The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1883-02-08

Dry USVu ucI RuJ0tSs5IO O0AOAV sAO AA~Ao
Nous deviee Wa discovered:
On the 18Th OF August The Constitution,
while cruising in the Gulf of st. Law
renee. fell in With, and after a stubborn
resistance captured, the British frigate,
Guerrero, Capt. DacSA', one OF the yes.
cells which had for 30 many days held
the Constitution in Chase.
Our fflgate Was the hean er ship, and
mounted four or FIVE moresm 's imam her
opponent; but very 1emaTkzbA was the
disparity of executions, the A. 'erlcan
loss being seven killed and seven ound.
ed, while the British admitted . 'ota.
loss AZ seventy -nine killed, wounded 4 10
missing. .
Capf. Dacres had been accustomed. be.
fore the wsr, to speak contemporary OF
the Constitution, az q "buncfl OF plne-
planks sailing under 4 piece OF striped,
bunting" 1t is related that when he
came on board the victorious sh!2, Capt.
Hull. advancing to greet him, sa'd,- q,
Capt. Dacras, am glad to SEE you!
"Yes,' responded the British ;om-
you might be-"
The Guerrie1e Was 80 terribly shat
tered that she could not be brought into
port and was therefore burned.
The CONSTITUTIONS next encounter with
the enemy took place on the Goth of De-
cember, 1912, when she captured the
British: frjRate Java, a vessel of the same
c1ass as Guerrero The Constitution WAS
then commended by Commodore Balm
bridge, who Was severely wounded
Capt. Lambert the British commander,
though not before he had received tho
most considerate attention from the cap
tors.
The Constitutions last battle was fought
on the 2Oth OF February, 1915, when he:
Stewart. Her uniform good fortune at
tended her. and he encounter resulted,
in the capture ofthe British ships Cyane;
of ti,irty.four, and Levant, Of twenty
one, guns. Capt. Stewart carried both
his prizes into Port Praya, and here, for
the third time IN the course OF the war,
the frigate made her escape from the
enemy.
A little after noon on the 18th Of
March. !.ient. Shul,rick. while pacing his
q large ship risin: above the hank Of
mist in the Ofting, which his practlsed
eye t. Id him was a man-of-war. The
Constitution and her prizes Immediately
got under way to meet the stranger:
Scarcely ha the harbor been cleared,
when two other strange aaiIs were OBJ
served. The three vessels oonstitu ed a
squadron of heavy frigates, sent out from
England expressly to capture old IRON
e,des'
An exciting chase ensued. Enough
the Constitution was at one time 80 close
to her pursuefs shat the officers coulo 90
plainly seen standing on the hal1-
mock-cloths, she outsaiistl, or out.nan-
Huvred, them all. The Cyane also es-
was driven back into Port Prava and fela
into the hands OF the enemy.
SO ended the Constitutions services:
during this memorable war. IN the course
of which she had captured two frigates,
one frig 4te-tri!t slip, one corvette, and
one man of-war schooner, besides many
ric!, merchant vessels.
FROM this time forward the services
of the Constitution were those ordinarl-
ly performed by man-of-war in times
of peace. About 1882. a proposition was
made to break up the time honored
frigate. = is scarcely necessary to say
that it called forth a storm of popular In
dignation.
The old ship which had become the
theme of hun reds OF nautSce! songs some
ofwhich are sung to his day. AIS near to
the people, and III view of the strength
decided to rebuild her.
She was accordingly locked at Cha les-
town and thoroughly rebuilt.
But when the old ship once more ap-
reared upon tie waters of the bay, the
Bostonial,s were disguised to see III place
of the old familiar fgure-head, figure
of President jackson, whose political
course had made him excessively dis
'asteful to New Englanders.
Threats were openly made that the
fgurc-head would be removed, despite
the precautions with which Commodore
Elliot took care to surround 1t.
On the night of July 1884. during
the darkest hour of a heavy thunder
named Dewey put off from one of the
North End wharves and made straight
tor the Constitution. then moered be-
twee:! the seyenty-iou Columbus and
Independence.
The former ship was full of men, and
the light from a., open port streamed
upon the figure-hesd OF the Constitu-
ton. Sentries enjo;ned to keep
In unceasing watch on the figure, were
posted IN plain sight.
Despite all these precautions, De"ey
got alongside the :rigate unohserveu,- ano
worked his way forward to the PROV.
Protected by the headb ards, he
stretched himself fiat on his back and in
that constrained position sawed off the
head of Jackson. The steady rolling of
the thunder drowned the noise of the
law and lulled the vigilance of the sent
ries.
Dewey, with great difficulty, got back
TO the city unobserved, carrying Wits
him the wooden head, and it WAS lon.
before the perpetrator of the act was
discovered.
The weather-heaten, battle-stained
Constitution still floats-the pride OF our
navy and the object Of .Iational venera-
t,on. Not invulnerab e always, but al
ways invincible, she has we'll earned the
title, lovingly given her by the sahors.,
Of ''O'd Ironsides"
We are glad her fighting days are over.
and that in serene old aye her errands
are the amenities of peace. Her deeds
have become part OF her country's his
Tory. aud one of Onr greatest DOets. OH
YER Wendeil homes, fias ell. banned her
name in the lines beginning
Aye, tear her ta,tered ensi gn down."
are familiar to every schooi-boy in the
land.
The Calling Gun.