The Portland daily press., 1869-10-23
DAILY PRESS,
poHI'LAN ND.
Saturday Morning, October %, 1869.


snip lying at Long Hope, in the Orkney Islands,
Wallin@ ior convoy gunbrig daily expected
Baltic sea. The detention of week swelled
our fleet to about twenty vessels of various
nations, among which were three or lour
| Americans. Becoming impatient with delay.
| seeing no prospect of speedy deverance,
and fearing the French cruisers which then
| infested the German ocean, we had no choice
but to await the arrival OF the expected brig,
or form convoy OF our own, sufficiently for
| midable to defend oui selves in case of attack.
We determined on the latter; and Yankee
| commander of brig, which rejoiced in the
security of ten wOOden guns, and myself un-
| dertOOk the management. We selected his
brig as lookout vessel, and a large American
ship, painted entirely black, as our commo-
dore, who was requested to carry by day a
large red flag at the main, and lantern at
| the peak during the night.
| The difficulty being overcome, our next
| was to obtain signals to inform the fleet from
time to time of The intentions of our commo-
| dore. This caused some perpleXity, but we,
| alter some deliberatiOn, cOntrlved, with three
pieces of different colored bunting, to form
seventy-five questions and answers, including
a few points of the compass, in our course to
| Leith.
| Walking one afternoon on the highlands,
| overlooking the Portland firth, met gen.
l q
| ing our feet, to whom l mentioned the ar
| rangements we had entered into and exhibit
| ed plan of the signals He examined them
| attentively, and was amused with the con-
trlvance, and, remarking that he had a taste for
| painting, asked me II had ever seen the
signals used By the British nary! answer
| ed in the negative, wishing him to explain
what they were.
We sat down, and with my pencil on
the back of a letter marked down with lines
| and dots, used by heraldry painters, each sig
nal as he described them, including the COM
pass signals. l never knew the name OF this
gentleman, but presume he was British ma
| val officer on furlOu2h.
| thought no more of these signals; but on
going on board our ship threw them into my
trunk among various loose papers.
Our fleet sailed, making truly formidable
| appearance with our black commodore ard
| his bloody flag, the lookout brig ranging ahead
| and sometimes far astern, and our vessels of
various nations firing their cannon almost
| every hour in the day, and running up and
| down signals by way of amusement. In this
| manner we passed along the coast of Scot
| land within sight of the land, and sometimes
| sufficiently near to discover the towns, OBJ
| sewing what we then considered remarkable,
| that no vessels were to be seen, save at
| great distance, and those standing in for the
| shore.
Thus we continued quietly on our course,
until the afternoon of the third or fourth day,
when our attention was drawn to a vessel
| bearing down upon us. At the time her top
| gallant sails were only visible, but soon The
| topsails appeared above the horizon, when our
commodore run up the signal "a lar mer-
| chantman aheadW Having charge of our
| signals, and observing that the strangers
yards were very square and her canvass dark,
l answered, "A man of war;" Immediate
| preparations were now made for action, by
our fleet coming together hauling up courses
and taking in top gallant sails; but not flag
was displayed save the bloody one OF onr COM
modore In short time the hull loomed up
| and we then discovered the vessel to be a large
gun brig displaying the British flag; and If
any doubt existed as to her character they
were soon dispelled by heavy shot thrown
directly across our bows, when we hove to,
as did all the fleet, and display ed our national
| cOlors. In few moments boat was along
side and the officer mounting the side ladder
| exclaimed, "In the name of heaven, who are
you?"
| We informed him of what the reader al
| ready knows aud entering our cabin explain
| ed the plan of our operations. Being one OF
those jolly fellows with which the British
navy then abounded, he laughed heartily al
the idea, helped us to finish bottle OF wine
and stated that the fishermen from all parts o
the coast north of where we were then lying,
had run into Aberdeen, and expected an AL
gerine fleet near the coast. They were certain
of the fact, from the circumstance OF large
black ship carrying a red bloody flag. This
rumor was transmitted to Leith, and mis- yes
sci was dispatched to ascertain the cause of the
alarm.
In bidding us good afternoon, he observed
that he would pay visit to Cur commander
and merely request him to haul down his red
flag, adding that we were sufficiently formida-
BILE without it, to frghten all the Frenchmen
we might meet, before our arrival at Leith
Such proved to be the tact. We continued
our course, falling in with no vessels until we
reached Lelth Roads, when we were announ.
ced as a large fleet of merchantmen undel
convoy OF United States gun brig.
The reader will naturally enquire, what ha
all this to 10 with the last war with Grea
Britain? To which 1 answer, that it is meIel,
given by way of introduction, to show how
came in possession OF her signals, and the us,
l subsequently made OF them.
In the summer of 1913, being at that time
a resident of Boston, the United states irig
ate President, Commodore Rogers, arrived il
that harbor after an unsuccessful cruise. The
war was extensively unpopular among the
people OF thai place, and the uncharitable por
| ton, charged his not capturing any of the en-
| emy's ships more to cowardice, than to tn,
difficulty he encountered in finding any
thing worth capturing that was not conveyed
by force superior to his single irigate.
: For the first time it occurred TO me that tn,
signals obtained two years previously, nigh
be of service to the Commodore in disc verin
some of the enemy's vessels within reach @
his guns, and the thought no sooner entere,
| my mind than sought them from among IN
papers, and put my plan Iuto immedIateexe
cution. l drew mariners compass in tn
centre OF which was represented the frigat
President lying at anchor in the harbor, an
in the points, the thirty-two signals by whic
the conveying man-oi-war designated to tn
feet, the course TO be steered during Oh
: night, TO evade pursuing enemy; below
painted the ten numbers, represented by 9
many flags, with two others, forming the a
firmative and negative.
. 1 was not personally acquainted with Con
modore Rogers at that time, although int
mate with most of his ward room officers,
one of whom l sent the picture, with lette
addressed to him, showing how the signal
were to be used, and observing, that he shoul
| Obtain the number of one OF the largest elias
of British frigates, and by hosting it when a
enemy was in sight, it would, without doub
decoy her within his reach but by all means
remove from the stern OF his frigate the tw
: gllded stars which then adorned IL.
Meeting the officer entrusted with theS
disl atehes few days afterward, he informe
taken them into his cabin, appeared on dec
apparently highly pleased, and ordered one
>. the warrant officers to have some blue buntin
painted black, very much to the surprise
the officers, who could not conceive for wb
, purpose he intended it; but / was Statistic
that the signals were to be made, one of the
'' to be black and yellow, the former coli
not being used in our service.
The President sailed, and thought Il
more of the affair until some weeks ate
when taking up a newspaper therein saw
stated that she had captured the British go
4 eminent schooner Highfyer by stratagem.
Soon after the peace in 1915, dining wit
Commodore Rogers at his house in Wasl
ington. he related to me the following circun
stance, which give.
81 acknowledged the receipt of your letter
I. he observed, "and was determined to have IL
signals made on board and to try the eXper
ment, none OF my men understanding for VIII
purpose they were intended. l cruised son
time without meeting an enemy, until one a
'' ternoon we fell in with schooner. some S
or eight miles to the windward of u "
boisted the British ensign, which she answe
I. ed by displaying another, and at the san
: time signal at her maintop-gallaut ma
head which Immediately discovered was lii
one of those you had given me. From d
's list of British frigates l selected the numb
OF the Sea Horse, one of the largest cla
known to be on our coast an / hoisted it. s
bore down at once, and coming under o
stern, ordered her to heave to and won
= send boat on board of her. This order W
obeyed, and / despatched a lieutenant