The Opelousas courier., 1895-05-25
MAN BEHIND fHE GUN.
1t Is Good to Recall Great Instances OF
A,orcn, pofrSof6ann

1t Is Good to Recall Great Instances of
American Patriotism.
In the records of all naval powers no
act of heroism can be found to surpass
that of Capt. Nicholas Biddle of the
United States thirty-two-gun frigate
Randolph, who, me hundred and sew
enteen years ago (March y, persisted
with three hundred and ten of his men
in an attempt to protect five American
vessels sailing in his company from a
superior English naval force. The
Randolph was a new frigate, one OF the
first ever built by the United States.
In February. l777, she sailed from Phil
adelphia on her maiden cruise against
the enemy. but when only a few days
out she was overtakd@ by a ,iolent
%riously weakened that Capt. Biddle
was competed to put into Charleston
for repairs. This mishap was due to
the fact that her rope sta Us and
shrouds had been fitted during cold
weather in Philadelphia, and ON get
ting into the warmer air to tie south
they slackened and left the nasts al
most unsupported. The Randolph wa
blockaded in Charleston, but ia March,
Its, she got to sea in company with
the, South Carolina state ships, Ge,a-
eral Moultrie, Notre Dame, Pol, Y,
Fair American, and a schooner In
search of come British wa ships which
had been cruising off the coast. On
March 7, while eastward off Barbados,
they fell in with the British sixty
four-gun ship-of-the-line Yarmou, h..
Capt. Vincent. In order to give his
weaker consorts time to escape Capt.
Biddle signaled them to make all sail
before the wind while he boldly stood
down to engage the ship of the line
s.ngle-handed. When near enough to
hail Biddle shook out his coloss and
poured a broaoside into his huge al.
tagonist. The Englishman promptly
responded, and for an hour the two
ships ran along side by side, the
Yankee seamen maintaining a superb
fight against hopeless odds. Finally a
shot entered the Randolph's magazine
and the ship blew up and sank almost
immed 'ately. Out of her complement
of three hundred and fifteen only four
escaped. capt. Biddle had been
wounded early in the action, but re-
fused to be carried below. At the time
of the explosion he was on his quar-
ter deck, having his wound dressed
and animating .his men by his heroic
example. The American accounts
of this extraordinary act of heroism
are fully confirmed through English
sources. An English historian says
that ION March 7, at 5 a. m, the sixty
;our-gun ship Yarmouth, cruising east
ward off Barbados, got sight of a
squadron of six sails, consisting of two
ships, three briggs, and a schooner.
The Yarmouth made sail to close on
the strangers, and at 8 a. m. was near
enough to hail the largest, which
proved to be the American thirty-two-
gun frigate~ %pnsdolph, Capt. Nicholas
Biddle. The Randolph Immediately
hoisted her colors and fired a broad
side at the Yarmouth, which, being
returned, d fight of an hours dura.
ton ensued, when the Randolph
blew up. The Yarmouth, being to the
w%indward, fortunately escaped being
involved in the catastrophe, but sew.
eral pieces of the burning wreck fell
on her deck. An American ensign,
rolled up, was blown from the Var
mouths forecastle not singed. The
termerity of Capt. Biddle in thus at
lacking a ship SO much superior to his
own deserved a better fate. Five days
later the Yarmouth fell in with a piece
of wreck of the Randolph on which
was found four men, the only surviv-
ors of the ill-starred ship. The poor
fellows had been on the wreck four
days and had subsisted on rain water,
which had been imbibed by means of a
piece of blanket" Capt. Vincent re-
ported five killed and twelve wounded
in the Yarmouth. The remaining
American vessels escaped.-N. Y. Sun
Could See Very Well.
Mother (angrily)-Why didn't you
come in when l called you?
Johnny-I'm comm.
"Yes, you're coming now; but l called
and called. and you didn't bulge till
you saw me at the door with a switch
in my hand"
"Well, my earsight is sort O. weak
to-day, but my eyesight is all right"
uua ZINC