Four American Naval Heroes - free ebook by Mabel Borton Beebe

FOUR AMERICAN NAVAL HEROES

Paul Jones Oliver H. Perry Admiral Farragut Admiral Dewey A BOOK FOR YOUNG AMERICANS By MABEL BORTON BEEBE WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY JAMES BALDWIN WERNER SCHOOL BOOK COMPANY NEW YORK CHICAGO BOSTON...

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INTRODUCTION.

Four times in the history of our country has the American navy achieved renown and won the gratitude of the nation. These four times correspond, of course, to the four great wars that we have had; and with the mention of each the name of a famous hero of the sea is at once brought to mind. What would the Revolution have been without its Paul Jones; or the War of 1812, without its Perry? How differently might the Civil War have ended but for its Farragut; and the Spanish War, but for its Dewey! T

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I.—The Little Scotch Lad.

Many years ago there lived, in the southwestern part of Scotland, on the beautiful bay called Solway Firth, a gentleman whose name was Mr. Craik. In Scotland, a large farm is called an estate. Mr. Craik named his estate Arbigland. His large house stood high on the shore overlooking the sea. The lawn sloped gradually to the firth. Mr. Craik's gardener, John Paul, lived in a cottage on the estate. Mr. Craik was very fond of John Paul, for he worked well. He made the grounds like a beautiful park,

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II.—The Young Sailor.

At that time the trip across the Atlantic could not be made as quickly as now. There were no steamships, and the sailing vessels had, of course, to depend upon the wind to carry them to their destination. It was several months before the Friendship anchored at the mouth of the Rappahannock River. Farther inland, on this river, was the town of Fredericksburg. John Paul's eldest brother, William, lived there. He had left his Scottish home many years before, and had come with his wife to Virginia.

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III.—The Beginning of the American Revolution.

When John Paul visited his brother in Virginia, America was not much like what it is now. Most of the country was an unexplored wilderness, and there was no United States as we know it to-day. Some large settlements, known as colonies, had been made in that part of the country which lies between the Atlantic Ocean and the Alleghany Mountains. Most of the people who lived in these colonies were English, and their governors were appointed by the king of England. Each governor, with the help of a f

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IV.—Lieutenant Paul Jones.

In the year 1773, soon after the trouble with England had begun, John Paul's brother William died in Virginia. He left some money and his plantation, but had made no will to say who should have them. He had no children, and his wife had been dead for years. His father had died the year before, and John was the only one of the family now living who could manage the estate. So he left the sea and went to live on the farm near Fredericksburg, in Virginia. He thought that he would spend the rest of

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V.—The Cruise of the Alfred.

The young lieutenant was now twenty-nine years old. His health was excellent and he could endure great fatigue. His figure was light, graceful, and active. His face was stern and his manner was soldierly. He was a fine seaman and familiar with armed vessels. He knew that the men placed above him in the navy had had less experience than he. But he took the position given him without complaint. When the commander of the Alfred came on board, Paul Jones hoisted the American flag. This was the first

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VI.—Captain Paul Jones.

A short time after this, the American squadron tried to capture a British ship called the Glasgow , but the attempt was not successful. Because of this failure, one of the captains was dismissed from the navy, and the command of his vessel was given to Lieutenant Jones. This vessel was named the Providence . With it and the Alfred , which he also commanded, Captain Jones captured sixteen prizes in six weeks. Among them were cargoes of coal and dry goods. Best of all, he captured an English vesse

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VII.—The Cruise of the Ranger.

When the Ranger sailed out of Boston harbor, the stars and stripes of the American republic waved from the mast head. Paul Jones was the first naval officer to raise this flag. You remember that two years before, on the Alfred , he had first hoisted the pine tree emblem. When Jones with his ship entered Quiberon Bay, in France, the French admiral there saluted the American flag. This was the first time that a foreign country had recognized America as an independent nation. Paul Jones anchored th

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VIII.—The Ranger and the Drake.

An English naval vessel called the Drake was sent out to capture the Ranger . Every one felt sure that she would be successful, and five boatloads of men went out with her to see the fight. When the Drake came alongside of the Ranger , she hailed and asked what ship it was. Paul Jones replied: "The American Continental ship Ranger ! Come on! We are waiting for you!" After a battle of one hour, the Drake surrendered. The captain and forty-two men had been killed, and the vessel was badly injured.

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IX.—The Bon Homme Richard.

One day, when Paul Jones was reading "Poor Richard's Almanac," written by Dr. Franklin, he found a paragraph which set him to thinking. It was: " If you would have your business done, go; if not , SEND ." He sent no more letters, but went at once to the French court and pleaded his case there in person. As a result, he was soon after made commander of a vessel which he named the Bon Homme Richard , which means Poor Richard . He did this out of gratitude to Dr. Franklin. The Bon Homme Richard was

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X.—The Great Fight with the Serapis.

Paul Jones next cruised up and down the eastern coast of England, trying to capture some merchant ships that were bound for London. About noon, on September 23, 1779, he saw not far from the shore an English fleet, sailing from the north. It was convoyed by two new war ships, the Serapis and the Countess of Scarborough . Paul Jones at once signaled to his ships to form in line of battle. Captain Landais disobeyed. The sight of the American squadron seemed to cause confusion in the English fleet.

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XI.—Honor to the Hero.

After this great victory, Paul Jones was everywhere received as a hero. The king of France presented him with a gold sword. He also sent word, through his minister, that, with the consent of Congress, he would make Paul Jones a Knight of the Order of Military Merit. To avoid delay, the gold cross of the order had been sent to the French minister in America, who would present it to Paul Jones when permission to accept it had been received from Congress. The hero traveled about in Holland and Fran

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XII.—The Return to America.

On the 18th of December, 1780, nearly a year after he had received his orders, Jones sailed for America. He arrived in Philadelphia on February 18th, 1781. When Congress inquired into the cause of his long delay, he gave explanations which seemed to be satisfactory. Resolutions of thanks were passed, and permission given to the French minister to present the Cross of Military Merit, which had been sent by the French king. This cross was presented with great ceremony, and it was ever after a sour

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XIII.—Ambitious Hopes.

You remember that, during the war, Captain Landais had sent two valuable ships to Norway, and so caused the loss of much prize money. Denmark had taken these ships, by force, and given them back to England. Paul Jones determined to go to Denmark to try to induce that country to pay for these ships. In November, 1787, he left America for the last time. On the way to Denmark, he stopped in Paris. Here he heard some news which pleased him very much. For some time Russia had been at war with Turkey,

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XIV.—Sad Disappointments.

After a few days in St. Petersburg, Paul Jones hurried on to the Black Sea to take command of his fleet. But he again met with disappointments. He was not given the command of the whole fleet, as he had expected. Instead, he was given only half, Prince Nassau commanding the remainder. Both of these men were under a still higher authority, Prince Potemkin. Potemkin was as fond of glory as was Paul Jones. He and Nassau were both jealous of the foreigner, and Potemkin finally succeeded in having Pa

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I.—How the Perry Family Came to Rhode Island.

A very long time ago, there lived in England a young Quaker whose name was Edmund Perry. At that time the Quakers were much persecuted. They were a quiet and peace-loving people, and would not serve in the army. They had their own religious meetings, and refused to pay money for the support of the Church of England. For these reasons, they were imprisoned, beaten, and driven from their homes. Edmund Perry believed that the Quakers were right, and he could not endure these persecutions. So, in 16

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II.—School Days.

Oliver was a winsome baby and he grew strong and beautiful very fast. Every one loved him, for he thought all strangers were friends, and was never afraid of them. Indeed he was not afraid of anything, for to him there was no danger. We shall see that he kept this same fearlessness all through his life. When he was three years old, he was playing one day with an older child, in the road near his grandfather's house. A man was seen coming rapidly towards them on horseback. The elder child ran out

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III.—Plans for the Future.

About this time some unexpected troubles arose in our country. France and England had been at war for years. The French were anxious that America should join in the quarrel; and when they could not bring this about by persuasion, they tried to use force. French cruisers were sent to the American shores to capture merchant vessels while on their way to foreign ports. You may be sure that this roused the people from one end of the United States to the other. Preparations for war with France were b

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IV.—The Cruise in the West Indies.

In the meantime, the people grew more eager for war. An army had been raised to drive back the French, should they attempt to invade the land. George Washington, though nearly sixty-seven years of age, had been appointed commander in chief of the American forces. In February, 1799, one of the new frigates, the Constellation , under Captain Truxton, defeated and captured a French frigate of equal size. By spring the General Greene was completed, and Captain Perry was ordered to sail for the West

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V.—The War with the Barbary States.

On the northern coast of Africa, bordering on the Mediterranean Sea, are four countries known as the Barbary States. These are Tunis, Algiers, Tripoli, and Morocco. For more than four hundred years, these countries had been making a business of sea-robbery. Their pirate vessels had seized and plundered the ships of other nations, and the captured officers and men were sold into slavery. Instead of resisting these robbers, most of the nations had found it easier to pay vast sums of money to the B

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VI.—More Trouble with England.

While America was having these troubles with the Barbary States, France and England were still at war. Commerce all over the world was affected, and in some cases almost destroyed by this long war. The French emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte, had forbidden all vessels of other nations to enter British ports. The English, in turn, said that no vessel should enter a port of France, or of any country belonging to France. But the Americans had to endure still further injuries from the English. British wa

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VII.—War on the Canadian Border.

Up to this time the English navy had been called the "Mistress of the Seas." England's vessels could be numbered by the hundred, and the crews by the ten thousand. When this war of 1812 was declared, the entire United States navy comprised about half a dozen frigates, and six or eight sloops and brigs. Along the American coast alone the English had seven times this number of war vessels. The first few months of the war were full of naval surprises. In that brief time the Americans captured more

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VIII.—Oliver Perry Builds a Fleet.

In February, 1813, Lieutenant Perry was ordered to go to Lake Erie. He was to take with him, from his gunboats, the men whom he thought best fitted for the service and report to Commodore Chauncey, who was in command of the squadron on Lake Ontario. The American headquarters, on that lake, were at Sacketts Harbor. It was almost impossible to reach the place. From the Hudson River to the shores of Lake Ontario, was a vast wilderness. No road had been cut through it; none but Indians could follow

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IX.—"We Have Met the Enemy and They are Ours."

Early in August the American squadron left the harbor of Erie, and sailed to Put-in-Bay, an island not far from the west end of the lake. The British squadron was in the harbor of Fort Malden, nearly opposite on the Canadian shore. On the morning of September 10, 1813, from the masthead of the Lawrence , the English fleet was seen approaching. As the Americans were sailing out to battle, Lieutenant Perry gathered his men together and talked to them about the courage they would need. He showed th

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X.—What Perry's Victory Accomplished.

The battle on Lake Erie was the beginning of the end of the war. The news of the victory caused great rejoicings all over the country. In all the principal towns there were meetings, bonfires, and torchlight processions. General Harrison could now take his army into Canada. No time was lost. He hurried over four thousand men to the lake, where Perry's fleet waited to take them across. The main body of the British army, under General Proctor and Tecumseh, was at Fort Malden. Upon landing there th

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XI.—On the Mediterranean Again.

While the United States had been at war with England, trouble had again arisen with the Barbary States. None of these countries had been so annoying as Algiers. The ruler, or Dey, of Algiers knew that every American naval vessel was busy fighting the English. He therefore thought this a good time to burn and plunder the merchant ships. He also demanded large sums of money in return for his captured prizes and prisoners. But no sooner was peace concluded with England, than Congress declared war w

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XII.—Captain Perry's Last Cruise.

After so many months of cruising, Captain Perry was very glad to be again in his own country. He spent the next two years quietly at home with his family. He built a snug little cottage in Narragansett, on the old Perry estate. This was the same farm that had been purchased by the young Quaker, Edmund Perry, so many years before. Here the family spent the summers. Captain Perry was always fond of life in the country. He took many long rides on horseback. Besides his horses, he had many other pet

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I.—Childhood.

On July 5, 1801, in a rude cabin in Eastern Tennessee, David Glasgow Farragut was born. It was a wild and lonely place. For miles around the little farm, nothing could be seen but woods. Few sounds could be heard save the singing of birds and sometimes the cries of wild beasts. There was already one child in the family, a boy, whose name was William. George Farragut, the father, was a brave man. He was a Spaniard, and had come to America during the Revolutionary War. He was a lover of liberty, a

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II.—The Little Midshipman.

For a long time England had been at war with France. British men-of-war and privateers were in the habit of attacking any vessel going to or from the ports of France. More than this, the British government claimed the right to search American vessels to see whether any English sailors were on board. Nor was this the worst. Numbers of American seamen were falsely accused of being English deserters, and every year many were taken from their own vessels and forced to serve on British ships. The Ame

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III.—The Loss of the Essex.

One day in the following February, two English war vessels appeared in the harbor of Valparaiso. The Essex was lying quietly at anchor, and many of her crew were on shore. The British vessels bore down upon the Essex in a very hostile manner. Captain Porter was afraid they would attack him. They had no right to do this, for Chili was not at war with either England or America. One of these British vessels was a frigate called the Phoebe . The other was a sloop named the Cherub . The Phoebe approa

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IV.—The Trip on the Mediterranean.

Although a prisoner of war, David Farragut was glad to get back to the United States. While waiting to be exchanged he attended a school in Chester, Pennsylvania. It was a strange school. The pupils had no books. The teacher, Mr. Neif, told them the things he wished them to learn, and the boys wrote them down in notebooks. They would sometimes be examined on these notes to see whether they had paid proper attention. In the afternoons, Mr. Neif would take the boys for long walks. They made collec

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V.—War with the Pirates.

While David Farragut was at a port in the Mediterranean, he was summoned to America to take his examination for the lieutenancy. He was then eighteen years of age. In November, 1820, he arrived in New York, where he passed his examination successfully. He did not receive any appointment, however, for some time, as there were no vacancies in the navy. The next two years were spent with the Porter family at Norfolk, Virginia. In 1822, he sailed for a short time on a sloop of war, that was cruising

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VI.—From Lieutenant to Captain.

In August, 1825, David Farragut at last received his commission as lieutenant. He was ordered on board the ship Brandywine , the vessel which was to have the honor of taking the Marquis de Lafayette to France. This great Frenchman had always been a warm friend of the United States. Fifty years before, he had taken a leading part in the Revolutionary War, and had been one of General Washington's most trusted officers. After the Revolution, he had returned to his home in sunny France. He had alway

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VII.—The Question of Allegiance.

In 1861, at the beginning of the Civil War, the United States navy had but ninety vessels of all kinds. Twenty-one of these were not fit for service. Only eleven of those in commission were in American waters. The rest, which were scattered all over the world, were recalled at once. Some of those in far away ports were commanded by southern captains, and it would take them several months to reach America. It was feared that they would take their vessels into southern ports, and turn them over to

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VIII.—The Capture of New Orleans.

On the 2d of February, 1862, Captain Farragut sailed from Hampton Roads in his flagship, the Hartford . This was one of the new sloops of war having both steam and sails. All the vessels of this expedition were to meet at Ships Island, about one hundred miles from the mouth of the Mississippi. When Captain Farragut arrived there on February 20th, he found only a part of his fleet awaiting him. The other vessels arrived one by one. This was the most powerful squadron that had ever been under an A

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IX.—The Battle of Mobile Bay.

After the capture of New Orleans, Admiral Farragut was ordered at once to proceed up the river. He was to pass, or to attack and capture, all the Confederate forts between New Orleans and Memphis. But for many reasons, he thought it unwise to attempt this expedition. The increasing shallowness of the river would make it almost impossible to use his best sea-going vessels. The upper forts were located on high bluffs, and it would be difficult to attack them from the river. Admiral Farragut knew t

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X.—Well-earned Laurels.

After the surrender of the forts, Farragut remained in Mobile Bay until the following November. His health was suffering from his labors and the effects of the southern climate. At this time, the Navy Department requested him to take command of an expedition against Fort Fisher. This greatly disturbed him, and he wrote to the Secretary of the Navy that his strength was exhausted. "I am willing," he said, "to do the bidding of the government as long as I am able. I fear, however, that my health i

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FOREWORD.

On the 23d of April, 1898, war was declared between the United States and Spain. To understand how this came about, we must go back a great many years. Ever since the island of Cuba was discovered by Columbus in 1492, the one thought of the Spaniards has been to gain wealth from the island without giving anything in return. For many years, most of the Cubans have been little better off than slaves. They have always been very poor and have had to do the hard work on the plantations and in the cit

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I.—The Battle of Manila.

On the morning of May 1, 1898, in the harbor of Manila, one of the most remarkable naval victories in the history of the world was won by the United States. The Spanish fleet, though superior in both men and guns, was entirely destroyed, and hundreds of officers and men were made prisoners. All this was accomplished by an American squadron under Commodore George Dewey, without the loss of a ship or a man. The way in which it all came about was as follows: When war was declared between the United

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II.—The Boyhood of George Dewey.

Who was this George Dewey who won that famous victory in the Bay of Manila? He was a native of Vermont, and had spent the greater part of his life on the sea with the American navy. He was born in Montpelier on the day after Christmas, 1837. Montpelier was a pleasant place in which to live. There were hills to climb, and a pretty little river ran through the fields and gardens behind the Dewey home. Here George could wade, sail boats, and fish. Although he was not fond of books, he never tired o

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III.—Dewey as a Naval Cadet.

When George was fifteen years old, he was sent to a military school at Norwich, Vermont. He liked the training so well that he decided to try to get an appointment in the Naval Academy at Annapolis. One day he told one of his school fellows, George Spalding, what he intended to do. "Why, Dewey," said Spalding, "that is what I am going to do myself." Spalding received the coveted appointment, but as he was not able to go, George went in his place. George Spalding became a minister, and when the n

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IV.—From Lieutenant to Commodore.

Lieutenant Dewey was ordered to the steam sloop Mississippi , one of the Gulf Squadron, of which Admiral Farragut was the commander. Though but twenty-three years of age, the young lieutenant won the admiration of both officers and men. When the fleet passed the forts below New Orleans, the Mississippi was the third in the line. All through that terrible fight, Lieutenant Dewey stood on the bridge, amid the storm of shot and shell. Whenever the guns flashed out in the darkness, the sailors could

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V.—The American Navy in Cuban Waters.

While Admiral Dewey had been winning fame at Manila, the Navy Department had organized two other fleets which were to be used nearer home. One of these was called the Flying Squadron because it was composed of fast cruisers. It was stationed at Hampton Roads. From this point, it could move quickly either north or south to protect the cities on the Atlantic coast in case they should be attacked by a Spanish fleet. The commander of the Flying Squadron was Commodore Winfield Scott Schley, later a r

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VI.—The Cruise of the Oregon.

In the meanwhile, the greatest anxiety was felt for the United States battleship Oregon . When the Maine was destroyed, this vessel was at the Mare Island Navy Yard near San Francisco. Before war was declared she had been ordered to join the squadron of Admiral Sampson as soon as possible. To do this she must travel through fourteen thousand miles of stormy sea, through the dangerous passage around Cape Horn and then up the eastern shore of South America. On the 14th of March, commanded by Capta

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VII.—Lieutenant Hobson and the Merrimac.

Soon after Admiral Sampson arrived off Santiago, there came to him a young lieutenant, Richmond Pearson Hobson. He had a plan which he wished to propose. He said: "There is the collier Merrimac . Let a volunteer crew just large enough to navigate her be selected. Then, after stripping the old ship of everything valuable, let this crew run her, after dark, into the narrowest part of the channel leading to the harbor; and there let them sink her by exploding torpedoes under her. In this way we can

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VIII.—The Destruction of Cervera's Fleet.

On Sunday morning, July 3d, the American ships were lying quietly outside the harbor of Santiago. They were stretched in a line from Commodore Schley's flagship, the Brooklyn , seven miles eastward, where Admiral Sampson had gone with his flagship New York , in order to confer with General Shafter. From the forts on the shore, the great ships looked like mere specks upon the horizon; and it was hard to realize that they were grim sentinels watching every movement of the Spaniards. The "bright wo

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IX.—The End of the War.

After the loss of Admiral Cervera's fleet, every one knew that it would be only a question of time until the city of Santiago must surrender. The American army under General Miles and General Shafter surrounded the city on the land, while the navy guarded the harbor. The Spaniards could not escape, nor could any help reach them. The next two weeks were spent in trying to fix upon terms of surrender that would be acceptable to both sides. The only fighting was a short bombardment of the city by t

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X.—Life on an American Man-of-War.

When a battleship is hurling shot and shell at an enemy, the brave deeds of the officers and men on board are told from one end of the land to the other; but how many people know how these men live from day to day, when the great ship is lying in the harbor, or cruising peacefully about the seas? Who makes the lieutenant's bed and buys his food? Most people think that the government provides all that he needs; but this is not so. He must carry his own bed linen to sea with him and arrange for hi

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XI.—Some Facts about the Navy of 1898.

The Constitution of the United States provides that the President shall be commander-in-chief not only of the army but also of the navy. His chief assistant in the management of naval affairs is the Secretary of the Navy, who is also a member of his cabinet. In 1898 the Navy Department of the United States was just one hundred years old, having been organized in 1798 with Benjamin Stoddert as Secretary. The work of the department is divided among eight bureaus, as follows: 1. The Bureau of Yards

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