Thirteen Chapters of American History is a Webnovel created by Theodore Sutro.
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“Ay, call it holy ground, The soil where first they trod; They have left unstained what there they found– Freedom to worship G.o.d.”
FELICIA HEMANS.
FIRST RECOGNITION OF THE AMERICAN FLAG By a Foreign Government
(_In the Harbor of Quiberon, France, February 13, 1778_)
[Ill.u.s.tration: Copyright, 1898, by Edward Moran.]
VIII.
FIRST RECOGNITION OF THE AMERICAN FLAG BY A FOREIGN GOVERNMENT.
_In the Harbor of Quiberon, France, February 13, 1778._[K]
“When Freedom, from her mountain height, Unfurled her standard to the air, She tore the azure robe of night And set the stars of glory there!
She mingled with its gorgeous dyes The milky baldric of the skies, And striped its pure, celestial white With streakings of the morning light.”
DRAKE.
Between the time of the landing of the Pilgrims and the event represented in this picture one hundred and fifty-eight years had elapsed. The hardy pioneers who had ventured across the ocean in considerable numbers had increased to thirteen colonies, the Declaration of Independence had been signed, the War of the Revolution was being fought, a preliminary confederation had been formed among the thirteen States, the first American Congress had met, and this, on June 14, 1777, “Resolved that the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; and the Union be thirteen white stars on a blue field,” and on the same day had appointed John Paul Jones, usually known as Paul Jones, to the command of the “Ranger,” who soon thereafter hoisted the new flag on board that vessel at Portsmouth. The “Ranger” set out to sea about November 1st, her battery consisting of sixteen six-pounders, throwing only forty-eight pounds of shot from a broadside, an armament which appears grotesquely lilliputian in comparison with the thirteen-inch guns, firing projectiles of over half a ton from our steel-armored battleships of to-day, which cost as much as five million dollars and are of 16,000 tons burden. With this little ship he sailed to Europe, capturing two prizes on the way, and, after touching at Nantes, sailed to Quiberon Bay, east of Quiberon, on the Bay of Biscay, a small town and peninsula about twenty-two miles south-east of Lorient, convoying some American vessels, and placing them under the protection of the French fleet commanded by Admiral La Motte Piquet. The story represented in this picture he tells in his own language in a letter to the Naval Committee, dated February 22, 1778: “I am happy to have it in my power to congratulate on my having seen the American flag for the first time recognized in the fullest and completest manner by the flag of France.” He then recounts how, after preliminary communications with the Admiral, the latter thus honored the flag on February 13th, which he characterized as “an acknowledgment of American independence.”
This, as well as each of the five subsequent paintings, depicts an important event in the history of our navy, and must be dear to every American heart in the incident which is thus perpetuated. The American flag is proudly displayed from the masthead and stern of the “Ranger,”
and the coloring is so adjusted that the flag appears to wave in the brightest light of the picture. The smoke of the booming cannon from the French fleet, the motion of the water, and the row-boats evidently plying in friendly intercourse among the ships, the sky effect–all together combine to produce a piece of superb marine painting.
s.p.a.ce forbids dwelling upon the exceptional, romantic, daring and successful career of Paul Jones, who was born in Scotland on July 6, 1747, and died in Paris on July 18, 1792, the first of that long list of heroic figures which have made the history of the American navy so ill.u.s.trious.
“The man that is not moved at what he reads, That takes not fire at their heroic deeds, Unworthy of the blessings of the brave, Is base in kind, and born to be a slave.”
COWPER.
_Note._–Additional interest is lent to this canvas through the fact that quite recently (April, 1905) the remains of John Paul Jones, the hero of the occasion, were discovered in Paris, and are to be interred in the United States.
BURNING OF THE FRIGATE PHILADELPHIA
(_In the Harbor of Tripoli, February 16, 1804_)
[Ill.u.s.tration: Copyright, 1898, by Edward Moran.]
IX.
BURNING OF THE FRIGATE PHILADELPHIA.
_In the Harbor of Tripoli, February 16, 1804._[L]
This canvas represents one of the most daring feats ever performed in naval warfare, equalled only, perhaps, by the exploit of Lieutenant Hobson in sinking the collier “Merrimac” in the harbor of Santiago during the Spanish-American war of 1898. Lord Nelson characterized the burning of the “Philadelphia” as the most daring act of the age. The “Philadelphia” was the sister ship of the famous “Const.i.tution,” and under the command of Captain Bainbridge had been despatched to Tripoli to demand satisfaction for losses suffered by our merchant marine at the hands of Algerian pirates, who had been preying upon the commerce of the world for years. Arriving on the Algerian coast, she was led upon a reef by pirates whom she was chasing, her officers and crew were taken prisoners, her guns were thrown overboard, and she was taken into the harbor by her captors, and there remanned, regunned and made ready to defend the city against the other American ships which were blockading the port.
From his prison Captain Bainbridge managed to get into communication with the American fleet, and to suggest the feasibility of destroying the “Philadelphia.” Acting upon this suggestion Lieutenant Decatur undertook the perilous task. Decatur had sailed into the harbor of Tripoli in the frigate “United States” in the Preble expedition and captured a small Tripolitan vessel, which was renamed the “Intrepid.” In her, with a crew of seventy-four brave volunteers, and accompanied by the “Siren,” he sailed straight up to the “Philadelphia” in the evening, sprang on board with his men, and after a furious struggle and under the fire of the coast batteries, whose cannon swept the approach to the “Philadelphia,” the Americans either killed or drove into the sea all the Tripolitans on board the “Philadelphia,” which was set on fire, while the “Intrepid,” with the a.s.sistance of the “Siren,” escaped without the loss of a single man. It was a deed of marvellous bravery, so much so that on November 15, 1804, Thomas Jefferson sent a special message to Congress stating that Lieutenant Decatur had been advanced to be a Captain, and it is not surprising that so brave a seaman gradually rose to the rank of Commodore in the United States navy. He was the hero of many subsequent brilliant exploits, princ.i.p.ally in foreign waters, and effectually showed the nations of Europe how to put an end to the piracy and insolence of the Barbary States, which had lasted for nearly three centuries. He was the recipient of many distinguished honors, and was presented with a sword by Congress for his share in the destruction of the “Philadelphia,” and in 1812 with a gold medal for his capture of the British frigate “Macedonian” by his own ship the “United States.”
His patriotic devotion to his country is well exemplified in a toast which he proposed in 1816 on the occasion of a banquet which was tendered to him: “Our Country! In her intercourse with foreign nations, may she always be in the right; but our Country, right or wrong.”
Decatur was born in Maryland on January 5, 1779, and died on March 22, 1820, in a duel with Commodore Barron.
Andrew Jackson, in his first annual message to Congress on December 8, 1829, referred to the heroic deed represented in this painting in the following language:
“I cannot close this communication without bringing to your view the just claim of the representatives of Commodore Decatur, his officers and crew, arising from the recapture of the frigate ‘Philadelphia’ under the heavy batteries of Tripoli. Although sensible, as a general rule, of the impropriety of Executive interference under a Government like ours, where every individual enjoys the right of directly pet.i.tioning Congress, yet, viewing this case as one of very peculiar character, I deem it my duty to recommend it to your favorable consideration. Besides the justice of this claim, as corresponding to those which have been since recognized and satisfied, it is the fruit of a deed of patriotic and chivalrous daring which infused life and confidence into our infant navy and contributed as much as any exploit in its history to elevate our national character. Public grat.i.tude, therefore, stamps her seal upon it, and the meed should not be withheld which may hereafter operate as a stimulus to our gallant tars.”
The burning of the “Philadelphia” is one of the most striking pictures in the series. The effect of the mounting flames against the moonless and midnight sky is impressive and spectacular, and their lurid reflection in the water, with a glimpse of the Algerian fort and batteries in the background to the right, and the little vessel of Decatur, fittingly named the “Intrepid,” skimming along the water away from the burning ship, with swelling sail and powerful stroke of oar, with the dense ma.s.ses of smoke rising to the extreme height of the painting and a shower of burning embers descending into the water–produce an effect, so vivid and realistic, of a great conflagration, that the eye is riveted to the scene with never-failing interest.
THE BRIG ARMSTRONG ENGAGING THE BRITISH FLEET
(_In the Harbor of Fayal, September 26, 1814_)
[Ill.u.s.tration: Copyright, 1898, by Edward Moran.]
X.
THE BRIG ARMSTRONG ENGAGING THE BRITISH FLEET.
_In the Harbor of Fayal, September 26, 1814._[M]
It is difficult to discriminate, in awarding the meed of praise for bravery, amid the many heroic deeds of the American navy. For fighting qualities and success in repulsing overwhelming numbers the exploit of Captain Samuel Chester Reid, in his battle with the British seamen which this picture ill.u.s.trates, has never been surpa.s.sed. It was on the 26th of September, 1814, that the privateer, the brig “Armstrong,” which had been fitted out in New York, cast anchor in the harbor of Fayal, one of the Azores, belonging to the neutral government of Portugal. About the same time three British ships, the “Plantagenet,” the “Carnation” and the “Rota,” under the command of Commodore Lloyd, appeared in the same harbor, and without further ceremony sent out four boat loads of men towards the brig “Armstrong,” evidently with hostile intention. Captain Reid, realizing the futility of relying upon the protection of the impotent Portuguese authorities, prepared for the worst, and, on receiving a threatening response to a challenge which he addressed to the approaching boats, he unhesitatingly opened fire. As his crew consisted of only ninety men, his armament of eight nine-pounders, with only the famous “Long Tom,” a twenty-four pounder (which was exhibited at the World’s Fair at Chicago in 1893) as a gun of any consequence to rely upon, while the enemy numbered over two thousand men and had a combined armament of one hundred and thirty-six guns, the hardihood of this initial proceeding will be apparent. After having suffered some loss in killed and wounded, three of the enemy’s boats beat a hasty retreat, the fourth having been sunk, but about midnight the attack was renewed by fourteen boats, loaded to the guards with at least four hundred men. Captain Reid with his men fought like tigers, and “Long Tom,” under the command of William Copeland, mowed down the enemy without giving them a chance to carry out their evident intention of capturing the ship. The battle lasted only forty minutes, but during this time two boats of the enemy had been captured and two sunk, and nearly three hundred of their men either killed or wounded, while Reid achieved a complete victory with the loss of only two men killed and seven wounded. A third attack was made by the enemy soon after daybreak, this time directly with the guns of the brig “Carnation,” but “Long Tom,” with its twenty-four pound shots, did so much damage to the hull of the enemy’s ship that she was forced to withdraw, thus leaving the victory for the third time with Captain Reid. Having so far succeeded in warding off the enemy, Captain Reid thereupon, however, realizing the futility of continuing to fight against such odds, left the brig, after having scuttled and set her on fire, and reached the sh.o.r.e in safety.
There the inhabitants of the town did all in their power to care for the wounded and protect the brave little band, who had barricaded themselves in a small stone church; and a demand made by the British commander for their surrender, on the ground that there were deserters among them, proved futile, as the charge could not be established.
Subsequently the Portuguese Government raised “Long Tom,” the historic gun of the “Armstrong,” and presented it to the United States Government, and in January, 1887, Samuel C. Reid, the son and namesake of the valiant Captain, offered through President Cleveland to the United States the battle sword of his father–thus preserving these two invaluable relics as mementos of one of the most remarkable sea-fights in history.
Years later, Louis Napoleon, then Emperor of France, undertook to arbitrate the claims of the United States Government against the British Government for the loss of the “Armstrong,” but decided in favor of the British on the ground that Captain Reid had opened fire on the British ships and thereby had failed to respect the neutrality of the port and must abide the result of his commencing hostilities.
The owners of the “Armstrong” made repeated efforts to obtain redress for the loss of their ship, but it was not until the year 1897 (about the time that Mr. Moran finished this painting) that some money was received, and, strange to say, paid over to the widow of the owner, Mr.