Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1889-07-26

rnined Co defend her TO the last He accord.
Ing ordered the dead and wounded to be
taken on shore. and prepared IoE me worst
At daylight on the morning OF the ztIh the
CarnatiOn was observed under way and
stood close In tOr the prlVateers when she
Immediately ed heavy IRE with ali her
force. The Of the Armstrong as Il
supernatural spirits. or holding charmed
lives, still grimty stood by their little bark
returning broadside Tor brOadside with
wonderful eEect. The maintOp-Elast Of the
CarnatiOn soon fell by the board, and she
became SO much cut up in her huh and rig
ging. and with the loss Of men, that her
guns became siienced and she was forced
TO retire. 1t was sublime spectacle, that
of the little privateers with but a handful Of
men fighting hopeless battle against such
tremendous odds, IN vind1ca1ion OF her
rights and her cOuntEy's honor with her
cOlOrs flying in reckless defiance.
Finding all further resistance frultiesss
Capt. Reid scuttled his vessel to prevent
the English from obtaining possession OF
her, and then, with his gallant crew, went
on shore The enemy soon after boarded
the Armstrong and set her on fire. when
she blew up. and thus ended the fate Of this
noble little craft.
After burning the privRteer Commodore
Lloyd made a demand on the Governor to
deliver up the Americans as his prisoners,
which the Governor refused He threat
ened to send 500 men on shore and take
them by force. The Americans immedi-
ately retired, with their arms, TO an old
Gothic convent knocked away the adlOin-
ing drGWbridge. and determined to defend
themselves to the last. The Commodore.
however, thought better than to send his
men.
Lloyd was detained over ten days at
Fayal re6tting his vessels and burying his
dead. Two slOOps of war, the That's and
Calypso, a part of his feet. which arrived a.
few days after the battle, were sent back to
England with portion of the wounded.
The expedition against New Orleans was
planned by the English Government at the
same time with that against Washington.
In Of Of f0N1 T-e
British Prime Minister, who happened to be
in Paris when the news arrived Of the burn
ing of Washington. publicly boosted that it
would not be long ere Louisiana would be
in the possession of his cOuntrymen. 1t is
we'll known that Gen. Pakenham and Ad-
mtral COchrane had charge Of these expe-
dtiOns, and, having executed the first con
cenGfat6Q lnelr FORCES at JAMAICA awaiting
re- endorsements to carry out the latter. On
LlOyd's arrival they were furious at the Oc-
casiOn Of his delay, and heaped upon him
the most bitter reprOaches, while charging
him with having jeoparded the success of
the expedition, which only proved too true
This remarkable battle was the last fought
upon the seas in the war with England,
while, strange enough. that Of New Orleans
was the last fought upon the land. When
Gen. Jackson afterWard learned that a por-
ton OF the fleet which was engaged in the
assault upon New Orleans was composed of
the same vessels which attacked the Arm
strong, he declared to Capt. Reid that but
for his determined bravery in resisting the
enemy ne tJdCkSOn) WOuIu never nave
fought the battle of New Orleans, but that.
most probably. the battle ground would
have been nearer the shores Of his own
State.
TO show the unparalleled victory Of the
Armstrong, we will state that in the great
naval engagement of Cape st. Vincent in
1887, between a Spanish feet Of twenty
seven ships Of the-line and twelve frigates.
and British squadOn of fifteen ships of the
line and seven frigates and two slOOps of
war. the British acknowledged a loss of
only 70 killed and 223 wounded Yet in this
tremendous conflict, which lasted over six
hours, the English did not lose as many
men as they did in trying to capture a little
brig of only seven gunsl Admiral JerYis.
who commanded the British fleet. having
defeated the Spaniards, was created an earl
by the king Of England, and granted PEN
sion OF. $4,000 a year; while Capt. Reid and
his men were granted the privilege of pros
ecuung their claim before Congress for
nearly half a century, and died without re-
ceiving one cent of recOmpense, While to
prove more fully the ingratitude Of repub-
lies. Capt. Reid. in 1915 on the admission of
Indiana into the Union, made the design of
the present flag of the United States, which
was then adopted by COng1 ess, thus having
been not only the defender Of the old flag,
but the designer of the new one.