on a fort. Porter's +mortar boats were schooners that carried cannons of this kind. + +When Farragut had sailed his fleet into the river, he made ready for the +great fight before him. Of course, he had no iron-clads, for the +_Monitor_ had just fought its great battle and no other iron-clads had +been built. So he stretched iron chains up and down the sides of his +ships to stop cannon balls. Then bags of coal and sand were piled round +the boilers and engines to keep them safe, and nets were hung to catch +flying splinters, which, in a fight at sea, are often worse than +bullets. + +But the most interesting thing done was to the mortar boats. These were +to be anchored down the stream below the forts, and limbs of trees full +of green leaves were tied on their masts, so they could not be told from +the trees on the river-bank. As they went up the river they looked like +a green grove afloat. + +Now let us take a look at what the Confederates were doing. They were +not asleep, you may be sure. They had built two strong forts, one on +each side of the river, just where it made a sharp bend. One of these +was named Fort Jackson and the other Fort St. Philip. There were more +than a hundred cannon in these forts, but most of them were small ones. + +They had also stretched iron cables across the river, with rafts and +small vessels to hold them up. These were to stop the fleet from going +up the river, and to hold it fast while the forts could pour shot and +shell into it. They had also many steamboats with cannon on them. One of +these, the _Louisiana_, was covered with iron. Another was a ram, called +the _Manassas_. This had a sharp iron beak, to ram and sink other +vessels. And there were great coal barges, filled with fat pine knots. +These were meant for fire-ships. You will learn farther on how these +were to be used. + +You may see from this that Farragut had some hard work before him. Even +if he got past the chains and the forts, all his ships might be set on +fire by the fire-ships. But the bold captain was not one of the kind +that mind things like that. Now let us go on to the story of the +terrible river fight, which has long been one of the most famous +battles of the war. + +Porter's mortar boats were anchored under the trees on the river-bank, +two miles below the forts. With their green-clad masts they looked like +trees themselves. At ten o'clock in the morning of April 18, 1862, the +first mortar sent its big shell whizzing through the air. And for six +days this was kept up, each of the mortars booming out once every ten +minutes. That made one shot for every half-minute. + +Two days after the mortars began, a bold thing was done. The gunboat +_Itasca_ set out in the darkness of the night and managed to get between +the shore and the chain. Then it ran up stream above the chain till it +got a good headway. It now turned round and came down at full speed +before the strong current. + +Fort Jackson was firing, and balls were rattling all about the bold +_Itasca_, but she rushed on through them all. Plump against the chain +she came, with a thud that lifted her three feet out of the water. Then +the chain snapped in two and away went the _Itasca_ down stream. The +barrier was broken and the way to New Orleans lay open before the +fleet. + +On the 23d of April Farragut gave his orders to the captains of the +fleet. That night they were to try to pass the forts and fight their way +to New Orleans. At two o'clock in the morning came the welcome order, +"All hands up anchor!" and at three o'clock all was ready for the start. + +The night was dark, but on the banks near Fort Jackson there was a +blazing wood fire, that threw its light across the stream. And Porter's +bombs were being fired as fast as the men could drop the balls into +them, so that there was a great arch of fiery shells between the mortar +boats and the forts. + +The gunboat _Cayuga_ led the way through the broken barrier. After her +came the _Pensacola_, one of the large vessels. All this time the forts +had kept still, but now they blazed out with all their guns, and the air +was full of the booming of cannon and the screeching of shells from +forts and ships. + +Great piles of wood were kindled on the banks, and the fire-ships up +stream were sent blazing down the river as the steam vessels came +rushing up into the fire of the forts. Never had the Mississippi seen so +terrible a night. The blazing wood and flashing guns made it as light +as day, and the roar was like ten thunderstorms. + +Soon the _Hartford_ came on, with Farragut on her deck. So thick was the +smoke that she ran aground, and before she could get off a fire-ship +came blazing down against her side, pushed by a tug-boat straight on to +her. In a minute the paint on the ship's side was in a blaze and the +flames shot up half as high as the masts. The men at the guns drew back +from the scorching heat. + +"Don't flinch from that blaze, boys," cried Farragut. "Those who don't +do their duty here will find a hotter fire than that." + +For a brief time the good ship was in great danger. But a shower of +shells sent the daring tug-boat to the bottom, and the fire-ship floated +away. Then a hose-pipe spurted water on the flames. The fire was put out +and the _Hartford_ was saved. + +That was only the beginning of the great battle. From that time on, fire +and flame, boom and roar, death and destruction, were everywhere. The +great shells from the mortars dropped bursting into the forts. The huge +wood piles blazed high on the banks. Ships and forts hurled a frightful +shower of shells at each other. Blazing fire-ships came drifting down. +The foremost boats were fiercely fighting with the Confederate craft. +The hindmost boats were fighting with the forts. The uproar seemed +enough to drive the very moon from the sky. + +But soon victory began to hold out her hand to the Union fleet. For all +the ships passed the forts, some of the Confederate vessels were driven +ashore and others fled up stream; and in a little while only three of +them were left, and these were kept safe under the guns of the fort. The +battle had been fought and won, and the triumphant fleet steamed up the +river to New Orleans. The forts were still there, but what could they +do, with Union forces above and below? Four days after the fight they +were surrendered to Porter and his mortar fleet. + +There was one final act to the great Mississippi battle. For as +Commander Porter, in his flagship, lay near Fort Jackson, down on him +came the iron-clad _Louisiana_, all in a blaze. But just before she +reached his vessel she blew up; and that was the end of the _Louisiana_ +and the fight. The river was open and New Orleans was captured. Thus +ended the greatest naval battle of the Civil War. + +Two years and more afterward Farragut fought another great battle. This +was in the Bay of Mobile, then a great place for blockade-runners. These +were swift vessels that brought goods from Europe to the South. The +Union fleet did all it could to stop them, but they could not be stopped +at Mobile from outside, so Farragut was told to fight his way inside the +bay. And that is what he did. + +Mobile Bay is like a great bell, thirty miles long and fifteen miles +wide. There are two islands at the mouth, so that the entrance is not +more than a mile wide. And on each of these islands was a strong fort, +which had been built by the government before the war. The Confederates +had taken possession of these forts and had big guns in them. + +The first thing to do was to pass the forts. No chain could be put +across the channel here, but there was something worse, for nearly two +hundred torpedoes were planted in the water near the forts. Some of +these were made of beer-kegs and some of tin; and they were planted so +thickly that it was not easy to get in without setting them off. Then, +when the fort and the torpedoes were passed, there were the ships. Three +of these were small gunboats, of not much account. But there was a great +iron-clad ship, the _Tennessee_, which was twice as strong as the +_Merrimac_. It was covered with iron five or six inches thick, and +carried a half-dozen big guns. + +Franklin Buchanan, who had been captain of the _Merrimac_, was admiral +of the _Tennessee_. + +But Admiral Farragut--he was an admiral now--had his iron-clad vessels, +too. Four monitors like the old _Monitor_ of Hampton Roads, had been +built and sent him, and these, with his wooden vessels, made nearly +twenty ships. + +Such was the fleet with which Farragut set out for his second great +victory, early in the morning of August 5, 1864. It was six o'clock when +the ships crossed the bar and headed in for Fort Morgan. + +On they went, bravely, firing at the fort. But not a shot came back till +the leading ships were in front of its strong stone walls. Then there +began a terrible roar, and a storm of iron balls poured out at the +ships. If the guns had been well aimed, dreadful work might have been +done, but the balls went screaming through the air and hardly touched a +ship. And the fierce fire from the ships drove many of the men in the +fort from their guns. + +But now there is a terrible tale to tell, a tale of death and +destruction, of the sinking of a ship with her captain and nearly all +her crew on board. + +This was the monitor _Tecumseh_. It was steered straight out where the +torpedoes lay thick. Suddenly there came a dull roar. The bow of the +iron-clad was lifted like a feather out of the water. Then it sank till +it pointed downward like a boy diving, and the stern was lifted up into +the air. In a second more the good ship went down with a mighty plunge. + +But with this there is also one fine story, the story of a gallant man. +This was Captain Craven, of the _Tecumseh_. He and the pilot were in the +pilot-house and both sprang for the opening. But there was room only for +one. The brave captain drew back. + +"After you, pilot," he said. + +The pilot escaped, but the noble captain, with ninety-two of his men, +sank to the depths. + +A boat was sent to pick up the swimmers, with a gallant young ensign, H. +C. Neilds, in charge. Out they rowed where the waters were being torn +and threshed with shot and shell. The ensign was only a boy, but he had +the spirit of a Perry. He saw that his flag was not flying, and he +coolly raised it in the face of the foe, and then sat down to steer. + +Brave men were there by the hundreds, but none were braver than their +admiral, their immortal Farragut. The smoke blinded his eyes on deck, so +he climbed to the top of the mainmast, and there, lashed to the rigging, +he went in through the thick of the fire. Shells screeched past him, +great iron balls hustled by his ears, but not a quiver came over his +noble face. He had to be where he could see, he said. Danger did not +count where duty called. + +On past the forts went ships and monitors, heedless of torpedoes or of +the fate of the _Tecumseh_. Only one captain showed the white feather. +The _Brooklyn_ held back. + +"What is the matter?" screamed Farragut. + +"Torpedoes," was the only word that reached his ears. + +The gallant admiral then used a strong word. It was not a word to be +used in polite society. But we must remember that battle was raging +about him and he was in a fury. + +"Damn the torpedoes!" he cried. "Follow me!" + +Straight on the good ship sailed, right for the nest of torpedoes, with +the admiral in the shrouds. + +In a minute more the _Hartford_ was among them. They could be heard +striking against her bottom. Their percussion caps snapped, but not one +went off. Their tin cases had rusted and they were spoiled. Only one of +them all went off that dreadful day of battle. That saved many of the +ships. + +The fort and the torpedoes were passed, but the Confederate ships +remained. It did not take long to settle for the gunboats, but the +iron-clad _Tennessee_ remained. Putting on all steam, this great ship +ran down on the Union fleet. Through the whole line it went and on to +the fort. But it was as slow as a tub and the ships were easily kept out +of its way. + +Then, when the men were at breakfast, back again came the _Tennessee_. +They left their coffee and ran to their guns. It was like the old story +of the _Merrimac_ and the wooden ships in Hampton Roads. + +But Farragut did not wait to be rammed by the _Tennessee_. If ramming +was to be done he wanted to do it himself. So all the large vessels +steamed head on for the iron-clad, butting her right and left. They hit +one another, too, and the _Hartford_ came near being sunk. Then came the +monitors, as the first _Monitor_ had come against the _Merrimac_. There +were three of these left, but one did the work, the _Chickasaw_. She +clung like a burr to the _Tennessee_, pouring in her great iron balls, +and doing so much damage that soon the great ship was like a floating +hulk. It could not be steered nor its guns fired. + +For twenty minutes it stood this dreadful hammering, and then its flag +came down. The battle was won. + +"It was the most desperate battle I ever fought since the days of the +old _Essex_," said Farragut. + +The figure of the brave admiral in the rigging, fighting his ship amid +a cyclone of shot and shell, made him the hero of the American people. +It was like Dewey on the bridge in Manila Bay in a later war. There was +no rank high enough in the navy to fit the glory he had won, so one was +made for him, the rank of admiral. There was rear-admiral and +vice-admiral, but admiral was new and higher still. Only two men have +held this rank since his day, his good friend and comrade, David D. +Porter, and the brave George Dewey. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +A RIVER FLEET IN A HAIL OF FIRE + +ADMIRAL PORTER RUNS BY THE FORTS IN A NOVEL WAY + + +OF course you know what a tremendous task the North had before it in the +Civil War. The war between the North and the South was like a battle of +giants. And in this vast contest the navy had to do its share, both out +at sea and on the rivers of the country. One of its big bits of work was +to cut off the left arm of the Confederacy, and leave it only its right +arm to fight with. + +By the left arm I mean the three states west of the Mississippi River, +and by the right arm, the eight states east of that great river. To cut +off this left arm the government had to get control of the whole river, +from St. Louis to the Gulf, so that no Confederate troops could cross +the great stream. + +You have read how Farragut and Porter began this work, by capturing New +Orleans and all the river below it. And they went far up the river, too. +But in the end such great forts were built at Vicksburg and Port Hudson +and other points that the Confederate government held the river in a +tight grasp. + +In this way the Confederacy became master of the Mississippi for a +thousand miles. We are to see now how it was taken from their grasp. + +James B. Eads, the engineer who built the great railroad bridge over the +Mississippi at St. Louis, made the first iron-clads for the West. There +were seven of these. They were river steamers, and were covered with +iron, but it was not very thick. Two others were afterward built, making +nine in all. + +Each of these boats had thirteen guns, and they did good work in helping +the army to capture two strong Confederate forts in Kentucky. Then they +went down the Mississippi to an island that was called Island No. 10. It +was covered with forts, stretching one after another all along its +shore. + +A number of mortar boats were brought down and threw shells into the +forts till they were half paved with iron. But all that did no good. +Then Admiral Foote was asked to send one of the boats down past the +forts. + +That was dreadfully dangerous work, for there were guns enough in them +to sink twenty such boats. But Captain Walke thought he could take his +boat, the _Carondelet_, down, and the admiral told him he might try. + +What was the _Carondelet_ like, do you ask? Well, she was a long, wide +boat, with sloping sides and a flat roof, and was covered with iron two +and a half inches thick. Four of her guns peeped out from each side, +while three looked out from the front door, and two from the back door +of the boat. + +Captain Walke did not half expect to get through the iron storm from the +forts. To make his boat stronger, extra planks were laid on her deck and +chain cables were drawn tightly across it. Then lumber was heaped +thickly round the boiler and engines, and ropes were wrapped round and +round the pilot-house till they were eighteen inches thick. + +After that a barge filled with bales of hay was tied fast to the side +that would catch the fire of the forts. Something was done also to stop +the noise of the steam pipes, for Captain Walke thought he might slip +down at night without being seen or heard. + +On the night of April 10, 1862, the boat made its dash down stream. It +started just as a heavy thunderstorm came on. The wind whistled, the +rain poured down in sheets, and the men in the forts hid from the storm. +They were not thinking then of runaway gunboats. + +But something nobody had thought of now took place. The blazing wood in +the furnaces set fire to the soot in the chimneys, and in a minute the +boat was like a great flaming torch. As the men in the forts sprang up, +the lightning flashed out on the clouds, and lit up "the gallant little +ship floating past like a phantom." + +The gunners did not mind the rain any more. They ran in great haste to +their guns, and soon the batteries were flaming and roaring louder than +the thunder itself. + +Fort after fort took it up as the _Carondelet_ slid swiftly past. The +lightning and the blazing smoke-stack showed her plainly to the gunners. +But the bright flashes blinded their eyes so that they could not half +aim their guns. And thus it was that the brave little _Carondelet_ went +under the fire of fifty guns without being harmed. + +Soon after that Island No. 10 was given up to the Union forces. Then the +gunboats went farther down the river, and had two hard fights with +Confederate boats, one at Fort Pillow and one at Memphis. Both these +places were captured, and in that way the river was opened all the way +from St. Louis to Vicksburg. + +The City of Vicksburg is in the State of Mississippi, about two hundred +miles above New Orleans. Here are high river banks; and these were +covered thick with forts, so that Vicksburg was the strongest place +along the whole stream. + +There were also strong forts at Port Hudson, about seventy-five miles +below Vicksburg; and these seventy-five miles were all the Confederates +now held of the great stream. But they held these with a very strong +hand and were not to let go easily. + +There were some great events at Vicksburg; and I must tell about a few +of these next. + +After New Orleans was taken Farragut took his ships up the river, +running past the forts. He could easily have taken Vicksburg then, if +he had had any soldiers. But he had none, and it took a great army of +soldiers, under General Grant, to capture it a year afterward. + +David D. Porter, who had helped Farragut so well in his great fight, was +put in command of the Mississippi fleet. He had a number of iron-clad +boats under him, some of them having iron so thin that they were called +tin-clads. + +Commodore Porter had plenty to do. Now he sent his boats up through the +Yazoo swamps, then they had a fight on the Arkansas River; and in this +way he was kept busy. + +In February, 1863, he sent two of his boats, the _Queen of the West_ and +the _Indianola_, down past the Vicksburg forts. That was an easy run. +There was plenty of firing, but nobody was hurt. But after they got +below they found trouble enough. + +First, the _Queen of the West_ ran aground and could not be got off. +Then the _Indianola_ had a hole rammed in her side by a Confederate boat +and went to the bottom. So there wasn't much gained by sending these two +boats down stream. + +But a curious thing took place. The Confederates got the _Queen of the +West_ off the mud, and tried to raise the _Indianola_ and stop its +leaks. + +While they were hard at work at this they heard a frightful roar from +the Vicksburg batteries. Looking up stream they saw a big boat coming +down upon them at full speed. When they saw this they put the two big +guns of the _Indianola_ mouth to mouth, fired them into each other to +ruin them, and then ran away. But weren't they vexed afterward when they +learned that the boat that scared them was only a dummy which Porter's +men had sent down the river in a frolic. + +After that, the river batteries did not give the ships much trouble. +When the right time came Porter's fleet ran down the river through the +fire of all the forts. One boat caught fire and sank, but all the rest +passed safely through. This was done to help General Grant, who was +marching his army down, to get below Vicksburg. + +I suppose all readers of American history know about the great event of +the 4th of July, 1863. On that day Vicksburg was given up to the Union +forces, with all its forts and all its men. Five days afterward Port +Hudson surrendered. Porter and his boats now held the great river +through all its length. + +But there is something more to tell about Admiral Porter, who was a +rear-admiral now. + +In the spring of 1864 General Banks was sent with an army up the Red +River. He was going to Shreveport, which is about four hundred miles +above where the Red River runs into the Mississippi. Porter went along +with his river fleet to help. + +Now, no more need be said about Banks and his army, except that the +whole expedition was only a waste of time, for it did no good; and there +would be nothing to say about Porter and his fleet, if they had not +gotten into a bad scrape which gave them hard work to get out. + +The boats went up the river easily enough, but when they tried to come +down they found themselves in a trap. For after they had gone up, the +river began to fall and the water came to be very low. + +There are two rapids, or small falls, on this part of the Red River, +which show only at low water. They showed plainly enough now; and there +were twelve of the boats above them, caught fast. + +What was to be done? If they tried to run down the falls they would be +smashed into kindling wood. It looked very much as if they would have to +be left for the Confederates, or set on fire and burned. + +By good luck there was one man there who knew what to do. He was a +lieutenant-colonel from Wisconsin, named Joseph Baily. He had been a +log-driver before the war and knew what was done when logs got jammed in +a stream. + +When he told his plan he was laughed at by some who thought it very +foolish, but Porter told him to go ahead. So, with 2,000 soldiers from +Maine, who knew all about logging, he went into the woods, chopped down +trees, and built a dam below the falls. + +The men worked so hard that it took them only eight days to build the +dam; which was wonderfully quick work. A place was left open in the +center, and there four barges loaded with brick were sunk. + +When the dam was finished it lifted the water six feet higher, and down +in safety went three of the steamers, while the army shouted and +cheered. But just then two of the sunken barges were carried away, and +the water poured through the break in a flood. + +The gunboat _Lexington_ was just ready to start. Admiral Porter stood on +the bank watching. + +"Go ahead!" he shouted. + +At once the engines were started and the _Lexington_ shot down the +foaming rapid. There were no cheers now; everybody was still. + +Down she went, rolling and leaping on the wild waters; but soon she shot +safe into the still pool below. All the other vessels were also safely +taken down. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +THE SINKING OF THE "ALBEMARLE" + +LIEUTENANT CUSHING PERFORMS THE MOST GALLANT DEED OF THE CIVIL WAR + + +NOW I am going to tell you about one of the most gallant deeds done in +the navy during the whole Civil War. The man who did it was brave enough +to be made admiral of the fleet, yet he did not get even a gold medal +for his deed. But he is one of our heroes. It is all about an iron-clad +steamer, and how it was sent to rest in the mud of a river-bottom. + +The Confederate government had very bad luck with its iron-clads. It was +busy enough building them, but they did not pay for their cost. The +_Merrimac_ did the most harm, but it soon went up in fire and smoke. + +Then there were the _Louisiana_ at New Orleans, and the _Tennessee_ at +Mobile. Farragut made short work of them. Two were built at Charleston +which were of little use. The last of them all was the _Albemarle_, +whose story I am about to tell. + +The Roanoke River, in North Carolina, was a fine stream for +blockade-runners. There was a long line of ships and gunboats outside, +but in spite of them these swift runaways kept dashing in, loaded with +goods for the people. Poor people! they needed them badly enough, for +they had little of anything except what they could raise in their +fields. + +But the gunboats kept pushing farther into the river, and gave the +Confederates no end of trouble. So they began to build an iron-clad +which they thought could drive these wooden wasps away. + +This iron-clad was a queer ship. Its keel was laid in a cornfield; its +bolts and bars were hammered out in a blacksmith shop. Iron for its +engines was picked up from the scrap heaps of the iron works at +Richmond. Some of the Confederates laughed at it themselves; but they +deserved great credit for building a ship under such difficulties as +these. + +It was finished in April, 1864, and nobody laughed at it when they saw +it afloat. It was like the _Merrimac_ in shape, and was covered with +iron four inches thick. They named it the _Albemarle_. + +Very soon the _Albemarle_ showed that it was no laughing matter. It sunk +one gunboat and made another run away in great haste. Then it had a +fight with four of them at once and drove one of these lame and limping +away. The others did not come too near. After that it went back to the +town of Plymouth and was tied up at the wharf. + +There was another iron-clad being built, and the _Albemarle_ was kept +waiting, so that the two could work together. That was a bad thing for +the _Albemarle_, for she never went out again. + +This brings us back to the gallant deed I spoke of, and the gallant +fellow who did the deed. His name was William B. Cushing. He was little +more than a boy, just twenty-one years old, but he did not know what it +meant to be afraid, and he had done so many daring things already that +he had been made a lieutenant. + +He wanted to try to destroy the _Albemarle_, and his captain, who knew +how bold a fellow he was, told him to go ahead and do his best. + +So on a dark night in October, 1864, brave young Cushing started up the +river in a steam launch, with men and guns. At the bow of this launch +was a long spar, and at the end of this spar was a torpedo holding a +hundred pounds of dynamite. There was a trigger and a cap to set this +off, a string to lower the spar and another to pull the trigger. But it +was a poor affair to send on such an expedition as that. + +And this was not the worst. Some of the newspapers had found out what +Cushing was going to do, and printed the whole story. And some of these +newspapers got down South and let out the secret. That is what is called +"newspaper enterprise." It is very good in its right place, but it was a +sort of enterprise that nearly spoiled Cushing's plans. + +For the Confederates put lines of sentries along the river, and +stationed a lookout down the stream, and placed a whole regiment of +soldiers near the wharf. And logs were chained fast around the vessel so +that no torpedo spar could reach her. And the men on board were sharply +on the watch. That is what the newspapers did for Lieutenant Cushing. + +Of course, the young lieutenant did not know all this, and he felt full +of hope as his boat went up stream without being seen or heard. The +night was very dark and there were no lights on board, and the engines +were new and made no noise. + +So he passed the lookout in the river and the sentries on the banks +without an eye seeing him or his boat. + +But when he came up to the iron-clad his hopes went down. For there was +the boom of logs so far out that his spar could not reach her. + +What was he to do? Should he land at the wharf and take his men on +board, and try to capture her where she lay? + +Before he had time to think it was too late for that. A sentry on board +saw the launch and called out: + +"Boat ahoy!" There was no answer. + +"What boat is that?" Still no answer. + +Then came a musket shot, and then a rattle of musketry from the river +bank. A minute after lights flashed out and men came running down the +wharf. The ship's crew tumbled up from below. All was haste and +confusion. + +Almost any man would have given it up for lost and run for safety. But +Cushing was not of that kind. It did not take him a second to decide. He +ran the launch out into the stream, turned her round, and dashed at full +speed straight for the boom. + +A storm of bullets came from the deck of the _Albemarle_, but he heeded +them no more than if they had been snowflakes. In a minute the bow of +the launch struck the logs. + +They were slippery with river slime and the light boat climbed up on +them, driving them down under the water. Over she went, and slid into +the water inside the boom. + +Cushing stood in the bow, with the trigger-string in his hand. He +lowered the torpedo under the hull of the iron-clad, lifted it till he +felt it touch her bottom, and then pulled the string. + +There came two loud reports. A hundred-pounder gun was being fired from +the ship's side right over his head. Along with it came a dull roar from +under the water. The dynamite torpedo had gone off, tearing a great +hole in the wooden bottom. In a minute the ill-fated _Albemarle_ began +to sink. + +The launch was fast inside the boom, and the wave from her torpedo was +rushing over her, carrying her down. + +"Surrender," came a voice from above. + +"Never! Swim for your lives, men," cried Cushing, and he sprang into the +flowing stream. + +Two or three bullets had gone through his clothing, but he was unhurt, +and swam swiftly away, his men after him. + +Only Cushing and one of the men got away. The others were captured, +except one who was drowned. Boats were quickly out, a fire of logs was +made on the wharf, which threw its light far out over the stream, but he +reached the shore unseen, chilled to the bone and completely worn out. + +A sentry was pacing on the wall of a fort over his head, men passed +looking for him, but he managed to creep to the swamp nearby and hide in +the mud and reeds. + +There he lay till the break of day. Then he crawled on till he got into +a cornfield nearby. Now for the first time he could stand up and walk. +But just as he got to the other side of the field he came face to face +with a man. + +Cushing was not afraid. It was a black face. In those days no Union +soldier was afraid of a black face. The slaves would do anything for +"Massa Linkums' sojers." The young lieutenant was almost as black as the +slave after his long crawl through the mud. + +Cushing told him who he was, and sent him into the town for news, +waiting in the cornfield for his return. After an hour the messenger +came back. His face was smiling with delight. + +"Good news, Massa," he said. "De big iron ship's gone to de bottom suah. +Folks dar say she'll neber git up agin." + +"Mighty good," said Cushing. "Now, old man, tell me how I can get back +to the ships." + +The negro told him all he could, and with a warm "Good-bye" the fugitive +took to the swamp again. On he went, hour by hour, forcing his way +through the thick bushes and wading in the deep mud. Thus he went on, +mile after mile, until at length, at two o'clock in the afternoon, he +found himself on the banks of a narrow creek. + +Here he heard voices and drew back. Looking through the bushes he saw a +party of seven soldiers just landing from a boat. They tied the boat to +the root of a tree and went up a path that led back from the river. Soon +they stopped, sat down, and began to eat their dinner. They could see +their boat from where they sat, but they were too busy eating to think +of that. + +Here was Cushing's chance. It was a desperate one, but he was ready to +try anything. He lowered himself quietly into the stream, swam across, +and untied the boat. Then he noiselessly pushed it out and swam with it +down stream. As soon as he was out of sight of the soldiers he climbed +in and rowed away as fast as he could. What the soldiers thought and +said when they missed their boat nobody knows. He did not see them +again. + +It was a long journey. The creek was crooked and winding. Night came on +before he reached the river. Then he paddled on till midnight. Ten hours +of hard toil had passed when he saw the dark hull of a gunboat nearby. + +"Ship ahoy!" he cried. + +"Who goes there?" called the lookout. + +"A friend. Take me up." + +A boat was lowered and rowed towards him. The officer in it looked with +surprise when he saw a mud-covered man, with scratched and bleeding +face. + +"Who are you?" he asked. + +"Lieutenant Cushing, or what is left of him." + +"Cushing!--and how about the _Albemarle_?" + +"She will never trouble Uncle Sam's ships again. She lies in her muddy +grave on the bottom of the Roanoke." + +Cheers followed this welcome news, and when the gallant lieutenant was +safe on board the _Valley City_ the cheers grew tenfold. + +For Lieutenant Cushing had done a deed which was matched for daring only +once in the history of our navy, and that was when Decatur burned the +_Philadelphia_ in the harbor of Tripoli. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI + +HOW THE "GLOUCESTER" REVENGED THE SINKING OF THE "MAINE" + +DEADLY AND HEROIC DEEDS IN THE WAR WITH SPAIN + + +IF you look at a map of the country we dwell in, you will see that it +has a finger pointing south. That finger is called Florida, and it +points to the beautiful island of Cuba, which spreads out there to right +and left across the sea of the South. + +The Spaniards in Cuba were very angry when they found the United States +trying to stop the war which they had carried on so mercilessly. They +thought this country had nothing to do with their affairs. And in +Havana, the capital city of the island, riots broke out and Americans +were insulted. + +Never before in the history of the United States navy had there been so +terrible a disaster as the sinking of the _Maine_ by a frightful and +deadly explosion in the harbor of Havana, Cuba, on February 15, 1898, +and never was there greater grief and indignation in the United States +than when the story was told. + +Do you know what followed this dreadful disaster? But of course you do, +for it seems almost yesterday that the _Maine_ went down with her +slaughtered crew. Everybody said that the Spaniards had done this +terrible deed and Spain should pay for it. We all said so and thought +so, you and I and all true Americans. + +Before the loss of the _Maine_ many people thought we ought to go to war +with Spain, and put an end to the cruelty with which the Cubans were +treated. After her loss there were not many who thought we ought not to. +Our people were in a fury. They wanted war, and were eager to have it. + +The heads of the government at Washington felt the same way. Many +millions of dollars were voted by Congress, and much of this was spent +in buying ships and hiring and repairing ships, and much more of it in +getting the army ready for war. + +For Congress was as full of war-feeling as the people. President +McKinley would have liked to have peace, but he could no more hold back +the people and Congress than a man with an ox-chain could hold back a +locomotive. So it was that, two months after the _Maine_ sank in the mud +of Havana harbor, like a great coffin filled with the dead, war was +declared against Spain. + +Now, I wish to tell you how the loss of the _Maine_ was avenged. I am +not going to tell you here all about what our navy did in the war. There +are some good stories to tell about that. But just here we have to think +about the _Maine_ and her murdered men, and have to tell about how one +of her officers paid Spain back for the dreadful deed. + +As soon as the telegraph brought word to the fleet at Key West that "War +is declared," the great ships lifted their anchors and sped away, bound +for Cuba, not many miles to the south. And about a month afterward this +great fleet of battleships, and monitors, and cruisers, and gunboats +were in front of the harbor of Santiago, holding fast there Admiral +Cervera and his men, who were in Santiago harbor with the finest +warships owned by Spain. + +There were in the American fleet big ships and little ships, strong +ships and weak ships; and one of the smallest of them all was the little +_Gloucester_. This had once been a pleasure yacht, used only for sport. +It was now a gunboat ready for war. It had only a few small guns, but +these were of the "rapid-fire" kind, which could pour out iron balls +almost as fast as hailstones come from the sky in a storm. + +And in command of the _Gloucester_ was Lieutenant Wainwright, who had +been night officer of the _Maine_ when that ill-fated ship was blown up +by a Spanish mine. The gallant lieutenant was there to avenge his lost +ship. + +I shall tell you later about how the Spanish ships dashed out of the +harbor of Santiago on the 3d of July and what happened to them. Just now +you wish to know what Lieutenant Wainwright and the little _Gloucester_ +did on that great day, and how Spain was made to pay for the loss of the +_Maine_. + +As soon as the Spanish ships came out, the _Gloucester_ dashed at them, +like a wasp trying to sting an ox. She steamed right across the mouth of +the harbor until she almost touched one of the great Spanish ships, all +the time firing away like mad at its iron sides. + +The brave Wainwright saw two little boats coming out behind these big +ones. These were what are called torpedo-boats. + +Do you know what this means? A torpedo-boat is little, but it can dart +through the water with the speed of the wind. And it carries +torpedoes--iron cases filled with dynamite--which it can shoot out +against the great warships. One of these could tear a gaping hole in the +side of a battleship and send it, with all on board, to the bottom. A +torpedo-boat is the rattlesnake of the sea. It is little, but it is +deadly. + +But Lieutenant Wainwright and the men of the _Gloucester_ were not +afraid of the _Furor_ and the _Pluton_, the Spanish torpedo-boats. As +soon as they saw these boats they drove their little vessel toward them +at full speed. The _Gloucester_ came under the fire of one of the +Spanish forts, but she did not mind that any more than if boys were +throwing oyster-shells at her. + +Out from her guns came a torrent of balls like water from a pump. But +the water drops were made of iron, and hit hard. The _Furor_ and +_Pluton_ tried to fire back, but their men could not stand that iron +rain. For twenty minutes it kept on, and then all was over with the +torpedo-boats. They tried to run ashore, but down to the bottom they +both went. Of all their men only about two dozen were picked up alive. +The rest sank to the bottom of the bay. + +Thus Wainwright and his little yacht avenged the _Maine_, and the +dreadful tragedy in Havana harbor was paid for in Santiago Bay. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII + +THE GREAT VICTORY OF MANILA BAY + +DEWEY DESTROYS A FLEET WITHOUT LOSING A MAN + + +GEORGE DEWEY was a Green Mountain boy, a son of the Vermont hills. Many +good stories are told of his schoolboy days, and when he grew up to be a +man everybody that knew him said that he was a fine fellow, who would +make his mark. And they were right about him, though he had to wait a +long time for the chance to show what he would do. + +Dewey was sent to the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, and when the +Civil War began he was a lieutenant in the navy. He was with Farragut on +the Mississippi, and did some gallant deeds on that great river. + +When the war with Spain began Dewey was on the Chinese coast with a +squadron of American ships. He had been raised in rank and was +Commodore Dewey then. A commodore, you should know, was next above a +captain and next below an admiral. + +Commodore Dewey had four fine ships, the cruisers OLYMPIA, BALTIMORE, +RALEIGH, and BOSTON. He had also two gunboats and a despatch-boat, +making seven in all. + +These vessels were at Hong Kong, a British seaport in China. They could +not stay there after war with Spain was declared, for Hong Kong was a +neutral port, and after war begins fighting ships must leave neutral +ports. But Dewey knew where to go, for under the ocean and over the land +there had come to him a telegram from Washington, more than ten thousand +miles away, which said, "Seek the Spanish fleet and capture or destroy +it." Dewey did not waste any time in obeying orders. + +He knew where to seek the Spanish fleet. A few hundred miles away to the +east of China lay the fine group of islands called the Philippines, +which then belonged to Spain. In Luzon, the biggest of these islands, +was the fine large City of Manila, the centre of the Spanish power in +the East. So straight across the China Sea Dewey went at all speed +towards this seaport of Spain. + +On the morning of Saturday, April 30, 1898, the men on the leading ship +saw land rising in the distance, green and beautiful, and farther away +they beheld the faint blue lines of the mountains of Luzon. Down this +green tropical coast they sped, and when night was near at hand they +came close to the entrance of Manila Bay. + +Here there were forts to pass; and the ships were slowed up. Dewey was +ready to fight with ships, but he did not want to fight with forts, so +he waited for darkness to come before going in. He thought that he might +then pass these forts without being seen by the men in them. + +They waited until near midnight, steaming slowly along until they came +to the entrance to the bay. The moon was in the sky, but gray clouds hid +its light. They could see the two dark headlands of the harbor's mouth +rising and, between them, a small, low island. On this island were the +forts which they had to pass. + +As they came near, all the lights on the ships were put out or hidden, +except a small electric light at the stern of each ship, for the next +one to see and follow. + +Steam was put on, and the ships glided swiftly and silently in, like +shadows in the darkness. All was silent in the Spanish forts. The +sentinels seemed fast asleep. + +Some of the ships had passed before the Spaniards waked up. Then a +rocket shot up into the air, and there came a deep boom and a flash of +flame. A shell went whizzing through the darkness over the ships and +plunged into the water beyond. + +Some shots were fired back, but in a few minutes it was all over and +Dewey's squadron was safe in Manila Bay. The gallant American sailors +had made their way into the lion's den. + +The Bay of Manila is a splendid body of water, running many miles into +the land. The City of Manila is about twenty miles from the harbor's +mouth, and the ships had to go far in before its distant lights were +seen, gleaming like faint stars near the earth. + +But it was not the city Dewey was after. He was seeking the Spanish +fleet. When the dawn came, and the sun rose behind the city, he saw +sails gleaming in its light. But these were merchant vessels, not the +warships he had come so far to find. + +The keen eyes of the commodore soon saw the ships he was after. There +they lay, across the mouth of the little bay of Cavite, south of the +city, a group of ships-of-war, nine or ten in number. + +This brings us to the beginning of the great naval battle of the war. +Let us stop now and take a look around. If you had been there I know +what you would have said. You would have said that the Americans were +sure to win, for they had the biggest ships and the best guns. Yes, but +you must remember that the Spaniards were at home, while the Americans +were not; and that makes a great difference. If they had met out on the +open sea Dewey would have had the best of the game. But here were the +Spanish ships drawn up in a line across a narrow passage, with a fort on +the right and a fort on the left, and with dynamite mines under the +water. And they knew all about the distances and soundings and should +have known just how to aim their guns so as to hit a mark at any +distance. All this the Americans knew nothing about. + +When we think of this it looks as if Dewey had the worst of the game. +But some of you may say that the battle will tell best which side had +the best and which the worst. Yes, that's true; but we must always study +our players before we begin our game. + +George Dewey did not stop long to think and study. He was there to take +his chances. The minute he saw the Spanish ships he went for them as a +football player goes for the line of his opponents. + +Forward went the American squadron, with the Stars and Stripes floating +proudly at every mast-head. First of all was the flagship _Olympia_, +with Dewey standing on its bridge. Behind came the other ships in a long +line. + +As they swept down in front of the city the great guns of the forts sent +out their balls. Then the batteries on shore began to fire. Then the +Spanish ships joined in. There was a terrible roar. Just in front of the +_Olympia_ two mines exploded, sending tons of water into the air. But +they had been set off too soon, and no harm was done. + +All this time the American ships swept grandly on, not firing a gun; and +Dewey stood still on the bridge while shot and shell from the Spanish +guns went hurling past. He was there to see, and danger did not count +just then. + +As they drove on an old sea-dog raised the cry, "Remember the _Maine_!" +and in a minute the shout ran through the ship. Still on went the +_Olympia_, like a great mastiff at which curs are barking. At length +Dewey spoke,-- + +"You may fire when you are ready, Captain Gridley," he said. Captain +Gridley was ready and waiting. In an instant a great eight-inch shell +from the _Olympia_ went screaming through the air. + +This was the signal. The _Baltimore_ and the _Boston_ followed, and +before five minutes had passed every ship was pouring shot and shell on +the Spanish squadron and forts. Great guns and small guns, slow-fire +guns and rapid-fire guns, hand guns and machine guns, all boomed and +barked together, and their shot whistled and screamed, until it sounded +like a mighty carnival of death. + +Down the Spanish line swept the American ships. Then they turned and +swept back, firing from the other side of the ships. Six times, this +way, they passed the Spanish ships, while the air was full of great iron +balls and dense clouds of smoke floated over all. + +You will not ask which side had the best of the battle after I tell you +one thing. The Americans had been trained to aim and fire, and the +Spaniards had not. Here overhead flew a Spanish shell. There another +plunged into the water without reaching a ship. Hardly one of them +reached its mark. Not an American was killed or wounded. A box of powder +went off and hurt a few men, and that was all. + +But the Spanish ships were rent and torn like deer when lions get among +them, and their men fell by dozens at a time. It was one of the most +one-sided fights ever seen. + +Admiral Montojo, of the Spanish fleet, could not stand this. He started +out with his flagship, named the _Reina Cristina_, straight for the +_Olympia_, which he hoped to cut in two. But as soon as his ship +appeared all the American ships turned their guns on it, and riddled it +with a frightful storm of iron. + +The brave Spaniard saw that his ship would be sunk if he went on. He +turned to run back, but as he did so a great eight-inch shell struck his +ship in the stern and went clear through to the bow, scattering death +and destruction on every side. It exploded one of the boilers. It blew +open the deck. It set the ship on fire. White smoke came curling up. The +ship fought on as the fire burned, but she was past hope. + +Two torpedo-boats came out, but they could not stand the storm any +better than the _Reina Cristina_. In a few minutes one of them was cut +through and went like a stone to the bottom. The other ran in faster +than she had come out and went ashore. + +For two hours this dreadful work went on. Then Dewey thought it was time +to give his men a rest and let them have some breakfast, so he steamed +away. Three of the Spanish ships were burning like so much tinder, and +it was plain that the battle was as good as won. + +A little after eleven o'clock the American ships came back fresh as +ever, all of them with the Stars and Stripes afloat. The Spanish flag +was flying too, but nearly every ship was in flames. But the Spaniards +were not whipped yet. They began to fire again, and so for another hour +the fight went on. At the end of that time the guns were silenced, the +flags had gone down, and the battle was won. + +That was the end of the most one-sided victory in the history of the +American navy. All the Spanish ships were on fire and had sunk in the +shallow bay. Hundreds of their men were dead or wounded. The American +ships were nearly as good as ever, for hardly a shot had struck them, +and only eight men were slightly hurt. The Spaniards had fired fast +enough, but they had wasted nearly all their shot. + +When the people of the United States heard of this great victory they +were wild with delight. Before that very few had heard of George Dewey; +now he was looked on as one of our greatest naval heroes. "Dewey on the +bridge," with shot and shell screaming about him, was as fine a figure +as "Farragut in the shrouds" had once been. + +Congress made him a rear-admiral at once, and soon after they made him +an admiral. This is the highest rank in the American navy. Only Farragut +and Porter had borne it before. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII + +HOBSON AND THE SINKING OF THE "MERRIMAC" + +AN HEROIC DEED WORTHY OF THE AMERICAN NAVY + + +SOME of us know what a dark night is and some of us don't. Those who +live in cities, under the glare of the electric light, hardly ever see +real darkness. One must go far into the country, and be out on a cloudy +night, to know what it means to be really in the dark. Or to be out at +sea, with not a light above or below. + +It was on such a night that a great black hulk moved like a sable +monster through the waters off the coast of Cuba. This was the night of +June 3, 1898. There was a moon somewhere in the sky, but thick clouds +lay over it and snuffed out its light. And on the vessel not a light was +to be seen and not a sound could be heard. It was like a mighty beast +gliding on its prey. + +This vessel was the _Merrimac_, which had carried a load of coal to the +American fleet that lay outside of Santiago de Cuba. Inside the harbor +there were four fine Spanish ships-of-war. But these were like foxes run +into their hole, with the hunters waiting for them outside. + +The harbor of Santiago is something like a great, mis-shipen +water-bottle, and the passage into the harbor is like the neck of the +bottle. Now, if you want to keep anything from getting out of a bottle +you drive a cork into its neck. And that is just what the Americans were +trying to do. The _Merrimac_ was the cork with which they wanted to +fasten up the Spanish ships in the water-bottle of Santiago. + +The captain of the _Merrimac_ was a young officer named Richard P. +Hobson, who was ready to give his life, if he must, for his country. +Admiral Sampson did not like to send anyone into such terrible danger, +but the daring young man insisted on going, and he had no trouble in +getting seven men to go with him. + +Most of the coal had been taken out of the _Merrimac_, but there was +enough left to sink her to the bottom like a stone. And along both +sides there had been placed a row of torpedoes, filled with gunpowder +and with electric wires to set them off when the right time came. + +Hobson was to try to take the ship to the right spot, and then to blow +holes in her sides with the torpedoes and sink her across the channel. +Would not he and his men sink with her? Oh, well, they took the chances +on that. + +Lieutenant Hobson had a fine plan laid out; but the trouble with fine +plans is that they do not always work in a fine way. He was to go in to +where the channel was very narrow. Then he was to let the anchor fall +and swing the ship round crossways with the rudder. Then he would touch +the button to fire the torpedoes. When that was done they would all jump +overboard and swim to the little boat that was towed astern. They +expected the _Merrimac_ would sink across the channel and thus cork it +up. + +That was the plan. Don't you think it was a very good one? I am sure +Lieutenant Hobson and Admiral Sampson thought so, and felt sure they +were going to give the Spaniards a great deal of trouble. + +It was about three o'clock when the _Merrimac_ came into the mouth of +the channel. Here it was pitch dark and as still as death. But the +Spaniards were not asleep. They had a small picket-boat in the harbor's +mouth, on the lookout for trouble, and its men saw a deeper darkness +moving through the darkness. + +They thought it must be one of the American warships and rowed out and +fired several shots at it. One of these hit the chains of the rudder and +carried them off. That spoiled Hobson's plan of steering across the +channel. You see, as I have just told you, it does not take much to +spoil a good plan. + +The alarm was given and the Spaniards in the forts roused up. They +looked out and saw this dark shadow gliding swiftly on through the +gloom. They, too, thought it must be an American battleship, and that +the whole fleet might be coming close behind to attack the ships in the +harbor. + +The guns of Morro Castle and of the shore batteries began to rain their +balls on the _Merrimac_. Then the Spanish ships joined in and fired down +the channel until there was a terrible roar. And as the _Merrimac_ drove +on, a dynamite mine under the water went off behind her, flinging the +water into the air, but not doing her any harm. + +The cannonade was fierce and fast, but the darkness and the smoke of the +guns hid the _Merrimac_, and she went on unhurt. Soon the narrow part of +the channel was reached. Then the anchor was dropped to the bottom and +the engines were made to go backward. The helm was set, but the ship did +not turn. Hobson now first learned that the rudder chains were gone and +the ship could not be steered. The little picket-boat had spoiled his +fine plan. + +There was only one thing left to do. He touched the electric button. In +a second a dull roar came up from below and the ship pitched and rolled. +A thousand pounds of powder had exploded and blown great jagged holes in +the ship's sides. + +Hobson and his men leaped over the side into the water. Those who were +slow about it were flung over by the shock. Down plunged the _Merrimac_ +beneath the waves, while loud cheers came from the forts. The Spanish +gunners were glad, for they thought they had sunk a great American +battleship. + +[Illustration: HOBSON BLOWING UP THE MERRIMAC.] + +But it does not matter to us what the Spaniards thought. All we want to +know is what became of Lieutenant Hobson and his daring men. Their +little boat had been carried away by a Spanish shot, and they were +swimming in the deep waters without knowing what would be their fate. On +one side was the sea; on the other were the Spaniards: they did not know +which would be the worst. + +"I swam away from the ship as soon as I struck the water," said Hobson, +"but I could feel the eddies drawing me backward in spite of all I could +do. That did not last long, however, and as soon as I felt the tugging +cease I turned and struck out for the float, which I could see dimly +bobbing up and down over the sunken hull." + +The float he spoke of was a sort of raft which lay on the ship's deck, +with a rope tied to it so as to let it float. The rope pulled one side +of it a little under the water, so that the other side was a little +above the water. + +This was a good thing for Hobson and his men, for Spanish boats were +soon rowing out to where the ship had gone down. The eight men got under +the high side of the raft, and held on to it by putting their fingers +through the crevices. + +"All night long we stayed there with our noses and mouths barely out of +the water," says Hobson. + +They were afraid to speak or move, for fear they would be shot by the +men in the boats. It was that way all night long. Boats kept rowing +about, some of them very close, but nobody thought of looking under the +raft. The water felt warm at first, but after a while it felt cold, and +their fingers ached and their teeth chattered. + +One of the men, who thought he could not stand this any longer, left the +raft and started to swim ashore. Hobson had to call him back. He came at +once, but the call was heard on the boats and they rowed swiftly up. But +they did not find the hiding place of the men and rowed away again. + +After daylight came Hobson saw a steam-launch approaching from the +ships. There were officers in it, and when it came near he gave it a +hail. His voice seemed to scare the men on board, for they backed off in +great haste. + +They were still more surprised when they saw a number of men clamber out +from under the float. The marines in the launch were about to fire, but +the officers would not let them. + +Then Hobson swam towards the launch and called out in Spanish: + +"Is there an officer on board?" + +"Yes," came the reply. + +"I have seven men to surrender," said Hobson. + +He now swam up and was seized and lifted out of the water. One of the +men who had hold of him was Admiral Cervera, the commander of the +Spanish fleet. + +The admiral gave an odd look at the queer kind of fish he had caught. +Hobson had been in the engine-room of the _Merrimac_ and was covered +with oil, coal-dust, and soot. But he wore his officer's belt, and when +he pointed to that the admiral smiled and bade him welcome. + +Then the men were taken on board the launch, where they were well +treated. They had come very near death and had escaped. + +Of course, you want to read the rest of this story. Well, they were +locked up in Morro Castle. This was a fine old fort on the cliff at the +harbor's mouth, where they could see the great shells come in from the +ships and explode, and see the Spanish gunners fire back. + +Admiral Cervera was very kind to them and sent word to Admiral Sampson +that they were safe, and that he would exchange them for Spanish +prisoners. + +They were not exchanged until July 7, and by that time Admiral Cervera's +ships had all been destroyed and he was a prisoner himself. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX + +SAMPSON AND SCHLEY WIN RENOWN + +THE GREATEST SEA FIGHT OF THE CENTURY + + +I HAVE told you what Hobson did and what Wainwright did at Santiago. Now +it is time to tell all about what the ships did there; the story of the +great Spanish dash for liberty and its woeful ending. + +Santiago is the second city of Cuba. It lies as far to the east as +Havana does to the west, and is on the south of the island, while Havana +is on the north. Like Havana, it has a fine harbor, which is visited by +many ships. + +Well, soon after the war with Spain began, our naval captains were in +trouble. They had a riddle given them for which they could not find the +answer. There was a squadron of Spanish warships at sea, and nobody knew +where to look for them. They might fire into the cities along the coast +and do no end of damage. Maybe there was not much danger of this; but +there is nothing sure in war, and it does not take much to scare some +people. + +The navy wanted to be on the safe side, so one part of the fleet was put +on the lookout along our coast; and another part, under Commodore +Schley, went around the west end of the island of Cuba; and a third +part, under Admiral Sampson, went to the east. They were all on the hunt +for the Spanish ships, but for days and days nothing of them was to be +seen. + +After they had looked into this hole and into that hole along the coast, +like sea-dogs hunting a sea-coon, word came that the Spanish ships had +been seen going into Santiago harbor. Then straight for Santiago went +all the fleet, with its captains very glad to have the answer to the +riddle. + +Never before had the United States so splendid a fleet to fight with. +There were five fine battleships, the _Iowa_, the _Indiana_, the +_Massachusetts_, the _Oregon_, and the _Texas_. Then there was the _New +York_, Admiral Sampson's flagship, and the _Brooklyn_, Commodore +Schley's flagship. These were steel-clad cruisers, not so heavy, but +much faster than the battleships. Besides these there were monitors, +and cruisers, and gunboats, and vessels of other kinds, all spread like +a net around the mouth of the harbor, ready to catch any big fish that +might swim out. Do you not think that was a pretty big crowd of ships to +deal with the Spanish squadron, which had only four cruisers and two +torpedo-boats? + +But then, you know, the insider sometimes has a better chance than the +outsider. It is not easy to keep such a crowd of vessels together out at +sea. They run out of coal, or get out of order, or something else +happens. If the insider keeps his eyes wide open and waits long enough +his chance will come. + +Admiral Cervera, the Spanish commander, was in a very tight place. +Outside lay the American ships, and inside was the American army, which +kept pushing ahead and was likely to take Santiago in a few days. If he +waited he might be caught like a rat in a trap. And if he came outside +he might be caught like a fish in a net. He thought it all over and he +made up his mind that it was better to be a fish than a rat, so he +decided to come out of the harbor. + +He waited till the 3d of July. On that day there were only five of the +big ships outside--four of the battleships and the cruiser _Brooklyn_. +And two of the battleships were a little out of order and were being +made right. Admiral Sampson had gone up the coast with the _New York_ +for a talk with the army general, so he was out of the way. + +No doubt the Spanish lookouts saw all this and told their admiral what +they had seen. So, on that Sunday morning, with every vessel under full +steam, the Spaniards raised their anchors and started on their last +cruise. + +Now let us take a look at the big ships outside. On these everybody was +keeping Sunday. The officers had put on their best Sunday clothes, and +the men were lying or lounging idly about the deck. Of course, there +were lookouts aloft. Great ships like these always have their lookouts. +A war-vessel never quite goes to sleep. It always keeps one eye open. +This Sunday morning the lookouts saw smoke coming up the harbor, but +likely enough they thought that the Spaniards were frying fish for their +Sunday breakfast. + +[Illustration: THE FIGHTING TOP OF THE TEXAS.] + +And so the hours went on until it was about half-past nine. Then an +officer on the _Brooklyn_ called to the lookout aloft: + +"Isn't that smoke moving?" + +The answer came back with a yell that made everybody jump: + +"There's a big ship coming out of the harbor!" + +In a second the groups of officers and men were on their feet and +wide-awake. The Spaniards were coming! Nobody now wanted to be at home +or to go a-fishing. There were bigger fish coming into their net. + +"Clear the ship for action!" cried Commodore Schley. + +From every part of the ship the men rushed to their quarters. Far down +below the stokers began to shovel coal like mad into the furnaces. In +the turrets the gun-crews hurried to get their guns ready. The news +spread like lightning, and the men made ready like magic for the +terrible work before them. + +It was the same on all the ships as on the _Brooklyn_, for all of them +saw the Spaniards coming. Down past the wreck of the _Merrimac_ sped +Cervera's ships, and headed for the open sea. First came the _Maria +Teresa_, the admiral's flagship. Then came the _Vizcaya_, the +_Oquendo_, and the _Cristobal Colon_, and after them the two +torpedo-boats. + +"Full speed ahead! Open fire!" roared the commodore from the bridge of +the _Brooklyn_, and in a second there came a great roar and a huge iron +globe went screaming towards the Spanish ships. + +It was the same on the other ships. Five minutes before they had been +swinging lazily on the long rolling waves, everybody at rest. Now clouds +of black smoke came pouring from their funnels, every man was at his +post, every gun ready for action, and the great ships were beginning to +move through the water at the full power of the engines. And from every +one of them came flashes as of lightning, and roars as of thunder, and +huge shells went whirling through the air toward the Spanish ships. + +Out of the channel they dashed, four noble ships, and turned to the west +along the coast. Only the _Brooklyn_ was on that side of the harbor, and +for ten minutes three of the Spanish ships poured at her a terrible +fire. + +But soon the _Oregon_, the _Indiana_, the _Iowa_, and the _Texas_ came +rapidly up, and the Spanish gunners had new game to fire at. + +You might suppose that the huge iron shells, whirling through the air, +and bursting with a frightful roar, would tear and rend the ships as +though they were made of paper. + +But just think how it was at Manila, where the Spaniards fired at the +sea and the sky, and the Americans fired at the Spanish ships. It was +the same here at Santiago. The Spaniards went wild with their guns and +wasted their balls, while the Americans made nearly every shot tell. + +It was a dreadful tragedy for Spain that day on the Cuban coast. The +splendid ships which came out of the harbor so stately and trim, soon +looked like ragged wrecks. In less than half an hour two of them were +ashore and in a fierce blaze, and the two others were flying for life. +The first to yield was the _Maria Teresa_, the flagship of the admiral. +One shell from the _Brooklyn_ burst in her cabin and in a second it was +in flames. One from the _Texas_ burst in the engine-room and broke the +steam-pipe. Some burst on the deck; some riddled the hull; death and +terror were everywhere. + +The men were driven from the guns, the flames rose higher, the water +poured in through the shot holes, and there was nobody to work the +pumps. All was lost, and the ship was run ashore and her flag pulled +down. + +In very few minutes the _Oquendo_ followed the flagship ashore, both of +them looking like great blazing torches. The shells from the great guns +had torn her terribly, many of her crew had been killed, and those who +were left had to run her ashore to keep her from going to the bottom of +the sea. + +In half an hour, as you may see, two of the Spanish ships had been half +torn to pieces and driven ashore, and only two were still afloat. These +were the _Vizcaya_ and the _Cristobal Colon_. When the _Maine_ was sent +to Havana, before the beginning of the war, a Spanish warship was sent +to New York. This was the _Vizcaya_. She was a trim and handsome ship +and her officers had a hearty welcome. + +It was a different sort of welcome she now got. The _Brooklyn_ and the +_Oregon_ were after her and her last day had come. So hot was the fire +that her men were driven from their guns and flames began to appear. + +Then she, too, was run ashore and her flag was hauled down. It was just +an hour after the chase began and she had gone twenty miles down the +coast. Now she lay blazing redly on the shallow shore and in the night +she blew up. It was a terrible business, the ruin of those three fine +vessels. + +There was one more Spanish ship, the _Cristobal Colon_. (This is the +Spanish for Christopher Columbus.) She was the fastest of them all, and +for a time it looked as if Spain might save one of her ships. + +But there were bloodhounds on her track, the _Brooklyn_, six miles +behind, and the _Oregon_, more than seven miles away. + +Swiftly onward fled the deer, and swiftly onward followed the +war-hounds. Mile by mile they gained on the chase. About one o'clock, +when she was four miles away, the _Oregon_ sent a huge shell whizzing +from one of her great 13-inch guns. It struck the water just behind the +_Colon_; but another that followed struck the water ahead. + +Then the _Brooklyn_ tried her eight-inch guns, and sent a shell through +the _Colon's_ side, above her belt of steel. For twenty minutes this +was kept up. The _Colon_ was being served like her consorts. At the end +of that time her flag was pulled down and the last of the Spanish ships +ran ashore. She had made a flight for life of nearly fifty miles. + +This, you see, is not the story of a sea-fight; it is the story of a +sea-chase. Much has been said about who won the honor at Santiago, but I +think any of you could tell that in a few words. It was the men who ran +the engines and who aimed the guns that won the game. The commanders did +nothing but run after the runaway Spaniards, and there is no great honor +in that. What else was there for them to do? They could not run the +other way. + + * * * * * + +Transcriber's Notes: + +Obvious punctuation errors repaired. + +Page 45, "Quileron" changed to "Quiberon" (fleet at Quiberon Bay) + +Page 119, "one" changed to "on" (set it on fire) + +Page 123, "scimetar" changed to "scimitar" (scimitar and aimed a) + +Page 132, "breadth" changed to "breath" (hardly a breath) + +Page 148, "a" changed to "to" (how to handle) + +Page 172, "know" changed to "knew" (Lawrence never knew) + +Page 204, "McDonough's" changed to "MacDonough's" (MacDonough's Victory) + +Page 206, "Afew" changed to "A few" (A few broadsides like) + +Page 207, "shot" changed to "shots" (Red-hot shots were) + +Page 242, "necesary" changed to "necessary" (was necessary to tell) + +Page 261, "torpedos" changed to "torpedoes" (hundred torpedoes were) + +Page 296, "and, and" changed to "and" (and, between them, a small) + +Page 311, "rom" changed to "room" (the engine-room of the) + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Stories of Our Naval Heroes, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STORIES OF OUR NAVAL HEROES *** + +***** This file should be named 32273.txt or 32273.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/2/2/7/32273/ + +Produced by Emmy, Tor Martin Kristiansen and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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