Out of her 300 men the "Macedonian" had lost 112. The rigging and masts were almost utterly destroyed, and her hull had been riddled by more than 100 solid shot.

The meeting of Decatur and Carden was a painful one to both of them, but it gave to the generosity and nobility of Decatur's character an opportunity to display itself. As has been said, the two men were old friends. There was also a singularly marked resemblance between them, not only in form and features, but in their finer characteristics of heart and mind.

The British captain, almost heart-broken over his defeat and the awful sufferings of his men, advanced toward Decatur, with his sword extended, handle first, in token of surrender, but uttering no word. With a grand impulse which nothing could restrain, Decatur waved the sword aside, and came impetuously forward, with both hands extended

"Captain Carden, I could never forgive myself if I took the sword from the hands of a man who has used it with the bravery and courage you have displayed. I decline to take it!"

The "Macedonian" after two days' hard work, was rigged up with jurymasts, and, accompanied by the "United States," was taken to New London, under command of Lieutenant Allen. After having been thoroughly repaired, she was refitted as an American war-ship, and afterwards formed one of a squadron commanded by her valiant captor.

Captain Carden, upon exchange, was tried and acquitted of all blame for having lost his ship, and remained for many years an ornament to the Royal Navy, and a steadfast friend to Stephen Decatur till the day of that noble wan's untimely taking off.

4

NINETY MEN AGAINST TWO THOUSAND

471

T

90 MEN AGAINST 2,000.

BY LIEUTENANT R. H. JAYNE.

HERE'S no use of denying that we made a sorry exhibition with our land forces at the opening of the War of 1812. It brings a blush to the cheek to recall the surrender of Detroit by the timid old General Hull; the cowardice of the militia of New York at Niagara ; the abortive attempts at the invasion of Canada; the humiliating capture and burning of Washington (relieved by the splendid valor of Commodore Barney and his marines at the Bladensburg bridge), and the general hurly-burly of the campaigns. These were not of a nature to cause a quickening of the pulse of an American, though often lit up by thrilling instances of bravery, ending in more than one magnificent victory, as the officers and the troops swung into place, and grasped, as may be said, the exigencies of the situation.

But on the ocean, how we made things hum! From the days of the old Vikings, a thousand years ago, down through the fierce conflicts between the nations of Europe on the high seas, and the tremen. Struggles in the dous blows struck by Paul Jones and the privateers in the Brave Days of Old Revolution, no more stirring naval battles shook the deep and dyed the waves with crimson, than took place between our infant navy, in the War of 1812, and the mighty fleets of Great Britain, the "mistress of the seas."

We were caught unprepared. We had a few men-of-war, the number hardly worth mentioning, while the English navy numbered 1,036 vessels, of which 254 were ships-of-the-line, every one carrying at least seventy guns of large calibre. She had thirty-five war vessels at the different stations on our coast, ready for action, the whole manned by a prodigious force of 144,000 sailors.

No wonder our government decided to make no contest against such overwhelming odds. Where would we have been but for the protest of those grim. sea-dogs, Bainbridge, Stewart and others? They succeeded in gaining the consent of the government that the privateers should have a chance, along with the few men-of-war, whose officers and crews were yearning for an opportunity of measuring strength with the British cruisers.

The exploits of the little American navy are familiar to every schoolboy. They added imperishable lustre to our glory upon the ocean, and humbled the pride of Great Britian as never before. The first time that that

472

NINETY MEN AGAINST TWO THOUSAND.

power ever surrendered an entire squadron to an enemy was on the 10th of September, 1814, when Commodore Barclay, with his arm shot off having lost the other in a previous engagement, ordered the white flag run up as token of submission to young Perry, the American, who had never seen a naval battle before, but who, at the close of his terrific engagement, sent the message to General Harrison :

"We have met the enemy, and they are ours; two ships, two brigs, one schooner, and one sloop."

+

Baltimore furnished more privateers than any other port, but they sailed from New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Salem, by the dozen. Some of the most famous were fitted out in Charleston, Bristol and Plymouth. The majority were schooners, well armed, swift, and crowded with men, so as to furnish crews for the captured prizes. There were also brigs and brigantines, which were often so depleted, for the purpose named, that barely enough men were left to handle the original privateer.

Captain Samuel C. Reid, of Connecticut, commanded the privateèr brig "General Armstrong," whose armament consisted of nine long guns, the largest being a twenty-four-pounder, the others nine-pounders, or "long nines," as they were called, while in the usual position, on a pivot at the front, was the famous "Long Tom," so useful when pursuing an enemy.

Good luck attended the "General Armstrong," which, setting out with several hundred men, captured prize after prize, and sent them home, until Captain Reid was left with a crew of only ninety. In the month of September, 1814, he put into the harbor of Fayal, one of the Azores, for the purpose of laying in provisions, of which he was running short.

Π

While he was leisurely engaged at this work, Captain Reid was surprised by the arrival of a British squadron for the same purpose. It was on its way to Jamaica to join Admiral Sir Thomas Cochrane's naval expedition against New Orleans. It consisted of the flagship "Plantagenet," of seventyfour guns, under Captain Robert Floyd; the frigate "Rota," thirty-eight guns, under Captain Philip Somerville, and the brig "Carnation," eighteen guns, under Captain George Bentham. The destination and intended service of the squadron make it hardly necessary to state that the ships were all thoroughly equipped for action. They were manned by 2,000 men.

The English squadron arrived at Fayal on the 25th of September. As soon as Captain Floyd recognized the terrible little Yankee privateer, he placed his ships so as to shut off her escape. Inasmuch as all the vessels were in the waters of a neutral power, Captain Reid doubted whether the enemy would attack him. But he was too wise to take any chances. He spread his nets and made ready for action.

NINETY MEN AGAINST TWO THOUSAND.

473

A sharp watch was maintained through the night, but nothing took place. The next day, however, several boats put out from the "Plantagenet," and headed for the privateer. In his subsequent report of the affair, Captain Floyd stated that he had no purpose of attacking the American, but he was engaged only on a reconnoissance. Captain Reid was not to be caught napping. The favorite method of attack in those days was by boarding, and such he believed was the intention of those boats. Accordingly, he hailed them and warned them to keep off.

They paid no attention, but rowed straight for his ship. He repeated his warning until they were but a few rods away, when he let drive at them. Several were killed and wounded, and the astonished enemy concluded to terminate their reconnoissance then and there, the survivors returning to the flagship.

Captain Reid knew that the most serious business was to come. So he swung his brig nearer shore, with springs on her cables, and held himself in readiness for the attack of his enemy.

As night was closing in, a dozen or more boats were lowered from the British vessels, all filled with men and guns. Each boat carried a carronade in her bows and had a crew of thirty or forty men. The expedition was under the command of Lieutenant William Matterface, of the "Rota."

Instead of making directly for the privateer, the boats sheltered themselves for several hours behind some rocks near her, while the "Carnation," being light of draft, took position within shot of the privateer, so as to be ready in case she attempted to slip out to sea.

The full moon was shining in an unclouded sky, so that objects could be seen for a short distance with the distinctness of daylight. It was almost midnight when the boats that had been sheltered behind the rocks shot into sight, and the splash of oars showed that the attack was to be made within the next few minutes.

Moonlit Waters
Splashed with
Blood.

While still some way off, the enemy opened with her carronades, and the privateer replied with her long nines. Little if any damage, however, was done; but the boats were coming fast, and the fight grew hotter and fiercer every moment. The Americans fired with deadly accuracy, sinking three of the craft before they reached the nets, and leaving the occupants drowning, swimming and struggling in the water. The English made determined and desperate attempts to board. They slashed and cut at the nets, and grasping them, drew their boats close against the side of the privateer, and strove to climb over the gunwales,