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BOYS' BOOK 
 OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 Famous Naval Engagements 
 From Drake to Beatty 
 
 BY 
 
 CHELSEA CURTIS FRASER 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 "BOYS' BOOK OF BATTLES," ETC. 
 
 With Maps by the Author 
 
 ILLUSTRATED 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 THOMAS Y. CROWELL COMPANY 
 
 PUBLISHERS 
 
s 
 
 ">A\ 
 
 Copyright, 1920 
 By THOMAS Y. CROWELL. COMPANY 
 
 St? "3 \w 
 ©CI.A597263 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I Sir Francis Drake 
 
 Early Adventures 3 
 
 Plundering the Spanish Main 13 
 
 The Riches of the New Ocean 22 
 
 The Defeat of the Spanish Armada ... 32 
 
 II Marshal Anne-Hilarion de Tourville 
 
 A Knight of Malta 45 
 
 Punishing the Barbary Pirates ... . . 52 
 
 III Commodore John Paul Jones 
 
 From Toy Ships to Big Ships 65 
 
 The Drake and the Ranger 72 
 
 The Bon Homme Richard and the Serapis . 80 
 
 IV Lord Horatio Nelson 
 
 A Great Sea King 99 
 
 The Fight of the Nile 108 
 
 The Victory of Trafalgar 115 
 
 V The Burning of the "Philadelphia" . . . 125 
 
 VI Perry's Victory on Lake Erie 139 
 
 VII The "Constitution" and the "Guerriere" 
 
 An Exciting Chase 157 
 
 An Unexpected Meeting 163 
 
 VIII The Ship that Strangely Disappeared . . . 177 
 
 iii 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 IX The "Monitor" and the "Merrimac" 
 
 The "Quaker Meetin'-House Floating Down 
 
 the Bay" 193 
 
 The "Cheese-Box on a Raft" 204 
 
 X Admiral David Farragut 
 
 Breaking into the Mississippi 221 
 
 The Capture of New Orleans 234 
 
 Port Hudson and Mobile Bay 240 
 
 XI Dewey at Manila Bay 255 
 
 XII The Battle of Santiago Harbor 
 
 Hobson's Daring Exploit 275 
 
 The Destruction of Cervera's Fleet .... 283 
 
 XIII The Running Fight off the Falklands . . 297 
 
 XIV The Battle off Jutland Bank 315 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 British Battle Fleet in Action in the North Sea 
 
 Frontispiece 
 
 Defeat of the Spanish Armada (Map) 2 
 
 Sir Francis Drake 8 
 
 Defeat of the Spanish Armada 24 
 
 The Battle of Palmero (Map) 44 
 
 Marshal de Tourville 56 
 
 Engagement of the Bon Homme Richard and the Serapis 
 
 (Map) 64 
 
 John Paul Jones 66 
 
 The Bon Homme Richard and the Serapis ... J2 
 
 The Battle of Trafalgar (Map) 98 
 
 The Battle of Trafalgar 120 
 
 Scene of the Philadelphia Exploit (Map) . . ... 126 
 
 Scene of the Battle of Lake Erie (Map) 140 
 
 The Battle of Lake Erie 152 
 
 The Constitution and the Guerriere (Map) . . . .156 
 
 The Constitution and the Guerriere 168 
 
 The Wasp and the Reindeer (Map) 178 
 
 The Monitor and the Merrimac (Map) . . . . . 192 
 
 The Monitor and the Merrimac 216 
 
 Battle of Mobile Bay (Map) 220 
 
 Admiral Farragut 232 
 
 v 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Battle of Manila Bay (Map) 256 
 
 U. S. S. Olympia 264 
 
 Battle of Santiago Harbor (Map) 274 
 
 U. S. S. New York 280 
 
 Battle of the Falklands (Map) 298 
 
 Admiral Sturdee 312 
 
 Battle of Jutland (Map) 316 
 
 Admiral Beatty 328 
 
FOREWORD 
 
 Because <of the cordial welcome given by 
 young readers to my preceding historical work, 
 "Boys' Book of Battles," the publishers have 
 asked me to write a companion volume. Hence 
 you are, in these pages, introduced to the "Boys' 
 Book of Sea Fights." 
 
 That the sea has furnished its full quota of 
 thrilling and important conflicts in the history 
 of mankind, standing a close second in this wise 
 to the land, there can be no doubt ; the concensus 
 of opinion among students discloses it, the ar- 
 chives of nations prove it. Moreover, for spec- 
 tacular exploits of both individuals and small 
 bodies of men, the sea has ever been a leader. 
 Its very structure is a constant threat of death 
 or stirring adventure, presented at the most un- 
 expected moments; and when to this peril is 
 added the chance of encountering hostile ships, 
 we cannot wonder that sailors have performed 
 deeds of surpassing heroism, and accepted su- 
 preme sacrifices for the sake of their country 
 that thrill us to the very core of our bodies. 
 
 This book tells the tale of sailors at war. Its 
 
 vii 
 
viii FOREWORD 
 
 heroes are real heroes — men .who have lived, who 
 have performed the very deeds recorded of them, 
 so far as careful research can verify. They are 
 not the sailors of any one country or nation, but 
 of many countries and nations — which fact, it 
 seems to me, really makes them no less brave and 
 their deeds no less worthy of recounting. Valor 
 and patriotism, no matter by whom displayed, 
 surely ought to meet with our admiration and 
 stir us to like deeds for our own people and our 
 own country. 
 
 C. C. F. 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 
 
 Great golden galleons plied the Main; 
 He hit them hard, again, again ; 
 And with his fleet of British ship 
 Forever broke Spain's tyrant grip. 
 
 — Fiske. 
 
Sir Francis Drake 
 
 EARLY ADVENTURES 
 
 The stirring times into which young Drake 
 was born acted as a forcing-house for the growth 
 of character. Boys turned into men at a leap. 
 Bred in a nursery whose very atmosphere was 
 war and revolution, they were trained by danger 
 and privation to fight battles at an age when the 
 boy of to-day is making ready to take up his 
 school life. The strange mixture of lax moral 
 standards and fierce religious passions, the prev- 
 alence of an unwonted bigotry, the light esteem in 
 which human life was held, the rapid succession 
 of startling events, the persecutions carried on 
 in the name of a holy cause, — all went to forge 
 men of singular and violent contrasts. 
 
 Sir Francis Drake, the foremost sailor of the 
 Reformation, the chief pirate of Queen Elizabeth, 
 was one of these men. No name in England's 
 annals of the sea has been surrounded with so 
 dazzling a setting of romance as his. During 
 his whole lifetime Drake's adventures found no 
 place in sober history. They invaded the realm 
 of folklore and took strong hold on the popular 
 fancy in the shape of marvelous tales and legends. 
 
4 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 Yet there was a solid foundation to them for all 
 of that, and rising out of this wonderland of 
 romance the record of mankind must ever show 
 that this daring boy of Devon was one of the 
 most skillful of navigators as well as the first 
 really great admiral in the development of mod- 
 ern naval science, which had its cradle in Eng- 
 land, and which substituted the sailing-navy for 
 the ancient rowing-navy. 
 
 Born in 1544, in the heat of the strife between 
 Catholics and Protestants, little Francis held 
 a fierce hatred for Spain and her subjects. His 
 father, Edmund Drake, was one of the most zeal- 
 ous of Protestants, with a gift for preaching 
 which he often used. He made no effort to hide 
 his religious attitude, although Devon was known 
 to be mainly Catholic, but went about boldly and 
 fearlessly asserting his views. 
 
 This action could have but one outcome. 
 The Catholic faction made it so hot for all Prot- 
 estants in Devon, and for Edmund Drake in par- 
 ticular, that he fled with little Francis to St. 
 Nicholas Island, in the harbor of Plymouth. In 
 Chatham reach, beyond the dockyard, at the 
 mouth of the Medway, was the anchorage of ves- 
 sels out of commission, of war-ships, and of old 
 and useless hulks. Here the Protestant preacher 
 was given an appointment under King Edward 
 as "Reader of Prayers to the Royal Navy," 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 5 
 
 and was assigned a rotting hulk as a dwelling- 
 place. 
 
 But to young Francis it was no rotting hulk 
 — rather a palace of the most intoxicating de- 
 lights. Seldom did he care to go ashore. All 
 day long he climbed the masts of his new float- 
 ing home, raced across the old weather-beaten 
 decks, or delved into the below-decks mysteries 
 of the veteran craft. And when night would 
 come he often fell asleep in the midst of his be- 
 loved old war-ship's guns, rocked by the heaving 
 waves and solaced into the last deep oblivion by 
 the lisping tide and the lullaby of the sailors' 
 songs. 
 
 Edmund Drake had hoped to place his boy in 
 the navy, with the patronage of Edward VI and 
 the powerful Earl of Bedford, but his expecta- 
 tion was shattered by a rude change. King Ed- 
 ward died. "Bloody Mary," the Catholic Queen, 
 succeeded to the throne, and the land was threat- 
 ened with a prince of Spain as husband to the 
 Queen. 
 
 Then it was that the gathering storm of the 
 Reformation suddenly burst and threw all Eng- 
 land into a turmoil. Francis's father lost his 
 position, and was forced to apprentice his son 
 as ship's-boy on a craft that carried on a coasting 
 trade with France and Holland. It was on this 
 channel coaster that the sailor lad, exposed to 
 
6 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 great privations and severe conditions, gained 
 some of the most valuable lessons of his experi- 
 ence. 
 
 While his young body was being steeled to 
 every conceivable form of hardship, his spirit 
 was being trained for future revenges on the 
 Spanish Main. Passionate tales of the horrors 
 of the Inquisition were being told by Flemish 
 refugees on quay and shipboard. The persecu- 
 tions of Philip, King of Spain, in the Nether- 
 lands, fanned the flame of the English Reforma- 
 tion, and Francis Drake found himself, presently, 
 in the center of the hottest frenzy of religious 
 feeling. Small wonder that he grew to man's 
 estate with that implacable hatred of the very 
 name of Spain which furnished the motive power 
 of his subsequent brilliant career. 
 
 In the meantime events followed one another 
 rapidly. Bloody Mary had passed away, Eliza- 
 beth reigned, and the Protestants were once more 
 in favor. Francis had grown from boy to youth ; 
 his master skipper had died and bequeathed him 
 his little craft on which to begin life as an in- 
 dependent trader. 
 
 Open war with Spain had not yet been de- 
 clared; but the rupture was imminent. Cruel 
 reprisals by private individuals on both sides 
 were rapidly paving the way for the coming 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 7 
 
 break. The Channel swarmed with sea-rovers. 
 Four hundred adventurers swept the narrow 
 stretches of water in search of plunder. The 
 enormous wealth of the Spanish trade courted 
 depredation in those loose-moraled times when it 
 was not the fashion to be as strictly honest with 
 the belongings of one's neighbor as it is to-day. 
 Spanish galleons were chased and scuttled. 
 Catholic vessels of other nations, particularly 
 France, were considered legitimate prey for loot- 
 ing. Rich cargoes of saffron, cochineal, wool, 
 silk, gold, silver, pearls and precious stones, linen, 
 tapestry and wines, were carried off to the 
 pirates' lairs on the Isle of Wight and in the 
 creeks and inlets of the Irish coast. In revenge, 
 British ships were seized in Spanish ports, and 
 many English sailors were thrown into the dun- 
 geons of the infamous Inquisition. 
 
 Forced to quit his independent trading on ac- 
 count of its unprofitableness, young Drake en- 
 tered the only service that then seemed open to 
 him — that of his famous kinsmen, Captains John 
 and William Hawkins, the rich ship-owners and 
 pirate merchants of Plymouth. The chief sea- 
 port town of picturesque Devon might well have 
 been called one of the pirate centers of the Eng- 
 lish coast. Its harbor was large and safe, and 
 many precious cargoes, obtained by foul means 
 
8 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 as well as fair, were brought in by daring ad- 
 venturers who had scoured the limited sea in 
 search of riches. Neither gold nor excitement 
 were hard to find in those days, and Plymouth be- 
 came, by reason of its peculiar accessibility and 
 additional virtues, a favorite port for the bold 
 crews. 
 
 In October, 1567, Drake set sail from Ply- 
 mouth harbor as pilot to John Hawkins. In the 
 squadron were six vessels, all armed and vict- 
 ualled for a long voyage. This expedition was 
 destined to turn the scale of commercial supre- 
 macy and complete the antagonism existing be- 
 tween England and Spain. 
 
 In Queen Elizabeth's time neither the navy 
 nor the maritime commerce of England were es- 
 tablished on a regular footing. The navy, used 
 simply as an adjunct to the army, had remained 
 an undeveloped independent instrument of na- 
 tional power, and the vastness of its resources 
 were still undreamed of. Later on, Drake 
 proved the wonderful possibilities of a strongly 
 equipped fleet in war time, by turning the enemy's 
 coastline into the center of hostilities and by de- 
 stroying his trade with foreign countries. 
 
 But meanwhile the fleets of war and commerce 
 were intermingled. In time of peace Queen 
 Elizabeth used her men-of-war for merchant- 
 men, while in war time she added her real mer- 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE, KT. 
 
 From the engraving by VV. Holl; after F. Zucchero's picture in the 
 possession of Lady Elliott Drake. 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 9 
 
 chantmen to her force of fighting craft. In this 
 way it became exceedingly difficult to draw the 
 line between official naval expeditions and private 
 commercial enterprises, the last-named of which, 
 as already shown, were frequently synonymous 
 with buccaneering. This state of affairs worked 
 to the disadvantage of her adversaries and much 
 to the advantage of the Queen at times. On 
 other occasions the benefits were reversed. Al- 
 together it proved an ill arrangement. 
 
 Often the Queen was one of the shareholders 
 in the filibustering expeditions of Hawkins and 
 Drake, and contributed some ships of war to the 
 outfit. She was too much allured by the prospect 
 of untold riches in gold, silver, pearls and pre- 
 cious stones to resist the temptation of enriching 
 her private coffers by becoming a secret partner 
 in the buccaneering ventures of her favorite 
 pirates. 
 
 However, when Spanish ambassadors and the 
 diplomats of other victimized powers called per- 
 emptorily for satisfaction, she was careful to 
 assume indignation and disapproval of the prac- 
 tices of her unruly subjects. And while she 
 always welcomed the precious cargoes brought 
 back to her by her partners in adventure, the men 
 themselves were not always sure of her approval. 
 Such was her vacillating trend of mind that one 
 time she might bestow upon the returned hero 
 
io BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 the honors of knighthood, and the next time send 
 the poor fellow to the gallows. 
 
 But the game was worth the candle, and so it 
 was that on that October day in 1567 Hawkins 
 and Drake sailed out of Plymouth harbor with 
 what amounted to a naval squadron, loaded with 
 ammunition and numerous heavy guns. Accom- 
 panying them were two ships-of-war, the Minion 
 and the Jesus, especially loaned by Elizabeth her- 
 self. 
 
 From the very first the squadron met with 
 bad weather. Near Cape Finisterre a violent 
 storm damaged and scattered many of the ves- 
 sels, but they succeeded in reaching their first 
 rendezvous at the Canary Islands. From there 
 they sailed southward to the coast of Guinea, 
 in western Africa, where the traders spent sev- 
 eral months in collecting negroes as slaves. 
 
 Partly by means of the sword, and partly by 
 exchange of scarlet coats and beads, they suc- 
 ceeded in storing away in their holds as many as 
 five hundred of the black men. Thus equipped 
 with trading material, they crossed over to the 
 Caribbean Sea, reaching the West Indies in the 
 following March. 
 
 As traffic had been forbidden in the colonies 
 by the Spanish government, they found it no 
 easy matter to dispose of their cargo. Rio de la 
 Hacha brought them up with a start by presump- 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE n 
 
 tuously firing upon the merchant fleet. To this 
 rude greeting Hawkins and Drake retaliated 
 with equal severity. They blockaded the port, 
 stormed the defenses and carried the town by 
 impetuous assault. Then, in secret and under 
 cover of the night, the unlawful trade began, and 
 two hundred slaves were exchanged for gold, 
 silver and pearls, sugar and hides. 
 
 The leaders were so well pleased with their 
 valuable cargo that they decided to sail at once 
 for home. Unfortunately, however, they had 
 tarried a bit too long in those treacherous waters. 
 Two fierce fiiricanos, or hurricanes, disabled the 
 squadron and compelled them to seek shelter in 
 San Juan de Ulua, or Vera Cruz, the port of the 
 City of Mexico. 
 
 In the harbor the adventurers found a Spanish 
 merchant fleet of twelve vessels. These ships 
 were unarmed, and laden with the year's produce 
 of the West Indies, amounting to more than ten 
 million dollars in gold and silver. The Span- 
 iards lay in the harbor, hourly expecting an 
 armed escort of their countrymen to convoy them 
 on the home-bound voyage. 
 
 Indeed, the very next morning following the 
 arrival of Hawkins and Drake, the armed escort 
 appeared upon the scene, coming grandly for- 
 ward just outside the harbor. 
 
 It was an extremely difficult position in which 
 
12 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 the English traders now found themselves, as 
 may be presumed. Hawkins was obliged to 
 choose between two doubtful courses. Either 
 he must appeal to Spanish honor (a very un- 
 stable virtue) to let him proceed on his way un- 
 molested, or he must do his best to keep the 
 enemy's ships from entering the harbor by sheer 
 force of his own feebler armament until the first 
 tornado should cripple the Spaniards sufficiently 
 to permit of him boarding them, seizing their 
 treasure, and making off for "Merrie England." 
 
 In his quandary, Hawkins sought the opinion 
 of Francis Drake. The bold Drake at once ad- 
 vised an attack; but Hawkins demurred. This 
 meant the loss to Spain of more than twenty-two 
 millions of dollars; it would undoubtedly pre- 
 cipitate the long-threatened rupture between that 
 country and England, and while the Queen could 
 be counted on as gladly receiving almost any or- 
 dinary treasure, he was much afraid of her dis- 
 pleasure at so stupendous a venture as Drake 
 advocated. 
 
 Finally Hawkins chose upon a peaceful retire- 
 ment if possible. He appealed to the Spanish 
 fleet commander for a condition of friendliness. 
 This was graciously promised. But it was all 
 deceit; in spite of their sacred oaths and solemn 
 pledges, no sooner were the wily Spaniards per- 
 mitted to enter the harbor before they fell upon 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 13 
 
 the British ships with their superior numbers. 
 In the sharp but brief engagement that fol- 
 lowed the British seamen fought with desperate- 
 ness and wonderful valor; but being wholly un- 
 prepared for the dastardly attack, they could save 
 but few of their vessels. The smaller craft were 
 quickly sunk, and the Jesus was so shattered 
 that it had to be abandoned with all its precious 
 spoils. The Minion, with Hawkins on board, 
 and the little Judith, with Drake, alone escaped 
 on that fatal night. Riddled with Spanish shot 
 and terribly damaged, with crews depleted and 
 half-starved, these two ships struggled home- 
 ward and eventually crept into Plymouth harbor 
 without a remnant of the former immense and 
 valuable British cargo. 
 
 PLUNDERING THE SPANISH MAIN 
 
 Just three years later, in 1570, Francis Drake 
 succeeded in obtaining a sailing commission from 
 Queen Elizabeth, as a reward for his sea ex- 
 ploits. During the next two years, he cruised, 
 his own commander, in the West Indies, enrich- 
 ing himself with much plunder. 
 
 On Whitsunday Eve, in 1572, Drake set sail 
 for Plymouth at the head of a tiny squadron and 
 a handful of men. Leading was the Pascha, 
 Drake's flagship, a vessel of seventy tons. The 
 
14 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 rear was brought up by the Swan, of twenty-five 
 tons burden, captained by his brother, John 
 Drake, who had also taken up a sea-faring life. 
 These toy men-of-war were fitted out with 
 every warlike device of that time. In addition 
 to a plentiful supply of guns and ammunition, 
 boarding implements and cutlasses, there were 
 three small pinnaces, made to be taken apart and 
 set up again at short notice. The two crews com- 
 prised seventy-three men, of whom only one was 
 over thirty years of age. It seemed, truly, like 
 a boy's crazy venture. 
 
 Favored by the winds, the squadron sailed 
 without a stop until it had its first sight of Gaude- 
 loupe, one of the leeward Islands in the West 
 Indian group. On reaching Port Pleasant, a 
 small landlocked harbor in the Gulf of Darien, 
 on the mainland, Drake dropped anchor and 
 started to set up his pinnaces. It was a safe 
 bay, and convenient for his purpose. 
 
 While he was in the midst of this work, a 
 strange squadron hove in sight. To his great 
 relief this proved to consist of a vessel belonging 
 to Ned Horsey, the well-known pirate of the Isle 
 of Wight, and a Spanish caravel and a shallop 
 that its commander, Captain Ranse, had cap- 
 tured. The two adventurers greeted one an- 
 other joyfully, and decided to join forces forth- 
 with. 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 15 
 
 Seven days later these united squadrons crept 
 out of the harbor. Westward along the coast 
 they stole, keeping a sharp lookout for Nombre 
 de Dios, the treasure-house of the Spanish Main. 
 A week later the comparatively small force lay 
 at midnight under the huge bluffs at the point of 
 the harbor of this town. Breathlessly the Brit- 
 ish lads awaited the breaking of dawn — the time 
 appointed for the audacious attack. Twenty- 
 four of them were armed with muskets. The 
 remainder were possessed of pikes and bows and 
 arrows, with the exception of four who had been 
 provided with drums and trumpets to inspire the 
 crews and terrorize the natives. 
 
 Twelve men were left to hold the pinnaces, so 
 as to insure a safe retreat in case of necessity. 
 The rest of the company were divided into two 
 groups, and advanced upon the Plaza from dif- 
 ferent sides. Half a dozen fire-pikes, swabbed 
 in blazing tow, lighted the way, casting a lurid 
 glow over the narrow streets; the drums and 
 trumpets sounded with maddening din, appear- 
 ing to be the portion of a large marine band 
 rather than of a few energetic men. 
 
 Quickly the Spanish town aroused itself. The 
 great bells in the Catholic church and monastery 
 began to clang out their brazen alarm. People, 
 half-robed, appeared upon the streets and ran 
 hither and thither, with cries and shouts that 
 
16 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 merged from fright into a threatening roar. 
 The Spanish soldiers had been called to arms in 
 an incredibly short time ; at the end of the Plaza, 
 near the Panama gate, they were soon drawn up 
 to receive the attack. 
 
 As they came undaunted forward, a heavy 
 volley of bullets and arrows greeted Drake and 
 his force full in the face. Pausing only long 
 enough to return the fire in like manner, they 
 rushed on, shoulder to shoulder, and closed in 
 upon the consternated Spanish soldiers with pike 
 and cutlass. Flashing the sputtering, wierdly- 
 flickering fire-pikes in their very faces, yelling 
 like a horde of hungry beasts, thrusting to right 
 and left with vicious jabs of sharp-pointed steel, 
 it is not to be wondered at that the superstitious 
 Spaniards went into a panic and presently broke 
 and fled before this enemy they scarcely could 
 see in the darkness and whose weapons seared 
 and lacerated them so terribly. 
 
 In a very brief time the last of the enemy sol- 
 diery and citizenry had disappeared through the 
 Panama gate, leaving the Plaza in the hands of 
 the adventurers. 
 
 Drake at once placed a guard at the entrances 
 to the town. With the rest of his men he took 
 possession of the governor's house. There, in 
 a lower room, a blaze of treasure met their eyes 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 1? 
 
 - — a blaze of such proportions that it made the 
 bold commander himself, used to the sight of 
 riches, stare for some moments unbelievingly. 
 
 Piled against the wall, and glinting in the 
 beams of light that came through the partly-open 
 door, were great bars of silver. These reached 
 fully seventy feet, from end to end of the long 
 room, and rose, like a huge woodpile, till the up- 
 per bars all but scraped the ceiling. The poor 
 Devon lads, with their commander, looked on 
 this unaccustomed sight in half-dazed wonder. 
 
 At this moment some of the Englishmen left 
 on guard came running up with the report that 
 the pinnaces were in danger of being captured. 
 Drake immediately dispatched John Oxenheim 
 to reconnoiter the shore, and made a rendezvous 
 at the treasure-house of the King which had not 
 yet been visited and which stood near the water's 
 edge. Here the chief pirate declared they were 
 likely to discover far greater wonders in the 
 shape of gold and precious stones — enough, prob- 
 ably, to overflow their pinnaces should they at- 
 tempt to take it all. 
 
 But scarcely had they departed when one of 
 those furious tropical storms of the region burst 
 suddenly over their heads. The thunder rolled 
 and crashed; the rain fell in torrents. Before 
 they could get under shelter their bowstrings had 
 
18 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 been so wetted that they were temporarily use- 
 less, and their powder ruined. 
 
 This so changed the aspect of matters, that the 
 men, losing their nerve, declined to risk a counter- 
 attack by the Spanish in the proposed visit to 
 the King's treasure-house. Drake pleaded, then 
 taunted. 
 
 "I have brought you to the treasure-house of 
 the richest country in the world," he cried; 
 "blame no one but yourselves if you go away 
 empty !" 
 
 They stood before the treasure-house as Drake 
 spoke. But still his followers hesitated. Quite 
 losing control of himself, Drake ordered them 
 to break into the structure or suffer the displeas- 
 ure of the Queen upon their return. He took a 
 step forward himself at this juncture. But, as 
 he did so, he stumbled and fell on his face, blood 
 gushing from a wound in his leg. He had been 
 shot early in the encounter, and had concealed 
 the fact from his men that they might not lose 
 heart. 
 
 Quickly they lifted him from the ground, and 
 against all- his entreaties carried him to his boat. 
 In order to preserve their beloved captain's life, 
 they set sail, abandoning the rich spoils they had 
 come so far to seek. 
 
 But the gold and silver bars left back there in 
 Nombre de Dios were not forgotten, nor given 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 19 
 
 up for good. Back in a hidden bay in the Gulf 
 of Darien, his favorite secret retreat, Francis 
 Drake soon recovered from his wound, and made 
 plans for stranger and more daring projects than 
 he had yet brewed. With the aid of the Ma- 
 roons, a savage tribe of escaped negro slaves, he 
 planned to intercept the gold of Panama as it 
 was carried in mule packs across the Isthmus to 
 be shipped to Spain. But months must elapse 
 before the coming of the dry season when the 
 Spaniards were accustomed to make this annual 
 journey overland, and meanwhile his pinnaces 
 stole from the harbor and plundered passing 
 ships and raided the neighboring coast. 
 
 Under these circumstances it was not long be- 
 fore the name of Le Draque became a dreaded one 
 to the ear of the average Spanish seaman. Cas- 
 tilian captains feared to operate their ships over 
 the Main when it was rumored the famous Eng- 
 lish navigator was in their waters. Castilian 
 crews trembled, half the fight out of them, when 
 this terrible crusader of the seas suddenly hove 
 in view with his ships. Coast towns, especially 
 Nombre de Dios, put additional guards over their 
 treasure-houses, to all of which strenuous effort 
 at protection Francis Drake only smiled grimly, 
 and continued his successful operations. 
 
 On the morning of the 1st of April, a mule 
 train, laden with gold and silver, was traveling 
 
20 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 cautiously along the road to Santa Cruz. A 
 mile from the town, within earshot of the car- 
 penters working at the docks, the brush held a 
 menace, but the Spaniards came on blissfully un- 
 conscious of the fact, the mule bells tinkling 
 regularly and peacefully as they had been right 
 along. 
 
 Suddenly the plodding sound of the many 
 hoofs of the animals was broken by a frightful 
 din. Figures had unexpectedly risen beside the 
 path in two different places, seizing the fore- 
 most and hindmost mules, which immediately 
 had set up a terrific braying, spreading terror to 
 those between and occupying the attention of 
 most of the guards to keep them in restraint. In 
 the midst of all this a third body of strange men 
 rose up and discharged a heavy fusillade of bul- 
 lets and arrows into the ranks of the Spaniards. 
 There was a feeble reply in defense, whereupon 
 the escort fled in a panic, leaving the mules and 
 their precious burdens in the hands of the at- 
 tackers. 
 
 Needless to say, these were the lads from 
 Devon. Swiftly the bars of silver, too heavy 
 to carry away then, were hidden in the burrows 
 of land-crabs or buried in pits especially scooped, 
 out for them. The gold itself was stowed away 
 in shirts and pockets, and with forced marches 
 the young Englishmen returned to Rio Fran- 
 cisco. 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 21 
 
 But, to their dismay, their pinnaces were no- 
 where to be seen! Instead, seven Spanish ships 
 rode menacingly in the harbor. All hope of 
 safety for the moment was gone. However, 
 Drake's ingenuity found a way out of the awk- 
 ward dilemma. 
 
 A raft was built from drifted tree trunks and 
 limbs. With a biscuit-sack for a sail, and a long 
 sapling for a rudder, Drake and three of his men 
 started on a wild sail over an angry sea. A 
 strong wind lashed the waves high, many of 
 which, as they sat for six hours in water up to 
 their waists, broke completely over their heads. 
 By mid-afternoon the wind died down, and with it 
 the tumultuous waters. Then the hot sun came 
 out and beat hotly down upon their unprotected 
 bodies until their wet clothes fairly steamed and 
 their strength was well-nigh exhausted. 
 
 Fortunately, as night settled down they man- 
 aged to work their way into a quiet little cove, 
 where, as hoped, the pinnaces were found to have 
 sought shelter with their guard-crews. That 
 same night, tired as he was, Drake showed his 
 indomitable will-power and endurance by rowing 
 back to Rio Francisco. The remainder of the 
 crew were told of the happy finding of the pin- 
 naces, whereupon it was decided to return at once 
 to Santa Cruz and succor the hidden silver bars. 
 This was accomplished without further misad- 
 
Z2 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 venture, and the little company then rejoined 
 those aboard the pinnaces. 
 
 A fortnight later the lads from Devon started 
 on their homeward journey. They were laden 
 with an unusually rich booty, for, besides the 
 treasure of the mule-train, they had been lucky 
 enough to overhaul almost two hundred vessels 
 in the Caribbean Sea. 
 
 The voyage back to England was accomplished 
 in due course, after a number of additional cap- 
 tures of Spanish ships which added in no mean 
 way to their already enormous amount of treas- 
 ure. It was on the Sabbath Day, August 9th, 
 1573, that they cast anchor at last in Plymouth 
 harbor. News of Drake's arrival and wonder- 
 ful exploits spread like wildfire. So anxious 
 were the townspeople, then in attendance at di- 
 vine worship, to see his ships and pay homage to 
 their successful countryman, that many of them 
 forsook their devotions to hurry down to the 
 quay. 
 
 THE RICHES OF THE NEW OCEAN 
 
 On a certain day in November, 1577,^6 find 
 Drake standing on the deck of his ship, his face 
 turned toward the fabled Pacific. Men of the 
 time tell us that he was dressed in a "loose, 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 23 
 
 dark seaman's shirt, belted at the waist, with a 
 scarlet cap adorning his flowing black locks." 
 If this be true, as undoubtedly it is, he must have 
 looked the typical bold rover of the seas that he 
 was indeed. 
 
 Drake's ships were mere cockle-shells com- 
 pared to vessels of modern times, being no larger 
 than the average coaster. They consisted of the 
 Pelican, one hundred tons ; the Elisabeth, eighty 
 tons; the Swan, fifty tons; and the Christopher, 
 a pinnace of fifteen tons. The first two ships 
 carried sixteen guns, while the Swan was a pro- 
 vision-boat. One hundred and fifteen men and 
 fourteen boys manned the craft which were well 
 ammunitioned with bullets, wildfire, chainshot, 
 muskets, pistols, pikes, cutlasses, and bows and 
 arrows. 
 
 Into a chartless and unknown ocean, to brave 
 a shadowy world of water which popular super- 
 stition had peopled with every conceivable terror 
 of the elements and every dreadful form of ani- 
 mal, serpent, and fish life, Drake was about to 
 sail with this little squadron. To his crew his 
 final destination was kept a secret. Led to be- 
 lieve that they were bound for Alexandria, not 
 until they reached the coast of Morocco was the 
 real object of the venture made known. 
 
 Beset almost at the start with bad weather — 
 through stress of gales, fogs, calms and tern- 
 
24 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 pestuous seas — embroiled in an incipient mutiny, 
 treason, and the tragedy of an ocean lynch-court, 
 which was followed by an execution off the lonely 
 coast of Patagonia, the sorely-assailed fleet nev- 
 ertheless kept courageously on its perilous 
 course. A spirit less unflinching than Drake's 
 would have quailed under the torment of Nature 
 and inconstance of man. Only three of the five 
 ships were brought finally to the gateway of the 
 great South Sea. Meantime the Pelican had 
 been rechristened the Golden Hind, and on the 
 6th of September she was the first of her sister 
 craft to pass through the Straits of Magellan, 
 amid cold and sickness, and enter the famed 
 South Sea. 
 
 Really the dangers of the voyage had now just 
 begun. No sooner had the expedition entered 
 the confines of the mighty Pacific than all the 
 furies of a violent tempest burst over them. For 
 six weeks they were tossed to and fro like chips. 
 Battered of hulk by the gigantic waves, torn of 
 rigging and sail by the terrific winds, they were 
 swept fully six hundred miles out of their course. 
 During the third week the Marigold went down 
 with all on board. A week later the Elisabeth 
 became separated from the Golden Hind, and 
 losing heart its commander, Captain Wynter, re- 
 turned through the Straits the way they had 
 
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 i tfrtnj in v/ffitu/j tfiareMfarxL/foufoti,. 
 
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 tfrifl/ttvtfYM/itTTMTvs^^ 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 25 
 
 come, and sailed back with his sadly crippled ves- 
 sel to England, there to report that in all prob- 
 ability his ship was the only survivor of the 
 squadron, and to recount the awesome fury of 
 the strange new waters which were "invested 
 with all the wrath of Satan." 
 
 Meantime Drake was left alone, but unsub- 
 dued. And the storm, as if exhausted in its bat- 
 tle with this man of iron will, or desirous of re- 
 warding him for his heroic struggle, abated. 
 Once more the angry skies cleared away, the sun 
 smiled brightly, and fair winds played among the 
 rent sails, while the lashing waters melted into 
 the long, regular, smooth-rolling swells which 
 were more suited to the name later bestowed 
 upon this fabled body of liquid. 
 
 Soon Drake found himself in the midst of the 
 islands of Tierra del Fuego, and then, on a late 
 day in October, he knew that he was really one 
 of the great discoverers of the world. He stood 
 triumphantly on the southernmost point of land 
 of the western hemisphere. At his feet, where 
 the dream of ages had woven a mystic shroud of 
 romantic separation between them, the immense 
 waters of the known Atlantic and the unknown 
 Pacific rolled together in one mighty confluence 
 of twin-love. 
 
 As he went Spanish ships were encountered, 
 
26 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 and prize after prize fell into his hands. In 
 Valparaiso harbor the Golden Hind met a gal- 
 leon heavily laden with Spanish plate to the 
 amount of thirty-seven thousand ducats. Never 
 before had a strange sail been seen in those 
 waters, and the crew of this vessel — the Grand 
 Captain of the South — thought the new arrival 
 must be a friend. They brought out bottles of 
 Chile wine to drink to the health of the English- 
 men, but drank too deeply. Tumbled into the 
 hatches of their own ship by their guests, these 
 Spaniards did not succeed in extricating them- 
 selves until all their treasure had been carried 
 away. 
 
 This was typical of many such adventures in 
 the days that followed. To Drake and his men 
 the new ocean was anything but Pacific ! 
 
 Then one fine day Drake pointed the bow of 
 the Golden Hind straight across the Pacific. 
 Past the Carolines, the Philippines, and the 
 Moluccas, he made his way. Creeping among 
 the maze of dangerous shoals and coral reefs in 
 the Sea of Celebes, the vessel ran unexpectedly 
 upon a sunken rock. 
 
 For twenty hours she lay at the mercy of the 
 waves, caught fast, resisting all effort of her 
 crew to release her. Finally, as a last resort, 
 eight guns and three tons of cloves were thrown 
 overboard in an effort to lighten her sufficiently 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 27 
 
 to float off. Fortunately, the wind freshened 
 just then, and with her sails set to catch every 
 ounce of pressure, she slid from the reef into 
 deep water. The men uttered a heartfelt prayer 
 of thanksgiving. 
 
 This was the last and greatest danger. Soon 
 the Golden Hind cleared the Archipelago, 
 rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and just two 
 years and ten months from the day she sailed out 
 of Plymouth harbor she again swept into it. 
 The long-lost had returned. 
 
 In the meanwhile England had given up 
 ever seeing Drake and his crew again. If he 
 had not actually fallen a victim to the fury of the 
 big new waters, it had by this time become a fore- 
 gone conclusion that he had either perished at 
 the hands of some mysterious wild tribe along 
 the coastline or in the islands, or been taken and 
 executed by the Spaniards. Therefore, his re- 
 turn, laden down with spoils of vast richness, 
 created a thunderbolt of surprise among his 
 countrymen. 
 
 Indeed, Drake had arrived to find that the 
 Queen had publicly disowned him — doubtless for 
 political effect more than anything else. Even 
 at the time the Spanish ambassador was calling 
 loudly for redress for the recent depredations 
 that he had committed. 
 
 Getting wind of this unpromising condition of 
 
28 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 affairs, Drake considered it prudent to drop an- 
 chor behind St. Nicholas Island, where his father 
 had fled with him from religious persecution 
 thirty years before. Thence he dispatched a 
 messenger to the Queen, with notification of his 
 arrival, and was presently asked to appear be- 
 fore her august person. When he obeyed the 
 summons it was not without full hands. Drake 
 knew Elizabeth's fondness for money and jewels, 
 and the richest of his spoils went with him as a 
 gift to her and her courtiers. 
 
 The Queen, true to Drake's expectations, 
 greeted him warmly. Pleased by the great value 
 of these presents, and filled with admiration for 
 her subject's daring exploits, Her Majesty loaded 
 him with honors. Already the hero of the hour 
 with the countryside, his name was now, with 
 the Queen's own commendations, on every one's 
 tongue. Throughout the breadth of England he 
 was praised. From the Lizard to the Downs his 
 deeds were recounted before humble and preten- 
 tious firesides alike. 
 
 The booty was carried to the Tower of Lon- 
 don, but before registration, four hundred thou- 
 sand dollars were extracted from the pile as 
 Drake's own share of the spoils. Later Eliza- 
 beth allowed him an additional fifty thousand re- 
 ward. The Golden Hind was brought up the 
 Thames and there preserved as a memorial. On 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 29 
 
 her deck a public banquet was given, and the 
 Queen, who graced the occasion, conferred upon 
 Drake the honor of knighthood. 
 
 But the great seaman had not come home to 
 be petted and pampered at court. His was a 
 character made up of sterner and bigger things 
 than that. Even now his active and far-reach- 
 ing mind was burdening itself with thinking out 
 other points for his attack. 
 
 However, five years were to pass before Drake 
 could obtain his letters of marque. In the midst 
 of treachery, vacillations and other delays, his 
 spirit fretted to be loosed once more upon the 
 waters. Meanwhile he was forced to work at 
 home in organization of the navy, in voting sup- 
 plies as a member of Parliament, and in improv- 
 ing the town and harbor of Plymouth, of which 
 town he had been appointed mayor. 
 
 It was King Philip of Spain himself who pre- 
 cipitated matters finally. The arrogant sovereign 
 neighbor seized a number of British corn-ships, 
 and Elizabeth's temper was sufficiently inflamed 
 for her to order Drake out to retaliate. His 
 fleet, quickly collected, was the largest he had 
 ever commanded, and the most extensive priv- 
 ateering squadron on record up to that time. It 
 numbered two men-of-war, eighteen cruisers, and 
 many pinnaces and store-ships, manned by two 
 thousand soldiers and sailors. 
 
30 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 On a late day in September, 1585, Drake 
 hoisted the English colors over his flagship, the 
 Elisabeth Bonaventura, and led his fleet out to 
 sea. Again his goal was the West Indies, but 
 this time he was destined to strike a far more 
 telling blow at enemy interests than upon the 
 other occasion gone before. 
 
 In his eagerness to get away, Drake started 
 short of provisions. To replenish his stores, he 
 stopped at the Bayona Islands and here helped 
 himself to sufficient Spanish food to properly vic- 
 tual the entire fleet. Arriving at St. Iago, of 
 the Cape Verde group, he stormed the town and 
 raided the island, then headed for San Domingo, 
 which was reached shortly after Christmas. 
 
 San Domingo was a walled and strongly forti- 
 fied city, the largest and most important in the 
 West Indies. Drake realized that its fall would 
 have a powerful moral effect upon the whole of 
 Europe, and straightway made up his mind to 
 attack it, even though this step would entail a 
 serious naval operation for him. 
 
 He planned the assault with great care, sur- 
 prised the garrison, and after a few hours' brisk 
 fighting the Spaniards fled across the river, leav- 
 ing the storming party in possession of the Plaza. 
 Observing that his force was too weak to suc- 
 cessfully defend the place for any time, the cir- 
 cumnavigator demanded a ransom of a quarter- 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 31 
 
 million dollars. After destroying the enemy 
 shipping in the harbor, he then stood away upon 
 the Spanish Main. 
 
 Cartagena, capital of the Main, and one of the 
 wealthiest of the many wealthy Spanish cities, 
 was sighted in February. Formidable defenses 
 surrounded it on all sides. From the sea it was 
 protected by a lagoon to which only two narrow 
 entrances, both well guarded, gave access. 
 From the land, approach was made difficult by a 
 creek, also amply fortified. 
 
 To storm the city seemed sheer madness, even 
 for a force the size of Drake's. But Drake, as 
 usual, was resourceful enough to uncover a prom- 
 ising method of accomplishing his ends. 
 
 A detachment was ordered to wade through 
 the surf and to come unexpectedly upon the city 
 from a point where the enemy had made no pro- 
 vision for defense. At the same time a boat at- 
 tack was feigned on the side of the harbor, in 
 order to deceive the Spaniards. 
 
 The stratagem was successful. The city was 
 taken with a rush; the defenders ran. Disdain- 
 ing to loot the place of its rich treasure, Drake 
 merely demanded a ransom of one hundred and 
 fifty thousand dollars, which was gladly paid. 
 Having also destroyed the shipping here, the 
 commander then turned his eyes toward Pan- 
 ama. 
 
32 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 But on the way thither, sickness broke out 
 among his men. Many died, and others were 
 stricken down every day. With his diminished 
 force he saw that he could scarcely hope for suc- 
 cess at so strongly a fortified place. So in the 
 latter days of March he set sail for home, quite 
 satisfied that the blows he had struck would do 
 much to deter Spain in her threatened attack 
 upon England. 
 
 THE DEFEAT OF THE SPANISH ARMADA 
 
 Philip of Spain, aided and abetted by the 
 Catholic policy of the Pope and the court of 
 France, had been making vast preparations to 
 produce and equip the most powerful fleet that 
 the world had yet seen. In all the ports of 
 Sicily, Italy, France, Spain and Portugal, ves- 
 sels of enormous size were being built for him, 
 the heaviest of guns were placed upon them, and 
 vast quantities of provisions and small arms col- 
 lected. 
 
 Of course England was kept in ignorance of 
 Philip's animose intentions, rumors having been 
 sedulously spread that the great Armada was de- 
 signed to proceed to the Indies to realize exten- 
 sive projects of distant conquest. But she was 
 not wholly deceived; the fact is, some of Eliza- 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 33 
 
 beth's advisors, prominent among whom were 
 Sir> Francis Drake, had whispered in her ear 
 what to look out for, and it was largely owing 
 to her acquiescence in the suspicion that her own 
 country might be the object of all this enemy 
 energy that she had consented to the last de- 
 parture of Drake for the West Indies. Really 
 it had been a most opportune blow that the 
 famous sea-king had dealt the Spaniards upon 
 this occasion. But for the delay it caused in 
 Philip's plans, the huge Armada would have been 
 cast upon England much sooner than it came, 
 and perhaps at a time when it could not have been 
 successfully met. 
 
 On the afternoon of July 19th, 1588, a group 
 of English captains were collected at the Bowling 
 Green on the Hoe at Plymouth. Never before 
 or since have men of such fame gathered at that 
 favorite mustering-place for British seamen. 
 There was Sir Francis Drake, first English cir- 
 cumnavigator of the globe, the terror of every 
 Spanish coast in the Old World and the New; 
 there was Sir John Hawkins, the rough veteran 
 of many a daring voyage on the African and 
 American seas, and of many a desperate battle; 
 there was Sir Martin Frobisher, earliest of ex- 
 plorers of the Arctic seas in search of the elusive 
 Northwest Passage; there was Lord Howard of 
 Effingham, High-Admiral of England, in his 
 
34 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 patriotic zeal bold even to disobey the Queen 
 when obedience meant harm to the welfare of his 
 country; and last, but in no wise least, you could 
 also observe Sir Walter Raleigh, who had been 
 commissioned to raise and equip the land forces 
 of Cornwall, and who had come to consult with 
 the Lord-Admiral and other high officers. 
 
 Many other brave and skillful mariners, 
 though of less renown, were there also. All 
 were enjoying a game of bowls on the green with 
 true sailor-like merriment during their tempor- 
 ary relaxation from duty. Presently Drake 
 chanced to look off over the harbor. He noticed 
 a small armed vessel running before the wind, 
 all sails filled, making in furiously. 
 
 "What is this?" cried Drake, directing the at- 
 tention of his nearest companions to the ap- 
 proaching vessel. "Truth, and I believe 'tis 
 none less I see than Fleming and his privateer 
 coming yonder. A penny to know what could 
 induce such mad speed from the lazy Scotch- 
 man !" 
 
 They were soon to know, without the penny. 
 A few minutes later the lanky Fleming stood in 
 the midst of the excited group, telling the Eng- 
 lish officers that he had that very morning seen 
 the great Spanish Armada off the Cornish coast ! 
 
 Meanwhile messengers and signals had been 
 
*" SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 35 
 
 dispatched fast and far throughout England, to 
 warn each town and village that the enemy had 
 come at last. In every seaport there was in- 
 stant making ready by land and by sea ; in every 
 shire and every city there was instant mustering 
 of horse and man. But England's best defense 
 then, as ever, was her fleet. In spite of the fact 
 that Elizabeth had done much to embarrass the 
 efficiency of this by her penuriousness in dispens- 
 ing ammunition, doling out powder and ball day 
 by day, at the last moment of need, Drake had 
 exercised his men well at target-practice, though 
 even this she had regarded an extravagant waste. 
 
 It was a solemn sight when the two fleets had 
 their first meeting. The English ships, some of 
 which had been loaned by the Dutch, totaled one 
 hundred and fifty-two, manned by seventeen 
 thousand men. The great majority of these 
 were merchantmen, only thirty-six belonging to 
 the Royal Navy. Practically all were light, 
 swift, and easily managed. 
 
 The Spanish Armada itself was a gorgeous 
 display, more fitted for a pageant than a war. 
 The great fleet consisted of one hundred and fifty 
 ships, mostly much larger than those of their 
 adversary. Of these there were galleons, gal- 
 liasses, galleys, caravels, petaches and zabraes, 
 on which Spain admits, in a document of the 
 
36 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 time: "The number of mariners were about 
 eight thousands; of slaves, twenty hundred and 
 eighty-eight; of soldiers, twenty thousands (be- 
 sides noblemen and gentlemen voluntaries) 
 . . ." It adds that "the aforesaid ships were of 
 an huge and incredible capacitie and receipt : for 
 the whole fleet was large enough to contain the 
 burthen of sixty thousands tunnes." 
 
 Interesting, too, is the following description in 
 the quaint English of the period: 
 
 "The galeons were sixty-four in number, be- 
 ing of an huge bignesse, and very flatly built, be- 
 ing of marvelous force also, and so high that 
 they resembled great castles, most fit to defend 
 themselves and to withstand an assault, but in 
 giving encounter farr inferiour are they unto the 
 English and Dutch ships, which can with great 
 dexterite weild and turne themselves at all as- 
 sayes. The upperworke of the said galeons was 
 of thicknesse and strength sufficient to bear off 
 musket-shot. The lower worke and the timbers 
 thereof were out of measure strong, being framed 
 of plankes and rigs foure or five foote in thick- 
 nesse, insomuch that no bullets might go through 
 them, but afterward were found to sticke fast 
 within the massie substance of those thicke 
 plankes. Great and well-pitched cables were 
 twined about the masts of their shippes, to 
 strengthen them against the battery of shot." 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 37 
 
 This great Armada was drawn up before the 
 British in the form of a gigantic crescent whose 
 horns, or tips, were fully seven miles apart. 
 There was a southwest wind, and before it the 
 huge vessels comprising the enemy fleet came 
 sailing grandly on. 
 
 Very neatly and skillfully the English craft, 
 keeping out of sight and range, side-stepped and 
 slipped around to the rear of the approaching 
 enemy. Coming up swiftly from behind, they 
 opened the attack. 
 
 Caught at a disadvantage at the outset, her 
 soldiers far better lighters on land than on sea, 
 Spain's huge fleet was dealt a stunning and stag- 
 gering blow by the agile enemy whose guns were 
 all manned by veteran seamen used to hitting 
 their targets whether inanimate or animate. 
 After standing to for a brief period in an effort 
 to stem the furious tide of shot which tore 
 through their rigging, swept their decks and 
 rained against their hulls, the Spaniards sailed 
 away. 
 
 A running fight now took place in which some 
 of the best ships of the Spaniards were captured, 
 and many more were severely damaged. For 
 days the battle continued, always with the enemy 
 on the go. The swift craft of the English sailed 
 in and out and round and round among the un- 
 wieldy galliasses, cannonading them, and then 
 
38 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 escaping nimbly out of range, suffering little 
 themselves. Time after time they repeated 
 these performances, teasing and harassing the 
 clumsy Spanish boats and pelting their enormous 
 turrets, which looked like castellated fortresses. 
 Undoubtedly had their crews been more equal, 
 and the adversary not outnumbered in this re- 
 spect more than two to one, the British lads would 
 have closed with the Armada and fought matters 
 out hand-to-hand. As it was, Lord Howard and 
 Sir Francis Drake were wise to bide their time, 
 and to first insure success by gradually weaken- 
 ing the adversary at long range. 
 
 Slowly holding their course along the coast the 
 two fleets, still fighting fitfully and bitterly, con- 
 tinued hostilities. Each day added not only to 
 the spirit, but to the number of the British force. 
 Raleigh, Oxford, Cumberland and Sheffield 
 joined them. 
 
 The Spanish admiral also showed great judge- 
 ment, and no mean skill, in his maneuvers with 
 the awkward vessels under his command. Had 
 he been any less of the clever navigator, he 
 never could have brought himself and fleet 
 through as well as he did. And on the 27th of 
 July he brought his Armada, sorely distressed 
 but comparatively unbroken, to anchor in Calais 
 Roads. Here, according to pre-arrangement, he 
 expected to be joined by his countryman, the 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 39 
 
 Prince of Parma, who was to come by water from 
 Dunkirk with a flotilla and a large army with the 
 purpose of invading England. But Parma had 
 been nicely held in the meantime by the Dutch 
 and English blockaders, and so was still far away 
 when the Spanish Armada entered Calais Roads. 
 
 The great Armada lay in the offing, with its 
 largest craft ranged outside, "like strong castles, 
 fearing no assault; the lesser placed in the mid- 
 dleward." Lord Howard could not attack them 
 in this position without great disadvantage. 
 However, on the second night, past midnight, as 
 the clouds covered the moon and no eye could 
 pierce the darkness, eight vessels crept noise- 
 lessly within the Spanish lines. 
 
 A moment later the sea was suddenly il- 
 lumined, and eight seeming volcanoes, spitting 
 sparks and shooting long tongues of flame, bore 
 down upon the terrified enemy. These were the 
 dreaded fire-ships — such as the Greeks had so 
 often used against the Turkish fleets in their war 
 of independence — and had been unloosed by the 
 forces of Howard and Drake. 
 
 As those eight masses of flame came nearer, a 
 dreadful panic seized the Spaniards. The ter- 
 ror spread from ship to ship with seeming simul- 
 taneous quickness. Amid yells of fright and the 
 greatest of confusion, the Spanish crews cut their 
 cables to avoid the oncoming conflagrations and 
 
40 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 took to the wildest flight. One of the larger of 
 the galliasses ran afoul of another, and both were 
 so hopelessly tangled in a moment that they fell 
 easy victims to their adversaries. 
 
 When daylight broke it was seen that the rest 
 of the Armada was scattered along the Flemish 
 coast. With great difficulty they obeyed their 
 admiral's order to range themselves round him 
 near Gravelines. 
 
 Now was the golden opportunity for the Eng- 
 lish to assail the crippled Spaniards once more. 
 Drake and Fenner were the first British com- 
 manders to reach the unwieldy leviathans and 
 open the assault. Then came Fenton, South- 
 well, Burton, Cross, Raynor, followed by the 
 Lord-Admiral himself and Lord Sheffield. 
 Huddling as close together as possible for mutual 
 protection, the Spanish ships, firing desperately, 
 broke and ran for it. After them, almost every 
 shot telling on craft or crew, came their relent- 
 less will-o'-the-wisp opponents. 
 
 The towering ships of the compact Armada 
 made capital targets for the British gunners — 
 targets hard to miss within fair range. Rid- 
 dled, shattered, disabled, their own shots going 
 wild or falling short, the best of the Spanish 
 vessels soon gave up using their cannon, and 
 drifted helplessly with the current toward the 
 coast of Holland, — past Dunkirk, — and far away 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 41 
 
 from the Prince of Parma who, in watching their 
 defeat from the coast, must have, as Drake after- 
 ward expressed it, "chafed like a bear robbed of 
 her whelps." 
 
 And the remnant of Spain's colossal Armada 
 — the sad, bedraggled little remnant left — made 
 their way painfully through storm and hunger 
 and sickness, to the shores of their mother coun- 
 try, still chased by the hound-ships of the Brit- 
 ish. As the latter pursued, pitiful wreck after 
 pitiful wreck of what was but a short time pre- 
 vious a floating armed palace filled with gayly- 
 dressed and elaborately-fed Spanish noblemen 
 and soldiery, drifted upon the tossing waves. 
 Of this great collection of proud craft only a 
 pathetic handful ever returned to King Philip. 
 
 Much of the glory, if not indeed the greater 
 share, of the defeat of the Spanish Armada was 
 due to Drake. Although occupying the second- 
 ary command of Vice-Admiral in the Queen's 
 fleet, Drake had been to the forefront through- 
 out the fighting and had been entrusted with ex- 
 ecutive powers which aided materially in the suc- 
 cessful outcome of the battle. While his own 
 vessel had been struck as many as forty times, 
 no ship of consequence under his command had 
 been seriously damaged; likewise only minor 
 casualties had been suffered among the crews, 
 and no officers were injured. 
 
42 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 The last act in the tragedy of Drake's life was 
 laid among the scenes of his youth and early 
 triumphs. Drawn irresistibly toward those is- 
 lands in the Caribbean Sea that had witnessed 
 his first exploits, he led his squadron one day to 
 La Hacha, to Nombre de Dios, and then, in a 
 sudden wave of the adventurous spirit of his boy- 
 hood, he headed for Truxillo, the port of Hon- 
 duras, and for the rich towns of Nicaragua. 
 
 But ill winds snared him; he was held in the 
 fatal Mosquito Gulf, where pestilence lurked in 
 every breath of the foul air. Stricken with 
 fever, his crew sailed with him back toward 
 Puerto Bello. There, on the 28th of January, 
 1596, the great sea-king expired, and his remains 
 were confined very fittingly to the sepulcher of 
 the deep he had loved so much in life. 
 
II 
 
 MARSHAL ANNE-HILARION DE 
 TOURVILLE 
 
 For by the dewy moonlight still, 
 
 He fed the weary-turning mill, 
 
 Or bent him in the chill morass 
 
 To pluck the long and tangled grass, 
 
 And hear above his scar-worn back 
 
 The heavy slave-whip's frequent crack ! 
 
 — Whittier. 
 
Marshal Anne-Hilarion de Tourville 
 
 A KNIGHT OF MALTA 
 
 There has been a time in the history of the 
 chief maritime nations of Europe when it has 
 fallen to the lot of each to seize and to hold the 
 supreme sovereignty of the waters. Sometimes 
 this mastery was for but a very brief duration; 
 sometimes it was jealously maintained for years. 
 But always was it kept at the cost of the greatest 
 and most heroic effort, and lost because another 
 power exceeded this endeavor. 
 
 One of these brilliant but short flashes of 
 triumph came to France during the reign of 
 Louis XIV, at the very outset of her career as a 
 recognized naval power. Of the four illustrious 
 seamen who were largely responsible for France's 
 strength on the deep blue waters, none con- 
 tributed quite so strongly as Admiral Anne- 
 Hilarion de Tourville. 
 
 This valiant seaman was born at the castle of 
 Tourville in Normandy in the year 1642, coming 
 from a long line of noble and distinguished an- 
 cestry. His father, the Baron de Tourville, died 
 when he was five years old. Slender and pale, 
 
 45 
 
46 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 almost delicate, it was little thought that this frail 
 boy was destined to spend forty-five years of his 
 life in an active and tireless service on the sea, 
 and that he was to be counted the foremost com- 
 mander of his time. 
 
 Tourville's noble birth automatically entitled 
 him to become a member of the famous Order of 
 the Knights of Malta. As a preface to this dis- 
 tinction, at fourteen he became a page to the 
 grand-master of the Order. He served as page 
 three years, was then placed on probation a 
 twelve-month for the higher honor of Knight, 
 and when eighteen years old stepped into the 
 much-coveted position. 
 
 This was a proud day for the youth — a day 
 that opened his long career as a seaman. The 
 ensuing seven years of his life were spent on the 
 Mediterranean, far from home, fighting the 
 Moorish buccaneers who swarmed over the nar- 
 row seas, and protecting the commerce of France 
 from their ravages. These wild corsairs, the 
 highwaymen of the Mediterranean, whose haunts 
 lay along the creeks and inlets of the North Afri- 
 can coast, for more than a hundred and fifty 
 years had been stabbing the commerce of all 
 Christian Europe. They had spread terror along 
 the southern shores of that continent; they had 
 even ravaged the seaport towns of Spain, Italy, 
 and Sicily ; they had interrupted trading, held up 
 
MARSHAL DE TOURVILLE 47 
 
 rich convoys bound to distant marts, and chained 
 thousands of unlucky Christian slaves to the gal- 
 ley benches of their robber craft. Many of the 
 greatest seamen of recent ages, admirals of Italy, 
 Spain, France, and Holland, had spent the best 
 years of their lives in hunting down and trying 
 to annihilate these leeches of trade. But their 
 natural rivals and untiring enemies, those whose 
 special mission it had become to dispute and 
 weaken their power, were the Knights of Malta, 
 themselves the Christian pirates of the Mediter- 
 ranean, whose booty was these corsairs from the 
 Barbary steppes. 
 
 The brilliant crusades against the Moorish 
 crescent were carried on in a fleet of galleys most 
 splendidly equipped. Every Knight was obliged 
 to serve in four cruises of six months each, and 
 few it was of them who were not sorry when 
 their period of stirring adventure came to an of- 
 ficial end. Young Tourville particularly started 
 out upon his voyages with gusto. In his very 
 first encounter with the Barbary pirates he ex- 
 posed himself heedlessly to the sweeping fire of 
 the enemy, and fought with such abandon of 
 bravery that he won the admiration of friend and 
 foe alike. In this encounter he was finally 
 wounded in three places, but insisted on staying 
 on deck and using his gun. 
 
 Following came a long succession of heroic 
 deeds. These brought him a reputation for 
 
48 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 ability and intrepid courage that spread from 
 Venice to the royal court of France. The 
 Venetian republic was so grateful for his services 
 in relieving her from the depredations of the Al- 
 gerian sea-rovers that she bestowed upon him the 
 titles of "Protector of Maritime Commerce" and 
 "Invincible Seaman." As a sequel Louis XIV, 
 his own ruler, sent for him and personally com- 
 plimented him upon his fine exploits. Shortly 
 afterward he received his commission as captain 
 in the Royal Navy, and was given the command 
 of a ship. 
 
 Meanwhile the relations of France to other 
 continental nations became strained. Finally, in 
 1672, she and Great Britain united with the pur- 
 pose of crushing the power of the Netherlands, 
 as stated in a preceding section of this volume. 
 In this step France was largely actuated by her 
 feeling of security in the navy which she had 
 recently built up — a navy such as she had never 
 owned before, a navy that was the greatest pride 
 of the King's heart, and one which he was very 
 desirous of trying out, like a boy with a new 
 kite. Envy of the enormous commercial wealth 
 of the Netherlands, with Louis XIV at least, was 
 a secondary consideration. 
 
 Great Britain, weary of hostilities, had with- 
 drawn from the contest and had signed a treaty 
 
MARSHAL DE TOURVILLE 49 
 
 of peace with the Dutch. France was left to con- 
 tinue the war alone with her doughty antagonist. 
 Determined to destroy the commerce of the 
 Netherlands, she sent her men-of-war to the Med- 
 iterranean. 
 
 In the battles that followed in southern waters 
 Tourville took an active part under the leadership 
 of Admiral Duquesne. With him were many 
 other gallant young Frenchmen, the pick of all 
 France, but of them all none stood out so bril- 
 liantly in action as the dashing, slender figure of 
 Tourville himself, then thirty-four years old. 
 
 Allied with Holland, Spain was threatened 
 with the loss of one of her most important pos- 
 sessions in the Mediterranean. This was Mes- 
 sina, a seaport in Sicily, queen island of the South 
 Sea. The people had risen in revolt against the 
 Catholic King, had captured the forts and gained 
 almost entire possession of the city. Too weak, 
 however, to maintain the rebellion without 
 foreign aid, the Messinese asked for the protec- 
 tion of the King of France. 
 
 At this stage of affairs Admiral Vivonne was 
 lying at anchor with his fleet off the coast of Cata- 
 lonia. With him were such renowned seamen 
 of France as Valbelle, Preuilly, and Tourville. 
 He dispatched Valbelle, on September 27th, 1674, 
 with a small squadron to help the insurgents. 
 
50 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 This failing to meet the demands of the occasion, 
 in January a second expedition was sent with 
 Tourville as captain. 
 
 Several forts had been retaken by the Span- 
 iards in the meantime, among which were the 
 Pharo and Reggio. Outside the gates of Mes- 
 sina was encamped a Spanish army. This force, 
 aided by a fleet of forty-one sail which guarded 
 the entrance to the Straits, pressed the city vigor- 
 ously. Thus Messina lay, surrounded by land 
 and sea, practically at the mercy of the Spaniards 
 when, on the 2nd of January, Valbelle appeared 
 with his small squadron consisting of six war- 
 ships, one frigate, three fire-ships, and a convoy 
 of supply vessels. 
 
 Favored by fresh winds and an incoming tide, 
 the French flotilla dashed through the channel, 
 swept past the barricade of Spanish galleys, 
 weathered the fire of the forts, and forced an en- 
 trance into the Straits with bewildering audacity. 
 Amazed to inaction the heavy men-of-war offered 
 little resistance. Messina was relieved by a bril- 
 liant stroke. 
 
 But the new supply of provisions could not last 
 forever. At the end of five weeks the stores were 
 exhausted. Starvation faced the rescued. The 
 sorely besieged prayed that succor might reach 
 them before it was too late. That prayer was 
 answered. 
 
MARSHAL DE TOURVILLE 51 
 
 In February Tourville's ships sailed into view, 
 and soon followed more French ships in the shape 
 of the squadrons of Duquesne and Vivonne and 
 Valbelle. This great force was more than the 
 Spaniards could withstand. In a short time they 
 were put to flight, leaving half their number be- 
 hind. Needless to say the victors were received 
 with the wildest joy and greatest gratitude when 
 they entered Messina and brought huge stores of 
 food to the besieged rebels. 
 
 During the remainder of the year of 1675 the 
 French strengthened themselves in Sicily, and 
 extended their conquests along the southern 
 coast. 
 
 On the 17th of August twenty-nine ships un- 
 der Vivonne anchored in the bay before Agosta 
 and opened fire on the forts protecting the harbor. 
 While this was going on Tourville was leading 
 six ships to the mouth of the harbor. Despite 
 the galling fire to which he was soon subjected 
 he forced an entrance and turned his broadsides 
 upon Fort Avalo, the strongest and most import- 
 ant of the enemy defenses. 
 
 As the fort still held out after a brisk can- 
 nonading, Tourville sent Coetlogon with a small 
 landing party to make an attack at closer quar- 
 ters. Under a storm of shot and stones the first 
 barricade was then taken, but Coetlogon's little 
 force was threatened with capture by his numer- 
 
52 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 ous foe. Alarmed for the safety of his friend, 
 Tourville threw himself into a small boat with 
 a few volunteers and flew to the succor. 
 
 The Spaniards made a feint by running up a 
 white flag. When the rescuers had come within 
 range they let loose a wild storm of artillery in 
 their direction. But Tourville was not to be non- 
 plussed. After an hour's obstinate attack, the 
 second barricade was carried, the fort surrend- 
 ered, and the first landing party was saved. The 
 town quickly thereafter capitulated. 
 
 In reporting this success Tourville, as cus- 
 tomary, gave the lion's share of the credit to his 
 officers and men. But his government, while up 
 to this time slow to promote him, was not blind 
 to the truth, and a year later the modest and in- 
 trepid captain was rewarded with a commission 
 as commodore. 
 
 PUNISHING THE BARBARY PIRATES 
 
 Imagine yourself gazing down upon the vol- 
 canic Islands of Lipari — the very outposts of 
 Sicily — the rock-sentinels that guard the entrance 
 to the Gulf of Joy and act as finger-posts for 
 many a grizzled mariner as he feels his way along 
 
MARSHAL DE TOURVILLE 53 
 
 the shores of Italy past her beautiful Queen Is- 
 land. 
 
 On Stromboli, which forms the gateway to the 
 gulf, stands the great lighthouse of the southern 
 sea. Rising more than two thousand feet above 
 the blue waters into which it has so often spat 
 its molten saliva, Mount Etna in solitary gran- 
 deur furnishes by night the ever-burning beacon 
 to seamen which is denied to Lipari. At the foot 
 of this centuries-old volcano, under the open maw 
 of fiercely-boiling flame, turbulent gases, and 
 gurgling lava, the greatest seafighters of the age 
 have now gathered to measure their skill and 
 prowess. 
 
 Sent by William of Orange to the Mediterran- 
 ean to make a juncture with the Spanish fleet and 
 force the rebel Sicilian town to return to the al- 
 legiance of the King of Spain, the famous De 
 Ruyter faces the French fleet with eighteen Dutch 
 men-of-war. Duquesne's force numbers twenty- 
 five war-ships and six fire-ships. He has divided 
 his flotilla into three squadrons, one of which is 
 commanded by Tourville. 
 
 For twenty-four hours the rival fleets lay 
 watching each other warily, maneuvering to gain 
 advantage of the wind. As the first gray light 
 of dawn begins to appear in the east on the morn- 
 ing of the 8th of January, 1676, a stiff breeze 
 
54 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 springs up to the advantage of the French. 
 Without hesitation Duquesne orders sail set, and 
 bears down upon his enemy. 
 
 The Dutch receive the onslaught with a firm 
 front, retaliating with a heavy fire. From ten in 
 the morning till ten at night both sides fight 
 with vigor, often coming to close quarters. 
 From the deck of his ship, the Sceptre, Tourville 
 supports his leader valiantly, never failing to be 
 in the hottest part of the combat. On one oc- 
 casion he is assailed by a huge three-decker. The 
 latter's heavy guns soon create havoc with his rig- 
 ging, and his ship, crippled and shot-torn from 
 bow to stern, is only saved by a French fire-ship 
 that comes to his assistance. 
 
 Just before nightfall a squadron of nine Span- 
 ish galleys pounce down upon the French flag- 
 ship, and annoy her with their powerful chase- 
 guns, but Tourville sends several thirty-six-pound 
 cannon ball among them, and they scatter pre- 
 cipitately. When darkness comes, the loss to 
 the combatants has been about equal, each suffer- 
 ing considerably. 
 
 The next day both fleets receive reenf orements. 
 But the battle is not renewed; Duquesne sails 
 around Sicily and enters Messina harbor from 
 the south ; De Ruyter goes first to Naples and af- 
 terward to Palmero to revictual and refit. 
 
 The most important action, however, was yet 
 to take place. 
 
MARSHAL DE TOURVILLE 55 
 
 On April 22d, between Catania and Agosta, the 
 French fleet of thirty men-of-war encountered 
 the combined squadrons of Spain and Holland, 
 numbering three less ships. Bearing down 
 quietly upon one another, no sign of hostility was 
 apparent until they were within musket-shot 
 range. Then suddenly both fleets let loose vio- 
 lent broadsides. 
 
 The conflict was prolonged and furious. To- 
 ward the close of the day De Ruyter's flagship 
 succeeded in closing with the Saint Esprit, at 
 whose masthead flew the ensign of Duquesne. 
 In a moment the two rival flagships were doing 
 their utmost to sink the other. All their avail- 
 able guns were aimed with the deadliest intent, 
 and men stood ready with boarding tools and 
 weapons for the time when the crucial moment 
 should arrive. 
 
 At this juncture Tourville observed his chief- 
 tain's predicament. With the Sceptre and Saint 
 Michel he appeared quickly on the scene, a ship 
 at either side of the Dutch flagship. Neatly 
 trapped, it was by the utmost difficulty and only 
 with a fine example of his famous seamanship 
 that De Ruyter managed to extricate himself 
 without capture. However, he had been sorely 
 wounded himself. Not until later did this knowl- 
 edge come to the French — not until their brave 
 adversary's fleet had retired to Syracuse and De 
 
56 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 Ruyter's body had been consigned to the sea by 
 his sorrowing countrymen. 
 
 By ten o'clock that evening the combat ceased. 
 Next morning, in rain and mist, the combatants 
 separated, the French to keep to the seas until 
 May ist, after which they sailed into the harbor 
 of Messina. 
 
 The death of De Ruyter was an irreparable 
 blow to the Allied fleet. Robbed of the strength 
 of its most able commander, it is not to be won- 
 dered at that the next sea battle fought by the 
 French proved to be one of the most signal naval 
 triumphs on record. 
 
 After restocking and repairing their ships, the 
 Allies had sailed out of Syracuse harbor, doubled 
 the island of Sicily, and entered the port of Pal- 
 mero, where they intended to await the move- 
 ments of the French fleet. Their idleness was 
 short-lived. 
 
 On May 28th the French fleet of twenty-nine 
 warships, nearly as many galleys, and almost a 
 dozen fire-ships, put to sea from the harbor of 
 Messina. It passed through the channel of the 
 Pharo, and sailed northward on a lookout for the 
 enemy. The Duke of Vivonne, viceroy of Sicily 
 and nominal head of the Mediterranean fleet, was 
 a member of the expedition, having come along 
 in person that he might share what was consid- 
 ered to be the last glorious venture of French 
 

 ' ' /lrssiru ' oar Gramcourc if 'So 
 
 Avec Privilege da Roi. 
 
 COMTE DE TOURVILLE. 
 
MARSHAL DE TOURVILLE 57 
 
 arms. His flag was run up on Tourville's ship, 
 the Sceptre, which thus became the chief vessel 
 of the center. Duquesne, as vice-admiral, took 
 command of the vanguard. 
 
 Something like four days after leaving Mes- 
 sina, the French fleet sighted Palmero. There, 
 before their eyes, the complete fleet of the Allies 
 rode at anchor, arranged in battle formation. 
 On the right and left wings were the Dutch ships 
 under the command of Admiral Haan, who had 
 succeeded De Ruyter. In the center the Spanish 
 vessels were concentrated under De Ibarra. The 
 craft were three or four cable lengths from the 
 entrance to the roadstead, some of them being 
 sheltered by the mole. In all there were in the 
 combined Dutch-Spanish fleet twenty-seven ships 
 of war, nineteen galleys, and four fire-ships. 
 
 No sooner had the French sighted the enemy 
 than Vivonne called four of his most trusted of- 
 ficers for a most difficult and perilous undertak- 
 ing. Among them was Tourville, the youngest 
 of the commodores. These officers were asked 
 to make a complete examination of the adver- 
 sary's position, and to draw up a plan of his de- 
 fenses. 
 
 The party set out in a small sailboat in broad 
 daylight. Supported by the squadron of gal- 
 leys, which were ready to protect them with their 
 guns at the slightest provocation, the valiant and 
 
58 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 devoted quartet of young Frenchmen entered the 
 harbor and approached to within close range of 
 the serried battle front. Sailing up and down 
 the enemy's line, Tourville and his companions 
 made careful observations, no detail of the ar- 
 rangements of defense escaping their vigilant 
 eyes. Struck with admiration at their audacious 
 bravery the Dutch and Spanish looked on silently. 
 Not a gun did they fire. 
 
 Vivonne at once called a council of war to de- 
 cide on a plan of attack. Tourville had already 
 worked out a plan of procedure in his active mind 
 which he now presented to his commander-in- 
 chief. So pleased were the officers with this, es- 
 pecially Vivonne himself, that, after some dis- 
 cussion it was accepted with no little enthusiasm. 
 
 A stiff breeze was blowing from the northwest 
 the next morning, the 2d of June. Shortly after 
 daybreak, aided by this breeze, the French fleet 
 sailed, in battle order, through the entrance to 
 the harbor. They were led by nine selected war- 
 ships and five fire-ships which were to open ac- 
 tion by attacking the head of the enemy's line. 
 Every deck was cleared for action, every man 
 was at his post. 
 
 But before the French had swung into place, 
 the Dutch opened fire. Their heaviest broad- 
 sides were poured into the bold intruders. In 
 return the French sent even more furious and 
 
MARSHAL DE TOURVILLE 59 
 
 well-directed charges across the waters at the 
 Dutch. This made their ships quiver and waver. 
 Along the whole line the French fire was fully as 
 terrible. The very impetuosity of their attack, 
 coupled with the deadliness of their aim, soon 
 filled the Allies with fear and dismay. In less 
 than half an hour the Spanish vice-admiral had 
 cut his own cables and drifted toward shore in 
 a spasmodic effort to save his ship from capture. 
 
 With the line open, the French renewed their 
 attack with greater vigor than before. Two 
 more flagships were compelled to cut their cables, 
 and in the resulting panic other Dutch and Span- 
 ish ships followed suit. The French made good 
 use of their fire-ships, through their agency burn- 
 ing twelve enemy men-of-war, among them a 
 Spanish and Dutch flagship. The Capitane and 
 Steenberg — Spanish and Dutch vessels, respec- 
 tively, — blew up with fearful force, covering the 
 surrounding bay and some of their surviving 
 craft with burning debris. 
 
 As the flames gathered headway and communi- 
 cated to neighboring sister ships, consternation 
 seized the Allies. Wild with terror Dutch and 
 Spaniards alike fled for refuge behind the mole. 
 Here, subjected to new f rightfulness in the form 
 of burning balls and shot-spraying grenades, 
 which fell in showers on the city of Palmero, they 
 fled inland. 
 
60 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 The victory could scarcely have been more bril- 
 liant and complete. By it the French had as- 
 serted their mastery of the waters of the Mediter- 
 ranean. The very blow that had relegated the 
 strong navy of Spain into the dust had raised the 
 navy of France to the pinnacle of sea powers. 
 
 The famous treaty of Nimegue, signed on the 
 ioth of August, 1678, between Louis XIV on the 
 one side and half of Europe on the other, marked 
 the beginning of that dazzling period of naval 
 supremacy which, during almost fifteen years, 
 placed France for the first and only time in her 
 history at the head of maritime nations. The 
 flag of every country saluted the standard that 
 floated proudly from the mastheads of the ships 
 of France. 
 
 Not long after this, action on the seas again 
 became imperative for the French. The com- 
 merce of Europe had been endangered by the 
 piratical swoops of the corsairs of Barbary. In 
 order to effectually put a stop to these bare-faced 
 robberies of her merchantmen France decided it 
 was advisable to attack the miscreants in their 
 main retreat — Algiers. To this lair it was their 
 habit to lead their captured prizes, fortifying 
 themselves against interference in its ample, well- 
 caparisoned harbor. In Algiers it was truly sus- 
 pected that thousands of Christian captives lan- 
 guished in foul prisons and in wetched servitude. 
 
MARSHAL DE TOURVILLE 61 
 
 So in the summer of 1682, and again the fol- 
 lowing year, a French fleet under Duquesne and 
 Tourville was sent to do what it could to clean 
 out this nest of the pirates. For the first time 
 new weapons were to be used. Among the heavy 
 ships-of-the-line you might have seen small, flat- 
 bottomed boats called bomb-galiots, each of which 
 carried two mortars and four guns. 
 
 Reaching the harbor of Algiers, the French- 
 men lost no time in letting the sea-robbers know 
 they meant business. From the warships can- 
 non ball were thrown into the beautiful Moorish 
 city, and from the mortars on the newly-invented 
 galiots death-carrying, destructive bombs were 
 rained upon the roofs of the buccaneers' homes 
 and storehouses and places of amusement, as well 
 as other buildings. 
 
 Palaces and mosques fell in a mass of ruins; 
 storehouses were wrecked or burned; houses 
 crumbled. The wives and children of the pirates, 
 the pirates themselves, their slaves and captives, 
 could be seen running through the streets in 
 frantic quest of better shelter. Many captives 
 took advantage of the terror of their brutal cap- 
 tors to run down to the water's edge where, with 
 outstretched arms, they mutely plead for rescue. 
 
 Tourville — now a vice-admiral, and first in 
 every perilous enterprise — came and went in a 
 small boat, subjected to incessant fire from the 
 
62 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 shore, to direct and watch the work of the mor- 
 tars. His heart ached for the supplicating cap- 
 tives, but it would have been suicide to have at- 
 tempted their rescue just then. 
 
 At length the Algerians sued for peace. But 
 Duquesne and Tourville refused to listen until 
 every Christian captive had been delivered from 
 bondage. Then for five days there was silence 
 on the bay and a respite in the city, while boatload 
 after boatload of Christians were carried from 
 the shore to the ships that were to take them from 
 slavery back to their almost-God-forgotten 
 homes. Half-starved, hollow-cheeked, ragged, 
 eyes dulled till only the fever-flame of life's last 
 piteous grip gave them Divine expression at all, 
 more than seven hundred white slaves of the Bar- 
 bary pirates were thus restored to liberty. It 
 was a proud day for Duquesne and Tourville, for 
 it had brought them a greater trophy than ever 
 mere victory over an enemy at sea. No quantity 
 of prize war-ships could ever equal their satisfac- 
 tion at this saving of their fellow men from a 
 cruel bondage. 
 
Ill 
 
 COMMODORE JOHN PAUL JONES 
 
 The Stars shall glitter o'er the brave, 
 When death, careering on the gale, 
 Flag of the seas, on ocean's wave, 
 Sweeps darkly round the bellied sail, 
 And frightened waves rush wildly back 
 Before the broadside's reeling rack; 
 The dying wanderer of the sea 
 Shall look at once to Heaven and thee, 
 And smile to see thy splendors fly 
 In triumph o'er his closing eye. 
 
 — Halleck. 
 
CO 
 
 * Ml* If 
 
 1&- 
 
 O 
 
Commodore John Paul Jones 
 
 FROM TOY SHIPS TO BIG SHIPS 
 
 John Paul Jones was a man of no country, 
 a "citizen of the world," a fighter on the side of 
 humanity, the bitter enemy of the brutal oppres- 
 sor. Likewise was he a Scottish trader, an 
 American commodore, a French chevalier, a Rus- 
 sian admiral, the father of the United States 
 Navy, the winner of the greatest sea battle of 
 the Revolutionary War. 
 
 Fittingly has it been said of this striking sea- 
 man, "He was the Drake of the New World." 
 Like Drake, he was a man of strong individuality 
 and stunning contrasts, a dashing adventurer, a 
 gracious courtier, a brilliant commander, a strict 
 disciplinarian, a tender-hearted and loyal friend, 
 a ferocious avenger, an invincible fighter. Un- 
 like Drake, he held his spirit of plunder and flam- 
 ing ambition under a tempering check that made 
 him the more admirable. 
 
 Again like Drake, his name has been woven 
 with the warp and woof of a romantic tradition 
 and fanciful popular legendary which has clouded 
 and distorted actual truth and the records of his- 
 
 65 
 
66 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 tory. And, like Drake, he has been as much 
 hated in Great Britain as was L'Draque in Spain. 
 
 John Paul was born on the 6th of July, 1747, 
 at Arbigland, on the southern shores of Scot- 
 land. His father was a Lowlander, head gar- 
 dener and game-keeper to a country squire, while 
 his mother was a Highlander and a descendant 
 of one of the fierce clans that had their homes 
 among the heathered hills. 
 
 The boy had three sisters and three brothers, 
 he being the younger. His oldest brother, Wil- 
 liam, was early adopted by a distant relative, 
 William Jones, who had emigrated to the Ameri- 
 can colonies and lived on his plantation in Vir- 
 ginia. The adopted lad at once assumed the 
 name of Jones. Little John Paul himself had 
 never seen this brother, as he had been born three 
 years after William departed. 
 
 John Paul's childhood sped quickly; he soon 
 grew into a hardy, active, self-reliant lad of 
 twelve, at which time his scanty instruction in the 
 parish school of Kirkbean ceased. In the mean- 
 while he had mastered other lessons that had set 
 his adventure-loving young soul into a wild flame 
 of restless yearning. These lessons came from 
 his frequent trips to Carsethorn Creek, a nearby 
 stream where fishermen were wont to seek shelter 
 from storm and tide and unload their cargoes of 
 tobacco for Dumfries. In these magic waters he 
 
JOHN PAUL JONES. 
 
COMMODORE JOHN PAUL JONES 67 
 
 had sailed his mimic boats ; on the weather-worn 
 wharves he had listened with wide-open eyes to 
 the stirring tales of the old Scottish tars, and 
 often watched with eager interest and keen intel- 
 ligence the coming and going smacks of the fish- 
 ermen as they steered their way through the nar- 
 row lanes of shipping. On these waters he had 
 already learned to handle a yawl, and to brave the 
 northeast squalls that so often tried the courage 
 and skill of many an older seaman. 
 
 Young John Paul now began to beg his father 
 to let him go to sea. His passionate longing was 
 gratified. The father, before his son had yet 
 reached his thirteenth year, sent him across the 
 Solway and apprenticed him to James Younger, 
 a prosperous merchant in the American trade. 
 As master's-apprentice, John Paul was now a 
 full-fledged sailor on board the Friendship. 
 How proud he was! A month later, after a 
 stormy voyage, this vessel dropped anchor in the 
 Rappahannock River, not far from the planta- 
 tion of William Jones — the relative who had 
 adopted his eldest brother. 
 
 The meeting between the two brothers, neither 
 of whom had ever seen the other, was a most 
 touching one. John Paul fpund William Paul 
 Jones a successful married man, and overseer 
 upon his adopted father's plantation. While the 
 Friendship lay at anchor the young boy spent 
 
68 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 much time on land with his brother, and it was 
 then that he was for the first time attracted to 
 the novel and independent life of the American 
 colonists — a life that had a peculiarly strong ap- 
 peal for his own rugged spirit. William Jones 
 took a fancy to the lad, and offered to adopt 
 him. But while his lively interest had been 
 awakened in the half-civilized new country, John 
 Paul's real love was for the sea. He therefore 
 declined, and soon sailed away for home. 
 
 For the next six years John Paul sailed on trad- 
 ing voyages in the ships of Mr. Younger. In this 
 time he advanced rapidly in sea knowledge and 
 skill. He had a keen, open mind, and a retentive 
 memory, and never thought he "knew it all." 
 With these characteristics he was sure to gain 
 the utmost information and to thereby pave the 
 way for success in his future undertakings. In 
 1764 he was serving as second-mate on West In- 
 dian traders; a year later he was promoted to 
 first-mate. Then Mr. Younger retired from 
 business, released him from his indentures, and 
 rewarded his faithfulness with a sixth interest 
 in a packet engaged in West Indian trade. 
 
 This packet was the King George. With the 
 vessel John Paul made two voyages to the west 
 coast of Africa after slaves. The best men of 
 those days thought nothing wrong in such tran- 
 
COMMODORE JOHN PAUL JONES 69 
 
 sactions, not having their minds awakened to the 
 full horrors of the practice as have the men of 
 to-day. So, if the conscience of John Paul 
 pricked him a bit during these financially profita- 
 ble trips, he kept the fact pretty much to himself 
 and history never knew it. 
 
 At the end of his second voyage after slaves, 
 our hero sold his share in the vessel to Captain 
 Benbigh. At Kingston, Jamaica, he boarded the 
 John O'Gaunt as a passenger, bound for White- 
 haven. 
 
 Little did the young sailor know, or the crew, 
 that when the trader sailed out of the Antilles 
 and into the Atlantic Ocean she carried with her 
 the dreadful germs of the yellow fever. Barely 
 had she cleared the Windward Islands before the 
 ravages of the scourge began to spread among the 
 crew. Within a week the captain, his officers, 
 and most of the deckhands had succumbed and 
 their remains were consigned to the deep. Only 
 six human beings were left on the ill-fated ship. 
 One was John Paul, the passenger. 
 
 The young man's sea experience and sea study 
 were now to stand him in good stead. There be- 
 ing none left who were competent to handle the 
 ship, John Paul took command. With neatness 
 and dispatch he guided the fever-stricken brig 
 across the dangerous waters of the Atlantic, and 
 
70 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 brought her safely into the harbor at Whitehaven. 
 So pleased were her owners, Currie, Beck & Com- 
 pany, that they gave him a generous monetary 
 reward, in addition to which they appointed him 
 captain and supercargo of a new ship — the John 
 — which was engaged in making trips to the West 
 Indies. 
 
 In command of this vessel, John Paul made 
 three voyages. During the course of these he 
 again visited his brother on the Rappahannock, 
 and the bonds of affection for America were 
 drawn still closer. 
 
 When William Jones died in 1760 he left his 
 entire property of three thousand acres, build- 
 ings, slaves, cattle, and a sloop, to his adopted 
 son. The will provided that, should the adopted 
 son die without children, the property was to go 
 to his youngest brother, our John Paul. When 
 the latter sailed away for England after his last 
 visit to William, he had no thought that he was 
 soon to return, the owner of this fine American 
 plantation. 
 
 The ensuing two years were passed by John 
 Paul in making voyages to the Indian Ocean as 
 a convoy to transport ships of the East India 
 Company. His last merchant trip was under- 
 taken late in 1772 on the vessel Two Friends. 
 Sailing by way of Lisbon, the Madeira Islands, 
 and Tobago, he dropped anchor in the Rappahan- 
 
COMMODORE JOHN PAUL JONES 71 
 
 nock in April of the following year. Expecting 
 a hearty welcome from his brother, he was grief- 
 stricken to find him lying at the point of death, 
 quite unconscious. 
 
 At William's death John Paul became master 
 of the large estate in Virginia. He decided to 
 assume the name of Jones, to fit more gracefully 
 into the title of his new possessions, and sent the 
 Tzvo Friends on her homeward voyage under the 
 command of her first-mate, with word to her 
 owners that he intended to become a Colonial 
 planter. 
 
 For upwards of two years he really enjoyed 
 the quiet and independence of the new life that 
 had opened up to him as from the tip of a fairy's 
 wand. During this period he left the active man- 
 agement of the estate to his brother's faithful 
 overseer, and devoted the greater share of his 
 own time to study and society. He mastered 
 French and Spanish, naval history and tactics, 
 diplomacy and politics. He entertained the 
 neighboring families with lavish hospitality. He 
 travled extensively. 
 
 Thus the poor Scottish gardener's son, ed- 
 ucated largely by his own exertions, became a 
 scholarly and educated American of the day. 
 Moreover, he was soon, very soon, to make valua- 
 ble use of his learning and skill in the cause of 
 his new country. 
 
72 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 THE DRAKE AND THE RANGER 
 
 In the spring of 1775 — that eventful spring 
 when the war of the Revolution embroiled Amer- 
 ica and England in its toils — John Paul Jones was 
 leisurely making his way in his sloop along the 
 coast of New Jersey on a pleasure sail to Boston. 
 
 Upon reaching New York he encountered Wil- 
 liam Livingston. The face of the latter looked 
 very serious. His friend saw at once that some- 
 thing had gone wrong, and Livingston's first 
 words proved the correctness of his surmise. 
 
 "John, have you heard the ill news?" asked 
 Livingston. 
 
 "I have not been favored," replied Jones. "I 
 trust it is nothing serious concerning your own 
 family?" 
 
 "I fear it is serious, but it concerns my family 
 no more than all familes in the Colonies. John, 
 my friend, word has just come that the British 
 have beaten us at Lexington!" 
 
 Instantly John Paul Jones was as concerned 
 as his friend. He plied him with many questions. 
 After a long discussion they parted. Jones im- 
 mediately gave up his plans for going to Boston ; 
 he turned the bow of his sloop back homeward, 
 and three days later, from his plantation, was 
 
o ^ 
 
COMMODORE JOHN PAUL JONES 73 
 
 writing Hewes and other members of the Con- 
 tinental Congress an offer of his services. 
 
 In June the new marine committee invited him 
 to lay before them any information and advice 
 he could on the selection of suitable naval officers 
 and ships for the beginning of a navy with which 
 to defend the American seaboard from the craft 
 of England. 
 
 John Paul Jones's suggestions met with favor. 
 As a consequence steps were at once taken for 
 carrying them out with speed and dispatch. 
 
 The first squadron of our navy consisted of 
 four ships — the frigates Alfred and Columbus, 
 and the brigantines Andrea Doria and Cabot. 
 The first list of officers embraced five captains, 
 five first-lieutenants, and eight junior-lieutenants. 
 In this list John Paul Jones stood at the head of 
 the first-lieutenants. Favoritism among some of 
 the powerful members of the marine committee 
 kept him out of the list of captains, a position to 
 which his high attainments surely qualified him. 
 
 Of course Jones felt the injustice of it all. But 
 in his disinterestedness of self and broad love of 
 service for service's sake, he made no allusion to 
 the slight except in a letter sent about that time to 
 Joseph Hewes. In this he says: "I am here to 
 serve the cause of human rights, not to promote 
 the fortunes of John Paul Jones. ... I will 
 cheerfully enter upon the duties of first-lieutenant 
 
74 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 of the Alfred under Captain Saltonstall. Time 
 will make all things even." And time did "make 
 all thing's even," as we shall see. 
 
 Not until the 17th of February was the little 
 American squadron ready for sea. On that day 
 the light, sleek ships sailed out of Delaware Bay 
 and headed for the Bahama Islands. Almost 
 two months later the squadron returned to home 
 shores after a cruise that was productive of little 
 more than a showing of disgraceful incompetence 
 on the part of many of the officers. As a result, 
 captains appointed through influence and favorit- 
 ism were dismissed, while Jones was honorably 
 retained and given an independent command. 
 
 The Providence, his new ship, was a small 
 sloop of fourteen guns. After using her to 
 transport troops and stores between New London 
 and New York, and convoying American ships 
 along the coast, he went out for six weeks to 
 harass British commerce. With a crew of sev- 
 enty men he sped through waters swarming with 
 British frigates, from the Bermudas to Nova 
 Scotia. He destroyed the enemy's fisheries at 
 Canso, and made two daring descents on the is- 
 land of Madame. In all sixteen prizes fell into 
 his daring hands, besides a large number of fish- 
 ing-smacks. Eight were manned, the remainder 
 destroyed for want of sailors with which to sail 
 them home. 
 
COMMODORE JOHN PAUL JONES 75 
 
 Near the Bermudas he encountered the British 
 ship Solebay of twenty-eight nine-pounders. 
 For six hours he was chased by the more power- 
 ful enemy, part of the time within range and 
 once almost within the Solebay' s clutches. But, 
 by a very clever maneuver that surprised and 
 caught the Britisher at a disadvantage, the Amer- 
 ican frigate succeeded in showing her a clean pair 
 of heels. 
 
 Believing that he could be of much more serv- 
 ice to the American cause in foreign waters than 
 at home, he began to appeal for permission to sail 
 to the English and Irish channels. Final rec- 
 ognition came from General Washington himself 
 who said, "Captain Jones, you have conceived the 
 right project, and you are the right man to ex- 
 ecute it." 
 
 The result was an appointment to command 
 the new sloop-of-war Ranger, which carried 
 twenty six-pounders. The Scotch commodore 
 was told to hold himself in readiness for a swift 
 sail to France to carry dispatches of the highest 
 importance. The Ranger stood out to sea on 
 November 1st, 1777. The news she carried was 
 the surrender of Burgoyne at Saratoga. 
 
 Spreading every inch of canvas that he could, 
 Jones forced his ship through the Atlantic at top- 
 most speed. By day the stanch little Ranger 
 staggered on in the teeth of heavy northeast 
 
76 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 winds and blinding snow squalls; by night, beat- 
 ing her way through darkness and blanket fog, 
 she continued just as bravely but with necessarily 
 diminished speed. The second-lieutenant states 
 that the Commodore declared he would "spread 
 this news in France in thirty days." The way the 
 sloop bounded along surely looked as if he would 
 keep his promise. 
 
 On the last day of the run the Ranger captured 
 two prizes. December 2nd she sailed into the 
 Loire and dropped anchor at Nantes. Commo- 
 dore Jones hurried to Paris with his packet of 
 news, only to find that he had been outstripped. 
 Mr. Austin, who had sailed from Boston two 
 days earlier with duplicate messages, had arrived 
 just twenty-four hours before. But this was not 
 the only disappointment to greet Jones in Europe. 
 He had been promised a large new frigate, built 
 at a neutral Dutch dockyard for the United 
 States. On reaching Paris he discovered that 
 the vessel, for political reasons, had been sold to 
 France. 
 
 So, instead of starting on his long-cherished 
 cruise in British waters on the deck of a forty- 
 six-gun frigate, he was forced to content himself 
 with his little sloop of less than half that arma- 
 ment. It was a dark outlook. Nobody but a 
 dauntless commander and an equally dauntless 
 
COMMODORE JOHN PAUL JONES 77 
 
 crew would ever have thought of bearding the 
 lion in his den with such an insignificant craft. 
 In fact, most captains would have turned back 
 home, disgruntled and timorous. Not so John 
 Paul Jones. With what he had he would do the 
 best he could. 
 
 The Scotchman gave his ship a thorough re- 
 fitting, and early in February he sailed into the 
 harbor of Brest. A dense mass of ships-rigging 
 filled the roadstead. Jones saw that it was the 
 great French fleet under Count d'Orvilliers. 
 Bent upon upholding the honor of the new Amer- 
 ican flag, which was gayly flying from his mast- 
 head, the Scotch Commodore asked, as a condi- 
 tion of his entering the port, that a salute be given 
 his colors. His request was granted. As the 
 national emblem passed with dignity through the 
 lanes of heavy battleships, the French guns roared 
 out the first salute ever given by a foreign navy 
 to the standard of the United States of America. 
 
 Just one week earlier the Treaty of Alliance 
 between the two countries, which first recognized 
 American independence, had been signed at Ver- 
 sailles. The salute to the flag was a temper- 
 mental seal to the treaty. To Jones it was a 
 matter of strong personal feeling. Not long be- 
 fore, when the same resolution of Congress that 
 had appointed him to the command of the Ranger 
 
78 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 had also decreed that the national flag should be 
 thirteen stripes, alternate red and white, and 
 thirteen stars in a blue field, he had said, "The 
 flag and I are twins." This association was now 
 strong upon him. 
 
 On the morning of April 24th the Ranger was 
 oft* Carrickfergus, on the north coast of Ireland. 
 Inside the harbor, and just on the point of coming 
 out, was the Drake, a British sloop-of-war of 
 twenty guns. Contrary winds and an incoming 
 tide had delayed her. Now, as she saw the 
 stranger in the offing, she sent out one of her 
 boats to reconnoiter him. Lured on by the in- 
 nocent-looking stern of the Ranger, the British 
 scout came a little too near. The first thing her 
 crew knew they were pounced on and made pris- 
 oners. 
 
 Apparently the Drake resolved to see why her 
 men failed to come back. Out she came just be- 
 fore sunset, approaching within hail in mid-chan- 
 nel. The British flag went fluttering up to her 
 masthead. At the same time the Stars and 
 Stripes was flung out to the breezes by the 
 Ranger. 
 
 "Ahoy! what ship is that?" bawled the British 
 captain. It was an unnecessary inquiry — one 
 fraught with the confusion of the moment. The 
 answer was perhaps as equally unnecessary. 
 But it came: 
 
COMMODORE JOHN PAUL JONES 79 
 
 "The American Continental ship Ranger! 
 Come on ; we are waiting for you !" 
 
 Scarcely had the last word of the reply died 
 away when there came a raking broadside from 
 the American at close range. The Drake bore 
 up, and poured back her own shot. 
 
 Then for more than an hour the firing was 
 continued, deluge after deluge of lead being 
 thrown from one ship at the other. But the aim 
 of the British gunners was not as good as that 
 of the Americans. Most of the enemy fire passed 
 harmlessly overhead or fell short, while that of 
 the men on the Ranger as a rule found some tell- 
 ing mark. 
 
 After a while the Drake was in a sad plight. 
 Her spars and rigging were hanging in shot-cut 
 dilapidation and uselessness; her sails were flut- 
 tering and flapping remnants of riven canvas ; her 
 hull was polkadotted with further evidence of the 
 good marksmanship of her adversary. Her com- 
 mander fell, killed by a ball. Here and there on 
 her deck lay many of her crew, wounded and 
 dead. At last, when she had become "an unman- 
 ageable log on the water" she struck her colors, 
 and was boarded by the victors. 
 
 The capture of the Drake was the first brilliant 
 naval success of the war. The ships themselves 
 were small and unimportant, it is true, but the 
 results were large in comparison, and a great 
 
80 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 moral victory had been accomplished. This 
 triumphant cruise of the little hornet in waters 
 far from home, her seizure of numbers of prizes, 
 her bold fire-brandery in the harbor at White- 
 haven, and her even bolder capture of His Maj- 
 esty's ship Drake right under the noses of the 
 British nation, not only formed a grand and 
 dramatic debut of the new-born navy of the 
 United States, but it aroused and alarmed the 
 enemy coast, filling all Englishmen with stunned 
 surprise, indignation and humility. 
 
 In addition, it gratified and won the admira- 
 tion of France, the foe of Britain and friend of 
 America. And most important of all, it brought 
 to the bitterly-tried hearts of the Colonists in the 
 distant new republic new courage, new confidence, 
 new strength and new visions. 
 
 THE " BON HOMME RICHARD " AND THE 
 " SERAPIS " 
 
 When he reached Brest with his prize, which 
 was the first trophy of the war to reach France, 
 John Paul Jones found his own vessel in such a 
 deplorable condition that he saw it would take 
 long weeks to put it once more in condition for 
 service against the enemy. 
 
 During this time he was thrown upon his 
 own resources through the poverty of the Conti- 
 
COMMODORE JOHN PAUL JONES 81 
 
 nental government and the dishonoring of his 
 draft by the commissioners. In order to provide 
 food for his crew and supplies for his ship, he 
 was forced to sell his prize. This act so dis- 
 pleased his government that he was asked to 
 hand over the command of the Ranger to her 
 first-lieutenant. So when the ship finally sailed 
 for home that fall, Jones was left in a foreign 
 land with no prospect of a ship to rest his feet 
 upon. 
 
 It was truly a cheerless outlook. Further- 
 more, his treatment by Congress had much hurt 
 the brave man's heart. But he was not the kind 
 either to grow bitter against his country or to 
 grow hopeless. 
 
 John Paul Jones had two powerful friends in 
 France. These were the Duke de Chartres, 
 eldest son of the Duke d'Orleans, and his 
 wife, the Duchess de Chartres. Through 
 them he was able to interest the King into 
 providing him with a ship, the L'Duras, of 
 forty guns. She was a very old craft. After 
 spending three months in overhauling her, she 
 was still not much better than a makeshift war- 
 ship, for her batteries were mounted with the 
 refuse guns of the French government — old 
 rusty, loose-jointed relics that had served their 
 real usefulness and were liable to blow to pieces 
 when fired with a heavy charge. 
 
82 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 His crew, too, was a motley and ill-assorted 
 bunch. Of the three hundred and seventy-five 
 men whom he was able to collect, only fifty were 
 Americans; the rest were French, Portuguese, 
 and British. Fortunately, before the final date 
 of sailing, the exchange of British and American 
 prisoners of war gave him the opportunity of re- 
 placing some of his alien seamen with one hun- 
 dred and fourteen Americans. As he stood and 
 viewed the muscular bodies and keen eyes of these 
 fellows he breathed easier. 
 
 All arrangements were completed in August, 
 1779. By that time the L'Duras — whose name 
 Jones had changed to Bon Homme Richard, out 
 of compliment to Benjamin Franklin — had been 
 converted into a fairly-efficient looking man-of- 
 war. Besides the Bon Homme Richard, the 
 squadron consisted of several smaller vessels, all 
 commanded and crewed by Frenchmen. There 
 was the Alliance, Captain Landais, a frigate of 
 thirty-six guns; the Pallas, a frigate of twenty- 
 eight guns, and the Vengeance, a brig of twelve 
 guns. All excepting the Alliance belonged to 
 the King, and French money paid the expenses of 
 the expedition. Yet the ships sailed and the men 
 fought under the American flag, and the French 
 officers were for the time being commissioned of- 
 ficers of the United States. 
 
 Commodore Jones himself was looked upon as 
 an irresponsible adventurer by most of the 
 
COMMODORE JOHN PAUL JONES 83 
 
 French officers, who were very jealous of the 
 praise he had won from their countrymen for 
 taking the British frigate Drake. It cannot be 
 wondered at, therefore, that there was a good 
 deal of discontent. 
 
 The squadron finally set sail from L'Orient at 
 daybreak, on the 14th of the month. The pro- 
 jected cruise was to cover a circle around the 
 British Islands and end at the Texel. Through 
 calms and gales and shifting winds John Paul 
 Jones worked his way up the west coast of Scot- 
 land, and then beat down the east coast as far as 
 the Firth of Forth. Finally they reached Spurn 
 Head. In the meantime a number of seamen had 
 deserted, most of the captains had shown a re- 
 bellious disposition, and Captain Landais had re- 
 volted to the extent of separating, with his ship, 
 the Alliance, from the rest of the squadron. In 
 spite of these drawbacks a number of prizes had 
 been taken and sent to friendly ports with prize- 
 crews. 
 
 On September 226. news was brought to Jones 
 by a passing friendly vessel that a large Baltic 
 fleet of British vessels, laden with naval stores 
 bound for England, had arrived in Bridlington 
 Bay under convoy and was waiting for favorable 
 winds to proceed on to the Downs. 
 
 Commodore Jones felt a great leap of his heart. 
 The moment he had passionately longed for had 
 
84 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 come at last. This was the finest kind of a 
 chance to hit England a staggering blow. Sig- 
 naling his consorts to follow, he headed north- 
 ward for Flamborough Head. The following 
 morning found his squadron twelve miles at sea, 
 just north of Bridlington Bay. 
 
 With his glass he scanned the harbor. He saw 
 moving craft, headed outward. If his heart had 
 leaped before it now fairly jumped out of his 
 broad chest. Still watching, he observed the 
 Baltic fleet sail out of the bay, and hugging close 
 to land, scamper for the shelter of Scarborough. 
 
 Instantly up to the masthead of the Bon 
 Homme Richard went the signal for the chase. 
 Then, noting their enemy after them, the mer- 
 chant ships of Britain crowded sail, and their two 
 escort ships moved out menacingly, like mother 
 hens, to protect their retreat. 
 
 Commodore Jones was nothing loth. In fact 
 he was far more eager for a fight than they. At 
 once he accepted the challenge, changed his 
 course slightly, and bore down upon the British 
 warships. The Alliance, which had for a long 
 time been keeping at a distance, surly as a spoiled 
 child, paid no attention to Jones's signal to form 
 a battle line. On the contrary she stubbornly 
 kept her place, and even had the audacity to signal 
 the little Vengeance, "Lie to as you are; you are 
 
COMMODORE JOHN PAUL JONES 85 
 
 not big enough to bear a hand in this." The 
 Vengeance obeyed the order of the rebellious 
 Captain Landais, thus leaving only the Pallas 
 loyally to follow after the Bon Homme Richard. 
 
 The British escort ships were the Serapis, a 
 new forty-four gun frigate, and the sloop-of-war 
 Countess of Scarborough. Captain Cottineau, 
 of the Pallas, gave chase to the sloop, which was 
 running out to leeward, and during the coming 
 fight he was so fully occupied in capturing her 
 that he could render no assistance to his com- 
 mander-in-chief. Thus Commodore Jones was 
 left single-handed to face the formidable Brit- 
 isher Serapis — left to fight it out on an old rotten 
 hulk that should have been made into firewood 
 long before it ever came into his hands. To make 
 matters worse, his crew was foreign and unskilled 
 and uncooperative, while Captain Pearson of the 
 Serapis possessed men of the highest degree of 
 training, perfectly organized. That this fight re- 
 sulted in a victory for Jones is one of the most 
 remarkable tributes to the generalship and fight- 
 ing qualities of the man that could ever be paid 
 him. Let us see how it all came about. 
 
 It was seven o'clock in the evening before the 
 two vessels came within striking distance. As 
 the Bon Homme Richard came up, Captain Pear- 
 son sent a shot whistling toward her. There was 
 
86 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 no answer. Af i;er scanning her in the fast-dim- 
 ming light with his night glasses, he said to his 
 first-lieutenant: "It is probably John Paul 
 Jones. If so there is work ahead for us !" Then 
 he hailed again — with another whistling shot. 
 
 This time there was an answer. The darkness 
 about the stranger was split with fiery forks of 
 flame; there was a terrible roar — and a broadside 
 sent its iron pellets toward the Serapis, several 
 of them striking their mark. Captain Pearson 
 was now quite positive of the identity of the 
 stranger's commander. 
 
 By this time the ships were within six hundred 
 feet of one another. A light but steady wind 
 was blowing from the southwest. The sea was 
 smooth and comparatively peaceful. Soon both 
 ships were engaged in the hottest kind of firing. 
 Broadside sent its challenge, was accepted and 
 answered by broadside. The surroundings were 
 almost constantly bathed in the pale, livid light 
 of flashing gunpowder, the contesting ships 
 standing out like grim, black specters of the deep. 
 The night air was split and shattered by the crash 
 of cannon, the roar of mortar, the rattle of mus- 
 ketry, the crash of mast, the splintering of hull, 
 the wild and triumphant cries of men, and the 
 hoarse shouts of alarm and death-shrieks of other 
 men. 
 
 In the midst of it all there came a rending 
 
COMMODORE JOHN PAUL JONES 87 
 
 roar, more portentous, more dreadful of inflec- 
 tion that all other sounds, from the direction of 
 the Bon Homme Richard. The inevitable had 
 transpired. Riven with rust pits, weakened from 
 long usage, two of the Richard's old eighteen- 
 pounders had burst. They had formed a part of 
 the steerage battery, just under the main deck, 
 aft. The explosion killed or wounded most of 
 the gun crews, and demoralized the crews of the 
 four remaining eighteen-pounders, who refused 
 to risk their lives longer in firing them. Thus at 
 the very beginning Jones found himself greatly 
 handicapped anew. 
 
 A quiet word to his "pilot, and the Bon Homme 
 Richard now began to drift closer in upon her 
 antagonist. As the distance between them de- 
 creased, the deadliness of fire of both vessels in- 
 creased. Now pistols could be used ; and the din 
 of their rattle was added to the other fulmination 
 of sounds. The rotten timbers of the American 
 ship was a veritable pincushion for the projectiles 
 of the British gunners. They stuck in the old 
 hull everywhere, and in places great gaping holes 
 appeared. But the Serapis was far from es- 
 caping her share of the damage. Her hull, too, 
 showed many marks of well-aimed shot ; her decks 
 were littered with dead and wounded. 
 
 The ships drifted slowly apart, still righting 
 madly. Lead rained down upon both crews as 
 
88 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 if the heavens themselves had turned storm- 
 wrath into bullets. Nine of the Richard's 
 twelve-pounders had been abandoned; eighty men 
 of the main battery had been struck down. The 
 condition of her deck was terrible to behold. The 
 wreckage of rigging and cabin was scattered 
 everywhere; stark, red-stained bodies lay here 
 and there; wounded, with agonized countenance 
 and moaning lips, propped themselves against 
 every conceivable support ; the living and unhurt, 
 with shirt-stripped bodies as black from powder- 
 mark as a negro's, sprang wildly from point to 
 point, loading and firing their pieces like mad- 
 men. 
 
 Matters below decks were even more alarming. 
 The hull had been pierced by several heavy can- 
 non ball, and the water was pouring in very 
 fast. Already four feet deep in the hold, it was 
 steadily increasing. 
 
 Noting this situation Commodore Jones hur- 
 ried up to his first-lieutenant, Richard Dale. 
 "Dick," he said, "his metal is too heavy for us at 
 this business. He is hammering our old wood 
 hull all to pieces. We must attempt to get hold 
 of him again!" 
 
 It was really his last chance, his only hope. 
 By a skillful maneuver he rounded the bow of the 
 Serapis and suddenly came in upon her a little 
 from the quarter. The enemy ship's jib-boom 
 
COMMODORE JOHN PAUL JONES 89 
 
 ran over the Bon Homme Richard's poop-deck. 
 Before it could get away two of the American 
 sailors had seized it, and Jones himself jumped 
 up and lashed it fast to his ship's mizzenmast. 
 This brought both ships together, side by side. 
 Their cannon all but touched. The starboard 
 anchor of the Serapis was hooked in the Rich- 
 ard's mizzen chains. It was a secure lock. The 
 rest of that furious fight must from now on be 
 still more furious — a hand-to-hand struggle to 
 the very death. 
 
 At this juncture some of his officers came up 
 to John Paul Jones, and attempted to persuade 
 him to strike his colors. As he was about 
 vehemently to reply, an under-officer, crazed with 
 fear, shouted loudly to the British frigate: 
 "Serapis ahoy! Will your commander grant us 
 quarter ?" 
 
 The indomitable Scotchman's face turned red 
 with anger at this flagrant breach of discipline 
 and show of weakness. Only the hail of Captain 
 Pearson saved the cowardly officer from being 
 knocked to the deck. 
 
 "Does your commander himself call for quar- 
 ter?" asked the British captain. 
 
 Glancing up to his masthead, Jones was sur- 
 prised to note for the first time that his ensign 
 had been shot away. Stepping forward on the 
 poop-deck he called back: "Quarter nothing! 
 We have just begun to fight !" 
 
90 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 Captain Pearson was stunned. Coming from 
 any other man, he might have thought this de- 
 fiant reply mere bravado. But he had heard 
 enough about John Paul Jones to know he meant 
 every word of it. In the beginning he could not 
 understand why the call for quarter had come; 
 only the absent ensign had impelled him to an- 
 swer the under-officer's appeal. 
 
 Commodore Jones now sprang on the quarter- 
 deck, and became at once the life and center of 
 the defense. He rallied his men at the battery, 
 shifted over one of the guns himself, and directed 
 the fire. Then he dashed among the French 
 marines, cheered and exhorted them in their own 
 tongue with his great voice, and even took the 
 muskets from some of them to set them an ex- 
 ample in good firing. 
 
 The sole chance of victory plainly lay in clear- 
 ing the enemy's decks. To do this everything 
 depended upon the unswerving aim of the sailors 
 in the tops and the marines on the decks. If the 
 crew of the Serapis should succeed in casting off 
 the lashings that held the two ships together, the 
 fate of the Bon Homme Richard would be sealed. 
 Himself directing all his energies to the defense 
 of the grapples for a time, until the men under- 
 stood the work, Jones next turned his attention 
 to clearing the enemy's decks. 
 
 In a short time the foe could no longer stand 
 
COMMODORE JOHN PAUL JONES 91 
 
 to his wheel or handle his sail. It was instant 
 death to any British sailor who tried to touch a 
 brace, sheet, or halliard. Their forecastle was 
 soon abandoned by officers and men alike. 
 
 At this stage — about half-past nine — Commo- 
 dore Jones made out the Alliance coming up. 
 He was filled with joy. With the aid of his sulk- 
 ing consort, who had probably repented, he could 
 soon gain the mastery. 
 
 But it was a false hope. To his surprise and 
 indignation, Captain Landais drew up and calmly 
 discharged a full broadside into the stern of the 
 Bon Homme Richard! Believing his rebellious 
 officer must have mistaken him in the darkness 
 for the enemy, the Commodore now displayed 
 three lanterns in a horizontal line — a signal of 
 his identity. 
 
 The Alliance moved around a bit, there was 
 another flash of flame along her hull, a roar, and 
 once more came the thud of crunching wood in 
 the Richard's hull, and several of her crew fell 
 in their tracks. Another swing, and another 
 broadside came hurtling into the sister ship. 
 More men fell, a shot pierced the old hull below 
 the waterline, and another leak was added to her 
 too-plentiful troubles. 
 
 John Paul Jones stood aghast. He could 
 hardly bring himself to credit the Frenchman's 
 treachery. He probably pinched himself to see 
 
92 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 if he were not asleep and dreaming. Slowly the 
 terrible truth dawned on him — the Alliance had 
 really turned traitor! Instead of a friend, she 
 too was an enemy! 
 
 The commander of the Bon Homme Richard 
 smiled. But it was a grim smile, a smile that 
 boded ill for somebody in short order. The more 
 enemies the better he could fight. Now let them 
 watch out! 
 
 By this time the condition of the Richard was 
 indeed desperate. Fire had broken out in the 
 lower deck, and the flames, eating their way 
 hungrily through the splinters that were every- 
 where to feed them, licked their way toward the 
 powder-magazine. Five feet of water were in 
 the hold; the ship was slowly sinking. 
 
 And still Jones's resources were not exhausted. 
 Although the enemy's upper decks had been 
 cleared, the lower tier, being covered, were un- 
 touched. The Commodore now suggested drop- 
 ping hand-grenades through the Serapis's main- 
 hatch into this lower tier. For the purpose Mid- 
 shipman Fanning, acting-gunner, and two sea- 
 men were ordered aloft into the maintop. Armed 
 with two buckets of grenades and a slow-match, 
 these four men lay out on the yard-arm. 
 
 The hatch was only partly open, leaving a hole 
 not more than two feet wide. But the main yard- 
 arm of the Bon Homme Richard overhung it. 
 
COMMODORE JOHN PAUL JONES 93 
 
 Fanning, who was known as a good thrower, was 
 to do the casting. His first two grenades missed, 
 but the third one went fairly into the opening. 
 
 A terrible explosion followed. The hatch of 
 the British frigate was blown high into the air, 
 more than fifty men were killed or maimed, and 
 the after part of the lower tier silenced. 
 
 Just as the crew on the Bon Homme Richard 
 were wildly cheering this exploit, the Alliance 
 bore down for the second time upon her sister 
 ship. Coming up within musket-shot she again 
 raked the shattered and sorely-distressed vessel 
 that was flying her own colors. Fired at alike 
 by friend and foe it seemed the height of folly 
 for Jones to persist, but he did. It was the fight- 
 ing-strain in his Scotch blood, inherited from his 
 Highland mother's male ancestors, that made him 
 fight on and on, knowing no defeat, till death 
 might claim him. 
 
 Directing one of his gunners to aim for the 
 mainmast of the Serapis, Jones soon had the sat- 
 isfaction of seeing splinters fly and the mast 
 waver. Another shot, and it sloughed, crash- 
 ing into the sea, carrying with it rigging, and 
 throwing up a geyser of spray far above the deck. 
 
 Already the Commodore stood by with a picked 
 party of boarders. Armed with pistols and 
 cutlasses every man was ready for the last 
 act. Jones now gave the signal, and the men, 
 
94 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 shouting loudly, and under the command of Act- 
 ing-Lieutenant John Mayrant, plunged over the 
 hammock netting and down into the fore-hold of 
 the Serapis. Meeting with little opposition, they 
 were soon in full possession, and rushed toward 
 the quarter-deck. 
 
 Seeing the hopelessness of resistance, Captain 
 Pearson struck his colors. Not knowing this, 
 his first-lieutenant rushed up a moment later, and 
 asked, "Has the enemy struck, sir?" 
 
 "No, sir ; / have struck," replied Pearson with 
 tears in his eyes. 
 
 It was the first time the British flag on a man- 
 of-war was ever struck to the Stars-and-Stripes ! 
 
 Although the enemy had surrendered there was 
 still much work to do for the crew of the Bon 
 Homme Richard. Victorious as she was, she 
 was rapidly sinking, her old wounds having 
 grown larger. Seven feet of water filled her 
 hold. The pumps, still manned by the British 
 prisoners, were beginning to choke. Of her 
 former crew only a hundred men were left un- 
 wounded, nearly every gun had been dismounted, 
 her starboard side was completely stove in, and 
 the flames were breaking out afresh, threatening 
 to consume her or cause her magazine to blow 
 her into a thousand bits. One alleviating cir- 
 cumstance was that the profligate Alliance, hav- 
 ing observed that the crew she so cravenly hated 
 
COMMODORE JOHN PAUL JONES 95 
 
 had won the fight, had slunk away in the dark- 
 ness and no longer contributed to the distress of 
 the Richard. 
 
 As may be surmised the crew of the latter ship 
 had very little sleep the remainder of that night. 
 When another day dawned, all of the wounded 
 were removed to the Serapis, also the prisoners. 
 Before any of the stores could be saved, she had 
 begun to list badly, and it was deemed dangerous 
 to remain any longer on her. 
 
 All that night, however, the old shot-torn craft 
 kept proudly afloat. Too much glory surrounded 
 her for her to perish when eyes could not see. 
 The first golden rays of next morning's sun still 
 found her afloat. They caressed her pitiful 
 ragged hulk into a brightness of unusual nobility 
 and charm, and bathed the faces of the dead, ly- 
 ing in long tiers on her deck, in a holy radiance. 
 
 Suddenly she seemed to shudder. Then her 
 head was seen to slowly bend. Lower and lower 
 it sank, till the waves were lapping close to her jib- 
 boom. There was a momentary pause, as if she 
 were halting to take a last look at the scene of 
 her sacrifice, when, with a rare dignity, she went 
 down. As she plunged into the great depths 
 awaiting her, her taffrail momentarily rose in the 
 air. And the very last vestige mortal eye ever 
 saw of the Bon Homme Richard was her waving, 
 tattered flag, still unstruck! 
 
IV 
 
 LORD HORATIO NELSON 
 
 His few surviving comrades saw 
 
 His smile, when rang their proud hurrah, 
 
 And the red field was won ; 
 They saw in death his eyelids close, 
 Calmly, as to a night's repose, 
 
 Like flowers at set of sun. 
 
 — Halleck. 
 
Lord Horatio Nelson 
 
 A GREAT SEA KING 
 
 The deeds of Lord Nelson, Britain's greatest 
 sea hero, form a dramatic chapter of life which 
 should be a torch to fire the admiration of every 
 boy in the land no matter from what country he 
 hails. Especially should Nelson's exploits prove 
 stimulating reading to the lad who is physically 
 frail and has the erronous idea that the only ro- 
 bust boys and men ever excel in feats of red- 
 blooded daring. 
 
 To have looked at Horatio Nelson's thin, pale 
 face and slender body — particularly to have 
 known of his frequent illnesses — you would never 
 have connected him with great accomplishments 
 requiring the snappy action of a healthy, vigor- 
 ous mind, and the equally snappy action of a fear- 
 less, obstinate fighter. The development of this 
 boy into England's foremost sea-fighter aston- 
 ished his youthful playmates and acquaintances 
 quite as much as you, or one of your young 
 friends of a "weak constitution" may sometime 
 surprise your boyhood comrades. 
 
 Nelson's life was a perfect drama in its happy 
 rise, its glorious course, its heart-stirring ending. 
 
 99 
 
ioo BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 The spot-light struck his figure when he was 
 thirty-nine; at forty-seven his stage was steeped 
 in darkness. But in those eventful eight years 
 he had won his trio of marvelous triumphs, — 
 Aboukir, Copenhagen, Trafalgar, — made Great 
 Britain "mistress of the seas," and left a memory 
 of such splendor behind him that his name will 
 ever be dear to his countrymen and known to all 
 future generations of reading peoples. 
 
 This great man was born on the 29th of Sep- 
 tember, 1758, at Norfolk, on the eastern coast of 
 England. His schooling was scant. Although 
 of a weak and sickly constitution his ambition 
 from boyhood was to be a seaman, and when in 
 1770 he heard that his uncle, Maurice Suckling, 
 had been appointed to the command of the Rais- 
 onable, he begged to join him. On this ship he 
 sailed to the Falkland Islands, being then just 
 twelve years old. A little later he made a year's 
 voyage on a West Indian merchantman, on which 
 he learned the essentials of his profession. 
 
 In 1773 an expedition was fitted out by the 
 Royal Geographical Society to sail to the North 
 Pole. Young Nelson, then only fourteen, was 
 wild to go. As no boys were allowed by the Ad- 
 miralty he almost failed in this endeavor, but 
 finally prevailed upon Captain Lutwidge, of the 
 Carcas, to let him be a member as coxswain. 
 
LORD HORATIO NELSON 101 
 
 When he returned from the ice-bound seas the 
 year following he was a full-fledged able seaman. 
 
 Then came a three-years' voyage to the East 
 Indies under Admiral Hughes. This cruise, 
 along fever-stricken, marshy shores, undermined 
 his none-too-rugged health. A long sickness en- 
 sued which came very near resulting in his end. 
 For at least one moment in his life he felt an over- 
 powering despondency. He saw before him the 
 towering obstacles he must meet with in his 
 chosen profession, and the tiny, puny, physical 
 strength he had with which to meet them. His 
 ambition consumed him, but his mind could see 
 no way to satisfy it. This is how he afterward 
 refers to it: "After a long and gloomy revery, 
 in which I almost wished myself overboard, a 
 sudden flow of patriotism was kindled within me, 
 and I saw my King and countrymen very much 
 smaller and weaker than I, needing my aid. My 
 mind exulted in the idea. 'Well, then/ I ex- 
 claimed, T will be a hero, and, confiding in Provi- 
 dence, I will brave every danger !' " 
 
 In those early years, and throughout his entire 
 lifetime, duty and fame, in the order given, were 
 the two thoughts that appealed to him most 
 strongly, the two thoughts that constantly 
 spurred on his endeavors. Duty kindled in him 
 the most fearless and unswerving devotion to his 
 
102 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 fellowmen; renown lured him ever onward with 
 its radiant, glittering honors. 
 
 Nelson's promotion was swift. In July, 1778, 
 he had won a first-lieutenancy on the 'Bristol, the 
 flagship of Sir Peter Parker. Six months later 
 he was appointed commander of the Badger, a 
 brig. Then came a change to post-captain of 
 the frigate Hinchingbrook, with which he pro- 
 ceeded against American privateers among the 
 West Indies. 
 
 Finally, on February 1st, 1793, France declared 
 war against Great Britain and Holland. An- 
 ticipating trouble, two days before his govern- 
 ment had appointed Nelson to the Agamemnon, 
 a sixty-four-gun ship. 
 
 During the ensuing four years, Nelson took 
 part in many minor engagements, all helpful to 
 his cause. Among these were the investments 
 of Marseilles and Toulon, and the blockading of 
 Bastia. In the latter action, while serving the 
 battery, a shot of the enemy drove a quantity of 
 sand in his right eye which eventually destroyed 
 its sight. 
 
 The chief event marking the opening of 1797 
 was the first important naval operation connected 
 with his name. This was the battle of Cape St. 
 Vincent, fought against the Spaniards, the allies 
 of France. 
 
 At dawn, on the 14th of February, the British 
 
 
LORD HORATIO NELSON 103 
 
 fleet of fifteen ships, under Sir John Jarvis, lay 
 twenty-five miles west of Cape St. Vincent on the 
 southern coast of Portugal. A heavy fog dark- 
 ened the morning. Soon after eight o'clock this 
 lifted, and there, coming toward them, the look- 
 outs on the British vessels saw the grand fleet of 
 Spain. The sight was enough to awaken ap- 
 prehensions, for there were twenty-seven huge 
 ships. Among these were the great Santissima 
 Trinidad, carrying one hundred and twenty-six 
 guns, and the San Josef of one hundred and 
 twelve guns. One was a four-decker — the larg- 
 est type of ship afloat, — and seven were three- 
 deckers. The Spanish ships were in two sections, 
 arranged in a most awkward line of battle, seem- 
 ingly unable to unite. 
 
 Meanwhile the British admiral made the signal 
 to prepare. At eleven o'clock the line was 
 formed, and at eleven-thirty action began. Nel- 
 son's ship was thirteenth in line. The plan of 
 Sir John was to run between the two divisions of 
 the enemy's fleet, thus preventing their junction, 
 and then assail them separately. 
 
 When he had succeeded in dividing them in 
 this manner, he made the signal to "tack in suc- 
 cession." At this moment Nelson's chance came 
 in. Seeing that it was the intention of the Span- 
 ish admiral to run behind the British column and 
 unite his lines, Nelson, without orders, passed 
 
104 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 from the rear, between the Diadem and Excellent. 
 Reaching the Spanish column ahead of his com- 
 patriots, he engaged single-handed the huge and 
 formidable Santissima Trinidad. 
 
 Shortly the Cnlloden, leader of the British van, 
 came to his support, and for an hour the two 
 plucky British ships had their hands full ; for by 
 this time nine other Spanish vessels had come to 
 the aid of their great consort. Then the pair of 
 British boats were joined by the Blenheim and 
 the Excellent, and the enemy craft San Ysidro 
 and Salvador del Mundo were compelled to strike 
 their colors. 
 
 Nelson's own ship, the Captain, had suffered 
 considerable damage. There was not a sail, 
 shroud, or halliard, left intact; her wheel had 
 been shot away. She was quite incapable of mak- 
 ing chase, or fleeing under chase. Happily she 
 had neither to do just now. She had been worked 
 up alongside the San Nicolas, and the next in- 
 stant Nelson ordered a party to board her. Cap- 
 tain Berry was the first to leap to the Spaniard's 
 deck. He was quickly followed by Nelson him- 
 self. A few volleys of musket and pistol shot 
 were exchanged, then the enemy backed away. 
 Berry gained possession of the poop and hauled 
 down the Spanish colors. At the same time Nel- 
 son, on the forecastle, received the swords of the 
 Spanish officers. 
 
LORD HORATIO NELSON 105 
 
 Just at this time the San Josef came to the aid 
 of her distressed sister-ship, firing on the Brit- 
 ish abroad the San Nicolas. At this Nelson 
 promptly called for reinforcements from the Cap- 
 tain. Without waiting for these, the intrepid 
 Englishman then ran across to the farther side 
 of the enemy's deck and sprang to the rail of a 
 large three-deck Spanish ship which lay close on 
 that quarter. 
 
 As he gained the deck of the second enemy 
 craft, he met a Spanish officer. Apparently be- 
 lieving that the British had boarded him also, and 
 that resistance was hopeless, this officer at once 
 gave his sword to the dauntless Nelson, who, 
 quite dumfounded, received it, and listened to the 
 Spaniard's words, "We surrender." 
 
 A little later the Victory, Admiral Jervis's 
 flagship, passed the disabled Captain and its two 
 magnificent prizes, and saluted with three cheers, 
 as did every ship in the fleet. 
 
 On the 14th of July, 1797, Nelson, now a rear- 
 admiral, received orders to sail for Santa Cruz. 
 Information had come that a Spanish ship, the 
 El Principle d'Asturias, was in this harbor, and 
 would sail shortly to Cadiz with a rich treasure 
 belonging to the crown of Spain which she had 
 brought on from Manila. 
 
 Four warships and three frigates, carrying a 
 landing party of a thousand men under Captain 
 
106 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 Troubridge, and one cutter, made up Nelson's 
 squadron. He had planned a sudden and vigor- 
 ous attack. Upon arrival, the boats, with troops 
 and scaling-ladders, were ordered to land in the 
 night, but a heavy gale of wind and a strong cur- 
 rent prevented. The next day it was hoped to 
 storm the heights behind the forts, while the 
 ships discharged their batteries from in front. 
 But when morning came calms and contrary cur- 
 rents kept the large ships out of range, this con- 
 dition prevailing for several days. 
 
 By the 24th of July the Spaniards, who could 
 readily see the British ships, had had four days 
 in which to strengthen their works and increase 
 the number of their troops. Nelson straightway 
 made up his mind to do something at once. That 
 day he wrote to Jervis: "To-morrow my head 
 will probably be crowned with either laurel or 
 cypress." There was, indeed, small hope for suc- 
 cess. 
 
 That night about eleven o'clock the boats ad- 
 vanced quietly toward the town with seven hun- 
 dred and fifty men. Nelson's barge led the way. 
 Hardly had they proceeded to within half-gunshot 
 of the mole than they were discovered, and a 
 sharp fire of cannon and musketry opened upon 
 them from one end of the town to the other. 
 
 The sky was dark, and the surf high. A num- 
 ber of the boats missed the landing; they were 
 
LORD HORATIO NELSON 107 
 
 full of water in a minute, and stove in on the 
 rocks. The ladders were all lost in the surf ; the 
 ammunition was wet and useless. But the other 
 barges reached the mole successfully. Led by 
 Nelson, the British stormed it, drove back the five 
 hundred Spaniards defending it, and prepared 
 for further advance. However, such a heavy 
 fire came from the citadel and town that the Brit- 
 ish began to fall on all sides, and they were forced 
 to retreat in the face of the terrible shower of 
 bullets. 
 
 Already a grapeshot had struck Nelson in the 
 right elbow. His stepson, Josiah Nisbet, had 
 placed him in the bottom of his boat, bandaged 
 the wound tightly, and rowed back to the ships. 
 As they neared them, a ball struck the cutter Fox 
 beneath her waterline, and she went down. Al- 
 though suffering intense pain from his wound, 
 Nelson insisted on stopping to save the men strug- 
 gling in the water. 
 
 When they finally reached the Theseus, a rope 
 was thrown over. With a rare display of forti- 
 tude, Nelson climbed this to the ship's deck, and 
 immediately called the surgeon to bring his in- 
 struments, for he knew his arm must be ampu- 
 tated. 
 
 His feelings when he returned to his home 
 shores after this mishap, with the defeat at Santa 
 Cruz also on his mind, must have been bitter. 
 
io8 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 To add to his troubles, the amputation had been 
 crudely done, and for long weeks he suffered tor- 
 tures from the imperfect surgery. 
 
 Yet it was after this, when he went forth again 
 — a one-eyed and one-armed fighter — that the 
 glorious luster of his renown attained the pin- 
 nacle of its height, to burn undimmed to the 
 end. 
 
 THE FIGHT OF THE NILE 
 
 France had made peace with most of the con- 
 tinental powers and had extended her influence 
 over all adjoining countries. In the spring of 
 1798 she was concentrating her forces against 
 Great Britain with the avowed purpose of de- 
 stroying the British monarchy. Active prepara- 
 tions were being urged forward in the seaport 
 towns of the Mediterranean, both at the southern 
 ports of France and at the friendly ports of Italy. 
 Ships-of-the-line, transports and troops were as- 
 sembling in large numbers. An extensive naval 
 expedition was evidently being planned. 
 
 This operation, which afterward proved to be 
 the famous expedition of General Bonaparte to 
 Egypt, was kept such a profound secret that its 
 destination was not even surmised by the British. 
 But the British government was sufficiently 
 
LORD HORATIO NELSON 109 
 
 alarmed to cause it to decide to abandon its purely 
 defensive tactics and to assume an offensive at- 
 titude. 
 
 At this stage Nelson, in command of the Van- 
 guard, a seventy-four-gun ship, was off Cadiz 
 with Lord St. Vincent. The latter now gave him 
 two ships-of-the-line, the Orion and the Alexan- 
 der, and four frigates, and sent him to watch 
 Toulon and follow the movements of the French 
 fleet. 
 
 From off Cape Sicie, Nelson soon after re- 
 ported that nineteen sail lay in the harbor of 
 Toulon; that transports with troops frequently 
 arrived from Marseilles; that twelve thousand 
 men were already aboard the warships, and that 
 hearsay had it the fleet would sail for an unknown 
 port in a few days. 
 
 Unhappily, the French fleet succeeded in slip- 
 ping out of the harbor without Nelson detecting 
 the fact until too late. This was owing to a 
 strong gale dismantling the Vanguard and ren- 
 dering it necessary to tow her to a port on the 
 coast of Sardinia for repairs. The same storm 
 drove the other vessels far apart, and precious 
 days were lost in reassembling them. 
 
 Thus it was not until the 7th of June that 
 Nelson, bolstered by the addition of ten other 
 ships from St. Vincent, took up his famous pur- 
 suit of Bonaparte. He had been ordered to at- 
 
no BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 tack him wherever found. The French had a 
 long start, and all that Nelson knew of them was 
 that they had sailed southward between Italy and 
 Corsica, and had been seen by a passing vessel 
 off the north end of Sicily, steering to the east- 
 ward. 
 
 With this clew, the British squadron made off 
 under full spread of canvas. As they went along, 
 from time to time they picked up additional frag- 
 ments of news regarding the chased which 
 helped them materially to shape their course. 
 
 It was a long and tedious search. There were 
 times when they expected to CQme within sight 
 of the enemy at any moment; other times when 
 they almost despaired of ever seeing him. The 
 want of fast frigates hampered Nelson a good 
 deal, his heavy warships not having the requisite 
 speed for a stern chase of this character. 
 
 On the 15th of June he learned from a Tunis- 
 ian cruiser that the French had been seen off 
 Trapani in Sicily; on the 26th news came off 
 Cape Passaro that the enemy had arrived and 
 possessed themselves of Malta, and then gone 
 eastward. From this Nelson was now pretty 
 well convinced that Bonaparte intended to take 
 some port in Egypt, establish himself at the 
 head of the Red Sea, and carry a formidable 
 army into Hindustan. If this surmise were cor- 
 
LORD HORATIO NELSON m 
 
 rect, British interests in India were in great 
 danger. 
 
 But if to Egypt, where in Egypt had they gone ? 
 After a consultation with his most trusted cap- 
 tains, Nelson decided to head for Alexandria. 
 
 Cruel suspense marked the next few days of 
 the chase. Every moment, night and day, the 
 lookouts in the foretops were at their posts, hop- 
 ing to be able to report the first sight of the 
 French. But disappointment still prevailed. 
 
 Alexandria was reported in view on the 20th. 
 Not a French sail was to be seen, nor could any 
 information be gathered of the whereabouts of 
 the other fleet. Nelson was much downcast, even 
 mortified. His judgment for once had played 
 him a trick. Lie did not know that he had really 
 outstripped his adversary; that his unerring 
 reasoning power had led him to Alexandria be- 
 fore Bonaparte had arrived. The truth was, the 
 French fleet had veered to the south shore of 
 Candia, and strange as it may be, under cover of 
 the night and a dense fog, the two rival forces 
 had at one time been within gun range of one 
 another without knowing it. 
 
 Not aware of this, Nelson now stretched his 
 ships over the coast of Asia, then steered along 
 the northern shore of the Mediterranean, passed 
 Candia once more, and returned to Syracuse 
 
ii2 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 sorely disappointed and humiliated, after a cruise 
 of twenty-seven days. 
 
 On the 23rd of July, not to be thwarted, Nel- 
 son again set out in quest of the elusive French. 
 Once more he sailed eastward and southward, 
 still convinced that Egypt was the goal of the 
 enemy but puzzled at his inexplicable disappear- 
 ance. Six days later he sighted the Pharos of 
 Alexandria — and there, in Aboukir Bay, fifteen 
 miles from the port, rode the French fleet in 
 solid battle array ! 
 
 Nelson was not found unprepared. All 
 through that long chase it had been his custom to 
 hold almost daily conferences with his captains, 
 during the courses of which plans for attack or 
 defense under every conceivable condition had 
 been worked out. Therefore it took but the 
 briefest word now for the commander-in-chief to 
 acquaint his officers with their part in the prob- 
 lem that confronted them. 
 
 It is from the extended accounts of Captain 
 Berry of the Vanguard and Captain Miller of the 
 Theseus that we know the details of this won- 
 derful battle fought in the inky darkness of the 
 night, in waters and among islands and headlands 
 entirely unknown to every officer in the British 
 fleet. 
 
 When the French first saw him, the enemy was 
 nine or ten miles to the southward, with Aboukir 
 
LORD HORATIO NELSON 113 
 
 promontory and island and a network of danger- 
 ous shoals and reefs lying between. The keen 
 eye of Nelson saw the weak point in the enemy's 
 position; he noted that where there was room 
 for a French ship to swing, there was also room 
 for a British ship to anchor. By taking up posi- 
 tions inside as well as outside of the French line, 
 he could concentrate his fire on the van and center 
 of the enemy, while the wind would prevent the 
 rear of the French from coming to the assistance 
 of their consorts. 
 
 Circling around Aboukir point, and giving the 
 shoals a safe berth, the British ships advanced 
 upon the enemy in a single column. First came 
 the Goliath, followed in order by the Zealous, the 
 Orion, the Audacious, and the Theseus. The 
 Vanguard, Nelson's flag-ship, was sixth in line. 
 A few minutes before sunset the Goliath and the 
 Zealous opened up with their heaviest guns, and 
 ten minutes later Nelson gave the signal to en- 
 gage the enemy at short range. 
 
 Advancing with silent guns, the British ships 
 could be seen to have many sailors aloft who 
 were furling sails and hauling in braces, prep- 
 aratory to casting anchor. As they swung in to 
 take their positions, the concentrated fire of the 
 French broadsides was projected into their bows. 
 Then with swift movement and masterly daring 
 the Goliath and the Zealous worked around the 
 
ii4 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 enemy's flank. Although deluged by his fierce, 
 raking fire, they passed inside his line. A mo- 
 ment later the inshore side was taken by the 
 Orion, the Theseus, and the Audacious, while the 
 Vanguard and four other vessels pitched into the 
 French front and center on the outside. 
 
 Considering that they had been thus cleverly 
 subjected to two fires, the French fought with 
 admirable courage. The Theseus and the Guer- 
 rier engaged in almost a grapple, not six feet 
 apart. The guns of the former, loaded with two 
 and three round-shot, belched their flame and hot 
 lead directly into her adversary. In the twinkle 
 of an eye the mizzen masts of the British ship 
 fell by the board, her foremast having gone be- 
 fore. A little way off, twenty minutes later, the 
 Conqucrant and the Spartiate, both French, were 
 also dismasted. 
 
 In the very face of success, Nelson was struck 
 down. A bullet had hit him in the forehead, 
 blinding him completely for the moment. 
 Quickly he was carried below in the arms of Cap- 
 tain Berry, and a surgeon summoned. After his 
 wound had been dressed, and while he was still 
 suffering intensely, he groped for a pen and pa- 
 per and scrawled the first words of his dispatch 
 to St. Vincent announcing the victory. 
 
LORD HORATIO NELSON 115 
 
 THE VICTORY OF TRAFALGAR 
 
 Following the events recorded, Nelson had 
 gained a brilliant victory at Copenhagen, had 
 been raised to the rank of viscount, and in Octo- 
 ber, 1 80 1, took his seat in the House of Lords. 
 About the same time cessation of hostilities 
 with the French republic was announced, and 
 the following March a treaty of peace was 
 signed. 
 
 Just a little over a year later — in May, 1803, — 
 war with France broke out afresh. Nelson was 
 appointed commander-in-chief of the King's 
 ships in the Mediterranean. On the 18th he 
 hoisted his flag on board the Victory, the ship 
 whose name was to become almost as immortal 
 as his own as the one in which he fought his 
 last battle and won the crowning triumph of his 
 life. 
 
 Meanwhile at Toulon and Brest the French 
 navy was being daily increased and put into ef- 
 fective condition. New ships were equipped, 
 troops gathered for embarkation; every prepara- 
 tion was being made for a fresh naval expedition 
 of large proportions — none less than the invasion 
 of England. For this purpose Napoleon had 
 been drilling an army of one hundred and fifty 
 
n6 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 thousand men, and collecting a fleet of thirty-five 
 ships. The squadrons were to assemble at the 
 West Indies, and from there sail for the Straits 
 of Dover. 
 
 Cognizant of the assembling of the squadron 
 at Toulon, Lord Nelson joined Sir Richard Bick- 
 erton, and on the 8th of July began the blockade 
 of that port. It was the most tedious kind of 
 work, this effort to keep the French vessels within 
 from getting out, and keeping those from without 
 getting in. But through fair weather and foul, 
 calms, winds, squalls and gales, the blockading 
 was faithfully carried on, although only four of 
 his ships were strictly seaworthy craft. Nelson's 
 sagacity showed him the importance of prevent- 
 ing the junction of the French squadrons, and 
 he made up his mind to maintain his vigil if it 
 should take the balance of his life. If the French 
 ships did attempt to break through him there at 
 Toulon he would give them battle. 
 
 This is exactly what the French presently un- 
 dertook to do. After being bottled up by the 
 British for fully a year and a half, their fleet, 
 under Admiral Villeneuve, slipped quietly out of 
 Toulon harbor on the night of the 17th of Jan- 
 uary, bound for Sardinia. 
 
 Nelson's two lookout frigates signaled him of 
 the enemy's act two days later. Within three 
 
LORD HORATIO NELSON 117 
 
 hours Nelson was at sea in hot pursuit. He 
 scoured the Mediterranean in the worst weather 
 he had ever seen; gale after gale tossed his ships 
 over the angry waters. It seemed that the storms 
 never would abate. 
 
 Now it happened that the same ill weather that 
 tormented Nelson, and added to the perplexities 
 of the pursuit, created havoc with many vessels 
 of the pursued. So battered did they become, 
 that Villeneuve was driven to return to the port 
 he had just quitted, in order to repair them. 
 When the craft had all been refitted, Villeneuve 
 again set sail. 
 
 Meanwhile Nelson, unaware of the enemy's 
 procedure, had been battling and drifting with 
 the storms. He had been to Naples, Sicily, and 
 Sardinia; to Alexandria, Candia, and Malta; he 
 had "covered the channel from Barbary to Toro 
 with frigates and the fleet." Yet — of course — 
 he saw nothing of the French fleet. 
 
 It was deeply mortifying to Nelson to be thus 
 outwitted; he smarted immeasurably under the 
 humiliation. He made up his mind, finally, to 
 go out of the Mediterranean, working westward. 
 Storms and unfavorable winds continued to dog 
 him. In his diary at this time we find he has 
 written: "My good fortune seems flown away; 
 I cannot get a fair wind. Dead foul! — dead 
 foul!" 
 
n8 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 Through the Straits, through the Gut, past 
 Cape St. Vincent, then straight across the At- 
 lantic to the West Indies, the British fleet strug- 
 gled on. With Nelson at the head there was no 
 such thing as giving up. Then came the Barba- 
 does and fresh rumors that the French fleet had 
 been seen in the Caribbean waters. On he plowed 
 to Tobago, to Trinidad, to Montserrat, to An- 
 tigua. 
 
 Had the enemy been at the latter place ? Yes ; 
 but he had gone. Once more he had slipped 
 through Nelson's fingers. He grimaced, thought 
 of his long and similar chase after Bonaparte, of 
 its successful outcome, and — kept doggedly on. 
 
 Following rumors as to the direction taken by 
 the French, he now turned about and headed 
 across the Atlantic toward Cadiz. On the 18th 
 of July, three months after he had left the Strait 
 of Gibraltar and had covered nearly seven thou- 
 sand miles of sea, he sighted Cape Spartel. But 
 there was no French fleet. Two days later he 
 reached Cadiz, and went on shore for the first 
 time in two years. 
 
 A few days following he heard that the enemy 
 had been seen steering northward. In that di- 
 rection he went. But it was only to find nothing. 
 Receiving orders to return to England, he sailed 
 for Spithead. 
 
 His stay was short. Two weeks after his ar- 
 
LORD HORATIO NELSON 119 
 
 rival he sailed from Portsmouth to Cadiz, where 
 he joined Vice-Admiral Collingwood. The force 
 under his command then counted twenty-seven 
 warships. In the harbor were the combined 
 fleets of France and Spain under the command of 
 Villeneuve and Gravina. Villeneuve at last! 
 With the enemy were thirty-six warships and a 
 number of frigates, apparently all ready for sea. 
 
 On the morning of the 19th of October, Nelson 
 was cruising off Cape Trafalgar, keenly alert to 
 any movement of the enemy. It was a clear day, 
 with an easterly wind. All at once the signal 
 flew up on the British lookout ships that the 
 French were coming out of port. Seeing this, 
 Nelson ran up the signal for a "general chase." 
 The effort was to prevent the enemy from enter- 
 ing the Mediterranean. Toward the Strait of 
 Gibraltar went the British ships, tearing along 
 under full sail. 
 
 Two days later — at dawn of Monday, October 
 2 1st — the whole French and Spanish fleets had 
 put to sea and were formed in a curved line of 
 battle, stretching five miles from tip to tip, off 
 the southern coast of Spain. On one side lay 
 Cadiz; on the other, Cape Trafalgar; in the far 
 distance was the Strait of Gibraltar, through 
 which the British were bound the enemy should 
 rfot escape. Evidently he had determined the 
 only alternative left for him now was to fight it 
 out. 
 
120 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 Towering high among the craft of the Allies 
 was the great Spanish ship, Santissima Trinidad, 
 the largest vessel afloat and carrying one hun- 
 dred and twenty-six heavy guns — a ship we have 
 met before. Directly next to her rose the masts 
 of the Bucentaure, the famous flagship of the 
 commander-in-chief, Admiral Villeneuve. On 
 either side of these Spanish and French leader- 
 craft stretched the extensive wing of their con- 
 sort, bristling with guns, ready for the conflict. 
 
 For Nelson the moment sought for two years 
 and four months had at last arrived. Appearing 
 on deck of the Victory, dressed in his admiral's 
 coat, and covered with a blaze of decorations 
 which were the pride of his heart, he made in 
 quick succession the signals: "Form the order 
 for sailing," "Prepare for battle," "Bear up." 
 
 Beating round, the British now came forward 
 in two columns to the attack. Admiral Colling- 
 wood, in his flagship, the Royal Sovereign, headed 
 the column to the south, while the Victory led 
 the northern ships. 
 
 Toward eleven o'clock Nelson went below, and 
 on his knees wrote the words of his noble prayer : 
 "May the great God whom I worship grant to 
 my country, and for the benefit of Europe in gen- 
 eral, a great and glorious victory. . . . Amen." 
 He followed this almost immediately afterward 
 with the memorable message which was the last 
 
LORD HORATIO NELSON 121 
 
 to his fleet, "England expects every man will do 
 his duty." Shouts and cheers along the whole 
 line greeted the inspiring words. 
 
 Directing her guns full upon the Spanish line, 
 the Royal Sovereign began firing as soon as she 
 was within range. At the same time the Victory 
 swept down upon the Bucentaure, on the French 
 wing. As Nelson drew nearer the whole artil- 
 lery of the French van was directed upon him in 
 a staggering violence. Then he opened up on the 
 Bucentaure with such a terrific retaliatory fire 
 that twenty of her guns were speedily dismounted 
 and four hundred of her men killed or wounded. 
 
 Leaving >the French flagship to his consorts, 
 Nelson now turned his attention to the Redoubt- 
 able, which had already been attacking him. 
 Running up close to the second French ship, he 
 ordered the guns on that side to be fired. As 
 they spat out their flame and shot, the Redoubt- 
 able shivered, for the range was so close that the 
 guns of both vessels were almost touching. 
 
 Nelson and Captain Hardy paced the quarter- 
 deck of the Victory. With satisfaction both 
 noted the effectiveness of the British fire. Al- 
 most above them, fifty feet up, the mizzentop of 
 the rival craft swarmed with the best of France's 
 sharpshooters. They had been told by their com- 
 mander to "bring down Nelson — the officer with 
 the medals" if ever the chance presented itself. 
 
122 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 Now that opportunity was theirs. There he 
 stood below them in clear, unobstructed view, 
 hidden only at moments by the shifting clouds of 
 battle smoke. A number of French muskets were 
 quickly raised in the enemy mizzentop. The 
 muzzles were trained downward at the calm and 
 unconcerned one-armed admiral. 
 
 Just then a number of his men noted his peril 
 — saw the Frenchmen aloft — saw their deadly 
 intent. A warning cry was raised, and a number 
 of British bullets sped upward, and found marks. 
 But it was too late. As Nelson wheeled about 
 several of the French sharpshooters' guns 
 cracked, and Nelson, shot through the back, fell 
 to the deck. 
 
 Captain Hardy was quickly stooping over him. 
 "They have done for me at last;" gasped the 
 great admiral, "my backbone is shot through!" 
 
 He was carried below to the cockpit, among 
 the wounded and the dying, where everything was 
 done to relieve his suffering. There for three 
 hours he lay, listening intently to the incessant 
 strife going on overhead in an effort to detect 
 which way the battle seemed to be going, while 
 his own life moments ticked rapidly away to the 
 zenith of the dial. Of attendants and wounded 
 alike, as they appeared, he asked weakly, "Are we 
 still winning?" 
 
 Before he lapsed into unconsciousness he knew 
 
LORD HORATIO NELSON 123 
 
 that the Bucentanre had been taken; that while 
 his flag was still flying seventeen of the French 
 and Spanish ships had been captured, and one of 
 the most glorious of British sea victories had 
 been virtually won. Even as he was closing his 
 eyes for the last time, the roaring guns fell into 
 peaceful silence, and everything was hushed and 
 quiet when he whispered his final words, "Thank 
 God, I have done my duty!'' 
 
V 
 
 THE BURNING OF THE 
 "PHILADELPHIA" 
 
 'Twere better thus to sink where it stood 
 The ship he loved than that it should 
 Be used by foe against the good 
 
 Of his countrymen. 
 
 Swift stroke of oar — then 
 Flames on the ship shot to'rd the sky, 
 And when the pirates saw the why 
 They raged with mad, defeated cry. 
 
 — Curtis. 
 
The Burning of the Philadelphia 
 
 For us of to-day it is very difficult to conceive 
 that there ever was a time when the United States 
 paid money to another country to be left un- 
 molested. It is even more difficult for us to im- 
 agine the United States paying such a tribute to 
 pirates. 
 
 And yet this is exactly what America did once 
 upon a time. Moreover those same pirates, — 
 the sea-robbers of the Barbary coast states of 
 Morocco, Tunis, Tripoli, and Algiers, lying along 
 the northern coast of Africa — had succeeded by 
 their indiscriminate and destructive raids on com- 
 merce in forcing most of the civilized powers of 
 Europe to bend to their demands for a tribute in 
 order to be left alone. Even then peace did not 
 come. These disreputable corsairs of the seas, 
 — like the bully who takes the small boy's marbles 
 from him in agreement of friendliness and then 
 turns with cuffs and blows to demand more treas- 
 ure — boldly continued to prey on Mediterranean 
 merchantmen, to slyly deny their misdeeds, and 
 to offer generous new assurances that all would 
 
 be well in case a little more tribute were offered. 
 
 127 
 
128 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 The only excuse that America can offer for 
 ever entering into a shameful bargain of this 
 kind, and maintaining it as long as she did, is 
 that "everybody else was doing it." For this 
 purpose Congress appropriated money, and trea- 
 ties were made by the President and ratified by 
 the Senate. On one occasion, at least, Congress 
 actually revoked the order for new ships for the 
 navy, and took the money to again buy off those 
 pests of the seas, the Barbary bucaneers. The 
 fund for this disgraceful purpose was known as 
 the "Mediterranean Fund," and was entrusted to 
 the Secretary of State to be disbursed by him at 
 his own discretion. 
 
 Thus matters went on for some years. But 
 the time was soon to come when a summary stop 
 was to be put upon the blackmailing — at least for 
 this country. After the United States had its 
 brush with France in 1798, and following Trux- 
 tun's brilliant victory over the French frigate 
 L'Insurgente in the next year, it occurred to the 
 American government that perhaps there was a 
 more efficient and more manly way of dealing 
 with the Barbary powers than feebly handing 
 thousands of dollars over to them every time they 
 took a notion to demand it. 
 
 This change of attitude was largely occasioned 
 by a number of complaints which came in about 
 
BURNING THE PHILADELPHIA 129 
 
 this time from the blackmailers themselves. I 
 think you can guess pretty well as to the nature of 
 these grievances. The Pasha of Tripoli whined 
 that we had given more money to some of the 
 Algerian ministers than to him ; the Algiers gov- 
 ernment grumbled that we should not pay Tripoli 
 so much; Morocco and Tunis pleaded for better 
 treatment. With nations as with individuals, 
 when the payment of black-mail is once begun 
 there is no end to it. In the present instance the 
 situation was made even more acute by the decla- 
 ration of the Pasha of Tripoli that he had ordered 
 his subjects to cut down the flagstaff in front of 
 the residence of the American consul, and was 
 about to declare war against us. This meant a 
 renewed onslaught against our merchantmen by 
 his pirates unless we immediately stepped forth 
 with sufficient gifts to buy the old rascal off. 
 
 In answer the United States government did a 
 most fitting thing. In 1801 Congress sent Com- 
 modore Dale with a small squadron of warships 
 to teach the pirates a much-needed lesson. 
 
 No sooner had the expedition reached the Med- 
 iterranean than the cowardly Morocco and Tunis 
 stopped their grumbling and came to terms with 
 the United States. This left Tripoli alone to be 
 dealt with. 
 
 As Commodore Dale had sailed before the 
 
130 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 declaration of war with Tripoli was known, he 
 was hampered by his orders, which permitted him 
 to protect our commerce only, and which forbade 
 hostilities. Nevertheless he was destined to get 
 into a fight, for hardly had he appeared off 
 Tripoli than he was fired upon by the Tripolitan 
 ship Tripoli, of fourteen guns. No self-respect- 
 ing, peacefully-inclined American would ever 
 stand that, and Dale's own guns were quickly 
 barking away in defense. 
 
 The engagement lasted a matter of three hours. 
 Then the Tripoli, having suffered sufficiently for 
 her temerity, struck her colors. Her mizzen- 
 mast was gone, she was riddled with the well- 
 aimed shot of the Americans, and fifty of her 
 crew lay wounded or dead. Scarcely any Amer- 
 icans on the Enterprise — the twelve-gun ship 
 commanded by Lieutenant Sterret which had 
 fought this battle — had been wounded. It was 
 a signal victory. As he had no orders to make 
 captures, Sterret threw all the guns and ammuni- 
 tion of the Tripoli overboard, cut away her re- 
 maining masts, and left her with only one spar 
 and a single jury sail to drift back to Tripoli — a 
 hint to the Pasha of the new American policy. 
 
 In 1803 the command of the United States fleet 
 in the Mediterranean was taken over by Com- 
 modore Preble, who had just succeeded in forcing 
 satisfaction from Morocco for an attack made 
 
BURNING THE PHILADELPHIA 131 
 
 upon his country's merchantmen by a vessel from 
 Tangier. He was preparing to enforce a block- 
 ade of Tripoli when news reached him that the 
 frigate Philadelphia, of forty-four guns, com- 
 manded by Captain Bainbridge, and one of the 
 best ships in the United States navy, had gone 
 upon a reef in the harbor of Tripoli. It was 
 said that the mishap occurred while she was pur- 
 suing an enemy, and that while she lay helpless 
 she had been surrounded and captured by Tripoli- 
 tan gunboats. 
 
 This was a very serious blow. It not only 
 weakened the American force in those waters, but 
 it was also a great help to the enemy, for it prom- 
 ised to add another vessel to their own fleet. In 
 fact they got the Philadelphia off the rocks, towed 
 her into the harbor, and anchored her close under 
 the guns of their forts. They also replaced her 
 batteries, and made every effort to prepare her 
 for service against her own ships. 
 
 At this critical time Stephen Decatur came 
 upon the scene to save the day for his country- 
 men. Decatur, a young lieutenant of the Enter- 
 prise, appeared before Commodore Preble and 
 offered to go into the harbor and destroy the 
 Philadelphia. 
 
 Preble was willing, after talking at length with 
 the intrepid young man and hearing his plans in 
 detail. But some delay ensued in carrying out 
 
132 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 the program, as the squadron was driven off the 
 coast by severe gales. However, in January, 
 1804, the favorable moment having apparently 
 arrived, the Commodore assigned to Decatur a 
 small vessel known as a "ketch" which had re- 
 cently been captured from the enemy. 
 
 Decatur took seventy men from the Enterprise 
 and put them on the Intrepid, as he now chose 
 to rechristen the prize. Then, accompanied by 
 Lieutenant Stewart in the Siren, who was to 
 support him, he set sail for Tripoli. The little 
 ketch proved very cramped quarters for so many 
 men, but they were used to discomforts in those 
 days, and finally reached their destination with- 
 out mishap. 
 
 For almost a week they were unable to ap- 
 proach the harbor, owing to severe gales which 
 threatened the loss of their vessels, and ran into 
 a hidden bay for protection. But the weather 
 moderated, and on February 16th they stole out 
 in the darkness of the night and made their way 
 into the harbor. 
 
 All this time the Philadelphia, with forty guns 
 mounted, double-shotted and ready for firing, and 
 manned by a full complement of the pirates, was 
 moored within half-gunshot of the Pasha's castle, 
 the mole and crown batteries, and within easy 
 range of ten other batteries which mounted a 
 total of over a hundred guns. Some Tripolitan 
 
BURNING THE PHILADELPHIA 133 
 
 cruisers, two galleys, and nineteen gunboats also 
 lay between the Philadelphia and the shore. 
 
 Leaving the Siren behind, into the midst of 
 this powerful armament of the enemy Decatur 
 had to go with his little vessel and only four guns. 
 But he was undismayed. By seven o'clock he 
 was stealthily making his way between the reefs 
 and shoals which formed the mouth of the har- 
 bor. With the aid of a light wind blowing in- 
 shore the ketch bowled silently along. Her mas- 
 ter steered straight toward the Philadelphia, 
 whose position he well knew and whose lights he 
 could soon make out, like burning embers against 
 the dark heart of night. By nine-thirty he was 
 within two hundred yards of the former Ameri- 
 can frigate. 
 
 As they approached Decatur stood at the helm 
 with the pilot, only two or three men showing on 
 deck. The rest of the crew of seventy-five were 
 lying hidden under the bulwarks. In this man- 
 ner the Intrepid drifted to within twenty-five 
 yards of the Philadelphia before she was hailed 
 by the lookouts. The cry was in a foreign tongue 
 whose meaning the young American could only 
 guess at. He answered back in English, hoping 
 that it would be understood; "This is the In- 
 trepid" 
 
 "You Angleesh?" came <"he broken inquiry 
 through the darkness. 
 
134 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 "We are alone," said Decatur, as though he 
 had either not heard or had misunderstood the 
 question. "We are in need of aid." 
 
 "What wrong?" was the next call. Evidently 
 the pirate's suspicions, if he had any, were al- 
 layed, as Decatur intended they should be. 
 
 "Our anchors have been lost in the gale," was 
 the truthful answer. (The Intrepid and Siren 
 had each lost an anchor.) "Will you let us run 
 a warp to your ship and ride by her till morn- 
 ing?" 
 
 The truth of the matter is, while this little by- 
 play had been going on, some of Decatur's men 
 had already lowered a small boat with the avowed 
 purpose of rowing to the Philadelphia whether 
 a favorable or an unfavorable answer resulted. 
 A reply that sounded very much like "You come" 
 came from the captured frigate. Instantly De- 
 catur leaped into the small boat with a rope, fol- 
 lowed by a couple of his men. In a few minutes 
 they had pulled to the big shadowy hull of the 
 Philadelphia and made fast their line to her fore- 
 chains. He then twitched the rope sharply three 
 times, a pre-arranged signal, and at once his crew 
 on the ketch began to haul the latter toward the 
 pirate craft. 
 
 At this juncture the suspicions of the Tripoli- 
 tans seemed suddenly awakened. There came a 
 harsh, alarmed cry of "Americanos!" and the 
 
BURNING THE PHILADELPHIA 135 
 
 strangers were ordered away in no uncertain 
 terms of pidgin-English. 
 
 But those buccaneers knew not with whom they 
 were reckoning. At the first sign of alarm on 
 the part of the enemy, Decatur sprang up the 
 main chains of the Philadelphia, shouting to his 
 men to board her at once. He was rapidly fol- 
 lowed by his officers and crew. 
 
 As the Americans swarmed over the rails and 
 came upon the deck the pirates gathered in a 
 panic-stricken, confused mass on the forecastle. 
 Apparently they thought themselves assailed by 
 an opponent many times more numerous than 
 themselves, whereas, in truth, the odds were all 
 on their own side had they but known it. 
 
 Decatur waited a moment until his men were 
 all behind him. Then, placing himself at their 
 head, he drew his sword and rushed upon the 
 Tripolitans. There was a sharp, but very brief 
 conflict. The pirates, terrorized from the begin- 
 ning, stood before the fierce onslaught only long 
 enough to see scores of their number go down un- 
 der the unerring pistol-shots and cutlass-thrusts 
 of the Americans, and then those of them who 
 could fled to the rails and jumped madly over- 
 board. 
 
 Could he have done so it would have been the 
 immediate effort of Decatur now to take the Phil- 
 adelphia out of the harbor. But this he knew to 
 
136 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 be impossible. He therefore gave orders to burn 
 the ship, and his men, who had been thoroughly 
 instructed in their parts, dispersed to all sections 
 of the vessel with the combustibles that had been 
 prepared. So well and quickly did they work, a 
 few minutes later flames broke out in practically 
 all parts of the frigate at once. 
 
 Satisfied that he could do no more, Decatur 
 ordered his men to return to the Intrepid. 
 Quietly, without confusion, they obeyed, although 
 there was a pang in the throat of many a man of 
 them because the dear old Yankee frigate must 
 perish in this ignoble manner. 
 
 It was a moment of unusual peril. The fire 
 was breaking out all along the Philadelphia, and 
 the flaming brands and sparks were already be- 
 ginning to fly. Should any of these fall onto 
 the deck of the little Intrepid, lying by, she too 
 would be afire in a moment, with great danger of 
 her powder magazine catching and blowing her 
 to fragments. 
 
 The Americans were quickly aboard their own 
 craft, however. The next instant they had 
 slashed the cables, manned the sweeps, and were 
 bearing away from the larger ship. 
 - It was a magnificent sight to see those great 
 licking tongues of pallid red bursting forth 
 from the hull and decking of the Philadelphia, as 
 the ketch swiftly drew farther and farther away, 
 
BURNING THE PHILADELPHIA 137 
 
 afraid that in the bright and expansive reflection 
 of the conflagration the enemy on shore could de- 
 tect them and shoot them down before they could 
 get out of range. 
 
 Soon the tongues of fire were creeping up the 
 tall masts of the frigate, and clutching first one 
 shivering shroud and then another in their con- 
 suming tentacles. As the ship's guns became 
 heated, they were discharged, as if by phantom 
 gunners, shattering the silence of the night into 
 quivering echoes. And, as if in a final effort to 
 wreak vengeance on the foreigners who had 
 brought her to this, the grand old frigate now 
 let go her shoreward batteries, and the heavy shot 
 went hurtling into the midst of pirate craft and 
 shoreworks. Finally her cables parted, and, an 
 awesome pyre of wreckage, she drifted across the 
 harbor, to finally blow up. 
 
 Meantime the waters in the vicinity had been 
 illuminated almost like day. The escaping In- 
 trepid stood out against the light background like 
 a blot of ink on a white sheet of paper. An angry 
 roar went up from the buccaneer populace of 
 Tripoli. Shore guns and ship's guns began to 
 cast their venomous hate toward the frail craft 
 of the fleeing ones. But fortune favored the 
 Americans; they kept on pulling for dear life, a 
 friendly puif of wind soon filled their sail, and 
 soon they were out of range and once more en- 
 
138 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 gulfed in darkness. A little later they came up 
 with the Siren, and bore away to rejoin Commo- 
 dore Preble. 
 
 This successful venture was carried through 
 solely by the cool courage of Stephen Decatur 
 and the admirable discipline of his men. The 
 hazard was very great ; everything had depended 
 on the nerve with which the attack was made and 
 the completeness of the surprise. Nothing mis- 
 carried; no success could have been more com- 
 plete. Lord Nelson — at that time in the Mediter- 
 ranean, and the best judge of a naval exploit that 
 ever lived — pronounced it "the most bold and 
 daring act of the age." In any event, it is one of 
 those feats of arms which no American should 
 ever forget, for although of no great importance, 
 it fittingly illustrates the keen resourcefulness and 
 high courage of American seamen. 
 
VI 
 
 PERRY'S VICTORY ON LAKE ERIE 
 
 They fought like tigers on that deck 
 Till ship was shatter'd and a wreck; 
 But as she sank in splendor to her grave 
 The brave old flag did still wave 
 From her last boat, speeding well, 
 'Midst burning shot and shrieking shell, 
 And fearless sailors pulled at oar 
 Till flag adorned a ship once more. 
 
 — At her ton. 
 
Perry's Victory on Lake Erie 
 
 Because disagreement broke out between the 
 United States and Great Britain relative to the 
 latter country's right to search American vessels 
 and seize British naval deserters who had vol- 
 untarily enlisted in the merchant marine of Amer- 
 ica, war was declared on the 18th of June, 1812, 
 by the newer country. 
 
 Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, a native of 
 Rhode Island, and twenty-seven years old, had 
 assumed command of Lake Erie and the other 
 upper Great Lakes. In the very beginning this 
 was rather a nominal command, for Lake Erie, 
 the most important waterway of the lot at the 
 time, was in exclusive control of the foe. But 
 the Americans had captured a British brig called 
 the Caledonia, and purchased three schooners 
 which were afterward named the Somers, the 
 Tigress, and the Ohio, also a sloop, the Trippe. 
 For a time these were blockaded in the Niagara 
 River, only to be released after the fall of Fort 
 George and the retreat of the English forces. 
 
 Only by the hardest labor was Commodore 
 
 Perry able to tack these ships up against the 
 
 current to Presque Isle (now called Erie), where 
 
 141 
 
142 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 two twenty-gun brigs were being constructed un- 
 der his directions. Three schooners — the Ariel, 
 the Scorpion, and the Porcupine — were also built. 
 
 The harbor of Erie was well-protected and 
 spacious, and a most excellent place for Perry's 
 indefatigable efforts at building up a small fleet 
 with which to chase the enemy off the waters un- 
 der his direction. But it possessed one feature 
 which, while an aid in the way of keeping the 
 British from getting in, now turned into a dis- 
 advantage to the Americans in the way of keep- 
 ing them from getting out. This was an ex- 
 tensive sandbar across the harbor's mouth. At 
 times the storms shifted this into such propor- 
 tions that vessels of deep draught could not pass 
 over it; at other times the waters wore it down 
 so the passage could be made quite readily. Just 
 now it was a dangerous, if not an impossible, ob- 
 stacle. 
 
 While Perry was busy trying to devise some 
 method to circumvent the sandbar, Captain Rob- 
 ert Barclay, commander of the British forces on 
 the lake, appeared off the harbor and proceeded 
 to make matters additionally tight for the Ameri- 
 cans by instituting a blockade. This the enemy 
 maintained till August 2nd, 1812, when their 
 ships disappeared. 
 
 Anticipating an early return of the foe, Perry 
 
PERRY'S VICTORY 143 
 
 made hasty preparations for escape. On the 4th ; 
 at two o'clock, one American brig, the Lawrence, 
 was towed to that point of the bar where the 
 water was deepest. Her guns had been dis- 
 mounted and placed on the beach, to make her as 
 light as possible. It was proposed to get the ship 
 over by what is termed a "camel." This is how 
 Commodore Perry himself, in a report, describes 
 the procedure: 
 
 "Two large scows, prepared for the purpose, 
 were hauled alongside, and the work of lifting 
 the brig proceeded as fast as possible. Pieces of 
 massive timber had been run through the for- 
 ward and after ports, and when the scows were 
 sunk to the water's edge the ends of the timbers 
 were blocked up, supported by these floating 
 foundations. The plugs were now put in the 
 scows, and the water was pumped out of them. 
 By this process the brig was lifted quite two feet, 
 though when she was got on the bar it was found 
 that she still drew too much water. It became 
 necessary, in consequence, to cover up every- 
 thing, sink the scows anew, and block up the 
 timbers afresh. This duty occupied the whole 
 night." 
 
 Barely had the Lawrence passed the bar, at 
 eight o'clock the next morning, than the enemy 
 suddenly appeared. But the British were too 
 
144 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 late. Captain Barclay exchanged a few shots 
 with the American craft, and then withdrew. 
 
 The Niagara was the next ship to cross the bar, 
 then the others followed in succession. There 
 were not enough men to man the vessels at first, 
 but a draft contingent arrived from Ontario, and 
 many frontiersmen volunteered, while soldiers 
 were also sent on board. 
 
 On the 1 8th the squadron sailed in quest of the 
 enemy. After cruising about some time, the 
 Ohio was sent down the lake. The other ships 
 went into Put-in Bay. 
 
 Captain Barclay, who had been at Amherst- 
 burg, found that he was very short of provisions. 
 Up to this time he had not cared to risk an en- 
 gagement with the Americans, but now he felt 
 compelled to do so. Therefore, he prepared his 
 vessels for action, and put out of Amherstburg 
 on the 9th of September. 
 
 It was the next day that his squadron was dis- 
 covered from the masthead of the Lawrence, just 
 as the first streaks of dawn were appearing. The 
 British were then coming up from the northwest. 
 At once Perry's ships were all hustle and bustle, 
 as it was realized that an engagement with the 
 foe was almost sure to result. The light breeze 
 that was blowing shifted to the northeast, thus 
 giving the Americans the weather-gage. 
 
 In the meantime, Captain Barclay lay-to in a 
 
PERRY'S VICTORY 145 
 
 close column, heading toward the southwest. 
 His ships, six in number, consisted of two men- 
 of-war, two schooners, a brig and a sloop. These 
 were named respectively, and armed, thus: the 
 Detroit, nineteen guns; the Queen Charlotte, 
 seventeen guns ; the Lady Prevost, thirteen guns ; 
 the Hunter, ten guns; the Chippeway, one gun; 
 the Little Belt, three guns. 
 
 The American squadron, consisting of nine 
 vessels, was made up of the brigs Lawrence, 
 Niagara, and Caledonia; the schooners Ariel, 
 Scorpion, Somers, Porcupine, and Tigress; and 
 the sloop Trippe. Their armament stood: Law- 
 rence, twenty guns; Niagara, twenty guns; Cal- 
 edonia, three guns; Ariel, four guns; Scorpion, 
 two guns ; Somers, two guns ; Porcupine, Tigress, 
 Trippe, each one gun. 
 
 In addition to having more ships than the en- 
 emy, the Americans had close to double arma- 
 ment strength, possessing less guns but guns of 
 greater range. Against this advantage, the Brit- 
 ish had an excess of perhaps fifty men in fighting 
 trim. Therefore, it will be seen that if Commo- 
 dore Perry had not come out a victor in the forth- 
 coming battle, it would have been a national dis- 
 grace. It is true that his men fought with a 
 wonderful gallantry, but so did the men of Cap- 
 tain Barclay. 
 
 As the American squadron approached the 
 
146 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 foe, Perry's straggling line (the ships did not 
 seem to keep well together) formed an angle of 
 about fifteen degrees with the more compact line 
 of the British. 
 
 It was eleven twenty-five when the Detroit 
 opened up the action by a shot from her long 
 twenty-four, which fell short. Ten minutes 
 later she fired a second time. This was better 
 directed, and went crashing through the Law- 
 rence. Almost immediately the Scorpion re- 
 taliated with her long thirty-two, but missed. 
 The Lawrence shifted her port bow-chaser, and 
 now opened up herself with her long twelves, fol- 
 lowed by her carronades, but the shot from the 
 latter all fell short. 
 
 The action now became general, although the 
 rearmost American vessels were almost beyond 
 range of their own guns, and quite out of reach 
 of the guns of their antagonists. The ships in 
 the van, however, were enough in numbers to 
 match the enemy and keep him busy. 
 
 Meantime the Lawrence, crippled considerably 
 by the shot that had struck her, bore down slowly 
 upon the enemy. It was twenty minutes before 
 she succeeded in getting near enough to use her 
 shorter range guns — the carronades. As she had 
 approached she seemed to be the universal target 
 for the foe, who directed their fire at her with 
 gusto. Suffering a good deal, she was now able 
 
PERRY'S VICTORY 147 
 
 to use effectively all of her own armament. Her 
 shots went into the ranks of the British line with 
 telling vigor and accuracy, so much so, in fact, 
 that the British speedily showed more or less dis- 
 tress. 
 
 Helping the Lawrence were the Scorpion and 
 the Ariel. These three American ships, throw- 
 ing a combined weight of one hundred and four 
 pounds, were pitted against the Chippeway and 
 Detroit, throwing one hundred and twenty-three 
 pounds at a broadside. At the same time the 
 Caledonia, the Niagara, and the Somcrs were en- 
 gaging at long range the Hunter and the Queen 
 Charlotte, while, also at long range, the remain- 
 ing American craft were engaging the Prevost 
 and the Little Belt. 
 
 By twelve-thirty the Lazvrence had worked in 
 to close quarters, and action was going on with 
 the greatest fury between her and her antagon- 
 ists within canister range. Through ignorance, 
 the raw and inexperienced American gunners 
 committed the same error that the British so often 
 fell into on the ocean during the war — they over- 
 loaded their carronades. In consequence, the 
 carronade of the Scorpion kicked from its mount- 
 ings in the middle of the action, and went tum- 
 bling down the hatchway, while its shot scattered 
 harmlessly against the hull of the Detroit. One 
 of the Ariel's long twelves was also put out of 
 commission by bursting. 
 
148 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 During this time Captain Barclay's crew on the 
 Detroit fought with excellent skill and bravery. 
 Their aim was good, although the ship's equip- 
 ment was so deficient that they actually had to 
 discharge their pieces by firing pistols at the 
 touchholes, being without slowmatches. 
 
 Meanwhile the Caledonia came up into better 
 range; but the Niagara signified no such inten- 
 tion, her commander, Captain Elliott, handling 
 her wretchedly for the good of his compatriots, 
 and keeping at a distance which prevented the 
 effective use of his carronades on either his 
 special antagonist, the Queen Charlotte, or the 
 latter's sister ships. Yet he had managed thus 
 far to use his long guns well enough to cause the 
 Queen Charlotte some damage, among which was 
 the loss of her gallant commander, Captain Fin- 
 nis, and Mr. Stokes, her first-lieutenant. The 
 command had been taken over by Provincial- 
 Lieutenant Irvine who, perceiving that he could 
 accomplish nothing in his present position, left 
 off engagement with the diffident Niagara, passed 
 the Hunter, and joined the attack on the Law- 
 rence at close quarters. Thus was the Niagara, 
 the best-manned of the American vessels, kept out 
 of action by her captain's misconduct. 
 
 At the end of the line, the fight went on at 
 long range between the Somers, the Tigress, the 
 Porcupine, and the Trippe, on the American side ; 
 
PERRY'S VICTORY 149 
 
 and the Lady Prevost and the Little Belt, on the 
 British side. Considering her short-range equip- 
 ment the Lady Prevost put up a remarkably stout 
 and admirable defense against the long guns of 
 her American adversaries. Before long she was 
 necessarily greatly shot up ; her commander, Lieu- 
 tenant Buchan, had been dangerously wounded, 
 and her acting first-lieutenant, Mr. Roulette, had 
 also been seriously hurt. She began falling 
 gradually to leeward. 
 
 At the head of the line the fighting was fierce 
 and bloody to an extraordinary degree. By now 
 the Lawrence, Scorpion, Ariel, and Caledonia 
 were opposed to the Detroit, the Chippeway, the 
 Queen Charlotte, and the Hunter. Lying at very 
 close quarters, the ships of both sides did great 
 destruction to their opponents, and their crews 
 performed with a rare courage. Altogether it 
 seemed quite an equal contest, the Americans be- 
 ing superior in weight of broadside metal, but 
 inferior in men. However, the Lawrence had 
 received such damage in coming into the fight, 
 that weighing her condition, the odds were some- 
 what against Commodore Perry. 
 
 As the men fought on, the heaviest fire on each 
 side seemed to be concentrated upon the larger 
 opposite vessels. In consequence the Queen 
 Charlotte was now almost disabled, and the De- 
 troit was battered and cut up in a fashion to 
 
150 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 greatly distress her. Indeed, her first-lieutenant 
 had fallen, mortally stricken, while Captain Bar- 
 clay was so severely injured that he had to be 
 carried from the deck, leaving the command to 
 Lieutenant Inglis. 
 
 But if matters had gone ill with the Detroit, on 
 board the Lawrence affairs were even worse. 
 Her decks showed evidence of the grimest sort 
 of carnage. Out of one hundred and three men 
 only nineteen remained unwounded. In her 
 ward-room, used as a cockpit, and mostly above 
 water, many of the wounded, in the hands of 
 surgeons, were killed outright by random shots 
 of the enemy which came hurtling through the 
 thin wooden walls. Her first-lieutenant, Mr. 
 Yarnall, was three times wounded, but kept the 
 deck through all; the only other lieutenant on 
 board, Mr. Brooks, was mortally wounded. 
 Every brace was shot away ; only one usable mast 
 remained; her hull was a gaping sieve above the 
 waterline; by degrees her guns on the engaged 
 side had been all dismounted. 
 
 Perry, however, kept up the fight with praise- 
 worthy zeal and unexampled bravery. As his 
 crew on the Lawrence fell one by one, he called 
 down through the skylight for a surgeon's as- 
 sistant ; and this call was repeated and obeyed till 
 no more assistants were able to answer. Then 
 he shouted into the ward-room: "Can any of 
 
PERRY'S VICTORY 151 
 
 the wounded pull a rope?" and three or four of 
 them crawled up on deck to lend a feeble hand in 
 placing the last guns. 
 
 It was the Commodore himself who, assisted 
 by the purser and chaplain, aimed and fired the 
 final shot. With steady hand and the utmost 
 coolness he sent his charge whistling toward the 
 Detroit, and had the satisfaction of seeing a por- 
 tion of her rail and foremast go flying into splint- 
 ers. 
 
 Most commanders now would have struck their 
 colors and permitted the enemy to take the crew 
 prisoners. But not so Perry. Instead, the Com- 
 modore leaped into a rowboat with his brother 
 and four seamen, taking his flag with him. 
 Whatever happened, he had made up his mind 
 that the British should never have a chance to 
 gloat over this emblem, — to handle its folds, and 
 say when they got back to England, "This is one 
 of the flags we took from the impertinent Ameri- 
 cans." 
 
 A quarter of a mile to windward Perry's 
 searching eye had already noted the Niagara — 
 the Niagara, fresh, strong, still able to put up a 
 good fight. Now, standing proudly in the stern 
 of the small boat, bareheaded, with the beloved 
 flag flying defiantly from the bow, he ordered his 
 men to pull hard for the Niagara. 
 
 It was two-thirty when Perry arrived safely on 
 
152 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 board the Niagara. To this he transferred his 
 flag, took command, and sent its former com- 
 mander, Elliott, back in the rowboat to order up 
 the three schooners. Within fifteen minutes the 
 latter had come up, and Perry bore down to break 
 Captain Barclay's line. 
 
 The British ships had fought themselves to a 
 standstill. The Lady Prevost was crippled and 
 sagged to leeward, though ahead of the others. 
 The Detroit and the Queen Charlotte were so dis- 
 abled that they could not offer resistance against 
 fresh combatants. 
 
 As the Niagara stood down, firing her port 
 guns into the Chippeway, the Little Belt, and the 
 Lady Prevost, and her starboard guns into the 
 Detroit, the Queen Charlotte, and the Hunter, 
 she had everything her own way. Raked ter- 
 ribly by her fire, the Detroit and the Charlotte 
 tried to move off, but ran afoul of one another 
 with their rigging shot to shreds. 
 
 Then the Niagara luffed smartly athwart their 
 bows, within half pistol-shot, maintaining a ter- 
 rific discharge of great guns and musketry. On 
 the other side the British tangled ships were al- 
 most as disastrously swept by the Caledonia and 
 the schooners, which were so close that some of 
 their grape-shot, passing over the foe, rattled 
 against Perry's spars and braces. 
 
 Caught as he was between two fires, there was 
 
PERRY'S VICTORY 153 
 
 nothing for Captain Barclay to do but strike his 
 colors, which he did at three o'clock. The Chip- 
 pezvay and the Little ] Belt, seeing the Detroit fall, 
 did their best to escape, hut were overtaken and 
 brought to respectively by the Trippe and the 
 Scorpion. The commander of the latter, Cap- 
 tain Stephen Champlin, fired the last shot, as he 
 did the first, of the battle. 
 
 In its material results, as well as in its moral 
 effects, Perry's victory on Lake Erie was most 
 important. It gave the Americans complete 
 command of all the upper Great Lakes, and pre- 
 vented continued fears of invasion from that 
 quarter. It also gave the British a greater re- 
 spect for American naval ability, and surely did 
 much to increase self-confidence in the nation. 
 
VII 
 
 THE "CONSTITUTION" AND THE 
 "GUERRIERE" 
 
 The queenly ship ! brave hearts had striven, 
 
 And true ones died with her! 
 We saw her mighty cable riven 
 
 Like floating gossamer; 
 We saw her proud flag struck that morn, 
 
 A star once o'er the seas — 
 Her anchor gone, her deck uptorn — 
 
 And sadder things than these! 
 
 — Hemans. 
 
The Constitution and the Guerriere 
 
 AN EXCITING CHASE 
 
 The first cruise of the United States navy in 
 the War of 1812 was destined to be a disappoint- 
 ment to all concerned. Commodore Rodgers, 
 sent out with six men-of-war on June 21, 1812, 
 three days after the declaration of hostilities, 
 finally had returned to Boston harbor, after a 
 seventy-day fruitless hunt for the British Ja- 
 maica squadron, with one letter-of-marque, seven 
 merchantmen, and one recaptured American 
 ship. To add to the humiliation, an engagement 
 had taken place with the British ship 'Belvidera, 
 of thirty-six guns, and she had very adroitly 
 slipped away. 
 
 After her lucky escape the Belvidera made her 
 way to Halifax, the chief naval station of Great 
 Britain on the American coast. Her report was 
 the first news to reach the British of the declara- 
 tion of war by America, for in those days news 
 traveled slowly. 
 
 Thoroughly alarmed, the English were quick 
 to act ; and in a few days a squadron left Halifax 
 in search of Commodore Rodgers. The force 
 
 157 
 
158 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 thus hurriedly gathered was quite formidable. 
 It consisted of: The Africa, sixty-four guns; 
 the Shannon, thirty-eight; the Guerriere, thirty- 
 eight; the Belvidera, thirty-six, and the Molus, 
 thirty-two. It was the intention of the squadron 
 to chastise the headstrong Americans for their 
 attempt to dispute with Great Britain her proud 
 mastery of the seas. 
 
 During the early part of July this force made 
 its appearance off New York, and quickly effected 
 captures enough to convince the American mer- 
 chantmen that a season in port was preferable to 
 the dangers of trading on the ocean in war time. 
 The squadron also overhauled the American brig 
 Nautilus, thereby gaining the distinction of tak- 
 ing the first war-vessel of the war. But what the 
 British ached for was to meet enemy craft of 
 more importance than merchantmen and four- 
 teen-gun brigs. Therefore, they must have been 
 much pleased when, some days later, the United 
 States frigate Constitution hove in sight under 
 circumstances which seemed to promise her an 
 easy prey for the five British warships. 
 
 It was on the 17th of July that the Constitu- 
 tion, after receiving a new crew at Annapolis, 
 was standing northward under easy sail, bound 
 for New York. Along about noon, the lookout 
 reported four sails on the horizon ; and one hour 
 
CONSTITUTION AND GUERRIERE 159 
 
 later a fifth sail was seen bearing up a few points 
 to the eastward. 
 
 A careful scrutiny of the strangers convinced 
 Captain Isaac Hull, the valiant commander, then 
 thirty-seven years old, that they were men-of- 
 war, although their nationality could not be de- 
 termined. Nor was he able to make out their 
 identity when night fell; while they were closer, 
 they seemed not to be approaching him directly. 
 Uneasy, and bent upon knowing just whom they 
 were before darkness prevented, Hull now set 
 signals which put the question plainly. But al- 
 though the distant ships must have seen and read 
 these, they made no reply. Then the night closed 
 in in earnest and they were blotted from view. 
 
 When day broke, to his chagrin Hull found 
 himself fairly surrounded by British frigates. 
 Not only were there the original five British men- 
 of-war which had left Halifax, but there was the 
 captured Nautilus with her guns turned against 
 the representative of her own nation, and a cap- 
 tured American schooner which had likewise 
 been pressed into service. Clearly the Constitu- 
 tion was outnumbered, and in a bad predicament. 
 Captain Hull saw that the only way he could save 
 her was to take to flight. 
 
 Flight it was then. The events of that three 
 days' chase are told with great detail in the log- 
 
160 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 book of the Constitution. To this record, many 
 of the officers and crew have later added interest- 
 ing and illuminating sidelights. 
 
 In referring to the early stages of the chase, 
 British historians themselves freely admit that 
 the Constitution, in taking advantage of the sud- 
 den lulls and gusts of the wind, showed far better 
 seamanship and command than England's own 
 vessels. Later on the frustrated foe called in 
 all their small boats, and when the American frig- 
 ate had vanished from view, went about for some 
 days picking up such of her ships as had drifted 
 widely apart. 
 
 To the delight of the jackies aboard the Con- 
 stitution, the morning of the second day brought 
 a light breeze over the ruffled waters which prom- 
 ised to hold. It really did keep fairly steady for 
 a few hours, during which time she gained on 
 her pursuers sufficiently to put her in the lead 
 close to five miles. Then the breeze died out very 
 tantalizingly, and the calm again held them in 
 its grip, calling for the sweeps and small boats 
 and kedge. 
 
 On the gun-deck, about the carriages of the 
 great cannon which were now useless, lay such 
 of the crew as were not assigned to duty in the 
 boats or at the capstan. Wearied with the con- 
 stant strain, they fell asleep as soon as relieved 
 from active duty; although they knew that from 
 
CONSTITUTION AND GUERRIERE 161 
 
 that slumber they might be awakened in the midst 
 of yelling comrades, the clash of steel, and the 
 roar of guns. 
 
 Ever alert for any sign of a coming breeze, 
 Captain Hull presently saw on the water far to 
 windward that rippling appearance that always 
 betokens the presence of a coming puff. He de- 
 termined to utilize this in such a way that the 
 British themselves would gain nothing by it. 
 Clouds, too, began to appear to windward, prom- 
 ising a squall of uncertain proportions, while in 
 a short time sheets of gray, which the experi- 
 enced sea-dog knows to be rain, could be seen 
 driving toward them. 
 
 With the greatest ostentation, the Constitution 
 was made ready as if she expected a severe gale. 
 The enemy could see the nimble American jackies 
 taking in sail and furling all the lighter canvas. 
 They could also see the clouds and rain. There 
 was no doubt about it; a bad squall was coming. 
 
 Immediately all was activity in the tops of the 
 British frigates. Reefs were rapidly taken in 
 the larger sails, some of which were even close- 
 furled. Knowing the peril of being caught in a 
 storm too close together, the British warships 
 steered well apart; the course was forgotten in 
 the effort of every shipmaster to meet the brunt 
 of ill weather as best he could. 
 
 Before these preparations had been completed 
 
162 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 the rain had reached the Constitution, and she 
 became enveloped in a heavy shower which so 
 hid her from view of the enemy that her outline 
 was all but lost to the British. For this reason 
 the foe was not aware that, in the midst of the 
 deluge of rain, the American jackies were tear- 
 ing around, rapidly taking out the reefs they had 
 run a short time before, and shaking out the 
 sail to almost full spread. 
 
 Then, with the uprising wind filling her canvas 
 into beautiful arcs, the Constitution sprang for- 
 ward like a hound after a rabbit, headed for 
 Boston harbor, the seas dashing high against her 
 sharp bow and at times wetting the fore deck. 
 
 After traveling thus through the storm, which 
 lasted upwards of an hour, the thunder-clouds 
 passed by, and with them went the rain to wind- 
 ward. But, to the joy of the American sailors, 
 the wind still held good, and their ship continued 
 to drive well. 
 
 As the gray curtain of rain swept farther and 
 farther away, the eyes of the jackies followed it 
 with increasing intentness and exultation. As 
 more and more blue water was disclosed in the 
 direction of the British, without showing a ship, 
 many a man said to his neighbor with a chuckle, 
 "Where are they?" 
 
 At last "they" appeared. So far were the 
 British left behind that they were now practi- 
 
CONSTITUTION AND GUERRIERE 163 
 
 cally out of the chase. Two of them were ac- 
 tually hull-down, while one was a mere speck 
 against the horizon-line. Blanketed by the 
 storm they had not seen their shrewd fugitives 
 getting away; had made no effort to throw their 
 furled sail until the squall had passed; and now 
 they must have been immensely crestfallen at the 
 trick played upon them so cleverly. 
 
 But though far behind, the foe must be given 
 credit for not giving up the pursuit. They held 
 valiantly after the American frigate, hoping 
 against hope to yet overhaul her. 
 
 It was a fruitless effort. Instead of gaining 
 on the Constitution — which was really a swifter 
 craft — the British ships fell farther and farther 
 behind. Finally they had all disappeared from 
 view, and the American frigate continued on her 
 way to Boston without mishap. 
 
 AN UNEXPECTED MEETING 
 
 "You say her name is the Guerriere?" 
 
 "Yes; I have just recently been commissioned 
 
 to her. She carries thirty-eight guns, and is as 
 
 fast as a hound. A fine craft, Hull!" 
 
 "Mayhap she is, Dacres; but you may just 
 
 watch out for that ship of yours if I ever catch 
 
 her in the Constitution!" 
 
1 64 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 Both speakers were dressed in the uniform of 
 naval officers. One — the taller — wore the Brit- 
 ish insignia of a captain ; the other, the markings 
 of an American captain. The Englishman now 
 laughed good-naturedly. 
 
 "If war should come, Hull, I hope two such 
 friends as we may be spared the irony of meeting 
 one another in conflict ; but if so, I am willing to 
 bet a hundred pounds sterling that your Consti- 
 tution will strike her colors to my Guerriere! 
 What say?" 
 
 "No," said Hull; "I'll bet no money on it, and 
 could not use your English sterling anyhow. 
 However, I will stake you a hat on the outcome 
 in favor of the Constitution." 
 
 "Done!" responded Dacres promptly; and the 
 bet was made. 
 
 This little banter ended a pleasant discussion 
 indulged in at a social gathering in Philadelphia, 
 while the vessels of the two officers of different 
 nations were lying in the Delaware. Although 
 even then the cloud of war hung threateningly 
 over the edge of the horizon, Captain Hull, 
 American, and Captain Dacres, Englishman, old 
 friends, would not allow bitterness to creep into 
 their hearts against each other. 
 
 How little did either realize that they were 
 very soon to be pitted against each other on two 
 
CONSTITUTION AND GUERRIERE 165 
 
 different occasions — one in a stern chase of many 
 miles, when neither dreamed of the identity of 
 the other — the other in a ferocious combat, each 
 squarely set, each forgetting self and friend and 
 thinking only of duty to country! Such bitter 
 incidents are not uncommon to the demands of 
 the Juggernaut of War. 
 
 We have already seen, in the preceding chap- 
 ter, the result of the first meeting of these two 
 friends, now rivals. We shall now see how they 
 finally met by accident and forever settled the 
 question of which of their proudful ships was the 
 better fighter. 
 
 After her escape from the British fleet, the 
 Constitution remained at Boston only a few days, 
 and then set out on a cruise to the eastward along 
 the New England coast. Bad luck seemed to fol- 
 low her. Not a prize did she take until she 
 reached a point off Cape Sable. Here she cap- 
 tured two small English merchantmen, and forced 
 an English sloop-of-war to relinquish an Ameri- 
 can brig. Shortly afterward a Salem privateer 
 was spoken, the captain of which informed Cap- 
 tain Hull that he had seen a British frigate cruis- 
 ing in the neighborhood. 
 
 This was good news. If he could only come 
 up with the foe warship the monotony of the 
 cruise might be broken. Captain Hull straight- 
 
166 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 way set out to scour the sea in quest of the frig- 
 ate. Never once did he dream that it was the 
 Guerriere — the ship of his pre-war friend, Cap- 
 tain Dacres — that he sought. 
 
 It was not long before the search was ended. 
 One morning there came a long-drawn hail of 
 "Sail ho-o-o!" from the lookout aloft. The 
 course of the Constitution was at once shaped 
 toward the stranger, who was not yet visible from 
 the deck. In half an hour she was made out to 
 be a frigate. As she was seen to alter presently 
 her own course, and bear toward the American 
 vessel, it was assumed that she was either a friend 
 or a very audacious foe. 
 
 Without waiting longer, determined to be on 
 the safe side, Captain Hull began operations for 
 action. The top-gallant sails were furled, and 
 the lighter spars lowered to the deck. The decks 
 were cleared, and the guns uncovered. Through 
 their glasses the officers could see the stranger 
 making similar preparations; still it was uncer- 
 tain that she was an enemy. 
 
 By five o'clock in the afternoon the two ships 
 were rapidly nearing, but were still too far off 
 to accurately identify. The drums on the Amer- 
 ican frigate beat to quarters. Then followed the 
 rush of barefooted men along the deck, as they 
 ran hastily and in perfect order to their various 
 stations. As the roll of the drums died away, 
 
CONSTITUTION AND GUERRIERE 167 
 
 the shrill voices of the midshipmen rose, calling 
 off the quarter-bills, answered by the gruff re- 
 sponses of the men at their posts. 
 
 The Guerriere was not one bit behindhand in 
 her preparations for a possible conflict. Al- 
 though Captain Dacres had been unable to es- 
 tablish the identity of the other vessel, he was 
 too good a commander, like Hull, to take it for 
 granted that she was a friend. At length he 
 called to his side Captain William Orne, an 
 American sailor whom he had taken prisoner 
 with Orne's vessel some days before. Handing 
 the American his glass, Captain Dacres said : 
 
 "Captain Orne, what do you think of that ves- 
 sel? Is she friend or foe to me?" 
 
 Taking the spyglass Orne inspected the distant 
 frigate carefully. He saw by her peculiar sails 
 and general appearance that she was without 
 doubt an American vessel. Being too honest to 
 deceive the British captain, as he might have done 
 to the advantage of his friends had he chosen, he 
 answered candidly: 
 
 "I think, sir, from her behavior, that she is 
 an American frigate, but I do not recognize her." 
 
 "He has a familiar look to me somehow," said 
 Dacres, puzzled. "I can hardly credit him with 
 being an American, however, for he comes down 
 too boldly for such." 
 
 "It is by his very boldness that I make certain 
 
168 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 he is an American," retorted the prisoner with 
 great warmth. 
 
 The British officer laughed good-humoredly. 
 "So be it, sir," he said. "The better he behaves, 
 the more credit we shall gain by taking him." 
 
 As the two ships came down toward each other, 
 the Guerriere backed her main topsail, and waited 
 for her opponent to draw near enough to com- 
 mence action — if action there was to be. As 
 Dacres stood thus, he set the English flag at each 
 masthead, and beat to quarters. 
 
 And when the frigate came to within two or 
 three miles, she took in all her light sails, reefed 
 her topsails, and made final preparations for com- 
 bat. Then she filled away and ran down to meet 
 the Guerriere. 
 
 On board the latter, Captain Dacres turned 
 again to his American prisoner. "Captain 
 Orne," he said politely, "as I suppose you do not 
 wish to fight against your own countrymen, you 
 are at liberty to retire below the water-line." 
 
 The American officer bowed, filled with admi- 
 ration for the gallant conduct of the British cap- 
 tain, and started for the cockpit. With him went 
 half a dozen American seamen whom Dacres had 
 impressed into his crew, and whom he now 
 chivalrously relieved from duty. Such fine con- 
 duct is not often met in the home of an enemy. 
 
 Now Captain Dacres saw the Stars-and-Stripes 
 

CONSTITUTION AND GUERRIERE 169 
 
 go up to the masthead of the frigate, and realized 
 that his preparations had been well-timed. In- 
 stantly he let go with his weather broadside. Ob- 
 serving that his shot had fallen short, he wore the 
 Guerriere around and tried her port broadside. 
 Most of this went through the American's rig- 
 ging, though two shots took effect in her hull. 
 
 In response to this, the Constitution yawed a 
 little. Bang! bang! went two of her bow guns. 
 Once more the Guerriere fired her broadsides. 
 In this manner the battle continued for about an 
 hour, at long range, the American ship saving 
 her ammunition and only responding to the heavy 
 broadsides of her antagonist with occasional shot. 
 
 As this ineffectual firing continued, the two 
 vessels had been slowly drawing nearer and 
 nearer, and the gunners on the Constitution be- 
 came so restless under their inaction that they 
 could hardly keep still. Captain Hull was pacing 
 the quarter-deck with short, quick steps, trying 
 to keep cool, but inwardly much excited. While 
 thus engaged, Lieutenant Morris, the second in 
 command, came up and asked his permission to 
 let him respond with a broadside, declaring the 
 gunners were becoming almost unruly in their 
 impatience to do more firing. 
 
 But Hull shook his head. Some minutes later 
 the request was repeated. This time there was 
 no response at all; Captain Hull seemed too en- 
 
170 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 grossed in pacing to and fro and watching the 
 enemy to even hear the words or see his junior 
 officer, who, non-plused, retired once more. 
 
 When, a little later, the ships were within half- 
 pistol-shot of one another, the smothered excite- 
 ment in Hull's breast suddenly broke out. 
 
 "Now, boys, pour it into them!" he shouted at 
 the top of his lungs, gesticulating with such vio- 
 lence that the tight breeches of his naval uniform 
 split far down the side. 
 
 Lieutenant Morris repeated his superior's or- 
 ders, though in slightly modified terms. "Hull 
 her, lads! Hull her!" he cried. 
 
 And the crew, catching up his words and the 
 significance of their double meaning, joyously 
 yelled in chorus: "Hull her! Hull her! Hull 
 her!" 
 
 The guns had already been carefully aimed. 
 Now, with slow-match, they were touched off. 
 The effect of the first broadside was terrific. 
 Captain Orne, deep in the cockpit of the Guer- 
 riere, said afterward that he "heard a tremen- 
 dous explosion from the opposing frigate. The 
 effect of her shot seemed to make the Guerriere 
 reel and tremble as though she had received the 
 shock of an earthquake. Immediately after this 
 I heard a tremendous shock on deck, and was told 
 that the mizzen-mast was shot away. In a few 
 moments the cockpit where I was was filled with 
 
CONSTITUTION AND GUERRIERE 171 
 
 wounded men. I did not like to see them suffer, 
 but I was overjoyed that the American was get- 
 ting in such good work." 
 
 But in the seclusion of the cockpit, this Ameri- 
 can prisoner could gain little idea of the work of 
 destruction going on above. He could not see 
 the gunners on the two ships, their bare breasts 
 covered with stains of powder and rivulets of 
 blood and sweat, pulling fiercely at the gun-tackle 
 and wielding rammers with frantic energy. He 
 could not see the British ship's mizzen-mast go 
 crashing and hurtling from its ragged stump into 
 the sea, carrying with it some of the topmen and 
 throwing others far out into the churning waters, 
 choked with freshly-made debris. He could not 
 see the great, ragged breach torn in the Guer- 
 riere' s quarter by the falling mast, nor observe 
 the frantic energy with which the British sailors 
 went to work to clear away the wreckage on deck. 
 
 While this was going on the Constitution drew 
 slowly ahead, pouring in several other destructive 
 broadsides. Then she luffed until she lay right 
 athwart the enemy's bow. This brought the 
 bowsprit of the Guerriere across the quarter- 
 deck of the American, where it was soon fouled 
 in the mizzen-rigging of the latter. 
 
 High and clear on the evening air now sounded 
 the notes of two bugles. One came from the 
 Constitution, the other from the Guerriere. 
 
172 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 Each was calling up its crew of boarders. Like 
 modern rival football gladiators, ready for the 
 game, they responded to the signal. But instead 
 of a trophy of goals to lead them to victory, in 
 this case it was to be a trophy of dead men. Now 
 see them come rushing, — boarding-caps on head, 
 cutlass in one hand, cocked pistol in the other, — 
 to the near-side of their respective vessels ! 
 
 But a heavy sea is rolling and tossing the two 
 frigates; to board either seems almost impos- 
 sible. As Captain Dacres observes this he re- 
 calls his men back to the guns. 
 
 Even though each party is forced to stick to 
 its own ship, so close are they that all weapons 
 except the cutlasses can be used. From the tops 
 comes a steady rain of leaden missiles down upon 
 the heads of the adversary, one of which slightly 
 wounds Captain Dacres. The protruding muz- 
 zles of the big guns often touch the near side of 
 the rival ship; when they are drawn in for re- 
 loading, after their deep-toned thunder, the sail- 
 ors quickly thrust their muskets through the 
 ports. The rattle of small arms is almost inces- 
 sant, sounding like millions of stones being cast 
 against a suspended piece of sheetiron; muskets 
 and pistols blend together in their reports. And 
 interspersed throughout it all are the ever-pres- 
 ent human tones — sometimes in peremptory com- 
 mand, sometimes in anger, sometimes in re- 
 
CONSTITUTION AND GUERRIERE 173 
 
 proach, sometimes in pain, sometimes in exulta- 
 tion, sometimes in sacrificial glorification, some- 
 times in weakened gasps — seldom in fear. 
 
 In the midst of the turmoil of heroic tragedy 
 there suddenly shrills high above all other noises 
 a new human cry— a cry of portentous dread: 
 "Fire! Fire! Fire!" 
 
 And, for a moment ceasing their fighting, the 
 startled jackies aboard the Constitution see one 
 of their own men pointing excitedly to the cabin, 
 from the windows of which billows of smoke are 
 rolling. The fire has been set by the flash of the 
 enemy's gun, so close are the ships. By the hard- 
 est kind of exertions a detail of men extinguish 
 the threatened conflagration. The relaxed face 
 of every man shows the relief that is felt as 
 the fighting is resumed with renewed doggedness. 
 A few moments later, a grim American gunner 
 manages to disable the enemy gun that has done 
 the mischief. A cheer goes up from those near 
 him ; those in other quarters are too busy even to 
 note the swelling cry. 
 
 Lieutenant Morris, with his own hands, is try- 
 ing to lash the two heaving ships together. Giv- 
 ing up the attempt, he leaps to the tafirail and 
 calls upon his men to follow him aboard the foe. 
 Before the last syllable dies on his lips, Lieuten- 
 ant Bush of the marines, and Mr. Alwyn, are by 
 his side. Crash-h-h! goes a volley of British 
 
174 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 musketry, aimed directly at the intrepid three. 
 All pitch backward — Bush dead, Morris and 
 Alwyn badly wounded. 
 
 Now comes a ripping, crunching, rending of 
 wood as the sea tosses the fouled ships and their 
 entangled rigging tears asunder. They slowly 
 drift apart, free once more. The heavy smoke 
 of the guns rolls in between, shielding both for a 
 few minutes. As it rises again, the Constitu- 
 tion's big guns roar out once more ; a great cheer 
 arises from her decks as the Guerriere's fore- 
 mast is vitally fractured, topples, hangs uncer- 
 tainly for an instant, then with a groan almost 
 human, crashes down, carrying with it the main- 
 mast and a score of unfortunate topmen. 
 
 The shattered British ship now lies a shapeless 
 mass, tossing unguided upon the waves. She 
 has lost all her backbone. Even her ensign flut- 
 ters from a slivered stump. 
 
 Drawing away and firing continually and re- 
 lentlessly with her stern guns, the Constitution 
 presently maneuvers herself into a good raking 
 position. As she is on the point of letting go 
 her broadside, the colors on the enemy ship are 
 hauled down. 
 
 What a cheer goes up from the Americans! — 
 what a hoarse, tired, happy, boisterous cheer ! 
 
 Captain Hull's rugged face bears a queer look. 
 In his features you read a strange mixture — 
 
CONSTITUTION AND GUERRIERE 175 
 
 triumph and pain ; triumph for his beloved coun- 
 try, pain for his dear adversary. He cannot 
 face him right now. Therefore, he calls Lieu- 
 tenant Read and sends him aboard the Guerriere. 
 
 "Captain Hull presents his compliments, sir, 
 and wishes to know if you have really struck 
 your flag," states Read. 
 
 Captain Dacres's face is a study. Then he re- 
 sponds dryly, with a significant glance at the shat- 
 tered masts and bloody deck of his ship: "Well, 
 I don't know. Our mizzen-mast is gone, our 
 main-mast is gone, our men are gone — and I 
 think, on the whole, you may say that we have 
 struck our colors." 
 
 After looking about the ship, which he found 
 in a fearful condition, with scores of killed and 
 wounded, untackled guns surging from side to 
 side, and some petty officers and seamen even in- 
 toxicated, Lieutenant Read returned to the Brit- 
 ish captain. 
 
 "Would you like the assistance of a surgeon, 
 sir, or a surgeon's mate, in caring for your 
 wounded?" 
 
 Dacres looked surprised, and responded: 
 
 "I should suppose you had on board your own 
 ship business enough for all your medical offi- 
 cers." 
 
 "Sir," answered Read, "we have only seven 
 wounded, and they have been dressed long ago!" 
 
i/6 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 Captain Dacres was astounded, as well he 
 might be; for on the decks of his own ship lay 
 twenty-three dead or mortally wounded men, 
 while in the cockpit the surgeons were doing their 
 best to alleviate the sufferings of fifty-six others. 
 
 The Americans now set to work to remove the 
 prisoners from the Guerriere, which was evi- 
 dently in a sinking condition. Needless to say, 
 they were pleased to find that in the capture they 
 had given freedom to some of their own country- 
 men — Captain Orne in particular. 
 
 In the first boat-load from the British ship 
 came its sad commander, Captain Dacres, who 
 was politely shown into Captain Hull's cabin. 
 Unclasping his sword, the conquered British of- 
 ficer extended it silently and formally to his old- 
 time friend. 
 
 But Captain Hull, with trembling lip, shoved 
 it gently back. "No, no, Captain," said he; 
 "I'll not take a sword from one who knows how 
 to handle it so courageously, — but" — into his eyes 
 came a roguish look, — "but, if you don't mind I 
 will now trouble you for that hat!" 
 
 For a moment a shade of perplexity passed over 
 the brow of the humbled British captain; then he 
 recollected the wager of a year or two back, there 
 in Philadelphia, and sheathing his formality with 
 his sword, he shook hands laughingly but patheti- 
 cally with his former comrade. 
 
VIII 
 
 THE SHIP THAT STRANGELY 
 DISAPPEARED 
 
 What cruel fate is this, 
 That one so gallant, a master of the seas, 
 Fearing naught, sailing where she please, 
 Should vanish in the dark of night, 
 And never leave a sign in sight — 
 No bit of wreckage, no floating mast 
 To show which way she might have pass'd ? 
 
 — Bellwright. 
 
The Ship That Strangely Disappeared 
 
 For as much as one hundred and fifty years 
 before the War of 1812 England had been a vir- 
 tual "mistress of the seas." The war-ships of 
 no nation were able to compete successfully 
 against those of Great Britain, although in that 
 time practically every European power had 
 matched its naval craft against her. And when, 
 in 181 2, the unknown navy of the new nation 
 growing up across the Atlantic did what no old 
 navy had ever been able to do, not only the Eng- 
 lish but the people of Continental Europe opened 
 their eyes wide in wonder, and the former were 
 greatly humiliated and aroused. 
 
 So it was the Americans who first proved to 
 the world that the English could be beaten at 
 their own favorite game. It was the Americans 
 who did what the huge fleets of France, Spain, 
 and Holland had failed to do. And — greatest 
 credit of all — they did it without large fleets and 
 squadrons, with a mere handful of frigates and 
 sloops, hammered together at short notice, and 
 manned and equipped with crude material. But 
 untrained as they were, those seamen were full 
 
 179 
 
180 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 of American spirit and initiative — so full of it 
 that their deeds with solitary ships have been 
 honored with as much attention by modern writ- 
 ers of naval warfare in the Old World as be- 
 stowed upon the actions of whole fleets in other 
 wars. 
 
 Among the famous ships of the Americans in 
 this war were two which carried the name of 
 Wasp. The first one built was an eighteen-gun 
 sloop which at the very outset of hostilities cap- 
 tured a British brig of twenty guns, but un- 
 fortunately she was herself taken a little later 
 on by an enemy seventy-four. In memory of 
 her the Americans gave the same name to a new 
 sloop which they had been building. These 
 sloops-of-war were very stoutly made, and their 
 swiftness compared favorably with any European 
 ships of their class, for the American shipwrights 
 were already as famous as the American gunners 
 and seamen. 
 
 The new Wasp, like most of her sister ships 
 of sloop build, carried twenty-two guns. She 
 was ship-rigged, and had a crew of one hundred 
 and seventy men. Twenty of her guns were car- 
 ronades, shooting thirty-two pound projectiles, 
 and intended for short range. Her remaining 
 two guns were bow-chasers, termed "Long 
 Toms," which had far stronger carrying power. 
 
 It was in 1814, during the last year of the war, 
 
THE SHIP THAT DISAPPEARED 181 
 
 that the Wasp sailed from the United States to 
 prey on the navy and commerce of Great Britain. 
 For commander she had a gallant South Carolin- 
 ian named Captain Johnson Blakeley. Her crew 
 were nearly all native Americans, being an ex- 
 ceptionally fine set of men, quick to act, and afraid 
 of nothing above or below the sun except the 
 wrath of God. Instead of staying near the 
 American coastline, or sailing the high seas for 
 her. prizes, the Wasp at once boldly turned her 
 nose toward the English Channel, bent upon 
 carrying the war to the very doors of the enemy, 
 as John Paul Jones had done thirty-seven years 
 before. 
 
 By this time the British fleets had obtained 
 such complete supremacy over European waters 
 that the ships of the French, who were friendly 
 with the United States, were almost completely 
 bottled up, and could not get out to render the 
 aid to America they would so much have liked to. 
 Night and day, in calm, squall, and tempest, 
 these great blockading squadrons of England 
 keep watch upon the rival war-ships of the 
 French emperor, as a cat crouches and awaits 
 the first movement of the little mouse for a quick 
 pounce. Other British ships of war patrolled 
 the seas unchecked, ready to pick up the first rash 
 French vessel or American ship they could see. 
 
 In spite of all this vigilance of the enemy he 
 
182 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 found he could not close up all the gates into the 
 seas, nor frighten those he watched into tamely 
 staying off the waters. A few French privateers 
 slipped out now and then. The bolder and more 
 formidable American privateersmen drove hither 
 and thither across the ocean in their swift craft, 
 laughing at the enemy's frantic efforts to catch 
 them, and harassing the English commerce with- 
 out mercy. 
 
 Of these American privateers the Wasp was 
 one of the most audacious. She proceeded at 
 once, upon crossing the Atlantic, to cruise boldly 
 in the English Channel and off the coasts of Eng- 
 land, France, and Spain. Here, in the very teeth 
 of British naval power, threatened by enemy 
 fleets convoying detachments of troops for Wel- 
 lington's Peninsular army, menaced by enemy 
 squadrons guarding British merchantmen, im- 
 periled by divers foe ships-of-the-line, out looking 
 for stray privateers like herself, the Wasp kept 
 on. Many was the time that her escape from 
 capture was narrow ; but by the splendid seaman- 
 ship of her crew and the vigilance and skill of 
 her commander, she kept on threading the danger- 
 ous home waters of her adversary, as saucy and 
 daring as you please. 
 
 Before she had been long on the ground, one 
 June morning found her giving chase to a couple 
 of English merchantmen. In the midst of the 
 
THE SHIP THAT DISAPPEARED 183 
 
 exciting pursuit, her lookout from the masthead 
 reported a strange vessel of suspicious character 
 bearing down fast from leeward. A little later 
 the stranger was close enough for Captain 
 Blakeley to see that she was a British brig-of-the- 
 line. She was, in fact, the Reindeer, of eighteen 
 guns and one hundred and twenty men, com- 
 manded by Captain Manners of the Royal navy. 
 At once the American captain decided to drop 
 his pursuit of the merchantmen and engage the 
 war-ship. 
 
 The sky was a beautiful azure-blue; the air 
 mild and still. The very lightest wind stirred 
 across the wide expanse of sea. At one o'clock 
 the Wasp's drum beat to quarters, and at once 
 every man ran quickly to his post, while the sails 
 were furled into fighting trim. 
 
 The Reindeer's drum also beat to order, and 
 she too made preparations for battle which could 
 be plainly seen from the deck of the American 
 vessel. On her forecastle she had rigged a light 
 carronade, and as she now came down from as- 
 tern of the Wasp, she fired this gun five times 
 point-blank at the American sloop, some of the 
 shots taking effect in the latter's hull but doing 
 little damage. 
 
 In answer, the Wasp now luffed slowly round, 
 firinsf her heavv carronades as she bore. In a 
 few moments the rival ships had closed; yard- 
 
184 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 arm to yard-arm they lay, almost in a mortal em- 
 brace. Terrific was the thunder of the heavy 
 guns of both. No sooner did a gun spit out its 
 venom of hot lead than its grimy gunner pulled 
 in its smoking muzzle, its equally grimy swabber 
 swabbed it, and it was loaded and thrust through 
 the port again for another merciless discharge of 
 hate. Like demons these men worked at the 
 breeches, while on the decks and the tops other 
 men fired with pistols and muskets at every hu- 
 man target presenting itself. 
 
 As the vessels ground together the American 
 sailors sprang to the bulwarks to make the union 
 sure by throwing grapnels over the Reindeer. 
 They were protected by their brother jackies be- 
 low and aloft, who discharged a veritable shower 
 of shot into the foe, many of whom made des- 
 perate efforts to rush forward and frustrate the 
 design by savage thrust of pike and bark of pistol 
 and slash of cutlass. In this struggle Captain 
 Manners himself was wounded. 
 
 But a wound could not deter the brave British 
 commander. At this juncture he gave his own 
 men the order to gather for boarding. Imme- 
 diately they came running up, many naked above 
 the waist, their skin already streaked with sick- 
 ening red in spots and blacked with powder 
 smudges in others; cutlass gripped in one rough 
 fist, pistol in the other. 
 
THE SHIP THAT DISAPPEARED 185 
 
 However, the Americans were quick to see 
 their new danger. Behind the bulwarks of the 
 Wasp crouched the American pikemen, with set 
 countenances and restless feet and hands ; behind 
 them, drawn up on the deck, cutlassed and pis- 
 toled, stood the sturdy, tanned marines of the 
 new country ; at the right and left, on stations of 
 elevated vantage where they could note every 
 movement of the foe, were the cool blue-coated 
 officers, swords in hand, ready to meet any 
 emergency themselves. 
 
 Now came Captain Manners's signal to his 
 men of, "Boarders away!" 
 
 Like a snapping bowstring the taut nerves of 
 the men on both sides flew into action. The 
 British sea-dogs began to tumble over the rail of 
 the American ship — only to perish by shot or 
 steel, to go down like weeds under the hoe of 
 the husbandman. Still they persisted, brave 
 men that they were. Desperately they stabbed 
 with pike and cut arcs with their cutlasses. Fully 
 as desperately did they pull trigger of pistol, and 
 attempt to force their way well upon the Ameri- 
 can deck. 
 
 Seeing his men stagger and hesitate, on the 
 very verge of rout, the dauntless Manners 
 shouted encouragment and sprang to their head. 
 Too late! Even while his arm was extended 
 forward, indicating the goal, the bullet of an 
 
1 86 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 American sharpshooter in the foretop came un- 
 erringly down and crushed through his skull. 
 
 As Manners fell, his men became panic- 
 stricken. They were quickly forced back to their 
 own deck, and then came the order of Captain 
 Blakeley himself to board. Over the bulwarks 
 of the enemy ship they scrambled, shouting like 
 men gone daft. Absolutely' irresistible was their 
 advance. With wild cheers they swept the wreck 
 of the British seamen before them, and in almost 
 the time it takes to tell it the Reindeer was in 
 their possession. 
 
 Every officer on board the enemy craft had 
 been killed, while at least two-thirds of her crew 
 had been killed or wounded. That they had 
 fought valiantly was shown by the fact that 
 twenty-six Americans had suffered death or in- 
 juries. 
 
 Having no desire to return to home shores 
 right away, and not wishing to be handicapped 
 with a prize consort, the crew of the Wasp re- 
 moved the British to their own vessel and then 
 applied the torch to the Reindeer. 
 
 After running into a friendly French port to 
 refit, the Wasp once more put to sea in quest of 
 new laurels. For some time she met no antagon- 
 ist worthy of her timber; moreover, she had to 
 exercise the utmost vigilance to escape capture. 
 
 Late one September afternoon she found her- 
 
THE SHIP THAT DISAPPEARED 187 
 
 self within striking distance of an isolated Brit- 
 ish brig which belonged to a squadron whose 
 other ships had become somewhat widely sepa- 
 rated in a recent storm. Although the brig's 
 sister ships were too close to promise a successful 
 attack on her in broad daylight, Captain Blakeley 
 thought he stood some chance under cover of 
 darkness. 
 
 Accordingly, keeping the Wasp far behind, 
 where her identity was unlikely even to be sus- 
 pected, he trailed after the Avon, which carried 
 eighteen guns and was in some respects a more 
 powerful craft than the American vessel. Dur- 
 ing the night he came up with the pursued after 
 following his lights for some time, and bearing 
 very close fired a heavy broadside into the Avon, 
 whose astonished captain had taken him for one 
 of the other British ships. 
 
 As soon as she could do so the Avon turned her 
 own guns upon her attacker, while sailors set 
 lamp signals high on her fore-mast calling to her 
 compatriots for aid. Plunging and wallowing 
 in the sea, which was running quite high, both 
 sides found the aiming difficult. But the firing 
 was fast and furious, nevertheless. 
 
 The British marksmanship was very bad; few 
 hits were scored. On the other hand, the Ameri- 
 cans displayed their customary superiority at 
 this game, and before long with such effect that 
 
1 88 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 the hull of the British brig was in deplorable 
 condition. Noting that she was sinking, her 
 commander struck his flag and cried for quarter. 
 Fifty of his men had been laid low, while only- 
 three Americans had sustained wounds. 
 
 Before the Wasp could take possession of her 
 prize two British ships which had seen the signals 
 of their distressed friend, or heard the firing, un- 
 expectedly put in an appearance. Extinguishing 
 his own lights, Captain Blakeley adroitly sneaked 
 away in the darkness, with one enemy shot chas- 
 ing after him. Had only one foe ship come to 
 the rescue of the Avon he would promptly have 
 attacked it. With the enemy all around him, his 
 feat of running in and destroying one of their 
 ships was remarkably bold and wonderful in its 
 accomplishment ; he was too sagacious a seaman 
 to spoil his good work now by remaining to en- 
 gage insurmountable odds. 
 
 After this the Wasp took other prizes. Once 
 she came across a convoy of British ships carry- 
 ing arms and munitions of war to Wellington's 
 army, under the protection of a big two-decker 
 war-ship. Hanging on the outskirts of this con- 
 voy, like a hawk over a barnyard, the swift sloop 
 watched her chance and finally swooped down 
 upon one of the transports and destroyed it, be- 
 fore the mothering ship could bring her guns to 
 bear. 
 
THE SHIP THAT DISAPPEARED 189 
 
 This was the last known feat ever performed 
 by the gallant little Wasp. Her country never 
 again heard from her; Europe never heard from 
 her. Where had she gone? The seas were 
 scoured for her by friend and foe alike; but the 
 waters seemed to have opened up, and swal- 
 lowed the daring sloop and her daring crew, leav- 
 ing no human survivor, not even an identifying 
 splinter of wood, scrap of metal, or fragment of 
 uniform. And nothing more is known about her 
 to this day. 
 
IX 
 
 THE "MONITOR" AND THE 
 "MERRIMAC" 
 
 We are not idle, but send her straight 
 
 Defiance back in a full broadside! 
 As hail rebounds from a roof of slate, 
 Rebounds our heavier hail 
 From each iron scale 
 Of the monster's hide. 
 
 — Longfellow. 
 
The Monitor and the Merrimac 
 
 THE "QUAKER MEETIN'-HOUSE FLOATING DOWN 
 THE BAY" 
 
 During the Civil War, in our own country, the 
 Union forces retreated from Norfolk and left the 
 Navy- Yard a mass of flames. Among the Con- 
 federate craft destroyed at this time was the fine 
 steam frigate Merrimac, of forty guns, which was 
 scuttled and sunk in the channel. 
 
 Three or four months after the occupation of 
 the Norfolk Navy- Yard by the Confederates, 
 Lieutenant George M. Brooke was inspired with 
 the idea of raising the Merrimac and converting 
 her into a new and very formidable type of war 
 vessel. He carefully worked out his plans, and 
 submitted them to the Confederate government. 
 They were approved, and orders immediately 
 given for beginning the work of redemption. 
 
 As originally built the Merrimac had no su- 
 perior in the United States waters. Her solid 
 oak sides rose high above the water, and were 
 pierced by a long row of gaping port-holes. Her 
 masts were tall and imposing, with long yard- 
 arms; and when her sails were all set they pre- 
 
 193 
 
194 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 sented such a great expanse of canvas that her 
 hull, big as it was, looked small and insignificant. 
 
 This splendid ship was accordingly raised, 
 worked into dry-dock, and all her rigging re- 
 moved, leaving only the massive hull. Then both 
 ends, for a distance of seventy feet, were decked 
 over. The gap between, one hundred and 
 seventy feet long, was covered with a slanting 
 roof which extended about seven feet above the 
 gun-deck. This was of pitch pine and oak, 
 twenty-four inches thick, and was finally covered 
 with a shield of two-inch iron plates. The up- 
 per part of the roof, which was flat, was railed 
 in, making a kind of promenade deck. The gun- 
 deck was completely inclosed by this heavy wall 
 of wood and iron, nothing appearing above it but 
 a short smokestack and two flag-staffs. In the 
 chamber formed by the roof were mounted ten 
 guns, the bow and stern pieces being of seven- 
 inch caliber — fairly powerful weapons in that 
 day. 
 
 A queer feature of the craft — one not discov- 
 ered until she was launched — was that the weight 
 of the iron plating and heavy guns sank her so 
 deeply in the water that the low decks forward 
 and aft of the gun-room were always under water. 
 This practically submerged her hull entirely, giv- 
 ing her a very strange appearance. Indeed, the 
 
MONITOR AND MERRIMAC 195 
 
 old salt on the Cumberland, who was the first 
 Federal seaman to sight her, gravely reported 
 her thus to his superior officer, "Quaker meetin'- 
 house floating down the bay, sir." 
 
 When this naval monster was completed she 
 was christened the Virginia, but somehow the 
 public did not take kindly to the new appellation, 
 and ever after she was known by the name of the 
 old frigate from which she had come into being. 
 And thus shall I speak of her. 
 
 The new Merrimac received as commander 
 Commodore Franklin Buchanan, an ex-Union of- 
 ficer of ability and daring. His junior officers 
 were also very capable men; but his crew was 
 far from as efficient as he would have liked. 
 While there were a few good sailors, most of 
 them knew nothing about seamanship, having 
 been picked out of the Confederate army ranks. 
 There was no chance to drill these men, for up 
 to the very hour of sailing to do battle, the ship 
 was crowded with workmen getting her ready for 
 her task of breaking the Yankee blockade. 
 When she did finally leave her berth, she was an 
 untried ship, not a gun had been fired, and not a 
 revolution of her engines had been made in open 
 waters since their resurrection, slimy and rusty, 
 from the bottom of the channel. 
 
 On Saturday, the 8th of March, 1862— the 
 
196 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 same day that Fremont fought the battle of Pea 
 Ridge, — the strange iron leviathan steamed into 
 the mouth of the James River from Norfolk. 
 She was accompanied by four small Confederate 
 gunboats — the Yorktown, the Beaufort, the 
 Jamestown, and the Teaser. Boldly and calmly 
 the Merrimac headed straight for the Federal 
 blockading fleet, which she could plainly make 
 out off Newport News in Hampton Roads. 
 
 It was a fine, mild morning, such as is common 
 in southern Virginia during the early spring. 
 On board the Union frigates Cumberland and 
 Congress, which were doing guard-duty and an- 
 chored a half-mile off shore, every sailor was en- 
 joying the weather and pleasing himself with the 
 prospect of going North in a day or two at the 
 farthest and being relieved of the monotony of 
 blockading at anchor. Some were pacing the 
 poop, gazing idly off at the blue waters; others 
 were lounging on deck watching the ever-present 
 sea-gulls fighting for remnants of victuals which 
 the galley-boy had just thrown over the rail; still 
 others leaned against the capstan and sat on coils 
 of rope, swapping yarns with one another. 
 
 One bell had struck some time, and the quarter- 
 master on watch was expecting to hear the tolling 
 off of another division of the day when his atten- 
 tion was drawn to an unusual appearance against 
 the fringe of woods away over in the Norfolk 
 
MONITOR AND MERRIMAC 197 
 
 channel. After gazing intently for several min- 
 utes, he approached the officer of the deck, and 
 presenting him the glass, said, "I believe that 
 pesky contraption of the Johnny Rebs is a-comin' 
 down at last, sir !" 
 
 The fact of the matter is, the Confederates had 
 not been working long on the new craft before 
 word of their operations had reached the Fed- 
 erals. While the news was the subject of a good 
 deal of scoffing, nevertheless the Union fleet had 
 been curiously watching for her appearance for 
 some time, not without some vague uneasiness at 
 that. 
 
 So now the officer of the deck was quick to 
 seize the quarter-master's glass and level it across 
 the waters. Sure enough! There was a huge 
 black roof, with a short smokestack emerging 
 from it, creeping down toward Sewall's Point. 
 Three or four satellites, in the shape of small 
 gunboats, clustered near her. There was a great 
 stir among the Union shipping when the strang- 
 ers finally showed themselves clear of the point. 
 But they turned up into the James River channel 
 instead of down toward the fort, and approached 
 the anchorage of the Cumberland and Congress 
 with great deliberation. 
 
 As soon as it was apparent that the strange 
 creature intended to make an attack on them, the 
 drums of both vessels beat to quarters, and as 
 
198 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 quickly as possible everything was put in ship- 
 shape order for fighting. 
 
 The Merrimac was such a grotesque, clumsy- 
 looking craft that the majority of the sailors 
 thought she would be speedily destroyed. Even 
 most of the officers on the Cumberland and 
 Congress had little misgivings on that score, now 
 that they saw her coming leisurely toward them. 
 So they made their preparations to fight gayly, 
 fully believing in their ability to gain the mastery, 
 as up to that time Northern arms had easily main- 
 tained the supremacy at sea. 
 
 By a little after four bells, or two o'clock, the 
 iron-clad ship was close enough for a shot, and 
 the Cumberland, which stood nearest, tried her 
 with a solid shot from one of their stern guns. 
 To the unbounded surprise of the crew, who saw 
 the shot strike fair against the Merrimac 's slop- 
 ing casejnent, the ball slid off like a drop of water 
 on a duck's back. 
 
 Before another shot was forthcoming, the Mer- 
 rimac threw aside the screen from one of her for- 
 ward ports, and answered with a charge of grape 
 which killed and wounded quite a number of those 
 on the Cumberland. Without pausing, she then 
 began passing her adversary. As she did so the 
 Cumberland fired a broadside into her at a dis- 
 tance of less than two hundred yards. Like peas 
 thrown from a tin shooter, these shot rattled 
 
MONITOR AND MERRIMAC 199 
 
 harmlessly against her boiler-plate, and the men 
 on the big ship opened their eyes still wider in 
 surprise. 
 
 Then surprise turned into consternation. 
 The Merrimacs own broadside was suddenly let 
 loose with terrible effect. One of the shells dis- 
 mounted an eight-inch gun, bringing every mem- 
 ber of its crew to the deck, while the slaughter 
 of many of the other shells was nearly as fright- 
 ful. Few were wounded, the fragments of the 
 huge shells of the Confederate ironclad killing 
 almost every man they touched. 
 
 Meanwhile the grim monster which had caused 
 all this bloodshed passed on up the stream. 
 Thinking that perhaps they had damaged her 
 more than outward appearances showed, and that 
 she had received enough punishment and was 
 about to make off, the survivors aboard the Cum- 
 berland began to cheer. But, unhappy, deceived 
 mortals, it was the last cheer that many of them 
 ever gave. 
 
 Standing up abreast of the bow of the Union 
 ship, the Merrimac suddenly put her helm aport, 
 and ran her sharp, submerged steel bow into the 
 frigate. There was a sickening crunch of tim- 
 bers, a heart-rending tearing and ripping. 
 Then, reversing her engines, the powerful ram 
 ran back a little, and once more came steaming 
 forward upon her prey, paying not the slightest 
 
200 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 attention to the shots that were rained upon her 
 armor. Again she struck amidships ; again there 
 rose that depressing rending of wood as a great 
 gap opened up in the side of the hapless Cumber- 
 land. At the same time the Merrimac played her 
 guns mercilessly upon the unprotected sailors of 
 her enemy. 
 
 Rapidly now the Cumberland went down. Her 1 
 lower deck was soon awash. Yet her guns still 
 huskily barked out defiance. Deeper she sank, 
 and some of her redhot guns sizzled in the water 
 that closed around them. The very last gun to 
 be engulfed was fired while her mad gunner stood 
 knee-deep in water. Then, with a moaning lurch 
 almost human, the old frigate settled to the bot- 
 tom, but not entirely into oblivion. For "a few 
 feet of her top-masts rose above the waves, and 
 there the Stars-and-Stripes still floated, victori- 
 ous in death." 
 
 It had taken about three-quarters of an hour 
 for the formidable new monster of the sea to dis- 
 patch the Cumberland in the summary manner 
 shown. That vessel taken care of, she now 
 turned her grim attention to the Congress. 
 
 In the meantime this ship, seeing the fate of 
 her sister vessel and not caring to share a like 
 one, had set her topsails and jib, slipped her 
 chains, and made a run for it. After her went 
 many shots from the small gunboats which had 
 
MONITOR AND MERRIMAC 201 
 
 accompanied the Merrimac, and which had been 
 laying-to during the fight of their ugly consort, 
 as if they knew she could amply take care of her- 
 self and wanted to have the Congress left as des- 
 sert. These shots killed and wounded a number 
 on the fleeing craft. 
 
 As she was running over the flats which make 
 off from Newport News, the Congress was un- 
 fortunate enough to ground in the shallow waters. 
 She struggled in every way to release herself, 
 but it was a hopeless task, for the tide was run- 
 ning out and her buoyancy thereby constantly 
 decreasing. As the waters continued to fall she 
 keeled over, leaving only the two guns in the 
 stern ports which could be used. 
 
 Two large Union steam-frigates and a sailing- 
 frigate had noted the peril of the Congress. 
 Towed by tugs these now started up from Hamp- 
 ton Roads to the assistance of the stranded ves- 
 sel; but, before they had achieved half the dis- 
 tance, they also ran aground. Undoubtedly it 
 was fortunate for them that they did, as otherwise 
 the chances are the dreadful Merrimac, which 
 could not reach them in their present position, 
 would have served them as she had served the 
 luckless Cumberland. 
 
 Having discovered the new position of her 
 prospective prey, the iron leviathan now made 
 leisurely toward the grounded ship. Taking up 
 
202 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 a position about one hundred and fifty yards as- 
 tern of the Congress, she deliberately raked her 
 with eighty-pound shell, while her consorts, the 
 Yorktown, the Beaufort, the Jamestown, and the 
 Teaser, assisted by throwing in their smaller 
 charges. The acting-master and coast-pilot of 
 the frigate fell, mortally wounded, along with 
 many less important men. 
 
 The Congress fought back desperately with 
 her pitifully poor armament, using her stern guns 
 so incessantly that they grew so hot the gunners 
 dare not lay hand on their breeches. But in a 
 little while even these two pieces were disabled, 
 one having its muzzle knocked off by a direct hit 
 from the Merrimac. Then rifles and carbines 
 had to be depended upon wholly, their users mak- 
 ing every effort, from deck and the tops, to pick 
 off the enemy crew whenever the huge ports of 
 the iron monster were seen to open for her guns 
 to be thrust out and fired. 
 
 The dry timbers of the doomed vessel now 
 caught fire in three places almost simultaneously. 
 In vain the crew fought these flames, while the 
 enemy shot continued to rain in upon them. Only 
 a handful could handle the pails and hose; the 
 remainder of the crew lay stretched all about 
 with pain-riven eyes and paralyzed limbs, or with 
 closed eyes and clammy limbs that would never 
 move again. 
 
MONITOR AND MERRIMAC 203 
 
 Seeing the dreadfulness of the situation, the 
 acting commander of the Congress ordered the 
 flag to be struck. With wet eyes he stood with 
 his back to it during this humiliating operation. 
 
 At once the commander of the Merrimac sent 
 a boat up to the surrendered craft, but when the 
 officer in charge found that Federal soldiers were 
 firing toward him and his crew from the shore, he 
 refused to take off any of the wounded, and beat 
 a hasty retreat to the ram. The ironclad then 
 began to fire once more into the Congress in a 
 most heartless manner, even though she flew a 
 white flag. 
 
 After ten or fifteen minutes of this, she ceased 
 shooting and with her consorts proceeded down 
 the channel, to bestow attention upon the fri- 
 gate Minnesota which, as previously stated, was 
 hard aground. But, owing to the shallow water, 
 the ram could not reach her third prey, and 
 with a few parting shots she and her sister 
 ships made their way up the Norfolk Channel, 
 satisfied to wait till another sunrise before at- 
 tacking other ships of the Federal blockaders. 
 
 It was found that only twenty-one of her crew 
 had been wounded, most of these having been 
 struck by the rifle-fire of the soldiers on shore 
 while alongside the surrendered Congress, and 
 not a single man had been killed. Not an atom 
 of damage had been done to the interior of the 
 
204 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 craft, but nothing outside seemed to have es- 
 caped. The muzzles of two guns had been shot 
 away ; her ram had been wrenched loose in with- 
 drawing from the Cumberland, her boat davits, 
 smokestack, railings, and flag-staffs had been 
 swept entirely away as if they never existed, and 
 great dents covered her impenetrable sides. But 
 as far as her fighting qualities went she was as 
 good as when she started out that morning. 
 
 THE CHEESE-BOX ON A RAFT 
 
 The news of the engagement between the Mer- 
 rimac and her Federal victims, the Cumberland 
 and the Congress, caused the most intense excite- 
 ment throughout America, and indeed through- 
 out the whole world; but the North and South, 
 of course, were particularly affected by it. 
 
 At a hastily called cabinet meeting in Wash- 
 ington, the Secretary of War said: "The 
 Merrimac will destroy every one of our naval 
 craft. If she can get up the Potomac it is not 
 unlikely she will throw her shells or cannon-balls 
 in the White House itself." In an hour's time, 
 figuratively, the strength of the Union navy and 
 coast defenses had crumbled before this absurd 
 "Quaker meetin' house" which had come "float- 
 
MONITOR AND MERRIMAC 205 
 
 ing down the bay." No one knew where the 
 ravages thus begun would end. 
 
 In this excited condition, mad with joy, or 
 filled with dread and consternation, all of the con- 
 tending States went to sleep that March night, 
 little dreaming that the morrow would change the 
 whole face of the situation and introduce a newer 
 and more terrible form of sea-fighter than had 
 sprung up yet. Even as people slept this queer 
 little untried vessel was steaming toward Hamp- 
 ton Roads, there to give challenge to the dreaded 
 Merrimac. In the next twenty-four hours this 
 unknown craft — the Monitor — and her inventor 
 — John Ericsson — would be talked about on every 
 street corner, at every cross-roads, and in every 
 home, throughout the length and breadth of the 
 land. 
 
 Captain John Ericsson was a Swedish engineer, 
 residing in America, who had already placed 
 his name on the roll of fame by inventing the 
 screw-propeller for driving steamships. With 
 the opening of the war Ericsson had become much 
 interested in devising a new type of battleship 
 which should be covered with metal to make her 
 impenetrable to the shot then in use. He became 
 so abstracted in his idea that he worked on it day 
 and night, first drawing careful plans, then work- 
 ing out and assembling the parts of a small model. 
 This he tried in secret in a small body of water 
 
206 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 one night near his home. Delighted with the be- 
 havior of his little ship, he appealed to a Con- 
 necticut capitalist by the name of C. S. Bushnell 
 for money with which to produce a full-sized 
 counterpart of the "monitor," as he termed the 
 craft. Mr. Bushnell, however, insisted upon 
 first taking the model to Washington to see what 
 the Naval Board thought of it. 
 
 Their efforts at the seat of government met 
 with a somewhat cold reception. After a long 
 explanation had been made by Ericsson of the 
 virtues of his little model, he and his friend were 
 calmly dismissed with these words: "It re- 
 sembles nothing in the heavens above, or the 
 earth beneath, or the waters under the earth. It 
 would sink of itself if put in the water. You can 
 take it home, and worship it without violating 
 any Commandment." 
 
 Such a verdict was really insulting, but the 
 wise inventor knew that these Government offi- 
 cials could not be expected to know the valuable 
 points about his product at a first hearing of this 
 kind. So he did not give up, but persisted in 
 demonstrating his model's good features again 
 and again. Finally some members of the Board 
 were convinced that it might be well to try out the 
 new craft, and a resolution was passed to have 
 John Ericsson build a monitor for the Govern- 
 
MONITOR AND MERRIMAC 207 
 
 ment, provided he would stand the expense of 
 production if the venture proved a failure. 
 
 With this grudging permission, the inventor, 
 aided by capital furnished by Mr. Bushnell, 
 worked with might and main to build the new 
 ship. Night and day the adzes sent huge chips 
 flying from the great oaken timbers, and night 
 and day the ringing blows of the hammers, as they 
 headed over rivets in the iron plates, could be 
 heard in the vicinity. Constantly the operations 
 were guarded, and no man without a pass was 
 permitted to come near. 
 
 At last, one day in the spring, just one hun- 
 dred days after her starting, the last rivet had 
 been sent home, and the Monitor was ready to 
 be launched. Great was the discussion over her 
 strange proportions. Like the men in Washing- 
 ton when they first saw the model, distinguished 
 engineers now declared she would never float; 
 many attended the launching expecting to see the 
 new ship plunge from the ways to the bottom of 
 the river, like a turtle from a log. The truth is, 
 so general was this impression that they had in- 
 sisted on having boats in readiness to rescue her 
 passengers in case she met their expectations. 
 
 But Captain Ericsson had laid his plans care- 
 fully; he knew far more about novel craft than 
 these engineers and other naval critics. The 
 
208 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 queer vessel glided down the ways heavily but 
 gracefully, threw a great geyser of water high 
 into the air as her bow cut in, then came to a 
 level on the surface, where she floated as buoy- 
 antly at her cables as a duck. 
 
 Truly she was an odd-looking craft. Her 
 deck, as flat as a shingle, lay only two feet above 
 the water. In its center was a large round tur- 
 ret of iron plates, with no visible openings ex- 
 cept two port-holes for the guns, which were 
 powerful enough to discharge great balls weigh- 
 ing one hundred and seventy pounds each. This 
 turret was pivoted in the center, so that its in- 
 mates could revolve it at will, thus directing the 
 muzzles of the guns to any point of the horizon 
 without changing the position of the ship. 
 
 Besides the turret, the smooth surface of the 
 deck was broken by two other elevations. One 
 of these was the pilot-house, in front, while be- 
 hind was the low smokestack. The pilot-house 
 contained the wheel that communicated with the 
 rudder, and was also round and made of iron 
 plates about ten inches thick. It had one visible 
 opening in the shape of a window for the pilot 
 to watch his course ahead, and this was covered 
 with a protecting screen of heavy metal bars. 
 
 It was about midnight of that eventful Satur- 
 day which I have described, and while the burn- 
 ing Congress was still sending her flaming brands 
 
MONITOR AND MERRIMAC 209 
 
 into the sputtering waters that waited to swallow 
 her, that the anxious garrison at Fortress Mon- 
 roe noticed a singular-looking craft approaching 
 from the sea, towed by two small steamers. Al- 
 though they did not know it then, this was the 
 new little Monitor — the David of the seas that 
 had come to save her people from the mighty 
 bludgeon of the Southern Goliath. She was but 
 a speck on the blue waters of the night, and not 
 much larger in the light of day, but she had the 
 bite of a mosquito, the sting of a wasp, and car- 
 ried as much fear of the large in her track as 
 they, as we shall presently see. Lieutenant 
 Worden was in command of the Monitor, and 
 acted as her pilot, while Lieutenant Green had 
 charge of the gunners in the turret, and Chief 
 Engineer Stimers looked after the control of the 
 revolving structure. 
 
 As the gray dawn of Sunday morning began 
 to break, the newcomer passed under the quarter 
 of the stranded Minnesota, and cast anchor. 
 The tars on the great frigate looked curiously at 
 the strange craft that had seemingly come to 
 them out of the very mists of night, and won- 
 dered if that insignificant u cheese-box on a raft" 
 were really thinking of staying there till the 
 dreaded Merrimac returned to annihilate them 
 every one. They warned her of the situation, 
 and told her she had better scamper away while 
 
2io BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 the scampering was good. Judge of their un- 
 bounded astonishment and amusement when ad- 
 vised by Lieutenant Worden that the small 
 stranger was there to protect them and the 
 other grounded vessel, the St. Lazurence! 
 Loudly they guffawed. Small hopes had they 
 that their noble frigate and her sister ship could 
 be saved by such a pygmy warrior. 
 
 Meanwhile, what of the Merrimac herself? 
 This black-coated hero of the sea, up at Norfolk, 
 had had men working on her all night, repairing 
 the slight damage she had suffered in her actions 
 with the Cumberland and Congress. Her loose 
 ram was reset rigidly, her fractured rudder was 
 mended with reenforcing metal plates, and her 
 complaining old rusty engine was gone over and 
 dosed with oil. By daybreak all was in readi- 
 ness for the gruesome finishing of her work out 
 in the channel. 
 
 Soon the batteries on both sides of the bay were 
 crowded with men, waiting morbidly and curi- 
 ously to see the Merrimac destroy the stranded 
 Federal ships in Hampton Roads, as she had 
 promised. At Norfolk a gay holiday party of 
 the rough-constitutioned was embarking on 
 steam-tugs with the purpose of accompanying the 
 Confederate ram as far as safety would permit. 
 No thought of defeat ever entered the minds of 
 these mad admirers of the new naval king. 
 
MONITOR AND MERRIMAC 211 
 
 Even when, as they were weighing anchor, the 
 crew of the Merrimac herself discovered that 
 strange-looking object floating close to the Min- 
 nesota, far out on the waters, they entertained 
 no misgivings. If this were some new fighting 
 craft that the Federals, in their moment of des- 
 peration, had sent out to give them battle, her in- 
 significant size silenced all doubts as to the out- 
 come; probably, they thought, this was merely 
 a raft or scow making an attempt to get the un- 
 lucky Minnesota off the sandbar. 
 
 Leisurely, like one out for a stroll in the morn- 
 ing air, the big Merrimac came down the bay, 
 followed by her retinue of tugs. Disdaining a 
 look toward the Monitor she kept on till she was 
 within good range of the Minnesota, when, of a 
 sudden, her ports flew open and she sent a with- 
 ering broadside toward the frigate. The Min- 
 nesota promptly returned the hostility with her 
 own broadside, the shot of which, while well di- 
 rected, merely beat a tattoo against the mailed 
 sides of the Southerner. 
 
 The little Monitor seemed to consider that 
 things had now gone far enough against her big 
 friend. She now steamed boldly and swiftly out 
 from behind the Minnesota, and the next moment 
 both of her huge guns growled in thunder tones, 
 and two immense iron balls of close to two hun- 
 dred pounds each came hurtling against the Mer- 
 
212 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 rimac's armor. While they did not penetrate the 
 heavy plate of the enemy, the concussion was 
 such as to frighten the Confederate crew im- 
 measurably. They saw that they would have 
 their hands full enough to attend to this buzzing 
 little hornet for the present, and at once forsook 
 the Minnesota and turned to her midget protec- 
 tor. 
 
 As the Merrimac slowed up her engines, em- 
 barrassed for the moment, the Monitor attempted 
 to revolve her turret for two more deliveries. 
 But something went wrong, and it stuck. Not 
 to be frustrated, she quickly swung her bow 
 around till her guns were in the position desired, 
 and again they rang out, one after the other. 
 One of these balls struck the roof of the enemy, 
 glanced upward, went whistling through the air, 
 and finally plunged into the sea fully a half-mile 
 distant. The other shot hit squarely on the 
 armored side, and fell, broken into fragments. 
 
 Confident in the power of her own ten heavy 
 guns, the Merrimac maneuvered to bring these to 
 bear upon her agile antagonist, and finally let them 
 fly with a roar that echoed from headland to 
 headland. Her gunners had aimed carefully; 
 but they might just as well have done so care- 
 lessly. To their intense surprise every one of 
 the shot that struck the Monitor (most of them 
 had passed over, owing to her lowness in the 
 
MONITOR AND MERRIMAC 213 
 
 water) had glanced off her round turret and 
 pilot-house, or been smashed as if they were made 
 of putty. These fellows now began to realize 
 how the Unionists felt when firing at them. 
 Anxiety, and even alarm, began to show in some 
 of their faces. If they could not harm this crea- 
 ture with their heavy shells and ball, what could 
 they do to accomplish her destruction? 
 
 Her commander bethought himself of his pow- 
 erful ram. Ah! here was the solution to the 
 problem; he had pierced the hull of the Cumber- 
 land as if it had been made of paper; now he 
 would do likewise with this saucy little upstart. 
 Trust him to bring her to time ! 
 
 Ordering all firing to be withheld, he had his 
 engineer and pilot bring the Merrimac around 
 for the plunge. Gaining a favorable position at 
 length, all speed was put on and the heavy craft 
 rushed down upon her smaller antagonist like a 
 towering house. She struck quite fair, but it was 
 not with her wicked ram, but her bow ; the latter 
 rode upon the sharp armored edge of the Moni- 
 tor's deck, receiving a bad gash and a jolt so ter- 
 rific that the men on the Merrimac s deck were 
 thrown violently to the planks, with ears ringing 
 and blood streaming from their nostrils. 
 
 For a brief moment or two the larger vessel 
 hung upon the edge of the smaller, her great 
 weight dangerously submerging the near side; 
 
214 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 then the Merrimac slipped off, and the Monitor 
 righted as quickly and smilingly as a chip. As 
 the ram pulled off anxiety on the part of her com- 
 mander and crew had given place to universal 
 dumbfoundment and fear. 
 
 "Reserve your fire, my lads," said Worden, on 
 the Monitor. "Aim deliberately, and make 
 every shot hit him." 
 
 Like opposing pugilists the two vessels now 
 worked themselves into this and that favorable 
 position, and then fired their guns. Round and 
 round they sailed, backing, advancing, making 
 quick dashes forward, reversing, and again fir- 
 ing. The two shots of the little Monitor would 
 come banging one after the other against the iron 
 jacket of her adversary, none penetrating, but 
 each seeming to jar her harder than its predeces- 
 sor. In this dancing contest the smaller ship had 
 an enormous advantage on account of her di- 
 minutive size and speed. She dashed right into 
 the face of her enemy and away again, for all 
 the world like a sparrow tantalizing a great hawk. 
 When an occasional shot from the guns of the 
 Merrimac did strike her it was more luck than 
 good marksmanship, at which she paid absolutely 
 no attention at all. 
 
 All this time her turret contrarily refused to 
 revolve, as planned, but by wheeling about she 
 could overcome this deficiency, and her two guns 
 
MONITOR AND MERRIMAC 215 
 
 continued to rain their immense balls upon the 
 plate of the foe ship with unerring and persistent 
 regularity. Rap-rap! they came, about a minute 
 apart, — rap-rap ! 
 
 Finally these tremendous blows commenced to 
 tell, even against the heavy sheet iron ; and if the 
 crew of the Merrimac had not been so busy at 
 their guns they would have heard the oak timbers 
 behind the plate creaking, groaning, and crack- 
 ing. 
 
 At this critical moment in the fight the South- 
 ern boat ran aground. The Monitor steamed 
 around her several times, seeking for weakening 
 places in which to plant more shot. Once Lieu- 
 tenant Worden made a dash toward the enemy's 
 propeller, hoping to strike and disable it, but 
 missed by a narrow margin. Before backing 
 away he sent two shots which were so well aimed 
 that they struck the muzzles of a couple of can- 
 non protruding from the port-holes of the Mer- 
 rimac, and broke them off, scattering ugly 
 splinters of iron among the gunners inside and 
 injuring a number. 
 
 Thus the battle went on till about noon. In the 
 meantime the spectators' tugs from Norfolk had 
 scuttled back quite a distance, to avoid the great 
 cannon-balls that were ricocheting along the 
 waters in every direction. Three jagged open- 
 ings had been finally torn through metal and oak 
 
216 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 in the Merrimac's mailed side, and deeming dis- 
 cretion the better part of valor she signaled for 
 aid. 
 
 While two Confederate tugs were running for- 
 ward in response, she managed to place a shot 
 fair against the grating of the pilot-house of the 
 Monitor. Through this, unfortunately, Lieuten- 
 ant Worden happened to be looking as he di- 
 rected his ship into a new position. The concus- 
 sion, so close to his head, knocked him senseless. 
 Flakes of iron were driven into his face, blinding 
 him completely for the time. He fell back from 
 the wheel, and the Monitor was left for a few 
 moments without a guiding hand. 
 
 Of course all was confusion on board the Mon- 
 itor; but within a few minutes Worden had re- 
 covered sufficiently to give the order to sheer 
 away. While the second officer took the wheel, 
 he was carried to the cabin below deck. Here, 
 lying on a sofa with his eyes bandaged, and the 
 horror of life-long blindness upon him, the brave 
 commander asked faintly, "Have I saved the 
 Minnesota?" 
 
 "Yes," said the surgeon, "and whipped the 
 Merrimack 
 
 "Then I care not what becomes of me," was the 
 response. 
 
 Aside from this single injury to her com- 
 mander, the Monitor's crew had suffered no 
 
MONITOR AND MERRIMAC ■ 217 
 
 wounds at all during the long fight, which now 
 closed; nor was the ship damaged. It is stated 
 that while the two tugs were towing the Merri- 
 mac off the shoal and back to Norfolk, one officer 
 aboard the little victor stood before a mirror 
 leisurely combing his hair, while an old tar in 
 blue middy sat calmly smoking his pipe. 
 
 The two ironclads never met again. After be- 
 ing repaired, the Merrimac made some short 
 sorties in Hampton Roads, but failed to engage 
 any more Union vessels. When, on the 9th of 
 May, the Confederate land forces abandoned 
 Norfolk, the officers of the Merrimac tried to 
 save her by running her up the James River. 
 But this was found impossible, owing to her 
 great draught, and she was run ashore on Craney 
 Island and deliberately set afire, after being 
 heavily trained with gunpowder. 
 
 These two antagonists, each then a queer 
 type, were the forerunners of the modern steel 
 battleship or dreadnought. 
 
X 
 
 ADMIRAL DAVID FARRAGUT 
 
 By the flow of the inland river, 
 
 Whence the fleets of iron have fled, 
 Where the blades of the grave-grass quiver, 
 Asleep on the ranks of the dead : — 
 Under the sod and the dew, 
 
 Waiting the Judgment Day; 
 Under the one, the Blue, 
 Under the other, the Gray. 
 
 — Finch. 
 
Admiral David Farragut 
 
 BREAKING INTO THE MISSISSIPPI 
 
 America has never had a more popular naval 
 hero than David Glasgow Farragut, born on July 
 5th, 1801, at Campbell's Station, a border town 
 in eastern Tennessee. Although his father was 
 of pure Spanish descent, foreign born, Farragut 
 himself showed all through his life the most 
 sterling of American qualities, among which his 
 intrepid bravery and loyalty to country stood out 
 with unusual prominence. 
 
 No American naval officer has ever served the 
 United States so long with distinction. A mid- 
 shipman in the first organized navy this country 
 possessed, in 18 12, when a mere child of nine 
 years of age, he went through some of the most 
 exciting sea skirmishes of the second war with 
 England. An acting lieutenant at eighteen, he 
 cruised in the Mediterranean seas and had many 
 adventures with pirates, during the course of one 
 of which he defeated the infamous and blood- 
 thirsty Diablito and saw him fall with a bullet 
 through his head. A captain (the highest com- 
 mission up to that time), at the age of sixty-one, 
 
 221 
 
222 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 in the Civil War, he conducted himself with a 
 signal gallantry. 
 
 The period of Farragut's brilliant and victor- 
 ious career really opened in 1862, when he had 
 already been treading a deck in the service of his 
 country more than a half-century. Not until 
 then had the opportunity come for him to demon- 
 strate the full extent of his worth, acquired dur- 
 ing fifty-two years' of faithful and intelligent 
 service. Most men would have thought of retir- 
 ing from ordinary scenes of activity at his age, 
 let alone entering upon new ones which called for 
 almost superhuman endeavor. Not so the hardy 
 Farragut. 
 
 Those inland waters which were to be thence- 
 forth inseparably connected with his name and 
 reputation, had become from the first the chief 
 seat of the naval operations of the war. The 
 control of the banks of the Mississippi had for 
 some time been recognized as of primary im- 
 portance to themselves by the Northerners. But 
 the whole stretch of shore from Memphis to the 
 Gulf of Mexico was held by the Confederates, as 
 a consequence of which they were able to ship 
 large quantities of supplies from the Southwest 
 to the seat of war. 
 
 Before President Lincoln and the Federal 
 Naval Board a plan was presented for a naval 
 
ADMIRAL DAVID FARRAGUT 223 
 
 expedition against New Orleans. It was thought 
 a fleet of wooden ships under a clever commander 
 might run up past Forts Jackson and St. Philip, 
 the powerful seaward defenses of New Orleans, 
 break through the river obstructions, destroy the 
 Confederate fleet, appear suddenly before the 
 Crescent City, and capture it. The plan was bold 
 and difficult ; it would require an officer of resolu- 
 tion and sagacity to carry it into successful ex- 
 ecution. Who should it be? Everybody on the 
 Board unhesitatingly said, "Farragut." And 
 Farragut it was. 
 
 So on the 9th of January, 1862, he was ap- 
 pointed to the command of the Western Gulf 
 Blockading Squadron, as admiral, and put to sea 
 early in February, from Hampton Roads, in his 
 flagship, the Hartford. At Ship Island he was 
 joined by twenty-seven ships, among which were 
 sloops-of-war, gunboats, and twenty-one mortar- 
 schooners, carrying in all two hundred guns. An 
 army of fifteen thousand soldiers, under General 
 Butler, was to follow the fleet in transports and 
 hold the places captured. 
 
 The Confederate defenses against which Far- 
 ragut proposed to pit his strength and skill, were 
 of a very formidable character. The mouth of 
 the Mississippi spreads out into five passes, or 
 channels. At that time these were extremely 
 
224 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 difficult of passage owing to large deposits of 
 sand and mud brought down by the mighty river. 
 At a bend in the stream, twenty miles above the 
 passes, two powerful forts defended the approach 
 further on. These defenses mounted a hundred 
 and fifteen guns, and were garrisoned by fifteen 
 hundred soldiers. 
 
 Quite close to them two immense chains were 
 stretched across the river, being supported on 
 eight old hulks. Above the forts were anchored 
 the river flotilla and the Confederate fleet of 
 fifteen vessels, including the ironclad ram Ma- 
 nassas and the large floating battery Louisiana. 
 A hundred miles farther up the stream lay New 
 Orleans, the goal of the Union expedition. 
 
 The passing of the extensive sandbar at the 
 mouth of the Mississippi was the first difficulty 
 encountered by Farragut. Some of the heavier 
 ships ran aground several times, and the Missis- 
 sippi herself was dragged by tug-boats through 
 a foot of mud. For fully two weeks the tugs 
 struggled to work the Pensacola across, and the 
 passage of the Brooklyn required half as long. 
 The Colorado could not get over at all. 
 
 Once on the other side of the bar the Northern 
 forces breathed easier. Leaving the Colorado 
 behind them, the ships steamed up the river to 
 within three miles of Fort Jackson. Several days 
 were spent in suitably placing the mortar-schoon- 
 
ADMIRAL DAVID FARRAGUT 225 
 
 ers, all under a strong enemy fire and in open 
 boats. Hidden under the trees whose branches 
 hung well out over the water, and with their 
 projecting masts and rigging camouflaged by 
 bunches of boughs tied to them, the schooners 
 were moored within two miles of the fort, yet 
 were entirely out of view. 
 
 On the morning of the 18th of April, Farragut 
 ordered the bombardment to begin. For six days 
 a steady and unremitting firing was kept up by 
 the Northerners, and replied to with energy by 
 the enemy. In that time over six thousand shells 
 fell on the works of Fort Jackson and Fort St. 
 Philip, breaking the bastions and carrying dam- 
 age wherever they struck. During the hours of 
 night the bombardment would slacken, which 
 gave the weary men a needed respite. 
 
 After darkness had settled down in earnest 
 that first day, and quietness had wrapped itself 
 about the ships of the Northern fleet, the whole 
 sky was suddenly lighted as if by a vast conflagra- 
 tion. Looking up-stream, the Federals saw 
 great tongues of flame shooting up into the black 
 void of night, close to the water. The mammoth 
 furnace of fire came slowly drifting down upon 
 them, swaying uncertainly this way and that, 
 borne on the sluggish current, conveying in its 
 crackling embers and terrific heat a terrible threat 
 to the ships below. It was a fire-raft, one hun- 
 
226 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 dred and fifty feet long, piled with pine knots full 
 of inflammable pitch, which the crafty Confeder- 
 ates had pushed off in the hope of destroying the 
 vessels their guns seemed unable to damage. 
 
 As they saw the huge bonfire bearing down 
 upon them, a panic seized many of the sailors. 
 It was only by the most heroic conduct that the 
 officers of the imperiled Union vessels quieted 
 them. Hastily drawing their anchors, and un- 
 der good discipline, the ships crowded to one side, 
 and the raft passed harmlessly by, although its 
 heat blistered the paint of some of the nearest. 
 Other fire-rafts followed — rafts even larger, 
 piled higher with combustibles smeared with tur- 
 pentine, flaming dangerously far out on either 
 side as the wind would catch erratically into their 
 mass. Some of these would surely have ignited 
 the Union craft had not sailors gone up ahead to 
 meet them in small boats, and bravely towed them 
 aside at the expense of scorched faces and hands. 
 
 On the third night of the bombardment Far- 
 ragut sent out his fleet captain, Henry H. Bell, 
 on a dangerous mission. With two gunboats — 
 the Itasca and the Pinola — Bell was to break 
 through the barrier of Confederate schooners 
 and heavy chains thrown across the river directly 
 below the forts. The enterprise was one of 
 great danger, for the gunboats would be obliged 
 to do their work within easy range of the shore 
 
ADMIRAL DAVID FARRAGUT 227 
 
 works as well as the enemy craft, yet neither Cap- 
 tain Caldwell of the Itasca, nor Captain Crosby 
 of the Pinola hesitated, and their crews accepted 
 the undertaking with cheers. 
 
 However, no sooner had Captain Caldwell gal- 
 lantly run up alongside of one of the hulks sup- 
 porting the chains, and boarded her preparatory 
 to slipping the chains and firing her, than they 
 were slipped by an over-zealous sailor without his 
 knowledge, the hulk's anchorage gave way, and 
 both craft drifted aground under the forts. 
 
 In this dangerous position, and under a 
 tremendous fire, the Itasca was obliged to remain 
 until the Pinola came to her aid. Then she 
 backed out, and still undaunted, Captain Caldwell 
 ran his gunboat up the river through the gap that 
 had been made in the chains. After going some 
 distance he turned about, and bore down at full 
 speed upon the portion of the barrier that still 
 remained. His bow caught the chains, lifted 
 them three or four feet out of water, and then 
 broke them. He and Captain Crosby then re- 
 joined the fleet below. 
 
 On the night of the sixth day Captain Caldwell 
 once more went up the river, to see if the gap 
 were still open. Finding it so, he returned and 
 reported the welcome news to Admiral Farragut, 
 who had decided the following night to be a 
 propitious one for making a dash past the Con- 
 federate works and craft. 
 
228 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 In the meantime careful preparations for the 
 undertaking had been made. The hulls of the 
 Union ships had been smeared with mud out of 
 the river bed, to make them less visible, the decks 
 were whitewashed so that objects on them could 
 be seen by the sailors at night in the absence of 
 lights, bags of sand and rolls of sail protected 
 the exposed machinery and important ship's 
 parts, and all the higher spars and unnecessary 
 rigging were sent ashore. Force-pumps and en- 
 gine hose were made ready, ladders were thrown 
 over the sides to assist the carpenter's mates in 
 stopping chance shot holes, tubs of water to ex- 
 tinguish possible fires were placed on deck, while 
 grapnels were placed in the small boats in readi- 
 ness for boarding an enemy craft. 
 
 At last the looked-for night — the 24th — settled 
 down. The last rays of light showed the Union 
 ships quiet and peaceful, as on other nights, to 
 the Confederates. But under the sham tranquil- 
 ity Northern feet and hands fretted for the ac- 
 tion that was so near, and brains were far busier 
 than ever before. 
 
 As the moon rose, full and clear, about half- 
 past three, it found the whole fleet under way. 
 Silently the ships steamed up toward the forts; 
 but already the unusual sounds had been detected 
 by the sharp ears of the foe lookouts, and the Con- 
 federates were ready to receive them. Bonfire 
 
ADMIRAL DAVID FARRAGUT 229 
 
 after bonfire began to blaze up from different 
 parts of the shore line; fire-rafts added their con- 
 flagration to the scene; almost every inch of the 
 watercourse in the neighborhood was illumined 
 with the intensity of day. 
 
 Farragut's heart sank for a moment. He saw 
 that the run could no longer be made in secret; 
 that whatever was to be done must be accom- 
 plished in open view of the Southerners. As for 
 retreating, he never once thought of that. 
 
 In single file the Union ships approached the 
 gap that had been made in the line of old hulks. 
 As they did so their mortar-schooners opened up 
 a heavy fire upon the forts. Leading the three 
 divisions was the little Cayuga. When she had 
 come abreast of them the forts opened a terrific 
 fusillade upon her. The air was at once filled 
 with shells and other explosives, which almost 
 blinded her pilot in the forecastle as he tried to 
 see his way. He turned in close under the walls 
 of Fort St. Philip, which caused most of the in- 
 tense enemy fire to pass through his rigging. Al- 
 though this was badly shot up, the hull was hardly 
 touched. 
 
 After passing the last battery, and thinking 
 himself clear, Lieutenant Perkins, the pilot, 
 looked back for some of his sister ships. Seeing 
 none, he was greatly alarmed, thinking they must 
 all have been sunken in front of the forts. Be- 
 
230 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 lieving himself alone, the plucky commander of 
 the Cayuga nevertheless steamed on ahead, 
 straight into the eleven gunboats of the foe that 
 began to bear down upon him. It seemed sheer 
 suicide — an act of madness. 
 
 Three of the Confederate steamers attacked 
 the Cayuga simultaneously, and attempted to 
 board her. But when the nearest was within 
 thirty feet, the little ship trained her eleven-inch 
 gun upon her, and crippled her so badly that she 
 was set afire, and had to run ashore, where she 
 soon burned to the ground. The second enemy 
 hauled off after a shot from the Cayuga's Parrot 
 gun had lodged in her bow. 
 
 Only one was left. It was decided to board 
 this ship ; but just as the Northern sailors rushed 
 forward for the purpose, they saw the Union ship 
 Veruna suddenly appear upon the scene, firing 
 her guns rapidly into the Southerner, who pre- 
 cipitately retreated. 
 
 With this timely assistance, the Cayuga was 
 saved just in the nick of time, the other Confeder- 
 ate vessels holding off and giving their undivided 
 attention to the newcomer. As for the Veruna, 
 her recklessness was to be wondered at. Im- 
 petuously she steamed in among the enemy craft, 
 discharging her weapons with such effective aim 
 that soon the foe were beating away up the river. 
 Unsupported, the audacious Veruna took up the 
 
ADMIRAL DAVID FARRAGUT 231 
 
 pursuit; but in her tracks, hidden in the lurid 
 darkness, steamed another enemy after her — the 
 Confederate gunboat, Governor Moore. Cun- 
 ningly this ship hoisted at her masthead a white 
 light, with a red one at her peak, — the distinguish- 
 ing lights of the Union vessels — thinking to de- 
 ceive the Veruna into believing she was followed 
 by a friend, should she happen to detect the 
 steamer in her wake. 
 
 Quite unaware of his rearward danger, Lieu- 
 tenant Kennon, of the Governor Moore, raced 
 under full steam after the fugitive. Slowly he 
 gained. At last he ran her down. Hauling in 
 his Union lights, he opened fire, and the duel that 
 ensued was furious. Twice the Governor Moore 
 rammed the Union ship; the last time she began 
 to fill with water. But still undaunted, she threw 
 three shells into the vitals of her larger antagon- 
 ist. This set fire to the Confederate, who drew 
 off, only to surrender to another Union gunboat 
 which had come swiftly forward during the 
 progress of the fight. Ffteen minutes later the 
 Veruna sank. 
 
 Meanwhile, at the forts and directly above 
 them, the scene beggars description. All that 
 can be said is that everything was in the utmost 
 confusion and wildest excitement. Blinded by 
 the smoke of the guns, one of the Union vessels 
 fired a broadside into a friend instead of the 
 
232 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 enemy. Shot and shell were whizzing through 
 the air in almost every direction; the night was 
 horrible with every conceivable sound of mortal 
 combat — harsh cries of man, harsh plunge of pro- 
 jectile in the waters, harsh thud and tear of de- 
 structive shot against giving timbers, harsh grunt 
 of steam on pursuing and pursued vessels. 
 
 In passing the forts the larger ships stopped 
 for a few moments and played their powerful 
 batteries upon the crumbling walls, receiving a 
 heavy fire in return. The lighter ships, however, 
 scudded by without stopping, although they let 
 fly showers of grape and shrapnel in the opera- 
 tion. The whole of the first division cleared the 
 line of hulks and forts successfully in this man- 
 ner. 
 
 Then came the center division, composed of 
 three large ships — the Hartford, the Richmond, 
 and the Brooklyn. The previous firing had filled 
 the air with dense clouds of smoke, making the 
 way almost impenetrable for those following be- 
 hind the first vessels. Barely had the Hartford, 
 bearing Farragut, come abreast of the fortifica- 
 tions, than a fire-raft came down the river di- 
 rectly toward her. In avoiding this danger she 
 ran aground under the batteries of Fort St. 
 Philip, in much the same position as the Cayuga 
 had previously occupied. This time, however, 
 the guns of the enemy works were lowered, and 
 
ADMIRAL DAVID FARRAGUT 233 
 
 as she lay there, helpless, the flagship was sub- 
 jected to a withering fire. "We seemed to be 
 breathing flame rather than air," said Farragut 
 afterward. 
 
 The Hartford retaliated as well as she could 
 with her own batteries. In the midst of her tor- 
 ture, a Confederate tug boldly guided the fire- 
 raft up alongside, and in an instant the flames 
 had communicated themselves to the Union ship. 
 By the hardest kind of exertion, the fire brigade 
 of the vessel managed to quench the blaze on 
 shipboard, and push off the fire-raft with pikes as 
 the ship's guns bellowed forth and sank the 
 audacious tug. A few minutes later, to the joy 
 of all, her struggling engines succeeded in back- 
 ing the Hartford out into deep water. She 
 headed round up-stream again, and followed 
 through the gap in the hulks after the other Union 
 ships. 
 
 Altogether fourteen of the Union craft passed 
 clear of the Confederate obstructions, only one 
 being lost — the reckless Veruna. The wonderful 
 feat had been accomplished. Farragut had 
 brought his fleet of wooden vessels past the for- 
 midable forts and equally formidable river ob- 
 stacles with only a loss of one, and thirty-seven 
 men killed and a hundred and fifty wounded. 
 
 All day of the 24th the fleet anchored off the 
 Quarantine Station to review damage and make 
 
234 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 repairs. On the following morning they steamed 
 up the river to English Turn, where the two Con- 
 federate river batteries of Chalmette and Mc- 
 Gehee were quickly silenced. 
 
 THE CAPTURE OF NEW ORLEANS 
 
 When the inhabitants of New Orleans heard 
 of the approach of the Union fleet under Far- 
 ragut their consternation and dismay knew no 
 bounds. News had come of the entrance of the 
 enemy into the mouth of the Mississippi, but they 
 had the utmost faith in the ability of Forts Jack- 
 son and St. Philip, and their supporting water- 
 craft, to put a summary stop to further advance. 
 
 Meanwhile, as the Union fleet neared New Or- 
 leans, they found their progress greatly impeded 
 by all kinds of wreckage sent down from above 
 to interfere with their movement. Worthless 
 old scows and ships loaded with tiers of burning 
 cotton-bales were frequently met floating down 
 stream. As the invaders came within sight of 
 the city itself, they saw that the levee was an ob- 
 ject of desolation. Ships, cotton, coal, lumber, 
 and warehouses were all in one common blaze, 
 and the ingenuity of the Union officers was taxed 
 to the limit to avoid the conflagration when they 
 reached it. 
 
ADMIRAL DAVID FARRAGUT 235 
 
 After three days of parley, Farragut sent a 
 force of two hundred and fifty Marines with two 
 howitzers, under the command of Fleet-Captain 
 Bell, to the City Hall. Before this they drew up, 
 and trained the guns on the front of the building. 
 Rapidly a great crowd had gathered back of 
 them, and angry shouts and protestations filled 
 the air when two Union officers went calmly up- 
 stairs and pulled down the State flag and ran up 
 in its place the Stars-and-Stripes. In this man- 
 ner New Orleans was forced to bow to the iron 
 will of Admiral Farragut. 
 
 In the meantime the garrisons of Forts Jackson 
 and St. Philip had mutinied. Taking advantage 
 of the confusion among the Confederates, Com- 
 mander Porter, who had stayed behind the main 
 fleet with his mortar-schooners, made a fresh at- 
 tack and succeeded in capturing the works. The 
 defending enemy craft were also taken, and Far- 
 ragut had these sent down the river for the troops 
 of General Butler who, it will be remembered, 
 was to follow him with a body of soldiers. Sev- 
 eral of the ironclad rams, on which the Confed- 
 erates had placed the greatest hopes, were de- 
 stroyed in the general cleaning-up process that 
 was now going on along the river between its 
 mouth and New Orleans. The principal ship of 
 this class — the Mississippi — was burned by the 
 Southerners themselves, and came floating down 
 
236 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 stream in a mass of flames as Captain Lee started 
 up the river to seize her. 
 
 The fall of the Queen City was the knell to 
 Confederate hopes on the mighty Mississippi. 
 After the surrender the panic extended far up- 
 stream. The two forts at Carrollton, eight miles 
 above, were abandoned, the guns spiked, before 
 the Union boats appeared there. 
 
 Farragut was now in favor of returning down 
 the Mississippi, and making an immediate attack 
 on Mobile. But the Government held to its or- 
 iginal intention of having the fleet continue on 
 up the river to join the Union flotilla under Flag- 
 Officer Davis, which then lay nine hundred miles 
 above the mouth of the stream. In vain Far- 
 ragut tried to convince his superiors in Washing- 
 ton that his force was inadequate for such an 
 undertaking; that the high bluffs above New 
 Orleans were strongly fortified in many places, 
 and would require a military operation to reduce 
 them. To make matters more unpromising for 
 him, the waters of the river were beginning to 
 fall, leaving many bars where there was not suffi- 
 cient depth to float his ships even now. If he 
 should succeed in going above Vicksburg, he saw 
 no way of getting down again until the freshets 
 of the following spring. 
 
 At two o'clock in the morning of the 28th of 
 June, the squadron of eleven ships got under way, 
 
ADMIRAL DAVID FARRAGUT 237 
 
 and began to stem the roily current. The mor- 
 tar-schooners had come up, and it was only a 
 short time before these found much to do, as 
 well as the other ships, in forcing their way along. 
 The mortars opened up first on the earthworks, 
 and then the gunboats got in their broadsides. 
 In reply, the ridge of bluffs seemed a living sheet 
 of fire, as their batteries thundered from one end 
 to the other, and grape and shrapnel and ball 
 came cutting down in the midst of the ships. 
 
 The Hartford passed at slow speed, discharg- 
 ing her guns with deliberation and splendid ef- 
 fect, although the elevated works of the enemy 
 were not an easy mark on account of their angle. 
 From time to time, as she found herself forging 
 too far ahead of her consorts, she would pause to 
 allow them to catch up. 
 
 On one occasion Farragut was watching the 
 fight from his favorite position in the mizzen 
 rigging, when the captain of the gun on the poop- 
 deck asked him to get down as he wished to di- 
 rect his gun near that spot. Hardly had the Ad- 
 miral left his post when an enemy shot cut away 
 the whole mizzen rigging just above his head. 
 
 The batteries of the outlying defenses were 
 silenced more readily than Farragut had dared to 
 hope. In two hours the first divisions of the fleet 
 had passed ; but owing to a misunderstanding of 
 orders, the third division dropped down the river. 
 
238 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 Proceeding on his course, the great seaman finally 
 joined Davis's flotilla a few miles above Vicks- 
 burg, to which Davis had come after a brilliant 
 victory at Memphis. 
 
 As the combined fleets lay at anchor, news 
 reached them that the Confederate ram Arkansas, 
 which had been especially built for the destruc- 
 tion of the Union squadrons, was in Yazoo River. 
 Two ships were at once ordered away on a re- 
 connoitering expedition. About six miles up the 
 Yazoo they met the ironclad coming at full speed. 
 Realizing that they were unfit to make any kind 
 of a fight against the monster, the Union vessels 
 retreated, keeping up a continual fire from their 
 stern guns until they had gained such a distance 
 that their shots no longer reached the armored 
 
 *&' 
 
 target. 
 
 Warned of the approach of the Arkansas, the 
 Union fleet made hasty preparations to meet her. 
 As their fires were low, there was no time to get 
 up steam, so attention was given entirely to the 
 guns. 
 
 Sweeping grandly into the Mississippi, the ram 
 came downstream under full pressure. Past the 
 line of Yankee ships she puffed, firing her guns 
 in the act, her screw propeller churning the water 
 into swirling eddies in her wake. The Union 
 broadsides, trained on the impudent craft, thun- 
 
ADMIRAL DAVID FARRAGUT 239 
 
 dered viciously; and their projectiles rained 
 against her metal jacket in a crashing staccato 
 that sounded like a thousand imps hammering a 
 boiler. But all the grape and shrapnel in that 
 fusillade could do was to puncture her smoke- 
 stack like a sieve and tear her flag away ; bullets 
 striking elsewhere merely flattened out or broke 
 in bits on her plate. 
 
 Making no effort to turn about and attack her 
 enemy, the Arkansas continued on to Vicksburg, 
 where she sought protection under the guns of 
 the fort. Three weeks later, however, she was 
 to meet her end. Then, in attempting to reach 
 Baton Rouge, her machinery broke down, she 
 ran aground at the mercy of the Union ships, and 
 her commander set her afire. 
 
 Meanwhile Farragut had again passed the 
 fortifications of Vicksburg with his ships. He 
 continued on downstream, finally arriving at New 
 Orleans. Here, on the 12th of August, he re- 
 ceived his commission as rear-admiral, and was 
 the first officer in the United States Navy to hoist 
 his admiral's flag at the main. 
 
 As most of his vessels were now in need of re- 
 pairs and provisions, he steamed down to the 
 Gulf of Mexico, where, in the harbor of Pensa- 
 cola, his fleet lay refitting through the remaining 
 summer months. 
 
240 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 PORT HUDSON AND MOBILE BAY 
 
 During Farragut's stay at Pensacola reports 
 arrived that the Confederates were strengthen- 
 ing the defenses at Vicksburg and Port Hudson, 
 the only two important strategic positions on the 
 Mississippi still held by them. Believing that it 
 would soon be advisable to make a concerted at- 
 tack on these points, the Admiral returned to 
 New Orleans, from whence he could better or- 
 ganize his forces and make a quick dash into the 
 enemy. Before his ships could move upstream, 
 however, it would be necessary to wait for higher 
 water and the arrival of troops which the Gov- 
 ernment was sending, under General Banks, to 
 his aid. 
 
 At last the long-expected army put in an ap- 
 pearance, but was not ready for its part in the 
 program till late in February. Then, when Gen- 
 eral Banks had assured Farragut that his soldiers 
 only awaited the word to move forward, he made 
 his plans for an immediate start. 
 
 Leaving the soldiers to constitute a land force, 
 and move along the shores parallel with his squad- 
 ron for attack in the rear of the enemy batteries 
 that were to be met, Admiral Farragut weighed 
 anchor on the 14th of March and steamed up to 
 within seven miles of Port Hudson, where his 
 ships anchored off Profit's Island. 
 
ADMIRAL DAVID FARRAGUT 241 
 
 His enterprise was a most difficult one. Port 
 Hudson was situated in a sharp bend of the Mis- 
 sissippi. The high bluffs on the east side of 
 the stream, covering the approach of the town 
 for a mile and a half from below, were bristling 
 with powerful open and masked batteries which 
 threatened destruction to any ship passing them. 
 To add to the difficulties of navigation the strong 
 current that swept around the curve of the river, 
 formed a deep channel under the bluffs, while on 
 the opposite side were dangerous shoals and 
 baffling eddies. Thus, if vessels coming up- 
 stream did not place themselves directly under the 
 fire of the defenses on the elevations, they must 
 attempt to run the gauntlet through shallow water 
 that would be very likely to send them aground, a 
 helpless prey to the long-range guns of the foe. 
 
 Farragut's squadron counted four warships 
 and three gunboats, supplemented with a number 
 of mortar-schooners. The latter were to take a 
 position in advance of the other craft, and were 
 to keep up a heavy fire to divert as much atten- 
 tion as possible, while the remaining ships worked 
 by. Each of the latter, excepting the Mississippi, 
 was ordered to lash a gunboat to her port side, 
 so that in case of injury or accident she could be 
 towed by her consort to a place of safety. 
 
 After darkness had settled down over the river 
 that night, a red light suddenly appeared at the 
 
242 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 stern of the Hartford, as a signal for the squad- 
 ron to form in line behind her. Answering lights 
 soon showed that all were in position, and then 
 the flag-ship slowly steamed upstream. Nothing 
 but the soft chug-chug of the exhaust pipes and 
 the faint clink-clank of engine parts could be 
 heard, without it were the swish of curling waters 
 cut by the sharp bows of the Union flotilla. On 
 deck the men went about their tasks silently, 
 muffling every operation they could. The very 
 tension seemed to portend the sudden breaking 
 of a terrific storm. 
 
 Undeterred, the little Union squadron crept 
 steadily forward ; but now every man was at his 
 station before the guns, waiting for the order of 
 Farragut to pull the lanyards. All at once the 
 shore opposite them was thrown out into bold re- 
 lief by a great flare of flame ; there instantly fol- 
 lowed a thundering crash of cannon, and shot 
 spattered into the water all around the Yankees, 
 sang through their rigging, and cut down some 
 of the brave fellows themselves. 
 
 Quick came the reply from the squadron. 
 Guided by the flare of the enemy guns, their own 
 were trained like lightning, and heavy reports and 
 great clouds of smoke rolled upward from the 
 river level. 
 
 A little later so close did the flag-ship run to the 
 shore that a Confederate officer in command of 
 
ADMIRAL DAVID FARRAGUT 243 
 
 one of the batteries, seeing Farragut and two 
 junior officers standing on the poop-deck within 
 pistol range, stepped beyond the parapet for 
 a moment and leveled his pistol and pulled the 
 trigger. Fortunately for the Union men it 
 missed fire. Seizing another pistol, the South- 
 erner was in the act of making good his ill luck, 
 when a musket aboard the flag-ship flashed, and 
 he toppled over. Farragut, who had just seen his 
 danger, turned quickly. It was to discover his 
 own disobedient young son standing near, with 
 excited face and a gun from which the smoke 
 still curled! 
 
 The roar of the mortars, the shells passing 
 like meteors across the heavens, the guns flashing 
 and blazing until along their port sides a broad 
 stripe of fire seemed to have been painted upon 
 every one of the ships ; the fitful glare of the bon- 
 fires on shore ; the crashing sounds of battle, and 
 the heavy interludes of brief silence; the dense 
 clouds of powder-tainted smoke settling down 
 upon the water and vessels, then rising — all this 
 made a scene young Royall never forgot to his 
 dying day. 
 
 Up in the mizzen-top of the Hartford the pilot, 
 on whose coolness depended the safe passage of 
 the ship, had stationed himself with one end of a 
 speaking-tube whose outlet was at the steersman's 
 wheel far below. On account of the low-lying 
 
244 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 smoke the latter could see nothing himself. As 
 the pilot, high over his head, would call out 
 "Starboard!" or "Port!" he made the proper turn 
 of his wheel to avoid the perils of the passage. 
 
 Finally the Hartford and her consort steamed 
 around the bend in the Mississippi past the last 
 of the enemy's defenses. Dropping anchor in 
 safety above Port Hudson, Farragut looked 
 anxiously back downstream for the rest of his 
 squadron. Not a friendly outline could he see 
 in the darkness beyond; but in that gulf of smoke 
 and night he could distinctly hear the heavy rum- 
 ble of guns, and presently could see, in a sudden 
 glare of light above the rolling smoke-clouds, the 
 masthead of a ship that he knew to be the Mis- 
 sissippi, and which appeared to be on fire. 
 
 Meanwhile below the flag-ship, everything was 
 confusion and disaster. The other Union ves- 
 sels continued to slowly grope their way up- 
 stream, hammered every yard of the way by the 
 shot of the breastworks on the bluffs. The Rich- 
 mond managed to reach the bend without great 
 mishap, but just as she thought herself out of 
 range, a Confederate ball struck the steampipe 
 and upset both safety-valves. With her pipes 
 hissing like a thousand geese, she found her steam 
 escaping so fast that she could no longer make 
 headway against the current, and was forced to 
 drift out of action. 
 
ADMIRAL DAVID FARRAGUT 245 
 
 The Mississippi was at the lower end of the 
 line of Yankee ships, and the last to reach the 
 treacherous bend. As she came abreast of this, 
 she grounded on a bar. Every effort was made 
 to back her off, but unavailingly. For the larger 
 part of an hour she lay exposed to the galling 
 cross-fire of three nearby Confederate defenses, 
 answering the while in splendid manner with her 
 own guns. Then realizing the impossibility of 
 saving his ship, and wishing to save the lives of 
 his crew to the uttermost, the commander of the 
 ship had her put to the torch, and in the small 
 boats her crew pulled away. In a short time the 
 fine old vessel was wrapped in flames from the 
 water's edge to her maintop, a seething furnace. 
 Presently she blew up with a terrific report, scat- 
 tering fragments of her once stately form in 
 every direction. 
 
 Admiral Farragut thus found himself alone 
 upon the hostile river, with only the companion- 
 ship of the gunboat lashed to his ship's side. Be- 
 low him lay Port Hudson; above was Vicksburg 
 — both towns filled with Yankee-hating South- 
 erners. Surmising that the remainder of his 
 squadron had probably been unable to get by the 
 foe's river defenses, Farragut got into communi- 
 cation with General Grant's land forces, who 
 were in the vicinity, and in this way managed to 
 revictual and recoal his vessel. Thereupon, for 
 
246 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 a couple of weeks, he patrolled the river between 
 Port Hudson, silencing the weak batteries he en- 
 countered. 
 
 Upon arriving near Port Hudson again in 
 early April he became very anxious to communi- 
 cate with the rest of his ships, if there were any 
 left below him. It was impossible to send dis- 
 patches by land, as the enemy was alert to every 
 suspicious movement, so when Edward Gabau- 
 dan, the Admiral's secretary, offered to proceed 
 alone by way of the river, Farragut assented. 
 
 This undertaking of Gabaudan's was one of 
 the most dangerous character, filled with perils 
 from stream and enemy alike, but the young 
 Yankee did not flinch, even after Farragut, in 
 the kindness of his great heart, pointed them out 
 to him. Providing himself with a pistol and a 
 paddle, he crawled one night at dusk into a small 
 dugout, which his associates then covered with 
 boughs, and was pushed off into the swirling cur- 
 rent among the numerous logs which in those 
 days were continually floating down the mighty 
 Mississippi, on their way to the Gulf. 
 
 After an exciting trip he reached Richmond. 
 A solitary rocket darted up into the air at this 
 point, bursting into a shower of fiery sparks 
 against the dark sky. It was the signal to Far- 
 ragut, a few miles above, that his daring secre- 
 
ADMIRAL DAVID FARRAGUT 247 
 
 tary had succeeded in passing the dangerous 
 batteries of the enemy, and would immediately 
 deliver his dispatches. 
 
 The following night the watching Admiral de- 
 tected other rockets arising from the vicinity of 
 Richmond, and with a sigh of relief read in them 
 the message that all his squadron except the Mis- 
 sissippi were waiting his commands in the lower 
 waters. 
 
 Shortly after the fall of Vicksburg and Port 
 Hudson, Farragut turned over the entire com- 
 mand of the river fleet above New Orleans to 
 Rear-Admiral Porter, and about the first week of 
 August sailed for New York in the Hartford. 
 
 The successful opening of the Mississippi now 
 allowed the Feden.l Government to turn its at- 
 tention to the extensive coastline of the Gulf. 
 Next to New Orleans, Mobile was the most im- 
 portant of the Confederate ports, having become 
 a very busy shipping station for the supplies of 
 the southern district. An attack on Mobile, 
 therefore, became the next naval project worth 
 while for the Yankees. 
 
 In January, 1864, Farragut was once more sent 
 to the Gulf, this time to take the offensive against 
 the city he had wanted to attack months before, 
 but which the Naval Board had erroneously 
 thought unwise to tackle. In the meantime, the 
 
248 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 foe had greatly increased the defenses of Mobile, 
 making the task of capturing it a most herculean 
 one, to say the least. 
 
 For six weary months Farragut now had to 
 lay in the waters of the Gulf on blockade duty, 
 while his fleet was being assembled and the Con- 
 federates made their position stronger. At 
 length, on the night of the 5th of August, the 
 whole Union fleet, stripped for action, lay just 
 outside the harbor of Mobile. Everything was 
 in complete readiness, from ship to man, for the 
 fight that the Yankees knew could be nothing else 
 than a desperate one. 
 
 By this time the defenses of the Bay were 
 most formidable and of a character to carry 
 dread to the heart of almost any attacking force. 
 The only deep-water channel for the passage of 
 ships lay directly under the guns of Fort Morgan. 
 Across the entrance, from Fort Gaines to the 
 edge of the channel, the enemy had driven a 
 double line of huge stakes, and in the channel 
 itself they had made defensive measures doubly 
 sure by sinking a triple row of torpedoes. 
 
 Within the harbor, and above Fort Morgan, 
 lay the Confederate squadron, commanded by 
 Admiral Buchanan. It was small in numbers, 
 consisting only of three gunboats and the iron- 
 clad Tennessee (an improvement on the Mer- 
 rimac, which we have met previously), the latter 
 
ADMIRAL DAVID FARRAGUT 249 
 
 being the most powerful craft of its kind in the 
 South. But backed up as it was with the strong 
 additional defenses named, this flotilla was con- 
 sidered fully ample by its supporters to protect 
 the city. 
 
 Against this array of obstacles Admiral Far- 
 ragut stood ready to fling a fleet of twenty-one 
 wooden vessels and four monitors, the latter pat- 
 terned after the famous "cheese-box on a raft" 
 creation of Ericsson's. Lashed together, two by 
 two, the vessels were to sail in pairs. A large 
 man-of-war, the Brooklyn, headed the line, Far- 
 ragut's flag-ship, the Hartford, coming next. 
 
 Just at daylight the next morning the Union 
 ships started forward. Farragut had taken his 
 stand in the rigging close under the maintop, 
 from whence he could see clearly the course of 
 the coming fight. As they approached the enemy 
 defenses, the Tecumseh let fly two shots at one 
 of the Confederate gunboats, and was the first 
 to attempt the crossing of the dangerous line of 
 submarine mines. Gaining these after some 
 hard fighting, and crushing a passage through the 
 stakes, she was unlucky enough to strike a tor- 
 pedo. There was a great explosion, the water 
 under her bow spurted high, and the stricken ship 
 plunged by the head to the bottom of the Bay, 
 with her colors still flying. 
 
 Meanwhile the other ships were being engaged 
 
250 ROYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 one by one with the Southern craft. The two 
 gunboats of the enemy fired with incredible ac- 
 curacy, and were so quick in their movements 
 that for a brief space of time the Union vessels 
 were thrown into confusion. They backed upon 
 one another, owing to their bunched order, and 
 became entangled in what seemed an inextricable 
 mess. To add to their distress this happened in 
 a part of the waters where they were exposed to 
 the full brunt of the enemy fire, both from water 
 and land. 
 
 There is no telling how this situation would 
 have resulted had it not been for the prompt de- 
 cision and prompt action of the Admiral himself. 
 Like Dewey at Manila, he solved the problem at 
 the critical moment when a moment's further 
 delay would have resulted disastrously, snatch- 
 ing victory out of the very flames of defeat. 
 
 Seeing that the Brooklyn, which had been fol- 
 lowing the ill-fated Tecumseh when the latter 
 went down, was wavering before the line of sub- 
 marine mines, Farragut sent up the signal, 
 "What's the trouble?" 
 
 The answer came back, "Torpedoes ahead." 
 
 Then followed the gallant Admiral's famous 
 reply : "Damn the torpedoes ! Go ahead. Four 
 bells [full speed] !" 
 
 Still the Brooklyn hesitated apparently. At 
 least she was so slow that the Hartford swept 
 
ADMIRAL DAVID FARRAGUT 251 
 
 past her and took the lead. On went the flag- 
 ship, under full head of steam, lashed by the iron 
 hand and indomitable will of her fearless com- 
 mander. Straight on — right into the first line 
 of touchy, ugly, death-dealing torpedoes, any one 
 of which, should she brush it at all, would have 
 let loose its titanic energy and ended her career 
 then and there. 
 
 A pallor crept over the suntanned faces of her 
 crew. Men who would have faced death un- 
 flinchingly from a cutlass or bullet blanched at 
 thought of being blown up by hundreds of 
 pounds of powder that they could not see or 
 locate. They glanced at their commander. 
 Noting the stern, determined look upon his face, 
 their white faces flushed with shame — and they 
 were men again, real men ; the kind of men who, 
 entirely forgetful of self, have saved many a 
 nation and many a cause from being ground un- 
 der the heel of defeat. 
 
 In a silence like death, the Hartford passed 
 safely through that path of deadly mines. Be- 
 hind her, following her course unerringly, know- 
 ing that to deviate meant disaster, her sister ships 
 also came through the lane, the constant targets 
 for the missiles of the enemy from the forts. 
 Already the Confederate ships had been cap- 
 tured or put to flight. Now the entire Union 
 squadron came to anchor around their admired 
 
252 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 flag-ship in the upper part of the Bay, and the 
 cheering of the crews rang out over the waters 
 in all directions. 
 
 Upon taking inventory of damage it was 
 found that the vessels, while pretty badly torn 
 of rigging, were all in very fair shape, and while 
 a good many men had suffered wounds of a minor 
 character, a surprisingly small number had met 
 death or serious injuries. As the crew of the 
 Hartford worked clearing up the decks, a cry 
 suddenly arose. 
 
 "The ram! The ram's coming!" 
 
 Looking, they saw the ironclad of the enemy, 
 which had taken refuge under the batteries of 
 Fort Morgan, coming boldly and rashly forward, 
 with the evident intention of attacking the squad- 
 ron single-handed. 
 
 Instantly the order was given by Farragut to 
 treat the ironclad to some of her own medicine; 
 and as she came up at full speed, his ship came 
 at her, bow on, and gave the astonished Tennessee 
 such a bunting as she had never dreamed of. 
 Blow after blow was given, while the broadsides 
 of the Union vessels poured against her a merci- 
 less but harmless storm of grape and shrapnel. 
 
 Not until the monitors of the squadron joined 
 in the fracas did the Southerner seem to show 
 any ill effects of the abuse she was receiving, 
 putting up a wonderfully good fight. Harassed 
 
ADMIRAL DAVID FARRAGUT 253 
 
 by these, at last her rudder-chains were shot 
 away, her smokestack was torn off, and she be- 
 gan to leak from giving timbers. Admiral 
 Buchanan, who had commanded her, was 
 wounded in the leg. At last, badly battered and 
 crippled, she ran up the white flag. 
 
 In this manner the great fight virtually ended, 
 for the forts soon capitulated, and Farragut 
 gained mastery of the Bay. 
 
XI 
 
 DEWEY AT MANILA BAY 
 
 The sun in heaven was shining gay, 
 
 All things were joyful on that day; 
 
 The sea-birds screamed as they wheeled round — 
 
 And then came the harsh note of battle sound. 
 
 — Southey. 
 
Dewey at Manila Bay 
 
 Strange as it may seem, the first blow de- 
 livered by the United States in behalf of Cuba 
 was struck on the other side of the globe, in 
 Asiatic waters. This thump was so hard that it 
 caused the eyes of the nations of Europe to pop 
 wide open. To the people back home it brought 
 immense satisfaction and a joy quite unspeak- 
 able. 
 
 Before the Spanish-American War the chief 
 colonial possessions of Spain, excepting Cuba 
 and Porto Rico, were the Philippine Islands. 
 This group, of some twelve hundred separate 
 bodies of sea-surrounded land, lies off the south- 
 east coast of China. The largest island, Luzon, 
 is about the size of the State of Kentucky. The 
 Philippines had an aggregate population of per- 
 haps seven millions people, chiefly Malays, though 
 many of the inhabitants were of Spanish blood. 
 The office-holders and tax-collectors were, of 
 course, Spaniards. 
 
 Squarely upon the natural highways of 
 Oriental trade, the Islands were of enormous 
 commercial importance, owing to the value of 
 
 257 
 
258 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 their many mineral and vegetable products. In 
 addition, their safe harbors and supplies of coal 
 rendered them of great military importance. 
 
 Spanish misrule in the form of merciless op- 
 pression, cruelty, and extortion, finally festered 
 the heretofore patient and uncomplaining na- 
 tives into a violent insurrection — one scarcely 
 less bitter than that then going on in Cuba against 
 the Spaniards. Led by Aguinaldo — a young 
 Filipino of considerable sagacity and a fair ed- 
 ucation — thousands of irate natives became en- 
 gaged, in 1897, in a bloody warfare against the 
 authority of Spain. This had caused the Span- 
 iards to fortify heavily the capital, Manila, which 
 is situated at the head of Manila Bay, thirty-five 
 miles from the open waters of the Pacific. 
 Strong forts were erected at the entrance to the 
 Bay, and furnished with the best modern guns 
 Spain could procure. At Cavite, on the right 
 side, as one enters, was established the govern- 
 ment arsenal and naval station. In the city of 
 Manila itself an efficient army was quartered. 
 
 Immediately at the prospect of war with the 
 United States both the force in Manila and the 
 defenses along the Bay were strengthened, while 
 a considerable Spanish fleet gathered to protect 
 the forts. 
 
 Under instructions from his Government at 
 
DEWEY AT MANILA BAY 259 
 
 Washington, Commodore George Dewey had 
 gathered at Hong-Kong — about six hundred 
 miles from the Philippines — the greater part of 
 the United States warships then in the Pacific 
 Ocean. By the 19th of April, 1898, — the day 
 Congress passed its resolutions of war — the fleet 
 consisted of the Olympia, the Boston, the Con- 
 cord, the Raleigh, and the Petrel. On that day 
 the jackies began to put on them their war-uni- 
 forms of slate color, wielding their brushes as 
 fast as they could. Three days later, while this 
 work of painting was still under way, the Balti- 
 more came into port from Yokohama. She had 
 no thought of losing her part in the expedition, 
 so, with characteristic energy and speed, her of- 
 ficers and sailors in the following forty-eight 
 hours had put her in drydock, and scraped, re- 
 paired, painted, coaled, provisioned, and other- 
 wise made her ready for the grim business of 
 war. 
 
 Everything was ship-shape by the 24th, and 
 the Pacific fleet headed away from Hong-Kong 
 with bands playing and cheers ringing after them 
 from the American and English residents of the 
 Chinese port. Commodore Dewey led the pro- 
 cession in the battleship Olympia. Accompany- 
 ing the fleet were the revenue-cutter Hugh Mc- 
 Culloch, as a dispatch-boat, and two merchant 
 
260 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 vessels carrying ten thousand tons of coal. On 
 the decks and in the tops were seventeen hundred 
 lusty, strong-hearted American boys — as fine a 
 lot of adventure-loving young seamen as ever 
 roamed the seas. 
 
 And yet the number of Spanish vessels in 
 Manila Bay exceeded considerably the number of 
 American craft going to meet them. Most of 
 the latter, too, were cruisers, having far less 
 armament power than battleships. While they 
 would have an equal number of enemy ships of 
 their type to face, the smaller craft would be 
 largely outnumbered. With this situation 
 against them, the American vessels also would 
 have to contend against the formidable Spanish 
 forts at the mouth of the harbor, the batteries 
 and arsenal at Cavite, further in, submerged 
 mines, and the fortifications and troops of the 
 city of Manila. Despite these very real perils, 
 the American tars sailed on with the greatest en- 
 thusiasm. 
 
 It was on Saturday morning, the 30th of April, 
 that they sighted the Island of Luzon. A sup- 
 pressed excitement ran throughout the fleet; 
 everybody was astir, and eyes searched the dis- 
 tant waters for a speck of land which at that time 
 only the officers with their powerful glasses could 
 discern. As the ships sped on, the decks were 
 sanded, and preparations for conflict renewed, 
 
DEWEY AT MANILA BAY 261 
 
 everything that might catch fire in battle being 
 tossed overboard or put in the hold. 
 
 No sight of the Spanish ships was caught that 
 day, and the officers became certain that they 
 were harboring in the calm waters of the Bay, 
 safely behind the network of submarine torpedoes 
 and under the wing of the Spanish fortifications. 
 At five o'clock the different captains were called 
 aboard the Olympia for consultation and final 
 orders. It was decided that the hour of twelve, 
 midnight, would be best for making a dash past 
 the forts at the entrance to the harbor, in order 
 to be ready for an engagement at daylight. The 
 problem was to find the enemy just at daybreak 
 and not before. 
 
 The early part of the night was cloudy and 
 dark, ideal for the purpose in view. No lights 
 were allowed except one at the stern of each ves- 
 sel, covered on all sides save the rear, for the 
 guidance of the ship that was following, and no 
 word was to be spoken or movement made unless 
 by the orders of the commanders. At eleven 
 o'clock the crews were called to quarters to be 
 ready for an emergency, and at midnight the 
 ships, in single column with the Olympia leading, 
 commenced the perilous passage. 
 
 The forts at the entrance of the Bay were 
 upon Corregidor Island, six hundred feet above 
 the water level ; and at El Fraile, on the opposite 
 
262 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 side. The channel on one side is one mile wide ; 
 on the other, five miles wide. The entrance of 
 the Americans was made by the wider passage, 
 and between the forts. 
 
 As the fleet went by the island, a rocket shot 
 up into the sky from the fort on the hill, showing 
 that they had been discovered. Almost instantly 
 other rockets flashed along the shore line. It 
 was supposed that these warnings of the enemy 
 would be followed by an immediate attack from 
 the Krupp guns of the shore batteries, but such 
 was not the case. All was silence. Evidently 
 these defenses, confident in the prowess of the 
 Spanish fleet to annihilate the invaders, thought 
 they would relegate the task of destroying the 
 Americans to their own vessels. 
 
 Thus the Yankee ships moved forward till op- 
 posite the second fort, which was situated upon 
 a small island near the shore. This defense 
 proved more aggressive than those preceding it. 
 There was a bright flash in the darkness sur- 
 rounding it, the heavy boom of a gun, the scream 
 of a shell overhead. Another, and still another 
 shot came screeching through the air toward the 
 procession of American ships. 
 
 At the last shot, the Raleigh, which was third 
 in line, replied with a five-inch shell that sent 
 mortar flying, and the Concord and the Boston, 
 coming next, each in turn opened fire. The 
 
DEWEY AT MANILA BAY 263 
 
 Shells from the shore batteries fell wide of the 
 mark. On the other hand, with the first enemy 
 flash the Yankee gunners had the spot well 
 marked, and presently placed a six-inch shell so 
 accurately that it penetrated the defense, killing 
 outright one officer and forty-one men, and si- 
 lencing the battery completely. 
 
 The night wore away slowly as the fleet ad- 
 vanced in cautious formation, feeling their way 
 along the unknown passage toward the city. 
 Toward morning the moon broke through the 
 clouds. All the time the finishing touches for 
 action with the enemy ships were being applied 
 with energy. The men were instructed once 
 more in their duties, the decks were again sanded, 
 the boats were covered with canvas to prevent 
 their being splintered by flying shell, the am- 
 munition hoists were wound with cable-chains, 
 the guns were gone over very carefully, the sur- 
 geons gave their final directions to their assist- 
 ants, the carpenters saw that their mates stood 
 ready with emergency repairs, and in fact every- 
 thing was done that American wit and industry 
 could do to get ready for serious action. 
 
 The lights of Manila came in sight early, and 
 were used by Dewey as beacons of guidance in 
 the forward movement. At dawn the fleet was 
 about four miles from the city, and breakfast of 
 hardtack and coffee was served at once to the 
 hungry crews. 
 
264 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 It was a Sunday — that day of peace with civil- 
 ized mankind when, singular as it is, most of the 
 world's important battles seem to have been 
 fought to a conclusion. At a little past five the 
 forts on the Manila shore, and at Cavite, just op- 
 posite, began to open up; but their projectiles 
 fell a half-mile short of the fleet. No reply was 
 made; Commodore Dewey, on the bridge of the 
 Olympia, had his plans, and nothing could divert 
 him. While the dispatch-boat McCulloch stopped 
 in the middle of the Bay, the cruisers passed on in 
 single file, swung around to the right, and, under 
 full steam, made straight toward the arsenal at 
 Cavite and the Spanish fleet which could be seen 
 anchored there. 
 
 By this time the fire from the forts and the 
 enemy ships, each of the latter bearing aloft great 
 battle-flags of red and gold, was very heavy, the 
 reverberations from the powerful Spanish guns 
 echoing and reechoing across the waters of the 
 Bay from headland to headland. But still their 
 shells fell short. Either they were low of range, 
 or their weapons were not of sufficient power to 
 carry up. 
 
 The American gunners stood by their pieces 
 with smiling, tense faces, as their ships pressed 
 onward as straight as an arrow toward the en- 
 emy. Presently from the Olympia this signal 
 was raised: "Fire as convenient." As restless 
 
m ftj 
 
 II 
 
 si 
 
 W Iff J 
 
DEWEY AT MANILA BAY 265 
 
 as every man was .to discharge his piece, the of- 
 ficers still shook their heads. When the range- 
 finder showed two miles, Dewey turned to the 
 captain of his ship and said the historic words: 
 "When you are ready you may fire, Mr. Gridley." 
 
 Captain Gridley, quite ready, quickly passed 
 the order ; and in a moment the eager gunners be- 
 fore the eight-inch guns in the forward turret 
 of the flag-ship were aiming and discharging 
 their pieces with thunderous roars which were 
 but signals for a general storm of missiles from 
 the other ships, all directed toward the vessels 
 of the Spanish fleet in front of Cavite. Every 
 port battery, within a few minutes, had unloosed 
 its burden of deadly lead and iron. The air was 
 full of shells and smoke. To give the gunners a 
 better chance, the speed was slowed down. 
 
 As soon as all had passed the anchored Span- 
 ish ships, the line swung round, and returned 
 slowly over the same course, this time firing the 
 starboard batteries. Spouts of water could be 
 seen flying up all about the Spaniards' ships as 
 the shots fell in their midst. Suddenly, not more 
 than eight hundred yards ahead of the Olympia 
 there was a dull rumble below the sea, and a 
 geyser shot up high in the air. A submarine 
 mine had exploded prematurely — probably as the 
 result of a wild enemy shot striking it. 
 
 At this juncture the Spanish flag-ship, the 
 
266 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 Reina Crisiina, slipped her mooring and charged 
 directly at the Olympia, like a maddened panther. 
 But the guns of all the fleet were instantly turned 
 upon her, and the marksmanship of the cool- 
 headed American gunners, used to hitting much 
 more difficult targets, did not fail. In a few min- 
 utes the Spanish ship was in flames, with great 
 holes torn in her hull and half her rigging shot 
 away. Turning about with difficulty she at- 
 tempted to flee back to her consorts. But even 
 as she headed for shelter, the trained eye of a 
 gunner on the Olympia' s forward deck was glanc- 
 ing along his great steel pet; there was a heavy 
 roar, and a terrible projectile struck the Span- 
 iard's stern and crashed clear through, sweeping 
 to the very bow, and dropping the captain and 
 more than sixty of his men. 
 
 Admiral Montojo and his men escaped as best 
 they could from the sinking ship in her boats, 
 the former transferring his flag to the Isla de 
 Cuba. But no sooner had he run up his ad- 
 miral's emblem upon this ship than she imme- 
 diately became the new target for the resistless 
 American batteries. The result was, soon she 
 too was burning and in a sinking condition. 
 Angered almost to distraction the Spanish com- 
 mander-in-chief once more had to find new quar- 
 ters, whereupon he at once ordered two of his 
 torpedo-destroyers to go out and do to the 
 
DEWEY AT MANILA BAY 267 
 
 Olympia what he himself had been unable to ac- 
 complish. 
 
 The Spanish destroyers, lying low in the water, 
 going at great speed, soon come within seven 
 hundred yards of the Olympia. She is in easy 
 reach of the deadly torpedoes, and a big target ; 
 the Spanish gunners can hardly fail to get at 
 least one into her. The dark eyes of the Span- 
 ish officers and crew glint with triumph. The 
 captains put their lips to the speaking tubes to 
 give the chief gunners the word to fire. But 
 they are too late. Already the secondary bat- 
 teries and rapid-fire guns of the Yankees are be- 
 ginning to bark, and the well-aimed shot to strike 
 the destroyers. From one of the latter there 
 arises a great puff of white as an internal ex- 
 plosion shakes her from bow to stern; and she 
 drops under the waves forever. The other 
 Spaniard, sorely crippled, fires a tube hastily and 
 the torpedo cuts a white line harmlessly across 
 the bow of the Olympia, while the destroyer 
 makes about and struggles frantically toward 
 shore. There on the beach she will be found 
 after all is over, pierced, shattered, and bloody. 
 
 Now the American fleet turn again and steam 
 back to bring their guns to bear on the other side. 
 This time it is the Spanish ships Don Antonio 
 de Ulloa and Castillo which become the victims 
 of their merciless aim; the enemy ships, fright- 
 fully torn, soon sink. 
 
268 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 Although they ought to be tired out by this 
 time, the Yankee gunners seem to be gaining in 
 the precision of their fire, the accuracy of which 
 is wonderful to behold — as if they were at target 
 practice and in no danger themselves. The sniff 
 of victory is in their nostrils; the remarkable 
 triumph they are gaining lifts them above such 
 a sordid weakness as exhaustion; the spirit con- 
 tinues the fight with sublime indifference to the 
 whims of the physical being. 
 
 Presently, to the surprise of the rest of the 
 fleet, the Olympia draws out of line. What is 
 the matter? Has she been struck? Does she 
 feel the necessity of immediate repairs? But no 
 — as she comes near some of the ships in moving 
 out, and their crews cheer her, and her own crew 
 cheers as heartily back, every consort feels re- 
 assured. Now from her masthead flies the 
 signal to withdraw and serve breakfast. 
 
 It is half-past seven, and the fight has raged 
 for more than two hours. Even as the men 
 gather round the tables to partake hungrily- of 
 food those on deck can see several enemy ves- 
 sels burning, and a fire in the Arsenal. While 
 the eating goes on, the officers hastily make a 
 close inspection of their vessels, noting the dam- 
 age done and the condition of the ammunition. 
 The captains are called to the flag-ship, from 
 whence they soon return with the cheering news 
 
DEWEY AT MANILA BAY 269 
 
 that not a man has been killed and only a half- 
 dozen wounded. A great cheer goes up; and a 
 greater one still, when announcement is made 
 that the attack will be renewed and the battle 
 fought to a finish without further delay. 
 
 Shortly before eleven o'clock the signal comes 
 to advance once more. The plan of battle has 
 been changed. The Spanish ships have been so 
 badly used up that they are practically out of the 
 fight. Now, instead of the American fleet mov- 
 ing up and down in front of the enemy forts and 
 vessels, and firing as they go, orders are to go 
 directly toward the ships, stop for range, then 
 choose a mark and make sure that it is struck. 
 
 First goes the Baltimore. Her engines work- 
 ing at capacity, the black smoke fairly rolls from 
 her stacks, and she trembles from end to end un- 
 der the mighty impulse of her own mechanical 
 power. In a short time she has almost disap- 
 peared in her smoke. Then her huge guns begin 
 to thunder, followed, as she draws in, by the 
 lighter and shriller staccato of her rapid-fire bat- 
 tery. 
 
 The men behind, on other decks, tremble 
 eagerly as they await their turn. Now they 
 watch the Olympia, which, twenty minutes later, 
 takes up the trail of the Baltimore. Following, 
 the Boston gets under way, with a cheer from 
 her own and the other crews. Then the Raleigh 
 
270 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 and the Concord drop in. Last to go forward 
 is the little Petrel. But it is not through choice, 
 you may well believe. Drawing less water than 
 her consorts, this small ship runs close in under 
 the frowning parapets of the fort, fires a furious 
 broadside, wheels and fires the other, dashes 
 nimbly away, returns and repeats the process — 
 until the fort has been crumbled in many places 
 and is seen to be in flames. 
 
 Meantime the sister ships of the "baby battle- 
 ship," — as she is lovingly dubbed — have not 
 been idle. By one o'clock all the larger Spanish 
 ships have been put out of action, and the re- 
 maining forts disabled or left burning. Five 
 minutes later the little Petrel, dashing in once 
 more, signals the Commodore that the enemy has 
 struck his colors at Cavite and has raised a white 
 flag. 
 
 The fight had now been completely won. The 
 firing ceased, and the crews climbed the rigging 
 to cheer and cheer again till they were hoarse the 
 marvelous victory they had won seven thousand 
 miles from any American soil. The exultation 
 was all the more enthusiastic because no addi- 
 tional casualties had been endured in the second 
 stage of action. As for the Olympia, she had 
 been struck thirteen different times, and not one 
 of the other vessels had entirely escaped, but the 
 damage in every case was not very serious. 
 
DEWEY AT MANILA BAY 271 
 
 It was a battle in which scientific skill had had 
 more to do with the result than any other factor. 
 The Spaniards clearly showed a lack of the high 
 training that had been the lot of the American 
 seamen; while every one of the latter's shots 
 seemed to find its mark, the projectiles of the en- 
 emy usually went wide. 
 
XII 
 THE BATTLE OF SANTIAGO HARBOR 
 
 She struck where the white and fleecy waves 
 
 Looked soft as carded wool, 
 But the cruel rocks they gored her sides 
 
 Like the horns of an angry bull. 
 
 — Longfellow. 
 
The Battle of Santiago Harbor 
 
 hobson's daring exploit 
 
 When the blowing up of the United States 
 battleship Maine precipitated a declaration of 
 war, on April 21st, 1898, between America and 
 Spain, the Atlantic squadron, under Rear-Ad- 
 miral Sampson, immediately proceeded to the is- 
 land of Cuba and stretched a cordon of blockad- 
 ing ships around it. A little later it was heard 
 that the Spanish admiral, Cervera, had sailed 
 from Spain with a formidable fleet. Taking his 
 vessels with him, Sampson went forth to meet the 
 enemy, but failing, finally returned to Cuba after 
 a long and baffling search. It was only to find 
 that while he had been in the neighborhood of 
 Key West, and Commodore Schley had been 
 watching the southern coast of the Island, Cer- 
 vera had very neatly slipped into Santiago harbor 
 with his ships. 
 
 There was nothing for the Americans to do 
 now but make the best of the disappointing situa- 
 tion, and proceed to close up the neck of the bottle 
 into which the Spanish admiral had chosen to 
 take his fleet. By the last week of May both 
 
 275 
 
276 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 American commanders were present. Schley's 
 command embraced his flag-ship, the Brooklyn, 
 the Massachusetts, the Texas, the Iowa, the 
 Marblehead, the Minneapolis, the Castine — bat- 
 tleships and cruisers; and the torpedo-destroyer 
 Dupont. He also had with him the auxiliary- 
 cruiser St. Paul, the coaling-ship Merrimac, and 
 several smaller craft. Sampson's flotilla com- 
 prised the flag-ship New York, battleship 
 Oregon, cruiser New Orleans, several auxiliary 
 vessels and torpedo-destroyers. 
 
 To make certain that there had been no mis- 
 take, and that all the Spanish ships were really 
 in the harbor, Lieutenant Victor Blue made a 
 daring reconnoissance. Braving the threatening 
 guns of the formidable fort of Morro Castle at 
 the head of the harbor, and risking a sniper's 
 shot, Blue climbed one of the hills and counted 
 one by one the enemy's vessels as they lay in 
 the sheltered waters behind the protecting mines, 
 about half way between the city of Santiago and 
 the mouth of the bay. He presently returned in 
 the small boat that had taken him, and reported 
 five cruisers and two torpedo-destroyers. 
 
 The situation now was this: The Spanish 
 fleet was indeed besieged; it might dash for 
 liberty, but this was unlikely in view of the fact 
 that the Yankee ships were more numerous and 
 
BATTLE OF SANTIAGO HARBOR 2.^ 
 
 individually as powerful in armament. On the 
 the other hand the besiegers were unable to get 
 in and force a quick conclusion, owing to the al- 
 most impregnable defenses of the enemy; there 
 were the frowning battlements of Morro Castle, 
 high on its cliff on the one side, and on the other 
 the heavy battery of Socapa on lower ground; 
 there were the deadly mines that stretched across 
 the channel, just below the water level, which 
 could not be threaded without disaster except by 
 those who had the key to their location. 
 
 For several days the American ships bom- 
 barded the Spanish forts at the mouth of the 
 harbor. But while Socapa was badly damaged, 
 the elevation of Morro Castle was so great and 
 its structure so massive that the hardest fire of 
 the Yankees failed to destroy any of its protect- 
 ing batteries. 
 
 Reluctantly the blockaders withdrew out of 
 range, and Sampson and Schley held a consulta- 
 tion. They decided that the aid of the army was 
 necessary; that a force by land was required to 
 capture the fortifications before they could coun- 
 termine the channel with mine-sweepers, steam 
 in, and engage the timid Spanish fleet. As a re- 
 sult of this conference, General Shafter was or- 
 dered by the Government to land troops, and with 
 the aid of the friendly Cubans, advance on the 
 forts about the bay. 
 
278 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 While this land operation was being put under 
 way, it was decided by the naval commanders to 
 attempt to make the blockade more effective by 
 sinking in the channel the coal-ship Merrimac. 
 The collier was nearly as long as the width of 
 the watercourse at one point. If she could be 
 successfully sent to the bottom here, laden with 
 coal, there would be little probability of the en- 
 emy ships being able to get out if they wished. 
 This would relieve in some measure the vigilance 
 of the blockading squadrons, and allow some of 
 the vessels to be withdrawn for needed service 
 elsewhere. Who would volunteer? The mis- 
 sion not only required a cool head and stout 
 heart, and high excellence in seamanship — for 
 the whole operation would have to be performed 
 directly under the guns of Socapa and Morro 
 Castle — but there was not one chance in a thou- 
 sand of the ones who undertook it ever return- 
 ing. Volunteering, the officers frankly stated to 
 their men when they assembled them, was almost 
 equivalent to signing away one's life. 
 
 Yet there were more applicants for this des- 
 perate mission than could have been used on a 
 dozen such undertakings! To Richmond P. 
 Hobson, a young naval-constructor, was given 
 the coveted position of leader. To assist him 
 seven other young sailors were chosen. 
 
 Very early in the morning of June 3d, just 
 
BATTLE OF SANTIAGO HARBOR 279 
 
 after the moon had set, and a good half-hour 
 before dawn, the gallant little crew took their 
 positions on the old collier. They had discarded 
 all their outer garments, wearing only under- 
 clothes. About his waist each man carried a belt 
 containing a revolver and knife, while under his 
 arms circled a life-preserver. Thousands of 
 comrades' eyes, on the decks behind, peered anx- 
 iously through the gloom as the Merrimac slowly 
 and quietly steamed toward the mouth of the 
 harbor, so heavily burdened that the waters 
 lapped almost to her deck. Not a light did she 
 bear, and her dauntless little crew spoke only in 
 whispers as they hovered in the deepest shadows 
 of her structure that their tasks of guidance 
 would permit. 
 
 All at once, from away up there on the dark 
 cliff just ahead, a red flare bursts into the night 
 — then another, and another. And accompany- 
 ing each flash there comes a shattering roar, 
 while demons of iron and steel that they cannot 
 see screech overhead and plunge into the sea be- 
 yond. Rockets are now shooting up from both 
 shores. From across the waters other big guns 
 belch forth their charges, and the hail of life- 
 taking missiles increases in their small area. 
 Hundreds of jets, white and glistening, leap up 
 from the channel all about them as the shrapnel 
 strikes. Now a broad path of light stretches 
 
280 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 from Morro Castle across the inky heavens; it 
 slowly drops, bathes the rugged hills on the other 
 side of the harbor in its pallid glow, then, like a 
 restless finger, swings lower still, creeping here 
 and there over the waters of the channel, halting 
 a moment searchingly, and going on till it finally 
 rests its brilliant beams upon the moving shape 
 of the old collier. It is war's latest weapon — 
 the electric searchlight, the very thing the eight 
 young Yankees on the Merrimac have been hop- 
 ing will not be used upon them. 
 
 Now they lie, vividly outlined, in a vortex of 
 strong light. Involuntarily those on deck shrink 
 closer to the protecting objects nearest them, for 
 they know what is coming. But steadfast their 
 hearts and hands hold to the purpose before them ; 
 there is not the slightest quaver in the voice of 
 Hobson as he issues in low tones his orders ; not 
 the least nervousness in the hand of the pilot, nor 
 the engineer and his helpers, nor the deckhands. 
 Even as the big guns of the enemy begin to 
 thunder faster — into an almost continuous 
 crash — and the sprinkle of shot about them de- 
 velops into a blinding cloudburst of shrapnel, 
 ripping holes in hull and through smokestack, 
 they keep on with set teeth, praying that they 
 may be permitted to reach the narrows before 
 death comes. 
 
 Their prayer is granted. As by a miracle the 
 
BATTLE OF SANTIAGO HARBOR 281 
 
 Merrimac is steered, without a man perishing, to 
 the appointed spot. But just as Hobson gives 
 the order to swing her across the channel for 
 sinking, an enemy shot tears away the rudder 
 with a shuddering smash. At the same moment 
 her stern anchor, cut clean, plunges to the bot- 
 tom. 
 
 It is now impossible to hold the collier long 
 enough to sink her just in the way intended. In- 
 stead of holding straight across the channel, the 
 rudderless craft begins to swing back in line 
 with the current, and to go drifting into wider 
 waters. Like a mad antelope, young Hobson 
 springs to the buttons which connect with the 
 electric batteries that will explode the mines in the 
 hold and send the collier to the bottom. 
 
 As he touches the buttons there are two muffled 
 explosions on one side of the ship; but there are 
 none on the other, and he realizes that the fire 
 of the enemy has damaged the batteries on that 
 side. Hobson is greatly disappointed; he is 
 afraid that the Merrimac will not sink at once, 
 as planned. 
 
 He is right. While the enemy shots have 
 opened her up, and helped her to take in water 
 quite rapidly, the side with the unexploded mines 
 rides high, and she continues to drift into wider 
 waters as she slowly settles. Hobson and his 
 comrades know only too well that it will be death 
 
282 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 to spring overboard right now in that terrible rain 
 of shot. Far better will it be to wait till the 
 collier is on the very verge of going down ; then 
 perhaps the firing will cease, or they will be out 
 of range, and their swim will have some chance 
 of resulting in personal safety. 
 
 At last comes the end. Dipping her head deep 
 beneath the waves, and throwing her stern high 
 in the air, the collier suddenly dives for the bot- 
 tom. Through the whirlpool of rushing waters, 
 fearful of the final suction, the men fight their 
 way to the raft which the ship has been towing, 
 and which has been released at the final moment. 
 Not a man is lost. 
 
 Dawn found them all huddled on the raft, 
 where they had sought a compulsory rest of ach- 
 ing muscles. As the first rays of day swept away 
 the night the vigilant Spaniards saw them. In a 
 very short time a steam-launch appeared filled 
 with the dark faces of the foe. In the very front 
 stood an officer of apparent high grade. 
 
 "Is there any officer on board that boat to re- 
 ceive the surrender of prisoners of war?" called 
 Hobson, rising. 
 
 For answer a dozen Mausers were leveled at 
 him and his comrades. Bravely they faced the 
 rifles, expecting to see them spout out their death 
 shots for them. But an angry command came 
 from the man in the bow, and the rifles dropped. 
 
BATTLE OF SANTIAGO HARBOR 283 
 
 It was Admiral Cervera, of the Spanish fleet. 
 The little band of Americans were taken to his 
 flag-ship, and in the afternoon Cervera sent an 
 officer under a flag of truce to Admiral Sampson. 
 The messenger gravely handed the American 
 commander a note which apprised him of the 
 safety of his eight men, then added: "Daring 
 like theirs makes the bitterest enemy proud that 
 his fellowmen can be such heroes!" It was a 
 wonderful tribute from the leader of the enemy to 
 Richmond Hobson and his valiant companions. 
 
 THE DESTRUCTION OF CERVERA S FLEET 
 
 For five weeks the combined squadrons of Ad- 
 miral Sampson and Commodore Schley had been 
 riding at the mouth of Santiago Bay — waiting, 
 always waiting, and hoping, for the moment when 
 the trying routine of watching would be dropped 
 for the roar and dash of a great naval engage- 
 ment with the choicest ships of Spain, bottled 
 up in the harbor. In the meantime the American 
 army under General Shafter had been slowing 
 but surely working its way up behind the city of 
 Santiago, and now — on Sunday morning of the 
 3d of July — rested on their arms, for a brief mo- 
 ment before undertaking the difficult onslaught 
 upon the city itself. 
 
284 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 In the squadrons you would have found the 
 armored-cruiser Brooklyn, capable of twenty-one 
 knots an hour, and serving as the flag-ship of 
 Commodore Schley, the same Schley who years 
 before took out of the Arctic snows the dying 
 survivors of the ill-fated Greely expedition and 
 brought them home. There was the first-class 
 battleship Oregon, fresh from her long journey 
 of fifteen thousand miles from Puget Sound, 
 around Cape Horn; and her sister ship the In- 
 diana — both with their eighteen-inch walls of 
 steelplate and their heavy thirteen-inch guns 
 which throw a projectile five miles, and require 
 for it more than five hundred pounds of powder 
 and three times that weight in metal, at a cost 
 of close to six hundred dollars per discharge. 
 There was the big battleship Iowa, with "Fight- 
 ing Bob" Evans in command; and the Texas, 
 called the "hoodoo ship" by her crew because of 
 the many misfortunes befalling her. There was 
 also the battleship Massachusetts, with her 
 powerful twinscrews and great speed, and crew 
 of over four hundred men. Besides these 
 greater ships, there were a number of sleek-look- 
 ing cruisers, torpedo-destroyers, and converted 
 warships. 
 
 Admiral Sampson, first in command of all the 
 flotilla, was absent for the first time during the 
 
BATTLE OF SANTIAGO HARBOR 285 
 
 blockade. Under the orders of President Mc- 
 Kinley he had steamed a few miles east with the 
 New York to confer with General Shafter upon 
 a matter of importance. He had said just as he 
 was leaving, "If I go away something will hap- 
 pen." Nor was he mistaken. Something did 
 happen — something he would have given his 
 right hand to have been present to meet ! 
 
 This Sunday morning you are introduced to, 
 opened up not unlike most of the others the fleet 
 had experienced during the past month. The 
 sun was brazen and hot ; the water calm. Across 
 on the high promontory at the entrance to the 
 harbor stood Morro Castle, silent, mediaeval, 
 grim. Over its battlements of gray masonry 
 flew a couple of gulls, giving no indication of the 
 noisome dungeons in which many an inhuman 
 execution has taken place just below, nor telling 
 of the ravenous sharks which inhabit the waters 
 at the base of the cliff, ready to seize the first 
 morsel of flesh that should come their way, be it 
 animal or human — sharks which have been quick 
 to destroy for an age the butchered evidence of 
 Spanish cruelty. 
 
 By nine o'clock the American sailors were 
 rigged out in clean white middies and trousers, 
 ready for inspection and religious service. 
 
 A half-hour later, just as the bugle on the 
 
286 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 Oregon sounded for chaplain's assembly, the of- 
 ficer on the forward bridge of the Brooklyn called 
 out through his megaphone: "After bridge 
 there! Report to the Commodore and the cap- 
 tain that the enemy's ships are coming out !" 
 
 Almost with his words the boom of a gun on 
 the Iowa attracted attention to a string of little 
 flags going up her mizzen-rigging, which said: 
 "The enemy's ships are escaping to the west- 
 ward." 
 
 Needless to say, in an instant everything on 
 board the Yankee ships was in a commotion. 
 The chaplain was forgotten, Sunday was forgot- 
 ten — every sailor's ear was pricked to catch the 
 first order of officer, and his feet and hands held 
 poised to obey it like lightning. Every ship fairly 
 pulsed with excitement as well as action. Yet, 
 in spite of the suddenness of the long-hoped-for 
 announcement, in spite of the hundreds of men 
 that hurried here and there over the decks and 
 in the rigging, there was no sign of disorder or 
 confusion. With perfect precision and wonder- 
 ful system the machinery of preparation for pur- 
 suit and battle was set in motion, and clicked 
 swiftly and smoothly on. 
 
 In less than five minutes after the first word of 
 the coming of Cervera's fleet every anchor was 
 up, every gun manned, and the American ships 
 began to move toward the enemy who could be 
 
BATTLE OF SANTIAGO HARBOR 287 
 
 seen coming out of the harbor at full speed, work- 
 ing off toward the westward as if to attempt es- 
 cape into the sea in that direction. 
 
 Meanwhile the New York, which it will be re- 
 membered carried Admiral Sampson along the 
 coast to the eastward, had just reached its desti- 
 nation, seven miles distant, and was about to land 
 its commander, when the sound of the Iozva's 
 heavy gun was heard. Then, as the American 
 ships were seen to be getting under headway, 
 Sampson surmised that the enemy had at last ap- 
 peared, and ordered his flag-ship back under all 
 speed. 
 
 To the men of the fleet the increasing clouds of 
 black smoke in the harbor showed beyond the 
 shadow of a doubt that every one of Admiral 
 Cervera's vessels was with him in the desperate 
 dash of the Spaniards for liberty. Soon the of- 
 ficers of the foremost Yankee ships could make 
 out with their glasses the flag-ship of the enemy 
 — the Maria Teresa — which was leading. She 
 was the first of her flotilla to thrust her nose out 
 of the opening into the sea. Following closely 
 behind her, in good order, were the other arm- 
 ored-cruisers of Spain, consisting of the Viscaya, 
 the Cristobal Colon, the Almirante Oquendo; and 
 the torpedo-destroyers, the Pluton and the Furor. 
 The foe craft were from eight hundred to twelve 
 hundred yards apart, and it was fully fifteen min- 
 
288 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 utes before the last of them had passed the cape 
 at the harbor's mouth. As they did so, they 
 turned squarely west. 
 
 They were now within good long range of the 
 Americans, who were approaching as fast as 
 steam could carry them. The Spaniards were 
 first to fire. As they flew on they let go their 
 near batteries of heavy guns, to which the Yankee 
 fleet made instant reply. While practically all 
 of the enemy's shots went wild, some of the shells 
 of the Americans were seen to find marks. In 
 a few minutes the Yankee gunners had obtained 
 a still more accurate range, and the debris of 
 the foe began to litter the water in their wake. 
 
 But not all of the shots of the Spaniards were 
 thrown away. As the Americans began to over- 
 haul the enemy his own aim grew more accurate, 
 and a number of the pursuers endured minor 
 strikes. Among these was the Brooklyn, which, 
 taking probably the most prominent and exposed 
 part in the fight, suffered greatest. When the 
 Americans had closed up rather well an enemy 
 shell hurtled fairly against the muzzle of one of 
 the Brooklyn's big guns on the engaged side, and 
 wedged itself in the bore in such a manner that 
 the weapon was temporarily rendered useless. 
 
 A few minutes later the flag at the masthead of 
 the Brooklyn was carried away by a shot from 
 the Viscaya. Without hesitation a sailor jumped 
 
BATTLE OF SANTIAGO HARBOR 289 
 
 overboard and rescued the emblem, risking shot 
 and the sharks that infested the waters. When 
 he was picked up he insisted on being allowed to 
 replace the flag, which he did by nailing it to the 
 spar after a perilous climb. 
 
 From the first the Brooklyn had realized that 
 this was to be a fighting chase in which she must 
 lead. She steamed at the Spanish flag-ship un- 
 der full head. Perhaps her commander recalled 
 that the Viscaya had been a rival of the Brook- 
 lyn's at the Jubilee of Queen Victoria the year be- 
 fore. Be that as it may, she soon overhauled the 
 Spaniard, then sweeping by fired her port broad- 
 side into him; wheeled about, and coming back 
 gave him the other broadside. The efTect of 
 these shots was most disastrous to the enemy. 
 His hull was pierced in several places, his rigging 
 torn away, some of his best guns dismantled, 
 while many dead and wounded littered his 
 deck, and fire began its consuming work in his 
 hold. 
 
 While this was going on the two Spanish tor- 
 pedo-destroyers, the Furor and the Pluton, bent 
 on protecting their flag-ship, were making madly 
 for the Brooklyn. The sharp eyes of Lieuten- 
 ant-Commander Richard Wainwright were on 
 them, however. He sped his little converted- 
 yacht Gloucester with rare and amazing cour- 
 age straight into the breach, bent upon heading 
 
290 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 off the two enemy destroyers and diverting their 
 attention till assistance should come. 
 
 Running in at close range, Wainwright, who 
 had been a former officer of the ill-fated Maine, 
 worked his small rapid-firing guns with a vigor 
 and accuracy that confused the Pluton and Furor. 
 In a very few minutes the three ships were en- 
 veloped in the clouds of their own gun smoke, at 
 times completely hidden from friend and foe. As 
 the curtain raised once, the American saw a signal 
 from the Brooklyn for him to save himself and 
 draw out of danger, but rilled with the ardor of 
 the fight — perhaps bent upon vengeance, with the 
 Nation's rallying cry of "Remember the Maine!" 
 ringing in his ears — Wainwright for once in his 
 life ignored a superior's command, and continued 
 to wage his relentless warfare with a fury that 
 bewildered the Spaniards and amazed the Yankee 
 fleet. 
 
 Finally a well-placed shot was sent almost 
 through the Pluton, crippling her so badly that 
 she began to take in water at a terrifying rate. 
 Noting the helplessness of her sister ship, the 
 Furor now turned and made off. Several times 
 she sought refuge behind the cruisers of her fleet, 
 only to be driven forth by the insatiable little 
 American ship which pounded shot into protec- 
 tor and protected indiscriminately until they were 
 apart, when she would once more give her whole 
 
BATTLE OF SANTIAGO HARBOR 291 
 
 attention to the frightened destroyer. At length, 
 looking more like a sieve than a respectable Span- 
 ish destroyer, the Furor plunged limpingly for 
 shore. She soon struck a reef, and went under 
 the rolling surf. Wainwright's crew managed to 
 rescue most of the survivors, also those on board 
 the other torpedo-destroyer. In all only twenty- 
 four Spanish sailors were saved from the two 
 ships, one hundred and twenty having perished. 
 
 Meanwhile the other American ships had not 
 been idle. The Maria Teresa and the Oquendo 
 were on fire, and, badly riddled, had run aground 
 on the shore six miles west of the harbor. A 
 later examination showed that one had been 
 struck thirty-three times, and the other sixty- 
 seven times. This speaks eloquently of the high 
 quality of the American marksmanship. 
 
 By eleven o'clock the Viscaya, adopting the 
 tactics of her other surrendered consorts, ran for 
 land fifteen miles above the harbor and beached 
 her scarred and shattered hulk upon the rocks. 
 Like them she was on fire, and fearing an early 
 explosion of her magazine, her crew had sought 
 to get off before it came. Now scores of the 
 sailors could be seen springing into the sea, and 
 swimming and wading through the breakers, 
 many being dashed to death against the rocks by 
 the heavy surf. 
 
 As quickly as they could the American boats 
 
292 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 went to the rescue of the hapless enemy. As the 
 Texas passed by one of the stranded Spanish 
 ships, some of her crew started to cheer, but Cap- 
 tain Philip, with fine chivalry and compassion, 
 told them not to cheer a victory when the van- 
 quished were helplessly dying. The Iowa and 
 the Ericsson now took off those who had remained 
 aboard the Maria Teresa and the Oqucndo, while 
 the Gloucester received those on the Viscaya. 
 Among the latter survivors was Admiral Cervera 
 himself. He was naturally greatly crestfallen, 
 but Lieutenant-Commander Wainwright treated 
 him with every courtesy and did everything pos- 
 sible for his comfort, not forgetting how the gal- 
 lant Spanish admiral had dealt with Hobson and 
 his men when in his power. 
 
 While all this was transpiring, the Spanish 
 ship Cristobal Colon had succeeded in pushing on 
 out of the thickest of the fight, hoping to make 
 good her own -escape at least. She was the best 
 and fastest of the enemy vessels. When the 
 Viscaya went ashore, the fleetness of the Colon 
 had placed her fully six miles ahead, and as soon 
 as she realized the fate of the Viscaya she made 
 greater efforts than ever to put a long distance 
 between herself and the nearest American ves- 
 sels. 
 
 The Brooklyn, the Oregon, the Texas, and the 
 Vixen now started in pursuit. It was a won- 
 
BATTLE OF SANTIAGO HARBOR 293 
 
 derful race. Never will it be forgotten by any 
 of the crews taking part in it. The powerful 
 engines of the Brooklyn quickly made it possible 
 for her to lead the way; but soon the Oregon, 
 using choice Cardiff coal saved for just such an 
 emergency, was puffing along a close second. It 
 is doubtful if ever before the boilers of these two 
 American warships had been so filled with glow- 
 ing coals. In the boiler-rooms the heat was al- 
 most insufferable, soon mounting to a hundred 
 and fifty degrees Fahrenheit. Stripped to the 
 waist, with grimy, touseled hair, and faces like 
 beets in their color, the stokers threw shovelful 
 after shovelful of black diamonds into the fiery 
 maws before them, getting little chance to rest, 
 so fast was the fuel devoured in making that im- 
 mense amount of steam under which the engines 
 were throbbing till the very decks vibrated. It 
 was no uncommon thing to see a fireman faint. 
 At one time in the hold of the Oregon several of 
 them were stretched out at once. It was then 
 that the engineer called out to the captain, as 
 attempts were made to revive them: "If these 
 fellows can only hear a few guns they will come 
 up smiling!" Really it was these sweaty, coal- 
 smeared stokers who won that race and the vic- 
 tory attending it. No hero ever worked harder, 
 more valiantly for his country, than they. 
 
 As the Colon saw her pursuers gaining 
 
294 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 steadily, she began hugging in toward the shore, 
 evidently with the intention of beaching herself 
 if no other escape offered. At this the American 
 ships made a shortcut on a diagonal course, aim- 
 ing for a projecting headland some distance in 
 front of the Spaniard and which he must pass if 
 he continued onward. There was no firing yet. 
 The Yankees were so confident now in overhaul- 
 ing the chased craft that it was thought best to 
 get closer before sending in a shell. 
 
 By this time the Brooklyn and the Oregon had 
 pulled so far away from their consorts that they 
 were often hidden from view by the heavy clouds 
 of smoke curling in their wake. Presently a 
 flash was seen at the stern of the enemy, and a 
 shell screamed toward the Americans. A few 
 moments later there was another. But both 
 shots fell far short. 
 
 A little later, when Commodore Schley was 
 told by his navigator that the distance between 
 the Colon and the Oregon was but eight thousand 
 five hundred yards, or five miles, he signaled to 
 the Oregon, just behind him, to try a thirteen- 
 inch shell on the enemy. Instantly the battle- 
 ship complied, the missile falling a little short. 
 Again the order came. The muzzle was elevated 
 a trifle more, and once more the big gun crashed. 
 But this time the water spouted up beyond the 
 Colon. The third shot was better. It was a fair 
 
BATTLE OF SANTIAGO HARBOR 295 
 
 strike, cutting off a portion of the Spaniard's rig- 
 ging as clean as a sharp knife severs a pine stick. 
 Now the Brooklyn sent in several shots, followed 
 by more from the Oregon. 
 
 At this juncture the Colon was seen to be run- 
 ning for shore, with her colors struck. She had 
 given up the fight. Forty-two miles from San- 
 tiago harbor this running fight had reached. As 
 she drew in toward land and shallow water, her 
 crew scuttled her and she began rapidly to fill and 
 sink. But by this time the New York had come 
 up, and pushed her in till she settled on the beach. 
 Thus was the purpose of her crew to destroy her 
 defeated by the quick action of their captors. 
 
 In all, four hundred Spaniards had lost their 
 lives in this sea fight, while about sixteen hundred 
 had been taken prisoners. On the American side 
 only one man had lost his life — a most remarka- 
 ble result considering the great number of shots 
 the enemy had fired and the fierceness of the com- 
 bat for a time. In this respect it bore a striking 
 resemblance to Dewey's recent naval engagement 
 in Manila Bay. 
 
 The splendid victory of American sea arms 
 opened the gates of Santiago from the front, and 
 thereby saved thousands of lives in the thinned 
 little American army which in its three-days' 
 fighting back of the city had all but gained en- 
 trance. Threatened in front and behind Santi- 
 ago soon after capitulated. 
 
XIII 
 
 THE RUNNING FIGHT OFF 
 THE FALKLANDS 
 
 'Twere enough had these steel leviathans 
 Been satisfied with, one feast of prey ; 
 They staid too long, 
 Now came a song 
 Of vengeance from the landlocked bay: 
 Great guns roared; they fled, dismayed, 
 Before steel craft, still swifter made — 
 And in a breath 
 They'd met their death, 
 And for their boldness dearly paid. 
 
 — Villers. 
 
The Running Fight off the 
 Falklands 
 
 At the outbreak of the World War, in the sum- 
 mer of 1914, the British Grand Fleet at once took 
 its position in Scotch waters facing the German 
 ports. Here they did valiant work all through 
 four long years of the struggle, completely shut- 
 ting in all German craft except submarines, and 
 rendering the power of the German navy practi- 
 cally harmless. 
 
 But when hostilities were declared there were, 
 as usual at the beginning of all wars, war vessels 
 and merchantmen of the various nations involved 
 scattered here and there over the seas and in 
 many ports. Among the few fighting ships Ger- 
 many had away from home waters at this time 
 was the squadron of Admiral Von Spee, which 
 included the Schamhorst and the Gneisenau, — 
 two very swift and powerful battle-cruisers, — as 
 well as the Nurnberg, the Dresden, and the 
 Leipzig, destroyers. This squadron was caught, 
 by the edict of war, in the waters of the South 
 Pacific. So quick had been the action of Great 
 Britain in blockading Germany's coast that Von 
 
 Spee found there was little chance for him to 
 
 299 
 
300 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 run into a home port had he chosen ; but this did 
 not greatly bother him, as he wished to strike 
 some telling blows upon the enemy's interests be- 
 fore he left his present stalking grounds, and 
 thought he would really have no trouble to get 
 into a German harbor when the necessity finally 
 arose. 
 
 Within a very short time, however, he began to 
 think he might have his hands full. One day his 
 wireless brought him word that Japan had joined 
 forces with the enemy, and that a Japanese fleet 
 was even then about to start out to look him up. 
 As he had every good reason to avoid meeting 
 the powerful Japanese flotilla, Von Spee made 
 haste to strike his blows and get out of the local- 
 ity. By diligent use of his wireless he gathered 
 his far-flung ships together in record time, and 
 made for the coast of Chili, having learned by the 
 same means of communication from German 
 agents in Ecuador and Colombia that some vic- 
 tims awaited him at Coronel. 
 
 At Coronel, in the meantime, Admiral Cradock, 
 of the British Royal Navy, had been lying in 
 harbor with some very decrepit and poorly- 
 equipped warships. This squadron consisted of 
 the antiquated battle-cruisers Monmouth and 
 Good Hope, also the Glasgow and the Canopus, 
 the latter second-rate light cruisers. 
 
 Admiral Cradock, outnumbered and without 
 
FIGHT OF THE FALKLANDS 301 
 
 the ghost of a show in the beginning, put up a 
 valiant fight when the two squadrons met. But 
 the result was inevitable. The short and bitter 
 fight witnessed the complete defeat of the Brit- 
 ish, the brave Cradock going down with his flag- 
 ship, only the Canopus and the Glasgow manag- 
 ing to escape. 
 
 Britain for a moment was dazed; the Admir- 
 alty was blamed not only by the public of 
 England but by the governments and publics 
 of her Allies. It was declared by one and all 
 that poor Cradock should never have been per- 
 mitted to be so far away from home with such 
 wretched ships; and the Admiralty, nodding re- 
 luctantly, at once put the entire blame on Vice- 
 Admiral Sturdee, Chief of the War Staff, who, 
 from his office in London, had had control of the 
 ill-fated squadron in the South Pacific. This al- 
 most broke poor Sturdee's heart, for he had done 
 the best he could ; if Cradock had not been given 
 better and more ships it was because he had 
 thought they were more urgently needed else- 
 where. He made up his mind that in only one 
 way could he vindicate himself in the eyes of his 
 compatriots and the Allies ; he must, rather than 
 throw off responsibility, take more on; he must 
 cause a disaster to German naval craft that would 
 compensate doubly for their victory over Crad- 
 ock's squadron. 
 
302 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 Under the light of incandescents, great maps 
 of war glare white upon the walls. Like sheets 
 of a woman's washing hung out to dry, they touch 
 corner to corner around the big room. Benches, 
 just below, make it possible for man to reach 
 them — to insert and to withdraw any one of the 
 scores of black blobs and little flags that stick 
 into them, representing the positions of the four 
 thousand ships whose movements are all under 
 the instant beck and call of this room, though they 
 may be thousands of miles away. 
 
 The shades are drawn. Not a ray of light 
 leaks out of the strange apartment into the murk 
 of the darkened streets of London — a London of 
 startling, death-like quiet, a London hiding itself 
 from the Zeppelin nighthawks of the enemy. 
 Here in the innermost room of the new wing of 
 the Admiralty building at Whitehall, is the 
 "Chamber of Strategy" of the British War Staff. 
 It is the real nerve center of the British Royal 
 Navy. 
 
 Wireless telegraphy has transformed the Nel- 
 sons of to-day into mere subordinates. Their 
 orders, even in the heat of battle, do not come 
 from the deck of the flag-ship, but from the desk 
 of an office in the heart of London, far, far away. 
 When a squadron moves on the seas, it also moves 
 on the huge map on the wall, be it British, Amer- 
 ican, German or Austrian. The moment a ship 
 
FIGHT OF THE FALKLANDS 303 
 
 is destroyed by storm or battle, the tiny flag rep- 
 resenting it on the map disappears with it. 
 There is no roar of big guns at the Admiralty, no 
 smoke of battle; and yet there is no lack of ex- 
 citement, no lack of dramatic interest. 
 
 Just imagine yourself present at one of these 
 tense moments — for instance, in the month of 
 November, 1914. Little sparks of blue have not 
 long ceased spitting out their message of the wip- 
 ing out of Cradock's squadron at Coronel. All 
 England is demanding naval revenge. Every- 
 body looks sullenly at Admiral Sturdee. 
 
 A door of the inner chamber jerks open, a clat- 
 ter of typewriters comes through, clerks are seen 
 running hither and thither with baskets of let- 
 ters. In bolts a heavy-set man, with square jaw 
 and gray hair, and a plentiful display of gold 
 braid bands almost to his elbow. This is Lord 
 Fisher, Admiral of the Fleets, active master mind 
 of all the British fighting ships. From him 
 every fleet and squadron admiral must get his 
 orders. It is chiefly la this strong man that 
 Great Britain owes the wonderful strength of her 
 present navy. At seventy-four he is the biggest 
 man with the biggest job in the United Kingdom. 
 
 As Lord Fisher enters the chamber there is a 
 growl from the square jaws, a savage snap of the 
 teeth. He looks for all the world as if he were 
 a bull just pricked by the picador's darts. He is 
 
304 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 thinking of Cradock. Poor Admiral Sturdee 
 knows that well enough, and he feels none too 
 easy as he beckons the First Sea Lord up to the 
 table where he and his fellow junior officers have 
 been gravely discussing some maps and plans. 
 Scattered near are divers mechanical drawing 
 instruments and mathematical notations. 
 
 Admiral Sturdee directs the attention of Lord 
 Fisher to these plans, and says a few words 
 briefly. The gruff chief's eyes lighten up for a 
 moment, a few of the scowling wrinkles thin out 
 along his brow. But only for a moment, then he 
 snarls out : "Fine enough plans, Sturdee ! Why 
 don't you carry them out yourself?" 
 
 "Will you let me?" cries Sturdee. 
 
 "Yes; go!" 
 
 Sturdee's chance to redeem himself has come. 
 Von Spee's ships had better watch out! With- 
 out a moment's delay Sturdee sits down and 
 writes out his own orders to the commander of 
 the British squadron which is to wreak vengeance 
 for Admiral Cradock. The battle-cruisers are 
 under repair. But no matter ; the workmen can 
 be taken along to complete their jobs while the 
 vessels are under way, to be dropped off at the 
 first coaling point! 
 
 It is touch and go. At the break of the signal 
 the course is laid down the South American coast. 
 A fight hovers near. 
 
FIGHT OF THE FALKLANDS 305 
 
 There are great differences between the naval 
 conditions of to-day and those of a hundred years 
 ago. These lie in the greater speed of ships, in 
 the longer range of guns, in the menace of the 
 torpedo as fired from destroyers and submarines, 
 in the menace of mines, and in the use of air- 
 craft scouts, and of wireless telegraphy. In the 
 Napoleonic era the ships, of wood, had a speed 
 fully ten times slower than now, even under the 
 most favorable conditions for them ; and half the 
 time they could not move at all owing to lack of 
 wind. To-day the fastest destroyers will easily 
 make twenty-five knots an hour in anything but 
 the very roughest of weather. Then ships could 
 not damage an enemy farther away than eight 
 thousand yards; the vessels of to-day will sink 
 an enemy at twenty-two thousand yards, or over 
 eleven nautical miles' range. The torpedo is ef- 
 fective up to ten thousand yards, and this re- 
 quires that a ship shall keep beyond this distance 
 in order to be safe from this sort of peril. 
 
 From this it will be seen that the day of board- 
 ing and close-quarters fighting is a thing of the 
 past. Practically all modern fighting is done at 
 a distance of from one thousand to two thousand 
 yards, preferably fifteen hundred, at which dis- 
 tance gun fire is very effective and the enemy can 
 be plainly seen, in fair weather, with the naked 
 eye. 
 
3 o6 BOYS' BOOK OP SEA FIGHTS 
 
 To the east of the southern portion of South 
 America lies the British group known as the 
 Falkland Islands. On the larger of these islands 
 — East Falkland — the British have a powerful 
 wireless station. It was word from this station 
 which had caused Admiral Sturdee, in London, 
 to gulp with sudden joy, and forthwith prepare 
 plans to visit it. The intelligence had come from 
 a lady and her servants who lived on the island. 
 This bright woman, whose home was on a high 
 elevation and who possessed a strong glass, de- 
 clared that she had recently seen several ships 
 out at sea which she was quite sure were German 
 and belonged to Von Spee's squadron. As the 
 Glasgow and the Canopus, which had escaped 
 from Von Spee in the fight off Coronel, had 
 sought refuge in the harbor of Port Stanley, 
 East Falkland, it was concluded that either the 
 German admiral was in search of these or in- 
 tended a general attack on the Falklands them- 
 selves. 
 
 The truth is, Von Spee had it up his sleeve to 
 kill two birds with one stone. His scouts, which 
 the lady had observed, had discovered the Glas- 
 gow and the Canopus in their places of refuge, 
 and now it was the commander's intention to 
 bombard the town and sink the two ships at the 
 one operation. 
 
 We may judge then of his surprise when he 
 
FIGHT OF THE FALKLANDS 307 
 
 came around Cape Horn only to find that in the 
 meantime eight additional British warships had 
 slipped into the harbor, and were waiting calmly 
 to receive him. So swiftly and so secretly had 
 every movement of Admiral Sturdee's been made 
 that, for once at least, German intelligence effi- 
 ciency had gone awry — as it did many a time later 
 on during the war, despite scientific intrigue and 
 the most extensive spy system the world has ever 
 known. 
 
 It was about half-past nine in the morning that 
 the German ships, Gncisenau and Narnberg lead- 
 ing, and not yet having discovered the true situa- 
 tion, drew near to Port Stanley Harbor with their 
 heavy guns trained on the tall wireless tower. 
 Between them and the harbor was a long, low 
 stretch of land running eastward, behind which 
 lay the Canopus and the Glasgow. Suddenly 
 the Germans were astonished to find themselves 
 the target for a smart fire which swept across 
 this low ground at a range of about six miles! 
 
 The two foe ships stopped, considered; then 
 evidently deeming discretion the better part of 
 valor, hoisted their colors and turned away. 
 About the same time H. M. S. Invincible sighted 
 other hostile ships nine or ten miles distant. At 
 once signals went up from the British flag-ship 
 ordering all ships to form in battle line and move 
 forward to meet the enemy. As the squadron 
 
308 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 proceeded all five of Von Spee's ships could be 
 plainly seen to the southeast. The day was fine, 
 with a calm sea, a bright sun, a clear sky, and a 
 light breeze from the northwest. 
 
 Careful observation of the German vessels soon 
 made it apparent that they were afraid of an en- 
 gagement, and were doing their best to get out 
 of the neighborhood. Instead of bows forward, 
 as at the beginning, sterns stared the British 
 sailors in the face. The foe was running — run- 
 ning for dear life. 
 
 The British sea-dogs fairly bayed at this, like 
 hounds after a fleeing fox. It would never do 
 to be cheated of their prey like this — never ! If 
 the Grand Fleet up in the North Sea could not 
 coax ou£ the boastful German High Seas Fleet 
 for a respectable little set-to, here at least they 
 had a bunch of German craft where a protecting 
 palisade of cowardly mines did not come between ! 
 Run, Von Spee! Dig in, Von Spee! If your 
 legs are more nimble than Britain's, all well and 
 good; if not — 
 
 Two signals run up on Admiral Sturdee's flag- 
 ship, the Invincible. One says, "God save the 
 King!" The other reads, "Give chase to the en- 
 emy !" A mighty cheer swells up from the decks 
 of the five British warships; the sailors tumble 
 over one another in their efforts to perform the 
 duties the officers are calling out; the speed of 
 the heavy ships increases noticeably. 
 
FIGHT OF THE FALKLANDS 309 
 
 It is a stern chase, for the enemy vessels too 
 are swift and well-handled. But slowly the space 
 between the two flying squadrons decreases. The 
 destroyers, fleetest of all the ships, sway from 
 side to side dizzly, the sea dashing over their fore- 
 decks in great roaring sheets, as they plunge along 
 their way. Their crews on deck cling to ob- 
 jects as they work, to prevent being slithered off 
 into the sea and lost ; and in the wardroom officers 
 studying charts are lashed to their seats so that 
 they can hold their papers in both hands without 
 being thrown across the cabin. 
 
 Through it all Admiral Sturdee stands on the 
 bridge of his flag-ship with quickened pulse and 
 eager heart. More than half the time his glass 
 is at his eyes. Each time he drops it those eyes 
 express greater satisfaction. Finally, a little 
 past noon, he notes that he is within suitable range 
 of the enemy. He decides to open the attack 
 with the Invincible, the Inflexible, and the Glas- 
 gow. How the officers and crew of the last- 
 named vessel, especially, have longed for this mo- 
 ment ! Forced to see their weak sister ships ham- 
 mered to pieces before their very eyes, under 
 Cradock a few weeks before, now they will have 
 a chance for a sweet revenge. 
 
 The signal goes up, "Engage the enemy." It 
 is the Inflexible that gets in the first shot, followed 
 a minute later by the Invincible. Their big fif- 
 
310 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 teen-inch guns jar the decks when they go off, but 
 the men are used to this and pay no attention. 
 The range is about eight miles — a little closer 
 than necessary and within the danger zone of 
 torpedoes, but Sturdee is eager to wind matters 
 up quickly. The water spouts up a hundred feet 
 in the air, showing that the shells have missed. 
 Almost immediately the enemy replies, and sim- 
 ilar jets of water shoot up a half-mile beyond the 
 British. 
 
 The British ships now work around and fire a 
 salvo of their heavy pieces, followed by their 
 lighter batteries. Two of the German squadron 
 give evidence of distress. A cheer goes up 
 aboard the Invincible and the Glasgow. Then 
 they notice that three of the hostile ships are 
 making off to the eastward. Without further 
 ado, the Glasgow, the Cornwall, and the Kent 
 take up the chase. 
 
 While this pursuit is going on let us consider 
 the movements of the heavier craft. 
 
 The Invincible engages Von Spee himself in 
 his flag-ship, the Schamhorst, and the Inflexible 
 looks after the Gneisenau. These two German 
 ships, after their temporary slowing up, now be- 
 gin to make full speed away from the scene, and 
 the fight that goes on is made while all vessels 
 are under considerable headway. Sturdee and 
 his crew are just as determined as ever that the 
 foe flag-ship shall not get away. 
 
FIGHT OF THE FALKLANDS 311 
 
 Presently a good shot carries away the after 
 funnel of the Schamhorst. A few minutes later, 
 the men in the foretop report that she is on fire. 
 What a cheer goes up ! But it is as nothing to 
 that which arises a little later when the flames 
 can be seen from deck, and great clouds of smoke 
 arise, mixed with billows of white steam. The 
 guns of the German, however, still roar forth, 
 but at far longer intervals than before. 
 
 Shortly another shell bores its way into her 
 hull, tearing a great ragged gap through which 
 the British can see the red glow of the furnace of 
 flames that is fast eating out the entrails of the 
 doomed vessel. As she begins perceptibly to set- 
 tle, however, her courageous crew continue to 
 use those of her guns that are still undamaged. 
 It is a brave effort that even the pursuers ad- 
 mire, hated as the Germans are, and a faint cheer 
 goes up involuntarily from more than one Jack 
 Tar's throat. 
 
 The Invincible realizes her present task is done. 
 She turns her attention to assisting the Inflexible 
 punish the Gneisenau, which has already been 
 pretty well shot up, but is still making good speed 
 and using her guns as she runs. By five o'clock 
 she also has lost a funnel, and is on fire in several 
 places. And yet, displaying the same heroism as 
 her sister ship she struggles on her course, while 
 her batteries continue to thunder out their de- 
 
3 i2 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 fiance with constantly decreasing effectiveness, 
 finally resorting to her last gun. An hour later 
 she heels over and sinks. Here is an entry in the 
 diary of one of her officers, taken after his rescue : 
 "5:10, Hit, hit! 5:12, Hit! 5:14, Hit, hit, hit! 
 5 : 20, After-turret gone. 5 : 40, Hit, hit ! On 
 fire everywhere. 5:41, Hit, hit! Flames 
 breaking through all over. Sinking. 5 : 45, 
 Hit! Men nearly half killed. 5: 46, Hit, hit!" 
 
 After the last entry the officer evidently had 
 something else to do than make notes in his diary. 
 In the meantime boats had been lowered from the 
 Invincible and the Inflexible, life-buoys and ropes 
 were thrown to the unfortunates who could not 
 be immediately reached, and in this way about 
 three hundred of the Germans were saved, in- 
 cluding the captain of the Inflexible. Admiral 
 Von Spee went down with his ship apparently, as 
 he could not be found among the saved. 
 
 While this action was going on the Glasgow 
 and the Cornwall had fought and sunk the 
 Leipzig. Like the other German craft she took 
 fire fore and aft, and as the shades of night were 
 closing in, she turned over on her port side and 
 disappeared. None of her crew was saved, so 
 sudden was her plunge into the depths. 
 
 Meanwhile the Kent was dealing with the 
 Nurnberg, experiencing a long chase on account 
 of the fact that she had very little fuel. When 
 
Underwood & Underwood, N. Y. 
 
 ADMIRAL SIR FREDERICK STURDEE 
 
FIGHT OF THE FALKLANDS 313 
 
 the stokers had done their best, and worked the 
 ship up well above her official rate of speed, they 
 reported that there was practically no coal left. 
 This was bad news. It looked as if the N urn- 
 berg would surely get away, for without fuel the 
 Kent must soon begin to slow down and event- 
 ually stop altogether. 
 
 But the captain was equal to the occasion. He 
 suggested breaking up the boats! No sooner 
 mentioned than done. The small craft were 
 taken from their davits and broken into bits, and 
 fed to the hungry furnace. Even more, as it was 
 seen additional wood was required, officers' 
 chairs, chests, ladders, — everything which would 
 burn and could be spared was given to the ax 
 and fed into power. To make the flames hotter 
 oil was put on the precious fuel. 
 
 In this way, and only in this way, did they 
 gain on the Nurnberg sufficiently to round her 
 up with their guns. She was riddled with shot, 
 and went down like a lump of lead. As the ship 
 sank the British sailors saw a group of men wav- 
 ing a German ensign fastened to a staff. The 
 next moment they were swallowed up forever, 
 but their heroic conduct was such as to make any 
 enemy feel a tug of admiration and compassion 
 in his heart for his adversary, no matter how bit- 
 ter his natural attitude. Only five of the crew 
 were picked up from this ship. 
 
314 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 Of all the five German warships only one es- 
 caped. This was the fast light-cruiser Dresden, 
 whose good luck was due entirely to the approach 
 of evening and the shield of darkness. But this 
 loss was more than made up at midnight, when 
 Admiral Sturdee received a wireless message 
 from H. M. S. Bristol to the effect that during 
 the action two enemy transports had been de- 
 stroyed near the Falklands. 
 
 On the whole it was a signal victory for the 
 British. Moreover it was a great revenge. 
 And to one man — he who engineered it — it 
 brought a great blessing. Sturdee went back to 
 the War Office in London with the heavy smirch 
 that had beclouded his reputation gone completely 
 —erased by his own gallant exploit. The Ad- 
 miralty, London, England, all the Allies and all 
 the Neutrals, paid him homage. He had re- 
 deemed himself nobly. 
 
 As for Sturdee himself, he stepped up to one 
 of the great maps on the wall and plucked there- 
 from five tiny German flags that had been mark- 
 ing the vicinity of the Falkland Islands. 
 
 So Cradock and his gallant band did not die in 
 vain. His defeat made a great moral victory. 
 
XIV 
 
 THE BATTLE OFF JUTLAND BANK 
 
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The Battle off Jutland Bank 
 
 Just prior to the opening scenes of the World 
 War in 1914, Germany had a wonderful vision of 
 snatching away from Great Britain her long-sus- 
 tained reputation as "mistress of the seas." 
 Secretly the German Empire for years had been 
 building and equipping a most elaborate armada, 
 spending money lavishly for the day when con- 
 ditions would be ripe for her to measure her naval 
 strength with those nations which she felt might 
 array themselves against her when she should at- 
 tempt to become master of the world. 
 
 But, as stated in a preceding chapter, when war 
 broke out there was a little hitch in her calcula- 
 tions. Instead of having only France to deal 
 with at the beginning, Great Britain jumped into 
 the fracas so suddenly that Germany could not 
 get her great High Seas Fleet out of Wilhelms- 
 haven Harbor, and the consequence was these 
 ships from which she had hoped so much were 
 bottled up by the British Grand Fleet almost as 
 helpless as so many flies in a trap. And all 
 through the four years of the conflict the English 
 ships maintained this vigil so sharply that only 
 
 317 
 
318 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 a few stragglers of the enemy managed to sneak 
 out. 
 
 Of course the German men-of-war were priv- 
 ileged to make a sortie and try to force their way 
 through the blockade any time they chose; in 
 fact, the British prayed daily for just such a hap- 
 pening, for they were wild to get the enemy ves- 
 sels out from behind their protection of mines and 
 land batteries where they could meet them in a 
 fair test of supremacy. But, in spite of many 
 efforts made to bait out the German armada by 
 drawing the British fleet well away from the har- 
 bor, only once in those four long years did the 
 German High Seas Fleet really venture forth far 
 enough to get into action. And then they were 
 crafty enough to come out of their hiding place 
 late in the day, so that if the fight went against 
 them (as we shall presently see it did) they could 
 escape back to the harbor under cover of dark- 
 ness. 
 
 This battle — the first and only one of the main 
 fleets of the contending nations in this war — 
 was the greatest in modern marine history. In 
 it practically every type of modern naval fighting 
 craft was used. There were the great, massive, 
 floating steel forts called super-dreadnoughts, 
 carrying crews of over one thousand men — 
 enough to populate a respectable small town — 
 and equipped with mammoth fifteen-inch guns, 
 
OFF JUTLAND BANK 319 
 
 into whose long barrels a man could crawl, and 
 out of which barrels great steel shells could be 
 vomited ten or eleven miles, to go through the 
 steel plate of an enemy ship that could not be seen 
 with the naked eye. There were the battle- 
 cruisers — ships much like the super-dreadnaughts 
 except that they were narrower and faster and 
 carried guns of less power. There were the 
 light-cruisers — ships of steel still lighter, still 
 faster; made for the chase and for closer fight- 
 ing. There were the destroyers — ships so long 
 and rangy that they rocked like a cradle when 
 under high pressure; the fastest of all warcraft, 
 capable of almost express-train speed, and given 
 torpedo-tubes through which these deadly ex- 
 plosive missiles could be sent to sink an enemy 
 ship five miles away. 
 
 Then, too, there were those sly, destructive 
 men-fish of the sea — the submarines; slow of 
 speed, but with their terrible torpedoes, able to 
 swim unseen under the water close enough to 
 sink the largest of vessels; able also, through 
 their huge glass eye, to spy upon the enemy un- 
 seen where surface craft would be instantly de- 
 tected ; able to successfully thread the tightest of 
 blockades, to travel under water a hundred miles 
 without once coming up, to cruise three weeks 
 before needing new fuel; but ever subjected to 
 the untold dangers of jagged submarine rocks, 
 
320 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 enemy mines and nets, submarine-chasers, and 
 hydroplanes whose aviators could see far down 
 into the waters and were always ready to drop 
 a death-dealing- bomb. 
 
 There were, indeed, these seaplanes themselves. 
 They nestled on the broad, flat upper decks of 
 mother-ships made especially for them. From 
 these decks they could wing away, far up into 
 the clouds, there to watch and photograph enemy 
 doings, and then whir their way back again. Or 
 they could, a little lower, drop their terrible dyna- 
 mite bombs on the deck of a foe, or the top of a 
 fortification, creating awful havoc. 
 
 On May 30th, 191 6, Sir John Jellicoe, com- 
 mander-in-chief of the British Grand Fleet, hav- 
 ing determined to make another effort to coax 
 out the German High Seas Fleet from the harbor 
 of Wilhelmshaven, ordered his squadrons to 
 widen the breach. In this operation his fleet 
 swept through the North Sea in a broad circle. 
 It was divided into two portions. That section 
 under Sir David Beatty, consisting of the battle- 
 cruisers and certain supporting units, turned 
 south and made a round of the broad gulf which 
 is bounded on the east by Denmark and on the 
 south by the flat German coast lying behind Heli- 
 goland. Admiral Jellicoe remained to the north, 
 and in mid-afternoon of the following day was 
 not far from the Norwegian coast at its southern- 
 most point. 
 
OFF JUTLAND BANK 321 
 
 On this same day — May 31st — Admiral Von 
 Scheer, of the German High Seas Fleet, seemed 
 to have swallowed the bait at last. With his 
 fleet he left his base and started northward about 
 the middle of the afternoon. He too had di- 
 vided his ships. But instead of going in differ- 
 ent directions, he was astute enough to follow one 
 course, and sent before the main fleet a battle- 
 cruiser squadron under Admiral Von Hipper. It 
 must not be assumed that Scheer had left the 
 harbor to look up and challenge the British ves- 
 sels in the belief that the time had come for him 
 to institute a second Trafalgar. Far from it; 
 every circumstance indicates that he thought it 
 a splendid opportunity when the cat was away to 
 let his mice come out and frolic; in other words, 
 vacate their cramped quarters in Wilhelmshaven 
 long enough to get their long-deferred high-seas 
 exercise. 
 
 But the Germans' exercise was to be of a dif- 
 ferent sort than they anticipated. Shortly be- 
 fore three o'clock, Admiral Beatty, who had com- 
 pleted his swing through the North Sea, turned 
 about and was headed north to join Jellicoe. At 
 this moment a lookout in the foretop of one of his 
 light-cruisers, the Galatea, sighted in the far dis- 
 tance a pencil-line of black smoke. 
 
 Instantly Beatty had his wireless operator get 
 in touch with the operator on board one of the 
 
322 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 squadron's seaplane mother-ships. When the 
 blue flame had ceased hissing, all was understood. 
 And a few minutes later the Admiral saw the 
 huge bird rise gracefully from her nest, and un- 
 der the skillful guidance of her pilot go soaring 
 up into the heavens at an acute slant. In a very 
 short time she was a mere speck against the gray 
 ether — up fully two thousand feet. For awhile 
 the seaplane hovered there, slowly circling, then 
 down she swooped as quickly as she had gone up, 
 and after a little maneuvering settled back in her 
 nest. 
 
 Meantime the little blue sparks had crackled in 
 the operator's room of Beatty's ship. Like light- 
 ning the operator's fingers had tapped the keys 
 of a typewriter, as with receivers to ears he de- 
 ciphered the message coming through the waste 
 of ether that separated him from the seaplane. 
 By three-thirty — long before the aircraft had 
 come down — Admiral Beatty had received his 
 first reports from her observer. These reports 
 were extremely gratifying to him. They stated 
 that the line of smoke seen to the eastward was 
 made by a squadron of five German battle- 
 cruisers! This turned out to be Admiral Von 
 Hipper's. With Hipper was the usual accom- 
 paniment of light-cruisers and destroyers. 
 
 Admiral Beatty at once formed a line of battle, 
 steering in the direction of the enemy, east-south- 
 
OFF JUTLAND BANK 323 
 
 east, at twenty-five knots. At the same time his 
 Fifth Battle Squadron followed off to the north- 
 west, keeping parallel with the main force. 
 
 Before the British ships had gone far, a blimp 
 (captive balloon) on the deck of one of Von Flip- 
 per's vessels discovered them. The German 
 squadron was seen to wheel about and make to- 
 ward their High Seas Fleet. By reason of their 
 slow speed it was rightly inferred by the British 
 that Von Hipper hoped to lure the British squad- 
 ron into good range of his main body before they 
 could extricate themselves. 
 
 Beatty was perfectly willing to be drawn for- 
 ward to the limits of safety, and under good speed 
 took after the retreating foe. In order not to be 
 caught in a trap with his own small complement 
 of ships, Beatty sent two seaplanes ahead. 
 From these he presently learned that the main 
 fleet of the enemy was some fifty miles to the 
 southward, whereupon he ordered more steam 
 and increased the pressure against Von Hipper. 
 
 By three-fifty Admiral Beatty had reached a 
 position about eighteen thousand yards in the 
 rear of the enemy. As this was fair range for 
 his heavy guns, he opened up. And about the 
 same time Von Hipper did likewise. Thus six 
 British ships whose total broadsides equalled 
 thirty-two 13.5-inch guns and sixteen 12-inch 
 guns were now in a duel with five German ships 
 
324 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 whose total broadsides equalled sixteen 12-inch 
 guns and twenty-eight 11 -inch guns. By de- 
 grees the British closed up till a distance of less 
 than fourteen thousand yards separated them 
 from the enemy. 
 
 The British gunners were shooting with very 
 good precision, having made hits several times, 
 but these were not vital ones. On the other hand 
 the German fire, while not as accurate, was more 
 fortunate, and in almost as many strikes they had 
 sunk the Queen Mary and the Indefatigable, 
 which had developed marked structural defects. 
 
 The loss of these two ships reduced Admiral 
 Beatty's armored vessels to four, and his weight 
 of metal to an approximate equality with his an- 
 tagonist who was still five ships strong. Yet he 
 showed no signs of hesitancy, but continued to 
 fight on aggressively. Presently his other wing 
 — the Fifth Battle Squadron — came up to within 
 twenty thousand yards of the enemy and essayed 
 to lend him support by using their 15-inch 
 guns. This was a very long range in any 
 weather, and worse now, as the heavens had 
 clouded and the air was somewhat misty. But 
 as they drew nearer their shots seemed to have 
 effect, for the fire of Von Hipper began to slacken 
 perceptibly. 
 
 At four o'clock a lookout on the battle-cruiser 
 Invincible telephoned to the bridge that the peri- 
 
OFF JUTLAND BANK 325 
 
 scope of a submarine could be seen about seven 
 miles to the southwestward. A minute later a 
 lookout in the foretop of the Engadine, mother- 
 ship, reported another periscope about the same 
 distance away, bearing more to the westward. 
 Beatty saw that the enemy was about to precipitate 
 a U-boat attack on him. These submarines must 
 not be allowed to get within less than five miles, 
 as then their deadly torpedoes could be effectively 
 used upon some hapless member of the squad- 
 ron. 
 
 Immediately he ordered forth four of his de- 
 stroyers, and while these started toward the posi- 
 tions of the submarines, playing their guns as 
 they went, Beatty got into communication with 
 his cruising seaplanes which quickly came dash- 
 ing out of the cloud mists to the southeast, 
 dropped to within twelve hundred feet of the 
 sea in the neighborhood where the U-boats were 
 reported to have been seen, and floated slowly 
 along, as their observers, bombs set and levers in 
 hand, gazed intently down into the greenish 
 waters for the dark moving shadow that would 
 proclaim an enemy submarine. German shells 
 burst in the air here and there about them, but 
 the aviators coolly continued their search. 
 
 All at once an observer's arm moved; down 
 through the air shot a pear-like object, guided 
 unerringly by the little vanes at its tail end, and 
 
326 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 plunged into the dark sea. An instant later 
 there was a muffled explosion, the waters churned, 
 heaved high, and settled again in a great disc of 
 white, troubled foam. And presently in that 
 foam appeared bits of wooden wreckage, and 
 long irregular ribbons and patches of bluish-pur- 
 ple oil. 
 
 When the flyers saw this they smiled grimly, 
 and flew away to help their brother airmen hunt 
 for the other U-boat. That particular submarine 
 was an enemy no longer ! But the other German 
 undersea craft had made good its frightened es- 
 cape. 
 
 Admiral Von Hipper now sent a light-cruiser 
 back with fifteen destroyers, bent upon assailing 
 and destroying the destroyers which Beatty had 
 dispatched in quest of the U-boats. Bravely the 
 British destroyers stood in their tracks and fired 
 their guns till they were so hot they could not be 
 touched with the bare hand. In this fight they 
 were helped by their own vessels farther to the 
 rear. It was the hottest engagement yet, the sea 
 showing almost continuous spouts of water in the 
 vicinity of both squadrons wherever the shots 
 missed their marks. 
 
 The haze had now thickened. The enemy 
 could only be dimly made out. At four-forty the 
 Second Light-Cruiser Squadron of the British 
 force, which was scouting in advance, reported 
 
OFF JUTLAND BANK 327 
 
 that the German High Seas Fleet was approach- 
 ing out of the mists to the southeastward. 
 
 Realizing that he would be overwhelmed by 
 this huge reenforcement of the foe should he con- 
 tinue longer to chase Von Hipper, Admiral Beatty 
 lost no time in changing his course and steaming 
 at good speed toward the northwest. It is truly 
 a queer turn of affairs. First we had Von Hip- 
 per running away from Beatty in an attempt to 
 escape himself and at the same time draw the 
 British into the net of the main German body 
 behind. And now we have the situation exactly 
 reversed: it is Beatty who runs, and Von Hipper 
 who does the chasing; and Beatty hopes to draw 
 the Germans into the clutches of Jellicoe ! 
 
 This last phase of the situation is now an ac- 
 tuality. The enemy is quick to note the sudden 
 lack of interest on the British admiral's part, and 
 signaling the main fleet behind him to hurry for- 
 ward and back him up, Von Hipper takes up the 
 pursuit, his battle-cruisers stationing themselves 
 in the van. As the turn is executed the Fifth 
 Battle Squadron, steaming at an angle, engages 
 the Germans in front for a few moments, then 
 turns swiftly and falls in astern of Beatty, who 
 now has eight ships in line. 
 
 • Under a speed of about twenty-one knots, the 
 British make just enough headway to cover 
 ground well and at the same stroke do effective 
 
328 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 work with their guns and encourage the pursuit. 
 The range is now about fourteen thousand yards, 
 and it can be seen that the enemy is getting 
 heavily hit while his own shots are largely flying 
 wild. Soon a German destroyer is seen to burst 
 into flames and go down. And a little after five 
 o'clock the enemy battle-cruiser Luizow, badly 
 damaged with fifteen good-sized holes in her, 
 withdraws. Ten minutes later a British sub- 
 marine succeeds in projecting a torpedo into the 
 battle-cruiser Pommern, and the big German ship 
 vanishes amid a cloud of smoke and steam. In 
 the next half-hour three enemy destroyers are 
 seen to sink. This leaves only three German bat- 
 tle-cruisers in the lead of the first foe division. 
 Just before six o'clock, to their consternation, Ad- 
 mirals Von Hipper and Von Scheer find them- 
 selves within range of Admiral Jellicoe's big fleet. 
 Beatty has very adroitly lured them on and on, 
 as Von Hipper had lured him on and on, till now 
 the great rival fleets of both nations face one 
 another. 
 
 At this stage the positions of the contending 
 fleets were as follows : Beatty, with four battle- 
 cruisers of his own detachment, and four of the 
 Fifth Squadron just astern, was now turning 
 sharply eastward to pass across the head of the 
 German High Seas Fleet and prevent it from edg- 
 ing in that direction, as it gave evidence of do- 
 
Underwood & Underwood, N- Y. 
 
 ADMIRAL SIR DAVID BEATTY 
 
OFF JUTLAND BANK 329 
 
 ing. This would bring him at right-angles to the 
 foe — or in the relative position of the horizontal 
 bar on a letter T, the enemy represented by the 
 upright stem, — the most advantageous position 
 for stopping the Germans as well as raking their 
 craft by broadsides. North of Beatty's ships 
 was the main British fleet, with three battle- 
 cruisers under Hood on one wing, and four 
 armored-cruisers under Arbuthnot on the other. 
 The head of the enemy line was about twelve 
 thousand yards from Beatty, and twenty-two 
 thousand yards from Jellicoe. 
 
 Admiral Beatty's eastward turn compelled the 
 foe to turn, and created an opening for the main 
 British fleet to move in and cut the Germans from 
 their base. To reenforce Beatty in this critical 
 operation, Hood steamed in fast with his three 
 battle-cruisers, and swung magnificently into 
 position at the head of Beatty's line. There he 
 received, the next minute, a terrific fire from the 
 enemy, eight thousand yards away. It was a 
 torrent that no ship could stand up under long; 
 and a short time later the Invincible, Hood's flag- 
 ship, was struck by the combined salvoes of the 
 German fleet, and sank. Three battle-cruisers 
 were now gone; out of their combined crews of 
 twenty-five hundred men a mere handful were 
 
 saved. 
 
 A little earlier, Admiral Arbuthnot had bravely 
 
330 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 attacked with his four weak armored-cruisers, 
 striking the full front of the enemy which was al- 
 most completely hidden by smoke. This inter- 
 vention prevented a dangerous German torpedo 
 attack on the British cruisers, but it was poor 
 Arbuthnot's last service for his country and he 
 and his outnumbered ships perished. 
 
 Soon the Warrior was disabled, and the Black 
 Prince badly hit, the enemy seeming to have con- 
 centrated their fire upon first one and then the 
 other. A little later the Warspite showed signs 
 of distress, but continued to use her guns with 
 such determination and accuracy that her oppon- 
 ents slackened their fire, and she was able to make 
 her way to the Fifth Battle Squadron which had 
 taken a position just astern of Admiral Jellicoe's 
 fleet. 
 
 About six-thirty this fleet had worked up near 
 enough to engage in the fight for the first time. 
 Had Jellicoe come a little sooner there is no doubt 
 he would have saved many lives and several ships, 
 for the struggle had been very unequal; but he 
 had come as quickly as conditions would permit, 
 apparently, the fog making it necessary for him 
 to get within eleven thousand yards before he 
 could properly distinguish the enemy from the 
 ships of Beatty. 
 
 Even as it was the light was very bad. The 
 Germans were shrouded in haze, and seemed anx- 
 
OFF JUTLAND BANK 331 
 
 ious to blanket themselves as much as they could ; 
 their destroyers sent up thick clouds of black coal 
 smoke, which obscured an atmosphere already 
 choked with the fumes of bursting shells and ship 
 conflagration, and growing naturally darker with 
 the close approach of night. From the front of 
 the British Grand Fleet never more than five Ger- 
 man craft could be seen at one time, and from 
 the rear never more than a dozen. 
 
 As they fired their guns, the British constantly 
 tried to close, but were eluded by the enemy, who 
 utilized destroyer attacks to cover his retreat, 
 and made back toward his base with all possible 
 speed, much to the disgust of the British who, 
 now that they had the Germans out in the open 
 at last, wanted to have the matter of sea supre- 
 macy definitely settled. Difficult as it was to 
 shoot with accuracy in this disconcerting dusk 
 and smoke, surprisingly good hits were made, and 
 more than one of the foe ships was set on fire or 
 sunk in that will-o'-the-wisp retreat of the Kais- 
 er's minions. 
 
 Particularly did the Marlborough, of the First 
 Battle Squadron, distinguish herself. After 
 sending two German destroyers to the bottom, she 
 gave seven salvoes to an enemy battleship of the 
 Kaiser class, also sinking her ; but in the engage- 
 ment was struck by a torpedo. From her engine- 
 room a great cloud of smoke arose, she listed 
 
332 BOYS' BOOK OF SEA FIGHTS 
 
 violently, then recovered, and nine minutes later 
 reopened fire, completing her work of sinking 
 her third ship. A little later she turned upon a 
 battleship of the Konig, class, and hopelessly 
 crippled her. 
 
 The ships of the Fourth Battle Squadron were 
 principally in action with the German battle- 
 cruisers, while the Second Squadron looked after 
 the German battleships. These British ships 
 were greatly handicapped, like their sister vessels, 
 with the obscurity of smoke and night, but made 
 their power felt nevertheless. 
 
 About eight o'clock the battleship engagement 
 closed, the enemy disappearing in the smoke and 
 mist to the west of Admiral Jellicoe's fleet. Or- 
 ders were issued to the torpedo craft to look up 
 the Germans and attack if they could be found. 
 Twenty minutes later Beatty pushed west in sup- 
 port of the destroyers, and presently sighted two 
 enemy battleships and two battle-cruisers. 
 These he attacked at a range of ten thousand 
 yards — a long distance considering the difficult 
 visuality. The leading German ship was hit re- 
 peatedly, and turned away with a heavy list, emit- 
 ting flames. Another German vessel — possibly 
 the Heligoland — was also struck until she was set 
 afire. A third enemy craft, a three-funneled bat- 
 tleship, was so battered by the Indomitable and 
 the New Zealand that she could barely get away 
 in the shroud of gloom. 
 
OFF JUTLAND BANK 333 
 
 By eight-thirty darkness had closed in to an 
 extent that prevented all further fighting, and 
 the German ships, well-scattered, were last seen 
 flying in a westerly direction. At eight-forty a 
 violent explosion was felt by the British Grand 
 Fleet. This was probably caused by the destruc- 
 tion of another German ship — one whose flames 
 had at last reached her powder magazine. 
 
 All night the British fleet remained in those 
 waters, hoping against hope that the enemy in- 
 tended to return with the opening of another day 
 to settle the question of superiority in a decisive 
 manner. But when morning dawned only their 
 own ships were to be seen. The German vessels 
 had gone into Wilhelmshaven Harbor, soundly 
 trounced, and quite ready to stay there till the 
 end of the war if going out again meant another 
 set-to with the English bulldogs of the sea. 
 
 During the course of the war, Germany, as 
 with other losses, carefully concealed the real 
 damage she had suffered in this fight off the banks 
 of Jutland. She claimed a loss of only eleven 
 ships, whereas subsequent events have shown 
 the number to be not less than eighteen. On the 
 other hand, Great Britain frankly admitted her 
 own loss of fifteen ships. 
 
 Thereafter the German fleet remained in seclu- 
 sion. It was the first and last great naval battle 
 of the World War. 
 
 THE END 
 
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