St. Paul daily globe., 1884-10-12
SAVED BY UMBRELLAS.
Ho,C G's -4nlerical FriOate Escaped from q
British Fleet in 1912.

HOtC Gas -fnericaH FriOate Escaped from a
British Fleet in 1912.
have before me copy (or part of one)
OF Harper'S Weekly of December 81, 1881, Civ
ing sketch of the escape or the frigate Con-
stitution from fleet of English men of war
in July, 1912, writes correspondent to the
Laurence american. When q small boy
heard the escape of the Constitution was by
means of umbrellas, but never knew what
way until Mr.. MCDOWELL told me the follow
ing history. 1 was well acquainted with Mr..
Gideon MCDOWELL, of Newburyport Mass
who was ship carpenter at the time of the
chase on board of the Constitutou-and as
far back as 1928 to 1884 Mr. MCDOWELL and
the writer of this were at work alongside of
each other on three or four different vessels
in Newburyport, and at that time Mr.. Wood
well related the history of the escape of that
ship. When the Guerriere and those other
ships were first sighted, Captain Hull was
well satisfied they were not Americans. He
held little consultation with his officers, and
it was decided to get ready at once in case
of emergency. Captain Hull was satisfied if
they were English ships of war every boat
would be sent to the earest frigate to help
her up to cripple the Constitution.
Mr.. Woodwell says: We had a number of
white oak sticks of timber, from twelve to
sixteen feet long, from six to eight inches
square, then in the lower hold of the ship.
The boatwain was ordered to have them on
deck; the carpenters went TO work four of
the sticks were reduced to three and one
half inches at the small end and five at the
other: in the upper smaller end of the sticks
hole was put through to receive line, and
tha
sailmakers were set to work with some of the
men who could handle the needle and cov-
ering of canvas in the shape of an umbrella
was soon finished, from twelve to thirteen
feet long, and from twenty-five to twenty
four feet across and IRON small spars were
reduced to about three or three and half
| inches, and cut the required length four of
these these sticks were put Into each canvas.
The upper or forward end of these sticks
was held together by lanyard, and the after
end was stopped to the canvas with q LANYARD
rope through and made fast at the butt end
of the sticks. (These sticks were made fast
to the canvas only at the after end. In warp
ing the ship the canvas would have full
sweep or circle, while the sticks would remain
| straight Instead of sticks, lanyards made
| fast in the bolt rope and at the butt end of
the stick. The next morning, as soon as
the Shannon up (the nearest English frigate)
four boats were dropped from the Constitu-
| ton and pulling under her bows from eight
to ten fathoms of line paid dowu to each boat,
one end made fast to ringbolt in the stern
of the boat and the other fast to the for
ward end of the umbrella. The umbrella was
dropped into the water with a line fast to the
| butt or after end.
Then came the word, Give away, boys
In pulling from the ship the umbrella would
shut up, and on pulling on board the UNI
brella would open. The lines fast to the UNI
| brella were from eighty to one hundred faith
oms in length. BY this arrangement but
one boat was pulling from the ship at the
same time, and in warping the ship each
boats crew void lie on their oars and were
| always ready to give away when the word was
given, and in this way the crew would warp
the ship through the waters from five to six
miles per hour, and with this arrangement
had it continued calm, the whole English
feet could not have captured the Constitu-
ton"
Mr.. MCDOWELL says, with all the boats the
Shannon had, they could not make as much
headway as the Constitution, and for two
reasons the officers of the Shannon did not
want to get within gunshot of the Constitu-
ton while the other ships were so far off
one reason was that he was satisfied the Con
stitution with her after guns would destroy
his boats and part of the crews to each boat
and the second reason was that he did not
want to engage the Constitution alone, know
ing that he had powerful antagonist to con-
tend with. After nearly seventy hours oi
very little variation in the weather, light,
southerly breeze sprang up, which brought
the Constitution to windward. The boats
were dropped alongside, tackles hooked en-,
each boat lifted out of the water, yards
braced to the wind, with the port tacks
aboard and working to windward like thing
of life, decks cleared up, boats hoisted in, ,ant
the whole ships crew as merry as a hive o
bees, and looking back on the past seventy
hours more like a pleasure excursion than
one of danger.