Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

1811. upon the european world the american flag owes so much of its glory.

If we consider, that it is only to add about four feet to the extreme breadth of the President, to make her a larger ship than the generality of british 74s, and that her yards are as square, and her masts as stout as theirs, some idea may be formed of the size and formidable appearance of the american Stout 44-gun frigate. In point of scantling, also, that scant which is acknowledged to be the lightest built of these frigates is at least equal to a british 74 of the largest class. This is proved by taking the thickness of the 44s. topsides at the midship maindeck, and foremost quarterdeck, port-sill. In the President, the maindeck port-sill measures 1 ft. 8 in., and, in any british 74 of 1800 tons, 1 ft. 7 in.; and, while in the latter the quarterdeck port-sill measures only 1 ft. 1 in., it measures in the former 1 ft. 5 inches.

ling of

the

ame

rican

Some

1

.account of

arma

Now for the armament of these 44-gun frigates. Having had ocular proof of the manner in which the President was fitted, we shall take her for our guide. their This beautiful ship has, or rather had, for she has ment. long since been taken to pieces, 15 ports and a bridle of a side on the main deck, eight of a side on the quarterdeck, and four of a side, without reckoning the chase-port, on the forecastle. This gave the ship 54 ports for broadside guns; but she had the means of mounting 62 broadside guns. For instance, instead of her gangway, or passage from the forecastle to the quarterdeck, being of the usual width of four or five feet, it was ten feet. This deviation from the common plan was to allow room for the carriage and slide of a 42-pounder carronade; and a novel and very ingenious method was adopted, to obviate the necessity of uniting the quarterdeck and forecastle barricades, or bulwarks, and consequently of destroying that single-decked appearance which, for the purpose of deception, it was necessary to maintain. Between the two barricades the same open or untimbered space remained, as is seen in any

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

Gang

other frigate; but the stanchions for supporting 1811. the hammock-cloths were of extraordinary stoutness, and so arranged along the gangway as to form way ports for four guns. The breechings were to pass guns. round the iron stanchions, chocks were fitted to the deck to receive the carriages, and the guns could be as effectively mounted as any in the ship.

[ocr errors]

We formerly doubted if these eight gangway guns were put on board the President or either of her class-mates; but it has been asserted by british officers, who visited some of the large american frigates during the war with Tripoli, that they at that time mounted guns along the whole extent of their spar-decks. If so, the ships probably landed them upon the return of peace with the Barbary states. The ships were then found to work so much better, that it was decided, we believe, not to supply these eight singularly constructed ports with guns, but merely to add two carronades to the 54 guns, which the ship could mount in the regular way. This was done by fitting the gangway or entrance port to receive a carronade; making nine of a side on the quarterdeck. So that the american 44-gun frigate mounted, along Ac with her 30 long 24-pounders on the main deck, ledged18 carronades, 42-pounders, on the quarterdeck, one and six carronades, 42-pounders, and two long of the 24-pounders on the forecastle; total 56 guns. This is the number invariably assigned as the force of each of the three "44-gun frigates" in Mr. Clark's american Naval History.*

know

force

44.

of guns

on

each

The maindeck guns of the United-States were Weight english sea-service guns, measuring nine feet and a half in length, and weighing about 50 cwt. Those of board the Constitution were english land-service, or battery frigate. guns, in length 10 feet, and in weight about 54 cwt.; but the guns of the President were of american manufacture, measuring eight and a half feet, and weighing only 48 cwt. We may here mention that, although *Clark's Naval History of the United States. vol. i. p. 171, and vol. ii. p. 22.

1811. the four masked or gangway ports were left vacant, a case might occur, in which they would be of essential benefit. For instance, suppose the ship to be attacked in port, and to be moored in such a manner as to be only assailable on her outer side: she could easily transfer from the opposite side four of her carronades, and thus present a broadside force of 32, or, admitting that some inconvenience would arise from the closeness of the aftermost of those four guns to the temporary gun in the gangway port, of 31, heavy guns.

Com

ment

For the purpose of showing that, if the President ple- and her two formidable class-mates had been equipped of men with the whole of the 62 guns which they were carried constructed to carry, they would have required no by the ameri- addition to their established complement of men, can 44, we will state a few facts relative to the composition

of american crews. When, in the year 1794, the Americans began arming against the Algerines, the following were ordered to be the proportions, in which the different ratings or classes of a crew of 370 men were to bear to each other: officers and petty officers 66, able seamen 150, ordinary seamen 100, marines 54. Here, be it observed, are wanted two ratings, either of which usually forms no inconsiderable proportion of a british crew, landmen and boys. In later years, however, a few boys or lads were admitted; and, estimating the crew of an american 44-gun frigate at 475 men and boys, we may venture to give the following as its organization: officers and petty officers 80, able seamen 180, ordinary seamen 145, marines 65, boys 5. But, in reality, the distinction between the able and the ordinary seaman was merely nominal, the fastidiousness of the american government requiring the latter to be nearly equal in qualifications to the former. Nor was it enough to be a practised seaman: the volunteer must also, in age, stature, and bodily vigour, be able to stand the test of the strictest scrutiny.

british

While, therefore, the officers, or the greater part of 1811. them, were native Americans, the petty officers con- May. sisted, almost wholly, of the first order of british Bulk of seamen; of whom, also, the bulk of the crew was crew composed. Owing to the absence of any restraint seamen similar to that imposed by the game-laws of England, the american peasant is a sportsman from his infancy. Hence, the marines consisted of native Americans not only as being the best marksmen, especially with the rifle, but because the british marine corps, to its credit, afforded very few deserters. It may now be understood what is meant, when it is stated, that an american ship of war is manned with a picked crew.

[ocr errors]

;

count

can 36

Having now, as we trust, clearly shown, that Acthose who called the american 44-gun frigate a of the "line-of-battle ship in disguise," did not commit amerithe gross mistake with which they were charged, gun we shall offer a word or two on the subject of the frigate. american 36-gun frigate. Even here was a frigate more than equal to any french or english frigate of the largest class, carrying long 18-pounders; and, be it remembered, in the year 1811, France did not own any, and England only three frigates, (Cornwallis, Indefatigable, and Endymion,) that carried long 24-pounders. Upon a certain occasion, which will soon pass in order of detail, the Americans loudly proclaimed, that the Chesapeake was the very worst frigate they possessed. The Chesapeake was a 36-gun frigate, and, as we have elsewhere shown, had the ports for mounting on her two broadsides 54 guns.* For a short time, we believe, the ship did mount that number of guns, with a crew of about 440 men. Besides the Constellation and Chesapeake, built in 1797, there were the Congress and NewYork, built in 1799. Had the Americans possessed no stronger frigates than the heaviest of these, Europeans would not have been so surfeited with tales of american naval prowess.

On the 10th of May, 1811, the United States' 44-gun frigate President, captain Charles Ludlow,

[blocks in formation]

frigate

for sea.

The

reason.

1811. bearing the broad pendant of commodore John Rodgers, with sails unbent, and the principal part Prési→ of her officers on shore, lay moored off Annapolis dent in the Chesapeake; when, at 3 P. M., the commodore gets came unexpectedly on board, and immediately all ready hands went to work bending sails and getting the ship ready for sea, The surgeon, too, began preparing his plasters and splinters, and rubbing up his instruments of amputation; rather an extraordinary occupation on board a neutral frigate. All this bustle and preparation was not, however, without an object. On the 1st of the month, in the forenoon, the british 38-gun frigate Guerrière, captain Samuel John Pechell, cruising off Sandy-Hook, boarded the american brig Spitfire, from Portland bound to NewYork, and impressed out of her a man named John Deguyo, a passenger and a native citizen of the United States. The Guerrière had also impressed, or did shortly afterwards impress, from vessels that she boarded off the coast, two other native american citizens, Gideon Caprian and Joshua Leeds. That John Deguyo was a native american, or, at all events, that he was not a british subject, is clear from the circumstance, that on the 12th of June the Guerrière discharged him into the british 18-gun ship-sloop Gorée, captain Henry Dilkes Byng; and, on the 30th, the latter put him on board an american ship for a passage to the United States. Caprian was also discharged, but not Leeds, because he had entered.

The Spitfire arrived at New-York on the same day, or the day after, Deguyo had been pressed out of her; and the occurrence, within five or six days at the farthest, must have been known at Orders Washington. The written orders to commodore given Rodgers were probably, as Mr. Secretary Munroe mo- asserts, to protect the coast and commerce of the United States;" but the officers who arrived from gers. Washington on the 11th of May, to join their ship, must have brought some verbal orders of a more particular nature; for one of the President's officers,

dore

Rod

66

« AnteriorContinuar »