Splendid deeds of American heroes on sea and land : embracing a comprehensive summary of the glorious naval and military events from Washington to Dewey

Book I Splendid Deeds

OF

AMERICAN HEROES ON SEA AND LAND

EMBRACING

A COMPREHENSIVE SUMMARY OF THE GLORIOUS NAVAL AND MILITARY EVENTS FROM WASHINGTON TO DEWEY

BY

BISHOP SAMUEL FALLOWS, D. D., LL. D.

AUTHOR OF "SYNONYMS AND ANTONYMS," "PROGRESSIVE DICTIONARY," "LIFE OF SAMUEL ADAMS," EDITOR "AMERICAN CHARACTER SKETCHES," ETC., ETC.

ASSISTED BY

ALICE KATHARINE FALLOWS, A. B., PROFESSOR ELLERY C. HUNTINGTON, A. M., AND ELIZABETH A. REED, A. M., L. H. D.

AUTHOR OF HINDU LITERATURE; PERSIAN LITERATURE, ETC.

Superbly Illustrated with Matiy Full Page Colored Plates and Half-tones Made Especially for This Book

Book II Living Issues

WILLIAM Mckinley

W. J. BRYAN archbishop IRELAND

w. bourke cockran

GEORGE DEWEY

BY

SAMUEL FALLOWS, LL.D.

STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS GEO. G. VEST J. G. SCHURMAN THEODORE ROOSEVELT EX-GOVERNOR HOGG

AND MANY OTHERS

GEO. F. HOAR H. M. TELLER ANDREW CARNEGIE SAMUEL GOMPERS A, J. BEVERIDGE

Illustrated by Frank Beard

J. L. Nichols & Co.

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TORONTO, ONT.

NAPERVILLE (CHICAGO), ILL.

ATLANTA, GA.

TWO COPIES RECEIVED.

Entered According to Act of Congress, in the Year 1900,

By SAMUEL FALLOWS,

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SECOND COPY.

Vo Co O ^

Introduction

In the portion of this work which treats of "Splendid Deeds" we are brought face to face with the question: "Is war ever justifiable?" And, connected with this interrogatory, is the further question: "Should the deeds of war be enlarged upon and even glorified?"

The admirable words of the Rev. F. A. Noble, D. D., which follow this introduction, uttered in the presence of many of the brave heroes of our great civil war, will answer fully the first question.

We may say in reply to the second interrogation, that no nation which is worthy to live can sever itself from its past history and disparage the deeds of the men who have helped give it life, continuance, progress and glory. God has put the martial spirit in the breasts of men. It is not a mere survival of a savage ancestry. It is to be a constant force. The youthful spirit must be ever ready to do and dare. Woe to that people when the fires of a generous, self-sacrificing enthusiasm among them shall have died out.

Until the better day shall come, as come it surely will, when nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more, we must have a well disciplined army and a formidable navy. We must be ready to maintain our providential position among the nations of the earth. By the very possession of the warlike means of self-preservation, and by the unquestioned ability to use them, we shall be able to secure ultimately the peace of mankind.

In the unfolding years the martial spirit will not be displayed in the maiming and killing of men. It will find its expression in fighting the great moral battles which will be constantly imminent, until the millennial glory shall flood the globe.

In "Splendid Deeds" we have narrated the conflicts with England, with Mexico, with our brethren of the South, with Spain and with the Filipinos. The wars are all over, thank God, except the contest with the guerrilla bands in our island possessions, j^

It is one of the most gratifying signs of the times that our relations

"^ iii iv INTRODUCTION.

with England are of such a friendly nature. She rendered us signal service during the Spanish-American war by steadily refusing to join the concert of Europe in making that war one of continental complications. She showed her cordiality by the earnest sympathy manifested by the English men-of-war during the engagement at Manila.

General Thomas M. Anderson said: "If there could have been any possible doubt as to sympathy at the bombardment of Manila, it was removed when on the day of bombardment the English flagship, with steam up and decks cleared, took up a position that would have enabled it to slip in between our squadron and the foreign vessels. I do not think there was occasion for apprehension, yet it was pleasant to see that blood was thicker than salt water."

Admiral Sampson said, on Queen Victoria's eightieth birthday, May 24, 1899: "This year's experiences have made us realize as we could not perhaps twelve months ago, that we of England and America are members of one great world-wide family with interests and sympathies in common.

"Of this I have had practical proof many times repeated during these last months, when the ships of England and America have met in southern waters, and the fact has made me glad, for it promises to continue through all time."

When Admiral Dewey was at Colombo, Ceylon, on his way to the United States, he was royally received by the English governor, the Eight. lion. Sir Joseph West Kidgeway.

The Admiral said: "That cheer raised on the jetty when I landed went to the hearts of all of us. We are 14,000 miles from home, but that cheer will be heard in America, although the way in which it has touched me I shall never be able to fully express. The two nations were never so closely allied by mutual sympathy and .appreciation as now. The American people realized this during the late war, and you can imagine that all those who were at Manila and met Sir Edward Chichester, commander of the British first-class cruiser Immortalite, and his gallant comrades, hold that feeling very deeply."

We are becoming more and more closely identified in common interests with our sister republic of Mexico.

INTRODUCTION. -v

North and South in our own beloved land were never so closely bound together as at the present moment. And we are hoping that Spain will enter upon a new life, becoming purified and strong, through the severe affliction which she has suffered, and with America will strive to enlarge and protect the liberties of man.

"Living Issues," treated of in this volume, are germane to "Splendid Deeds," particularly that portion relating to Expansion and Anti- Expansion.

The war with Spain changed the map of the globe and brought our country out of its comparatively insular condition into the relationship of a world-wide power.

As Kipling sings:

"We are out of the swaddling clout, thank God, We've entered the shining mail, We've taken our place at the van of the race. We've found new seas to sail."

The advocates against as well as for this sudden and unexpected emerging from our previous national position are fairly and adequately treated in its pages.

Incidentally, "Trusts" are related to the question of Expansion, as will be seen by a perusal of many of the opinions given on that subject.

With the hope of inspiring a profounder love of the land of our birth and adoption by the narration of the Splendid Deeds of its heroes on sea and land, and with the desire of furnishing the material for an intelligent judgment on some of the greatest Living Issues which demand the earnest consideration of the American people, this book is respectfully given to the public.

Chicago, January 25, 1900. SAMUEL FALLOWS.

IS WAR EVER JUSTIFIABLE?

REV. F. A. NOBLE, D. D.

Is war ever justifiable? Or if war was once justifiable, is it justifiable still? Under our modern civilization, has war any proper part to play, any real contribution to make, to the development and progress

VI

INTRODUCTION.

of mankind? With all the advancement which has been registered, and with all the light of these closing years of the nineteenth century pouring in upon them, may peoples, now as of old, resort to the drastic and terrible means of the battlefield and the navy engagement to gain their ends? Are there any ends so imperative and sacred that before God and the universe peoples are warranted in turning to sword and gun to secure them?

There are those whose response to this question, in whatever form it may be put, is in the negative. They take the ground that under any and all circumstances war is contrary to the moral laws under which we live, and that at the bar of a true ethical conception of duty it must stand condemned. Even were this not so, they insist that war is in itself a greater evil than any evil it may ever be invoked to redress. It is better to endure burdens, so it is claimed — burdens of limitation and injustice and oppression — until they can be remedied by peaceable methods than to fight to get rid of them.

Sidney Smith said: "In war, God is forgotten and every principle of Christianity is trampled upon." Adam Clark said: "War is as contrary to the spirit of Christianity as murder," Franklin said: "There never has been and never will be such a thing as a good war, or a bad peace." Sumner said: "Thei'e is no war that is honorable, and no peace that is dishonorable." John Bright said: "If we adhere to the heathen practice of warfare we should abandon our pretensions and no longer claim to be Christians. Take down at any rate your Ten Commandments from inside the churches, and say no longer that you read and believe in the Sermon on the Mount."

It would be a strange person who could see nothing to admire in the spirit of words like these. But true in part, they are true only in part. There have been righteous wars, and there may be again. In a righteous war God is not forgotten; nor are the principles of Christianity overridden and trampled into the dust. Franklin to the contrary notwithstanding, history shows that there may be a good war and a bad peace. In spite of Sumner's assertion, there have been wars that were honorable, and terms of surrender and amity which were dishonorable. ,We may still keep the Ten Commandments inscribed on tablets in our

INTRODUCTION. vii

church edifices, and still read and accept the Sermon on the Mount, and yet fight in a holy cause — fight to throw off oppression and secure liberty and maintain inalienable rights — without in any wise forfeiting the name of Christian, or doing violence to the genius of our faith.

Were not Cromwell and Hampden and Pym and Eliot right in their protests against the usurpations and crimes of the Stuarts, and in punctuating their protests, when the hour struck for heroic action, with Marston Moor and Naseby? Does not the revolt of the Thirteen Colonies against the tyranny of English toryism commend itself to the sober second thought of the whole liberty-loving world? Can anybody persuade his own mind that Washington and Warren, that Adams and Jefferson, that Hancock and Henry, that Franklin and Lee, were only the conspirators and agents in a great murder-plot when they conceived, and, with the help of their co-patriots and the hardy and resolute yeomanry of the country, prosecuted to a triumphal issue the long-fought American Revolution?

The Hon. Galusha A. Grow, of Pennsylvania, so long and so creditably before the public, in an address delivered at the unveiling of the statue erected in commemoration of the character and public services of John P. Hale, at Concord, New Hampshire, a half-dozen years ago, used these significant words: "It seems to be a part of the plan of Divine Providence that every marked advance in civilization must begin in mighty convulsions. The moral law was first proclaimed in the thunders of Sinai, and the earthly mission of the Savior of mankind closed amidst the rending of mountains and the throes of the earthquake. The Goddess of Liberty herself was born in the shock of battle, and amid its carnage has carved out some of her grandest victories, while over its crimson fields the race marches on to higher and uobler destinies. As the lightnings of heaven rend and destroy only to purify and reinvigorate, so freedom's cannon furrows the fields of decaying empires, and seeds them anew with human gore, from which springs a more vigorous race, to cherish the hopes and guard the rights of mankind." This is history. In this way have many sorrows come to men, but superb and enduring benefits as well.

Lincoln and Grant left the Great Republic better than they found it.

viii INTRODUCTION.

The British Empire is far in advance of what it was when Gladstone and Salisburv were born. The oppressions and crimes possible to Rome and the governments of the petty and discordant principalities of Italy a centurj- ago were made things of the past by Garibaldi and Cavour. Germany has come into her self-consciousness and her resplendent position by means not always commendable, but her millions are further on than when William and Bismarck began their mighty work.

It is not easj' to define France, nor wise to attempt to forecast its future; but when comparisons are made between the France of Louis Fourteenth, or the France of Napoleon the First, or the France of Napoleon the Third, with the France of Felix Faure, it is evident that Gambetta and his associates in revolution and reconstruction labored to some good purpose. Austria and Russia are feeling the upward pressure of the times. The Dark Continent is not so dark as it was; and India and China are not so hopeless.

God is in His world. God is in humanity, helping it into a idealization of its high dignity and its sublime possibilities. God is in His church. Step by step, stage by stage, He is working His way into the laws and customs and iristitutions of society; and this is what takes the laws and customs and institutions of society forward. He uses sunshine and He uses storms to accomplish His purposes. He is over aU and behind all. Princes get mad and rulers set themselves in opposition to Him, but He turns their wrath and folly to His own account. He acts through good men and through homes and States. He employs Peace Societies and He employs Armies to hasten in His Kingdom. His Kingdom is coming. In spite of all and against all God will win; for "God is love," and "love Avill conquer at the last."

Chapter XII. The Destruction of Cervera's Fleet 144

CUAPTER XIII.

Admiral George Dewey — Dewey on Shore — His First Marriage — Appointment in Washington — Battle of Manila Bay — The Home Coming of Dewey — Reception in New York — Presentation of Sword in Washington — Reception in Boston — Laying of Corner Stone of Dewey Hall — Speech of Hon. Chauncey Depew — Second Marriage — Gift of Home in Washington 156

Chapter XXIII

The Philippine Question — The Treaty of Peace — The Philippine Commission — Ambition of Aguinaldo — What the Commission Found — The Kebellion Must Be Put Down — Work of Reconstruction — A Few Words About Sulu — Freedom of the Slaves in Jolo — Future Government of the Philippines Rests With Congress — A Protectorate Not Desirable — Will Uphold Sovereignty of U. S. — Kindness to the Filipinos Is the Defeat of Aguinaldo. . . . 304

Chapter XXIV

Frpderick Funston — Early Life — Services in the Agricultural Department — University Life — Funston's Student Days — Newspaper Reporter — Alaskan Experiences — War Experiences — Funston and the Regular Army — Speech to the Regiment — Commandant of Artillery — His Marriage — Bravery of the Kansas Regiment — Funston's Famous Exploit — Daring of the Corporal and Volunteers — Incidents — General Henry W. Lawton — Major John A. Logan — The OfEcers and Soldiers of the Filipino War — Report of the Philippine Commission — Speech of Senator Albert J. Beveridge 315

BOOK li.-LIVING ISSUES.

Chapter XXVI

Expansion Sentiments by the Following: Rev. F. A. Noble, D. D. — Admir?l Geo. Dewey — Hon. Stephen A. Douglas — Hon. Wm. Pitt Frye — Archbishop Ireland — Hon. Cushman K. Davis — Gov. Theo. Roosevelt — Hon. D. M. Dickinson — Hon. A. J. Smith — Ex-Senator Peffer — Senator Shelby Cullom — Hon. Champ Clark — Chas. J. Bonaparte — Gen. Edward S. Bragg — Hon. Wm. Dudley Foulke — Hon. J. P. Dolliver — Judge Oliver H. Horton — Bishop Samuel Fallows, D. D. — Hon. E. Benj. Andrews, LL. D. — Hon. Luther Laflin Mills, Democrat — Rev. Lyman Abbott, D. D. — Judge Richard S. Tuthill — Hon. Geo. Adams, Democrat — Hon. Lambert Tree, Democrat — Gen. Jno. Black, Democrat — Hon. John Barton Payne, Democrat— Rev. P. S. Henson, D. D.— Rev. Edward Everett Hale, D. D.— Eev. Father T. P. Hodnett— Col. J. H. Davidson— Bishop C. H. Fowler, D. D.— Rev. J. H. 0. Smith— Rev. E. A. Dunning— Sen. Carter— Gov. Roosevelt — Hon. A. G. Foster — Col. Chas. Denby — Murat Halstead — Opinions of Professors in 17 Western Colleges, Etc., Etc 339 xii TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Chapter XXYII.

Anti-Expansion Sentiments: \Vm. J. Bryan — Andrew Carnegie — Gen. J. B. Weaver — Hon. Bcnj, R. Tillman — Hon. Geo. F. Hoar — Samuel Gompers — Hon. Arthur P. Gorman — Hon. Marion Butler — Hon. Geo. G. Vest — Hon. Stephen M. White — Charles Francis Adams — Hon. Henry M. Teller — Hon. Geo. F. Edmunds — Hon. Adlai Stevenson — David Star Jordan — Hon. Carl Schurz — Hon. Jno. W. Daniel — Hon. H. D. Money — Hon. Wm. E. Mason — Hon. Horace Chilton — Hon. A. 0. Bacon — Hon. Geo. W. Turner — Hon. Jno. L. McLaurin — Hon. Alex. S. Clay — Hon. Henry U. Johnson — Rev. H. D. Bigelow of Cincinnati — Ex-Congressman Chas. A. Town — Prof. Geo. Herron — Ex-Governor Geo. S. Boutell — Prof. A. H. Tolman — Prof. J. L. Laughlin — Clarence M. Darrow — Senator Geo. F. Hoar— Gen. W. B. Shattuck and Others 393

Chapter XXVIII

Opinions on Trusts by the Following : Prof. Jno. B. Clark — Henry White —Hon. W. D. Foulke— Lewis F. Post— M. L. Lockwood— Thos. J. Morgan — Edward Keasley — Samuel Gompers — M. M. Garland — Gov. H. S. Pingree— Hon. Chas. W. Foster— P. E. Dowe— F. B. Thurber— Gov. G. W. Atkinson — Hon. C. E. Snodgrass — E. Rosewater — Hon. Dudley Wooten — Prof. Jno. G. Brooks, Harvard — Dr. Henry Adams — Attorney General E. C. Crowe— Rev. R. A. Wliite— Gov. H. S. Pingree— Rev. J. Lloyd Jones — Dr F. W. Gunsaulus — Hon. Bourke Cockran — William J. Bryan — Rev. Father Ducey, and Many Others 433

Chapter XXIX. Municipal Ownership 466

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

Page

George Washington Frontispiece

Commodore Jones Capturing the Serapis 14

Commodore Paul Jones 15

Commodore John Barry 21

Decatur's Conflict with the Algerians at Tripoli — Reuben Jones Interposing

His Head to Save the Life of His Commander 28

Commodore Stephen Decatur 29

Battle Between the Constitution and the Guerriere 125

Another View of the Battle Between the Constitution and the Guerriere 124

Commodore James Laurence 60

Death of Captain Laurence 6i

Battle of Lake Erie — Commodore Perry Leaving His Flagship 77

Battle of Lake Champlain — Macdonough Pointing the Gun 82

Commodore T. Macdonough 83

Naval Heroes in the Spanish-American War — Rear Admiral Sampson — Rear Admiral Schley — Captain Evans — Captain Clark — Lieutenant Commodore Wainwright , . . 44

Commodore David E. Farragut , 45

The Sinking of the Merrimae (Colored Plate) 127

Hole Made by a Spanish Shot in the Armor Plate of the Battleship Texas. . . 141

Cutting the Cable Under Fire 140

Effect of a Good American Shot (Colored Plate) 148

Adios, Vizcaya ! 152

Captain Evans Refusing Eulate's Sword 153

Officer Dewey the Last to Leave the Burning Ship Mississippi 156

The Hero of Manila — Admiral George Dewey 157

Dewey's Victory at Manila ( Colored Plate) 185

Washington Taking Command of the Army at Cambridge, 1775 196

George Washington (from an original portrait) 197

At Valley Forge — Washington and Lafayette 200

Battle of Bunker Hill 201

General Scott Entering the City of Mexico 217

General Winfield Scott 216

Giants of the Republic — George Washington — Abraham Lincoln — U. S. Grant. 231 Leading Generals Who Commanded Insurgent Forces in Cuba — Antonio

2 =^'"

xiv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

Page

Militan- Heroes in the Spanish- American and Philippine Wars — Major Gen. Nelson A. Miles— Gen. II. W. Lawton— Major Gen. Joseph Wheeler- Col. Theodore Eoosevelt— Major Gen. W. E. Shaftcr 257

Artillery Men Trying to Locate the Enemy's Batteries Under Fire 178

Heroic Charge of the Tenth Cavalry (Colored) at San Juan 172

In the Thick of the Fight Before Santiago (Colored Plate) 267

Storming of Malate (Colored Plate) 271

Teddy Roosevelt (Colored Plate) 277

U. S. Troops Embarking at San Francisco for the Philippine Islands 305

Aguinaldo, the Insurgent Leader of the Filipinos 304

United States Volunteer in Full ilarching Order 314

General Frederick Funston 815

Eminent Politicians and Statesmen — Expansionists — Gen. Jno. C. Black — Hon. Jos. Choatc — Hon. Jno. Barton Pa}-ne — U. S. Senator Mark A.

Hanna — U. S. Senator Cushman K. Davis 339

President McKinley and His Cabinet — Expansionists — President McKinley Postmaster General Smith — Secretary Root — Secretary Long — Secretary

Gage — Secretary Wilson — Secretary Hay — Attorney General Griggs 339

Noted Divines — Expansionists — Cardinal Gibbons — Rev. F. A. Noble, D. D. — . Rev. Father T. P. Hodnett, D. D.— Rev. J. P. Brushingham, D. D.—

Rev. J. II. 0. Smith, D. D 339

A Group of Expansionists — Hon. Whitelaw Reid — Hon. Luther Laflin Mills —

Supt. E. B. Andrews— Ex. U. S. Senator Peffer— Hon. Richard S. Tuthill. 339 Educators and Statesmen — Anti-Expansionists — Prof. E. Yon Hoist — President Henry Wade Rogers, LL. D. — Ex- Vice-President A. E. Stevenson —

U. S. Senator Jno. W. Daniel 410

Eminent Politicians and Statesmen — Anti-Expansionists — Wm. E. Mason — • Col. W. J. Bryan— J. G. Carlisle— B. R. Tillman— G. F. Hoar— Geo. G.

Vest 411

Statesmen Who Took Part in the Trust Conference — Geo. W. Atkinson —

W. A. Poynter— Hazen S. Pingree— W. E. Stanley— Edward Scofield 426

Officers of Conference on Trusts — Dudley G. Wooten — Henry A^. Johnson — Franklin II. Head— Wm. Wirt Howe— Stephen P. Corless— Ralph M.

Easley 427

Noted Politicians — Anti-Trust — William J. Bryan — W. Bourke Cockran —

Charles Foster — Henry W. Blair 430

Men of Affairs on Trusts — Samuel Gompers — Edward Q. Xeasbey — U. M.

Rose— T. B. Walker— M. M. Garland— A. Leo Weil 431

How Baleful Trusts Are Operated 439

The Trust Octopus 447

The Trust Hog Sent Over the Precipice of Insolvency 45-9

COMMODORE JO\ES CAPTURING THE SERAPIS

COMMODORE PAL'L JOKES

Splendid Deeds of American Heroes.

Chapter 1. Paul Jones, The Bon Homme Richard And The Serapis

The American people are justly proud of the historic deeds of their navy. Since their first great sea fight between the Bon Homme Richar«l, under the command of John Paul Jones, and the English frigate, Serapis, off Flamborough Head, England, the naval history of this western nation has been an almost unbroken line of brilliant exploits.

This memorable naval duel was fought on September 23, 1779, under a full harvest moon, which lent an added weirdness to the scene. On th^L English shore were gathered thousands of spectators, who watched the engagement with an eagerness and anxiety corresponding to the desperate chances of the game.

Nothing more thrilling is to be found in naval chronicles. As a close and deadly fight, hand to hand, and attended by all the gallant exhibitions of human courage, it has no parallel in history.

John Paul Jones was a Scotchman by birth, but some years before the Revolutionary war he had become a citizen of the colonies. His officers were Americans, but the crew was a motley crowd, representing more than a score of nationalities, half of whom, however, were hardy, well trained American seamen. The Bon Homme Richard was an old vessel and her timbers were soft and rotten, while her poorly cast guns were more dangerous to the crew than to the enemy.

With Jones sailed two other ships, the Pallas and the Alliance; the latter commanded by a Frenchman named Landais, a jealous, despicable poltroon and traitor.

Commodore Jones had sighted a fleet of English merchantmen convoyed by the Serapis and the Countess of Scarborough, and at once signaled for the rest of the squadron to begin a general chase. The Alliance being the fastest sailer took the lead in the pursuit. As she moved ahead, Captain Landais spoke the Pallas, and told her commander that, if the enemy proved to be a fifty-gun ship, there was nothing left but to try to keep out of the way. Landals took his own advice; for he no sooner discovered the size of the Serapis, than he hauled off, under full , sail.

The Pallas bravely engaged the Countess of Scarborough, and, after a bloody conflict of an hour, Captain Cottineau compelled the white cross of St. < ieorge to bow to the Stars and Stripes of an almost nameless republic.

Thus llie Ron Homme Richard and the Serapis were left alone to fight in single combat. .

Ilalf the afternoon, on that memorable 23d of September, the Richard, under crowded sail, had determinedly chased the Serapis. At seven o'clock, just as the dusk of evening was gathering, Jones came within pistol shot of the English ship.

As the Yankee boat slowly drew near. Captain Pearson hailed her:

"What ship is that?"

"Come a little nearer and I'll tell you," was Paul Jones' answer.

"What are you laden with?" again came from the Englishman.

"Round, grape and double headed shot!" was the ready-witted reply.

And almost at the same instant the Richard let go a broadside in rebuke to the contemptuous demand of the Serapis upon a man-of-war.

The Richard carried forty guns, and the whole weight of iron missiles she could throw with them all at one discharge was four hundred and seventy-four pounds; while the Serapis, with forty-one guns, could throw six hundred pounds.

At the very first discharge two of the eighteen pounders of the Richard burst, killing almost every man of the gun crews that served them, and, tearing up the deck, created such havoc as to render the four other large gnus useless. The inequality of the contest was in this way greatly increased, for it reduced the armament of the Richard to nearly a third less than that of her antagonist.

Almost simultaneously the Serapis responded to the Richard's fire with a heavy broadside. Flash answered flash. The lightning of artillery glared upon the scene and the thunder of cannonading was a continuous roar.

The hail of iron tore through both ships. Timbers crashed and death-dealing splinters flew in all directions. The decks were strewn with the mangled bodies of the dead and dying.

The sand that had been sprinkled on the floors to keep the men from slipping became soaked with blood and refused to hold their hurrying footsteps.

PAUL JONES— THE BON HOMME RICHARD. 17

Very slowly the two vessels moved along, each trying to cross the other's track and with a broadside rake the enemy from stern to bow. The Richard had received several shots at the water line and seemed to be sinking.

Any other captain than Paul Jones would have struck his colors.

Several of the braces of the Richard had been shot away. She would not readily respond to the helm, and the bowsprit of the Serapis was thrust across the stern of the Richard. This Captain Jones grasped with his grappling irons, and with his own hands made the two ships fast.

Side by side, with yards entangled, so that the sailors of the Richard could pass from her maintop to the foretop of the Serapis, they exchanged broadside after broadside. Finding themselves securely locked in a fatal embrace that could not be shaken off, the enemy tried to board the Richard, but were driven back.

Officer Stacy, as brave a man as was to be found aboard, but, like many sailors given to profanity, began to swear furiously. Jones said to him:

"Don't swear, Mr. Stacy, don't swear; in another minute we may all be in eternity, but let us do our duty.''

The fight now raged furiously. The lower portholes of the Serapis, which had been shut to prevent the Americans from boarding, were blown off, as there was not room between the closely lashed hulls to raise them.

The gunners, in ramming down the charges, often ran their ramrods into the portholes of the other vessel, so closely were they interlocked.

The superior armament of the Englishman told upon the Richard; her sides were rent by the eighteen pound guns of the Serapis, which, with their muzzles thrust into the vex'y portholes of the American boat, cleared everything before them.

The gunners were forced to abandon their pieces on the main deck and go above, some to the upper deck and forecastle, others into the yards and tops, whence they kept up a constant fire of musketry and hand grenades.

Captain Jones presently realized that with his rotten vessel he would soon get the worst of such fighting, and therefore gave the order:

"Stand by, men, and board her."

A hundred men made a rush over the gunwales into the Serapis.

They were met by an equal number of Englishmen, with pistol?:, swords and pikes, who drove them back with many killed on either side.

In the darkness the flags could not be seen and Captain Pearson, of the Serapis, shouted:

"Have you struck your flag?"

Back was thundered the historic reply from John Paul Jones: