Chapter IX: Part 9

By a resolution of Congress, January 6th, 1814, which states the gallantry and good conduct displayed by Lieutenant Edward R. M’Call, as second in command of the Enterprise, in the conflict with the Boxer, a gold medal (_see_ Plate XII.) was ordered to be struck and presented to him with the thanks of that body.

DESCRIPTION OF THE MEDAL.

OCCASION.--Capture of the British sloop-of-war Boxer.

DEVICE.--A bust of Lieutenant M’Call.

LEGEND.--Edward M’Call, navis Enterprise præfectus.

EXERGUE.--Sic itur ad astra.

REVERSE, and the _inscription_ on the _exergue_, the same as those of the medal of Lieutenant Burrows.

CAPT. JAMES LAWRENCE.

James Lawrence was the youngest son of John Lawrence, Esq., of Burlington, New Jersey, and was born on the 1st of October, 1781. Having lost his mother a few weeks after his birth, his two eldest sisters, by their most tender attention, endeavored to supply her place. His affection for his sisters was in a measure filial, as well as fraternal, being bound to them by the double ties of blood and education. Their assiduities were directed to the cultivation of his feelings and his principles, and they were only relieved from responsibility when they gave him to society, liberal, humane and virtuous. At the age of twelve years he exhibited a passion for the sea, but his father was anxious that he should be educated for the law, a profession in which he was himself considerably distinguished; and in consequence of his limited means, his son James received his education at a grammar-school in his native town. At the age of fourteen he removed to Woodbury, and commenced a course of law studies with his brother John Lawrence, who was at that time a lawyer of some distinction there. Soon after his removal his father died. James was now wholly an orphan, and long and severe were his sufferings at the loss of so good a parent, but in time they wore away, and he made an urgent appeal to his brother in favor of the path to which his genius had directed him.

The faithful and affectionate brother had discovered that the pursuits of law were loathsome to his pupil, and that sedentary habits suited not a frame formed for activity, nor study a mind that gloried in action, nor the land a heart whose only delight was the broad ocean. It was, therefore, thought best, on the whole, to surrender him at once to the prerogative of his nature. At his own request he returned to Burlington, and commenced the study of navigation. He remained there only sufficiently long to attain the elements of the theory of that science; but it was all he required. His mind, once receiving a proper direction, could go forward at leisure, of its own motion; a guide was wanting only to show the path and to mark out the course; it was for Lawrence alone to arrive at the goal. It was not long before he was pronounced a most finished seaman, and this character could not have been acquired otherwise than by devoting himself exclusively to the acquisition of nautical science, including combination of practice with theory.

In the seventeenth year of his age--in the bloom of youth and the pride of his strength--full of hope, he applied for a station in the navy. Such was the correctness of his character, the promise of his life, and the interest felt for him, that many of the oldest and most respectable citizens of the state came forward with alacrity, in aid of his application. The mail that carried it returned with a warrant for midshipman Lawrence; and he entered his country’s service on the 5th of September, 1798. His first voyage was to the West Indies, in the ship Ganges, Captain Tingey. Nothing of consequence occurred to our young officer for the two first years of his seafaring life, until his promotion to a lieutenancy on board the Adams, Captain Robinson, where he remained until March, 1801. In the war with Tripoli, Lawrence was a commissioned lieutenant and attached to the Enterprise as first officer. In the bombardment of Tripoli, he acted a very conspicuous part, which was acknowledged by Decatur in his official reports. After his return from the Mediterranean, he was some time at New York, attached to the navy yard in that city. While there the attention of the naval gentlemen of that place was attracted by some “queries” in the “Public Advertiser,” the object of which was to call Commodore Rogers to account for not having used the gun-boats in a particular manner on a recent occasion. One query alluded to the inferior officers, and particularly the commanders of gun-boats. “Why,” asks the writer, “are the commanders of these gun-boats suffered to be swaggering through our streets, while they should be whetting their sabres?” So much insolence incensed the whole corps; and Lawrence, being the senior officer then on that station, in behalf of them, addressed the following note to the printer.

“_To Mr. Frank, Editor of the Public Advertiser._

“Your queries in the Public Advertiser of Monday, were of a
nature to excite indignation in the coldest bosom, and procure
for you the chastisement which a scoundrel deserves. In answer
to your ‘Queries,’ which immediately relate to the navy, if
you wish to be informed why Commodore Rodgers did not employ
the _apparent force_ with which government has invested him, I
would refer you to the constituted authorities. On this subject
they _alone_ can gratify your curiosity. In regard to the
commanders of gun-boats, whom you term _swaggerers_, I assure
you their ‘sabres’ are sufficiently keen to cut off your ears,
and will inevitably be employed in that service, if any future
remarks, injurious to their reputation, should be inserted in
your paper.

“JAMES LAWRENCE, _Lieut. U. S. N._,
“_In behalf of the officers_.

“_Navy Yard, N. York, 6th Sept., 1807._”

The editor, having too much respect for his ears, let the matter rest. Lawrence was next appointed first lieutenant to the Constitution, where he remained until he was promoted to the rank of master and commander, and directed to take command, in succession, of the Vixen, Wasp, Argus and Hornet; was twice sent with dispatches to Europe--once to London and once to Paris.

In 1808 he married a Miss Montandevert, of New York. At the declaration of war in 1812, he sailed in command of the Hornet, in the squadron commanded by Commodore Rodgers, consisting of the United States, Congress and Argus, and after a cruise not distinguished by any signal success, returned to Boston on the 31st of August in the same year.

Captain Lawrence went to sea again in October, 1812, as commander of the Hornet under Commodore Bainbridge, who commanded for this cruise in the Constitution. Their destination was the East Indies, but near Brazil Captain Lawrence captured the English brig Resolution with ten guns and twenty-five thousand dollars, but being a dull sailer, after securing the crew and the money he burnt her. Captain Lawrence then sailed towards Demerara, and in passing round the Corobano bank he espied a sail on his weather-quarter and about to approach him. It was the Peacock, Captain William Peake, with English colors.

The Hornet was immediately cleared for action, and kept close to the wind to get the weather-gage of the enemy; shortly they exchanged broadsides at half pistol-shot distance. Finding the enemy in the act of wearing, Captain Lawrence bore up, and gave him a well directed and tremendous fire, and in less than fifteen minutes from the commencement of the action, the signal of distress had taken the place of the British flag. In an instant a lieutenant boarded her and found her cut to pieces, her captain killed, many of her crew killed or wounded, her mizzen-mast by the board, six feet water in the hold, and the vessel fast sinking. The two ships were immediately brought to anchor, the Hornet’s boats dispatched to bring off the wounded, the guns thrown overboard, the shot holes that could be got at plugged, every thing done, by pumping and bailing, to keep her afloat; yet she went down before all her wounded seamen could be removed. The Hornet had one man killed and lost three brave fellows while attempting to rescue the vanquished from a watery grave; four of her seamen were taken from the tops just before the Peacock had entirely disappeared. Captain Lawrence now determined to sail for New York; no sooner had he arrived there, than the officers of the Peacock honorably made public their grateful feelings for the kindness of Captain Lawrence and the officers under him. They said, “_we ceased to consider ourselves prisoners_.” The crew most heartily vied with their captain in generosity as well as bravery. The sailors of the Peacock were left destitute of a change of apparel, so suddenly had their vessel sunk. The crew of the Hornet most kindly contributed to their wants. Such conduct is worthy heroic sailors! these brave hearts from opposite extremities of the ocean, mingling together on the same deck, beat with but one common pulsation. On the meeting of the next Congress, this battle was thus officially noticed by the President of the nation:--

“In continuance of the brilliant achievements of our infant navy, a signal triumph has been gained by Captain Lawrence and his companions, in the Hornet sloop-of-war, which destroyed a British sloop-of-war with a celerity so unexampled, and with a slaughter of the enemy so disproportionate to the loss in the Hornet, as to claim for the conqueror the highest praise.”

Captain Lawrence, after remaining in New York a short time, received orders to repair to Boston and take command of the Chesapeake, to sail on the 1st day of June. On his arrival there, he was informed that a British ship had been cruising around in sight of the harbor for the last three days. He accordingly, on the 1st, proceeded in chase of her, and was informed by pilots they believed it to be the British frigate Shannon. About four o’clock, P. M., she came in sight; he accordingly directed his course towards her; at half past four, P. M., she hove to, with her head to the southward and eastward; at five, P. M., she took in the royal and top-gallant sails, and at about fifteen minutes before six the action commenced within pistol-shot distance. The first broadside killed, among others, the sailing master, and wounded Captain Lawrence; in about twelve minutes afterwards, the Chesapeake fell on board of the Shannon, and immediately thereupon, an armed chest, on the quarter-deck of the Chesapeake, was blown up by a hand grenade from the enemy, and every officer, on whom the charge of the ship could devolve, was either killed or wounded previous to the capture. Captain Lawrence, who, bleeding, had still kept the deck, supporting himself against the companion-way, in the act of giving orders, was levelled by a second ball; he was carried below, making a particular request that the ship should not be surrendered. The surgeon hurried to his captain in the cockpit, to relieve the most excruciating pains from his wounds both in the body and the leg. But, “No--serve those who came before me, first; I can wait my turn,” said the noble-hearted sailor--greater even below than above deck. The wounds of Captain Lawrence confined him to his bed until the moment of his death; he lingered in much pain and suffering until the 5th of June, when, in the thirty-second year of his age, he expired. He died young; he gave himself to glory and his country; not to dwell upon public recollection mangled and mutilated, but leaving in the fond eye of faithful memory the whole image of a perfect hero, unimpaired by age or by accident, in all the freshness of youth and the fair fullness of his admired proportions. Funeral solemnities were rendered to Captain Lawrence and his Lieutenant, Ludlow, at Halifax. “By strangers honored and by strangers mourned.” His enemies were his mourners, or rather the enemies of his country, for personal enemies he had none. The tears of Britons evinced how much more gratefully they would have shown homage to his person than every respectful attention to his remains. That flag, from which he had parted but with life, was restored to him in death. “His signal once, but now his winding sheet.” In the month of August following the remains of Lawrence and Ludlow were removed from Halifax and arrived at Salem on the 18th, where a public funeral service and eulogy were pronounced by the Hon. Judge Story, and from thence, at the request of the relatives, were removed to New York; there the city council took charge of the funeral in a manner worthy the munificence which they had promptly manifested on every naval occasion. They gave the two children of Captain Lawrence one thousand dollars each, to be vested in the sinking-fund of the corporation, and paid, with the interest, to the daughter at eighteen, and to the son at twenty-one years of age.

His remains were interred in St. Paul’s burying-ground, in that city, where a suitable monument is erected. Captain Lawrence was amiable in private as he had made himself admirable in his professional life. The domestic were in the same circle with the ocean virtues, each heightening the charm of the others. As a Christian, his proof of faith in our Heavenly Father was love to every brother upon earth. His country wears the laurel to his honor, the cypress for his loss.

A monument has been erected in Trinity churchyard, New York, of which the following is a description:--

The design is simple and affectingly appropriate. It is a broken column of white marble, of the pure Doric, the cap broken off and resting on the base. The inscription is, we think, singularly beautiful, and does great honor to the author. It presents a fine contrast to the unfeeling and inflated bombast which so often disgraces this species of composition, exhibiting a rare specimen of that sweet yet dignified simplicity which so well accords with the records and the emblems of perishing mortality. The introduction of the dying words of this gallant officer, is in the highest degree affecting.

In Memory of
Captain James Lawrence,
of the United States Navy,
who fell
on the first day of June, 1813, in the 32d year of his age,
in the action between the frigates Chesapeake and Shannon.
He distinguished himself on various occasions;
but particularly when he commanded the
sloop-of-war Hornet,
by capturing and sinking
His Britannic Majesty’s sloop-of-war Peacock,
after a desperate action of 14 minutes.
His bravery in action,
was only equaled by his modesty in triumph
and his magnanimity to the
vanquished.
In private life
he was a gentleman of the most
generous and endearing qualities;
and so acknowledged was his public worth,
that the whole nation mourned his loss;
and the enemy contended with his countrymen,
who most should honor his remains.

ON THE REVERSE.

The Hero,
whose remains are here deposited,
with his expiring breath,
expressed his devotion to his country.
Neither the fury of battle;
the anguish of a mortal wound;
nor the horrors of approaching Death,
could subdue his gallant spirit.
His dying words were,
“DON’T GIVE UP THE SHIP.”

Description of the gold medal presented by Congress to the nearest male relative of Captain James Lawrence.

OCCASION.--Capture of the British sloop-of-war Peacock.

DEVICE.--Bust of Captain Lawrence.

LEGEND.--Jac. Lawrence. Dolce et decorum est pro patria mori.

REVERSE.--A vessel in the act of sinking, mizzen-mast shot away; a boat rowing towards her from the American ship.

LEGEND.--Mansuetud. Maj. quam Victoria.

EXERGUE.--Inter Hornet nav. Ameri. et Peacock nav. Ang. die 24th February, 1813.

CAPTAIN THOMAS MACDONOUGH.

For the biography and exploits of this brave officer, we are indebted to that valuable work entitled “The Portrait Gallery.”

“Thomas Macdonough was born in the county of Newcastle, in the state of Delaware, in December, 1783. His father was a physician, but inspired with a love of liberty, he entered the army of the revolution as a major; he did not, however, remain long in the service, but returned to private life and his professional pursuits, until the close of the war, when he was made a judge; in which office he remained until his death, which happened in 1795. He left three sons. His eldest son, James, was a midshipman with Commodore Truxton when he took the Insurgent.

“In that battle he was so severely wounded, that his leg was obliged to be amputated. He soon afterwards left the navy with the reputation of a brave officer. In 1798, the subject of this memoir obtained a warrant as a midshipman, and commenced his career as a naval officer.

“Those who were acquainted with his early life, spoke of Midshipman Macdonough as a young officer of great promise; but he had no opportunity of being made known to the public until the country had the misfortune to lose the frigate Philadelphia. When the gallant Decatur proposed to burn her, as she lay in possession of the enemy, he selected Macdonough as one of the young officers to accompany him on that hazardous expedition; and he reaped an early harvest of honor in that daring exploit, with his leader and others. The Mediterranean has been the birth-place of more naval reputations than all the waters of the world beside, and it was there, too, that our infant navy displayed some of those acts of valor and good conduct which were of importance in themselves, and were hailed as presages of future glory for our country. When Macdonough was first lieutenant of the Syren, under command of Captain Smith, a circumstance occurred in the harbor of Gibraltar sufficiently indicative of the firmness and decision of his character. An American merchant brig came to anchor near the United States vessel. Macdonough, in the absence of Captain Smith, who had gone on shore, saw a boat from a British frigate board the brig, and take from her a man. He instantly manned and armed his gig and pursued the British boat, which he overtook, just as it reached the frigate, and without ceremony took the impressed man into his own boat. The frigate’s boat was twice the force of his own; but the act was so bold as to astound the lieutenant who commanded the press-gang, and no resistance was offered.

When the affair was made known to the British captain he came on board the Syren in a great rage, and inquired how he dared to take a man from his boat. Macdonough replied that the man was an American seaman, and was under the protection of the flag of the United States, and that it was his duty to protect him. The captain, with a volley of oaths, swore he would bring his frigate along side the Syren and sink her. ‘This you may do,’ said Macdonough, ‘but while she swims the man you will not have.’ The English captain told Macdonough that he was a young hairbrained fellow, and would repent of his rashness. ‘Supposing sir,’ said he, ‘I had been in that boat, would you have dared to have committed such an act?’ ‘I should have made the attempt, sir, at all hazards,’ was the reply. ‘What, sir!’ said the English captain, ‘would you venture to interfere if I were to impress men from that brig?’ ‘You have only to try it, sir!’ was the pithy answer. The English officer returned to his ship, manned his boat, and made his way towards the brig. Macdonough did the same, but there the affair ended,--the English boat took a circuitous route and returned to the ship.

“There was such a calmness in the conduct of Lieutenant Macdonough, such a solemnity in his language, such a politeness in his manner, that the British officer saw that he had to deal with no ordinary man, and that it was not prudent to put him on his metal. In that garden of the world, the shores of the Mediterranean, where nations have grown up and decayed, and others have taken their places; where everything is marked with age, luxury, crime, and temptation, and where many a fine young officer has made shipwreck of his morals and his health, Macdonough exhibited the Spartan firmness with the Christian virtues. His bravery was never for one moment doubted, but he was so reserved, temperate, and circumspect, that the envious sometimes strove to bring him to their level, and often were snares set for him, but he was never caught. His character was fair and bright as the surface of a mirror, before it was brought to reflect any ray of glory upon himself and his country.

“There is generally a good share of sagacity in the common sailor; he sees through a character much clearer than we generally suppose. Before Macdonough had been promoted to a lieutenancy, he had the heart of every sailor who knew him. There are few so ignorant that they cannot distinguish moral worth, when connected with professional ability, and none so bad as not to approve of it. It has often been stated, and never questioned, that while in Syracuse, he was one night attacked by three assassins, with daggers.

“He drew his sword, and wounded two of them so severely as to fear nothing further from them; the other fled, but he pursued him to the roof of a building, and climbing it after the assassin, would have caught him, if he had not thrown himself from it with the loss of his life. At the declaration of war with England, in 1812, our navy was put into requisition, and every officer panted for distinction. The elder officers were mostly sent on the ocean; some of the high spirited juniors to the lakes. Among the latter, Lieutenant Macdonough was ordered to Lake Champlain, an important station; for through this lake a communication could most readily be had with the most powerful part of the Canadas.

“The main armies of the British were always near Montreal and Quebec, but for the first two years of the war, both sides were busy in another direction, particularly on the Lakes Ontario and Erie. The contending powers watched each other’s movements and kept nearly _pari passu_ in the augmentation of their naval forces; the English always in the advance, having in many respects greater facilities; if not in ship building, certainly in procuring munitions of war, sails, rigging, &c.

“Towards the close of the summer of 1814, the warlike preparations on Lake Champlain, and its vicinity, seemed to portend some powerful shock.

“Large bodies of troops, the veterans of Wellington’s army, to the amount of sixteen thousand, had arrived in Canada, and were preparing to strike a severe blow on the frontiers, one that would be felt to the very vitals of the nation. Izard received orders to assist Brown, and Macomb was left with a handful of men to defend Plattsburgh. The fleet under Macdonough was put in readiness for an attack. He had only four ships, the Saratoga, twenty-six guns; the Eagle, twenty guns; the Ticonderoga, seventeen guns; the Preble, seven guns; and ten galleys, carrying sixteen guns, making in all eighty-six guns.

“The British force was larger; four ships and thirteen galleys, in all ninety-five guns; their complement of men was also much larger.

“That the American fleet was commanded by a young officer who ranked only as lieutenant, and the British by an old experienced officer, gave Sir George Prevost no doubt of the issue of his naval operations. On the land, too, with his veterans from Waterloo, he was quite certain of a signal victory. On the afternoon of the 10th of September, it was evident that the assault on the lake and on the land was to be made the next day; and Macdonough deemed it best to await the attack at anchor. At eight o’clock on the morning of the 11th, the British fleet was seen approaching, and in another hour the battle had commenced.

“The most accurate description of it must be from his own pen. ‘At nine,’ says Macdonough, ‘the enemy anchored in a line ahead, at about three hundred yards distant from my line; his ship opposed to the Saratoga; his brig to the Eagle, Captain Robert Henley; his galleys, thirteen in number, to the schooner, sloop, and a division of our galleys; one of his sloops assisting their ship and brig; the other assisting their galleys; our remaining galleys were with the Saratoga and Eagle.

“‘In this situation, the whole force on both sides became engaged, the Saratoga suffering much from the heavy fire of the Confiance. I could perceive at the same time, however, that our fire was very destructive to her. The Ticonderoga, Lieutenant Commandant Cassin, gallantly sustained her full share of the action. At half past ten, the Eagle not being able to bring her guns to bear, cut her cable and anchored in a more eligible position, between my ship and the Ticonderoga, where she very much annoyed the enemy, but unfortunately leaving me much exposed to a galling fire from the enemy’s brig.

“‘Our guns on the starboard side being nearly all dismounted, or unmanageable, a stern anchor was let go, the lower cable cut, and the ship winded with a fresh broadside on the enemy’s ship, which soon after surrendered. Our broadside was then sprung to bear on the brig, which surrendered about fifteen minutes afterwards. The sloop which was opposed to the Eagle, had struck some time before, and drifted down the line. The sloop that was with their galleys had also struck. Three of their galleys sunk, the others pulled off. Our galleys were about obeying with alacrity the signal to follow them, when all the vessels were reported to me to be in a sinking condition.

“‘It then became necessary to annul the signal to the galleys, and order their men to the pumps. I could only look at the enemy’s galleys going off in a shattered condition, for there was not a mast in either squadron that could stand to make sail on. The lower rigging being nearly shot away, hung down as though it had just been placed over the mast heads.

“‘The Saratoga had fifty-five round shot in her hull; the British ship Confiance, one hundred and five. The enemy’s shot passed principally just over our heads, as there were not twenty whole hammocks in the nettings, at the close of the action, which lasted without intermission two hours and twenty minutes.

“‘The absence and sickness of Lieutenant Raymond Perry, left me without the assistance of that excellent officer. Much ought fairly to be attributed to him for his great care and attention in disciplining the ship’s crew, as her first lieutenant. His place was filled by a gallant young officer, Lieutenant Peter Gamble, who, I regret to inform you, was killed early in the action.’

“The Saratoga was twice on fire during the action, by hot shot from the Confiance; but the flames were promptly extinguished. At the same time the land forces were engaged, both armies looking on the sea fight as in a measure the turning point with them.

“The loss of the Americans was fifty-two killed, and fifty-eight wounded; that of the British, eighty-four killed and one hundred and ten wounded. The prisoners taken far exceeded the whole number of Americans in the action. This victory was hailed by the whole nation with great joy. The state of New York, in justice and gratitude, gave the gallant captain a thousand acres of land, of no small value, and the state of Vermont made a grant of two hundred acres, within a short distance of the battle ground. The city of New York gave Macdonough a valuable lot of land, and the city of Albany did the same. Festive honors were offered him in all places where he chanced to pass through, which were generally declined.

“Congress presented a vote of thanks and a gold medal, (See Plate XII.) From the close of the war to the time of his decease, he shared the honors of the home and foreign service with his compeers.

“He was an excellent member of courts martial, for he brought to those tribunals a candid mind, ever ready to find matters that made in favor of the accused as well as against him. For several years before his death he made his home in Middletown, Connecticut, where he had married a Miss Shaler, a lady of a highly respectable family of that place. He died of consumption, on the 10th of November, 1825. His wife had paid the debt of nature only a few months before.”

The great charms of his character were the refinement of his taste, the purity of his principles, and the sincerity of his religion. These gave a perfume to his name which the partial page of history seldom can retain for departed warriors, however brilliant their deeds.

DESCRIPTION OF THE MEDAL.

OCCASION.--Victory on Lake Champlain.

DEVICE.--A bust of Captain Macdonough.

LEGEND.--Tho. Macdonough stagno Champlain class. Reg. Britan. superavit.

REVERSE.--Fleet engaged; many boats on the lake; Plattsburgh in sight.

LEGEND.--Uno latere percusso alterum impavide vertit.

EXERGUE.--Inter class. Ameri. et Brit. die 11th Sept. 1814.

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_W. L. Ormsby. sc._]

CAPT. ROBERT HENLEY.

Robert Henley was born in James’ City county, in the state of Virginia, on the 5th day of January, 1783. He was educated at William and Mary College, in that state, and intended for the profession of the law; but his mind seeming bent on a seafaring life, his parents reluctantly permitted him to apply to his relative, General Washington, for a midshipman’s warrant, which, at his particular desire, was obtained, and he entered the navy in 1799. Although but sixteen years of age when he entered the service of the United States, he possessed a good mind and showed great firmness and decision of character; he had laboriously applied himself to reading and study, more particularly in preparation for the naval service, which it was his determination to follow, although at that time his wishes were unknown to his friends. His first cruise was with Commodore Truxtun, in the Constellation, and he was present at her encounter with the French ship “La Vengeance.”

Not a year had elapsed before our young sailor had an opportunity of knowing by experience the toils and hardships of a seafaring life. On the first of February, 1800, the desperate conflict between the Constellation and La Vengeance took place, and during the struggle, which lasted from eight in the evening until nearly one in the morning, the bravery of Midshipman Henley was unflinching; although nearly exhausted by fatigue he never for one moment deserted his post, and after the conflict was over, was one of the first who was complimented by his commander for his bravery, who observed while pointing to him, “That stripling is destined to be a brave officer.”

On his return to the United States he obtained leave of absence and returned to Williamsburgh, where he attended a course of lectures on navigation and naval science. This seemed to infuse him with new life and vigor, and his buoyant pride was soon gratified by an appointment to the command of a gun-boat at Norfolk and promotion to a lieutenancy. After remaining some years in this and similar situations, he received the command of the brig Eagle on Lake Champlain, and was second in command to Commodore McDonough in that decisive battle; who, in his official letter, speaks of the gallantry of our hero, as follows:--“To Captain Robert Henley, of the brig Eagle, much is to be ascribed; his courage was conspicuous, and I most earnestly recommend him as worthy of the highest trust and confidence.”

For his gallant conduct throughout this engagement, Congress voted to Captain Robert Henley a gold medal (_see_ Plate XIII.,) and the thanks of both houses. After the battle of Lake Champlain, Captain Henley resided for some time in Norfolk, Virginia, in order to overlook some matters connected with the naval station at that place, until 1827, when he was called to the command of the Hornet, and ordered to cruise in the West Indies. On his return to the United States he was stationed in North Carolina, where he remained some years; from thence he was ordered to Charleston, South Carolina, where he died in command in the year 1829. He married in early life but left no family. Captain Henley was a man of fine and commanding appearance, of a sanguine and ardent temperament, combined with great decision of character: although generous and brave, he was easily appeased; he was magnanimous, hospitable, and possessed a warmth of heart that made him the idol of his crews; he was full of chivalry, and a devoted lover of his country; whose interest seemed to govern every action of his life.

DESCRIPTION OF THE MEDAL.

OCCASION.--Victory on Lake Champlain.

DEVICE.--Bust of Captain Henley.

LEGEND.--Rob. Henley, Eagle præfect. Palma virtu. per æternit. Floribit.

REVERSE.--A fleet engaged before a town enveloped in smoke. Several boats on the lake filled with sailors rowing.

LEGEND.--Uno latere percusso alterum impavide vertit.

EXERGUE.--Inter class. Ameri. et Brit. die 11th Sept. 1814.

CAPTAIN STEPHEN CASSIN.

Stephen Cassin, the son of Commodore John Cassin of the United States Navy, was born in Philadelphia, the 16th of February, 1783.

He entered the navy as midshipman in 1800, then in his seventeenth year. His first cruise in 1801, was in the frigate Philadelphia, Commodore Stephen Decatur, the father of the late and gallant Decatur, whose bravery in the Tripolitan war and also in the war of 1812, forms a conspicuous part in the naval history of America. After a cruise of nearly two years, during which nothing of consequence occurred, the command of the Philadelphia was transferred to Captain Samuel Barron, and after a short cruise with him, Midshipman Cassin was transferred to the schooner Nautilus of sixteen guns, ordered to form part of the squadron preparing to sail for the Mediterranean, under the command of Commodore Preble, for the purpose of protecting effectually the commerce and seamen of the United States against the Tripolitan cruisers on the Atlantic ocean, the Mediterranean and adjoining seas.

This squadron, consisting of seven sail, viz: the Constitution, forty-four guns; Philadelphia, forty-four, already on the station; Argus, eighteen; Siren, sixteen; Nautilus, sixteen; Vixen, sixteen; Enterprise, fourteen. This squadron sailed on the 13th of August, 1803, and reached Gibraltar the 13th of September. On the 17th, they arrived in Tangier bay, when the negotiations commenced which terminated so prosperously and which have already been given in the life of Commodore Preble. After two years’ service as midshipman in the Nautilus, greatest part of the time being spent in cruises in the Mediterranean, Stephen Cassin was promoted to a lieutenancy on board the John Adams, Captain Shaw.

Not long after his promotion, Lieutenant Cassin returned to the United States, and sailed as captain of a merchant ship to the Pacific, where he was captured by the Spaniards and detained for nearly two years. Soon after his second return to the United States, he joined the Chesapeake, Commodore Hull. In this ship, he made several cruises under this brave commander. In the interval between the Tripolitan war and that which commenced in 1812, no occasion occurred to our naval officers by which they signalized themselves; we therefore pass over that period till we find Lieutenant Cassin promoted to the command of the Ticonderoga, eighteen guns, and ordered forthwith to join the squadron commanded by Macdonough on Lake Champlain.

Among the young officers of the navy who were ordered on the lake service, and destined to become illustrious in our naval annals was the hero of these memoirs.

Commodore Macdonough, in his official account of the battle on Lake Champlain, says, “The Ticonderoga, Lieutenant Commandant Stephen Cassin, gallantly sustained her full share of the action.” In this sharp conflict, the British force was superior in numbers; being the frigate Confiance, thirty-nine guns; the Linnet, sixteen guns; the Finch, eleven guns; and thirteen galleys, carrying eighteen guns; in all, ninety-five guns, nine more than were in the American fleet; their complement of men was much greater. The calmness of this lake permitted heavy armaments in comparatively light vessels, and of this circumstance the British availed themselves to the utmost, giving their commander a ship equal in force to the President or the Constitution, with which he--being a veteran officer--made sure of capturing the young American officer, ranking only as lieutenant, who was his opponent in a flag-ship of twenty-six guns. But it is here seen, that “the race is not always to the _swift_, nor the battle to the _strong_.” Naval discipline, skill, coolness, and courage, were put in requisition in this battle, united with daring intrepidity in coming down head upon the line of an enemy of superior force. As a description of this battle has been given in the memoir of the gallant Commander Macdonough, it is unnecessary to repeat it here. Lieutenant Cassin was promoted to the rank of post-captain, and received from Congress a gold medal, an engraving of which is given in Plate XIII., in commemoration of the victory. At the close of the war, Captain Cassin commanded the Newport, Rhode Island Station, and since had command, for five years, of the Washington Navy yard. Captain Cassin’s residence, when not in service, has always been in the vicinity of Washington, where his well-known character for courage and ability, and his amiable and gentlemanly deportment have drawn around him a large circle of friends. Notwithstanding the difficulties and disappointments attending a young officer in his first naval career, and his oppressing captivity in Spain for two years, yet his undaunted spirit led him forward, in spite of every untoward event in the path of glory, and crowned his exertions with success.

DESCRIPTION OF THE MEDAL.

OCCASION.--Victory on Lake Champlain.

DEVICE.--Bust of Lieutenant Stephen Cassin.

LEGEND.--Step. Cassin Ticonderoga præfect. quæ regio in terris nos. non plena lab.

REVERSE.--A fleet engaged before a town enveloped in smoke. Several boats on the lake filled with sailors rowing.

LEGEND.--Uno latere percusso alterum impavide vertit.

EXERGUE.--Inter class. Ameri. et Brit. die 11th Sept, 1814.

COMMODORE WARRINGTON.

Lewis Warrington is the descendant of an old and respectable family in Williamsburgh, near Norfolk, in Virginia, where he was born on the 3d day of November, 1782. He finished the higher branches of his education at William and Mary College in that state. The habits of study which he acquired at that excellent institution, and the associations which he formed, have never forsaken him, but have continued to mark his character and augment his information, at intervals of leisure, amidst the toils and tumults, the hardships and privations of a naval life. In consequence of an unusually retentive memory, added to a strong attachment to books, his mind is amply enriched with general knowledge. Shortly after the completion of his studies at Williamsburgh, he received an appointment in the navy as midshipman, and entered the service in January, 1800. His first cruise was on board the Chesapeake, commanded by Captain Samuel Barron, to the West Indies. In 1801 he was removed to the frigate President, Captain Dale, on a cruise to the Mediterranean, but returned the following year. During the same year he returned again to the Mediterranean, as master’s mate in the frigate New York, under the command of Captain James Barron.

At Gibraltar he was transferred to the frigate Chesapeake, then on her return to the United States. In 1803 he again sailed in the schooner Vixen, Captain John Smith, to join the American squadron in the Mediterranean, where, actively participating in their exertions and dangers, he was justly entitled to share the glory attendant on the achievements of that band of heroes. Late in the year 1804 he was promoted to the rank of acting lieutenant, and on the termination of hostilities with the Tripolitans, was transferred, with Captain Smith, to the brig Syren, and in the succeeding year to the schooner Enterprise, Captain Porter, and returned to the United States in 1807. From that period until 1809 he was variously employed, always intent on his own improvement in the science of his profession. In March of that year he was appointed first lieutenant on board the brig Syren, Captain Charles Gordon, and ordered to sail to France with dispatches. In September, 1811, he was appointed first lieutenant in the brig Essex, under Captain Smith, who not long after was appointed to the command of the frigate Congress, and requested as a favor that Lieutenant Warrington might be permitted to accompany him. The request was complied with, and Warrington remained with his friend, Captain Smith, until March, 1813, when he was transferred as first lieutenant to the frigate United States, under the command of Commodore Decatur. In July of the same year, at the particular request of Decatur, he was promoted to the rank of master-commandant, and in the following month was appointed to the command of the sloop-of-war Peacock, the vessel in which his fortune conducted him to victory and to glory. The following is an extract of an official letter from Captain Warrington to the Secretary of the Navy, dated U. S. sloop Peacock, at sea, 29th April, 1814. He says, “We have this morning captured, after an action of forty-two minutes, his majesty’s brig Epervier, rating and mounting eighteen thirty-two pound carronades, with one hundred and twenty-eight men, of whom eight were killed and thirteen wounded. Among the latter is her first lieutenant, who has lost an arm and received a severe splinter wound on the hip. Not a man in the Peacock was killed, and only two wounded; neither dangerously so. The fate of the Epervier would have been determined in much less time, but for the circumstance of our foreyard being totally disabled by two round shot in the starboard quarter, from her first broadside, which entirely deprived us of the use of our fore and fore-top sails, and compelled us to keep the ship large throughout the remainder of the action. This, with a few topmast and top-gallant backstays cut away, a few shot through our sails, is the only injury the Peacock has sustained. Not a round shot touched our hull; our masts and spars are as sound as ever. When the enemy struck he had five feet water in his hold, his main-topmast was over the side, his main-boom shot away, his fore-mast cut nearly in two, and tottering; his fore-rigging and stays shot away, his bowsprit badly wounded and forty-five shot holes in his hull, twenty of which were within a foot of his water-line. By great exertion we got her in sailing order just as the dark came on. In fifteen minutes after the enemy struck, the Peacock was ready for another action, in every respect but her foreyard, which was sent down, fished, and had the foresail set again in forty-five minutes; such was the spirit and activity of our gallant crew. The Epervier had under her convoy an English brig, a Russian and a Spanish ship, which all hauled their wind and stood to the E. N. E. I had determined upon pursuing the former, but found that it would not answer to leave our prize in her then crippled state, and the more particularly so, as we found she had one hundred and twenty thousand dollars in specie, which we soon transferred to the Peacock.

“I have the honor, &c.

“L. WARRINGTON.”

It is a fact, then, which no candid seaman will venture to deny, that, taking into consideration the nature of the action, one hundred and twenty-eight men--the complement of the Epervier when the conflict commenced--were capable of defending her, and annoying their enemy with as much effect as one hundred and forty-eight could have done--the complement in full of the crew of the Peacock. The gallant Warrington, therefore, achieved his victory with triumphant facility; not because he had thirty men and _one_ fighting gun more than his enemy, but because he was himself superior to the British captain in skill, and his officers and crew superior to their opponents in firmness and gunnery.

Congress ordered a gold medal (_see_ Plate XIII.) to be struck and presented to “Captain Lewis Warrington, of Virginia, commander of the sloop-of-war Peacock, for the capture of the British brig L’Epervier, Captain Wales, April 29th, 1814.”

DESCRIPTION OF THE MEDAL.

OCCASION.--Capture of the British brig L’Epervier.

DEVICE.--Bust of Captain Warrington.

LEGEND.--Ludovicus Warrington dux navalis Amer.

REVERSE.--Two ships engaged; the topmast of one shot off.

LEGEND.--Pro patria paratus aut vincere aut mori.

EXERGUE.--Inter Peacock nav. Ameri. et Epervier nav. Ang. die 29th March, 1814.

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_W. L. Ormsby, sc._]

CAPTAIN JOHNSTON BLAKELEY.

Johnston Blakeley was born at the village of Seaford, in the county of Down, Ireland, in the month of October, 1781. At the age of two years, his father, John Blakeley, emigrated to this country, and soon after his arrival settled in Charleston, South Carolina. Not meeting with the encouragement he expected, he removed, with his family, to Wilmington, North Carolina, in hopes of improving his business. Soon after his establishment at this place, Mr. Blakeley was deprived of his wife, and all his children, except his son Johnston.

Ascribing these successive and painful losses to the unhealthy climate, which was considered peculiarly unfavorable to children, he was induced to send his only surviving son to New York, with a view to the preservation of his health, and to afford him an opportunity of acquiring an education. In the year 1790, Johnston was sent to that city and confided to the care of Mr. Hoope, a respectable merchant and very old friend of his father. After attentively pursuing his studies in New York, for five years, he returned to Wilmington, in order to complete his education at the university of Chapel Hill, in that state. Before Johnston had been one year in this institution he had the misfortune to lose his father, and was now without a single relative in this country, to whom he could look for advice, or protection, or assistance, which made it necessary for him to choose a guardian. In this choice, he was singularly fortunate in the selection of Mr. Jones, an eminent lawyer of Wilmington, who most tenderly and generously supplied the place of a father.

With occasional intermissions, he remained at college till the year 1799, when by some misfortune, he was deprived of the support derived from his father, and compelled to relinquish his studies at the university, as well as his intention of practising the law.

Having long had a predilection for a naval life, which, however, he had from his affection to his only parent, and with a self-denial worthy of imitation, concealed from him, he solicited, and through the friendly exertions of Mr. Jones, obtained a midshipman’s warrant, in the year 1800. Mr. Jones, in the interim, being anxious that his young ward should fulfil the wishes of his deceased parent, kindly offered to receive him as a member of his family, and afford him every facility in his power to complete his legal studies. Johnston, unwilling to accumulate obligations he might never be able to repay, and stimulated by a clear perception of the line of life he believed nature had marked out for him, declined this generous offer.

In every subsequent situation, he retained and demonstrated the most grateful recollection of the friendship of Mr. Jones, and to the end of his life acknowledged him as his benefactor.

The gentleman who kindly furnished materials for this biography writes thus: “As anything which illustrates the character of so much departed worth, especially when the qualities of the heart are so well calculated to excite our admiration, cannot but be interesting, I have furnished a few extracts from the letters of Captain Blakeley, written to me at various periods. Having been deprived of his father at an age when the desire of knowing something of his family was beginning to be felt, it was not in his power to gratify his inquiries on that subject in a satisfactory manner, until May, 1811, when I had the pleasure of opening a correspondence with him.” In his first letter, dated on board the United States brig Enterprise, May 9th, 1811, he manifested his anxiety to obtain the wished for information, relative to his connections, in the following manner.

“It would afford me great satisfaction to hear from you all the information you possess respecting my relations.

“This trouble your goodness will excuse, when I inform you, that for fourteen years I have not beheld one being to whom I was bound by any tie of consanguinity.”

In another letter, written soon after, he observes--

“The affection manifested by ---- is truly grateful to my heart. Indeed, I begin already to feel for her a filial regard, and the more so, as it was my lot to lose my mother before I was sensible of a mother’s tenderness.”

In reply to a letter, in which the solicitude for his professional reputation was cordially expressed by the lady alluded to, he remarks--“Should I be fortunate enough to acquire any fame, my good old friend will make me debtor for more than half. With her prayers for my success can I doubt it? I hope the last Blakeley who exists, will lay down his life ere he tarnish the reputation of those who have gone before him. My blessed father’s memory is very dear to me, and I trust his son will never cast a reproach on it.” In another, he observes, “It is true, that in the war in which we are engaged, we have to contend under great disadvantages, but this should stimulate to greater exertions, and we have already seen that our enemy is not invincible.” In a letter, dated on board the Enterprise, the 29th of April, 1813, he observes--“Independent of personal feeling, I rejoice at the good fortune of the navy, believing it to be that description of force best adapted to the defence of this country. I confess the success of our sailors has been much greater than I had any reason to expect, taking into view the many difficulties they had to encounter. The charm which once seemed to have encircled the British navy, and rendered its very name formidable, appears to be fast dispelling.”

In a letter, dated Newburyport, 20th of January, 1814, he remarks--“I shall ever view as one of the most unfortunate events of my life having quitted the Enterprise at the moment I did. Had I remained in her a fortnight longer, my name might have been classed with those who stand so high. I cannot but consider it a mortifying circumstance that I left her but a few days before she fell in with the only enemy on this station with which she could have creditably contended. I confess I felt heartily glad when I received my order to take command of the Wasp, conceiving that there was no hope of doing anything in the Enterprise. But when I heard of the contest of the latter ship, and witnessed the great delay in the equipment of the former, I had no cause to congratulate myself. The Peacock has ere this spread her plumage to the winds, and the Frolic will soon take her revels on the ocean, but the Wasp will, I fear, remain for some time a dull, harmless drone in the waters of her own country. Why this is, I am not permitted to inquire!” These extracts will strike the reader as being strongly indicative of an amiable and heroic character. There is something touching in his gratitude to the good old lady who had manifested an interest in his successes. There is something noble in his reference to the memory of his father, as a motive stimulating him in the path of honor; and there is something heroic, we think, in the unaffected manner in which he expresses his regret at having left the Enterprise.

It is unnecessary to remark here, that it was in the action between that vessel and the Boxer, that Burrows conquered, and lost his life.

Yet Blakeley regretted he had not been in his place, either because he considered the sacrifice of life as a cheap price for the purchase of glory, or had forgotten, in his love of fame, that such a price had been paid. But he was determined before long to acquire at least equal reputation, and to perish equally with the regrets of his country. After various services, Blakeley was appointed, in 1813, to the Wasp, with the rank of master commandant.