Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1911-12-28
PAPERS THAT |
ON OUR HISTORY
Examples of Letters Which
Are In Captain Rid
gates CUSTODY.

the members of the crew., being over
come by COW rdice. was chased across
the decks o! the Ronhomme Richard
by an officer who attempted to cul him
down with his sword. In endeavoring
to escape Mayrant, or Morant, was
said to have fled to the deck of the"
Scraps. His action being ~misconstrued
by his colleagues on the American
ship. they followed him aboard. with
the result that the Scraps was cap
tured.
1t is interesting to note that in the
files OF the treasury department in
Migrants. or Morant's. own handwrit-
ing is his version Of this affair, which
does not bear the version of Kilby.
Mayrant. or Morant. was made IL lieu
tenant in the service Of the state of
South Carolina soon afterward by
-Rawlins Lowndes, president and com
mander in chief of the state. and au-
thoriZed to command any ship that
might be commissioned in it's service.
The South Carolina delegation in con-
2ress protested against the Kilby mar
rative at the time it was printed. but
even the members Of that delegation
dld not know of the existence of May
rants. or Morant's. w narrative.
Within recent years the late Rear
Admiral Winfield Scott Schley endeav-
ored to prove that a midshipman from
Maryland named Potter deserved cred
it for the charge which won the Sc
rapis.
Sinking of British Ship Augusta.
Another old document in the files de-
scribes the sinking of the British ship
OF the line Augusta. which was sunk
by a shore battery in an attack ON
Fort MifHin, near Philadelphia. This
was one Of the few instances in the
Revolutionary war when an American
shore battery came off victorious
against British warships. The Angus
ia led the attack on the fort. support
ed by six ships of the line and several
frlgates and smaller vessels. She be-
came entangled in a hidden obstruc-
ton in the river stretched across frorl
Red Bank. n. j.. to Fort Mif1in. While
IN this predicament a hot shot from the
shore battery penetrated her magazine.
and the ship blew up. The Augusta
carried sixty-four guns. and her hulk
has remained in the Delaware river
ever since. The British fleet withdrew
after the destruction of the Augusta
and the grounding of the Merlin.
At the present time there stands on
the grounds of the Naval academy at
Annapolis a monument to the officers
who. fell in the war with Tripoli. This
monument was originally erected in
the navy yard at Washington and lat
er adorned the old fish ponds on the
eastern front of the capitol. 1t is sup
posed to belong to the United States
government; but. as a matter of fact.
the files of the treasury department
show that it belongs to the navy itself.
The money for it's erection was con-
tributed by the officers and men aboard
many of the most famous ships off the
old navy. including the Constitution.
President. John Adams. Cyrene. Argos,
Chesapeake. United States. Wasp and
Revenge, and by employees of the navy
yards. Stephen Decatur was one of
the principal donors. The system by
which the money was collected was
the signing of a subscription list. after
which the amount of the subscription
was deducted from the pay of the Of
fcers and men. Today another naval
monument stands at the foot Of the
hill near the capitol, and this was paid
for by subscription from men in the
navy. supplemented by a considerable
appropriation by congress-.