M

PIR1BJBILJF

LIVES

OF

DISTINGUISHED AMERICAN

NAVAL OFFICERS.

BY

J. FENIMORE COOPEE,

AUTHOR OF "THE SPY," "THE PILOT," &c. &c.

VOL. I.

BAINBRID-GE, SHAW,

SOMEBS, SHUBRICK,

PREBLE.

PHILADELPHIA:

CAREY AND HART.

1846.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1845, by

CAREY & HART,
In the Clerk s Office of the District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

STEREOTYPED BY I.. JOHN SOJT & CO.
PHILADELPHIA.

PEEFACE.

THESE brief biographies have been entitled
" Sketches of Naval Men" in preference to adopting
a more ambitious term, for the two following reasons :
In the first place, the narratives are confined princi
pally to public events ; while, in the second, it may
be questioned if any naval man of this country has,
as yet, become so far identified with history as to
render his personal qualities and private life of suffi
cient national interest to be properly laid before the
world. There may, possibly, be one or two ex
ceptions to this rule, but, as a whole, the country
has little to do with the careers of this class of its
servants beyond their public services. Whenever
it has been in our power, we have included in
these sketches, notwithstanding, such leading per
sonal facts and traits as may answer the purpose of

3
M737S36

4 PREFACE.

giving to our labours the general characters of
biographies.

These sketches originally appeared in Graham s
Magazine, a periodical for which they were ex
pressly written. The present opportunity for en
larging, correcting, and, it is hoped, for improving
them, has not been neglected. Many errors of the
press, and some mistakes in facts, have been at
tended to, while new matter is occasionally intro
duced, as authentic materials have been obtained,
through the attention that has been drawn to the
subject by means of the former publication. In
the cases of Paul Jones and Oliver Hazard Perry,
in particular, the first appearance of the respective
sketches brought into our hands a considerable
amount of additional documents that have thrown
new light on the several careers of those two offi
cers. In the case of Paul Jones, it is true that our
testimony is derived from relatives, and to a certain
point is to be received with caution ; all experience
proving that the opinions of near friends are not to
be accepted, in such cases, as guides for the world.
Proof is proof, nevertheless, when all its condition,
are fulfilled, let it come from what quarter it may.

The appearance of the original sketch on Perry
was the cause of very ample documents and proofs

PREFACE. 5

having been sent to us by a perfectly impartial
witness. These prpofs go to show that we had
fallen into some errors. The errors alluded to are
of no great moment, however, as they relate to
public events ; our account of the battle of Lake
Erie, being, in all essentials, fully sustained by the
evidence of this new witness.

These sketches will be continued, certainly so
far as to include all that may have been previously
published in Graham, and possibly still farther.

Every writer has his own scale of greatness and
his own degrees of eulogium. It has been our aim
to do justice%) the different subjects as they have
been presented to us, while we have endeavoured
to avoid the exaggeration that, in some measure,
may be said to have corrupted the public taste,
rendering it insatiate of the impossible rather than
of the true. The degree of knowledge that has
been brought to the execution of this task must be
judged of by the sketches themselves. But on one
point w r e feel ourselves strong; and that is, the
certainty we have written equally without undue
prejudices or partialities. Mistakes we have doubt
less made ; they are inseparable from history in
every shape ; but the errors into which we may
have fallen are such as belong to the difficulty of

6 PREFACE.

,

obtaining unadulterated truth rather than to design
or negligence. We feel great confidence in saying,
that no publicly controverted point has been neg
lected by us, and that we feel the honest conviction
of having treated every one of them fairly, if not
intelligently.

CONTENTS.

Page
BAINBRIDGE 9

S O M E R S 73

SHAW 123

SHUBRICK 147

PREBLE . 171

NAVAL BIOGRAPHY.

BAINBRIDGE.

DR. HARRIS, in his "Life and Services" of this dis
tinguished officer, says that "The ancestor of Commo
dore Bainbridge, who, in the year 1600, settled in the
province of New Jersey, was the son of Sir Arthur
Bainbridge, of Durham county, England." As no
portion of the old United States was settled as early as
1600, and the province of New Jersey, in particular,
was organized only about the middle of the seventeenth
century, the date, in this instance, is an oversight, or a
misprint ; though the account of the ancestor is probably
accurate. The family of the late Commodore Bain
bridge was of respectable standing, beyond a question,
both in the colony and state of New Jersey, and its con
nections were principally among persons o the higher
classes of society. His father was a physician of local
eminence, in the early part of his life, who removed to
New York about the commencement of the Revolution,
where he left a fair professional and personal reputation.

The fourth son of Dr. Bainbridge was William, the
subject of our memoir. He was born at Princeton,
New Jersey, then the residence of his father, May 7th,

9

1( NAVAL BIOGRAPHY.

1774. His birth must have occurred but a short time
before the removal of the family to New York. The
maiden name of Mrs. Bainbridge, the mother of Wil
liam, was Taylor ; a lady of Monmouth county, in the
same colony ; and her father, a man of considerable
estate, undertook to superintend the education of the
child.

Young Bainbridge was of an athletic, manly frame,
and eafly showed a bold spirit, and a love of enterprise.
This temperament was likely to interfere with studies
directed toward a liberal education, and, at the early
age of fifteen, his importunities prevailed on his friends
to allow him to go to sea. This must have been about
the time when the present form of government went
first into operation, and the trade and navigation of the
country began to revive. In that day the republic had
no marine ; the old Alliance frigate, the favourite ship
of the Revolution, then sailing out of the port at which
young Bainbridge first embarked, as an Indiaman.

Philadelphia, for many years after the peace of 1783,
produced the best seamen of America. Other ports,
doubtless, had as hardy and as adventurous mariners,
but the nicety of the art was better taught and prac
tised in the Delaware-river vessels than in any other
portion of the country. This advantage was thought to
be owing to the length of the river and bay, which re
quired more elaborate evolutions to take a ship success
fully through, than ports that lay contiguous to the sea.
The same superiority has long been claimed for London,
and for the same reason, each place having a long and
intricate navigation, among shoals, and in a tide s way,
before its wharves can be reached. The comparative

BAINBRIDGE.

11

decline of the navigation of these two towns is to be at
tributed to the very difficulties which made expert sea
men, though the vast amount of supplies required by the
English capital, for its own consumption, causes great
bodies of shipping still to frequent the Thames. It is
also probable that the superiority formerly claimed for
the seamen of these two towns, was in part owing to the
circumstances that, being the capitals of their respective
countries, they were then in advance of other ports, both
as to the arts, generally, and as to the wealth necessary
to exhibit them.

Young Bainbridge, consequently, enjoyed the advan
tage of being trained, as a seaman, in what was then
the highest American school. Singularly handsome
and prepossessing in his appearance, of a vigorous, and
commanding frame, with the foundation of a good edu
cation, all aided by respectable connections, he was
made an officer in the third year of his service. When
eighteen, he sailed as chief mate of a ship in the Dutch
trade, and on his first voyage, in this capacity, he reco
vered the vessel from the hands of mutineers, by his
personal intrepidity and physical activity. In the fol
lowing year, when barely nineteen, the owners gave
him command of the same ship. From this time down
to the period of his joining the navy, Bainbridge con
tinued in command of different merchant vessels, all of
which were employed in the European trade, which was
then carried on, by this country, in the height and ex
citement of the war that succeeded the French revolu
tion.

Occasions were not wanting, by which Bainbridge
could prove his dauntless resolution, even in command

12 NAVAL BIOGRAPHY.

of a peaceful and slightly armed merchantman. In
1796, whilst in command of the Hope, of Philadelphia,
he was lying in the Garonne, and was hailed by another
American to come and aid in quelling a mutiny. This
he did in person ; though his life had nearly been the
sacrifice, owing to an explosion of gunpowder. The
same season, while shaping his course for one of the
West India islands, the Hope was attacked by a small
British privateer, of eight guns and thirty men, being
herself armed with four nines, and having a crew of only
eleven souls before the mast an equipment then per
mitted, by the laws, for the purposes of defence only.
The privateer commenced the engagement without
showing any colors; but receiving a broadside from
the Hope, she hoisted English, in the expectation of
intimidating her antagonist. In this, however, the
assailant was mistaken ; Bainbridge, who had his colors
flying from the first, continued his fire until he actually
compelled the privateer to lower her flag. The latter
was much cut up, and lost several men. The Hope
escaped with but little injury. Although he had com
pelled his assailant to submit, it would not have been
legal for Bainbridge to take possession of the prize.
He even declined boarding her, most probably keeping
in view the feebleness of his own complement ; but,
hailing the privateer, he told her commander to go to
his employers and let them know they must send some
one else to capture the Hope if they had occasion for
that ship. It was probably owing to this little affair,
as well as to his general standing as a ship-master, that
Bainbridge subsequently entered the navy with the rank
he obtained.

BAINBRIDGE. 13

Not long after the action with the privateer, while
homeward bound again, a man was impressed from,
Bainbridge s ship, by an English cruiser. The board
ing officer commenced by taking the first mate, on
account of his name, Allen M Kinsey, insisting that
the man must be a Scotchman ! This singular species
of logic was often applied on such occasions, even his
torians of a later day claiming such men as M Donough
and Conner, on the supposition that they must be Irish,
from their family appellations. Mr. M Kinsey, who
was a native Philadelphian, on a hint from Bainbridge,
armed himself, and refused to quit his own ship ; where
upon the English lieutenant seized a foremast hand and
bore him off, in spite of his protestations of being an
American, and the evidence of his commander. Bain-
bridge was indignant at this outrage then, however,
of almost daily occurrence on the high seas and,
finding his own remonstrances disregarded, he solemnly
assured the boarding officer that, if he fell in with an
English vessel, of a force that would allow of such a
retaliation, he would take a man out of her to supply
the place of the seaman who was then carried away.
This threat was treated with contempt, but it was put
in execution within a week ; Bainbridge actually seizing
a man on board an English merchant-man, and that,
too, of a force quite equal to his own, and carrying him
into an American port. The ship which impressed
the man belonging to the Hope, was the Indefatigable,
Sir Edward Pellew.

All these little affairs contributed to give Bainbridge
a merited reputation for spirit ; for, however illegal
may have been his course in impressing the English-
VOL i.

14 NAVAL BIOGRAPHY.

man, the sailor himself was quite content to receive
higher wages, and there was a natural justice in the
measure that looked down the policy of nations and
the provisions of law. Shortly after this incident, the
aggressions of France induced the establishment of
the present navy; and the government, after employing
all the old officers of the Revolution who remained,
and who were fit for service, was compelled to go into
the mercantile marine to find men to fill the subordinate
grades. The merchant service of America has ever
been relatively much superior to that of most other
countries. This has been owing, in part, to the greater
diffusion of education ; in part, to the character of the
institutions, which throws no discredit around any re
putable pursuit ; and, in part, to the circumstance that
the military marine has not been large enough to give
employment to all of the maritime enterprise and spirit
of the nation. Owing to these united causes, the go
vernment of 1798 had much less difficulty in finding
proper persons to put into its infant navy than might
have been anticipated ; although it must be allowed
that some of the selections, as usual, betrayed the in
fluence of undue recommendations, as well as of too
partial friendships.

The navy offering a field exactly suited to the ambi
tion and character of Bainbridge, he eagerly sought
service in it, on his return from a voyage to Europe ;
his arrival occurring a short time after the first appoint
ments had been made. The third vessel which got to
sea, under the new armament, was the Delaware 20,
Capt. Stephen Decatur, the father of the illustrious
officer of the same name ; and this vessel, a few days

BAIN BRIDGE. 15

out, had captured le Croyable 14, a French privateer
that she found cruising in the American waters. Le
Croyable was condemned, and purchased by the navy-
department ; being immediately equipped for a cruiser,
under the name of the Retaliation. To this vessel
Bainbridge was appointed, with the commission of
lieutenant-commandant ; a rank that was subsequently
and unwisely dropped ; for the greater the number of
gradations in a military service, while they are kept
within the limits of practical necessity, the greater is
the incentive for exertion, the more frequent the pro
motions, and the higher the discipline. First lieu
tenants, lieutenants-commandant, exist, and must exist
in fact, in every marine ; and it is throwing away the
honourable inducement of promotion, as well as some
of the influence of a commission, not to have the rank
while we have the duties. It would be better for the
navy did the station of first lieutenant, or lieutenant-
commandant, now exist, those who hold the commis
sions furnishing officers to command the smallest class
of vessels, and the executive officers of ships of the
line and frigates.

The Retaliation sailed for the West India station, in
September, 1798. While cruising off Gaudaloupe, the
following November, the Montezuma sloop of war,
Capt. Murray, and the brig Norfolk, Capt. Williams, in
company, three sail were made in the eastern board,
that were supposed to be English; and two more
strangers appearing to the westward, Capt. Murray,
who was the senior officer, made sail for the latter,
taking the Norfolk with him ; while the Retaliation
was directed to examine the vessels to the eastward

16 NAVAL BIOGRAPHY.

This separated the consorts, which parted on nearly
opposite tacks. Unfortunately two of the vessels to
the eastward proved to be French frigates, le Volontier
36, Capt. St. Laurent, and 1 Insurgente 32, Capt. Bar-
reault. The first of these ships carried 44 guns,
French eighteens, and the latter 40, French twelves.
L Insurgente was one of the fastest ships that floated,
and, getting the Retaliation under her guns, Bainbridge
was compelled to strike, as resistance would have been
madness.

The prisoner was taken on board 1 Volontier, the two
frigates immediately making sail in chase of the Monte-
zuma and Norfolk. L Insurgente again outstripped
her consort, and was soon a long distance ahead of her.
Capt. St. Laurent was the senior officer, and, the
Montezuma being a ship of some size, he felt an un
easiness at permitting the Insurgente to engage two
adversaries, of whose force he was ignorant, unsup
ported. In this uncertainty, he determined to in
quire the force of the American vessels of his pri
soner. Bainbridge answered coolly that the ship was
a vessel of 28 long twelves, and the brig a vessel of
20 long nines. This was nearly, if not quite, doubling
the force of the two American cruisers, and it induced
the French commodore to show a signal of recall to his
consort. Capt. Barreault, an exceedingly spirited
officer, joined his commander in a very ill-humor, in
forming his superior that he was on the point of
capturing both the chases, when he was so inoppor
tunely recalled. This induced an explanation, when
the ruse practised by Bainbridge was exposed. In the
moment of disappointment, the French officers felt

BAINBRIDGE. 17

much irritated, but, appreciating the conduct of their
prisoner more justly, they soon recovered their good
humor, and manifested no further displeasure.

The Retaliation and her crew were carried into Bas
seterre. On board the Volontier was Gen. Desfourneaux,
who was sent out to supersede Victor Hughes in his
government. This functionary was very diplomatic, and
he entered into a negotiation with Bainbridge of a some
what equivocal character, leaving it a matter of doubt
whether an exchange of prisoners, an arrangement of
the main difficulties between the two countries, or a se
cret trade with his own island, and for his own particular
benefit, was his real object. Ill treatment of the crew
of the Retaliation followed ; whether by accident or de
sign is not known, though the latter has been suspected.
It will be remembered that no war had been declared
by either country, and that the captures by the Ameri
cans were purely retaliatory, and made in self-defence.
Gen. Desfourneaux profited by this circumstance to ac
complish his purposes, affecting not to consider the offi
cers and people of the Retaliation as prisoners at all.
To this Bainbridge answered that he regarded himself
and his late crew, not only as prisoners of war, but as
ill-treated prisoners, and that his powers now extended
no farther than to complete an exchange. After a pro
tracted negotiation, Bainbridge and his crew were placed
in possession of the Retaliation again, all the other
American prisoners in Guadaloupe were put on board
a cartel, and the two vessels were ordered for America.
Accompanying the Americans, went a French gentleman,
ostensibly charged with the exchange; but who was

18 NAVAL BIOGRAPHY.

believed to have been a secret diplomatic agent of the
French government.

The conduct of Bainbridge, throughout this rude
initiation into the public service, was approved by the
government, arid he was immediately promoted to the
rank of master-commandant, and given the Norfolk 18,
the brig he had saved from capture by his address. In
this vessel he joined the squadron under Com. Truxtun,
who was cruising in the vicinity of St. Kitts. While
on that station, the Norfolk fell in with and chased a
heavy three-masted schooner, of which she was on the
point of getting alongside, when both topmasts were lost
by carrying sail, and the enemy escaped. The brig
went into St. Kitts to repair damages, and here she col
lected a convoy of more than a hundred sail, bound
home. Bainbridge performed a neat and delicate evo
lution, while in charge of this large trust. The convoy
fell in with an enemy s frigate, when a signal was thrown
out for the vessels to disperse. The Norfolk occupied
the frigate, and induced her to chase, taking care to lead
her off from the merchantmen. That night the brig
gave her enemy the slip, and made sail on her course,
overtaking and collecting the whole fleet the following
day. It is said not a single vessel, out of one hundred
and nineteen sail, failed of the rendezvous !

It was August, 1799, before the Norfolk returned to
New York. Here Bainbridge found that no less than
five lieutenants had been made captains, passing the
grades of commanders and lieutenants-commandant
altogether. This irregularity could only have occurred
in an infant service, though it was of material importance
to a young officer in after life. Among the gentlemen

B A I N B R I D G E.

19

thus promoted, were Capts. Rodgers, and Barren, two
names that, for a long time, alone stood between Bain-
bridge and the head of the service. Still, it is by no
means certain that injustice was done, such circum
stances frequently occurring in so young a service, to
repair an original wrong. At all events, no slight was
intended to Bainbridge, or any other officer who was
passed; though the former ever maintained that he
had not his proper rank in the navy.

After refitting the Norfolk, Bainbridge returned to the
West Indies, where he was put under the orders of
Capt. Christopher R. Perry, the father of the celebrated
Commodore Oliver H. Perry, who sent him to cruise
off Cape Francois. The brig changed her cruising
ground, under different orders, no opportunity occurring
for meeting an enemy of equal force. Indeed, it was
highly creditable to the maritime enterprise of the
French that they appeared at all in those seas, which
were swarming with English and American cruisers ;
this country alone seldom employing fewer than thirty
sail in the West Indies, that year ; toward the close of
the season indeed, it had near, if not quite forty, including
those who were passing between the islands and the
home coast.

On the 31st October, however, the Norfolk succeeded
in decoying an armed barge within reach of her guns.
The enemy discovered the brig s character in time to
escape to the shore, notwithstanding : though he was
pursued and the barge was captured. Six dead and
dying were found in, or near the boat.

In November, Bainbridge took a small lugger priva
teer, called le Republicain, with a prize in company.

20 NAVAL BIOGRAPHY.

The former was destroyed at sea, and the latter sent in.
The prize of the lugger was a sloop. She presented a
horrible spectacle when taken possession of by the
Americans. Her decks were strewed with mangled
bodies, the husbands and parents of eleven women and
children, who were found weeping over them at the
moment of recapture. The murders had been committed
by some brigands in a barge, who slew every man in
the sloop, and were proceeding to further outrages when
the lugger closed and drove them from their prey. An
hour or two later, Bainbridge captured both the vessels.
His treatment of the unfortunate females and children
was such as ever marked his generous and manly cha
racter.

Shortly after, Capt. Bainbridge received an order, di
rect from the Navy Department, to go off the neutral
port of the Havana, to look after the trade in that quar
ter. Here he was joined by the Warren 18, Capt.
Newman, and the Pinckney 18, Capt. Heyward. Bain
bridge was the senior officer, and continued to command
this force to the great advantage of American commerce,
by blockading the enemy s privateers, and giving con
voy, until March, 1800, when, his cruise being up, he
returned home, anchoring off Philadelphia early in the
month of April. His services, especially those before
Havana, were fully appreciated, and May 2d, of the
same year, he was raised to the rank of captain. Bain
bridge had served with credit, and had now reached the
highest grade which existed in the navy, when he
wanted just five days of being twenty-six years old.
He had carried with him into the marine the ideas of a
high-class Philadelphia seaman, as to discipline, and

BAINBRIDGE. 21

these were doubtless the best which then existed in the
country. In every situation he had conducted himself
well, and the promise of his early career as a master of
a merchantman was likely to be redeemed, whenever
occasion should offer, under the pennant of the republic.
Among the vessels purchased into the service during
the war of 1798, was an Indiaman called the George
Washington. This ship was an example of the irregu
larity in rating which prevailed at that day ; being set
down in all the lists and registers of the period as a 24,
when her tonnage was 624 ; while the Adams, John
Adams, and Boston, all near one sixth smaller, are rated
as 32s. The George Washington was, in effect, a large
28, carrying the complement and armament of a vessel
of that class. To this ship Bainbridge was now ap
pointed, receiving his orders the month he was pro
moted ; or, in May, 1800. The destination of the
vessel was to carry tribute to the Dey of Algiers ! This
was a galling service to a man of her commander s
temperament, as, indeed, it would have proved to nearly
every other officer in the navy; but it put the ship
quite as much in the way of meeting with an enemy
as if she had been employed in the West Indies ; and
i^vvas sending the pennant into the Mediterranean for
the first time since the formation of the new navy.
Thus the United States 44, first carried the pennant of
the new marine to Europe, in 1799 ; the Essex 32, first
carried it round the Cape of Good Hope, in 1800, and
around Cape Horn, in 1813 ; and this ship, the George
Washington 28, first carried it into the classical seas of
the old world.

Bainbridge did not get the tribute collected and reach

22 NAVAL BIOGRAPHY.

his port of destination, before the month of September.
Being entirely without suspicion, and imagining that
he came on an errand which should entitle him, at
least, to kind treatment, he carried the ship into the
mole, for the purpose of discharging with convenience.
This duty, however, was hardly performed, when the
Dey proposed a service for the George Washington,
that was as novel in itself as it was astounding to her
commander.

It seems that this barbarian prince had got himself
into discredit at the Sublime Porte, and he felt the ne
cessity of purchasing favour, and of making his peace,
by means of tribute of his part. The Grand Seignor
was at war with France, and the Dey, his tributary and
dependent, had been guilty of the singular indiscretion
of making a separate treaty of peace with that powerful
republic, for some private object of his own. This was
an offence to be expiated only by a timely offering of
certain slaves, various wild beasts, and a round sum in
gold. The presents to be sent were valued at more
than half a million of our money, and the passengers to
be conveyed amounted to between two and three hun
dred. As the Dey happened to have no vessel fit for
such a service, and the George Washington lay very
conveniently within his mole, and had just been en
gaged in this very duty, he came to the natural conclu
sion she would answer his purpose.

The application was first made in the form of a civil
request, through the consul. Bainbridge procured an
audience, and respectfully, but distinctly, stated that a
compliance would be such a departure from his orders
as to put it out of the question. Hereupon the Dey re-

BAINBRIDGE. 23

minded the American that the ship was in his power,
and that what he now asked he might take without
asking, if it suited his royal pleasure. A protracted
and spirited discussion, in which the consul joined, now
followed, but all without effect. The Dey offered the
alternatives of compliance, or slavery and capture, for
the frigate and her crew, with war on the American
trade. One of his arguments is worthy of being re
corded, as it fully exposes the feeble policy of submis
sion to any national wrong. He told the two American
functionaries, that their country paid him tribute, al
ready, which was an admission of their inferiority, as
well as of their duty to obey him ; and he chose to
order this particular piece of service, in addition to the
presents which he had just received.

Bainbridge finally consented to do as desired. He
appears to have been influenced in this decision, by the
reasoning of Mr. O Brien, the consul, who had himself
been a slave in Algiers, not long before, and probably
retained a lively impression of the power of the barba
rian, on his own shores. It is not to be concealed, how
ever, that temporizing in all such matters had been the
policy of America, and it would have required men of
extraordinary moral courage to have opposed the wishes
of the Dey, by a stern assertion of those principles,
which alone can render a nation great. " To ask for
nothing but what is right, and to submit to nothing that
is wrong," is an axiom more easily maintained on paper
than in practice, where the chameleon-like policy of
trade interferes to colour principles ; and O Brien, a
merchant in effect, and Bainbridge, Avho had so lately
been in that pursuit himself, were not likely to over-

24 NAVAL BIOGRAPHY

look the besetting weakness of the nation. Still, it may
be questioned if there was a man in the navy who felt
a stronger desire to vindicate the true maxims of na
tional independence than the subject of this memoir.
He appears to have yielded solely to the arguments of
the consul, and to his apprehensions for a trade that
certainly had no other protection in that distant sea,
than his own ship ; and she would be the first sacrifice
of the Dey s resentment. It ought to be mentioned,
too, that a base and selfish policy prevailed, in that day,
on the subject of the Barbary Powers, among the prin
cipal maritime states of Europe. England, in particular,
was supposed to wink at their irregularities, in the hope
that it might have a tendency to throw a monopoly of
the foreign navigation of the Mediterranean into the
hands of those countries which, by means of their great
navies, and their proximity to the African coast, were
always ready to correct any serious evil that might
affect themselves. English policy had been detected
in the hostilities of the Dey, a few years earlier, and it
is by no means improbable that Mr. O Brien foresaw
consequences of this nature, that did not lie absolutely
on the surface.

Yielding to the various considerations which were
urged, Bainbridge finally consented to comply with the
Dey s demand. The presents and passengers were
received on board, and on the 19th of October, or about
a month after her arrival at Algiers, the George Wash
ington was ready to sail for Constantinople. When on
the very eve of departing a new difficulty arose, and one
of a nature to show that the Dey was not entirely go
verned by rapacity, but that he had rude notions of na-

BAIN BRIDGE. 25

tional honour, agreeably to opinions of the school in
which he had been trained. As the George Washing
ton carried his messenger, or ambassador, and was now
employed in his service, he insisted that she should
carry the Algerine flag at the main, while that of the
republic to which the ship belonged, should fly at the
fore. An altercation occurred on this point of pure
etiquette, the Dey insisting that English, French, and
Spanish commanders, whenever they had performed a
similar service for him, had not hesitated to give this
precedency to his ensign. This was probably true, as
well as the fact that vessels of war of those nations had
consented to serve him in this manner, in compliance
with the selfish policy of their respective governments ;
though it may be doubted whether English or French
ships had been impressed into such a duty. Dr. Har
ris, whose biography of Bainbridge is much the most
full of any written, and to which we are indebted for
many of our own details, has cited an instance as re
cently as 1817, when an English vessel of war con
veyed presents to Constantinople for the Dey ; though
it was improbable that any other inducement for the
measure existed, than a desire in the English authorities
to maintain their influence in the regency. Bainbridge,
without entering into pledges on the subject, and solely
with a view to get his ship beyond the reach of the
formidable batteries of the mole, hoisted the Algerine
ensign, as desired, striking it as soon as he found him
self again the commander of his own vessel.

The George Washington had a boisterous and weary
passage to the mouth of the Dardanelles, the ship being
littered with Turks, and the cages of wild beasts. This

VOL. I. 3

26 NAVAL BIOGRAPHY.

voyage was always a source of great uneasiness and
mortification to Bainbridge, but he occasionally amused
his friends with the relation of anecdotes that occurred
during its continuance. Among other things he men
tioned that his passengers were greatly puzzled to keep
their faces toward Mecca, in their frequent prayers ; the
ship often tacking during the time thus occupied, more
especially after they got into the narrow seas. A man
was finally stationed at the compass to give the faithful
notice when it was necessary to " go about," in conse
quence of the evolutions of the frigate.

Bainbridge had great apprehensions of being detained
at the Dardanelles, for want of a firman, the United
States having no diplomatic agent at the Porte, and
commercial jealousies being known to exist, on the sub
ject of introducing the American flag into those waters.
A sinister influence up at Constantinople might detain
him for weeks, or even prevent his passage altogether;
and having come so far, on his unpleasant errand, he
was resolved to gather as many of its benefits as possi
ble. In the dilemma, therefore, he decided on a ruse
of great boldness, and one which proved that personal
considerations had little influence, when he thought the
interests of his country demanded their sacrifice.

The George Washington approached the castles with
a strong southerly wind, and she clewed up her light
sails, as if about to anchor, just as she began to salute.
The works returned gun for gun, and in the smoke sail
was again made, and the ship glided out of the range
of shot before the deception was discovered ; passing on
toward the sea of Marmora under a cloud of canvas.
As vessels were stopped at only one point, and the pro-

BAIN BRIDGE. 27

gress of the ship was too rapid to admit of detention,
she anchored unmolested under the walls of Constanti
nople, on the 9th November, 1800 ; showing the flag
of the republic, for the first time, before that ancient
town.

Bainbridge was probably right in his anticipation of
difficulty in procuring a firman to pass the castles, for
when his vessel reported her nation, an answer was
sent off that the government of Turkey knew of no such
country. An explanation that the ship came from the
new world, that which Columbus had discovered, luckily
proved satisfactory, when a bunch of flowers and a lamb
were sent on board ; the latter as a token of amity, and
the former as a welcome.

The George Washington remained several weeks at
Constantinople, where Bainbridge and his officers were
well received, though the agents of the Dey fared
worse. The Capudan Pacha, in particular, formed a
warm friendship for the commander of the George
Washington, whose fine personal appearance, frank
address, and manly bearing were well calculated to
obtain favor. This functionary was married to a sister
of the Sultan, and had more influence at court than any
other subject. He took Bainbridge especially under
his own protection, and when they parted, he gave the
frigate a passport, which showed that she and her com
mander enjoyed this particular and high privilege. In
fact, the intercourse between this officer and the com
mander of the George Washington was such as to
approach nearly to paving the way for a treaty, a step
that Bainbridge warmly urged on the government at
home, as both possible and desirable. It has been con-

28 NAVAL BIOGRAPHY.

jectured even, that Capt. Bainbridge was instructed on
this subject ; and that, in consenting to go to Constanti
nople at all, he had the probabilities of opening some
such negotiation in view. This was not his own
account of the matter, although, in weighing the motives
for complying with the Dey s demands, it is not impos
sible he permitted such a consideration to have some
weight.

The visit of Clarke, the well known traveler, occurred
while the George Washington was at Constantinople.
The former accompanied Bainbridge to the Black Sea,
in the frigate s long-boat, where the American ensign
was displayed also, for the first time. Jt appears that
our officer was one of the party in the celebrated visit
of the traveler to the seraglio, Bainbridge confirming
Dr. Clarke s account of the affair, with the exception
that he, himself, looked upon the danger as very trifling.

During the friendly intercourse which existed be
tween Capt. Bainbridge and the Capudan Pacha, the
latter incidentally mentioned that the governor of the
castles was condemned to die for suffering the George
Washington to pass without a firman, and that the
warrant of execution only waited for his signature, in
order to be enforced. Shocked at discovering the terri
ble strait to which he had unintentionally reduced a
perfectly innocent man, Bainbridge frankly admitted
his own act, and said if any one had erred it was him
self: begging the life of the governor, and offering to
meet the consequences in his own person. This
generous course was not thrown away on the Capudan
Pacha, who appears to have been a liberal and enlight
ened man. He heard the explanation with interest,

B A I N B R I D G E. 29

extolled Bainbridge s frankness, promised him his entire
protection, and pardoned the governor ; sending to the
latter a minute statement of the whole affair. It was
after this conversation that the high functionary in
question delivered to Bainbridge his own especial letter
of protection.

At length the Algerine ambassador was ready to
return. On the 30th of December, 1800, the ship
sailed for Algiers. The messenger of the Dey took
back with him a menace of punishment, unless his
master declared war against France, and sent more
tribute to the Porte ; granting to the Algerine govern
ment but sixty days to let its course be known. On
repassing the Dardanelles, Bainbridge was compelled
to anchor. Here he received presents of fruit and pro
visions, with hospitalities on shore, as an evidence of
the governor s gratitude for his generous conduct in
exposing his own life, in order to save that of an inno
cent man. It is shown by a passage in Dr. Clarke s
work, that Bainbridge was honorably received in the
best circles in Pera, during his stay at Constantinople,
while the neatness and order of his ship were the
subject of general conversation. An entertainment that
was given on board the frigate was much talked of also ;
the guests and all the viands coming from the four
quarters of the earth. Thus there was water, bread,
meats, etc., etc., each from Europe, Asia, Africa and
America, as well as persons to consume them : certainly
a thing of rare occurrence at any one feast.

-The George Washington arrived at Algiers on the
20th January, 1801, and anchored off the town, beyond
the reach of shot. The Dey expressed his apprehen-
3*

30 NAVAL BIOGRAPHY.

sions that the position of the ship would prove incon
venient to her officers, and desired that she might be
brought within the mole, or to the place where she had
lain during her first visit. This offer was respectfully
declined. A day or two later the object of this hospi
tality became apparent. Bainbridge was asked to
return to Constantinople with the Algerine ambassador;
a request with which he positively refused to comply.
This was the commencement of a new series of cajole
ries, arguments, and menaces. But, having his ship
where nothing but the barbarian s corsairs could assail
her, Bainbridge continued firm. He begged the consul
to send him off some old iron for ballast, in order that he
might return certain guns he had borrowed for that
purpose, previously to sailing for Constantinople, the
whole having been rendered necessary in consequence
of his ship s having been lightened of the tribute sent
in her from America. The Dey commanded the light
ermen not to take employment, and, at the same time,
he threatened war if his guns were not returned: After
a good deal of discussion, Bainbridge exacted a pledge
that no further service would be asked of the ship ; then
he agreed to run into the mole and deliver the cannon,
as the only mode that remained of returning property
which had been lent to him.

As soon as the frigate was secured in her new birth,
Capt. Bainbridge and the consul were admitted to an
audience with the Dey. The reception was any thing
but friendly, and the despot, a man of furious passions,
soon broke out into expressions of anger, that bade fair
to lead to personal violence. The attendants were ready,
and it was known that a nod or a word might, at a mo-

BAINBRIDGE. 31

merit s notice, cost the Americans their lives. At this
fearful instant, Bainbridge, who was determined at
every hazard to resist the Dey s new demand, fortu
nately bethought him of the Capudan Pacha s letter of
protection, which he carried about him. The letter
was produced, and its effect was magical. Bainbridge
often spoke of it as even ludicrous, and of^)eing so
sudden and marked as to produce glances of surprise
among the common soldiers. From a furious tyrant, the
sovereign of Algiers was immediately converted into an
obedient vassal; his tongue all honey, his face all
smiles. He was aware that a disregard of the recom
mendation of the Capudan Pacha would be punished,
as he would visit a similar disregard of one of his own
orders ; and that there was no choice between respect
and despotism. No more was said about the return of
the frigate to Constantinople, and every offer of service
and every profession of amity were heaped upon the
subject of our memoir, who owed his timely deliverance
altogether to the friendship of the Turkish dignitary ;
a friendship obtained through his own frank and gene
rous deportment.

The reader will readily understand that dread of
the Grand Seignior s power had produced this sudden
change in the deportment of the Dey. The same
feeling induced him to order the flag-staff of the French
consulate to be cut down the next day ; a declaration of
war against the country to which the functionary
belonged. Exasperated at these humiliations, which
were embitfered by heavy pecuniary exactions on the
part of the Porte, the Dey turned upon the few unfor
tunate French who happened to be in his power.

32 NAVAL BIOGRAPHY.

These, fifty-six in number, consisting of men, women,
and children, he ordered to be seized and to be deemed
slaves. Capt. Bainbridge felt himself sufficiently
strong, by means of the Capudan Pacha s letter, to
mediate ; and he actually succeeded, after a long dis
cussion, in obtaining a decree by which all the French
who cou^ get out of the regency, within the next eight-
and-forty hours, might depart. For those who could
not, remained the doom of slavery, or of ransom at a
thousand dollars a head. It was thought that this con
cession was made under the impression that no means
of quitting Algiers could be found by the unfortunate
French. No one believed that the George Washington
would be devoted to their service, France and America
being thefl at war; a circumstance which probably
increased Bainbridge s influence at Constantinople, as
well as at Algiers.

But our officer was not disposed to do things by
halves. Finding that no other means remained for
extricating the unfortunate French, he determined to
carry them off in the George Washington. The ship
had not yet discharged the guns of the Dey, but every
body working with good will, this property was deli
vered to its right owner, sand ballast was obtained from
the country and hoisted in, other necessary preparations
were made, and the ship hauled out of the mole and
got to sea just in time to escape the barbarian s fangs,
with .every Frenchman in Algiers on board. It is said
that in another hour the time of grace would have
expired. The ship landed her passengers at Alicant, a
neutral country, and then made the best of her way to
America, where she arrived in due season.

BAINBRIDGE. 33

This act of Bairibridge s was quite in conformity with
the generous tendencies of his -nature. He was a man
of quick and impetuous feelings, and easily roused to
anger ; but left to the voluntary guidance of his own
heart, no one was more ready to serve his fellow-crea
tures. It seemed to make little difference with him,
whether he assisted an Englishman or a Frenchman ;
his national antipathies, though decided and strong,
never interfering with his humanity. Napoleon had
just before attained the First Consulate, and he offered
the American officer his personal thanks for this piece
of humane and disinterested service to his countrymen.
At a later day, when misfortune came upon Bainbridge,
he is said to have remembered this act, and to have
interested himself in favour of the captive. -^

On reaching home, Bainbridge had the gratification
of finding his conduct, in every particular, approved by
the government. It was so much a matter of course, in
that day, for the nations of Christendom to submit to
exactions from those of Barbary, that little was thought
of the voyage to Constantinople, and less said about it.
A general feeling must have prevailed that censure, if
it fell any where, ought to light on the short-sighted
policy of trade, and the misguided opinions of the age.
It is more probable, however, that the whole transaction
was looked upon as a legitimate consequence of the
system of tribute, which then so extensively prevailed.

Bainbridge must have enjoyed another and still more
unequivocal evidence that the misfortunes which cer
tainly accompanied his short naval career, had left no
injurious impressions on the government, as touching
his own conduct. The reduction law, which created a

34 NAVAL BIOGRAPHY.

species of naval peace establishment, was passed during
his late absence, and, on his arrival, he found its details
nearly completed in practice. Previously to this law s
going into effect, there were twenty-eight captains in
the navy, of which number he stood himself as low as
the twenty-seventh in rank. There was, indeed, but
one other officer of that grade below him, and under
such circumstances, the chances of being retained would
have been very small, for any man who had not the
complete confidence of his superiors. He was retained,
however, and that, too, in a manner in defiance of the
law, for, by its provisions, only nine captains were to
be continued in the service in a time of peace ; whereas,
his was the eleventh name on the new list, until Dale
and Truxtun resigned ; events which did not occur until
the succeeding year. The cautious and reluctant man
ner in which these reductions were made by Mr. Jeffer
son, under a law that had passed during the adminis
tration of his predecessor, is another proof that the
former statesman did not deserve all the reproaches of
hostility to this branch of the public service that were
heaped upon him.*

Not satisfied with retaining Capt. Bainbridge in the
service, after the late occurrences at Algiers, the Depart-

* There appears to have been some uncertainty about officers
remaining in service, after the peace of 1801, that contributed to
rendering the reduction irregular. The resignations of Dale and
Truxtun, and the death of Barry, brought the list down to nine ;
the number prescribed by law. As the Tripolitan war occurred so
soon, a question might arise how far the peace establishment law
was binding at all. Certainly, in its spirit, it was meant only for
a time of peace. On the other hand, Mr. Jefferson, by his public
acts, did not seem to think the nation legally at war with Tripoli,
even after battles were fought and vessels captured.

BAINBH1DGE. 35

merit also gave him immediate employment. For the
first time this gallant officer was given a good service
able ship, that had been regularly constructed for a
man-of-war. He was attached to the Essex 32, a fine
twelve-pounder frigate, that had just returned from a
first cruise to the East Indies, under Preble : an officer
who subsequently became so justly celebrated. The
orders to this vessel were issued in May, 1801, and the
ship w r as directed to form part of a squadron then about
to sail for the Mediterranean.

Capt. Bainbridge joined the Essex at New York.
He had Stephen Decatur for his first lieutenant, and
was otherwise w r ell officered and manned. The squad
ron, consisting of the President 44, Philadelphia 38,
Essex 3 2, and Enterprise 12, sailed in company : the
President being commanded by Capt. James Barron, the
Philadelphia by Capt. Samuel Barron, and the Enter
prise by Lieut. Com. Sterrett. The broad pennant of
Com. Dale was flying in the President. This force
went abroad under very limited instructions. Although
the Bashaw of Tripoli was seizing American vessels, and
was carrying on an effective war, Mr. Jefferson appeared
to think legal enactments at home necessary to author
ize the marine to retaliate. As respected ourselves,
statutes may have been wanting to prescribe the forms
under which comdemnations could be had, and the
other national rights carried out in full practice ; but, as
respected the enemy, there can be no question his own
acts authorized the cruisers of this country to capture
their assailants wherever they could be found, even
though they rotted in our harbors for the want of a
prescribed manner of bringing them under the hammer.

36 NAVAL BIOGRAPHY.

The mode of condemnation is dependent on municipal
regulations alone, but the right to capture is solely de
pendent on public law. It was in this singular state
of things that the Enterprise, after a bloody action, took
a Tripolitan, and was then obliged to let her go !

The American squadron reached Gibraltar the 1st day
of July, where it found and blockaded two of the largest
Tripolitan cruisers, under the orders of a Scotch rene
gade, who bore the rank of an admiral. The Phila
delphia watched these vessels, while the Essex was
sent along the north shore to give convoy. The great
object, in that day, appears to have been to carry the
trade safely through the Straits, and to prevent the
enemy s rovers from getting out into the Atlantic ; mea
sures that the peculiar formation of the coasts rendered
highly important. It was while employed on this duty,
that Capt. Bainbridge had an unpleasant collision with
some of the Spanish authorities at Barcelona, in conse
quence of repeated insults offered to his ship s officers
and boats ; his own barge having been fired into twice,
while he was in it in person. In this affair he showed
his usual decision and spirit, and the matter was pushed
so far and so vigorously as to induce an order from the
Prince of Peace, "to treat all officers of the United
States with courtesy and respect, and more particularly
those attached to the United States frigate Essex." The
high and native courtesy of the Spanish character ren
ders it probable that some misunderstandings increased
and complicated these difficulties, though there is little
doubt that jealousy of the superior order and beauty of
the Essex, among certain subordinates of the Spanish
marine, produced the original aggression. In the dis-

BAINBRIDGE. 37

cussions and collisions that followed, the sudden and
somewhat brusque spirit of the American usages was
not likely to be cordially met by the precise and almost
oriental school of manners that regulates the intercourse
of Spanish society. Bainbridge, however, is admitted
to have conducted his part of the dispute with dignity
and propriety ; though he was not wanting in the
promptitude and directness of a man-of-war s man.

On the arrival of the Essex below, with a convoy, it
was found that the enemy had laid up his ships, and
had sent the crews across to Africa in the night ; the
admiral making the best of his way home in a neutral.
Com. Morris had relieved Com. Dale, and the Essex,
wanting material repairs, was sent home in the summer
of 1802, after an absence of rather more than a year.
During her short cruise, the Essex had been deemed a
model ship, as to efficiency and discipline, and extorted
admiration wherever she appeared. On her arrival at
New York, the frigate was unexpectedly ordered to
Washington to be laid up, a measure that excited great
discontent in her crew. One of those quasi mutinies
which, under similar circumstances, were not uncom
mon in that day, followed ; the men insisting that their
times were up, and that they ought to be paid off in a
seaport, and " not on a tobacco plantation, up in Vir
ginia;" but Bainbridge and Decatur were men un
willing to be controlled in this way. The disaffection
was put down, and the ship obeyed her orders.

Bainbridge was now employed in superintending the
construction of the Siren and Vixen ; two of the small
vessels that had been recently ordered by law. As
soon as these vessels were launched, he was again

VOL. i, 4

38 NAVAL BIOGRAPHY.

directed to prepare for service in the Mediterranean, for
which station the celebrated squadron of Preble was
now fitting. This force consisted of the Constitution
44, Philadelphia 38, Siren 16, Argus 16, Nautilus 14,
Vixen 14, and Enterprise 12; the latter vessel being
then on the station, under Lieut. Com. Hull. Of these
ships, Bainbridge had the Philadelphia, 38, a fine
eighteen-pounder frigate that was often, by mistake,
called a forty-four, though by no means as large a ves
sel as some others of her proper class. It was much
the practice of that day to attach officers to the ships
which were fitting near their places of residence, and
thus it followed that a vessel frequently had a sort of
local character. Such, in a degree, was the case with
the Philadelphia, most of whose sea-officers were Dela
ware sailors, in one sense ; though all the juniors had
now been regularly bred in the navy. As these gen
tlemen are entitled to have their sufferings recorded, we
give their names, with the states of which they were
natives, viz. :

Captain. William Bainbridge, of New Jersey.

Lieutenants. John T. R. Cox, Jacob Jones, Dela
ware ; Theodore Hunt, New Jersey ; Benjamin Smith,
Rhode Island.

Lieutenant of Marines. Wm. S. Osborne.

Surgeon. John Ridge ly, Maryland.

Purser. Rich. Spence, New Hampshire.

Sailing-Master. Wm. Knight, Pennsylvania.

Surgeon s Mates. Jonathan Cowdery, New York ;
Nicholas Harwood, Va.

Midshipmen. Bernard Henry, Pa. ; James Gibbon,
Va.; James Biddle, Pa.; Richard B. Jones, Pa.; D. T.

BAINBRIDGE. 39

Patterson, N. Y. ; Wm. Cutbush, Pa. ; B. F. Reed, Pa. ;
Thomas M Donough, Del.; Wallace Wormley, .Va. ;
Robert Gamble, Va. ; Simon Smith, Pa. ; James Ren-
shaw, Pa.

The Philadelphia had a crew a little exceeding three
hundred souls on board, including her officers. One or
two changes occurred among the latter, however, when
the ship reached Gibraltar, which will be mentioned in
their proper places.

The vessels of Com. Preble did not sail in squadron,
but left home as each ship got ready. Bainbridge,
being equipped, was ordered to sail in July, and he en
tered the Straits on the 24th of August, after a passage
down the Delaware and across the Atlantic of some
length. Understanding at Gibraltar that certain cruisers
of the enemy were in the neighborhood of Cape de
Gatte, he proceeded off that well-known headland the
very next day ; and, in the night of the 26th, it blowing
fresh, he fell in with a ship under nothing but a fore
sail, with a brig in company, also under very short
canvas. These suspicious circumstances induced him
to run alongside of the ship, and to demand her charac
ter. After a good deal of hailing, and some evasion on
the part of the stranger, it was ascertained that he was
a cruiser from Morocco, called the Meshboha 22, com
manded by Ibrahim Lubarez, and having a crew of one
hundred and twenty men. The Philadelphia had con
cealed her own nation, and a boat coming from the
Meshboha, the fact was extracted from its crew that the-
brig in company was an American, bound into Spain,
and that they had boarded but had not detained her.
Bainbridge s suspicions were aroused by all the circum-

40 NAVAL BIOGRAPHY.

stances ; particularly by the little sail the brig carried ;
so unlike an American, who is ever in a hurry. He
accordingly directed Mr. Cox, his first lieutenant, to
board the Meshboha, and to ascertain if any Americans
were in her, as prisoners. In attempting to execute
this order, Mr. Cox was resisted, and it was necessary
to send an armed boat. The master and crew of the
brig, the Celia of Boston, were actually found in the
Meshboha, which ship had captured them, nine days
before, in the vicinity of Malaga, the port to which they
were bound.

Bainbridge took possession of the Moorish ship.
The next day he recovered the brig, which was stand
ing in for the bay of Almeria, to the westward of Cape
de Gatte. On inquiry he discovered that Ibrahim
Lubarez was cruising for Americans under an order
issued by the governor of Mogadore. Although Mo
rocco was ostensibly at peace with the United States,
Bainbridge did not hesitate, now, about taking his prize
to Gibraltar. Here he left the Meshboha in charge
of Mr. M Donough, under the superintendence of the
consul, and then went off Cape St. Vincent in pursuit
of a Moorish frigate, which was understood to be in
that neighborhood. Failing in his search, he returned
within the Straits, and went aloft, in obedience to his
original orders. At Gibraltar, the Philadelphia met
the homeward bound vessels, under Com. Rodgers,
which were waiting the arrival of Preble, in the Con
stitution. As this force was sufficient to watch the
Moors, it left the Philadelphia the greater liberty to
proceed on her cruise. While together, however, Lieut.
Porter, the first of the New York 36, exchanged with

BAINBRIDGE. 41

Lieut. Cox, the latter gentleman wishing to return home,
where he soon after resigned ; while the former pre
ferred active service.

The Philadelphia found nothing but the Vixen be
fore Tripoli. A Neapolitan had given information that
a corsair had just sailed on a cruise, and this induced
Capt. Bainbridge to despatch Lieut. Com. Smith in
chase. In consequence of this unfortunate but perfectly
justifiable decision, the frigate was left alone off the
town. A vigorous blockade having been determined
on, the ship maintained her station as close in as her
draught of water would allow until near the close of
October, when, it coming on to blow fresh from the
westward, she was driven some distance to leeward, as
often occurred to vessels on that station. As soon as it
moderated, sail was made to recover the lost ground,
and, by the morning of the 31st, the wind had become
fair, from the eastward. At 8, A. M., a sail was made
ahead, standing like themselves to the westward. This
vessel proved to be a small cruiser of the Bashaw s,
and was probably the very vessel of which the Vixen
had gone in pursuit. The Philadelphia now crowded
every thing that would draw, and was soon so near the
chase as to induce the latter to hug the land. There is
an extensive reef to the eastward of Tripoli, called
Kaliusa, that was not laid down in the charts of the
ship, and which runs nearly parallel to the coast for
some miles. There is abundance of water inside of it,
as was doubtless known to those on board the chase, and
there is a wide opening through it, by which six and
seven fathoms can be carried out to sea ; but all these
facts were then profound mysteries to the officers of the
4*

42 NAVAL BIOGRAPHY.

Philadelphia. Agreeably to the chart of Capt. Smyth,
of the British navy, the latest and best in existence, the
eastern division of this reef lies about a mile and a half
from the coast, and its western about a mile. Accord
ing to the same chart, one of authority, and made from
accurate surveys, the latter portion of the reef is distant
from the town of Tripoli about two and a half miles,
and the former something like a mile and a half more.
There is an interval of quite half a mile in length be
tween these two main divisions of the reef, through
which it is possible to carry six and seven fathoms, pro
vided three or four detached fragments of reef, of no
great extent, be avoided. The channels among these
rocks afforded great facilities to the Turks in getting in
and out of their port during the blockade, since a vessel
of moderate draught, that knew the land-marks, might
run through them with great confidence by daylight. It
is probable the chase, in this instance, led in among
these reefs as much to induce the frigate to follow as to
cover her own escape, either of which motives showed
a knowledge of the coast, and a familiarity with his
duties in her commander.

In coming down from the eastward, and bringing with
her a plenty of water, the Philadelphia must have passed
two or three hundred yards to the southward of the
northeastern extremity of the most easterly of the two
great divisions of the reef in question. This position
agrees with the soundings found at the time, and with
those laid down in the chart. She had the chase some
distance inshore of her ; so much so, indeed, as to have
been firing into her from the two forward divisions of
the larboard guns, in the hope of cutting something

BAINBRJDGE, 43

away. Coming from the eastward, the ship brought
into this pass, between the reef and the shore, from
fourteen to ten fathoms of water, which gradually
shoaled to eight, when Capt. Bainbridge, seeing no
prospect of overhauling the chase, then beginning to
open the harbour of Tripoli, from which the frigate her
self was distant but some three or four miles, ordered
the helm a-port, and the yards braced forward, in the
natural expectation of hauling directly off the land into
deep water. The leads were going at the time, and, to
the surprise of all on board, the water shoaled, as the
frigate run off, instead of deepening. The yards were
immediately ordered to be braced sharp up, and the ship
brought close on a wind, in the hope of beating out of
this seeming cul de sac, by the way in which she had
entered. The command was hardly given, however,
before the ship struck forward, and, having eight knots
way on her, she shot up on the rocks until she had only
fourteen and a half feet of water under her fore-chains.
Under the bowsprit there were but twelve. Aft she
floated, having, it is said, come directly out of six or
seven fathoms of water into twelve and fifteen feet ; all
of which strictly corresponds with the soundings of the
modern charts.*

* There already exists some disagreement as to the question on
which of the two principal portions of this reef, the eastern or the
western, the Philadelphia ran. Captain Bainbridge, in his official
letter, says that the harbour of Tripoli was distant three or four
miles, when his ship struck. But the harbour of Tripoli extends
more than a mile to the eastward of the town. Fort English lies
properly near the mouth of the harbour, and it is considerably
more than a mile east of the castle ; which, itself, stands at the
southeastern angle of the town. Commodore Porter, in his testi-

44 NAVAL BIOGRAPHY.

There was much of the hard fortune which attended
a good deal of Bainbridge s professional career, in the
circumstances of this accident. Had the prospects of
the chase induced him to continue it, the frigate might
have passed ahead, and the chances were that she
would have hauled off, directly before the mouth of the
harbour of Tripoli, and gone clear; carrying through
nowhere less than five fathoms of water. Had she
stood directly on, after first hauling up, she might have
passed through the opening between the two portions
of the reef, carrying with her six, seven, nine and ten
fathoms, out to sea. But, in pursuing the very course
which prudence and a sound discretion dictated to one
who was ignorant of the existence of this reef, he ran
his ship upon the very danger he was endeavouring to
avoid. It is by making provision for war, in a time of
peace, and, in expending its money freely, to further

mony before the court of inquiry, thought the ship struck about
three miles and a half from the town of Tripoli, and one and a half
from the nearest point of land, which bore south. By the chart,
the western margin of the western reef is about 4000 yards from
the nearest point in the town, and the western margin of the east
ern reef, about 6000. Three miles and a half would be just 6110
yards. This reef, too, lies as near as may be, a mile and a half
north of the nearest land ; thus agreeing perfectly with Commo
dore Porter s testimony. In addition, the western portion of the
reef could not have been reached without passing into five fathoms
water, and Capt. Bainbridge deemed it prudent to haul oft when
he found himself in eight. All the soundings show, as well as the
distances, that the frigate struck as stated in the text, on the east
ern half of the Kaliusa Reef; which might well be named the
Philadelphia Reef. It may be added, that the nearest land would
bear nearer southeast, than south, from the western half of these
shoals. The following sketch will explain the text more fully.

BAINBRIDGE.

45

the objects of general science, in the way of surveys
and other similar precautions, that a great maritime
state, in particular, economizes, by means of a present
expenditure, for the moments of necessity and danger
that may await it, an age ahead.

46 NAVAL BIOGRAPHY.

Bainbridge s first recourse, was the natural expedient
of attempting to force the ship over the obstacle, in the ex
pectation that the deep water lay to seaward. As soon,
however, as the boats were lowered, and soundings
taken, the true nature of the disaster was comprehended,
and every effort was made to back the Philadelphia off,
by the stern. A ship of the size of a frigate, that goes
seven or eight knots, unavoidably piles a mass of water
under her bows, and this, aided by the shelving of the
reef, and possibly by a ground swell, had carried the
ship up too far, to be got off by any ordinary efforts.
The desperate nature of her situation was soon seen by
the circumstance of her falling over so much, as to
render it impossible to use any of her starboard guns.

The firing of the chase had set several gun-boats in
motion in the harbor, and a division of nine was turn
ing to windward, in order to assist the xebec the Phila
delphia had been pursuing, even before the last struck.
Of course the nature of the accident was understood,
and these enemies soon began to come within reach of
shot, though at a respectful distance on the larboard
quarter. Their fire did some injury aloft, but neither
the hull nor any of the crew of the frigate were hit.

Every expedient which could be resorted to, in order
to get the Philadelphia off, was put in practice. The
anchors were cut from the bows ; water was pumped
out, and other heavy articles were thrown overboard,
including all the guns, but those aft. Finally the fore
mast was cut away. It would seem that the frigate
had no boat strong enough to carry out an anchor, a
serious oversight in the equipment of a vessel of any
sort. After exerting himself, with great coolness and

BAINBRIDGE. 47

discretion, until sunset, Bainbridge consulted his offi
cers, and the hard necessity of hauling down the colors
was admitted. By this time, the gun-boats had ventured
to cross the frigate s stern, and had got upon her weather
quarter, where, as she had fallen over several feet to
leeward, it was utterly impossible to do them any harm.
Other boats, too, were coming out of the harbour to the
assistance of the division which had first appeared.

The Tripolitans got on board the Philadelphia, just
as night was setting in, on the last day of October.
They came tumbling in at the ports, in a croAvd, and
then followed a scene of indiscriminate plunder and
confusion. Swords, epaulettes, watches, jewels, money,
and no small portion of the clothing of the officers even,
disappeared, the person of Bainbridge himself being
respected little more than those of the common men.
He submitted to be robbed, until they undertook to force
from him a miniature of his young and beautiful wife ?
when he successfully resisted. The manly determi
nation he showed in withstanding this last violence, had
the effect to check the aggression, so far as he was con
cerned, and about ten at night, the prisoners reached
the shore, near the castle of the bashaw.

Jussuf Caramelli received his prisoners, late as was
the hour, in full divan ; feeling a curiosity, no doubt, to
ascertain what sort of beings the chances of war had
thrown into his power. There was a barbarous cour
tesy in his deportment, nor was the reception one of
which the Americans had any right to complain. After
a short interview, he dismissed the officers to an excel
lent supper which had been prepared for them in the
castle itself, and to this hour, the gentlemen who sat

48 NAVAL BIOGRAPHY.

down to that feast with the appetites of midshipmen,
speak of its merits with an affection which proves that
it was got up in the spirit of true hospitality. When
all had supped, they were carried back to the divan,
where the Pacha and his ministers had patiently awaited
their return ; when the former put them in charge of
Sidi Mohammed D Ghies, one of the highest function
aries of the regency, who conducted the officers, with
the necessary attendants, to the building that had lately
been the American consular residence.

This was the commencement of a long and irksome
captivity, which terminated only with the war. The
feelings of Bainbridge were most painful, as we know
from his letters, his private admissions, and the peculiar
nature of his case. He had been unfortunate through
out most of his public service. The Retaliation was
the only American cruiser taken in the war of 1798,
and down to that moment, she was the only vessel of
the new marine that had been taken at all. Here, then,
was the second ship that had fallen into the enemy s
hands, also under his orders. Then the affair of the
George Washington was one likely to wound the feel
ings of a high-spirited and sensitive mind, to which
expknations, however satisfactory, are of themselves
painful and humiliating. These were circumstances
that might have destroyed the buoyancy of some men ;
and there is no question, that Bainbridge felt them
acutely, and with a lively desire to be justified before
his country. At this moment, his officers stepped in to
relieve him, by sending a generous letter, signed by
every man in the ship whose testimony could at all
influence the opinion of a court of inquiry. Care was

BAINBRIDGE. 49

taken to say, in this letter, that the charts and soundings
justified the ship in approaching the shore, as near as
she had, which was the material point, as connected
with his conduct as a commander ; his personal deport
ment after the accident being beyond censure. Bain-
bridge was greatly relieved by the receipt of this letter,
the writing of which was generously and kindly con
ceived, though doubts may exist as to its propriety, in a
military point of view. The commander of a ship, to a
certain extent, is properly responsible for its loss, and
his subordinates are the witnesses by whose, testimony
the court, which is finally to exonerate, or to condemn,
is guided ; to anticipate their evidence, by a joint letter,
therefore, is opening the door to management and in
fluence which may sometimes shield a real delinquent.
So tender are military tribunals, strictly courts of honour,
that one witness is not allowed to hear the testimony of
another, and the utmost caution should ever be shown
about the expression of opinions even, until the moment
arrives to give them in the presence of the judges, and
under the solemnities of oaths. This is said without
direct reference to the case before us, however ; for, if
ever an instance occurred in which a departure from
severe principles is justifiable, it was this ; and no one
can regret that Bainbridge, in the long captivity which
followed, had the consolation of possessing such a let
ter. It may be well, here, to mention that all the offi
cers whose names are given already in this biography,
shared his prison, with the exception of Messrs. Cox
and M Donough : the former of -whom had exchanged
with Lieutenant Porter, now a captive, while the latter
had been left at Gibraltar, in charge of the Meshboha,

VOL. I. 5

50 NAVAL BIOGRAPHY.

to come aloft with Decatur, and to share in all the gal
lant deeds of that distinguished officer, before Tripoli.

Much exaggeration has prevailed on the subject of
the treatment the American prisoners received from the
Turks. It was not regulated by the rules of a more
civilized warfare, certainly, and the common men were
compelled to labour under the restrictions of African
slavery ; but the officers, on the whole, were kindly
treated, and the young men were even indulged in
many of the wild expressions of their humors. There
were moments of irritation, and perhaps of policy, it is
true, in which changes of treatment occurred, but con
finement was the principal grievance. Books were
obtained, and the studies of the midshipmen were not
neglected. Sidi Mohammed D Ghies proved their
friend, though the Danish consul, M. Nissen, was the
individual to whom the gratitude of the prisoners was
principally due. This benevolent man commenced his
acts of kindness the day after the Americans were
taken, and he continued them, with unwearying pbi-
lanthropy, down to the hour of their liberation. By
means of this gentleman, Bainbridge was enabled to
communicate with Commodore Preble, who received
many useful suggestions from the prisoner, concerning
his own operations before the town.

The Turks were so fortunate as to be favored with
good weather, for several days after the Philadelphia
fell into their hands. Surrounding the ship with their
gunboats, and carrying out the necessary anchors, they
soon hove her off the reef into deep water ; where she
floated, though it was necessary to use the pumps freely,
and to stop some bad leaks. The guns, anchors, &c.,

BAINBRIDGE. 51

had unavoidably been thrown on the rocks ; and they
were also recovered with little difficulty. The prisoners,
therefore, in a day or two, had the mortification to see
their late ship anchored between the reef and the town ;
and, ere long, she was brought into the harbor and par
tially repaired.

tt is said, on good authority, that Bainbridge suggest
ed to Preble the plan for the destruction of the Phila
delphia, which was subsequently adopted. His corre
spondence was active, and there is no question that it
contained many useful suggestions. A few weeks after
he was captured, he received a manly, sensible letter
from Preble, which, no doubt, had a cheering influence
on his feelings.

It will be remembered that the Philadelphia went
ashore on the morning of the 31st October, 1803. On
the 15th of the succeeding February, the captives were
awaked about midnight by the firing of guns. A bright
light gleamed upon the windows, and they had the
pleasure to see the frigate enveloped in flames. Deca-
tur had just quitted the ship, and his ketch was then
sweeping down the harbor towards the Siren, which
awaited her in the offing !

This exploit caused a sensible change in the treat
ment of the officers, who were then captives in Tripoli.
On the first of March, they were all removed to the
castle, where they continued for the remainder of the
time they were prisoners, or more than a twelvemonth.
Several attempts at escape were made, but they all
failed ; principally for the want of means. In this
manner passed month after month, until the spring had
advanced into the summer. One day the cheering in-

52 NAVAL BIOGRAPHY.

telligence spread among the captives that a numerous
force was visible in the offing, but it disappeared in
consequence of a gale of wind. This was about the
1st of August, 1804. A day or two later this force re
appeared, a heavy firing followed, and the gentlemen
clambered up to the windows which commanded a par
tial view of the offing. There they saw a flotilla of
gunboats, brigs, and schooners, gathering towards the
rocks, where lay a strong division of the Turks, the
shot from the batteries and shipping dashing the spray
about, and a canopy of smoke collecting over the sea.
In the back-ground v/as the Constitution that glorious
frigate ! coming down into the fray, with the men on
her top-gallant-yards gathering in the canvas, as coolly
as if she were about to anchor. This was a sight to
warm a sailor s heart, even within the walls of a prison !
Then they got a glimpse of the desperate assault led
by Decatur the position of their windows permitting
no more and they were left to imagine what was going
on, amid the roar of cannon, to leeward. This was the
celebrated attack of the 3d August ; or that with which
Preble began his own warfare, and little intermission
followed for the next six weeks. On the njght of the
4th of September, a few guns were fired a heavy ex
plosion was heard and this terminated the din of war.
It was the catastrophe in which Somers perished. A
day or two later, Bainbridge was taken to see some of
the dead of that affair, but he found the bodies so much
mutilated as to render recognition impossible.

Bainbridge kept a journal of the leading events that
occurred during his captivity. Its meagerness, how
ever, supplies proof of the sameness of his Jife ; little

BAINBRIDGE. 53

occurring to give it interest, except an occasional diffi
culty with the Turks, and these attacks. In this jour
nal he speaks of the explosion of the Intrepid, as an
enterprise that entirely failed ; injuring nothing. It
was thought in the squadron that a part of the wall of
the castle had fallen, on this occasion, but it was a mis
take. Not a man, house, or vessel of Tripoli, so far as
can now be ascertained, suffered, in the least, by the
explosion. Bainbridge also mentions, what other infor
mation corroborates, that the shells seldom burst. Many
fell within the town, but none blew up. Two or three
even struck the house of the worthy Nissen, but the
injury was slight, comparatively, in consequence of this
circumstance.

At length the moment of liberation arrived. An
American negotiator appeared in the person of the con
sul-general for Barbary, and matters drew towards a
happy termination. Some obstacles, however, occurred,
and, to get rid of them, Sidi Mohammed D Ghies, a judge
of human nature, and a man superior to most around him,
proposed to the Bashaw to let Bainbridge go on board
the Constitution, then commanded by Com. Rodgers.
The proposal appeared preposterous to the wily and
treacherous Jussuf, who insisted that his prisoner would
never be fool enough to come back, if once at liberty.
The minister understood the notions of military honor
that prevailed amongst Christian nations better, and he
finally succeeded in persuading his master to consent
that Bainbridge might depart; but not until he had
placed his own son in the Bashaw s hands, as a hostage.*

* It is pleasing 1 to know that this son has since had his life most
probably saved, by the timely intervention of the American au-
5*

54 NAVAL BIOGRAPHY.

The 1st of June, 1805, was a happy hour for the
subject of our memoir, for then, after a captivity of
nineteen months, to a day, was he permitted again to
tread the deck of an American man-of-war. The entire
day was spent in the squadron, and Bainbridge returned
in the night, greatly discouraged as to the success of
the negotiation. Finding Sidi Mohammed D Ghies,
they repaired to the palace together, where the Bashaw
received them with wonder. He had given up the
slight expectation he ever had of seeing his captive
again, and had been sharply rebuking his minister for
the weakness he had manifested by his credulity.
Bainbridge stated to the prince the only terms on which
the Americans would treat, and these Jussuf immedi
ately rejected. The friendly offices of M. Nissen were
employed next day, however, and on the third, a coun
cil of state was convened, at which the treaty, drawn
up in form, was laid before the members for approval
or rejection.

At this council, Bainbridge was invited to be present.
When he entered, he was told by the Bashaw, himself,
that no prisoner in Barbary had ever before been admit
ted to a similar honor, and that the discussions should
be carried on in French, in order that he might under
stand them. The question of " peace or war" was then
solemnly proposed. There were eight members of the
council, and six were for war. Sidi Mohammed D Ghies

thorities. A man-of-war was sent to Tripoli, and brought him off
at a most critical moment, when he was about to fall a sacrifice to
his enemies. He is dead ; having been an enlightened statesman,
like his father, and a firm friend of this country j though much
vilified and persecuted toward the close of his brief career.

BAINBRIDGE. 55

and the commandant of the marine alone maintained
the doctrine of peace. There may have been precon
cert and artifice in all this ; if so, it was well acted.
The speeches were grave and dignified, and seemingly
sincere, and, after a time, two of the dissentients were
converted to the side of peace; leaving the cabinet
equally divided. "How shall I act?" demanded the
Bashaw. " Which party shall I satisfy ? you are four
for peace, and four for war !" Here Sidi Mohammed
D Ghies arose and said it was for the sovereign to de
cide they were but councillors, whereas he was their
prince : though he entreated him, for his own interests
and for those of his people, to make peace. The
Bashaw drew his signet from his bosom, deliberately
affixed it to the treaty, and said, with dignity and em
phasis, "It is peace. 11

The salutes followed, and the war ceased. The
principal officers of the squadron visited the captives that
evening ; and the next day the latter were taken on board
ship. A generous trait of the seamen and marines, on
this occasion, merits notice. A Neapolitan slave had
been much employed about them, and had shown them
great kindness. They sent a deputation to Bainbridge,
to request he would authorize the purser to advance
them $700, of their joint pay ; it was done, and, with
the money, they bought the liberty of the Neapolitan ;
carrying him off with them finally landing him on
his own shores.

At Syracuse, a court of inquiry was held, for the loss
of the Philadelphia. This court consisted of Capts.
James Barren, Hugh G. Campbell and Stephen Deca-
tur, jun. Gen. Eaton was the judge advocate. The

56 NAVAL BIOGRAPHY.

result was an honorable acquittal. The rinding of this
court was dated June 29, 1805.

The country dealt generously and fairly by Bain-
bridge and his officers. The loss of the Philadelphia
was viewed as being, precisely what it was, an una
voidable accident, that was met by men engaged in the
zealous service of their country, in a distant sea, on an
inhospitable shore, and at an inclement season of the
year ; and an accident that entailed on the sufferers a
long and irksome captivity. To have been one of the
Philadelphia s crew has ever been rightly deemed a
strong claim on the gratitude of the republic, and from
the hour at which the ill-fated ship lowered her ensign,
down to the present moment, a syllable of reproach has
never been whispered. Bainbridge, himself, was brought
prominently into notice by the affair, and the sympathy
his misfortunes produced in the public mind, made him
a favorite with the nation. The advantage thus ob
tained, was supported and perpetuated by that frank and
sincere earnestness which marked his public service,
and which was so well adapted to embellish the manly
career of a sailor.

The officers and crew of the Philadelphia reached
home in the autumn of 1805, and were welcomed
with the warmth that their privations entitled them to
receive.

Capt. Bainbridge had married, when a young man,
and he now found himself embarrassed in his circum
stances, with an increasing family. But few ships were
employed, and there were officers senior to himself to
command them. The half-pay of his rank was then
only $600 a year, and he determined to get leave to

BAINBRIDGE. 57

make a voyage or two in the merchant service, in order
to repair his fortunes. He had been appointed to the
navy-yard at New York, however, previously to this
determination, but prudence pointed out the course on
which he had decided. A voyage to the Havana, in
w T hich he was part owner, turned out well, and he con
tinued in this pursuit for two years ; or from the sum
mer of 1806, until the spring of 1808. In March of
the latter year, he was ordered to Portland, and, in De
cember following, he was transferred to the command
of the President 44, then considered the finest ship in
the navy. Owing to deaths, resignations, and promo
tions, the list of captains had undergone some changes
since the passage of the reduction-law. It now con
tained thirteen names, a number determined by an act
passed in 1806, among which that of Bainbridge stood
the sixth in rank.* The difficulties with England, which
had produced the armament, seemed on the point of ad
justment, and immediate war was no longer expected.
Bainbridge hoisted his first broad pennant in the Presi
dent, having the command on the southern division of
the coast ; Com. Rodgers commanding at the north. In
the summer of 1809, the President sailed on the coast
service, and continued under Bainbridge s orders, until
May, 1810, when he left her, again to return to a mer
chant vessel.

On this occasion Bainbridge went into the Baltic.
On his way to St. Petersburg, a Danish cruiser took
him, and carried him into Copenhagen. Here, his first
thought was of his old friend Nissen. Within half an
hour, the latter was with him, and it is a coincidence
worthy of being mentioned, that at the very moment

58 NAVAL BIOGRAPHY.

the benevolent ex-consul heard of Bainbridge s arrival,
lie was actually engaged in unpacking a handsome
silver urn, which had been sent to him, as a memorial of
his own kindness to them, by the late officers of the
Philadelphia.

Through the exertions of this constant friend, Bain-
bridge soon obtained justice, and his ship was released.
He then went up the Baltic. In this trade Capt. Bain-
bridge was induced to continue, until the rencontre oc
curred, between his late ship, the President, and the
British vessel of war, the Little Belt. As soon as ap
prized of this event, he left St. Petersburg, and made
the best of his way to the Atlantic coast, over-land. In
February, 1812, he reached Washington, and reported
himself for service. But no consequences ever followed
the action mentioned, and a period of brief but delusive
calm succeeded, during which few, if any, believed that
war was near. Still it had been seriously contemplated ;
and, it is understood, the question of the disposition of
the navy, in the event of a struggle so serious as one
with Great Britain s occurring, had been gravely agi
tated in the cabinet. To his great mortification, Bain-
bridge learned the opinion prevailed that it would be
expedient to lay up all the vessels ; or, at most, to use
them only for harbor defence. Fortunately, the present
Com. Stewart, an officer several years the junior of
Bainbridge in rank, but one of high moral courage and
of great decision of character, happened to be also at
the seat of government. After a consultation, these
two captains had interviews with the Secretary and
President, and, at the request of the latter, ad
dressed to him such a letter as finally induced a change

BAINBRIDGE. 59

of policy. Had Bainbridge and Stewart never served
their country but in this one act, they would be entitled
to receive its lasting gratitude. Their remonstrances
against belonging to a peace-navy were particularly
pungent ; but their main arguments were solid and
convincing. After aiding in performing this act of vital
service to the corps to which he belonged, Bainbridge
proceeded to Charlestown, Massachusetts, and assumed
the command of the yard.

War was declared on the 18th June, 1812 ; or shortly
after Bainbridge was established at his new post. By
this time death had cleared the list of captains of most
of his superiors. Murray was at the head of the navy,
but too old and infirm for active service. Next to him
stood Rodgers ; James Barron came third, but he was
abroad ; and Bainbridge was the fourth. This circum
stance entitled him to a command afloat, and he got the
Constellation 38, a lucky ship, though not the one he
would have chosen, or the one he might justly have
claimed in virtue of his commission. But the three
best frigates had all gone to sea, in quest of the enemy,
and he was glad to get any thing. A few weeks later,
Hull came in with the Constitution, after performing
two handsome exploits in her, and very generously
consented to give her up, in order that some one else
might have a chance. To this ship Bainbridge was
immediately transferred, and on board her he hoisted
his broad pennant on the loth September, 1812.

The Essex 32, Capt. Porter, and Hornet 18, Capt.
Lawrence, were joined to Bainbridge s orders, and his in
structions were to cruise for the English East India trade,
in the South Atlantic. The Essex was in the Delaware ;

60 NAVAL BIOGRAPHY.

she was directed to rendezvous at the Cape de Verdes,
or on the coast of South America. The Constitution
and Hornet sailed in company, from Boston, on the
26th October. The events of the cruise prevented the
Essex, which ship was commanded by Porter, his old
first lieutenant in the Philadelphia, from joining the
commodore.

The Constitution and Hornet arrived off St. Salvador
on the 13th of December. The latter ship went in, and
found the Bonne Citoyenne, an enemy s cruiser of
equal force, lying in the harbor. This discovery led to
a correspondence which will be mentioned in the life
of Lawrence, and which induced Bainbridge to quit the
offing, leaving the Hornet on the look-out for her enemy.
On the 26th, accordingly, he steered to the southward,
intending to stand along the coast as low as 12 20 S.,
when, about 9, A. M., on the 29th, the ship then being
in 13 6 S. latitude, and 31 W. longitude, or about
thirty miles from the land, she made two strange sail,
inshore and to windward. After a little manoeuvring,
one of the ships closing, while the other stood on to
wards St. Salvador, Bainbridge was .satisfied he had an
enemy s frigate fairly within his reach. This was a
fortunate meeting to occur in a sea where there was
little hazard of finding himself environed by hostile
cruisers, and only sixty-four days out himself from
Boston.

In receiving the Constitution from Hull, Bainbridge
found her with only a portion of her old officers in
her, though the crew remained essentially the same.
Morris, her late first lieutenant, had been promoted,
and was succeeded by George Parker, a gentleman of

BAINBRIDGE. 61

Virginia, and a man of spirit and determination. John
Shubrick and Beekman Hoffman, the first of South
Carolina and the last of New York, two officers who
stood second to none of their rank in the service, were
still in the ship, however, and Alwyn, her late master,
had been promoted, and was now the junior lieutenant.*
In a word, their commander could rely on his officers
and people, and he prepared for action with confidence
and alacrity. A similar spirit seemed to prevail in the
other vessel, which was exceedingly well officered, and,
as it appeared in the end, was extra manned.

At a quarter past meridian, the enemy showed Eng
lish colors. Soon after, the Constitution, which had
stood to the southward to draw the stranger off the land,
hauled up her mainsail, took in her royals, and tacked
toward the stranger. As the wind was light and the
water smooth, the Constitution kept every thing aloft,
ready for use, closing w r ith her enemy with royal yards
across. At 2 P. M. the stranger was about half a mile
to windward of the Constitution, and showed no colors,
except a jack. Bainbridge now ordered a shot fired at
him, to induce him to set an ensign. This order being
misunderstood, produced a whole broadside from the
Constitution, when the stranger showed English colors
again and returned the fire.

This was the commencement of a furious cannon-

* Alas ! how few of the gallant spirits of the late war remain !
Bainbridge is gone. Parker died in command of the Siren, the
next year. John Shubrick was lost in the Epervier, a twelve
month later; and Beekman Hoffman died a captain in 1834;
while Alwyn survived the wounds received in this action but a
few days.

VOL. I. 6

62 NAVAL BIOGRAPHY.

ading, both ships manoeuvring to rake and to avoid
being raked. Very soon after the action commenced,
Bainbridge was hit by a musket ball in the hip ; and,
a minute or two later, a shot came in and carried away
the wheel, and drove a small bolt with considerable
violence into his thigh. Neither injury, however, in
duced him even to sit down; he kept walking the
quarter-deck, and attending to the ship, greatly adding
to the subsequent inflammation, as these foreign sub
stances were lodged in the muscles of his leg, and, in the
end, threatened tetanus. The last injury was received
about twenty minutes after the firing commenced, and
was even of more importance to the ship than the
wound it produced was to her captain. The wheel
was knocked into splinters, and it became necessary
to steer below.* This was a serious evil in the
midst of a battle, and more particularly in an action in
which there was an unusual amount of manoeuvring.
The English vessel, being very strong manned, was

* Some time after the peace of 1815, a distinguished officer of
the English navy visited the Constitution, then just fitted anew at
Boston, for a Mediterranean cruise. He went through the ship

accompanied by Capt. , of our service. " Well, what do you

think of her?" asked the latter, after the two had gone through
the vessel and reached the quarter-deck again. " She is one of
the finest frigates, if not the very finest frigate, I ever put my foot
on board of," returned the Englishman; " but as I must find some
fault, I ll just say that your wheel is one of the clumsiest things

I ever saw, and-is unworthy of the vessel." Capt. laughed,

and then explained the appearance of the wheel to the other, as
follows: "When the Constitution took the Java, the former s
wheel was shot out of her. The Java s wheel was fitted on the
Constitution to steer with, and, although we think it as ugly as
you do, we keep it as a trophy !"

BAINBRIDGE. 63

actively handled, and, sailing better than the Con
stitution in light winds, her efforts to rake produced a
succession of evolutions, which caused both ships to
ware so often, that the battle terminated several miles
to leeward of the point on the ocean where it com
menced.

After the action had lasted some time, Bainbridge
determined to close with his enemy at every hazard.
He set his courses accordingly, and luffed up close to
the wind. This brought matters to a crisis, and the
Englishman, finding the Constitution s fire too heavy,
attempted to run her aboard. His jib-boom did get foul
of the American frigate s mizen rigging, but the end of
his bowsprit being shot away, and his foremast soon
after following, the ships passed clear of each other,
making a lucky escape for the assailants.* The battle

* On the part of the enemy, in the war of words which succeed
ed the war of 1812, it was pretended that the Constitution kept
off in this engagement. Bainbridge, in his official letter, says he
endeavoured to close, at the risk of being raked ; the early loss
of the Constitution s wheel prevented her from manoeuvring as
she might otherwise have done. When a frigate s wheel is gone,
the tiller is worked by tackles, below two decks, and this makes
awkward work ; first, as to the transmission of orders, and next,
and principally, as to the degree of change, the men who do the
work not being able to see the sails. There are two modes of
transmitting the orders ; one by a tube fitted for that express pur
pose, and the other by a line of midshipmen.

But the absurd part of the argument was an attempt to show
that the Constitution captured the Java by her great superiority in
small-arms-men; Kentucky riflemen, of course, of whom, by the
way, there probably was never one in an American ship. This
attempt was made, in connection with a battle in which the de
feated party, too, had every spar, even to her bowsprit, shot out
of her ! All the witnesses on the subsequent court of inquiry ap-

64 NAVAL BIOGRAPHY.

continued some time longer, the Constitution throwing
in several effective raking broadsides, and then falling
alongside of her enemy to leeward. At length, finding
her adversary s guns silenced and his ensign down,
Bainbridge boarded his tacks again, luffed up athwart
the Englishman s bows, and got a position ahead
and to windward, in order to repair damages ; actually
coming out of the battle as he had gone into it, with
royal yards across, and every spar, from the highest
to the lowest, in its place ! The enemy presented a
singular contrast. Stick after stick had been shot out
of him, as it might be, inch by inch too, until nothing,
but a few stumps, was left. All her masts were gone,
the foremast having been shot away twice, once near
the cat-harpings, and again much nearer to the deck ;
the main-topmast had come down some time before the
mainmast fell. The bowsprit, as has been said, was
shot away at the cap. After receiving these damages,
the enemy did not wait for a new attack, but as soon as
the Constitution came round, with an intention to cross

pear to have been asked about this musketry, and the answer of
the boatswain is amusing.

Question. " Did you suffer much from musketry on the fore
castle?"

Answer. " Yes ; and likewise from round and grape."
Another absurdity was an attempt to show (see James, Ap. p. 12)
that the Java would have carried the Constitution had her men
boarded. The Constitution s upper deck was said to be deserted,
as if her people had left it in apprehension of their enemies. Not
a man left his station in the ship, that day, except under orders,
and so far from caring about the attempt to board, they ridiculed it.
The Java was very bravely fought, beyond a question, but the
Constitution took her, and came out of the action with royal yards

BAINBRIDGE.

65

her fore-foot, he lowered a jack which had been flying
at the stump of his mizenmast.*

* The following diagram will aid the reader in his view of the
movements of the two vessels, during the engagement.

Wind N. E.

ufl W

?

Hour 2.10.

e -

J I
3

S i

66 NAVAL BIOGRAPHY.

The ship Bainbridge captured was the Java 38, Capt.
Lambert. The Java was a French built ship that had
been captured some time previously, under the name of
La Renommee, in those seas where lies the island after
which she was subsequently called. She mounted 49
carriage guns, and had a sufficient number of supernu
meraries on board to raise her complement at quarters
to something like 400 souls. Of these the English ac
counts admit that 124 were killed and wounded; though
Bainbridge thought her loss was materially greater. It
is said a muster-list was found in the ship, that was dated
five days after the Java left England, and which con
tained 446 names. From these, however, was to be
deducted the crew for a prize she had taken ; the ship
in company when made the day of the action. Capt.
Lambert died of his wounds ; but there was a master
and commander on board, among the passengers, and
the surviving first lieutenant was an officer of merit.

In addition to the officers and seamen who were in
the Java, as passengers, were Lieutenant-General Hislop
and his staff, the former of whom was going to Bombay
as governor. Bainbridge treated these captives with
great liberality and kindness, and after destroying his
prize for want of means to refit her, he landed all his
prisoners, on parole, at St. Salvador.

In this action the Constitution had nine men killed
and twenty-five men wounded. She was a good deal
cut up in the rigging, and had a few spars injured, but
considering the vigour of the engagement and the
smoothness of the water, she escaped with but little in
jury. There is no doubt that she was a heavier ship
than her adversary, but the difference in the batteries

BAINBRIDGE. 67

was less than appeared by the nominal calibres of the
guns ; the American shot, in that war, being generally
of light weight, while those of the Java, by some ac
counts, were French.

It has been said that Bainbridge disregarded his own
wounds until the irritation endangered his life. His
last injury must have been received about half-past two,
and he remained actively engaged on deck until 11
o clock at night ; thus adding the irritation of eight
hours of exertion to the original injuries. The conse
quences were some exceedingly threatening symptoms,
but skilful treatment subdued them, when his recovery
was rapid.

An interesting interview took place between Bain-
bridge and Lambert, on the quarter-deck of the Consti
tution, after the arrival of the ship at St. Salvador.
The English captain was in his cot, and Bainbridge
approached, supported by two of his own officers, to
take his leave, and to restore the dying man his sword.
This interview has been described as touching, and as
leaving kind feelings between the parting officers. Poor
Lambert, an officer of great merit, died a day or two
afterwards.

The Constitution now returned home for repairs, being
very rotten. She reached Boston, February 27, 1813,
after a cruise of only four months and one day. Bain
bridge returned in triumph, this time, and, if his coun
trymen had previously manifested a generous sympa
thy in his misfortunes, they now showed as strong a
feeling in his success. Tho victor was not more
esteemed for his courage and skill than for the high

68 NAVAL BIOGRAPHY.

and chivalrous courtesy and liberality with which he
had treated his prisoners.

Bainbridge gave up the Constitution on his return
home, and resumed the command of the yard at Charles-
town, where the Independence 74 was building, a vessel
he intended to take, when launched. Here he remained
until the peace, that ship not being quite ready to go
out when the treaty was signed. In the spring of 1815,
a squadron was sent to the Mediterranean, under Deca-
tur, to act against the Dey of Algiers, and Bainbridge
followed, as command er-in-chief, in the Independence,
though he did not arrive until his active predecessor
had brought the war to a successful close. On this oc
casion, Bainbridge had under his orders the largest naval
force that had then ever been assembled under the
American flag ; from eighteen to twenty sail of efficient
cruisers being included in his command. In November,
after a cruise of about five months, he returned to New
port, having one ship of the line, two frigates, seven
brigs, and three schooners in company. Thus he car
ried to sea the first two-decker that ever sailed under
the American flag ; the present Capt. Bolton being his
first lieutenant. During this cruise, Com. Bainbridge
arranged several difficulties with the Barbary powers,
and in all his service, he maintained the honor and
dignity of his flag and of his command.

Bainbridge now continued at Boston several years,
with his pennant flying in the Independence, as a guard
ship . In the autu mn of 1 8 1 9, however, he was detached
once more, for the purpose of again commanding in
the Mediterranean. This was the fifth time in which

BAINBRIDGE. 69

he had been sent into that sea ; three times in command
of frigates, and twice at the head of squadrons. The
Columbus 80, an entirely new ship, was selected for his
pennant, and he did not sail until April, 1820, in conse
quence of the work that it was necessary to do on board
her. The Columbus reached Gibraltar early in June.
This was an easy and a pleasant cruise, one of the ob
jects being to show the squadron in the ports of the
Mediterranean, in order to impress the different nations
on its coast with the importance of respecting the mari
time rights of the republic. Bainbridge had a strong
desire to show his present force, the Columbus in par
ticular, before Constantinople, whither he had been
sent twenty years before, against his wishes, but a firman
could not be procured to pass the castles with so heavy
a ship. After remaining out about a year, Bainbridge
was relieved, and returned home, the principal objects
of his cruise having been effected.

This was Bainbridge s last service afloat. He had
now made ten cruises in the public service, had com
manded a schooner, a brig, five frigates and two line-of-
battle ships, besides being at the head of three different
squadrons, and it was thought expedient to let younger
officers gain some experience. Age did not induce
him to retire, for he was not yet fifty ; but others had
claims on the country, and his family had claims on
himself.

Although unemployed afloat, Bainbridge continued
diligently engaged in the service, generally of the re
public and of the navy. He was at Charlestown a
favourite station with him for some time, and then was
placed at the head of the board of navy commissioners.

70 NAVAL BIOGRAPHY.

at Washington. After serving his three years in the
latter station, he had the Philadelphia yard. Bainbridge
had removed his family twenty-six times, in the course
of his different changes, and considering himself as a
Delaware seaman, he now determined to establish him
self permanently in the ancient capital of the country.
An unpleasant collision with the head of the depart
ment, however, forced him from his command in 1831 ;
but, the next year, he was restored to the station at
Charlestown. His health compelled him to give up this
station in a few months, and his constitution being broken,
he returned to his family in Philadelphia, in the month of
March, 1832, only to die. His disease was pneumonia,
connected with great irritation of the bowels and a
wasting diarrhoea. As early as in January, 1833, he was
told that his case was hopeless, when he manifested a
calm and manly resignation to his fate. He lived,
however, until the 28th of July, when he breathed his
last, aged fifty-nine years, two months and twenty-one
days. An hour or two previously to his death, his mind
began to wander, and not long before he yielded up his
breath, he raised all that was left of his once noble
frame, demanded his arms, and ordered all hands called
to board the enemy !

Bainbridge married, in the early part of his career, a
lady of the West Indies, of the name Hyleger. She
was the grand-daughter of a former governor of St.
Eustatia, of the same name. By this lady he had five
children who grew up ; a son and four daughters. The
son was educated to the bar ; was a young man of much
promise, but he died a short time previously to his
father. Of the daughters, one married a gentleman of

WIMiDAm

iH>

BAINBRIDGE. 71

the name of Hayes, formerly of the navy ; another
married Mr. A. G. Jaudon, of Philadelphia, and a third
is now the wife of Henry K. Hoff, a native of Penn
sylvania, and a sea-lieutenant in the service, of eleven
years standing. He left his family in easy circum
stances, principally the result of his own prudence,
forethought, gallantry, and enterprise.

At the time of his death, Commodore Bainbridge
stood third in rank, in the American navy ; having a
long list of captains beneath him. Had justice been done
to this gallant officer, to the service to which he be
longed, or even to the country, whose interests are alone
to be efficiently protected by a powerful marine, he
would have worn a flag some years before the termina
tion of his career. Quite recently a brig of war has
received his name, in that service which he so much
loved, and in which he passed the best of his days.

Com. Bainbridge was a man of fine and commanding
personal appearance. His stature was about six feet,
and his frame was muscular and of unusually good
proportions. His face was handsome, particularly in
youth, and his eye uncommonly animated and piercing.
In temperament he was ardent and sanguine ; but cool
in danger, and of a courage of proof. His feelings
were vehement, and he was quickly roused ; but, gene
rous and brave, he was easily appeased. Like most
men who are excitable, but who are firm at bottom, he
was the calmest in moments of the greatest responsi
bility.* He was hospitable, chivalrous, magnanimous,

* A singular proof how far the resolution of Bainbridge could
overcome his natural infirmities, was connected with a very melan
choly affair. When Decatur fought the duel in which he fell, he

72 NAVAL BIOGRAPHY.

and a firm friend. His discipline was severe, but he
tempered it with much consideration for the wants and
health of his crews. Few served with him who did
not love him, for the conviction that his heart was right,
was general among all who knew him. There was a
cordiality and warmth in his manner, that gained him
friends, and those who knew him best, say he had the
art of keeping them.

A shade was thrown over the last years of the life
of this noble-spirited man by disease. His sufferings
drove him to the use of antispasmodics, to an extent
which deranged the nerves. This altered his mood so
much as to induce those who did not know him well to
imagine that his character had undergone the change..
This was not the case, however; to his dying hour
Bainbridge continued the warm-hearted friend, the
chivalrous gentleman, and the devoted lover of his
country s honor and interests.

selected his old commander and friend, Bainbridge, to accompany
him to the field. Bainbridge had a slight natural impediment in
his speech, which sometimes embarrassed his utterance ; especially
when any thing excited him. On such occasions, he usually be
gan a sentence "un-fer" "un-er," or "un-Zo," and then he
managed to get out the beginning of what he had to say. On the
sad occasion alluded to, the word of command was to be " Fire
one, two, three ;" the parties firing between " Fire" and " three."
Bainbridge won the toss, and was to give the word. It then oc
curred to one of the gentlemen of the other side that some accident
might arise from this peculiarity of Bainbridge s "one two 11
sounding so much like " un-fer." and he desired that the whole
order might be rehearsed before it was finally acted. This was
done; but Bainbridge was perfectly cool, and no mistake was
made.

RICHARD SOMERS.

FEW men in this country have left names as distin
guished as that of Somers, around whose personal history
there remains so much doubt. Had he not given up
his life in the service of his country, he would most
probably have now been living, in a green old age.
While many of his friends and shipmates still survive
to bear testimony to his bravery and his virtues, yet no
one seems to possess the precise information that is
necessary to a full and accurate biographical sketch of
more than his public services. The same mystery that
has so long clothed the incidents of his death, appears
to have gathered about those of his early life, veiling the
beginning and the end equally in a sad and uncertain
interest.

The family of Somers emigrated from England to
America in the early part of the eighteenth century,
establishing itself at Great Egg Harbor, Gloucester
county, New Jersey. Here the emigrant became the
proprietor of a considerable landed property, most of
which still remains in the hands of his descendants, the
place bearing the name of Somers Point. This Point
forms the southeastern extremity of the county, being
separated from that of Cape May merely by the Harbor.
Gordon, in his Gazetteer of New Jersey, thus describes
the spot, viz.: "Somers Point, post-office and port of

VOL. i. 7 73

74 NAVAL BIOGRAPHY.

entry for Great Egg Harbor district, upon the Great Egg
Harbor bay, about 43 miles S. E. from Woodbury, 88
from Trenton, and, by post-route, 196 from Washington.
There is a tavern and boarding-house here v and several
farm-houses. It is much resorted to for sea-bath incr in

O

summer, and gunning in the fall season."

It is believed that the Christian name of the emigrant
was John, and as this was also the baptismal designation
of the celebrated jurist, who came from the middle class
of society, the circumstances, taken in connection with
the fact that the family was known to have been respect
able in England, leaves the strong probability that the
parties had a common origin. At all events, this John
Somers, by his possessions, and position, must have
been of a condition in life much superior to the great
body of the emigrants to the American colonies. Report
makes him a man of strong English habits and charac
ter, while there is a tradition among his descendants of
the existence of a mother, or of a mother-in-law, who
was of French extraction, and a native of Acadie. This
person may have been the mother of the wife of the
emigrant, however ; but the circumstance is not without
interest, when it is remembered that the regretted
Somers ^himself, like his intimate friend Decatur, had
more of the physical appearance of one descended from
a French stock, than of one who was derived from a
purely Anglo-Saxon ancestry.

The property at Somers Point descended princi
pally, if not entirp y, to the two sons of the emigrant,
John and Richard. John, the eldest, lived and died on
the estate, where his descendants are still to be found.
Richard, the youngest, married Sophia Stillwell, of the

RICHARD SOMERS. 75

same part of his native province, by whom he had three
children, Constant, Sarah, and Richard.

Constant Somers married Miss Learning, of Cape
May county, and died young, leaving a son and a
daughter. The former, who bore his father s name,
was accidentally killed at Cronstadt, in Russia, while
yet a youth, and the daughter married a gentleman of
the name of Corsen, also of Cape May county, and has
issue. These children are the only descendants, in the
third generation, of Richard Somers, the second son of
the emigrant.

Sarah Somers married Captain Keen, of Philadelphia,
and still survives as his widow, but has no children.
Richard, the youngest child, is the subject of our
memoir.

Richard Somers, the elder, would seem to have been
a man of considerable local note. He was a colonel of
the militia, a judge of the county court, and his name
appears among those of the members from his native
county in the Provincial Congress, for the year 1775 ;
though it would seem that he did not take his seat.
Col. Somers was an active w r hig in the Revolution, and
was much employed, in the field and otherwise, more
especially during the first years of the great struggle
for national existence. His influence, in the part of
New Jersey where he resided, was of sufficient import
ance to render him particularly obnoxious to the attacks
of the tories, who were in the practice of seizing promi
nent whigs, and of carrying them within the British
lines ; and Great Egg Harbor being much exposed to
descents from the side of the sea, Col. Somers was
induced to remove to Philadelphia with his family, for

76 NAVAL BIOGRAPHY.

protection. As this removal must have been made
after the town was evacuated by Sir Henry Clinton, it
could not have taken place earlier than the summer of
1778 ; and there is good reason for thinking it occurred
two or three seasons later. Here Col. Somers remained
for several years, or nearly down to the period of his
death.

Richard Somers, the son of Richard, and the grandson
of the emigrant, it is believed was born in 1779, and it
is known that his birth took place prior to the removal
of his parents to Philadelphia. As his father was born
November 24, 1737, it determines two facts : first, that
the family must have emigrated at least as early as
1730, if not some years earlier ; and, secondly, that
Col. Somers had reached middle age when his distin
guished and youngest child drew his earliest breath.
Somers first went to school in Philadelphia, and was
subsequently sent to Burlington, where there was an
academy of some merit for the period. At the latter
place the boy continued until near the time of the death
of his father, if not quite down to the day of that event.

Col. Somers died in 1793 or 1794 ; two records of his
death existing, one of which places it in the former, and
the other in the latter year.

There is even some uncertainty thrown around the
precise period when Somers first went to sea. His
nearest surviving relative is of opinion that he had
never entered upon the profession when he joined the
navy ; but this opinion is met by the more precise
knowledge of one of his shipmates in the frigate in
which he first served, who affirms that the young man
was a very respectable seamen on coming on board

RICHARD SOMERS. 77

The result of our inquiries is to convince us that
Somers must have gone to sea somewhere about the
year 1794, or shortly after the death of his father, and
when he himself was probably between fifteen and six
teen years of age. The latter period, indeed^ agrees
with that named by the relative mentioned, as his age
when he went to sea, though it is irreconcilable with
the date of the equipment of the man-of-war he first
joined, and that of his own warrant in the navy. From
the best information in our possession, therefore, we are
led to believe that the boy sailed, first as a hand and
then as a mate, if not as master, on board a coaster,
owned by some one of his own family, of which more
than one plied between Great Egg Harbor and the ports
of New York and Philadelphia. This accords, too,
with his known love of adventure and native resolution,
as well as with his orphan condition ; though he inhe
rited from his father a respectable property, including a
portion of the original family estate, as well as of lands
in the interior of Pennsylvania.

In his boyhood and youth, Somers was remarkable
for a chivalrous sense of honor, great mildness of man
ner and disposition, all mingled with singular firmness
of purpose. His uncle, John Somers, who was the
head of the family, and as such maintained an authority
that was more usual in the last century than it is to-day,
is described as an austere man, who was held in great
awe by his relative^, and who was accustomed to meet
with the greatest preference amongst his kindred, not
only for all his commands, but for most of his opinions.
The firmness and decision shown by his nephew,
Richard, however, in a controversy about a dog, in

7*

78 NAVAL BIOGRAPHY.

which the uncle was wrong and the boy right, are said
to have astonished the whole family, and to have created
a profound respect in the senior for the junior, that con
tinued as long as the two lived. Richard could not
have been more than twelve when this little incident
occurred.

Somers received his warrant as a midshipman in the
spring of 1798. This was, virtually, at the commence
ment of the present navy, the Ganges 24, Capt. Dale,
the first vessel that got out, being ordered to sea May
22d of that year. The Ganges was soon followed by
the Constellation 38, and Delaware 20, the three ships
cruising on the coast to prevent the depredations com
mitted by French privateers. The next vessel out was
the United States 44, bearing the broad pennant of Com.
John Barry, the senior, officer of the service. To this
vessel Somers was attached, making his first cruise in
her.

The United States was then, as now, one of the finest
frigates that floats. Equipped in Philadelphia, then the
capital of the country, and the centre of American civili
zation, and commanded by an experienced and excellent
officer, no young man could have commenced his pro
fessional career under more favorable auspices than was
the case with Somers. The ship had for lieutenants,
Ross 1st, Mullowney 2d, Barron 3d, and Stewart 4th.
The two latter are now the senior officers of the service.
Among his messmates in the steerage, Somers had for
friends and associates Decatur and Caldwell, both Phila-
delphians. It is a proof that Somers had been previously
to sea, that, on joining this ship, he was named as mas
ter s mate of the hold, a situation uniformly given, in

RICHARD SOME RS. 79

that day, to the most experienced and trust-worthy of
the midshipmen. It was while thus associated, that
the close connection was generated between Somers and
Decatur, which, for the remainder of their joint lives,
rendered them generous professional rivals and fast per
sonal friends.

The United States sailed on her first cruise early in
July, 1798, going to the eastward, where she collected
a small squadron, that had come out of the ports of New
England, and with which she soon after proceeded to
the West Indies. She remained cruising in those seas
for the remainder of the year, as the commanding
vessel ; Com. Barry having collected a force of some
twenty sail under his orders by the commencement of
winter. Shortly after Mr. Ross left the ship, and
Messrs. Mullowney and Barren were promoted. This
occurred in the spring of 1799, when Mr. Stewart be
came 1st lieutenant of the frigate, Mr. Edward Meade
2d, Somers 3d, and Decatur 4th. Thus the service of
Somers, as a midshipman, could not have exceeded a
twelvemonth : conclusive evidence of his having been
at sea previously to joining the navy, were any other
testimony required than that of his shipmates. In the
autumn of 1799, the United States sailed from New
port, Rhode Island, for Lisbon, having on board, as
commissioners to the French Republic, the gentlemen
who subsequently arranged the terms of peace. It is
probable that Somers, whose previous experience had
been in the American seas, crossed the Atlantic for the
first time in this cruise. Mr. Stewart being placed in
command of the Experiment 12, in the year 1800,
Somers ended the war as second lieutenant of the ship

80 NAVAL BIOGRAPHY.

he had joined as a midshipman about three years
before.

The war of 1798 allowed but few opportunities for
officers to distinguish themselves. But two frigate
actions were fought, and, singularly enough, on the
side of the Americans, both fell to the share of the
same commander and the same ship, Truxtun and the
Constellation ; leaving nothing but vigilant watchful
ness and activity to the lot of most of the other officers
and vessels. While the United States had no chance
for earning laurels, she was always a model cruiser for
discipline and seamanship, and the young men who
served in her during the quasi-war, had no grounds of
complaint on the score of either precept or example.
They had been in an excellent school, and the " Old
Wagoner," as this vessel was afterwards called, turned
out as many distinguished officers as any vessel of the
day.

At the formation of the peace establishment, in 1801,
Somers was retained as the twelfth lieutenant, in a list
that then presented only thirty-six officers of that rank.
The rapid promotion which marked the first few years
of the existence of the present marine, belongs to the
history of the day, and must be ascribed to the occur
rence of two wars in quick succession, and to the wants
of an infant service. The list alluded to forms a sub
ject of melancholy and yet proud interest to every
American who is familiar with this branch of the re
public s annals. It is headed by the name of Charles
Stewart, and closes with that of Jacob Jones. Hull,
Shaw, Chauncy and Smith precede Somers on this list ;
Decatur stands next to him ; and Dent, Porter, the

RICHARD SOMERS. 81

elder Cassin, Gordon and Caldwell follow. A long list
of names that have since become distinguished, in
cluding those of JVTDonough, Lawrence, the younger
Biddle, Perry, the younger Cassin, Trippe, Allen,
Burrows, Blakely, Downes, Crane, Morris, Ridgely,
Warrington, the elder Wadsworth, &c. &c., was then
to be found among the midshipmen. Not a name be
low that of the seventeenth captain of the present day
(Woodhouse) was then to be found in the navy regis
ter at all ; that of Sloat, now the thirty-third captain,
having lost its place in consequence of a resignation.
When Commodores Stewart and Hull examine the
present register, they find on it but eleven names, be
sides their own, that were there even when they were
made commanders. They both remain captains them
selves to this hour !

The United States was laid up in ordinary at the
peace of 1801, and there was this noble frigate suffered
to remain, until she was again commissioned for the
coast service, a few months previously to the war of
1813. Among the vessels that were built to meet the
emergency of the French struggle, was a frigate called
the Boston, a vessel that it was usual then to rate as a
thirty-two, but which was properly a twenty-eight,
* carrying only twenty-four twelves on her gun-deck.
This little ship had fought a spirited action with a
heavy French corvette called the Bercean, in the war
that had just terminated, and had brought in her an
tagonist. This circumstance rendered her a favourite,
and she was kept in commission at the termination of
hostilities, under the command of Captain Daniel
M Niell, an officer of whose eccentricities there will be

82 NAVAL BIOGRAPHY.

occasion to speak, when we come to the record of his
extraordinary career. Somers, on quitting the United
States, was transferred to the Boston as her first lieu
tenant. The ship sailed from New York in the sum
mer of 1801, for L Orient, in France, having on board
Chancellor Livingston and suite, the newly appointed
legation to that country. After landing the minister,
the Boston proceeded to the Mediterranean. The
cruise of this ship was remarkable for its entire inde
pendence. Capt. M Niell had been ordered to join the
Mediterranean squadron, then under the pennant of
Com. Dale ; and, although he was in that sea during
parts of the commands of that officer and his successor,
Com. Morris, he so successfully eluded both as never
to fall in with them ; or if he met the latter at all, it
was only for a moment, and near the end of his own
cruise. Capt. M Niell, notwithstanding, wanted for
neither courage nor activity. He visited many ports,
gave frequent convoys, and even w r ent off Tripoli, the
scene of the war ; but, from accident or design, all
this was so timed as to destroy every thing like concert
and combination. In this cruise Somers had an oppor
tunity of seeing many of the ports of Italy, Spain, and
the islands, and doubtless he acquired much of that
self-reliance and experience which are so necessary tq
a seaman, in his responsible station of a first lieutenant.
He was then a very young man, not more than twenty-
three ; and this was a period of life when such oppor
tunities were of importance. Nor does he seem to
have neglected them, as all of his contemporaries speak
of his steadiness of character, good sense, and amiable,
correct deportment, with affection and respect. The

RICHARD SOMERS. 83

Boston returned home at the close of 1802, when Capt.
M Nieil retired from the service, under the reduction
law, and the ship was laid up, never to be employed
again. The commander subsequently returned to the
seas, in the revenue service, but the frigate lay rotting
at Washington, until she was burned at the inroad of
the enemy, in 1814, a worthless hulk.

At the reduction of the navy in 1801, but one
vessel below the rate of a frigate, the Enterprise 12,
was retained in the marine. Most of the sloops that
had been used in the French war were clumsy