The herald., 1898-04-20
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES q
NAVAL VICTORIES
9 observation-disclosures
A Long List Bears Testimony to the
Quality Of American Fighting on
the Sea

At the beginning Of the war of the revo-
luton there was no American navy. How
over, the continental privateers managed
to capture about 500 English vessels and
12, 900 prisoners, 500 of them soldiers In some
of the best English regiments. In the
two years' naval war with France the
| fighting was all done by the navy, which
captured eighty of the enemy's vessels ana
about 5000 men.
| The wars with the Barbary pirates we're
also brought to a satisfactory end by the
unaided efforts Of the navy, the United
States securing privileges not granted to
European powers. 1t was in the war Of
| 1872 however, says the Chicago Times
| Herald, that our navy won its greatest
victory by whipping the British after 1t
| had defeated the combined sea forces of
the world. Over 1900 British ships were
taken, and over 10000 British seamen were
| made prisoners. Finally, in the Mexican
war, though there was not much chance
for naval cooperation with the land
| forces. when the chance did come at Vera
Cruz the navy took 1t.
| 1t Is not necessary to detail all the VIC
tories OF the American navy to prove it's
efficiency. The more important are suf-
hcient. and such names as Paul Jones.
Oliver Hazard Perry, Lawrence and tho
others who won the victories ought to be
enough to inspire their successors to their
best and bravest deeds.
| The first naval engagement of the revo.
luton was of Machias. Maine, when the
British armed schooner Margaretta was
whipped and captured, after that followed
a long list of minor engagements. in which
Esek Hopkins. first commander-in-chief
of the navy, took number Of English
ships. The edge of these victories was
dulled little however, by the defeat Of
the American fleet on Lake Champlaia
under Benedict Arnold. And then came
the first prominent appearance of Captain
| Paul Jones, who in the old Providence,
picked up fifteen British prizes late In 17;6
| In April, ITS, he made that daring attack
| on Whitehaven, and in September, l779. de-
| feated the English ship Scraps in the
| German ocean with the Bonhomme Rich
ard (named after Poor Richard" or Ben
| jamin Franklin), which sank the next day
The two important battles in the naval
war with France were fought by the good
old frigate Constellation, under Commodore
| Truxton. The first OF these was off ST.
| Kits, an island In the West Indian group,
where, after an hours fighting, Truxton
compelled the French frigate LJnsur-
gente to strike her colors In February,
| 1893, that was. A year later the same ves-
! sci and the same commander adminis-
tered drubbing to the French La Ven-
gence, butallowed her to escape in squall.
In the war with the Barbary states the
capture of the American ship Philadelphia
| and its subsequent destruction by Decatur
| and the bombardment of Tripoli by Com
| modore Preble were the important engage
| ments. The first was a serious loss, but
the bombardment was sufficient to secure
American shipping against the raids Of
the Barbary pirates.
The war Of 1872 was productive of n num-
ber of glorious American victories. The
first of these, after numerous preliminary
skirmishes, came on August 19th, when the
frigate Constitution (now the Newport
schoolship), under Isaac Hull, captured tn 3
British frigate Guerriere.
In the next month Lieutenant Elliott
captured the briggs Detroit and Caledonia
from under the guns of Fort Erie, the lar i.
ter afterward serving in Perry's fleet. 1t
was only a few days later that the frigate
United States captured the British Mace
donia off Madeira, the British loss being
104 and the American II. A couple of
months later the Constitution captured
the British ship Java off Brazil. and in
February of 1913 the American sloop Hor-
net stung and captured the British Pea
cock.
| But after that came defeat, the defeat
of Lawrence in the Chesapeake by the
British frigate Shannon. 1t was the
Don 't-give-up-the-ship' Lawrence. ans
in this engagement he was mortally
wounded. For infiicting the defeat the
| freedom of London was voted to Captain
| Broke, the English commander, and Il
| fine sword was presented to him. The de-
feat was not long unavenged, however. for
| q couple of months after Captain William
Henry Allen, In the sloop Argus, captured
the British soop Pelican in the English
channel, and month later the American
Enterprise took the Boxer.
Then came Perry's victory, the I've
have met the enemy and they are ours
victory over the English fleet in Lake
Erie Six vessels were the prize in this
engagement sad loss to England, an Ell
coura ging lift to the United States. And
| then the sloop Peacock. which the Ameri-
| cans had taken from the British, was usei
| to capture another British ship, the brig
| Epervier, off the coast of Wales. The
prize was sold for 1000, and s11S0O0 IN
| specie was found on board. This was the
| first good victory of 1914. 1t was soor
| followed by another. when the American
Wasp captured the Reindeer. Later sha
| took the British Atlanta. but soon after
disappeared, no one knows how, but for
| ever.
| And next the second battle Of Lake
| Champlain, an American victory this time.
when Commodore Thomas McDonough
with fourteen vessels and eighty-six guns
defeated the British fleet of sixteen vessels
and ninety-six guns under George Downle
Fifty-two killed and as many wounded was
| the American loss, the British twice as
much.
| The first naval struggle of 1915 brought
an American defeat the President, under
Decatur, being captured by British fleet
| lust out of New York harbor A month
later the Constitution captured the Brit
ish frigate Cyane and the brig Levant,
and three days after the Hornet, under
Captain Nicholas Biddle, captured the
| British Penguin off the coast of Brazil.
This was the last naval battle of the war
Of 1872, and practically the last American
naval battle with any foreign foe.
That is not by any means a full record
of the American naval victories but enough
! of them have been given to show the quail