Contents
THE NAVAL HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES.
Chapter I
Early Exploits upon the Water. — Gallop's Batple with the Indians. — Buccaneers AND Pirates. — Morgan and Blackheard. — Capt. Kidd turns Pirate. — Hownfall OF THE Buccaneers' Power
CHAPTER n.
Expeditions against Neighboring Colonies. — Romantic Career of Sir William Phipps. — Quelling a Mutiny. — Expeditions against Quebec
CHAPTER HI.
Opening of the American Revolution. — Tut Affair of the Schooner " St. John.''
— The Press-Gang and its Work. — '1 he Sloop "Liberty." — Destruction of the "Gaspee." — The Boston Tea-Par rv
CHAPTER IV.
The Beginning of the Navy. — Lexington and Concord. — A Blow struck in Maine. — Capture of the " Margareita." — Gen. Washington and the Navy.
— Work of Capt. Manly
CHAFFER V.
INVENTS of 1776. — The First Cruise of the Regular Navy. — The "Lexington" and the "Edward." — Mugford's Brave Fight. — Loss of the" Yankee Hero."
— Capt. Manly, and the " Defence." — American Vessels in European Waters.
— Good Work of the "Lexington" and the "Reprisal." — The P.ritish defeated at Charleston
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VI.
The Career of Paul Jones. — In Command of the " Providence." — Capture of the "Mellish." — Exploits with the "Alfred." — In Command of the "Ranger." — Sweeping the English Channel. — The Descent upon Whitehaven
CHAPTER VH.
Career of Paul Jones continued. — His Descent upon the Castle of Lxjrd Selkirk. — The Affair of the Pl.\te. — The Descent upon Whitehaven. — The Battle with the "Drake." — Lieut. Simpson's Perfidy
CHAPTER VHI.
Career of Paul Jones continued. — His Search for a Ship. — Given Command of the " Bon Homme Richard." — Landais and his Character. — The Frustrated Mutiny. — Landais quarrels with Jones. — Edinisurgh and Leith thkeateked.
— The Dominie's Prayer
CHAPTER IX.
Career of Paul Jones concluded. — The Battle between the "Bon Homme Richard" and the "Serapis." — Treachery of Landais. — Jones's Great Victory.
— Landais steals the " Alliance." — Jones in Command of the "Ariel." — The "Ariel" in the ^Storm. — Arrival in America ........
CHAPTER X.
Career of Nicholas Biddle. — His E.xploit at Lewiston Jail. — Cruise in the "Randolph." — Battle with the "Yarmouth." — The Fatal Explosion. — Samuel Tucker. — His Boyhood. — Encounter with Corsairs. — Cruising in the "Franklin." — In Command of the "Boston." — Anecdotes of Caff. Tucker .
CHAPTER XI.
Hostilities in 1777. — American Reverses. — The British in Philadelphia. — The Attack upon Fort Mifflin. — Cruise of the "Raleigh" and the "Alfred." — Torpedo Warfare. — The Battle of the Kegs
CHAPTER XII.
Naval Events of 1778. — Recruiting for the Navy. — The Descent upon New Providence. — Operations on the Delaware. — Capt. Barry's Exploits. — Destruction of the American Frigates. — American Reverses. — The Capture of the " PiGOT." — French Naval Exploits
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XIII.
Last Years of the War. — Disastrous Expedition to the Penobscot. — Wholesale Captures on the Newfoundland Banks. — French Ships in American Waters.
— Taking of Charleston. — The "Trumbull's" Victory and Defeat. — Capt. Barry and the "Alliance." — Close of the War
CHAPTER XIV.
Work of the Privateers. — The "Gen. Hancock" and the "Levant." — Exploits of the "Pickering" — The "Revenge." — The "Holkar." — The "Congress" and the "Savage." — The " Hyder Ali" and the "Gen. Monk." — The Whale- Boat Hostilities. — The "Old Jersey" Prison-Ship
CHAPTER XV.
The Navy Disbanded. — Aggressions of Barbary Corsairs. — A Disgraceful Tribute.
— Bainbridce and the Dey. — Gen. Eaton at Tunis. — A Squadron sent to the Mediterranean. — Decatur and the Spaniards. — The "Enterprise" and the "Tripoli." — American Slaves in Algiers
CHAPTER XVI.
More Vigorous Policy. — Commodore Morris sent to the Mediterranean. — Porter's Cutting-Out Expedition. — Commodore Preble sent to the Mediterranean. — His Encounter with a British Manof-War. — The Loss of the "Philadelphia." — Decatur's Daring Adventure
CHAPTER XVII.
\ Stirring Year. — The Bombardment op Tripoli. — Decatur's Hand-to-Hand Fight. — Lieut. Trippe's Bravery. — Lieut. Spence's Bold Deed. — Somers's Narrow Escape. — The Floating Mine. — The Fatal Explosion. — Close of THE War. — The End
PART 11.
BLUE lACKHTS OF 1812.
CHAPTER I.
Tub Gathering of the War-Cloud. — The Re'olution ended, but the War for Independence yet unfqught. — Outrages upon American Sailors. — The Riciir OF Search. — Impressment. — Boyhoou ok Commodore Porter. — Early Days of Commodores Perry and Barney. — Burning a Privateer. — The Embargo. — War Inevitable
CH.'\PTER II.
War with France. — The Building of a Navy. — First Success for the Americans.
— CurriNG out the "Sandwich." — The "Constellation " and "L'Insuruenie."
— The " Constellation " and "La Vengeance"
CH.MTER III.
Proposed Reduction of the Navy. — Renewal of British Outrages. — The Affaik OF THE "Baltimore." — Attack on the "Leander." — Encounter between the "Chesapeake" and "Leopard." — The "President" and "Little Belt"
CHAPTER IV.
The War on the Ocean. — Commodore Rodgers's Cruise. — The Loss of the "Nautilus." — First Success for the British. — The Escape of the "Constitution.-
— The "Esse-x" takes the "Alert." — The "Constitution" and the "Guerriere,"
CHAFFER V.
An International Debate. — The "Wasp" and the "Frolic." — The "United States" and THE "Macedonian." — Ovations to the Victors
vi
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VI.
Bainbridge takes Command of the "Constitution."— The Defeat of the " Java."— Close of the Year's Hostilities on the Ocean
CHAPTER Vn.
The War on the Lakes. — The Attack on Sackett's Harbor.— Oliver Hazard Perry ordered to Lake Erie. — The Battle of Put-in-Bay ....
CHAPTER VIII.
On the Ocean. — The "Hornet" sinks the "Peacock." — The Blockade. — Adventures of the "Sally." — Hostilities on Chesapeake Bay. — The Cruise of the " President "
CHAPTER IX.
Decatur blockaded at New York. — Attempts to escape through Long Island .Sound. — The Flag-Ship struck by Lightning. — Torpedoes. — Fulton's Steam- Frigate. — Action BETvifEEN the "Chesapeake" and "Shannon" ....
CHAPTER X.
Cruise of the "Essex." — A Rich Prize. — The Mysterious Letter. — Cape Horn rounded. — Capture of a Peruvian Privateer. — Among the British Whalers.
— Porter in Command of a Squadron. — A Boy Commander. — The Squadron lays up at Nookaheevah
CHAPTER XI.
War with the Savages. — The Campaign against the Typees. — Departure from Nookaheevah. — The "Essex" anchors at Valparaiso. — Arrival of the "Phcehe" and "Cherub." — They capture the "Essex." — Porter's Encounter with the " Saturn." — The Mutiny at Nookaheevah
CHAPTER XII.
Caiture of the "Surveyor." — Work of the Gunboat Flotilla. — Operations on CiiiiSAi'EAKE Bay. — Cockburn's Depredations. — Cruise of the "Argus." — IIkr Capture BY the "Pelican." — Battle between the "Enterprise" and "Boxer."
— End of the Year 1813 on the Ocean "
CHAFFER XIII.
On the Lakes. — Close of Hostilities on Lakes Erie and Huron. — Desultory Warfare on Lake Ontario in 1813. — Hostilities on Lake Ontario in 1814. — The liArrLE of Lake Champlain. — End of the War upon the Lakes . .
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VII.
The Blockade-Runners. — Nassau and Wilmington. — Work of the Cruisers .
CHAPTER VIII.
Du PoNr-'s Expedition to Hilton Head and Port Royal. — The Fiery Circle .
CHAPTER IX.
ThB FiRSI fKON-CI.AD VESSELS IN HISTORY. — THE "MeRRIMAC" SINKS THE "CUMBER- LAND," AM) DESTROYS THE " CONGRESS." — Dt'EL BETWEEN THE " MONITOR " AND "Merrimvc"
CHAPTER X.
The Navy in the InijWd Waters. — The Mississippi Squadron. — Sweeping the Tennessee River
CHAPTER XL
t'AMous Confederate Privateers, — the "Alabama," the " Shen.\ndoah," the "Nashville"
CHAPTER XII.
Work ok the Gulf Squadron. — The Fight at the Passes of the Mississippi. — Destruction of the Schooner "Judaii." — The Blockade of Galveston, and Capture of the "Harriet Lane"
CHAPTER XIII.
The Capture of New Orleans. — Farragut's Fleet passes Fort St. Philip and Fort Jackson
CHAPTER XIV.
Along the Mississippi. — Forts Jackson and St. Philip surrender. — The Battle at St. Charles. — The Ram "Arkansas." — Bombardment and Capture of Port Hudson
CONTENTS. xl
CHAPTER XV.
Cruise in the Forests ............
CHAPTER XVI.
VlCKSBURO SURRENDERS, AND THE MlSSISSIITI IS OPENED. — NaVAI, EVENTS AI.ONC THE
Gulf Coast
CHAPTER XVII.
Operations about Charleston. — The roMBARDMENT, the Sieoe, and the Capture,
CHAPTER XVIII.
The Battle of Mobile Bay
CHAPTER XIX.
The Fall of Fort Fisher. — The Navy ends its Work
PART If/.
BLUE JACKETS IN TIME OF PEACE.
CHAPTER I.
Police Service on the High Seas. — War Service in Asiatic Ports. — Losses by the Perils of the Deep. — A Brush with the Pirates. — Admiral Rodgers at Corea. — Services in Arctic Waters. — The Disaster at Samoa. — The Attack on the "Baltimore's" Men at Valparaiso. — Loss of the " Kearsarge." — The Naval Review
( HAPTKR 11.
T IE Navai. Militia. — A Volunteer Service which in Time of War will bf EffbttivE. — How Boys are Trained for the Life of a Sailor. — Conditions of Enlistment in ihe Volunteer Branch of the Service. — The Work of the Seagoing Militia in Summer
Chapter III
How ihe Navy has Guown. — The Cost and Character of our New Whiie Ships OF War. — Oi'R Period of Naval Weakness and our Advance to a Pi..\ce among THE Great Naval Powers. — The New Devices of Naval Warfare. — The Torpedo, THE Dynamite Gun, and the Modern Rifle. — Armor and its Possibilities,
PART V.
THE NAVAI. WAR WITH SPAIN.
Chapter I
The State of Cuba. — Pertinacity of the Revolutionists. — Spain's Sacrifices and Failure. — Spanish Barbarities. — The Policy of Reconcentkation. — American Sympathy Aroused. — The Struggle in Congress. — The Assassination OF THE " Maine." — Report of the Commission. — The Onward March TO Battle
Chapter II
The Opening Days of the War. — The First Blow Struck in the Pacific. — Dewey and His Fleet. — The Battle at Manila. — An Eye-witness' Story. — Delay and Doubt in the East. — Dull Times for the Blue-jackets. — The Discovery of Cervera. — Hobson's Exploit. — The Outlook ....
Chapter III
The Spanish Fleet makf.s a Dash from the Harbor. — Its total Destruction.— Admiral Cervera a Prisoner.— Great Spanish Losses.— American Fleet i-osEf BUT one Man .
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
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 .........
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!"
Ready to Board \
Engagement of the Frigates "United States" and "Macedonian," Christ mas Day, 181 2
A">'iming to be British Men-of-War r"' •
ILLUSTRATIONS
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 lo, 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
Reponse to the Call for Volunteers to Accompany Hobson on the "Merrimac "...'..........
The "President" Tries to Escape .....*..
Battleship " Massachusetts"
Prison Chaplain and Jailer . , , ■.
ILLUSTRATIONS
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" — Topedo-Boat of the Smallest Type — 46^ 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 Font'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, 1S63
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"
ILLUSTRATIONS
Passing the Vicksburg Batteries
Bailey's Dam on the Red River .........
Engagement Between the U. S. Flagsliip "Hartford " and tlie 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 i, 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 I, i8g8
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 Kico ....
New York's Welcome to the Battleship "Te.xas" ......
Spanish Merchant Steamer "Panama," Captured Ajiril 25, by Lighthouse Tender " Mangrove "..........
ILLUSTRATIONS and
F'orward 13-inch Guns on Battleship "Indiana" ....
F'orward 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,
Ironclads in Action .........
Bombardment of Forts at Entrance of Santiago Harbor, Cuba, May 6 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 ...r,n .»,,c
PART I BLUE JACKETS OF '7b
Chapter I
EARLY EXPLOITS UPON THE WATER. —GALLOP'S BATTLE WITH THE INDIANS. — BUCCANEERS AND PIRATES. - MORGAN AND BLACKBEARD. -CAPT. KIDD TURNS PIRATE. - DOWNFALI OF THE BUCCANEERS' POWER.
N 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 colonics 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 wtvo 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 v/as 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 saUor 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 lett, 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.
This combat is the earliest action upon American waters of which we have any trustworthy records. The only naval event antedating this was the expedition from Virginia, under Capt. Samuel Argal, against the little French settlement of San Sauveur. Indeed, had it not been for the pirates and the neighboring French settlements, there would be little in the early history of the American Colonies to attract the lover of naval history. But about 1645 the buccaneers began to commit depredations on the high seas, and it became necessary for the Colonies to take steps for the protection of their commerce. In this year an eighteen-gun ship from Cambridge, Mass., fell in with a Barbary pirate of twenty guns, and was hard put to it to escape. And, as the seventeenth century drew near its close, these pests of the sea so increased, that evil was sure to befall the peaceful merchantman that put to sea without due preparation for a fight or two with the sea robbers.
It was in the low-lying islands of the Gulf of Mexico, that these predatory gentry — buccaneers, marooners, or pirates — made their headquarters, and lay in wait for the richly freighted merchantmen in the West India trade. Men of all nationalities sailed under the " Jolly Roger," — as the dread black flag with skull and cross-bones was called, — but chiefly were they French and Spaniards. The continual wars that in that turbulent time racked Europe gave to the marauders of the sea a specious excuse for their occupation. Thus, many a Spanish schooner, manned by a swarthy crew bent on plunder, commenced her career on the Spanish Main, with the intention of taking only ships belonging to France and England ; but let a richly laden Spanish galleon appear, after a long season of ill-fortune, and all scruples were thrown aside, the "Jolly Roger" sent merrily to the fore, and another pirate was added to the list of those that made the highways of the sea as dangerous to travel as the footpad infested common of Hounslow Heath. English ships went out to hunt down the treacherous Spaniards, and stayed to rob and pillage indiscriminately ; and not a few of the names now honored as those of eminent English discoverers, were once dreaded as being borne by merciless pirates.
But the most powerful of the buccaneers on the Spanish Main were French, and between them and the Spaniards an unceasing warfare was waged. There were desperate men on either side, and mighty stories are told of their deeds of valor. There were Pierre Francois, who, with si.x and twenty desperadoes, dashed into the heart of a Spanish fleet, and captured the admiral's flag-ship; Bartholomew Portuguese, who, with thirty men, made repeated attacks upon a great Indiaman with a crew of seventy, and though beaten back time and again, persisted until the crew surrendered to the twenty buccaneers left alive ; Frangois I'Olonoise, who sacked the cities of Maracaibo and Gibraltar, and who, on hearing that a man-o'-vvar had been sent to drive him away, went boldly to meet her, captured her, and slaughtered all of the crew save one, whom he sent to bear the bloody tidings to the governor of Havana.
Such were the buccaneers, — desperate, merciless, and insatiate in their lust for plunder. So numerous did they finally become, that no merchant dared to send a ship to the West Indies; and the pirates, finding that they had fairly exterminated their game, were fain to turn landwards for further booty. It was an Englishman that showed the sea rovers this new plan of pillage ; one Louis Scott, who descended upon the town of Campeche, and, after stripping the place to the bare walls, demanded that a heavy tribute be paid him, in default of which he would burn the town. Loaded with booty, he sailed back to the buccaneers' haunts in the Tortugas. This expedition was the example that the buccaneers followed for the next few years. City after city fell a prey to the demoniac attacks of the lawless rovers. Houses and churches were sacked, towns given to the flames, rich and poor plundered alike ; murder was rampant ; and men and women were subjected to the most horrid tortures, to extort information as to buried treasures.
Two great names stand out pre-eminent amid the host of outlaws that took part in this reign of rapine, — I'Olonoise and Sir Henry Morgan. The desperate exploits of these two worthies would, if recounted, fill volumes ; and probably no more extraordinary narrative of cruelty, courage, suffering, and barbaric luxury could be fabricated. Morgan was a Welsh man, an emigrant, who, having worked out as a slave the cost of his passage across the ocean, took immediate advantage of his freedom to take up the trade of piracy. For him was no pillaging of paltry merchant-ships. He demanded grander operations, and his bands of desperadoes assumed the proportions of armies. Many were the towns that suffered from the bloody visitations of Morgan and his men. Puerto del Principe yielded up to them three hundred thousand pieces of eight, five hundred head of cattle, and many prisoners. Porto Bello was bravely defended against the barbarians ; and the stubbornness of the defence so enraged Morgan, that he swore that no quarter should be given the defenders. And so when some hours later the chief fortress surrendered, the merciless buccaneer locked its garrison in the guard-room, set a torch to the magazine, and sent castle and garrison flying into the air. Maracaibo and Gibraltar next fell into the clutches of the pirate. At the latter town, finding himself caught in a river with three men-of-war anchored at its mouth, he hastily built a fire-ship, put some desperate men at the helm, and sent her, a sheet of flame, into the midst of the squadron. The admiral's ship was destroyed ; and the pirates sailed away, e.xulting over their adversaries' discomfiture. Rejoicing over their victories, the followers of Morgan then planned a venture that should eclipse all that had gone before. This was no less than a descent upon Panama, the most powerful of the West Indian cities. For this undertaking, Morgan gathered around him an army of over two thousand desperadoes of all nationalities. A little village on the island of Hispaniola was chosen as the recruiting station ; and thither flocked pirates, thieves, and adventurers from all parts of the world. It was a motley crew thus gathered together, — Spaniards, swarthy skinned and black haired ; wiry Frenchmen, quick to anger, and ever ready with cutlass or pistol ; Malays and Lascars, half ;lad in gaudy colors, treacherous and sullen, with a hand ever on their glittering creeses ; Englishmen, handy alike with fist, bludgeon, or cutlass, and mightily given to fearful oaths ; negroes, Moors, and a few West Indians mixed with the lawless throng.
• Having gathered his band, procured provisions (chiefly by plundering), and built a fleet of boats, Morgan put his forces in motion. The first obstacle in his path was the Castle of Chagres, which guarded the mouth of the Chagres River, up which the buccaneers must pass to reach the city of Panama. To capture this fortress, Morgan sent his vice-admiral Bradley, with four hundred men. The Spaniards were evidently warned of their approach ; for hardly had the first ship flying the piratical ensign appeared at the mouth of the river, when the royal standard of Spain was hoisted above the castle, and the dull report of a shotted gun told the pirates that there was a stubborn resistance in store for them.
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