The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1894-06-21

The war with France was the second
great contest of our navy. Before it
broke out the demand by the Dey of
Algiers of a tribute like that which
was paid by the powers of Europe had
stimulated congress to authorize the
building of three forty-four gun and
three thirty-six gun frigates. 1t is in
teresting to find that even in those
days our constructors aimed to build
the best ships in the world. Just
hundred years ago, April /. 1894. the
secretary of war declared that these
frigates separately would be superior
to any European frigate of the usual
dimension: that if assailed by num-
bers they would always be able to lead
ahead"-in other words. that they
would surpass other ships Of their
class, both in speed and battery power.
Three of them had been built-the
others being abandoned-when the
seizures by the French not only of
British vessels in American waters,
but even of American merchantmen,
brought on war. Vessels were hur-
ridly procured from various sources,
and the Delaware seized the French
privateer CrOyable, which was after
ward recaptured by the Insurgente.
The Sans Parell, the Jaloux. and other
French privateers were subsequently
taken.
The most famous duel of the war
was the one in which the Constella-
ton, under TruXton, captured the In
e,,,, g
seven hundred and ninety-one pounds,
against our frigates forty-eight guns,
with eight hundred and forty-eight
pounds. The Insurgente lost seventy
killed and wounded, and the Constel-
lation but five. Superior armament
and superior gunnery even at that
early date distinguished our war
ships. Afterward the Constellation
had sharp conflict with the Ven
geance, which escaped after a battle
of five hours, in which she lost one
hundred and sixty killed and wounded.
or nearly half her crew, against the
Consultations thirty-nine. The cap
ture of the Derceau by Capt. Little, in
the Boston, was another notable
event. After two and a half years the
war was ended early in 1901. Eighty
four armed French vessels. nearly all
privateers, mounting over five hun
dred guns, had been captured, most of
them by our government cruisers.
The French had captured no vessel eX-
cept merchantmen and their own
Croya BILE, rechristened the Retaliation.
Meanwhile our exports under the pro-
lection of the war ships increased
from ffty-seven million dollars in 1897
to SIS, 66552S in 1899, so that 1T paid"
to build up the navy.
Many persons can still remember the
copper coin, or rather uncurrent token,
which bore the legend: millions for
Defense, Not One Cent for Tribute. =
That sentiment goes back nearly a cen
fury, to the time when our country,
after yielding, at first, to the European
custom of paying tribute to the Bar
barry powers, broke away from it. The
bashaw of Tripoli. on learning that his
neighbors received larger tributes than
he, demanded more, and, on being re-
fused, in June, 1901, declared war
against the United States. Capt Rich
ard Dale had then already been sent
out to the Mediterranean with a squad
ron. and reinfOrcements followed. The
Enterprise began operations by captur-
ing polacre of fourteen guns after an
action in which the Tripolitans had
twenty killed and thirty wounded out
of crew of eighty,
Boat attacks on the enemy followed,
but great disaster occurred when the
Philadelphia. while chasing a Xebec.
grounded, and was compelled to sur
render with all her officers and crew.
However, her commander, Capt. Balm
bridge, in letter written with lemon
juice, which on being held to the fire
became legible. suggested to Capt
Pre- ole the plan of destroying the Phila-
delphia at her anchorage. This feat was
splendidly accomplished by a picked
force under Lieut.. Decatur, after board
ing the vessel and clearing her of the
Turks who guarded her. The capture
of felucca followed, and then series
of bombardments of Tripoi, together
with desperate hand-to-hand fights
with the Tripolitan gunboats. A sad
out heroic incident was Une blowing
up of the ketch Intrepid, in which
Richard Somers. Henry Wadsworth and
Joseph Israel, three brave young Off
GERS, persisted with their men while en-
deavoring to destroy the enemy's flo
tilla. Finally, the brother and rival of
the bashaw was induced by. our consul,
! Eaton, to take up arms against him,
and Eaton himself, picking twelve
hundred men from a rabble of many
thousands, and reinforcing them with
a body of marines, captured Derne,
| three of our vessels meanwhile silenc-
! ing the shore batteries. Then, for the
first time, the flag of the United States
fioated over a fortress of the Old
! World. About five weeks later the
bashaw signed a treaty by which he
relinquished all claims to tribute
and agreed to release our captive coun-
trymen for sixty thousand dollars.
! This was in June. 1905, and thus after
four years the war ended in throwing
off an ignoble yoke of piratical states,
while our young navy had gained
great prestige by brilliant deeds of
daring.
The war of 1872 brings us to more
: /,