The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-06-03
The Story of the hHermione.

'hO OlOiJ VI uie ItSiiniOilSs
On the night of September %. 1871. while
| the British thirty-two gun frigate Her
! mione was cruising on The west coast If
! Porto Rico, mutiny broke out on beard
II would appear that on the preceding day
while the crew were reafiig the topsails.
the Captain-Hugh Pigot by name, and
describes as zone o; the most cruel and
oppressive captains belonging TO the Brit
ISM navy called out that ne would fog
| the last man off the mizzen-topsaii- = ard.
captain Pigot was known 10 be man Of
MS word in matters of this rot, and, as
| me cat would naturally fall TO the
| lot OF the men at the extremities Of the
| yard, two Of these poor fellows made an
| attempt 70 spring over their comrades
! nearer the mast, but missing their hold
fell on the quarter deck and were both
| killed. When this was reported to the Cap
! tain ne IS said TO have answered, Throw
/ the lubbers overheard" This was the
| elimination Of a long series Of oppres-
slVe acts on the part Of the Captain.
| and the result was that the crew muJinied
| and killed their officers, with few ex-
| ceptions. Captain Pigot was stabbed, and
| while still alive thrown out of the cab
! IN window. Thereafter the mutiEeeTs
| took the ship into La Guyra, and repre-
scented TO the Spanish governor that they
! had set the officers adrifI in the jolly
| boat Soon afterwards the Hermlone was
! added to the Spanish navy, and as fitted
| for sea in this service she mounted forty
! four guns, while her crew, which IN the
| British service had been go, was increas-
| ed by 100, exclusive Of about 20 soldiers
/ and artillerymen.
| Two years later-in September. 1799-in-
! telligence reached Admiral Sir Hyde Par
| ker, COMMANDMENTS a jamaica that
! the Hermione was about to sail from Por-
10 CabeIlo for Havana, and, according
ly, on the 20th of the month, he detached
the twenty-eight gun frigate Surprise.
| Captain Edward Hamilton, to look out
| for her. The total force Of the uSrprise
was 1871 men and boys. Captain Hamilton,
it seems, proposed TO the commander-in-
chief TO attempt the cuttlng-out of the
Hermione if a barge and 90 more men
could be given him; but Sir Hyde Parker
refused his sanction, considering the en-
terprise 100 desperate. The Surprise was
ordered to cruise about 60 to 50 leagues
off Porto Cabello, and endeavor to in
tercept the Hermione. For some weeks
these orders were acted on, but the Her
mione was not met with, and as the
provisions Of the Surprise were running
short, Captain Hamilton determined on
more energetic measures. On October
q, he was off the harbor of Porto Ca
bello, and had satisfied himself that the
ed between two batteries situated at the
entrance to the harbor, and appeared 10
be ready for sea The batteries were said
to mount some 200 guns.
The Surprise stood off-and-on until the
evening of the oath, when, after din
ner Captain Hamilton announced to his
officers his intention of attempting the
capture of the Hermione. Later the crew
were mustered aft, and the Captain made
in xz-hia oh no nd al Of
their former successful exploits. He con-
cluded with these words: 81 find il use
less to wait any longer; we shall soon
be obliged to leave the station, and that
frigate will become the prize of some
more fortunate ship than the Surprise.
Our only prospect of success is by cut
ting her out this night"
This proposal was received with great
cheering, and the crews for the six boats
were Immediately eslected. Every man
was to be dressed in blue, no white was
to be shown; the password was Brit
ain" and the reply ireland" At half
past seven the expedition started, Captain
Hamilton leading in the pinnace. 1t was
distinctly laid down that, in the event Of
reaching the ship undiscovered, only the
boarders were to board, the boats crew
remaining where they were to be in read
mess to take the Hermione in tow directly
the cables wer cut. The rendezvous was
to be the.Hermione'S quarterback. When
within a mile of the Hermione the advanc-
ing boats were discovered by two gun
boats, each mounting a long gun, and
were fired upon. The pinnace, by the
Captains orders, threw off all attempt
at concealment, and with hearty cheers
its crew pulled for the prize. The other
boats ought all to have followed suit.
but some of them instead fooled away
their time and powder on the gunboats.
BY the time the Hermione was reached
her crew were on the alert; nevertheless
Captain Hamilton and his party made
good their footing on her fOrecastle, and,
puhsing their way along the gangway
reached the quarterback. The cables were
cut and the HermiOne taken in tow not
a second too soon, for the shore bat
teries were now entering a vigorous pro-
test in the form Of a heavy fire. Mean
while there was hard fighting going on
on the fTigate, and 1t was not until an
hour after the first attack that all oppO-
sitiOn was put down. At two o'clock in
hte morning the Hermione was safe in
British hands once more, and out of range
of the land batteries.
OF the British there was none killed
though Captain Hamilton, Mr. Maxwell
the gunner, and ten others were more
or les severely wounded. The Spaniards
had 70 killed and 81 wounded out of their
total Of $50.
ut is impossible" says James. "to Go
justice to General Hamilton, the gunner
Mr.. Maxwell, and the first boarders from
the pinnace: they We're unsupported for
more than ten minutes. and this gallant
handful Of men succeeded IN possessing
themselves Of the quarterback. The his
tory of naval warfare. from the earliest
times to this date affords no parallel
TO this dashing affair: it was no sur
prise no creeping upon the sleepy una
wares The crew Of the frigate were at
quarters. standing TO their guns. aware
Of the attack, armed, prepared, in read
mess: and that frigate was captured by
the crews of three boats, the first success
being gained by sixteen men."-Household
Words.