The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-06-16

beautiful frigate, very fast and wealth
erly, and carrying thirty-eight guns.
She was finely differed and manned,
II Captain IruXLOn sailed on MS
first cruise with every advantage in
his favor-a ship that could both fight
and run, and q company worthy of
the ship. He cruised for some time with
out meeting with any extraordinary
adventures; but the next year four
other smaller vessels were put under
his command, and the squadron went
10 the West Indies. This was directly
going in harms way, as the West In
dia islands were Iull of French ships
of war, and France and the United
States were on the W. of a quasi-war,
so that Captain Truxton went with the
hope of getting a whack at a rench
man, and this came about in February,
1893. AS the old song has it,
"'TWaS in the month of February, oil
Montserrat we lay,
When there we spied the Insurgente-"
This was considered TO be the fast
est frigate in the world n was COM
manded by the crack French captain
B~arreault. She carried forty twelve
Founders in ten batteries, and the
Constellation carried thirty-eight
twenty-four Founders, making the
Constellation much the stronger ship;
yet Captain Truxtun showed in the
Il2nL WHICH lQllOMGQ Ildl lie CVUlQ
have whipped a stronger ship than
the L~'Insurgente, which made a very
smart fight, too. Captain B%arreault
knew that the Constellation was
stronger, but he did not on that ac-
count refuse the battle, but showed a
manly willingness to fight.
A Sharp Engagement.
The Constellation sighted L'Insur-
oo~+1 ~, %he foranOon Of Trahr1arxr q
1899, and Immediately made for her.
AS soon as she got near enough the
French ship hoisted American c%olors,
in order to draw her on, n gave the
French ship time to find out some
thing about the stranger. Captain
Truxtun then showed the private sig
nal, which Captain Barreault was un-
able to answer. L'Insurgente Their
threw off every disguise, and setting
the French ensign, ran off and fired
a gun to windward, which meant, in
sailor language, that he was ready for
a yard-arm to yard-arm fight. Cap
tain Truxtun set an American ensign
at every masthead and came on, the
Frenchmen waiting on an easy bow
line, very CALAMITY, for his enemy.
The Americans, both officers and men,
showed the most cheerful ardor to en-
gage, and the two ships went at it
with equal spirit. When within hail
ing distance, the Frenchman hailed,
not disregarding this, Captain @Trux-
tun came on, until he was abeam of
his adversary. Then he let fly his
broadside, and the Frenchman an
swered him promptly. Captain Trux-
tun discovered that he had no fool to
play with in Captain Barreault, and
for an hour the Frenchmen rave the
Constellation all she could do. But
by that time the superior metal of the
Constellation began to tell. The
Frenchmen aimed at spars and rig
ging, and the f-oretopmast of the Con-
stellation was badly wounded. The
officer in the foretop was Midshipman
David Porter, afterward the cele-
brated commodore, and seeing that
the foretopmast was likely to fan
with all the men in the hamper he
began to hail the deck to report the
damage. So furious was the cannon /
ade though. that his voice could not
be heard. He, therefore, gave orders
his own hook TO cut away the stop
pers and lower the yard. and by his
promptness the spar as well as the
men in the top were saved. TIE
Americans aimed at the level, and in
hour L'Insurgente was riddled like
a sieve. The Constellation then shot
anu lulllI6 dN1 OSS TIE FIGflTn-
mans bows, was ready with every
gun to rake him, when Captain Bar
reault. seeing his hopeless condition,
struck his colorS.
The captured frigate was sent INTO
st. Kits with only two midshipmen,
Porter and Rodgers, inc eleven men.
to keep 173 Frenchmen below the
matches. This they did, besides man.
aging the ship in a hare gale, and
took her in triumph to St Kits within
four days.
Fight with La Vengeance.
The next year Captain Truxtun had
a chance to show what he could do
a stronger ship than his OWL,
and on the LIST of February, 1900, being
off Gaudaloupe, he sighted La Ven
one of the great French fri
gates, mounting fifty-two guns. The
Carstalla ton fn1aediata Sat her $50