USA > Rhode Island > Providence County > Providence > State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations at the end of the century : a history, Volume 1 > Part 67
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In addition to the Rhode Island vessels mentioned, there were ordered in August, 1775, two large row-gallies for sixty men each; these were built and named the Washington and the Spitfire. The former was afterwards given a schooner rig. She was commanded by Capt. Joseph Mauran, while Capt. Isaae Tyler was assigned to the Spitfire. The Washington was destroyed by the enemy as shown in the following :
"In Couneil of War, July 15th, 1777.
"The galley Washington being destroyed by the enemy, in their late exeursion to Warren, whereby Capt. Joseph Mauran who had the command of her, it put out of business, and the state having no armed vessel to put in pay for the present; it is therefore resolved that the said Joseph Mauran, be dismissed from the serviee of this state; and he is hereby recommended as a good and faithful sea offieer, to all the friends of the United American States. Signed by order of the Council of War, "WM. CODDINGTON, Clerk."1
The arrival of the French fleet in 1778 and the planning of Sul- livan's expedition which was to co-operate with the fleet in an attaek upon the British in Newport and the bay, raised confident expectations through New England; but these were destined to fail of realization, for the fleet was broken up in the great storm of that season and de- parted in a disabled condition for Boston. Newport was finally evaeuated by the enemy on the 27th of October, 1779, and the in- habitants returned and began rebuilding their shattered fortunes. On July 10, 1780, another Freneh fleet arrived in Newport harbor, glad- dening every heart in Rhode Island; it consisted of forty-four sail, with an army of six thousand men, under Count de Rochambeau, and the town was protected from further devastation. The principal events of the elosing years of the Revolution took place on land.
'Spirit of "76 in Rhode Island, Cowell, p. 158.
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It will have been inferred from the preceding pages relating to the career of Esek Hopkins, that privateering was rampant during a large part of the Revolutionary period; and Rhode Island, true to her well known instincts and interests, sent out her bold and active craft by the score to prey upon the enemy. Prizes and rich cargoes came in to enrich the inhabitants, and it is to the discredit of the State that many of the influential men more diligently strove to bring fortunes to themselves by engaging in this privateering business than they did to aid the government at a time when the country needed unselfish patriotism. There is a striking contrast between the acts of such men of Rhode Island and those of other men in other colonies at this crisis.
The naval operations in the war of 1812-15 were entirely without the State, but one of the officers of the United States navy from Rhode Island obtained a victory on the water of such a bold, hazardous and successful character as to give him imperishable fame and add lustre to the history of the State.
When the political horizon began again to darken and British encroachments upon the rights of American vessels were becoming frequent and insolent, Providence had entered upon an era of pros- perity and Newport was beginning to recover from her prostration caused by the Revolution. Again the defenseless situation of this town excited grave alarm, and the authorities sent a memorial to the general government calling attention to their need of protection. Not long after war was declared a British fleet was stationed a short dis- tance below the island, and on one occasion made a demonstration indicating a determination to enter the harbor. The local military was mustered and defensive preparations made, but the vessels finally stood off to their station. The neighboring farmers were compelled to supply the enemy with provisions and the fishing boats to sell them their fish, keeping the inhabitants in a state of anxiety and alarm.
After the close of the Revolution the navy was long neglected ; but when trouble arose over the Algerian situation Congress appropriated, at Washington's suggestion, the sum of $700,000 and a small navy was begun. With the early settlement of those difficulties, work was sus- pended in 1795. The folly of this course was soon to be demonstrated by the conduct of the old enemy, and the construction of war vessels was renewed. Before the close of 1797 the Constitution, forty-four guns, the Constellation, thirty-eight guns, and the United States, forty- four guns, were ready for sea.
Early in this war it was seen that supremacy on Lakes Ontario and Erie would be an important factor in the struggle. There were a number of merchant vessels on the lakes, the purchase of which by the government and their armament was undertaken. To prevent this and capture these craft the enemy began active operations. On the 12th of August, 1812, Isaac Chauncey, an experienced seaman, was
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commissioned commander-in-chief on the lakes, and under his direction a squadron of six schooners was gathered at Sackett's Harbor. There were also two already in service and the Madison, twenty-four guns, was built at that place. On the 6th of December of that year the British man-of-war Macedonian, which had been captured after a bloody engagement by the frigate United States under Capt. Stephen Decatur, was brought into Newport harbor and the wounded landed at Coaster's Harbor and placed in hospital. The other vessels of the American navy began and continued a series of brilliant exploits on the sea, the success of which caused consternation to the enemy and exultation throughout this country.
Early in 1813 Oliver Hazard Perry,1 a young officer of Newport, then in command of a flotilla of gunboats, was called to command a fleet on Lake Eric, which at that time had no existence. Taking with him a number of ship carpenters, he proceeded to Presque Isle (now Erie), where he built and gathered a fleet of nine small vessels. Be- sides himself Perry had with him eight officers and eleven petty officers and seamen from Newport. Perry met Chauncey at Albany, N. Y., and together they went in a sleigh through the wilderness to Sackett's Harbor. Perry arrived at Presque Isle in March, and with all pos- sible dispatch built four vessels and five others were taken from Black Rock, near Buffalo, where they had been altered from merchantmen. Early in May the three smaller vessels were launched, and on the 24th
1Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry was born August 23, 1785. The house now standing upon the site of the old manor house was built by Com. Perry after the battle of Lake Erie, of which a photograph is here given. At that time the homestead was sadly out of repair, and it was taken down and replaced by the present gambrel roofed house which was intended to be occupied by "any of the family who should come there for hunting or fishing." Much of the lumber of the old house was used in the present structure and in repairing the old barn near the house. The estate is now owned by Mrs. George Tiffany of New York, a niece of Commodore Perry.
Oliver Hazard Perry was a son of Christopher Raymond and Sarah Alex- ander Perry. In the paternal line his first ancestor in this country was Edward Perry, a Quaker preacher, who came from Devonshire, England, and settled in Sandwich, Massachusetts. After his death his children came to Rhode Island. Two sons, Samuel and Benjamin, settled in South Kingstown, and Oliver was a descendant of Benjamin. His mother, Sarah Wallace Alex- ander, was a direct descendant of Sir William Wallace, the Scottish patriot. It is a fact not widely known perhaps that Rhode Island's famous Revolu- tionary soldier, General Nathaniel Greene, was also a descendant of Edward Perry.
Dr. Turner is quoted as saying: "It is remarkable that the two names which confer so much lustre on Rhode Island, one in the military, the other in the naval service, should have derived a direct strain of descent from the same source, and that the peaceful and peace-loving Quaker, Edward Perry." As a child Oliver Hazard Perry was very delicate in health and gave no promise of a vigorous manhood. In this sense the saying that "the child is father of the man" was not verified, for strength came with his years and "he was a fair type of manhood, possessing an uncommon share of vigor" and manhood. After attending the best schools in Newport during his childhood,
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OLIVER HAZARD PERRY, COMMODORE U. S. NAVY.
THE SWORD IS INSCRIBED "PRESENTED TO OLIVER H. PERRY, ESQ., BY THE COMMON COUNCIL OF ALBANY, Nov. 8, 1813." REPRODUCED FROM THE ORIGINAL IN THE POSSESSION OF THE RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
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of that month two brigs were floated. The whole fleet was finished the 24th of July and consisted of the brig Lawrenee (the flag ship), twenty guns; brig Niagara, twenty guns; brig Caledonia, three guns; schooner Ariel, four guns; schooner Scorpion, two guns and two swivels ; sloop Trippe, one gun; schooner Tigress, one gun; schooner Porcupine, one gun. A British squadron on the lake menaeed this little fleet, and Perry found great difficulty in getting men and sup- plies for his vessels. "Think of my situation", he wrote Chauneey, "the enemy in sight, the vessels under my eommand more than suffi- eient and ready to make sail, and yet obliged to bite my fingers with vexation for want of men". He was soon partially gratified by the arrival from Black Roek of one hundred men under Captain Elliott, and early in August he went out on the lake before he was fairly prepared for vigorous action. On the 19th he met Harrison on his flagship and arrangements were made for the fall eampaign. On a bright morning, September 10, while cruising about the lake, a sail was cried from the mast head of the Lawrenee, and the British fleet appeared on the horizon. The opposing forees were not far from cqual and the battle began at noon at long range. As the two fleets came nearer and nearer the firing waxed hotter, and for nearly two
he began his naval career as midshipman on board the General Green, which was commanded by his father, Captain Christopher R. Perry. "This training was of great usefulness to him, as it afforded valuable object lessons in naval tactics. His father, Captain Perry, began a soldier's life in the War of the Revolution, and was well prepared to instruct his son in the arts of war. An occasional encounter with British ships while cruising in the West India station, disclosed his promptness and bravery, which were not lost upon the son." In 1801 a small squadron was ordered to the Mediterranean to protect our commerce from the Tripolitan Corsairs, and O. H. Perry was attached to the Adams frigate, one of three, commanded by Captain Campbell. There were many encounters with the pirates, in which the Americans gained many victories. This war lasted until 1805. During this time young Perry im- proved so much, that he was promoted to an acting lieutenancy. We next find Lieutenant Perry in command of a flotilla of seventeen gunboats on the Newport Station, to enforce the law of Congress, passed in 1807, establishing an embargo as the only means calculated to save our commerce from seizure by the British and French vessels. Perry remained at Newport until he was appointed to the command of the U. S. schooner "Revenge"-attached to the squadron of his uncle, Commodore Rogers, at New London. The embargo, not having produced the effects desired was revoked in March, 1809. Other measures were adopted to induce the English to cease their hostilities, but without avail, and in 1812, Congress declared war against Great Britain. This was received by the British rather contemptuously-as they felt their own superiority in strength and numbers, styling themselves the "Lords of the ocean." Soon after the beginning of the war, our government thought best to secure the command of the Lakes, and Perry obtained permission to join the naval forces there under the command of Commodore Chauncey. In March, 1813, Perry was appointed with the rank of Master Commandant to superintend the building and fitting out of a naval force and to command upon Lake Erie, where the British had undisputed possession. Early in August the vessels Niagara and Lawrence, together with several others, were fitted for service-although they were but poorly manned for the great battle
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hours the Lawrenee bore the brunt of the battle, until she lay ahnost a wreck upon the water. The deek was a seene of earnage and it needed a heroic soul to continue the confliet. The other vessels had fought nobly, exeepting the Niagara, Captain Elliott, the staunehest one of the fleet, which had kept outside and was yet unhurt. As she drew near the Lawrence, Perry donned the uniform of his rank, that he might properly receive the British commander as a prisoner, took down his broad pennant and the banner bearing the memorable words of Lawrence, "Don't give up the ship", entered a boat with his brother, Matthew Calbraith Perry (then fourteen years of age), and with four brawny seamen at the oars was pulled away on a perilous trip to the Niagara. Perry stood upright in the boat, the pennant and banner partly wrapped about him. Barclay, the British commander, had been wounded, and when informed of Perry's daring act and realizing the consequence of his reaching the Niagara, ordered big and little guns to be trained upon the row boat. Amid this shower of shot for about fifteen minutes the boat moved on and the gallant com- mander reached the deek of the Niagara in safety. Hoisting his pen- nant he dashed through the enemy's line and eight minutes later the colors of the British flag ship were struck, all but two of the fleet sur-
which soon followed. Already several victories had been gained by our despised little navy of the lakes. Our naval officers proved most valiant men for the work entrusted to them, but it remained for Oliver Hazard Perry with his squadron to complete the destruction of the enemy on the lakes by the decisive battle on Lake Erie, September 10th, 1813. In a letter to General Harrison, who was in command of the land forces against the British, Perry said: "We have met the enemy and they are ours, two ships, two brigs, one schooner and one sloop." The news of this victory produced general rejoicing throughout our country. In all the large cities illuminations took place with other demonstrations of joy. Perry was promoted to the rank of captain in the navy of the United States. Congress adopted resolutions tendering their thanks to him and through him to the officers, seamen and marines attached to the squadron under his command. A gold medal was also awarded Perry emblematic of the action between the two squadrons, other honors were tendered him, and testimonials bestowed upon him by the citizens of different cities. In the summer of 1819 Captain Perry was ordered on an expedition to Angostura, then the capital of the Venezuelan Republic. Upon his arrival there he was received with much attention, and after the fulfillment of his mission he proceeded down the Orinoco on his way to Port Spain where his warship, the John Adams, was stationed. Soon after sailing he was attacked with yellow fever, from which he died after being transferred to the John Adams. He was buried at Port Spain, with every mark of respect from the civil and military authorities. Later his remains were taken to Newport, where a monument marks his resting place. He died at the age of 34 years, two days after the anniversary of his birth. He left a wife, who was Miss Elizabeth Mason of Newport, and four children, three sons and a daughter. At the unveiling of the statue erected to his memory in Newport in 1886, the Hon. Wm. P. Sheffield in an address said: "Oliver Hazard Perry needs no monument of bronze or tablet to commemorate his name or to illustrate his glory. History has taken these into its keeping and will preserve them for posterity, while genius in battle and heroic valor and unfaltering energy in the performance of high duty receives the homage of the American people."
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rendering. These made an attempt to escape, but were pursued and brought back late in the evening by the Seorpion. Vietory onec as- sured, Perry sat down, took from his pocket an old letter and resting it upon the top of his cap, wrote his famous message to General Har- rison : "We have met the enemy and they are ours; two Ships, two Brigs, one Schooner and one Sloop".
For this gallant exploit Perry received the thanks of the govern- ment, a gold medal was presented to him, and the Common Council of Albany presented him a beautiful sword.1 Another gold medal was presented to Captain Elliott, with a silver medal to each man who took
F*
THE JUDGE FREEMAN PERRY HOMESTEAD PREMISES.
The birthplace of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry. The home in which the Commodore was born was demolished soon after the battle of Lake Erie, and some of the lumber was used in building this gambrel roofed structure. The house is situated at Matunoc, in Perry- ville, South Kingstown.
part. In the engagement the Americans lost twenty-seven killed and ninety-six wounded. The British loss was about two hundred killed and six hundred made prisoners. Perry was promoted to a eaptainey and afterwards assisted Harrison in retaking Detroit late in that year. In 1815 he commanded the Java in Deeatur's Mediterranean squadron, and in 1819 was sent against the pirates in the East Indies, where he died of yellow fever on the 23d of August, of that year, at thirty-four
1This sword with the cotton jacket worn by Perry on that victorious day are carefully preserved in the Cabinet of the Rhode Island Historical Society.
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years of age. Matthew Calbraith Perry, the brother of the commodore before mentioned, entered the navy as a midshipman in 1809, and con- tinued in the service during most of his life.
During the years 1813 and 1814, Commodore Chauncey continued his operations on Lake Ontario, in which he was in the main successful, and McDonough fought his brilliant engagement on Lake Champlain in July, 1814.
After waging offensive warfare upon the enemy nearly two years the Americans were compelled to act more upon the defensive. The entire sea coast from the St. Croix to the St. Mary's and the Gulf of Mexico to New Orleans, was menaced by British squadrons and troops. The fortifications about Providence and Newport were placed in better condition for resistance to possible attack. On the 4th of October, 1813, the privateer Dart, belonging to the enemy and having in charge a ship, a brig, and a schooner, hovered about Newport waters. The revenue cutter Vigilant, Capt. John Cahoone, manned with Newport volunteers and seamen, pursued and captured her with little resist- ance. There were many other privateers sent out from Rhode Island in this war, but they were not so active as in former times. The en- forcement of the embargo act of December 17, 1813, and the blockade of ports, caused almost complete suspension of commercial business in Newport and Providence. On the 30th of May, 1814, a Swedish brig attempted to violate the blockade and was chased ashore by the British brig Nimrod in the East Passage on Smith's beach ; she was burned the next day. At about the same time the barges from the Nimrod chased two sloops ashore in the same passage, but the militia in Little Comp- ton gathered in force and prevented the enemy from taking possession of the sloops.
Rhode Island had every reason to be proud of the part she took in the naval operations during this war. Peace was declared in Febru- ary, 1815, and the news was welcomed with joy throughout the country.
With the beginning of the Southern Rebellion in 1861 it became apparent at the outset that a close blockade of all ports from Cape Charles to the Rio Grande would be necessary. In the words of General Scott, it was of the greatest importance to "stop the rat holes". This required a large navy and created an embarrassing emergency. It was far easier for the government to raise a vast army than to put afloat a navy of two hundred vessels; but the work was undertaken with vigor. Steamers and sailing craft were pur- chased and altered for the service, and in addition to these the gov- ernment availed itself of offers from many patriotic citizens.
When the first call for troops was made in April, 1861, Capt. Thomas P. Ives, of Providence (son of Moses B. Ives), was in ill health and could not volunteer, as he would have otherwise done, in the first
PARADE OF RHODE ISLAND U. S. NAVAL VOLUNTEERS, NEWPORT, JULY 4, 1898.
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regiment to leave the State for the seat of war. He was a lover of the sea and well versed in nautical affairs. In the preceding autumn he had built for his own use a large and fast yacht, and while still con- fined to his house he sent for General James and made a contract with him to arm the yacht with cannon of his invention. As soon as his health was restored he offered this vessel and his own services to the government. The offer was accepted and Captain Ives was temporarily commissioned as lieutenant in the revenue service and stationed during the summer of 1861 in Chesapeake Bay, where he was engaged in the suppression of the contraband traffic then active in that region. For his service there he won frequent expressions of approval from the commander at Fort McHenry. This feature of naval service soon became unnecessary, but previous to that Captain Ives was invited by Gencral Burnside to accompany him on his North Carolina expedi- tion. For this purpose he was commissioned captain of the steamer Pickett, which took a prominent part as a gunboat in most of the ma- rine operations of Burnside, particularly at Roanoke Island and in the approaches to Newbern. Early in the summer of 1862, this service having been accomplished, Ives resigned his commission, but soon again offered his services at sea. In August he was commissioned and assigned to command the gunboat Yankee, which was attached to the Potomac flotilla. He was subsequently promoted to fleet captain of the flotilla and gave efficient service. In December, 1863, he was de- tached and assigned to duty in Providence as inspector of ordnance.
Other citizens of Rhode Island made generous offers of aid to the State government in its period of greatest need. Among these the manufacturing firm of A. & W. Sprague offered a loan of $100,000, and similar offers were made by some of the Rhode Island banks.
It is impossible at this time to follow the fortunes of many of the Rhode Island volunteers in the navy of the Rebellion. This is due chiefly to the fact that as far as relates to seamen at least, no records are accessible showing to what vessels they were assigned, and also that by far the larger part of the enlistments of sailors from this State were made at New Bedford. The report of the adjutant-general shows that sixty-six volunteer officers and thirty-seven regular officers were appointed to the naval service from the State, while there are credited to the quota of the State more than two thousand seamen; but very many of these were not natives of Rhode Island.
The first official reference to Rhode Island naval affairs in con- nection with the late Spanish War was a letter addressed by Governor Dyer to the secretary of the navy, on January 1, 1898, asking if an inspecting officer had been appointed for the naval battalion of the State, and if so, whether he could assist that official in any way. Steps had already been taken to furnish troops in response to any call that
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might be made by the government, and to place the State militia and the naval battalion on a war basis. In answer to a request from the adjutant-general of the State, March 1, 1898, W. McCarty Little, com- mander of the Naval Battalion, supplied a list of all steam vessels entered at the Newport custom house, and other information regard- ing various vessels.
On the 5th of March, 1898, Governor Dyer took steps to secure a thirty-foot cutter for the Providence division of the naval militia. On the 31st of that month the adjutant-general of the State was requested by the Navy Department to put the naval militia of the State in condi- tion to meet any sudden call of the general government, and directing an inspection of all vessels in the ports of the State with reference to their utilization in a mosquito fleet. On the 1st of April Governor Dyer informed the Navy Department that the naval militia of the State was ready for service. About the middle of that month informa- tion was received from the Navy Department of the intention of estab- lishing coast signal stations, and asking the co-operation of State authorities. The final result of this action was the erection and man- ning of a station on Block Island. The first call of the president for troops was dated April 20, 1898, and military and naval enthusiasm prevailed at once throughout the State. The next day an appropria- tion of $150,000 was voted by the General Assembly for military and naval expenses. On the 26th the Assembly amended a section of Chapter 296 of the General Laws so that it provided that "in addition to the organizations comprising the active militia, there shall be allowed four companies of naval militia, designated as follows: One company of naval reserve artillery, located in Providence; one naval reserve torpedo company, located at Newport; one naval reserve tor- pedo company, located at Bristol; and one company of naval reserve artillery, located in East Providence; which shall constitute a naval battalion, to be known as the naval battalion of the Rhode Island militia."
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