Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-01-05

extended so as to admit slowing the
hammockS across the bows.
ThiS work was undertaken and part OF
a year was consumed in getting the great
frigate ready. When il had been TO sea
a few months Capt. cambridge. then in
command of the President. found some
fault with the way the rigging worked
and sent an official communication To the
Secretary of the Navy stating that on ac-
count of the extreme inefticiency OF the
new cable furnished by the Washington
navy yard the ship had been endangered
at critical moment.
Capt Tingey. as commandment of the
yard and responsible for all its work.
held survey over the pieces OF cable
submitted by cambridge. 1t was sup
posed to have been furnished by Rich
ard PARROT. a ropemaker of George
town, u. c. Mr.. Parrott came off with a
clean bill of health. He proved that
the bad rope had not been made by him,
and also revealed the fact that the rope
which he had manufactured for the
President had been placed aboard the
General Greene. Four years later Rich
ard Parrott was appointed naval agent
for Washington. but he resigned not
long after he assumed the duties
The famous United States lay at the
yard for years "in ordinary" and Capt.
Decatur had much to do with its refit-
ting In 1909. before it captured the
British ship Macedonian. Decatur
played trick on his fellow comnra nd
ers by "swiping" some brand-new glass
skylights and placing them in the
United States These glass novelties
were in great demand at the time. and
the joke was on the commanders of the
rest of the fleet. which was being re-
fitted at the yard. However, Decatur
found fault with some of the other
work done at the yard. and complained
ha ri rtyaer of oh lin
not up to the standard
At this time the Essex and John
Adams were undergoing scrutiny. and
were found to be in perfect order by
Capt. Tingey and his officers. The fri
gates Congress and Adams We're said
to be in fair shape but the Constitu-
ton and New York We're said to he in
need of thorough repairs.
Congress acted on Capt. Tingey's sur
vey and ordered the John Adams and
Essex to be Immediately equipped for
sea. The President was almost ready at
the time The Essex was one of the
greatest of American fighters, and made
name for itself after the yard was done
with her 1t was this little ship which.
under Capt (afterward COMMODORE Por-
ter. captured the British man-of-wa
Alert. the first British national vessel to
be taken i'm the war of 1872
The Essex was a. part of cambridge $
little squadron. but was separated from
the other ships much of the time She
Seringapatan, and fell a prisoner to the
two British ships Phoebe ard Cherub off
Valparaiso. her cOlors being lowered after
terrific slaughter had decimated the
crew and after the hull had burned al
most to the powder magazine.
-.
The Constitution was fitted up tenn
pOrariy, sailed away End came back
again, and in the early days of 1872 was
being newly coppered. 1t was from this
repair work that the Constitution went
out to become famous in her battles with
the British Guerrero.
The CONSTITUTIONS first experience with
the Guerrero, '3S Capt. Dacres, and an
accompanying squadron was In the ma
ture of a retreat. said to be one of the
most remarkable in history. The Consti-
tution's crew towed the vessel by small
boats and afterward took an anchor
half A mile ahead of the vessel and 1.-THE
crew clapped on and walked away, with
the ship overrunning and tripping the
kedge as she came up with the end of
the line" 1t was hand-over-hand tug
Of-war performance.
The enemy was completely mystfied,
for there was a dead calm and the Eng
lishman could not imagine where the Con-
stitution got its speed in retreat. Capt.
Dacres finally discerned the method and
adopted II himself. and for one or two
days this freakish race kept up, with an
occasional exchange of shots. The Con-
stitution got away clean after sixty-four
hours, a terrific storm separating the
Constitution from the pursuing squadron.
The famous yard-arm to yard-arm fight
between the Constitution and the Guer-
riere occurred some months later in the
Bay Of Fundy. Capt Isaac Hull refused
to fire the CONSTITUTIONS guns until within
half a pistol shot. That engagement is
probably known ''by heart" by every
American school child, as the details have
been carefully preserved. even down to
the solemn fact that Capt. Hull burst his
tight small clothes" in the excitement
of the first broadside of double shotted
round and grape.
According to bitter editorial in the
London Times of that period never be-
fore in the history of the world did an
English frigate strike to an American"
1t Is probable the Guerrero never would
have lowered her colors of her own will.
AS it was. the fore, main and mizzen
masts were shot away. and colors
nailed to each fell with them. The
Guerriere fired for two and a half hours,
but not a shot came from the Constitu-
ton until one-half an hour before the
Guerriere surrendered. The Constitu-
tons rigging was badly wrecked.
The schooner Enterprise, which licked