Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1875-10-22
Il: wHITMORE,
Publisher and Proprietor,


will be the exhibition of memorials OF
the past and evidences of the present
condition Of the Navy of the United
States The navy has been usually a
great subject of national interest, yet
after the close OF the war under the
Confederation and until the Dey of AL.
giers taught the United States the neces-
sity of maintaining a navy for the de-
fence of the commercial marine, the
nation had practically no navy. The
navy of the Revolution was disbanded at
the close of the war, its officers gave up
their commissions, the few public veg
sells which remained we're sold Several
of the States maintained small cruisers,
with the consent of Congress Each
State had its own custom-houses and
levied its own duties, being only restrict
ed by the provisions of treaties made by
Cong ess. James Fennimore Cooper
has given in his Naval History such
facts as can be gathered relative to the
heroic navy Of the Revolution. During
the last year or two OF the war it had
dwindled almost to nothing. This was in
part due to the fact that its place was
taken by the French, and in part to the
circumstance that the British Navy so
increased its protection of transports
and merchant vessels that prizes became
infrequent. And the assertion of SOW
ereignty on the seas was not yet thought
of, while independence on the land was
not secured.
From Coopers History we draw some
interesting memoranda. In December,
l775, Congress passed an act ordering the
building of thirteen vessels, three OF "a
guns, five of 28, and five Of 80 Of these
the Randolph, 81, built in Philadelphia
was blown up in an action with the Brit
ish ship Yarmouth, GA guns, in l77S.
Three other vessels we're built in Phila.
delphia, the Washington, 80, the Effing-
ham, %, and the Delaware, "a. The first
two we're destroyed by the British army,
in the Delaware, in l77S, without getting
TO sea; and the Delaware was captured
in the Delaware river in III. Of the
other nine vessels the fate was as fol.
lows The Warren, 81, was burned in the
Penobscot river, in l779, to prevent her
falling into the enemy's hands. The
Congress, 28, and the Montgomery, 28,
were destroyed in the Hudson river, in
l777, with the same object, never having
been to sea. The Hancock, 81, was cap
tured by the British, in TIT; the Raleigh,
80, and the Virginia, 28, were captured
in l779, and the Trumbull, %, in 1881.
In each'case the surrender was a Deees-
sty from the disparity of force. The
Virginia, never having been to sea, was
captured by squadron off the capes of
the Delaware. The Providence, .28, and
the Boston, "a, fell into the hands Of the
British at the capture Of Charleston, s.
O., in 1850.
Such is the story in very brief terms
of the original thirteen" vessels or.
dered by the Congress of the Thirteen
United Colonies in IT'S, Not one of
them survived in the possession Of the
Colonies to the close OF the war. Prob.
ably a gloomy inference would have
been drawn from this fact, if the navy
had not been kept up by the supply Of
other vessels. About ten vessels, Of
force ranging from twenty-iour guns
down to ten, and two even smaller, were
purchased and fitted out as cruisers,
while the thirteen" were building. AS
a matter Of local as well as general inte
rest, we here note the particulars rela-
tive to the two Philadelphia ships which
we're lost in action. The Randolph was
commanded by Nicholas Biddle, the son
Of William Biddle, and native OF
Philadelphia. He went to sea at thir-
teen, and was volunteer with Nelson
in British expedition OF discovery to-
ward the North Pole, in l773 and With
Nelson received distinguished notice
from the commander. He returned to
America in l775, and was put in COM
mand of the Camden, a galley, fitted
out by Pennsylvania for the defense of
the Delaware river From the Colonial
service he was transferred to the Conti-
mental, and given command of the
Andrea Doria, a brig carrying only four
teen four pound cannon. In this brig
on a cruise in l776 he captured two
armed transports. filed with soldiers,
and, tradition asserts, so many mer
chantmen that when he returned only
five of his original crew we're with him.
The others had been taken to man the
prizes, and their places we're supplied
by volunteers from the crews of the cap.
iured vessels. One Of the transports
was recaptured by an English irigate,
The other was seized by her own people,
but again captured and brought in.
The Randolph was one Of the 6rst of
the thirteen vessels to get to sea, and af-
ter his brilliant success in the Andrea
Doria, Captain Biddle was appointed 30
the command of the new ship She sailed
on her first cruise in the beginning of
the year I'm She put into Charleston,
South Carolina, for repairs some defects
in her NESTS having been discovered
After rnhttinp aha nrnin nrnnaadnd 10