Arizona sentinel and Yuma weekly examiner., 1915-01-14
TODAY Is CENTENARY
 OF BIG NAVAL BATTLE

NEW YORK, Jan. 15.-Speclal to the Yuma Daily Examiner Today is
 the one hundredth anniversary of the
 historic battle between the United States ship President and the Brit ish ship "Endymion,' the last import
 ant engagement of the War of 1872. either on land or sea. Like the battle of New Orleans, the naval engagement was fought after peace had been agreed upon between the United
 States and Great Britain, but before the news of the signing of the treaty l had reached this country.
 The battle between the President
 and the "Endymion' possessed much closer interest to New Workers than probably any other event of the war. For many weeks the President" had been kept in New York by the Vigil ance of the British blockaders just outside the port. Her commander, Commodore Decatur, was a familiar figure in New York and nearly all the members of the crew hailed from this city.
 For many weary days the "Presi- dent had been waiting a chance to slip out of this port for a cruise to the West Indies. Finally, the night or January 14, 1915, was selected as the time for making the attempt. The night was dark and foggy, and the blockading fleet was nowhere to be
 seen. But soon after getting out of the bay, baffled by headwinds and the perplexing currents, the frigate went aground. When floated by high tide few hours later, she was found to
 be seriously injured.
 To return to port was impossible
 in the face of the gale that was rag ing. so Commodore Decatur decided te crowd on all sail in the hope of get ing out to sea before being sighted by
 the enemy Before daylight, however, the lookout reported two sails in sight and soon the American ship was fair V surrounded by the British vessels.
 The sailing qualities of the "Presl- lent" had been so impaired by her injuries that escape was out or the nuestion. The British squadron was led by the frigate "Endymion, which
 succeeded in overhauling the "Presl- dent" and raking her with her broad sides.
 Decatur decided upon the desperate
 expedient of grappling with the enemy in the hope of defeating her in hand to-hand encounter and then abandon
 ing the crippled President" and es- caping in the captured vessel.
 Ii was near dark when the two big
 ships came together. By that time
 he guns of the British vessel had al-
 ready wrought great havoc among the officers and crew of the President. h. hoI ct ,plinter and rendered unconscious for q time. But the President" had put I'D such a fight that the "Endymion' had been made helpless and would have fallen an easy prey to the Amerl- cans had not two more English yes sells appeared upon the scene. This breed the Americans to abandon their prey and continue their flight in the hope of getting away in the darkness. But. in her crippled condition, the | President" was totally unable to make any progress and by Il o'clock three of the enemy's vessels had clos ed in on her and were pouring in the apid broadsides.
 Thus surrounded and overpowered, there was no course left open to the Americans but to surrender. Shortly before midnight, the President made signal that she had struck. In the long running fight, neither the Americans nor the British had escaped without ;evere loss On the President were twenty-four killed and fifty-five wound ed. Commadore Decatur's first, second and third officers were among the slain. The "Fndymion" had eleven men killed and fourteen wounded.
 After the battle. the two frigates were ordered to proceed to Bermuda, but the bad luck of the President" seemed to follow her, for on the way she encountered a terrific gale, by which her masts were carried away, and her timbers so strained that all the upper works had to be cut away, and her guns thrown overheard in or der to save the ship.
 The loss of the President at the very mouth of the New York harbor plunged the people of New York, Bos- con and Philadelphia into despondency, for at that time they had received neither the news of peace nor of the glorious success of General Jackson al New Orleans.