| PAGE | |
| Chapter I. When Porter Swept the Pacific | [1] |
| The Story of the Second Cruise of the Famous Little Frigate Essex—Around Cape Horn and Alone in the Broad South Sea—Capture of a Peruvian Picaroon—Disguising the Essex—The British Whaling Fleet Taken by Surprise—An Armed Whaler Transformed into a Yankee Cruiser—The Sailorman’s Paradise among the Nukahiva Group—When Farragut was a Midshipman—An Incipient Mutiny among the Sailors who Wanted to Remain among the Islands—Farragut as a Captain at Twelve. | |
| Chapter II. Porter’s Gallant Action At Valparaiso | [24] |
| A Generous Reception for a Predatory British Frigate—Hillyar’s Lucky Escape—Hillyar’s Explicit Orders—When the Essex had Lost her Top-mast the Phœbe and the Cherub Attacked the Yankee in Neutral Water—It was a Two-to-one Fight and the Enemy had Long Guns to our Short—The British had to Get Beyond the Range of the Essex—Magnificent Bravery of the Yankee Crew when under the Fire of the Long Range British Guns—The Essex on Fire—Fought to the Last Gasp—Porter’s Interrupted Voyage Home—The Men who were Left at Nukahiva in Sorry Straits at Last. | |
| Chapter III. Tales of the Yankee Corvettes | [54] |
| A Little Lop-sided Frigate Rebuilt into a Superior Sloop-of-war—Overland (almost) to Escape the Blockade—Her Luck as a Cruiser—A Marvellous Race with a British Frigate over a Course Four Hundred Miles Long—Saved by a Squall—Cornered in the Penobscot—The Gallant Fight of the Yankee Crew against Overwhelming Numbers—Building a New Navy—The Short-lived Portsmouth Corvette Frolic—One Broadside was Enough—Captured by the Enemy—Swift and Deadly Work of the Crew of the Yankee Peacock when they Met the Epervier—Distinctly a Lucky Ship—Fate of the Siren After the Coffin Floated. | |
| Chapter IV. Mystery of the Last Wasp | [80] |
| A Typical New England Yankee Crew—Youthful Haymakers and Wood-choppers—Sea-sick for a Week—From Flails to Cutlasses, from Pitchforks to Boarding-pikes, from a Night-watch at a Deer-lick to a Night Battle with the British—After British Commerce in British In-shore Waters—Met by the British Sloop-of-war Reindeer—Magnificent Pluck of the British Captain with a Crew that was “The Pride of Plymouth”—Shot to Pieces in Eighteen Minutes—A Liner that could not Catch her—Wonderful Night Battle with the Avon—Shooting Men from the Enemy’s Tops as Raccoons are Shot from Tree-tops—The Enemy’s Water-line Located by Drifting Foam—Not Captured but Destroyed—The Mystery. | |
| Chapter V. On the Upper Lakes in 1814 | [105] |
| An Expedition into Lake Huron—The British had the Best of it in the End—Gallant Action of a British Commander at the Head of the Niagara River—Cautious Captain Chauncey as a Knight of the Whip-saw, Adze, and Maul—His Equally Prudent Opponent—British Torpedoes that Failed—When a Thousand Men Supported by Seven Ships Armed with One Hundred and Twenty-one Cannon “with Great Gallantry” Routed Three Hundred Yankees at Oswego—Supplies the British did not Get—A Naval Flotilla Caught in Big Sandy Creek—Chauncey Afloat on the Lake—Gallant Young American Officers—Line-of-battle Ships that were Never Launched. | |
| Chapter VI. To Defend the Northern Gateway | [132] |
| Character of the Red-coated Invaders—“Shamed the Most Ferocious Barbarians of Antiquity”—Work of the Youthful Yankee Lieutenant Macdonough to Stay the Tide on Lake Champlain—Ship-building at Otter Creek—A British Attempt against the New Vessels Repulsed—The British Ship-builders at Isle-Aux-Noix—A Comparison of Forces Before the Battle—Macdonough’s Foresight in Choosing the Battle-ground—Macdonough as a Seaman. | |
| Chapter VII. Macdonough’s Victory on Lake Champlain | [151] |
| Thousands Gathered on the Hill-tops Overlooking the Scene—The British Chose to Make a Long-range Fight—Influence of the First British Broadside on a Sporting Rooster—Macdonough’s First Shot—A Reeling Blow from the Enemy’s Flagship—Fighting against Tremendous Odds—Too Hot for One Yankee Ship—The Saratoga’s Guns Dismounted—The Swarming British Gun-boats—“Winding Ship” when Defeat Impended—The British Failure when Imitating the Movement—The Stubborn Bravery of a British Captain—When the Firing Ceased and the Smoke Drifted down the Gale—A Measure of the Relative Efficiency of the two Forces—Two Yankee Squadron Victories Compared—A Stirring Tale of Macdonough’s Youth—Reward for the Victors—Results of the Victory. | |
| Chapter VIII. Samuel C. Reid of the General Armstrong | [186] |
| Story of the Desperate Defence of America’s Most Famous Privateer—She was Lying in Neutral Water when Four Hundred Picked British Seamen in Boats that were Armed with Cannon came to Take her by Night—Although she had but Ninety Men, and there was Time to Fire but One Round from her Guns, the Attack was Repelled with Frightful Slaughter—Scuttled when a British Ship came to Attack her—The Cunning Omissions and Deliberate Misstatements of the British Historians Examined in Detail—The Honorable Career of Captain Reid in After Life—A Picked Crew of British Seamen After the Neufchâtel—A Three-to-one Fight where the Yankees Won—Other Brave Militiamen of the Sea. | |
| Chapter IX. A Yankee Frigate Taken by the Enemy | [209] |
| They Completely Mobbed “The Waggon” and so Got her at Last—The First Naval Contest After the Treaty of Peace was Signed—The President, when Running the Blockade at New York, Grounded on the Bar, and, although she Pounded Over, she Fell in with the Squadron—A British Frigate Thoroughly Whipped, but Two more Overtook her—A Point on Naval Architecture—A Treaty that Humiliates the Patriot. | |
| Chapter X. The Navy at the Battle of New Orleans | [229] |
| The British Grab at the Valley of the Mississippi—Stopped at Lake Borgne by the Yankee Gun-boats under Lieutenant Thomas Ap Catesby Jones—The British Came Five to One in Numbers and Almost Four to One in Weight of Metal—Defending the Seahorse with Fourteen Men against One Hundred and Seventy-five—The Full British Force Driven upon Two Gun-boats—A Most Heroic Defence that Lasted, in Spite of Overwhelming Odds, more than One Hour—Indomitable Sailing-master George Ulrich—A Fight, the Memory of which still Helps to Preserve the Peace—Work of the Caroline and the Louisiana. | |
| Chapter XI. Once More the Constitution | [241] |
| She was a Long Time Idle in Port—A Touching Tale of Sentiment—Away at Last—Captain Stewart’s Presentiment—Found Two of the Enemy as he had Predicted—A Battle where the Yankee Showed Mastery of the Seaman’s Art—Captain Stewart Settled a Dispute—Caught Napping in Porto Praya—Swift Work Getting to Sea—A Most Remarkable Chase—Three British Frigates in Chase of Two Yankee Chose to Follow the Smaller when the Two Split Tacks—Astounding Exhibit of Bad Marksmanship—A Cause of Suicide—The Poem that Saved Old Ironsides. | |
| Chapter XII. In the Wastes of the South Atlantic | [270] |
| The Story of a Battle—The Hornet and the Penguin in the Shadows of Tristan d’Acunha—As Fair a Match as is Known to Naval Annals—It Took the Yankees Ten Minutes to Dismantle the Enemy and Five more to Riddle his Hull—The British Captain’s Forceful Description of the Yankee Fire—A Marvellous Escape from a Liner—The Peacock in the Straits of Sunda—When the Lonely Situation of this Sloop is Considered did Warrington Show a Lack of Humanity?—If he Did, What did the British Captain Bartholomew Show? | |
| Chapter XIII. In British Prisons | [288] |
| A Typical Story of the Life of an American Seaman who was Impressed in 1810 and Allowed to Become a Prisoner when War was Declared—Luck in Escaping a Flogging—Letters to his Father Destroyed—British Regard for the Man’s Rights when the American Government Took up the Case—A Narragansett Indian Impressed—To Dartmoor Prison—Mustered Naked Men in the Snows of Winter and Kept them in Rooms where Buckets of Water Froze Solid—Murder of Prisoners Six Weeks After it was Officially Known that the Treaty of Peace had been Ratified—Notable Self-restraint of the Americans—Smoothed Over with a Disavowal. | |
| Chapter XIV. Stories of the Duellists | [305] |
| Traditions of Personal Combats that Illustrate, in a Way, a Part of the Life Led by the Old Time Naval Officers—When an Englishman did not Get “a Yankee for Breakfast”—They were Offended by the Names of the Yankee Ships—Somers was Able to Prove that he was not Devoid of Courage—The Fate of Decatur, the Most Famous of the Navy’s Duellists. | |
| Chapter XV. Among the West India Pirates | [324] |
| A Breed of Cowardly Cutthroats Legitimately Descended from the Licensed Privateers and Nourished under the Peculiar Conditions of Climate, Geography, and Governmental Anarchy Prevailing Around and in the Caribbean Sea—Commodore Perry Loses his Life Because of them—William Howard Allen Killed—Pirate Caves with the Bones of Dead in them—Porto Rico Treachery—The Unfortunate Foxardo Affair—Making the Coasts of Sumatra and Africa Safe for American Traders. | |
| Chapter XVI. Decatur and the Barbary Pirates | [339] |
| Supposing the British would Sweep the American Navy from the Seas during the War of 1812, the Dey of Algiers went Cruising for Yankee Ships, and Got One, while Tunis and Tripoli Gave up to the British the Prizes that a Yankee Privateer had Made—The Algerian was Humbled After he had Lost Two War-ships, and the others Made Peace on the Yankees’ Terms without the Firing of a Gun—Bravery of the Pirate Admiral and his Crew. | |
| Chapter XVII. Led a Hard Life and Got Few Thanks | [359] |
| Work that Naval Men have had to Do in Out-of-the-way Parts of the World in Times of Peace—Chasing Slavers on the African Coast when Slave-owners Ruled the Yankee Nation—The American Flag a Shield for an Infamous Traffic—Capture of the Martha and the Chatsworth—Teaching Malayans to Fear the Flag—Stories of Piratical Assaults on Yankee Traders, and the Navy’s Part in the Matter—A Chinese Assault on the American Flag—“Blood is Thicker than Water”—A Medal Well Earned by a Warlike Display in Time of Peace. | |
| Chapter XVIII. In the War with Mexico | [387] |
| Thomas Ap Catesby Jones, the Hero of Lake Borgne, Struck the First Blow of the War—Operations along the Pacific Coast that Insured the Acquisition of California—Stockton and “Pathfinder” Frémont Operate Together—Wild Horses as Weapons of Offence—The Somers Overturned while Chasing a Blockade Runner—Josiah Tattnall Before Vera Cruz—When Santa Anna Landed—The Yankee Sailors in a Shore Battery—The Hard Fate of One of the Bravest American Officers. | |
| Chapter XIX. Expedition in Aid of Commerce | [434] |
| Commodore Matthew C. Perry and the First American Treaty with Japan—An Exhibition of Power and Dignity that Won the Respect of a Nation that had been Justified in its Contempt for Civilized Greed—Services of Naval Officers that are not Well Known and have never been Fully Appreciated by the Nation. | |
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
| PAGE | |
| Chasing a Slaver off the African Coast. (From a photograph, in the possession of Mr. Edward Trenchard, of the painting by Melbye), [Frontispiece.] | |
| Map Showing Captain Porter’s Cruise in the Pacific, 1813, | [5] |
| John Downes. (From an oil-painting at the Naval Academy, Annapolis), | [11] |
| The Essex and her Prizes at Nukahiva in the Marquesas Islands. (From an engraving by Strickland of a drawing by Captain Porter), | [17] |
| Map of the Harbor in which the Essex and her Prizes lay. (After a drawing by Captain Porter), | [20] |
| A Marquesan War-canoe. (From an engraving by Strickland of a drawing by Captain Porter), | [22] |
| Fight of the Essex with the Phœbe and Cherub. (From an engraving by Strickland of a drawing by Captain Porter), | [37] |
| A Marquesan “Chief Warrior.” (From an engraving by Strickland of a drawing by Captain Porter), | [51] |
| United States Razee Independence at Anchor. (From the “Kedge Anchor”), | [56] |
| Charles Morris. (From a photograph owned by Mr. C. B. Hall), | [57] |
| United States Ship-of-war Columbus at Anchor. (From the “Kedge Anchor”), | [63] |
| Lewis Warrington. (From an engraving by Gimbrede of the painting by Jarvis), | [67] |
| Diagram of the Peacock-Epervier Battle, | [68] |
| The Peacock and the Epervier. (From a wood-cut in the “Naval Monument”), | [69] |
| The Peacock and the Epervier. (From an engraving by Strickland of a drawing by Birch), | [73] |
| Medal Awarded to Lewis Warrington after the Capture of the Epervier by the Peacock, | [77] |
| Johnston Blakeley. (From an engraving by Gimbrede), | [82] |
| The Wasp and Reindeer. (From a wood-cut in the “Naval Monument”), | [87] |
| Medal Awarded to Johnston Blakeley after the Capture of the Reindeer by the Wasp, | [90] |
| The Wasp and Avon. (From a wood-cut in the “Naval Monument”), | [94] |
| Diagram of the Wasp-Avon Battle, | [96] |
| Scene of Naval Operations on Lake Huron, 1814, | [108] |
| The Attack on Fort Oswego, Lake Ontario, May 6, 1814. (From an engraving, published in 1815, by R. Havel, after a drawing of Lieutenant Hewett, Royal Marines), | [118–119] |
| One of the Unlaunched Lake Vessels. (From a photograph), | [130] |
| Near Skenesborough on Lake Champlain. (From an old engraving in the collection of Mr. W. C. Crane), | [133] |
| Thomas Macdonough. (From an engraving by Forrest of the portrait by Jarvis), | [140] |
| Major-general Alexander Macomb. (From an engraving by Longacre of the portrait by Sully), | [146] |
| The Battle of Lake Champlain. (From an old wood-cut), | [155] |
| The Battle of Plattsburg. (From an old wood-cut), | [157] |
| Macdonough’s Victory on Lake Champlain. (From an engraving in the “Naval Monument”), | [159] |
| Battle of Lake Champlain, 1814, | [162] |
| The Battle of Plattsburg. (From an engraving of the picture by Chappel), | [167] |
| Macdonough’s Victory on Lake Champlain. (From an engraving by Tanner of the painting by Reinagle), | [171] |
| Medal Awarded to Thomas Macdonough after his Victory on Lake Champlain, | [182] |
| Stephen Cassin’s Medal, | [183] |
| The General Armstrong at Fayal, | [191] |
| Fight Between the Brig Chasseur and the Schooner St. Lawrence off Havana, February 26, 1815. (From a lithograph in Coggeshall’s “Privateers”), | [205] |
| Commodore Stephen Decatur, | [213] |
| The President Engaging the Endymion, while Pursued by the British Squadron. (From a wood-cut in the “Naval Monument”), | [219] |
| Capture of the President by a British Squadron. (From a rare lithograph), | [223] |
| Sir Edward Michael Packenham. (From an etching by Rosenthal of a print in the collection of Mr. Clarence S. Bement), | [231] |
| Map Showing Mouths of the Mississippi River, | [234] |
| Charles Stewart. (From a painting by Sully, at the Naval Academy, Annapolis), | [243] |
| The Constitution’s Escape from the Tenedos and Junon. (From an old wood-cut), | [244] |
| Diagram of the Battle of the Constitution with the Cyane and Levant, | [249] |
| Action of the Constitution with the Cyane and Levant. (From an aquatint by Strickland), | [253] |
| Medal Awarded to Charles Stewart after the Battle of the Constitution with the Cyane and Levant, | [258] |
| Charles Stewart (and the Battle of the Constitution with the Cyane and Levant). (From a lithograph at the Naval Academy, Annapolis), | [263] |
| The Hornet and Penguin. (From an old wood-cut), | [274] |
| The Hornet and Penguin. (From a wood-cut in the “Naval Monument”), | [277] |
| Medal Awarded to James Biddle for the Capture of the Penguin by the Hornet, | [280] |
| The Hornet’s Escape from the Cornwallis. (From a wood-cut in the “Naval Monument”), | [283] |
| Dartmoor Prison. (From a wood-cut of a contemporary engraving), | [294] |
| Dartmoor Prison. (From an old broadside, with notes by one of the prisoners), | [297] |
| Dartmoor Prisoners of 1812. (From a copy of a daguerreotype at the Naval Academy, Annapolis), | [301] |
| United States Sloop-of-war Albany Under Sail. (From the “Kedge Anchor”), | [328] |
| A Ship-of-war’s Cutter. (From the “Kedge Anchor”), | [330] |
| Lashing up Hammocks. (From the “Kedge Anchor”), | [332] |
| A Ship-of-war’s Launch. (From the “Kedge Anchor”), | [334] |
| Sailor’s Mess-table. (From the “Kedge Anchor”), | [337] |
| A Typical Barbary Corsair. (From an engraving by Newton after a drawing by J. Charnock), | [342] |
| Decatur’s Squadron at Anchor off the City of Algiers, June 30, 1815. (From an engraving by Monger and Jocelin), | [349] |
| Decatur and the Algerian, | [352] |
| Return of Bainbridge’s Squadron from the Mediterranean in 1815. (From an engraving by Leney of a drawing by M. Corné), | [356] |
| The Action at Quallah Battoo, February 6, 1832. (From an aquatint by Smith of a drawing made on board the Potomac in the offing), | [371] |
| Bombardment of Muckie and Landing of a Force to Burn the Town. (From an engraving by Osborne in “The Flagship,” published, 1840, by D. Appleton & Co.), | [377] |
| “Blood is Thicker than Water.”—Josiah Tattnall Going to the Assistance of the English Gun-boats at Peiho River. (From a painting, by a Chinese artist, owned by Mr. Edward Trenchard), | [383] |
| Scene of Naval Operations on the Pacific Coast, | [389] |
| John B. Montgomery. (From a photograph), | [392] |
| R. F. Stockton. (From an engraving by Hall of a painting on ivory by Newton, 1840), | [393] |
| Perry’s Expedition Crossing the Bar at the Mouth of the Tabasco River. (From a lithograph designed and drawn on stone by Lieutenant H. Walke, U. S. N.), | [395] |
| The Naval Expedition Under Commodore Perry Ascending the Tabasco River at the Devil’s Bend. (From a lithograph designed and drawn on stone by Lieutenant H. Walke, U. S. N.), | [399] |
| S. F. Dupont. (From a photograph), | [402] |
| The Tabasco Expedition Attacked by the Mexicans from the Chapparal. (From a lithograph designed and drawn on stone by Lieutenant H. Walke, U. S. N.), | [403] |
| Scene of Naval Operations in Gulf of Mexico, | [406] |
| Landing of Perry’s Expedition Against Tabasco. (From a lithograph designed and drawn on stone by Lieutenant H. Walke, U. S. N.), | [407] |
| Commodore Perry’s Expedition Taking Possession of Tuspan. (From a lithograph of a drawing by Lieutenant H. Walke, U. S. N.), | [411] |
| Matthew Calbraith Perry. (From an oil-painting at the Naval Academy, Annapolis), | [414] |
| Capture of Tabasco by Perry’s Expedition. (From a lithograph designed and drawn on stone by Lieutenant H. Walke, U. S. N.), | [415] |
| Brig-of-war Like the Somers Under Full Sail. (From the “Kedge Anchor”), | [419] |
| The Mississippi Going to the Relief of the Hunter in a Storm off Vera Cruz. (From a lithograph designed and drawn on stone by Lieutenant H. Walke, U. S. N.), | [421] |
| Naval Bombardment of Vera Cruz, March, 1847. (From a lithograph published in 1847 by N. Currier), | [425] |
| The United States Naval Battery During the Bombardment of Vera Cruz on the 24th and 25th of March, 1847. (From a lithograph designed and drawn on stone by Lieutenant H. Walke, U. S. N.), | [429] |
| The Battle of Vera Cruz.—Night Scene. (From an engraving by Thompson of a drawing by Billings), | [431] |
| The Mississippi in a Cyclone on her Japan Cruise. (From a wood-cut in Perry’s “Narrative” of this trip), | [440] |
| The Mississippi at Jamestown, St. Helena. (From a lithograph in Perry’s “Narrative”), | [441] |
| View of Uraga. Yeddo Bay. (From a lithograph in Perry’s “Narrative”), | [445] |
| A Japanese Junk. (From a lithograph in Perry’s “Narrative”), | [448] |
| Commodore Perry’s First Landing at Gorahama. (From a lithograph in Perry’s “Narrative ”), | [451] |
| Commodore Perry Delivering the President’s Letter to the Japanese Representatives. (From a lithograph in Perry’s “Narrative”), | [453] |
| A Japanese Fish-present. (From a wood-cut in Perry’s “Narrative”), | [456] |
| The Imperial Barge at Yokohama. (From a wood-cut in Perry’s “Narrative”), | [457] |
| The Final Page of the First Treaty with Japan. (From a facsimile of the original), | [458] |
| Commodore Perry Meeting the Imperial Commissioners at Yokohama. (From a lithograph in Perry’s “Narrative”), | [459] |
| Japanese Wrestlers at Yokohama. (From a lithograph in Perry’s “Narrative”), | [461] |
| Commodore’s Pennant, 1812–1860. (From a pennant at the Naval Institute, Annapolis), | [464] |
| The United States Brig Porpoise in a Squall. (From a picture drawn and engraved by W. J. Bennett, in 1844), | [465] |
| The United States Frigate Hudson Returning from a Cruise, with a Fair Wind. (From a picture drawn and engraved by W. J. Bennett), | [467] |
THE HISTORY OF OUR NAVY
CHAPTER I
WHEN PORTER SWEPT THE PACIFIC
THE STORY OF THE SECOND CRUISE OF THE FAMOUS LITTLE FRIGATE ESSEX—AROUND CAPE HORN AND ALONE IN THE BROAD SOUTH SEA—CAPTURE OF A PERUVIAN PICAROON—DISGUISING THE ESSEX—THE BRITISH WHALING FLEET TAKEN BY SURPRISE—AN ARMED WHALER TRANSFORMED INTO A YANKEE CRUISER—THE SAILORMAN’S PARADISE AMONG THE NUKAHIVA GROUP—WHEN FARRAGUT WAS A MIDSHIPMAN—AN INCIPIENT MUTINY AMONG THE SAILORS WHO WANTED TO REMAIN AMONG THE ISLANDS—FARRAGUT AS A CAPTAIN AT TWELVE.
Of great renown in the annals of the American Navy is the name of Porter, for the deeds of Captain David Porter with the little frigate Essex fill a large space in the story of the War of 1812; while those of David D. Porter, the son of Captain David Porter, during the Civil War, of which the story will be told farther on, raised him to the highest rank.
The second cruise of the Essex began on October 28, 1812, when she sailed from the Delaware bound across the ocean to Port Praya, Cape de Verde, to meet the Constitution and the Hornet and join in a cruise against British commerce in the far East. Her luck in winds having made the passage longer than anticipated, she arrived after the Constitution and Hornet had sailed for Brazil. Having replenished his stores at Port Praya, Captain Porter stood away toward the coast of Africa from Port Praya in order to deceive the people as to his destination, and then ran away toward the island of Fernando de Noronha, where he expected once more to meet his consorts. This passage was without event until December 11, 1812, when at 2 o’clock in the afternoon a sail was seen to windward. Thereat the British signals captured from the Alert in the first cruise were displayed, but they failed to bring the stranger, which was soon seen to be a large brig, toward the Essex. So Porter stood up toward the brig, and by nightfall was near enough to see that she was flying British colors; and a little later she displayed night-signals. When Porter was seen to be unable to answer these, the crew of the brig crowded on all sail and manœuvred with skill to escape, but at 9 o’clock at night the Essex was alongside, and after a volley of musketry from the Yankee, the brig struck. She proved to be the British packet, Nocton, of ten guns and thirty-one men. Her cargo included $55,000 in coin. The coin was taken out and the brig sent toward home under a prize-crew of seventeen men, but she was recaptured by the swift-sailing Belvidera when near Bermuda.
The Essex reached Fernando de Noronha on December 14th, and there found a letter from Commodore Bainbridge. As this port was frequented by British men-of-war this letter was signed with the name of the captain of a British ship, the Acasta—Bainbridge having caused the Brazilian authorities of the island to believe that the Constitution and the Hornet were the Acasta and the Morgiana—and directed Porter to pose as Sir James Yeo, of the Southampton, on reaching the island. Because of this diplomacy—because Porter took a letter which Bainbridge had written to him under the name of Sir James Yeo—British writers have said he was guilty of conduct unbecoming to a gentleman and officer!
The letter was double; there was one letter in common ink that meant very little, and on the back of this was another in lime-juice that directed Porter to meet the Constitution and Hornet off Cape Frio.