Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1904-10-20

vessel, and with the little keCcn
twelve men went down in the harbor
where she had made herself famous.
Capt Preble, VINO was in command Of
the American forces, in his anxiety to
noy the enemy by all means" de-
teImlned if possible to burn the ship
ping in the harbor by means of a fire
ship. For this purpose the Intrepid
was selected, $50 barrels of powder
and a number of shells were slowed
i'll her and the vessel was headed for
the harbor with Richard Somers and
a crew of eleven men on board. It
was intended to set fire to the ship
in the midst of the Tripolitan vessels,
While the crew was to escape in two
rowboats. AS the ketch was dis
appearing in the darkness. on her way
to the harbor, a signal gun was fired
from the shore and a man, with a
lighted lantern in his hand, was seen
to drop into the hatch where the
powder was stored. A second later
the Intrepid blew up with a ire
nothing was ever seen, but it was
learned that Somers had blown the
ship UP when he saw that his attempt
had been discovered and that
Tripolitan boarding party was swarm
ing over the bulwarks of the Intrepid.
The name of the Cumberland, the
sister ship of the new Intrepid, is
familiar to every schoolboy in the
country. When the iron-clad Merrimae
steamed out of Norfolk on her trial
trip on March s, 1862, the knell of the
old wooden sailing man-of-war was
sounded and to the lot of the sloop-
of-war Cumberland, at anchor off New
port News Point, it fell to be the frs,
victim of the naval revolution. With
the destruction of the gallant old ship
and It's absolutely hopeless struggle
against the new sea-monster it was at
once realised that the day of the
wooden man-of-war had passed. 1t
is, therefore, peculiarly fitting that
one OF the new sailing vessels should
bear the name of the Merrimac's
prey.
Like the Intrepid, the training ship
Boxer is named after one of the
prizes of our infant navy the British
brig Boxer, Capt Samuel Blythe.
which was another victim of the
valiant little schooner ENTERPRISE
commanded this time by Lieut.. Will
lam Burroughs. On Sept. 4, 1913. the
TWO vessels met off Suguin Point on
the Maine coast. In the first broad
slue from the Boxer Lieut.. Burroughs
received a mortal wound, and the
command of the Enterprise devolyed
on Lieut.. Mccall. A few moments
later the British commander Capr
Blythe, was struck and Instantly
Killed by an 18-pound shot. The fight
was snort one and the American
nag was soon flying over the stricken
Boxer The hull of the captured
vessel was riddled with shot her
guns dlsmounted and her rigging cut
TO pieces. The injuries to the ENTER
prise were in comparison insisnif;-
cant, her dead numbering only four
ana wounded eight. The two vessels
were a fair match and to the Amert-
can superiority in seamanship and
gunnery the victory is attributed
III departing from the usual custom
OF naming the vessels of the nayy
AFTER states, cities and naval heroe.
OF the past, and in giving to its new
framing ships these historic names
tne government has merely afforded
another indication of it's desire IN
rear again the class of men who TOOK
part IN those fights. At the ont.
break of the civil war. the Registered
tonnage OF the American marine
amounted to 2,496,OO0 and $50 ner
cent OF a foreign commerce valued at
SooS'S64,375 was carried in American
ships BY 1903, American tonnage
mad fallen to $4,000, actually less
than in 1910, and of the enormous
foreign trade only S.S per cent was
carried under our own flag. while
over s10O,00o,OOO was paid to foreign
snlpowners for freight and passenge,
charges. How rapid was the rnin
OF the merchant marine is shown nv
the fact that in 1869 ninety-one YES
sels quilt for deep sea traffic wera
launched from American shipyards.
IN 1872. only three years later. there
were but fifteen, and since 1901 nor
single order has been given an
American shipyard for a vessel for
deep sea trade. The twin giants. the
Minnesota and Dakota, built in Con-
necticut for the Asiatic service of the
Hill railways are the last products of
American shipbuilding for foreign
trade The great Sewall yard a,
Bath, where steel sailing ships were
formerly built, has been closed for
several years. AS long as present
conditions exist, the government mus,
rely upon training ships to provide
Tor its navy the class of men which
other maritime nations recruit from
their merchant marine