<h2 id="CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII.</h2>
<p class="i2">DAVID AND I VISIT OUR OLD HOME.—RETURN TO
BOSTON, AND MEET BILL AND JOE.—BILL'S ADVENTURE
ON THE CHESAPEAKE.—AN "UNLUCKY"
SHIP.</p>
<p class="p2">Along in the spring of 1808, David and I arrived
in Boston; he from a voyage to Sweden, and I
from one to China. The owners of our ships announced
that they would be laid up for the present,
and as soon as anything could be found for us to
do they would give us employment. So we determined
in our period of idleness to visit our old
home. We had been prosperous, and saved a fair
amount of money, most of which we had sent to
our parents.</p>
<p>Having reached the office of second mate on first-class
ships, we thought it beneath our dignity to
walk all the way to Pembroke; and so we took passage
in a wagon that had recently come to Boston
from Concord, the capital of New Hampshire, with
a load of butter, cheese, and other things produced
in the country. The wagoner was taking back a<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</SPAN></span>
light load of goods, the proceeds of the sale of the
articles I mentioned, and had plenty of room for
two passengers. We could have gone by stage-coach,
and saved several hours in time; but the difference
between the stage fare and that of the wagon
was enough to make us decide upon the slower mode
of conveyance.</p>
<p>We received a hearty welcome from all our friends.
I am glad to say we found everybody well; and
those whom we had left as boys and girls were mostly
grown to be men and women. My parents told how
they had missed me greatly, and longed to see me
back again. My mother was so surprised when I
walked unannounced into the house that she came
near fainting. Tears came into my father's eyes,
and he greeted me with a choking voice; but very
quickly the voice cleared up, and he said he felt
like capering about the room. Everybody complimented
us on our healthy appearance, our bronzed
faces, and our well-developed figures, which had been
hardened and toughened by our sea-faring life. We
were the heroes of the time and place, and were
kept busy narrating our adventures to all our old
friends.</p>
<p>We remained at home about two weeks, and then,
fearful lest we might miss a good opportunity of going
to sea again, we returned to Boston in the same way<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</SPAN></span>
as we had come from that city, and with the same
wagoner. We went straight to our former boarding-house,
and as we approached saw, just outside the
door, the familiar forms and faces of our old friends,
Bill and Joe. There was a hearty greeting all around;
and you may be sure that the evening and the next
day were spent in telling the adventures which each
had passed through since we were last together.</p>
<p>The most interesting of all the stories was that of
my old friend, Bill Haines, which I will endeavor to
give as nearly as possible in his own words.</p>
<p>"You remember that affair of the Chesapeake, don't
you?" said Haines.</p>
<p>"Of course I do," I replied; "and pretty nearly
everybody in the country knows about it."</p>
<p>"Well, I was in that little brush," said Haines,
"and I can probably tell you a good deal more than
you know about it.</p>
<p>"I went down the coast from New York to the
Potomac River along in the early part of February,
1807. When we got to Washington the crew of the
coaster was paid off and discharged; the captain said
he was going to lie up there, he didn't know for how
long. I went to looking around for something, but
there wasn't a craft I could ship on, leastways, not a
merchant craft. I heard that the Chesapeake, thirty-eight
guns, which was then lying at Washington, was<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</SPAN></span>
going to be sent out to the Mediterranean to fight the
Barbary coast pirates, and sure enough, she was put
into commission on the 22d day of February.</p>
<p>"Captain Gordon was put in command of the ship,
and Commodore Barron was selected to hoist a broad
pennant in her as commander of the squadron. As
soon as the orders had been issued they began enlisting
a crew, and I was one of the men who enlisted. They
had a good set of officers all around, and no doubt
the crew was a good one, but it was very green when
we dropped down the Potomac about the 4th of June
and anchored in Hampton Roads. When we left the
navy-yard at Washington we had only twelve guns
on board and a part of our stores, and we stayed
in Hampton Roads about three weeks completing our
armament, and taking on provisions, water, ammunition,
and other necessary things."</p>
<p>"You seem to have taken things very leisurely,"
I remarked, as Haines paused for a moment.</p>
<p>"Yes, that's so," was the reply; "but then in time
of peace you don't do things in a hurry on a man-of-war.
Although the ship was put in commission on
the 22d of February, it wasn't until the 22d of June
that we got underway from Hampton Roads, bound
to the Mediterranean.</p>
<p>"I must go back a little and say that, while we
were enlisting the crew, the British minister complained<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</SPAN></span>
to the navy department that we had taken in three
deserters from his Majesty's ship, Melampus. The
Melampus had been lying in Hampton Roads, and
they claimed that three of her men got away from
her and enlisted on the Chesapeake."</p>
<p>"Didn't our government do anything about it?" I
asked.</p>
<p>"Yes," Haines replied; "they told Commodore Barron
what the British minister had said, and the commodore
told Captain Gordon to look into the matter
and report."</p>
<p>"Did he find that they really had three British
deserters enlisted for the Chesapeake?"</p>
<p>"Well, yes, they did," said Haines; "the three
men were actually deserters from the Melampus, but
they all claimed to be impressed Americans who were
serving unwillingly on the British ship, and had taken
the first opportunity that offered to escape from their
unjust and illegal detention.</p>
<p>"One of the men was said to be a native of the
eastern shore of Maryland, a part of the country that
Captain Gordon came from. He made a careful investigation,
the captain did, and was satisfied with
the truth of the man's story. Another of the alleged
deserters was a colored man, and there was hardly
any chance to doubt the truth of his assertion, that
he was a native born American, and a victim of the
British system of impressment.</p>
<p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</SPAN></span></p>
<p>"The story of the third sailor was not entirely clear,
but it was pretty well established, and Captain Gordon
made his report accordingly. It went through the
customary channels, and was afterwards sent to the
British minister, who appears to have been satisfied,
as nothing more was said on the subject. The story
had circulated around on the ship, but had been pretty
well forgotten when we sailed for the Mediterranean.</p>
<p>"When we went out to sea we encountered a British
fleet of four ships that had been lying around there
for several months, watching some French frigates which
had taken shelter near Annapolis. One of them was
the Melampus, from which the three seamen already
mentioned had deserted; another was the Bellona,
seventy-four guns; and another was the Leopard, fifty
guns. The Leopard really carried fifty-six guns, which
made her a much more powerful craft than the Chesapeake.</p>
<p>"When we hove anchor and put to sea, the Leopard
did the same thing; and as she was several miles
farther down the bay, she was a good distance ahead
of us when we got into open water.</p>
<p>"We got off Cape Henry a little after noon, and
as we passed the cape we saw the Leopard a few
miles to windward, heading off to sea with a very
light wind. A good breeze came up in a little while,
and both the Leopard and the Chesapeake got it and<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</SPAN></span>
held directly off the land. When the Chesapeake
tacked, the Leopard did likewise, but nobody thought
there was anything unusual or suspicious in the
movements of the British beggar. Sailors who had
been around Hampton Roads a good deal said that
the British cruisers were in the habit of standing
out that way, just to keep themselves in practice.</p>
<p>"I think it was about three o'clock, when both
ships were about eight miles from land. The Chesapeake
tacked to windward again, and the Leopard
wore around and came down upon our weather
quarter; when she was within a hundred yards of
us she hailed and told Commodore Barron that she
had dispatches for him. There was nothing suspicious
in this, as it was a common thing for the British
officers to put dispatches on board any of the American
war-ships bound for Europe. Both vessels hove
to, and a boat from the Leopard came alongside the
Chesapeake.</p>
<p>"When the officer from the Leopard reached the
Chesapeake's deck," Haines continued, "he was shown
into the cabin, where Commodore Barron received
him. Then the English lieutenant produced an order,
signed by Vice-Admiral Berkley, and addressed to all
the captains on ships under his command, directing
them, if they fell in with the Chesapeake at sea and
out of the waters of the United States, to show her<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</SPAN></span>
commander this order to search for deserters, and
proceed to search for them. At the same time he
presented a note from the commander of the Leopard
addressed to the commander of the Chesapeake,
referring to the order of the vice-admiral, and hoping
that every question about the deserters might be
adjusted in a manner that the harmony between the
two countries should remain undisturbed."</p>
<p>"That was an impertinent piece of business," I
remarked; "What did Commodore Barron say in
answer to the demand?"</p>
<p>"He said he knew of no such deserters as described,
and that the recruiting officers had been
particularly instructed by the government not to accept
any deserters from the English ships."</p>
<p>"I suppose that the demand was for the three men
from the Melampus, was it not?" David inquired.</p>
<p>"No, not altogether," said Haines, "as they were
after men from other ships, who were supposed to
have joined the Chesapeake while she lay at Hampton
Roads. There was one man in particular, who
had run away from the British man-of-war Halifax,
who met his old captain on the street in Norfolk
one day and insulted him. The captain put a spy
on the man's track, and claimed that he was on board
the Chesapeake at the time of the affair with the
Leopard; he was the one the English officers were
particularly anxious to get hold of.</p>
<p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</SPAN></span></p>
<p>"The English lieutenant remained on board the
Chesapeake about half an hour, when a signal of
recall was hoisted on the Leopard and he returned,
carrying the answer of Commodore Barron. As soon
as he had gone Commodore Barron sent for Captain
Gordon, and told him to get the gun-deck clear,
but this work had already been commenced an hour
before without reference to the Leopard.</p>
<p>"After giving this order Commodore Barron went
on deck to examine the Leopard; he then discovered
the state of preparation on board the English ship,
and that the latter was in a condition to fight at any
moment. The Leopard was lying on the Chesapeake's
weather quarter, her guns trained, matches burning,
people at their quarters, and everything ready to
begin a heavy fire; while the Chesapeake was littered
and lumbered, her crew had not yet exercised their
guns, and they'd only been mustered at quarters
three times altogether. The men were busy coiling
away cables and moving some cabin furniture and
other things, which were all standing aft, and there
was a good deal of baggage on the gun-deck.</p>
<p>"Some of the lieutenants had been suspicious of
the movements of the Leopard from the beginning,
and were pushing the work of clearing the gun-deck
as fast as possible. All the guns were loaded and
shotted, but while this was being done it was found<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</SPAN></span>
that there were not enough rammers, wads, matches,
gun-locks, and powder-horns.</p>
<p>"Things were in this way when the Leopard's
boat pulled back to her. As soon as her people were
out of her she was dropped astern, and almost as
soon as the lieutenant reached her deck the Leopard's
commander hailed the Chesapeake. Commodore Barron
answered that he didn't understand the hail, and it
was repeated two or three times. Then the Leopard
fired a shot ahead of the Chesapeake; and I don't
think it was more than twenty seconds after that
shot was fired when she gave us a full broadside."</p>
<p>"Did we fire back with our broadside?" I asked.</p>
<p>"Commodore Barron gave the orders to fire, but
there wasn't a gun ready. The gunner had been
ordered to fill the powder-horns with priming powder,
but when they were wanted it was found that he
had neglected to do so. After a while some priming
powder was brought, but there were no matches
lighted, and the loggerheads were not hot enough.
While we were trying to fire one of the guns the
Leopard kept pouring broadsides into us, and we
couldn't reply, because everything was in confusion."</p>
<p>"Didn't we fire a gun at all? I had an impression
we did," I remarked.</p>
<p>"Yes, we fired one gun, and only one, but it
wasn't until after Commodore Barron had ordered<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</SPAN></span>
the flag hauled down. Just as the ensign reached
the taffrail one gun was fired from the second division
of the ship, and it was discharged by means
of a coal brought from the galley in the fingers of
Lieutenant Allen, the officer of the division."</p>
<p>"Of course the Leopard stopped firing as soon as
our colors were lowered, and Commodore Barron immediately
sent a boat on board the British ship to
say that the Chesapeake was at the disposal of the
English captain. The latter sent two of his officers
to muster the American crew, and the three men
who were claimed to be deserters from the Melampus,
and one from the Halifax, were taken away. Commodore
Barron then sent another note to the captain
of the Leopard, saying that he was ready to give
up his ship. The latter declined to take possession
of the Chesapeake and sailed away, and there was
nothing for us to do but return to Hampton Roads.</p>
<p>"Three of our crew were killed on the spot, and
eighteen were wounded, eight of them badly and ten
slightly. Twenty-one round shot struck the Chesapeake's
hull, and her lower rigging was badly cut
up by grape-shot. She was in no condition to go
to sea; we went to Norfolk and in a few days a part
of the crew was discharged. I was one of those sent
away, and so you see my voyage up the Mediterranean
was a very short one.</p>
<p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</SPAN></span></p>
<p>"One of these days, and it won't be a very long
time either, we'll have to go to war with England,
and just show her what our ships can do in fighting
trim. The Leopard had a great advantage over us
in having a perfectly trained crew, while ours had
had no training at all. Give us a chance, and we'll
teach the British a lesson they won't forget very
soon."</p>
<p>I may as well continue the history of this affair
by telling how it turned out. The unfortunate deserters
were taken to Halifax, where they were tried
by a court-martial and sentenced to be hung. The
three Americans were reprieved, on condition that
they should re-enter the British service. The deserter
from the Halifax, who was really an English subject,
was hung. One of the three Americans who had
been impressed into the Melampus died in the British
service; the other two, after five years of captivity,
were restored to the deck of the ship from which
they had been taken.</p>
<p>There was great excitement all through the country
when the news of the affair between the Leopard and
Chesapeake became known. For a while local politics
were forgotten, and all party lines were set aside.
Meetings were held in all the leading cities, in which
the feelings of the public were expressed in very
vigorous language. There was an almost universal<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</SPAN></span>
demand for an immediate declaration of war against
Great Britain.</p>
<div class="figcenter2em" id="illo7"><ANTIMG src="images/illo7.jpg" width-obs="485"
height="818" alt="" title="" />
<div class="caption">
<span class="smcap">He was just fairly stowed away when Haines came.</span> Page 225.</div>
</div>
<p>Our government complained to the British government,
and the latter promptly replied by half apologizing
for the occurrence and declaring that the British
admiral had exceeded his orders. He was removed
from the command of the squadron in American
waters, ostensibly as a punishment for his conduct,
but not long afterwards he was given a similar command
on a more important station. Captain Humphreys
of the Leopard was also removed, and the
British government appropriated a sum of money for
the families of those who had been killed on board
the Chesapeake.</p>
<p>Always after this the Chesapeake seems to have
been an unlucky ship. When the war broke out
she went on an extensive cruise; she left Boston
toward the close of February, 1813, passed the Canary
and Cape Verde Islands, crossed the Equator, and
cruised for six weeks in the South Atlantic Ocean.
She then went to the coast of South America, sailed
through the West Indies, and up the coast of the
United States to Boston again. During all that long
cruise she met only three ships-of-war, and captured
only four merchant ships. When she was going into
Boston Harbor in a gale she lost a topmast, and several
men, who were aloft at the time, went overboard with<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</SPAN></span>
it and were drowned. After she came back to Boston
Captain Lawrence was assigned to command her. He
accepted with great reluctance, on account of her
"unlucky" reputation, not because he had any superstitions
on that account, but because it was impossible
to infuse into the crew the spirit that promises success.</p>
<p>The Chesapeake was refitted for sea, and while she
was refitting, the British man-of-war Shannon appeared
off Boston. She carried thirty-eight guns, the same
as the Chesapeake, and on the first of June, Captain
Broke, who commanded her, sent a challenge to Captain
Lawrence, asking him to meet the Shannon, ship
to ship, and try the fortunes of their respective flags.
He offered to send all other ships beyond the power of
interference, and to meet the Chesapeake at any point
which Captain Lawrence might name within certain
limits.</p>
<p>The challenge reached Boston after the Chesapeake
had sailed, and the letter was placed in the hands
of Commodore Bainbridge, who commanded the station.
When the Chesapeake got outside, the Shannon was
seen lying off Boston Lighthouse under easy sail,
with all colors displayed. Captain Lawrence understood
this as a challenge, and when the pilot boat
which was sent out to reconnoiter returned with
the assurance that the Shannon was alone, he determined
to accept it.</p>
<hr class="chap" />
<p class="p6"><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</SPAN></span></p>
<div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />