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The Naval War of 1812

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This is perhaps as good a place as any other to notice one or two
of James' most common misstatements; they really would not need
refutation were it not that they have been reechoed, as usual, by
almost every British historian of the war for the last 60 years.
In the first place, James puts the number of the _President's_ men
at 475; she had 450. An exactly parallel reduction must often be
made when he speaks of the force of an American ship. Then he says
there were many British among them, which is denied under oath by
the American officers; this holds good also for the other American
frigates. He says there were but 4 boys; there were nearly 30; and
on p. 120 he says the youngest was 14, whereas we incidentally learn
from the "Life of Decatur" that several were under 12. A favorite
accusation is that the American midshipmen were chiefly masters and
mates of merchant-men; but this was hardly ever the case. Many of
the midshipmen of the war afterward became celebrated commanders,
and most of these (a notable instance being Farragut, the greatest
admiral since Nelson) were entirely too young in 1812 to have had
vessels under them, and, moreover, came largely from the so-called
"best families."

Again, in the first two frigate actions of 1812, the proportion of
killed to wounded happened to be unusually large on board the American
frigates; accordingly James states (p. 146) that the returns of the
wounded had been garbled, under-estimated, and made "subservient
to the views of the commanders and their government." To support
his position that Capt. Hull, who reported 7 killed and 7 wounded,
had not given the list of the latter in full, he says that "an equal
number of killed and wounded, as given in the American account, hardly
ever occurs, except in cases of explosion"; and yet, on p. 519, he
gives the loss of the British _Hermes_ as 25 killed and 24 wounded,
disregarding the incongruity involved. On p. 169, in noticing the
loss of the _United States_, 5 killed and 7 wounded, he says that
"the slightly wounded, as in all other American cases, are omitted."
This is untrue, and the proportion on the _United States_, 5 to 7,
is just about the same as that given by James himself on the
_Endymion_, 11 to 14, and _Nautilus_, 6 to 8. In supporting his theory,
James brings up all the instances where the American wounded bore
a larger proportion to their dead than on board the British ships,
but passes over the actions with the _Reindeer_, _Epervier_, _Penguin_,
_Endymion_, and _Boxer_, where the reverse was the case. One of James'
most common methods of attempting to throw discredit on the much
vilified "Yankees" is by quoting newspaper accounts of their wounded.
Thus he says (p. 562) of the _Hornet_, that several of her men told
some of the _Penguin's_ sailors that she lost 10 men killed, 16
wounded, etc. Utterly false rumors of this kind were as often indulged
in by the Americans as the British. After the capture of the
_President_ articles occasionally appeared in the papers to the effect
that some American sailor had counted "23 dead" on board the _Endymion_,
that "more than 50" of her men were wounded, etc. Such statements
were as commonly made and with as little foundation by one side as
by the other, and it is absurd for a historian to take any notice
of them. James does no worse than many of our own writers of the
same date; but while their writings have passed into oblivion, his
work is still often accepted as a standard. This must be my apology
for devoting so much time to it. The severest criticism to which it
can possibly be subjected is to compare it with the truth. Whenever
dealing with purely American affairs, James' history is as utterly
untrustworthy as its contemporary, "Niles' Register," is in matters
purely British, while both are invaluable in dealing with things
relating strictly to their own nation; they supplement each other.

On Jan. 8th General Packenham was defeated and killed by General
Jackson at New Orleans, the Louisiana and the seamen of the _Carolina_
having their full share in the glory of the day, and Captain Henly
being among the very few American wounded. On the same day
Sailing-master Johnson, with 28 men in two boats, cut out the
British-armed transport brig _Cyprus_, containing provisions and
munitions of war, and manned by ten men. [Footnote: Letter of
Sailing-master Johnson, Jan. 9, 1815.] On the 18th the British
abandoned the enterprise and retreated to their ships; and Mr. Thomas
Shields, a purser, formerly a sea-officer, set off to harass them
while embarking. At sunset on the 20th he left with five boats and
a gig, manned in all with 53 men, and having under him Sailing-master
Daily and Master's Mate Boyd. [Footnote: Letter of Thomas Shields
to Com. Patterson, Jan. 25, 1815.] At ten o'clock P.M. a large barge,
containing 14 seamen and 40 officers and men of the 14th Light Dragoons,
was surprised and carried by boarding after a slight struggle. The
prisoners outnumbering their captors, the latter returned to shore,
left them in a place of safety, and again started at 2 A.M. on the
morning of the 22d. Numerous transports and barges of the enemy could
be seen, observing very little order and apparently taking no
precautions against attack, which they probably did not apprehend.
One of the American boats captured a transport and five men; another,
containing Mr. Shields himself and eight men, carried by boarding,
after a short resistance, a schooner carrying ten men. The flotilla
then re-united and captured in succession, with no resistance, five
barges containing 70 men. By this time the alarm had spread and they
were attacked by six boats, but these were repelled with some loss.
Seven of the prisoners (who were now half as many again as their
captors) succeeded in escaping in the smallest prize. Mr. Shields
returned with the others, 78 in number. During the entire expedition
he had lost but three men, wounded; he had taken 132 prisoners, and
destroyed eight craft whose aggregate tonnage about equalled that
of the five gun-vessels taken on Lake Borgne.

On Jan. 30, 1815, information was received by Captain Dent, commanding
at North Edisto, Ga., that a party of British officers and men, in
four boats belonging to H.M.S. _Hebrus_, Capt. Palmer, were watering
at one of the adjacent islands. [Footnote: Letter of Lawrence Kearney
of Jan. 30, 1815 (see in the Archives at Washington, "Captains'
Letters," vol. 42, No. 100).] Lieut. Lawrence Kearney, with three
barges containing about 75 men, at once proceeded outside to cut
them off, when the militia drove them away. The frigate was at anchor
out of gunshot, but as soon as she perceived the barges began firing
guns as signals. The British on shore left in such a hurry that they
deserted their launch, which, containing a 12-pound boat carronade
and six swivels, was taken by the Americans. The other boats--two
cutters, and a large tender mounting one long nine and carrying 30
men--made for the frigate; but Lieut. Kearney laid the tender aboard
and captured her after a sharp brush. The cutters were only saved
by the fire of the _Hebrus_, which was very well directed--one of
her shot taking off the head of a man close by Lieut. Kearney. The
frigate got under way and intercepted Kearney's return, but the
Lieutenant then made for South Edisto, whither he carried his prize
in triumph. This was one of the most daring exploits of the war,
and was achieved at very small cost. On Feb. 14th a similar feat
was performed. Lieutenant Kearney had manned the captured launch
with 25 men and the 12-pound carronade. News was received of another
harrying expedition undertaken by the British, and Captain Dent,
with seven boats, put out to attack them, but was unable to cross
the reef. Meanwhile Kearney's barge had gotten outside, and attacked
the schooner _Brant_, a tender to H. M. S. _Severn_, mounting an
18-pounder, and with a crew of two midshipmen, and twenty-one marines
and seamen. A running fight began, the _Brant_ evidently fearing
that the other boats might get across the reef and join in the attack;
suddenly she ran aground on a sand-bank, which accident totally
demoralized her crew. Eight of them escaped in her boat, to the
frigate; the remaining fifteen, after firing a few shot, surrendered
and were taken possession of. [Footnote: Letter of Captain Dent,
Feb. 16th (in "Captains' Letters," vol. 42, No. 130). Most American
authors, headed by Cooper, give this exploit a more vivid coloring
by increasing the crew of the _Brant_ to forty men, omitting to
mention that she was hard and fast aground, and making no allusion
to the presence of the five other American boats which undoubtedly
caused the _Brant's_ flight in the first place.]

I have had occasion from time to time to speak of cutting-out
expeditions, successful and otherwise, undertaken by British boats
against American privateers; and twice a small British national
cutter was captured by an overwhelmingly superior American opponent
of this class. We now, for the only time, come across an engagement
between a privateer and a regular cruiser of approximately equal
force. These privateers came from many different ports and varied
greatly in size. Baltimore produced the largest number; but New York,
Philadelphia, Boston, and Salem, were not far behind; and Charleston,
Bristol, and Plymouth, supplied some that were very famous. Many
were merely small pilot-boats with a crew of 20 to 40 men, intended
only to harry the West Indian trade. Others were large, powerful
craft, unequalled for speed by any vessels of their size, which
penetrated to the remotest corners of the ocean, from Man to the
Spice Islands. When a privateer started she was overloaded with men,
to enable her to man her prizes; a successful cruise would reduce
her crew to a fifth of its original size. The favorite rig was that
of a schooner, but there were many brigs and brigantines. Each was
generally armed with a long 24 or 32 on a pivot, and a number of
light guns in broadside, either long 9's or short 18's or 12's. Some
had no pivot gun, others had nothing else. The largest of them carried
17 guns (a pivotal 32 and 16 long 12's in broadside) with a crew
of 150. Such a vessel ought to have been a match, at her own distance,
for a British brig-sloop, but we never hear of any such engagements,
and there were several instances where privateers gave up, without
firing a shot, to a force superior, it is true, but not enough so
to justify the absolute tameness of the surrender. [Footnote: As
when the _Epervter_, some little time before her own capture, took
without resistance the _Alfred_, of Salem, mounting 16 long nines
and having 108 men aboard.] One explanation of this was that they
were cruising as private ventures, and their object was purely to
capture merchant-men with as little risk as possible to themselves.
Another reason was that they formed a kind of sea-militia, and, like
their compeers on land, some _could_ fight as well as any regulars,
while most would _not_ fight at all, especially if there was need
of concerted action between two or three. The American papers of
the day are full of "glorious victories" gained by privateers over
packets and Indiamen; the British papers are almost as full of instances
where the packets and Indiamen "heroically repulsed" the privateers.
As neither side ever chronicles a defeat, and as the narration is
apt to be decidedly figurative in character, there is very little
hope of getting at the truth of such meetings; so I have confined
myself to the mention of those cases where privateers, of either
side, came into armed collision with regular cruisers. We are then
sure to find some authentic account.

The privateer brig _Chasseur_, of Baltimore, Captain Thomas Boyle,
carried 16 long 12's, and had, when she left port, 115 men aboard.
She made 18 prizes on her last voyage, and her crew was thus reduced
to less than 80 men; she was then chased by the _Barossa_ frigate,
and threw overboard 10 of her long 12's. Afterward eight 9-pound
carronades were taken from a prize, to partially supply the places
of the lost guns; but as she had no shot of the calibre of these
carronades each of the latter was loaded with one 4-pound and one
6-pound ball, giving her a broadside of 76 lbs. On the 26th of
February, two leagues from Havana, the _Chasseur_ fell in with the
British schooner _St. Lawrence_, Lieut. H. C. Gordon, mounting twelve
12-pound carronades, and one long 9; her broadside was thus 81 lbs.,
and she had between 60 and 80 men aboard. [Footnote: Letter of Captain
Thomas Boyle, of March 2, 1815 (see Niles and Coggeshall); he says
the schooner had two more carronades; I have taken the number given
by James (p. 539). Captain Boyle says the _St. Lawrence_ had onboard
89 men and several more, including a number of soldiers and marines
and gentlemen of the navy, as passengers; James says her crew amounted
to 51 "exclusive of some passengers," which I suppose must mean at
least nine men. So the forces were pretty equal; the _Chasseur_ may
have had 20 men more or 10 men less than her antagonist, and she
threw from 5 to 21 lbs. less weight of shot.] The _Chasseur_ mistook
the _St. Lawrence_ for a merchant-man and closed with her. The mistake
was discovered too late to escape, even had such been Captain Boyle's
intention, and a brief but bloody action ensued. At 1.26 P.M., the
_St. Lawrence_ fired the first broadside, within pistol shot, to
which the _Chasseur_ replied with her great guns and musketry. The
brig then tried to close, so as to board; but having too much way
on, shot ahead under the lee of the schooner, which put her helm
up to wear under the _Chasseur's_ stern. Boyle, however, followed
his antagonist's manoeuvre, and the two vessels ran along side by
side, the _St. Lawrence_ drawing ahead, while the firing was very
heavy. Then Captain Boyle put his helm a starboard and ran his foe
aboard, when in the act of boarding, her colors were struck at 1.41
P.M., 15 minutes after the first shot. Of the _Chasseur's_ crew 5
were killed and 8 wounded, including Captain Boyle slightly. Of the
_St. Lawrence's_ crew 6 were killed and 17 (according to James 18)
wounded. This was a very creditable action. The _St. Lawrence_ had
herself been an American privateer, called the _Atlas_, and was of
241 tons, or just 36 less than the _Chasseur_. The latter could thus
fairly claim that her victory was gained over a regular cruiser of
about her own force. Captain Southcombe of the _Lottery_, Captain
Reid of the _General Armstrong_, Captain Ordronaux of the _Neufchatel_,
and Captain Boyle of the _Chasseur_, deserve as much credit as any
regularly commissioned sea-officers. But it is a mistake to consider
these cases as representing the _average_; an ordinary privateer
was, naturally enough, no match for a British regular cruiser of
equal force. The privateers were of incalculable benefit to us, and
inflicted enormous damage on the foe; but in fighting they suffered
under the same disadvantages as other irregular forces; they were
utterly unreliable. A really brilliant victory would be followed
by a most extraordinary defeat.

[Illustration: Captain Charles Stewart: a study painted by Thomas
Sully in 1817 for use as the model for the bust of Stewart on the
Congressional Gold Medal awarded to him for the capture of the _Cyane_
and _Levant_. (Courtesy U.S. Naval Academy Museum)]

[Illustration: _Constitution_ vs. _Cyane_ and _Levant_: an engraving
published in the U.S. Military Magazine for December 1840 of a painting
by Thomas Birch. From left to right: _Levant_, _Constitution_, _Cyane_.
(Courtesy Beverley R. Robinson Collection, U.S. Naval Academy Museum)]

After the _Constitution_ had escaped from Boston, as I have described,
she ran to the Bermudas, cruised in their vicinity a short while,
thence to Madeira, to the Bay of Biscay, and finally off Portugal,
cruising for some time in sight of the Rock of Lisbon. Captain
Stewart then ran off southwest, and on Feb. 20th, Madeira bearing
W. S. W. 60 leagues, [Footnote: Letter of Captain Stewart to the
Secretary of the Navy, May 20, 1815.] the day being cloudy, with
a light easterly breeze, [Footnote: Log of _Constitution_, Feb. 20,
1815.] at 1 P.M. a sail was made two points on the port bow; and
at 2 P.M., Captain Stewart, hauling up in chase, discovered another
sail. The first of these was the frigate-built ship corvette _Cyane_,
Captain Gordon Thomas Falcon, and the second was the ship sloop
_Levant_, Captain the Honorable George Douglass. [Footnote: "Naval
Chronicle," xxxiii, 466.] Both were standing close hauled on the
starboard tack, the sloop about 10 miles to leeward of the corvette.
At 4 P.M. the latter began making signals to her consort that the
strange sail was an enemy, and then made all sail before the wind
to join the sloop. The _Constitution_ bore up in chase, setting her
top-mast, top-gallant, and royal studding-sails. In half an hour
she carried away her main royal mast, but immediately got another
prepared, and at 5 o'clock began firing at the corvette with the
two port-bow guns; as the shot fell short the firing soon ceased.
At 5.30 the _Cyane_ got within hail of the _Levant_, and the latter's
gallant commander expressed to Captain Gordon his intention of engaging
the American frigate. The two ships accordingly hauled up their courses
and stood on the starboard tack; but immediately afterward their
respective captains concluded to try to delay the action till dark,
so as to get the advantage of manoeuvring. [Footnote: "Naval Chronicle,"
xxxiii, 466.] Accordingly they again set all sail and hauled close
to the wind to endeavor to weather their opponent; but finding the
latter coming down too fast for them to succeed they again stripped
to fighting canvas and formed on the starboard tack in head and stern
line, the _Levant_ about a cable's length in front of her consort.
The American now had them completely under her guns and showed her
ensign, to which challenge the British ships replied by setting their
colors. At 6.10 the _Constitution_ ranged up to windward of the _Cyane_
and _Levant_, the former on her port quarter, the latter on her port
bow, both being distant about 250 yards from her [Footnote: Testimony
sworn to by Lieutenant W. B. Shubrick and Lieutenant of Marines
Archibald Henderson before Thomas Welsh. Jr., Justice of the Peace,
Suffolk St., Boston, July 20, 1815. The depositions were taken in
consequence of a report started by some of the British journals that
the action began at a distance of 1/4 of a mile. All the American
depositions were that all three ships began firing at once, when
equidistant from each other about 250 yards, the marines being engaged
almost the whole time.]--so close that the American marines were
constantly engaged almost from the beginning of the action. The fight
began at once, and continued with great spirit for a quarter of an
hour, the vessels all firing broadsides. It was now moonlight, and
an immense column of smoke formed under the lee of the _Constitution_,
shrouding from sight her foes; and, as the fire of the latter had
almost ceased, Captain Stewart also ordered his men to stop, so as
to find out the positions of the ships. In about three minutes the
smoke cleared, disclosing to the Americans the _Levant_ dead to leeward
on the port beam, and the _Cyane_ luffing up for their port quarter.
Giving a broadside to the sloop, Stewart braced aback his main and
mizzen top-sails, with top-gallant sails set, shook all forward,
and backed rapidly astern, under cover of the smoke, abreast the
corvette, forcing the latter to fill again to avoid being raked.
The firing was spirited for a few minutes, when the _Cyane's_ almost
died away. The _Levant_ bore up to wear round and assist her consort,
but the _Constitution_ filled her top-sails, and, shooting ahead,
gave her two stern rakes, when she at once made all sail to get out
of the combat. The _Cyane_ was now discovered wearing, when the
_Constitution_ herself at once wore and gave her in turn a stern
rake, the former luffing to and firing her port broadside into the
starboard bow of the frigate. Then, as the latter ranged up on her
port quarter, she struck, at 6.50, just forty minutes after the
beginning of the action. She was at once taken possession of, and
Lieut. Hoffman, second of the _Constitution_, was put in command.
Having manned the prize, Captain Stewart, at 8 o'clock, filled away
after her consort. The latter, however, had only gone out of the
combat to refit. Captain Douglass had no idea of retreat, and no
sooner had he rove new braces than he hauled up to the wind, and
came very gallantly back to find out his friend's condition. At 8.50
he met the _Constitution_, and, failing to weather her, the frigate
and sloop passed each other on opposite tacks, exchanging broadsides.
Finding her antagonist too heavy, the _Levant_ then crowded all sail
to escape, but was soon overtaken by the _Constitution_, and at about
9.30 the latter opened with her starboard bow-chasers, and soon
afterward the British captain hauled down his colors. Mr. Ballard,
first of the _Constitution_, was afterward put in command of the
prize. By one o'clock the ships were all in order again.

The _Constitution_ had been hulled eleven times, more often than
in either of her previous actions, but her loss was mainly due to
the grape and musketry of the foe in the beginning of the fight.
[Footnote: Deposition of her officers as before cited.] The British
certainly fired better than usual, especially considering the fact
that there was much manoeuvering, and that it was a night action.
The Americans lost 3 men killed, 3 mortally, and 9 severely and
slightly, wounded. The corvette, out of her crew of 180, had 12 men
killed and 26 wounded, several mortally; the sloop, out of 140, had
7 killed and 16 wounded. The _Constitution_ had started on her cruise
very full-handed, with over 470 men, but several being absent on a
prize, she went into battle with about 450. [Footnote: 410 officers
and seamen, and 41 marines, by her muster-roll of Feb. 19th. (The
muster-rolls are preserved in the Treasury Department at Washington.)]
The prizes had suffered a good deal in their hulls and rigging, and
had received some severe wounds in their masts and principal spars.
The _Cyane_ carried on her main-deck twenty-two 32-pound carronades,
and on her spar-deck two long 12's, and ten 18-pounder carronades.
The _Levant_ carried, all on one deck, eighteen 32-pound carronades
and two long 9's, together with a shifting 12-pounder. Thus, their
broadside weight of metal was 763 pounds, with a total of 320 men,
of whom 61 fell, against the _Constitution's_ 704 pounds and 450
men, of whom 15 were lost; or, nominally, the relative force was
100 to 91, and the relative loss 100 to 24. But the British guns
were almost exclusively carronades which, as already pointed out
in the case of the Essex and in the battle off Plattsburg, are no
match for long guns. Moreover, the scantling of the smaller ships
was, of course, by no means as stout as that of the frigate, so that
the disparity of force was much greater than the figures would indicate,
although not enough to account for the difference in loss. Both the
British ships were ably handled, their fire was well directed, and
the _Levant_ in especial was very gallantly fought.

[Illustration of the action between the _Constitution_ and the
_Cyane_ and the _Levant_ from 6.05 to 6.40.]

As regards the _Constitution_, "her manoeuvring was as brilliant
as any recorded in naval annals," and it would have been simply
impossible to surpass the consummate skill with which she was
handled in the smoke, always keeping her antagonists to leeward,
and, while raking both of them, not being once raked herself. The
firing was excellent, considering the short time the ships were
actually engaged, and the fact that it was at night. Altogether the
fight reflected the greatest credit on her, and also on her adversaries.
[Footnote: There is no British official account of the action. James
states that the entire British force was only 302 men of whom 12
were killed and 29 wounded. This is probably not based on any authority.
Captain Stewart received on board 301 prisoners, of whom 42 were
wounded, several mortally. Curiously enough James also underestimates
the American loss, making it only 12. He also says that many attempts
were made by the Americans to induce the captured British to desert,
while the _Constitution's_ officers deny this under oath, before
Justice Welsh, as already quoted, and state that, on the contrary,
many of the prisoners offered to enlist on the frigate, but were
all refused permission--as "the loss of the _Chesapeake_ had taught
us the danger of having renegades aboard." This denial, by the way,
holds good for all the similar statements made by James as regards the
_Guerrièrre_, _Macedonian_, etc. He also states that a British
court-martial found various counts against the Americans for harsh
treatment, but all of these were specifically denied by the American
officers, under oath, as already quoted.

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