The Naval History of the United States. Volume 1

Volume One

Spilling Grog on the "Constitution" before going into Action. Frontispiece.

Commodore Esek Hopkins.

Siege of Charleston, S.C., May, 1780.

Captain John Paul Jones quelling the Mob at Whitehaven, Scotland, Nov., 1777.

The Action between the "Bon Homme Richard" and the "Serapis," September 23, 1779.

Commodore Barry.

Shortening Sail on the "Lancaster"--The Oldest Cruiser in Commission.

Commodore Decatur.

Derelict.

Cutting Away the Flag.

Commodore Perry.

Barney Regains his Ship.

Toasting the Wooden Walls of Columbia.

Commodore Macdonough.

Hull Makes a Reconnoissance.

The British Squadron.

Lieut. Allen Fires a Shot.

Commodore Rogers Hails.

Explosion on the "President".

"Hull Her, Boys!"

Loading.

Ready to Board.

Engagement of the Frigates "United States" and "Macedonian," Christmas Day, 1812.

Assuming to be British Men-of-War.

Marines Picking Off the Enemy.

In the Cross-Trees.

Perry's Recruits.

Drilling the Raw Recruits.

Commodore Perry at the Battle of Lake Erie.

Perry's Victory--The Battle of Lake Erie, September 10, 1813.

Making Ready to Leave the "Lawrence".

Awaiting the Boarders.

"I am Commodore Rogers".

Beating to Quarters.

The Last Shot of the "Chesapeake".

On Board the "Chesapeake".

The Peruvian Privateer.

The Duel at the Galapagos Islands.

Firing the Howitzer.

Volume Two

Destruction of the "Maine," Havana Harbor, Feb. 15, 1898. Frontispiece

The Fight with the "Boxer".

The Surrender of the "Boxer".

On the Way to Lake Erie.

Hiram Paulding Fires the Guns.

The Captain of the "Reindeer".

The End of the "Reindeer".

Lieut. Richmond Pearson Hobson, who Sank the "Merrimac" in Santiago Harbor, June 3, 1898.

The Descent of Wareham.

Sharp-Shooters.

The March on Washington.

Planning the Attack.

Response to the Call for Volunteers to Accompany Hobson on the "Merrimac".

The "President" Tries to Escape.

Battleship "Massachusetts".

Prison Chaplain and Jailer.

The Last Volley of the War.

New U. S. Torpedo-Boat "Talbot".

The "Hartford," Farragut's Flagship.

Departure of a Naval Expedition from Port Royal.

Fort Moultrie.

Anderson's Command Occupying Fort Sumter.

Major Robert Anderson.

The "Morris"--Torpedo-Boat of the Smallest Type--46-1/2 Tons Displacement, 800 Horse-Power.

Blockading the Mouth of the Mississippi.

Flag of the Confederacy.

Naval Patrol on the Potomac.

Attack on the Hatteras Forts.

Spanish Merchant Steamer "Catalina" Captured by the Cruiser "Detroit," April 24, 1898.

Flag of South Carolina.

Nassau: The Haunt of Blockade-Runners.

Cotton Ships at Nassau.

Marines Saluting on the "Lancaster"--Our Oldest Naval Vessel in Active Service.

Fortress Monroe.

Du Pont's Expedition Off Cape Hatteras.

The Opening Gun.

Engagement of the "Monitor" and "Merrimac," March 9, 1862.

A River Gunboat.

Engagement of the "Kearsarge" and "Alabama," June 19, 1864.

Rescue of Capt. Semmes.

The "Nashville" Burning a Prize.

Fort Pensacola.

Levee at New Orleans Before the War.

Farragut's Fleet Engaging the Enemy near New Orleans, April 26, 1862.

Breaking the Chain.

Farragut Engaging the Port Hudson (La.) Batteries, March, 1863.

The "Arkansas" under Fire.

Farragut's Fleet Engaging Forts Jackson and St. Philip and Confederate Fleet on the Mississippi River, below New Orleans, April 25, 1862.

The Launching of the Battleship "Iowa".

Passing the Vicksburg Batteries.

Bailey's Dam on the Red River.

Engagement Between the U. S. Flagship "Hartford" and the Confederate Ironclad "Tennessee," Mobile Bay, August 5, 1864.

Warships off Charleston Harbor.

Battle of Mobile Bay--Union Fleet Engaging Fort Morgan and Confederate Vessels, August 5, 1864.

Forward Turret of Monitor "Terror".

Torpedo-Boat "Cushing".

Dynamite Cruiser "Vesuvius".

Ensign Worth Bagley, of the Torpedo-Boat "Winslow," Killed May 11, 1898.

Partial View of the Wreck of the "Maine".

Dewey's Victory--The Naval Fight in Manila Bay, May 1, 1898.

The Defeat of Cervera's Fleet--The "Colon" Running Ashore.

The Naval Board of Strategy, 1898.

Rear-Admiral William Thomas Sampson.

Bombardment of San Juan, Puerto Rico, May 13, 1898.

Rear-Admiral George Dewey.

Admiral Sampson's Fleet off Puerto Rico, in Search of Cervera's Vessels, May 1, 1898.

Admiral Cervera's Fleet Approaching Santiago, May, 1898.

Commodore John Crittenden Watson.

General Miles's Expedition to Puerto Rico, as seen from the Deck of the "St. Paul".

Hobson Sinking the "Merrimac" in the Entrance to Santiago Harbor, June 3, 1898.

Rear-Admiral Winfield Scott Schley.

Monitors at League Island Navy Yard, Philadelphia.

Training Ship "Alliance"--Type of the Last Wooden Sloops-of-War.

Training Ships "Portsmouth" and "Lancaster" at Brooklyn Navy Yard.

"Racing Home"--The Battleship "Oregon" on her way from San Francisco to Key West.

Hammock-Inspection on a Battleship.

Armored Cruiser "New York" on her way to Puerto Rico.

New York's Welcome to the Battleship "Texas".

Spanish Merchant Steamer "Panama," Captured April 25, by Lighthouse Tender "Mangrove".

Forward 13-inch Guns on Battleship "Indiana".

Forward Deck of Dynamite Gun-Vessel "Vesuvius".

Hospital Ship "Relief".

Religious Service on Battleship "Iowa," off Havana.

The Battleship "Maine" Leaving New York for Havana.

Bombardment of Matanzas, Cuba, by the "New York," "Cincinnati," and "Puritan," April 27, 1898.

Ironclads in Action.

Bombardment of Forts at Entrance of Santiago Harbor, Cuba, May 6, 1898.

Torpedo-Boat "Ericsson".

Deck-Tube and Projectile of a Torpedo-Boat.

Crew of the "Indiana" Watching the "New York" Capture a Prize.

Hurry-Work at Night on Monitor "Puritan" at League Island Navy Yard, Philadelphia.

PART I

BLUE-JACKETS OF '76.

CHAPTER I.

EARLY EXPLOITS UPON THE WATER. -- GALLOP'S BATTLE WITH THE INDIANS. -- BUCCANEERS AND PIRATES. -- MORGAN AND BLACKBEARD. -- CAPT. KIDD TURNS PIRATE. -- DOWNFALL OF THE BUCCANEERS' POWER.

In May, 1636, a stanch little sloop of some twenty tons was standing along Long Island Sound on a trading expedition. At her helm stood John Gallop, a sturdy colonist, and a skilful seaman, who earned his bread by trading with the Indians that at that time thronged the shores of the Sound, and eagerly seized any opportunity to traffic with the white men from the colonies of Plymouth or New Amsterdam. The colonists sent out beads, knives, bright clothes, and sometimes, unfortunately, rum and other strong drinks. The Indians in exchange offered skins and peltries of all kinds; and, as their simple natures had not been schooled to nice calculations of values, the traffic was one of great profit to the more shrewd whites. But the trade was not without its perils. Though the Indians were simple, and little likely to drive hard bargains, yet they were savages, and little accustomed to nice distinctions between their own property and that of others. Their desires once aroused for some gaudy bit of cloth or shining glass, they were ready enough to steal it, often making their booty secure by the murder of the luckless trader. It so happened, that, just before John Gallop set out with his sloop on the spring trading cruise, the people of the colony were excitedly discussing the probable fate of one Oldham, who some weeks before had set out on a like errand, in a pinnace, with a crew of two white boys and two Indians, and had never returned. So when, on this May morning, Gallop, being forced to hug the shore by stormy weather, saw a small vessel lying at anchor in a cove, he immediately ran down nearer, to investigate. The crew of the sloop numbered two men and two boys, beside the skipper, Gallop. Some heavy duck-guns on board were no mean ordnance; and the New Englander determined to probe the mystery of Oldham's disappearance, though it might require some fighting. As the sloop bore down upon the anchored pinnace, Gallop found no lack of signs to arouse his suspicion. The rigging of the strange craft was loose, and seemed to have been cut. No lookout was visible, and she seemed to have been deserted; but a nearer view showed, lying on the deck of the pinnace, fourteen stalwart Indians, one of whom, catching sight of the approaching sloop, cut the anchor cable, and called to his companions to awake.

This action on the part of the Indians left Gallop no doubt as to their character. Evidently they had captured the pinnace, and had either murdered Oldham, or even then had him a prisoner in their midst. The daring sailor wasted no time in debate as to the proper course to pursue, but clapping all sail on his craft, soon brought her alongside the pinnace. As the sloop came up, the Indians opened the fight with fire-arms and spears; but Gallop's crew responded with their duck-guns with such vigor that the Indians deserted the decks, and fled below for shelter. Gallop was then in a quandary. The odds against him were too great for him to dare to board, and the pinnace was rapidly drifting ashore. After some deliberation he put up his helm, and beat to windward of the pinnace; then, coming about, came scudding down upon her before the wind. The two vessels met with a tremendous shock. The bow of the sloop struck the pinnace fairly amidships, forcing her over on her beam-ends, until the water poured into the open hatchway. The affrighted Indians, unused to warfare on the water, rushed upon deck. Six leaped into the sea, and were drowned; the rest retreated again into the cabin. Gallop then prepared to repeat his ramming manoeuvre. This time, to make the blow more effective, he lashed his anchor to the bow, so that the sharp flukes protruded; thus extemporizing an iron-clad ram more than two hundred years before naval men thought of using one. Thus provided, the second blow of the sloop was more terrible than the first. The sharp fluke of the anchor crashed through the side of the pinnace, and the two vessels hung tightly together. Gallop then began to double-load his duck-guns, and fire through the sides of the pinnace; but, finding that the enemy was not to be dislodged in this way, he broke his vessel loose, and again made for the windward, preparatory to a third blow. As the sloop drew off, four or five more Indians rushed from the cabin of the pinnace, and leaped overboard but shared the fate of their predecessors, being far from land. Gallop then came about, and for the third time bore down upon his adversary. As he drew near, an Indian appeared on the deck of the pinnace, and with humble gestures offered to submit. Gallop ran alongside, and taking the man on board, bound him hand and foot, and placed him in the hold. A second redskin then begged for quarter; but Gallop, fearing to allow the two wily savages to be together, cast the second into the sea, where he was drowned. Gallop then boarded the pinnace. Two Indians were left, who retreated into a small compartment of the hold, and were left unmolested. In the cabin was found the mangled body of Mr. Oldham. A tomahawk had been sunk deep into his skull, and his body was covered with wounds. The floor of the cabin was littered with portions of the cargo, which the murderous savages had plundered. Taking all that remained of value upon his own craft, Gallop cut loose the pinnace; and she drifted away, to go to pieces on a reef in Narragansett Bay.

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