Title: The Naval History of the United States. Volume 2
Author: Willis J. Abbot
Illustrator: W. C. Jackson
H. W. McVickar
Release date: August 24, 2008 [eBook #26416]
Language: English
Credits: Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Christine P. Travers and
the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
http://www.pgdp.net
Transcriber's note: Obvious printer's errors have been corrected, all other inconsistencies are as in the original. The author's spelling has been maintained.
Page 993: "they were fired upon the Coreans" has been replaced by "they were fired upon by the Coreans".
Page 997: "the rescued part arrived in New York" has been replaced by "the rescued party arrived in New York".
The Table of Contents and the List of Illustration were not present in the original.
BY
With Many Illustrations
BY H. W. McVICAR AND W. C. JACKSON
New York:
PETER FENELON COLLIER, PUBLISHER.
Capture of the "Surveyor."—Work of the Gunboat Flotilla.—Operations on Chesapeake Bay.—Cockburn's Depredations.—Cruise of the "Argus."—Her Capture by the "Pelican."—Battle Between the "Enterprise" and "Boxer."—End of the Year 1813 on the Ocean.
On the Lakes.—Close of Hostilities on Lakes Erie and Huron.—Desultory Warfare on Lake Ontario in 1813.—Hostilities on Lake Ontario in 1814.—The Battle of Lake Champlain.—End of the War upon the Lakes.
On the Ocean.—The Work of the Sloops-of-War.—Loss of the "Frolic."—Fruitless Cruise of the "Adams."—The "Peacock" Takes the "Épervier."—The Cruise of the "wasp."—She Captures the "Reindeer."—Sinks the "Avon."—Mysterious End of the "Wasp".
Operations on the New England Coast.—The Bombardment of Stonington.—Destruction Of the United States Corvette "Adams."—Operations on Chesapeake Bay.—Work of Barney's Barge Flotilla.—Advance of the British Upon Washington.—Destruction of the Capitol.—Operations Against Baltimore.—Bombardment of Fort McHenry.
Desultory Hostilities on the Ocean.—Attack Upon Fort Bowyer.—Lafitte the Pirate.—British Expedition Against New Orleans.—Battle of the Rigolets.—Attack On New Orleans, and Defeat of the British.—Work of the Blue-jackets.—Capture Of the Frigate "President."—The "Constitution" takes The "Cyane" and "Levant."—The "Hornet" Takes the "Penguin."—End of the War.
Privateers and Prisons of the War.—The "Rossie."—Salem Privateers.—The "Gen. Armstrong" Gives Battle To a British Squadron, and Saves New Orleans.—Narrative of a British Officer.—The "Prince de Neufchatel."—Experiences Of American Prisoners of War.—The End.
The Long Peace Broken by the War With Mexico.—Activity of the Navy.—Captain Stockton's Stratagem.—The Battle at San Jose.—The Blockade.—Instances of Personal Bravery.—The Loss of the "Truxton."—Yellow Fever in the Squadron.—The Navy at Vera Cruz.—Capture of Alvarado.
The Navy in Peace.—Surveying the Dead Sea.—Suppressing the Slave Trade.—The Franklin Relief Expedition.—Commodore Perry in Japan.—Signing of the Treaty.—Trouble in Chinese Waters.—The Koszta Case.—The Second Franklin Relief Expedition.—Foote at Canton.—"Blood is Thicker Than Water".
The Opening of the Conflict.—The Navies of the Contestants.—Dix's Famous Despatch.—The River-gunboats.
Fort Sumter Bombarded.—Attempt of the "Star of the West" to Re-enforce Anderson.—The Naval Expedition to Fort Sumter.—The Rescue of the Frigate "Constitution."—Burning the Norfolk Navy-Yard.
Difficulties of the Confederates in Getting a Navy.—Exploit of the "French Lady."—Naval Skirmishing on the Potomac.—The Cruise of the "Sumter"
The Potomac Flotilla.—Capture of Alexandria.—Actions at Matthias Point.—Bombardment of the Hatteras Forts.
The "Trent" Affair.—Operations in Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds.—Destruction of the Confederate Fleet.
Reduction of Newbern.—Exploits of Lieut. Cushing.—Destruction of the Ram "Albemarle".
The Blockade-runners.—Nassau and Wilmington.—Work of the Cruisers.
Du Pont's Expedition to Hilton Head and Port Royal.—The Fiery Circle.
The First Ironclad Vessels in History.—The "Merrimac" Sinks the "Cumberland," and Destroys the "Congress."—Duel between the "Monitor" and "Merrimac".
The Navy in the Inland Waters.—The Mississippi Squadron.—Sweeping the Tennessee River.
Famous Confederate Privateers,—The "Alabama," the "Shenandoah," the "Nashville".
Work of the Gulf Squadron.—The Fight at the Passes of the Mississippi.—Destruction of the Schooner "Judah."—The Blockade of Galveston, and Capture of the "Harriet Lane".
The Capture of New Orleans.—Farragut's Fleet passes Fort St. Philip and Fort Jackson.
Along the Mississippi.—Forts Jackson and St. Philip Surrender.—The Battle at St. Charles.—The Ram "Arkansas."—Bombardment and Capture of Port Hudson.
On To Vicksburg.—Bombardment of the Confederate Stronghold.—Porter's Cruise in the Forests.
Vicksburg Surrenders, and the Mississippi is opened.—Naval Events along the Gulf Coast.
Operations About Charleston.—The Bombardment, the Siege, and the Capture.
The Battle of Mobile Bay.
The Fall of Fort Fisher.—The Navy ends its Work.
Police Service on the High Seas.—War Service in Asiatic Ports.—Losses by the Perils of the Deep.—A Brush With the Pirates.—Admiral Rodgers at Corea.—Services in Arctic Waters.—The Disaster at Samoa.—The Attack on the "Baltimore's" Men at Valparaiso.—Loss of the "Kearsarge."—The Naval Review.
The Naval Militia.—A Volunteer Service which in Time of War will be Effective.—How Boys are Trained for the Life of a Sailor.—Conditions of Enlistment in the Volunteer Branch of the Service.—The Work of the Seagoing Militia in Summer.
How the Navy Has Grown.—The Cost and Character of Our New White Ships of War.—Our Period of Naval Weakness and our Advance to a Place among the Great Naval Powers.—The New Devices of Naval Warfare.—The Torpedo, the Dynamite Gun, and the Modern Rifle.—Armor and its Possibilities.
The State of Cuba.—Pertinacity of the Revolutionists.—Spain's Sacrifices and Failure.—Spanish Barbarities.—The Policy of Reconcentration.—American Sympathy Aroused.—The Struggle in Congress.—The Assassination of the "Maine."—Report of the Commission.—The Onward March to Battle.
The Opening Days of the War.—The First Blow Struck in the Pacific.—Dewey and his Fleet.—The Battle at Manila.—An Eye-witness' Story.—Delay and Doubt in the East.—Dull Times for the Blue-jackets.—The Discovery of Cervera.—Hobson's Exploit.—The Outlook.
The Spanish Fleet makes a Dash from the Harbor.—Its total Destruction.—Admiral Cervera a Prisoner.—Great Spanish Losses.—American Fleet Loses but one Man.
CHAPTER XII.
CAPTURE OF THE "SURVEYOR." — WORK OF THE GUNBOAT FLOTILLA. — OPERATIONS ON CHESAPEAKE BAY. — COCKBURN'S DEPREDATIONS. — CRUISE OF THE "ARGUS." — HER CAPTURE BY THE "PELICAN." — BATTLE OF THE "ENTERPRISE" AND "BOXER." — END OF THE YEAR 1813 ON THE OCEAN.
With the capture of the "Chesapeake" in June, 1813, we abandoned our story of the naval events along the coast of the United States, to follow Capt. Porter and his daring seamen on their long cruise into far-off seas. But while the men of the "Essex" were capturing whalers in the Pacific, chastising insolent savages at Nookaheevah, and fighting a gallant but unsuccessful fight at Valparaiso, other blue-jackets were as gallantly serving their country nearer home. From Portsmouth to Charleston the coast was watched by British ships, and collisions between the enemies were of almost daily occurrence. In many of these actions great bravery was shown on both sides. Noticeably was this the case in the action between the cutter "Surveyor" and the British frigate "Narcissus," on the night of June 12. The "Surveyor," a little craft manned by a crew of fifteen men, and mounting six twelve-pound carronades, was lying in the York River near Chesapeake Bay. From the masthead of the "Narcissus," lying farther down the bay, the spars of the cutter could be seen above the tree-tops; and an expedition was fitted out for her capture. Fifty men, led by a veteran officer, attacked the little vessel in the darkness, but were met with a most determined resistance. The Americans could not use their carronades, but with their muskets they did much execution in the enemy's ranks. But they were finally overpowered, and the little cutter was towed down under the frigate's guns. The next day Mr. Travis, the American commander, received his sword which he had surrendered, with a letter from the British commander, in which he said, "Your gallant and desperate attempt to defend your vessel against more than double your number, on the night of the 12th inst., excited such admiration on the part of your opponents as I have seldom witnessed, and induced me to return you the sword you had so nobly used, in testimony of mine.... In short, I am at a loss which to admire most, the previous arrangement on board the 'Surveyor,' or the determined manner in which her deck was disputed, inch by inch."
During the summer of 1813, the little gunboats, built in accordance with President Jefferson's plan for a coast guard of single-gun vessels, did a great deal of desultory fighting, which resulted in little or nothing. They were not very seaworthy craft, the heavy guns mounted amidships causing them to careen far over in even a sailor's "capfull" of wind. When they went into action, the first shot from the gun set the gunboat rocking so that further fire with any precision of aim was impossible. The larger gunboats carried sail enough to enable them to cruise about the coast, keeping off privateers and checking the marauding expeditions of the British. Many of the gunboats, however, were simply large gallies propelled with oars, and therefore confined in their operations to bays and inland waters. The chief scene of their operations was Chesapeake Bay.
This noble sheet of water had been, since the very opening of the year 1813, under the control of the British, who had gathered there their most powerful vessels under the command of Admiral Cockburn, whose name gained an unenviable notoriety for the atrocities committed by his forces upon the defenceless inhabitants of the shores of Chesapeake Bay. Marauding expeditions were continually sent from the fleet to search the adjacent country for supplies. When this method of securing provisions failed, Cockburn hit upon the plan of bringing his fleet within range of a village, and then commanding the inhabitants to supply his needs, under penalty of the instant bombardment of the town in case of refusal. Sometimes this expedient failed, as when Commodore Beresford, who was blockading the Delaware, called upon the people of Dover to supply him at once with "twenty-five large bullocks and a proportionate quantity of vegetables and hay." But the sturdy inhabitants refused, mustered the militia, dragged some old cannon down to the water-side, and, for lack of cannon-balls of their own, valiantly fired back those thrown by the British, which fitted the American ordnance exactly.
Soon after this occurrence, a large party from Cockburn's fleet landed at Havre de Grace, and, having driven away the few militia, captured and burned the town. Having accomplished this exploit, the marauders continued their way up the bay, and turning up into the Sassafras River ravaged the country on both sides of the little stream. After spreading distress far and wide over the beautiful country that borders Chesapeake Bay, the vandals returned to their ships, boasting that they had despoiled the Americans of at least seventy thousand dollars, and injured them to the amount of ten times that sum.
By June, 1813, the Americans saw that something must be done to check the merciless enemy who had thus revived the cruel vandalism, which had ceased to attend civilized warfare since the middle ages. A fleet of fifteen armed gallies was fitted out to attack the frigate of Cockburn's fleet that lay nearest to Norfolk. Urged forward by long sweeps, the gunboats bore down upon the frigate, which, taken by surprise, made so feeble and irregular a response that the Americans thought they saw victory within their grasp. The gunboats chose their distance, and opened a well-directed fire upon their huge enemy, that, like a hawk attacked by a crowd of sparrows, soon turned to fly. But at this moment the wind changed, enabling two frigates which were at anchor lower down the bay to come up to the aid of their consort. The American gunboats drew off slowly, firing as they departed.
This attack infused new energy into the British, and they at once began formidable preparations for an attack upon Norfolk. On the 20th of June they moved forward to the assault,—three seventy-four-gun ships, one sixty-four, four frigates, two sloops, and three transports. They were opposed by the American forces stationed on Craney Island, which commands the entrance to Norfolk Harbor. Here the Americans had thrown up earthworks, mounting two twenty-four, one eighteen, and four six pound cannon. To work this battery, one hundred sailors from the "Constellation," together with fifty marines, had been sent ashore. A large body of militia and a few soldiers of the regular army were also in camp upon the island.
The British set the 22d as the date for the attack; and on the morning of that day, fifteen large boats, filled with sailors, marines, and soldiers to the number of seven hundred, put off from the ships, and dashed toward the batteries. At the same time a larger force tried to move forward by land, but were driven back, to wait until their comrades in the boats should have stormed and silenced the American battery. But that battery was not to be silenced. After checking the advance of the British by land, the Americans waited coolly for the column of boats to come within point-blank range. On they came, bounding over the waves, led by the great barge "Centipede," fifty feet long, and crowded with men. The blue-jackets in the shore battery stood silently at their guns. Suddenly there arose a cry, "Now, boys, are you ready?" "All ready," was the response. "Then fire!" And the great guns hurled their loads of lead and iron into the advancing boats. The volley was a fearful one; but the British still came on doggedly, until the fire of the battery became too terrible to be endured. "The American sailors handled the great guns like rifles," said one of the British officers, speaking of the battle. Before this terrific fire, the advancing column was thrown into confusion. The boats, drifting upon each other, so crowded together that the oars-men could not make any headway. A huge round shot struck the "Centipede," passing through her diagonally, leaving death and wounds in its track. The shattered craft sunk, and was soon followed by four others. The order for retreat was given; and, leaving their dead and some wounded in the shattered barges that lay in the shallow water, the British fled to their ships. Midshipman Tatnall, who, many years later, served in the Confederate navy, waded out with several sailors, and, seizing the "Centipede," drew her ashore. He found several wounded men in her,—one a Frenchman, with both legs shot away. A small terrier dog lay whimpering in the bow. His master had brought him along for a run on shore, never once thinking of the possibility of the flower of the British navy being beaten back by the Americans.
So disastrous a defeat enraged the British, who proceeded to wreak their vengeance upon the little town of Hampton, which they sacked and burned, committing acts of shameful violence, more in accordance with the character of savages than that of civilized white men. The story of the sack of Hampton forms no part of the naval annals of the war, and in its details is too revolting to deserve a place here. It is a narrative of atrocious cruelty not to be paralleled in the history of warfare in the nineteenth century.
Leaving behind him the smoking ruins of Hampton, Cockburn with his fleet dropped down the bay, and, turning southward, cruised along the coast of the Carolinas. Anchoring off Ocracoke Inlet, the British sent a fleet of armed barges into Pamlico Sound to ravage the adjoining coast. Two privateers were found lying at anchor in the sound,—the "Anaconda" of New York, and the "Atlas" of Philadelphia. The British forces, eight hundred in number, dashed forward to capture the two vessels. The "Atlas" fell an easy prey; but the thirteen men of the "Anaconda" fought stoutly until all hope was gone, then, turning their cannon down upon the decks of their own vessel, blew great holes in her bottom, and escaped to the shore. After this skirmish, the British landed, and marched rapidly to Newbern; but, finding that place well defended by militia, made their way back to the coast, desolating the country through which they passed, and seizing cattle and slaves. The latter they are said to have sent to the West Indies and sold. From Pamlico Sound Cockburn went to Cumberland Island, where he established his winter quarters, and whence he continued to send out marauding expeditions during the rest of the year.
Very different was the character of Sir Thomas Hardy, who commanded the British blockading fleet off the New England coast. A brave and able officer, with the nature and training of a gentleman, he was as much admired by his enemies for his nobility, as Cockburn was hated for his cruelty. It is more than possible, however, that the difference between the methods of enforcement of the blockade on the New England coast and on the Southern seaboard was due to definite orders from the British admiralty: for the Southern States had entered into the war heart and soul; while New England gave to the American forces only a faint-hearted support, and cried eagerly for peace at any cost. So strong was this feeling, that resolutions of honor to the brave Capt. Lawrence were defeated in the Massachusetts Legislature, on the ground that they would encourage others to embark in the needless war in which Lawrence lost his life. Whatever may have been the cause, however, the fact remains, that Hardy's conduct while on the blockade won for him the respect and admiration of the very people against whom his forces were arrayed.
On June 18 the British blockaders off New York Harbor allowed a little vessel to escape to sea, that, before she could be captured, roamed at will within sight of the chalk cliffs of England, and inflicted immense damage upon the commerce of her enemy. This craft was the little ten-gun brig "Argus," which left New York bound for France. She carried as passenger Mr. Crawford of Georgia, who had lately been appointed United States minister to France. After safely discharging her passenger at L'Orient, the "Argus" turned into the chops of the English Channel, and cruised about, burning and capturing many of the enemy's ships. She was in the very highway of British commerce; and her crew had little rest day or night, so plentiful were the ships that fell in their way. It was hard for the jackies to apply the torch to so many stanch vessels, that would enrich the whole crew with prize-money could they but be sent into an American port. But the little cruiser was thousands of miles from any American port, and no course was open to her save to give every prize to the flames. After cruising for a time in the English Channel, Lieut. Allen, who commanded the "Argus," took his vessel around Land's End, and into St. George's Channel and the Irish Sea. For thirty days he continued his daring operations in the very waters into which Paul Jones had carried the American flag nearly thirty-five years earlier. British merchants and shipping owners in London read with horror of the destruction wrought by this one vessel. Hardly a paper appeared without an account of some new damage done by the "Argus." Vessels were kept in port to rot at their docks, rather than fall a prey to the terrible Yankee. Rates of insurance went up to ruinous prices, and many companies refused to take any risks whatever so long as the "Argus" remained afloat. But the hue and cry was out after the little vessel; and many a stout British frigate was beating up and down in St. George's Channel, and the chops of the English Channel, in the hopes of falling in with the audacious Yankee, who had presumed to bring home to Englishmen the horrors of war.
It fell to the lot of the brig-sloop "Pelican" to rid the British waters of the "Argus." On the night of the thirteenth of August, the American vessel had fallen in with a British vessel from Oporto, and after a short chase had captured her. The usual result followed. The prisoners with their personal property were taken out of the prize, and the vessel was set afire. But, before the torch was applied, the American sailors had discovered that their prize was laden with wine; and their resolution was not equal to the task of firing the prize without testing the quality of the cargo. Besides treating themselves to rather deep potations, the boarding-crew contrived to smuggle a quantity of the wine into the forecastle of the "Argus." The prize was then fired, and the "Argus" moved away under easy sail. But the light of the blazing ship attracted the attention of the lookout on the "Pelican," and that vessel came down under full sail to discover the cause.
Day was just breaking, and by the gray morning light the British saw an American cruiser making away from the burning hulk of her last prize. The "Pelican" followed in hot pursuit, and was allowed to come alongside, although the fleet American could easily have left her far astern. But Capt. Allen was ready for the conflict; confident of his ship and of his crew, of whose half-intoxicated condition he knew nothing, he felt sure that the coming battle would only add more laurels to the many already won by the "Argus." He had often declared that the "Argus" should never run from any two-master; and now, that the gage of battle was offered, he promptly accepted.
At six o'clock in the morning, the "Pelican" came alongside, and opened the conflict with a broadside from her thirty-two pound carronades. The "Argus" replied with spirit, and a sharp cannonade began. Four minutes after the battle opened, Capt. Allen was struck by a round shot that cut off his left leg near the thigh. His officers rushed to his side, and strove to bear him to his cabin; but he resisted, saying he would stay on deck and fight his ship as long as any life was left him. With his back to a mast, he gave his orders and cheered on his men for a few minutes longer; then, fainting from the terrible gush of blood from his wound, was carried below. To lose their captain so early in the action, was enough to discourage the crew of the "Argus." Yet the officers left on duty were brave and skilful. Twice the vessel was swung into a raking position, but the gunners failed to seize the advantage. "They seemed to be nodding over their guns," said one of the officers afterward. The enemy, however, showed no signs of nodding. His fire was rapid and well directed, and his vessel manœuvred in a way that showed a practised seaman in command. At last he secured a position under the stern of the "Argus," and lay there, pouring in destructive broadsides, until the Americans struck their flag,—just forty-seven minutes after the opening of the action. The loss on the "Argus" amounted to six killed and seventeen wounded.
No action of the war was so discreditable to the Americans as this. In the loss of the "Chesapeake" and in the loss of the "Essex," there were certain features of the action that redounded greatly to the honor of the defeated party. But in the action between the "Argus" and the "Pelican," the Americans were simply outfought. The vessels were practically equal in size and armament, though the "Pelican" carried a little the heavier metal. It is also stated that the powder used by the "Argus" was bad. It had been taken from one of the prizes, and afterwards proved to be condemned powder of the British Government. In proof of the poor quality of this powder, one of the American officers states that many shot striking the side of the "Pelican" were seen to fall back into the water; while others penetrated the vessel's skin, but did no further damage. All this, however, does not alter the fact that the "Argus" was fairly beaten in a fair fight.
While the British thus snapped up an American man-of-war cruising at their harbors' mouths, the Americans were equally fortunate in capturing a British brig of fourteen guns off the coast of Maine. The captor was the United States brig "Enterprise," a lucky little vessel belonging to a very unlucky class; for her sister brigs all fell a prey to the enemy. The "Nautilus," it will be remembered, was captured early in the war. The "Vixen" fell into the hands of Sir James Yeo, who was cruising in the West Indies, in the frigate "Southampton;" but this gallant officer reaped but little benefit from his prize, for frigate and brig alike were soon after wrecked on one of the Bahama Islands. The "Siren," late in the war, was captured by the seventy-four-gun ship "Medway," and the loss of the "Argus" has just been chronicled. Of all these brigs, the "Argus" alone was able to fire a gun in her own defence, before being captured; the rest were all forced to yield quietly to immensely superior force.
In the war with Tripoli, the "Enterprise" won the reputation of being a "lucky" craft; and her daring adventures and thrilling escapes during the short naval war with France added to her prestige among sailors. When the war with England broke out, the little brig was put in commission as soon as possible, and assigned to duty along the coast of Maine. She did good service in keeping off privateers and marauding expeditions from Nova Scotia. In the early part of September, 1813, she was cruising near Penguin Point, when she sighted a brig in shore that had the appearance of a hostile war-vessel. The stranger soon settled all doubts as to her character by firing several guns, seemingly for the purpose of recalling her boats from the shore. Then, setting sail with the rapidity of a man-of-war, she bore down upon the American vessel. The "Enterprise," instead of waiting for the enemy, turned out to sea, under easy sail; and her crew were set to work bringing aft a long gun, and mounting it in the cabin, where one of the stern windows had been chopped away to make a port. This action rather alarmed the sailors, who feared that their commander, Lieut. Burrows, whose character was unknown to them, intended to avoid the enemy, and was rigging the long gun for a stern-chaser. An impromptu meeting was held upon the forecastle; and, after much whispered consultation, the people appointed a committee to go aft and tell the commander that the lads were burning to engage the enemy, and were confident of whipping her. The committee started bravely to discharge their commission; but their courage failed them before so mighty a potentate as the commander, and they whispered their message to the first lieutenant, who laughed, and sent word forward that Mr. Burrows only wanted to get sea-room, and would soon give the jackies all the fighting they desired.