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with his left hand, and with his right brought a small pistol to bear upon his antagonist, and fired through his pocket, and killed him. During this struggle, one of the Tripolitans behind Decatur aimed a blow at his head with a sabre; an American seaman, who had been so badly wounded as to lose the use of both hands, rushed between the uplifted sabre and his commander's head, and received the blow upon his own head, which fractured his skull. The generous sailor survived, and his self-devotion was afterwards rewarded by the Government.

Decatur secured both his prizes, and received the highest commendation from Commodore Preble, who on retiring from the command of the squadron, gave him the command of the Constitution. From which ship he was removed to the Congress, and on the conclusion of peace with Tripoli, returned home.

At this time, his gallantry and success had rendered him a favorite officer with his countrymen. He superseded Commodore Barron as commander of the Chesapeake, and was afterwards removed to the frigate United States.

In the war which followed with Great Britain, his skill and intrepidity were again conspicuous. On the 25th October, 1812, the United States fell in with and captured the Macedonian, of fortynine guns, considered one of the finest ships of her class in the British navy. The battle lasted an hour and a half. The United States received but little damage in her hull and rigging, and had but six killed and seven wounded. The Macedonian lost her mizzenmast, fore and main top-masts, and main-yard, and was much battered in the hull. Her loss was thirty-six killed, and sixtyeight wounded.

The reception of Captain Carden on board of the United States was highly honorable to Decatur, evincing a chivalrous and delicate courtesy. When Captain Carden presented his sword, Decatur declined receiving it, observing that he could not think of taking the sword of an officer who had defended his ship so gallantly, but he should be glad to take him by the hand.

Decatur escorted his prize into the harbor of New York, where she was repaired and equipped as an American frigate. The name of the gallant victor was hailed with enthusiastic admiration throughout the country; and Congress, and several of the State

Legislatures, and the principal cities of the Union, testified their high sense of his services by votes of thanks and costly presents.

In 1813, he tried to get to sea with the United States, the Macedonian, and the Hornet, through Long Island Sound; but was forced to run into the mouth of the Thames, in Connecticut, by a squadron of British ships, of much superior force. He lay off New London several months, without any opportunity of going

to sea.

Decatur could not bear to be thus cooped up within sight of the ocean without using every expedient in his power to relieve himself. He sent a challenge to the commander of the blockading squadron, Sir Thomas M. Hardy, offering to meet two British frigates with the United States and Macedonian; but the invitation was not accepted.

At length the two frigates were dismantled, and Decatur returned to New York, where he took command of a squadron destined for the East Indies; and having appointed a rendezvous for the other ships, he put to sea, in the frigate President, on the 14th of January, 1815.

Owing to some mistake of the pilot, the ship in going out grounded on the bar, and continued to strike heavily for an hour and a half, which greatly retarded her sailing. The next morning the British squadron were discovered in pursuit, consisting of the Majestic razee, the Endymion, Tenedos, and Pomona frigates, and a brig. It was soon apparent that the Endymion was the fastest ship. Decatur, always rich in resources, projected a plan of escape in accordance with the daring of his character, in which, had he succeeded, he would have reached the summit of naval renown. His design was to lead the Endymion as far as possible from her consorts; board her with all his crew, who were in readiness at a moment's warning; abandon or destroy the President, and then escape; but the project was defeated by the caution of his antagonist, who suspecting the ruse avoided it, and preserved the advantage of his position so long as Decatur kept his course. Confident of his ability to throw the Endymion out of the combat before the other ships could come to her assistance, Decatur changed his course and made battle. He completely crippled his adversary's ship, and silenced her battery. He then pursued his course

as before. By this time the other ships had opened their fire upon the President. To escape was out of the question, to fight the squadron with his single ship with a view to conquest was hopeless, and an unjustifiable waste of the lives of his men; he therefore surrendered to the commander of the squadron. The British have endeavored to make it appear that the President surrendered to the Endymion; it was not so. There were intervals of minutes in which she did not fire a gun before the President left her, nor did she fire a gun when the latter changed her course and might have been raked.

Decatur soon after returned home, and was at once employed on his favorite element.

The Algerines, influenced, as was supposed, by British agents, but more probably by the hope of plunder, had taken advantage of our war with Great Britain to capture some of our merchantmen, and enslave their crews. That war having ended, a squadron was sent to the Mediterranean, under command of Commodore Decatur. He captured an Algerine frigate of forty-nine guns after a short action-in which the celebrated Rais Hammida was killed,—and a brig of twenty-two guns. He arrived before Algiers on the 22d of June, 1815, and at once demanded a treaty. His terms were stated, with all possible brevity, to be a relinquishment of all annual tribute or ransom for prisoners; property taken from Americans to be restored, or paid for; all enslaved Americans to be released; and no American ever again to be held as a slave. The relinquishment of tribute was the most difficult point to settle, as it was contended that it might be used as a precedent by the European powers, and prove destructive to the Dey. "Even a little powder," said the Algerine negotiator, "might prove satisfactory." "If,” replied Decatur, "you insist upon receiving powder as tribute, you must expect to receive balls with it." In forty-eight hours the treaty was negotiated, giving to Americans privileges and immunities never before granted by a Barbary state to a Christian power. He then proceeded to Tunis and Tripoli, and obtained redress by similar summary process, and returned home in the autumn of the same year. He was subsequently appointed one of the Board of Navy Commissioners, and

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resided in the city of Washington, at Kalorama, formerly the seat of Joel Barlow.

We now come to the last act of Commodore Decatur's life-the result of which was his untimely death-with painful emotions. In October, 1819, a correspondence was commenced between Commodore Barron and Decatur in relation to expressions said to have been used by the latter disrespectful to the former. Decatur promptly denied having used the language stated, but left the inference open that he had not been particular to conceal his opinions, which were not very favorable to the former commander of the Chesapeake. As is generally the case in such controversies, the difficulties became less likely to be adjusted the more they were discussed. The correspondence, on the part of Decatur, was remarkable for its keen sarcasm and severity, beyond the bounds of justification, either by his position or the letters of Commodore Barron. Both the parties reprobated duelling, and yet the controversy ended-as such a bitter controversy could only end-in a duel. They met at Bladensburg, on the morning of the 22d of March, 1820. At the first fire both were wounded,-Decatur mortally, Barron dangerously. Commodore Decatur was conveyed to Washington to his distracted wife, and died the same evening. His remains were attended to the vault at Kalorama, in which they were deposited, by a great part of the male population of Washington and the adjacent country, by nearly all the officers of Government, members of Congress, and representatives of foreign governments resident there.

Thus Decatur, in the prime of life, in the enjoyment of his country's highest regard and confidence, a husband, on whom the cherished object of his love was entirely dependent, threw away his valuable life in what is misnamed an "affair of honor," and added one more to the list of victims of a barbarous code, which few of his profession have had the moral courage to resist.

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JOSEPH DENNIE.

JOSEPH DENNIE, was born at Lexington, Massachusetts, August 30th, 1768. He graduated at Harvard College, in 1790, studied law with Benjamin West, at Charlestown, New Hampshire, and opened an office at Walpole, New Hampshire. He made one attempt at the Bar, and met with so decided a failure that he never repeated the effort. For a short period, he read prayers at Dartmouth. He then turned his exclusive attention to literature, and in 1795, published a weekly paper, in Boston, called "The Tablet;" and at Walpole, "The Farmers' Museum," to which he contributed essays of some celebrity, entitled "The Lay Preacher;" also "The Farrago," "Simon Spunkey," "The Hermit," &c. &c.

While connected with "The Museum," Mr. Dennie gathered around him one of the most brilliant corps of writers ever congregated to advance the fortunes of a similar undertaking in America. He was the centre of a brilliant literary circle, having a ready pen, always at command. Such men as John Quincy Adams, Francis Hopkinson, and the elder William Meredith, were the intimates of of Mr. Dennie.

Mr. Timothy Pickering, when Secretary of State, having appointed him one of his clerks, Mr. Dennie removed to Philadelphia, in 1799.

On his patron's retiring from office, in 1800, Mr. Dennie commenced, with his bookseller, Mr. Asbury Dickens, the publication of "The Portfolio," which he continued to edit until his death.

The high literary reputation of Mr. Dennie, together with his agreeable person and captivating manners, made him a general favorite, and soon brought "The Portfolio" into favorable notice, and he was aided by some of the finest scholars of Philadelphia, who contributed liberally to its pages.

Although possessed of genius, taste, a fine style, a fund of lite rary knowledge, together with colloquial powers and other interesting qualities, he was deficient in industry and discretion, de

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