Table Of Content-
H STORY
I
OF TUB
SECOND WAR
BETWEEN THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
AND
G E E A T B R I T A I X,
DECLARED BY
ACT OF CONGRESS, THE ISth OF JUNE, 1812,
AND CONCLUDED BY PE.\CE, THE loth OF FEBRUARY, 1815.
BY
CHARLES INGERSOLL.
J.
SECOXD SERIES.—VOL. L
EMBRACING THE EVENTS OF ISU AND 1S15. ^ •
PHILADELPHIA:
iN^'
.
LIPPINCOTT, GRAMEO
& CO.
1852.
EntcrcJ, accoruing to Act ofCunsi-ess, In thejear 185:i, by
LIPPIIsCOTT, Gi'.AMDO & CO.,
UiO Clerk's Office of tlic District Court of the United States, in and
iur the Eastern District ofPennsylvania.
nUEuTYl'ED liV J. FACIW. AXI) P. 0. COI.I.IXS, PMNTEKS.
^A
—
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER
I.
— —
NAVAL HOSTILITIES PRn^\TEEKS DARTMOOR PRISON.
— —
Sloops ofwarWasp, Frolic, Peacock Frigate Esses HerCruise and Cap-
— —
ture Decat—urtaken in theFrigate Pre—sident Last Action o—fthe Frigate
Constitution Capture ofthe—Penguin Chase oftheHornet Privateer—s,
their Numbers and Cruises Prize Law establis—hed by Judge Story
American Privateers and British —Navy compared Privateers Prin—ce of
Neufchatel, Captain Ordronneaux The Chasseur, Captain Boyle His
— — —
Blockade Proclamation Privateer Discipline British Complaints Pri-
— —
vateer construction Baltimore Clippers PrivateerGeneral Armstrong—
British Brig of war St. —Lawrence captured by the Privateer Chasseur
Letters taken on board American Naval Force at Seawhen Peacewas
— —
declared American and British Captures during the War Dartmoor
Massacre Page 9
CHAPTER
II.
HISTORY OF WAR LAW,
— — — —
WarLaw C—ommon Law—No .Jury in Admiralty—International Law Th—e
Exchange Prize Law Seizureby mere AVar Freedom of the Seas
— —
Supreme—Court of the Uni—ted States The Judg—es Attorney-Gener—al
Pinkney AdmiraltyDroits EuropeanPublicists SirWilliam Scott
— —
British Prize Law adopted Chief Justice Marshall dissenting Case of
— —
the Nereid Armed Neutrality of1780 and 1800 Free Ships make free
— — —
Goods —Judicial P—roceedings in Prize Cases Enemy's Licenses Ali—en
Enemies —Militia War—Law, as—administered in War wi—th Mexico
Blockade Contraband— Search Free Ships, free Goods Respect of
Propertyand Eeligion Martial Lawas administered.. 71
(5)
—
VI CONTENTS.
CHAPTER
III.
FRENCH CONSULAR REPUBLIC.
1709-1804.
—
Tendency of tlie French Revolution to Representative Government French
— —
inAmerica Reciprocal Influences ofAmerican and French Revolutions
Bonap—arte's Arriv—al from Egypt and irregular Election as Chief Magi—s-
trate Consulate His Personal Habits, Temper, Appearance, Manners
— — — — —
Temperance Economy Relig—ion Polit—ics Family LoB—titia Ramo-
lino, Mo—ther of the Bonapai-tes Ar—righi Ca—rdinal Fesc—h Elisa Bac-
chiochi Her—Daughter Camarata Paul—ine Caroline Achilles an—d
Lucien Mur—at Joseph's "Wife and Family Bon—aparte'sfirst Marria—ge
Josephi—ne Hort—ensiaand—EugeneB—eauharnois Lucien Bonaparte H—is
Family Louis J—erome Jose—ph Treaty with the —United States
Treaty of Amiens Cornwallis Consular Government War by Eng-
— — — — —
land Royalist Plots Count d'Artois Pichegreu Moreau George
— — —
Cadoudal Duke of Enghein His Execution End of the Republic and
beginning of the Empire 127
CHAPTER
IV.
FRENCH REPUBLICAN EMPIRE.
— —
1804 1815 1844.
—
The Consul Bonaparte elected EmperorNapoleon Reformed Royalty ofthe
— — —
Empire Universal SuflFrage Banishmentand Death of Moreau Empire
— —
distinguished, byJoseph, from Kingdom Republican France Battle of
—
Austerlitz and Peace of Presburg Mixrriages and Coronations of the Bo-
— —
napartes Thrones refused by Lucien, Louis, Eugene, and Charlotte
—
AcceptedbyJo—seph andJerome Detrime—nt of Bonaparte Fami—ly to Na-
poleon Dynasty Unprivileged Aristocracy Treaty ofPresburg Divorce
— — —
ofJosephine Espousal ofMaria Louisa Seizure ofSpain Inducements
— — — —
Bourbons Spanish War Its Atrocities and Results Emancipation
— — —
ofall SpanishAmerica Invasion ofRussia Napoleon'sReverses Fatal
— —
Tyranny Deserted byhis Creatures, and afraid of the People Maria
— —
Louisa andher Child's flightfrom Paris Captured at Blois Napoleon's
— — — —
Abdication Death—ofJosephine Sebas—tian! Pozzo di Bcrgo Nap—oleon's
Return fromElba Public Sentiment His dread of the People Their
— — — —
love of Him Second Abdication Banishment Surrender Transpor-
— — — —
tation Confinement Death Sovereigns' Letters Joseph inAmerica
— — —
La Fayette Duke of Reichstadt Joseph in England His Death in
—
Italy Representative Government 231
—
:
HISTORICAL SKETCH,
ETC.
CHAPTER
I.
— —
NAVAL HOSTILITIES PRIVATEEKS DARTMOOR PRISON.
— —
Sloops of w—ar Wasp, Frolic, Peacock Frigate Esse—x Her Cruise and
Capture Decatur t—aken in tlie Frigate Preside—nt Last i\ction of the
—Frigate Constitution Capture of tlie Penguin Cliase of the Hornet
Priv—ateers,tiieir numbersand Cruises—Prize Lawestablis—hed byJudge
Story American Privateers and British Navy compared Privateers
—
Prince of Neufchatel, Captain Ordronneaux The Ciiasseur, Captain
— — —
Boyle His Blockade Proclamation Privateer Discipline British com-
— — —
plaints Privateer construction Baltimore Clippers Privateer General
—
Armstrong British Brig of war St. Lawrence captured by the Privateer
— —
Chasseur Letters taken on board American Naval force at Sea when
—
Peacewas declared American and British Captures during the War
Dartmoor Massacre.
Of the seven naval engagemcnt.s in 1814, tlic Americans
gained four by confession of the English, and in ty,-o of the
other three, when overpowered by irresisti1)ly superior force,
improved their national character by unexampled fortitude
for the captures of the frigates Essex and President enhanced
the personal character of the van(|uishcd, and improved the
national character of their country. These disasters super-
added unquestionable evidence of pre-eminent fortitude under
discouraging circumstances to abundant preceding proofs that
Americans brave dangers with alacrity. Some people excel in
power of endurance, such as the English evinced at the battle
of Waterloo. Others excel in fierceness of assault, such as the
(9)
10 NAVAL HOSTILITIES.
Frcncli displayed there. But there is no record of a British
vessel enduring the terrible blows inflicted on the Essex and
the President before yielding, as I have been told by an Ame-
rican naval officer not given to vaunting. Men of all nations
fight gallantly, bravely, even desperately, as long as there is
anychanceor hope ofsuccess; but fewwill persevere inbraving
death, when defeat is unavoidable. The misfortunes of the
Essex and the President had that great alleviation. They es-
tablished the title of the American mariners to passive as well
as active courage in their highest attributes.
Sloops of war named the Wasp, and the Frolic, and the
Peacock, (after two of our English prizes, the Frolic and the
Peacock, and the Wasp, which was taken from us,) the new
vessels, each of about 500 tons, which is much smaller than
American sloops of war now, put to sea in 1814. The Frolic,
Captain Joseph Bainbridge, soon after she got to sea, was cap-
tured on the 20th ofApril, 1814, by the frigate Orpheus, Cap-
tain Pigot, without any contest except endeavoring to escape,
when the sloop threw most of her guns overboard. The Pea-
cock sailed from New York in March, 1814, under Captain
Louis Warrington, a gentleman understood to be the natural
son of Count Rochanibeau, wdio commanded the French army
which, united with Washington's, forced Cornwallis to sur-
render at Yorktown, and put an end to the war of the Revo-
lution. It was said too, that when CaptainWarrington made
his way to promotion and distinctio—n. Count Rochaml^eau sent
and offered to own him as his son; to which he made answer,
that having dishonored his mother, and deserted him vvhen he
needed protection. Captain Warrington had neither occasion
nor desire for Count Rochambeau's paternity. Besides four-
teen merchant vessels, taken during his cruising, Warrii:g-
ton captured, on the 29th of April, 1814, the brig of war
Spervier, Captain Wales, nearly, or quite equal in force to the
Peacock, but obliged to strike after an action in which the su-
periority of the American was made every way obvious. The
Epervier was sent into Savannah. The Peacock continued
the cruise till October, when she returned to New York.
Tlie AVasp, Captain Johnson Blakely, put to sea from
"
NAVAL HOSTILITIES. 11
Portsmouth, New Hampshire, about the first of May, 1814.
On the 2oth of June, 1814, after a very short, but on both
sides gaUant conflict, the Wasp took the brig of war Rein-
deer, Captain Manners, who was killed, with many of his
people, and his vessel burned to prevent re-capture. On
the 1st of September, 1814, the Wasp compelled the British
brig of war Avon, (of almost the same force), Captain Ar-
buthnot, to strike; but after she surrendered, and before Cap-
tainBlakelycouldtake possession ofhis prize,two otherBritish
vessels of war approached, and the Wasp was constrained to
stand on the defensive, so that the Avon escaped. The 21st
of September, 1814, when the Wasp captured a merchant brig
called Atalanta, and put Midshipman, now Captain Geisinger
onboardasprizemaster,whoarrivedwithhis prize at Savannah,
the 4th of November, is the last that was ever heard of the
Wasp,whoseloss,bywhatever means, after hergallant exploits,
was a subject ofuniversal national sorrow and anxious conjec-
ture. Americannavalvictories,with anythinglike equal force,
had bythat time become so common, that theywere invariable.
Dutch, at one period, asserted equality Avith English mariners,
and subsequently English undeniable superiority to French,
were neither of them ever so palpable as American superiority
to English. Every battle was an American victory, in Avhich
ascendanttheAmericanprivateersparticipated. In one ofthose
free conversations which O'Meara relates of the loquacious
Napoleon, too late convinced ofAmerican naval pro—wess, which
as Emperor he unwisely disregarded, he remarked
—
"'The sea isyours your seamen are as much superior to ours as the
Dutch wereonce toyours. I think,liowever,that the Americans arc better
seamen than yours, because they are less numerous.' I observed that the
Americans had a considerable number of English seamen in their service
who passed forAmericans, which was remarkable, as, independent of other
circumstances, the American discipline on board of men-of-war was much
more severe than ours; and, thatif the Americans hada large navy, tiiey
would find it impossible tohave so many ableseamen in each sliip as they
had atpresent. When Iobserved that the American discipline was more
severe than ours, hesmiled and said, 'that is hard to believe.'
The profaneremark ofanothergreat warrior, Frederick, that
Providence always sides with the strongest forces, was com-
12 NAVAL HOSTILITIES.
pletely and wonderfullydisproved by the American vessels, not
more than one to a hundred, defeating the British.
After Captain Porter's first cruise in the frigate Essex, he
brought her into the Delaware, where she lay in the stream oif
Chester, at which village his wife's father, William Anderson,
kept a tavern. lie was one of the members who represented
Pennsylvania in the House of Representatives of the United
States. Soonaftermyelectionwithhim to Congress,in October,
1812, some ofour party entertainedCaptain Porter at a dinner,
at his fiither-in-law's tavern in Chester, a few days before the
Essex sailed, the 27th or 28th of October, 1812, on her last
and memorable cruise, one of the most remarkable that naval
history registers. Porter was a small, slight, and rather ill-
favored New England man, of genius, nerve, and capacity for
heroic achievement. He avowedly hated the English marine
as heartily as it was possible for Admiral Lord Collingwood,
with racy but neither useless or perhaps censurable British pa-
triotism to hate the French; which detestation that mild and
excellent officer said he deemed his duty to his country. For
Porter, when a poor cabin-boy, had been seized by a British
press-gang, and resisted it unto death; made his escape, fugi-
tive and liable to be treated as a deserter; worked his passage
home as acommon sailor; and, like hundreds more of American
sea Hannibals, had sworn vengeance upon the altar offreedom
against the hateful lords of the ocean, with whom, as other
American naval officers, he longed for opportunity to prove
that they were able to cope. "Free trade and sailors' rights,"
the motto which he flung out from the mast-head of his little
frigate,Avas in his heart's core, and he was desperately resolved
to brand it on British shoulders. American seafaring hatred
of the English was then a pervading sentiment, when general
repugnance of Americans to English was neither unnatural
norbarbarous. Afteryears of outrageous hostilities, civilwars,
kindred conflicts, impressment by sea, conflagration and havoc
ashore, bloody indignities every where, contumelious English
habits and arrogant overbearing, Porter, Decatur, and other
naval officers, and Jackson and Brown in the army, were fired
with national animosity which helped exploit. Nor did the in-
NAVAL HOSTILITIES. 13
tense aversion ofbrave, liigli-tcmpered combatants prevent, but
on the contrary superinduced graceful and cordial amity with
former foes, as soon as the contest was ended and respect was
reciprocated. Ifthere is much to admire in the refinements of
antagonists in war, who adorn battle and carnage with chival-
rous observances of good-breeding, the savage fui'y with which
warriors are sometimes inflamed, sharpens vigilance, increases
energy, and doubles force. Americans and English quarrel
like brothers or lovers, with extreme bitterness ; but their re-
conciliations, individual and national, are therefore the more
cordial, and, it should be hoped, lasting.
"When he found the Atlantic coast of SouthAmerica unfruit-
ful of prizes and adventures. Porter resolved to seek them be-
yond Cape Horn in the Pacific, and in spite of storms, dangers,
and privations ofall sorts, hoist his flag among the whalers. It
Avas an adventure full of peril, whichnonebut a fearless seaman
could undertake with any chance of success. All the South
American states were in the interest of Britain. There was
nota portwherehecouldbe safefromthe mightyfoe he braved.
Yethe brokeup the Britishwhaletradeentirely, sothatwhaling
has been gradually becoming ever since almost an exclusive
American pursuit, until lately the conquest of California, with
its marvellous inducements, ensures the whole Pacific sea, and
eventually all its Asiatic borders, China, India, and Japan, to
American commercial enterprise. For near twelve months
after Porter sailed on that expedition, he was hardly heard of
at home, and then it was only through Jamaica, England, or
some other Englishplace,thathiscountrymen learned the enor-
mous havoc he was making on the enemy's Pacific trade. He
constituted a fleet of nine vessels out of the British whalers
he captured; manned, victualled, armed, refitted, and in every
way equipped his frigate and her consorts paid for all lie had
;
to buyout ofmore than halfa hundred thousand dollarsin coin
which he took in one of his prizes, and was for many months
the terror of our enemies, and protector ofAmerican interests
in those seas. Numerous ships of war were despatched from
many quarters, to arrest and subdue him; which Avould pro-
bably never have happened, had he not, sated with merely
14 NAVAL HOSTILITIES.
unresisting prizes, after sweeping the Pacific of mercliant-men,
gone in quest of a frigate of superior force, for the glory of
fighting her ; nor "when they at Last met, woukl he have been
van(piished but for Spanish complicity with British, shrinking
from tluit gallant and lofty defiance of all foes, theretofore not
onlythe boast and glory but the strength ofthe English navy.
If cither a neutral harbor had shielded him, or his conquerors
had fought him manfully, his marvellous cruise would have
closed, in all probability, by a brilliant victory.
Shortly before war was declared, President Madison sent
Joel R. Poinsett on a confidential mission through South Ame-
rica, to ascertain and report the state of things, and ofpublic
sentiment, in those Spanish colonial countries, Mr. Poinsett,
afterwards American Minister in INIexico, Secretary of War
duringMr. Van Buren's presidency, and for some time member
of Congress, was a South Carolinian, educated in England,
cnliglitcncd by extensive travel, well-informed, well-brod, and
Avarmly devoted to the republican development of the United
States. Notwithstanding many attachments formed in Eng-
land, like other Americans he was accused of enmity to Eng-
land, because in the protracted controversies provoking war
between that country and this, he espoused the cause of his
OAvn. lie Avrotc from Soutli America, advising government
that a frigate should be sent round Cape Horn, to show our
flag in those seas,where it was the general impression, as it was
also common elsewhere, that by the treaty acknowledging in-
dependence, the United States were not allowed to employ
large vessels ofwar. Therewere, moreover, Si^anish privateers
annoying our commerce. For these reasons Mr. Poinsett ad-
vised theemploymentofa frigate on the SouthAmerican coast.
But it was not by that advice that Captain Porter sailed round
Capo Horn and into the Pacific. His cruise was his own pro-
ject. From Mr. Poinsett, who was with him at Valpai'aiso, I
fimenabledtoaddsome particulars tothememorablecatastrophe
of Porter's capture, correctly described by Fenimore Cooiier in
his Naval History, and by others, V)ut with one mistake, as ]Mr.
Poinsettunderstood from Captain Hillyer. Withwhatevercold-
blooded tenacity he clung to disproportionate force to over-
