Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-11-03
FAST SAILING SHIPS
The Old Constitution Was
Counted One of the Best.
RACE WITH BRITISH FRlGATE
Story Of the Proves Of Former Man
of-War Ohio.
ALMOST FORGOTTEN WARS
Sea Battles With French, Korean,
Japanese and West Indian
a' SD.

Japanese and West Indian
Pirates.
Written for The Star.
when they get the old Constitution Ak
ed up" said the navigator, II would like
to see her tried in a race with some modern
sailing ship. She used to be about as
speedy a craft as there was afioat. She
could outsail any man-of-war on the sea
and lick anything in her class. She has
a record of outsailing eighteen British
frigates and several ships of the line The
British frigates which she captured or de-
stroyed is matter OF our glorious naval
history.
when Commodore Talbot went out in
the Constitution to take command Of the
West India station at the outbreak OF the
war with France he met, while cruising
to the westward Of San Domingo. British
frigate commanded by an old friend Of his.
At that time the American frigates. which
had recently been built. were subjects OF
derision among the officers of the British
and French navies. They couldn't sail ana
they couldn't fight, and all sorts of dtreful
things were predicted as sure to happen
to them if they got caught out in blow.
The French and British were wiser after
ward and their wisdom cost them some
thing.
Commodore Talbot's British friend came
on board the Constitution and looked her
over. He was sailor after all and took
back all he had said about the new Yankee
frigates except one thing-they couldn't
sail.
What could your old ballyhoo here
do sailing on the wind matched against
my beauty of a frgate over there? he
asked with scorn.
"'Bet you anything You like I can beat
any point Of sailing you may MENTION
said Talbot
We'll, retorted the British captain, I
came out by the way OF the Madeiras and
aboard you have ever tasted. I will bet
you a cask of it against It's value in money
that I will beat you on the wind
Done said Talbot.
but l am just from long cruise and
you are fresh from the dockyard,' said
the Britisher. want time to clean and
refit.'
"'All right agreed Talbot I will give
you three weeks.
Race Won by Constitution.
1.-The Englishman went into port and
three weeks later came out fit a new
fiddle and met Talbot at the appointed
rendezvous. The British and American
commanders dined together on board the
formers ship that night. and it is barely
possible that Talbot sampled some OF the
boosted Madeira OF his British friend.
1.-THE race began at daybreak the next
morning at the firing Of a gun and ended
at sunset with the firing of another gun
The officers and crew Of both vessels were
on their mettle, for the Britisher was re-
puted the fastest sailer in the fleet and
the Constitution had its reputation to
make. Hull was executive officer of the
Constitution and kept the men on deck
all day, not even allowing them to go below
for meals. But he won their hearts by
his splendid seamanship and from that day
Hull's fame as a sailor was established in
the service.
well, when the gun was fired at sunset
the British frigate was hull down astern and
the Constitution squared away and ran
down to her The defeated Britisher came
on board promptly with his cask Of Ma
deira, and 1t is safe to say that, with extra
night on board the Constitution"
"One can imagine a frigate sailing" said
the captain of marines, but looking at one
of those old line of battleships 1t seems mar
sail at all. But handled they were and some
of them were swift sailers, too In spite of
the fact that they looked as If they had
been built by the mile and sawed off by
the furlong.
There was the old shp-of-t he-line Ohio.
A towering structure she was. with her one
hundred and ten guns rising in three tiers
along her bluff sides. She spread 5000
square yards of canvas, enough to nearly
cover two acres Of ground, and carried a
crew of nearly a thousand officers and men.
Yet the huge sea castle could SAIL
When she was lying in Trieste there
came in the bark Leopard, accounted the
fastest sailer af1oat She had long record
Of races and had never been beaten. The
captain boosted loudly OF the prowess of his
vessel and laughed at the idea that there
VI n ba fhof
could compare with her In speed
Huge Ohio Had Speed.
THE huge Ohio and the trim and grace
full Leopard put to sea at the same time,
bound out Of the Adratic. The weather was
rough and stormy, but both vessels set
every stitch Of canvas. for the captain of
the Ohio opined that he would take the
boasting Leopard down bit. The bark
might be the leopard of the sea- he said,
but would find the Ohio the lion of the
Mediterranean.
''All hands were called to work ship on
board the man-of-war and kept at their
stations all day and all night. The MAIN
top-gallant yard was carried away and the
force Of the wind was such that the top
sails burst, but still the great sea monster
cracked on and when morning came the
Leopard was hull down astern."
You mention our war with France" re-
marked a civilian present. That little
Scr1mma8e - now almost forgotten - could
hardly be called a war. coujd it?''
well, l don't know replied the first
lieutenant II should call it a pretty fair
imitation Of one. 1t lasted two and half
years. and besides practically annihilating
the French commerce in the West Indies
we captured eightyfour armed French YES
sels men-of-war and privateers. mounting
between Ave and six hundred guns.
'In that war the American frigate Bos-
ton took the French corvette Berceau. The
Boston was slightly superior in power to
the Berceau and she made the Frenchman
such wreck that it was hardly possible
to get the prize to port before she sank.
The French frigate Vengeance was tackled
by the old Constellation, and, though the
American was considerably inferior In num-
Der of guns, weight of metal thrown and
number of crew, she inflicted heavy dam
age upon the FreHchman, killed and wound
ed Ito of her crew and silenced her guns.
Fighting Against French Vessels.
There was Truxtons victory, too, of
which sailors still sing-the victory in
which the Constellation walloped the tar
out of the French frigate Insurgent and
took her prize into port, though she was
nothing but a sheer hulk when Truxton got
through shooting at her
Though our men-Of-war mostly con-
fined their activities to the West Indies
in the war with France our privateers went
far afield and were tackling French ships