Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1830-1846, 1839-05-30

n Tie Ihtrcpld was slllI al consiucraOle
d stance from the Philadelphia when the lat.
ter hailed. The pil,t answered that the
keich belonged to Malta, and was on tra-
ding voyage; that she had been nearly
wrecked aud had lost her anchors ~ late
gale, aud that the commander wished to rlde
by the irgate during the night The con-
versstion lasted souie time, Mr.. Decatur IN
slructlng the pilot 10 tell the frigate'S people
with what he was laden, III order TO ainuse
them, aud the Intrepid gradually drew near
er, until there was every prospect OF her 'un-
ming foul The Philadelphia, IN minute OF
two, and at the very spot contempu'ed.--
II But the wind suddenly shifted and took the
ketch aback. The instant the southerIy pun
struck her, her head fell off and she got n
stern. board the ship, at the same inomeh'
| tending To the new current of air. The Ell
| feet of this unexpected change was TO bring
| The kclch directly under the irigate's broad
AIDE. at the distance of about forty yards,
whers she lay perfectly becalmcd, or, II any
thing, drifled slowly astern, exposed to near.
y every one OF the Philadeiphla's larboard
guns.
Not the smallest suspicion appears to have
been yet excited on board the ffigate, though
several Of her people were looking over her
rails, and notwithstanding the moonlight
so completely were the Turks deceived, that
hey lowered a boat, and sent with 1t fast.
Some Of the ketcl's men in the mean time,
had got into her boat, and had run line to
The iIga,c's fore chains. As they returned.
they met the frigate's boat, took the fast It
brought which came from the after part ol
the ship, aud passed it into their own vessel.
Il FL SC tasts were put into the hands OF the
IN, u, as they lay on the ketcl,'s deck, ana
they began cautiously to breast the Intrepid
ilong,de of the Phiade phia without rising.
As soon as the latter got near enough to The
ship, the Turks discovered her anchors, and
they slcrny ordered the ketch to keep on
as She had deceived them preparing ut the
same time, To cut the iasts. All this passed
in moment, wht u the cry Of 'Amerkanos'
was heard IN the ship. The people of The
Intrepid, by strong pull, brought the vessel
alongside the friga,c, where she was secured,
quick as thought. Up to this moment not
whisper had betrayed the presence OF the
men concealed. The instruction had been
p ,slive to keep quiet until commanded to
show themselves, and no precipitation, even
III that trying moment deranged the plan.
II Lieut.. Com. Decatur was standing ready
for u spring, with Mcssrs. Laws and Morris
II quite near him. As soon as close enough,
| h. jumped at the fr gates chain plates, and
while clnglng to the chip himself, hs gave
H the order TO board. The two midshlpmen
were at his side, and all the officers and men
/ of the Intrepid arose and followed. The
| three gentlemen named were in the chains
Together, and Lieut.. Com. Decatur and MIR.
\ Morris sprang at the rail above them, Will"
Il Mr.. Laws dashed at the port. To the latter
would have belonged the honor of having
been first in this gallant assault, but wearing
a boarding belt, his pistols were caught be-
tween The gun and The side OF the port. Mr..
Decatur's foot slipped in sprnging, and Mr..
Ch res Morris first stood upon the quarter
deck of the Philadelphia, In an instant,
Lieut.. Com. Decatur and Mr.. Laws were at
his side, while heads and bodies appeared
coming over the rail, and through the ports,
IN oil directions.
The surprise seems to have been as per-
feet, as the assault was rapid and earnest
Most of the Turks on deck crowded forward,
and all ran over to the starbosrd side, as their
enemies poured in on the larboard. A few
were aft, but as soon as charged they leoped
into the sea. Indeed, the constant punges
into the water, gave the assallants the as
surance that their enemies were fast lessen.
| ing in numbers by fight. 1t took but min
ute or two to clear the spar.deck, though
there was more Of struggle below. Still,
so admirably managed was the attack, and
so coInmpleie the surprise, that the resistance
was but trfling. In less than ten minutes,
II Mr. Decatur was on the quarterback again,
IN undisturbcd possession Of his prize.
II There can be no doubt that this gallant
officer now felt bitter regrets, that it was not
IN his power to bring away the ship he had
so noby recovered. Not only were his or
ders on this point peremptory, however, but
the frgate had not a sail bent, nor yard
crossed, and she wanted her tOremast. 1t
was next to impossible, therefore, to remove
her, and the command was given to pass up
the combustibles from the kctch.
The duty OF setting fire TO the prize ap-
pears to have been executed with as much
promp,itude and order, as every other part OF
the service. The officers distributed them
selves, agreeaby to the previous instructions,
and the men soon appeared with the ncces-
sary means. Each party acted by itself and
as it got ready. So rapid were they all in
their movements that the men with combus-
tlbles had scarcely time to get az low as the
Coo k-pit and after store rooms, before the
II fires were lighted over their heads. When
the officer entrusted with the duty last men.
III llOHcu, ndH HOt tHToHEH, Ue iounu thc oi'ci
ha,ches filled with smoke, from the fire in the
ward room and steerage, and was obliged to
make his escape by the forward ladders.
The Americans we're in the ship from
twenty to twenty-five minutes, and they were
literally driven ont of her by the flames
The vessel had got to be SO dry in that low
latitude, that she burnt like pitch aud the
combustibles had been as judiciously pre-
pared as they were steadily used. The last
party up were the people who had been IN
the store rooms, and when they reached the
deck, they found most Of their companions
already in the Intrepid. Joining them, and
ascertainng that all was ready, the order was
given to cast off. Notwithstanding the dar-
ing character Of the enterprise in general,
Mr. Decatur and his party, now run the
greatest risks they had lncL ned that night.
SO fierce had the confagration already be.
come, that the flames began to pour out OF
the ports, and the head fast having been cast
Off the kctch feel astern, with her jgger
tapping against the quarter.gallery, and her
boom foul. The fire showed itself in the
window at this critical moment; and beneath
was oil the ammunition Of the party, covered
with a tarpauline. To increase the risk the
stern fast was jammed. BY using swords,
however, for there was not time to look for
II an oxe tho bo WISER was cut and the IntreDid