The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1909-01-15

szzsssssszsssgzzsssssksssAszszss
FIGHT FOR THE CHESAPEAKE.
The sale of the flag of the Cresa-
peake, the American frigate which
Captain Philip Broke and the British
frigate Shannon captured on June l,
1913, aroused much interest, says the
London Globe The story of the flag
Of the Chesapeake is interesting In
itself, apart from its connection with
one of the most historic frigate ac-
tions in the annals of naval warfare.
1t is now faded, though still in good
condition, but this little bit of blue
bunting, with its one red and white
stripe and fifteen stars, caused,
through trifling mistake, the death
of six men. 1t was after Captain
Broke and his boarding party had
made themselves masters of the
Chesapeake that the incident oc-
Cured. The two ships had drawn
little apart, and those remaining in
the Shannon were astOniShed to see
the Stars and Starfpes run up above
the British flag. Never doubling that
the boarders had been overpOwered,
they opened fire again. But the flags
came down with a run, and were sent
up again in the reverse order, the
British on top. Lieutenant Watt, of
the Shannon, had got the halliards
tangled in making the first hoist. He
paid for his mistake with his life, for
the upper part Of his head was car
ried away by a grapeshot, and five
seamen were also killed. The flag
passed into the possession of Midship-
man Samuel Grandy after the action
Che subsequently became COM
mander and served for long time
with the Coast Guard), and he be-
queathe ed it to his son. It's subse-
quent history is well authenticated
down to 1900, when 1t passed into
the possession of the late Mr.. Middle
brook, the dispersion Of whose collec-
tion brought it once more into the
auction room.
The number of the Chesapeake and
the Shannon relics is not remarkable,
and the greater part Of them are IN
the possession of the Royal United
Service Institution. After the cap
ture of the Chesapeake, number Of
important papers were discovered in
her, including letters, signal lists and
signal books. In one letter addressed
to Captain Samuel Evans, who pre-
Of the vessel, 1t Is stated that Amer
ican vessels of war appearing off
Sandy Hook will be known, for the
present, by an American ensign hoist
ed at each masthead, and large
black ball, either suspended at the
flying jibboom end or the mizzenpeak,
as can be most easily distinguished.
Another letter, dated from the Navi-
cation Department, November II,
1913, instructed the captain mot to
interrupt any British unarmed YES
sels." Confidential signals relating
to public and armed private ships, to
which was attached a piece of lead,
in order that the papers might be
sunk before the ship was taken, were
also found.
Captain Lawrence, of the Chesa-
peake, was mortally wounded in the
first few moments of the action, and
in the furious quarter of an hour that
fidential documents was probably for
gotten. Then 1t came about that two
signal books, as we'll as the list al
ready mentioned, fell into the hands
of the British. Her log passed into
the possession of the first lieutenant
of the Shannon, who lived to be an
admiral of the fleet, Sir Provo Wallis,
and who died in his 101st year, on
February 13, 1892. When the en-
gagement was ended Captain Broke
tainted from the pain of his wounds,
and the command of the Shannon de-
veloped upon Lieutenant Wallis, a
prize crew being taken into the Ches-
apeako by Lieutenant Falkiner. 9th
er relics of the fight that Sir Provo
Wallis possessed were piece Of wood
from the captured ship and portrait
of Broke. The fgurehead of the
Shannon was preserved when the ves-
sci was broken up in 1859 at Chat
ham, as indeed it deserved to be, for
the victory Of Captain Broke's frigate
came at a time when the prestige of
the British sea force had fallen very
low. Only few weeks before the
duel between tho Chesapeake and the
Shannon, one disaster after another
had overtaken British arms, and this
within decade of Trafalgar! Broke,
however, was one of the officers
trained in the same school and actu-
ated by the same principles as Nell
son. He had been seven years in
command of the Shannon before he
sent his famous challenge to Law
renee, of the Chesapeake. and every
morning Of every year. whenever it
had been possible, his men had been
exercised at the guns for an hour and
a half, and twice a week he had car
ried out gHnnery practice. 1t was.
therefore, with confidence that he
looked forward to the meeting with
the Americans. That they on their
side were equally hopeful Is shown
by the fact that they went into action
with a barrel full of irons for the
wrists of their captives ready opened
on deck