Every Man Will Do His Duty (69 page)

I told him in reply that I had considered it one, but was bound to believe Captain Hillyar, if he said it was not. I added that, however it might be intended, I should always consider it a challenge, whenever he chose to send away the
Cherub,
and perform a similar maneuver—and, under that impression, act precisely as I had done before. Again the officer assured me of the mistake; adding that Captain Hillyar was a religious man, and did not approve of sending challenges.

I shall now close this part of my narrative by laying before my readers two certificates, one from the only officer now alive who was present at the foregoing conversation between Lt. Ingraham and myself. I would appeal to the candour of Lt. Ingraham himself had he not been killed in the subsequent action.

“On Sunday the 27th February, 1814, at 5
P.M
. the
Phoebe
ran close in with the harbour, hoisted an English ensign, bearing the motto, “God and our country; British sailors’ best rights; traitors offend them;” and fired a gun to windward. The sloop of war was about two and a half miles to leeward. The
Essex
immediately got
under way, hoisted a flag bearing the motto, “God, our country, and liberty; tyrants offend them;” and fired a gun to windward. The
Phoebe
hove to, until the
Essex
was within gun-shot, when she bore up and ran down for the sloop. Two shot were fired across her bows to bring her to, but without effect. After chasing her as far as was prudent, Captain Porter observed that their conduct was cowardly and dishonourable and returned into port, where we came to anchor.

(Signed)

JOHN DOWNES,

WM. ODENHEIM,

EDWARD BARNWELL,

RICHARD K. HOFFMAN,

JOHN K. SHAW,

M. W. BARTOWE,

ALEXR. MONTGOMERY,

GEO. W. ISAACS,

S. L. DUZENBERY.

“On the 10th of March, 1814, Lt. Ingraham, first of the
Phoebe,
came on board the
Essex,
under a flag of truce, having a letter from Commodore Hillyar to Captain Porter. Lt. Ingraham informed Captain Porter that Commodore Hillyar had heard Captain P. had called him a coward for running away from the
Essex
and begged to know if it was the case. Captain Porter informed him that, considering the circumstance of the challenge and the conduct of the
Phoebe
in bearing up, he believed any thing he could have said on the occasion justifiable. Lt. Ingraham assured Captain Porter that no challenge was intended and that the gun was fired by accident. Captain P. said he supposed it to be a challenge at the time and had accepted it; and that he should accept another if given by the
Phoebe
; observing, “it cannot be expected that I would take upon myself the responsibility of challenging a 36-gun frigate, with a frigate of 32 guns; as my country would censure me should I prove unsuccessful; but the difference of force will not prevent my accepting a challenge given by Captain Hillyar.

The
Phoebe
and
Cherub,
ever after, kept close together, and showed a determination of not risking an action unless they could both engage the
Essex.”

(Signed) JOHN DOWNES.

These are the most important circumstances which preceded the capture of the
Essex,
in the bay of Valparaiso; the particulars of which are related in the following letter to the secretary of the Navy:

COPY OF A LETTER FROM CAPTAIN PORTER TO THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY.

Essex Junior,
July 3d, 1814, at sea.

Sir,

1 have done myself the honour to address you, repeatedly, since I left the Delaware; but have scarcely a hope that one of my letters has reached you, and therefore, consider it necessary to give you a brief history of my proceedings since that period.

I sailed from the Delaware on the 27th of October, 1812, and repaired, with all diligence (agreeably to the instructions of Commodore Bainbridge
¹
), to Port Praya, Fernando de Noronho, and Cape Frio, arriving at each place on the day appointed to meet him. On my passage from Port Praya to Fernando de Noronho, I captured his Britannic majesty’s packet
Nocton—
and after taking out about eleven thousand pounds sterling in specie, sent her under command of Lieutenant Finch for America. I cruised off Rio de Janeiro, and about Cape Frio, until the 12th January, 1813, hearing frequently of the commodore by vessels from Bahia. I here captured one schooner with hides and tallow; I sent her into Rio. The
Montague,
the admiral’s ship, being in pursuit of me, my provisions now getting short, and finding it necessary to look out for a supply to enable me to meet the commodore by the first of April, off St. Helena, I proceeded to the island of St. Catherine’s (the last place of rendezvous on the coast of Brazil) as the most likely to supply my wants, and, at the same time, afford me that intelligence necessary to enable me to elude the British ships of war on the coast, and expected there. I here could procure only wood, water, and rum, and a few bags of flour; and hearing of the commodore’s action with the
Java,
the capture of the
Hornet
by the
Montague,
and of a considerable augmentation of the British force on the coast, several being in pursuit of me, I found it necessary to get to sea as soon as possible. I now, agreeably to the commodore’s plan, stretched to the southward, scouring the coast as far as Rio de la Plata. I heard that Buenos Ayres was in a state of starvation and could not supply our wants; and that the government of Montevideo was very inimical to us. The commodore’s instructions now left it completely discretionary with me what course to pursue, and I determined on following that which had not only met his approbation, but the approbation of the then secretary of the Navy. I accordingly shaped my course for the Pacific; and after suffering greatly from short allowance of provisions, and heavy gales off Cape Horn, (for which my ship and men were ill provided) I arrived at Valparaiso on the 14th of March, 1813.I here took in as much jerked beef and other provisions as my ship would conveniently stow and ran down
the coast of Chili and Peru. In this track I fell in with a Peruvian corsair, which had on board twenty-four Americans as prisoners, the crews of two whale ships, which she had taken on the coast of Chili. The captain informed me that, as allies of Great Britain, they would capture all they should meet with in expectation of a war between Spain and the United States. I consequently threw all his guns and ammunition into the sea, liberated the Americans, and wrote a respectful letter to the viceroy, explaining the cause of my proceedings, which I delivered to her Captain. I then proceeded for Lima and recaptured one of the vessels as she was entering the port. From thence I shaped my course for the Gallipagos islands, where I cruised from the 17th April until the 3d October, 1813. During this time I touched only once on the coast of America, which was for the purpose of procuring a supply of fresh water, as none is to be found among those islands, which are perhaps the most barren and desolate of any known.

While among this group, I captured the following British ships, employed chiefly in the spermaceti whale fishery, viz:

LETTERS OF MARQUE.

As some of those ships were captured by boats, and others by prizes, my officers and men had several opportunities of showing their gallantry.

The
Rose
and
Charlton
were given up to the prisoners: the
Hector, Catharine,
and
Montezuma.
I sent to Valparaiso, where they were laid up. The
Policy, Georgiana,
and
New Zealander
I sent for America; the
Greenwich
I
kept as a store ship, to contain the stores of my other prizes, necessary for us; and the
Atlantic,
now called the
Essex Junior, I
equipped with twenty guns, and gave the command of her to Lieutenant Downes.

Lieutenant Downes had convoyed the prizes to Valparaiso, and on his return, brought letters, informing me that a squadron under the command of Commodore lames Hillyar, consisting of the frigate
Phoebe
of thirty-six guns, had sailed on the 6th July for this sea.—The
Racoon
and
Cherub
had been seeking me for some time on the coast of Brazil, and on their return from their cruise, joined the squadron sent in search of me to the Pacific. My ship, as it may be supposed, after being near a year at sea, required some repairs to put her in a state to meet them, which I determined to do, and bring them to action, if I could meet them on nearly equal terms. I proceeded, now, in company with the remainder of my prizes, to the island of Nooaheevah, or
Madison’s
island, lying in the
Washington
group, discovered by a Captain Ingraham of Boston. Here I caulked and completely overhauled my ship, made for her a new set of water casks, her old ones being entirely decayed, and took on board from my prizes, provisions and stores for upwards of four months, and sailed for the coast of Chili on the 12th December, 1813. Previous to sailing, I secured the
Seringapatam, Greenwich,
and
Sir Andrew Hammond,
under the guns of a battery, which I had erected for their protection. After taking possession of this fine island for the United States and establishing the most friendly intercourse with the natives, I left them under charge of Lieutenant Gamble of the Marines, with twenty-one men, with orders to repair to Valparaiso after a certain period.

I arrived on the coast of Chili on the 12th January, 1814; looked into Conception and Valparaiso, found at both places only three English vessels, and learned that the squadron which sailed from Rio de Janeiro for that sea had not been heard of since their departure, and were supposed to be lost in endeavouring to double Cape Horn.

I had completely broken up the British navigation in the Pacific; the vessels which had not been captured by me, were laid up, and dared not venture out. I had afforded the most ample protection to our own vessels, which were, on my arrival, very numerous and unprotected.—The valuable whale fishery there, is entirely destroyed, and the actual injury we have done them may be estimated at two and a half millions of dollars, independent of the expenses of the vessels in search of me. They have supplied me amply with sails, cordage, cables, anchors, provisions, medicines, and stores of every description—and the slops on board them have furnished clothing for the seamen. We had, in fact, lived on the enemy since I had been in that sea; every prize having proved a well found store ship for me. I had not yet been under the necessity of drawing bills on the department for any object, and had been enabled to make considerable advances to my officers and crew on account of pay.

For the unexampled time we had kept the sea, my crew had continued remarkably healthy; I had but one case of the scurvy, and had lost only the following men by death, viz:
—

John S. Cowan, lieutenant,

Robert Miller, surgeon,

Levi Holmes,
[ordinary]
seaman,

Edward Sweeny, do.

Samuel Groce, seaman,

James Spafford, gunner’s mate,

Benjamin Geers, qr gunner

John Rodgers, qr gunner

Andrew Mahan, corporal of marines,

Lewis Price, private marine.

I had done all the injury that could be done to the British commerce in the Pacific, and still hoped to signalize my cruise by something more splendid before leaving that sea. I thought it not improbable that Commodore Hillyar might have kept his arrival secret, and believing that he would seek me at Valparaiso, as the most likely place to find me, I determined to cruise about that place, and should I fail of meeting him, hoped to be compensated by the capture of some merchant ships, said to be expected from England.

The
Phoebe,
agreeably to my expectations, came to seek me at Valparaiso, where I was anchored with the
Essex,
my armed prize the
Essex Junior,
under the command of Lieutenant Downes, on the look-out off the harbour. But, contrary to the course I thought he would pursue, Commodore Hillyar brought with him the
Cherub
sloop of war, mounting twenty-eight guns, eighteen thirty-two pound carronades, eight twenty-fours, and two long nines on the quarter deck and forecastle, and a complement of a hundred and eighty men. The force of the
Phoebe
is as follows: thirty long eighteen-pounders, sixteen thirty-two pound carronades, one howitzer, and six three-pounders in the tops, in all fifty-three guns, and a complement of three hundred and twenty men; making a force of eighty-one guns and five hundred men—in addition to which, they took on board the crew of an English letter of marque lying in port. Both ships had picked crews, and were sent into the Pacific in company with the
Racoon
of twenty-two guns, and a store-ship of twenty guns, for the express purpose of seeking the
Essex,
and were prepared with flags bearing the motto, “God and country; British sailors’ best rights; traitors offend both.” This was intended as a reply to my motto, “
Free trade and sailors’ best rights,
” under the erroneous impression that my crew were chiefly Englishmen, or to counteract its effect on their own crews.—The force of the
Essex
was forty-six
guns, forty thirty-two pound carronades, and six long twelves, and her crew, which had been much reduced by prizes, amounted only to two hundred and fifty-five men. The
Essex Junior,
which was intended chiefly as a store-ship, mounted twenty guns, ten eighteen-pound carronades, and ten short sixes, with only sixty men on board. In reply to their motto, I wrote at my mizen—“
God, our Country, and Liberty; tyrants offend them.”