Chapter IX: Part III: James De Wolf and the Privateer Yankee (1)

1--JAMES DE WOLF

The story of the life of James De Wolf reads like a chapter of wild romance. Without any advantages of birth, fortune or education his indomitable energy and his commanding abilities won for him a seat in the greatest deliberative assembly in the world, the Senate of the United States, and also secured for him one of the largest fortunes in America.

He was born in Bristol, March 18, 1764, the seventh son of Mark Anthony De Wolf, clerk of the Prince Charles of Lorraine, whose raid upon the coast of French Guiana under the leadership of Simeon Potter has already been set forth in this book. He was born of American parents upon the French island of Guadaloupe. The sudden fancy of Captain Potter rescued him from a possible life of obscurity upon that island that his children might rise to influence and power and wealth in America.

Mark Anthony De Wolf married a sister of Potter and became master of one of his brother-in-law’s vessels. More than a very moderate income he never enjoyed, and his sons were compelled to earn their own living at an early age. Following the natural trend of Bristol boys of that period they took up their father’s calling. All who reached manhood became shipmasters, and nearly all of them attained large riches. One of James De Wolf’s descendants, the Rev. C. B. Perry, tells in his book “The De Wolfs” this story of his ancestor’s entrance upon a seafaring life: “Several of them [the De Wolf boys] who had been sweating in the corn rows one summer day flung down their hoes, declaring they would no longer hoe corn when they knew they could get places on their Uncle Sim Potter’s privateer about to sail from Providence. So off they trudged upon the road to that city. As after their long dusty walk they emerged from Seekonk Woods near the old ‘Red Bridge,’ James, the youngest but one of the party, becoming conscious of the dilapidated condition of his hat, and with the vanity of a handsome lad less resigned than his father to his appearance, cried out, ‘Boys, I’m not going through Providence like this,’ and flung the crownless brim--or was it a brimless crown?--into the wayside bushes. Bareheaded he presented himself with his brothers to his no doubt astonished yet sympathetic, bluff old Uncle Sim Potter. They secured the coveted places on the ship and thus began that life of devotion to the sea which the sea was soon so richly to repay.”

Twice in his early seafaring life James De Wolf was captured; for many weeks he was held a prisoner on the Bermuda Islands. His zeal and ability speedily won for him promotion. Having entered the employ of John Brown, the leading ship owner of Providence, he was made master of a vessel before he had completed his twentieth year. His earliest voyages as captain were made to the coast of Africa as master of a small slaver. No stigma whatever was attached to the slave trade at that time. It was regarded as a perfectly legitimate business and was known to be more than ordinarily hazardous because of climatic conditions and the dangerous nature of the coast. The captains engaged in it had to be men of unusual force of character in order to be successful. Before he was twenty-five years old De Wolf had accumulated a fortune large enough to keep him in ease and even luxury for the remainder of his life. But he could not be idle. He was continually branching out into new ventures in which he was almost invariably successful. Everything seemed to turn to gold in his hands. His aim was always to be first in a new field. After he had skimmed the cream from a market he was content to leave for those who followed him the moderate, though perhaps surer gains.

As long as the slave trade remained legal he continued in it, not infrequently going to the southern ports to supervise the sale of his cargoes. This was the case in 1804 when the Legislature of South Carolina opened the ports of that State for the importation of African slaves. One day one of his townsmen, a sailor on a new arrival from the African coast, was walking along the principal street of Charleston, in charge of a party of slave girls that had just been sold, each dusky maiden being picturesquely though not sumptuously attired in a short cotton chemise. As he was passing the leading hotel, he heard a well known voice call out: “Benjamin! Benjamin! Where are you going with those girls?” and down from the veranda came “Captain Jim” to greet his fellow Bristolian and to talk over his voyage with him. During the four years that followed two hundred and two vessels, carrying nearly forty thousand slaves, entered the port of Charleston.

Sixteen years afterward Mr. De Wolf was elected a member of the United States Senate, where his large business experience and his special knowledge of industrial and commercial conditions gave him great influence. Like most of the Senators from the Northern States he opposed the admission of Missouri as a slave State. Public opinion in the North concerning slavery had greatly changed since 1808. In that year the African slave trade was prohibited by law, and very soon after all the leading nations of the world united in efforts to suppress it. But because it immediately became more profitable than ever before, men still continued to engage in it. Then came the “horrors of the Middle Passage” (i.e., the voyage from Africa to the West Indies) at which all the world shuddered. Those who had engaged in the earlier trade were covered with an obloquy which they did not deserve.

Public opinion concerning slavery as practiced in the South also changed, but not so quickly in South Carolina, the leading slave State, as elsewhere. There the planters who formed the governing class had only come to draw a distinction between the men who brought the slaves from Africa and the men who used them after they were landed in America. Even today, in the North as well as the South, the same subtle distinction is drawn. The fact that the men who brought slaves faced innumerable dangers in their voyages counted for nothing in the judgment of those who, in ease and safety, enjoyed the fruits of slave labor. Senator Smith of South Carolina was the exponent of the Southern idea. In an impassioned speech he reflected severely upon the bitterness the people of Rhode Island had lately shown against slaveholders, and especially against the admission of Missouri as a slave State. “This, however, he believed could not be the temper or opinion of the majority, from the late election of James De Wolf as a member of the Senate, as he had accumulated an immense fortune by the slave trade.” He went on to say that, of the two hundred and two vessels whose names he gave, “ten and their African cargoes belonged to Mr. De Wolf,” and he closed his speech with a recapitulation tabulating the facts given in the following paragraph:

From January 1, 1804, to December 31, 1807, inclusive, two hundred and two slave ships entered the port of Charleston. Seventy of these vessels were owned in Great Britain, three in France, one in Sweden, sixty-one in Charleston, fifty-nine in Rhode Island and eight in other American ports. Of the two hundred and two consignees ninety-one were natives of Great Britain, eighty-eight of Rhode Island, thirteen of Charleston and ten of France. Altogether, 39,075 slaves were brought in. More than half of them, 19,949, came under the British flag. French ships brought 1,078. The fifty-nine vessels hailing from Rhode Island brought in 8,238, as follows: Bristol ships, 3,914, Newport 3,488, Providence 556, Warren 280. As is evident from the cargoes the American vessels engaged in the trade were much smaller than the foreign craft. The seventy British slavers averaged almost two hundred and eighty-five slaves each. The French average was three hundred and fifty-nine plus, while the fifty-nine Rhode Islanders averaged not quite one hundred thirty-nine and a half. The foreign vessels were probably full rigged ships, while the Narragansett Bay craft were for the most part brigs and schooners of two hundred tons or less. Even so they were larger than the Newport slavers captured by the enemy in the early years of the “Old French and Indian War,” a part of the Seven Years War in Europe, 1756-1763. Those vessels had “live cargoes” varying from forty-three to one hundred and thirty head. The Caesar of Newport, a full rigged ship, carried only one hundred and sixteen. Of the vessels mentioned in these Tales the Yankee’s tonnage was one hundred and sixty tons. The Juno was a full rigged ship of two hundred and fifty tons, one of the finest vessels sailing from Bristol in her time. The cargo of twenty Junos could easily be stowed in the holds of one of the five masted schooners that bring coal into the port of Providence today. The tonnage of the Prince Charles of Lorraine is not known.

Study of the statistical tables on which Senator Smith based his remarks[40] shows that Mr. De Wolf was interested in four other Rhode Island ships besides the ten credited to him by the Senator from South Carolina. These hailed from Rhode Island and were consigned to Christian & De Wolf. He may also have been the owner of three other Rhode Islanders which on their first voyage were not consigned to him. The statistics show that the voyage to Africa and return must ordinarily have taken more than a year. During the year 1804 but three Rhode Island slave ships entered the port of Charleston, and the total number of slavers was twenty, of which seven hailed from Charleston itself. The next year the number of arrivals had increased to thirty, six of which were owned in Rhode Island and five in South Carolina. In 1806 the number of arrivals was fifty-six, thirteen being Rhode Island vessels, and the same number hailing from Charleston. In the last open year, 1807, the arrivals leaped to ninety-six, thirty-seven of them belonging in Rhode Island and thirty-three in South Carolina. Of the Rhode Island vessels, two, the Neptune and the Hiram, made three round trips each, while ten others brought in two cargoes. Two of the sixty-one Charleston ships made three voyages, and five accomplished two. Nine of the vessels of Great Britain made two voyages each; no British vessel made three. The four big Frenchmen entered the harbor but once. Apparently small, swift ships were more profitable than large ones. Necessarily a large part of the trip was consumed in securing a cargo, and the dangers of the “coast fever” were greatest in the case of a large ship.

The African trade was but one of the commercial avenues in which Mr. De Wolf’s ships sailed. His larger vessels had already visited Chinese ports when the smaller craft turned their prows toward Africa. While the little Hiram was gathering cargoes of naked negroes, the full rigged ship Juno was filling its hold with the furs of the frozen “Northwest Coast.” How exceedingly profitable that venture was we have already learned from the account of “Norwest John.” Until the year 1812 the chief obstacle to the development of American commerce was the constant interference of British warships and their illegal impressment of American sailors on the pretence that the men impressed were not Americans but Englishmen, and therefore subject to the British Crown. As a large ship owner Mr. De Wolf had suffered great losses. Of these he had kept a careful account and he longed for the day of retaliation to come. To most of the New Englanders of that day the act passed on June 18, 1812, declaring war between the United States and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland seemed the death blow to their commercial prosperity. Not so did it seem to James De Wolf. He saw in it the opportunity to regain from captured merchantmen all that he had lost at the hands of British men-of-war. Not for personal reasons alone did he rejoice at the commencement of hostilities. He believed that the interests of the whole country demanded it; all his sympathies were enlisted in it; all his resources he confidently staked upon the final issue of the struggle. He caused the banks in which he owned a controlling interest to invest all their available capital in United States bonds, and when the national credit was lowest he advanced from his own purse money to build a sloop of war.[41] Mr. De Wolf early grasped the fact that the only vulnerable part of Great Britain, as far as the United States was concerned, was its merchant marine. He foresaw that the American privateers would drive the English commerce from the ocean and he at once proceeded to perform his part in accomplishing that result. Not the United States war vessels, marvellous though their achievements were, but the privateers that sailed out from Bristol and Baltimore and many ports of New England, brought the War of 1812 to an end.

Besides the Yankee Mr. De Wolf was the principal owner of three other privateers, the Water Witch, the Blockade and the Macdonough. The Water Witch was the only one of these to send a prize into Bristol harbor. She was a little coasting schooner of more than ordinary speed. Her owners procured for her a privateer’s license that she might seize the slower craft that furnished the British fleet with supplies. Her one prize was a flour laden schooner which netted a profit to its owners of about $5,000, a sum which paid for the Water Witch several times over. The Blockade sailed from Bristol on a four months cruise November 19, 1812. It had been planned that she should sail in company with the Yankee but that little hermaphrodite brig[42] was too fast for her. She took a dozen or more vessels, but all her prizes were recaptured and she proved to be only a bill of expense to her owners. From the Macdonough great things were hoped. She was much the largest and fastest of the Bristol ships but she entered the contest too late. She found an ocean swarming with the sails of warships when she sailed out from Narragansett Bay. Her wonderful speed prevented her capture and she was able to take many prizes but all her prizes were retaken. Oliver Wilson, successful captain of the Yankee on two of her cruises, was her commander on her one cruise, so it goes without saying that she was well handled, but she proved to be a losing investment. She was built by Captain Carr at Warren in the last year of the war, and after the struggle was ended was placed in the Cuban trade. Once she made the voyage from Havana to Bristol in six days notwithstanding the fact that she was lying becalmed for a whole day. After the slave trade had been declared illegal and hence required the very swiftest vessels for its service, she was sold to Cuban parties who fitted her for a slaver. Her career as such was not long. Having a cargo of slaves on board she was chased one day by a warship, and, running for shelter into the harbor of Matanzas, struck upon a reef on which she was soon pounded to pieces. Her crew were saved to a man. Not so the slaves; they all perished.

Eleven days after the Declaration of War was proclaimed Mr. De Wolf sent to the Secretary of War this letter:

BRISTOL, R.I., June 30, 1812.

The Honorable WILLIAM EUSTIS,
Secretary of War:--

Sir; I have purchased and now ready for sea, an armed brig, (one of
the most suitable in this country for a privateer) of one hundred
and sixty tons burden, mounting eighteen guns, and carries one
hundred and twenty men, called the Yankee, commanded by Oliver
Wilson. Being desirous that she should be on her cruise as soon as
possible, I beg that you will cause a commission to be forwarded
as soon as practicable to the Collector of the District, that this
vessel may not be detained.

I am very respectfully, Sir,
Your obedient servant,
JAMES DE WOLF.

The commission of the Yankee was issued July 13, 1812. Her owners were James De Wolf and John Smith, the latter owning but one-quarter of the vessel. The Articles of Agreement under which the privateer sailed were as follows:

ARTICLES OF AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE OWNERS, OFFICERS AND COMPANY OF THE PRIVATE ARMED VESSEL OF WAR, YANKEE.

1st. It is agreed by the parties that the Owners fit the Vessel
for sea and provide her with great guns, small arms, powder, shot
and all other warlike stores, also with suitable medicines and
every other thing necessary for such a vessel and her cruise for
all of which no deduction is to be made from the shares, for which
the Owners or their substitutes shall receive or draw One Half the
nett proceeds of all such Prizes or prize as may be taken, and the
other half shall be the property of the Vessel’s Company to be
divided in proportions as mentioned in the 15th article, except the
cabin-stores and furniture which belong to the Captain.

2d. That for preserving due decorum on board said vessel, no man
is to quit or go out of her on board any other vessel, or on shore
without having first obtained leave of the Commanding officer on
board, under the penalty of such punishment or fine as shall be
decreed by the Captain and Officers.

3d. That the Cruise shall be where the Owners or the major part of
them shall direct.

4th. If any person shall be found a RINGLEADER of any Mutiny, or
causing disturbance, or refuse to obey the Captain, or any Officer,
behave with Cowardice, or get drunk in time of action, he or they
shall forfeit his or their shares of any dividend, or be otherwise
punished at the discretion of the Captain and Officers.

5th. If any person shall steal or convert to his own use any part of
a prize or prizes, or be found pilfering any money or other things
belonging to this Vessel, her Officers, or Company, and be thereof
convicted by her Officers, he shall be punished and forfeit as
aforesaid.

6th. That whoever first spies a prize or sail, that proves worth 100
dollars a share, shall receive Fifty Dollars from the gross sum; and
if orders are given for boarding, the first man on the deck of the
Enemy shall receive Half a share to be deducted from the gross sum
of prize-money.

7th. That if any one of the said Company shall in time of action
lose an eye or a joint, he shall receive Fifty Dollars, and if he
lose a leg or an arm, he shall receive Three Hundred Dollars to be
deducted out of the Gross sum of Prize-money.

8th. That if any of said Company shall strike or assault any male
prisoner, or rudely treat any female prisoner, he shall be punished
or fined as the Officers shall decree.

9th. That if any of the said Company shall die or be killed in the
voyage, and any prizes be taken before or during the action in which
he is so killed, his share or shares shall be paid to his legal
representatives.

10th. That whoever deserts the said Vessel, within the time
hereinafter mentioned, shall forfeit his Prize-money to the Owners
and Company of the said Vessel, his debts to any person on board
being first paid out of it, provided it does not amount to more than
one half the same.

11th. That on the death of the Captain, the command to devolve on
the next in command and so in rotation.

12th. That no one of said company shall sell any more than one half
his share or right of claim thereto of any prize previous to her
being taken.

13th. That the Captain and Officers shall appoint an agent of said
Vessel’s company for and during the term of the said cruise.

14th. That all and everyone of said Company do agree to serve on
board of said Vessel for the term of four months, conformable to the
terms herein mentioned, beginning the said term at the time of her
departure from the harbour of Bristol.

15th. That One Half of the Nett proceeds of all prizes taken by the
said Vessel which is appropriated to the Vessel’s Company shall be
divided among them in the following manner (viz) To the Captain
sixteen Shares and all such privileges and freedoms as are allowed
to the Captains of Private armed Vessels of War from this Port.

To the First Lieutenant nine Shares. To the 2d and 3d Lieutenants
and Surgeon eight Shares each. Prize masters and Master’s Mate
and Captain of Marines six Shares each; Carpenter, Boatswain and
Gunner four Shares each. Boatswain’s Mates two and one half Shares
each. The residue to be divided among the Company in equal Shares
excepting Landsmen or raw hands who draw one and one half Shares
each, and boys who draw one Share each. Ten Shares to be reserved to
the order of the Captain to be distributed by him to such as he may
deem deserving among the Vessel’s Company.

The Yankee was immediately and immensely successful. In this respect she was unlike the other privateers of the “War of 1812.” It is a mistake to suppose that the business of privateering was, as a rule, a successful one. Most of the vessels engaged in it barely paid their expenses. To very many the cruise resulted only in a loss. Much depended on the sailing qualities of the ship, and the way in which she was handled; but much more depended upon sheer luck. The privateers, as a rule, did an enormous amount of damage to the shipping of the enemy without reaping any corresponding advantage themselves. The Yankee, however, not only inflicted enormous damage upon the enemy but was also enormously profitable to her owners.

Her officers on her first cruise were Oliver Wilson,[43] captain, and Manly Sweet, James Usher, 2d, and Thomas H. Russell, lieutenants. She carried a crew of 115 men (they must have been packed like sardines), and made for the coast of Nova Scotia. One of her first prizes was the Royal Bounty, a full rigged ship of 659 tons (about four times the size of the Yankee, but manned by a crew of only 25 men). The Bounty was taken after a running fight in which three Americans were wounded, while two of the English were killed and seven wounded. The boldness of Captain Wilson in attacking a vessel so much larger than his own was remarkable, but the end justified his conduct. As a rule the privateers avoided engagements with ships of superior size, remembering that, primarily, their object was not to fight battles for the glory of the flag, but to capture ships for their own pecuniary advantage. They could and did fight bravely and successfully upon occasion, but, ordinarily, deemed it wiser to show their heels to a superior foe. Nine other prizes were taken on the first cruise of less than three months, the most valuable of which was the ship Francis whose cargo netted more than $200,000 to her captors. That first cruise paid for the brigantine several times over, and resulted in a dividend of more than $700 a share.

Small wonder then that the Bristol sailors almost fought for a place on her decks for her second cruise, when she sailed again from the harbor on the fifteenth of October. The journal of that second cruise is hereinafter published in full. Captain Wilson’s instructions this time were to scour the west coast of Africa and to come home in the track of vessels sailing to Europe from Brazil and the West Indies. One hundred and fifteen days after the Yankee had sailed out from the harbor two boys were “shinning up” the masts of two vessels tied up at a wharf, in the good old Bristol way already described (p. 30). As the victor in the contest placed his cap upon the cap of the topmast he saw something which caused him, leaving his cap where it was, to slide down mast and shroud regardless of damage to trousers and hands, and to go running up the street crying out at the top of his voice, “The Yankee is coming up the Bay with a prize on each side of her.” It was even so. The prizes were the Shannon, a fine brig of 200 tons, and the letter of marque schooner Alder. The dividend for each share in the second cruise was $338.40.

On May 10, 1813, the brigantine was commissioned for her third cruise. Elisha Snow was her Captain. The Lieutenants were Thomas Jones, Samuel Barton and George A. Bruce. British war vessels were swarming along the coast. Captain Snow learned that a frigate and a fourteen-gun brig were waiting for him near Block Island. Choosing his time with care he sailed from Newport on May 20 and steered joyfully for British waters. His instructions were to “take enough prizes to make up a handsome cruise, calculating one-half the prizes to be retaken.” Three months later he was again lying at anchor in Bristol harbor. Seven prizes were taken on this cruise but most of them were recaptured. The most important of them was the “snow” Thames, of 312 tons burden, with 287 bales of cotton on board. Vessel and cargo were valued at $110,000. The prize money for each share was $173.54.

The fourth cruise was almost a failure. A new set of officers was on board. They were Thomas Jones, captain, and Thomas Milton, George Eddy and Sampson Gullifer, lieutenants. All told there were 109 persons on the ship. Among the crew we still see the names of Jack Jibsheet and Cuffee Cockroach enumerated as cabin boys. They seem to have been steadily attached to the vessel. Almost all the names of the ship’s crew were British. It is very likely, however, that the two cabin boys, notwithstanding their pure Anglo-Saxon names, may have been of African lineage. The instructions this time were to cruise “on the track of homeward bound vessels near the Grand Banks.” Prizes were to make for Nantucket Shoals and to get into the first port on the Vineyard Sound, avoiding Boston. But two prizes reached port, and the dividend for each share was only $17.29.

There was no competition for berths on the fifth cruise. Indeed, some of the sailors swam ashore before the privateer left the harbor of Bristol.[44] All the probabilities seemed to point rather to a prison in England than a profit in America. Elisha Snow was again in command. His Lieutenants were Samuel Barton, John Smith and Francis Elliott. Thomas Jones, the captain of the voyage before, was second captain. The cruise was not finished as planned because the Yankee was driven into New Bedford by an English man-of-war and the crew deserted almost to a man. Four prizes only were taken, three of which were of no value whatever. But the fourth reached Portland, Maine, in safety. She was a full rigged ship, the San Jose Indiano,[45] and, with her cargo, sold for more than half a million dollars. The voyage that had been undertaken with the greatest hesitation was the most profitable of all. The two gentlemen of color, Jibsheet and Cockroach, received respectively $738.19 and $1,121.88 as their dividends. Captain Snow’s “lay” was $15,789.69, and the owners realized $223,313.10. It was the luckiest cruise made by any privateer during the war. Naturally resulted a season of great hilarity in the home port. Imagine the effect upon a little town of less than 3,000 inhabitants today if a million dollars were suddenly and unexpectedly poured into the pockets of its people! Notwithstanding the immense risks there were volunteers enough for the sixth cruise--which was to be the last one. The sailing orders for this cruise were issued October 1, 1814.

Captain Snow had apparently decided to let well enough alone, for William C. Jenckes was the new captain. The second captain was Benjamin K. Churchill, “a fellow of infinite humor” as we shall presently see. A. B. Hetherington, Henry Wardwell and Samuel Grafton were the lieutenants. The times had become most strenuous as may be judged from this section of the sailing directions: “You must depend principally upon the goods you take on board to make your cruise, as the prizes you man will be very uncertain.” In the private instructions issued to Captain Jenckes special attention was paid to the definition of “neutral” property. The American privateers had inflicted so much damage upon English shipping that the merchants of England had been forced to conceal their property under neutral flags. The captain of the Yankee was instructed to send in a neutral if he had destroyed any papers, or if he had fired upon him. “If any one of a House shipping property resides in England, or in an English colony, that share of the shipment is a good prize of war. Notwithstanding he may have been born a neutral, and lived in a neutral country all his life; if he is now domiciled in the enemy’s country, it is sufficient to condemn his property.” The cruise lasted 105 days. Five prizes were taken and reported to the owners in a letter written by Second Captain Churchill. Only one of these brought money to their captors. This was the brig Courtney, which with its cargo sold for $70,000. One was the General Wellesley, an East Indian teak built ship of 600 tons, in which its captors at first thought they saw a second San Jose Indiano. Her value was estimated at upward of $200,000. She was ordered to make for the port of Charleston, S. C., but, with two of her prize crew and 52 of her original crew of Lascars, was lost on Charleston Bar. Captain Churchill ended his letter as follows:--“P. S. I have lost one of my legs on this cruise.”

Less than three years was the Yankee upon the seas as a private armed vessel of war. In those years she captured British property of the value of more than five million dollars. She sent into the town of Bristol a million dollars as the profit from her six cruises. No other privateer sailing from an American port ever established such a record.

In the year 1812 when to most men the shipping business seemed likely to continue to be the most prominent in the country Mr. De Wolf foresaw the immense development of manufacturing industries. In that year he built in the town of Coventry, R. I., a site chosen because of its water power, a cotton factory, the Arkwright Mills. These he continued to own and direct until his death. As has been already stated he placed some of his vessels in the whale fishery, continuing in that business only as long as his ships made profitable voyages. He seemed to judge unerringly concerning business possibilities. All this time he was cultivating the arable portion of the nearly one thousand acres of land which he owned in and near Bristol. He built for himself a stately mansion, on a little hill always spoken of by Bristol people as “The Mount,” in which his descendants continued to reside until its destruction by fire a few years ago.

Inevitably he came to take a leading part in political matters. For almost thirty years he represented his native town in the Rhode Island Legislature, laying aside the gavel of the Speaker of that body in 1821 to become a member of the United States Senate. As a Senator his immense business experience made him the recognized authority in commercial matters. He was a strong “protectionist” and was the first in the Senate to propose the “drawback” system which has since been so largely adopted in the United States and elsewhere. He was one of the few Senators, perhaps the only one from New England, who were accustomed to ride to Washington in their own coaches. Happily this relic of the luxury of a hundred years ago still remains in the possession of a descendant of Mark Anthony De Wolf, Colonel Samuel Pomeroy Colt of Bristol. Mr. De Wolf’s life at Washington was not pleasing to him. The progress of Congressional legislation was too slow for his active mind, and his constantly increasing business demanded all of his attention. He therefore resigned from the United States Senate long before his term expired and joyfully resumed his old position as a representative of Bristol in the Legislature of Rhode Island.

James De Wolf died at the residence of one of his daughters in New York City, December 21, 1837. The tidings of his death crushed the town in which he was born. No man had ever done so much for Bristol as he. He had always made its welfare his own, had loyally advocated every scheme for its advancement, had gladly contributed to every worthy project put forward by its people. When he died there was no one to take his place. Never was any Bristolian more sincerely or more deeply mourned.

2--JOURNAL OF THE YANKEE

JOURNAL OF THE PRIVATE ARMED BRIGANTINE YANKEE, OLIVER WILSON COMMANDER--COMMENCED ON THE 15TH OCTOBER, 1812.

(Kept by Noah Jones, Captain’s Clerk).

Thursday, 15th October, 1812.

At 4 p. m. Capt. Wilson, accompanied by his Lieutenants, Master, Surgeon and Clerk, came on board. All hands were piped to muster, and on inspection the Commander found his crew consisted of ninety-five as prime fellows as ever went to sea.

N. B. The _Yankee_ is completely equipped with arms, ammunition, provisions and other necessary articles for a six months cruise. She mounts 14 guns at present--8 twelve pound carronades, 4 long sixes, and two long fours--has one long double-fortified twelve pounder (a beautiful piece) in her hold, to be hereafter mounted,--with 60 stand of arms and a large quantity of pistols, cutlashes and boarding pikes.

Friday, 16th October 1812

The Commander quartered the officers and seamen at their several stations in time of action, regulated the Messes, fixed the allowance of provisions, water, etc., ordered a regular Bill of Fare, and pointed out to every officer and man his duty on board the _Yankee_. At 9 a. m. Lieutenant Hardiman of the Army came on board to enquire for a deserter. Capt. Wilson immediately ordered the Boatswain’s Mate to pipe all hands on deck and requested Lieutenant Hardiman to examine them man by man, to discover his deserter. He did so without success.

At 2 p. m. the wind coming suddenly round to the N. W. Captain Wilson gave orders to loose the foretopsail, send up the foretop-gallant yard, fire a gun, and set the signals for sailing. At 4 the wind shifted to the N. E.--dark and cloudy with appearance of bad weather. At 5 clewed up the foretopsail and got the barge in upon deck.

Saturday, 17th October 1812

At daylight sailing orders were issued by the Commander. Loosed square foresail, foretopsail and mainsail, fired gun, and set our colours. At 6 a. m. unmoored and got underway; when abeam of the Private Armed Schooner _Tom_ of Baltimore, Thomas Wilson Commander, the officers and company of the _Yankee_ gave them three cheers which was immediately returned. Fired a salute of three guns as we passed Fort Walcott. Wind N. N. W. fair weather and extremely pleasant. At 7 passed R. I. Light. At ½ past 7 gibed ship to the S. S. E.--set all drawing sails--considerable swell. At ½ past 9 a. m. Block Island bore west, distant 5 leagues;--from which we take our departure on our cruise. At meridian discovered a sail at a great distance--could not distinguish what she was. Lat. 40°56′.

1st Day--Sunday 18th October 1812

First part light winds and hazy weather. 2 p. m. discovered a schooner ahead standing to the westward. At 3 saw a large ship, also standing to the westward. At 4 p. m. piped all hands to quarters and exercised the seamen and marines at the great guns and small arms. The Commander found them well disciplined and fit for immediate service. 5 a. m. discovered a sail 2 points on the lee bow. Took in the studding sails on the stabbord side and hauled up to the eastward. 6.30 a. m. saw another sail right ahead; took in larboard studding sails and royal, and brought her close upon the wind--heading N. E. At 9 a. m. having lost sight of the sail kept away to the S. E. and set studding sails. Latter part gentle breezes and hazy weather. At meridian no sail in sight. Course S. E. b S. Lat. Obs. 39°51′.

(For several days the Journal chronicles mainly the condition of the
weather and the necessary changes in the sails. The fact was quickly
established that the vessel was “perfectly staunch and strong
and a most excellent sea boat.” The brigantine was always a most
remarkable sailor. She answered the helm readily and scudded over
the waves while other vessels were still courting the capricious
winds. After the war, when she was simply a merchant vessel plying
between Bristol and the Island of Cuba, she made some runs between
the Moro and Block Island light in shorter time than that scheduled
for the regular trips of the steamship lines. With a man o’ war’s
crew to handle her, her speed must have been marvellous. Only the
more important portions of the Journal will henceforth be printed.
The total number of persons on board when the “Muster Roll” was
called on the second day was one hundred.--_Ed._)

2d Day--Monday October 19th

The log ends with the following paragraph. “The Surgeon has been much indisposed with seasickness since he left Newport. He finds the best remedy to be sleep. There is only one person (John Briggs) with a sore thumb on the Surgeon’s list.”

(Apparently an epidemic of sore thumbs had been feared.--_Ed._)

3d Day--Tuesday October 20th

.... 7 p. m. Shipped a heavy sea abaft the beam which stove in all three of the Arm Chests, and capsized the musquets, bayonets, cutlashes, pistols, armourer’s tools etc. into the lee scuppers. The Carpenter repaired the damage as soon as possible and replaced the arms.... No sail in sight.... The Surgeon still indisposed. John Briggs and the Cook on the Doctor’s list. Lat. Obs. 36°15′.

4th Day--Wednesday October 21st

.... The officers of Marines, Armourer and his mates busy in cleaning arms from the rust contracted during the bad weather, oiling them, and stowing them in the arm-chests in good order. John Briggs, Cyrus Simmons and Ned Ingraham on the Doctor’s list.

5th Day--Thursday October 22d

.... At 4 p. m. all hands piped to quarters. The Commander again pointed out to every man his station; appointed Lieutenants Barton and Jones to lead the 1st and 2d Divisions of Boarders, and distributed the swords, cutlashes and pistols among the seamen. The officers then exercised the seamen and marines at the great guns and small arms, going through the usual manouvres during an engagement. After which all hands were summoned aft and the Commander read over certain Instructions regulating, under severe penalties, the conduct of the officers and crew, upon all occasions, particularly in time of action, or when on board an enemy’s vessel.... The Surgeon still indisposed and ate no dinner. Briggs, Simmons, Ingraham and Angell on the Doctor’s list with trifling complaints. Lat. Obs. 35°24′.

(From this time forward Lieut. Barton is very much in the
foreground. He was a near relative of Col. Barton of “The Rhode
Island Line,” who in the Revolutionary War had distinguished himself
by his daring capture of the British General Prescott within the
Enemy’s lines. It goes without saying, therefore, that he was quite
devoid of fear. In after life he still followed the sea even though
he had become extremely corpulent and had acquired an abdominal
development which compelled universal attention if not admiration.
Once he was chased by a French Privateer. A shot which happened to
strike the ship’s cat scattered her entrails all over the deck. The
cabin boy cast a startled glance at the dead cat, then looked at his
Captain and was immediately doubled up with laughter. “Well,” said
the Captain, “what are you laughing about now?” “Nothing,” said the
boy, “only I was thinking what an awful mess there would be if one
of those balls should strike you in the belly.”--_Ed._)

6th Day Friday October 23d

.... At 6 a. m. the man at the mast head called out a sail bearing N. b E. distant about two leagues. 6.30 a. m. piped all hands to quarters, loosed the guns, and cleared for action. 7.20 a. m. fired a gun without shot, upon which the sail hove to.... At 8 a. m. ran under the lee of a large copper-bottomed American ship and sent the barge on board. Found her to be the _Ariadne_ of Boston, Captain Bartlett Holmes, from Alexandria bound to Cadiz with a full cargo of flour, 17 days out. Capt. Holmes informed us that on the 11th inst. he was boarded by an officer from the United States, Commodore Decatur. (The _President_, _Congress_ and _Argus_ were in company standing to the eastward.) The _Ariadne’s_ crew having mutinied Capt. Holmes requested Com. Decatur to take four of the ringleaders on board the frigate, which he did accordingly. Capt. H. mentioned that his ship had sprung a leak, and being short handed, with a disorderly mutinous crew, he was bound home again in distress. The Commander put a letter on board, directed to the owners, informing them of the good health and spirits of the crew, and our situation in Lat. 25° N. and Long. 56° W....

7th Day Saturday 24th Oct.

.... Lat. 36°9′ ...

8th Day Sunday 25th Oct.

.... Briggs, Simmons, Lewis and Angell on the Surgeon’s list with light complaints. Lat. Obs. 35°15′. Long. pr, lunar Obs. at 12 Meridian 53°3′.

9th Day Monday 26th Oct.

Fair weather with strong gales from the westward. Scudding before the wind under square-foresail, fore topsail and foretopmast staysail. At 5 p. m. discovered from the deck (owing to the negligence of the man at the foretop) two large sail in our wake, distant about three leagues, standing after us with their topgallant sails up. Immediately hauled up to the S. E. and set square-foresail, single-reefed mainsail and fore and aft foresail. The sails astern frequently luffed up and yawned off and when we saw them last stood to the N. E.... Frequent squalls with rain and a tremendous sea. Course S. E. b E. under three-reefed mainsail close-reefed square-foresail, and double-reefed foretopsail, with the foretopmast-staysail. Same persons on the Surgeon’s list. Shipped a great deal of water upon deck, the comins of the sea frequently coming on board and penetrating every part of the vessel. Lat. 34°40′.

10th Day Tuesday 27th Oct.

.... No sail in sight and nothing remarkable. Lat. Obs. 33°26′. N. B. It is something singular that since we left port we have had only one pleasant day. There has been a continual succession of gales of wind from all parts of the compass, attended with torrents of rain, squalls, whirlwinds, thunder and lightning, and a tremendous sea frequently breaking on board and occasioning considerable damage; carrying away several spars and staving the arm-chests. Indeed it may be said that our vessel has sailed thus far under but not over the Atlantic Ocean.

11th Day Wednesday 28th Oct.

.... Middle and latter part of the day stiff gales with a high sea. Shipped a great deal of water upon deck. Lat. Obs. 32°5′.

12th Day Thursday 29th Oct.

During these 24 hours strong gales with frequent squalls of wind and rain, and a very high sea frequently breaking on board. Lat. Obs. 30°27′. Lunar Obs. at 23 M. past Meridian 41°55′41″. Cyrus Simmons, John Briggs, Amos A. Allen, James Angell, Ebenezer Byrum and William Redding on the Surgeon’s list.

13th Day Friday 30th Oct.

(A delightful change.) At meridian the weather began to moderate. 1 p. m. fair weather with a clear horizon and the sea going down. Let all the reefs out of the mainsail and square-foresail, sent up maintopmast, rigged out the jib-boom and set the jib. At 9 p. m. took a single reef in the fore-topsail and mainsail. During the night fresh breezes and clear weather. Lat. Obs. 28°43′. Long. per Lunar Obs. at 18 m. past 10--40°11′.

14th Day Saturday 31st Oct.

Lat. 29° N. & Long. 40°20′ W. At 6 a. m. discovered a sail from the masthead at a great distance bearing W. S. W. Light breezes from the north inclining to a calm. Piped all hands upon deck, set all drawing sails, in chase and got out the sweeps. 9 a. m. found we came up rapidly with the chase which appeared to be a brig standing to the S. W. At meridian spoke the Portuguese Brig _Henriette_, Capt. Jenkins, from Madeira, 18 days out, in ballast, bound to Philadelphia. Capt. Jenkins informed us that on the 21st he spoke an American ship and brig bound home; on the 22d he was boarded by an officer from a British Frigate. Captain Jenkins left at Madeira several American vessels bound home with full cargoes; also two English ships loading with wine for the West Indies. Shortly before Capt. Jenkins left Madeira an English brig loaded with wine sailed for the West Indies, likewise three English East Indiamen with full cargoes, under the convoy of a British Frigate as far as Palmas. There were no King’s vessels at Madeira. An American Privateer, owned at New Orleans, was cruising off Madeira and had taken several prizes!! Capt. Jenkins being short of bread our Commander supplied him with this necessary article, and received in return some vinegar, fish and fruit. Permitted the _Henriette_ to proceed.... Lat. Obs. 27°40′. (Wrote a letter to the Owners by the _Henriette_, Capt. Jenkins, informing them of our situation and of the good health of our Officers and Company.)

15th Day Sunday 1st Nov.

.... Nothing remarkable. Lat. Obs. 27°14′ N. Long. 38°28′ W.

16th Day Monday 2d Nov.

At 4 p. m. piped all hands to quarters and the Officers examined them man by man, to discover whether they were neat and clean in their persons and dress--according to the Commander’s instructions--to prevent fevers and the scurvy during a long cruise. The crew were then summoned aft, and the Captain’s Clerk read the General Instructions to the Officers and Company, regulating their conduct upon all occasions during the cruise. From 8 a. m. till 4 p. m. the Watches employed about ship’s duty; the Carpenter and his Mates busy about making new arm-chests; sail-makers in repairing ring-tale; Officers of Marines and Armorer in cleaning arms, and numbering muskets and cartridge boxes, and seamen and marines in mending rigging, drying sails, and other necessary duty.... The Surgeon is quite indisposed with the headache, loss of appetite and low spirits. Lat. Obs. 20°16′.

17th Day Tuesday 3d Nov.

.... The watch only employed on ship’s duty. Samuel Boynton and Ned Ingraham on the Surgeon’s list. Lat. Obs. 25°3′.

18th Day Wednesday 4th Nov.

.... Several tropic birds in sight.... The Prize-Master, Quartermaster’s Mates, inferior officers and nearly all hands busy in repairing the nettings, bulwarks and side-cloths.... Lat. Obs. 23°44′ (The Commander issued particular written instructions to his Officers, prescribing their respective duties upon all occasions during the cruise. These instructions were drawn according to the customs and usages of the British and American navies.)

19th Day Thursday 5th Nov.

At sunrise discovered a sail bearing 2 points on the larboard bow. Jibed ship to the E. N. E. and set all drawing sails in chase. At 8 a. m. found the strange vessel to be a brig with her starboard tacks on board, standing to the westward. 9 a. m. fired a gun to windward, upon which the sail luffed up and showed Spanish colours, and then bore down to us. Took in all the light sails and then hove to. At 10 a. m. the sail came under our lee and we sent our barge on board. Found her to be the Spanish _San Jose_, _alias_ _El Pajaro_, Captain Miguel Burgas, from Cadiz, 20 days out, with a full cargo of red wines, aguadiente, fruit, sweet oil, soaps, olives, stationary, (_sic_) musical instruments and ladies’ veils. When two days out Capt. Burgas saw a Spanish schooner standing for the Canaries. The _San Jose_ left at Cadiz several American vessels bound to sea under Spanish colours; also several English men of war, and transports. Capt. Burgas informed us that on the 25th of August the French army raised the siege of Cadiz, and retreated with great expedition, having previously destroyed their artillery. It was reported at Cadiz that there had been several skirmishes between the French and Russian armies but no decisive battle. Having examined the papers of the _San Jose_, and found the vessel and cargo to be _bona fide_ Spanish property, permitted her to proceed on her voyage.... Lat. Obs. 22°49′. Long. D. R. 20°57′ San Jose Long. 25 d. Cadiz. Surgeon’s list. James Angell, Cyrus Simmons, John Briggs, Samuel Boynton, Joseph Lewis and John Koster.

20th Day Friday 6th Nov.

At 1 p. m. being in Lat. 22°49′, the Crew of the _Yankee_ preparing to celebrate Old Neptune’s ceremonies on passing the Tropics. Accordingly the old Sea God, attended by his Lady, barbers and constables, dressed in the most fantastic manner, with painted faces, and swabs upon their heads, hailed our brig, came on board, were received with a salute and three cheers, demanded of Captain Wilson whether he had any of his sons on board, and welcomed the _Yankee_ into his dominions. On being answered in the affirmative he asked permission to initiate the marines and raw hands into the usual mysteries on such occasions. He then examined the Surgeon and being convinced that he came to sea to take care of his children when they were sick, he excused him from being shaved with an iron hoop, and from passing through the other disagreeable parts of the ceremony. After which Neptune and his companions went forward and regularly initiated about one fourth of our crew into all the curious forms requisite to make them true sons of the ocean. The several candidates for a seaman’s character were properly painted, slushed, shaved, ducked, questioned and sworn. Their singular questions and answers excited infinite laughter and merriment. After the ceremony concluded, the Commander, Officers and whole crew joined in a Ducking match, which aided in great good humour and pleasantry. The remainder of the day and evening were devoted to fencing, boxing, wrestling, singing, drinking, laughing, and every species of mirth and fun. Lat. Obs. 21°58′.

21st Day Saturday 7th Nov.

.... Nothing remarkable.... Same persons on Surgeon’s list. Lat. Obs. 21°34′.

22d Day Sunday 8th Nov.

.... Cleaned out the cabin and got all the baggage and trunks on deck. Examined the Officers and crew, man by man, and found them neat and clean. At 10 a. m. the Commander and Officers attended prayers in the cabin. The Marines employed in singing psalms and the sailors in washing and mending their clothes. Lat. Obs. 21°16′. Lunar Obs. at 5-20 was 31°17′. Same persons on the Surgeon’s list.

23d Day Monday 9th Nov.

.... James Angell, Cyrus Simmons, John Briggs, Samuel Boynton, Joseph Lewis, John Koster and James Crawford on the Surgeon’s list with various complaints--none dangerous. Lat. 20°4′. A singular circumstance occurred to day. On opening a dolphin which one of the Prize-Masters caught we found a pistol ball in him which had been discharged about an hour before.

24th Day Tuesday 10th Nov.

.... Nothing remarkable. Lat. Obs. 20°19′.

25th Day Wednesday 11th Nov.

.... At 10 a. m. all hands were exercised in firing with the musket at a target. Found most of the crew to be excellent marksmen.... Observed the water to be considerably colored. Sounded with 100 fathoms. No bottom. Lat. Obs. 19°11′. Same persons on Surgeon’s list; none incapable of duty.

26th Day Thursday 12th Nov.

.... At 4 p. m. the Marines trained to the Manual Exercise; also to several new manouvres _a la mode de Francais_. The Boarders amuse themselves with fencing and the rest of the crew act as spectators.... Lat. Obs. 18°19′. Long. per Lunar Obs. at 2 p. m. 28°53′30″. Crawford and Koster struck off the Surgeon’s list. The rest recovering fast.

27th Day Friday 13th Nov.