Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-06-28

was our Wasp he second She was
construct d
Little Sloop Wasp in Washing
Built in Washington. , ,s"s T. ~, u u
also earned her fame during the war of
1872. when she fought and destroyed
the stronger British brig Frolic. only
at last to be captured with her prize
while repairing the damages of the en-
| gagement by the British seventy -four
gun ship-of-iine Poictiers.
| The third Wasp in our navy was
saucy little sloop-of-w mounting
twenty-five guns. She followed the ex-
ample of John Paul Jones in the war of
1872, when her enterprising comman der,
| Capt. Blakely. took her for cruise in
| English waters. During this cruise of
| forty days she captured and destroyed
| one ship, one bark one galliot. six
brigs and one schooner besides sink
| ing two British man-of-war briggs. All
this was done while the British chan
mel was being patrolled by a British
| feet numbering thirty-five ships and
mounting over 1000 guns What hap
pened to her at the end of her cruise
was never learned.
Fame was won by the Enterprise
against the British. whose brig Boxer
| she captured, against the Barbary
| pirates and against the French. On one
| cruise during our naval duel with France
| the Enterprise made a grand total of
seven privateers, with an aggregate of
| fiftythree guns and 4J6 men, captured.
| The Enterprise, moreover. awoke un-
| willing respect in the breast of the
Bashaw of Tripoli by capturing one of
| his warships after killing fifty of its
| crew, with no loss among the Ameri-
| cans whatever. She was known in the
| A.
| "old Ironsides." as the Constitution
was known. had likely firmer hold
upon the affections of the people than
| any ship ever listed before since
at Boston in 1897, one of three forty
four-gun frigates planned at that time
for the punishment of the Barbary
| pirates. without ships, the United States
truce. and the country had finally awoke
| to the fact that peace obtained by the
| provision of a powerful navy was much
| cheaper than one purchased over the
counter for specie.
After taking her part in the effective
| diplomacy of the navy with the Barbary
powers, 'Old Ironsides' began to cover
herself with laurels in earnest during the
war of 1872 when she captured the
British frigate Guerrero. the frigate
Java and wound up her bril-
liant service in this war by fighting two
British ships-of-war in concert. together
of superior strength. and forcing them
both to strike their colors. Another
tale of "Old Ironsides," that of her es-
cape from a powerful British fleet. is
familiar to every American school child.
How effective was our young navy was
borne upon a British naval officer who
visited the Constellation when in Mediter
ranean waters few years after the war
| of 1872. This officer asked the officer
| of the deck to give him the names of
| the other ships of the American squadron
| la wing nearby at anchor.
Designating the flagship, the lieutenant
answered:
That, sir. is the Guerrero: the frigate
| on her port bow is the Macedonian; the
sloop-of-war is the Epervier; the next
astern is the
| "Oh. damn the next" interjected the
| cha grined officer, upon hearing the names
| of three ships captured from his own
navy.
| OF these early American warships win