The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1896-09-24
FIGHTING THEM OVER
What Our Veterans Have to Say About
TER Old Campaigns.
A MEMORABLE CRUISE.

A MEMORABLE CRUISE.
Lively Times on Board the Niagara in 1868.
EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: The Ss-
bine friyate. one of the old sailing vessels of
the q. S. NAVY, went INTO Boston Hrbor
from cruise off The Wet Indies on Dec.
25, 1868, aud hardly had she dropped anchor
wien an order came aboard Tor a draft of
seamen to help man the steam iriga'e
Niagara, then newly fitted out at the
Charlestown Navy-yard, and carrying the
heaviest batteries OF Any vessel IN our navy,
and. As far as | ever heard, on board any
warship of any other country. Being or
dered To sea at short notice, her crew was
composed of fragments from different v. s.
sells and recruits from the receiving ships;
good material possibly, with little drill.
but for an emergency, out of $50 men, one
third of that number could be depended on
to do service at the guns or on the yards.
Sixty seamen from the Sabine, of whom
was one. and our marine guard, under the
command of Capt. Haywood, as gallant an
officer and a true &c .tleman as ever wore
Utcle Sans uniform, were transferred TO
the decks of the Niagara, which had hove
short on her anchor and as soon as our bags
and hammocks were slowed the ii es struck
mp and the tramp of the crew a, the capsan
bars beat time on her decks until the word
passed ait, We're aweigh," and the noble
frigale was da.hing the waters of the bay
from under her foreioot, p. aiding due east
for an offing.
1t was all hands until all canvas was set
on our yards aud he shortDe,s of expert
enced seamen to man the yards or handle
sail was instantaneously felt 1t WIS blow
ing hard from the southwest and threaten
ing a gale, but the fist luff." who had the
deck, tried hard to set etudding sails but
failed after losing three boom, through the
awkwardness OF the tap-men, as he said, but
We in the tops couia tell differently, a. We
knew she was carryi ing more sa,i before the
order than could hand with what men
could venture higher than her hammock
MEETINGS.
Where were we going in such hurry :?
The old time answer, "On a man-oi-war-
mans eruise-there and back AGAIN" would
not answer and paper one OF us bought
from bum-boat man was precious object
and its contents quickly mastered.
Its pages showed that some three days
before some innocent-looking passengers
bought tickets on the Steamboat Cnesa-
peake, running and carrying the q. 5.
mails between st. Johns. N. b., and Port
land, Me-, and after clearing p0r,, not liay-
ing the fear of laws or gospels, did usen and
there take possession of satd vessel by fprce
of arms, and hoisied the flag of the States
then in rebellion, and preceded to make
war on certain reaceable eli izens enga- led in
their lawful occupation of catching fish, and
other things, and in the succeeding days
made bonfires of some two dozen scbo0uers,
sloops, and divers other craft, thereby bring
ing great distress to the lantern jswed gem
tlemeD who owned those craft, and whom
the previous Summer we tried, by all kinds
of Establishments, appeals to their patriot
ism, and so forth, 10 ship.
1t was no use; there was more money in
mackerel and codfish, and a snug harbor in
Provinceiown, Gloucester, or Holmes Hoil
was preferable to manning broadside gun
or hauling out a weather caring on a
Yankee man-of-war. Our sympathies for
their losses were not deep or hear felt, but
there was not man or boy on board but
would give limb to lay broadside-on aud
try the issue with their captors.
There is q peculiarly about your true
American man-of-war man 10 which have
never seen any of our naval writer's advert.
Perhaps the feeling is too intense, for 1t per-
meates the quarterback and ward-room as
well as the forecastle and gangways, and
that is, the Dago, Hans, or johnny Crapesu
can be laughed at, and on liberty ashore be
sociable with, but the lime-juicer. the Eng
lisbman, was his natural enemy, to be
fought with in peace or war-no truce
between the sailors.
In no port have / ever seen liberty
granted where the war vessels of each coun-
try were anchored without il ended in q
fight, and the topman OF our navy who FIRST
laid himself atbwart hause of lime-juicer
and brought down his upper rigging was
o man TO be envied and bonored. All pri-
vaieers of the Confederates were looked on
as British men-of-war, their old enemies
flying new colors as sham, and the Yankee
tar was about right, as future events proved.
After clearing Cape Ann the wind shifted
to west and by north. aud . full-fedged
gale, accompanied with a fierce snow and
intense cold came down on us. The weight
of our batteries and stores held us low dow
in the water, and our decks were washed
from stem to stern by the waves, which left
an ice coat on the planks at each visitation,
and unaided movement was impossible on
eur decks.