USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > New Bedford > History of New Bedford and its vicinity, 1620-1892 > Part 17
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The following will be appreciated by nautical readers :
"Port of Boston, October 11, 1813. Arrived, two-horse wagon Teazer. Capt. Hun- tington, three days from New Bedford, with cable and pig iron to the captain. Spoke on Saturday last, five leagues from New Bedford, in great distress, the wagon 'Pump,' Capt. Clark, two days out from Boston, bound for New Bedford. He had experienced considerable rough weather on the passage; got on the flats at Bridgewater, and after laying there, bowsprit under a few minutes, by the timely assistance of Capt. Gibbs, who was passing in a small craft, was enabled to proceed to Assawamsett Pond, where he was washing his bowsprit and horses, and repairing injuries done to his wagon. Oct. 10th, arrived, the regular packet wagons, Capts. Cole and Lyon, from Boston, with dry goods. Spoke several coasters on the road, all singing the popular ditty,
" Our march is on the turnpike road, Our home is at the Inn.' "
"Nov. 4th, 1813. Arrived and came to anchor at the head of Taber's wharf 3 square rigged Jeffersonian ships, (not gunboats) and one cartel lugger navigated by 4 oxen each; all from Dartmouth, laden with potatoes for a southern market. P. S. The cattle were chained to anchor to prevent their running away while the teams were un- loading."
"Nov. 23d, 1813. Arrived one 3-horse and two 4-horse wagons, 14 days from New York. Experienced much bad weather and rough roads. About 10 days out was
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HISTORY OF NEW BEDFORD.
boarded by a snow storm, but after a short detention was permitted to proceed-slowly. Same date, sailed one 3-horse and one 4-horse wagon, Stevens & Smith commanders, with cargoes of sperm candles."
The latter item suggests one of the lines of business pursued at this time. If tobacco, brandy and other articles of French manufacture could not be claimed as home productions, sperm candles surely could be so regarded. We fear that during this period there was a large amount of illegal business done in foreign goods. The Embargo Act, passed by Congress in December, 1813, placed still further restrictions upon the already ruined traffic of our port.
The constant presence of British cruisers and privateers along the en- tire coast had destroyed the ocean commerce and nearly all the coasting trade. It was left for the Embargo Act to give the finishing touch. Its enforcement practically closed the harbor to all seagoing craft. How thoroughly it was carried out is shown by the following incidents :
" A man in an open boat from one of the Elizabeth Islands, coming to market in this town, brought with him two bushels of corn to be ground, as there was no mill on the isl- and. The collector by force of the embargo refused to grant him permission to carry his meal home in his boat. A person from Falmouth in an open boat purchased in this town a small quantity of iron for the tire of a pair of wheels. Having put his iron on board of his boat, he was refused permission by the collector to proceed home until he should reland his iron. A person came in here in a boat with some oysters. Having sold his oysters, he purchased with the proceeds two slates, a hat and half of a cheese, but the collector refused to permit him to carry them home in his boat, and he was obliged to deposit them in this town and leave them."-N. B. Mercury.
173
THE PRIVATEERING FLEET.
CHAPTER XII.
WAR OF 1812 CONTINUED.
Privateering - New Bedford Harbor a Haven for Privateers and Prizes - The Yankee - Resolutions of the People Concerning Privateering - Defenceless Condi- tion of New Bedford, and the Consequences - Doings of the Nimrod - The Revenge- Retaliation - Bombardment of Falmouth -- Militia Defenders - Attitude of the Friends - False Alarms - The Attack of June 13, 1814 - Details of the Affair -- Fur- ther Depredations - More of the Nimrod - Opinions of William C. Bryant - A Sad Incident.
T HAT history repeats itself was demonstrated in the War of 1812, by the sudden development of that branch of warfare, "priva- teering," so successfully carried on during the American Revolution.
The English government well understood that privateering would play an important part in a contest with the United States. This ap- prehension was expressed in a London journal, the Statesman, before war was declared. It said : " America can not certainly pretend to wage a maritime war with us. She has no navy to do it with. But America has nearly a hundred thousand as good seamen as any in the world, all of whom would be actively employed against our trade on every part of the ocean, in their fast-sailing ships of war, many of which will be able to cope with our small cruisers, and they will be found to be sweeping the West Indian seas, and even carrying desola- tion into the chops of the Channel."
A most formidable fleet did plow the seas and captured more than 1,500 vessels during the war. There were 251 regularly commissioned privateers, beside a large number of private armed vessels, that pursued this business. Of the former, fifty-eight sailed from Baltimore, fifty- five from New York, forty from Salem, thirty-one from Boston, eleven from Portsmouth, N. H., and one from Fairhaven. This was the Gov- ernor Gerry, Capt. Joshua Hitch, and was owned by Hitch & Bradley. She was a schooner of sharp model, a fast sailer, and thoroughly equipped for the business. Her career was, however, of short duration.
174
HISTORY OF NEW BEDFORD.
After landing a cargo of silks and other valuable goods in some French port, she came out July 29, 1813, and ran directly into a fleet of British men-of-war. She was given chase and only surrendered after she had carried away all her spars. The favorable situation of our harbor made it again available as a rendezvous for the privateers, and during the war it was made a convenient port for recruiting and for running in the cap- tured prizes. Public auction sales of prize vessels and their cargoes were of frequent occurrence at the wharves on both sides of the river.
It is recorded that, in September, 1813, the Shaving Mill, generally called the Handsaw, had sailed for Boston on a cruise. Why this pri- vateer was called the Shaving Mill has not been ascertained. Her name was the Camelion. She was probably nicknamed the Handsaw from the fact that at a public gathering in Fairhaven one of her owners offered the following toast : "Our enemies-May they be lathered with aquafortis and shaved with a handsaw."
This vessel was built on the south shore of Oxford Point, just east of the present residence of Charles H. Gifford, the marine artist. Charles Eldredge gave the writer the following facts regarding it : The Shaving Mill was an open boat about forty feet long, with lateen sails, was a fast sailer, and was well provided with sweeps for rapid pulling. Water was carried in tiny casks that could be easily stowed ; strapped together in pairs, they were conveniently fitted to take ashore to be filled. The armament was one swivel bow chaser, and the crew were well armed. Messrs. George Whitfield and Francis Neil were among those who played the part of "jolly privateers " in this craft. Her operations were along shore within easy reach of safe harbors. It is said that when on the coast of Maine she was closely pursued one day by the enemy, the Shaving Mill was run ashore and the crew stranded in a cornfield. This story is given on the authority of Capt. George Neil, whose father was one of the sailors.
Arrivals and departures of privateers were occasional during 1813, and largely increased in 1814. February 25, 1814, the British brig Britannia, Skidmore prize-master, came into the port. She was one of the nine prizes captured by the privateer Mars, Captain Ingersoll, of New York. On March 12, the private armed schooner Viper, Cap- tain Dethenbade, dropped anchor in our harbor, having captured a few
175
THE "YANKEE."
days before, February 22, the British ship Victory, of London. On July 15, 1814, the privateer brig Yankee, Captain Snow, arrived at this port after a four months' cruise, having captured seven vessels. Among them was the Portuguese ship St. Jose Indiano, which had already come into our harbor. The Yankec had captured on May 14 the British ship Hugh Jones, with a valuable cargo of piece-goods and provisions. Ninety- five cases of articles were taken out and the vessel ordered into Savannah.
The Yankee was one of the most famous of the privateering fleet. She belonged in Bristol, R. I., and was owned by a Mr. D'Wolfe. Af- ter a single cruise of 150 days on the coast of Africa, she came home, after capturing eight prizes, with thirty-two bales of fine goods, six tons of ivory and $40,000 in gold dust. The total value of the cargo was $300,000.
The late Thomas Durfee gave the writer an interesting episode con- nected with this noted craft. He, with other boys, was attracted to the river front one Sunday morning to see this bold privateer as she lay off Taber's wharf. A tempting invitation to take a sail in the harbor was made to the boys by Officer Smith, who was in command, as Captain Snow had gone ashore. As was found out afterward, the crew had been discharged. Eagerly did the boys accept, Durfee among the rest, and the Yankee sailed down the bay. The lads gladly made themselves useful in the many ways suggested by Lieutenant Smith, his orders being transmitted to the fresh crew through Billy Haffords, one of their number, who had once been on a sea voyage. When off Round Hills, Lieutenant Smith discovered the British brig Nimrod looming in the distance, and for most excellent reasons he ordered about ship, and made a lively trip homeward. As they neared the wharf they were blandly informed by the lieutenant that but for this occurrence he in- tended to carry them to Bristol, from which place they would have to walk home to New Bedford. Mr. Durfee says the Yankee carried a 24-pounder midships and two carriage guns on either side, and was a formidable craft.
The prosecution of the privateering business and the free-handed use of this harbor in its interests brought with it a train of evils that created much alarm among the inhabitants. In September, 1813, a vessel ar-
176
HISTORY OF NEW BEDFORD.
rived in our harbor, was thoroughly recruited, and a crew shipped os- tensibly for a voyage to New Orleans. She was cleared September 26 and lay at anchor in the lower harbor, when it was ascertained that she was the French privateer Cleopatra, alias Bellona, with evil inten- tions toward American as well as towards English vessels. She showed her teeth by stopping the Rosetta, Captain Gibbs, of this port, as she came up the river. Pistol shots were fired at Captain Gibbs, and he was threatened with a broadside. The incident created great commotion in the town. When the crew had ascertained her real character, they re- belled and refused duty, and finally it resulted in their being put ashore at Newport. It is evident that the arrival of the noted privateer Yankee brought matters to a crisis, and was the immediate cause of the call for a town meeting that was held July 21, 1814 The action taken at this gathering of the people vividly portrays the serious condition of affairs, and the sentiments of the community regarding it.
" It was voted unanimously, as expressive of the sense of the inhabitants of this town, that inasmuch as we have uniformly disapproved of the unpolitic, unnecessary and ruinous war in which the United States are engaged, we have considered it our duty to abstain, and have scrupulously abstained from all interest and concern in sending out private armed vessels to harass the commerce of the enemy, and from voluntary acts which appeared to us to have a tendency to prolong the duration, encourage the pros- ecution, or increase the ravages of the 'unprofitable contest'; that we have seen with disapprobation several private armed vessels, belonging to other ports taking shel- ter in our peaceful waters, and regret that we have not the authority of law wholly to exclude them from our harbor, where they serve to increase our dangers, and to excite tumult, disorder, riot and confusion.
"Voted, unanimously, as expressive of the sense of the town, that private armed vessels, while cruising in various climates, and visiting ships and vessels from every country, are extremely liable to contract and receive on board infectious diseases, and that in all such cases there is reason to suspect that such vessels and the persons, bag- gage, clothing and goods on board may be infected with some contagious distemper.
" Voted, unanimously, as expressive of the sense of the inhabitants of this town, that the safety of the inhabitants thereof requires that any private armed vessel or vessels which shall arrive or be bound into the harbor of New Bedford, from any port or place, shall be required to perform quarantine during a term of not less than forty days; and that the Selectmen and Health Committee of the town be requested to cause all such vessels to perform quarantine at such places as they shall appoint and under such re- strictions and regulations as they may judge expedient.
"Voted. That the privateer called the Yankee, now in this port to be ordered by the Selectmen immediately to quarantine ground, to be designated by them, for forty days.
177
PERILOUS CONDITION OF NEW ENGLAND.
" Voted. That the town will indemnify the Selectmen from all harm which may ac- crue to them in the execution of their duties in enforcing the quarantine laws as well in regard to the Yankee privateer as all other vessels.
" Voted. That the following persons be a Committee of Safety, whose business it will be to advise and direct in measures that may hest secure the peace and safety of the town in case of an invasion by an enemy : Roger Haskell, William Hathaway, Roland R. Crocker, Lemuel Williams, jr., Lewis Ludlam, Samuel Perry, Francis Rotch, James Washburn, Jolın A Parker, Cornelius Grinnell."
Changes in the condition of affairs in Continental Europe, during the year 1814, set free a number of naval and other vessels in the English service, and their attention was quickly turned toward the United States. Our New England coast swarmed with British frigates, gun brigs and privateers. The seaboard towns and villages were in a help- less condition, for the general government had withdrawn all means of defence, the troops being engaged in the invasion of Canada. What aggravated still more the perilous condition of New England was the fact that the United States authorities had withdrawn all supplies from the militia, on which she had to depend for her own defence. A supply of ammunition was refused Fort Phoenix, July 8. The reader may judge that these were alarming times for our town, for during the year 1814 a thousand troops were stationed along our shores, five hun- dred arriving on September 25 and 26 from the northern part of the county. The presence of such an armed force indicated that the serious apprehensions occasioned by the presence of such a fleet of armed cruis- ers were weil founded. How New Bedford was directly affected will be seen in the many captures made of her vessels.
On July 8 twenty Cape Cod boats, loaded with corn and flour from New York, sought refuge in our harbor. July 13 schooner Night Hawk of Apponagansett was captured by barges from the English frigate Superb. The American privateer Ultor, Capt. Lane, came into Fair- haven for repairs ; when she cleared, she took among her crew several Fairhaven men, among them Mr. Tripp Taber. When off Watch Hill, July 19, an attempt was made by two barges belonging to the frigate Superb to board the Ultor. No answer being given to their hail, the Ultor fired a brisk volley of musketry at them. This reception seemed to be a surprise, for the larger barge, with thirty men, made a quick retreat, and the other was captured with ten men. It was found
23
178
HISTORY OF NEW BEDFORD.
that one of their number, a midshipman, had been killed. His body was taken into Stonington and buried. On July 20 schooner Maria, Capt. Hillman, was taken by British privateer Saratoga, and released. August 23 two barges and a launch from the British frigate Pomona came up the bay and captured a sloop just out of Dartmouth.
The two gunboats and an armed smack went down to encounter the enemy, and it is recorded that the gunboats actually fired several shots. It is the only statement found where they did practical service. It should be said that they did patrol duty in the night in the harbor, their barges constantly moving about and boarding any craft that attempted to come up the river. September 15 sloop Chauncey, Capt Howland, was taken in Long Island Sound. A passenger, Griffith Barney, jr., was made prisoner and sent to Melville prison at Halifax. October I sloop Rover, Capt. Reynard, was captured by British schooner Whiting. October 28 she took the sloop Philadelphia ; and on the same day schooner Fair Trader, Capt. Allen, was captured by British privateers Liverpool Packet and Rolla, off Narragansett beach. December 28 brig Mary, Capt. George Hitch, was captured four hours after leaving port. January 6, 1815, sloop New York, Capt. Clark, of Fairhaven, was taken off Newport by British brig Despatch. March 3 British brig Flying Fish arrived in our harbor a prize to American privateer David Porter. She had $100,000 of cargo of dry goods, hardware, and spices. March 29 the schooner Russell, Capt. Vibbert, arrived ninety-six days from Canton, with full cargo of teas, silk, etc. March I she was chased for twelve hours by a frigate and brig, but by throwing over- board her guns she easily outsailed them. When off Gayhead she spoke the Spanish brig Virgin Mary, thirteen days from Matanzas, and was informed that peace was declared. Her safe arrival caused much rejoic- ing in the town, for the Russell was built here, and this was her first voyage. Her cargo was of great value, and her capture would have been a serious loss.
While the English naval and privateering vessels inflicted serious damage on our coasting trade, as has been illustrated by the accounts given of captures of vessels coming and going from this port (and the list is not by any means complete), it remained for the British brig Nim- rod, Captain Mitchell, to be the reigning terror to New Bedford and the
179
DEPREDATIONS OF THE " NIMROD."
whole southeastern coast. So connected were her operations with neighboring harbors, that it is necessary to include in this account much that is not local in character. The Nimrod mounted sixteen 34-pound- ers, two long nines, and one 18-pounder, and was a most formidable vessel for her day.
The Nimrod made her appearance off our coast in 1813. The first record we find of her work is December 6, when the schooner Hitta Franklin arrived in this harbor. On the Sunday night previous, at two o'clock, she was captured off Tarpaulin Cove by the Nimrod. Her commander, Captain Mitchell, proposed a ransom, which Captain Kelley assured him was out of his power. The schooner was delayed for some time and finally released with the loss of her anchor, cable, and other articles. Captain Kelley and his crew were treated with great kindness by Captain Mitchell. At this time the Nimrod had in her toils the ship Chili of Nantucket, from the South Sea, with 1,240 barrels of oil. On Sunday evening, while off Gayhead, five boats full of men undertook to recapture her, but a fire of musketry from the ship led them to abandon this plucky attempt. April 5, 1814, sloop Sally Hallet was captured by the Nimrod. June 3 a Swedish brig, the Caro- lus Magnus, sailed from this port, was boarded in the bay by the Namn- rod and ordered back. The 74-gun frigate Superb and the gun brig Recruit were, in connection with the Nimrod, making things lively all along the coast.
Saturday, June 6, several gentlemen belonging to this town made an excursion to the islands in Pilot boat No. I. If the day's outing had proved to be one of great enjoyment to this company of pleasure-seek- ers, and it is fair to suppose it had, their fun soon ended, for on their re- turn they were captured by a barge from the Nimrod, carrying twenty- two men and propelled by eighteen oars. After being detained some time, they all, with the exception of Captains Simeon Price and Ste- phen Potter, were released and probably put ashore at Woods Hole, for the pilot boat was seen there at anchor several days after the capture. She was finally given up to Captains Price and Potter, and they brought into our port the crew of a Spanish brig that had been seized by the Nimrod for attempting to enter Newport harbor after being warned off by the blockading squadron. August 5 the Nimrod captured sloop
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HISTORY OF NEW BEDFORD.
Eagle, Captain Stowell, off Point Judith, and on the 6th took five open boats off Watch Hill. One of these belonged to Jonathan Card, of Fair- haven. September 4 she captured schooner Maria, with a cargo of salt fish; and September 10, off Point Judith, she took four boats, all belong- ing to this port.
The ship Harmony, an East Indiaman of Philadelphia, cleared from this port some time in 1814. On one of her voyages she was hotly chased by the Nimrod into the bay. Hugging the shore closely, care- fully directed by the pilot, William Slocum, of Nashawena, the Harmony was brought safely along and succeeded in deceiving the Nimrod, which went ashore high and dry on the rocks off Round Hills. Hon. Weston Howland says that this exciting affair was witnessed by his brother, Hon. Abraham H. Howland, the first mayor of our city, then a mere lad. He and the others were in the observatory on School street at the time, eagerly watching the race, and when the Nimrod grounded, the glad news was greeted with a round of cheers. " I saw the Harmony," said Thomas Durfee, " when she sailed up to Rotch's wharf, and her sails were perforated with cannon shot. She was taken above the bridge and moored in the stream. Among the articles in her cargo was a lot of skins, which were taken to Boston in the sloop Boston, Capt. Philip Mosher; and I remember that when she cleared it was in a driving snow storm."
Another capture made by the Nimrod, January 3, 1815, of the schooner Horison, Captain Potter, is on record. George H. Taber re lates an interesting fact in the Nimrod's history. In 1840 he was mate of ship Samuel Robertson of this port, and when in Mobile Bay he saw this famous vessel taking in a cargo of cotton. She was still under the British flag.
Among the privateers that played an important part on our coast during these troublesome times was one that originally sailed from Sa- lem under the Yankee flag. The Revenge (for that was her name) was captured and turned into a British privateer under the significant name of Retaliation. Her cruising ground was along Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Long Island. Early in October, 1813, she captured seven or eight boats belonging to Cape Cod. The owners of these craft or- ganized an expedition consisting of three boats and twenty armed men,
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THE " RETALIATION" AFFAIR.
and went in search. On the afternoon of October 16 they discovered two of their boats and twelve or fourteen men on the shore at Naushon, who were making preparations to spend the night. On the approach of the Cape Cod boats the privateersmen took to the woods. Two of them were captured, however, and also some loaded muskets, pistols, and swords, which had been left in the boats. The prisoners were taken to Falmouth and thence to Boston. The Retaliation soon came to grief as a Britisher and again sailed the ocean under American colors. This is how it came about.
On the evening of October 22 the schooner Clementine, from Den- nis, arrived in this harbor. The day before, when near Woods Hole, she was boarded by a boat with five armed men from the Retaliation, who ordered the captain and his crew of five sailors to "pick up their duds and go ashore." While pretending to obey this command they were watching their chances, and when the favorable moment arrived they each seized a man and in a twinkle the confident victors found themselves prisoners. The next day the Clementine came up the bay and delivered the prisoners to the commandant at Fort Phoenix. These events did not escape the attention of the people along the Falmouth shore, and it soon came to their knowledge that the Retaliation was lying at Tarpaulin Cove with but twelve men on board. This was an opportunity not to be disregarded, and no time was lost in organizing an expedition to capture her. A force of fifty men from Falmouth, under the command of Capt. Weston Jenkins, soon sailed for Tarpaulin Cove, where they found the privateer Retalia- tion at anchor. Placing his volunteers below decks, out of sight, and with but one man and himself on deck, Captain Jenkins approached the enemy and dropped anchor some distance from her. A boat with the captain and six men soon put off from the Retaliation. In answer to inquiries made, Captain Jenkins replied that he was from Nantucket. They came quickly alongside, calculating that the vessel would be an easy capture. At the signal given by Captain Jenkins the men tum- bled up from below and made prisoners of the astonished privateers- men. Taking possession of the Retaliation, they sailed for Falmouth.
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